#no but that movie also had this feature where they had an accessible version of it for people with low/no vision!!!!

[airenyah]

no but when mhok told day to think of his plate as a clock and told him where on the clock the food was that really reminded me of one of my favorite movies from when i was in middle school which is also about blind people and where the title of the movie itself is a reference to thinking of the plate as a clock: it's called "erbsen auf halb 6" which literally translates to "peas at half past 5" (yes, "halb 6" means "half past 5", yes the numbers are different, don't worry about it)

the plot of the movie is a theater director losing his eyesight in a car accident and him being a director who kinda needs to see what's going on on stage he really doesn't take his sudden loss of vision very well. he gets assigned a helper/mentor, a lady who is blind herself and who's been blind since birth and is supposed to help him adapt to a life with disability. he ultimately runs away from her when he learns that his mother is sick to go find his mother in russia and say goodbye before she dies. his helper/mentor chases after him and they end up on a travel adventure together

it's been over a decade since i last saw the movie but i think at some point they eat and they talk about how the peas sit on the plate where it would be half past 5 on a clock?? anyway, that moment with mhok and day at the restaurant where mhok tells him the position of day's food with the help of an analog clock really reminded me of that movie

edit: i went to look for the trailer of that movie and i found the scene in question!! turns out they're at a restaurant and the helper/mentor character goes "if you imagine the plate as a clock... what numbers is the food lying on?" and the waitress is all confused going "i'm sorry?"

there are no eng subs for the trailer buuut the moment is at the very end at 2:11:

see it's a real movie i didn't just make it up kjdfkjdfk

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga ch.91-93

Last time, we covered the "prequel" story of Goten and Trunks adopting superhero identities and capturing Dr. Hedo. Now we get into the events of the DBS: Super Hero movie itself. I already liveblogged the movie extensively in September (here, here, here, here, and here), so for the manga adaptation I'll be focusing mainly on whatever changes Toyotaro made to the story.

First off, Chapter 91 opens with Piccolo picking up Pan from school, and when she talks about wanting to be a superhero like Goten and Trunks have been doing recently, Piccolo offers to train her just like he trained Gohan in Dragon Ball Z.

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing we can expect from this adaptation. It's mostly a straight retelling of the movie, and the little extras that get added in don't really add much to the story. I mean, the movie established that Piccolo has picked up Pan from school in the past, but there was no need to show it. Also, the movie didn't really explain why Piccolo started training Pan, probably because it didn't need to. I think the manga pretty much proves my point, because it attempts to tackle the question, but only comes up with a fairly pat answer. She wanted to fly and shoot hand energy like Goten and Trunks, and so Piccolo offered to teach her and she said yes.

Then we get to this scene, where Krillin's boss in the West City P.D. holds a briefing on the Red Ribbon Army and their plans to recruit Dr. Hedo. This takes the place of the flashback montage that opened the movie, and it sucks.

That montage was awesome, and Toyotaro could have drawn his own version of it here, but instead he did this. We could be looking a Goku punching Tao Pai Pai, or 17 killing Dr. Gero, or Cell smirking like a boss, but instead we're in a boring conference room reading walls of text.

Look at this fucking page! It's awful! A lot of this one serves as a stand-in for Carmine's report to Magenta about Dr. Hedo. I get it, this is a lot of information to go through, and Toyotaro probably wanted to move on as quickly as possible, but part of what I loved about the movie was the way they showcased the characters and visuals during the infodumping. Carmine's report is pretty dry in the movie, but Magenta's office is interesting to look at, and Carmine and Magenta themselves are visually compelling characters. While they talk about Hedo, Carmine shows off his video editing skills and Magenta keeps screwing up his snacks

This police briefing, however, sucks all the fun out of it. This place looks like a hotel conference room with hardwood floors. All of the cops look exactly the same, and why the hell are they wearing helmets and sunglasses indoors, anyway? Krillin's boss, Sergeant Nutz, has some potential, but she has nothing to do with this story, so featuring her so prominently here is just a waste of time.

What really irks me is that the next scene shows Carmine and Magenta talking about Dr. Hedo, just like in the movie, except there's not much for them to say because Krillin and Nutz already covered it all! That's really dumb! We have two scenes designed to set up the plot of the movie, and one of them was in the movie, and actually features the main antagonists. But Toyotaro chose to emphasize the other scene instead.

So the idea here is that the police are already aware of Magenta's scheme to revive the Red Ribbon Army, and they know he plans to recruit Dr. Hedo once he gets out of prison. They also know that Hedo had that disc containing data on Dr. Gero's bioweapon, although I don't see how they could know that, since Trunks couldn't access the data on the disc and it was destroyed before anyone else could try. Hedo told Krillin in Chapter 90 that he memorized the contents of the disc, but he never said what it was that he memorized. This also goes against the storyline in the movie. In the film, Magenta had Gero's data on Cell, and the reason he wanted Hedo was because his own scientists couldn't do anything with it.

Anyway, the police seem to know everything about the Red Ribbon Army already. The only thing they don't know is where the Red Ribbon base is, so they send Krillin to follow Magenta's limo and spy on him. So we get the limo scene from the movie, except Krillin's clinging to the side of the car the whole trip, and then Hedo spots him and sends his cyborg bee, Hatchimaru, to attack him.

The gag here is that Magenta and Carmine don't even know Krillin is out there, and Hedo doesn't particularly care. The scene plays out almost exactly like it does in the movie, but with Krillin spliced in like Jabba the Hut in the Star Wars Special Edition.

Of course, Krillin gets shaken off so the base's location remains a secret, so this whole bit is completely pointless. It's just so dumb. I assume Toyotaro needed to pad out the story for one reason or another, or maybe he just wanted to add some new details so he wouldn't get bored retelling a movie like this. But if this is the best he can come up with, why bother? So far, this manga keeps "expanding" on the movie by answering questions nobody asked, like "Why did Piccolo start training Pan?" or "Why didn't the authorities stop the Red Ribbon Army?" or "Why is Gamma 1's cape red?"

From here, it's a pretty faithful retelling of the movie, which kind of makes the "filler" scenes even more conspicuous. It's refreshing to see the actual story move along without all these pointless diversions. On the other hand, it's kind of dull, because I already covered the movie and there's nothing else to talk about here.

There is some extra stuff in the Gamma 2 vs. Piccolo fight. Piccolo loses an arm, but then he grows a new one and makes it all long to catch Gamma 2 off guard. It doesn't slow him down much, but it's something we didn't get in the movie. I do find it a bit strange how Gamma 2 notes Piccolo's regeneration ability like it's this new data to add to his files. Shouldn't the Red Ribbon Army have all of this intel programmed into Gamma 2 by now?

Moving on, when Piccolo infiltrates the Red Ribbon base, he gets stopped by his superiors, who remind "94" that he isn't assigned to this area, but another soldier offers to switch assignments so "94" can gain some valuable experience watching Hedo eat cookies.

Again, what is the point of this? We're just derailing the story so Toyotaro can waste a page explaining how Piccolo managed to get this far into the base. In the movie, nobody notices or cares that "94" is in the command center instead of the hangar. That's because they're all faceless, interchangeable henchmen. They wear masks and refer to each other by numbers, for crying out loud! This is why Piccolo disguised himself in the first place! If Toyotaro wrote Star Wars, he'd do a whole scene where Luke Skywalker has to rewrite the Death Star's duty roster just so "TK-421" can get reassigned to prison detail. Nobody cares!

Okay now this is more like it. We get to the part where no one can reach Goku and Vegeta because they're training on Beerus' planet, and so Toyotaro gives us a little more of the sparring match Goku and Broly had in the movie. It's not a lot, but this is the sort of thing filler is good for. Toyo also does a whole montage recap of the DBS: Broly film, which is perfectly serviceable, but it annoys me because it demonstrates that he could have done the same thing with the Red Ribbon Army flashback in Chapter 91, but instead he did the briefing scene with Sgt. Nutz. Ugh.

We see the same scene where Vegeta explains the importance of mental training, although when he talks about all of their recent opponents, he adds manga-only characters like Moro, Gas, and Black Frieza. And that's fine, although it's strange when he talks about Jiren and Black Frieza in the same breath like this. In the manga, Vegeta has gotten pretty good at "Ultra Ego", his answer to Goku's Ultra Instinct. And Goku's learned to tap into UI at will. So I'm pretty sure Jiren and Moro aren't really an issue for either of them anymore. I mean, the only reason Goku couldn't defeat Jiren by himself at the Tournament of Power was because he lacked experience using UI, and now he's much better at it.

The point I'm getting at is that in the manga, Vegeta doesn't need to do "mental training" to defeat Jiren because he's already surpassed him. And he might need it to surpass Broly and Black Frieza, but he speaks as though that's their secret, and he needs to learn how to do it himself. I'm pretty sure Broly isn't "relaxed" between attacks when he's using his full power. He was kind of freaking the fuck out back then. Black Frieza might have been doing something like that, but he only hit Vegeta once, so I'm not sure how he could be certain.

So then we move on to the part where Piccolo wishes for a power-up from Shenron, and we just skip the part where Dende upgrades Shenron to do that. The implication here is that DBS-manga Shenron always had the ability to make Orange Piccolo, and no one bothered to ask before. Kind of annoying.

Anyway, while Piccolo and Bulma are getting their...ahem... enhancements, Trunks sees them and calls Goten. They make plans to sneak out and play superheroes again, even though Goten's grounded and he really doesn't need to run up a bigger bill with his mom. I guess this is the throughline for Goten and Trunks in Dragon Ball Super. No matter what happens, Dragon Team tries to keep the boys out of it. It's not just Chi-Chi wanting Goten to study. Back in Resurrection F, Bulma tells the others that she doesn't want them fucking around during the battle with Frieza. And Vegeta ices them out of the tournaments with the other universes because he doesn't want them turning into Gotenks and being dorks the whole time. The Saiyaman X-1 and X-2 caper probably didn't do much to convince anyone that Goten and Trunks have matured.

But they still crave the excitement of being in the thick of things. They know the adults are trying to keep them out of it, and that just makes it more exciting. I suppose this is the legacy of the Buu Saga, where they had to get involved because there was no other choice, and they've had the bug for DBZ mayhem ever since, but their parents said no.

And maybe that's why Goku and Vegeta were so determined to train the boys in the End of Z episodes. Sometime after Super Hero, they came back home, heard about the Saiyamen costumes and the battle with Cell Max, and decided that they needed to be toughened up. Like, okay, you want to go fight bad guys like we do? Stop doing the poses and quit relying on fusion and learn how to do it right. And if the sparring sessions are too hard for you, you can always go back to doing your homework like your mom wanted."

That's why Goten's so frustrated in DBZ 289. He just wants to go on dates or screw around, but his only options are a) homework and b) fight for-ev-er *clap clap clap-clap-clap*.

And now that I think about it, this is where GT dropped the ball with Goten, because he doesn't really seem to have gained anything from that. Hitting the books and getting hit by Goku should have made him a bit more serious about his life, but instead he's just constantly talking to girls on the phone, because that was the only thing GT's writers seemed to think of for him to do.

I mean, they kind of got it right with Trunks, who went into GT with a lot of responsibility and skills. He didn't enjoy his position, but you could tell he'd grown a lot as a person since the end of DBZ.

So yeah, maybe I'm beginning to appreciate Big Goten more than I did before, but this newfound perspective still doesn't do much for this part of the manga. There's just a lot of nothing happening here, and throwing more Krillin, Goten, and Trunks at it doesn't help matters.

[fluffer5]

How Protective Terrans Are

So... I might've dropped a few trauma bomb in my previous entries... but we won't further open those particular can of worms *smiles brightly while throwing the proverbial can at the traum-- ehem, garbage disposal*.

Anyways, this is my 5th entry to Humans Are Space Orcs! For today's human documentary, we're going to talk about what adult Terrans can and will do to you if you touch their young, family, close friends, pets, or special mementos given to them by a special someone (which doesn't have to be from a dead anybody or a romantic somebody). We all know people wouldn't hesitate to throw hands just to keep their people or stuff safe.

So, let's refer to my list, cuz it's easier to do lol. Again, I've used movies, series, podcasts, and a writer's angst-filled mind to type this. Should I warn the rest of you for further reading? I guess I should (I was so used to reading things without the warning that I'm sometimes confused of the TW tag on some stuff lol).

TW: Gore, violence, theoretical bodily harm even though I censored most of it, death, stabby people, bullying, the insanity train.

Kill the threat. Bit of an extreme one for the first thing to pop in my head, yes? But it is true. Wars were waged for lesser things. See this news article for one example: "Mom fatally shot home intruder to defend kids, she says". This one was published on August 18, 2022. In 2012, cuz I'm too lazy to search recent ones, there's another news articles featuring the same thing but focuses on a mother shooting an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby. In 2015, an 11-year-old boy also shot an intruder trying to defend his 4-year-old sister from possible harm. I could go on and on about this but in countries where guns are not accessible, the next possible thing to use in defense would've been something sturdy and blunt or something extremely sharp. Actually, if we were in a time wherein tribes or kingdoms exist instead of cities, I can surely say that killing their young would definitely put you and your family in said people's sh*t list.

Fight the threat. Whether is be physically punching them on the face of the place where the sun doesn't shine, nobody cares as long as the deed of letting them know their place is done. Exhibit A that a lot of us know would be bullies ganging up on a younger sibling in school. We know that younger sibling are the proverbial pain in the *ss of older siblings. It's a love-hate relationship between them. But it's also an unsaid rule that only the older siblings can threaten or push around younger siblings. Anyone else touching them aside from the close family ties should be prepared to taste someone's fist. Or feet. Or the pavement. You get the gist of it. Though as long as the child in question can take care of the bullying on their own (which I did in my experience) then the parents or older sibling would gladly back off until the time they notice that things are going too far. Though, sadly, some kids prefer not to talk about their problems which leads to behavioral issues in the future, sorta trying to get attention from their elders but in a negative way.

Threaten the threat. I see this as the tamer version of protection actually lol. I don't know about other countries but in my country, the smart kids in school can threaten your life as a student. We have the usual bling-bling kids with the money and huzzah but they don't last long in the face of being a social pariah at school. They can throw money all they want but the smart kids wouldn't be threatened at all cuz they hold the key to higher GPA. Even the teachers complain about them nerds but action speaks loud and their compilation of evidence speaks louder lol. You'd be lucky if the nerd assigned to you has the patience of a saint cuz if not... well, I've had to stop fights from breaking out from simple arguments. Not just in school though. If you've got connection in higher places then that could also be a way to threaten someone (it does happen in real life so it isn't far-fetched). Though it is more effective to threaten the threat if you're in the same place as them. Another thing would be holding blackmail on said person (though that only works if they're not an immediate threat). If you have enough social influence, well, you can destroy their entire life without touching them even once.

Torture the threat. A friend says I'm too kind for ending their lives easily. Well, watching too many action and horror films prepared me for this part lol. I don't know which one would be done but interrogators have done the worst to get information from their victim. Too gory for this though and I don't know how many kids or emotional teens are in here so I have to censor a ton of the juicy details. Let's say it would be a bit similar to Saw, Jigsaw, and war interrogations. Chemicals, acids, peeled skin, salt, knives, and hammers might also be in place. Just know that it would be a bloody, unforgiving event that would take place in that particular room with that unfortunate victim.

Play the long game. Another said killing them quickly was... well... too quick XD. This one centers heavily on having money and patience. Know who the threat is, where they live, who they interact with, and what makes them tick. For this to work, you need to give up who you were before and settle on anonymity. This is... a bit more drastic than torture but works well if you have too much hate in your chest or the deed done was something you can never forgive. It's more on watching them physically suffer with their injury or doing the threatening on their family (gets messy very fast), but since this threat had amassed A LOT of enemies, they won't exactly know who did the evil deed on them. Shoot them on their legs, feet, and shoulder. Their spine if you're a good shot and know where to hit. Places that aren't close to their vital organs but would render them disabled. You'll let them live, but it will be a life of pain and agony.

Talk to the threat. The most peaceful type and probably the most boring out of this chaotic list > v <. This should be the first thing we do and not escalate to violence if some of us can help it. Again, your patience and wit will be tested here. If your threat is minor (like another child), then talking to their guardian would help with keeping the problem from going through a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes that doesn't work and the problem turns into an adult fight.

In summary, you have 2 kinds of Terrans. One would shoot before asking; the other would talk before shooting. Which is why you should never step on this particular deathworld if you were thinking about making Terran slaves or using our young in experimentation. We haven't given chase on aliens yet. Don't make yourselves the first intergalactic specie the Terrans would obliterate.

Meanwhile in a fast approaching spacecraft...

This alien reading this How To Deal With Terrans manual : Why did we want to go to this deathworld again?

Another alien turning yellow from anxiety : To befriend them and learn about the resident Terrans?

Yet another alien wilting as they feel faint from the information : Oh, thank the stars we won't be terrorizing them.

The alien commander whose frills are flaring in alarm as they read through the unredacted version of the manual : They will torture and skin us for taking their young and their pets?!

This particular scientist whose skins are changing colors in excitement : See? I told you their famous quote of "If predator not friend, why friend shape?" also applies to them!

[glngrbred]

Hot take, Elden ring is a really good souls like, but that doesn't mean its actually a good game.

within the subgenre, souls-likes have always had really huge issues with accessibility, and i don't mean for disability alone. Elden ring especially had extremely horrible performance issues at launch, which they did eventually fix. Even then you still have to get a 400 dollar PC. Aside from that there are some strange decisions made with teaching the player, like the tutorial is just a hole that players had to point out to each other, and On my barely stable first 20 minutes, i couldn't even find (my b i guess). Obviously alot of extremely experienced gamers would be able to handle themselves super well in Elden ring even without a tutorial. But there's another issue there with accessibility.

2 last things on accessibility. The game's audio is mixed like a movie, (so barely audible or ripping out your eardrums ;-;) witch is another accessibility issue, that you have to put a lot of work in to fix. And the graphics range from maxing out the brightness, to being completely black on bad screens. obviously an issue. I'm not going to go into the issues with explanations and the general tell don't show nature of alot of souls likes, because people have already complained about the text tunnels enough

I do really appreciate the artistry and just beautiful atmosphere Elden ring has, my only issue with the graphics is the performance requirements for them. Also if you never turned the graphics all the way down, it used to cause bit lag spikes just because it wanted to i guess :")

So, my argument is that a game can be a good version of the predecessors it bases itself off of, but if it doesn't actually deliver on playability and accessibility, I really don't think its deserving of the praise it gets. here are examples of games I think are flawless Unraveled/Unraveled 2 Hades Minecraft (Java edition only [cuz bedrock is completely broken somehow???) Never alone (a cool 2 player co op platformer that me and my brother played through when we were 6 and 8 or smthn, it was incredible, and i still think its worth playing as an adult) Spelunky 2 ***Monster Hunter (except for the extremely slow RPG elements) [takes 3 months to get 1 armor set built fully :)]

So i actually have some great news for the difficulty purists, You can actually do a hardcore game well, So long as you make failure quick and readable, Make trying immediate, and Make learning a part of the design. Spelunky is not my cup of tea, i have a bad time with reaction time, but spelunky is really great, in that your goal every attempt is simply to get as far as possible. In elden ring, you have the opposite problem, where instead of completing the objective being extraordinarily hard, getting from point a to point b is tediouse, saving the game takes time, occasionally you can be attacked without knowing why, and you dont get a clear read on what went wrong, ETC. If Elden ring was only the boss fights, I would say its almost a great game. Which is why I included Monster hunter on that list, despite its insufferable grind. Also BTW spelunky 2 has four fun minigames. a requirement for any game to be truly perfect is for there to be appeal for casual gamers, and i don't think adding casual elements makes a game worse, like, ever.

Anyways, last little thing, I really dislike it when People praise games for not catering to the needs of some players. Like everyone has heard dudebros or their friends be like "It doesn't have any difficulty settings! that's so sick!" But, like, Have you ever met someone with a motor function disability, or like, just someone who doesn't play games for 30000 hours every year? Difficulty settings and the ability to control your experience are important. and this isn't about Elden ring, But if you care about being an ally you should want your games to have accessibility features, they only benefit people. and if you're so worked up about about an extra tab being in the settings window, maybe you should like, go to therapy or something.

Also Elden ring's UI is so ass it gave my design teacher a heart attack and they hired a Pe*o as our sub.

[phuljari]

incoming rant: the robotification of women

teri baaton mein aisa uljha jiya (2024) is among the latest movies in the genre of science fiction romance. it reminded me of an old itv show bahu hamari rajnikant (2016) , while i wasn't an avid watcher of the latter, i knew of it's existence. why did it remind of that particular sitcom? well, mainly because of the comedy. but it also reminded me of similar themes in english movies like ex machina (2015), wifelike (2022), archive (2020) and her (2013), which is surely a bit far fetched considering that in her, the ai never had a body. only a voice.

here, i think it's impertinent to also acknowledge male robots in indian cinema, like chitti from robot/enthiran (2010) and g.one from ra.one (2011) even though he wasn't an actual robot? i don't know if he classifies as one. so let's say, non-human, programming-based male entity (nhpbme). similar to samantha in her, a non-human, programming-based female entity (nhpbfe).

so yes, while male robots and nhpbme do exist in the sci-fi romance genre, it's the comparatively larger robotification of women that feeds the male gaze, and the patriarchy by an extention— which is ultimately problematic.

coming to the movie that i actually want to discuss, kriti sanon's sifra, in tbmauj, is the perfect lover, perfect bahu. why? she knows everything aaru (shahid kapoor) likes and wants. she has no chik-chik or tantrums like other girls. she can make cuisines from all around the world, can access everything on the internet quickly. she has perfect skin, perfect hair. probably doesn't age too. she is the dream girl of a typical man. she doesn't have her own opinions or problems, she serves him and him alone. no family of hers to care about, she can care about his family and their needs. the female gendering here acts like objectification.

the worst part of this movie was that it didn't do anything? since it was a comedy, it didn't delve deeper into the nuances of increasing technological reliance that humans have. i think it was probably meant as a warning— when sifra malfunctions and starts executing tasks that were deleted. but even at that, it fails because urmila's (dimple kapadia) company (so intelligently named) e-robots/robotex (something stupid like that), ends up launching her along with few other robots. only adds a dialogue which meant that you need to handle these robots responsibly. then, what was the point of all the testing they tried to do? placing her in different environments like india, when they don't really end up rethinking the whole idea or putting in more safety features? of course, there's no deeper meaning here. indian comedies don't really have subtext.

but it's perpetuates the same old concept of subservient women. rule-followers and caregivers. an image etched in stone. why do women ask– what do men want? men want this, an ideal version. have always wanted. fuelled by the unrealistic p*rn depictions. do they ever think what women want? aaru so casually tells off his friend who has a wife to look at how pathetic his own life is. he defends sifra's un-emotional response to a situation by attacking his friend's relationship asking if human women are any better?

it reminded me of wifelike (2022) where female robots are curated according to a person's need, a replication of their dead spouse. to love them, to serve them, to help them come out of grief. it's so funny to me how in tbmauj, sifra is shown to retain her feelings, getting jealous when aaru interacts with another woman despite getting reprogrammed; compared to how in wifelike, the robotic version of the human it was based on, always ended up leaving the husband because the human version never loved him.

isn't it interesting how female robots instantly get sexualised, and are depicted doing things that one would never ask their girlfriend or wife to do? these robots happily perform roles that are stereotypically feminine, wife-like. they're invented to put aside their feelings (if they have them) to take care of their human partners'. sifra cooks perfect food, emphasized by how many time aaru fired his maid for not cooking things the way he likes it. she probably doesn't have mood swings from periods because she's a robot. she doesn't eat, doesn't get out of shape. and most importantly, she doesn't age (cue: i'll get old but your lovers stay my age). as if the expectations from women aren't enough, that they're required to age gracefully, or best option— not age at all.

if you still don't get it, let me remind you how siri and alexa also end up on the same side of gender spectrum— female.

so the message is, guys, don't give up on your dream girl! you'll surely find a robot that satisfies all your needs! 🙄

men want perfect women, but women can't be robots. let's stop perpetuating the same image and setting unrealistic standards. real humans have real problems, deal with them.

[pastelwitchling]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians two-episode premiere thoughts:

Oh boy, I never thought I'd be talking about this. Mostly because Percy Jackson, like Harry Potter, has always been so sacred to me. I'm very much that Emma quote, if you will; If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. Percy Jackson is the first series I ever read and completed, as it was the first I ever had any access to where I was.

Needless to say then, I couldn't fully process the fact that we were getting the show until about a week before its release. It just seemed so implausible. The only Percy I've ever known is the movie version (and I do love the movies, as they introduced me to Percy Jackson in the first place and I think they're a lot of fun) and the book version. Even now, I don't think I've completely processed that we have something new, but I do think I'm ready to talk about it. So without further ado, here are my thoughts on the two-episode premiere:

(Note: I don't see how one could possibly spoil this series as it's been out for forever and I honestly think you've had your chance to read it and find out what happens, but I will keep my thoughts on the show's details hidden below as it did have a few changes that I understand you wouldn't want spoiled.)

I cannot possibly fathom anyone more perfect for Percy Jackson than Walker Scobell. The first thing I noticed about this version is that it's a little more... serious, I guess, than the book? The book has a lighter atmosphere, while this one kind of has more of the Lord of the Rings' dramatic and emotional score. Not a bad thing at all! Just something I noticed. However, I will say that Walker gives the show that breath of fresh air and lightheartedness that Percy Jackson is. Does that make sense? Most of the comedy came from him, most of the heart came from him, and already, I can see him (if we hopefully get a fifth season for the fifth book) being a leader that others look to for comfort and reassurance. I have a mountain of one-liners from him in mind that were just so Percy Jackson, I'm just so thankful that we got who I firmly believe is Percy Jackson, through and through.

I also really, really love the updates to Sally Jackson in this version. I mean, I always loved Sally, don't get me wrong, but if we were told that this Sally could make it without her son to protect her, I believe it. In the book, Sally says that she needs to learn to take care of herself, but in this one, I can see her doing that already. She's a bit tougher, speaks a little louder, but I love it. It shows where Percy would've gotten his courage from, and I don't see this Sally ever meekly asking Gabe for anything. Speaking of which...

The changes to Gabe are pretty funny and honestly? Kind of welcome. The Gabe from the movie and the Gabe in the book are implied to have hit Sally before, and are pretty abusive. Again, nothing wrong with that because he gets his comeuppance, but it feels refreshing to have this kind of change where he's just loud and unlikeable, but he's not terribly vile or anything. It makes a difference, and I like it better. I can't see Sally turning him to stone with Medusa's head though, he's not quite so bad as to deserve that (unless we find out later that he has been hitting Sally, which I doubt it, he doesn't seem the type here and she doesn't seem the type to take it), so I do wonder what changes will come of it.

An Olivia Rodrigo song? Really? Don't get me wrong, I love Olivia's songs, and the book features Hilary Duff's So Yesterday, so it's not exactly new to include pop songs, but they said they were going to give the show a timeless feel. Olivia Rodrigo feels pretty... dated. And out of left field, to be honest, since I think it was the first song they gave us with lyrics. And not so very befitting, to be honest. When I think Percy Jackson, I think... I don't know, Imagine Dragons? Arrows to Athens? Even 30 Seconds to Mars? Or maybe that's because those were the songs that were out and popular at the time of the books' release, so those are the tribute videos I saw all the time and the songs I associate with the books. I don't know.

One nitpick, just one: did anyone notice when Percy came at Nancy and she ended up in the fountain? Did anyone else also think that Percy can move and control water, not people, and yet Nancy went flying into the fountain like Percy had moved her instead? I'm just going to imagine that the water grabbed her ankles and pulled her in, even though we didn't get to see it. (Yes, I'm going to be that person for a split second 😂)

I don't know how this'll go over with other people, but... I think, so far, I like Show Annabeth more than Book Annabeth. BEFORE YOU START TO RANT AT ME, HEAR ME OUT. I hated Book Annabeth when I first read the books. I thought she was rude and mean, I didn't like how she constantly hit Percy and called him stupid, but it was supposed to be cute somehow? And I couldn't stand her loyalty to Luke. I ultimately understand why, but the way she kept getting mad at Percy, who hadn't known him as long, for stating the horrible things he'd done and what he was planning? GIRL. He's just stating the FACTS here! I thought she was selfish and horrible, to be honest. I've read those books a hundred times, and not until my most recent reread, a year or so ago, did I start to tolerate her better. This Annabeth? It's too early to form an opinion, and we didn't get much of her, but from what we did get? I don't know, she just seems... kinder? All Book Annabeth cared about was getting her way, but Show Annabeth seems to actually feel sorry for what she has to put Percy through. On that note...

This is going to sound weird, but so far, SO FAR, I can actually see Percy and Annabeth as a couple in the future. Why? Because Show Annabeth is quieter. She's more calculating, she's more observant. Book Annabeth was the same way, but I guess because the book isn't from her perspective, she's constantly talking about her observations and what she notices and thinks, and she just comes off as loud as Percy. Which made it all the more annoying when she mocked him for every word he said. (Side rant: ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HE NEVER REALLY SAID ANYTHING THAT STUPID, BUT SHE ALWAYS TALKED TO HIM LIKE EVERY LETTER TO COME OUT OF HIS MOUTH WAS THE DUMBEST THING SHE'D EVER HEARD! HERMIONE SNAPPED AT PEOPLE FOR STUPID THINGS TOO, BUT SHE STILL GAVE HER FRIENDS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND ENCOURAGED THEM TO STUDY BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED THEY COULD DO BETTER THAN THEY WERE DOING, NOT LIKE SHE THOUGHT THEY WERE HOPELESS AND HAD TO PUT UP WITH THEM, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE!) My point is that this Annabeth is a little bit opposite to Percy. She's quiet and observant, constantly strategizing, while Percy is louder and jumps right into things. I love that juxtaposition, and... honestly? Full disclosure... I don't like Book Percy and Annabeth as a couple. I don't think she deserves him, I don't really see what he sees in her, I hate the way she's constantly hitting him and mocking him and getting angry at him because she's not brave enough to just tell him how she feels. Meanwhile here? I actually think they'd be pretty cute together. I get why he would be flustered around her, I get what he'd see in her.

I love that detail of Grover getting Percy kicked out for his own protection. I understood why in the book Percy had been unwilling to see Grover after he'd left (he was fairly freaking him out), but betraying him? It just made so much more sense why Percy wouldn't want to be near him afterwards, and I really love that detail. Speaking of which, I really love Grover. In the book, it did sometimes (just for a bit) feel like Grover looked at Percy as a job. He had to keep him safe, he had to accompany him on his quest, he had to make a good impression on the Cloven Elders. Here? Yes, he has a job, but he also genuinely loves his friend. He also genuinely cares, and wants to help Percy just because it's Percy. I also LOVE that detail about the Mytho Magic cards being training. Brilliant little easter egg there. I just... I genuinely feel like we lucked out SO much with this cast, and this trio especially. They were the ones to worry about, and I don't think we could've gotten better.

Again, the tiniest nitpick, I do wish we'd gotten that, "Kneel to Percy Jackson, Son of the Sea God!" thing. It would've looked so cool, but I feel like it was... just the teeniest bit rushed. It's okay, it still looked cool, and I still love that we get some differences between the book and show, but I also just think it would've looked super epic.

I cried, I laughed, I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. Like I said, Percy Jackson means more to me than I can possibly put into words. But I felt everything with this that I felt in the book, and we haven't even started the quest! Everything from Percy's conversation with his mom at camp through the fire, to when he says, "I'm Sally Jackson's son!" to his training, to the fight in Capture the Flag. Everything was brilliant, I have no words. With those three in the lead, I truly think we're in safe hands.

[caixinliang]

Practice 1:

Assignment 2, Concept Art - Human and "Inhuman"

. Blog post 01

The film Annihilation was the starting point for this concept design exercise.

In the course of the class, Mr Leo mentioned the design of the human-turned-monster in the film "Annihilation" and the TV series "The Last of Us", which was very inspiring, so I decided to start from those inspirations for this concept.

I have analysed several legendary screen images presented below，and summarises a few interesting design points.

Example 1: Integration of diverse organisms

A talking grizzly bear in movie “Annihilation”, a pioneering new concept in sci-fi cinema.

In the film "Annihilation", the design of "a talking grizzly bear"(inhuman) is transformed from the "explorer who calls for help"(human).

The skulls of bears are melded with those of humans.

Example 2: Making the human organism grow like a plant

Screenshots from the TV series "The Last of us"

Compare the similar design in the film "Annihilation".

There is an incredibly powerful scene where the entire human body(human) is dissected, growing and spreading like a plant (inhuman) in the film Annihilation.

Example 3: The human figure and the Uncanny valley.

Mr Leo mentioned the concept of "the Uncanny valley" in class, which means: when a design has the shape of a human being but is not exactly like a human being, it will give people a horrible feeling.

The "human" turned "humanoid plant" in the film "Annihilation".

Compare the real world：

Taken in Hawaii in 1996 by Laszlo Kestay, the photo shows a scientist smiling over a dark mass of intertwined shapes that eerily resemble human corpses. At the bottom of the pit is an ominous red opening. Turns out, the "bodies" are actually hardened lava formations, and the fiery hole is known as the West Kamokuna lava skylight.

https://curious.com/curios/10757#date

Example 4: Use of shape language

The course also covers the "Design of shape Languages".

The conceptual design in Pan's Labyrinth changed the monster's features, with the monster's eyes growing on the palms of its hands, highlighting the design points while enhancing the visual richness, and adding a sharp triangular graphic feel to the monster's face (adding a sense of sharp aggression).

Pan’s Labyrinth | Film Quarterly

Screenshots from the film Pan's Labyrinth

Example 5: Transformation process between human and inhuman

screen shot from the seventh episode of “Love, Death & Robots” series-"BEYOND THE AQUILA RIFT".

Watch Love, Death & Robots | Netflix Official Site

Originally it looked like a female silhouette(human) - up close (after changing the lighting) it became a monster(inhuman)!

This is all for now~

Reference:

Annihilation (2018) Directed by Alex Garland [psychological horror film]. United Kingdom United States : Paramount Pictures ( North America and China) Netflix (international).

Pan's Labyrinth (27 May 2006) Directed by Guillermo del Toro [dark fantasy film]. Warner Bros. Pictures.

Love, Death & Robots (March 15, 2019 – present) Directed by Tim Miller [adult animated anthology television series]. American : Netflix Studios.

The Last of Us (TV series) (January 15, 2023 – present) Directed by Craig Mazin Neil Druckmann Available at: HBO MAX (Accessed: 14 November 2023 ).

Kestay，L . (2017) Underworld portal . Available at: https://curious.com/curios/10757#date (Accessed: 14 November 2023 ).

[yorshie]

on the tmnt ask game thingy: gimme a 12 for uh. reasons……. and then a 24 bc i Gotta see the roast

Ooooo thank you for the ask! I was a little confused on the first one because I took it to mean either one turtle that you like every iteration or go down the line iteration by iteration….. I went with the second because I like to ramble, but I’ve only really watched the 90s movies, 2003, bayverse and rise enough to form an opinion or care. No hate on the others just. Shrug. Not my jam right now.

Funnily enough, when I watched 2003 as a kid (8-9 year old) Raph was my favorite. I was a…. Um…. Opinionated, angry kid, shall we say, and I liked that he had a motorcycle and could kick shell, as he often put it. I was a late bloomer in turns of puberty and thinking boys were anything other than cooty filled jerks, so I’m pretty sure my interest in him was platonic at that point (also I got like, hella good at hiding my favorites because I often got picked on for liking things/people growing up)

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I watched the other versions. 90s was definitely Donnie, the amount of chaotic energy there alone made him my favorite. I loved the intro fight in the second movie where he just straight up pretending to be an inflatable turtle.

Bayverse is my main jammy jam, the one that I consistently like to play with. I like all four of the turtles equally in this one *stares straight ahead with a poker face* there is definitely no favoritism going on at all *sweats* - lol. Well, maybe there is, but I go through spurts where I want to delve into different aspects of each of them at different times. There’s definitely an even number of WIPs featuring each on my computer

Rise is. Well. Rise is awesome, but I kinda stand outside the fence and peer over at that fandom. I’m sure everyone is aware that my favorites are the disaster twins in that iteration, but a lot of the fandom lore going around isn’t actually…. Canon? Which is wonderful, but I’m old, and I can’t quite keep up with it all, so there’s just a few people that let me sit in their circle and listen to the stories and then I go back to my corner of the internet.

And for 24. Oh goodness. I’m not a good roaster, but I’ll take Bayverse Leo (still not admitting he’s my favorite bay turtle) to task cuz boy. He runs to his daddy crying an awful lot to fix his problems. He got his personality from an old spaghetti western……. He’s definitely listens to Jpop and pretends to know every word they spit out at the speed of light. Doesn’t know SuJu is, in fact, not j pop nor speaking Japanese.

IF you wanna see a pro roast the bay boys though, I’ve got a few links for you. Snackugaki should probably be paid for the sick burns delivered in these comics. The second one is a four parter so I linked the one that has access to the others

[hyperfixation-symposium]

QSMP messy lore summary - Day 64

Well, I’ve been making these for a friend, and I’m basically going to be copy/pasting from there. Not comprehensive, just what I’ve seen, but hopefully helpful for those who need them. Also occasionally scattered with personal opinons

The day starts out pretty fine, Philza gets on to take care of his kids and learns about the flower dungeon Bad prepared for them. They fix the hole in the potato farm caused by the plane crash and Foolish comes over to bother them and tag along for the dungeon. Foolish is also getting a lot better at Spanish, probably thanks to Leo, so it's quite cute. 

Forever tells them all that he's going to flood the cleared desert today, but they end up having to wait a while for Cellbit. So in the meantime we just get a lot of silly interactions, including Forever telling Phil about the competition for his love that's happening between him and Missa soon akshekdhs It's also just cute to have so many eggs in the same place. Richarlyson, Chayanne, Tallulah, and Pomme all got to hang out. Finally, Cellbit joins the server. And this is where everything goes to shit. And needs a lot of context.

Everything I know/hear from the Brazilian side has been translated over in one way or another but it's as I understand it and as correct as I can make it. So Cellbit has been a big feature in the Brazilian community for years and years. He's been in a (quite shitty) movie, he's done commercials, all sorts of shit. Max and Forever wanted to play a prank on him by loudly playing one of these commercials he sang in outside his house. At first it's all goofs and gafs. It's funny, he's quite desperate to try to turn it off and find who did it. It seems like he's just embarrassed yaknow. Max insists he doesn't know who it is, Forever puts protected blocks around it so he can't turn it off, despite Cellbit's insistence. But then everything goes to shit

Quesadilla island is supposed to be after he's gotten therapy as all that. But digging up his past, lying to him, setting things over his head, ect seems to just break whatever line Cellbit was holding on by. Being like, "If they want to dig up my past they're going to get it", telling Richarlyson to stay away from him (this dude loves his kid so much it's so sad) and saying everything will change. He takes down the conspiracy board in his office, destroys the Order's logo across his secret base, and leaves, taking very little with him to start building a base away from the Favela. He also starts saying he wants to make a deal with Cucurucho, and well, that made it quite obvious to everyone that something was very wrong. There was a meeting planned with Cucurucho that night about the illegal parts Forever had yaknow?? When he finishes the basics of a new base (it's in a mountainside and he puts bars as the windows- he's not doing okay) Cucurucho appears and agrees to meet with him at the same time that the meeting with him and Forever is supposed to be. 

Also, funny side note! The admin who plays Chayanne also plays Cucurucho. It can be funny when occasionally the little egg misclicks and talks in tts wkhdkehd. But currently Chayanne admin is struggling to be in 2 places at once, so it makes sense why he would try and push any meetings to times when Philza would be off. 

 Anyways, Cellbit continues to go more insane and changes the password on Sofia so no one  else can access her. Then, finally, it's time to flood the desert! Not before Cellbit changes his skin of course. He had a version of his skin prepped with a Phoenix Wright outfit but instead put together a quick one of Godot ;; he's officially lost it. 

 This was supposed to be Forever's big day though, and he mostly just stays silent as the desert is finally flooded and everyone celebrates. Without the context of everything that's been happening with Cell, it's actually a sweet moment and Forever is just adorable. He really deserved this to be his and Richarlyson's big celebration;;;; But hey, it's almost 8pm Brazil time and no one can get Cellbit to tell them what's wrong, oh boy!

 Cellbit goes back out to his horrible little base in the mountain and Cucurucho appears, literally the first book he tossed Cellbit said "YOU LOOK DESPERATE :)" my fuckin heart man. They have a short conversation where Cellbit essentially says he no longer plans to leave the island and wants to help Cucurucho in any way he can. 

 Finally, it's time for the meeting with Forever about the illegal parts. Forever is surprised that Cellbit has a different outfit than the planned one, but they start negotiations as planned. But then Cellbit starts going off the rails. Blaming Forever for collecting the illegal item, claiming the ender chests take power away from the federation. He also says he wants to have 100% custody of Richarlyson. Cucurucho says they will discuss that and leaves them to talk for a short while (it has to be CHAYANNE still Cucurucho mod doing their best frfr) Tbh only Cellbit's part of this conversation was translated bc Forever forgot to change his language, but the essential thing was "I have a goal that you don't know about. I have information that you don't." To Forever. Forever is just confused and hurt to why Cellbit is turning against him for the federation :( 

 Cucurucho comes back and says that ender chests are now banned, and they will hold a hearing for Richarlyson's custody sometime soon. Both are allowed to leave. On a side note, Cellbit is an incredible actor and I cannot properly describe just how cold and straightforward he felt in this conversation. It was honestly chilling. Major props to this guy. When they return, Cellbit goes to talk to Max and Roier while Forever talks to BBH

Cellbit blackmails Max to being on his side for the custody trial by holding the password for Sofia over his head, but Guapoduo fans stay winning as he is much more gentle with Roier and says he's trying to get in the federation and wants to try and get back Bobby. He tells Roier he's making a new base and will send him the coordinates. 

 Finally, Cellbit goes to go to his new base with Richarlyson in toe, giving Richarlyson a book that he says not to show to anyone (he doesn't even show stream) While walking, the code monster attacks! However, it doesn't go for Richarlyson, it's name is C and it immediately goes to kill Cellbit. Richarlyson escapes unscratched and runs to Forever. Forever has been explaining the situation to BBH, who promises to stay by his side. Forever does not even want 100% custody of Richarlyson, he just doesn't want to be torn from his son :( he loves Richarlyson so much. 

They call all the egg back to their rooms, where they stay while Roier, BBH, and Max go to Cellbit's corpse. There, they find all the book conversations between Cell and Cucurucho. They read most, BBH keeps a few to himself and stores them all. Finally, Forever calls an Order Theodosia meeting, and everyone has to confront Cellbit's destroyed office :( Baghera and Roier officially join the order! They go over the days events and the information they have, and while it's upsetting, no one wants to believe Cellbit would do this to them. They all trust him so much, this has to be some sort of elaborate plan he couldn't tell them about, right? Roier wants to make the first priority saving Cellbit, while Forever's first priority is Richarlyson. It's honestly just heartbreaking how much this hurts him :( Finally, they all go their seperate ways for the day. But things don't quite end there.

Later, Quackity logs on to take care of Richarlyson. After hearing all the lore (tbh I have no idea how the conversation went I wasn't watching lmao) he decides that this dispute could hurt Richarlyson and despite everything, he really cares for that kid. He's honestly one of the few people who really treat the eggs like kids. So, they agree to leave notes for Cell and Forever and go out on an adventure until the deal is over. They honestly seem to have a lot of fun together, and Richarlyson says he really needed this.

 Last but not least, Bad is keeping an eye on them on the map as he goes solo to a dungeon that turns out to be a crappy villager post. While threatening the villagers for fun, he gets jumpscared by Cucurucho. Cucurucho and him talk about the ender chests, and Bad insists he needs the ender chest to make him happy (his ender chest holds all his gifts from the eggs, living and dead, so he's quite upset at losing it.) And Cucurucho says they will review it.

[tzeming-janice]

Case Study on China

The Great Firewall of China

The Chinese government has voiced worries about the internet since 1998, viewing it as a potential source of social and political challenges to the regime's cultural values and ideology (Cawford, 2023). In response, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) directed the Golden Shield project, which was started in 1998 and finished in 2006 (Open Society Institute, n.d.). This initiative is a regulatory framework accompanied by an extensive system of internet censorship. According to Kerner, the western media has called it "The Great Firewall of China”, implying that it encompasses a set of tools, services, and regulations that the government of the People’s Republic of China uses to prevent access to specific online information by individuals who are physically inside its boundaries.

If you've read this far, you might be wondering how the Great Firewall of China blocks content.

The Great Firewall of China uses various methods to block content. It inspects internet traffic entering and leaving China, blocking entire domains and IP address ranges. Additionally, when a user attempts to search for the blocked keywords and phrases, the Great Firewall will block and redirect the website query in a way that does not let the user access the requested information. Additionally, the firewall also actively scans network connections for potential proxy IPs used to bypass it, such as VPNs or Tor privacy networks (Kerner, n.d.).

Criticism and Concerns of the Great Firewall of China

The Chinese government has come under criticism from numerous human rights organisations for the extensive and invasive state monitoring methods used by the Great Firewall. Critics argued that China has restricted its citizens' freedom of access to information sources by enforcing the Great Firewall's strict censorship (Gisonna, 2023). To illustrate, Google holds less than a 2% market share in China, primarily due to government restrictions, with Baidu being the dominant search engine service (Seth, 2022). In March 2009, the Chinese government also banned access to YouTube after the dissemination of videos regarding security personnel beating protestors in Tibet, a region of China (Zed Biz, 2023).

According to Gisonna (2023), in spite of the Great Firewall facing criticism, numerous technology firms have yielded to the Chinese government's self-censorship guidelines, adapting their products to align with Chinese regulations. For example, Microsoft Corporation has produced an altered version of its web search engine, Bing.

China’s powerful app - WeChat

WeChat was developed by Chinese technology giant Tencent Group and was first introduced in 2011 (Sapra, 2019).

As per Zhang (2018), WeChat has evolved beyond its original purpose as a messaging and social networking app. Tencent has effectively transformed WeChat into a super app, serving as a comprehensive platform where users can seamlessly access a multitude of authorized third-party services. These services range from tasks like ride-hailing, purchasing movie tickets, ordering food delivery, booking hotels, paying bills, and many other functionalities. Long story short, it is nearly impossible to do anything without access to WeChat nowadays (Sapra, 2019).

Tencent (2018) argued that “WeChat aims to embed itself in every moment of the user's daily life, from morning till night, anytime, anywhere.”

Why WeChat fails when expanding abroad?

The majority of features of WeChat were constrained due to the absence of collaboration with local suppliers to offer those services. This is why WeChat is losing its competitive edge and transforming into merely another messaging application (Seppam, 2023).

Simultaneously, as per Medium (2019), WeChat's failure can be attributed to its delayed entry into the foreign market. By the time WeChat ventured into the international market in April 2012, WhatsApp had already surpassed its innovation period, spanning from 2009 to 2011. This indicates that WeChat faced limited growth opportunities to capture the global market.

Social Credit System in China

China's social credit system comprises databases and initiatives designed to monitor and evaluate the reliability of individuals, businesses, government entities, and the judiciary (Lee, 2020). It was formally introduced to the public in 2014 with the unveiling of the Outline for the Construction and Planning of the Social Credit System. In addition to looking at financial history and activity, that similar to credit rating systems in other nations, it also considers things like unethical behaviour and legal infractions (Koty & Huld, 2023).

A credit score may benefit from making good contributions to society through the establishment of social programmes, donations to charitable organisations, or other corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. A high credit score may grant access to discounted public housing or priority medical care. Conversely, engaging in such undesirable behaviour as dishonest or unlawful taxation, misleading customer behaviour, and so forth, may result in a low rating and adverse outcomes including being barred from trains and aeroplanes (Lee, 2020).

Is the social credit system a way to instill good behaviour and provide safety to citizens?

From my point of view, the opinions on this question are diverse. Supporters argue that the Social Credit System could potentially improve overall societal conduct by promoting trust and integrity. They suggest that by rewarding responsible behaviour and penalising misconduct, the system could contribute to a safer and more orderly society.

On the other hand, critics express concerns about privacy violations, the potential for abuse of power, and the impact on individual freedoms. The system involves extensive surveillance and data collection, raising worries about government intervening into citizens' lives. There are fears that the system could be used for social and political control, suppressing dissent, and restricting individual freedoms.

In general, the goal of China's social credit system is to ensure that residents and companies doing business there adhere to local laws and regulations (Velocity Global, 2023). It is important to strive for a balance between the potential benefits of improved societal behaviour and the protection of individual rights.

References:

Crawford, D. (2023, February 3). What is the Great Firewall of China and how does it work. Proton VPN Blog. https://protonvpn.com/blog/great-firewall-china/

Gisonna, N. (2023, September 21). Great Firewall. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Firewall

Kerner, S. M. (n.d.). Great firewall of China. WhatIs.com. https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Great-Firewall-of-China

Koty, A. C. & Huld, A. (2023, March 24). China’s social credit system: What businesses need to know. China Briefing News. https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-social-credit-system-how-it-works/

Lee, A. (2020, August 9). What is China’s social credit system and why is it controversial? South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3096090/what-chinas-social-credit-system-and-why-it-controversial

Medium. (2019, November 19). Identify and explore why “WeChat” failed internationally. https://medium.com/@uncigolini/identify-and-explore-why-wechat-failed-internationally-605cff5043d9

Sapra, B. (2019, December 21). This Chinese super-app is Apple’s biggest threat in China and could be a blueprint for Facebook’s future. Here’s what it’s like to use WeChat, which helps a billion users order food and hail rides. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-superapp-wechat-best-feature-walkthrough-2019-12

Seppam, M. (2023, April 5). How China’s Super-App WeChat Failed in USA and Europe.  Why do other successful local apps fail when expanding abroad? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-chinas-super-app-wechat-failed-usa-europe-why-do-other-seppam/

Seth, S. (2022, December 31). Baidu vs. Google: What's the Difference. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/051215/baidu-vs-google-how-are-they-different.asp#:~:text=Google%20has%20a%20strong%2C%20dominant,government%20has%20restricted%20its%20use.

Velocity Global. (2023, October 6). The Chinese Social Credit System: What to know as a business owner. https://velocityglobal.com/resources/blog/chinese-social-credit-system/

Zhang, M. (2018, March 26). China’s WeChat: The Power of the Super App. Medium. https://medium.com/@miaozhenzhang666/chinas-wechat-the-power-of-the-super-app-dc144657625e

[quaranmine]

Book Reviews with Quara

Since I keep talking about audiobooks, now I want to do a sort of mini book review of the books I've read since starting to "seriously" pick up reading again last year. Also I just like typing about things. I'm skipping Fire Season by Philip Connors and Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams because I've spoken about them already. Keep in mind I am not super-super critical of reading material; generally if I enjoyed it I'm giving 5 stars. If I disliked it though I get a lot more critical because then I want to start analyzing what didn't work for me. Now go forth and learn about what my reading taste is when I'm not reading/writing angsty mcyt fanfic!

Books I loved, aka 5 stars:

Cold Storage by David Koepp

This was the first book I checked out from Libby and it was a banger. I am still trying to replicate that high tbh. When I gave my mom access to my library card in Libby (her rural library has nothing and my city library has everything) I made her check it out too. The narration on the audiobook is fantastic. My mom raved about the narration and basically says she doesn't want to check anything out that wasn't as good--regularly her reviews to me are "good narrator, not as good as that Cold Storage book" lmao. You may know David Koepp as the guy who wrote the Jurassic Park screenplay. This is his first novel.

It's about a mutated fungus that is a sci-fi version of the very real Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which is more commonly known as the zombie-ant fungus. In this book, a version of Cordyceps can infect all lifeforms, including humans, and has been locked away deep in a former US military vault that has since been sold and converted into an underground storage facility. The plot follows two unlikely protags who work in the storage facility, as well as the two retired military people who are the only ones to have seen the fungi in action, as they try to prevent it from being released into the world. It's funny, horrifying, and gory.

They are making a movie of this book. The release date is tentatively 2024, but I worry about it because I have heard so little news on it. They did do filming though. I have high hopes because they cast Joe Keery as a main character, which I think is perfect casting for the guy in question. I have low hopes because they cast Liam Neeson, a white man, as a character who was originally Hispanic and (as I just noticed while writing this) changed the character's name to be more white. Ugh. Who is Robert Quinn and what did you do with Roberto Diaz???????

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

What if you got kidnapped and woke up in a parallel world where everybody knew who you were, but they think you're someone else? What if you're just a quantum physics professor, but this other version of you is a successful theoretical researcher? What if your wife never married you in this universe, and your son was never born? How do you get back home? This book is constantly pulling out interesting new questions, twists, and places to explore. Also I liked that while it does feature romance pretty prominently, it's about a guy who just really loves his wife of 15 years and wants to see her again. I just like it when men love their wives.

Also, a fair amount of Goodreads reviews poke fun at this author for having way too much fun hitting the enter key on his keyboard, but since I listened to the audiobook I never had to deal with any annoying formatting choices lol

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

I feel like we all know about this one already, tbh. If you don't, heavy tw for child abuse and eating disorders. Tread carefully. It's worth it though if you are confident you won't get triggered. If you haven't read it I recommend the audiobook specifically because Jennette narrates it herself and that gives the book so much extra. It was a 6 hour audiobook and I was gripped by it all day.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

BACKWARDS TIMELOOP BABEYY!!! This one was great. It's about a Mom who witnesses her teenage son kill a man. Every day she wakes up in the past again until she can solve why this happened, the mystery leading up to it that entangles her family, and try to prevent it. First she ways up the day before, then two days, then three, then a two weeks, then a few months, then a few years--until her son hasn't even been born yet. I enjoyed it. Also a plus for British accent narrator (can you tell I'm American....)

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong

This one was fun. I checked it out because it was longish and I had to drive like 8 hrs roundtrip for a work trip, so I listened to this the entire way. It's about a (Canadian) woman named Mallory who was a police detective in the modern day, who gets attacked while out for a jog in Edinburgh, Scotland. The attacker strangles her and she goes unconscious. When she wakes up, however, she finds herself in someone else's body--in the Victorian era. She's now a 19 year old housemaid, and has to adapt as quickly as possible to avoid suspicion. She quickly finds out that she works for a man named Dr. Duncan Gray, who is a medical examiner. And there's a person who's been murdered in a very similar way to how Mallory herself was attacked. And she's quickly finding out that the person who's body she's in was not well-liked.

My favorite part about this one is the emphasis it has on early forensics in Victorian Scotland. Dr. Gray is a fantastic character and it is so interesting to see him doing his lil cutting-edge forensics research (which Mallory, being educated in modern times, wants desperately to help him with.) Also the narrator, while being Canadian, does Scottish accents for all the Scottish characters. I'm not the best person to ask as someone who isn't Scottish but I thought the accents sounded pretty good lol

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

My mom recommended this one to me. It's also a lot of fun. The title is, mostly, accurate. Ernest Cunningham (protag) is a writer, who mostly creates how-to books for mystery novelists he sells on Amazon. No, he doesn't write mysteries, he just writes the how-to books. But he's very well-versed in the "rules" of how to write a classic mystery! He promises that, as the narrator of this story, he will always be an entirely reliable narrator. The book itself is obviously fiction but within the narrative of the book, it is being told like a nonfiction account of something that the main character is writing down. This book is sort of a bottle mystery--strange murders while everyone is snowed in at a ski resort during a family reunion, anyone? The main character is funny and breaks the fourth wall often. I am convinced that there is a separate audiobook specific version since the narration within the book references it being an audiobook. The main character will be like "so, you probably realize this isn't the real killer, since we still have 4 hours of the book left to listen to" lol. I almost want to check out a print copy of this to see if the text is different.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

First one on the list that I didn't listen to as an audiobook. Honestly, I probably read this book in 4 hours flat. Three of those hours just dead-focused while on a plane (with the book's hold expiring as soon as I landed and took my phone off airplane mode.)

I don't really know how to explain this one. I don't think I understood what it was about until I actually got like 4 chapters in and then I couldn't stop. It's just off-the wall ridiculous. There are talking cats. There are dolphins that want to unionize. There is a volcano lair. There are explosions and assasination attempts. There is a reasonably bleakly accurate capitalist picture of what "villainy" means in our world. There is a poor main character in over his head as he learns he's inherited all this from an uncle he never saw. This book is like...satire comedy. Comedy and outlandish but you're also depressed about billionaires a little while reading it.

Books I thought were Okay (3-4 stars but actually I gave both these 4 stars I think)

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong

The second book to the book I mentioned above. Honestly, I remember very well what the first book was about (i typed the summary by memory) but I have trouble remembering specifics about this one. It's a bit too long as well, at 14 hours. I don't have anything bad to say about it, I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first one.

But honestly I do remember it was still a good time. I just really like Dr Gray as a character and the setting, early forensic science focus, etc. These books are also setting up to be an EXTREME slow burn romance between Gray and Mallory, which I don't mind. (Literally by book 2 the most we have is that she thinks he's attractive, so at this rate it will take us 3 more books to get anywhere lol.) I will be checking out the 3rd book when it is released this spring.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moines

Also a book that suffered from being too long. It's a 12 hour audiobook but I think that it could have been 8 or 9 hours and gotten the same point across. My mom recommended this to me. It's narrated by Daisy Ridley, who does a good job. I enjoyed it, but I also started to feel like I really wanted it to be done?

Also unsure how to describe this one. Slightly-contrived-but-cute plot about how a bag switch up in a gym connects two women's stories. One is a, frankly quite annoying, American woman who married rich but has now been completely cut off from her money (and even passport) by her ex-husband who's cheating on her with a younger woman. One is a British woman with low self-esteem and a bad job who is struggling to keep her family afloat while her husband suffers from severe depression. I think my favorite was a side character named Jasmine who brought light to every scene imo.

Books I disliked (2 stars but after writing this review I almost want to make it 1 star)

Aurora by David Koepp

David I really believed in you after Cold Storage. But imo, this book isn't it. It throws away every interesting part of its apocalypse-level plot to focus on the characters. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love a good character-focused plot, except I never connected with anyone in the book. I just kind of didn't enjoy any of them. This is a story that is supposed to be about a solar flare taking out all electricity and communications for most of the world. And it only covers like a few days after the disaster AND THEN TIME SKIPS LIKE 8 MONTHS UNTIL EVERYTHING IS HAPPILY SOLVED NEIGHBORHOOD UTOPIA STYLE. I'm sorry????? Assuming I can believe that this little suburban Illinois cul-de-sac has managed to set up subsistence farming in a few months and is living perfectly happily, why would you....not show me how that happened.....

Also the "everything fits together" character moment at the end felt unearned. I was like yeah, okay, I guess this slots together. But the author didn't earn that moment for me. Instead of connecting with the characters and the plot and getting invested I felt like I was just being....told that everything worked out?? Or told that this was an important moment instead of actually Feeling the moment? It's hard to explain but I was like ok great thanks let's all go home now.

Sigh. I just can't get over the whole "throwing away the most interesting part of your setting" part. Again. Why would you spend a significant time setting up the science and how much of a disaster the solar flare is and then not show any of the characters figuring out how to survive it long-term....?

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

This book has such a high rating. It's very popular right now. It took me like 12 weeks of waiting for my hold to come up, and that's with the library having 7 copies.

It is, supposedly, about a smart octopus named Marcellus who helps an elderly lady solve the mystery of her son's disappearance at sea when he was a teenager.

In practice, it is about one minute at a time of Marcellus (the best part of the book) and extended sections of characters that I don't care about at all. I assume all the pieces of the story were supposed to come together later, but I was just highly bored. I was so bored that I DNF'd at 25% when my hold was up. I do not care enough to wait weeks to check it out again. Based on the one star reviews I read, the characters I didn't like did not develop into better people later and remained similarly annoying. Now, I don't need characters to be good people of course. But I do expect to be interested in them. I still don't know how the son's disappearance factors in because I felt like I heard barely anything about the supposed main character woman.

I feel vindicated because my coworker also checked out the book and told me a few weeks ago that she was at 50% and there still wasn't anything happening in the plot. I will ask her tomorrow if she finished it or not and if it ever got better.

Write an entire book for Marcellus the octopus and I'll check it out...

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

This book had so much potential. It's about a group of four women who were formerly assasins but are now retiring at 60. To celebrate retirement, they go on a cruise and then realize that they're the new targets for assasination, presumably because they know too much about the organization that used to employ them.

In execution....very meh. I actually had a Libby glitch on this one, where I think I missed about 1.5 hrs of narration total because the book skipped twice. I have no concept of which parts I missed. What I do know is that, the book was already so cobbled together before the first skip that I didn't realize I had missed anything until the end. Like sure, parts didn't make sense, but I was ready to accept that it was just Like That since the rest of the book was like that. After reading a bunch of reviews of this book I am convinced that there is NO way that all of its flaws can be explained by me missing a small part. After all, I did listen to 8.5 hours of it still.

The characters never felt their age to me. I felt like they either acted like they were 80 or 90, or like they were 20. It just seemed odd to me. The characters also felt very 2D, like the author wrote down three traits per person and called it good. There's a younger woman who appears to know the main character and conveniently helps the group, but I literally never figured out where their relationship originated or how they knew each other. Maybe I missed that too. By the end of the book I still didn't know who anyone was and couldn't remember which person was the main character. The plot jumped around to new locations constantly and often with little transition--this happened even on the parts where I definitely didn't get a skipping glitch. The main villain was a guy I literally had barely heard anything of til that point, although perhaps he came up in the 1.5 hrs I missed. They described the same painting in excruciating detail THREE separate times. It was...too feminist? Feminist in a contrived way where I have to be reminded every 5 minutes the characters are women? Like, I know, I am reading a story about women. Please don't mention it several times a chapter. There are ethical and moral considerations about their profession and chosen organization that never really get given the weight required. There was a love interest for the main character that I hadn't heard of once until he was introduced like an hour from the end--maybe I missed more about him in the parts I skipped? Unknown.

ANNND THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!

[scumbag-the-hedgehog]

Scourge's Fighting Abilities

Scourge's abilities are basically the same as Sonic: nearly limitless speed and ability to harness it, the ability to harden and sharpen his quills, situational incredible strength associated with his speed, (which he is still learning how to tap into), access to techniques like the Spin Dash and the Peel Out, and capacity to use Chaos Powers with a Chaos Emerald or equivalent.

A natural consequence of his speed is that he can Accelerate his Thought Process and Perception, but he is not aware of how he would be able to consciously do so, nor does he fully appreciate that capacity at the moment.

Scourge also shares incredible durability and an Accelerated Healing Factor with Sonic, which allows him to recover relatively quickly from extremely serious injuries. His healing factor might even be more accelerated, depending on the Sonic in question, but generally the shared feature is absorbing all that chaos energy makes them harder to keep down.

Scourge is less experienced than most versions of Sonic. Not only are a decent number of the Sonics he's met so far typically older than him by about three to four years, they also have much more experience fighting much more dangerous opponents and regularly contending with real rivals than Scourge does.

Scourge's fighting style is currently unrefined, pieced together from whatever he's seen in movies, anime, and pro wrestling, and tends to lean heavy into pure offense. Contrast this with the fighting style Sonic has refined over the years over the course of constant adventuring. (This is where Macaque's training comes in, introducing him to actual martial arts techniques among other things!)

Scourge has potential. He might be an arrogant, mouthy, insecure little jackass who has repeatedly had his butt handed to him, but he's still roughly on par with Archie Sonic, one of the most broken characters in all of fiction. He has an absurd amount of inherent power that he can tap into, but he still needs to figure out how to do so: hence, his ongoing training arc which hopefully is accompanied by character development.

[purplekoop]

also after I saw the turtles movie I saw that youtube had the original Jimmy Neutron movie (and some other Nick movies) for free with ads so I watched that afterwards.

So uh. Gonna make this one a little shorter.

Koop Talks About... (#3) Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius I don't know if this deserved an Oscar nomination but it's funny that it did so it's fine

Very fun, and also very reasonable to deem better than the subsequent show even though I love that jank bundle of insanity that is a children's cartoon. It's a solid story about a solid concept of a character that takes itself a little more seriously than the show itself, while still keeping that cartoonishness with even a bit more "whimsy" to its tone.

I remember thinking the amusement rides turned into spaceships were THE coolest thing as a kid, and even then I think the creativity behind some of them has that really fun sense of childlike wonder that I don't think the show itself quite captures.

Plus also it's just funny, I forgot how many of the show's most iconic lines and bits came from this movie specifically. Personal favorite bit of the whole franchise is the part where Carl shows Jimmy a drawing of a frog and he responds with full sincerity "that looks great, Carl". Comedy doesn't get better than that.

Also I forgot how many pop songs were in this movie, I remember classics like "Hey Jimmy Jimmy", the Bowling for Soup version of the main theme (yes really), and "Kids of America" (y'know like the digimon movie song. not All Star, the other one.), but I forgot how there were like, 5 more. This was more than likely the first place I heard Blitzkrieg Bop and I didn't even remember it. They're not distracting for me personally, honestly they work for this silly movie and make it feel more "grand" than the show itself.

Frankly, the most interesting part about the movie is more just its weird role in the series as a whole. The movie came before the show, expressly because they could use the theatrical budget to make higher-quality character models to use in the show itself, rather than make TV budget models for the show and then make better models for a movie later. The weird part is that... for some reason the assets they reuse in the show are worse than the stuff specific to the movie? Like, the best-looking stuff is all the alien stuff. The Yolkians themselves are especially well-animated and detailed, which is weird because aside from one TV special they weren't in the show itself. The basic human character models look... not BAD, but not exactly impressive compared to who was also nominated for that first ever best animated feature Oscar. It overall looks notably better than in the show itself, likely just due to having more time and budget for quality assurance, extra details, and rendering. If you want more info on the interesting history of Jimmy Neutron's development, going well before this movie's 2001 release, I highly recommend this video by Slow Start. 21 minute watch, won't regret it if you're even just mildly fond of the show. They also have more videos on an array of early 2000's nostalgic topics, which hey that rubs my fancy, so if you're like me then check them out!

Especially compared to the last post I feel I should reiterate that this isn't like, a super fantastic movie I recommend to everyone, but if you have nostalgia for it or otherwise just have 80 minutes to kill on a decent 2000's early CGI kid's movie, then I definitely say to go for it. Or if you have control over what a kid watches and you want to give a cultured viewing experience, here's a suggestion that's not hard to get access to right now.

I maaaayyyy talk more about the show itself, but to be honest there's not much to say compared to other shows I'd want to give time to rewatching and talking about. I saw the whole show a few years back when it was on Hulu, and it was a good time, but I just don't know how much is worth mentioning. There's some highlights, and while it's still probably in my top 3 Nick shows, it's not super deep. Even then, I still think it's aged better than the other early 2000s nostalgic Nick show starring a kid with an "-immy" name who has control over forces no mortal should hold power over. yikes that show is rough even before the part where it's generally considered outright bad.

Anyways uhhhhh

Goodnight Retroville.

[pixelgrotto]

Indy's Greatest Adventures

I rewatched all of the Indiana Jones movies lately, coincidentally just in time for the trailer of the new one, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. After I replayed Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis last year and realized that Indy was way more of a tomb raider than I remembered him to be, I was a little nervous about revisiting these films. I needn't have worried too much - wonky portrayal of India aside, the movies still hold up well. There are colonial overtones if you bother to analyze things with a 2022 mindset, sure, but the truck chase scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark still has to be one of the best sequences I've ever seen on film. The same goes for the mine carts in Temple of Doom and the tank scene in Last Crusade. Even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which I tolerate more than most, has a few moments of pulpy goodness, nuclear fridges aside.

This brings me to Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures for the Super Nintendo, one of the few video games that decided to capture the magic of all of Dr. Jones' then-current films. I first saw a screenshot of it as a kid in Issue #9 of The Adventurer, a magazine that LucasArts put out to advertise their products, and I thought it looked neat as hell. A game full of levels inspired by all three Indy movies?! Genius! I never actually played it as a child, since I didn't have a SNES growing up, but the concept stuck with me. And so after I finished watching the films I decided to give Greatest Adventures a whirl, since it's easily accessible by emulation these days.

The game, published by LucasArts but developed by Factor 5 and JVC Musical Industries, runs on the same engine as JVC's three Super Star Wars titles. I haven't played those, but a quick look online shows that they're renowned for being hard as hell and featuring levels that take quite a few liberties from what was in the movies. (Remember how Luke had to go toe-to-toe against a Sarlacc pit monster in the beginning of A New Hope?)

Greatest Adventures doesn't stray quite as far from the source material, though the last boss of the game is a goofy skeleton version of Donovan after he drinks from the wrong Holy Grail. For the most part, though, you've got traditional platforming stages inspired by most of the major moments in each film, like Indy exploring the Well of Souls, beating up Thuggees in the tunnels beneath Pankot Palace, and facing the traps leading up to the resting place of the Holy Grail. Every now and then you'll get a level that expands upon something not really seen in the films - for instance, a snow section that shows Indy in Nepal trying to reach Marion's bar. Then there are what I like to call "gimmick" levels that present you with a key moment from the movies, like Indy running from a giant boulder at the beginning of Raiders or avoiding gunshots in a nightclub in Temple of Doom, and these break up the standard platforming by forcing you to run forward to survive or duck behind cover. Finally, there are three levels that take advantage of the SNES' fancy Mode 7 chip, placing you in a 3D perspective. Temple of Doom gets two of these, mimicking the life raft plane jump in the Himalayas and the mine cart chase. Last Crusade gets the final one, presenting the moment when Indy and his dad escaped a zeppelin via biplane and had to shoot down some Nazis.

It's all standard SNES platforming goodness, though the game is pretty darn hard. Indy controls well (though for some reason his whip is a far better weapon than his gun) but as the game ramps up you can expect to find a lot of inconveniently placed enemies (like birds, a la Ninja Gaiden) designed to trip up your jumps and bleed your health meter. The latter Last Crusade levels in particular start putting you up against Nazi mechanics and guys from the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword who can throw wrenches and knives in a perfect arc that always seems to hit you, and it's a fine recipe for frustration. There's also one level where you've got to swing from your whip between the windows of Castle Brunwald, and man is it kind of impossible.

I also wish there was more of an equal distribution of levels between the three movies, since Raiders gets 12 stages while Temple of Doom and Last Crusade only get 8. Also, I would've liked to see Indy's sidekicks present. Greatest Adventures depicts the story of each film as kind of a streamlined alternate take where Indy's alone all the time, and while Marion and Professor Jones Sr. show up in cutscenes (and notably the Game Over screen), others like Short Round and Willie Scott are nowhere to be seen. Willie, I guess I can do without, but not including Short Round is a crime, especially when they could've easily designed a Mode 7 chase scene with him driving a car as Indy escapes Shanghai.

These quibbles aside, playing Greatest Adventures with save states neutralizes a lot of the frustration, and for an Indy fan, there's much to like here - from the lovingly-recreated John Williams score to the occasional stage that really rewards fans of the movies. For instance, Raiders' infamous swordsman in black shows up at the end of the game's Cairo levels, and instead of proving to be a major boss encounter, all you've got to do is shoot him once to move on, just like in the film. There's also a Last Crusade boss battle aboard a tank where you can't use any other weapons but your fists to punch Colonel Ernst Vogel into submission, and you've got to do it before the tank rolls off a cliff, too. Good attention to film detail there!

The era of licensed video game tie-ins for films is more or less over, so I doubt we'll see anything in the form of electronic entertainment when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny comes out. (Bethesda does have the Indy license and is supposed to deliver an original game that might coincide with the movie's release, but they've been silent on that front for a year, so we'll see what happens.) With this in mind, I do recommend giving Greatest Adventures a run-through if you've got a high tolerance for old-school platforming or at least want to relive Indy's glory days before the new movie releases. Along with Fate of Atlantis, it's probably the only 2D Indy game worth replaying by today's standards.

[wreckerslula99]

The Styling of Live-Action Ahsoka Tano

I have many thoughts about the styling of Ahsoka Tano in the Mandalorian (for now, we will be ignoring the Ahsoka trailer's & show's existence, just to make it easier to focus on one thing and because the Ahsoka show isn't out yet either), so I will be going through these thoughts here.

DISCLAIMER: I have no issue with the casting, I think Rosario does a good job at portraying Ahsoka as an adult in a live action show! I think she fits the character so well, acting wise, feature wise and voice wise etc.! This is solely about the styling, mainly about the make-up and the headtails and stuff like that, and not the clothes.

Picture 1: Ahsoka is 14 (s1-2 of Clone Wars + the movie) Picture 2: Ahsoka is 15-16 (s3-5 of Clone Wars) Picture 3: Ahsoka is 17-18 (s7 of Clone Wars) Picture 4: Ahsoka is 33 (Rebels) Picture 5: Ahsoka is 45 (Mandalorian)

As you can see, throughout the different seasons and shows, Ahsoka ages and grows. Her clothes change, she gets taller, her face grows more mature, but something else that changes are her lekku & montrals (+ the markings on those) and her facial markings. Let's ignore the live-action Ahsoka from Mandalorian for a second, and focus on her evolution in animation.

Ahsoka's lekku go from being just past her shoulders, to down to her stomach / past her ribs. Her montrals go from barely visible to tall and pointy. The markings on her lekku & montrals grow thinner and more intricate with time, which is a bit hard to tell up until Rebels, but this is a fact supported by Tales of the Jedi:

Ahsoka (1 year old) in Tales of the Jedi.

As you can see, the markings on her headtails are thick and clunky, no real detail to them. While you're already looking at this picture, take a look at her facial markings. We'll get to those in a second.

Another reference picture for the lekku & montrals growth +the markings on them:

Ahsoka as a young child.

Her lekku are already growing larger, and you can see her lekku markings, as well as her facial markings, starting to take form.

Speaking of her facial markings, you can see how they go from being mere dots on her face, to rough outlines, to continuing to become larger and more detailed and intricate the older she grows. By season 7 of Clone Wars, you can see the marks on her cheeks starting to pull out more towards her cheekbones, which we see the full result of in Rebels.

So, having just discussed these facts about Togruta biology, how they age and grow, it's time to question the live-action version of Ahsoka.

Why are her lekku the same size when she's supposed to be 45, as they were when she was 15? Why are the marks on her cheeks so small and oddly thin? Why do the marks on her lekku/montrals make no sense? Why are her montrals the same size as when she was 17-18, but they're sagging backwards?!

It's no secret that Disney doesn't care much about continuity, but this is so lazy.

"Well it would be hard for her to do stunts etc. if she had longer lekku!" 1. How do you know that? 2. Is Disney not a multi-billion corporation with access to world class prosthetics and CGI? If they wanted to, they could. If they wanted to, they would. 3. So much harder problems have been solved in films throughout the times. They did it with Shaak Ti in episodes II and III. They did it with Twi-leks back in the 80's! "It's a completely different medium! You can't expect her to look like an ANIMATED character!" 1. I don't, that's why I'm not shaking my head complaining about how her eyes aren't as big as the animation (lol). 2. It's not so much about "animation accuracy", more like universe accuracy? This is how a Togruta ages. This is how their lekku/montrals and markings grow. This is fact and also raises an important question of continuity. If it didn't matter, why would they go through the trouble of showing her markings and lekku/montrals slowly growing the older she gets? "Maybe she's a sub-species of Togruta." 1. A sub-species where her lekku grow and grow down past her ribs, then suddenly when she reaches the age of 45 they shrink back up to the same length they were when she was 15? Ah, yes, this makes plenty of sense... 2. Stop making excuses for Disney?? They're just lazy, cosplayers do a better job than they do at most of the live action adaptions of previously animated characters (Hera Syndulla? Need I say more...). 3. Referencing Shaak Ti's appearance real quick, we know Ahsoka and Shaak are both Togruta, but Shaak's facial markings are quite different from Ahsoka's. This could be because she's older than we ever see Ahsoka (until live-action...), or also maybe because of VARIATIONS in species. There are so many different coloured togrutas, with so many different looking facial markings. But their lekku and montrals all grow about the same, even if their shapes differ slightly here and there. (See: Ahsoka's family from Shili and the people of Kiros. Don't act like Ahsoka and Shaak Ti are the only Togruta we've ever seen in Star Wars.) "They kept her facial markings simple to make it easier to touch up on the make-up and to do it every day of filming, several times a day etc.!" 1. Have you seen Jennifer Lawrence get into her prosthetics & make-up for Mystique (X-Men)? Dave Bautista for Drax (Guardians of the Galaxy)? Karen Gillian for Nebula (Guardians of the Galaxy)? Jamie Campbell Bower for Vecna (Stranger Things)? Jim Carrey for the Grinch? Oscar Isaac for Apocalypse (X-Men: Apocalypse)? This is such a weak argument lmao. 2. Stencils...? Temporary tatoos...?

It just sucks that with all the technology we possess nowadays, Disney can't even do something remotely as good as we've already seen in Star Wars movies before??? Like, 1-6 were all masterpieces. They were beautiful, things looked real and accurate and had so much afterthought put into every little thing. It was a passion project. But now, it feels like it's all only about the money, which is why they're putting out shows right and left. Don't get me wrong, I love how much content we are getting, but it gets frustrating when they don't put full effort into it. It's clear they're only doing it to earn more money, and not to keep telling the stories of characters fans have grown to love. If they cared about that, they would care enough to make the characters accurate to Star Wars lore.

Notable mention: Shaak Ti was 40 years old when her lekku were all the way down past her hips and her montrals were larger than her head. She was also in both Star Wars Episode II and III, and she had her lekku & montrals animation (togruta biology) accurate! And she still fought with them. And this was in the very early 2000's.

Ahsoka was 5 years older than Shaak Ti was (when she died) in Mandalorian and her lekku were literally tiny. Her montrals as well, and even worse, they were sagging backwards so bad.

Also, why are her lekku so flimsy??? Do they know lekku are organic matter............ which is heavy.......... not saying they wouldn't move at all in the wind, but that much...?

God, Rosario is so beautiful though, it's such a shame. It would've been so cool to see a new era of Ahsoka, to see how her lekku and montrals would've continued to grow in the 12 years between Mandalorian and Rebels, as well as her facial markings. I just feel like it's so painfully obvious that it's a headpiece, especially with the way it looks like the brown headband/headpiece is squeezing her???? It just looks so odd. Very disappointing.

Feel free to tell me your thoughts! <3

[fkmt-promotional-stuff]

politely requesting ramblings/info on any gin to kin merch or pachinko machines that may exist i cannot get enough of those funky guys

Unfortunately there's not much in the way of merch the same way there is for kaiji/akagi, but there is a HISTORY that gtk has.

Like 7 movies. 7 entire live action movies. Seven Whole Films. each over an hour long, all about an hour 30 min.

Cannot understate that this franchise has had more live action films than any fkmt work. Seven whole MOVIES

Since I have a series where I watch and react to live action fkmt adaptations (as slowly as i've been updating that...), I will watch them eventually! but since they're only available unsubtitled and untranslated, I plan to save them for last to give myself the most time to really Prepare so im not just sitting there trying to process things the whole time without talking about what's happening.

I have 3 rental discs from this series :) they don't work and they're old and scratched up, but they're a neat collectors item (dirt cheap too)

There ARE also multiple pachinko and slot machines! I have a couple dvds from them (promotional discs, so they just contain like 4-7 minutes of ads)

The slot machines (made by Taiyo Elec) take on a more 2d style

While the pachinko machines (made by Maruhon) have more of a 3d style to them! both images are screencaps from the discs I have (Havent uploaded anywhere yet because the contents r copy protected but I havent tried in a LONG time so I’ll give it another shot)

As one might also guess, there are no known video game adaptations of gtk. BUT, the characters have been featured in two games to my knowledge

1. This kaiji social game from 2013 that was only around for a year

2. The recent Poker Chase collaboration

Yeah that’s really it to my knowledge

...as for merchandise, there’s not much.

The largest source for gin to kin merch, and most merch for underrated fkmt properties, is allstars

Some different keychains and straps exist for fkmt allstars ginji and morita

For the og manga, there’s whatever this is. Seems to be promoting the drama, or the version of the manga that was printed around the time the drama was out.

Which brings me to the drama! In 2017 there was a live action drama

Honestly I don’t know how to feel about it. It was one of the very few legally accessible fkmt adaptations for a long time being on U.S. amazon prime so i’d watch it ENDLESSLY but since it’s removal I’ve barely watched it on my own time (I like to have my media downloaded offline so i do have it+other fkmt dramas just in a folder)

There is a piece of merch for this drama, being a mug