#shes a fantastic villain and i want justice for her character

[liketheinferno2]

These aren't full ref sheets but I was trying to take some clear pictures of Hephaistos for later art reasons and then got side tracked doing all of the Pandaemonium bosses so here they are in order. Also for anyone following who doesn't play FFXIV and knows it as the catgirl game, enjoy this instead? VISUAL SPOILERS obviously.

Asphodelos

Warder of the Condemned: Erichthonios

Mythic Creation: The Hippokampos

Mythic Creation: The Phoinix

(+ familiars)

Hemitheos: Hesperos

(+ sexy fanfic redesign by Nemjiji)

To be brutally honest I never really liked either of these designs compared to every other Hemitheos we get, I think the really brutal black and red of the Phoinix is weakened by gold accents, but I still am always down for gay vampire surf rock. The Savage version kind of looks like Ultimalius as well if you've played XVI.

Abyssos

Mythic Creation: Proto-Carbuncle

Hrgrhhgrhrgrh

Hemitheos: Hegemone

^ My favourite detail on this is you can see the parasite's outlines in her robes and in her legs, then right through the eye holes on the mask to wrap around the torso. I'm convinced this version of Hegemone is functionally an ant being piloted by a cordyceps infection.

Hemitheos: Agdistis

She's very big

Perfect Imperfection: Hephaistos

I'm probably biased by Abyssos being the first raid I was there for day of release but these really are all fantastic. It's also when the story abandons all pretense of not being (at least partly) about family abuse and is loudly using the body horror and shackle motifs to talk about that. It's great. Hephaistos specifically is constantly bulging and twisting in and out of different forms like a highly unstable chimera and the more I look at these the more I notice parts that just should not be there. He's giving everything.

As for the Savage design It's a hard thing to rate as such but my favourite part is the veins that grow down from the eyeholes in his mask like bloody tears.

Thanks Abyssos I love you

Anabaseios

Mythic Creation: Kokytos

Dæmoniac Dungeon: Pandæmonium

It's really hard to communicate how huge this nasty tumor crab I zoomed out as far as physically possible in the game engine and subsequently ended up at a goofy angle staring up his nose.

Ephemeral Justice: Themis

Best boy. The double ended lance and second pair of arms are fantastic for this character.

Theos: Athena

In.. almost every final fantasy adventure you're fighting the real villain not at the very end but a little beforehand, the big iconic end boss is often more a metaphorical figure representing everything wrong with that first person's ideals. Athena cut out the middle man and became her own JENOVA.

I do like the moth angel, especially the hollow body full of dubious orbs, but with her eyes closed all the time it gives off the impression of this not even being the true body but some kind of anglerfish lure in the shape of a fairy... which might be true because this exists:

I really really love her twitchy anemone feelers and how the moth body ends up grafted to the rest of it waist down.

Anyway there's the gang I did not specifically intend for this to be design reviews I just wanted to have clear photos because when you actually see them in game there's other things to focus on. In hindsight I can appreciate more the theming of each tier and then the series as a whole, but my only (extremely obvious) observation for now is that every character Athena had a personal hold over is decorated in chains somehow and so I should have seen the Hegemone thing coming lmao. Heph and Aggy are still my favourites I don't think that's changing any time soon. I'm also noticing that Anabaseios is now just old enough for random DF parties to fuck up severely and I find that fun so I'm going to go fight the crab mansion now.

[do-you-ship-this-comic-ship]

propaganda:

This is for all of my fellow Two-Face and Gilda lovers out there! Personally I think that BruHarvey as a ship is underrated because of how much more popular other Rogues are (especially the Joker and the Riddler), and the prominence of ships between Bruce and various members of the Justice League (and of course the various comp het ships DC keeps trying to force Bruce into).

In comparison Harvey just doesn't really capture the fandom's imagination as much. Therefore BruHarvey isn't super popular because they don't consider it as an option a lot of the time. But that being said, I also find that a lot of people when presented with BruHarvey as a possible ship will be pretty amenable to it! It's just a fantastic ship if you want some old man/toxic/tragic yaoi! The ship has so much going for it! Childhood friends to lovers. Enemies to lovers. Friends in their civilian identities, as they try to pursue justice for Gotham together, and even friends after Harvey becomes a villain too! It's SO juicy and has SO much unexplored potential if DC weren't COWARDS and would just let Brucie kiss men already! Each of their themes of justice, duality, and redemptive love mirror one another in such an exceedingly tantalizing way that I could write a whole college thesis on it! But I'm not just here about them. I'm also here for my girl Gilda too!

Now BruHarvey may be an underrated ship... And Two-Face as a character is just about rated as a character (not underrated. Not overrated. Just rated). But Gilda...? My poor, poor girl Gilda! Writers never know what to do with her and refuse to give her the justice she deserves!!! Gilda is a big part of the reason why Two-Face was able to work so well as a character and concept all the way back in the 40's in the first place! I don't think that Harvey would have been as iconic of a character with as much staying power as he does with just... SO MANY imitators if it weren't for Gilda's presence and ability to help Harvey redeem himself! The whole point of Harvey as a character is that while he might be a villain, he is never too far gone as to not deserve a chance at redemption. He genuinely cannot help himself when it comes to the compulsion of doing crime. And in his original stories, he was able to redeem himself and reach a happy ending with Gilda helping him, supporting him, and loving him through that journey.

The reason that Batman doesn't kill is largely because of Harvey himself! His childhood friend that he deeply cares about, and who, no matter how much society at large, and even Harvey himself tells Bruce that he is beyond saving, that he still cares about nevertheless and will NEVER give up on! And Gilda was the first person to never give up on Harvey and was the one to lead him back to the light! In a time where Batman might still occasionally use a gun and where the punishment most criminals would recieve in the comics was death or a lifetime of jail, never to be seen again, Two-Face stood out because of his redemption! A redemption that the writers of the comics stuck to for decades in spite of a clear demand to have Two-Face back as a threat! (Hence the many, many imitators.) And sure, the helpless damsel who saves the bad guy through the power of love may be a tired trope these days, but it's still one that can work very well, and as a woman first written in the 40's Gilda actually has a surprising amount to her that later writers would forget or just outright ignore! Gilda clearly was a female character who had more going on in her life other than her boyfriend at the time she was first written. She was actually a sculptor!

A woman with her own well-respected career entirely divorced from her DA boyfriend's! And while Harvey was her primary muse, I have doubts that her career just stopped when he turned to crime! After all, she seems to have been a woman who owned a house and lived on her own and had enough wealth to spend her free time going to the movies (and apparently buying herself mysterious cloaks). In the 1940's! We love a woman who can get everything on her own without needing a man (though it is a nice bonus) in this household! And she was doing it as an artist when that stuff was less common! And her other biggest trait is her unshaking love and loyalty for Harvey. I think that it's genuinely interesting how the crime and murder matters very little to Gilda (and similar characters that fill her role in stories). What she doesn't like is how he lies and tries to decieve her specifically. She would die for Harvey. She would kill for Harvey. She will stay with and help him through thick and thin. No matter what.

And very few pieces of media do her character justice! The Long Halloween may ostensibly be about her, but they gave her nothing in her life other than the men she associates with, a desire for children, and murder. Not even a hint that she was a sculptor, barely a hint that she studied law or anything that other iterations offered! She's my girl! And she could honestly offer a number of very interesting story posibilities, if only writers saw her potential! But clearly they don't given that for the last several decades, they've been writing her out of stories, or killing her off in brutal fashion so that they don't have to deal with the question of what she's up to while Harvey is doing his crime stuff. Hell. Gilda was the catalyst for the Long Halloween, so why isn't Dark Victory about nor even include her in person!??? Why not explore her being Duela Dent's mother!? Why not show her standing by Bruce's side while the both of them try to help Harvey recover!??? Why do the writers try to make Harvey NOT a wife guy!? Why can't they let Gilda be around and Harvey's wife that's cooler and more chill than him!? Why must Harvey be single!? By far he has the best romantic chemistry with (out of anyone who isn't Gilda) Bruce and no other major character! But if you stick Harvey and Bruce together for that sweet, sweet tragic yaoi and angst... Well... First of all DC are COWARDS who refuse to let Bruce be into dudes. And second of all, why not just let Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda be together and poly!!!? But I'm no coward! Double the partners means double the chances for tragedy and angst! (Or comedy if you'd like!) And double the possibilities for love, recovery, and redemption! Gilda wouldn't and shouldn't give up on Harvey!

And Bruce and Gilda cheating on Harvey without his blessing!??? BROKE! Them being in a polycule? Excellent! And if you need any proof that Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda could be a functional polycule, you should read the daily newspaper Batman comics as archived on @daily-batman! Because they make a GREAT case for it there, and seeing their relationship develop in that story is just delightful! Harvey watches Batman (that he's half figured out is Bruce) kiss his wife (named Alice but like... She's CLEARLY just Gilda with a different name!) and isn't bothered by it AT ALL other than it giving her hope that he can get better! Kissing his wife? That he understands and is perfectly fine with. But giving her HOPE!!!??? Now THAT'S a line too far! Sounds like something someone poly might do! And also... That series finale!!! Lol. Harvey getting jealous of and trying to kill Bruce for thinking that he's stealing his girl? Nah. Broke. Harvey being a-okay with Bruce smooching his wife because he's already in love with Bruce too...? HELL YEAH! Let's do it! Who needs love triangles when you can have power throuples instead!??? Join the few of us that enjoy the ship! And give Gilda and BruHarvey the love they deserve!!!!

Also just LOOK at the image I sent and tell me that it DOESN'T look like Bruce, Harvey, and Gilda are getting poly-married! BruHarvey is juicy and even more juicy with the added DLC of Gilda in the mix! And Gilda deserves the whole world! Give them the world!

[kasterisk-of-the-void]

My thoughts on Smile Precure!

So, I just finished Smile Precure, the 9th installation of Pretty Cure as a series. And honestly...? This season was a blast! I greatly enjoyed the main characters of this season, and even the MASCOT (very important). I felt like they all definitely grew as people the more the season progressed, which was refreshing. (Review below line!)

Let's start with Miyuki/Cure Happy, our lead cure. In traditional lead-cure fashion, this one has to be the upbeat, happy-go-lucky personality type, but she didn't feel generic at all. Miyuki has shown that she wasn't always so "happy-go-lucky" all the time, she had to GROW from her previous experiences ever since her childhood days. She's courageous, kind, empathetic, friendly, and most of all, VULNERABLE. After trying her hardest to show a smile in the darkest of moments, she admits with mountains of tears that it's HARD. She acknowledges she might be naive with her own hopes, but she never once backs down from what's important in that moment. To me, that's what makes a LEADER. Next is Akane/Cure Sunny, a person so passionate that it infects all she touches. Akane tries her best for everyone and everything, trying to keep the group strong in the face of challenges. Even though she comes off as blunt and TOO laid-back and jokey sometimes, that's who she is as a person. She has her own flaws, naturally, but she never shies away from it. Giving up is never an answer when it comes to those she loves. She's passionate, fun, and headstrong, which is vital to a group of friends and as a cure. Yayoi/Cure Peace is also fantastic in her own right. When we were first introduced to her, she comes off as this shy, meek, and fragile person who has strong insecurities about everything she does. However, we find that she's so much stronger than she thinks she is, and she learns to harness her courage. She may cry, she may fail, and she may get hurt, but it's her courage and the support of those around her that give her strength. Nao/Cure March is my second favorite out of all the Smile Precure. A girl who knows how to shoulder responsibility and show care and affection towards companions and family. Family values are built into her CORE, and I love her for it. We also get to see this reflected in her friendships as she won't hesitate to help her friends. Her sense of justice is what drives her, and she'll stop at nothing to right what's wrong. Her and Akane's competitiveness were always a favorite for me, too. And lastly, there's Reika/Cure Beauty. Naturally, I wasn't too into her character as she played the typical "honorable and elegantly spoken" character in a precure series, but I found myself loving her anyways. Reika above all else is gentle, courteous, and intelligent. She had shown time and time again just how motivated she is when it comes to her own goals, responsibilities, and even as a cure. She came up with plans for her comrades and didn't hesitate to hit heavy hits when the stakes were high. Her confidence and determination are what make her who she is. As for Candy, I enjoyed watching her be more developed throughout the season! She started this season as selfish, whiney, and unable to comprehend her situation, but we got to see her grow from that. She learned how to share, to be mindful of others, and to be a beacon of hope when her friends are in trouble. She wouldn't hesitate to be obliterated if it meant she could protect all of her friends. There is love in that heart of hers, and she wouldn't trade all the things she learned for anything. She was growing up. The plot itself was good, I enjoyed how creative they got with different fairytale-eque gags and themes! Wolfrun, Akaoni, and Majorina were definitely some of my favorite precure villains purely because of how they interacted with each other. JOKER, TOO, WAS ABSOLUTELY A SLAY. I wanted to punt him into the sun several times for his fruity behavior. Though, if I had to complain about anything, I wish we would've gotten to see more of Lord Pierrot. We didn't get to see much of anything ABOUT him throughout the entire season until the last 3 or so episodes. And, of course, I wish the Cures' outfits were more diversified, but I have to remember that this was the era of Precure BEFORE they went crazy with the designs.

ALL IN ALL, I give Smile Precure a 9 out of 10!! I loved this season dearly!!

[bibibbon]

lately i’ve seen some ppl talking abt how the scene where shiggy and compress cut off overhauls arms is pointless.

i 100% don’t think so because it shows that the lov have motivations outside of destruction and dismantling society.

(you could say that their personal motivations already show that but they all relate to destruction or dismantling society in one way or another.)

ppl say that it was just to get overhaul out of the way and yeah maybe it was but my point still stands.

they intercepted the convoy not to try and take overhaul or anything like that, but simply for revenge.

(yes ik they killed a pro hero but that was just a symptom of their goal, and im more specifically talking abt the taking of overhauls arms anyway.)

the need for justice or revenge is probably one of the most human things someone can experience.

the feeling of being wronged and no one doing anything about it so you feel the need to take things into your own hands. it’s something that everyone has or will probably experience at least once in their life.

compress takes overhauls left arm as revenge for taking his own. and shigaraki takes his right arm as revenge for killing magne.

the hero’s and basically anyone who’s not in the league don’t know how much they care about one another.

they’re a family, a very strange family, but a family nonetheless.

but no one understands that, they don’t understand why they go to such lengths to save each other. because they don’t think villains are capable of feelings other than hate and anger.

so that scene shows that they cared enough about someone to get revenge on her killer. that they didn’t just see her as a random co-worker. she was their big sis, she was their friend.

tl;dr the scene (probably unintentionally knowing isayama) very subtly show the lov’s humanity. it also makes me wanna cry and throw up aggressively.

anyway thanks for listening to my rant

I can't help but think that a reason as to why overhaul was taken out by the leauge was also to get him out of the plot so he wouldn't be too op but I do actually agree and see your point.

No I don't think that the scene was useless but I do actually have some problems with the build up to that scene.

Overhaul losing his arms is ironic especially after he made compress lose an arm. Compress and the league got revenge and like you fantastically worded revenge and anger are very human emotions. The problem I have is that there isn't much material we have on magne. Her death didn't evoke much on the readers and it wasn't a huge talking point within the league. I get the point that her death was supposed to serve but I just wish that we have more material of her before she died.

Magne's death is also supposed to be the first death we see on screen so it does end up being a bit underwhelming since we're still so distant from the character.

Sure there is like one scene that shows that the league were close with magne which is when toga and twice correct overhaul when he misgenders her but then again my point stands that we needed more material before and after her death to really drive the point home.

The overhaul arc is the first true dark arc of MHA. This is the first arc where shigaraki asserts his role as leader and the parallels between overhaul and shigaraki drive that clear. At the end shigaraki is presented to be the much more caring leader whereas overhaul would do anything for his goal shigaraki actually cares for his team.

Shigarakis actions do matter because by doing what he did he shows the leauge that he cares for them and that anyone that harms them would be punished. This helps shigaraki build trust with the league, trust that he maybe lost after the training camp arc and magne's death.

Ironically this scene manages to humanise the lov in more ways than one. Yes, the league of villains are humanised by their feelings of anger and wanting to get revenge for what happend to compress and magne but we as the audience are also aware of just how much of a bad person overhaul is. We as the audience are aware of what Eri had to go through and we're also aware of overhauls hypocrisy so we look at the scene in a way which the leauge are serving both revenge and justice and we also end up feeling satisfied and joyful when we see what the league does to overhaul rendering him completely useless.

[celaenaeiln]

Hi! I really love all your takes and character analysis. I'm new-ish to Batman so these are always so educational for me 😅 I was wondering, in your opinion, of all the batkids, who would you say would make the most terrifying villains? And who, canonically, would you say exercises the most self control to prevent exactly that from happening? Like every day, they have to work to prevent themselves from crossing that line.

...(Is it Dick? I feel like you're going to say Dick)

Thank you!

You got me!! Those are good questions!

I had to think a lot about this honestly.

So for most terrifying villain, I would say Dick. Mostly because it's just canon. When Dick was the villain both times in New Order and in DC vs Vampires, he practically eradicated the world based on who he felt needed to go. In DC vs Vampires he didn't care for anyone so by the time he was done there were no humans left. In New Order he lost it when the heroes accidentally killed Bruce and thus destroyed the entire justice league and remade himself as the head of all military operations under the government. Dick also knows exactly how to kill Bruce and he's terrified of it (Nightwing: Knight Terrors). Kory once told him during the Teen Titans (2003?) comic that Dick could stack up all the Titans and could take on the Justice League if he wanted to but Dick states that he knows and that's exactly why he's scared.

Also the way he manipulates every single person in existence in both his typical Nightwing runs is just a hint of the brilliance. Many times when his partners want to chase after a villain, he makes them let them go so that he grab the lizard, its hiding spot, and its family rather than just the tail.

Grayson Annual #3

Dick is not reckless in anyway either, he plans and analyzes and calculates as he moves which makes him a fantastic strategist, detective, and doer all in one.

Or actually I change my mind, I choose Cass. I forgot about her initially. Cass can beat everyone in the world (except Harley). Batman has admitted it too.

Detective Comics (2016) Issue #951

She's unstoppable. So unless the Batfamily sends in Harley, in a straight fight where no one runs away *cough* Batman Issue 137 *cough*, then Cass would win. After her though, in a tactical and fighting sense combined it would be Dick.

Jason is canonically the one who struggles with self-control everyday. But unlike some people, I don't think this a fault of his that should be changed or erased. To me, each robin represents a certain characteristic of society.

Dick - the hope of the people.

Jason - the anger of the people.

Tim - the morality of the people.

Stephanie - the safety of the people.

Damian - the rights of the people.

Dick says the meaning of robin is helping the good. And all the robins do this in their own ways.

Jason's robin represents the rightful anger by the people against the injustice. Like the Boston Tea Party against Britain's taxation, Jason was born and raised in Gotham so his love for the common people on the street is overwhelming. He wants to help every woman and child find a better life and survive because it's reflective of the life he and his mother were forced to face. So when he sees a man sexually assaulting a woman or beating a child or selling drugs, his anger bursts out. And in Gotham, there's a lot of that everywhere. So take a good person and put in him the skills and fuel for hurting the bad and you get Jason Todd. That's why from his Robin days he has struggled with self-control.

"He was a drug dealing pimp."

Batman (1940) Issue #645

"I'm sorry...but that doesn't mean he didn't deserve it."

Furthermore in the Batman Urban Legends comic also in the Batman and Robin Eternal comic it shows that Jason's greatest wish is the Joker's death and that coupled with the Gotham War and Selina's interference, Jason has the most trouble with self-control. But I believe it's rightfully so.

I think after Jason it's Dick who struggles with self-control. Not as robin but as Nightwing. Especially during his darkest days of the Nightwing (1996) comic and the Outsiders comic, Dick has been shown to forcibly stop himself when someone hurts his friends or family.

Okay, the difference between Jason and Dick's struggle with self-control is that Jason feels it all the time because his motivating factor is ever present while Dick only struggles with it when someone hurts the people he loves because that's Dick's motivating factor.

Damian is the one who has the most trouble after that. Then Stephanie, Tim, Cass, and Duke. Although if you're including Stephanie's robin days, she would be tied with Jason.

[soleminisanction]

I love your crit posts about steph and I think she could be written as a fantastic villain who thinks she’s the hero (is that called an anti-villain?) what do you think? All the character traits are already there; her arrogance, her ego, her self-centered nature & the jealousy she gets when someone takes something she considers hers. Especially someone like Stephanie who everyone in the batfam has sacrificed so much for and trusted, a fall into the anti-villain category could be so interesting provided that the narrative- and other characters- actually calls her out for it. I feel like it’d be especially easy for Stephanie to slide down this sort of slippery slope too, since no one in-universe ever challenges her on anything- what reason does she have to change?

I mean, I'd be into it. I'd find a story like that immensely cathartic. It would piss a bunch of people off though, and there'd be a never-ending stream of angry hot takes from the surface-level feminism 101 crowd about how bad and wrong it was to turn the *~first female Robin~* who isn't a butch eeeeeeevil. It'd be a massive drama bomb.

I've always kinda wanted to pair her off against an anti-heroic antagonist with a personal grudge, like, one of those heroes who get into the game because they've got someone specific they want brought to justice to avenge a lost loved one, only in this case the person who wronged them is Steph. That'd play to a similar kind of catharsis, I think.

[cere-mon-ials]

2023 in kdramas

*that i finished

**in order of how deep and lasting the brainrot was/is from barely a smidge to stitched to my soul

[12] I figured See You In My 19th Life would be trying when I couldn’t understand why an extraordinary individual in her 18th life—18 incredible lives lived over some of history’s most happening centuries—would fixate on one pesky schoolboy. I bought it because (a) Shin Hye-sun was selling it (b) the show tried to make it clear that while she remembered her past lives, it is not the same as living the one she is in. So when the young Ju-won meets Seo-ha, she is still a 12-year-old who happens to fall for a 9-year-old, except she has heightened emotional maturity.

The plot follows Ju-won, who is reincarnated as Ban Ji-eum, her 19th life after her 18th was cut short in a car accident with Seo-ha. Then, the show fumbles its own logic, unable to choose if the real gift is living in the present or remembering how we got there. We are told that Ji-eum is determined to fix the life she didn’t get to live as Ju-won and because Ju-won’s family and Seo-ha are still alive, that’s who she seeks out. She also finds a dear one from her 17th life. The twist is that the 18th life was meant to be a fated reincarnation of two lovers, who in their time—the first life—were wronged. In the end, when the sins are atoned for, Ji-eum loses the memories of her past lives. She is Ji-eum, smart and talented, daughter of an abusive man and born destitute, free of karmic obligations. But who is this Ji-eum? Who does she love? Why are the memories of everyone who knew her as the extraordinary Ju-won/Ji-eum so valuable and hers isn’t? Milquetoast writing and a genuine lack of interesting characters in the rest of the show.

[11] I didn’t finish the first season of Dr. Romantic because I had a violent reaction (derogatory) to Yoo Yeon-seok’s character. I went straight to the additional episode ft. Kim Hye-soo who is ~flails~ and warmed up to this fantastic ensemble, thanks to a YYS-less sequel. Season 3 is ambitious and follows the raggity crew of overworked doctors in a country hospital now coping with its expansion into an elite trauma centre. The show does neither this premise nor the incredible cast they managed to bring back together (at least four of who could demand three times what they were paid in S2) any real justice. It had all the ingredients and an emotional core that is most pleasing to me. Seriously, it was so good: in reaching for the Michelin stars of healthcare, ostensibly Kim Sabu’s legacy, both he and his colleagues find that they may need to reassess what he taught them. Look at the implications. Doldam is a hospital that has run for two seasons on the strength of close-knit interpersonal relationships in ways (some might accuse) hazardous to professional codes. Something's gotta give.

DRR S3 does not trust the emotional tensions that these ideas can provoke and instead, throws in spectacle after spectacle. A bloodbath on a ship carrying illegal migrants, a raging forest fire, a building collapse. And there are villains, written as yangs to yings, in a main character's father played by an actual trash person, and then groan a politician. I mean, the vagaries of ill fortune and death is right there. Isn’t that enough? Makes you wonder just how did Lee-Shin partnership accomplish what they did with HosPlay. Someone who loves DRR’s characters will sit through it. But it’s junk food.

[10] Lee Bo-young is a force in Agency. It's a tried and tested formula: a brilliant creative person with abandonment issues in fantastic clothes. I enjoyed the snippy dialogues, peppered with refreshing metaphor and irony reminiscent of vintage Hollywood flicks. The writing isn’t confident about what it wants to say about an ambitious single woman in a workplace (and other women too including working mothers, women who find no need in dressing up to do their jobs, expert women who still have to struggle when they want to build something). But perhaps you, like me, can let it pass. It is not ideal to fetch a real answer to women’s struggles amidst capitalist excess.

[9] Our Blooming Youth begins with a cursed prince (Park Hyung-sik) and a noblewoman (Jeon So-nee) accused of murdering her entire family joining hands to free each other. Lurking behind is a national conspiracy spearheaded by several degenerate officials who wish to erase a people and their history—interesting that OBY and My Dearest later in the year featured the most marginalised being branded as traitors. The prince and noblewoman (cross-dressed as a eunuch of course) are joined by four young individuals who feel a sense of duty. I adored this band and their shenanigans. The show is kind to the youth in question, to their capacity to chase freedom and friendship. I was moved by such love for characters in this story about nationhood as an ongoing project.

But enjoying OBY means reading in between the lines because the show doesn’t know what to do with its 20-episode length or the depth of its interest in the scars of unacknowledged genocide. I felt impatient and unfulfilled more times than I’d like. I wish OBY was more meaty because it had the opportunity to be radical and chose to be inoffensive. Hyung-sik, very dear to me. So-nee, GOSH. I have loved her since Encounter (2018) and she fills a frame like nobody’s business. If there is such a thing as female gaze, she’s got it. I caught her in the little I watched of Soulmate (2023) recently. A marvel, just like Kim Da-mi.

[8] One Day Off is whimsical and celebrates the mundane in eight chapters following the wanderings of a school teacher, played by the luminous Lee Na-young. Japanese entertainment does discovering minor joys and its everydayness so well that it’s a genre in itself. I have seen it in a handful Korean variety shows too. As a drama, this is new to me and ODO felt special. It giveth in multitudes taking us to a monastery, an art exhibit, a film festival, a planetarium, many bakeries. At other times, it puts us in the middle of a rainy day and ancestral rites and a bus station where the teacher is stuck with condescending boomers. It's lovely.

[7] King The Land benefitted from low expectations of prestige. Junho lovers were tuning in to see him frolic after his Baeksang-winning performance as King Jeongjo, I can’t speak for Yoon-A lovers. The makers wanted to bank on these beloved actors and there is minimal friction between who they are and what they play on-screen. Junho, handsome, rich, kind. Yoon-A, pretty, hardworking, warm. There is a good chance that this show was part of a joint marketing campaign by Dior and Estee Lauder. And also, possibly, Thailand's tourism department. KTL is classic popcorn, easy on the eyes, easy on the mind (save for that irritatingly stupid arc with the ‘Arab prince’), designed to be innocuous. Here’s the thing, though: the cast and crew were not messing around with that dough. They chose to inject this fan + consumer service with an earnest desire to entertain missers of fluff romance. Lee Junho, permanent resident of my heart.

[6] Going in with low expectations helped when I watched My ID is Gangnam Beauty too. Kang Mi-rae is starting college with a new face, having shed her old one at the surgeon’s table because of life-long bullying at being conventionally unattractive. But Mi-rae now has to deal with gossip and judgement about the extents she has gone for what’s deemed as a vanity project. When Mi-rae says that it matters what people think of her, I can't object. It’s because Gangnam Beauty tells a story about familiar feelings and yet, it is also defiantly about Mi-rae. You can walk with her but you’re aware that not all of us walk in her precise shoes, and it’s not about measuring who’s having it worse either. I loved watching her settle into her skin, remaining compassionate in whatever is the opposite of noble idiocy.

Very sweet romance. I may not have noticed Cha Eun-woo if I hadn’t been derailed to the hilt by him in Island—also a show I finished but you will not find it on this list For Reasons.

[5] I wanted to love My Dearest a lot more. It was promising what with Namgoong Min as the perfect Lee Jang-hyun and Ahn Eun-jin as the perfect Yoo Gil-chae. NGM’s ability to smirk in a way that elicits both a punch and a blush is unparalleled. He owns the role of clever playboy merchant who sees the rules of polite society as impositions and who values human life above platitudes. AEJ's Gil-chae is stubborn and witty and audacious and has no interest in anything that distracts her from her desires. I loved them, and that became one of my problems when Part 1 ended. NGM is the perfect Jang-hyun and AEJ is the perfect Gil-chae but I wasn’t able to root for their romance. I never quite got over how the desire that they shared, which war put a damper on before it got a chance to bloom, gets cheapened at the end of Part 1—please read @elderflowergin's excellent post about this. In Part 2, that conversation isn’t adequately addressed but I was there to watch these two actors earn their Baeksang nominations. I found myself willing to move with the tides when Jang-hyun and Gil-chae let each other in after they learn to devote themselves to the people who make their community.

I cannot fault MD, however, on its commentary about how war disrupts ordinary life. There is nothing more moving in the show than the Joseon slaves in Qing singing their songs and harvesting rice, yearning for home while the King and his scholars commit to preserving standing and write these countrymen off. It’s a sharp critique of an upper class that delude themselves about their importance. MD is courageous enough to say that the nation does owe something to its people and the nation must prove itself worthy of sacrifice before it can demand such a thing. I haven’t stopped feeling the pangs of this love letter to a people and their land. The first seven episodes, set during the invasion and in the early days of the Joseon surrender, is real television. It’s what I watch sageuks for.

What else? Great telling of Crown Prince So-hyeons’s story. Lee Chung-ah is captivating. MD would have risen in my heart and on this list if it were more attentive to Ryang-eum. Double amnesia was comically exhausting to watch but I do feel generous now. The first time round Jang-hyun regains his memory because of a tangible article that proved Gil-chae’s love for him. The second time he traces back the arc of his life that spawned enduring memories of love and dreams. He’s not looking to retrieve what he doesn’t know he has lost. He knows he has lost and he is piecing together what he can. That’s a bold note to conclude on by makers who have risen to question the state of a nation in the hands of incompetence and cruelty and obscene pride. The racism is unsurprising—I wish this meant that I had better tolerance for it. I also wish the story knew better than to push Eun-hye to the sidelines. My favourite scene is Gil-chae finding Jang-hyun clawing to life by a string on a pile of corpses and proceeding to play dead while holding him tight to escape.

[4] I kept tuning in to Moving week after week despite my reservations about high school life, superheroes, and gore because it is a feat of storytelling. A rewarding first act, an absorbing second, and a near perfect third. It’s a compelling story on its own about superhero parents who will go to any lengths to protect their superhero children. But it’s also poignant in how it tackles passive peace.

Critiques of the state’s abuse of power often turn fangless in the face of this idea about national security, the notion that secures our future. Writers fumble because they feel forced to provide an alternative: how else do we protect what we must? Moving kills the question by letting you see past that what (national security) and takes you to a who (our children, our literal future). It dismantles the illusions with its central stage as a highly-surveilled school where undercover secret agents observe and train gifted children. The litmus test isn’t going to be the abstraction of a nation. It’s going to be whether our children can grow up, can learn, can be free to be who they want to be, irrespective of talents they may or may not possess.

A state which can’t imagine freedom as such is a failed state and a failed state resorts to joining hands with those who have every interest in keeping us from seeing that we do in fact want the same things as our neighbours. The real world bleeds in when the story of two Koreas becomes apparent. It’s acutely observed in a way that’s trope-y but perhaps not untrue. But the show is more interested in the shared Koreanness, in their love for their children, and for the unimpeachable desire to make their lives better.

Park Hee-soon had me hugging myself from his first frame to the last. Electrifying performance. Han Hyo-joo, oh my god.

[3] My Lovely Boxer was made for me. It’s about Gwon-sook (Kim So-hye), a boxing prodigy who disappeared from public eye after failing to show up for a championship game and Tae-young (Lee Sang-yeob), a ruthless sports agent at the cross hairs of matchfixing. Tae-young has messes to clean, payments to make, and he finds Gwon-sook to bring her back to the limelight for one final game to lose. Gwon-sook wants nothing to do with the sport and Tae-young promises that if disappearing for good is what she wants, then this plan would work for her too. It’s exactly as angsty as it sounds.

The show works because it doesn’t touch a thing that it isn’t willing to gnaw into. It doesn’t merely dangle matchfixing as plot omen—it explores the emotional and economic damages for the sportsmen with heft. Gwon-sook feels no love for boxing but she isn’t the only boxer in the world and that feeling is hardly universal. One of my favourite characters this year is Ah-reum, the opponent of that championship game for which Gwon-sook didn’t show up. That day, Gwon-sook may have chosen to leave the game for self-preservation but she also took away Ah-reum’s right to fair play. MLB is at its best when it navigates Gwon-sook seeking Ah-reum’s forgiveness because therein lies sportsmanship and what it means to tirelessly push your body for a shot at the ring. It’s an exhilarating journey with these two girls because (a) you want Ah-reum to have her moment (b) you don’t want Gwon-sook to lose and let the matchfixing bookers pocket money (c) you begin to wish Gwon-sook could win because she is too good. The stakes are delicious because the bookers are also a tad bit murderous and the final match had me at the edge of my seat.

Lee Sang-yeob was a shock to my system with his intense stare and a thespian interpretation of a man in shades of grey. Sexy bitch. I want to see Kim So-hye and Shin Se-kyung play sisters one day.

[2] Into The Ring tops my list of kdrama romcoms. Nana is a star and the fact that Se-ra cannot walk straight to save her life makes me giggle. She is blunt in the wrong ways, sharp in the wrong ways, and honest in all the right ways. Her heart is big and she has a sense of service to the people around her as though she really believes she was raised by a village. I loved Se-ra’s parents who reminded me of my own in their warmth and clownery. Park Sung-hoon’s Gong-myung is the dream guy: competent at work, loser in everything else. There’s only one kind of valid workplace romance and it’s this: accidentally becoming an elected representative and your childhood nerd friend volunteering to be your secretary to cover your ass. Perfect, no notes.

I happened to be reading Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! around the same time and I think it made me love the show's take on political action more. This is where Se-ra begins, just her and her complaint diary. That early episode where it dawns on her that she wants this job as much as she needs it got to me. There’s much to love in a show that is okay with however small a population she represents, as long as they are fun about joy and serious about justice.

[1] At the outset, Call It Love sounded like the makjang I avoid—a relationship between a woman and the son of her father’s mistress? Turns out, it's possible to tell that story like an accomplished spare poem with meticulously composed frames overdoing headroom and pared down dialogues. In effect, CIL is beautiful to look at and inviting to spend time with. This is kdrama caviar. Debut writer Kim Ga-eun has a gift for writing loneliness and solitude as not mutually exclusive to being a loved and loving person. She’s drawn comparisons to the extraordinary Park Hae-young who is the master at this sorcery. To my mind, the comparisons hold merit in subject but they operate with different intentions and styles. I hope they meet one day and I get to be a fly on the wall.

I was struck by how Lee Sung-kyung played Woo-joo as the responsible middle child, the one most burdened by the timing of her family’s collapse. The show is about her revenge but often, you see her struggle with the coldness this demands of her. She cannot resist what comes easiest to her and that’s her ability to see people having bad times as a reflection of the times, not the people. It's why she can forgive the aggrieved man who harms her, and why she tidies Dong-jin’s ex’s house while the ex is recouping from the heartbreak of losing the same man she is falling in love with.

No one has gotten the allure of the quiet guy, the shy guy, the good guy who is too awkward to be nice like Kim Young-kwang has. Dong-jin knows he has to work very hard to keep up with the pace of the world. He knows his mind but is afraid to impose it, because he doesn’t think it matters and because he doesn’t want to be a bother. Young-kwang just gets that line between clarity and low-esteem. I will never forget his teary eyes and total submission to loving Woo-joo in the single word he lets out with a hitched exhale. He slouches a lot but he will look you in the eye when he has to say something he doesn’t want to repeat. I loved him for that dignity. Special kisses to him for ditching neck ties.

It is true pleasure to see two male leads, majestic and towering in physique, composed to look tiny and frail. At one point, the costume department steps up Woo-joo’s wardrobe as her feelings intensify and it doesn't come across as a makeover. It is presented as the ordinary consequence of paying attention. I loved everything and everyone. The siblings. The ex-girlfriend, the bad mother and also, the generous & kinda clueless one. The stepfather who lingered, the best friends, the loyal & competent manager lady. Favourite kiss.

*

I am currently watching four dramas: A Good Day To Be A Dog (cute & fun), My Demon (silly & fun), Park's Marriage Contract (testing my patience), and Tell Me That You Love Me (relishing but for some reason not investing). I missed Not Others and The Eighth Sense when they were airing and they are the two shows from 2023 that I am adding to my watchlist. I am looking forward to 2024 because we seem to be getting at least one release from several greats and beauties. See you then! I hope no one emails you for the rest of the year and you eat well.

[pruneunfair]

"My feelings on" part 4: into the light once again and how it only takes a few gross tropes to taint what could've been a perfect piece of work.

I remember seeing the trailer for it so many times back in 2018 but I never got to read all of it since Tappytoons has a 30 ad policy just to get enough to buy on chapter. It's really good, wholesome families, sibling dynamics, a smart villain, and a magic system so the fantasy aspect wont be abandoned for cheap fanservice.

The protagonist used to be known as Alisa, 4th princess of Edenverre and was mistreated by family and servants with the exception of her younger sister, the golden child Marianne who is later revealed to be the mastermind behind the false accusations of poisoning Marianne Alisa faces. She is executed by her own family and comes back as the princess of the enemy empire Elmire, now known as Aisha she swears to one day get justice on her sister.

The revenge plot may be overrated but Into the light does it well enough that I could look past it. The politics and world building are fantastic and the element spirits low-key reminded me of gacha studio or genshin impact characters, and characters like Ashley and Mina aren't enemies for Aisha to defeat, they are people who make mistakes and are allowed to grow.

My favorite part of course is the villainess Marianne, she geninuely scares the hell out of me with her uncanny valley vibe she emits, there's always something so off about her and she reminds be almost of a monster who would star in the conjuring. Marianne has the ability to brainwash others and while I can't tell which, she either steals Alisas body or she causes an illusion affect to alter her and Alisas forms to the family of Edenverre (Really confusing but i like it) and while Marianne doesn't have as much screen time as I wished I enjoyed her while I could, because into the light treats Marianne with respect as an antagonist.

Marianne barely showing up may not even be a bad thing entirely, because while revenge is part of it, the story is built more on healing from your trauma and surrounding yourself with positive influences so it's reasonable that most chapters would center around Aishas powers and her family.

My only small gripe is a petty one but I'm pretty sure the author is an only child 😭. I'm not saying that Aisha and Ysis should be full on murdering eachother but their so unbelievably protective of eachothers feelings to the point of Ysis disliking the idea of any man wanting to marry his sister in the future, ive even seen some fans get concerned that it was going into a brothe-sister thing (especially when he was included as an option for men for Aisha to be attracted to ick)

As someone who has lived with 3 siblings, the excitement for a new baby sibling dies after 3 weeks at most. But hey, they do got a large palace, maybe Ysis just had the luxury of not needing to listen to his baby sister cry at night. I also don't understand why Ysis would immediately believe that Aisha was a reincarnated soul that could remember her past. Like I know he loves her but if my sister started to tell me she was the executed princess in a past life I'd be more concerned.

I wish I could say that was the only thing I didn't like.. unfortunately as much as I love into the light once again, it doesn't stay great for very long. That was my only small gripe because I have a lot of large problems with the love interests

Aisha is 14 and turns 15 at some point but for most of the series, she's a young teen and all her love interests are leaps and bounds older then her. Starting with the big one, Luminas, a 2000 year old king of light who meets Aisha WHEN SHES STILL A BABY!

"Damn, too early, ill give it 13 more years."

Not even the second male lead is safe, Veon is the youngest of the male leads and he's basically watched Aisha grow up since he was Ysis's friend. I can't remember his exact age but I know he is at least 20 which is just... that doesn't make it any better!. There's also apparently some dude named Arsen who's also at least 25 years old and one of Alisas childhood friends, I've heard people say he's another love interest but I haven't seen anything confirmed myself so I'll just hope my 2nd favorite character isn't going to be going after minors.

I'm starring to think the author has an age-gap fetish at this point.

Quick thing I wanted to bring up, a lot of the comments on this chapter have been uncomfortable not just with the age gap and pedophilic weirdness but also this dress. It doesn't look bad but it's built like a maternity dress and for some reason she looks pregnant in a lot of shots which just.. I'm gonna hope we're all just overthinking that one because the last thing this manhwa needs is implications that Aisha will get pregnant young.

While there is a lot of people who are rightfully uncomfortable with the 2000 year age gap, there is also a lot of people justifying it. "He treats Aisha well though!" "It was normal in that time!" "Your just being too soft! Let Aisha be happy!!"

Let me bring up some real history for minute.

This is Isabella of Valois during her wedding with Richard II, she is the youngest bride currently known about in the medieval era

Isabella was only 6 years old when she married her 29 year old husband.

This is Margaret Beaufort.

She was 12 when she got married to her 24 year old husband and 13 years old when she gave birth to Henry VII

And probably one of the more well known examples, Catherine Howard.

She could have been as young as 15 and as old as 17 when she married Henry VIII who was 49.

Now did these examples make your skin crawl? Did they make you feel disgusted? Well they should, just because it was normal in that era, doesn't mean it's all of a sudden fine. There isn't even the cheap excuse that Aisha is technically over 20 given her mental age since Alisa died at 14 and Aisha is very clearly still mentally a young teenager.

Luminas and Veon are definitely nowhere near the personalities of men like Henry VIII but that also doesn't make it okay either. Especially when Veon basically watched Aisha grow up and she's his friends little sister! and Luminas knew her since she was an infant. Would it be that hard for Aisha to at least be a young adult and not a 14 year old. Because it really feels like Luminas is waiting for her to be legal since he already tells her she's his ideal woman when she's still a 14 year old.

Conclusion: Into the light once again is a beautiful story about healing from your trauma and the writting and the characters are just amazing. But it all feels like it's backpeddled when it's so heavily romanticizing or just straight up ignoring the fact that Aisha is basically a grooming victim, the relationship is practically covered in glitter to make it look better, "Sure Luminas is 2000 years old and Aisha isn't even an adult but at least he's so nice to her and he teachers her how to summon spirits! He'll always protect her!" Because while Luminas will (hopefully) never hurt her. Real groomers absolutely will. It pushes the message that as long as the man who is old enough to be your dad is sweet to you and protects you, then it's fine if he has feelings for you. Intentional or not. A story about healing from trauma supporting relationship where ones a child and ones a god with a mature mental age to boot is kind of like when movie producers fucked up the original meaning of Lolita.

Coming up on the next "My feelings on":

[romancomicsblog]

My Adventures with Superman brings Hope back to the Man of Steel - REVIEW Ep 1 & 2

*Spoilers for the first two episodes, now streaming on Max!*

Growing up, Superman always came off to me as a very nothing character. White bread. Good for the sake of good. Not funny like Spider-Man, not dark and cool like Batman, and too powerful to be in any real danger.

He was just there as the original cape and tights. He was important because he did it first, but that didn't make him interesting.

As I got older, and I read and saw him in more media, I realized the fun of Superman comes from the kindness. The hope he brings to those around him and that stable positive force is essential to the world and the Justice League. While he is the most powerful person in the room, because of who Clark is and his values, he's the person you fear the least.

He's gonna save your cat, he's gonna stop that burning building, and he's gonna get the bad guy, as unharmed as possible.

This is where the DCEU lost me, and where I think most Superman content does. That hope, that kindness, the gentle giant that Clark is has somehow been lost in translation.

While Henry Cavill is a great actor and can play the hopeful side, setting the tone of the movies as so dark and serious drained Superman of his charm.

Superman and Lois has done a good job bringing Clark's hopefulness back in moments, but the Zack Snyder DCEU feel coupled with the CW drama still keeps Superman and Lois pretty dark and dire.

While Hoechlin is a fantastic Superman, the world he inhabits has kept me wanting a true representation of the character I love.

Which is why My Adventures with Superman is such a breath of fresh air.

Let's start with Jack Quaid. Using such a pure sounding soul like Quaid to embody Clark was a stroke of genius. While he is known for playing good-ish characters like Hughie in The Boys and Peter Parker/ The Lizard in Across the Spider-Verse, Quaid does not coast on his past charms for Clark.

This character equally feels fresh, different from Quaid's past characters, and like a kid who is transitioning into the Man of Steel.

Whether he is struggling to flirt, scold Lois for lying, or fight a robot, Clark feels genuine, kind, and strong.

As Superman, Clark does not change into a scary, super powered god. Instead, he is trying to help the bad guy, clean up the messes, and rescue kittens from trees. While we only get a glimpse of his true Superman form at the end of episode 2, it is enough for me to get so excited that I'm typing this all out. This is the Superman I've been waiting for!

Rounding out the cast are Alice Lee and Ishmel Sahid as Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

Lee has a quality not always perfectly emulated for Lois in my opinion, which is spunk. Moxie. She is so clearly the leader of the team for the Daily Planet. Couple that with her comedy timing and clear chemistry with Quaid, this may be the blueprint for Clark and Lois in the future.

While usually Lois is a made journalist by the time Clark shows up, starting them at equal footing is an interesting development. I'm hoping they use this to show just how quickly Lois Lane can rise the ranks against others.

While Sahid is utilized the least so far, conspiracy theorist comic relief Jimmy is equally charismatic and likable. He is a character I think the DCEU and CW didn't quite understand the value of, but this show clearly does. My hope is this character goes on to go on as wacky adventures as he does in the comics.

The chemistry between the three characters is very strong for the first couple of episodes. So much so I don't know if I'm more excited for more Lois and Clark romance, Clark and Jimmy bafoonery, or Lois and Jimmy investigating.

While the villains leave something to be desired in the first two episodes, the inclusion of overarching villains Deathstroke, Amanda Waller and General Lane lead me to believe they hope to build out this universe, at the very least into Batman.

If that is true, I am so in.

I can see a world where we have 3-4 different anime shows introducing key members of the Justice League, all leading up to an anime style movie where they fight Brainiac, with Jack Quaid's Superman at the center of it.

But perhaps I am getting way ahead of myself.

All in all, My Adventures with Superman has me excited for Fridays to come. It has heart, it has comedy, and it seems to understand the Last Son of Krypton better than most pieces of media.

This should be the blueprint for Superman Legacy.

A Superman who brings donuts for all his coworkers.

If you'd like to support me you can follow me on my socials here!

[keira-kaz2y5]

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

SPOILERS FOR NEW MARVEL STUFF! ⚠️

Finally got around to watching The Marvels on Disney +!!!!! It’s the best mcu film this phase istg omg it’s SO GOOD and immediately you can tell it was written by a woman NOT TO MWNTION THE INSANE END CREDIT SCENES WTFFFFF KATE BISHOP PIZZA THE DOG AND XMEN?!?!??!!!!!!! Omg I’m ecstatic this is the best marvel film in years it’s finally giving avengers early phase vibes! And I’m actually happy with every single plot moment! Unlike no way home where there were many questionable plot moments and bad scenes and bad cgi and multiverse of madness was something different entirely like I loved the horror and stuff and it made sense but as a whole that works with the rest of the marvel universe I didn’t like how it went and wandas “death” or “fake death” and the whole x men stuff. Loved America in that tho! Her whole moment made sense and ugh I can’t explain it properly plus the shitshow that was the She Hulk series and overall it just made me lose faith in marvel and that’s why I didn’t see The marvels in cinema like I usually do bc guardians of the galaxy 3 was so shite and I thought this would too maybe that’s why it flopped cuz the hype on past films wasn’t lived up to. But this FINALLY brings back early marvel vibes and I’m so into it. (Plus the reign of the cats 🐈‍⬛ 🐈😆)

Cuz as much as I liked NWH there were questionable parts yk, Dr Strange characterised Wanda badly from start to finish and didn’t do her justice, Wakanda Forever was amazing don’t get me wrong I really loved it and cried A LOT, but I wasn’t too keen on the whole Namor thing or unnecessary deaths, and some characters really just deserved better than what they got, like Okoye.. and Black Widow was great but it could’ve been a bit better with cgi and plot-wise like the deleted scenes should’ve been kept and so on.

For the first time I just really enjoyed every part of this film, since marvel has gone downhill lately, this is new for me. also I loved the queer undertones for Kamala and Carol, although they should’ve been braver and put it in explicitly if they wanted to show Carol and Valkyrie together instead of the kiss on the cheek and no talk of them being together. But headed in the right direction for sure and not to mention the Kate and Kamala scene? Female avengers team? Finally not outnumbered by men? Also I really ship Kate and Yelena so I hope she comes onto the team too, though she might just stick with the Thunderbolts antihero theme. I love that it’s so clearly written by women and directed by them plus the brilliant casting and having the villain also be a woman and with a realistic villainisation like I get why she turned out the way she did, she just wanted her home back for her people, also it’s Zawe Ashton, Tom Hiddlestons wife so it would be cool to see them act together perhaps, but either way brilliant casting and script and everything, I love Kamala really speaking for the fans in a lot of it, and the musical scene was fun in a mystical way, like when we first got introduced to Asgard way back when, I just wish we saw what happened there at least a small look in at the end with Carol checking in on them because they left in the middle of a battle and then we don’t find out what happened to that planet. But other than that small detail the film was fantastic and I loved how even Goose got a good storyline.

(My dreamteam avengers would be Bucky🦾, Yelena🕷️, Kate🏹, Carol💫, Kamala👊, Monica🌠, Shuri🐾, Riri 🛠️(ironheart), America⭐️ and Cassie 🐜 and Morgan Stark. Plus some xmen if that’s now an option?? And AOS team but marvel would never do that

Maybe Peter🕸️ Sean⭕️, Wanda and Moon Knight🌙🤺 boys too but idk )

[deeneedsaname]

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 REVIEW! ***SPOILERS***

I cried like….nine times, and that is not really an exaggerration.

This is Nebula’s movie. This is Rocket’s movie. This is Mantis’ movie. This is everyone’s movie, in a way, and it’s incredible.

The parallels between Nebula and Rocket are incredible and so poignant without being overstated. So many of the guardians are lost or ‘broken’. Nebula was broken and rejected by Thanos, Rocket was a broken tool, Peter was a tool for Ego and used, Gamora was raised to be a weapon for her father, etc. But they all come together and are perfect for each other.

There are so many warm, sweet character moments in this movie, from Drax and Nebula protecting Mantis to Peter’s devotion to Rocket. They all feel so real and honestly I bawled a lot at them.

MY POOR BABY ROCKET THO. The movie showed just enough but left some of the most horrific parts of his torture to your imagination. But we get to see how he was born a scrapper, and kept going no matter what, and it’s beautiful.

I cried over and over again when we saw his friends…like, I knew they were going to die, but seeing him turn around…that HURT. But eyeing him claw the High Evolutionary’s face off was fun!

And speaking of that piece of gum on a shoe, the High Evolutionary was a fantastic villain. Some villains are crazy and a little evil, some are evil and not that crazy, but this guy was REALLY evil and REALLY crazy and that mix was so well done.

Seeing his face get ripped off was the roughest scene in the movie though. It’s graphic and really terrible so just be aware of that.

I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Warlock or the Priestess, but they both did really well, and I honestly like her a lot more now!

Now for my only real complaint: WHY IN THE HALIBUT DID PETER AND GAMORA NOT GET BACK TOGETHER??? ? I get that she’s different now yadda yadda, I don’t care, I wanted them back together. Thankfully since everyone’s alive, mayyyybe it’s open ended enough that they could still get back together? Maybe? Either way I’m not a huge fan of how her character was handled in general.

Look at how cute they are. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO EASY MARVEL! I’ll keep being Disney’s shill if they want to put them back together tho

Apart from that, honestly, this movie was gorgeous, and did justice to just about all the characters. I was crying for jut about the entire final third of the movie, for happy and sad reasons. It was just beautiful.

[aboutzatanna]

Zatanna, Wonder Woman and Barry Allen go undercover in this issue of DC Retroactive: JLA- The 70's #1 (2011) and Diana is absolutely terrible at it:

For those who don't know DC Retroactive are untold stories set in past continuities mostly by writers from those eras.

This issue was written by Carey Bates with art by Andy Smith.

(Side note: While Diana being 'bad' at going undercover is just a two page gag, it makes more sense for me that Diana, former 'Goddess of Truth' and wielder of the Lasso of True wouldn't be comfortable with secret identities. I never liked the idea of Diana needing a secret identity. )

The plot of this issue mainly revolves around Adam Strange, who is accidentally transported to Earth Prime following a fight with Kanjar Ro so Barry, Diana, Zatanna and Ollie travel to Earth Prime to rescue him while Hawkman and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) take on the newly empowered Kanjar Ro.

Earth-Prime is basically "our world" where the JLA are all fictional characters and the writers and creators exist on that earth. It's also the world where Superboy Prime originally came from. Since Adam had his mind zapped at a mental institute, the only solution is to find DC editor and Adam Strange super fan Julius Schwartz who can jog Adam's memory.

I'm not really a fan of creators writing themselves or their collegues into the story. It feels very self congratulatory. Especially since WW's lasso could have solved the whole thing. I much prefer how Marvel did it, like an Easter Egg, where Stan and Jack would sometimes appear as themselves in issues of Fantastic Four. But I guess you can look at this issue as Carey's tribute to Schwartz. This issue also came with a reprint of Justice League of America #123 where Carey Bates wrote himself (or rather his Earth Prime counterpart) as the villain of the story.

Adam Strange himself is a character that I have mixed feelings about. He's very much a product of his time but the ordinary guy with a space suit, jetpack and helmet really appeals to the young boy in me who loved the Rocketeer. I don't think anyone has ever quite figured out how to make him relevant today. Tom King tried in his mini but it was the usual trope of 'lets reveal this innocent Silver Age character is actually a horrible person' variety of reinvention.

Anyway, enough rambling, since this is a Zatanna blog, here is a few moments with her that I like:

-The League chilling on the tower, Diana looks like she is oogling at Zee plus Hal being a Pink Floyd fan:

-Zatanna and Barry interactions plus Barry taking a leader ship role:

-This bit about mind wipes:

Knowing how much of a nerd Barry is he probably folded inside when she called him boss.

Also while this was most likely an excuse to bring in Julius Schwartz, Zatanna not tampering with minds is more in character for her during this period especially since the arc with her mom also had a subplot of her being mad that her father played with her mind. Another point deducted from Identity Crisis.

Blink and you miss it panels where the artist is clearly showing off their ability to draw human body in perspective:

And Diana wanting to take a selfie after the League defeats Kanjar Ro:

(also Diana's clearly a history geek, only a history geeks would drop random facts about Incas completely unprompted):

Overall, it's an old school issue. Very much a throwback. Still it's noteable that the writer of this issue didn't do the almost obligatory 'Zee gets gagged or taken out early so other characters can shine' plot. Every one has a role and everyone contributes their fair share to help defeat the villain.

[lullybaju]

Here we are in May (almost June) and the reading got boring as hell.

Alright, I may be kinda tired of keeping reading such a very long novel, but its final stretch is working so… slow. I mean, Monte Cristo's revenge was cut in so many parts that it seems that his cruel and perfectly calculated acts didn't reach a peak, a climax, but just special moments.

The story already came to an end for me and that happened when vengeful Monte Cristo died to resurrect as merciful Monte Cristo, right after Caderousse's death. I know it’s kinda paradoxical, but since that happened, he became such a traditional caricature of a character of romantic era novels, acting like he was a fantastic superhero by solving things out of the possible or practical work logic. Dumas, Maquet and co were doing so great when it comes to putting that work logic in a romantic character acts, but now Monte Cristo is almost a magician, offering tea to cure Valentine while he’s staying in secrecy in Villefort house. All I ask is: why did you do that, Dumas, Maquet and co? You broke our paladin of justice!

Apart from that, I don't know what to feel about the end of the Morcerf family. Mercedes was always pretty meh, so I wasn't surprised at all by the ending of her pure heroine plot, but the same didn't happen when it came to Fernand, even though I knew he was that main villain driven by romantic passion in a romantic era novel. I mean, I expected him to have more interaction with Monte Cristo. I expected him to know Monte Cristo was Dantés. I expected him to throw all his rage upon Monte Cristo. Well, I expected him to fight for his life as every villain, and not to outsource that dirty work for his son.

By the way, so proud of Albert! He finally grew up - in the worst scenario and in the hardest way possible, unfortunately - but he will live.

On the other core of the big four, in another hell condition, another young person was forced to grow up: applause to the virtuous Eugenie Danglars! This diva has not only grown up, but has also been planting curiosity about her sexuality in every Count of Monte Cristo reader for almost 200 years, since she's a free soul and chose to live by means of feeling where and who her art could reach and touch. Run to your life and keep slaying, girl!

By the way, speaking of Eugenie, I can't go away without mentioning Andrea Cavalcantti/Benedetto. Yes, all my hopes vanished since he was run over by Monte Cristo's revenge and completely lost the secondary protagonism for Albert and his level-headed coming of age ending. But, faced with all of those aristocratic savvy finish plots, he was such a bad bitch for choosing life - and in front of the daughter of a baron - because he wanted to... live! Unfortunately, he came from nowhere to nothing, but what a peak of cleverness! What an edge of prickness! Benedetto, you'll always be interesting.

[thewiddershinsme]

Finished Vengeance of the Pirate Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #3) by Tricia Levenseller! Really it’s a sequel to the Daughter of the Pirate King duology.

-you know what’s cooler than pirates? Half-siren pirate queens. But you know what is even cooler than that? Pirate assassins.

-Sorinda was fantastic and so resourceful, by the end of the first chapter she was my favorite character in the series. This book was also in first person, but she had a completely different voice than Alosa’s which is something I always try to actively appreciate in writing cause that is hard to do.

-speaking of Alosa, it was nice to see her as Queen Alosa working on building her pirate empire, with Riden by her side as both consort and first mate. It really showed she is a monarch now with her own kingdom just like the land king has, hers just being the sea and some islands.

-It was endearing how Sorinda was absolutely determined to do her best at being a captain, even if she was immensely uncomfortable with the role.

-Sorinda/Kearan officially beats Alosa/Riden as favorite couple of the series for me. This may have been their book, but their story really started two books ago. It was exactly the kind of slow burn I love, starting with just little moments and looks and observing each other, then starting to work together, then opening up emotionally, then progressing to teasing and being playful and then before you know it full on devoted to each other. All while battling sea beasts and the undead.

-Threydan was an annoying villain, the whole undead plot on the island was not as interesting to me as the journey getting there was. Except for Kearan and Sorinda’s relationship progression, which were the best part of the island sections. It is hilarious that they have such honest and open communication…and then their flirting is throwing knives at each other and thinking being covered in blood is sexy. They are basically two adrenaline junkies that got together and it works so well. And of course Kearan fell for Sorinda basically day 1, and I like it when the guy falls first and hard.

-I thought Dimella’s pregnancy would come up again but it did not. I was at first annoyed when Roslyn joined the crew (only cause there is a lot of suspension of disbelief I have to do to believe that child is 7 years old) but she ended up being okay as a device to show different sides of both Sorinda and Kearan.

-so it felt like this book was the first in a trilogy that would feature Sorinda, Niridia, and Mandsy (aka the Pirate Queen’s Vengeance, Justice, and Mercy). It really felt like there were a lot of allusions to a next book focusing on Niridia…so imagine my disappointment when I visited the author’s website and the upcoming books she is working on do not include a Niridia book :( I want to know what was happening on the mission to apprehend Draxen!

-also wouldn’t mind a book focusing on grown-up Roslyn, the girl has had an interesting childhood

-I have another book by this author on my TBR list (The Shadows Between Us) which seems as though it would be right up my alley, and I am optimistic about it since I did enjoy this series.

-another series that has just gotten on my radar is Fable? I think I’ll keep it in mind next time I have the itch for a pirate series, but right now need a break from red-haired pirate women.

[dancingisdangerouss]

Heyyy did you finish S4 of The Boys? What are your thoughts?

It’s a mixed bag for me.

⚠️ Warning: The Boys Season 4 Spoilers ahead

I feel like the show is focusing too much on being “edgy” and “shock value” and less on the actual plot. The political stuff is also too on the nose for me (considering I’m actively avoiding US politics via fictional settings), though I thought it was always obvious who they were making fun of, so it’s kind of funny/sad that they had to get real in-your-face about it for people to finally go “Ohhh they’re making fun of us!”

Poor Hughie is not deserving of this bullshit, and it’s frankly feeling like torture porn at this point. And a lot of people are painting it as funny like “oh justice for Hughie they’re being so mean to him lol,” but I really am sick of it. He’s one of few characters I still really like and relate to, and it seems like they’re determined to convey some kind of dark commentary on the whole “Good guys never win” concept. But it’s getting really annoying, and I just want him to be happy.

I’m also getting pretty damn tired of Butcher continually being an asshole every few episodes and breaking everyone’s trust as if it’s some great shocker. As much as I used to love his character, I would have honestly been fine with him dying a “good guy” this season and going out in a positive light.

Homelander is great as always, albeit perhaps less intimidating in recent seasons. I’m also a little tired with the random female hookups every season, and kind of wish they would either drop the concept of him having a romantic partner, or find one likable enough for the audience to stick with. I was also not-so-Loki disappointed that Firecracker was the one he nursed from. I wanted to like her as a silly character because of how absurd she was, but then they had to casually add her molesting a child and I was like…oh. That makes this whole nursing scene 258% more uncomfortable for me.

Also, for a show that’s so big on shock value and being nitty-gritty and gross, I’m honestly shocked the nursing scene was so tame. Anyone ever seen Me, Myself, and Irene with Jim Carrey? I was fully prepared for an even worse scene than that one, and was honestly pretty disappointed in what we got, especially with all the build-up to it in the fandom.

There are a lot of other qualms I have that I haven’t touched on here, that’s just off the top of my head. So while I’m going to keep watching, it’ll mostly be for Homelander, since I still love his character overall and think he’s a fantastic villain. I just don’t like the direction it’s taking and feel like the writers have lost focus and are relying on the comics too much now IMO.

[datorchoe]

Well so I finished all the Yakuza games just recently, and I wanted to share my thoughts on them individually and rank them if someone wanted a good reason to start the game series. Side note, I played LAD: Ishin a long time ago so it’s not included, but I did enjoy it a lot.

Warning for minor spoilers for all the Yakuza games!!

1: Yakuza 0

0 had one of the most tragic stories imo, with Majima and Makoto. All the side characters were amazing, and the way that the stories all ran together were truly masterful. Love this game.

2: Man Who Erased His Name

If the story was longer, it would probably be #1 on my list. I absolutely loved this game mainly for the fact that Kiryu is finally being deconstructed and becoming “human” instead of the legend.

3: Yakuza 6

I’ve heard some conflicting opinions on this game, but I think it’s a great game. I love this story and I think everything with Haruka in this game did Kiryu’s character justice (The scene where he finds out Yuta got Haruka pregnant and punches the absolute shit out of him was literally priceless and probably my favorite scene in the whole game)

4: Infinite Wealth

God. This game should have been called Infinite Agony. I cried so much during this game. But I think it was a really good send off to Kiryu’s character. And the story was really, really good.

5: Like a Dragon

Ichiban is one of the greatest fictional characters ever made. He is so well written and you can genuinely feel his emotions when playing. The story was so good, and it really did a good job with the forgiveness agenda. (Yet another of Ichi’s amazing character traits)

6: Yakuza 4

Ok, I loved this game a lot. It really did a good job with all the separate characters storylines and connecting them back together. (Akiyama is one of the best characters in the whole series you cannot change my mind)

7: Yakuza 3

OK, I know SOMEONE is gonna dislike this one being higher than one and two. Both great games, but Kiryu was just so good in this game. It was just refreshing to see him be so genuinely happy for a while. I love the introduction to the orphanage in this game too.

8: Yakuza Kiwami

C'mon man. Majima? Fantastic. Haruka? Fantastic. The Florist? Fantastic. Date? Fantastic. I loved all the characters in this game so much. Such a tragic story as well.

9: Yakuza Kiwami 2

Ok, this is where I start to be a hater lol. I really liked this game, but the story just seemed very all over the place in my opinion. And I genuinely HATED Sayama’s character. I was glad they put a female protagonist into the game, but they did such a like, mediocre job of writing her character that it just made me mad. But Ryuji was one of the coolest villains in the series so he gets a pass lol. (Also Daigo? Love him so much. Him and Kiryu’s father son relationship is so tragic and I will never get over it for as long as I live)

10: Yakuza 5

Ok, mega hater time. I literally remember like next to nothing about this game cause I hated playing it so much. I remember Kiryu soloing 100 dudes who had rocket launchers, I remember Saejima fighting the bear, I remember wanting to die for the entire Haruka part, and I remember Shinada being a really good character. That’s it. Half of the game was alright, and the other half was just genuinely boring and weird. The addition of Haruka as a playable character was definitely interesting, and I was excited for it but I think the story with her was just boring. I think my favorite part was the end where she gave her big speech about how much she loved Kiryu, which was amazing but GOD this game was slow to start.