#shows a lot of growth from his asshole Winter self

[nikkiruncks]

My favorite Jackie & Hyde moments #9

Bonus moments (ignore Kitty in the first one haha):

[vindieselsfacebook-blog]

Omg I was positively foaming at the mouth reading this - thank you for sharing! As the self-proclaimed no. 1 AYITL defender, you're beautifully articulating so many of my opinions, too. I must chime in with some thoughts of my own:

I agree that it feels cozy and comfortable for me, too! It was never going to look as gorgeous as the early seasons filmed traditionally with Michael A. Price at the helm as cinematographer, but the colors and lighting are so much richer and beautiful than S6-7. I think a lot of people bristle at all the cold blues in the first episode, but babes, it's Winter - that's the point??? Fall is stunning. The sets look more expensive and lived-in than a lot of the original series does. On a cozy Sunday night, the episodes I most think about turning on for comfort-watching are the pilot, the last 3 in S4, sometimes the last 3 in S7, and AYITL!

AYITL has SO much gratifying closure and growth - I haaate when fans say they hate it because it feels like no one has grown and they've just been immaturely frozen in time. That's the point! They finally are!!! Wouldn't you prefer seeing that to being told it happened off-screen years ago?

I think the only thing I really disagree with you on is your more pessimistic takes on Lorelai and Rory, but especially Rory. "Rory is self-centered, thinks she is special, and has no idea how to deal with not getting what she wants. The consequences of her actions almost never directly affect her, and when they do, said consequences are quickly stamped on and snuffed out by her mother/friends/family." I totally disagree with this. I think Rory is a chronic people-pleaser with shaky self-esteem. Her family thinks the world of her and she often really struggles with the weight of those expectations. She's expected to succeed where Lorelai failed not just to justify Lorelai's entire life's ambitions, but heal her grandparents' wounds, too. Her father left her and shows little to no interest in her. Her paternal grandparents tell her to her face she's a disappointing mistake that ruined lives. It's not that she has no idea how to deal with not getting what she wants, but she has no idea how to deal with failure when she was doing all she thought she had to to succeed. She's a list-maker, a studier, a rule-follower - when things don't follow her obsessively planned plan, she melts down. Her worst decisions are made when she finally explodes after bottling up her emotions. People often say Rory never suffers consequences but that also isn't true? Headmaster Charleston enforces rules and punishments on her multiple times in S1 and nothing is simply handed to her at Chilton. She really struggles those first few episodes. Dean publicly breaks up with her and calls her out on her shit with Jess. She flounders her first year at Yale struggling to get her articles published then having to drop a class because she can't keep up. She tries to date and has a tough time connecting with people. Mitchum is an asshole to her and makes her doubt her entire career path. She doesn't get the NYT fellowship. The list of Rory's struggles, failures, and consequences go on and on. I really don't get why people seem to gloss over them? Because her mother loves her and believes in her in spite of these things...? Why do women in fiction seemingly have to "earn" love and support?

"Rory’s life rhymes with Lorelai’s." Obsessed with this line - what a beautiful way to put it!

I've truly never thought of a what a perfect metaphor coffee is for Lorelai's vices. You're soo right and it's soo good! Having Luke be the provider of her favorite coffee is also just *chef's kiss*

One of my favorite parts of AYITL is Lorelai redirecting Richard's inheritance from Luke's business to hers. In contrast to her begging for the tuition money in the pilot, this time feels like an empowered decision. Her dad wanted Luke to expand his business because he felt like his daughter's partner should be taking care of her. She says no, I'm the one taking care of myself and expanding my own empire - I don't need my husband to do that for me and I can honor my father's legacy myself. :')

Just to nit-pick, I must remind that Lorelai never "refused" to expand the Dragonfly - she literally couldn't and I think that added to her feelings of frustration and being stuck in place. There was no space at the existing building, protected wetlands preventing expansion, and she couldn't afford another property until she thought to use the money from Richard. Also, as symbolic as it would've been, the Dragonfly Annex isn't the Twickham House. Kind of glad tbh as I always found the Twickham House ugly as hell lol. I hate that storyline for multiple reasons, but the top is that it feels sooo not like Luke or Lorelai???

I'd love to defend Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life for a minute (I don't usually make long posts and may delete this later for that reason) because I feel like writing something inconsequential.

Other people get lots of comfort watching the original show (especially in the fall). I feel cozier watching AYITL. The characters are much older; the dizzy, flighty, still-growing-up feelings for Lorelai and Rory have faded, and it's full of moments that make it clear that certain things in their lives are definitely always going to be there. Constants. Luke, Stars Hollow, family, Kirk, Taylor, the changing of the seasons. Now - for my defense. (I'm rambling.)

Okay, many, many people don't like the revival. I understand. It's different in a lot of ways from the original show, and lots of expectations were not met. When I first saw it, it threw me too. But I didn't dislike it. In fact, the more I rewatched it, the more I thought it was almost better than the first show. The leading ladies are not flashy young stars anymore - Rory is Lorelai's age when the OG show first began, and Lorelai is gracefully and fabulously careening toward grandma times with all her wit and charm, all her most comfy habits, and it makes me want to hang out with her more than Season 1 of the show ever did. And I think the fact that ASP came back to write for these characters again and end it on her terms, at last, was an absolute win, and I love how she did it because it fixed so many things I thought were wrong in the show.

Lorelai is self-centered, terrified of commitment, and has no idea how to put others before herself and not run away during the hard times - unless something involves Rory.

Rory is self-centered, thinks she is special, and has no idea how to deal with not getting what she wants. The consequences of her actions almost never directly affect her, and when they do, said consequences are quickly stamped on and snuffed out by her mother/friends/family.

Emily is self-centered, desperate to be in control, and finds her worth in what other people think, in how things look, and that includes what Richard thinks.

In the show, Lorelai has moments where she learns to stay and learns to put other people who are not Rory before herself. Those moments don't last. She definitely has good intentions, but they're all conditional. She only has good intentions up to a point - and that point is usually when someone or something threatens her happiness and feeling of safety, or Rory's happiness and feelings of safety (understandable; that's her child).

In the show, Rory is told she is the sweetest kid in the whole world. Rory is told she'd never do anything to hurt anybody. Rory is told she's special, she's smarter than her peers, she's not like other girls. Rory 100% believes that. She also probably has a bit of a problem with living up to that image - she wants to be all of those things, and thinks she is, and can't handle it when it seems like people think she's not. (That may or may not have something to do with Christopher, who always had somewhere more important to be, or with Lorelai, who was so cool and strong and sure of Rory.)

And the show has moments, too, where Lorelai has to face the music and see that she's screwed up or is hurting someone with her behavior (Max, Chris, Luke, Jason, Emily, Richard, Sookie), but very very often, Lorelai breezes her way through that music and keeps moving, and flits to the next thing or person that will make her happy, because she does not know how to stay and stand and fix what she's broken. Because it only matters if she is happy and if Rory is happy. (The same thing goes for Rory in the show - consequences come, but Rory rarely has to properly deal with them herself. She is coddled and propped up the whole way.)

Now, to my point!

I watched AYITL and noticed something was different right away. Lorelai is with Luke (she should be), who is the opposite of her - constant, loyal, selfless, determined to stay no matter how hard things get. But they're not married. Lorelai is scared to really commit, and marriage is one of the hardest things you can commit to - ever. And Lorelai is not happy. Rory, for her part, is not perfectly settled as a reporter or a journalist or any of the things she was always told she could be. And she's not happy. And Emily, bless her, has lost her husband and her false sense of control is spinning away, and of course, she is not happy.

And A Year In The Life takes the show's clumsy half-arc of these three Gilmore women and perfectly completes it.

Lorelai's fear of commitment and habit of bolting when things get hard drives her to push every new chef out of the Dragonfly, refuse to expand the inn to better accommodate Michel's needs, shun Rory's tell-all of her past mistakes, shame Richard at his funeral and break Emily's heart, and worst of all, nearly wreck the closest thing to a proper relationship she's ever had: the one she has with Luke. She can't face that she misses her father, loved her father, and that maybe her mother is right about her relationship status. She can't face that people might read Rory's writing and see all her flaws and all her mistakes growing up in printed ink, and she can't run from that. And when Rory insists, Lorelai cuts ties. Lorelai has spent years avoiding marriage with Luke. She has spent years hurting her mother in an effort to defend herself at all costs. And she has spent years ensuring the Dragonfly Inn is exactly what she wants it to be; because changing it would be uncomfortable, and as a result, she won't commit to a new chef, she won't expand, and she's about to lose Michel the way she lost Sookie.

Rory's bubble of self-centeredness and assurance that she's special is popped with the needle of reality at last: she is not special. She's a young woman who has to actually work hard to find a job and make some money, like everyone her age. She is talented and she is smart, but she's not God's gift to journalism, and people keep saying no, and people keep asking her to prove her skills and her merit, and she doesn't know how to deal with that because everyone has always told her she can do anything she wants and she's the best. She wants a distinguished career and can't find anyone who will take her on; she tries to write for a raging batty feminist (hello Alex Kingston I love your work) and that goes sideways; she wants Logan Huntzberger but she turned down his proposal and now he's engaged and it has to be a secret; she wants somewhere to live - just not Stars Hollow because she's better than the thirty-somethings stuck back home. She wants Lorelai to approve of her book and insists her mother give her this, as if Lorelai hasn't always given her whatever she could. And when Lorelai says no, Rory does what she wants anyway and almost fractures their relationship over it.

Emily's control is completely gone - she can't control her emotions, she can't control her tongue, she can't control her maid or her maid's handy family, she can't even control a stupid painting of her late husband. She's on a downward spiral and her anchor is dead. She tries to regain a sense of worth, because surely that will bring happiness back. She tries to gain it from how many possessions she has, that doesn't work. She tries to gain it from Jack, who is not well-suited to her but he makes a matching accessory to the life other people will see. That doesn’t work. She tries to gain it from therapy with Lorelai, control her daughter at last, that doesn't work. She tries to control Richard's headstone, that doesn't work. She even tries to find solace with her beloved D.A.R, and she finds that emptiest of all.

A Year In The Life has these women finally face their flaws head-on and grow. The way characters should.

Rory: Rory is confronted with the fact that she is not special and has to move home like everyone else her age and get a job she does not want, because that's life, and that's what everyone else has to do in the real world. And when she's at her lowest, pouting, she gets advice from someone who has faced his own flaws long ago and has grown and who knows her at her best, and encourages her to get up and work hard (Jess Mariano, ladies and gentlemen). And she does. Rory hits bottom and takes Jess's advice and works at understanding her mother, who is not perfect, and even goes to interview her father, who is also not perfect. She fights with Lorelai over the book and insists on her own way, and when Lorelai refuses, Rory can only blame herself. She has a rabble-rousing night with her LaDB boys and winds up sleeping with Logan in one more bubble of fantasy, one more umbrella-jump of escapism, like the old days, because Logan is her weakness. And when she wakes up the next morning, Rory turns and walks away from Logan and the affair and her insistence on having what she wants regardless of who she hurts (hello, Dean Forrester and her affinity for taking spoken-for men) for the final time. And the consequences of her desires? She’s pregnant. (Come on, we all know the baby is Logan’s; Rory’s life rhymes with Lorelai’s.) She goes to Christopher to interview him for the book and is subtly asking her father why he wasn’t in her life, because she needs to know what to do with her baby and her lover. She didn’t go to Lorelai to figure that out. She went to her dad, because the truth is, Rory didn’t have her father, and part of dealing with the consequences of her actions is to work out how to take care of this baby and whether or not that means involving the father. She’s owning up. She goes to Lorelai and offers to give up this book; she doesn’t make excuses or whine, she wrote the book anyway because she believes in it, but when she’s gotten three chapters in, she respectfully goes to her mother and asks her to read it and then, for the sake of Lorelai, not herself, Rory promises to quit and throw the book out if Lorelai does not approve. Because Lorelai is more important to her than herself. Rory has worked hard and made mistakes and gotten pregnant and she has stared the world in the eyes and seen she’s not special. And she has to deal with that. And she does, finally, deal with it. And she’s happy.

Emily: Emily is confronted with the fact that nothing is inside her control—except what she does. Worth does not come from what she owns or who she’s with or what she’s wearing, and it didn’t come from her marriage, either. That wasn’t why she married Richard anyway. She is miserable and alone, and part of that is her fault. She married Richard because she loved him, and she keeps coming back to Lorelai because she loves her, and she opens up her house to Rory when Rory needs a place to write because she loves her. Emily looks around at what she has and recognizes what has worth and what doesn’t, maybe for the first time, with clear vision. She recognizes that she can’t control everything. At first, that fact keeps her down. She forgets what day it is, the curtains are closed, and she doesn’t get up in the morning. No Richard, no Lorelai, no reason to move. And then Lorelai calls her, and tells her about who Richard was and what Richard did and how it mattered, and that inspires Emily. She can get up. She buys a place on Cape Cod, totally opposite of the sort of life everyone admires and expects to have worth, and she does what she’s really always been best at—she loves. She takes care. She took care of Richard, she took care of Lorelai and Rory when they needed it, and she takes care of Berta and her wonderful family, instead of having a maid take care of her needs. She packs up and moves out, she sends Jack away, she reveals the D.A.R. for what it is and quits them forever, and she takes a job at a whaling museum because she just likes it. It’s nothing fancy, and neither is her oceanic house or the music she plays in it or the clothing she wears, because none of that is worth anything anyway. Her family is. Her friends are. She gets the painting of Richard done right and brings it with her, and she gives up attempting control of everything and only takes control of how she behaves. She gives Lorelai what Lorelai needs for the Dragonfly, and her only stipulation is that she gets to spend more time with her daughter and Luke. She loves, she takes care of others, she helps. And she’s happy. And now, the best for last. The star.

Lorelai: Lorelai sits in that stupid Stars Hollow Musical and hears a song that perfectly describes her problem—it’s never or now. Make a commitment. Do something hard. Make your life about something other than your momentary present happiness and comfort, the way you do with just Rory, sometimes, but make it a permanent change. Make change permanent! Don’t run away! …And then she runs away. She’s been miserable, she’s hit bottom, like her mother before her and her daughter after her. She’s losing friends, she’s losing Luke, she’s losing Emily, she’s losing Rory over the manuscript, and it’s all her fault. Lorelai tries to breeze past it. She does Wild. She does what she’s never done before, she does something hard and uncomfortable, but she does it for herself, and therefore it doesn’t quite work. She tries to hike, Dipper Pines won’t let her hike, she meets other women her age who think this hike is gonna fix things, it doesn’t, and she gives up and goes to get coffee because that’s her go-to. (Coffee is speedy, bad for you, and only a temporary rush—kind of everything Lorelai clings to, actually.) But the coffee shop is closed, and when Lorelai is denied that allegorical Band Aid, she goes around back and sees a great view and finally finds clarity. She didn’t need the hike—she needed to think. She needed a moment of silence and introspection to gain the insane courage to finally stop moving, stick around, and face her fears. To put her eyes on herself and then take her eyes off herself and onto other people—namely the people she loves. Lorelai calls Emily and cries, because it’s hard to do this, it hurts, but with one story, she proves she loved her father, and she knows her father loved her, and the fact that she’s calling shows that she knows Emily loves her too, and she loves Emily, and has loved them both all along. It gives Emily the strength she needs to get out of bed. That was hard, but Lorelai did it. And now she’s going to do more hard things—she’s going to commit. It’s never or now, and Lorelai chooses now. She goes home and the first thing she does is propose to Luke and become Lorelai Danes overnight. Hard. Scary. Just right. She patches things up with her daughter, and chooses Rory over herself—for the hundredth time, yes, but when it’s at its hardest for her to do. “I’ll read it when it’s done.” Lorelai expands the Dragonfly using one of the biggest monuments to her fear of commitment – the Twickham House. She goes to Emily for help, which is also super hard, but this time it’s not for Rory – it’s for her, and it’s for Michel, and it’s for the Dragonfly. And she accepts Emily’s affectionate terms. Lorelai chooses Rory, Luke, Emily, and Michel over herself, and commits, and she doesn’t run away. And she’s happy.

And all of it is earned. Finally earned.

I could talk more about the incredible writing, about ASP at her best, about the perfect themes and scenery and the very intentional end to Paris, Lane, Kirk, Taylor, Dean, Jess, Logan, Chris, and the general cast’s stories, but I’ve already rambled for too long.

Suffice it to say: A Year in the Life is my Gilmore Girls. It’s best version of the story. I think it was expertly done. Not perfect, but an ending that was earned.

[queenofthefullmoon]

An exhaustive list of Bloodborne bosses I would or would not date

Father Gascoigne

We’re starting this list off with a strong yes. You may be like, but Blue, this is a married man with two daughters! To this I reply: I pretend not to hear it. Also, not to be horrible, but his wife is dead while I’m right there baby, with my blunderbuss and my axe, and I’m ready to risk it all. YES, I know he’s a very stinky man, but you gotta make compromises sometimes. What’s that smell? Ah, the sweet dilf, it sings to me.

Cleric Beast

Let me be clear, I’m not a furry, but the Cleric Beast has stated some facts and made some points! The only reason why I’m not to keen on dating it is that it can’t best me in battle, which is something I’m always looking for in a partner.

Blood Starved Beast

Our first no of the list, I’m not very into skin flaps and poison, which the Blood Starved Beast has plenty of. Moreover, I’d have to get Djura’s approval, and that scares me beyond anything else in Yharnam.

Vicar Amelia

Another Cleric Beast, this time with a bit more flair to it. First of all we just have to admire the way she transforms, very sexy and bloody, which is something you’re gonna want in your relationship if you’re someone who likes fun. (Thiccar) Amelia, cradle me like your golden pendant.

Hemwick witches

Another hard no here. No offense, but I like having eyes, and dating a pair of witches covered in eyes that they’ve been harvesting for years doesn’t seem like a good idea to me!

Shadows of Yharnam

Honestly yeah? You get 3 cool partners in black robes for the price of one. They all wield different weapons, which makes for two excellent things. First of all, you get a very efficient bodyguard team (useful at parties, when a hunter gets drunk on blood, or when you open your front door and a beast is there). Secondly, if you want to have a fun sparring match with your partners, which we all know is a fundamental activity in a couple, you have very varied options!

And a bonus for animal lovers: they can spawn snakes at will for you!! Never a boring day with your 3 hooded partners.

Rom, the vacuous spider

NO. Don’t date Rom. She’s baby! She doesn’t understand what’s going on. Instead, here’s a list of nice activities you can do with Rom:

- Read her stories

- Trims her back growths

- Clean her teeth

- Make her some cute little glasses

- Knit matching socks for her and her children

- Teach her new spells

- Not date her

Darkbeast Paarl

Paarl is a similar situation as Rom. He’s just a little puppy… He doesn’t know what dating is. He knows what going on a walk means, though! So go on, go on a happy little walk with Paarl. He’ll love it, you’ll have fun, everyone will be happy.

Amygdala

Yes. Evidence that it’s a good idea is: lots of arms (good hugs), can grab the shit out of me, CAN and WILL crush me, can sometimes shatter my consciousness with its eldritch powers (very sexy), can send me in other dimensions, will annihilate my enemies with a funky laser beam, and the most amazing feature: can pop it’s eyes out of its skull like a stress ball (fun trick to show your friends at parties). The ideal girlfriend.

The One Reborn

NO!!!!! There’s a lot of freaky stuff I’d date in Bloodborne but the One Reborn is NOT one of them. Firstly, it has 6 nannies. Do I look like the type of person who wants their dates consistently moderated by 6 Pthumerian elders? No!!! I’m a free bitch baby!! And in addition to that, Juan Reborn just has too many limbs. It’s not okay. If we ever got engaged I wouldn’t know where to slip the ring.

Micolash, Host of the Nightmare

Would I..? No, I wouldn’t… Unless? Haha, just kidding. Wait… Actually… Um.

I mean… If you’re into bastardous hysterical little men who howl while running around, sure. BUT beware… You might lose him in a mirror and never find him again, which I find very inconvenient. Imagine going shopping with a guy who compulsively disappears in mirrors. Imagine explaining to the store employees why your dumbass boyfriend broke all their mirrors.

Also, how will we kiss?  With the cage on the way?

Oh god, do I have to wear a cage too?

Celestial Emissaries

I’m not against having a multitude of partners but I’m afraid that might be too much for me. Also, they look like little tiny bebes. I know I’ve said before that I wasn’t ready to be a parent, but I might make an exception for the Celestial Emissaries — let them chill in my home, make them pb&j sandwiches, stuff like that.

Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

Dear Ebrietas… I have a lot of fondness for her but she looks way too much like mac’n’cheese for comfort. She’s invited for sleepovers and all, no doubt about that, but I see our future together as platonic.

Martyr Logarius

Now Listen… Logarius is an Enemy of women. The proof of his crimes still remains in Cainhurst castle. Do I want to date the genocidal Yharnam Santa? Are you really asking me that? Do you take me for Executioner Alfred? I am not crazy. I will not date Martyr Logarius and his red skulls spamming ass (however miss Annalise queen of the Vilebloods, call me).

Mergo’s Wet Nurse

Um yes of course? Tall dark eldritch wife? I feel like Mergo’s Wet Nurse is the Dancer of Bloodborne, where I’m in a situation where I’m presented with the ideal girlfriend and people expect me to say no because she’s an enormous eldritch entity who could kill me in one hit or whatever. Do you think me a coward? Do you believe that I am not willing to risk it all for invisible girls? Think again.

Gehrman, the First Hunter

Ew no! Gross! He’s gonna make a doll designed after me and I will have to call the police!

Moon Presence

On one hand yes (see Mergo’s Wet Nurse) but on the other hand… I feel like the Moon Presence would be too possessive and easily jealous. I just need some freedom, yknow? The liberty to go out and make friends with other Great Ones. And I know she would NOT like that. She’d ask me if I’m the only Great One I’m talking to and I’d have to nervously hide my phone and say Yes Babe Always Babe, lest she would shackle me to an unending dream. I’m not about that life.

Ludwig the Accursed/the Holy Blade

I genuinely don’t know what to say. The screaming horse man? Am I— the horse boy? Him? No. I… I’m not gonna. I love his sword. Lots of class. Very good theme song, could be cool to have him as a friend (maybe I could ride him around to different locations?) but to date? Kiss his horse mouth? KISS HIS EYE MOUTH? You could say that… Neigh.

Laurence, the First Vicar

NOW WE’RE TALKING BABEY… All the class of the Cleric Beast with FIRE included! Picture this: it’s the winter, it’s snowing, and you’re cold… NOT! You are dating a FLAMING BEAST, you are never cold. Laurence has one proper arm to hold you and one arm that’s a constant flaming inferno, which means he’s great for the summer and the winter, depending on which temperature you want to be at. Your enormous flaming boyfriend will always be at your side.

Living Failures

First of all mood, second of all, this is kind of a Celestial Emissaries situation where I’m not against having many partners but I don’t want a whole congregation of them. There’s just too many Living Failures. I also like dating people with faces? And that aren’t, like, blue. So it’s a no from me, but I’ll befriend them. I’ll go garden with them and all. We can have a girls’ night, it’s all good.                      

Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower

I’m gonna have to be predictable and say yes here, but fair warning, Lady Maria isn’t for everyone! I know she looks like the perfect wife, but get this; this lady is a hunter. She’s only a lady because she’s related to royals. She has nothing ladylike in her. You think she takes baths? You think she knows what self-care IS????? I laugh at your ignorance, at how you misunderstand her. Maria is a stinky girl; but she is MY stinky girl.

Orphan of Kos

I don’t want to date the Orphan of Kos because he was literally just born and still has his placenta attached to him.  I don’t care for infants, and I don’t care for violent infants. I wouldn’t even want to invite him over to play with the Celestial Emissaries or something. He’s like that asshole child in kindergarten who hurts the other kids for fun. Am I being harsh to a literal baby and an orphan at that? Maybe. But Kos herself couldn’t tell me I’m wrong.

Bonus chalice boss: Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen

Now listen here… Yharnam is a queen, tall and kinda eldritch, absolutely rabid, which we’ve established is my type. Shall I step on the toes of Oedon and declare her mine? Perhaps. She has a very powerful scream, which worries me in case of a domestic fight, but overall I get to marry a kind of eldritch queen, which is alright in my book. I know she has an equally eldritch baby, but it’s formless, so it doesn’t bother me that much.   Dark Souls 1 ll Dark Souls 2 SOTFS ll Dark Souls 3

[popculturebuffet]

The Legion of Super Heroes Reviews: The Legion of Substitute Heroes or Unsung Heroes

Happy 29th Birthday to Me! Yes it’s my birthday which means it’s time for reflection, griping about getting older and cake. And after an exausting weekend of grappling with a growth, i’m not going to go into anymore detail, I can finally, relax celebrate and get back to reviewing. And since i’ts my big day, that means I decided to dedicate today’s reviews to things that mean a hell of a lot to me and in one way or another shaped me as a person. A self indulgant way to reflect on my past, look to the future and show y’all some stuff I really like. So with that out of the way let’s talk about the Legion of Super Heroes.. and their oddball sub team I love dearly. 

This is also my first chance to talk about DC Comics on my blog. I’m honestly shocked that in the year i’ve been reviewing stuff regularly, the other half of the big two superhero comic publishers hasn’t come up. While I do tend to lean towards marvel, in part because Marvel is simply better at collecting their stuff and putting it on sale more often, it’s still the home of some of my faviorite properties: Justice League International, The Green Lanterns (Minus Hal), Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, Oracle, Batgirl (All of them, particularly Steph and Cass), Young Justice, Supergirl, my personal boy The Martian Manhunter.. the list dosen’t go on by much but it indeed goes on. I”ve been reading dc comics since I was in middle school, and I haven’t stopped since and don’t intend to stop now and maybe in the next year I can get around to tackling some of their awesome cartoons and comics more eh? But yeah among these titans, including the actual titans, are the Legion, one of the most unique and awesome super team concepts in my humble opinon and , even for DC, one of the teams with the most tangled up histories. 

First created in the Silver Age by writer Otto Binder and Artist Al Plastino, The Legion of Superheroes is DC”s first successful teen superhero team, predating the titans by a few years, though I dearly love both wildly diffrent teams. The Legion is defined by their high concept: A thousand years into the future, three super teens from diffrent worlds who happened to be on the same ship with billionare RJ Brande, saved Brande from some goons hired by his crooked buisness partner. 

And exposed him. Inspirired by their courage, heart and skill, Brande latter called the three together to form them into a super team, one inspiried by the legends of teen hero Superboy. 

No not Conner though it was nice to get to show off my poster of him. While he was part of the second continuities legion, we’ll get to that, he’s not the superboy we’re looking for. He is damn great though and it’s good to have you back bud. 

Not Jon either, though I do miss this kid’s pre-bendis version and he was the inspiration.. for another version of the legion. (SIGH). Try. AGAIN IMAGE SEARCH. 

...... 

No not the cool bad boy turned troubled good boy, not the child who was inexpciably aged up by that bald smeghead, and not the great idea turned into a editiorial mouthpiece. I”m talking about THIS superboy. 

This is where the name came from: From the silver age till crisis on infinite earths, Clark Kent was active as a kid in smallville, and thus was Superboy, superman when he was a boy. He dealt with similar stories just with Lana replacing Lois, and Luthor as a ginger teenager. And it was these deeds as a teen hero on his own, one of the first honestly, that inspiried the legion and brande and forged the team. 

And it was naturally a super boy story where they were first introduced as the legion’s founders went back to recruit Superboy after putting him through some trials, and were intended as just one of many silver age one off concepts.. but caught on with the readers so much they were brought back, and had their ranks expanded and eventually not only added supergirl, yes the one your thinking of this time, to their ranks, and yes sometimes she and superboy were in the same place at the same time, Clark willingly had founding member and telepath Saturn Girl put a mental block in his head for any info he’s not supposed to know yet so it’s cool . But yeah not only that but they eventually became their own feature in Adventure Comics, where Superboy’s stories were published, but overtook him in popularity with time.  Over time a number of distinct aspects were established: The roster eventually got as large as 20 plus legionarres, almost all from diffrent worlds, and they eventually set up bilaws. Some are silly and dated such as “Legionarres marrying means they retire” which was eventually done away with in the 70′s, but others were simple logic: each member must have a unique power, no using weapons and such which rather than be super power snobbery is so said tech dosen’t fail and the legion later fully allowed Karate Kid, a martial artist, to join, no killing.. just common sense stuff that adds to it. And one of those is the centerpiece to today’s story, which we’ll get to in a moment.  Obviously given they’ve been around since 1958, there is a LOT more to the Legion’s history I will dig into at a later date: The short version is that Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dc’s first big reboot, fucked the team up badly by retconning superboy out of existance and dc editorial made it worse by shooting down EVERY solution the team came up with to fix the issue. So eventually things got so messy they nuked the whole thing during the event Zero Hour and rebooted fresh with Mark Waid taking the helm and updating the concept for the 90′s and being a more lighthearted, if still not without weight, comic in the sea of 90′s edge. Waid would reboot the team again due to sagging sales, a far weaker reason this time, with a more rebllion slant, the original team would be reinstated, and then ended for a while before recently being rebooted by Brian Micheal Bendis... who sadly is long past his creative prime from books like Ultimate Spider-man and alias and is instead stewing in his own toilet dinner these days and thus it’s not pretty.. well okay art wise i’ts VERY pretty, it’s just story wise it sucks dirty ass in thunder storms. There was also an awesome cartoon that sadly lasted only two seasons that I will DEFINTELY be digging into, especially since unlike x-men evolution, it’s not you know 50 some episodes and me biting off way more than I can chew but a slim 26 that still has fans to this day. I”ll get into ALL OF THIS, some ohter time hopefullly and I mostly outlined it since some of you might be familiar with another version or “Sigh” the reboot and this helps clear things up.  So yeah with all that out of the way we’re going back to the silver age and the first story I ever read of hte team, how I met them with “The Legion of Substitute Heroes” and a later subs story I genuinely love. I first read this story in one dc’s old expensive archives collections I got from the library. Oh how I miss the library. Your probably wondering who the legion of susbstite heroes are.. but since the first story covers that we can jump right in after the break!

So we open with a teen in a parka uniform disembarking from a spaceship from another planet, which a passerby notes is just like the airplanes people used to ride from country to country. 

But we meet our hero, Polar Boy, whose in a winter themed outfit and has come to try out. This is the tradition I was saving for now: The Legion Tryouts. Like a club or sports team would, but I like it because it makes sense: The Legion NEEDS to be as big as it is because while their headquartered on earth, their mission scope is anywhere in the united planets which spans GALAXIES. They could be called on any time and need their full force or need to have severa l members on a smaller mission and frequently having members away on a mission was cleverly used to reduce the cast to whoever was needed for the story. 

So it only makes sense to frequently look for new membbers to help strengthen their ranks... but given their teens and are recurting teens they need to be careful and need a logical way to reduce crowd flow. I mean you saw how many people used to line up for american idol before that died a justified death, people will do anything to be famous and they need to weed out those whose powers and skill just aren’t up to snuff yet, or those who are just dicks as, unsuprisingly, several stories have been built on assholes who applied and were rejected turning evil and attacking.. even though the Legion wasn’t even paticuarlly harsh. They also are more than fair as applicants CAN try again or if they prove themselves in other ways can be let in, as Bouncing Boy, my favoirite legionarre, was intially rejected for his power of .. well...

Yeah.. on paper inflating like a ball and bouncing around is kind of silly. In practice he can ricochet off enemies, walls, and obstacles and is fairly durable in that state. It’s why I don’t really brook mocking the guys power: yes it’s goofy.. but say that again when he hands you his ass. It’s the same with matter eater lad who yes is an actual character: While being able to eat anything is gloriously goofy.. it means he can chew through ANY substance and digest ANYTHING. Hell in the cartoon episode intorducing the subs they used both of these guys to great efffect: Bouncing Boy, who in the cartoon had to try out multiple times in his backstory, encouraged the future subs while Matter Eater Lad got in by EATING A FUCKING BOMB. He also had shades which I dind’t know he was missing but now I do. My point is the process is fair and well thought out and leads to some really fun scenes. 

But yeah joining the legion is naturally Polar Boy’s dream, as he walks down the avenue of heroes, basically a series of statues honoring the legion and hopes all his hard work paid off. We then cut to the auditions, where he apparently waited all night. What I like about this story is that unusually for the silver age legion where it was mostly a sea of powers attached to a bunch of cardboard, really the dc silver age in a nutshell and why marvel broke out so much for having more dynamic and realistic characters, Polar Boy has more of a personality. It’s not MUCH but he’s a dedicated, hard working kid who just wants to join his heroes and seems really in awe of htem, a feeling we can all relate to. We’ve all had people we’ve looked up to, admired, and we’ve all had groups we wanted to join as kids, teens or what have you. And of course.. we all know what it’s like to be rejected by someone or something you badly wanted to be a part of.  And that’s what happens to poor polar boy, who comes from a world with an intense sun thus his people developed super cold powers.. but he can’t control them well so while their impressive, they also freeze the legion. HIs powers are good... but due to their strength and radius he’s also a liablility. They give him an consolation anti-gravity belt.. they had these before eventually compressing them into the much cooler flight rings.. which I still desperatly want one of. I have the flash’s costume ring and a green lantern corps ring, but still no legion ring. 

Naturally this devistates the poor boy and he wonders around dispondent till nightfall, convinced he’ll never be one of them. He soon meets Night Girl, a fellow reject with super strength given to her by her dad’s formula.. but only in darkness as she’s from a world without sunlight. She also faces a “hopeless future” but it’s then Polar Boy’s true strength reveals itself: he decides screw giving up on their dream and if they can’t be in the legion they’ll start their own Legion. 

Though not to compete but to serve as a subtistute, in case the legion is ever incapacitated. So Night Girl gathers the other rejects the next morning. Cleverly one of them, Chlorophyll Kid was seen with Night Girl herslef at the tryouts behind Polar Boy. We soon learn about them and each of their origins: Stone Boy can turn himself into an immobile stone statue, as his world has half a year long nights and thus his people hybernate, Fire Lad who can spit hot fire literally and set anything combustable on fire and Chlorphyll Kid who can make plants grow rapidly. Each were rejected for resonable powers: Stone Boys powers too static, Fire Lad’s is too dangerous and Chorlpyl Kids toos pecific. But upon seeing all of this Polar Boy says they STILL have fantastic powers and still can help people and the legion. 

Thus the Legion of Substittue Heroes is born. And I love them as much as the originals. As a bit of a misfit myself I relate to these guys: They have strange specific powers, got rejected by the big team.. while that trope is nothing new at the time it was unique and even now it’s a nice and inspiring message. Instead of giving up they form their OWN team to do what htey can anyway. They might not be the best like the legion but they can still help and still do what’s right even if not on their scale. It’s a great concept and really makes them endearing. Again I have a thing for the underdogs but I still really like these guys. It’s why it annoys me they got kind of spat on with time: While I love Keith Giffen and Paul Levitz run on the legion, and feel it’s the best of that contnuinty it’s not without fault and the two basically spent a full issue mocking the team and split polar boy off from them before making their own subs with only ONE of the originals. It just felt.. disrspectful. And so far no continuity has used them again until the recent bendis run, which has them announced for the Future Slate special. It took BENDIS, who dosen’t get how to use the team properly and is up his own ass, to bring them back in a new continuity and I find that obnoxious. The subs are a great concept and deserve to be honored as such and as such are one of my favorite superhero teams. 

But their careers don’t start well as they doubt themslves, except for Polar Boy who boisters them along, and constnatly just end up going to missions the legion already has covered and when the legion go to fight some robot ships, they refuse the subs help.. which is fair though, as Brainy puts it they can’t risk putting untrained volunteers in harms way. Their about to just quit, in a really sad moment.. when CK, because I can’t spell cholophill and hate having to use spell check notices some odd seeds spread about.. and when he grows one a horrifying tree man shows up. They struggle with it till the setting son finishes it’s job, meaning Night Girl is at full power and whollops it and the subs spend the night destroying the seeds.  They  find out the next day the seeds came from the same planet as the robot ships, meaning the ships are a distraction for whoevers doing this and since they can’t just call earth, as the full force of the legion is needed with the robots and all it’d do is cause a panic, it’s down to them. Night Girl however is scared.. and I like that. It shows that while their regaining their confidence.. it’s sitll risky. Their a bunch of barely trained fanboys, and girl, going up against an alien invasion, with it down to them. They CAN save the world but it’s alright to be entirely terrified when your thrust into it this fast. 

They make their way to the planet, having built a ship earlier and lie low, finding out what’s going on: The plant men are fully intellegent, and grow themselves..though how they know to attack and go to the bathrom and what not out of the seed I don’t know but I assume it’s a genetic thing or they might be some form of hive mind. point is the seed plan is to grow troops all over the world via rockets for an invasion, and it’s a brilliant concept for one too. Aliens who simply GROW the troops right into battle, born with the knowledge to do so, and right where they can ambush them. It’s down to our heroes and Stone Boy, whose been the most pesemistic, valiantly dives in to provide a distraction so they can destroy the factory and the seeds. Turns out he is useful as the most the treeple have is a space lead pipe.. yes really. I love the silver age. But they’ll bring ray guns soon, so Stone BOy knows it’s a suicide mission and now our heroes have a timer. But luckily.. our heroes are stronger than they think. Night Girl punches a way in till Night passes, while Polar Boy and Flame Lad use their powers in concert to make an opneing.. but with time running out Polar Boy finishes things by having CK grow all the seeds now they have acess.. thus exploding the planets population, destroying several cities from the number of bodies, and thu discourguing the treeple from trying again. Stone boy is able to flee with the rest of our heroes and the day is saved. 

The heroes opt not to tell the public, as to take away glory for the Legion. It’s a noble gesture.. they do DESERVE credit, but they choose not to take it, preferring to let the legion get theres for stil lsaving the world from the robots. They stand firm, now confident they may someday make it to the big leagues.And it’s this that really makes me love them: Thier not the strongest or best, but they try anyway for the reasons a hero should: to help people, and not for the glory. THey remain unsung heroes and are fine with that.  Eventually the Legion WOULD find out about them, but naturally instead of being dickheads about it, fully accepted them, even offering them some contests for membership, but that’s a story for another day. THey’d remain stalwart allies and valuable backup in crisis situations for years to come until the bollocks outlined above. But they’d never leave my heart and thanks to them.. the legion never left either. 

Final Thoughts:  While I do love the story for it’s personal signifigance to me, It’s stilll a really good story for the time. A bit stilted as was the style, but still good, well paced and with an endaring cast of underdogs who prove themselves in the end. It’s something diffrent from the usual clean cut ahead in life wasps these stories usually followed at the time. While the team’s still all white and all that, their outcasts and misfits who just want to help and have trouble beliving in themselves. Their a good standard to live up to.. and a good inspiration for me and my constnatly self hating self doutbing self. And I hope you enjoyed htem too.  If you’d like to comission your own review, just dm me. It’s 5 bucks for individual issues. Later days. 

[elliepassmore]

A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: fantasy, Fae, final battles, scheming, magic I will say, this is a much better finale book than KoA was set up to be. I adore both series, and actually like ToG slightly better, but this book was a better length, had more action, and definitely had a better, more realistic final battle than KoA does, which I’m surprised about since this one came out first and therefore Maas had time to write the KoA ending, but whatever. That aside, there’s obviously the issue that no one really *important* dies in the final battle. Like, you have all these people and a lot of them are old and they’re pretty much all certain they’re going to die and they just…don’t. I don’t want any of them to die, but it is unrealistic, though again, I feel it works out better in this book than in KoA. We don’t really get a huge view of the land in this one. We peek a bit into the Autumn and Winter Courts, and we get the view of exactly 1) palace within the Dawn Court, but that’s it. Most of the information we get about the rest of Prythia in this one comes from meeting the other High Lords. They’re definitely an eclectic bunch, but the way they were all characterized makes me wonder why they weren’t working together previously. Like, they all (save for Beron and Tamlin) seem to be on pretty decent terms with one another and aren’t overly hostile or aggressive. Considering everyone there is at least a little bit of a politician, it just doesn’t make strategic sense to not have firm alliances in place from before Amarantha. Having no alliances post-Amarantha makes more sense considering everything that happened Under the Mountain, but while there was a mention of friendship and previous cooperation between the different Courts, I didn’t get the sense that they’d actually solidified anything like they did in this book. Representation is a bit better in this book. We get to see more people and women of color, and they’re not just around to die. ACoMaF had some black characters from the Summer Court in it, and Amren has always been coded as Some Asian Ethnicity, but ACoWaR does a better job of having more characters of color in a variety of different roles. Likewise, we get introduced to more gay characters, but it’s definitely a more periphery acknowledgement than anything. One of the High Lords has a male lover who is his captain (power imbalance?), another High Lord is the stereotypical horny bisexual, and then there’s a story Azriel and Rhys tell Feyre about a flyer in Drakon’s aerial legion who did an impressive feat and also happens to be a lesbian. [ Also, Mor comes out as being bisexual? (gay?) it’s not entirely clear which she is, but she’s still in the closet with just about everyone but Feyre. (hide spoiler)] So, better representation, but still not great. So, Feyre’s back in the Spring Court and is up to some serious shenanigans. She doesn’t stay there for more than 10 chapters (which is about the average for books like these, actually) and then she’s back with Rhys, the Inner Circle, and her sisters in Velaris. A lot of her growth in this book is about coming to terms with her newfound status as High Lady, where to draw the ‘friend’ vs. ‘High Lady’ line when interacting with her friends, and where to draw the line with her powers. Her character is definitely one that mostly got settled in the last book and as a result, most of her attention is focused on the plot and driving it forward, which is nice to see. I think it’s actually Rhys who does a lot more growing in this book than anyone else. He seemed like he was in a better place than Feyre was in ACoMaF—whether he was is a different story, but what we were shown says he was in a better place—but in this one, we get more of a glimpse into his trauma from Under the Mountain and from the recent spat with Hybern, and even a little of his trauma from the past war. There are some lowkey, very casual suicidal ideations that I pick up that are disguised as self-sacrificial behaviors but that definitely reek of that kind of ‘I wouldn’t move out of the way if a car was coming’ sort of passive suicide. Other than that, we get to see Rhys letting his guard down more around people outside the Inner Circle and we get to see a lot of his interaction with the other High Lords, which was funny to read. In terms of the Inner Circle, the focus is on Azriel a lot more in this one. In ACoMaF, he sort of took a backseat while we got to know Mor, Amren, Cassian better (in that order), so it was pleasantly surprising that we got to see some quality Azriel and Feyre time. He’s gentler and funnier than he seems, that’s for sure, and despite everything, he comes across as having an extremely gentle soul. Mor goes through a lot in this one, a lot of wounds are placed out in the open and she has to figure out how she wants to or not to deal with them. Suffice to say, she’s a lot less cheery in this one, though that spirit is still there. Amren is as cranky as ever, though like Azriel, we get to hear more of her past and motivations for certain things. Cassian is mostly his usual self in this one, maybe a bit more snarky since Nesta is around full-time, but mostly business-as-usual. In terms of the other Archeron sisters…Nesta and Amren definitely fit together. Both are traumatized after the ending of ACoMaF, but to say Nesta is taking things a lot better than Elain is an understatement. Nesta was built to withstand tragedy and still remain standing long enough to take down her enemies. While she’s cold, distant, and a little cruel for a lot of the book, toward the end she starts showing cracks in the façade. Elain, on the other hand, is more like the flowers she loves so dearly—strong in many ways, but wilt and get trampled under the wrong circumstances. Elain hollow for most of the book, struggling to reconcile everything she’s lost since the ending of the previous book, and trying to adjust to the new world and life she’s found herself in. Out of all three of them, Elain had the most to live for and the most to lose in the human world, and it shows itself in her reaction to the changes occurring with her and her life situation. Tamlin is obviously in this one. Uh…not sure how I feel about this. He get the start of a redemption arc and I just…I can’t roll with that. After everything he did to Feyre in ACoMaF, everything his actions led to at the end of that book, the result of just all of his recent bad decisions, there’s just no way to spin that into a redemption and make it believable. To be fair, Maas did not make it believable, so there’s that. She tried to make it more realistic by having Feyre and Rhys say they believed Tamlin was trying to spy against Hybern rather than ally with them, but….again, it just doesn’t make sense despite Feyre and Rhys having plenty of reasons to not believe him. So, as helpful as Tamlin is in this one, I just don’t buy his innocence. Lucien was in this for a bit too, though not for all that much time. He’s mostly around to 1) realize what a dick Tamlin is, 2) realize that the Night Court isn’t so bad, and 3) to gather allies for the war from the human side of the world. I guess he gets some character props for being Elain’s mate but it’s just another thing that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me (right up there with Tamlin’s started redemption arc). Not related to Tamlin, but belongs in the redemption arc section, Eris starts to get a bit of one himself, albeit less of one than Tamlin does. There are just some hints he may not be the asshole everyone things he is. I think Maas needs a little help writing her endings/final books, but it’s a decent book overall. As already mentioned, I think this ending is much better than the KoA one, and the plot is more plot-driven than battle-driven, which was nice. I enjoyed seeing the development of Nesta and Elain, as well as the introduction of characters like Vassa and Bryaxis. I do wish we got a bit more downtime with Rhys and Feyre like in the last one, but I don't think it was possible without making the book border on 'too long.'

As a heads up, the review for A Court of Frost and Starlight is going up this Saturday instead of next Wednesday like usual since it’s technically a novella.

[ladylilithium]

Hans’ possible Redemption Arc PART 1: Deconstructing Hans' character

Hey, guys! So this is my first post analysis, meta, observation, whatever you wanna call it, so if it’s seems incomplete or lacks of depth please add your opinions as well! Also English is not my first language but argentine Spanish, papá, so don’t judge me plz. I don’t want to encounter with any anti or hater, and if you have the necessity to speak your mind anyways, do it but in a cordial way.

I’m going to divide this post in 3 parts I think, since is very long, and I have a lot to say for my favorite Jerk redhead Prince 😆

Ok, let’s start, shall we?

_________________________________________

1) Is he really a sociopath?

You know, this is something that upsets me quite a bit. The fact that you can just say “Oh well, he’s a sociopath so he’s manipulative and lacks of empathy” is something that annoys me a little, or at the very least, disappoints me. TBH, you don’t need to be a sociopath (a psychological and mental condition) to be manipulative, apathetic or cruel. I’m trying not to rationalize his actions in Frozen, because he still was wrong by harming two innocent women, but by saying that he’s a sociopath it makes his character a little more… shallow? Simpler? My point is, that a shitty toxic person can be anyone, and it simplifies the complexity that they brought on the table on the first place.

But the questions still remains, is he truly a sociopath?

Is tricky, since we know nothing except that his family is shit, and that he is a chameleon, a mirror to other people. By the end of the movie, and by the interviews that Jennifer Lee gave to us, it seems to me that he does have sociopathic traits, but he is not a sociopath per se. Hans can be a sociopath, as much as he could be not, if it’s given a proper character in-depth and backstory.

I think that by calling Hans a sociopath is an easy way to make the GA and the Frozen Fandom to disconnect with him since statistically we have normal-functioning brain, and because people with ASPD diagnose have a negative -though justified most of the time- stigma surrounding them.

2) Grey Morality: The line between good and bad, where we all fall.

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”  ― Alan Moore, Batman: The Killing Joke.

As I said before, I like the idea of a morally questionable prince. A more grounded, realistic, game of throne-like character as Hans is. What I don’t like, is the seemingly automatic white to black view that we have for Hans,  while at the same time, we have one of our protagonist letting almost die a whole kingdom, and her sister,  to escape her duties and crippling fears –unintentionally, but still-.  An empath or normal person can commit crime or bad things given in extremes situations of distress, anger, etc. And we see that with our own eyes in Elsa. She almost gets tempted to kill two men, you can see the fury in her eyes, in her face. 

It is self defense, yes. But regardless of that, her people knew nothing about her powers and they just knew that she cursed them and ran away. No matter how morally wrong Hans was by trying to kill Elsa, or letting Anna die, he also helped her. He helped them both.

If she indeed killed those men here, I don’t think anyone whould’ve ever trusted her. Not even her own men, whom remember, they witnessed her actions and they were attacked too. 

A normal person lies. A normal person manipulates. Heck, we even can choose to not feel empathy if it is inconvenient for ourselves.  How many times did you pretend to feel empathy for someone just to make them feel comfortable? How many times did you see a homeless person asking for a money and you just walked away?

Again, I’m not trying to normalize these negative traits, but to be sincere about it. And is something that makes us very complex as human beings, we are true neutrals, and we can be good or bad, depending of the actions taken at certain moments, and how it impacts to others.

Yes, some people are irredeemable monsters, but I don’t think that’s Hans’ case. And so he does have redeemable qualities as well, even if it might be for personal gain, or perhaps some of his actions were genuine, we don’t know for sure. 

When did we not see an ambiguous morality in Frozen? Or when did we not see ambiguous morality in some Disney characters, in general? Is hard to find, but we do certainly have our morally wrong characters redeemed. Here are a few: 

- Abused both physically and psychologically Cinderella. CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-Imprisoned Belle. -Verbally violent towards his subjects and Belle. -Almost harms physically Belle. CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-Killed a bear out of vengeance. -Let motherless a bear cub, that after he would befriend. CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-Almost kill a bear out of vengeance too. On top of that, was his own brother (though he didn’t know). CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-Tried to kill Simba and take his pride. -(invoked) Forced mating with Kiara. -Almost attacks Simba. CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-Tried to kill Simba. -Attacked the lionesses of his pride. CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-He was an asshole to everyone. -He ordered a guard to throw an old man through a window (still lol). -He tried to let homeless a whole village for his selfish desires. -He betrayed Pacha’s trust. -He let Pacha on his own fate (probably to die). CURRENT STATE: Redeemed. 

-Along with Syndrome, she plotted the death of many superheros, including Mr. Incredible. -Almost kill Mr. Incredible. -She almost kill a whole family, including the children.  CURRENT STATE: Redeemed.

-He tried to kill Elsa, and let Anna die alone for personal gain. -Deceived Anna, Elsa and everyone else. -Plotted the death of Elsa at some point in the movie (unclear when exactly). -Degraded verbaly Anna. -He tried to break Elsa’s heart to make her give up her life. Redeemable Qualities: -He took care of Arendelle while Elsa and Anna were gone (though, it still can be interpreted as gaining popularity). -He went off to look out for Anna. -He ordered the Arendelle guards and the Merchant’s not to harm Elsa. -He calmed Elsa’s rage, avoiding her to kill. -He tried to reason with her.

Elsa is shown that suffers of guilt and insecurities, yet throughout the majority of the movie, she still rejects Anna and her responsibilities as Queen. Even to a point where she witnesses hurting Anna with her magic,

 yet she just casts her away from her Ice Castle. Or after the misery that she caused -and she’s visibly hurt by that- she’s still thinking of running away, instead of trying to change things. Hans pleaded her to stop the winter and bring back summer, but she said that she couldn’t.

My goal here is not victim-blaming. I’m not blaming Elsa for her insecurities or self-defense actions. But her character at the end of the film, has a lazy realization, and for me, an unsatisfactory conclusion in terms of story-telling, because we never she her develop for herself, or working hard to balance her bad actions throughout the end of the movie, but anyway.

I’m not trying to rationalize morally questionable/wrong actions either. A good action doesn’t cancel the bad one, but my main interest is to analyze the human psyche, character growth and development.

3) Love and Fear: a constant subject in Frozen, and a constant subject for a “Prince”.

So cut through the heart, cold and clear Strike for love and strike for fear See the beauty, sharp and sheer Split the ice apart, and break the frozen heart.

—Disney’s Frozen “Heart”

DID HANS ACT ONLY OUT OF COLD AMBITION, OR HE WAS ALSO AFRAID?

For what we know from A Frozen Heart, interviews and extra information, is that Hans is abused so much by his brothers, that he just accepted their behavior and doesn’t fight back, is something normal for him. Nor he tries to improve his relationship with them. His relationship with his father is also painfully cold and toxic, and their dynamics are comparable to Zuko and Ozai, Tyrion and Tywin, or Theon and Balon. Hans seems to have an inferiority-superiority complex, and so, his pride is fragile and as well (just as previous Zuko, Theon and Tyrion).

But how? He’s very charming, and his body language never shows signals of insecurity (though that’s debatable). Or when he confesses his true intentions to Anna he has a sexy smug smile in his face, and his voice is soft and low, cruel and never trembling. How is that I believe that he was afraid or scared? Well, the movie itself states that he does have a terrible relationship with his brothers, the novelizations extends this to his father. 

So by knowing this, a person copes with the pain and abuse in different ways: Elsa’s fear is hurting her loved ones, so she forced herself to an emotional -and literal- isolation towards them, specially with Anna. In Hans’ case, his fears are being trapped forever in his “home”, and being rejected by his father. So his way to acclimatizing himself in such negative environment, is to avoid his true feelings and morality. Avoiding his true identity, in essence. Thus, becoming into the Mirror Hans (more on that later), allowing him to become the very thing that he actively tried to avoid for years.

I think that here’s the point where he started to panic; where the fear of going back to his depressive life, and the taste of power that Anna gave him when she left him in charge, took him over completely, forcing himself to toss apart any bit of  true morality and compassion that he had for Anna and Elsa. Where his mind started to realize that executing Elsa was the only way to bring things back to normal. 

But is also the fact that Anna dissapeared, and Elsa was the only rightful heir to Arendelle, so his conflict was “What do I do? What’s next?” If Hans decided at the moment to execute her, and Anna was dissapeared, he wouldn’t get to be King of Arendelle, and he would back to his hell home. His conflict is both emotional and materialistic, and fear started to get under his skin too. Some might argue that he’s just reflecting Elsa’s emotions, which is valid, but keep in mind his goals, his backstory; try to read him beyond what the movie told you. Link the dots to picture his mind. 

Some other might point out this scene.

[SIDENOTE: To me, it seems like another atempt to make us dislike him more. In my eyes, is like that the creators tried to manipulate us to hate him, but anyway don’t mind my defensiveness towards him LOL. He’s a terrible person Angie! Stop it, goddamit!]

It interpreted this part as Hans joy of finally seeing the chance of escaping his prisonic home, dehumanizing Elsa completly. WHICH IS BAD regardless. Is he a sadist? The book implies that he takes pleasure in feeling physical pain, but he does not take pleasure on harming others. 

So to me, is a smile of almost getting to win a big bad in a videogame, or well... that’s the type of face when I’m about to eat a pizza so, IDK :v 🤷‍♀️

THE MACHIAVELLIAN KING VS THE MACHIAVELLIAN PRINCE: The Lion and the Fox.

One of the reasons that Hans didn’t fit his family -besides being the smaller and weaker member of them-, is that his morale and philosophy clashed with the imposing, hard power that his father values. Being flexible and benevolent to the common people is a sign of weakness for Hans’ father and brothers. The king sees himself and his other sons as strong and powerful as lions, and he compares Hans to a mouse because he doesn’t fight back, nor shares his value of hard power. The King’s philosophy is kinda like Darwinism with Machiavellian shades. So in one side, we have the cruel side of the Machiavellian philosophy, the one that values fear over love:

“From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”

“One can say this in general of men: they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit...Love is a bond of obligation that these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so; but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes.”

But in Hans’ side, he believes (or puts in practice, at least) that appearances and benevolent acts are better way to influence people, to gain more popularity. This is the softer side of power, the more deceitful and diplomatic Machiavellian route:

“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”

“Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”

“Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.”

So we see the two opposing sides of the Machiavellian philosophy, one relies on hard power, and the other in subtle power. In essence, Hans’ father rejects the soft power because of his imposing pride and ego. But both characters share the same Machiavellian influence in their beliefs, the only difference is that Hans takes no joy in being cruel and tyrannical, thus preferring the softer, more subtle side of power. 

Yet at the end of the day, he embraces the cruelty, and fails to become the hero he expected to become, and by the time he realizes his mistakes and regains his morality, is too late.

What I’d like to see in Hans’ Redemption Arc, is a discussion between the characters (mainly Hans and Elsa) about this matter. An intellectual battle, and him realizing that his father was wrong. Not so in-your-face, because I can see people getting bored over political philosophy, but in a metaphorical way. And Hans coming in terms that deceitfulness and fear, aren’t the only way to gain trust, but love and true friendship as well. 

He can be a fox, and a lion too.

“The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”

― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Part 2 Here

[kihocrystal]

Winter 2017 - Final Impressions

This is like a week late (again), but here are my thoughts about the animes I watched that finished this season! There’s 10 reviews under the cut, and they’re listed in alphabetical order for your convenience~

3-gatsu no Lion (March comes in like a Lion) - 9 / 10 ( A )

a super good character drama!!! I love how it focuses on themes of depression / loneliness as well!

the art / animation by Shaft is… well, very Shaft-like! (thanks Akiyuki Shinbo~)

good use of both muted / pastel colors and sharp / dark colors in different scenarios

hash lines were used on characters as well! gives it a sketch-like quality~

the animation itself was quite good too! mostly subdued, but had moments of really good fluidity

this shows itself the most in the more artistic sequences, for sure

and since this is Shaft, BOY did they pull out all the stops for those sequences!

…and yes, the infamous headtilts are also here :P

It was also good w/ the comedic animation (including w/ expressions!)

a note about *sound* for a sec: they always had voice-over to go w/ onscreen onomatopoeia!

plus they gave monologue voices to the kawamotos’ cats… interesting choice~

this show just *really* loves cats (even making shogi explanations using cats!)

there are A LOT of really good / memorable characters here; they help the show really shine!

(it IS a character-based drama, after all)

Rei Kiriyama!!! what a great (and relatable!) protag

seeing his mental struggles play out was very interesting to see (& also very complex, in a good way!)

he’s also very sympathetic, despite being a prodigy! he has to deal w/ lots of crap :(

we see him struggle & blame himself a lot, so it’s even better when he finds some happiness or revelation!

HE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY ;A; (…and he definitely makes progress by season’s end!)

there’s so many Good supporting characters that i’d be here all day if I went into detail about them ^^;

the Kawamoto’s are such a supporting family for Rei!!!

all 3 sisters are really good (and occasionally get some spotlight time… mostly Hinata though)

Nikaidou’s also a good guy… he’s kind of like Rei’s rival! (he’s kinda pushy but gives Rei good motivation & help!)

shout-out to Tatsuyuki-san; his personality was quite fun and also loves cats to death

Hayashida-sensei! He’s a bumbling guy, but really gives great advice once in a while :’)

he also is Rei’s main mentor on the school side of things, pulling some strings to help Rei move on to 2nd year ;~;

Shimada-san was a late addition, but HOT DAMN did he have a great impact on Rei + the show

I loved his backstory, i loved his personality, i loved his seiyuu’s performance… great character all around

Kyoko is VERY FAR from a Good character, but she shows more complexities as time goes on

on one hand, she’s VERY manipulative of Rei’s emotions; she also has feelings of jealously towards him + feelings for Gotou

speaking of Gotou, WHAT A FUCKING ASSHOLE

I don’t remember what his first appearance was, but that scene of him riling up Rei made me LIVID

at least he gets beaten by Shimada-san in the lion king tournament >:)

as far as story goes, it’s a character-focused drama; so it follows a year of Rei’s life going through high school and his pro shogi career

the drama comes from both character interactions & developments they go through; it’s executed REALLY WELL

the show pulls off both incredibly goofy and incredibly somber moments quite well!

Rei’s path of self-growth isn’t quite done yet, as the final episode shows him entering 2nd year and establishing a club!

the finale also has a look back on how his perceptions on life & loneliness have changed since he was a kid~

in any case, season 2 is confirmed and will be coming this fall season! \o/

Overall, I really enjoyed this artistic and introspective show! Definitely one of my (four?) picks for AOTS~

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu ka - 8.0 / 10 ( B )

This was probably the most chill & relaxed anime about bureaucracy and political coups / upheaval that I’ve ever seen xD

animation:

I really like what Madhouse did with the visuals! It’s quite a unique look~

The art style had elements of realism (w/ the characters, at least); however their hair looks fluffy & light! (& some funny facial features, so it’s not all realism :P)

not to mention the backgrounds are brightly colored & watercolor-esque~

the art in general is also kinda sketch-like with the outlines! it’s kind of a rough look but w/ a bunch of charm!

I also have to mention the FOOD in this show; there’s good attention to detail here, plus it’s drawn so nicely (+ even huge sometimes!)

the animation itself was also nice, in terms of subtle movements, like walking or hand/head movements!

super big shout-out to the *opening theme*!!! That was definitely my favorite OP of the season; it’s such a jam!!!

It’s also a nice contrast from the rest of the show’s tone (the song’s super upbeat, while the show itself is so chill :P)

characters:

The cast overall was interesting to watch; there’s a good mix of personalities here, but all of them contribute to the show’s laidback tone~

Jean Otus (the main protag) can sneaky when he wants to (but he’s mostly nonchalant)

he’s a nice guy, but doesn’t emote much… it can be hard to get a read of what he’s thinking, for sure

either way, he’s still quite caring (towards Nino & his sister Lotta, at least)

Nino’s great… he’s my favorite character in this show, for sure

he can be really sneaky sometimes, but is also a genuine friend to Jean & Lotta :’)

I also really liked seeing how tight Jean & Nino’s bond was~

it also helps that his seiyuu (Kenjiro Tsuda) had a great performance voicing him~

Lotta is a happy & cheerful girl who loves her food / bread! (she doesn’t contribute much to the overarching plot, though)

Rail (the policeman) gets dragged into some plot happenings from time to time, but proves to be a nice guy by the end

Prince Schwan, despite being the next-in-line for the throne, doesn’t seem to do much in the overarching plot (at least not until the finale?)?

in any case, any character voiced by Miyano Mamoru is still fun to watch regardless

Maggie (Schwan’s guard) keeps a good eye on him

plus he’s kinda a dork… in a deadpan way (& he sure loves his sandwich bread)

Lilium kinda blended in w/ the other ACCA chairmen in the beginning, but eventually showed his true (i.e. evil) intentions by ep. 10 or so

poor Grossular’s had it rough; first he had his country take responsibility for a major train accident, and now Lilium blackmailed / took advantage of him :(

he was a prime suspect to being the true identity of Nino’s main boss for a while, too! (it ended up being Oulu, the blond mustache guy xD)

Mauve was a good & strong female authority figure in ACCA too! She kinda acted like a private investigator at times :P

I was unsure where she stood most of the time, but I’m glad she proved to be the one to thwart Lilium’s plan in the end~

the other five chairman + other ACCA members were… just kinda there. That’s all I’m gonna say about them ^^;

story:

the basic premise involves Jean having to travel to each of the 13 districts within the country, while plans for a coup d’etat brew in the background!

no matter what wheeling & dealing was going on during the story, the tone always stayed calm & cool (w/ smooth jazz music to boot xD)

there’s quite a bit going on in the story at any given time, but I will admit it was hard for me to follow much of the time ^^;

many characters being really vague (I’m looking at you, five chairmen…) didn’t really help things in this regard either

of course, you could argue this adds to the mystery / intrigue, so… your mileage my vary

I was still interested in what was happening though! Especially when it involved the main players (& learning more about them!)

I liked the world-building!!! It was cool seeing how each district was different from each other~ (plus the different foods, of course)

episode 4 was particularly interesting, since it involved Suitsu & how it was kinda like a darker-tone mini-version of the overarching plot!

my favorite aspect of the story was learning about Jean’s (& Lotta’s) secret link to the royal family, along w/ Nino’s involvement w/ that!

the episode(s?) that were from Nino’s perspective as he grew up w/ his father (as they both watched the Otus kids) were definitely a highlight for me

the overall picture (or at least, where certain characters stood in the plot) grew clearer by the end, and by the climax, we knew for sure who the main antagonist was

the finale had the “coup” halted swiftly (and calmly, as is tradition in this show), plus we got to see a bit of epilogue too~

the climax itself was pretty short (& kinda underwhelming?), but then again, it makes sense considering how the rest of the show is, tone-wise

also, it’s worth noting that the anime as a whole covered the entirety of its source material! that’s a rarity nowadays!

Overall, I enjoyed my time with ACCA! It’s not the easiest show to follow plot-wise, but it has a cool sense of atmosphere & is just a very suave show in general xD

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Arc - 8.5 / 10 ( B+ )

This second season, that we finally got six-ish years later, was pretty good! I think I preferred S1 (or at least the 1st half) but I still like what we got here!

art / animation:

A-1 Pictures did a good job here for the most part!

the art style does have some subtle changes from S1 (like bloom effects and rounder/softer features on characters), but not too different otherwise

I liked how the color palette felt muted and bright at the same time! the backgrounds were also quite nice~

plus the special effects weren’t bad (i.e. fire, the Impure King’s spore-like body)

I did notice some episodes in the middle dipped in animation quality (mostly in character’s faces/heads), which kinda took me out of those episodes :/

other than that, the animation was above average and had some good action animation in there (though not *great*, per se)

characters:

it’s good to finally have these characters back after so long! admittedly, it was had to remember what state they were all in at the start (…six years is a long time, okay?)

Rin is still a good and lovable protag! I love how he has such a kind heart, despite acting rough on the outside xD

he had to win back the trust of his friends (and overcome his fear of losing control of his flames)… i’m glad he got to find his self-worth in the end ;A;

Yukio still takes his duties very seriously and scolds Rin a lot ^^;

he had some mind-games to overcome too, courtesy of Toudou (thoughts like: jealously towards Rin and hating having to watch over him all the time)

not to mention he awakened some demon powers for the first time (demon eyes)!

by the end though, he still has a way to go (as he acknowledges he still very self-hating)

Rin’s entourage of friends were hesitant / distrustful of him at the start (due to events from last season), but were won over one by one eventually~

it was kind of weird being brought back (after so long) to *that* particular point… it was a little jarring from what I remembered of them before

Shiemi felt like she wasn’t being of much help (especially since Nee got temporarily destroyed), but she gained back her resolve as well \o/

plus she helped Rin gain confidence w/ a hug & nice words in ep. 7 :’)

Ryuuji got some focus as well, as he had a rocky relationship w/ his dad (which struck a GREAT parallel as pointed out in ep. 4)

Tatsuma was seen as suspicious despite his cheerful / ditzy attitude, but learning about the secrets he had to hide made him more lovable~

In general, we got to learn more about where Ryuuji, Konekomaru, and Renzou grew up and learn about their family sects!

Shura is still a good mentor / ally to Rin (& his friends), while also keeping him in line~

Toudou (the human villain of this season) was a good manipulator / mind-game player… that’s about it ^^;

…and Shirou is still a great example of a dead character remaining relevant throughout the show~

he’s still a motivation for both Rin and Yukio, plus we learned of his history w/ Tatsuma & the Sect!

story:

This arc starts off on a weird place, since not only has it been six years since S1, this arc picks up from the *middle* of S1

of course, this is because this season’s arc is from the manga, while S1’s second half was anime original

that being said, the transition could’ve been smoother; some canon-versions of events are only shown in flashbacks, for example :/

in any case, this arc is all about the Impure King’s eventual revival in Kyoto, and the exorcists having to stop it!

while the main story of this arc wasn’t doing much *new*, necessarily, the execution overall was… pretty good!

there weren’t many moments that reached the emotional highs of S1’s best moments, but they were still good here too~

that being said, stuff like Rin being reassured by Shiemi in ep. 7, and Rin finally controlling his flames in ep. 11… still good moments there!

however, episode 4 was definitely my favorite episode; it brought up that father/son relationship parallel i mentioned earlier in a GREAT way~

it was definitely the best emotional high for me, especially since it made a connection to such a powerful moment in S1 ;~;

I also liked seeing more of Shirou’s past life (as told through Tatsuma), along w/ learning Rin’s sword was originally the Sect’s object of worship!

Seeing Yukio gets confronted w/ mind-games was interesting to see, along w/ him unlocking demon powers for the first time!

It’ll be interesting to see the implications of this later on, assuming we get a S3 ;A;

in this regard, I’ve seen people refer to this arc as a “setup arc”, and I can kinda see why. Progress was made, but there were hints thrown out as well

the finale was an epilogue of sorts, with Rin & friends recovering + seeing the sights, Rin & Yukio talking it out, and hints of Mephisto’s ulterior motives

the talk between brothers at the end definitely left things open-ended for a continuation

Overall, I had a good time with this sequel, and I’m glad I got to see more of this series in general, after so long! The transition from S1’s midpoint can be kinda rocky, but still check this out if you’re a shounen fan~

Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls) - 8.0 - 8.5 / 10 ( B )

A cute and fun slice-of-life show about a handful of monster girls in high school (plus their teacher)! It does a good job tackling some social issues as well!

art / animation:

A-1 Pictures did a good job with the visuals here! Very light and simple style~

The color palette is full of bright colors (w/ lower saturation), and the character art style has rounded features for girls (some moe influence, probably) & angular ones for boys

The animation itself is mostly standard fare, but has some above-average fluidity w/ some special effects (Yuki’s ice tears come to mind)

it does lend itself well to comedic moments & timing, which is good for this show ^^

characters:

I liked the cast overall! they had a good dynamic together (which is good, considering how they become close friends over time)

Takahashi-sensei was a good (& different) lead for the show! He’s caring and very knowledgable about monster lore~

for a harem-esque main group like this, it’s great to see a different take on the typical “male harem protag” like this!

he’s a good support system for the other demi girls, and helps them be more confident in themselves (& learn more about themselves)!

(he’s like this for even Satou-sensei, since he’s really good at covering up the aphrodisiac effects have on him)

Hikari is hyper and silly, and is a big contributor to this show’s comedic side~

she’s pretty different from vampires of lore, which is explored quite a bit during the show (& ties into the show’s themes too)

I also liked how she’s not afraid to stand up for her new friends (like how she confronted people gossiping about Yuki) :’)

Machi is sort of soft-spoken, but she also smart and willing to talk to others!

she’s the most physically different out of the three (since she’s a dullahan), which leads to interesting (& funny) scenarios w/ her head & body~

she (w/ help from Takahashi & co.) develops work-arounds for her problems, and helps others feel less awkward about talking to her!

her crushing on Takahashi-sensei is… weird (why do you do this, show)

Yuki is definitely the most shy of the three starting out, and has the most noticeable development during her arc

she was self-hating over her demi (snow woman) nature, but the main crew help her learn about her abilities and help her gain confidence!

she becomes more outgoing after her arc, and even is shown to secretly be into hardcore manga~

Satou-sensei is a succubus teacher! She doesn’t have an arc, necessarily, but she gets some character focus nonetheless

she adjusted her daily schedule a lot due to her aphrodisiac effects, and has a hard time trying to confess her feelings for Takahashi

she tends to sympathize w/ Machi’s (& sometimes the others’) feelings towards him… you’re a teacher, don’t condone this… :/

aside from that last point, she is another good occasional support system for the girls, since she’s both a teacher and a fellow demi~

even *she* has her own support(?) system, in the form of Ugaki!

story:

like most slice-of-life anime, this follows the lives of high school girls and show their experiences, both good and bad

however, this one focuses around *supernatural* students: a vampire, a dullahan, and a snow woman! (plus a succubus teacher)

I really liked how this show handled themes of what’s it’s like being different (not unlike people w/ disabilities!), and helping people overcome social stigmas too!

it included stuff ranging from Yuki’s insecurities about her snow woman nature + being gossiped about…

…to more lighthearted stuff, like how Machi wanted to poke fun at her own differences without her friends feeling awkward about it!

the show would also compare & contrast the Demis w/ their mythical counterparts, which ties into this theme well~

moments like Hikari standing up to Yuki’s gossip bullies & the video letter to Takahashi were some of this show’s best moments~

there’s also some fun comedy! (which was kinda hit or miss for me)

the comedy’s at its best when it plays w/ their personalities and/or unique aspects of their Demi natures!

stuff like Takahashi + Hikari’s dynamic, plus Yuki’s hidden “hardcore(?)” side are good examples of this

the show’s comedic timing in general is pretty good!

this also includes the romance stuff though; they code Takahashi-sensei + the Demi’s relationship as romantic sometimes and it’s just… no

thankfully it was only one-sided (since Takahashi explicitly says he wouldn’t have feelings for them), but it still kinda rubbed me the wrong way

the finale was mostly some fun comedy stuff (it was a pool episode), but it threw in some nice heartwarming stuff in the end~

Overall, this was a really enjoyable & laid-back anime that wasn’t afraid to be serious / heartwarming too! (w/ some good social commentary to boot!) In a season full of comedy slice-of-life shows, Demi-chan (& one other) is one of the season’s best~

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon - 8.5 / 10 ( B+ )

The *other* good SOL comedy this season! Really funny and really cute w/ that reliable KyoAni polish~

art / animation:

as per usual, Kyoto Animation did a great job w/ the visuals!

the style they used this time around is more cartoon-y than their usual style (so closer to Nichijou, rather than Hibike Euphonium)

very bright color palette and (kinda watercolor-like) backgrounds! Just a “simpler”-looking show all around (which is definitely NOT a bad thing!)

the animation itself is, of course, really great too! the fluidity is strong w/ this one~

whether it’s subtle movements or even an action scene or two, the animation has a great sense of movement & body language!

it also lent itself to comedic moments very well! (i.e. well-animated slapstick or good comedic expressions / backgrounds)

there is, also… some fanservice (not a *lot*, per se, but enough that it drove away some people on my twitter feed)

it’s mostly boob-centered, as a few characters have large boobs (w/ Lucoa having *huge* ones), so there’s… boob jiggle sometimes, among other things

the fanservice in this show specifically didn’t bother me *that* much, but your mileage may vary

characters:

the cast as a whole was really fun! they all played off each other well too!

Kobayashi & Tohru have a good dynamic together, and develop a good relationship together too! (let’s be real here… lesbians~)

both of them have pretty different personalities (stoic / brash vs. bright / bubbly), yet work together quite well!

Kanna is somehow stoic & happy at the same time! I like how she’s curious about everything & is just a good bean in general~

Lucoa has a nice “older-sister” dynamic w/ the others! She’s got good wisdom, but can also be a bit of an airhead ^^;

but please… someone tell her to give poor Shouta a break…

Fafnir starts out as wanting nothing but killing & destruction, but eventually bonds w/ Takiya-kun and gets addicted to video games ^^;

I liked seeing how he has his own ways of showing affection / appreciation for others~

(...and he’s voiced by Daisuke Ono, which is always a plus)

Elma didn’t even get introduced until episode 8 (& doesn’t even get a ton of screen time after that), but she’s enjoyable too

her revenge(?) against Kobayashi only lasted for 1 episode(?), and then just becomes an office worker (so she ends up being the most normal dragon, in a way :P)

story:

the premise involves an office worker lady who meets a dragon who decides to be her live-in house maid! (plus there’s other dragons!)

this is a slice-of-life comedy, so like most others, it goes through some daily life scenarios that are also humorous

this time around though, there’s DRAGONS! (so there’s supernatural stuff sometimes involved)

the comedy involved the dragons learning & adapting to aspects of human society, which was fun to watch

I liked seeing how they would react to different situations! (especially since each dragon would respond differently)

the characters bouncing off each other (i.e. dynamic) also led to some good comedic moments

kobayashi & tohru’s relationship was a big contributor to this as well

there were a couple reoccuring gags that got old after a while: Lucoa’s… boob antics w/ Shouta, and Riko’s overreaction to Kanna

the former is… basically rooted in fanservice (leave the poor boy alone! ;~; )

the latter I didn’t have as much issue w/ to start, but after seeing it pointed out on my twitter TL, I can see why people take issue w/ it (i.e. fetishization (i think?))

there were also some really nice heartwarming moments too! stuff like that helps elevate a comedy anime for me~

many of these were centered around the character’s relationships w/ each other (it was nice seeing them grow closer over time!)

the finale had a different, more serious tone than the rest of the show, but it was still really good!

seeing tohru (& eventually kobayashi) confront tohru’s dad really showed how much their relationship (& love for the human world) has grown!

Aside from a couple small issues, I really did have a great time w/ this show! If you’re looking for a fun comedy w/ supernatural elements plus some heartwarming stuff, this won’t let you down~

Kuzu no Honkai (Scum’s Wish) - 9 / 10 ( A )

A really well directed character drama about sexuality and unhealthy relationships… It’s definitely not for everybody, but it’s really well done!

art / animation:

Studio Lerche did a *really good* job with the visuals here! Definitely their best-looking anime yet!

the art style makes good use of muted colors and sketch-like outlines on characters; it makes everything look kind of like a watercolor painting!

they also do close-ups by overlaying a strip or square on top; sort of like a manga panel! (It’s definitely executed better here than in GATE :P )

the art direction in general is just really good… they know how to use lighting well, plus there’s good artistic / stylized scenes when characters are introspective~

as for animation, it’s nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done in the end~

they do sometimes use lower frame rates for artistic / stylistic effect though!

also shout-out to the awesome ED theme by Sayuri! I’d always want to sing along with it at the end of each episode (+ used really well as a transition!)

characters:

this cast is… quite the interesting bunch to say the least ^^;

the show’s english title is “Scum’s Wish”, so yeah, most of the main cast is pretty scummy in one way or another. The good news, though, is that it leads to really good *character development*! \o/

pretty much everybody got at least one focus episode, which is great!!! I love it when shows do that!!!

Hanabi is the main protagonist; she tends to keeps to herself, and is also snarky at times.

she goes through a pretty dark road over the course of the show, but comes to terms w/ herself and what she’s looking for by the end~

Mugi is kinda like Hanabi in some ways, but he can be quite forward at times, and also can get roped into bad situations.

he eventually comes to terms w/ his love situation as well, but it’s a bit of a rockier end for him :(

Akane… is definitely the “villain” of the show, and VERY easy to hate xD

she sleeps w/ guys all the time + plays mind-games w/ Hanabi + Mugi, but by the end, even she finds some happiness & change for the better through her new marriage~

Sanae is Hanabi’s best friend, and also a lesbian! Her personality is very headstrong and sassy at times.

she also starts going after Hanabi in her own way, in hopes of winning her heart… thankfully, the two eventually reconcile (even though it was messy by the end)

Noriko (aka Moca) is Mugi’s childhood friend, who still has feelings for him after so long…

she definitely has the least amount of screen time out of the main characters, but her focus episodes show another side of her character (+ her self-realization as well)

Kanai-san is Hanabi’s crush who falls in love w/ Akane… he doesn’t do much until closer to the end, during Akane’s focus episodes

There’s also Sanae’s cousin and that one womanizer dude, but they aren’t around much (but still have contributions to different character arcs)

story:

the premise on paper definitely will turn some people off, since it’s about two people “dating” each other since they can’t be in relationships w/ who they truly love

not to mention said people they’re in love with are probably 4+ years older than they are (& how Hanabi calls Kanai-san “big bro / onii-chan”… yeah :/ )

also there *are* sex scenes in this show (albeit no actual private parts are shown), and they can get steamy at times ^^;

so yeah, because of these things, this show is definitely *not* for everybody. I don’t blame you if these things’ll turn you off from this show…

that being said, even though this show is about messed-up people in messed-up relationships, it’s very well directed and executed!

they do a really good job of selling the emotion and subtle drama in each scene (including exploring characters’ mindsets really well!)

even though it’s a character drama, they still manage to pull off cliffhangers occasionally! You just want to find out where it’s gonna go from there!

each character arc wrapped up really nicely, and you can tell that they’ve bettered themselves by the end of the show

the final episode itself was great, too! it’s a little bit of a downer that Hanabi and Mugi go their separate ways, but it ties in with the ending quite well~

it also helps that the anime in general is a complete adaptation of the source material! we don’t get enough of those these days~

Overall, I really enjoyed this series, and is definitely one of my AOTS picks! If you like dramatic shows centered around romance, then this is a good one to check out!

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans S2 - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 ( A- )

This was a really good second season and conclusion to IBO! Not to mention really sad & heartbreaking ;A;

art / animation:

Sunrise did a good job with visuals this season too! The quality is pretty much identical to last season (which is definitely a good thing!)

lots of muted & dark colors; really got the look of a gritty war-centered show down quite well~

Mars and Earth have distinct looks and feel to them too! (Mars has more dark, earth tones, Earth has brighter colors & more cool tones)

actions scenes are pretty good too; the mechas have good fluidity at times! (mostly Mika’s mech; the others have more stilted movements, since they’re, y’know, robots)

characters:

the Tekkadan crew’s back, and they’re still as likable as before~ (of course, this makes it even harder when each one dies ;~; )

Mika is as stone-faced and ready to kill as before… he does lose function of his leg and arm eventually (i think by the end of the 1st half) by using Barbatos too much

Orga becomes a bit different of a leader this season (as evidenced by his new suit!), as he commands from afar and has more negotiating talks w/ other factions

he wrestles w/ a lot of things happening around him, and what the best thing is to do at any given time… he goes through a lot ^^;

Takaki was previously just another guy in Tekkadan, but he got his own character arc during the season’s 1st half!

he had to lead a subsidiary group on Earth, which put him through a lot… in the end, he decides to leave Tekkadan so he can be helpful elsewhere & stay alive ;~;

there were a few new guys on Tekkadan at the start of the season, w/ the most notable being Hush

he wanted to catch up to Mikazuki, so he could be of more help, like his brother(?) that he admired ;~;

there’s some new faces in Gjallerhorn as well, w/ the most notable being Rustal Elion, Julietta, and Iok

Julietta seemed obsessed w/ doing anything Rustal wanted her to do, and Iok… got kind of annoying after a while (he just… wouldn’t… die!)

Iok’s eventual death was really satisfying though~

not to mention Rustal and Iok were responsible for a lot of terrible things that happened to Tekkadan this season (including literally killing them w/ hitmen >:( )

also Nobliss can just go and fuck off (and thankfully he died the most humiliating death imaginable)

I also gotta mention Gaelio, who wore a mask for most of the season (even though it was *really* obvious it was him) + helped stop McGillis

speaking of McGillis, he ramps up his plans this season and put his grand coup de tat into action

he’s more manipulative this season (involving the Bauduins & Tekkadan), but definitely fights to the bitter end (all by himself, even…)

story:

this season picks up not too long after where last season left off; Tekkadan is a more prominent organization alongside Taiwan & Gjallerhorn

their prior successes led to more people wanting to enter Tekkadan’s lifestyle, which wasn’t really what Tekkadan wanted :/

there’s a lot of political wheeling and dealing this season that was interesting to watch, but there’s no way I could remember all the details ^^;

this also applies to military strategy (mostly on Gjallerhorn’s end)

the first half’s main plot beats mostly composed of the Earth branch arc (centering around Takaki), and the Mobile Armor arc!

seeing the Mobile Armor(s) in action was pretty crazy (and scary…), and it took A LOT to take them down!

after that arc, I would’ve expected them to be more relevant in the 2nd half, but that didn’t really happen at all (asides from Dainsleif usage)

the second half sees McGillis’ coup and Tekkadan’s life to its conclusion; going up against the mighty Gjallerhorn, but falling short in the end…

*lots of characters die* during this half… and all of them are REALLY SAD (*especially* Lafter and Orga, who die by hitman gunfire)

each death scene is really effective, but Orga’s especially is SUCH A GOOD SCENE (he dies looking forward the whole time; even his blood moves forward ;~;7 )

I wish he didn’t die 2 episodes before the end, though… Mika & Orga should’ve been able to fight together at the end ;A;

almost every main character dies, including Mikazuki… Tekkadan dies w/ it, making the ending partially a tragedy

the finale has the end of the final fight + epilogue; the antagonists win in the end, but they work w/ Kudelia + others to help make a better world

it felt kind of weird for Gjallerhorn to change like that, considering the bad things they did? But whatever works, I guess :/

that being said, I liked seeing the surviving members of Tekkadan lead new lives, and Atra getting to takes care of her new son :’)

Overall, IBO was an emotional and action-packed ride from start to finish! I really enjoyed my first Gundam series~

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu S2 - 9 / 10 ( A )

one of my AOTY picks from 2016 strikes again with this great sequel & conclusion to the series!

art / animation by Studio Deen is very subdued and not very flashy (i.e. not much in motion, per se) but it still looks quite pretty

good use of muted colors (both pastel & dark), plus good use of soft shading!

backgrounds looked nice as well! the set pieces in general helped sell many scenes, both artistic & grounded ones~

also super shout-out to that awesome OP sequence! great scenes centering around Yakumo + unsettling music = MAGIC!!!

this season shifts back to modern(?) day, so we see much more of characters that we only saw in the 1st and last episodes of S1!

before we get to that though, let’s talk about Yakumo!!! what a great character / protagonist

he’s a stubborn old man on the outside, but a haunted soul on the inside, who can’t escape his past & the two main people in it

a lot of this show’s appeal was seeing how his story would progress (and finally, conclude)

we all wanted him to find his peace at his death (& even after it!)… it all worked out in the end ;~;

he’s complex in a lot of ways, which makes him interesting to watch for sure (especially after watching S1)

yet another mention to Akira Ishida totally rocking it in his performance; he does it all w/ this character!

Yotaro’s back!!! He’s such a chipper guy the whole way through, and he’s a joy to watch~

He can be very headstrong too, and can help force some sense into people!

The scene where he confronts the gang boss comes to mind

Another part I liked was the episode where he watched Sukeroku’s taped performance… I liked seeing how “into it” he was

He’s also very determined to keep rakugo alive into the future! He was a great foil to Yakumo in general :)

Konatsu is very short-tempered & snappy at times, but she has a caring heart deep down too~

I loved when she got to perform Jugemu!!! She was so happy getting to fulfill her dream! (She even did it again in the finale!)

Her becoming the first female rakugo performer in the end was another added bonus~

I have mixed feelings about her never learning the truth about her father (Sukeroku’s) death... There could’ve been some good character development to come from that, but at least she gets to keep a secret of her own in the finale :P

Speaking of that secret, her teasing about the possible identity of shinnosuke’s father in the finale… i don’t know how i feel about that :/

other supporting characters like Higuchi-san were enjoyable too, even if their contributions were more minor

I did like seeing Higuchi-san butt heads w/ Yakumo on multiple occasions over their viewpoints towards rakugo’s progression though! (It was intriguing drama :P)

I love characters staying relevant even in death, and Sukeroku (and Miyokichi to a lesser extent) are no exception

he’s a motivating factor for Yotaro, but is like a haunting ghost to Yakumo (which is a nice contrast~)

we got to see their development book-ended in episode 11 too~

I’m glad Matsuda-san got to see everything to the very end (including sending Yakumo off in the afterlife) :’)

As for the story, just like last season, this is a character drama first and foremost~

Unlike 3-gatsu no lion, however, there’s more of an overarching plot here (w/ Yakumo’s life story + how rakugo will survive past his death)

the plot was more enjoyable this time around, since we’re finally progressing the modern day timeline! This season picked up right where the 1st season’s finale left off~

it definitely can suck you in w/ its execution! Again, it’s very subdued / laid-back, but you can still sense the tension in the air during many scenes!

any scene involving Yakumo literally seeing things (or his run-ins with the shinigami) definitely grabbed & peaked my interest!

these scenes had a mysterious, almost supernatural vibe to them! It made them even more interesting to watch~

when red-eyed Sukeroku shows up in the OP, it can’t be good news… those cliffhangers were 2spoopy4me :P

I talk about Yakumo’s scenes a lot, but other characters like Yotaro had some really tense and heartwarming scenes at well!

I brought this up in the character section too, but scenes like Yotaro ranting to the gang boss, or Konatsu reciting Jugemu in front of the elementary school kids, were also great!

the transition to Yakumo’s final scene of life to death is kinda weird, but the scenes / episodes on both ends were really nice!

episode 11 was like a de-facto finale, as Yakumo (+ Sukeroku & Miyokichi) got to tie up loose ends in the afterlife, plus Yakumo got to do one last show to the dead crowd (+ Konatsu)~

the finale was a nice little epilogue showing both of Konatsu’s kids all grown up, and how rakugo will continue on~

This season was a great follow-up (& conclusion) to last season! This is definitely an AOTS pick for me (and possible AOTY pick… again ^^; ) If you’re looking for a great character-based historical drama, this is an easy recommendation for sure!

Tales of Zestiria the X S2 - 8.0 / 10 ( B )

this was a good second cour for ToZX! it had some good character focus stuff + action, and (will probably) conclude the story!

Note: This is based off the anime *only*, as I have not played the game(s).

art / animation still looks really nice, thanks to that Ufotable polish & magic~

The motion in action scenes were quite fluid, plus good special effects (i.e. fire, magic, etc.), which just makes it… really nice looking in general!

animation isn’t quite sakuga-tier, but it’s still more fluid than in most action anime!

it makes good use of muted colors (both warm & cool tones) as well, with nice backgrounds to boot!

plus the characters are drawn / rendered quite well~ (the CGI isn’t too bad either (i.e. dragons), aside from distance shots of people moving)

In terms of character development, Rose was definitely a main focus this season (in comparison to Alisha last season)

hell, most of the plot for the show’s first half (or more) was driven by her character arc!

we really get to see Rose change her mentality for the better, plus learn more about her past and explore her bond w/ Dezel!

speaking of Dezel, he ended up being a really entertaining guy himself (plus a good partner in crime for Rose~)

he had good development as well (along w/ his personality that grew on me over time), making it even sadder when he dies in episode 23 ;~;

Alisha doesn’t have as much screen time during that first half or so, but she definitely has her contributions in the second half~

she even gets her own armitization forms, which apparently weren’t in the games! \o/

During Rose’s character / story arc, Sorey had a good clash of ideals w/ Rose, which was interesting to see

It helped give him a new perspective, even if it didn’t change his ideals much in the end

Oh yeah, Zaveid *finally* came back and became a full-on party member this season! He’s still a cool fighter guy w/o a shirt :P

even then, he didn’t come in until the second half, but he definitely forged some bonds with Dezel (and Alisha too, I think?)

As for everyone else (including supporting cast), they were fine! No major developments, necessarily, but still good to have around

Story time! Like I said in the character section, Rose’s character arc was kind of a story arc in itself, taking up slightly more than the first half!

Even though the “main plot” was in the backseat, I still enjoyed this arc and finally learning about Rose (who we didn’t know much about during S1)

plus it had a tense climax w/ Rose trying to kill the man from her past… it ended sorta anticlimactically, but it wrapped things up regardless

The second half was definitely more skewed towards the main story, since there was the dragon in Ladylake(?), plus the final battle stuff itself

I almost forgot, there’s more Berseria references this time! Thankfully not full episodes this time, but just references for world-building

it sounds like these references though are from endgame stuff, meaning friends of mine playing Berseria had to stop watching to avoid spoilers…

I will say that this show does “the calm before the storm” pretty well, for the most part! Good character interactions + lead-up confrontations

also, considering Sorey is all about purifying everything, it’s fitting we get backstory for the final boss himself in ep. 24

As for the finale… as of when I’m writing this, the final episode hasn’t aired yet, and won’t for another month or so. So all we have for now is ep. 24 as a pseudo-finale...

That episode though was pretty good! It felt like a proper penultimate episode (i.e. the first part of the final fight), ending right on Sorey’s big power-up!

I have good reason to believe that the finale, when it comes out, will have a good sense of conclusion, so I’m not too worried~

I may update this review after that episode comes out, but time will tell if I get around to it ^^;

Overall, ToZX is a very solid fantasy action series! It doesn’t break much new ground, but its execution makes up for it to make an enjoyable experience~

Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil) - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+ / B- )

An enjoyable (and popular!) military action show which centers around a basically evil protagonist! It had some interesting elements to it, but there wasn’t enough of them to go above “meh” status for me :/

art / animation:

Studio NUT is a brand new studio, and this was not a bad first outing for them at all in this department!

the dark and muted color palette helps to realize this war-torn alternate world, along w/ this show’s darker tone

this setting is very heavily inspired by WWI / WWII… *insert Nazi comparison here* (it takes place closer to WWI years, though)

the characters themselves are rendered w/ a slight lean towards realism, but still have cartoonish elements to them

the former characteristic is most notable in the male designs, and the latter is definitely noticeable in the female designs (i.e. big eyes, “pouty” lips, etc.)

animation-wise, it’s nothing to write home about, for the most part.

there were a couple nicely-animated action sequences (w/ the best one being in ep. 11), but other that that, it was mostly standard fare

the CGI, though, is not very good… you don’t see it much, though, so that’s good at least

characters:

sure, there’s a decent sized cast here, but there’s really only one character worth mentioning specifically... and that, of course, is Tanya herself.

she’s ruthless, brutal, heartless, and willing to sacrifice her own to reach her goals… no wonder she’s called “Tanya the Evil!”

her personality (& the idea of the protagonist basically being a VILLAIN) is definitely one reason why this show became popular this season

her backstory adds an interesting layer to the mix too, as she was a heartless company owner in her past life! (plus she retains her memories from said life)

seeing what actions she would take next (or how she’d react to certain situations) was a big appeal for this show too

not to mention she has to “pray” to the very thing she hates in order to launch attacks w/ her gun >:3

oh yeah, I liked Serebryakova, the girl who was Tanya’s right hand girl!

Her cheery personality was a good foil for Tanya’s, plus she’s voiced by Saori Hayami~

there’s also those military officers / strategists, I guess

aside from Erich, who had the most suspicions about Tanya, the others just felt like… generic military guys :/

story:

the premise sets up Tanya, an evil corporate boss in her past life, in a war-torn world where she must fight in the military!

it’s all about Tanya trying to get revenge against God / “Being X”, and dis-prove its existence…!

this battle of ideals / wits was the most interesting of the show for me; my interest went up whenever Being X (or anything related) showed up

Being X not having a set form, and only showing up through possession of other things / people was a cool concept too!

however, I felt like we didn’t see enough of this aspect in the show… so it felt like a generic military show, most of the time :/

any plot points that didn’t relate to the Being X overarching plot (or Tanya herself) didn’t really grab my interest… the military stuff was kinda boring, in that regard

episode 11 was my favorite episode, as it had Tanya duking it out w/ the guy she seemingly killed earlier (plus he had Being X powers!)

I felt like that fight was too short for the buildup we had for it, though… it was a good fight, though!

the finale was definitely more quiet and reflective, but also was pretty open-ended.

Overall, I had a good time with this show; there were interesting ideas in here for sure, but they didn’t get as much focus / screentime as I would’ve liked… That being said, I can see why this show became quite popular! If you like military shows (or shows w/ evil protagonists), give the first 2 episodes a shot and see for yourself~

I also will be writing a Final Impressions post for Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, which also finished this season! I’ll update this post with the link when it’s done~

[cjjingram]

Ask me shit. Lol I've got some shit to ask. What is your opinion on Katie cassidy being black siren for another season? Cassidy was only in 4-6 epis this season and two of them barely amount ed a minute of screentime. She was in Tue finale for LoT in Sara vision so to speak where laurel just told Sara she would do the right thing, which was a waste of screentime as at this point in Sara's journey we know she would do the right thing. It was frankly unnecessary. Whats ur take on KC being BS?

Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t watched any of season 5 at all. I’ll cop to downloading them and leaving them in a folder on my hard drive on the off chance someone gives me the all clear but I haven’t gotten it yet. All my trusted and best bitches can say is stay afraid of your shadow, little groundhog, because it’s gonna be a long fucking winter.

I will say that the people I know say that Black Siren suits KC a lot better than Laurel ever did probably because she lets KC be dramatic which is what she likes to do.

Listen, I despise Laurel’s character, not because she was a bad person, but because she was badly written. I’m a writer, first and foremost. I’m the real deal and bad writing makes my asshole itch. Bad professional writing, writing that people get paid good money for, makes me go apoplectic with rage.

I’m old school, okay? I view story telling as a noble pursuit. I believe in making the human connection and that writers have an obligation to present stories that need to be told and that uplift mankind. I’ve often said this but writers are guardians of the truth. Their job is to hold a mirror up to the world and say, ‘See? This is what you need to think about.’

I also like to use the example of To Kill a Mockingbird when I talk about this stuff because that book and that movie came out at a time when segregation was the norm, interracial marriage was illegal, and blatant racism was acceptable. People who had never even questioned it suddenly got to see what racism looks like through the eyes of a little girl who didn’t see black or white as much as she saw right and wrong. We were allowed to be Scout for that one brief shining moment. We got to hear why she thought her father was a coward because he didn’t hunt like other fathers did or own a gun and we got to see how all that changed when she watched her father defend an innocent man whose only crime was that he was black. That story changed the lives of millions of people because it made them think and see things from a different perspective.

The reason I so vehemently dislike Laurel’s character is because they shoved her down our throats saying she was a strong, heroic, smart, feminist icon when she was the complete opposite of that. I grew up in the 70′s and 80′s when every time a strong female hero would come on the TV, even if she did have on red high heeled boots and a bathing suit, was something to celebrate. We were desperate for female heroes--I know I was. 

I grew up at a time when girls were just starting to be told that they were worth something. We fought hard for feminism because we’d never had it before. For me, as a feminist who grew up in one era and has seen the changes since, to be shown a ‘hero’ like Laurel was...well, it frustrated me.

I always ask someone, ‘If you had a daughter, would you want her to watch this show and want to be just like this person when they grow up?’ Do you want your daughter to wear a Laurel Lance costume for Halloween?

No.

You know why? Because as much as we’re told she’s a hero we never get to see it. What we see is a woman who had no self-respect. Laurel is a woman, an educated women who is a lawyer, staying with a man who she’s caught cheating on her over a dozen times with women she considered her ‘friends’ (canon), who got another girl pregnant while they were together and never told her (canon), and who screwed her own sister (canon), and not only continually takes him back but tells him that he’s the love of her life on her deathbed.

What kind of role model is that?

Laurel is also a woman who, when she makes mistakes, instead of owning her mistakes and learning from them lashes out and blames others (canon). She turns to drugs and alcohol to escape her problems which doesn’t make her a bad person, but we’re never allowed to see her deal with those issues. Instead we’re told that she was an alcoholic with a pill problem and now she isn’t. We’re also shown that she drinks and drives, loses her job, but then suddenly is the DA so there were no long-lasting consequences. Would it have killed them to show her going to AA a few times? Couldn’t they have interrupted one of her grunt and sweat scenes to show her visiting Tommy’s grave and showing her making amends or talking to others about her struggle? 

No.

I realize it’s ‘The Arrow’ show, I get that, but in season 3 during her ‘hero’s journey’, we spent 19 out of 23 episodes focused almost entirely on Laurel instead of focusing on Ra’s al Ghul and Oliver. We sacrificed so much storytelling there. I would’ve gladly not seen any Olicity, sacrificed the whole stupid Raylicity bullshit (which is another story altogether), just to have a glimpse of Ra’s talking to Oliver about his past like he did with Batman in the comics. We could’ve seen him tell the story of his wife Sora, about how she was raped and murdered by the noblemen’s son and how he was buried alive because he dared accuse the prince. We could’ve seen Ra’s escape death and lead his uncle’s clan into the city and raze it to the ground before killing the prince and his father. 

It would’ve been the origin story of the League of Assassins and, like it did with Batman, it would make Oliver question whether Ra’s is a hero or a villain because, truth is, he’s both. Ra’s is a vigilante, always has been, only he sees the big picture and believes the only way to destroy evil is to destroy it entirely.

Instead we got Laurel sweating and grunting.

We also never got to see any real growth from Laurel or acceptance of her mistakes. Laurel does things without thinking about the consequences. She continually puts her life and the lives of others in jeopardy because all she sees is what she wants to see, she never listens to what other people tell her, and when it backfires on her she always dredges up the past like some kind of shield then makes it the other person’s fault.

She raised her sister from the dead without a soul even after multiple people tell her not to? She takes Thea to Merlyn in Nanda Parbat to resurrect her sister, basically trading Thea’s already rocky mental stability for her sister’s resurrection, not because she loves and misses her sister, but because she doesn’t want her dad to be mad at her anymore and what happens when Oliver confronts her?

Well, you cheated on me with my sister and never respected me so there.

She is constantly ‘forgiving’ Oliver but whenever he calls her on her shit she throws it back in his face. That’s not what a hero does, sorry. 

I dislike Laurel because she shows the little girls watching the show that a hero is a woman who trades in her self-respect for a guy, who is supposed to be smart and powerful but who does pratfalls and hair flips instead. 

The reason I liked Sara in the role of Canary is because Sara started out in a bad place. She cheated with her sister’s boyfriend, she betrayed Oliver and the others to Ivo, she was an assassin who killed people, but she somehow also managed to confront her demons and become a hero. She redeemed herself because she showed genuine remorse and growth. 

Laurel...the impression I get from KC’s earliest performances tells me that she didn’t care for Laurel, probably because she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of taking back a serial cheater like Ollie. Not only that but Laurel was boring. She was the designated damsel in distress and, while she had a few kick ass moments, she wasn’t the Black Canary; Sara was. Whenever KC would do interviews she’d talk about Dinah and the Black Canary but she rarely discussed Laurel as a character. I honestly think a lot of her lackluster and dead-eyed portrayal of Laurel was due to the fact that she wanted to just play Canary and skip Laurel altogether.

Black Siren gives her the opportunity to do just that so it might actually work out for her.

Laurel’s best performances in season 4 came when she was in the costume. Out of the costume she glowered at the screen with her arms crossed defensively over her chest. There was nothing there, no light in her eyes, no enthusiasm; that only came out in the costume because she was finally playing the character she signed up for. 

I think that if my friends are right (and, again, I haven’t watched any of the shows including Arrow this season) that she might actually do better with Black Siren because she connects to her more. Laurel would’ve taken an actress with a lot of range, someone who could play vulnerable and sympathetic like Caity did with Sara, but Black Siren is the kind of mean girl character KC loves to play.

Hope that answered your shit. ;p

[fmdjaewonarchive]

►i just wanna feel something.

dates: october/november 2018 mentions of: n/a word count: 2.6k  warnings: depressive thoughts, mentions of death, insomnia, weight loss, self-hatred, implied suicidal thoughts tw (vague-ish?? idk tbh??) and probably a bunch more, i don’t quite know what to tag this exactly but if you’re sensitive to these topics i suggest passing this up, it’s just really not worth it details: jaewon isn’t doing well mentally and i needed 2.6k to put that into words (and still failed tbh). this is my 6th draft on this and it’s still hardly readable so just imagine how bad the other 5 are but i just want to have this out of my system already. also i didn’t proofread this mainly because if i do odds are i’ll just throw the whole thing away so ignore any errors (and just ignore this post as a whole tbh you’re probably better off that way)

“you look moody lately.”

unity’s manager tells him on the car ride back from some variety show appearance and of course, jaewon laughs the comment off with a sharp, cynical burst of laughter, scoffing as he reminds the man that he always looks moody.

his amusement is short lived though, laughter dying out on instant as his manager points out that this is different, that he looks different. the man mutters something about the look in his eyes being more hollow these days, his smiles obviously less sincere than usual and jaewon doesn’t like the insinuation a single bit.

because you see, different never means just different, jaewon knows that. different was what people had started to describe him as after his parents passed and his behavioral issues had first reared their ugly head, what teachers had used when they discussed the once so friendly and sociable boy that now only switched between two emotions: apathy and anger. different is nothing more but a synonym for worse.

he’s doing worse than usual.

the accusation shakes something deep inside of him, making his bones rattle and his fingers tremble to the point he’s forced to ball his hands into fists in the pockets of his hoodie to hide the tremor. he channels all his energy into forcing a smile on his face, he has to bite the inside of his cheek raw to do so and even then it’s still a challenge to keep the smile present long enough to make it seem convincing. he ignores the ache of his facial muscles from the forced expression, ignores the fact that his throat feels tight his chest hurts.

after keeping the nice act up for just long enough to make it believable he excuses himself from the conversation by claiming to be tired, the schedules getting the best of him (“that must be why i look so out of it lately” he claims) and pushes his earphones in perhaps a tad too hastily for it not to look like some sort of flight response.

jaewon doesn’t actually fall asleep, of course, he doesn’t, sleep hasn’t come easily to him for weeks by now but he pretends to be for the rest of the way home.

and instead of actually catching up on the rest he’s been missing he spends it continuously reminding himself that he’s fine.

really, he’s fine.

and if he isn’t, he just needs people to think he is.

“doesn’t dimensions feed you? you look so skinny these days.”

his grandmother slips the comment into the conversation so casually jaewon almost glosses over it at first but when it registers in his mind he chokes on his jasmine tea, coughing violently, eyes red and teary as he takes a moment to regain himself, his grandmother continuing to sip her own cup of tea like she had hardly said anything unusual.

the thing with jaewon’s weight is, and he knows this all too well, is that it is a fickle thing. he is naturally skinny, had always been ever since he was a child and it had only gotten more obvious after his growth spurt in his teens, gaining so much in height but hardly anything in width. the other thing he knows is that while gaining weight is a whole task and a half (much to the joy of dimensions entertainment) he never had the same issue with losing weight not due to scary, unhealthy dietary restrictions but because of an entirely different factor: stress.

whenever stress weights down on jaewon slightly more than usual, the first way it shows is  through his appearance, losing weight rapidly to the point where usually, the public begins to take notice and points out the drop in his weight, only for all those rumors to be snowed over the second times get less hectic and jaewon slowly eases back into his usual weight.

it’s something people close to him know, that there is no need to fuss over his weight, that it has nothing to do with his health which is why jaewon is so taken aback when his grandmother mentions it. by now, he knows to not underestimate the older woman, that she’s usually onto things long before he himself is, it’s been that way all his life: when it came to raising him after his parents died, when it came to signing him up for his dimensions audition, even when he came out to her and told her about his relationship with samsoo, it was obvious that she had already known long before he himself had.

so when she carries on about how sunken his cheeks look and how bony his shoulders have gotten, he knows it’s no notion to his health or an urgency to eat more. no, it’s her subtle way of telling jaewon she can tell he’s not doing well, that’s he’s not feeling well on a mental level rather than a physical one. more importantly, it’s a way of telling him that he can’t respond to defensively or brush aside like unfounded concern because she’s not straight up accusing him of anything, she’s not explicitly stating her worries because she knows that he knows exactly what it is she’s implying.

she’s telling him she knows and there is nothing he can bring in against it.

and jaewon hates it, hates knowing that his grandmother sees right through him, that yet again she has to worry about him. hadn’t the poor woman done enough worrying throughout raising him?  

jaewon knows he owes her so much, he can probably never begin to thank her for everything she’s done for him. he doesn’t even want to begin to think about how he would have ended up had she not been so patient with him, had she not known how to handle him so well.

he wants to be able to pay her back for all the sacrifices she’s made, to prove that it wasn’t all a waste of time and effort, that he wasn’t a waste of time and effort.

but in all honesty, jaewon doesn’t quite believe he’s not. he doubts he’ll ever be anything more than this miserable person filled with nothing but anger and resentment. he’s terrified that he’s bound to disappoint everyone who so desperately wants to believe he could ever be anything close to a good person.

and it makes him wonder how anyone ever stumbled onto that misguided belief at all.

so as he lets his grandmother smoothly guide the conversation back into lighter territory (“how have the unity boys been? it’s been so long since i last saw all of them, you should bring them over for dinner soon”), he weakly smiles at her over the rim of his cup, the smile not quite reaching his eyes and mentally, he apologizes for all the love he received from her that he will never quite deserve.

if only he knew a way to give it all back to her.

“these bags under your eyes are getting harder to hide by the day, do you even sleep anymore?”

the make-up noona scolds him sharply as she tries to fix his make-up ahead of some music show performance. normally, jaewon would probably have laughed at the comment, made some comment about for once it wasn’t a mark on his neck she was struggling to cover up but for once the amusement stayed out, only muttering a quick apology as she continued to layer concealers and powders and whatnot on him to make him look just a little less tired.

a little less unstable.

as of lately, sleep has begun to escape him again. while the nights technically only got longer, his only seem to get shorter. he wonders if it’s a seasonal thing, that for some forsaken reason whenever winter slowly creeps closer his sleep schedule seems to rapidly deteriorate, that he finds himself outside at 3 am more often when it’s cold enough for him to feel the chill all the way in his bones even hidden in a thick coat and scarf.

because it’s not the first time, losing sleep, counting the hours he should have spent asleep yet finding himself wide awake was not anything new to jaewon. but he had been doing better for a while, had gotten himself together more over the course of the summer, even with their hectic back to back comebacks he had managed to get all the sleep he could get.

but suddenly he isn’t anymore and he doesn’t even know why, that was the most frustrating part of it all. how was he going to fix something that he didn’t know what was wrong with to begin with?

it isn’t even that he isn’t tired, he’s absolutely exhausted, sitting here right now, laying in bed at night, at any given time he just feels tired to the point that he wonders what feeling wide awake felt like again, a vague distant memory he can’t quite grasp or recall.

but it’s not enough, it’s not enough to let him fall asleep until hours and hours later than planned after a lot of tossing and turning (or well, minimal tossing and turning before getting up not to disturb his boyfriend with his fussing) and it’s so frustrating. what he does need is for his mind to stop racing, for it all to come to a halt for just a moment so he can find some sort of tranquility but it doesn’t because there are constantly so many things that demand his attention about, that he has to worry and overthink or that he just feels like he should worry and overthink about and he’s so tired of how it never seems to stop.

he’s so tired of being tired.

“jeez why are you such an asshole lately.”

one of the members mutters under their breath during another late night practice and it causes jaewon to tense in his spot. he doesn’t even catch who it is that says it, doesn’t stop to rationalise that the comment is probably heavily reliant on the fact that they must be tired and annoyed,  it’s so late already and has only gotten later because jaewon insisted no one was leaving until they got a specific move down to perfection and maybe, they’ve been practicing later than usual because jaewon’s internal exhaustion clock of when it’s been enough doesn’t work anymore since his sleep schedules has decided to fuck him over.

no instead there is only a voice in the back of his mind reminding him that if one of the boys said it they’re probably all thinking it before going on to remind himself they’re not wrong for thinking it, that they’d be right to despise and resent him.

he calls for a short break, just a few minutes and promises that after that they’ll only go over the choreography a few more times and as he watches the members all slump down and reach for a bottle of water or a towel, he can’t help but think he was never made for this.

he was never made to be a leader.

it’s not the first time he finds his mind wandering to these thoughts. ever since unity had been formed, jaewon had doubted dimensions’ decision to make him the leader and it was an insecurity that has never faded throughout the years. if anything, it has only gotten worse. because now, two and a half years into unity’s career, he has so much proof, so many memories of times he has failed the group.

he may be good at telling them what to do, at keeping them in line and at following the companies every demand, push them through late night practice and drag them out of bed early in mornings to be on time for schedules, at telling them to grit their teeth and bite their tongue when they have to do things they’re not entirely behind, that jaewon isn’t entirely behind himself either.

but beyond that, what good does he really do?

there is no warmth to him, no compassion or encouragement or understanding or literally any of the traits a good leader is supposed to have. he’s this block of ice, he’s refusing to let them in or to open up to them, he’s incapable of relating and handling their emotions in a proper way, hell he can’t even handle his own.

he does more harm than good, he’s always done more harm than good.

the thoughts make it impossible to not feel like he’s too much in his own practice room, within his own group. it’s impossible to not feel like too much when he was literally taking up space he shouldn’t take up.

it is impossible not to feel like too much when he knows every person in the group would be better off without him.

one of the boys call his name and jaewon needs a moment to focus back on reality. it takes a few questioning looks thrown his way before he realizes they’re in fact still in practice, that they’re probably waiting for him to continue where they had left off.

as he pushes himself up from the floor, swallowing the bile resting in his throat, he tells himself it’s okay if they hate him, he hates himself too.

“you look miserable”

this time it’s not someone else pointing out what jaewon already long since knew, this time it’s his own mind reminding him of the fact.

and his mind is right because as he stares at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, he can’t help but agree.

it’s the look in his eyes like his manager said, it’s the way his face looks more sunken than it usually does like his grandmother said, it’s the bags under his eyes like the make-up noona pointed out and he even can’t help but agree that with the seemingly permanent frown and his lips drawn together in a thin line, he kind of looks like an asshole like one of the boys pointed out during practice.

everything about him screams that he’s feeling like absolutely terrible and it’s not that that’s a groundbreaking revelation because he’s been aware of it for weeks now but it’s still a problem because it shouldn’t be so obvious, people shouldn’t be able to tell.

yes he can barely stand the sight of himself because he can barely stand himself as a person. yes, he’s losing sleep and weight because he’s too caught up in his own mind and the constant intrusive thoughts that fuel his self-hatred.

but none of that is supposed to be anyone else’s problem.

the truth is, jaewon doesn’t want to make it anyone else’s problem because it will just be the next thing on a long, long list that makes him more bothersome than anything else.

he’s not supposed to be a lot of things but he’s at least supposed to have his shit together, to be on top of things and to be able to stand on his own feet.

if he’s none of those things? what does that make him but a complete bother?

and the last thing jaewon wants is the be even more of a inconvenience than he already is.

so yes, he’s miserable, completely and utterly miserable but there is little concern on his mind about fixing that, he just wants to know how to cover it up.

because if it’s not anyone else’s problem, it’s not a problem at all.

[foursprouthappiness-blog]

No More Pointless Fights About Politics

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/no-more-pointless-fights-about-politics/

No More Pointless Fights About Politics

Emmad Mazhari / Unsplash

I’ve put a lot of energy into arguing with people about our differing political views. When not arguing, I’ve spun my mental gears just thinking about these differences and getting bent out of shape internally over viewpoints I considered to be ignorant or insensitive.

I thought all the arguing might lead to some good – changed opinions or new perspectives for some of these political adversaries. When I took a hard look, I realized no one was ever really seeing anything differently.

That brother-in-law who thinks he should be able to buy an Uzi by flashing his Big Gulp discount card at 7-Eleven… I showed him 50 charts on gun violence, sent him a stack of articles big enough for him to light his fireplace all winter, begged, pleaded, wrung my nervous little hands, and… dude still has a concealed carry permit and a gun rack hanging in the back of his truck.

All that arguing didn’t change his opinion or anyone else’s, even if one or two did half heartedly agree on occasion just to shut me up. Well, that’s not entirely true. A few opinions did change but not about the issues. People who liked me just fine before I became a zealot for my cause of the week started to think I was an asshole.

All I was really doing was fracturing perfectly good relationships. That same vigilante brother-in-law also gave up about a dozen Saturdays off in a row a few years ago to help me gut my bathroom down to the studs and remodel it — all for the price of a few 12-packs of beer we split while sitting on my back porch and talking about lighter topics like fishing. Now he won’t set foot in my house.

My takeaway from this mess is that politics don’t matter unless, well, we’re politicians. It’s all just a bunch of words and talking. Blah, blah, blah. This country needs to do this or that, and guess what? None of it ever gets done because that little opinion gets lost in the sea of 10 million others.

Unless someone is in a position to directly affect policy — like they hold a political office or are running for one — their stance on taxes or healthcare or welfare or whatever only matters to the extent it shapes their voting preference. Of course we should all be informed voters, but character and how we treat other people… those things matter a whole lot more in everyday life than our position on the issues.

Here’s another example. I have a part-time job as a Strength Coach at a local college to supplement the meager income I make from owning a small gym. My political views are the polar opposite of my boss’. I’m a gun control liberal, and he’s a country music listening conservative. Either I really need the money from this gig or I’ve actually matured a bit — I haven’t decided which — but against my nature, I’ve managed to hold my tongue when an issue comes up.

This bit of self restraint has proved enlightening. What I’ve observed is that this guy with all the tattoos and rough edges and politically incorrect opinions is good to everyone who works for him and to everyone who sets foot in that weight room. Sure, he often says things I disagree with, but even more often he does things worthy of my admiration, like hiring a phenomenal staff that includes both women and ethnic minorities.

We live in turbulent political times – some of the most chaotic I can remember in my 48 years. Opinions are often radically different and emotions about them run high. If we value a friendship, we must be vigilant to think carefully before we speak. Arguing about political viewpoints almost never changes them but can certainly damage friendships in irreparable ways.

Maybe we should all think of better ways to spend our time doing things that can actually make a difference. Instead of arguing our political viewpoints, we could volunteer for a cause or organization whose mission aligns with our values.

I used to be Fundraising Director for a homeless shelter, and I’ve often railed against people who don’t share my empathy for the homeless. I also haven’t set foot in a shelter in the three years since I left my paid position, though I’m well aware that shelters are desperate for volunteers for jobs like serving meals, distributing clothing, and making basic repairs.

Maybe I’d have a bigger positive impact in my community by keeping a few of my self-righteous opinions to myself and rolling up my sleeves for some real work. Maybe we all would.

We could also take steps to better our own lives through education or personal development. We could certainly treat people well, whether we agree with their politics or not. When we treat others with respect and kindness, we start to see areas of common ground from which we can can begin building bridges of understanding and compromise.

The exact avenue of change doesn’t really matter. The point is to take more action in positive directions and spend less of our finite time and energy arguing about everything that’s wrong. We’ll be happier with our contributions to the world, and our relationships will be stronger. That’s the sort of real change and growth that makes any argument seem trivial.

[illuminatedquill]

I really want to do a post about Na Bi and why, despite her horrendous choices, I still like her and am rooting for her happiness BUT a lot of what I have to say depends on what choices she makes this weekend. So, I’ll save that for a later date.

That being said, I’m not fond of all the Na Bi slander I see; I get the frustration with her as a character, and she is kinda a terrible character, but considering what she’s going through I would challenge anyone to see how they would be acting during such a time. Probably not like a saint or even remotely clear headed, right?

Anyway. So, I decided to write about Yu Na Bi and Yang Do Hyeok; specifically about their relationship: where it stands at this moment, along with pushing back at some criticisms I’ve seen about it and why it works so well.

Let’s address the main criticism of Do Hyeok’s and Na Bi’s relationship: the lack of passion. And to those critics, I want to point to this scene or any other scene where Do Hyeok is looking at Na Bi.

Look at his face. Tell me that there is no passion in that expression. The only reason why there isn’t full unbridled passion between these two is because Na Bi hasn’t noticed it yet. She hasn’t seen how Do Hyeok looks at her. It isn’t reciprocal because Na Bi, at this moment, still only sees him as a close friend.

But she is aware of his feelings now. And her expression here tells me that she definitely knows he is serious:

This is not some simple childhood crush. Yang Do Hyeok loves her, sincerely and unconditionally. Na Bi, in a rare moment of clarity, knows that she cannot accept his offer: the timing isn’t right and she knows that there are problems she needs to sort out before she can be in a good relationship. It kills her to do so, but she has to. And Do Hyeok, the good guy that he is, respects her wishes.

“When you love someone big enough, you can let them choose to be with you.”

- Elementary

Jae Un is insecure and wants Na Bi to choose him, while Do Hyeok’s love is big and selfless where he wants Na Bi to be happy, even without him. And he loves her enough to give her space and decide for herself what, or who, she wants.

Do Hyeok wants to protect Na Bi; Na Bi wants to protect Do Hyeok (from herself). Their relationship is already so good and they aren’t even dating. You choose the person who chooses you first, always.

Their scenes later in the episode says that they have resumed their friendship as though the confession never took place but that’s purposeful; Do Hyeok doesn’t want to pressure Na Bi with his feelings and Na Bi is keeping him at a safe distance because her feelings for him have suddenly grown complicated. (And there’s this asshole named Jae Un still lurking around.)

How do I know her feelings for Do Hyeok are suddenly changing? Because she doesn’t want to let him down. Na Bi is clearheaded and unapologetically happy when she is with Do Hyeok. And she trusts him implicitly; the confession scene (GOD IT WAS SO GOOD), Do Hyeok asks her questions and she answers, honestly. It sounds unremarkable but we know how guarded she is; the only person she admits the truth to is herself. And now, it’s also Do Hyeok. I don’t think she is even aware of how fond she is of him and the suddenly changing direction of her feelings; understandable since she already has a lot on her plate.

Another criticism I see regarding Do Hyeok is that he is romanticizing Na Bi; he doesn’t really know her as she is now and is only in love with the Na Bi he remembers. There may be some truth to this; they’ve only been reunited for a short time now.

But I think Do Hyeok is aware that Na Bi isn’t perfect; the confession revealed that to him and he decided that it doesn’t matter anyway. He still loves her. In the scene above, Do Hyeok comments on Na Bi’s talent and she waves it away. He makes a casual remark about it but he does notice her lack of self confidence; you see the concern on his face. I feel like he doesn’t probe further out of respect and also the knowledge that it’s not something he can fix.

Do Hyeok is not someone she wants to lose. There haven’t been any big, dramatic moments where she realizes her feelings and that’s because they’re not quite there; not yet. I suspect her realization will come as a quiet moment, because Do Hyeok’s love isn’t going to come instantly like Jae Un’s was; his love is the green of spring gently growing through a long winter frost. And it’s growing, deep in her heart, I think.

Na Bi deserves her spring. Winter has been long and harsh to her. Someone to promise growth after so much decay.

Their friendship is a really beautiful, pure existence in this show. Whatever Na Bi decides in episode 9, I hope she keeps Do Hyeok by her side. She needs someone like him in her life.