#spoiler tagged it so assuming everyone who reads this has watched to episode but sadly this theory has fallent through

[across-stars]

''they're not here for me.'' okay rn my thoughts are Sol will kill Qimir, Vernestra will see this. How to defeat a Jedi without a weapon? Have his fellow Jedi turn against him

[thunderbirds-are-fab]

The Mechanic

An unnecessarily long fan essay examining the character ‘The Mechanic’ from Thunderbirds are Go by thunderbirds-are-fab

Pretty much since the Mechanic was first revealed as an upcoming character to be introduced into Thunderbirds are Go, he’s been surrounded by mystery. There were a lot of wild fan theories about who he could be and if he was related to any original character in particular (He was either Brains’ brother or his father, Kyrano gone mad, and even Jeff in some weird disguise trying to traumatise his children to someone), but he has since turned out to be a completely new character and therefore had a lot of possibilities as to how he could fit into the established TAG universe.

Sadly, two seasons since his introduction we still don’t know all that much about him or his super villain origin story, and with the conclusion of Season 3 we likely never will. The writers put this guy on the back shelf, and this is why I’m writing an essay piecing together all the messy details we have regarding the character of the Mechanic. It turns out there’s quite a lot to talk about, so get comfy.

*Episode spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched Seasons 2 and 3*

The biggest tease about the Mechanic was his hinting that he knows Brains very well or even personally in Earthbreaker, but after that it’s not really brought up again. Massive wasted potential there. He made it sound like he and Brains were old rivals from long ago, but Brains doesn’t show any signs of recognising him. Brains himself never really reacts to the Mechanic’s hints that they might know each other during Earthbreaker or after, and never even tries to guess at who this masked engineer may be, which feels ridiculous.

“Hey Brains, in all your years of being one of the world’s best engineers, did you ever meet anyone in your field of expertise who was capable of making an army of robots completely on his own, looked like he could bench press MAX with one hand, and maybe seemed a little power-hungry and unhinged?”

“Nope, sorry. That sounds like it could have been anyone.”

Surely if they were both brilliant inventors working on similar stuff, they would have mutually run into each other before???

Not only does Brains not keep up his end of the ‘we-may-know-each-other’ plotline to make it believable, but after Earthbreaker the writers seem to drop it from the Mechanic’s character too. He doesn’t show the same ominous bias towards focusing on Brains again whenever he crosses paths with IR, and if anything he seems to reacts with distrust towards Brains when he first offers to help him in Home on the Range. In Brains vs Brawn Brains offers to help him again, but still acts wary of him wanting to get close. If they had known each other before then this could have been a great bonding moment for them to reconnect and win each other’s trust, but instead Brains has to use the promise of “engineer to engineer�� which is as far as their personal connection seems to go in the end.

Brains also only ever calls him “the Mechanic” the same as everyone else does, and going into Season 3 this lack of a proper name becomes more of a problem for the Mechanic’s character as a whole. We finally see him without his mask in Chaos Part 2, but a face reveal is all it is. It’s not a grand finale Scooby-Doo moment of “Aha! It was old man Jenkins the janitor all along!”, and this again feels like wasted potential to me. What’s the point of having a masked villain if he’s still exactly the same person without the mask, just a little sadder?

Between being taken into GDF custody in Brains vs. Brawn and then being negotiated for release in Break Out (a 20 episode gap, which is quite a long time span in TAGverse), the GDF don’t seem to have done any background check on him whatsoever. Everyone, including Colonel Casey, still refers to him as “the Mechanic”. If even the in-world authorities couldn’t find this guy’s original identity, then it seems that the entirety of who he was before never existed, and that’s because the writers never properly wrote it. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the TAG writers and have rarely had to fault them on anything in 78 episodes, but fitting their OCs into the series for more than an episode or two is by far their biggest weakness *coughcoughwhydidn’tyouuseEOSmorecough*

His backstory was clearly set up before his introduction, but then scrapped for whatever reason. Perhaps with everything else going on in the show they simply didn’t have time for it? This I can understand, because there’s only so much time in a children’s show and action has to come first in this genre, but it opens up a lot of additional plot holes when you keep trying to build a story on top of a poorly-established character.

What I’m trying to get at here is that without ever having his personal motivations revealed, looking back on the Mechanic’s pervious actions in the story gets a lot more confusing, and makes his character development and the plot development between Season 2 and 3 more difficult to understand.

I’ll split these last points into two parts:

1.    How do we know he built the the T-Drive when he’s unidentifiable?

In Break Out it’s suddenly revealed that the Mechanic was the engineer who designed the first T-Drive engine/Zero-X prototype... But how? How do they now know that??? Surely being the engineer who came up with this fantastic revolutionary warp drive for the spaceship that allegedly killed the great Jeff Tracy would make this guy pretty famous? His former name should probably be common knowledge, and yet he’s still only ever called the Mechanic. It’s been suggested to me on anon that maybe he’s shunned his former name in favour of the Mechanic moniker, which is fine, except that’s no reason for all of the other characters never to speak his true name even when he’s not there to hear it. To us he’s still just the villain we were introduced to, never the man he was before. Without being shown how that past and him today are linked, it’s difficult for us as an audience to attach such important prior information to a character who doesn’t seem to have previously existed.

2.    Was he ever really a true villain, or was it all because of the Hood? And does his change of heart make sense?

We’re never told how the Mechanic came to be. Why did he go from brilliant engineer, to turning over to the dark side and becoming a puppet of the Hood? In Break Out he hints that the Hood manipulated his bitterness over ~something~ in order to get him to work under him, but again it’s frustratingly vague! In the beginning we assumed it was through some personal grudge with Brains, but as I’ve already gone through at length, all that backstory just got washed away. Another anon has suggested to me that his rivalry with Brains was manufactured by the Hood. He didn’t know Brains personally, but developed a grudge against him through being compared. “Brains is brilliant, but you’re a failure”... because of the Zero-X disaster? He’s clearly as good as or even better than Brains when it comes to inventing things, so he had to have had something big happen to him in order to spiral downwards as he did. The Zero-X disaster would certainly fit the bill for that, but it’s a shame to leave all that to speculation. If it were true, then would it have been so hard to fit that into the show?

Anyway, the Hood somehow fostered a hatred for IR in him that served his own motives, and so began their partnership. He’s clearly very strong, so that’s probably why the Hood needed extra control over him via cybernetics. It’s in Brains vs. Brawn that we first learn that the Mechanic is at least partially being controlled by the Hood. Since the Hood spent most of Season 2 in jail, this was maintained through a connection between his bionic eye and some kind of cybernetics that the Mechanic has (forcibly implanted by the Hood or just already there and hacked, we don’t know). Partially coerced and partially forced, but we will never really know how much of each.

The Mechanic is a lot more violent than the Hood ever is on his own. The Hood may not care much for other people or the collateral damage he causes (e.g. in Falling Skies he’s fine with abandoning the Estrella Grand hotel full of people to crash and burn if he decides that he doesn’t want it anymore), but it isn’t really his priority. For the whole of Season 3 he makes the Chaos Crew do the physical dirty work he doesn’t care for (btw I let the Chaos Crew off for not having much background story because their “we’re bad just because we enjoy being that way” motive stays fairly consistent throughout the show. They aren’t that complicated). 

In contrast, the Mechanic has frequently plowed forward with no regard for anyone’s safety. He doesn’t make sneaking around his Plan A like the Hood, and he doesn’t hit and run for fun like the Chaos Crew. He’s brutal. Earthbreaker really sets him up for being a ruthless villain because he’s so focused on getting what he wants that he’s willing to take down anyone who gets in his way. Even when Scott asks for him just to let IR work around him to rescue the civilians below, he attacks! He’s a genuinely scary and thrilling character for how relentlessly destructive he manages to be every time she shows up in Season 2. Seriously, just read his wiki page and you’ll see it’s got ‘perfect villain traits’ written all the way through it.

Then comes the redemption arc.

In Brains vs. Brawn he is subdued and chooses to trust that Brains can redeem him. In Break Out he shows remorse for his actions. He believes that he deserves to be in prison and is beyond redemption for what he’s done. He puts Kayo’s safety before his own and saves her life. He could have disappeared, but instead comes to Tracy Island of his own free will and voluntarily works with his former enemies. That’s a pretty big change from someone who was hellbent on destruction regardless of innocent people begging for their lives! It’s a pretty big ask to believe that all of that relentless anger and complete apathy towards human life was only there because the Hood was in control the whole time.

There’s something else which leads me to believe that “I was being controlled by the Hood” isn’t the watertight excuse it’s presented as. The Mechanic makes it sound like he’s totally stuck and irredeemable without the Hood’s control being removed, but prior to that happening in Buried Treasure he makes choices of his own that the Hood could’ve stopped.

Between being dumped by the Hood in Escape Proof and Brains vs. Brawn, he’s pretty much a villain under his own steam. He’s working independently on continuing Project Sentinel, which has the aim of using to destroy the Hood for having control over him. Sure, he may only be doing bad things because he’s desperate for revenge against his abuser, but he’s still willfully endangering a lot of other people in the process. The Hood may have lost interest in him during that period, but the control system was still in place that whole time - and he was resisting it! If he can manage to hide himself from the Hood and work directly against him despite that, then he still has some free will of his own.

In Chaos - Part 2 Havoc learns the Mechanic is in space prison, which is why the Hood has lost control over him. Arguably the HEX probably had a faraday cage around his prison cell to block the Hood’s influence, and it is stated that it’s harder for the Hood to influence him from space anyway. But after breaking out and coming to Tracy Island of his own free will, shouldn’t being back on earth have put him back under influence again? The only time he had to fight against the Hood’s direct control after that was when Brains disturbed the control software and alerted the Hood, who then suddenly reveals that he has a fail-safe that can wipe the Mechanic’s memories. Wow. If he could really do that, then why didn’t he do so in Escape Proof and not leave the Mechanic as the potential enemy that he turned out to be? Sure, he later says that he still has plans for the Mechanic, but you would think that during Brains vs. Brawn when he’s getting shot at by a giant lazer whilst being thrown around by IR, and the Mechanic is resisting his commands to stop, that then would have been the ideal time to use the secret factory reset ability?  

Afterthoughts aside, I’m still convinced that the Mechanic had a lot of evil in himself that wasn’t just there because of the Hood, and it’s really a wonder that the Tracys let him into heir home after how many times he tried to kill them. i really don’t blame Scott for staying suspicious, even though he was the one most obviously anxious to find a way to get his father back. 

Despite all the questions that the show failed to answer about him, I still think that the Mechanic was a good villain. Whatever his super villain origin story was supposed to be, I think it had a lot more potential to be morally complex than the origin they ended up giving the Hood. It’s a shame that writers across the board these days often don’t have the time to write villains more complex than the trope of “once upon a time somebody made me sad, so I decided to be evil to get revenge”. I know that somebody out there will be looking at this unnecessarily long post and screaming But fab, it’s just a kid’s show! Kids won’t care about tying up offscreen plotlines or any of this crap! And my answer is yes, I know that. That’s why I’m not actually mad about what the writers did with the Mechanic’s character. The writers of TAG did a great job and the show works as it is, but I can’t help but feel that they only had to push a little more or add a line or two somewhere and then all of these questions I have about the Mechanic could have been answered. A little backstory goes a long way in fleshing out a character, and Thunderbirds is a franchise with a lot of history.

[probabltbry]

Carole & Tuesday [Rants/My Opinion/Controversy]

THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE, PLEASE SKIM IT AT LEAST (T.T).

This is very different than what I usually post and I want to begin by saying that I may not have all of the facts! I am basing this on what I’ve seen other people say on this site (and others) and fact checking. I am open to learning and understanding more, and I will read any and all comments (if this post gets any lol). If this changes anything, I am making this post through the lense of a black bisexual female, so my view on things may be different. :)

I try to keep this spoiler free in general, but since I’m going to talk about characters and episodes that have released that’s a little impossible, so I will warn you if there are any spoilers in the section I discuss. I want people who haven’t seen the anime to get a taste of what it is! 

In this long post I will touch on the following; LGBT+ representation, POC representation, exposure of the anime(streaming and where to find it), the community/fandom of C&T, Cybelle????!!, and other characters. Remember- this is my opinion and that is always subject to change.

For those of you who don’t know about Carole & Tuesday, it’s a Spring 2019 anime directed by Shinichiro Watanbe in association with the popular Bones studio. Shinichiro is well known for his other successful series such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloos and Space Dandy and Bones studio has produced many popular animes like Noragami, Soul Eater and Ouran High School Host Club, etc. [Fun fact, Cowboy Bebop and Carole & Tuesday are said to be set in the same universe and I died when I heard this.]

The plot of Carole & Tuesday, as provided by wiki is:

Set in the future on a partially terraformed Mars, teenager Tuesday Simmons runs away from her posh lifestyle as the daughter of a politician and makes her way to the populous Alba City to pursue her dream of being a musician with just a suitcase and her Gibsonacoustic guitar. On her first day in the city, she crosses paths with Carole Stanley, another aspiring musician who plays the piano, and the two decide to team up as a singer-songwriter duo under the name Carole & Tuesday.

Where can I find this? Why haven’t I heard of it?

I actually discovered Carole & Tuesday through google since I was looking at new and upcoming animes for the Spring and Summer of 2019. Sadly, the website I used show that Carole & Tuesday was an anime many people weren’t looking forward too- but that was only a handful of votes. Personally, I had been super ecstatic since, just from the promo poster, I assumed Carole and Tuesday would possibly be a couple, there’s a person of color as a main protaganist, and they’re both SUPER CUTE. This all made me happy beyond words. 

As of now, Carole & Tuesday should only be available on Japan Netflix. Japanese viewers tend to prefer weekly released episodes whereas Americans prefer to binge shows. I am assuming that once the show has completed airing in Japan (there are going to be 24 episodes) it will appear on other Netflixs around the world. 

I believe that’s why the promo for it has been severely lacking and the fanbase appears non-existant. The fandom is there, if you squint (which is why I’m surprised there’s already controversy). The fact that I had to look through a list on an unknown website and scroll to the bottom to find this anime is very showing of how unknown this anime is.

I also saw a post comparing Yuri!!! On Ice to Carole & Tuesday and I personally believe that OP took the wrong approach. I forgot the posters name (I will edit and tag if I find it again) but the post said something along theses lines; YOI is so popular because it’s a mlm show whereas C&T isn’t nearly as popular because it’s a wlw relationship with poc. 

While this can prove to be true in the future, there are some major differences that were overlooked. I was into the YOI hype when it was first released but it didn’t truly become popular until Yuri and Viktor were canon and everyone was speculating whether it was a kiss or a hug, etc. Yuri!!! On Ice is also a relationship with a person of color, Yuri, and the anime was also supported by Crunchyroll, a major streaming service for Americans/others. It has had two years to become popular, grow and this is one of the very few animes that had positive lgbt+ representation since the relationship grew just as normally as any other type of relationship. It also wasn’t labeled a yaoi/shounen ai (though this sadly didn’t stop the fetishization of the characters and No.6 did it first but let’s move on-). It felt like a big step in the anime lgbt+ community and it won’t be forgotten! 

Carole & Tuesday has just started off! Not much promotion is being shown in other countries outside of Japan and the first episode premiered in early April this year. I believe it’s harsh to compare C&T to such a popular anime when it’s literally just begun. It’s also exclusively on Netflix (besides pirating sites) so there is a little foreseeable loss since it won’t be available on Crunchyroll. But despite that I know there’s hope! Though mlm couples tend to be more popularly viewed, and any pairing that doesn’t have completely white/asian/white-presenting people in the relationship they tend to not garner much interests, but I don’t think C&T will fall into that pit. There’s simply not much promotion of it yet but it still has defied odds and has a fanbase with people from many different countries already!

Though I do see the OP’s point and concerns and they have facts on their side (look at fandometrics popular characters/couples, they’re mostly male) I think it’s too soon to point fingers.

Just imagine how large it’ll get when it has proper streaming (because many people do choose not to pirate in order to directly support the anime and it’s creators!). I think this is where our patience comes into play because if you have seen Carole & Tuesday already, you are most likely not using the most legal means. We are all early to the party.

LGBT+ and POC Representation (spoilers in part of this section, read first line):

I will say this, and this will only be the only spoiler free line, I think it has decent lgbt+ representation and that there’s more to unfold. If you’re going to watch exclusively for lgbt+ representation then I don’t think you will be too disappointed but the anime has a ways to go before it’s finished so my opinion can change.

But the most recent episodes and commentary has caused a ripple in viewers beliefs.

Anne and Marie 

I literally adored when Marie kissed Anne whilst Carole and Tuesday sat there blushing. Then, Marie was careful to ask if either of them had a boyfriend or girlfriend not assuming C or T’s sexualities at all. This happened on in an early episode so this left me to believe that more casual representation was on the way!

Cybelle

This was where it began to become uncomfortable for me and a few others. I actually couldn’t figure out whether Cybelle was a female, male or left to be ambiguous intentional (I just concluded she was non-binary until they used she/her pronouns). But many people concluded that since it was clear Cybelle was a female with an infatuation (not a crush, an infatuation) on Tuesday people simply labeled her as lesbian. A few are labeling her interactions with Tuesday and Carole as a harmful and negative commonly used trope when involving wlw characters.

Cybelle was being creepy and aggressive towards Tuesday, constantly touching her abruptly and without consent and going as far as biting Tuesday’s neck and leaving a mark. Actions like these feed into the trope that is commonly used in anime/television shows and it actually demeans real lesbian couples. It’s like a scapegoat; saying ‘here’s your rep’ but it’s very, very, very bad rep.

The controversy comes in since there are people defending Cybelle’s actions because she’s a girl, and people are literally calling others ‘homophobic’ because they choose not to ship Cybelle and Tuesday despite their ‘canon interactions’ but they still want Carole and Tuesday to become a couple.

My personal stance is that none of Cybelle’s actions were consensual and I will never want her and Tuesday to become a couple. I think the creators fed into a bad trope (I’m not sure if intentionally or not), and the real only development we got from this was Tuesday learning to stick up for herself. I also think that Cybelle is simply a crazed fan who is not in a sound mental state and that her gender may not necessarily play into this; maybe she was meant to just be an aggressive fan that overstepped boundaries and made people uncomfortable and just happened to be female. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be representation and should not be labeled as such.

But these are just thoughts!

Mermaid Sisters - Galatic Mermaid  

I was personally pleased that the Mermaid Sisters blatantly said they weren’t male or female, just like mermaids aren’t fish or human. Non-binary representation is my fucking jam!

But there are worries that this group was used as a comedic affect due to the way the characters were dressed and how they presented themselves, and the fact that they were POC who were interrupted, immediately lost and were shown to be aggressive directly after. 

When I first viewed this I was more focused on the fact that they were non-binary, had amazing voices and had sang a song that was clearly not the most appropriate for Mars Brightest. Now I understand that how there were presented can be damaging and as a person of color, I am disappointed but I’m still conflicted. This scene caused people to ‘cancel’ the show and they’re trying to discourage others to not view it but I want to watch until the very end.

Overall I am super happy with the POC representation in the show! Especially since various races and skin tones are show quite frequently.

Dahlia

The same can be said about Dahlia. People feared the a negative trope of transgender females was being displayed though it’s stated that Dahlia is currently male but their sex varies from time to time, on the official website!

The Community/Fandom

Honestly besides the few odd balls who stir the pot and clearly use harsh words when not needed, the fandom is chill. The artworks are sooo cute and a little scarce but you can find Carole and Tuesday content here, on twitter, on YouTube, Deviantart- literally where you would find any other fanbase! Most people are friendly and (NEED) are willing to talk with you! If you’re still hesitant to watch just message someone who constantly tags Carole & Tuesday because I assure, they’re dying to rant to someone about what goes on lol.

Here’s my last little tid bit on whether or not to watch!

You should watch this show because you want to. Don’t do it because someone else keeps saying you have to because it has representation, or because they think Pyotr is hot or whatever. Of course I am the biggest hoe for Carole & Tuesday and if someone wants a new anime to watch I will suggest this one!! But!! Watching a show just because you feel you have to and you have no genuine interests will dull the experience! You should watch and support the show if it makes you laugh, feel love and genuine enjoyment. That’s the point of anime and that is definitely the point of Carole & Tuesday. 

I have already seen so many people drop the show because they were forced into it and promised things that weren’t delivered (it’s still early on) and then they bad mouth the anime. If you want to start watching when there’s more hype and a fandom, then wait!! If you’re unsure and want more convincing, message me!! If this doesn’t seem like this anime suits your tastes and, then why did you read this far (kidding)?!!! Regardless, I just want everyone to have a good experience when watching so we can have more good vibes all around.

I would definitely give this anime a shot if you love music, beautiful voices, dancing, poc/lgbt+ rep, suspense and just amazing animation all around, though! It’s has a baby fandom but it’s surely going to grow and I can’t wait to see the outcome of the anime and what becomes of our lovely Carole and Tuesday! <3 

I’m also in love with Roddy, just look at him~ | I’m still not super fond of Angela but I am wishing her the best to achieve happiness in the end!

[bookgrotto]

Okay, I got tagged in two of those awesome “11 Questions” posts (aaaages ago, oh dear.) and I will cheat a bit and answer them all in one go. Mostly because I probably wouldn’t be able to come up with 22 questions. Or 22 people to tag.  Will put most of it under a tag, though... because I know long text posts can be super annoying. 

First, the questions by @theweirdwaysoftheweylandsreads (Who I just saw tagged me on my birthday without knowing, ha!). Thank you! 1. Ents or Golems?

Ents. Way comfier to sit on, better protection when it cains and the chances of seeing fluffy baby birds is probably higher.

2. Water sprites or forest dryads?

Water sprites. I’ve covered the forest with the Ents. Also, they might know mermaids.

3. Favourite film?

Uh. I’m not like... a film-fan or anything (more of a casual watcher) but I don’t think I can narrow it down to one. It also depends on my mood, since I mostly watch movies when I’m sick.  And the more I think of it, the more come to mind (Lord of the Rings, Les Chanson’s d’Amour, A League of Their Own, Practical Magic, several Disney, anime and superhero movies...)

4. Do you read/write fanfiction? And what fandom? I read fanfics for basically every fandom I’m in. Or at least I try, but sometimes there either aren’t any or I don’t like the ones I see (especially in anime fandoms). I used to write a few fics ages ago (for Lost, Naruto, Captain Tsubasa, Kyou Kara Maou and a German tv series called Doctor’s Diary) but I haven’t written anything in probably a decade? 

5. Art? yay or Nay and what type?

Yay. I guess? 

6. Favourite music genre?

Uh. I’m not a music person. I like music. I appreciate music. But I don’t have some vast collection or anything. I don’t really care about artists (I do get sad about thinking some who died way too young). I don’t have a favorite. I just have favorite songs. And most of those are somehow related to movies/tv shows and stuff like that. If I had to guess, it would probably be pop?

7. Last song you listened to?

Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is A Season) by The Byrds was on the radio earlier before I turned it off. (See? I LIKE that song. I’ve listened to it quite often... because of a tv show aka Cold Case. I still had to google the title and artist.)

8. Audiobooks? I use them to fall asleep. Which is also why I only listen to books I’ve already read. Who could fall asleep to a new story? One would need to pay close attention to not miss anything!  Sadly, this is also the reason why my collection is still quite small. There are a lot of books I’d love to have as audiobooks, but they simply... don’t exist. Or are just for download. I want them as CDs.

9. Film or tv adaptations of books?

Depends on the book and who does the adaption/how much money will go into it. I mean, in general I would say “TV show!” but then I think of some of the ones currently on TV and go “Let me adjust that a bit.” ... aka I would prefer all books to be adapted into mini-series of 4-12 episodes (per season if it’s a book series) depending on how much one would need to do the story justice.  And then let me rent a cinema and watch them on the big screen. 10. Video games?

I don’t own any... except Final Fantasy X-2. So random, I know. I assume that I could get really into them, if I ever started but I don’t think I will.

11. Your worst injury.

Luckily, I’ve never been seriously injured. I did fall down a stone stair case when I was 18 once, though. As in, I slid down the stairs on my shins all the way down to the bottom. I still have a scar, but it could have been way worse.

And now to the question @bibliophilecats came up with! Thank you! 1. Do you listen to music while reading?

Only if I have to aka when I’m in the living room and my mother is listening to music and situations like that. Never when I’m on my own.

2. Do you keep a list of all the books you own?

No. I mean, Goodreads counts I guess? But I don’t have all my books added there.

3. First-person or third-person? Third person. There are of course a few books in first person that I love, but it takes a special kind of author/story to make it work for me. 

4. Do you find it easier to identify with a main character of your own sex?

No.

5. If you own an eReader, what do you like most about it (especially if it’s something that is not usually advertised)?

*shifty eyes* I can put my favorite fanfics on it and carry them around.

6. If you own an eReader, how do you decide if you get the physical copy or the ebook?

Sometimes I can get an e-book really cheap and use that opportunity to check if it’s worth starting a series, because just having the first book in a series standing around on the book shelf just looks weird if I don’t like it. 

7. If you know you’ll be reading in public, do you try to take an “impressive” book?

No. I’ll take the book I’m currently reading with me. Unless it has an embarassing cover. Why do erotica books for example have those horrible covers? 

8. Do you listen to audiobooks? Radio dramas?

Since I already answered the audiobook question above, I will just add that yes, I also listen to Radio dramas (sadly not as often as I’d want to). I just listened to some of the Torchwood ones for example.

9. If you do listen to audiobooks, which is an audiobook everyone should listen to? My favorite audiobooks (because BOTH the story and the voice acting are A+) are: The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff (read by Bill Hensel) and Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh (read by Gabra Zackman and Jonathan Davis) Tintenherz/Tintenblut/Tintentod by Cornelia Funke (read by Rainer Strecker) I actually wish Goodreads would allow a seperate ratings for audiobooks, because I think a narrator can make or break a story. (If anyone has listened to the audiobook of a book I have given 3 stars and more to on Goodreads and loved it, please tell me!)

10. If you could decide on the new cover of any one book, which book would you choose and why?

Oh, there are several actually (basically almost every fiction book with real people on the cover)... but I’d probably have to go with the Tony Foster books by Tanya Huff. Every time I rec them to people (which is a lot), I tell them to ignore the new covers, because they’re so generic and nondescript. The old ones were better, but could still use a makeover.

11. Is there a poem you really like? Which one? I like them when I see them... some move me more than others... and then I usually forget the title/author and never see them again. So yes, I like them and respect the people writing them a lot (I have zero talent in that area) but I’m not INTO them. As in, I probably wouldn’t buy a book full of poems (never say never, though.)

Phew, okay that was a lot. Now my questions:

1. If you could bring one (or three if that makes it easier) dead character (book, tv show, movie) back to life, who would it be? (Don’t forget to spoiler tag of course) 2. Do you think there should be age restrictions on books, like there are on movies? 3. If you could change the ending of one book, which one would it be? 4. Do you include books that you don’t own (yet) on your TBR? 5. We had vampires, werewolves, zombies etc. Which fantasy creature do you want to be the next big THING? 6. Was there ever a hyped book that you disliked or simply refused to read because you knew you wouldn’t like it? If yes, which one? 7. What book (series) deserves a bigger fandom (or one to begin with)? 8. What magical creature would you NOT want to run into? 9. Would you buy a second (or third, or fourth...) edition of a book you already own, because you like the cover better? 10. What author (dead or alive) do you want to meet the most? 11. Assuming they’d be well written, which tv show should have a book adaption?

Tagging some people on my dash: @riversrunningfree @just0nemorepage @bookscatsandprettythings @munakatareishi @bookandwords @buttermybooks @beckisbookshelf @bookstacksonstacks​ @faerielament @happybibliosaurus @jaimedsworld

[xsailormobian]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica : A review

I warn you right now : if you’re an unconditional fan of the series, you probably don���t want to read this. Likewise, if you expect nothing but mindless bashing on my part, you shouldn’t read it either.

To keep it short, I have a love-hate relationship with Madoka Magica. It does some things well, but there are some other things that don’t sit well with me. Remember : it’s just my opinion and I certainly don’t claim to be right on certain things, it’s just how it feels for me. Spoiler alert, and it’s quite long.

The premise

“Being a Magical Girl sucks.” Thanks TVTropes, you’re really helpful. But it’s basically how the series goes : we are introduced to a bunch of middle-schooled girls who contract with a cute mascot ; the contract grants them any wish they want and, in exchange, they become Magical Girls and must fight monsters called Witches.

Except for the whole wish thing, it seems like your regular Magical Girl show. The trick however is that in this universe, being a Magical Girl is an extremely dangerous job. You could argue it’s the case in Sailor Moon for example, but this series (which I like a lot by the way) is on the idealistic side of the spectrum. Madoka Magica clearly isn’t. The girls, who don’t get any reward whatsoever for their dedication, go from awful truth to awful truth, sink deeper into despair and, if they don’t die horribly first, they will sooner or later turn into Witches – the very enemies they must fight against. And generally, they don’t learn about it until the very bitter end. Surprise !

The concept was endearing to me at first, because I’m a sucker for angst and character developement. On my first watch, not going to lie, I loved the show. But after having rewatched it and read some reviews about it, I came to the conclusion that even if the premise was good, there was something that felt really wrong to me.

Let’s take Sailor Moon again. This is a series whose purpose is to empower girls and women ; the titular character has agency, she’s idealistic and with the Power of Love / Friendship, she fights for what she thinks is right. She can change things and she’s going to do it. It’s the case for most of Magical Girl series, so what’s my problem with Madoka Magica ?

Thinking about it, the show in it’s bare premise is the opposite of what a Magical Girl series is about. Let’s put aside episode 12 for a second and you have a Cosmic Horror Story where hope is meaningless and where the girls, no matter how powerful they are, will get crushed by an uncaring, cold universe. Which is fine, just not in a genre that’s supposed to empower girls. Here, Magical Girls have no agency, their fate is sealed and they can’t do anything about it – because if they don’t become Magical Girls, they’re totally helpless ; and by achieving power and allowing themselves to have a wish granted, they will inevitably turn into monsters while having the illusion of not being helpless, when in reality they are. That’s not empowering. That’s fucked up, and not in a good way.

I think a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre can be a good thing. Taking apart common tropes to see how they would apply in real life is really interesting, especially if it can make you reflect on things you would otherwise take for granted. But deconstructing the very idea of girls having power, desires and agency by beating them with the angst stick with a “be careful what you wish for” + “selfishness is bad” theme is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

Then there’s episode 12, which I’ll come to later.

The characters

I’m going to link this post, where I explain how I feel about the characters. I still mostly have the same opinion on them.

I personally don’t dislike any of the characters, but I can’t say I felt any genuine affection for any of them (except Kyoko because she rocks. *throws constructive criticism by the window*) They work in the context of a series of 12 episodes where the plot and themes are more important, and I personally viewed them more as deconstruction of character archetypes than real, breathing characters. Madoka is the protagonist, yet she’s mostly a tag along ; Sayaka is an idealist and an ally of justice, yet she turns out to be a classical anti-hero and it clashes so hard with her high expectations of herself that she turns into a Witch ; Mami is the kind mentor, yet it's only a facade to hide how broken she is ; Homura seems like an antagonist, yet she’s actually a protagonist (albeit a creepy one) ; as for Kyoko, she’s a straight Dark Magical Girl.

As it is, it works. But as characters, they don’t really have any depth : they are, like I said, only tools to the plot and the themes. As such, the character arcs feel a bit incomplete at time and, considering the dark nature of the show, they tend to go into wangst territory real quick (which is why I thought Kyoko was a breath of fresh air among the cast).

The plot and themes

Now coming back to what I said on the premise part. The main theme of Madoka Magica is Hope vs Despair. For the majority of the series, the world kept shitting on the idea of hope, idealism and friendship. That’s the reason for Sayaka’s whole arc, even if it all started out because she wanted to help the boy she loved (well, she had ulterior motives but then again, if such petty selfishness wasn’t stigmatized so much by the show and instead treated a something human that needed to be acknowledged, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But I digress).

The series can be seen as Madoka’s journey to learn how the Magical Girl System works and how she can change it. She has seen horrible things, and she has learned that hope will screw over any Magical Girl who clings to it. And she doesn’t accept that. We knew that Madoka had enough potential to become a God, and we also knew that it took time to her to figure out how to change everyone’s destinies – at first she wanted to become a magical girl just because, then to help Mami feel less alone, then to save Sayaka and, in another timeline, to save Homura. The unfairness of the Magical Girl system plus everyone’s advices throughout the series helped her mature her wish so that she will be able to do what she wanted to do since the beginning : be useful to others. Except now she has a clear goal in mind and knows exactly how to achieve it. That’s what I like the most about her character ; sadly, she ended up being a tag along for most of the series and even if it was for internal growth, it was a questionable idea at best. But damn if that ending wasn’t impressive, as convoluted as it may seem.

So my complain about this series not empowering girls seems to have been nullified, right ? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because Madoka changed the system. Sure, Magical Girls still die in exchange for their miracle but at least they know from the get-go that it will happen, considering it is dangerous and that they need to cleanse your Soul Gem regularly (putting two and two together, one can assume that if they don’t, they will die). They don’t do anything against their free will since they no longer turn into Witches.

And no, because considering the themes and the nature of the story, the ending barely make any sense. In-universe, it was largely foreshadowed and and it made sense. But the thing is, it’s still 11 episodes or so of psychological torture that kept mocking hope, happiness, friendship and idealism, as well as the girls who believed in these values. As such, the ending still feels like a big 180 from a thematic standpoint. To quote this article :  “I’m sorry, but you can’t spend 11 episodes telling us that everything is fucked and everyone is doomed and reaching for power will only get you smacked down hard, and then suddenly turn around and go “Actually, everyone’s okay and reaching for power can get you what you want and it’ll even turn you into a god to boot!” The show spends 11 episodes punishing the blameless heroines for showing any shred of bravery, idealism, or love, shitting all over their dreams and laughing in their faces, and then in the final episode, it suddenly decides that bravery, idealism, and love are totally awesome and effective and will win the day and fix everything.”

The ending has a good message, sure. I wouldn’t say it’s empowering either, considering that in the world Madoka created, Magical Girls still have to fight for their agency in an extremely cruel world, but it’s at least better than “girls who rise for power and want things for themselves will turn into horrible monsters by throwing tantrums, and nothing can be done about that”. I just wish that the show would have tried to be less dark ; it can create Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy and, if there’s no hope – if the concept of hope itself is being mocked for the majority of the series – then 1) we will stop caring, and 2) it doesn’t do the theme of your ending any favours.

And if the theme of the ending is nullified, then we have the same problem than in the beginning : we have a series that is more about crushing girls who achieve power, than about actually empowering them.

To conclude

Even if I didn’t give it an easy time, Madoka Magica is till an entertaining show to watch.The animation is really good, the OST is simply stunning and if you get attached to the characters more than I did, it can become a really good experience. Sadly I found too many problems storytelling-wise, with the themes, the implications of said themes, the pacing and the occasional wangst. It’s still a series that I advise you to watch so you can form your own opinion on it. (Just be careful if you decide to watch Rebellion.)