#the fact that all the objects are either seen with them in the first shot or in that final reveal is very cool

[wonderholegifs]

Collecting useless bullshit

[narcjsistx]

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐈𝐄𝐖... | sae, kaiser, rin

plot: you get mentioned in one of their interviews, and he's sooo in love with you <3

✶ 𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!

— sae itoshi

That Sae didn't like interviews was a well known thing, even the journalists were a little worried when they discovered they had to interview him: although he was a prodigy, a talent never seen in years and years of soccer, he was objectively a thorn in the side, acidic and lethal in words as he was with his shots in the penalty area. All the journalists who had dealt with the Japanese prodigy could say, with absolute certainty, that a slap or being fired was less annoying

And today was no exception. ReAl had just won a very important Spanish cup, but one that Sae didn't actually know much about. They simply told him to be himself, and so he did: the result was a landslide victory against the Venezuelan team, 7-1. The match had been over for less than half an hour and he had already been surrounded by journalists, whom he had pushed away with little courtesy as he headed towards the locker room. But one journalist had insisted more than the others, and with a sigh, the boy had dedicated 5 minutes of his time to him

"Exciting victory today, isn't it? Spain had been aiming for this cup for years but they only won it when you had a place in the team" says the journalist, microphone pointed towards Sae. A man, a little further away, held a video camera on his shoulder, pointed towards them. Sae nods, turning away when he swears he hears someone call out to him in a familiar voice. The reporter continues talking, but Sae pays no attention: that voice sounded so familiar

"So that's a yes?" the reporter says, the microphone still pointed towards him. Sae doesn't even know what question he asked him, but the mere fact that he's still here trying to get information out of him bothers him. "What?" he asks raising an eyebrow, and before the reporter even says it, Sae knows it's about you

“Your girlfriend isn't here today, which is strange considering she's always present at your games, even when they're out of town” the reporter says, probably repeating the words he asked him earlier. Sae isn't even surprised by the question, he already knows what he wants to ask him and mentally thanks himself for not answering with 'yes' at the previous question "Is this a sign that you've broken up? There have been rumors for a while that the feeling between you two is over-"

"No. We have not broken up and at the moment, and even in the future, the option is not in mind for either of us" says the boy without thinking for two seconds, taking the edge of the microphone with one hand, so that his words they arrive very straight. The journalist is surprised

Today, for the first time since you've been together, you couldn't come to his game. You actually haven't seen each other in a while, at least a month, and all the speculation that you had broken up had reached Sae's ears. Everything seemed to fit, the perfect breakup after years of a perfect relationship and a wedding ring on the line that Sae had offered you months ago. Everything seemed to coincide with the end of one of the most talked about relationships of the moment

But the reality is that simply, for university reasons, you had to move to Italy for a few months. Sae often came to you, but couldn't stay for whole days due to training... and so, for just over a month, you hadn't seen each other. If the truth wasn't known, you would actually look like a couple who hated each other by now

“Would you tell us more about all the evidence that has been circulating for over a month?” asks the journalist, and the boy already knows in his mind that the interview will not end well if this damned journalist continues to be so interested in something that does not concern him

Sae sighs. He knows that, from your temporary home in Italy, you are watching him. He knows well that every word he is saying you are listening to him. And it's time to make things clear once and for all,or he thinks he's going crazy

"Y/n and I haven't broken up, it's not on our minds and wedding preparations are currently underway. I hate when people seem so interested in something that actually has nothing to do with them, but I understand that it's your job and that's why I'm holding back from going harder on it" says Sae in one breath "My future wife and I don't have anything remotely negative in mind for our relationship, so if you would do me the favor of mentioning her only when there really is a reason, I would be happy" says Sae, and the journalist is suddenly understanding why all his colleagues had told him to stay away from the Japanese prodigy "So, if you really have questions for me about my performance today, I'll try to answer. Otherwise, bye" he says, handing the microphone back to the man, who takes it completely speechless

The camera shows him leaving, hiding the journalist who is still speechless. The camera zoom focuses on the background of Sae's phone, which appears for a few seconds when the boy takes the phone while heading towards the locker room. A photo of you and him cheek to cheek stands out, a small smile breaking across the boy's face as you laugh. With only this proof alone, literally everybody could definitively say that you didn't break up

— micheal kaiser

Micheal was now used to interviews. Since he had actually become someone, someone relegated to Germany's biggest soccer club, interviews had become an everyday thing, like brushing his teeth or kicking the ball as hard as he could during training. He was good looking, he had charisma, he was definitely one of the most pleasant to interview on his team. If the interviewer was a woman he would crack a few jokes, something to make things more interesting. It was objectively flirting with them, but since you had officially become his girlfriend, he had put a stop to these things, out of respect for you

The room was well furnished, he was sitting on a sofa placed in front of the large windows, which gave a view of the great metropolis of Hamburg. You were with him, sitting behind the cameras on a chair placed there at random. He had insisted to the producers that you appear next to him during the interview, but it wasn't possible. His nose was still a little crooked knowing that they got you that beat up chair by sheer luck. You were his empress, the respect they had for him they had to give to you too, and it hadn't happened

He knew that you didn't really care that much, but your respect was something that, at least in front of him, they couldn't miss. But making a fuss just for this didn't seem right at the moment, at most he would have done it after finishing the interview

A woman enters the room, probably only a few years older than him, in her thirties. She looked familiar, and he wasn't sure why he had a bad feeling. The woman approaches, sitting on one of the armchairs next to him. They could have changed your chair for that armchair, why hadn't they done it?

"It's a real pleasure for me to interview you again. It's been a long time since the first time!" the woman says smiling, and from there Micheal finally understands why he felt like he knew her: a few years ago, before he even met you, he did an interview with this woman. The video had gone viral not for the questions, but for the way it was obvious the two of them were flirting with each other. Not that Micheal was really interested, it was just a habit before he met you

Before he can even say anything, a producer announces the start of the interview. The woman smiles at the camera, giving a brief introduction before moving on to a few questions: they are all things related to soccer, Bastard Munchen and the next match against Italy, which will take place in a few weeks. Micheal relaxes his nerves a little to see that nothing has to do with his private life, and turns around to see you from time to time. You smile softly at him, nodding as a sign that he's going well, really everything is going well

But Kaiser relaxed too soon, unfortunately. "Sooo, the internet world has been wondering this for a while... and now seems like the right opportunity to ask it! We're done with soccer questions anyway, right?" the woman says, chuckling, placing a stack of notes on a nearby table, picking up another. Kaiser tilts his head, and for a moment, he thinks these are the usual questions related to his relationship. Nothing new

"Our first interview was four years ago, when you weren't even dating yet. The internet world wondered for a long time if we were together!" the woman says, with a look that Kaiser recognizes: hoe. He turns to you and for a moment he reads some confusion on your face "The interview went so viral that everyone really thought it was a way to reveal our relationship to the world. But it didn't go that way, unfortunately" says the woman

If he wasn't live nationally and if the interviewer wasn't a woman, he would have already crushed her face with his fist. With what logic does she talk about something like that in front of you, his girlfriend? Where's the fucking respect they're supposed to give you but are lacking in every possible way? Everything is going wrong

“It sure would have been a fun thing to do and-” the woman says speaking casually, but the guy interrupts her “Schatz, could you come over here for a sec?” Kaiser says, shifting his attention solely to you, who finds yourself perplexed for a moment. He's breaking every rule possible, but he doesn't care. If he wants you next to him on national live broadcast, the producers will make you stand next to him on national live broadcast

You get up from the chair a little scared, walking among the producers who mentally and not curse Kaiser. You pass the woman who, with an annoyed look, stares at you. With slightly shaky legs you sit next to Micheal, who immediately grabs you putting his arm around your shoulders, pushing your hip against his. You try to smile as best you can in front of the camera, which records everything. Kaiser squeezes your shoulder slightly, and then turns his face back towards the camera "I don't rule out that that interview made me go viral everywhere for months and months, increasing my fame" says the boy "But my behavior was a bit wrong at the time, I was definitely giving attention to people who shouldn't have been..." says Micheal, and while you try to hold back a laugh, the interviewer opens her paralyzed mouth

Kaiser chuckles at the situation, then continues "The attention that I used to give to random people is now received by her, who deserves it all. The mere fact that she accompanies me everywhere is a valid reason to love her, right?" the boy says, squeezing your shoulder again, and you smile in love "She is simply better. It's not even a competition, because she would win before even starting. Maybe if my girlfriend had been the interviewer that time I would say differently now! Maybe I would have already married her, who knows" Kaiser says, and you tilt your head against his shoulder, leaning on him like you always do. You're so damn in love with him

If the producers and interviewer failed to give you respect behind the scenes and also with annoyance, Kaiser will make sure to prove your worth in front of the whole Germany

— itoshi rin

If there was one thing that distinguished Rin from his teammates, it was the ability to turn each of his interviews into a future edit that would become popular on all social media. He was famous, damn famous, every scene of his was edited by millions of people every day. His interviews, for his fans, were the best opportunity to make scenes about him

And since you had been dating, for a few years now, you had suffered more or less the same treatment as Rin. You often appeared in his interviews, you were loved by his fan base, and the edits about you that went as viral as those of your beloved boyfriend

"...the Australian defense this time had to face a much better prepared Japan than last match" says the interviewer, the microphone held out towards Rin. A match has just ended, obviously won by Japan: Rin is still sweaty, his legs slightly weak from running for practically the entire duration of the match. But he's not sick, he's simply tired and he just wants to kiss you

Of course you came to his game, taking a seat in the VIP section of the players' families. It's a habit that, as soon as the match is over, he comes to the VIP section to kiss you, but this time he couldn't: the journalists completely captured him, making it impossible to even move a few meters

"Yes. We decided to change the defense to prepare for Australia's top scorer, who couldn't do anything this time compared to previous matches" Rin replies disinterestedly, looking for you. There are just so many people, so many players or interviewers, but where the hell are you? Didn't something happen to you?

"It must also be said that Japan no longer has any problems in terms of strikers since you joined as an honorary member of the team" says the interviewer, and Rin nods without actually thinking much about what they told him. He just has a strange feeling, he doesn't understand why he isn't seeing you when it's never been difficult for him to find you in a crowd of people

"Any projects in mind at the moment? On a soccer level or on a personal level?" the interviewer asks, but Rin stops hearing him when, a few meters away from him, he sees you: you're a little lost, your gaze curious while you were probably looking for him too. It makes him somewhat tender to see you like this, but he is happy to know that all his doubts about whether something had happened to you are false

"Mr. Itoshi?" the man asks, but Rin takes a few steps forward, not enough to disappear from the camera lens, to signal to you that he's there. It doesn't take you long to notice, running like a little girl in his direction, hugging him as you wrap your arms around his neck, while he places his hands on your hips. "I couldn't find you!" you say laughing, holding onto your boyfriend who holds you close to him "It's the journalists' fault" Rin whispers, leaving a kiss on your cheek before remembering that he's in the middle of an interview. He turns just enough to see that the camera is now perfectly directed towards you, immortalizing the romantic moment between Japan's number one striker and his beautiful girlfriend. The edits will be crazy this time

You notice that the camera is pointed towards you, and a little embarrassed you try to smile without revealing the hint of discomfort "I'll be back later?" you say to your boyfriend, who before you can even finish the sentence, shakes his head as he grabs your wrist "No. You're coming too" he says walking back towards the station, squeezing your wrist affectionately. You follow him, a little embarrassed but it wasn't the first time it happened, so you had gotten used to it

Rin returns to his seat, his arm around your waist ignoring the fact that he almost slipped out of an interview. You stand next to him, your arm behind his back, smiling at the man who now knows both of them "Were you saying?" Rin asks, returning to the interview questions

"Oh, yeah yeah... any projects in mind at the moment? On a soccer level or on a personal level?" the interviewer asks again

Rin thinks about it for a moment. The plans are actually there. He must still become the best of the best, climb to the top and lead Japan to be the strongest team in the world. It simply has yet to break some of its limitations

But there are also other projects. He has to decide when to use that ring he bought more than a few months ago. He must understand when to kneel down and definitely ask you to become Miss Itoshi, his wife. These are mainly his most important projects at the moment

"I still have a lot to do, Japan has to become the most important and strongest team in the world, and maybe I will take on the role of team captain. On a personal level though... I don't know, I just want to continue what I already doing for a while… making her happy every day” Rin says, and you can swear you feel your heart explode

Your boyfriend isn't a big talker, you knew this even before we got together. But the facts speak, and he is doing exactly what he says: every day he makes you happy, and you couldn't be more grateful. His words may seem like nothing, but they mean a lot to you. You simply love him. The interviewer smiles. You turn to Rin and he leans down slightly to kiss you on the nose, making you giggle while the cameras film you

Maybe Rin could use that ring tonight, maybe?

[ckret2]

Does Bill Cipher actually has any morals he goes by? I re-read your Human Bill Cipher AU Fanfiction - cause it's a hecking masterpiece and I LOVEEE it - and when he and Mabel were planning his escape and fake his death Bill said Mabel had too many morals... So it made me wonder do you think he has any either Canonly or in your universe? 💛

I think he does, canonly. They're not very nuanced or very consistent morals, but he does have them.

In The Book of Bill, one of the most striking scenes was when he taught the Puritan women witchcraft to fight back against their ludicrously oppressive husbands—because he didn't get anything out of it. He didn't try to use the women to further his goals, he had no particular beef with the Puritans beyond simply observing them and disliking them: he just objected to what was going on (on the grounds that it was boring, but I don't think that's the whole story), so he taught 'em some magic, gave 'em some boxed wine, and had a girls' night burning men at the stake for funsies.

And that was it. Then he left.

When he discusses his glory years in the Nightmare Realm, one of the first things he says is "I freed prisoners from bondage, mental patients from asylums, and dollars from bank vaults." That last bit is obv just robbery, but the first couple? Releasing people from captivity.

He says the Henchmaniacs discovered 8-Ball chained up in a prisoner pit—and bam, then 8-Ball was in Bill's gang. He made a deal to free Gideon from prison—and he may or may not have directly caused that to happen, but he didn't not cause it to happen.

The very first canonical crumb of intel we got about Bill's backstory was that he "liberated" his dimension. Whether or not that's what he actually did, I believe wholeheartedly that it was either what he tried to do or wished he'd done.

We know Bill's been held captive multiple times (bare minimum: whatever he did to get his mug shot taken as seen on Time Baby's announcement; his arrest after his O'Sadley's bender; getting trapped in an orb by a wizard; a couple hours in the US Military's hands; and, of course, Theraprism). He says after his O'Sadley's arrest, "I don't care for captivity" (quite understated, since we know that as he said those words he was hiding the fact that he was metaphorically gnawing at the bars of his cage in Theraprism) and "Those six hours felt like an eternity." One of his former victims wishes "therapy" on him because "it would drive him insane"—and considering that this victim was currently indefinitely involuntarily committed, I doubt he was talking about cursing Bill with once-a-month outpatient sessions.

Bill hates captivity, more than anything else. And more than that: Bill hates seeing OTHER PEOPLE in captivity.

If he sees an abused housewife, he goes "girl, you should literally murder him, and I'll help." On thorny ethical & political issues like "when is incarceration justifiable for punishment and/or the public good?" his answer is "never under any circumstances, blow up the prison." Or on "when is it morally justifiable to deprive a mentally unwell person of their freedom for their own and others' safety?" his answer is "never under any circumstances, blow up the mental hospital."

He talks a lot about hating rules, law, and order of all kinds ("why should cause precede effect? who voted on the laws of gravity?" "You have primal needs for chaos that are being repressed!") and it would be easy to write that off as him just inventing a political position that gives himself an "I can do whatever I want" card—except, he stands by those words. He goes out of his way to liberate people for no personal benefit.

But this is where the "not very consistent morals" part kicks in. Because, like,, he's got no problem with keeping an entire town captive in his petrified throne.

Sure, when Gideon betrays the town, Bill's happy to spring him out of real adult prison—but when Gideon betrays Bill, Bill's just as happy to stick him in a tiny cage to do cute dances for all eternity.

How dare the Pilgrims form a high-control cult that bans thought and imagination—but Bill can form a high-control cult that cuts off an entire town from news of the outside world, to the extent that he won't even let them travel for medical emergencies, and it's just peachy, he's doing them a favor really!

If Bill is the one who's been wronged, it's perfectly fine for him to crush people in an iron grip, because what he wants is more important than what those other terrible people wanted—because those other terrible people are oppressors, and Bill is a liberator!

Bill always makes exceptions for himself.

But, all the same—off-kilter and inconsistent though they may be, he does have some moral beliefs, and he can be outraged into action by what he perceives as moral injustices.

[scarfacemarston]

Natasha and Yelena are apples and oranges

This is my first big meta post for the Black Widows. It’s a bit of a long read, but I’m passionate about it so I would LOVE if y’all read it and even better if you all want to interact! While they have obvious similarities, they are overall too different to truly compare. However, this is my opinion.

I say this because it makes me so sad to see people kind of throw Nat away or even bash her in favor of Yelena. 

To me, Yelena and Nat's differences start with childhood. Nat had already been through the Red Room cycle twice by the time we see her in Ohio. Yelena hadn't yet. We never got to see Nat happy and free. It's like at an animal shelter, the cheerful, friendly, funny, cute one gets adopted first, whereas the withdrawn or quiet one tends to be passed over. Of course people will say they like the more cheerful pet more. I know, using an animal analogy is weird a.f., but it's what immediately came into mind since I've worked with animals. 

But I've also worked as a preschool teacher and had kids that were like Yelena and kids like Natasha. 

The kids like Yelena got all the attention, whereas the children similar to Natasha were forgotten or seen as having something “wrong” with them. In both analogies, they just need someone willing to spend time and have patience with them, and THEN they bloom. And to me, it felt so rewarding to have the child like Natasha actually come over and sit with me and show me a drawing, or want to play together. It felt like an honor to gain that trust, and from then on, that child started to show more and more of their personality. And to me, that’s how Nat is. She’s someone who requires patience. By the time we see her in Ohio, she’s already been abused, horrifically so, but we already see some of the positive qualities she has as an adult. She keeps her cards to her chest and struggles with vulnerability because of her childhood, and then there's also the belief that she doesn't deserve any love or affection. (Like Yelena.) But like Yelena, Natasha CRAVES love and friendship, and we just get hints of it until later in the series. My second point is that Yelena had better writing. Yelena was not objectified, either. From the VERY beginning in Iron Man 2, Natasha was seen as a sex object, and it wasn’t until Scarlett got more of a say so that she FINALLY was able to wear the type of costumes that she wanted that weren’t so skin tight. Even then, Scarlett was treated horribly by the press, and Natasha was still downgraded to a sex object despite the fact that there were also a lot of badass scenes. Just watch old Marvel interviews with Scarlett. She talks about this a lot. Florence hasn’t had to deal with this much or at least, far less of it. Yelena has never been treated as a sex object. Do some people objectify her? Of course, people will always do so, especially with female characters. But Yelena also had better writers who cared about her character and wanted to explore all aspects of her from the beginning. Sometimes, the writers didn't know what to do with Nat. Yelena was always open, even when she was meant to be more mysterious at times. People love Yelena’s vulnerability and realness and so do I! I love it. It’s beautiful. But Natasha wasn’t given the same writing until pretty late. We don’t get to see much of Nat’s p.o.v until Age of Ultron when Wanda invades her mind and when she talks to Bruce about being sterile. Each movie gave Nat a scene of vulnerability or humor, but she still wasn’t given the same attention and care Yelena was given until extremely late in the game.

That’s all to say that I love both characters. I’ve written one-shots and HCs for both and will continue to do so. I just hate that Nat has to be brought down just because Yelena is becoming popular. It also sucks that it’s for things that are out of Nat’s control. However, that’s how audiences feel, and for the reasons stated above, it makes sense that Yelena is so beloved.

[ghostradiodylan]

Probably a lukewarm take, but other than the (lack of an) ending, the Laura and Ryan scenes are some of the worst written and conceived parts of The Quarry.

And this is completely separate from whether Ryan is interested in Dylan (he is, but that's another post and not important to this rant) or Kaitlyn; even if Ryan had no other potential relationships in the game, even if Laura wasn't practically married to Max, wearing his ring around her neck the entire time they're talking, it still would feel flat to me because nothing about it is earned.

Laura is on a killing spree with the single-minded goal of saving Max. She genuinely believes the only way to do that is to kill Chris Hackett. Even if you've made her argue with Max to the extent that they can, they're still a strong unit when she goes out to solve this werewolf thing once and for all. Even if you don't believe in love think their relationship would survive all this trauma, she deeply believes she owes it to him to rescue him, that is her entire guiding ethos during the game.

Ryan is going with her to try to keep that from happening because Chris has been his friend and mentor for years. We know Ryan has an absent mother, unmentioned father, and a potentially turbulent family life, and he's been coming to HQSC for so long that it feels like home to him, that Chris and his kids feel like family. Laura has already killed Kaylee. Even if Ryan completely bought into the werewolf thing by now, that would be a tough pill for him to swallow, given his reaction to her death.

Then, they fall in the titular Quarry and suddenly have the option to express a completely unearned sort of camaraderie with each other. Why is Laura asking Ryan about his love life in the first place? The question about him being single makes sense as a dig, but it doesn't make any sense for her to ask about him being a 'brooding and mysterious loner' because... she hasn't actually seen him do anything brooding or mysterious? How did she even get that impression? If Laura's got some kind of borderline psychic intuition then this is really the worst possible use of that ability--she should have foreseen her need to go to that motel and stay the fuck out of locked storm shelters instead.

It doesn't make a lick of sense for her to say that Kaitlyn looks up to him either. She hasn't seen that. Hell, we as players haven't even seen that! Kaitlyn seems generally tolerant of but unimpressed by Ryan. She has the option to be impatient with him multiple times and even get the chyron that she's ‘losing respect’ for him if he suggests she take the gun and go after Nick instead. This seems like an objectively good idea, since she's a much better shot than Ryan, a fact which the game keeps telling us despite refusing to give her a gun until the last possible second, though maybe the concern is that she'd have to drag Nick back to the campfire herself. (Honestly, I think Kaitlyn could do it, I think she's like a mighty ant who can lift many times her own weight, but that's not what this post is about.)

Ryan, for his part, shouldn't really be willing to talk about any of this with Laura either. He canonically doesn't even want to talk to his coworkers about his animation school decision (in the office scene with Dylan and at the campfire with Emma if you choose truth like a lunatic) and he's known them for at least two months, if not for years attending the same camp. But he met Laura a few hours ago and is suddenly willing to spill his guts about who he does or doesn't have a crush on and who does/doesn't have 'the hots' for him, despite the only experience they have together being her leaving his friend of several years dead facedown in a pool and expressing a strong desire to kill his father figure? I simply do not buy it.

I'm not sure if this was supposed to go along with the relationship system that they scrapped or what (there's not a single shred of Ryan and Laura stuff in the datamine that I've been able to find), but all it really serves to do is muddy the waters by trying to force some level of intimacy on Ryan and Laura before the big confrontation at the Hackett House. But that confrontation itself should have been the thing that forged that intimacy between them and allowed them to go on to fight Silas together.

Overall, I think it's a major sign that the back third of the game got a very rushed and, frankly, bad chop job (which we know is true) and that they struggled to tie the resulting loose threads off in a way that made any kind of narrative sense. It's a shame, because the writing in The Quarry is actually way better than most people give it credit for, it just wasn't allowed to pay off in a lot of ways that clearly were intended.

[miyagi-hokarate]

Random assortment of Karate Kid: Legends thoughts:

WARNING: allllllll the spoilers. all of them

You guys have no idea how relieved I am that this movie wasn't absolutely garbage

WAS IT PERRECT? Noooo. And honestly, there are plenty of flaws to talk about (big and small), BUT there were a lot more elements I liked than what I expected

First of all: Li Fong (played amazingly by Ben Wong) is a darling. He's dedicated, funny, and a little cutie-pie at that. He's a boy!! A talented boy!!! stricken with grief from the loss of a loved one (his brother), like Daniel and Mr. Han once!! To be honest, I rather he would have divulged that vulnerability to Daniel with Mr. Han (who already knew but I digress) as a way for them all to understand each other and strengthen the theme of finding a way to stand up in face of hardship in life

While it has its bland moments, I found his developing romance with New York native Mia to be cute andkksjf. I like how much personality Mia had in particular, and not just being a spunky object of affection for Li; she's familiar with the city in a way he isn't, so she offers to help Li to be familiarized with living in New York. While the execution is another thing, Mia's role as Li's guide is somewhat able to break her out of the one-dimesional Love Interest mold

Victor wasn't a secret evil bad like I thought he was (iykyk). In fact, he's a pretty cool guy. I liked how he and Li's role subverts the typical "mentor and apprentice" dynamic. also NEW JERSEY MENTION 💯💯💯💯💯💯

Alan's role is a little bit suffocated by Victor as The Best Friend™ because of Victor, buuut he'd alright lmao. Love that he has pigeons. He kind of reminds me of Demetri in a way adhkakfdf. He should have been gayer with Li

MING NA WEN. That's it

HEYYYYY JOHNNY WHAT THE FUCK YOU DOING HERE IN THE END MAN?? Also why were you slinking around Daniel alone at Mr. Miyagi's house? 🤨

Probably one of the best parts of the movie is the fighting coreography. It's energetic and dynamic, with lots of usage of the environment to help or hurt characters, alongside lots of humor — you could definitely tell there was looots of inspiration from old Jackie Chan films. Ben Wong is ESPECIALLY eating those moves up OH MY GOD

THE FUCKING GRAPHICS? THE DOODLES? CALL ME EASY BUT OHHHH MY GOD. THAT BUMPED MY SCORE UP BY ONE JUST FOR THAT. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING TO THE STORY OF HOW MIYAGI-DO KARATE WAS BORN... AUGH..

Okay onto my criticisms (takes out a big list)

First of all: JESUS CHRIST THE MOVIE WAS RUSHED TO HELL

Almost every scene felt like it had NOOO time to transition onto the next, or even have time to give characters a pause from within a scene!! The editing worked during montages, as they're supposed to go fast, and in the beginning to represented how Li's new life is disorienting (even though I didn't quite like it), but otherwise this flaw pertains throughout the WHOOOOOLE movie in a way that made it feel rushed and even more formulaic than it already was — almsot like it's hitting marks for certain things to happen before it quickly changes for the next thing that needs to happen. I don't know if the scenes were shot that way, or if the scenes were written to be that unnatural, but it was so jarring. The movie definitely could have used for at LEAST 10 more minutes, if not 30, to have let things breathe and feel more natural

The movie should not have skipped so much of the time when Li was training. YES, I KNOW LI WAS ALREADY EXCELLING AT KUNG FU, but training in The Karate Kid was always more than just the martial arts!! In The Karate Kid, it was how Daniel, learned, lived, and understood the Miyagi-Do teaching, and how he bonded with Mr. Miyagi. Skipping Li's chance to do either through showing him training was a huge lost (this also relates to my next point)

The movie also did not explore or elaborate on the philosophical side of Miyagi-Do karate for Li to learn as much as I had hoped to have seen. A crucial part of the original movie was never really the karate itself, but the wisdom behind it. I would say the same thing for kung-fu, however:

Li already knew kung-fu. There'd be no point for him to learn it again

The point of Daniel LaRusso coming to help was so Li could learn Miyagi-Do karate — including the philosophy, not just the fighting techniques

This is THE KARATE KID franchise, more centered on THE MIYAGIVERSE. The Miyagi-do karate philosophy is the CORE of the franchise

Because of this, it felt a little... cheap for Li to have learned Miyagi-Do karate so fast, but without having been shown him having a deeper connection to it than simply a couple more moves in his repertoire

While the Victor plot was enjoyable, it felt like it was straining to connect to the latter half of the movie, when Li was training for the 5 Boroughs Tournament, and it almost felt it was fighting for dominance in front of the camera. Because once Victor was hospitalized, that plotline basically? Disappeared? It was heavily implied Li's motivation to win the tournament was so the prize money could help out Victor's money issues (and hospital bills 💀), but there was an overall lack of cohesion. Which I think there couldn't have been!! If Victor and Li have had a conversation about students being as good as their teachers (and how Li had to be a better student so he could be a better teacher for Victor) — OR EVEN VICTOR AND DANIEL, WHO'S BEEN BOTH STUDENT AND TEACHER — the Victor plot would have felt a lot more satisfying to me

While I understand seeing most of the movie is through Li's eyes has its own merits, this left a lot of characters — namely Mia, Conor, and Alan — to lack a lot of depth because it wasn't directly tied to what he saw or experienced. This is especially troubling for the love interest and the main rival characters. In the case of Mia, the scene where she confesses she kept making bad decisions (coming back to Conor) because it's the easy choice, until she decided it was enough because she finally found somebody new (Li), was one of the more egregiously bland and underwhelming writing decisions related to this issue. It probably would have been more intriguing/touching if we had SEEN this flaw to this effect and its consequences, but we hadn't. So this leaves a lot of shallow writing decisions that are much less interesting

I'm going to talk about Conor Day as a single point here. Like I said, he lacks a lot of depth. And while Johnny in the og film script-wise doesn't contain the deepest of nuances, William Zabka's performance undeniably elevates such a simple, bully character into one with deep flaws but an integrally honorable core that's ultimately threatened by a domineering, toxic influence. I sadly could not say the same for Conor. It's IMPLIED SURE, but he seems a lot less nonplussed (even revelling) about playing unfair and pushing/violating how much he could break the rules and hurt people. Does he even get more than 10 lines of dialogue. Conor lacks a certain threatening presence in the film that you could almost forget he exists lmao. And sure, he's an intimidating jerk, but he really doesn't play much of a memorable role outside of the direct, in-universe happenings (and even then). I would almost say his fucking mob boss mentor (?) O'Shea does, but fucks off a lot to do whatever too. I guess, instead of a Johnny-esque character, Conor Day was a Silver-esque character. I should have known by his black gi, ponytail, and earrings. He should have been gayer with Li

Maybe I missed this, but I'm disappointed that there wasn't more of a reason given for Daniel to travel all the way to New York and help Li learn Miyagi-Do Karate besides just him being nice and prooobably wanting to honor Mr. Miyagi? and instead sort of using humor to Make Daniel go to New York? Like, maybe I would have liked a scene of Daniel looking at Mr. Miyagi's portrait and realizing what he would have wanted him to do, but it (once again) felt rushed for the sake of getting to the next part (Daniel in New York)

It also felt very steamlined of how Daniel and Mr. Han were at first butting heads then to working together, without much effort from either of them to overcome their differences in teaching. I suppose their pep talk to Li with the hachimaki, and then them fighting together as a team was cool, but it felt undeserving (and unecessary in the case of the latter lmao). In my opinion, I would have loooved to see Daniel and Mr. Han have a friendly, if competitive, spar to see who could beat the other, with neither Daniel nor Mr. Han able to win more points against the other, until they're in synch and almost dancing instead of sparring in the end — accidentally demonstrating to Li the synergy of karate and kung-fu together (Li's martial arts dads...)

I'm also saddened there was only a vague reference to Dre Parker, especially when Mr. Han is a TOOOOTALLY different character from The Karate Kid (2010) because of Dre's influence in his life

ANYWAY, I could try to analyze this movie in relation to The Karate Kid's original themes of masculinity, the American Identity, the legacy of men onto boys, etc. But I just watched the movie once and I'm tired

Honestly, I was afraid they'd make Victor and Dr. Fong (apparently, that's the only name we get of Li's mom. Okay) get together, so WHEWWWW on that

GEE LI, HOW COULD YOU GET THREE DADS (Mr. Han, Daniel, Victor)?

Okay but seriously, not one good conversation between Daniel and Victor.

NOT ONE GOOD CONVERSATION BETWEEN LI AND CONOR?

My mind's still stuck on those graphics. Holy fuck man

And William Zabka as the special guest. Excuse me while I AJEJAJRJAKEKRKJRKSLGJSJFKLETKFJDJSKFKJSJFJDKFGGJHH ❤️

Anyway my rating for the movie is a 7/10, 6/10 on a bad day. I would not call it a great movie, but FUN IT IS, and what's what matters

[trashy-tries-writing]

I can just imagine Ravine healing himself like he’s in the far cry 2 and everybody just looking at him like “wtf???”

Like broken arm? Nah let me just readjust some bones and we’re good to go!

Sorry for the long wait but it's finally here! 😖 Okay I can see this happening 💀. Price is getting gray hairs because he never knows if Ravine is walking around with an injured bones or not. It's a charade for 141 to find out after the first time they saw him do it 😂. Thank you so much for this idea 🙂 Also to all precious Readers, anyone willing to help me understand the mw2 characters more? Like telling me what your opinion on what their dislikes and likes could be and maybe headcanons you guys have for them? I’m interested to learn/know :DD PS.: I apologize for any mistakes and wrong words I use, It’s been too long since I researched about MW2 and Military stuff 😅

Price has known Ravine for a few years now but the soldier still surprises him in ways that he would never imagine. When he believes he finally grasped the depth of the weapo- Ravine’s abilities, the man swoops in with something unpredictable that has the captain stare at him like he just told him Laswell is firing Price.

Well not after today that is. Now he welcomes situations that could only happen in dreams with open arms so he can spare himself some stress.

The mission was easier than some things they were ordered to do.

The objective was to seize the contents inside the briefcase, it didn’t matter if the briefcase was lost as long as they got their hands on what was inside it. 

Ghost, Ravine, Gaz and Soap approached the enemy base on the mountains on foot as they ambushed them. However the opponent was one step ahead, hiding inside a hidden cave and fled with a jeep down the mountains, making a quick escape as the soldiers shot down the rest of the man.

Soap cursed, hoping to pop a tire with his gun but it was for naught as the bullets were caught by the many trees the vehicle passed through. Gaz let Price know that the objective is making pace down the mountain.

The captain’s voice echoed through one of their intercom radios.

“Ravine, time to fetch.”

They barely tilted their heads towards the mentioned male when they find Ravine darting past them at high speed. Their confusion flip into understanding as they have never seen him run before.

“The rest of you, make your way down and keep a lookout for strays hanging around.”

A few minutes later, they locate the jeep slammed sideways into a tree trunk making it almost fold in two. They quietly roam the area and quickly spot Ravine emerging from the back of the ruined car with a hand holding onto the case.

And that’s where they currently find themselves in when it happened.

“Ooohhh that looks bad, are you okay?” Gaz takes the briefcase from his hands, eyes worriedly staring at Ravine’s slightly bent arm with the bone poking out it.

“Aye.”

Without warning Ravine grabs his broken arm, pushing the bone back inside his flesh. A collective groan of pain and disgust echoed through the mountain from his action. 

Soap lifts a hand and averts his gaze from the scene as Gaz holds the briefcase in front of his face. Ghost scrunches his face from underneath the mask as Price’s voice echoes through, questioning the sudden silence.

The were impressed, sure… but whAT THE FUCK?!?!!?

While they are trying to explain to Ravine that, for a matter of fact, it was NOT okay to push your own bone back into your arm and it shouldn’t have been his first response to the open wound. It was DEFINITELY NOT NORMAL either to use that said broken arm the minute he ‘fixed’ it.

I mean okay, they did find that kind of cool but they were seriously getting worried about him. His blood was running down his forearm, staining his clothes red and he’s standing there like it was a daily occurrence.

Ghost marches towards Ravine and pokes a harsh finger to his helmet with ‘Don’t try this shit again’ glare, making the tall man recoil his head from the push.

“Sit down you muppet and refrain from moving that arm around.”

On the other side inside Price’s office, the captain exhales loudly; it could be heard outside the room. “Of course he did that…” He’s aging so quickly that he’s hoping he won't wake up the next day with a full set of white hair.

He waits by the entrance, seeing the truck in the distance growing bigger each second. He pushes himself from leaving on the wall and sees Gaz, Soap and Ghost instinctively grab onto Ravine who seems to plan a visit to the doctor.

While Ghost’s pushing from the front, one hand locked with Ravin’s while the other pushed against his chest, Gaz and Soap are pulling and tugging the man towards the medical facility.

Price sighs and the soldier’s stop in their tracks when they find him standing beside them watching them try to wrestle Ravine into a checkup. The captain crosses his arms over his chest, his head tilted slightly and a silent conversation is shared between him and the giant of a man.

Ghost can feel Ravine’s hand flinch and shake as he unconsciously tightens his grip on the shorter male’s hand. The lieutenant turns his head back, observing his body becoming tense making him look bulkier than he was.

The trio is shushed away as Price and Ravine go on their merry way.

“Man, he must really hate doctors.”

Ghost’s eyes linger on Ravine’s back, feeling something amiss. He doesn’t push or ask for an answer but questions are filling his head especially due to the sudden heat he could feel from his hand that was locked with his.

They were hiding something huge that was related to the abnormality that was Ravine but there were too many potential answers to piece together, like a puzzle without edges and weirdly shaped pieces.

He was sure Gaz and Soap were thinking the same thing but they didn’t dare risk breaking whatever frail bond they had with Ravine.

Who was Ravine before he became Ravine?

-----------------------------------------------

If anyone wants to be tagged let me know :D

@livinglifebesticanlol

(Hope it worked, never tagged anyone before 💦) (Also sorry if my writing got bad, I haven't written for so long 😳)

[plumblossomcafe]

Ch.90: The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call (1/2)

Paimon: You must have a whole bunch of questions after our last conversation with Nahida? Paimon was ready to ask her a million more questions, but... didn't wanna seem too pushy... Like, about these "Descenders." So... does that just mean people like you, who come traveling to Teyvat from someplace else?

Y/n: If you want answers to your questions, we can go find Nahida and see what else we can find out.

At the entrance of the Sanctuary of Surasthana, two men could be seen arguing about a certain topic

Aqaba: Come on, serious suggestions, please. I'm not trying to write a thriller here! It's supposed to be an essay, you understand? An essay. That means facts and logic.

Sawada: Well, if it's facts and logic you're after, you shot yourself in the foot with your choice of research topic, didn't you? "The Tatarasuna Mystery"... When so much remains unexplained, there's little to be objective about. Unless, of course, you restrict yourself to textual criticism.

Aqaba: Yeah, well... This is my teacher's area of research. I can't change that. But it's fascinating enough without having to sensationalize it, don't you think? The strange location, the missing details, a mysterious person... I want to write my essay on something interesting, and I'm interested in getting to the bottom of all this. That's the only reason I came to you!

Sawada: Yes, you came to me, so all the more reason to take my advice! The fact is, it's the dramatization that will make people want to read it. There's no getting around that.

Aqaba: Uh... Okay, but...

Paimon: Did one of them just mention Tatarasuna? But that's all the way in Inazuma... Is it just Paimon, or is it kinda unusual for someone in Sumeru to wanna write a paper about that? ...Huh, everyone here's just going about their business — maybe it really is just Paimon. Guess people here are free to research pretty much anything.

Y/n: Still, let's go listen in.

Paimon: Great! Let's go find out what this "Tatarasuna Mystery" is all about.

Upon approaching Aqaba and Sawada

Aqaba: Alright, I guess I'll go with my textual criticism and your editorial direction for the first draft. I have a feeling that the missing kabukimono will end up being the main focus of this paper. *sigh* If only we knew where to find those travelers... From what they say about them, this seems like the kind of thing they'd know about.

Aether: Looking for us?

Sawada: Oh, you're the travelers, you say? Hmm...

Paimon: Hey, what's with that face? Don't believe us?

Y/n: If you don't believe us, we'll go.

Sawada: No, no! Of course I believe you two. Actually, I first heard about your great exploits when I was still in Inazuma. This is my first time coming face-to-face with you and your mysterious silver-haired companion... I couldn't believe my luck, and out of force of habit, I started, uh, examining the evidence... Sorry.

Aqaba: Sawada, for the love of... Haha, sorry, we don't get out much, so our social skills are kinda lacking...

Y/n: It's fine

Aqaba: I hear you've both helped many people a great deal, and been to many places. Would you be able to tell us about Tatarasuna?

Paimon: Actually, we don't know much about that place either. In fact, we only came over here 'cause we heard YOU talking about it, and wanted to learn more.

Aqaba: Ah... I see.

Y/n: Sorry, we can't help this time.

Aqaba: My teacher chose this area of research as a personal challenge. He said it's difficult to get into, because even Inazumans don't know much about Tatarasuna's past. But who'd have thought that—

Sawada: If you don't mind, I'd love to show you all my outline for the book I'm writing about Tatarasuna.

Aqaba: Hold on, Sawada. Don't you think that's a bit of a deep dive for a first read?

Sawada: Fair point. In that case, please ease yourselves in gently by taking a look at Aqaba's latest essay draft.

Aqaba: Let me give you some background. This all started with the discovery of some records in Tatarasuna. The writings mentioned someone by the name of "Mikoshi Nagamasa," who crafted a fine blade. But in the end, he threw it into a fire to destroy it and killed his servant, Katsuragi. Why? Well. No one knows. Apart from the sword-maker, his servant, and the one who wrote this all down, the records also mention a "kabukimono." This seems to be an Inazuman word for an eccentric stranger — someone who dresses funny or acts in an unusual way.

Y/n: !? "Wait..."

Sawada: That's right. Aqaba's teacher has spent quite some time researching these events on the ground. This kabukimono lived in Tatarasuna for a while before disappearing without a trace, and shortly afterwards... as Aqaba mentioned, things got pretty ugly.

Paimon: So first the strange person goes missing, then a murder happens? Hmm, seems kinda fishy to Paimon!

Sawada: Yes, my thoughts exactly! So I helped out too. I asked everyone I could think of if they knew anything about what happened back then... and WOW, did I get LUCKY!

Paimon: Stop shouting!

Sawada: This part's important. I just wanted to make it stand out. It just so happens that a friend of mine works at the government records office. He looked into it for me, and I can now confirm that all the aforementioned individuals did, in fact, live in Inazuma over four hundred years ago. Even back then, Tatarasuna was already at the center of Inazuma's smelting industry. The man in charge was a government official named Niwa. Curiously enough, it seems like he went missing, too.

Y/n: *bitting her nail*

Aether: "Could it be...!"

Paimon: Wait, so there are TWO missing people in this story now?

Sawada: That's right! What's more, "Niwa" is a name with a lot of history to it. Have you ever heard of the great swordsmith clans of Inazuma?

Paimon: Oh, the swordsmiths? Yeah, umm... like Isshin Art and so on?

Sawada: Wow, yes, you really know your stuff. That makes things easier. So basically, this Niwa was a distant relative of the Kaedehara Clan — the last practitioners of Isshin Art. Something then seems to have happened in the Kaedehara Clan leading to their downfall... I don't know the details, but taken in light of everything else going on around that time, it makes you wonder whether it's all connected somehow...

Paimon: ...The Kaedehara Clan...

Aqaba: ...Sawada, you left out the biggest detail of all!

Y/n: "This story is about him..."

Aether: There's more!?

Sawada: Oh! Yes, of course, how could I forget! Brace your minds, ladies and gents, for they are about to be blown. Or maybe you won't believe your ears... I wouldn't blame you, of course, because in all my years as a writer, this is by far the most—

Aqaba: Get to the point, for Pete's sake!

Sawada: ...According to information acquired by Aqaba's teacher, the kabukimono was not a human... But a puppet.

Aether: ...!

Paimon: A puppet?

Aether: "The Shogun puppet that the Electro Archon made should be ruling Inazuma with her as we speak... It couldn't be her. The kabukimono has to be The Balladeer, but... what was he doing 400 years ago in Tatarasuna?"

Aqaba: Aha! Judging by the looks on your faces, you do know something after all?

Paimon: Uhh... Uhh...

Aether glared at Paimon and hoped she could keep her mouth shut.

Paimon: Ah, no! Paimon just meant... "Uhh, how creepy!" The way you described it makes it sound like a ghost story!

Sawada: I agree. It does, but considering that non-human races in Inazuma are by no means uncommon, spooky events are to be expected... And that's exactly what my book is about — please, take a look. *hands Y/n the copy*

Y/n: *quickly skimmed through it*

Aqaba: Oh, and please read my essay draft as well!

Y/n: *Also quickly skimmed through it* "No doubt this is about him"

Aqaba: Sawada was encouraging me to follow his more creative approach, but I think essays should be grounded in facts. I don't think explaining everything away with mysterious forces will cut it...

Y/n: "Oh I knew this day would come when I would try to explain his past to Aether so he can have a differentperspectiveof him Sure, I don't know it fully but I understand it through subtle mentions from both him and Dottore, but I didn't expect this day to come. Wat to do, what to do????"

Aqaba: Ooh, how about if I plug the holes in Sawada's narrative with political intrigue? Like, um, I could put a turf war between rival factions at the center of the whole series of events.

Paimon: Wait, you're allowed to just make stuff up? Pretty sure you've gone from "essay" to "guessay" there.

Aether: Yeah, sounds more like a novel... "Has this guy ever even written an essay before?"

Y/n: "I need to get out of here and ask Nahida what I should do..." Oh! I just realized that I need to go buy some shrimp meat, I'll leave you guys alone

Aether: But you just bought-

Y/n quickly scurried off before Aether could continue his sentence

Sawada: Aqaba, look... Your teacher has researched this extensively. I've reached out to everyone I could think of... Whatever information we have now is all that there is to know. This is as much detail as you're ever going to get. Besides, if there really was a political power struggle going on at anything like the level you seem to be suggesting, what hope would we ever have of finding out the truth?

Aqaba: ...Ugh, good point. Okay, back to the drawing board, I guess... Gimme some time. I need to find a new angle on this.

Aether: We'll leave you to it

Paimon: We have some other stuff to do, so we'll have to say goodbye for now. Good luck with your essay!

Aqaba: Alright, thank you. If you find out any more info about all this, please do let me know! Thanks so much.

The now duo quickly scurried off

Paimon: Hey, so that thing they were talking about... It has to do with The Balladeer, doesn't it?

Aether: Yes.

Paimon: Okay... Then, even if we did know something about it, we probably couldn't share it with them, huh? After all, we kicked his butt and got him locked up. Information about people like that is usually super confidential, isn't it? If you ask Paimon, Aqaba should just pick a different topic. There must be as many essay topics as there are trees in the forest. There's no point in—

A familiar figure walks past, scaring Paimon

Paimon: Aah!!!

Aether: What's wrong!?

Paimon: Hey, did you see that? He literally just went by. Over there... it looked like, like... The Balladeer!? No it can't have been, he got locked up... Quick, let's catch up and see!

Y/n could be seen pacing back and forth in the Sanctuary of Surasthana while mumbling incoherently with a bubble on top of her head that looks like it's about to pop due to her instability of emotions. During this, Nahida seemed confused and didn't know what to do until she saw Aether and Paimon

Nahida: *relieved* Aether, Paimon, there you are. What happened? Y/n just came in here- *is interrupted*

Paimon: Nahida, bad news! We just saw The Balladeer, strolling around in public! Did he escape, or...? *sees The Balladeer* ...Aah! It's him!

The Balladeer: Hmph. Sure enough, you're here.

Paimon: Hey, what are you doing in the Sanctuary of Surasthana!? Aren't you supposed to be locked up!?

Y/n: *Finally fed up* Can everyone just shut up!?!

This caused her bubble to pop spilling all the water on her

Aether: *concerned* Are you okay?

Nahida: *sighs* I know you must have a lot of questions. Please, allow me to explain after Y/n tells me what happened.

Y/n: W-Well you see

Nahida: You don't have to pressure yourself if you don't want to. Let's just change the topic for now, and hopefully once this is over you can explain what happened.

Y/n: Alright

Nahida: Now, back to the topic at hand, It was my idea to set The Balladeer free. We made a deal, and he's gonna do some investigation in Irminsul for me.

Paimon: A deal!? You sure you trust this guy?

The Balladeer: What did you expect? Why do you think Sumeru would keep me around otherwise? ...Or maybe killing me is all you can think about? But if that's the case, why haven't you done it already?

Paimon: Don't flatter yourself. It was... Nahida said there's still some mysteries in you to figure out!

The Balladeer: Ah, so if it were up to you, you'd finish the job? Guess I had you all wrong. There I was thinking you were just getting cold feet.

Aether: ...

Nahida: Ugh, well, that escalated quickly. Not a good start...

Y/n: Ok, Let's all calm down and not start a fight

Paimon: But Paimon's worried about you, Nahida! Don't let him trick you!

The Balladeer: Haha, it's not every day you see people questioning the wisdom of two gods known for their wisdom. Just when you think you've seen it all.

Paimon: Don't you dare try to drive a wedge between us!

Nahida: As long as the terms are reasonable, I don't think there's a problem in making a deal. Even with The Balladeer.

The Balladeer: Well, I for one have no reason to doubt you, considering you even struck a deal with The Doctor.

Nahida: Yes, one in which I gained valuable information. You'll come to understand more about that in the fullness of time. The Balladeer's power was all but completely spent after your battle. He's no longer strong enough to be a strategic threat to us. That puts him in quite a precarious position. Plus, he's a former Harbinger with knowledge of many of the Fatui's sensitive secrets. Being stuck here in Sumeru could make him a sitting duck, depending on how the Fatui plan to respond.

Paimon: Wait a second... former? You mean, he's not a Harbinger anymore?

Y/n: Well, in the eyes of The Doctor, you could immediately interpret that he had no intention of welcoming back a loser, so...

Aether: ...So he tossed him out like trash.

Y/n: Basically

The Balladeer: Sometimes it's you using them. Other times, it's them using you. Most human relationships are this way... certainly all the stable ones are. That's how it was between me and the Fatui, and also between each of the Harbingers. So, as long as you have some value to offer, nobody will ever abandon you. But after recent events, even I have to admit that I'm not worth quite what I used to be...

Aether: *mocking him* Really? What a crying shame.

Y/n: Knock it off

The Balladeer: ...Hmph, well, if the Fatui are gonna re-evaluate my utility, I need to have a backup plan for myself.

Nahida: As we discussed, I don't like causing harm to living beings, and you said you need protection. So, why not join forces with us?

Y/n: It's a win-win when you think about it, you get protection, and we get information

The Balladeer: I think your two friends have made their objection to that idea fairly clear, don't you? And they're your's and Beur's friends, so I guess you both will be siding with them.

Paimon: Yeah, obviously! Nahida, Y/n, don't listen to him!

Nahida: Then let's put that discussion to the side for now. We still have time. Today can be a trial run. Where we go from here will depend on how well we manage to cooperate today.

The Balladeer: Alright. Then I'll do what we agreed.

Nahida: Good. Go now, and keep in touch.

The Balladeer leaves

Paimon: Nahida, are you... are you serious about this?

Nahida: Yes. I have my reasons for this decision. In fact... I'm largely doing it for your benefit, Aether.

Aether: ...For me?

Nahida: Yes. As me and Y/n told you once before, there's information about your twin in Irminsul.

Paimon: Oh, yeah. Actually, that's the whole reason we came to see you today. So you have an update on that?

Nahida: Mm-hmm. You may remember me mentioning that the Fatui had not included your twin's details in the "Descender" category. This is an extremely important point. It's possible that the Fatui have other information that even I don't know about. And since The Balladeer used to be one of them, he'll be better acquainted with this information than I am.

Y/n: Nahida told me that he was granted the power to connect with Irminsul when he almost became the god of a new era. Even though he no longer has the Gnosis, some traces of its power remain in him. He can still connect.

Nahida: The amount of information in Irminsul is vast beyond description. Sifting through all of it without knowing what to look for would take too long, even for me. So I asked The Balladeer to search in Irminsul for any information about the Descenders. He's more familiar with this kind of information and should be able to find it more quickly.

Aether: What if he lies to you?

Paimon: Exactly! Or what if... Paimon just doesn't trust him. He's treated us as enemies every time we've run into him.

Y/n: You guys still trusted me even if I hid my identity to you, so why can't we trust him as well?

Nahida: Y/n is right. Sometimes, everything is dictated by which side you're on. How things will go in the future depends on what information he brings back.

Y/n: Aether... I'm doing this for you, I know what your heart desires most of all. We've traveled together for a while now. You never mention it, but I can tell that you have an intense longing... A feeling of being all alone in the dark, searching for the one candle whose light still burns.

Nahida: As Sumeru's deity, it is my responsibility to be on guard against The Balladeer. But as someone who counts you as a friend, I want to do something for you. If this deal with The Balladeer can give you the answers you've been longing to find, then it's worth it.

Aether: ...Thank you, Nahida, Y/n.

Y/n: No problem

Nahida: It's my pleasure, really. You're Sumeru's hero! You've more than earned it.

Paimon: Hmm, Paimon's still worried about this idea... Is there anything we can do to help?

Nahida: I was going to contact you about that, but then you suddenly showed up of your own accord because of Y/n. Seems like we have a telepathic connection. In fact, I was going to ask you three to supervise The Balladeer on my behalf while he carries out the task I assigned.

Y/n: But it's a fraction of his power that he has left, I don't think it's that serious

Nahida: Yes, even though he only has a fraction of his full power left, that's still a fraction of a former Harbinger. If you could accompany him, it would put my mind at ease. Of course, I'll be there to help guide you through Irminsul from the outside.

Aether: Got it.

Nahida: Great. Thank you. Prepare yourselves. I'm going to transport you into Irminsul.

The trio enters Irminsul, unlike before the scenery holds the air of peace and a beautiful clear sky

Paimon: Wow... It looks pretty different here compared to last time. The colors are gentler... Guess that must be because Sumeru's at peace now.

When The Balladeer came into view, they approached him immediately

The Balladeer: Look at that, hot on my heels. You know, you didn't have to cut your catch-up short just to keep me company. Oh, but I guess you panicked when you realized that I might enter Irminsul ahead of you.

Aether: Nahida sent us to babysit you.

Paimon: Shut your beak, jailbird! There's no way a prisoner gets to be so smug!

Y/n: Hey, I thought I told you two to knock it off!!

The Balladeer: No, it's alright, I understand that prisoners have to put up with harassment from some of the guards, but right now, I'm on temporary release, so maybe you two should think about taking Y/n's advice and backing off a little.

Nahida: Sounds like a successful rendezvous.

Y/n: Tell me about it...

Nahida: I need to be quite clear about something. In a few moments, you'll be entering into the innermost region of Irminsul. It is an environment like no other, and the most important place in all of Sumeru. Unlike anywhere else, Irminsul's inner region consists exclusively of torrents of information. You must put aside your differences and be extremely careful as you navigate your way through. I know there are many grievances between you on both sides, but it is essential that you remain calm after entry. This is as much for your own safety as anything else.

Y/n: Alright

Aether: ...Understood.

Paimon: ...Fine, let's call a truce, but only until this mission's over...

The Balladeer: Let's cut each other a little slack, shall we? We are gonna be traveling together, after all. Per my agreement with Lesser Lord Kusanali, I'll be at the front. It's my job to lead the way and get rid of any obstacles in our path. *refers to Y/n* All you have to do is keep your pretty eyes open and try not to fall behind.

Aether: *held his arm out in a protective matter*

Paimon: Ha! You sure are confident, Paimon'll give you that. You make it sound like you're even more experienced at adventuring than us!

The Balladeer: If there are no further objections, I suggest we get going. Or did you need some time to mentally prepare yourselves?

Paimon: You...! Ugh! The snark on this guy! It's unbearable!

Aether: There's no need for all the biting sarcasm. Focus on doing your job.

The Balladeer: ...Hmph. We can start now.

Nahida: Irminsul access granted. Initiating connection procedure...

A small glowing sapling can be seen as Nahida said those words

Paimon: Is this a small sapling? *sees The Balladeer go ahead* Argh, darn it! C'mon, let's catch up with him!

Soon, they all entered the innermost area of Irminsul

Paimon: Wow... So this is the inside of Irminsul...

Aether: It's different than what I imagined...

Paimon: Ohh... Paimon's never seen anything like this. And it feels like a sacred place...

Y/n: Irminsul is closely intertwined with the entirety of Teyvat. Every bit of information flowing here means something.

The Balladeer: Pick your jaws up off the floor. It's time to go.

Paimon: Why is it that Paimon just wants to do the opposite of everything he says...

The Balladeer: ... *ignores them* Lesser Lord Kusanali, we will now proceed to the heart of Irminsul.

Nahida: Can you still sense where the heart of Irminsul is?

The Balladeer: Yes. Permission to begin searching for information there?

Nahida: Permission granted. Go ahead.

The Balladeer: Let's go. Stay close, don't go running off.

Paimon: Hey, so... say we did go running off in here. What would happen?

The Balladeer: ... *smirks*

Paimon: Wh—What are you smirking at?

The Balladeer: I was just imagining the look on both of your travel companion's faces if you went and got lost. Anything's possible in here — you can't rule anything out. So if you wanna stay safe, your best option is to stick close to me.

While following The Balladeer, many small saplings kept showing up

Paimon: These sapling things have spread out...

The fragments have dissipated, and the space seems to have been affected somehow...

The Balladeer: Those are all packets of information from inside Irminsul. Be careful not to touch them.

Aether: "The location's changed. Looks like we've been transported to another path."

Paimon: It looks the same in every direction...

Aether: "This space is indeed unusual... But it seems that The Balladeer is more used to it than me and Y/n."

Paimon: ...No wonder he mentioned about getting lost. Whaddya know, he was actually telling the truth...

The Balladeer: Hehe.

Paimon: Is he mocking me again? What is it this time!?

The Balladeer: There's a time and a place to lie, but this definitely isn't it. So why don't you relax your guard a little?

After walking for a while more, they finally approached the center of Irminsul

The Balladeer: We're here.

Paimon: What a huge tree...

Aether: "This is the center of Irminsul. All the information in the world is flowing through it..."

Y/n: "If the information of everyone in Teyvat are stored here, can I learn more about Father and maybe about Mother?"

The Balladeer: Lesser Lord Kusanali.

Nahida: Good, you made it. Are you ready?

The Balladeer: Ready when you are.

Nahida: Then please begin. Preparing to access cognitive currents. Establishing waypoint...

Paimon: The Balladeer's actually doing what Nahida tells him... Guess he must want to stay alive.

Aether: "He hasn't put up any resistance, and he seems good at working on the frontline... Maybe he had a similar role in the Fatui? First Aqaba and Sawada's stories, now this... What a strange individual."

Nahida: The rest is up to you. If you discover anything at all, make sure to share it with us.

The Balladeer: Will do.

Paimon: Huh... For once, we're the ones with nothing to do...

Nahida: "Aether, Y/n, Paimon, would you like to talk?"

Aether: "Nahida? ...Is this a telepathic conversation?"

Nahida: "Yes. I've also invited Paimon to join."

Paimon: "Huh? ...What the... We can talk to each other inside our heads?"

Y/n: "I'm guessing that you don't want us to disturb The Balladeer."

Nahida: "Hehe, that's part of it. Plus, we're all friends. There's nothing wrong with us talking like this once in a while."

Paimon: "Paimon's never tried this before. This is great! So, Paimon's been wanting to ask you something. Don't you think The Balladeer's a bit of a walking contradiction? He's always talking back, but he seems to listen to what you say..."

Aether: "Yes, and he seems to excel at doing odd jobs for others..."

Y/n: "..."

Nahida: "As I've told you before, there are still some mysteries for him to resolve. Things that are clear as day to me, but that he has yet to understand. Perhaps today will be the day that he finds some answers."

Aether: "Is it about his past? The "betrayals"? And the other events in Inazuma?"

Nahida: "Well done. Smart and attentive as always."

Y/n: "Betrayals?"

Aether: "Yes, I caught a glimpse of a few things when I ran into Haypasia at Pardis Dhyai..."

Aether states what he saw in The Balladeer's mind while in Pardis Dhyai...

Y/n: "So you made contact with that part of his mind... Well, it's true. "Betrayal" turned The Balladeer into the person he is today."

Paimon: "Huh, Paimon thought nothing could get under that guy's skin. Turns out he can get hurt and angry just like anyone else."

Nahida: "Everyone has a history, Paimon. Even if you're a puppet created by the Electro Archon."

Paimon: "Speaking of puppets, we ran into two people at the Akademiya today talking about an essay. Turns out their topic was about the Tatarasuna incident... Nahida, do you know anything about that?"

Nahida: "If you mean the mysterious events, the kabukimono, and so on... Yes, I know about all of that."

Paimon: "Really? Because from what they were saying, it sounded like lots of Tatarasuna's history is still unexplained, and most of the information we have now is just from people filling the gaps with their imagination. At least, that's what they thought..."

Y/n told Nahida about the story Aqaba and Sawada are writing...

[gayofthefae]

We've only seen a Mike and El kiss be shot intimately from Mike's perspective ONCE (I rewatched it before finalizing and would like to correct it to ZERO TIMES)*, at the Snow Ball.

Their first kiss was a wide shot then close from El's perspective. Their make-outs were all wide shots (Hopper's perspective), with him once leaning in in a closer shot in El's perspective before it cut back out to a wide. El kissing him in 3x08 was from his perspective for a moment, that's the closest, but we immediately cut away to a wide - something that I have heard many a note on "takes you out of the moment", and we can see his body language indicates that "intimacy" may not be what we were going for as close shots can also be used to indicate discomfort. One could also argue the closeup of her leaning in as simply a reverse shot to her intimate perspective the moment before. Then, of course, their airport reunion kiss. Famously distant, with I believe 4 extras crossing in front of the camera during the embrace.

Even the Snow Ball was a camera circling them not specifically for him, but it still was purposefully timed to include his perspective and chosen that way so I do include it.

It's just very interesting to note. We actually don't know how he feels about kissing her. We've been robbed of that information by only being shown a third party perspective.

Additionally, wide shots of kissing tend to make people uncomfortable. Naturally, it makes you feel less like you are one of the characters and more like a voyeur, watching your friends make-out. Or, in the show's situation, a father watching his daughter.

The wide shots of kisses elicit discomfort. The only times they're nice is when we see them in El's perspective and ONCE. Once. From Mike's.

*Correction here! 0 times. The shot of him leaning in is in fact in El's perspective at the Snow Ball and the kiss itself happens at about the midpoint. So the closest you can get to an objective shot AGAIN. It also doesn't last long enough to truly reach qualifying as an over the shoulder shot of El for Mike while they're kissing. I would probably say it qualifies just as he starts to pull away, ironically. To contrast, Lucas and Max's kiss is definitively in Lucas' perspective, with their hug afterwards definitively in Max's, despite using the same camera circling technique.

In conclusion, we have 0 data on how Mike feels about kissing El. Zip. Zilch. Nil. That absence of information is queer-coded as hell. In El's perspective, he does not make distinctly emotionally decipherable facial expressions and in his kissing her is not an intimate experience. If anything, it's a distant one.

Stranger Things is big on "learn the rules so you can break them". That seems to apply to cinematography too. I have been told if you use an ots shot you HAVE to provide the reverse shot. They do not do that. They're short kisses, yes. But they could technically make them a second longer or rather lengthen them in the edit by showing the lean in from one perspective and kiss from the other.

One last comparison, J@ncy's very first kiss is also quite short. But they get a shot and reverse shot right before and right after before they kiss again. Non ots shots are used often for kissing and "non-conversation" but even then, they are typically close: shoulder up. Mike and El have a history of having their entire torsos in the shot, making you feel like you're sitting on the edge of the bed watching them. Perhaps because Mike is not feeling it and as such, still completely aware of his surroundings? Who knows.

Either way, there are ways to do it and they have done it those ways. Slightly less objective by putting it in El's perspective when they wanted us to be on board for the first two kisses, but not in Mike's. Never in Mike's.

[faerghusfucker]

haven't seen it myself but please DO yap about the silly vampire movie !!

WELL I SUPPOSE THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN LMAO

obvious disclaimer that this has nothing to do with fire emblem and also contains spoilers for the new nosferatu so if youre not into either of those then do keep scrolling

so im a big dracula guy right. i read bram stoker’s dracula for the first time in eighth grade for a project in my literature class and i fell SOOOO in love with it that it irreversibly changed my taste in vampire media. obviously growing up as a super lame goth kid in the 2010s means i got exposed to my fair share of the pretty type of vampire (think twilight). that type of vampire was (and still is) the more prominent one in media, and is the reason a lot of people perceive allure and charm as one of the central traits for vampires

BUUUUUUUUT dracula was my first interaction with the ugly type of vampire, and i found myself preferring those A TON. like, hot vampires are cool and all, but i still am drawn in so so so much more by the gross corpse-y vampire, and while i know that the 2024 nosferatu is a remake, it’s still one of the only examples of an ugly vampire in pop culture rn, AND I ATE THAT SHIT UPPPPPPP

i feel silly ranting abt the visuals in a movie without putting up screenshots of it to show my points but like. this movie still isn’t on my piracy site of choice in a quality that i wouldn’t be ashamed to post. so im just gonna rant and rave lol. many talented gif creators on here have the visuals for what im talking abt lol they’re out there if you rlly want them.

THIS IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE GUYS. im a sucker for stuff with super artsy shot composition, and so many shots in this movie literally look like they could be paintings. in fact, im literally gonna do paintings of a few of them when i can access it in a nicer quality. the usage of color and shape is also super awesome, they have that twilight-y blue color grading happening but in a way that actually looks rlly nice instead of making you question why everything looks so blue lol. that gets contrasted with a lot of REALLY REALLY WARM shots and that choice probably has some type of symbolism to it, i’ve only seen this movie once over winter break so i might watch it again and make a more detailed rant specifically about the usage of color to communicate the narrative, lmk if that’s smth you’d be interested in lol.

DONT HATE ME BUT THIS MOVIE WAS ALSO REALLY FUNNY LMAO. like it’s objectively so silly. the way herr knock fucking scurries around biting pigeon heads off????? GOLD ACTUAL GOLD. the way that thomas is such a little baby bitch the whole time????? stunning. the way that count orlock threw those little girls back like a frat boy chugs a beer??????? cinematic history was made. it’s such a beautiful movie but GOD its stupid. i’ve been eating up all the memes about it online it’s been a fun time. shoutout to ugly vampires.

[catslovefools]

Analysis of (some) of the cinematography in Alien Stage’s Wiege

HELLO HELLO! my first “official” alien stage post! This analysis will be from a storyboarding/composition/visual storytelling standpoint. I’ll be explaining why i think some of Wiege’s shots work and how they enhance the visual storytelling of the series. This will either be really bad, or we might actually learn something new together. one way to find out!

due to the fact that the day only has 24 hours i sadly wasn’t able to analyze everything, but if i have more free time i’ll try to do more shots. (don’t hold me to that though….)

Wiege spoilers under cut!

Luka staring at Hyuna in shock. left side of the screen.

Hyuna staring back at him, right side of the screen.

The flow of a sequence can be enhanced by having each shot support/set up for the next. so if shot A’s focal point moves to the upper right corner, then shot B’s focal point will be in that same spot. (the movement isn’t necessary, but imho i consider it to be more organic than to have object of interest simply stand still 24/7, although a healthy balance of both is probably the best way to do it.)

so with that being said, luka is now on the right side of the screen, staring at Hyuna happily (interestingly this breaks the 180 degree rule but i guess it still works?)

one of the best ways to guide the viewers’ eyes in a composition is through the eyes of the character. mix that in with the fact that movement catches the attention of the viewer and you’ll get this shot. Luka stares at Hyuna (while we stare at Luka), then his eyes suddenly look up and we follow that line of sight to see the gun at the upper left of the screen (imagine the rule of thirds grid).

okay this one’s interesting. i like this one. the screen is split in two even halves, one half is the gun, and the other is Hyuna. Due to the nature of this shot (it’s a POV shot) + the tension of the scene, the camera’s a little shaky, but you’ll see that Luka turns to the gun and then to Hyuna (it’s very subtle in the screenshots but you’ll see what i mean when you check the video), and his eyes eventually land on Hyuna. he has made his decision.

I’ve seen some people say that he didn’t care about dying in that moment, but i’d go ahead and say that he did. and it showed through his split second’s worth of hesitance. he just cares about Hyuna more.

Luka actively turns away from the gun and he GLOWS. literally. this to me felt like the image of an angel, the physical manifestation of pure innocence. he looks like a child here.

other than the clear allegory here, i think one of the main reasons the glow suddenly cranked up here is to give the viewer whiplash, it’s to set up the clear contrast between this shot and the next.

the red line of light in the otherwise dark bluish room signifies to me the following: fear. danger.

One of the first things we learn about Luka’s owner is that he monitors Luka’s emotions heavily. in order for a human pet to succeed in an industry such as alien stage, they need to be taught by their “owners” to overcome fear.

however, we don’t really know when most of these events took place, but i’m gonna assume that at that point in time Luka didn’t really overcome fear just yet.

Luka stands in the middle of what I assume is the laboratory where all the Luka clones were made. he is holding a knife. trend lines and a zigzag line made of blood and corpses leads directly to him. he stands in the center of it all.

the clones’ death is very interesting to me. i wonder if they started fighting each other, Luka coming out victorious, or if Luka himself killed them. is this just an extreme case of his over competitive side showing? the perfect champion? a human pet so ready to win that he’s willing to eliminate any competition? even if that required killing people that have the exact same face as him over and over again?

was it all in a fit of rage? or is it biologically programmed into his very DNA? did he black out and wake up to blood on his hands? or did he think that it was something he had to do? rather than his reasoning being “eliminate all competition to win”, it’s “eliminate all competition to survive”. maybe that’s why he won alien stage twice, it wasn’t his first rodeo.

edit: i saw this theory and i think it makes more sense, thought i should include it here.

i don’t know what pulling the alarm on himself says about this, but he definitely wanted the aliens to see what he did.

[tamsiblings]

i do see sometimes (and this is, again, born of me actively seeking out commentary about the show - especially commentary around the time of its airing, which i find fascinating) because i do see sometimes the idea that simon is refusing to let river grow up (or at least has a hard time with it, which i do think is a little more accurate) by saying things like "she's just a kid" and, for example, jumping early.

which is complicated. i do think there are ways in which simon's protective nature can be a bit smothery and border on overprotective (though she is often actually in legitimate and serious danger; that's part of the complicated.) that's probably best exemplified in safe (where he's guiding her away from the very sharp-and-dirty post-holer lmao), here in objects in space (insisting (out of fear, granted) that river probably just thought it was a game when she shot niska's men), and in the serenity film (personally don't know i would agree with this; i think simon had especially real and valid concerns with river going on the bank heist, but he does emphasize her youth to mal and try to instruct her on how to act during it). i can understand how that could feel potentially frustrating/smothering for river, and annoying for the crew and the people around them.

but i also think people underestimate a couple of things. river may not be a literal child, but she is 17. it's easy to forget, but simon isn't really just acting as her older brother throughout the series; he's her (not so legal, but still) guardian, essentially. moreover, she went to the academy at age /14/ and was horrifically abused and tortured, effectively having a significant chunk of her childhood stolen from her. i think one could also make the argument that because of this, her emotional development, affected as it's been by trauma, has stayed there, or possibly even regressed. it's not surprising, given all of this, that simon would both see her as a child - which is not simple, but not false, entirely, either - and see it has his job to preserve and protect whatever remains of her childhood. and while i acknowledge it's possible for river to get frustrated by this (she does seem to be a bit smothered at the start of safe, though that's also easily explained by being triggered), she on the whole does not seem to resent this view of her - in fact, i think we're supposed to implicitly understand simon, as the person who knows her the best, as being correct when he says she just wants to be a kid. she wants to dance and draw and play with kaylee. to "walk on her feet and hear with her ears", to paraphrase. she'll help out when she needs to or when it's asked of her - like in war stories or here in objects in space or in the film - but simon's not incorrect that river wants to just be a kid.

of course, it's an oversimplification to say she's just a kid, which i do actually think simon knows - she is a very traumatized kid, for one, and also one the alliance has deemed so special/important that they are continuously seeking her. what simon really means is that she should have been, and deserves now to be, allowed to be a kid - which is what mal is really responding to. he wishes it were that simple, because he doesn't disagree, but it's not that simple and they have to deal with it.

so, is simon deliberately hampering river from growing up? i guess that it depends on how you look at it, but by and large, i don't really think so. i think he's trying to preserve the little and fragile childhood she has left, and i don't actually think that is (overall) a bad thing.

ALSO (and this is the point i always meant to get to yet somehow wrote SO many words first) while i think there are elements of that dynamic present it objects in space, one i've seen (and just saw) pointed to as simon "not letting river grow up" is the scene where he jumps early and i mean... i don't really think that holds.

simon doesn't know what the plan is. i think he likely suspects river has one for a good chunk of hearing her over the intercom - but he also believes her when she's going with early. and it's, tbh, very understandable that he believes her. river has an endgame here, but she's drawing from real insecurities, makes a compelling case. simon has HEARD her (as far back as in safe!) essentially say she feels like a burden on his life. without having the right information (which she can't give him because he is with early as she's divvying out instructions to mal and kaylee) about the rest of the plan, it's fairly natural and logical to conclude she means what she's saying. so, when he tackles early, he's not (as i've just seen it an an admittedly rather old post) suggested, intentionally disrupting the plan because he doesn't believe in it. he's tackling early because he's bought into the FAKE plan, the one where she goes with him to commit herself to getting tortured and abused again at Best. it's hard to fault him for trying to put the breaks on what he Thought was happening.

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

Episode 7 Gun Scene AKA Give Kinn a (little) Break Please

I've seen lots of meta on the bathroom scene but not much on the precursor.

At the end of 6/6.5 they've cleared the air, established that they're still attracted to one another and that there are Emotions All Up In This Bitch. Kinn having gotten shot puts things on hold. You don't want to try to start a relationship while one of you is recuperating from blood loss etc. So we get some plot for a while, and shenanigans from Vegas and emotional abuse from Korn and pep talks from friends, and then we get the gun scene.

First of all, that hanging-up fake-out was cute AF. Second, Kinn sneaking into the minor house to see him was arguably dumb when there's a whole thing going on tomorrow. Totally worth it, though.

I don't think it's escaped Porsche at this point that Kinn doesn't generally attach value to objects. He's been around the house for a while now, would have noticed that compared to the rest of the family, Kinn's rooms are almost empty of personal touches. (See also, Life in Korn's Panopticon.)

[Aside: Being completely uninterested in objects is one way to perform being Rich as Fuck; you can always buy another one of whatever it is so who cares. I find it interesting how the things he does have tend to underline Kinn's physicality; he's all about the scents and textures, and that's a trait maintained during the sex scenes. An interesting choice in a purely visual medium. Later on, when they're dating, it's about experiences, not things. It seems like that's how it was with Tawan, too, so that's a core characteristic for Kinn.]

Back to loaning Porsche the gun. This gesture is deeply unusual, lets Kinn remind him that he cares without getting all mushy about it (got to keep his head in the game here). Porsche has that shy look.

[Aside: LITERALLY NO ONE in however many years he spent street fighting has ever told Porsche to come back safe. Chay loves him, but Chay needs him in a way that means even if he said the words, it couldn't be just on account of Porsche's value as a person.]

Kinn takes a visible breath before this next bit, takes the plunge and makes the conversation about sex. Bearing in mind that Kinn's usual mode since Tawan has been ordering off the escort menu, this has a fascinating-to-me mix of delicacy (yes! I mean it!) and directness.

First there's the conversational placement; it comes after the concern for Porsche's safety. Second, it's a blunt but not serious way to broach the subject. There's loads of physical space here, and they're alone; Porsche can back away or laugh it off if he's uncomfortable. He doesn't do either one; he keeps it playful, but his body language is let us say "engaged." That tongue motion, FFS. Wave good-bye to Porsche's heterosexuality as it disappears over the horizon. He isn't nervous about the idea or still angry about last time, is 100% DTF after the mission is over. They're close enough to kiss, not going for it, but you can feel the anticipation.

Porsche did ask for some words of encouragement. Be careful tomorrow, come back, and then we're going to do this right (and have a really good time) is pretty encouraging. Kinn's expression gets serious again; they both just melt into the softest of soft looks, forehead touch is my forever weakness. Because this is not just about sex. This is them about to embark on a relationship.

Which they manage to do after a Vegas-induced hiccup that lasts all of a minute and a half.

I think all of that setup explains a lot of Kinn's initial reaction in the bathroom scene; the fact that it was Vegas of all people explains the rest. As far as Kinn can tell in those first few seconds, he let down his guard and just got knifed in the gut for it, and he's got an emotional whipsaw going through the whole scene as he realizes that he jumped to the wrong conclusion. Also explains the rapid shift into sexytimes. It's not just that Kinn prefers actions to words, although he definitely does that; bro has literally been thinking about doing this all damn day. I hope he didn't have to try to focus on any work.

Final note - I'm not sure Kinn actually does have as much of a possessive streak as seems to be a common interpretation? He doesn't act like that about anybody else we see. His jealous streak is mostly focused on Vegas, and that's had a lifetime to accumulate. He has a competitive streak a mile wide (thank you Korn, now there's a man who treats people like possessions), and that does show up consistently with other people.

[animehouse-moe]

Undead Unluck Episode 6: Spoil

David pro might not be perfect, and the CGI might be arguably even more clunky than what Zom 100 is working with. But you have to admit, there's a lot of charm in this episode. There's also a lot of information, so plenty for me to talk about!

I'll get it out of the way first, I love how Yase and co are approaching the framing in UU. Wide shots that tend to place character and focus on the bottom or top third is very very fun, and they love playing around with those ideas to create interestingly spaced shots. It can be seen as a bold decision, but I think it's a really important one as it plays into the visual identity of the series while staving off boredom during exposition.

The art in general is just so damn bold. It really goes all out with what it has, and effectively considers the thought of "what is the most that I can do in this moment?", and it delivers incredible pieces.

Though I think the real icing on the cake is the first reveal for Spoil. Not the one that happens at the end of the episode, but the one that happens through the secondhand account of Union investigators, relayed to Fuuko and everyone.

It's just incredibly good, and proves you don't need scary imagery or jumpscares to really provide a sense of discomfort and unease. Really really great work that doesn't use zombies or Spoil as a crutch to express anything about the UMA, and plays directly into the best vehicle for horror: the imagination.

Alright, last piece about visuals, and it's David's 2D smoke. My god I love it, I can't fathom why other studios put their smoke through so many visual effects when you can produce incredible works like this. Getting to see how the smoke moves, it's just such an impressive feat of animation that so often gets overshadowed by composition and other visual effects.

Anyways, onto the story! There's a lot of really really interesting ideas that I'd love to explore here.

First of all, why was only a single corpse appearing in New York City? Obviously, some of them can have a will like the woman in this episode, but how on earth do you get from wherever Longing is to New York City without being spotted? Personally, I feel like it has something to do with Spoil, but I have no idea what the objective would be in placing a rotten corpse in NYC, when Spoil's ability is denoted to be a continuous activation ability within a set range. Not quite adding up, so I'm very curious to find out the reasoning behind its appearance.

Next up is Victhor, as Shen says. Gena was (as far as we know) the oldest of the Union members that are currently active and/or alive, but Mr. Know-It-All could also have been the source of that information. Regardless, Shen was told by someone at the Union about Andy's past, which insinuates the fact that Andy is repressing either that past, or a personality via the shard in his head. Considering the content of the ending, it's rather clear cut that his past was traumatic and something that he's fleeing from, so I'm very interested to learn more about these two Undead's that have been displayed.

And Shen just keeps layering on the explanations.

Shen calls UMAs "the very Rules themselves" which is interesting as it closes the rift between the idea of Rules and UMAs. Which makes building an image of the world leading up to this moment that much harder. Juiz references "Rules" in a separate context to how Shen explains them here, dropping the "UMA" association within her explanation to Fuuko in the prior episode.

Because of that, I'm not entirely certain that Rules and UMAs are one in the same, but it's hard to find the correct separation due to Shen's words. Do these Rules always exist, and UMAs are more like direct enforcers of those rules? It means that UMAs stem directly from whatever God exists, regardless. They are not a happenstance or byproduct of Rule in any capacity, like Negators might be. Though, at the same time, the idea behind the quests begs the question: where do negators come from?

They are a separate class from UMAs which "enforce" rules while Negators break them. They are also humans in comparison to, well, "angels" as the episode so eloquently references them. Having that imagery, and understanding that a god exists makes me think that there's multiple, or it's a case of betrayal or whatnot where one entity sides with humanity and the other is against it. The question is why that would happen in the first place, and how these entities settled on, or even agreed, to this concept of quests and Rules.

But that's a discussion for another time, let's talk about the little bit that a group of kids gives us!

All these children have much larger timers than what Andy and the others have, but why?

Furthermore, that many seconds (or about 2.5 hours) is far too short for the children to have survived on. So, do kids just get a longer timer from Spoil? That can't be it, because the children's ability to last for at least a full day would mean that Spoil's ability is entirely unbalanced. Alongside that, it can't be that Spoil assigns a different timer based on age, because we're shown a child in the crowd of zombies during the episode.

It also can't be because they're underground, as both Fuuko and Shen start with a 1,000 second timer. So it's something intrinsic to people, not necessarily children.

So, for the sake of argument, let's assume that every living entity is given a timer of 1,000 seconds before they spoil. How then, are you able to increase that timer, and what is it about these children that is different from the rest?

Well, the largest thing is that they're completely isolated from the rest of the zombies. But space from the zombies and Spoil itself wouldn't be effective, as I've already explained above.

You might argue that the children could move back and forth between the edge of Spoil's range, but that would still just incur a 1,000 second timer, and we don't even have a guarantee that exiting the range will prevent the spoiling or the countdown.

To that end, I might have just answered my own question about the rotten corpse in NYC. That corpse may have been the first to appear from Spoil, but exited Longing before his timer went off. That would mean that the timer was still incurred, as would be implied by the idea of a "curse", but would also mean that adults would be able to increase their timer through some method.

So it can't be something entirely exclusive to children if we open it up to that idea.

Everybody would be aware of their timer when it appears, but the question is whether or not they're aware of what it is. Does awareness of what the countdown implies change how it works? Did Spoil tell people what was happening when he first appeared in the town? Thanks to the woman Andy marries, we know that zombies understand what Spoil is and where he might be.

I'd argue that you might be able to explain that thanks to their "connection" to Spoil, but Andy doesn't get that information once he begins to spoil. That means that the woman knew what Spoil was prior to her zombification, but I have no way of knowing if that's the case for everyone else.

But, for the sake of this theory that's gone on far too long, let's make some bold assumptions. Spoil appears in town and announces that they're going to turn people into zombies. Panic ensues. People attempt to flee, children get stuffed in underground tunnels. A survey group appears and engages in a hopeless rally against Spoil's ability.....

I think that's it. The survey group did not take 1000 seconds to spoil like Andy did, but they would have had a timer for 1000 seconds all the same. Now, an even crazier assumption is that the zombies didn't kill that survey team (as we have no visual proof, nor do we see any zombies attempt to directly harm the group in this episode), which means they expired far faster than 1,000 seconds.

This means one of two things. Spoil can directly spoil someone in an instant, or the timer can also decrease. If the timer can also decrease, it continues down that rabbit hole of psychological interference.

And at that point, I would say the answer is hope. Hope that whoever stuffed the kids in the underground will return to save them. Or a lack of hope that as you see the people around you start to spoil, that you'll spoil as well. Or, hope that you got away from the zombie apocalypse, but then the hopelessness of that timer continuing to count down no matter how far away you flee.

Now, I can sit here and brag that I made some crazy theory, but I'd be pretty shocked if it comes out to be true. There's quite a few assumptions in this crazy rambling, and just as many black boxes to deal with. But, at the end of it, I think it's a pretty good attempt at explaining why timers can change.

Anyways, one last bit! The Rule vessels, as Spoil explains it.

Claiming that Negators are Rule vessels puts them in very interesting territory. My first question to this idea is, how can a rule vessel and a UMA exist at the same time? We have Unburn the negator, but also Burn the UMA. Are they symbiotic? But then, wouldn't that be the case for any negator out there? Could Andy's nature as the undead vessel be the root cause of the potential for a split personality?

I don't think it likely, but Unburn and Burn is the only example of both a Negator and UMA existing in this world at the same time, so I really want to see how that works, as it entirely shapes the concept of rules and negators.

Because you'd think that a rule must exist for a negator to exist, but that would imply the existence of a great many more UMAs that we as readers do not know about. It could be that they're locked up and in containment with Union, or that they're pacifists or non-sentient rules, but as far as we know, any UMAs that Union has subjugated or neutralized have been hostile ones towards humans (as they are expected to be, given their role), and there are countless UMAs that exist where we don't have any awareness or understanding of the existence of their Negator. So, not a whole lot to add to this idea (mostly because I already used all my brain power on the other theory), other than the fact that I really need to see what goes on with Unburn and Burn.

So yeah, a whole hell of a lot of writing, but overall a really great episode. I could spend all day picking apart this series, really.

[wilkers1]

there was always something about games like the Portal series or games such as Data Wing that always stuck out to me as something that could be seen as an allegory to a narrative about abusive relationsips, and i'm not at all talking about the Companion Cube, i see that as something of a build-up to later scenes. something about the way you start out thinking you're cared for and blindly following instructions and forming opinions molded to someone else's will. i wish to build a game following that kind of narrative around the phrase "Because i told you so.", but i wanna take a slightly different approach.

looking back at the first time i played Portal, i liked how the way that new hazards were introduced felt like GLaDOS was looking to punish me for things i never did or fully understood at the time, or specifically in the first time where Turrets are introduced, the one part in particular where the two turrets are facing eachother, could be comparable to a double-bind situation -- the saying "dammed if you do, dammed if you don't" applies here, the kind of thing someone with power over you could do to make you keep guessing what they want, only for the objective to be that you just keep guessing while you submit to whatever they want you to do or think. likewise, the turrets facing eachother are an embodiment of that. they are difficult to deal with on their own because there's no reasonable way to possibly deal with them both at the same time, as you'll always get shot by the other either way. and to add insult to the injury, the first turret has a good view of you just enough to helplessly keep shooting into the glass where it would hit you had the glass not been there.

that shooting is the thing that keeps pounding into your head saying that you can't hide forever and you have to deal with this situation eventually.

except that you can deal with both turrets at the same time, you might be remembering. but have you ever stopped to think that there were never any cube dispensers up until that point? in fact, have you noticed that the first appearance of the cube dispenser was one showing up after that point, sabotaged into staying open? the only way you were able to deal with the turrets is that you were able to see you are not alone, and that there were people who actually risked their lives to gather those cubes and make sure you are be able to not hide forever behind that glass.

i want to explore more of a story like that. in Portal, not only do you already get nudged into the realization over time, but as you slowly come to the realizations of your surroundings, you also get distracted with the confrontation you're forced to put increasing effort into over time. in Data Wing, you always get to just be happy following whatever orders are given to you to keep on racing and delivering data, even if the motivations during that game were mostly void of malice throughout the story. and in Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (the JP version), you slowly come to the realization of what your purpose is as you try new decisions, and also what others' motivations around you are, but aside from the little choices you make, no real power is actually given for you to challenge or influence anything you're doing in the longer term, so you always fulfill a purpose according to the will of the one taking care of you in the end and only get to realization after your purpose was already fulfilled as their creation.

a story i want to explore is along the lines of: how would one come to the realization that they are experiencing an abusive relationship when they don't have any frame of reference or morality about what an abusive relationship even is? what kind of purpose would someone like that be fulfilling, and what would bring them to have their opinions and motivations be aligned with their creator's?

you may also notice how i'm using the term "purpose" very loosely here, perhaps in a way that feels objectifying, because that is how i myself feel about what i think an abusive relationship often end up being. i want to make up an Ace Combat kind of gameplay in a way that the storytelling would feel more nuanced than a "go to this path" or "go to that path". i want to know and show a player about how could someone be able to find themselves in a situation like in Portal where they don't have the boxes laying around in a corner by someone else who already found out what's up. more importantly, i want to show a story where they themselves would be in the bliss of ignorance until they put active effort in wanting to know a story like this. the problem is that i don't know about those things myself, so i'd like to have some clue about how to put something like this together.

[buzzdixonwriter]

We Don’t Really Need To Exist [FICTOID]

He went hunting for deer and found the Truth.

Not a good trade.

He left home early on a frosty morning, heading deep into the wooded mountains surrounding the valley where he lived.

Though his family farmed there for generations, he felt called to hunting, to seeking our and tracking down and ultimately killing pretty.

He did so with no ill intent.  He took no pleasure in the animals’ fear or in whatever suffering they endured but death mercifully snuffed them out.

He frequently killed them with a single shot to the heart, causing them a moment’s shocked surprise before losing consciousness.

The bodies he dragged home, skinned and dressed them, using the hides for clothes and shoes, the meat for food.

Recently the animals retreated further and further into the woods, higher and higher up the mountains.

The hunter grumbled about this -- “More work for me dragging them back!” -- but stoically accepted it.

The further he got from his home, however, the more preternatural the woods felt. 

The mountains no longer looked familiar; rather strange peaks and craigs rose where never seen before.

The vegetation also seemed different from the familiar plants and trees around the farm.  The insect and bird sounds filling the air seemed alien and strange.

There seemed to be a disconnect between the human reality he knew and the reality of the woods around him.  He couldn’t put his finger on why, but it didn’t seem to him to be a false sensation.

Rather, it felt like he touched some deeper, more profound truth.

As he crested one ridge, he looked down and saw a deep valley below him.

At first it seemed made of gold, then he realized the hue came from dead grass.

He saw a oddly shaped multi-hued object floating in midair several feet above the valley floor.  Despite feeling dread at the sight of it, he climbed down into the valley to examine it more closely.

He guessed it to be about twenty feet across and forty feet high.  Its multiple facets appeared to be made of stained glass, each pane glowing with some spectral light from within.

It floated too high above him for him to reach it even if he took a running jump.

He wondered about taking a shot at it when a voice in his head said:  Don’t.

He looked startled.  Who am I? the voice reverberated.  I am that which cannot be named, I am the ultimate and the infinite, I am the only thing that truly exists.

“I exist,” the hunter said, not sounding at all convinced.

You merely think you think you exist.  You are but a figment of my imagination.  All that exists is a figment of my imagination:  This valley, these mountains, this land, this world, this universe.  Me and me alone.

He opened his mouth to protest but shut it again.  Deep in the core of his being he knew the words spoken to be true.

“I don’t exist?” he croaked.

You could never even have possibly existed.  You are a faction of a fraction of a figment.  You not only could have never possibly existed, but all you know does not exist either.

“No love?”

No love.  No hate.  No right.  No wrong.  No thing.  Nothing.

“I’ll tell the world about you.”

To gain what?  Further proof all is false, all is empty.  Chase the dragon’s tail, let it swallow itself.

Suddenly the hunter found themselves back among familiar woods, the roof of his home visible among the trees.

In the years to come, his family and friends all remarked on the eerie melancholy that descended on him when he returned from his last hunt.  They noticed he regarded life as tasteless and ashen, nothing worth living for, nothing worth dying for, just a nonsensical meaningless existence.

He never spoke of what caused such a profound and painful change in his outlook, and that caused those nearest him to fear him more.

While he could never find adequate words to convey his one inescapable truth to them, he knew it to be a fact.

Sometimes the abyss gazes back.

  © Buzz Dixon