#the urge to namedrop the book

[silvertws]

You know it's bad when you go to the bookstore and find books that clearly have an ai image as a cover.

[kimberlyannharts]

misc thoughts on Issue #117 -

= Hi, Alien Rangers. Bye, Alien Rangers

= With this basically being the lead-in to the third act I think you can really start to feel the "we have to drag this out for a full year" vibe. I'm not sure why we're doing the "Rangers get corrupted when they morph!!!!" conversation like it's a huge reveal when we've known it for. many issues at this point. I feel like we didn't need five issues to break open the Power Eggs and discover they have Morphin Grid crystals inside of them, no matter how many times in previous issues they went THESE EGGS ARE SO DANGEROUS IF WE EVEN BREATHE NEAR THEM WE'LL ALL BLOW UP. Also yet another monster fight my GOD we did not NEED THREE MONSTER FIGHTS IN THIS ONE EVENT

= I think the redundancy is especially noticeable because they're filling time with that stuff when actual follow-up isn't addressed. We've moved past the Safehaven thing like nothing happened. No one talks about how Drakkon's gone, no one talks about how Kiya's gone, no one's upset with Kim about how her idea to retake Safehaven led to people getting captured. The loss of characters like Scorpina and the Omegas will mostly get summed up in a "man, it sucks that we lost them :(" sort of way. We all just moved on, and I think that's an other reason this event feels like nothing's happening despite things clearly happening

= When this issue first dropped I saw people give the most praise to the Jason/Taylor scene which.....I feel is a little overhyped. I'd been comparing Taylor's inclusion to how Shattered Grid had Jen but here this just made me think of Jason/Lauren and how their first bonding scene felt a lot more natural and personal. But I guess I can't totally blame people for liking this scene as it's the only other real instance of an MMPR getting one-on-one bonding with a non-MMPR character outside of Billy, who gets to hang out with Kendall AND Phantom Ranger while the others mostly just stick with their love interests. (Though Trini will get a scene with Coinless Trini next issue, at the very least.) I think I'd also like it better if Taylor actually had more of her abrasive and angry personality from the show, to give her a more interesting dynamic with Jason. She's pretty.....generic here. Honestly even Kendall doesn't really feel like Kendall from the show outside of being smart. Basically they're both not mean enough

= Speaking of "don't feel like they're from the show" The Billy/Phantom Ranger scene is pretty good, though it's what I mean by BOOM's Phantom Ranger basically being an comic OC by this point

= Astronema gets namedropped here which, along with Darkonda's appearance in #104, really makes you wonder why Dark Specter's actual show generals aren't part of this event. Also I can't look at that Psycho Ranger scene without thinking of one tweet where someone was like "wait, corrupt the PSYCHO RANGERS?"

= And....yeah. The montage of Hyperforce collecting all the rangers. I'm assuming they'll get some kind of big triumphant 11th-hour save in the finale (since we know from DH #1 previews that Hyperforce didn't get caught and corrupted - or at the very least Chloe didn't) but I forgot that the actual sequence of them getting recruited happened this early. This really won't get followed up on for another five or six issues? damn. At least it'll be a nice reprieve from Hyperforce

= Dark Specter kills Alpha-Xi in this issue, something I do actually understand since Alpha-1 was urging Rita to stage a coup, compared to how I think destroying Death Ranger was just stupid from a strategic standpoint. Do you think the books will acknowledge that Xi is dead now too

= The whole "hey, Dark Specter is abusive" thing is brought to a head in this issue and.....that's definitely going to have to be talked about on its own. It's........something.

[texanredrose]

Prep and Goth

Day 1: Enemies to Lovers/Secret Library Time

---

Weiss stared at the clock, mentally urging the second hand to move faster. The transition between this period and the next always took the longest- or at least it felt like time slowed down around this point in the day. She hated how the end of the period never caught her off guard; she was always keenly aware of the clock, with her work done and backpack already packed and ready for her to leave the classroom. She was usually the first one out the door.

“Hey, if I give you five lien, could you get me a redbull?”

“No, Ruby; for the last time, I don’t have a release period next, I’m a library aide.”

“Oh, come on, everyone knows you just show up, sign in, and disappear!” Her fellow senior slumped in her seat. “It’s not like you’re going to get in trouble! Ms. Goodwitch knows you ditch and she doesn’t say anything!”

How she’d become friends- perhaps even best friends- with the school’s most energetic track star was beyond her; it involved an ill fated chemistry lab and the fire department but, honestly, she couldn’t remember specific details beyond that. While Weiss would love to say she merely put up with and tolerated Ruby, the truth was that she still hadn’t entirely adjusted to the concept of having someone who would be with her through thick and thin. She was being… persuaded to open up to the young woman but she still kept more secrets than she probably should from her best friend.

“I swear, Ruby Rose, if you keep spreading such slander about my character, I’ll be forced to take drastic action!” She tore her gaze away from the clock to glare at the woman. “I do not skip class!”

Rolling her silver eyes, Ruby rested her head on her desk and groaned. “Just because you’re the Valedictorian doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, Weiss. No one’s going to care if you ditch one period.”

“I care!” The bell rang a moment later and she forgot about the argument entirely as she quickly grabbed her pack and fast walked to the door.

The walk from her class to the library was a blessedly short one, made slightly longer by classmates and underclassmen getting in her way as other students emerged into the hallway for the passing period. A cold glare managed to persuade some of them to move but not all of them- those blessedly ignorant few she stepped around or nearly barreled through if she could get away with it. It probably contributed to her reputation of being a vicious, cut throat type of person like her sister but her patience had worn too thin and she needed to get to the library.

A few steps from her goal, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and spun her around, and only two people in the whole school would dare put their hands on her like that, and only one of them for no good reason. “YANG-”

“Calm down, Princess, this’ll be quick, promise!” With hands on Weiss’ shoulders, she guided them away from the throng of students to a small alcove next to the library doors. “Just got something I need to say real quick.”

“What could you possibly have to say to me?” Weiss scowled at the blonde, annoyed that she seemed to get taller every time they talked, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Last I checked, I didn’t have anything to do with the girls’ basketball team. Or the weightlifting team. Or the boxing team. Or-”

Yang clapped her hands together in front of Weiss’ face, smiling that do-you-really-think-they’ll-expel-me smile of hers. “Hey, do me a favor? Drop the frigid bitch act for, like, five minutes, okay? Because I really don’t have the time for it; if you wanna go toe-to-toe in the bitch-out-lypmics, we can schedule that another time, but right now, I need to have a serious talk with you. It’s about Blake.”

At the namedrop, her blood ran cold and her heart lodged in her throat, eyes growing wide as a genuine tendril of fear began taking root in her chest. “Is she okay?”

“Well, that depends,” Yang replied, looking around at their classmates walking past without paying them any mind. “Look. I don’t get it, okay, the whole secret girlfriends thing, I don’t even know how you two got together… but what I do know is that Blake deserves better than someone who’s ashamed of her-”

“Don’t you dare put words in my mouth,” she hissed, worry turning to fury in the blink of an eye. “I’m not ashamed to be dating Blake. If it was safe, everyone would know!”

“Yeah, can you define ‘safe’ for me in this context? Because I’m having a real hard time convincing Blake you’re being sincere when you don’t want anyone knowing the two of you are dating.”

“You know we’re dating!”

“Because I refuse to let things go and I knew she was acting weird!” Yang growled in frustration, fingers flexing as if she was seriously debating throttling Weiss. “Listen, I figured it out and I bullied her into telling me weeks ago, but not even Ruby knows beyond that. Not a fan of keeping secrets but I’ll do it for a friend. Now, answer my question, please, because with the rest of the school convinced you two hate each other, this whole ‘don’t tell anyone we’re dating thing’ is clear as mud, and it’s really starting to get to her.”

Weiss’ shoulders fell as she looked away, her anger abating in the face of the situation presented to her. “It’s… complicated.”

“Then uncomplicate it for me.” Yang made a gesture with one hand. “Just give me a straight answer!”

“I can’t!” She stamped her foot, speaking before she could think about her word choice. “I can only give you a gay answer!”

Yang stared at her for a long moment. “So, that’s what Blake meant when she said you have the worst sense of humor.”

“I’m done with this conversation-”

Yang grabbed her arm and stopped her, expression turning serious. “Listen, you don’t wanna talk to me? Fine. But talk to Blake. If you really care about her, she deserves to hear that.”

As the blonde stepped away, the bell rang, making both of them late- not that it would matter. Ms. Goodwitch wouldn’t count her late and even if she did, a single tardy wouldn’t be much of a blemish on her record. There was a time when it would’ve bothered her but she’d grown past that a few years ago; perfection was, in some sense, in the eye of the beholder. Blake would notice, though, and she hurried to the library to keep her ‘secret girlfriend’ from worrying.

When she got to the library, she dropped her bag behind the counter and signed in, highly aware that Blake was somewhere among the rows reshelving books. 

The librarian gave her a small nod. “I presume you have good reason for being late but don’t make a habit of it.”

“Of course, Ms. Goodwitch.” With that, she grabbed a few leftover books that needed reshelving and went into the stacks to reshelve them. As soon as she was far enough away from the front desk, she spoke in a soft voice that Blake would be able to hear regardless. “Blake? I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Is everything alright?” She’d long ago grown accustomed to the faunus’ silent steps, which really shouldn’t be possible given the amount of glistening chains and bits of metal hung from her ensemble but it was one of those things Weiss had accepted about Blake at first and had grown to admire. “It’s not like you to be late.”

“I… got pulled into a conversation.” She debated, briefly, if she should mention who the conversation was with but ultimately decided against it. Yang would likely bring it up herself at some point but she didn’t want the distraction at present. “Blake… you know I care about you, right?”

“Yes, Weiss, and I care about you, too,” she replied, her voice holding that special lilt that Weiss used to think was snideness. Now, she recognized it as a gentle sort of teasing and, sometimes, a deflection. “What brought this on?”

“I’ve been thinking about some things… and I find myself curious about some… other things.”

“Truly, you have a way with words.”

“I’m trying to be serious!” Weiss whined, putting a hand to her head as she tried to think of a way to word what she wanted to say. In the next moment, Blake stepped up and wrapped her arms around her waist, resting her chin on Weiss’ shoulder in a silent show of support. This was, partly, where they differed, because even when words escaped Blake, the faunus could somehow find a way to convey what she needed; Weiss, in contrast, simply clammed up entirely if she didn’t begin insulting whoever was nearest. “You know the only reason we’re not dating publicly is because of my family, right? That, the moment I turn eighteen and gain access to my funds, I’ll shout it from the rooftops… right?”

Blake took a step back but one hand lingered on Weiss’ hip, a soft assurance that she wasn’t leaving but that they should probably have a conversation like this face-to-face. When she turned around, she searched shining amber eyes and found a touch of disbelief hiding there. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think it was the only reason.”

“It really is…” Weiss sighed, running a hand through her bangs in frustration. “I… I don’t know how to prove it, I don’t know if there’s anything I could say or do that would, but… I don’t want you thinking that I’m ashamed of dating you… that’s… that’s the furthest from the truth.”

Feline ears flicked towards one end of the row and both of them quickly focused on shelving the few books that remained as a group of students went back to one of the study rooms. Once the coast was clear, Blake sighed heavily. “I told Yang to drop it.”

“She’s trying to help.” Begrudgingly, she continued. “Ruby’s the same way. They meddle when they can but they have the best of intentions.”

“Still… she wasn’t too… forceful, was she?”

“She only threatened to throttle me, so no, she wasn’t too forceful.” Weiss tilted her head. “And, arguably, she has a salient point. I… I perhaps took it for granted that you would… that I made my feelings about you clear to you.”

Blake ducked her head, her ears flicking back briefly to blending into midnight black hair. As per her usual, the faunus was bedecked in all black save for the silver of the chains hanging from her pants and the snake bite piercings on her bottom lip. Whenever they were making out, Weiss found that flicking either of the piercings with her tongue would always result in a soft groan from Blake.

“So… when you turn eighteen…basically, when we graduate?” Blake took a step forward. “That’s… a long time to be a secret from everyone.”

“Well… not from everyone. Yang knows.”

“Uh huh.”

“And Ruby will know… when I tell her…”

“Right.” Blake came a bit closer. “I guess that means we won’t be going to prom together.”

Weiss raised a brow, then caught onto what her girlfriend was doing, a smile tugging at her lips. “You? Go to prom?” A soft chuckle. “I thought you said you wouldn’t be caught dead at… what was it you called it? A useless party for empty headed idiots?”

“And a waste of money. I said that, too.” Blake stopped just a hair’s breadth away and very nonchalantly shelved a book just behind Weiss’ shoulder. “But you’ve got a crown to win, right? Prom Queen to go with your other honors?”

“There’s only one crown that I care to claim,” she replied, reaching up to bury her hand in midnight locks between the faunus’ ears and pulling her down into a kiss. Normally, they didn’t indulge in such outside of Ms. Goodwitch’s office, which the librarian granted them access to once they’d reshelved all the books. If she suspected what they did in there, she remained silent, probably because while reshelving the books they would also fix what other aides did incorrectly and she appreciated the help more than she cared to curtail PDAs.

The kiss didn’t last too long- just long enough to drive her point home- but the look in amber eyes almost made her too weak to move.

Weiss gathered her courage. “I do love you, Blake.”

Not ‘care about’, not ‘fond of’, not any other arrangement of words she’d used over the past year to describe how she felt. Fear that caring too much would make her careless had prevented her from saying the words before. Now, though, she couldn’t go another moment without Blake understanding exactly how much she cared.

After the shock passed, Blake smiled softly, ears canting forward. “I love you too, Weiss.”

It took a moment for them to part but they returned to the counter and finished reshelving the books.

“Blake?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think I’d look good in black?”

---

Hi, yes, please join me in picturing Blake as a late 90′s/early 00′s goth girl.

[queensparklekitten]

Every Christmas Carol I Can Think Of, Ranked By A Soprano Who Considers Christmas Carols To Be A Competition

The Holly And The Ivy. I just. Never really vibed with this one for some reason. Not sure why. Also, why put the ivy in the title if you’re never gonna mention it even once outside the title drop? I get that holly is the Christmas plant so that’s probably why but ivy’s probably been feeling like holly’s overshadowed younger sister for decades.

I Saw Three Ships. Can’t compare to the others. Also, boats don’t feel very Christmas to me. Maybe it’s the implication that the weather’s warm enough that there's no ice nearby, doesn’t really feel very winter.

Felis Navidad. Too repetitive.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Again, can't compare to the other stuff here. But points for being the only carol I know that directly namedrops Satan.

In The Bleak Midwinter. Second verse has the lines “heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign” which is lowkey hardcore and should totally be repurposed for a video game or a book, I don’t care if that’s probably illegal somewhere. The rest of the carol isn’t really my thing, probably because of just how much the first verse reminds you of the dark and freezing and miserable parts of winter and I hate cold weather.

Joy To The World. I have a bit of a vendetta against this one because my mom would always overplay it at the expense of other carols I liked better, but that’s not its fault, and it tries, and it’s not bad for near the start of a session when you’re preparing to get into the real competition.

Carol Of The Drum/Little Drummer Boy. It’s hard not to crack up mid-song when you imagine him doing some intense drumming in the style of a teenage movie character trying to drown someone out and everyone else stares at him while baby Jesus is clearly enjoying it.

Sleigh Ride. More of a song to jam out to than one to sing in the game of carols, but points for its ability to make you able to actually see the fluffy white blankets and the snowflakes in the air and the snow on the trees.

O Christmas Tree. THE go-to song for when you’re decorating your tree. Has so many versions out there that it’s almost impossible to win this one in the verse department and it’s better for everyone involved to just pick one or two verses to sing, except there’s no verse that everyone in the room knows, making it impractical, but practicality is way overrated, especially when you’ve just put the star/angel/snowflake/PreCure action figure on top of the tree and then you stand back and get so captivated by the tree lights that you forget that anything else in the universe exists.

The 12 Days Of Christmas. Great song, AMAZING meme potential that comes of substituting Christmas with something else and doing a bunch of stuff relating to it, and will lead to a debate every year over whether the ladies dancing and lords a-leaping or the pipers piping and drummers drumming comes first. Also, props to that pop-up book with the lyrics I had as a kid. Never gave that away. One last thing about this song, I did the math and this guy has 23 birds.

Silent Night. When you’re not competing against other people, your game is against the carol itself, as you start on a high note knowing full well what you’re getting yourself into and it gives you higher and higher notes to do and you try not to get forced to drop an octave, and Silent Night has defeated me more often than any other carol combined. Mad respect. Also, it’s great for singing out the window right before bed on Christmas Eve.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas. The entire thing is just a thinly veiled demand for figgy pudding and they never tell you what exactly the good tidings are. Also, Aikatsu Stars did a remix of it where they added in a rap verse about partying and I feel like everyone needs to know this.

Good King Wenceslas. Great message, and great for putting aside the feminine urge to one-up everyone else at the carol singing session for a while and singing a duet with one person as the king and another as the page. Also, I often imagine Wenceslas looking like a wizard, star patterned robes and everything, and I do not know what to blame for this.

Ding Dong Merrily On High. This one was my favourite carol in elementary school but lost that position years ago. Still, I have to give it some respect. That refrain just hits different. Side note, what does hosanna mean anyways?

Infant Holy Infant Lowly. Banger. Feels like it could use more verses.

While Shepherds Watched. I love this one, but I’m gonna dock points for unoriginality, as it basically copy-pasted its lyrics from a Bible verse and made a few slight alterations. This gave people who have actually read it a major advantage in the verses department until A Charlie Brown Christmas came along. Admittedly, I already knew all the verses before I saw the special and went “hey, this sounds just like the song” but I’m not everyone.

Away In A Manger. Does anyone know why there are two different versions with all the same lyrics but a completely different melody? Anyways the version that starts on the lower note and goes up is by FAR the superior version and if you disagree I will run you over with my sled.

Jingle Bells. Oh man it was hard deciding between this and Away In A Manger but in the end this one won out because it’s just such a classic. I can practically hear the jingle bells when I sing this one. And knowing the other verses to it feels even more special because it’s such a huge one. Also, it’s “ride and sing”, NOT “laugh and sing” and I will remain on this hill for the rest of time.

Deck The Halls. I’m putting it this high solely for the “don we now our gay apparel” line. This song belongs to the gays. First verse is by FAR the best.

Hark The Herald Angels Sing. Every time everyone else in the room drops an octave for the refrain and I successfully keep at my extremely high notes I feel a swell of pride. I haven’t lost at this carol in years. Yes I shamelessly put this one so high partially because it feeds my ego. Also, I can picture the angels and they are very very bright.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Who doesn’t love a good song that tells a story? And has an entire MOVIE based around it? The reason I wasn’t at elf practice is because I was busy singing this and going “like a lightbulb!” “like a flashlight!” “like Pinocchio!” “like Monopoly!” in between lines. Rudolph will always be one of the most fun Christmas songs to do.

O Come All Ye Faithful. If you sing part of it in Latin you automatically win. Technically has 4 verses but one of them is either so weirdly translated or just so weird that everyone only sings 3. Also it’s one of the best songs for competitive high notes.

We Three Kings. Oh my god, We Three Kings. This song is the reason I know what frankincense is. It comes to mind when you see a single star in the sky in December. But none of that compares to when you hit the myrrh verse and instantly turn into Madame Macabre. Years of skipping it only made singing it loud and clear as the rest of the family slowly realizes this is going to be what it’s like every year now feel like breaking free and growing jet black wings. I now understand why the YouTube algorithm referred to stuff from Music Of The Fears as Christmas music. Though it does make one wonder how Mary felt about this.

Calypso Carol. There’s just something about the melody and the image that “star of silver sweep across the skies” paints, and when I’m singing it it’s like I can actually hear the bells and they don’t leave my head for the next couple songs. Four verses of glory and angels and magic and also the fact that it’s called Calypso Carol.

The First Noel. Was my fave for a while and for good reason. I almost always win at this one against other singers and yet at the same time it’s also one of the few carols that is stronger than my hubris, having defeated me before. It surprises me with the notes I can hit and I have every last verse memorized including the ones that aren’t in my carol book and also linear progression of events in the verses when you sing them in the right order which just hits different.

Once In Royal David’s City. I love this one so much oh my god. It’s got the high notes and SEVEN whole verses and linear story progression even better than The First Noel’s and a reference to stars which is always a really good thing to have in a carol and there's just something about how the song follows through Jesus' childhood and then has 2 verses at the end dedicated to where he is now and during the last two verses you can practically feel yourself lift off the ground and glow as the instrumentals that are not actually there but you hear them in your head do something EPIC and you feel like your very existence is under the effect of that one piano pedal. Absolute god tier Christmas carolery.

[mistbornthefinal]

Madoka Magica Aniversery Analysis: Part1

 Prologue In Heaven

(just in case this is a retrospective of a 10 years old anime, there gonna be spoilers. If you’re for some reason interested in this post and haven’t see Madoka watch it first than come back)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica begins with our titular character running through a surrealist checkerboard hallway until she finds an exit. That exit opens onto a balcony which overlooks a destroyed Mitakihara.

Cue Magia as we are shown half-glimpses of Walpurgisnact. Against this devastated backdrop stands a single girl who we will later in the episode will learn is Akemi Homura. Unfortunately she is clearly outmatched by the forces arrayed against her.

Needless to say Madoka is distressed by the carnage. A strangely calm voice cut’s in which is quickly revealed to be everyone’s least favorite bunnycat Kyubey. Kyubey states that not only is this situation too much for Homura but that she knew that before coming here. After being slammed into the giant eldritch tree by one of Walpurgisnact’s attacks Homura notices Madoka and attempts to call out to her but whatever she has to say is lost in the distance.

Kubey then tells Madoka that she has the power to change all this, the power to change fate, to banish all this unavoidable carnage and sorrow. All she needs to do is make a contract with him... 

Madoka finds it hard to believe that such power exists within her but she seems to be earnestly considering his offer. Before we get a solid answer we cut to Madoka awakening in her bed, turns out it was all a dream. (Or was it? cue Connect!)

The common narrative about Madoka is that the first two episodes are basically bait. That they present a happy façade meant to lure in the unsuspecting only for them to be slapped upside the head by Episode 3′s big twist. If I have any big thesis for this particular essay it’s that this is not the case at all, and this opening sequence is exhibit A.

This whole sequence is basically is basically the core of PMMM boiled to it’s bare essentials. Madoka beholds the horror’s of Kyubey’s system. Kyubey’s tempts her to become part of that system with the possibility of changing things while Homura struggles to avert Madoka’s contract and thus her tragic fate by solving things without her. Right here in EP1 scene 1 Madoka lays it’s cards on the table and tells us what it’s all about. Indeed in EP12 Kyubey’s offer here will prove to be far more valid than he likely intended. 

The rest of the show is about brining us back to the point where the “dream” left off and explaining how exactly we got there. (which makes sense since we will later find out the dream is the end of Timeline 4, and our series opens at the start of Timeline 5) Given that our secondary protagonist is a time looper it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that our narrative is a little circular. 

In our next scene we meet Madoka’s family. Madoka checks in with her dad(Kaname Tomohisa) and then helps her adorable baby brother(Kaname Tatsuya) wake up her rad as heck mom (Kaname Junko).  As Madoka and her mom get ready for the day together Ms. Kaname press her daughter for the latest gossip. 

(the only acceptable Madoka Magica waifu, seriously everyone else is like 14)

We get two other characters namedropped here both Hitomi and Kazuko, Madoka’s teacher who viewers familar with Japanese social conventions will instantly assume Junko knows since she refers to her by first name. We learn that Hitomi got another love letter and that Kazuko and her boyfriend are nearing what Junko believes is a critical point in their relationship.

Madoka is then faced with a choice between 2 types of hair ribbons. Junko urges her to go with the red ones telling her that her secret admirers will love them. Madoka protests that she doesn’t have secret admirers (Homura would disagree) to which Junko replies that they secret to being attractive is believing so regardless We then get a brief scene at the breakfast table but Madoka realizes she’s late and bursts out the door with her obligatory anime toast.

(obligatory)

On the way to school she meets up with her friends the aforementioned Shizuki Hitomi and Miki Sayaka. They discuss Hitomi’s love letter situation and Sayaka notices the new ribbons and then teases Madoka about getting dating  advice from her mom.

At homeroom we learn that Junko was eerily prescient re:Sensei love life. Madoka’s teacher (Saotome Kazuko) just broke up with her boyfriend due to a dispute over breakfast preparation, and she decided share her feels about the matter with the class to hilarious effect. After exhorting the Girls not associate with Men who demand the  Kazuko announces they have a new transfer student.

Before we tackle Homura’s introduction let’s quickly go over what’s being done in this last sequence, because this isn’t just mindless fluff. First and most obvious we’re getting introduced to almost all our secondary characters, but we’re also introduced in a subtle way to some of the themes we’re going to be dealing with. Take note in the first scene we get with Sayaka the conversation revolves around unrequited love, and then the very next scene is about a relationship that failed because the parties involved didn’t communicate their expectations of each other.  This sequence also flows very well because the first conversation between Madoka and her mom sets up both her later conversation with her friends and Kazuko’s rant.

Now that we’re done with that, enter Akemi Homura. To Madoka’s shock and our lack of shock it’s the girl from Madoka’s dream. While to whole class is fascinated by the cool and beautiful transfer student Homura only has eyes for Madoka, asking her show her to the nurses office. On the way Madoka attempts to make conversation but is thrown off by how Homura seems to already know the route. When Madoka calls Homura by her family name she visibly reacts and then tells Madoka to just use her first name.

(Madoka’s school is all glass all the time, the architecture in this show is cursed)

Homura then spins around and gives her out of nowhere cryptic ultimatum. “Don’t change who you are or else you will lose everything and everyone dear to you.” While a first time viewer is likely to be as baffled by this as Madoka it still sort of works to establish stakes. It sort of works because we just got those fluffy slice of life which establish how blissful Madoka’s daily life is and thus how much she has to lose. 

Then we get a montage of Homura being the best at everything before we cut to afterschool as Madoka is sharing her strange conversation with Homura with Sayaka and Hitomi. Neither are sure what to make of her words or Madoka’s claim to have met her in a dream. After Hitomi begs off due prior engagements Madoka and Sayaka head over to the CD store, with Madoka namedropping Kamijou as the person Sayaka is shopping with. 

We then get a intercut of Kyubey running from Homura who is shooting purple bolts of magic at him. At the CD store Madoka hear voice begging for help she follows it into an area that’s under construction. A heavily damaged Kyube than fall out of the ceiling in front of Madoka. Suddenly Homura is there demanding she get away from “that thing” but unfortunately it’s not in Madoka’s nature to abandon injured fluffy things. The two of them are at an impasse before Sayaka interrupts things with a fire extinguisher. 

The two of them book it with Kyubey in tow while Homura is distracted but she quickly dispels the cloud of fire extinguisher gas. She moves to give chase but before she can things get weird. The world is overwritten by a surrealist mosaic something that upsets but does not seem to surprise Homura.

What we will later learn is a witches barrier engulfs Sayaka and Madoka as well. Which means this as now a good time as any to discuss the aesthetic of witches and their labyrinths in a bit more detail. While the strange mixed media collage used to represent witches and their workings was and is a trip for a lot of new viewers of the series, this wasn’t a new thing for Studio Shaft who produced the series. 

(If you we’re familiar with the studio when this show was airing this sort of thing would be par for the course)

Even in 2011 Studio Shaft had built a reputation on having a weird house style that the brought to their productions. Indeed the blending of photographs of real objects into the animation is something they did before in Hidamari Sketch. Sill it cannot be denied that Inu Curry took Shaft’s house style to a new height of weird. 

Back at the plot Madoka and Sayaka are being menaced with scissors by cotton balls with butterfly wings. We also get a more prominent appearance of the witch runes (they were in the opening title card as well) these are a cypher that was surprisingly quickly decoded by the fandom. In this case the Anthonies (that’s what the cotton ball monsters are called) are talking about how Madoka and Sayaka are “unknown flowers” and thus shall go to the guillotine.

Before Gertrude’s familiars can make good on that, a new character appears. She wears the same uniform as Madoka so it’s quickly established that she a senpai at their school but before introducing herself she transforms into her magical girl form and blows away the Anthonies. All while her theme Credens Justitiam plays of course. 

The destruction of the familiars causes the labyrinth to recede and Homura quickly catches up to everyone. Homura and Mami have a tense exchange where Mami offers to let her hunt the witch and then no-so-subtly threatens her. Homura elects to back down for now.

With Homura gone Mami heals Kyubey’s injuries and the bunnycat get’s right back to his business. “Hey kids wanna become meguca?” Cue Mata Ashita (if you’re watching the blueray version).

Now that we’ve gone over the first episode in detail let’s talk a bit more in terms of how it fits into the overall structure. Like I said before the first two episodes are not just a false front to lure people into watching the “real” show. Were that true the show would have sucked and I wouldn’t be talking about it 10 years later. 

Not only is the visual tone of the series present from the word go, but the first two episodes set a baseline without which the twists and revelations of the later episodes wouldn’t be meaningful.  This episode in particular gives us a surface level introduction to all but two of our named characters. It also leaves us with a lot of questions, some of which prime us for the big exposition dump in the next episode while others will run for most of the series. 

[quicksiluers]

I had some free time today at work and thought I’d jot down the changes/streamlined things from the doctor sleep book to movie. Cause I obviously have nothing better to do! This probably isn’t all of them but I mean...there is a lot in the book haha. This came out so much longer then I thought so I apologize!

Obviously, spoilers ahead for the book and movie! If you have any things I missed, feel free to add on :)

From the start, Dick Hallorann is obviously dead in the movie. He pops up a few times through the movie, helping Dan at the start, again at the hotel in NJ, and then later in NH when he needs a bit of a push to help Abra. In the book, Dick is alive! For the most part, he doesn’t die like in the 1980 Shining movie. He does the same with Dan at the start, helping him with the boxes, but then we don’t see him again. We hear his voice through a patient at the hospice, urging Dan to get the baseball glove I believe. But he does die at some point in the book, I think the late 90s?

The movie cuts out allll the stuff about the True Knot just...just chilling around NYC after 9/11 happens. They also cut out Abra knowing about it, as a baby, and crying until I believe the second plane crashes? Which I mean...I’m good with that, that’s a lot to deal with.

They cut out Momo entirely. There isn’t too much focus on Abra’s family here, maybe her father most of all, but the movie’s main focus is Dan, Abra, and Rose. With no Momo, that means there isn’t the whole scenario at the end with Dan unleashing...I think it’s Momo, her soul? I wasn’t entirely clear the first time I heard it, I believe it was her cause it basically killed the True Knot. 

Speaking of the True Knot, there’s only about...7 of them I believe in the movie. There’s about 40ish at the beginning of the book, which I mean is a lot. It makes sense for them to get cut down, and again the focus in that group is mostly Rose, Crow Daddy, and Andi. Speaking of Andi, she’s aged down from the book. She’s 15 in the movie, late 20’s I think in the book? Maybe 30.

They only show Abra once or twice as a child, wherein the book we check back in with her from time to time as she’s growing up. They keep the main bit of her as a kid when at her 5th birthday party she does the spoon trick. 

When Dan gets to Frazier, he doesn’t see Tony. In the movie versions, we never see Tony as described in The Shining or Doctor Sleep. I think Tony gets two namedrop’s in the movie. 

Billy Freeman has been aged down, good ol Cliff Curtis! Love that dude. But he’s also become Dan’s main friend, wherein the book there was John Dalton (who is also in the movie for 2 scenes) and Casey (who is nowhere to be seeennn) They streamline these characters into Billy, which makes sense. There is only so much time the movie has and it’s already about...2 ½ hours long haha

John Dalton is in the movie, but he’s only in 3 scenes. The most crucial ones are when Dan tells him about the watch and when John offers him an orderly job at the hospice. He never has any scenes with Abra’s family and the movie doesn’t indicate that they know each other, wherein the book the Stone’s interact with John multiple times.  

Small thing, but the “steam” that comes from the patients of the hospice in the movie is white whereas in the movie it’s described as red. 

The time jumps are different. In the movie, these’s two. There’s one from 1980 (the year the movie The Shining came out) to 2011 when we first see Dan living….a really shitty life. And then there’s the time jump from 2011 to 2019. In the book, there’s a few since we are able to linger with these characters more. You have the one a few months after the events of the Shining book, and then early 2000s then two or three years after that and so on. That way it allows the reader to kinda see how Abra grows up and see how long Dan has been sober. 

The baseball boy scene in the book takes place when Abra is...between 8 to 10 if I remember correctly? But it isn’t until a few years later when Abra sees the boys face in one of those “missing kids” things from the papers that she starts to act on it. Where in the movie, the scene takes place when Abra is a teen and within the next few day to a week (I think...I may be wrong but it’s quick!) she’s able to find something online about him going missing and finding out who Rose is and what not. Also when Dan learns about this in the movie, he sees it saying REDRUM in the mirror when it actually says MURDER on the wall. In the book, Abra does send a message but it’s just “They are killing the baseball boy” 

When Abra and Dan meet up in the movie, Abra surprised him at tiny town and that’s the first time he figures out her name. He had left a message for her on the board and I assume that was how she kinda tracked him down. In the book, they had emailed once or twice and decided on a place to meet. Dan had known Abra’s name since she was basically unknowingly reaching out to him. 

I may be remembering this incorrectly, so correct me if I’m wrong, but Dan in the movie seemed very definitive in that he wanted Abra to keep her head down from the True Knot. For good reason of course, he reiterates if you mess with people or things like this they would never leave you “they come back.” Like the ghosts of the Overlook kept coming back for him. He doesn’t want that to happen to Abra and says to keep her head down. Now I believe in the book, he’s not as much “keep your head down” but he tells her to set up an alarm in case Rose tries to come back. But I also believe he tells her to keep it on the down-low with that group, which I mean of course Abra wouldn’t lol. But I could be wrong on that, I’ve gotta go re-listen to that part. 

In the book, we don’t see Dick Hallorann again but we hear his voice through a patient. In the movie, he actually pops back up at the hospice Dan works at! Dan almost locks him in a box, thinking he’s from the Overlook before realizing it’s Dick. It’s one of my favorite scenes because you get to see how at ease Dan is with Dick. He’s got this big smile on his face, talking about how Doris Herwin (or w/e his name is, that’s totally wrong) came back and he locked him in a box. And Dick also mentions to Dan, cause Dan is asking why he has to help Abra, that why did Dick have to help Dan and get killed for it (like in the Kubrick movie). Not in a malicious way of course, but he’s basically telling Dan he can’t run away from Abra. She needs him. 

In the book, when Rose goes into Abra’s mind, Abra turns into Daenerys from Game of Thrones. In the movie she becomes...Emerald from RWBY. When I told my brother that he got super hyped, but he’s more into that show then I am hahaha

There is nothing with the measles that Brad Trevor’s steam had in the movie. Just punted that idea right outta there. In the book, they are all slowly being effected and dying from it. In the movie, Grandpa Flick dies because they just haven’t been getting enough steam and disappears. And creepily the rest of the True Knot jump on his steam like no one’s business. 

Since Billy is taking over the John Dalton role, he’s the one who goes with Dan to Iowa to get the baseball glove from Brad Trevor. They drive, wherein the book I believe they flew. 

In the book, Rose doesn’t insist on coming along with the group of the True Knot going to get Abra. She stays back with the rest of the pack to make sure everyone is all good (or something along those lines). But with the True Knot being smaller in the movie, they are all going but Crow Daddy insists that Rose stays since Abra “tagged her”. Rose isn’t pleased with it but she allows it. 

The ambush scene is generally the same, but Dave (Abra’s father) isn’t there. It’s just Billy and Dan. And Dan goes to fire his gun but it’s empty and as he tries to reload, Andi (after a few times) makes him fall asleep for a moment. Abra wakes him up but Andi is standing over Dan, ready to kill him, when Billy shoots her twice. Before Andi dies, she tells Billy to kill himself and before Dan can stop him, Billy does just that. Abra’s father is also killed when Crow Daddy comes to get Abra. In the movie Abra didn’t go to a friend’s house, she stayed at home with her father. 

There isn’t a scene like this in the book (but they deal with it when Dan just realllly wants to drink when he’s having inner monologue) but Dan goes back to his apartment in Frazier, tries to call out for Abra and it doesn’t work. He asks for Tony’s help, but there is no answer. He’s holding a bottle of whiskey and he puts it to his lips multiple times before throwing it away. 

The scene when Abra and Dan switch places is a little different. In the book, Dan is in the back of a car that John Dalton is driving (with Dave) and they can hear Abra through Dave. In the movie, Dan (in this really awesome effect) slides across his floor as the world tilts and hits the wall and he finds Abra. They switch when they hold up their hands to each other. Dan/Abra crashes the car they are in, causing Crow Daddy to fly out and die. I believe Crow Daddy dies from a gunshot in the book?

One thing that is referenced in the movie but not elaborated on in the movie is that Dan and Abra are actually related! In the book, Lucy (Abra’s mother) is Dan’s half-sister. Lucy’s mother, at some point in time, was together with Jack Torrance for a night or so. Lucy’s mother died and never told her about her father and Momo didn’t know too much about him either. Dan is able to figure it out with some clues...and some other things, it happened a little fast for me in the book if I’m honest. But in the movie, they reference this by having Abra call Dan “Uncle Dan” even tho they aren’t related. 

This is the biggest detour from the Doctor Sleep movie and book. Because Kubrick’s The Shining didn’t burn down the Overlook Hotel, it is still standing. Whereas King’s The Shining had the hotel burn down after Jack had forgotten to dump the boiler. The final showdown between Rose, Dan, and Abra happens at the Overlook (in a sense) but in a different fashion. 

In the movie, Dan walks around the Overlook and “wakes it up” after being boarded up and left alone for almost 40 years. One of the most crucial scenes (for me anyway) in the movie happens in the Gold Room where Dan meets up with his father, Jack, but he is calling himself “Lloyd” the bartender. Mike Flanagan has said that this was the scene Stephen King wanted when allowing this portion of the movie to take place. In this scene, Dan tries to talk to his father. His “father” insists on Dan to “take his medicine” which is a glass of whiskey that has been poured for him. This is a call back to the King The Shining. By the end of this scene, Jack slaps away the glass once Dan refuses to take the drink (which Jack had done and lost himself to the hotel)

Abra and Dan face Rose on the steps of the Colorado lodge, Dan holding an ax. In the book, Abra isn’t really at this location. She is back at her home in NH and is projecting herself there. In the movie, Dan and Abra attempt to fool Rose by trapping her in one of Dan’s boxes. She is able to see through this, throws Abra from Dan’s mind, and Dan tells her to run. In the book, Dan makes a point to Abra multiple times that if things started to get rough, she had to leave. 

Rose and Dan talk, which they did in the book but it was more in Dan’s mind that Rose was messing with, and Rose follows Dan up the stairs like how Jack followed Wendy up the stairs in Kubrick Shining. Dan goes to attack Rose, hits her but she is able to take the ax, hit him in the head, lodge the ax’s blade into his thigh (hitting his femoral artery) and throws him down the steps (like the movie). In the book, Rose tries to get Dan to choke himself and she almost gets him to do it but the ghost of Jack stops her and allows time for Abra to come back. 

In the book, Abra and Dan are able to force Rose off the cliffside (is it a cliff side, I was trying to get that too...it’s a big ol ledge and a big ol fall) and she dies. In the movie, Rose is over Dan and, lodging her thumb in the wound she gave him with the ax, begins to take his steam as he cries out. She then realizes that he has boxes in his mind and Dan unleashes them on her. The ghosts of the Overlook come out and kill Rose, standing over her like the True knot had done with Brad Trevor. 

To me, because Dan is wounded badly and some of his shine has been taken, the ghosts of the Overlook com after him and take him over. He attempted to close them back in but was unable to do so (because, to me, he was vulnerable)

This is where Mike takes the ending of the Shining book, that didn’t make it into the Shining movie, and uses it. Dan is possessed by the hotel and chases after Abra, who runs around and bumps into a few ghosts before going into 237. In here, Abra confronts “Dan” and calls him a false face. “Masks off then” another reference The Shining. Abra tells “Dan” that the real Dan went to the boiler room before all of this, which would essentially blow up the hotel. “Dan” tries to attack Abra but she stops him and is able to bring the real Dan back. They talk, Abra not wanting to leave him but Dan says “he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be” and jokes that he “has to close the door behind us” The Overlook begins to take him over again and Abra runs away, leaving the hotel behind. “Dan” runs down to the boiler room and tries to turn off the boiler (like the ghosts thought they could in The Shining) but Dan is able to fight them off and take back control. With his leg bleeding out, the boiler begins to blow up and fire builds in the room. There, Dan sees Wendy (the last time he saw her he couldn’t see her at all because of the death flies) and then a younger version of Dan appears and they smile at one another. Dan dies in the hotel and Abra speaks to him in her room sometime after. She says she “knew he would be ok” and Dan apologized for putting her in danger. They talk and Dan tells her to not hide like he had told her once before. “Shine on Abra Stone. You shine on” Abra’s mother comes in at this time and we see that Dan was not there, but a ghost-like Dick Hallorann had been. Abra tells her mother that Dan and her father are ok. The last shot is Abra walking towards the bathroom where Mrs. Massey is and closes the door, mirroring what Dave had done when he locked her away at the beginning of the story. 

In the book, as many know, Dan lives! After the big battle with Rose, Dan is able to see from afar his father Jack from where Rose had fallen. They blow each other a kiss, which was something they used to do. The book then skips a few years into the future and Dan is celebrating 15 years of being sober. He tells the group of his hidden truth through the whole book, where he left a young mother and her son without money after a one night stand. It’s a heavyweight he lifts off his shoulders and he shocked to see the people of the AA group don’t become disgusted with him. Sometime later, he goes to the Stone’s home (Dave is still alive too!) and had a talk with Abra, who is having a bit of teenage drama. They talk about their family past and other things before Dan has to leave. The book ends with Dan going back to the hospice and sliding back into his role as “Doctor Sleep”

This is way too long and I put in too much detail but hey there we go! There are probably more things but the book just has SO MUCH going on (tho I do love it) and I feel like a lot had to be streamlined into 2 ½ hours, which is still a long movie! There are many things that are the same, things that are different, but I love both the same way. Mike Flanagan had a huge task and I think he succeeded. And while I know many people don’t like that the book and movie ending are different, I like that we can have both options. And hey, that’s what fanfic is for haha