#there are a couple other writing choices that i think aren't TOTALLY in line with The General Kirby Tone from kuma but they're nowhere near

[queensectonia]

i’ll write a proper analysis about it one of these days but even after five years i am still kind of gobsmacked by just how much about hyness as a character is downright in bad taste, insensitive, or straight-up cruel stereotype. he genuinely mystifies me because like, the basic concept for this character is one that fits in seamlessly with the tone of the series overall: dark matter cultist who was ostracised for these beliefs and is now going on a roaring rampage of revenge about it. this is a pretty cut-and-dry parallel to the original “motivations” of dark matter (inasmuch as shimomura ever gave them any) - “i don’t have friends, so no-one can have friends”.

but the execution, holy shit. it’s bad. it’s really bad. it’s bad from so many angles - cultural, religious, health. we’ve had characters in the series before who were “poorly written”, which usually just means “meh, there isn’t really that much to work with for this character”, and the series is no stranger to edginess - see dark matter, which inspired hyness as a character in the first place - but hyness is just a bridge too far. his presentation and design almost feels malicious at some points.

this kind of feels like it springs from a thing i’ve mentioned a few times before, which is that kumazaki really needs someone standing by his side ready to slap his wrist every so often during the writing process. he is without doubt the best director the series has seen, and thanks to him we’ve gotten some amazing games with amazing stories and lore developments, but star allies demonstrated to us that he also kind of goes mad with power sometimes and creates a mess LOL

this isn’t even me being uncharitable or anything, it’s straight from the horse’s mouth. there are interviews about FL talking about how the team made the conscious decision to tell a much simpler story with FL after seeing how much confusion SA caused (and also, because of the same, choosing to have a much more stringent localisation process).

unfortunately, it feels like sometimes kumazaki - or any of the other writers, i’m only pointing out kumazaki so much here because it seems to be mostly him - wants to include some topics and themes that are just a bit of a stretch for what’s appropriate in a kirby game, and hyness is the chief example of this.

and it sucks! it sucks a lot! more dark matter rep and SPECIFICALLY a dark matter cult is something the fanbase has been slavering for for decades! i love hyness and what he represents in the story but BOY HOWDY DO I NOT LOVE HOW HE WAS DELIVERED.

[humbledragon669]

Script to Screen comparison: Episode 3 – Hard Times P2 – additions and amendments

Standard Intro

Having followed the episodes through with the Script Book, I've tried to break the differences between the original script and the end result on screen into a couple of different categories:

Large changes (whole scenes/multiple lines of script).

Things that are in the original script but not in the finished episode (I'm calling these deletions). These and the large changes are in part 1 of the write up for this episode.

Things that aren't in the original script but are in the finished episode (I'm calling these additions).

Things that have been changed (I'm calling these ones amendments).

Not all of the changes fit neatly into one category or the other (there are shades of grey...). The first three of the differences will be presented within bullet lists, with a description. The last of the categories will be presented in a table. I'll make comments about anything I find particularly notable after each category.

Additions

A line from Shakespeare instructing Burbage to go “from the top”.

Aziraphale saying he doesn’t know about him and Crowley having a lot in common during the meeting in 1793.

Shadwell gives the name of an additional fictional officer (Sergeant Pepper) to Crowley in the café.

Anathema telling Adam he doesn’t have to read the magazines if he doesn’t want to.

Madame Tracy telling Aziraphale to “hold on” (on the telephone) whilst she fetches Shadwell.

Shadwell’s “Aye?” exclamation as he answers the phone.

God naming Famine’s latest invention.

An external shot of Lesley arriving at the burger restaurant.

Lesley telling Famine he has to sign for the package.

A line from Famine clarifying the contents of the package (measuring scales).

A shot of Newt reading the Witchfinder Army manual before he talks to Shadwell about going to Tadfield.

A line from Mr. Young claiming Adam is fine after the conversation about ley lines.

I don’t think there’s an awful lot to say about most of these additions – they’re all very trivial, and I’m not completely sure that they add much to the finished episode. I do think the extra fictional character Shadwell drops into the dying conversation is a nice comic touch, and I think we probably did need to hear Famine name the object in the parcel, otherwise we might all have thought that they were the scales of justice (or is that just me?).

Amendments

As with the amendments in episode 2, most of these are tiny, but there are a handful of them that change the entire context or meaning of a line with the change of a single word. For instance, Crowley referring to “our lot” instead of “my lot” in 537 AD suggests he already considers he and Aziraphale to have formed a sort of partnership, rather than him being a lone wolf. And there’s that crucial change in Aziraphale’s stance on Crowley obtaining holy water:

The original script suggests that this is a choice that Aziraphale is making, with the motivation being unclear. The end result we see on screen suggests that, whilst his free will remains intact, his decision is driven by need. And how about this one:

The script version is a suggestion. The onscreen version is a statement. One word of difference. Completely different sentence meaning as a result.

There’s one of the amendments that, as with the oddity of Anathema’s Tadfield Manor statement, didn’t actually make any sense in the original script:

Shadwell produces a greasy, well-thumbed accounts book. […] He makes to slide it across, but Crowley makes a gesture: not necessary. Shadwell nods. The accounts vanish into Shadwell’s mac. […] Hold on Shadwell’s accounts book.

If the accounts book had already “vanished” into Shadwell’s coat, how could we have a close-up shot of it later on in the conversation?

The sequence at the end of the episode has been heavily edited, but I think it’s totally appropriate, as the end result feels much more harried and desperate, which is absolutely appropriate to the subject matter, if disappointing for the actors involved.

Aside from the instances or examples I’ve highlighted, I think most of the others are pretty trivial, but I’m happy to discuss any further. That’s it for this write up though, on to the next episode! As always, questions, comments, discussion: always welcome. See you in the next one 😊

[ninjadeathblade]

Compliance (a Bad Batch fanfic): Chapter 3

Summary: This series of chapters is going to be about how Wrecker got his scar. Totally based off of a brief line in @just-here-with-my-thoughts' Test Subject series.

Warnings: Crosshair not knowing how to deal with his emotions and lashing out at his brothers, Nala Se (stop ruining their lives please), Crosshair swearing

Word count: 554

Beginning / previous / next

Author Notes: I got possessed halfway through writing this and I just sorta left what I wrote in here. Sorry guys but this fic is going to primarily be angst and fluff. We will get to the fluff after a while but I have to go to angst first. Enjoy!

"Hey guys! Over here!" Wrecker called them over as they entered the medbay. A few other clones who were patients glared at the 'defective' clones as they walked past. Crosshair had briefed Hunter and Tech about Wrecker's vision problems, the three of them each confronting their feelings in different ways. Tech had kept himself busy with tinkering, Hunter had gone for a walk through the city and Crosshair had cleaned every last one of the blasters. He wouldn't make the same mistake: not again.

"Morning Wrecker. Sleep well?" Hunter asked, crouching down beside his brother.

"Yeah! Feels like the most rest I've had in ages!" Wrecker grinned.

"CT-9903 is on his way towards recovery." Crosshair tensed, inhaling sharply at Nala Se's voice. "We will see how he is after the bacta has finished its work." Crosshair spun around to face the Kaminoan, Hunter and Tech copying his movements.

"Apologies ma'am, we just came to check up on Wrecker," Hunter replied, slipping into his formal tone as he saluted the Kaminoan.

"You should be in training," Nala Se reprimanded and Crosshair wished he'd bought a blaster with him so he could shoot her. He'd always hated the longnecks but this sent rage striking through his veins.

"But we still have nearly a standard hour until we are due in the training simulator. Besides, we cannot complete our training without Wrecker. Our simulations are programmed for the four of us. Not only three," Tech spoke up.

"You will report to training now. CT-9903 has yet to recover and you will complete your training," Nala Se responded, tone cold. Crosshair glanced between Wrecker and the Kaminoan.

"Of course. We'll be on our way," Hunter saluted her again, nodding at Wrecker before signalling for Tech and Crosshair to follow him. Crosshair begrudgingly walked after the sergeant, kicking a couple of medbots as he walked out of the bay.

"CT-9904, refrain from tampering with droids." Crosshair's anger boiled again at Nala Se calling after him.

"The Kaminoans don't think bantha shit of what we want," Crosshair hissed, biting down on his toothpick so hard to snap it in two. His face twisted into a scowl as he spat it out, replacing it with a fresh one. "They'd get rid of him without batting an eye."

"Crosshair…"

"You know they would! Dammit Hunter, you know they don't care about us or the regs!" Crosshair shouted, not caring about the stares of the regs or Kaminoans.

"Crosshair, calm down," Hunter insisted.

"And you don't even care!" Crosshair finished, taking a deep breath. "Wrecker might be decommissioned and you aren't even worried!"

The punch that clocked him round the jaw stunned him, staggering backwards slightly. His toothpick flew out onto the floor.

"Of course we care! If you think we don't, then you must have the facts incredibly mixed up!" Crosshair looked at Tech, feeling confused. His datapad was being held by Hunter as he shook his hand slightly, looking as bewildered by his punch as Crosshair was. "Wrecker is our brother and if you discount how much we care for him then we will have no choice but to think you do not care!" Tech walked back over to Hunter, taking his datapad before heading in the direction of the training simulators. Hunter just shot Crosshair a look before following Tech.

[foxymoxynoona]

"I love talking about writing but can you clarify for me, do you mean how to write in the different points of view? Or how to move between them (like with internal thoughts)? Or am I misunderstanding something else? ☺️"

it's exactly those two things foxy, sorry for not making it clear I think it was my translator

-anon

Oh geez there's soooo much to say so I'll just focus on a couple specifics and if you have more questions, I'm around for more :)

I think no matter what, it's important to remember that your narrator is a character, even if they aren't a named character in the story. The choices you make about what the narrator knows and tells the reader, and how, should remain consisten. If you want a narrator that is more like a character (or even first person the character!) then there should be more personality and bias, whereas the further in third person you get, there should be more objectiity. i see people struggle with this sometimes, where they write a close first person narrator but then have them omnisciently know things the other character is thinking or feeling. They can observe and guess but they can't actually read minds!

I personally like writing close third person best because you get to be a little objective in the narration but still point things out to the reader about what the main character is experiencing, and use those observations (whether right or wrong) to develop the character. When i write in that POV, I try to remain true to what that character would notice --so for example JK may not notice much about his girl's outfit but he may notice that it's low cut or tight lol, he notices smells a lot but not very normal mundane Korean things in a scene that someone like Sasha would because they are different/interesting to her. I lean into a lot of internal monologue very fluidly when I write this, and I tend to use italics to let readers know when something is a direct thought of the character rather than a narrated or paraphrased thought, and done in a close way that lets the reader understand they are sliding back and forth between a very close third person narrator who, for that section, also has limited (but not totally blocked) view into the other characters.

Second person is big in fandom and it's a funny one. Technically second person doesn't have to be actual read insert, it just means you are forcing the reader to embody the main character in a more overt way than in first person (where you are riding shotgun, but now you are sitting behind the wheel though not necessarily driving.) I think there's something powerful, done well, about using that tool to make the readers do or confront things that push their world view or understanding of themself and what they would really do, or allow them to escape the confines of their true self for a bit... but what I think is important in fandom to realize is that if something is a self-insert second person, you have to be more mindful about how you "code" this character. There's an expectation that you are writing more of a blank slate that the reader can insert their real true self in, and every thing you write whether it's action, thought, or physical description, is likely to alient some subset of your readers. Things you don't even realize wil be coded for height, weight, hair type, social interactions, etc etc. But a truly blank slate character will have no thoughts or actions they could take because nothing is actually universal! So it's a really tricky writing challenge for anything loner than just a scene or drabble.

As for internal monologue, the method should depend on what pov you're writing. If you're in first person, the distinction tends to be that an internal thought is what the narrator was thinking at the time they are telling you about, because otherwise the whole story is internal thought! For third, like I said I like to use italics. I think it gets tedious if every line is he thought, she though, he mused, he wondered. It also allows you to do some nice comedic set ups in third person where the narrator points out something very objectively clear to the reader and then the narrated character has a really idiotic and wrong internal thought 😂 I try to only use he thought as a qualifier when there hasn't been any internal monologue for a while so you're reminding the reader, or also as a subtle nudge to the reader of hey he is thinking this but it's just a thought, not my objective narration, and it may not actually be true.

Ok that's a lot :) I hope any of that was useful or interesting and happy to chat about anything else, it's fun to talk about!

[melliotwrites]

Hi! I just stumbled onto you two while browsing the Sondheim tag, and it's awesome to see other musical writers on tumblr! I have one that is currently being workshopped, which is super exciting (it's also dark academia coincidentally!)

Anyhow, I was wondering, do you have any advice on letting go? I have a cast and director for the workshop, and they are BRILLIANT, but I still struggle sometimes with them taking my work and running with it. Inherently I know their choices are awesome and will make the work greater than I could make it alone, but it's still really hard to put that in others' hands- even though I'm incredibly thankful for their participation and help, it's this weird dichotomy. I'd appreciate any words of wisdom you have to share!!!

Hi!! Great to see and meet other musical writers on tumblr (I love Frankenstien and Dracula, so your show sounds right up my alley!) This is also a really good question- we'll try to do it justice! I'm also going to be talking mostly about Adamandi, because that process is fresher in my mind and was more akin to a professional rehearsal process (with a longer timeline, bigger budget, etc). 

Speaking as Mel, the practice of collaborating on the book and lyrics prepared me a little bit for creative compromises in the rehearsal room (I know you said elsewhere you work better on your own, which is very valid- I just know for sure now that I don't). I had already experienced the joy and excitement of seeing Elliot's ideas enhance my own (and, honestly, seen concrete proof of how much better my work got when I let other people into my work as collaborators!) By the time Georgina Escobar became our director for Adamandi, I was prepared to step back a little bit more- and also knew I would have to, because I totally had that personality trait that makes me put inflection indicators on all my lines and grind my teeth when something is staged differently from how I envisioned it. Adamandi was still a learning process for me in that regard, but I think my couple of tips would be: 

Respect other people's skills- AND ask for yours to be respected. Especially as a student writer, I've sometimes experienced people (who aren't the director) giving us unsolicited feedback on the writing of the script, which I hated until I realized I sometimes accidentally did the same to my collaborators- I still cringe thinking about giving really picky notes to our sound designer, or asking our lighting designer to change One Singular Light (tech week is an altered state for us all 😔). It's helped me to remember your director, your actors, and your designers all have specific, highly specialized skills in what they do, so make sure you're not telling your director how to direct, your actors how to act, etc. Vice versa, you are the writer because you have skills in storytelling that they don't (or that they are not being asked to bring to this project)- so own that! Defend the story to your last breath, but let your opinions on how that story is specifically delivered go (e.g. you can't say "make that lighting cue blue because I always imagined it as blue," but you can say "The tone of this scene is really somber because xyz character has to realize y- do you have any ideas on how that could be reflected in the lighting?" or "the pink polka-dotted spinning light cue gave me the impression this scene was really upbeat and cheery- could you walk me through why you chose that one?" Bonus points that the latter two can help you realize something about the work- or how the work is perceived- that you didn't know before!) ~Mel

Everyone has incredibly different lived experiences, and trust in the ability of your collaborators to see and add depth to your work that you had no idea was there. Whether this is an actor coming up with a culturally specific backstory for their character or a director noticing a fun parallel between scenes that you didn't originally intend, it's always exciting to see how others are analyzing your work (to which you can go "Oh, yeah, I totally thought of that!" etc., etc.) It's like adding layers to a painting. For example, I (Elliot) am a Chinese-Canadian gay man. Working with collaborators, I gained valuable insight (and revision fodder) through how actors connected to characters' stories through their nonbinary identity, or how our director as a bisexual woman envisioned a tender moment in our sapphic plotline, or how certain configurations of actors could mirror paintings of Catholic saints -- all things I could've never realized, understood, or articulated as well on my own. - Elliot

Trust your director (and ask your director!) to ask you questions. (For example, on the flip side of #2, your team might not share the lived experiences you brought into your writing, so trust in them to ask for your expertise when they need it!) This really depends on the structure of your rehearsal room- Georgina is also a playwright, so her process was super inclusive of us as the writers. She allowed us to be there every rehearsal and would ask us questions when she wanted our input on a staging choice, an acting choice, or a bit of table work- and not ask us questions when she didn't, which is equally important! Often I discovered something new about a scene (or found out that a bit of writing needed to be edited) when she wanted to try something out that I wasn't quite sure about (the spooky underscoring under the pyre scene was all Georgina's idea, for example!) This dynamic was established before we even entered the rehearsal room, when Georgina asked us about the timeline (fast) and about how much input we would have on the final vision of the show (which ended up being lots). I'm also excited to have future collaborations where I get to step back more, but it was the right thing for the project timeline and a workshop process. Deciding early on what our communication would look like, and really trusting that she would ask us when something could compromise the story, made it easier to sit back and watch everyone play around and experiment in the reho room without biting my nails.  - Mel

If you have the chance to be in the rehearsal room, put yourself out there as a resource! You created this world, so you're there to share if someone's confused or curious about your artistic intentions. You're also there to get excited about others' ideas and give them Word of God approval! A good collaboration doesn't have to be wholly relinquishing your writing into others' hands. If you feel a little helpless, talk to your director to see if there's a way y'all can be communicating better, or running rehearsals differently, etc. - Elliot

Use your vetos sparingly. Sometimes something just... doesn't work. The scene is playing as romantic instead of predatory. That really cool extra special costume piece is falling off the actor's head every two seconds. The lighting cue that you personally suggested to create a spooky ambience really just makes it hard to see anything. And everyone else seems to love it! As the writer, IF something is in your lane, IF it is significantly impacting the story, IF it's too important to just let slide for this production, AND people will think it was your choice... you are within your rights to put your foot down. But this should only happen as an absolute last resort, and in my opinion you don't get more than 3 a production, so really think about whether that jacket-that's-a-little-more-red-than-blood-orange is worth wasting one. Having a rule for the maximum number of these helps me be more generous and chill out a little if something's not exactly right.  -Mel

As a last resort- hit the bricks! This isn't my ideal collaboration structure, and it depends on what your director wants out of you, but if watching someone take apart your script in rehearsal is too stressful, it's been good to remember I can also leave. Sometimes it's hard (but good) to internalize that once your show is up on its feet, you're not strictly necessary anymore- you're vestigial, or mostly there to collect data, like a scientist. Occasionally some of my own experiences that I wrote into Adamandi would get too intense for me to watch in rehearsal(I might talk about that some other time- wild experience), or struggling to figure out a scene hit me with the good old "am I a good writer" fears. Having a co-writer like Elliot who was comfortable taking over in those moments- as well as a director-SM team who understood this about me and would come find me if something was dire- allowed me to step out for a few moments and recover my sense of perspective. It's just theater. For Princes, we weren't in the rehearsal room very much at all, and it still turned out lovely and very close to our vision- with the added bonus of delightful surprises we hadn't written in! In these moments I like to imagine all the old playwrights revolving in their graves like dynamos over all the productions of their work nowadays that cut it down, rewrite it, and abridge it- and consider reinterpretation a compliment. ~Mel

Hope this helps! Break a leg with your workshop!

[fizzingwizard]

I am using being sick as my excuse for this rant

My pet peeve, as someone who's lived abroad for about ten years total, with my fellow expats...

Some people decide to live abroad, by their own personal choice, because they're interested in getting to know another place and way of living. They aren't forced - they aren't desperate for a job or running from war or gang violence. They (myself included) are privileged people who enjoy travel and adventure.

But for those same reasons, some of these people are so entitled! It drives me up the wall. You chose to come to another country, and now all you can do is complain about it. Why don't you go home?

Of course it's okay to talk about things that are difficult or confusing and warn other expats about "foreigner services" which are actually really unhelpful and whatnot. That's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the English teacher who makes fun of their own students for being shy ("Kids in my country are way more assertive and confident!") or for having different boundaries. "In my country it's not like that! These kids are oversensitive!" You're not in your country, genius. You would think that pertinent reminder is all they'd need to realize they're being a jerk - nope! "But I have to understand it!" they say. You have to understand it... to what end? To validate it?? To validate a different culture's way of doing things??? Hon, if that's how you feel, you are not ready to leave your home country. You don't get to decide if something's legitimate based on whether or not you can easily and organically understand it. These are societal norms baked deep into the culture - did you really think you were gonna show up and blow everyone away with your exciting foreignness and they'd all change their ways to be the same as your clearly superior ones???

I know these people don't mean it like that and would balk at such a description, but... what can I say... the shoe fits.

It especially bugs me when it involves kids. Because we've all been kids, so we should all know how confusing it is to be one and how little responsible children are for the cultural norms they absorb. But it makes no more sense when it involves adults either because again... it's their country and their culture.

But there's always some expat who is so baffled that "anyone could think this food tastes good!" or that "anyone actually thinks masks are useful!" Like I get that the food doesn't match your tastes. I get that the information about masks in your home country is very different from here. You're entitled to feel that way... but you're not entitled to make a mockery of the country you CHOSE to go live in for being used to different things.

That is the bottom line. You chose to be here!! No one is twisting your arm. Why would anyone decide to go work and live abroad without any intention of being open to different perspectives? When you travel you experience new horizons, both literal and figurative. You don't have to write over your own background. You simply have to have the basic capacity to appreciate human diversity.

You don't have to understand. You just don't! When I first moved to Japan, I often said "I never felt more like an American." That was because, at that time, the cultural differences were more stark - things surprised me almost every day. Occasionally there were things that didn't sit right with me. But I knew two things. One, I knew that my at the time very short experience of a couple years in Japan was nowhere near enough time to understand an element of culture, especially to the point of being able to criticize it. And two, I knew that regardless of how I may feel, it's not my culture - I'm the guest - I'm the one who needs to make allowances. In return, the vast majority of people I met also made allowances for my own many cultural faux pas - because they're nice and not idiots and knew they can't expect a foreigner to know the ins and outs of their culture like a native.

Fast forward to now. It's been almost ten years. I no longer feel surprised every day. Things I thought I'd never get used to are part of the daily routine. Things I thought I'd always miss about the US... I don't really miss anymore! The gaps that were made when I moved have been filled with the things I found here. If I ever move back, or to somewhere else, the same thing will no doubt happen again. That's what time does - time, and openness to change.

And many of the things that "didn't sit right with me" in the beginning... I've come to see why they work here. Or why they're valued. Or, at the very least, that even if the Japanese way of doing things may leave something to be desired... the American way I was accustomed to isn't actually any better x'D

I'm not perfect, but I can say I didn't come here with pretensions. I never assumed that because I'm an American, I know the right way of doing things and the people I meet should "learn" from me. I came here fully expecting that I would be the one learning from what I found here.

So these certain chatty expats (only certain people! - many expats are wonderful) just baffle me. It's like, travel is expensive... there have got to be cheaper ways of deluding yourself that you've got everything figured out and everyone else has it backwards haha.

I'm sure I sound rather harsh. It's just feeling a bit fed up from being sick and reading too much nonsense xP But even though most of those people don't have any bad intentions, it's just so weird to me, some of the things they complain about. "Students in Japan aren't like students in the US and I think there's something wrong with them!" No, my dude, they're kids. There's nothing wrong with them. What's wrong with you, the guy who got on the plane to leave the US in the first place?

[nemainofthewater]

One day left, and currently Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu are in the lead 22.2%, then Di Feisheng and Li Lianhua with 16.7%, and Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji in third with 14%. A very tight race so far!

Tag propaganda under the cut (NB: some of these fit into several categories so I have chosen one or the other to put them under). Because there is so much propaganda (!!!) there will be another tag propaganda post in the reblog with the write-in candidates

Ming Lou and Wang Tianfeng

#ohhh very many good answers#though of course the correct on is Ming Lou and Wang Tianfeng#kidnapping your ex’s youngest brother to train to become a soldier spy#and then deciding whether or not he’s going to die over a game of card#while you and your ex glare at each other and speak so vaguely that the audience has no idea what’s going on#but YOU know what’s going on because you two have too much shared history#anyway I’m normal about them#the disguiser by @jianghushenanigans

#ohhh tough call#i think i have to go with the disguiser because of the sheer. uh. *energy* of the casino scene#(the groupwatch consensus: this is one line-change away from becoming the porn-parody version of the show)#but mysterious lotus casebook is such a strong contender#also a plug for li yingliang and shen zhiheng in snowfall. i don't think szh *knows* they're divorced#but he is *incredibly* committed to matching lyl's weird energy by @sinni-ok-sessi

Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan

#went with the princess royal#but disagree with hei and xie as being divorced#they clearly have something else going on#no in dmbj the divorce couple is dr huo and wu xie#i mean#he just glares at wu xie and then says hes there to see him die#all the while of clearly keeping him alive#so so divorced by @1ebilcat

#li rong and pei wenxuan are incredibly divorced by @sharkbeneaththelotus

Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng

#guys vote for zhancheng#they're divorced before they even married#which makes them most divorced of all time#mdzs#polls by @qiaowanmian

#jiang cheng and lan wangji#that tea scene in the first episode will always be iconic#love them by @retronation

Li Lianhua and Di Feisheng

#poll#mysterious lotus casebook#dihua#divorced energy represent by @exitvelocities

#DIHUA SWEEEEEEEEP#JC and LWJ just hate each other and always have??? by @harocat

#poll#mysterious lotus casebook#vote dfs & llh! by @omgpurplefattie

#voted di feisheng and li lianhua of course#polls by @lena221bee

Chen Pingping and the Emperor and Fan Jian

#dfs and llh have#“i missed my chance once and now your life's been ruined and you won't try again and i can only stay near and hope” energy#fan jian chen pingping and the emperor are like.#“forced to be together because our wife died and now we have to take care of her unhinged son.”#and for svsss your honour it's a terribly messy divorce they both refuse to think or feel about by @yoyoyo-idk

#wu xie and huo daofu are a good write-in but oh my god this poll is so incorrect right now it's giving me hives#jiang cheng and lan wangji should be on this list lmao they're not divorced they just hate each other. what are you ON#the horrible old men in joy of life should be SO MUCH HIGHER#dihua are acceptable in the lead but imo they're less divorced than the emperor/fan jian/chen pingping#given that they basically get remarried by the end by @silver-grasp

Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan

#this was a tough choice but i had to vote Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu in the end#the divorce with the highest fallout in the jianghu#Di Feishing and Li Lianhua are not divorced or married but a secret third thing in my mind by @noswordinourlake

#Zhancheng aren't divorced they're PTA moms who hate each other#vote qijiu by @mushroomrice

#oh it's gotta be qijiu#svsss by @mikkeneko

#okay i voted for yue qingyuan and shen qingqiu because they are SO DIVORCED#but also why isn't Nieyao on this list? XD by @vergoftowels

#while I totally agree with qijiu#this is nieyao erasure by @mostlikelytofangirl

#zhancheng was calling my name#but there is NO ONE more divorced than qijiu by @dages-big-naturals

Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan

#was torn between fan xian's dads and jfm/yzy but ultimately it came down to how I genuinely got confused as to the latter's inclusion#because I thought they were already divorced so it was kinda a cheat to include them. I immediately realised my mistake but like#I think the fact I made it in the first place speaks volumes#(that said: fx's dads can definitely up the divorcee vibes next season. especially the cpp-emperor angle)#the disguiser#the untamed#mdzs#word of honor#mlc#jol#guardian#oh also! zxc and zs didn't get enough airtime to score highly here but I would legit watch a series of them bad parent/good parenting zyl#whilst zyl has no idea why his dad is giving off such confusing signals#also dfs/llh give off huge exes vibes but like... in the way that they're five minutes from getting back together#so I kinda discount them for that reason#meanwhile prince jin/zzs tv series-wise comes off somewhat one-sided tbh. or at least one side is vastly more invested than the other#(from what I've heard of the books it's a lot clearer there though)#oh! almost forgot. write in candidate: li bing/qiu qingzhi (white cat legend) by @muninnhuginn

...so is this fight off? No, no, no reason, just you guys seem like you have your own thing going on and I'm feeling pretty invisible-

Oh no, now they're pointedly ignoring each other. So do you guys have a History (tm), or-

ohgodisthattongue

No need to throw things, I'm going, I'm going! Let me know when you get over your 'thing' and I'll come back then

Write-ins, propaganda, and images are welcome!

[myoddessy]

hey! Hope this isn’t annoying or to much but I would love it if you wrote a hcs for the jackass cast dating a female cast member, who is the craziest one, she’s done for anything and everything no matter how weird, dangerous, or insane it is. i guess pretty much a girl who is like johnny and steve o combined. I see to many ones with girls who are shy or scared, and they are so boring. can’t wait to see what you write, even if it’s not this!

YES OHMYGOSH whenever i imagine a female jackass member, she's always batshit insane and i love it so much- for these hcs, i did johnny, bam, and steve-o but if you want to see some others then i'll do them asap

RECKLESS CREW MEMBER!S/O

JOHNNY KNOXVILLE !!

you guys are fucking terrifying oh my god-

okay but let's start with the fact that nobody was surprised when you ended up together. like, you both do so many stunts together because you're both up for anything that it was only a matter of time before you started dating.

whether it's the classic johnny knoxville or the gorgeous silver foxville, this man has no shame and with loudly say the most inappropriate shit when you do a dangerous stunt.

"my ding ding's harder than a turnbuckle" is automatically associated with you bleeding in some way atp.

that being said, he gets really worried about you when you do some of the crazier stunts .

you'd 100% be jeff's fav because you're down for anything, but he could honestly go without johnny clinging to his arm like a worried mother when you're in the bull ring.

overall, 10/10 power couple ( unhinged version )

BAM MARGERA !!

he thinks you're crazy hot but, like, in a psychopathic way

like, he knows your batshit insane and that's one of the main reasons he finds you so hot if that makes sense

pls make fun of him for throwing up easily, idc if you aren't much better, he gets so pissy and it makes for great content

another one who's scared for you but will also be the one suggesting you for death-defying stunts most of the time

97% of the time, if someone other than jeff volunteers you for a stunt, it's bam

the other three percent is probably johnny because nobody else wanted to do the stunt and he played it off as if you were the first choice

bam doesn't volunteer you out of spite or a want to see you nearly snap your neck, he just does it because he knows you can handle it and knows you'll love the footage that comes out of the stunt — regardless as to whether or not you get fucking ragdolled

i can see you and jeff rubbing your hands together like scheming flies when you plan a but where you're working with snakes that are kind of wrapped around your arms and you're totally chill about it, but bam gets called in and loses his shit

overall, 9/10 he's heart eyes 24/7 but an instigating little shit

STEVE-O !!

oh he gets so happy when he finds out your down to do any stunt

will definitely bring you along for wildboyz and will refuse to comment on you showing him up on stunts and shit

yk that one scene in 3.5 (i think??) where he says that when filming wildboyz, he refused to do a bungee jump? you definitely did that instead of him just for funsies

i mentioned it in the bam segment, but you'd both do so many wildboyz bits with animals and you'd both eat shit nearly every time but you don't care because it's funny

i can see you both getting really competitive over who can do the most disgusting thing and not hurl when everyone's drunk at someone's house...

spike probably intervened after you snorted a line of salt and pepper off of ryan's ass

overall, 9 and a half/10 purely because you'd both be incredibly scary to be around and idk if that's a good thing or not

[seriouslycromulent]

Thoughts on The Rewrite (film review)

So I randomly decided to check out the movie The Rewrite yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The plan was to catch up on some TV shows that have come back after the hiatus, but I was in more of a "movie mood" than a "TV mood," so I just leaned into it.

For those who haven't seen or heard of the film, it came out in 2014/2015 apparently, and it stars Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Allison Janney, JK Simmons and Chris Elliott. I was immediately interested in it for the cast, as well as the plot, even though it fell under the category of "comedy, romance."

I've never been a big romantic comedy fan, but the film definitely gave off some serious Light Academia vibes, so I decided to give it a try. And I'm glad that I did.

In the film, Hugh Grant plays a screenwriter who had one big hit film, but hasn't managed to produce any scripts as successful as his first, which garnered him a lot of awards, fans, and cachet. But not anymore. Studios aren't buying his pitches. Everyone keeps expecting him to write the sequel to his most famous film, and none of his new ideas are gaining any traction.

His agent convinces him to take a writer-in-residence job at a small university in Upstate New York until she can get a few leads that might earn him some work down the line. It's just for the semester, and the job comes with housing, a rental car, and a salary. He reluctantly agrees.

You see, Grant's character thinks you can't really teach someone how to be a writer, and that it's simply a matter of whether you have talent or not. So he plans to go and coast through the job, doing the bare minimum until the semester is over.

Students have to submit scripts to be selected for his class -- it's only for 10 budding scriptwriters total. But Grant's character is so lazy and shallow that he picks his students based on their photo on the campus directory (with a couple of boys thrown in there to make himself not look too obvious).

He makes a number of other bad choices when he first arrives, including getting into a verbal row with Allison Janney, a comparative literature professor and the head of the ethics committee.

I don't want to give too much away, but as you might expect, he slowly comes around to the idea that teaching isn't so bad and the students in his class are actually pretty sharp. He moves beyond his simple prejudices and starts really teaching them, and stops spending every moment waiting for his agent to call with news on when he can leave.

One of the things I really liked about the film is how most of the students in his class are a bit of an archetype of students you might find in an actual writing class. You got:

the supposedly vapid airhead who no one thinks is deep, but turns out is more than she seems;

the severe one who fancies herself an auteur and loathes anything commercial or popular;

the student who is obsessed with only one film and can't seem to come up with an original idea that doesn't sound derivative of his favorite movie, yet he too is more than he seems;

the kid who is actually really talented and just needs some sound advice and confidence in his ideas; and

the source of the film's conflict who too is more than she seems

I suppose my biggest complaint about the film is that it's really white in terms of casting. I know the university is located in Upstate New York, but most universities and college towns in the U.S. tend to have a more diverse population than non-college towns. But hey, what do I know? My university was in the South. Maybe it is accurate for the area.

One student of color gets a fully developed personality, but the other students of color only get a few lines. Some of the lines are a little revealing about their personalities, but there isn't a lot more than that. In the absence of a major character of color who isn't a student, this remains my biggest disappointment about the film.

However, I appreciated the fact that the story kind of makes it difficult for you to root for the main character given the choices he makes, but at the same time, you want to see him grow and become a better person. He's not one of those "Awww, shucks. He's just so likable how can you hate him?" characters that you often see in films like this.

You really do want to shake him and tell him to stop being so ewww. And as a straight white guy, the film runs the risk of turning off some viewers who might forego the idea that he is at all redeemable. Thankfully, I think the screenwriter did a good job proving that he is. ... Well, he takes baby steps.

As a former English Literature major, the film did make me feel a little nostalgic for my college days. And as I mentioned, it gave me some serious Light Academia vibes.

Overall, I thought the film was well written, and I'd probably watch it again. I'm not big on romantic movies, but the romance was very subtle and didn't steer the focus away from the story too much.

OK. That's my 2 cents, folks. Has anyone else seen The Rewrite? What did you think?

Was the town too quaint? Did you buy Chris Elliott as a professor who taught Shakespeare? Was everyone too archetypical? What did you think of the final shot of the film? Did you find it uplighting? Or did you think it was a bit of a bummer? I can see how it could go both ways.

Let me know your thoughts.

[mayasdeluca]

I think some ppl watch shows to just decompress and do not really care about the story in deeper terms (greys for me was that, just passing time), and than there are people that watch because they love to see specific stories/issues and possibly some (good) representation, in a respectful way (there’s always gonna be drama on TV no matter what, that’s literally their job lol)”, but it’s how it’s done that differ) but it doesn’t mean we need to accept it all and don’t bring constructive criticism and just be quiet about it.

Shondalan shows are not really the best things out there, they have a specific audience lol, it sells for what it is, they never sell it for more or less, you know exactly what you are gonna get and most time it’s cheap repetitive writing, and that’s ok too, sometimes I want that and not to think too much, it’s indeed entertainment.

The comment of the other anon is very frustrated for sure but also kinda true especially for show from Shondaland, it’s a problem they have with wlw couple so in that contest yes, it’s not particularly good writing, nothing groundbreaking or even remotely relatable under certain aspects of the story, I think the comment was more aimed to the fact that would be nice at least to have a fresh respectful view of lesbian relationships, without bringing in misogyny, homophobia, stereotypes that are clearly present in the writers room and are inserted in the story some without clear thinking imo.

I understand we don’t know half of what goes on bts/production/network executive, who’s in total control and who takes the final decision, who has the power to do and why, but some things are just clear to us all and social media makes it difficult to hide it nowadays, so I understand we cannot really have an opinion based on 100% facts on what is going on, but only on what we see or what they let us see, and in the case on S19 is a lot, and the amount of ppl that think the same it’s pretty telling..

It’s also true that not everything is gonna be what we want but it doesn’t mean we have to accept offensive writing just because it’s on TV, but each person thankfully has a choice and can switch the tv off any time.

It’s social media that make everything a bit more amplified of course,the good and the bad, especially the bad…S19 isn’t the first show to treat women and queer stories badly and won’t be the last, but we learn and hopefully they learn as it happened with byg (still happening) but this conversation bring awareness to both writers actors and audience, we learn from each other experience and views, and honestly I’m almost more grateful to this than the show, that’s what fandom is; both when we agree or disagree (mostly always respectfully)

I have friends that just go with the flow of a show no matter what, and that’s totally fine, personally I have a limit to my tolerance towards predictable offensive storyline, and S19 crossed that line, but I know it hat I still care about Marina, but for me wasn’t enough probably.

You could say the same about BYG trope, should we just watch it cause it’s TV?

No, no everything is acceptable the same way for everybody, for me, the sperm donor storyline plus the misuse of Carina character, the women in the background, and all the whitemen savior hero part, made this show unwatchable, I was holding onto Marina, but for me ain’t it any longer but I totally understand why ppl keep watching.

I don’t judge people that keep Watching or dropping it, I just think us “gayudiance” deserve better.

Absolutely. It all comes down to what you're looking for in a tv show and why you're watching the show. Some watch to get away from the real world and others are looking for representation and hoping to connect and relate to the storylines the writers are portraying. But it gets tricky when you start expecting things that just aren't going to happen on a specific show. Like you said Shondaland shows are particular in what they bring to the table. They're always going to have that chaotic type of drama and love to put their couples through hell. We honestly should've expected that something like this would happen with Maya & Carina, despite us wanting them to be different more than anything because of the amazing chemistry and connection they had. Most of us watch Greys or know at least all the hell Calzona went through and really all the popular ships on that show so unfortunately Marina wasn't going to be any different once they became a main staple of S19. It sucks and we don't have to accept the disrespectful way they're portraying certain things but I think we also need to realize what they're doing and the harsh reality of the situation and the way they've reacted to our criticism and tamper the expectations and if that's not enough then you have every right to take your viewing elsewhere.

It's also how a lot of people didn't like that a lot of tv shows were writing COVID into their storylines because people like to escape the real world when watching tv and that's understandable as well. Social media has definitely heightened everything for people in all aspects, good and bad. But like you said, not everything is acceptable for everybody and everyone has a different tolerance for certain things so it just depends on the person and the subject and what they're getting out of said show. We definitely deserve better though and this wouldn't even be a topic of discussion if lgbtq+ rep wasn't still so poor all around tv, especially wlw ships in particular.

[facewithoutheart]

Writer Tag Thing

Thanks @palimpsessed & @mostlymaudlin for the tags <3

Gonna tag @tea-brigade & @sillyunicorn & @martsonmars (even though you said you don't have enough fics to make one of your own, consider this my friendly internet hello)

How many works do you have on AO3?

18

What’s your total AO3 word count?

299,016, oh man I'm so close to 300,000! Gotta post something soon...

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

2, Harry Potter & Carry On (we are not counting my brief fanfiction.net period back when I was in high school because its embarrassing and I will pretend it never happened beside mentioning it here)

What are your top five fics by kudos?

A Crack In The Wall (Harry Potter)

The Wrong Sider (Harry Potter)

Dancing With Molly (Carry On)

A Christmas Pitch (Carry On)

Two Weddings, No Vows (Harry Potter)

Although it's really not fair to compare CO/HP fics because the fandom size is so different.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Almost all of them, because comments make the sick self-obsessed validation monster inside me squeal and I must prolong the feeling.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

"What Am I Now?" poor baby Draco, and it's even worse because it's meant to tee up the sequel to "A Crack In The Wall" which I find myself increasingly less interested in over time. Maybe I've stuck Draco in the eternal angst of not feeling good enough for Harry? Am I a monster? Eh.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Kind of? On my two most popular fics lol. One because the fic got on the Jily AO3 radar and people aren't always pleased with Drarry over there; the other was an accurate but unwanted dig at a scene of dialogue I wrote. Like, yeah, I knew the dialogue was clunky but I sort of made that a joke? Also my content is free so maybe leave your editor pants at home?

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I still consider my smut 'smut-lite' because I'm not super into graphic descriptions of body parts, and I'm still fairly new to the smut world. Mostly I like how two people experience pleasure through giving it. Also dirty talk.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not really.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I mean, probably Drarry to write, SnowBaz to read. As much as I hate JK Rowling her world is so fun to write in. But I prefer SnowBaz because they're just so soft with one another, and of the two couples I really relate to Simon and Baz.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

An AU where Simon and Baz don't get together at Watford, and Baz leaves for America. Simon discovers he's fancied Baz for ages and makes Penny take him on a trip to find Baz. It's called "The Real Plot AKA Seducing A Vampire" and it's just got some choice lines (which I'm sharing here because this is my game and y'all can leave if you don't like it):

"Penny’s staring at her phone like she’s accidentally matched with a goblin on Tinder (it happened to her once and I’ve never let her live it down) (not that I blame her; goblins are fit, and that’s a hill I’ll die on).

“What is it?” I ask, and, because nothing good ever happens to me, I add, “He’s not dead, is he?”

She shakes her head. “Worse.” Then, looking straight in my eyes, she shudders. “He’s… in Texas.”"

I just honestly can't see where the fic goes besides a delightful scene when Baz runs into Simon at an HEB and saves him from getting the half-and-half tortillas (butter all the way, baby).

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, humor. Mining my life for content and dressing it up in the excitement of someone else's world. Making anything and everything a sexual innuendo.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot, self-doubt. Falling in love with a piece and then waking up one day hating it, rinse and repeat until I want to cry. Posting something and then reading it over and over while being embarrassingly impressed with myself. Too many commas.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

Meh. Unless it's poorly translated Latin masquerading as a spell.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

No comment.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Honestly I love everything I've ever written and posted because I'm full of myself with no apology in sight. But gun to my head probably The Wrong Sider, because it accidentally captured a piece of my soul. Although I could read Chapter 17 and 20 of A Christmas Pitch every day until I died and never tire of it.

[ravens-words]

I would like to very gently, and respectfully disagree about Maria not being at fault for going after Michael after she knew that Alex was feeling hopeful. The incident in TX was clearly just some drunken hookup and she didn't know at that point and when she did she promised it wouldn't happen again.

The first issue I see is that IF she "fell in love" with Michael (which is debatable and will be my 2nd point), once she knew that Alex didn't just still have lingering feelings but was feeling hopeful about things with Michael, she should have taken a step back. Alex is supposed to be her best friend, not Michael so just because Michael says it's over doesn't mean that Alex isn't still thinking something is going to happen. At the very least there should have been some conversations happening (since they are all adults and Maria now knows Michael and Alex have a decade of history, they aren't just some 14 year-olds with a 3-month long crush) before Maria basically decided to burn her bridges with Alex over Michael. (Not that the show let that happen, but the fact that it didn't is one of the major problems with the triangle anyway which was down to the writing)

The second issue, is that we're told that she "fell" for Michael, and was willing to risk her friendship Alex by going after him, but there is not a single instance while they are together that I can think of where she seems to want Michael around when it's not about sex or him coming to save her from a flat tire (and we don't see that anywhere in season 1 either except for one throwaway line after Noah possessed her). If she was so into him, enough to risk her life-long friendship with Alex, we should have seen her being excited to be around Michael, and wanting to hear what he has to say, and not just staring blankly any time he tries to open up or distracting him with sex so she doesn't have to have an actual conversation with him. If they were going to do a "love triangle" (already a dumb thing with the storyline, but that's not the point here) there should have been stakes, and if they wanted to emphasize that Malex are connected like Echo are, Alex should have ended up being a priority. But then Maria couldn't have been the one bossing everyone around and in total control of the situation at all times which seems to be what the want her character to be, in which case the love triangle should have been between her and two love interests she was trying to choose between, not putting her in the middle of two people we know are "cosmic".

You absolutely do not have to publish this, btw, I just don't see, with what we got on screen, that there was any way Maria was actually into Michael Guerin as a person, not just an idea of the kind of boy-toy she wanted, so her being willing to risk her friendship with Alex over something so shallow and refusing to engage any of them in a meaningful, adult conversation beforehand is absolutely something she should be faulted for.

Nonnie,the point I was trying to make with that whole post was that the show allows Maria to make choices, wrong ones, and she's not accountable for any of them like evry other character.

Now, you're probably right, if I did use the words she was in love with Michael- she clearly wasn't at the time. Better words would have been that she thought she could have something with him.

A few points-

M!luca was a bit (maybe a lot) toxic. I absolutely agree with you in that the show "told" us she liked him and that this wasn't backed up by her actions. I absolutely HATED how she treated Michael throughout their relationship. And that was the writers' fault more than anything.

The triangle shouldn't have been a thing, I agree with that too and I think I even said it, but since it happened, I also said that it should have been handled better and should have ultimately served in Malex' favor instead of treating them like they never even happened in order to prop up M!luca.

I welcome any and all disagreements, but I still stand by what I said. I'm not Maria's biggest fan, not by a long shot. And, me personally, I don't think I would never go after someone my friend was in love with, and you seem to be of the same opinion, but the truth is, at least for me, I've never been in that position, so I don't know if I would ever do it.

Maria was in the wrong when she didn't have a frank conversation with Alex about it, when she lied to his face, but- Michael was an idiot (I love the guy but he made some pretty questionable choices here) who chased after her even though he was in love with Alex. She thought they had a shot. Expecting her to be so selfless that she would ignore that opportunity of happiness, with someone who she'd seen a different side of at least according to what the show told us, just because of Alex's feelings, which as far as she knew (talking about season 1 here) were not actively returned, could be a bit unrealistic.

I'm not defending her actions, God knows I hated season 2 and only ever acknowledged episodes 2x04 and 2x11 with a couple Malex scenes lol, but what I wanted, what I've always loved in shows, was to see characters making wrong choices, and to watch them fix them.

Sure, my first option would have been to have her step down for Alex, but choosing to go after Michael wasn't the biggest mistake imo. What was the biggest mistake (like I mentioned) was her barely acknowledging Alex's feelings, outright ignoring them, even. The biggest mistake was the way the show handled the love triangle. The biggest mistake was the show painting Maria as this amazing, perfect friend, without showing us this, and then we see her do all that shit without so much as one word from anyone about how much she could have been huting Alex.

What was a mistake was having Alex's reaction be a totally passive thing and so OOC (again, this is just my opinion) just to paint Maria in a good light.

Maria wasn't the only one to make mistakes. Both Michael and Alex have, too.

The only difference is, both Michael and Alex were called out for theirs, while hers were swept under the rug like they didn't even happen.

I hope I made my point clearer now. Thank you for respectfully sharing your opinion 💛 if you'd like to discuss this more, I have no problem doing so, whether it's here as anon or in my messages, I'm always open to talking about RNM.

[theangrypokemaniac]

There's a sneering attitude that the dub is inherently inferior solely for being a dub, and when I say 'dub' I mean the American one. No one attacks the South American interpretation, funnily enough, or the variety that exist globally.

Why not if foreign languages are so abhorrent?  Do you think it's kewl to hate America?

That's so original you know.

If the moan centres on the dub changing certain things, well that's a pointless stance, because it's impossible to do otherwise.

What's accepted in one country is not always permitted elsewhere, so either you make those alterations or it's never shown. I'd prefer seeing a slightly toned down version rather than have it never reach the West at all.

This is without considering the technical obstacles that a direct translation brings. The words do have to fit the mouth movements, and if they don't, truncation must follow.

America and Japan are different; the population of the former are not going to comprehend the references to the latter's history and culture, which necessitates some divergence from the original to give it mass appeal.

Anime is a branch of entertainment. It has to attract the public's good will to stay in business. If impenetrable, it'll fail, with all the resulting unemployment and finacial losses that brings.

Those in charge of dubbing understandably think they're on safer ground promoting familiarity rather than the strange, but that's not to say Pokémon was stripped of its identity. On the contrary, it was like nothing I'd ever encountered before.

I may have watched Western cartoons then, but the idea of doing so now is silly. I won't give time to any modern animation unless it's Japanese. Growing up on the dub has not produced an ephemeral fan less serious or 'true'.

The 4Kids dub had wit, humour, deep emotion, suggestive comments and flights of fancy. The voices fitted the characters well.

Unlike the current one, where everyone sounds on the verge of vomiting, but then they're clearly working with substandard material on a miserly budget. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear after all.

Dubs can be bad, but the very state of being a dub doesn't confer worthlessness automatically. Considering the work gone into them, attempting to gain your favour, it seems rude not to appreciate the time and energy spent in production.

Knowing a little about history, sub-only fanatics remind me of the kind of folk who opposed an English Bible, because it was too good for the oiks to read the word of God.

Of course it was alright for them, rich enough to be taught Latin, but not so much the ordinary man.

It amuses me how dozens dismiss the dub, but see no hypocrisy in using its evidence to further their ship or anti-ship arguments, so it can't be that revolting.

It's also bizarre that so many hold sacred the sub of a series currently in a frenzy to shed every aspect of its anime and Japanese origins, leaving a vague, rootless ghost, supposedly making it easier to slip down the gullet of the masses.

Pokémon I've seen referred to as a 'gateway drug', as in the anime that introduced a generation to the entire concept. This means the dub. You would not have got enough kids in the late Nineties to read a screen rather than watch it, and even today most would lose interest rapidly.

Where would you be without that dub? Unless you're Japanese, your first experience of Pokémon will have been a dub, and if not the American, the one where you live, which was only made because there was the funds available.

You may have then progressed to watching the sub, but only because that dub stirred love in your soul.

Where would the franchise be without that dub? You think Pokémon would've grown to be a world-wide obsession raking in billions by itself? No, it'd still be a solely Japanese phenomena, and most likely never lasted this long.

Its decades of supremacy rests on the quality of that dub. It sold games and merchandise to kids by the ton, giving an incentive to keep the series going. If you're not a fan from the first wave, then your favourite era would have never existed had it not been financially attractive carrying on.

The team who wrote the first film actually preferred the dub, moved to tears by its emotive use of music, therefore they aren't so precious as the fans.

Where would anime be without that dub? Pokémon brought it to the West. A handful slipped through previously, but made minor impression.

To those who would dismiss Pokémon entirely in favour of more 'worthy' output such as Studio Ghibli, I would say that Pokémon, first the games, then the programme they inspired, must have an integral quality to have caught on in Japan, which isn't exactly short on similar concepts.

To have gained popularity in a crowded market, and so fervently a dub became an option, can only have come about because it held a certain magic.

It was the dub that smashed a hole in the cultural barrier, setting free the tidal wave to engulf the world. In Pokémon's trail followed Digimon, Cardcaptors, Monster Rancher, Yu-Gi-Oh! et cetera.

Without Pokémon, I doubt they'd have been translated, and definitely never broadcast on mainstream television. That came about as channels desperately hunted down anything Japanese to serve as the next craze.

I really appreciated the effort made by 4Kids in converting every aspect of the series to suit American tastes, including changing text on signs, letters and books into English. I assumed this was standard practice until I watched others.

I could never be as involved in them as I was Pokémon because of that block. It was like being denied access to the deeper waters, fenced into the shallows, and implied a rushed dub, with little care shown but to chase the same crowd and money.

If personified, the dub 'n' sub wouldn't be one human being, but rather identical twins: the same to a casual observer, but easy to tell apart by the more attentive.

It's like the games: Red and Blue are versions of a single adventure, but not totally one. Take the dub and the sub the same way. They are parallel dimensions running on separate rails, and beyond reconciliation, and that's before we consider that, sub and dub alike, each generation has only a faint relation to its predecessor, working on its own whims.

Everyone has a favourite, or can like both, and there's nothing wrong in that, but so many are proud of the fact they hate the dub, as if it conveys a revered status of supremacy.

When Disney films are shown abroad, they too are translated, and I'm sure references and jokes are redesigned to make sense to the locals. It's no use selling yourself as a comedy then being surprised when the audience refuses to laugh, having no idea what you mean.

If people prefer that one, for being what introduced them to Disney as a whole, or as a fond memory of childhood, then so what?

I don't mind if their view of a character is minutely at odds with mine, having seen the original, because what they think is canon to their version, so can't be wrong.

I don't go round declaring every Disney dub to be pathetic by its nature, that viewers of them are of a lesser breed of fan for preferring their own tongue, even though more of the world's population understand English than they do Japanese.

If you enjoy one tailored to your country there's no crime in it, just as I like one at least comprehensible to mine. It's not even my culture, but I pick it up mostly.

The choice must be made on which to follow, and this blog runs on dub canon, as that has a claim on my heart. Just because I don't acknowledge what takes place in the sub doesn't mean I'm unaware of it, but it has no bearing on what I write.

The idea that the dub alters things willy-nilly without rhyme nor reason is also mistaken. Often it does it because the original does not make sense.

In the sub, I know Nanny and Pop-Pop are just a couple of old duffers taken at random and dropped in to a castle, supposedly as James's far away nannies.

Oh yeah, that's a cushy position. You doing a lot of child care from miles off?

Mind you, it used to describe 'em as 'caretakers' on Bulbapædia, as if Nan serves as housekeeper whilst Pop tends to the garden.

That's right. Ma and Pa finally got some work out of this pair of freeloaders.

They're not related, remember? No, no, absolutely not, no way. Of course their style reflects that. They just gave Pop a 'tache, thick eyebrows and a bigger nose, and Nan got a bun and lines in her hair, but there's certainly no connection. Oh no. Such a thing is ridiculous.

They're NOT family. No. Yet Hoenn James still panics they might learn he's joined Team Rocket, spending the whole episode trying to hide the truth.

Why? Who are servants to criticise the son of their employers? Why should their opinion be of any consequence to Hoenn James, especially when his parents, fiancée and butler are cognizant of reality?

Children of aristocrats are usually brought up by governesses, thus develop a stronger attachment to these figures rather than their parents, but that isn't the case here.

James lived with Ma and Pa, not the codgers minding the castle. He would have very little contact with distant employees compared to those who waited on him daily, so why seek out their approval?

Hoenn James apparently was permitted visits to Nan 'n' Pop, which is strange considering they're not relatives. Why them and not any other house-stters?

That's right, Ma and Pa sent their son to one of their properties without them, entrusting him to the care of two shrivelled pensioners of his size that he barely knew, and who could keel over at any minute. There are no other servants present. Apparently Nan and Pop clean an entire castle by themselves.

Oh, and they run a makeshift Pokémon sanctuary, but since it's not their home it has to be done with Ma and Pa's blessing, who also have to pay for it, but they're eevul aren't they?

The idea that somehow Nanny and Pop-Pop have not cottoned on to James's occupation by now is risible.

Servants gossip about their masters. I bet the entire household of his home know, and so in turn does the county. That Nan and Pop remain oblivious proves how isolated they are, for no one's thought to inform them.

When it came to dubbing it, they were made his grandparents, removing all the above nonsense. Of course he visits his nan and granddad, it's their gaff and their money funding the place, and it is likely his mother or father would keep James's job a secret, for fear the shock would finish 'em off.

It should do really. If they're not bothered by it that's a sign of where his rapscallion ways were inherited.

They aren't facially akin to Ma and Pa, but display the same additions, so if staff it's bloody lazy, as if nannies have to resemble your parents, but inventing a blood link excuses the slothful characterisation.

Every reference I've seen on Tumblr relating to the coffin-dodgers calls them Nanny and Pop-Pop. Apparently the dub decision is met with universal approval. It does have redeeming aspects then.

Now the sub writers, rather than ignore this development, took to it too. They aren't exactly bursting with ideas these days and are probably grateful for the lifelines offered.

Remembering James had parents, they forced a likeness between them and Nanny and Pop-Pop. How else do you explain the inexplicable ageing, even when Sinnoh Ma and Sinnoh Pa are younger than Ma and Pa?

I've also known for years that the sub has this woman as Jessie's foster mother, not Ma Jess, but that's stupid.

I can grasp the idea that Jessie and Ma might have endured extreme deprivation, considering that's what Team Rocket has brought to Jessie anyway, and that they may have lived at the bottom of Mew's mountain prior to Ma's death.

What I find difficult to take in is that social services (or as they're known where I live, the S.S.), however notoriously awful they are, would give a child to a mad bitch in a shack with no running water.

Come on, they have to at least pretend to be concerned for Jessie's welfare.

As Jessie is very young, bereavement can't have befallen her in the distant past, so how can she be happy this soon after becoming an orphan? How could the grieving period be a cherished memory?

If that woman's creaming off the money, why hasn't she fixed the place up by now? Where do the payments go, sniffing glue?

Then there's the depiction. If this is just some daft bint never to be mentioned again, why do they conceal her face? Who cares what she looks like when she's unimportant?

Here's another figure from Jessie's past. She isn't disguised, and why not when she too briefly appears and is then forgotten?

Who was she?

The only sort of characters they tended to hide were other members of Team Rocket:

During the early scenes featuring Giovanni, he was enveloped in shadow, adding both intrigue and a sense of menace.

Madame Boss also got this treatment, even though there was probably no intention to ever feature her in the anime. What's the use in keeping an appearance a mystery if it'll remain masked?

With that pattern, it implies this woman is in the same category, like Ma Jess.

When it came to animation, it definitely was intended to be a foster mother. Not her real one. No.

What did they do?

They gave her Jessie's skin tone and purple hair hanging down her back!

You know, like Ma Jess?

Any colour would've done. Any at all, and being anime I do mean any colour, but no. The choice was made to give her the looks of the exact person she's not meant to be!

Is it that surprising the dub simplified things?

I don't mind if you like the dub, sub, both, or any from around the world, but I'm tired of the smug condescension, as if we all agree the sub is the only one that counts, and that dub fans are grunting troglodytes, or not 'proper' aficionados.

None of us would be here were it not for the dub. Pokémon would not be here. I think it deserves some respect for how much of a difference it made, to my life and to yours.

[faint-waves-music]

Discussing Far East Winter.

My new EP, Far East Winter has been a very interesting EP to make and because of that, I wanted to write something of an article in regards to it. So, here we are! I'm going to discuss the background of this EP, my influences, inspirations, some of the ideas I had with this record, a short run through of each track, and a few things I learned along the way. Hopefully this is an informative and interesting read and hopefully you enjoy the record, too.

I had contemplated doing an EP of this nature for some time, in fact, you can hear my earliest inclinations toward this idea on my "Cherry Blossom" single from 2017. I've always been a lover and admirer of sounds from all over the world, but music and sounds from the East and the far East have always really caught my ear. I think so many of the instruments and the scales/notation they tend to use are absolutely beautiful. The only reason I hadn't done this sooner, is because I didn't want to do this just to do it and because I'm not sure I was totally ready to. If I was going to do it, I wanted to do it some semblance of justice. If "Cherry Blossom" was me seeing if I could pull it off at all, "Far East Winter" is the more refined, realized vision of incorporating these elements into my music.

As far as who/what inspired and influenced this record, I'd say it was a good mixture of eastern and non-eastern artists. Many of my ideas were informed by Roxy Music, Prefab Sprout, Tears For Fears, Vangelis, Hiroshima, Kitaro, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, and Himekami, just to name a few. I was in a creative space where I also wanted to kind of continue the easy listening/downtempo/adult contemporary-inspired direction I've been taking Faint Waves since 2017, but I had to do something interesting to really change the pace a bit and since I wanted to do a winter release, I knew the sound couldn't just be sunshine and ocean waves. The result is a more winter-into-spring sounding EP, not necessarily dark or discordant sounding, but a bit more bittersweet and melancholy in places. That's not to say there aren't hopeful moments, as the first and final tracks on the EP are a bit more optimistic than the rest, indicating glimmers of hope amongst the moodier parts of the record.

Much of the record I think has a very soft rock and sophistipop vibe, but there are few moments that are a bit more downtempo, new age, or experimental. I also made some stylistic choices on this EP that kind of set it apart from other things I've done, namely with the drums and bass. I've often relied on a fretless bass emulation for many (the vast majority, actually) of my songs, it's been a tried and true element and staple in the music I've made. However, I felt this record warranted something different, so I've switched things up and used a finger style bass emulation. It has a much deeper sound and I think has given the record a bit more of a soft rock or vintage R&B vibe. As for the drums, I made a similar stylistic decision to go after more of an organic feel. So, rather than using solely Roland and Linn samples as I have in the past, I opted to use more live sounds. That doesn't mean I haven't used those Roland and Linn samples at all, as they're still in the mix. Many of the songs feature a live kick drum layered with a Linn kick and on "Lovers In The Cold", you can very clearly hear the use of a CR-78 hat sample alongside the rest of the drums. Small changes in the grand scheme of things but I think they've made a big difference in the overall feel of the EP.

The first song I had completed and the one that really solidified the fact that I was doing this, was "Lovers In The Cold", which ironically became the last track on the EP. "Lovers In The Cold" is a bit of a sophistipop track with both western and eastern instrumentation, including a Xylophone, Sax, an Erhu (a violin-like instrument of Chinese origin), and a brilliant emulation of the Ruan (a plucked instrument of Chinese origin). I'd say the sound and structure were most influenced by acts like Hiroshima and Roxy Music, while the blocky pad chords remind me more of Prefab Sprout. It's definitely a pretty layered track for me, lots of moving parts. The way I've always seen the song, structurally, is as an argument between two lovers. Xylophone is one party, while the Erhu is another. The Xylophone is very quick moving and aggressive but the Erhu is more relaxed and to the point. They have this back and forth, but every other time the Erhu comes in, there's one extra note that wasn't played the previous time. So, it's almost like someone is getting the last word in there. Then, you have this kind of breakdown in the song where everything slows down a bit and rather than them playing separately, you have the Xylophone and the Erhu playing simultaneously. Going along with the two lovers metaphor, that part of the song could be them reconciling, working together to make things work before everything falls apart again.

There were a lot of demos with this EP, more than maybe any other EP I've ever made. A lot of stuff didn't make the cut or just plain didn't get finished. The next track that saw completion after "Lovers In The Cold" was probably the fourth song I had made overall and it's a tracked called "Only Tonight", which was loosely inspired by "Advice For The Young At Heart" by Tears For Fears. This track was one that definitely went through a lot of changes before it became what it was. It started out very synthpop, with these big electronic strings, before I transitioned to a more organ-centric sound. It took quite a few demos for it to start to take shape as it is now, a piano ballad. I think after the organ became integral to the song, the drums were what really started to make it take shape. Those drums, at least where they start initially, have a very Burt Bacharach feel. That shaker-sidestick combo he's so fond of. It starts in that kind of Bacharach-like place but as the track goes on, the drums get a little more aggressive and eventually the sidestick is replaced with a snare. For the piano, I didn't want a big sound because the organ/bass combo was already doing that for me, so it's pretty much this continuous riff of single notes. Then the piano is accompanied by a Shamisen (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) and later on, a sax. The track also features a Vibraphone and a Gong sample. The Vibraphone is this kind of arpeggiated-sounding series of a few notes, it really gives the track an underlying sense of movement and urgency. "Only Tonight" is an interesting one because I feel like it became what it is very naturally, but it did take some time to get there. Glad I didn't give up on it though, as it's a favorite of mine.

After that, I think came "Snow Summit", which also went through a lot of changes as it went on. It's kind of a weird one. It doesn't sound like it at all, but it was pretty Vangelis inspired. Vangelis, Yello, and Kitaro are the big inspirations for that one. It went through a lot of changes and I don't think I was ever really sure the track "worked", so to speak. Once I laid down the bass for it, I feel like it all clicked a bit better, but it's still by far one of the most oddball tracks I've ever produced. It was inspired by a Yello song called "Homer Hossa", which if you aren't familiar with, is basically just a lot of sound effects, percussion, and little actual melody. "Snow Summit" is kind of that way, except it basically has this big brass backing track accompanying all these weird sounds. I think my intention with it, is that I wanted it to be as foreboding and endless feeling as the summit of a mountain would be. You're cold, the wind is blowing, there's snow everywhere, and you can see for literally miles. That kind of thing is intimidating and I think I wanted to convey that with this noisy, aimless kind of a track. It's probably the most "experimental" thing I've done. Huge brass, eastern percussion, simulated wind, white noise stabs, and huge bass drops. That's "Snow Summit" in a nutshell.

After that, came "Hatsukoi". Hatsukoi translates to first love, if you're curious. I knew I wanted a beautiful opening song for the EP and after drawing a blank for a long time, this is what materialized. Inspired by Kitaro and to a lesser extent Himekami, "Hatsukoi" is a bit of a new age jaunt. It's basically comprised of strings, a few different kinds of percussion (both eastern and western), a Celeste, a Pipa (a four stringed instrument of Chinese origin), a Xylophone, wave sfx, and bird sfx. This track doesn't really develop beyond the first couple minutes, but I found it very lovely and relaxing and didn't feel the need to add to it. I had a few demos where a flute came in the second half but it was just overkill in my opinion. It's a bit more hopeful and warm than everything else on the EP. It's very much in line with some of the more atmospheric, new age inspired things I've done. It's very much Kitaro by way of Faint Waves, in my opinion. I'd love to explore that kind of sound more in the future, to the degree of acts like Kitaro or Himekami. That kind of Electronica-meets-New Age-and-Classical sound is always brilliant. Exploring that sort of thing could be an EP or album in it's own right, but for this release, I wanted a balance of downtempo/chilled vignettes with more deliberate/aggressive songs.

The next song that came to be was actually an older, unfinished demo that I had lying around. "Tao Of Knowing" originally started as "Charm", a new wave/sophistipop song inspired by Johnny Hates Jazz and Tango In The Night-era Fleetwood Mac. "Charm" was originally much more electronic and instead of a Koto (a stringed instrument of Japanese origin) carrying the song, it was a piano. I revisited this song during my time producing Far East Winter and I found, with a few changes, that it would fit the record. I changed quite a few things; the key changed, the chiffer lead at the beginning of the song became a Shakuhachi (a flute-like instrument of Japanese origin, derived from the Chinese bamboo flute), the main piano riff became a Koto, the poppy drum samples were replaced with the ones I was using for this EP, and I wound up writing a new pad for it as well. Once I had made those changes, the song still went through a few more permutations before it became the song you hear on Far East Winter. The song has a very mystical feel and I think that sets it apart on the EP, in a good way. The original demo had a very new wave feel to it and I think a little bit of that is still intact, particularly in the drums. This one may also be one of the more aggressive sounding songs in the Faint Waves canon, too. Very in your face at times.

The last song to be completed was "City Street". I knew from the beginning that "City Street" was going to be a short interlude kind of a song. My general vision for it from the get go was very similar to how it came to be, I knew I wanted to be very ambient and atmospheric, and to feature a Rhodes. That's exactly how it turned out but I just couldn't seem to get it to materialize. At first, I tried to make the song quicker and more urban sounding, to coincide with the name. It just wasn't working, so I scrapped almost everything except the percussion I had. The percussion I did have, I wound up changing quite a bit, leaving pretty much the bare minimum. Once I was happy with the percussion, I layered a few different sound effects. One was of nighttime ambience (crickets/frogs/etc.), another was just general city noise, and the final was of a little bit of traffic. After that came the Rhodes, which I pretty much treated almost as a pad as I wrote and produced it. I applied a lot of effects to it, reverb and delay mostly, so it would kind of linger well beyond the length of the notes would allow. On top of that, I used a Pipa again, I actually recycled a melody from another song of mine ("Congo") for that and adjusted the notes accordingly. The end result is a very soundscapey interlude that's heavy on ambiance, maybe slightly reminiscent of Kenji Kawai. Good for falling asleep to maybe, as much of my catalogue is.

In conclusion, I learned a lot going into this EP and coming out of it. I did a lot of reading and listening, trying to understand what they were doing as far as Eastern instrumentation and notation were concerned. Reading and learning about scales like the Japanese In Sen scale, as well as putting them to use, was incredibly challenging and fun. I made more songs for this one EP, than I have any release before, and it's because of what I was working with. There's a real beauty and true uniqueness to the music and culture on that side of the world that we don't often see. They do things in music that the West never has and likely, never will. I think my research and desire to understand, is what made this EP so special to me, as well as what has made the EP sound so unique in comparison to the rest of my material. I might have done some familiar things but I don't think I've ever made anything similar to what I've made here. In many ways, I feel like I needed to do a project like this, just to stretch my legs a bit and get out of my comfort zone. This record is a sign of things to come, not in the sense that I'll necessarily be making another record like this, but in the sense that my next record will be just as different. So, stay on your toes and enjoy.

- Faint Waves.