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edai-crplpnk · 9 months ago

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for the asks: 2, 3, 21 (Choji) 💚

For the Character Ask Game

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

I like that he's canonically shown to be soft and kind. He is pretty unique in that way and I think the canon does a decent job of exploring that? It acknowledge that it's not always a good thing and it hinders him sometimes, given the life that he's meant to live (like in the fight against Edo Tensei Asuma) but still never says that it's a flaw or a bad thing for him to be either. Just that he needs to overpassed it sometimes, but his friends still appreciate that about him.

I like the flashback with Chouza in that chapter too, and how it's hinted that Chouza doesn't have the same personality as his son. I like to imagine that Chouza as well never judges Chouji for this trait, but also probably worries about him and knows that he will have to find a way to toughen up if he wants to make it, both in physical fight situations, but also politically if he's going to be the head of the clan. He needs to be able to be firm and to make hard decisions.

I think in the context of the Naruto world, it's an interesting personallity for a strong and politically important character to have and to keep despite it all.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Can I run away from having to say bad things about Chouji by saying the worst thing about Chouji is Asuma? 😆

I'm not super fond of the "he gets upset when people call him fat" trope, I guess. I sort of get why he could feel like this, but also at the same time, this is his whole clan heritage, this is what makes him strong, this is the core of his techniques. Then again, it may take him time to reclaim that and find it empowering. I'm on the fence about it (but also because I don't think Kishimoto was thinking that much about chara development when writing it, and just thought that fatphobic jokes were funny).

However, I love that in chapter 700 Chouchou is shown super unappologetic about her wieght, which makes me think maybe Chouji has made sure to teach her that and made sure she would embrace her body and heritage more freely than he did at her age, and that's very nice!

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

The two worst part of writing Chouji are 1 He's too pretty I get distracted by the descriptions and I forget what I'm doing 2 For All Bones and a Beating Heart, I knew Shikamaru's chara development required to be able to formulate criticism about Chouji instead of idealising him too much, but I was on the same boat as him and I was very biased and it was very hard 😆

The fav part... I've been thinking about it for a while and I'm not sure, but I can say at least that one thing I've really been enjoying with his dynamic with Shikamaru in that fic is that I got to have a few very heavy scenes where they managed to pull through and be light with each other at the end. Like despite saying hard things they still eventually find the way to pick each other up if only a little. In canon they seem to be able to relax most when they are together and I like to imagine that they can create a bit of space to breathe together when they try, even in hard times.

Thank you for asking!

(And link to All Bones and a Beating Heart since I'm here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55060567/)

#choji akimichi #shikcho #choza akimichi #ask edai #naruto

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zucchinibread777books · 10 months ago

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson Book Review

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan Book Review

Summary:

Two boys, both named Will Grayson, lead entirely separate yet fairly similar lives. Despite not knowing each other and having different sexualities, the Will’s find themselves struggling with similar problems. Trouble connecting with others has made their lives miserable. When bad situations cause them to meet by chance, could it be the catalyst to personal growth?

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Good:

This novel was 100% targeted towards too-edgy-4-u 2010s teen boys. In that sense I am entirely not the target audience for this. I can see how this could maybe have a good influence on boys like that, in a similar sense to Catcher in the Rye. The novel starts with two boys who hate everyone and judge everything, but who also learn to grow and take chances with expressing feelings and finally appreciate the people in their lives. It had a very rough start, but by the end I did feel like the characters were changing for the better.

I really enjoy when I pick up a book without knowing the plot, and it turns out to be a queer story. As someone who loved John Green as a teen, this was one of the few books of his that I had not read, and I randomly came across it in a used bookstore. I really enjoyed the romance portion of it. Even these characters that are so hateful find fulfillment in those they love. Honestly it may have been the only reason I didn’t give up on this book.

I also appreciated Tiny’s character. While he wasn’t perfect, I thought the depth they gave him towards the end and the reason for his upbeat personality made him a very likeable character. Of course he wasn’t always the greatest friend, which I think we’ll learn nobody really is, but his hard work made him very endearing in my opinion.

The parents were also far more involved than usual in books like this, which was a nice change of pace. They step in, they’re there for the characters when they’re needed, and they do seem to try throughout the story. It’s not often we see good parents in books about such bad kids, because usually the authors think that’s the only reason the kids could be acting out, but this time it felt right.

The Bad:

I’m not sure where to begin to be honest. The fatphobia was rampant throughout this book. While it gets acknowledged a little, the casual fatphobic comments and jokes by the narrators that don’t stop by the end were just painful. It wasn’t used for any real character growth, it was just a reflection of how people thought when this book was written. I’m sure if the authors were to rewrite it today, they’d be horrified at just how many comments they made, but since they haven’t we can only see what they thought at the time. Even when Tiny (the nickname itself being bad enough) acknowledges his weight, it still feels as though the authors are blaming him for the way he is treated throughout the book. It’s sad and very disappointing.

Speaking of reflecting 2010 mindsets…..the text slang. It did not age well. I really wish authors would just stop trying to imitate it because it never feels right. David Levithan also purposefully wrote his Will Grayson’s chapters in the style of texts, which to him means no capitalizations at all. Not character names, not place names, not the beginning of sentences, not even the word “I”. I could appreciate that the only capitalization is used for his big gesture at the end of the novel, but there had to be a better way to separate the two narrators. Even different fonts would have been better. Also please, why mention jerking off so much? It wasn’t even necessary to the plot (I guess it adds to my claim for the target audience but….still).

There was also a lot of casual homophobia that does not translate well to modern day. While it isn’t really from the narrators, there are a lot of characters that say shit and just get away with it. The treatment of Tiny isn’t much better. He is written as an entirely gay stereotype. Flamboyant, loud, promiscuous (at least in terms of how easily he falls in love), and the most major theater kid ever. If it weren’t for how the authors treated everything else I might’ve assumed better intentions, but they did him wrong. In so many ways.

The female characters were also so one-dimensional. It’s a common complaint with John Green’s books to be honest. There were only two girls that the main characters regularly interacted with, and one of them was obsessed with Will and did a really shitty thing, and the other one just existed as a smart romantic interest who falls for the wrong guy first. They were very tropey. I did like Jane but the ex-boyfriend detail made me want to scream. It felt like the authors just needed to make the book longer so they added another unnecessary conflict.

Obligatory men don’t know shit about women quote: “you do realize, don’t you, that when a guy and girl get together, he puts his thing where she urinates and gets her period?” pg 175 (not the same hole buddy)

I’m…torn over how they deal with mental health here. One of the Will Graysons has depression, and Levithan purposefully made it so that it wasn’t just a beginner story, but showed how it is after years of having it. But it feels so hopeless. He takes the meds but doesn’t actually feel better and doesn’t seem to be doing any of the suggestions for dealing with mental health. It felt more like they were showing that meds are useless and you’re never going to feel better. Plus the comments about self harm just take away from the goal even further! The way he talks about his “friend” self-harming just because she needs material for her poetry, it’s disgusting. It’s like “oh goth women can’t be depressed, clearly they’re doing it for the attention while I, a sad white boy, have real issues.” He admits to being bad to her later but, just like the fatphobic comments, does not seem to actually reflect on how shitty he was.

Overall:

I am glad I don’t tend to DNF books, because this one was possibly the worst beginning I’ve seen in a while but I did enjoy the end more. I even cried a bit at the last scene, just because I’m a sucker for unexpected big gestures. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone except shitty teenage boys who probably think books are lame. I also probably won’t be rereading it. It handled serious topics very poorly and, while it was an easy read, it wasn’t particularly a good one. I’m not sure I would trust anyone who reads it this day and age and gives it five stars, but because I enjoyed it in the end I will give it

2 Stars

#john green #book review #books #reading #books & libraries #book club #booklover #will grayson will grayson #homophobia #queer books #lgbt fiction #fatphobia #men writing women #david levithan

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panda0919 · 4 years ago

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A rant about Voltron: Legendary Defender because ... apparently I feel like embarrassing myself on main 🤷‍♀️ (beware of spoilers ahead if you're a few years late to this party and you care)

When the Netflix series originally came out (in 2016-ish, I believe?), I didn't really give it any thought because it's based on a mecha anime and I have zero interest in space robots. But I love animation and I eventually came under the impression that there was decent POC and queer representation in the show. I finally started watching it a couple of weeks ago. I finished the series today.

Here are some of my thoughts/impressions, in no particular order, because I feel like rambling about something other than politics for once:

I'm glad I didn't watch the show when it was a "thing", because I've read that its fandom was scary. So I guess I dodged a mess there.

Pidge is precious and is probably my favorite character. She is so determined and nerdy and resourceful and androgynous and I loooooove her. She has the universe on her shoulders and takes herself very seriously, but she also gets several moments to be the fifteen-year-old kid that she is. I love that nobody on the team treats her any differently (even if Lance is initially shocked) when she tells them about her gender.

Hunk is also precious. Media in general really needs to move the fuck away from fatphobic "humor", though. He was definitely written to be more than his size and his love for food, but ... those things were still running jokes and the way he was treated just didn't sit right with me (more about that in a bit). He's such a caring soul and I found him to be an endearing character.

I guess there is decent representation? I have mixed feelings about how it is/isn't shown.

Like ... Shiro's endgame love interest and wedding both come out (lol) of nowhere (who is that guy? how did they meet? where's the buildup?) Of course, we already know that Shiro is queer because there are brief references to his ex boyfriend, but once we learn about this part of his back story, his role in the remainder of the series is kind of sidelined. Sure he's not a paladin anymore but his overall story is a huge part of the broader show. You can't tell me that, at the very least, he and Keith don't continue to spend time together outside of work or combat settings. He has been through so much and they are each others' rocks.

Allura fucking DIES??? Yes, let's just kill off the only brown female central character. She's already survived a genocide; lost her entire family, culture, and planet; and frequently shares her healing powers with others to the point of falling ill, but that's not enough - she has to literally sacrifice her own life as well. It doesn't sit right with me at all. She deserves better. (On a lighter note, I like that Allura has a very feminine appearance and that this is not implied to be a weakness. Additionally, she and Pidge are never placed into any sort of hierarchy with each other as women).

Keith is a super interesting character. He doesn't come off as someone who has serious "discipline issues" so much as someone who struggles with social situations. I like that he has the opportunity to learn how to trust and care for other people in addition to Shiro. He works to reign in his self sabotaging tendencies and finds that his life has just as much value as anyone else's. Also: Keith is the only person, animated or real, who will ever look good with a mullet.

A Keith/Lance rivals-to-lovers storyline would have been *chef's kiss* I would have enjoyed more screen time between the two of them not only because their interpersonal antics are hilarious, but also because I just get the ~vibe~ that Lance in particular is aggressively performing heterosexuality and that this somehow ties into the way that the show explores his general struggle with feelings of inadequacy. He's silly, but complex. I do appreciate that Lance begins to grow into his own and that he and Keith develop some level of mutual respect for each other by the end of the series, though.

The Lance/Allura thing is cute but doesn't make much sense because there is no buildup. Lance obviously has a crush on her throughout the series, but Allura's reciprocation feels really random.

Slav is what anxiety feels like.

I know that Voltron is a mecha war story, but I just would have loved to see more of a focus on the dynamics between the characters. The writers have said that the show is not really about relationships, which is fine, but that assertion kind of betrays the reality of the series, doesn't it? We learn a lot about Pidge's family, and her dedication to finding her dad and brother. We piece together Keith's and Shiro's traumatic backgrounds, and how they have come to be such close friends. We learn about the complicated, abusive dynamics between Lotor, Haggar/Honerva, and Zarkon, including their implications for broader relations throughout the universe (also: I think Lotor could have had an interesting redemption arc). But in addition to all of this ... What about Hunk's and Lance's backgrounds? What were their lives like before the garrison? What about Allura's memories of her life before Altea was destroyed (e.g., her relationship with her father in particular)? What about how Keith patched things up with his mom when they suddenly came back into each others' lives (we just ... watched them come out of the quantum abyss after a brief montage that's supposed to represent a span of two years and now they're okay)? I think these things would have added a lot of substance and nuance to the show, and may have also heightened its stakes. I don't know.

It was an engaging series. I liked the animation and (many of) the characters. I just think that it could have been more.

Anyway ... look at me railing on about a show aimed at children. I think I'm gonna go watch She-Ra and the Princesses of Power next lmao

#voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #i cant believe i typed this all up hahaHA

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shazzeaslightnovels · 4 years ago

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Toradora Spin-off! 2

Author: Yuyuko Takemiya

Illustrator: Yasu

Label: Dengeki Bunko

Release Date: 7 January 2009

My Score: 3/5

English Release: While this Spin-off series is not yet available in English, Seven Seas Entertainment has published the main series in English so please check it out if you are interested in the series.

This volume is a collection of short stories. Unlike the first Spin-off volume, it does not focus on the student council and instead focuses on the core cast of characters from the main series.

In the first story, Autumn has come and Taiga has been eating a lot and has put on some weight and... you can see where this is going. I personally hate these kind of diet stories so when I figured out that’s where this one was going, I quickly zoned out while reading it. At the very least, I appreciate that the story emphasized the importance of excersize and eating healthily. I still didn’t like it, but as far as diet storylines go, it’s definitely among the best I’ve read (just be warned that there are a couple of fatphobic comments/”jokes”). The second story follows Haruta as he saves a university girl from drowning and then they fake date to get her ex jealous. So, if you ever wondered how Haruta managed to get a girlfriend, this is the story for you. While I was a fan of Haruta’s POV and how frantic his thought process seemed to be, I think this story went on for way too long at around 100 pages and I got bored of it well before it finished. I also didn’t really like Sena, the girl, and their romance was pretty meh. I did like Haruta’s relationship with Yuri-sensei though, as he asks for her advice a couple of times and it was surprisingly wholesome. The third story takes place on the last few days of summer vacation, soon after the events of volume 4, as Taiga and Ryuuji attend a BBQ with Yasuko. I don’t want to reveal too much about it but it’s very amusing and made me nostalgic for the early volumes of the series, when it was less melodramatic. Ryuuji grows some taro in the fourth story. This one didn’t really capture my interest but I did enjoy Ryuuji and Taiga’s relationship in it and it once again affirmed my preference for Ryuuji and Taiga to be grudging allies who come to understand each other instead of a romantic couple. The fifth and final story is about Yuri-sensei as she talks to Kitamura about his idea of becoming a radio show host at school and talks about an experience she had when she was a new teacher. This story was a pleasant surprise as it made me like Yuri-sensei a lot more, and it had a interesting and memorable new character, and I was grateful that it didn’t have that many jokes that were “haha, Yuri-sensei is a 30-year-old unmarried woman. How funny,” which is what usually happens in this series with her.

This was a solid collection of short stories. Not all of them really grabbed me but I enjoyed the third and fifth story a lot. I do wish that this volume was structured so that the stories were in order of when they happened because the order feels very random. It was kind of distracting that the first story took place in Autumn, the second story took place in Spring/Winter (I think), the third story in Summer, and the fourth story was back in Autumn. The fifth story is in dual timelines but the present timeline takes place in Winter. At the very least, the Autumn stories could have been placed together.

The next volume in the series is the last one of the main story but there is still one last Spin-off volume after that one so I’ll be reading them both soon.

#Toradora #Yuyuko Takemiya #Yasu #Dengeki Bunko #February 2021 #3 stars

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aion-rsa · 5 years ago

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Pumpkinheads: An Interview with Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks

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Cozy and empowering, Pumpkinheads is a must-read fall graphic novel for anyone who wants to visit the best pumpkin patch ever.

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Author Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park, Carry On) and Eisner Award–winning artist Faith Erin Hicks (The Nameless City, Avatar: The Last Airbender) have teamed up for Pumpkinheads, a new graphic novel about two high schoolers embarking on a final night of adventure in the pumpkin patch they have called work-home for the past four autumns.

Deja and Josie are seniors, which means this particular Halloween marks the last time they will have the chance to explore DeKnock’s World Famous Pumpkin Patch and Autumn Jamboree (aka the greatest pumpkin patch in the world) together before everything changes. What starts as an epic quest to find "Fudge Girl," the co-worker Josiah has been crushing on for the past four seasons but has never had the courage to start a conversation with, turns into a night to celebrate the two friends' relationship, their shared love of the pumpkin patch, and the importance of being an active player in your own life.

With plenty of autumn-themed delights—from succotash to corn mazes, pumpkin bombs to hayrack rides—Pumpkinheads is almost certainly the most delightful new story you can add to your to-read pile for the upcoming season. We had the chance to chat with Rowell and Hicks about bringing this world and story to life. Here's what they had to tell us about the process of creating Pumpkinheads...

Den of Geek: What does each of you admire about the other’s storytelling?

Rowell: Faith is a very grounded storyteller; you always know where you are in her stories. That’s something I really appreciate as a reader – the feeling that I can settle into a story and trust it. And I always want to spend time with her characters. She writes very kind and decent people.

Hicks: Rainbow’s stories make me feel things, often very deeply. I’ve cried reading two of her books (Eleanor & Park and Fangirl) and I totally teared up the first time I read the Pumpkinheads script. As someone who loves stories and storytelling, that’s exactly what I’m looking for when I pick up a book: I want to care. I want to root for the characters, I want them to fight and make up, and make out. Rainbow’s books stay with me years after I’ve read them, and that’s something really, really special.

That period right before you leave for college is such a rich storytelling setting, and one that has gotten a lot of love in lots of different mediums. What do you think is so fertile about this period, and was there something new you wanted to do with this subgenre?

Hicks: It’s a time of great change and upheaval in a person’s life, where you might be kinda sorta an adult but not really? When I went to university, it was my first time living away from home, and after a rocky high school experience, I was excited to reinvent myself, hopefully as someone much, much cooler (it didn’t happen).

read more: Rainbow Rowell to Pen Marvel's Runaways

I think that’s similar to the experience of many teens going into university or college for the first time, although for Deja and Josiah it might be slightly different. Deja’s so self-assured already, she doesn’t need to re-invent herself. For Deja and Josiah, college starting means the end of something they’ve really enjoyed: their time working at the pumpkin patch, and that’s causing lots of heartache (on Josiah’s side, that is).

Rowell: Well, it’s that bridge between your child life and your adult life, when everything is shifting and changing, and you’re trying to figure which relationships are going to cross the bridge with you. I think it’s a really dramatic time. This book focuses on a really specific friendship – a work friendship – and how hard it can be to move a relationship from one part of your world to another. (I’ve written in this space twice before, both in Fangirl and in Carry On.)

Rainbow, you didn’t start in graphic novels. What have you learned about storytelling working in the comics/graphic novel world?

The big shift for me is that, in comics, my main audience isn’t the reader – it’s the artist. I’m trying to give the artists everything they need to talk to the reader. It’s a little bit like you’re handing all these elements to the artist as they need them. Is there a joke coming in a few panels? What does the artist need to know now to make that joke work?

Who is this graphic novel for? Did you have specific kinds of readers in mind when you were writing it?

Hicks: I like to think I make comics for everyone. Of course, not everyone in the world likes my comics, but that’s usually my hope when I sit down to draw a new graphic novel. Mostly I make comics for myself. I make the kinds of comics I want to read, or wanted to read when I was a lonely, geeky 16 year old.

read more: Rainbow Rowell's Wayward Son — Release Date & News

Rowell: I never think about that when I’m writing. I’m always just trying to write the best version of whatever story is in my head. But once I’d written this script, I realized there were only one or two things keeping it from being an all-ages book. So I took those things out. And I got kind of excited about having written a story that you could hand to anyone.

I wanted this book to feel like one of those classic Disney live-action movies – like The Parent Trap or Freaky Friday. Emotional and earnest, but also a rollicking good time.

Autumn, like all seasons, is a different experience depending on where you live geographically. Was that something you talked/thought about: how this story is experienced for readers who experience fall in the stereotypical ways vs. those for whom fall looks very different?

Rowell: This book very specifically takes place in Nebraska, during a Nebraska fall. It’s our best season, I think. And I really wanted Faith to experience that. She very kindly came to Omaha during October, and we visited a pumpkin patch together. (It was a blast!)

Nebraska has a very Classic Fall Vibe – changing leaves, cool weather, bonfires. And we really leaned into that in the book. Sarah Stern, our colorist, did such a good job bringing that to life.

Hicks: The look that Rainbow wanted for Pumpkinheads was very specific, and it was based on a pumpkin patch in the state where she lives in. I visited her before I started drawing the book and took lots of reference pictures, and ate lots of snacks. That visit helped a lot when I sat down to draw Pumpkinheads; being at that particular pumpkin patch and getting to experience its whimsy was important, especially as it’s something very different from fall festivals where I live in Vancouver, Canada.

There’s a lot of nihilistic mainstream storytelling right now, but I think hopepunk might be on the upswing. I think of both of you as hopeful, kind, and empathetic storytellers. For both of you, what is the value of depicting worlds that reflect these qualities?

Rowell: Well, that’s something I really like about Faith’s books -- I find her characters very comforting. The world is hard. I want to spend time with characters who remind me what I like about people and why we need each other.

Hicks: I believe in a Star Trek future, where humanity eventually gets its shit figured out, and a better, more positive world is created. I’ve never had much taste for dystopia (although I did enjoy the Hunger Games books, back in the day) or stories that revel in misery, mostly because I find them exhausting, and as unrealistic as stories where everything goes perfectly according to plan.

I think the world and other people are worth fighting for, and I want empathy and kindness to be the backbone of the stories I create … at least at this stage in my life. Maybe I’ll develop more of a taste for darker stories when I’m older, but right now I want to offer encouragement to readers, rather than grind them down.

That being said, there is still prejudice in the delightful Pumpkinheads world (i.e. the kid who makes a fatphobic comment to Deja). How do you balance writing a kind and inclusive world with representing these difficult real-life experiences in vital ways?

Rowell: That’s a tricky question. This is probably my most joyful book. I wrote it during a hard time in my life, and I really needed it to be joyful and gentle. (This is maybe my only book written completely in a major key?) But all my stories tend to be rooted in reality. So there are still moments when Deja and Josiah hit bumps. I like to see characters navigate hard things. In this book, the way Deja and Josiah react to that comment tells us a lot about both their characters.

Hicks: I think the important thing about that scene is how Deja reacts to it. Josiah is the one responding to the kid, while Deja just happily notes that he defended her. I’d like to be like Deja someday, so secure in my own sense of self that cruel words don’t bother me. Deja knows she’s a great person, she’s not going to let some snot-nosed punk get her down. She’s my hero!

Would you like to write more stories set in this universe and what might that look like for such a setting (time AND period)-specific graphic novel?

Rowell: I think we’d like to come back to Deja and Josiah. (I have a few ideas up my sleeve!) But Faith and I both have stacks of other obligations. We were lucky that our schedules lined up for this project.

Pumpkinheads is out today, which means it isw now available to pick up at your local independent bookstore or via Macmillan.

Kayti Burt is a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.

Read and download the Den of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Interview Kayti Burt

Aug 27, 2019

from Books https://ift.tt/2U8Q09d

#aion-rsa #Books

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