#which is good! BUT the second alicent is asked to actually be an antagonist i simply find the writing of her/the show unbearable

[edmundhoward]

I just wanna say that if one day a Seymour family adaption comes out ,Jane Seymour better get the Alicent Hightower treatment and Elizabeth Seymour the Shiv Roy one (terms of good writing) .

i must admit, i’ve still not seen succession, so i can’t speak on shiv roy.

but personally? i don’t want the alicent hightower treatment for jane seymour. house of the dragon ultimately could not let alicent be flawed (if being ambitious, seeking power/advancement, or ruthless, is flawed) and sympathetic; she had to be victimised and stripped of agency and motivation (outside of gendered conventions of motherhood), in order to make her ‘palatable’. in the same show that insisted on sexist, liberal takes on gender politics, ultimately centering men, and contending that monarchy — and war crimes in the name of protecting monarchy — is legitimate, supporting the idea of royal blood and blood purity/supremacy. personally, i have no interest in a show that insists it talks about the patriarchy, whilst resorting to girlbossifying women who commit crimes against humanity against the nameless, dehumanised “smallfolk”.

[sou-ver-2-0]

what do you think of anzu? she’s the sixth most likely to win and yet she’s proved completely useless in chapter three so far, which ngl seems kind of sus

The Mystery of Anzu’s High Survival Rate

Aaahh I’m happy to finally get a chance to talk about the mystery of Anzu’s high survival rate!! I have thoughts.

For those who haven’t noticed the mystery, Anzu Kinashi is the sweetheart high-school clown girl dummy who can die in our first battle with an Obstructor. None of her advice during battles is useful. She has the appearance of being extremely helpless. And yet! She is the sixth most likely candidate to win, with an 8.0% survival rate. She is the second-highest place woman candidate in the line-up, behind Sara herself. Only the big, selfish, cowardly men stand between the two girls.

Sara’s absurdly high survival rate of 15.5% has become one of the game’s central mysteries. But what about Anzu’s high rate? Why is Anzu stronger than either of the Yabusames, who become her partners? Why is she stronger than Mai, who is shown to have a ruthless streak? Surely that’s a deliberate choice! Nankidai could have placed Anzu in the third quartile like Ranmaru, another innocent-looking high-schooler, but instead he placed her somewhere odd.

I’ve seen three theories for Anzu’s high rate, and I’ll go over how I feel about each of them. The first theory is that Anzu has a dark side to her personality, a ruthlessness which hasn’t yet revealed itself. The second theory is that Anzu is good at hiding and avoiding conflict, similar to the “Foxface girl” from Hunger Games. My friend came up with a third theory, which is my favorite: that Anzu’s chances of survival skyrocket in routes where Sara Chidouin dies. That Anzu is a back-up high school girl, and Meister will rig the game to favor a high school girl, even one with a more “helpless” personality.

1. Anzu has a dark side to her personality.

A recurring theme with the characters in YTTD is being “two-faced.” Shin/Sou is the most obvious example of this. A vulnerable young man named Shin adopted the more terrifying persona of Sou. He wears a metaphorical mask to cover his weak, kind self. Another example is Reko, a selfless woman who comes face to face with her previous selfish personality when she meets her doll. Keiji is also connected to this theme; he once had an honorable personality, but now he has lost that sense of honor.

Anzu literally wears a scary clown mask! Could that scary mask symbolize a scary persona, similar to Shin’s “Sou” persona? Perhaps all Anzu needs to do is tap into the courage that comes with acting like a scary clown, and then we’d finally see a more intimidating candidate.

I like this theory for how it ties into the “two-faced” theme, and that it suits Anzu’s theatrical inclinations!

2. Anzu is good at hiding.

This theory may sound the least exciting, but I actually like it.

Remember who else was good at hiding? Alice! He was so good at hiding that he even missed the Practice Vote, where Mishima died! The Practice Vote was only based on first impressions. Considering how quick everyone was to judge Alice for being a prisoner, it’s likely that he escaped an early death by missing that vote!

Alice can become Anzu’s partner, which potentially ties them together thematically. What if Anzu throws another curveball into the plot by finding a secret hiding place? I could imagine Nankidai doing this to “reward” the Player for keeping Anzu alive after the First Obstructor Battle. I’m picturing a scenario where Anzu finds a secret room with “hidden lore” for Asu-Naro that helps our understanding of the story, even if we don’t need to know it to win the game. That’s a totally out-there theory that likely won’t happen, but it’s fun to imagine.

I like this theory because it’s fun to remember that the candidates can survive in surprising ways. Sometimes the only way to win is to not play the game. It reminds us to think outside the box.

3. Anzu’s chances of survival skyrocket in routes where Sara Chidouin dies.

I’m so proud of my friend for coming up with this one! I think it’s genius!

This ties into the larger theory that the Mastermind behind the Death Game is the Man from the Memorandum, the winner of the past Death Game. The Man grew attached to a high school girl who died in that game. The common theory is that he intends to mold Sara into that girl by having her pass through the same trials, but this time he hopes that the role of “17-year-old school girl” will win.

I wrote my thoughts about this theory back in October, in which I brought up my friend’s other, parallel theory: that Shin Tsukimi is the “back-up” candidate to replace Sou Hiyori, who was meant to play the important role of “The Man from the Memorandum” himself. The role of “The Man” is our antagonist, whereas the role of the “High School Girl” is our protagonist. If the role of “The Man” was important enough to warrant having a “back-up,” surely the role of the “High School Girl” warrants that too!

What if—to boost the chances of a high school girl surviving—Meister included a “back-up high school girl”? That way, in case our protagonist Sara dies, he still has a second chance with Anzu? If we put Sara and Anzu’s percentages together, a high school girl has a 23.5% chance of winning. That’s almost 1 in 4 games. It’s still a risky gamble, but it’s safer than merely 15.5%.

What if—in routes where Sara died—“The Man Whose Views Most Aligned with Hers” (Keiji) was directed to protect Anzu instead? What if “A Boy Even Younger Than Her” (Gin) was also directed to provide Anzu with emotional comfort? Is that possible? Could those factors help even a girl as seemingly helpless as Anzu win the Death Game?

I love this theory because it ties so well with the other theories about Meister we’ve discussed on here. It would help us understand our “Big Bad” better. It also develops the setting better in showing how Meister could rig the game in a high school girl’s favor. So much is beyond our control!

This theory does the least to characterize Anzu herself, since it’s more focused on the setting. However, it could lead to her being more important to the story than we realize! Maybe the role of “back-up high school girl” would give her a chance to do something of narrative significance.

…

Thank you so much for asking me about Anzu! I’ve wanted to write about her for a while!

[violetren]

My first theory for volume 9 while the second half of volume 8 is fresh in my mind!

Volume 9 is gonna be the therapy season, but in the most traumatic you'll need different therapy afterwards kind of way. Instead of paying a therapist they're all just be bargaining with the universe like "yo I've had this trauma for a while, and I'm feeling pretty done with it. Here you take it back and uhhh I'll take a new guilt complex. Maybe a fear of falling? IDK, fuck me up bro."

The foreshadow-y Alice in Wonderland-esque fairy tale Oscar told to himself/Oz while in captivity is my guide post here.

Aaaand this is gonna get long so! 10 ideas of shit that's gonna go down next volume beneath the readmore, each one about 1-2 paragraphs each.

In the fairy tale the girl runs away from her problems into a new land, but because she never learned from her problems they just followed after her. Yeah? So first--second? First discounting the volume therapy theme theory.

FIRST BIG THEORY: The girl from the fairy tale was real, and she used the Spear of Creation. And like Weiss and the crew, she was fucking smart about her wording. She offered up materials that'd last even after someone else inevitably used the staff. IDK what materials she woulda used. Maybe there's a story about a missing continent we just haven't heard of yet? Maybe the Brother of Light's pool, since Salem seens to have claimed the Brother of Darkness's one but no sign of BoL's these days. Maybe there is a reason the land beyond Menagerie is so uninhabitable beyond desert + grimm? idk. Point is, it's a thing that happened, and since Ambrosius can't destroy/directly kill she's still in her wonderland. For themes sake I'm gonna call her Alice from here on out.

So Alice made a pocket dimension to flee from her problems from.

SECOND BIG THEORY: Her problems were relic related. She needed to hide em, and hide herself from Salem. Tbh I'm not sure how into this one I am. Maybe she had other shit going and some version of Oz was like "hey you don't want to be here, I have some property that I don't want to be here, lets make this happen!" THE POINT IS, the little pocket realities the relics are in, are aalllllll places in her pocket reality. When the team said "hey Ambrosius just make the middle ground into one of these type places" that's what he did, cause that's how he do. What better way to make sure it works like those places than to be kinda connected to em?

THIRD BIG THEORY: Ambrosius was buds with Alice once upon a time, but knew staying in her pocket world ultimately drove her crazy. He knew his middle ground worked like the pocket dimensions because it touched em or something, so he gave a vague ass warning not to fall, because he knew where they'd fall to.

Back to the fairy tale. It's implied Alice was never able to leave/give up her wonderland because she never learned from her mistakes.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 1: RWBY + Jaune can't figure their way back to reality until they adress a major personal issue and break out of whatever cycle it's got them in. This one I feel is shaky because they all have such different issues and are in very different places with each of them, trying to do one big arc on em would be too much of a mess. Plus it doesn't account for saving any of the many civilians that may have survived the fall.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 2: nobody can leave until Alice either leaves, dies, OR is convinced to let them go. As we're following good kind people this means we watch the kids try to give someone else therapy that THEY need. RWBY+J work through their shit through variations & combinations of witnessing mirrors of their struggles in Alice/other wonderland inhabitants, and just having time and space to slow down and breathe whether they want it or not.

FIFTH BIG THEORY: Alice is the "antagonist" of the underworld because she is the obstacle to overcome.

What about Neo you may be asking. Well I want her to let go of the revenge schtick, or at least redirect it back onto Cinder thus calling a truce with Ruby. However it's more than likely she's gonna be on team keep Alice as an obstacle at least as long as it takes to kill Ruby, and so Neo will be the "real" Antagonist™ within wonderland.

SIXTH BIG THEORY: Neo because of her unwavering determination to enact revenge is gonna die this volume. She'll be the comparison against which RWBY+J will be measured. As they grow and get closer to leaving she'll become more wrapped up with whatever strange classic wonderland logic this pocket universe has. Potentially depending on how things go with helping Alice, Neo may just end up trading spots with her, and end up trapped while everyone else goes back. But dead or trapped, I have a sad feeling this could be our last volume with Neo. My only hope of her surviving at this point is that she like Emerald switches sides, and in doing so joins Winter as a Cinder foil. While Neo grows and lets go of revenge and thus survives, Cinder stays dedicated to her own desires for revenge and other self serving instincts ringing her own death toll for either the end of the volume, or maybe somewhere in vol.10.

SEVENTH BIG THEORY: Ruby is gonna be grieving and maybe even getting full on angry about being expected to fix everything just because she's the optimistic one. She shouldn't have to deal with this brand and advanced level of childhood stealing just because she wanted to do what was right and won(lost) a genetic lottery for magic powers type anger. Jaune is going to have SO MUCH GUILT to work through, mostly the survivors kind. The bees will be experiencing couples therapy, they've both been pretty solid about individual growth leading up to this, Underworld will be them learning what it means to them to be partners now that they are so different to who they were. Weiss is different. Weiss is at first gonna feel like she's there just because it was a way to really shove all the other Schnee's into their therapy arcs and gave RBY+J neutral presence to rely on. Weiss is gonna go in the most stable of the bunch. But then, slow boil style, she'll start to realise how fucked up basically her whole life has been, especially upon realising that her "good years" with her new family have been spent getting sucked into being the last line of defense against the apocalypse, but will be too busy helping the others, so at the end of the volume when everyone else is actually doing pretty good and refreshed for the fight against Salem she'll only just be beginning her breakdown.

EIGHTH BIG THEORY: All this therapy shit is gonna be mirrored back on Remnant by the others grieving the percieved loss of the hearts of the team. Both sides of these story are gonna deal with some heavy shit, but the Remnant side is gonna be the depressed side, at least as long as it takes for Oz to tell them maybe the other's aren't dead leading to desperate attempts to get the staff OR the make desperate attempts to get the relics back anyways and inadvertently find out from Ambrosius what is up. But anyways. Winter is gonna be dealing with survivors guilt and the loss of both her little sisters (friends are great but Penny was little sister zoned and it's a hill I am prepared to die on. good sisterly relationships are friendships too). Nora is gonna be doing her self discovery thing. Ren is gonna be building on his end of vol.8 developments. Oscar will continue his grappling with the merge stuff. Qrow and Willow might get forced into AA. Whitely is gonna learn his own definition of being a Schnee instead of what his dad taught him.

NINTH BIG THEORY (OR FOURTH VERSION 3): The other way they get out is QORN obtain and use the staff to bring them home, potentially by trading enemy lives for them.

BONUS CONSPIRACY THEORY: QORN if presented with needing to trade for their loved ones & lost civilians have a lightbulb moment and decide hey why not trap Salem in a pocket universe since that is a thing Ambrosius can make? Like, if this bitch hasn't budged on her not learning to appreaciate life and humanity or whatever (which I'n pretty sure is the other way to break her curse instead of stopping remnant from turning) then she's a prime candidate for shoving into a personal reality that you can only escape if you can face your problems long enough to break the cycle they have you in. It'd be really fucked up but I think it might actually be possible to run the place using her as her own material component. Like kill her over and over and redistribute the energy to make the pocket world, but because god given power + Ambrosius can't actually destroy she just reforms anyways. MIght take a few hundred thousand deaths but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Or use the BoD oasis/grimm pools to make a world that mirrored the one she chose to live in on Remnant really make it hard for her to break that cycle....

Anyways.

TENTH BIG THEORY: Working on the idea that the relics are actually hidden in secret protected pockets of the underworld RWBY+J are gonna have a secondary quest of trying to get the relics from this side, and either finding a new place to hide them ages away from their vault doors. If you wanna make it a FOURTH VERSION 4, they're specifically gonna seek out the sword of destruction (HOLY VORPAL BLADE ALLUSIONS BATMAN) either with the intent of cutting their way out underworld--ahem wonderland--or with the assumption that someone is inevitably gonna have to open the vault door, because that's just how things be these days and they'll be able to cross to Vacuo from there.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Do you mean the characterization where the character relived all of Peter Parker’s memories at the end of ASM #700 and was trying his best (from his point of view) to be a hero and NOT a villain? It’s almost like an important, life changing/character-changing moment like that happened in between those two scenes. But go figure. :-D

@danslott-blog

I’m writing this because I wouldn’t have space in the original post. This is to be considered a direct reply to the above poster.

You know, I can’t be 100% certain if you are the real Dan Slott or a sycophantic fan of his. Your blog page…

…leads me to believe you are in fact the real Dan Slott. 

Thing is I saw this comment last night but I didn’t check out your blog until this morning. Nevertheless, last night my first instinct was to presume you to be the real Dan Slott.

The fact that my mind immediately jumped to that possibility, the fact that I can’t rule it out and the further supportive evidence of your blog, speaks volumes.

It speaks volumes about the person Dan Slott whether or not you are the genuine article or not. Because your actions so thoroughly fall in line with his behaviour.

And it is damning. As are your words. Let’s unpack them.*

So, did I mean Otto’s characterization? That’s what you were getting at. That my original post was in reference to Otto’s characterization between ASM #700 and Superior #2?

No.

I did not.

At all.

I was referring to Mary Jane’s  characterization. I elaborate upon the topic in this post.

Tl:dr: MJ was eager to sleep with ‘Peter’ in the former issue but not in the latter.

That should have been utterly obvious  to anyone observing the post because I was presenting events from 2 issues and saying they didn’t line up. Obviously  the purpose was for the readers of my post to play spot the difference.

The similarities were Otto’s desire to have sex with Mary Jane. The difference was with MJ.

As of this writing, twelve other people grasped that obvious intent Dan.

Why on Earth do they have superior reading comprehension skills than a professional writer  for the largest comic book company in America? Surely that should be a basic requirement of the job?

Not that I’m surprised. It is exemplary of the vast majority of your pathetic, reductive and damaging  work on this franchise.

But let’s dive deeper.

You claim that Otto reliving Peter’s memories in ASM #700 (after the scene in the OP) changed him hence he was different in Superior #2.

But he’s not.

In ASM #700 he tried to exploit Mary Jane’s misconception that he was Peter Parker (and her pre-existing feelings for him) to have sex with her.

In Superior #2 he was still  trying to exploit Mary Jane’s misconception that he was Peter Parker (and her pre-existing feelings for him) to have sex with her.

So he hasn’t changed. At all.

But for the sake of argument, let’s pretend you are right. In Superior #2 (because he relieved Peter’s memories) he was trying to be a better person from his point of view.

So you are saying from his point of view   raping Mary Jane by deception constituted trying to be a hero and not a villain?**

If Otto experienced Peter’s memories then that would logically entail his upbringing and morality. Meaning Otto would in fact know that what he’s trying to do with MJ is unethical. Or he’d appreciate that he’s not the real Peter Parker and it’d be a disservice to the real man who’s legacy he’s trying to uphold to sleep with the woman he loves. Or he’d know who MJ was and appreciate she deserved better than to be deceived.

But no. He was horny and was going to satisfy himself  no matter what. Hence later in the issue after he experiences Peter’s memories of ‘being’ with MJ he says he’s ready to move on and starts eyeing up other women, including Sajani.

Furthermore, even without Peter’s memories Otto would never have attempted to sleep with Mary Jane for two big reasons.

The first is that she is frankly not his type.

Prior to Superior, the women Otto held affections for (romantically or otherwise) were either scientifically gifted (Mary-Alice, Carolyn), admirers of his brilliance (Stunner, Carolyn, Mary-Alice) or unconditionally kind towards him (Aunt May).

You know…kind of like his own mother was!

MJ is not scientifically gifted. MJ did not admire Otto’s genius. As far as he knew she didn’t even admire Peter’s genius and even the times she has canonically it has been in a different way to the ladies in Otto’s life. MJ was never singing Peter’s praises for being so clever for inventing this or that, she was never borderline fangirling over his intellect. She also wasn’t unconditionally kind like Aunt May was, her kindness manifested in a starkly different way. She wasn’t taking Otto, Peter or a stranger home for a cup of tea or a nice meal.

Since Otto wanted to sleep with her before  he was exposed to all of Peter’s memories, the only rationale reason for his interest was the superficial. She was an attractive young woman and Otto wanted her body.

Which would be weird  right because I seem to recall you and your buddy Christos Gage saying Otto didn’t care about looks in his romantic partners?

This brings me to my second reason.

Otto is evil but he’s not Purple Man/Doctor Light levels of evil. He wouldn’t do something as debase as that, he’d view it as beneath him. In his own warped way he holds a certain respect for women. Hence he genuinely cared for Aunt May, Stunner, Carolyn Trainer, Mary-Alice and of course his mother.

But let’s say I’m wrong. Let’s say Superior #2 was covering totally virgin territory for the character that had never been touched upon before. As in there had never been a word written about Otto’s love life, attitudes to women, attitudes to sex, etc.

That being the case, you established as hard canon that Doctor Octopus, the villain of the pg-13 movie Spider-Man 2, antagonist in dozens of Spider-Man cartoons for children and video games for kids and teens, is an attempted rapist!

As in if MJ hadn’t turned him down all those times his attempts would’ve been successful and he’d just be an actual  rapist.

You took a beloved, fun character (who was unique for having a somewhat humanitarian side to himself) and made him utterly irredeemable. You had him attempt an act of evil that the readers know (within the context of the genre conventions) is one of the, if not the actual, worst things a villain can do.

Good job buddy.

Oh, and needless to say, you totally and utterly failed to take Mary Jane’s point of view into account; as you did in response to my OP.

You never considered how you were using the main female character of the franchise who is beloved  within the fandom and generating cheap, gratuitous tension by threatening to rape her.

In conclusion Dan Slott, you were never ever qualified for the job as Spider-Man’s lead writer. You never ever deserved the role because of how you lied and cheated your way into Marvel, disrespected the works of your predecessors and disrespected the characters you were in charge of.

You had good ideas half the time but your writing craftsmanship skills on the title were woefully lacking hence you could only competently execute them 1/8th of the time. When combined with the raw damage you wrought to the characters and narrative you are without question the single worst on-going writer of Spider-Man in history.

I’m sure you are pleased with that record considering it was blatantly obvious you were far more invested in cultivating an eventual legacy for your self on the character than you were actually serving the characters and organically developing them.

Author of ASM #600, 700 and 800

The only Spider-Man writer to have written 3 centennial issues in a row.

The guy who has written 1 in 5 issues of Amazing Spider-Man.

Oh, and also the worst on-going writer of Spider-Man in history.

Wow.

What an achievement.

Now, why don’t you stop searching for your own name or works online and do something more practical with your time.

Like learning how to write.

*Oh and btw, I’m writing this presuming you are the real Dan Slott.

Also I’m going to try my best not to swear but that is where my politeness ends. This isn’t CBR Dan, Mister Mets (nor any other moderator) is around to censor or ban anyone to protect you.

**And yes, having sex with MJ when she didn’t know he was really Doc Ock is objectively  a form of rape. Here is literally the first sentence  about rape on Wikipedia, with emphasis by me:

“Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person's consent.”

Contrary to what your buddies Fred van Lente or Stephen Wacker might have told you, force is not a requisite.

No consent = rape.

Had MJ had sex with Otto she’d have been giving Peter her consent not Otto. Therefore Otto would have been raping her. This was acknowledged in fact in a Dead pool comic book from 1998!

Courtesy of one of your Brand New Day peers, Joe Kelly, Deadpool v1 #12 saw Wade have sex with Siryn, whom he had feelings for.

However, in the next issue ‘Siryn’ reveals she was actually Typhoid Mary in disguise, a woman who’d endeavored to bring out Wade’s darkside against his wishes.

Wade’s dialogue and body language clearly convey how he feels sickened and violated by the experience. When he asks Mary why  she did this to him she replies it was simply because she could. Whilst Wade is on the ground feeling vulnerable she stands up, leans over and licks him!

The scene when taken in context is brutally unsubtle. Typhoid used trickery to exploit Wade. She put herself in a position of power and abused that power to dominate Wade, to remove his agency.

That is literally all rape boils down to. Not sex but power. The scene, especially the last panel hammers that point home.

But just in case  you still didn’t get it the very next page depicts Wade vomiting and saying he needs a shower.

This is a common reaction from victims of sexual assault, at least in media. The ‘I need a shower’ moment is practically a trope.

Why did a 1998 Deadpool story  have a clearer understanding of the topic being played with than a 2013 Spider-Man story…that was allegedly for children no less!

P.S. You know Tom DeFalco had Peter Parker wrestle with his emotions in the wake of the ‘Death of Jean DeWolff’ story arc way back in ASM #275.

You might say that witnessing such violence and examining his own actions with perspective was a life changing experience for him.

With that in mind, how about you explain to me why Peter experiencing death, deletion, abuse of his life and body, losing a whole year of his life and then returning to it totally changed doesn’t  count as a life/character changing experience?

Because you sure as hell didn’t write him reacting with the pain, the sadness, the anguish that he (or any normal human being) would’ve had after he came back. Nope. Just back to cracking jokes I guess.

Do you like…not know how human beings work?

That’s a rhetorical question because I know the answer.

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 3. What’s New – The New Mutants

We had thoughts about The New Mutants, few of them good. There were some enjoyable moments, which we discuss, along with sharing our thoughts on what could have been better. 

Spoiler alert: we will be talking about the entire film.

Content warning: some of the content in the film can be triggering, please proceed with caution.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron:  Hello and welcome to Episode Three of Stereo Geeks. Today we'll be talking about what’s new in pop culture.

Mon: I’m Mon.

Ron: I'm Ron.

Mon: And this week we’re talking about The New Mutants.

Ron: This is a spoiler alert because we’ll be talking about the entire film, including the ending, so if you haven’t watched it yet, please watch the whole thing and then come back and listen to our podcast.

Please note, we will be discussing some triggering topics as contained within the film so, proceed with caution.

Ron: This film was initially intended for release in 2018, having been filmed in 2017, but it languished in production hell till 2020.

Mon: This year, it finally hit theaters, but because it was in the middle of the pandemic, most of us didn't go and watch it. Now that it's out on digital, we have some thoughts.

The film begins with Danielle Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt escaping the decimation of her village. She wakes up in a rehabilitation center, which is for mutants.

She is one of five students being supervised by Dr Cecilia Reyes, played by Alice Braga. The other students are Illyana Rasputin, played by Anya Taylor Joy; Rahne Sinclair by, played by Maisie Williams, Roberto Da Costa, played by Henry Zaga, and Sam Guthrie, played by Charlie Heaton. Let's talk about plot!

The film follows Dani as she gets to know these other mutants around her, tries to figure out what her power is, and tries to survive Dr Reyes’ experiments. Ron: There isn't much plot to speak of. It's very much a setup film, though there isn't any reason for us to believe that there's going to be a New Mutants 2. The majority of the film is spent with Danielle getting to know her fellow mutants and exploring their relationships. Though I would say that even there, the film doesn't really do a great job.

Mon: Yeah, there's a huge focus on the central relationship between Dani and Rahne. But the other characters, they're more antagonistic or just in the background. So it doesn't really develop her relation with them.

Ron: Yes, it comes across very much like the new girl being bullied, especially by Illyana though, that really doesn't do justice to the character as she appears in the comics. So, that was a bit of a surprise. Speaking of the backstories of these characters, we would say that really Rahne is the only one who has a similar backstory to the one that she has in the comics.

Mon: In the comics, Rahne comes from a small, very rigid, very religious community, and they freak out when she turns into a werewolf, because of her mutation. That backstory remains the same in the film, except now she’s been branded as a witch.

Ron: I didn't mind that particular inclusion. I think that made sense within the scope of the story. The other characters, there is no similarity between their stories in the film, and how we got to know them in the comic books.

Mon: Let's start with Dani herself. Why is there no mother in the picture? Ron: In the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, which this movie is based on, Dani loses both her parents, and that actually does play a very large part in the conclusion. But the film only focuses on her father in the very opening scene, which was not edited very well, and we see him later on as well. Mon: Let's talk about Roberto.

Ron: I have to say I was so, so disappointed in Roberto Da Costa in this film. Sunspot was my favorite new mutant and the character in the film doesn't resemble the comic book character at all. Especially not his backstory which plays such an important part in not only his mutant powers, but the way he engages with the world.

Mon: I think the first warning that they wouldn't be doing ‘Berto correctly was the casting of Henry Zaga.

Ron: I'm sure Zaga is a very good actor. I haven't seen him in anything else, but I'm sure he's very talented. Unfortunately, he doesn't look anything like Sunspot in the comics. There is one integral part of his character arc that is completely missing from this film because Zaga has been cast in it.

Let me explain. In the comics, Roberto Da Costa belongs to a very rich family. He doesn't really understand his privilege. But he is also very dark skinned. Because of this, despite his privilege, he is bullied. It is while being bullied by fellow classmates that his powers activate.

Mon: ‘Berto in the comics is Afro-Latino, but they refused to cast character an actor who reflected the same heritage in the film, and that really does him a great disservice. Because race is an important part of ‘Berto’s characterization in the comics, but it's completely forgotten and the backstory that Berto is given in the film is boring. It is staid and it is another example of fridging.

Ron: In the film, Sunspot’s powers activate when he is having a romantic moment with his girlfriend, thus killing her in the most awful way possible. So, not only do they erase an extremely important part of his characterization, but they fridge his girlfriend who is then used as horror movie-material later on. Mon: Let's move on to Sam Guthrie. So, Sam is kind of the pseudo-leader in the comics. He's conveniently the leader because, I feel like the writers, at the time, weren't sure who they could give it to so they gave it to the southern white guy.

In the comics, he's very happy, he's a very positive guy. He's had hardships in his life, but he never lets it bring him down. He struggles with his powers, he's a cannonball, quite literally, and it's a difficult power to master. The film touches on the fact that Sam still struggles with mastering his power, but he's given this broody, overly dark backstory, which doesn't do the character any justice. Sam's storyline in the film really should have come with some kind of warning. Because Sam is essentially self-harming throughout. He's in a cast constantly, he is seen punching himself. Basically, it's quite disturbing to watch what happens. And it comes without context, and we'll come to the fact that a lot of what happens in the film is without context.

What we learn is that Sam was working in the mines with his father and several other men, and his powers accidentally activated and he killed, not only the other men, but also his father, and he's obviously struggling with what happened. And, and he's taking it out on himself. He's not able to grow, learn, or attach himself to anybody. So, this was a huge departure, again, from the comics.

Ron: And then finally we come to Illyana, whose backstory is also extremely different from the comics. When we first meet her, she is a very small child, who ends up in limbo and spends her formative years in that hellhole. But when she's rescued which is a few seconds after her disappearance, she's a teenager.

None of that, obviously made it into this film, understandably, because the budgets would not have allowed for it, though we do get glimpses of limbo. However, Illyana’s backstory appears to be about her being trapped somewhere and being abused. What did you think about her backstory?

Mon: I didn't feel like it was necessary to have that kind of backstory. What I will say is that this is the subtlest way of suggesting any kind of assault or abuse on any kind of character. They really worked hard to be sensitive to the topic, but at the same time I have to ask, why did Illyana need that backstory in the first place? Why can’t she just come from a poor Russian home? Why couldn't it be like a Dostoyevsky story? She didn't need that kind of background.

And I also felt like there were maybe one too many hints about what happened to her. I understand the need to pare down Illyana’s rather complicated, fantastical comic book origins, but they went the other extreme by making it a little too realistic.

Ron: They tried to marry some of the realistic elements of childhood abuse that we see in real life with the fantastical elements of her childish imagination of what these monsters were. I think that worked for them. But to keep coming back and for us to keep seeing small Illyana in that room, there were one too many moments that would have been triggering for anybody who has been in that situation in their life. So, basically there are two instances in this film where they should have added content warnings, and they had three years to do that, but they didn't.

Mon: And that's not the only thing they didn't fix in the three years. The CGI is terrible! When you're talking about a comic book adaptation, especially with the New Mutants, who are more fantastical, and have more imaginative powers, that requires a lot of special effects. I was disappointed with what we saw. We didn't actually see their powers in action as much as we saw some of the horror elements, and I'm sorry but that is the worst CGI I've seen.

After people have been shouting about how hard they've been working to make this product the best that they can, it honestly feels like this movie was made and somebody forgot about what to do with it. And then they just kept playing hot potato with it. They didn't embellish it, nothing. It's not like they tried very hard to make it the best story possible.

Ron: And I think the other problem is that from the very first previews, people had strong reactions to Zaga, to Heaton. There were a lot of people who were upset that an Afro-Latino character had been replaced by somebody who was lighter skinned. This is colorism and 2020 may have put colorism in the spotlight, but, in 2017, this was definitely something that people knew about.

There were also a lot of concern about Heaton’s casting. He was hot off the success of Stranger Things; it made sense to cast him in a movie like this. But he doesn't fit Sam Guthrie at all! I was extremely disappointed in Zaga and Heaton in this film. Not only did they not look like the characters, they had so little to do. 

The burden of carrying this film really fell on Blu Hunt and Maisie Williams. They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

Mon: Yeah, I found that very disturbing and I didn't see any need for that.

Ron: Absolutely not. And 2017 was one year after Trump was elected. He made a lot of Pocahontas comments soon after coming into power. And a lot of people were very, very upset about that, and they were very vocal about that. Why would they put this into the film?

Mon: I think the whole ‘Pocahontas’ thing in the film is kind of reflective of how the director seems quite blinkered in his view? We have the Zaga issue. We have the racist comments against Dani Moonstar, as well. But there's a character missing in this film from the comics and she's integral!

Xi’an Coy Manh, who is the mutant Karma, is a Vietnamese immigrant who becomes the leader of the group. She is conspicuously missing from this film. Why is the Asian mutant, who was such an important part of the comics missing from the film?

Ron: I understand that for the majority of the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, Xi’an was not there. But if you're making a film which introduces this particular group, you've got to have her.

Mon: I completely agree with you on that. It makes no sense. We were talking about how Heaton and Zaga really don't do much in film. I have to say, this is probably the first time I've seen a genre film where the two boys spend most of the time cleaning dishes and washing clothes, whereas the girls seem to be driving the story forward. It's hinted at that ‘Berto and Sam are becoming close friends, but you don't really see much of the relationship; it's just one montage where they're having a little bit of fun, but the three girls, there's a lot more to their relationship, especially between Blue Hunt’s Dani Moonstar and Maisie Williams’ Rahne Sinclair.

Ron: I was pleasantly surprised that from nowhere, we got this queer relationship. And it comes off the fact that Blu and Maisie obviously have a lot of chemistry. So, the film just went with it. From the very first time that Dani and Rahne see each other, there's this connection. And it just grows throughout the film, and they become a couple.

Mon: I couldn't believe it because, in the books, they're pretty much written as straight. Romance isn't a huge part of their storylines. But in this film, it's there from the very beginning. There's a scene soon after Danny wakes up, and she's struggling to cope with the death of her father, the death of her entire village, and Rahne really talks her down. It's really sweet, this interaction between two young people who are struggling to find themselves in a world that doesn't make sense. And it’s also a little bit funny.

Ron: In any other film, one of the characters would have been a man. But here, it's two girls. And it's one of the nicest moments in the entire film. Once again, a trigger warning is required. But it's a great moment. Because we have seen so many superhero films, and we're still waiting for those queer characters. And it didn't feel forced at all.

Mon: It definitely because, as you mentioned, the actors had so much chemistry between them. It's a friendly chemistry, and the story doesn't try too hard. It makes sure that they come together because they understand each other. Because Rahne is such a kindly character and Dani needs that at that point, she needs somebody who can just understand. And she also needs to know that other people are also suffering in some way, they have their own pain, so that she can open up herself.

Ron: I also liked was there were no salacious comments, no maliciousness towards that relationship.

Mon: They were no gratuitous scenes.

Ron: Exactly, especially when the characters are young, you know, it would have been very disturbing to watch that. We anyway had the whole thing with Illyana’s backstory. One of the things that we really get to see in genre cinema, that even if you have queer characters, if everybody around them is like, ‘oh, you're queer, or gay or trans’, that ruins the moment, because that is again singling out the marginalized character. We also need to talk about how them being a couple isn't the only driving force behind their characterizations. It is a part of what makes them grow and brings them closer. But it also plays a part in resolving some of the issues in the plot.

Mon: So, here's the problem. While this beautiful little love story is fleshed out throughout the film, everything else got left behind. There isn't really anything else. Even if this was supposed to be a character driven story, or a relationship building story, those are also left by the wayside. Because Illyana is antagonistic, when she comes to Dani aide, it's supposed to be seen as she's coming to help Dani out of a newfound-love for Dani, but it's not true. And I couldn't actually read it that way.

Mon: When I was watching the film, I couldn't understand why Illyana suddenly had this change of heart. She'd managed to fight the monsters from her childhood that had come to come to life. But why did that make her feel like she had to fight for Dani? It seemed more like all the other characters, barring Rahne, were fighting for survival. Ron: I agree. Even Sunspot. When he's in the church, it doesn't seem like he's trying to save Dani, or he's trying to help the others. He's just trying to protect himself. And Sam seems to have so little control over his powers that whatever he does do is always by accident.

What I also feel is that we've been skirting around the issue of the plot. And the problem is that there isn't much plot here. The structure of the story goes something like this. Dani meets her fellow mutants. They try to get to know each other. Mysterious things seem to be happening, and they all seem to be related to everybody's worst fears. As the film continues, we realized that those manifestations have a connection with Dani. And then we finally learn that Dani’s greatest fear is the demon bear.

Mon: The final arc of the film is the demon bear attacking the facility and Dani is incapacitated, which leaves the rest of the team to fight off the demon bear and protect her at the same time. This brings the team together, but it brings them together more for their own survival than for the protection of Dani or for any emotional connection that they have to her.

Ron: Also, the stakes in some ways aren't very high. We are used to seeing the very formulaic superhero ending on this huge battleground, so many faceless people in danger having to be protected. And this is much smaller. The new mutants are fighting their own inner demons. And that works in some ways, but it's also not earned. Mon: I think the lack of payoff in this film comes from the fact that there is no context to what we've seen. The context always comes after the fact. We see Sam self-harming but why? We don't find out until several scenes later. We see Illyana being haunted by these scary creatures. But who are they? Why do they look like that? We don't get an answer to that. Most of the other manifestations, they do become more realistic. Whereas with Illyana’s, for some reason, it remains these otherworldly creatures.

Ron: I kept thinking that at some point, especially in the third act, that the monsters would transform into people we would see that the people who were harming her were actually real men.

Mon: Either that, or it was all in limbo, and that’s why they looked like that. But we don't know because limbo is just hinted at during the last section of the film. We get glimpses of a lot of hellfire but not much else.

Ron: The only remaining aspect of limbo in the real world is Lockheed. For the longest time, he’s just a stuffed toy and then randomly in one scene, he turns into a real dragon.

Mon: As real as bad CGI can make it, anyway.

Ron: It’s sad honestly. We love Lockheed in the comics, but also Lockheed belongs to Kitty. So, why is Lockheed here with Illyana? I don't know.

Mon: I'd argue that that was an Easter egg that didn't belong.

Ron: Yes, and seeing Lockheed look like that was super disappointing. They had three years to get this film on our screens, they couldn't fix Lockheed? They didn't actually do anything once it was filmed once it was packaged, once that first preview came out. They just put it on a shelf and waited for it to be released in theaters.

Mon: Disappointing indeed. What are the other comic book elements that you spotted in the film?

Ron: Well, when we saw Dr Reyes’ screen, we could see Essex Corp. It took me a second before I realized that Essex Corp meant Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister.

Mon: And throughout, Dr Reyes kept hinting at how her supervisor was in charge and we knew that she was basically following his orders. Since this mysterious character is such a fan-favourite and a huge part of the X-Men comics, we were expecting, at the end, perhaps a little glimpse of the man himself?

Ron: There have been X-Men stories where Nathaniel Essex has been part of the background and then right in the very last panel, there he is standing there in all his glory. We were kind of hoping for that to happen and we waited till the end of the credits. Nothing.

Mon: The film is connected to the main X-Men film universe. There are glimpses of where these young mutants are going to be taken, and these are scenes from Logan. The corporation from which Logan rescues X-23. They were obviously hoping for a larger universe which would include the new mutants, but it never came to fruition.

Ron: Which is again making me wonder, what was the point of this film? It doesn't really give us an hoped for New Mutants 2. In fact, once they have defeated the demon bear, and they've managed to get rid of Dr Reyes, they're leaving the facility, but they have no idea where they're going. As far as they know, there's nothing around them for miles. So, what is the point?

Mon: My biggest struggle with this film is that the new mutants do not lend themselves to a film or a film trilogy. The new mutants should be a TV series.

Ron: Especially since it has a large cast of characters. And if you had added the other characters, you would have had a good number of people to follow. That'll make for great television. I'm thinking about The Gifted, which was an X-Men spinoff. Unfortunately, it was canceled after two seasons but I enjoyed it. Not everybody else did, but I did. And that showed how an X-Men story in television form could work.

Mon: The thing with the X-Men universe is that it's an expansive universe and new characters are constantly being added to it. So, you can't reproduce that universe in just a few films. While the X-Men films, some of them have been very successful, but several of the characters were underserved. Cyclops is the leader in the comics; he got short shrift in the films. Jean Grey is a very powerful character in the comics, and she spends most of her time standing and waving her arms.

While the main X-Men series can still be carried by a handful of actors, with The New Mutants, they are a group, they're a band of youngsters who spend a lot of time getting to know each other and build their friendships together. The whole point of these characters is not just that they have to explore their powers, they also have to explore their own youth. They are young people that are growing up; they need to find out who they are as people. For these characters, the film being a one off, or even if it was supposed to be a trilogy, it doesn't work. The new mutants need to have episodic stories, which were the central theme of the comics.

Ron: It shouldn't be a horror story. I understand where they were going with that. Even within the comic books, the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline does lend itself to suspense but it's also very tragic. I think we need to move away from instilling fear in the viewer, and more about instilling some hope.

Mon: I also feel like the final product didn't quite live up to the anticipation of the original previews. The first trailer that we saw, it really made it look like the classic horror stories that we are so used to seeing. They're stuck in an asylum and scary creatures are coming at them. That's not what we got.

Ron: This was ‘Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Especially that Sunspot scene in the swimming pool, with him and Illyana, which never happens in the comics, and it came off as super gross.

Mon: I still can't figure out whether that was Illyana or that was his imagination.

Ron: That's what I'm saying! ;Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Look, in a horror film, you can have your own kind of logic, but that logic needs to follow a certain pattern. That scene didn't follow any pattern. It seemed like just an excuse for Henry Zaga to take his clothes off, which is not necessary in this film at all. And to put him and Illyana together as a potential couple, which also didn't work because the two characters had no chemistry. And there was no reason for them to want to be together. Mon: Yes, it is just one of the many, many missteps. Surprisingly, I don't feel like this film was the worst film ever made. I would say that it was a poor choice of subject matter and poor execution.

Ron: It's not a bad film. It's just boring. It doesn't try to push any boundaries. The only area where they did something different was with the relationship between Dani and Rahne and but aside from that, the story is very limited in its scope. And for that reason, having just seen The New Mutants, we are struggling to remember parts of it. Mon: So, let us know, what did you think about the New Mutants?

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email stereogeekspodcast@gmail.com

Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.

[kuningannasansa]

A musketeers rewatch (that nobody asked for) 1x08

In which Richelieu almost gets his husband killed 

We start with Labarge (spl?) being escorted through the streets of Paris by musketeers. He is played by that guy who always plays violent brutes with few if any lines of dialogue. 

Red guards show up and demand that the prisoner is handed over to them. Then Labarge beats the crap out of them until the musketeers intervene. Not before a red guard is killed thou. By another red guard attempting to strike at Labarge.

The dead man is called Captain Trudeau. And the red guard who killed him blames the musketeers. 

Now they’re fighting each other! Male egos... 

Treville says Trudeau was given fair warning and it’s his own fault he’s dead. Kind of harsh. Richelieu retorts that Treville had no business arresting a regional intendant without coming to him first. I’m really struggling to see Labarge in the role of regional intendant, but I guess that’s the point. Treville shoots back that he’s a violent criminal who subjected Gascony to a reign of terror. And Richelieu says that the man exceeded his authority and he was in the process of calling him back before the musketeers intervened. I know I’m supposed to take the musketeers side here, but I really see no reason to doubt Richelieu.

Treville is mad and says any of his musketeers could defeat any of the red guards and Louis immediately makes a bet! So there we are, that’s the plot sorted out. I love their bickering thou xD

Richelieu looks so panicked, poor dear! He knows he doesn’t stand a chance but he can’t afford to back down. 

Constance and D’artagnan are being cute and domestic!

D’artagnan apologizes for the rent being overdue. Nice reference to the books! But in the books he doesn’t apologize, he is quite insulted that some commoner would even dare to bother him with such trivialities. Much more realistic to a noble of the era, but I guess not something a modern audience would sympathise with. 

Here Bonacieux actually tells him off thou and that’s too far in the other direction, kind of takes me out of the story. 

Treville is so excited about this contest! Bless!

The entry fee is 30 livres and our boys haven’t got it. It’s time to go womanizing! In the church. 

Aramis knows all the women there, of course. 

“It’s a requiem mass not a party at Madame Angel’s” - and then they cross themselves lol. 

Labarge has destroyed D’artagnan’s farm “as a warning to other local landowners” because Dart’s father was “greatly respected”. But Dart had done nothing to him and his father is long dead? I don’t get this. 

Porthos can’t lie for shit and Alice helps him out cause she fancies him! That’s cute!

Alice has put on a colourful dress and her maid is judging her. 

Porthos says it must be great for her to have all of her husband’s things to remember him by and I thought he was talking of his own lack of things to remember his mother by but Alice responded by giving him her husband’s solid gold candle snuffer! So was he fishing for that the whole time? It really comes across more like he wasn’t but then took the opportunity. 

D’artagnan proclaims he is ready and Athos just smiles. And proceeds to provoke him with tales of Labarge being comfortable in the Bastille with his “every whim attended to”. But we had a scene before of Labarge being fed disgusting prison food and talked down to by a guard, so not true lol.

Doesn’t stop D’art from barging into Richelieu’s office screaming thou.

Richelieu offers him patronage and D’art turns it down. This episode almost feels like the book.

“As a citizen of France I demand my rights” - you are a subject of the King. Shut up.

Milady overheard the whole thing!

“Your fascination with these musketeers seems inexhaustible.” - lol Armand, look who’s talking!  

Milady: “I do everything for you.” Richelieu: “Permit me to doubt that.” - but in the last episode you trusted her to manage the Ninon thing even in the event of your death?

“There was a time I found your independence of spirit arousing. I must warn you, Milady, that time is now past.” - this line is gross and unnecessary. But also, what did she do between last episode and this one to change his opinion like that? I guess the writers just needed him to discard her for plot reasons, but it could have been better written.

Red guards arrest a protesting Bonacieux! This really is the book episode!

Bonacieux: “You want me to spy on him [D’art]?” Richelieu: “I can see you are a man of quick intelligence.”

Why is his office so huge and empty thou, with one little desk in it?

D’artagnan... steals a red guard uniform. And breaks into the Bastille. Wow, okay, totally forgot about that bit. 

And he does the whole “my name is D’artagnan of Lupiac in Gascony” thing again. And tries to force a confession out of Labarge.

And Labarge would have killed him if Athos had not shown up.

Athos: “What did I tell you about thinking before you act!” D’artagnan: “I can’t help it, I’m not like you!” Athos: “You are, more than you know.” - oh, you mean you also didn’t think before you strung up your wife from a tree? Yeah, i see that.

A milathos scene! Athos says he won’t attack a defenceless woman and Milady laughs as though at the idea that she is defenceless, but it breaks my heart cause dude, you very much did do just that.

“I have to make a living somehow, what better patron could I have?” Milady says of Richelieu and she is right!

“I’m a soldier, just like you.” - YES! SHE IS!

She tries to come on to him for casual sex and he rejects her. With difficulty, but still :(( 

She gives him “fair warning” to stay away from her.

Papa Treville looks so proud looking at Athos and D’art training!

Richelieu tells Labarge that he “overstepped his limits” and “ruled Gascony like a petty tyrant”. Lebarge says he just gave people the needed encouragement to pay their taxes and Richelieu replies: “Perhaps if more of the taxes you collected had reached the treasury, I’d be inclined to overlook your excesses.” LOL!

Constance sells her stuff to get D’art the money. And then Milady gives it to him before she can. And D’art doesn’t decline even thou all he knows of her is that she left him to take the the blame for her murder and lied about Ninon. He literally doesn’t give a fuck as long as he can enter this fight! 

Milady looks so pretty in this scene thou!

Porthos and Alice are getting on very well!

So Milady gave D’art some pendant with a flower on it together with the money as a “token of friendship” and now Bonacieux has nicked it.

D’art: “I found a patron of my own.” Aramis: “Wealthy widow?” D’art: “Not as far as I know.” - so like, with Milady telling her that her lover tried to kill her and Athos’s dead wife coming back from the dead to kill him and Athos clearly recognising the woman at Ninon’s trial, D’art still hasn’t had the penny drop? Or he has and just doesn’t want to tell Athos that he’s taking his wife’s money?

Aramis is the best shot, Porthos is the best at hand to hand combat and D’art does pretty well with the sword, but we don’t see Athos try that.

And Richelieu has commissioned Labarge! xD

Who beats the crap out of his other men. That can’t be good for morale! Like for real, what must the red guards be thinking? Richelieu has made a criminal who killed their captain the new captain! And mocks them publicly for not being as good as him in a fight! 

The pendant is also now in Richelieu’s hands.

Treville was spying on Richelieu! 

Bonacieux bought Constance a bracelet to celebrate his good luck of getting a contract. See, I love when the antagonists are not complete monsters and get human moments like this!

“Becoming a musketeer was the best thing that ever happened to me... until I met you.” - Oh Porthos! That was smooth! 

And Alice offers to support him if he leaves the musketeers.

D’art is looking for his pendant and doesn’t tell Constance about it when she asks if he’s lost something. He knows he’s doing wrong but the glory is beckoning so he can’t help it.

Constance runs after him to give him a goodbye kiss and Bonacieux sees them. That’s what you get for flaunting your affair in the open street. I mean, even if he hadn’t been there, these other people are all her neighbours, who would gossip.

Treville nominates himself and the musketeers are like “this is bullshit”. I don’t blame them. But Papa is just trying to protect them and he knows he’ll get their resentment as a reward! So sad! 

“Was your life so bad, Constance? Was I ever cruel to you, did I beat you?” - this is good writing. It would have been so boring if they had made him into a physically abusive brute. 

Threatening her with killing D’art isn’t cool thou!

Athos accuses Treville of having a midlife crisis and wanting “one last moment of glory”. And when he leaves, Treville just rubs his face and he looks so tired! 

And Constance breaks up with D’art! Meaning he loses the fight and her on the same day, I do feel bad for him.

Constance is right to point out that she has a lot more to lose here thou! 

Treville’s plain brown tunic looks really bad without the cape over it. But the tunic he’s looking at in preparation for the fight looks better at least.

There are only two little stands of courtiers, but it could be worse. 

“You only needed 30 livre, not a wife” - Aramis, you gentleman. 

Treville’s fighting outfit looks good, I was right. But he is getting his ass kicked. What must Richelieu be thinking! I don’t think he knew Treville would be the one to face Labarge. 

I went back to check and we don’t get his reaction to Treville’s name. But when Labarge is announced he doesn’t look particularly happy.

He also looks very distracted when the King addresses him during the fight.

Treville stops to grin at the King while Labarge is getting his breath back and Labarge attacks when his guard is down. He’s done for!

D’art steps in and in 30 seconds flat it becomes an all out brawl between the musketeers and red guards. 

Louis says that Labarge broke the rules and Treville may nominate a champion. So D’art gets his turn to shine. But what rules? Attacking when Treville was not looking? Stepping on Treville’s shoulder with his foot? I guess Louis can make up the rules as he goes along lol xD

I feel sorry for poor Treville, being utterly humiliated! 

And Labarge shouts that he did burn D’art’s farm down right in the middle of the fight. A confession in front of the King. He’d be dead even if he won!

D’art kills him and Louis declares the musketeers the winners. And takes the prize money for himself because “rules were broken and we do need to collect our taxes somehow.” 

“I admire loyalty, more than any other virtue” - that’s true I think? I think it holds up during the show, but I’m not a Louis expert lol.

At least he makes D’art a musketeer finally! And D’arts teary face and all the hugging is quite moving.

Milady in her pretty red dress gets told off by the cardinal. I love how he says “comtesse de la fere”, but he does ask an important question. Why did she give D’art money to compete? Because Richelieu threatened her at the beginning of the episode and she was looking for a new prospect? She tells him she wants to bring him over to “their side” but that doesn’t square with giving him money to win his musketeer commission lol. Well, Armand, that’s what you get for threatening your employees I guess.  

And Alice and Porthos break up because she can’t handle that much excitement and he can’t give up soldiering. 

Porthos and Aramis share a cute moment.

D’art moves out with some poisonous words for Constance. I can’t really blame him in the heath of the moment, but if memory serves he never really apologised while she did. 

And Constance sees him with Milady! And closes the curtain before she can see him tuning her down! Poor Constance!

And poor Milady! Her position with the Cardinal depends on this and he doesn’t give a fuck now he’s a musketeer. 

Overall this was a very good episode. Such a relief after last time. Next up, the stupid assassination attempt on the Queen. Oh joy!

Red guards killed: Captain Trudeau

Women killed: none! yay!

Best dressed: Milady and Richelieu! Look, they match!

[edgarbright]

[ Zero's route | Part 24 spoilers ]

Oh my god, fam, oh my goodness

Don't expect this to be coherent but do expect it to be long because I'm  bursting with emotions right now

Spoiler mentions from Sirius and Edgar’s routes

THIS IS EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED BUT NEVER EVEN EXPECTED TO HAVE. I didn’t know this was something I could even ASK for.

My five favorite guys teaming up for the battle at the top of the Magic Tower. ALL FIVE OF THEM, NO MORE, NO LESS!

I literally decorated my room like this months ago to make this image but never had reason to use it-- until now!

Before I jump into part 24, let's go back a few parts for a second! All the events building up to this battle were marvelous.

The themes for this route are all about saving, rescuing, helping, belonging, loving.

And the bonds of trust.

Lancelot saves Alice from the Magic Tower, from himself, by directing Edgar to change assignment orders and send Zero to "help" him. Lancelot trusts Zero so much that he trusted Zero to betray him. He trusted Zero to do the right thing.

MY HEART IS BURSTING WITH LOVE FOR MY KING! T_T

Zero saves Alice from Lancelot at the Magic Tower's front door. He promised to protect her. He wanted to protect her. So he threw away everything to do so.

Harr saves Alice from the forest. Harr is "repenting for his sins" in regards to Zero and wouldn't have made a move if Zero hadn't agreed to it. But Zero realized he had to trust him. More so, Zero may have vaguely remembered him (per His POV) and knew he could trust him.

Harr and Alice go to save Zero from the Magic Tower. Alice already trusts Harr. Fun fact: Alice is ALWAYS quick to trust Harr in every route. (Then again, she’s quick to trust just about anyone so lol) I loved that we got a moment at Harr’s house and finally met Loki! It was a sweet little family moment. My belief has always been that Zero is also part of Harr’s “family” too and I was not disappointed! Zero carrying on Harr’s lollipop kindness. My heart. T_T

I would love it if Edgar got his candy addiction from Zero giving him candy for the first time and then it just got out of control (lol). No evidence yet but the route isn’t over...!

The truth about Zero reveal: I had already surmised as much because too many people in this fandom hint at spoilers like it’s their job but it still hurt to read about. The flashbacks to Zero as a child in the Tower are honestly painful. Also knowing that Harr would have been about 15 during those flashbacks, we now have one child trying to stay kind and show kindness to another child in a cruel environment and T_T Harr just wanted to study magic to make the world a better place, and instead he got wrangled into a world of child abuse and torture... And he’s still seeking to repent after twelve years for not saving Zero back then...

Edgar saves Alice from her prison cell. Good lordy God bless. Before that we saw him basically running Red Army HQ with Lancelot gone and Jonah at the front. Beautiful. Edgar is nothing BUT trustworthy in Zero's entire route. When Zero isn't around to protect Alice, such as at the party, he trusts Edgar to do it and Edgar does it spectacularly because Edgar is, in fact, the best.

As Dean so wonderfully stated earlier: Edgar is great at taking care of other people.

AND THAT’S THE TEA! Don’t let anyone tell you Edgar is anything but loving!

Edgar realizes Alice wants to come along with him to save Zero. Edgar trusts Alice to know what is best for her. He trusts Alice cares for Zero as much as Edgar cares for Zero, so they'll work together. BEAUTIFUL. I love my man acknowledging Alice’s strength!

Lancelot causing the explosion was somewhat expected. He’d vanished earlier and I KNEW he had to be up to something, somewhere.

And that moment when he betrayed Amon!? HOT DAMN I LOVE MY KING, Y’ALL!! A shame his attack didn’t work but I am ALL about that rescue-Lancelot lifestyle! Harr is too as we’ll see shortly lmao

Edgar saves Lancelot by evening the odds. THE TRUST BETWEEN THEM COMES FULL CIRCLE. I'm STILL buzzing over that goddamn moment chapters earlier when Edgar comes upon Lancelot kidnapping Alice from Red Army HQ. I honestly couldn't tell if Edgar would have followed commands or fight back, but you could tell he was wrestling with it. If Lancelot had forced him to follow orders, that would have been the ultimate betrayal considering Edgar is already pact-bound to be an obedient dog. Lancelot instead has Alice locked away so he can talk to Edgar 1:1. Lancelot might not have told him the whole truth but Edgar is intelligent enough to put the pieces together himself. He often does so in other routes without prompting.

Edgar and Alice save Zero together. EDGAR’S PLATONIC LOVE IS GIVEN EQUAL FOOTING AS ALICE’S ROMANTIC LOVE!! That moment when Zero was still holding out against Alice's pleading and Edgar just round-house kicks him to the ground and puts a sword to his neck and just DEMANDS Zero to think about who he is, what he wants, why he wields his sword!

HOT DAMN YOU TELL HIM, EDGAR! I LOVE EDGAR SO FREAKING MUCH!

My heart hurts so much for Zero, who was robbed, even temporarily, of all that love by the Magic Tower T_T They tossed him away, he found a place to belong, and they tore that from him. The absolute cruelty.

And then surprise! Loki saves Harr from imprisonment! Harr is no damsel in distress so I was wondering if our current team was going to have to rescue him later, or if he was going to rescue himself. But he absolutely deserved to be at the final fight AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! The second that ??? for the speaker showed up I was just !!!!!

Basically Edgar and then Harr’s appearances got me like:

So now we have a Lancelot, Edgar, Alice, Harr, and Loki team-up vs. Amon and Dalim! Operation Stop Amon and Save Zero is in full effect!

And holy shi-- The moment when Amon starts using Zero's tattoo to hurt him was brutal. It was bad enough when Dalim did it in front of Zero’s soldiers but  here they are at it again in front of all the people who care about Zero the most.

Personally, I think it's wild that some people claim Ikevamp is darker than Ikerev. The Ikevamp cast talk about dark plots but the Ikerev cast deal directly with war, murder, betrayal, coercion, kidnapping, child abuse, child neglect, torture, PTSD, depression, child abandonment, and more. It just wraps them up in a prettier, brighter package.

But moving on!

Alice saves Zero from Amon. I love all the flashbacks. I love Alice's promise to Zero. I love how she guards his neck to keep him from hurting himself and how she'll protect him. How they’ll protect each other. It hurt so bad but felt so good.

(Mockingjay Part 2 was on TV last night so I already got a heavy dose of Peeta and Katniss angst and how they always protect each other -- “It’s what we do” -- so I was primed for the feels between Zero and Alice here.)

At some point Alice also shows sympathy for Dalim and that struck a cord with me as well. I was actually wondering what the point of Dalim has been, as a potential suitor, since he's just been acting like a second-rate Amon this whole time, being just as villainous and coercing Lancelot the same as Amon. But seeing Amon abusing Dalim, too, and having Dalim continue to fight even when he was in such bad shape just gives me a throw-back to Edgar, who continues to follow his uncle's orders even at the cost of hurting himself. Although that Dalim used Zero's tattoo to hurt him is a big F-NO so he's got lots of redeeming to do lol

Lancelot and Harr (LANCELOT AND HARR, TOGETHER, ALLIES, FRIENDS!!) save Edgar, Alice, and Loki from the collapsing building. Lancelot and Harr aren’t antagonists in this route! HARR ONLY HAS TO SAY LANCELOT’S NAME AND LANCELOT KNOWS WHAT HE MEANS AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO!

Harr: Lancelot!

Lancelot: Yeah!

Lancelot and Harr used their magic to shield us from the falling debris.

THAT'S IT THAT'S ALL THE CONVERSATION THEY NEED AND THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY IN UNISON. My heart is bursting with love and happiness from such a small moment. I hope we get some follow-up after this omg

(As a salty aside, this is leagues different to when Harr shows up in Sirius's route and Sirius is just like, "What are you doing here???" and then Sirius gives Loki the third-degree with all that mistrust.)

BUT MOVING ON!

That final CG with Zero makes my heart bleed. He looks so sad and so tired, but he’s alive.

Zero: I'm home.

Alice: Welcome home!

I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING!!!

I love Zero so much. A lot. In abundance. The love and relief is so palpable at this moment. Alice and Zero have such a beautiful love story.

Part 24 took me over a half hour to read which is twice as long as usual and every second of it was a PLEASURE. Just a few days left until I’m done with the whole route and it’s honestly shaping up to be one of the best in any otome. It’s adapted a lot of elements from other routes and made them it’s own to great effect. Just a fantastic, well-rounded story with a beautifully heart-warming romance. Bless bless bless!!

[lawleon]

An Analysis of Touhou - Cheating Detective Satori

What We Know So Far and Some Minor Speculation

If you haven't read the manga yet, I would encourage you to do so before reading this post as I will be writing about and speculating on all currently released chapters. Speculation is half the fun of a monthly mystery series like this and I feel like there’s enough meat available now to finally start talking about it so don’t spoil yourselves here and read it first. Chapter 7 came out today and the whole series can be found here.

So, a vengeful spirit huh? It feels like this type of ghost has been brought up quite regularly in Touhou ever since the geyser opened up a pathway to Former Hell during the events of Subterranean Animism. So far in windows canon their only confirmed appearance has been their use in Rin's spellcards, but they've been spoken or written about about in most print works by characters like Kasen and Akyuu who are some of our best in universe information sources. Vengeful spirits are ghosts that are capable of possessing others. While this trait isn't particularly harmful to humans, it can be fatal or quite disastrous to youkai if it causes them to take actions that go against how they are perceived by humans. However, observing the actions of the antagonist of Cheating Detective Satori leads me to believe that this vengeful spirit has no desire to do any lasting harm to those who she possesses. Thus far this vengeful spirit only seems interested in robbing the energy from some rather high profile targets, but her true motive or grudge remains to be discovered.

TIMELINE Let's take a look at the timeline in regards to the true culprit thus far:

(A known vengeful spirit escapes form Former Hell) (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 4) The vengeful spirit finds its way into Marisa and then subsequently Marisa brings it into the SDM* (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 17) (The vengeful spirit moves into Sakuya) (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 5) The possessed Sakuya makes coffee for Patchouli, Patchouli drinks the coffee and is subsequently possessed and drained of energy by the vengeful spirit (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 5) The possessed Patchouli comes to and finds an opportunity to tamper with Meiling's tea set (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 2) Meiling made some tea for herself which allowed the vengeful spirit to swap from Patchouli to Meiling and drain her of energy (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 3) (Marisa is the second individual to find the unconscious Meiling, this allows the vengeful spirit to possess Marisa and escape) (Completely inferred) The possessed Marisa makes her way to Hakugyokurou bearing a gift (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 14) (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 16) The possessed Marisa uses this alcoholic present to swap from Marisa to Yuyuko and drain her of energy (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 16)

DIVERGENCE PATH A - 90% (The vengeful spirit repossesses Marisa and makes it's way out of the Netherworld) (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 17) The possessed Marisa flees into the Forest of Magic when Satori arrives at the Hakurei Shrine (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 15) Satori senses the vengeful spirit hiding within the Forest of Magic (CDS Chap. 7, Pg. 13) Arriving at Alice's house, the spirit finds a way to have Alice drink tea so that the vengeful spirit can drain Alice of her energy (CDS Chap. 7, Pg. 16 & 17)

PATH B - 10% The vengeful spirit flees into the greater Netherworld and hides among the other spirits (CDS Chap. 7, Pg. 9) Yukari uses her shikigami, Ran and Chen, to locate and surround the vengeful spirit (CDS Chap. 7, Pg. 10)

*  Speculation by Satori () Inferred events

I am placing more weight onto PATH A due to most these events being said, or learned via Satori's ability. Events in PATH B are coming from Team Yukari, and thus could be the result of inaccurate instructions issued to her shikigami.

To note, I have tried to back up the events in the timeline with statements from Satori herself, or learned via Satori's power. Thus far Marisa(the main vessel for the vengeful spirit) and Satori have yet to be together in the same room, when this finally occurs I assume that a large amount of information will be revealed.

FINDINGS In regards to the vengeful spirit there are three critical things we've learned. A) When possessing a youkai the vengeful spirit must do so via liquid ingestion (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 7) B) The vengeful spirit can leave it's current target at anytime (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 12) C) The vengeful spirit can hide within humans without controlling them (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 17)

ASSUMPTIONS One thing that we are being led to believe, but have yet to be shown directly, is that the vengeful spirit can possess humans without using a liquid medium. The assumed possession of Marisa initially, the assumed swap from Marisa to Sakuya, and the assumed swap from Meiling back into Marisa are not shown. (Once again, Marisa is involved in all three of these assumed events.) Due to the harmful nature of vengeful spirits towards youkai a condition needs to be met to circumvent a possible natural defense. A human isn't in danger of having their existence disturbed in the same way a youkai would be, so the defense might not be present in humans.

NOTES AND SPECULATIONS First, if you weren’t already aware, Satori’s title in both Subterranean Animism and Symposium of Post-mysticism is “The Girl Even the Vengeful Spirits Fear“ so it looks like she’s going to finally show us how she got that title.

I originally wanted to write some analysis of CDS framed around the idea of ZUN using the fanon interpretation of Meiling being lazy as a massive misdirection in the first arc. Meiling in canon isn't just a lazy gatekeeper who naps frequently. She exercises in the morning, guards the gate, makes rounds around SDM, and does most of the gardening. When she slacks off she reads tengu published manga, and chats with those who come by the SDM giving off a rather positive impression of "that house filled with devils." While there are canon references to her napping on the job, that is not all that she is. Reducing her character to such a one note existence is quite sad in my opinion. So I thought it quite strange that Meiling was told by Rin that the detective can read minds (CDS Chap. 1, Pg. 20) and yet shows a shocked reaction when Reimu talks about Satori's power (CDS Chap. 2, Pg. 5) like she wasn't already informed.

However, considering that Patchouli is the first to "find" Meiling passed out in the flowers (yet doesn't even try to help her) (CDS Chap. 4.5, Pg. 3) it's most likely that Patchouli stops being possessed at this time, meaning any weirdness with Meiling is just due to Meiling being weird.

Even if that is the case there is one Meiling interaction I would like to point out. (CDS Chap. 2, Pg. 12-15) When Meiling brings down food for Sakuya and Flan, Sakuya remarks, "This soup is missing the shaved truffles.", "If you forget them, the mistress [Flan] will be mad." To which Meiling slams the door.

Flan goes on to state two pages later that she hates truffles. I wonder if this is an indicator of their speculated friendship that often appears in fanon works. Meiling knows that Flan doesn't like truffles so she has her soup made without them. Then again, the next time we see Flan she's gleefully choking the unconscious Meiling so who can say for sure. This is Touhou after all, and these are the two least developed SDM characters with actual names.

Now, for a bit of plot speculation. ZUN does like to hint at general trends and plots in his print works. Upcoming and past incidents are shown in minor manga plots quite regularly and we happen to have had quite a few incidents where the magical/spiritual/natural energy in Gensoukyou is manipulated, along with the most recent game involving animal spirits possessing our protagonists. This time we're dealing with a vengeful spirit, a soul with a longstanding grudge. Currently her motives and identity are a mystery, but she seems to want the magical energy present within powerful individuals residing in Gensoukyou for something. We haven't had many interactions with the vengeful spirit herself, and the exact point in time that she leaves Patchouli is up for debate, but it's not a good idea to trust Patchouli in general as a source of any factual information, the only times I'm willing to reference the things Patchouli says and remembers in the timeline is due to the presence of Satori. The only other time that a known possessed individual is spoken to is the conversation between Reimu and Marisa in chapter 6, however, immediately after Marisa bails it is revealed that the vengeful spirit has multiple modes of operation. (CDS Chap. 6, Pg. 17) "However we don't know if she's [Marisa] being controlled by it or not. Be careful not to get yourself possessed..." - Satori. The vengeful spirit might not have been in control for the conversation between Reimu and Marisa, but it will have knowledge of the conversation. It's my belief that the only time we've heard the vengeful spirit speak is after Patchouli wakes up at the end of chapter 2 through chapter 3. At some point after chapter 3 during chapter 3.5 the vengeful spirit switches to Meiling. During this time Patchouli steers the conversation she's apart of towards blaming Sakuya, in fact the first thing possessed Patchouli asks when she wakes up is "What happened", to which Remilia reveals to her everything allowing the vengeful spirit to mislead the cast.

There are still a few too many questions to rule anything conclusive, but one thing I want to know is if the vengeful spirit can hold off draining a magical existence of their energy upon first contact or if that's just a set rule. Satori has confirmed with Meiling that the spirit can just leave whether the victim is conscious or not. Satori has also confirmed that the spirit can hide within a human target without rendering them unconscious. Can those attributes be combined? To possess a magical entity and control them before draining them of energy?

The thing I'm most looking forward to is having Satori and Marisa in the same room. I feel like quite a bit will be revealed if Satori has the opportunity to read Marisa's mind.

DUMB FINAL THOUGHTS Alice hasn't had any speaking lines in over a decade, is ZUN going to continue that trend by having her be the mouthpiece of the vengeful spirit instead of being able to speak her own thoughts? If the magic circle in Alice's book is being used to generate heat for her stove-top why is the same magic circle on the floor of the SDM atrium? Is Youmu purposely avoiding learning anything about vengeful spirits because she's afraid of ghosts? DID SATORI DRINK THAT GLASS OF WATER FROM RIN AND GET POSSESSED AT THE END OF CHAPTER 7???

Thanks for reading.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card episode 13 was really great!

Starting the second cour now, we’ve got a new OP and ED. I love the OP a lot, song’s pretty jammable, not quite Clear but maybe it’ll grow on me? But the visuals are especially spot on, better than the first OP I’d say. Sakura’s new outfit is just, top tier adorable, but moreover is the presence of that scarlet red throughout the entire thing. It’s really striking, hell I’d almost call it scary, it’s just such a deep shade, complements the show in a weird way, I like it. Also, the OP spoils, or rather confirms my theory, that yeah, Momo, Akiho’s little plush, can move and presumably talk a la Kero-chan. As does the ED, which also has a pretty neat song, and visually it’s really cute and fun, not quite as sakuga as the first ED, but like Kero-chan and Spinel have fun antics, and now Momo too I guess. Can’t wait to see what the deal specifically with Momo is, because I only noticed it now but Momo’s little crown has that clock insignia that Akiho’s book and Yuna’s uh, everything has. So like, yeah.

About that book by the way, it seems that as Akiho translates and understands the book, its events happen IRL to Sakura, who’s taking on the role of Alice since it’s Alice in Clockland. I think this is the case because hey she translates the part here, and says she’s reading a story where Alice sees someone like sprout typical catgirl features, but when Alice tries to tell them about the catgirl stuff, the features disappear. Which is 1:1 with what Sakura goes through a little bit of this episode. So that’s my Akiho theory, Yuna still looks to be the antagonist though, and is all “I can’t wait to hear more of that story” so that’s a thing, English magic associations are weird. Good on Clear Card for taking a more original approach to the story at this point, early on it felt wayyyy too much like the original to care, so I’m happy they’re sort of making it more of its own thing.

And about that catgirl Sakura’s with, it’s Meilin! My girl returned this episode, got to meet Akiho, and then spent most of it hanging out with Sakura engaging in absolutely adorable slice of life antics, also her hair looks really great when it’s down, also I especially adore the scene where she’s brushing and drying Sakura’s hair that shit was sweet enough to give me cavities. But probably her actual best moment comes in a scene where like, Sakura’s telling Meilin that she’s worried about Syaoran, cause he seems to be in some sort of mood where he wants to say something but won’t. Which is true, it’s called the Eriol Effect. But since Sakura knows it’s upsetting him, she doesn’t want to press him about it, she feels that it’ll just stress him out if she asks and if he wants to tell her, then eventually he will. Really sweet on Sakura’s end, but where Meilin fuckin champs is when she says “It’s hard when you’re both too important to each other” except she says it in Chinese baby! Or Cantonese or Mandarin, I don’t really know, I don’t know the differences, and my 1 second of Googling did nothing to help. Point is it’s that good old “nice things in other languages” thing I love the ever living shit out of. It’s not quite “to my dear friend, Sakura Kinomoto” but it’s not going for that sort of emotion so hey who cares. Fuck I love Meilin.

God look at her she’s just so cute! This is from the episode preview but who cares. Point is that between Sakura, Meilin, Tomoyo and Akiho, Cardcaptor Sakura has like 4 of the cutest girls ever, and they’re all in the same exact show. Unbelievable.

Also before I forget to mention, Touya and Yue have a little conversation, because it turns out that thing he had to tell Yukito when the time is right, is the new powers he’s developing. We don’t know what they are yet, but after giving his power over to Yue to save Yukito, his I suppose magical strength is just sort of returning to him, albeit in a different, still unknown form. It’ll be pretty exciting to see where that one goes.

So yeah, brilliant episode. Meilin didn’t leave at the end either so we get to appreciate her wonderful presence for even longer, thank god.

[blurhawaii]

Yuletide 2019

dear yuletide writer,

hello and happy yuletide! this is my fifth year taking part and my longest letter yet so i’m just going to jump right in. the suggestions are guidelines. if you’ve got a great idea, go for it. i only ask that you steer clear of my dislikes.

feel free to go through my tumblr for each of these fandoms. i should have tags for them, tho your mileage may vary. i might even have more stuff on my side blog: here. likes:

dysfunctional relationships eg. codependency, messed up father/son dynamics, enemies to lovers, power imbalances.

found family

big loyalty kink. love it when trust is earned and kept.

praise kink

vulnerability in men

open and honest communication between partners

i love ot3s. it’s the journey of them getting together and making it work that interests me the most. or how an established pair goes about bringing in a third person.

stories set in canon. or a divergence of canon.

dark/bleak fics. don’t be afraid to drag characters through the mud. happy endings are welcome but i like the struggle.

i’m fine with anything from gen to porn but would be happiest with something in the middle. i love first times.

canon typical violence is fine and to be expected from some of my choices of fandoms.

detective stories/film noir

magical realism/cosmic horror. weird hints of it in an otherwise normal universe

redemption arcs

characters and relationships are more important than plot for me

dislikes:

AUs that are completely disconnected from canon e.g. coffee shop AUs.

established relationships

crossovers

genderbending

feminisation of male characters

fics that are entirely fluff

A/B/O fics

PWP

mpreg 

scat/watersports

first person fics (i have no problem with second person fics tho if you think that could work. they really wow me when done well.)

The Departed (2006) *Billy Costigan             *Sean Dignam

one of my favourite films ever. i request it every year so you can't really go wrong with this as i am thirsty for anything. most of my love is for dignam and his tough love attitude towards his job and the undercovers he's responsible for. it's obvious he cares, i don't think you could do a job like that and not care, but those rare and few moments when he softens around billy --we need you, pal-- that's what i would like to see more of. i have written a couple of departed fics myself, centred around costigan/dignam, but in all honesty, i would be happy with anything involving them both. shipping is preferred but whatever you are comfortable with is fine. due to the nature of the film, i am perfectly comfortable with violence and the screwed up relationship they are bound to have. the friction born of the situation vs the fact that they need each other to get through this is what i am all about.

codependency, power imbalances and enemies to lovers tropes are abound here.

fics where billy lives are my usual go-to. the survivability of being shot in the head, that kind of stuff can be hand waved away in fic, and i'd love something that explores the angst of billy's ‘where the hell were you when i needed you’ reaction towards dignam following that ending.

or a canon divergence fic with their totally antagonistic relationship being front and centre. i just ask that there be an underlying level of affection, no matter how buried. when billy is undercover, there’s a special kind of relationship that comes with dignam and queenan being the only people he can talk to.

something i’ve never seen for this but would actually love: a time loop/groundhog day fic

Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)

*Sarah Harding                  *Ian Malcolm                  *Nick Van Owen

i originally wasn’t going to ask for this again this year (i was lucky enough to get treated with a fic a couple of years ago) but then someone other than myself nominated nick van owen which surprised and delighted me and i figured why the hell not.

my passion here is the ot3 potential. i view these three in the same way i view the trio in the first film, meaning i see them as three people who have bonded over a traumatic experience and come out of it forever linked in some way. they spend the entire film looking out for each other and keeping each other safe, and they all separately take care of ian’s daughter at one point and i am fascinated by this and how that could continue in the future. (in fact, i love stories where adults treat kids like adults, not talking down to them–see any shane black film.) i’m looking for an actual relationship between them but would be happy with anything that showcased a connection with every side of this triangle.

anything post-film with them dealing or not dealing with what happened would be amazing. there are quite a few fics based around this idea for the first film’s trio, i’d love to see something like that for these three. (i’ve always been kind of bitter about the way nick just disappears for the last act but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that’s what fics are for, i guess.)

i don’t like the jurassic world films but i’m fine with fics that take that future into account. a lot of the trauma for these characters comes from the idea that the parks still exist and continue to fuck people up.

Godless (TV 2017)

*Roy Goode                 *Bill McNue                 *Alice Fletcher

i’m a massive fan of westerns. the harsh way of life, the violence, the isolation, drawn out revenge plots, the murkiness of good vs evil or sheriff vs anti-hero, the importance of honour and heroism and how that differs for men and women, especially in this universe with its town full of widows. having said all that, i’m still very much a sucker for cool cowboys in a shallow female way.

as you’ve probably already gathered my favourite thing is turning every love triangle into an ot3. so i’d love a fic post canon where roy comes back after realising found family is just as important as real family despite frank’s influence. i imagine bill would try to do the gentlemanly/self depreciating thing of bowing out and letting roy and alice be together but i’d love for alice to actually get a say in this where she wasn’t allowed in the show. however you jigsaw them together my main thing is that bill doesn’t get left out.

i feel the roy/bill aspect in particular could be explored a lot more. i love that they don’t hate each on sight. they learn mutual respect and then smoothly move around each other during the gunfight at the end. (bill’s deteriorating eyesight side plot also fascinates me, how it goes with his loss of purpose -”losing his shadow”- and comes back when teaming up with roy to defend the town. maybe there’s a fic possibility where it flares up again due to his insecurity of roy coming between him and alice. either way, the hints of magical realism here and with frank’s repeated insistence that he’s seen his death and this ain’t it are great and i wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.)

the usual ideas of western masculinity get all twisted around when roy and bill are in the presence of alice and they both seem kind of subby towards her, which yes please. the way alice kisses the scar she gave roy and the fact that he simply lets her is *chef kiss* because i also love the parallel that bill got shot in the hip trying to get revenge for alice. they all have scars that tie them together.

i’m actually very okay with letting them be soft with each other after all of their tragedy.

honest communication between partners could work wonders here.

Barry (TV 2018)

*Barry Berkman                     *Monroe Fuches

i expected to like this show. dark comedy, depressed hitman, henry winkler, it’s a perfect combination of things. i didn’t expect to get obsessed with barry’s obvious fucked up father-figure hangups. but hey ho, i was pleasantly surprised.

pretty much every one of barry’s relationships in this show has an element of fucked-upness but the barry/fuches one is by far the worst. it’s codependent, it’s manipulative, it’s a little abusive, the power is constantly flip-flopping and most importantly there’s the father/son dynamic that could so easily tip over into something sexual. it’s everything i love. any time fuches calls barry “his boy” it kills me. and i am fascinated by the way barry can go from needy and touch starved to a rampaging killer hunting fuches down by the end and still have that dynamic going strong.

the parallels between them and the barry/gene cousineau relationship, which is fucked up too just in a very different way, are great. love the jealousy it brings and i would even be into a fic set post the season 2 ending, if you could find a way to swing that. though, while i like a little darkness, i would still rather see them fall back into old unhealthy habits than kill each other.

any kind of prequel fic would be amazing too.

and just to be clear i’m more than okay with a sexual relationship between these two but if you don’t want to write it that’s fine. I’d just like all the other aspects of their shitty relationship delved into.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

*Bud White                         *Ed Exley

pretty much all of my bullet pointed likes come into play here. i’ve nominated two characters but i’d be happy with almost any combination of the characters available in the tagset as long as exley is involved in some way.

ships i like: bud/exley,  exley/vincennes,  bud/exley/lynn

but if we matched purely on both bud and exley then:

i love the opposites attract partnership bud and exley have and i like that they both seem angry at their attraction to each other. hate-sex with reluctant feelings? always good. i'd love anything that deals with their perceived difference in intellect and/or education. bud being turned-on by exley's smarts, exley realizing how much he's underestimated bud, them being mutually impressed by each other.

if you choose to go down the ot3 route then:

i love fics where exley shows up in arizona and they fall into weird domesticity. i love seeing how three people--especially three people who aren't used to the idea of poly relationships--work their way towards realizing and accepting what they want.

and while i’m not sure what you could do with this knowledge, i’d just like to add that i’ve read the book and i’m somewhat obsessed with the existence of dream-a-dreamland in general. if you could incorporate that in any way i’d be hugely impressed.

POKEMON Detective Pikachu (2019)

*Harry Goodman                        *Hide Yoshida

this is totally a last minute request that i’ve edited in but is by no means less wanted than the others. i watched this film back when it came out and was honestly surprised by how much i enjoyed it. i’m a massive pokemon fan and have been since i got my pokemon red when i was seven years old and, let me tell you, getting to see all those growlithes waddling about the real world was like a childhood dream come true.

i had a good time and i moved on.

a few days ago i stumbled on a piece of art : here : and it was like the little goblin that is my brain just sat up straight. the very concept of these characters together had never crossed my mind before that but then suddenly the desire for this just casually strolled through my entire headspace, turning on every light as it went.

i love detective stories, i love cop partnerships, i love hot single dads who happen to be cops with cute little pokemon cop partners. i love that harry is kind of a shitty father but he’s now trying his best. i love that hide had nothing but praise and respect for harry when he meets with tim and that he knew things like tim wanting to be a pokemon trainer when he was younger (meaning he and harry had talked about stuff like this.) i love that hide inexplicably has a spare key to harry’s apartment in his desk drawer. i love how absolutely certain hide was in saying harry loved his son more than anything in the world.

there’s history there is what i’m saying, and i’d love to know more about it.

anything set pre-film would be cool. loose cannon harry throwing his whole being into his job to deal with the loss of his wife and his fractured relationship with his son. hide the tired lieutenant trying to rein him in, quietly talking about tim together, keeping him grounded and safe. all up until he can’t, that is. (great angst potential with hide genuinely believing harry is dead.)

anything set post-film would be even better. harry struggling to find balance between being a father and a cop. probably doing a shitty job at it in the beginning. hide trying to help. would love for tim to be an actual presence (outsider POV could be amazing here.)

may sound strange but my favourite thing that used to happen in digimon a lot is when characters would interact with each other digimon partner. i would be massively into a fic about the two of them growing closer through each other’s pokemon partner.

thank you writer and best of luck.

[butterflydm]

The Magicians Revisited: 1x02 The Source of Magic

Significant moments: We meet reoccurring character Prof. Sunderland as she questions Q after the attack by the Beast. She wants to know how the Beast got in and how he knew Quentin’s name. Martin wants to ‘nip this in the bud’ and sees killing Q as the best means to that end; I feel like Q is the one explicitly mentioned to get killed in every previous timeline, but I guess I will get confirmation about that at the end of the season. If Jane did realize that Quentin was Time Key Old Man, then it makes a lot of sense that she would junk a timeline the second Q gets killed, because he needs to live, grow old, and go back in time to solve the mosaic to give her the key that she’s using to do all this to begin with.

All four of our main first years contribute to the fight - Q materializes the watch that first pushes The Beast away, Kady and Alice both use spells to hurt him, and Penny destroys the mirror that he used to enter and leave.

Q tries to talk to Alice about the summoning spell, but Eliot and Margo find Q and Alice in the aftermath of the attack and are affectionate and coddling, cutting the conversation short. Margo takes Alice off to talk in her room, while Eliot and Quentin talk outside. Margo asks Alice about what happened and about her family; Alice does not tell her about the summoning. Margo tells Alice that she wants to be her friend; Alice does not believe her. Quentin does tell Eliot about the summoning, and he and Eliot also share their respective traumas of depression and telekinetic manslaughter.

So, a thought that I’m going to look at further: did Margo genuinely want to try to be friends with Alice but her manner and general personality combined with Alice’s own biases misled Alice into believing Margo’s actions were not sincere OR is Alice right that Margo does not actually want to be friends but is pretending to want to be for ulterior motives? Because Margo does invite Alice to join them and hang out in 1x01 too, and Alice dismisses that as insincere as well. However, if Margo was being sincere here, she might decide at a certain point that she doesn’t want to put up with having her motives constantly questioned, and so stops trying. I’m going to be watching future Margo-Alice scenes with a careful eye, I think, because it’s possible that Alice’s opinion is being colored by how incredibly selfish her parents are and she mistook a genuine attempt at friendship for something else.

Eliot is obviously, painfully, sincere and genuine with Quentin and Quentin, just as obviously, doesn’t doubt that Eliot’s intentions are good. This episode lays a very strong foundation for their future friendship (… and romance) by having Quentin confide readily in Eliot and Eliot deciding to share just as deeply so that he can have a real emotional connection with Quentin. And this kind of impulse in Eliot is, I think, what Martin takes advantage of when he’s possessing/controlling Mike later on this season. I’ll watch out for that when I get there.

Q and Alice then talk and he tells her about Fillory and that he thinks Fillory is real. The real Chatwins lived next to the author of the Fillory books, and Martin Chatwin went missing in real life and Jane disappeared the year after.

Ah-ha, yes. Penny confirms in his scene with Kady that he went to the lab because the voice that has been talking to him told him to — the voice that he now knows is the Beast. That voice taught him magic before he came to Brakebills. It talked to him all while he was growing up and he considered it his only friend. Ouch. Though, actually, that makes me wonder exactly how early in their lives the timeline loops over, if the Beast was already talking to Penny when he was a kid. Hmm.

Penny wants to leave Brakebills, Kady wants to convince him to stay. At this point, she does convince him to cover for her while she steals from the Physical Kids’ cottage, which… yeah, so Kady is definitely playing him at this point, since she’s actively using him now... which means that’s she’s doing the same thing to him right now that the Beast did to him all his life, tricking him into thinking she’s a source of support when she’s actually using him to advance her own agenda. …ouch again. She’s got some strong mitigating factors on her side but… still, ouch.

Sunderland confronts the group, she questions them individually, Penny throws Q under the bus regarding the spell, and both Kady and Alice let him do it. Eliot finds Q afterwards and tries to make him feel better. Q almost leaves a message on Julia’s voicemail apologizing to her for their conversation in 1x01 and asking her to remind him about magic when he forgets, but deletes it before he hangs up. Q then picks a fight with Penny, and he ends up getting punched and having his battle magic bounce back on him and throw him back several feet.

I had not recalled exactly how brutal the fallout was between Penny and Q in the aftermath of the summoning. And Q’s desperation in general was very apparent, kinda illustrating that if his and Julia’s positions had been reversed in this timeline, he probably would have been willing to go just as far as she was in trying to get magic back into his life.

Meanwhile, Julia meets the hedge witches and Marina (head witch) is pretending to be another beginner like Julia so that she can evaluate her. I mean, it takes up a lot of screentime and I enjoy the scenes but that’s… basically all that happens. We also find out in a scene with Pete and Marina that Kady is under Marina’s thumb, and that’s who she was stealing for.

Q steals the Emerson’s Alloy from Penny to keep his mind from being wiped, but Jane (calling herself “Eliza” to Quentin) is there and she, of course, has no plans to wipe his mind right now. Their conversation is very interesting. She’s evaluating him, testing him to see if she thinks this version of him is up to the task. She tells him not to overthink things, and I’m thinking about 3x05 — also, in 1x01, Julia told Q to “live his life”, which is used in 3x05 as well. “You’re late”, “don’t overthink things”, “live your life here”. I’m going to see if those pop up other places, too. Jane wants Q to think outside the box, to break out of what he might normally do, because she knows he’ll get involved — she’s not sure why it’s Quentin, but he’s inevitable. Jane does take the Emerson’s away from Q, so none of the main group have it now.

Jane talks to Fogg and he is not happy with how things are going. He tells her that she should be the one fixing things in Fillory and killing the Beast, not Penny and Quentin. We do end on a cheerful note, with Margo and Eliot happily welcoming Quentin back.

Magic: 1. Pete locks the door of the meat locker for Julia’s test with Marina. 2. Q “materializes” the watch from Dean Fogg’s hand into his own and uses it against the Beast to push him away. 3. Kady uses battle magic against the Beast. 4. The Beast knocks Kady’s head against a desk. 5. Alice uses a spell against the Beast that drives him back into the mirror. 6. Pete ‘wakes up’ the corpse in the meat locker to try to get Julia looking in the right direction. 7. Magic-sensing map that Sunderland uses. 8. Julia creates the temporary warming spell in the meat locker. 9. Quentin uses battle magic against Penny, but Penny has the Emerson’s Alloy that Kady stole from the Physical Kids’ cottage, so it bounces back on Quentin. 10. Healing magic for Q’s arm in the infirmary. 11. Healing magic is being used on Dean Fogg’s injuries. 12. Eliot uses magic to increase the fire in the BBQ.

Relationships: Dean Fogg & Jane Chatwin: slightly shaky allies Quentin & Julia: estranged friends Julia & James: established relationship -> becoming estranged Quentin & James: estranged friends Quentin & Eliot: friends & confidantes Quentin & Penny: antagonistic & hostile Eliot & Margo: best friends Margo & Quentin: friendship Quentin & Alice: temporary allies Penny & Kady: romantic & sexual relationship Kady->Penny: manipulative relationship Margo & Alice: potentially aborted friendship Penny & the Beast|Martin: manipulative mentorship -> betrayal Marina & Pete -> Julia: manipulative mentorship Marina -> Kady: blackmail/extortion Eliot & Alice: No interaction; Eliot was focused completely on Quentin in the aftermath of the attack Quentin->Kady: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Kady->Alice & Quentin: “losers" Alice->Kady & Penny: temporary allies Penny->Alice: seems okay with her Jane&Fogg->Quentin&co: manipulative mentorship

Physical contact: The Beast covered Q’s mouth with his hand during the attack (to suffocate him, looks like) and left blood on his face. Right before that, he also touches Q’s cheek (somewhat similarly to how Pete touches Julia in 1x01, actually). Penny holds Kady after the Beast attacks her. Eliot puts his arm around Q’s shoulders; Margo puts her arm around Alice’s shoulders and holds her hand. When they get to the Physical Kids’ cottage, Margo takes Alice by the arm and leads her off. Kady grabs Penny by the wrist while she’s trying to talk him out of leaving. I also think she touches his stomach, but it’s below the camera. Eliot and Margo snuggle on the couch in the Physical Kids' cottage. Penny touches a random Physical Kid student while distracting him from Kady stealing things from the cottage. Kady grabs Penny by the arm again after she steals from the cottage and they’re outside. She grabs his chin to get him to look her in the eye. Penny takes Kady by the hand after he leaves Sunderland’s office. Quentin pushes Penny, Penny pushes him back and punches him, then holds him down with his arm behind his back. Sunderland pushes Penny back slightly to keep him from approaching Quentin again. Marina puts her arm around Julia’s shoulder after the test is done. Jane rests a hand on Fogg’s knee as he’s in the hospital bed.

Character Notes: Alice Quinn: unaware of Fillory, never read the books and did not know the main character’s name. Not a fan of fantasy books in general. Marina: level 50 hedge witch; self-proclaimed ‘top witch in New York’.

Students: No new info.

Timeline Notes: Picks up in the aftermath of the Beast attack. We find out that it’s a Monday (classes are cancelled ‘tomorrow’ but pick up again ‘Wednesday’). The last scene of the episode is the next day (Tuesday).

Ways the Loop-aware Messed With Our Kids: 1. Martin was the voice in Penny’s head encouraging him to help Alice and Q with the summoning spell 2. Martin tries to kill them after the summoning spell has been done. 3. Jane talks to Q and encourages him along the path she wants him to take.

[polar-stars]

Can I just say...? #2 - About Chapter 278

So....EU agreed on Article 13 today and I am pretty bummed. I honestly don’t know anymore, but I might not be able to produce any content for the fandom anymore. 

Again, I really don’t know how this’ll actually work and if it will have an affect on fanfiction and fan art, everyone is saying something different. But...there is possibility so to speak. I think I’ll surely not be able to make edits anymore though. 

WHATEVER, I’ll use these last seconds of freedom from the Upload Filter to talk about a topic that has been on my heart since last Thursday now. 

What am I talking about? Chapter 278 of Shokugeki no Soma. Or rather....The reactions to it. 

So let’s start off right away after all my rambling about EU-Stuff: I did not like Chapter 278 and I don’t like the current arc as a whole as it is now. 

Before you click away; may I give my explanation why? 

Warning this is going to be all over the place as usual as I am basically just rambling off a ton of thoughts that have been on my mind most recently. 

What I am going to say now is probably going to sound outrageous to many of you and I’m pretty sure I’ll not be a in a good place after the following statement, but I am just going to say it now: 

The current arc feels like designed for a certain fanbase. And here’s the thing, if you’re not part of this fanbase....there is basically nothing to enjoy about this arc. 

You have to absolutely love the couple of Soma and Erina to enjoy this arc. Their relationship has to be at least 60% of the reason why you’re even reading the manga. 

And that’s my problem: Soma’s and Erina’s relationship is not my priority in this manga. Frankly, I never truly cared all that much with who Soma is going to end up with to be honest. My preference had always been Erina and I do love these two together, but I would be fine if it would be Megumi or heck, even Mayumi. Because, simply put, I do not read Shokugeki no Soma to see Soma and Erina end up together. 

Now I know that not everyone thinks that way and by all means, I don’t want to shove my point of view down other people’s throat. If the relationship of two of the main characters has a huge impact on your enjoyment on the manga and your reasoning for reading it, then that’s fine by me honestly. I just want to offer a different viewpoint. 

Because, people who enjoy the current arc, really take a look into it and maybe try to put yourself into the position of a person that doesn’t even has to necessarily hate Sorina or something, they are just not overly excited about it perhaps or don’t care about shipping in general, and try to find anything that is enjoyable about this arc aside from Soma’s and Erina’s moments. Anything.

To go a bit further, I’d like to explain what my main issue is at the moment. 

You see, I personally read Shokugeki mostly because of it’s cast, all of their colorful personalities and their fun interactions with each other. And to people like me this arc is more than frustrating. 

I want to get two things out of the way immediately. 

1. The saying goes around that “The side characters get no attention” is an argument used by salty SouMegu shipper who just want to disguise their real reasoning for hating this arc, which would be: “This arc is all about my NOTP”. And this is one of the problems this fandom has: You’re all so caught up in shipping that some of you fail to realize that the sidelining of the rest of the cast is a real issue. I’m going to explain why in a second. But really: Not everything has to be about ships alright. Also, I am not a hardcore SouMegu shipper. I don’t mind SouMegu, but I always preferred Sorina. So no, I am not a salty SouMegu shipper who wants to disguise her real reasoning. And believe me, some of the people you’re accusing for that are not doing it either. Again, the sidelining of the characters is a real issue. 

2. No this is also not about me being bitchy because “!! My favorite characters (The Polar Star Dormitory Students) don’t get any screentiiiiiime!! Now I am mad!!”. Believe it or not, but I am actually quite advanced in having side characters as my favorite characters and I am perfectly fine with seeing them on the side because I am aware of their role in the story. I was also able to enjoy the Autumn Election Arc and the Stagiares and the Moon Banquet Festival. While I would not mind a little bit of development at all. Also Tsukuda has dropped hints that there could happen some development with Shun Ibusaki at least but...People just forget I think. I would be fine if it didn’t happen at this point. 

The big problem is that most of the cast has barely gotten any development since Central Arc started. 

While Central was still happening within school, they were at least around but most of them didn’t do anything of much significance. 

Then half of the cast was expelled and doomed to stay in the shadows doing nothing for over a year. While the cast that was allowed to stay received garbage treatment, except for Soma and Erina. 

Now the cast is basically dead. Some of the girls are allowed to have little cameos here, but we rarely see anyone these days and we have basically no idea what’s happening in the life of the other people. 

And this is my issue. I am going to be brutally honest now, excuse me, but Soma and Erina are just simply not very interesting to me right now. Easy as that. 

Why? 

A. They’re, again, not my main reason for reading this manga. 

B. They are the ones who received a ton of screen time and a ton of development most recently. 

I do realize that they’re the main characters but is it that hard to let them take the backseat for a bit, to leave some room for the characters that really do need development right now? It’s my humble opinion that Erina’s and Soma’s romance can be saved for later. 

Let’s talk about how undeveloped most of the cast is: 

1. Alice - Back in the Autumn Elections, Alice’s problem was that she was way too focused on making the dish as spectacular as possible that she lost a little bit of sight of the actual topic. Now, normally you’d show that she had learned from that mistake and is now a better chef than back then. But did we see any of that? No. So she can still be further developed. 

2. Hisako - Could still be a lot more ambitious and actually try to fight her way to the top. 

3. Ryo - For Ryo having so much focus time during the AE, we still know very little about him. How the hell did he end up in a pub in Denmark while having a Japanese surname? What happened. 

4. Takumi - Still didn’t had a Shokugeki with Soma, despite it being the first thing he mentioned when appearing. Still no Mezzaluna. 7th Seat even though he participated in the RDC. 

5. Ikumi - Has sadly become very irrelevant in these days and is almost a carbon copy of her former self. It’s like she is only defined by her crush for Soma nowadays and is just there to make fun of. 

6. Isami - Basically still stands in the shadows of his brother. 

7. PSD + Nao and Miyoko - Nothing since the AE premlins. 

A good example of how badly the cast is treated right now is the Neo Elite Ten: We basically know nothing about how this seating even happened. Why was Subaru kicked out, despite participating in the RDC? 

Also. 

How exactly did Nene and Eizan end up there?

Nene at least showed hints of a change of heart throughout RDC (but then again, would be nice to see if she actually changed from her match with Soma and is now not as tradition-focused as back then) but Eizan?!

Like excuse me if I am missing something here, but this character was pretty much a horrible person throughout the manga. He was a major antagonist. 

Like don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with him redeeming himself (cause I actually like Eizan, believe it or not) but come on, you can’t tell that this is in any way good writing: “Yeah, I am just going to take one of the biggest assholes and just make him join the good guys out of the sudden. No one will notice!” Like, I am not asking for an immediate, detailed explanation on how in the world Eizan redeemed himself but.....some exposition would be nice??! Am I really the only person who sees the glossing over the redemption of a major antagonist as a problem?

Basically: There is so much else we could be focusing on right now (There is also this “Handpicked Jewels Thing”....Yeah remember that one?) but what are we focusing on? Introducing another villain character (even though the first one was not the most well-received one), making him eat up a ton of screen time and giving the rest of the screen time to Soma and Erina, even though we just had a year-long arc (only counting the RDC mind you) that gave them a ton of screen time and put the side characters into the shadows. And for what: A love triangle story. 

And yeah, I guess if you love Sorina to death you can look over these issues and still have a great time. I admit that their balcony moment was cute. But my problem still remains, I don’t care that much about it. 

I could be a lot more forgiving if the plot was actually good, but it’s not in my opinion. So I just can’t enjoy it. I am sorry. 

“Tsukuda is still the author he can do whatever he wants.”

Yeah. 

I know that this post is not going to change Tsukuda’s writing. But people, Tsukuda is still an author. Authors do get criticism. All the time. Just as movie directors do and artists and actors etc. etc. 

And yeah he can do whatever he wants, doesn’t mean that I have to like it. 

“Well if you don’t like it, don’t read it.”

//sighs.

Okay listen, I could have said the exact same thing to all the people who were ranting over and over back when the Hot Spring Arc was happening. They were equally as frustrated as some of us are now. 

Why didn’t they stop reading?

Maybe you should consider why we are frustrated and why we do not like this arc instead of just feeling personally attacked because we’re criticizing an arc that happens to push your OTP a lot. 

Most of us do care a lot about Shokugeki no Soma. Watching through the anime back then is still a wonderful, enchanting memory to me that I am very fond of to be honest. I support it in any way that is possible to me. I buy the German edition of the manga, I bought the German edition of the anime + it’s absolutely wonderful German dub. I bought a little bit of merchandise already and plan to buy more. 

I love this manga and it’s characters with all my heart and seeing it going so downhill is actually quite hurtful okay. And I mostly shut up about it because I hate to mess with people and I hate raining on other people’s parades. 

But seeing how many excuses are made up to defend this arc and everything is immediately linked to shipping and people who happen to not like this arc are immediately “Megumi/SouMegu”-Fans who are just bitter is getting exhausting. 

Because again. There is literally nothing in this arc except Sorina. The side characters are dead, the exam was glossed over, we don’t even know what has changed on Totsuki now that Erina is headmaster except for the fact that everyone is on a challenge-spree and I find it....almost a little bit unfair to the readership that picked up this manga for it’s food, it’s wide cast, it’s interesting battles, it’s light-heartedness...y’know the things that the manga was about back in the days. It was perfectly functioning fine without much romance. 

And yeah, romance was inevitable. But what’s currently going on is not exactly very well-written and the bitterness also comes from general tiredness from the last arc already. 

Enjoy it all you want! I am not blaming you okay. But stop acting like all criticism is invalid because it’s because of shipping bias.

Take the shipping goggles off for a second and stop seeing everything black and white. 

That’s all I have to say on that matter. 

I am sorry if I sounded a little harsh at some points and I really did not intend to attack anyone in particular. I am just tired of seeing valid, negative opinions about the current chapter being brushed off as invalid. 

In the end we all have our own opinions and the right to enjoy whatever we like.

And hey, on a positive note: Maybe Erina’s kindapping will lead to an Elite 10 Battle against Azami’s crew so maybe at least a little bit of development will happen. 

Have a good day/night and treat yourself right. 

[scribbles-by-kate]

Series rewatch thoughts - 1.19 “The Return”

Picking up from my thought at the end of the last recap, it seems clear that Rumple found Kathryn after her accident and brought her somewhere, maybe to that abandoned house Sidney talked about. He kept her there, gave her food and water, and then drugged her, until he left her in that field and she was able to find her way to town just before Mary Margaret was sent over the town line.

As for the main thread of this episode - Rumple and Bae, now that we know about Rumple’s loss of his own father, his reluctance and fear at the portal makes more sense, or adds another layer to that behaviour. Because, although he was reluctant to be powerless, and he likely didn’t believe Bae would find another way to free him from the dagger, he didn’t back out on their deal until he saw the portal. It seems to me that he was afraid of that magic, and if I was watching that for the first time again, I’d be questioning why he was afraid of a bit of magic, when he had so much of his own. That would make me think there was more to it, and, indeed, there is. I do think that he was afraid to be powerless, but I think he would have gone with Bae if he’d found another way. I absolutely do think he would have gone with him, because he had his chance to back out when Bae came to him that night. He didn’t take it then, even though he was going on about being powerless. He was clearly thinking of backing out of the deal then, but he didn’t do it. He only did it when he told Bae the portal would rip them apart, and, again, if I were watching for the first time, I’d be wondering why he said it exactly like that.

Not that I believe going to the Land Without Magic would actually have freed Rumple anyway. Blue wants to send him somewhere he can’t use his power, but he’d still be the Dark One, and we know from later seasons that magic can exist in the Land Without Magic, and that if Rumple were killed there, the Darkness would likely have swirled around looking for a new host. Plus, he’d still be immortal if he weren’t killed. So Blue’s solution is simply to rid herself of the headache of Rumple/the Dark One, rather than actually help in a meaningful way.

Also, Blue says what ails Rumple is specific to their realm, and that his powers don’t belong there, which…doesn’t make sense? Honestly, she’s so shady. Morainne’s talk about the first power and Blue saying she’s on the right side, as opposed to the good side, just makes her sound so questionable. And WHY doesn’t she tell Bae to try True Love’s Kiss? She’s a fairy: surely she knows about that!

A couple of other things about Blue - her antagonistic attitude to Rumple when he asks her about another way to get to Bae doesn’t really fit with my idea of a benevolent fairy. I wonder if she’s influenced by what happened with Rumple’s mother and the fact that he was meant to be the Saviour and is maybe denying the idea that she should have done more to protect him way back when. And Blue is clearly awake in Storybrooke. She smiles when Rumple asks about August, and, though she’s telling him the truth about August and his father, it also conveniently fits the narrative about Rumple and Bae, and August says a fairy told him about Rumple. We saw August with Blue, so obviously Blue is awake. She’s so damn shady!

At this point in the flashbacks, we are past the point where Rumple made Bae forget about commanding him to kill Beowulf. Watching again, it’s heartbreaking to see that Rumple getting worse and he and Bae growing apart is a result of Rumple trying to protect Bae from the Darkness. He sacrificed his own soul to keep Bae’s pure, but it still tore them apart. Rumple tells August that Bae was the bigger man, but only because he made him so, and damned himself in the process. It’s heartbreaking.

The story about Rumple’s addiction to power has threads in this episode too. Rumple says he needs more power to protect Bae, and worries about being powerless, but he’s not quite so far gone that he wouldn’t have given it up. I know they didn’t explicitly call this an addiction until Rumple said it in season six, but that’s clearly what it is when you read between the lines.

And the thing is, Rumple does have moments where it looks like he might be able to overcome the addiction. He has two of them in this episode. The first is when he goes into the woods with Bae, and the second is when he hands August the dagger, telling him he’s choosing him now. Most of the time in situations like this, Rumple’s intention is honourable: it’s only circumstances that make it not work out. In the woods with Bae, he was frightened and traumatised by the portal, and in the woods in Storybrooke, August wasn’t really the son he thought he was reuniting with. So his intentions don’t work out, and he doesn’t conquer his addiction.

So, really, I can’t blame Rumple for believing that intent is meaningless. For him, it always has been. He may intend to do the right thing, but then something will happen to thwart his intention. And I don’t think the instances of that in this episode were about him choosing not to do the right thing, or not simply that. With Bae, he didn’t go through with going through the portal because he believed it would tear them apart, as it did him and his father. And with August, he gave him the dagger: he’d handed it over, made his choice, and then discovered he’d been deceived. So it wasn’t about choosing power: it was about fear and loss, and it was about deceit.

For Regina, I think it’s somewhat simpler. You intend to do something, you do it, and it’s done. She intends to get her revenge on Snow White, and she’s not willing to stop until she does so. But Rumple is older and has lived longer, and has experienced his plans not working out as he intends more than she has. He’s somewhat more jaded than she is.

I believe that Regina is right, though: intent is everything. And I think that’s what Rumple has to learn, or one of the things he has to learn. His take seems to be that you can intend something, but if it doesn’t happen, what you intended means absolutely nothing: hence, it’s meaningless. But his is a more pessimistic view, and maybe more practical too. I think what Regina believes is more optimistic and aspirational. And I think Belle believes that way too.

Belle later tells Rumple she wants him just to try, and, for a long time, he resists that, because, to him, intent means nothing because it never works out: trying never works out. But then, eventually, he does try, and that kind of transforms his life. He intends to do better, he tries to do better, and he succeeds. So I think, by the end of his story, he’s more of a convert to Regina (and Belle’s) way of thinking: intent is everything.

What we learn about Bae seeking a way to rid his father of his magic safely actually ties in with what we learn about Neal trying to destroy magic later on in the series. I know there was some suggestion about Neal doing that so he could protect himself from Rumple, but I think what we know about Bae from this episode suggests that he might have been looking for a way to save Rumple also. Honestly, it could easily have been both. We know on some level that Neal feared his father, but he also loved him. So I don’t think, in hindsight, Neal wanting to destroy magic should have come as such a surprise: it was similar to what he wanted to do as a child.

The way Rumple looks at August at Mary Margaret’s party is heartbreaking. He thinks this is his son, and he just doesn’t know how to deal with it. I think Archie is really helpful to him. I’m sure that whole situation must have been so odd for Archie, hearing that Mr Gold had a son who maybe wanted to kill him, but he’s kind and understanding, and actually helps.

The fact that Rumple thinks Bae might kill him says a lot about how guilty he feels, and how he knows how wrong he was. He’s also quick to tell Archie that his son isn’t the one who needs to ask for forgiveness. He’s had centuries to berate himself for his poor choices, and he’s under no illusions that he was in the right.

I’ve had a lot of issues with Rumple’s lack of honesty in later seasons, but he says it here himself: honesty’s not the best colour on him. So it’s very telling when Rumple does go out of his way to be honest. When Rumple’s being completely honest, you know that means he really cares, and he really wants to do right and make amends. He’s only like that with five people in his life: Bae, Belle, Gideon, Alice, and Wish Hook. He has moments with other people, like Robin, but usually he will only really be honest with people he really cares about.

I really, really hate what August does to Rumple in this episode. His own desperation isn’t really an excuse, and his life being on the line isn’t one either. Rumple asks why he didn’t just come to him, and I don’t think August’s explanation that he needed him to want it holds up, or is particularly fair to Rumple. He basically stole Rumple’s apology to his son. Rumple can’t find it in him to be that eloquent when he meets the real Bae later, perhaps because he feels like that might get taken from him too. At the same time, I wonder if August really believed he would get that emotional a reaction from the Dark One. It’s easy to plan to trick this all-powerful sorcerer, but then to do it and have said sorcerer break down? I don’t know that he was prepared for that. And I do also wonder if August was hearing the words he wanted to hear from his own father, so he was pretending in that moment for his own emotional wellbeing. I do hate what he does here, but I don’t despise him somehow. I think there are definitely characters I dislike a lot more.

There was some talk about a retcon when we learned later on that Bae did use the dagger on Rumple. He tells August that his son would never try to control him, but I think, even though Rumple clearly knows that that’s not true, he’s never going to reveal that to the man who’s pretending to be his beloved son. Of course he’s going to talk Bae up to August. I don’t think he would ever tell just anybody that about Bae. I think the only ones who know the truth about that are Belle, and the first version of Gideon. Rumple’s not going to reveal that truth to very many people. So it’s Rumple being selective with the truth, rather than a retcon (and I hate that word anyway, especially when applied to such a non-linear story).

A few other things I wanted to talk about briefly:

It’s so weird to see how different the back room looks. They even changed the colour of the walls a few times. It’ll be interesting to see when they settle on the layout they had until the end.

Rumple skulking at Mary Margaret’s party is kind of amusing and sad. I’m assuming he was invited because he was her lawyer, but I suspect he only went because he wanted to keep an eye on August.

Henry’s card for Mary Margaret is still funny.

I can’t believe Regina is only now thinking to ask Rumple what giving her the curse was all about. I suppose it shows how much, at the end of the day, she did trust him. But her realisation that it’s all going to lead back to her clearly signals to her that he’s setting her up. I mean, I don’t know if he is. Maybe he just wants to remind her that he’s more powerful. Regina found a way to get out of it anyway, but it still must sting of betrayal when she realises he’s not actually on her side. It’s amazing to me that she trusted him, but, as a viewer, I know more than she does, so, from her point of view, this must turn her world upside down, even though, as we know, she’s keeping leverage over him too, so I suppose I can’t feel too sorry for her here. It’s a weird kind of trust/mistrust relationship that they have, and she’s well able to give as good as she gets when dealing with him. Also, Rumple inviting her to figure it out shows he doesn’t think she’s an idiot. Maybe he wants her to figure out what his beef with her is. I do still think it’s about the whole power play thing, but, very soon, now, it’s going to be all about Belle.

Maybe diagonally is the smartest thing Emma Swan will say in seven whole seasons. Perceptive, Emma.

Yes, David, Kathryn is amazing. I’m kind of sorry we never got to see them be friends after the curse broke and they remembered who they were. I like to imagine they were friends off screen.

And I’m glad David apologised to Mary Margaret, but I’m also glad that she didn’t just go back to him. She held her ground, and I love that.

[aion-rsa]

Batwoman Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Survived Much Worse

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This Batwoman review contains spoilers.

Batwoman Season 2, Episode 8

This season of Batwoman has focused a lot on the question posed in the season premiere title:  What happened to Kate Kane? Despite what could have been an open-and-shut, neatly wrapped-up character exit where Kate Kane dies suddenly in a plane crash, the writers felt it was important to keep Kate in play and reintroduced the possibility of her survival in Episode 3 of the season, “Bat Girl Magic.”

Then, I was annoyed by the show’s choice to recenter Kate, perhaps because I suspected there would be no satisfying follow-through—like Ruby Rose making a cameo appearance—perhaps I was wrong. Ever since Safiyah told Alice that Kate was alive on the island, getting to Coryana to retrieve her has been the primary focus for Jacob and Sophie, Alice, and the Bat Team. In this week’s episode, Coryana has finally been found and Kate may be within arm’s reach. Except— surprise!!!—Safiyah lies. Kate was never on the island, and the entire thing was an unnecessarily elaborate ploy by Safiyah to get revenge on Alice and Ocean for their betrayal. Mess.

I should state now, before I get into it, that I love what this episode does for Batwoman. It gives everyone things to do, even Julia who returns just in time to deliver the bad news that Kate Kane is actually, definitively, verifiably, no longer among the living… according to her body parts what washed up in Bludhaven. This episode solidifies Sophie as a potential change-maker within the Crows organization. It allows Alice to introspect on her feelings towards her sister, and confront or at least acknowledge her victimhood at the hands of Safiyah. This episode also shifts the relationship dynamics between Batwoman and the Crows, making room for more cooperation in the future, or even potentially allyship. Luke still cares about Kate, but he also cares about Ryan, and the team feels solid. And Ryan continues to prove she is a worthy successor to the Batwoman mantle, saying iconic lines like, “I am saving them. I am saving Kate. And I’m saving my damn self.”

That said, I am miffed by choices Batwoman writers made in service of this story. First of all, a lot of good sense had to be thrown out in order for these characters to end up on Coryana in the first place. Safiyah is notoriously ruthless and self-serving, yet is immediately believed when she produces the smallest evidence of having seen Kate. The open acceptance of her premise that Kate is alive and captive goes against everything the show establishes about her, and everything characters like Alice and Julia know to be true. It forces a lot of supposedly smart people to lose all their discernment. When Alice is taken to “Kate’s” room on the island, and finds hundreds of duplicates of Kate’s necklace with the red gem, it is supposed to be A Moment. But it is obvious to the audience she was never there, and should’ve been obvious to Alice. What redeems this scene is how Alice responds, by burning the field of Desert Roses.

Second, this episode weakens Safiyah in a lot of ways I’m not sure are intentional. What made Safiyah cool, as a villain we only knew by name, was the fact that she was so powerful and present without having to be on-screen. Seeing her reach, and knowing she had the resources to be everywhere and get to anyone made her frightening. Batwoman introduced her as a ruthless, calculated, and capable antagonist but reduced her to a petty, vindictive woman. Tatiana plants the idea in Alice’s head that Safiyah took down Kate’s plane, so that Alice would respond in kind, stoking hostility between the two women. Safiyah takes advantage of the situation to orchestrate a revenge plot wherein Alice kills the man she loves, but doesn’t remember. Safiyah does the absolute most to get back at Alice and Ocean for falling in love and trying to leave Coryana, and what she sees as betrayal. Safiyah’s entire relationship with Alice is framed as “if I can’t have you no one can,” which is dull. And worse, everything she’s done this season has been to enact revenge on people who are literally over it because she’d already erased their memories and sent them into the world broken. Again, sense… where is it?

What I did love to see was Sophie challenging Jacob on the false narrative that Crows are not above the law. Like Batwoman, the Crows operate mostly unencumbered by traditional structures of authority. The difference is, the Crows get paid to do it. An exchange I find hilarious is when Tatiana reveals Safiyah’s interest in having Sophie stay on the island. Sophie asks, “why would I join an army of ruthless killers?” To which Tatiana replies, “Cause you are already part of one.” This is a thread I hope the writers follow. My favorite moment though comes when Sophie finds Batwoman dying, and stays with her because she doesn’t want to die alone. This is a beautiful, tender moment that reminds us of these characters’ humanity. There is compassion and a genuine connection between them. I hope Ryan and Sophie become close, platonically or romantically, because without their uniforms, they align in a lot of ways, and they both deserve to love and be loved by someone who sees them.

I had hoped this episode would be the final word on Kate Kane, but it seems Batwoman may not be done with her yet. At the very end of the episode we see a body wrapped in bandages wearing Kate’s necklace. Kate is alive and has been recast (with Krypton‘s Wallis Day), and it seems her story has only just begun. What this means for the show going forward is hard to say, but I’m wary of how much the focus might pivot back to Kate. My hope is that however Kate returns to Gotham, her reintroduction doesn’t take any time, energy, or focus away from Ryan. I love creative solutions to a cast member leaving but I don’t want that to come at the expense of other characters. Kate is important, but Ryan wears the Batwoman mantle now, and she has earned the right to stand on her own.

Additional thoughts.

Angelique gave Ryan a Desert Rose, unbeknownst, which Ryan has been nursing for years now. As far as we know, Ryan’s plant is one of the few that survive now, which might make her a new target of Hamilton Dynamics and Safiyah.

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Let the record state that I emphatically ship Ryan and Sophie.

The post Batwoman Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Survived Much Worse appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[silverstarsheep]

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And thanks for all the... Fish! So I feel as though this is something that's needed to be said and explained carefully, as I feel as though people would ask me what my next plan is. I would have to explain my reasoning, and it'd be much easier if I have one place to put it all. Spoilers, by the way.

Now that Sheep Songs is finished, I will not be making any more Bendy and the Ink Machine comics. I might not even make any more fanart of it in general, unless I'm commissioned or hired to do so. While I did love BatIM for a while, and while it DID provide me not only with newfound confidence in my comics, but also a number of opportunities and open doors... I feel as though after chapter 3, I had been betrayed. For me, that chapter completely ruined the game in its entirety--I'll go into that in a little bit. To put it in simple terms: Chapter 2 was a bit iffy for me. Sammy put me on the fence with the cult and satanic tones of the game. However he balanced me nicely and gave me a snack. Chapter 3 on the other hand... Alice ripped the snack out of my hands, ate it in my face and shoved me off the fence and right into the mud. To say that Alice ruined literally EVERYTHING is almost an understatement. Alice is a predictable, boring and really dumb villain. I could predict EXACTLY how her character was going to be, just from ONE line of dialogue--when she mentions you being caught in her web. Listen. When I can accurately predict how a character is going to be just from one little line, THAT'S REALLY, REALLY BAD. She completely ruined the experience for me with her stupid, flat """"""""banter""""""", her unsubtle behavior BORED me, and her overall character frustrated me beyond words. I couldn't stand her, and the overly long and tedious fetch quests did NOT help my thoughts on the matter. I KNOW the Meatly fixed the fetch quests and updated things, but I know he didn't, and I know he WON'T, fix the glaring issues with Alice. She could have been great, but the Meatly tossed his super great and creative premise in favor for a predictable and generic femme fatale that doesn't even try for a second to trick you. She's just, "Oh! I'm evil! By the way, did you know that I was evil? I'm SOOOO rotten, but look at me, I'm cute and perfect, tee hee!" ugh. She tries to be GLaDOS but... She fails. She can't even be compared, really. And don't try to tell me that the chapter is good because we got to have a plank of wood--I mean Boris follow us around. If he did more than just standing around, that would have helped, but HONESTLY. The boy is a plank of wood! He hardly emotes! He hardly reacts! But hey! At least he had more character than Alice, AM I RIGHT?! Ahaah.... Okay, there were some things I did like. The design of the building (even though it's stupidly ridiculous), the atmosphere (even though that was RUINED by the fetch quests and the fact that enemies respawn in the same places... Talk about monotonous and boring...), the twisted toons/Butcher Gang, and the Projectionist. And Wally's always good, but this chapter actually forced me to emotionally detach myself from him. Great. ... But in all seriousness. Chapter 3 left me in a depressive state. I couldn't handle how bad it was, it was SUCH a disappointment. Perhaps I was a little too hopeful; I was willing to look past the issues and flaws beforehand because I adored the ideas. The game had me sold on the concept ALONE. The game has such a creative premise, such neat ideas. I LOVE the ideas and the concepts, but the execution is so poor that it gives me emotional unrest. Again, I had to emotionally detach myself from Wally Franks because I was fearful that he'd get a similar treatment in a later chapter, and if that were the case... I'd be left physically ill. On the night I watched chapter 3, I was sick with anxiety because I was so excited for the new chapter, but I was also nervous for what was to come. I had actual, physical relief when I heard Wally's voice come through a tape recorder, that it actually calmed me to the point where I was no longer anxious. I realized in that moment that he was a comfort character... But I can no longer have that. Because I felt so betrayed by chapter 3. It frustrates me to no end. How amazing this concept is, how great the studio looks and how neat the twisted toons are. But the rest... The execution, the antagonists... They're all so flat and poor. For my own mental health, I must move on from BatIM, however I am still open to taking commissions for art of the game. Just don't expect anything else from it out of me. However, I'd like to leave on a higher note, which is why I drew Edgar. He's my favorite of the Butcher Gang, and inspired a new character of mine, Piper the Spider. And despite not making any more Bendy comics, I WILL continue to make comics as a whole! I have a few projects in mind, so please, stick around! You might just like the next thing I work on! Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through the endeavor that was Sheep songs. It was a wonderful adventure that taught me a lot about comic making, and even a bit about myself. I had a wonderful time making it, and I look forward to the next comic I have in store. Despite my current feelings towards Bendy and the Ink Machine, I DO have to thank it for everything that it gave me. It gave me the spark to start making more comics, starting with The Liar Revealed in Ink part 1 and 2. It inspired me to make even more comics beyond that, full 20-page comics at that! It gave me the inspiration needed to get my gears into motion to make more than just one or two pages worth of comic. Not only that, but it's opened the doors to many things; new followers, new friends, new adventures. It allowed me to meet people I never would have met otherwise, and it's allowed not only myself to grow, but it's also helped others grow through itself, and even through me. So... I do have to thank it. I may have left on a sour note, but I'm still grateful for what it gave to me. And to all of you! For sticking by me!

[takaraphoenix]

So I know you already ranted about Buffy for me but I wanted to ask about one of my other favorites, if not my favorite show Leverage.

*melts into a puddle of happy goo*

I looove Leverage. Oh my gosh, I love this show so much.

I discovered it back when I was on this “Mh, these Ocean’s movies are really great. I love a good heist. Maybe I actually really do, considering my weakness for Kaitou KID. There must be a genre for this”.

What can I say? THERE ISN’T. I have no idea how heist and con shows are not a bigger genre. You get dozens of vampire shows, of demon hunter shows, hundreds and hundreds of police shows, spies get their own genre, superheroes too… I really don’t understand why there aren’t at least a dozen con shows. It’s such a great genre.

And Leverage is fucking amazing.

It’s such a ragtag team of misfits and the way they come together as a team and a family, I love it so much. Team dynamics, and “team as family” dynamics in particular, are my absolute weak-spot. Like, the ultimate weak-spot.

Nate is such a broken character, but in his own way still so strong and the way you see him struggle and grow and come to accept not just his team but also himself is such a great journey. Because often in TV it’s “the alcoholic stops drinking and then the alcoholic never drinks again. Unless in like five seasons we run out of plot and need a brief relaps that will instantly be resolved again too”. No, it’s not that easy. Alcoholism is not that easy. And while he is so not a poster-boy for how to handle it, I love the level of realism they put into his story. I love how complex he is. He’s a good guy, but he’s flawed and he’s not as white as he might like to believe himself to be. My favorite Nate episode has to be “The 12-Step Job” for its complexities, though of course anything involving his son’s death is… always very heavy and important too, but this one has just an edge of lightness too (not to mention, I really love how that episode is more than just a one-note thing and that Jack Hurley actually gets to return later on).

Sophie is such a quirky character. Sure, she and Nate are the “mom and dad” of the team, but definitely not in the classic definition of those terms and they never really stand above the rest of the team. She always has an open ear and kind words for her team. And her relationship with Nate is just so… complex. Definite favorite Sophie episode has to be “The San Lorenzo Job”, I don’t know, I just hold a particular fondness for the way she played the First Lady and gave that politician a spine.

I love Hardison because he’s such a nerd. And sure, he’s a bit of a stereotype in the whole “He’s good with computers, so he is a geek and he’s a scaredy-cat”, but it’s just so endearing and is only highlighted by his relationship with Eliot. Those two bickering is the highlight of every episode, really. My favorite Hardison episode is absolutely “The Gold Job”, I just love how he tries to work his own angle there and it’s just such a mess but also so much fun.

I love Christian Kane, he was a great villain in Angel and I am so excited that these days I get to see him in The Librarians. But his Eliot is definitely my favorite. I love Eliot so much. He has this ridiculous past and so much pain and strength and he kicks ass better than anyone else but he still has a soft heart when it comes to his team. He could have easily been that empty-headed Muscles Character of the show, but he isn’t and I love that. Legit my favorite episode of the show is a tie between “The Wedding Job” because seeing Eliot cook and be so distracted by his cover life is just so great and “The Studio Job” because hearing Eliot sind is just so great too. But I also loved when Eliot was a professional baseball player in “The Three Strikes Job”, so let’s just say I love Eliot in general and that makes every Eliot episode particularly amazing for me? Because they show that he’s more than just the muscle of the show.

Parker is my close second when it comes to favorites here, because I just love thieves so damn much. And she’s just so mysterious and child-like and broken and dysfunctional as a human being and sweet. It’s hard to decide on a Parker episode, though I definitely love “The Juror #6 Job” for the fact that Parker is forced into learning how to be a Proper Human Person and it’s endearing and I love the whoe Alice White running gag that entailed, but I also hold a special place for “The Inside Job” for giving us Parker backstory and meeting her mentor and just tiny!Parker is so adorable and then there is of course also just how special “The Broken Wing Job” is because it’s such a unique take in that it leaves Parker to handle it all on her own without her team and with limited physical abilities, which really gave her the opportunity to shine.

Overall, I gotta admit I generally love every episode featuring the FBI agents because I love when a show isn’t just “Job Of The Week” but has continuity and while just a small detail and not big roles, seeing them again connects the overall story even more for me - and it’s so much fun.

I mean. I could literally go into a fangirl rant about basically every single episode of this show, because this show is so brilliantly written. All they cons are so unique and not just cons but also personal. You learn a bit more about the team with every single con they pull and you always get emotionally involved with the people they help. Always.

You get to watch this team come together as a family and the show has this perfect balance between humor, dark-tones, emotions and seriousness. It’s funny, but it’s also always respectful whenever one of their jobs does go into territory that gets emotional or personal.

Not to mention, the show has the perfect ending. So often, shows are just canned and never even get any ending at all or the ending is announced on such a short notice that it’s kind of a mess. But the ending was set up perfectly, it was written in a way that still makes me cry every time I watched it (and I’ve watched this show about half a dozen times by now) even though it’s a perfect happy ending for everyone.

Now, I can’t end this without mentioning Mark Sheppard here. That fandom-hopping brilliant actor plays such a good gray character in this show. Yes, he’s definitely the antagonist to our team, but I find it hard to call him a flat-out villain considering our guys are also in their very own shade of gray with their job and sadly enough definitely on the wrong side of law. Mark plays Sterling in such a great way that makes you hate the guy at the same time as you admire him.

I really love Leverage and it’s actually, straight after Buffy, one of my go-to rewatch shows when all my currently ongoing shows are on a break and I don’t have anything to watch, because it’s brilliantly written, well-rounded, has lovable characters, exciting and fun stories and it’s a very unique show overall.

And I think the uniqueness and the brilliance in writing really shows by the fact that I actually do have favorite episodes related to each character, that I can actually distinguish the plots enough to say “No, that episode with this sub-plot about that character was just brilliant”. And I really can’t do that for everything I watch.

So yeah, this is a very hard recommendation. If you’re looking for a fun-time that still gets you emotionally attached and you haven’t seen Leverage, put it on your list.