#'the exact same way with an almost identical cast that ended almost identically to the first one. and people STILL bought it.'
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Best parts of Nope 2022:
1) Emerald reciting her father’s speech about their history so much that she always forgets to add a generation to account for her being a generation younger, and OJ always reminding her of it. We don’t figure this out until we see her watching a video of her dad saying the exact line.
2) How the small things always come full circle. It was a coin that killed Otis Senior and it was a coin that helped Emerald capture the only evidence of Jean Jacket. It was a balloon that set off Gordy into a massacre and it was a balloon popping that ended Jean Jacket’s massacre. How the Haywood family’s legacy is based in the first captured film, and it’s Emerald’s picture of Jean Jacket that calls back to and expands on that legacy.
3) How unashamedly campy it was to name the horse we saw die first Ghost and the horse that made it ‘till the end Lucky. (RIP to Clover and the other ones sold off to Jupe). Gordy. Gore-dy. Naming Jean Jacket after the one horse Emerald never got to tame.
4) How the movie starts with Gordy’s rampage and makes you think it’s just part of the Monkeypaw Productions intro and that Gordy is just staring at the audience for the shock value, but mid-movie gets recontextualized into a traumatic flashback of Gordy staring at Jupe under the table.
5) How we will never know why exactly Gordy spared Jupe. Did he calm down enough to recognize Jupe as one of his “family”, or even recognize that they were used and exploited in almost identical ways by the production crew and cast? If one of the other actors swapped places with Jupe, would it have been the same? Was the tablecloth just enough of an obstruction to Jupe’s eyes that Gordy didn’t kill him, and would have if the cloth wasn’t there? Did Gordy even actually reach to touch Jupe’s hand, or did Jupe add that detail on and unknowingly add that to his recollection of the event, and thus his belief that he could reach out and understand Jean Jacket the same way?
6) The way OJ was the one to realize Jean Jacket’s “rules” so to speak, being the character who seems the most coded to be neurodivergent; not looking others in the eye unless absolutely necessary, speaking bluntly and as short of terms as possible, using the way he interacts with horses when speaking to others (the “woah there” to the director at the green screen scene and slapping his hand to his leg to get Angel and Emerald to run faster to the car), unable to carry through with small talk in one scene (the movie scene with the white woman asking Lucky’s name) yet staying on topic and proposing a deal in another (trying to make a deal with Jupe while Emerald looks around), who understands what boundaries the animals he works with have and respects them.
7) How it goes unexplained why Emerald and OJ let Angel stick around because there doesn’t need to be an explanation. They just accept him in their group after a while, and they help each other without question. They allow each other into their respective homes for safety, and he refuses to let Antlers use the remaining horses as bait (”They’re horse people”).
8) The scene where OJ and Lucky run from Jean Jacket as the music swells almost like a rehearsed show between the three of them as Jean Jacket returns to the sky and OJ and Lucky split. That in contrast to Jean Jacket returning and OJ and Lucky barely make it out alive, which we don’t find out if they survive until the very last shots of the movie.
9) I Wear My Sunglasses At Night (Jean Jacket Mix). How music played electronically is used as a detection of Jean Jacket’s presence like some fucked up game of musical chairs.
10) How Emerald's father could never look her in the eye after selling off the original Jean Jacket for money, and how he dies by a nickel through the eye, how it’s money that kills him. How staring at something in the eye when you’re not supposed to is intertwined with not looking and paying attention to something you should have, both in the sense of not losing track of your family as priority and in the sense of not losing track of a wild, lethally dangerous animal.
#nope#nope 2022#nope spoilers#jordan peele#GOD this movie changed something in me I swear#it's fucking wonderful
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Hey hii hello hiiii what do u think was Marquis trigger backstory? Since ur the professional on him and we don’t know shit about him(besides his apparent vampirism lmfao)
Interested in your marquis backstory thoughts because his power implies a lot but I can’t quite put it together - there’s SOMETHING that he feels the bones breaking each time and doesn’t show it but idk what. Forced to play into a role even as it causes agony? Macabre leaning? What’s goin on there
SO the first big thing about marquis's background is that i really don't think he grew up with any wealth or comfort at all—his cape persona is a performance that he's putting on to get as far as possible from his much more humble origins, imo. heathcliff stuff. obvious tension of identity there that fits with a changer power and also makes sense with his pain tolerance, which suggests he's had a lot of experience bearing through pain without any help, and the way he talks; he often sounds like he's picking his words deliberately and even trying to give off an air of sophistication, but he never actually uses any words that are especially fancy or obscure. ward messes with this a bit by making him act like an actual cartoon vampire sometimes, but i think i'm still pretty close to the mark.
at one point he mentions that his father was a doctor, but i don't think the man he's referring to there is his biological father—his wish for the brigade not to put amelia into the foster system makes me think he himself spent some time in the system and didn't enjoy it (pretty plausible, especially considering this would've been in the 70s and 80s) before he eventually ended up with the man he thinks of as his father, which is why he's hopeful that amelia will be alright if she's with a good family from the start.
if anything i think he probably grew up more like rachel than anyone else in the cast, but while rachel dealt with being treated badly by human society by forming connections with her dogs instead, marquis never totally gave up on the idea that he could prove himself to be worthy. his dedication to being a "noble" villain, to me, seems like it comes from an almost childish sense of fairness; he has to believe that if he makes himself respectable, people will recognize it and respect him, if he holds himself to a higher standard he won't just be treated as another criminal, if he chooses his words carefully enough he won't be misinterpreted, and if he trusts his daughter to the dallons they'll rise to the occasion and take care of her. it's something he notes makes it difficult for him to understand amy once they're reunited, because she lacks that same internal drive; she's already seen that no matter what she did, she was never really treated like she belonged in the dallon family, so she can't make herself care enough to try anymore. my guess is that it's different for marquis because he had a father figure he actually looked up to, who (in marquis's memories) was a self-made man who was respected on his own terms, and if his father did it right, he can, too.
in a literal sense, his power is the ability to contort himself into any shape that could possibly be wanted from him, but he has to keep breaking himself over and over again to do it—and he does! his shard doesn't even need to throw in anything to protect him from the pain, because he's already willing to do anything just to become someone who can be accepted like he wants. trying to describe the exact moment of his trigger would take more speculation (i could sketch out a timeline but i'd really just be making up the details), but i think those are the underlying issues that are already cooking in his head when it happens.
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Things I Wish I Could Tell My Grandmother
I often wish I could tell her about my partner. My coming out as such would have been hard for her- I don’t think the declaration of my sexual identity would really do her much good. Different generations and all that, she wouldn’t have understood. But she’d really have liked my partner, as a person. They’re both so polite, you know? Exacting without being neurotic, proper. She was raised in frankly astonishing privilege, trained from childhood to meet with senators and other such powerful men. As a consequence she always knew how to do things just so, invariably careful to keep to whatever Byzantine rules governed a picnic differently from a formal dinner, or to recall the proper ways to appreciate the visual arts versus the performing. There was a little mantra she had about the meaning of courtesy- “to do the nicest thing in the nicest way.” She would have seen that in him too, I think, the same kindness.
I wish I could tell her about my career- NASA and Mars exploration and all that. She��d have been delighted, I expect. She never did tell us why she was willing to give up her old social caste, to marry down into a family that had to work for its supper. But I can’t imagine it was an accident that she picked an engineer from a long line of engineers and science types. The space program today still carries a lot of that specific flavor of optimism that was so common in the first part of the 20th century when she made her choice, the hope for the future that was all tangled up with bigger rockets and taller cities and lasers and the power of the atom. So I wish I could show that off for her, talk about my own adventures and trials trying to carry that torch forward just a little bit more.
I wish I could tell her about the damn chocolate milk. She’s always eating too much or too little- there’s just no real way for her to know whether she’s eaten on any given day, so her food intake is really all over the map. Sneaking off for snacks at one moment, turning down dinner at the next. And at a certain point, the brain just stops coordinating the limbic system properly; I don’t think her hunger signals are particularly trustworthy any more, though it’s hard to tell for sure. Throw in the diabetes, and it’s probably the single biggest challenge for her health, if you don’t count falls and the usual perils for a woman that old.
I wish I could tell her that her husband is dead. That her father is dead, that her brothers are dead. That these men that she waits for aren’t coming, and will never come again. I wish she could grieve their absence, and not just wait, and wait, and never heal from the pain of parting. I wish I could tell her that her kids have long since gone on to build families and kids of their own, and that she’s already a part of so many new lives that are only just beginning.
Most of all, I wish I could tell her that love lasts longer than the memory of love. That her love for others has long since escaped the narrow confines of her mind and made it out to the world, and remade the form of things around her. That it’s disguised as children, as grandchildren, as a home. That it multiplies out there endlessly until now, at the end of her life, almost everything that touches her is some secret face of her love, coming back to meet her. Slippers that appear by her bed in the winter, and bags of birdseed hidden in the bushes outside her window, bringing clouds of birds to watch every day. The hands that help her from her bed to the table every morning- a woman trembling with weakness and a fear of falling but always, always too polite to miss breakfast.
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Hamilton vs. History
As most people are certainly aware of, Hamilton: An American Musical is not an exact representation of history and never wanted to be one. But when a pop-culture medium is so widespread and in certain places almost as omnipresent as Hamilton is, there will always be a blend between fact and fiction. Certain aspects of fiction or pop-culture simply make such a strong impression on us, that they shape our view on reality/history. Some aspects appear so much more fun, so much brighter in fiction, that we often do not want to know weather said aspect really happened this way. Some other details are so minor, that they are hard to catch if you are not deeply interested in the topic at hand.
Since I do know a thing or two about La Fayette, I thought I take a little deep dive into his depiction in Hamilton.
As a little disclaimer, while I have read the book Hamilton by Ron Chernow and listened to the official cast recording, I have never seen an actual production and can therefore not take into account what the actors do on stage.
Appearance:
I would have hoped that I do not have to say it, but I have made the experience in the past that I indeed do have so say it; La Fayette was not dark skinned. He was as white as the rest of influential America and Europa at that time.
As to his costume, well, he wears two uniforms throughout the play (plus the white suit at the beginning and in the end and his civilian clothes at the beginning of Act I)
His first uniform is identical with Mulligan’s, Laurens’ and Hamilton’s uniform – not quite right since he was a Major-General and the others were not. A more suitable uniform would have looked something like this:
The second, and probably more prominent uniform, is this one:
La Fayette wore this uniform as a lieutenant general in 1791 towards the end of his military service during the French Revolution, so roughly a decade later, in a different country during a different revolution.
Aaron Burr, Sir
With this song we are introduced to La Fayette for the first time. As a disclaimer, La Fayette never met Hercules Mulligan, had very little contact with Aaron Burr and he also met Hamilton and Laurens at the same time.
[LAFAYETTE]
Oui oui, mon ami, je m'appelle Lafayette!
The Lancelot of the revolutionary set!
I came from afar just to say “Bonsoir!”
Tell the King “Casse toi!” Who's the best?
C'est moi!
I like that La Fayette is speaking French in his opening lyrics because by the time of his arrival in America he only had a very limited knowledge of the English language and he needed a few extra months to feel entirely comfortable. Hamilton and Laurens both spoke French and this circumstance really helped in building their friendship.
La Fayette also makes a remark regarding the legendary (often described as French) knight Lancelot du Lac. Quite fitting, given that La Fayette hailed from a line of literally knights and these were stories and (self-)characterisations that he was quite attached to.
Other than that, the song is a bit too bubbly for my taste. Yes, La Fayette could be extremely energetic and optimistic, but he could also be incredibly self-conscious. He knew that he had no practical knowledge, that he barely understood the language, that his age was working against him, he even told Washington that he came to learn and not to teach – he would have never said “Who’s the best? C’est moi!” And while we are at it, he also did not like swearing.
My Shot
[LAFAYETTE]
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to 'onarchy?
'Onarchy? How you say, how you s-oh, 'anarchy!'
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my—
I suspect that the first line is directed towards the French monarchy, since France was where the vast majority of his life took place. If so – no, La Fayette did not dream of life without a monarchy. Later, during the French Revolution he was critical of the monarchy but never wanted to abolish it. He was not called a Counter-Revolutionary and Royalist by his enemies for no reason.
While yes, there had been unrests long before the French Revolution, as we know it, started, these problems were at this time of his life not on La Fayette’s mind.
As to making the other side “panicky”, well, La Fayette had no practically military experience at this point so there were very few people whom he made “panicky” (and I think half of them were members of the Continental Congress and Continental Army.)
But once again, I like La Fayette’s struggle with the English language.
The Story of Tonight
[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGANS/LAURENS]
I may not live to see our glory!
This line is rather interesting because while, yes, many of La Fayette’s ancestors have died young, his own father among them, and while La Fayette himself had been wounded early on in the Battle of Brandywine and also had been severely ill several times, he wrote these lines to his Adrienne on January 6, 1777 in regards to the birth of their second daughter Anastasie:
For the rest, if one must worry about the family name, I declare that I have decided to live long enough to bear it myself for many years, before I am obliged to bequeath it to another being.
Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, p. 222-226.
He certainly was full of optimism to see their glory.
[LAFAYETTE]
Let's have another round tonight!
La Fayette was definitely not averse to a drink or two or fife with his friends. This line is very much in character.
The Story of Tonight (Reprise)
I would like to preface this song by saying that neither La Fayette, nor Laurens, nor Mulligan nor Burr were present at Hamilton’s wedding. The only guest on Hamilton’s side of the wedding party was Doctor James McHenry, former aide-de-camp to Washington and now an aide-de-camp to La Fayette
[LAFAYETTE]
Let's have another round tonight!
As I said previously, this is definitely something that La Fayette would have said. :-)
[LAFAYETTE]
You are the worst, Burr!
There is no reason to believe that La Fayette, even when a bit tipsy, had any ill feelings towards Burr. In fact, La Fayette had very few feelings towards Burr because he mentions the good Sir almost never. There are six letters in total, both to and from La Fayette, that mention Burr and the earliest is from 1807.
Stay Alive
[LAFAYETTE]
I ask for French aid, I pray that France has sent a ship
La Fayette lobbied extensively for the American cause, even before his first voyage home again to France.
[WASHINGTON]
Have Lafayette take the lead!
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
As we snatch a stalemate from the jaws of defeat
The Battle of Monmouth was a wild. Washington offered the command to Lee, who was not interested so Washington went to La Fayette, who gladly accepted the command. Suddenly, Lee’s interest was renewed, and he took command after all. The battle itself was disaster but La Fayette never officially took command but instead worked with Lee to try and safe the day and he was also in command of his own little sub-division.
Guns and Ships
La Fayette's most prominent number in the musical.
[LAFAYETTE]
I’m takin this horse by the reins makin’
Redcoats redder with bloodstains
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
And I’m never gonna stop until I make ‘em
Drop and burn ‘em up and scatter their remains, I’m
[COMPANY]
Lafayette!
[LAFAYETTE]
Watch me engagin’ em! Escapin’ em!
Enragin’ em! I’m—
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
I go to France for more funds
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
I come back with more
[LAFAYETTE AND ENSEMBLE]
Guns
And ships
And so the balance shifts
La Fayette went to France in 1779 and returned to America in 1780. He brought with him the promise of “guns and ships” but the French aide needed some time to arrive.
[LAFAYETTE]
We can end this war at Yorktown, cut them off at sea, but
For this to succeed, there is someone else we need:
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
Sir, he knows what to do in a trench
Ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean—
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
Sir, you’re gonna have to use him eventually
What’s he gonna do on the bench? I mean—
(…)
[LAFAYETTE]
No one has more resilience
Or matches my practical tactical brilliance—
By the time of La Fayette’s return to America, Yorktown was not yet chosen, or better destined, to be the decisive battle in the Revolutionary War, especially since Washington and the French commanders had different ideas about how to proceed.
La Fayette did try to mend Washington’s and Hamilton’s relationship, not only by talking with Washington but also with Hamilton. And no, he would have never said, that he was tactically brilliant – because he was not, simple as that.
Yorktown (the World Turned Upside Down)
[LAFAYETTE]
Monsieur Hamilton
[HAMILTON]
Monsieur Lafayette
[LAFAYETTE]
In command where you belong
[HAMILTON]
How you say, no sweat
We're finally on the field. We’ve had quite a run
[LAFAYETTE]
Immigrants:
[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE]
We get the job done
This is such a lovely scene, isn’t it? But it never happened like that, quite the opposite actually. La Fayette chose one of his former aide-de-camps, Jean-Joseph Soubadère de Gimat, to take command of the storming of redoubt number 10. Hamilton was eager to be given the command but when La Fayette refused he went straight to Washington who decided in Hamilton’s favour and overruled La Fayette’s decision. While in the end this incident did not harm La Fayette’s and Hamilton’s friendship, La Fayette was anything but happy with the situation.
[HAMILTON]
So what happens if we win?
[LAFAYETTE]
I go back to France
I bring freedom to my people if I’m given the chance
As I have now already mentioned a couple of times, at this time there was not really any freedom that La Fayette wanted to bring to France. There were certainly political and social matters that he was interested in and some laws that he would have liked to see reformed – but I feel like these lines imply a fixed agenda that simply was not there yet.
[HAMILTON]
When we finally drive the British away
Lafayette is there waiting—
[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE]
In Chesapeake Bay!
La Fayette and his troops played a vital role in cornering and keeping the British troops in Yorktown by making a retreat by land impossible.
[LAFAYETTE]
Freedom for America, freedom for France!
Again, freedom for France was not yet on the forefront of La Fayette’s mind.
Cabinet Battle #2
[Jefferson]
Did you forget Lafayette?
[Hamilton]
What?
[Jefferson]
Have you an ounce of regret?
You accumulate debt, you accumulate power
Yet in their hour of need, you forget
[Hamilton]
Lafayette’s a smart man, he’ll be fine
And before he was your friend, he was mine
If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop
Where do we draw the line?
La Fayette’s imprisonment was a headache inducing topic for many people at the time. Neither Hamilton, nor Jefferson, nor Washington for that matter, had forgotten La Fayette, but there was very little that could be done from their positions. What could be done however, was done and Hamilton and Jefferson both helped. Interesting is here the change of roles – Jefferson accuses Hamilton of not caring while Hamilton himself is rather optimistic. In reality it was Hamilton who did way more for La Fayette, even taking his son in, while Jefferson, although concerned and helpful, sometimes had a mindset of “Well, it is a revolution, shit happens.”
This post is not intended as a critique of the musical or the people who like it and listen to it, this is simply a little note for the curious. :-)
#marquis de lafayette#la fayette#american history#french history#french revolution#american revolution#alexander hamilton#john laurens#hercules mulligan#aaron burr#adrienne de lafayette#adrienne de noailles#letters#hamilton an american musical#hamilton musical#art#charles lee#george washington#1779#1780#1791#battle of monmouth
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Has anyone else made this connection?
Long post alert. Most of it under the cut tho.
So, I was exploring some NPC pages in the wiki - and when I had a gander at Bardoon's page, I was surprised to see it refer to him as a caterpillar - the credit for the assertion going to the Wanderer's journal. Unfortunately I do not have that myself, so I couldn't see where. Either way, it struck me as obvious after seeing that. Just looking at his whole body plan… yeah, of course he's a caterpillar.
Knowing that some of the bugs in this game were based off of real life insects, I decided to make a cursory inspection of known real life caterpillars that fit the bill. Which would be, uh… stark white, I guess.
Wouldn't you know it, the very first one I see was the caterpillar stage for the Bombyx Mori - AKA the Silk Moth. AKA the Moth that a lot of people have connected to the Radiance due to being a very fluffy and very pale moth.
A comparison, for your viewing pleasure - CW I suppose for two images of real life insects - under the cut.
Right: Silk Moth / Radiance, Left: Silk Moth Caterpillar / Bardoon
It's not an exact fit for either obviously - but even then, known examples of bugs based off their real life counterpart don't often fully conform exactly either. Bardoon of course is very familiar with all this godly business. He can quite easily resist the infection, and quite easily resist even the awakened dream nail. He is possibly ancient - and knows things that are pretty much only known by other gods. Of course, this is more head-canon than theory. But it is such an interesting idea, is it not?
Let's take this idea and run with it: The Radiance and Bardoon are the same species.
This would add another interesting layer to the Radiance herself… she really wouldn't be all that different to the Pale King in this case. In fact, they would have almost identical backstories of arriving to Hallownest as worm-like creatures, transforming into their current form, possibly eradicating the previous rulers (the ancient caste and their void shenanigans in the Radiance's case), while starting up their own nation as replacement.
And if the Radiance isn't simply a one off thing, and is actually a member of a species of moths gods - then, of course, there would be others likely outside the kingdom. Unless, like the Wyrms, they too are going the way of the dodo.
And then, of course, there's Bardoon himself. If he eventually pupates into another Moth god… that would… probably be the best case scenario for a good future outcome, wouldn't it? I honestly can't see Bardoon causing any problems. Dude's just so chill.
I've always seen this world as being very high entropy - needing the supernatural power of gods to impose enough order for life to truly thrive. With most endings in the game, Unn is the only god left and she's not likely to last much longer. There's also the White Lady, but I really don't get the feeling that she's up for the task. So unless the life-sapping Void could somehow… not do what it's very nature does, post-Embrace The Void… I never really thought there was much hope for Hallownest to return to prominence. But with this whole concept, then there definitely is a chance.
Another cool idea: Take the normal ending. Post-Hollow Knight. The protagonist is containing the Radiance. Let's say the protagonist isn't a pure vessel, and the Radiance escapes again eventually. She begins spreading the infection once again. Except by now Bardoon has fully matured, and has very similar power. Bardoon has already spread his own much more benign form of the infection without all that mind control shenanigans. So the Radiance simply cannot find purchase in anyone's minds, as Bardoon's benign infection… basically acts as a vaccine, inoculating the minds of Hallownest's bugs.
I really did not expect to be thinking about Bardoon of all people like this, considering how out of the way he is. But here we are. I think this is a very interesting idea. Lots of room for speculation here of course! I want to see some more takes on this, if some of y'all are willing?
#hk#hollow knight#bugs#insects#moth#caterpillar#hk the radiance#hk bardoon#hk theory#hollow knight theory#hk headcanons#hollow knight headcanons
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Best Pokémon Type Tournament- Stats Breakdown!
Well now that the dust has settled on Ghost type's win, let's take a look at the stats of the tournament! (Yay numbers!)
Across 18 matches, a total of 8419 votes were cast (for an average of 467.7 votes per match and the same for an average per type)!
The breakdown of which types got the most votes (and the percentage share of all votes) goes like this:
Ghost: 1443 votes (17.1%)
Water: 1096 votes (13%)
Dark: 992 votes (11.8%)
Dragon: 991 votes (11.8%)
Grass: 881 votes (10.5%)
Flying: 515 votes (6.1%)
Fairy: 491 votes (5.8%)
Ice: 449 votes (5.3%)
Electric: 400 votes (4.7%)
Psychic: 183 votes (2.2%)
Poison: 151 votes (1.8%)
Fire: 138 votes (1.6%)
Bug: 134 votes (1.6%)
Steel: 132 votes (1.6%)
Fighting: 116 votes (1.4%)
Normal: 114 (1.4%)
Ground: 100 (1.2%)
Rock: 93 (1.1%)
Or for a more visual breakdown, check the chart below!
Another way we can rank the types is by the average percentage they got across each of their matches- and our winner doesn't even top this list! That lineup goes like this:
Water: 66.7%
Ghost: 63.4%
Flying: 57%
Ice: 55.6%
Dark: 55.4%
Dragon: 54.7%
Grass: 52.4%
Fairy: 51%
Electric: 49.7%
Psychic: 41%
Poison: 40.7%
Fire: 39.2%
Steel: 31.7%
Normal: 31.4%
Ground: 26.5%
Bug: 24.7%
Fighting: 22.9%
Rock: 13.1%
Next let's talk about individual matches!
The match to receive the most votes was actually Preliminary Round: Match 1- Water vs Rock! The very first match in the tournament had 712 votes! Unsurprisingly, the next most votes was in the Final Match- Dragon vs Rock with 652 votes.
On the other end, the least voted on match was Round 1: Match 5- Flying vs Electric with only 337 votes.
What about victories and defeats? The most overwhelming victory came from Water beating Rock, by a massive margin of 73.8%!
The closest match on the other hand, came in the semi-finals when Dragon beat Grass by a pretty slim 5%.
The last thing for this tournament breakdown is a couple of pieces of trivia- both involving the victor, Ghost type.
There were two matches that ended with the exact same vote count! Round 1: Match 7, and Round 3: Match 2 both ended with 543 votes. And both those matches involved Ghost type!
Additionally, Round 2: Match 4, and Round 3: Match 2 ended with almost identically! The former had a 57.9%/42.1% compared to a 58%/42% split, and they had vote totals of 541 and 543 respectively. What makes it especially interesting however, is that Ghost won both these matches and in each, it's opponent earned exactly 228 votes! The only difference between Ghost's showdowns against Fairy and Dark, is that ghost earned 2 more votes against Dark, 315 compared to 313!
And that's it! Thank you all once again for supporting the tournament, and I hope you enjoyed the breakdown and found it as interesting as I did. If you have anything in particular you'd like me to track for the next tournament breakdown please let me know!
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Alchemy of Souls Part 2 (Eps 29-30): Analysis, Theories, Critique, and Thoughts
Hello Readers,
Let me preface this post by saying thank you to all the cast and crew for all of their hard work and dedication to this rather ambitious project. As for the Hong Sisters, I want to give them my sincerest gratitude for trying to do what other Kdrama writers have not done before. I am sure writing a 30 episodes fantasy kdrama was no easy task! I also want to tell them that I understand their sadness, disappointment, anger, and frustration when it came to not being able to tell the story they had initially planned. I definitely sensed all of these sentiments while watching Part 2. It is ok, Hong Sisters. I hope that in the future, the conditions will be right for you two to be able to tell the story you had intended.
For those who were super invested in AOS as I was, I know many were left completely disappointed by the way Part 2 ended. I was left feeling disheartened just because I had never gotten the ending for a Kdrama completely wrong before. Adding to this, my theories for Part 2 were almost completely wrong. I kept asking myself repeatedly how was it possible for me to get so many theories correct in Part 1, but not Part 2? While talking to my boyfriend the other night, he told me I should not be so hard on myself and that I really should be proud of the many theories I had gotten correct in Part 1. He also told me maybe it was not me or my analytical brain, but other external factors which may have contributed to why my theories were incorrect (i.e script changes, budget issues, etc). This was the moment when everything clicked in my head!
At the end of Part 1, I had thought Part 2 would be a continuation of Naksu's journey to discovering her true identity which was Jin Bu Yeon. However, this was where I made my first mistake. Part 2 was not a continuation of the her story. Rather it was a continuation of Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's story after she returned to her OG body (GYJ body) and died in Ep 1. This was why everything felt so soulless and unsatisfactory in Part 2.Do I think the Hong Sisters had intended for this to happen? No, not at all. This is why their writing in Part 2 paled in comparison to Part 1. The Hong Sisters' heart and soul were not in it when it came to writing Part 2. What they tried to do was make the best out of a really bad situation and they were really not happy about it.
Originally, they meant for Part 2 to be about Naksu discovering her true identity (Jin Bu Yeon), but a bunch of things happened behind the scenes which ultimately forced the Hong Sisters to completely rewrite Part 2. Just to be clear, the soul we followed in Part 1 was not the same soul shown in Part 2. They were two different souls. Part 1 was about Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's soul and Part 2 was Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul. For those who were rooting for Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's journey of self discovery, I would not bother watching Part 2 because her journey is currently in limbo.
And for those who have come here to argue with me by telling me I must be confused or lost, you can go elsewhere. No one is forcing you to read my post. I have proven time and again through my many correct theories for Part 1 that I did understand the Hong Sisters more so than most others.
Now for those who still want to stick around, good! Before we go down this rabbit hole, you all should be aware the events in Part 1 was still a soul switch not soul combination as others were led to believe in Part 2. I will explain more further down.
Anyways for those sticking around, it is time to put our thinking caps on! Time to analyze!
What Potentially Led To Part 2 Script Adjustments and FL Change?
Now, be aware that what I discuss here is highly speculative. So do not quote me or anything. This is just my impression and should not be taken as a matter of fact. Below is an AOS timeline. There may be some inaccuracies for the exact starting and ending date of Part 1 filming. However, everything else in red should be correct.
According to my Korean friend whose husband works in the Korean entertainment industry, the production budget is determined before filming starts and you are unable to request additional money later on. This means once the production budget is determined, the producers cannot exceed the initial budget. It works the same way in the US. Although in the US, exceptions can be made if a show or film holds great promise or if the producer is willing to receive less of their producer's fees.
Based on varying reports, the production cost for Part 1 (20 episodes) ranged from 35-40 billion won (28-32-million USD). For reference, the production cost for fantasy dramas like "Bulgasal" was around 31-40 billion won (25-32 million USD) for 16 episodes. From this, you can see the money for AOS was already stretched given there was a total of 20 episodes in Part 1. Something to point out is it is not clear whether the production budget was determined for all 30 episodes or broken up into two different production budgets (i.e 20 episodes and 10 episodes). I am thinking it was the former just because it would explain why the Hong Sisters had initially hired rookie actors/actresses over more seasoned actors/actresses. Rookies are usually paid less because they do not have as much experience in comparison to more senior actors/actresses. Therefore, by hiring rookies, they could save on money. Bear in mind this was a 30 episodes FANTASY drama so you have to save on money where you can so you can divert money towards CGI, set construction, costumes, larger filming crews, etc.
At the very beginning of AOS production there were a few very costly hiccups. Most notably, the OG FL rookie actress, Park Hae Eun, leaving at the very beginning of filming for Part 1. Luckily, the AOS production team managed to convince Jung So Min to play the FL role. Although this would eat into the production budget because Jung So Min was a seasoned actress, she would be able to give the show the stability it needed. And who knows, maybe the people who financed AOS would be more willing to provide additional money if the production team had hired a more seasoned actress.
I do want to point out that one of the production companies (High Quality; a CJ ENM subsidiary) left after Part 1. The reason for it is unknown. Was it because of this production company's departure that the AOS team were left unable to afford Jung So Min or was it because of Jung So Min's agency at the time did not allow her to sign onto Part 2 which led to High Quality's departure? I do not really know and can only speculate that it was the latter.
During the Part 1 press conference (June 14, 2022), the director said the Hong Sisters were currently working on Part 2 script (more like rewriting the entire script). Then on July 12th, rumors began to circulate the FL would be recasted for Part 2. Subsequently, Blossom Entertainment released the following two statements.
"We ask for your understanding that we arent able to tell you whether she'll be in part 2 or not because it would be a spoiler for Part 1."
"She did not appear to get off, but originally signed a contract to appear in Part 1".
On August 2nd, it was announced Jung So Min would join a new agency. Following this announcement, AOS production team said on August 8th, there will be a one week hiatus "to enhance the level of completion for the second half" aka this means they needed time to edit Eps 17-20 so it could flow better with the narrative in Part 2. Who the hell knows what they had removed in those episodes. All I know is that Eps 18-19 felt weird.
Collectively, I think what ended up happening is that AOS production team was unable to get Jung So Min. They were forced to hire a rookie actress and not just any rookie actress, it had to be Go Youn Jung as to avoid even more controversy. This show did not need any more controversy. In turn, the Hong Sisters were forced to completely rewrite Part 2 while editing out things in Part 1.
If there is anyone to blame for the poor quality of Part 2, it's either Blossom or AOS production team and not the Hong Sisters nor Jung So Min herself. I am sure Jung So Min would have gladly sign onto Part 2 and taken a lesser fee, but was unable to because she was bound to whatever contract she signed with Blossom.
I am not even a screenwriter, but this just sounds super stressful. Like imagine if you had already planned to tell your story a certain way with the actress you want, but due to funding issues and actress availability, you had to completely rewrite your story in such a really short amount of time. The Hong Sisters were put in a difficult situation and were forced to make the best of it. Based on things were in Part 2, it seemed the Hong Sisters hated every minute of it. This was evident by the lack of pun filled and witty lines, double meanings, and tight writing. All the things that made Part 1 great and stereotypically Hong Sisters.
After reanalyzing everything from Part 2 and taking into consideration all the things that occurred outside of the show itself, I believe the Hong Sisters did manage to save the one character they intended to be the real star of this entire show which is Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu (meaning Naksu's real identity was Jin Bu Yeon). Continue reading below to see how the soul we saw in the majority of Part 2 was not Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon, but was actually Mu Deok/Cho Yeong, a soul I thought I though had gone back to her OG body and died.
Which Soul Did We See the Majority of Part 2?
Surprise surprise people..... it was "Mu Deok" whose real name was...drum roll please...Cho Yeong! Are you shocked? I mean this is what the majority of AOS fandom had been begging for during Part 1. Everyone was like OMG I want to know more about the real Mu Deok (because many thought she was the powerful Jin Bu Yeon lol) . And well, this is exactly what you got exactly in Part 2. As it turned out though, "Mu Deok" was really just Cho Yeong.... a damsel in distress who followed Jang Uk around like a lost puppy and a total superficial airhead. She was neither a powerful skillful mage nor a great shaman/divine priestess. Those qualities belonged to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon who is currently a spirit lingering around waiting for Mu Deok/Cho Yeong to leave so she can finally have her own body, name, and face (JSM face) back.
A brief digression. In AOS where soul shifting is possible, names and their associated alternative names can get rather confusing when combined with bodies and souls. It is like do you call someone by their soul or body name? Imagine if my alternative name was "Honey" and my soul was in a body whose alternative name was "Biscuit". What would people call me? "Honey" or "Biscuit"? Well, people would just see your outside appearance and call you "Biscuit" even though you were "Honey". Then you find out the body's real name is “Sarah” and the name of the body you were previously in was “Taylor”. Essentially, this is what happened in AOS. In Part 1, the soul inside was called "Naksu" (alternative name) and she lived in a body whose alternative name was "Mu Deok". Everyone in Part 1, called that soul "Mu Deok" instead of "Naksu". People called that soul by a body name instead of the soul name. For me, I kept calling her by her soul alternative name which was "Naksu". As for the what Naksu's true identity was? I ended up figuring out back in Part 1 that her true soul identity was actually "Jin Bu Yeon". All that happened in Part 1 was that she had finally returned in her OG body (but did not know it yet) and was on the path to discovering her real identity which was Jin Bu Yeon (not "Cho Yeong" as many viewers were led to believe). In doing so, her soul, body, face, real name would have finally become one aka Naksu soul=Jin Bu Yeon soul back in her OG body (Jin Bu Yeon body) and finally being called by her real name "Jin Bu Yeon" with her real face (JSM face). This journey would have finally came to its conclusion in Part 2. However, this journey got sidetracked REAL QUICK because the story in Part 2 got switched to being about the real Mu Deok's soul journey to discovering she was "Cho Yeong".....the anger I feel right now. For everyone who felt duped and angry by Part 2, I want you all to know, your feelings were definitely valid. Just imagine being the Hong Sisters who were forced to write this....they were probably like 1000x more pissed because they had worked so hard in Part 1 to set up certain things up only to have it never fully being shown. In this aspect, I can totally relate to the Hong Sisters. After all, I did end up having to delete numerous pages of stuff I had worked really hard on because of shit like plagiarists.
Before I go any further, I want you all to understand that the soul in the picture to the left IS NOT THE SAME SOUL in the picture to the right. I know we cannot see souls so that is why I have placed different color hearts as a way to help you all see this and to understand things better. The left red heart is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's soul and the right pink heart is Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul. Got it? If you do not understand this concept then you can simply exit out of this post because I am tired of explaining things repeatedly.
Now, recall that the Cho Yeong body (GYJ body) to the left was burnt and gone. The body to the right is the Jin Bu Yeon body (JSM body) except with the face of GYJ (think of this like a mask). The reason why it looks this way is because Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul/energy is inside Jin Bu Yeon's body and her energy is being used to help Jin Bu Yeon's body (JSM body) to heal. Therefore, this is why the Jin Bu Yeon body (JSM body) has the GYJ face. It is suppose to represent that the soul inside Jin Bu Yeon's body is not the same soul we followed back in Part 1.
So, why did Master Lee bring back such a useless soul (Mu Deok/Cho Yeong soul)? Well, in an indirect way he was trying to help Naksu (whose soul was lingering around) to move on and become who she was all along which was Jin Bu Yeon, a mage/shaman/divine priestess tribrid. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon could never realize her destiny nor regain her shaman/divine powers if she could not discard her old life as "Naksu". Side note, Master Lee could have easily brought back Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's soul (since he had mastered Hwansu)....but like I said earlier, Hong Sisters had to completely rewrite Part 2 to somehow fit the appearance of Go Youn Jung.
A scene I want to revisit is the following below. Master Lee mentions two names during these scenes, "Jin Bu Yeon" and "Naksu". Keep in mind, Master Lee likes to change names to suit whoever he is speaking with. Often, characters and viewers tend to misinterpret what he means. For example, Mama Jin thinks Mu Deok=Jin Bu Yeon and Naksu=Cho Yeong. However, Master Lee knows it is Naksu=Jin Bu Yeon and Mu Deok=Cho Yeong...but he does not tell Mama Jin this.
I know this can be confusing. Just every time you see Master Lee mentioning "Naksu", he means Mu Deok=Cho Yeong, but characters and viewers interpret this as meaning Naksu=Cho Yeong. Why does he do this? To keep everyone else in the dark about the real truth which is that before Naksu became Naksu, she was originally Jin Bu Yeon.
If we redid this dialogue to make it more understandable, it would go like this "Cho Yeong (Mu Deok) did not take over this body using the alchemy of souls. Her soul was actually locked up inside this body." This statement is true. Mu Deok/Cho Yeong did not perform the Alchemy of Souls spell. It was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon who did it back in Ep 1.
After Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon had performed the Alchemy of Souls spell (Ep 1) and returned to her OG body (JSM body), she left Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul to return to her now dead OG body (GYJ body). However, Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul did not move onto the afterlife. Instead, she remained next to Jang Uk as an invisible spirit because they were fated for each other and were a pair. Master Lee saw Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's spirit lingering next to Jang Uk and this is why he told Kim Do Joon as much back in Ep 13. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon subconsciously trapped Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul and fed off of it until she had regained her full divine powers. Nom nom nom...soul food. Why did Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon do this? Because she was a soul who was willing to do anything to survive and accomplish a goal.
I know many will ask me when exactly did Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon swap with Mu Deok/Cho Yeong? I believe it was during the boat inccident. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon had tried to destroy the Ice Stone, but she somehow inadvertently swapped hers and Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's souls. Although, I would not doubt it was Master Lee who did it given how during that scene in Ep 19, it looked like there was someone watching from the shore. We may never find out if it was Master Lee or Jin Bu Yeon herself who did the swap just because the AOS team did edit those episodes.
Going back to Mu Deok/Cho Yeong, what did Master Lee erase from her? He erased Cho Yeong's memories from when she was a child to adult living in Jin Bu Yeon's body as "Mu Deok", the girl from Sari. Why did he do that? So that she would be willing to accept Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's memories as her own and not run wild. Side note, I still think Master Lee is probably Mage/Shaman Choi Cheol because he of how he was able to erase Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's memories. Who's to say he was not the same person who erased Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's childhood memories and changed it so she thought her childhood memories were Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's memories?
Although Master Lee was the one who erased Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's memories, it was actually Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon (mage/shaman/divine priestess) who planted her own memories inside Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's head. As Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon was remembering her real childhood memories (Jin Bu Yeon childhood memories; shown off screen because Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is an invisible spirit right now and AOS team could not show JSM as an astral projection because of other crap), she began to become gain back even more of shaman/divine priestess powers which included abilities like transmitting her memories and changing a soul's memories, opening portals, jumping in and out of her own body, etc. Why did Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon do this? To give back the life she took from Mu Deok/Cho Yeong. Y'all lets take a moment to appreciate how freaking selfless Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon really was!!
Jin Mu...The Man Who Finally Recognized Naksu's True Identity
Throughout this show, I had felt Jin Mu was a pretty useless character. However, the real purpose of his storyline was to reveal something pretty important to viewers. He was one of the selected few who finally realized Naksu's real identity was Jin Bu Yeon. Let's take a look at some of the scenes below. In Ep 22, Jin Mu is confused as to why the Naksu face was called Jin Bu Yeon. This was the Hong Sisters' subtle way to let viewers know that back in Ep 1, the soul that was in the body known as "Naksu" was Jin Bu Yeon not Cho Yeong.
In Ep 23, Jin Mu says that even though the girl has Naksu's face, her energy is different than from the Naksu he knew. What does this tell you? That the soul currently residing in that body with the "Naksu" face is not the same soul Jin Mu and viewers had knew back in Ep 1. Jin Mu thought he was raising Cho Yeong to become Naksu, but in reality he ended up raising Jin Bu Yeon who became Naksu except he did not know this until later on.
Now the the person who summoned Jang Uk and CP to Gwido was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's spirit. Recall from earlier, I did say that as Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon began to remember more of Jin Bu Yeon memories, the more divine powers she would have. Therefore, she was the one who opened the portal for Jang Uk and CP. Why did she do this? So they could come rescue the useless soul that is currently residing in her body aka Mu Deok/Cho Yeong.
The soul who entered that body after the wraiths scene was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Before that moment, it was just Mu Deok/Cho Yeong soul. How do I know this? Because of the personality differences. The main difference between Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and Mu Deok/Cho Yeong is that one soul fights back regardless if they are physically weak while the other soul runs, but does not fight back and waits for someone to save her. I do understand though that it can be difficult to differentiate between the real deal or just someone who has someone else's memories. Mu Deok/Cho Yeong deep down is like cotton candy while with Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is like hellfire!
It was during the scene below that Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon regain nearly all of her Jin Bu Yeon childhood memories which allowed her to enter her own body once more to take revenge on Jin Mu. This is literally one of the most important scenes that many viewers had overlooked. Look at what Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon says to Jin Mu. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon (not Mu Deok/Cho Yeong) tells him about finding the Ice Stone when she was a child as Jin Bu Yeon and then she called him "Danju" to indicate to him she was also his assassin...Naksu! It was at this fucking moment that Jin Mu knew he fucked up. Jin Mu finally realized that the soul he groom to become "Naksu" was not Cho Yeong, but was actually Jin Bu Yeon. BOOM LOOK WHO IS RIGHT! Me! Small victories! Collectively, this scene proved that Naksu's real identity was Jin Bu Yeon, not "Cho Yeong"!
Why Did Neither Seo Yul Nor Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon Never Tell Jang Uk About the Divination Bells?
After exiting Gwido, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon (not Mu Deok/Cho Yeong) meets up with Seo Yul. At this point, best boy Seo Yul has finally figured out Naksu's real identity was Jin Bu Yeon and that the soul from earlier in Part 2 was just Mu Deok/Cho Yeong and not actually Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon herself. Seo Yul disclosed all of the information about the divination bells only to her because he knew he was talking to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon now and not Mu Deok/Cho Yeong. Seo Yul thought one of the biggest reasons Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon did not want to stay is because she felt guilty for killing her own father (Jin Woo Tak) and ruining her sister's wedding. And Seo Yul did not want her to feel guilty since it really was not her fault.
He also tells her all of this because he wanted her to stay.
However, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon said regardless of whether or not it was her fault, she still did perform the Alchemy of Souls spell which allowed her to be controlled by Jin Mu in the first place. If that was discovered, people would also eventually find out that she did kill an innocent person (Mu Deok/Cho Yeong) since she had forced Mu Deok/Cho Yeong to return to her OG body (GYJ body) to die in Ep 1. Anyways, both Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and Seo Yul decide to not tell Jang Uk about the bells because they do not want to burst Jang Uk’s bubble of ignorance lol. They will continue to let him think he is married to the soul from Part 1 so he can be happy.
This is the thing about Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. She wanted the people she cared about to always remember her as Jin Bu Yeon, a kind and beautiful soul and not as someone who committed terrible acts while she was Naksu (soul shifter through using soul ejectors/AOS spell, forcing an innocent soul to return to their OG body and die, killing her own father, ruining her sister's wedding, killing her lover, etc.). I know this is not what the Hong Sisters had intended to happen to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon.....BUT THIS STILL HURTS Y'ALL. I still think originally everything was suppose to framed so that all the blamed would be placed on both Jin Mu and Jang Uk, but again crap happened behind the scenes so the Hong Sisters had to rewrite stuff so that all the blame was placed on Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon instead.
Another rant. It was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon who was suppose to get a happy ending not fucking Jang Uk. If Jang Uk had died (it would have added to his character growth arc), then Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon could have been reunited with her family and marry a man who truly loved her, Seo Yul. This could have acted as a connecting point to the past. A marriage between Seo Yul and Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's would have symbolized something that was suppose to happen 203 years ago between Seo Gyeong and Jin Seol Ran. And she would finally get to fucking shine with all of her immense powers!!!! The reason why characters like Seo Yul, Mama Jin, Jin Cho Yeon, and Park Dang Gu had their stories either pushed to the side or made to be a villain is because their development had depended a lot on Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's story which I mean did not really happen in Part 2. Like the events of AOS story started with a Seo and Jin being torn apart so it would have made more sense that the story ended with a Seo and Jin finally being together (coming full circle). Instead, it ended with Jang/Cho being together and Seo/Jin still separated?! K...tell me the logic in that.
Who Did Jang Uk Marry In Part 2?
That idiot ended up marrying Mu Deok aka Cho Yeong. He really did not recognize that the soul he had fell in love with in Part 1 was not the same soul he met and married in Part 2. This is a marriage of two idiots honestly. All the while, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon was an invisible spirit who had to witness this whole wedding...how painful is that?! Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon was unable to do anything except watch. This was almost as bad as when the Little Mermaid (non Disney version) had to watch the Prince marry the Princess and the Little Mermaid was helpless to stop it.
Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's Final Goodbye To Jang Uk
So who was Master Lee referring to when he said "her"? He was referring to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. What Master Lee meant was that he hoped Jang Uk and Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's love for each other would reach Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. And well, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon received that message loud and clear because she used her divine powers to summon Jang Uk through the yin and yang jade.
This was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's final attempt to get Jang Uk to recognize her. She allowed him to see her true self which is Jin Bu Yeon. And did he understand what she was communicating? Hell no. So then Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon went back into her body to literally spell it out for Jang Uk and motherfucker still did not understand. It was during this time that Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon finally realized that she and Jang Uk were never meant to be together from the start. It was really Mu Deok/Cho Yeong and Jang Uk who were meant to be together. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon severed this fate when she swapped back into her OG body (JSM body) and left the Mu Deok/Cho Yeong soul to swap back into her OG body (GYJ body) and die.
Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon tells Jang Uk he truly did not recognize her which is true. Jang Uk still thought she was Naksu as in Cho Yeong hence why he mentioned she killed him to avenge her father, Cho Chung. In reality, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's real father was Jin Woo Tak. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon chose to not tell Jang Uk about the bells because it would be futile. Jang Uk would have never believed she was Jin Bu Yeon regardless of what she showed or told him.
Jang Uk was seriously a lost cause. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon allowed him to see the innermost part of her soul AND HE STILL DID NOT FREAKING GET IT. What an idiot. Literally...how could he not tell the difference between the real soul and a soul who has someone else's memories. Good riddance Jang Uk, you truly did not deserve Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon to begin with. After witnessing how everything unfolded, Naksu chose to finally let go of Jang Uk so she could go on to becoming someone greater...her real authentic self....Jin Bu Yeon.
Naksu Finally Emerging as Her True Self..Jin Bu Yeon.. The Phoenix
Cue the entrance of Naksu now Jin Bu Yeon. The metaphorical egg had cracked wide open to reveal Jin Bu Yeon, the Phoenix. And next to Jin Bu Yeon is none other than loyal Seo Yul (the real man who saw Naksu for who she truly was....Jin Bu Yeon...a divine goddess). These scenes below of Seo Yul and Jin Bu Yeon are a call back to Seo Gyeong and Jin Seol Ran. The OG fated lovers and pair before there was ever a Jang Uk and Cho Yeong. Two pure souls reunited! Side note, for continuity purposes, they should have had Jung So Min during these crucial last few scenes.
If you noticed in Ep 7, Jin Seol Ran was always in the light while Seo Gyeong remained in the shadows. And this theme is depicted once again in EP 30 through Seo Yul's dark colored clothing and Jin Bu Yeon's light colored clothing. Jin Seol Ran had a lot of darkness in her, but Seo Gyeong embraced it all so she could shine like the bright star she was. And for Jin Seol Ran, Seo Gyeong was her light in the darkness.
Seo Yul stuck by Jin Bu Yeon's side until the very end. You will also notice that during the following scenes below, Jin Bu Yeon did not directly talk to the other characters. Rather, it was Seo Yul who was the one communicating her thoughts for her to the others. It makes me wonder if one of Jin Bu Yeon's divine powers was telepathy.
Now, let's take a moment to appreciate Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. This girl had to endure so much pain and sadness and in the end, she saved all of her friends as well as all of Daeho. And no one with the exception of Master Lee and Seo Yul, would have known any better. Side note, they could have included Jung So Min without the blindfold to show that the soul from Part 1 was the one who saved everyone, but like I said earlier….there were problems behind the scenes. Anyways, I will say it again....NAKSU/JIN BU YEON DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!!!! Once Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon remembered all of her memories (JBY childhood memories) and let go of her past life/pain/resentment, her energy changed from pink to white, symbolizing purity. Additionally, her powers could be glowing white because when she was Naksu, her powers did glow white, symbolizing mage powers. Point being, we got to see her mage and divine powers combined. I AM NOT CRYING RIGHT NOW...BUT REALLY I AM BAWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hong Sisters if you are reading this (and I hope you are since I sent you a link to blog since early August), please have Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon come back for a Part 3. This time please have Jung So Min play her!!!
Naksu now Jin Bu Yeon's Final Gift to Jang Uk
So what was Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's final gift to the man who did not recognize nor really love her? The useless freaking idiot, Mu Deok/Cho Yeong, who could only see energy. Contrary to what Cho Yeong said, she does not have any other divine powers other than seeing energy. Meaning, she would not be able to cast spells nor Chisu, Tansu, or whatever else. The reason why Mu Deok/Cho Yeong would be unable to perform any divine acts of magic is because Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon only gave her the memories. Additionally, Mu Deok/Cho Yeong's soul is not a divine soul thus it does not have any divine powers whatsoever. If push came to shove, she would be flailing around screaming for Jang Uk to come save her.
Despite having Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's memories, some things could not properly be translated into Mu Deok/Cho Yeong such as the qualities which made Naksu/JIn Bu Yeon a truly unique soul (independence, motivation, ambition, fierceness, bravery, self sacrificing, etc). Mu Deok/Cho Yeong is like imitation crab meat of the real deal (Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon). As for Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's sword, she does not deserve it because she is not Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. She is just Mu Deok/Cho Yeong....a plain, stupid, superficial, foolishly kind, weak, and helpless soul. Additionally, did anyone notice how Mu Deok/Cho Yeong wore her hair in that ponytail hairstyle? This was similar to how she wore it as a child. In Part 1, Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon had ended up wearing her hair in a similar style as when she was a child (hair down with side braids).
If and when her and Jang Uk have kids, they would probably be powerless kids. Why? Because the King Star energy does not transfer to their offsprings. If it had, Seo Yul would have the King Star energy given that he is a descendant of the first King Star, Seo Gyeong. When it comes to Cho Yeong, she only has Cho clan energy so maybe at best their child would reach Chisu? Then again, their kids would have very lazy parents so maybe they would never ever make anything of themselves.
So yea...these two superficial and immature souls are definitely a match made in heaven! They were able to get the life they got due to others' hard work and sacrifice. And the truly sad part in all of this, is that they did not even realize it. Ignorance is bliss. That is the dark side to the seemingly bright "happy ending" of Alchemy of Souls Part 2.
Who Knew Naksu Was Really Jin Bu Yeon?
Not many. Literally there are only two people left alive who knows the real truth about Naksu and those people are feigning ignorance so that everyone else can heal and move on. The only reason why Jin Mu and Seo Yul knew the truth was because they had known Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon the longest in comparison to other characters. And Seo Yul had met Jin Bu Yeon before she even became “Naksu” in Danhyanggot.
Those who knew the real truth which is Naksu's soul=Jin Bu Yeon's soul:
Master Lee
Seo Yul
Jin Mu (right before he had the empty Ice Stone placed inside of him)
Those who think Naksu's soul=Cho Yeong's soul:
Mama Jin
Jang Uk
Those who think Jin Bu Yeon is just Jin Bu Yeon:
CP/The King
Park Jin
Kim Do Joon
Park Dang Gu
Heo Yun Ok
Jin Cho Yeon
What Happened to Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's Soul Afterwards?
Either she is in hibernation in her own body or lingering as a spirit next to her fated other half (Seo Yul) or back in the Ice Stone waiting to come out again. Do I think she is completely gone? Hell to the NO. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon is a survivor and a divine soul. She also still has unfinished business to attend to which is to destroy the Ice Stone. Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon should pluck out that damn Ice Stone out of Jang Uk’s chest. I will be patiently awaiting for that moment as well as when she retakes her sword!
And let's be real here, Mu Deok/Cho Yeong neither has the galls nor the powers to remove the Ice Stone out of Jang Uk's chest. That much is apparent. She does not have what it takes to do what is necessary for the greater good.
Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon also has the power of Hwansu (method of coming back to life..I just think of it as reaching nirvana or a full enlightenment). Meaning she could if she ever wanted to, float into a dead body. The Hong Sisters could then have that dead body have the face of Jin Bu Yeon (JSM) as to indicate the soul inside is Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. I mean that's the logic they used with the GYJ face anyways.
Let’s review all the things Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon managed to accomplish while she was around:
1. Discovered her real identity
2. Punished the man who ruined her life
3. Avenged her father
4. Gave her former lover someone else to love
5. Gave the soul whose life she stole a second chance filled with love, family, and friends....NO BUT REALLY FUCK MU DEOK/CHO YEONG.
6. Leave her real name untarnished by her horrible past
7. Save all of fucking Daeho because let’s be real here, without Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and her divine powers, Jang Uk would have never been able to wake up big bird himself.
FUCKING PROUD OF YOU NAKSU/JIN BU YEON!! YOU ARE A BADASS BIRDY!!
Final Thoughts on Part 2
I am brain dead. It has been an emotional roller coaster. Was Part 2 worth watching? No. Was it the Hong Sisters' best work? Hell nah. Did the Hong Sisters want you to love Part 2? Hell no they did not. I will say though, they could have express their frustrations in other ways rather than taking it out on some female characters. Although I get it haha. They had planned for Jang Uk to either die or marry Heo Yun Ok and since that did not get to happen, they made her into a petty bitch. And with Soi...do you guys know what her story ended beautifully? It was because her character's story had paralleled Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon's story. Meaning that Naksu had grew up in a dark filthy world and the only brightness she ever saw was when Seo Yul had visited her in Danhyanggot. Also, with the whole foresight thing and the firebird situation…..umm if Jin Seol Ran had foreseen this a long time ago, why did she not have Seo Gyeong destroy the firebird back then? Furthermore, if Jin Bu Yeon was Jin Seol Ran with the gift of foresight, why would she allow herself to be used by Jin Mu to find the Ice Stone in the first place? I smell lies haha. Maybe Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon and Master Lee had worked together to deceive others with their goal being to help others to move on from Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon. Therefore, maybe Jin Bu Yeon was just Jin Bu Yeon and not a reincarnation of Jin Seol Ran. The Hong Sisters had done something similar in Hotel Del Luna. For example, the old lady deity had tricked Man Wol into believing Chan Sang was the reincarnation of Chung Myung when in fact he was not. Therefore, I would not put it pass the Hong Sisters to not pull the same trick again in AOS.
Potential for Part 3?
Hong Sisters, if you're reading this, since you used some stuff from my blog, might I suggest some titles for Part 3? How about "Alchemy of Souls: Reincarnation" or "Alchemy of Souls: Resurrection"?
Now I do not want to get your hopes up, but I really do feel there is a lot of potential for a Part 3 plot wise. However, this is wholly dependent on certain factors such as actor/actresses schedule availability and funding. The Hong Sisters would not have to do much in terms of writing other than some minor tweaks. I think they would still want to tell the story they had worked so hard on in the first place. Alchemy of Souls was suppose to be the pinnacle of the Hong Sister's career as kdrama writers but it ended up crashing into flames. I can only imagine the disappointment they must have felt to see their story ending this way.
Maybe one of the reasons the Hong Sisters had left some major plot holes is because they are hoping to eventually produce a Part 3. For example, the Ice Stone in Jang Uk's chest or the unoccupied leader positions of Cheonbugwan and Seoho Fortress. Sure, some would say their other dramas had some plot holes, but I would argue and say those dramas only had at most 3-4 minor plot holes. While in Part 2, there were so many major plot holes that if this were a boat, the boat would have already sank within one second of being in the waters.
How could things go if Part 3 were to happen? Well, it could start with Jang Uk's death. Sorry to all of those who were hoping to see more Jang Uk. I have been done with his stupid ass of a character since Part 1. Anyways, through his death, the Ice Stone would be used to fuel Jin Bu Yeon/Naksu's resurrection. As for Mu Deok/Cho Yeong since she is his shadow, her soul can leave with him too. Since the Ice Stone is back in the world, a new King Star should also rise to destroy the Ice Stone once and for all. Although the King Star isn't so much new, but more like old haha.
Building off of the logic of how fated lovers are always born in pairs, it would not be farfetched to think that when Jin Bu Yeon (the reincarnation of Jin Seol Ran) was born, her other half Seo Gyeong was also born/reincarnated too. And who might that be? Seo Yul. Part 3 could be about how after Jin Bu Yeon is revived, she could help Seo Yul to remember his Seo Gyeong memories which could enable him to have his King Star powers again. In doing so, it would explain why Seo Yul had coincidentally ran into Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon in Danyanggot of all places as well as why he kept having weird visions throughout Parts 1 and 2. Seo Yul also seemed to be a real old soul from an early age just like Jin Bu Yeon was. Something random is Seo Yul's final outfit in Part 2, they were nearly the same colors of Jin Bu Yeon's outfit when she was performing the firebird awakening ritual. Could it be that Jin Bu Yeon gave Seo Yul his Seo Gyeong memories back and this is why he decided to take over the Songrim position? Hmmmm.
So why would these two need to be at their best? To stop whoever or whatever enemy the Seo's were fighting along the borders. Maybe the enemies at Seoho Fortress are like the equivalent of Ice Walkers from Game of Thrones who are controlled by the ruler of the country next to Daeho. This would require a group effort from all the other characters like Jin Cho Yeon, Park Dang Gu, the King (sorry I still want to call him CP), and whoever the new leader of Cheonbugwan is. And we would finally get to see Jin Bu Yeon at her finest in action....a mage/shaman/divine priestess tribrid fighting the enemies to the west of the Daeho. And there could more scenes of Park Danggu being a bad ass archer and Jin Cho Yeon using the relics to assist in the fight against the enemies along the border. Somewhere in between all of that craziness, it’ll be great to see Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon having some much needed sister time with Jin Cho Yeon. She could even help babysit Dan and Gang haha.
Also, it’ll be great to have a scene with Naksu/Jin Bu Yeon Chisu her way to the top of the tree and see the moon (she said in P1 how she used to love going up the tree to look at the moon). Seo Yul can Chisu his way up there too and join her haha. With regards to the relics in Jinyowon, they could further explain why Seo Gyeong and Jin Seol Ran had created all these relics in the first place. I mean there was a mirror of longing, binding bracelet, fluffy, Gwiseo, and other countless relics. In Ep 7, they said the relics were created with sorcery….so did Seo Gyeong and Jin Seol Ran dabble in the dark arts or something? Why didn’t they destroy the relics in the first place if they knew they were dangerous? And remember Master Lee? They could even introduce the plot twist that he was really Master Choi Cheol, the first mage to perform the Alchemy of Souls and how he never really died inside of Gwido as many had thought.
And at the end of this long journey, Jin Bu Yeon/Jin Seol Ran would finally be reunited with her family and married to a man (Seo Yul/Seo Gyeong) who was as pure and kind as she was . A match some 200 years in the making! NOW THAT WOULD MAKE FOR AN EPIC ROMANCE.
OK THAT IS ALL I GOT OUT OF ME!! If you have any more questions, I will be more than happy to answer them. I am sure I have forgotten to talk about some things! Oh well!
#alchemy of souls#Alchemy of souls light and shadow#aos#jin bu yeon#jung so min#naksu#seo yul#hwang minhyun#Jang uk#lee jae wook#arin#jin cho yeon#mu deok#go Yoon jung#cho yeong#jin sell ran#park dang gu#yoo in soo#shin seung ho#crown prince#mama jin#jin ho kyung#theories#analysis#there are probably grammatical mistakes#I am tired of writing more#mind melt
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Film Friday: Everything Everywhere All At Once
In order to sate my frequently insatiable appetite for talking about movies, I am going to start a bit of a column on this here webbed site. Every Friday I'll be sharing my perspectives, interpretation or just wild gushing about or rancorous condemnation of a movie. First in line is none other than Everything Everywhere All At Once. Content warning: Heavy topics such as family troubles, sexuality, mental health problems, and generational trauma. I'm getting into the weeds with this one. There'll also be spoilers, and frankly, if you haven't seen this one yet, I can hardly recommend it enough. Don't read the rest of this, just go see it, you will be confused and delighted and probably crying just a little bit.
Everything Everywhere All At Once has received all but unilateral praise, and I think it rightly deserves it. Even so, there are some aspects of how this thing is so impossibly awesome and some of the more specific facets of the ways it is so impossibly awesome that get overlooked.
Yes, there is no denying it is a powder keg of impossibly cool dimension-hopping kung fu, as raucously comedic as it is genuinely heartrending. It should stand on its own how powerfully the movie speaks on generational trauma, conflict, and healing from the same. The acting is somewhere north of incredible, with Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Hyu Quan delivering several lifetimes worth of life-best performances. You know the cast is stacked when James Hong is in a movie and he doesn't get to be the best thing about the movie all on his lonesome just by showing up, for once.
All of this is very true, but as far as I'm concerned it's hardly scratching the surface of EEAAO, and why it might be the best movie of the decade. First off, I want to talk a bit about the queer themes of the picture.
One thing I keep coming back to in Everything is how I find it nearly impossible to not read Evelyn Wang as bisexual. Well, I say bisexual which is probably a bad habit on my end, as mspec probably is a better umbrella term to use when the exact nature of her attraction isn't explored in much detail.
Now, why do I read her like this? Evelyn is, obviously, married to her husband Waymond, but there are still reasons one might suspect she is not exclusively attracted to men. We see Evelyn in a sapphic relationship, albeit it is in what might be the single most unlikely parallel universe imaginable where humans have evolved to possess functionally useless hotdog-fingered hands. Still, I would argue that the seeming impossibility of the outcome might be a narrative device all on its own.
Being in a queer relationship seems almost impossible to Evelyn, to the degree that professing genuine love to IRS Maven and minor antagonist Deidre is sufficiently out of character to launch her into her first multiversal ability jump. Almost impossible, however, does not mean impossible, and the fact that there's even a question and that she can eventually do it does imply something about Evelyn's sexuality I would say.
Also, on a less textual plane, doesn't part of this sound very familiar? If you, like me, came into your queer identity as an adult, doesn't the "living a genuine queer life feeling like a distant impossible dream" strike a deep resonating chord? Granted I've never considered having disgusting sausage fingers a prerequisite, but then again, Evelyn has a few years on me for such a neurosis to develop.
Now that I think about it, the visceral unpleasantness of the literal sausage fingers could be read as a form of body anxiety as it pertains to sexuality, at least when the condiments get involved.
Another thing that supports this reading is the parallels between Evelyn and her daughter Joy. This isn't to say that one has to be Mspec to have a sapphic daughter, of course. Considering how alike Evelyn and Joy are, though, and how acutely their struggles are mirrored in other fields, mental health struggles, desire for parental approval, etc., it's not an outrageous leap to assume Evelyn could also bat for the other team, as it were, lending extra weight to the "I prayed she wouldn't turn out like me" line she delivers to her disapproving father.
It's also interesting from this point that Evelyn acknowledging Joy's sexuality to her father's face functions as a sort of False Dawn in the plot. It is no doubt a part of mending the relationship but at the moment it's hard to not agree with Joy's assessment that this is more "[Evelyn] figuring her shit out" than the mending that her relationship with her daughter needs. To get all the way there, Evelyn, and we along with her, have to take a deep dive into the philosophy and the all-annihilating bagel.
There's also some really cool philosophy going on in Everything Everywhere. In the formal sense of things, the philosophy navigates the borderlands between Nihilism and Existentialism. Jobu Tupaki represents utter despairing nihilism, wishing for non-existence to rid herself of the pain of being and the crushing weight of knowledge of her million alternate lives and how nary a one of them offers as much as a morsel of relief.
Nihilism is one of those things that popular culture often imbues with entirely too much power owing to the understanding that hopelessness is somehow more intellectual than less despondent philosophies. Everything Everywhere treats Joy's hopelessness not as an inherently valid position, but as a reaction to the cascading failure of her family to prove proper care.
Look no further than how Jobu wants her mother, Evelyn Prime, to accompany her into the nothingness of the Everything Bagel. If, truly, nothing mattered, it wouldn't make any difference to Jobu whether she walked into the nothingness of the bagel singularity alone or hand in hand with Evelyn or with every single soul in the IRS. And yet, she pursues the version of her mother that can see what she sees in the vain hope that this Evelyn will feel as she feels and reach the same conclusions she has. It's very understandable, of course, but it severely undermines the point that there is nothing worth caring for in the universe.
It shouldn't really surprise the astute reader that the villain of a kung-fu action film isn't correct in the philosophical sense. The deftness with which Everything Everywhere handles the reveal of it all is, however, quite heartening. Jobu Tupaki isn't wrong because she's evil or evil because she's wrong; She's acting out because she's hurting and, ultimately in need of the help of her parents. Evelyn struggles similarly, and it's a good thing that she is married to the single most transcendentally kind man in all of existence.
Waymond Wang is in many ways the lynchpin of the entire movie, the pivot point that allows Evelyn to find a way out of hopelessness and regret. The way he accomplishes this is, again in the context of this being a kung-fu movie, highly unusual. Waymond is unflinchingly kind, in a way that at least initially makes him seem like a colossal wimp, a stereotypical henpecked husband. While it is true that Waymond is a bit of a wet blanket, there is also quiet strength to his approach. As In The Mood For Love-Waymond so memorably put it, his front of unflinching kindness is how he fights.
What makes the whole final sequence so rousingly powerful is how Evelyn internalizes and synthesizes the perspectives of her little family. Her instinct to protect her daughter in ways her father couldn't protect her and Waymond's conflict-solving kindness allows her to overcome the final barriers between her and Jobu. This comes in the form of some kickass untraditional kung fu, yes, but also from the realization that there is no one beyond hope, redemption, or beyond love. Even the bitter battleaxe IRS agent, even the parallel universe where everyone has hotdogs for fingers, even the aging widower with no sense of personal space, hell, even Chad the raccoon avatar.
It is a powerful scene of catharsis to see Evelyn compassion-fight entire swathes of opponents, but it doesn't become the transcendent piece of media that it is before the confrontation with Jobu in the Prime branch, and her father and Joy in the Prime Beta-branch. Here, the final piece of the puzzle awaits in the single most difficult thing a parent can do. Evelyn defeats Jobu and stands up to her father, yes, but to truly mend the rift between her and Joy, she must see and understand Joy's pain through true empathy, and if there is to be a happy ending for her and Joy, Evelyn must do the unthinkable.
Evelyn has to let Jobu go and trust that Joy comes back to her. If Joy chooses continued existence, it's of her own free will. Evelyn will go every step of the way alongside Joy if Joy will allow her, but it is ultimately up to her daughter. It's a profound act of love and empathy, and yet it feels almost impossible. It is an act of ultimate vulnerability, and, in some ways, the grandest act in a movie of grand acts, and even thinking back on it now brings tears to my eyes.
#peebs thinks#film friday#eeaao#everything everywhere all at once#unmitigated gushing#cw violence#cw family issues#cw flashing#cw homophobia#philosophy#existentialism#nihilism
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Fate and Phantasms #299: Ibuki Douji
Today on Fate and Phantasms we are creating the great god of Mt. Ooe, Ibuki-Douji! In this build, she is a Rune Knight Fighter to properly appreciate her stature, as well as a Storm Sorcerer to make her a living force of nature. Ibuki almost hits as hard as the Orochi she can summon.
You can examine her character sheet here, or her build breakdown below the cut!
Next up: If I had a nickel for every snake-based goddess that made Rex feel funny I would have three nickels. That is not a lot, but it’s weird how it’s happened twice in a row.
Race and Background
We had quite a bit of trouble deciding on Ibuki-Douji’s race, which is an interesting experience for us. We decided against Tiefling because her skillset is more water-based than fire, and Aasimar was also in the running due to her godly origins. In the end, we went with Yuan-Ti Pureblood, specifically the version from Volo’s Guide to Monsters. She is famously friendly with the Orochi, and if you are going to build a god it pays to be a little overpowered. If the issue is forced, the more modern take on the race is also acceptable.
As a Yuan-Ti Pureblood, she gains +2 Charisma and +1 Strength thanks to Tasha’s customizable races. She also gains 60 feet of Darkvision, and her Innate Spellcasting lets her cast Poison Spray and Animal Friendship an unlimited amount per day, though the latter can only affect snakes. At third level you can also cast Suggestion once per day, and all these spells use your Charisma to cast. Speaking of spells, you have advantage on all saves against magic, and are immune to poison, both the damage type and the condition.
I admit we have not gotten far enough into Heian-Kyo to understand Ibuki’s exact point of origin, but our general understanding is Shuten is hiding out on her mountain and gained otherworldly power, and that would make her a Hermit, giving her proficiency in Medicine and Religion.
Ability Scores
Ibuki’s strongest point is, appropriately, her Strength. at a certain point she just throws away her sword entirely and starts beating people to death with a snake skeleton larger than most people. Definitely a “girlboss” moment. Very empowering. Second is her Charisma. She gains power from divinity, but specifically her own divinity. But not in the same way Divine Soul Sorcerers do, where their only mechanical identity is “Sorcerer with Healing”. Anyways, we’re getting off topic. Third is her Dexterity. She does not fight in a lot of armor. In fact, it would be more accurate to say she fights in no armor whatsoever. She barely fights in clothes. Her Constitution is also above average, as gods typically aren’t known for dying easily. This does mean her Wisdom is rather low, but she is easily influenced and can even become a berserker, so it is appropriate. Finally, we’re dumping Intelligence. From what I gather Shuten doesn’t like letting you out that often.
Class Levels
1. Fighter 1: at level one you get your Great Weapon Fighting Style, which means you can re-roll 1s and 2s on damage dice for two-handed weapons. we’ll be adding quite a few damage dice to your two-handed weapons by the time this build is done, so that’ll be super helpful. you also gain a Second Wind for a little bit of healing, as a treat.
you also get proficiency with Strength and Constitution saves for better concentration, Athletics to make you even stronger, and Intimidation because you’re literally a demon god. even if your charisma was dogwater you’d still be intimidating.
2. Fighter 2: second level fighters can use an Action Surge once per short rest for an extra action in a turn, no strings attached. this action can be used for multiple attacks, another levelled spell, literally anything you could fit in a normal action. it’s like Quickened Spell, but significantly better.
3. Fighter 3: at third level you get your martial archetype, Rune Knight. this lets you activate your Giant Might as a bonus action proficiency times per day, turning you into a Large creature for up to a minute if you have space. during that time you have advantage on strength checks and saves, and once a turn your weapon attacks deal an extra d6 of damage, like diet rage. this is how you go from your little babby form up to that Raita-drawn-twice-as-large-as-Guda form.
you also get the Rune Carver feat, letting you carve designs into a weapon or armor or piece of jewelry, y’know the kind of stuff you’d think would have runes on ‘em. you can put one of each kind you know on an item at the end of a long rest, and they stay magical until your next long rest, giving you passive buffs while carrying them around. you can also invoke runes- usually as a bonus action- once per short rest for an extra bonus. for example, the Fire Rune gives you double proficiency with tool checks, but the reason we’re taking it is its invocation. as part of the same action you hit someone with a weapon attack, you can invoke the fire rune to summon some burning snake heads to restrain them if they fail a strength save. this lasts a minute, and they take damage and can retake the save at the end of each of their turns.
our second rune right now is the Frost Rune, giving you advantage on Animal Handling and Intimidation checks. you were already good with snakes and good at scaring people, but now you’re better. you can invoke the rune for a +2 bonus on all strength and constitution checks. sadly, we can’t really invest too much into constitution as a gish, but we’ll do what we can.
4. Fighter 4: use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. you hit hard, it’s kind of your thing.
5. Fighter 5: speaking of hitting hard, now you do it twice as often with your Extra Attack each action.
6. Sorcerer 1: now that we’re set on physicality for a hot second, let’s pop over to Storm sorcerer. yeah yeah you’re a Wind Speaker, you know Primordial, but the real fun is Tempestuous Magic. if you plan on casting a levelled spell with your action, you can use your bonus action before or after it to fly up to ten feet away without provoking attacks. it’s a discount version of the little cloud thing she does.
and of course, if you’re gonna use Tempestuous Magic you’re gonna need some Spells to cast using your Charisma. for cantrips, pick up Booming Blade and Sword Burst to hit even harder than before, and grab Gust for even more windiness. Message is just always pretty useful, it’s your standard Chaldea communicator. for levelled spells, Mage Armor will help your low AC even when you’re not wearing much, and Fog Cloud completes the aesthetic of your magic. it gives you a big enough cloud to hide in that even your giant self can fit!
7. Sorcerer 2: at second level you become a Font of Magic, giving you sorcery points equal to your level at the end of each long rest. you can convert points to slots or slots to point, but you can’t have more points than you started with. they’ll get more interesting next level, I swear.
for your spell, grab Burning Hands for a little Orochi action right away. well, not right away, we’re at level 7. still, faster than the main spell we’re grabbing for Orochi.
8. Sorcerer 3: at third level of sorcerer you can use those sorcery points from earlier on Metamagic options, customizing your spells as you cast them. with Subtle spells, you can cast them without vocal or somatic components, so you can now cast spells while holding your big fuckoff swords. meanwhile an Extended spell has double the duration so you don’t burn through spell slots as fast.
if you’re still not strong, tough, or fast enough, grab Enhance Ability for advantage on one kind of ability check for up to a minute.
9. Sorcerer 4: use this next ASI to grab the Slasher feat to spice up your swords even more. that rounds up your Dexterity for a better AC. the feat also lets you reduce the speed of whatever you hit by 10 feet for a round, and your critical slashing hits force disadvantage on all their attacks that round.
for spells, grab blade ward to turn that diet rage into… zero sugar rage? i think? its still not 100% ragealicious, but it’s a lil closer with the damage resistances. also, dragon’s breath. when we summon orochi later it’ll already have fire breath, but now you can turn any snake into orochi!
10. sorcerer 5: fifth level sorcs can spend their points on magical guidance to re-roll a failed skill check. you can also cast third level spells like fly! now we’ve got a full-length flight for ya!
11. fighter 6: with the basics of magic covered, lets head back to fighter to make more heads roll! at level six you get another asi which we’re using to grab the great weapon master feat! now whenever you score a crit or kill a creature with a melee weapon, you can make a bonus action attack, and that’s not all! whenever you attack with a heavy weapon you can take a -5 hit to the attack roll for a +10 to the damage! dont wanna put too fine a point on this, but ibuki’s rlly good with a sword. or a snake corpse. that’s a heavy weapon, right?
12. fighter 7: at seventh level you get a runic shield, letting you protect your buddies as a reaction proficiency times a day! you can force whoever is attacking to re-roll the d20 and use the new roll.
speaking of runes, now that you’re level 7 u can use the hill rune! the normal stuff is just poison resistance, which doesn’t really help you, but you can invoke the rune for resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage for 1 minute! so now it’s a… low-cal rage? i think.
13. fighter 8: use this asi to bump up your constitution for more health and more concentration! the one downside of multiclassing with casters is their terrible hit dice.
14. fighter 9: ninth level fighters are indomitable, so now you can re-roll a failed saving throw once a day! use it wisely!
15. fighter 10: at tenth level, your great stature gives you up to a foot in extra height (ibuki be biiiig) and your deal an extra d8 of damage each turn instead of a d6! you also get another rune, and you might as well grab a storm rune. you get advantage on arcana checks and you can’t be surprised normally, and you can invoke it to get all godly for a minute- whenever you or another creature makes a check, save, or attack roll, you can react to give that roll advantage or disadvantage. things just go right for gods. mostly. sometimes. okay honestly being a god kinda sucks unless you’re monotheistic.
16. fighter 11: eleventh level fighters get another extra attack! now you got three attacks in an action, and up to 7 per turn! most people would kill for that kind of action economy, and you have!
17. sorcerer 6: a sixth level storm sorcerer knows the heart of the storm, giving you resistance to thunder and lightning damage. on top of that, any spells you cast that deal that damage makes you explode, dealing damage to creatures you wanna hurt nearby. we don’t use that a lot, but your dragony spells are pretty flexible, so we won’t tell if you won’t!
you’re also a storm guide, so you can stop the rain nearby or control the direction the wind is blowing. it’s mostly flavor, but it can be useful!
oh right, we don’t need much til level 20, so let’s grab thunder step for extra mobility and explosions. you teleport, you explode wherever you left and you can even explode where you’re going!
18. sorcerer 7: seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells like storm sphere! i know your np probably isn’t totally literal, but now you can make a storm anyway, woo.
19. sorcerer 8: use your last asi to be a tough guy for 38 extra hp now and 2 more next level. like i said, sorcerers suck at not dying, so try to suck less.
annoyingly sorcerers can’t bestow curses, so we’re gonna grab vampiric touch for those unclean fingers of yours. you can make a melee attack against a creature, dealing necrotic damage if you hit and regaining half that in hp, then for a minute afterwards you can keep making attacks as an action.
20. sorcerer 9: our last level is for fifth level spells! with summon draconic spirit, you can make a dragon show up for up to an hour. orochi’s probably chromatic, but you can pick gem or metallic if you really want. it takes its turn right after yours, and you can command it without spending a bonus action or anything.
it’s only got 50 hp which is bad for level 20, but it’s flashy and it gives you resistance to whatever its breath weapon is.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
giant lady! well yeah, but more specifically giant lady with giant fucking sword. Great Weapon Master is a good feat, and while you don’t have a way to ensure you get advantage to take full. well, advantage. of it, good shit is still good shit. with seven attacks you can dish out 133 damage before we even account for any dice in your attacks. dice that you can re-roll for better damage thanks to Great Weapon Fighting.
you’ve also got a pretty solid defense. your AC’s nothing to write home about, but you’ve got resistances and immunities up the wazoo. you are either immune or resistant to poison, thunder, and lightning permanently, can get resistance to physical damage types for a decent amount of time per short rest, and if you know you’re going up against an element you’re not resisting yet, you can summon a dragon and just leave him out of the fight to get an element of your choice too.
you’re also great at being consistent in just about everything. you can give yourself advantage on an important attack, re-roll a failed skill check or save, can’t be surprised, and have advantage on most of the skills you focus on.
Cons:
your even if you’ve got defenses to get around it, having a bad AC is still rough. though you’re plenty strong enough to just grab platemail or something if you really want.
your spells aren’t strong since we didn’t touch on charisma that much, so sword burst, burning hands, and dragon’s breath aren’t the greatest options. a lot of your spells don’t care about charisma though, so it’s not a huge issue. and even when it is you can give them disadvantage on their saves…
…you’re too tall? yeah look this is a pretty good build, the only real downside is not packing your own hea- wait no you’ve got vampiric touch. yeah this sheer heart attack has no weaknesses.
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hi its "almost died as an infant" aoki stan anon again. im still thinkin about what to say medical wise BUT U GUYS HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ABT HIS DEATH like im already frustrated with the "redemption by honorable death" thing that the game keeps doing (east asia has such high suicide rates i dont think its a very responsible narrative to continue telling in general tbh) but especially for a disabled character who had every right to feel vulnerable and betrayed and get a little evil. hes not Right but hes very Understandable and relatable. but then he still chose to live on and face the consequences (ARGUABLY HARDER AND MORE RESPONSIBLE. A GOOD EXAMPLE AND EXPECTATION TO SET especially for a POLITICIAN) and then they kill him anyway with some fuckin BULLSHIT EXCUSE and i feel like its partially because nobody can be bothered to put the effort into continuing a compelling and morally grey disabled narrative and it. hurts to be cast aside like that. especially after they made such a big deal about ichiban being a NEW protagonist/saga with a NEW identity and then. you still just gave me nishiki 2.0. you retold me the exact same story and used a blatant asspull to FORCE it to be the same story and give ichiban a dead brother figure to lament over for the next 5 games???? rgg i thought you wanted him to be different from kiryu???? sigh. it better be a fakeout and he resurfaces perfectly fine in a few games like kashiwagi or else i'm going to start scaling the walls of the rgg office and dismantling it piece by piece
hey howdy. can we call you MAS (medical aoki stan) ima call you mas cause i'd like to hear *mas from you haha gottem
BUT YEAH NO YOU'RE RIGHT. like i joke that ichi and aoki were kiryu and nishiki 2.0 but at least with nishiki, his death was like. .2% more valid while aoki's it's like..... rage. anger. death. i hate it here. this was so fucking stupid there was literally no need for this other than to fill a quota and try to make a "ichi really is the heir to kiryu's legacy" statement. LIKE ICHI IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEW FACE, GIVE HIM SOMETHING DIFFERENT- LET HIM KEEP HIS BROTHER SO THEY CAN PURSUE THE FUTURE TOGETHER THIS TIME
it's especially more upsetting regarding aoki as "being cast aside" because we can discern that was a huge thing for him and was a big reason why he turned out the way he did- being seen as useless or something that could easily be disposed off, so for the narrative to do just that right at the very end when it looked as though it was promising him a better future is just so...... rgg you're always so close but not close enough im going to strangle you
#snap chats#*means 'more' in spanish. i would like to hear more from you bestie :)#but yeah dont even get me started on the 'honor suicide' epidemic#my family's seasian in case we couldn't discern and while most of us try not to be self-sacrificing for 'redemption'#my brother has a really bad habit of doing it and being really self destructive whenever he wrongs someone#i had a bad tendency to do it too when i was younger but ive gotten better over the years#and listen in terms of rgg and yakuza i get it- makes sense for yakuza characters who are high on honor to want to abide by that#but aoki isnt yakuza- he hates yakuza LMAO so the fact he still falls victim to that narrative is so....#UGH rgg you're gonna make me say 'aoki baby im so sorry' at this rate I WONT. BUT I AM VERY CLOSE TO IT#i just think he should have gotten a better ending when he was willing to pursue one#it just makes me angry... like cmon....#someone said that aoki's death was a cruel irony since his choice was taken from him like how he took choice from others#and while that IS a sexy way to interpret the ending i wont even LIE i'm still pissed like rAGHGH#please say psyche @ the funeral please tell me the funeral was cap#please tell me he just went into a coma for the past five years idfk im not delusional tho. i know rgg sucks and killed him
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Ten Fave Characters from Ten Fandoms
I started this post years ago and gave up halfway through, but I thought it would be interesting to revisit it. To see if my thoughts had changed since then, and to add in some new fandoms I've been into. The thing is, I've always struggled to pick my Single Favorite Character in any given media, because I am a total sucker for a good ensemble cast, and most of the time I'm more interested in the dynamics of the different relationships between characters than I am in the individual characters themselves. But you know, I do still have my blorbos, same as everyone else. So here are ten of them, from ten different fandoms, in no particular order (with a general warning that there will be spoilers):
1. Steven (Steven universe)
My son, my muffin, light of my life, best boy!! Honestly, how could I not put him first? Steven Universe is and always will be It™ for me, My Thing, and I could probably write essays for days (and in fact, I have) about the themes, characters, story arcs, design, music, everything to do with this fucking show. And while I love literally everyone in Beach City to bits, you know I gotta give a special shout out to our boy Steven. Watching him grow up over the years was a genuine delight, and the conclusion of his arc being a pretty obvious transgender acceptance allegory at the exact same time I was coming to accept my own trans identity was an extra special treat on top. It will never stop blowing my socks clean off just how revolutionary a character like Steven was at the time (and shamefully, continues to be), especially in media aimed at young kids. A boy hero whose strength and power comes from his empathy, from his kindness, from the women in his life. He is literally surrounded by a team of powerful alien warrior women, descended from the Princess of Alien Space Rock Royalty, and never once does the narrative even slightly question the fact that he idolizes the women in his life. Steven fights with a rose-colored shield and loves singing and laughing and his big sisters and love, and his whole arc was about learning how to take these feminine influences and come into his own power with them, to be the kind of hero he wanted to be. At the end of the day, no matter what else Steven was, he was above all himself. And he was loved for it, completely, unreservedly, without question. How fucking magical is that? (And thank god we finally got him some therapy, this poor lil muffin).
2. Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
Best companion 5ever, fite me. I love Donna for so many reasons, but most of all I love her relationship with Ten, which is easily one of my top five brotps of all time. She challenged him and snarked at him and dared him to be better, and he tried his hardest to do it, because he wanted to be worthy of her companionship. And they were just so good together!!! Ahhh!!!!! Donna Noble was introduced as a rather abrasive figure, loud and sarcastic without apology in a way female characters frequently aren’t allowed to be, especially in the dark times of the late 2000s. But she was also shown to be really deeply kind, overflowing with empathy for all of the people and creatures around her. And not only that, but she was quite literally the Most Important Woman in the Universe because of it. Your faves could simply never, I’m sorry. Ten + Donna will forever be my ultimate fav season, my fav companion, my favorite everything of Doctor Who forever and always. (Also David Tennant & Catherine Tate’s irl chemistry is the best, they are just so good whenever they’re together on screen.)
3. Iron Bull (Dragon Age Inquisition)
It is almost impossible for me to pick my favorite character from Dragon Age more than any other series because I really do love them all too much. I mean, Hawke, my disaster bisexual? Fenris, my moody little porcupine? Dorian? Sera? Leliana? VARRIC?!?! To me one of the defining features of Dragon Age are its excellent ensemble casts. The fascinating dynamics between all these messed up weirdos trying their best to save the world. But if I had to pick one guy, the one who definitely surprised me with how absolutely head-over-heels in love I fell with him, well then I have to give it up to the Big Man himself, our beloved Iron Bull. I remember when it was first announced we were getting a Qunari love interest, and not only was he a Big McLarge Huge Warrior Guy, he was pansexual. I was braced for a walking punchline, leering and making jokes and flirting with everyone in a really crass way (not that there’s anything wrong with that, just you know, it’s been done before). But what I got instead was a burnt-out professional liar with a determined love for softness, for pleasure. Bull is an incisively intelligent and brutally calculating man who is willing to turn his back on his country and everything he's ever known, to become an outcast, just to stick up for the people he loves the most. Dude's got layers. He loves dawnstone because it's pretty and pink, he totally gets off on fighting dragons, he calls Vivienne ma'am and plays mindchess with Solas in his spare time. And obviously, of course, him being a loving dom who gives you a place to be something other than the literal Herald of Andraste was just the icing and sprinkles on top of this already delicious slice of beefcake.
4. Izzy Hands (Our Flag Means Death)
Oh boy. Hoo boy. Okay. We're getting into it now. Sometimes you just see an absolute miserable little rat bastard of a man and go "yes, that one, that one's mine thank you." While I love Stede for Gender Reasons and I love Ed because he's literally perfect, and the tender sweetness of Jim + Olu melt my heart into a pool of butter, and everyone else in the cast is absolutely spectacular, down to the guest roles, there's just something about Izzy. It’s undeniable. We love a complicated character round these parts, naturally, but also, how could you not be obsessed with one so singularly pathetic and yearning and just absolutely begging to be stepped on as Izzy motherfucking Hands. Just. His whole deal?? Imagine being so fucking married to the fictionalized persona you helped create of the man you've decided to devote your entire life to. Imagine knowing that the crumbs of affection you accept from him are the most that you could ever hope to get, because you and he just aren't made for anything else, you are Hard Men and this is a Violent, Terrible world. Until, suddenly, in walks this fucking prissy little nonce with no skills and all of the privilege, who by all rights should have been shot dead the second he set foot in Nassau, and somehow this fucking idiot manages to utterly bewitch your husband god Captain?? Who, it turns out, actually did want all of that lovely sweet softness you told yourself was Forbidden, For Reasons, and he is actually perfectly capable of showing warmth and devotion and care for someone, just not You. No, instead you are fated to watch your Captain and This Fucking Idiot fall in love, right in front of your face, and the rest of his floating insane asylum treat you like you're the bad guy here. Like, bitch, I would probably want to stab someone about that too!! (And that's not even getting into the Toe Thing, which. Jesus Christ. The Toe Thing). Also, he has the privilege of being portrayed by Con O'Neil, who I have the most atrocious of crushes on, so really, how could I not pick him?
5. Flint (Black Sails)
Speaking of Messed Up Gay Pirates. I know we can all relate to someone being so fundamentally angry about homophobia that he decides to declare war on all of Britain about it, right? No, but for real, James Flint McGraw’s entire arc, from earnest do-good Homosexual with politically radical beliefs to vengeful ginger murder-pirate to tired old man who gets to retire to a lifetime of gentle lovemaking with his recently-unburied Husband was something I never expected, but was utterly delighted by nonetheless. There is just so much seething rage burning under the surface of this man, that constant war between his tenderness, his capacity for love and care that was so cruelly ripped from him by such a corrupt system, and then his yearning for violence and vengeance. And, on top of that, the ways he relates to the women of the show; his entire co-dependant Thing with Miranda, which is so queer it’s almost beyond definition in the best way, and his Tired Gay Dad routine with Eleanor, and to a lesser extent, Madi. Plus, he’s damaged and hot and so so sad about it, and he looks so criminally good covered in blood it should actually be a crime. To this day the entirety of the “in the dark there is discovery” monologue fully lives rent free in my head, not to mention “my truest love, know no shame.” Ultimate blorbo status for sure.
6. Joan Watson (Elementary)
Confession time: I was definitely one of those people who was initially dubious and upset that they were doing yet another modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation, and not only that, but they were making Watson a woman! “Oh this is obviously an egregious No Homo attempt, fuck this show,” I thought, and I was fully prepared to write off the whole enterprise. But then I found out they had cast Lucy Liu as Watson and I was conflicted because, seriously, Lucy Liu, how could you not totally love her? I decided to give the first episode a shot and was delighted to discover that Miss Joan totally captured my heart from the literal moment she appeared on screen. I’ve never been the biggest fan of the original Holmes stories so take all my opinions with a grain of salt here, but I love that Joan is played as Watson who is an actual equal to Sherlock. Their dynamic is an honest-to-god partnership, instead of the tired trope of the Brilliant Amazing Perfect Special Genius Boy and the long-suffering idiot who puts up with him. You can really see what Sherlock sees in Joan, all the things he values in her: her strength and quiet brilliance, her inquisitiveness and determination, and how she utterly refuses to put up with his bullshit from like, day one. This is a Watson with healthy boundaries, y’all. She’s just such a wonderful character in her own right. She’s more than Sherlock’s blogger, she has a life and dreams and goals of her own, and the show respects that. And not only that, but there is not even a hint of any tired romance tropes between the two of them. Their quiet queerplatonic domestic partnership evolves in such a really lovely way across the series, it is one of the core dynamics of the show, and it’s so good. And each episode is an excuse to look at Lucy Liu in gorgeous outfits for an hour at a time, which I will happily take where I can find it. Good show. Criminally underrated.
7. Aziraphale (Good Omens)
Alright, I’ve got another shameful confession for you. I’ve never actually managed to finish reading Good Omens. I know I know, nail me to the cross. There was just something about the writing style that I could never fully get into, but I got far enough to know that Crowley and Aziraphale were totes in love 5ever, and even though I wouldn’t have understood why at the time, I really Related to Aziraphale for Some Mysterious Reason. Smash cut to 2019 and the first season of the TV version premiers and I’m watching Michael Sheen do all That as Aziraphale and a lightbulb pops on over my head and I just go oh. Gender!! There’s a tumblr post I love that talks about how Aziraphale is soft and effeminate and good, and that is such an important part of his character. He on-purpose cultivates a deliberately gay image because he relates to gay culture, because he identifies with being a maligned outcast to society the same way homosexuals were for most of the time he’s been on Earth. Our Angel loves food and pleasure and soft warm things, and that never stops him from being a hero. In fact, it is because of his hedonism and softness that he defies Heaven and Hell to literally save the day. To quote from that post directly, “He’s soft and queer and vain and he loves food and these are good qualities! These things are his and he wears them openly and defiantly and they make him strong in a way heaven doesn’t comprehend!” God, just, *slaps Aziraphale’s belly* this bad boy can hold so much gender. I love him endlessly.
8. GLaDOS (Portal 2)
So rarely in media are women allowed to be unhinged murderous lunatics, but GLaDOS carries that heavy burden on her beautiful robot shoulders admirably. I think sometimes the fanon characterization of her focuses a little too heavily on either the tragedy of her, of Caroline being forced into this body against her will, or on the whole Evil Dommy Mommy Step on Me Cold Calculating Badass thing, which is unfortunate, because GlaDOS is also completely fucking bonkers in the best way. Not a goddamn hinge anywhere to be found on this bitch, and that’s what makes her so special. She’s silly! And weird! Her toxic yuri mother-daughter Thing with Chell is endlessly compelling, and every line out of her mouth is an ice-cold banger. Also, she gets the special honor of being one of the few characters I’ve cosplayed as, and she is certainly one of the funnest to portray. To this day I still have the entirety of her wake-up speech from Portal 2 memorized. “Okay look. We both said a lot of things you’re going to regret. But I believe we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster.” She’s incredible.
9. Yuna (FFX, FFX-2)
My first blorbo! Yuna Finalfantasy will always have a special place in my heart, for reasons I’m not sure I can properly articulate. FFX is one of The Games of All Time for me, I literally used to listen to the soundtrack as a lullaby, and to this day my dad and I can quote the dialogue along with the cutscenes. And Yuna’s arc just absolutely destroys me if I think too hard about it. She is just so good, she is quiet and gentle and sweet and absolutely drowning under the crushing enormity of her legacy, her mission, the fate of the goddamn literal world. And then she meets her match in the Manic Pixie Dream (Heh) Boy who gets her to open up and live a little, who makes her laugh and smile, and she really values him for it, for the discovery and possibility he represents for her. And then, the ultimate tragedy of him being the one to sacrifice for her, that she may live? Ugh!! It’s raining. On my face. To this day the scene of her Sending after Kilika just guts me, and the way she grows and changes and comes into her own over the course of FFX-2 breaks me down to my atoms. Best girl, no question.
10. Astarion (Baldur’s Gate 3)
Alright. Okay. Yes. I know. I’m going to try and make this entry not just a rehash of my last post about Astarion or unhinged gay screaming for 500 words but like. Come on. Look at him. I never played Baldur’s Gate during early access, but when I found out that one of your potential love interests was a queer pretty-boy vampire with a Tragic Backstory involving a twisted Master/slave dynamic I was...intrigued, to say the least. What I did not expect was all of the depth and complexity that went into writing him and portraying him. It helps that Neil Newbon has an absolutely delicious voice, yes, but there is so much more there besides the surface level of him. In fact, that is the entire point of his arc! Seeing beyond the very pretty seductive mask he presents to the world, to the gaping wounds and barely-concealed traumas and fear and insecurities behind it, and choosing to love him for it anyway. And by loving him, the real him, you make space for him to find himself, to rescue himself. A man who has spent 200 years buried under ground surviving horrific abuse and becoming cruel and petty to cope, finding the strength within himself to heal, to choose to live and to love, honestly. That is so fucking powerful, I will literally never get over it.
#shut up chocolate#my stuff#favorite characters#blorbo posting#steven universe#doctor who#dragon age#ofmd#black sails#elementary#good omens#portal#ffx#baldur's gate 3
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Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
Original airdate: October 16, 1988
Date watched: February 27, 2022
Runtime: 92 minutes
Synopsis: Shaggy has been hired as the new gym teacher at Monster High Miss Grimwood’s Finishing School For Ghouls! They need some help getting in shape for their annual volleyball match against the neighboring military academy. They win, due to shenanigans! But then, out of nowhere, the movie remembers to introduce its main antagonist, Revolta, who wants to brainwash all of the girls for some reason? She almost succeeds, but she is stopped by our heroes, Shaggy and Scooby (and Scrappy). Scrappy commits a cardinal sin by rapping the movie’s closing musical number. Our heroes flee at the end of the movie when they see the school’s new crop of students, including a baby Godzilla. WHO DOESN’T STAY FOR BABY GODZILLA?
Culprit: There’s never an unmasking in this movie, as Revolta never tries to hide her identity and the military school's cheating in the volleyball match is deeply transparent to all but the ref (known centrist Scrappy-Doo). Perhaps this is a reference to the way the US Military flaunts war crime violations and faces no consequences. Makes you think! Perhaps that is more credit than is deserved by a movie that has Scrappy-Doo rap at the end. Only history can tell.
Guest star(s): Tony Award-winning actress Glynis Johns as Mrs. Grimwood
Trivia: The Ghoul School students reappeared in a 2018 episode of OK K.O! Let’s Be Heroes, “Monster Party.” Three out of the five original voice actresses reprised their roles as one had passed away and the other had retired.
Ratings
Spookiness: For a movie that features the progeny of so many famous movie monsters, there’s actually not a lot of scariness in it? It’s more charming than anything. Some of the brainwashing scenes are pretty unnerving, and there’s a bit with quicksand that teaches kids to always be afraid of quicksand, but otherwise things are pretty straightforward. I will say that Revolta’s design is pretty spooky. MARINA: 2.5; LAURA: 2
Characterization: These 80s Scooby-Doo film ventures really suffer from a lack of Fred, Velma, and Daphne. It hurt Boo Brothers really bad, but Ghoul School manages to do what its predecessor couldn’t: have an actually good cast of supporting characters. Revolta is honestly a wash, despite her incredible titties. All of the students enjoy the benefit of having iconic movie monster designs to riff off of. They’re cult favorites for a reason! MARINA: 4; LAURA: 4.5
Overall: It suffers from some of those telltale pacing issues Boo Brothers had to deal with, but it’s way more enjoyable of a romp overall. I think these movies were designed specifically to be turned on in the middle of. After all, that’s the definition of syndication! Watching it start to finish is actually a bit of a chore, though. I think when I was a kid, I blocked out all of the parts with the military academy because they were boring. Those parts are still boring. MARINA: 3.5; LAURA: 3.5
Outlandishness: In the middle of the movie, the school hosts a party so that all of the parents can meet their school’s new gym teacher. Dracula, the wolfman, a mummy, a ghost, and “Frankenteen Sr.” are all in attendance. There’s dancing and music and funny antics and then before they all go home all of the monster dads graphically threaten Shaggy’s life should anything happen to their beloved daughters. That right there is what all Scooby-Doo movies should strive to achieve. MARINA: 5; LAURA: 5
Brevity: It has the exact same runtime as Boo Brothers. It does a little bit more with that runtime, but not enough to completely save it. Instead of feeling like one insanely long chase sequence, it felt like a multi-episode arc that had been mashed into one movie. Slightly better overall. MARINA: 2; LAURA: 2.5
Final ratings: MARINA: 3.4; LAURA: 3.5
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DS9 3x20 Improbable Cause and 3x21 The Die Is Cast thoughts (I'm re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!)
(25/05/2023)
Garak!
Shakespeare! The first mention of this Garashir-fic staple XD
Garak is so obviously flirting XD this is the exact same way Gilora was talking to Miles!
G: "I'd be more than happy to bring some by the Infirmary later this afternoon." B: "Why thank you, I'd like that." His smile!
Kira's "Garak. :/". She's just so annoyed by his existence and it shows XD
Oh, this is where he fakes his assassination attempt!
"But who would want to kill me? A simple tailor?" Always with the tailor identity.
G: "And of course, there's always Major Kira." B: "This is serious, Garak." G: "I'm being serious. I don't think she likes me." O: "She doesn't. But if she wanted you dead, you would be." Everything about this is 👌👌
Julian is so fed up with Garak's lies, isn't he
And the moral of the boy who cried wolf is... "You should never tell the same lie twice." Of course, Garak. Sigh
"I have bad news for you. Major Kira has an airtight alibi." Garak's tight amusement at this
"What makes you think I haven't already looked thtough [your security files]?... I'm joking, of course." Needing to mollify Odo.
"Odo I -" Miles is so stunned to see Garak there XD
"They're known to be favoured by Flaxian assassins, and it just so happens a Flaxian came aboard the station just this morning." Oh, Garak is gooood
This guy, the Flaxian, is not acting innocent, he's being super slippery and suspicious - but if Garak blew up his own shop, it can't have been him? Unless he was hired by Garak, I guess...
Odo's surprise to see Garak in the shuttle XD
Okay so Garak is genuinely stunned by the other ship exploding? I'm so confused!
"Because if he did know, he'd already be spinning out an elaborate web of lies to cover up the truth." Odo knows Garak's MO too well.
"Considering those uniforms of theirs, you'd think they'd appreciate a decent tailor." XD Odo has an opinion on this?
The unusual Romulans activity, as though they're getting ready for an invasion - this is them getting ready for the Dominion attack with Train?
Another five Cardassians were assassinated? But I'm almost certain Garak faked his!
"I am not Doctor Bashir and we are not sparring amiably over lunch." Love this outside perspective on Garak and Bashir's lunch dates.
"You blew up your own shop, Garak!" The shock on Garak's face! And Odo's pleased, "Welllll, heh heh."
Ohhh, so there was a real plot to kill Garak
"He retired some years ago. He was, I might add, the only head of the agency ever to live long enough to do so." The fact that Garak is still showing pride at Tain's accomplishment
The emotion on Garak's face seeing Mila :3
"Is there anything you need me to do while you're gone?" Oh, sweetheart!
"Eat it? You're joking." "Yes I am." Julian's fond smile coming out there <3
CHOCOLATES
THEY'RE IN LOVE
"Is it so hard to believe that there's one person in this galaxy who could regard me with a certain affection?" "I could believe there's one (BASHIR cough cough) but I wouldn't expect it to be someone who worked for Enabran Tain."
"Tell me, is there one person in this universe you do care for? One person who's more than just an interesting puzzle to be solved." Interesting that it would just be the one. Why do they care so much about Odo only caring about Kira, because that's what's being implied, isn't it?
Aaaand I've only just realised that this isn't just setting up for The Die Is Cast, TDIC is the next episode! I'd thought it was the end of the season for some reason ..
"Ah, Garak. It's good of you to come. It spares me the trouble of having to send someone else to kill you." ... Whoops
"Like I used to say. Always burn your bridges behind you. You never know who might be trying to follow." I always find it fascinating when aliens have a twist on an English proverb.
"You blew up your own shop? You, my friend, are a true original."
"I never betrayed you! At least, not in my heart." The emotion!
"You'll pardon me if I appear a little startled." This episode has sure been a tough ride for Garak's emotional control...!
321 The Die Is Cast
Julian's babbling on over lunch :3
Miles trying to pretend he was listening and failing miserably XD
His soft smiles leading into a sad face at remembering Garak
"That's not entirely bad news." *hopeful eye contact*
The slow realisation it's not just one ship out there...
Garak's so happy!
"I was good wasn't I?" Garak still needing that validation
"I've missed you too, Enabran." Very deliberate pause there
"Next thing you know we'll be crying over our lost youth." Oh that was very pointed, and you can see Garak knows it.
Dr Parmak mention - "When we get back, you should look him up." This is where all those fanfics start?
"Mila may not be around much longer." Garak's quick head turn. He's so easy to read?
"Is this a request I hear?" "Not at all! Just an observation :)" oh Garak. I guess protecting Mila is another reason you want to stay on Tain's good side.
G: "And believe me, if it were my decision, things would be-" O: "I don't believe you, Garak..." Yeah, legit
"You are imaginative, Constable, I'll grant you that. But I would suggest that you put those creative powers to better use. We would like you to share your unique insights on the Founders." Garak's trying to tell Odo to make it up, tell him anything.
"It sounds like you're hoping Tain will succeed." I mean, I can see why - the Dominion bring home would be beneficial, probably.
Eddington >:(
"I'd like permission to take the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant and try to determine if he's still alive." No of course not. But you tried, Sisko <3
"I am not going to just abandon one of my officers." YES, Sisko, I should have known you'd not take no for an answer
"I consider this a volunteer mission, but don't volunteer yet. There's a good chance you won't be coming back." But it's still worth it to him to try to get Odo :3
Eddington is Not Enjoying This. I guess he wants to fly under Starfleet's radar and not get court martialled? I wonder why he volunteered... It would make more sense to me for him to remain on the station and get more entrenched there
Ah, so that's why Eddington came, to sabotage the mission. He IS sucking up to Starfleet
"You've turned us into sitting ducks for the Jem'Hadar!" Miles trying to attack and Sisko restraining him.
"Because I give you my word." "I make it a policy to never question the word of anyone who wears that uniform. Don't make me change that policy." Oh Sisko.... This hit harder knowing what Eddington will do
"Ohh, no, you're going to torture me, aren't you?" The sarcasm, Odo's so confident Garak can't do anything to him
"Tell me, what will happen if you can't revert to a liquid?" "I don't know." The fear in Odo's face.
"I can wait. The question is, can you?" Chills
"Major, leave the chief alone." XD
"Odo! Talk to me!" The emotionn. "Lie if you have to, but say it now!" He's saying the quiet bit out loud?!
Garak is so transparent! He cannot hide his need to keep Odo alive!
There's definitely something about Garak quoting the Shakespeare he disdained just a few days ago to Tain.
"Why are you doing this?" "Because no changeling has ever harmed another." You kind of let Odo be significantly hurt though... Like, that is a thing that just happened.
"To the Bridge, to get Tain." Odo's bewilderment, yeah we're all with you there!
"Odo, I hope you will accept my sincere apologies for all this." Always with the quest for forgiveness.
Odo's breathless, astonished "What?" as the Defiant appears!
What a pilot! Jadzia dodging all those phases like they're nothing!
"It's good to see you again, Constable." "Likewise, Major." They are both looking at each other with heart eyes I swear.
This is very similarly shot to Odo's conversation with his Cardassian informant last episode, I like that choice.
"Do you know what the sad part is, Odo? I'm a very good tailor." Oh, Garak.
#DS9 Improbable Cause#DS9 The Die Is Cast#DS9 3x20#DS9 3x21#andi watches ds9#it's been a while!#these have just been piling up every time i've watched an episode bc life's just BEEN#but hopefully imma get on top of these soon!#WSB
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"Does Jessie own an identical one?"
Sorry to crush your Bessie sweater hopes, but the only grey sweater I can recall Jessie wearing atm, is a non-knit wear with no hood, and a very different fit.
Well I seen Jessie in socks and birkenstocks doing netflix promo shots sooo I can't be bothered more ;c also Benny just got publicly bestiezoned (love the name 🌼) sooooooo it matters not anyways ;c but thanks for yet another bessie not detail!
Sooooo speaking of more hoodies! This time the new one, not the rise up one! I got confused by the letters embroidered in red and couldn't fully read what they are, but ma muffins delivering as always.
Sooo it does look like custom and a gift from netflix team, many other cast members were seen wearing it (here is Mr ivermectin , Mr Patrick Star on pic 4, the kid guy and here is Jessie, looks as the exact same to me. both Jessie and Mr Lewis wore it way before Benny, like y'all know what I'm thinking... the dots connected themselves). Not 100% sure what it exactly says but yeee it does look like 'from netflix something'. Ma best guess was 'from now/nature something' sooo yet again I was almost there lol and the red deff looks like netflix red lol
Yep lol it's kind of like the last two different identical sweaters investigation. This time they got the identical part right (yeeeeey!!!) but got the where it comes from part wrong :c thoughts and prayers... And I think Jessie's is the same? As in its a hoodie, there are links up there, judge for yerselves
And I've got another ask pointing to specific account/tweet about them sharing these hoodies. Just to let ye know, it's our favourite Bessie bestie who knows where Benny was on valentine's day, who now connected the they share clothes dots. Which also plays very well with the other tweet of theirs claiming Jessie influenced Benny to become environmentally aware or someshite. But turns out the environment king did not even buy the rag himself... Like this speaks for itself, no subtitles required
Can't believe how quickly peeps rolled with what they said. Like dunno how to judge tweet popularity but this one got the attention much x.x No discernment like x.x ye just need to post pics of Benny and Jessie and say any bullshite pointing to unshakable evidences, they can't stop the allegations now - ye get the clout. As twin flame would say the 🐑 I looked through them responses and like x.x it's just sad. It's sad on a verge of I feel bad for making fun of them cuz they are clearly more/less collectively are going through not the healthiest something... But that's just the fandom culture and twitter mentality I suppose
No more of they are just joking excuse, shite is way too scary. It's either them doing it purposefully for clout and to get off OR it's a call for help cuz they do believe it. Like yep ye could call it joking around at first but now there is too much followers behind it. Like we past the point of a collective joke cuz it's going straight into the it will end badly territory. There are peeps believing the shite for real x.x or it's the biggest inside joke in history which I doubt cuz they ain't lookin coherent enough to pull it lol
Everyone is responsible for the information they consume but them besties are the ones creating straight out fake information on purpose. The other option is obviously that they are not the brightest but they found a niche and made internet frens they wanna keep. Either way, even I'm not crazy enough for this shite.... And as they always say! don't forget to touch some grass they could use a whole field tho me feels
Even Jessie is tired like 🙊 bestie??? I'm more and more sorry for her each day really. She's just starting her career and it may turn her off big times if they keep it up. She ain't on twitter right? Well bless her 🙊 Congrats to Benny tho, cuz he loves this shite x.x
STILL WAITING FOR THAT DD/LG LIKE BEYYYYYN so we can all go home. don't be a pussy 🥲 mask off as they say
#lol i also love how they contradict their own words constantly too#i really do understand a joke is a joke#but this is not it anymore#starting with its been on way too long and was not funny on the first place#oh and obvi they themselves can't take a joke soooo#case closed permanently#bessie besties are just clout hungry bitches#from now on they are on the same list as mr lewis - no respect for them#and they brought this on themselves#now i want it to go sour#i want it to go bad#like it will sooner or later#totally deserved it's gonna be and i cant wait for that
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Polychromatic Fingerprints
“You did this last night.”
Ms. Singh was either psychic or an incredible judge of character. Nora had only been in her class for three months, but it seemed the art teacher had already caught on to her ways—namely the fact that a project set to be worked on daily throughout the term, culminating in a piece to be presented on the final day of class, was not her style.
Unfortunately for Nora, “not her style” wasn’t a valid excuse for not completing an assignment, so after brushing off the creeping hand of the deadline for as long as she possibly could, she’d had to actually sit down and produce a piece of work. Just as Ms. Singh had pointed out, this had been done the night previous.
It was almost funny, in a sad sort of way, because the assignment really wasn’t that bad. It was relatively open ended, and when it came to public school art classes, that was a rare blessing. The students were allowed to make anything they wanted with any medium, the only criteria was that it had to be a regular endeavour throughout the term, and that it had to express some facet of who they were.
This was where the issue lay. Nora didn’t know who she was, and even if she did, she wouldn’t be sharing it with some woman she barely knew and thirty of her most dull-witted and pretentious classmates. She wouldn’t be smearing it on a canvas and hanging it in the hall for people to gawk at. Her story, her identity, everything about who she was—it wasn’t made to be displayed, it was made to be hidden away until it was inevitably dragged out of her in a court-mandated therapy session thirty years down the road.
But she couldn’t say any of that to Ms. Singh.
“No I didn’t.”
Ms. Singh reached forward and grabbed her wrist. Every muscle in Nora’s body tensed, preparing to rip her arm free and flee the room. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a trapped animal. There were a million outcomes playing at once in her head, a million verbal lacerations that were about to be cast at her. She braced herself and waited for the reckoning.
It didn’t come. Instead, Ms. Singh gently pulled her arm forward, holding it up for Nora to see.
There was a smear of dark orange across her skin, the exact same shade that covered most of the canvas laying on the desk beside her.
“That’s um…I was painting something else. With the same paints. Last night. So…”
That was believable.
Ms. Singh released her arm and swiped a hand across the canvas, holding up her own finger for Nora to see the bright stain which exposed her.
“It’s still wet,” Ms. Singh said.
“Huh…” Nora pursed her lips. “Acrylic…takes a long time to dry.”
That simply wasn’t true. Someone who knew nothing about art supplies may have bought it, but this woman literally spent her life surrounded by paint. It seemed the fumes hadn’t caused her deduction skills to deteriorate. She didn’t say a word, just held Nora in a steady, disappointed gaze.
Was this what it felt like to be given the silent treatment? Responded to with nothing more than dead eyes and tight lips?
Maybe she needed to stop doing that.
“Okay, I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” Ms. Singh replied. This woman really got her. “The point of this assignment was not for you to finish something and hand it in to me, Nora.”
“Wasn’t it?” Nora laughed. “That’s literally the whole point of school. Why would anybody do anything if it wasn’t to hand it in, get a grade, and move on?”
Ms. Singh gave her a look, though Nora couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind it. “Is that what you think?” she asked. “That you’re just here to get good grades and move on.”
“I never said good,” she muttered.
Ms. Singh sighed and when she spoke again, her voice was hard and cold as ice. “Nora, you’re not doing this for me. And if you’re only here to pass my class and move on, then I don’t want you in my class at all.”
Nora’s heart dropped into her stomach. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.
Ms. Singh’s expression softened. “But that’s not why you’re here, is it? You want to be here. You want to learn. And I want to help you.” She stood up and walked around the desk, eyeing the still-wet painting as she did. “Which is why I’m not going to grade this.”
“What?”
“Go home and try again. Take some time over the break and really think about what you want to do. Spend some time with your art, let it speak to you and in turn you can speak to me and to the world. You have things to say, Nora, I know you do. And I want to hear them. I don’t want to see a half-assed painting of a bunch of flowers. This isn’t you.”
“You don’t even know me,” Nora said stubbornly, raising the defenses once again.
“No,” Ms. Singh hummed. “But I’d like to. And I know this isn’t it. This is somebody who loves making art, and is very good at it…” Her hand hovered above the painting, tracing the lines of the petals and the shadows beneath them, the highlights and curves of the pot which they rested in. “I can tell that you’re very talented. But I can also tell this was made by someone who didn’t want to make it. It’s rushed. Lifeless.”
“I didn’t want to do it,” Nora admitted, wondering immediately why she was speaking so freely with this woman who didn’t know a thing about her but was acting like she knew everything. “I don’t like making things that someone else told me to do.”
Ms. Singh nodded knowingly. “I get that. Which is why I left it up to you to decide your subject.”
“But you’re still telling me to do it.”
Her teacher sighed. “Yes, Nora. Unfortunately, that’s my job. If I never ask you to do anything, never ask to see your work, never give you any feedback, then you might as well go home.”
“Fine by me.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Ms. Singh said, a note of sarcasm in her voice that surprised Nora. “Don’t think I don’t know your type. If you weren’t interested in my class you wouldn’t even be here.”
There she was, accusing Nora of fitting a certain mold again. Of being a certain type. She hated it. It filled her with anger and frustration and the desire to revolt.
But it was accurate. She hated that it was accurate.
“I want you to do this again, but I’m not going to give you a deadline.”
Nora stared at her. “How does that work?”
Ms. Singh shrugged. “You tell me. I want you to create a piece on your own time, on the timeline that you want to work with. I don’t want it to be rushed and I don’t want it to be forced. I want you to actually enjoy making it. No deadline. No guidelines. Nothing.”
“Nothing,” Nora repeated disbelievingly. “So it can be anything I want?”
“Anything,” Ms. Singh confirmed. “When you’re done, I want you to come show it to me. And I hope that I’ll be able to see more of you in it than this.”
Nora was quiet for a moment, contemplating the proposal. It was a good offer. No teacher had ever given her complete free-reign of a project with absolutely no deadline. It was almost too good to be true, but she knew that it wasn’t, because what Ms. Singh was asking for was bigger than the reward of total freewill.
She wanted realness. She wanted vulnerability. And that was a price Nora wasn’t sure she was willing to pay.
“Okay,” she said finally.
Ms. Singh smiled. “Have a good break. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”
Nora was looking forward to it too. Mainly because she hadn’t yet decided whether she was going to really commit to an honest piece, or simply try a little harder to forge some pantomime of the truth.
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Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.
So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.
I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.
Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.
So who is?
Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.
Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?
Hunter
Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.
Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.
Crosshair
The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.
In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.
Wrecker
In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.
You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.
Tech
Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.
And finally,
Echo
Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.
The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.
So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.
But they didn’t do that.
So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.
The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.
Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.
Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)
None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.
This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.
Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.
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