#everyone's so preachy in this series i love it so much | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lurkingshan · 10 months

Text

Gay OK Bangkok

Well, holy shit. I had been planning to watch this ahead of Only Friends because @shortpplfedup named it as one of the Jojo shows that would serve as a good primer for the types of themes we could expect. I didn’t know much about it except it was an Aof/Jojo collab and had openly queer cast members. I expected something like a short Thai Queer as Folk.

And it kind of is like QaF, in the sense that it’s very much a show about a group of queer friends and their romantic (mis)adventures that features frank discussion of gay sex and sexual health practices, but it’s not really like it at all in terms of its tone. Where QaF is known for its explicit sex, trippy drug sequences, and heavy doses of camp, GOBK is much less smutty and has a thread of deep melancholy running through it (oh hi Aof), and it is primarily interested in doing some serious character work alongside delivering its messages about safe sex. And these characters got their hooks in me much more than I expected.

I think what I appreciate most about this show is how real the characters feel. They’re wonderfully flawed, fully realized human beings—beautiful and ugly in equal measure, wrong as often as they’re right, and just doing their best to balance their needs and desires with how they want to show up for the people they love. Even the characters I didn’t like much, I still understood and felt some empathy for, and I think that’s a credit to the compassion and care with which this series is written (not a surprise given Aof and Jojo are the ones who wrote it). Everyone gets the benefit of nuance and grace, including the side characters. And to be clear, I wouldn’t consider this a bl. I’d call it a queer slice of life drama that includes romance, but is not about romance—there is no primary romantic relationship that acts as the plot driver and it’s not at all interested in happily ever afters or even firm endings for its relationships.

My only real complaint about this show is I wanted (a lot) more of it. But still, for a show that only had eight hours total runtime over two seasons, it managed to do a lot with it. I am going to avoid getting into spoilers because as usual, I want y’all to watch this! But I really loved seeing a few years in the life of Arm, Pom, Aof, Big, Sathang, and their various friends, family, and lovers. And, crucially, it’s all so very queer. There is so much to unpack here about the nature of loneliness and desire and the guilt and shame that often comes along with them. The show is interested in exploring lots of ways to be in love and in relationship with each other, and it lets the characters fight, fuck up, break up, make up, and express their own confusion and discomfort and dissonance along the way. The only thing it’s interested in being preachy about are safe sex practices; everything else is presented in shades of gray. And it doesn’t limit itself to romance; we see the characters at work and with their families and out living their daily lives in a society that is often actively hostile to them. This show sits squarely at the center of @wen-kexing-apologist’s by/for/about Venn diagram (can’t wait for you to watch this, friend).

I highly recommend this show to anyone who plans to watch Only Friends (which, by my count, is just about everyone I know on here)—homework is of course not required before enjoying a new drama, but I do think familiarity with this work will enhance your experience, and it’s such a quick watch! If you’re interested, the show is available on YouTube here and here. It also has a great and surprising soundtrack which has also been compiled into two playlists.

Tagging friends @neuroticbookworm, @waitmyturtles, @chickenstrangers, and @lurkingteapot who are all in the midst of their own watches or planning to start soon, and @bengiyo, @so-much-yet-to-learn, and @imminentinertia who saw this awhile back and shared some interesting reflections about it during my watch.

#gay ok bangkok #only friends #thai drama #thai bl #shan shouts into the void

135 notes · View notes

cynicalruins · 8 months

Text

Changérion Bible - Toshiki Inoue interview

Translation by Windii, scans by me

-SPOILER ALERT FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW-

Scriptwriter: Inoue Toshiki

Inoue Toshiki, a scriptwriter who wrote all but two of the 39 episodes by himself, convinced everyone who knew of the work that Changéríon was of the Inoue World. How did he create this unique series that is unparalleled in the history of television?

―Was the birth of Changérion a request of the times?!

"I think the first time I met Shirakura was on location in Nagano for "Jetman". At that time, I only had the impression that we were just smiling and drinking whiskey together, and I had no idea that we would become such close friends (laughs). Later, there was the movie version of "Hakaider", but at that time, we were still finding out each other's real intentions and didn't trust each other. It was only with "Changéríon" that we came to a kind of mutual understanding."

―How did you come to work on the plot for "Changéríon"?

"At first, the idea was to do "Hakaider" for TV. So I was supposed to do the plot from the beginning. Then we decided to do something original instead of "Hakaider," and Shirakura and I came up with the idea of doing something like "Detective Tale'"."

―In your interview with "Uchusen," you mentioned that you had a project in which the main character was a fugitive.

"Yes, there was also an idea that it would be like "The Fugitive," a foreign drama. But both ideas disappeared during the course of our discussions, and we decided to make the main character a cram school teacher. But when I tried to make it into a script, it was boring, so I forced it back to a detective, and it got a lot of traction. We decided from the beginning to make it a comedy. Both Shirakura and I felt that the traditional handsome hero with a frown on his face, carrying his troubles on his back, was outdated and uncool. It was the demand of the times, or rather, something inevitable."

―Another characteristic of Changéríon is that it doesn't present any particular theme.

"It is annoying when a work is preachy or pushes a theme to the forefront. It is not good to start with a theme. It's the creator's complacency. It's just enough to look at the whole picture and see what's there and what's emerging. Writers have a bad habit of wanting to make a theme look like a work of art, but that's a big mistake. Everyone knows that love and friendship are wonderful, and viewers don't want to see that anymore."

―There is more slapstick than comedy in Changéríon, isn't there?

"To tell you the truth, when I wrote episodes 3 and 4, I knew that this is what Changérion was all about, and I wasn't sure about it at the time of episodes 1 and 2 (laughs). But after episodes 3 and 4, the staff was on board, and we decided to go with this route, and things just escalated. Slapstick works in animation, but I experimented to see how far I could take it in live action. It went surprisingly well. Director Konaka did a great job. For my part, I was surprised that Mr. Nagaishi found it interesting. I've known Mr. Nagaishi since "Supernova Flashman", and he was the first person to reject my scripts (laughs). I thought he was good at love, flowers, and other stinky stuff, and wasn't interested in comedy or slapstick, but that wasn't so at all. I thought he was a great guy."

―You have listed your challenging works, favorite works, and worst works in the "Changéríon Memorial" on Toei's website. Could you tell us about them in detail?

"The first one I had a hard time with was episode 10. I needed a lot of ideas, and slapstick is difficult to structure. And episode 14. I was kind of tired at the time (laughs). I wasn't a writer who worked that much at the time. I only wrote up to six episodes in a row for Jetman, and I heard that Mr. Suzuki (producer Takeyuki) told Shirakura that I was limited to a maximum of six episodes (laughs)."

―The inspired works are most interesting!

"My favorite works are episodes 10, 12, and 25. That's because they are interesting (laughs). Before I write a script, I write a structure chart, and in my case, I make it very carefully, as if the script is ready when the chart is finished (laughs). I think that's where episode 10 came from. When you make a chart and throw away the excess, you get inspired. The inspired works are most interesting. In episode 25, the exchange between the two disguised as old men in the last scene is great. I think it was inspired by something else… I wonder what it was."

―Which works left you dissatisfied?

"Episode 14 is well done, but in Changérion's world, it's trite. It's a story that could have been written by anyone but me, and I don't like that. For episode 13, I like the title, but it was a bit tawdry. Episode 11 had a diluted plot. The lack of length in the script made the pacing a little sluggish. They tacked on the lines after the fact, the stuff about Kuroiwa's profundity. It's like it came about by accident. I wrote Kuroiwa as a guy who is obsessed with things, but I didn't expect him to become such a man of extensive knowledge. Mr. Nagaishi was suspicious of the direction and added classical music, which was well received. I think the music was very important. The person who chose that music was great."

―Looking back on each of the characters, do you have any thoughts?

"Akira is representative of what everyone cares about. Like, you wish you could live like that. It's a man's dream, like James Bond in that sense. You don't want to be Kamen Rider #1, but you want to be Akira, right? (laughs)"

―Akemi and Rui were cast in contrasting ways, weren't they?

"I wasn't involved in the casting. Shirakura and I don't seem to have the same tastes, so he wouldn't invite me (laughs). Akemi is definitely better as a secretary. Akemi has her stuff together and can put the brakes on Akira. Rui is the type of person who is weird and presses the gas pedal together with Akemi, so the scheme is wrong, but when Akemi is gone and we need a new secretary, there's no point in having the same type of person. It was a desperate measure to create a more impactful character that would eclipse Akira."

―The verbal tics at the end of their lines are also memorable.

"I don't think that went over very well (laughs), but Akemi is a firm person, so it's not cute when a girl like that talks the way she does (laughs). I think it's just right for her to add "maybe" and make it sound lighthearted. For Rui's style of speech, she's the ultimate posh lady, so she's repressed and wants to be someone she's not. She has a bit of a split personality thing. As for Hayami, Aizawa's acting got better and better from the middle of the show, and it was great to see how serious Hayami became. Ichiyama, who played Munakata, was also interesting, but I didn't change Munakata's character to suit him. I was going to make him a strange old man from the beginning. Come to think of it, there is not a single decent guy in this show (laughs)."

―As for creating the character of Kuroiwa?

"I had a lot of trouble making that one, because he was going compete with Akira, so I was thinking about a guy who would set up a consulting office at DarkZide, who would have an office in the apartment across the street, and who would be enthusiastic about stuff, and that's how I ended up with that one. Ogawa was good at it, too. When he first appeared, he had a strong impact, but it was difficult to decide what to do with him after that, so I made him the governor of Tokyo. It's interesting, isn't it (laughs)? Kuroiwa was crazy about Eri until the end. He said he was going to conquer humans, but he really wanted to be a human. Sayoko is a character that was really created at the last minute because of the deadline. Shirakura told me that if I didn't write by tomorrow, we wouldn't be able to shoot."

―Not only Kuroiwa and Sayoko, but many of the DarkZide is very obsessive.

"They are all enthusiasts. You could call them single-minded or pure."

Which is reality in the last episode?

―What made you decide to make the last episode the way it was?

"It is often said that the "it was all a dream"-ending is a forbidden technique, but I have always wondered if it is really so. I thought it would be crazy if I did it for the whole series, but if I did it for one episode, it would be a mere "it was all a dream"-ending. I told Shirakura about it, and he was stupid enough to think that was the way to go (laughs)."

―It's often discussed which is more real, the world of the story you've been telling or the serious world.

"Well, that would be less interesting if the dream wasn't more beautiful. It is better that Akira in reality admires Akira in the dream."

―The world DarkZide is trying to destroy is the real one?!

"Of course it is. In the structure, the point where the story ends is reality. It means it was all a dream. That's why Changéríon is ephemeral."

―Looking back on the work that is Changéríon now, what do you think?

"Everyone was in a groove. It was strange that we were all going in one direction and no one was there to stop us (laughs). It is rare to see such a united group going in a different direction from what was expected, isn't it? The greatest asset for me was that I was able to meet the staff. I knew Shirakura and Nagaishi from before, but getting to know Kimura (YOMIKO Advertising) and Iwata (TV Tokyo) was a big deal."

―When looking at Changéríon, it feels like individual ideas and inspirations were highly respected, rather than a parliamentary system.

"Programs are more interesting when they are made that way. If one person says no, the initial fun will fade away. I think that not only dramas but also TV programs as a whole should be allowed to run amok. I think it's boring because everyone is satisfied with making a mediocre product."

―How was Changéríon able to run amok?

"Because my episodes were funny (laughs). No, seriously. Everyone was fooled. Iwata from TV Tokyo said he was fooled by me at the wrap party. But the deceiver wins."

(Here comes Kochihira Chika.)

Kochihira: I have known Mr. Inoue for 10 years.

Inoue: She was in the same office as Wakamatsu Toshihide, who played Gai in Jetman, and we have known each other since then. I have known Kochihira since she was 19 years old.

Kochihira: But Changéríon was a regular audition and I passed. I knew that it was your work, though.

Inoue: So when I heard about that after it was decided, I was surprised, too.

―What do you think of Kochihira from your point of view?

Inoue: Well, she has an attractive face and figure, and has been admired by everyone since she was a child…

Kochihira: You really think so? (laughs)

Inoue: It got interesting when your, or rather Eri's, feisty side came out in episode 3 (laughs).

Kochihira: After that, Eri got cuter and cuter, and in the end, she even became Elisa (laughs).

Inoue: It was fun, wasn't it?

And so the fun night continued. Unfortunately, we'll end it here for the sake of this issue of the magazine.

Inoue Toshiki: Born November 28, 1959 in Saitama. Made his debut in 1981 with Dr. Slump Arale. Since then, he has been active in both live-action and animation. His latest work, Masked Rider Ryuuki EPISODE FINAL, will be released on August 17.

Works: Supernova Flashman (86-87), Birdman Squad Jetman (91-92), Mechanical Violator Hakaider (95), Masked Rider Kuuga (00-01), Ironclad Machine Mikazuki (00-01), Masked Rider Agito (01-02), Masked Rider Ryuuki (02-on air)

#changerion #tokusatsu #changerion bible #long post

36 notes · View notes

miss0atae · 3 months

Text

Random thoughts about Playboyy the series ep 13:

I can't believe we are already at the 13th episode. I spent 13 weeks with these boys and watched their antics!

Again I thought things happened a bit too fast for my liking, but it's okay. I imagined they would face only terrible and tragic things, however, I believe the outcome is in their favour.

▪️Nont and Prom have a weird dynamic. I believe they kind of like role play a bit too much. Playing tragic lovers but ended up kissing and professing their love for each other. They are so dramatic. I still believe Prom is mostly a character who stands there and looks good (the expression in my first language sounds so much better than in English --") but their couple grew on me, thanks to their fans on this website.

▪️Nont is struggling with his latest decisions because he endangered several people close to him and Zouey (who never missed a change to rightly scold everyone) told him he can't consider them friends if he never really cares about their well being in his quest of truth and revenge. I don't like the preachy attitude of Zouey, but I can admit he is always good at making people ponder about what they are doing. He is the best therapist for most of these characters.

▪️Puen is alive and mostly well. Yeah! Last week, I was afraid he was dead. Now, Aob and him must hide from Jason Lee and they found shelter at the boys' house. First helped them settle. Again, I decided I'm not a fan of them individually but as a couple, I believe they are meant to be. I hope they will get the chance to be happy and free from Jason's wrath. Turns out, Aob never found Nant so all this torture from last week was for nothing.

▪️We still haven't learnt about the video Phop found on Nuth's computer. We just know it has something to do with Nant and it happened around the time he faked his death. Nuth wants to move on and be able to enjoy a quiet life with Phop. They are a couple I really like since their conversation about the struggles they face even inside their own community. I'm glad Nuth never decided to get full psycho on Phop as I feared several episodes ago. I need them to be able to leave their problems away and move on to another chapter of their lives. However, I don't like this last drug deal Nuth wants to do for Jason. It smells like bad news and terrible outcomes. Also, why does he not want to give the video to Nont? I want to see this video!

▪️Zouey was so suspicious in the previous episode, but we never got anything from it in this one. Is it going to happen in the last episode? Is he really hiding something? Apart from that I just can't stand him. I don't even have a good reason. I feel bad because I read many posts about him and what he is bringing to the story. The message he is sharing and how important it is. Unfortunately, his character is really unlikeable for me. He always sounds judgy to me.

▪️Porsche, Jump and Tutor worked together to help Jump be free of Jason by faking his death. I knew he couldn't be dead. I just didn't expect Tutor to help the couple because of the history he shared with them. Jump also insisted on the fact it would change nothing since he wants to only be with Porsche. I had to say bye-bye to my idea of them being a throuple. It would have been a very toxic throuple, but they would have made it, in my version of the story 😂. Nont also learnt about this and he now wants to team up with them to take down Jason. Nont is incapable of doing nothing. He is a very goal-driven person.

▪️Now let's talk about Keen. I understood he wanted to get back at Captain because of the videos and consequences. However, I don't get why he is still pretending to be in love with him? He got him expelled and Captain didn't suspect him to be behind it. He should just break up with him and move on. He told Captain he would still help me get to his dream of being a professional athlete... For what reason? Their couple is so dysfunctional. Will Captain learn the truth in the next episode or will he forever be in the dark? I can't see them being happy together after everything.

Next week we'll be the last episode. It's almost the end. 🥹

#my thoughts #thai series #thai bl #bl drama #bl series #playboyy the series #random thoughts #episode 13 #playboyy spoilers #Almost the end of this series 😭#I can't believe one episode will be enough to end the story.#Keen's gone down on my estimation #Is it bad to have some characters you prefer even if they are not “good” characters?

11 notes · View notes

tired-fandom-ndn · 5 months

Note

heyo! any opinions on the new scott pilgrim show on netflix? or general thoughts on the scott pilgrim series?

Overall, I enjoyed the show a lot. It was funny and well-made and more true to the heart of the comics than the movie.

WITH THAT BEING SAID, it completely neglected the twins yet again (you can literally count their lines on one hand) and got weirdly preachy in a lot of places, especially in the finale. Its intense focus on its messages of self love and healthy relationship communication felt, well, childish, like it was intended for a much younger audience than the rest of the show.

It felt a lot like it was trying to challenge the perception of Ramona as a manic pixie dream girl but it did that by softening her edges A LOT and making her just. . . better than she is in the comics. Which sounds like a good thing but a charming part of the original series is that every single person is a realistic asshole; Ramona is selfish and has a bit of a cruel streak, she has a history of ditching her partners and cheating on others, and she runs away the moment things get tough. A lot of that was missing in the show. A lot of Scott's asshole-ishness was missing too because HE was missing for most of it.

Also this is kinda nitpicky but (spoilers) Scott "dies" in the first episode, like everyone genuinely thinks he's dead and there's a funeral and everything, but no one seems especially bothered? Like I know it was a comedy, but the aftermath of his "death" is that everyone just. . . moves on like he never mattered to them. No one actually grieves him, not even his sister. It was kinda fucked up.

In terms of my thoughts of the overall series, I think the comics are a hell of a lot of fun and they get into SO MUCH MORE than the show and movie ever did. The worldbuilding is absolutely fucking wild and the characters are realistic in how they're complete messes and just trying to struggle through surviving and growing up while being huge assholes (because EVERYONE is an asshole).

The development is less obvious than it is in the show, but it's also better for that and it doesn't come off as the characters reading a bunch of self-help books. The relationships are messy and difficult and dysfunctional; characters enable each other's bad behaviors and lie through their teeth and distance themselves without communicating with each other. It's less of a romance and more of a coming-of-age, a story about people figuring themselves out in their early 20s and all the awfulness and difficulties and hurt feelings that come with that.

Also, not to talk about the twins again, but I really do feel like their exclusion from the movie and show was a deliberate attempt to make Ramona "nicer"; it's during their book that we really get a look into how mean she can really be BECAUSE SHE WAS TWO-TIMING THEM. It's mentioned very briefly in the show but not actually touched on in regards to how it affected Kyle and Ken and what it means for her relationship with Scott (another cheater) like it is in the comics.

Also Wallace and Scott's relationship is ridiculous and amazing and the teasing we got in the show was somehow less gay than a lot of their interactions in the comics.

#Anonymous #scott pilgrim

10 notes · View notes

ahmobbu · 4 months

Note

Ooo now that that you finished rgu I’m curious what you’re thoughts were on it and how you liked the show?

oh i love it so much… such a good series. it handles its themes incredibly well, with much more tact and care that i was expecting for something this old. i definitely need to rewatch it bc its so dense and filled w sm symbolism. it took a while for me to adjust to its weird n off putting, absurdist tone but once i did it was genuinely such a joy to watch, esp the last 10-ish eps. its such a scathing n real critique of the patriarchy and how society perpetuates it, how it gets hammered into women, how it affects everything n everyone. like its not subtle but it never felt preachy to me, which i like.

utena & anthy are such interesting leads not only in their relationship but especially on their own. anthy has been trapped in such an abusive cycle w her brother n in extension the world, that she has a hard time trusting utena despite utena fighting for her. her betrayal genuinely hurt me bc it was just so in line w her that it made me so sad lol. utena my futch king who became heroic bc of her love n empathy for another girl!!! she may be naive n dense but her compassion gave her another life… its insane.

and their relationship god… they complement each other so well. theyre soulmates. theyll find each other in every universe.

other fav characters are nanami, whos eps i always cheer for bc theyre so fun, and juri my toxic mean lesbian representation.

#and FUCK akio #genuinely wish he died #myszka n i also just watched the movie too n i was whooping when he threw himselfoff the balcony #asks #anon

11 notes · View notes

mzannthropy · 1 year

Note

Tell me why you dislike the Emily trilogy please because I'm rereading it!!

It's more of a difficult relationship, rather than disliking it; there are many parts that I like about Emily. Like, the majority of it is good. But it drives me CRAZY! It's the way LMM wrote, and the choices she made in the Emily series.

(Sorry if it's ranty and incoherent, it's the first time I've properly wrote down all my thoughts & feelings on Emily.)

So first of all, what the hell is it with all the preachy, patronising BS? This is not LMM's usual style, which is why it's so bewildering. The narrator frequently breaks the fourth wall to tell us how she's not there to defend Emily, but to merely chronicle her life and I want to say, I don't need you to defend Emily, Lucy Maud, I can make my own mind for myself, thank you! She doesn't do it in Anne (also a story of an orphan being taken in), and as far I can remember, she doesn't do it in any of her other writing. It reminds me of Little Women a lot. And from me that's not a compliment.

Then, I say it outright as it is: I loathe Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Ruth and I think they're both child abusers. Aunt Ruth, especially, is a tyrant. She's a dictator. Her constantly calling Emily "sly" with no evidence and then after that incident with Perry and the kiss, when they hold a family court, she says "I would have believed you if you had told the truth", can you get any more textbook abuser? I have this thing when I cannot handle someone not being believed (also due to something that I went through), it triggers me, and a person (esp of authority) determined to disbelieve you and think the worst of you when it's just not true sends me to a rage. Aunt Elizabeth is a vile, cruel, narrow-minded woman, who should not be allowed near children. If the narrative ever condemned these women, it would be a much better reading experience. But it doesn't. Right to the very end, the last page, the second to last paragraph, when Emily and Teddy finally, FINALLY, find each other, Ruth still calls Emily sly. Worst of it is that Emily really doesn't do anything remotely wicked. She's essentially a good kid. What would these hags do if they saw today's teenagers?

"You are always writing yards of trash that nobody wants." Quote from Aunt Elizabeth. What a nice, loving aunt! Then they call Emily a Murray when it suits them--when she does something they disapprove of, it's "that Starr coming out in her". Or they say she's "half a Murray" and I'm like, everyone is unless both your parents were Murrays?

Abusive caregivers are no strangers to LMM works, ofc, but they're usually presented as villains and are not the "endgame" caregivers. (Take as an example, little Elizabeth from Windy Poplars.) That's why I like Jane of Lantern Hill, bc here LMM finally admits that an abusive narcissist is an abusive narcissist (the grandmother). And that was 1937, so you know, it took her time to realise that.

So, most of what I'm saying here relates to the second book. Emily of New Moon is not as infuriating and Quest I actually like, despite how it drags, bc it so perfectly depicts the consequences of Emily's choice at the end of Emily Climbs. And here I get to the crux of the matter--the ending of Emily Climbs.

So, Emily has graduated school, has some success with her writing, has had short stories published and at last meets someone who believes in her, who sees her talent as a writer. Janet Royal offers her a job and a place to stay in New York. An opportunity people would sell their literal souls for. And what does Emily do?

She refuses it bc she doesn't want to leave New Moon.

Once again, I repeat. Emily gets offered a job and free accommodation in fucking NEW YORK and she refuses it bc she doesn't want to leave New Moon, that fucking backwards, progress-denying, candle-burning, abuse-filled place in godsforsaken village on PEI.

How is this supposed to be a good storytelling choice??? And this is why I don't think the series will get adapted again. Not without some major changes. Bc I can't imagine how modern audience would react to a heroine rejecting an opportunity of a lifetime, an opportunity many young people today would commit literal CRIMES for--and for what? It's not even that she is doing it to get married and have kids (stupid choice still, but at least more understandable). The end of Climbs makes me so fucking mad, that story with the dog is so stupid and painful to read (YMMV). I want to cry, why, Lucy Maud, whyyyyyyyyyyy *cries unconsolably*

I think it's bc LMM wouldn't have been able to write--or at least she thought she wouldn't have been able to write--a story of a young upcoming female writer in NYC, bc that wasn't her type of story. But in that case, she should not have included that golden opportunity in Climbs at all. Bc why is it there? Emily could have just returned to New Moon after she finished her schooling.

The tragic, Watsonian interpretation is that Emily is merely experiencing effects of her childhood trauma. (If you want to look at it as a tragedy, then it makes it sort of more bearable, if only it was less patronising...)

When she informs Aunt Elizabeth of her decision, the woman's response is: "I thought a Murray would." I thought a Murray would. Not, I'm happy you're staying with us. That tells you everything you need to know.

And this is what's good about Emily's Quest. Bc here, Emily suffers the consequences of her moronic choice. Ilse, Teddy and Perry all leave to chase their fortunes. Imagine Emily left too. The NYC offer was a tad unrealistic, but, had LMM had better ideas, she could have made it a Toronto job instead. Or Halifax. Or just Charlottetown, ffs. Imagine her getting out of the New Moon environment, getting brand new experiences, seeing people not give a slightest fuck that she was a Murray of New Moon. Seeing how, out in the real world, little their majestic family clan matters. But she didn't. And that's why she had to go through what she went through in the last book. Bc she never meets any book/literary people, she puts so much stock in Dean and she believes everything he tells her. She believes him when he tells her that her book is no good, burns her manuscript and in anguish runs out of her room, trips over the sewing basket and----

So ummm, Dean. Of course he's a creep. But it makes sense to me that she's friends with him. She's a vulnerable child, he preys on her. I don't buy that he'd so happily to give her the deeds of the house as a wedding gift, but LMM wanted her happy ending and she never actually wrote Dean as the dangerous predator that he is.

When I read LMM biography The Gift of Wings by Mary Henley Rubio, I hoped I would find some answers to things that bother me about Emily--but there weren't any. So, *shrugs* I guess I never will know.

#l.m. montgomery #emily of new moon #this got long #lmmblogging #thank you anyway #it's so good to talk about lmm

17 notes · View notes

smalltownfae · 10 months

Text

This is a post asking for contemporary romance books recommendations.

So, seems like I am in a weird contemporary romance kick – which is a genre I never cared about before in books. I always enjoyed it ocasionally in movies or korean dramas. Love that for me tbh because I am exploring something new. The problem is that I am so terribly picky and I can't tell beforehand what will and will not work for me in this...

All I can tell is that I like the character dynamics of the ones that I enjoyed and that I seem to love opposites attract and that doesn't necessarily mean grumpy/sunshine (which seems to be a popular trope). Seems like the books also need to be queer in some way, but I did enjoy Book Lovers even though that was an heterosexual one. Usually funny books work the best for me in this genre and I have been noticing that the ones I find funny are by authors from the UK (not surprised at all about this tbh), but I also think I would enjoy something dramatic. I mean, Glitterland had an mc dealing with mental health and got quite heart hitting at times. Seems that I also like series that focus on a different person in a friend group or something. For example, a character is introduced in the first book and they are just a friend of the main character or a sibling or whatever and then they get their own story in the next book in the series.

This is all to ask what are the standouts in this genre? The ones that you love, especially if you are also picky about contemporary romance and like when it makes you laugh or cry (preferably both).

I have been adding books to try on my tbr, but I still don't exactly know where to start.

Books I really liked so far:

Glitterland by Alexis Hall: I had some little problems with this book, but overall I found it dramatic and very funny. I liked to see a main character in romance that was quite unlikeable too and stated that his behaviour could not be excused because of his mental health. I found it pretty unique. I enjoyed Boyfriend Material, but not nearly as much and since that series seems to go on with the same main characters getting married and then having a baby or something I don't think I will continue because those are not the things I like to read about. I do want to read more books by the author though and I plan to continue the Spires series soon.

Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green: apparently I like YA if it's funny and it doesn't happen in a school setting. This also had some bits I didn't like that came out as a bit preachy, but it made me laugh out loud and the premise is so petty and messy it could only be good (to me).

First and First by Santino Hassel: Fine. I am putting my hands in the fire with this one. I know about the mess surrounding this author now, but I didn't when I started this series (my fault for not researching names I guess). There are two specific scenes I hate in this book, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like it a lot overall. It is messy, a bit kinky and has a lot of smut that makes sense for the plot because it is about a guy learning to let go and not be embarassed about sex. I can't help liking both main characters and their dynamic, but I bet most people would hate it. It also looks quite not set in reality because some of the stuff here is wild and everyone is like "yeah, this could happen" 😂 This also made me like the word "baby" to refer to a love interest just like Robin Hobb made me like the word "beloved". Authors, please, let me be a hater. Still hate the "babe/babes" version even though I tolerated it both in this series and in Glitterland.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry: This was good. Read it last year and I can't remember having any issue with any scenes tbh which makes it weird when I say it's the one I enjoyed the least out of these and yet I would still rank it the highest... I will probably try more books by this author.

Did not like: Red, White and Royal Blue and Get a Life Chloe Brown was good except for the sex scenes. (Unsure if I should try any more Tahlia Hibbert because apparently I dislike the word tit as much as I dislike the word shaft. If it's used once or twice in a book I can bear it but not often)

Authors to try: Cat Sebastian (read 1 book that was ok and I am currently reading the sequel but they are historical romance which surprisingly is not what is working for me at the moment); Ashley Herring Blake and Alison Cochrun.

#contemporary romance books #book recs #booklr

7 notes · View notes

ridley-was-a-cat · 1 year

Text

Fall 2022 Anime Roundup

Somehow yet another season has completed, and this one was a doozy. Not only were there multiple sequels to major franchises like Mob Psycho and My Hero Academia, we got a sequel to Bleach 10+ years after the last season ended. On top of that, there was the highly anticipated debut season of Chainsaw Man, and four adaptations of shoujosei works, which is more than we usually get in an entire year. There was just a ton of stuff on offer this season, and almost all of it was good.

Completed

Anime of the Season: Mob Psycho 100 III

In a season as packed as this one, choosing a favorite was no easy task, and I went back and forth between this and Raven of the Inner Palace. As good as they both were, I'm going to have to give this the edge for pairing its moving story about adolescent turbulence with an absolute spectacle of art and animation. I really can't say enough good things about how Mob steadfastly rejects violence or subjugation as displays of strength or power. The show never gets preachy about it, Mob just sees people's appeals to use his power in destructive ways as pointless and unappealing. ONE said that he set out to write something kind when he wrote Mob Psycho, and I have to say that he definitely succeeded in writing one of the best examples I've seen of positive, non-toxic masculinity. 9/10

First Runner Up: Raven of the Inner Palace

I didn't really know what to expect when I added this to my schedule for the season, and basically only watched it because it had a shoujo label, and I reflexively support shoujosei anime. What I ended up with was a fantastic drama that used one to two episode-long vignettes about various people and spirits around the imperial court to tell a larger story about who the main characters are, and how the events of the past affect them today. The slow development of the relationship between the Raven Consort and the Emperor was extremely satisfying to watch, as was seeing her learn to open up to the people around her. Many of the characters' backstories were tragic or traumatic, and the show handled them with the right amount of thoughtfulness. 9/10

Second Runner Up: Akiba Maid War

I nearly dropped this halfway through the first episode thinking that it was going to be just another P.A.Works original about humbling an idealistic young woman at her first job, and then a gang war broke out. A committed and affectionate parody of gangster movies with enough heart to avoid becoming a cheap joke. 8/10

Bocchi the Rock! - I didn't plan to watch this because the manga runs in one of those lolicon magazines that skeeve me out, but luckily the hype got to me, and I didn't miss out on this spectacularly animated and directed comedy about an introverted girl chasing her rock and roll dreams. 8/10

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss - This tried to squeeze three light novel volumes into twelve episodes, making episodes 4, 8, and 12 into arc-concluding speed runs, but our villainess was so charmingly spunky and her demon lord boo was so damn fine that I was having too much fun to care about its flaws. 8/10

Spy x Family Part 2 - I kept waiting for the plot to kick back in before finally accepting that this series apparently is more of an episodic comedy than the first cour let on, but it's still plenty entertaining. 8/10

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - I liked, but didn't love, Bleach's original run, and this sequel retains many of the story writing traits I didn't care for, but the visuals got a major upgrade, everyone is smoking hot, and they played "Number One" at the end of the last episode, so I can't help but feel the hype. 8/10

Chainsaw Man - I can both see how skillfully directed and animated this was, and how the characters and story would be appealing to a lot of people, while also disliking the decision to mimic live-action movies, and acknowledging that this story full of misery is just not for me. 7/10

Do It Yourself!! - A cute girls doing cute things show that broke through my exhaustion with the genre by having an unusual activity like carpentry, and mixing it with distinctive character designs and lively animation. 7/10

The Little Lies We All Tell - The visuals for this didn't appeal to me so I didn't pick it up until the season was almost over, but it ended up being a really charming little comedy about four friends with bizarre secrets. 7/10

My Master Has No Tail - The rakugo performances left a little to be desired, but the character interactions in this light comedy about a tanuki taking up rakugo in Meiji era Osaka kept things entertaining. 7/10

Reincarnated as a Sword - If this wasn't a light novel adaptation, and it didn't have so much monologuing from the sword, blah visuals, or mediocre shot composition, this would make a pretty fun story despite the goofy sounding concept. 6/10

Bibliophile Princess - I've read the manga adaptation, so I was really looking forward to this, but some combination of poor animation, questionable story adaptation choices, and an annoying tendency to rehash the same conflict made this a bit of a slog to finish. 6/10

Ongoing

Golden Kamuy S4 - I'm definitely looking forward to watching this when it comes back from hiatus in the spring, as the action was really starting to get interesting, with our competing gangs of charismatic scoundrels about to get back on their bullshit. 8/10

IDOLiSH7 Third BEAT! Part 2 - This part continues with the corporate drama instigated by the extremely hateable villain, while completing Trigger's transformation from antagonist to loveable underdog, and giving some very satisfying character development moments. Looking forward to the concluding four episodes in February. 8/10

One Piece - While I'm definitely still enjoying myself, and this really is the best One Piece has looked during its run, I'm kind of ready to be done with Wano already. 8/10

Play It Cool, Guys - You've heard of cute girls doing cute things, now get ready for the new hotness: cute guys doing airhead things. Just pure, unadulterated fluff that brightens my day. 8/10

My Hero Academia S6 - On the one hand, this was kind of an exhausting anime season for seeing the good guys get the stuffing beat out of them, but on the other hand, seeing Mirko rip a monster's head off with her thighs was some peak content. 7/10

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun S3 - This season still has most of its charm, and I still love all the characters, but this contest arc is really dragging. 7/10

Dropped

The Eminence in Shadow - This was sold to me as a satirical take on power fantasy isekai, but it was playing all the tropes pretty straight, and the atrocious fanservice in episode 10 made me decide I had better things to do. 6/10

19 notes · View notes

cevansbrat0007 · 2 years

Note

Hi, not to be annoying but sometimes when you post reference of pictures of y/n it's kinda of not very representative cause she looks like a model and many of us don't look like that. I love your stories though ❤

You're not annoying. I understand what you're saying to an extent, so here's how I will respond now that I'm fresh from a nap.

I enjoy creating graphics/aesthetics these days to go along with what I post. Whether it seems like it or not, I tend to put a lot of time and thought into these creations. Sometimes they come out great, other times they are 'meh'. But they're mine from the tornado that is my imagination.

I try to use images of black women with different skin tones (for representation) who are either looking to the side, or looking away, or covering their face. Sometimes I use the backs of their heads. Sometimes I add extra shadows or crop their faces myself.

Sometimes I lose myself down the proverbial rabbit hole and spend hours trying to find the *right* image, or saving images I think will be useful or act as muses for my creativity in the future.

Do I look like a lot of these women? Nope. Is my hair natural? For now. But I never have that whole perfectly coifed African Goddess look going on. Am I sassy like Y/N? Sometimes. Would I ever be brave enough to do something like a boudoir shoot? Nah. Too much of me to nip, tuck, and suck in. I'm also not dating Chris Evans or Andy Barber or some big hotshot attorney. Nor do I have children with them.

This girl (me, pictured below) doesn't have a lot of what Reader or Y/N does. I just let the character take up space in my brain while I sit at a keyboard. And then I play pretend.

I know this response is getting long and I don't want to risk sounding defensive or preachy. Apologies if I've already crossed that threshold. But it is hard not to be defensive of your own stuff. So I'll end with this:

We come to Tumblr to lurk, read, or write (or some combination thereof) because it's an escape for most of us. We get to be silly and creative and all that good stuff. We also take the writers we support, the series we allow ourselves to become invested in, and the content on our own blogs seriously.

Because we care. I'm assuming you care about what my goofy self posts, and the series or characters themselves, to some extent. I'm grateful that it matters to you. And I'm thankful that you reached out. It sucks that we can't always make everyone happy. You can put all of the thought in the world into something and sometimes it's still just not enough. I do want people to be able to see themselves in my stories, but I can't win every time. Which sucks but...

I'm not knocking you, friend. So please don't take it that way. But I'm going to keep doing this in some form because it's my blog, I find it fun, and because (on here) it's all about using our imaginations. I'm sorry if that means potentially losing you as a Reader.

But at the end of the day, I'm just a basketcase of a girl, sitting in front of a computer, staring at pictures of Chris Evans, trying to forget about the dumpster fire that is the real world as it burns to ash right outside my window. *Shrugs*

Hey. ^^ This is me btw when I have to "people" (read: look presentable). Not that it matters. I look nothing like how I try to ambiguously describe the reader. Well, wait. Reader is short. And so am I. And we're both some shade of brown. That's all I've got folks. Back to working on "Brat Games".

-Britt

#cevansbrat0007 asks #cevansbrat0007growing pains series #cevansbrat0007 #black author #black authors #authors of color #woc authors #why did i just post my face?#hope i don't break anyone's screen #someone take my soapbox

29 notes · View notes

luminouslumity · 10 months

Text

THOUGHTS ON: BARBENHEIMER

Finally got the chance to see both (specifically, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and then Barbie again) and I'm glad I did! Watching them back-to-back was certainly an experience and I'm not even joking when I say they really made me think about life and all that it entails.

As someone who grew up on the old animated Barbie movies, I had a lot of fun watching the new film, especially when it came to all the doll jokes and references had me laughing more than once (Magic Earring Ken, anyone?). Kinda mad they didn't have any references to the animated movies though, or at least none that I'd noticed.

Speaking of Ken, wasn't sure about him being the villain at first, but I can see what they were trying to do and I thought it worked pretty well all things considered, that Kens have just as much of a right to live alongside the Barbies as the Barbies do them and not just in the shadows of each other. If this film is anti anything, I'd say it's anti-Patriarchy as well as anti-Matriarchy. Preachy, sure, but understandable. Really, I'm more annoyed with how this apparently went over so many people's heads even with how blatant it was; seriously, President Barbie even says the message of the film after the Kens fail, so how anyone could've misinterpreted it is beyond me! The only thing that comes to mind is when the Narrator says that the Kens will be treated just as well as women are treated in the real world, and to be fair, that statement alone can be interpreted in a lot of ways depending on certain factors, but I don't know, I feel like that should be a wake-up call more than anything.

Barbie herself was also really interesting, though throughout the film, I found myself wondering if she was meant to be the Original Barbie with an upgraded look or just a random Barbie who's basically just an amalgamation of all the others (like she says, she's what everyone else thinks of when they think of the doll). Either way, this certainly adds a whole new layer to the relationship between her and Ken because keep in mind, when the film says that Ken was created for Barbie, they mean it literally.

Going into a bit of history here, Ken Carson was created in response to the backlash Barbie was facing two years after her own creation for the horrific crime of... *checks notes* being single. Since then, Ken has had a few jobs of his own, but it's still nothing compared to Barbie's—this even becomes a joke in the Life in the Dreamhouse series, where the Ken in that series worships the ground Barbie walks on. Probably literally. This man didn't even get his own car until 2012! Then there was the whole seven-year break-up incident because Ken apparently didn't want to put a ring on it (yeah, Barbie has in-universe lore and it goes hard!) so keeping all this in mind, it's no wonder Ken seems to be as attached to Barbie as he is in the film, all while also struggling with his own identity as an individual.

Yes, I probably am looking too deep into a children's film about dolls coming into the real world. This is my life now.

The Mattel scenes were definitely one of my favorite things about the film, especially with how dedicated the CEO is when it comes to his job and how he genuinely wants what he believes is best for everyone, but my favorite part are definitely the scenes with Ruth, which absolutely had me crying! And hey, glad to see I was at least partially right! She made an appearance, just not in the scene I thought it was going to be (also, apparently the sweet old lady on the bench isn't even Barbara, it's costume designer Ann Roth).

Narrators also tend to be hit-or-miss for me, but I thought it worked really well in this film! I especially loved how self-aware the story is and how if you're going to try and make Barbie look ugly, Margot Robbie isn't the way to go. And the cutaway to Depressed Barbie? Hilarious, but now I low-key want that to be a thing lol! And just the world in general was super fun!

Honestly, if I had any complaints about the film, it would absolutely be the pacing. Sasha in particular seemed largely unnecessary and her turnaround to at least tolerating Barbie happened way too quickly, even if she did only want to help for her mom's sake. It would've been nice if the film had had at least one or two scenes where she realizes that while the Barbie brand has its issues that deserve to be addressed, it's also not as bad as what she'd originally thought it to be. And also, it would've been great to just see more of this world in general; after all, Barbie and Ken only spend time in LA for less than a day, and even then, it's only for a few hours at most.

Basically, I wish the film had been longer, but what we got was still great.

As for Oppenheimer, I never really have much to say about biopics, but I love history in general and am always fascinated when it comes to warfare and all of the ethical questions that come with it. This is also the first Nolan film I've actually watched, so I knew this was going to be an interesting time, at least. Let me start by saying that the special effects with the bomb dropping and tense silence afterwards were beautifully done and I thought the use of black-and-white for some scenes and color for others was a really nice touch too, as well as the fact that the film went beyond just WWII and that we get to see Oppenheimer deal with the guilt he'd faced afterwards. I also always forget that Einstein would've still been alive during the time most of the film takes place, so his appearance was certainly a surprise, but a pleasant one nonetheless. I was also wondering in what context the "I am become Death" line would come up, so the fact that the film actually addresses that it comes from Sanskrit rather than suggesting it originated from Oppenheimer himself was such a great detail! Overall, a great film about a very complicated man!

#barbie #oppenheimer #barbenheimer #my thoughts

4 notes · View notes

oedipushansen · 1 year

Note

Do you have any good YA recommendations that have actually dark themes or depict teenagers in a way that's even remotely realistic? I never read YA bc it always feels so fake but maybe I'm not looking in the right places

OKAY so. please hear me out bc im abt to recommend u a fanfiction series but i swear to god its very far removed from the source material so u can just like. read it on its own. it’s called twin skeletons (here’s the link), and i’m sure i’ve talked abt or at least mentioned it on my blog before but its just very very special to me !! it rlly feels like ur getting in the heads of these Awful teenagers and all of the subjects r dealt w/ in like. such a raw & unfiltered way in my opinion. it doesnt feel fake or preachy or like the reader is being talked down to or anything. the writing can be messy & imperfect bc its a fic from a couple years ago, but i still think its so so good and so worth it. the characters felt so real to me & it was dark & complicated & frustrating & it managed to stick w me years after reading it & i love it so much. i use it as a big inspiration for how i would want to write teenagers if i ever. like. actually got arnd to writing anything. maybe my own sentimental feelings r making me biased but god i just think its such an amazing coming of age story and the writer just Understands how teenagers think and act so well and u should absolutely read it if u want a realistic YA story

for actual published work, i have more trouble bc u r right! finding published YA that doesnt try to water things down can unfortunately be v difficult & most of these r just books i read in my school’s library or in the Teen Section of my local bookstore a long time ago & particularly stuck w/ me & some of them im not even like. That sure counts as YA i just know that im a Young Adult who read & enjoyed it & it was also abt Young Adults. maybe its cheating but i honestly dont think that whether or not its Officially Supposed to Be YA is that important, im assuming ur just trying 2 find good coming of age stories

these arent in any particular order im just listing off whatever i think

speak by laurie halse anderson

allegedly by tiffany d jackson

forgive me, leonard peacock by matthew quick

dare me by megan abbott

perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky

catcher in the rye by jd salinger (uve most likely already read this but it wouldn’t feel right to leave this classic out)

my heart & other black holes by jasmine warga (a little rushed at times but felt like a breath of fresh air after trying to read annoyingly pretentious trainwrecks like fault in our stars & all the bright places. does what those novels Tried to do but manages it well in my opinion)

these violent delights by micah nemerever (not considered YA lol but i asked the author personally & the characters r like. 16-17 for majority of it & its an incredible book that i want everyone to read anyway so! why not put it here)

my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell (definitely not supposed to be YA but a lot of it is from the perspective of a teenage girl & i can imagine it being in my school’s library & its very good & relatable so!! again why not put it here!!)

black iris by elliot wake (i think this is considered more new adult than YA but whatever)

fault line by christa desir

forbidden by tabitha suzuma

hell followed with us by andrew joseph white (not sure if u can call this realistic considering its fantasy but its dark & definitely YA & it has body horror & i liked it so it’s going in)

house of hollow by krystal sutherland (again, this is a fantasy, but i thought it was pretty good when i read it & its YA so it’s going in)

i’m somewhat delirious after taking a nap so im srry if this is like 97% of me just rambling or not making sense. i know our tastes r probably not the same so some of these (or just YA in general) may not be for u but i rlly hope u enjoy or appreciate any of these if u ever decide to read them <3

#if anyone else has any recs feel free to comment them :]#i havent gotten the chance to read the raven cycle or all for the game but based on how ive seen ppl on here talk abt it they seem good #asks

8 notes · View notes

centrally-unplanned · 1 year

Text

What was Evangelion? A Collection of Doujinshi Works - Batch 1

Comic Box 1997 End of Evangelion Special Archiving Project - Entry #3

The majority of the rest of the feature involves submissions by ‘fans’ of Evangelion sharing their thoughts on End of Evangelion & Eva as a whole in hybrid art/essay form. I put ‘fans’ in quotation marks because this group is selective; it is almost entirely doujinshi artists or even professionals in the industry. They are certainly lovers of Evangelion; but they are also producers of content that depends on that industry, and have a unique relationship with anime in comparison to the median fan. I think this feature is truly valuable as a sociological sample of how the anime community saw Evangelion, but it is important to note that this sample is not representative.

Since their comments are straightforward, I will not provide an introductory analysis - I will instead provide the page and a translation below. Additionally, I will showcase information about the authors of these pieces; I find these works to be beautiful, hilarious, and/or heartfelt, sometimes created by artists lost to time. Hopefully I can reveal a small piece of lives of the people behind this collective response to Evangelion.

I'll add the first translation here that matches the title image, and the rest will be in the link at the end:

What was Evangelion?

A Collection of Doujinshi Works

Children still worry, love, and continue to live on... and we draw another Evangelion...

“The grace of god has arrived to save us all” by Ao Takegawa

I watched "The End of Evangelion" twice on its opening day. After the second viewing, a person behind me said, "I don't understand," while others in the theater said, "I don't like it," and my sister and I were upset by their words. However, I think this is truly a good thing about Evangelion. If everyone is convinced of the same viewpoint after watching, it's not really Evangelion anymore. There are parts that are extremely appealing and parts that are extremely detestable, and the fact that it doesn't try to explain everything from top to bottom is what makes it great.

I love it. I think that Evangelion is very good at handling the mentality of its characters, and probably would not have reached the eyes and ears of so many people if it had been made in a normal, preachy way. It's interesting even if you only think about the characters without thinking about anything else (laughs); I like that those who want to think about every part of the show can, and those who don't can just enjoy it without thinking too much. So, "What was Evangelion” I think my answer to that question is, "Evangelion was great.” (Laughs) ← am I an idiot?

- Ao Takegawa, 1997.8.5.

Author Info

Ao Takegawa was a member FANATICS (sometimes called FANATICA) doujin circle, and was from what I can gather one of their key artists. They published a very extensive series of doujin around Evangelion - you can see some listings on Mandarake here - which stood out for their soft-pastel art style and inclusion of detailed plots. From what I have seen there is a lot of Kaworu, though they were not restricted to yaoi works.

I unfortunately have been unable to find much more about this author - none of these doujin appear to be scanned, no extant social media presence or discussion of their works, etc. Hopefully someday this doujin series can be rendered more accessible.

See the rest below if you wish of course:

#comic box 97 evangelion project #evangelion

7 notes · View notes

jalebi-weds-bluetooth · 1 year

Note

Hi JWB!!

How are you doing? I haven't been around much lately but everytime I catch up on stugf on Tumblr you are having some amazing discussions. You are simply awesome 🤩🤩👌👌♥️

Hope you are having a great and healthy year and wishing you a Happy Valentine's a day in advance because you bring so much love, light and happiness to my life.

I have been meaning to ask this for a long time. Have you seen "Asshiqana" its a series by Gul Khan on Hotstar. Its very soap operatic and is a love story set in backdrop of crime and conspiracy. Though it has many problematic tropes and sometimes too many twists and turns which require healthy suspension of disbelief the treatment of certain sequences is beautiful. The lead pair are beautiful and have great chemistry which makes it good to watch but the way the FL breaks stereotypes and calls out patriarchy is something I haven't seen in a long time. It does get preachy at times but overall its something that was needed. Could have been handled better but its start and I love it. The FL and the brother of the ML are two awesome characters. He worships his elder brother but what is beautiful is that he shows him the mirror each time and higliights his 1940 ki thinking brilliantly. Also while the ML is chauvinistic he knows it and slowly is coming to terms with falling for a girl who is against everything he believes in. So thats refreshing.

Anyhow, I just wanted to know what you think about it.

Cheers

Hey!

I'm doing better love <3 How're you? Haha thanks for the love. Thank you and happy belated Valentine's to you too <3 You're honestly super sweet.

I'm aware of Aashiquana. I am glad you are enjoying the show. One thing that I often dislike about 4Lions shows nowadays is that they talk about feminism while showing patriarchy. The female leads will have big "dialogues" but I determine liberalism by seeing what happens with the female lead herself. Is she subjected to sexism and patriarchy by the elders? Misogyny and misguided rage by the hero? Is her character always assassinated, do her career dreams ever come true?

Thus her shows end up being preachy and cringey instead of revolutionary.

I've captured little bits of it and it seems interesting. As you've mentioned above the heroine and the hero's brother look delightful. But the whole concept of a chauvinistic man becoming better because of the woman he loves is dated and far from reality.

If a chauvinistic man is 'better' to the woman he loves or that he needs a woman in his concern to be affected by patriarchy to understand how terrible chauvinism is, then that is not changing. And that is not improvement.

So I'm turned off Aashiquana for the male lead and his terrible Amma/grandmaa/bua (I have no idea who that woman is but she lives in 1930s).

Like I don't think I could've liked IPK if Dadi (Subhadra) was a character from the beginning. And Arnav wasn't ever a "women shouldn't do this". His issues with Khushi wasn't ever gender based. He was more like "let me live, let everyone live, and for fuck's sake stop obsessing with marriage cause it's no use ruining two lives"

Which he was right about...

And honestly I am tired of women playing roles where they've to 'correct' the men. It exhausted me in Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahaani (non 4 Lions show) and every other telly show.

Also wtf is the female leads names? What happened to Zoya, Anika, Gauri, Meera and all?

But I do like Aashiqana's heroines dialogues. Probably that's it. However, don't let my rant ruin your viewing experience - if you're enjoying it, please keep enjoying it!

Love,

Jalebi

#ask #simplycurlz #aashiqana #sorry but tellywood needs some new storylines #I wouldn't even watch ipk now cause boss we've seen that #since 14 years now

7 notes · View notes

youngerfrankenstein · 9 months

Text

My feelings on SNW are weirdly mixed (though more positive I think). Sometimes it feels kinda dry and too focused on giving everyone a super tragic backstory (and my favourite series is DS9!) and other times it feels so quintessentially Star Trek it’s hard not to love it.

I’m also often torn about what they do with established characters and species. Like… did we REALLY need to make the Gorn into Xenomorph ripoffs? Also while I DO enjoy fleshing out Spock and T’Pring’s relationship before it is ultimately doomed I find the stuff with him and Chapel just grating.

The show can get frustratingly preachy but like… it is Star Trek, that’s kind of par for the course.

I will defend Uhura and Ortegas with my life.

And the show managed to do a GOOD musical episode which earns it so much goodwill in my books.

It’s also just… nice to have a mostly episodic show for a change. I love serialized shows, don’t get me wrong! But the variety is good and we don’t get many nowadays. I want to see what they do with Bones (best character).

#Star Trek #SNW

5 notes · View notes

anakinskywalkerog · 1 year

Note

So don’t mind my prying but you mentioned that your brother was going to buy you an Anakin toy…does your family know about your obsession? Do your friends? I’m obsessed with Anakin and also my other blorbos like Damon from TVD and I’m way too embarrassed to talk about it with my friends and if my family found out I would be mortified

okay so i’m actually glad you asked this bc it’s going to give me a moment to be preachy 💛

a) yes, ppl in my life know about my obsession. and it is embarrassing 😂 first of all, my family couldn’t not know about my Anakin fixation, bc it started when i was like 8 or whatever and i watched attack of the clones a million times and we had one TV…so my siblings were very much in on it! haha. and they do know about its revival with the Kenobi series. my close friends also know about my whole Tumblr/fanfic experience, even though they don’t really understand it. my blog is private, but ppl know. this is up in my apartment 😂😂😂😂

b) i will say, when this obsession came back at the beginning of this year, i wasn’t sure how to feel about it. it felt embarrassing. but, as ive mentioned, im a 20-something adult. when i was younger, i probably wouldn’t have had the confidence i have now to just be like—this is what i like, i’m a nerd, and it’s fine (pretty girls can be nerds too 🤭)

c) i recently finished this book, “This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch” and i would absolutely recommend everyone on here read it. it’s about becoming obsessed with a celebrity/show/movie in adulthood and how even though it seems embarrassing, it’s actually really amazing and a wonderful and normal thing. also, us thinking it’s embarrassing is pretty much just internalized sexism (think about all the men who are super obsessed with their sports teams, for example—why aren’t they embarrassed?)

anyway, all of this is to say—i totally understand why it’s embarrassing to be obsessed with a celebrity or a movie series, but anyone who would judge you for it doesn’t deserve to be in your life. and even if your friends or family don’t understand your commitment to your blorbo, they can still accept you for it. in my experience, loving Star Wars again as an adult has made my life happier and more fulfilling. read this book and then see how you feel about it afterward ☺️

this is probably more of an answer than you wanted, but—i love you, and being a Tumblr worm is an experience that matters and is important and great, even if it isn’t thought of that way in our society 💛💛💛💛

#star wars #anakin skywalker #this is not a book about benedict cumberbatch #hayden christensen #benedict cumberbatch #star wars prequels #anakin #hayden #obi wan kenobi #fanfiction #anakin skywalker fanfiction #blorbo #star wars fandom #kenobi series #ewan mcgregor #answered asks

15 notes · View notes