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#i don't think i've made this many posts between episodes in. quite a while

revvethasmythh · 1 month

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Okay, the thing about Liliana's relationship with Ludinus is that she genuinely seems to not like this man. she's not about him. she thinks he's dangerous and doesn't contradict Imogen when she calls him evil. that said, she has bought into his rhetoric and DOES think he's right, which means their professional relationship is basically just:

#they're relationship is clearly super fucked up. but also #critical role #bells hells #liliana temult #ludinus da'leth #also apparently i just have a lot to say this week #i don't think i've made this many posts between episodes in. quite a while

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library-of-confusion · 9 months

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The Well With No Bottom

I've been meaning to write a post for all of the Louis haters out there who say that he never gave back any of the love that Lestat was constantly pouring out on him, but I got so caught up in the research that I never actually got around to actually writing the thing.

The main point that I want to make here is that Louis' love for Lestat is just as passionate as Lestat's love for him, if not more so. He just expresses it in a very different way. From books, to big screen, to theatre and television series, Louis has always been far more emotionally repressed than Lestat. Hell, most of the world is far more emotionally repressed when compared to the King of Emotional Expression himself! Louis loves Lestat fiercely, but in his own quiet way.

In Episode 1, on the night they first meet, well before any physical intimacy between the two had ever occurs, Louis, who should be furious with Lestat for snatching Lilly away from him, instead can think of nothing but Lestat. "My body was seized with weakness. His gaze tied a string around my lungs and I found myself immobilized." If that's not love at first sight, I don't know what is. He's fallen head over heels in mere minutes.

As their friendship progresses, Louis refers to Lestat as his "coal fire" in a cold winter. He points out that, for the first time ever, he found himself confiding his struggles to another man. While confiding in a friend is completely normal, the way it surprises Louis and catches him off guard is not. It becomes obvious that this relationship means something more than friendship to Louis.

Then, of course, we have the scene at the townhouse when Louis finally sets his pent-up desires free. It was him who made the first move to kiss Lestat, not the other way around.

And who initiates that kiss in the church, just before Lestat gives Louis the blood?

It's also important to remember the unreliable narrator of this tale. Louis has clearly left out many moments in his relationship with Lestat that would help the viewer to see it through his eyes. Lestat himself mentions some of these moments in Episode 2, when he starts out by calling Louis angry, stubborn, unaccommodating and maddening then changes his tone to remind Louis that he is also loving, dedicated and thoughtful. Louis may have failed to mention all the moments that cause Lestat to describe him in this way, but Lestat lets us know that they did happen and that no one has ever displayed these admirable qualities to him in quite the same way that Louis has.

While Lestat lavishes praise on Louis to make him feel better after almost killing his nephew, Louis tells Daniel of his feelings for Lestat. "There was present a kind of worship, on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid." How many of us can say such a thing about a lover?

To please Lestat, Louis attends another opera. He simmers in indignation as he plays the part of Lestat's valet and walks a few steps behind Lestat instead of by his side, where he wants to be. He tolerates the stares and comments of those around him to ensure that Lestat has a good time. He even drinks from the Tenor with Lestat, pretending to be enthralled by the experience because he doesn't want to disappoint. Louis sets aside his own comfort and happiness for Lestat.

"Aren't I enough?" Louis asks, in Episode 3, about Lestat's little fling with Antoinette. This question comes from a place of utter vulnerability. Louis is admitting his own jealousy and insecurity. And we all know how well Lestat's reaction went over. Of course, by the end of the episode, Louis shoots back at Lestat. Already upset about the way he is being treated and over his complete loss of control with killing Alderman Fenwick, Louis gets angry with Lestat and tells him that the two of them are never going to work and that Lestat will always be alone. He hits where it hurts the most. To quote author Valarie Kaur, "The opposite of love is not rage. The opposite of love is indifference." If Louis didn't love Lestat as much as he does, he couldn't be so passionately infuriated by him. If he didn't love Lestat, he would have no desire to harm him in a moment of rage.

Another perfect example of the above is in Episode 6 when Louis swims across the Mississippi River to confront Lestat about the song. "I hate you," may be the truth in that very moment, but can we truly know hate if we haven't first experienced love?

Also in Episode 6, Louis confesses that despite all that has happened between them, he still loves Lestat with a wounded heart. This is one of the few times that Louis actually uses the "L" word to express what he feels for Lestat. Lestat points out that the way Louis has been killing animals and how he acts somewhat superior about it makes Lestat feel as if he is being looked down upon for his body's needs. Claudia agrees. Once again, without an ounce of consideration for his own comfort or desires, Louis decides, on the spot, that he will hunt humans again for Lestat and for their family.

Episode 7 is a wealth of evidence to support Louis' love for Lestat. Yes, he's agreed to help Claudia with her plot to kill Lestat, but that doesn't make his feelings for Lestat any less valid than they have been all along. Claudia wants him to be a distraction for Lestat, to give Lestat all of his heart while she plans the rest. "I can't do that. I'll lose myself in him," is Louis reply. He knows that if he falls back into old feelings, he won't be able to turn them off. The connection between himself and Lestat is too strong.

When Louis first catches sight of Lestat at the Mardi Gras Ball, he is overwhelmed by conflicting emotion. "A cascade of feelings came over me as I watched him sponge up the adoration. I wanted him dead. I wanted him all to myself." And by the time their last dance begins, Louis has lost himself entirely. "It was my sole duty to distract Lestat, but in his mirrored eyes, the distraction reflected back onto me. And in the dead center of the whispering gallery, I lost the thread to my plotting and fell once more into the well with no bottom. I was his and he was mine." If his words were filled with any more adoration, they would be in a book of love poetry.

Once again, who make the first move to steal a kiss in front of a speechless crowd?

So, to the haters out there who say that Louis is ungrateful and that the only love he ever gave to Lestat was fake or for his own hateful purposes... what in the hell were you watching?

#iwtv #interview with the vampire #amc iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #loustat #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #louis loves lestat

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 10 months

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I don't know if you've read or watched Ouran High School Host Club, but the Leech twins ask makes me think of the Hitachiin twins. We learn Tamaki and Haruhi can tell the differences between them bc they actually like KNOW the twins well and pay attention to them. The same probably goes for the Leech twins! Someone who spends a lot of time with them like Azul and players can tell them apart but people who don't like Grim and Adeuce wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I hope that made sense!

[Referencing this post and this post!]

Oh, I think I know what you're talking about! I've only seen the anime, so I believe that's episodes 5 (Haruhi and the twins) and 20 (Tamaki and the twins). Now that you've mentioned it, I do see parallels between the relationship of the Leeches/Hitachiins and Azul/Tamaki. Their personalities aren't really that similar to one another, but it's interesting how it was both Azul and Tamaki who started their own "thing" (ie the business/the host club) that ended up bringing them and the twins together. In Azul's case, the Leeches first approached him because they found him interesting, but in Tamaki's case, he was the one to approach the Hitachiins and extend the offer to join his newly formed club. It reflects different levels of outgoingness in Azul and Tamaki's natures, as well as different motives behind their actions. The same also applies to the twins themselves; Jade and Floyd approached Azul because they wanted to be amused, and the Hitachiins agreed to join Tamaki's host club because he bested them at their own game (which was a hit to their pride; they had to keep the promise). Previously, all the Hitachiins had was their other twin. They are notably pictured alone and holding hands with one another, being untrustful and unkind to outsiders, using isolating terms like "us" and "them", and making intentional moves to keep others out of their lives (with their "Guess Which Twin is Which" game). We see much more subtle, open-to-interpretation implications of "only having the other brother" with Jade and Floyd, who have noted that they "chose" each other, but don't always relish in basking in solely their twin's company. It's clear that Jade and Floyd are the two who are more independent of one another, whereas the Hitachiins kind of come as a package.

If you think about it, while Azul's business ventures are what first attracted the twins to him, his initial attitude was more like the Hitachiins than like Tamaki's. Azul was the one shutting others out by acting in revenge, and he was the one who was distrustful of the people around him... yet it was only through the twins reaching out to him (albeit for selfish personal reasons) that allowed Azul to become as successful as he is, and that allowed him to grow from that crybaby octopus he once was. I'm delusional so/j I like to think that it's the little details like this that make Azul, Jade, and Floyd's relationship with one another that much more complex.

I think it's quite salient to note that Tamaki couldn't tell which twin was which right away. He screwed his guesses up many times before finally being able to tell which was Hikaru and which was Kaoru. It's only through observing others and continued exposure that he can really get a grasp on them as individuals, and I'd wager that the same goes for the characters in Twisted Wonderland. For example, Riddle always used to get Jade and Floyd mixed up. It is said that Jade gave him a hint to remember which twin was "Jade" (Jade's black hair stripe forms a "J"-like curve). However, I think it would make sense if a lot of this learning of discrimination comes from Riddle's own continued experiences with the twins. Jade is a classmate in his homeroom, while Floyd ambushes Riddle in random places (like the library) to bother him. Constantly being in their presence no doubt also played a part in helping Riddle distinguish between the two. This would also explain why Azul, who has known them since middle school, as well as other second years (whom the twins likely share classes with) and even third years (who have seen them around school) can tell them apart, whereas a lot of the fresh-faced characters like the first years and Grim cannot, especially when they first encounter Jade and Floyd.

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thetardisisnotourdivision · 11 months

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I'm going to have to rewatch the series to see if this all makes sense. However, I have a theory that would cover up a good few plot holes in S5 of Miraculous:

I've seen a lot of people saying that it doesn't make sense that Nathalie has never made any effort to stop Gabriel before, and has in fact been a willing participant in many of his plans, if she promised Emilie that she'd stop him. But she wasn't always involved.

It's established that Emilie disappeared a while prior to "Origins" meaning that Gabriel clearly hadn't gone straight to the butterfly Miraculous as his immediate solution. However, notably, that day is Adrien's first day of school - he runs away and Nathalie is busy trying to track him down. My theory is that she'd been keeping an eye on Gabriel - making sure he couldn't use the Miraculous - and that day, because she was distracted with trying to find Adrien, Gabriel saw his chance and ran with it. Edit: this also explains why she forgot to get Adrien a birthday present, because generally she's very organised - we can safely assume that she was busy trying to keep on top of all the akumatisations and it slipped her mind.

Obviously Nathalie would then know that Gabriel was Hawkmoth - but she never turns him in. Why? The simple answer is "oh she was in love with him" but a) it's always felt a little bit on the Stockholm-syndrome side to me and b) I'm not buying that so early in the series - I'm fairly sure she isn't interested in him for quite a while, until around mid-S2. So why is it? There's actually a very easy answer here - Gabriel's her friend. Putting aside the fact that she's entirely dependent on the Agreste family (which I partially explained in another theory here) - she never goes home or seems to have any other family, and from the photos we see in Revelation, plus things she says in Passion and various other episodes, she, Gabriel and Emilie were very good friends. In S1 I don't think we ever see her do anything obvious, but at certain points of S2 she looks exhausted after talking to Gabriel about the Miraculous, implying that she's partially against him on this - notably at the end of Queen Wasp, where she confronts him - "I thought you'd given up".

So by the end of S2 she's angry, but not just with Gabriel - from Nathalie's point of view, Gabriel is still her friend and possibly the closest thing she has to family, and Ladybug and Cat Noir are prolonging his madness - in S2, she and Adrien, as well as Gabriel in some cases, are frequently targeted by akumas. Therefore, she starts to help him - leading to the line in Catalyst "They've been keeping you from achieving your dream for way too long. I will go to any length to end the reign of Ladybug and Cat Noir". Add to that the name of her akumatized form, Catalyst, meaning something that speeds up a reaction - she's not exactly aiding him, she just wants it over as quickly as possible. By the end of the episode, of course, she's become Mayura - as a desperate last resort, because no matter how obstinate he's being, Gabriel is still her friend and she doesn't want him to get into trouble, for both his and Adrien's sakes.

As of season 3, she becomes Mayura more and more often, even though it's hurting her, because she wants to help him - this is where she falls in love with him (*indistinct growling that sounds a lot like "utter bullshit"*) and wants to help him because of that - also, as Mayura she looks very different to her civilian form. This is where things get interesting and I'll do a separate post on it at some point, but Nathalie's design is very similar to her civilian form as Catalyst - where ultimately she had some degree of control over her appearance - but as Mayura, it's very different. This is possibly because it's a more subconscious matter - Plagg tells this to Adrien at some point - and we could potentially see this as a very similar matter between Adrien and Nathalie, that using the Miraculous gives them not only superpowers but the ability to be who they really want to be, deep down. Of course, as Nathalie was weakened by the curse, using the Miraculous probably also became an incentive due to the fact that it will have given her back some strength and some sort of control over her life again - this sort of addiction that is now being alluded to with Gabriel, particularly in Evolution.

Then, after the finale, everything changes, and in S4, while she's still actively aiding Gabriel, she can't directly assist him anymore as Mayura. Perhaps she was keeping him in check a little before, or perhaps it's simply both of their characters changing, but throughout series 4 Nathalie appears to become more and more uncomfortable with Gabriel's actions, finally coming up with a solution in Evolution which would put everything to "rights" without hurting anyone - we can assume that she's had these plans for quite a while and has been waiting until they could get ahold of the Rabbit Miraculous. We could even perceive this as a test - she's trying to see whether he really does still care about Emilie (and, by extension, her) or whether he's just after Ladybug and Cat Noir now (as her plan did not involve either of them). When he fails, she cuts him off. She still can't turn him in, because that would implicate her (and undoubtedly Gabriel would immediately turn her in). But she does keep on working against him - in Passion, where she tries to take the Miraculous so she can grant her own wish, for example. Again, Passion is interesting because Safari's design is nothing like Nathalie's usual attire - bright, bold colours and dramatic clothes, like Mayura, implying that Nathalie is in control this time - she holds the cards here, and Gabriel has no choice but to let her try and carry out her plan, which very nearly works. Also, it implies that she's dropped all pretence and is refusing to conform to the "assistant" role anymore. In this episode the videos are revealed - videos that clearly hold a lot of sentimental value for Nathalie, as do the photos - did she perhaps take them without anyone knowing? The photos are burned at the edges, implying that somebody (probably Gabriel) tried to do away with them - but Nathalie, who thus far has been one of the least sentimental characters in the show, held onto them, and kept them safely locked away where no one would find them. The same with the videos - Gabriel says that the videos were destroyed, but we know they weren't.

I've gone way off track with this, but in my defense a) Nathalie is an absolutely fascinating character and b) I'm a media student. But you see my point - those videos didn't come out of nowhere, and neither did Nathalie's villain arc - they all built up very slowly and gradually over time.

#miraculous ladybug #nathalie sancoeur #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #mlb s5 spoilers #mlb #miraculous season 5 #miraculous theory

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gumclones · 7 months

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I know I've already made an ask about Chicle before, but I'd really like to know your thoughts on his relationship with Pb. Mainly because I saw one of your previous posts about how Gumbald wouldn't let a dum-dumified Chicle anywhere near the battlefield during the gumwar, which made me think about how Bonnie had made Chicle fight for the candy kingdom as Crunchy in the episode "Something Big".

first: thank you for the ask! I made this sideblog because I wanted to discuss Adventure Time, so asks like this are feeding the AT-loving gremlin in my brain.

my full response will go under a cut because, as always, I love to talk at length.

so I'd say there are two parts to this: one about Crunchy in Something Big and one about his relationship with Bonnie as a whole! I'll talk about Something Big first.

I think there are a few key differences between the battle vs Darren and the Gum War that explain what happened in the former better than Bonnie's relationship with Chicle on its own. for starters, the Gum War was a planned offense, but Darren and Maja launched a surprise attack on the candy kingdom. it's possible that Crunchy wasn't conscripted so much as already present in the castle, which we know from You Made Me he lives in. it's not like there'd be any place to send him that would be both accessible and safe! on top of that, he's an archer rather than a ground soldier.

another difference is that at the time of Something Big, Crunchy's been around for around eight hundred years already, while Come Along With Me seems to have happened essentially the day after Gumbaldia. it's not clear how many memories Crunchy retains, but as of the end of Gumbaldia he seems extremely disoriented. before the events of Skyhooks II, Crunchy is comparatively much more put together – he probably wasn't actively volunteering to fight or anything, given his not-so-secret goal to never die, but it'd still seem like much less of a disaster to give "normal candy citizen" Crunchy a bow than "hey what's a plan" Crunchy.

the last thing that stands out to me is that Bonnie has more resources than Gumbald! he may have a base of operations, a city-state under construction, and a secret lab, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have the means or the know-how to put people back together. (he might be able to do it for his cake people, but Crunchy is literally built different, much closer to Gumbald personally, and already the victim of a mistake Gumbald likely blames himself for.)

on to the meat of the question: Bonnie's relationship with Chicle!

I think that Bonnie's relationships with Lolly and Chicle are somewhat colored by Gumbald being… kind of obviously the favorite. I don't think that she necessarily intended this, and I don't think she ever particularly mistreated the other two! (at least, on top of the way that she mishandled things with everyone out of inexperience.) but he's special to her – the "world's greatest uncle" mug was what inspired her to create the three of them in the first place, she didn't have handy presents ready for Lolly or Chicle, and Gumbald is the one she frequently talks about in the present. I think that the three clones were all aware of this on some level, if not necessarily consciously - it's why Gumbald styles himself the leader, I think, and why Lolly and Chicle don't seem to attempt to relate to Bonnie individually outside of the rough "unit" of Gumbald/Lolly/Chicle.

another thing about Bonnie's relationship to her family is that she seems to have started out with at least a loose idea of what role each member would play and baked that into them from the start. I don't think she had very fine control over their personalities, but none of them seems like a fully blank slate when they're awakened, which leads me to believe that they were shaped by her attitudes and feelings about them.

we can see all three of them step into these roles when first awakened by Bonnie! Lolly adopts a maternal persona, Gumbald quite readily accepts his role as "great uncle" (the mug proclaims it so!), and the first thing Chicle does is crack a joke. I think that Bonnie wanted him to be the fun one – not quite a peer, he's still a protector, but closer to her level than Gumbald and Lolly. and this is reflected in how everyone seems to default to seeing him as "the funny one," to the extent that he even lampshades this role in Gumbaldia.

because Chicle and Lolly play more minor roles in Bonnibel Bubblegum, it's a little harder to suss out how they view Bonnie – between the mime comment and the way he buckles her into the car, Chicle implies that he doesn't take her very seriously, but more than that it's not super clear (does he resent her in a fashion similar to Gumbald? does he prefer to ignore her? there's lots of possibilities)!

however Bonnie viewed Chicle at first, her perception of him took a definite turn when he was dosed with the dum-dum solution. I have a lot of headcanons for what Bonnie's life was like between the flashbacks in Bonnibel Bubblegum and The Vault – mostly that Crunchy, Punch Bowl, and Manfried were all very prone to wandering off, ignoring danger, and getting easily bored in a way that forced Bonnie to adopt the kindergarten teacher persona we see in the present day.

she seems to want to keep a close eye on Crunchy in the present day, seen by how he lives in the castle and is the first test subject for her aura visualizer and by the missing poster on Tree Trunks' house in Always BMO Closing. she's also quite fond of him, though – she uses him as her example of how candy people need to be babied and snuggled and both times he seizes power (onscreen, at least) she seems very… chill. she doesn't punish him or even seem particularly mad – at the end of The Dark Cloud she's very casual when she talks about usurping him (contrasted with the scathing glare she gives the King of Ooo in May I Come In?) and at the end of The Pajama War she doesn't even acknowledge that he's seized power or was about to execute Starchy.

on his end of things he seems to enjoy being babied a little, given that he plays along and laughs when she's showing Lemongrab how to interact with candy people and happily cuddles her. (contrast his irritation when Starchy calls him "the new Cinnamon Bun"!) he also seems to be subconsciously aware of his connection to her – when he overthrows the King of Ooo he describes himself as "a true princess, wrought of iron." I think he's definitely aware that he, Manfried, Punch Bowl, and Mr Creampuff are much older than all the other candy people, but I'm not sure how much of a difference he perceives between himself and them on a conscious level.

(I do headcanon that, similar to Jake and Jermaine, he's got a low-level psychic link to Bubblegum, Punch Bowl, Manfried, and possibly Neddy. my main evidence for this is that in The Pajama War when asked to relay what he hears in the closet he describes the VR environment Finn and Bonnie were walking in pretty much exactly. I think that he probably shares dreams with her without either of them realizing what's going on.)

unfortunately, there's not a lot of material to go off of for how they see each other after Skyhooks II! Chicle seems to have mainly thrown himself into reconnaissance and sabotage work, and Bonnie, while she does take him seriously as a threat at the end of Marcy and Hunson, doesn't seem to spare him much thought otherwise or notice his absence on the battlefield. I think this can be straightforwardly attributed to the writers not having been given enough time to fully wrap up the show, though.

I have a lot of self-indulgent headcanons about what direction their relationship might have gone in if the Gum War (including the events of Gumbaldia) had been averted! maybe one of these days I'll write up a summary post about it.

#404 shity name not found #Adventure Time #Chicle #Princess Bubblegum #Gumbald #Lolly #gum family #ask #text #gen

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tirorah · 3 days

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PGSM (2003) Is a Story About Human Beings, and I LOVE It

Years ago, I attempted to watch the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon show, or PGSM for short. And I quit because it looked so silly I couldn't maintain my sense of disbelief.

I've learnt not to judge a show by its looks since then. So, when I stumbled across a 20-second PGSM clip two weeks ago, I thought, "Shouldn't I give that another chance?" I'd heard a few interesting things about it, so I decided the answer was yes.

It took me a little while to adjust, sure. Some things still looked ridiculous to me. And yet, with every episode I became more and more emotionally invested. I started to see PGSM for what it truly was: an intricate tapestry of character-driven storytelling.

If you've read my other posts, you know I love characters more than anything. What I also love is an emphasis on narrative consequence and a willingness to explore new and/or interesting ideas, particularly when it's a new entry in an already-established franchise. And it just so happens that PGSM ticks all of these boxes!

In short, this show was made for me.

I'm not going to write about all of the clever things this show does because that would take far too many words. Here's my quick two cents: I think PGSM is excellent. It has flaws, and I think it only appeals to a certain type of viewer. But if you are that type of viewer, like I am, you're likely to be swept off your feet!

So yeah, I never thought I'd say this, but I love this show. It's by far the most fun I've ever had with Sailor Moon. And as is standard by now, I'm going to tell you why I feel that way under the cut.

First, I'll go over how PGSM manages to work at all. Then, I'll outline the theme; the central questions at the heart of the story. Finally, I'm going to illustrate just how well this show pulls off its primary goals---by examining the character arc of a certain old favourite of mine.

[FULL spoiler warning!]

[Word count: ~6,000]

New Kid on The Block

Ever since its inception, Sailor Moon has been an enduring presence in Japanese media and merchandising. Its presence has waxed and waned over the past decades, but it has nevertheless managed to remain incredibly successful. The original 90s manga spawned a concurrently running anime series, musicals, the Crystal anime series in the 2010s, and much more.

The fun effect of all these different versions is that each is its own thing. Even Crystal, which adheres much more closely to the manga than the 90s anime, is still different; a story can't be told the same way in every medium. This is why adaptations are difficult to do and are likely to piss off someone, regardless of intent or execution.

Smack-dab between the original and recent versions, a bold little beast emerged.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon aired from October 2003 to September 2004. Unlike the versions before and since, it's a live-action tokusatsu superhero TV series, like Super Sentai--a show the manga also drew inspiration from. This again marks a significant change when it comes to storytelling possibilities.

PGSM faces several challenges on top of that. It only exists because the musicals were so successful, yet it has a shoestring-looking budget that makes some aspects of the show look underwhelming. The lead actors were young and inexperienced, so it can take a bit for everything to click performance-wise. Lastly, the characters tend to have their faces in full view during action scenes, rendering the use of stunt doubles difficult and therefore limiting choreographic possibilities.

And yet, under the stewardship of writer Kobayashi Yasuko and a ton of passionate and experienced staff, this show found a way to stand shoulder to shoulder with beloved works of the franchise.

Let's examine how.

Limitations, Genre and Theme

If I'd given you a rundown of the obstacles PGSM faced without my glowing praise attached, you'd probably think this show was sent out to die. Maybe it was, I don't know. Perhaps someone at Toei thought it would hoover up some merchandise sales before it fell off a cliff to its pyrotechnic death!

The amazing thing about PGSM is that it takes these challenges and turns them into its greatest strengths. This is a show that understands the constraints it has to operate within. It can't compete on action and special effects, so it hones in on something it can execute well and bring a unique twist to: characters and story.

Its best claim to fame, at least in the little discussion I saw of it, is how it reworks its characters to serve a brand-new spin on a familiar narrative. But I believe this description to be...insufficient. The changes made here go beyond adjusting and emphasising personality traits. This is a paradigm shift; a top-to-bottom overhaul and a tribute to Sailor Moon all at once.

While there's still an overarching story that involves protecting the world from evil and salvaging a doomed romance from a previous life, the real meat of PGSM lies in the rich inner lives of its cast. This shifts the genre to character-driven drama with a dash of soap opera.

As a result, those aforementioned inner lives are established, built upon, and allowed to emerge and clash naturally. All the while, the characters contend with a turbulent new reality which further affects their interpersonal relationships. That in turn shifts the theme to something much more personal: past life versus current life.

What does it mean for your identity to be reborn with memories from a past life? What do you do when that past life has a stranglehold on your current one? Are you doomed to repeat the mistakes of ages past?

And what effect do these challenges have on a person's psyche?

PGSM spends its 49-episode runtime exploring these questions to the fullest. I consider it a true ensemble work, as every major character is relevant to the story and drives it forward at some point. And because each of them is unique, we're shown a full spectrum of viewpoints that are informed by personality traits and emotional baggage.

So, yeah, it's really good. Really damn good.

In fact, to demonstrate just how in-depth and detailed the characterisation is, I'm going to spend the rest of this post analysing my favourite example of a PGSM character arc: the understated and expertly-paced struggles of one Kino Makoto.

Wood and Thunder

A core part of Makoto in every version is her dual nature--possessing both traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics--and how this clashes with societal expectations. With her curly hair and long skirt, she comes across like a typical sukeban (a delinquent girl) of the time. Her imposing height, incredible strength and fighting skills confirm that image.

In truth, the sukeban resemblance is exactly that and nothing more; her hair is naturally curly and her new school doesn't have a uniform in her size. She only uses her strength to protect others. Notably, she has a romantic heart and yearns for a place to belong, perhaps even a person she can belong with.

Absolutely none of that matters to society. Through no fault of her own, people only see one side to her and assume the other doesn't exist. Prejudice and ostracisation follow.

You might think this would cause Makoto to be ashamed of her more masculine traits, but that's not the case. She might feel embarrassed by them at times, or attempt to play up her feminine side to compensate, sure. But in the end, she embraces all of these characteristics and doesn't think it's wrong to be this way. People just refuse to see the feminine side that's openly on display.

So, here we have a character with a compelling set of characteristics that can be utilised in different ways. The approach taken is something that differs per version. But like all things Sailor Moon, Makoto is a product of her time; the sukeban aspect is particularly dated.

As an early 2000s show, PGSM had a chance at a fresh start with this concept. Suffice it to say I was very interested to see how it would update Makoto to a new millennium and modify her without erasing her core traits. What I got was far more than I bargained for.

Makoto's PGSM debut gives us an effective overview of her as a person that hits many familiar beats. She protects Usagi, returns Usagi's friendliness with her own, develops a crush on a guy, and kicks ass both in and out of Senshi guise. She had her heart broken by her senpai at her previous school, but she also felt like something was urging her to come here. Now she knows why: she had comrades to meet.

This looks like a mix of Makoto's introduction in the manga and 90s anime, adapted to modern times. But all that familiarity is distracting you from something. There's actually a big deviation here, and you can see that before she even does anything.

Take a good look at this picture. Obviously the sukeban influence was removed from her design, but that's not the most important detail here. Hopefully you'll notice what I didn't:

There are no rose earrings.

Everything spirals out from there. The Makoto from the 90s was open about her femininity, but the Makoto we meet in PGSM barely shows her feminine side at all. In fact, she takes great pains to hide it.

This affects her character on a fundamental level. When she first appears, she comes across as unusually withdrawn and stoic. As is typical of the character, she swiftly opens up to Usagi and that seems to be the end of aloof Makoto. But that feminine side doesn't surface. She still dresses in unisex clothes that lean more toward masculine than feminine.

Likewise, her flat may have a few plants and a neat kitchen, but they don't take centre stage. There's a skateboard and a hat collection (my beloved!) that are displayed at the entrance. A logical location, but that also means it's the first thing you see when you enter.

So, what gives? Here's the thing: the characters in PGSM are emotionally complex. Much work and care went into characterising all of them. Because of this, the characters feel like real people. They argue, make mistakes, agonise over things... Not to say this isn't the case in other versions, but PGSM takes it further and really emphasises how vulnerable--how tragically human--these characters can be.

That's what is being tied into here. Being mistaken for a tomboy, despite being openly feminine, is an external issue. But for PGSM's Makoto, the conflict is internal. She doesn't want to be seen as feminine. When exposed or questioned, she denies it despite being a terrible liar. If the questioning continues, she actually uses her tomboy image to refute it.

She does this because her feminine side makes her vulnerable. This Makoto has been burned so many times that she's developed abandonment issues. She's one bad experience away from yet another cocktail of intense sadness and deep-seated anger. Sometimes a mere reminder is enough to get her down, too.

No one wants to feel like that. She's learnt the hard way that opening herself up to others puts her at risk. That's why she prefers to play these darker feelings close to her chest.

To demonstrate all of this, her debut episode shows us exactly how bad it can get. It puts her through an especially cruel combination of deception, humiliation and rejection, no punches pulled.

It's at this moment that Makoto has had enough. Taking this risk was a mistake and it should never be repeated. She slams the gate to her wounded heart shut and locks it tight. The walls of her inner fortress become that much higher.

Learning to lower those walls and make another try for happiness is Makoto's character arc in PGSM.

This is why she was shifted so much toward the tomboy archetype. By giving Makoto an emotional incentive to deny a part of herself, PGSM gives her a believable, deeply personal obstacle that can take her the entire show to overcome. She now has to engage with her abandonment issues in order to become the more balanced person we know she can be.

Her powers as Sailor Jupiter also connect to this: there's the explosive power of lightning on one end and the soothing aura of nature on the other. Two distinct halves that each bring their own benefits. But Makoto's starting point is pure lightning.

Multiple times throughout the show, we're shown that nature is trying to communicate with her. But because she starts out as a lightning bolt, she doesn't understand it at all. This is another avenue for self-improvement, and PGSM understands that too; it explicitly ties the awakening of a Senshi's full powers to overcoming a core character flaw.

So, given all of that, how does PGSM build on the devastation she suffered during her debut episode and the emotional consequences left in its wake?

I'm happy to report it does nothing for 24 episodes. Yes, really.

For half of the runtime, Makoto acts as the support of the group; often present, but never centre stage. Sure, she develops a dynamic with each of her new friends, and she even begins to show some of her feminine aspects as that trust grows. The more she does this, the more her affinity with nature subtly increases; she begins to use non-lightning attacks and comes ever so slightly closer to understanding what the wind and trees attempt to tell her.

But when it comes to the story, Makoto doesn't drive most of the events that occur at this point. She becomes involved, or agrees to go along with something, but rare is the instance where something happens directly because of her actions. She contributes, but she's never in the driver's seat. She's the one who helps others become better versions of themselves.

She develops, but she doesn't grow.

This delay is 100% intentional. A Makoto who's only giving, only protecting, is completely fine. There are no lingering issues she needs to deal with because they've been swept under the rug, tucked away behind the walls of her fortress. For all she reveals of herself during this time, her abandonment issues might as well not exist.

This is PGSM's devotion to character-driven storytelling and narrative consequence on full display. As Makoto ignores her emotional baggage, PGSM is likewise content to misdirect you away from it.

Cycle of Fear

It's not until episode 31 that Motoki--the most endearing turtle nerd to have ever lived--unwittingly pokes at Makoto's defences. Up until that moment, she'd first considered him an acquaintance and later a supportive friend. In other words: a safe coexistence.

The moment she realises he has a crush on her, that safety disappears and all her thoroughly-buried insecurities rush to the forefront. Her old stoicism slams into place as the mask we now know it to be and she does her best to avoid eye contact. As brash as she usually is, she now struggles with all her might to seem detached and logical. She has to; the alternative is revealing how anxious this situation makes her. Although Usagi, Ami and Rei have earned her trust, showing that most vulnerable side of herself is still a bridge too far.

She drags herself to the date (probably because Usagi wouldn't let her worm her way out of it) and spends the entire time being awkward in spite of Motoki's oblivious excitement. It's clear that her heart isn't in it, but in typical Makoto fashion, she places the needs of the kind, sensitive Motoki above her own and does her best to let the date die a natural death.

Then, a sudden connection!

Makoto is stunned at first. No one has ever said that to her. As Motoki continues to extol her virtues--half of which are about how incredibly nice she is--she lights up! Aww!

...Only for her insecurities to take over again after an offhand mention of parents by Motoki, because PGSM is a story about fallible human beings. She immediately attempts to leave and is only stopped by a nosey Luna. It's impossible for Motoki not to notice something's off at this point. Keen for clarity, he decides to confess his feelings when they're not surrounded by other people. Makoto rejects him--by denying her femininity.

This is a direct result of Makoto's actions in the first half of the show. When she started to open up to her friends, she could've taken it further and started to navigate her issues. Her friends could've helped her. Instead, she chose to pretend that there was nothing to fix.

Now here she is. Avoidance--her first line of defence--has failed. Her second wall, rationalisation, has also been bypassed. Emotionally cornered, she falls back on the same defence mechanism she used at the start: denial wrapped up in irrational beliefs and low self-esteem.

"I'm really strong and get into fights. People are scared of me. That means I'm actually not feminine at all and what you saw was an anomaly. And because I'm not feminine, I'm not dating material."

By maintaining her tomboy image and denying her feminine attributes, this reasoning allows her to pre-emptively sabotage any blossoming relationship for herself. While this might bring relief in the short term, it's also the very thing that keeps her from happiness. Makoto is the Senshi of courage, but here she demonstrates how afraid she truly is.

Motoki seems to recognise this on some level. To him, Makoto is a strong, confident person. But she's also reserved in a way, and now that the emotional mess underneath is being dragged into the light, it's clear she's like that for a reason. He sees her for who she truly is and he likes what he sees, but she's not in a good enough place, mentally, to see that too. So he does the only thing he can do: he gives her space. He reassures her that she is feminine and then leaves her be.

"Why?"

This is the question that has plagued her for years. Uttered by a young Makoto and echoed by her present self, this representation of her thoughts comes up whenever loss or rejection hits. What matters here is the context: for once, it's Makoto who did the rejecting. She's in control.

So then, why does this still happen?

This is one of the uncommon moments where PGSM engages in subtlety. We don't get a definitive answer here. Makoto asks, "Why?" but we don't know what that refers to in this moment. We have to infer that ourselves.

My reading is as follows: "I rejected him before he could reject me. I removed him from my life before I could lose him. So why does it hurt? Why do I feel sad?"

During the subsequent fight against a powerful Youma, the other Senshi are held up and she ends up cornered and alone. It's an all too familiar scenario. She flashes back to all of the people she's lost.

Motoki shows up too, but he's almost impossible to make out.

At that very moment, the wind picks up around her. She lets out a breath in awe, gazing up at the swaying branches as the wind seems to communicate something. And then she awakens. Although she still summons a lightning attack, it's now taken on a green colour, signifying a new equilibrium.

When the others ask her what triggered it, Makoto naturally tells them the lesson of this episode: that she had to acknowledge her feminine side and truly open herself up to being loved--

--Wha...?

Yeah, you're seeing that right. Makoto just learnt the wrong lesson.

Needless to say, I was flabbergasted by this outcome. Deep down, as much as she wants to refute it, Makoto needs companionship, people to belong with. It's a core aspect of her character! It makes no sense for her to gain power from solitude.

However... If you think about it, why wouldn't this be her takeaway? She was alone and she made sure to sabotage her relationship with Motoki before it could go anywhere, so this is the only logical explanation, right? Her powers awakened, so the narrative is proving her correct as well.

Except no, the narrative is simply adhering to the consequences of her actions. By coming to the wrong conclusion, Makoto has once again delayed her growth.

For the next 13 (!) episodes, Makoto seems to be okay again. She easily slips back into her role of casual, friendly and supportive friend. But something's changed: Usagi, Ami and Rei have glimpsed Makoto's scars, and they're not content to let her ignore them.

They attempt to challenge her new outlook, but Makoto's resolve is ironclad. Even when she's forced to reveal her secret identity to Motoki, she still reiterates her rejection of him. What's worse, she now she has an extra defence: her duties as a Senshi. Although Motoki still carries a torch for her, he resigns himself to supporting her as best he can.

Still, despite her determination in this matter, Makoto herself has changed as well. There's conflict and pain present whenever she's forced to acknowledge her decisions. And ever since the start of episode 31, she can't help but look sombre whenever something reminds her of her parents. Somehow, despite her best efforts to repair the holes in her walls, some cracks have remained.

All of this comes to a head when Makoto's character arc collides with Minako's.

Diminishing The Self

Ever since the girls found out they were reborn after their past lives ended in disaster, they've been grappling with PGSM's theme more and more. With their past swiftly squeezing the life out of their present, each of them is forced to form an opinion: How much do their past lives affect their present lives? How much should it affect them in the first place? And what do you do?

Here's our spectrum: On one extreme we have Rei, who's become resentful of her past life and rejects it completely. She asserts that she is her own person and that her past life shouldn't dictate who she is and how she acts now. Makoto's stance is adding fuel to that fire. When Minako counters her coup with one of her own, Rei is kicked out and decides to fight on separately.

At the other extreme stands Minako. Diagnosed with a terminal illness that she has almost no hope of curing, she's completely rejected her present life and is devoted to completing the mission from her past life. She won't be around for much longer and she's determined to save the world as much as possible before she dies. She asserts authority over the Senshi for the sake of the mission.

Usagi and Ami fall between these two polar opposites. Usagi is the reincarnation of the Moon Princess and is literally anchored to the past life through her Silver Crystal. She can't deny that her current existence has been heavily shaped by the past. But she's also determined to prevent a repeat of the past, even if it's the hardest thing she's ever done. She works hard at controlling her emotions and is convinced she and Mamoru will succeed.

Ami's current circumstances don't seem to be shaped as much by her past life, so she's the most neutral out of all of them. But as someone who was turned to evil and emerged a changed person, it's hard to deny: Their lives have been affected by the past and it's necessary to acknowledge that. What to do with that information is something she doesn't have the answer to. She fights alongside Minako and Makoto, but stays in touch with Rei.

Makoto has been firmly in the 'this mission is paramount' camp from the start, but not to the extreme that Minako is. You see, Minako almost always chooses to refer to them by their Senshi monikers. Makoto doesn't; she and her three friends always refer to each other by their present life names, even during battle. This is a conscious change that establishes their current identities as distinct from their past selves.

But remember, Makoto came here because she was meant to. She was meant to meet her comrades. She was destined to be alone, so she could listen to nature and let it lead her to her true purpose in life.

So when Minako tells her she's so devoted to the mission that she will cast aside her life to complete it, Makoto can't help but be stirred. Finally, with Minako's help, she realises that the truth is even simpler than she thought: She's always been alone because her current life isn't what truly matters. She exists to carry out her duties, regardless of the personal cost.

This is the final piece of the puzzle for both her and us. Her shift to a tomboy archetype, her character arc and the theme of the show all combine here.

For years, Makoto has been haunted by something: "Why?" Why was she left to suffer all alone? Why was she abandoned over and over?

Then this Senshi business comes along, and with it comes a duty and moniker from a past life. For Usagi, this upheaval of her identity is upsetting. But for Makoto, it's a comfort. Being a Senshi gives her purpose, stability and even friends. For someone who's sorely lacked all of that for years, this development is nothing short of a godsend.

And so, from the very beginning, she took this newfound 'destiny' and ran with it. This was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she crafted her entire outlook around that. Heartbroken and expelled from school? That was just another way to get her to where she needed to be. Her powers awaken while she's dwelling on how she always ends up alone? Obviously that isolation was also intended.

From there, it's a hop, skip and a jump to what she's doing in this scene: discarding her current identity in favour of her past one. She perfectly expresses this by (in the next episode) copying Minako's statement: she might die, but "Jupiter won't disappear". Kino Makoto is a shell to house Sailor Jupiter, and shells are expendable.

This is Makoto at her most extreme. She's always downplayed her own importance and achievements, and now here she is, downplaying her very existence. No individual, only the greater good.

It doesn't even matter that Minako lied to them about her identity, illness and powers. Makoto understands by this point that a secret can be kept for good reasons; she's done it herself. If anything, Minako's deception and her ensuing burdens feed Makoto's view of her as a martyr and a leader.

By choosing to follow that example, Makoto joins Minako on the very extreme of the thematic (past life versus current life) spectrum. In turn, Minako gains the staunchest of allies--but she fails to realise how thoroughly Makoto has just been primed for the pinnacle of martyrdom.

A powerful Youma attacks. When Makoto, Ami and Luna wound it, Metalia possesses it, scaling its power beyond that of the Senshi to overcome. Minako can't transform. Ami and Luna have been knocked out of their Senshi forms and can't fight anymore.

Metalia is about to win. They're going to fail.

Makoto decides to fulfil her purpose. She grabs hold of the Youma and overloads herself with lightning, creating an explosion that annihilates them both.

Minako calls out to the person--not the Senshi--in front of her.

True Courage

Makoto wakes up in a hotel room, wounded but alive, watched over by Minako. The Youma threw her off at the last second, saving both of their lives. Makoto only laments her failure; she doesn't even seem to care that she almost died. In fact, she outright states that she was meant to be alone so that her possible death wouldn't make anyone sad.

Minako has been horrified by this entire ordeal and that feeling only grows with every sentence Makoto utters. When Makoto explains she was fulfilling her past life's mission, it hits Minako like a ton of bricks: this is her doing. By influencing Makoto in this direction, she almost had Makoto's blood on her hands.

She tries to sway Makoto from a repeat attempt, but is taken aback when Makoto unintentionally throws every single one of her own arguments back in her face. When she claims that her own situation is different, Makoto looks her squarely in the eyes and says, "A life's a life. They're all the same."

Minako doesn't deny it. She can't. How could anyone refuse such a simple, factual statement when it comes from someone as forthright as Makoto?

It proves impossible to change Makoto's mind, so she changes tactics. Rather than challenge Makoto's standpoint directly, she questions one of its cornerstones instead. She does so by revealing that Makoto had muttered Motoki's name in her sleep. Perhaps, she posits, Makoto is more tied to the present than she believes herself to be.

This succeeds in shaking Makoto's beliefs. Minako leaves her to her thoughts, victorious in a way, but her own conviction was caught in the crossfire. While Rei's insistence opened the way, she was also easy to dig in her heels against. Makoto, on the other hand, has fundamentally disproven Minako's views by agreeing with her. In that suicide attack, she saw first-hand the logical endpoint of her own ideology. She's more than a little disturbed.

It's the opening Artemis needs, even though he doesn't know it's there. When he subsequently shows her how much joy and comfort her songs bring to others, she finally realises what she's been missing in herself. Her current life does have value, her achievements do matter, and she shouldn't dismiss them so flippantly. She should love herself, love the person she is now.

In the following battle, she awakens her full powers and transforms. The Senshi are finally united for good.

Now that Minako has admitted to herself that she also resents the past life for what it's done to her, Makoto has become the new extreme on the thematic spectrum. However, Minako's revelation is forcing her to reconcile conflicting truths. She awakened because she was alone. But if Motoki's still on her mind like that, if he's still part of her life like that, then she's not alone. If she's not alone, then her reasoning is intrinsically flawed.

When she sees Motoki in a Youma-induced coma, the question of "Why?" returns for the final time. And then she sees him, clearly this time.

In that moment, she realises all of her beliefs were wrong. She didn't reject Motoki, she lost him through self-sabotage. Foiling a possible relationship didn't work; he'd cracked her armour before then. Their connection was gradually built up over the entire show and came cocooned in comfortable friendship, the only type of connection she did allow.

When that connection touched her heart and stirred something more, that was when she unlocked her full potential. He cares about her, the real her, not the skewed facade she puts on. She's not alone anymore. When she told herself that she was alone and always had been, and the wind rustled the leaves, that was nature calling her out on her self-deception.

But why did that self-deception even occur? She didn't need to draw this conclusion from the start, did she? Unfortunately, she did. That's the final, heartbreaking part: Being a Senshi was the ultimate coping mechanism.

There's a reason this shot is repeated multiple times:

Makoto was constantly looking back at the past, looking for answers. Because her abandonment issues went unresolved, that question of "Why?" was burning a hole in her. She was desperate for a reason, any reason, so she could understand. If her hardship and loneliness were predetermined and in service to this all-important duty, then being a Senshi justified her suffering. She craved that more than anything. No wonder she transformed without even questioning it.

And hey, if that duty meant she had to avoid the type of relationship that terrified her most of all, well... That was a happy coincidence, wasn't it?

Fortunately, for all the trouble her uncompromising, black-and-white outlook has brought her, that same determination also allows her to accept this new truth in an instant. She screwed up big-time, but as long as she lives and breathes, she can work to set things right.

She strokes Motoki's hand and runs off to join the fray--not to throw herself at the enemy through all her lifetimes, but to protect those who are dear to her now. After the fight, she looks at the turtle-shaped charm Motoki bought her and smiles, allowing herself to dream of the future for the first time.

Minako passes away the next episode, but she does so with no regrets. Although grief follows, that final unifying moment, jump-started by Makoto, was enough. Ami, Rei and Makoto head off to the finale together, as a true team, never losing sight of what's important to them.

PGSM is exceedingly compelling to me, and the structure of this character arc exemplifies why. Makoto learns the wrong lesson three times: when she first becomes Sailor Jupiter, when she awakens her full power, and when she embraces Minako's ideology to an unhealthy degree.

Not only does PGSM allow her to miss the mark so spectacularly, it also gives her the time to deny and then address her irrational beliefs in a plausible manner. Moreover, because she and Minako drive each other to unlearn their internalised misconceptions, Makoto gives both Minako and the story one of the last pushes they need.

The last we see of Makoto's new and improved self, in relation to romance, is her final encounter with Motoki in the show. She shows him she's attached his cute turtle charm to her wallet, out there for everyone to see. Motoki treats it with cautious optimism, then relief. It's a deliberate signal: Makoto is open to new possibilities now. Maybe they can try again. They laugh a little, sharing their first comfortable moment together in this context.

Sadly, likely due to a few cut episodes, this is the last we see of them. Makoto's character arc is definitely complete, but because the ending shows the Senshi alone before they meet up with Usagi again, her relationship status with Motoki is left ambiguous.

But not to worry! Due to the success of the show's DVD sales during its runtime, both a special prequel and sequel act were produced! The sequel act is a 1-hour movie that shows us where everyone ended up four years later.

In that time, Makoto has undergone a significant transformation. In the show, her dreams for the future were never even mentioned. But here, we find out she's studying floral design, something that she's obviously passionate about. Reaching for happiness indeed.

On the wardrobe side, she still owns unisex clothes (you see this when she charges off to the action portion of the movie), but otherwise her femininity is on full display. A blouse, an embroidered shirt, even a bright yellow skirt, it's all there. Not to mention the stunning dress she wears at Usagi's wedding. And to symbolise how full-circle we've come, she's even wearing earrings!

Her flat has likewise seen major changes. The skateboard and my beloved hats have been moved to make way for what appears to be storage (a fulfilling life can result in extra possessions!) and a picture of something nature-y on the wall. And the room is now filled with plants!

All of these differences stack up. The flat looks...filled, for lack of a better term. It started out rather sparse in her debut episode, but back then she'd just moved in and probably hadn't finished unpacking yet. However, even after she gained more possessions, there were parts that felt like they had just a little bit of empty space to them. Now the entire space is lavishly furnished!

Speaking of which, there's a large stuffed turtle on her sofa, indicating she and Motoki have pursued their relationship and now live together. This is later confirmed when she takes Motoki's car--which she had the keys for--to save Usagi and Mamoru.

At the very end of the epilogue, Motoki clumsily but earnestly asks Makoto for her hand in marriage. And Makoto, overwhelmed and overjoyed, accepts. She's the only version of the character to have achieved this.

It's immensely satisfying seeing a character brought so low, only for them to soar higher than ever before. This Makoto has undergone an immense personal journey. There's no telling what kinds of challenges she might need to overcome in the years to come, but she's already climbed this mountain. Perhaps there's nothing she can't do. And no matter what, she'll always have someone at her side. She'll never be alone again.

I love it. I love all of it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this is my favourite take on Makoto in the franchise. She's the best, and PGSM is the best for treating her with the nuance and maturity she deserves! Bravo!

---

That's the end of this post! It was meant to be way shorter, but I suppose that was an exercise in futility. If you made it all the way here, thank you very much!

I know I just said PGSM was the best. This is a subjective statement. PGSM is far and away my favourite incarnation of Sailor Moon, but I hold to what I said at the start: Every version is different, and I think that's great. We all enjoy media differently; the more people that can find a version of Sailor Moon befitting their preferences, the better.

It just so happens that PGSM was made for me! And hey, if you've never watched it before, or you dropped it like I first did, maybe it's worth another try. You never know, it might just be your thing too.

Like a certain person once sang:

~Just like predictable movies and books are boring When life is a little bit off, it might be more fun~

#pretty guardian sailor moon #pgsm #kino makoto #makoto kino

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shoes--off · 2 years

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Sudden Death

I didn't think I had quite so many thoughts about this episode, but I did, so my rambling is under the cut. :)

That starting Kacy scene was perfection. The dialogue, the acting. I think it's one of my favorite scenes this season. Yasmine and Tori have such a great handle on their characters, and seeing them play all of the little nuances is an absolute pleasure. They also play wonderfully off of each other. It seems a bit unfair to single this scene out when we've had so many great ones between them this season already; but I'm enchanted by it in a way I can't explain, and I really admire how skillfully it sets up that storyline for the rest of the episode.

There is something incredibly beautiful about Kate trying to find any reason that she can to help Lucy in her search for a new place. She seems to assume that if Lucy said nothing about it, it must be because she doesn't want to discuss it with Kate, and because she's made up her mind. I still think a part of her is disappointed or even hurt that Lucy didn't tell her anything. So her offering to help find a better place — because it's clear Lucy's not excited about the place she's found, and Kate Whistler is not about letting the woman she loves spend too much on a place she doesn't even like — is her putting her own desires aside, and that disappointment aside, and just trying to find something she can contribute. She just wants to make Lucy happy, and I think she's so confused by Lucy not saying anything until then that she fails to connect the dots. And the show's been clever at showing us that this is new for Kate, so for her to get it a little wrong while full of the best of intentions feels right. Tori's delivery of the 'It's fun' is possibly my fave of hers all episode (with a slight edge over a lot of other contenders).

The Lucy/Kai scene was very cute. Of course your FBI girlfriend wants to help you find a place, Lucy. Not sure if I agree with Lucy's assessment of Kate being 'cagey', especially given that Lucy is the one who said nothing about looking for a new place to live for 2 weeks. Projection? I don't think we're meant to think Lucy is wrong, and it may be me reading it wrong, but I thought Whistler looked unsure and hesitant rather than cagey. My theory is that the scenes likely weren't filmed in order, and maybe some of these scenes were revised or rewritten at the last minute, or maybe the direction changed.

One thing I'm sure of, though, is that episode really highlights how brave, even fearless, Lucy is in all areas of her life. Whether she's staring down at a big muscly dude twice her size, or expressing more personal needs, she's a total badass. This is one of the things I truly love about her. Whether she's setting her boundaries, trying to move on, or forging ahead with this very new relationship with Kate (in that it's nothing at all like the first time) and their new life together, I'll admit, I find her magnificent.

I am not going to expand much on this, since @performativezippers said it better than I would, but I recommend reading her post about how brave Lucy was in this episode.

I loved the scene with Lucy and Jane. I've been dying for more Lucy/Jane scenes. I do recognize that there's not always enough time for everything, though, but I'm so happy we got that scene.

Jane reminding Lucy to not jump to conclusions, to not judge books by their cover, is such a great reminder of what Lucy still needs to learn and work on. Her impatience at not getting enough from the discussion with the Koa brothers, when contrasted with Kate's own frustration at not getting enough information when she was cleaning in 2x03, is interesting. Clearly she's better at telling people to be patient than at following her own advice. I do like a woman with contradictions. 😆

When I heard Kate follow up 'who are we fooling' with 'it's the financially responsible thing to do!', I went 'OH NO' out loud. Oh, Kate. She looks so cute and so proud, too. I do not fault her, though it was clearly the wrong thing to say, because being romantic doesn't necessarily come naturally to all of us. And sometimes, yes, you will make decisions that are both born out of love and make financial sense. Also, and maybe that's the first time I notice this, but I got the sense that they were both maybe aware that discussing very personal and serious topics at work isn't the greatest idea? There's Lucy looking around self-consciously when Kate doesn't respond to 'I could just move in with you' fast enough and she almost takes it back; then Kate hurrying out of there after Jesse clues in that he's interrupting something personal. Yasmine's delivery of that 'the what now' is one of my favorites in the episode. Tori and her both look absurdly gorgeous in that scene.

Wait, actually, no, it's Yasmine's delivery of 'she said it was a rational decision from a financial perspective' in that scene with Jesse that is my favorite. *chef's kiss* Also remember Lucy's 'I know all the tricks. For taller opponents, armed opponents, multiple opponents...' in 2x03? It's in full display here as she takes down the big guy strangling Jesse. You can toss the girl, but she won't be down for long (and she'll make you regret it).

I am so, so curious about Lucy and the big gun and her proficiency with said gun.

'So... you're movin' in?' followed by 'You can't stop me' is officially my favorite dialogue ever. I was worried that this having to find a place plot would be the usual excuse to move in together, and it was, but the way they handled it felt true to the characters, and I loved it. This is a serious topic, but their choice to keep it mostly light really worked for me. I also enjoyed Lucy telling Kate to shut up again probably more than I should have. 😆 Do I love these two idiots? You know, I truly, truly do.

Finally: I really appreciated the peek into the samoan culture and heritage in Hawai'i this episode. And can we have more Hina, please? (I know I said I understand there isn't time for everything, but I too am a woman of contradictions, so MORE HINA, PLEASE AND THANK YOU).

#ncis: hawai'i #s02e05 #e: sudden death #lucy x kate #kacy #my thoughts

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jaimebluesq · 1 year

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The Trust - CDrama Recommendation!!!

This post will NOT contain spoilers for the show, just my enthusiasm and spoiler-free screencaps :D

All righty! So I discovered this show on Viki the other day and binged it all in a week (yeah, I might have also been trying to relax my brain from panicking about 2 RBB fics to finish). I've actually had a hard time finishing shows lately - many I look up because there are actors I like but they're in the background and the main protagonists don't interest me much (looking at ChongZi - I wonder if they would issue a "Wang ZhuoCheng" cut without the main couple?). So often I'll look at shows and just give ones a try that sound interesting even if I've heard nothing about them from the peeps I follow on Tumblr or Youtube, and sometimes I hit gold.

What it's about:

The bulk of the story is about a Chinese Emperor and his Empress who've been estranged, and something happens in the first episode that has them switch bodies - yep, an Imperial political/harem drama that does a bodyswap! - and the consequences of this. It's mostly a rom-com type, lots of humour and the occasional silliness with some really good poignant moments, but the main 2 actors are also really good and have great chemistry! Not only do they have to act as their original characters but as each other as well. And there's a neat little thing the show did, that the Imperial storyline is actually fiction, part of a project written by a modern day couple in the middle of a divorce, so often the emotions and such of the Emperor and Empress mirrors that in the modern day couple. I just find it's a neat storytelling device!

As I mentioned, there's also imperial politics (the empress now has to deal with court and courtiers) and harem drama (the emperor now finds out what it's like to be one of his concubines and how they really act when he's not around) and I can't speak to any historical accuracy because it's not my background, but I found it to be very fun to watch.

Why I think my mutuals will like it:

Bodyswap shenanigans!

Good acting

Genuinely funny and made me smile.

... The Untamed/CQL actors!!!!! (Found accidentally, always fun when that happens!)

Aside from the main villain, I came to enjoy all of the characters, even the harem concubines that seemed to be villains in the beginning.

SHIPPABLE AS ALL HELL!!!!

Now let me introduce you to some of my favourite characters and ships because I am SO tempted to write for some of them. -- All images screencapped by me while watching on my PC

Let's start with Emperor Xiao Jinyun and his Empress Xu Yu: they're adorable and sweet together, have very different personalities and aptitudes, and really learned what it's like in the others' shoes. Not tempted to write for them, but I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Next, THIS PAIR who may very well live rent-free in my brain for a long while to come:

Recognize the guy on the left? It's our beloved Ouyang Zizhen channelling NHS as the Emperor's useless fan-carrying younger brother! And next to him is the court astrloger/diviner who carries the brain cell between the 2. I lived for every second these two were on screen together. Like this:

And this:

And THIS:

Yeah, I'm dead!!!

But they're not the only ones to pique my interest - nor the only ones with a familiar face! Because there is also these two:

To the left is the Empress' brother, and to the right... Wen Zhuliu! But no core-melting this time, he actually plays a doctor! And these two are quite sweet as well, like here:

And here:

But you know what? Why let the boys have all the fun? Because we also get these two schemers:

Vying for the Emperor's attention at first, but when his attention is elsewhere, well, girls gotta stick together, right?

And last but not least, these two - one of whom we've already met:

I am just SO FUCKING ENAMOURED with them! My bisexual heart is a-fluttering. I won't say anything about the lady on the right because it might be too spoilery, but I was very, very, very pleased with how they handled her storyline (again, I'm white/Canadian so take that with a grain of salt).

If you'd like to give it a try, it can be found on Viki, and I just found it on Youtube with English Subs

So that's my little spoiler-free recommendation! Have I tempted you yet?

#the trust #cdrama recommendation #the untamed cast #possibly a new fandom?#nothing on AO3 at the moment #maybe that will change?#maybe I'll change it?

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flightfoot · 1 year

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I've seen many post critiquing adrien decision to renounce the miraculous in kuro neko and even some salt of it but I haven't seen any post that talk into great leght about how renouncing his miraculous is the healthiest decision he made in s4. Getting away from unhealthy environment is hard especially if your mind telling you that this is the safest and comfiest place possible and in s4 his dynamic with ladybug is hardly healthy considering she's constantly lie, tried to manipulate him and pushing him away all the way telling him he's her favorite partner in s4.

Don't get me wrong I understand her reasoning and I also know she care for him and she's a good kid but also it's a fact that her action in s4 is damaging and create an unhealthy dynamic for ladynoir and for adrien to decided that he has enough means he's in healthy mindset and worth a huge praise but I haven't see people talk about it in detail. If you happen to know a post that talk about it would you please share the link if you don't mind?

Kuro Neko is... complicated. I don't think either Adrien or Marinette made the best decisions, or the worst decisions in that episode. Both were kind of questionable, but mostly stemming off of neither of them being in the best mental place, and trying to muddle along despite that.

I do like that with Adrien feeling hurt in Kuro Neko, and believing that Ladybug didn't need him so it wouldn't make much of a difference in the fight against Shadow Moth, that he was willing to renounce his Miraculous because he thought that not being around Ladybug would stop him from feeling as hurt. I do think that part of the core of that decision - that him leaving a situation that he thought was unhealthy for him - is going to be an important sort of philosophy later, when it comes to getting away from Gabriel.

That being said, some details about his decision to renounce the Miraculous were decidedly less healthy. It was stemming off the idea that Ladybug was rejecting not only his love (even if Plagg viewed it that way) but his friendship, and their partnership as a whole. Between Adrien's experience with relationships being transactional, what with his abusive father, and Marinette tending to give up and accept other people's assessments of relationships being broken and not being reparable, the two of them run into a communication issue, since both of them think their relationship is in a far worse state than it actually is. Adrien's mostly depressed because he thinks Ladybug doesn't need him, and if she doesn't need him and isn't explicitly showing that she wants him, if there's some indication that she's only putting up with him being around out of a sense of duty or something... it's easy for him to latch onto that and go into depression. He's used to only receiving love and care when he's "earned" it, so the idea that he might not be crucial for the fight against Shadow Moth, but Ladybug might still want him around regardless, even if she's not always great about showing it... that's hard for him to truly believe.

Adrien going along with Plagg's plan to still be the Black Cat Holder shows more of the same mindset. While there is some deception involved, I don't think him being Cat Walker was manipulative. Adrien quit being Chat Noir under the assumption that it was the only way to stop getting hurt by Ladybug pushing him away, and Ladybug rejected letting Plagg take the Miraculous back to him under the same sort of assumption - that even if Plagg got him to retake the ring, it'd just mean that she'd end up continuing to hurt him (since Plagg didn't really convey it well and so she thought that he just felt hurt because of his unrequited love for her, when that wasn't really the case). She didn't give the ring back to Plagg not because she was upset at Chat Noir, but because she didn't want to hurt him, and she didn't know how to NOT do that, with circumstances being what they were.

Plagg's plan with Adrien becoming Cat Walker was to try to address both Marinette and Adrien's problems, as best as Plagg could figure out what they were, anyway. His plan was to solve the problem of Adrien being depressed due to believing that Ladybug didn't need or want him, by looking at the qualities Ladybug said she needed in a Black Cat, and trying to have Adrien change to match those, so that she'd want to rely on him more. Basically thinking that the problem came down to Ladybug not liking Chat Noir enough, when that wasn't really the source of the issue. While with Adrien, who Plagg has a better handle on, he figures that if Ladybug likes him more, then he'll be relied on more, will be more needed, so he won't be as worried that Ladybug is only putting up with him out of necessity.

Honestly even if Kuro Neko hadn't gone wrong, the Cat Walker plan wouldn't have worked. The core of the issue had nothing to do with Ladybug not liking Chat Noir, it was more about Ladybug being really secretive and pushing Chat away in general, and not realizing the impact that could have on others. Adrien being Cat Walker instead only would have changed that because Ladybug's worried about pushing Cat Walker away too, not due to his actual behavior. Which is what ultimately ended up resulting in her asking Cat Walker to give his Miraculous to Chat Noir, because she felt guilty about driving Chat Noir away, and between seeing that working with the new Black Cat wasn't working and Cat Walker making her think that maybe this whole situation could be repaired, she and Chat Noir actually got to talking a bit more, with her assuring him that she wants him around, even when she doesn't necessarily need him.

On Adrien's end, talking with Ladybug as Cat Walker showed him that she did in fact want Chat Noir around, that she wasn't just putting up with him, that she missed him when he was gone and didn't want to be without him. So he came back. He only left because he didn't think she needed or wanted him and he was feeling hurt by how she'd pushed him away, but she clearly did genuinely want him around.

#ask #ml analysis #kuro neko #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug

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dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram · 11 months

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An unpopular take, maybe, but I simply don't find the Matty Healy / Taylor Swift discourse interesting or useful. I get the critique that modern political culture overvalues speech acts (a very trenchant critique I've heard in the past is that now people believe posting on the internet is activism), I get Matty's meta critique of consumption in the internet era, I get the ironic humor of The Adam Friedland Show podcast, I don't think Matty is vile or antisemitic or racist or whatever. I just, personally, find the way that those critiques are made and who they're turned on to be so navel-gazing. If you strip away the layers of meta commentary and irony, I feel like you just wind up in a place where you're saying, oh, the problem is that these people in marginalized communities who didn't understand that my statements were made in the context of an ironic meta commentary on performance of values on the internet are terminally online and got too upset on the internet. And like, honestly? sure. true to a certain extent. People have certainly gone way overboard in their responses to these things. But in the broader context of our current political state, it feels like it's just contributing to the Left once again eating itself, unable to distinguish between an imperfect ally and an enemy. Is the problem really terminally online teenagers who wrote a cringey, boundary-less open letter to Taylor Swift? Is that what we want to spend our time and mental energy calling attention to and critiquing? Or is that mostly just a problem for famous people who are slowly being driven crazy by having to see people constantly misunderstand them on the internet?

For what it's worth, my opinion is driven at least in part by my assumption that this attention and backlash is at least in part intentional. For as much as everyone has been talking about these two people, I guess not very many people have actually paid attention to what Matty Healy/The 1975 are currently doing, but they've been releasing a series of videos called "A theatrical performance of an intimate moment". In the second video in the series (ironically dropped the same day as the Taylor/Joe breakup news), Matty decides he wants to be transported in a suitcase to avoid attention (something Taylor Swift famously did) because the fame is getting to him, he doesn't want to be touched, and he "doesn't want any more bracelets that say that I'm gay", said while pointing to a bead bracelet that looks like the friendship bracelets that people are making for the Eras tour. And in a later episode, he specifically talks about needing to find a girlfriend. So, real relationship or not, it seems kind of clear to me that there is at least some level of performance/performance art occurring. I'm open to being happily surprised by whatever the point of this art turns out to be, but I'm not optimistic.

Lots of really interesting thoughts anon - and I think we come from slightly different perspectives, but I'll try and tease some of the points out.

I loved your summary - I don't quite agree, but it makes it very easy to discuss. You think these sort of discussions boil down to people saying: "The problem is that these people in marginalized communities who didn't understand that my statements were made in the context of an ironic meta commentary on performance of values on the internet are terminally online and got too upset on the internet."

And I have two different thoughts about that - which address quite different aspects. The first is that I would always reject the idea that it's a problem that people don't get 'ironic humour'. There is nothing more tedious than people wanting to be edgy, but also wanting everyone to love them. I think people can and should have whatever reaction they want to the Adam Friedland Show (I listened and I fucking hated it - quite boring on top of everything else). But that in order to do useful politics and understand the world there has to be a gap between someone's personal reaction and someone's political analysis. That's what I find the Gary Younge article 'racism is a system of power not a series of gaffes' so useful at articulating.

The other point is that I don't think it's useful to characterise the fandom response as coming from 'marginalised communities'. Some of the people talking are from marginalised communities, but nowhere near the majority. And I think it's really important to push back against fandom's tendency to paint itself as a whole as marginalised in some way (this is a much bigger issue that I was talking quite a lot about with the Niall and fanfic debate).

I do think that part of the problem of this discussion (and why I find it interesting - even if I agree that there are very tedious elements) - is that there can be so many different views and assumptions that underlie where people end up that aren't articulate.

I really reject the idea that this is the left eating its own - or that it has to be. Partly that's because I see this as being much more about fandom and how fandom operates than about politics. But it's also because I think there are really basic answers to the question of how you distinguish between the enemy and an imperfect ally. It's incredibly important to both solidarity and coalition building that we are able to say 'I disagree with this argument' without that automatically meaning 'the person who is making it is bad and wrong'. Collapsing the two together is fundamentally unuseful - and ultimately individualising.

You ask both what the problem is and what the stakes are - which are great questions. I don't think fans without boundaries are a political problem (although there are many political elements). I absolutely wouldn't write about this or draw attention to it in any other space but a fandom one.

But I do think the stakes are much higher than you do. If I thought this discourse was only having an impact of Taylor Swift and Matty Healy then I wouldn't think it was worth talking about. One of my opinions that I haven't necessarily spelled out - is that it's really important within fandom to understand that the objects of fandom and what people think of hte objects of fandom are not that important. I sometimes do get annoyed/frustrated/upset with other people's views about 1D members, but I do try and make sure that I remind myself that it's OK that people disagree about celebrities.

If there are stakes in fandom behaviour, it's not about the implications for the objects of fandom, but the implications for the fans. And I guess one thing that I assume, is that people are unlikely to treat themselves, or the people around them more generously than they treat celebrities. That a culture that encourages polarised thinking and responding to polarised thinking by attempting to control others - has an impact on the people who are participate. Now that's not necessarily evidence based - it's just a vibe. But it's the reason that I do think the only useful response to this is to emphasise that this isn't the only way to navigate the world. And anything else is just talking about the issues because they're interesting.

But I do think it's worth saying that the idea that you get a say in who someone else dates is really fucked up and can have really fucked up implications for people who believe it. Not just because of how they might treat people - because the corollary is that other people get a say in who you date.

Having said all that - I won't go fully into the second point. I'll just say that one of the things that I find interesting about both Taylor and Matty Healy is that they're both very aware of their image, but it manifests itself in different ways (Taylor is very controlled, Matty Healy is much more chaotic, but often more meta). And on top of that I think in this circumstance what we're seeing is also influenced by the fact that we're all people as well as images - and being human is a pretty messy reality.

#Thanks for letting me know about the videos #I found them (and the timing)#really interesting

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kitkatt0430 · 1 year

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💖👨‍👧‍👧🌈🍰👩‍🏭:)

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

I really like the character interactions the most. Sometimes that's just dialog, sometimes it's dialog combined with describing what they're doing at the time. I think specifically I just like finding different ways to convey the emotions of the moment and how it plays between the characters.

👨‍👧‍👧 Do you tell people in real life that you write fic?

Yes and no. Some of my friends know I write fanfic but they don't read it since they're not really in the same fandoms as me... or as into reading fanfic as I am. My parents know I used to, but to avoid them actually anything I've written since high school I've let them have the impression I only read fanfic these days. Because I definitely do not want them reading my fanfic.

🌈 What inspired you to write [insert fic here]?

Since no fic was specified, I'll pick one. :D How about the recent fic, Electric Connection.

So it started with me re-watching the start of the episode Power Outage because I intended to add Farooq to Timeline Poker (I really need to finish editing and post the next chapter). I really loved Farooq's interactions with his friends, Jake and Daria. (I did have to look up their names on the Arrow wiki.) Since the episode is Farooq's roaring rampage of revenge over Jake and Daria's deaths, it got me thinking shippy thoughts and the next thing I knew, I had a new rare pair.

Gotta stop doing that to myself.

So while they're included in Timeline Poker, I wanted a story that was all theirs and thus Electric Connection was born.

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave).

I have many comfort fics, so while I already answered this one here, I have more recommendations to give. :D

Atlas ~ by distractedKat

An eventual Kirk/Spock fic set in the Kelvin-verse, only including the 2009 movie in it. It's respectful of all the main characters, re-aligns Kirk's characterization closer to his Original Series counterpart, includes Archer and his dogs, and it's got some great found family vibes going on. I really love the take on Nyota Uhura in this one - though she and Spock break up early on, they remain dear friends through the whole thing. And the friendship she develops with Jim is quite fun too.

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

Maybe Road Trip? I'm setting some not so legal shenanigans in a real hotel in Salt Lake City (that I visited once myself a few years pre-pandemic) though I haven't gotten that part posted yet.

I can't think of anything I've researched for fics that's particularly illegal/would get me side eyed too badly. So Road Trip definitely comes to mind first.

#kitkatt0430 answers #fanfic ask game #emoji ask game

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theupstairskid · 2 years

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Now that I've had some time to marinate in the spicy sauce that was episode 10 I have some predictions for the remaining episodes. In no particular order:

I think Kinn and Porsche will at least somewhat mutually agree to let Porsche quit so he can fix things with Porchay. This will allow for the "was shagging him worth it?" scene with Porsche's uncle. And after some things happen (Porchay finding out who Kim really is maybe) this will also allow for the handshake scene between Kinn and Porsche and the "I'm on your side" scene from the trailer

Kim will further distance himself from or outright avoid Porchay. I think after what happened in ep 10 Kim will feel like he flew too close to the sun and that his potential happiness with Porchay isn't worth him being in danger. This may lead to the break up scene Jeff mentioned.

The Porsche to Kim to Porchay connection will be complete. Porsche will find out who Kim is and his relationship with his little brother. Porchay will find out the truth but I'm not sure if it will come from Kim or Porsche. Bonus points if Porsche knows who Kim is not because he's the 3rd heir but because Porchay just would not stop showing him Wik videos and that he's seen the shrine. Bonus bonus points if it causes Kim angst knowing hearing how much he's always meant to Porchay

Our favorite pathetic little meowfioso will fall in love (or lust perhaps given how many eps are left) with Pete and Pete will either be found and taken back, escape, or will convince Vegas to let him go. There's a lot of Beauty and the Beast parallels to be made with VegasPete honestly. Belle (Pete) takes the place of her Papa (Porsche) in exchange for his freedom, for example. I think that Vegas' fragile and upset state after having to let Pete go will be exploited or made worse by his Dad causing the big family feud. Pete will help Vegas channel himself and without him he'll be all over the place and looking for an outlet. He's already balancing on the edge of a knife it might not take much to tip him over.

Porschay will be more understanding and willing to let Porsche go back to Kinn once he learns the truth about everything and is brought into the fold.

I think there will be at least 1 more side story that might take place between 12 and 13.

I think the video Porchay is watching while crying from the trailer will be post KimChay breakup and will most likely be either Why Don't You Stay or a new song for the OST from Kim about his feelings for Porchay. Perhaps the song he was writing in ep 9?

I'm trying to think of all the things we know we have left that we know are happening that we haven't seen. The Pool, TimeTayTem, the Family Feud, and there's things I know happen in the novel that kind of have to happen in the series (like what's up with Korn, and the mystery of Porsche and Porchay's parents). Plus I'm still super curious about Mile's favorite scene that involves a red hallway.

(TBH since Vegas' secret room has a red hallway I briefly thought do Kinn and Porsche rescue Pete and the have a little fun by themselves in there? But that I think would be too weird)

#kinnporsche #the brainrot is so real #i can't stop thinking about this damn show #I'm in too deep #kinnporsche the series

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kit-penman · 1 year

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A slightly unhinged Interview with the Vampire theory of mine:

tw: references to episode 5 and also mention of suicide, nothing more than what's in the show.

Also; spoilers for season 1 and the Vampire Lestat (and if I'm good at theorising, potentially for season 2&3)

Ok, so, this may be a bit wild. But I've binged Interview with the Vampire and reignited an old passion for Lestat as a character. So, this is not unbiased. Also, a lot of this is a compilation of parts of theories I've seen circulating around the community, so I don't claim to be the originator of a lot of this, but also there are too many posts for me to competently credit here.

As much as I loved the show, and all the tiny details in Sam Reid's performance, episode 5 left me with some 'feelings'. I know I'm not alone when I say that that episode and that fight felt quite out of character. I mean, Lestat and Louis never fought like THAT. Sure, their relationship was toxic, but it seems very strange that the showrunners would call Louis and Lestat endgame when they've made their relationship that much more violent and abusive. Not to mention that it goes directly against what Lestat says about never showing Louis even half his power.

Plus the scene was shot in a weird way; the oh so rarely used first person perspective, the shot hovering over the city so far up that the background faded away...

Almost like...

It could be anywhere...

New Orleans,

Or...

PARIS!!! (Dun-dun-daaaa)

I HAVE SOME THEORIES AND NO ONE TO TELL THEM TO SO I'M GOING TO SHOUT THEM INTO THE VOID NOW.

So, I re-read the Vampire Lestat and re-watched the show with the context of that book combined with the knowledge of Armand hovering around Louis while his is telling his story. It provided some extremely interesting depth on Lestat as a character, the way that he thinks and what might be happening in the more questionable moments of the show.

I'm not sure how to put this, so I'll get to the point. I think Armand is manipulating the absolute shit out of Louis' story. I think three big moments for this are the fight between Lestat and Louis, the death of Lestat and the upcoming death of Claudia.

What I think happened:

I've arrived at the conclusion that I think that fight is likely real, but the end of the fight at least; is not in-fact a right between Louis and Lestat but instead Armand and Lestat. From what I've read Louis and Lestat never fight like that, but Lestat and Armand absolutely do. Particularly the 'dragging him along the pavement' was extremely similar. (Though, they never do fly up in the air and Armand can fly anyway... Though I'm pretty sure at that point in the fight, he wasn't able to fly anyway, since he was barely conscious and seemingly unable to use his other powers) I intend to make another post going into detail on this fight, as I don't want it to overtake the point of this post just being an overview of the theory. That said, I did read out the two fights (omitting some dialogue to not give it away) to someone not familiar with the books after watching the scene and they thought it was an adaptation of the Armand fight, so it's not just me. (also, that fight was in Paris, hence the joke at the start)

We already saw that Armand had likely influenced Louis to think he had Left Lestat for dead, Daniel was right and I think that Louis didn't think the death was justified, like in the books, and I think that was a big part of the Armand story making Lestat look worse. There are a couple of moments when Lestat's actions are framed very uncharitably; like in the theatre when they are talking before the show and Louis said he was trying to 'seize his opportunity to disarm me' but in reality, Lestat was likely reminded of the past, the theatre reminding him of Nicky, because he looks for a second like he's going to cry. It seemed more like a moment of sentimental vulnerability from Lestat to me, but I am biased. I think it's all part of a clearly well-rehearsed (as we can see when the interview is compared to the one from the 80's) effort to poorly characterise Lestat. (Something which makes sense since Lestat is the villain of Interview with the Vampire, but was re-written into a more nuanced and sympathetic character in the next book, so they had to account for people being against him for these first two seasons, but then routing for him in the next)

I believe that they are actually trying to sanitise the relationship between Louis and Lestat quite a bit, because if you look at what actually happens, like things that would be too big or unmotivated of a lie for the writers to write, he actually has a lot of tender moments, and the manipulations are cruelty are kept to only a few moments rather than weaved through the entire relationship like in the books. Claudia is a big part of that, they seem to be changing the relationship between her and Lestat quite a lot, I'm not sure how much of that is trustworthy, but one part that is obviously true is the change in how/why she was made a Vampire. In the book (and movie) Claudia was made because Louis was starving himself eating only rats and was in a plague district trying to find rats when he stumbles across a little girl and feeds on her in a desperate frenzy for blood. Lestat finds him and the girl and turns her to keep her as a constant reminder of Louis' guilt, so that he won't leave. But in the show, Louis is only kind-of indirectly responsible for her death and Lestat only turns her because Louis begs him, not out of a plot to force Louis to stay with him. This keeps the dynamic of Louis feeling responsible for her (though not out of guilt as much as because he wanted her to be turned) but now Lestat never really wanted her, so they aren't very close, she's just sort of in-between him and Louis. It's a little sad to see since Lestat was never a good parent in the books, but he clearly loved Claudia a lot. Though, they might be making Lestat and Claudia look more distant than they are because Armand has a lot of motivation to portray Lestat as hating Claudia.

Also, I almost forgot. When Lestat goes to get Claudia on the train- Antionette was shown in episode 7 standing in the park while Claudia is saying goodbye and I bet anything that she heard that Louis was considering killing himself and relayed it to Lestat, who then went to get her so that he wouldn't. That entire scene was very 'cartoon villain' of Lestat, like what a child would write of a parent she was mad at so it probably shouldn't be taken at completely face value anyway.

Speaking of which,

What I believe the motivation was:

So, in the Vampire Lestat, Armand is a reoccurring antagonist to Lestat. Lestat is not a fan of him (though he does think he's pretty, because it's Lestat and he can't not) and he is not a fan of Lestat (Debate-lorded his cult away, kicked his ancient ass as a baby vampire, had the absolute gall to be created by Magnus and born only a country lord (fake bourgeoise, they had to hunt to survive the winter) and, the worst grievance of all; he rejected him.) In the books Armand loves Louis, and travels with him after Claudia's death but Louis is unable to move past her death and it causes them to drift apart, clearly that has not happened to this Armand and Louis, so what changed? Could it be that he fixed Louis' damaged psyche by channelling that damage onto Lestat, so that he might feel as though he has closure? I don't believe this Louis knows that Lestat didn't come to Paris vengeful and get Claudia killed for standing against him, that in-fact, Lestat came to Paris to get help from Armand and was instead starved and tormented into saying it was her, by Armand.

How could it have been done:

Reading the Vampire Lestat has given me insight into the way that Armand treats people, even the ones he cares about and how easily he uses his powers to extract information, manipulate, delude and distort the reality of the people around him. I have no doubt that he has dabbled in the memories of Louis, making him a more unreliable narrator than the mere passage of time. Claudia's diaries are untrustworthy not only because despite how long she lives, she still has the brain of a child, but also because Armand has been tampering again. She is prone to exaggerate and dramatize with no thought to making a moderate and unbiassed account in her personal diaries.

There are two instances of Daniel pointing out that her diaries have had pages removed. The first was when she gets assaulted and the pages are torn, I believe that that was Louis being heartbroken and angry and tearing out the pages in the heat of the moment, he seems genuinely upset and protective over her memory, no reason to doubt it. However, the second instance, after Lestat's 'death' the pages are removed neatly, calmly omitted, Daniel says 'with a ruler' I believe that instance was Armand, trying to hide that Louis didn't want Lestat dead.

So that's mostly my theory for now. I'm still gathering screenshots and quotes from the book; I'm going to redo this post with a lot more evidence and probably better worded, but I wanted to float what I have so far and see if anyone had any feedback, areas that could use more elaboration, anything to add to the theory or counter anything I've said here. All feedback is welcome! I'll use it when I make my more polished post.

Also, just to be super clear, I absolutely love all the characters. This is my favourite show at the moment, and this is in no way meant to be unfair to any of the character, I'm just trying to predict what is coming since I can think of little else, and the next season is so far away.

Thank you so much for reading! Sorry if it was a little jumbled, just trying to get my thoughts out there.

#interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #louis de pointe du lac #iwtv series #iwtv lestat #iwtv louis

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suugiart · 2 years

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Get to know me tag

Tagged by: @genderfluid-envy (I was going to say "Finally something to do except writing," but this is still writing.)

rules: tag peeps you want to know better

Last song: I think the last song I consciously turned on was the first Demon Slayer OP, otherwise I just had the Frankenstein musical playing.

I think I should have everyone know that I usually steer toward stuff with electric guitars, like Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica. Basically I grew up listening to rock and metal.

Last show: Last show I finished? That was probably Angels of Death. My friend loves to introduce me to new shows when we have sleepovers and it's always so fun.

Currently watching: Oh gosh, lots for me too, Ceph. Currently I am trying to finish Assassination Classroom. I'm really loving it and I only have like 7 or 8 more episodes to go and then I'm done! I want to finish Tokyo Ghoul someday, but I may just end up reading the manga. My friend also introduced me to Skeleton Knight in Another World, and The Owl House, which I should also keep watching.

AND DEATH NOTE. I almost forgot! My younger sister and I are watching it, but unfortunately we haven't gotten past episode 4 in the past few months.

I really want to watch other animes like Spy x Family, Soul Eater, and Yuuri on Ice, all of which I heard are good.

Currently reading: QUITE A FEW. Some of which I haven't continued in a while and really should.

I've picked up Frankenstein, and I really love it so far. I'm also reading the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman (it is SO GOOD), and I paused on the third Harry Potter and Howl's Moving Castle.

Really, I just switch between books depending on what I feel like reading at the moment, and I am a HUGE sucker for science fiction and dystopian and murder. Dark themes, basically. Unwind is so perfect for that. You can just feel the emotions through the pages, and I can't remember another story that has made me audibly gasp as much as Unwind.

Current obsession: Everybody knows this one just by looking at my current banner and PFP. My Hero Academia all the WAY. The brainrot is unreal. My hyperfixation with this one is through the roof, holy frick. When I'm not spending my weeks writing over six chapters of my original novel in the span of six days, I'm writing angst and what have you for MHA, whether I upload it or not.

I honestly don't know where this blog is going to go, because thinking about it one day going to some other fandom is so weird. That was me with Undertale anyway, but here we are in my blog chock full of MHA brainrot.

I would love to make posts other than random art and chapter highlights for MHA, but I don't have enough followers to actually get requests and stuff, so hopefully someday.

No pressure tags: @sunsetcougar (I don't know many people via tumblr FNSDSA)

#learn about me #kinda #I guess #Suugiart has been exposed #Cat is out of the bag #I watch anime #I'm so ashamed #I swore that I wouldn't let anyone find out that my blog is about anime

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lesbiansanemi · 4 months

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If I’m to be frank… I think RGU just wasn’t your taste and that’s valid. But I don’t think it was executed sloppily or had bad writing. I think it’s worth seeing why many people find RGU great and/or impactful, because while it wasn’t for you, I don’t think that it’s nice to imply that other people’s tastes are questionable because they love RGU.

Hope this doesn’t come off as rude. You were rambling, but RGU means a lot to me so… I wanted to give a response.

So.... I do fully acknowledge that quite a few of my complaints with RGU do stem from certain choices/storytelling techniques that just aren't my personal taste (as I mentioned in the original post) however... I also fully stand by my opinion that it did have some poor execution and sloppy writing in certain aspects. I like to think I have decent enough media comprehension to tell the difference between just not liking something personally vs it being poorly technically done

I went into the series really, really wanting to enjoy it, and it was pretty much within the first episode or two that I realized no matter what, I wasn't going to. Part of this had to do with the heavy emphasis on the "slice of life" aspect (as this is not something I enjoy), as well as the storytelling techniques that were being used (heavy emphasis on repetition, extremely overt visual metaphors. etc). I do acknowledge that's all personal taste though, and has nothing to do with a series being good or bad. Regardless, I was a bit disappointed by that, but I did my best to keep good faith while watching because I know it's a series a lot of people really enjoy and think is good, and I wanted to understand why.

Unfortunately, I was pretty consistently let down. For starters, I think the series made the mistake of leaning far too heavily into the aforementioned storytelling techniques that it ended up with bad pacing. It was so focused on its patterns of repetition that it lost itself (and audience attention).

Beyond that, my main two complaints are the imbalanced way it tried to integrate anime-typical slice of life shenanigans and.... literally everything else it was trying to do, and, one of my least favorite things a piece of media can do, lean far too heavily into its own subjectivity to the point that it hindered itself.

I see what the series was trying to do in both those regards, but again, I don't think it did it as well as it could have, or even... that well in general. It's late for me and I have work in the morning, so I don't have time to write up everything I would like to say about this (hopefully I'll manage it in the next couple of days, as well as talk about the aspects of it I did actually enjoy) but that's the gist of my complaints.

Finally... So like, I get the series means a lot to you, and you don't have to agree with me, but I also don't have to agree with you. Just because a lot of people like the series or think it's impactful and put together well doesn't mean it fundamentally is. It definitely doesn't mean I have to think that.

My snarky comment of "I don't trust your media tastes if you tell me this is perfect high art" is a bit of an unfair generalized blanket statement that obviously has more nuance than that. I could have phrased that better, but tbf I wasn't expecting many ppl to read the rambling tags on an untagged post

However... sorry.... but a part of me is standing by that. I disliked the series, and did not think it was nearly technically as good as I've seen people tout it. Therefore, if I see someone very confidently talking about how much they like it and how good it is... It's safe to assume we have very different media preferences and criteria for what makes something technically good. That's fine, but I'm not going to trust a lot of other opinions about media from them, because we're likely to continue disagreeing. That feels like... a fairly logical conclusion to me but idk

I'm not the end all be all of media criticism. I'm not saying you have to agree with me, but I'm sticking by what I said. Sometimes people say/imply media I enjoy is bad, and therefore if I like it, that means I have bad taste and opinions on media. It happens when you're talking about media, especially on the internet. With something so subjective, there is never going to be a piece of media that everyone comes to the same conclusion on, and you kinda just have to learn to accept that.

Idk, I also hope this doesn't come across as too asshole-ish, I'm just saying I don't agree, and I don't think I have to acknowledge that "RGU is that good actually, I just didn't like it personally" if I want to criticize it because I don't think that

#asks #kaz rambles #long post

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stellaluna33 · 2 years

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The post about Jess's mechanisms to seeing how people will react towards him made me remember how a lot of people's arguments against it boil down to "so what? His shitty past is no excuse for his actions", and I can easily imagine these people completely missing the point of his entire journey in the series from season 3 to season 4 and onwards. Yes, Jess is at fault for his behavior and it shouldn't be excused just because he based so much of it on his own experience with his flighty mother, but part of the reason as to why people love him so much is because unlike others (namely Logan, for example), he took it upon himself to grow out of it. His relationship with Luke is far from perfect but one of the best scenes and episodes between them is in season 4 when Luke finally learns to tell Jess that he will give him space, but will always be there for him no matter what. And this is after they've exchanged so many terrible words with each other, have tried to diminish each other's roles in their lives bc of self-preservation on both their accounts. And it's not even the most perfect declaration from an adult, but to Jess, it means so much because here's an adult who's seen the worst of him, and still said, "I'll always be here for you".

And whenever people go all "well, we never saw him grow out of it with our own two eyes! He could still be awful in between his appearances on the show!" like I'm sorry but I think you're confusing Gilmore Girls for a show like Breaking bad or something where the narrative deliberately is disrupted by showing you the wrong perspective. It's important that Rory and Luke give Jess the recognition for starting over with his life, because through them it's the narrative deliberately acknowledging that it's a good thing and that Jess has done good for himself. I've also seen some people try to diminish Jess's role in season 6 by saying he's "purely a plotpoint used in Rory's relationship drama", but then why does 6x18 exist when it frankly changed nothing in Rory's relationship to Logan? Meanwhile, we get 2 whole scenes where Luke congratulates Jess on his work, Jess pays him back for the money he gave him in season 4, and him even meeting April. None of these scenes have anything to do with Rory or her relationship, they're purely about Jess and showing what he's done. I mean compare this to Logan's entire season 7 arc where even his "emancipation" from his father is overshadowed by him abruptly proposing to Rory and telling her they gotta move to California for his new job. Nothing in that final part of his journey is about him and any positive outcome of him quitting his job at his father's company, it's all about how this further affects his relationship with Rory and is another reason why the whole "but Logan changed!" argument just falls flat after a while. Like aside from random moments where he was a decent boyfriend, where does the narrative acknowledge his betterment in his job? When Mitchum is begging Rory to get Logan to be serious or when he botches a big deal for his company?

There's a lot here, so I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to answer!

Firstly, yeah, people's past experiences "don't excuse their actions," but... the younger that person is, the more cautious I am about saying that. Because kids DO commonly learn behaviors from their surroundings and react to them without really understanding WHY. Bad behavior is bad behavior, sure. But there are some bad behaviors that are SO COMMON to kids in particular situations that it seems both cruel and unreasonable not to take those things into consideration or be patient with kids who were taught the wrong things. It's really difficult for them to unlearn those things. But one of Jess's best qualities, in my opinion, is his willingness to learn. The fact that he started out behind everyone (in terms of "How To Interact With Other People"), but ended up being one of the best people on the entire show by the end? That speaks SO HIGHLY of his character, because he had to work HARD to get there, and the fact that he did means that he really wanted to.

As far as the "we never actually SAW his growth!" thing... Firstly, yeah we DID see the BEGINNING of it. He was starting to learn how to change at the end of Season 4, with Luke. He obviously still had a long way to go (given how badly he blew it with Rory), but the process had already started. We SAW that. He just continued to carry it further off-screen, which leads me to my second point: This is fiction. It is not Real Life. In real life, sure, you don't know everything you need to know about a person from a few brief minutes. But on a fictional show, especially one like Gilmore Girls (which as you said, isn't leaning on an "unreliable narrator" theme), what they show you IS reality. Jess is not a real person. He has no existence of his own beyond what the Palladinos wrote for him. And since Milo was no longer a regular on the show, everything the writers thought we needed to know about Jess was in those scenes. Might he still be messy and complicated in some ways? Sure. This is Gilmore Girls, after all, and apparently no one is safe from unnecessary Drama... But what the writers wanted to communicate is that Jess has grown up into a good-hearted, responsible adult. That's what they said, and so that IS Reality.

I don't know if I have a lot to say about Logan really, except that the Season 7 writers (not affiliated with Amy and Dan) obviously wanted him to be maturing, and that's fine (I mean, it was about time... He was 25). But your (and my) questions and arguments about his "growth" are still based on his actual portrayal on the show, and not some nebulous, imaginary "but what if he was actually different off-screen" sort of conspiracy theorizing.

#Gilmore Girls #Jess Mariano

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