#in any case thank you again for writing in ! as always its incredibly insightful and a great way to get me thinking
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Funny you mention that, I'm actually planning to go a step further and have proper relationships sections! So every character relationship in the infobox (and then some) can be covered with the depth they deserve.
Of course, that kind of thing can go off the rails fast and become a breeding ground for speculation, so they'll focus solely on the progression of the relationship from the perspective of the character whose article it is, and require a citation for every claim made. (I'd personally like to move towards citing every claim we make period, but it'd probably be best to start with baby steps.)
So I've had that cooking for a while (Jo is coincidentally the character I decided to start with, since he has very few relationships but they're all complex enough for a stress test). I probably shouldn't approach it with the intent to "correct misunderstandings," but I would like to think fans might have an easier time creating in-character fanworks with all of that information in one place. At the very least, you wouldn't necessarily have to go back through all the RGGO stories as a refresher lol.
I've never wanted to address Mine's orientation per se--not that that's quite what you were talking about I think, this is purely as an aside--because a lot of it's considered semantics and I just can't cite it directly in the way I can cite his feelings for Daigo. But on a personal level, I'm honestly surprised at the number of dudebros I've seen who'd be willing to accept he's bi, but being gay is a bridge too far on account of him dating women.
But the point of what he was talking about in the finale is that those relationships weren't at all fulfilling for him, right? Through a purely speculative lens, Jo claiming to be unable to remember Ikumi's name reminds me of that somehow. Like, if that's actually true, you remember every single minute detail of New Year's down to the locker numbers, where Ikumi gave birth, what Arakawa's face looked like, but you can't remember the name of the mother of your child? Alright, man. That's so normal. There's no trauma and/or comphet-adjacence there.
Speaking of--yeah, Masato's card unfortunately comes with no story, so it's not just bad luck. Character stories were discontinued with Kawara and Bessho, I think over a year ago now. On one hand I'm kind of thankful because they've been making it increasingly difficult to actually pull newly-released cards, but on the other hand, it's a huge part of what made cards worth trying for in the first place.
I do get it in terms of sheer volume though; it's mainly Yokoyama and Takeuchi themselves writing everything, and for scale, if I take solely my own translations of all of Mine's events and stories, it'd equal roughly 27.5k words. I can understand putting out that novella-length volume of content--ridiculously HQ content at that--every month isn't feasible when you're also writing for console entries on top of that.
You definitely shouldn't be putting yourself down in comparison though haha, I adore your work precisely because you've got such an excellent grasp on the characters and I always look forward to anything you put out!
Very, very true about Mine and his dad! I think if I were to summarize my findings from the papers (with regard to Mine specifically), Mine has this line in the finale about his hatred of people like Kiryu who "live solely by the principles of giri-ninjo, moral obligation and human feeling." Obviously not translated that way in-game because it's pretty lofty, but there is significance to it as I see it.
Focusing on the ninjo aspect, the papers define the term as "knowing how to [depend and presume upon another’s benevolence] properly and how to respond to the call [to depend and presume] in others." The "dependency need" component is thought develop as a baby first bonds with its parent.
Although it's commonly associated with child and parent, it applies to many forms of dependence, "such as between lovers, friends, husband and wife, teacher and student, employer and employee." It should also be noted it's not strictly hierarchical--superiors depend on their subordinates just as much.
So ninjo is a concept with a history of being considered "specifically as Japanese" in a way Westerners wouldn't understand. (It isn't actually, of course--everyone experiences this form of dependence--however, if I recall correctly, Japanese people were found to be significantly more likely to recognize and admit to it than Westerners.)
By opposing ninjo, a Japanese ideal of dependence, Mine implicitly aligns himself with "the Western ideal of personal independence," which is described as an ideal in which "one might just as well depend upon oneself or become independent, since there is nobody else to depend upon."
This is absolutely rooted in his being an orphan. His "dependency need" was at one point fulfilled by his dad's presence in his life, and once he lost him, he spent the rest of his life fluctuating between searching for someone else who would fulfill it and trying to be someone who doesn't experience "dependency need."
In contrast to Japanese society, where "parental dependency is fostered and its behavior pattern institutionalized into the social structure," the idealized version of Western society values an individual's success over their background. One example is the American myth of the "self-made man," which Mine describes himself as in the original Y3. As an orphan, his rejection of Japanese society in favor of Western society would make sense in that regard as well.
Growing up with no one to depend on and often facing loss and betrayal when he tried to, Mine avoids relying on or trusting others for most of his life. He is independent not because it comes naturally to him, but because of how dependence has hurt him in the past--i.e., "one might just as well depend upon oneself or become independent, since there is nobody else to depend upon."
However, Mine does accept and directly acknowledge the concept at the heart of ninjo when he admits in the finale, "People yearn to trust others. And to be trusted in return." That also coincides with him choosing to end things according to his code of honor as a yakuza, and literally taking the game's main representative of Western culture down with him. It's so perfect within this framework that I have no idea if Yokoyama even knew what he was doing, but He Sure Did It.
But it absolutely works with what you said, and I think it's fairly self-evident because you were able to pick up on it even if you didn't have the exact terminology in mind; Mine once his dependency need fulfilled where Jo never did, and it's made all the difference. I'm a very, very heavily Westernized South Asian still living in South Asia, and I imagine there's less overlap between SAsian culture and EAsian culture, but I've always thought "family values" such as those discussed are more or less ubiquitous in Asian cultures. For what it's worth, I relate strongly to Mine here.
(Also, in case anyone one day accuses me of copying Mine's future personality section from Tumblr, a fair amount of this is from my draft of that. I'm trying my best to make it sound less insane because it's going on a wiki, but y'know.)
Rewinding a little bit, I wanted to point out that Mine being bullied for being an orphan in that specific scene is more or less an invention of Y3R's localization. Kind of an understandable one, because he certainly did face it and Y3R's script was written without ever consulting a Japanese translation, but an invention nonetheless; in that scene, he was being bullied for being poor, not being an orphan.
But I don't think that affects the validity of your point at all, since--and it might not be totally intentional, since Mine wasn't always supposed to be the main antagonist--all the time you spend working with the Morning Glory kids through their problems effectively shows what he may have gone through. Except that he, also like Jo I suppose, had no adults in his life to help him navigate those same problems.
It's hear-twrenching listening to Masato talk about his disability even as an adult, the role internalized ableism played in creating that rift can't be overstated. Brings to mind the image of Arakawa at a complete loss how to respond when Masato was hitting his legs; perhaps if he'd been better-equipped to get through to him as a parent in the way Ichi was able to at the end, things might have turned out different. I think Arakawa displays a lot more emotional maturity and awareness than most characters, but he's not always able or willing to communicate that.
Once again, I absolutely love how your comparison post turned out! I wouldn't have minded being @'d (not that I mind not being @'d) at all haha, I'm not very active so I love getting notifications. Just a huge fan of your presentation, super clean and easy to follow in my opinion. There are a few points I'd love to discuss further, but I know my asks tend to be way too long for what they are haha, so I'll wait. But yeah, just as the Venn diagram of Mine and Jo overlaps, so does the Venn diagram of Mine and Jo fans. Happy to have you in the middle!
I'm glad you got as much out of the books as I did! That's exactly why I think they works super well for them, and I was hoping you'd catch the added Art Appreciator similarity. Also worth noting the art history books appear to be in Polish? I guess you wouldn't need to understand the language if you were more about admiring the art itself (my own art history books are in English and I ignore the text in every single one), but it's kind of funny to have all these thick Tomes you probably can't read.
Also very true. I feel like Hijikata and DS Ryuji aren't quite even since Saigo does exist haha, though he doesn't have as much screen time as Hijikata. There are a few opportunities Mine seems to lose out to Ryuji or others (Ryuji being chosen over him as an RGGO protagonist when Mine was in the running and frankly fit the criteria better, for example), but it is what it is.
Yokoyama did mention the love for the first three games' rivals makes casting for spinoffs really easy though, so I do have hope for more actual Mine! I'd like to see a Dead Souls 2 (he has a pretty good excuse to be cyborg-ified, given the probable state of his body after the fall lmao), or maybe even an Ishin 2, since the events that led to Hijikata and the others' deaths in real life were avoided in Ishin.
I know Yokoyama's talked about a "Y0.5" with Ryuji and Mine, a French Revolution spinoff (???), a Romance of the Three Kingdoms spinoff, and a Sengoku-era Hattori Hanzo spinoff featuring 8 protagonists and the same "all-star" approach to casting as Ishin. Someone else pitched a spinoff for when the yakuza first came into existence, too. And, at one point, before Ichi existed, they were considering continuing the series with Gaiden-type games featuring various characters (though I think going forward, further Gaidens would depend on the success of Gaiden.) So there are lots of possibilities! I really do hope he gets to be a protagonist or playable character one day, since he fits the mold perfectly IMO.
I'm happy you appreciate my offering haha! I hope you'll let us know what you think of Princess Toyotomi and Hero SP whenever you get to them. That is unfortunately how I found out about Toru :') I adore the leads and their relationship myself, so I never would've thought Pure would go there! But I suppose it does check out for Tsutsumi's career.
Good Morning Show is honestly driving me insane because I'm positive I watched it but can't find it at the same address anymore??? I had to watch it with clearly machine translated subs, but it was as chaotic as it looks. Godspeed!
Oh, I also wanted to weigh in on the "Masato's care" line since that was originally supposed to be part of the response (and since the topic of localization is super interesting to me, as someone who not only translates works but translates RGGS' works and has needed to become intimately familiar with the official localization style).
It's an odd choice, because on top of what Anon said, everything from the context to the grammatical construction of the original Japanese sentence should clearly convey that what he's apologizing for is not taking sole responsibility for Masato's care and having Ichiban attend to him on top of his regular duties. He's not apologizing for Masato's care itself being a burden.
Honestly kind of baffling because not two scenes earlier, they convey the exact same sentiment perfectly--"Sorry to bother you with something so personal." [JP] / "I'm sorry to keep asking you to help me with something so personal." [EN]. It's like, to me, talented localization teams should absolutely be celebrated, but they should also be completely "invisible" in the moment. They're not invisible in that moment because it's their biases coming through rather the character or even the writer's biases.
I don't necessarily mean bias in terms of internalizing ableist ideas (it's hard to say it plays no part, given it's a disabled character being discussed, but what I mean is there's not at all enough to go on to conclude it was a malicious or even a conscious decision). I also mean in the sense of getting "locked into" a certain way of thinking about disabled characters and their care, and multiple different teams (base translation, dub editors, and sub editors) going over that line and not thinking twice.
Because like, it's true that in fiction (and unfortunately real life) you do see parents who feel it's a burden, but that doesn't mean Arakawa has to be that way. It kind of undermines RGG Studio's efforts to employ rigorous sensitivity checks starting this "generation" of games (starring Yagami and Ichiban, I mean) when things slip through the cracks like that.
And it's not the only area it happens; there are a number of places where there's this "tunnel vision" surrounding certain ideas that comes to the forefront. One of the things that leads to is instances of "pigeonholing" characters into pre-existing molds while not giving enough consideration to who the characters actually are in this particular work.
For me Jo actually got the brunt of it (or perhaps I was just most sensitive to it), from marketing to localization. Marketing-wise, the very first time we saw him in English-language trailers, it was literally for one second after either the word "BAD" or a synonym flashed on-screen. A far cry from Tsutsumi's one-on-one interview where he explicitly says Jo is doing everything in service of a deeper motive, his English voice actor was not interviewed at all, while most major characters' English voice actors were.
Localization-wise, there's one thing that perfectly encapsulates (if you'll allow me to be dramatic for a moment) "What Went Wrong." It's what they decided to call Jo's fighting style. The fact it went from Shame Style to something as trite as Vile Blade genuinely haunts me to this day. Just the sheer flanderization in taking a name that lays bare the core of his character and motivations, a name that conveys perfectly how he sees himself as inhuman and irredeemable, and then turning it inside-out to suggest he IS inhuman and irredeemable? That's insane to me.
Of course, I'm not really able to gauge whether/how that kind of thing actually affected the reception or general understanding of him as a character since I haven't participated in the fandom at all for years, but I do wonder if it has.
Having pages dedicated to relationships and including how each character perceives their relationships sounds like a fair idea (I've always been a fan about how on Masato's page, Yumeno is regarded as his 'girlfriend' while on her page he's only her 'customer'. It's a small detail all things considered, but it's a great way to emphasize how much impact one party can have on another and can deepen the significance of relationships and interactions)! And having citations at the ready is always a good idea to help clear up misinformation or just to simply provide tidbits people are curious about, though obviously with a franchise as big as RGG (including RGGO content), it's very easy to understand if it would take significant time to have absolutely everything accounted for. It's what makes the time dedicated to this kind of work all the more respectable, really!
When it comes to Mine- or any character honestly- and their orientation, for the sake of sharing information clearly, I think it'd be better just to focus on what's provided opposed to trying to find a concrete label for it, so I can't say I'm all too upset at the lack of a solid 'confirmation' and I am grateful for the material given that lets us work towards one conclusion and another.
It is surprising to me that people are more open to Mine being bisexual though (I usually see people try to ignore the fact bisexuality is an option. It's a weird win I guess..). But as you've pointed out, I personally believe Mine's case was more about a case of comphet behavior, as the line where he alludes to his past relations with women it's from a segment where he's specifically highlighting how he wasn't happy abiding by what should have made him happy. I still don't know how people observed the full scene but decided to block out the very next line where he says he was unsatisfied and just walked away with 'Mine likes women'. ☠️
Onto Jo though, the state of his memory about Masato's birth really is jarring when you point it out. It's one thing to just chalk it up to a sprinkle of misogyny and not finding Ikumi important (though at least RGG was nice enough to give her files a proper name), but really thinking about it, it's incredibly bizarre he doesn't remember at all. Not considering the actual nine months they had to live together for Ikumi to have Masato, I'd assume they'd have to live together a little longer than that then- and still nothing...? But everything else about that night... Definitely something to raise an eyebrow about lmao
That's unfortunate about the RGGO stories though! But like you said, it's totally understandable as to why they had to discontinue them (but also of course, they were a big attraction to me personally to play the game and card hunt), especially when it's only two people already having to juggle other projects. But thank you for the encouragement with my own personal projects: I try not to be too hard on myself since that certainly won't do anything, and it certainly helps to know that I'm on the right track with what I'm doing! I really do love these characters (and I'm also terribly aware they're a bit unpopular all things considered), so I always want to do what I can to do them justice for myself and other fans!
Highlighting Mine's preference towards the West has really been a great experience- it's something I've only noticed on small scales (i.e. his foreign car and of course his English), but bringing it to light like this has really helped validate and further my understanding of him! That being said, Mine most definitely has adopted the American mentality of stressing independence and not relying on others, and it's undoubtedly come as a result of his upbringing. Ergo, analyzing Mine in relation to his connection not just with American philosophy but also giri-ninjo is definitely worthwhile, and from the sounds of it absolutely significant to understanding his character and his motives (it's certainly something I'm already taking notes on for the future)!
Moreover, I've always been a fan of Mine and his ability to acknowledge the inherit need to have companionship, or at the very least his subconscious need for bonds. In that, it's clear Mine's pursuit of independence was a way to protect himself (I might dare to say he lets down his guard fairly easily all things considered, though I won't ignore his caution towards Daigo and Kanda when initially meeting them. Moreover, it's just clear that when he feels betrayed, despite convincing himself he's a lone wolf, he feels that pain significantly- much greater than someone who sincerely believes themselves to be independent should). Just as you've said, Mine's suicide and taking Richardson with him is really a solid and magnificent way to round off his character through the lens of him putting to rest his solitary philosophy. Going further with gameplay interwoven with story telling, the time-consuming Dad Simulator bits of Y3 really do help highlight how much the kids of Morning Glory- and in that case orphans in general- rely on adults like Kiryu to navigate life. And evidently, that experience ties back into Mine and his frustrations with not just people like Kiryu who help others without expecting a reward, but also how the less fortunate are able to receive that help where as Mine wasn't offered that.
On that note, I feel like I remember learning that the 'orphan' bit was an inclusion, but I guess I forgot that detail along the way. Nevertheless, I'm just about to start eating drywall over the translation differences at this point- even if my point isn't moot, I still can't help but feel an anxiety that I'm going to greatly misinterpret something (and I can certainly get back to this point later when it comes to the likes of Jo's in the west). At the very least, it's a better incentive to brush up on my Japanese. I'll take what I can though: I'm glad that what I've said it still valid in some parts!
The case of Masato's something that's always going to intrigue my mind (I owe myself a chance to properly sit down and analyze him). There's so many aspects at play that could have affected how he turned out as an adult, and family is undoubtedly a major factor contributing to that outcome. To expand on that, it's inarguable that Arakawa was doing the most he could for Masato as not only a young, single father who had a complicated relationship with his own parents, but also having to operate as a ruthless yakuza to the rest of Kamurocho meant not only was he busy, but he needed to uphold an image and make sure his son wasn't too involved with that life. In this, it seems apparent that Arakawa's conditions to be a parent weren't exactly ideal, and as a result it's fair to assume he potentially 'under performed' in some aspects due to these circumstances, so to say (we see he keeps himself active in Masato's life when he's an adult, so it's not as though I'm proposing it's a case of neglect. It's unfortunate we really don't get more of the Arakawa Family's family life to better understand their circumstances).
Thank you for your compliments on my comparison post! I didn't want to come off as bothersome, but I'll make sure to tag you in any future posts I make that are inspired by you ^^ Honestly, I thought my post was a bit messy on some parts, but I'm thrilled to hear it was comprehensive- and of course, I've love to hear your input on any points in the future if you ever feel like sharing them!
The topic of RGG spinoffs has been a topic between a friend and I every now and then (though I never would have expected a French Revolution game????), so it's astounding to hear about the various ideas that have been floating around (I would be excited the most for a game about Hanzo though- I remember obsessing over him while I was in middle school for whatever reason lmao)! In any case, spinoffs would be a great way to utilize one-off characters: it might not be mainline or technically canon, but being able to see the characters again is never something I can complain about so long as the game's fun and the story's engaging!
I'll make sure to keep you posted on how I feel about Princess Toyotomi and Hero SP: I have an insatiable need to share everything on my mind, so I'll undoubtedly talk about them and whatever thoughts I have! Again, I have to apologize about spoiling the end like that- I really didn't expect them to go that way either when I first saw it honestly! But I can't say it was a terrible ending- unfortunate, but I wasn't super mad about it.
Now returning to the state of RGG's translations, that is especially weird in that situation in particular when they have a similar line in the same (or about the same, anyway) scene? As you've said, it might have been an unfortunate case of penning in something based off of independent thought, though it's still unfortunate because it did have the potential to alter not just the scene itself, but Arakawa's character as well (and of course, we would have hoped RGG wold improve when it comes to sensitive topics at this point).
And onto a point I've been weirdly excited to get to, the case of Jo and how the west seemed to handle him. Maybe it's because of America's tendency to make marketing more 'aggressive' (my personal favorite case is making Kirby appear angrier in ads? Because rage and cute-pink-puffball makes sense to me), so opposed to a more grey portrayal they went with something more blunt. Though, it's incredibly strange that Jo seemed to receive such a 'particular' treatment when it came to marketing? My only theory is that they just really wanted Jo's 'reveal' in the Coin Locker Baby chapter to be all the more impactful, but it's just messy honestly.
More importantly, the change of his style's name is also really unfortunate to me. As you've said, it strips interesting aspects of his character away, and a major aspect of his character is evidently guilt. I can't fathom trying to construct his character to be violent without reason, it really undermines what makes him so compelling.
Though, I guess if it's anything, from what I've seen this change in presentation has done little to impact people's perception of him (but maybe that's because I haven't really seen anyone else in the west talk about him...)
#long post#fave#snap chats#preemptive apology for how eUgh my response may be#im a little tired but i also didnt want to wait to respond to this- especially when it has points im really interested in#definitely bookmarking this one to look back at for mine#ah im sure i wanted to say some things else but i cant remember them now#one quick note on mine's psyche tho is that I Too found it relatable (and im also SEAsian- funny how things turn out huh lmao)#of course maybe its because /im/ american so im quite literally in the culture#but my family's a little complicated so instead of the people around me i feel on my own because of them if that makes sense#basically im able to understand mine feeling some resentment or shut out from a culture supposedly about togetherness#its hard for me to explain rn ohhh i wish my brain worked at this hour#in any case thank you again for writing in ! as always its incredibly insightful and a great way to get me thinking#but speaking of thinking i guess i should start my morning- ive got to think about childhood psychology later#then im freee....
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even though I do not mind the weekly or bi weekly chapter releases and enjoy them, I kind of wish I would wake up one day and the final chapter of jjk would be here lol
I mean this as like the time left with the series is fast forwarded. I don't like rushing in any context, but I feel like I want to know the ending before I fall out of love with the series. I've enjoyed what gege has given in the story so far, but there is plenty of choices I would say I do not agree with imo. He seems like he has a vision of how things need to go, but getting there seems to have some issues. I also kind of hate it when authors say they want to end the story especially when it feels like it will be rushed, and is JJK's case it's sometimes hard to enjoy the story after its been said bc I'm just wondering if we're spending too much time on one thing before we need to move to the next point, but I'll still try to see the story's good and the bad and enjoy what I can. I'm going to reread the culling game arc soon, but I feel like those first fights were about gaining allies, but I can say I wasn't expecting it to go like that if that was the intention. I don't mind kenjaku having secret plans bc it's obvious when it comes to them, but I feel as though that plan overshadowed the point of the cg?? I thought there would be more focus of to kill or not, etc and I see that the most for megumi and yuji (they had my fav colony battles), and I get it somewhat with yuta, but I dont see it too importantly with hakari or maki. I'm going to reread the arc regardless because I can always be confused or a bit slower in catching on so forgive me if my insight is lackluster. I liked the running themes during yuki vs kenjaku, but her "death" felt very unnecessary because she seemed really important in achieving a curse free world and idk about you but that seems like an important goal imo and yeah someone else could lead that charge but what was wrong with yuki doing that? I don't know, but I can only hope the remaining part of the story alongside its ending is something not only we can gain some satisfaction with, but the author too can look back and say, "hey it was pretty good at least"
Gege doesn't seem to drop the ball too much with Yuji or at least megumi too, and I'm not too worried since they're my characters of interest currently, but I want to reread this story and actually believe it when I say I thought all the cast was good and I believe the writing can be better or can get worse (idk) but time will tell it all. I'm a recurring anon, so I'm sorry if the apologies are constant and sound like emails at the end 😅
Dear Recurring Anon,
HOLA! Thanks for being my recurring anon and reaching out again!
Ok but listen... I’ve been sitting on your ask for a while thinking of what I wanted to say and how to say it. I’ve probably started 3 different drafts for my response. So thanks for your patience!
Truth of the matter is that when I read your words, what it comes down to is that, even though you don’t like the recent direction the manga has taken, Jujutsu Kaisen still holds an important place in your heart.
So I think the most important question to keep in mind is that, in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the most overwhelming sense of self... where does your sense of self stand in all of this?
What do you want to take with you from JJK?
The stuff you didn’t like because it didn’t live up to your expectations?
Or the stuff you loved even though JJK was incredibly flawed?
Of course there’s more word vomit under the cut lol... you know how I roll.
I’ll start by asking you to forgive me if I’m wrong and you just really needed a container where your thoughts on the current state of JJK would be honored and acknowledged. The truth is that I totally get where you’re coming from.
I do.
I hear you.
It’s just that it’s in my perhaps annoying nature to be stupidly optimistic even when I am being a realist. There’s always a silver lining to everything if you are willing to make the effort to find it.
So, yes, I agree, and I’m also going to challenge you to find a way to continue loving JJK if that’s what you want for yourself.
That said... lets get on with the bitching lol.
Problems with JJK, problems everywhere!
Your concern regarding the pacing in the story is something that I share with you. Most especially the concern that, moving forward, Gege is going to cut corners. I’d also say that at this point this “concern” is factually canon lol.
I also agree so much with the sentiment of “is he taking too much time on this when he should be addressing this other plot point?” And I think nothing captures that dilemma quite like the Culling Game arc does--ESPECIALLY with the way he handled the chosoyuki ordeal.
Like we got pages upon pages of all of these characters and exposition and dialogue and like... wait, what was the point of the Culling Game again?
Why has no one died yet?!
Why is Yuta kissing a cockroach and why are Kashi-chan and Kin-chan trying to see who has the biggest ego (pun intended)?
Like I swear for weeks I've been like “ok it’s going down!!!! yeah here comes the angst and the deaths aaaaaaand ok never mind then.... maybe next chapter? ok.... next chapter? ok next chapter for sure. no? next chapter?”
FOR WEEKS! It’s all recorded in my chapter liveblogs lol.
Truth is, to me, the Culling Game is a weird arc because I am still trying to understand its significance within the larger Jujutsu scheme of things.
Perhaps he bit more than he could chew with the Culling Game? And as a writer myself I find this kind of relatable. I’m actually seeing what is happening with JJK and taking note of how having too many themes and plot lines can ultimately be detrimental to a story if you can’t, or are unable to execute them all to a satisfying conclusion.
So to your point about re-reading the Culling Game arc... let’s hope that Gege manages to bring it all full circle. But as things stand right now, we’re in the middle of whatever Gege has in mind so it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.
What I’ll say is that I have enjoyed parts of it with reckless abandon...
Literal picture of me reading through the absolutely ridiculous battle between Kashi-chan and Kin-chan:
I also think that, at best, we have gotten in-depth character studies (because Gege is harping on the idea about the sense of self being at the core of power in JJK) and needed exposition.
For example, even though Naoya coming back was soooooo cringe to me, I can still see the purpose it served in the narrative. Did I enjoy the journey? Not really. Same for Maki’s development.
The thing is that even if I agree with you on everything I just mentioned... I can’t unsee the story written between the lines even if the execution of the panels falls short, because I am always reading at a meta level.
I am passionate about story telling and how stories move humans, so to me, now that I’ve seen and acknowledge these flaws in the work, reading JJK is less about what’s on the panels, and more about the story he is trying to tell on a meta level through the panels.
My chosoyuki meta is a great example of me recognizing the story being told between the lines. And once I went down all of the rabbit holes I went down, even though I agree wholeheartedly that the execution fell short, the story told in the symbols was amazing to me. It honestly made me wish that Gege would have had the patience, time, energy, and space to birth that side story into the world the way it deserved to be told.
To me, I want Gege to be able to ground his vision onto the page, but if he is not able to, I’m still there for the “story” told between the lines because there’s so few mangaka whose imagination has captivated me.
In the end, as you say, it does feel like Gege is struggling to ground his vision into the page. And it kind of does suck because we, as an audience, have to work that much harder to understand the story he is trying to tell.
But the story being told is still there... so now it’s up to you to decide what you want to focus on: the flop, the bad execution, the failed attempt, JJK not living up to your expectations, or Gege, the flawed human behind the manga, trying and showing up.
What is good enough for you? That’s something for you to decide.
I’m not saying to ignore the execution.
I’m saying to remember that this is Gege’s first manga and that JJK is not what it started as--but not because it’s gotten worse, but rather because JJK is now more like Gege than it has ever been... because in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... yadda yadda yadda.
Trust the process: life is a journey, not a destination
I think your concern that you want to experience the ending makes a lot of sense and feels very relatable even at this point in my life.
But the truth is...
Foregoing the journey in favor of the destination is a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction. Look at what happened to Denji after he finally got to touch boobs!
Ok yeah, there’s a lot more to it than that in this particular case but the concept still applies.
It also applies to JJK. Again, right now we can’t see the forest for the trees because Gege is executing a complex arc.
The timeline is confusing af, and I think it’s because he may be trying to pull a similar literary trick to what happened in Westworld’s season 1 and 2 where the timeline is scrambled out of order to purposely confuse and mislead the audience.
Perhaps the timeline is out of order for another grand purpose. Perhaps he just thought it would be fun and wanted to try to execute a fun literary trick.
But we won’t know until he delivers--and delivering is a process, not a destination.
And you know what... if you still get to the end and realize that you didn’t like JJK and the latter part of the story ruined your love for JJK, well...
It’s personal
Dude like... I respect that people LOVE Chainsaw Man, and I also think Chainsaw Man is ridiculously overhyped. I’ve seen countless of videos with people hyping it as the all end be all of manga and that Fujimoto is a genius and...
I.
just.
don’t.
get.
it.
I am just not a fan of Fujimoto’s brand of navel-gazing existentialism. It feels so anti-climatic to me.
Does that mean that CSM objectively sucks and is bad?! No. It’s personal.
Similarly, I overhype the hell out of CLAMP manga, and I am also aware that people might read CLAMP manga and not like it.
Even so, to me, the four women behind CLAMP are genius story-tellers.
Shameless Subaru and CLAMP plug because this is one of my favorite Tokyo Babylon panels.
It comes back to personal taste, right?
For me, I love JJK despite the flaws because I still love the story being told between the lines, I find Gege’s brand of ironic humor funny, and I like how the story has progressed.
Say goodbye to mainstream, Gege’s work might become a cult classic moving forward
Now... I bring up Fujimoto and CLAMP to illustrate the idea that there are people who are going to be dedicated fans of a mangaka and their work, people who enjoy and appreciate their work but don’t necessarily love it, people who are in it for the hype, and people who don’t like their work.
CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura is mainstream hype. Tokyo Babylon and Clover are what you read when you’re a hardcore fan.
Fujimoto’s CSM is mainstream hype. Fire dude punch something something and Goodbye Eri is what you read when you’re a hardcore fan.
Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop is mainstream hype. Zankyou no Terror and Carole and Tuesday are what you watch when you’re a hardcore fan.
Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen is mainstream hype.
Gege followed the Battle Shonen recipe, added his own twists, and created an accidental mega hit. In fact, oddly enough, JJK has always been known as a story that defies expectations and uses tropes in new and unexpected ways.
So what happened? Why are people not liking Gege’s current execution?
To me, there’s something about how JJK is written that has changed, and it has nothing to do with Gege’s ability to write, and everything to do with his sense of self, who he has become in the process of writing JJK, and what he wants to express through his work.
In other words, JJK is more like Gege than it has ever been. Some people are going to like that, and some are not.
Truth is that Gege is one of the VERY few mangaka who can write beautiful, multidimensional, engaging and extremely human characters who are true to their nature and aspirations.
He also writes on a very meta level and you don’t see that very often... like at all.
All this to say that I think this is why you see such vastly different reactions in fandom right now.
Some people still think he’s a fantastic writer and that he’s writing a unique work that has transcended generic Shonen tropes (like yours truly), and some people think that the way JJK is right now is generic Shonen. I don’t understand this last take but...
Who is right?
Who holds THE ultimate truth?
It doesn’t really matter because it’s personal.
All I know is that I am going to keep up with anything Gege publishes moving forward because I like the story he is telling through JJK.
Above all, I’m curious to see what other stories want to be born through him into this world.
Now, I HIGHLY recommend you listen to this 20 minute Ted talk by Elizabeth Gilbert to understand what I mean when I say that Gege is giving birth to stories. Her talk is a mind-opening take on what happens to your sense of self when you accidentally write a mega hit, and how that in turn affects your creative process.
I don’t know that this is how Gege sees his work as a mangaka, but I have to wonder about the possibility that Gege, someone who has very clearly studied the psychology of Carl Jung, sees JJK as an exercise in creative imagination, and/or as a story he’s been handed from the collective unconscious.
His job as a mangaka is to show up and write, to play, to express himself creatively.
That means that sometimes what he writes is going to be magnificent in the eyes of others, and sometimes it’s going to fall short of everybody’s expectations.
And that’s what it comes down to...
Expectations
I see a lot of people complain about JJK failing to live up to their expectations without acknowledging that their expectations are simply that, expectations.
There’s nothing wrong with having expectations per se, and it is also important to realize when expectations are defining what we think is and isn’t good enough.
And let’s not forget that you too probably don’t live up to other’s expectations. Does that mean that your effort too isn’t good enough? Gosh now I sound like Lacus.
Again... who holds the ultimate truth?
In the end, Gege is the one telling the Jujutsu Kaisen story.
I also cannot emphasize enough that Gege is also a mangaka in the very early stages of his writing career.
I don’t buy that his writing was better in the beginning of JJK.
Quite the opposite, I see his writing AND art in the beginning of JJK as having followed a recipe: the three man team, found family, the strong mentor figure, etc... all the tropes are there executed in fresh and unexpected ways.
But that was 5 years ago. Again... in a story like JJK where the strongest sorcerers have the strongest sense of self... what does that mean for Gege?
That said, Gege isn’t following the same recipe anymore, he’s coming up with his own recipe and he’s learning how to write his own recipe.
This is not to make excuses for him, it’s just something to think about because most people aren’t born naturally talented at anything that requires mastery, and writing is a craft that requires mastery through execution.
As a quick side note, if you read Tokyo Babylon and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP, the 10+ year gap between both manga shows a marked improvement in the writing. AND EVEN THEN CLAMP MANAGED TO FUCK UP THE TSUBASA PLOT!
In other words, Gege has to fail to get better.
Now add to that the pressure of a weekly publishing schedule that dampens the creative process with tight deadlines, and then on top of that having to draw the whole thing. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
Gosh, if I had to guess, I would have to say Gege is ready for an extended vacation.
But, as you say, I also just want for him to be satisfied with his story.
As for us being satisfied with his story... well, it depends on what we choose to focus on.
Will you focus on how he failed at executing his vision?
Will you focus on the beautiful story he told between the lines?
Or will you focus on how how he managed to tell a beautiful story despite failing at the execution?
Can you hold the tension of opposites?
Ok SO SORRY this took me so long to get back to you my dear recurring anon. I just had so many thoughts because, like I said before, I agree with you, and I also wanted to challenge you to see things a little differently without being patronizing.
In the end, you want to continue to love JJK, right?
So love JJK!
Acknowledge its flaws and be at peace with them for the sake of that love. Nothing is perfect.
Anyways, I love that we can be in conversation about this and that you have come to me to share your thoughts on jjk.
Merci beaucoup.
#for anyone who thinks the writing in jjk sucks right now#and is worried about it#god I love jujutsu kaisen#ask the mental gymnastics anime girl
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LGBTQ Manga Review — I'm in Love with the Villainess Vol. 1 (Manga)
A New Look on a Compelling and Innovative Series
A manga adaptation of one of the best and queerest Yuri light novels I have ever seen, what is not to love! As a massive proponent of the light novels, I eagerly followed I'm in Love with the Villainess began serialization in Comic Yuri Hime last year. I am thrilled to get my hands on the first English volume, and now that it is finally out (digitally at the time of writing), I am equally delighted to read over the start of Rae and Claire's journey once again. Getting to see my favorite isekai protagonist and her bratty noble crush in full illustrations is terrific. However, it does not make for a completely flawless work.
I'm in Love with the Villainess follows Rei Ohashi, an avid otome gamer who dies and is reincarnated as Rae Taylor in her favorite game, "Revolution." Rather than chase any of the game's handsome bachelors, all students at the Royal Academy in the European-inspired fantasy world, Rae heads straight for her favorite character, the game's villainess! Rae begins to relentlessly tease the bratty and elitist Claire, much to the latter's frustration. Soon a rivalry forms between the two girls, but despite Claire's taunts and coldness, Rae is determined to stay by her side and protect her.
The increased focus provided to Claire and Rae's early relationship will be noticeable to light novel readers. While Inori's writing focuses mainly on world-building in the first several chapters, the manga makes the wise choice to condense much of this information for the sake of reading. Blocks of exposition work poorly in the manga compared to prose. However, establishing a setting is not completely thrown out the window. There are several small conversations and explanations of key aspects of the world. After quickly setting the story, the characters are left with room to explore.
Claire and Rae are the most enjoyable part of this manga. Rae is eager and doting, with a touch of masochistic. On the other hand, Claire is more arrogant, often looking down on peasants like Rae, and is continuously infuriated by her affection. A hilarious rivalry starts to spring up between the two, with Claire pranking or mocking Rae and then getting outraged when she revels in the attention and teases Claire by expressing her undying affection.
These interactions also further the story. They establish the dynamic between our two heroines and add more detail to the political situation and tensions between the commoners and nobility, the series’ main plotline. Interestingly, while Claire may believe commoners inferior, she also sees it as her responsibility to protect and instruct them in her very elitist way. Noticeably none of the torments she subjects Rea could ever cause permanent harm or damage. It is a fascinating insight into this character's mental state, and even in the first volume seeing her start to change and become more aware slowly is fascinating.
Much of the rivalry is comedy and often plays out as such. However, some readers may find it slightly off-putting and understandably see the dynamic as Rae sexually harassing Claire. I strongly encourage you to give this series a chance. This book will undoubtedly be the worst volume of an incredible series. Once I'm in Love with the Villainess breaks into its stride of exploring queer and socioeconomic issues, some point in the next volume based on reading the serialized chapters, I promise it will become a quick favorite. If you know you may not be able to overlook its immediate faults during the wait, consider holding off on the mage until after the second book is out and get them together.
Much of the previously mentioned content is the same or strongly similar to the light novels, perhaps a touch more emphasis on Claire's early hostilities; however, there are some significant points unique to the manga to consider. For one, Aonoshimo's artwork is fantastic! The characters and backgrounds are distinct, with only slight adjustments for the more comedic or dramatic stylistic choices. No matter the panel's tone, though, it is always easy to read without oversimplification. Aonoshimo also relies on very standard square or rectangle panels during most of the manga, but occasionally produces more dynamic boundaries and layouts for action and service scenes. Lastly, all the characters are on full display. It suddenly becomes a lot easier for light novel readers to picture their favorite moments. It is a lovely treat for returning readers as the visuals aid the characters, allowing us to clearly see Rod as the strong-willed if slightly aloof prince and understand how Maximillion Pegasus-cosplayer Thane is the most unpopular character in the fictional otome game when they are displayed visually.
There are some other vital factors to consider when reading the manga. For one, every character's personality was dialed up a few points, with Rae being a touch more physically affectionate and masochistic and Claire more easily exacerbated. However, the manga and the English translation takes many quirks and exaggerates them further, reducing the series’ performance. For example, while Claire's actions show the complicated relationship to commoners described above, her dialogue contains a surprising amount of vitriol and vulgarity that stands out notably.
Additionally, while Rod is usually the perfect if slightly detached prince acting as the occasional voice of reason in early chapters, his dialogue here appears laughable indifferent and meanspirited. As I'm in Love with the Villainess is one of a very few series that I follow the monthly serializations of in magazines, I was surprised to see this dialogue, as it did not stand out to me in the Japanese version (admittedly, the manga did overblow everyone's personality to some extent for comedic effect). I feel it changes the characters for the worse — do not get me wrong here, calls for "literal translation" are as unfavorable as they are uninformed. Still, the work feels careless at times.
Finally, there is the service. While the first volume contains virtually no romantic caresses or sweeping panels of scenery we associate with Yuri, there is a fair amount of salacious content. Of course, there are Rae's desperate and overblown expressions of admiration for Claire and her slight case of masochism. However, towards the end of the volume, Aonoshimo shows some skin. In one scene, Rae helps Claire get dressed and very openly admires her body, accompanied by some close-up panels of her back, stomach, and butt. There is also a very exposed bathing scene, although light covers the most explicate bits. It is obviously garish, though it tonally fits with Inori and Aonoshimo's more comedic manga interpritation and even includes some wholesome interactions with Claire and Rae alongside the sexualized comedy. Reader's millage will vary here, but I enjoyed it.
This first outing of Aonoshimo's I'm in Love with the Villainess manga adaptation is very likely to be the weakest entry in a phenomenal series to follow. The manga does a fantastic job of bringing the original light novels to life in a new visual format. The artwork is excellent, and the story condensed with a slightly different focus that maintains the feel of the original while providing manga audiences with entertainment that does not feel constrained or lacking. However, the gradual pacing of the plot and the main characters' relationship means that the volume leaves off before showcasing the meat of the series and most of its best features. There is a little bit of the stumble out of the gate, and both the publisher and the manga will likely have to course correct in future volumes or else risk destroying the development and voice of the series remarkable characters. I still recommend the series, but unless you are a diehard fan of the original like you, you might wait a year or so until we have the second volume and can enjoy a more complete vision of Inori's intricate and groundbreaking story.
Ratings:
Story – 8
Characters – 7
Art – 9
LGBTQ – 9
Sexual Content – 6
Final – 8
Check out I'm in Love with the Villainess (Manga) Vol. 1 today: https://amzn.to/3wTSJ9R
Thanks to Joshua Hardy, Courtney Williams, Peter Adrian Behravesh, and the rest of the team at Seven Seas for their hard work.
Help support future Yuri news and reviews, and get access to exclusive content by subscribing to the YuriMother Patreon
#yuri#lgbt#reviews#lgbtq#lgbtq+#queer#gay#romance#art#manga#anime#i favor the villainess#i'm in love with the villainess#wlw#girls love#gl
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AOT Characters’ Modern Jobs Headcanon; The Vets Edition!
The jobs that The Vets would have in modern!au, their workplace antics and their back story. There might be some inaccuracies when describing the job as obviously I don’t work at these industries to know its intricacies. Most of the jobs are office jobs. Enjoyyyy!
My Masterlist .::. Pt. II: Zeke Yeager’s Modern Jobs Headcanon
Most recent work: Dream Me Home (Before Shiganshina) | reader x erwin smith
A/N: I really need to finish a presentation deck due tonight for an early morning meeting tomorrow but of course, this comes first hahaha
erwin!
A/N: Basically lawyer!erwin is the way to go, innit?
He's in his 40s, so he may have a settled career
He came from a white-collar, middle-class family. So he wasn’t silverspoon-fed, but his parents had enough money to put him through good school
Got a scholarship to go to one of the nation’s finest law schools
Kept it lowkey in college’s social circle, graduated with summa cum laude, developed a strong academic relation with his professor, and got recommended for an internship at top law firm at the capital city
Starting his career as a corporate lawyer, but then built his expertise as white-collar crime attorney
In his early 30s, he represented a union suing against conglomerate corporation in a big case that had national coverage, from then on he began to know his calling
Expanding his portfolio and became well-known for defending workers, consumers and civilians against corporate fraud scheme
Currently doing a lot of pro-bono cases for deprived victims of big corporate fraud. You would see him frequently gracing your local newspaper we love us some socialist king
On the side, he often writes for law journal and fills in as guest professor at local universities for summer courses
Established his own law firm with some of his partners, specializing in white collar crime and labor & employment law
He’s damn accomplished, but never really had any time for self-indulgence. Even after he becomes a household name in the country, with tens of attorneys working under him, his employees would still see him working on New Year’s Eve
He was always attentive to his employees, though. Although he has a very strict, borderline no-life work ethics, he never forces his employees to follow his habit, in fact he despises when his employees works on holidays and can be seen blaming himself for it a bit of a hypocrite but thats ok
He still takes metro to work. He prefers a very lowkey, ordinary lifestyle because he fears if he shows any knack for indulgence, he will be susceptible to gratification from potential enemies or crooked politicians
Definitely a sight to see at the workplace, for he's tall and always oozes a sense of authority in the way he speaks and carries himself generally
His emotional intelligence is top-notch, you would never meet someone who is able to be very objective and calculating, while being kind and compassionate at the same time
His fellow attorneys put a lot for respect for him, and hundreds of applicants come to his considerably small firm every week, because a lot of aspiring attorney find him inspiring to work with
He wasn’t oblivious to his shiny reputation, but he’s trying his hardest to not let the compliments get to his head. Sometimes he doesn’t give himself enough credit for it
Was approached by one of the political party’s committee to run for local senate, but turned it down
basically he’s perfect if you like a man who’s never home for christmas
Hange!
A/N: Ok ok, I really wanna see Paleontologist!Hange because it has always been my fave dream job, but I want Hange to be out and about with people so here it is
Hange is the type to be incredibly good at one thing, that she will dedicate her whole life for that pursuit, but will be awfully oblivious to a whole lot of things (not intentional of course, they just have a very limited attention span) (they wouldn’t know who kanye west is or what tiktok is)
Like Erwin, they came from a middle-class family. While Erwin’s parents might have been teachers, accountants or other common profession, Hange came from a family of academician and researchers
Hange studied Human Geography at uni, but later found passion specifically in its relation to industrialization and urban development
Hange aims to advocate for a better living condition for workforce, and nearby inhabitants of industrialized city detroit would be a beautiful city if only they let hange designed it
Hange is a professor at university, where they also led a non-profit research think-thank that also serves as pressure group for better government policy.
The university that Hange teaches in, is also the uni where Erwin teaches in summer. They’re close-knitted colleagues as they share similar passion. Erwin relies on Hange a lot for some intellectual insights to help his cases
Hange is relentless in their cause, you may find Hange everywhere! From street protest to a hearing in the government court. They are passionate and will do anything for the cause they believe in
Hange was once hired by the government as an independent consultant for a new housing project, but left because they grew to be frustrated by the government’s bureaucracy and their outward reluctance to follow Hange's recommendation
Hange spends a lot of time overseas, consulting and advocating development in newly industrialized countries
On Hange’s birthday, her fellow researchers surprised them with a ‘pampering day’ where they took them to an optometrist because Hange had been complaining about their eyesight for a YEAR that gave them a lot of migraines, but was always either too busy or too lazy to go
Hange never really considers themselves as working, because they enjoy their job very much. Hange likes to spend months observing a community, talking to people for hours, and trying their best in understanding their problem
Out of so many great qualities that Hange has as a researcher that meets different set of people everyday, prejudice or preconceived judgment is completely absent in Hange’s demeanor and perspective
Hange doesn’t get a lot of free-time, even if they do, they’d wander around the city to do a little observation. But when the weather’s bad and they’re stuck at home with their pet lizard, they would logged into Quora to answer random internet questions
They’re an avid writer for National Geographic, and one time Hange won a pitch to make a documentary about an industrial city project they were working on
After the docu-series got broadcasted, Hange gained a small but passionate and loyal fans on the internet. You could even find a subreddit dedicated for Hange’s works
for real I want to be Hange. I want to have that kind of passion in life
levi!
A/N: I spent a lot of times thinking about Levi’s job in modern!au. Because here’s the thing, either we adopt his unfortunate childhood into its modern!au equivalent, or let’s just recreate his whole upbringing. But I think his personality stems from a specific things he experienced during childhood, so let’s not dismiss that.
Levi came from a struggling working class family. I reckon his parents might have had worked multiple jobs to sustain their living expense. Unfortunately they both passed away when Levi was very little, and left little to no inheritance
Levi’s parents were not close to their extended family, so when they died, Levi was admitted to the system and had to brace several foster families who didn’t really pay attention to him
Little Levi had come to realize that life’s all about survival and so he had been able to fend on for himself since very young age, he never asked for things
His uncle, Kenny, finally won custody over Levi when he was in elementary. Kenny made money from small-scale racketeering here and there. Levi never asked what he did for living, as long as he got food to eat and tuition paid off
Kenny was emotionally absent, but he loved spending time with the oddly quiet little child, teaching him a lot of crafts, from carpentering to how to flay pig’s skin
Levi didn’t really care about getting into college, and thought that he’d probably end up working for his uncle, so he put his bare minimum throughout school, although he was really good with numbers, especially in math, accounting and finance
One time in high school, Levi’s teacher asked him to sign up for the olympiad team, Levi turned it down because he thought that was a rich kid thing
He didn’t even apply for college, and worked odd jobs after high school. Probably working as cashiers or assistant to retail shop’s owner for couple of years, enough for him to afford a cheap studio apartment on his own
One of his bosses came to acknowledge Levi’s talent, and trusted him to handle the company’s accounting
By sheer luck, the company hit it big, and Levi found himself running the day-to-day accounting of mid-sized business with over 300 employees
He made good money already without a college degree, but with a new-found confidence Levi applied for uni, where he chose to study accounting (of course)
Although he was confident with his skills, he understood he needed to widen his horizon and network -- thus uni
Levi was one of the oldest members of his cohort in uni, but graduated with highest distinction
After graduating, with his skills and experience, it wasn’t hard for Levi to score a job at top accounting firm
There, he discovered an interest for forensic accounting, where through audits, analysis and investigation, he basically finds out if a company is doing fraud and embezzlement or not
This is where he came to know and get acquainted with Erwin and Hange (yippie they’re together again)
The firm he works for was assigned to investigate the finances of a troublesome company that had been sued by its workers for a jeopardizing working condition. Erwin was on the case, and Levi helped him with evidences for legal proceeding.
By chance, Erwin introduced Levi to Hange. At first, Levi would find Hange annoying and overtly energized, but after learning the things they have done, Levi grew to appreciate Hange’s passion (and secretly wants to have more of his positive outlook)
Levi is fucking good his job. In short amount of time, he could get a really ideal position in the office. He was almost foolproof, finding even the tiniest bit of discrepancy in his audit. He’d get assigned to the big league case/project.
Although really good at his job, he’s not a social person, especially in his office. He couldn’t understand the lavish lifestyle that finance and banking people often lead. He will only show up to office party if it is really necessary for him to show up (usually to receive some kind of informal awards for, again, being so fucking good)
He leads a no-bullshit attitude at the office, largely because of his background. He is a self-made man, and is not easy to impress by some young executives from posh school that talk bigger than they can chew
His cold, seemingly dismissive attitude gained him a reputation of being scary, when actually he is very considerate
One of the things he enjoys doing is to actually teach, he really likes when a new kid at the office come to him with none of that pretentious, big talk, and really asks for his guidance. He would love to teach you a thing or two
He would frequently check on his mentee, just to keep up with their development
And he doesn’t take credit too. When his mentee makes a milestone, he believes it’s 100% your work
If you’re his mentee, he probably doesn’t give a crap about your personal life, so don’t expect him to make small talk about that (and don’t ask him about his personal life either). But he really cares about your skill and career development
Same with Erwin, he leads a very ordinary lifestyle. He doesn’t go out often and would rather reading detective novel with his cat on the couch
He likes to spend Sunday at Uncle Kenny’s house, because he finds himself worried about the old man very often. They became close as Levi grew
Overall, Levi is a really kind and caring person if you know how not to push his button
#aot#snk#aot headcanons#snk headcanons#aot modern au#levi ackerman#hange zoë#erwin smith#modern headcanon#lawyer erwin smith#professor hange zoe#accountant levi ackerman#attack on titan#shingeki no kyojin#kojin writes
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A Debunking and, in my Humble Opinion, Superior Version of Weird History’s “Hardcore Facts About Alexander Hamilton”
I haven’t updated my blog in quite some time, and that is due to my schedule being primarily dominated by school. So, I decided my first step into posting semi-regularly once more shall be a more casual, more fun endeavor.
If you have not heard of the Weird History youtube channel, good for you. It is yet another social media platform that misconstrues history to appeal to the public’s enjoyment of extremes and strangeness. I saw The Historical Fashion Queens make a video responding to their highly misinformed documentary on corsetry on Miss Abby Cox’s youtube channel, which I highly recommend. This intrigued me, and I decided to find a video I could dissect off my expertise, at first only for fun in my own time. This resulted in the production in a very long bullet list in the notes app of my phone. So here is my informal destruction of this godforsaken video.
Disclaimer: I am not at all excusing any of the awful things Alexander Hamilton did during his lifetime. I am absolutely the last person who would even come near to claiming that many of the things he did were justifiable in the slightest. Although, he might be the only historical figure which I have a very strong interest in the life of, as he was incredibly complex, and the part of me with a love of psychology finds him absolutely fascinating. There is also something to be said about the way we consider moral standards of historical figures. We are quite lucky to believe in the time that we do, and not all of our standards can apply to historical figures. This does not mean they should not be held accountable. I find that a way to criticize people while also praising them where it is due is by judging them based upon their intentions. In my opinion, Hamilton’s intentions were not to harm anyone in most situations, so I don’t think he was a terrible person, nor do I think he was a particularly good one. Then again, I don’t think either of those things about a mass majority of people, so let us proceed without further delay. (Note: I will also be referring to the collective Weird History channel as the Narrator to avoid any mental gymnastics, and all of my knowledge is coming from my memory of Hamilton’s writing and some biographies.)
Automatically, the video starts with mention of the musical, but that just reminds me that many use Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton as a basis of their statements about him without utilizing much critical thinking, so I am slightly nervous.
The Narrator then refers to Hammy Ham man as “...one of America’s most undervalued founding fathers...” Now, it is debatable whether or not Mr. Hamilton is undervalued per se, but when it comes to the founding fathers, they are usually undervalued or overvalued. At this point, Hamilton is both.
I shall not subscribe, thank you for the offer though, Mr. Narrator.
Now for the first fact: “Historians don’t know when Hamilton was born.” Yes, this is correct, but I don’t believe this should be labeled as “hardcore”, but perhaps that is just me. One early document indicates that Hamilton was born in 1755, while all later ones point to 1757 as his year of birth. We know Hamilton was not always a completely honest man, so it is possible that he lied.
Also, they show an image of a baby, and I do not know if this is actually Hamilton, but they use a lot of strange imagery, which I found humorous.
“A self-made man born out of wedlock.” Now, this fact could indeed be “hardcore”, if this was not colonial America we are discussing. Hamilton actually wasn’t really special in this regard. Yes, his rise to fame was impressive considering his circumstances, but this wasn’t unheard of.
The Narrator then says that Hamilton’s mother, Rachel Faucette, was “estranged from her husband.” This caused me some confusion as it is a vast understatement. Her ex-husband was absolutely awful to her.
Additionally, they claim that James Hamilton left his family behind for some reason that I did not write in my notes, but the most likely reason that he actually left was because of his awesome debt. James Hamilton also had a history of ambitious pursuits for money, so it would not be extreme to claim that he moved to another island to attempt to make a fortune in some trading endeavor.
They also cease to mention the Stevens family, who housed young Alexander while he was working for Beekman and Cruger, and had a great influence on him, but I digress.
“A college dropout who joined the Revolution.” Once again, this isn’t special. Many rowdy young Whigs left behind their careers and educations for pursuit of military fame in the Continental Army. They also do not mention anything of Hamilton’s expansive military career, which aside from being indicative of primitive research, but would produce more “hardcore facts.”
Although, they do discuss his application to Princeton college, which is interesting enough I suppose, although everyone who has heard the first two songs of the musical knows this story. His proposal for an “accelerated course of study” was likely inspired by Aaron Burr, as claimed by Chernow and Miranda, or James Madison, as supported by evidence provided by author Noah Feldman in his novel, The Three Lives of James Madison, which is an excellent read. Young Madison, having already completed a course, decided to do so again, but compacting a usually three year course into a shorter period of time. He hardly slept during this period, which was stressful upon his health, making Princeton more disinclined to allow a similar course to be taken.
The Narrator then claims that Hamilton “formed his own militia of 25 men.” Technically, yes? But not exactly. Hamilton joined a paramilitary group called the Hearts of Oak, and they drilled in Trinity Churchyard. This became ironic later. He then became a captain in the New York Artillery Company, and enlisted his own men, which was at one time around thirty or so, if my memory serves me correctly.
“Founded a bank that existed for over two centuries.” Ah, yes, a very hardcore fact indeed. Yes, Hamilton did establish the Bank of America, but Robert Morris was the one who inspired him to do so. Though, I do think the financial plan is a product of his own genius, but I will get into that much later.
I got an ad. :(
The Narrator also says that the misfortunes done to the New York shipping industry by the Articles of Confederation were the most prominent, if not sole, motivation for Hamilton to concoct his financial plan. He first recognized the need for a sound financial plan when he was in the army. You know, when he was watching men die of inadequate supplies because the government couldn’t tax the states.
This video, like Chernow’s biography and Miranda’s musical, claims that Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were friends when, in actuality, they weren’t really. Yes, they knew each other, and they didn’t hate each other until the end of Hamilton’s life, but they really didn’t think about each other much before the Election of 1800.
“Hamilton authored over half of the Federalist Papers.” Indeed, he did! I enjoy this fact. It isn’t very “hardcore” but it is very impressive. The Federalist Papers were arguably Hamilton’s greatest accomplishment, as he organized the entire thing and, as previously stated, authored much of them. I very much enjoy the Federalist Papers, as they give some insight as to Hamilton’s political and philosophical theories, as well as how he thought of the world. It makes for an interesting read if you have something you’re looking for.
Now, this may be a hot take, but Madison’s essays are by far more effective, as they were better organized. Hamilton and I share a common flaw, and that is the lack of brevity.
“Involved in America’s first sex scandal.” Yes, we all know. I’ll get into the Reynold’s affair later because it’s its own beast to conquer. Basically what you need to understand information I shall provide later in this post is that James Reynolds extorted money from Hamilton, and if Hamilton failed to pay, Reynolds would expose the affair Hamilton was having with his wife, Maria. Hamilton paid, but when Reynolds was arrested for something else, he exposed Hamilton anyway.
“He worked with Aaron Burr to defend a man.” Once again, this isn’t very surprising. They were both capable lawyers in the same area, so it was basically inevitable. Though there was this one instance where Hamilton and Burr were working on a case together and Hamilton, being himself, insisted upon having the last word. Well, Burr was tired of him, and I can’t say I blame him, so he made every possible argument in his finishing speech, leaving Hamilton with virtually nothing.
The Narrator also mentions Hamilton’s opposition to slavery, but he didn’t really outwardly oppose it as much as you would think listening to the musical or reading Chernow’s biography. Far from being the “fervent abolitionist” Chernow and Miranda glorify, Hamilton didn’t really do much for the enslaved. He helped John Laurens in his Black Plan and joined the Manumission Society, but other than that, he never made any attempt to progress the abolition of slavery. He also “purchased” slaves for his in-laws, and some argue that he “owned” some himself, but there is no contemporary evidence to support this that I have seen. The enslaved and servants that were in his household likely belonged to his wife.
“Founded a newspaper that still exists.” Ok.
“Died by duel.” I swear, this fact is by far the most unnecessary. They mention the duel so many times that it is already redundant. I completely skipped over this part, and the video ended, so I was thoroughly underwhelmed.
Well, seeing as this post is already longer than my attention span, I shall save you the pains of having to read any more in just one post. I shall make a follow-up to this where I give my own facts, which I believe are far more hardcore than “he founded a newspaper.” I hope you have enjoyed and this isn’t too terribly boring. I hope to get back to posting soon.
#alexander hamilton#eliza hamilton#hamilton#hamilton the musical#hamilton the movie#lin manuel miranda#ron chernow#aaron burr#maria reynolds#james reynolds#james madison#thomas jefferson#john jay#weird history#abby cox#American Revolution#amrev#amrev history#american history#american colonies#america#the american revolution#The American War of Independence#colonial america#hamilton burr duel#duel#omg im so tired of planning and writing this but im pushing through for the sake of accurate portrayals of real people#im carrying the weight of the world all of you should be thanking me#is it awkward if i listen to how stands the glass around while i write this
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@sunheart wrote in her tags on another post:
Genuinely hate being alive ... I completely understand on so many levels why you would hate being a woman. Its horrible. And then as a Christian there's this whole really ugly dynamic- that i know is probably a lie i just haven't worked out how yet- that we're the 2nd best. The afterthought. The mediocre option. Almost everything in life men are better at and it's hard to believe it's just cultural- math logic leadership writing cooking writing physical activities on and on, and women are good at being Nice :) Which ok i like being nice but it's like that's my only option I feel like any other impact i might wish to have upon the world will be paltry in comparison to what i could do if only i was a man. I feel incompetent. Irrational. Emotional. Obnoxious. I feel like I'm supposed to be a plaything for the beings that were *actually* created to be in harmony with God like I'm not supposed to have a connection with God- only through my husband which what does that make me as a single childless bitch? I can't even fulfill the main point of my existence. Jesus interacted with women but did he care about them like he did the men? David and John were named his favorites not Deborah or Hannah. And like i said i'm sure none of that's true but i don't know how and it feels awful. hate it.
Hopefully others have shared encouragement on this already, but just in case I wanted to give some thoughts. Please know that if I sound riled at all (and I’m going to try to avoid that) I’m not upset at anyone who feels this way but am deeply upset by the enemy’s lies that so many are hurt by. As a younger believer I did struggle with some of these questions myself, and for a long time it was difficult to reconcile these concerns with the promises that God loves me.
Your instincts are right - it is a lie that women are second best. And before I go any further let me also agree that yes, we are physically weaker than men and have other weaknesses too. But since when has weakness meant that someone is any way “less than” others? Men have weaknesses too, just different ones. That’s the nature of humanity: every person is a mixed bag of strengths and weaknesses. I’ve never heard before that men are better at cooking?? My dad literally struggles to cook a hotdog in the microwave and has never touched a grill in his life. And okay men may (possibly, not sure on this one either) be inherently better at math, but which gender is drastically underrepresented in the nursing field? I suspect there are fewer male teachers, too, though not as huge a disparity. Men are more prone to recklessness and violence - part of the reason married men live longer (gotta get that stable influence). Again yes men are physically stronger but have you watched ballet dancers (oooh i mean ballerinas, sorry there’re so few ballerinos that I forgot to differentiate) or female gymnasts? Nothing “less than” there! The famous Proverbs 31 woman is a good insight into Biblical support of female abilities and value: “strength and dignity are her clothing”, “she opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” “Let her works praise her in the gates.” (The gates were essentially the city hall or forum of ancient Israel.)
Going back to the beginning - women were created second, true. But did God not know His own plan? He was always going to create women. And the really amazing thing that I learned in the last couple of years is that, when God says He’s going to make Adam “a helper” (Hebrew ”ezer”), that’s the same word that is used to describe God’s actions for His people throughout the Old Testament:
- Exodus 18:4 “The God of my father was my help.”
- 1 Samuel 7:12 “Ebenezer” means “rock of help” and is a memorial of Yaweh’s help.
- Psalm 30:10 “Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”
- Psalm 115:11 “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, He is their help and their shield”
- Psalm 121:2 “My help comes from the Lord”
- Hosea 13:9 “‘You are against Me, against your helper.’“
It is a common word for “help” used in other settings, yes, but the fact that it’s used of God illustrates that this is no poor or second-rate role. Helping - aiding - supporting - incredibly important! In fact this article I just found puts it this way:
In two cases it refers to the first woman, Eve, in Genesis 2. Three times it refers to powerful nations Israel called on for help when besieged. In the sixteen remaining cases the word refers to God as our help. He is the one who comes alongside us in our helplessness. That's the meaning of ezer. Because God is not subordinate to his creatures, any idea that an ezer-helper is inferior is untenable. In his book Man and Woman: One in Christ, Philip Payne puts it this way: "The noun used here [ezer] throughout the Old Testament does not suggest 'helper' as in 'servant,' but help, savior, rescuer, protector.'
Moving on to the New Testament, and the topic of John, who is known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. John is the one who wrote the book which tells us that (under the direction of the Holy Spirit, yes) and he only uses that wording as a title, in place of his name. Nowhere does it say he was the favorite disciple, or even most loved, just that he was loved. To me it seems more as if John is saying “Jesus loved me! Can you believe it?!” It has a feeling of awe and thankfulness as opposed to superiority.
Getting into marriage specifically, I do believe that a wife should be under the headship of her husband ...mainly in the sense of letting him have the last word on decisions and plans. This is in part due to differing areas of strength, and in part because in some situations it’s better to have a family leader - most groups of humans need a leader, and following an assigned (or picked) leader does not make one inferior. All that being said, a wife should be able to provide input, advice, and feedback to her husband, who should take into strong consideration his wife’s needs, insights, and concerns (Ephesians 5:25-29).
The lie that women cannot be connected to God outside of their husband is refuted not only by all the vibrantly faithful single or windowed Christian ladies of history (Amy Carmichael, Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, and Elisabeth Elliot are some of my favorites) but also Scripture itself. When Christ spoke with the divorced Samaritan woman the disciples were shocked not because she was a Samaritan but because she was a woman (John 4:27; she was shocked on both counts - John 4:9) - I hope they got used to it because Jesus spoke with women a lot. Despite the culture of the time, Jesus clearly had very warm and caring direct relationships with Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalene, and other women. Anna the Prophetess in the temple had been widowed for decades and was serving God alone “night and day” (Luke 2:37). Incredibly, in a culture where women were looked down upon, the Lord chose women to be the first to discover the empty tomb, and Mary Magdalene to be the first to see the risen Christ! I love that passage so much (John 20:11-18).
Another example is when Jesus stopped on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter (i.e. He put aside a powerful man’s urgent request) to lovingly interact with the woman who’d suffered bleeding for years - a terribly personal and female problem (Mark 5:21-35).
To try to wrap up, I’ll return to David in the OT, who was a “man after God’s own heart”. But again, it doesn’t say that he was actually a favorite - it does say David was chosen by God though, to lead Israel and establish the family from which Jesus would ultimately come. You know who else was chosen? Esther - “for such a time as this”. Once she realizes the task she must complete, she tells Mordecai how it’s going to go, and “Mordecai then went away and did everything Esther had ordered him.” Esther gets a book named after her and is remembered in the holiday of Purim to this day. Also note that Esther was married to an unbeliever. Likewise Ruth was chosen, as a young foreign widow, to be part of the Messiah’s kingly line. As an aside, my favorite thing about Ruth’s story (besides all the faith and beauty of it) is the simultaneous deep respect and protectiveness Boaz shows towards her (okay enough mush). Anyhow what it comes down to is that God chooses and loves both men and women, and both have a place (singly and married) in His plans and kingdom. See also Galatians 3:28 “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
This post has all over the place, and I probably forgot a bunch of things I wanted to add (if anything else comes to mind I’ll add it later), but I hope it’s been encouraging. Yes I’ve struggled with some aspects of how women are portrayed in the Bible, but what I shared above, plus the love and blessings I’ve known as a single woman are more than enough evidence that we are known and loved. If anything is unclear or anyone has any questions please speak out/send an ask! Anon asks are on too. Also if anyone wants to add or amend anything do so without hesitation!!
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Off I pop
A little tribute to my dad there. ; )
Hap’piraki once again! Here we are at my final day as a moderator here (temporarily, at least), so...
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(Oh, jeez... What am I supposed to say here? Where’s a cue card when you need one?)
So, to begin with, let me reiterate that I’m planning to be gone until July -- that may change, but that’s the plan for now -- and by “gone” I don’t mean I won’t be around, just that I won’t be answering letters. I’ll still check in every now and then to make sure things are going all right, and I’ll continue posting the remaining character essays that have been requested. This won’t include any new requests you may have, though, so you’ll either have to ask a different mod or wait until I get back for that.
In the meantime, I’d like to share a few short things about myself, and how Ace Attorney and Ask Ace Attorney have, in my opinion, changed my life for the better.
...Beeeeeeeeeeeeeelow the cut.
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been dealing with some serious struggles in recent days. Oddly enough, most of them haven’t been directly related to the pandemic, the political tension, or anything else 2020 brought with it. For me, the biggest struggles have been internal ones, most of which had to do with my self-confidence.
I’m going to borrow a quote from the Mod (writing as Dahlia Hawthorne, of all people): “When a person speaks, they say whatever is on their mind. When a person writes, they are allowed to revise and rework. Literature is the distillation of a person’s intentions into even a single sentence.” In other words (no pun intended), writing lets a person say things in the most polished way they can, without having to worry about things like stuttering, second-guessing, or sounding insincere. That’s the version of me that you get here.
In the real world, I’m as human as anyone else: dealing with things like stress, anger, self-doubt, depression, anxiety, worry, lack of motivation, etc. I’d like to say that I deal with these flaws as best as humanly possible, but that isn’t the case a lot of the time. In the 30+ years I’ve been alive, I’ve been guilty (no pun intended) of letting my emotions get the best of me, giving up on things too easily, wasting time lamenting the past, and treating myself worse than Franziska treats Gumshoe. I can’t claim to have been very nice to everyone else I’ve met, either.
The point of this post isn’t to whine about my shortcomings, though. See, out of all the demons I’ve had to face, one of the worst has been the idea that I can’t do anything well enough for it to make any real difference in the world, and never will be able to. I hope you haven’t had to struggle with this idea yourself, but if so, you have my sympathy.
Thankfully, I happened to discover a video game series and a fan-made blog that helped me realize how untrue that idea was. Which ones am I referring to? I’ll give you one guess.
Like many people do when they suddenly gain some new responsibility (even if it’s something they like), when I first joined the blog, I struggled with a thing called “impostor syndrome,” which is, according to the internet, “an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be.” Sure, I’d done some comedic writing for fun before, and I'd known about Ace Attorney and its characters for quite a while, but was I really qualified to continue the Ace Admin and the Mod’s labor of love? And what would it mean if I wasn’t? Over 11,000 people (minus some bots) were reading what I wrote, after all, so could I continue making the blog enjoyable for all of them?
(Trick question -- satisfying everyone is an impossible feat, it turns out.)
Questions like that bugged me consistently, but thanks to the love of Ace Attorney I shared with the fan base, and the creativity afforded by its fun characters and their incredible stories, I was able not only to power through the challenges of running a popular blog, but to help make it into something even bigger than it was before, as well as gaining some interesting insights from people about a wide range of topics: the law, morality, science, religion, history, politics, philosophy...
...hairstyles...
...and so on. I'm not sure what I was expecting to happen when I started out, but I sure didn’t see anything like that coming.
So, in summary, this blog and the series that inspired it didn’t just help me to maintain a healthy self-image, which is something every person needs; it’s been a huge part of what kept me sane these last few years. Athena and her psychotherapy may not be real, but being able to strengthen my writing, artistic, and comedic skills here -- and to delight so many people while doing it -- might have been the closest I could possibly get to it.
And that, my friends, is where you come in. I’ve said it plenty of times before, but here it is again: this blog couldn’t possibly exist without you. Whatever reason you may have had for writing a letter to me, a different moderator, or the character of your choice -- whether it was curiosity, love, criticism, or just for the heck of it -- I want you to know that it played a part in reminding me that I, like everyone else, shortcomings and all, am capable of making a difference in the world, even if it’s just for a few Phellow Phoenix Phans. Needless to say, I’ve appreciated every last bit of it.
My hope is to be able to do something similar to this in the future, possibly on a larger scale (what exactly, I don’t know), but even if that doesn’t come to pass, I’ll always be grateful for the positive impact I was able to make here thanks to your interaction, support, and willingness to appreciate the genius of Ace Attorney alongside me. I repeat myself, but you guys are awesome. Never stop being that way.
And yeah, I realize this isn’t my final goodbye. I just thought I should treat it like it was just in case. ; )
Anyway, it’s time for one last thing this post would be incomplete without: a heartfelt...
I’ll see you ‘round, folks!
-The Co-Mod
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I actually really liked those insight posts about Precure brooches, items, and fairies. I was wondering if you could do one about their weapons?
The Precure rankings take quite a lot of time to write so it’s nice that someone reads them!
But yes, the weapons. I haven’t made it a secret that I dislike the toy ad-like weapon designs so I don’t really care for many of these (common complaints: looks ugly and cheap, too much pink even for non-pink characters, rainbow buttons where they don’t belong, buttons or lights that don’t seem to serve any purpose, too much detail), but reading about me complaining about that for dozens of paragraphs probably wouldn’t be very fun. So I won’t put that everywhere and this will be more about judging the items in relation to each other than how they’d fare against all fantasy item designs I know.
Especially with the season I haven’t seen it was a bit bothersome to see if an item was weapon or not, so I just made some quick judgements. I’ll do the other items that aren’t in this or the other precure item posts later.
Futari wa Precure
Not a huge fan of these kind of items where the design philosophy seems to have been “it doesn’t have to resemble a weapon in any way, a pink plastic thing with buttons will do”. I’m not against all weapons looking incredibly impractical (like I love Mew Ichigo’s Strawberry Bell) but here these just look incredibly bland and cynical to me (I mean cynical in a different way than me).
I was going to be more generous with this since I thought it was a bow and bows are always elegant weapons and I’m always happy to have those regardless of how dumb the design looks, but reading the wiki I guess this is a baton instead. Boo! Still I like how it can be both a heart and also be bent open. The design makes me think of a baby toy though with all the round corners.
Futari wa Precure Splash Star
I like how the girls wear their items differently and the way the heart is framed is nice. But apart from that I don’t find these particularly aesthetically appealing, and they also look a bit too busy compared to the rest of the costume. Busy item designs are less of a problem if its a handheld item that’s clearly not a part of the base design, but when the characters are supposed to wear the item it often looks very out of place, as if it was just tacked on because the marketing team demanded it. Okay I’ll stop with this now
Not pictured: the versions with a star instead of heart, but they look otherwise the same and I like the heart better.
Yes! Precure 5
We now reach weapons I actually like! They’re pleasantly simple without unnecessary buttons everywhere, but with the tulip-like design with the cute little swirl there’s actually some point to it and it’s not just haphazardly placed buttons and lights and jewels. And as a fan of customisation I really like how everyone has their own take on the item. The pink girl apparently doesn’t feel the need to fit the theme though and hers is a lot less interesting to me, but at least it can sort of look like a flower (more like a butterfly though) so it’s not completely out of place.
Laser swors? That is a good idea. The flower is pretty too but I’d prefer it if it was a bit smaller, now it looks a bit unbalanced, and also why does everyone have to have a pink one again? Meanwhile the powerup version looks a lot more cheap, busy and gaudy.
Not a fan of this one, it feels like a portable lottery wheel, which would be a fun idea if Milky Rose had to work around with an item that gives her random powers, but I’m guessing that’s not the case. Another option would be that she’d use this to cut pizza. The blue roses and purple handle would make for a pleasant colour scheme, but then there’s the rainbow mini roses which break that, I think this would look more appealing if the roses were detachable and she’d attach the one she wants to use, but I guess the spinning wheel is supposed to be the Thing here.
Fresh Precure!
Pretty standard magical girl wands, white with obligatory pink for everyone and rainbow lights. At least everyone gets a crystal thingy at the tip in their own colour and card suit and it’s nice that they use their items differently (though Berry this is not a sword no matter how you try to slice it) but otherwise I’m not really interested.
Nice colours and the wing is cute, and I actually like the bizarre idea here. Like you could add power to the harp with the heart while playing it, or attach different attacks or whatever. But this exemplifies my main issue with the Precure items: okay, you can’t sell an actual harp with actual strings to kids so you sell this instead, ok. But why does the item in the show have to be a 1:1 replica? Disney can sell Elsa’s castle legos or inaccurate cheap-looking dolls but the counterparts in the movies look perfectly serviceable, so why can’t Passion have actual strings in her harp instead of these huge led lights?
Heartcatch Precure!
I like the metallic or glassy sheen at least in this shot and the shape of the handle. What I don’t like is the middle heavy design, I’d rather have the rainbow thing in the middle (which I’d prefer not be rainbow) either be smaller and moved to the tip, or the end part being longer so it’d look a bit like a sword.
This one is rather basic, like it’s just a circle with hearts around it. But at least it doesn’t do anything stupid and the colour palette checks out.
Suite Precure
I like the idea of being able to split the item in two but especially Rhythm’s looks a bit silly when it’s not in two parts, like now it’s not a baton or staff or really anything I could describe. But somehow I still like Melody and Rhythm’s items, at least they have consistent colour schemes and despite initially looking very different actually use the same base so that’s nice customisation. But how come the pink girl didn’t get the more ornate one? The guitar looks more on the cheap side, this is a toy guitar, not a magic guitar. And are those multicoloured buttons I spy again? But thanks to the more calm colour palette it’s not the worst toy guitar ever at least.
Smile Precure!
My first impression on this was “wow this is so dumb”, but the horse’s sleeping eye with the glamorous eyelashes makes it loop back to awesome. This is girly fairy tale magical girl design cranked up to eleven and I can only marvel the boldness. However like with the Heartcatch wand this one feels a bit unbalanced, the bottom and middle are pretty big so I’d prefer if the “blade” part was a bit longer and again the rainbow hears feel unnecessary.
Based on design alone this is a contender for my least favourite battle item, but I’ll have to hold my full judgement until I see it in action. But this has it all, there’s obligatory pink and rainbow, overdesigned, looks very cheap and gaudy.
Doki Doki! Precure
This is some seriously extreme lipstick. I guess this is a serviceable design if you want to make a lipstick based weapon, it’d probably not look very impressive if it was regular size. I like the twist-able red jewel, and the fact that while she can use different lipstick colours, the item sticks to just red and yellow.
Here we have the collapsible bow I was hoping we’d get with Shiny Luminous. Apart from the obligatory pink palette for everyone I really like these, again bow makes for a great weapon, and I also like its collapsed form, that thing just invites you to press a button and have it open up. Though holding the bow looks kind of awkward. And is this the largest Precure weapon we have? Where are the huge staffs?
For starters, I find there’s something absolutely hilarious about the name “Magical Lovely Pad”. Story-wise it has the baggage of belonging to an attack where the other characters send their power to Mana (of course) so she can take all the spotlight, but as far as the design goes I guess it’s alright for a magical tablet. And I thought this was one of the items where it just floats in the air awkwardly but apparently the Cures do hold it in their hands, so points for that.
The harp is kind of silly looking but i have to commend it for at least having the strings not be thick as a straw.
Happiness Charge Precure!
A pretty straightforward item, nice colour palette and the heart ribbon things at the ends are the same as the bracelet and resemble the brooch too so it’s consistent with the reset of the items in the season. I also like how it can be split into maracas too.
I think the idea of a star-shaped tambourine is perfectly serviceable, but this one just looks kind of cheap, like we’re in the baby chew toy category again. But I feel this could be salvaged if you gave it a more harmonious colour palette, made the heart look more like a crystal and the jingles metal (i.e. not so plastic-y).
This one always felt hilarious in that you have a grown man character showing interest in this thing. But as a weapon it’s one of my least favourites. The makeup pens that come with this are fine I guess (though the makeup the girls put on themselves looks like the “this character doesn’t know how to use makeup” kind) but the main item is very unappealing to me. I guess it boils down to the fact that this kind of items feel more like that the Cures just push a button and then the item does its magic light blast of goodness and love on its own, while with the wands and musical instruments and such the Cures feel more like they’re actively using the weapon.
Go! Princess Precure!
An alright wand, even if the tip feels a bit too heavy. The mostly white-and-goldd design is a lot more preferable to the usual pink, the dress up keys get to take a part, and the tip looks a bit like a crown.
This is in the same category as Passion’s harp, nice colour palette and a musical instruments make for a great magical girl weapon in theory, but here the result is just too cheap and toylike. No way I can imagine a violin sound coming out of this, the only thing I hear is two pieces of plastic rubbing together.
This is it, the worst item. Magical girl weapons don’t all need to resemble actual weapons, but there are some limits to how far you should go. Out of all the Precure items this feels the most like the toy department just said “we want to sell a toy castle, so have the main characters play with one in every episode after its introduction”. Can’t they use a less awkward item to conjure this castle around them and sell a miniature version of that as a dollhouse or something?
As a toy this is fine, like I had a similar little castle (it was semi-transparent blue and you could turn on a pink light in it) and sure I could imagine placing some Pikachu toys on it and have them dance, but as a weapon in a story I hate it.
Mahou Tsukai Precure!
These look pretty nondescript and forgettable. At least they don’t have multicoloured beads running down the staff, but there’s not much to talk about.
This one is cute but kind of basic too; the gold butterfly feels a bit unnecessary but if you remove it the whole thing would be pretty bland. Still, there’s nothing overly stupid and I like that the flower bud doesn’t miss the obvious that it should open in an attack.
Kira Kira Precure A La Mode
This one is a bit too bulky, but at least it makes it stand out a bit more. It also helps the item not look so unbalanced with the huge glass (?) ball in the middle. And it’s nice how you can see the Kira Kiraru in it; it makes the item feel more real when you get to see the resource it uses. The cream like decorations are cute and appropriate and the walking cane shape reminds me of the candy filled plastic canes I used to get from the summer market as a kid.
I got nothing on this, it’s another magical girl wand that doesn’t particularly stand out in any way. At least the rainbow buttons fit the theme this time?
Google tells me it’s an actual product, but to me ‘creamer’ still sounds like a Wrong kind of name to use in a kids’ show. That aside the idea of piping cream on the enemy is fun, but I don’t think they do that in the attack... But for the potential I like the design; unsurprisingly I’d remove the multicoloured decorations on the handle but otherwise it’s alright.
Hugtto! Precure
This one feels really generic, white staff with pink accents and rainbow jewel thingies. Not interested, next!
These look a bit too bulky for my taste, I think they’d look better if the neck was longer. The colours are also a bit too gaudy for my taste (and the guitar totally disappears in Macherie’s dress), though in their defense in better pictures you can see they have more white so the result isn’t quite so stuffy. But still magical guitars make for a good weapon for idol themed characters.
This feels really generic, like it’s just a bunch of hearts glued together. Next!
Star Twinkle Precure
The wand is pretty basic, but there’s something in its simpleness that I like. If you removed the pink and purple crown thingy it would be better, like only neutral white and gold, and everyone’s theme colours equally in the shooting star (or I guess the star is also yellow for Soleil but it still feels more neutral than the usual pink). With its many colours and short tail the shooting star feels like something from a baby nursery but I guess if the tail was longer it’d start feeling more like a sickle.
As for the prefume bottle, I don’t find the design particularly attractive, and it also feels like yet another case where pink has been shoehorned in. And the little ribbon feels very unnecessary.
Healin’ Good Precure
My criticism on Passion’s harp also applies here, and this time I also find the overall design less appealing with several of the details feeling a bit tacked on.
(the wands have already been bitched at in the henshin item post)
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kaylina’s top ten books of 2020 🖤
update 01/13/21: i stupidly forgot about a book that upended my life and made me fall in love with historical fiction, and so thus,,,everything has changed 😔
what that means is that a few of the original titles listed here have either been moved around or removed; i apologize to myself for the inconvenience. i do recommend reading through a bit of this again if you already read it the first time as i also revised my thoughts on one book mentioned here, so just something.
one of the things i wish for the most in 2021 is that i get to share more about my love for reading, so here’s the first post of many to satisfy that wish.
throughout 2020, i wrote some posts on a complete whim about the stories i was reading and they just kept piling on and on because i was so caught up in the euphoria of having something to turn to when school was dragging me down. i found myself to really enjoy talking about these books while i was on here so i felt it would be a worthwhile conclusion to give a good wrap-up of the top ten books that made 2020 more bearable among all of the bad.
this post is very long so if you’re curious to see what ten books stood out to me this year to make it to this list, you can keep reading in the cut below. it’s all sort of a ranking so it’ll explain why the list is backwards, and i’ll also link more information on the titles in case any of you are interested :’)
first things first, here are three honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut but are still important to me one way or another.
3. circe by madeline miller
i have to give thanks to scylla for being one of the main reasons i considered this book as one of my top favorites, a nymph-turned- monster that circe has to face more than once in this story.
also, miller herself building this book upon a figure who was barely considered in the odyssey is like a big slap to all the scholars out there who didn’t consider circe anything else but a jealous madwoman who used sorcery as her vengeance for all the sailors who came across her island.
cheers to the author for having actual critical thinking skills 🥂
2. the invisible life of addie larue by v.e. schwab
i did write a review for this book that i don’t find nearly as coherent as any other review i’ve written in 2020 but here it is if any of you are interested.
the fantastical elements of this story, along with some of the portrayal of certain characters such as luc and those that passed addie by made me fall in love with what v.e. schwab had to offer.
however, i can’t help but think that there’s s a lack of depth regarding minorities in this historical fantasy also set in the modern day. there were bits and pieces of this story that made me pause and feel like something was missing, aspects to it that left something to be desired. thinking back to it now, and after seeing a reviewer’s update on their review of this story, i‘ve come to understand that it could be because i knew this book could’ve been so much stronger if the mc was BIPOC or there were more characters of color who could give their own piece to the story as well.
there’s so much more i can say about it, but that’s a post entirely of its own to be made in future, i hope.
1. the year of the witching by alexis henderson
probably the best reading experience i ever had in 2020. here’s a review that goes into a bit more detail :’)
and here we go!!
10. clown in a cornfield by adam cesare
this book was so fun. i didn’t realize how much of a good time with this story i had until i was thinking about it last night. i mention in my review that i’m not a big horror reader but you can genuinely tell how much the author themself was a big fan of the genre and poured so much of their love into this book. it’s because of that love that i’m grateful for how much i enjoyed this story as a reader who typically is drawn more towards fantasy and contemporary fiction.
i didn’t have much of an attachment to the characters but they did make me laugh and smile despite this being a slasher horror, and because of that, this has become a pretty memorable book for me.
9. sex with shakespeare by jillian keenan
sex, to me, has always felt like a taboo topic, not just because i don’t have experience in it but because it all seems so complicated to me so just talking about it feels like i’m way out of my depth. what made this such an enlightening read for me was seeing how the author was discovering her sexuality through the influence of shakespeare’s works. keenan is very open and considerate of what readers may think going in learning about her fetish but she holds her own when it comes to her personal experience and how much more complicated one’s sexuality really is.
i highly recommend reading this article she wrote for the new york times here for more insight about her sexuality before this book came to be.
in this compelling memoir, the author literally brought shakespeare’s own characters to life and made them feel real, connecting them to her journey throughout her life. this to me, was something i could completely relate to because there are fictional characters i envision in moments of my life where i need them most and seeing the author herself explore that felt so real and imaginative to me.
this book was funny, light-hearted in some parts but incredibly vulnerable overall. i found the insightful analyses she’s made with shakespeare’s works so smart and well-written, i couldn’t give this book anything less than a five-star.
8. blood water paint by joy mccullough
written in verse, this historical fiction took me a while to get through but only because it was just one of those weeks where reading wasn’t that easy for me. once i finally got back into the stick of things, i completely devoured the rest of this story in less than a day.
the main character’s love for art was written with so much vision and spilled out in all these bright colors as depicted on the cover. what i particularly loved about this story were the interludes, little pieces inbetween chapters where the main character reflects on her deceased mother’s stories that were told to her when she was young. these characters that the mother envisioned in her storytelling became a source of light for the main character in her real life, where she then is raped by a popular artist in her village that was a mentor to her for a brief time. the aftermath of this assault culminated into a trial that got quite bloody, particularly involving self-afflicted torture in a matter of dignity.
the title makes sense once we’re in the aftermath of this trial, but how the characters from her mother’s storytelling come to life in the moments when she feels vulnerable are something i was completely enraptured in. this was because it wasn’t just their stories being told, but it was also the main character’s. seeing fiction and reality converge in such a time where women were used and borrowed felt like a vindication of sorts, very telling in how the arts works wonders upon a world that prioritizes logic over matter.
7. everything i never told you by celeste ng
this is a story about a family who’s dealing with the grief of the middle child, who’s assumed to have committed suicide. having the story reflect on each family member before and after lydia’s death, each of them dealing with grief in their own ways, impacted me just the same as how i saw how much they were grieving even before everything was torn down to pieces, all to the point where there was no way to go back. family sagas in literary fiction are always something i find myself to really connect with, and this one was no exception.
i’d also recommend listening to “ven” by cami, if not because you yourself might understand my feelings about this story a bit better then just because it’s a really good song that i discovered as i was reading this book.
6. darius the great is not okay by adib khorram
there’s one particular post i made regarding this story that i’d love to share here. through that post, i share a bit about my connection to darius as our narrator in this first book and then going on to the second book, “darius the great deserves better”, review for that sequel here.
just as darius felt a disconnect to not just his persian side of the family, but also from his entire family as a whole, i felt the same when it came to my dominican heritage. reading his journey throughout this first book in his own voice meant a lot to me then and it means a lot to me now.
seeing him grow and create bonds with characters like sohrab, his depression not being put off to the side but not beholding itself as the center of the story, and then just the persian culture all in itself when darius and his family travel to iran due to personal circumstances--all of it, makes this story something so incredibly special to me.
i learned a lot from this book, and seeing family at the forefront throughout all this was everything.
5. autoboyography by christina lauren
lo and behold my 2020 comfort book of the year + one of my favorite books of all-time. it’s the same feeling i had with “verona comics”, except even stronger because i came into this book thinking it’d be a nice and light read but it was so much more than that.
not only did this story center around two teenage boys in love but it also took into account of the relationships that they both had with other characters in this story. the portrayal of both tanner and sebastian’s families moved me beyond belief, for entirely different reasons, but seeing their story play out along with these two characters made this story hit even harder than i would expect. the location of this story and the significance of that plays such a huge role when it came to how tanner’s bisexuality was represented throughout, and how sebastian’s own grapple with his sexuality affected parts of the story. the author’s note at the end was just about anything i could ever want when it comes to understanding the purpose of one specific story, except i already learned so much from it that reading that note made the characters feel even more real.
may i suggest listening to “someone” by michael schulte because the lyrics of this song and the singer’s voice itself remind me strongly of tanner and sebastian’s relationship? which thus led it to becoming a big comfort song for me? so much so that it was my 2020 song of the year on spotify? no? yes? cool :’)
4. clap when you land by elizabeth acevedo
this was my first acevedo book, “the poet x” being her most popular work, but “clap when you land” for me too important a read that i didn’t want to miss as i was first going into acevedo’s writing. you can say that it’s because of how much this book means to me that it motivated me to read her sophomore novel “with the fire on high” and motivates me to finally read her debut “the poet x”.
i’ve talked to myself a lot about the personal connection i have with this book, but i’ll just say here that the context behind how these two main characters weren’t aware of each other’s existence and what it meant as they were also dealing with the fact that their now-dead father was still there for them despite having them in two different places,,,,,it’s just too monumental for me to put into words here. this author being afro-latina just like me and having written this story about a flight destined to dominican republic that never actually made it, and with so much heart above it all, i connected with it a lot.
as a dominican who feels both connected and disconnected to her heritage, this story breathed so much life into me. i wish you can know just how much.
3. lobizona by romina garber
the fact that i thought everyone would talk about this 2020 release with so much fervor and yet here i am holding the weight of this story with both shoulders,,,,unbelievable. i always feel insecure when it comes to recommending a book because the fact that i thought this one was incredible but not a lot people have talked about it, it makes me wonder why that is.
i really loved this book because as fast of a read as it was, there was so much to take in that you can tell how much effort the author put into it. as a fantasy, it’s connection to our reality is so grounded that it makes you wonder if it actually exists, and the background of our main character raises the stakes of a story like this where one’s identity matters too much to simply be blurred into the background. i loved seeing how there was animosity between these characters that we meet and the main character because despite having ties between each other, that doesn’t ignore how much labels in our society and the connotations that come with it carry its weight. seeing the sacrifices that were made and the discoveries coming at our main character with such a force, there was something so exciting that came from reading this book but it was very solemn overall.
the reason why this story isn’t at the #1 spot is because of technicalities, as i do admit that the ending did feel a bit rushed. but!! it made me more excited to see what’s to come in the second book of this series, “cazadora” (set to release in august 2021) so there we have it.
2. black sun by rebecca roanhorse
inspired by the pre-Columbia Americas, this story and its different narrators enraptured me in each and every page, my love for naranpa and serapio as characters soaring beyond the pages. all these different narrators appeared to have started this story as if they had no ties to each other but really, these web of characters are so interwoven with each other that there’s no telling what their destinies reveal. seeing how naranpa and serapio’s fates were tied together (not romantic, just a note in case i made it seem as such) put me on edge because there was so much political conflict and then here was a prophecy that put so many lives at stake, it was hard to know what could possibly happen. because of this, the ending of this first book in the “between earth and sky” series absolutely bowled me over and i cannot wait to see what could possibly happen next.
let me also just show my appreciation for one of the narrators, xiala, who for some reason made me think for a brief moment that her part in the story was over but really, that could not be further from the truth, i have to believe in that.
here is a review written by one of my favorite book bloggers about this story, listing five reasons as to why reading “black sun” could be an absolutely brilliant reading experience for you. it’s much more detailed and brings so much justice to this story than i ever could so if you’re interested, i highly recommend you check it out.
1. “lovely war” by julie berry
a mythic historical fiction that explored ww1 spanning a circle of characters, including the greek gods themselves—it was bound to catch my attention.
the beginning of this story immediately solidified my interest in the plot, the gods and aphrodite herself regaling the tale of mortals caught in the brink of a war that not only came with death and terror but music and bonds formed under strenuous circumstances.
watching as this journey didn’t exclude the gods themselves and how they were affected in what’s ultimately a love story, but not exclusively a romantic one, made this book become something so close to my heart, i’ll never let it go. i highly recommend.
~
and we’re done!! thank you to those who’ve read this far, this was actually a lot of work with a lot of links but i hope there’s something that you guys got out of it in the end. i’m really proud that i did this but i’m more proud of myself for having read so much in 2020 to have even been able to make this post.
thank you to all the new characters i met who will stay in my heart forever but most importantly, my thanks go to the authors who worked so incredibly hard to get their books out there, some with debuts and others with a beginning of a new series; you guys have done so much among all the trials of 2020 and i, along with so many other readers, will continue working to get your stories out there this year and the years ahead, that’s for sure.
happy new year to all of you and stay safe, everyone.
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Beautiful Day: The Don Hertzfeldt Q&A.
In which the singular creator of It’s Such a Beautiful Day and the World of Tomorrow trilogy answers 57 questions put to him by the Letterboxd community, about death, gills, snacks, back flips, the best time of day to watch a movie, and the sick pleasure of emotionally destroying people.
Since his first animated outings in the 1990s, filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt has had a way of staring deeply into humanity’s soul via a humble stick figure, and his skill at blending existential questions with situational humor breeds intense reactions. To browse Letterboxd reviews of Hertzfeldt’s animated works is to meet film lovers at a rare, collective gathering point: heaping great piles of love for films that do “the exact opposite of helping with depression”.
There’s something optimistically anti-feel-good in Hertzfeldt’s works; a bleak view of the future, and a frank appreciation of death’s inevitability, that makes viewers urgently want to fix the way they’re living right now. “I’ve built a lot of my life philosophy on the messages of this film,” writes Misty, of his acclaimed It’s Such a Beautiful Day. “It has kicked my ass completely,” writes Dirk of the first, Oscar-nominated World of Tomorrow instalment, “making me angry at myself for letting trivial stuff take over things I love and making me happy I have so very, very much in my life to enjoy and be grateful for.”
The filmmaker’s magic lies as much in the process as the content: “Hertzfeldt is able to make every moment count,” writes Artpig, of the second WoT instalment, The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts, “every line of dialogue, every moment of silence, every note of music, every line of animation.” The World of Tomorrow films, says animation expert Toussaint Egan in our Letterboxd Show animation episode, are “some of the best science fiction films, period”.
And his timing. Oh, his timing. Just as the northern hemisphere days were turning cold, and the drawn-out misery of the pandemic was really taking hold all over again, Hertzfeldt tweeted:
WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE THREE
everywhere
october 9
5pm est
🚀
— don hertzfeldt (@donhertzfeldt)
October 8, 2020
And like that, World of Tomorrow Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime was ours, an overnight gift to the quarantined and bereaved-weary, on Vimeo for all to rent or own. The gifts, they keep coming: a master list of movies that have their fingerprints on the World of Tomorrow universe, and now, in recognition of our community’s love for his films—and in his signature lower-case—the answers to questions asked in an exclusive Letterboxd Q&A.
To make things easier for Don, we grouped similar questions (and have noted which members asked what). Read on for more than you ever thought you might get to know about Hertzfeldt’s process, brain, heart and influences.
Filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt.
From “holograms that yell at you!” to the stunning colors, textures and folds of the blue mountains, to attributes David progressively deletes to make room for memories, would you please give us an insight into World of Tomorrow Three’s world-building process? —Letterboxd
in the grand scheme of the series, episodes one and two still felt like baby steps to me. episode three was my first chance to really start blowing things up and exploring this universe. when i’m writing, i don’t want to worry about going over the top or think about structure or meaning or really much of anything yet. writing is playtime, it should be fun and messy. i want to go over the top. there is no top. i don’t want to start thinking too much until i’m rewriting and sorting through it all. thinking too much too soon can get in the way, like being too aware of when you’re trying to fall asleep. when you write a diary entry or a text to a friend, there’s no self-consciousness or creative blocks, you just write. it’s casual and fluid and automatic. but if you’re asked to write a term paper or a screenplay, suddenly all those lights turn off. it can be paralyzing. it’s hard to get to that place of truly not caring what anyone thinks and approach all forms of writing just as freely as writing those immediate thoughts in your diary. but that’s what i try to do.
When you start writing a new piece, do you usually start with a plot idea, a thematic idea, one uniform philosophical notion, or a little bit of each? —Kodiak J. Sanders, Trenz, Mr. Tables
i don’t think i ever write in a straight line. i’ll jot down a hundred stray ideas over time, and one day i’ll sit down and see what connections might be made out of them. i really want this scene to be in the movie, so how do i get there? this is a good line, how can i get a character to say it? so the actual story usually only starts to reveal itself when i sit down to logic all these bits and pieces out. hey, in order to connect this strange idea to that strange idea, suddenly there is a very interesting third scene.
I’m astounded by how much the animation and the visuals improve with each instalment of World of Tomorrow. What have you done differently for each one? —Aske Lund, Cringetacular
the characters needed to physically perform a lot more in episodes two and three so there were more demands put on the animation. when emily 4 dances or david staggers up a mountain, those sorts of scenes were animated in “ones”, which means doing 24 drawings per second versus my usual twelve. it’s still all 2D hand animation, just more of a classic disney approach that gives the movement a smoother look and a little more room for nuance. and obviously it takes a lot more work. but i hesitate to call such things improvements because i’m not sure i like the idea of different techniques being thought of as good or bad. it’s just another way of doing things. it really depends, sometimes super limited animation can be more effective.
Likewise, Part Three’s sound design is incredible. What conditions did you create it in, and what are all those sounds, and how do you have such an incredible command of the cut-to-silence trick?! —Letterboxd
thanks, the sound design is always my favorite thing to do. other than julia’s lines, it’s easy to forget that all the animation starts with dead silence. obviously there’s no sound coming from a live-action set. so adding sound and music to everything, usually pretty late in production, is when all the stuff i’ve been working on suddenly starts to feel like an actual movie. this is not a future that works very well—particularly david’s, which predates everything else we’ve seen so far by a century or two—so you’re hearing a lot of creaky old hard drives booting up, electric distortions, and bent circuits from broken toys.
Emily and Emily Prime in a still from ‘World of Tomorrow’ (2015).
World of Tomorrow used to fill me with existential dread, but now with the current state of the world it’s become more and more comforting in a strange way. Do you feel that at all as you make new episodes? —mariano gg
i wish that were possible but when i’m making something i’m usually so close to it i’m unable to see anything but all the things i need to fix.
Can you talk a little bit about sourcing the photo-realistic images for the backgrounds in Part Three? —Jack Moulton
most of the environments were 2D images i built in photoshop, usually starting from close-up photos of different textures (like sandstone), all sort of reshaped and puzzle-pieced into something new. an easy to see example was david’s cockpit, which was cobbled together from all sorts of different old aircraft engine and machine parts. the trick in building and lighting these locations was always figuring out where the line was drawn in making these places realistic, but not too realistic for minimal characters to inhabit. i kept landing on a sort of painterly looking middle ground.
If the cloning process in World of Tomorrow existed right now, would you go through that process and create clones of yourself to prolong your life? —tim
probably not, that process doesn’t seem to work so well.
If you were put into the world you’ve created, would you buy gills? —Lauren Torres
i tend to avoid putting my head under because i almost always get water in my ears so i guess i wouldn’t need them. gills also seem like they’d be a real nuisance to keep clean.
What does love mean, and why do your characters go through so much effort to find it? —Andrew Michalko
oh man.
In this year of years, what do you hope people will understand about death and its inevitability (or is it all there on the screen, and if so, that’s okay too)? —Letterboxd
understanding death and its inevitability is maybe the most valuable thing a person can do for themselves.
Was the absence of Emily Prime in Part Three a practical decision [Don’s then-four-year-old niece Winona provided Emily’s voice] or an intentional departure from the first two films? —Michael
it was both. i couldn’t find a way to fit her in naturally and i also felt like the series needed to start growing in other directions and not rest on the past. episode two had also been really difficult to write, it was so reliant on winona’s recordings, and it felt like the dam was really broken when i was finally able to write without any restrictions this time.
In a series like World of Tomorrow, where you headed in a direction that is a lot more plot-driven than your previous work, how far in advance do you plan? Did you always know this was in David’s past, or are these stories told one at a time? —Ryan Welch, Kodiak J. Sanders, julius, Alex Leon
i could tell early on that this wasn’t a story like it’s such a beautiful day with a clear beginning, middle and end, but a much wilder thing that could continue to grow. the openness of it is still what makes it so interesting to me. i have all sorts of notes for the next episodes but if i already knew what would happen in episode nine i think that would take a lot of the air out of the tires and i’d start to feel like i was just connecting the boring dots. while writing, i’ve also had to be aware that there someday might be an episode nine so i can’t go wrecking the timelines before i get there.
What were the rocks and the gas pump that Emily fell in love with meant to represent? —Ekaneff
she was learning how to love, and like all of us, in her youth she gravitated to a bunch of individuals that were wrong for her.
Aside from the ability to release more frequently, is there something about the episodic structure that you prefer/appreciate, as opposed to creating one larger feature-length film? —SiddFinch1
there’s just more freedom. the traditional running time of a feature film, 90 to 120 minutes, is a totally arbitrary number.
Have you ever considered writing a World of Tomorrow book or graphic novel? —Jay Smith
the earliest ideas for world of tomorrow were sloshing around in a graphic novel called the end of the world that came out in 2013. but i don’t have any talent or much confidence in making another book like that. it’s a different world. when i look at someone like chris ware and then look at something like the end of the world, it’s like, “wow, baby made a mess”.
A page from Don Hertzfeldt’s graphic novel, ‘The End of the World’ (2013).
What attracted you to the unique style [of minimalist stick figures]? Is there a sense of intimacy that you feel you can achieve with this simplicity? —Evan Whitford
when i was little, before i wanted to make movies i wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist. i think my drawings today might have more in common with newspaper comics than the sort of characters you usually see in animation. comic-strip panels were always composed in a very reserved way because they were generally intended to be skimmed. you needed to be able to read the strip in five seconds so you could be off to read the sports pages and obituaries. the comics pages were also under constant size and space restrictions. so they were minimal by design and the artists reduced their characters to only their most essential parts. there was no room for fussing. charles schulz said “i only draw what’s necessary”. and that’s actually incredibly hard to do. you’re accomplishing so much more with so much less.
i’ve also found that if there’s a scene that’s not playing right and bothering me, most of the time it’s because my composition was too cluttered. i almost always find myself removing things from the frame and trying to pare it down to only what’s necessary. very rarely do i ever think ‘i need to add more stuff in here’. because this shot is only five seconds long and i want you to be looking over here when this moment happens and this character says something, and if you’re distracted by this other flickering junk i put in the corner it’s going to throw everything off.
Animation-aside, which creative medium do you resonate with the most? —Bronkdan
music.
How much did you pull from real-life experiences to make It’s Such A Beautiful Day, if any? What research did you conduct into memory? —Gunnar Sizemore, David Sigura, Micah Smith
whenever i got a little stuck writing it’s such a beautiful day, i’d go back and reread my journal and pull more things out of it. dreams, conversations, small scenes. reading the journal now, it seems like i stole something from it every few pages. i also heavily researched neurological problems. it’s never said in the movie what exactly’s going on with bill, but i needed there to be a real diagnosis to base the medical writing on. so all the things he’s going through are real treatments or symptoms based on an actual condition. i didn’t want to ever come out and say, “he’s got terminal brain clouds”, or whatever in the movie, because then it becomes a “brain-cloud movie”, and that’s too easy for the audience to compartmentalize and distance themselves from… “brain clouds are so rare, that will never happen to me”. but not being told exactly what’s wrong with bill might help make the story more relatable and universal.
In what ways have you kept your mind fresh creatively? How do you keep yourself from slipping into complacency? —Watchmoviez, Drew’s reviews
most creative blocks or stagnation come from anxiety, second-guessing and doubt. over the years i’ve learned to just sort of calm down and trust myself more. it’s like the old aesop fable: when you stop thrashing around in the water, the water becomes clearer and you can see more. if a scene isn’t working right, i can more easily chill out about it these days and trust that i’ll eventually figure it out—because i’ve figured these sorts of things out a hundred times before and i know by now that i’m not the sort of person who’s just going to allow a scene that isn’t working to remain in the movie. there’s a little more panic about that sort of thing when you’re young: “oh no, the movie sucks right now, will it always suck?!” i’ve reached the point where i know that i will not let it suck. and that sort of thinking allows all the movie gears to turn more easily.
Do you have a specific thematic, emotional or other miscellaneous motive in mind when including classical music pieces? —James Y. Lee
when i’m listening to music and suddenly the right piece arrives, it’s usually blindingly obvious to me: there’s just no doubt this needs to be in the movie somehow. it’s like the idea has always existed and i’ve just finally uncovered it. it’s the same with writing. when the right thing floats along, it is striking and obvious and into the pile of notes it goes.
How much of your animation style lends itself to experimentation, such as discovering new tricks and pretty shots, that is then discarded if you learn it doesn’t work as intended? —Adam, Jacob
i think i’m always experimenting. i figure if it doesn’t work, at least i’ve learned something.
What is the strangest compliment or critique you’ve gotten personally or of your work? —Elliot Taylor
i’ve always remembered this one. i am so proud of you came out a couple years after everything will be ok. it was a continuation of that story, so it was basically the first time i had ever made a sequel. and everything will be ok had done really well when it came out. it won sundance and got all these great reviews. so i am so proud of you comes out and i remember reading this review that says, “everything will be ok was probably my favorite animated short of all time. it honestly changed my life. it was funny, sad, beautiful and just so wonderful. everything will be ok, boy did i love it. incredible. two thumbs up. truly, best thing ever. wow. so, unfortunately, its sequel, i am so proud of you, just feels like more of the same.”
A still image from ‘It’s Such a Beautiful Day’ (2012).
Are there any pieces of fiction that have influenced your work that we probably wouldn’t think of? —Gyani Wasp, Mikolaj Perzyna, Aaron McMillan, Harrison, Axel, Cringetacular, The25centman, Hunter Guidry
one thing that pops to mind is the phantom tollbooth. my favorite children’s books were the ones with all the fun metaphors and clever wordplay. when i was plotting out episode two i wanted to lean into that, where visiting different sections of emily’s brain would be like milo visiting the land of math, the land of letters, the land of sound, with different looks and logic to it. so we had the bog of realism, glimmers of hope, broken memories, the logic center, and all the stuff in triangle land and square land. i guess that’s a lot but i wish there had been a bit more.
How did your friends and family respond to the “my anus is bleeding” part of Rejected? —Alex Tatterson
they were pretty used to me by then.
Do you know of the work of David Firth, the internet animator? His work is also surreal and has dark humor, but more sinister than whimsical. Would you ever consider making an animation in the realm of horror in future? —KEVIИ HДWKIИS
i’m afraid i don’t know him. i’d love to make a horror movie. from a certain point of view though maybe it could be argued that most everything i’ve made is a sort of horror movie?
My first tattoo is of Billy from Billy’s Balloon hanging from his ankle and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. How do you feel about people having your work tattooed and do you have any ink from other creatives that have meant something to you? —Elias
it really fucking enrages me when people get my stuff tattooed on them. no just kidding. mostly i feel embarrassed but i’m glad you haven’t changed your mind about it yet. sometimes i wonder how many people have.
Have you ever thought about directing live action? —Abeer, Noah Thompson
yes.
Is there an update on your feature film Antarctica? —Rylan California
it’s one of many things swirling around.
Will you do a remake of Robocop and why not next year? —Simon
no, because robocop is already sort of perfect.
Do you ever see yourself directing a large studio film? Or working with a large team to make something with a higher budget, maybe through a crowd-funded project? Or do you just strongly prefer working on your own? —Vteyshev, Monotone Duck
sure. i’ve never preferred working on my own at all. it was usually just the only way to ever get anything made. i haven’t had the funding to pay a big crew, or really much of a crew at all. there’s the old saying: you can make something good, you can make it fast, and you can make it cheap, but you can only pick two. if you make it good and fast it won’t be cheap, if you make it cheap and fast it won’t be good, etc. so my only route in hoping to make something good and cheap has been to totally forget about making it fast.
What did you find digital animation added or took away from your work, and what did those changes do for your storytelling? Will you continue using the digital medium when/if you decide to move on from the World of Tomorrow project? —Alec Lai, Slipkornbizkit, Aldo
digital just sped everything up. it’s still one person drawing everything, so we need to remember that speed is relative here, but i felt like i went from riding a bicycle to driving a car. there are many pleasant, wonderful things about riding a bicycle but you’re not going to get anywhere very quickly. and i’m not in my 20s anymore, in fact my 20s and 30s were mostly entirely devoured by making movies in what was maybe the slowest way possible. so these days i am appreciating the speed of digital.
If you could have a conversation with any filmmaker, dead or alive, who would it be and why? —ToBeHonest, Cringetacular
if i could resurrect one of my heroes from the dead i think i would feel terrible wasting his time forcing him to have a conversation with me. he might also just sit there, covered with graveyard dirt, screaming in horror.
What is the best time of day to watch a movie? —Sammy
night. i always feel a little nuts coming out of a movie and the sun is still up.
What’s your all-time favorite science-fiction film, and why? —Letterboxd
2001. because come on.
What is your favorite of Julia Potts’ films, and why? —Letterboxd
i like the one with the severed foot.
Are there any animated films that you felt had a profound impact on you as a child? —Sprizzle
probably fantasia. and ray harryhausen stuff. whenever there was a sunday-afternoon movie on TV, my brother and i learned that if in the opening titles there was a credit for “special effects” we should keep watching because we might eventually see something cool.
Which one of your movies is your personal favorite? —Jakob Böwer, RodrigoJerez
i don’t know. sometimes it’s the newest one because it’s usually the one with the most experience behind it and therefore feels like it has the fewest mistakes. but then over time i realize they’re all riddled with mistakes. of the it’s such a beautiful day pieces, i think my favorite has always been i am so proud of you. and then i’ll see reviews that say “clearly the second chapter is the weakest one”, and i’ll think, man you guys don’t know what you’re talking about.
One of Don’s layout sketches for ‘I Am So Proud of You’ (2008).
What’s your favorite Pixar film? —Jordan
inside out.
What film would you want to be the last one you watch before you die? —Gavin
honestly if i’m in the process of dying i hope i won’t be watching movies at all.
Do you have faith in humanity? —Connor Kriechbaum
not often.
What is something that worries you about where humankind is headed? —Felix_Bouchard
social media.
What is the most valuable thing you have ever lost? How often do you think about it? —Siminup
well now i’m getting sad.
Can you do a back flip, mister Don? —Doug
maybe with the help of a catapult.
What is your take on the after life? What do you think happens to us when we die? —Luisdecoss
i guess that it’s probably a lot like our memory of what the year 1823 was like.
Do you want anything from McDonald’s? —Andrew Rhyne
only if i’m in an airport and desperate.
What’s your favorite meal or snack? —Pfitzerone, Evan
lately in quarantine i’ve been discovering this particular breakfast burrito.
How’s your quarantine life, Don? —Ivan Arcena
it’s okay thanks. eating lots of breakfast burritos.
Hi! I can’t believe you’re going to read this. I am currently filled with an unparalleled amount of joy, wow. This is a long shot but here I go. I’m 17 and your (self-proclaimed) biggest fan. I’ve seen It's Such a Beautiful Day eight times now and every single time I pick up on more details. I’ve watched a few of your interviews and in the AFS one about Rejected you said that the louder you play a movie, the funnier it is. On my seventh watch of It’s Such a Beautiful Day I hooked my laptop up to three huge speakers and I must say—you were so, so right. I made a video essay about the movie. Lol, I’m not sure if this will get to you but Michael Jordan once said something about missing shots or not taking shots or maybe about tequila, I am unsure but I know it was important. Thanks MJ. Not you, Mr Jackson. I’m sorry Ms. Jackson…
I actually do have a question, sorry about the rambling. Every single time I watch the guy at the payphone flip his pencil and go “fantastic, fantastic” I cry. And I think what really does it for me is that “we’ll finally have our day”. Earlier in the movie, Bill’s co-worker talks about how all of time is happening at once. So what I constantly ask myself is if the guy at the payphone is simultaneously having his day and waiting for it. And I’m no longer speaking to that one specific example or even to the movie as a whole but I guess I’m wondering if the idea of all events happening at once comforts you?
In Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut writes: “The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist.” When I read this I immediately thought about your movie. I think the idea of all of time happening at once makes all of life feel less important but more special. You know? Anyway, I suppose I’d just like to know what inspired the lines about time in the office scene. This isn’t much of a question, more an incoherent ramble but thank you so, so much for all you’ve done. I feel so incredibly inspired and so deeply moved by your work and I know that so many people in this comment section and around the world would agree. I can’t believe I’ve been given the opportunity to ask something. It really is such a beautiful day. :) —Eli Osei (co-signed by Vooder)
that old guy at the payphone was someone i saw at the laundromat once and he borrowed my pencil and the whole thing just played out like in the movie. i just thought it was such a perfect little scene that i’d just witnessed. anyway, the idea of time being a landscape and everything taking place “at once” just came straight out of a science magazine. i don’t know how, but apparently it’s been more or less proven to be true? we perceive time in one direction, but the past and the future are always all around us. think of it as though we’re driving our car through a landscape. even though the mountains we saw ten minutes ago are behind us now, it doesn’t mean those mountains have ceased to exist. they’ve only ceased to exist from our point of view. we’ve only just driven past them. the mountains, like your childhood, are still going on back there. anyway, i had never heard of that before and thought it needed to be in a movie.
A still from ‘World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People’s Thoughts’ (2017).
Are you a fan of Kurt Vonnegut by any chance? It may be coincidental, but I love how you both utilize science-fiction settings and concepts like being “unstuck from time/memory” to explore the human condition. I feel his writing and your animation are both capable of making me laugh wholeheartedly one minute and weeping genuine, sorrowful tears the next. —Vooder
i’m embarrassed to say i’ve never read him and i’m told on a regular basis that i should. that all started after i am so proud of you came out with those discussions about time being a landscape. but i almost only ever read non-fiction. it’s a long story. but now i’m almost afraid to ever read vonnegut after all these years of build-up.
Hey Don, this is really cool. I don’t have as much of a question, more of a comment. It’s Such A Beautiful Day has gotten me through a lot of hard times, being in middle school sucks, I think everyone knows that: and your movie has made life just a wee bit better for me. It also gave me the inspiration and motivation to finish my first feature! Thanks lots. Love from Indiana —Blood Mountain: Experimental Cinema <3
hey thank you. yeah middle school was pretty much the deepest pit of hell. there’s this old saying, “if you find yourself in hell, keep going”. and i’ve never understood that saying. “keep going”, because, i guess, you can always just go deeper into hell?
Hi! Has the vitreous humour in your eyes started to deteriorate and have you experienced floaters within your eyeballs? If not, that’s okay. Just remember it’s part of life, so don’t get scared when it happens! Just keep moving on! But if you do have them, follow-up question: Do you think it’s funny that the body of vitreous fluid that allows your sight to be clear is called the vitreous humour, and when it detaches it’s anything but humorous? I find that pretty humorous myself, in, like, an ironic way. —Clbert1
i actually blew a blood vessel in my eye a couple weeks ago and the whole thing turned bright blood red. it didn’t hurt or anything, i just walked into the room all disgusting and my girlfriend was like, “what the fuck?!” and then the next day i had further weird eye problems. i just went to the eye doctor yesterday. i think i will be fine but i was thinking, wouldn’t it be like the most heavy metal thing ever for my biography if i just suddenly went BLIND? “and then in 2020, HE WENT BLIND.”
Will Intro ever be released to the general public outside of theater screenings? —Melissa
okay yes you’ve talked me into it. on that note, i noticed that the poster of intro used on letterboxd is a weird fake and i’m not sure where it came from. someone just used a picture from rejected. if fake posters are to be made i would prefer it if they used a picture from raiders of the lost ark or something.
Do you have plans to combine the World of Tomorrow shorts into one feature-length film à la It’s Such a Beautiful Day? —David Sigura, Sam Stewart, An_Person
no, it’s going to be much longer than a feature-length.
Will we ever get a ‘Hertzfeldt 4K Collection’? Or at least a Blu-ray with It’s Such a Beautiful Day and all episodes of World of Tomorrow? —Teebin, HippityHoppity
there is actually already a blu-ray for it’s such a beautiful day. up next we’ll do some sort of world of tomorrow blu-ray of the first three episodes. but 4k is too many k’s. you don’t need that many k’s.
Would you ever consider comprising an OST album of all the songs you used and mixed from your films? —PhiloDemon
i don’t think so. i read that for many years cat stevens resisted releasing his original songs from harold and maude on any records because he thought they were more special if you could only ever hear them in the movie. i like that.
Do you get a sick kind of pleasure from emotionally destroying people with your movies? —MaxT26
yep.
What’s been your ongoing experience of the outpouring of joy and love of your work? —Henry
gratitude. how sad for me if, after all this work, nobody was watching at all.
Related content
Don’s invaluable Twitter thread about “old-school animation camera stuff”
A Few of the Fingerprints on the World of Tomorrow Universe: a list of influences curated for Letterboxd by Don Hertzfeldt
Modest Heroes: the Letterboxd Showdown for indie animation
The Drawn Cinema: Analena’s list of rough animation, pencil textures, watercolor effects, dynamic brushes and other poetic artistry.
Beloved Indie Animation: a list by Gui
Animated Sci-Fi and Fantasy: an extensive list by Stonefolk
‘World of Tomorrow Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime’ is available now through Bitter Films on Vimeo.
#don hertfeldt#world of tomorrow#it's such a beautiful day#animation#hand-drawn#hand drawn animation#2d animation#animated film#animated short#emily prime#david prime#science fiction#sci fi animation#animated sci fi#letterboxd
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My retirement
Hey, all.
Boy, um, I’m sure that title is kind of a shocker, so I’ll do my best to explain myself. And stop me if you’ve heard this story before (or should I say, these stories before).
I created a surplus of materials and examples to go by when making a Gravity Falls/Wendy and Dipper story in the same fashion that I do. But in my heart of hearts, I can tell you all that the souls of these stories, the thing that everyone seems to tell me makes them so real, are based upon three real people.
I grew up a lot like Dipper did. I was a smart kid, but not that smart. I was the one everyone pointed at as a freak. The weirdo of the class. The smelly kid. I had friends; not a lot of them, but in most cases, time and distance separated us, or I drove them away of my own accord. I won’t excuse it by saying I was different; a lot of my pain I caused myself. I would be lying if I said I had proper guidance as well. I couldn’t tell you how many regrets I have.
But as I got older, I met someone special; someone different. They didn’t treat me the same as everyone else. I couldn’t tell you if it was out of pity, or perhaps, they were able to see something that other people couldn’t. And I appreciated it. To be honest, I loved them for that.
“Love,” I know, is a really strong word. It’s probably the most overused and misused word presented by most of civilization, and the majority of mass media. To me, love means to cherish, to want to protect, to wish no harm upon, and if possible, take the blunt of any blow wishing to do so.
I like a lot of people. I love a whole lot less, if that makes sense.
Even as I write this, I do not claim for this to be the correct way of looking at things; I can only tell you the way I saw things at the time.
Such is why I chose to hide my true feelings for the longest time. For all of the healing and solace this person gave to me, the very last thing I wanted for them was to be the monster’s mate. Unfortunately, my private life wasn’t too much better. It was like there was no safe haven I could provide.
Above all things, I didn’t want them to hate me for that.
Then, as always, fate played its hand. The good spark in my life was whisked away and I was forced to deal the rest of the world. But after the lot of a new series of battles and worries, something amazing happened. That little spark was reintroduced into my life.
But I was still afraid; afraid of the new monsters that would use this person to try to hurt me; afraid of a home life that wouldn’t accept them with open arms. I wanted to get closer so very much, but kept them at a safe distance.
That is, until fate struck again.
Pinned up against the wall, at the very last moment I’d believed I’d have with said person, I confessed everything.
Kinda makes you think of a certain two dorks locked in an underground bunker, doesn’t it?
They say with age, comes wisdom, and upon looking back, I understand my youthful folly. I shouldn’t have lied everything at their feet and expect a positive response. They were shocked by my admission, as they had their own feelings and hopes and dreams and heart’s desires.
I believed, because of my fear, I was too late. If I were honest from the beginning, maybe, it might have made a difference.
Despite of the distance and my own hardships, I tried my best to stay in touch with my friend. A lot of times, it was for the better. And a ton of times, it made things a jillion times worse. And I’ll admit; it was my fault. I let my own loneliness get the best of me. The very last thing I ever wanted to do was to creep someone out. Maybe that’s why it bugs me so much when someone jokingly says that about poor Dipper.
In the future, I would apologize for reaching out, only to have a welcome hand on my shoulder in return. “I’m really glad you did.”
As time passed, we did grow closer; not always in the ways I hoped, but I’d be fibbing if I said I didn’t enjoy it. We were constant valentines. They were my first real date; my first real kiss. I’d have calls waiting for me instead of me doing the chasing. For the first time in a very long time, I thought things were getting better.
But once again, fate would have its way...
Even after all these years, I question: how is it that upon telling a loved one that you must part ways (again), they become so upset that they strike you and demand why things are the way they are, if they do not care?
(For the record, kids. You should NEVER let a S.O. hit you no matter what. After all, don’t want to leave a bad example on the way out)
Part of me will always wonder if this is what made things sour between us; that eventually, I became another person that would always let them down, regardless if it were my fault or not.
Little did I know that behind their mild exterior, lived a wild heart that craved adventure and excitement. A group of rowdy and unpredictable friends were more than eager to help scratch that itch. I would be told incredible tales of mischief and wonder and mayhem. And if I were honest, I would say part of me was jealous. I wished it was just us having the adventures. I wish we could have spend the day together at an arcade. Or a carnival.
I’ll say something else I never admitted before. This person has told me countless times in our lives that I was their hero. The truth is that there were several times in my life were I considered them my hero. They were brave and independent and smart-on-their-feet and pretty much everything I wasn’t but wanted to be.
And beneath all that, there was a person who was embarrassed to be sensitive and “weak” and wanted to cry. At that time, I cherished that person more than anything in this world.
Then, I heard about the other stories: the “close-calls.” And that led me to believe that there would come a time where my loved one would go off on one of these wild adventures and never come back.
I wasn’t too far off. I’ll spare you all the rest of the details.
As I said earlier, I like a lot of people, but I love even fewer. So, it was a really long time before I could feel the same way about someone as I did before. In the middle of all of this, I accidentally stumbled upon a show on cable called Gravity Falls, and found a kindred spirit with the male lead, Dipper Pines.
Even more so, I saw parallel lines between my personal plight and that involving Dipper and his crush, Wendy. And while Wendy shares the same adventurous appetite as my loved one, that’s pretty much where their similarities end.
And poor Dipper, man. Oh, the internet was just brutal to that kid. “Robbie is the victim?” Get outta here with that garbage. It was the same crap I’ve heard half my life.
As I explored the GF fandom, I noticed a lot of the best Wendy/Dipper works came from fanfiction. (Thanks google!) And I found my inspiration for stories of my own. I was able to relate my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my doubts; bits and pieces of my real life, even if they are grossly exaggerated. (so, no fighting ghosts, haunted mansions, or cursed arcades for me, I’m afraid)
To my surprise, the first batch of stories received a ton of feedback. Lots of people cheered my interpretation of Wendy and Dipper, and what I hoped they’d evolve into. (I’d give myself a 70% on that estimate)
Did all of these viewers, reviewers, and rebloggers share the same view of the world; about love as I did?
About two years in, little did I know I would get another surprise. I would get a Dipper of my very own.
I wasn’t looking for love. Honest. But upon new experiences and meeting new people, I discovered someone - a special speck of wonder - that became enamored with me. I didn’t notice it at first. I still find it odd that someone can look or think of me in such a way.
But I remember what happened the last time I hesitated. I always said that in the slim chance I would ever get a second chance, I wouldn’t make the same mistakes twice.
I kept my word and enjoyed the best years of my life.
I made up a lot of lost time with an adorable hipster with a similar spirit to Wendy. An old soul, they loved retro culture as a whole: the movies, the music, even the video games. Their literary tastes were also very similar to mine. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a conversation with someone about books outside of a school setting.
But at the same time, you could see Dipper’s innocence there as well. A tough attitude hid a fragile heart. A hidden brilliance was often overshadowed by a lack of courage and self-esteem.
It was around this time that I noticed new comments on my latest stories. People were saying that I was (inadvertently) writing a stronger and more detailed Wendy. At first, I didn’t understand what they meant. Then, after thinking about it, I finally got what others were noticing.
My Wendy had changed because I had changed. Somehow, I gained a deeper insight on her character and the way she would view certain aspects of her life, I was now a Wendy myself, with a little Dipper that thought the world of me, and for this, I tried my best to make sure they would never feel the growing pains that Dipper (or a younger me, for that matter) would usually face alone. I was their cheering section, their coach, their backup, and I encorporated all of these things into our favorite redhead.
I found it funny that the show would (periodically) use that same angle. I only wish they would have done it as much as I did.
But as with all great things in my life, I royally screwed everything up. And during a time of distress and turmoil, my little Dipper found something better and hitched their wagon elsewhere.
So, by now, you have to be asking, “Why are you telling us bits and pieces of your life?” I do this because I want people to understand why I can’t do this anymore.
Don’t get me wrong. I love writing the stories. I also love the fact that there’s so many people that look forward to each tale, as if it was made by the real Gravity Falls team. To me, that’s a great honor that very little can ever replace.
But at the same time, the series (and especially Wendy and Dipper) is so close to my heart, and in some cases, so indistinguishable from certain aspects of my personal life that it actually hurts. For the record, I haven’t sat down and watched an episode of Gravity Falls since the Blu Ray box set came out, in which I listened to the commentary for a project for Wendip-Week.
Maybe it’s because I know what happens to Dipper and Wendy at the end of the series. Maybe it’s because their fate reminds me so much of my own. It’s a “Chicken or the Egg” question for sure.
This is why DBR3 and Serendipity took so long to finish. At times, I had to force myself on the computer to write 1,000 words at a time. It takes me months to do what I used to do in mere days or at most, a week. I don’t have the strength or the enthusiasm to do it at the same pace. And you all deserve better than that.
I need a break, guys and gals. I need to clear my mind and find out what’s going on inside here. For the first time in years, I have accomplished all of my Gravity Falls related goals. Just to go down the line:
-Published a new chapter every weekday for a month straight in honor of the GF Season 2 Premiere.
-Created a few GF stories based in the first-person perspective. One of them is one of my most popular stories.
-Delivered a DBR2 and DBR3 due to high demand.
-Shaped a two-part Wendy/Dipper story based in the same nature and context of the classic graphic novel, Scott Pilgrim.
-Wrote several extensions to Gravity Falls episodes that I had uneasy feelings about.
-Helped a fellow Tumblr user create a Wendy/Dipper themed full sized Christmas poem in less than 24 hours.
-Tried my hand at a Wendy and Mabel story just to try something different and to see if I could do it.
-Wrote and outlined a 50-page Gravity Falls comic after 3+ years of trying to get it off the ground.
That’s not really a bad resume, not counting all the contributor’s work I’ve done for other Wendip artists/writers or the essays, guides, and projects I helped Wendip-Week design. Even if I still had the energy to keep going, what unexplored territory is there for me to explore?
So what does this mean?
Well, that’s up to you lot, isn’t it?
I would love it if the same fans that enjoyed my stories took up the reigns and show us in the Wendip/GF communities what they could do. Lead the way with new Wendy and Dipper tales! Make it about the past, present, or future! Give us a new way to look at them, or present them in an undiscovered light.
And it doesn’t have to be writing, either. Make a comic. Draw a picture. Heck, do a radio broadcast for all I care. Express your minds, hearts, and soul and create with them just as I have.
(and as a side note; I hope my Deviantart friends take this to heart. The last time I was on the site, the cute/adorable pic/X-rated pic ratio was greatly, greatly one-sided in a bad way)
A lot of people might be asking, “Well, you’re calling it quits. Why shouldn’t we?”
Because if you believe in the messages I put into the stories or the effort we put into Wendip-Week, then aren’t those messages worth spreading? Just because my personal life went to crap in a handbasket, it doesn’t mean the same would happen to anyone else.
A harsh lesson I learned with age is that you can do everything perfectly, or to the best of your abilities, and still fail. The Gravity Falls team loved to instill this over Dipper time and time again.
I want to believe in something better. Don’t you?
And who says I’m gone for good? Maybe I’ll find a new form of inspiration and come up with an unique idea that I just can’t keep to myself, Perhaps Gravity Falls will come back in some form and ignite enough of a fire in me to pull a comeback.
But, until then, I plan on taking a long, well-deserved break. After all, I have a ton of missed Wendip Week submissions to catch up on. I promised myself I wouldn’t check them out until my final story is completed. It looks like that day is finally here.
However, it is the holiday season, and for this, I wish to leave you all with three different sources of inspiration. Maybe it’ll help; maybe it won’t.
1. An inspirational letter from none other than my namesake.
2. A key word of advice from one of the only series that could stand up to Gravity Falls’ legacy. It is a message I wish I could have learned sooner.
3. And simply because we NEED more sources of strong females (and something I wish I would have found in time for the Spider-Man essay), here is a tumblr blog dedicated to my favorite Marvel female, who IMHO is as close to an adult Wendy as we’ll get,
I wish you all a happy holiday, and hope that my announcement hasn’t dashed your holiday spirit. I am forever honored by all those I have worked with and by those who took my nonsensical musings and elevated them to something more.
As one of my favorite bands like to close their shows with:
“It's never goodbye, It's just 'till next time."
-ddp456
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15x20
Comment from @dollysgirl04 (sorry that I can’t tag properly) on the 15x20 meta I posted yesterday:
Trying to positivey spin the hateful messages of burying your gays and only finding happiness in death is harmful. What they did was objectively wrong and you shouldn't dismiss that in a quest to make your own personal peace with the show. Dont make excuses for real harmful messaging.
Firstly, I was in no way trying to dismiss anything. I believe I even went so far as to make it clear in the post that I understand the anger, I felt it, and let me be perfectly and absolutely clear, in case I wasn’t, that I still feel it at some of the choices made. All I wanted to offer was the fact that, putting that anger aside, I can recognise why the choices were most likely made.
I agree the problematic way that, in the visual narrative, we saw both Stevie and Charlie disappear from our story, their happiness cut short and Charlie talking about how she’d dared open her heart making it seem as though love was the actual culprit all along, for us to then not have a visual reestablishing of both these characters brought back by Jack, and their relationship restored, is highly regrettable. Keeping this in the subtext is unnecessary and neglectful and yes, it angers me too, because all we can do is assume Jack brought them both back. We don’t know he did.
If there was no intention by Berens for us to draw the conclusion that these two were brought back by Jack, then I’ll concede that the 15x18 is a clusterfuck of offensive moments and that I have absolutely no idea who these writers are, yeah? But I’m not going to assume that’s what happened, because it doesn’t track with every single other episode that Berens has written, nor does it track with the subtext he established for us in that episode: the love story exists, because couple after couple was broken apart and then Dean and Cas were broken apart. Why would theirs be the only relationship where the love was established as romantic (by Cas’ speech) and yet not reciprocated, when both of the other couples were deeply in love with each other?
Cas is canonically alive--as an angel or as the soul of the man he grew into is up to us to decide--and so the bury your gays trope doesn’t actually work in relation to him. His sacrifice brought him the integration he needed to go fix what all of his previous bad choices and insecurities and lack of self-worth and self-insight made fall apart: Heaven. And his faith in Jack made all of this fixing possible. To my mind, this is an incredible way for his individual arc to end.
Would I have preferred Heaven fixed by Jack and Cas being able to let Heaven go? Yup. But that’s not what we got, so hey ho.
All that said, your comment on how Dean is now shown to find happiness (or at least true happiness) in death is an enormous issue and I wholeheartedly agree with you on the fact that the narrative has made itself so vulnerable to this interpretation is beyond neglectful.
Dean’s death shocked me to my core on Friday. It was such a slap in the face.
But you go on to mention how this is all really harmful messaging and I am so sorry, lovely, but on this I’m going to have to disagree with you again.
Messaging is intentional. Leaving the narrative open to this type of interpretation by its audience is not messaging.
Do you sincerely believe that Jensen and Jared would go into this episode with the intention to send any type of damaging or harmful message to this fanbase, their fanbase, when they know that fanbase so well, when they’ve been so involved with creating hotlines and raising awareness about mental health, when Jared has nothing that is closer to his heart than this very issue?
Of course they wouldn’t.
There’ll be peace when you are done. And all of us will be done at some point. This is an overarching message for human beings moving through life the best we know how, not knowing what waits for us at the end of the road. It’s not Dean’s choice to die. He’s not entirely ready. Just like most of us won’t be. But he accepts it nonetheless. And the reward he receives at the end of his journey is given to him by Cas: a Heaven that now knows free will.
Like I said, I can see the most likely reasons these choices were made.
Do I like that the heart symbology was tied up through Dean’s death being linked to his heart? No. Do I like that the codependency was broken through Dean’s death, rather than active choice? No. Do I like that Dean died in a barn? No. Can I see positive things in all of these choices? Yes.
Not because I’m on a quest to make my own personal peace with the show, but because this is what I’ve done with this narrative for the past four years of writing meta analysis of it, looking at the deeper threads, finding ways to braid them together or pull them apart, see how things fit, see how they make sense with the bigger whole.
I’m quite okay with being called a clown for my positivity. I’ll even take bitch. (don’t worry someone else called me those things) But don’t come and accuse me of approaching my analysis with anything but the utmost fucking diligence and awareness and desire to suss out what the messaging is, based in what’s come before.
And I know you don’t want to hear it, but I genuinely do not believe that messaging, in 15x20 or any other episode of this show, has ever been intentionally harmful. Neglectful and ignorant? Yes. But my positive spin wouldn’t have been possible if I actually believed that Jensen and Jared had stepped onto set knowing exactly how the visual exploration of “there’ll be peace when you are done” would be interpreted by the fandom.
Am I thrilled with this ending? Am I full-out defending every choice made? Am I onboard with this ending now and all the disappointment has been left behind? Do I find it a fulfilling thought that Dean had to die to know true peace and, at least as hinted, even true love? Am I pleased with the brother threads that can be pulled on forever by that final visual where it’s just the two of them, rather than them together with their found family?
Of course not. I mean, I would even say a hell no to that. It sucks. But was it pure choice, or was it choice brought on by circumstance?
Either way, the fact that we didn’t get Misha in the finale will forever smart.
And I wanted Cas back so badly that I kept that hope alive for two weeks because anything else was utterly unthinkable to me. Of course I’m still devastated. Of course I’m still aching. And of course now we’re left with a frustrating ending that many saw coming a mile away, but that I always hoped wouldn’t be necessary, given how progressive the times are.
These thoughts above are the basis for my positive meta. The questioning of why we got the ending we got, rather than something more in line with the progression of the show. There’s good in all the bad. And that’s really not me making excuses. That’s me actually fucking seeing it there. Just as I’ve seen everything in this narrative that I’ve meta’d over the years.
I’d thank you not to be dismissive of that.
xx
#commentary#spn 15x20#representation#negativity#positivity#spn discourse#sorry if this offends#it's not my intent#I'm off to watch Misha's panel
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Strangers on a Train
Pairing: Jaime x MC
Word Count: 1,850
Note: No murderers or psychopaths here -- just some goofy fun with my favorite mind reader. It’s also woefully unpolished, so please forgive any mistakes that may appear. Real life has conspired against my writing efforts lately.
This piece was written for day 16 of the July Choices Challenge (Journey). Thanks to @julychoiceschallenge for the prompt and @krishu213 for the request! : )
That woman looks kinda familiar. Is she on something I watched on TV lately?
Drawing a staccato breath, Arden raised a hand to her cheek to make sure the wig was still secured. The long wavy locks tickled her ear with the movement, but they remained in place. While her hand was raised, she pushed the horn rimmed glasses back up the bridge of her nose, pausing at the tip as her finger slid down.
They'd left the house less than an hour ago. Had they already been discovered? Surely not yet. How pathetic.
She cast her eye in the direction of the voice, careful to train her focus on the shifting advertisements on the screen behind. The man she’d overheard was turned the opposite way, his own interest given fully to a blond woman making her way toward the stairs.
Phew.
"Here," Jaime interrupted, passing the slick rectangle of paper into her palm.
"Thank you," Arden answered after a beat, hoping that the Southern drawl sounded more natural to other ears than it did to her own.
He raised a brow. Sure you wanna keep this up?
Arden's chin jutted forward a fraction of an inch as she skimmed information on the ticket once more. The journey was only fourteen hours long. Most of that time, they'd be sleeping. Once Cassidy picked them up from the station in the morning, they'd be back to their normal selves.
You're right. Stupid question, Jaime amended as he shuffled closer.
She caught the sleeve of his jacket with a small smile. “I may not get any sleep. I have a mind to stay up and look out the window all night.”
Jaime chuckled as he slipped his fingers between hers. “We’ll see. Once we start moving, you may be lulled to sleep.”
“Maybe,” she wavered skeptically, glancing back down at the ticket in her other hand. Compared to the joy of traveling, sleep just didn’t seem very important.
As was the case with so many of their schemes over the years, this whole situation had begun with such an innocent start. Jaime had been the one to suggest that they turn the trip for Chris and Meta's wedding into a weekend excursion. She'd latched onto the idea, especially after realizing how easy it would be to make the journey by train.
From there, the plan had just sort of run away with her. The thought of reminiscing with her college friends had made her realize how much she’d changed in the years since she’d dropped out of school. Thinking about those changes led her to wonder what it would be like to assume another identity for a few hours.
Her persona had to be something fun -- something that would make her completely unrecognizable. Posing as an odor tester from Georgia was the perfect challenge to keep the trip interesting. She’d be able to shed the disguise well before the wedding festivities began, and none of the other passengers would ever be the wiser about having sat across the car from one of Northbridge’s rising celebrities.
Sucking a small breath as she handed off her ticket and ID, she let it out again slowly when she was given approval without incident. It was a good thing her license picture was from so many years ago. Age and a haircut had done a lot to change her features in the meantime, leaving her with a portrait that looked as unlike her normal appearance as it did today’s variation.
Smothering a giggle in her coat collar, Arden stepped up into the car and peered down its length. She shuffled forward in the narrow aisle, swinging her tote back in a gentle arc toward her stomach. It had been months since she’d been in a crowd of this size without feeling positive that someone would recognize her sooner or later. While she didn’t begrudge the loss of her anonymity, there was something novel about being an unknown entity again.
A gasp broke through her thoughts, followed by a quiet curse that no one else heard. Impulse turned her head toward the middle-aged traveler behind her.
It’s all down my shirt! I can’t believe I did that. I can’t show up at Pat’s tomorrow with tea stains!
"Oh, bless your heart,” Arden cried softly, meeting the man’s light blue eyes. “Do you reckon we can find some towels over yonder?”
Jaime had already released her fingers and was making his way toward the nearest lavatory. His thoughts carried over his shoulder as he traveled. Good grief, Arden. You can pull off an accent and a wig, but you can't pass as eighty.
She channeled her laughter into a sympathetic smile that was just a bit too high up on one side. Surveying the situation before her, she commented, “Oh, those lids ain’t worth a lick, are they? They’re just no good at all. Always leaking and making a mess.”
The tea-stained passenger regarded her curiously before repeating his attempt to snap the lid back into place. “I’d have to agree,” he said finally, motioning to his saturated polo.
“Here,” Jaime passed a small pile of paper towels over her shoulder. The man accepted them with a grateful nod and began dabbing at the affected fabric.
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, sir!” Arden called as she followed her husband further down the car.
“So much for keeping your head down,” Jaime mumbled, more to himself than to her as they settled into their seats.
“What’s the point of doing this if I can’t interact with people? I want to see what the world is like through another perspective.” Straightening in her seat before her impassioned whisper could draw too much attention, she glanced up to smile at those who were still boarding.
“You’re going to be doing this all night, aren’t you?”
She tittered at his fond accusation and reached into the tote for her book. “Tomorrow too.”
_____
“Hi, I’m Elizabeth.”
Though she’d practiced giving her middle name, the syllables still seemed to clutter her tongue. Compared to what she was used to, it was much too long and unwieldy to feel natural.
“Gina.” The young woman across the table smiled eagerly, though Arden could sense the tinge of discomfort as they slid into the opposite side of the booth.
“Nice to meet you, Gina. I’m Jaime. Sure you don’t mind us joining you for dinner?”
Her head started bobbing from side to side. “No! Not at all.”
“Thanks.” Arden tilted the menu up to read the contents. “Is this your first time taking the train?”
Gina leaned forward to answer. “No, I use it to go home for most college breaks. It’s a little old fashioned, but I love it,” she admitted with a faint blush. “This is my first time going home since the start of the semester.” I hope my parents are getting along this time.
Arden had to bite her cheek to avoid reacting to the stray thought. Brightening, she lowered her menu to look Gina full in the face. “Any tips for first-time travelers?”
They fell into easy conversation, trading thoughts on every topic from Gina’s school to Jaime’s latest projects around the city. Eventually, talk drifted to Arden’s assumed profession. Her delight at getting to show off her research mingled with the risk of making a misstep.
“What’s your favorite smell?” Gina questioned with unfeigned interest.
“Hmm,” Arden pondered, settling the fork back onto her pile of rice pilaf. “My favorite category is woody scents.”
Jaime nudged her with a discreet elbow as she elaborated. Is this Arden speaking or Elizabeth?
She warmed at the question, grateful she was sitting close enough to make out the traces of cedar and pine embedded in the denim of his jacket. But as appealing as her husband was, she wanted to know more about the young woman sitting across from them.
“What did you say you were studying?”
“Molecular biology!” The woman’s thoughts started bouncing off one another like heating atoms.
Arden couldn’t help wondering how long it had been since the last time someone had asked about it with genuine interest. She took another bite of her roasted chicken to show that Gina was free to continue talking.
“I just submitted a proposal for my capstone. It’s about the...” she chattered excitedly, using words that threw Arden back to long afternoons of sitting through Chemistry 101. Even so, she was grateful when Jaime’s insightful series of questions kept Gina talking through the end of their meal.
“I’ve got a ton of reading to get through this weekend,” she explained after their dishes had been cleared away, ”but it’s been so fun talking. See you for breakfast in the morning?”
“Definitely,” Arden confirmed before the other woman returned to her seat.
“You make friends everywhere, don’t you?”
She rolled her eyes at Jaime’s undertone and gathered her tote bag. “Like you have room to talk. You’re friends with everybody.”
“Almost everybody,” he corrected. I’m pretty sure I still owe Alec Burdock a talking to.
Try as she might, Arden couldn’t contain her laughter as she followed him out of the dining car.
_____
Toothbrush in one hand, Arden used the other to raise a grateful wave toward the train attendant. “Thank you! Goodnight.”
Snapping the sliding door shut behind her, she turned into the roomette to face Jaime. Already changed into his pajamas, he held out a hand to welcome her into the bed.
“Are you Arden again?”
With a nod, she reached up to peel the wig away from her forehead. The fake hair hadn’t been uncomfortable, but it was still an incredible relief to strip away the excess layer and feel the cool air at her hairline.
“Let me help,” Jaime offered as the back caught on the hair at her neck. His steady hands made short work of the tangle, and he passed her the full wig within moments.
“Thanks.” She smoothed out the strands before placing it carefully on an overhead shelf. Lowering back to the mattress, she reached behind her to unzip the top of her dress. His fingers were there to replace her own within moments. “You’re very accommodating,” she praised while pulling the garment over her head.
“Of course.”
“And you were right about me sleeping,” she disclosed, tugging her pajama shorts up around her hips. “I’m exhausted.”
Jaime simply nodded and welcomed her down onto the makeshift mattress after she turned out the light. She curled close, breathing a tranquil sigh when his arm encircled her waist.
“Arden,” he breathed into her temple, hardly audible above the ambient sounds of the rails beneath them. "I'm glad you're you."
“Me too,” she whispered, her knuckles idly trailing the dusty line of stubble at his jaw. Snuggling into his side, she reflected on the day’s events.
Tonight had been fun, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t looking forward to the morning as well. Yet, the charms of her own life outweighed those of any other. She’d never trade it for anything.
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Where do you think teen wolf jumped the shark? Also, non-specific, but do you have a favourite (and least favourite) TV finale? Thanks!
I heard a TV writer once discuss shark-jumping in terms of suspension of disbelief. “You get one buy,” is how he put it. On Psych, we’ll buy into the idea that Shawn does wacky hijinks in pursuit of convincing the police that he’s a psychic, because that is the show’s central premise. But if you try to add one more unbelievable thing on top of that (say, werewolves) the high-wire act fails. You’ve asked the audience to believe too many things, and now their faith in the show has collapsed.
But as even that writer acknowledged, it doesn’t usually work that cleanly. Shows rarely jump the shark all at once. Even seemingly obvious cases like, I don’t know, Bones, usually show some cracks in their foundations before they do whatever massive thing it is that completely fucks over their show. And often, it’s not a case of so much doing something that breaks the suspension of disbelief as it is breaking your contract with the audience. We agreed, implicitly, that we were going to be this kind of show—but now we’re this kind of show, instead.
The weird thing about that is that, in theory, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The Good Place broke its contract with its audience at the end of season one in a pretty major way: A lot of the twist of the first season of that show only works if you assume that it’s the kind of show that doesn’t have twists. (And despite it being one of the best first seasons of a comedy in years and years, I know people who felt betrayed by that twist!) Agents of SHIELD, as I wrote about earlier today, broke its contract with its audience massively at the end of its first season—it spent 18 episodes establishing a world, and character dynamics, and operating procedures, and then not gradually, but all at once, said, “Okay, none of that is what we’re doing anymore”—and became a much better show for it. Sometimes, you just have to say, “Screw the old world order,” and let people come along or not.
So anyway, when I ask, “When did Teen Wolf jump the shark?” I’m asking both, “When did it stop being the show it agreed to be at the outset?” and also, a little bit, “When did it get bad?” And there are two assumptions built into those questions: 1) That Teen Wolf at some point stopped being the show that viewers first signed on for, and 2) That Teen Wolf was ever good.
And, okay, I don’t think that Teen Wolf was a bad show, clearly, because I have watched seasons one through three… a lot. There is something compulsively watchable and fitfully well-observed, about that show. The scenes between Scott and his mom, or Stiles and his dad, or of just Allison, alone, are often shockingly well-observed on a human level. There is some great, almost melodic dialogue, performed by really good actors.
But also, I mean, it’s really silly. The first season is paced atrociously. There are all of these over-the-top cinematic sequences of lacrosse. The mythology is incoherent, even before they start piling stuff onto it. And it doesn’t seem to have a central theme until well into its third season, at which point its central theme is extremely ethically questionable.
But I think the thing is, that’s the show that viewers signed on for! They signed on for this silly, heartfelt, overly cinematic, occasionally weirdly insightful, sometimes very funny werewolf show, that couldn’t pace a 12-episode story arc to save its life. And there was no one moment where that show transitioned into being a different thing. It would be really easy to point to Allison’s death, but honestly, I think her death was fairly in keeping with the kind of show Teen Wolf had been up to that point; one thing that the show had always handled pretty well was teenage heartbreak, and although the ramifications of Allison’s death were handled weirdly, when they did pop up, they tended to be some of the better bits of late-season Teen Wolf.
I will say that season 3B was a huge tonal shift from previous seasons. It’s significantly darker than anything that came before it—not just at the end, but all the way through. It’s not really goofy the way that previous seasons were. On the other hand, 3B is a really good season of Teen Wolf. In many ways it’s the show firing at all cylinders. They’ve got their formula down. (Teen Wolf at its best is a villain + a secondary villain who’s hunting the main villain and making trouble for the good guys in the process + a handful of emotional throughlines.) They’ve got a genuine atmosphere going. They’ve got a tremendous central performance from Dylan O’Brien. And the plot completely tracks!
The problem is that 3B leads into season 4, which maintains the tonal shift—it is literally, physically darker, as all of the ensuing seasons are—but is also bad. There are moments of season 4 that I like, but it’s also the point in time when Teen Wolf gives up on the “two villains” model in favor of the “five hundred villains” model, and also introduces a bunch of new characters, which it is absolutely not capable of dealing with. Also, at around this point, Teen Wolf stopped plotting logically and started plotting thematically. What I mean is that, for instance, in season four, suddenly Lydia, Stiles, and Scott all have massive, encroaching financial issues. Of these, Stiles’ are the only ones that are connected to any previous plot point on the show itself. Lydia’s are, if I’m remembering correctly, introduced mid-season for like two episodes. But more to the point: These financial issues don’t go anywhere. There’s like a running bit with a duffel bag of money from the Hale vault, or whatever, but it’s ultimately meaningless, because the financial issues are not there to either move the plot forward or elucidate character. They’re supposed to be a thematic counterpoint to the hired assassins who have shown up in Beacon Hills.
That kind of theme-based plotting is a) not Teen Wolf, and b) completely outside of Teen Wolf’s skill set, and as soon as the show started working that way, it immediately became an incomprehensible mess. I reviewed every episode of season 5A, and I still could not tell you what the fuck was happening in that season.
But that can all be walked back. I’ve watched shows that got bad—sometimes in ways that made them feel completely unfamiliar to themselves—and then got good again. (For example, Community‘s season four finale is a shark-jumping moment if I’ve ever seen one, and season five, though it had Harmon back at the helm, still didn’t feel like Community in some vital way—but season six is my second-favorite season of the show, and keeps trying to sneak its way into being my favorite.) The moment that I think of as being the point of no return, for Teen Wolf, is when they wrote Kira off. When Allison died, at least it felt meaningful, and like it was part of the natural progression of the show saying something. When Derek and Isaac left, it was due to the actors understandably moving on, and came about in ways that felt like natural exit points for the characters. But Kira’s exit was just Teen Wolf flailing, getting rid of characters who felt like likeable, old-style Teen Wolf (and who the show had put three seasons of development into) while filling up the cast with a bunch of mostly bland next-generation people. After a season with no Danny and no Coach, writing Kira out was really Teen Wolf just intentionally burning its bridges.
And actually, if you go back, it all starts even earlier than 3B. I think the cracks in Teen Wolf’s foundation start in 3A (a season I’m generally fond of!) with the introduction of the capital-M Mythology: the True Alpha stuff, which ended up really fucking with its ethics and the way that Scott functioned on the show long-term; and also Lydia’s banshee stuff and the Nemeton stuff, which ended up just being incredibly confusing. Season 3B is remarkable, in hindsight, for how comparably well it deals with those elements, when they all ended up being a huge drag on the show, in the long run.
So my short answer is that Teen Wolf jumped the shark in season 4, but my longer answer is that it was a process, starting in season 3A, and not really ending until season 5.
My favorite TV finale is, I think, the Lost finale, although the Community finale is certainly high up there. (Controversial, I know, but I will stand by this opinion til the end of time.) My least favorite, though I know it’s practically a cliche, is the How I Met Your Mother finale. When my sister was helping me brainstorm to figure out my answer to this question, she noted that a unifying factor among many terrible series finales is that they undo major aspects of the show that preceded them, and she is completely correct. This is the same reason that, even though it’s unusual for people to stay with their high school sweethearts, Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione had to be together in the Harry Potter epilogue; if you want to make that point, you had a whole series to make it. Trying to be clever and pull a fast one with the ending is just irritating.
Send me meta prompts to distract me from my migraine!
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Discussion Recap - Author Q&A!
Well, JFC crew, we’ve reached the end of another fabulous fic! Thank you so much to everyone who read along and participated in the weekly discussions - you all are the best.
And of course, a huge thank you to @swissmissing for writing The Baker Street Nativity in the first place and for coming along to our Author Q&A to share some insight into her writing process and background to this fic. Questions and answers are below the cut as this got quite long!
And finally, thanks once again to @frodosweetstuff for allowing us to use her artwork for these update posts!
Happy holidays everyone - may you and your loved ones be safe and happy this festive season! xx
1: Why this AU? What got you started on it? @ewebie
I saw the movie and with MF in it, of course I immediately started thinking of how it could be a Johnlock AU. I do that frequently anyway: imagine Johnlock versions of stuff. I just watched a few Netflix Xmas movies recently and I am still thinking of how to turn them into Johnlock AU's. I see the world through Johnlock-coloured glasses. Is that healthy or normal? IDK.
2. Would you ever consider publishing your fanfic? @norburylibrary
No. First off, the story is obviously cadged from a copyrighted screenplay. To publish it for real, as an original work, I'd have to scrub the names and characters so that they don't interfere with BBC copyright. That part should be feasible, but the story itself is too close to the Nativity screenplay. As for any of my other fics, the non-fusion ones, I don't think I've written anything that could stand on its own without the Sherlock association. One of the huge assets of fan fiction is there is a built-in character background and setting. I'm not up to rewriting to the extent of creating something that could be published as an original work.
3. What do you enjoy writing most, humor or angst and why? @elwinglyre
I can do both, but I guess I'm more drawn to angst. I think humor is harder to pull off, for me at least. I'm not a naturally funny person. I have to think hard to come up with funny situations and lines. Confession: In some of my fics, there are certain punch lines that were actually written by my beta readers. I think Sherlock and John - in fact all of the Sherlock BBc universe - lends itself more naturally to angst anyway. although there are humorour parts in the eps, I find them more geared towards angst.
4. Was it confusing at all having seen the movie to then switch the roles? When writing it. @sherlock-nanowrimo
Yes, totally confusing at first! I started out with the "natural" roles, with John as the teacher and Sherlock as the assistant, but it wasn't working for me so somehow I just got the idea to try it the other way round. Once I started down that path though, it wasn't confusing for me. I was worried throughout that it would be confusing for readers. But everyone who commented and said they had seen the movie, also said the switch wasn't hard for them to deal with.
5. When you write is it because you get a fic idea or for some other reason? Like stress reliever or for doing something fun? @tildathings
Good question. I always want to write. I get a great feeling of satisfaction when I write something. Especially when I finish a piece. It's a big shot of dopamine for me. It carries me for a long time, sometimes days. BUT I can't force myself to write. I tried that one year with nanowrimo and it was not a good thing. So I can really only write when "the muse" grabs me. When I get an idea that sticks with me for days and weeks. And with this fic, it really came alive and almost wrote itself, once I was on the right track.
6. How much do you base your writing on the show and how much on your headcanon? @travelingwithoutthedoctor
This is a problem too, as I haven't gone back and watched the episodes in a really long time. Many of the eps I only saw once in the first place. I have the feeling that the fandom circles you travel in tend to create a fancanon that pretty much replaces the actual canon. So that's something I struggle with. I actually try when I write to imagine and hear the TV characters speaking and acting things out, in the hopes that it makes it closer to how they might actually be in those situations. I suppose that's unavoidable. I'm sure I do have an image of the characters in my mind, and I write from that. I just hope they are pretty aligned with the original characters from the show.
7. I thought you did an incredible job making Sherlock a teacher for young children credible. That wasn't something we'd think of Sherlock doing, and you made it work. What did you take into consideration when doing this? @elwinglyre
Woo boy, that's a thing! He is so completely unsuited for this position. I had to justify him being in that position, however, so I kind of hand-waved something. Honestly, it wasn't my priority. I was just trying to create Johnlock moments. I mean, I think he's actually quite good with children. We've seen that on the show with Archie. I think it would depend on the kids.
8. I’m curious about the speed of writing. How quickly do you get a chapter done? @vitruvianwatson
Once I get going, I can usually do about a chapter a week. My chapters tend to be 2-5K.
9. The UST, miscommunication and angst of this fic was deliciously frustrating, and a lot of us were yelling at them to just sort themselves out. If that was the hardest part about reading it, I'm wondering about what was difficult to write in this fic? Were there certain sections or characters that you found challenging? @lediona25
I was honestly following the pacing of the movie, pretty much. I did need to add some scenes. I tried to pace it so that there was a romantic bit about at the halfway point, and another one for the big payoff at the end. One challenging bit was the dog. I wasn't sure whether to include him, but once I did, I kept forgetting about him. I kept having to go back and remember where the dog was and who was taking care of him. I don't have a dog so I was just doing what I've seen other people doing with their dogs. They leave them tied up outside of shops and restaurants all the time so I figured it was okay. Again, it wasn't really a priority. A lot of people commented that they liked the dog in there though, so I'm glad I left him in.
10. It was perfect casting! We were talking about it during the movie - like with Greg as the headmistress. @sherlock-nanowrimo
That's one of the best parts of doing a fusion, for me anyway, is the casting. I love discovering how characters map onto each other. Sometimes it's astonishing. I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH JIM!! I didn't want to make him actually evil or a real threat. It always gives me massive anxiety when Moriarty shows up in a fic because often truly awful things happen then. But I wanted to keep this in line with it being a kids' movie. And to be fair, I didn't really need to change all that much from the movie bad guy anyway. That nativity play he put on was insane! And I actually was just teaching one of my classes last year about universal story plots such as the hero's journey. (Yes, I'm an English teacher.)
11. One of your ficlets suggests some pretty unpleasant stuff re: Jim's backstory. @bluebellofbakerstreet
Jim's backstory. I kind of imagined he and Sherlock had been rivals at the conservatory and Jim had tried to derail Sherlock with drugs. Perhaps somewhat successfully.
12. What the hell is the story with Sherlock and whatever he did to Seb Wilkes?! @ewebie
I don't know either! LOL that is actually something I like doing in fics because, again, I like it when fics do that: hint at something but not elaborate and leave it up to you to decide what was actually going on. I guess maybe that's frustrating to some people but for me, it gives fics depth and realism. It's like in some fics where you just hear about a case in passing but the details are never fleshed out. I was using it to show that Sherlock had made poor decisions with kids in the past, so this thing he did with taking the kids to the studio wasn't out of character.
13. John... as a classroom assistant. How did you see him ending up there? Our conclusion was that... lost people just sometimes end up places @ewebie
I don't recall if it's explained in the fic or not, but I actually had something in mind for that. He was invalided out of the army and bumming around with nothing to do, feeling useless. His good friend Mike, who was also a teacher, recommended him to Greg as a classroom assistant. No idea if that would be allowed in the UK but here in Switzerland it's frequently done. Usually a retired person will be brought in as a classroom assistant. This keeps them active and engaged, and is a big help to the teachers.
14. We loved the whole scene with Moriarty at the end when Mycroft pops out and saves the day. You did a bang-up job with that. When you're finishing a story, are you one those "I've planned it all out" writers or stream of consciousness writers. Let's go with the flow? @elwinglyre
In this case, the ending was written for me. I just followed the plot of the movie. Usually, though, I do have the ending in mind from the start. It's usually pretty much a sex scene, lol. The whole point of the fic is usually, how do I get these two together?
15. Oh! The sex! Is that easy for you to write. I have the hardest time with that. Is something your really get into? @elwinglyre
True story (which I also told on one of my guest slots on the TPP): I didn't use to be able to write sex scenes. But I wanted to. So I literally would copy sex scenes from fics I liked. Just like, typing them out word for word. This got me used to writing those words and those acts on my screen. Then I tried writing my own. I think I sort of have a reputation for writing awkward-realistic sex scenes. I'm not aiming for that, it's just how they come out. It's a mix of, again, imagining how the characters would appear and act and speak in those situations, and also I guess how I would feel and want things to be.
16. We have a lot of people in this group who are just starting out writing fic or are thinking about writing something, do you have any advice to new writers? @lediona25
I'll just say what we started out talking about: Write for yourself. Write what you want to read. You will always have an appreciative audience. I see so many writers get discouraged because they don't have massive hits and kudos, and they just give up. I think most of the popular writers in fandom have been around for years. This may be their third or fourth fandom. They've been writing in real life. Experience takes a long time to build up.So write for yourself. The rest will come. And... at the moment, it feels a bit like there's less readers than 2 years ago, so really really don't be discouraged.
Thanks to all those who asked questions and to @swissmissing for her thoughtful answers! :)
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~the Gazette - interview for Vif Music about the [NINTH]~part 3
- So, tell us, please, what has changed a lot, what were the biggest obstacles encountered?
AOI: As for guitars, before, both guitars used to sound in unison. This time we didn’t try to bring their lines to each other ideally. We gradually tried different instruments, even those that we don’t have, and thus brought melodies and their parts up to the most expressive progress. Until now, what will be the sound, was solved like this: "Uruha, what are we going to do with the sound?", but now I began to pay more attention to guitar phrases added by me, deciding how they will sound better. Just when I was working on the sound, sometimes Uruha wasn’t around. Since time immemorial, we have always worked on this together, so I didn’t really understand how to do it.
REITA: Because there was no one at all.
AOI: I worried a lot. And Ruki was busy writing lyrics, so he didn’t come. I recorded with the thought: "It's not good. What will I do if I had to record something completely different?"
- You talked about "DOGMA" that guitars are off course for digital effectors (so-called "pedals") And what about the current album?
AOI: Oh, talking about things of two or three years ago... I'm the type of people who don’t look back (laughs).
RUKI: Just like a politician.
AOI: This time we used both analog and digital, as the case may be. But with "Falling" it was hard. With [Falling] we determined the further sounding of the album, and when we all together were going to do preproduction and start recording, it turned out that our initial idea of its sounding and its whole image definitely diverge. Couldn't decide the supply of the song... We discussed this and eventually decided, how it will sound better, but it took the most time.
- When the issue with "Falling" was solved, the direction of the movement as a whole also emerged.
AOI: Yes. And yet at first we make a lot of different treatments, and as a consequence - there are many unnecessary sounds of instruments. Much became clear only in the process of work, so at that moment I thought that we had finally moved on to the next stage.
URUHA: Approximately from the period of the last collection of ballads [TRACES VOL.2], I recorded everything through a virtual guitar processor almost without using real amplifier. Thanks to this there is a great deal of freedom of action, but since there are a lot of techniques I couldn’t decide: in my head everything sounded not good enough. The moment when I finally calmed down, there was a recording of [GUSH]. It was in the last quarter of the recording process. By that time we had already done a lot and made some mistakes. We rewrote already recorded parts, in which we missed purpose, and even after we finished recording [GUSH], again began to remodel something. It was difficult to cope with everything by having a virtual processor that I use. Everything rolled like a head, changing on the move, and we pretty much made trial and error. In the digital sphere there is a lot of everything, so after some time you want to try again, using some other options.
- Uruha-san very much focuses on the sound quality, probably, because this part of the process was hard for you.
URUHA: Well, I end up achieving the style that truly reflects my idea, but it takes a lot of time. Honestly, when we were working with a ballad, I couldn’t understand the necessary sound. [NINTH] began, leaving behind unresolved issues, but to the stage of work with [GUSH] I realized that it was time to stop in my throwing.
REITA: I recorded in the studio till this time. And then, if possible, I tried to choose the sound until I understand that I'm on the right way. But in the studio there is always a sound engineer, who scans each audio track, and I, in any case, didn't polish my playing to the utmost satisfaction. But when you record alone, you have such an opportunity. In particular, if we talk about bass, then the volume of sound changes from the change of the strings. If you strongly distort the sound [by effectors], this is unlikely to catch your eye, but if the distortion is reduced to a certain level, it is very interesting to hear the difference in the volume of the sound. Therefore, you can experiment, recording the batch by raising and lowering the volume. I was able to do a filigree work, and on occasion, I want to repeat this next time.
- Is this the first time that you have come so far into the work with sound?
REITA: Yes. If you do everything yourself, it turns out by itself. It takes a lot of time, but the ability to record everything in such a way as to remain completely content, plays a big role.
- Reita-san in social networks raised the question "What is a good bass sound?".
REITA: ... well, it was such a trifle.
URUHA: And what did he write there?
- "I thought that instead of the bass line sounding deafeningly powerful, it will be better if you can pleasantly feel low sounds. I want you not to hear, but to feel."
URUHA: AHAHAHA!
AOI: Are you sure you meant the bass?
REITA: It was a bot ...
RUKI: I saw this post.
REITA: Stop it (laughs).
RUKI: But doesn't the bass have enough clear parts in the current album? Type of those where you use the bend* ? [* way of playing the guitar] Besides, I thought that you used to play that way often (laughs).
REITA: This varies from case to case! (laughing) If we talk about the orthodox style, then of course, this is my standard style of play, and depending on what kind of song, I use it. Is not it good !? (laughing)
KAI: We had in mind that you shouldn't say such dubious things (laughs).
REITA: In moments of sudden insights, I begin to want to speculate. Just like an adult man (laughs).
RUKI: Yeah (immediately responded).
REITA: So, now the adult man will speak. Abroad, this is not so, but in Japan, everyone who are in this sphere the bass of the middle setting is mainstream [*so-called "Mid bass" different from the high bass and lower bass] with a distinct sonorous batch. Among them I'm not like everyone else, that's what I wanted to say.
RUKI: For the moment when you think about it "And when did I become like this?", it's better not to say this? (laughing)
ALL: (laughing)
- And how did Kai-san go through the recording?
KAI: For [Falling] I was able to devote quite a lot of time. Until now, I almost didn't record on the real set in the studio, but I wanted to rethink the sound from scratch, and besides all of us together have decided to try everything, that we can, so I tried to record a batch of drum-plates separately. Having done so, the groove [* rhythmic sensation in music, "swing"] turned out very good. Anyway, microphones are always aimed at the main drums, and when the plates come into play, the accent switches to the top [* the top plate in hi-hat], so at that moment there is such a sound breakdown. We had a conversation with a sound engineer that at such a time of entry [plates] it is somehow difficult to enter. So, I determinedly recorded separately the drums, separately the plates. I had experience of such a record earlier, but it didn’t turn out very well. And I thought that, based on that experience, this time I was lucky, and everything turned out.
- Does this method of recording take a decent amount of time?
KAI: Truly so. In conditions when there was no time, the drums were allowed a lot.
RUKI: If to think about it, the "Falling" took most of our time.
REITA: Aha. Perhaps even too much.
KAI: But if we didn't do all of the above, we wouldn't finish the album.
AOI: Uh-huh. Its creation was the point when we decided what we wanted to do, relying on the songs written earlier, so I'm sincerely glad that we made it.
◆ If only we could come up with something during the long tour to continue our activity (Kai)
- It's not surprising that we all look forward for the tour, because for the album we chose 12 songs, looking at the essence of the concerts. I heard that Aoi-san had a dream about the first day of the tour.
AOI: True, I saw it. Although the songs were not finished yet.
REITA: Such dreams are a typical problem for musicians.
- And Reita-san had a dream about a video, where he was shot in a pose of a hanged man, right?
RUKI: He is the character who has such dreams (laughs).
AOI: Dreams about everything related to the group are harmful to the heart.
REITA: Moreover, the dream was so real. Although these are dreams, they are just like that.
RUKI: And I dreamed that I was terribly late for the concert in Toyosu.
REITA: It wasn't a dream! You were actually late (laughs).
- Was it on Halloween? [*October’17]
REITA: Yes. And two days in a row.
AOI: You didn’t want to come?
RUKI: I wanted to sleep (laughs). But I thought that if I was late, an incredible number of messages would come to me, but, despite the fact that it has already exceeded 13 o’clock, I only got two ones. I was such "What!?"... (laughs).
- So you fell asleep again.
RUKI: No, I woke up (laughs). But in the first instants I didn’t understand what had happened.
- And what was Aoi-san's dream about the first day of the tour?
AOI: I told everyone: "I don't remember any batch!", but, despite this, the intro already sounded, and everyone stepped onto the stage. And I continued to ask: "Wait! Wait!.."(laughs)
RUKI: I often see such dreams. For example, that I didn’t have time to change the outfit.
URUHA: I also have such, about dressing up, when everything has begun on the stage.
REITA: And I once dreamed that I hadn’t put on my nose-bandage.
ALL: (laughing)
REITA: I thought in my dream: "The intro already sounds! Really!?", and didn’t see what happened next. Apparently, I woke up on this.
AOI: Also, there are dreams that the venue was moved.
REITA: Yes-yes, the place was moved, or when suddenly they say: "And this is a new song! Please listen to it! "
URUHA: And you just: "Whaaaat?! But I don't know how to play it!"
RUKI: Excuse me, but what "And this is a new song! Please listen to it! "? (laughs) I would ask to leave it in a dream.
REITA: And let you will see these dreams by yourself (laughs). However, Kai doesn’t say what dreams he saw.
URUHA: Exactly, I didn’t hear a single story from him.
KAI: C'mon, I see them too.
RUKI: It's just that Kai has some other dreams.
REITA: For example, that he wasn’t paid.
KAI: It sounds too real (laughs). In fact, I see the same dreams as you, just I don’t talk about them. Because I'm nervous most of all.
AOI: It's just that Kai is arid man. Because he is not such Kai, as everyone sees him (laughs).
ALL: (laughing)
- Unknown side of Kai has opened (laughs). By the way, the name of this tour «the GazettE Live Tour18 THE NINTH / PHASE #01-PHENOMENON-», but the title contains a number "01". Does it mean that it will be like with "DOGMA", when other activities followed after the tour?
RUKI: You asked this question, knowing perfectly well that the members won't answer for it (laughs). It seems to me that something will happen. But something concrete, as with "DOGMA", when the single was released after the album, no!
REITA: Forgive us for this.
RUKI: But, probably, on the second part of the tour Kai will quit. With the words: "I'll return to the third part" (laughs).
KAI: Ok, so we'll do it (laughs).
ALL: (laughing)
- The name "PHENOMENON" has a very wide range of meanings: phenomenon, danger ...
RUKI: We meant the "phenomenon". Is not the phenomenon starting from the first concert day? Like, the very first concert of the tour can be considered as the specific phenomenon, which determines the whole tour.
- Usually your ideas coincide with reality?
URUHA: We have our own ideas, but that's what didn't confirm them, it's "DOGMA". If you imagine too much, it becomes difficult to match (laughs). We selected set list with such diligence, thinking: "Here is the ideology of Dogma!", but in fact it didn't fall into a heart.
REITA: Don't you think we a little bit overdid? Then the concert began immediately, without any introductions. We thought that it would spur the fans' mood, but they couldn't prepare for this. The next day, we immediately made an introduction.
KAI: And very quickly (laughs)!
REITA: We have an amazing ability to correct shortcomings (laughs). But this time I have no doubt that the concerts will be hot. In addition, the summer after all.
- Reita-san's bot, by the way, wrote that he wants the audience to start preparing their physical strength.
RUKI: And Reita often writes on Twitter "Rather kill me" (laughs).
AOI: He writes, writes!
RUKI: Always. "Kill me" or "I rather want to die at a concert" (laughs).
REITA: Ohhh, how awkward. I want to die, right now ~! ... Maybe you will unfollow me?
ALL: (laughing)
RUKI: And "Kill me on the tour" does not write.
REITA: But I do not want to die seriously! (laughing)
ALL: (out of laughing)
RUKI: Anyway, I want to make this tour fun. Something like one more memory, which can reshape the idea of our concerts. But when it starts, again, probably, it will turn out gloomier than I thought (laughs).
REITA: Surprisingly, there is such a feeling.
RUKI: Aha. Because with "DOGMA" there wasn't such impression.
- I'm eager to know what this phenomenon will become.
KAI: That's for sure. As for some reason it seems to me that this tour will be long, there are also some doubts about the physical strength. In addition, after "DOGMA" 3 years have passed, and I, frankly, think that we have rested for too long. Of course, without forgetting what Ruki said: “I want to make this tour fun”, I hope that in the process of a long tour, we will think of something, what let us to continue our activity.
original on vif-music
translation from japanese to russian by haruurara-kazan on tumblr
translated from russian to english by me
as always thx for reading and sorry for mistakes ^^
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