#is this technically meta or critical? i would say so
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Hi! I'm kinda here to ask for clarification on something you said; hope you won't mind^. You say that Crowley's dark grey comment is one of the more honest and introspective things he says: that kinda comes across to me like you saying that Crowley's saying he's mostly bad with a capacity for good* and that's a fair assessment of him. I would have said it's more that he's mostly good with a capacity for bad**, baggages worth of issues and a bunch of flaws, primarily related to arrogance***, but that's technically beside the point: I also felt like that was the direction your character analysis of him was going. I'm now wondering whether I misunderstood the dark grey comment or misunderstood the analyses... what does your exactly mean, exactly?
*Concepts decapitalised because I'm talking about more human than Heavenly or Hellish standards of good and bad.
**Concepts decapitalised: see above.
***Blinkered was the word you used, I believe? It's a lovely expression.
^This isn't meant accusatory and I did my best not to sound like it, but I know you've had to field a few asks about yes, you do like Crowley very much, your criticism of him doesn't mean that's not the case, and I can only imagine how annoying that must be: feel free to can this if it comes across that way.
oh anon sweetheart 💕 don't worry about the tone or wording - your tone is perfectly polite and courteous, and i thank you for that!!! others have not been as conscientious 💀 though, be careful what you wish for in asking this, because it's gonna be lengthy 🫠
how you interpreted it is exactly as i meant it; i do think, when taking crowley's characterisation in the show (his book characterisation, for me, is rather different), crowley for me is a darker character with the capacity for light, rather than the other way around. and im going to specifically use darker and lighter, as opposed to bad and good respectively, because upon reflection, maybe that's more accurate.
yeah, to me, he is a dark character; if you've read any of my other asks/metas, please forgive me for repeating stuff, but imo the narrative tells us that he is more commonly swimming in darker tendencies than light. feel free to skip the next part and scroll to here*, because i will be recounting specific scenarios off the top of my head (going in chronological order):
not really explored fully in the pre-fall scene, because it runs throughout the show as a prominent theme; crowley is either unaware of why he fell (possibly true), or blatantly lies to himself and others about why he fell (equally plausible). his story about it changes, or at best is simply told in fragments... but his overall demeanour of when (e.g.) he's confronted with news of the apocalypse ("why me?"), when coupled with this, suggests a tendency towards blame avoidance, with a hearty dose of chip-on-your-shoulder complex
tempts aziraphale into eating in job; it doesn't really matter whether or not aziraphale ends up liking food and wine or not - he rejects the wine, and crowley immediately changes tack to offer food instead, citing that he can't get drunk on it, and of course he's not tempting him (absolutely is) so it's fine. aziraphale may have been curious about it, and this may be what crowley picks up on, but compare this scene to where aziraphale offers muriel a cupperty, and doesn't push when they refuse drinking it... hmm. (perceived feeder kink or not, crowley's face at the end of this scene screams satisfaction at his corruption)
this one is a little iffy, granted, but adding it anyway - blatantly dismisses aziraphale's concerns about the arrangement (heaven would be rather angry, but nowhere near how hell would retaliate - "they'll destroy you!), and pushes anyway. it's again another case of pushing for what he wants (and yes, true, what aziraphale secretly wants - which crowley detects and capitalises on), dismissing aziraphale's worries that, as we can surmise later on, were not unfounded
lets the french guard be taken off to his death. this is debatable, depending on whether you consider the guard to be a good or bad person in the context of the reign of terror, and deserving of execution as a result, but they could have easily escaped the cell unscathed without unfreezing the guard - ultimately, who are they (yep, including aziraphale here too, he's equally as culpable) to decide if he should die?
in the same vein, sends two watchmen falling to their deaths down a deep pit, and his only remark is, "might have slightly overdone it on the hole..."
(this one is tricky, but it rubbed me up the wrong way on first watch and thereafter so im including it) when morag dies, crowley's handling of the situation only really serves - imo - to rub it in aziraphale's face, when he already feels guilty enough for the both of them. i realise that he had to labour the point to aziraphale, and was just being honest - fair, he has a point! - but it came across as simply unkind and uncharitable... again, towards someone we are assuming he cares deeply about...
this one is in fact going to lean on some interpretation, but i think it's one that is so widely implied in canon that i think it might as well be; something happened to crowley between 1827 and 1862, and within that time, i don't think he was on best terms with aziraphale, given aziraphale's coldness when he arrives in st james' park. so, we could - could - surmise that he just suddenly asks for holy water from aziraphale, something that would be dangerous for them both and seems to exploit their friendship. he doesn't adequately explain why he needs it ("just insurance" is not sufficient at all imo), and taking offence to aziraphale's use of 'fraternising ' then contextually feels a little hypocritical
lies to aziraphale about having experience with a gun, banking on using a miracle if need be - which ultimately puts aziraphale's 'life' on the line, rather than being honest. he may well just want to make aziraphale happy, sure, but aziraphale goes into the bullet catch without all the facts - his face when crowley admits he's never shit (edit: meant to say shot, obviously, but leaving it in for @fabledshadow💕) a gun before says it all, really
when aziraphale saves his life with the photo trick, he doesn't thank him, or acknowledge any kind of gratitude at all, that it saved him from a rather bleak fate at the hands of hell. he may well be insulting aziraphale's skills to dissuade him from a repeat occurrence of the bullet catch (fair!), but he is also insulting the very thing that got him out of danger... and the very thing that aziraphale obviously takes a lot of joy, pleasure, and pride in (and, yk, what crowley was actively encouraging just a few hours previous). it was justified, to a certain extent, but it was... unkind
(the Big One - so let's get it over with) tries to tempt aziraphale into killing a child - antichrist or not - and continues to persuade him into it despite aziraphale evidently being uncomfortable with the prospect. it also indicates how little he knows aziraphale in this respect; regardless of whether it would be the antichrist or not, this is the angel who tried to preserve humanity by offering a sword to pregnant eve, and was ultimately crucial in protecting job's children. even in mesopotamia, you can see how subtley appalled he is with killing children - despite him trying to rationalise it by saying it's the great plan etc. killing a child, id wager, would destroy aziraphale. i digress, but if crowley loves aziraphale as much as he (and the fandom) likes to think by s1, it's rather dark that he would try manipulating aziraphale into doing this in the first place, and return to the suggestion again not once (bandstand) but twice (airfield)
sets up an elaborate trick just to make a point to aziraphale on the use of guns, and then lets innocent humans get arrested on what i would say would be very serious charges in s1 (i mean, let alone firearms offences, arguably it could be charged as attempt murder 💀)
hits anathema and acts in such a way that he probably understands that he equally hit her and she hit him, yet is more preoccupied with fixing the bentley, something he could miracle repaired later on... as opposed to helping her back to her feet and ensuring she was alright. he also is prepared, after all this, to reject offering her a lift, excusing that there's nowhere to put her bike
backhands "clever" with "stupid", because aziraphale is doing something (trying to reach god directly as a last resort) he doesn't think is worthwhile. aziraphale finds out that that is true, but once again, im gonna ring the 'unkind' bell
doesn't tell aziraphale about what went down with gabriel, or how closely hell is keeping an eye on him, or the threat of the BOL, or that he's living in his car, or what happened in heaven/the issue of the second coming. there are loads of other little things too, but he lies by omission, whilst maintaining that he doesn't lie to aziraphale, and routinely keeps information from aziraphale - not only information that would be beneficial to share in the general sense, but information that directly impacts aziraphale, and comprises both of their safeties. has a tendency towards a hero complex that ends up either going wrong/unfulfilled ("i won't leave you on your own" then immediately buggers off to heaven) or attempts to remove aziraphale's agency and dismisses him outright ("i have a suggestion-" "ive got this.")
abandons aziraphale when he is set in doing something that is not only in his very nature to do, but when he does it because he doesn't have all the facts (hides jim). despite his assertion that aziraphale shouldnt do it because jim poses a threat, he then leaves aziraphale to face it alone. it's unknown how soon crowley would have come back to the bookshop if it weren't for the BOL threat - we literally do not know this - and he reluctantly does the apology dance (arguably when he wholeheartedly believes he was in the right) in order to be allowed near aziraphale again. it's also implied that aziraphale always does the dance, whereas crowley doesn't - which suggests to me once again the whole thing about crowley avoiding blame
pushes jim into remembering stuff despite it obviously causing him pain and discomfort - on one hand, sure, he's not certain that gabriel isn't lurking about in there, but he does it again in ep5 when, as far as he's assessed with the whole jump-out-the-window thing (a whole other thing that need addressing), jim is in fact... just jim
plays around with maggie and nina (the both of them do, and they're both at huge fault for this, it's insane) like they're toys, without any regard for their personal thoughts or feelings, as if they have the right to do this
encourages jim to jump out a window!!! okay fine, yes, he fears that gabriel is lurking in there and is doing it as a test, but even he looks somewhat alarmed when jim is clambering over the windowsill - and objectively it's an atrocious thing to do. and ultimately it doesnt exactly prove anything more than what he already knows; if gabriel was chilling in there, and was so committed to the bit to drink hot chocolate, call crowley his friend with a straight face, speak to crowley as such as friend, and generally act the way he does... if gabriel is that good an actor? well, i can't imagine jumping a window would be beneath gabriel to do, to maintain his cover. so to me, crowley realised that what he's asked has crossed a line
and, im sorry, but - kisses aziraphale. now is probably the worst climate imaginable (ie. the "do that again" era) to be discussing my take on the kiss, but my read has largely always been that it was a temptation, and a cruel one at that. it was desperate, and heartbreaking, and i understand why crowley did it - but it was imo a largely cruel and selfish manipulation for aziraphale to betray himself, and stay with him. i love the kiss for what it is and represents, but as a result i just... yeah, im not a "do that again" girlie, because i think aziraphale absolutely recognised the kiss for what it 'was'.
anon, if you have made it this far... im so sorry. it's been helpful to summarise all of it though, so thank you for giving me an opportunity to do so!!✨
*now. the thing is, the vast majority of these incidents, these actions and behaviours (and probably loads besides that ive missed) are not evil. they are not even necessarily bad, not in the classic sense. a lot of them have well-founded explanations, sometimes outright justifications, and it's totally understandable why crowley makes them (even just narratively ie. even without speculating or inferring in any kind of trauma he may have suffered behind the scenes if the story as it currently stands).
id argue, personally, that each one of these is dark in their own way - dark, in the sense that they are morally ambiguous at best, immoral at worst. they might not be bad on their own merit, but arguably it is possible to see them as wrong.
we can absolutely look at crowley and think he is good - and i agree!... to a certain extent. even if you oust a good few of the above examples, there are a few that, imo, if ignored or excused, kind of strays into blatant mollycoddling of the character. crowley absolutely has the capacity for good and right - his objection to the flood, saving job's children, stopping the apocalypse, helping aziraphale many a time, are all prime examples (even if you could argue against each of these which... well, this ask is long enough so another time, maybe) - and i think will ultimately be guided by what he considers to be the right thing to do.
but when i say that his assessment of being "very dark grey", the above is why i think this is him being either extremely honest, or accidentally incredibly insightful about himself. it's not necessarily a dislikeable thing to be - crowley being more dark than light - but given the evidence as i see it, he's aware that he's not a wholly good person, more one that leans towards the objectively immoral than otherwise, giving more weight to when he does do good. and the thing is, he regularly asserts this - being 'bad' - to aziraphale.
in doing so - constantly saying he's not nice, rejecting thanks etc - maybe, actually, it's not as humble or self-effacing as aziraphale, or the fandom, likes to think it is. why shouldn't we consider that crowley might, actually, be a bit of an anti-hero? it doesn't make him any less of an empathetic, likeable, or compelling character - it just simply acknowledges that he may not be as irreproachable or scrupulous character as we might like to think he is!✨
#i will die on this hill#good omens#ask#s1 meta#s2 meta#crowley meta#honestly just all the meta#WHY DOES PROOF READING NOT WORK ON ME WHY CANT I DO IT
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I am here actually to appreciate your post. I saw a blogger’s post saying The sign would have been ‘successful’ had it got filled with fantasy and romance and limit action to 10%. I wondered why that person, who says BL is all about romance, watched a show whose genre is action. Then I saw your post about people watching many shows to stay in fandom and I agree. Also you are right about dramas with a complex story receiving heavy criticism. Everything (even lack of proper plot or conflict) is exempted in a romance drama. No wonder most BLs are confined to ‘2 boys and their jealous & crying moments, routine conflicts enhanced by Escola or leads explaining how important Nikon printer is for their relationship’
Well damn hit me in the feels with this appreciation I'ma get all shy and shit.
I always wonder if by "successful" people mean in terms of critical acclaim, story telling, or monetarily. When it comes to Thai shows - and some please correct me if I'm wrong - it's difficult to tell how "successful" they are terms of audience reach/monetarily because there's no easily verifiable information. Like, there's Youtube numbers sure, but The Sign as an example, aired on Channel 3 what were it's ratings total on that channel? Idk, does anyone know that? Sincerely asking lol
Personally the way I like to judge a piece of media is what I call the Roger Ebert method; he often judged films based not solely on whether they were "good" or "bad but by how successfully they accomplished their goals.
If you read his review of Space Jam while it's clear Ebert doesn't think the movie is high art, "You can watch the movie on the sports and cartoon levels, and also appreciate the corporate strategy that's involved. [...] It is difficult for an actor to work in movies that combine live action with animation, because much of the time he cannot see the other characters in a scene with him. But Jordan has a natural ease and humor, an unforced charisma, that makes a good fit with the cartoon universe."
Ebert praises that the film, while filled with obvious product placement and banking on both nostalgia for the toons & star power of Jordan, accomplishes it's goal of being a family for that can be enjoyed by adults and children, and also the ability to blend techniques of live action, animation and 3D rendering.
I bring this up specifically b/c when I see "reviews" of shows in BL - the most common form of meta I see in BL fandom as a whole and that's not a knock just an observation - it's usually always about the narrative. Nothing about the filmmaking. And if there is discussion about he filmmaking it's usually misinformed or worse misinforming - no that's not what aperture means, yaoi framing isn't really a thing in film, the t-shirt is really just a t-shirt, etc, etc.
And like I get why. Fandom is more about story, what the words on a page or what the characters on screen are doing and saying. It's easier to talk about the amazing communication two characters have b/c you don't really need a film knowledge to discuss that. Which is a factor in why I think shows with lower stakes, more streamlined and straightforward plots get praised at a higher, less diligent and harsh level, than shows that are a bit more daring. They're less challenging in structure, they take less risks, so there's less to critique, and there's less room for a show to disappoint.
There comfort food, rather than trying something new at the restaurant. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, again, this is just a general observation.
To me, The Sign is miles better than Cooking Crush on a simple technical level. I only watched one episode of Cooking Crush and I found it pretty mediocre at best from all technical points: acting, editing, cinematography, directing, storytelling.
This isn't to say Cooking Crush is "bad" or that even if Cooking Crush was "bad" people shouldn't like it. I don't give a fuck if people like it, good for you chase the things that spark joy! I like lots of "bad" media, have y'all ever watched Jason Takes Manhattan?
For me, The Sign, like Space Jam, accomplishes it's goals and those were ambitious goals. An action fantasy BL that actually lives up to that premise and looks good?? The fight choreography looks great considering the obviously budget??
Like one of my issues with Laws of Attraction - aside from how painfully disinterested those kisses looked - was the fight choreography was bad.
The characters very rarely land hits in a way that looks real, or even marginally real. I can only speculate they didn't hire a stunt coordinator and/or couldn't hire stunt doubles so there was a worry of injury on set (for both reasons).
This isn't a disparagement on the actor(s) either, like stunt work is difficult and it's important to have professionals on set who can walk an actor through the steps so both them and others don't get hurt. Jackie Chan is probably one of the best known actors alive for stunt work, but watch how many times he fumbles and potentially hurts himself to the point where other actors are actively worried for him:
youtube
So yeah I'm going to give The Sign it's fucking gold star stickers b/c aside from some missteps in the gun handling - to many one handed gun fights but even then it wasn't all the time and bullets ran out of ammo! Y'all don't know how exciting for me that was to see - the fight scenes look damn good.
I understand the work that went into them, I understand the pre-production time that it took for the crew and cast to learn that and filming them well is another beast too.
There's a couple scenes with shaky cam that I dislike, but god do I love that first long take in The Sign. I love how good the CGI looks overall again, considering what is probably less budget than Black Christmas (2019).
I'm admittedly, fucking picky about what I watch b/c I'm really lazy and prefer watching films in general. I don't really like TV all that much, but if I am watching a tv show I wanna be impressed with more than just the characters talking to each other. Especially if said show is 12 hours or more.
When I'm looking at a piece of media - a comic, a novel, a film, a tv show - I'm thinking about stuff like "what were it's goals, and did it accomplish them? How was the filmmaking? How was the narrative structure? What is the time/place/culture this was made in?"
I'm not sure if people are arguing if The Sign was "successful" in terms of narratively, monetarily, or critically.
In reality we can only really speculate on how successful a Thai BL is based on data that's not not entirely accurate - social media, youtube stats, awards, etc - and even then most of that is based off international audience.
I can glean that 2gether was successful for gmmtv b/c it got a second season and a film, pretty much skyrocketed Bright and Win's individual careers but again, and created a cross country alliance for activism. But even all that is still speculation not facts (except the alliance that's a real thing that happened lol).
[This is all regardless of my own feelings regarding the show which is not kind. But feelings have nothing to do with individual discussion about how monetarily successful or accomplished a show is or isn't.]
Like it might be valid speculation on both shows but it should always come with a disclaimer of - these are not facts. Also, what is "popular" or "successful" can and will be dependent on individual countries too.
Take Cutie Pie for example, I would argue that it wasn't super "successful" here with American fans, but given how overwhelmingly popular Zee and NuNew are in both Thailand and Korea, I would then argue that the show was a success in Thailand and Korea. So was Cutie Pie "successful" or not? I would say yes!
Because "success" isn't and shouldn't be measured only by how western fans receive a piece of media.
In regards to The Sign, I'd argue it appears to be very successful with only the partial data I have at hand - social media which includes places like twitter, facebook, tumblr, the success of their sold out showing for the finale, a special episode, etc. If people argue it was unsuccessful in terms of narrative, well that's debatable and I have no interest in debating why the show is good except in terms of technical filmmaking and storytelling.
And even then it's a pointless debate like or dislike whatever just don't lie or mislead people regarding film terminology and techniques or harass people because they did like A Thing or clog up the tags with annoying posts about how you didn't like said Thing.
Overall, I don't give "reviews" on things I watch either positive or negative cause, well, I'm lazy lol, I don't believe putting how much I hate a show in it's tags and a thorough rating system would be to much work. I actually like how My Drama List rating system works, I just find most reviews on it to be Annoying lmao. Like giving Kinnporsche a 5 or below is absolutely bonkers to me but whatever es lo que es. But I also don't think my thoughts and opinions on shows are that valuable in terms of discussion.
These are mostly my general thoughts on fandom at large and it's not directly at any particular people its just observations at large across various social media platforms.
I think if you like more squeecore shows that's totally gucci, I just wish didn't proposite that 1) those are the only valid shows in terms of BL/queer media and 2) didn't overhype them to such sky high levels
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Lav's All-smiles Problem-solving Roooooundtable ch108 edition!
Welcome, welcome! To Lav's BSD ch108 discussion! Delivered to you via my funky dove Eliott, acting as my mystic messenger. These are random thoughts I had after reading this brilliant chapter, which, writing-wise, made the best possible use of Fedya's character, expanding it even more without even betraying his backstory. Maybe a backstory isn't needed after all, just look at how much FUN he is right now. I am in BLISS
Putting aside the fact that he is literally carrying the plot at this point, come sit with me, I make you a delicious Chinese black tea with rose petals and casually share my thoughts. Hello there, dearest Kat, yes, "where is Lav when you need her?", I am here, I offer you a hug, and to all my friends here who share the sentiment, I hug you too.
A. Before you say ANYTHING about "oh but? maybe Fedya is telling the half-truth? or a half-lie? what if his ability really is the evil one?", my brothers and sisters in Christ, listen to yourself. This man functions almost on a meta-level of character consciousness: he changed his facial expression and aura so convincingly, his tone, his speech, his posture, even the shade of his eyes, fooling not only Sigma, but the readers as well. We are used to characters changing the shade of their eyes when they change mental states or have certain (new) decisions in mind, we as a community are so used to this, all it took was one panel from the Conjurer doing this trick for so many of us to actually believe him and start, yet again, to spiral down the "what if he is good but his ability is evil? what if he is two entities? what if?" rollercoaster. This is so amusing to me, and in a meta-sense must be amusing to Fedya too. While speculation can bloom again based on this, I wouldn't be putting too much effort into reading into his lines here. I take it as a trick. It worked splendidly, almost like it attacked the fandom's major concerns and theories about his character and weaponized them against everyone. That's a meta-kind of tomfoolery. Trolling, if you will. I LOVE that Asagiri made him bamboozle every reader like this. His character so far goes into the best direction, it cultivates and expands his traits and skills in the best way. But let's pretend Fedya really is telling a half-truth there, which is there being an opposition between him and his ability. I talked about this in my essay (see pinned post), there really seems to be a divergence at the core of his character, but it manifests subtly, not like what we saw in ch108. Then again, not even on that can we arrive at any conclusive statements, because if we remember that, of course, "crime and punishment are close friends", it could well be that he and his ability are partners, and you bet I imagine they would BOTH indulge in peak tomfoolery like this together, if that meant one of them switching in and the other out for a sec. Remember, dear souls: aside from his "higher mission", abstract as it still is lore-wise, Fedya's keyword is "fun" or "entertainment", repeatedly. And oh he himself is even more fun now~
B. if Fedya would have wanted to mortally wound Sigma, he'd have chosen a more suitable place to stab him; it looks like a abdominal, lower quadrant, lateral stab, a deliberate choice, I would say, that technically avoids critical, most vascular organs (kidney and spleen for example) and main veins/arteries. I am no doctor, but from what I gathered, Sigma won't bleed out fast at all, and if untreated might get a deadly infection in a longer time (not counting the possibility of septic shock if we assume the knife penetrated and heavily opened an intestine). Sigma needs a medic asap (our queen Yosano when?), but will likely be conscious and quite able to move around and whatnot. Like I argued in my essay, Fedya most likely does not want to kill Sigma, or anybody for that matter, because keeping everyone alive to fulfill various roles and see how their will tosses them in all kinds of directions is more fun for him, more entertaining, but also more useful. He is a long-term strategist, like Dazai. "Our beloved monsters" ❤
C. Fedya evidently exerts some serious mental torment on Sigma, by making him stand by his choices, his will, just like he always desired. The flip side is that Fedya takes his time, or should I say gifts Sigma his time, in which he teaches him the full lesson of what Sigma wants. The responsibility that comes with acting on your own, the terror of facing the consequences when choosing on your own: right now, to Sigma, this freedom is terror. But Fedya is never a one-dimensional character. It's most probable he calculated and devised strategies for both possibilities (a. Sigma with rekindled determination touches him; b. Sigma backpedals on what he decided and does not touch him). The irony is that both scenarios are an affirmation of Sigma's will, because, while the first decision can be seen like foolish bravery, the second one can also be seen as wise self-preservation, if the circumstances so demand it. BSD is not a black-and-white series, diving head-first into danger is not its definition of bravery or heroism. BSD was always about measured decisions, ones the characters take upon themselves willingly. It may be time Sigma does that too, in his own way, and Fedya wants to see that. Why? Well, my guess is because it's fascinating to watch humans grow, and Fedya lives for the entertainment that comes with it. It is actually more interesting if we remember his line from ch42 (“People can be so simple… They truly believe they are thinking for themselves. (…) They don’t want to think they’re being led by the nose”): the pattern is, Fedya puts others under harsh circumstances, and then, under pressure, lets go of them, waiting for their free decision, the true test and expression of their hearts, so to say (which could make a superb discussion if we make a parallel between Kunikida and Sigma, since essentially what happened to Kunikida is happening now to Sigma, except Kunikida did indeed break down, but thanks to healthy support from his comrades he slowly regained his sense of self, and stronger than ever at that time, however… Sigma is alone, isn't he? but what if he needs to be in order to finally get a hold of his own self?). Anyway, how much of that expression is free, or how much is guided or manipulated, is a debate in itself, since it implies relating the freedom to the individual vs relating the freedom to the external factors and possibilites.
D. I do need to underline, just like Fedya also underlined it: Sigma already made his decision, right there when he still tried to get the gun before getting kicked in the face. Fedya moved on to the next step: testing how strong Sigma's will is when an actual chance to act appears. Sigma already accepted the physical pain, but how will he face the mental anguish? That is more Fedya's territory, a "specialist" of breaking people by simply knowing them thoroughly and choosing the right words. But now we gained new info: even in close combat, apparently, Fedya is not to be underestimated. That was a rather strong kick, anyway. But more importantly, he completely turned the tables in a situation where he would be in a total disadvantage. * chef's kiss * that was very bungou stray dogs of him.
#bsd#bungou stray dogs#bsd manga spoilers#bsd fyodor#bsd sigma#stopped working on my PhD to indulge in ritualic chants and expressions of love and devotion towards BSD's greatest character#the man himself#it's always Fedya#my love knows no death#yes I even typed these tags out for Eliott#I hope she has been a good circus ghost#but even is she was a bad or absent circus ghost I forgive her#she is the best and you agree#unless you think I am the best and in that case you're right lol#this was your daily dose of sensible ENTPs faking a massive ego#if you have questions please reply here or send an ask but dont stress the funky dove mystic messenger#we are both vanishing ENTPs like the Queens song Now Im Here Now Im There#i will still not be on my blog till a long time I have a PhD to write#no an ACTUAL PhD not my marriage proposal PhD that is already posted#but that one I will update too after more chapters pile up - maybe in November
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Big D20 and ACOC fan here. The "they won't get the rich lore" argument just also feels so ridiculous from a technical standpoint? Like, CR fans watch long ass episodes, the campaigns for it span over a hundred episodes lmao. I'm pretty sure they're actually primed for lore retention and are fairly used to intricate plot points. I personally can't wait to see Matt take this on and bring in more viewers.
Right! Like...firstly, fans of Critical Role, or Matt, do tend to be massive fucking nerds, and CR in particular is pretty heavy on lore so assuming the worst of them is pretty dumb. Secondly, as I said, there's very few resources for this lore other than watching (requires a subscription) or reading the transcripts of the episodes - and I want to be clear, I don't blame the D20 wiki editors, who have as far as I know been minding their own business - but the people hyping up the rich lore have done nothing to bring that canon to potential new fans, instead just tsk-tsk-ing and saying "you wouldn't get it." Thirdly, I'm going to take a wild guess and say again that Matt and Brennan have gone through the lore together and are going to set the stage adequately for new viewers.
Which is the big thing that I think the people attempting to say "you wouldn't get it unless you've continuously been in the fandom specifically for ACOC for three straight years" are fully missing (and which your ask here does take into account appropriately). Dropout needs subscribers. That is their business model, and D20 is one of the shows that brings in the most new and continuous subscribers since many of the other shows, while great, are unscripted quiz-style shows and permit a more, well, drop in and out style of viewing.
The past few D20 seasons have not been pulling in the same viewership, and we can speculate why that is but it ultimately doesn't matter. They are specifically bringing in a popular and well-known DM, having a group of experienced roleplayers, and returning to this specific beloved setting on purpose to do so - both to mine the overlap in fandom between D20 and CR and perhaps expand it, reach out to fans of Aabria or Anjali, and perhaps bring back in people who watched A Crown of Candy but haven't kept up since. A lot of the discussion truly feels like it paints Matt as "asshole who wandered on set and seized control over my blorbos" and not "person who was very deliberately invited to DM this particular season and has the explicit blessing of Brennan, Sam Reich, and anyone else involved in the decision-making at D20." (I honestly don't know if the D20 powers that be are aware that there's a cohort of D20 fans who just passionately hate CR or Matt but the thing is, if I were a hypothetical executive who was, shall we say, plugged into the fansphere? I'd pick the setting of Calorum specifically so that we retain its passionate fandom, even if they don't like the DM, while also bringing in new fans. It would be the smart business decision, and also pretty funny.)
But also...look. I am certainly not above criticizing fan theories based on poor understanding of lore, or when people are like (smug voice) "well I'm a lore muncher so combat doesn't interest me", or when they respond to thoughtful meta with irrelevant projections. But if someone wants to watch Critical Role and make liveblog posts of "hell yeah, Fearne just stole that guy's watch, iconic" without going deep into the lore? That is absolutely just as valid a form of fandom as writing meta, or fic, or creating fan art, or cosplaying. The same goes for any other show. If you want to get into lore discussions and meta then yes, you should be relatively up on the lore, but if you just want to hang out and enjoy the show? You can show up to episode 1 absolutely cold and pick it up as you go along. It's fine, and anyone saying otherwise is an asshole who does not have good intentions.
#answered#Anonymous#people out here trying to reinvent the white male nerd Fake Fan accusations in 2023? cringe honestly. couldn't be me.
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20 questions for fic writers!
Thank you @artsyunderstudy, @alleycat0306, @cutestkilla, and @ileadacharmedlife for tagging me in this game!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
Currently 22, but I think of only 16 of them as "real" fics. The others are podfics, the pornbot meta, random stuff I could've just left on tumblr, etc.
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
108,039. If you subtract the words I didn't write (like 97% of Birthday Man and add words the AO3 didn't capture because they're in screen shots (like Impulse Shopping with Simon Snow), it's more like 75k.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Carry On exclusively. I did set out to write a Buddy Daddies fix-it fic right after the series finale but abandoned it because (1) I actually just wanted to read BD fic, not write it, and (2) omg, it is so much harder to write for a TV show where there's not an existing written author voice to imitate.
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Ready or Not (20,698 words) Kudos: 460
Missing (8,823 words) Kudos: 422 (co-written with @oxi-is-a-moron)
Impulse Shopping with Simon Snow (12 words that AO3 can count, more like 5k in the screenshots) Kudos: 328
Birthday Man (39,132 words, of which about 1k are mine) Kudos: 178
Size You Up (6,850 words) Kudos 133
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I do! I love getting comment responses and engaging with writers that way.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
That has to be What Eats You, but it wasn't angsty for Snowbaz, only for Lamb. 😂 Ooh, and the ending of Missing was sort of angsty--though again, not really for Snowbaz--but I didn't write that part, @oxi-is-a-moron did. (So it's not boasting to say that it's beautiful 🥺.)
I have a WIP idea that's still just a summary paragraph. It's extremely angsty with a bittersweet-at-best ending, and I will only ever write it if I decide it hurts more to keep it in my head than to let it out.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Everything's a Story. Because the ending is Baz pandering to ME.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Not yet, but it's been less than a week since I posted the fandom's first bestiality fic, so we'll see.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Yes--about half my "real" fics are mature or explicit. I find it very very challenging to write, it takes a lot longer than other writing, I think because my discomfort makes me very self-critical. I've come to realize that the sex has to have emotional / narrative significance for me to want to write it--the one time I wrote a sex scene where the whole point of it was sex, I cringed afterward. (Tbf to baby me, it was my first explicit fic and second fic ever and unbetaed, so whatever.) I guess I can deal with writing smut a little better if it's super cracky but even then, I'd want to keep it brief.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
Nope, probably wouldn't. I've thought about "what if Snowbaz time traveled and met Kim and Will from the Will Darling Adventures" but it would be pretty boring my only thought is "they're the same, huh?" (For the record I would read the hell out of that crossover.)
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not that I know of.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes! I love collaborating. For WIPfest I finished @facewithoutheart's WIP, What Eats You?. And @oxi-is-a-moron finished my WIP, Missing. And there was Birthday Man, the Simon's b-day round robin with probably most of you reading this. AND @ic3-que3n and I wrote our bizarre tell-all confessional about the pornbots together. And this spring @ivelovedhimthroughworse and I spent a lovely spring day writing to prompts and thought we'd memorialize it.
Honorable mention to @ic3-que3n's art in Behind the Magic. Technically I wrote the words (it was CORBB) but the concept was their idea and we did so much scheming and giggling that it felt like co-writing.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
Malmage.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
None. I have a long google doc of ideas but don't really think of something as a WIP until it gets is own file and I start writing. I tend to only have 1-2 WIPs going at a time, and right now there's only one, Basil Pitch's Diary. (Of which ~ 200 words are posted but I have 20k+ and plan to start posting after COC.) So, none. If I ever start the aforementioned angst fest there's a good chance I'll bail partway through.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I'm funny. I'm told I am good at mixing humor and sex and angst. I have come up with some original concepts. I commit to the bit.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
While I might have original concept ideas, I'm weak on worldbuilding. I tend to stick squarely within the canon-verse. I've never written an AU. My only OC was a sentient mop. I've never even written a villain, I don't think. I struggle with making the MCs do things that I wouldn't do myself, for good or bad. (For instance, I've written almost zero love confessions and tend to write around them because I've never love-confessed to anyone I wasn't already dating and even imagining it makes me want to vanish in a puff of smoke.)
I am a very slow writer--I'm in awe of people who can bang out thousands of words in a day, or go from idea to execution in hours. If I can manage a steady 200 words a day, not including editing, that's pretty fast. This pace makes it hard to picture writing a really long fic, ever.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I've never really thought about it. It could be nice for scene-setting; I love all the Norwegian in @scone-lover's Northern Downpour, it really adds to the atmosphere, and the German in @spockzilla's Twelve Days of Christmas cracked me up. The lack of translations made it that much funnier when I finally looked it up myself, or when the meaning was obvious. (Guten Abend, meine kleinen Twinks!) So--maybe someday?
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Carry On
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
Ready or Not. It's the only thing I've written that I've also read for my own entertainment.
Tagging everyone mentioned above, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @skee3000, @thewholelemon, @facewithoutheart, @hushed-chorus, @captain-aralias, and @nightimedreamersworld.
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I do have to appreciate (?) how hard the haters work to ensure their definition of bigotry is Izzy-escape proof. I mean, yeah, if you are saying that it's functionally impossible for him to not be some flavor of bigoted because technically the very concept of having socially informed ideas about ways to be a man and men's behavior is intrinsically linked to homophobia and misogyny and racism, and therefore expressing any negative opinion on how a male character is behaving counts as such...? Alright then? Telling a man not to sob over a breakup (even with a hypothetical woman!) is homophobia AND misogyny if you consider the social reason that would draw attention as a behavior to criticize and our society's collective idea of masculinity. You've defeated me with your social studies thesis logic on Every Insult Under The Sun Can Be Traced To Bigotry 🤷♀️
But in practice I still just don't think it's worthwhile to say the antagonist with the literal raison d'etre of not being 100% supportive and approving of the protagonists in order to cause conflict is being irredeemable or violently bigoted by *checks notes* insulting men in the story about men. Just like I don't think Stede or Edward or the rest of the crew are being irredeemable bigots by also having socially informed ideas about masculinity???
Like, looking at it that way Stede is a clear misogynist (and more, but we'll stick with just the misogyny bit). I don't think he even realizes he is one, but the whole Mary sequence and just being a man in the 1700s makes it pretty obvious. He might do less misogyny in the future on account of just not interacting with women (suspect behavior tbh), but fundamentally he has not remotely addressed or deconstructed the misogynistic ideas that shape his entire perspective. Honestly, he's probably not going to at this point. They drew attention to his worst behaviors under the framing of just kinda being a self-centered ass, made him realize he fucked up and apologize to the woman he hurt over the course of about 15 minutes, and then sent them both toward happier endings.
Is this story saying that misogyny is actually fine and misogynists are admirable and likable people? Or that misogyny is just a surface level form of bigotry that doesn't really affect your attitude toward women once you stop being an ass? Or, maybe, is the story just not about misogyny???
And if it's not about misogyny despite being literally incapable of avoiding characters expressing misogyny (since in reality that's not so cleanly excised), then why on earth does it have to be about homophobia? Is it just because the leads are gay men?
Like, I'm sorry, but media for 5-year-olds has long been able to tell stories about antagonists learning that it's okay for boys to cry and be emotionally vulnerable and it's mean to make fun of them without insanely complex layers of deconstructing homophobia or intensive requirements to overcome internalized biases. I bet OFMD can teach that lesson without explicit, targeted homophobia. No one is denying in serious meta that Izzy has been an ass? Or that character development to be less of an ass is the logical next step?
I'm not disputing their assertion that Izzy is homophobic because I think the writing team accomplished the impossible and erased homophobia from the background hum of existence for this one TV show. I'm disputing it because the essential second half of said assertation is that this is a meaningfully included and emphasized part of his characterization that will typically justify his future karmic punishment for bigotry and/or require much greater redemptive effort of him to get any sort of neutral-to-happy ending on the table. That's why they care about it. The effect on the story!
If the story isn't about homophobia, then no, the antagonist doesn't usually have "homophobic" as a character trait I need to account for.
And twisting that fairly straightforward narrative interpretation into some kinda gotcha about "So you deny insulting gay men with gendered insults has shades of homophobia?!?" is - to borrow a phrase Lucius used against Stede - "kind of a bitchy question."
#our flag means death#been tossing around ways to word this for a long time#mainly because i'm fully aware this kind of slippery technicality is pretty much universally a bad faith gotcha for a hated character#but like. yeah reality is a mess of interconnected biases and bigotries that all build off one another to justify A excluding B#doesn't mean every single story developed in this intrinsically flawed society has to say something about all of it#does stede know women are people? does anyone want the next two seasons to tackle stede learning women are people?#tbh i would much rather just say he gets it via the 'don't be a self-centered ass' metaphor#ofmd meta#izzy hands ofmd#stede bonnet ofmd#sorry stede but your track record with women? not great 😔#homophobia#ladyluscinia#no cut because nowhere made sense
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3, 5, 6, 13, 23 from the video game asks! :)
Thanks for the ask!
video game questions
3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed
the first Pillars of Eternity game (as evident by how much I've been posting about it) is still great and I 100% recommend it, it is darker fantasy than Dragon Age and there are a couple of Yikes Moments close to the beginning, but you WILL love at least one of your party members and the writing is pretty great. also a lot of its soundtrack was used in season 2 of Critical Role, and there is significant vibe/theme overlap, so if you enjoyed that season you'll probably like something about POE1 (also there are a lot of voices from the cr cast in the game itself. Matt Mercer notoriously voices two(2) of your best friends party members)
Dragon Age: Origins! The OG. The reason I'm even on this website. I had a pretty major reset when I realized that I accidentally locked myself out of Zevran's romance and now I have to do the Sacred Ashes quest again, but once I get through it things will get fun again. I've had a lot of fun writing Kyana meta based on this playthrough earlier this year, and I'm sure I'll have more things to say when I GET OUT OF THAT TEMPLE
I started playing The Sims 4 between writing sessions during NaNo. I made an off-brand Evelyn and another household based on two very old OCs, and I was really invested in them for a while (to the point of considering making fanart of the second household). I stopped playing at some point, but I think that, like Stardew Valley, this is going to be a fun thing to come back to every once in a while.
(the first answer was already very long so I'm putting the rest under the cut)
5. Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to
I played the demo for GLITCHED: The RPG a couple of years ago and it's been on my Steam wishlist even since. I don't actually know what's going on with the game (I think it was announced that it would come out in 2023 and then it didn't?), but I really hope that it will come out eventually because the demo is A Lot of my favorite things packed into one game. Like, honestly, even if the game won't be out for a while, I think that the demo itself is a really fun experience.
also, despite everything surrounding Dreadwolf, I'm definitely looking forward to it! though somewhat concerned about actually running the game because I Do Not Think my laptop will be able to handle it.
6. A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to
.........I mean, this is very much a Dragon Age blog. DA:O was one of my first RPGs (Skyrim was the other) and Here We Are all those years later
13. Quick, name the first song from a game that comes to mind
I haven't actually played it yet, but Challenging A Queen from Stray Gods. I'm definitely going to play it, though, because this is another game that looks like it was made personally For Me. and this song absolutely rules (my favorite version is the first one they played in this video)
23. A “Wow” moment of awe
...technically I didn't play this one either, but I watched a full playthrough of Wandersong on youtube, and the final song sequence I can't really talk about without spoiling everything was. very. Emotional(TM)
also for a more somber kind of awe, I really like the ambience in Emprise du Lion in DA:I and the White March DLC's entire deal in Pillars of Eternity. in both cases the environment made me just kind of pause for a second and take it all in (actually, adding to the song thing, the Abydon's Shell soundtrack from The White March is haunting)
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Willow’s Arc
I love you Amity, but did anyone else lowkey get micro aggression vibes from this? Amity unintentionally yet condescendingly downplaying Willow’s feat as just luck?
And I think that makes sense, and shows how Willow contrasts with Amity in terms of goals and how they were framed by others... Like Luz and Lilith, Amity was someone who was worried about her magic never being good enough, particularly in living up to Odalia’s standards. And like those aforementioned two, Amity accepts that her magic doesn’t need to be strong as a reflection of her self-worth, Amity doesn’t need to be useful, and fittingly she’s the weakest of Luz’s friends, relatively speaking. Amity is content with any power level, and likewise so are Luz and Lilith, who are also among the weaker scale of our protagonists; Again, comparatively speaking.
Willow, on the other hand... As alluded to by Gus saying Willow wants others to see the REAL her, I think Willow is someone who always wanted that skill and power of hers recognized. It’s not that Willow thinks her self-worth is tied to being strong; But at the same time, honing that magic of hers and being recognized for it also means a lot to her as well! For years, Willow was essentially gaslit into thinking her abilities were lesser than they actually were, and her arc comes in reiterating that no; People are wrong. Willow’s assessment of her strength IS real and valid, as is her self-efficacy!
Because I’m sure if someone (say Amity) were to reassure that Willow doesn’t NEED to be strong to be treated as a person... Again, Willow recognizes the kind and unconditional sentiment. But at the same time, it still stems from that misconception that Willow IS weak, and she’s tired of people constantly downplaying and dismissing her accomplishments. Like yes she’s more than that, but it also means a lot to her too, as Willow herself has decided and chosen for herself? At best this evaluation of Willow is unskilled leads to that type of well-meaning yet condescending reassurance, the implicit acceptance that Willow actually isn’t strong.
And that’s a big part of Willow’s motives; Not wanting to be misjudged, as Any Sport in a Storm established! She likes being treated with kindness and dignity but she also doesn’t want to be misunderstood as someone she’s not, either; Gus beats himself up for accepting a portrayal of Willow that’s meek and scared, which obviously there’s a lot of meta about how he knew Willow as that for most of their friendship, and is a naturally trusting person who would believe that type of relapse and not judge.
But as Gus himself reiterated, Willow’s arc is about showing her real self, the self that was always there and people pretended it wasn’t. Hence Inner Willow lamenting that she once WAS Willow, until Amity’s torment skewed with Willow’s perception of herself as a capable individual who just needs to be given the chance to flourish, where she actually would. Willow is chosen by Clover when she states that she wants to be strong and supportive of her friends; It’s very much her chosen goal and not just to prove others wrong.
Again, to bring back that micro aggression comparison. It’s like how people of color and/or women want to be treated with respect and dignity; Speaking personally, it’s not enough for white people to be nice and patient with us, if they still kinda see us as lesser. There’s a reason why the white man’s burden is criticized, why we despise stereotypes. Yeah one might say “It’s okay if you’re not skilled”, but if it’s a white person saying that to a peer of color who very much IS skilled and is only unrecognized due to implicit racial biases... Yeah, that’s not gonna feel great, it’s kinda missing the obvious point.
(And for the love of god I’m not saying Amity is racist because she technically can’t be. Racism doesn’t exist in the isles, so at most this could be meant to invoke similarities as a metaphor, but that’s it. Like how Odalia canonically isn’t homophobic -that also doesn’t exist in the isles- but her disapproval of Luz, in contrast to Alador saying she’s always welcome, is very much meant to parallel coming out stories and the backlash of literal homophobia VS acceptance. And even if Amity was being racist, it’s ultimately fine because she’s called out over this and learning to be better.)
Any kindness will be undermined if there’s still that core underestimation going on, which can also tie into ableism as well! We appreciate the support and patience but at some point, we really need you to believe in us, instead of always seeing us as that weak person who needs help! I don’t care if you don’t judge us for needing help, there’s still an issue in how you see us. This can very much be compared to Luz’s conflict with Eda the very next episode, too;
Luz knows full and well that Eda loves and respects her regardless of talent or skill, she’s made that incredibly clear since the start. But it still hurts to be seen as weak and unable to take care of yourself nor contribute, regardless. There’s that lack of trust and belief in a loved one to take care of themselves, and that in itself is a lack of support; Like yes, Eda is valid in that she’s not doing this to belittle Luz, but because not even the greatest child should handle this. But Luz’s feelings are also valid as well.
She wants to be seen as dependable, and make up for her ‘weakness’ in Grom. She wants support not just in care but in belief that she can do it. And I know I said earlier that Luz is someone who accepts that her magic doesn’t have to be strong, but to reiterate; Luz accepts that she doesn’t have to be the best. But she still wants to be seen as good enough to help, too. And Luz accepted her relative weakness at the start of her journey, because she didn’t need to place pressure on herself when she’s still starting, even if behind others.
But circumstances have changed with Luz managing to grow and become strong as she wanted to, which is why her reaction shifts to seeing Eda as dismissing Luz as still that same old weak kid she once was, and not acknowledging that she HAS grown; Which hurts, because learning magic still means a lot to Luz, and like Lilith excelling in glyphs... Yes you don’t have to be the best but everyone needs a win at some point, too. Your self worth isn’t attached to that but is it also too much to ask to be really good at something just this once, either?
“After years of thinking I wasn’t good enough, I finally found something I can be good at. Something I want to be good at! Switching to the plant track was just the beginning; I’m on my way to becoming the witch I want to be! I can do this!”
And the same applies for Willow but on a larger scale, to bring things full-circle as Luz had said during her episode as well. I find it fitting that Luz and Willow became immediate friends, as was Gus for both girls as well! And I’ve talked a lot about how Gus has self-image issues regarding his magic and his ability, underestimating himself as dumb when he very much isn’t... Which again you can probably see why telling Gus that it’s okay if he’s dumb is very much NOT the solution to this particular example of self-deprecation. Gus also wants to have his magic recognized and meaningful, he doesn’t HAVE to be in order to be treated with respect, but at the same time he doesn’t appreciate people lowballing illusions either!
So to bring it back, Amity and Willow just have a fascinating duality. Amity is someone set up and expected to be the best and the pressure causes her to crack, hence her breakdown when Willow gets Hermonculus’ top student star over her. But Amity eventually realizes she doesn’t want to be the best and finds relief in the humility of just being good enough for herself.
Conversely, Willow is someone constantly labelled as ineffectual, until she believed it and let that affect her self-image, as well as any attempts to grow if she’s never going to succeed; She became resigned to and content with this, never yearning for more. But Willow is eventually reminded that she IS capable in many ways, that people’s misunderstanding of her doesn’t decide who she is nor erase that; And that emboldens Willow to actually try and reach for that greatness she desires and embrace her actual self, finally succeeding in becoming who she wanted to be.
Hence Willow self-actualizing in what she’s actually good at via Plants, instead of being seen as a weak Abomination witch; Which while true is hardly a representation of Willow as a whole. Just as “Willow doesn’t have to be strong to be treated with respect” is true but doesn’t quite capture her goals and arc, but “No matter how others perceive her, Willow’s abilities are real and she CAN accomplish what she sets out to do” does. Willow had bad luck being placed into an ill-fitting environment for her she couldn’t do well in, and her failure in that context made people assume it applied to Willow as a whole, when it really didn’t.
Willow just wants others to see her for who she actually is, instead of focusing on being nice to a version of her in their heads that doesn’t exist; She once lost sight of herself but regained it, symbolically reflected in Willow’s glasses being given a golden trim. She finally found the thing she was good at, instead of letting past failures define her... Willow and Amity both struggled with being someone others saw/expected them to be that they weren’t, and were finally able to reconcile the discrepancy to reiterate who they really are and want to be.
#the owl house#willow park#amity blight#luz noceda#gus porter#augustus porter#character analysis#meta
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Nadeko only likes retro games but retro is a constantly shifting status that encompasses more games with time under the label as technology changes, one’s perception of what counts as retro can be partially locked to what year you were born, the PS2 and n64 is something some people would easily consider retro but others believe it’s only anything backwards from the famicon, many could firmly believe that the Atari era is where the retro limit ends.
The year monogatari takes place is non specific because it’s technically should be 2006-2007 but it’s always written as if it takes place in the current year, technically turning several monogatari characters into zoomers but not always shifting a characters traits sense, by getting sent into the future kanbaru becomes more technologically illiterate.
Other characters in a sense don’t need to make that change like araragi who’s always been a loner who kept away from all social including media. Hitagi adapts easily like she’s always done this connecting easily. Higasa entering her Twitter era doesn’t cause any issues as she became more prominent in later arcs instead of earlier arcs. Final example being Sodachi, who was introduced in an even later arc than Higasa but isn’t good with technology due to her past and present.
All these examples show that how a character adapts is partially dependent on how it fits into existing character details but will change if it fits the narrative. Nadeko clearly likes famicon era games but with the shifting era would Nisio consider it to be retro enough to superimpose it on to their character? I’d think he’d at least vauge about it (as he’s known to do), like:
————————————
Its interesting to set up my consoles in my new apartment, I couldn’t bring much but I wanted at least a few to play.
I thought this TV might be too new for a console this old but really all I needed was an adapter and all was well.
Ononoki chan showing up at my door with the cord was weirdly convenient. Maybe I mentioned it earlier.
Yotsugi leans over my shoulder to look at “Bats and Terry” (1987) for the Famicon.
Laying her head into the crook of my neck like a cat she says,
“It has less shapes than I remember.”
“Ah, that must be because it’s not on a CRT tv.”
Those really were more ideal.
“The box oneesan played it on was different I tell ya.”
“Hmm,
If not CRT or LCD then what?”
“It’s nothin complicated Nade-chan, I just watched tha’ show on an ipad.”
Ah, what a critical failure of assessment.
“Well I guess this one is too niche for a remake, I’m not really a modern gamer so it works out fine.”
“No this game is definitely modern.”
“Huh?”
“There’s nothing more topical and modern than this, ‘tennis for two is innovative even now’.”
“Those games are even beyond retro they’re over 50 years old!”
“But they’re derivative, nothing is more retro than the old ball and stick.”
“You mean the ball and sword?”
“Perhaps but jitsu tsuki ball came first.”
“Ah, are you perhaps thinking about RaRa Chan? I getsu.”
“Oh dear, you art right, I derived too much, I may even go back to the tree. Perhaps more is retro than I thought, good thinking Nadeko Chan.”
She nodded sagely, snugging closer she said.
“Finding what makes something retro is an arduous task ain’t it.”
She’s really sliding around accents for this bit,
“I suppose that it would depend on what you were born wouldn’t it?”
“What year were you even born?”
“Hmm, I didn’t give it in otori right? I suppose it’s-“
“Bzzzt!” She states, making an X over my face with her arms.
I hear myself die in game, I’m entirely bewildered.
“What was!-“
“You can’t state the year the story won’t make sense otherwise.”
This kind of meta break didn’t require me dying…
“Deepest apologies Nade-San… I’m sorry for this character break, I’ll do anything for forgiveness.”
….
I don’t have much to say to that since she just does that anyway.
…
It’s rather shameless.
“Well if the year is 20XX shouldn’t I be born in uhh…”
Wait this might not make sense,
no I thought it was 19XX, but!
“You’re better than 19XX, not that IQ means anything.”
What does that even mean, is that an English pun?
Batsubatsu is more a sound at that point isn’t it?
“It’s the reiwa era so shouldn’t I be born in 20XX and it be 20XX at this point?”
“Terrybatsu is an interesting way to look at it.”
That was terribaltsu,
“Similarly shouldn’t 100 be closer than 20?”
“I suppose but we aren’t really grilling with it.”
Let’s put that aside
“Teori might be closer than toori to terry.”
I was never good at language
“I wouldnt want to refer to that chicken when even even thinking about about batsuterry, I’d rather grill him.”
“Tari for Tori?”
“I’d gatekeep him that hard, yes.”
This is decoying the point by now,
“It’s a neo era not a retro era, so maybe it’s time to consider consoles others grew up with as retro by this point.”
Hmm, really I’d say that:
“Fantasizing about the past is hard, huh. It’s strange to look at the past in a way.”
“The 1980s don’t exist anymore, not even for batsu. I guess it’s came closer to yasu than batsu, baseball goes beyond batsu even.”
But for batsu and terry shouldn’t it be baseball and not banana?
“It’s bananas I tell ya!”
…..
I suppose this is the punchline in a way.
Or maybe the opposite of one, a batsu-d batsu.
————————————
I wanted to be semi authentic with this so I tried to add puns that don’t translate, puns that do, and an extended bit about concepts of translations that don’t fully work
I’m writing this before I actually finish writing down everything so let’s see how much ends up applying
I use an amount of gorowase because I thought it might work
026 (rei-to-ro) retro
20(ni-o) neo
82(ba-tsu)
89(ya-kyu) word for baseball
83(ya-su) word for useless
87(ba-nana) banana
84(ya-shi) palm tree
And for my “gorowase that don’t actually work or don’t think work”:
19(i-kyu) a joke about IQ ( the pronunciation of I isn’t “eye” but “e” like “ichi”)
20(too-rei) a bad pronounciation of terry for a bit that doesn’t entirely work but also toori is a Japanese word that as toori ni roughly refers to “in a similar way”
100(ta-rei) also a joke on the pronunciation tare is also a general term for sauces that go with grilled food
Yakyu is a Japanese word for baseball
Jitsu getsu ball: is one of the earliest versions of bilboquet (ball and small tree) and translates to sun and moon ball roughly and I think that just puns nicely to the alt reading, getsu also sounds like get you
Otori means decoy
CRT: is used as shorthand for critical in table top games and their spiritual successors rpgs
A CRT tv is an old style of television that has a lot of interesting differences from the modern lcd screen but for the sake of the bit at the beginning, what nadeko was referring to was the better definition of older games, if you see how retro games looked on CRT tvs vs how they look on modern LCD screens there’s a good amount of difference, many swore old video games looked better in their childhood and there’s actually a decent chance they did since these games were built for that specific TV, if anything I highly recommend looking at comparisons and seeing just how different many looked, while old games were pixelated it’s important to consider why sprites look like that and it makes some parts of the aesthetic make more sense, the lcd versions of retro experience is kind of dishonest in a sense as the tv would literally smooth out edges and preform effects that don’t translate well, while crt shaders do exist many times it’s not totally accurate as it’s an emulation of the base function of a television that worked entirely differently so its something to consider. Anyway nadeko is a retro otaku and would totally have this information
Outside of that I ran with the reading of “X” being batsu, which can Be thought of as the word bats (in either sense), batsu as incorrect or penalty, as epilogue/postscript, batusbun being afterword, clique, or even circumstance.
Bats and terry: classic shonen baseball manga with an old game, works for the bit about bl astonishingly well it’s anime and game came out in 1987 so it’s in nadeko’s gamer range, plus I can run my bit about Kendama with my ball and stick bit
I don’t mention teo the magic planet fin fin solely for the bit bc Im really into the history of pet games and knowing more about pet games but nadeko would probably not, the genre was started by the night trap guy with the technology that would be used to make the funny streamer game facade (which he also made), dogz (1995) game of all time, if tamagotchi is retro so is this because it literally predates it, but nadeko isn’t a pet games person probably. This was a considered pun and I’m leaving in the blurb bc it’s my post
Teori (tadatsuru) is mentioned for the bit on names to pluck and to caress and holds a casually meaningless phonetic resemblance to terry
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me in my feelings about trek fandom:
so, that star trek confessional blog that's been going around the last few days? and the mini discourse about possible rage-bait on it? and then the new rule that they won't post anything that feels like it's attacking a specific subgroup of fandom? That whole thing?
Cursed discourse. Rotted, rancid, stupid shit. And not even the top five worst discourses I've seen this week.
I actually kind of am mad at a lot of trek fandom and do have a lot of honest opinions that would read as an attack on people...
I guess the thing that has been rising to the top is this phenomenon where people who are clearly intelligent and thoughtful in terms of how they engage with stuff in general end up having bizarre blindspots when it comes to trek.
People who thoroughly acknowledge cultural biases and the ways in which opinons are shaped by bigotry when it comes to talking about how, say, Voyager was received at the time, will turn around and flatly deny the roles of racism, misogyny and transphobia in the reception of Discovery, insisting that "it's bad because grimdark" - which a) isn't even true and b) a cursory glance through the comments on a stream of a disco episode would prove that "grimdark" is not the thing that audiences are mad about. You might have a good faith criticism (which "grimdark" isn't because it's not accurate, but idk some other good faith criticism) but that's not why the show is less beloved than snw or picard s3.
Or people who constantly reblog posts about how episodic "filler episodes" are so great, and how they build the characters and make up the heart of the shows... and then talk about characters and their relationships in ways that only make sense if you cherry pick random disconnected moments from across seven years of television.
Or someone how can talk articulately about fandom culture, stanning, and conspiracy theories, and shows insight and cynicism into phenomena like those sherlock truthers... and then says that garashιr would have been canon if it weren't for ezri, or that it would've been canon if they'd got an eight season. Like, these are ridiculous opinions that basically rely on you not watching the actual show.
Ok technically the last two were just me bitching about a ship that's popular and therefore sometimes the fans can get obnoxious. I shouldn't complain about that... while we're here, I also find spιrk annoying at this point. This is silly, back to snw.
Fundamentally, a lot of snw's popularlity is the same as picard s3: it's nostalgia heavy and the leads are white men. Overall, taking the entire audience in mind, that is a significant part of what's going on.
Now, obviously, snw is a lot better than s3 of picard (which i will die mad about). It's not a bad show, but I do feel that s2 didn't really improve on s1 and perhaps felt weaker at times. I thought the musical episode was genuinely bad and struggle to even believe people when they say they liked it. To be clear: I love musicals, I love musical episodes, I hated this one.
It's shit like this, the insistance that it's amazing when, as a show, it's just fine, sometimes a little bad, mostly pretty good, occasionally very good - it's shit like this that makes people accuse fans of being inauthentic when they praise it. It's claims that snw is "saving nu trek", when no, no it hasn't. Discovery has been prematurely cancelled, Picard ended in disgrace, and Prodigy was cancelled, then rescued but its future past s2 is unclear. It didn't save anything.
It feels like the future of trek is going to be more naval gazing, more nostalgic pandering, more meta references and a distinct lack of new concepts... possibly even a lack of new characters at this rate.
I made this side blog to post about picard s2, because I genuinely had a lot of feelings and thoughts. I felt like, while there was some annoying shit and bad takes around, it was fun to participate and I was enjoying myself. For the last few months, really since snw s2 aired, I've been having a pretty bad time here. So much of it is petty shit that sounds bizarre to type out: small posts and variously tiny infuriating takes. This entire post is stupid and pointless, when I put it like that.
But, yeah, trek fandom has been making me pretty unhappy recently.
I'll still be here and will watch the new disco when it comes out, and hopefully feel something again. I want to be able to re-enter the headspace I was in back when S2 picard aired, and I felt free to just express my opinions without being hyper aware of everyone else's pre-conceived stuff. We all have loaded opinions and strange baggage with trek, it comes with the territory.
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Inside the mind of Kotaro Shimura.
To make one thing clear before we start: I hate Kotaro. I find him to be a horrible person because of the way he abuses Tenko and his family. This meta is not to absolve him of his crimes. It's meant to highlight what sort of person Kotaro is.
BNHA is a series that asks us to think critically about how characters became the way they are. Kotaro’s character is no different, so this post is me dissecting Kotaro Shimura's mind.
The first scene that we are cut to is the panel showing the house which would serve as a symbol later on.
The next scene that we are cut to is Kotaro as an adult. He drags Tenko by the collar, with Tenko screaming and crying, with his wife pleading with him.
There’s a lot to interpolate.In his treatment towards Tenko, he looks like a cold apathetic adult.
He punishes Tenko for playing hero with a bunch of kids. He doesn’t care about the reasons behind Tenko playing a hero; he's only concerned with the fact that Tenko broke a rule. Tenko wasn’t punished for doing anything morally wrong.
In the next panel, we have Kotaro looking at Tenko with cold apathetic eyes. He closes the curtains and again doesn’t show concern for Tenko
and sits at the table with his family when he talks to his family. He doesn’t show concern that what he is doing is hurting Tenko that much is obvious.
and sits at the table with his family when he talks to his family. He doesn’t show concern that what he is doing is hurting Tenko that much is obvious.
Kotaro is speaking about Tenko to his family he said this:
What he is speaking about himself is his own experience: how Nana being a hero led her to abandon him and later killed by a villain on the job. But he's not speaking about his mother, he's talking about himself. Kotaro might be technically talking about Tenko, but it's all actually about himself.
When someone says why don’t you understand, that is just you expecting them to know how you are feeling and to do the same thing they want you to do. Kotaro expects everyone in the household to do what he wants them to do, and to know how he is feeling. He imposes his views on them. He makes Tenko feel physical pain and fear to understand what Kotaro is feeling/has felt, but hello, he's five, how is he supposed to understand? He claims he knows what's best for his family but what he thinks when in reality he doesn’t just the idea of imposing his view on them. He doesn’t think of his family as individuals or their feelings and wills. The best example is the abuse of Tenko.
If Kotaro understands how Nana’s actions hurt him, her son, there are a few things that came to mind when he spoke about understanding when he never showed signs of it. No. If he had, he wouldn’t be angry or abusive towards his family from the abandonment. The talk to his family is him talking about himself, not about heroes or his mother but him and him alone.
Does Kotaro understand how heroes put their life on the line for the job and the pain they feel when they make sacrifices? Is there an indication of sympathy towards the hero's plight?
Could this actually refer to how he lived with one who was always busy? Did he show understanding towards his mother's situation or the reason why she abandoned her son to protect him?
Does he understand how hard it is for heroes? The biggest proof is the rule he placed in the house “no talk about heroes” if the rules are put in place to protect them but to protect them from what? Does the rule that rejected heroism in the house place on the fact that he cares about his mother? I would think not. if you look at his actions they will tell you otherwise none of his actions show concern but hatred, Hatred towards heroism. He’s only caring about himself, not his family. He didn't show anything that looked like empathy and concern just himself.
All we see is his cold domineering exterior, but we see a different face when he finds Tenko looking at the photo in the office. Tenko trespassed a place he kept hidden. Part of his heart was kept hidden and is now being seen. You see the cracks when he is questioning Tenko.
All we see him is cold apathetic and angry but what we see on Kotaro's face wasn’t anger, it was fear.
The infamous speech is where Kotaro's true feelings come to a place,
He openly rejects his mother to the point of associating with his mother related to heroes.
This described heroes and his mother as a whole someone who abandoned him to help strangers. The sad thing is he's right.
Kotaro uses violence to maintain his grip over the household when his authority and personal safety are being threatened he uses violence to assert his control. While he hits Tenko, his face is in fear of his safety being threatened he is challenged by Tenko finding Nana's photo in his office.
Now it cuts to Kotaro at his office. He is reading a letter his mother wrote before she was killed. We see him make a different expression when he is reading the letter: he closes his eyes to hold back the pain.
Despite what Kotaro said before he doesn’t completely hate his mother he still loved his mother. What he said before was that maybe it was easy to think of the person as a bad guy so it would hurt less.
He knows the reasons but it still hurts.
Nana saying I love you while abandoning him only to be killed later only adds salt to his wounds. He feels both angry and sad he knows but it still hurts that his mother is doing to protect him. Kotaro after reading this feels he wasn’t worth anything in his mother's eyes he internalized that he wasn’t worth staying around for him."If you loved me, why did you abandon me? Am I not worth anything in your eyes?"
That's what Kotaro is feeling right here
To him it would be easy for his mother to hate him so it would hurt less. He believed that his mother chose to be a hero over him. He's not incorrect in that belief, his mother did choose heroism over him.
This is a running theme seen throughout the series that heroes do selfless acts of heroism but there is a selfish motivation behind it. Heroes act in ways that favor others through physically saving them but they are the ones determining what is best for others acting and fulfilling their own beliefs which are selfish, often neglecting the consequences of their actions because they feel they have satiated their desire to help others.
The same is seen with nana and her abandonment of Kotaro.
Nana prioritizes what she believed was right over her son's feelings even knowing that this will hurt him.
How is this not considered selfish you might add? Well despite Nana deciding to carry OFA and the consequences of facing AFO, it was Nana's choice to have Kotaro despite the job and responsibility she was entrusted with. She did abandon him for heroics, no matter what Nana’s reasons were, the fact stays the same.
Though she physically saved her son from AFO, her son's pain continued and intensified suffering that manifested as anger and violence being directed toward his family. The suffering that Nana’s sacrifice created is the result of her selfish self-sacrifice even when she held good intentions; these good intentions are what automatically caused the Shimura family downfall. That's what made her actions create disastrous harmful consequences to those she came across
It was a result of a selfish choice.
Then Kotaro’s wife and in-laws come in and we are given insight about them. It's true that the adults in the household are making excuses for his abusive behavior. That line revealed everything about them and why they did that.
The reason why his in-laws and wife live with him and follow his rules is that they were promised a happy family.
That's why they enable Kotaro's behavior. Most of the time this was done out of pity or sympathy. The entire family doesn’t intervene in his abusive treatment of Tenko because they were afraid to admit that this isn’t the family of joy they wanted. They are scared to lose the hope of peace and question the idea of a family filled with joy. They cared more about the idea of a happy family and the peace in the household than the actuality. They didn’t want to think they were part of the abuse by being complacent and listening to his demands. His family was sliding around the issue to not make it too uncomfortable when they are confronted with it. Instead of pointing out problems that enabled his abusive behavior little Tenko was smart to know that they were enabling the abuse.
When asked about this he avoids blame.
Everything comes to a head in this chapter when Kotaro hears noises and comes outside to see what it was only to be standing over the corpses of his family and a crying Tenko. He sees this spectacle in fear when he was thinking about his mother's words.
He witnesses the happy family he was trying to build come crashing down. He is confronted that it wasn’t what he thought and how his idea collapsed due to his own abusive behavior of Tenko. Did he care about his family? That's the question that had been asked but the short answer? No, he only cares about the idea of a family, not the family itself. He realizes that the household he built isn't what he wanted; he never saw the damage he had done until it was too late.
When Tenko’s quirk spreads he grabs some weed clippers and hits Tenko with them.
The popular theory in the fandom is that Kotaro whacked Tenko with the weed clippers to protect him from his quirk and I say no. He is protecting himself from Tenko’s quirk by preventing Tenko’s quirk from spreading to getting him to stop. He is repeating the same pattern of the abusive behavior he did with Tenko before. He is not protecting Tenko at all, he is protecting himself just like he's always done.
Kotaro yelled in a futile effort to protect himself from him only to end up getting killed.
Well, that's the entire post, now time for a rundown on Kotaro.
Does Kotaro even care about having a family at all? Or just the idea of a family?
The reason why he created a family was that he wanted to starve off the pain of his mother's abandonment. He created this household to prevent that he felt pain from her abandonment and death and the house is a psychological longing for a family after his mother abandoned him he wanted a happy family one that wouldn’t abandon him for heroics.
There's an obvious balance of power. He's the one obviously in charge here, he's the one who enforces the rules and he uses violence to control others and make people in his family listen to him use violence to put down others which is what he does with Tenko. Kotaro resorted to violence as a defense mechanism to protect himself from the pain. Kotaro frames his rules as being in place for Tenko's good when in reality we understood that the rules he made actually exist to protect Kotaro and only hurt Tenko.
Tenko's interest in heroes comes as a threat to him when his personal safety is being threatened. He abused his son when he showed interest in anything hero related. Every time he’s reminded of heroes he resorts to violence to protect himself.
His attacking Tenko symbolizes how he again prioritizes himself over his family's pain as a means to protect himself from the pain at the expense of their pain. The same as how he protects himself from the yard clippers the same way he attacked him when he found out he saw the photo of him and his mother.
He isn't protecting his family from banning heroes from the household the house is created to protect him, he is protecting himself from the pain that was caused by heroes he only cared about protecting himself from the pain. His apathetic cold front is nothing more than a mask. You see cracks in this when he's abusing Tenko, it shows his true self a pathetic cowardly man who attempts to protect himself by using violence. this is the look of fear this is not protectiveness this is fear he is a contemptible abuser and got what he deserved he's not protecting his family he was protecting himself all along.
The house is meant to be created to protect himself, in turn, became a prison for the rest of his family members. He prioritized himself first before his family. The rule to not talk about heroes was not made to protect his family but protect himself. He placed more regard on how he feels than what his family is feeling. He is projecting himself onto others with no regard for their wills or feelings about what he's doing. The entire house was built so he can protect himself which in turn turned into a prison for the people living there and became a place of rejection for Tenko.
The house is a symbol of Kotaro's control over the family. It's not a happy family if you look at the state of the household. It isn't a house full of joy and smiles, it's a prison where people in the family are used to catering to his wishes. also symbolic of Kotaro's idealized views on family. Kotaro only liked the idea of a happy family, not the actual family himself, and both his idea of family and control come crumbling down.
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Why Shiggy and the Meta Liberation Army should be in BNHA:V
Okay! So, surprisingly a lot of people have taken an interest in something I said about why the villains in “My Hero Academia” and “MHA: Illegals / Vigilantes” should be switched. Everyone was super patient, and I’m really grateful for it, so here’s the post!
Now, before reading, keep in mind that this is all opinion based. Also, you’re going to be seeing a lot of “what I would have done” or “they should have done this.” This isn’t me saying that I’m better than the author (I’m not. I constantly struggle with my fanfics). This is just me discussing some things for fun.
(In other words, take it with a grain of salt.)
And please keep in mind that the Main Series is still ongoing and nearly 400 chapters long, while the Spin-off is nearly 130, so I may get some things wrong. (If that’s the case, please be polite in your corrections. Otherwise, you'll be ignored and blocked.)
Notes:
*Spoilers!
**My Hero Academia Main Series
**My Hero Academia: Vigilantes / Illegals
*Some Tomura Shigaraki Critical (Well, to be accurate it’s how the Main Series treated him.)
*Long Post, which is why there are no images
*I am writing this while sick (not sick-sick, but sick enough) so grammar may be off and I may forget a few things.
So, here’s a quick summary on both the main antagonists and the protagonist.
Let’s start with our hero first;
Koichi Haimawari is the protagonist of the BNHA spin-off, BNHA Illegals / Vigilantes. Like Izuku, he had dreams of becoming a hero. Unfortunately, he missed his testing because he stopped to save a drowning young girl. Because of this, he spent his life living as a "normal" person, who isn’t allowed to use his quirk. Even so, Koichi had an innate desire to help others. Because of this, he would secretly go out at night doing small things like helping people find their way, finding lost items, and crossing the street—actions which are technically against the law as it’s an illegal use of quirks.
One day while saving a girl from a group of thugs, he meets a mentor named Knuckle Duster, who wants to train him as a vigilante.
At first, Koichi refuses, wanting to be a “good citizen” but finds he’s not the type to sit back and do nothing as people are getting hurt.
So, he starts training under Knuckle Duster till the latter leaves, leaving Koichi to do what he can, which amounts to usually distracting the villain till a hero shows up (though he gets a few good moments). After helping to defeat Six at the end of the series, Koichi goes to America to become Captain Sunshine’s sidekick.
Now, on to our “tragic” villains.
Shigaraki Tomura, real name Shimura Tenko, is a young man who is descended from one of the One for All users and All Might’s mentor, Shimura Nana. He grew up in an abusive home, as his father would beat him for his desire to become a hero. His father hated Nana for giving him up, believing she abandoned him for her hero work. (Not realizing that even if she retired, her enemies would still go after her and him.)
One day, Shiggy’s quirk manifested. With it, he accidentally killed his entire family, including his dog. He wanders around in the street for a long time, but even though adults saw him, they would look and walk away, stating that a hero would come to help. But one never did.
Instead, All for One, the main villain of the series, came.
He took Shiggy in and for the next decade, or so, brainwashed him to make him his successor and his new body, choosing him specifically to try and affect All Might.
Just before All for One is captured, he passes his quirk to Shiggy. Thus Shiggy becomes the “big bad” of the story (in writing, but we’ll get to it). He tries to gather villains to his aid but struggles. Eventually, he “succeeds” by beating the Meta Liberation Army leader. Now we discover that he is possessed by AFO’s consciousness which will swallow his if Izuku can’t reach him.
The Meta Liberation Army is a group of Villains with political power. They advocate for the right for normal people to be allowed to use their quirks unrestricted, which they claim is a human right. However, their methods are villainous, including domestic terrorism, kidnapping, and murder, hence their villain status. After Shiggy beats Re-Destro, they join the LoV and help in the destruction of Japan.
Now that we have the basic intros, let’s move on to the reason we’re here; why do I think that the villains should be switched? As well, as some plot points?
Well, first off the MLA and Shiggy fit the tone of BNHA:V better.
The Spin-off is mainly supposed to be a story about “ordinary” people doing what they can.
So, it would fit better with the theme of the story if the villains weren’t part of some overly complicated secret drug organization but were instead “normal” people who fell through the cracks or fighting for their rights. In this case, Shiggy and the Meta Liberation Army.
It’s actually interesting how little has to be changed for Six and Shiggy to switch places.
Merely have it that instead of Shiggy meeting AFO, he meets a member of the Meta Liberation Army. His backstory can stay the same. Abusive daddy with mommy issues (only this time the heroine is a random hero, not Nana), quirk going wrong, people being assholes and ignoring a child in distress, and being taken in by an extremist. (Serious, aside from giving a reason for AFO to take a special interest in him, Nana plays no role in Shiggy’s arc or development. Write her out, and almost everything stays the same.)
In fact, I believe wholeheartedly that Shiggy’s backstory would be better and more natural fits the overall theme of BNHA:V.
Again, the theme is about ordinary people doing what they can, and with Shiggy, no one did the bare minimum. (Serious, sit the child down, call the police, wait for a hero or policeman to arrive, then leave. Boom! There’s one less terrorist in the world.)
Aside from everything All for One did, Shigaraki only became a villain because ordinary people, for whatever reason, didn’t do anything. If ordinary people had done the bare minimum and tried to help Shiggy out, then he wouldn’t be a villain.
Plus, everything that makes him an ill-fitted villain in the main series is what makes him a great villain in the spin-off.
Now, what makes Shiggy a bad villain in the main series? Well, bad isn’t the right word. It’s more like he’s not as strong there in a narrative sense.
First, Shiggy has no personal connection to the main heroes, in this case, All Might and Izuku. The story tries to give that to us with Nana, but really think about it; how does it affect them overall? Honestly, it just gives All Might a sense of guilt that AFO is using Shiggy. That’s it. As for Izuku, the two had one confrontation one on one for over 300 chapters. ONE.
Honestly, Izuku had a deeper connection with Overhaul and Muscular. Both were the first real villains Izuku took on in a fight, who taught him what it means to be a hero and why heroes have to fight villains. Bottom line, there is one thing to connect Shiggy and Izuku as rivals; their mentors hate each other. (Okay, and Izuku wants to “save” Shiggy and Shiggy wants to be saved but still.
In addition, MHA is a story that needs an active villain to push the story along, as it's a series with an overreaching plot. Shiggy is NOT an active villain.
I’m sure others will argue, but Shiggy very rarely moves the story along. At first, he does;
He leads the villains to attack UA and introduces the main characters and the readers to the villains. After that, his actions are more like they’re filling up space as they have no real effect on the main plot.
He reaches out to Stain? Stain gets caught in his introduction arc. (Plus that was AFO’s idea.)
He releases four Nomus after Stain pokes him a bit; none of them have an effect on the overarching plot. (Even though Bat Nomu SHOULD HAVE but I digress.)
He attacks Izuku in the mall? The most you can say is that it encouraged U.A. to change sites but is that really such a change story-wise?
The attack on the camp; AFO’s orders, and he didn’t go. True, he ordered the villains there to kill Izuku, but again, nothing comes from it. And the order to kidnap Bakagou came from AFO.
Then after AFO is captured and Shiggy finally gets his chance to shine, guess what? Overhaul takes over the arc, and the other members of the league go to work. (Does Shiggy do anything there? I’ll be honest, I don’t recall.) He takes Overhual’s arms and quirks, but does use that to move the story at all? (Does he even use it? Oh well. I’ll admit that’s the one good thing he did.)
The only time Shiggy’s actions fuel the story is when he and the rest of the League fight the Meta Liberation army and convince them to join. Then after that, he goes to sleep like Sleeping Beauty till Mic’s wonderful voice wakes him up. (Is he even in the Endeavor arc?)
After that, Shiggy releases a tidal wave of death and fights for a while, but then AFO takes over as the big bad again.
(Again, I may be mistaken but please be polite in your corrections.)
My point is that Shiggy’s actions rarely move the plot along, and in a story like MHA, that’s a failure.
In Vigilantes, on the other hand? His reactionary state is perfect. Why? Because Koichi’s story isn’t an overstretching arc, it’s mostly episodic. It’s the Pro-hero's subplot that has the overreaching story (and it’s not really needed, but I’ll discuss that later).
Because BNHA:V is mostly episodic and a “simple story.” (Minus the Pro-hero subplot.) The story could focus on Shiggy’s arc more and just have him wandering around, occasionally causing trouble. After all, Koichi’s story is just him being Koichi. True he trains and fights the odd villain, but the people around him push the plot, not him.
This gives them something in common; they merely react to what happens to them. However, they’re also different in how they react.
Koichi, despite being laid back, is always active and doing what little he can to improve life for himself and others. When he reacts, he reacts to assist those around him and acts very humbly.
Shiggy, meanwhile, reacts with annoyance and entitlement for most of the story. He does as little as possible while demanding others do stuff, throwing a tantrum like a brat, and lashing out with violence at any mere inconvenience. (For the sake of fairness, in the villain arc, he steps up—but then he goes to sleep, and AFO takes over! Seriously, for most of the manga, he does less than everyone around him. But I digress.)
Having Kochi and Shiggy just wander around, living their lives would work great. Shiggy could be doing random stuff for the MLA and occasionally fighting with a hero while Koichi does what he already does, and it would fit together, even if they don’t meet much.
But more than any of that, I believe that Shiggy needs to be saved by a hero like Koichi, NOT Izuku.
The reason for this is that while Shiggy blames heroes whenever he thinks about his pain, he’s not thinking about heroes. He’s thinking about the people who ignore him. Ordinary people who decided not to do a thing.
Koichi, despite everything, is an ordinary person. In the BNHA world, he isn’t special. His quirk isn’t flashy like All Might, and he's not a chosen successor of a great legacy. Koichi is just a normal guy, inspired by All Might to do the best he could to help others. Even if it’s just in small ways, like helping someone with directions, finding lost items, distracting a villain until the authorities come, or helping a cat find a home. THAT’S the kind of hero Shigaraki needs, a normal person doing what he can.
Izuku is great, but he isn’t a normal person.
He’s not only a hero in training but the successor to the greatest hero in Japan. But he carries a special quirk that is super powerful. If Izuku saves him, it’s not an average person doing their best it’s the successor of a great hero, carrying a mantle. And that doesn’t round off Shiggy’s arc very well.
Likewise, Koichi needed to fight a villain like Shiggy so he can realize his efforts aren’t wasted, and they matter. Because if someone like him had been there, then Shiggy wouldn’t have suffered, and his actions may have saved someone else. His acts are small, but they matter, and such a thing would inspire others to do more. This is why he would be able to reach Shigaraki.
The Meta Liberation Army should also be in Vigilantes, and they should be the big bad of the story. The reason for this is that another one of the themes of BNHA:V is about quirk rights and whether or not the average person should be able to use them. Something that the MLA is all about.
Koichi, despite not doing anything immoral is considered a criminal because he uses his quirk without a hero’s license.
Having the MLA as the main enemy introduces a great conflict, AND shows us both sides of the dilemma;
Yes, people like Koichi and Pop can use their quirks to help, but people like the Meta Liberation Army use their quirks to harm others. (Of course, to even this, I’d have more vigilantes. Have Soga’s gang and Tamao join the fight.)
Having the MLA as the big bad would give the story a chance to be about people fighting for what they believe in and how it’s a person’s individual actions that make them bad or not, regardless of their cause. (Something I think the main series is TRYING to do.) And I think this message would be stronger, narratively, in BNHA:V. In the BNHA world, Vigilantes were the ones to show the world that quirks could be used to help people and introduce the hero profession. So, having a vigilante push forward the idea of Quirk rights, and quirk society, would be poetic.
And that’s it, that’s my thoughts on this subject for now! Thanks to the ones who were patient in waiting for this! I hope it was worth it. Please re-blog with your own thoughts on this.
And if you’re curious about why I think Number Six and Queen Bee should be in the main series, please go here.
#shigaraki tomura#meta liberation army#bnha villains#bnha vigilantes#bnha illegals#mha#bnha#bnha spoilers#koichi haimawari#the crawler#mine#take with a grain of salt#bnha meta
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If Astruc wanted fans-attacking "meta" episode, then why he didn't make an episode that would (could?) be "Take that!" against people that claim that Marinette is "too white to 'count' as 'proper' Chinese/Asian"
Because then he'd have to actually let Marinette have some Chinese culture.
(Side note: I understand the criticism on many levels, especially since the show yoinks from Chinese culture a lot so why not let our Chinese lead know some Chinese culture. But I also do get some poeple saying how sometimes kids of immigrants don't learn their family's culture for whatever reason. So it is technically realistic for Marinette to be Chinese but not know the culture or language. That said, refer to the first point on this being a fictional character written by a white guy in a show that yoinks the culture for aesthetics.)
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if its ok to ask, besides the hairdresser part, what in UHV is inaccurate abt working in a tattoo shop?
totally!! but ough honestly i blocked a lot of it out bc of the psychic damage hold on gimme a sec… i live-blogged my biggest complaints when reading it but i don’t tag my posts anymore lol lemme find them
okay okay my red flags/sus shit
1) luke?? i think? is smoking inside his shop. i’m sure there’s shops in the world that still do this but that’s a no from me 🙅🏼♀️
2) i know this is technically solved by the plot, so not a Real red flag, but genital piercings heal super fucking fast, so i was 👀👀 at first about the infected scrotum piercing (edit: not to mention, infection is generally a Lot less common for healing piercings than most people think. 8-9/10 times it’s not actually infected at all. go to your piercer before your doctor if you’re worried about infection please for the love of god!!!!)
3) a shop that gets mad about you getting tatted at a different shop is a bad shop. do not continue to go to/work at that shop
4) frank wanting to both pierce and tattoo isn’t like. Technically a red flag, but it’s questionable. i’d only trust someone who does both if they were one of those things for a Long time before learning the second (you do see that sometimes irl). which. frank does not seem to be. it’s about focusing on one profession so that you can master it
5) of course hair cutting in the same shop as tattooing and piercing is just inherently super unsanitary. ❌
6) only kind of a Red Flag but frank is a real dumbass for getting a hand tattoo and immediately going back to work as a piercer. a good piercer is washing their hands Constantly throughout the day (before/during/after clients), not to mention putting on/taking off gloves all day as well. both of which are really unhelpful for healing a hand tattoo well. it just shows a lack of knowledge about these things (on bexless’s part, on the meta level. but i don’t think i’d trust a piercer who got a huge hand tattoo and was piercing the next day. what do they know about proper healing??? also. you’re gonna pierce me with an open wound on your hand?? even if it’s covered by a glove. that’s sus. to me.)
7) frank is also a huge dumbass for just using that mystery goo. anyone who Actually has many tattoos has Their Healing Regimen and they don’t stray from it unless they’re unhappy with it. if frank is working in a tat shop/around the culture&industry, he’d already have his established healing routine and would throw that mystery goo in the fucking trash. no wonder he gets stigmata he’s dumb as shit
8) the way bexless constantly calls it a “needle” instead of a tattoo machine kills me. okay yeah there’s needles but it’s more than that. at least she never calls it a gun i guess
9) the mention of a pigeon getting into their shop. sure, i’m sure that happens. but uh. 👀 that’s deeply unsanitary
10) here’s a screenshot bc i say it best here:
11) the last thing i noted was that. if frank wants to be a tattoo artist so bad, why is there literally zero mention of him doing art?? bro you gotta be able to draw before you become a tattoo artist… unless you want to only trace flash as a career i guess… 🤷🏼♀️
there you go anon, i have a lot to say. i’ve only read the first work in the series, but if someone tells me truthfully that there’s tattooing/piercing that happens in the following works, i’ll read and criticize those too just lmk
#bergtalks#to be fair. not all of these things are like. universal red flags. if your artist also pierces that’s cool!#i’ll need to see a large portfolio of piercing/tattooing work that demonstrates skill before i work with them tho#just like. don’t take my words as law. but they’re mostly de facto law haha
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Would you ever write a Jonsa meta? I love your content on Blackfyres, what if alternate scenarios for characters and the world building and even commentary on George as an author and the themes that he employs in these books. I am pretty sure you will write a great crisp meta on Jonsa.
I’ll take the compliment, although I think my loquacious writing is the opposite of crisp. Thank you for the kind words about what I’ve written so far.
Technically I have written some opinion pieces about Jonsa, as well as added statements on reblog. Unfortunately I haven’t had a lot of time to write original content, meaning it’s recently been more responding to asks than traditional meta. If somebody were to ask me a Jonsa related question (like this one on the girl in grey) it’s possible were I able to think of something to say, that I’d answer it. The problem with Jonsa meta writing and me is that I feel I’d be retracing ground people have already covered a lot better. People have found Jonsa content as far back as the prologue of GOT. Contrast the topics you mentioned—Blackfyres, AU scenarios, certain GRRM criticism as pertains to the supplemental material—all have less written on them, as well as fewer pages for me to leaf through (I’m not someone who usually takes days to write a meta. Some of my longer responses are the exception), so at least I feel I’m adding something new to the discussion. But as I said, if you have a specific Jonsa related question, I will read it and see if I can write a decent response.
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A Comprehensive List of Henry Cavill's Movies And TV Shows, And Whether I Personally Think They're Worth Watching
**Updated and current**
as requested by the oh so lovely @fangirleaconmigo
obviously take this list with a grain of salt, as im just one man, and i certainly have my biases. and even if something is in the "not worth it" section, if something about it intrigues you, feel free to totally ignore my advice! sometimes the best evenings come from watching reportedly terrible films, and one of my favorite Henry Cavill movies was summarily panned by critics and audiences alike. that being said, let's start with the stuff i didnt like.
NOT WORTH IT:
Red Riding Hood
----> Available for free on youtube, and yet still not worth your time. Poorly made, often unsettling, with bad music (in a musical of all things) and children forced into racist caricatures. Very funny if you want to watch Henry Cavill suck on a lollipop and get punched by a farting werewolf, however.
Vendetta (A.K.A. Laguna, A.K.A. Hotel Laguna)
----> Technically semi-competent... I suppose it's a mob movie? Also his film debut! But it's largely boring, and the entire film hinges on a sexual relationship between teenage Cavill and an older woman. Genuinely and deeply uncomfortable when she fondles his bare chest, and it's inescapable how much he LOOKS like a child in this film. If I never see a teen that young kiss an adult again, it'll be far too soon. *shivers in disgust*
Sand Castle
----> A war movie, and not a very good one. While I commend it for its attempts at an anti-war message (a very "why are we even over there" vibe), that doesn't make the movie less boring or more watchable. Those who love war movies didn't like it, and it wasn't anti-war enough to seduce the likes of me.
The Tudors (TV)
----> I think my mom summed it up perfectly when she said, in reference to her attempts to sit through season 1 and questions of why she bothered, "there was less on TV back then." (She never made it into season 2, by the way.) It's like the other historical dramas of it's ilk, so if you go crazy for those feel free to give it a shot, but even among its peers it's kind of not great. From the era where showtime really was putting an eye-rolling amount of sex in their shows, so get ready to be accused of watching soft-core porno on the family television like I was.
That being said, a lot of the sex scenes are Cavill's, so if that's your poison, this show'll keep you well fed.
Night Hunter (A.K.A. Nomis)
----> Apocalyptically terrible writing and editing. The performances the cast gave weren't bad, and the camera work itself looked plenty nice, but anything good to be said about the film is dragged down by the foundation itself being utterly rotted. Maybe good to put on to mock... when you aren't confused or bored to tears.
Hellraiser: Hellworld
----> It breaks my heart to say it, because I did find joy in this odd little film, but it's so genuinely bad that I would be a liar to place it anywhere else on the list. Campy and fun in places, but largely just boring, slow, confusing, and BAD. Not a real Hellraiser movie, not enough gore to appease horror fans, not meta enough to be meaningful while still being so meta it drags you out of the story. Genuinely the ending doesn't make sense.
If you're wildly in love with Henry Cavill, you'll love Mike. I love when he gets hooked in the chest and dies, the "sweet cheeks?" line is iconic, his zombie look is adorable. I'm getting a tattoo of the meat hook from this movie.
Do not watch it.
.
MAYBE? I GUESS? I'M NOT YOUR DAD, I CAN'T CONTROL YOU:
Immortals
----> Some technically interesting work here, some nice fight choreography, and a unique visual style to the film. And yet it has such a blandness of performance across the board for all its actors, and such a confused and thoroughly Christian approach to what was supposed to be a story about greek myth, I could never recommend it to anyone. (Since when does Zeus "not interfere" in the lives of humans???) Just enough style points to eek it's way out of the "no" pile.
Whatever Works
----> Whatever Works is a Woody Allen film. This is enough to make it a controversial choice on its own. Certainly one of his lower quality works as well. Henry Cavill as Randy was a delight, however, so give it a chance if you watch Woody Allen movies! Not as bad as I thought it would honestly be, and again Cavill was really good as Randy, but I can't really in good concious put it in the recommend section.
Tristan + Isolde (2006)
----> Billing itself as an alternative to Romeo and Juliet, I mostly found the film to be boring, and I thought James Franco was a bland, boring lead. Other performances in the film were good (especially Rufus Sewell as Marke and Sophia Myles as Isolde), the movie looked fine, it just... was boring. Watch if you're an absolute sucker for this kind of period drama, otherwise skip it.
I Capture the Castle
----> I was deeply unkind to this film when I watched it. I didn't exactly go into it expecting to have a good time or with much of an open mind, which potentially colored my experience. I... didn't have a good time watching it, to be frank. But perhaps if you go into it with a kinder outlook, you'd enjoy it more. A film about love's many forms, how it often hurts us, and it's utterly illogical nature. If you bother watching it, I hope it's kinder to you than it was to me. Perhaps you'll even agree to walk with it through the bluebells, who knows?
.
DEFINITELY WORTH IT:
Stardust
----> Not really "a Henry Cavill movie", as he's only in it for a few minutes, but the film is an exceedingly fun fantasy romp that's well worth your time. It's something of a cult classic for a reason.
Count of Monte Cristo
----> Excellent adaptation of an old classic, delightful watch. Cavill as Albert was wonderful, Jim Caviezel as Edmond was fantastic, and the ending made me genuinely gasp and sit on the edge of my seat. I didn't expect to love it, and yet I absolutely do!
Argylle
----> You don't get a whole lot of henry cavill for your buck, but it's a fun goofy spy film that you could easily watch with the family! Sam Rockwell is also there, as well as Bryce Dallas Howard, and theyre both fun to watch. Ignore the fact the special effects look like they spent $12 on them, and allow it to just be a fun time, and it'll treat you right!
The Cold Light of Day
----> Nothing mindblowing, and Sigourney Weaver + Bruce Willis give shamefully bad performances. And yet, Cavill is a charismatic lead, the chase sequences appropriately thrilling, and it's overall a perfectly servicable action movie. Grab some popcorn and make a movie night of it, IMO.
Blood Creek
----> Another perfectly servicable film. Not blowing any minds, but fun while it's on. Unfortunately, the plot relies heavily on Nazi mysticism (a personal pet peeve of mine), and some of the CGI leaves something to be desired. But still, at its heart it manages to be a very fun horror flick, if you're into cheap horror like me.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
----> This is... a flawed movie. And it's extremely hard to recommend when Armie Hammer is so unintentionally frightening in his role as Illya. And yet, the intro sequence is so FUN, Cavill as a thief is so delightful, I'd be remiss not to recommend it. Fun little spy romp!
Mission Impossible: Fallout
----> It is a Mission Impossible movie. Not much more to say, you either love them or hate them, but they know EXACTLY what they're doing, and they have it down to a science.
Enola Holmes
----> A great time all around! Go into it expecting it to skew for younger audiences, and you'll have an absolute blast. 13 year old me would kill to watch this movie. Millie Bobby Brown was great as Enola, and her relationship with Cavill's Sherlock genuinely tugged at my heart, because I am deep down a huge sap.
Enola Holmes 2
----> Ditto! Same as the first, just as worth your time!
Lynley Mysteries & Midsomer Murders (TV)
----> Lumping these two together, as they're both one-off episodes of long-running, competently made, british police procedurals. The episodes are definitely worth a watch, though I can't speak to either series as a whole.
The Witcher (TV)
----> Obviously divisive among long standing fans of the series, and not without its flaws (S2E2, jfc), but ultimately for all my bitching, I'm a TWN stan, and Henry Cavill's Geralt owns my heart. Also probably the reason you're reading this list, so I don't feel the need to expand all that much.
.
YES, THE DC MOVIES GET THEIR OWN HEADING:
-> *long, beleaguered sigh*
-> ok so, like. ok. how much do you like superhero movies? how much of your life are you willing to devote to a zack snyder production that spent half the time setting up plot threads for a large expanded universe that the execs very suddenly pulled the plug on? how little do you love yourself.
-> jokes aside there are redeeming qualities in these films, and if you really love the characters i'm certain you'll find value in some of them.
Man of Steel
----> Despite my very real and present complaints about odd tone, too much illogical lip service paid to the armed forces, a runtime that makes me want to start throwing punches (Just skip the first 20 minutes exactly. They do not matter. They do not add anything), a sterility to the script, and lack of care or acknowledgement given to civilian lives (something at the heart of superman and present in THE AVENGERS, so to do worse than the avengers is pretty egregious)... IT'S STILL a decently fun and entirely servicable (apologies to Mr. Cavill for how many times I use that word in reference to his films) superhero movie. I like Cavill's Clark Kent! I like his little bouncy curls, and I like how much he loves his momma. Superman is fun! He's my friend. MoS worth it, if you can find it in your heart to spare 2 and a half hours for it.
----> VERDICT: WORTH IT
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition
----> Don't bother watching anything other than the Ultimate Edition. It's the only one you'll find half the time you're looking for the film, anyway. This film, to me, is the sink or swim moment. Tooth-grindingly long, and more of what you got in Man of Steel. It's-- ok, I didn't like the Christ allegory, but that's also blatantly Zack Snyder's entire thing wrt Superman, so I can't blame the movie for being exactly what it said it was. If you can get through this movie and enjoy it, then the rest of the DCEU films will be a breeze, and you're now officially A Fan. If this movie is a slog that makes you wanna die, do not bother with any other DCEU films, this is the point where they're officially Not Your Thing (said with affection, not derision). Despite all my complaints, Superman is my best friend and I think about this movie constantly. Wonder Woman is the best. Clark STILL loves his mom(yay!!!). The fact they decided to tackle doomsday+the death of superman as their plotline for this movie is so fascinating to me that I'm giving them points for sheer audacity.
----> VERDICT: WORTH IT, KIND OF, BUT FEEL FREE TO TURN IT OFF AND NEVER WATCH A DCEU MOVIE AGAIN
Justice League (Joss Whedon's Cut)
----> *rubbing my temples* Everything within me screams to tell you not to watch this abomination of a film, because of Joss Whedon's obvious and blatant racism and sexism, but it is admittedly much shorter and a bit easier to follow if you're not a fan of Snyder's style or you're not a big comic book person. Whedon made reshoot decisions that removed the black character Victor Stone, A.K.A. Cyborg, from prominence in the plot. He was arguably the(or at least a) main character in Snyder's version, and Whedon cut his scenes extensively, and then added extra scenes to make Batman the protagonist instead. Not to mention adding in scenes of a slightly sexual nature that Gal Gadot(Wonder Woman's actress) refused to film, which he then got a body double for and digitally added her face in post. BUT!!! But. I must admit. 2 and a half hours versus 4 and a half hours is an appealing cut-back in length, and some people find it difficult to follow Snyder's exposition-heavy style. Plus there are a few added scenes of Superman which are genuinely adorable, if very short. If you're a fanatic, watch both. If you just want to watch one version... Well, I would recommend Snyder's, but weigh the pros and cons for yourself.
----> VERDICT: WATCH IT IF YOU 1) LIKE DC FILMS BUT 2) AREN'T THAT INVESTED, AND 3) ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SHORTER OR PERHAPS EASIER TO FOLLOW. IF NONE OF THOSE CONDITIONS APPLY, DON'T WATCH.
Justice League (Zack Snyder's Cut. Also knows as "Zack Snyder's Justice League")
----> Genuinely unforgivably long. Zack Snyder, I don't forgive you for the length of this movie. AND YET I personally had a total blast with it. Coming hot off the heels of Whedon's cut, seeing Cyborg more fully fleshed out was like a dream come true, and some of Whedon's trademark 'humor'(which these days I find grating) is thankfully lacking. I personally find it to be a better movie, a better showcase of the characters, and all around more fun, but I had also innoculated myself against the strain of long Zack Snyder superhero movies by doing marathons of his other DC films before diving into this one. Also the film has a lot of references to future plotlines which will never fully make sense, because they were sequel set-ups for movies that never got made. Those parts are... hard to sit through, whether because of confusion/boredom or the heartbreak of knowing you'll never get to see that movie which doesn't exist(depending on your emotional investment). For some reason this film is split up into like 5 or more different "chapters", and I theorize that you could watch one chapter a day like it's an episode of television if you need to not watch it all in one sitting, and you might get a better experience out of it that way. Superman is here and he's still my friend! He still loves his ma soooo much! There's a super fun scene with his heat vision!! Wonder Woman and Cyborg and The Flash and Aquaman are here!
----> VERDICT: THIS IS THE VERSION I RECOMMEND IF YOU'RE SOLD ON WATCHING THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, BUT I WOULDN'T BEGRUDGE YOU IF THE RUNTIME SCARED YOU AWAY. WEIGH THE PROS AND CONS BETWEEN THIS AND WHEDON'S CUT, AND WATCH WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE DC MOVIES PLEASE DON'T MAKE YOURSELF WATCH THIS.
Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice Is Gray
----> Literally just Zack Snyder's cut of the Justice League, but in black and white.
----> VERDICT: PLEASE DEAR GOD DON'T WATCH THIS IF YOU'VE ALREADY WATCHED THE OTHER ONE. IT ISN'T WORTH IT. DON'T SPEND FOUR HOURS OF YOUR PRECIOUS LIFE ON "THE SAME MOVIE BUT IT'S BLACK AND WHITE NOW"
.
CHEAT FILM:
I must admit that, despite saying I've watched "everything" Cavill's ever made, I've only seen clips of his performance for the following film.
In Goodbye, Mr. Chips, he only has a 5 minute apperance. It seems a good enough movie, I suppose, but I couldn't bring myself to sit through hours of TV movie for 5 minutes of Cavill, especially not when his scene has been politely uploaded to youtube. His scene was moving, despite the fact I experienced it completely disconnected from the rest of the film, so make of that what you will.
..............
..........
......
...phew! ok, that's everything, i think.
feel free to disagree on any of my placements. also feel free to watch night hunter and then come yell in my inbox about how it sucked, because i am constantly shouting into the ether about it and no one understands my pain.
i hope this is helpful for anyone interested in watching some hcav movies but not sure where to start... i suppose i am now some sort of authority on the matter, though i didnt intend to become one lmao.
im very excited for his upcoming roles, both in the romance The Rosie Project, and in the rumored Highlander film. not to mention an Enola Holmes sequel (!!!) and..... Argylle, which i will make myself watch because i am now committed. hopefully i can find some way to distract myself from his truly terrible hair... though i never would've started my marathon if i hadn't been disgusted by his haircut in Argylle, and then immediately wanted to see him as a spy with GOOD hair. so i suppose i have to thank it, which i will do by sitting through the whole movie. thank you and you're welcome, mr. cavill (EDIT: it turned out great 10/10, yay!)
if anyone likes this enough or cares, i can update it to include more henry cavill movies as they come out! <3
#long post tag#writing tag#if yall would prefer this go under a read more instead of a long post tag hmu and i'll do that instead! :)
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