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anniflamma · 7 months

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Rating the most gayest King David adaptions

For the past few weeks, I have been watching and reviewing ALOT different adaptations of the story of King David from the Bible to determine which ones are the gayest.

But first, let me provide you with a recap of David and Jonathan's story.

David and Jonathan were two central figures in the Hebrew Bible, with their story primarily found in the First Book of Samuel. David was a ruddy shepherd boy who became famous for slaying the giant Goliath with a stone and a sling. Jonathan, on the other hand, was the son of King Saul, the first king of Israel. Jonathan's heart was captured instantly upon seeing the striking young hero. As the Bible says, “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Shortly after their first meeting, David and Jonathan expressed their commitment by making a covenant with each other. This significant moment is vividly portrayed in 1 Samuel 18:3-4: "Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and presented it to David, along with his armor, sword, bow, and girdle." David and Jonathan grew so close that it appeared they might one day rule Israel together throughout the following 15 years. However, they faced numerous challenges when King Saul grew jealous of David's popularity and success, fearing that David might take the throne from his family. Saul attempted to kill David multiple times, while Jonathan consistently came to his friend's rescue through various means. However, they were eventually forced to part ways. "And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept, one with another, until David exceeded." Tragically, Jonathan lost his life in battle against the Philistines, leaving David in deep mourning. He composed a heartfelt lament known as the "Song of the Bow" (or what is famously called “How the Mighty Fallen”) to honor Jonathan and Saul's memory. "I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women."

So, as you can see, I will rate each adaptation based on its portrayal of three specific moments:

Jonathan removes his clothes and makes a covenant with David.

When they have to separate from each other, as they embrace, kiss, cry, and David exceeds.

David's lament that he loved Jonathan more than women.

If these three moments are faithfully retained in the adaptation without altering the text, it will be considered queer in my evaluations. Naturally, there may be exceptions if the adaptation deviates significantly from the original material or if it primarily focuses on adapting specific aspects of the story while still hinting at or incorporating subtexts. In such cases, they may also receive points.

NOW, LET'S BEGIN!

Disclaimer: Some of these "reviews" will sound professional, while others I will act like a gremlin, because these movies actually broke my brain cells. So if you get whiplash from how my behavior suddenly changes all the time, consider yourself warned.

Another disclaimer: Don't be like me and do something similar to this... I don't think this was healthy for my brain.

Jonathan what now..? 1/5

So I'm going to be kind and bring up that the story of King David is long, especially if you make an adaption of his whole life. It's reasonable to expect modifications to accommodate the chosen medium. And frequently, this leads to Jonathan's character being sidelined, either because he's deemed less important or because there's too little time to delve into his role in the story.

Due to that, I won't delve deeply into those adaptions because of that.

Superbook Reimagined (2011) - CBN

Jonathan doesn't exist in Superbook... That all. I WONT TALK ABOUT THE SUPERBOOK.

David and Goliath - Animated Stories from the Bible (1985) - Rich Animation Studios

So this one is pretty interesting. Apparently the same studio that made The Swan Princess (1994) made the series called Animated Stories from the Bible. And I weren't aware of this while watching this episode, however I did noticed, that yes, this had a very low budget but you could tell that it was made by professionals. I have one thing I need to comment on this movie. Eliab and Jonathan looks pretty goooood...

I mean LOOK AT JONATHAN! FFF***KING HELL! HE LOOKS LIKE A HOT VILLIAN AND I LOVE IT! The character designs are sleek! Expect for David. David was trash. So why is this one so low down on my ratings? You see the episode only focus on the upcoming fight between David and Goliath. In a sense, the episode's emotional core are more about David and his brother Eliab, with the brother not believing that David could defeat the enemy. Jonathan has a really small role, and he doesn't really interact with David that much. However there is a scene, when Saul gives his armor to the shepherd and it doesn't fit him cuz he is a smol bean, Jonathan comments on that the boy is going to get killed while having this frustrating / angry tone. Indicating that Jonathan don't believe that David and of course get astonished once he triumph. But that is all we get. I wished I could rate this higher simply to I just love the character designs.

David - A Musical by Sound & Sight Theater

Alright, I'm going to say it. This is probably the most campiest and "we need to tell you about Jesus" - musical there is. The songs are freaking great, very modern, almost anime-ish and very EPIC! But then they suddenly they strike you with, "Hey do you know who Jesus is?" Anyway, my favorite songs of this musical is Never Back and Psalm 24.

I only listened to this musical on its recorded album. Overall, I found it very enjoyable! However, I was quite disappointed that they didn't have Jonathan none of their songs. There were no solos for him, and all I could do was imagine if there was a strip covenant scene or not between each number. They didn't even have a "We are best bros" song! They also removed a lot from the emotional core when David mourned the loss of Jonathan. David sings the song "How The Mighty Fall," which is very short, but for some reason, I really liked it. Even though it's short and David only repeats Jonathan's name over and over again, I could feel that sadness. Still, the musical also left out several scenes from the original story, possibly because it aimed to be more family-friendly and was very sanitized so no one would get upset. AND WHY IS THIS MUSICAL ENDING WITH JESUS?!!

David “the straightest man” and Michal his truest love that has ever existed before Bathsheba came into the picture and a lot of Shoulder Taps for Jonathan 2/5

Superbook (1981) - Tatsunoko Productions

I can't believe that I watched three episodes of Superbook... Can I explain this mess without dying inside? So, this is a Japanese anime from 1981. The series covers the events of the entire Bible in its 52-episode run. I watched the English dub, and yeah, what else can I say? It's probably the best dub I've ever heard, with genius acting, including their screams. You can tell they aren't really screaming because they know it will break the mics. To get straight to the point, their relationships are just good friendships, and they see each other as brothers. However, they do follow the story very faithfully, pun intended. But, of course, they add in more scenes with Michal so her relationship with David looks romantic, and Jonathan takes on a wingman role. There is no stripping scene, which is understandable since it's an animated series for kids. Instead, they merge the covenant scene with their separation. To sum it up, they shake hands and repeatedly tell the audience that they are only friends. Okay, we get it!

But then we have the Lament scene: "Oh Lord, may you have mercy on his soul. Your glory, O Israel, has been slain. How the mighty have fallen in battle. I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother… My brother…" THEY WERE SO CLOSE! They looked at the rest, "You were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women," and then they were like CUT! But the best delivery line in this adaptation must go to Saul: "How stupid to believe he could murder a hundred philistines without being murdered HA HA HA HA!" I can't do this anymore…!

King David (1997) - Mondo TV

This Italian animated movie features child actors who can't seem to deliver a line without mumbling and speaking at the lowest decibel levels imaginable. Thank goodness that Kid David and Kid Jonathan grew up after… Let me check… The first 15 minutes of this movie… Well, they are childhood friends in this one, so I guess that's a win. Michal is from Sweden. Saul repeatedly tells his (also Swedish) wife to stfu in every scene he's in. Storywise, this movie shakes things up a bit. When David is chased into the wilderness, both Michal and Jonathan join him…? It's really confusing what's going on because the next moment Jonathan is back with Saul, hearing his plan to attack David in the mountains, so he runs back to David to deliver the news. All of this happens in about 3 minutes. But when they finally have their farewell scene, they, of course, do the Shoulder Tap! However, they hug with an animation that lasts for like 3 frames, and… you know what, I'll just let you witness this…

And then we have the Lament. It's pretty faithful, but as you guessed, they changed the last line from "You were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women." to "I loved Jonathan as a brother. We rode together, his hair flowing free in the wind." …I don't know if they made it worse or better…

King David - A musical by Alan Menken & Tim Rice

I acted like a fangirl when I realized that Alan Menken and Tim Rice had created a musical about King David! I was so hyped and really thought it was going to be really gay... I think I expected too much...

The musical premiered in 1997 and was a grand and ambitious show. While it may not be as well-known as some of Menken and Rice's other collaborations, such as "The Little Mermaid" or "Beauty and the Beast," I was blown away that this musical even existed in the first place. The music itself is really good. It reminds me of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" but more campy. My favorite is the song "The Death Of Saul." Genius! And of course, "Never Again," sung by Judy Kuhn. There are so many Disney stars in this show! It's insane! However, this musical is not without its flaws. The story's scope, which covers many events, can at times feel rushed or disjointed. The mistake that the creators made was trying to cover it all. So the musical has 2 acts. The first is about David in his younger years until he becomes king, and the second act covers everything from Bathsheba to Absalom's revolt, ending with kid Solomon singing about Jerusalem. This results in Jonathan becoming like a background character, and this makes me really angry. So almost every scene that David and Jonathan have together, Jonathan is replaced with Michal. TIM?! ALAN?! What are you two doing??? You are basically telling us, without explicitly telling us, that the relationship of David and Jonathan is queer by having Michal instead. Like... what..? This is the same guy who made "Jesus Christ Superstar," and that show is definitely "not straight", so I have no idea what's going on in his head. Anyway, Jonathan has only 1 song/melody called "You Have It All." It's when Saul shows that he's going crazy when David becomes popular, and Jonathan takes David away from the palace to a safe place. Sigh... You can tell by the lyrics that Tim is trying to be cheeky but immediately backtracks by having both David and Jonathan overly articulate the word "friend" in the song. (I seriously recommend you to listen to the song, just so you understand what I mean.) DAVID "I love my friend!!! as I love life and both I cherish. Uncompromising and unfailing. I swear this covenant we make will never perish. In any circumstance prevailing" JONATHAN "It's very hard when things come easy. You start to fear a bitter end. I promise you, you have a friend!!!" However, Jonathan gets a reprise again in the separation scene, but then Michal suddenly pushed Jonathan aside and takes it over with her own song. Then we have the Lament. The song itself is really good and beautiful. It's like a sad Disney song. But the lyrics themselves have this uncertain tone on who David is singing about. But they do reveal it at the end. "Jonathan... Jonathan... Who loved me more bravely than you, whether harlots or wives!" We can clearly see that David mourns over him. But for me, it feels so awkward...

They are just friends..? 3/5

The King: Story of David (2004)

I felt like I was on shrooms watching this. There's this three-minute scene where David sings to Saul... I can't even explain it, it's just horrible. Poor Saul looks absolutely horrified when this abomination of character design from a different show enters the room and sings with the voice of an adult woman.

AND WHY IS MICHAL PURPLE?! They also switch her name’s pronunciations like 5 times in this movie... Well, about Jonathan. So they took the approach that David is a literary child and had Jonathan as an adult… What the hell am I supposed to say about this? Oh god... I hate this.

Then David grows up, gets the same artstyle as the other adults and instead of Saul nagging David to marry Michal, it's David himself that asks Saul to marry his daughter, just to make sure that we know that he loves her soooo much. This results in Saul wanting to kill him, which leads to the separation scene. So maybe you are now asking me, why is this movie up here on the list? Looks like they made sure that David was the straightest man that has ever straightening. Oooh, I’ll get there. So we get to see a jpg of David and Jonathan look at each other for like 10 seconds, then tap each other on their shoulders, look at each other eyes and David says with the most sultry voice ever “Jonathan…”. Surprisingly, hug each other and weep. huh… didn't expect that. That voice that David used was enough to make the whole freaking movie a gay so that's why it's up here. If I ever have to watch this again, I need to get paid.

The Bible (2013)

Ah, yes, I remember this one. I watched it when it aired on TV, and I was just a wee little teen falling in love with the guy who played Samson. But we'll be watching the fourth episode of "The Bible Series." This episode was a speed run through the whole story of David, with a lot of stuff cut. Yet, the subtext in this adaptation is gorgeous! We have David walking to Goliath and Jonathan looking on with worry in his eyes—MULTIPLE TIMES! And miraculously, the actor managed to hit Goliath despite having the freaking sun in his eyes at full blast. That poor actor with his nonstop squinted eyes couldn’t see shit on set. Once Goliath is defeated, Jonathan and Saul run to David and are proud of him. All we get from the Covenant Stripping scene is Jonathan taking David's hand and telling him to come with him and fight the enemies, like best bros! Then a montage arrives, and David and Jonathan are older. Saul is jealous and touches David a little too much for my comfort. Meanwhile, Jonathan is just sitting on the floor eating figs. Wat?

And then Saul proposes the idea that David should marry Michal, and Jonathan's face falls. Gasp! David gets sent to kill 100 Philistines, and we get this wonderful scene with Saul and Jonathan. Saul: "You love him like a brother, don't you?" Jonathan responds with a warm, soft smile, looking at David riding away. "I do..." Saul gives off big "My son is totally straight" vibes. Sadly, this episode neither has the separating scene nor anything that resembles a covenant. And yes, they also skipped the majority of the Lament. Maybe I am projecting... I am probably projecting.

They are friends! I PROMISE! 4/5

King David (1985) - Paramount Pictures

This movie provides a different angle on the biblical story of David and Jonathan. The film includes a line that suggests a strong emotional connection between the two characters, though it doesn't explicitly delve into romance. It doesn't say that David and Jonathan are in a romantic relationship, but it makes you think that they have deeper layers to their "bond." In other words, I really ship them in this adaptation! They didn't have the strip scene, but they did have a scene where both of them are at a lake, water sparkling in the sun, looking into each other's eyes. Jonathan softly cups David's cheek and says, "I love you as I love my own soul."

... Wait, he touched his shoulder softly, not his cheek... Forget it. But they are very tender toward each other. However, we can't have great things because the separation scene was very weak. All we get is that they are both on horses, and then they just say goodbye, and that's it. No hugs, no tears, no kissing, and no exceeding David. But I can add that Jonathan's death was very heartbreaking. After watching awful animated death scenes, it was a breath of fresh air. The Lament, for some reason, had a spooky tune, not really like a man grieving for his soulmate. Why is this adaptation so high up for me? Well, Jonathan said "I love you" while looking into David's eyes with a beautiful natural background. That is enough for me.

Ancient Lovers 5/5

Beloved King: A queer bible musical

(There mentions of SA)

You can already tell by the name of the musical... "Beloved King" follows the young shepherd David as he is thrust from rural fields into the royal court. After his sudden rise to prominence, David finds himself the object of affection of both the heir to the throne, Prince Jonathan, and his father, the domineering King Saul, forcing David to re-navigate his relationship to love and power as he tries to follow the path laid out for him by a mysterious entity called God. The first-ever staged readings of "Beloved King," complete with all songs and live accompaniment, were scheduled for March 12th and March 13th, 2020, at Oberon, the second stage of the American Repertory Theater, in Harvard Square. Both events sold out well in advance, but they were canceled the day before opening due to COVID-19. However, the team rallied and quickly pivoted to film a dress rehearsal in an empty theater just before lockdown. One of the most hilarious things about this musical is that the characters are dressed in simple linen garments that look like they belong in a children's nativity school play, only to have David and/or Jonathan strip and expose their flashy sparkling spandex briefs. Undeniably, it fits perfectly with the nightclub-inspired atmosphere that this show has.

This musical feels like it's straight from the Archive of Our Own. Jonathan and David are dating, and we have a jealous Saul who is not jealous of David's popularity, instead, he desires him sexually and tries to bang him. When David denies Saul, that's when Saul tries to kill him instead.

The musical has all three scenes checked. The covenant scene, with Jonathan stripping and "more." There was a scene of their farewell, however, they haven't released that one song, so I can't really say anything about it yet. Lastly, the lament song in its full glory. Sadly, the whole musical isn't out yet. They have only released six demo samples, and let me say that "ADONI" is THE MEET-CUTE SONG!

This musical was the very thing that made me nerd out on the Bible again. So maybe I am biased, but how can I be biased if they depict David and Jonathan's first meeting with them banging each other in Jonathan's tent?

David et Jonathas: An opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier

This one was a hidden gem I didn't know existed. Thank you @alatabouleau for the recommendation! It's an opera from 1688. It's all in French, so I was worried that I would have missed all of the lyrics, but I found a translation pamphlet and found one of the concerts on the live-opera Versailles website. All I can say is it was beautiful and so, so, so queer.

The prologue starts with Saul, disguised as a visitor, consulting the Witch of Endor to learn his fate in an upcoming battle against the Philistines. The Witch summons the spirit of Samuel, who predicts Saul's downfall, including losing his family and crown.

In Act 1, David, banished by Saul, seeks refuge among the Philistines. He returns from a victory and is praised by warriors, shepherds, and freed captives. David only wishes that, whatever may come, Jonathan should be spared. The Philistine king tells David that a truce has been arranged between the Philistines and Saul to discuss whether there shall be peace or war.

In Act 2, during the truce, David and Jonathan reunite. And then they both sing the song “A vostre bras vainqueur,” and it's the most beautiful harmonic song I have ever heard. It sounds so romantic, even if they are only singing about them being best friends. However, jealousy brews as Joabel challenges David to combat, leading to a plot against him. Joabel convinces Saul that David is a threat, leading to David's exile again.

In Act 3, Saul accuses David of treason, and David is forced to leave. However, Jonathan follows David into the wilderness so they can sing their goodbye, “Vous me fuiez!” Don’t forget this is an opera, so everyone is really dramatic, and I'm loving it. JONATHAN “You flee from me!” DAVID “You always follow me!” JONATHAN “May I not share my grief with you?” DAVID “See into what danger my misfortune leads you. Let us forget one another.” JONATHAN “Cruel one!“ The song continues with them singing about not wanting to be apart and if they see each other in the battlefield, they won’t fight, but instead save the one they love. And then the song ends with David trying to leave again, and Jonathan begs once more, only to be told by David: “Would you now wish to add to my torment with your tears?”

This song… I want to make an animatic of it...

In Act 4, Saul prepares to battle the Philistines and David. Both armies are eager for war, fueled by Joabel's manipulations. David promises to save Jonathan and his father.

And lastly, in Act 5, the battle unfolds, with Saul's defeat. Then the song “Qu’on sauve Jonathas” starts. Jonathan is mortally wounded, and David finds him. He believes that Jonathan is dead and mourns for him, which wakes Jonathan up to be able to speak to David one last time, asking: “What sad voice is calling me?”. David begs Jonathan for him to live, but the prince tells him that he can’t. And with his final words, he kisses David and then dies in his arms.

“Despite the harshness of my fate, At least I can still tell you that I love you. ” David is to be declared the new king of Israel, but he still grieves for Jonathan, ending the opera with his final line: “I have lost what I love. My Lord, to me all is lost.”

Well, I cried in my bed.

I didn't know that I needed a story where David was by Jonathan's side in his last moments in life. And the kiss! THE KISS! Though the kiss depends on which adaptations you see. If it's 2022, then there is no kiss, but if it's the 2012 version, then there is one. However, with or without a kiss, it's still romantically tragic.

Here is PDF links to pamphlets with english translations:

English translation (2009 version)

English + German translation (1998 version)

The Prince's Psalm: A novel by Eric Swan Quinn

So here it is, Beloved King: A queer bible musical was the one that pushed me down into the rabbit hole but The Prince's Psalm was the one that got me stuck here. I highly recommend this book, and it leaves me speechless how it isn't more popular! So The Prince’s Psalm is a queer and romantic retelling of the story of David and Jonathan from the Bible. The book begins with David's childhood, providing perspectives on his early life and relationships, especially with Micah and David’s family. Micah and David had a deep friendship that grew into young love and they became each other's firsts. A core theme that comes up regularly in this novel is about being treated and viewed as equal in a healthy relationship. Micah held a weird place in my heart. I enjoyed “not liking” him. I could immediately see his immaturity in his relationship with David. Of course, I understand they were both young and immature, yet this was important to emphasize the message, which I believe it’s about being equal in a relationship. Micah loved David, but he saw him somewhat beneath him due to David not fitting the stereotypical masculine man image. And every time they "play" with each other Micah calls David "My Slave" despite David's irritated and uncomfortable of it. So the moment when Jonathan is introduced, the first thing he calls David is "My Prince" and do everything that David wishes Micah would do for him but wouldn't. If we are going to compare Jonathan and Micah, it's pretty obvious which one are the right choice. But who cares about Micah, we are talking about Jonathan and David now! So the plot follows Jonathan summons David, hoping on his musical talents to aid King Saul's from being tormented by “evil spirits”. David's initial experiences within the palace only reinforce his sense of inadequacy in the eyes of those he admires and cares for. He plays tirelessly, day and night, in an effort to soothe the king's troubles, ultimately healing King Saul's fears of God’s abandonment. From that moment forward, Jonathan can no longer resist David's charms, leading the two to become inseparable. As they spend a winter together, their bond deepens, uniting their bodies and souls. The novel doesn't delve into explicit sexual scenes, instead, it focuses on the emotional connection between the two characters. Nevertheless, they do have quite a lot of intense passionate sessions, it just written with a flowery language. So their oath, the exchanged rings, the beautiful yet sad promises, is heart moving. Every moment felt perfect and captivating! Jonathan's death left me shattered. I cried a lot. And cried even more when the book included the whole Lament. After devouring all 480 pages, I found myself wanting the story to continue. Eric Shaw Quinn made a wonderful job in reimagining the familiar narrative yet adding new in depth layers to it. I wholeheartedly love this novel! So is it gay? Yes.

THE END!

Finally, I have finished everything. There was more, but there is no way in hell I will continue.

What did I learn from this experience?

Nothing really, except that the people whose arguments claim that David and Jonathan's relationship isn't romantic at all, yet in the same breath, they can replace Jonathan with Michal, and suddenly it is romantic. I learned that their arguments are worthless at the core.

But despite with the pain and cringing, I loved nerd out about my favorite David and Jonathan adaptations! And I think I did this just because of that.

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leoneedincorrectquotes · 7 months

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Thinking about Leo/Need being soulmates, either platonic or romantic. No matter what, in every universe they somehow end up together. Whether they're completely different people, or are on opposing sides of a war, or even if one of them is dead, they still find each other, as if it's told in the stars that they will be together.

And Leo/Need are all aware of it, in some regard. Saki often jokes about being stuck together, and never being too far away. Shiho genuinely feels as though they will be together until the end of time, or that she has found her group, her family almost. Honami feels a kinship with all of them, a peace, and a group to care for and about. Meanwhile Ichika? She has more knowledge than most, in almost every incarnation, she is aware of certain forces joining them together, fate and the stars bringing them together. She doesn't really care though, as these are the people that matter to her, so why would it matter the reason behind it? Still, Ichika is more powerful than the others, at least in a metaphysical way, so sometimes glimpses of alternate versions flash past her.

#project sekai #leo/need #saki tenma #ichika hoshino #shiho hinomori #honami mochizuki #not a quote #headcanon #polyneed #soulmates #this is a long post #but I had a lot of thoughts about this

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masezace · 8 months

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little off topic for my blog, but i started watching a new show since a friend mentioned it was good and i'd heard positive things about it, so i just wanted to talk about it a little bit (probably never again after this since this isn't a fandom blog, but it's the only one i have rn so idc it's going here)

the show is Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, and just going on looks alone, despite my love for dinosaurs and the Jurassic Park franchise i never would have considered it. it appears to be very much for kids, and as i'm in my late twenties now i'm not particularly interested in especially kiddy media. however a friend my age enjoyed it and mentioned it has a canon lgbtq+ couple in it among the main characters, so of course i just had to watch it. i had already been hearing that despite its initial appearance and premise, it was surprisingly good for a kids' show, so i had already been curious, but i was even more keen after knowing there were queer characters, and not even the adults, the kids themselves (in a kid's show?!! what a time to be alive), so i finally sat down and watched it.

[spoiler warning, both minor and major, for the rest of this post btw, so continue reading at your own risk if you haven't seen it yet/are still watching]

the show overall

okay so firstly, i am coming at all of this from the perspective of a writer, so my observations are from a technical standpoint more so than just as a fan of the show. and honestly, it really is a well-written show as a whole. is it geared towards kids? definitely. there are plenty of jokes/gags in it that just don't appeal to me as an adult, but beyond that, there was plenty to appreciate as an adult.

the writing is actually phenomenal? there were several points in the series where i just sat back and mulled over the way a scene went, what the thought process behind writing it was like, how well it was executed, and how important it was to the characters and overall plot.

the suspense is spot on, nothing gets dragged out too long, and i will admit there have been a few scenes throughout that actually got me; i jumped! it's actually scarier than i expected a kid show to be, but i'm so glad they went where they did because it really elevated the experience.

the pacing overall is very good, adequately engaging for kids' short attention spans (and us adhd adults 🥲) but not too short either to a point where things felt abrupt or unfinished. plot arcs are well developed and tied up nicely. also, as a bit of a dinosaur nerd, the array of dinosaurs in the show is super broad and satisfying! very fun stuff.

character element

imo the real gem of this show is the character development. honestly it's just *chefs kiss*

the characters grow and change so much and so realistically over the course of the show, it's honestly so much better and more satisfying than the character growth in most adult fiction/media recently.

the growth in ben (who btw was def my favorite character by the end of s1) and kenji in particular were my favorites and, in my personal opinion, the most interesting. the way ben started out anxious, cowardly, and rule abiding to a fault, then grew into a brave, confident, adventurous little pyromaniac gremlin, then had that stint later in the series where he regressed a bit-questioning himself-until eventually ultimately striking a great balance and really coming into himself was just... peak character writing.

kenji started out overconfident, lazy, and overly concerned with money/status. but that arrogant overconfidence and laziness slowly turned into responsibility, and a desire to protect his found family, and the realization that it's the people in your life that really matter most.

honestly what i mentioned only scratches the surface in terms of those two characters, there's certainly more that can be said about them (as well as all the others) but i'm not really in the mood for a deep dive character analysis atm. just trust me tho when i say these characters are so well done and each one of them have arcs that are super satisfying to watch play out.

queer representation

and as for the queer couple? yasmina and sammy are PERFECT. it was so beautiful watching their relationship grow from one-sided to mutual friendship, to loyal devotion, then to love. they were set up incredibly well and incredibly naturally. i have like, no complaints when it comes to them. i don't even know if there's anything i can say that would add to things, they were just a really awesome couple to watch become canon, they're the beautiful and painfully needed representation we all beg for in tv and movies.

shipping, chemistry, and intent

but oh goodness... probably my only real complaint about the entire show would be how benji (ben x kenji) and kenji x brooklyn (kenlyn? brookji? idk and idrc) were handled. because for all that this show did SO much beautifully right, they really screwed the pooch here, sadly.

i'm gonna start by saying that the writing in this show, as with most, is deliberate. what i mean by this is that despite having no clue who it would be because my friend thankfully did not even spoil me as far as the genders of the queer couple, i clocked yas and sammy as the would-be queer couple as early as season one (actually it was between them and benji, but more on that later). i could already see the chemistry, because it was deliberately written in.

shipping is subjective. anyone can ship any character, and in most cases it's pretty easy to see how there could be (romantic) chemistry between fan pairings based on their personalities, their arcs, etc. and that's okay! ships don't even have to have any canon support to be valid, because shipping is for the fandom, and it's for fun (i have a few rarepairs and crack ships across different media that i just love).

but onscreen/written romantic chemistry is a lot less subjective (to clarify, it is subjective whether or not the chemistry is good, but it's not subjective about whether or not it exists). there are literally scenes written with the sole purpose of building the romantic tension and/or chemistry between planned couples (some of which even have absolutely zero plot relevance, which usually is not advised tbh, and most of which are the cliches/tropes you see in literally any romance ever written, some are just disguised a little better than others. but make no mistake, it's all the same set of cliches. there is nothing new under the sun), as well as intentional, key moments within scenes that have other purposes. they are essential to establish romantic pairings.

and typically, the foundations for these couples are laid VERY early on. always within the first or second season (well, at least they are when the writer actually knows what they're doing and has at least a rough plan/outline for the entire series & characters. this is usually a large part of what separates the good chemistry from the poor chemistry. an author who knows who the couples are going to be and has a plan from the beginning to build them up is going to be more successful in creating a believable relationship with good chemistry. one who does not plan, or makes last minute plans will almost certainly fail, and the couple is just going to suck). when the set of characters you're working with are going to stay the same for most or all of the story, you start immediately.

i don't mean to toot my own horn, because i think it's because i'm a writer so i just pick up on narrative patterns very easily, and pretty much always clock the planned couples within the first few episodes of any series, and by the end i am right like 9 times out of 10.

that being said, do you know whose deliberately written chemistry i also clocked in jwcc? ben and kenji's.

kenji and... brooklyn?

no offense to people who like/enjoy kenji and brooklyn, you are free to love them, but the way their romance was written is... quite possibly the weakest point of the show. it felt like they were just trying to appease the upsetto heteros in charge, because there was definitely another het pairing that had a lot more potential than kenji and brooklyn (hello darius x brooklyn aka darilyn, you would have actually made sense because your relationship had amazing buildup and multiple standout scenes from s1 on. dgmw, i love that we got a m/f strong, supportive, purely platonic friendship out of them, i live for those and we really need more of them. but we could have had that with kenji and brooklyn, or darius and sammy, or ben and yas, literally any other pair instead).

kenji and brooklyn as a couple came out of absolutely nowhere. i honestly think they decided to shove them together last minute, and had no actual plan for them until they were working on s4. because their development barely started at the VERY end of s3 (the abruptness of him caring about her being held hostage so much more than literally anyone else in their group despite them having like zero buildup to that point gave me whiplash), but honestly didn't really even become "meaningful" development until s4, over halfway through the series. the two spend the first 3 seasons basically not particularly gaf about each other individually, only as part of the whole group and on an equal level with everyone else. they otherwise have no deliberate narrative foundation. it just starts in s4 with no prior hinting. which makes their development rocky and difficult to believe. the funny thing is their characters literally have dialogue (in s4) trying to draw comparisons/parallels between them to say that they especially have a lot in common and like??? no? they really don't? not any more so than any other two kids in the group. their relationship just, really falls flat.

it was disappointing to see it take such a massive spotlight in the series for almost all of seasons 4 and 5, overshadowing the friendships that have been the focus of the show and should have remained so, to the point where at times it just felt like i was watching some stereotypical het highschool romance. genuinely, it made s4 & 5 more of a drag to get through. yasammy and ben and yas' growing bond (which by the way was so sweet, it had the strongest queer solidarity vibes good lord, i sure wonder why yas chose ben out of everyone to come out to first, hmmm) were some of the few things that kept me invested, otherwise i would have dropped it if it had leaned much farther into becoming the kenlyn show than it already was. especially when it was that pair so much of the focus was given to, even though we had so readily and perfectly available, the pair that could have, should have been: benji. which finally brings me to:

ben and kenji

benji's foundation was laid in s1. their interactions, the situations they found themselves in, were deliberate (on the writers' part). i'm even gonna go out on a limb here and say the pairings were fully established in s1e3, even with parallels between yasammy and benji (sammy clinging to yas and ben clinging to kenji throughout the episode), and darilyn gets the beginning of their development too.

even though they bicker a lot in the beginning, they clearly care about each other? kenji protects/helps ben multiple times, and there are definitely some looks ben gives kenji at times. at the end of s1, the one who seems the most deeply effected over ben's "death," other than darius (understandably since he's the one who failed to save him), was kenji! immediately after it happens, we get two close up shots, darius and brooklyn then yasmina and sammy. after which, we go back to the whole group with kenji in center frame, the focus is intentionally on him. it is only kenji who drops to his knees at the loss, and then we get a close up of just kenji. he was saved for last, and he was alone in frame (tbf bumpy was in frame too, but i'm talking humans here), which implies his feelings are especially important in this moment. that is the reason for solo close ups.

after ben's "death," kenji takes to always wearing ben's fanny pack, and up until bumpy--who ben cares VERY much about--got separated from them, kenji was the one who (however briefly) took over her care, ensuring she got off the monorail with them, and he's extremely distraught, more than pretty much all of them, when they can't find her, and he's last to leave when they decide to accept that ben's gone. even when they do leave, he's distant and distracted and his mind is clearly still on ben.

other than darius, kenji is the only one (if i'm remembering correctly) to mention ben/say his name after they lost him, upset because he was actually trying not to think about him. he has clearly thought about ben, probably a lot, because it's hard not to be reminded constantly when you wear something that belonged to a deceased loved one. and frankly, he appears to be the only one who dwells on him that much.

when ben reappears alive (which btw he found the group again because of kenji's butter knife, hello), the frames literally purposely focus on kenji's reaction. he's the one in the foreground every time they show him and brooklyn in that scene. he is the first one to say ben's name, the first one to go to him and hug him, and the scene takes special care to highlight kenji's strong emotions at ben's reappearance, lingering on his teary face as the focus for a bit even after brooklyn enters the frame to hug ben (because she is not at all an important element in the scene at that moment). just like when ben "died," the way this scene is written and shot HEAVILY suggests that ben holds significant importance to kenji, specifically. because again, the focus here is on kenji and ben almost exclusively, with brooklyn as only an afterthought lol. and quite frankly literally everyone else's reaction to him being alive was pretty lackluster compared to the special attention they gave to kenji on this.

and then in s3 we have the infamous hat scene, where darius and ben are in the limo and ben sees and mentions kenji's sailor hat, looking sad and sounding like... longing?? then directly after we switch to kenji realizing he forgot his hat?? the scene has no real significance tbh other than to draw a connection between ben and kenji. like, it acts as a transition to switch to the pov of the group on the boat, but it was entirely unnecessary? why not just have darius say something about the others and then show them on the boat? if there were no special relationship between ben and kenji, it would have made far more sense if they really wanted it to be ben to say something, that he sees the hat, and sadly says something along the lines of "i hope the others are okay/doing better than we are right now/etc" which implies that the hat made him think of everyone, their whole group. rather than what we got... which very much implies that he was mostly just thinking about kenji 💀 and then kenji thinking about the hat at the same time ben's looking at it and thinking of kenji. like, this is.... a very blatant connection being made by the writing/directing here.

all of that. so many deliberate connections made between ben and kenji, they had a very solid foundation laid for a romance to develop, and by all intents and purposes one already WAS developing according to the show's own subtext. which was why up until s4 obliterated the idea, i was positive the queer couple in the show was either going to be yasammy or benji. it was extremely obvious imo. but as soon we started getting the typical, loud, cliche "we are going to pair off these characters" scenes for kenji and brooklyn, i knew we were getting yasammy and not benji (to be clear, i'm not at all upset about yasammy, they're beautiful and i love how their relationship was done, i wouldn't have had it end any other way for them. but i do personally prefer benji, i just like their personalities and dynamic more. and i feel they had so much potential that got wasted to make way for a far less interesting pairing between kenji and brooklyn. why can't we have 2 queer couples, huh? and if we really needed a minimum of one hetero pairing to appease whoever needed appeasing, darilyn was right there).

but then??? their like entire bond just gets dropped (honestly ben himself gets pretty heavily sidelined for almost all of the last two seasons, which is criminal imo). mostly so that a rushed kenji x brooklyn can be established. like there are still a few small moments here and there in early s4, and one episode in s5 (ep 10), but from early s4 till pretty much the end of the series we hardly see them have any meaningful conversations or interactions, meanwhile literally every other combo in the group does.

it's so weird? why build up benji so deliberately over the course of multiple seasons just to like, fully discard it for a pairing with far less chemistry, even after the chemistry-building scenes they shared, some of which literally had no other purpose than to affirm their connection? even though they were very sparse, the moments benji had were just so blatant (kenji leaps into the rock crevice right onto the back of a saber tooth to save ben?!!?? like he literally was just willing to exchange his life for him like that?? he basically says that he wasn't really thinking, he just did it. so he moved out of what, emotional instinct, that's what we're meant to intuit from that series of events? implying that he specifically has strong emotion and doesn't think things through when it comes to ben? because he doesn't do that kinda stuff for any of the others in the group! even better, this parallels when sammy jumped on the nothosaurus to save yasmina. and then the way benji look at each other after it's over??? hello??? and then how kenji pulls both brooklyn and ben in for that hug a couple minutes later... side eyeing the writers for that choice. they knew what they were doing there and they were evil for it). i just can't see any reason to have dropped them like they were, after all the development they shared for 3 seasons. confounding. biggest disappointment of the series.

i know this probably reads to some as just "wahh, my ship didn't become canon" nonsense. but that's not why i'm bugged. this wasn't just a ship i liked and wanted canon despite no actual narrative support, as most ships tend to be. this ship did have narrative support. there was intent behind many of their scenes together, lingering looks and little things that matter narratively and are always used to signify a stronger/special connection. and it led nowhere, for no good reason. that bothers me. writing that implies and promises something, but never delivers on it. like a person who never finishes their sentences (think Dr McPhee from Night at the Museum). ultimately it's not a HUGE deal or anything, at the end of the day it's just a ship and just a kids' show. but as a writer, it's just irritating to see something like that be done. what can i say 🤷

conclusion

even despite the wasted potential between certain pairings, and even though i do think the first three seasons were superior to the last two, overall i really enjoyed the show, and for what it was, it was really well-made. the overarching focus was of course on found family and friendship before anything else, which i absolutely love, and it was masterfully done. out of 6 kids, all of them had at least one or two meaningful bonding moments one-on-one with another in the group, so every possible combination had their moment to build strong, believable friendships with each other. i'm just so surprised by how good it was as a whole honestly, good enough to binge over the course of a week. i will happily recommend jwcc to anyone willing to give it a watch regardless of age, because i definitely think there's no age limit for a good story, no matter the medium it's told in. :)

#jwcc #jurassic world camp cretaceous #benji jwcc #benji #yasammy #yasammy jwcc #i would say that there's prob an age minimum tho... it's a bit scary so depending on the kid i wouldn't rec it to under 10 years #this is a long post #omg so long i'm sorry #i just have a lot to say #gotta shout into the void #it just be like that sometimes #fair warning this post is literally just me praising the show in the first half n then going absolutely off about benji in the second half #review #tv show review #as always with stuff like this that has any mention of ships it is bound to ruffle some feathers #so let me postface this with the reminder that this is all just MY OPINION #you are free to disagree but i'd rather you don't share your disagreements on my post via reblog/notes #feel free to write up your own show/ship review if you feel so strongly #otherwise if you dislike anything i've said you can just scroll past or block me <3

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annabolinas · 9 months

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Tudor Week 2023:

Day 5: Most Used Tudor Related Resource: A Non-Comprehensive List of My Favorite Tudor Books

I know I said this wasn't comprehensive, and it really isn't; I used 63 secondary sources and 9 primary source collections for my novel alone. These are just my favs, the ones I go back to regularly, plus one surprise. Warning: this is a long post. *crying emoji*

Tudor England: A History - Genuinely the best one-volume history of Tudor England out there. If you're a Tudor buff, GET THIS BOOK!!! There's not only refreshingly balanced interpretations of every Tudor monarch, but Wooding is careful to focus on ordinary people in Tudor England, with chapters dedicated to their religion, literature, relations with the wider world, authority and dissent, and more! Plus, the footnotes and Further Reading are an absolute delight, chock-full of fascinating research. This is academic history at its absolute best.

The Tudor Chronicles - Ever forgot what important stuff happened in Tudor England in 1505? 1563? 1589? This is the book for you. It's a year-by-year look at Tudor history. This was an invaluable book while writing the novel; it really provided a chronological framework on which I could structure the story. Absolutely essential.

Henry VIII by J.J. Scarisbrick - Despite being published in 1968, this remains a classic biography of Henry VIII, one of the very best out there. While Scarisbrick has aged poorer in some areas than others (i.e. his underestimation of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr), his treatment of Henrician foreign policy and the struggle for the annulment has IMO never been bettered. Plus, he has a whole chapter on matrimonial canon law if you want to better understand the background to Henry's quest for an annulment from Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII by Lucy Wooding - I actually think Wooding is a better biography of Henry than Scarisbrick, if only because this was published in 2015. Understanding yet never excusing Henry, and with balanced and well-argued interpretations of every historiographical controversy in his reign, this is a book I keep coming back to! Plus, she manages to be sympathetic to Catherine, Anne, and Henry in the Great Matter, no small feat.

Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty - A bit of an odd book, this is a psychological profile of Henry in his last years, 1540-7. Nevertheless, Smith is careful to never armchair diagnose Henry with anything, but rather bring out facets of his personality which are often ignored, like his obsession with honor and deep-rooted conviction in his close relationship with God as an anointed monarch. This was really helpful in fleshing out Henry as the main character in my novel.

Henry VIII: The Decline and Fall of a Tyrant - If Lacey Baldwin Smith focuses mainly on Henry's psyche from 1540-7, Robert Hutchinson provides a more general picture of these last years. He's particularly insightful on Henry's declining health, his war with France, court factionalism, and the economic woes England faced as a result. I wasn't as familiar with the non-matrimonial aspects of Henry's reign when I was writing the novel, so this book proved a godsend to me.

Six Wives - I know, I know, David Starkey is a racist POS. But he somehow managed to make the (so-far; I hope Suzannah Lipscomb will change this) best overview of the six wives. Weir is downright unreliable and Fraser repeats a number of myths and is a strong CoA partisan. It's Starkey who debunks myths and offers intriguing interpretations of everything from the dating of Anne and Percy's relationship to proof of Foxe's story of Catherine Parr's near-arrest.

Catherine of Aragon by Giles Tremlett - Why it took seventy years to supersede Gareth Mattingly's biography on Catherine, I don't know, but Tremlett did it. This is a richly detailed, fair book on Catherine, and while he is sympathetic to Catherine, he doesn't present her as a plaster saint. Still, it's hard to feel anything but admiration for her after this biography. This is the closest book we'll get to knowing her as a person.

The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives - This book deserves to be called "the Anne Boleyn bible". An underrated feature of this biography is its fascinating and insightful analysis of Anne's faith, presenting convincing evidence of her evangelical beliefs, and her artistic patronage. Even if I don't agree with his theory of her fall, this is still the best Anne biography out there.

Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves by Elizabeth Norton - In a small field of books about these two queens, Norton manages to produce the best ones. Due to the paucity of evidence, there's naturally a lot of speculation and use of "might have", but she does the best of any book at producing a picture of these two queens as actual people (with thorough citations to boot).

Young and Damned and Fair by Gareth Russell - I feel I should clarify that I don't agree with Russell's analysis of Catherine Howard's relationship with Manox and Dereham; it was not consensual (although I think Dereham groomed her into thinking it was). That being said, Russell sweeps away many of the myths and misconceptions about Catherine to present a very empathetic, yet never biased book about this tragic queen. Plus, he includes a wealth of details about court life and anecdotes about Catherine not found in other bios.

Catherine Parr by Susan James - James is practically the expert on Catherine Parr; it was James who really proved that Catherine was far more passionate and lively than popular belief has it. Thus, it's no surprise this biography is superb. James is particularly good on Catherine's 1544 regency, household, and her Protestant beliefs, really giving you a detailed picture of her faith.

Letters and Papers (L&P) of Henry VIII and the Calendar of State Papers, Spain (CSP Spain) - These two Victorian primary source collections are invaluable resources for researching Henry's reign. They're collections of summaries (and sometimes transcripts) of primary sources for Henry's reign. This is the bedrock of nearly all books about his reign, so much so that excerpts of it are part of my set texts for next term. Plus, there's so much in it; it's a never-ending-buffet for Tudor buffs.

Dress at the Court of Henry VIII - What color shoes did Catherine Parr like to wear the most? How did clothes communicate royal status and political leanings, for both Henry and his wives? How did Henry's children, courtiers, and servants dress on different occasions? This book is the one-stop shop for Henrician fashion. My only complaint is that its illustrations are B&W, but if you combine this with the drawings of gowns in Herbert Norris' Tudor Costume and Fashion, you're pretty much set.

Elizabeth I - The later Tudors aren't really my wheelhouse, but I had to include this amazing biography of Elizabeth I. Forget Weir or Plowden, this is the best biography of Elizabeth out there, and it's a masterpiece of historical biography, period. This book manages to grapple with everything that happened in Elizabeth's nearly 70-year life without getting bogged down in details and preserving a sympathetic, nuanced picture of the woman behind the queenly mask. 10/10, highly recommend!!

#tudorweek2023 #dailytudors #tudor era #this is a long post #many books #short reviews for each #but I hope you enjoy!!#for legal purposes what i'm about to say is not me endorsing this #but nearly all of these books are available on *certain e-book* websites #if you're not feeling adventurous #many are available on Internet Archive as well

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russenoire · 1 year

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here, i'm gonna spill some more ink over studio bones' decisions adapting ???% in mob psycho 100's confession arc... in a lighter color, perhaps.

some manga readers are upset at the lack of separation between '???%' and 'mob' in the anime vs the clear separation in the manga. that separation doesn't exist in the original japanese.

mob's 声優 (seiyuu) setsuo itō's voice acting in this scene from MP100's first season is by turns startling and visceral (tbh, most of the VA work in this scene is amazing, but i'm only referring to mob here).

youtube

given the above, i expected a voice come up from the depths of hell for ???% in the confession arc, but bones and itō-san did not indulge my whims here. what they gave us instead...

...actually reflects the source material.

while there is an audible distinction between ???%'s nonchalant contempt and mob's considerably-more-animated (thanks to all that emotional growth we've seen over the course of the story!) upset, they sound like the same person in the anime... because they are. i thought this a tidy way to convey that fact, and this subtle distinction is not that different in feel from what we see on the page in the original language.

inside the teenager's mind, shigeo (???%) and mob quarrel in the same font. tails on their speech bubbles eventually disappear as they continue to argue with each other. i found this pointed lack of separation a little confusing on first read, but eventually became used to it.

(for a breakdown of this full conversation in the manga, check out @exilepurify's awesome translation post.)

shigeo chafes at the thought of considering others' needs. he scorns mob for bending himself into a shape he thinks will suit tsubomi, mocks mob's desire to blend into the background and somehow escape notice. his own wish for tsubomi to accept him in all his explosive vainglory doesn't take her wishes into account, either.

and yet. his desires are subordinate to mob's.

he wants what mob wants -- only without that whole pesky 'consideration for other people' thing -- and he wants to keep mob alive. their full conversation reveals just how much shigeo actually loves mob.

for all practical purposes, any distinctions between shigeo and mob -- private vs public, subconscious vs conscious -- only exist in the boy's head. even then, they have been unfairly imposed... by mob himself.

the teenager laying waste to seasoning city? the teenager his friends and family love? one and the same.

his loved ones and allies address him with the names by which they know him; they assume he's the same person, just experiencing an involuntary loss of control and in need of some help. it's important to emphasize that. drastically different voices for shigeo and mob would have drawn a hard line between them where there is none.

studio bones removed and/or internalized ???%'s lines, apparently robbing him of speech. but ???% is talking to himself, and no one else can hear him.

in the manga, shigeo seizes control of the boy's speech centers and speaks out loud as ???%, in a scratchy, rough font meant to evoke a harsh voice. (it's the same font used for ???%'s last brief, conscious takeover when mob discovers the crispy fried corpses of his family in their merrily crackling home! you can hear itō-san's delightful interpretation of it in episode 9 from the second season.)

he says:

｢僕の好きにやらせてもらう。」 boku no s'ki ni yarasete morau. 'i'll be free to do whatever i want.' or more literally: 'i will take [from you] the allowance to do as i please.' his use of 貰う here emphasizes that he is forcing mob's hand.

this line and the shift in viewpoint serve to highlight the exact moment where shigeo gains the advantage in his argument with mob.

mob and shigeo squabble for external control for a while; ONE shows this by letting them both speak aloud in this same rough voice. both sides of the fight between the two (at least after 'i'll be free to do whatever i want') can actually be heard from the outside. we only get a few small panels of this as it's happening, but it's unnerving.

shigeo, who is winning this battle, not only gets far more lines as seen from without, but his harsh rasp even colors mob's external speech. this is mob's only line the mangaka lets us see in that font, and it's heartbreaking:

｢だって… もしこれが本当の僕の姿だっていうなら…」 datte... mosh' kore ga hontou no boku no sugata datte iu nara... 'because... if this [???%] is what i really am, as you say...

the line continues within:

｢本当の僕になんて誰も近寄らない。誰も…　誰も助けてくれない。そんなの嫌いだ。」 hontou no boku ni nante daremo ch'kayoranai. daremo... daremo tas'kete kurenai. sonna no kirai da. 'no one will come anywhere near the real me. no one... no one will be there for me. i won't have that.'

the full takeover, which happens a bit later, is marked by:

shigeo's dissolution of and absorption of mob's consciousness into himself;

reigen's ｢すまない｣ (sumanai, 'i'm sorry') for not knowing the nature of what his deshi was struggling to contain;

???%'s last glance back at the man before pressing on towards his goal... as reigen begs him to wait, running after him.

thereafter, we see ???% from without. we get two short glimpses of shigeo's internal perspective before dimple's reappearance, then rejoin him inside for his last explosion with mob.

the anime depicts the moment of full takeover thusly:

shigeo's dissolution of and absorption of mob's consciousness into himself;

a ｢すまない｣ from reigen, who senses something has gone even more wrong with the boy and renews his pursuit... begging him to wait;

shigeo's turning his back on reigen and walking on. we see him spurning his mentor from the inside, his face hardening against a stark black backdrop.

the outward shift happens on-screen too. while it eventually returns to an internal view just as the manga does, it largely stays there, owing to a serious expansion of the scene where shigeo indulges his thirst for revenge on reigen.

except for an audible sigh when teru remarks on how normal his friend's losing control of himself actually makes him, anime shigeo speaks to no one.

???% is alone when he speaks in the manga; reigen is nowhere within earshot and shigeo is only addressing mob. in other words, he's talking to himself. shigeo never utters a word to anyone else in either manga or anime, as if he owes no one an explanation for the choice to sack his hometown or injure his friends.

as bone-chilling and unsettling as ???% speaking out loud is on the page, as much as it enhances the reading experience... in my opinion, it adds nothing new to our understanding of this situation on the screen. viewers can see for themselves that:

an internal takeover has occurred in this boy's mind,

???% is sentient and human and ever so divinely enraged at having been chained up for so long;

???% is finally free.

so why should studio bones belabor this point by having him shout, in the middle of a tornado, to no one in particular? if a boy speaks in a tornado, and there is no one around to hear it, does he make a sound... ?

i also don't know that this would translate well to film. in real life, talking to oneself like that usually carries connotations of psychosis, and resolving it as is done here would honestly be an insult to real-life sufferers. i love it to pieces in the manga but understand why this was cut.

the only things removing ???%'s outward speech loses for me are:

one last opportunity for itō-san to flex that audible jump-scare STOMACH-TWISTING SNARL (oh, i will miss it so);

a slightly-less-vague sense of how shigeo might make his wishes known to tsubomi, were he to present himself to her like this... he wants her approval so badly, and is terrified of not getting it. would he be able to speak to her at all? in the manga the question becomes what would he even say to her?

#mob psycho 100 #mp100 #mp100 meta #mp100 anime #mp100 manga #mp100 manga spoilers #sometimes adaptations give you new perspective on the source material #and pose new interesting questions #1-cour anime adaptations are summaries and should be appraised as such #what would ???% say to tsubomi if he met her in this state?#would he be able to speak to her at all?#???% talking to himself is unsettling AF #???% is fun to think about #this is a long post #thanks for reading #let me be clear #i am not uncritical of the anime confession arc #翻訳 #manga translation #if a boy speaks in a tornado #and there's no one around to hear it #does he make a sound... ?#i like that ???% isn't entirely silent in the anime #just nonverbal #which also raises a whole host of fascinating implications #to be tackled in another post #kageyama shigeo #分析

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xxbrightshadowxx · 5 months

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How the hell did I learn about the 9th Amulet book through two brothers arguing in the backseat behind on a two hour plane trip from Arizona? I thought they were joking at first till I searched it up and it’s real and it’s coming out very soon. So after I learned that I decided to re-read the Amulet series up till 8 and decided to tell whoever is willing to read this my thoughts!

Clarification beforehand though, I do enjoy Amulet. It was one of my favorite pieces of media for a few years and even inspired me to create my own story similar to it. While I may come off a bit hatful and aggressive, I do like this series but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my fair share of problems with it

Books 1

So I’m going off the same rating scale that I use for movies so go check out my Trolls Band Together review to know what each rating means and just replace movie/film to with book. Anyways I give this book, 6/10. I enjoyed this book. This was the first graphic novels series I read and I was excited to know what happened next. I also loved how the robots and the robot house looked. I don’t have any problems with the first book. Primarily because it’s way too early to have any problems.

The reason why I rate it low though, is because while I enjoy it, it’s not my favorite. It didn’t do much to really impress me nor draw my attention. It did just enough to make me wanna see what happens next.

Book 2

With the second book I give it a 6.8/10 right between 6.5 and 7. Why? Well for starters I enjoyed the Elf plot line. To me, when I first read the series was much more interesting then the main one for some reason. This is the book where we meet Leon. Leon, for the most part was an interesting character. Not to mention we get some world building through him about the elf king and being a stone keeper.

Navin’s plotline, while useful to some degree, wasn’t my favorite. Of course it’s important but I was less invested than I should’ve. That might just have been a personal problem I have with Navin later in the series but we’ll get to that later.

My only problem with this is Luger. Now, Luger is a good villain and I found him intimidating when I first read the second book. I think my problem really stems from the fact that this is the only book where Luger gets to be a villain. This should be a book 3 problem but book 2 is where he is defeated.

Book 3

Book 3 was my favorite when I was younger and it still holds the place as one of my favorite amulet books in the series to this day. I give it a good 7.5/10. This book does a lot of things right in my opinion. I like the action sequences and the new information about Trellis backstory proving again that he is the most interesting character. I also found Rico and Enzo funny believe it or not. They are a fun addition to the party.

However, my problem was the robots. Miskit and Cogsly were just there most of the time. They didn’t really guide Emily like they were set up to be. I didn’t feel anything when they got captured. Which is not something you want your readers to feel when something bad happens. I also found Luger’s personality change strange. I expected him to be a bit more hostile and condescending after being defeated. Granted, you could argue it was the stone but still, it was odd.

Book 4

I have mixed feelings about this book. This is where certain problems that I have with Kazu start to show. First of all, I give this one a 7.5/10 as well. I was never sure if I should trust Max until the very end. I never understood Max. He was suspicious and I thought he had bad intentions some times and other times I thought for a moment maybe he did have good intentions for Emily.

I also like Alyson mostly because she felt much more real. She was fun and I liked her character. Leon, Rico, and Enzo have their moment, the prison break which I enjoyed reading. I also like the Elf racism while Trellis and Luger are at the prison. Granted, it’s brief but it’s to be expected and it does give some insight on what other people think about Elves. I also liked Vigo. I was glad to see another stone keeper on the good and he also came with more world building which I’m always glad to see.

However, Miskit and Cloglsy were both weak parts and I was confused about how everyone was dead and stone and Max’s agenda for a while. I had to re-read certain parts to fully grasp what was happening.

Book 5

Book 5 was a 7/10. I don’t have many thoughts. For one I am mad they split up the original party. Karen, Miskit, Cloglsy, and Leon felt like they were meant for more before they got shoved in the brook closet. Sure, Cloglsy is here with Navin but it isn’t much. I do enjoy seeing Navin and Alyson hanging out, that’s fun. Max’s backstory is sad..he tried helping his friend and her family from prison. Only for it to backfire horribly in his face and be thrown into prison for trying to be a good person. His hatred and need to revenge for his dead friend is such an interesting concept for a villain and he poses such a genuine threat and I love it.

Then there is the about the voice. I am not gonna lie, not a big fan of it. The reveal that the voice is the elf king felt odd and sort of out of place. I don’t know. I have mixed feelings about it.

Book 6

Max. Max, max, max. All I got to say is f-ck you, Kazu Kibuishi for screwing over such an interesting character. This book gets a 5.1/10. The utter and total whiplash I got when Max wanted to work with Trellis, Emily, and Vigo gave me migraines. There was no build up and it was so random. And his death, are the FUCKING kidding me. This just felt like a lazy way to write out a character. Max knew that Layra wouldn’t approve of his actions and that’s why he asked for forgiveness. Then he tried to justify with her and it’s such horse crap! No to mention, it was so fricking anticlimactic and just lazy!

I also wasn’t a big fan of Navin’s side plot. Also something reoccurring is that Emily is just there. She doesn’t push the narrative because she has no goals. She just does heroic stuff because she feels she has to. Not because she wants to. It makes her feel flat. Which is disappointing since she had potential to be great.

The reason why I don’t put this as a three is because the scene where they save the elves and Trellis announces himself to be the real king, is cool. Not to mention I liked Riva. She’s a character that had great potential. However this is not enough to save this book.

Book 7

Oh, firelight. You are the embarrassing sibling in the Amulet series. I give you 3/10. First off, one good thing I’ll say is I am glad we are continuing the theme of lost. Even if it feels weird, pacing wise. That’s it. That’s the only thing I really enjoy about this book.

First off I didn’t like Pil, Alyson, and Navin’s storyline. It was just there and it took up too much page time. Second, Gabilan. Oh, Gabilan. He was also just there. We get his backstory, he does some stuff and then he dies. He’s a plot device and while if you really think about it, everyone is a plot device, Kazu didn’t try to hide the fact that he is a plot device. Also the ending. TRELLIS. YOU ARE TELLING YOU DID EVERYTHING TO TRY AND STOP HER FROM BECOMING A BIRD! WHAT THE F—

Book 8

Where do I begin. First off, this book was a 0/10.

And now my problems. First off the si fi outer space plot like win Navin was so boring. Oh my god. I felt nothing. But that. That part was least of my concerns. My concerns was everything else. First of all, Trellis and Vigo got nerfed so easily that it annoys me. They stop the army and that’s fine, though they did it without trying. And that’s it for them. In the entire book. I have several issues with them shoving Riva, Trellis, and Vigo in the closet.

But my biggest issue is Emily and the void. First of all how the hell did she get out so easily. Was this even an issue if she just left without any problems any help. WHY DID SHE NEED NO HELP! If it was that easy to leave the void, why did it take people years to get out. What the fuck. Also what the fuck is with the future Emily bullshit?! TIME PARADOX ARE A THING KAZU. THERE IS A REASON NOT MANY PEOPLE DESL WITH TIME TRAVEL. Also who the hell is Moze’s dad?! Why does he have to her son?! Kazu, why?! You missed the mark by a landslide.

Also the elf king. WHAT. THE. FUCK. IT WAS SO FRICKING EASY TO DEFEAT HIM. JUST HAD TO TAKE OFF HIS DAMN MASK. TELL ME THIS. IF THE ELF KING WAS THAT EASY TO DEFEAT, WAS HE EVER A REAL THREAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! NO! WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING UP TO THE ELF KING AS THR BIG BOSS SINCE BOOK 2 AND WE DEFEAT HIM IN THE MOST ANTICLIMACTIC WAS POSSIBLE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! NOW THE MAIN THREAT IS A BUNCH OF SHADOWS?! WHY?! WHY! AND IF YOU TELL ME THAT THAT ISNT WHAT BOOK 9 IS ABOUT IT STATES IN THE AMZON DESCRIPTION: “Emily finally understands the stone's power and what she must do to defend Alledia from the shadows.”

ALSO THE FACT THAT EMILY IS ALIVE SEEMS LIKE A NO BIG DEAL TO VIGO AND TRELLIS ALSO THEY JUDT LER HER LEAVE TO GO KILL A BUNCH OF SHADOWS ALONE?! ALSO OLD EMILY WAS THERE TO GIVE EMILY HER STAFF AT THE END. AGAIN, TIME PARADOXS ARE A THING KAZU.

Overall thoughts:

It’s obvious that Kazu Kibuishi wrote this story without a proper outline. What does that mean? It means Kazu didn’t know how he was going to end the story or the middle. He knew the beginning and instead of trying to figure out and plan the entire story, he wrote what he thought of right on the spot. When waverider comes out I will buy it and read it. I will also most likely rate it and write down my thoughts. Till next time though, if you actually took the time read this post and indulge in my thought process and ideas.

#amulet books #amulet #kazu kibuishi #emily hayes #Navin Hayes #prince trellis #Vigo Light #book review #this is a long post #when I’m passionate about something I talk a lot about it #max #ikol #waverider #ranty rant

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duquesah · 5 months

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I've started re-watching the Venom movies recently

It got me thinking about Kayn and Rhaast's relationship in canon, and how for some odd reason Kayn is the only darkin host that wasn't corrupted immediately upon holding the weapon for the first time, and is still fighting against the corruption. Is it true that Kayn is just THAT powerful and Rhaast is the current weakest darkin? Or perhaps there's more to them than we realize?

What I think might be the case is a combination of factors mentioned previously and something else, which I'll talk about in this post so pls stay with me 🙏

Okok so, in Venom (2018) we see how Venom and Eddie meet, how at first they're really just parasite and host, but then after seeing how much they're alike Venom gives everything up. Venom was a nobody amongst the others, just like Eddie, who has lost everything previously. They achieved symbiosis because they are the same, pretty much, and they are so goddamn special that not even Riot (ha) could take them down (with some help of course, love my girl Anne).

THAT got me thinking about Hwei's voice line, the one in which he says "If you just allowed yourselves to BLEND". It's a very interesting line, we can think about some possibilities but first we discuss exactly why Kayn hasn't been corrupted yet (I know I'm rambling a bit, sorry lol)

So, it could be that he really is that powerful, he has been training since childhood (he had a pretty rough one, too). At some point Zed took him in and Kayn became a powerful weapon/tool (parallels!! Kayn being used as a weapon and Rhaast being one, literally) and with his tragic backstory and some other voice lines (this time from Swain, I believe) we know that Kayn, after all he's been through, mistakes hatred for affection, since all he knows is negative, bad things.

So Kayn is traumatized, who isn't? Well, I know for sure the darkin have a very sad past too so let's talk about them (and Rhaast, of course) next

The darkin, once ascended, fought against The Void and each other for some time. The things they've seen and been through cost them their minds, with the years they became less of who they once were, some corrupted beyond redemption and the only way to stop this war was with imprisonment, so that's what happened. Many died, with the remaining ones being sealed away in weapons. Inside their prison they cannot breathe (that's why they sound very out of breath, I was happier before knowing about that) or scream, or do anything really, it's another void, much like the first they fought.

So imagine, after years of being trapped inside a tiny space, some guy finds you and, unlike the others, there's a barrier blocking your way inside their mind. This one is different, that's for sure, but Rhaast is a darkin, he will break this host one day...

But this day seems further and further away, the barrier still strong. Could it be that Rhaast is weaker than the others, or perhaps their tactic of corrupting minds away just doesn't work on Kayn? Well, like I previously talked about, both Kayn and Rhaast have a tragic backstory. my guess is that Rhaast and the other darkin use negative emotions/memories in order to break the host's mind, the pain unbearable to them. But Kayn? Negative emotions/memories is ALL he has, all he ever had, so this method couldn't possibly be the most effective to use, right?

Kayn is stronger than most, sure, but he wasn't immediately corrupted because he is barely affected by Rhaaat's tactics, which consist of breaking the mind with bad memories and emotions, which unfortunately for him is all Kayn knows. It DOES affect him a bit, for all we know, but we can't exactly expect him to be 100% immune, he's still human 🤷‍♀️

We don't know how things are going for them currently, if anyone's winning yet. I actually don't think that's ever happening, because 1. They would break the fucking champion; 2. Is it truly a win if they're just gonna miss each other's company after? (Rhaast presumably doesn't care but that can change, I mean just look at Varus). They would be more powerful, sure, but they only have each other, and with time I think they can be stronger together, they can find a way to get what they both want AND stay together.

ANYWAY what do y'all think? I know I started talking about Venom and Eddie and ended up somewhere else entirely but I just needed to ramble about them, get some ideas in order. Also correct me if I said anything wrong lore-wise, been awhile since I've read about them

#rhaayn #this is a long post #lmao my bad #shieda kayn #rhaast #league of legends

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akashicpoint · 9 months

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MOONLIGHT SYNDROME - CHARACTER FILES ムーンライトシンドローム Human Entertainment 1997

#Moonlight syndrome #twilight syndrome #this is a long post #so i have another post with the next four #human entertainment #arisa kahara #rumi tohba #chisato itsushima #yukari hasegawa #mika kishii #ryo kazan #suda51 #kill the past #v: moonlight syndrome

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stop-ur-losing-me · 1 year

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GUYS THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES TRAILOR IS OUTTTTT!!!!!!!!

so in honor of that here are some things im excited for (spoiler alert)

EVERY lucy gray performance

PETER DINKLAGE AS CASCA HIGHBOTTOM I REPEAT PETER DINKLAGE AS CASCA HIGHBOTTOM

did you SEE coriolanus's buzzcut in the trailer?!!!

I NEED "the ballad of lucy gray baird"

ALL THE CASTING IS SO ACCURATE OH MY GOSH

in the trailer, lucy gray bows like katniss literally didnt know i needed it til now

THEY CAST DAKOTA SHAPIRO AS BILLY TAUPE

"that's the sound of snow... falling"

they cast a younger coriolanus snow so.. flashbacks???

We're gonna see sejanus throw the chair

cant WAIT for this soundtrack

ARE THEY GONNA HANG MARCUS??? (i feel like they would keep it out so the audience isnt scared and if they do i will sue)

"snow lands on top" = "fire is catching"

GUYS LUCKY FLICKERMAN LUCKY FLICKERMAN

tom blyth is the PERFECT coriolanus

DiD yOu sEE hEr RAinBoW DresS??????!!!!!

rachel zegler is PERFECT for this role

DID YOU SEE THE LOGO ANIMATION??!! *chefs kiss*

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #thg #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #the ballad of lucy gray baird #sejanus plinth #rachel zegler #peter dinklage #this is a long post

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wastheheart · 16 days

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Okay, so Esme's relationship with womanhood has been complicated and confusing her entire life. As a child, she was very much tom-boyish; she worked on the farm and cares little for her appearance beyond looking respectable for school or church. After all, it's not like farming was a clean, clinical life. As a kid, it didn't matter so much that she was often found in wellies with mud caked clothes.

As she got into her teen years, her mother started pressuring her to dress and behave more lady-like so to attract potential suitors, but Esme wasn't interested.

She had made up her mind— to go west and become a teacher. If it was one thing she loved as equally as the outdoors, it was knowledge. Accidentally rebellious, not deliberately so. This theme would follow her into her marriage with Charles.

Keeping a home didn't come unnaturally to her. After all, she'd been helping her mother do such her entire childhood, but being a homemaker and wife did not come as easily to her as manual labour and reading books. It also didn't help that her presentation of womanhood, despite her mother's coaching, was not adequate for Charles; he made sure she knew that. Esme's instinct to bite back was gradually beaten out of her. The role of subservient wife sculpted by Charles' hands.

Falling pregnant with her son came unexpectedly, both physically and mentally. As much as she wished to teach, Esme hadn't considered herself a mother, at least in these circumstances. In fact, motherhood hadn't really been on her cards at all. Just another way she felt as if she was being a woman all wrong.

Once away from Charles and able to process the situation, Esme gradually became more excited about the prospect of becoming a mother whilst simultaneously doing the job she loved. In fact, teaching really helped nurture her maternal instinct. After losing her baby, Esme's womanhood once again came under scrutiny. Was there something wrong with her? Was she not good enough to be able to do what everyone assumes women should be able to?

The loss in identity and capabilities accompanied by grief is what tipped her over the edge.

Awakening as a vampire, Esme felt a freedom she had never known— freedom from expectation. Perceived "womanness" was a human trait and unimportant to their kind, although her coven's lifestyle choices meant still adhering to these unspoken rules when around humans.

The only moment her sense of womanhood was abruptly questioned was the events of Bella's pregnancy. Despite grieving her human child and wishing she could have something similar with Carlisle, she had made peace with the fact their bodies as a species became infertile. Learning that the infertility was one-sided really began to mess with Esme's head, especially since the ability to bear children as a human ended in tragedy too.

This basic ability women (of most species) were supposed to have, started causing her to reflect heavily on her self worth, especially in Carlisle's eyes. Did he think less of her because she couldn't give him what Bella had given Edward?

Despite having always believed women are more than their bodily functions, Esme clearly hadn't applied it to herself which only became obvious during the events of Breaking Dawn. Whatever her mother and Charles had drilled into her had been done to such an extent that, even a century and a transformation later, it remained deep-rooted in her.

However, it's another reason that she is so vehemently against the question "what is a w.oman?" and the idea that women are definable by b.iological essentialism.

Esme may look like a "woman", but for those who define womanhood by the ability to bear children, then what does that inability make her? She may outwardly appear as a "woman", but when Carlisle changed her, he altered her DNA too (presuming her c.hromosomes were even XX to begin with). So what is she, then? Is it an aesthetic? Even then, as a human she never truly lived up to lady-like behaviour. Everything people use to define womanhood isn't relevant nor applicable to her.

So while she identifies as a woman, she does so in protest for those who think womanhood has clear cut edges. She does so in defiance. Because it has taken her a century and eternity to see her worth and her strength in an identity so many people try to control and dictate. And she will rip the throat out of anyone who believes they can define and control for other people trying to simply live their truth.

#ooc #mun's musings #this is a long post #kinda a word vomit but i hope it's somewhat coherent?#cw: long post #long post cw #tbd

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boxwinebaddie · 2 months

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pls tell me kyle went after stanley after he punched gerald. also i feel so bad for ike :(

don't worry, baby; he definitely did!

no, i feel so bad for ike too.

that whole thing was a fucking mess.

but to jog your re(memory): it is the night of darling isaac moisha broflovski's sweet and sour seventeenth birthday dinner. and ravenstan made a very thoughtful and conscious effort to appear presentable in front of ike's parents, relatives and jewish in-laws. so he is wearing a very nice suit, none of his piercings are in, he's cleaned up very nicely and most notably of all:

his raven of crimson dawn electric blue hair...

...is now stanley marsh signature black. <3

rip the blue hair-era, but black hair/natural hair color stan is very near and dear to my heart, because it shows a lot of growth, healing and positive character development for him. he also...does look like a dead ringer, ironically, for a dearly beloved and very dead child that perished in a fire some ten-odd years ago, so people do stare at him for a long time/have to do a double take.

but mostly because he's absolutely radiant. he looks really, really good with the black hair it makes his eyes really blue...he's...wowza.

and he tries to slide in very quietly, but was unfortunately fashionably late because he was swearing very loud in spanish for like a half hour trying to tie a tie...unsuccessfully, but again, he's licherally drop dead goregous, so he cannot ever enter a room without all eyes on him. he feels very bad about that and is trying to be reserved because it's ike's birthday dinner and he's a world famous rockstar and really trying very hard not to take away from that.

but it was important to him that he make a good impression, not look like a unpolished dirt bag celebrity and impress kyle's family/not embarrass kyle, ike and his parents in front of their extended family.

which he does naught embarrass them in the slightest or embarrass them at all! likewise, a common theme with the broflovskis is that they all like stan very much, specifically zayde, which is very hard to do because he's very straight laced, conservative, uptight and only speaks hebrew. but he whispers stuff to bubbe and bubbe repeats it to stan about him being a very handsome young man with great prospects. ravenstan waves, blushes and makes a lot of hand hearts.

ravenstan is so freaking cute, i'm love him so much.

and it's really hard not to love stan because he's very polite and sweet and quite awkward, his laugh is such a car collision of sounds and he's staring at the salad fork and the dinner fork breathing so hard, looking like a very confused lost puppy. ( jersey does...help him a lot and whisper stuff to him. they play a lot of accidental footsie because even though he's mad at him...kyle can't really help but be crimson drawn to him. ) and again, it's hard not to be drawn to him, he's very pretty and nice and has a sort of endearing natural charm to him.

but he's really, trying not to make ike's big day anything, but about him, but unfortunately, ike, like always is a bit of an after thought so the entire night does end up being about ravesey which sucks. mostly because gerald is trying to proposition raven into letting him represent him as his personal lawyer because all he sees is dollar signs, whilist taking very brutal, not so sly digs at kyle to make himself feel big. and kyle feels like he's seven years old again, too big and yet, far too small, sinking into himself, taking that verbal abuse, looking super uncomfortable. it comes to a head when gerald says something extremely foul about kyle, i'm not sure what it is but it is really dehumanizing and evil. kyle looks like he wants to cry...

so stan PUNCHES THE LIVING SHIT out of gerald, breaks the fuck out of his nose, defends kyle very chivalrously, everyone is screaming, and ravenstan is freaking out so he runs out the front door like he's just committed a hit and run or vicious execution.

now, that puts us here.

which is outside the broflovski house.

ravenstan is sweating bullets, pacing back and forth, his heart is fucking racing, he can barely breath because his lungs are fucked from smoke inhalation at the farm which coupled with his already very shitty chronic asthma makes every shallow, labored sin-amin scented breath excruciating. with no relief because despite his flawless james not-blonde appearance, in messy, careless adhd boy fashion, he does naught have his inhaler. as a lovely reference and homage to peppermint, i think jersey actually carries stan's inhaler.

so whatever, fuck the inhaler, he wants to die. for real this time. but before he can *stas vc* go lie in the street, jersey comes running out the front door and stan immediately feels a wave of dread set in.

because he knows kyle is royally pissed. like he decked the fuck out of his dad in front of everyone and destroyed ike's birthday. :(

he starts stammering, talking so fast you can barely understand him

and says something to the effect of:

"kyle, i'm so sorry. i'm so fucking sorry! i just wanted tonight to be perfect and i ruined everything again. god, i fucking ruin everything. i feel awful for ike. this was his special day. it was supposed to be special and it's all a mess now. i'll apologize to everyone, i promise! your mom, your--your dad, of course, your brother especially, your aunts, uncles, oh god, i'll apologize to zayde, especially. i know--fuck--i know he can't speak english but, i'll use google translate or something, god this is all so fucked up.

i am so sorry, kyle. i know you already hate me and never want to see me again, so i'll go. i--the boys and marj, they can play without me, kenny can sing almost as good as i can. i didn't...i didn't mean to hit your dad. i've never actually hit any one in my life! i just couldn't take it anymore! the way he was talking about you, it made me so fucking mad! it made me fucking sick! because it's not true, ky! you are not nothing, you're everything to me. everything. and i just--"

stan is hysterical, his eyes are welling up with tears…

it's so horrible.

but right when ravenstan is sure that jerseykyle is going to hit him to get stan back for hitting ger and say he never wants to see him again, kyle surges forward...and wraps him in a very tender embrace.

it's a rare gesture, jersey does not hug people, let alone hold people people so tight that stan feels like all the air has left his lungs. mostly because he's shocked. he makes a small, surprised gasping sound. his eyes are wide open. he doesn't understand what's happening. kyle hates him. he ruined everything. and yet, kyle wrapped his arms around him, breathing in the scent of his hair, running hands over the expensive fabric that clings to stan's back like he's clinging onto him. this is all stan has ever wanted since they broke up, even though they were technically never dating. to have kyle this close again. they spent those 3-4 days together in silence, tension forming...

this is the release. and it was worth the wait.

then, kyle pulls away and when he looks at stan...

he looks at him like he is the most beautiful thing in the world.

precious. immaculate. flawless.

not raven of crimson dawn.

not stanley marsh.

but his stanley marsh.

his.

and in the softest, shaky ghost of a voice, he whispers,

"stanley randall william marsh..."

he says the words like prayer. it's a quiet utterance and with the unhinged, deafening chaos of what's happening inside, no one can hear it. just stan. his stan, whose face he grasps gently, whose eyes he looks into when he finally deigns to speak again. and when he does his voice is vulnerable, like we've never seen jersey before as he looks into his eyes, which glisten and glow when he says,

"that is the sweetest fuckin' thing anyone has ever done for me."

"...thank you."

and kisses him on the cheek.

and it's almost i love you.

it's as good as.

because jersey’s been a fighter his whole life. a lone wolf since stan's disappearance and presumed passing. and when something bad happens, everyone always thinks 'kyle is loud and vicious and mean and strong; he can take care of himself. he can deal with it.' so he's always barred his teeth, been nasty and fought his own battles.

no one has ever defended jersey.

no one.

so stan standing up for him, stan defending him against his dad, the one person in the world he's absolutely terrified of. willing to break his stance as a peaceful protestor, a gentle nature thing, a pacifist, to break kyle's dad's nose for talking down to him, to actually, break his thumb because he doesn't know how to punch and put his thumb inside his fist, fracturing the bone...

kyle has never felt loved like that in his entire life.

and the kiss on the cheek, i think, is ten times more tender than kissing him on the lips or anywhere else on his body. it's such a precious thing, a gentle thing, a vulnerable thing for him.

it's unfortunately also because he thinks stan is dating call girl, which, that situation is complicated so i won't get into it into this ask. but kyle and the others can't know that they're not actually dating, because outing that information will put kyle and his friends lives in danger. he also made a promise to call girl/wendy, to keep her secret specifically from bebe who is dating wen/wendyl and does not know that she is secretly call girl. but again...that's for another ask.

this is a special ravesey ask, which, speaking of them and the aftermath of this exchange, i don't...exactly know what happens. i didn't get this far, but i'll try to piece something together for you.

i think that raven probably says something like "i can't go back in there; i--i can't." and jersey shakes his head solemnly and says,

"so don't."

and they have a little night together.

i think they walk to the corner store where raj works <3, pick up some medical supplies, maybe skittles for kyle, a bottle of wine. i'm supposing that maybe jersey hops on crim which, i love stan's hot boy motorcycle he's so coooool. and end up at stark's pond? look up at the stars, kyle very lovingly patches up stan's finger and maybe they talk a little bit, there's a lot of stan wanting to tell him everything but he can't. jersey gets white boy wasted and is being silly, stan thinks he's really cute and is making fun of him, haha. and...

they fall asleep on that picnic blanket with jersey's head on stan's chest...and for a moment. as it turns out,

my darlings...

the night was actually perfect after all. :')

-uncle nina, who has a branch in her eye again

p.s. i got too lazy to re-type my tags, here they are.

#sorry i lost all my tags i pasted them at the bottom #this is a long post #soz

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dissociativediscourse · 11 months

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the most wild thing about endos trying to "prove endo plurality" is using OLD sources, which mentions "normal multiplicity" which just means adherence to social norms observed (which would basically consider everyone if not only non-socially awkward neurotypical people endo systems), and then their "new" sources just re-uses prior ideology of the old sources, just removing the term "normal multiplicity" (instead now being called "multiple self-aspects" and "multiple self-control"), but it still only proves that they'd consider everyone if not just those deemed "socially functional" an endo system

I usually don’t participate in this kind of discourse anymore, but since I got this ask, why not?

There are all these sources, all this stuff… And none of it goes beyond acknowledging it as a social phenomenon. I wish the community could just accept that and not try to warp it. Because the thing is that endo/nondisordered/mixed origin/non-CDD plurality doesn’t really need to be “proven”.

The only reason we’re stuck on proving that it’s either real or fake is this obsession that we all have with comparing it to CDDs. But… That doesn’t really work. CDDs have a structure that is entirely based around trauma. All of these parts of self — and yes, they are parts — are either ego states from childhood that further elaborated and became more autonomous and independent senses of self because of the inability to go through the normal steps of childhood identity development, parts that split and followed that same pattern as a coping mechanism in adulthood (what caused it doesn’t matter. Trauma or not. Anything that causes dissociation, any niche that needs to be filled or need that’s unmet can possibly cause splitting in anyone who already has the disorder.), or less elaborated parts that… Still follow that structure.

Even ANPs and parts not formed (directly) from trauma (you can split over whatever you split over. If you think you’re mixed origins because you have DID/OSDD but split over something that wasn’t trauma, keep that in mind— your every split doesn’t have to be from trauma to still have a CDD) are still fundamentally unable to exist without trauma. They’re there to function. They’re your brain’s attempt to hide from that trauma by not experiencing the feelings associated with it or not knowing exactly what happened.

Non-CDD plural umbrella headmates simply aren’t that at their base. They’re many times considered separate people, and even then, their physical structure could never look like that of a CDD alter— that doesn’t say anything about their validity, just that they’re different. Even if an endogenic plural goes through trauma in adulthood, they’re going to develop PTSD or CPTSD. That doesn’t mean their trauma is less “valid”. It just means that the brain structure did what it naturally does when it’s traumatized. That’s all trauma disorders are— natural responses to unnatural circumstances. And the natural response at that age is just different, whether you’re plural or not. It’s no more or less valid.

We need to get it out of our heads that non-CDD plurality and CDDs are something that need to or even can be compared. We could all coexist quite easily if we weren’t constantly trying to shove each other around by either trying to force two nearly unrelated communities together or trying to yell at people practicing a belief that they’re wrong. They’re only wrong if they try to apply their own logic/belief system to CDDs— not simply by existing.

Back to the point, though: Non-CDD/Endo plurality doesn’t need to be proven. Because that would be stupid. Everyone needs to chill about that, honestly. It’s not always a spiritual phenomenon with plurals, but whether it is or not, it kind of fills the same cultural niche, if that makes sense. You don’t go up to a spiritual person and demand they give you sources, because no matter how hard those studies try, they’re not going to be able to explain it. It’s a subjective experience and can’t really be proven or disproven. It’s the same with plurality.

And… that’s another reason it’s completely separate from CDDs. Complex Dissociative Disorders are definitely widely varied experiences / a very colorful and diverse spectrum of experiences, but they’re an objective thing. A kid with a predisposition to dissociation gets stressed and can’t do anything with it except dissociate over and over until it’s too late. Bam. CDD. We can see it on brain scans, we have a million different papers on it and we have a very clearly defined explanation for how it happens. Non-CDD plurality is a subjective experience. No one can quite define what exactly it is or how it happens in a way that is going to include everyone who experiences it— and that’s okay. That’s completely alright, because there’s no need, as long as everyone is content, right?

I know I kind of just used this ask to go off on a tangent, but… Yeah.

They’re different things. That’s okay, and it just means we need different things.

#syscourse #plurality #asks #this is a long post #but i haven’t really spoken about my current views on all this here #hear me out and read the whole post before making any assumptions also 😅

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leoneedincorrectquotes · 6 months

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First one, and this is one of my favourites. Saki fell in love first, probably after she saw Ichika on stage solo, but was like "What is this feeling, I want to be with Ichhan forever, is this friendship?". Then, Ichika fell in love with Saki after she tried on some cute outfit, had a similar reaction because they're both dumb and in love. They went to Minori and Kohane, and An and Haruka respectively, who were like "Oh yeah wanting to be with someone for all of the rest of the time is friend stuff, I want to be with my partner and go on dates with them too!" At which point Ichika and Saki were both like "Ah, I'm in love, and so are they, the only difference is they're even dumber". They go to sekai, get help from Miku and Luka seperately, confess, write a love song, kiss, peace on planet earth

#this is a long post #but I have so much to say about them #ichisaki #saki tenma #ichika hoshino #minori hanasato #haruka kiritani #an shiraishi #kohane azusawa #anhane #minoharu #both implied #hatsune miku #megurine luka

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echo-lore · 2 years

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Okay so we can all agree that wu and ray were probably really close right?

So we can also assume that wu was close with Maya (thought I do like the idea that Maya and Garmadon were way closer than wu and Maya but still, I imagine them to be good friends)

Which leads me to think Wu was surprised when he realized how different Kai and Nya fighting style was to how Maya and Ray would use there elements.

Like, of course he knew that Ray and maya kids would not be a carbon copy of them but he had assumed that do to the nature of their elements they would have similar fighting styles ig. Kai would be a heavy hitter and Nya would be more of a support fighter which were the ways Ray and Maya had used there elements.

But he comes to find out it was the complete opposite

Nya ways of using water was reminiscent of how Ray would use fire. By hitting you with mass amounts of their elements, and if you’re still walking, knocking you out with a fist to the gut to make sure you don’t walk again.

Kai ways of using fire was reminiscent of how Maya would use water. By never staying still and making themselves difficult targets and using their elements to support others or get enemy of their back.

And he taught them to their strengths, sadly he forgot to tell Maya and Ray when they decided they wanted to try and train with their kids as a much needed bonding exercise.

So when Maya kept criticizing Nya stance. It’s not that it was wrong per say, it was just different to how Maya used water. The same thing with Kai and ray.

This is just a long post to say that I really like the idea that during trying to bound with there kids, Maya and Ray decide that they should do a parents vs. kids no powers.

Let’s just say they were really embarrassed and emotional/proud about the fact that Nya and Kai fought extremely well together as a team and were able to get the upper hand on them multiple times and practically won.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #kai smith #nya smith #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ray smith #maya smith #sensei wu #nya jiang #kai jiang #this is a long post #just to say that I want to see Kai and nya beat their parents ass #as bonding of course #I like to think that ray uses the out of practice card #but we all know the truth #their kids are better than them at fighting and they don’t if to be proud or embarrassed #also fuck grammar

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hellcheercaine · 10 months

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Welcome to my safe space

Hi there tumblrs! 👋 I’m Caine.

Given the traction I have on my blog recently, I figured that I’d do a proper introduction to pin to my profile.

I used to be a Rogue and Gambit shipper before I left fandom culture, but Stranger Things pulled me in and this is where I found my spot here with the wonderful Hellcheers and Harringroves.

The golden rule of this space:

'Ship and let ship.’

I don't care if you follow me even when we like different ships, but if I see any ship bashing or anti comments/tags from you on my posts, you will be blocked.

Don’t like what you see here? Save your energy by tapping the block button. I am not responsible for your online fandom experience, and I am not here for petty arguments. Please keep your purity culture to yourself.

P.S: This space is not for minors. If you are a minor, this is your last chance to scroll away from this blog.

However, if you are a minor and you decide to follow my blog, it’ll be agreed that you, will acknowledge full responsibility of your own online fandom experience here.

P.P.S: Blank blogs do not interact, unless you have something (e.g. a pfp/post) to prove that you’re not a bot. Bot blogs will be blocked and I’m sure that you, would definitely wouldn’t want to be caught in this crossfire.

Are we good? Let’s move on to the good stuff.

This blog is a safe space for:

Hellcheer (Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham),

Harringrove (Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington),

Seyloy (Aloy and Seyka) shippers

This blog is also pro-Sylki and Wolfwren.

Memes, text posts, moodboards, prompts and sometimes ficlets will be written for these three. Got a question/request? Ask me.

ST + Text posts:

Looking for some wholesome Hellcheer text posts? They're here.

Chrissy Cunningham posts can be found under the tag Strawberry Shortcake Chrissy Cunningham.

Eddie Munson? They can be found under the tag Almond Tallcake Eddie Munson.

Want some Harringrove? They can be found under the tag harringrove texts.

Do you just want the ones with just Billy Hargrove? They can be found under the tag Walking Fruit Salad Billy Hargrove.

Or the ones with just Steve Harrington? They can be found under the tag Goody Two Shoes Steve Harrington.

Gothbasket (Jason Carver + Eden Bingham) can be found under the tag gothbasket texts, while Munver (Jason Carver + Eddie Munson) the tag munver texts.

Horizon + Text posts:

Are you looking for Seyloy posts? Look here.

Aloy’s text posts can be found under the tag Aloy Despite the OSHA Violation.

Wait, what about just the ones with Seyka? They can be found under the tag Seyka Despite the HR Violation.

Text posts from other characters can be found here.

Other stuff:

🎸📣 Hellcheer Playlist

🍦🚬 Harringrove Mixtape

☁️🌊 Her Sky, Her Sea (Seyloy Playlist)

💭 📣 Chrissy Cunningham (a dreamer’s playlist)