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mexicancat-girl · 4 years

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Ok guys, I can't take it, I’m seriously at my limit here.

Uraraka vs Bakuboi was a sham of a fight and none of it makes any goddamn sense.

Uraraka deserved her win, for multiple reasons.

Shout out to @bnhasalt, who’s post reminded me how indignantly furious this arc makes me.

More under the cut over both how salty I am, and how Uraraka losing against Explodo Kills makes absolutely no sense, even narratively.

(Warning ahead for a discussion on sexism, misogyny, forced fanservice, the blatant favoritism towards That One Specific Character even if unearned in the narrative, and the general incompetence on how to write female characters.

I call B/kugo “Bakuboi” in this analysis bc I don’t want to write his Actual Name out and have it pop up in his character tags. Also, heads up, I’m sorry for how messy and long this rant is )

First, can I just say that Horikoshi is uhhhh Bad at writing female characters?

Which I’m sure many female fans already have an inkling about, but goddamn is it never more obvious than in the Sports Festival Arc. Because hey, at least the female characters are THERE and PARTICIPATING and have their own time to shine! This ISN’T one of those arcs that just stars THE BOYS, so that MUST mean this arc is equal opportunity! Right...?

God, I wish. I wish...

See, the girls are the minority of the Sports Fest in general. It shouldn’t be this way. And quite frankly, the fact that the classes (and UA in general) isn’t closer to being a 50/50 gender split also makes no sense, considering all children are raised in a society that values heroism EQUALLY and almost half the population is male and half female.

But, okay, let’s say I actually believe in the most illogical character ratio imagineable of there being a 2 boy to 1 girl, like this is another round of Naruto But It’s Superheroes So It’s Different I Swear.

We all know that there is going to be an emphasis on Izuku, since he’s the protagonist and he wants to make All Might proud during the Sports Festival.

Pre-Festival, there’s the reveal that Uraraka wants to do her best, with her main motivation of becoming a hero to give her parents a good life. Iida also wants to make his own family proud, specifically his brother, because of his family legacy.

Since these three are a trio, you’d think they’d all get some time to shine, right? Since they’re Izuku’s friends? And Izuku considers them his equals?

Yeah, no. Wrong.

This arc is dominated by Izuku, Shoto, and Bakuboi. That becomes clear very quickly.

I knew I shouldn’t expect much, since these three are powerhouses and also the most popular characters of the entire franchise (just look at the popularity polls) but still. I’d thought at least Uraraka would get a chance to shine! Since we get some character development and motivation revealed from her!

But the female characters in general get done so dirty this arc, despite it being first set up as a perfect arc to let the girls have just as much opportunity to participate as their male peers.

The most significant part of the female characters all getting an ‘equal time to shine’ is when He Who Must Not Be Mentioned and Kaminari trick the girls into dressing as scantily-clad cheerleaders. Which is both Tiring and Unncessary.

(This scheme also shouldn’t have worked because Momo is Vice Rep and she is an intelligent girl, top of her class. She would be smart enough to go to a teacher and actually double-check to see if Class 1-A girls really needed to cheer in the activities portion of the Sports Festival.

But noooo, Horikoshi can’t pass up a chance for FANSERVICE and forcing his underaged female characters to be uncomfortable for The Funnies! Thanks! I hate it!)

The female characters that move onto the final round of the Sports Festival, and thusly have the most attention, are: Uraraka, Mei Hatsume from Support, Momo, Mina, and Shiozaki from 1-B.

Wow, I sure wish these girls could like...show their worth. And maybe NOT get steamrolled and easily tossed aside in their matches because they’re facing Boys and Boys Have Strong Offense-based Quirks, That’s The Rules Folks.

(Before you come at me, I know that isn’t a rule that applies to every single male character in the series, but the strongest and offense-based Quirks tend to go to the male characters, while the female characters tend to get more support-based Quirks. It’s both sexist, but also an inherent trend in media in general. Please Just Let Women Punch Shit To Smithereens And Control The Elements.)

Yes, Mina and Shiozaki won their first rounds easily! And that’s great to see! But then we turn right around, and they're eliminated just as quickly in their second matches! Without even a fighting chance!

Good God, Shiozaki is literally PUSHED OUT OF THE RING. That’s it, that’s how she lost. Same thing with Momo in her match! And Mei straight-up forfeits because her character is based more on advertising her inventions/babies, so she doesn’t even fight.

So essentially, the female characters are shucked away if they’re not used to make the male characters look good, or there for fanservice, or there to show a shallow form of ~feminism~ so Horikoshi can pat himself on the back and say “See! Girls strong! I can write girls!”

And now we get to the meat of things: Uraraka.

Oh, poor Uraraka. Out of all the female characters, your potential was the greatest, and also the most squandered...

As a reminder, at the start of the arc, Uraraka speaks with both Izuku and Iida about how she wants to do well in the Sports Fest. They all promise to do their best. Izuku’s friends admit that they want to face him in later matches, because they want to be his equals.

Uraraka wanted to stand on the same level as Izuku and Iida, but she's the only one that doesn't move on past her first match!

And man, what an absolute bogus match it is.

Is it emotional? Yeah. Did I tear up when I watched it? Sure, every single time! But that's more because Uraraka is one of my favorite characters and I feel empathy for her and thought she deserved better.

The match gets to me because I also hate how Bakuboi is so fucking entitled and gets everything handed to him on a silver platter.

Bakuboi himself is written as, essentially, a Gary Stu. He always wins. ALWAYS. And even when he ‘loses’, he still manages to beat his opponents to the point that they need to be hospitalized (see Izuku vs Kacchan pt 1) or he makes his losses ALL ABOUT HIMSELF by twisting logic to fit his own narrative.

Remember how Bakuboi won against Todoroki in the final match? And was so pissed at him he was ready to Physically Assault Todoroki for him not being able to Get Over His Trauma to go 100% during their match? And even though Bakuboi LITERALLY won the entire Sports Festival, he’s so entitled that he demands a rematch because he feels like he “didn’t actually win”?

Not wanting a rematch for Todoroki’s sake, because Todoroki has been through a rough time and Bakuboi overheard Todo’s Tragic Abusive Backstory. Oh no, that would make too much sense and show too much character growth, we can’t have that! Bakuboi, even when winning the Sports Festival, demanded a rematch because he wanted to beat the shit out of Todoroki AGAIN to assert his dominance.

You see, Bakuboi is always rewarded in the narrative. Even when he loses it’s not seen as his fault. He’s never really punished for it, and he never learns any lessons from his losses.

Ah, and let’s not forget, Katsuki Bakuboi has the Best And Strongest Quirk Ever. Strong enough to even do the impossible and work to his advantage when it shouldn’t!

Like how he SOMEHOW manages to ‘beat the odds’ by breaking the laws of physics to win in Round 2. He manages to PUNCH THROUGH A QUIRK THAT CREATES A SOLID WALL from 1-B’s Tsuburaba in order to get back his team’s headband and move on to Round 3.

Or hey, his finishing move, Howlitzer Impact? Doesn’t make any sense either. It shouldn’t work as a...cyclone? Tornado? Drill thing?

Look, the logistics of it shouldn’t work. Yes, this is anime, but do you HONESTLY think that a teenager YEETING himself in a fast spiral will somehow accomplish anything more than spreading out some explosions in a circle around him? You honestly think any other character would be able to pull that bullshit off WITHOUT upchucking their entire lunch?

But because it’s Bakuboi, it works somehow. Because Bakuboi’s Quirk is The Shining Beacon Of Quirks.

Drawbacks? Sure, he SUPPOSEDLY has them. They’re noted in his character profile and everything. But very rarely do those supposed “drawbacks” ever actually come into play and actually, like, stop him. Or slow him down. Or, yknow, ACTUALLY WORK LIKE DRAWBACKS ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK.

Because apparently, human limits don’t exist for Katsuki fucking Bakuboi, nope, not at all!

One of Bakuboi’s "drawbacks" is supposed to be that he can't overexert himself or he can fuck up his wrists/his forearms will start to ache.

Cool cool cool, except...This rarely slows him down or effects him at all.

It’s actually astounding he hasn’t given himself Carpel Tunnel, because that would be a natural consequence to over-using his Quirk. Hell, he should be fucking up his arms almost as much as Izuku does to his own arms with a destructive Quirk like OFA! Explosions are dangerous and cause massive destruction, and that should be fucking up his arms SOMEHOW!

But, nope. Bakuboi is as fresh as a goddamn daisy. He can Never Have A Weakness.

(Another drawback is cold weather/Winter season is supposed to weaken his Quirk. Makes sense, since heat would help him produce more nitroglycerin sweat, and the cold would make it hard to sweat. But that sure as hell didn’t stop him during the Joint Training Arc in the future, and he didn’t struggle whatsoever to almost singlehandedly win that for his team.)

Not ONCE does Bakuboi’s Quirk ever effect him negatively and forces him to weaken! He keeps using his Quirk like it's nothing!!

And that’s the crux of the entire problem with Uraraka vs Bakuboi’s match.

Bakuboi apparently has “drawbacks” and “limits”, but he keeps somehow managing to break them without a sweat (ha) and without consequence, essentially PULLING WINS OUT OF HIS ASS.

Bakuboi was using his Quirk LITERALLY NONSTOP during Round 1, and kept using it to throw himself around in Round 2. Logically, he should’ve fucked his arms up and been at the very least SLOWED DOWN by the third round of the Sports Fest because he went past what were SUPPOSED to be his Quirk’s canonical limitations and logic!

It would've taught Bakuboi that he can't fucking steamroll through all his problems! He has limits! There are consequences to over using his Quirk! He’s a human being and he doesn’t have endless stamina like some sort of God!

Hell, every other character has these limits very clearly shown and outlined with their Quirks! Uraraka throws up when she over-uses Zero Gravity. Shoto, before using his fire side, would get frostbite. Iida’s Engines will stall after using Recipro Burst.

The other characters have limitations to their Quirks that slows them down, shows consequences for their actions, but Bakuboi NEVER HAS ANY.

THIS is why he’s a Gary Stu. THIS is why he won his match against Uraraka.

Not because of any logic. Because HIS QUIRK HAS NO FLAWS. And on top of that, THE NARRATIVE KEEPS REWARDING HIM, EVEN WHEN HE HASN’T EARNED IT.

Bakuboi SHOULD have been weakened from using his Quirk non-stop. Bakuboi SHOULD NOT have managed to pull out that “one final big explosion” that ruined Uraraka’s final attack.

Bakuboi was literally hissing about his arms hurting earlier, before their match started. And Uraraka forced him to use his Quirk so much that she managed to amass a ton of debris to knock him out and win the match. HIS EXPLOSIONS SHOULD HAVE SPUTTERED OUT, AND NOT SAVED HIM WITH THAT LAST-SECOND ASSPULL.

Like, I’m preeeeetty sure the entire reason Horikoshi wrote Uraraka vs Bakuboi in the first place was because he was attempting at writing Feminism.

See, Bakuboi Hates Everyone Equally, he’s not a violent misogynist for beating up Uraraka! It’s a Match, he Respects Women And Sees Them As Equals! The Crowd of Pro Heroes are the ones being Misogynistic and Judging The Match Early!

And look at Uraraka, she’s a Strong Woman! She keeps getting back up! That’s the Shonen Spirit! And she’s smart, too! Look at her amazing plan to win--

Oh, wait. Wait, nope. She didn’t win at all! :) Because our shining beacon of perfection Katsuki Bakuboi never loses!! :)) Look at all her hopes and dreams being blown to literal smithereens, because of Bakuboi’s ass pull, even though he shouldn’t have had enough time, sweat, and strength to muster up that last explosion!!! :)))

Can ya’ll feel my incandescent fury right now?

Because Horikoshi can NEVER write Bakuboi losing, Uraraka COULDN’T HAVE WON, even if her winning makes THE MOST LOGICAL SENSE.

This scene was supposed to show Uraraka’s strength. But it feels like Uraraka is being literally spit in her face, for even DARING to TRY to win against Katsuki fucking Bakuboi.

How much more impactful would Uraraka’s breakdown have been, if she had moved onto the Second Round with Izuku and Iida? How she would feel ashamed that she couldn’t keep up with them, with how Powerful their Quirks are? Especially after seeing Izuku and Todoroki’s amazing match, and seen how destructive and close a match it had been?

How DEVASTATED she would have felt, beating BAKUBOI--one of the strongest of their class!--and then STILL managing to lose the Sports Festival?

That would have been SO much more interesting! And even SADDER!! C’mon!

Uraraka SHOULD have won her match! It would’ve provided both character development for herself, and for Bakuboi! Bakuboi would realize he has limits to his body and Quirk, and realize not to underestimate his opponents! Uraraka would realize that she’s strong in spite of her Quirk not being necessarily combat-oriented, but still has a long way to go in being a Pro Hero!

But, nooooo. We can’t have CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, can we? We ESPECIALLY can’t have THE FEMALE CHARACTERS IMPACTING THE PLOT IN SOME WAY, either! Or--what’s this? FEMALE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY HAVING THE SPOTLIGHT FOR ONCE? Perish the thought!

The only good parts about this godforsaken arc are 1) Mei Hatsume 2) Hitoshi Shinso and 3) Izuku vs Todoroki fight and Todoroki’s Tragic Backstory Reveal. Everything else is hit-or-miss, if not completely hot garbage.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk, and for reading this entire thing! Four for you, reader. You go, reader.

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carveredlunds · 3 years

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“I won’t be hands-on”: A meta on Jack becoming the new God

“But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?” -- Dean Winchester, season 4, episode 2 “People pray to you. People build churches for you. They fight wars in your name, and you did nothing.” -- Dean Winchester, season 11, episode 21 “I won’t be hands-on. Chuck put himself in the story. That was his mistake. But I learned from you, and my mother, and Castiel, that when people have to be their best, they can be. And that’s what to believe in.” -- Jack Kline, season 15, episode 19

I’ve still barely processed my anger at the end of the Brothers VS. God storyline. The idea of Jack being a “new God” is ridiculous. Not only does it ignore established lore of the universe by reducing Chuck to a human who was (apparently) just filled with divinity which can be sucked out of him like Daniel Plainview drinking his milkshake (yes, that’s a There Will Be Blood reference!), rob Amara of any agency by making her exist inside her nephew (ew), and make Jack (who has always been an OP character) a super duper Gary Stu, but its final message is an insult to long-held beliefs of both of the brothers, especially Dean.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Ever since the earliest seasons, Dean has had an issue with the state of the world. In season 2, episode 13, Houses of the Holy, he makes the following pessimistic speech to Sam:

There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere, and rips you to shreds.

There are too many mentions of Dean’s lack of faith in God to go through each one, but it essentially boils down to this -- Dean can’t believe there is a God, because the world is so full of suffering and injustice, and no God would allow that to happen. It’s a classic atheist stance, held by a lot of people. But it goes a little further than that. In season 5, episode 2, Good God, Y’all, Dean says the following to Castiel:

Even if there is a God, he is either dead -- and that's the generous theory -- or he's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat's ass about any of us. I mean, look around you, man.

So, what a lot of atheists point out is that not only do they not believe in God, but they often believe that, if there is a God, he is not worthy of worship or praise, because he made such an unfair, pain-filled, evil, world (for a very eloquent speech on this, check out Stephen Fry talking about it.) I’m not going to get into the Problem of Evil, because I’m not a theologian, and that’s not the point of this meta. But basically, that’s Dean’s stance on the subject of God. At first, Dean doesn’t believe there is a God, and then, when he’s forced to accept that there is, his belief changes to “God must be dead, or evil”.

Enter Chuck Shurley in season 11. At last, Dean is able to actually vent his feelings to God, and they have this exchange:

CHUCK: You're frustrated. I get it. Believe me, I was hands-on. Real hands-on for, wow, ages. I was so sure if I kept stepping in, teaching, punishing, that these beautiful creatures that I created would grow up. But it only stayed the same. And I saw that I needed to step away and let my baby find its way. Being over-involved is no longer parenting. It's enabling. DEAN: But it didn't get better.

Given what we later find out about Chuck, it’s easy to say he’s lying. He was hyper-involved all along, pulling the strings, being the puppet master. This is what Dabb wants us to believe. Even though it literally ignores 14 seasons of established canon which say that God was an absentee father. Even though it ruins the narrative parallel between John Winchester and Chuck. Even though it retcons season 11, episode 20, Don’t Call Me Shurley -- one of the most beloved episodes, adored by fans and cherished by Rob Benedict as his favourite episode.

But sure. Let’s say Chuck is lying. That’s not even the point. The point is that Dean isn’t satisfied with a God who took a backseat, and let humanity stumble along by themselves. He wanted a God who steps in, who is involved, who stops suffering, and helps his creation.

Even Sam Winchester, the one with all the faith, eventually loses his cool with God, and, in season 14, episode 20, Moriah, says the following to Chuck:

Then why don’t you do something? If I had your power, I --

If he had God’s power, he’d... what? Rid the world of suffering and evil? Remove all the monsters? Get involved? Maybe even all of the above, given the context of the whole conversation. But again, the point is that Sam is angry at Chuck’s lack of involvement.

Fast forward to season 15, episode 19, Inherit the Earth, and the conversation between Jack and the brothers.

JACK: I’m already there. DEAN: Where? JACK: Everywhere. SAM: So you are... Him?

This isn’t the first part of the interaction that I take issue with, but I’ll focus on it anyway, otherwise this meta will be 1000 words long. The small gasp Dean gives when Jack says he’s “everywhere”? The almost reverent way Sam says “him”? The wannabe poetic explanation Jack gives to being “in every drop of falling rain, every speck of dust which the wind blows, and in the sand, and the rocks, and the sea”? It’s all supposed to bring the long-since lost mystique back to the character of God. Before he was introduced in the form of Chuck, God was only talked about reverently. Angels talked about his wrath, his power, his Divine Plan. God acted as an offscreen force, putting Sam and Dean on the plane at the beginning of season 5, bringing Castiel back from the dead in Swan Song. He was an unseen force. Yes, he intervened, but the idea of God sitting and playing a guitar? It would’ve been ludicrous in the early seasons of the show. They wanted the mystery of God as an unseen force, working in the world when the plot needed him.

All that to say, obviously that’s what they’re going with now, with Jack. He’s in everything, within everyone. But my question is... was Chuck that way too? If Jack is just God 2.0, if he’s omniscient and omnipresent, then surely, Chuck was too? Heck, we know Chuck was omniscient, because he told Amara he was, just two episodes ago.

Which brings me (in a very roundabout and rambling way) to the double standard here. It is okay for Jack to just “be in everything”, to not answer prayers, to be a “hands-off God”. But it’s not okay for Chuck to do that? It’s okay for Jack to make some speech about how people can find him by looking within, but that they don’t have to pray to him. News flash, kiddo: People are still going to pray to you. So... are you just ignoring those prayers? Jack is doing exactly what Chuck did, but, where Chuck was shown by the narrative to be a villain for stepping back, this is seen as a good thing. Because they played some sad music, and Sam and Dean looked solemn, and Jack talked about the power of human goodness. The show was screaming at us to see this as a good thing, to see Jack as a benevolent force, to be glad that the new Man With A Plan was the three year old son of Lucifer, instead of the ancient deity that’s been doing the job since the dawn of time.

And Sam and Dean do think this is a good thing. They get all teary-eyed, and let their surrogate son walk away in his fancy white suit (which has got to be a call back to both Chuck’s Swan Song appearance, and his final scene in Inherent the Earth, right?)

Everyone is talking about the Death of the Author, and how Chuck had to step aside to allow the boys to be free. But there was no Death of the Author. There was just a change in management. Jack is still fulfilling the role that Chuck once did -- an uninvolved, neutral, God, with all the power in the universe at his disposal, but apparently no intention of using it.

We have no reason to believe that Jack didn’t bring the world back exactly as it was before Chuck vanished everyone. All the murderers, rapists, monsters, abusers, are back. All the evil and suffering which Dean hated so much in the earlier seasons is still happening. The difference now? God is a three year old who looks like he’s in his mid-twenties.

And the most annoying thing? The show itself lampshaded, in season 15, episode 13, Destiny’s Child, how ridiculous it would be if Jack took over the role of God:

DEAN: But if Jack kills her... Kind of a family plan. Then there's no God, there's no Darkness. Nothing out of balance. World saved. SAM: Okay, yeah, but then who takes over? Uh, Jack? [Jack enters, chewing gum. He blows a bubble and pops it, grinning proudly] JACK: I just learned how to do that. DEAN: Probably not.

But now he’s made some saccharine speech about the inherent goodness of humanity, and Sam and Dean have conveniently forgotten how they hated it when God did nothing, and we’re all supposed to be okay with this, because Chuck turned out (over the course of one season) to be nothing like the neutral, distant, God we’d come to know over 14 seasons, but instead, he was a megalomaniacal control freak who apparently sent Kevin to Hell, tortured Sam, and is personally responsible for every bad thing that ever happens in the world, and has happened to the brothers. (Side note: Does this mean that they’ll blame Jack now, when bad things happen to them?)

I could go on about how sapping Chuck of his “powers” doesn’t stop him being God, because being God is more than just being a human filled with God-ness, and Chuck was never canonically said to be possessing a human vessel the way angels and demons do, but this is already long enough. So, sure. Let the Devil’s kid go be the rain, or whatever.

#supernatural #spn #spn meta #spn spoilers #jack kline #chuck shurley #sophie speaks #sophie talks about spn #i am so tired tbh

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jonismitchell · 4 years

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FOLKLORE THIRD LISTEN NOTES

the 1

how awesome is it to have been right about this song being about the one who got away?

it sets up a very romantic theme for the album and i don’t know how to explain it

i really love this production it’s very dreamy and tailored (don’t make the pun) to my interests

the verses on this song and the imagery they evoke are perfect god

the way this feels so hard feelings esque… the bus line and yeah

can we discuss “the greatest loves of all time are over now”

i think the only opener that beats this for me is state of grace?

persist and resist the temptation…

okay the more i listen to this the more i’m convinced it’s taylor reflecting on everything that happened in this album years later and reminiscing one day (don’t make the pun)

her vocals on this are so soothing i don’t know how to explain it

cardigan

i was really afraid i wouldn’t like this because of the title but i love it

the imagery really reminds me of poetry can we have folklore poems

i think it’s the chorus (starts with dancing in your levi’s) that i really adore

a friend to all is a friend to none taylor swift said if you are neutral in situations of injustice you have taken the side of the oppressor (no joke this is what i thought of the first time)

“heartbeat on the high line once in twenty lifetimes” might be my favourite lyric

the music video says so much about the album as a whole in terms of the pain

TO KISS IN CARS AND DOWNTOWN BARS WAS ALL WE NEEDED??? excuse me that’s literally a perfect lyric

the train comment this has such a gothic romance feel to it and i love the line peter losing wendy

when you are young they assume you know nothing maybe that’s my favourite lyric

CAUSE I KNEW EVERYTHING WHEN I WAS YOUNG no one talk to me

the front porch line has possible parallels to mad woman?

okay but if this isn’t narrated by betty i’ll eat my own foot

i feel like the hook has real potential to be cheesy / childish but she avoids it so well bless

also the production on this song? a literal dream. she picked the style of production i like best i swear to god thank you miss swift

the last great american dynasty

the beginning of this sounds a bit like 929 to me, but it’s very unique from the first two songs on the album and i like it a lot

okay but the storytelling in this first part of this song is unparalleled

she sounds like the town gossip and you know what? i love it

this is also a really dance-able song to me

blaming the woman… how victorian esque

the chorus is flawless from the lyrics to the vocals to the beat i really love that beat! is that a drum i don’t know music

taylor swift said bitch good for her

the way she says “boys” is really neat

“and losing on card game bets” vs “back when we were card sharks playing games i thought you were leading me on” literally no one is allowed to look at me

again i was dancing to this hard on the first listen because it’s amazing and i’m also seeing the lucky one / starlight vibes but it’s better than both those songs? how does she do it

AND THEN IT WAS BOUGHT BY ME??? i lost my mind?? also this reinforces my water as authenticity theory because she references midnight sea whatever i’ll expand later

i had a marvelous time ruining everything,,, maybe she’s the narrator maybe she’s betty like elizabeth taylor burton to this taylor,,,

her voice in this song is seriously amazing

exile ft. bon iver

this feels like a natural sequel to the last time but it has huge getaway car vibes thematically

okay a lot of people have said this is a haylor song but i see it as taylor’s evelyn hugo fanfiction and you can’t change my mind on that

she put a whole man on this song and it’s still super gay

also i don’t mind bon iver’s voice as much as gary lightbody but still gah (also i had no idea who he was before this album that’s on being born in 2005

)i think i’ve seen this film before but i didn’t like the ending… don’t know why this line hits so hard but it literally does no one touch me

the ooh vocalizations are really cool i am again obsessed with the production

god i just love the lyrics on this so much can you guys believe how amazing

i just want to discuss how this entire thing is evelyn hugo fanfictionso i’m leaving out the side door is thematically important to the album i don’t know how to explain this right now but i’m sure i’m right about this

walked a very thin line vs literally all of mirrorball

i gave so many signs no one touch me! we only know the version of someone they have chosen to show us! there will be no more explanation there will just be reputation

the homeland defending line is amazing i can’t get myself together apparently“i’ve seen this film before so i’m leaving out the side door” maybe the best lyric

the outro for this song is literally flawless i just want to ask taylor what was going through her mind when she made this album please

this song is so sad i don’t even want to discuss it i just want to cry

my tears ricochet

love her getting some sat vocab in spelling really is fun

the intro for this song is so pretty i love

if i’m on fire you’ll be made of ashes too vs the room is on fire invisible smoke

when i said taylor was painting herself as one of the heroes that die all alone i wasn’t kidding!

the way she says loved on this song is really appealing to me

this being the track five makes me super emotional i love this song

i didn’t have it in myself to go with grace,,, you’re the hero flying around saving face,,, if i’m dead to you why are you at the wake,,,, god these lyrics just cut super hard okay!

i feel super personally called out by this goddamn song…

some to throw… some to make a diamond ring after the marriage fanfare

what a ghostly scene / i pace like a ghost

the concept of angrily haunting your past lover because they screwed you over is so amazing

used to tell me i was brave because i fought you

i think this is our first properly angry track five since like dear john and i want to put my head on the desk and start sobbing but i won’t

the halloween vibes of this are sending me this is so perfect

“i’m screaming at the sky” “stolen lullaby” amazing lyrics and also her vocals i don’t want to talk about how emotionally attached i am to this album because i am

so the battleships will sink beneath the waves again i think this song is really personal

the way she sings and the lyrics have a really specific effect i will be crying over

this song is so good. it’s so good. track five supremacy.can we discuss how perfect the production is on the album i think we should

mirrorball

yet more perfect production? she’s really feeding me with this one

after ithk and lwymmd i was not expecting to be so obsessed with track 6 but what a pleasant surprise. like i initially liked ithk too but not like this (don’t make the pun)

again i am so upset by the lyrics

the hush…. i think she invented singing

god the chorus is so specific and so very taylor that i could cry like!! yes!! this is what it’s all about no one touch me seriously i mean it this time

masquerade revelers means something and it’s a beautiful visual too man she really stepped up her songwriting with this album

this whole song feels like something directly out of a dream

THE BRIDGE? BRIDGE CITY? I AM THE RODEO CLOWNS? THE TIGHTROPE? I’M STILL A BELIEVER BUT I DON’T KNOW WHY? THE VOCALS? THE LAYERED SINGING? DON’T TALK TO ME

i’ll show you every version of yourself tonight means something and i will cry

seven

this means the most to me really i just… this is for the kids who were victims of something bigger than them and i don’t want to cry but i think i just might for personal reasons

i again really love the production thanks for my rights miss swift

the half speaking really works for me this time (and this song is closeted teenager rights)

passed down like folk songs,,, i have emotions and i finally learned how to pronounce folk

and i’ve been meaning to tell you / i think your house is haunted / your dad is always mad and that must be why these lyrics are flawless and stunning and god. yeah. this song y’all

will you run away with me? yes. you won’t have to cry or hide in the closet what did i say!! closeted teenager anthem i’m tatttooing this on my forehead

i used to scream ferociously and that whole lyric might be my favourite part

again her vocals are an absolute dream i love the higher register

i still got love for you,,, this is really about childhood love and the way it fades but leaves an indelible mark goodbye i am done i can’t deal with this

i would listen to karaoke of this on its own because the background music is so perfect

taylor swift saw me listening to the japanese house and girl in red and said “hey i can do that” and you know what? she could!

august

okay so before we start this listen i want to say this song made me hyperventilate and almost cry at one in the morning which was great like. i wanted a song that made me feel as much as say it by maggie rogers and taylor swift said “okay bet”

that being said i really do love this intro i feel it’s very beautiful and it reminds me of white teeth teens a bit i can’t explain why

this is the lowkey version of cruel summer and it is equally gay

never have i ever before,,, taylor said i will romanticize being a teenager in love and it will be the most beautiful album you have ever heard in your life

i can see us lost in the memory just the way she sings the chorus is so beautiful

honestly this makes me feel like i’m sitting in a field which i think is the vibe taylor wanted to accomplish with lover but hey

her cruel summers and augusts were the equivalent of my january huh

this is the sad ending for cruel summer this is when she looked up and said “yeah you being in love with me is the worst thing i’ve ever heard” no one talk to me ever again

“back when we were still changing for the better / wanting was enough” is an absolutely perfect lyric i don’t want anyone to speak to me for the next year

“to live for the hope of it all / cancelled plans just in case you called / and say meet me behind the mall / so much for summer love” that was amazing that was perfect thank you

“you were mine to lose”

i love this chorus so much it’s unreal it’s just wow

august sipped away like a bottle of wine CAUSE YOU WERE NEVER MINE

i don’t even know what lyric to type up because they’re all so good and they evoke such a specific feeling i feel like i was punched in the gut

have i mentioned how much i love this production yet? i love this production

isn’t this outro just the most stunning thing you’ve ever heard wow

this is me trying

such a change of pace in terms of production and yet i am completely enamoured by it

the intro is so beautiful and the way she just transitions into a song so viscerally about her insecurities i... i refuse to do this damnit

this is apologizing for cheating but it was on her this time (no i don’t think taylor actually cheated on anyone it’s called storytelling and i feel this is one of the songs farther from her than the others)

for some reason the background music reminds me of pure heroine?

lyrically and thematically it sounds like the archer and wow can’t tell you how much i adore that

favourite lyric: i got wasted like all my potential

the curve became a sphere,,,, this is just such a good and honest and raw song how does she do it i’m asking how does she do it

i really love the melody of this thing i don’t know what to tell you

it’s so upset and emotional but resigned in a sense? i can’t really properly describe this

again this is bridge city! i don’t know if i’ve said this before but the bridge for this song is truly impeccable her ability to do this astounds me like the songwriting alone y’all

i really do love the background beat

illicit affairs

the visuals and the imagery and the storyline of this song are so perfect and damn i can just see the music video (i maintain this is by the same narrator as august)

you’ll be flushed when you return do you see what i mean by perfect visuals?

the way her voice pitches up and the high notes

who allowed the chorus to be this amazing i’ve listened to it like ten times now and my eye still twitches (should i get that checked out?)

i would like to repeat that this is an extremely gay song thank you taylor

a dwindling mercurial high is such a good line ugh i love the imagery again

clandestine meetings and stolen stares,, our secret moments in a crowded room,,,

maybe the perfume thing could build off the water theme?

the bridge of this thing goddamn wow i can’t believe

YOU SHOWED ME COLOURS YOU KNOW I CAN’T SEE WITH ANYONE ELSE

she’s on a cliff screaming in anger because the affair destroyed her!! august + illicit affairs are the same narrator and this is me trying is the person she was with,,, actually i think this is me trying might be about the other person apologizing to the narrator of august + illicit affairs,,,,

you taught me a secret language you know i can’t speak with anyone else vs. do all lovers feel like they’re inventing something do you ever just sit on the floor and cry

for you i would ruin myself a million times,,, evelyn hugo quote about screaming i’m in love with celia st james,,, death by a thousand cuts,,,, yes it’s fine everything is fine

invisible string

ahhh the pizzicato! that’s beautiful that’s really on point she really said strings kids rights huh

i really do like this production and the way it contributes to this idyllic image of her childhood whew i love this song a lot

ugh the melody of the pre chorus is so lovely we have to stan

all along there was an invisible string,,, tying you to me,,, okay now i am mildly intrigued by how much of this was autobiographical goddamnit there will be no more explanation

bad was the blood… that’s so cute! she said i looked like an american singer! no one touch me

wow her vocals on this song are so lovely and the lyrics! aren’t the lyrics just flat out amazing we have to stan taylor swift i think

string that pulled me and there are musicians pulling strings in the background okay i see you

that dive bar,,, dive bar on the east side,,, we love a consistent muse (also met you in a bar)

oh yes i do really like this bridge too it’s so romantic and wonderful perfect

an axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart? i think she should be allowed to do that as a treat

the hell / heaven reference thanks for another religious metaphor to add to my collection

her vocals on this song are so unique and i also like them a lot my eye is twitching again

maybe i got my track eleven rights back didn’t it! i really hope this is track 11 otherwise i’m going to look like a clown (no i don’t want to google it)

the outro is so soothing and beautiful i think i hear a violin

mad woman

the piano! hearing real instruments on taylor songs again! we are so blessed

i think this is narrated by the same woman from the last great american dynasty honestly

maybe also by the august / illicit affairs narrator trying to get revenge my mind okay

every time you call me crazy i get more crazy ugh i love this! women straight up going unhinged i see you with your gone girl fanfiction miss swift

the way this song feels like a whispered confession and her vocals and the eerie nature of the background music we have absolutely no choice but to stan

now i breathe flames every time i talk is a really amazing visual

this feels like a better done version of i did something bad i said what i said

it’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together - i love that line! i love unhinged taylor swift! blank space and idsb mashed together with a new feel i can’t put my finger on but i am quite literally obsessed with it

every time you call me crazy i get more crazy yeah that’s a line

there really isn’t anything like a mad woman (also this is intentionally linked to the last great american dynasty and i won’t shut up about this now)

the bridge is so intimidating and delightful! hell hath no fury like a scorned woman wow the visuals i see in my head are amazing

good wives always know taylor this is a better criticism of the patriarchy than the man is i just want you to know that from me personally

the outro is amazing there’s definitely some sort of snare drum here (i don’t know instruments again)

epiphany

it did not click that this song was about the pandemic the first time i listened to it

but honestly i am so obsessed with this intro it reminds me of the archer a little bit

i think this is paralleling war with the pandemic

ease your rifle and the accompanying vocal is so well song

okay the beaches reference is helping my water and authenticity thing

some things you just can’t speak about yeah i will lose my mind for personal reasons

this song is really comforting for some weird reason

something med school did not cover feels like an actual punch to the gut. someone’s daughter, someone’s mother… okay. okay i didn’t get this the first time but i am upset now.

and some things you just can’t speak about is a line and a half i think

it’s really just so beautiful and it’s hurting me

what’s the significance of twenty? she keeps referencing it and in lover too

but wow the bridge is otherworldly i love it so much… her mind amazes me

watch you breathe in… watch you breathe in…. please it’s so beautiful i can’t

actually this song might be one of my favourites it’s so good (of course i’ve thought that about all the songs so take this comment with a grain of salt please)

the outro is also super heavenly do i hear strings again?

betty

so we’re all in agreement this is gay

the beginning sounds so country and that’s her beginning and this is about a high school love

you can’t believe a word she says (most times) is so fun and cute i can’t believe i got rights handed to me on a silver platter with this one

the storyline she implies in the chorus it’s literally so beautiful i just have a lot of feelings! i snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate!

this feels like a quintessential taylor swift song with the characterizations and the lyrics and how it feels ripped out of a diary entry (yes i know it isn’t but that’s how it feels )

do i hear a fiddler? emily poe is that you? not the point i know

BUT IF I JUST SHOWED UP AT YOUR PARTY man the chorus really does snap

taylor swift said fuck 2020 god bless america we’re officially moving into a good timeline

on broken cobblestones is all of my rights encapsulated into one don’t touch me

this is just gay james is a lesbian i don’t make the rules i just enforce them please

betty i’m here on your doorstep LIKE IN THIS IS ME TRYING BETTY IS THE AUGUST / ILLICIT AFFAIRS / MAD WOMAN / CARDIGAN / THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN DYNASTY NARRATOR

the narrator of betty is the same as this is me trying no one talk anymore

WILL YOU HAVE WILL YOU LOVE ME WILL YOU KISS ME ON THE PORCH IN FRONT OF ALL YOUR STUPID FRIENDS THE MOMENT OF EMOTIONAL CATHARSIS I EXPERIENCED

i’m only seventeen i don’t know anything and the way it explicitly connects to cardigan

car again / cardigan is some nice wordplay

this is an objectively perfect song

peace

the opening music for this track is really lovely, it feels like a good return to lowkey after how Much betty was honestly

our coming of age has come and gone is one of the best opening lines i’ve ever heard

i’ve never had courage in my convictions won’t you look at what a great lyric that is

no i can never give you peace,,, man i really do like this hook

the production on this song is amazing

i’m a fire and i’ll keep your brittle heart warm! the ocean wave line helps my authenticity theory! they say love’s for show but i would die for you in secret! is this a song or a series of excerpts from my poetry the world may never know (i’m kidding i could never write anything this good)

would it be enough if i could never give you peace no one look at me i can’t be perceived any more than this

it’s like i’m wasting your honour wow what a line that is especially after exile but then the narratives don’t exactly match up hold i’m thinking

swing with you for the fences (i know places) sit with you in the trenches (epiphany) i feel like there’s something to referencing those songs directly after each other

oh.. the child line…. oh?

i’m a clown to the north does that count

man this song is so good and it gives me serious call it what you want vibes for some reason

but i would die for you in secret i feel like this bears repeating cause i’ll scream

would it be enough,,,, am i too much,,,, i would like to lie down

the outro to this is so pretty and haunting and thematically it kind of reminds me of dwoht / afterglow but that’s just me

hoax

i wrote hoax lyrics pre album but hers are much better

my smoking gun,,, knife to a gunfight,,, the way,,, man

okay a depressing song to close out a taylor album is new and im going to lose my mind

i really love the piano in the background like that’s beautiful

the confessions screaming on the cliff vibe i was right

YOUR FAITHLESS LOVE’S THE ONLY HOAX I BELIEVE IN

no other sadness in the world would do well that is a depressing ending to seeing daylight

my best laid plans / my sleight of hand / my barren land she’s literally such an amazing songwriter why is anyone allowed to have this level of talent and not pay appropriate taxes

THE ASH FROM YOUR FIRE IS THIS THE PARALLEL TO MY TEARS RICOCHET? i think i cracked something here wow

YOU KNOW I LEFT A PART OF ME BACK IN NEW YORK PLEASE EXPLAIN

the hero died so what’s the movie for i’m fine this is all very fine can you hear me screaming

you knew you won so what’s the point of keeping score i really think this is the other half of my tears ricochet you guys

her voice and the production combined here is so haunting

my only one my kingdom come undone can we just have a mental breakdown super quickly and collectively so i know i’m not really losing my mind

i really love this song a lot wow

the piano harmonies / melodies are so pretty (i don’t know which one it is sue me)

it’s perfect wow

#arden speaks #folklore #folklore reaction #taylor swift #this is over four thousand words

32 notes · View notes

sage-nebula · 4 years

Note

Do you have headcanons about which characters Alan meets in each region?

Brock — I feel like Brock would be a very good friend for Alan to have. They’re the same age in canon (15), which makes them peers, and aside from that Brock has a very soothing, nurturing nature, which is exactly the kind of friend that Alan needs after everything that happens with Flare. This is especially true since while Brock is kind, his kindness is true kindness in that he’s also firm when he needs to be, i.e. he’s not an enabler of untrue, self-deprecating thoughts. If Alan tried to blame himself for things that weren’t his fault, Brock would put a stop to that right quick, ripping the shovel from his hands and refusing to let him dig himself deeper. That said, I honestly imagine their meeting would be by chance; perhaps Alan goes to Professor Oak’s lab to run an errand for Sycamore and ends up hearing about how a couple of the Gym Leaders in Kanto have mastered Mega Evolution, and so he decides to check that out on his own before returning to Kalos, and that’s how he meets Brock. But either way, I think it’d be a good friendship for him and one that’d last for years.

Gary — I mentioned this in another post, but Alan and Gary already have so much in common that I just think it’d be neat to see them interact. They’re both nerds who care a lot about pokémon, they both love battling, they were both raised by regional professors, and so on and so forth. Mega Charizard X vs. Mega Blastoise Round II would also be really interesting to see. Though their areas of study are different, I think they’d have a lot to talk about, and the fact that they’re both fond of fieldwork would also be another point in favor of the two of them meeting. If Alan did that errand to Oak’s lab that I mentioned above, this could easily be how he meets Gary, who is perhaps home from his own travels for a little while.

Professor Oak — I mean, let’s just continue this “running an errand to Oak’s” thing, which means that he obviously meets Professor Oak. Alan is a studious young man who’s quite experienced in taking care of pokémon and I think Oak would appreciate that. I don’t think they’d get particularly close, both being focused on the research end of things (and Oak not being one to poach other professor’s assistants, generally), but they’d get along well enough, particularly since I’m sure Alan has a lot of respect for Oak given all his accomplishments in the field.

Tracey — RESURRECT TRACEY SKETCHITT 2020. Honestly, Tracey is Oak’s assistant and so it’s completely bewildering why he is nowhere in sight ever the few times we’re allowed to actually go to Oak’s ranch in the anime. In my world, though, he’s there, and while obviously Oak is his hero I imagine that he’s also very curious about Sycamore’s research as well and would probably jump at the chance to ask Alan all sorts of questions about it, and would be even more excited to draw pictures of Lizardon. Alan would be very happy to let Tracey draw pictures of Lizardon because it gets Tracey out of his personal space bubble and to stop asking him rapid-fire questions. (He doesn’t mind Tracey, but Tracey is very enthusiastic when it comes to gaining knowledge and that would make Alan feel kind of on-the-spot and uncomfortable.)

Delia — When what he has to do at Oak’s ends up having to run into another day (or another couple days), Delia, who happened to be visiting at the time and recognizes Alan as one of Ash’s friends (because Ash told her about him and showed him the picture that was taken of everyone at Sycamore’s lab) “invites” Alan to stay the night, and by “invites” I mean “insists” and so he gets a home cooked meal and a nice place to sleep (in Ash’s room) and also gets mothered for the first time ever in his life. Like, Sycamore is his dad, obviously, and Fulbert was his grouchy uncle, but both of those things aren’t quite exactly the same thing as having a mom, especially one who (though she won’t say it) knows you’ve been through a lot recently and can tell you’re still kind of going through it and so makes extra sure to give you a warm hug when you leave and also a bento with lunch and an extra pack of sweets to take with you. (And when he tries to apologize to her for putting Ash in so much danger she won’t hear of it because Ash told her that Alan saved him multiple times and that’s all that matters to her.) Alan won’t think of her as “mom,” of course, because he’s only known her a couple days and she most definitely is not his mom, but he does wonder, when she hugs him, if that’s what being hugged by a mother feels like, and it sticks with him for a while. All in all, Alan likes Delia, although he and Lizardon both don’t know how they feel about Delia calling Lizardon “Li-Li.”

And wow, this is getting really long, so all the rest (and there are a lot more) are going under a cut!

Misty — Because if Alan goes to Pewter Gym to battle Brock due to Mega Evolution, then of course when Brock tells Alan that the Cerulean City Gym Leader has also mastered Mega Evolution, he’s going to go there as well. Given that they both get pretty fired up for battles, Alan and Misty would get along pretty well right off the bat. Misty would be particularly interested in battling (and beating) him since she knows that he beat Ash at the Kalos League, and as much as she loves Ash, she wants to be able to have that one over on him because they’re rivals just as much as they’re best friends. Unfortunately, this battle doesn’t go so well, because when Alan learns that Misty’s Mega Evolution partner is a Gyarados, that gives both him and Lizardon trauma flashbacks pretty much right away. They both try to shake it off, but Brock can tell something’s off and all but insists they stop the match . . . which neither Alan or Misty are really happy with, but, well. Alan can’t say he’s exactly upset to see Mega Gyarados go back in its ‘ball.

Casey — She ends up being the Johto Champion, so of course he meets her (and in specific they meet as Champions). Alan and Casey don’t really talk very much because they don’t really have anything in common. She’s not interested in “nerd stuff” like his research and he has 0% interest in baseball (when she mentions The Electabuzz he legitimately thinks she’s talking about the species of pokémon and has no idea why she’s so offended when he says he’s never heard of the sports team). Casey does get on really well with Manon, though, since the two have very similar energy, even though Manon also knows nothing about baseball. (She does know how to join Casey in making fun of Alan’s “nerd stuff” while he rolls his eyes, though, so there is that.)

Morty & Eusine — Counting these two together as they should be. I don’t think this would be a long-lasting relationship by any means, but I could imagine a scenario where Alan travels to Ecruteak City to learn more about the legends there since he’s interested, and he goes to Morty to learn about them, and Eusine either happens to already be there or barges in while the two are talking, and the second he hears that Alan has some interest in Suicune (and that Alan has interest in hearing about Eusine’s findings once he learns that Eusine is the Ultimate Expert On Suicune™ (according to Eusine himself), well. Alan regrets asking only 30 minutes into that 4 hour lecture. Morty leaves partway through and brings back some tea for them to share because, well. Alan really did it now, didn’t he.

Lance & Clair — In a timeline where Alan studies his heritage (and learns that his heritage links back to the Blackthorn dragon clan), he meets both of them. He might meet Lance in a standard timeline anyway since Lance is always vying for Kanto’s Champion seat and held it before Ash did, but nonetheless he wouldn’t get on with either of them, honestly. Clair has an imperious attitude and is prone to fits of temper when she doesn’t get her way, which would annoy Alan, and Lance can be pretty arrogant and his sense of morality often clashes with Alan’s own. On the flipside, Clair would think Alan an upstart brat who has no right to think he could be on her level, while Lance would find Alan naive and foolhardy. So while they hail from the same clan (albeit distantly, in Alan’s case), they would not consider each other friends, let alone any kind of family.

Wallace — Alan is friends with Steven, and Steven is dating / engaged / married to Wallace, so it’s pretty inevitable the two would meet. I think they’d get along well enough in the few times they were around each other, but honestly they wouldn’t see / talk to each other enough to have any kind of real relationship.

Zinnia — In my head my Delta Episode AU 100% happens and they meet and bond through that when Zinnia tries to mug him for his Key Stone, fails, but then actually succeeds in stealing Sycamore’s Key Stone and so Alan goes tearing after her to get it back. This whole thing culminates in Zinnia revealing to Alan what Devon Corp has been doing with Infinity Energy (which puts a severe strain on his friendship with Steven, very nearly shattering the trust between them, and it takes a long time to heal), and Alan helping Zinnia summon Rayquaza despite his own trauma associated with it and also riding with her into space to help Rayquaza + pulling her off the great sky dragon at the last second so they can be caught by their dragons and both survive. (In other words: Unlike how the actual Delta Episode played out, Zinnia does not have her thunder stolen here. She is the one who summons Rayquaza, teaches it Dragon Ascent, and carries out her destiny as Lorekeeper. Alan just helps her survive the experience, even though they both still almost die, and end up laughing hysterically about it on the roof of the Sky Pillar because, after falling from space and almost dying, what else is there to do?) Their relationship definitely gets off on a rocky start due to the mugging and theft and Zinnia’s habit of being deliberately vague about important things and also talking in circles to avoid answering questions directly (not to mention that Zinnia knows that Alan is friends with Steven and figures, at first, that he must therefore be like Steven in all the ways Zinnia dislikes, such as using pokémon as a means to an end and not caring about lives that he can’t see), but after getting to know each other through the journey to save two universes from a giant Deoxys-infested meteor, they come to a mutual understanding and end up realizing they’re something of kindred spirits. Even though they can still be prone to teasing and bickering whenever their paths cross again after that, there’s also a very deep foundation of trust that can only be gained when you realize you have met your match in attempts to sacrifice yourself for the sake of the world in death-defying stunts that you will never, ever learn your lesson from no matter how many times you tell the people who care about you that you have most definitely learned it this time, you promise. (Not that Zinnia has many of those people left, but she does have her grandmother and others from the Draconid clan, plus she now also has Alan, so. There’s that. Also, no, she and Steven never, ever come to like each other, and Alan does his best to hang out / talk with each of them separately to save himself the headache of trying to mediate.)

Cynthia — She’s the Champion of Sinnoh, so obviously he meets her once he becomes Champion himself, and given that they’re both nerds they get along pretty well as a result. I think I’ve talked about this before, that she kind of becomes like a Cool Aunt for him, in that they can talk about legends and mythos and go on ancient ruins explorations together. Like if one of them discovers some ancient ruins, they’ll send the other a message to see if they want to go spelunking together and the answer is almost always yes. The only times Alan doesn’t appreciate spending time with Cynthia are the times when she teams up with Steven to try to “improve his wardrobe” because Steven and Cynthia are the designated Fashion Icons of the Champion Squad and both think it’s “such a shame” that Alan doesn’t care much about clothes. Otherwise, though, he gets along great with Cynthia and is always happy to have a new message from her.

Tobias — Alan doesn’t actually know Tobias, in that he never got Tobias’ name and probably wouldn’t recognize him again if he saw him on the street (and vice versa), but it’s my headcanon that the first time Alan and Lizardon ever successfully used Mega Evolution, it was in a battle against Tobias. They still ended up losing the match (I mean, the man has a team of legendaries, there’s only so much anyone can do), but given that they successfully used Mega Evolution for the first time, Alan and Lizardon still considered it a victory overall.

Iris — Iris becomes Unova’s Champion, obviously, but I’d like to think that they actually met before that, when Iris traveled to Kalos as part of her training (and the cameo episodes that she DESERVED but NEVER ACTUALLY GOT), and Iris saw Lizardon and got so excited because cute dragon!!! and as a result introduced herself. She makes a remark about how she knows that Charizard isn’t actually a dragon-type, and then Alan tells her about the X form of Mega Evolution and she decides to write Ash a letter right then and there telling him that he was WRONG and she was RIGHT and he should STUDY MORE, MAYBE, or something along those lines. Anyway, I like to think that they battle (with Iris using her Dragonite, or perhaps Haxorus if Axew has evolved by that point), and perhaps even run off some criminals / protect the lab together, or some such. You know, bonding time. Iris and Alan get along pretty well given that they both love dragons and enjoy battling and adventure. She’s the one who always most appreciates when Alan posts pictures of Lizardon into the Champion messenger.

Emma — So this one is sort of an AU idea, considering that much of Alan’s story was clearly based on Emma’s story from the XY postgame, and as such it makes sense to think that they might not exist in the same world. But I love the idea that they were, perhaps, childhood friends; they both would have grown up in Lumiose City, after all, and I could imagine them having a sort of odd friendship over the years, wherein Emma teases Alan for always having his nose in a book or wanting to study and do homework, while Alan just wants to research in peace, and all the while Sycamore is trying to encourage Alan to make friends. Emma, I like to imagine, would have been adopted by Looker around age 7, so they didn’t get to know each other for too long before she was whisked away with her own adoptive parent. But perhaps they met again at the Summer Camp, and perhaps years later Emma — now running the Lumiose branch of the Looker Bureau — helps uncover evidence that gets the police off Alan’s back for the Flare incident somehow. I think it could be a sweet relationship for them. (Alternatively, I’ve also imagined an AU where perhaps she’s his younger biological sister, despite them being roughly the same age canonically, in that his biological parents had another child a little while after abandoning him and decided to keep this one. This AU is more sad because Alan wants nothing to do with his biological parents, and he wouldn’t consider Emma his sister even if they were related by DNA, so I don’t like it as much. It’s still one I’ve considered, though, since design-wise they still look pretty similar and, as I said, they’ve got quite a bit in common even if there are notable differences.)

Louie — We actually do see these two interact in TSME 1, as well as the Kalos League, so this isn’t a headcanon per se. What is headcanon is that Louie considers Alan to be His Rival, while Alan — despite his eidetic memory — always forgets Louie exists the moment they’re done battling. I actually like to think that perhaps they met at the Summer Camp, too, and that they got off on the wrong foot perhaps because Louie was envious that Alan, a kid like him, was Sycamore’s assistant, and Alan got irrationally upset when Louie said that he’d be a much more deserving assistant and would prove it (irrationally because Sycamore would never kick Alan out for another kid, and Alan should theoretically know better at age 10, but also Alan was a child who was already abandoned once and also abused before Sycamore found him so maybe we can give him a pass on this one), and so they spent the whole three day camp hating each other. But then after the camp, Alan forgot about him. And when they met years later and battled, Alan didn’t recognize him (even though Louie DID recognize Alan), and then Alan forgot him again. And Louie felt he’d have his revenge at the League . . . but of course, he didn’t win, and also Alan didn’t know who he was. All in all, this video is a perfect summary of how Louie feels about Alan vs. how Alan feels about Louie.

Hau: Alola’s Champion in the future, and that’s how the two meet. Hau and Alan are pretty neutral toward each other. They have very different energies (Alan is quiet but not laidback, while Hau can be loud but is very laidback), and while this doesn’t make them dislike each other, it also means that they generally don’t talk very much outside of necessary business / the occasional exchange in the Champion messenger. It’s like a very coworker relationship between the two of them, even though they aren’t exactly coworkers. (And before anyone gets in a tizzy, in my headcanon Ash becomes Kanto’s Champion, so no, I’m not “demoting” Ash, please relax.)

The rest of the Alola people he would know I’m leaving out because I wrote those relationships before the games were even released, much less the anime, and so they ended up VERY different from canon. And while I could write in canon-accurate relationships, it’s honestly hard for me to shake what I’d already created out of my head, so it’s just . . . not something that I’d really want to fight with. So if you’re curious about Alan’s relationship with the Aether family, Aether employees, etc, that can go in a separate ask, and will be specific to my Alola AU (which, again, has characterizations from before the games were released even, so the Aether family isn’t IC in it, among other things that I just plain got wrong from the trailers, but whatever, it is what it is). That said, I will say that the comment about “poaching assistants” that I made in Oak’s section was actually kind of a reference to my Alola AU, in which the idea is that after the big climax, Kukui tries to “poach” Alan by inviting him to come be his assistant, because hey, he’s got a pretty impressive resume (and also Ash told Kukui about Alan and especially about all the newfound trauma he has as a result of the Aether AU and asked Kukui if Alan could come stay with them for a while). Alan can be Kukui’s research assistant and also a student teacher at the school and roomies with Ash, it’ll be great. He actually does this right in front of Sycamore, which Sycamore thinks is pretty rude, but when Sycamore asks him about it later Kukui’s like “it was Ash’s idea” and shrugs because he’s got no stakes in this tbqh. (Yeah, I didn’t characterize Kukui completely accurately either because I was working with pre-release info, let me live.) As for whether Alan would say “yes” or not . . . well, we’ll just have to see (I say as if I’ll ever finish that fic this century).

Leon — Galar’s Champion, and as I’ve talked about before I think they’d definitely be friends, plus a little extra, (also they love each other). They’re both Charizard specialists, they both love battling with all their hearts, they love traveling and exploring, they know what it is to have a lot of responsibility foisted upon them at young ages, they’re both very protective of others, valiant and brave, so on and so forth, I’ve already talked about this in another post, haha. They meet as Champions, hit it off immediately, and the relationship forms from there.

Hop — Hop has a tendency to hang around Leon, so I imagine that Alan would meet Hop when he meets Leon. He and Hop don’t talk / interact much after that, really, but Hop and Manon do become rivals, both in whose big brother think they is the best, as well as in battling and the like as well. Just like Alan and Leon are very similar, so are Hop and Manon. I definitely enjoyed the similarities in the Galar games, I won’t lie.

Sonia — I do imagine that Leon would introduce Alan to his friends, which would include Sonia, but at the same time I could also see Alan and Sonia meeting because, like the situation with Gary, they have some commonalities in their backstory. Sonia wasn’t raised by Professor Magnolia, exactly, but clearly her grandmother was a steady presence in her life and she decided to be her assistant. Of course, she ends up taking over the practice by the time she and Alan meet in their 20s, but nonetheless, all that means is that they’re both nerds who would enjoy talking about their research together, and even though Sonia isn’t as big on battling, that wouldn’t stop she and Alan from having a nice friendship and comparing research notes on the differences between Dynamax particles and Mega Evolution energy.

Raihan — As I said, Leon introduces Alan to his friends, and Raihan is still his best friend and rival even though they are also ex-boyfriends. I think that Alan and Raihan would really enjoy battling against one another, would definitely respect each other as trainers, and hey, they both love dragons, so that’s another thing in common. But Raihan is also a social media influencer whose Rotomphone is always snapping pictures, while Alan highly values his privacy and basically isn’t even on social media outside of a rarely updated Instagram that’s purely pictures of scenery and also occasionally Lizardon, never himself. So how they each tend to exist in public spaces is something that puts them at fundamental odds (Alan doesn’t want to be in the pictures and is kind of annoyed, honestly, by the constant snapping of the camera; Raihan thinks Alan is comparable to a caveman for not being on social media and not liking it). They don’t dislike each other, per se, but they also don’t tend to hang out much at all, and when they do it tends to be in small doses (particularly on Alan’s end, given how introverted he is compared to Raihan’s extroversion; Raihan wears him out).

Bede — I’m actually not sure how these two would meet, but while I played through the SwSh games, Bede’s devotion to doing whatever he had to in orde to help Rose achieve his goal (all the while being manipulated into doing so, albeit by Oleana rather than Rose) felt uncomfortably familiar, and I think if Alan was made aware of that he’d try to steer Bede away from that and would definitely not be friendly at all to Oleana. Of course, the primary difference between them is that Bede is a snotty brat while Alan is not and never was, so Bede would not want to listen to Alan at all, and Alan’s help would thus fall on deaf ears. But he’d still try, even as Manon would personally be of the opinion that, hey, maybe Bede is just an annoying jerk and you should just ignore him. (Bede would pick on her just as much as he picks on Hop and so she would not like him one bit. And honestly, Alan’s not too fond of him either, but that doesn’t mean he wants to see another kid manipulated and used like he once was. You don’t get a pass out of doing the right thing just because you don’t like someone, in Alan’s eyes. And that sense of justice and want to do good is really annoying in Manon’s (particularly as she gets older), but is also one of the key things that made her like him so much to begin with, so it’s like. She doesn’t want him to change, but also, Bede is really annoying and mean, though.)

Chairman Rose — Since Alan would participate in tournaments in Galar, and also since he’s Leon’s Special Someone, of course he’d end up meeting Rose at some point. To be honest, Alan wouldn’t trust Rose right off the bat. The fact that a megacorporation owns and runs everything in Galar, including the League, wouldn’t sit right with Alan and he’d be suspicious of it. This is especially true considering that Fleur-De-Lis Labs held considerable influence in Kalos (and look what happened), and Devon Corporation still holds considerable influence in Hoenn (and look what they do re: Infinity Energy). But the thing about Rose is that he’s a natural fit for the public eye and is legitimately a philanthropist / humanitarian, and he’d brush off any distrust that Alan has and always be cordial with him, and over time with him not doing anything wrong to anyone and Leon’s assurances that Rose is all right, Alan would relax around him. A little. Bit by bit. Look, he has a lot of trust issues, okay? He’s hypervigilant. And it doesn’t help that Rose’s second-in-command is, well . . .

Oleana — Oh ho ho these two would not get along at all. While Rose is genuinely friendly and likes talking to people and enjoys battling etc, Oleana is all business and, on top of that, she decides to make some of her business manipulating and using a literal child to do her bidding and then throws him away like used garbage when he goes too far on her orders. To most people she’s cold, calculating, and ruthless (and I say “most people” because she shows the most warmth toward Rose and even that’s not too much). And like, that bit’s fine, she can be how she wants to be, but when she uses and manipulates a child and then discards him like trash, that gets under Alan’s skin. And the thing is, Oleana doesn’t care about that. What she does care about is that she has, of course, done her research on Alan, and she knows that he is Very Likely to interfere with Rose’s plans if he finds out about them, given his past actions (and I believe she’d be of the opinion that he bit the hand that fed when it came to turning against Lysandre, and she’s the type who might bring that up in an argument against him so oh boy), and she’s not about to have that. (To that end, him being around Leon so much, when Rose needs Leon for Eternatus? Hmm. She doesn’t like that.) So there would definitely be a strong and mutual dislike between them, even if they Keep It Together during public events, and Rose and Leon either don’t notice or pretend not to because, well, they’re keeping it civil and don’t have to be around each other for long, so it’s fine, right? Right??

. . . oh boy.

#like don't get me wrong Oleana wouldn't have agreed with Lysandre's plans AT ALL and would be glad the genocide was stopped #but also loyalty is a HUGE part of her characterization and clearly something she values very highly #given the way that she sticks by Rose No Matter What after he believes in & listens to her #so Alan NOT doing that for the man who gave him the means to Mega Evolution the first time around? she'd look down on him for that #also just in general she Knows he will interfere if he finds out Rose's plans and she Won't Have That No Sir #if she has to kick him off the top of Rose Tower or w/e it was called then so be it #if it's for the Chairman it's Justified #(it's really not but try telling her that. she will not cede)#pokemon #trainer alan #trainer alain #champion alan #there are too many other characters here for me to tag #it's a LOT people #and it's late and my hands hurt so #i'm not tagging them all for now #Anonymous

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insidethegiftbasket · 3 years

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Gleyber Torres

The Basics

Gleyber Torres is entering his age 24 season (they grow up so fast!) from Caracas, Venezuela. He just went through his first year of arbitration, where he and the Yankees agreed to a $4m deal for the 2021 season. Gleyber is under team control through the 2024 season. He’s a two time All Star, finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2018, and received MVP votes in 2019.

What Did Gleyber Do This Offseason?

He went home to Caracas for a little while.

He and Mrs. Gleyber went to Aspen.

He sold underwear.

He did advertisements for some pain reliever where he drove around in an Audi.

Some Fun Gleyber Highlights

Gleyber playing with Rookie and Derby in Trenton

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Gleyber Torres vs Gary Thorne

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Gleyber ALDS Game 4 Moon Shot

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Gleyber Walk Off Against Cleveland

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Gleyber’s 2020

So I think the general consensus during the season was that Gleyber had a disappointing season last year and wasn’t very good, but that is absolutely not the case, at least offensively.

During the regular season alone Gleyber put up a 106 WRC+, which is worse than his normal seasons but still better than league average. He was the 15th best shortstop in WRC+ last season (min 150 PA) and that’s with having a huge slump and a complete loss of power for a month last year while dealing with an injury. He started to heat back up and look better in September, and then he was back to perennial All Star Gleyber Torres in October.

So normally you wouldn’t take a whole lot from a postseason run, because in a normal season you’re talking about seven games vs 162 games, but this past season you’re talking about over 15% of his total plate appearances for the year. If you combine his regular season numbers with his October numbers, then all of a sudden that 106 WRC+ jumps all the way up to 128 WRC+, which would have been a career high for him.

So then, why was it a “disappointing” season at the plate for him? Ironically, I think part of the reason why he struggled was because of something he made huge strides in.

Gleyber almost doubled his BB% year over year (7.9% to 13.8%). He took a lot more pitches, and was a lot more selective about what he swung at.

His zone swing% went down nearly 9%, his meatball swing% went down 15%, his first pitch swing% dropped 12%. He mentioned this spring that he felt uncomfortable last year with everything, and while the decrease in his chase% and increase to his BB% was nice, part of what made Gleyber who he is was his ability to go out and there and be aggressive at the plate and crush the ball.

He also dropped from the 82nd percentile in barrels to the 11th percentile, so he stopped crushing the ball as often as he was. Now, the good thing is, he didn’t lose his power or anything- his grounder/line drive/fly ball percentages where basically the same, he didn’t change his approach to being a pull only guy or something like that as those splits stayed roughly the same, his exit velocity and launch angle were similar to previous years — it essentially comes down to Gleyber not getting the barrels and being a little too selective, which is honestly a good problem to have.

If Gleyber can marry his new control over the strike zone with his ability to crush pitches, then you’re not just looking at an All Star level player, you’re looking at a legitimate MVP candidate. Do I expect Gleyber to be hitting nearly 40 bombs again like he did in 2019? No, but he’s a 24 year old who was focusing on making an improvement and by the end of the season he was even better than who he was before, and that’s ignoring how bad his start of the season was.

Defensively he was bad. I don’t think Gleyber will ever be a good defensive player, let alone a good defensive shortstop, but I do think he has it in him to be an acceptable defensive shortstop.

He struggled on balls hit to his right, which as a shortstop is a pretty difficult play to make. He’s a year older now, he’s in better shape, he’s not dealing with a leg injury, I’d expect him to be closer to the 20th best defensive shortstop than the worst in the league going forward. Yankees may want to consider having him start a little more back defensively to give him some extra room to make the play, and Gleyber needs to focus a bit more when throwing to first.

Gleyber is also kinda slow for a shortstop, even before he had to deal with a leg injury this year, but unlike having the ability to improve defensively or at the plate, this is more or less what you’re going to get baserunning wise.

Gleyber was also surprisingly below average against four seam fastballs last year after murdering them in 2019, and really struggled to slug any sliders or curveballs like he had in the past. To me this seems like more of a flukey thing than a cause for concern.

Lastly, I’d be sad if I forgot to mention this: the dude is straight up clutch. The bigger the moment, the better Gleyber plays.

Optimistic Projection for 2021

Gleyber is dominant and puts up a monster season. He combines the power and slugging from his previous seasons with a great command of the strike zone and is an obvious All Star and wins the AL MVP. He’s only at a -1 OAA for the season at shortstop but puts up a 175 WRC+ and takes the mantle of being the best Yankee and the number three hitter in the lineup. Torres plays 150 games, hits 35 homers, and has huge moments throughout the season and pitchers are so afraid of DJ in the one spot and Torres in the three spot that Judge gets to feast on pitches in the zone. Gleyber then wins World Series MVP by hitting over .450 in a sweep over the Dodgers and pimps a bat flip on Trevor Bauer after bombing one into the upper deck in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and Gleyber agree to a 10 year extension for over $250m as Torres becomes the face of baseball.

Pessimistic Projection for 2021

Gleyber is still good, but not elite and struggles at points through the season with a couple big slumps. He still ends up with a 108 WRC+ and 18 homers, but his defensive struggles end up affecting him at the plate as a lot of people wonder what the Yankees will do with him. Gleyber does well in the postseason, but an error blows a game wide open in the ALDS as they get eliminated early on. Torres ends up moving off shortstop to second base in the offseason as the Yankees have to trade Gio Urshela to have DJ play third base.

Sam’s Official Gift Basket Projection for 2021

I am all in on Gleyber for 2021. I think of all the guys on the team last year, his poor season was the flukiest and I think that he’s right back to being at least an All Star player and ends the season as the Yankees best position player. The issues he had at the plate are all super fixable assuming he can get back to barreling the ball like he had in the past, and having a full season and being ready to go right off the bat will make it even easier for him as well. My guess is he ends up around a .300/.400/.550 slash line and makes people realize they forgot about Gley.

Join us tomorrow when Evan takes you Inside the Gift Basket of a literal hitting machine, DJ LeMahieu.

#Gleyber Torres #new york yankees #Yankees #Baseball #MLB #Breakdown

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thattimdrakeguy · 4 years

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Robin - The FIRST Miniseries - Issue #5 (The LAST Issue) Review - (R.I.P Tom Lyle)

This is the big movie styled climax of the miniseries. So its mostly just endings, and action from here, but that doesn’t mean there’s not fantastic character work in here either.

There’s a LOT in this issue I didn’t remember, since normally I don’t pay attention to this one simply because I didn’t remember as much character stuff in it, but to my slight surprise (and bigger surprise in one or two moments) there’s some stuff in here I didn’t quite remember.

The weirdo trio finally breaks up in a way that reminds me of a divorce of some kind.

In a way Clyde and Lady Shiva played the roles of Tim’s parental figures in this miniseries. So that is fitting in it’s own way.

Clyde argues that Timmy shouldn’t be a part of this. Partially for his own want to kill King Snake (Dorrance) himself, but also because he wants to protect Tim’s innocence given the gruesome nature of what’s about to go down.

While Lady Shiva is absolutely numb to violence, and if anything wants Tim to be like her and revel in it.

Some of the word usage and Tim’s reaction to Clyde running off really set this up to a bizarre version of a divorce. It’s a slight soul cracker seeing Tim so worried that Clyde’s leaving to the point he yells out “CLYDE! WAIT!”. In the panel were Lady Shiva holds him back, he looks like such a helpless kid.

It’s a wee bit more emotional then it has any right to be given this trio only lasted 3 issues or so.

But, the climatic action must begin.

Tim uses his established cleverness to give the team some kind of advantage against what’s more or less an armed militia of men ready to protect King Snake and his drug empire.

With some small, but still tense moments.

And Timmy, of course, being on sneaky time.

This is one babyfaced boy that loves his sneaky time.

There’s even a good page that’s a good reminder that Tim isn’t the best fighter on the planet, but that he does his best given any opportunity he can.

A good chunk of this issue though, and deserving enough too. Is Clyde trying to get his revenge against King Snake for all he’s done.

It’s genuinely tense even if it is just a one time side character in this fight.

Because this has been building up between him and the bad guy since issue two. He is the emotional connection between the heroes and the main big villain. It’s for the best he’s the one that gets to take him on first compared to if Lady Shiva or Tim did it.

He’s the one that deserves this fight the most. Even if King Snake is too much.

While Tim’s too preoccupied stopping the plague from spreading and making sure he doesn’t get killed himself. Tim isn’t skilled enough to get out of the situation fast enough. He’s helpless to help his own friend.

Tim has no idea whats even happening to Clyde as he keeps having to run to his own safety.

All Tim can do, is his best. He sticks to the rafters to be sneaky. Uses the tools he knows he can use like his sling, and that’s just about it. Which continues to use his established skill-set instead of giving him sudden Gary Stu moment were he’s suddenly good at everything.

He’s lucky he’s small enough to even hide up there.

I know I been talking spoilers this whole time, but after this part. This contains-

MAJOR SPOILERS.

So read at your own risk, because this is the climatic issue and stuff happens.

So the big crushing part about this issue. Is that the last time Timmy Drake ever got to see Clyde Rawlings still alive, breathing, and blood pumping through his body was when Clyde ran to come to this fight.

The last thing Tim ever heard Clyde said was “RIGHT NOW!” and the last thing Clyde ever got hear Timmy’s voice say is “CLYDE! WAIT!” that’s the last they ever got to hear each other, because the next time Tim finds Clyde’s body it shows he’s already been killed by King Snake.

At this point it’s literally just this tiny little boy in red and green spandex vs a tanking man (with a freaking mullet) that’s supposedly one of the most dangerous men.

There isn’t a Lady Shiva in sight to save him, and Clyde’s not around anymore. Tim’s all alone, and the two people that have been protecting them this whole time are either gone in one way or gone in another way.

It’s all up to Timmy now.

And for the most part he doesn’t do good, because of course he doesn’t. He’s not a good fighter. He’s a tricky scamp with a sling and staff. Against the One of World’s Most Dangerous Men.

King Snake mocks Tim’s notable innocence.

Luckily though, Tim’s a clever boy, and finds a way to distract King Snake, before he can kill him or destroys him too badly. Thanks to Lady Shiva teaching Tim to his enemies underrating him to his own advantage.

Also right before Timmy absolutely wrecks him with one big, hit, that’s the biggest Tim can get out of his very teeny body.

This is when Lady Shiva shows up, and we get another scene representing Tim’s morals, because it’s a spot were King Snake should be knocked off the building, but he managed to get one solid grip on the scaffolding.

Even to the very last issue the character’s remain strong as ever. With constant reminders during their fights of who they are.

Clyde was so stuck on vengeance and anger, even if he wanted to try his best to protect Tim.

Lady Shiva, while calmer, doesn’t care about other people. She’s empathetic to her own fault.

Tim’s just the Boy Scout doing his best to stand up for what he was taught as right.

So what does Tim do in this Emperor Palpatine “DEW IT” moment?

What do you think? He’s such a good boy. He’s no Anakin Skywalker. This is a Luke Skywalker (Original Trilogy anyways), baby.

There’s some hard to watch panels though. Some stuff that actually made me a bit emotional reading this stuff.

Where Tim carries Clyde’s corpse because he’s not leaving him behind. Even when it causes Tim physical pain given he has a busted rib as he does it.

Tim could’ve easily left Clyde’s body behind for the police to find but he didn’t.

Clyde’s still on his mind and who can blame him. This is the dude that protected him this whole time even when he jumped in to protect him.

Tim tries to figure out what this all was for, because it starts to drag on him.

There’s even a surprisingly dark moment were Tim goes into the mindset of getting some payback, but of course, because he’s Timmy. He backs off of it because he realizes it was wrong. Showing that even when stuff goes wrong, Tim still has a sense of morality in him.

It’s stuff that really weighs down on Tim as the issue closes, because this was Tim’s first real adventure, and as it ends there was a lot of stuff he probably never wanted to be a witness too.

Probably some regrets carrying in his brain.

He starts to wonder what it’s all about as the miniseries and his adventure comes to an end.

So this was honestly a pretty good climatic issue even if it gets massively grim towards the end to a degree I wasn’t expecting.

Tim’s ongoing series touched grimness in the 90s, but it never went to this level or had such soul crushing visuals like Tim carrying the man who protected him on his back even with a busted rib.

Or contemplating physical payback against the person who caused him being dragged into all of this but backing off.

Like his ongoing series (where I fell in love with him) was a lot more lighthearted after this. So this isn’t the typical tone Tim carries. Even before this, it was just a soft action romp with character moments.

A lot of this caught me by surprise, because since I skip to Tim’s parts and the action didn’t take me away like other scenes, I didn’t even realize Clyde freaking died in this issue.

How did I not realize that?

I don’t even have a clue how, but in a way, it made it better for this review, because I’m more in tune with how a first time reader might react to it.

It’s a grim ending to a good miniseries.

The miniseries biggest flaws is having creepy girl characters who’s creepiness either feels out of character or not expanded upon to make it feel like it has a point, and moments that don’t go anywhere, with a really lame villain. Such a super lame villain.

However it’s character moments, character work for Tim, pacing, art, and sense of adventure still makes it a really good read. Even if compared to others it’s still a low-key adventure.

If you really wanna learn about Tim’s character. It’s a definitive recommend, because it’s a great character study for him. Through his goodie two shoes boyscout moments, his geeky moments, his awkward moments, to even his immature moments, and a rare dark moment from early Tim, but even that dark moment showed that in the end, Tim’s still gonna do what’s right, and not go too far.

I love reading the miniseries when I’m bored, because even if it’s typically just the first issue or two I read. I just love Tim, and I like to be reminded why.

He’s such a bean that’s trying his best to be heroic. You get a real sense of depth with the character that wasn’t seen by a Robin that was still Batman’s sidekick till this.

Dick had depth, but it wasn’t till he split with Batman that he got it.

With Tim he was the first Robin that was still Batman’s sidekick that could carry depth, and this is were you get it.

It’s the full show of Tim as a character from all sides.

It’s great that way.

I’m thinking of reviewing his next miniseries next just because reading this captured my spark for Tim in a brighter way then it has been after all the dullness of his current life as a character being misused time and time again sort of dragged on me.

With this, I get what I want even if there’s a bit of dirt on it. It’s a good read for a Tim fan, or someone that wants to learn about who he is just to include him in a fan fiction.

It’s a great feeling to remember just how fantastic Tim used to be.

I still hope DC brings back the old Tim eventually.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Clyde Rawlins #Lady Shiva #King Snake #DC Comics #Bat-Family #Batfamily #Bat-Fam #Batfam

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victorluvsalice · 4 years

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AU Thursday: Alice Vs The Questionnaire I Just Made

Because it would be remiss for me to send it out into the world and not answer it myself, right? ;p

1. How many of the sidequests did your characters do? Did they manage to complete all of them?

Alice completed most of the sidequests, mostly because I find them interesting, they're good to advance the plot of my story, and -- in-game -- they're good sources of XP. The only ones I skipped/failed were (Edit: naturally I forgot a few on my first posting; what can I say, there’s a lot of side quests!):

Drug Trip -- The Unofficial Patch Plus only quest where you can get some XP and +1 Finance by stealing some drugs for Trip from the clinic. In-game, I completely forgot this was an option and never did it. In-story, Alice is trying to get drugs by more legitimate means for Mercurio rather than steal morphine, so I don’t think she’d be keen to get the recreational stuff for Trip.

Daydream Believer -- Only marked as an official “quest” by Unofficial Patch Plus, this is where you can sell Copper “unicorn blood,” fang-blunting gum, and a stake to kill the head vampire if you’re feeling maliciously playful. Alice was not -- in fact, she likes the Thin-Bloods and wants to help them. And that includes sympathizing with Copper about his desire to become human again, while also warning him off doing anything stupid.

Replanting A Lily -- The quest where you send Vandal someone to replace Lily in his blood-draining chair once you’ve freed her as part of Thinned Blood. In-game, I simply Demented him into some hysterical laughter to forget the whole thing (in case I needed him for emergency rations). In-story, Alice slammed him up against the wall and informed him the only reason she wasn’t about to kill him was because she needed to stay in the Voerman sisters’ good books. Vandal being Vandal, he immediately found this the sexiest thing that had ever happened to him and tried to give her free blood (like might happen with the Intimidation option), which she told him to stick where the sun don’t shine. Yeaaaaah, Alice doesn’t like Vandal.

Occultish Personality -- The quest where you get occult items for Pisha, and she gives you powerful items in return. Rather than work with Pisha, I had Alice kill her after taking care of the Simon business. This was purely a character choice, as I didn't see Alice ever working with her (she disapproves too strongly of what Pisha does to sate her Hunger -- she understands that the woman is under a pretty nasty curse, but the entire camera crew?!).

Venucide -- Okay, this is an interesting one -- this is the alternate side quest you get if you take Boris up on his offer to kill Venus during And Her Name Was Venus. I didn’t do this in-game -- I’m not doing low Humanity with Alice, and besides you earn a lot more with Venus alive and giving you club profits -- but I mention it because Alice pretends to take the offer, goes back to Venus, and works with her to fake her death before going back to Boris to get the reward, then kill him. Venus is quite tickled by the whole thing. XD

Dirty Dishes -- The quest where you help one of the three Giovanni relatives at the party to gain an advantage over the other two. I attempted this one, with the intent of having maybe Victor or Victoria do something with the info in the story (as they're the ones actually doing the social stuff -- Alice snuck in Obfuscated with them), but as it turned out, I didn't have the Persuasion necessary to get the dark secrets out of all three. I only managed to get Adam Dunsirn to admit he’s broke -- ratted him out to Mira for an experience point. Ah well. . . In-story, Victor will probably learn Adam’s secret while socializing, but not actually tell anybody.

Model Citizen/Cover Girl -- Imalia's quests -- either planting webcams to spy on her rival Tawni, or (if you piss her off/want extra XP after the previous quest), getting her a copy of a magazine with her on the cover back before Nosferatuing. Imalia is one of those characters who reacts very poorly to meeting a Malkavian, and is generally pretty conceited, so I didn't have Alice stick around to actually get the quests. By this point in the story, she's not doing favors for people who treat her like ass unless she has to.

Poster Session -- The quest where you trade various objects you can collect around the world to Gary for posters of the ladies in the game. Okay, in all actuality, I am doing this one in my game, if only because I'm collecting the objects he's asking for anyway while doing other quests and I might as well, but Alice in-story wouldn't be interested, and I'm not sure Gary would make the offer anyway, given their relationship.

2. How long do you think their stay in L.A. lasted, from Embrace to ending?

I'm working on figuring this out right now in my current playthrough! Part of the reason I fired up Bloodlines again was to actually work out a timeline for "Londerland Bloodlines," as the one given on the wiki feels absurdly short (and cuts out all the side quests). The way I've currently got it, it looks like Alice's Adventures In Los Angeles will stretch from October 21st, 2004, to the middle of November that same year (maybe about the 15th or so?), though I think I'm going to be adding in extra time in the story to help develop relationships and build in some extra breathing room for the characters. So, at a rough estimate, about two months.

3. Which ending did they go for? And if they're the rare Kindred who sided with Ming or LaCroix, did they somehow manage to escape their canonical fates (blown up/sunk to the bottom of the ocean)?

Alice is Independent all the way -- by the end of the game, she neither likes nor trusts practically anyone in the Kindred/ghoul community of L.A. (with four key exceptions, and one of those -- Beckett -- has already skedaddled by the end game) and just wants out. Hell, she would have left earlier if she'd gotten the chance -- she would have happily left L.A. the moment LaCroix sent her up against the Sabbat alone if said Sabbat hadn't kidnapped Lizzie and Victoria, and she would have just left straight after rescuing them and killing Andrei if she hadn't had a guilt attack about helping to get a Blood Hunt called on Nines and deciding she had to tell him about what Ming-Xiao told her. And the Cabbie is the one who talks her into taking down LaCroix and Ming-Xiao when she escapes the Blood Hunt, telling her that the only way to truly feel free is to make sure neither of them can come after her again. She is only too happy to leave the city when everything and everyone is done and dusted.

(Also, semi-related I had what I feel is a pretty awesome idea regarding why she gives LaCroix the key -- a post in the vtmb tag mentioned that anyone who had Auspex might be able to scan the sarcophagus and see there's no uber-vampire inside. The way Alice uses Auspex in her story, it functions partially as a real-life "Shrink Sense,” to fit with her madness. Maybe, at the end of the game, Alice finally uses Auspex on the sarcophagus to see what she can glean, and sees that a) there's no vampire and b) the Insane Children have drawn jack-in-the-boxes all over it, along with arrows to leave. Figuring LaCroix can suffer the disappointment of it being empty, she drops the key and heads off, not QUITE realizing WHY the kids told her to leave -- that is, until her Wonderland friends start BOOKING IT out the door when she gets down to the lobby, and she realizes those jack-in-the-boxes look like her own Jackbombs. . .)

4. How do they feel about the major power players in L.A. (LaCroix, Strauss, Smiling Jack, Nines, Isaac, Ming-Xiao, Gary)? Did their opinions of them change at any point thanks to a quest or just more time spent with them?

LaCroix: Hates him from the moment he Dominates her into leaving the Nocturne Theater instead of bothering to answer any of her questions. She's willing to keep her head down when she's around him (for fear of more Domination) up until Grout's mansion -- then she starts demanding she be paid like a proper employee, at least, and getting a lot snarkier in his presence. When the Blood Hunt on Nines was called (which involved him Dominating her AGAIN so she wouldn't warn Nines beforehand), she was about ready to gut him, and sincerely hoped there was something in that damn Sarcophagus so it would eat him. She doesn't particularly mind he got blown up in the end -- she was much more concerned for anyone else who was in the upper levels of the tower.

Strauss: She found him a little condescending, but helpful, when she first arrived in Downtown and sought him out. (Didn't think much of his poetry skills, though.) He gave her some good information on vampires around the city and the Camarilla in general, and she can't deny he paid well for helping take care of the plaguebearer situation. Her opinion of him plummets the moment she learns about his role in creating the Gargoyle, though. The idea that he kept that living, thinking being as his slave. . .not to mention, his low opinion of ghouls doesn't do much to endear him to her either.

Smiling Jack: Like Strauss, she spends most of the game thinking he's not exactly the best company, but he was helpful and gave her a hand in a very tough spot in her life. And he seems to be the most chill of the older vampires she's come across.

And then the sarcophagus explodes, Alice manages to put together the clues on who's behind it, realize he slaughtered all those people on the Elizabeth Dane and is indirectly responsible for a lot of the shit she's gone through. . .and basically exiles herself from Los Angeles forever by staking him and leaving him for the sunrise on her way out. (She is as shocked as anyone that she managed to pull it off -- she thought it would be a much worse fight!)

Nines: Alice is grateful to him for helping to save her life at her initial trial, and she likes his philosophy just fine. Unfortunately, their relationship was wrecked fairly early on by two factors:

1) Alice making a joke about the Last Round, which Nines took poorly -- Alice attempted to apologize, but Nines refused to hear it

2) Alice not liking Skelter and Damsel, both of whom immediately gave her shit for being LaCroix's "lapdog" and a Malkavian

So yeah, there was definitely some tension there. And the whole Blood Hunt mess happened, and frankly Alice is shocked Nines was willing to talk to her when she went looking for him on her way out of L.A. post-Sabbat. She sometimes wishes they'd had a chance to make up, but given that she doesn't think much of the Anarchs in general anymore. . .she's not losing sleep over their cool relationship.

Isaac: He's one of the main reasons she doesn't think much of the Anarchs in general. She thought it was pretty smart of him to have someone to direct vampires new to Hollywood to him to say hello -- up until he mentioned "tribute." That and his generally imperious attitude toward her at first means she considers him just another Prince under a different title. Learning what happened between him and Ash didn't help either -- she can understand not wanting to let someone you care about just die, more than she would admit, but he doesn't seem to have handled things well post-Embrace, given he didn't do jack shit about the hunters menacing him. (Hoping the threat would drive Ash back into his arms, perhaps?) Add in that he didn't even pay her for taking care of the Gargoyle (never mind Alice didn't actually kill it -- she still convinced it to leave), and -- yeah. She considers him everything wrong with the Anarch movement.

Ming-Xiao: Alice considered her fairly stuck-up when they first met, but really no worse than any of the regular Kindred she'd met -- and it was interesting to quiz her on how Kue-jin are different. Of course, learning that the Mandarin was on her payroll and she's actively trying to kill her lowered her opinion of her a bit. She actively avoids Ming-Xiao after the Fu Syndicate stuff, and nearly just puts her new enchanted katana straight through her when she shows up post-Sabbat. She certainly doesn't shed a tear when she has to destroy her at the end of game.

Gary: Alice thinks he's a bit of an overdramatic jerk, but she kind of enjoys matching wits with him. And at least he's more honest about being a jerk than most vampires, and keeps up his end of the bargain when she frees Barnabus, no problem. Whatever relationship they have is built upon snarking at each other, basically. :p

5. How did they handle the situation with Heather (or, if you're like me, whoever you replaced Heather with in their personal story)?

Obviously, in my world, Victor got hit by the car and got the ghouling treatment. Alice saw him lying all alone in that room and -- couldn't let him just die like that. She's utterly horrified to learn that she created an addict by doing so, and actively has Betram and Knox seek Victor out (using the Cathayan's laptop as payment) and send him her way so she can keep an eye on him and hide any Masquerade violations he may commit. Her original intent was to hold onto him until he stopped being a ghoul, then quietly set him loose, away from prying Kindred eyes. . .

. . .And then she fell in love.

Cue quite a lot of angsting over the fact that she doesn't want to lose him, but she feels so guilty about the Blood Bond and she doesn't know if Victor's feelings are actually real -- which only gets worse when Victoria and Emily join the group, as then she's like "I should let Victor be with one of them -- oh crap I like them too, what the hell Alice, years of not falling in love and now it's two mortals and a zombie." It took Mercurio explaining that his Blood Bond does not actually force him to like LaCroix, just be loyal to him, to convince her that keeping Victor -- and turning Victoria into her ghoul -- might not be as bad as she feared.

And then Victor had his prophetic dream about the Sabbat. He and Emily successfully fled the city (the "letting Heather go" branch of her mini-storyline), but Lizzie and Victoria got captured by the Sabbat and used as bait for a trap for Alice (the "Heather gets captured and killed" branch). Unlike in canon, though, Alice is able to successfully save them (with the help of Bonejangles, VV, and Bertram), and ghouls Victoria to help her heal before sending them away. They all reunite once she's done with the endgame. :)

6. More generally, how closely does their storyline stick to how you have to do things canonically? For example, in quests, did they find third options that weren't offered by the game? Are their stories affected by mods you use while playing the game?

I play with the Unofficial Plus Patch, so there's going to be some stuff from that included in my story, just because that's what I'm used to -- for example, Alice is doing the restored library quest featuring the Lasombra in her storyline. As for the main storyline itself, I'd say that, even with the character replacements and suchlike, it stays pretty much true to the game until about the time Alice hits Hollywood -- namely because I've replaced one-shot character Sam with Victoria, who has a much larger role in "Londerland Bloodlines." After that, it starts to veer off a bit more, in particular during "Italian Dinner," where Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles join the party --

But the most major break with canon is in the endgame. Namely, Alice decides to skip fighting her way up Venture Tower and instead climbs up the outside with the help of some climbing equipment she sources from Mercurio. :p Lacroix is more than a little surprised. XD (Though she still has to fight the bat-form of the Sheriff -- can't escape the whole boss fight, Alice!)

7. Do they have an alternate storyline/history of what might have happened had they been Embraced but not ended up the protagonist Fledgling?

I covered that a couple of weeks ago! You can read the "Mistakenly Thinned Blood" AU of the AU in detail here, but the short version is "Alice is Embraced more secretly by her sire Fish, manages to kill him post-Embrace, goes to Santa Monica, and ends up hanging out with the Thin-Bloods because everyone thinks she's one of them. Still saves Victor, meets Victoria, and rescues Lizzie, Emily, and Sam from the Giovannis, though -- and then gets out of town before the freaking-out populace who just learned what she actually is can catch up with her."

8. Is the Cabbie a) Caine, b) another Kindred who believes himself to be Caine for whatever reason, c) another Kindred playing the long con by pretending to be Caine, d) something else entirely?

He's Caine -- I like the headcanon, and the idea of him posing as a random taxi driver in L.A., looking upon all this chaos and wondering "why. why." amuses me. XD

9. How do you handle/explain away obvious "this only works in a video game" mechanics in their storyline (e.g., the inventory system that allows them to carry like seven guns and five melee weapons at once)?

With me, Alice is going to be carrying a lot fewer weapons at once -- she'll generally pick a few favorites to take with her on missions (she always has a knife on her, at least), and uses Obfuscate to truck them around invisibly when she's in crowded areas. She probably also gets a bag or backpack to carry useful things. She also goes through a lot more clothes until she gets some decent leather jackets and such -- her starting outfit is basically wrecked by the tutorial mission, leading to LaCroix's agents having to buy her a new dress before she can pick up her things and go to her new haven in Santa Monica. (I have decided to make it Symbolic by having her wear the modern equivalent of her London outfit from A:MR when she gets Embraced, and the outfit being destroyed representing her change from human to vampire.)

10. How do you explain why the Fledgling is so ridiculously overpowered when compared to most other vampires their age (beyond the fact that they're likely 8th generation, going by their blood pool)?

My personal explanation, which might come up in the final conversation Alice has with Caine in the cab, is that some people in this universe are born with great supernatural potential, for whatever reason, and Alice is one of them. There's just something about her that lends itself well to being a supernatural creature -- and a powerful one at that. If she'd been from a werewolf line, she would have been an amazing werewolf; if she had awakened as a mage, she would have been a super-talented mage. As she was Embraced, she gets to be a terrifyingly strong vampire. Alice personally considers this a pretty shitty "chosen one" status, but she can't deny she liked getting really good at Obfuscate really fast!

#londerland bloodlines #vtmb #questionnaire #this about covers most of what I wanted to talk about with Alice #and I really like that idea for Alice giving LaCroix the key #my original idea was her just going 'you know what #here I hope the vampire inside eats you'#but that felt a little too vicious #not toward LaCroix but toward everyone else in L.A.#Alice may hate most of the Kindred she deals with #but that doesn't mean she wants them all dead from super-vampire #better to have her thinking 'oh there's nothing inside? just a toy?#great all yours LaCroix enjoy disappointment'#she probably should have recognized the explody jackbombs sooner but #she'd had a long night #queued

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hardlyfatal · 5 years

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gary’s writing workshop: lesson 4: showing vs. telling

The main way a writer tells, rather than shows, is when they inform the reader that the narrator is experiencing an emotion or sensing something instead of describing it; or they describe it, but with mundane and bland words that communicate how the character feels without without any effective emotional impact.

Everything we perceive is sensed somehow; that’s how organisms acquire information. Our primary sense is vision, then hearing, then touch. Smell and taste are not so often the bearers of important information, but but when they are, they can have an enormous impact.

And most of the things we perceive spark an emotion of some sort. Humans are very binary creatures; we tend to define things as present vs. absent. If we like something, we want it all the time, and its presence feels good and its absence feels bad. If we dislike something, we don’t want it, ever, and its presence makes us feel bad, and its absence good.

I know this seems elementary, but stick with me.

Within the umbrella terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are myriad terms you can use to elaborate. The awesomest thing about the English language that, since it’s basically half-a-dozen other languages stacked under a raincoat trying to pass themselves off as a single cohesive tongue, we have multiple vocabularies from which to pick an incredibly precise word or phrase in describing what we mean. Germanic, Latinate, Greek, even Norse-- all have contributed a fantastic array of adjectives and adjectival phrases so if exactly what we mean cannot be found in one, there’s a good chance we can find it in one of the others.

With this at our fingertips, why are people not punching up their narrative and bringing their stories to life, to make their prose spring into our mind’s eye? Why are so many stories delivered with so little hint to how things feel to the characters? Because writers simply haven’t been taught how.

The way to make an impact, to bring the reader along with the character, is to describe how the sense, and the emotion attached to it, manifests in the character.

This issue is another Battle of the Balance, because if you show every emotion instead of telling them, you’ll have an endless mess of a story describing people with each nerve ending a-quiver the entire time. That’s exhausting, and will drive away readers. Heck, you’ll drive yourself away – it’s just too laborious.

But by the same token, you need to bring the reader along with the characters as they bumble their way through life, seething with all the messy emotions and feelings inherent in simply existing. If you skimp on this, you will miss opportunities to connect the reader to the characters, to make the reader care about what happens. If you don’t use words that emotionally affect the reader, they’re left feeling like they’re reading a police report instead of a fictional narrative. We don’t want just the facts, ma’am. We want to experience it along with the characters.

So how do you achieve this balance? It’s very situation-dependent.

When to do it:

You have to train yourself to understand and see when a moment – not necessarily an entire scene – will be an emotional one. Just walking into a room isn’t emotional… unless the room is particularly shabby or grand in a way that evokes emotion in the character, or perhaps someone inside the room is a pleasant (or unpleasant) surprise to them. Discoveries, which are often plot points and thus important, are moments that might elicit emotion in the narrative character, and thus could benefit from some showing.

I’m sure you know this already, and take care to include descriptions where pertinent and needed. But are you showing these moments, or are you telling them?

When you describe how something looks, don’t just say it’s lovely; how is it lovely?

From Desperado, the moment Brienne sees Jaime through the jailhouse window:

Then a face appeared on the other side of the glass, and Brienne reeled back with a little scream before she recognized it: those piercing green eyes, that granite-hewn jaw, those sculpted lips, the busted nose that kept him handsome instead of edging into prettiness…

And when Brienne looks at him, does she just flatly recognize he’s handsome, or does his handsomeness elicit some emotional or physical reaction in her?

Brienne took another step back; it was unsafe to be too close to him, for reasons of propriety and sanity and possibly a few other things she hadn’t words for.

“Don’t go,” he said, barely audible through the glass. “Stay and talk to me. It’s so dull in here.”

And then he smiled at her, and Brienne’s heart seized in her chest.

What is shown by the second snippet’s content is particularly important to the purpose of our discussion today. When people are emotional, whether in a positive or negative way, they experience physiological changes. Angry people often narrow their eyes and clench their fists; nervous people might have restless energy or dry mouths and throats.

When an emotionally-fraught moment comes up in your story – indeed, every time a character feels an emotion – go through the five senses. What physical sensation does the emotion cause in their body? What does it look like outwardly? How does it sound and feel? Sometimes even taste and smell can come into it, depending on the emotion.

Here’s the main thing to remember: to show instead of tell, you need to keep a baseline awareness of senses and sensory input going at all times. Whenever a character feels something, think about the situation. Will showing bring a visceral understanding of the moment to the reader? Or will it bog down the narrative because it’s just not that important?

How to do it:

1. Word choice. Have your thesaurus (or thesaurus.com) handy at all times, and instead of the mundane word or phrase you might have chosen, pick a synonym that means basically the same thing, but evokes more of a sensory experience or gives more of a hint of what the person is thinking. In the passage below, where I’ve punched up basically the same thing with more evocative language, I’ve indented instances.

Note: sometimes this means replacing a single word with a phrase, instead. But this not only results in a higher word count – usually a good thing – but often in more elaborate syntax and punctuation, so make sure your line editing/betaing is on point when you do it, to avoid errors. If you have an uncertain grasp of grammar and punctuation, and you don’t have access to a good editor, maybe just stick to straight substitution, word-for-word, instead of expanding from the single adjective to an adjectival phrase, etc.

2. Formatting. With punctuation, emphasis (italics, etc.), paragraph breaks, and pauses, the way you present the words can punch up the emotion and show what’s happening, rather than merely telling. This can be especially effective in dialogue, to indicate pauses as the speaker gathers their thoughts, or stumbles over their words, stammers with nervousness, pauses for impact.

3. Elaboration. Don’t be so concise all the time! Expand on concepts, pinpoint what it is about a situation that’s making the character feel as they do. Give us motivation, contemplation, snippets of history that lead the person to choices and actions and things they say.

Example

Below are two versions of the scene from Desperado where Brienne saves Jaime from hanging by marrying him. It’s not the entire scene, just the pivotal moment where she announces her intention to marry one of the men. The first version is what I published, a version that ‘shows’ what’s happening for peak effectiveness. In the second version, I revised it to ‘tell’ instead.

Note how, in the ‘showing’ version, the word choices make it more visceral, the elaboration spends more time on the emotions Brienne is feeling as well as providing insight to her personality and values and even providing a bit of her history, and the formatting enhances the knowledge that she’s agitated and nervous and struggling.

Original ‘Showing’ Version (word count: 860)

It was time. She had to speak.

It was time.

Now, Brienne.

Now. Now!

“N-no!” she made herself shout. “I invoke the rule of court that commutes a man’s sentence if a woman marries him.”

Judge Baelish’s face contorted in frustration. “What rule of court is this?” he demanded.

Sickeningly aware that the eye of every person in the room was on her, easily hearing the excited whispers coming from all around, Brienne strode forward. She shouldered aside the crowd and thrust the paper in the judge’s face. Baelish snatched it from her hand, his pale eyes darting over it, and a slow flush started at his collar, spreading upward until his entire face was an angry red.

“If you want to see the law book, I’m sure we can… find it and bring it to you,” Brienne told him.

She looked back over the crowd for Sam Tarly. He was there, halfway to the back, bouncing on tiptoes to see over taller persons in front of him, and when he heard her, he waved his arms and shouted, “Yes! I’ve got it!”

“Bring it,” Judge Baelish commanded.

Sam bustled forward and held it out; Sheriff Clegane took it and slapped it onto the judge’s outstretched palm. Baelish opened it to where a slip of paper marked the page, and ran a fingertip down the page until he found the pertinent section. His eyes narrowed as he read, more and more until they were hardly open at all.

Then he lifted his head and shut the book in quick, jerky movements before handing it back to Clegane. Sam took the book back and receded into the crowd.

“Very well. Miss—” he began, his voice glacial.

“Tarth. Brienne Tarth.”

“—Miss Tarth, which of these gentlemen will be your new husband?”

Brienne’s breath sawed in and out of her chest, her lungs heaving so hard they ached. How could she do this?

She thought of who would be left behind, devastated, vulnerable, if he died. Their suffering would be on her conscience for the rest of her life.

How could she not?

She croaked a name, but it was incomprehensible. She licked her lips, swallowed. It didn’t help. She sucked in more air and tried again, louder.

“Jaime Lannister.”

The man in question had hung his head when convicted, not expecting anything but a march to the noose, the very image of dejection. His head snapped up, now, and the dead expression faded from his eyes, replaced by a wild hope. Brienne could only meet his gaze for a second before she flinched away from the force of it.

Behind her, the ballroom had gone absolutely silent for a few seconds that felt like hours. Then, in a rush, everyone started speaking at once. Brienne was sure she could hear Sansa’s voice exclaiming her name.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Jon, her eyes filling with tears. She was the worst friend in the world, the worst person, a liar and a schemer. She didn’t deserve his comprehension, or his forgiveness, but she couldn’t keep from speaking, from trying, anyway. “I’m so sorry, Jon. But his children… they don’t have anyone else. They don’t have anyone. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

His eyes were wide, shocked. There had been confusion on his face at first, but it settled into resignation and a sort of exhausted acceptance.

“I understand,” he said wearily. “I don’t blame you.”

Sheriff Clegane unlocked Jaime’s handcuffs. Jaime rubbed his wrists almost absently; his focus was on Brienne, his sharp green eyes not moving from her for a second. She felt profoundly uncomfortable to be the recipient of such attention, but she couldn’t look away, and she couldn’t stop crying.

“Dry your tears, Miss Tarth,” said the judge in his oily tone. “It’s your wedding day.”

Brienne clamped her eyes shut and took a few deep breaths, reaching inward for the fortitude which had gotten her through losing her mother and Galladon, which had kept her going when they’d had that bad year a while back and thought they’d have to sell the ranch. She had lived through all of that. She’d live through this, too.

When she opened her eyes, they were dry. Her face was hot, and she knew she was still flushed from crying and likely uglier than she’d ever been in her life. It felt like she should be even more ugly, now, her act of treachery in choosing Jaime instead of Jon showing as a physical mark, a scarlet letter like in that book she’d once read, branded on her cheek to warn others away from her perfidy.

“I’m ready,” she said, her voice flat. An unnatural calm had fallen over her. She’d made her choice; now she had to live with it. A brush against her sleeve alerted her that her betrothed had stepped up beside her. She glanced at him, noting that he was very nearly her match in height. That was something, she supposed.

He opened his mouth to speak.

“Later,” she said. “Let’s… just get this over with.”

He blinked, then nodded. Brienne turned to face forward.

And married him.

Revised ‘Telling’ Version (word count: 550)

Brienne was scared and hesitant to speak, but she made herself do it.

“No!” she shouted. “I invoke the rule of court that commutes a man’s sentence if a woman marries him.”

Judge Baelish looked angry. “What rule of court is this?” he demanded.

Knowing that the eye of every person in the room was on her, hearing the whispers coming from all around, Brienne pushed through the crowd and handed the paper to the judge. Baelish looked it over and turned red in fury.

“If you want to see the law book, I’m sure we can find it and bring it to you,” Brienne told him.

She looked back over the crowd for Sam Tarly. When he heard her, he waved his arms and shouted, “Yes! I’ve got it!”

“Bring it,” Judge Baelish commanded.

Sam came forward and held it out; Sheriff Clegane took it and gave it to the judge. Baelish opened it to where a slip of paper marked the page, reading the pertinent section with narrowed eyes.

Then he slammed the book shut and handed it back to Clegane. Sam took the book and stepped back.

“Very well. Miss—” he began in a cold tone.

“Tarth. Brienne Tarth.”

“—Miss Tarth, which of these gentlemen will be your new husband?”

Brienne felt like she couldn’t breathe. How could she do this?

She thought of who would be left behind if he died. Their suffering would be on her conscience for the rest of her life.

How could she not?

She said a name, but it was incomprehensible. She took a deep breath and tried again.

“Jaime Lannister.”

The man in question had hung his head when convicted, not expecting anything but execution. His head came up, now, and he looked very hopeful. Brienne could only manage to look at him for a moment.

Behind her, the ballroom had gone quiet. Then everyone started speaking at once. Brienne was sure she could hear Sansa’s voice calling her name.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Jon, starting to cry. She felt like a terrible person. She didn’t deserve anything from him but she tried anyway. “I’m so sorry, Jon. But his children don’t have anyone else. I’m sorry.”

He looked shocked. There had been confusion on his face at first, but then it turned to tired acceptance.

“I understand,” he said, seeming tired. “I don’t blame you.”

Sheriff Clegane unlocked Jaime’s handcuffs. Jaime rubbed his wrists while staring at Brienne. She felt strange to have him watch her like that, but she couldn’t look away, and she couldn’t stop crying.

“Dry your tears, Miss Tarth,” said the judge. “It’s your wedding day.”

Brienne closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She’d been through a lot in the past few years. She’d live through this, too.

She soon opened her eyes again.

“I’m ready,” she said calmly. She’d made her choice; now she had to live with it. Jaime came to stand at her side and she noticed they were almost the same height. At least they had that in common.

He opened his mouth to speak.

“Later,” she said. “Let’s just get this over with.”

He nodded, and Brienne turned to face forward.

And married him.

Homework

Take the most emotional moment you’ve ever written and evaluate it for showing vs. telling. Do a side-by-side revision of it, as I did above, marking either where you’ve done well in showing or where you’ve done poorly by telling. Where you’ve done poorly by telling, revise what you have to improve it according to the three methods: better word choice, formatting, and elaboration.

#gary's writing workshop #writing #writing tips #writing resources #writing references

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tjp5 · 4 years

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^This thing, yea, the power bottom air fucker, tougher than I thought it would be.

HUUUMP day had a whole new level with the air fucking power bottom things. They were awkward, like not total, but my coordination wasn’t fantastic. I assume that these are going to get better with time. I honestly did not think that this would be part of any workout I would ever do, but comrades, here we fucking are. I have so much to do today at work, but here I am, listening to podcasts and writing this blog. I don’t mind it, because I enjoy doing this far more than I enjoy doing my job. I think I might have like one reader out there, maybe more, I don’t know. TBH I don’t really care either. I am probably a better writer than most out there, not so humble brag, it is just something that I enjoy. Someone will read this some day and be like “it just feels like he’s talking to me,” well that is how I write, deal with it. I love doing this, a lot more than I thought I would, to be honest with all of you, or you, if it is just one person.

Anyway, on to Wednesday, I think my apartment is attacking me with heat, its out to get me or something. The last two days, it has gotten so unbearably arid in the apartment that my head feels like a water balloon. I enjoy not being cold, but I would like to breathe when I wake up as well. Either way, as I write this on Thursday, I feel like my head may explode. I am someone who normally will plug my symptoms into google and see what is up, but I am not going to do that today for a few reasons. First and foremost, the 20’s have had some kind of human killing plague pop up for like three centuries, and now we have this Chinese Coronavirus, my ass would immediately think that is what I have, shit, what if that is what I have? I don’t think that is what I have for this reason, which is also number two, as soon as I am up and moving around, or I was crushing the workout yesterday, I was fine, no headache, no stuffiness, no trouble breathing, so in my opinion, I’m aces BAYBAY.

Yesterday was full of work, In the afternoon I decided that it was time to attack some of this pile that I still currently have sitting next to me, and I did, I could a quarter to a half of it done, it is really simple stuff if you know what you’re doing, or if you actually feel like putting the time in, which I think we can all admit, is something that comes and goes in the work place. I started off my eating cycle with some jerky, I fucking love jerky. If you are ever in the Youngstown area in Ohio, take some time and go out to the White House Fruit Farm, there is literally nothing bad there. Following this, I had my lunch, which was this vegetarian burrito thing and the rest of the burgers from the other night, my girlfriend introduced me to these burritos, which turned out to be better than I thought they would be. They also are not that bad for you, as long as you don’t count the sodium. To counteract that, I just drank a shit ton of water. Between work and the gym I had a couple of dads cookies and a few pieces of pepperoni, just enough that I wouldn’t feel hungry in the middle of my workout. One thing that I need to reeducate myself on, is eating to survive vs. eating for enjoyment. There is a way to do both, and I think I am getting there, but I need to start cutting out nonessentials in my life. Yesterday’s workout was honestly a lot, so when I got home I smashed four eggs, the remaining sausage that I had boiled the other day, and some broccoli. Someone told me that we have to have something green with almost every meal, that is one of the keys to weight loss I guess. Since she is a someone who works on biology at a top university, I am inclined to believe her.

The workout for day one of week three had some lenience in it, I could choose weather I wanted to run or row, and I chose to row, because why not. It was 1km of row, and I knocked out half of that before I needed to rest, more because of my legs than because of my stamina, which is relieving. But by the time I got to the end, it took me a few more seconds and I was winded. I forgot the second part of the warmup and added it to the end, this was a mistake, but at least I finished everything. Today included squats, which were up to 70% of my max from week one, this was light work. I have thankfully found the song that I am going to use for any of the main lifts, it is Cult of Personality, I don’t know if it is because CM Punk used that has his theme or what but man does it get me in the zone. I also found the other song that is going to get me through the cardio when it gets tough, the enTRAPreneur, not only is Jeezy one of my favorite rappers, this song starts out with Gary Vee, and that guy is a fucking electric factory. The cardio session of the workout was definitely HIIT, and it definitely kicked my ass. As I was cooking my breakfast dinner I could feel the muscles in my upper legs just shaking. Today, my legs don’t hurt as bad as I thought they would, I am not sure if that is attributed to the constant work they are getting, or if I just have not done anything to really test them today. If you need a podcast to listen to, pull up Jocko Willink with Joe Rogan, it honestly doesn’t matter which one, they are both motivating as shit.

Cheers and Godspeed.

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silverinia · 5 years

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13, 14, 15, 16 for mchart :)

13. Sort your characters into Harry Potter houses!

Okay, first of all: I. Have. Waited. My. Life. For. This. Moment.

Like, you don’t understand. I think about Harry Potter houses all the time in every possible context and so I have very specific thoughts on this (meaning: this is gonna be a long ass answer).

As a little introduction, I could, per se, see Kurt in every house except for Slytherin, while I could see Diane in every house but Hufflepuff. Which is FUNNY, because I think I would place Kurt into Hufflepuff and Diane into Slytherin and that kinda makes sense when you think about it, because they are possibly one of the strongest cases of opposites attract, ever.

Kurt is very, very loyal and honest and he really values to have those trades himself (I’m choosing to actively ignore the cheating arc for this because I think that we can all agree on that it was the most ooc thing to happen to any character EVER). I would also describe him as selfless rather than brave (that’s why I would say Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor). He doesn’t want praise for the good or even heroic things he does (hinting episode 1x10 of The Good Fight here, when he got uncomfortable about Diane knowing that he literally got into the hospital because he saved a child that day), he just wants to do the right thing and makes choices based on his conscience rather than rationality, which, I would say, is the ultimate Hufflepuff characteristic.

Diane, on the other hand, is a very ambitious Lady. She has worked hard every day of her life for her legacy, is highly intelligent in a cunning (but never evil, I’d say) kind of way and she really knows how to act to make the most out of a difficult situation. She’s really good at finding a way around difficulties and still gaining benefits for her own side on her way, which is something we can see like every time she’s in court or talking strategy with her colleagues. I would say that she is a great example for a good-hearted and really ethical Slytherin and I like that a lot about her. Also, I always got the vibe of a very strong and beautiful Slytherin/Gryffindor-friendship when it came to her and Will (I mean… I doubt that there is anyone who is more of a Gryffindor, than Will-“I want a ruling that I can appeal”-Gardner).

Kurt is the calm and sensible one in this relationship (Diane is the over-thinking storm of needing to be in control and we all know that) and I just think that Slytherin/Hufflepuff really fits them very beautifully. It’s true complementarity.

That said, I would also like to add that I could see them both in Ravenclaw. They are smart in very different ways and think and act based on completely different facades of a situation (emotional vs rational…), but I could still see them there together, though I prefer the Slytherpuff-headcanon.

14. Which character’s name do you like the most?

Lol, okay. Poor Kurt really was highly unlucky when it comes to names, but I still kinda like it because the scenes in which they bring it up are always really funny? (I don’t mean to be politically insensitive here, but it IS really funny. Also making “Oh my goodness, what an unfortunate name! Hopefully no relation?” one if the first things she says to him ever? Hilariously funny.) On a different note, I honestly think that Gary Cole is the only person on this planet who’s able to play a character named ‘Kurt’ and still pull of making it sexy, but that’s just my humble opinion.

Additionally, I think that ‘Diane’ is an incredibly beautiful name. It really somehow strikes a lot of power, doesn’t it? So, I’d go with Diane FOR SURE.

15. Describe each character’s daily outfit.

Kurt: Washed out jeans, his American Eagle belt (because… He Republican 😂), boots, a flannel shirt and his brown suede jacket when it’s cold outside (all of which he’s probably owned for at least 10 years already. He’s not exactly giving me big shopaholic vibes)… basically the Marlboro Man.

Diane: honestly, who’s to say? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really hope that McHart have like a dressing room, an attic or a garage that we just haven’t seen already, where she is keeping all her clothes besides that tiny ass wardrobe in their bedroom, because remember that beige jacket that she wore twice over the cause of ten fucking years? We have seen her in so, SO many different styles and outfits, I couldn’t possibly decide on one. And honestly, she can rock everything, a pant suit, a dress, jeans and a sweater, she always looks elegant and beautiful. The only thing that I’d say is that her clothing is always expensive because I think that this would be something her girly side would enjoy a lot, spending way too much money on clothes (And I mean, we also know that all of her clothes always come from big high-end labels, so there’s that).

16. Do any characters have distinctive birthmarks/scars?

Diane (a.k.a. Christine Baranski) has a very distinctive birthmark on her cheek, Kurt (a.k.a. Gary Cole) has a not so distinctive (imo) scar on his forehead.

If we go fanfiction specific with this one (Which I guess we are), Diane would also have a scar on the right side of her abdomen.

#fanfiction #fanfic #mchart #writing ask game #ask #this was plenty of fun #also please do tell me if you agree with the hogwarts houses #i'm such a sucker for that #look at me bitch i'm the sorting hat #diane lockhart #kurt mcveigh #thx for this anon

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fullmetalirin · 6 years

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Fullmetal Alchemist OG vs. Brotherhood: On Endings

One more post before the final analysis: as I compared the beginnings of the series, I'll also compare the endings. The ending can tell us a lot about a series and the author's intentions. What things did they want to resolve and how, and what did they want to leave us with?

Fullmetal Alchemist

Let's review the ending of OG first. OG had a climactic final confrontation, but it was a pretty restrained affair: Ed vs. Dante alone, and then Ed vs. Envy alone. It was very personal in nature, with Ed fighting alone to rescue his brother and discover the truth behind the homunculi and the Philosopher's Stone.

The true confrontation was philosophical in nature. Dante deconstructs the guiding principle of the series up to that point, the law of equivalent exchange, and reveals it to be a lie: there's no guarantee that hard work will pay off. There is no justice, she tells us; there's just us. The hero is stripped of his moral certainty and shaken to his core, but stubbornly clings to some hope that there is still some justice in the world. Hohenheim offers a parting gift: that Dante may be right, but by freeing yourself from the logic of equivalent exchange, you can also gain something for nothing.

For our climactic belly-of-the-whale moment, Ed straight-up dies. Al overcomes the hesitance and impotence that has weighed on him all series, and uses the immense power he's been granted to sacrifice himself for Ed's true resurrection in a mirror of Ed's own sacrifice for him at the start of the series.

Ed refuses to accept this. He wants to have it all. But he cannot get it: though he partially restores Al, he himself passes through the gateway, leaving the brothers separated. But meanwhile, the background characters who never bought into this nonsense in the first place are doing great. Rose is healing, Izumi is willing to teach Al, and Mustang's rebellion is a success.

It's a bittersweet ending: the heroes survive, gaining some of the things they sought but losing others. We are left uncertain about their fate, encouraged to reflect on what we've seen and what they've learned. It's a contemplative ending, meant to stick with you: it's on the audience to write the ending of the story, through living their own lives.

Now we'll compare that to…

FMA Brotherhood

Let's catch you up on what happened in the intervening time in Brotherhood real quick:

WINRY FINDS OUT SCAR KILLS HER PARENTS OH NO WHAT'S SHE GONNA DO oh nothing because Ed talks down the hysterical woman. What a relief!

LAN FAN LOSES HER ARM OH NO oh wait we have super prosthetics so she just gets automail and she's fine.

GLUTTONY SWALLOWS EVERYONE but it's okay they get out fine and also Ed finds something useful in there so actually this was good for the heroes.

BRADLEY TAKES RIZA HOSTAGE but does not actually kill her or anyone and Riza is still able to leak information to Mustang and escape when it actually matters so this is totally pointless except for sidelining the female action hero for a while.

FATHER SHOWS UP OH NO WHAT'S HE GONNA DO oh he's going to tell Ed he needs him alive for his plan and for some reason he can't just beat Ed into a coma so actually Ed is free to act with total impunity.

BUT OH WAIT HE TURNS LING INTO A HOMUNCULUS except actually Ling is still alive and will end up totally fine.

BRADLEY TAKES WINRY HOSTAGE WHAT'S HE GONNA MAKE ED DO oh he's just going to tell Ed to keep doing what he was already doing. Okay then.

Mustang was apparently friends with Riza's dad and Riza has the secrets of flame alchemy tattooed on her back, because this is shonen and everything has to have a convoluted explanation.

Envy frees Kimblee and makes him track down Scar who is also with Marcoh because adding more characters into this tangled mess is definitely a good idea.

Pride invites the Elrics into his house and Bradley shows up to menace them but not actually do anything. Pride continues to act like the most precocious kid ever I presume because he gets off on it? Is he already planning on jumping to Ed at this point?

Ed meets Olivier and is immediately imprisoned so Ed can twiddle his thumbs while we watch Olivier take over the plot for the next few episodes.

SHOCKING TWIST that Amestris was formed for the purpose of transmuting everyone into a Philosopher's Stone which is so absurdly over-the-top I cannot even

WHY DOES FATHER LOOK LIKE HOHENHEIM??? Because he tricked Hohenheim into giving him his face and actually Hohenheim is totally innocent because why have complex morally gray characters when we can atomize any possibility of that instead. (Also Father's original form looks absolutely nothing like how historical homunculi are drawn or described except that he's in a flask, even though homunculi's flasks are obviously artificial wombs and not literally part of their bodies why do I need to explain this.)

After several episodes of wheel-spinning the characters suddenly decide it's time for the finale so a hideously convoluted multi-front battle ensues.

They're fighting Envy and SUDDENLY RIZA POINTS A GUN AT MUSTANG OH NO CLIFFHANGER HAS ENVY TRICKED HIM no Envy turned into Mustang for some reason and Riza saw through it because the villains spent all their competence points killing Hughes.

Mustang curbstomps Envy because he's a Gary Stu but Ed doesn't want him to be consumed by vengeance because it was… so much better when he sadistically burned a homunculi to death for no reason at all?

RIZA'S THROAT IS SLIT AND MUSTANG HAS TO DO HUMAN TRANSMUTATION oh never mind she gets healed by the cavalry BUT SUDDENLY THE HOMUNCULI SHOW UP AND FORCE HIM TO DO HUMAN TRANSMUTATION ANYWAY… somehow… and OH NO HE GOES BLIND but he can still fight because he's a Gary Stu so it doesn't actually matter. Nothing ever actually matters.

Up to and including…

FMA Brotherhood Episode 61: "He Who Would Swallow God"

THE BAD GUY WINS! FATHER ACTIVATES HIS TRANSMUTATION CIRCLE! HE BECOMES GOD! ROCKS FALL, EVERYBODY DIES! Except oops, nevermind, turns out Hohenheim spilled the souls of his Philosopher's Stone all around the country offscreen and now they, for some reason, are helping the guy who helped trap them and destroy their country at no benefit to themselves. Somehow, they were not absorbed by the transmutation and can somehow free the souls of Amestrians. Somehow.

Seriously. This series has always been careful to surgically remove real tension from the story, but now it’s just atomizing its desecrated corpse. Everything, up to and including the villain succeeding at all his goals, will be reversed on a dime so the heroes can win. There is no longer any possibility that the heroes might get anything other than an absolutely perfect victory. This is terrible storytelling. It’s sacrificing all narrative coherence on the altar of one cool scene.

Ed shows up for five seconds to yell at Father but is useless because Father deactivates alchemy. This is followed by several minutes of Hohenheim ranting about how awesome he is and how important this confrontation is to him personally because why focus on the protagonist when we can spend all that time on his awful deadbeat dad.

Hohenheim's Stone is activated by the circle of the moon's shadow. Sure. Why not. Nothing else in this show has ever made sense, why start now.

Ed looks on in awe as Hohenheim exposits on the exact effects this will have on Father. Father shoots an energy blast at them and Hohenheim deflects it. Another energy blast, this time May deflects it because alkahestry still works and is perfectly suited to this because it's magic. Another energy blast, and Hohenheim blocks it again. But oh no, he's losing strength, so the protagonists play support for him.

Then we cut to Scar vs. Bradley. Bradley asks why he's using alchemy if that's against his religion, and asks if he's abandoned God. Scar does not answer.

How is Bradley defeated? He's blinded by the sun when the eclipse finishes and that negates the Ultimate Eye.

Seriously? Seriously? HE WEARS AN EYEPATCH. IF HE CAN SEE THROUGH AN EYEPATCH WHY CAN'T HE SEE THROUGH BLINDING LIGHT. Also how has this never happened in any of the other daytime fights.

Scar gets one hit on him and that kills him when the immortal legion which is explicitly made the exact same way as him have multiple lives because what is consistency. But what's this, Bradley manages to stab him in his last moments! Oh wow, is a major character actually going to die in the final battle??? No.

Then Bradley talks for a straight minute about pretentious nonsense. Wow, and here I was thinking OG had too much talking.

Then what Tumblr has helpfully informed me is our great disabled WOC representation sits there and demands to know if Hitler loved his wife, then she helps Scar over to his transmutation circle so he can learn the very important lesson that it's wrong for him to hate white people so now he's going to save them. Thanks, brown people! Still no answer to Bradley's questions. If they're answered earlier, you are free to tell me about it.

Bradley… ages to death? Why?

Alchemy is powered by tectonic movement, apparently. That is a reasonable but incredibly boring answer that does nothing to explain why soul goop empowers alchemy. (Also I guess they're slowing down the planet's rotation by doing this?)

Alchemy's reactivated so Ed finally does something and it's to… smash Father's throne. Wow. Great contribution, hero. Father throws another energy blast at him and Hohenheim defends.

"When will he run out of energy?" "I don't know!" And this is why I don't like Brotherhood homunculi. There's no sense of progress or scale. They're boss monsters who are always exactly as strong until they suddenly die. The battle lasts as long as the author wants it to.

Ed makes one substantial attack on Father who then shrugs it off.

Mustang is sad he's useless. CAN'T RELATE.

Ed asks what the homunculi's motivation is and gets a non-answer.

Kimblee is still alive in Pride because NO ONE IN THIS SHOW CAN EVER DIE. He nosells the soulstorm because he's just so special. He's mad that Pride is lowering himself to entering a human because for some reason he cares deeply about Pride's honor. Then Ed… turns himself into a Philosopher's Stone so he can enter Pride's mind, kills Pride, and turns him into a human baby? That's bizarre even by this show's standards.

Honestly that whole thing is so random. Pride does absolutely nothing during the battle with Father, then all of a sudden he grabs Ed and everyone else is like "sure whatever we'll leave you behind with the supermonster" because they've read the script, then Ed beats him in five seconds. This really looks to me like the author was going "Crap, crap, Ed hasn't beaten a single villain the whole story, quick, give him some token contribution."

FMA Brotherhood Episode 62: "A Fierce Counterattack"

Why does Trisha's soul have giant boobs in the OP.

Father is just absorbing people directly now because suddenly that doesn't need a circle.

Hohenheim leads the charge and gives a hero rant.

Father frees the souls in his Philosopher's Stone to make zombies. Why has no one ever done this before. What is even the point of this.

Izumi is horrified when a baby touches her because this show just loves hammering in how she's a frail woman traumatized by her inability to have babies.

Father uses Hyper Beam.

We spend another age talking about exactly who's going to go to the final battle. Olivier has to stay behind because she has a broken arm but the blind guy gets to go on ahead.

The Hyper Beam atomized half the building but Al and Hohenheim were somehow able to block it without dying. Ed's automail has taken damage but he can still move it because injuries are for losers.

Father smacks Hohenheim but he's still not dead.

Mustang burns the entire courtyard because what are power limits. (He explicitly says that actually every other time he's used fireballs he's been holding himself back, because this show just cannot stop escalating the Stu Power.) Riza is helping him aim because women get support roles. Mustang preens about clappy transmutation being awesome. Why does he even need to do that? He already has a transmutation circle on his gloves.

Then it's just three straight minutes of everyone blasting Father while Father just stands there looking grouchy. Greed attacks him and Father drops the shield to try to absorb him, but it doesn't matter because he can still raise walls at will without even clapping.

It looks like they might actually get a hit but Father pulls an energy blast out of nowhere. It destroys Ed's arm but somehow not any other part of him. Why doesn't he use his soul drain again? Why is anyone engaging in melee attacks against him when they have a whole battalion of soldiers to nuke him from orbit?

And now Ed and Ed alone is conveniently impaled just enough to immobilize him without giving him life-threatening injuries. This is so Alphonse can make the big sacrifice of repaying his soul to restore Ed's arm, because Truth is just such a nice person who trades so fairly in this. Somehow no one is able to attack Father during the long time they spend discussing this as he slooowly lumbers forward. Where did Greed go? His whole thing is invulnerability, he should totally still be mobile.

Shouldn't Ed's arm be mismatched on account of him losing it when he was way younger? And the fact he has automail welded into his shoulder? But the arm has just grown over that and somehow works fine. I guess Truth took care of that too because he's just so nice.

Ed screams a lot because that's his only emotion.

Yeah Greed is there, just watching this. So is everyone else, including the soldiers.

FMA Brotherhood Episode 63: "The Other Side of the Gateway"

And Ed is just punching him now. Because it's not like this series has "alchemist" in the title or anything. Everyone just stands there.

Then despite being weaker than he was before, Father is somehow able to pull out another nuke and then move super fast to grab Greed. Greed nobly sacrifices himself to kill Father because only homunculi are allowed the sweet release of death. But he still gets to talk with Ling for like a solid minute first about how totally irresistible Father's pull is.

We get a Sad Flashback Montage. Altogether I think it's longer than Al's sacrifice, and more people look sad. This show just has no concept of pacing. Putting noble sacrifices back-to-back diminishes the effect of each.

Then an extended sequence where Father gets a dressing-down by Truth. Last-minute contrived sympathetic moment where he's terrified of being reabsorbed by the Gate because he just wanted to experience the world. Too little too late, show. You cannot fix your complete failure to humanize him at all during the story with a last-minute reversal. Not every villain needs a humanizing sympathetic last moment. Sometimes it's better to just let them own their villainy. Like Dante!

(And given the way this show has handled previous villains I also get the impression we are supposed to laugh at how pathetic and scared he is, which makes me profoundly uncomfortable.)

Then everyone hands Ed a bunch of ways he can get Al back and he nobly refuses them and I'm sorry but I hate this. Him turning down one thing is just barely acceptable, but this utter deluge of possibilities just turns it into a farce for me. OH NO HOWEVER WILL WE SOLVE THIS TRAGEDY well actually there are a ton of solutions but we're going to turn them down to rationally come to the objectively perfect solution. There's no desperation, no tension or emotional weight. Also HE TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE USED HOHENHEIM, LET THAT DICKBAG BE GOOD FOR SOMETHING.

(Also, how on Earth is a Philosopher's Stone – a zillion lives – for one life an equivalent exchange?)

So instead Ed gives up his ability to use alchemy. Credit where credit's due, he does bring up Nina during his long, long speech about how very humble he is, which is a good callback. (Even though he really doesn't have that much reason to remember her in this continuity.)

TRUTH: That is the right answer, alchemist. You have beaten me.

And this is where it really clicked for me. This isn't about sacrifices, or moral choices, or tradeoffs. This is about winning. It's the gamer mentality: there is a perfectly optimal solution that will solve all your problems, and you just have to keep trying until you find it. Anything you lose you can get back if you just try harder. You never have to face any actual loss or consequence for your actions, because the world is fundamentally fair and just and will bail you out of everything if you can just figure out the right cheat code. That is the exact mentality OG so scathingly attacked in its conclusion, and I concur for all the reasons I've already stated. This all leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

When Al returns, May is hysterical but Hohenheim keeps a stiff upper lip.

Then Mustang declares he's going to… continue the Fuhrer's wishes? Of "national security" read: genocide?

Then Hohenheim reflects on his history with Homunculus because he's the real protagonist with a real connection to the villain. Armstrong tells him they'd have surely lost without Ed and Al despite all the evidence to the contrary. Y'know, maybe if Hohenheim didn't have to incapacitate himself shielding Ed's useless self he could've just solo'd Father with his superpowers. Also, if they were so integral why aren't they getting told this.

Then we continue following Hohenheim as he gets to calmly come to terms with his own mortality over Trisha's grave. Then he finally, finally dies.

I don't know why they keep doing the pixellated skin cracks. It looks so weird.

And then the ending montage is Hohenheim's entire life, because he was the real protagonist all along.

FMA Brotherhood Episode 64: "Journey's End"

We open with Mustang fixing Ishval. Team Mustang helpfully informs us they are doing this because they were so helpful in defeating Father. See, brown people, all you need to do is shut up and help the white people some more, and then they'll fix everything for you!

Marcoh is somehow still alive. He has a Philosopher's Stone because Brotherhood is just tripping over the things. He explicitly says it's made of Ishvalans and then says he wants to use it to heal Mustang's eyes "for the sake of Ishval". Wow. He instead nobly uses the souls of genocided brown people to heal the spine of a white dude, because being disabled is such a terrible, terrible fate no one could ever live with.

Cut to Scar. He's going to help restore Ishval's culture and religion, which I guess is cool with alchemy now? Also he's gonna be helped by an Ishvalan in the Amestrian military because the series really, really wants to hammer in that the oppressed have to work for the oppressors to get anything done.

Olivier seems to have saved Scar just to punk Mustang and oh my god is she still using kisama for Scar? Why is she such an awful person.

We cut to the Elrics, for once at a relatively reasonable point. Al is still recovering from muscle atrophy. Boy, it sure is a good thing there was an utterly nonsensical Deus ex Machina that prevented him from starving to death. Otherwise the heroes might not have gotten absolutely everything they wanted.

Oh, Fu died? So one character was polite enough to remove themselves from this hideously bloated cast after all. Good on you, Fu.

Ed ships Al and the little girl. Ew. Is this revenge for Al shipping Ed with his surrogate sister?

Ah, Al wants to learn alkahestry so he can save people like Nina in the future. That's good but really just hammers in how ridiculous it is alkahestry isn't common knowledge already.

Winry is being a nag and Ed is being a tsundere. Het culture continues to baffle me. He awkwardly proposes with equivalent exchange. Winry jokingly says equivalent exchange is nonsense. If only.

Ed is taller than Winry now. Boy it sure is great his growth wasn't stunted, that would almost be a consequence.

Ed ends by affirming equivalent exchange.

May is adult height in the ending photo, so yyyyeeeah that wasn't just stylistic, that was a little kid Al was crushing on.

WHY IS YOKI STILL ALIVE

Conclusion

So, uh, yeah, I'm honestly not impressed by the final boss fight. It's more a montage of everyone showing off their best moves than, you know, a fight. OG's battles with Greed and Sloth were much more visually and tactically interesting to me. I also don't like the battle royale aspect, and Al's sacrifice feels so tepid next to actually bringing Ed back from the dead. I did actually mist up a bit at Hohenheim offering to sacrifice himself, but it was ruined when my logical brain reminded me of the context and how yeah, there is no reason not to sacrifice him and he 100% deserves it. Honestly, though, I don't think I would have minded if the show had actually committed to its obvious desire to make Hohenheim the protagonist? He really is better-suited to it. He has an actual personal connection to the villain; he's the one making an actual sacrifice by turning against him; and he's the party member with the most power (except maybe MUSTANG THE MOST SPECIALEST). I genuinely think his death by the grave would have worked as an ending to the series, emotionally, if he had been the protagonist from the start. But then we'd have to have an old geezer as the protagonist of a shonen and that's just unthinkable.

For real, though, Brotherhood's finale is a great shonen finale. It is very prettily drawn and well-animated, and adequately wraps up the massive tangle of storylines with a feel-good bow. Everyone gets what they want and everyone's happy. The heroes' beliefs are affirmed. All problems are solved forever.

It's also all flash and no substance.

I read an interactive webcomic once, called NanQuest. As to be expected from an interactive story, it was pretty spiralling, and had a rather open-ended conclusion that left some mysteries unanswered. In the Q&A afterward, people hounded the author with questions, asking him what was going on with X, why didn't we get resolution on Y. I was right there with them.

In response, the author said something that stuck with me: "[The story is] like life. It's messy, not clean. No last words."

Now, you can say that's a load of crock, just a lazy author covering his butt with some pretentious platitude. And you might not be wrong. I certainly feel the same about a lot of works I feel are too open-ended. But in the case of NanQuest, I thought it made perfect sense, and put some things in perspective for me. Because you know, he's right. In real life, we don't always get to wrap everything up to our satisfaction before the end. Some problems are bigger than us. You can't dismantle a system of racism in a day or even a year. You can't always save everyone. You can't always get a perfect narrative finish to your subplots, a perfect fairytale ending. You don't always get last words.

We love stories because they're a world where we can get all those things. That's a comforting fantasy... but after I'm finished it just fades into the mists as I get up for another flawed, imperfect day in my life. And… maybe I'm just weird, but when a fantasy is too happy, it actually makes me feel worse. It doesn't mean anything to me when you say that these perfect people who had everything stacked in their favor got a happy ending. That makes me say, "But I'm not those people. This happy ending is for people who aren't me, who are better people than me." It's when I see horribly flawed characters go through awful trials and still make it out in the end that I can allow myself to think maybe I'll be okay too. It's through imperfections in stories that life bleeds through, that we are able to take something back with us. And I, personally, think that verisimilitude is worth some visceral dissatisfaction at the imperfection of a narrative.

What were Brotherhood's last words? The things it wanted to make sure happened before the end? A comforting lie. The world is just, it says. As long as you work hard enough, you can achieve your dreams. It doesn't matter how many sacrifices you have to make or how many people you have to hurt, because you can fix that too, in the end.

What were OG's last words? A hard truth. You can give everything you have and still lose. You can't have it all. At some point, you have to recognize that you're better off leaving the scab alone. There was no justice in Trisha's death. In trying to fix it, to assert justice onto the world, they only hurt themselves more. In trying to fix that, they hurt more than just themselves. But maybe, if they can accept that, they can find happiness in what still remains to them; maybe if it's possible to lose something and gain nothing, it's possible to get something for nothing too. Maybe. We don't know. It doesn't pretend to have all the answers. It's on us to complete this story, to take these lessons into our own lives. That's not a fun ending. But it's still, in its own way, a good one.

#fullmetal alchemist #fma #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fma 2003 #liveblog

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perfectackeracy · 6 years

Text

“When the story stops sucking...”

Ok so you’ve probably noticed my lack of reviews and activity in general. Even the anime didn’t make me raise my voice more than usual lately.

I’m gonna make it short: my lack of activity on meta and theories is mostly due to a lack of passion and interest regarding the manga events. It’s been since April that I haven’t written anything globally consistent, and it was mostly because the chapters were devoid of an interesting topic to elaborate upon. Everything I wanted to say was scattered in my asks and I had no motivation to sum everything up.

When I first started this blog, I mostly held theories about what was going outside the walls, what were the enemy’s true motivations and how the story could end. Even after the dull battle that was RtS, there was still something to elaborate upon: who was Zeke? What’s going to happen to Reiner and Bertolt from now on? What’s located inside the basement? What is the truth behind the world? Back in the day, I was more passionate on character analysis and what lies behind their motives.

The first major ragequit I’ve experienced was two years ago: two of my favorite characters died for some cheap, unnecessary drama (that wasn’t that unnecessary when you analyze Isayama’s words). At that time, when the basement’s secrets were revealed, I was more interested in how things can turn dark on Paradis than attachment to what’s left of the characters, since my favorites were on the other side of the ocean, dead or dead inside. Still, the prospect of a dark Eren following the wrong path because he can ws interesting enough to keep me interested.

Then we’ve got the Marley arc. An arc I was more than happy to follow, with an exclusive point of view from the fighters located on the other side, a team which has my favorite and a bunch of kids I came to appreciate. Naturally I would deliver as I’ve always delivered up until a certain point. You had Reiner dealing with the pain and the guilt accumulated through these years, the interactions between the group of warriors, an empire on decline, Zeke’s questionable motives, Eren’s presence that will ultimately cast doom, not only on Marley but also on the rest of the world, including Paradis.

Then the SC came and things weren’t as interesting anymore…

It’s almost as if the SC’s reintroduction brought anything I didn’t want out of the series: we’ve got the same dull fights since RtS, the same plot-armored cast, the same sob comedy we had an arc ago and Zeke’s character who currently looks like an expy of Light Yagami and his 456138D chess consisting in anticipating everybody to accomplish his goals. The entirety of Vol. 26 was more a deception than a satisfactory volume.

We’ve transitioned from a geopolitical festival to a full-fledged battle with a twist at the end, as well as some flashbacks, and the whole thing was either dull or laughable. Let’s review this point by point to show you how disappointing this whole mess was.

The action sequence

To summarize the whole battle: Eren transforms into the Attack Titan, the Warhammer had him cornered, Mikasa saves him at the last minute, Jean and co. barge in and defeat the Marleyan troops, Warhammer has more resources but Eren can put two and two, Porco comes to Sister Tybur’s rescue but overestimated Paradis, Porco was saved by Pieck, Zeke comes in, Zeke has to act, Armin nukes the harbor, Porco gets distracted and fucks up, which leads to Zeke being captured and Pieck fucking up, as Pieck was about to be finished, Falco and Magath interfere, the kids hide Pieck, Porco fights against Eren but panics in front of the zeppelin, screw up and allowed Eren to use him as a nutcracker, Porco almost dies but is rescued by a suicidal Reiner, everybody boards up safely and fuck off from Liberio with Zeke, another titan power, and the last remaining cadets, one of them successfully killing a soldier who had death flags on her for a long time.

To be frank, I’m not sure how people can think it’s a good battle overall. On one hand, you have a bunch of soldiers in gear with titanium plot armor and on the other hand you have a team of warriors who need to be ridiculed through and through and pass for incompetents as Eren does his job without suffering any consequences during the battle. The most active, Pieck and Porco went from careful to suddenly disoriented, being put down by their enemies just like that, not making this fight even equal. It’s not even close to RtS’ sense of battle, where the SC was backed against the wall before returning the situation with crappy tactics. Here, we’re witnessing an emergency plan working rather well. Too well even. 6 deaths in total? Really? On the other hands, you’ve got Marley depleted from two more titan powers, Pieck’s panzer unit and a couple of soldiers.

Concerning titan fights, Porco and Lady Tybur held their own against Eren but were wrecked not so long after they gave their best. Porco in particular is a huge contradiction, who went from prideful (vs. Levi) to careful (to Pieck) to outright rushing everything (seeing the Colossus and seeing the blimp). It was a bit embarrassing on his behalf.

The battle also recycles some common elements that are quite tiresome to watch: Mikasa saving Eren when he’s getting backed in a corner, Armin’s basic plans -that nobody could ever guess-, always working while everybody acts like a clueless moron around him, Jean being contradictory… For an arc supposed to illustrate the divergence of the main trio, there wasn’t much to show except both Mikasa and Armin being disappointed in Eren’s actions.

Even the major deaths of this arc were neither shocking nor impactful. The most shocking deaths I can recall were Udo and Zofia’s because they were kids, but they weren’t painted as prominent characters in the cadet batch unlike Falco and Gabi. Next we had Willy Tybur, whose death was expected in the same chapter he died in, his sister, who had a fair chance to only serve as a placeholder to be eaten, and Sasha, who not only had red flags being painted all over her (killing the guards in front of Gabi, being the only one not wearing a breast plate), but was the subject of Isayama’s planned death (from Oita’s Q&A, March 2018). Sasha was already a non-character at this point, and him spending a whole funeral (when no other character got this privilege) was just plain obnoxious.

The characters

I’m still amazed -and not in a good way- by how bland the main staff became. Supposing it was remotely entertaining to make me root for them, my thoughts would’ve been something other than “Jesus fucking christ when will someone die already Gabi please shoot these fuckers”.

In simpler terms, Eren is by far the most entertaining character of the SC so far. While I understand the need to oppose Eren to his comrades in terms of ideology, his opponents are either uncaptivating or uninteresting to watch.

Armin is, of course and by far, the biggest offender. From the victim of Eren’s actions, he’s the one who opposes Eren’s individualistic views, but his character -or rather, his lack of- makes it hard to sympathize with. Simply speaking, a simpleton like him would’ve been better if he didn’t enjoy himself like an idiot after not only inheriting the CT, but also living at the price of Erwin. His unexplainable mastery of the CT at the same level than a natural like Bertolt, as well as a poor copypaste of the sad giant who never wanted this feels at the same time forced, redundant and bent over for the character’s convenience. The way a gary-stu would. To add more on the injury, Hange, the commander, passes as a complete buffoon in front of him, going as far as to praise his basic plans and compare him to Erwin. When you combine Isayama’s interviews and his position in the story, the way he comes off as a special snowflake feels unwanted. Even more when he got to live at the expense of two -potentially- more interesting and more popular characters.

In the end, we’ve got an amalgamate trying to narrate the story to Annie, who wasn’t seen for six years, but who was used as a confidence pillow. Considering Armin is a grown man who, in the end, chose to go with Eren and used gary stu nukes against Marley, am I supposed to sympathize with this? You know, it’s a good thing Armin tanked in popularity. His character was borderline insufferable in the former arc, and in this one, you just wish someone would mercy crunch him.

Fortunately Armin is by far the worst, but other members have their characters suffering post-timeskip. Special mentions to Hange and Levi. Hange either switched between the eccentric clown and the serious commander. While I’m ok with them being less competent than Erwin due to the pressure, they’re also a vet losing all their team members and yet displaying the personality they always did before timeskip. It’s no longer the squad leader specializing in research, but the commander, sometimes incapable to maintain a serious side, like when Yelena introduced the anti-Marley soldiers. While there’s a certain pressure coming from Zeke’s directives but also Eren’s decisions, their whole character is somewhat lackluster. Going from almost leaving the strategies to Armin to outright try and be friendly with Eren while he’s, once again, jailed, right after scolding him.

Moving on to Levi, while he held his promise for later I’m under the impression he became a meme without convictions more than anything. All he does in these chapters is threatening Zeke, which can be fun the first time but quickly becomes annoying, since we’re getting back in the old ways where Levi lacked development and was simply the clean freak, who also happened to be Paradis’ strongest soldier. He doesn’t have much usefulness in the story except being the sharp razor cutter of the group. Considering what Isayama said in the character directory it had to be expected, but it’s still annoying.

The character I’m feeling sad for so far are Historia and Reiner: Historia because she still doesn’t know what she really wants and bends again to someone else’s demands, even giving her body to fill the conditions of a potential savior, all at the expense of her freedom, pride and happiness. I’m surprised she agreed with Kiyomi’s conditions so quickly, however. Meanwhile Reiner was feeling suicidal up to the point of letting himself die. Had it not been for Gabi and Falco calling him, Porco would be dead. Still disappointed the volume didn’t end on his point of view. Besides, I was expecting him thinking about Bertolt during his coma, since Eren picking him up was similar to how Bertolt picked him up as they were kids. Yet another blueballing moment for Bertolt’s closure… Oh well.

Jean is more or less okay. His character is consistent, but he feels to much like an underdog in comparison of other characters who have been put in front. He’s still the same guy who acts tough but still has a moment of hesitation. I still don’t get why he’s used for convenient survivals, especially when he decided to not toss Gabi and Falco away from the blimp. Gabi, a trained soldier, killed Sasha, who was one of your besties for a long time? Ok let’s not throw them out and blame Eren on this whole fiasco!

I’ve said my mind about Floch, but him becoming a fanboy of Eren was unexpected and I’m curious to see what role he’s going to play in the future. Connie’s reactions to him teaming up with the man who was responsible for his village being devastated is too lackluster. Still, him describing Sasha’s loss as a part of him dying was touching.

Sasha was practically a non-character whose death would’ve been more impactful if it was set on for earlier. Isayama let her not only for the sidelines for way too long, but she ended up being the only “major” death on Paradis, with a couple of death flags on her. The result was not only predictable, but quite obnoxious with the over-extended funeral. Her character never got past the food jokes and Isayama is adding another layer of grief and mourning. Layer that could be shortened and used for something else. If there was another one I’d say ok, but this extra mourning is just really unnecessary. No character, not even Erwin, had this treatment before. Is it happening because Sasha doesn’t require much plot significance like Marco?

Gabi deserves my appreciation however. Her motivations to become a warrior were touching and understandable if you’re a member of a minority who strives to be accepted among other folks who sees you and your upbringing as inferior.

Zeke is a complete enigma. His actions are the ones impacting the plot the most and I really don’t know what to make of this. His movies are clear and at the same time they aren’t. Clear in the sense that he plays everybody like a fiddle to reach some goal. Unclear in the sense we don’t understand precisely what this goal is and what pushes Zeke to do this. Whether it’s for the common good or his own safety. The keikaku master exposition is becoming old if we keep exploring yet again what’s happening on Paradis on the third year. It’s cool Zeke is at the origin of both solutions and conflicts, but nothing is really explained.

The current plot

Or more accurately, monkey shenanigans 2.0. They’re not really the most compelling but they’re interesting enough to follow the series monthly. Despite that, we’re getting more questions than answers with all these chapters. If Zeke sides with neither camp, what is he fighting for exactly?

Since vol. 26 was mostly battles, not much questions have been answered to, and in the end, we’re spending more time with Paradis’ cast, getting more and more unlikeable with each chapter, falling into their own ways, rather than finishing with Marley, a cast we’re accustomed to since vol. 23. It would’ve been much better to end the battle of Liberio on Marley’s point of view first, then explain the flashbacks after. Engaging on an exposition dump was a clumsy move, and ending the battle to see a bunch of soldiers attacking another nation like terrorists acting like a bunch of clowns feels off compared to the settled tone.

Plus, so many scenes could’ve been shortened or skipped to insert other character moments instead. Sasha’s funeral comes to mind. You could’ve cut it half and have Historia thinking about Ymir when Kiyomi made her a proposition. The food jokes are outdated anyway and they make the story feel more embarrassing to read than comical. Same thing as Levi threatening to make a sopa de macaco. Still a tier better than food jokes, but still annoying.

The sudden transition to Paradis really makes me wonder, overall, why I should care about these fucks while the Marley arc started with another perspective? You just can’t let things unfinished and have an exposition dump in the meantime.

#snk spoilers #snk 107 #snk vol 23 #snk #attack on titan #snk meta #meta #on a positive note #pixis is the best character on paradis so far

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closetofanxiety · 6 years

Text

Nitromare: We Got Some Hot Action in the Ring Tonight

The date: Monday, November 15, 1999

The place: Little Rock, Arkansas, the Alltel Arena

The occasion: One month into the Russo-Ferrara tenure at WCW and “one fo the most important nights of 1999,” according to Tony Schiavone

H/t to Mark for the screen caps

We open up with an actual wrestling match. Or, I guess, an approximation of a wrestling match. Norman Smiley comes out in full football pads. Jimmy Hart comes out in a Renaissance Faire suit of armor. I never understood why they call medieval cosplay events Renaissance fairs. Different time periods, folks.

This is a terrible travesty, and Brian Knobbs comes out to hit Smiley in the head with an unprotected chair shot. The 1990s, ladies and gentlemen. The crowd is hot, at least. They are cheering Norman and booing Hart and Knobbs. I tell you what, Knobbs had a transcendentally cascading mullet deep into the 1990s. Good for him. Norman gets the pin in 4:46 after one of the worst table spots I have ever seen in my life.

“There’s more competition here than you’ll see in the World Series or the Super Bowl,” Bobby Heenan says. That seems preposterous, but the ‘99 Series saw the Yankees sweep the Braves, and the Super Bowl was a lackluster win for the Broncos. So ... maybe? Maybe Brain is correct?

We get recap and a backstage skit where some of the Nitro Girls scuffle. Russo was really eager to make the Nitro Girls into wrestlers.

The Outsiders come out. This is the episode where Nash has a horrific makeup job to make him look like Sid Vicious, which has attained a degree of immortality in wrestling social media circles where people post out-of-context screen captures. In fairness, it’s a pretty uncanny likeness: Big Kev looks like a “Spitting Image” puppet version of Sid.

Sid comes out to a big pop. Ah, this is the one where he says “You are only half the man I am, and I have half the brain you do.” This is kind of a classic episode for devotees of Sid’s unintentional comedy.

Backstage with Russo, who still hasn’t appeared on camera, berating Kim Page and telling her that she has to wrestle Asya. Russo is mad because Kim doesn’t want to be a Nitro Girl anymore. This is ironic, as Russo didn’t want the Nitro Girls to be Nitro Girls anymore.

Booker T comes out for a handicap match against Creative Control, the latest identity for Ron and Don Harris. I believe they were “Skull” and ... “8Ball” (?) in the WWE during the Gang Wars period. Here they are guys in suits enforcing the will of Russo. The crowd is still really hot. They love Booker T. The Harris Twins win clean (well, as clean as you can get in a handicap match) and the crowd is livid. Then the lights go out and the mysterious woman from last week is in the ring. She and Booker T go to town on the Harrises. WCW really wanted their own Chyna, boy.

Backstage with the Harris Twins being berated by Vince, who brings up their unsuccessful WWF gimmicks, namechecks Dutch Mantell and scoffs, “Yeah, remember DOA? That was really over.” If there was one thing WCW’s still-huge TV audience couldn’t get enough of, it was INSIDER MINUTIAE.

Evan Karagias comes out to wrestle your older cousin who never seems to hold a job for more than a couple of weeks. Approximately: a normal-ass guy in jeans and a tank top. This is Johnny Boone, the WCW referee that Karagias scrapped with last week. The commentary team does a bad job of explaining this. Madusa interferes, hypnotizing Johnny Boone with her womanly wiles, and Karagias gets the roll-up win in 2:50.

We cut to Dr. Death Steve Williams coming into the building with “Oklahoma,” one of the worst ideas of the Russo era. This was Ed Ferrara doing an impression of Jim Ross that included mocking Ross’ Bell’s palsy.

We have a five-way Piñata on a Pole match between El Dandy, Juventud Guerrero, Psicosis, Silver King, and Villano V. Most of the match is devoted to Ferrera’s shitty Jim Ross impression. Steve Williams looks like he would rather be getting a root canal. The average “BAH GAWD HE’S BROKEN IN HALF” YouTube parody clip is a better JR impression than Ferrara, who was last heard from teaching creative writing at the for-profit, accreditation-challenged money pit known as Full Sail University.

The match ends in a no-contest when Dr. Death runs in and beats up all the luchadors. It sucks. Everything about this sucks.

Goldberg vs. Curt Hennig with a needlessly complicated stipulation that involves Hennig’s career. It’s a good nasty brawl that starts in the back before the bell rings. Hennig could still perform at a high level even in this shitshow. He taps out to what might charitably be called a figure four in 4:23. Goldberg celebrates his victory by spearing and jackhammering Hennig, who has not lost his WCW contract despite losing the match, because he tapped out rather than getting pinned. Or something.

The Misfits come down with Vampiro, for a match against Berlyn. Or maybe it’s a handicap match? Or a tag match? Berlyn and the Wall (hur hur) are wrestling four guys, although three of them are the Misfits. One of the Misfits who is not Jerry Only (Doyle?) takes a chokeslam from the wall, and lands on his neck rather than his back. That looks extremely painful.

The Wall and Berlyn have the match won, but start fighting amongst themselves instead of getting the pin. Maybe one was from East Germany and one from West Germany. At any rate, after some arguing, the Wall gets the pin on Vampiro, who then gets whipped by a chain-wielding Berlyn.

For some reason, Torrie Wilson is being forced to referee a match by a still-unseen Vince Russo. She has to wear a bikini while doing it, because of course she does. She protests. “Have a cream soda!” Russo says, for some reason. Then he dismisses her by saying “Go on, hit the skids,” probably meaning “hit the bricks,” but “hit the skids” was certainly a fair summation of Nitro’s trajectory under Vince Russo.

Sid Vicious and Rick Steiner are wrestling. It immediately turns into a brawl through the crowd, which the crowd loves. Someone in the audience has a sign that says “Big Johnson, Inc.” This is all Sid, because Rick Steiner had pretty much had it by this point in his career. Sid powerbombs Steiner through the wooden stage, which is pretty great.

“The Millennium is upon us,” Sid tells Tenay backstage.

We’re backstage and the Barbarian and Gerry Flynn (Gary Flynn?) are having an “MMA-style fight” for some reason. There’s no explanation for any of this. “This is WCW’s version of a fight club,” Tony Schiavone says. Tony: the entire wrestling promotion is a fight club.

If this had been a real fight, Barbarian would have killed this guy, whoever he is. Barbarian is one of the famously legitimate tough guys in wrestling history.

I don’t know why this exists on this program. It ends.

Asya and Kim Page are going to have what a fan’s sign describes as a “cat fight,” with a bikini-clad Torrie Wilson officiating. “Oh Lordy!” Tony shouts. She’s not good at being a referee, because she gets into a (JOEY STYLES VOICE) catfight!!!! with Asya. Then the Filthy Animals come out and take Torrie away. Kim puts a sleeper hold on Asya, although there is now no referee, sexxxy or otherwise.

One thing this terrible exercise in self-hatred has taught me: I really like Kim Page.

David Flair comes out with a ref shirt and a crowbar. Kim Page runs away. Asya beats the shit out of Flair, dropping the elbow onto his crotch. “Right in the Man Department!” Heenan says, and I laugh out loud.

Flair turns it around and starts beating on Asya. The Revolution comes out and saves her. A match that started out as Asya vs. Kim Page ends as Dean Malenko vs. David Flair.

Now we have Scott Hall vs. Chris Benoit, another match in the never-ending heavyweight title tournament. “How Bout Those Hogs,” a sign in the crowd asks.

Hall comes out with Nash. Benoit comes out with Bret Hart, because Canadians stick together. Benoit was a Stu Hart guy too, if I recall correctly.

This could be a decent match. Hall still had gas left in the tank at this point, and Benoit was on the road to becoming arguably the best in the world.

It starts well, with both guys trying to take the measure of the other, eventually settling into an exchange of truly brutal chops. Hall gets the upper hand with the help of Nash. Hart is not doing much to help Benoit beyond pointing sternly at Nash.

“Marry Me Julie!” a sign in the crowd pleads. Julie: think hard about this.

Benoit rallies and knocks Hall out of the ring. Nash begins beating on Benoit as referee Nick Patrick looks on. For some reason this is not grounds for a disqualification. Bret Hart walks over and is very cross indeed, but doesn’t do anything. In the ring, Sid runs in and powerbombs Hall. Benoit gets back in the ring and hits his diving headbutt, then gets the win via submission. The whole thing takes 9:38. It’s OK.

Another match in the longest title tournament in history, because this will never end. Ever. This time it’s Bret Hart vs. Billy Kidman, and Rey is joining Tony and Brain on commentary. It’s pretty good, but before long Scott Hall and Kevin Nash walk out and start brawling with Konnan and Eddie Guerrero. For some reason. Kidman taps to the Sharpshooter in 3:46.

How is it possible that there are still matches left in this tournament? It evidently is, because we have another one: Buff Bagwell vs. Jeff Jarrett. Tony starts calling Jeff “The fair-haired child of ...” and then there’s like 10 seconds of silence, probably with Tony trying to remember if he’s allowed to mention Jerry Jarrett’s name on TV. He plays it safe and says, “... of the Powers That Be.”

The match gets off to a good start, and then the Harris twins come down to the ring. They interfere, but the referee doesn’t see it because he’s ... tying his shoe. Jarrett gets the win, and then he and the Harris boys beat on Bagwell. Dustin Rhodes runs in to make the save. The crowd loves it. An old-school babyface tag team of Dustin Rhodes and Bagwell probably would have been really popular, but why would you do something that people would want to see?

Backstage, Bill Goldberg slams his head against a Surge soda pop vending machine, and a can of Surge pops out. There is nothing more Late Nineties than this moment.

We’re getting a cage match now, pitting Malenko and Perry Saturn of the Revolution vs. Konnan and Eddie of the Filthy Animals. This isn’t the main event, meaning they set up and broke down the cage during the show.

Shane Douglas joins the commentary team. “You’re like every other mark on the Internet who thinks they can call this better than me,” Tony says. This sucks so bad.

Eddie gets handcuffed to the cage while Konnan brawls with Malenko and Saturn. “Eddie’s trapped like a bug in a rug!” Douglas says, apparently not understanding that turn of phrase.

Saturn and Malenko now handcuff Konnan to the cage, and we have a sexxxy bondage match. Douglas enters the ring and the referee calls for the bell at 2:57. They set up a steel cage for a match that didn't even last three minutes.

Luger and Liz come down to the ring for, I think, ANOTHER match in the Tournament That Cannot And Will Not End. It’s against Stinger. Luger tried to trick Sting into eating brownies loaded with laxatives before the match, because eating a plate of baked goods is absolutely part of Sting’s pre-match training regimen. Instead, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, trapped in some version of hell, intercepted the brownies and ate them. I hate that I am even typing these sentences.

Sting just starts beating the shit out of Luger, and the crowd loves it. This reminds me that there really was a WCW audience that just stopped following wrestling after 2001, instead of jumping to WWE or picking up on TNA. Sometimes that happens. America used to be full of boxing fans.

“These two men have been friends ever since they came into this sport together,” Tony says, then quickly corrects himself: “I mean, into this business together.” Did Russo ban mentions of wrestling as a sport?

The match is good until it Russofies:

Ref bump - Liz maces Sting - Lex puts Sting in the torture rack - Meng runs in and starts killing Luger - Liz maces Meng - mace means nothing to Meng - Meng puts Sting on top of Luger - ref counts the pin

Backstage, we’re in a toilet stall with Jim Duggan, feeling the effects of the laxatives. Why was I permitted to do this. To do any of this.

Finally, mercifully, it’s time for the main event: a streetfight between Sid and Nash. They start brawling outside the ring even before the bell.

“This is going to be the best pay-per-view in the history of pay-per-views,” Heenan says of the upcoming Mayhem 1999, which, as it would turn out, was not quite that good.

Back when I did a wrestling podcast, one of our running gags was that we were perpetually in search of a good Kevin Nash match. This is not that match. A lot of sluggish brawling around the ring, occasionally in the ring. I think a double axe handle is the only “move” in the first five minutes, apart from punches and knees.

“These two can go all night,” Brain says, perhaps while watching a VHS tape showing a Kawada-Misawa match instead of this.

There can’t be a single match without a run-in, and this time it’s Hall. He and Nash team up and start beating on Sid. It’s legal, because this is a streetfight. Then Goldberg runs in, but that is not legal for some reason. Maybe this is an anti-Semitic street where the fight is happening. The ref calls for the bell. There’s a disqualification. Sid now gives Goldberg a low blow and starts beating on him, and Bret Hart runs out to make the save.

This was completely bad.

#Nitromare #WCW #1990s wrestling #show reviews

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freedom-of-fanfic · 6 years

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I'm kind of torn on the Mary Sue issue. On one hand, I don't care what anyone writes for their own amusement, but writing is still an art that does and should have standards for professionals. As someone who has degrees in writing and does it as a profession, it's a little insulting to be told that the work your poured tons of research and time into is on the same level as amateur self-insert fic. That's why I advocate for different standards for fandom vs pro work.

I feel you, anon. and I have a lot of respect for people like you who got degrees and write professionally, because words are held rather cheap with the internet being around and anyone who can get paid to write words impresses me to some degree. but:

I’ve always felt like comparing fanfic and original fiction to be not exactly congruous? and

I think Mary Sue suffers from maligning because she’s disproportionately evoked by the youngest/least experienced of writers.

this got … pretty long … so i’m dividing it up a little for ease.

the concept of ‘standards’

first of all, I also advocate for different standards between published/professional/marketed works and fan works, but I do so because of 1)potential spread and 2)they aren’t accomplishing the same thing.

In general, a fanwork will have limited appeal outside of the fans of the canon the work is based in; they cannot stand on their own without some additional effort. Further, fandom has its own language to some degree or another, and fanworks are frequently best understood in the context of other fanworks, like scientific papers citing other scientific papers in passing because the audience is expected to be other scientists in the field who have read it. In other words: the audience is probably fairly niche and in on the ‘lingo’. its potential damage circle is therefore relatively small. if somebody fucks up their research for a fic, it’s nbd, for instance.

On the other hand, an original work with a professional marketing team will certainly reach a much more diverse audience and probably a much larger one. It’s therefore responsible, imo, to be proportionately aware of the potential impact of the subject material and approach it accordingly (though true fiction will always have an unpredictable effect on any given individual, so there’s only so much the creator can do). I’d expect accuracy where research was done, if for no other reason than to avoid spreading false information to such a big potential audience.

and of course I’d hope that if somebody is being paid to write, their grammar/prose/proofreading will meet a certain standard of readability. (the same cannot be expected of free works done for fun that take a few minutes to post on the internet.)

having said that: standards for quality fiction writing will always be subjective. I’m always going to have questions about why The Sound and the Fury is an American classic (I couldn’t make sense of it no matter how hard I tried). What gets published can be as simple as having good luck with the slush pile reader that day. I’ve seen fanfiction complimented with incredible research: there’s a Tokyo Babylon work-in-progress with an author who has traveled to fic-relevant locales to nail story and character details. I feel the line is blurring these days, especially because there are people who make a living off writing commissioned fanfiction now (too small-scale to be an IP concern, of course).

I think the fundamental difference between fanworks and original works is not quality of the work itself or effort expended. It’s related to structure and aim.

Fanworks, even AU fanworks, are like interior decoration. A 'good fanwork’, even an AU fanwork, works within a pre-built framework to elaborate on or add to or evoke what drew its audience to the framework in the first place.

Original works build a whole new house, creating a new framework from bare construction materials to draw in and house the emotions of its readers. (and then maybe its readers decorate the house with their own fanfic.)

tl;dr: if an AU fanfic was so different from canon and the characters were so OOC that the author can shave the serial numbers off and repurpose it as an original story, it might be a great original work. But it wasn’t a very good fanfic, was it?

why is mary sue so offensive to us?

I don’t know if you’ve ever read the post Mary Sue, What Are You?, but what I keep coming back to is its iconic opening. the author describes an OC at length: orphaned as a child when her parents were killed in front of her, she decided she would dedicate her life to fighting for justice. She grew up to be rich, athletic, beautiful, sexy, angsty, a genius, undefeatable in a battle of wits and agility, and everyone who meets her is instantly lovestruck. In other words, a classic Mary Sue …

but also Batman with female pronouns.

I think one could argue that Batman is not always well-written, but the relevant point here is that Batman - and Mary Sue - might be 99.9% perfection in the shape of a human around whom the universe revolves, but if its their own canon and the universe doesn’t recognize their perfection the way the reader/writer does, it’s not really 'bad’. (And there’s something to be said about why giving this power fantasy male pronouns seems to render it so much more palatable than female pronouns, but for more on that I point you to the referenced essay.)

Your ask is worded to suggest that Mary Sue is synonymous with unprofessional writing. I … kind of agree? Mary Sue is frequently the main character of Baby’s First Fanfic, and let’s be real: Baby’s First Fanfic is often being written by somebody who might be as young (or younger than) 12-13 years old, with all the inexperience, grammar mistakes, and lack of training that suggests. and as far as characterization goes, I think that anyone who takes decent writing classes will be discouraged from writing a Mary Sue. But like Batman, Mary Sue can be a perfect princess and get away with it under certain circumstances.

I posit that Mary Sue characters (or Gary Stus) - whom I will call Flawless OCs from here - are not really a problem on their own. Further, Flawless OC is more agregious in fanfic than original works. Because what makes the Flawless OC so irritating isn’t their perfection, really: it’s what the character’s presence must do to the universe (which is, in the case of fanfic, the universe the reader came to experience in the first place) that’s the real problem.

To show what a good fighter Flawless OC is, they defeat the best canon fighter.

Flawless OC has a backstory more tragic and painful than the most tragic canon backstory, and they cope with the trauma of it better.

There’s no room for Flawless OC because canon wasn’t holding a spot open for a self-insert, so now there’s a 6th Lion or a 10th Fellowship member or a Second Child Who Survived Voldemort.

The entire universe bends to ensure Flawless OC has perfect luck; their enemies are helpless before them. Everything seems to go their way except in the chapter where the their love interest is supposed to rescue them from danger. (the rescue goes flawlessly, of course.)

Depending on the author wish that Flawless OC is meant to fulfill, Flawless OC will defeat any undefeatable enemy, solve the unsolveable problem, be the envy or lust object of any character, etc etc, often without regard for the original context of the enemy/problem or the canon personality of the character.

In short, Flawless OC usually have two major issues:

they render canon irrelevant to glorify Flawless OC, and

the universe constantly validates their choices to a degree that wrecks narrative suspense.

what makes each of these things 'bad writing’ is different.

The first problem I mentioned - warping of mythos, plot, and characters to accomodate the Flawless OC - is a fanfic problem. Canon-warping absolutely allowed, but what makes it fanfic - the canon source that acts as our shared experience and usually our main reason for being a potential audience to the fic - is almost always nigh-unrecognizable. That makes for bad fanfiction, but it doesn’t always make for bad fiction. Change all the parts of canon enough and you’ve arguably got an original work. It might even be a good original work if the author has writing skill.

The second problem - the validation of the universe - is what makes Flawless OC a dull read in any context. If Flawless OC wants something, you know they’ll get it. If Flawless OC hates someone, you know they’re going to catch hell. If Flawless OC needs to be vulnerable for their love interest, something just bad enough to make them vulnerable will befall them. The perfection of the OC is less of an issue than the lack of meaningful conflict. (A character can have no faults and still be interesting to follow if they must struggle against a universe that doesn’t care.)

to wit:

there’s a fantasy book by David and Leigh Eddings - The Redemption of Althalus - that I read long ago. it stuck with me to a peculiar degree because for a book with such a unique conceit, it was incredibly boring. This is published fiction: it had editors, a marketing team, and was written by professionals with lots of experience! But looking back, none of this saved the story from featuring Gary Stu in a universe that catered to his every need.

The main character, Althalus, is ostensibly a person in need of redemption for being such a bad person all his life and never punished for it, but he’s a loveable, quick-witted rogue almost from the start. To 'redeem’ himself, he’s tasked with saving the world from Enemies (we’re told they’re evil, but I don’t think we see them more than once or twice). Protected by the Goddess of Luck - literally - for the entire novel, there’s never a single moment where Althalus’ victory over the Enemy is in question. He never does anything really awful that would explain his need to be redeemed (in fact, it turns out the Luck Goddess is the one who protected him from punishment all his life). The enemy is weak, forgettable, and constantly outwitted, and the protagonists, supposedly people of gray morality, never did anything worse than be snarky.

The unique conceit that kept me reading was the House at the End of the World. Being the home of the Goddess, it had doors that opened to anywhere on the planet. but for an idea with such double-edged possibilities, it turned out to be an impregnable fortress of Good. The House and its owner were the forces that bent the whole book’s universe to the inevitable triumph of the main character and his companions.

A counter-example might be Miraculous Ladybug. I’ve often wondered if Mary Sue could be written well and be likeable, and Marinette - the titular Ladybug - is probably close. She’s good at almost everything and always outwits her enemies; even when she seems confident to the point of arrogance, it’s justified by her endless successes. (Her only real flaw is being clumsy when she’s distracted, and it only happens when it’s conveniently cute. this is a walking Mary Sue cliche.) Her power is to be lucky, after all.

However: even though everything ends up right for Marinette at the end of every episode, she’s not rewarded when she acts poorly towards others. She causes herself problems when she does. Her luck powers give her the ability to bend the universe a little, but the universe is otherwise unforgiving; she’s subjected to the same banalities as everyone else and learns to be a better person along the way.

OTOH if you put Ladybug in another canon with a makeover to recast her as Flawless OC, changing everything so she could occupy a central role like the one she has in her own series, she’d be insufferable: hence Ladybug is a solid example of how a Mary Sue can prosper provided she’s in a universe designed to both feature her and contain her powers for the sake of Good.

I apologize for how long a reply this is. Still: I hope it successfully illustrates for you that:

though original writing and fanfic writing use the same tool (words), and both can use them masterfully, what original writers like you do and what fic writers do are, in general, very different things.

And Mary Sue is what you make of her. In the right universe, she’s just a very lucky person. :)

#in defense of mary sue #in defense of fanfic #origific vs fanfic #fandom meta #miraculous ladybug #david eddings #i think i read that book because I liked some other book of his #but wow it was a dull read #I kept waiting for everything to fall apart #but it didn't #anywho #long post #y ik es #Anonymous

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prixmiumarchive · 6 years

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I saw a post about The Hunger Games movies earlier that I pretty much agreed with in terms of their hyper-representation of white people, their lack of attention to the culturally resonant implications of systemic and racist violence, and so on. Basically, it was praising the books and juxtaposing them with the movies as being vastly inferior products because they shaved off all the rough edges to create a much less complex narrative that focused more on the romantic relationship than the societal implications. And all that is well and good. I am waiting for my good Hunger Games Netflix or Hulu series well into old age. However, I just wanted to say something from my personal experience of The Hunger Games fandom to sort of counter this particular post politely without tacking onto someone else’s viewpoint in a rude way, which is why I’m making my own post.

I got into The Hunger Games back in very late 2011 because I had learned that Jennifer Lawrence was going to be in it. This was on the coattails of my being hyper-obsessed with X-Men: First Class, and this had been my first exposure to Jennifer Lawrence. My first exposure to the name of The Hunger Games series, on the other hand, were meme text posts that were going around when I first joined tumblr in 2011 that were joking about not knowing what “The Hunger Games” were or not having read them. Anyway, basically what happened was that I learned that Jennifer Lawrence was going to be in The Hunger Games movie, and I had enjoyed her in XMFC, and at the time I had a relationship with fandom where I might actually choose to follow and actor or actress’s body of work much more easily than I would now (in fact this is because of THG fandom).

Anyway, I picked up the book and read the back of it and became very excited about the fact that The Hunger Games was set in Appalachia. This was really exciting to me, and because of my own background in Appalachia I always read Katniss as Melungeon. There was a time, early in my experience in that fandom, when I would have died on that hill. Then I realized how sorely underrepresented indigenous peoples are, so while my brain still defaults to Melungeon, I am 100% in support of indigenous Katniss, too. I’m just sharing this for full disclosure, especially if anyone goes back in my THG tags which haven’t been active in a long while even though I still like the story itself in concept. Back to original point, I was excited about a heroine coming from my part of the world in a post-apcoalyptic setting because I tend to think of the south, particularly my part of it, as being kind of erased in fiction and so on.

By the time it became 2012, I had read the first book and was disappointingly convinced that Jennifer Lawrence was a poor casting choice for Katniss. I didn’t really have anyone better in mind off the top of my head, but cornfed, big-boned Jennifer Lawrence was more Glimmer than Katniss. However, I was still willing to watch the movie because i was so excited to have a movie of this thing I had come to love so much, and at the time the only things I knew about Jennifer Lawrence were things about how skilled she was for someone who was within a few months of my age. I was also excited about Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, which is still one of the only casting choices I’m happy with in retrospect.

The point of this post, however, is actually a little word of caution against giving the books too much credit because of their author Suzanne Collins. Now, this is not to say that she did not craft a story that is very meaningful to some people and that perhaps she did not execute her intent with more finesse in certain areas than she was consciously aware of. That happens sometimes, even incidentally. She might have even been aware of her intent and finesse while she was writing the books. That does not account for what happened during the casting and production of the first Hunger Games film, though.

I gobbled up anything I could get my hands on that was about the movie production, the casting, the cast itself, the process behind bringing these books to life. I still have several of the Scholastic tie-in books that I compulsively bought. I bought all the Capitol-based merch being fully aware of how creepy it was. I had a Hunger Games lanyard for years. I was so, so excited about everything. And as I mentioned, the downfall of The Hunger Games behind the scenes stuff and cast and so on in terms of my adoring-respect is one of the main reasons that I don’t actually follow the celebrity behind media I like for the most part now.

While I was doing this, I distinctly remember reading a magazine while walking through Walmart with my mother on a break from college. I cannot remember specifically what the title was except I think it was sort of a special publication, Hunger Games-specific magazine. I can’t quote it directly for you anymore. However, I want you all to be aware that Suzanne Collins actually got a lot more say in casting The Hunger Games movies than most book authors ever get.

In most cases, book authors sell the film rights to their books, and then they are as helpless and waiting with bated breath as the readers/fans of their books are. However, Gary Ross was kind of known as an odd, hands-on director. There are aspects of the unpolished aesthetic of the first film, particularly in District 12, that are far more fitting from the Asheville sets than from the Atlanta ones of the later films, and this is probably greatly owing to Ross’s ~directorial vision~. One of the main reasons they switched directors pretty much immediately after the first film’s success was because Ross wanted to work on a much longer time frame to get the other three movies “right” than the studio wanted to grant him on the coattails of commercial success and 20-something, aging actors playing teenagers.

Ross and Collins were both directly involved in helping with the casting direction. I remember very clearly reading that Collins said that she would have hired Josh Hutcherson to play Peeta had he been a purple dragon with six-foot wings or some description of this nature. Basically, she was saying that his “inner spirit” and understanding of the character was right to the point that it did not matter if he looked like Peeta, let alone even human, to play the role. Now, this might be a nice enough thing to say about Josh Hutcherson when there is absolutely no reason to believe that Peeta can’t be a white, blond boy. However, I think that it is really telling about Collins’s overall approach and attitude toward her allowed input on the casting of the films.

I am a white person. I have never been a published author, a director, or a casting director. Saying that, I think that the casting of The Hunger Games shows a very, very white attitude toward “color blindness” and mixed race people of color in particular. I just kind of want to bullet point a couple of things that I infer kind of must have gone on in Collins’ mind / that go on in some white authors’/creators’ minds unless they examine their own privilege and attitudes about race:

The Hunger Games books literally never once use a word that indicates a current, modern race or ethnic identification.

However, there does seem to be a fair amount of racial segregation between the districts with one or two ethnic or racial groups being typical of each one rather than a lot of diversity.

It was fanon in the pre-movie book fandom that Wiress and Beetee were probably of Southeast Asian appearance because Katniss observes that they have “ashen skin and black hair.” This itself might have been symptomatic of a racism or stereotyping either on the part of the fandom or the text because Beetee and Wiress are from the “technology district” (District 3). I wonder what stereotype that could be, hm. In the films, they are portrayed by a white woman and a black man respectively.

Cinna does not have any particular descriptions about his skin color that I recall. They cast Lenny Kravtiz and I liked this casting choice. However, if you go back and watch The Hunger Games films, you might notice that there is a conspicuous lack of any diversity beyond having white actors and black actors. It was good that they did cast black actors in a few notable roles, I have no doubt, but in my gut I always got this sense that it was a kind of “look at us, we’re being diverse!” rather than an actual attempt to reflect the diversity that was clearly suggested in the text.

Again, Collins said she would have hired Hutcherson had he been a purple dragon.

Collins also said that she had absolutely 0 doubts about Lawrence’s casting as Katniss. I believe that I did once read someone asking her about Katniss’s appearance being described as significantly different from Lawrence, and as I recall, Collins suggested that perhaps there simply were no actresses who looked the way she imagined Katniss to look while the casting call literally only called for white women.

Collins also said in an interview once that she based The Hunger Games concept on her emotional dissonance flipping between channels and finding things like American Idol on while there was coverage of the Iraq War on another station. I’m not saying it’s unfair to give her some credit for having compassion for the child survivors in war-torn areas. However, I might also suggest that anything she has said since about 2011-2012 about it might be kind of her building on a previous thought that she did not necessarily have before other people prompted her thinking. At the time, though, she was saying that it was very much a kind of not-very-thoroughly-researched reaction to popular culture and current events. Now, if she’s grown about it, that’s great, but I’m just saying in terms of this discussion of the movie vs. film quality and diversity thing.

From my understanding, Collins had little to do with the production of the films after the first, but Ross did call on her opinion and input frequently during all stages of the production of the first film.

All of this is getting around to me saying that I think there is a thing that some white people do to imagine a post-racial utopia (or even dystopia, in this case) where racial descriptions and ethnic divides have fallen by the wayside. It’s sort of horrifying, but The Hunger Games to me almost presents a scenario in which the spirit of it might be read to suggest that ethnic identity no longer really exists having been supplanted by District identity. In District 12, there are those who live in the Seam and those who are a part of the “small merchant class.” There are physical descriptions but never identifying words that we recognize. (Collins, as a note, played with this a lot; there was actually a glaring inconsistency where Katniss didn’t know what a monkey was called in one of the later books when she did in the first one, or something.)

Collins, in her public statements around the time she was having an influence on the direction and shape of the films-of-her-books, seemed to suggest that the people who lived in the Seam were the result of racial mixing of some form or another. She also seemed to suggest that they would not be identifiable by any term that we currently have. The Seam residents were imagined as the ultimate, isolated conclusion to a “melting pot” in which varied ethnic identification washed away which is one of the very specific reasons that I originally identified Katniss as a Melungeon in my personal reading. However, to Collins, it seems as if she imagines these post-ethnic people as something mythical and futuristic, like a future evolution of human beings or a fantasy creature like an elf (or a purple dragon!). Collins’s personal responses always read, to me, as being completely oblivious to the very idea that she had extrapolated that maybe someone like Katniss actually did exist in the very area which District 12 was supposedly based on to this very day and that this was not a once-and-future kind of reality that no longer existed in present-day America.

Tl;dr I really like The Hunger Games, and I hope I’m not stepping way out of my lane to talk about this as a white reader. However, I wanted to talk again after all this time about how yes, the movies erase a lot of the things that make the books meaningful (political and social implications, representation of diversity and disability and so on), but suggesting that the books innately present something a lot better and richer has a little to do with Collins. On the other hand, I suggest that there is a little bit of death of the author involved in your wonderful readings of this text because Collins herself seems to have directly refuted some of the nice things you might have to say about authorial intent in terms of diversity and representation.

#the hunger games #thg #representation #conventional blogging tag #long post #anti suzanne collins #just in case #racism

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