I'm going to make mini-reviews of Yuri!!! on Ice and other fanfics. I've been really busy constructing Final Reviews of honestly big fanfics.
I will say this again. When it comes to Japanese media, analyze with Japanese knowledge. Not even superficial knowledge like food. Cultural contexts must not be ignored.
Edit: Just a heads up, I will only be uploading my review next year after the dub is finished.
Also, I will be ranting at parts of the YOI fandom who seems to think YOI is revolutionary in having human rivals... Have you fucking seen past sports anime/manga? Do you even understand these rivals' own reasoning and character growth? Their character arc? That their assholish behavior is not condoned in any way? Did you see their behavior after their loss sometime after their character development? Rin's character development is not winning because he saw that he's not special; he has to regain his love for swimming with friends back. Does that make Seidou Baseball team butthurt for losing against Inashiro just because they were so close to winning? Hell, no. They are all devastated and Sawamura himself crumbled and developed yips. Are they suddenly butthurt? Hell, even Gary Oak, Paul, Harley, Jessie, and James are depicted as clearly human during the Pokemon Contests and Pokemon Performing. Do not think for a second that YOI revolutionized human rivals, sympathetic in their own right. Human rivals with sympathetic human issues are no different in YOI as it is in Free!, Oofuri, Baby Steps, Giant Killing, and I can list here all day long. Do not glorify YOI. Love it, enjoy it, do not ignore the Japanese contexts despite being an international show, analyze at it from a narrative standpoint.
I want to repeat this. Respect others' opinions even if you don't like the thing. I hate seeing slash fans being put down just for shipping two guys together just because you don't see it. Even if there are slash fans who would pour down the throat what they ship doesn't mean that they are dong anything horrible. Tell them what they are doing is wrong to force something down your throat and also make it clear that you just don't see it and/or ship it; be polite about it too. Notice I said slash fans: why is the word 'fangirl' come across as such an insult beyond being a girl simply passionate of what she loves? What about boys too?
There are such thing called I don't know queer reading. There is a difference between the queer reading of the text and queerbaiting. Hell, there is a difference between queerbaiting and fetishization of LBGTQIA relationships particularly the G part to get the audience you want.
There are people who don't ship at all and I'm becoming one of those people recently. Just for the love of somebody upstairs, do not be condescending just because people see something you don't. There are people who see Destiel as a bromance, romance, brotherhood, friendship, family, or anything really. Do you see me hating on people not shipping them? NO!
Hell, I don't hate Shizuorona shippers at all! I disagree on the ship for various reasons but hating purely for the sake of interfering with my ship is stupidity and petty hatred. Just so petty.
I dislike Jim x Ariel and Jack Frost x Elsa but you don't see me hating on fans who loves the ships with a passion. Hell, I don't dare to make fun of them because I don't see the purpose of making of them because what are they doing is so terrible beyond shipping? As long as they are aware of bad things in the ships (like codependency and incest in Wincest, abusive behavior from both ends like the Twilight ships), then everyone would be happy.
Don't generalize yaoi shippers as figures to be avoided. Ships are practically free advertisement by fans. Hell, I got into Supernatural purely because I heard of Destiel. Why are het fans prioritized above other shippers? Beside the heteronormativity which is bad enough but seriously what about potential other ships that would be great on its own? In Hetalia, the Nation-tans could have an orgy and I wouldn't blink an eye at it because well there are just so many potential ships in Hetalia, Hell, I don't even mind Pokemon ships to have one big orgy too!
Shipping is meant to be fun and that's it. Respect others; have you been taught this by your teachers or parents? Just don't hate or be such petty assholes just for people shipping things you don't like. Be polite and be kind to others.
...I snapped after seeing horrible comments on Destiel shippers and seeing those people seeing themselves as better people than shippers who are just having fun... Yeah...
EDIT: Do not lord your opinion on a relationship over those who ship it, saying that these characters hate each other or calling them bros. It's one thing that it's your opinion but it's another when you force people who ship them to your opinion. Do not deny their reading of the manga nor deny their ship. It makes you look stupid and completely arrogant. I saw a review of a MiSawa fanfic and.... yeah I really do not like what the reviewer is saying regarding the relationships, being willfully ignorant how the relationship is a huge part of the story. It's romance for a goddamn reason. The author is a Misawa shipper for a reason.
I utterly hate people who force their opinions on a harmless ship that hurt nobody. How about make them aware of the bad stuff in the relationships like Stockholm Syndrome or abuse? Be aware than discourage people from shipping two people altogether. Have writers rewrite the mess of the relationship.
This not only corresponds to shipping but also to media works. JesuOtaku doesn't like RWBY and there are others that do. Just respect others and don't spread vitriol. I don't even hate Frozen as much as my cousin do but she and I respect the other's opinion and we spent a couple days ranting about Frozen's potential. Hell, even DCCU is one of these things as I really want Warner Bros to have their own MCU but with Synder and Goyer at the helm... I just don't want them near the projects anymore. I am well-aware of the behind of the scenes things such as Synder still at Justice League director chair due to filming right after BvS release....which followed by a huge disappointment by DC and moviegoers alike.
Note there is a difference between telling somebody you don't like a type of food/media. But it does not excuse any form of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and all those phobias and -isms. There's a difference between "I hate coffee" and "I hate black people". The latter is unsettling and hatred filling.
I don't know people who voted for Trump because every one of my friends and family wanted Trump out of office. There are people who voted for Trump because of what he said he would do but there are people out there who believe they need change.
I have another comment: When one wants to critically analyze what it to be progressive in Japan, please study Japanese LGBTQIA+, feminism, and the likes from actual Japanese people who experienced the oppression. Do not patronize the Japanese when you are practicing cultural imperialism. The Japanese media are made for the Japanese market. There are people who are making steps forward in Japan and most people in Japan did not know there is even a market here in the West. Just please for the love of god, just enjoy rather than critically analyze if it's queerbaiting or not when it's in a totally different country with different sensibilities. Just please understand the Japanese struggling in their own country, wanting their country to be progressive just as much as we want America or any other country to be just as progressive in their own country's right and well-being.
That might come off contradictory when I said about shipping earlier. Now shipping I don't mind because that is just enjoyment. Just as media apparently given an open text to people with different opinions. Just do not patronize people that your preferred reading of a ship or text is correct; just that the other interpretations are just as valid as yours. Be polite and kind to others; spread positivity than hatred because what is the point of the main fandom when it is not filled with love?
Be the fandom you guys were meant to have; love, respect, understanding, drawn together by a common interest, being a community on the internet. There's a reason why I hardly interact with fandoms precisely just how toxic Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and other social media can be. There can be some good but there will always be the bad in fandom. Spread what I said and you can have a community. Seriously the only community I ever stayed infinitely with is Pokeani and Hetalia whereas I left Persona temporarily (because fans apparently want spoilers without context and accuse homophobia/sexism, again without context and without knowledge of Japanese sensibility) and left FMA fandom altogether. The very last one is particularly bad because FMA is my favorite anime of all time and I just can't return to the fandom after meeting people who did not understand. I'm still with other fandoms I can't bother naming but seriously just be kind and respectful. There is a reason why Cinderella 2015 is one of my favorite adaptations.
Canon is the gateway of fandom. There will always be subtext, unintentional or not, and different readings of the same text. I'm an English major; we have to be open-minded and I do plan to be a literature editor on top of being an English professor. There will be disagreements on how the media is presented for it to be progressive like feminism and redemption arcs for characters or relationships...just as long as it remained infinitely with right media such as Japanese progressivism with Japanese media. Show vs tell; show, don't tell. There will always be an imperfect work out there and as long as you tell civilly directly to the person instead of insulting that person for liking something you deemed unfeminist despite that person is feminist. Take directly to the person because that person might listen to you point-blank with lots of people backing you up. Also, point out to the creator whenever he or she tried to push the blame off the character he or she created; the character may be fictional but the creator is the one who made the character come to life and responsible for the character. That and the character's writing. Looking at you, Stan Lee for Invisible Woman and Jennifer Lee for Frozen.
Fanon is whatever you choose but can respect canon; headcanons, fanart, fanfiction, fan videos. It meant to be a fun and wonderful way to be together in making dorky headcanons like funny selfies that Allison got in her phone in Teen Wolf. I may not like Glee canon much due to its many, many issues but that does not mean I don't respect it for changing telly just as much as I don't hate South Park for changing adult telly.
Oh and creators, don't insult your fandom. They are your free advertisement through their ships and readings of the text. They might or might not recommend your product but they might enjoy their product and as long as you understand that you can't please everyone, then it's okay and be welcoming to fans. Look at MCU where fans and critics are treated with respect.
And fans, don't overreact once it appeared that your ship or reading might be invalid. Look at the actions carefully. Sterek fans were afraid that Sterek might be shut down when it, in fact, it hasn't. There are many easier ways to shut them down like outright saying that they are no longer seeing each other as lovers but brothers and sister, arguing like siblings. Making the couple apart would develop tension. Many meta writers point out the easier paths and that Sterek, heavily alluded in visual and text, is still going on. Again, look at the show carefully you are watching until it is decided that your ship or reading is not there anymore. You guys can still ship no matter the in-show text shut the pairing. Look at Destiel fandom which kept going on despite the show itself shut down the pairing and the show itself is a zombie. Even if the show did have interesting ideas and characters. Look at you, Timothy Omundson, King Richard, Cain!
...After the new Yuri on Ice episode that came out, people are saying that Japan finally quit queerbaiting and made history. I wanted to scream and tell them that to view the show with Japanese sensibilities. Remember what I said about the queerbaiting versus getting an audience you want. Japan does the latter! Additionally, we don't know if Victor and Yuri are actually gay or bi. If anything, that kiss could blur the lines further. Merlin queerbait, Yuri on Ice does not because, under Japanese sensibilities, it's fetishization of LGBT relationships to get the audience you want. Either way is still bad but make this clear: do not in any circumstances, put your western sensibilities on a show that is made specifically for Japanese audiences. I am already fucking pissed off I have to say it again.
I am happy about the kiss. And I wonder how the show is going to be handled overall. I will make my judgment when the whole show ends...with Japanese knowledge on deck and no Western knowledge to make any kind of cultural imperialism. I made an entire essay about cultural imperialism for god's sake and you don't know just how pissed I was just even writing the damn thing. And I brought it up in class discussions when we were discussing Conrad's Heart of Darkness. That is how bad a berserk button it is for me.
I also want to make the remark that the show is not a shounen-ai/Boy's Love/Yaoi but a sports anime...which is bubbling with its own homoeroticism. Again, view it with Japanese lens and do not for the sake of the Japanese living there in Japan, input your Western views on LGBT which includes queerbaiting into a show by Japanese people for Japanese people.
...Okay since it had been confirmed by the creators that yes Victuuri did share their first kiss with a tweet from one of the creators Kubo. Since it had been confirmed, I am still going to approach it with a Japanese mindset. I know that there will be people going to be progressive in Japan which means I have to look at it from the Japanese progressive set of mind particularly that of their LGBT. Their LGBT is a whole different beast than America's. Please understand that you don't ignore the LBGT Japanese. Just please for the love of progressive Japan.
Ah, the first portion of DnA before everything literally fell down the drain. So much goddamn potential for the manga and well... you could still write metas but you have to deal with many frustrating developments like Furuya taking credit again just because he has the ace number. Ace does not mean you score everything; it's just like Kageyama before his character development. Look at Haikyuu! and Kuroko no Basuke for examples.
Fairy tales, myths, and fables are one of my loves. I got into fairy tales because of Disney particularly that of Cinderella and I already read The Little Mermaid before even watching the Disney version. I will read the more horrific versions of fairy tales like comeuppance for the villains. I love Sound Horizon's Marchen for example.
Now, what kind of fairy tale should I use for this one fic? Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, Donkeyskin, Sleeping Beauty, Frau Holle and so much more. But I want a fairy tale that I can allow to develop the characters to show canon in an alternate world. That is what I am doing with my Sterek Cinderella. I would add elements from other fairy tales like how Cinderella 2015 added an element of Beauty and the Beast and other versions of Cinderella like the tree branch & Snow White: Fairest of Them All added elements of Snow Queen and Snow White and Rose Red. I would at least try to get some of the baseline of a fairy tale at least.
Cinderella should be the easiest but I want to do something different. While I am using adaptations of Cinderella for my Sterek, I am adamant about having parallels to canon up to what is needed for the current situation. That means that the first chapter might be long. Because it might be some time before they can achieve their happily ever after.
So, Slow Burn/Build. I always wanted to try one and I will do it. Besides I always thought it's best to show development of both the troubling and the best kind to earn your ending.
There will be antagonists but not in the way you think. Antagonists, not villains. There are no villains in DnA, simply antagonists and yes Furuya counts as one. Scott counts as one.
Regardless canon will be implemented (that I approve of that is; I do not like Glee canon at all while I very much love the canon of Teen Wolf) and yes Eijun Sawamura will come up on top as likely either prince or king of whatever country the Miyuki family is ruling, a rank far beyond Furuya and all others. Simply because Japan in-canon isn't ready for Sawamura who would blow them away thanks for his limitless potential.
Yes, it would still be Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya as the main ship. In this fairy tale series, there will be only one big ship per fic with ambiguous minor pairings, one or the other or both sometimes, on the side (seriously in the Cinderella fic, I will not only be hinting Marrish and Allydia but also Janny, Dethan, etc).
Because of my simple love for crossovers, these fics might crossover with their tales becoming famous (like Stiles' famous glass shoes or a poisoned apple from a particular kingdom or Eijun's donkeyskin cloak) where magic is known just like in our world, the Fair Folk and all.
As for historical accuracy, this is mostly for self-indulgent purposes only. so.... no research will be put into. Everything from mercenary to aristocracy rankings are just there because I need parallels. The best you can think of such ranking or anything involving aristocracy, knights, soldiers, etc are really taken from the Tales series.
I might write a sequel for each of these stories because I love the thought of political intrigue for these characters.
Part I: Sterek Cinderella
Part II: Miyusawa Donkeyskin
I haven't set the parts yet but there will be varieties of pairings.
Who knows what other parts should I do including the semi-sequels?
Okay, an opinion is an opinion. Respect it. The basic concept to grasp is respect. Don't they teach you that in school? By your own parents too? If you don't like a show is going, then it's not to your taste, don't watch it anymore or go to another fandom altogether; if you are just going to hate on it, spreading vitriol like the Black Death, you are just a hater. I personally don't like how DnA is going by its huge focus on Furuya no Ace but that doesn't mean I hate DnA in entirety. I personally feel disappointment is worse than hate. Constructive criticism is better than trolling. Maybe it is because of how I was raised by disappointment rather than let myself consumed by hatred for my parents. Seriously do you see me hate on Rowdyreviewer for hating Teen Wolf (wholly disagreeing with him) or Doug Walker and Lindsay Ellis for loving Frozen to the point of making their favorite film list or Lindsay Ellis for hating The Little Mermaid? No! I disagree with them, hell I'm disagreeing with lots of internet reviewers nowadays and only focusing on how they execute their comedy. Doug Walker is a hit-or-miss in his new era of Nostalgia Critic with a couple gems then and there. Do you see me hate on DRRR? I consider Baccano! superior but I do not hate DRRR. I have friends who love DRRR and Frozen. Think of it like food. My brother loves spicy while I can't stand spicy of any kind except really mild or barely there. We still get along. What is the difference between food and fandom? Fandom is meant to bring people together with their love; isn't that the point of being a fan? Not to spread hatred for something you now dislike yet somehow you still stay on?
Respect other opinions. Do not let fandom toxicity devolve you.
To be honest, I don't know what to feel about this drama. This show had been airing on my TV for awhile now. Overall, it just feels cliched (and lazy) but again I am hoping for execution rather cliche so I am keeping on that. Korean dramas aren't my thing (I only saw like three Korean dramas in its completion so far) so I'm not an expert on that.
On, one hand, there are interesting enough characters including the sociopath father Tae-sung. There is the good family, the Na's and then there's the really toxic family, the Lee's.
When the comical events like the big sister of Young-ja, Young-jin and the mother of Ye-ra Mi-ran are really funny, hell even the fighting between Mi-ran and Tae-sung were quite funny.
However, as time went on and as people started to get more information (sometimes be omission; there are still lies by omission like by the main girl protagonist or just straight up lying like the sociopath father) and really starting to go into this big chess game, I kept seeing that things will explode.
Ye-ra is really setting up herself for what was Nurse Song's word again "laughingstock" with her unprofessionalism. She can't separate her work from personal life at all; inserting her business into others is just another sign of her spoiled brat behavior all just for her hatred for Young-ja, for the jealousy that her fiance Ji-wook is more impressed by that girl rather than by her. Even when she was repeatedly told off for her behavior (up to deliberately changing the menu of the beauty class), she still doesn't understand and learn from her mistakes. Ji-wook and Sung-jae told her off about her behavior yet she still can't understand and take responsibility. All she acted to her father is the messenger of what everyone else is doing...giving him a tracker albeit not a really reliable one because she has the tendency to act out in her bubble of jealousy and hatred. Even when she was told off by even the President, she doesn't understand what she does wrong because to her, her life is more important than any other person, not taking in consideration of why people kept calling her rude.and horrible or even why she does horrible things because it's unacceptable; she won't even admit that it was her own damn fault that she nearly lost her head in jealousy when forging the damn document for the beauty class. Young-ja made it explicitly clear to Ye-ra's intended Ji-wook that she is not interested in him and the interactions I saw between Young-ja and Ji-wook are simply friendly (must be because Ji-wook already confessed to her and he saw how uneasy she got after the love confession but he will still care for her like a decent human being) that are sometimes misinterpreted by Sung-jae, Young-ja's love interest, and Ye-ra herself. To be fair of Sung-jae, he is at least reasonable and keeps his head on straight unlike Ye-ra's impulsiveness regarding her love interest.
She was sympathetic at first (because of unrequited love) as Ji-wook rejects her advances and his insensitivity but grows increasingly unsympathetic as time goes on (like the aforementioned forgery) as Ji-wook continues to grow as a person and as a leader. Their upbringing and personalities are drastically different but they are foils. Both suffered from unrequited love and makes many mistakes (although none would be as bad as Ye-ra's forgery and tendency to lash out when she doesn't get her way) but when one listens to people's comments, the other makes it incredibly clear it will be all about her, refusing to see her wrongful actions as wrong but as just.
Tae-sung...He really is setting up himself for such a fall. More and more people are coming out to the woodwork to confront him on his betrayals, greed, pride, etc. because he really is such a dbag. His general abusive nature to those he hates (like the Na family) is not surprisingly based on his own treatment of his son, wife, and sometimes daughter; I really do think it's a miracle he even chose to marry Mi-ran and reproducing. On the moment he said that it's frustrating (It's all your goddamn fault in the first place!), the next he is happily destroying and ruining people's dreams and lives. Even his Romeo son, Sung-ho is one of his many victims. From an omniscient narrator, the person he is most afraid of is the President (who is quite reasonable authority figure) because with them exposing everything he had done (up to harassing her at every turn) would leave him with nothing...which would happen. His casual manipulation to destroy the Na family and Nurse Song (like the reveal of Song's baby) was to induce in-fighting so they can destroy themselves.
Really, these two from the way they are going and how they are avowing to destroy the lives of other people they hate, I cannot see their futures as bright, going to jail.
Now, the Romeo and Juliet, Sung-ho and Young-ji respectively, really do love each other of the two families who really do hate other (and it's not a petty feud as it was in the play because the mothers legit hate each other, the sisters legit hate each other, the fathers really legit hate each other, the son-in-law legit hates the father, everyone in the Na family (with the exception of toddler) hates Tae-sung) has far too many external forces keeping them from together. Even the main protagonist allows her vicious hatred for Ye-ra gets the better of her and would not allow her sister to be married just so she cannot be related to Ye-ra. Mi-ran even tried to bribe her son's love. The Na family really does regret how their family's hatred is getting in the way of their love because the father Bong-il can see that the son really is a kind person from a family of temperamental horrifying people. Even Young-ji was shocked to see how could a kind son be produced by such a man.
Edit: I am crying about the show's laziness. When they want characters to know something (albeit limited due to not getting the whole conversation), they will make Ye-ra learn it and be the one who spills the beans. Literally. She is just so impulsive and not really that calculating unlike other characters in the show like Nurse Song and her father, Everything is escalating until Mr. Kang, the president, will learn just how complicated and stupid the entire situation is. Not even Mrs. Na is rather shocking given her actions. I am still sympathetic to her but she and Mr. Na is not answering what Young-ja is increasingly learning. She may be a foster baby they took in but she is raised as a Na.
Also, y'know sterile Sung-ho... yeah, he got Young-ji pregnant. I'm just... not speechless but it's just so lazy. I thought they can do without the pregnancy thing. Even eloping is better than a pregnancy plot. Because a marriage between the two from two opposing families would make more drama because one] it is the consented decision of the married couple and two] the families would come to blows faster than a jet, leading to more drama escalating. Baby drama is just stupid at this rate. Look, I know the drama centers around an OB/GYN, babies. The series is called Start Again and what is the symbolism of babies? New life, beginnings. Having an unplanned pregnancy for a couple who we already know is perfectly fine without them and even Young-ji even admitted that she would adopt, for a man who is sterile. To see a relationship that doesn't need to have pregnancy involved but a couple who can adopt (regardless of how long it would take) in a show that had a pregnancy from a selfish greedy man and a kind but incredibly cunning nurse (her daughter definitely inherited her wit and kindness although she was also taught that by her foster mother and father). I thought the show could think outside of the box rather than be lazy. Bend what it means to "start again". Marriage? Fine. Babies? Regardless of your symbolism, be flexible and show that the couple doesn't need to have babies to be together. It is their own choice to be forever, dating for seven years now. Marriage for them would cement what they have been feeling for years now, not a baby that the two already know they can't have and suddenly have.
How I would love to discuss the villainous family of Lee.... Jesus, almost all of them are spoiled and temperamental, even Sung-ho. However, the only saneSung-ho realized his mistakes (of forcing Young-ji) and tried to prove himself as worthy. Even Bong-il, who hates the Na family, realizes that this boy and his daughter's love is getting collateral damage from their feud. The second sanest I supposed would be the comic relief mother Mi-ran who runs into the situation, her head's off (a trait she shared with her children) who at least tried to help her son (but at the worst possible way possible; bribing and threatening his son's love, threatening the Na matriarch after working with her to find her son...which she did find but drag him away from the happy sphere he had with his love in the worst possible way). Tae-sung and Ye-ra are the most insane of the lot; Tae-sung just for all the evil stuff he is doing and Ye-ra who is deliberately harming her chances at both love and at the workspace although to be fair she doesn't understand why people keep calling her out because of her upbringing. Ironically, her brother ends up the sanest (up to seeing that his sister faked being injured just to gain sympathy points).
The two families and Nurse Song has this confidante to go to. She may not have all the details because they are lying by omission to her or just not telling her the bubbling mess. She's wise and just allowed somebody to talked to.
Edit: As it turns out, Young-ja turns out to be the biological daughter of Nurse Song and Tae-sung, therefore, half-sister of Ye-ra and Sung-ho. The execution is just so...tired and lazy; I don't feel the emotional beat in it unlike how I love the emotional beats in You From Another Star; in that drama, the sincere love story coupled with well-written character development is one of its good points, it's just so sincere. So Young-ja isn't a biological daughter of the Na family after all.
Ji-wook is great. His character is developing from a meek and sweet boy to a leader of his own right. He starts taking initiatives regarding the Tae-sung's continuous incidents and his love life. He can be a little insensitive at times and makes many mistakes but he is using Young-ja and his best friend Sung-jae as a model instead, learning from his mistakes. His relationship, if there were any, with Ye-ra is doomed to fail. She may continue to love him (and I do think she does love him) no matter how unrequited it might be but most of the time her thought process is MEMEMEMEME rather than actually take Ji-wook in consideration of his feelings and why he told her why her actions are so horrid.
Sung-jae... The actor does a great job with his reasonable authority figure and his own issues regarding his wife's death. He was horrified when his wife's death was used as blackmail and a bargaining chip in the escalating mess because he knows that his wife would not like that at all. He was moving onto a second love in Young-ja and that is the point: moving on. He doesn't react with jealousy (maybe a little given he mistaken interactions between his best friend and Young-ja and Ji-wook did say he confessed to her). At least we know why he got a wife first well before everyone else in the main cast did; his kind and gentle treatment of other people as well as how reasonable he can be.
Young-ja is growing so much into herself. At the beginning, she is a hardworking and intelligent doctor-to-be (all her life she had been studying to be a doctor for the past six years) and now she is growing more confident and standing up for what is right, using her intelligence to defeat the two insane Lee's. She is growing into her kindness and genteel to help others.
Overall, there is nice characterization. It's more character-based as characters' actions directly influenced the situation around them, worsening it by every second.
Plot-wise, I can see why people call it cliched. I worry more about execution though because cliched is cliched...let's see how they do what they can with these cliches; for example, HTTYD movie does a great job with the cliches. Teen Wolf does a great job playing with tropes.
A horrible execution of cliches would be Frozen which did a bad job subverting tropes (if ever...just look at my review). It doesn't even examine tropes at all but just say it. Saying it does not mean they are examining. They have to show. Teen Wolf does a great job with show vs tell whereas Frozen tell a lot.
If you really want me to pick between Jeff Davis or Ryan Murphy, you will see me pick the former every time. Both are not perfect which is why I never buy into authorial worship in the first place, even William Shakespeare. Murphy did create American Horror Story and Glee (whether or not you like it, you have to admit it did change society in a way) after all and Jeff Davis was the creative brain behind Criminal Minds (before he was fired and have his show up for adoption; seriously he was planning to have Reid be bisexual and would be likely coded to be bisexual just like Stiles and really the fact there is a similar dynamic between Derek Morgan and Derek Hale & Stiles and Reid up to age differences, bisexuality, sexual abuse that the older man suffered, Moreid would have likely been endgame should Davis had his way and the network had not chopped it because Reid and JJ never went anywhere, just remaining a "pack", not a clique like the McCall "pack" but a pack like the Hales, all the other alphas for heaven's sake. Hell, the reason why I think the flirting that had been going on between Garcia and Morgan is because that is likely set up similarly to Draeden/Stalia and they would not end up together anyway in a long-term fashion as opposed to Moreid which would have likely something similar to Sterek. As a writer, there are things one would cling to and never let go, using it for other stories too just like how I often parallel with canon and use of fairy tale/myth/fables so for Davis, it is the slow build homosexual romance with age difference, bisexuality for one of the males, sexual abuse for the other man, trust and saving each other with a relationship where the sexually abused man is able to find himself at peace and the quirky hyper-smart man is growing up and becoming into himself. Yeah, had Davis was able to get his way and be the showrunner of the show he created instead of being the creative executive, we will see that the BAU would be full of jerks and it's best displayed in the pilot too. All of Davis' characters are assholes one way or another with awful character traits and flaws and exceptionally well-written. Hell, I think Criminal Minds would likely end early should Davis had his way because now that Teen Wolf is on its last season, it's going out with the bang with the Wild Hunt, something that had been foreshadowed as early as S2.). The main difference between them is that at least Davis is utilizing everything he knows from media (Teen Wolf is best compared to an anime, an acquired taste because the show has a lot of critical thinking you need to have) like anime and video games to the point he forgets to signpost whereas Murphy, while he does love his job, is as subtle as an elephant dancing to Eurovision music, the bad kind, not the decent or okay, just literally bad like France's "Mustache" bad. He's like Eurovision, to be honest.
Not even close (both in location and situation) to their first kiss in one of the fanfics but nonetheless it was Derek who initiated it.
Teen Wolf:
For that matter, did you know the face-casts for Derek Seigerson and Spencer Willis are also Jackson Whittemore (Colton Haynes) and Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O'Brien)? It doesn't help that Colton is hot (why are the good ones gay or taken? While it's not like I will be meeting him anytime soon but Colton is drool-worthy and he's gay. Francisco Lachowski and Hunter Parrish are married, the former have children for god's sake. And yes I mentioned the face-casts for Julian Larson and Logan Wright; ironically, the latter two in Daltonfic are LGBT (and would get together in the coming chapter) whereas Derek is straight and in love with Casey) and Dylan is more adorable (with his buzz-cut) and then really handsome with longer hair. Now that I mention hair, it's funny that Dylan's hair was what kept him from getting the role of The Maze Runner's Thomas.
Summary: Scott liked to call it the Great Pack Divide of 2012. Derek liked to call Scott an idiot. (Or the one where Derek kidnaps Stiles to teach Scott a lesson and ends up learning a few things himself.)
Review: To be honest, I do not know what to expect because it has kidnapping for Godoka's sake. Not even going to touch on. But the author certainly did.
Not only did she went into repercussions and whatnot regarding the issues with the characters in mind especially with the events they have to go through. Coupled with the resolving issues left in the show following the S2 finale and analyzing certain characters and important relationships, it's certainly an experience. It's like watching the show with all its subtleties.
There is still some humor in the angst-fest. I found it amusing that characters seeing the Derek X Stiles thing to be nothing surprising; I bet they can see UST from Danny to even Scott since Scott and his mom didn't even act surprised by the first kiss, more freaked out than actually surprised.
I wholly recommend reading ALL her fics on the Teen Wolf section. I really would love to continue seeing her update Equal and Opposite just for the character analysis of Stiles especially when two people (Lydia and Peter) can see his potential and why the current gang should not underestimate Stiles because for all their powers, Stiles can be considered the most dangerous, happily playing mind games and his dark side not tempered. I would have to repeat that Stiles and Lydia are the team's strategists and therefore they're steps ahead of their peers who are out of their depth when it comes to playing mind games.
In the first fic, yes, Stiles won an Oscar by age 25. Julian Larson won at 17 for the same category too; which makes me wonder if Dalton-verse was the same in this AU, I wonder if Stiles ever gotten a role along with Dolce and Julian and worked with Travis Armstrong. I wonder if he ever acted in Something Damaged.
Summary: Stiles becomes an actor and gets the D. Or, uh, the specific D. D's D, if you know what I mean.
Review: I really do like this one a lot. The way the author makes actor Stiles believable woven with Dylan's background before his gig as an actor. Web series to getting larger roles except for the largest role I think Dylan ever had was the lead for The Maze Runner while Stiles, on the other hand, has important leads in many Hollywood movies and accolades if the summary was any indication.
I like how the author dealt with the characters and their lives. How Derek going to therapy and being a deputy. How the Hale Pack deals with their newly famous best friend who has so much on the other end of his life, having awards and famous movie titles under his belt; especially Derek who wants and be more than just a fling because Stiles have to return to Hollywood.
Original characters tends to have a bad rep and sometimes it's deserving. There are some really bad names and some really badly written ones. Very rarely I will pair specific OC's with a canon character because of how badly written the OC and relationship is written. I cry a lot that it is badly written.
The idea of Mary Sue/Gary Stu, I feel already is moot. When I see people call empty slates characters that players like the P3-4 protagonists AKA the one we plays Gary Stus, I drink hard alcohol and muttering "WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!"
What I want for me to accept OCs are them to be personalized. Place them in situations and let them react and cope with their personality in mind. Do not letting events fully define that character; it may impact them, yes, but really do not let that character define himself by that event and say that character is brooding because of it.
Julian Larson of CP Coulter's Dalton (the author herself doesn't seem to expect her story to explode in popularity at all judging from the original intro notes in the first chapter in FFNet... Just to put it out there, it's a simply innocent fanfiction like any other fanfiction; you are allowed to dislike it just as I am allowed to dislike this Glee fic Hunting the Unicorn (as well-written as it is, I just don't like it; I will not deny its well-written state, okay? I just don't like the story); it's the matter of opinion and respecting that opinion; seeing that I personally regards Frozen as flawed yet enjoyable while respecting those who like and dislike the movie, you see where I am going yes?), while in love with Logan, has his own life and friends with the cast of Something Damaged and family he does care for. His love for Logan does not fully define his character but his love does impact his character and show his selflessness in regards of his love interest. Even his fling with Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin goes onto to be Barry Allen so good choice there, Glee actor! You too Marley Rose, Melissa Benoist as Supergirl! Both of you portray your new roles well and certainly better written than Glee's) does not define his character. Likewise, Neko of Fox Face and Flames is a big sister-type influenced by the trials and CASCO but also by her beloved friends and family.
To let them be their own characters. Do not let them be mouthpieces to spew out some notions like Creator's Pet favoritism (lookin' at you, Terajima) or beliefs that the characters would not share (for the love of Godoka, everyone in Glee; they're unrecognizable by season 4; it's like watching the world burn by then. Season 3 was like a train speeding towards its demise. S5 and 6 is like the world decide to obliterate itself repeatedly after coming back to life repeatedly in little moments of sanity and goodness, especially the sanity part because everything in Glee by then I want to throw a wretch at).
Author Avatars are fine as long as they too remain characters. Himapapa does a good job with Estonia/Eduard von Bock, being his own character while still fitting in with the Hetalia-verse. M. Night Shyamalan unfortunately has author avatars that are badly written and obviously so self-absorbed it's embarrassing to just watch when his reputation is in shambles at that point.
So I want characters to be their own characters with their own beliefs on stuff influenced by the world they grew up in. Not to be mouthpieces which will irritate me or to be pointless overall. While a great plot can be ideal, what I look for the most are characters, the ideas of Mary Sues/Gary Stus be damned. Much as I dislike My Immortal by Tara, it is fascinating to watch the character Enoby.
I wonder if he ever met movie stars and other top designers' children. I'm sure he travel a lot due to his work though. Due to the limited budget and recycled animation for clothes (I honestly expect Adrien to dress in loads of designer clothes, being a son of a rich fashion designer.), his clothes are rather limited or those are just his only casual clothes which can't be possible because he goes to school publicly. Speaking of which, I honestly expects paps to scoop him out or stalkers out to get him due to the level of fame he got. He's no movie star but he is featured a lot on magazines and admittedly good-looking.
This is simply a headcanon, nothing more.
I just can't help but see Adrien Agreste as bisexual. This is in no way influenced by me being bisexual. I just like the idea of Adrien being bi.
I mean he gotta work with this guy, Francisco Lachowski.
This is Julian Larson's face-cast, the OC I mentioned previously. He's gorgeous, isn't he? Too bad he's both a husband and a father already. And Julian Larson is about to be taken by Logan Wright. And yeah, Julian Larson is bisexual as well and in love with Logan Wright.
Seriously I saw LBGTQIA+ headcanons for characters before. Just as long as they stayheadcanons, it's all fine and good. For example, the Trajectory of Laughter fic I read and mentioned previously had the main couple Miyuki Kazuya and Sawamura Eijun be homosexual, especially the former since we got a point of view from him. It does help that the team members who knows (indirectly or directly due to accident or observation) are supportive of their relationship even after Eijun got amnesia.
Unless they are canon that is like Glee's Kurt Hummel being gay.
Ah, Eurovision, the Hunger Games of Europe. It is a fitting nickname for it. Underneath its campy fun and snark, there is a political game of subtle and not-so-subtle jabs where judges can be politically corrupted.
I don't care about the songs (I do and I'm not a music critic but I certainly do enjoy music)...although the live performances of the songs can be questionable. All I care about is the fairness of the thing. We don't know for sure if people purposely voted Conchita for the fact she's a man in drag or because of her song. Music is subjectivein the first place; it's just music. If there are people who genuinely likes "Rise Like a Phoenix", then so be it. Just don't attack Conchita Wurst, okay? The person is sweet and kind and overall gracious to the criticisms; she is certainly a great vocalist, powerful and clean, just right for Austria to send her in. Just don't generalize people as LGBT supporters or to get back on Russia by supporting Austria's Chosen Lot; we don't know for sure. There are people who genuinely likes ESC, those who watch it for the opportunity of mocking, and those who watch for the political jabs. While the latter is annoying to just watch the politics play out in an innocent contest, it's just stupid to watch whereas it's great to watch the better performances and fascinating to watch the weird and catchy ones. I just watch it for the songs really just to see what Europe is sending to their annual contest.
When the clearly political songs play, my brain just shut down and I...I just went to cry into my BL books.
I am aware that political lyrics or anything indicates politics would not make it through but sometimes they do make it through the subtlety of the song. I personally found Jamala's "1944" not that great and certainly not my favorite and not either the juries & popular favorite. That would be Russia. Nothing against Ukraine but the political mess of the whole game is just stupid and brain-breaking more than the outright stupid ones like France's "Mustache" and Greece's "Alcohol is Free". It literally broke my brain when Jamala won. At least "Waterloo" and "Heroes" are vague enough that they either talk about love or standing strong. At least the weird songs and downright awful songs fit right in with Eurovision. Yeah, I personally dislike how the Eurovision was handled on their last contest (politically speaking not comedic when you have Mans and Petra's hosting). It just shuts down my brain, okay, when I see a song that clearly has a political message is shown; arguing that the song has to do with her grandmother does not lessen the fact she is still talking about war that Ukraine had greatly impacted with; it's still a war song no matter how much you twist it; at least "Waterloo" is talking about love and "Heroes" are so vague and I heard "Rise Like a Phoenix" is Austria's apology to Poland which I can't tell when the song itself is vague enough to talk either about LGBT or war or you as a person; "1944" is about war with a clear political message and that's what pissed me off and I utterly refuse to watch the next opening of Eurovision with the winner song because that's how much Eurovision pissed me off with the 2016 contest, skipping to the damn beginning of the contest. I just wanted to scream at each and every person who thinks it is a good idea to send it in when the point is to promote peace, not to get more divided.
I really want all the politics gone from this stupid competition. Making sure lyrics and music indicating politics is not enough. Be more strict about it to make sure there are good songs, weird and somehow catchy songs, etc. Get rid of juries that are clearly political based and get music critics. Make the popular televoting the clear winner. Just do something to make sure no winner is politically based when the point of the damn contest was to promote peace, not talking smack about each other through song. Just make a song that proclaims you winners or something like Lithuania. Toris, Liet, Lithuania, dear, you tried but Finland's Lordi stole the show.
While I am not sure if you would win had Tino not send in Lordi, I'm sure you'll win someday in the future. I may always root for Italy but I want a fair result. Look at UK and France who sometimes sent in good results and I am quite surprised by their placement because I thought those deserved better. I thought Sognu to be good and deserved better than the fifteenth place.
UK and France either tries too hard or not try at all. Italy certainly does well such as the above video of "Madness of Love" and "Grande Amore". Sweden does great with "Euphoria" and "Love Love Peace Peace". Austria has that great opening for their hosting; just watching the classical musicians play just makes me laugh because of course, Austria would make sure he have the dignity and grace as host...even though he certainly failed that year with nul points. And poor Germany and Prussia too with their nul points. Good job to Sweden with their sixth win! One more and you would have the same number of wins as Ireland!
...Much as I do not want to hate on Jamala's "1944" in spite of my ranting of how political it is and how the last contest was handled, congratulations to Ukraine. I may not like the song as much and not that great a song when Russia sent in a good song that the people are willing to put aside their hatred of the country. You buxom lady, I hope you handled the contest well and just hopefully not be heavily political. The last thing I want is to go and cry and ruin my perfectly good books.
I am still skipping your opening though because I will rant when Jamala's "1944" comes on. While hugging my Hetalia dolls. While keeping a pile of doujinshi and BL books by my side in case any political songs come on. And club soda on the other side.
Like every other series or thing, there will always be good as well as bad. I just want Eurovision to be free of politics and be what it was intentionally designed to be.
But keep the camp. Eurovision is already campy and I don't think you can get rid of it after many years of humiliating performances and unlikely be completely serious. Camp makes it fun.
That's just my two cents into the Eurovision mess.
A warning: There are more sports anime/manga examples in here than I thought. Maybe because I'm still in that hell that sports anime offers a lot of BL, so many BL ships... When the characters have little interest in romance but their own sport and persons involved in said sport (sometimes using rather a flowery language and singularly focus on them), I would question them. I mean sports anime depending on what they focus on have little focus on the love interests or even taking the time to develop them beyond simple crushes. Even Oofuri, written by a female, has a crush or two but somehow having the gayest moments in them. Even boys who like girls by having pornography or simply liking a girl prioritized their career like Kuramochi Youichi. Onoda Sakamichi has a crush on Kanzaki Miki I guess but even he loves competitive cycling where he makes loads of friends and there's little development. Cross Game and Major have great romances interwoven so I really wonder what's the point in having romantic interests if you don't do anything to develop them except showing some shy glances and maybe a subtle confession by texting. That is not romance when I am not invested in them; there are so little interactions when the girls didn't do a thing like Yoshikawa Haruno or they're oblivious like Kanzaki Miki. I'm invested in Free!'s hit romances because the boys who have the crushes do something while Gou/Kou is oblivious but it's still something developed. Sports anime/manga are exactly sports anime/manga and shounen, sometimes seinen and shoujo but wanting little romances added to it when you don't do anything at all felt forced; it feels more like an afterthought. There's one thing to have a casual relationship but another if you want them to actually get together and make babies. Sports anime/manga are hotbeds for having more BL than actual canonical het relationships if you don't do anything to develop the latter, allowing a lot of shippy moments for the former. Sorry for the little rant.
You're lookin' at your future job, boyo.
I may perhaps explain this in my FFNet profile (which I eventually erased due to wanting to just make profile shorter) but this is an updated version. This is mainly for fun really since I'm still in MiyuSawa/MiSawa hell and reading loads of BL.
Okay, so...essentially it's basically CLAMPverse with Kingdom Hearts-eque thrown in. Okay, I got into KH first but I really love CLAMP to the point it's even in my username.
I would be best putting it in sections again.
Just to make it clear, it's an alternate universe...as far as I allow canon which I usually do...as long as canon make some good writing choices...then there will be alternate timelines. Although if there are world-traveling in media works like say Tsubasa Chronicles and Kingdom Hearts, then those remain canon.
Soulmates
You two are soulmates in my universe. You two are destined to fall in love in literally every world. If one of you are alone in the world where the other does not seem to exist, then you will remain single. That is a sad thought though because I literally want them to fall in love in every single universe, being the most shoujo couple out of the entirety of their own series, victimizing their friends and family with their lovey-dovey-ness.
Like CLAMPverse's pairs as best described here, I will have soulmates. The link likewise would do about unrequited love pairs I have as well, both canonically and fanonically.
Shipping-wise depending on series, I tend to be a/have (with examples)
a mono-shipper - I literally fell in love with MiSawa at their first meeting and there's no budging
multi-shipper - I like Merlin X Arthur and Lancelot X Guinevere...where in-canon is just exasperating to just see. There is a reason why I love the Rumours-verse fanfic series.
simply make a harem despite me not liking harems because I think it would make the romantic drama stop - OT3, OT# depending on the series and I tend to see most harem anime at least, even the reverse, for them to just well get them all even though I would certainly favor some couples then and there depending of course; I would put Glee in this category I guess, considering just how many love triangles involved and their love stories are either barely written like Klaine or tragically OOC for the sake of drama like Rachel's; Hell I don't even mind Yachi Hitoka with Hinata even though I like KageHina.
soft spots - this is a maybe the ardent shipper in me. I really like Haikyuu's Tanaka Ryuunosuke X Shimizu Kiyoko; Daiya no Ace's Kuramochi Youichi X Aotsuki Wakana and Isashiki Jun X Fujiwara Takako; Free's Mikoshiba Seijuro X Gou/Kou Matsuoka (I am so sorry, Sea Otter-kun! You're a cutie, Momo, but I like your brother with her)
gen - there are some series I don't ship any or just indifferent. In Marvel and DC, I don't ship often, preferring the canon couples and certain ships that caught me like Robin X Raven but other than that, nah. I don't even like Wonder Woman X Superman, seeing it and the Justice League more as a camaraderie.
Just to get this out of the way, shipping is subjective. I have seen people supporting couples that are my BrOTPs or NOTPs. Shipping is supposed to be fun, not cause wars among fans (I genuinely hate Shipping Wars, Die For Your Ship, and all those things that cause dispute) when the purpose of shipping is meant to be fun interpretations of relationships with canon evidence or not.
Of course, since this is my universe, it would have pairings that I support. Even in media aimed at kids around 10-12 in America like the Percy Jackson series that have a canon gay couple (that people have the right to hate or be critical of due to how sudden and rushed the pairing was), shipping is subjective regardless. People have the full right to hate/dislike/loathe/criticize/etc. I mean I'm "meh" with RoChu and don't like FrUK from the Hetalia fandom but even then I don't even care; one part of me because HISTORYand the other because shipping is simply subjective therefore opinion.
Canon couples (which either I support/neutral/outright dislike depending on the pair of course) and the couples I support fervently would be soulmates.
Like what the link explains, these couples will fall in love regardless of their circumstances in each world. These feelings came from their heart and soul and these feelings remained unchanged no matter what world or circumstance. From Baby Steps, Maruo Eiichirou will always love Takasaki Natsu. In one world, instead of pro tennis players, they might run a ryokan or own a business much like Yukito and Touya & Arashi and Sorata.
Souls and Hearts are the same in all persons despite growing up in different circumstances thus different lives and personalities, yet the essence that what made them who they are still there in each and every incarnation regardless of amnesia or other circumstance. The Sawamura Eijun of one world will share the same heart and soul of all the other Sawamura Eijun's in other worlds for example. He might be dead not an old age but at 18 in one world and he might be a yakuza leader in another for example. Yes, these came from fanfics; one of them listed below and keep bringing up.
Unrequited love also came from the soul and heart. Like, say Chris Yuu Takigawa is in love with Sawamura Eijun who I already made soulmates with Miyuki Kazuya. Chris-senpai has an unrequited love for Sawamura Eijun in the same manner of Tomoyo Daidouji and Sakura Kinomoto. For a better example, I didn't really got onto the Asbel X Cheria bandwagon especially in the F arc so in the end Cheria suffered from unrequited love while Asbel's soulmate is Richard. The game never sold me on Asbel X Cheria - shippers can ship whatever they want to so this is just my own opinion; there is no right or wrong answer for a ship. Shipping doesn't even need canon to even board the ship - but instead it sold me on Asbel X Richard which is in some form a lighter and softer Suzaku X Lelouch in which the latter I ship happily. I mean I'm pretty much okay on Stahn X Rutee but I honestly prefer Stahn X Leon/Emilio. I love Mikleo X Sorey and Yuri X Estelle. I'm meh on Yuri X Flynn and Ristelle - I don't hate it nor do I like it either; basically it's okay in my opinion but I prefer something else and doesn't seem to tug my heart the way Mikleo X Sorey or Asbel X Richard did.
Yes, they will still love someone else (getting a partner, wife, husband, etc.) but as a soulmate soulmate kind of thing, they will always love their unrequited love. Sonomi and Nadeshiko, Tomoyo and Sakura are examples, particularly the former where Sonomi got married but still loves Nadeshiko. From my own verse, one of the unrequited loves I got, other than CLAMP, is the aforementioned Chris. He can love someone else (glances at Tanba Koichirou who also suffers from unrequited love for Chris) but it can never measure how much he loves Eijun.
Some people might have two or more soulmates, of course depending. Hikaru Shidou likes both Lantis and Eagle; while I prefer Lantis, I certainly don't mind Eagle. Since this is my universe, this can go with the OT# depending on what I like/neutral/indifferent/dislikes. Hmm. I certainly don't mind APH Hungary with either Austria or Prussia. On the other hand, I like APH Japan with Greece rather than Turkey. I am so sorry, Turkey...
Crushes and infatuations are just that. They aren't strong feelings that soulmates would have so it wouldn't be in every world; hell they might even crush on different people. A canonical crush like Sakura's crush on Yukito did not retain itself in Tsubasa...clones and originals.
Just the link I made earlier would best explained this section.
Worlds
Who knows maybe a character you know like Hinata Shouyou might be living as a commoner? Hell, even imagine Tanaka and Noya in the Hanshin Republic with their own Kudan. Imagine Yuu Chris Takigawa living in the Piffle World as a mechanic.
There are many different worlds (which basically means accepted fanfics and the worlds featured in Tsubasa Chronicles and Kingdom Hearts) and maybe a few timelines because of decisions.
That last part... yeah, I mean I like Katekyo Hitman Reborn and everyone already pointed out the confusion and plot holes about the Future Arc but a sadistic side of mine wants to keep the timelines still alive one way or another just so I can see these people weep.
In one of my favorite fanfics The Trajectoryof Laughter, there are two timelines, perhaps 3 if we count canon. In the original timeline, Seidou actually lost in the Fall Tournament against Yakushi and the school didn't go to Koshien until Sawamura's third year; Miyuki's Seikou injury became so severe he is unable to play baseball so during the course of two years, he fell in love with Sawamura which is a crucial point in taking that fatal surgery...he died at the tender age of 18.
So, Sawamura at that tragic timeline went back to canon and started a new timeline where he and Miyuki fell in love again (although it seems like Sawamura and Miyuki will always fall in love seeing that Sawamura still feels something for Miyuki even in his amnesiac state) and Miyuki finding the world is not so bad after all; Furuya going down a good path; the third-years at the time fought Sakurazawa and Inashiro and won, going to Koshien
And Sawamura essentially died also at the age of 18. In the epilogue, he reunited with Miyuki Kazuya in the afterlife.
We don't know what happened to the original timeline where I said before where Sawamura got the yips and the third-years never went to Koshien, where Miyuki died from surgery just so he can play with Sawamura again. In my mind, it likely still exists because of Miyuki and Sawamura of the timelines, while dead, still exists. That's an oxymoron there...
The original ending before PKSamurai changed it had Eijun returned to his original timeline before he went with the most natural ending (yes, this BL fanfic is written by a guy named Kenta). So, the first thought I had that timeline still exist, just that Eijun died. The fic did leave things open for interpretation after all.
I just like the thought of a hospitalized third-year Sawamura Eijun died in a coma from an unstable brain and broken heart syndrome reminiscent of how Miyuki Kazuya's mom died in her slumber. I honestly want to see everyone's reactions to a tragic shoujo romance where Miyuki-senpai took the high-risk surgery just to play with the love of his life and Sawamura unable to play baseball because you know he's dead, following the love of his life just like he followed him to Seidou and maybe even university judging from Eijun's remark that he was planning to attend college before he learned of Miyuki's death. I want them to see the signs that the two are so strongly attracted to each other to the point they are willing to give up baseball and potentially their lives just to be together. Where we see Seidou including Ota and Rei, the retired Kataoka, the Nagano group see the signs when the couple was still alive and wish them every happiness in the next life.
Where we see Aramaki, the first-year pitcher, become a new Ace, memorializing his deceased captain. Where we see everyone try to immortalize their memory in ways they can.
While in Tsubasa Chronicles, we see how the time travel works due to Mokona's ability to travel through time and space and Yuuko's ability to reincarnate the clones. Look at Shura/Shara and Clow/Acid Tokyo. The latter is incredibly spoilery.
What about Back to the Future? We see the Bad Timeline due to Old Biff's meddling with the Almanac; Mostly Good due to the strained relationship between Marty and Jennifer. Look at the great timelines where we see instead of a tired and strained Marty's mom and dad, we got happily married and well-off parents.
Most people like to imagine the really bad original timelines to stay alternately and I really like that for my sadistic pleasure. Really, I imagine them to be another plane of their own existence, existing with other really bad timelines where a lot of people in-universe will cry, typically with me drinking alcohol made of the tears.
Now that's out of the way.
The people.
Just like the captions said and the link in the previous section, there will be different versions of people in each and every world. Due to different world's circumstances, people will have different lives, different personalities, different bodies; at the core they are one and the same, sharing the same heart and soul.
Like, say Onoda Sakamichi from YowaPeda is a scientist instead of a competitive cyclist in one world. Maybe he grew up with an ambitious mind to study mermaids that exist there and have very supportive friends and family who study in the same field. Maybe Sohoku cyclists are with him too, studying the mermaids. However, all Onodas of the universe shares the same heart and soul. So if he ever meets his most precious person that invokes feelings that came from his own heart and soul, he will fall in love with that person in every world, requited or not. It's Kanzaki Miki and Manami Sangaku, the expy of Kaworu Nagisa which I made soulmates with Ikari Shinji who got another soulmate in Asuka Langley Sohryu. Yeah, Shinji has two soulmates because I love both pairs. Why do I keep shipping Kaworu Nagisa expies with the main protagonist?
I'm just rolling out any ideas. I commonly use fanfics, just the accepted ones that would mostly be featured (even the not-so-good ones in my opinion) would make it as one of the worlds.
You know the previous post I made about Alternate Universes, yeah, it's technically part of headcanon-verse, just that these worlds never intersect. Some people might be aware like how in Tsubasa, there are a lot of people who are aware of Yuuko Ichihara, the Dimensional Witch and all those other names she was gotten; there are active world travelers like our Tsubasa group, the vampire twins, and the vampire hunter brothers. Ironically, the latter two are soulmates in CLAMPverse. If you read Tokyo Babylon and X/1999, you know the originals.
So to sum up:
A different plane of existence for timelines a la Katekyo Hitman Reborn
In different worlds, there are different versions of people with the same soul and heart no matter what circumstances (different bodies, lives, personalities) they grew up
There are soulmates where the strongest feeling from the heart, the soul will manifest in each and every alternate. Miyuki will always fall in love with Sawamura in each and every world for example because their feelings for each other are so strong and unchanging.
If that most precious person is not with them (whether they have not met yet or they simply don't exist), they'll remain single.
Hahahahahaha... I know I'm beating a dead horse here but this movie is what BvS should've been. It really should've been this. It's tackling the same themes and ideas but coherent, properly motivated characters, and better written in almost every degree.
I have no idea what Marvel is doing right what DC is doing wrong. DC is panicking right now and they really should've done their own thing while Marvel does their thing. Look at Japan with their own Superhero crossovers (Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, etc.). Granted they're Toei but still they having been doing their own crossovers for ages now and they know what they're doing. DC doesn't have to play the catch-up game when all the people wanted from the superhero genre are good ones. Look at the positively glowing reception for most of their movies, most not all.
I'll stop now. I said what I want to say before I will go on another rant.
Maybe I would do a Final Review when the second part finishes.
Kyo Kara Maoh!: It's flawed, very flawed. I like the characters enough but the plot structure needs work. In comparison to Glee, this is heaven and manageable. While I never read the light novels (I did read Zero no Tsukaima and two of Narita Ryohgo's works), I always have this nagging feeling that it's not that faithful.
It's not a Bleach recommendation. I was trying to figure out how to unofficially name the series. Anyway, the author reminds us that s/he is only familiar with the anime so best not to let knowledge of light novels get better of.
Soul Hunters: Post Season 3. Enemies from a past life catch up with Wolfram. A significant person from Wolfram's past life emerges, throwing the Mazoku's life in chaos. And as he recovers his memories of this previous lifetime, he is forced to make a difficult - even cruel - choice. Complete.
Soul Breaker: Part 2 of Soul Hunters. Guided by Shinou, Wolfram leaves his life behind in order to save Ryuu's soul. On the other hand, Yuuri finds out the truth about Ryuu, and together with his friends, he goes after Wolfram right into the place where everything started - Raven Port.
I really like the fics. It's a little more tragic in certain spots and definitely darker; there was actual war and described onscreen deaths. Not only it addresses certain characters' agencies but also forces these characters into situations that forced them to face what they have been avoiding. I was basically fawning when Yuuri finally took the mantle of being a king seriously. Sure it took catalysts for him (jealousy towards Damian, uneasiness toward Ryuu) to actually get on his feet and be the king he could be. I know that it's divine monarchy in Shin Mazoku but if Shinou chose the pure and noble soul to be king, there have to be something about Yuuri that would make him a decisive leader, handling affairs like economy and warfare.
I like how the fic brought into light about certain issues like Wolfram's designated role as a trapped and manipulated person and Yuuri's little activity as king. I really hope to see more fruit in the second part that Wolfram can finally stand on his own with a far stronger will than ever. The world-building is graciously well-structured with the Ryuzoku (dragon riders and Wolfram ended up becoming one as well) and Crypt of Souls. We see the most political part of the story which is relieving to see. It's not stuffy, just handled well like what I thought how it was handled in Code Geass.
The Japanese honorifics when not placed in Japan is a bit awkward. I think it is best to literally translate the Japanese words such as heika to your majesty. It's off-putting, to say the least. It's understandable in the anime and there is a dub. Despite the world of demons have some obvious European inspirations, there are underlying Japanese aspects to it. Foreign languages in English works doesn't really irritate me that much; it's simply how the usage of those terms can do, sometime deducting points due to detraction. Deducting even more points for appropriating culture (which is one of the bigger problems of BH6 because I don't see Hiro, Cass, or Tadashi celebrating Japanese culture in some shape or form like how about using gratuitous Japanese in a meaningful fashion like Hiro calling Tadashi Aniki or Nii-san for example (I address my relatives by what is appropriate); how about a Japanese shrine or have a picture on a desk for Tadashi (my family have shrines for those who passed away and have gatherings on the death date); or Japanese pastries/confectioneries sold in the cafe (onigiri or anpan or even taiyaki couldn't be hard to make if they are making donuts & macarons and I saw the official menu; my family made Vietnamese pastries/sweets for gatherings). My family celebrate Vietnamese culture through food, customs, etc & appreciate each and every gesture made because it's beautiful and respectively, my friends who are Chinese or Spanish still celebrates their culture. All I see in the film are toriis, lanterns, and some Japanese kanji/hiragana/katakana. There was a ramen stand during the Baymax flight.).
The OC's are great. Damian, The Crypt of Soul, every single OC's are amazingly well-developed and personalized. I like OC's personalized not repetitive expies. Expies are fine when executed well enough that can set the character apart. Kouta and Mai from Gaim are different from Madoka. Micchy is different from Sayaka and Homura despite the comparisons. In comparison to Glee, Sam is the only one who is remarkable enough for me to remember of Finn's expies and even then some potential in him was not fulfilled like his dyslexia and his relationship with Mercedes (which I do ship). I do find Rachel Berry to be rather fascinating a character and her character has charisma and passion that her later expies don't seem to have, even Marley. Marley did later went on to be Supergirl after all and fared much better. Glee is exasperating as a whole; as I stated before, I don't have a dethroning moment or a jumping the shark moment (both of which are entirely subjective (just see Shark Jumping, a web video series where two people discussed TV series and where they believe the show jumped the shark) and for me who is a neutral person on par with Switzerland's level of neutrality is quite difficult when all I want to do is be fair; rather be fair than to be biased) to any type of media.
Typically I don't care about love triangles or other shapes. I just care about execution, Love triangles may be exhausting when they don't do anything about it or just do stupid drama when they could do is talk seen in the case of Glee. I like how the love square is handled in-fic, each character seeing and knowing what is going on by a character telling them. It's self-contained and didn't hurt the characters.
Okay going into spoiler territory here. Then again, I warned about spoilers on my blog subheader...
The hints/foreshadowing that Yuuri and Ryuu are one and the same are worth applauding. It's constant enough to warrant a warning bell in your head.
The author said she was bothered that there were no consequences for Shinou's 'experiments' for a pure and noble soul. I was bothered about that too just as I am bothered how there are little consequences in P3-4. And I love how the author goes about solving this.
So Shinou, no matter how much you spin that he was possessed or his intentions, experimented on his dear friend Gavriel's soul, "splitting" it apart. The splitting results in the pure and noble soul (Susannah Julia/Shibuya Yuuri) & an aberrant soul (Ryuu).
Then Weisser, Gavriel's brother and Soul Keeper, took him away for a life (full of tragedy when the poor boy just wants to live in peace). Ryuu cannot be dead completely but rather reincarnated over and over only to have to kill just to prolong his life.
After lifetimes of tragedy and bloodshed, Ryuu wants to die and went to the Lombards where he would meet his Soul Breaker. In two years, he would fall in love with Frey Lombard and visa versa. He would nearly annihilate the Lombard clan, sending Frey into shock. Thus the Crypt of Souls specifically the leader Gottfried contacted him and tell him half-truths.
However, both were killed. Frey by Ryuu and Ryuu by suicide.
Frey eventually learned the truth of the whole affair from Weisser once he reached the Crypt of Souls; the experiments, the lead-up to Ryuu's death seeking. He was killed by Ryuu and even met Ryuu in the afterlife. The two reborn while the other half of the original soul reincarnated as Shibuya Yuuri after the pure and noble soul's first life as Susannah Julia.
We know that Wolfram is designed to destroy Ryuu completely and implied by Weisser's statement that he can kill the other part of the soul, he is also designed to destroy Yuuri as well. The irony that the halves of the same soul fell in love with the Breaker destined to destroy them had been said. Would Gavriel fall for the Breaker? I know that Susannah Julia is in love with another...
So, Shinou essentially ruined the lives of three innocent people and perhaps more due to association of original (Gavriel) and the incarnations (Conrad would be shocked to know that his brother had been the one destined to destroy Julia's soul and that Julia's soul is incomplete; that the pure and noble soul is only half a soul.). While it stated in-fic that the pure and noble soul have the right of life, the soul itself is still not whole regardless of purity. Many flat-out stated there are no such thing as an entirely good individual.
Seeing in the latest chapter, we see that the citizens especially those close to Wolfram and Yuuri are this close to finding out the truth of the matter. They would be so angry... I wanted them to know the truth of the situation just how messed up the lives of their friends have been. When nobody wants their brother/friend/son to die.
I highly recommend this series because it's more than just great characters and feeling a lot like something out of the anime/light novel/manga. It's honestly good.
Y'know for some bittersweet or downright tragic fics for couples I support fervently (AKA soulmates in my headcanon-verse; yes, I firmly believe Miyuki Kazuya and Sawamura Eijun to be soulmates for example and as this tag for this post said I want them to fall in love in literally every universe so... basically CLAMP) or for fics that are vaguely TRC (like in this fic), the Tsubasa Reservoir ChroniclesOST by Yuki Kajiura plays in my head.
I know how Jazz is very divisive and not everyone's cup of tea. Music is music and entirely subjective. Just really like you guys to take a look at this.
The critics are almost on point. I really want to like this movie, really I do. I was right about BvS getting the same treatment as MoS...
I don't hate the movie. It does have some good points (mostly because of three actors) but overall the movie's hollow and frustrating.
The good points:
I will take the moments of levity when I can. There is a reason why I love Persona 4. I do not want Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy and DCCU suffers from this so much. I don't mind dark stories but here's the thing: if there is nothing bright worth fighting and sympathizing for, then why should we care? Why MCU works is because of the character's soul, wry wit, and humanity.
Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons, and Gal Gadot are great. They may have very little to work with (so very little) but they are trying in comparison to Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, and others. Just yeah.
The cameos. I don't mind the cameos in the MCU and I feel it didn't detract too much.
The bad points:
The hollowness. I don't even mind Batman and Superman killing. However, the presentation of the reason is so hollow and makes me just throw something at the screen. Which I didn't because I don't want to waste food so I settle for screaming mentally. Reasons are so shallow and never honestly examined. Sure we get some ideas but never fully elaborated to its full potential.
The plot. Like I get what they are going for. Most of the time, the questions raised were never addressed. The film is mostly an excuse for conflict between Batman and Superman: what makes the conflict was just stupid and I just want to scream. It should be ideological differences, not this, this thing.
Why? Why do you do this scene that would lead to nowhere and that plot point that doesn't make any sense in the overall game? Don't you see the potential in the film? Why people love DC? For example, why kill off Jimmy Olsen? What is the freaking point? The freaking potential there is staring at you in the face, Synder and you go for the shock value? Don't do the Family Guy thing, Synder. I know you are trying but your directing makes me want to cry. I can see the potential in there so please for the sake of your audience who wants something moderation of light and dark.
I do not want DC movies to be Marvel-style of movies. I just want them to have moments of levity and great comical lines; make them your own but remember to moderate darkness and comedy. Nolan's Batman films have great lines despite its darkness. The DCCU is just so joyless and cold that I don't feel invested in them. Look, it's great you want dark stories but dark and drama should be balanced by comedy and heartwarming. Dark stories do not mean always great stories. There is a reason why Marvel and DC telly are great: while Marvel movies are light and happy and their telly are dark while still having light moments & DC movies are dark while TV is light, they are both great in many respects.
I have seen interviews from Zack Synder and see him defending the collateral damage in MoS to Death Star. I want to point out to him and it seems like everyone else already did: it was the BAD GUYS who destroyed it not the GOOD GUYS. Synder is so big-headed that he thinks he can toss eggs at MCU when he doesn't truly understand why the audience is complaining. Please for the love of Godoka, don't make any more comments about Marvel and how you think you know better when you clearly don't, just don't insult your audience and imply they are stupid. I know you have fans but that is merely a niche audience.
So here's some Deadpool. A good superhero film. Take notes, Synder, to know what to do with a superhero film and doing right with the right superhero. The right kind of balance and wonder. Even though the wonder of Deadpool is the fourth wall jokes (though the film missed the joke with Stan Lee as a stripper announcer; come on, Deadpool should have commented on that!).
Furries must be really happy about Gazelle. I seriously wonder why Shakira want the hips to be emphasized? Just why?
Joking aside, the current Disney is okay. I mean I do love Cinderella 2015 up there with my favorite Cinderella adaptations (one of the themes is one of my life's philosophy) but then there's Frozen. I wouldn't exactly call it a Disney Renaissance but more like Disney still taking shaky baby steps...which is still freaking better than the DCCU.
The movie is more coherent. There are certainly some low points (Duke Weaselton for example and the plot twist; there are hints about it like Bellwether at the press conference but it's not constant) and there are some good points. It's not a masterpiece but still better put-together than Frozen anyhow. I just feel that the movie is just scratching the surface of how complex the world views racism/sexism despite its great allegory.
I like the characters and the actual playing with tropes. It actually examines racism/sexism though the allegorical tale; so subtle too which is a good point. I took a Sociology Class and still kept the books for it because unlike the other books I sold, I want to keep it for the sake of studying. I love the relationship between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde and I don't particular care of shipping or platonic. I just like them together platonic or romantically, what was Ted said about himself and Robin "Platonish". I do love Po X Tigress and I do love their moments in KFP3 and I love Crane X Mei. I love BL for god's sake and a steadfast shipper of Miyusawa from Daiya no Ace and MakoHaru from Free!. The Four Loves should still apply. Why should I even care that they're animals? I don't think of sex things despite reading more R18 doujins more than I can count; I look more for sweet gooey fluff. Why else do I love intimate moments that will make me flush?
It is true that the current Disney is going to grittier topics like depression (even though Frozen skims it and Inside Out actually examines it through the Emotions) and grief and bereavement (Hiro). Should I add Force Awakens to this? Well, then psychological disorders (Kylo Ren).
However, it all depends on execution. Zootopia can be good in some respects but it's not perfect and it's not a masterpiece. Like I get Magnum Opus like your best work yet kind of thing but calling it perfect is disingenuous to the present flaws.
