Review - Tumblr Posts
She-ra Season 1 Re-watch Thoughts
Going back and watching season 1 after watching season 5 is actually really strange. The show has changed so much. Not just the themes and the stakes, but even the animation. Watching it all at once makes it very clear the jump in animation quality season to season. That’s not to say season 1 had bad animation, far from it, but the use of color, lighting, and framing is much better utilized in later seasons and the action scenes get better as time moves forward. I will say I was always a fan of the art style. I never really understood why shows get attacked for their art style before the show even airs. I think every art style can bring something new to the table and how they use that art style to their advantage is what matters and I think she-ra capitalizes on it.
The character designs are my favorite. You can tell a lot about each character by their design alone which is an impressive feat to pull off. Like for Catra she has heterochromia which is used to outwardly display her dual nature and warring inner conflict between her love and hatred of Adora and in the 5th season it’s used to portray her struggle between self betterment and sliding into old habits and self destruction. The blue eye is the one covered by the corruption in season 3 symbolizing Catra’s decision to open the portal making Adora realize that she can’t save her anymore and so on.
The use of music gets much better within the season around episode 11. This is where the most emotional scores come into play that become recurring leitmotifs for the characters and relationships. The most notable being the one that plays in “Promise” when Catra is cutting the webbing and leaves Adora to fall. This score becomes the leitmotif for their relationship and continuously pops up when they are having a breakthrough or major shift in their relationship like in the aforementioned scene, when Catra tells Adora she would rather see the whole world destroyed than let Adora win, during Catra’s apology in Corridors, during the confession in the finale, and many more. The music is breathtaking. I really hope they release the full score at some point.
I also just realized that, other than the 5th season finale, this season has easily the happiest finale. All the other ones get increasingly dark. The second season ends with Shadow weaver standing over Adora’s bed and Catra getting caught in a lie and choked by hordak, the third ends with the portal being closed but Angella sacrificing herself and Adora having given up trying to save Catra, and the fourth season ends with Glimmer and Catra captured, She-ra seemingly destroyed, and imminent invasion by Horde Prime’s overwhelming forces. While I enjoy the finale of this season I think it’s weaker than the episodes leading up to it. Princess Prom, Promise, No Princess Left Behind, and In the shadows of mystacor are stronger episodes as a whole in my opinion.
I'm split on the finale of this season on the one hand I did really like the whole “the night is darkest just before the dawn '' feel the finale had to it but on the other I think it was wrapped up a bit quickly. To go off the first point the reason I liked it has more to do with how it works within the context of the whole story. The rebellion has lost almost all of its members, the world is a mess, and the horde is marching on a mostly defenseless Brightmoon. Catra has clawed her way to the top, torn down shadow weaver, and managed to be a driving force in the princess alliance falling apart. The villains are for the first time a very believable threat to the rebellion. The battle seemed hopeless and the fight between Catra and Adora that brought them face to face for the first time since promise was everything I could have asked for. So I was a little put off by the sudden reversal of situations. I still find it to be jarring but I also like how the reversal makes it so that when seasons 3, 4, and 5 come around and we see the actual lowest points of these characters and their situations it feels like a natural progression, that the characters were lucky this time.
The finale also emphasizes the idea that there is strength in bonds which I think is a big part of the end message of the show. The series finale isn’t a big battle, at least not on Adora’s front, but Catra cradling Adora in her arms asking her to stay which gives Adora the strength to pull through. If the rebellion hadn’t won this battle I don’t think the coming struggles and hardships would have hit as hard as they did. I actually think the finale did a good job with what it was trying to do and set up. It gives off the “A New Hope” vibe so that when season 4 rolls around and hits us with a “The Empire Strikes Back” it hits really hard. (I still think the tonal shift is jarring and the themes explored in this episode are done much better in Remember and the portal though)
This season suffers from what a lot of shows first seasons do. It was a solid season with some great episodes, but I don’t think it’s the best example of what the show will become outside of 3 or 4 of the episodes which are all in the latter half of the season. Promise is probably the best example of what the show will become inside of the first season. The show tackles themes of abuse in such depth that the string of 4 episodes after the premiere are very misleading in how lighthearted they are. And even the season finale episode doesn’t do the best job at conveying what the show will become with later seasons because of how neatly the conflict is resolved. It seems like a much simpler tale than the serialized story about the struggles to overcome trauma and programming that it is. I will say that it does strongly establish that the relationship between Catra and Adora is the heart and driving force of the series. This is the strongest point of the season and where it most clearly shows what the series is about.
She-ra Season 2 Re-watch Thoughts
Season 2 is much more tonally consistent than season 1. The tone doesn’t shift as much episode to episode as it did in the first season with more of a mix of humor and seriousness within the episodes themselves without comedy dampening the drama. For example the episode “Roll with It” did have a lot of comedy in it, but it didn’t dampen the revelation as to why Adora was being so meticulous. In fact I thought that moment hit harder because of it. They did a very good job of showing Adora’s frustration being in stark contrast to everyone else’s carefree attitudes towards the planning. The most jarring episode in terms of tonal shifts is probably Ties that Bind and that episode is actually pretty great on the whole despite the swift wind humor falling flat for me.
You can’t talk about season 2 without mentioning its magnum opus episode light spinner. This episode manages to be a linchpin in the series moving forward tying together the fates of all the main heroines (Adora, Catra, and Glimmer) with shadow weaver in the past, present, and future. This show puts an emphasis on cycles and learning how to break them and this episode masterfully shows those cycles that shadow weaver creates.
I do think this season suffered from dreamworks or netflix deciding to split up seasons 2 and 3. This season, while having some great episodes, was mostly build up to season 3. Everything that was set up and established in this season was paid off in season 3: Hordak and Entrapta’s portal experiment and Catra’s desperation for motherly love that was denied her and jealousy over shadow weaver’s preferential treatment of Adora all come to a head in the third season. This made it so that I enjoyed this season a lot more the second time around than the first. The first time around it felt very cut off and I couldn’t help but be disappointed to not get the climax the episodes were clearly building to. I will say the payoff was well worth the wait, but that just makes the decision to cut the season in 2 to be more ill thought out in my opinion because the pacing works much better when you can go right into season 3 without the wait.
She-ra Season 3 Re-watch Thoughts
I don’t think there’s a single bad or even just okay episode this season. I loved every single episode. I think this is when she-ra became great. There were kernels of the potential the show had here and there throughout the first two seasons (especially the episodes promise and light spinner), but this season really capitalized on all the tension built from the first two. It had a strong focus on the effects of abuse on Adora and Catra. This led to Catra and Adora’s moments of truth. Both aren’t yet able to break free from the effects of the abuse, but while Adora makes steps toward trying to work through it Catra starts to give in and become what her abuse made her. It’s a tragic arc for both actually.
Adora’s guilt complex and crushing expectations make it so that she can’t see her own worth past what she does for others. She starts to stop taking the blame for what others have done with her telling Catra “You made your decision. Now live with it.”. She’s realized she can’t save Catra from herself. If Catra is to be redeemed Catra has to make the decision. Catra falls into denial of her own faults and lets the pain of abandonment fuel her. And in the end every moment breaking Catra down lead to this conclusion. The breaking point for her was when everything she actually wanted was right there, Adora was by her side and shadow weaver was proud of her, and then it was all yanked away.
Adora right after her breakthrough with not taking fault for Catra’s mistake sadly has a major setback when Angella sacrifices herself in Adora’s place. The lesson Angella imparted on Adora was what Adora needed to hear. It was that Adora, not she-ra, was the one who inspired the rebellion and Angella. It is Adora’s courage and character that makes she-ra a hero not she-ra’s abilities. And it’s really sad that this doesn’t have the intended effect because Adora feels like she should have died in Angella’s place and now Glimmer has lost a mother because of it. It gets even worse in season 4 when Glimmer and her fight and there is a rift between them. Adora’s guilt becomes overwhelming.
Season 3 was a turning point for the series. This is where things became serious, where the lines between characters and their opposition to each other was cemented, where mysteries that effect the main characters and change their world start to get revealed, the stakes and consequences are real and everything isn’t fixed by the end. This season finale was game changing. It once again has the Catra and Adora dynamic at its heart and it’s once again complicated and crushed by shadow weaver. The shadow weaver, Catra, and Adora dynamic is the most complex and complicated of the entire show.
Catra’s pain and anger over shadow weaver’s abandonment of her in the fright zone and her preferential treatment of Adora making it so that Catra misplaces her anger about shadow weaver onto Adora is so heartbreaking and emotional. The emotional climax to the season in my eyes is the confrontations between Adora and Catra in the portal reality. All the pain, anger, and sadness is just on full display.
The scene where Adora tells Catra “Everything will be okay as long as we stay together” played right next to the “Promise” scene with the music box playing showing the corruption or distortion of an innocent childhood promise that has brought about so much pain into both of their lives was so impactful to me. And Catra’s breakdown where she tells Adora “I won’t let you win. I’d rather see the whole world end than let that happen.” hurt so much. I kept replaying that scene once I finished the season. I think that scene and the episode “Remember” are my most re-watched until season 5 came around (though it may be promise and the cliff scene that are my most re-watched. I’m not entirely sure.). This show excels at its emotional moments and confrontations. It’s fights aren’t really flashy and it makes up for it by making them highly emotional. The two fights they have in the final two episodes of this season are no exception.
I couldn’t believe what had happened. Everything about this season blew me away when I first watched it. The way shadow weaver revealed Adora’s origins, Adora’s struggle with how everything about her life was forced upon her, Catra’s breakdown over shadow weaver’s abandonment of her, corrupted Catra, both of Adora and Catra’s fights, the entirety of remember, Angella’s sacrifice, and much more. I liked almost everything about this season. The tone was pretty consistent and there weren’t any moments or episodes that I found to be in jarring contrast with the rest of the season. This is actually the season that is the most tonally consistent. I can’t say enough good things about the character drama. Thinking about Catra and Adora’s arcs this season always makes me emotional. I just feel so much for both of them. It’s so tragic how they both got to this point.
Baby Reindeer (2024) Review
I've never seen a more Accurate representation of SA I've ever seen in film or TV.
You won't fully understand it unless it were to happen to You. This wouldn't have been Anywhere as good if it were written by Anyone else.
Richard Gadd himself wrote it, making it the more Hard Hitting Baby Reindeer. since the stories based on the series Had happened to Richard Gadd, and he went on to Write it instead of Any other old writer.
And the fact he Played the role Himself, putting himself through All of that again for a series, Truly is Unremarkable.
10/10
SUS (2010) Review
"OmG SuS LiKe tHe fUnNy AmOnG uS gAmE" -Sus is a 2010 British drama film directed by Robert Heath and starring Ralph Brown, Clint Dyer and Rafe Spall. It is set in a police station on the evening of the 1979 general election, where a black suspect is brought in and interrogated on suspicion of murder. It was written by Barrie Keeffe, adapted from his 1979 play with the same title, and takes its name from the sus law in operation at the time.
This movie is Brutal. There are only Three characters in the Entrie film, One of them is Black man and the over two are Conservative Racist To The Core policemen on the night Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. This movie Hurts to watch, but hurts more when you understand how Real it is, and how much of an effect the conservative party had on the United Kingdom.
10/10
“Kekkon Surutte Hontou desu ka?- 365 Days to the Wedding”Manga Review, kinda
Ever had a Manga that is just heartwarming to read? And while being at it, its chracters living rentfree in your head? A series that is satisfying to read, despite or more accurately because it’s sometimes a bit predictable. For me this happened with “Kekkon Surutte Hontou desu ka?- 365 Days to the Wedding”, a Manga by Tamiki Wakaki, which recently got an anime announced. It was said announcement, that got me to read the description of the manga and lead me to read it, halfheartedly at first. After three days however, i started to bookmark it. Without realizing it the series just stuck to me because, there were moments or even entire chapters that left me with a stupidly bright smile and a very warm and cozy feeling. Usually accompanied by a feeling of “i knew it”.
“Kekkon Surutte Hontou desuka?” is a slice of life/(office) romance manga about Takuya Oohara and Rika Honnjouji who are co-workers at a travel agency, where the higher- ups recently announced the opening of a branch in Irkutsk. Both protagonists are incredibly anti-social and neither of them wants to be send there. To reduce the likelyhood of getting send there, they pretend that they are getting married to each other, because the higher-ups also announced that singles are more likely to be send there. While pretending to get married they actually fall in love with each other. Technically this plan could easily fall flat, because the higher-ups could just send both of them, but that’s probably just me relinquishing my suspension disbelieve for a second. With that out of the way, one of the things that i like the most about the series is how the characters start developing because of each other. Both of them open up as people through interacting with each other and to see that unfold is genuinely heartwarming. And it stays like this. Without going into detail a good example of this is the entire development from chapter 20 or so up to chapter 50. Their different social backgrounds, ad an interesting element to their relationship, by creating a bit of tension, beyond just the two of them, because an underlying theme seems to be aside from marriage, the conflict between tradition and modernity. Something that influences another great aspect of the story namely the way how the author uses their co-workers to subtly deal with themes that, from my experience, are rarely brought up in slice of life/romance manga, like (dealing with) divorce and to some extend single motherhood. The only way how i’ve percieved these themes within the confines of romance manga somewhat, was thorough the classic, “oldest daughter does the household, while the mother works” trope. Within the story, especially the topic of single motherhood was part an arc, which lead me to like one the sidecharacters, Gonda, who meets a woman who turns out to be a single mother. Through that arc he gets an interesting amount of character development.
The fact that there were little to no conflict, to the point were i expected one to happen, while it didn't happen is something that i really enjoyed about the manga. A minor nitpick is that Gonda's Arc feels a bit cut short, but that impression might change, considering that i am currently slowly rereading the series. So in the future I might actually revisit this with a properly researched anaylsis on its themes (and probably overinterpret it, to the point of seeing aluminium trees).
So to conclude: I can happily recommend this Manga.
An honest review of Corel Painter 2018, from an artist who has been using it since version 8.
Painter is like the most beautiful lady, filled with so many bad habits that never change.
And I say so with all my heart.First, let me get this straight, I love Painter, I wish I could be using Painter for all my painting needs. Alas, after giving Painter a chance for so long, I realize that love is a life long journey, and it’s better to be married with someone who has a great character than just beauty, and that someone is Photoshop.
But sometimes, for an exciting fling with ex, I go back to Painter just occasionally, hah.
Now lets get to the good sexy points first:
PROS
Painter has the most robust brush engine in a painting software available today. The options for adjusting it are so diverse, that it can be a little daunting to anyone who hasn’t use it before.
Painter has the best brushes to mimic traditional media. Once you tried it, you will know it. The oils, pens and palette knives are some of the tools that I wish other software have.
Painter can apply different colors to each bristle of the brush, hence creating that organic multi-color strokes that is very difficult, if not impossible to do in other software.
Painter can “paint on a path”, which is super amazing. Which means you can use that oil brush and still achieve a very sleek finish even with complex shapes, while varying degrees of pressure and strokes to make it look natural.
Take a look at some of the line work I did using Painter:
Look at the lovely brushstrokes on their hairs, and sleek line work through out all 3 art. These are easily achievable in Painter. Their natural brushes are so good that I’ve never had to create my own brushes, they are good right out of the box.
Painter also has a palette for mixing colors the traditional way, which is very good for people with long traditional backgrounds.
Then Painter has “Blenders”
If you are starting digital art, chances are you have been using traditional mediums for a while, and you know traditional mediums are not the easiest to blend totally smooth colors.
Now if you look at her pink hair above, painter can blend exactly that smooth very easily. You can just lay down 2 blocks of solid colors, and use blender “just add water” and brush over it, until you achieve the smoothness you want. For beginners, this seem god send. For more experienced artist, you can change/use different brush tip for the blenders and achieve a more textured look.
But what makes blenders so good is not the smoothness of it, but rather, it can change the approach you create art and speed it up. Rather than blending every element slowly, you can just lay down blocks of solid colors fast, and blend them altogether later.
So Painter has fantastic brushes and a great brush engine, plus a nifty blender right? But that’s about it.
CONS
Now its the cons. Prepare yourself.
Painter as a software is very clunky, glitchy, and it has been the same ever since so long. The people at Corel is either incapable of improving it, or they just doesn’t care.
1. Using Tablet Eraser Lags
Yes you read that right, even basic feature like switching to eraser lags. But hey, that’s the faster version. You know what’s slower, switching to eraser tool command also lags, for half a second or a second I don’t know.
This makes rough sketching extremely annoying for me. Where I tend to draw and erase immediately, the constant switching of tools creates a constant sudden lag which is really frustrating, breaking momentum.
2. Default eraser cannot be adjusted.
What? Yes, you are stuck with a pressure sensitive eraser, with a soft or hard edge version. Yes, ever since forever they never change it too. In order to change it, you need to do some out of the box file editing, but that means you can’t change it while you are working, so it’s useless as well.
Well you can adjust the eraser, but only as a “brush tool”. Which you have to select a new brush to erase, and you have to reselect your previous brush to paint again.
Again this is very annoying for me, whereas in PS I just need to press “e” to erase and then “b” to paint again immediately with my brush cursor still in the same place on the canvas. In Painter I have to go over the canvas to select the eraser (b), erase, then select again the brush, and back to painting, which takes up tons of time. You can’t use a different shortcut like PS, because as I say, the “adjusted” eraser is considered a brush tool.
3. The 1st time you open the brush engine, it lags, for about 3 secs
Yes, it lags again, though only for the first time, but I don’t know why, it never change since forever.
4. Using big brushes lags.
Painter always claim that their current version is faster than before, but that only shows how bad it is the previous version was, and the current version is not much better.
I often paint in large canvases in PS so that I can put in tons of details. Sometimes there are tons of layers, sometimes just a few. But in all cases I can use brushes up to 800px wide without problem, in 1000px I have to paint slower or the strokes will not catch up. I usually do that to cover large areas.
One may argue that Painter’s brushes are more sophisticated, but most brushes lags when they pass 100px, with few layers. With tons of layers? Its a nightmare.
5. Painter’s drag zoom, zoom you to the MAX.
Sometimes, when you are trying to paint a certain area, you put one of your hand in Ctrl-Z (undo), so that you can keep immediately undo each time you didn’t get the strokes right.
Occasionally, you didn’t press Ctrl in time and pressed the Z, so it becomes “zoom” (shortcut for both in PS and CP is same), and then you stroke your brush in zoom mode.... you zoom a little in PS, so you just zoom out back once again, but in Painter, you always zoom in to the max, 1600% zoom. So you zoom out repeatedly to get back again.
Like wtf Painter? who zooms in 1600%??
6. Painter’s “Canvas” is a mystery.
For a long while, I often wondered what the “canvas” layer is for (The bottom most layer), until now I still don’t have clue. The canvas layer cannot be edited, moved, or duplicated, so if you open up an image in Painter and would like to duplicate, or erase the background and paint underneath it, you are out of luck.
It is unbelievable, that in 2018, you can’t drag an image and put it on another layer in another document.
The canvas is more nuisance than useful. You can’t create another layer underneath the canvas. You can’t even copy and paste the canvas.
Ah but you can move that layer into another layer or another document through an unorthodox method, you know what? You have to go under layer tab, and choose “Lift canvas into watercolor layer”
Then you can drag “that watercolor layer”. So essentially, you need to convert to watercolor layer and thus it duplicates the layer for you and change its blending mode to “gel”, but it cannot just duplicate that into a normal layer? Yeah, that’s Painter’s canvas. I always start my image in PS.
7. Color Picking from another image causes it to select it, so you have to click your file again.... and IT LAGS, EVERY SINGLE TIME
It’s no surprise that in the digital era, picking colors has become so easy, and as an artist, I often use color reference from other images. But imagine when you have to reference many colors and each time you reference there’s a lag in between, it’s like painting back and forth 2 different file, and with a lag.
I will add on to list in the future, these cons are the only ones I can remember for now.
(Switching brush selection and brush engine.)
(path tool)
CONCLUSION:
It’s 2018, and Painter still doesn’t fix the most basic functions to allow Painter to be used easily. There are more issues, but these are the most basic issues that stops me from fully using Painter as my go to software. And these are issues that have persists for a very long time (forever?), instead Painter introduces gimmick features like “music brushes” and charges a whole lot for each new version of Painter.
I use Painter only for my line/brush work for now.
Instead of improving and fixing to make Painter a fully usable wholesome painting software, Painter chooses to focus on trivial features that nobody asks for.
Painter could beat Photoshop and become the King of painting software, but it can’t, because it never changes it’s bad habits.
What are your thoughts on the Eunuchs in Dashing Youth?
Thanks for the ask! 😺 I have many, many thoughts about how the eunuchs were handled. Though I’ll get into the show’s shortcomings regarding the Five Eunuchs, I will say that Zhuo Qing was the greatest highlight of Dashing Youth for me (especially regarding the captivating conflict centered around Zhuo Qing, Li Changsheng, Emperor Tai’an, and Baili Luochen).
More often than it should have, Dashing Youth had poor structuring and ill-timed dips in tension. However, the plotline involving those aforementioned four characters was carefully built up, well-paced, and high-stakes—with significant payoff. The thing is, Dashing Youth has something of an antagonist problem, where most of them are either killed off very quickly or cease to be antagonistic. Zhuo Qing and Emperor Tai’an stand as excellent exceptions to this dulling trend in the writing. For a show like this, antagonistic forces are incredibly important. While the “bloody youths” were the heart of the show and very entertaining on their own, the “dashing youths” could be better described as the center of the drama—and good drama needs compelling antagonists. Because of this, Zhuo Qing steals the show.
Zhuo Qing
His relationship with Emperor Tai’an is so fascinating. With their multilayered power dynamic and their decades of companionship, there is a palpable tension between Zhuo Qing’s careful, calculated submissiveness and the sharp edges underlying Emperor Tai’an’s familiarity. The actors have great chemistry and the camera loves both of them—especially their beautiful hands with gorgeous complementary thumb-rings.
Just as riveting is Zhuo Qing’s rivalry with the Immortal Li Changsheng. So many emotions churn under the surface, threatening to spill over with every interaction. Pride, fear, anger, respect—no one can get such a rise out of Zhuo Qing as he.
Overall, Zhuo Qing is a complex, entertaining, and formidable villain with strong motivations. As mentioned previously, the plotline focused on him has excellent pacing and intense stakes. His voice is incredibly calming and his actor is highly adept. Zhuo Qing was the character I was most excited to see, and that particular anticipation was satisfied in full.
Jin Xuan (positives)
I do have one significant positive thing to say about how Dashing Youth handled Jin Xuan. He makes for an amazing foil to Baili Dongjun and I appreciate how the show positioned him in that respect. It helped me think of some fascinating ways the two characters could also be considered foils of each other in the Blood of Youth and its novel.
Jin Xian
I love how his first scene with Zhuo Qing highlights both the kindness Zhuo Qing can show and the terror he can inspire. An intriguing duality, which Jin Xian mirrors in how he carries peaceful prayer beads in his left hand and a sword of violence in his right. Speaking of which, the significance of his Blizzard Sword is so fascinating to think about—even more so than before. Also, I love the way he protects Jin Xuan at one point, especially since Jin Xuan is wearing TBoY Jin Yan’s clothes—the visual makes my Jin Xian/Jin Yan shipping brain happy.
Jin Xuan (negatives)
There was a crucial moment in Zhuo Qing’s story which truly seemed like Jin Xuan should have been present for. Sweet as it was seeing Jin Xian supporting his shifu, it really seems like it would have been far more impactful to Jin Xuan’s psychology for him to witness it instead.
Overall, his character feels really off. There are moments that feel more like him, especially in the times he interacts with Yi Wenjun, but otherwise, for the most part, he feels like an entirely different character. Him wearing TBoY Jin Yan’s robes probably isn’t helping me in trying to find him recognizable, but, most importantly, I really find it hard to believe that Jin Xuan would ever involve himself in an affair with a prince other than Xiao Ruojin in this period of time, even if it is a part of Zhuo Qing’s plan.
Zhuo Xin, Zhuo Sen, Zhuo Luo
Of the same generation of the Five Eunuchs as Zhuo Qing, it really seems like these three should have been in the show, especially during Xiao Ruofeng’s destruction of the Dragon Seal Scroll—they were more or less implied to be present for it in Jin Xuan’s dialogue to Jin Xian in TBoY Episode 34. At this point, I’m wondering if the live-action universe is an AU where Zhuo Sen and Zhuo Luo died very early, forgotten by time and unmentioned forevermore.
Eunuch Li and Eunuch Cheng
These two were pretty interesting. They weren’t in the show a lot, but it definitely feels like there’s layers to them and their relationships with other characters. I would like seeing more of either eunuch, though I’m satisfied with what we got—I can use my imagination for how Jin Yan ended up incorporating Eunuch Li’s official robe into his casual outfit in The Blood of Youth and the implications thereof 😼
Jin Yu, Jin Yan, Jin Wei
I would say “last but not least,” but Dashing Youth essentially reduced these three to background characters, especially Jin Yan, who doesn’t have a single line of dialogue. I would have liked to see more of them in the finale, and really feel like we got shorted. Given how much more attention and focus the Five Eunuchs got in the Blood of Youth’s novel compared the live-action, I’m guessing that Dashing Youth’s lack is something of a departure from the source material. I really do get the vibe from the author that the Five Eunuchs are some of his favorite characters to write about—I don’t believe he would shortchange these three to this degree.
There is also notably the matter of the baffling clothing situation (Jin Xuan and Jin Yan switched official attire in the time between Dashing Youth and The Blood of Youth. DY Jin Wei wears TBoY Jin Yu’s. Jin Yu has a different outfit entirely). I’m hoping the live-action Dark River show that comes next will either clear up the confusion or increase the intrigue.
As for the sword situation… I can understand Jin Yan possibly wanting to have a sword if Jin Xuan does, though I don’t think Jin Xuan would have a sword in the first place. Jin Xian and Jin Wei are the swordsmen among the Five Eunuchs. Jin Xuan, Jin Yu, and Jin Yan all practice palm techniques—why would they be carrying swords? It also seems strange that the sword Jin Wei is carrying does not appear to be the Abyssal Eye Sword. I mean, the live-action version of the sword (a Bichen prop from The Untamed, seriously? Cool easter egg, but the Abyssal Eye is far too important not to have its own design) isn’t as imposing or ghostly or evil as the novel’s or the donghua’s, but it makes no sense for Jin Wei to not bring it along for the climax of the story, instead carrying an even less interestingly-designed sword.
As a side note, my theory about The Blood of Youth’s Jin Wei wielding a Bichen lookalike is that it was likely originally planned to be the Blizzard Sword. The novel describes Jin Xian as having worn white to travel the Martial Arts World, so Bichen’s design would have matched (and would possibly encourage the audience to see the mild similarities between Jin Xian and the owner of Bichen, particularly in the context of Jin Xian helping out Jin Yan when the world was against him). Live-action Jin Xian ended up having a costume design more similar to the donghua, however, and Bichen’s design would no longer match him so well. But, of course, the people making the show might still have wanted to use the prop—so they looked to the next sword-wielding eunuch: Jin Wei.
Overall, Dashing Youth was incredibly favorable for Zhuo Qing, and somewhat lackluster in its use of the rest of the eunuchs, except perhaps Jin Xian, Eunuch Li, and Eunuch Cheng. Despite Dashing Youth’s writing problems, Zhuo Qing and Emperor Tai’an bring enough to the table that I found it worthwhile. Some other characters I liked were Qi Tianchen, Sikong Changfeng, Lei Mengsha, all of Baili Dongjun’s family, Wu Fa and Wu Tian, Qixuan and Yuji, Li Hanyi, Ye Xiaoying, Xiao Ruofeng, Needle Granny, and Yan Bietian. My feelings about Li Changsheng are complicated, but he certainly does interest me.
Aaaah, this preview! I’ve watched Episode 10 at least five times to process it, and I’m still not remotely prepared to watch Episode 11 tomorrow. I had my issues with the lack of tension in Dashing Youth, but the Young Brewmaster’s Adventure has absolutely fixed that problem. There are so many intense developments in the story, and I’m so interested to see how they play out.
I really loved Zhuo Sen and Zhuo Luo this episode. A fearsome duo with really fun contrast. It was interesting how even though Zhuo Sen was his senior, Zhuo Luo seemed more the one in charge. I like how Zhuo Luo acted weaker than his was, pretending to be afraid and hanging back to let Zhuo Sen take care of the heavy lifting. An intriguing dynamic, and I wish we got more of them.
I don’t know what was more shocking, this version of the Abyssal Eye being destroyed or both eunuchs already being killed off. I’m definitely curious how Jin Wei will get his sword now that Zhuo Sen’s is broken. And as for Zhuo Sen and Zhuo Luo being killed, I can’t wait to see what consequences result from it. The stakes have certainly been raised, and I doubt Zhuo Qing will let this one slide.
Ye Dingzhi as the Eunuch of Sword’s disciple? Well, consider that an AU I’m actually kinda interested in. At best, Dashing Youth’s Ye Dingzhi bored me, but I’m finding that Young Brewmaster’s Ye Dingzhi has far more layers and motivation, to an extent that I find rather compelling. And, so far, his relationship with Yi Wenjun is fairly refreshing.
The Young Brewmaster donghua is taking such an interesting route with Yi Bu’s character! Overall, Dashing Youth just had him as a flatly-written abusive father who mainly existed to make Yi Wenjun even more miserable. I love the approach Brewmaster is taking in having Yi Bu be the one to betray and kill Ye Dingzhi’s father. It connects Yi Bu to the conflict in a more substantial way, and has the potential to create more tension between him and his daughter beyond the straightforward oppression present in Dashing Youth. Also, I like his hat.
Anyways, I’m going to be completely normal about the bondage capabilities of Zhuo Luo’s scroll.
Сколько стоит написать бизнес план?
Сколько стоит написать бизнес план?
Создание бизнес-плана является первым важным шагом в открытии бизнеса, потому что план является важнейшим инструментом для управления компанией. Предпринимателю или владельцу малого бизнеса следует быть полностью вовлеченным в процесс бизнес планирования; в конце концов бизнес является чуть ли не вашим ребенком. Иногда бывает целесообразно, да и необходимо привлечь в процесс бизнес планирования…
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the Absolutely False Diary of a Full Time Predator, or, Why I Hated Part Time Indian-- Part 1, Summary
I had to read the Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, written by Sherman Alexie; I had to analyze the use of color in reference to hope, and I have come to the conclusion that this book is very bad. Now I am going to complain about this bad book on the internet, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. So if you don’t know Part Time Indian (first of all, congratulations), here’s a summary: So there’s this kid named Junior who lives on a Native American Reservation with his Mom, Dad, Grandma, sister, Mary, and best friend Rowdy. Junior struggles with a lot of disabilities, so he gets picked on by most of the people in his Tribe. He goes to this all white school called Reardon and he makes friends with this nerd named Gordy, this Jock named Roger, and he even gets a girlfriend named Penelope. Because Junior “abandoned” his Tribe, everyone there hates him even more now, including Rowdy. So it’s a pretty normal high school coming of age story, and then it takes a hard left when Junior’s Grandma dies, then his dad’s friend dies, then his effing sister Mary dies, too. Then Rowdy pitties him and now they’re friends again. The End.
the Absolutely False Diary of a Full Time Predator, or, Why I Hated Part Time Indian-- Part 2, Crappy Writing
So this book is the frickin antithesis of show don’t tell. Most of the plot is just exposited to us through Junior’s voice, which, to its credit, is at least a little distinctive. But homeboy just glosses over so much of his life. Like we get— what? — a few normal classes, two basketball games, a little bit of Christmas, and then everyone dies. I’ve read other books before that are very tell-don't show-y (like the Bad Seed), but at least there it seemed like a stylistic choice, here it just seems like lazy writing. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be Junior’s journal or what, the title implies that it is, but we never get a diegetic explanation, which is super annoying. I think the worst issue with the writing is that we aren’t able to get to know any of the other characters. The Grandma who died? She gets like 4 lines of dialogue and then Junior explains why she’s great in the lead up to her death scene. Mary? No dialogue. She emails Junior, like, twice. They even have her move to Montana so that they can ignore her more easily. The author also puts in these little drawings throughout the book, since Junior wants to be a cartoonist. That’s fine, that’s cool, that’s chill, but what if we put some of those doodles into, like, literary devices? Just a thought, just a thought.
the Absolutely False Diary of a Full Time Predator, or, Why I Hated Part Time Indian-- Part 3, the Tonal Issues
So this book is supposed to be a comedy, right? And the jokes are… alright. I think I laughed once, but that was it. It’s not really my brand of humor, if you like it, good for you. But also, it wants to be a social commentary. And it’s not really a satire, it just jumps from funny to sad like a four-year-old in puddles, which makes it a very jarring read. And sometimes the funny bleeds into the sad, which is even weirder, because I know that I should be feeling sad but also this is trying to be funny and it sort of muddles everything. I think the two worst parts of this are when Junior’s Grandma dies and when Mary dies. Junior’s Grandma got killed by a drunk driver, and at her funeral this rich white guy comes and says that he has some clothing that belonged to her, but then Junior’s Mom looks at it and it turns out that the stuff belonged to a whole other tribe. Then everyone at the funeral laughed. Oh yeah, this was at Grandma’s funeral. I get the whole theme of “laughter bringing everyone together” and whatnot, but I feel like there could have been something funnier that could have happened, because that just sounds like an awkward interaction. So later on, Junior learns that his sister, Mary, who moved to Montana, died in a house fire. Very sad. But right before that, the guidance counselor who tells him gives him a hug, and he gets a boner, and the punchline is that Junior heard that his sister died while being turned on. That’s some pretty hard news. So in both these scenes, there’s the same issue. I think that Alexie is going for a kind of tonal whiplash thing, where things are going very well and then boom smack sadness and it reminds you of the fragility of happiness and the impermanence of life and all that deep junk, but Alexie doesn’t give that sadness time to breathe, time to sit there. We don’t feel the sad that a minor character death is supposed to make you feel.
the Absolutely False Diary of a Full Time Predator, or, Why I Hated Part Time Indian-- Part 4, Poorly Handled Characters
Alexie has this little bad habit of having his characters bring something up, and then never mention it again. My favorite examples are Penelope and Roger.
So Roger we meet early on, he’s kind of a racist bully to Junior, and then Junior hits him and then they respect each other. So this guy says some undeniably racist stuff, right? And after that scene it’s just never mentioned again. Now he’s like a golden boy who is on varsity basketball and he’s going to college and he’s a really great and supportive guy to Junior. So why did he say all that racist stuff???? Was he being pressured by his friends? Did he hold those beliefs but then had a change of heart? We. Don’t. Know. Alexie just drops the angle like ⅓ of the way through. And it’s just never mentioned again by anyone. Junior doesn’t mention how their relationship started off bad, but then turned good, he doesn’t tell anyone, so we can’t see how other Reardon kids view Roger. Would they be surprised? We don’t know.
The character that I loathe even more though is Penelope, Junior’s girlfriend. So she starts off as a mean girl, then Junior finds out that she struggles with bulimia, then they go out. This is the exact same problem that was with Roger, but now it’s even worse. I care very deeply about representation of eating disorders, not because I’ve had one, but because I think that they’re a debilitating mental illness that can kill you, and I want them to be seen that way. So let’s see the tact and grace Alexie has with handling this sensitive issue. Junior makes fun of her for smelling like vomit but trying to cover it up. Even while Penelope is unloading a lot of mental baggage on Junior, his mind drifts elsewhere because he is so bored with the conversation. Then they never mention it ever again. 0/10, would not read again.
HALO: GREEN AND BLUE; an Essay
One of my favorite moments in *Halo* can be completely missed without so much as a blink. You can (and I certainly did) *run* right over it, several times. In the level *Requiem*, attempting to reactivate the Cartographer and beneath a gleaming Forerunner bridge, is a strange artifact at the end of a small chamber. It’s a medallion, the omnipresent symbol for the Mantle and Reclaimers. Interacting with it yields a brief but meaningful interaction between Cortana, the Master Chief, and the mysterious environment around them. Cortana recognizes bits and pieces of Forerunner lore, Chief understands that it holds no pragmatic value in saving his friend and returning them home, and Requiem beckons. Silent, unknown, and rich with an ancient history.
I played through *Halo 4*, and subsequently ran right over this little piece of storytelling, numerous times. And now, after discovering it, I have played through and interacted with this medallion of the Mantle. It’s overall tiny addition to an already meaningful campaign to me represents something genuinely exciting for what the future of *Halo* could mean. *Halo 4* especially is rife with what 343 has manifested in different forms across all of its entries. Wandering around Requiem especially: things feel big, beautiful, majestic, in a way that is entirely unique to that game. Even the smaller, “on-rail” hallways and rooms feel *big* in the sense that at some point in development, even conceptually, it feels like a prime direction to be explored was genuine exploration. Guns down, monolithic spaces with an ethereal and mysterious vibe that feels like they would’ve been even more impressive, more meaningful, with something like that Medallion in *Requiem*: sentinels unfurling from Forerunner gateways like eerie metallic insects, the vividly alive machinery of the Shield World moving and pulsing as John and Cortana quietly converse.
*Guardians*, as well, explored this formula further with the actual realizations of its weapons-down missions. The two protagonist fireteams in a beautifully realized space, interacting briefly with NPCs and scannables. This was one of the best parts of that game, and felt like a deeply exciting glimpse into the future. Sanghelios and Meridian especially highlighted the depth of *Halo* as a universe, whether it was hearing Grunts alongside their Elite counterparts admiring a sunset, or hardy frontier types on an Outer Colony telling Spartans to get lost. Cheesy as it could be, *Guardians* felt like a step towards worlds that were more alive.
Enter *Halo: Infinite*. Lauded rightly for its detailed environmental storytelling (and criticized for an incomplete open world), *Infinite* feels somewhat like a step back. Maybe less instead of a deliberate drop in quality, and more because of a lack of capitalizing on those previous successes. FOBs, marine squads, and High Value Targets are all positive additions, but are lacking in connection. Imagine a *Halo: Infinite* where singular marines or rescued squads could be interacted with as NPCs, ascertaining the location of areas of interests or even just hearing a story of how someone was captured, a war story from back when this particular veteran survived against the Covenant. Imagine interacting with hidden Forerunner terminals and unlocking new ways of transport and exploration like hidden passageways, teleports, or interesting tools of engagement like friendly turrets and Sentinels. *Halo: Infinite* has all the tools to create a cohesive narrative-connected-world, and instead drops the ball.
- An exciting way of telling stories in Halo should reflect the mindsets of its characters. Cortana was curious, but driven by cleverness and an infiltrators mind. The Weapon is curious, but guided by naive excitement and interest, perfect for introducing complex concepts to generalized audiences. Master Chief (and Blue Team should they return) is pragmatic, determined, and fiercely aware. Locke (and Fireteam Osiris should they return) are more multifaceted, made up of specialist/intelligence operatives, somewhere between cautious and curious, intuitive to out-of-the-box solutions.
- Marines are a staple of *Halo*. Elites, NPC Spartans, even Sentinels and other Forerunner constructs should become outlets for genuine interaction. Let me talk to my allies at a FOB, let me engage with freed marines or even have little things like radio chatter out in the field, etc. *Far Cry 5* does this surprisingly well where any number of NPC groups can be interacted with, spoken to, and information gleaned. The world feels much more alive and fluid where instead of placing a marker on a map I follow, I can listen to someone directly, and then follow said directions at my leisure or pace.
- Give me tools, mysteries, and adventures to interact with. The environment of Zeta Halo is absolutely stunning. It’s also incredibly empty of anything that feels remotely *present*. There’s nothing to touch, nothing to stumble into that responds to the presence of a Reclaimer or a Meddler. Nothing. Nothing replicates that brief, wonderful moment under the bridge in Requiem. Zeta Halo especially is fantastic for this kind of innovation because it seems at one time or another that was the intention: large caves, Forerunner pylons, and numerous empty chambers seem to indicate heavily that one point or another the environment was much more lively. Give us signals that lead to Domain-intertwined areas, or terminal areas filled with more than just a few shielded enemies and an upgrade cache.
*Halo* has an astoundingly rich universe. That’s why we’re here. Regardless of the mistakes and missteps 343 has taken in each of the entries into the franchise, I am in the belief that the games have improved in one way or another, even if they’re small or isolated. *Infinite* is the skeletal outline of something that could be so much bigger, so much more immersive, and innovative.
Review: Das Ende der Ewigkeit (Isaac Asimov)
Wie lange dauert eine Ewigkeit? Isaac Asimov schreibt in Das Ende der Ewigkeit über den Menschen, seine Hybris und die Bedeutung von Realität. Erschienen im Heyne Verlag.
Review: The Hurricane Wars
Synopsis : "The Night Empire will rule all.
Nothing can stand in the way of its might and power.
Little by little, year by year, the Hurricane Wars take more and more from those who resists the empire’s supremacy.
And yet, there is hope in the darkness.
One lone light stands against the empire.
Talasyn was left on the steps of a Sardovian orphanage as a baby. All she has ever known are the Hurricane Wars, as her people fight for freedom from the tyranny of the Night Emperor Gaheris. But are they her people? Talasyn dreams of one day finding where she comes from – her true place, family, and the source of the Lightweave magic that flows through her veins like sunlight.
Alaric of House Ossinast, Master of the Shadowforged Legion and Gaheris’s only son and heir has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating the Sardovian Allford alliance with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, all Alaric can see is their goal: extinguish all threats to the empire.
That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. He tries and fails to kill her, his now greatest enemy slipping through his fingers.
But a greater threat is coming. One that will overshadow the Hurricane Wars.
Will these mortal enemies be able to come together to confront it or is everything that has been fought over for so long about to be destroyed?"
Note: 5/5
It's a very good Romance and fantasy. I had so many emotions while reading it! We have a lot of funny moments between Talasyn and Alaric. We got a lot of romantic moments and were sad too. The Story's World is very descriptive, that makes understanding easy and we know where we are.
I can't wait until the second volume !
(By the way, I'm French so my English can be unclear sometimes)