cry havoc

Been watching Fate/Zero, which seemed (so far) intriguing, so I thought I'd watch some Fate/Stay_Night, just so I'm not completely lost.

TL;DR: just read the wiki entry and save yourself the pain.

Let's see. Where to begin, and yes, here there be spoilers. Technically. Me, I think the premise's treatment already stinks, so hard to spoil it any further.

Well, for starters, the hero -- Shirou -- is a textbook case of TSTL. I mean, we could teach entire semesters just on his stupidity alone, he's that textbook. Granted, it's not entirely valorized in that other characters voice their annoyance with his stupidity, but at the same time, the instant he tries to lift even his teeniest finger he's praised as being very good, a natural at something. Someone mentions spell-casting spots, and he identifies one immediately. He gets attacked by a champion, picks up a baton, and changes it into a weapon, first try ever. He tries sparring and he's a natural with powerful moves and assurance! It just makes his stupidity the rest of the time even more painful. I mean, if he at least struggled with what he can't do, then I'd be less likely to see his TSTL traits as, well, so damn stupid. Instead, he just comes across as naively unthinking, and I don't mean that in a cute way.

In the wiki entry, one of the antagonists -- Shinji -- is characterized as narcissistic (he is, definitely) and chauvinistic. Not sure about the latter, but I can say that Shirou is without a doubt one of the most sexist characters I've come across in awhile. He's facing the spiritual embodiment of King Freaking Arthur (aka Saber), and because (in what could've been a cool twist) King Arthur is more like a Joan of Arc character -- being female -- Shirou is adamant that she, uhm, shouldn't fight. Because girls are to be protected. And it's not like she's even facing death; as a non-corporeal entity, if she loses a battle, she just fades back into oblivion until the next time someone summons her. I'm not seeing a major issue here, in terms of the final cost of omg-death kind of cost.

But no, Shirou's got to jump in the way of a major baddie and get himself almost killed, because he's that adamant that girls should be protected. If Saber just hauled off and smacked him, I'd be all for it, but this story is more of the transitional same: the writers gave the girls guns, but took away all the ammo. Makes for a female character, like Saber, being a lot of talk but nothing to back it up. She tells him she's trained for combat, but caves almost immediately and agrees to let him (the untrained TSTL twit) fight; she hares into battle but the script makes sure to trip her up. Either it's her opponent calling a halt (like you didn't see that coming), or it's the script's setup that Shirou doesn't have enough "energy" to feed her spiritual needs. She's rendered helpless because the hero is a loser, but the result's the same: presented as a great hero, King/Queen Arthur is a lot of flash and not much kicking ass.

( My reader-writer-analysis brain finds it all so frustrating... )

I never would've known this had raletha not posted something about the Zeonic translations. A former head writer for the Wing series is doing a novelized 22-yrs-later continuation of Gundam Wing. I can't believe I thought for even a split-second that it'd make any sense, seeing how this is the franchise that released not one, not two, but three alternate-versions to explain the absolutely mind-boggling nonsensical leap between the end of the series and the OVA. And none of those in-between stories make any sense, which shouldn't be a surprise, seeing how neither does the OVA.

(Characterization? Consistency? We know not what those words mean. NOR DO WE CARE.)

Regardless, I followed the links and ended up on the (soon to be defunct) Zeonic site, where Deac apparently put out a call not long ago for editorial assistance. Novelization, much easier for me than dealing with manga scanlations; issues of voice and pacing, ah, that's in my realm; conflict and summary, doable after reading. Hmm. Then I reminded myself: self, you need another project like you need a FREAKING HOLE IN YOUR HEAD.

And then I went and read the summary of the general premise and character listings and where-are-they-now, via the Gundam wiki, and... wow. I like Deac, and Deac's team does good work for the Gundam world. But I'm afraid there's no way I could ever edit a series for which I can't even keep a straight face. I mean, really. No, REALLY.

Or to quote Raletha's much more succinct critique: it smacks of a fifteen year old fangirl's fifty chapter mpreg, Gundam Babies: The Next Generation.

There's crack, and then there's freaking crack, and I think Katsuyuki Sumisawa's Frozen Teardrop looks like it's going to hit a scale of freaking crack that we don't yet have the scientific means to measure. And once he's done, the fangirls and fanboys will descend upon it and add in all the smut that couldn't make it into a family magazine, the world will summarily implode for the sheer gravitational pull of so much crack in a single franchise.

[ ETA: to clarify a term I frequently use (but may be unfamiliar to some), "animanga" is a portmanteau of "anime" and "manga", meant as a shorthand for "the Japanese illustrated-story publishing/production industries, including manga (graphic novels), illustrated 'light' novels, four-panel comics, animated television shows, animated miniseries/OVA (Original Animation Videos), and animated theatrical releases". Because there's often a great deal of cross-pollination between the two types (printed vs. moving), I tend to use "animanga" to refer to the entire ball of wax in one easy word. ]

We all know (and likely loathe, at least given the posts I see go past from most of you) the damsel in distress: she does something stupid, gets captured/hurt, has to be saved by the hero, and usually ends up clinging to him. I've been browsing some of the manga that readers have classified (on reader-tagging database sites) as "strong female lead" or "strong female character", and I think we need an intermediary.

Something like, "female character damselfied by the author", or "damsel with fighter tendencies," for a less anti-author spin on it.

The so-called "strong female characters" usually go like this: she's relatively outspoken, strong-willed, and ostensibly very good at whatever she does (even if in some stories we never see her do anything, we're at least told she's good). She's independent, and a common expression or thought among the transistional damsel is that she wants to 'stand on her own two feet'. ( She'll often explicitly state that she intends to fight [the big bad], alongside the hero, as his team-mate or equal. She doesn't see him as her rescuer, but as her mentor or her role model (and sometimes as the person she aspires to equal). )

All these are just more reasons on the list of why I love Balsa and Gen. Oliva Armstrong so much.

continued from: Part the First.

[Ayup, Recession & DogEmp, I promised, and I do deliver. Belated, but I deliver.]

So the upshot is that the summer of '05, I cajoled my boss into realizing I needed an assistant, Duo was available, and there you go. (It remains an open question exactly how Duo feels about this, but hey, who's asking Duo, anyway?) During one of our interminable deadline-is-tomorrow cram sessions, I happened to mention that Sharon (a venerable member of the GW fandom and one of its greatest, if not the greatest, 1x2x1 fans) preferred her fic with the boys at a relatively young age -- certainly no more than mid-twenties. Duo observed that no one stays that young forever, and then promptly shoved his braid up his shirt (I am NOT making this up) so only the tail bit was showing under the collar and said, "look! chest hair!"

( And so it began. )

Yes, good times for all, and naturally that meant we needed to do a sequel. Question is: how do you top breaking the hearts of some of the greatest and longest-lasting fans of the series?

Answer: you add APPLESAUCE.

Final installment, coming soon!

While CP was out of town, I was especially bored, at points -- you can only scrape popcorn off the ceiling for so long before you have to do something that doesn't require your hands over your head. After rewatching a few comfort-zone shows, I got bored enough that I figured maybe I'd try and actually finish Gundam 00. Took some doing, since I never d/l past ep 11 in S2, but Shinsen-subs comes through, and...

Dude. Is there like some kind of compulsive obsession with saying everyone's entire name? Is it a cultural statement, maybe? Some kind of logic behind why Setsuna has to always always always say out every character's entire name (including his own). Hell, I make it to S2 ep20 and get a first-name only and want to cheer. For crying out loud.

I've seen enough dog whistles to remove any last traces of doubt as to whether 00 is really Wing v2.0 -- there are just too many nods to very specific fannish favorites from Wing, but then on the other hand... my brain follows it and then breaks. Because if I can line up nearly all of them as analogues, does that make Saji the analogue for Duo Maxwell? ( Because if so, someone shoot me now and save me from the last five episodes. )

Last, giant mecha version of Too Stupid to Live: never ever ever tell someone you love them right before battle. Surefire absolute without a doubt fastest way to end your relationship, usually by death, and if not your own, then your beloved's plus with a twist of betrayal. Just keep your trap shut and tell them you're in love, after the war is over. If you tell them sooner, you won't live long enough to see the war's end, anyway.

* APPLESAUCE.
** I can't take him seriously, ever since his reappearance with New Fancy Suit... with BUNNY EARS. Who needs Twin Drive when you've got the best reception on your block for the weekly Gundam v ALaws Cage Match? No tinfoil required.
*** Okay, am I the only person who starts humming old Elton John songs whenever someone says that guy's name? Livonze wears his war wound like a crown / He calls his child Jesus / `Cause he likes the name... / And he shall be Livonze / and he shall be a good man...

*is bricked*

Someone over on ffnet made this comment, and I figured: what the hell, I’ll take a page from kracken and do a fly-by on Drums (and it probably does require that you recall a few tidbits from the last few chapters of that tome).

WARNING: total crack, no actual skillz were harmed in the making of this short, done in fifteen minutes, purely for the enjoyment of those folks holding out for, ahem, an update on another story That Shall Not Be Named, okay? Anyway. CRACK. (But not even smutty crack.)

( Seven years, and many amusements in the meantime, later. )

Trimmed off clip -- MC's pre-skit announcement: Entry number thirty-six, Lord of the Ninja. The moment we've all been waiting for is here. The hottest series in Japan is now safe for your children to watch. THANKS, CARTOON NETWORK!

( Watch it, and then the icons behind the cut will make sense... )

BUT JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS...

Uchiha Itachi: pixiepilot <---MASTERMIND
Uchiha "Foolish Little Brother" Sasuke: sihaya_chan
Tsunade (green jacket): chibidrunksanzo
Kisame (non-singing greek chorus): xian_pu
Gaara the Stage Ninja: choffman (not appearing in this film)

HAHAHAHA TAKE THAT DUO.

Quick note, no spoilers: the original code name of the Exia was Seven of Swords.

Now, this could be purely a random selection on the part of the writers, and chosen for the poetic element (the repetition of the soft-s), or it could be a hint. After all, the seven of swords is traditionally called the Lord of Unstable Effort, or, Futility. The classic version of the card shows a man stealing away from a camp with five swords in his arms; two swords remain behind him, stuck into the sand, and the man's looking over his shoulders at the encampment with a sly expression. The card nominally represents success only through cunning, and despite huge adversity; it may also represent an inability to succeed due to frustrations and obstacles, especially those self-generated by uncertainty in one's purpose.

Hmmmm.

Since I would hope the codename was chosen because of what it represents in a positive sense for CB overall (and not a writerly hint on what the Exia becomes for Seiei personally), I have to wonder just what the message is.

Of course, before I do that, I must sleep. Really. Any minute now...

[Related: y'know, maybe there's a way to get gwanalysis to merge with a new comm, something like "gundam_analysis"... because I now know I'm not the only person fascinated, and I know there's got to be plenty Wing and SEED fans, among others, who might be interested in a place where analyzing one might provoke someone more familiar with a different series to weigh in on how that series handled/displayed the issues. Thoughts?]

[converted from other journal, once I realized it's not archived anywhere permanently]

fandom: gundam w
rating: PG-13 (mild language)
warnings: sulky!Trowa
pairing: implied 3/4

Dedicated to The Other Duo, who is utterly blameless for this, but hey. Couples sometimes argue about their friends...and their friends' cooking.

( Quatre took a second look at the invitation, frowned, and flipped it over... )