Yo, I'm Clenastia! I write mostly fanfic, tho I do hope to get my original novel published one day! (first, I have to survive getting it edited... *tears*) This blog's mostly gonna be reblogs, though I may start posting writing stuff here in the near future! Thanks for stopping by!
i think thats all the fandoms im comfortable writing for casually? like there's loads of other things im into, but those are all the ones i could write for without feeling the need to look stuff up a lot. excludes fandoms i havent interacted with canon for (katekyo hitman reborn, danny phantom, mo dao zu shi) even tho ive written stuff for all of them.
I remember when I was watching GX when I was young, the moment in the dub where Syrus being worried about an unconscious Jaden was played as a joke about him being so stupid really annoyed me. So much so, it was one of the differences that I actively noticed when watching the sub, even though that was years and years later. Cause the difference in tone really stuck out to me. I have loved seeing your breakdowns on these sorts of tonal differences
Thank you <3 And I'm genuinely glad to know it's not just me! A good part of the process of writing these posts is asking myself what I think might be an issue because of the narrative implications, and what I don't like because Change Bad. Some episodes test this more than others. This will be especially true when we get to my favorite character someday (one of the more famous examples of GX dub censorship, if pretty far off), but it's also true for literally next week when I post the review for Chronos/Crowler vs. Camula.
This is why I value hearing from people who were familiar with the dub first. It's one thing to say "this feels like it would be confusing with only dub context," and another to hear someone say "yeah that was confusing in the dub" or "actually, this is what I got from that scene instead" from real experience. Sometimes it clues me into additional context too, like people talking about the games or official website bios when I asked about how dub watchers knew about Bastion's elemental decks.
i really cannot stand the character archetype in film of the "unpopular nerdy ugly girl" being portrayed by the most conventionally attractive, thin, clear-skinned actress ever you cannot tell me that amanda goddamn seyfried was some fugly lesbigay loser as a foil to megan fox you cannot tell me beloved babyfaced winona ryder was a social outcast at her school you cannot convince me that rachel sennott and ayo edebiri are notoriously "ugly, untalented gays" even riverdale lampshaded this by fully acknowledging that cheryl shouldnt have starred as carrie in the school play and it shouldve been ethel cause ethel is The Fat One Nobody Likes and ethel even IS chubby enough that you could actually consider her "fat" but she's still an acceptably Cute type of fat but in the end she STILL gets denied the role anyway. real ugly and/or fat girls are straight up not allowed to exist on camera even when the narrative tells you they're there they're not actually there. im just so tired. where is the acne. [flinging myself against the walls of my padded cell] where is the acne where is the acne wwhere is the fucking acne
I'm just gonna slide this on in here for anyone that is interested in preserving old games. They take it very seriously too, they want an archive of every single game. Like, they have lists of every game ever released for a system, and once that system gets old enough, they add it to their archive and start collecting. Their latest addition was the Xbox 360, they opened that vault up in September 2022, and proudly announced they'd finished their collection of games for it back in April.
Also, while their game archives are almost entirely complete, they've got another project of archiving the manuals that came with those games, and that is... considerably less well filled out. Their collection of Xbox 360 manuals is especially rough, they've only gotten manuals for three games. So if you've got some Xbox 360 games kicking around, and the manual's still with them, please consider scanning them and submitting them to the site!
Game preservation is important, but people rarely consider preserving the manuals as well; I really respect Vimm's Lair for being so thorough in their archival work.
I've been using Vimm's Lair for years, I have yet to see a single bad link or virus on the entire site. It's arguably the safest and most comprehensive archive of video games in existence. Preserved history
one of the things the atla universe writers can never do properly is write about the entire bender vs non bender situation lol. they consistently have plots where non-benders want recognition and justice because they feel like they're being mistreated by the benders, and the writers always make them out to be the villain. i still think in the original show they dealt with this topic fairly well, but the legend of korra and the movie is where it really just falls flat in the face. both the movie and tlok constantly sideline and neglect their non-bending characters, or just not have any (except the ONE token non-bender!), and then try to act like the in canon non-benders are stupid for saying they're being mistreated. like you are LITERALLY proving their point !!!!!!!! for example, the movie essentially making sokka entirely useless (except giving him a flying bicycle for one hype aura moment which inevitably leads nowhere), and then erasing almost ENTIRETY of it's other non-bending cast, just makes me think, hey maybe the denied have a point actually. i understand that it's a movie and they can't bring in every single side character, but was suki not a part of the main gang by the end of the show? was sokka not a leader, a strategist and eventually a politician? why couldn't we hear sokka's thoughts on the denied? i understand that the denied are violent and have disruptive ways of being seen and heard, but isn't their core principle right? are the non-benders not treated worse?
this isn't even a new point that was first mentioned in tlok. you see it in the original show. except they never spell it out for you. you see it in the way sokka feels about himself, you see it in the way toph initially treats sokka and assumes he's useless because he can't bend. the boiling rock episodes aren't just fun, but they're such good examples of sokka, suki and hakoda, (and mai and ty lee!!!!) who are all non-benders, doing most of the heavy lifting to get them out. sokka with his brain, suki with her fearlessness and dedication to her art, and hakoda with his strength. the atla universe always comes so close to addressing this issue with maturity and dignity and then just backtracks when it realises it can't give it too much time because it isn't as cool as bending. it just makes me angry.
I wish the movie would've focused more on the grief that Tagah felt. He processed the genocide of his people in a completely different way then Aang did and it would've been interesting to see why.
I do think they were able to show the pain he felt very well, but they end up reducing his violence to the result of him being "corrupted" by pain. They then paint Aang as the "good one" because he was not corrupted by the same pain.
So they stripped away the nuance of mourning for the sake of having a "bad guy" and pinned two survivors of genocide against each other. When the could have allowed them to heal together and teach that anger is a very normal part of grief
Episode 030: VS Darkness (Part 2) - The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragonâs Attack/S1E30: Doomsday Day (Part 2)
In this post, I'm going to review and compare the subbed and dubbed versions of Yugioh GX episode 30. This one is going to depend a lot on how you enjoy your Yugioh experience.
Episode Review
The episode starts off with an establishing shot and a taunt from Darkness/Nightshroud. Judai retorts claiming he's having fun with the duel, while Jaden trash talks a bit. When Judai pulls the Fusion Undone/De-Fusion play, the dub cuts a peanut gallery line from Asuka explaining the strategy.
After direct attacking, Judai and Jaden both comment on Darkness/Nightshroud's lack of flinch, though Jaden turns it into a joke both in the moment and later on. Darkness cites it as a benefit of the duels of darkness, while Nightshroud uses it as a springboard for trash talk.
The dub adds some quips to Jaden's Mirage of Nightmare play and Nightshroudâs following turn. Shou and Hayato staying strong for Judai is changed to a dig at Syrus. Jaden has a minor pun leading into the Tempest fusion. After that, Nightshroud's Chazz side rears its head again:
Judai: And that's a comeback!
Darkness: The flow of battle means nothing in a Duel of Darkness. Which of us is standing when all is over... That is everything!
Jaden: There's that flinch I was lookin' for!
Nightshroud: No, it wasn't. That was a twitch. It's not the same! I had something in my eye, that's all, you got that? It was a twitch!
Seriously, tell me that isn't a Chazz line. Similarly, Darkness's edgy dragon dialogue leading into Red-Eyes Black Chick is turned into more trash talk.
Darkness: It is my turn - I draw! I hear them... The spectral voices of the dragons resting in my Cemetery as they whisper to me... They yearn to use their scorching flames to incinerate this land once more! Allow me to call forth the ultimate dragon that will fulfill that desire!
Nightshroud: Ha! You chump. Life Points don't decide who's winning the duel. ...It's the cards you hold. And if you don't believe me, I'm quite certain that this one here will prove it to you! Did you honestly think, Keykeeper, that you could get rid of all my dragons so easily? That you could simply banish them all to the graveyard and then be done with them?
And then finally!!! Nightshroud gets some edgy dragon lines, which I think is a step up from sounding like Chazz every other line:
Darkness: The shrieks of my dragons deep within the earth will become my Darkness Dragon's flesh and blood. My Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon's ATK will increase by 300 points for every Dragon-type monster in my Cemetery!
Nightshroud: Now the molten ashes of my fallen dragons boil up from their fiery graves, ablaze with new life, each granting my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon additional attack points!
Darkness talks again about the terror of darkness, while Nightshroud reminds Jaden (and the audience) of the duel stakes. The dub cuts some peanut gallery reactions as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon attacks.Â
Outside, people react. Kaiser quietly contemplates the volcano:Â
Kaiser: I feel itâŚ
While Zane is much more talkative:
Zane: Hmm. There's something amiss. A Shadow Rider. This key's telling me⌠One's close.
Misawa's line is the same between versions. Ojama Yellow is actually dancing in the dub, where in the sub his quivering is just mistaken for it. The dub also adds a few extra "hmmm"s from the teachers. Samejima/Shepard remind the audience of the objective, and Shepard reminds you of the stakes while he's at it.Â
Back in the volcano, Nightshroud has a joke about deep frying as he reminds everyone of the hostages. Shou and Hayato telling Judai to focus on the duel instead of worrying about them is changed to....what else, a Chumley fat joke about French fries. They do add a better joke about his dad's hot sauce to follow up, though "better than a fat joke" isnât exactly a high bar.
The duel resumes, with minor quips on both sides added in the dub. After destroying Tempest, Nightshroud taunts Jaden where Darkness ends his turn.
When Asuka intervenes, she gives her name in the sub and that's how Darkness recognizes her; in the dub, she doesn't give her name so Nightshroud recognizes her face instead. Judai tells her not to take such an intense duel from him and he's still got cards to play, while Jaden claims he's about to win. Asuka is concerned; Alexis calls him delirious.
We get another Chumley fat joke, because the French fry thing clearly wasnât funny enough the first time. The dub adds a quip to Wildedgeâs summon, and the duel finishes out without further notable changes.
When everyone wakes up outside the volcano, Shou worries about Judai and Asuka worries about Shou/Hayato. Syrus instead comments on how they're still alive, and Alexis confirms that Jaden won. When they spot Judai, Shou worries and Asuka is relieved to see he's injured but alive.
Shou: Big Bro, stay with us! Big Bro!
Asuka: He's really bruised up, but it looks like he'll pull throughâŚ
Hayato: JudaiâŚyou got like this because of usâŚ
Shou: Big Bro!
Asuka: JudaiâŚ
In the dub, Alexis instead brushes off Syrus's concern because he's alive, why is he panicking? Another potshot at Chumley, and the same gag repeats: he's alive, Syrus, why are you so upset? Stop being unreasonable, Syrus.
Syrus: He's not moving! Come on, Jay!
Alexis: Sy, he's fine! Tired, maybe, but who could blame him?
Chumley: Not me. I'm tired, and I didn't do a thing.
Syrus: Jay! Don't do this! Why?! Why?!
Alexis: He's okay.
Once the other keyholders arrive, the dub tries to make the French fry thing a full running gag. On top of another âlicious,â thatâs a swift +2 to the fat joke counter!
Kaiser is concerned about Asuka, while Zane looks for the fallen Shadow Rider. Asuka explains that Darkness's soul was taken to leave his host's behind, while Alexis skims over that for the moment and focuses on "It's him! He's back!" Which isn't unreasonable, honestly, given she's just found her missing brother after watching her friend fight evil in a volcano.
As the sun rises, the sub leaves everyone silent and relies on tense music to communicate that everyone is processing the shock of discovering Asuka's missing brother and the heavy toll the first Seven Star duel has taken on Judai. The dub instead has Alexis give a quick explanation of how Atticus got left behind, and Zane spells out the message for the audience:
Zane: And if this is how it is after you win a duel...just think what it's like when you lose. The sun may be coming up now, but night will fall again soon. And when it does...we must be ready.
The delivery of this line falls flatter than it could, too, largely because the script tries to cram this whole monologue into the shocked silence on top of trying to cram Alexisâs last-second explanation of the soul-sealing mechanics into the same space. As a result, none of these lines are given time to breathe. Zaneâs monologue especially feels both rushed and flat, like a kid trying to finish their class presentation script when they realize the teacherâs just given them the signal indicating they have a minute left.
I donât usually critique performance but this was just so wild to listen to I felt it was worth bringing up. Tell-donât-show approach aside, I think the whole thing would have been fine if they hadnât tried to shove so much dialogue into the amount of time they had. Instead, even when the dub wanted me to take things seriously I couldnât help but laugh for the wrong reasons.Â
Part of my discussion about Darkness vs. Nightshroud in the previous episode was about the tone the show wants to take for this arc, as conveyed through these last two episodes. Darkness isn't exactly the most compelling villain but he at least communicates a vibe: we're dark now. There's danger. We've toyed around with duels of darkness/shadow games and now they're going to be our bread and butter as we try to prevent the end of the world.
The dub doesn't want to linger on the danger. Sure, it'll remind you that we're fighting against the end of the world and that Syrus and Chumley will get cooked if this duel takes too long, but there's the usual quips and trash talk - I stand by the opinion that Nightshroud's dialogue is mostly indistinguishable from Chazz's - and they certainly donât skimp on the requisite Chumley fat jokes. The dubâs avoidance of the original serious tone feels really obvious at the end, where everyone is concerned about Judai's well-being in the sub and the dub tries to play it off as - haha, look at Syrus, he's so stupid because Jaden is merely exhausted and not dead! Whatâs there to worry about?
And then they try and have Zane tell you at the end, actually that was bad! It's going to get worse! And you can have a debate about whether having Zane basically look into the camera and say That's Bad And We're In Danger fulfills the same purpose as letting everyone's silence speak for itself, but I think it's hard to argue that they're kind of inconsistent on the tone given that two minutes earlier the tone was "why is Syrus so hysterical."
You could argue that the Seven Stars arc itself is inconsistent in tone (Darkness and Camula to the Dark Scorpions or Abidos to Amnael) so like. The dub isn't inaccurate in doing this, honestly. But for the start of this arc in these past two episodes, the sub wants to emphasize that things are going to get darker and it uses both Darknessâs character and building tension to drive that in. The dub does just about what it has been for the past two dozen episodes, and then makes up the difference at the end with Zane. Whether thatâs welcome levity or unwelcome bathos - or something else in between - is up to the viewer.
The other day i was getting rizzd the fuck upp by the crunchy latino cashier at trader joes. Just having a blast. Then the whole vibe changed when my card declined .
Saw an ad the other day that was like having trouble concentrating at work? Try granola! And for a moment I was like ah a wholesome advertisement... Granola... Good for your brain... Anyway turns out that's the name of an AI assistant
JRPG where the teenage firebrand protagonist is taken under wing by a wise older mentor figure in their twenties, as one does, except the third party member to join is in their thirties and regards both the protagonist and the initial mentor as dumb kids; the fourth is in their forties and thinks the same of the first three; and so forth.
Here's a source for the analysis, but it probably is not the source.
Workersâ share of US economic output has fallen to its lowest level since the government began keeping records in 1947, according to data th
Some points of interest:
Corporate profits are soaring. After taxes, they now take 12.3 percent of national output, far above their postwar average of 7.3 percent.
Adjusted for inflation, hourly wages have risen 3 percent since the end of 2019, Ip noted. Corporate profits over the same period have risen 50 percent.
The Economic Policy Institute calculates that since 1979 the productivity of American workers has grown 90 percent while the pay of the typical worker has grown 33 percent. Had wages tracked output, the average worker would earn $16.40 more an hour today.
The profits are concentrated among the largest corporations. Earnings at the 500 biggest US firms rose 28 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace since 2021, and their profit margins reached 14.8 percent. The seven technology giants known as the âMagnificent 7ââApple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Teslaâgrew their profits 63 percent.
In the United States, the richest 1 percent of households hold 31.7 percent of all wealth. The bottom half hold barely 2.5 percent.
my atla hot take is that a lot of iroh's plotlines in book 3 felt like fan fiction in that why is this old man involved in everything?? he's in the white lotus and basically leads the attack to take back ba sing se, he knows about roku and sozin and provides zuko with that history, he saved the last dragons⌠like ok⌠if he knew and did all this why did he carry on with colonising the earth kingdom in a brutal campaign. I mean he clearly delighted in his nation's ideals. idk I think it would feel less⌠strange if the show wasn't so dead set on presenting him as this always wise old man who empathises with everyone and is silly because his son died, thus he can never be in the wrong (it does also piss me off that iroh gets more promo than fucking suki đ)
yeah, i think itâs pretty clear that as the show continued, the writers grew more and more fond of iroh until he essentially became like a pet to them, rather than a fully-realized character with complex morality. maybe they feel like heâs owed a (narrative/thematic) prize for putting up with zukoâs shit for those first two seasons, and thus they can reveal that he knows everything about everything and never did nothing to nobody, as a treat. even if it actually diminishes his character, and the fact that he has so much to be ashamed of from his past being his driving, motivating force to abandon everything in his life to rescue zuko the way he couldnât lu ten. but the thing about iroh is that heâs just so charming that itâs really easy to fall into the trap of âwell of course heâs ontologically good and pure of soul, look at what a sweet little old man he is.â but ideally, that tension is what makes his character interesting, rather than being presented as such a defining feature of his characterization that it eclipses all complexity. iroh is a very multi-faceted character, and thatâs what makes him a good character in the first place. also, it certainly doesnât help that his original voice actor died during production, making it a lot more difficult to write dialogue for him in book 3. in fact, i wonder how much of irohâs whitewashing in the final season is actually a product of wanting to honor makoâs legacy through his beloved character⌠which is very bittersweet if true, but also not a justification for framing a recently retired warlord as the sweetest, softest, cuddliest teddybear in all the land, and anyone who dares to take umbrage with his violent colonial project has probably just never experienced the true joy of really good tea⌠-_-
