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ot3 · 3 years

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i watched red vs blue: zero with my dear friends today and i was asked to “post” my “thoughts” on the subject. Please do not click this readmore unless, for some reason, you want to read three thousand words on the subject of red vs blue: zero critical analysis. i highly doubt that’s the reason anyone is following me, but hey.

anyway. here you have it.

Here are my opinions on RVB0 as someone who has quite literally no nostalgia for any older RVB content. I’ve seen seasons 1-13 once and bits and pieces of it more than once here and there, but I only saw it for the first time within the past couple of months. I’ve literally never seen any other RT/AH content. I can name a few people who worked on OG Red vs. Blue but other than Mounty Oum I have NO idea who is responsible for what, really, or what anything else they’ve ever worked on is, or whether or not they’re awful people. I know even less about the people making RVB0 - All I know is that the main writer is named Torrian but I honestly don’t even know if that’s a first name, a last name, or a moniker. All this to say; nothing about my criticism is rooted in any perceived slight against the franchise or branding by the new staff members, because I don’t know or care about any of it. In fact, I’m going to try and avoid any direct comparison between RVB0 and earlier seasons of RVB as a means of critique until the very end, where I’ll look at that relationship specifically.

So here is my opinion of RVB0 as it stands right now:

1. The Writing

Everything about RVB0 feels as if it was written by a first-time writer who hasn’t learned to kill his darlings. The narrative is both simultaneously far too full, leaving very little breathing room for character interaction, and oddly sparse, with a story that lacks any meaningful takeaway, interesting ideas, or genuine emotional connection. It also feels like it’s for a very much younger audience - I don’t mean this as a negative at all. I love tv for kids. I watch more TV for kids than I do for adults, mostly, but I think it’s important to address this because a lot of the time ‘this is for kids’ is used to act like you’re not allowed to critique a narrative thoroughly. It definitely changes the way you critique it, but the critique can still be in good faith. I watched the entirety of RVB0 only after it was finished, in one sitting, and I was giving it my full attention, essentially like it was a movie. I’m going to assume it was much better to watch in chunks, because as it stood, there was literally no time built into the narrative to process the events that had just transpired, or try and predict what events might be coming in the future. When there’s no time to think about the narrative as you’re watching it, the narrative ends up as being something that happens to the audience, not something they engage with. It’s like the difference between taking notes during a lecture or just sitting and listening. If you’re making no attempt to actively process what’s happening, it doesn’t stick in your mind well. I found myself struggling to recall the events and explanations that had immediately transpired because as soon as one thing had happened, another thing was already happening, and it was like a mental juggling act to try and figure out which information was important enough to dwell on in the time we were given to dwell on it.

Which brings me to another point - pacing. Every event in the show, whether a character moment, a plot moment, or a fight scene, felt like it was supposed to land with almost the exact same amount of emotional weight. It all felt like The Most Important Thing that had Yet Happened. And I understand that this is done as an attempt to squeeze as much as possible out of a rather short runtime, but it fundamentally fails. When everything is the most important thing happening, it all fades into static. That’s what most of 0’s narrative was to me: static. It’s only been a few hours since I watched it but I had to go step by step and type out all of the story beats I could remember and run it by my friends who are much more enthusiastic RVB fans than I am to make sure I hadn’t missed or forgotten anything. I hadn’t, apparently, but the fact that my takeaway from the show was pretty accurate and also disappointingly lackluster says a lot. Strangely enough, the most interesting thing the show alluded to - a holo echo, or whatever the term they used was - was one of the things least extrapolated upon in the show’s incredibly bulky exposition. Benefit of the doubt says that’s something they’ll explore in future seasons (are they getting more? Is that planned? I just realized I don’t actually know.)

And bulky it was! I have quite honestly never seen such flagrant disregard for the rule of “show, don’t tell.” There was not a single ounce of subtlety or implication involved in the storytelling of RVB0. Something was either told to you explicitly, or almost entirely absent from the narrative. Essentially zilch in between. We are told the dynamic the characters have with each other, and their personality pros and cons are listed for us conveniently by Carolina. The plot develops in exposition dumps. This is partially due to the series’ short runtime, but is also very much a result of how that runtime was then used by the writers. They sacrificed a massive chunk of their show for the sake of cramming in a ton of fight scenes, and if they wanted to keep all of those fight scenes, it would have been necessary to pare down their story and characters proportionally in comparison, but they didn’t do that either. They wanted to have it both ways and there simply wasn’t enough time for it.

The story itself is… uninteresting. It plays out more like the flimsy premise of a video game quest rather than a piece of media to be meaningfully engaged with. RVB0 is I think something I would be pitched by a guy who thinks the MCU and BNHA are the best storytelling to come out of the past decade. It is nothing but tropes. And I hate having to use this as an insult! I love tropes. The worst thing about RVB0 is that nothing it does is wholly unforgivable in its own right. Hunter x Hunter, a phenomenal shonen, is notoriously filled with pages upon pages of detailed exposition and explanations of things, and I absolutely love it. Leverage, my favorite TV show of all time, is literally nothing but a five man band who has to learn to work as a team while seemingly systematically hitting a checklist of every relevant trope in the book. Pacific Rim is an incredibly straightforward good guys vs giant monsters blockbuster to show off some cool fight scenes such as a big robot cutting an alien in half with a giant sword, and it’s some of the most fun I ever have watching a movie. Something being derivative, clunky, poorly executed in some specific areas, narratively weak, or any single one of these flaws, is perfectly fine assuming it’s done with the intention and care that’s necessary to make the good parts shine more. I’ll forgive literally any crime a piece of media commits as long as it’s interesting and/or enjoyable to consume. RVB0 is not that. I’m not sure what the main point of RVB0 was supposed to be, because it seemingly succeeds at nothing. It has absolutely nothing new or innovative to justify its lack of concern for traditional storytelling conventions. Based solely on the amount of screentime things were given, I’d be inclined to say the narrative existed mostly to give flimsy pretense for the fight scenes, but that’s an entire other can of worms.

2. The Visuals + Fights

I have no qualms with things that are all style and no substance. Sometimes you just want to see pretty colors moving on the screen for a while or watch some cool bad guys and monsters or whatever get punched. RVB0 was not this either. The show fundamentally lacked a coherent aesthetic vision. Much of the show had a rather generic sci-fi feel to it with the biggest standouts to this being the very noir looking cityscape, which my friends and I all immediately joked looked like something from a batman game, or the temple, which my friends and I all immediately joked looked like a world of warcraft raid. They were obviously attempting to get variety in their environment design, which I appreciate, but they did this without having a coherent enough visual language to feel like it was all part of the same world. In general, there was also just a lack of visual clarity or strong shots. The value range in any given scene was poor, the compositions and framing were functional at best, and the character animation was unpleasantly exaggerated. It just doesn’t really look that good beyond fancy rendering techniques.

The fight scenes are their entire own beast. Since ‘FIGHT SCENE’ is the largest single category of scenes in the show, they definitely feel worth looking at with a genuine critical eye. Or, at least, I’d like to, but honestly half the time I found myself almost unable to look at them. The camera is rarely still long enough to really enjoy what you’re watching - tracking the motion of the character AND the camera at such constant breakneck high speeds left little time to appreciate any nuances that might have been present in the choreography or character animation. I tried, believe me, I really did, but the fight scenes leave one with the same sort of dizzy convoluted spectacle as a Michael Bay transformers movie. They also really lacked the impact fight scenes are supposed to have.

It’s hard to have a good, memorable fight scene without it doing one of three things: 1. Showing off innovative or creative fighting styles and choreography 2. Making use of the fight’s setting or environment in an engaging and visually interesting way or 3. Further exploring a character’s personality or actions by the way they fight. It’s also hard to do one of these things on its own without at least touching a bit on the other two. For the most part, I find RVB0’s fight scenes fail to do this. Other than rather surface level insubstantial factors, there was little to visually distinguish any of RVB0’s fight scenes from each other. Not only did I find a lot of them difficult to watch and unappealing, I found them all difficult to watch and unappealing in an almost identical way. They felt incredibly interchangeable and very generic. If you could take a fight scene and change the location it was set and also change which characters were participating and have very little change, it’s probably not a good fight scene.

I think “generic” is really just the defining word of RVB0 and I think that’s also why it falls short in the humor department as well.

3. The Comedy

Funny shit is hard to write and humor is also incredibly subjective but I definitely got almost no laughs out of RVB0. I think a total of three. By far the best joke was Carolina having a cast on top of her armor, which, I must stress, is an incredibly funny gag and I love it. But overall I think the humor fell short because it felt like it was tacked on more than a natural and intentional part of this world and these characters. A lot of the jokes felt like they were just thrown in wherever they’d fit, without any build up to punchlines and with little regard for what sort of joke each character would make. Like, there was some, obviously Raymond’s sense of humor had the most character to it, but the character-oriented humor still felt very weak. When focusing on character-driven humor, there’s a LOT you can establish about characters based on what sort of jokes they choose to make, who they’re picking as the punchlines of these jokes, and who their in-universe audience for the jokes is. In RVB0, the jokes all felt very immersion-breaking and self aware, directed wholly towards the audience rather than occurring as a natural result of interplay between the characters. This is partially due to how lackluster the character writing was overall, and the previously stated tight timing, but also definitely due to a lack of a real understanding about what makes a joke land.

A rule of thumb I personally hold for comedy is that, when push comes to shove, more specific is always going to be more funny. The example I gave when trying to explain this was this:

saying two characters had awkward sex in a movie theater: funny

saying two characters had an awkward handjob in a cinemark: even funnier

saying two characters spent 54 minutes of 11:14's 1:26 runtime trying out some uncomfortably-angled hand stuff in the back of a dilapidated cinemark that lost funding halfway through retrofitting into a dinner theater: the funniest

The more specific a joke is, the more it relies on an in-depth understanding of the characters and world you’re dealing with and the more ‘realistic’ it feels within the context of your media. Especially with this kind of humor. When you’re joking with your friends, you don’t go for stock-humor that could be pulled out of a joke book, you go for the specific. You aim for the weak spots. If a set of jokes could be blindly transplanted into another world, onto another cast of characters, then it’s far too generic to be truly funny or memorable. I don’t think there’s a single joke in RVB0 where the humor of it hinged upon the characters or the setting.

Then there’s the issue of situational comedy and physical comedy. This is really where the humor being ‘tacked on’ shows the most. Once again, part of what makes actually solid comedy land properly is it feeling like a natural result of the world you have established. Real life is absurd and comical situations can be found even in the midst of some pretty grim context, and that’s why black comedy is successful, and why comedy shows are allowed to dip into heavier subject matter from time to time, or why dramas often search for levity in humor. It’s a natural part of being human to find humor in almost any situation. The key thing, though, once again, is finding it in the situation. Many of RVB0’s attempts at humor, once again, feel like they would be the exact same jokes when stripped from their context, and that’s almost never good. A pretty fundamental concept in both storytelling in general but particularly comedy writing is ‘setup and payoff’. No joke in RVB0 is a reward for a seemingly innocuous event in an earlier scene or for an overlooked piece of environmental design. The jokes pop in when there’s time for them in between all the exposition and fighting, and are gone as soon as they’re done. There’s no long term, underlying comedic throughline to give any sense of coherence or intent to the sense of humor the show is trying to establish. Every joke is an isolated one-off quip or one-liner, and it fails to engage the audience in a meaningful way.

All together, each individual component of RVB0 feels like it was conjured up independently, without any concern to how it interacted with the larger product they were creating. And I think this is really where it all falls apart. RVB0 feels criminally generic in a way reminiscent of mass-market media which at least has the luxury of attributing these flaws, this complete and total watering down of anything unique, to heavy oversight and large teams with competing visions. But I don’t think that’s the case for RVB0. I don’t know much about what the pipeline is like for this show, but I feel like the fundamental problem it suffers from is a lack of heart.

In comparison to Red vs. Blue

Let's face it. This is a terrible successor to Red vs. Blue. I wouldn’t care if NONE of the old characters were in it - that’s not my problem. I haven’t seen past season 13 because from what I heard the show already jumped the shark a bit and then some. That’s not what makes it a poor follow up. What makes it a bad successor is that it fundamentally lacks any of the aspects of the OG RVB that made it unique or appealing at all. I find myself wondering what Torrian is trying to say with RVB0 and quite literally the only answer I find myself falling back onto is that he isn’t trying to say anything at all. Regardless of what you feel about the original RVB, it undeniably had things to say. The opening “why are we here” speech does an excellent job at establishing that this is a show intended to poke fun at the misery of bureaucracy and subservience to nonsensical systems, not just in the context of military life, but in a very broad-strokes way almost any middle-class worker can relate to. At the end of the day, fiction is at its best when it resonates with some aspect of its audience’s life. I know instantly which parts of the original Red vs Blue I’m supposed to relate to. I can’t say anything even close to that about 0.

RVB is an absurdist parody that heavily satirizes aspects of the military and life as a low-on-the-food-chain worker in general that almost it’s entire target audience will be familiar with. The most significant draw of the show to me was how the dialogue felt like listening to my friends bicker with each other in our group chats. It required no effort for me to connect with and although the narrative never outright looked to the camera and explained ‘we are critiquing the military’s stupid red tape and self-fullfilling eternal conflict’ they didn’t need to, because the writing trusted itself and its audience enough to believe this could be conveyed. It is, in a way, the complete antithesis to the badass superhero macho military man protagonist that we all know so well. RVB was saying something, and it was saying it in a rather novel format.

Nothing about RVB0 is novel. Nothing about RVB0 says anything. Nothing about it compels me to relate to any of these characters or their situations. RVB0 doesn’t feel like absurdism, or satire. RVB0 feels like it is, completely uncritically, the exact media that RVB itself was riffing off of. Both RVB0 and RVB when you watch them give you the feeling that what you’re seeing here is kids on a playground larping with toy soldiers. It’s all ridiculous and over the top cliche stupid garbage where each side is trying to one-up the other. The critical difference is, in RVB, we’re supposed to look at this and laugh at how ridiculous this is. In RVB0 we’re supposed to unironically think this is all pretty badass.

The PFL arc of the original RVB existed to show us that setting up an elite team of supersoldiers with special powers was something done in bad faith, with poor outcomes, that left everyone involved either cruel, damaged, or dead. It was a bad thing. And what we’re seeing in RVB0 is the same premise, except, this time it’s good. We’re supposed to root for this format. RVB0 feels much more like a demo reel, cutscenes from a video game that doesn’t exist, or a shonen anime fanboy’s journal scribbling than it feels like a piece of media with any objective value in any area. In every area that RVB was anti-establishment, RVB0 is pure undiluted establishment through and through.

#long post #really long post guys. look out !#rvb

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balkanballad · 3 years

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Eurovision 2021 ranking

hello, hello and welcome to my eurovision 2021 ranking. the songs are ranked with numbers but I also put them into categories (from 💐 to 🥀) and added a short comment. so, if you are interested in my personal opinion about the songs, have fun:

💐:

Switzerland: I was rooting for him last year and it’s the one returner in my top that didn’t disappoint me that much. what a start, huh? I love the song, I love the feeling it gives me when I listen to it, the clip is very pretty too. did I like his last entry better? yes, but I will say it already here at the very top of this list: I liked last year’s choices in general a lot more. nevertheless, this is a beautiful entry! and it is my personal winner this year

Australia: I loved her last song. It was there for me when I needed it. Technicolour does not touch me in that way but it is fun!! it’s catchy to me and I really like Montaigne. I adore her style and how she sings. I am excitingly looking forward to this performance :)

France: beautiful song, amazing singer, the national final performance was wonderful. however, I listened to it so much that back in March I already needed a break form it. now as I am finishing this it’s April and I can slowly listen to it again. it’s me though, it’s not her. that’s really a me problem. she’s wonderful and I love the French touch to this

Albania: a ballad from the Balkans <3 hello, of course I like it and I love that they kept it in Albanian this year. I heard similar songs before, but I like the sound of it still.and overall it’s a song that gives me familiar vibes in a cozy way with a bit of drama

Russia: interesting!! I was relived to see that Little Big didn’t return because, as I explained in my ranking for last year, I was not feeling them. absolutely nothing about them, but I love her! I think it’s catchy, it’s something different and I like the message she supports. it took me a few times to fully decide how I feel about the song, but now it’s in my top for sure

Denmark: fun! a fun song in Danish. I really like the good mood it puts me in. I even see this in the context of the Umbrella Academy or Stranger Things or something like that when they go to Europe to party a bit. I also really enjoy the old school vibe this has to it. I miss that vibe. I’m also a bit old school

Cyprus: I absolutely do not relate to anything said in this song but it’s catchy! it is a bit fuego and a bit replay but I liked those entries as well, so yeah fire. I have not heard a single live performance by her but I am not exactly sure that vocals will be the aspect that she will try to win votes with anyway. I am amused by the fact that apparently people were offended by this song when it clearly makes no sense whatsoever. it’s simply a bop, move on and dance a bit

🌺:

(8.) Greece: fun as well! a ‘dream team’ entry for sure. I say this a bit sarcastically, but they do well a lot of the times and I am lured in by a lot of their entries myself. Kontopoulos is a big name in the esc industry, it’s a fact. the song is a bit more mature than Superg!rl, which I also listened to more often that I thought I would. It still reminds me of a theme song for a superhero show for kids and I am a bit worried that the ‘dReAM TeAm’ is a bit too outdated for Stefania because I think she could have done something cooler than both of those songs

(9.) Sweden: it took me a few times listening to this song, but I like the song now. I don’t think it’s too special and “a million voices” reminds me of Polina immediately because those are her words for me, but this is a good song too. I like how it makes me feel empowered and like everything will be okay. thank you for that, Tusse, I need that

(10.) Israel: Eden deserved a better song. I like this song less than last year’s entry because I think it’s less interesting and I loved some instrumental parts from last year’s entry, but this is not bad either. I am rooting more for her than for the song, but I guess that’s this year’s motto for me. I also can’t say that I love the revamp because it made it sound even more generic for me

(11.) Belgium: I saw the promo pics for them and was very confused how different the singer looks this year, but it turns out that it’s not the same woman. I like this entry a lot better. I like her voice and I really like the vibe. It sounds a bit like it could play in the background of a classic American tv show when a character is going a bit through it and pouring a drink while it’s dark outside. I have the same problem that I mentioned already while talking about the French entry, but that’s still a me problem. I just need a break

(12.) Ireland: this entry is a lot less annoying to me than the song that she had last year. I like the lyrics and whole aesthetic of this one a lot more. it’s another one that I can’t listen to too often, but I still think it’s a very good choice imo

(13.) The Netherlands: Jeangu!! I think he for example will give a wonderful vocal performance. Growth felt way more personal to me, but that’s a repeating motive this year and also a me problem because obviously this is his song and he does it well

🌻:

(14.) San Marino: I’m still confused by this feature and I can’t really say that I’m ‘living’ for it, but I already made a post about how I don’t think she needed Flo Rida. minus the feature it’s a catchy party song, but it reminds me of one song that I simply can’t remember anymore. something that I heard from the Greek music industry, maybe even Eleni, if you know which one I mean, pls let me know

(15.) Estonia: just like last year: this song doesn’t make much sense and I don’t want to, but I still catch myself listening to it frequently... I am sorry, I can’t help it, but it puts me in a eurovision mood and yes, I am blaming Kontopoulos again. I am a weak person when it comes to his melodies

(16.) Ukraine: first I had it lower in my ranking, but I like SHUM better now and I like it a lot more now than last years entry. I really like the part when it gets faster, that’s really fun and makes me want to jump! jump! jump!

(17.) Spain: it’s a lot less repetitive than the last entry, but I would be lying if I said that I listen to this very often. it’s alright, not bad at all actually, but I just wasn’t in the mood for this (yet?)

(18.) Romania: this is for me still the same type of style as Bulgaria. European Billie Eilish type. last year I ranked her higher than Bulgaria as well, but they are pretty much the same to me. I can’t comment on whether I like her song less or more this year. it’s not bad either but I simply don’t think about it much

(19.) Bulgaria: I think I like this entry better than her last one. the message is cute, the melody too and yeah, but I don’t care about it too much

🌼:

(20.) Croatia: it’s a faster pop song without a real meaning. ground-breaking. the title makes me think of Ukraine 2014. which I like better, but we’ll see, maybe the performance will have something cool too. I will say though, I would have prefered the whole song to be in Croatian, it doesn’t make it much deeper, but I like that part the most

(21.) Malta: another faster pop song. I think she will give an amazing vocal performance and it will be cool and powerful, but the message and lyrics are a bit confusing to me. I am not the lyrics police, but I am confused by them a bit

(22.) Iceland: I think I like it better than last year’s song, but it’s still not LOVE that I feel for the song. I can listen to it though

(23.) Lithuania: it’s there. I am not a fan of them and it’s not a song I love too much, but I can listen to it

(24.) North Macedonia: sigh. I liked last year’s entry a lot and Vasil seems like someone who cares a lot about the contest, but I don’t feel this ballad. I think I know what they were going for and what it’s trying to be, dramatic and meaningful, but I don’t feel it that much. it’s okay? but it doesn’t do much for me

(25.) Czech Republic: this was a surprise because I think the overall quality of his entry got a lot better, this time though I have the problem that I do not like the lyrics. they don’t make me as uncomfortable as Germany last year but they are in that area of uhm, I don’t love the feeling this gives me

(26.) UK: hm :/ I can’t say that I’m a fan. this sounds like the type of song that the boring straight men in my area put in their tinder bio as their song, but it’s every third guy that says this is his song. those Calvin Harris remix type-ish songs and I am sooo bored. I swipe left because it’s no match, I delete tinder. breath was a lot more my thing and a lot more exciting and interesting

(27.) Poland: as soon as this stops, the exact same second, I forget everything about it. I don’t remember a single word, barely the title and singer and not the melody. what is this about? I can’t tell you. it’s not exactly bad, but it is so forgettable

(28.) Moldova: oh faster pop song? wow.. so.. original. I am starting to sound like those weird people that hate ballads. I don’t feel it and I don’t relate to it, but I also don’t hate it. the video though.. no thanks.

(29.) Italy: as so often: I see a lot of Italy fans on here and I can’t relate. it’s not for me, but it’s there and I can listen to it when I can’t reach the skip button for some reason

(30.) Austria: hm. Austria and Slovenia are going there. this is the better Amen song for me, but I don’t love it. it’s better than what Ana is trying to sell even though it’s super repetitive

🥀:

(31.) Serbia: I can’t tell you if it’s worse than last year but it’s less catchy. the lyrics are still bad. actually, maybe I am the lyrics police

(32.) Finland: this not my genre and I don’t really listen to it

(33.) Slovenia: nop. not for me in any way. I already said last year that I don’t like her voice and it didn’t change but now I also don’t love the message or weird vibe of this entry. I had it even lower, but I can’t push it up more. this is as high as I can rank it

(34.) Norway: I don’t like it. I don’t like the lyrics or melody or performance that was in the nf actually. I have a hard time understanding the concept even with the explanation it makes no sense to me

(35.) Portugal: I don’t like it. a lot of the parts of the melody are really not for me and borderline annoying, but definitely boring

(36.) Georgia: it’s boring. the last entry was at least something interesting, but this one is boring, which makes me a bit sad because his voice sounds and he seems like the guy that could make something cooler. I know I am not the person that can judge rock because I don’t listen to it too much, but I feel like he could have done something cooler and ‘rock’ it more

(37.) Latvia: again: I can’t even say if it’s worse or better than last year. maybe a bit better actually but, just as last time, I can’t listen to this. it annoys me and gives me a bit of a headache. I don’t think her style and voice is for me

(38.) Germany: I wouldn’t necessarily call it hate that I feel when I have to listen to this, even though that’s a funny play with the words of this title, but I definitely feel very annoyed by this song, so I simply don’t listen to it

(39.) Azerbaijan: the song sounds just like the last one, which I had placed on the 14. place in my own 2020 ranking, however, I can’t bring myself to support someone who posts war propaganda on their socials. it’s eurovision and about the songs, I know, but this is my blog and my ranking. so it’s a no for me this time and my last place in this ranking

#j. talks #eurovision #tell me anything if you want <3

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whitehotharlots · 3 years

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Sex panic double standard

You've probably noticed a weird double standard in regards to contemporary sexuality. On the one hand--for better and worse--there's a strong demand that we accept and celebrate all manner of sexual proclivities and behaviors that were considered weird and shameful up until just a few years ago: furrydom, polyamory, etc. But on the other hand, we're in the grip of what appears to be a large-scale sex panic, in which behaviors that were until recently considered normal or only mildly problematic are now regarded as sick and exploitative: do a twitter search for the term natalism and you'll get a sense of what I'm talking about.

This is due in part from a rhetorical mess in which several disparate concepts have gotten collapsed into one another: sexuality has become conflated with gender, gender has become conflated with sex, desire with sexuality, and so on. Some of these concepts are considered worthy of protection and the moral exemption of victimhood, while others are now cast as meaningless or suspect. Sometimes conceptualizations will directly contradict one another. More often, protected categories will be applied to some groups and denied to others on the basis of political affiliation, rather than whether those categories even literally apply. A trans woman can therefore boast about her fantasies of putting regular women into rape camps and it's just dismissed as a silly thought exercise. But a hetero guy saying he's attracted to women's butts? That's dehumanization, the sign of a sick mind.

The difference is that one party is given automatic sympathy within our present discourse, while the other is immediately demonized. The intentions and effects of their desires does not factor into it.

We see this most in regards to the age of consent, and especially in regards to the sexualization of children. All but the sickest among us will admit that pre-pubescent children do not have sexuality. They are sexed by biology and gendered by society, but this is not a sexuality. They may also display tendencies that pedophiles and their apologists regard as signs of sexuality: a child may be fascinated by the human body, or even fixate on certain parts of the anatomy. A child may intuit that sexiness is desirable. Far too often, they may be sexualized by adults. But none of this is at all equivalent to adult sexuality: not biologically, not morally.

This gets complicated once the kids hit puberty but are still minors in the eyes of the law, and this is why age of consent restrictions are by nature relative to cultural contexts. Just about every society strongly disincentivizes sexually mature minors from having sex with one another, and likewise has some formal laws against minors having sex with adults. The reasons for this are as manifold as they are obvious: in addition to the risks of disease and pregnancy, we realize that young teens are not mature enough to handle the emotional toll of sexual relationships. Even if a 14 year old gives nominal consent to sex with a 30 year old, we realize that the differential between power, experience, and maturity between those two is too great for meaningful consent to be issued.

The age of consent is not a perfect system, as internet creeps are wont to remind us. And, as much as I hate to admit it, they have a bit of a point. It's hypothetically possible for a particular 15-year-old to be more emotionally and intellectually and materially able to consent to a sexual relationship than a particular 22-year-old. But in reality, this is very rare. And since the law can't be adjusted for every single case, various cut-offs were decided upon: it's 16 in most states, 18 if the younger person goes across state lines, and there are various contingency laws in place so as to de-criminalize, say, a relationship between a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old. Again: everyone admits that the laws are imperfect, but so is basically every law, and their imperfection does not negate their necessity.

Now, until very, very recently, that hypothetical 19 y.o.-17 y.o. relationship was something that very few people would have found problematic. The 17 year old is below the age of consent, but the difference in age between the two parties is such that the relationship is no more likely to be exploitative than one between an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old. Within the neurosis of our present day, however, we've seen a fierce protection of what was once widely understood as a generalized cut-off point.

Fan artists have been excommunicated for drawing pictures of teenaged fictional characters that are arbitrarily deemed too sexy. Authors have been deemed perverts for, again, portraying fictional relationships. Most weirdly, we've seen accusations of "grooming" or even outright pedophilia against couples of differing age who are nonetheless both fully grown adults... I'm not talking about a 50-something executive banging his secretary, but, like a 40-year-old getting called a pedo for marrying a 33-year-old.

What has caused this?

I believe it's due to the problematics of sexual exploitation and abuse becoming understood in terms of identity, instead of how much material harm they cause or could potentially cause the younger partner. It all connects back to the collapse of conceptual categories listed above. People don't take stock of sexual relationships and strive to come to a honest understanding of whether or not harm has been inflicted. Sexual relationships and the people contained within them are simply either good or bad, and that designation is made with an explicit rejection of critical understanding... this is why an essentially arbitrary (though necessary) age marker is now regard as an almost biblical dictate.

But then, what accounts for this madness? Neurosis spreads, sure, but it's not like everyone suddenly lost the ability to think.

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redxblueihateloveyou · 3 years

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I'm curious what you think the worst shipping dynamic is? And the reasoning behind it if you have any.

Thank you so much!!!

haha I do have several of those actually. I’ll include both what I think are the worst dynamics and the kind of ships that “I just don’t get why would you ship smth like that”.

1. What I actually call “a mom and a manchild”.

examples: Hatori/Chiaki from “Sekaichi Hatsukoi”, Ikuya/Hiyori.

I guess, technically there’s nothing wrong with this, if they both enjoy being this way, but firstly I just hate adults behaving like infants and I don’t think encouraging such behavior can lead to anything good, and secondly watching this just makes me uncomfortable for many reasons. And moments like when Hyori came up to Ikuya when he talked to Haru and was like “it’s too late and you can’t talk to this man, time to go home” and Ikuya went I just cracked up at this. Also when one part is basically changes the other’s part diapers, but in return gets tantrums or basically nothing or “but I wanna play with someone else tho”, it’s just a kink I do not get, like why would you want to be treated like this is beyond me.

But then I also generally dislike infantile characters, and I can’t ship smth if I don’t like both parties, so maybe bc of this. I always like the mature characters. Like even when I do know in theory that a 13 year old in reality can’t behave like Todoroki, I’m still like, I don’t fucking care, that’s the one I like xD But when 20 years old Ikuya behaves like this, I just do not appreciate it, I guess.

2. “I don’t have an identity, my identity is you or what you want me to be” category, including “my dignity flew out of the window” ones and “I just do what you do”. (I CANNOT HANDLE THIS DYNAMIC, YOU KNOW I CAN’T!!!!!!! I DO NOT WHY, BUT IT’S JUST PISSING ME OFF THE MOST OF ALL PROBABLY)

examples: Eren/Mikasa, Haru/Makoto, Natsusa/Sei from “Number24″.

Sports animes do that a lot. “The only reason I played rugby is because you played it” is a major cringe. And no, it’s not romantic. Romantic is like when you’re both passionate about this and doing this sports together makes it even better/more meaningful, that I get. Not, “I only went there bc you like it” and I’ll have what you have, I’ll do what you do. Like.. huh? You firstly a person, as in fully formed one pls, you can’t exist as someone’s trail.

Those ships always contain this one person (like Mikasa, Makoto), who are just the accessory of the other character. Mikasa’s problem is not the ackerbond, it’s her life position, she herself chosen to be Eren’s doormat. And some also find this romantic, I think, but I just hate such things. Also the truth of life: if you don’t respect yourself, your crush won’t respect you either. Just saying.

Makoto, I sincerely think, if Kisumi would be his neighbour instead of Haru, he’d be playing basketball at school lmao. Like SD has so many of absolutely terrible scenes, where Makoto just for real turns to Haru and goes “do you think I should go to the basketball club if we’re not swimming?” like dude, I’m... he’s like a walking definition of “meh” if there ever existed one. How can you do not care what you do? Like at all. This is beyond me. That’s sad. Watching him makes me sad.

I just need both characters in a ship be you know THEM, fantastic on their own, then when they’re together they become an absolutely explosive magic. It’s just a true fact.

Also there is one ship who is not quite this category, but kinda touches this theme. Ciel and Lizzy from “Kuroshitsuji”, ike the original Ciel, for whom she wanted to pretend to be a dumb damsel in distress for the rest of her life. Like fucking seriously????? You’d live like this????!!!! Fucking hell, you must really don’t love yourself like at all.

3. Humiliation isn’t my kink.

examples: Dazai/Akutagawa, Midoriya/Bakugou.

Akutagawa and Midoriya are badass motherfuckers and also wonderful human beings on their own. When they encounter Dazai and Bakugou they become sheeps. I hate seeing them like that, that’s basically it. Also humiliation is really not my kink. The whole “treat him like crap” thing. Like some things they did to them is just.. my god, I don’t like it.

Like when Dazai asked Atsushi to throw the phone moment, I literally flinched so hard watching it, I can’t even explain this feeling between the dejection and utter disgust at the fact that Dazai did it, that I felt watching it, but I fucking hated it.

4. Those who bring out the worst in each other or don’t bring out anything in each other.

All my ships literally all with no exceptions make each other the best versions of themselves, push/challenge each other to become better/brighter/happier, etc., or add to each other that piece the other was missing.

If someone makes someone feel depressed, miserable or even just simply stuck in a rut, that’s probably not it. There are some ships who just simply can’t make each other happy or even make each other unhappy and that’s a fact.

5. Ships with no development or development so tiny that you need 120 episodes and an magnifying glass to see it.

examples: I’d say, but I just don’t want those 10 year olds in my ask box again.

Hate this for obvious reasons. Because as wise ppl say “only fools don’t grow” or "if we don't change, we don't grow. if we don't grow, we aren't really living."

6. Those who are like brothers to each other and said so and don’t emmit any and I mean ANY sexual vibes or attraction in that kind of way towards each other.

examples: Harry Potter/Ron Weasley (like THE FUCK seriously), Stiles/Scott from “Teen Wolf”, Keith/Shiro.

I just cannot imagine them being romantically involved, I literally can’t. And I don’t get it. It’s like they even say “you’re my brother” thing, but also they just do not give off any couply feels and imagining this kinda make me cringe a bit, cause I have two sisters I’m very close with and their relationship remind me of our relationships so just.. no.

7. They are not each others priority. Meaning both putting someone else or something else before them.

If they don’t put each other first, I most likely probably don’t want it.

My jam is like Stucky and when they say to Steve “you do this, captain, and the whole world would think of you as a criminal” and Steve being like “fuck you, take your shield, take your idiotic hero rules, I don’t care, he matters to me more than your whole dumbass world”.

My jam is Lan Zhan who went against the whole world and a horde of stupid donkeys and fought for his baby till the end. He really didn’t care if he’d lose everything and what would other ppl think, if it meant that Wei Wuxian will be with him.

On the other hand, we have Jin Guangyao, who had Lan Xichen, but he wanted power and idiots’ love more, so he chose what he chose. Do not get this ship, like no, thanks.

As for putting specific someone else first. Rin/Sousuke, for example. I in general do not get it, but also like there are like 10 moments in the anime like in Yakusoku when Rin forgot about him, when he saw Haru during the tournament and an actual quote “Sousuke looked at Rin, who will always put Haru first”. So like... I do not get it. If you see them as a couple this is technically no good no for Sousuke, no for Rin.

8. Obviously straight ones, but “hey, I need them gay”.

I in fact just do not believe in a “straight ppl do not exist” thing. As I’ve said before there are exceptions where some characters give off the clear bi vibe, but those are pretty rare tbh. And even more rare canonically proven ones like Kanda from D.Gray-man, for example.

The moment they show some character in anime drool over some girls he doesn’t even know, but he don’t react to any of the guys like this, this just means he’s most likely heterosexual. Cause only straight guys drool only specifically after seeing random boobs. So this thing always throws me off in some ships.

99% of my ships are either canonically gay or most likely gay, but author doesn’t want to label it.

There are just lots of animes where main character/s have shown no interest in an opposite gender whatsoever like “Natsume Yuujinchou”, “Kuroko No Basuke”, “AOT”, “Number24″, “Fukigen na Mononokean”, “Tower Of God”, “Owari no Seraph” etc., but did in fact show interest in the same gender one. That I get, yes.

And btw even if you want somebody to be as I call it a “wishful bi”, I think it should be only in situations like if these characters have some absolutely wonderful/undeniable connection, not just the ship for the sake of gay ship.

_____

That’s probably it. Otherwise I’m fine, I think :D

#answered #anonymous #shipping #otp #anime #or should i tag notp xD #tbh 2 is my nemesis #I for some reason can't stand it #technically it's not THE worst per se but somehow for me it is

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sepublic · 4 years

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You think Warden Wrath’s crush on Eda pushed him to tell Luz where she was held?

The more we see of Warden Wrath’s intelligence, the more I’m convinced that he’s Belos’ abomination

Combining both of these asks for convenience and answering the one about Abomination Wrath first, but;

…I can’t say for sure? A part of me wants to say that Wrath has prioritized his personal interests over Belos’ far too many times and without hesitation… But at the same time, this could just be a ‘curse of free will’ situation where making Wrath so advanced naturally leads to him having his own personality, and thus his own personal desires that he places above Belos’ orders.

It’s worth noting that the Emperor’s Guards all have blue eyes VERY similar to Belos’… Assuming Belos can’t create witches, it’s not out of the question for him to make fully-breathing, living homunculi to function as his lesser grunts and generic soldiers. We see that Belos’ constructs, including the Intro Worm, aren’t exactly made of mud like most Abominations but seem to have actual organs and whatnot, which would coincide with Wrath seemingly being organic for the most part. On the other hand, Braxas exists and HE looks a lot like Wrath, though I suppose that Belos basing a creation of his off of pre-existing beings, or worse, repurposing body parts from them isn’t out of the question…

(I have to wonder if Belos had simply… taken the eyes of a poor Emperor’s Guard to replace his own malfunctioning, deteriorating pair.)

We DO see an Emperor’s Guard cheering when Eda escapes petrification, implying that these guys are capable of also unlearning some toxic mentalities, which could point towards them not being Belos’ creations… Honestly, I can’t say for sure! For now the assumption is that Wrath and the Emperor’s Guards were their own beings, possibly modified to be more conforming like the EC witches (which I’ve also speculated about), but otherwise… I can only consider the possibilities!

As for Wrath and any feelings for Eda…

…Probably not. He very quickly changes his tune on Eda once she does a raspberry in his face and goes for murder, not to mention Eda’s dialogue heavily implies that the first episode was also their first actual, proper, face-to-face interaction. It’s pretty clear that Wrath only saw Eda as ‘alluring’ because she was a challenge, a ‘trophy’ for him to conquer and earn, which is GROSS. Not to mention, Belos is overseeing this petrification and is making a big deal of this as a personal order from him…

And given all of the statues around the Conformatorium, as well as those three recently-petrified witches, Wrath has likely seen a few petrifications up-close and knows EXACTLY what Belos does to those who don’t ‘fit in’. Not to mention, how Belos threatens those who show loyalty to anyone that isn’t the Emperor… It’s Wrath’s life VS anyone else’s, hence why he caves in to Luz’s threats because he doesn’t want to legitimately riskhimself if he isn’t certain of victory. It’s best to be on the Emperor’s good side, in Wrath’s opinion.

With how the dude puts himself up as big and intimidating, only to immediately cower when things go wrong… Honestly, Wrath gives me the vibes as basically an entitled, spoiled brat from childhood who never had to question things. Like, he was just a natural bully since the beginning, with Wrath having particular IDEAS about how people should function… It seems that Wrath was never taught to handle differences in others at all. Combined with the severity of his punishments for simple things like fanfiction, and…

It seems like Wrath is someone who like Boscha, doesn’t realize you can dislike a person, but then otherwise just let them exist; It’s a very black-and-white mentality of, “If I dislike this person then I do THIS, if I like this person I do THAT,” there’s no in-between. I can see him having been a kid who would’ve bullied others over things that seemed gross, and without anyone to tell him to stop (and possibly with enabling by the system), Wrath just kept pushing his boundaries, going from hating someone to not wanting to be his friend… To hating them for a one-time incident…

And without anyone to tell Wrath to stop, he’s defaulted to a childish mentality where if this person makes me uncomfortable, OBVIOUSLY they’re bad and all bad people should be lumped into the same category that is the Conformatorium! He’s never had someone really tell him no, at least nobody meaningful to Wrath and at an important stage in development… So when he IS told no, he reacts very negatively.

Wrath is probably someone who never had to question his way of thinking whatsoever, but it also means he hasn’t really matured, hence his childish screams and quickness to cave in when Luz, a human, overwhelms him. He’s very much someone who dishes out a lot of damage onto others, but can’t take a hit to save his life; Which all suggests a lot of comfort and privilege that Wrath was raised upon.

Warden Wrath is basically an overgrown manchild who never really learned to deal with his emotions in a constructive manner, always defaulting to ‘this person who makes me feel bad IS bad and should be hurt!’ and probably had a lot of adults who encouraged and enabled this behavior. He has zero self-reflection and doesn’t really consider people as, well, peoplewith their own lives and such, and Wrath feels entitled to being prioritized, which also means he prioritizes what he wants.

But when faced with an unexpected situation that challenges his beliefs that he can’t immediately steamroll over effortlessly, Wrath caves in at even the idea of being genuinely hurt for once as retribution for his actions. When Eda defies him, Wrath defaults back to his old ways of thinking, but when Luz does and shatters Wrath’s preconceptions of him as naturally being far stronger than this puny human, he immediately falls apart.

Wrath at least expected Eda to be strong, it was part of the ‘allure’ to him, but when faced with something that challenges his worldview, Wrath quickly falls apart at the seams and gives into panic, which just goes to show that he’s always someone who’s operated on a position of comfort, taking his power for granted.

It’s worth noting that as a Warden, Wrath himself probably isn’t hunting people down personally, but merely enforcing his strength upon those who have already been defeated, imprisoned, and stripped of various tools that could help them; That when he beats down on others, he already has an Emperor’s Guard or two holding their arms down so they can’t fight back!

Obviously Wrath isn’t a total pushover either in terms of strength and likely quelled a few uprisings here or there… But in the end, he doesn’t handle actual adversity well, which hinders Wrath as he definitely has the body-type to take on most challenges. He could easily just suck it up and take the damage, but Wrath is too much of a brat to do that.

...I’m not saying Wrath is exactly the kind of person who taunts people and makes fun of them for getting so ‘sensitive’, but when HE is emotionally hurt, he very quickly starts yelling angrily with snot and tears dribbling down his face. But that’s EXACTLY what I’m saying he is.

#the owl house #owl house #warden wrath #the owl house belos #emperor belos #abominations #speculation #character analysis #ask

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buddha-in-disguise · 4 years

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So, I’m still ruminating over 5.17. I’m still equally grateful that Melissa directed in a truly wonderful way (although the Eve fight scene was great, I do get annoyed at an entire sink moving as a guys head hits it, as if it weighs nothing & isn’t attached to anything. I get it. It is for dramatic effect, & it’s the kind of thing that happens throughout TV & movies, but still..... However, I digress).

Melissa directed the episode fantastically well. The lighting, framing on shots, overall pace on scenes - brilliant.

Sadly though I’m coming away having watched it wanting to tear my hair out, as I have far too often this season.

‪It is more than the general thoughts I’ve already written about in my last post. It is details like Alex suddenly referring to her dad as Jeremiah. We know how angry, hurt & upset she was with the news of his death. Is this a manifestation of that? That she is so angry, she can’t bring herself to use such personal terms in calling him dad? We have no idea, because suddenly it occurred. This is the sort of detail Chyler herself usually picks up & asks to be changed, which makes me suspect it was addressed somehow in other dialogue, but was cut. Maybe that was the case, maybe it wasn’t. Who knows, but I’d love to ask Chyler about it.

I’ve said this before - season 4 ended on a high. Fans were really feeling positive in ways they hadn’t for a while. You just need to look back on SM at the time.

Listening to the premise of S5, & again people were energised. The SM energy from SDCC was the most positive I had seen since the series began!

I’m still trying to figure out how they are expecting to wrap up the convoluted mess this season has been in 2 more episodes. I am struggling to figure out how they could even do it in 3, if 5.20 was going ahead. Even if 5.19 is extended to let’s say 1.5 hours in the schedule, it still wouldn’t be enough in my opinion.

I said briefly in my last post, I get frustrated because so much filler has occurred this season. Seriously, why did we have those two Winn episodes? ‪Well, Lex got on his ship & grabbed the cube...... but nah. I got nothing! ‬

‪Oh a few references for Dreamer (but we barely see her, so ...) & reassuring Kara ref Lena (which also .... when?) ‬

‪So nope. Those could be mentioned in a hot minute elsewhere.

Oh & pushing Kara to date William (a whole other mess I hate, but that’s for a different time).

‪But hey. We got Winn back!‬ Now before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I really am not against having Winn hop back in on occasion. However, for 2 episodes that right now offer nothing to the plot beyond those I’ve mentioned? On an already shortened season, to having two full episodes taken up with filler? Use Winn in episodes that fully pertain to the season. Not this.

I want the Danvers sister couch scenes back. I want Alex & Kelly having the discussions they did in S4 (we got more about them in S4 before they were together, than anything so far in S5 as a couple). I want J’onn to do more than flop around his Private Eye firm & use The Tower with Alex. I want Alex to be a kick ass agent, girlfriend & sister. I want Kara & Lena to make up! I want Brainy and Nia to get together again. I want Brainy & Lena to have their friendship back. I want Alex & Lena get together in a lab, or just work on cases - anything other than this stalemate we are getting. I want Kelly to be able to show her friendship with Nia & Kara & to actually get to know Lena. I want to know does she know Kara is Supergirl properly, not conjecture, (I think she does as I said in an earlier post - see photo).

All these interpersonal relationships can still also have some conflict between them, if that’s the sort of thing they want. After all, no matter how great a relationship (I include friendship in this) is, it isn’t always perfect. I’m not saying it all has to be through rose tinted spectacles. But not to the level of destruction we have seen this season.

Give us meaningful villains (like Lex in S4, not rehashed Lex in S5 that give us episodes that mirror what we already know). It isn’t as if they don’t have, oh I don’t know, a load of comics they could reference for ideas if they need them. Stop with the constant push/pull on Lena as a character, & allow her to be accepted into the friends, flaws and all, just like everyone else - including Kara!

Now - now fans are feeling flat. The loss of viewers has been incredibly sad & worrying to watch. This weeks number was - pitiful, & yet my timeline was full of fans all saying to watch because of Melissa’s debut directing. Some argue it was because of yet another hiatus, yet Batwoman didn’t slide like that on its return. The Flash (which Supergirl used to regularly keep up with on viewers) was a solid 1.2 million viewers on Tuesday.

If it hurts me as a fan to see this decline. I can’t imagine how most of the cast & crew feel. They deserve so much better.

SuperCorp fans are either a delusional minority, or causing the loss of 300k viewers (& counting) according to some, which is causing a lot of hurt & upset. I’ve seen SC fans not wanting even post on their own timelines for fear of some fans coming in to attack them for it.

I’ve had it happen to me, if I mention I ship SuperCorp (while we are at it, I ship Dansen - which is my 1st ship, then SC) and Brainia, which is especially close to me as my husband is transgender & I want representation to show that being transgender doesn’t mean you can’t have a meaningful relationship with someone. I want a Black lesbian woman to be shown as successful in her private & professional live.

The thing is, these ratings drop aren’t because of a minority of fans (& truthfully, whether anyone likes it or not, SC fans are the biggest in terms of fandom size). But general fans are leaving the show. Now die hard fans are starting to leave. Media outlets are increasingly critical on aspects of the show.

With the hiatus due to Covid-19 & coupled with Melissa’s pregnancy, will Supergirl survive without further erosion on viewing figures before S6 resumes? I don’t see how it can on current viewing.

The CW (or WB, but since Robert Rovner’s wife is now one of two heading up WB, I’m afraid nepotism might well be playing a part here - but I add, I have no basis on this beyond just a worry it might be happening & I truly hope it isn’t. I don’t want to imply it is happening, just that I worry it ‘might be’), need to step in and do something to save this show, because it has crashed and is burning faster than Krypton.

Having minorities on the show achieves nothing if they’re not being used properly. If those who constantly berate others with racist, homophobic & misogynist posts, who feel emboldened and comfortable saying all those things, because of validation from someone on the show, then it is a problem.

This post could go on into reams of reasons why I feel so disappointed with the show as a whole at the moment.

I genuinely wish more for the actors and crew. I feel sad that Melissa’s debut as a director landed the worst ratings demo all season. I absolutely hate that occurred in fact. I genuinely don’t want to be writing posts like this. There have been good (occasional great episodes) this season, but simply not enough. Maybe 25% off the top of my head fall into that category for me, with the other 75% either entirely unforgettable or so frustrating as a viewer I want to scream; whereas it should be the other way around, & good enough that for the odd episodes you might not enjoy much or at all, you forgive them because the rest are good enough to compensate.

I’m hoping we get something exciting enough to keep interest for S6. Will we? We won’t have long to wait & find out.

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jamiejohnsontalk · 4 years

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LGBT Representation in Jamie Johnson as Compared to Other Kids’ Media

Pinned to the top of my blog because I’m quite proud of this post, and I still want newer followers to be able to see it.

From what I know, LGBT representation is relatively new in media. Not just kids’ media, but media in general. I don’t even think I knew what gay meant until I was like 11. And I didn’t know that religions didn’t exactly have the greatest opinion of gay people till my GCSEs. In that sense, I was lucky. I knew I was gay before I knew what homophobia was, so I have always been comfortable with who I am. But others didn’t have life that... Well, simple I suppose. I’ve always known who I am, but other people, well, in the worst case scenario, gay people can become homophobic themselves and grow to hate themselves. This might seem like a sidetracky introduction, but I think it shows the importance of LGBT in media. For someone like me, it can help to start to normalise gay people to my family. Even though they’re still homophobic, at least they’re able to watch programmes with LGBT characters in. I met someone who’s dad wouldn’t watch any shows with LGBT characters in it. And for how rare gay people used to be in media in general, they’re even rarer in kids’ media. Why is it that Disney Channel only had their first gay main character in 2017 when homosexuality was legalised in... 2003 in the US. Wow, I can’t lie, I looked up that statistic expecting it to be way earlier. OK, but it was legalised in 1967 in the UK. So why did I never see any gay characters in my childhood? I’ve known I was gay since I was 9, but I must have first seen a gay character in, OK, it was Doctor Who. Captain Jack was pansexual. So I did have some LGBT representation. But there wasn’t much. And again, not in kids’ media. So, let’s look at some of the kids’ media that changed the landscape for LGBT rep in kids’ media. Sarah Jane Adventures and Wizards vs Aliens We’ll start with what I think is probably the worst types of LGBT representation. First of all: Wizards vs Aliens. Benny came out. But I can’t remember the show ever talking about it again after he came out. Sarah Jane Adventures. Yes, it’s not Russell T Davies’ fault that he never got the chance to let Luke come out in the show, and yes, he got to have Luke come out in the memorial episode for Sarah Jane on YouTube, but even before Liz had... Luke had left the main cast, so his coming out would have still meant less to audience members. Gravity Falls had a coming out at the very end of the show, and I believe so did Adventure Time, so they fit in this category too. Compare that to Dillon from Jamie Johnson. Yes, there’s a reasonable chance we won’t see him again after this season, but if it is, he gets to leave on a high. We get to explore his coming out journey. Steven Universe Steven Universe is great for LGBT representation, and it’s great for normalising LGBT representation. You’ve got a huge variety of LGBT characters, because the Gems are all gay (Except Rose). So you can understand that there are different types of gay people (Love Victor did that too, but I’m not sure how many people would watch it). Steven universe is definitely the gayest kids’ show. High School Musical the Musical the Series fits in this category too. Carlos is out and proud. And we don’t see his coming out, more his love life. Again, great rep. Normalises gay people. Jamie Johnson is nowhere near the level of gay that Steven Universe or High School Musical the Musical the Series is, but I think that it’s less meaningful than other shows I’ll mention and Jamie Johnson. It’s the same reason Victor said “Screw you” to Simon at the beginning of Love Victor. We don’t want to see gay people who have it easy. We want to see gay people who are like us. Who have been through stuff and have come out the other side alive. We want hope, but that doesn’t come from seeing gay people who have it easy. I see people playing football and risking corona and I’m jealous. I want to play football again. I see gay people have it easy: Same. I wish I could have it that easy, and it makes me sad. Steven Universe is a great show, and has great rep, but I think even kids’ media should have something closer to home. Andi Mack and Diary of a Future President I love how they portrayed Cyrus and Bobby. We got to see Cyrus’ story from realising he liked guys to being able to say “I’m gay” to showing his crush he likes him (though homophobes can pretend the bench scene was just a friendship scene). Cyrus’ arc was great, and the bench scene was perfect and the only problem with it was that it deserved a fourth season so we could see Cyrus and TJ in a relationship. Diary of a Future President though. I was heartbroken when Bobby didn’t come out to Liam. But then I found out there was a season 2 and I was OK, because it’s hard to come out. It’s as if all the shows make it so easy to come out to the first person, but it’s not. The first real life person I came out to, I came out at 22. And they had come out to me first. And I had to write it down on my phone. I couldn’t say it out loud. So yeah, seeing Diary of a Future President take it slow is amazing, and I love it, and it’s also what they did with Dillon. Some people think that they only really intended for Dillon to be gay from season 4. But, I think that they’ve known since the beginning. I plan to do a character analysis on Dillon after my rewatch, but I think I found something that shows they must have known since at least season 2. (I expect the analysis will be a lot shorter than this. Sorry for the crazy length. And if it’s a crap read. I don’t essay well). But if they knew from the beginning, that was a brilliant move on their part. The only thing that makes me unsure is how Dillon took 3 years to realise he might be gay, but it’s possible that he denied it to himself until he realised Elliot was gay. Because there’s no way he wasn’t thinking he was gay in season 4 episode 5. He didn’t think he was asexual, his reaction to Ruby’s foster mums suggested that he was interested because they were gay. But regardless, I love that they took it slow. Not everyone can come out as easily as others, and having someone like Bobby, or like Dillon, is so much more meaningful than Cyrus, even though Cyrus is an amazing character. Bobby and Dillon are more relatable because they’re finding it tough to come out. The Dumping Ground I kept trying to decide whether I thought the dumping ground or Andi Mack/Diary of a Future President had better LGBT representation. In the end, I decided that I preferred the Dumping Ground’s representation. Yes, in Andi Mack and Diary of a Future President, we get to see the coming out journey of Bobby and Cyrus, but even though Andi Mack touched on homophobia, a lot of people didn’t even realise Kira was blackmailing TJ, making him afraid of how people would react if they found out he was gay. A number of people just thought TJ was being an idiot. But the Dumping Ground had a gay couple wanting to foster Gus. And IIRC, Johnny thought it was wrong because they were gay. Something like that would foster (see what I did there?) potential discussion between parents and children about gay adoption. Some kids watching the show might have been gay and if they watched it with their parents, they could talk about it with them. Gage their reaction. Maybe even come out to them. The Dumping Ground’s episode was great. And then May-Li came out. And we never got to see her full journey, But we did get to see her journey to being accepted by her grandmother I think. And that’s something. And Now On To Jamie Johnson Just like the Dumping Ground, Jamie Johnson has been able to tackle serious issues. I mean, season 1 dealt with Jamie’s cheating father. You’ve got Zoe being a carer, Dillon getting diabetes. But in terms of LGBT representation, it’s season 4 and season 5. Season 4 episode 5 was incredible. I remember telling all my friends about it, and how amazing it was that CBBC were doing this. To recap: Ruby said her heroes were her foster parents, causing Dillon to ask Ruby about it. She thought he was being an idiot, even though in actual fact, he was excited that someone else was gay and trying not to show it. Dillon told his dad that Ruby had foster mums while he was telling him how Ruby’s biological parents weren’t in her life anymore. Liam, Dillon’s brother, used it to rile up Ruby’s sister Alba until she attacked him. She probably would have gotten expelled from the club, but Sienna filmed the incident so everyone found out what really happened, and it was Liam who got expelled. I think Alba only got excluded. What I find really awesome about the storyline though is not just that they had it. It was that the consequences of Liam’s actions set the course for the rest of the season, aka Dodgy Duncan. Liam’s actions caused the club’s image to go down the drain, and sponsors to leave, and that’s what made Duncan turn to the dark side. And it’s a subtle way to just say “Homophobia is bad”. Because Liam’s homophobia caused all the problems in the rest of the season. The First Time Dillon Let Himself “be Gay” Dillon took a long time to come out. And, like me, I think for a long time, nobody really suspected he was gay, in real life or in the audience. He never really showed it. I’m pretty sure when I was a kid, I would act super offended and upset if someone jokingly called me gay. So, yeah, it’s a slow burn. And we didn’t get any hints that he was gay, but that happens. Gay people are good at hiding, I think that’s why gay kids are often portrayed as loving theater. They already have to act their whole lives. It’s not easy to be in the closet. But I think that once Dillon was able to leave his father’s shadow, he was able to be more comfortable with himself, leading to him coming out to Elliot in episode 7. I think he had crushes before, specifically Michelle from season 2, but Elliot was the first time he felt like he could be himself. So here we have two massive points from other shows, but they haven’t been done together. The discussion of homophobia in the Dumping Ground, and the Slow Burn from Diary of a Future President. Social Media Presence Andi Mack made a huge deal about Cyrus being gay, like a week before the episode where he came out aired. HSMTMTS had Carlos be a gay stereotype from the trailer, and OK, Steven Universe was always gay. But Jamie Johnson, and the Dumping Ground didn’t make a big deal about it beforehand. They didn’t scream to the world “Look at us! We’re woke!” They showed it. They let people see for themselves, they let people debate for two weeks on Dillon’s sexuality, and they didn’t tell everyone that this was the episode Dillon would come out (though they made sure that everyone knew they should watch this episode). They just let people see for themselves. And after the episode aired, they made their move. They had the Jamie Johnson logo in rainbow colours to celebrate pride, they had a guide on how to react if someone comes out to you, and they had a history of pride, and I expect they’ll do even more on their social media after this week’s episode. @tkstrand reckons the Delliot post is Jamie Johnson’s most liked instagram post. I don’t know whether the other shows did this, but it’s a great gesture regardless. Oh, and there’s the fact that they’re doing a Bafta zoom conference on how they tackle issues. Choosing the Right Character and Breaking Ground for CBBC A lot of people on Instagram said that they thought it was Boggy who should be gay, and while I think either storyline would be great, I think that the writers made the right decision. 1) Boggy is an amazing person. He’s not afraid to be himself. I think, if Boggy was gay, then he wouldn’t have as much trouble coming out as Dillon is having. Of course, Boggy is going through stuff right now, but I still think he would have been a lot braver than Dillon and so we wouldn’t get the storyline we’re getting now delving into homophobia 2) If Dillon does have a minor or major role in season 6, we might get to explore homophobia in professional football, which would be super exciting 3) While Boggy is an amazing character, I’d reckon kids tend to gravitate to the coolest character as their favourite. And while Boggy radiates cool. (Seriously, check out the two posts I made on how sarcastic he is. And just look at his hat at the beginning of episode 1!

But Dillon is the more traditionally cool character, so he’s more likely to be a fan favourite (that and the fact that he’s the best developed character in Jamie Johnson). So for those who aren’t necessarily homophobic, but don’t really understand homosexuality, Dillon is the perfect choice to have written as gay. Because after next week, the people who don’t believe Dillon is gay might leave the episode with a new understanding of LGBT people. It’s been done with TJ, who’s also a cool character, but people who want to ignore the gay subtext can because it was never said out loud in the show. And I reckon Dillon is a groundbreaking character for CBBC. Benny left soon after he came out, Luke left before he came out, May-Li is part of an ensemble cast, so in terms of a small number of main characters (the core 4 in JJ being Dillon, Jamie, Zoe and Boggy), so I think Dillon is the first gay main character (not ensemble character) on CBBC who has gotten a major gay storyline. Could be wrong, let me know if I am! Groundbreaking in General From what it looks like, the next episode is gonna focus completely on Dillon’s coming out storyline. Forget kids’ media, I don’t think I’ve seen an adults’ show that has an entire episode solely dedicated to an LGBT storyline. (Even Reunited from Steven Universe wasn’t completely focused on Garnet). Love Victor was jam packed with side stories and I think even Real O’Neals always had side stories to it. If another show has done this, I’d love to hear, but if Jamie Johnson really has the whole episode dedicated solely to Dillon, I think it’s huge. I only hope it doesn’t mean that the storyline will be forgotten about in the last 4 episodes, but since the head writer of Jamie Johnson is LGBT, I have no doubt they’ll do it justice. Does Jamie Johnson Have the Best LGBT Representation in Kids’ Media? No, I don’t think it does. Andi Mack has 2 seasons where we follow Cyrus on his coming out journey and Steven Universe has a lot more LGBT people, including a non-binary character. But in the aspects Jamie Johnson does well, it excels at. The homophobia storyline(s), and Jamie Johnson’s instagram presence. And having the best developed and best defined character be the one to show kids how to treat gay people. Thursday could be a historic moment for Kids’ television if they do this right, and I think they will. So I hope that everyone enjoys the episode! No, I swear this wasn’t a long promo for the next episode. No, I am not sponsored. Yes, this post was extremely long, I’m really sorry about that. I hope it’s worth the read. If not, don’t worry, this will almost definitely be my longest post. No, I don’t know how to have a “continue reading” button. Does anyone happen to know how? Thanks! Edit: Apparently 4 O Clock club had a gay main character first, so I got that wrong, but I still hold that Jamie Johnson is groundbreaking.

#jamie johnson #delliot #lgbt representation #analysis #long post #Seriously this is a super long post

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unordinary-analysis · 5 years

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Episode 137

Honorable mentions:

I love how blyke called arlo out so dramatically in the middle of the night

One of the ‘King’s responsibilities’ that Arlo mentions is “organizing school events.” …? Like what lol. Turf wars was a separate item on that list, so it can’t be that…?

Blyke and Isen were babies once, true story

#forklo is sailing guys

Was going to make a separate category, but everything kind of merged into one long blurb oof.

I really do assume way to much in these haha

Blyke believes that to be king, you have to be a fighter and your ability is what makes you a good king. I don’t know what to think about this other than the fact that Arlo should kind of be offended. Like, wow, this kid really believes that my ability got me this far? I mean, yeah it really did play a big part of his kingship early on, but that was because of Rei and what he did, not because all king’s should beat everyone else down. Did Arlo really only show Blyke that by fighting good, you will command and lead well, making the right decisions for everybody and maintaining the order that is necessary for the hierarchy to work as intended?

But then Arlo says, “It’s not like you lucked your way into becoming a royal. After I’m gone you will be the strongest male in school. That makes you qualified.” At first, I thought this was extremely out of character for Arlo. Like, really. Arlo saying that all you have to do is be strong to lead. But like… I feel kind of stupid now because he is totally in character and I’m just being ignorant (sorry guys, you all probably already knew this). Arlo secured his kingship with his strength. He reshaped the school that Rei had left behind and turned it into something that was functional. Reshaped is the wrong word. It’s more like he defeated it, burned it, and let his hierarchy rise again from the ashes. Because that’s what he did. I really liked that in this episode, we learn how much Arlo had to rely on his powers rather than his given authority. He had to fight to gain control. He didn’t get Isen and Blyke to listen to him by just telling him that he was king. He had to beat their asses to show them who was the boss (granted they were freshmen and hadn’t been really exposed to Rei’s reign). But like also, the girl in the back when Arlo was stealing the fork said, “Who does this guy think he is.” They have no respect at all for Arlo. None. They don’t even know who he is. The only way that Arlo created the name for himself that he has today was to use his ability and “beat them back into their place.” So, yes. Because of the nature of his reign and of his strict belief in hierarchy, it is natural to understand that Arlo thinks the ability makes a person.

But now, I want to bring up another king. Not Rei, but John. John, the king of New Bostin. Because of his ability, he was qualified to be king. I’m sure everyone reading this know what I’m about to say, but I just want to add another Arlo quote from this episode. He said (to Blyke), “As long as you continue to grow your ability and remain at the top the others will naturally follow you.” Not only is this incredibly sad and disheartening once you really read into it, because Arlo is basically admitting that he can do nothing else, the school will wind up following John, but also this is really ironic because of what happened to John at New Bostin. John was powerful and never weakened. He ruled with an iron fist. And, ya know what, John was turned on by everyone (kjshdfkkjshf you know what I meant). There’s truly not much difference between the actions of John and Arlo as they became king (and notice I said actions not motives). They beat people down to establish their dominance, to establish their claim as the strongest and both did it to gain power and respect, to be in their “rightful place”. So then why did they turn on John, but not Arlo?

This might have a bit to do with their lack of unity, as Arlo calls it, but Wellston never decided that Arlo was too much of a tyrant to try to overthrow. Because, if we consider how John led to be tyranny, Arlo can’t be treated with any less contempt. So I’m going to attribute that to Rei’s leftover faith. Good thing that that isn’t the kingship I want to compare to John’s because I wouldn’t have gotten far. Arlo didn’t get overthrown because of Rei, but what kept everyone from turning on Rei?

Perhaps one of worst reign’s ever shown on UnOrdinary was Rei’s, which is impressive considering how peaceful the guy’s ideologies were. Like Arlo said, he repressed the powerful and gave the weak false hope, absolutely destroying the hierarchy that ruled the world at the time. I honestly don’t know why the authorities or principal didn’t step in. But I’m more shocked that the students didn’t. Sure, the low-tiers didn’t have any reason too, but no revolution was won by the weak. Only the powerful could take down the powerful. One problem...

Another quote from the latest episode is, “But because Rei was the most powerful at the time, we all had no choice but to listen to him.” Another Arlo quote. Also, really wise when we compare it to the events of literally any uprise in UnOrdinary ever. Because, when the students of New Bostin all teamed up against John (unity and all), they still ended up the ones bloody and beaten. They still fell into their rightful places under their rightful king (which John was, but I won’t get into that).

Yeah, I’m sick of details, so I’m giving y’all my answer. Rei and John’s reigns ended differently because of the people at their side. (hear me out).

John had Claire at his side. A usually peaceful girl who only wanted the best for the greater good. The fandom may crucify her, but she reminds me a lot of Remi. She reminds me even more of Rei. Her beliefs that the strong shouldn’t just be able to take advantage of the weak drew her to John in the first place and later caused her to betray him. I refuse to believe that the girl only became friends with John to gain power. Surely if she had that strong of clairvoyance, she would’ve at least seen some of the outcome of her mutiny. Even if her ability is really crappy and she only gets a vague and short look into the future only once in a while, any look after John’s massacre would’ve told her how it ended. So I stand firm in my belief that she was similar to Rei, that is, carried his beliefs to some extent.

Rei, however, was close to a young kid named Arlo. We don’t know what Arlo believed in before he took over as king. We don’t know how far Rei had gone when Arlo first went to Wellston. We do know that Arlo, before becoming king, had to be like Claire. I don’t mean traitorous, but he had to (at least to some extent) believe in what Rei did. Claire turned on John because her friendship with him and her beliefs were conflicting. She chose her beliefs. Arlo had no such conflict and so, voila.

(I hate the end of this small analysis, so just focus on the upper paragraphs)

(like seriously, I could’ve sworn I had something better to say… D:)

My point here isn’t that anyone who holds the superheroes beliefs is going to screw everything up (though that is an important takeaway). I want everyone to understand that all it takes is one thing to change the outcome of things. All it took was a separate set/coupling of morals to keep Wellston to turn into the bloodbath that New Bostin was. Not to be all dumb and stuff like “be nice because you could make a difference.” More like the butterfly effect. Not original I know, but I feel that the journey was more meaningful then the destination (i preferred what i said in the early/middle paragraphs [most everything but my outcome lol]). But like I just want to say that I applaud uru-chan’s writing. Other than that, I really don’t know what I want to be my point. Because that’s all I’ve been trying to say from the beginning. Uru-chan’s writing makes me so happy and just her in general lol.

#unordinary #unordinary webtoon #webtoon #web comics #uru chan #uru-chan #unordinary comic #episode 137 #official

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dgcatanisiri · 4 years

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So, I was thinking again about the issues I have regarding The Last Jedi (yes, I know, I probably just lost like half of you there)...

So, walking out of the theater, my mental scoring of things legitimately put it in the “low B/high C” range. Not bad, not the worst thing ever, but flawed enough that kept in from greatness in my eyes.

And then the backlash hit, and... Whatever meaningful discourse there was, it got drowned out. And while there was that chunk of the racist, sexist, “wah you ruined my childhood!” (only using a different word than ruined) whiny fanboys... There was ALSO this chunk that basically hailed it as utter perfection beyond reproach, and that if you had ANY criticism of the movie, then you fell into that former category.

(In fairness, that reaction does make sense in the fact that it was the former category highjacking the criticism, but still...)

And I think that it was in response to THAT attitude that really pushed me towards hating the movie. Not because it INHERENTLY was bad, but that there was this vocal contingent that demanded that I see it as wholly good.

And just... I think it’s a flawed movie. I genuinely do. It rehashes the story that several characters went through in the previous film. It demotes Finn - the male lead from TFA - to a “comedic” C-plot that could be cut entirely and ignores the contribution his unique character could have (a deserter stormtrooper returning to the First Order). Rey gets reduced to Kylo’s sexy lamp, becoming convinced that SHE can “save” him from the dark side, after the climax of TFA was two people she cared deeply for being on the receiving end of his lightsaber, one fatally, the other put into a coma (which, going back to Finn for a moment, gets resolved in seconds of screentime, and AGAIN played for laughs, because why is a coma patient shoved into an unattended storeroom instead of in a medical ward?). There is not enough development of Luke Skywalker for me to see how a character whose last appearance beyond the cameo of TFA involved him proudly proclaiming “I am a Jedi, like my father before me,” becomes the self-isolating hermit declaring “the Jedi must end.” I said at the time that if anyone deserved to tell Luke to let go of the past it was not the goblin who refused to acknowledge his attachment to the Jedi Order as an institution but Anakin Skywalker, the man whose attempt to follow those rules broke. To say nothing of the many flaws of the Poe-Holdo scenario that range from having redubbed her dialogue in the name of making Poe seem more hot-headed to her wearing a cocktail dress in the midst of a military scenario reaching an existential crisis, all the way to the fact that it was an intentional writer’s decision to call her interactions with him “flirting.” (No, I’m not exaggerating, this is from an interview with the costume designer who quotes Rian Johnson’s reaction to her initial costume designs for Holdo looking more military in design.) On top of all of that, the First Order was treated like a fringe movement that suddenly obtained a nuke in TFA, while in TLJ, they were, in every respect except name, the Empire - the Empire that had been built on the bones of the Old Republic, only to be toppled in Return of the Jedi and pushed out to the fringes by the New Republic. This movie basically reset the political board to the original trilogy’s dynamics, without accounting for the changes that came over time.

It is a very flawed movie, and the fact that these things that I saw as being flaws as actively being the reason that so many seemed to praise the movie as the best thing to happen to Star Wars... THAT, I feel, more than the movie itself, is what soured me so much on it. Because I was legitimately seeing this from people who make film and media critique a career, and just... I can see this so easily as flaws, and things that bring it down, and I don’t see how it is that I’m the weird one, missing these things, seeing just how it didn’t work for me, in such detail that I am still writing pages on the ‘why’ to this day. It feels like they all got distracted by the shiny surface, missing what was underneath.

There’s also the fact that, in the movie where the script actively calls for most of the time and focus to be on the women and people of color, THIS is the story where they all end up failing. That this is a movie that explores the concept of heroes failing us RIGHT at the point when it should be presenting these “new generation of heroes,” where these characters do the same kinds of things that white male heroes do all the freaking time in movies, rebelling against authority, taking one-in-a-million chances, risking lives on the hope of success... and failing. So, in effect, I see a story whose message can be taken as “leave the heroing to the white guys, women/non-white people suck at this.”

(I mean, I will state it for the record that I don’t genuinely believe this to be the intended message. My point is just... That’s a very real subtext I feel in this story, and my impressions of the hype for The Rise of Skywalker, at least in the corners of Tumblr that I frequent, is that this message was received, even if it wasn’t what was meant to be sent - writer intention is, at best, one tenth of audience reaction.)

And, again, because of the attitude that spread of “if you didn’t like it, you must be one of those assholes who can’t accept Star Wars changing,” it wasn’t even particularly worth it to argue, because you’d end up dismissed before speaking your piece.

But you know, I’ve been there through Star Wars evolutions before. I loved the New Jedi Order series, that was what brought me in to the Expanded Universe. I even managed to enjoy the subsequent Legacy of the Force/Fate of the Jedi novels, though I found them flawed. Hell, my big complaint there, looking back on them a decade later isn’t their mere existence. It’s the fact that they backtracked on a changing view of the Force, a change of tearing down the light/dark dichotomy. Legacy and Fate go out of their way to basically undermine the entire idea that the Force IS. And one of my favorite games - not even Star Wars, I’m talking period - is KOTOR 2, which is ALL. ABOUT. deconstructing the Star Wars mythos.

And so when people said that “Star Wars is changing, it needs to evolve,” honestly? I just saw regression - Empire versus Rebels, white man taking center stage, even the fact that the ending centered around the actions of the Original Trilogy’s hero, rather than the new generation of heroes - again, going back to the “message received” thing, it veers uncomfortably close into “sit down kids, and let yesterday’s hero fix your mistakes.”

TL;DR: I think that the response that basically tried to cut any criticism of TLJ, not just the bad faith arguments, but also shouting down the good faith ones, ended up souring me more on the film than necessarily the film itself.

#dg rambles #the last jedi critical

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onlycatscanjudgeme · 5 years

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Under the cut you will find overanalysis of the new The Good Place mini web series, The Selection.

Looks like Bambadjan and Val are now senior staff!

I think this is the third appearance of the "no dictators, no serial killers, no [pop-culture/media phenomenon the writers don't like]" joke. They're really having fun with that one.

"Val literally just said that." "Yeah, but I wasn't listening, because she's a woman." Okay, I realize that this is actually just a joke about how sexism is bad and demons are bad and I'm indulging in a level of overthinking that even Chidi would consider excessive, but I just can't swallow the idea that demons actually judge each other or humans based on gender. They're demons! Otherworldly beings who regard humans as disgusting insects! Why would they care about gender? From a purely in-story perspective, I like to imagine the whole "sexist demons" thing as an elaborate form of ironic humor rooted in how stupid and weird they think humans are. I find it easy to read this scene in a way that supports my interpretation. When Bambadjan repeats Val's suggestion, Shawn is confused and doesn't recognize or agree with the "ignore Val because she's a woman" thing until Bambadjan explicitly spells it out. If Shawn were actually prejudiced against women/female-presenting demons, I don't think that he would momentarily forget to be prejudiced. He also doesn't actually ignore the female-presenting demons' ideas or take them less seriously than the male-presenting ones throughout the rest of the meeting. Moreover, Bambadjan doesn’t react to Shawn’s correction in a way that sounds as though he had actually been ignoring Val, and Val doesn't appear to be offended by the exchange. To be clear, I am not suggesting that the demons are morally "above" sexism. Mocking human prejudices is just another way for them to claim superiority and prop up their own actual bigotry, which is directed at humans in general without distinguishing between any particular demographics thereof.

Speaking of not distinguishing between categories of human: Shawn seems to consider the judge's idea of "equivalent badness" sort of bogus and arbitrary. He doesn't see a meaningful difference between Eleanor and a serial killer or dictator.

When Shawn realized he'd forgotten to tell them the rules, he actually seemed embarrassed and even sort of apologized. This really isn't a big deal but it was surprising to me. Shawn likes to take credit for others' work, and he is rather petty; I would have predicted that he'd find a way to push blame for even a minor mistake onto someone else.

First Shakespeare and the Entourage movie, now Emily Dickinson and this podcast... torturing famous writers with bad media seems to be a preferred tactic of Shawn's. I read a fanfic once in which it was mentioned offhand that he had forced all of Chidi's philosophy heroes to read his thesis.

“We’re immortal demons. Our primary sustenance is the suffering we inflict on humans.” Is this literally true? Could this throwaway line in a promotional short be the coveted explanation for why the system is what it is, why the demons are so driven to do what they do? If so, is Michael getting enough nourishment now that he’s out of the torture business? ...I’m probably just overthinking again.

Most of the gross-out humor in the “takeout order” segment didn’t really do it for me, but Shawn’s roast chicken threat was pretty funny. Marc Evan Jackson’s delivery is beautiful.

Shawn acts mean and intimidating towards all of his subordinates due to his own personality and demonic social norms, but I think he has a genuine personal dislike for Glenn that he doesn’t have for the others. The others seem to share that sentiment, since they are united in bullying Glenn into doing a task they all want to avoid. Given that this task is placating Shawn, sending the one guy he actually hates to do it seems like a questionable decision, but I guess it worked out for them.

“You don’t seem to understand what’s at stake here. Our entire way of life! If we don’t prove that humans are terrible, all this could go away.” Is Shawn implying that the Judge might... abolish the Bad Place? I'm not actually sure why he’s worried about that; neither Michael nor the Judge has actually suggested such a drastic step. They’ve only discussed changing the sorting criteria.

This isn’t the first time Shawn has been worried about humans impressing the Judge with their improvement. At the beginning of S3, he was very anxious to know what was happening with the four on Earth, and even sent Trevor to break up the group rather than trusting that they’d fail on their own. It seems as though his proclamations that “humans are terrible” and that what happened in Michael’s original neighborhood was a “fluke” are at least part bravado.

Apparently the Bad Place did not assassinate Simone in order to use her to sabotage the experiment. I am genuinely surprised.

Glenn is uncomfortable with the idea of cheating. He wants to defend the status quo, but he wants to do it with integrity. This may in fact be impossible, because the status quo is built on falsehoods and corruption and can’t stand up to honest investigation. Could Glenn realize this? Between that and his discomfort with Shawn, could a heel-face turn be in his future?

#tgp #tgp talk #mine #the good place

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lia-nikiforov · 5 years

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Spring 2018 Anime Final Review

So, uh, this is six months late. I’ve had half of this post in my drafts forever. To make it short, as I’ve mentioned previously, mom lost her job, which has not only been a heavy hit to my sense of stability for the last six months, but also means my time to watch anime was seriously reduced and even now a slight change of plans fucks up my whole schedule and sets me back for a full week. Anyway, nobody cares about any of these shows anymore so let’s get straight to it? I’m gonna ommit the two-cours that continued into the Summer - hopefully I’ll be able to make that post soonish? idk. Worst to best, same as usual

The crappy gender politics pit of shame

Darling in the FRANXX: I think everyone has ripped this show to threads at this point and there isn’t much I could add to that. It is quite funny to me to see how many people flipped out when the show went completely bananas in its last few episodes. Feels a bit like KADO, I’ve been telling y’all this was a ton of empty crap since episode 2, it just took the writing to completely self-destruct for everyone else to notice. A part of me feels tempted to do a long post breaking down just how badly the show collapsed in its final shebang, specifically how every single twist and turn completely nulled any remote kind of message or central thesis the show may have had, but at the same time it doesn’t seem worth the time. In the end, I may have given What is Internal Consistency, The anime way too much credit. It’s not hateful antigay propaganda, it’s just dumb as shits, with a writer and creators who didn’t think for half a second of the implications of what they were doing, and who were so incompetent they couldn’t even conserve the minimal plot and character coherency within a single episode, let alone 24. In other words, Darling isn’t saying “gays shouldn’t exist” but “I have no idea of anything regarding gay people”. What makes it egregious is that the show spent so much time acting like it was “meaningful” and “important” and yet it ended saying absolutely fucking nothing. Except mayb “have babies”. Down to oblivion you go, along with the likes of KADO, to the void of shows that couldn’t even be offensively bad and no one will remember a year from now. Bonus garbage points for the half-assed “bury your gays”.

Nil of Libra Admirari or whatever this show was called: I’m not trying to diss on the show, I just genuinely never remember the title because I have the JP and EN all mixed up. Not that it matters much, as far as I could tell, the show could call Shalabalabatuna and it would have the same significance in regard to the content. But the title isn’t important. In fact, it may be a bit unfair to have this show in this section. For the most part, Main Girl is very self-determined and has an active role in the story.... but then the last two episodes heavily featured a lot of rape threats or rape themes and forced pregnancy (real and threat) and I don’t really understand why they’d go there all of a sudden. One of them was treated relatively well, even empowering the victim in the process, but when the ikemen bad guy was rambling endlessly about how he wanted to impregnate the protagonist it really turned me off :/ I’m also not a fan of “main boy was her secret fiancé all along”, but at least they also handled that somewhat decently. It’s a very disposable series, but since I watched all of Amnesia, I think I owe every otoge adaptation at least the smallest chance to clear that very low bar, and Libra of Nil does it, more competently than most other stuff in the same genre.

Hisone to Masotan: I really, really wanted to love this show. Even now, as I put it in the pit of shame category, I’m pained. There was a good show in this, and a lot of it made it to the screen: an adorable, charming little story about a woman finding her place in the world, making new friends, finding her calling and bonding with an adorable dragon. Unfortunately, it got buried down under this opressing, horrendous gender politics that tried to do something with bringing attention to sexism in the military only to cancel it out making the one dude that embodied that sexism getting rewarded with the affections of a girl he explicitly tried to crush. It also called back on the virgin or whore fallacy and even managed to shove in a “bury your gays” trope. Even though Hisone challenges the ritual bullshit, it’s too little, too late, and she does end up carrying it out anyway, so the defiance to the status quo is of little importance in terms of problematizing the ritual itself. Sorry BONES, it wasn’t meant to be this time.

The ni fu ni fa section

Ni fu ni fa is a Mexican colloquialism for “It was okay but it didn’t change my life.”

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu HAPPY KISS: This soft reboot of the franchise had some really great episodes and did an actually good job of developping its characters. For the most part, it achieved what its predecessor did in terms of satirical comedy and I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, what bunked it down so low in the list was the final episode. At some point, the writers forgot they were doing a parody and made the show somewhat self-serious, way closer in tone to the magical girl anime it was supposed to be making fun of, rather than the satire its predecessor was. Whereas S1 ended with the whole Magical boy stuff being revealed as a crappy space reality TV show, this one ended with a real cheesy conflict about happiness and family and blablabla. Which is not bad by itself if this were a Precure show, but that kind of self-serious plot development just didn’t work for this series. I still enjoyed it, and the fanservice episode is one of the best of the whole franchise, but I’m a bit sad the finale missed the mark so badly.

Hinamatsuri: Hinamatsuri was very hit-or-miss for me. There were some truly brilliant episodes, a lot of funny vignettes and heart-warming stories, and then there was some stuff that made me uncomfortable -like every single Hitomi story- or felt unnecessary and dry. It also threw me off that the superpower dynamic completely disappeared in the second half of the show, especially in Anzu’s part of the story. It was okay but I feel like I needed something that felt like a closing, and choosing to end it with Mao who featured very minimally in the show overall didn’t cut it. It’s a fun show, I’d reccommend people check it out, but it felt a bit too disjointed for me

Persona 5: The Animation: This is a hard show to place because I love the looks of it and I think the concept is interesting and pretty cool, but there is something that’s keeping me from connecting emotionally to the story. The part where changing the villains’ heart makes them repent from their sins and become “good” feels very artificial and very tasteless when you’re dealing with rapists and abusers. I ended dropping it at episode 16, I just couldn’t find the motivation to catch up with the 6 episodes i’d fallen behind on because my schedule is a tragedy

Tokyo Ghoul: Re: I guess it’s fair to say I’ve kind of outgrown Tokyo Ghoul. There’s something messy and confusing about how this season panned out, and there comes a point in which misery porn just doesn’t cut it anymore. I still watch because Ishida has a way to make every single goddamn character extremely sympathetic, which makes for an emotionally engaging viewing even when you’re not sure of what the plot is supposed to be or who you should be rooting for. I tried picking up the new season that just started airing and immediately found I had no idea of what was going on, who was on who’s side and in general, who the fuck were 90% of the characters, so I dropped it.

Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu: I’ve mentioned it before, this second season had the opposite problem than the first one: the pace was too slow. It took more than half of it to get to Escanor, and then the season ends at a kind of random spot. I really thought we’d get further along on the story, since Gowther’s backstory was hinted at in the openings, but no such thing happened. They did manage to give us a variety of cool moments and fights, and I love Ban so his scenes with Zhivago and Elaine made me quite happy, though I really wish the romance between Elizabeth and Meliodas wasn’t su dubious and cringy. In light of some revelations that take place further along the manga, going out of their way to emphasize that Meliodas was a sort of mentor figure for Elizabeth when she was a toddler seems unncessary and just very squeamish. I do hope we get a third season though, and an OVA of the Vampires of whatever side story would be great too.

Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori: I was pleasantly surprised by this show, and it’s closer to being one of my top of the season than it is to “meh”. It had some weaker, cheesier segments, but it also managed great whacky moments and a genuine soothing atmosphere. What surprised me most is that the vanilla looking cast of moderately handsome dudes managed to develop into interesting, funny individuals with a dynamic that made every episode enjoyable. A solid reccommendation for anyone wanting to see delicious looking food and moderately handsome dudes being ridiculous. Also, the cat episode is the best episode of anime ever produced.

The I’m probably the only person alive who enjoys these shows

Mahou Shoujo Ore: This is a difficult show to place because it wasn’t quite as great as I wanted it to be and its parodic nature took me by surprise, but somehow I was still seriously entertained more often than not. The twists in the final quarter and the absolutely bonkers finale was a total riot, but I definitely advise caution before going in, given that some of the jokes may seem insensitive or in poor taste in regards to gender presentation, sexuality and there are even some mild harrassment jokes that certainly made me roll my eyes.

Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line: I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but I think through half of the show’s 25 episode run, I was convinced the title was actually Glory Road. It’s kind of anticlimactic that it’s called Glory Line if they don’t actually reach the final Goal btw. Anyway, I feel I say this a lot, but really, if you didn’t like the previous Yowapeda seasons, there’s nothing here for you, and if you did, you’re probably not gonna hop off this late in the game. This season does suffer from the same dragging than its predecessors, with the added issue of being quite pessimistic for no reason in about half the episodes, and a diminished presence for Onoda. I really wish they hadn’t dragged the Day 2 goal so long, I really hoped we’d see the end of the race, but no such luck I guess. Still love most of it and hope we get one more season or a movie to complete the story.

The favorites of the season

Golden Kamuy: In spite of its pacing issues, terrible animation and general clunkiness, I can’t help but love this show. When season 1 ended my feelings for it had mellowed quite a bit, but as soon as I picked up season 2 this Fall I just fell in love all over again. It’s fun, unique, over-the-top in some ways, incredibly grounded in others, and the dynamics between the characters are incredibly charming.

Hozuki no Reitetsu: It’s hard to talk about this one because it feels repetitive, given how tonally the show remains just the same across its three seasons. It could’ve very well been a one-season, 36 episode show, for how little it changes in spite of the time that transpired between the first season and the second. But in short, the comedy continues to be as spot on as always, the Zashikiwarashi twins are the best addition to the cast. It’s definitely a show I could watch endless episodes off, and the rare case of an episodic series with no overarching plot that I can enjoy wholeheartedly.

Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card arc: Over the course of the series, I’ve expressed a few concerns and misgivings about how the story of this 20th anniversary sequel was playing out. The final episode was particularly troublesome in that it left the story unfinished in spite of deviating from the manga. In spite of this, more than anything I’m very happy that this continuation still retains what made the original so special, that they captured the magic behind Sakura’s “everything will be alright” spell and gave us the chance to spend more time with these beloved characters and see their stories continue. The slow but sweet development of Sakura and Syaoran’s puppy love is a definite highlight. Needs more Touya/Yukito and Yue in general.

Piano no Mori: This show got heavily overlooked because it was kidnapped by Netflix (pls stop immediately), and then when it was finally unceremoniously dumped a month or two ago, it came under fire for the wonky CGI during the piano scenes -and it is indeed very wonky-. But beyond that, I found the story very engaging, especially because Kai is such a fascinating protagonist, his intense rivalry-friendship with Megane-kun (sorry, it’s been six months, i can’t remember names) is exactly the type I can’t help but root for. Kai’s participation in the final episode gave me goosebumps. I’m very happy we’re getting a continuation, can’t wait to see how the Chopin competition develops.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii: Sweet, funny and absolutely delightful from start to finish, Wotakoi was easily one of the highlights of the season. Although there were some aspects about Cosplayer-senpai and Yuri Otaku-senpai’s (I’m really trying to remember the names, I’m sorry!! ;---;) that didn’t work for me -namely the izakaya segment- Narumi and Hirotaka more than made up for it with their clumsy yet adorable romance. I spent the entirety of the amusement park episode screeching. I really hope we get a continuation -and get a chance to see more of Hirotaka’s brother and his gamer friend too- and that in general we can get more anime about adult stories

Megalobox: Who would’ve thought that a show that wasn’t even in my radar before the season started would’ve end as one of my favorites, possibly of the year? Even as someone who’s only marginally acquainted with Ashita no Joe and has no interst in the sport of boxing, I was completely enthralled by the style and passion of this production. As I said a bit above, intense rivalries are very appealing to me, and the build up in the tension between Joe and Yuri was almost palpable, their mutual respect gave me chills. Definitely the surprise of the season, made even better by its optimistic happy ending to contrast with its predecessor’s tragedy. Megalobox is a unique anniversary project that is closer to an homage and it works perfectly. Definitely check it out.

That’s it for the Spring season! I hope i can do the summer season this weekend and maaaybe even my watchlist for the Fall season. Fingers crossed i won’t get swallowed up in other stuff :’D

#anime final impressions #spring anime #god i've forgotten 95% of my tags #darling in the franxx #megalobox #wotaku ni koi wa muzukashii #piano no mori #card captor sakura clear card arc #hozuki no reitetsu #golden kamuy #yowapeda #mahou shoujo ore #rokuhoudou yotsuiro biyori #nanatsu no taizai #persona 5 #tokyo ghoul: re #hinamatsuri #hisone to masotan #binan koukou chikyuu boueibu

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metalandmagi · 6 years

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August Media Madness

Well, August may have sucked for me personally, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t keep track of all the media I consumed this month! And spoiler alert, I watched a lot of movies involving adorable talking bears. Although, I have a feeling that as soon as the fall television premieres start, I’ll be watching a lot less movies.

July’s media

Movies!

Dear Evan Hansen

Thank you bootlegs. This isn’t a movie, but I didn’t want to make a separate category for plays when I’ve only seen one this month. Anyway, if you haven’t heard of it, Dear Evan Hansen involves an incredibly anxious teenage boy who is tasked by his therapist to write motivational letters to himself. Unfortunately, Connor Murphy, an angsty boy who goes to Evan’s school sees one of the letters, takes it, and promptly decides to kill himself, with the letter still on his person. Everyone ends up thinking he and Evan were friends and that this letter was a suicide note that Connor wrote to Evan...and a beautiful fake gay relationship friendship was born. Call me basic as hell, but I’ve watched this show twice now, and listened to the soundtrack more times than I can count, and it’s turning into my favorite musical. There are so many important messages in it, and it takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. Every character does good and bad things, and no one is blameless or innocent...except maybe Zoe Murphy. If anything just listen to the soundtrack. 10/10

Night on the Galactic Railroad

Cats...on a mystical train...This seems like the kind of movie they would show you in film school. Very dull plot and characters with the themes being the main takeaway. What even is the plot of this movie? Darker, grittier, furry version of the Polar Express? Incredibly boring slightly more religious version of Over the Garden Wall? I just kept watching it because the main character looks like a cat version of Kagayama Tobio in middle school...cat-gayama. 4/10

Paddington

An adorable bear from South America travels to London and gets into all sorts of trouble with an English family. It’s very charming and sweet, and the aesthetic in this movie is on point, like Wes Anderson directed a children’s movie. This is one of those movies you hear about where everyone loves it, and you think it can’t possibly be that good, but then you watch it and you were wrong! So wrong! 10/10

Paddington 2

Naturally. This time an adorable South American bear goes to prison, and his family tries to clear his name. Again, A+ aesthetic and imagery, but I think I preferred the plot of the first movie a little more because everyone was all together. 9/10

Christopher Robin

Do you like Winnie the Pooh? Do you like jaded adults finding happiness in their lives again? Do you think the movie Hook had a good premise but was extremely long and kinda boring and could have been a better movie with a little tweaking? Well this is the movie for you! Christopher Robin has grown into an overworked adult, and his old friend Winnie the Pooh inadvertently helps him reconnect with his wife and daughter (and also his inner child) just by being the sweet, clumsy, dry humored bear we all know and love. I was so skeptical of this movie at first, and I was absolutely blown away by how funny and meaningful it was. 100/10

The Road to El Dorado

Two lovable Spanish con men named Miguel and Tulio are accidentally swept away on a journey to the fabled city of El Dorado, where everything is made of gold. Once they reach the city, the locals believe they’re gods due to an (un)fortunate series of coincidences, and the con men try to keep up the charade with the help of the best character in the movie, Chel (who I’m pretty sure caused an entire generation of lesbians’ sexual awakening). This is one of my favorite animated movies of all time and one of the reasons I wish Dreamworks would go back to their 2D animation days, where the visuals and music were just as stunning as 3D movies are now. This movie is a classic, and I desperately want a sequel! 10/10

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

When Lara Jean thinks it’s a good idea to write 5 secret love letters to 5 boys that she’s had crushes on over the years, everything is fine until her little sister mails the letters to all the boys (because even a 6th grader knows Lara Jean is lonely and emotionally stunted as fuck). This is a Netflix original movie that was adapted from the book by Jenny Han...which I haven’t read, but now I really want to. Overall, this was super cute, but I wasn’t really crazy about the boys. They weren’t horrible people or anything, and they never pressured Lara Jean or made fun of her for being “innocent”, but they were just kind of bland. I’m much more interested in the other boys we didn’t see in the movie! But the family relationships were so heartfelt, Lara Jean’s fashion sense is AMAZING, and the acting/casting was awesome. 8/10

Summer Wars

I...don’t even know how to describe the plot of this one. A teenage boy named Kenji goes on a country holiday and pretends to date an acquaintance of his in order to impress her enormous family...but it’s really about an AI that becomes sentient and wants to mess up the world through this universal internet program called OZ that’s kind of like a mashup of Facebook and Second Life...but actually no it’s about family sticking together and using a Japanese card game to save the world…but apparently it’s got the same plot as the Digimon movie because they’re both directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Yeah...

Guys, I have a confession to make...this has always been my favorite Mamoru Hosoda movie. Everyone falls all over themselves saying Wolf Children is the best Mamoru Hosoda movie, and that’s great for them but it doesn’t even come in second for me. Summer Wars means a lot more to me personally because I come from a big extended family, and when I first saw this movie, I was blown away by how accurate the family dynamic was. There are so many characters, but everyone has their own personality. Not to mention the music makes the summer atmosphere so on point. And I’m not going to lie...I bawled like a fucking baby the first time I saw this movie. So anyway, I like Summer Wars more than Wolf Children, thanks for coming to my TED talk. 10/10

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Unappreciated researcher Milo Thatch goes on an expedition to find the lost city of Atlantis.

Okay, there are two kinds of Disney fans in this world: Treasure Planet fans, and Atlantis fans. And I will support Treasure Planet as the best underrated vaguely steampunk inspired Disney movie until you can pry my 15 year old dvd copy away from my cold dead hands. But Atlantis is pretty good too. I could write essays comparing the two and why both of them should be successful but weren’t. My main problem with it is that the characters are great, but I feel like we don’t see enough of them, and as a kid a lot of the humor went by so fast that I completely missed it. Also the glowing eyes and spirits taking over the Atlantian princess’s body freaked me the fuck out as a child. NEVERTHELESS! This really is a great movie, with extremely well developed lore and well designed characters that chills me to this day. 8/10

Deadpool 2

The merc with a mouth is back, and man there’s so much going on in this movie I won’t even try to explain the plot. I literally had to go back and add this in because I was so into this movie when I was watching it that I forgot to write it down! Even though I really liked this sequel, I think I liked the first one better, just based on how much I laughed. There was so much going on plot wise, but it really seemed to work for this movie. There were also a lot of great new characters (Domino is my favorite character of the franchise now), but since there was so much stuff going on, a lot of jokes and plot lines were sort of hit and miss. Anyway, I’m sure everyone’s seen this one by now but just in case, I highly recommend it. 9/10

Books!

The Adventure Zone Graphic Novel: Here There be Gerblins by Clint McElroy (technically all the McElboys) and Carey Pietsch

Yeah yeah, for anyone who doesn’t know I’m Adventure Zone trash okay. TAZ is a DnD podcast where 3 brothers and their father create one of the most famous campaigns in history involving three idiot adventurers going on a quest to find a missing person and getting sucked into a much larger grand plan to protect the world. This graphic novel is a visualization of the first arc. I don’t even really like Here There be Gerblins all that much, and yet here I am. Oh well, the art was amazing, and of course I already knew the story. But it was kind of hilarious to see the name changes they had to make to some of the characters and places. I was a little disappointed that the ending was so rushed, and we don’t really spend time around the moon base before The Director is in our face changing the Lunar Interlude parts but whatever. 10 dead gerblins/10

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

When a disease that only affects children kills off nearly all the kids on the planet, the survivors are left with supernatural powers and are taken away to concentration camps in order to “protect” the public. I’ve been wanting to read this for a long time, and since the movie just came out I thought it was the perfect time. This is one of those books that some people adore and some people hate. I thought it was just okay. For everything that I didn’t like, there was something to make up for it. Personally, I felt that Bracken focused on the wrong part of the story. Everything takes place years after this disease has come, and I think it would have been more interesting to see everything from the children’s points of view when this disease was first starting. I would focus on each different character as a child and how they wound up in their respective camps. Oh well, there’s way too many pros and cons that I could delve into, but you like the YA dystopian genre then I say go for it. I didn’t like it enough to read the other two books (not yet anyway). 7/10

TV Shows!

Camp Camp

You know how there are summer camps that specialize in science, or acting, or space, or whatever? Yeah Camp Camp is about a summer camp that throws literally everything you can think of into one summer camp. If you don’t believe me, just listen to the theme song. Seriously though this is one of the best shows I’ve watched all year, but boy howdy this is not one for young children. It’s like Gravity Falls and Rick and Morty had a baby! Anyway, the characters are both surprising and hilarious. David the camp counselor (voiced by Miles Luna) is genuinely likable when you think he’d be the most annoying person on the planet, and the kids are so accurate it’s scary. Also Yuri Lowenthal is in it. And Griffin McElroy has a recurring role where he plays A GHOST! I’ve never been into Rooster Teeth stuff, but they have a winner with this one. 10/10

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

After her husband leaves her, Midge Maisel gets super drunk, goes on stage, and gives a hilarious rant about her relationship at a small comedy/talent club and somehow gets sucked into becoming a rising comedian as a woman in the 1950s. It’s good. Great acting pretty funny, but Midge and her agent/manager Susie are the only likable characters. Everyone else just kind of...sucks 8/10

Voltron Season 7 (spoilers)

Okay, I know everyone had mixed feelings about this season, but I did come out liking a lot of it. It had a lot of flaws (I really thought it would be Shiro’s season, and man was I wrong), but this is the sort of thing we can’t really judge until the last episode of the series is finished. I like to think of the positives: the action was amazing as usual, HUNK IS GETTING MORE AND MORE DEVELOPMENT EVERY SEASON, I refuse to believe the team introduced Adam just to have him killed off immediately so he’s still alive in my mind, we get to see everyone’s reunions with their families, the lost in space episode was cool, and say what you want about the game show episode, but I loved it! There were a lot of good things so it was easier for me to look past the...not so great aspects of the season. 7/10

Galavant

A musical comedy mini series involving a renowned medieval hero named Galavant on a quest to rescue his ex girlfriend from her “evil” husband King Richard. But maybe she doesn’t want to be rescued. Well, that’s just the first season. It’s best to go in knowing as little as possible. I remember liking it when it first came out, and it’s still pretty cute...but sometimes I feel like it’s trying too hard. A lot of the music isn’t really...memorable, but the characters are likable so it’s still worth the watch. 8/10

Disenchantment

Speaking of medieval comedies...Princess Bean doesn’t want to get married, mystical elf Elfo doesn’t want to live in an enchanted forest where everyone is happy all the time, and Bean’s personal demon Luci just wants to watch people suffer. Honestly, I wasn’t very into this show at first, but something compelled me to just keep watching, and by the end I was totally into it! This is one of those shows where you think there isn’t going to be a plot, but then the last few episodes come up and smack you in the face! 7.5/10

Round Planet

A documentary parody...mockumentary...satire...That’s really not a great way to describe it. It’s a nature documentary with funny commentary. I like nature shots and animals so I liked it, but there’s a lot of tangents and running jokes and British references that sometimes don’t land. Oh well, if you like unconventional documentaries, just watch it. 8/10

Honorable Mentions

DnDnD: I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this podcast before, but there’s a DnD podcast made by Practical Folks (aka the Drunk Disney youtube channel). It’s pretty good! I want an Adventure Zone crossover now!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Every time I think I’m out, it pulls me back in. I finally got the DLC and spent most of this month playing this freaking game AGAIN!

The Heathers soundtrack: I finally listened to the Heathers musical soundtrack...and I didn’t love it. There are some good songs in it, but overall I’m unimpressed. And I never could really get into the plot, I’ve always thought it was really weird and over dramatic.

Legendary by Stephanie Garber: I’m about halfway through this book, which is the second in the Caraval series. And it’s pretty good! More on that next month.

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brightwaterforarainyday · 5 years

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@grotesque-rotten-puppet (I hope you don’t mind me tagging you in these)

Answers to some very important questions pt. 2: Mazrah Sulein:

On a scale of “is occasionally forced to bathe” to “Instagram model with sponsors to hoe for” how involved is your OC’s Skincare routine?

Mazrah’s high charisma and familiarity with corporate and corporate security culture mean she’s almost always the one in charge of impersonating security guards/negotiating with the Johnson for higher pay/just about any interaction that doesn’t involve shooting things, so she has to be at least a bit more aware of her appearance than other members of her team. On the other hand, anything too flashy is going to make her stand out more than she would like to, so she usually just sticks to a middle ground of respectable but plain, unless a particular run requires a certain “look”. Also like, she has better things to spend time and money on. Like guns. And cool jackets.

What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/ when and how they eat) and how did they get that way?

Any kind of food that could be described as ��hearty”: potatoes, soup, sausage, many pastas, that kind of stuff. It’s like a hug that you eat! Food and eating also have a lot of social connotations for Maz, which plays into her preferences quite a bit. Meals are one of the few times she gets to spend time with her team mates outside of “work”, and the trust inherent in the act of sharing food makes it a good way for the team to bond and grow closer. I feel like that might be a thing in the larger Shadowrunner community as well, as a profession where suspicion and paranoia are survival mechanisms and the price of misplaced trust is so, so high, sharing a genuine sit-down meal with others is a Big Deal.

She’s also a fan of street food for similar reasons, it’s like the Shadowrunner equivalent of having someone prepare a meal for you, with all (or, well, some of) the connotations of care and hospitality that comes with that.

What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC?

No one ever returns spoons to the safehouse kitchen and they’ve spent entirely too much money on replacing them already.

What’s your OC’s response to being asked for money by a homeless person?

She runs a quick risk/reward calculation that goes something like this:

Pros:

Homeless people see a lot of shit and can be a great source of information. Getting friendly with them has some strategic advantages.

Maz spent some time on the streets herself before she found a Runner squad who would take her, so she knows it’s rough.

Fellow lowlifes gotta stick together if they wanna stick it to The Man. Or, you know, survive.

Cons:

Money is always tight and earning more usually involves getting shot at.

She almost always decides to give them something, maybe ask their name too, get to know them a bit. Networking is an important part of any job, Shadowrunning included.

Does your OC get lost easily? What do they do when they do get lost?

On one hand, she has virtually constant access to the power of Future!Google Maps. On the other, sometimes Future!Google Maps is unavailable or unreliable. If she ever does find herself lost, she’ll look for: A) some kind of prominent landmark she can orient herself relative to, B) a public transit station or hub that will likely have a map, or C) someone who looks like they could give her directions.

What would STOP your OC from Doing The Right Thing in a tense situation?

“Messing with these people who hate my guts/view me as a disposable asset/are actively trying to kill me would be hilarious right now.”

That or just plain old spite.

Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at their own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to? A Dog? A Houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

I mean, the secret hideout of a bunch of professional criminals probably isn’t the best place for a kid to hang out, but safehouses are, by definition, safe (supposedly). Also, she has a lot of experience keeping her idiot boyfriends alive in similar circumstances, and a kid can’t be that much harder.

If your OC had to take the S.A.T. tomorrow with one night to prep, how would they do? both emotionally and academically.

Maz has taken her fair share of standardized tests courtesy of the Ares Macrotechnology owned and run primary school she went to, so she would be familiar with the concept, at least. That was a long time ago however, and she hasn’t had any formal education since she started running the shadows as a rebellious teenager (or the Orc equivalent of a teenager anyway). The difference in the speed at which Orc and Human children mature probably makes school complicated too, come to think of it.

Tests like the S.A.T are also a pretty major aspect of the kind of life and culture she was specifically running away from when she decided to become a Shadowrunner, so I imagine the amount of anger and resentment she would feel along with the stress would be significant.

So, academically: probably not great. Emotionally: also probably not great.

What would cause your OC to chose to do something petty/pointlessly cruel?

Mazrah has a lot of very deep-seated anger and resentment towards people in positions of power and authority, especially if that power comes with the kind of wealth that being on the board of directors of a company or megacorp provides. (She owns more than one “Eat the Rich” t shirt, incidentally) Given the opportunity, she would find the sight of one of those people in pain to be extremely satisfying.

But.

Although she’d be slow to admit it, the quasi-military upbringing she had under Ares left her with an above-average sense of things like duty, and honor, and justice, and all those other things organizations of that kind claim to uphold. Some of that manifests in the code of honor she -- and most other street samurai --follow. This code is the primary thing -- besides all the chrome -- that sets a street sam apart from you’re run-of-the-mill tough guy with a gun, and she takes it very seriously. More importantly, it specifically forbids her from taking lethal action against, or allowing someone else to take lethal action against anyone who is unarmed, unaware of her, or otherwise defenseless. It’s a bit fuzzier on the subject of just like, regular old pain and fear however, though I imagine those are also discouraged.

So... which one of those two opposing forces wins out in the end isn’t going to be simple, or certain, and would be extremely dependent on the context of the specific situation in question.

On a scale of “Complete and Justified nervous breakdown” to “Conquer The Entire Galaxy and become an Immortal God-Emperor”, how well would your OC handle being abducted by Aliens?

You know, aliens aren’t that much of a stretch from orcs and dragons and magic an all the other bizarre things that happen every day in the Sixth World. So I think her reaction would be something along the lines of “Ok I guess we’re doing this now, sure. Life is weird enough already this might as well happen. I would very much like to go home now, though.”

But also, can you imagine how much literally any intel or object from that encounter would sell for?

What song is 100% guaranteed to get your OC beyond turnt and will be sung loudly and embarrassingly, either in public or the shower?

“I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous”, “Out of Breath”, and “Love Ire & Song” by Frank Turner all fall under this category.

She aslo definitely sings along to any MESSERKAMF! songs that happen to come on as loud as possible and with just the most enthusiasm, just to annoy/embarrass Dietrich.

What perfectly-normal-to-them-thing does your OC do that confuses/pisses off/terrifies their neighbors?

She possesses both a very unpredictable schedule and an electric guitar she spends a considerable amount of time practicing, possibly the most aggravating combination of traits a neighbor and/or housemate can have.

Under what circumstances would your OC appear naked in public?

Mazrah has been known to, as they say, “party hard”, on occasion.

How strong or weak is your OC’s Impulse control? What’s the worst thing that happened because of their Impulsivity or inability to be so?

It’s gotten better since she’s started finding herself in more and more leadership positions in the teams she runs with and the extra responsibility that comes with that, but she’s still a pretty big adrenaline junkie. There are probably a few Lone Star security squads that could have gone unprovoked or avoided entirely with someone a bit less impulsive at the helm. She’s done some pretty buckwild parkour stunts too, but so far all of them have ended well.

EDIT: I'm a god damn idiot for forgetting my own character's backstory: Hands down the single most impulsive thing Mazrah has done is running away from home to become a Shadowrunner as an idiot teenager.

How does your OC sabotage themselves?

The tension between the desire for and benefits of close relationships between people like team mates, neighbors, that one street doc who always patches them up after a run, and the inherently mercenary and transitory nature of those relationships, and the risks they bring, is a confusing, ever-shifting balance, and Mazrah is usually overcompensating in one direction or the other at any given time. Either closing herself off to any kind of really meaningful connection or becoming too involved with and concerned about the people around her and getting hurt as a result.

What’s your OC smell like? no, not that “Vanilla and Anxiety” evocative stuff, realistically. Body odor? what have they been touching all day? When was thier last shower? Did they put on any kind of artificial scent?

Leather conditioner and gun oil, generally. If she’s not out on a run or partying she’s at the safehouse taking care of her gear. She buys soap and hair stuff that smells like sandalwood whenever the option is available, so she’s got that nice like, warm, almost-cinnamon-but-different smell underneath all that too.

#Mazrah #wow a lot of these got really long

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and-then-theres-that · 5 years

Text

Tumblr Community Guidelines

Since everyone is freaking out and obviously only wanting to read what they want to see, OR too lazy to actually click a link:

These go into effect on the 17th.

Community Guidelines

Please note: these new Community Guidelines will not go into effect until 2018-12-17

As a global platform for creativity and self-expression, Tumblr is deeply committed to supporting and protecting freedom of speech. At the same time, we draw lines around a few narrowly defined but deeply important categories of content and behavior that jeopardize our users, threaten our infrastructure, and damage our community.

What Tumblr is for:

Tumblr celebrates creativity. We want you to express yourself freely and use Tumblr to reflect who you are, and what you love, think, and stand for.

What Tumblr is not for:

Terrorism. We don't tolerate content that promotes, encourages, or incites acts of terrorism. That includes content which supports or celebrates terrorist organizations, their leaders, or associated violent activities.

Hate Speech. Don't encourage violence or hatred. Don't post content for the purpose of promoting or inciting the hatred of, or dehumanizing, individuals or groups based on race, ethnic or national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, disability or disease. If you encounter content that violates our hate speech policies, please report it.

Keep in mind that a post might be mean, tasteless, or offensive without necessarily encouraging violence or hatred. In cases like that, you can always block the person who made the post—or, if you're up for it, you can express your concerns to them directly, or use Tumblr to speak up, challenge ideas, raise awareness or generate discussion and debate.

(I would imagine blasting Nazi propaganda, threatening harm to people because they’re different or any of the commentary over a cop at Pride that remotely suggests they should be harmed, would count)

Harm to Minors. Be thoughtful when posting anything involving a minor. Don't post or solicit anything relating to minors that is sexually suggestive or violent. Don't bully minors, even if you are one. Being a teenager is complicated enough without the anxiety, sadness, and isolation caused by bullying.

(Just guessing here, but I imagine a nice warning about the context of a story being dangerous or involving a minor for the sake of Triggering will suffice. If not, I’m sure you can ask someone!)

Promotion or Glorification of Self-Harm. Don't post content that actively promotes or glorifies self-harm. This includes content that urges or encourages others to: cut or injure themselves; embrace anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders; or commit suicide rather than, e.g., seeking counseling or treatment, or joining together in supportive conversation with those suffering or recovering from depression or other conditions. Dialogue about these behaviors is incredibly important and online communities can be extraordinarily helpful to people struggling with these difficult conditions. We aim for Tumblr to be a place that facilitates awareness, support and recovery, and we will remove only those posts or blogs that cross the line into active promotion or glorification of self-harm.

Adult Content. Don't upload images, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples —this includes content that is so photorealistic that it could be mistaken for featuring real-life humans (nice try, though). Certain types of artistic, educational, newsworthy, or political content featuring nudity are fine. Don’t upload any content, including images, videos, GIFs, or illustrations, that depicts sex acts. For more information about what this guideline prohibits and how to appeal decisions about adult content, check out our help desk.

(Wooooooh boy! The one everyone is up in arms about...I don’t see ANYTHING in here about banning obviously fake looking boobs. And honestly, if you draw the hyper-realistic stuff, that looks like it could be a REAL LIVE HUMAN BEING not everyone wants to find that when they go looking for a thing. I find it in the World of Warcraft rag all the time and it’s not what I want to see. Tag your shit...seriously. Admittedly it’s a fine line, but there’s a huge difference between anime porn and a shirtless guy drawing. I see nothing in there that says cartoony drawings are going.)

Violent Content and Threats, Gore and Mutilation. Don't post content which includes violent threats toward individuals or groups - this includes threats of theft, property damage, or financial harm. Don't post violent content or gore just to be shocking. Don't showcase the mutilation or torture of human beings, animals (including bestiality), or their remains. Don't post content that encourages or incites violence, or glorifies acts of violence or the perpetrators.

Non-Genuine Social Gesture Schemes. Don't participate in schemes to drive up non-genuine Follows, Likes, Reblogs, etc. Don't orchestrate or engage in "follow trains", where users are encouraged to follow lists of other users to gain more followers for themselves. Don't make bulk or indiscriminate use of messaging features, like Fan Mail or Asks, to, for example, bait Reblogs/Follows or drive traffic to your blog or website. If you want people to like you, just play it cool and be yourself.

(Oh thank god, can we do this to Instagram please?)

Deceptive or Fraudulent Links. Don't post deceptive or fraudulent links in your posts. This includes giving links misleading descriptions, putting the wrong “source” field in a post, setting misleading click-through links on images, or embedding links to interstitial or pop-up ads.

Misattribution or Non-Attribution. Make sure you always give proper attribution and include full links back to original sources. When you find something awesome on Tumblr, reblog it instead of reposting it. It's less work and more fun, anyway. When reblogging something, DO NOT inject a link back to your blog just to steal attention from the original post.

Username/URL Abuse or Squatting. Tumblr's usernames/URLs are meant for the use and enjoyment of all of our users. Don't squat, hoard, amass, accumulate, accrue, stockpile, rack up, buy, trade, sell, launder, invest in, ingest, get drunk on, cyber with, grope, or jealously guard Tumblr usernames/URLs.

Account Dormancy. Use Tumblr! Use Tumblr all the time! Or at the very least, use Tumblr once a year. If you don’t, we may mark your account as dormant. Your content won't go anywhere—it'll be archived exactly as you left it—but your URL(s) will be released for someone else to use.

Spam. Don't spam people. Don't make spammy posts, don't post spammy replies, don't send people spammy messages. Be a regular human. Don't put tags on your posts that will mislead or deceive searchers. For example, don't tag a photo of your cat with "doctor who" unless the name of your cat is actually Doctor Who, and don't overload your posts with #barely #relevant #tags. Of course, meaningful uses of tags are always fine (for example, ironic "punchline" tags that add meaning or context to a post). Don't put dubious code in your posts, like using JavaScript to cause redirects or inject unwanted ads in blogs. Don't use deceptive means to generate revenue or traffic, or create blogs with the primary purpose of affiliate marketing. Spam doesn't belong on Tumblr.

(YAY!)

Mass Registration or Automation. Don't register accounts or post content automatically, systematically, or programmatically.

Unauthorized Contests, Sweepstakes, or Giveaways. Please follow our guidelines for contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways.

Themes Distributed by Third Parties. To ensure the safety and stability of our blog network, it's important that themes are distributed through tumblr.com/themes. It's easy, it's secure, and any interested developer can use it to host and promote their work. Besides the inconvenience involved in using them, third-party theme repositories are often used to inject nefarious code that subjects users to spam, ads, or phishing attacks. Don't use them. Creating blogs or directories that curate themes from tumblr.com/themes is a-okay.

Copyright or Trademark Infringement. Respect the copyrights and trademarks of others. If you aren't allowed to use someone else's copyrighted or trademarked work (either by license or by legal exceptions and limitations such as fair use), don't post it.

Intellectual property is a tricky issue, so now is as good a time as any to explain some aspects of the process we use for handling copyright and trademark complaints. We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement as per our Terms of Service and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; please see our DMCA notification form to file a copyright claim online. Please note that we require a valid DMCA notice before removing content. Parties asserting a trademark infringement claim should identify the allegedly infringing work and the legal basis for their claim, and include the registration and/or application number(s) pertaining to their trademark. Each claim is reviewed by a trained member of our Trust and Safety team.

If we remove material in response to a copyright or trademark claim, the user who posted the allegedly infringing material will be provided with information from the complainant's notice (like identification of the rightsholder and the allegedly infringed work) so they can determine the basis of the claim.

With regard to repeat copyright infringement, we use a three-strike system to evaluate the standing of a user's account, where, generally, each valid copyright infringement notice constitutes a strike, and three strikes results in the termination of a user's account. When a user submits a valid DMCA counter-notification, we remove the associated strike from their record.

Whew. It's a complex process, but one we're proud of, and that we think strikes all the appropriate balances.

Confusion or Impersonation. Don't do things that would cause confusion between you or your blog and a person or company, like registering a deliberately confusing URL. Don't impersonate anyone. While you're free to ridicule, parody, or marvel at the alien beauty of Benedict Cumberbatch, you can't pretend to actually be Benedict Cumberbatch.

Harassment. Don't engage in targeted abuse or harassment. Don't engage in the unwanted sexualization or sexual harassment of others. If anyone is sending you unwanted messages or reblogging your posts in an abusive way, we encourage you to be proactive and block the hell out of them. And if someone blocks you, don't attempt to circumvent the block feature or otherwise try to communicate with them. Just stop.

Privacy Violations. Don't use Tumblr to deceptively obtain personal information. Don't post content that violates anyone's privacy, especially personally identifying or confidential information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, or unlisted contact information. Absolutely do not post non-consensual pornography—that is, private photos or videos taken or posted without the subject's consent.

Disruptions, Exploits, or Resource Abuse. Our servers, and the valiant engineers behind them, work hard for you. Don't attempt unauthorized use, disruption, or exploitation of Tumblr.com or our other products and services, or otherwise abuse Tumblr's resources.

Unlawful Uses or Content. Don't use Tumblr to conduct illegal behavior, like fraud or phishing. That should be pretty obvious to you, a decent human being.

Human Trafficking and Prostitution. Don't use Tumblr to facilitate sex trafficking, other forms of human trafficking, or illegal prostitution. If you see this activity on Tumblr, report it, and encourage victims to contact law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

If we conclude that you are violating these guidelines, you may receive a notice via email. If you don't explain or correct your behavior, we may take action against your account. We do our best to ensure fair outcomes, but in all cases we reserve the right to suspend accounts, or remove content, without notice, for any reason, but particularly to protect our services, infrastructure, users, and community. We reserve the right to enforce, or not enforce, these guidelines in our sole discretion, and these guidelines don't create a duty or contractual obligation for us to act in any particular manner.

You can report violations of these guidelines to us directly.

You can remove your own content whenever you want, of course. If you need help doing that, you can find instructions over in our help docs.

We also reserve the right to amend these guidelines using the procedures set forth in our Terms of Service.

If you have questions or feedback, don't hesitate to let us know.

Thanks for reading all of this, by the way. Welcome to Tumblr.

———————————-

That’s a huge blurb, sorry for all the people I flattened and NO I won’t be putting it behind a read more, no one will.

None of these rules are hard. In fact, they’re really simple.

Don’t post what isn’t yours.

Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not

Don’t scam people

Don’t spam post stupid shit

Don’t tag things that have nothing to do with the tag. (No more kpoppers in the Lee Pace tag!)

Don’t glorify self-harm, abuse or eating disorders.

Don’t bully people

Don’t threaten harming people because they’re not like you

Don’t post explicit, realistic sexual situations and try to call it art.

Don’t attempt sex with a minor, or try to phish for minors

....

Generally what these new guidelines are telling you to do is to BE A GENUINE, NICE PERSON AND DONT TREAT OTHERS LIKE SHIT!

Is that really difficult for some of you? FFS

#tumblr #guidelines #be a nice human #how hard is that to understand #tumblr exodus

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