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moon-yean · 4 years

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could u elaborate what was so bad about the barbarians? i saw the show and thought it was ok but i don't have enough knowledge to know what are the ideological implications of it? sorry, just really curious and wanna learn more

*takes a deep breath* oh boy, where to even begin? Thanks for your question as I might finally get this off my chest! Okay, fair’s fair, anyone who likes the show should look away now because I’m not going to mince words. And I want to reiterate that there were things about the show that I liked, mostly on a superficial aesthetical level. Generally you could tell from the get-go though that the writers are hacks who know nothing about history or good storytelling for that matter. I could’ve dealt with a show that was historically inaccurate if only the character drama had been written well. I might also have enjoyed the show more if the character drama had been mediocre but if there had been a sense of historical authenticity (not accuracy, mind; but still something tangibly more substantial than the patina they tried to throw onto their frankly embarrassingly lowbrow attempt by having parts of the dialogue translated into Latin by an expert and by hiring a good crew for the costume and props design - of the Romans at least... putting lipstick on a pig and all that, although pigs are great and the writing here is not).

Since you asked about the ideological implications specifically, I’ll start with that and work my way towards other criticisms (this is going to be LONG):

19th century nationalism: The story of Arminius and his merry band of brothers who defy the big bad Roman empire is a narrative that became especially popular in Germany in the 18th and 19th century, both with liberal patriotic movements that were advocating for the unification of the “German cultural nation” in a modern nation state (spurred by the Wars of Liberation against Napoléon Bonaparte and French occupation) and later with the völkisch movements where that nationalism segued into the pseudo-scientific racial ‘theories’ of a ‘superior German race’ which in turn was part of the ideological foundation of the genocides and atrocities committed by Germany in the 20th century (not only in WWII, see also the colonial genocide of the Herero in 1904). We cannot disentangle this predominantly racist reception history that re-invented Arminius (”Hermann der Cherusker” - “Hermann the Cheruscan” - or, indeed “Hermann the German” ha!) as the founding myth of a German people from the way this story has been depicted in media, entertainment and culture and, as evidenced by Barbarians, continues to be to this day.

Barbarians pays lip service to the fact that actually there was no German people at the time by having the tribes meet at the Ting in the first episode and have someone outright state it. These kinds of tidbits literally voiced by characters give off a strong whiff of the authors googling something, reading something on Wikipedia, and then putting it in there. I’m sorry (actually not sorry) to come down harsh on this but given what we’re talking about here, that’s just not good enough. It’s an embarrassing level of “writing”. The authors clearly have NO idea what they’re talking about or what they’re dealing with because despite their lip services, they actively reproduce the harmful narratives that were spun around this actual historical event and these actual historical figures in the 19th century. No effort was made to depict anything complex or realistic here. Case in point: Even though there’s a pretense that the tribes aren’t part of the same people, they don’t look much different from each other, they all speak the same kind of modern high German that sounds like they’re at a costume party in the year of our lord 2020 (and in the case of Folkwin, drugged out of their mind; he sounds like a guy who’d throw beer cans at passersby). They come across as basically just being separated by the few acres between their villages. And then when the big bad evil Roman empire wants to squash their resistance (Asterix did it better change my mind challenge), freedom fighter Arminius rallies them together with a heroic speech and they charge at the Romans RAAHWWHR! ... no, just no.

There would have been SO MANY ways to reframe and retell this story in a fresh, new, and exciting way that would have made for amazing character drama. The premise is so good. If we were to look at the basics of what is known, there are so many personal AND political complexities in there that just beg to be coloured in with a little imagination. I just... I don’t even know where to begin to fix the choices that the show did go with since most of them don’t make any sense, don’t contribute anything to the narrative and are just. there. Have y’all noticed that there is ZERO dramatic tension in any of the scenes? Like, what? How?? Culture clash, divided loyalties, identity issues, the way that a militaristic upbringing might warp the mind, feelings of home and belonging and displacement, the return of the lost son, the betrayal of a high-ranking officer, just, there are so many themes that the show could have focused on but it botches all of them, nothing of it feels real, earned, or logical. Characters behave in idiotic ways for the sake of the plot (I wanted to like Thusnelda, I really did, I’m always here for female characters but she was so painfully obviously written by 3 dudes who thought that feminism = praying to the good sisters of the forest and slashing your face aöldksfaökdjf plus the actress could not sell any of it, she sounded ridic).

I’m exhausted just thinking about the many ways in which the writing on the show sucked. Impaired character used as a symbol~ for other characters instead of being a character on his own? Check. Weird mystical shit? Check. Earthbound tribal people who are one with nature? Check. Death on the cross to get that Christian imagery in there? Check. Lack of female characters except feisty!badass!Thusnelda, scheming!conniving!pulling-the-strings!wife, weird!mystical!seer? Check. Varus doing a Herod by demanding first-borns to up the Christian persecuted ante? Check. (All he was missing was the mustache to twirl. Was he even a character? He looked vaguely concerned and sceptical. That was his character.)

Look, the actor Arminius was great but even he couldn’t make sense of any of it. The character work was so shoddy, it was shocking. One minute he’s still all-in with the Romans, ordering lashes for “German” mercenaries without being very conflicted about it, reminiscing with fellow Roman soldiers about the good old times in some fireside bonding, asking his foster father to go home to Rome, and then when bad!dad is like “lol no” (surely they would have had that convo before??? surely Arminius would have known how far his career could go???), Arminius turns around and goes “let’s kill 3 Roman legions!! I’M MAD!!” ... lmao dude, just...

Another favourite of mine: The romance between Thusnelda and Folkwin is supposed to be illicit and against her social status. Does anyone even notice? Does anybody even care? Why did the writers come up with Folkwin in the first place? (His name Folkwin Wolfspeer is a hoot and an embarassment in itself. I wonder whether they used some kind of Germanic name generator. They certainly did use a generic speech generator for the battle speech Arminius gives in the last episode lol)

Back to the topic of a lack of tension. Of course there can’t be any tension if the characters suck. But it’s also because of the design of the scenes and plot points. The cliffhangers are so telegraphed and artificially constructed, it’s almost hilarious. My “favourite” has got to be the one of the first episode: The “hi dad” one. Not only does Arminius go to the village with other Romans in tow who then disappear because nothing in this show makes sense but this kind of revelation also goes against everything we know about good storytelling. There’s a famous quote by Hitchcock and I’ll quote it in full because I think it absolutely applies here (and it is valid for character tension as much as it is for suspense):

There is a distinct difference between "suspense" and "surprise," and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I'll explain what I mean.

We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let's suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, "Boom!" There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions, the same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!"

In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story.

I hope you can see what I mean here. Barbarians continuously springs surprises on its audience but it has absolutely no tension/suspense in any of its scenes. The only time where the show even comes close to having any kind of genuinely dramatic moment is the conversation between Arminius and Varus where Arminius tries to hide his hurt and disappointment, and all the emotion in that scene is completely due to the actor since the dialogue is fairly idiotic for what is supposed to be the turning moment. Let’s go back to the basics and imagine what the show could have done differently, even allowing for the way in which the writers wanted to tell it (which, as I mentioned, is not appropriately sensitized to the misappropriation of the material in the past - but even if we go with THAT kind of freedom fighter / lost child narrative, it ought to be done well). And here now follows my actual essay of grievances:

The premise of the story, in as much as we know from history, is amazing: An officer of the Roman army, delivered to the Romans by his tribe as a child, returns to the "country" of his birth as part of the invading Roman army which oppresses the natives of the lands. He switches sides, unites different tribes and leads them to a decisive victory against the Roman army in a battle in a forest that lasted for several days and was cleverly planned by the "Germans" who end up outsmarting the Romans who are victims of ambush and the terrain, being split up and stumbling through the forest exhausted and without finding a way back to the other troops (love that the show as we have it managed to squeeze in the cliché "two armies standing on opposing sides decide to just start running towards each other, epic clash, chaos" (which is militarily so fucking stupid and nobody ever did that)).

Anyway, that premise is amazing. You could do so much with it. And if you wanted to make a miniseries about it, the biggest question would surely be: Why did Arminius switch sides? That’s the key plot point. And themes of otherness, oppression, exploitation, identity, and so on, would be a good fit. The first problem with the miniseries is that it has nothing to say about any of that. Arminius doesn’t even feel like the main character (aside from his actor being a cut above the rest). We don’t get to see much of his POV. We don’t get many meaningful conversations between him and Varus (actually just one after which he has a total character transplant). Instead, we get to spend lots of time with characters that don’t add anything in particular to the central plot nor to any of the central themes. Literally, why? 6 episodes is already pretty fucking short to make Arminius’ turn believable, so you’d better spend most of them on him. This is not material for an ensemble show (nevermind that the other characters suck and are not well-acted and written to behave stupidly... that’s just ON TOP of the fundamental issue of this show lacking a POV).

Like, you can turn this into a big Hollywood action movie about the battle or you make it a character drama where the battle is also told from a character perspective (i.e. focusing on the mounting fear and desperation of the soldiers as the battle drags on for days etc but more importantly focusing on why the battle takes place and why it’s important to both the Romans and the “Germans”). As it is, in the show, we don’t get any idea why the Romans are even there in the first place and pestering the people by demanding some tributes. And we don’t get any idea why the Germanic tribes are so opposed to this or why others of them might not be. We don’t get any of the broader political implications, we just get some eagle-stealing pranks (defiance!! cool, just agitate them in a completely stupid and arbitrary way, why don’t you) and a few people executed because the “Germans” were being stupid. That’s not the scale that’s needed here. And I don’t mean that we needed to see mass executions. In fact, I would have preferred if there had been no such hackneyed and emotionally manipulative device.

Arminius is basically absent for all the early encounters of the Romans with the “Germans”. So while we suspect that the mistreatment of the “Germans” at the hands of the Romans would be a strong motivational factor for him, we don’t actually see him witness any of few hints in that direction that we get, so it doesn’t actually matter for his character arc. I have so many issues with how his arc is written. In the first episodes, we don’t get any sense that he’s not a happy Roman. When a “Barbarian” mercenary ridicules Rome, he has him whipped and we don’t get much of a sense that he’s very conflicted about it. Even just moments before he ends up destroying his effigies of Roman gods, we see him trying to get Varus to send him back to Rome. Earlier in the same episode, he prays to those Roman gods. I’m sorry but wtf? How the turntables... If you want to make it believable that he would turn on Rome, why not start with him already being frustrated with the way that things in Rome work? With the way the army is run? And why not give him a careerist streak and make him frustrated that he can’t advance much further because of his lowly birth and background? And instead of Varus being an asshole to him about it (he’s supposed to be his foster father, surely Arminius would already know how Varus thinks about his people and surely he’d already know how far he can climb up the ranks), have Varus be sympathetic but basically like “sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”

Arminius betraying Rome shouldn’t be about Varus saying something mean~, if anything a personal connection of his with Varus should just make the betrayal harder and be something that he does despite the fact that there are Romans he cares about. If you start out the show with him already having significant doubts about his place in the Roman army and identity issues, you just need to add something to it that will finally breaks the camel’s back. Have him become increasingly agitated by the way the "Germans” are treated by the Romans. Start the show with him making to leave Rome, someone asking him whether he’s excited to return to his place of birth and him joking about it but obviously being conflicted and then overwhelmed when he actually gets there because it totally destroys his sense of self which he has built for himself (and for which we would have needed to see the contrast, even if just for one scene, of how he is treated in Rome – perhaps snobbed by others, not treated equally in some sort of social setting, could be something subtle – to show us and him that as much as he wishes, he is not and will never be accepted as a Roman).

And then when he gets to the provinces, we need to see that from his perspective. What’s his reaction to arriving there? To seeing the familiar landscapes? (Or maybe he was taken as a younger child and doesn’t actually have that many memories of it but feels a sense of belonging anyway.) There are so many scenes in this show that seem to hint at these things but they are completely random and unfocused and interspersed with the stupid village people shenanigans. Varus talks about burning down villages in retribution. Well, why don’t we see any of that? (Nevermind that it’s comic book villain level of evil, but I’m working with a fix here and not a total rewrite as would be better.) Surely it can’t be too expensive to burn down a few huts in the night. And having Arminius ride along / witness it but not say anything even though we can see these things having an effect on him. As mentioned: The worst offense is the scene when he rides to the village (with other Romans in tow!) and announces “hi dad!” just to have that cliffhanger. Wtf?

Characters doling out information that the viewer doesn’t have is the absolute worst way of telling a story and maintaining tension. It should be the other way around. How about instead you have him be part of a Roman delegation that rides into the village and demands [random, whatever, the fucking eagle if you must keep that shit] and when the Reik (whom the audience already knows to be Arminius’ father) doesn’t want to give it (because he’s not actually a weak fucking clown as almost everyone in the actual show is aside from feisty Thusnelda who’s a fierce~ fucking clown rmfe), the Romans begin beating the dad or whipping him or whatever, completely humiliating him and his people, and we see Arminius on his horse watching the show with growing unrest until the realization really hits him that this is his father (cue flashback to a very young Arminius being dragged away) and the tension keeps ratcheting until he shouts in German “that’s enough” before correcting himself to give the same command in Latin (maybe he still thinks in German, would be an interesting idea) and the Romans look at him with suspicion, like wtf was that, and the "Germans” are like, why tf does this Roman officer speak German, and it’s super awkward and shit and maybe Varus is also there and he looks at Arminius like, oh shit I need to protect my boy he’s actually all up in his feels about these wildlings let’s go back to the camp and have a talk, and so the Romans end up leaving and the “Germans” are like “wait, was that... could it have been.. remember lil Ari who you gave up... but it couldn’t be...” and meanwhile the beaten dad doesn’t want to hear any of that because he actually has never dared hope he would see his son again and also he kind of doesn’t want to see him again because he would be too ashamed to meet his eyes.

And then later we see Arminius pacing up and down in his tent because this won’t let him go, even after he had a talk with Varus, and after some agonizing he steals away in the night to go confront his father (if you want to keep that German mercenary noticing shit, have him notice that). And then we see the father in his hut and everything is quiet and we are waiting for Arminius to show up because we know he’s on his way. But we don’t know whether he wants to talk to his father or just kill him in revenge for the trauma he’s caused him. You’d show the dad and if it were a good actor, you could see so much in his unrest, maybe despite not wanting to think that that guy could be his son, he kind of knows in his heart that it must be and he’s unsettled and whatnot and then we hear someone outside the door and the door opens and there stands Arminius in a cloak and there’s none of that ridiculous music that wants to scream “epic” but falls way short. Have it be quiet. Have Arminius enter and pull back the hood and they just look at each other. And the dad looks like he wants to hug him but he doesn’t move. And Arminius looks like he wants to murder him but he actually moves to sit down, all the while they keep an eye on each other because who knows, they might actually end up murdering each other. That’s the kind of confrontation you need with a reunion like this jfc. And then they talk and it’s an important scene and I’m not going to write it all out but I hope y’all know what I mean.

I feel like you’d have to rewrite this whole show to actually give the character drama the weight that it needs and deserves because what’s happening in the show is dramatic af but you wouldn’t know because it’s so unbelievably stupidly written. I CANNOT believe that when Arminius is back in the village, he’s standing around with Thusnelda and Folkwin in a field as if they’re catching up at a high school reunion. “So, how’s it been?” “My name is now Arminius lol” “You’re kidding lol” ... uhm hello ??? Is this show a meme or...???

Actually as a last thought, I would have kept Arminius’ mother alive and killed his dad. His dad is irredeemable. He gave him away. But if we assume that he never had a substitute mother, then meeting his mother again (who was against giving him away) would make for much more interesting scenes and would also have a much stronger impact on Arminius. I’ll stop now but I just wanted to note how much I hate the writing on this show and everything it chooses to be. Thanks.

#anonymous #ask #reply #barbarians spoilers #barbarians meta #tv: barbarians #txt #i feel like there is so much more to say #actually the show would need to be rewritten from scratch to be either a good character drama or a good period drama or both #forget my fix here #you can't fix stupid #the whole motivation for arminius' betrayal would need to be revamped #with an eye towards the ways in which it has been misused #in history #but at the same time the story DOES need to be told from his POV imo and it's not here and that's the biggest issue #the conflict within the Roman army would have made for the most intriguing approach #and all that childhood sweetheart bs has to go #that was the worst #so soapy and plain bad #can you imagine how amazing it would've been for roman officer arminius to meet germanic princess thusnelda for the first time?#(if she had been written and acted well)#what could have been...#imma cry #(also WHY is varus the actual foster father of arminius instead of just a higher-ranking officer who takes him under his wing #when he joins up bc he takes a liking to the kid? just... aöldjsfaökdjls)

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shezzaspeare · 3 years

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The Science of Fanfiction

A Study in Sherlock | 3 More Days to Go!

Getting to Know Blessie.

A/N: This is going to be a long post.

Hullo! I apologise if this isn't the actual TSoF yet (next few posts won't be either, sorry), but I think that before we get to the point, I should probably tell who, what, where, why, and how I am. I guess it's important since I'm no big name here in the Sherlock side of Tumblr – I only have 32 followers at the time I'm writing this, and I'm just as much of a fan as the next user. Doing something this big is really hard for me since I've got a lot of things on my hands, but I hope and pray that God will give me enough strength and support for me to pull through.

(Yes, I'm a Christian; Roman Catholic, to be specific. However, my religion does not define my beliefs about life.)

Alright, enough sidetracking. For starters, my name is Blessie, but you can call me Bee if Blessie is a mouthful for you. I am the girl behind the handle of shezzaspeare, if that's not yet obvious. I will be launching TSoF at the age of sixteen years, two months, and two weeks. I'm a Hufflepuff, Thunderbird, Erudite, neutral good, ENTP-T, and tired. If anything else, I'm basically your local demisexual Sagittarian ambivert from the Philippines with artistic leanings, a truckload of unfinished WIPs, and a vague but large amount of anxiety running through her veins. If you want to know how I look like, here's a visual I made a couple of months back for you:

[Image ID: A self-portrait of Blessie/@shezzaspeare in pencil. End ID]

I've been in the BBC Sherlock fandom since I was twelve, the general Sherlock Holmes fandom since I was eleven. I'd be lying if I saw that they're not a big influence in my life: they, along with various other crime shows I'm fond of, inspired to want to become a forensic linguist. They're also a big factor of a lot of the things I do. I've watched a lot of Holmes adaptations (I've yet to finish Elementary and watch Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century), read countless pieces of pastiche, and spun numerous conspiracy theories based off the show. My parents find this liking a little worrying, but I beg to differ.

Other than the aforementioned classic, I'm also an avid fan of Marvel, Harry Potter, Good Omens, Six The Musical, Disney, and Hamilton. I adore Benedict Cumberbatch, Louis Partridge, Jeremy Brett, Natalie Dormer, and a handful more celebrities. I like to listen to old songs, watch documentaries, read classic books, and if I continue, we might be here long after Series 1 of TSoF is finished. Hello to my mutuals, by the way!

Now, for those who know me outside of Tumblr, you know I do a lot of things. But for those who don't, I've done a lot. I've sang, done art, cross stitched, made graphics, joined in academic competitions; and currently, I'm running a YouTube Channel, this blog, and this sentence.

Above that all, though, I write. I started writing when I was in fourth grade, and it's for a category in the school paper called editorial writing (the opinion columns). Not long after that, I discovered the world of fanfiction through the world of Wattpad, and I mainly wrote for this cartoon series called Ever After High. Years have passed since then, and my writing and fandoms have changed. So far, I've been writing for nine years and counting. I'm still fixing up my AO3 account and I plan to transfer some works of mine over there. You can still find all my works at my Wattpad page.

Now, why did I decide to do TSoF even if I have a lot going on with my life? Why did I push this through even if after nearly a decade of writing I haven't finished a single fanfic? The answer is very simple, really. I've seen a lot of brilliant discussions about the show — Sherlock's personality, symbolisms within the series, and backstories with the details of the scenes. I've come to realise that we never shone light into the other side of this wonderful fandom in which I contribute to as well. There are numerous writers who don't get the exposure they deserve, fanfic tropes we have yet to talk about, and AUs far more complex and deep than they seem. I think it's about time we talk about the—

[Image ID: A flashback of John (left) and Sherlock (right) finding an elephant (not in the screen) in a room in The Sign of Three. End ID]

I'm sorry. I just really love this GIF a lot. This is definitely not the last time you'll see it in the series.

For the tropes, if I may add, I'll mainly focus on tropes on Wattpad since AO3 is nothing short of unique and different kinds of stories whilst Wattpad is a different territory.

I don't have a day assigned for a regular update in TSoF, since I've still got school and all. I do promise that I'll post at least once a month, just for good measure.

I would like to thank everyone for their support for TSoF even if it hasn't begun yet. I can't promise it's anything as good as the content they put out, but I will give my all in this series. You guys rock!

So, allow me to share my love of fanfiction, BBC Sherlock or just plain ACD canon, with you with TSoF. It is my honour and pleasure to go balls knees-deep into this thing.

See you at the start of this thing on Monday!

My Carrd | My YouTube Channel

#the science of fanfiction #sherlock holmes #sherlock #gettoknowme #john watson #shezzaspeare #wattpad

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theangrypokemaniac · 4 years

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I'll state from the beginning that the images below display the sort of sweet synchronicity to which only love can give life:

MaAndPaShipping is the best ship, and here are five reasons why:

1. It Made James

Like the boy do yer? Ever felt the slightest tingle of warmth at the mention of his name?

Well get down on yer knees and give thanks to his mother and father for gifting him to the world!

Where would we be without their remarkable commitment? Could James have grown into the dandified dream boat of your desires if deprived of the safety provided by his parents?

Had they not brought him up, he'd be dead, The Dog of Flanders fantasy made reality. If miraculously he survived, foraging in the wild is not conducive to a foppish personality.

Is that to yer fancy? No? Then let's have a little respect. The luxury Ma and Pa gave enabled his macaroni tendencies to reach such heights.

Their love created him! How can it not be celebrated?

You lot would ship Jessie's parents but you can't, because she has no dad, and I don't suppose you'll ever assent to his obvious identity of Windy Miller, although 'Jessie Miller' has a wonderful ring to it, so what can be done?

Should a Pa Jess be conjured for the purpose, he still buggered off, didn't he? Where's the allure in a faithless git?

I can't comprehend the obsession with Ma Jess. As soon as here she's stiff, and what is there to remember but coercing her daughter into eating snow?

Hey, I named her. What more do you want from me?

I'd rather have the living, visible ancestors, if you don't mind.

Yeah, says the history fanatic.

Why not make the most of the chances offered, and follow a devoted couple whose love made a difference to your existence?

2. Canon!

There are many ships which I find repulsive for involving depravity, or absurd as the subjects haven't met, or don't inhabit the same fictional universe.

Video et taceo: I see and I say nothing.

Neither does anyone. Forcing decent folk in to incest, bestiality etc. is quite alright.

Perverted ideas are left alone, but woe betide a Rocketshipper, because that's offensive.

It may be the only original ship left standing, with proper evidence and sanctioned by Nintendo, but no, it's fair game for undermining. People pick at your arguments, quibble constantly and NEED to register their objections NOW. You MUST be made aware of opposition. You're not to be permitted your views the way those with twisted tastes are indulged.

Why, out of tens of thousands of combinations, does making Jessie and James an item provoke hostility?

The strength of negativity actually serves as validation, for why be so concerned if it's an impossible relationship?

However sick they are, I'm not anti any ship. I can't muster sufficient interest to do it, and if I scroll on, I forget. I certainly don't attack those responsible.

Anti-Shipping is inherently nihilistic for promoting loneliness. They aren't against Rocketshipping through wanting Jessie and James to be with someone else, as an alternative is not readily available, so the outcome of it is neither finding a companion.

MaAndPaShipping attracts no sourpuss silliness, for 'tis canon beyond question. There's nothing about being 'just friends' when married with a son.

How's the state of your O.T.P.? Not looking too clever I expect, and what's your contribution: wishing, and hoping, and thinking, and praying?

Cast it off! None of that longing is necessary in these quarters, as MaAndPaShipping is a fait accompli.

Hallelujah! Wallow in that Love!

Don't you yearn for at least one ship that all of us accept by default, to the extent these aristocrats are spoken of as a single unit?

Across the internet, Ma and Pa are bracketed as 'James's parents', never 'he' and 'she', always 'they', barely counting as distinct characters. That's how undeniable the love is between them. Sheer indifference has awarded it a blessing from everyone.

MWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Of course, now I've drawn attention to it the moaning will start, but we all know a spoilsport when we see one.

If they had any legitimate complaints they ought to have mentioned 'em before this piece highlighted the marriage!

Except it won't have occurred to 'em previously, proving the eternal, indissoluble quality of MaAndPaShipping.

You get good value with this one.

Find a post referring to Ma and Pa as individuals and I'll have written it, for that's what you call ironic.

3. It's a Fine Rocketshipping Proxy

I was at primary school when Pokémon hit the West like the bright, bearded meteor it is, atomizing all competition for a child's attention.

I have shipped Jessie and James before I knew anyone else did it, unaware shipping was even a thing.

There are other pairs where I think: 'That seems to fit', but it's incomparable to what I feel for them.

It is part of me. I bleed it.

I have shipped it longer than most Tumblerries have dwelt upon the earth.

I used to believe, what with the hints and manga finale, that this resolution was inevitable, and all I had to do was wait.

Well I've been patient for two decades now, thus when I look at the modern incarnation, and realise it's no nearer to that goal, and instead is further away, waiting starts to wear a bit thin.

I resent the lack of appreciation shown to the fans by the cretins in charge, how any meagre shippy inclusion is done not with an interest in deepening bonds, but with the blatant cynicism of moulding us into performing monkeys dancing to their manipulative tune.

I dislike being treated like a sea lion, expected to clap me flippers at the wave of a fish, or as a panting dog begging at top table, where, because they're desperate to maintain the status quo, every scrap flung down from above now comes with an Anti-Ship kick in the teeth, just to be sure nothing progresses. Not whilst the franchise can still be milked for all it's worth.

I have lost faith Rocketshipping will happen. What passes for Pokémon today carries not the remotest indication of any intention on the so-called writers' part to finish it that way.

Even if it did, it's not my Team Rocket, it's those skeletal, gargoyle bastardisations. My Jessie and James never got the reward they deserved.

I'm somewhat in the market for a replacement. Beneath this loathsome carapace of acid and ice beats the tender heart of a true romantic, and it must have an outlet!

Shipping Ma and Pa provides a certain spurious relief, because it's as close as you can get to Jessie and James without it being them, both biologically as his parents, but they're so similar to the duo it counts as proof in itself.

Holy Matrimony! is prime Rocketshipping territory, not merely the balloon lift, but many slight additions are as important, like the haircuts matching.

Ma and Pa are therefore Jessie and James in the past, present and future:

The past for representing Jess 'n' Jamie gone Victorian, and we've all wondered how that'd turn out.

The present as it's there right now, absent of suffering the shameless whims of morons to get what you want. 'Tis yours to savour.

The future as a glimpse of Jessie and James once married with children, and they agree:

That's how they play it given the opportunity!

What, James in blue, for his and Pa's hair, and Jessie wearing purple, like Ma's, with a red shawl for her own, and Ma Jess's orange earrings to copy the beads?

• Money!

• Bun!

• 'Tache!

• Classy pad!

• Fancy gear!

• Pampered pet!

• Identical cups of Earl Grey!

4. Original Blend

Ma and Pa have only got two fans! We care more than the entire fandom has in twenty years!

Rocketshipping art is ten a penny, so why not display a pioneering spirit, sharpen up those pencils and be inspired?

Let your mind expand and marvel at the possibilities of these unchartered territories, and I'll reblog it if it's nice.

Pay attention to the condition of it being nice. I'm not putting up with any old toss.

Real Ma and Pa is what I want too, not those Sinnoh coffin-dodgers.

It's never been done! Every drawing breaks new ground!

I don't like fan fiction, but I wouldn't say 'no' to that either. Recall the 'nice' stipulation again.

Come on, be the first amongst your friends and get ship shape!

5. It Gives Us All Hope

Suppose your favourite amour one day became canon: you imagine that's the end of the matter?

Well it ain't.

Between Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, James, Gary and Tracey, there are three-and-a-half out of fourteen parents (Flint doesn't count as a complete man) and one out of twenty-eight grandparents, and that's not enough!

If the series drew to a close with your beloved couple apparently walking into the happily-ever-after, there's no guarantee it'll endure. In fact, the odds are they'll split up within a few years and leave another generation to fend for themselves or starve.

That's right, so don't presume the final episode is all you need to worry about. Can you rest easy knowing it'll go pear-shaped once the camera stops rolling?

It's futile soothing one's worries with:

Oh, but they know what it's like to be alone. They'd never inflict such stress on their children.

Oh really?

Look at that poor showing of grandparents. Either Pokémon has a system reminiscent of the sci-fi film Logan's Run, where everyone over thirty is vapourized, or these disappearing maters and paters were themselves victims of abandonment.

I bet when they settled down, they thought it'd be different for their kids, they'd make sure of it, but no, off they went down that same route of feckless self-indulgence, and that's being kind assuming they intended not to repeat history.

Depressing eh? What's the good in any of us surrendering to romance, real or otherwise, if love is but a mayfly of emotion, and all dreams are doomed to die?

Then Ma and Pa arrive, and suddenly the storm clouds part for a ray of heavenly light.

It's not only that they made the effort in what was probably an arranged marriage and have stayed together from youth, it's that they've stayed together when no one else has, which augments its value.

When separation is commonplace, sticking it out becomes rarer and rarer as any belief in the sanctity of wedlock erodes with every failure.

If they didn't bother, why should I? What's the use when it won't work?

Once that idea enters your head, it's over, and your gloom-laden attitude fulfils itself.

Society is collapsing about Ma and Pa's ears, but they persevere nevertheless, refusing to buckle under the turgid malaise engulfing the arrogant and weak.

It's bloody beautiful, man!

You may suggest an environment of supreme wealth erases normality, and to their class and time period divorce is still taboo, so they don't really have much of choice but to remain wedded.

Ah, but it's not as if they simply tolerate one another for appearances, or carried on for the sake of their son (which is more than anyone else did besides), not when he walked out on them.

They've been married longer than James has lived, so at least eighteen years (don't all squeal at once), and they're still blissfully contented!

They hold hands!

They use terms of endearment like 'dear' and 'my precious'!

They were made for one another!

They work as a team!

They want the same thing for James!

It could bring a stone angel to tears it's so beautiful!

See what success can be achieved when you try? When you endeavour to love the one you're with and make yourself worth loving in return?

Better that than chucking 'em at the first sign of trouble.

Ma and Pa is such an irrevocable union even the despair of losing their only child failed to tear 'em asunder, and that'd defeat many, but not this husband and wife.

Be grateful, for it means all is not in vain.

It doesn't have to be misery and pain: love can last despite the pressure of a wretched, hollow culture bent on self-destruction. Your ship might just succeed too.

God bless 'em for keeping the magic alive!

...

Why do I have the presentiment that I'm going to regret encouraging support?

#maandpashipping #team rocket #ma james #pa james #ma and pa james #james #jessie #james's mom #james's dad #james's parents #rocketshipping #kanto #holy matrimony!

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playsonwordinc · 3 years

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SOCIAL DISTANCING: Nothing New! ~ by Fred David Kenney, Jr.

While I was growing up, my father would sometimes recite the phrase “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” As a child, I just assumed that he came up with that nugget of wisdom. To my surprise, I later realized that it was used by many people. In college, one of my professors asked a question and I responded with this phrase and she then responded in French, “plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” and then she attributed the phrase to the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr-1849. Now, I was fairly well versed in the Scripture at this point in my life, and I was thinking that Karr got his idea from Solomon’s Ecclesiastes 1:9 - What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

And again, Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes 3:15 - That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

We currently find ourselves in a “new” global crisis that leaves us feeling like we are in uncharted waters. We have a virus/ plague that has killed many, we have been forced to wear masks, many are locked up in our states/ towns/ and homes. We also have had to practice social distancing. This last practice has created many new challenges for us as people.

We are social creatures, and we tend to feel safer, better, & happier when we have contact with our families and friends. This concept of staying away from people has produced some heartbreaking results. I have family members that had not hugged one another for over a year. To not feel the touch of someone you love can be very difficult. I can’t help but wonder if this is a contributing factor in depression and suicide among so many people today. The touch from a person can reassure when no words can be found. The touch, like a pat on the back, can instill confidence to run faster or try harder. We now see what life is like without a touch. However, to reference Solomon and Karr, if you think social distancing is something new, think again.

There is a Story from the Bible that involves a woman who had an issue with bleeding for 12 years (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48). This physical problem would have rendered her “Unclean” according to the law of Moses. This means that she would have to announce her presence. No one could touch her without potential contamination, and she would, by law, have to social distance. Look at what the law says:

Leviticus 15:25-30 - If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. 27 And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.

One of my favorite Bible study techniques is to put myself in a bible characters shoes, or perhaps I should say, sandals. When I try to imagine what this poor woman had to deal with, what she felt, and what she possibly prayed for, it’s becomes overwhelming.

Here we are told that she was unclean. This “uncleanness” separated her, as well as the people she was in contact with from a Holy God. No one would intentionally touch her or be near her for fear of her uncleanness disqualifying them with God. Fear is a powerful motivator. It’s not only possible but probable that no one embraced, hugged, kissed, or even loved her because of this condition for 12 years. Let’s just stop, take a few seconds and let that soak in. 12 years no touch? We are just now beginning to see the adverse effects of social distancing on our world. We have only been at it 12 months!

Clearly, she felt like she needed to get this problem fixed (Mark 5:25-26; Luke 8:43-44). What about her hope-less-ness? Perhaps she was hopeless after the experts failed repeatedly. I am pretty sure the word- bumbed would be an insufficient adjective.

With no money left all she had was hope in God. Why was she with, or at least just outside, the crowd when Jesus came by? Perhaps she heard about how He healed so many. Did she pray for help from God? Most likely she did.

We are not told why she was there with the rest of the people. All we do know is that a crowd of people was pushing up against Jesus and the disciples as they were returning from their stormy trip. What she would see and hear next convinced her to take action.

A man approached Jesus as He was making His way through the crowd. He fell down and begged Jesus to come and just touch and heal his dying daughter. Jesus agreed and began to go with this man named Jairus. The bleeding woman saw this whole interaction and thought that if she could touch Jesus, she would also be healed. Her faith In God and the man of God (Jesus) was now moving from potential to kinetic!

Faith that doesn’t produce action is just a spoken faith. For example, anyone can say they have faith in a chair to hold them up. That is potential/ academic faith. It is when they sit on the chair that their spoken-academic faith becomes kinetic or exercised. Conversely, faith is only as good as the object that one places it in. For instance, if the chair was broken/ ready to collapse and not reliable it wouldn’t matter how great someone’s faith was, it still would not hold them up. Likewise, if Jesus was not Messiah, her faith to be healed would be a letdown like the broken chair. Oh, but Jesus IS Messiah!

Again, I ask you to take a few seconds and really put yourself in her sandals. This was her chance to finally be free of the condemnation and shame she had faced for 12 years. She suffered for as long as Jairus’ daughter was alive. Here Jesus is right in front of her but legally and socially it was as if He was miles away. She decided to pursue Jesus with everything she had, no matter what the cost. She decided to bypass the social distancing mandates and made her way through the crowd. She timed it so Jesus would be right where she could reach out and touch Him. As soon as she did Jesus stopped and asked, “Who touched Me?” Again, put yourself in her sandals. She just broke all kinds of rules to touch Him and was now caught. Even compounding the situation is the fact that only family members are allowed to touch the fringe or tassels of a Jewish man’s prayer shawl/tallit. So, she was now in trouble for something not even related to uncleanness. She could be stoned for such an egregious transgression. She was accustomed to shame, continual disappointment, perhaps even scorn. Now she was guilty and caught in front of everyone to see. She realized that she was discovered. She was trembling when she came to Jesus and confessed why she did what she did. She was also immediately healed and probably elated with incredible joy. What an interesting combination of emotions.

Look at what Jesus calls her: Luke 8:48 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

This is the only place in the gospels that Jesus calls someone daughter. This nullified the regulation that she broke by touching His tallit! He took away her guilt, shame, and transgressions with one word! It was also radical that He was talking to a woman, non-family member in front of everyone. This was not done. His word to her, “Daughter” made it all void!

Possibly the first human touch she had in 12 long years was that from God Himself! Have you ever felt like you have no hope? Perhaps you know what it is like to feel guilty beyond repair? Or maybe you have only a “said faith” that isn’t yet kinetic. I would strongly encourage you that Jesus is not far from anyone of us! When we reach out for Him, we will find Him. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35)! This woman’s kinetic faith not only resulted in her physical, societal, and legal healing; it placed her story in glorious history. Let us now have a radical faith in Christ that creates movement (Kinetic) toward Him! That we would regard the things of man and this world as nothing compared to finding healing, peace, forgiveness, strength, and probably most importantly, family in Him! Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life, and the more things change in our broken world, the more that fact remains the same! ~ FDKjr

#bignews #playsonword #ecclesiastes #matthew #mark #luke #book of romans #Ecclesiastes 1:9 #Ecclesiastes 3:15 #Matthew 9:20-22 #Mark 5:25-34 #Luke 8:43-48 #Leviticus 15:25-30 #Mark 5:25-26 #Luke 8:43-44 #Luke 8:48 #romans 8:35

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hsews · 6 years

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EL PASO, Texas (AP) — In an unmarked brick building a few blocks from the Mexican border, immigrant parents clutched folders of birth certificates and asylum paperwork and sat on folding chairs, waiting to use a single, shared landline phone.

They rushed to the phone as their names were called with word that a relative or government worker was on the line, perhaps with news about their children.

For days and weeks now, some of the hundreds of parents separated from their children at the Mexican border by the Trump administration have been battling one of the world’s most complex immigration systems to find their youngsters and get them back.

For many, it has been a lopsided battle, and a frustrating and heartbreaking one. Most do not speak English. Many know nothing about their children’s whereabouts. And some say their calls to the government’s 1-800 information hotline have gone unanswered.

Now, at least, they have the legal system on their side, since a federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration Tuesday night to reunite the more than 2,000 children with their parents in 30 days, or 14 days in the case of those under 5.

But huge logistical challenges remain, and whether the U.S. government can manage to clear away the red tape, confusion and seeming lack of coordination and make the deadline remains to be seen.

The Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, which is in charge of the children, gave no immediate details Wednesday on how they intend to respond to the ruling.

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said he believes the deadline is realistic.

“It’s a question of political will, not resources,” he said.

Among the complicating factors: Children have been sent to shelters all over the United States, thousands of miles from the border. And perhaps hundreds of parents have already been deported from the U.S. without their children.

A woman in Guatemala who was deported without her 8-year-old son has had to find a U.S. lawyer from her cinderblock home on the outskirts of Guatemala City to help her get Anthony back.

Elsa Johana Ortiz applauded the federal judge’s ruling but added, “As long as he’s not with me, I will not be at peace.”

In El Paso, three dozen parents released Sunday from a U.S. detention center started a feverish search for their children, using the landline phone at a shelter run by Annunciation House.

Some of those at Annunciation House rushed to catch buses bound for New York, Dallas and the West Coast to live with family members in the hope that establishing residency will make it easier to get their kids back. Those who left for other cities carried little more than shopping bags stuffed with sandwiches and paperwork.

Digna Perez of El Salvador said she was separated from her 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter at the border on May 29. She spoke with them Monday by telephone and was alarmed to hear lethargic, distracted responses from her normally talkative son.

“It was like I was forcing the words out of him,” she said. “He wasn’t like that before.”

She planned to travel to Houston to stay with family friends in an attempt to reclaim her children by showing there was a suitable home waiting for them.

Another asylum-seeker at Annunciation House, Wilson Romero, hoped to be reunited with his 5-year-old daughter Nataly in California — at the home of his mother, a recent immigrant herself.

The 26-year-old father was separated from her by U.S. authorities in El Paso in May. In Honduras, he worked at a textile factory making logos for U.S. brands on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula, one of Latin America’s most violent cities. He said he left his homeland so his daughter would have a chance at a career someday. Now he just wants to see her again.

“I pray to God it is soon,” said Romero, who has a tattoo of his daughter’s name on his right arm.

For many immigrants, the bureaucracy has become increasingly frustrating as they try to find their children.

Some have had to send for birth certificates and identity documents from Honduras and are waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

Some parents who are attempting to get their children placed with friends or relatives in the U.S. are being asked by the government to provide fingerprints of relatives along with utility bills and lease information, which many newly arrived immigrants don’t have, said Jesse Bless, an attorney from Jeff Goldman Immigration in Boston, who is representing Lidia Karine Souza.

Souza, 27, turned herself and her son, Diogo, into U.S. authorities at the Texas border and requested asylum, arguing her life was in danger in her native Brazil. U.S. officials detained her in Texas and took her son on May 30 without telling her where he would be.

When she was released June 9, she said, another detained mother who had also been separated from her child told her to check a Chicago shelter, and there she found Diogo. They were allowed no more than weekly 20-minute phone calls, in which he begged her to get them reunited.

Souza, who moved in with relatives in Massachusetts, said she submitted 36 pages of documents that U.S. officials required to regain her child. But her son remains in custody; he was quarantined much of the time because he had the chickenpox. Now, Souza has been told her relatives need to be fingerprinted, and the soonest the boy could be released is late July.

He celebrated his ninth birthday Monday locked up.

She filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. An emergency hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Souza visited Diogo for the first time Tuesday. They embraced, and she kissed him over and over on his head and face, then grabbed his cheeks gently with her hands as they both cried.

“I missed you so much,” she said in Portuguese.

Asked how he was, Diogo said: “I am better now.”

_____

Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Martha Irvine in Chicago; Sonia Perez in Guatemala City; Will Weissert in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.

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