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meganechan05 · 7 months

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Someone on Twitter has been feeding to the fire that is my Evil Clone KingOhger idea 😂

Specifically the HimeRita portion so I'll probably be talking more about their clones in this post.

I'll start off with the guys first to get them out of the way.

Gira's Tyrant Shtick is real for his Clone. He actually uses it against Gira in a far more threatening way that scares him as it would remind him of Racles's tyranny. He also makes Gira question why he even continues using his Tyrant Persona when the people of Shugoddom already know he's a good guy.

Evil!Yanma takes his yankii personality to a whole other level and actually takes his "I'm the Best" as is by stepping over everyone compared to Yanma who views his people and fellow Kings as equals. He finds joy tormenting Shiokara and the Hacker Gang since he finds them inferior to him, taunting Yanma in the process at how his goals and views on others contradict each other ("I'm the Best" vs no social hierarchy in his country).

Kaguragi's Clone is much more terrifying to him on a deeper level. He's more open about his manipulation and will more often than not call Kaguragi out on his. "You'd say you'd dirty your hands for your people. Yet you were so willing to put your sister in possible danger by having her in Shugoddom soil for your plans? ...You say she wholeheartedly agrees, but would a loving brother who would take sole responsibility for the safety of his country drag his dear little sister into the fray?" (Think Iroki's taunt in the movie but at a much more deeper level. The Clones do know about the originals' deepest insecurities so...)

Jeramie's Clone would have way too much fun taunting Jeramie. He would put on theatrics when explaining all of Jeramie's insecurities to him. How he was only just a boy when his mother died and his powers sealed, giving him more survivor's guilt than he already does. How his vision for a bright future clouded his judgment which caused his writing to cause the 2000 year long misunderstanding. How such clouded judgement makes him unaware of the issues of those around him. How he has finally made friends with the Kings but know he will only outlive them due to his biology.

Evil!Himeno currently seems very cut and dry when it comes to how she takes Himeno's selfishness to a dangerous level. But I know for a fact that she would very much use it against Himeno. "If you were truly selfish. If you really are the best doctor in world. Wouldn't you have done it? Bring Mama and Papa back? Have your family back in your life? If you can heal people, why not try to resurrect the dead? A much better version than what Grodie can do. Wouldn't that be nice?" Or in a situation where she does kidnap Rita and turn them into a doll. "I can turn them into a puppet, you know? They're so stubborn. Wouldn't it be easier if you could just control them so you don't have to use word games to get them to agree?"

Evil!Rita is just outright terrifying (at least to me). Not bounded by Absolute Neutrality while having the memories and thoughts of the original. Not held back by the idea of "the law protects the people" or providing fairness even in a fight. Fighting style can also use underhanded tactics befitting of a country of (ex-)convicts. They call Rita a hypocrite for being impartial but holds bias for Moffun. Being impartial yet open themself up to Morfonia and their fellow Kings (especially Himeno). Question why they're so willing to be selfless when no one has ever reached a hand out to them for 15 years. Question why they endure suffering alone for the sake of Neutrality and the safety of others when no one would bat an eye for their efforts. Why Karras took the risk of making a mere child her retainer and heir. Why Karras and Shiron would make them King without thinking about the consequences of the effects it would have on the child's mental health with no support system ("perhaps they just didn't care as much as you think"). Why they always push their feelings aside to help the others when it's clear they were suffering inside yet never show it.

Stuff like that...

Now for HimeRita, I feel like if their friendship ever turns into a relationship, this story would only make the issue with the Clones worse.

Evil!Rita is emotive to a point where you can't really tell if it really is Rita's clone or just what people think Rita would be if they weren't bound by Absolute Neutrality. So it wouldn't be a surprise if they took advantage of hidden feelings. Same for Evil!Himeno.

There could be a point where the two would drop hints of HimeRita's feelings for one another and taunt them for it once the two have a look on their faces that point they've put the pieces together.

"Oh? You never noticed? How sad. Well. Not like it would ever get anywhere considering how Rittan over there is."

"Doubt they even know they even have those feelings in the first place."

The two would try to talk about it later in private which makes it very awkward and confusing for the both of them as neither even realized their feelings were more than just friendship. They would have a heart-to-heart discussion about it and even discuss their worries for anything that would happen in the future once they can talk more easily without the fear of the clones intercepting.

Only once they were able to agree on that, the two are captured and taken to different locations by the other's clone (according to said clones' plans). Both having extremely unsettling 1-on-1 conversations to mock and drive wedges between them or give them heartbreak. Maybe even have Evil!Rita tempt Himeno with the opportunity of being able to show Rita requited affection through the clone by taunting her of how Rita would never allow themself to return her feelings for the sake of work. Evil!Himeno would taunt Rita by mocking them and putting on the waterworks, questioning why they're so picky on making exceptions to Neutrality when others before them had no problems breaking Neutrality for love.

Putting the two in a tight spot with no one to help them.

...yeah...

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russilton · 5 days

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Genuine question! people on here get so pissy at anyone asking what their thoughts on the drivers sexualities are but you’ve blatantly put the pride flag on a George post so would that not be the same thing?? Like I’m genuinely not trying to be a douche but I just don’t understand the double standards (I’m also not singling you out as I’ve seen other users get pissy at ppl asking but your post just happens to come up aha)

That’s fair anon and it’s good of you to ask this as a genuine question to find out rather than just get frustrated and assume it’s all hypocrisy. You wouldn’t be the first, so thanks for asking instead.

Here comes a read more because I’ve done my best to explain it, and if you wanted a shorter version you shouldn’t have asked me

Tl;dr: Because one is a joke based on a known fiction presented to an audience in on the joke, and the other either isn’t a joke and thus an invasion of privacy, or steps too close to the line for people to feel comfortable engaging in

It all comes down to engaging in the joke vs genuine, harmful speculation. Putting a rainbow flag on a post of a guy hanging out with his girlfriend, who I genuinely do like, is what I HOPE is a clear joke.

What makes it a joke is that I do not believe with any conviction that George and Lewis are actually fucking. I would LOVE it, but they aren’t.

The core tenant of acceptable rpf is being able to separate fiction from the real life that feeds it. We are playing make believe with characters who happen to be based on real people. That’s why most of us will tell you to keep this stuff entirely on tumblr/ao3, so there is a barrier of separation between drivers and fic, and why I do my best to clearly differentiate between when I’m talking about serious topics, and when I’m engaging in very dumb ship talk.

I will also point at the name of my blog, my tag line and my blog title all make it clear I’m not a serious place, I’m here talk about an rpf ship, and occasionally give my fan opinion of motorsport. People shouldn’t be coming to me for unbiased news. I have never been unbiased in my life.

In my posts here I’m leaning into the bit of the entirely fictional ship I enjoy. Of course George isn’t indicating he’s gay by driving a purple Mercedes in LA. That’s a joke I’d hope all of my followers are in on. It’s also a play on how celebrity couples are debated and how real queer people are treated by the world at large.

For example when I came out, both times, the reaction I got most from friends and family was “we already guessed you were”— now while they may think that’s a good way to respond… no they didn’t. They made assumptions based on stereotypes about queer people and applied it to me at an age where I didn’t even know what I was or liked. We’ve all seen the tweets from genuine idiots going “I don’t trust men ordering dessert, that’s for women” or “I think men who wear scarves are a bit gay”, but those are just an extremely concentrated form of stereotypes we’ve seen for decades. If a man enjoys crochet or a woman loves woodworking, you bet your ass Instagram comments will be saying they’re clearly gay.

We also see it all the time around celebrities— people harmfully assuming based on a hair style, a pet, or an attitude that a driver is gay and that they’ve “figured it out”, or even just because you saw two people hanging out a few times they MUST be together. Look at the Lewis and Shakira incident— they never once confirmed a relationship but some people will treat that as absolute fact. We have all seen both Lewis and George separately receiving hate under the assumption they are gay men by homophobic fans- Lewis for his piercings and fashion, and George for having long eye lashes and a slightly effeminate build. Shit, Nelson Piquet, ex f1 champion, has made on broadcast homophobic comments about Lewis that the Brazilian government fined him over. That is how common this idea is to most people.

The only way to know someone is lgbtq+ is if they tell you they are, and the only way to know what relationships they’re in, is if they tell you. It doesn’t matter how much you want to know or what evidence you’ve found, that’s a privacy everyone should be allowed, even celebrities. You do not know until they confirm it. I don’t care if someone came up to me and said they’ve seen George blow a guy, unless he says he’s queer, I don’t know shit.

But it’s still incredibly common, and most queer people experience this, and have opted to reclaim the joke. I will point at George sitting funny and cuffing his jeans and go “see! He’s just like us, the bisexuals”, because that’s a way queer people will joke you identify bi people. And when you read that back, it’s very clearly a joke. You can’t discover someone’s sexuality based on their sitting style. I do the same thing as an autistic person, because we are ALSO heavily scrutinised based on other ideas of what autism is. You don’t know how many fuckin people decide it’s appropriate to tell me “but you don’t seem autistic to me” because I don’t fit their standards. If someone tells me my eye contact means I’m not autistic, I can say George lining up his trains as a kid is a point for autism.

It’s also a joke derived from a genuine lack of representation. Humans like to see themselves represented. There’s no publically gay people on the grid, or autistic folk, so it’s pretty fair for us to decide that fuck it, until there is, I’m grabbing the guy who acts like I do and pretending he’s my rep. That’s how gay slash as a concept really began, honestly. If you don’t give people ample access to something, they’ll make their own, and sometimes even if they have it, they’ll do it anyway because it’s creatively enjoyable.

People get “pissy” (be careful using that word, it’s a lot more patronising than I think you intended it to be) about GENUINE speculation, because its not the acceptable joke we’ve all agreed to. Now you can argue about where the line for the joke should be, or if there should be one at all, but most of us have settled in a similar spot and talk with people who agree with that line. If that makes you uncomfortable, it is okay to leave or block someone. I have been blocked by more than a few het George fans. That is their right.

I think personally that pinning a sexuality to drivers is always going to be seen as genuine speculation unless it’s within the context of a fic where you set the boundaries, or a joke. Personally, if I wrote an entire list out and genuinely put thought into the sexuality of drivers on the grid, that is speculation, and there’s no way around that because I’d be making those assumptions based on stereotypes. Any of the drivers could be queer, none of them could be. We do not and likely will never know because we don’t live in a society where there are 0 ramifications for sharing your sexuality.

All the drivers could be bi but are in straight passing relationships and are happy that way for all we know. We literally have no way to tell unless they chose to share, which is unlikely given that 10/24 of this years races occur in countries where gay marriage is not recognised, and it is explicitly illegal to practice homosexuality in several of those. Even in the remaining countries, Florida, Texas and England have all introduced increasingly hostile anti LGBT legislation — F1 as a sport may try to say otherwise, but you cannot say that it is a queer friendly sport while also travelling to places where if a government decided to act on their laws, many fans could be put in serious danger.

Would you want to come out in that? Especially turning over something so personal and often painful to a public mob who will debate it?

While we all engage in our games here, it can be taken out of this space very quickly, and if someone made a post speculating on driver sexuality, it could spread, get ripped and posted on twitter, and grow into something far uglier very fast. Would you want to see a joke driver sexuality post spread like that? We all saw how the Fernando and Taylor swift joke went so far, so fast, until the fuckin aston admin had Fernando on a tiktok with Taylor swift audio. I’m not gonna make a post I already think is based on a flawed idea, about drivers I don’t care about, with that at risk.

You could argue again that our jokes could spread like that, but in the same way every post can be considered in bad faith when twisted the wrong way, it’s the gamble we make posting here. Trust me— I’m the guy who had his art posted in an Instagram hate collage by max fans— nothing is safe from the wrong eyes here.

I have also seen first hand the awful examples of people actually making those lists to coddle their faves. I have seen the posts where people genuinely think max is bisexual and autistic. They are infuriating.

Because I hate that, I frequently remind myself sometimes to be clearer when I’m being a rpf fan boy making a joke, and when I’m critiquing my drivers genuinely.

I can’t stop other people blurring or forgetting the line between joke and reality, but I can refuse to do it myself. I am only responsible for myself, and for making sure my jokes are clear enough most people will get them.

So that’s why yeah, I’ll make limp wrist joke about George, becuase I’ve been the target of them, but I’m not going to speculate on sexuality. I hope that helps.

#asks #anonymous #wank/rants #tw: homophobia #tw homophobia #some people will agree with this- some won’t #that’s fine #but anon came to me and this is how i see it

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mst3kproject · 4 years

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Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971)

I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a while. It was directed by Al Adamson and stars Lon Chaney Jr. from Indestructible Man in his last and worst film. Also featuring appearances by Greydon Clark (director of Angel’s Revenge), Forest J. Ackerman (the comic book guy from Future War), and Jim Davis (the grandpa from The Day Time Ended, not the guy who invented Garfield), and generally being one of the shoddiest and most confusing movies I’ve ever sat through, it is a mystery to me why Joel chose Carnival Magic and just left Dracula vs Frankenstein sitting there. Maybe it was the widescreen thing.

It’s hard to say what the hell is going on in this movie but I’ll give it a try. Under the cover of a carnival freak show, mad Dr. D’Ray is decapitating nubile young women and then sewing their heads back on, because… uh… because. One night, his work is interrupted by none other than Count Dracula! The Count reveals that he knows D’Ray’s secret – D’Ray is really the last surviving member of the Frankenstein family, and Dracula has recovered the body of the original Frankenstein’s Monster and wants D’Ray to help him bring it to life, because… uh… because. Meanwhile, a woman named Judith Fontaine is looking for her sister, Joannie, who was last seen on the beach near Dr. D’Ray’s Creature Emporium. Judith and her boyfriend Mike eventually find their way into D’Ray’s lair, and the doctor and his various deformed assistants (obviously he has deformed assistants) are all killed as the couple attempt to escape again. What Judith and Mike don’t know is that they’re not safe yet. They still have Dracula to deal with!

That outline actually only represents a fraction of the madness in Dracula vs Frankenstein. There’s a rapey biker gang and a bunch of noticeably over-age hippies who seem to think they’re in a very different movie. There’s D’Ray’s hunchback Groton and his pet puppy, and Grazbo the Angry Midget. There’s the stunningly unhelpful detective who’s supposed to be looking for Joannie. D’Ray brings the Frankenstein Monster back to life with the help of a magical comet. The idea that creatures like Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster actually exist is treated as obvious and commonplace, and the climactic fight between the two is over who gets to feel up Judith. It’s a mess.

The reason Dracula vs Frankenstein is such a mishmash of incongruous ideas, at least according to El Santo of 1000 Misspent Hours, is that Adamson filmed for a while, then ran out of money and had to set the project aside while he raised more. During this intermission, he got a bunch of new ideas, and had to shoehorn them in with what he’d already shot to turn his original sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll film into a monster-versus-monster piece. It should therefore surprise nobody if the results are about as graceful as a giraffe on roller skates.

The two title monsters are astonishingly shitty. Frankenstein’s Monster looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy gone horribly wrong. He looks like his head got stepped on and they couldn’t afford to fix it. The first time you see him, when Dracula digs him out of a cemetery, you can barely tell you’re supposed to be looking at something’s face – it looks like a mass of home-made play-dough that’s been left out in the sun. He has claws for some reason. That sequence of similes still doesn’t do justice to just how absolutely terrible he looks, and yet, shockingly, he’s less stupid than Dracula.

Oh, god, this movie’s Dracula. His face is slathered in Observer makeup (though his hands aren’t, probably because it would have gotten all over everything) and he wears bright red lipstick and fake fangs that don’t allow him to fully close his mouth. His vinyl cape almost definitely came from Party City. His voice echoes like he’s talking into an empty garbage can, even when he’s sitting in the back seat of a car. He has an incredibly funky goatee and a ring that shoots fire. Everything he says and does is deeply, self-consciously dramatic and it all comes to an absurd crescendo in the series of priceless faces he makes as he turns to dust in the sun.

On a scale of absurd theatricality, Dr. D’Ray is only shortly behind him. The mad doctor dresses like Colonel Sanders, has some classic evil facial hair, and spends much of his screen time monologuing… but nothing he says ever makes a lick of sense. The stuff that comes out of his mouth is literally indescribable so I’m going to have to give you some examples:

Rambling in his lab, D’Ray describes his work as follows: “human blood is the essence from which future illusion may be created, but the secret is not to have the blood at rest. No, the circulatory system must experience a traumatic shock, one that is inconceivable to the human mind. The idea of trauma is not a new one, but I am sure I am the first such experimenter to incorporate the horror of an actual decapitation into later rejuvenation of a human body!” This is evidently supposed to be a justification for the sewing-heads-back-on thing – it ‘activates’ the blood and allows D’Ray to make his ‘serum’. He then injects that ‘serum’ into Groton, who transforms into an axe-wielding maniac. Later, Dracula claims that the same ‘serum’ would have made him invincible. I, uh… what?

Sorry, I was talking about D’Ray’s monologuing. When describing his Creature Emporium, D’Ray informs some guests, “the greatest mysteries in the world are not mysteries at all, unless we take time to become familiar with them.” Isn’t that the opposite of how mysteries work? It’s easy to believe in, say, the Loch Ness Monster, until you familiarize yourself with the history of the ‘evidence’ and realize that it’s almost all complete bullshit.

When Dracula shows up, D’Ray declares, “I am too old and too sick to be interested or surprised by anything, but when a man comes into my house and casts no reflection on my mirror, and on his hand wears the unholy crest of Dracula, there is no scientific answer to anything. Now, what is on your mind, Count Dracula?” Honestly, this nonsense is spoken with such conviction that you almost don’t notice that the end of the sentence has nothing to do with the beginning.

The movie has two things that might qualify as a ‘special effect’. One is Dracula’s zappy fire ring. It’s crummy, but you can tell what they’re going for. The other is the ‘comet’ that is instrumental in giving life to the Frankenstein Monster. This is represented by a slow pan past a flickering light bulb against a black background. Even having just heard Dracula talking about the importance of the comet, it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposedly seeing – it’s that bad. This might be halfway forgivable if the comet were somehow important to the plot… if the Monster, for example, had to complete some mission before it sets or something. But it’s totally gratuitous. They could have taken that out, avoided a distractingly awful effect, and made the movie a little bit shorter!

As for meaning anything… Dracula vs Frankenstein does not, and indeed seems to go out of its way to avoid it. The events that unfold are remarkably meaningless. Judith finds her sister Joannie, who is not dead but neither is she alive, and then the story just forgets about Joannie and gives her no resolution. Hippie girl Samantha is saved from being raped by her angry ex and his biker gang, but then she, too, is entirely forgotten. D’Ray and his henchmen die in a series of contrived accidents that serve no purpose but getting them out of the way so that Dracula and the Monster can fight uninterrupted. This is particularly anticlimactic because so far, D’Ray has been presented as our main baddie. Dracula disintegrates Mike with his magic ring and then the movie rushes to its climax without giving either Judith or the audience time to deal with it. Dracula, the movie’s actual main baddie, just turns to dust in the sun.

There are a couple of moments that are probably supposed to be social commentary, but they have nothing to do with the meandering main plot. One is the scene where a hippie guy says to his girlfriend, “let’s get ready for the big protest tonight.” She asks, “what are we protesting this time?” and he shrugs and replies, “I dunno, but I bet it’s fun.” Later we see this protest, which does seem to have a major ‘party’ component and features some very unspecific placards being waved. In another sequence there’s a druggie bar with the walls covered in graffiti that say things like POT and SOCIETY SUCKS.

Boy, I bet Adamson was really proud of sticking it to those angry young people.

Dracula vs Frankenstein is mesmerizingly bad. Usually the best bad movies are the kind where you can follow the story a bit, so you aren’t wasting time wondering what the hell is going on instead of appreciating the nonsense dialogue and unconvincing effects. Dracula vs Frankenstein is a singular exception. You never have any idea what anybody’s doing and yet somehow it doesn’t matter… the movie gives up on making sense very early, and just forges merrily ahead, dragging you along behind it. What’s actually happening never matters enough to distract. I honestly don’t know if this is a point in the movie’s favour or not… but it would have made a hell of an MST3K episode.

#mst3k #reviews #epsiodes that never were #dracula vs frankenstein #tw: rape #all carnival no magic #70s

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goldenavenger02 · 4 years

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What you should watch while staying at home part 2! AKA the Disney+ list based off the U.S selection.

Disney+

Lab Rats (TV show)

Rating: TV-Y7

Summary: A scrawny 14-year-old, having discovered his inventor stepdad has three bionic, super-powered teens living cloistered in a secret lab beneath their home, brings them out into the world.

Seasons: all four seasons and the spin-off are on Disney+, except for part 2 of Lab Rats vs. Mighty Med because that is a Mighty Med episode and Mighty Med is not on Disney+ at the time of this post.

Why you should watch it: Lab Rats was the reason I started writing fanfiction (if you're brave and like first person fics, my profile on fanfiction.net under the name Brentinator is full of cringe worthy fics) and it's probably the reason that I like action/adventure so much. It's super funny, it's very dramatic and it has good messages about family and teamwork.

Kickin' It (TV show)

Rating: TV-Y7

Summary: A once-in-a-generation young karate fighter named Jack joins the Wasabi warriors.

Seasons: 1-4 on Disney+

Why you should watch it: it's a comedy about teenagers in a karate dojo. Yeah, it's Disney so it is cringy, but it makes for some good laughs. Leo Howard is a little cutie, there's an episode with Billy Unger (Lab Rats) and Kelli Berglund (Lab Rats). There's some whump in a bit of it, and Jason Earles (Miley's brother in Hannah Montana) is the sensei. It's great.

Austin and Ally (TV show)

Rating: TV-Y7

Summary: Following the lives of Austin, an aspiring confident musician, Ally, a quiet talented songwriter and their two friends.

Seasons: 1-4 on Disney+, part two of the New Year's special is season 2, episode six of Jessie.

Why should you watch it: this was the first Disney Channel show I watched. Ross Lynch was my first celebrity crush, the first soundtrack was my first CD, and Trish gave me some representation as a plus sized woman/teen. It's pretty cringe, but the songs are all amazing and some of jokes are knee slappers.

Good Luck Charlie (TV show)

Rating: TV-Y7

Summary: The Duncan family are adjusting to the surprise birth of their fourth child, Charlie. When parents Amy and Bob return to work they put their latest addition in the care of her three older siblings.

Seasons: all seasons and the movie in between seasons 2 and 3 on Disney+, the second part of the Christmas episode in season 4 is in season 3 of Jessie.

Why should watch it: it's just a good comedy about a family with a lot of kids.

Brave (movie)

Rating: PG

Summary: Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

Why should you watch it: this movie holds a very special place in my heart. I watched this movie with my grandpa the Christmas before he died, and it's a memory I hold very close. It's also the best Disney princess with red hair, fight me. And my Merdia Halloween costume where I carried around my dad's bow and arrows can't be beat.

Chicken Little (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: After ruining his reputation with the town, a courageous chicken must come to the rescue of his fellow citizens when aliens start an invasion.

Why should you watch it: a lot of people say this is Disney's worst animated movie. But this is a very nostalgic movie for me, and some of the jokes can't be beat. Also, aliens.

Bad Hair Day (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: A buddy comedy about a high school tech-whiz whose prom day abruptly shifts into a wild ride across town, thanks to a down-on-her-luck cop and a jewel thief.

Why should you watch it: it's Ally from Austin and Ally and the mom from Good Luck Charlie trying to protect a missing necklace, and the two of them grow a motner-daughter type relationship during it.

Descendants 2 (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay try to adjust to life in Auradon, but Mal becomes overwhelmed with pressure and returns to her roots.

Why should you watch it: I love the Descendants franchise, but the second movie has the best songs, the best acting and the best villains. I'm obsessed with China Anne McClain and she's a great villain. But watch the first movie. After all, it has Dove Cameron, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson and the late Cameron Boyce with some of their best acting being displayed.

High School Musical 2 (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: School's out for summer and the East High Wildcats are ready to make it the time of their lives after landing jobs in a wealthy country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family.

Why you should watch it: I'm not a huge HSM fan, but I love Sharpay and Ryan, and I love the movie that's on their turf. It also has my favorite HSM song in it, which is Bet On It. Probably watch the first movie first though.

Geek Charming (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: To win a school popularity contest, a high school diva permits a film club classmate to record her popular life, but the film starts documenting her decline instead.

Why you should watch it: this is possibly my favorite DCOM, and Sarah Hyland is so good at her job, it's insane. It's overshadowed by what happened between the leads afterwards, however.

How to Build a Better Boy (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: Teenage tech whizzes unwittingly use military software to program a robotic boyfriend.

Why you should watch it: probably why I like it so much is because it has China Anne McClain and Kelli Berglund, and it's a cool concept. Also has Noah Centerpiece if you like him as well.

Teen Beach Movie (movie)

Rating: not rated

Summary: Two surfing lovers, whose doomed relationship is nearing to a close, find themselves swept into a a dimension traversing wave that sends them into a beach movie musical in the 60's.

Why you should watch it: it's not a great plot, but the acting is pretty good and the songs are so amazing. Also, Ross Lynch. Not a huge fan of the sequel, but you should still check it out if you like the first one.

The Emperor's New Groove (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.

Why should you watch it: this is the movie I grew up on. I knew all the quotes, I knew all the jokes, and one time I barged into my sister's youth group shouting "boom bam, baby!" It's so good and so funny.

Finding Nemo (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Why should you watch it: my other childhood movie. Also knew the quotes, and the jokes, and I spoke whale in church when I was very young. There may also be a Finding Nemo Irondad AU from me in the future.

Holes (movie)

Rating: PG

Summary: A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.

Why should you watch it: to this day this is the most accurate book to movie adaptation I've ever seen. Also, Madame Zeroni.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: Mickey, Donald and Goofy are the French three Musketeers.

Why you should watch it: well, it's what the summary says. The Mickey Mouse gang as the musketeers. And it has la pit in it. "No, not la pit!"

Pocahontas (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth century Virginia.

Why should you watch it: is it historically accurate, no. But does it have one of the sweetest romances in the history of Disney, I would like to think so. And Pocahontas is just one of my favorite Disney princesses, even if she's not technically a princess.

Tangled

Rating: PG

Summary: The magically long-haired Rapunzel has spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.

Why should you watch it: a carefree princess, a attractive and hilarious thief and the cutest little chameleon ever! The animation is gorgeous, the songs are amazing and Mother Gothel is such a good villain.

Pooh's Heffalump Movie (movie)

Rating: G

Summary: A Heffalump is heard trumpeting in the hundred acre woods. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet are scared and rush to Rabbit's house for advice. Roo joins them and they all agree that Heffalumps are nearby after finding a huge footprint. They decide to set out on an expedition to catch the Heffalump. Roo is not allowed to come along because he is too little.

Why should you watch it: I watched a lot of Winnie the Pooh movies when I was little, because Winnie the Pooh is my mom's favorite Disney franchise, but this one is my favorite. It's so soft, and it has a good lesson that even if you're different, that doesn't mean you're evil or scary.

Read it and Weep (movie)

Rating: TV-G

Summary: A shy and retiring high school student develops a peculiar alter ego that changes her life forever.

Why should you watch it: it's about a writer in high school! This is one of my favorite Disney movies ever, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Sky High (movie)

Rating: PG

Summary: Set in an era where superheroes are commonly known and accepted, young William Stronghold, the son of the Commander and Jetstream, tries to find a balance between being a normal teenager and an extraordinary being.

Why should you watch it: clearly, I like movies and shows about superheroes (I mean, I write for Marvel). This movie is about William, who hasn't gotten his powers yet, and has been lying to his parents that he has before he goes to superhero high school. The ending is weird, but I love this movie.

Tagging some people so it gets spread around: @marvelous-writer @clover-roseee @canary-warrior @blondsak @breanadaveport-mendel @seek-rest @willelbyers

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kaisooficrec · 5 years

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Helloooo <3 so much angst today! there are some older fics that we didn’t rec before for this genre so I included them too, but in general, all of these are new! Check out our older requests for angst with happy ending, enjoy reading and don’t forget to leave kudos & comments! <3

eventually (i fall into you) - this fic is pretty well known by now but it’s going to end soon! and it’s a happy ending :D wolf au + arranged marriage, they had a rough start because they both wanted different things out of life but all turns out well (warning?: mpreg)

Monster - OT12 vampire au VS vampire hunters, lots of action, adventure and angst, with a happy ending :D you can also check out Getting Lucky which is a specific kaisoo oneshot of the story that kinda works as a sequel ^^

A Different Morning - friends to lovers and college au, jongin is a vlogger, pining over each other bffs <3

Bugs and Space Elves - fantasy and space/aliens au, elf!jongin takes ksoo on an adventure, but he’s still heartbroken after his last relationship

I will never leave you behind - ksoo was in an abusive relationship which left him with a lot of insecurities, and he shuts himself out

Because It's You - ksoo doubts himself and also his relationship with jongin, but the other won’t let him go

Take Off - ballet au, ksoo breaks up with jongin because he thinks he’s the reason why jongin can’t pursue his dream.

Hand in Hand - jongin cheated on kyungsoo but he doesn’t want to let him go

in my dreams (you're there with me) - kyungsoo lost jongin once, but he’ll make sure to not lose him twice

after the rain - dystopia au, rich!ksoo and poor!jongin, they fall in love but the gap between their two worlds is too big to ignore

Only the Moon Howls - wolf au, abo, ksoo is dense and doesn’t realize that jongin’s future mate that everyone is talking about is actually him

Sucker + Supermassive Black Hole - both part of the Heaven series. in these two specific shots they encounter obstacles in their relationship and ksoo is acting shady, jongin wants to find out what he’s been doing behind his back

What We Find - soulmates au + red thread au, jongin has finally found his soulmates but the other does not want him back. love this fic a lot!

A Heart at Peace - kyungsoo knows jongin because he’s his best friend’s little brother, but jongin wants to be more than that. this fic is a real rollercoaster of emotions!

by my side - mafia and domestic au, jongin is scared of the consequences of kyungsoo’s job, but he loves the kid

Read Me Right - kyungsoo can find out what’s in other people’s minds just by touching them, and he wasn’t prepared to find out his friend is in love with him when touching him while the other was having a wild dream (warning: bdsm)

The Last of the Wilds - kyungsoo is an earth spirit and he’s been bound by a human, who killed his lover, to a rock for the rest of his life, unless he falls in love with a human. but kyungsoo despises humans :) interesting au!

Scars and Healing - kyungsoo was appointed as jongin’s new servant. they are both part of a larger scheme that deals with treason and theft, they don’t plan on falling in love with each other along the way

Prank Gone Wrong - baekhyun dares kyungsoo to break up with jongin as a prank

I Love You for A Thousand Years (and more) - ksoo got into an accident and can’t remember his husband

Primrose - ongoing but tagged with happy ending. jongin goes to the doctor and shows signs of Hanahaki

Terms and Conditions - the jenkai news got out, but that doesn’t change the love they have for each other

our days are numbered, but let me stay here awhile - idol!jongin is tired of the celebrity life. he takes a vacation and finds happiness with farmer!ksoo.

By Your Side - ksoo can see behind jongin’s smiles

End This Winter - jongin is an ex-convict and gets hired by ksoo’s family in their restaurant, he lives in a small room in it. he still has trouble dealing with what got him in jail and ksoo is here to help

To Win A Groom - jongin tells kyungsoo he’s getting married in a month. kyungsoo panicks

Murmurmaids - they are childhood friends and as life goes on they don’t want to lose each other

I Don't Mind - established kaisoo, jongin didn’t tell ksoo about his job

Storm Flower. - poor!ksoo who has to sell his body to survive, and jongin is not just a simple stranger

Take My Virgin Sacrifice - kyungsoo is an incubus who doesn’t enjoy his life until he accepts to check out some teenage boys trying to summon a spirit on a ouija board, which is when he meets jongin

Art - kyungsoo has been blind since birth, and jongin wants to get to know him and his art more

(Won’t You) Build Me Up - exes au, ksoo is an architect and jongin hires him years later and tries to win him back

KS011214 - android au where jongin is an architect. his first prototype comes back to him and asks him to fix his heart

Kiss and Cry - ice skating and sports au, jongin has to train to compete in a new category and his manager hires ksoo as his new coach, a retired athlete whose career was abruptly interrupted when he fell during his final performance at the worlds. jongin thinks ksoo’s bits of advice are useless and he is difficult to work with, luckily ksoo is patient

Second Time Lucky - slice of life, ksoo refuses to give in to his desires

Where Would We Be Now - exes au, they meet after 10 years and jongin wants a second chance

Bye Bye Sadness (Hello My Love) - abo and domestic au, they were forced to marry and after an accidental marking and are trying to work things out

Do Overs and Second Chances - ksoo made a mistake which made jongin break up with him, however, he won’t stop trying to make things right

I See You - jongin helped ksoo through dark times, one day jongin had to leave. they find each other again and give it another try

Monochromatic Hearts - almost completed but tagged with happy ending so I’m including it here! idol au and mpreg, they had a one night stand and ksoo got pregnant, now jongin has to take responsibility for his future kid

- Admin Macaroon

#kaisoo #kadi #fic request #r:happy end angst #admin macaroon

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michaeldempsey · 5 years

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Serendipity in Venture Capital is BS...(and other views on the seed VC landscape)

Disclaimer: I believe that unless you are one of a few firms, there is no possible claim that there is a “correct” way to do venture, only to treat people with respect along the way.

Venture capital started as a network heavy business and arguably still is to many. I don’t think that is dominant anymore.

The Early Days: VC was the ultimate network business

Venture capital started as the ultimate network business, with a tight-knit web of humans for decades. It looked like this:

After the web 1.0 bubble, there was not an abundance of capital, and thus power swung back towards VCs as the market cooled. Those VCs, based on 2008 data, were an average age of 46, 79% were men, 87% were white, and 53% had MBAs (of which 60% went to Harvard or Stanford). Based on demographics like that, it’d be pretty difficult to not be a tight-knit, network-driven industry.

Then, 2-7 years before the 2012 Facebook IPO, came the first wave of elite seed firms like Baseline, First Round Capital, Floodgate, Foundry Group, SV Angel, True Ventures, SoftTech, and others.

As company formation costs fell due to a variety of technological drivers, paired with startups being “hot” again, we saw institutional capital want more exposure to private market technology risk. Partners spun out, founders started funds, and angels institutionalized.

The Birth of Seed & Verticalized Funds

“In angel investing, you don’t really have competitors. You go ahead and do your thing…I don’t look at Internet or Internet investing as competitive, generally.” — Ken Lerer, 2010

We all know this trend accelerated, with some seed funds graduating to series A+ firms, and quickly everyone (especially non-GPs who were stuck underneath partners unwilling to give up meaningful carry) wanted their own seed fund. The issue was, LPs had been hit up with the seed pitch now for the past 5+ years. And in the same time period, re-ups had come more and more often as fund deployment periods went from 5 years to 3 years.

These newer seed firms needed to differentiate as the “seed” story was played out.

This led to a wave of vertical-centric seed firms. Lemnos (2012 incubation fund I) and Root Ventures (2015 Fund 1) became known for hardware, Forerunner (2012 fund I) became known for consumer, Lerer Hippeau become known for NYC/Web (2010 Fund 1) and on and on it went.

The Venture Capital Explosion

Between 2003 to 2010, an average of 58 seed funds were raised each year but in the past 7 years, that average spiked to 137 (or a 2.3x increase). - Eric Feng,

And now it’s 2019. The deployment periods for some funds have collapsed to as short as 18 months, there is a seed fund for everything, and series A+ firms have grown into full-stack financing machines with $1B+ funds designed to take companies from A to IPO, and many with scout programs to build the top of the funnel.

This hyper-crowded market has swung the pendulum back to old times, with LPs being sold either more explicit networks, or similar economics as the 70s.

The former manifests itself as unicorn-mafia funds (ex-uber employee fund, ex-airbnb employee fund, etc.) built around the idea that people want to raise money from their ex-coworkers and/or access will be materially better because of this relationship. The latter manifests itself as startup studios that have outsized ownership economics.

So we’ve got a ton of seed funds, plenty of post-seed capital, and some moderate differentiation. We also have a 7x increase in $1B+ outcomes from a decade ago.

But when I look around at seed stage venture, where the universe of companies is truly unknown, I still believe firms are relying on serendipity. And there are many firms that are trying to engineer serendipity at a high rate by sending analysts (and the partners themselves) to events 3–4x/week, actively trying to setup deal flow catch up calls, or aggressively stalking demo day lists, all born out of the fear that they will miss the next Stripe/Uber/etc.

And how do they scale up these teams to chase these competitive deals in an ever-expanding seed stage funnel? They raise more money.

As their seed fund gets bigger, they now need to write a $1.5-$2M check to get the proper ownership to 3–4x their $100M+ seed fund. At the same time it’s become more likely that interesting deals don’t get sent to them because…well the math doesn’t work for other investors to hit their ownership targets.

Or as Rob Go astutely points out, “firms that have built their models around aggressive deal trading will struggle.”

Now we have:

1) Larger seed funds, that are hyper-competitive (and often generalists due to fund size and scope creep).

2) Which means that seed funds need to tell founders that it is best for their business to only have them and no other meaningful checks in the round, so they can write $1.5M+ and get ~15%-20% ownership.

3) But unless you’re a top tier firm, your capital could be viewed as a commodity, and thus it’s clearly not dominant for a generalist firm to be the only investor (which is ok because...we’re humans, and we can’t be everything for everyone), and thus you are at massive risk of being pushed down in ownership and allocation.

4) And then in order to make the math work you’re reliant on multiple $1B+ outcomes, despite a large % of VC-backed M&A transactions happening below $300M.

5) So we now have some seed VCs telling investors that they will be able to increase ownership from seed to A/B or at worse do full pro-rata to maintain. The problem is that in reality, pro rata allocations from Series A+ remain increasingly difficult to maintain, as those $1B+ funds, that have infrastructure (and fees) to in theory actually be everything for everyone, need to put more money to work in their rounds. So you don’t get to defend ownership nearly as efficiently as even 5 years ago. And often any pre-empted offer for a pre-series A round could just turn into a pre-empted full series A process.

All of these things boil down to the core truth that most Seed stage firms today have to be small (either ridealong checks or non-hyper competitive leads), early, and/or different enough to be one top-priority thing for a subset of founders.

I recognize that I just doomsday scenario’d a bunch of components of seed stage venture capital, so I figured it’d only be fair for me to share my own (highly biased) view on what does work at some >1 firm scale at the seed stage.

First, forward looking macro-factors that I strongly believe in:

VC returns have been persistent, but with each new innovation cycle turn (infrastructure to personal computing to web to mobile and onward) new successful VCs have been birthed that have become part of the persistence. The power law of venture will remain, but will be slightly more distributed.

Private markets are going to continue to capture the returns in many sectors, and thus it will be attractive for LPs to be invested in a larger subset of tier 1, tier 2, and maybe even tier 3 VC firms from a returns perspective. This will be even more evident as we potentially enter tumultuous public market performance that shows lower yield over the next decade than the prior decade+ bull-run we’ve had.

The compounding effects of venture as an industry are unique vs. any other industry. Brand flywheels are strong absent of results due to opacity of quantitative measures (i.e. we both bury the dead slowly and quietly on failed startups, and cheer the good loudly on less-than-incredible fund exits/performance).

Brand signaling can create unfair advantages. I.e. If Sequoia invests in a company, statistically that company is more likely to raise money than if another investor does. Building a lasting brand matters.

More specifically the seed fund strategy that I believe in:

Keep fund size small — Leading a round today is rarer than we think, and just means conviction and ability to put down a term sheet (and large check), but not necessarily 60%+ of the round. There has never been more follow-along capital at the seed stage and rallying investors around your conviction and lead check is a powerful thing that solves for some disadvantages of smaller funds.

Remove noise and keep focused — Small fund size enables myself (and other similar funds) to not care about missing the next billion-dollar marketplace business. The funnel has widened (as seen above) , and only looking at a piece of the funnel is scalable/realistic. Yes, hit rate needs to be better, but I’d argue that while it’s gotten statistically harder to identify a fund returning company, it’s become exponentially harder to win meaningful allocation in that deal.

Build an informed view of the world - This allows investors to compete on the axis of both having a deeper understanding of a space versus the average investor, theoretically have an ability to know what they are looking for at a faster pace (and thus move faster), find/track things earlier due to focus, and meaningfully compete via outbound deal flow by using ammunition that they’ve built up in research.

These last two points specifically are the only way in which I feel I am able to advantageously do venture. However, as I said before, it’s not immediately clear to me that one strategy in seed stage venture is dominant.

Small funds have dominant return profiles for today’s fundraising dynamics, high velocity funds have dominant statistics for today’s outcome distributions, full-stack funds have dominant funnel building for today’s growing prices, and concentrated funds have dominant return distributions if you can pick.

What is clear to me is that venture is changing rapidly and if you aren’t thinking about these things in real-time, you’re not doing your job.

#venture capital #VC #Tech #technology #startups

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wykedtrolls · 5 years

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a dissertation nobody asked for, ft. my dysphoric trans ass (on the subject of truscum, cisgender medicine, and stupid assholes)

BOY HOWDY DID THIS GET LONG

I know that nobody asked for this post, and definitely nobody needed it, but you know what? Fuck it. You’re getting this post anyway.

Very recently someone in the community outed himself (himself, because I’m aware that he uses he/him pronouns and am not a piece of shit who will misgender someone under guise of offering anonymity. Cough cough.) as a transmedicalist. A truscum, if you will, because we all know that they mean the same thing and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a bitchcoward and a bigot.

Very disappointing, yes, considering the amount of transgender people* I know exist in this community, myself included. Disappointing, frightening, and rage-inducing. Particularly because this revelation followed an encounter said truscum had with a close friend of mine. Which I admit might make me a little biased but shhh. Neither me nor my friend(s) started this. The contents of that conversation had between the truscum and my bro should have been handled privately like an adult but- hey, since we’re putting all this shit out there now, guess I get to put in my two cents! Awesome!

And because we apparently like to bring science into shit, let’s get a lil scientific up in this bitch.

*Note: transgender from here on will be used to refer to as the umbrella of non-cis gender identities just for context and ease of reference. And also because that’s what it is, fuck off.

So, guys. Let’s talk about dysphoria.

PART 1. SEMANTICS

Dysphoria. Most of you have heard of it, particularly those among us (both within and outside of the fantroll community) who happen to be transgender.

But what does it actually mean? Let’s look a little closer. Dysphoria, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

dysphoria (noun)

dys·pho·ria | \ dis-ˈfȯr-ē-ə \

Definition of dysphoria

: a state of feeling very unhappy, uneasy, or dissatisfied

— see GENDER DYSPHORIA

But this is just semantics. Let’s look at it, and gender oriented dysphoria in particular from a mental health perspective-

“Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might accompany a difference between gender identity, sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics. This type of distress doesn't affect everyone who is transgender.

Gender dysphoria is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association to diagnose mental conditions. Gender dysphoria is a diagnosis that is given to individuals who are experiencing discomfort or distress due to the difference between gender identity, sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics.”

This is from the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center based in Rochester, Minnesota, lauded as the best hospital in the nation for 2018-2019 by the U.S News and World Report. Do with that information what you will, but most would consider the Mayo Clinic (while not a good replacement for proper doctor’s visits and medical treatment) a pretty credible health resource.

But we’ll come back to this.

For now, let’s look at another definition. That of the word ‘opinion.’

PART 2: FACTS VS. OPINIONS VS. BELIEFS VS. PREJUDICE

opinion (noun)

opin·ion | \ ə-ˈpin-yən \

Definition of opinion

1a : a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter

We asked them for their opinions about the new stadium.

b : APPROVAL, ESTEEM

I have no great opinion of his work.

2a : belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge

a person of rigid opinions

Opinions are inherently biased. It may be influenced by facts, but opinions in and of themselves are not fact. To borrow and paraphrase from Fowler, H. Ramsey. The Little, Brown Handbook. Boston: Little, Brown, 1986.:

When forming personal convictions, we often interpret factual evidence through the filter of our values, feelings, tastes, and past experiences. Hence, most statements we make in speaking and writing are assertions of fact, opinion, belief, or prejudice. The usefulness and acceptability of an assertion can be improved or diminished by the nature of the assertion, depending on which of the following categories it falls into:

A fact is verifiable. [Determinable by] ...researching the evidence. This may involve numbers, dates, testimony, etc. (Ex.: "World War II ended in 1945.") The truth of the fact is beyond argument if one can assume that measuring devices or records or memories are correct. Facts provide crucial support for the assertion of an argument. However, facts by themselves are worthless unless we put them in context, draw conclusions, and, thus, give them meaning.

An opinion is a judgment based on facts, an honest attempt to draw a reasonable conclusion from factual evidence. [Opinions are] potentially changeable--depending on how the evidence is interpreted. By themselves, opinions have little power to convince. You must always let your reader know what your evidence is and how it led you to arrive at your opinion.

Unlike an opinion, a belief is a conviction based on cultural or personal faith, morality, or values. Statements such as "Capital punishment is legalized murder" are often called "opinions" because they express viewpoints, but they are not based on facts or other evidence. They cannot be disproved or even contested in a rational or logical manner. Since beliefs are inarguable, they cannot serve as the thesis of a formal argument. (Emotional appeals can, of course, be useful if you happen to know that your audience shares those beliefs.)

Y’all get what I’m getting at, right?

Oh, but one more thing I’d like to add- And I think this one is important.

“Another kind of assertion that has no place in serious argumentation is prejudice, a half-baked opinion based on insufficient or unexamined evidence. (Ex.: "Women are bad drivers.") Unlike a belief, a prejudice is testable: it can be contested and disproved on the basis of facts. We often form prejudices or accept them from others--family, friends, the media, etc.--without questioning their meaning or testing their truth. At best, prejudices are careless oversimplifications. At worst, they reflect a narrow-minded view of the world. Most of all, they are not likely to win the confidence or agreement of your readers.”

We’ve all encountered our fair share of these sorts of prejudices, disguised as “opinions.” Because isn’t that a much sweeter word for what it is? It’s not bigotry to delegitimize the experiences of other transgender people, it’s just an opinion. Like which is the best ice cream flavour, or something equally harmless.

But when your opinion involves the dehumanization, invalidation, exclusion and harm of other people… Well, that’s not so harmless, is it?

Racism is prejudice influenced by opinions and beliefs. Transphobia is prejudice influenced by opinions and beliefs. They are not fact, they are not based in rational thinking, and in many cases they cannot be argued because these prejudices are willingly cultivated and held.

‘But, Eli!’ I know at least one truscum who may or may not be reading this might cry, ‘It’s a scientifically proven fact that transgender people need to have dysphoria to be trans!’

To which I say fuck you, this is why that isn’t true.

Let’s go back to the definition of gender dysphoria, shall we?

MIGHT accompany a difference between those things, and DOESN’T affect everyone who is transgender. Interesting take coming from a scientific source, right? It’s almost like transmedicalist/truscum thinking is based off prejudice, rather than opinion; much less fact.

Especially considering dysphoria wasn’t even a word we (we meaning transgender people) chose for ourselves in the first place. It was picked by the American Psychiatric Association’s board of trustees to replace the term “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID)

Disorder. A sickness. Because Western medicine, practiced primarily by cisgender people (be they medical experts or not) has never been kind to transgender people. The word doesn’t mean what transmedicalists or truscum think it does. It doesn’t make you more valid than our fellow trans siblings just because the perceptions held by you or others of what your body and gender are worth make you miserable.

Wanna read up a little more on this? Check out these links:

THIS IS WHAT I WISH PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS ‘TRUSCUM’ WOULD TRY TO UNDERSTAND.

Not All Transgender People Have Dysphoria – And Here Are 6 Reasons Why That Matters

Transgender People, Gender Identity and Gender Expression

PART 3: THE COMMUNITY (™)

If you’re dysphoric, my heart goes out to you. I’m dysphoric too. Dysphoric enough to transition despite the medical costs- because I was tired of feeling trapped in other people’s perceptions of me. But you know what? I love that there are transgender people who don’t feel defined by this persistent sensation of wrongness.

You shouldn’t be defined by that. Even dysphoric trans people know (or should, for the sake of their health) that your unhappiness isn’t the only thing that makes you transgender. In fact, in the least unhealthy cases, it’s only the smallest fraction of the gender experience. Being transgender and exploring your gender identity consist of a broad spectrum of emotions. The fact that some of us (US. WE are a community, and have to treat each other as such) get to snip that little fraction out of the spectrum is beautiful.

We’re made stronger by how different we all are, not weaker.

PART 4: IN CLOSING

Whether you’re dysphoric or not, whether you identify with a gender binary or not, you are worthy of celebration and validation and love. All of us have it rough- frankly speaking, cisgender people as a whole barely tolerate us even when our identities do follow the narrative most commonly accept us. It’s not our place to judge, or shun, or invalidate one another.

And as both a personal goodbye and a TL;DR to truscum who like to treat gender identity like a competition, like something you get to gatekeep and police, fuck you. Our identities are ours to decide, our experiences to forge, and if that happens to not include transitioning or dysphoria, no matter what your reasons are that doesn’t make you less valid.

Fuck you, for painting your bigotry as an opinion. Fuck you for hurting the feelings of other transgender people. And fuck you for making posts trying to paint yourself as anything other than an asshole so full of internalized transphobia and misery that you can’t look past it to respect other people and act like that’s only your opinion UWU

Anyway, trans rights.

#ooc #jesus this is so long #nobody's gonna read this #But I'm PISSED #trans rights #I hate terfs #And transmeds/truscums #All those motherfuckers #fuck that

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years

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Episode 101: Earthlings

“Earth is a prison.”

Beta was a difficult episode to write about on its own, because it’s the first half of a story without the resolution. Earthlings makes up for it by being the most definitive resolution in the series until Change Your Mind.

It might seem odd to choose such a negative header quote for such a positive episode, but Jasper’s baggage is responsible for the culmination of four, count ‘em, four Act II (Seasons 2-3) character arcs. And her response to Peridot’s earnest defense of the planet begins a final speech that sets the tone for Act III (Seasons 4-5). Love her or hate her, Jasper is the most important character in this story, and even though things go great for our three heroes, her story is a tragedy.

I’m not here to say that Jasper is just misunderstood, because she remains monstrous at the start of Earthlings, taunting her Corrupted prisoners and going further than ever to extol her hatred of weaker Gems. But at last, her bullying attitude is given an ethos: it’s been clear from the start that she’s a classic believer in Might Makes Right and a loyal Homeworlder, but watching her explain the values behind these virtues is both disturbing and illuminating. Bismuth, the most hardcore Crystal Gem soldier we’ve seen, radically defends the ability for Gems to choose their own paths. So it holds that Jasper, the most hardcore Homeworld soldier we’ve seen, believes the exact opposite with equal fervor.

Jasper is a bigot, and like all bigots she believes her views are backed by “facts” about the worth of other lives relative to her own. Unlike humans, Gems are made for specific purposes, so there’s slightly more merit to her beliefs than those of real world bigots. But like humans, Gems are capable of free will, and by imposing the oppressive power structure of Homeworld, Jasper becomes the ideal nemesis for characters whose identity crises are the result of this oppression. Meaning all of the Crystal Gems, really, but specifically Amethyst and Peridot given Jasper’s focus on physicality.

Still, for all the work done to set Jasper and Amethyst up as rivals, we should take a step back and remember that Amethyst cares way more about Jasper than vice versa. The lopsided fight means everything to our scrappy Crystal Gem, and Jasper indulges and belittles her from time to time, but it’s clear that she has another Gem on her mind, and it isn’t Peridot.

It’s a fascinating choice (and the right one, because otherwise the episode’s focus is right out the window) to have Lapis Lazuli sit this fight out, considering she’s the reason any of this is happening. Jasper’s arc has almost nothing to do with Amethyst: it’s about an emotionally stunted savant who has no idea how to handle a bad breakup, and doubles down on the one thing she does well instead of seeking alternative solutions. Unfortunately for all involved, Jasper’s single area of expertise is violence.

Our first impression of Jasper is a brutal Gem who looks down on fusion, but decides to fuse the second the going gets tough. She’s prideful, but cares more about winning than her pride, so she takes a pragmatic approach to besting the Crystal Gems after losing a fight to a fusion. However, Malachite only brings Jasper more misery, and not just because her abuse of Lapis is soon met in kind: that taste of power is stripped from her, then her ex rejects her, and now she’s wandering her home planet, a planet she despises, alone. She could have ruled the oceans forever, but instead she’s stuck in the desert where she was born.

The tragedy of Jasper is that she tried to branch out and explore something that we know is good, but she did it for the wrong reasons, it didn’t work, and it kills the small part of her that was willing to look beyond her myopic worldview. Here she becomes desperate enough to fuse with a monster, and even the monster rejects her, and the only thing she has left is her convictions. And at her lowest point, in the face of her own demise, she refuses to betray them again. She said from the beginning that she respected Rose’s tactics, but now we know she’ll never accept her help, and is too stubborn to fathom that a Gem could be so capable of transformation that Steven is a different person. So Jasper loses her mind, and it never would have happened if she’d been able to change it instead.

It’s fitting, then, that the three Gems she faces are the ones who have transformed the most over the course of the series: Steven and Peridot through character growth, and Amethyst as the character who has literally transformed more than anyone else.

The end of Jasper’s arc is tragic, but the end of Amethyst’s is triumphant. The mismatched battle between Amethyst and Jasper is tough to watch, but important: so many kid’s shows have heroes who beat impossible odds through sheer willpower, and while it’s a great message to try your best, it doesn’t account for the fights we can’t win. If the media you consume keeps telling you that you can do anything if you try hard enough, some part of you is gonna blame yourself for not doing the impossible when you meet impossible challenges in real life. Amethyst’s arc was never about beating Jasper alone: it’s about accepting that her inability to beat Jasper alone doesn’t make her any less wonderful. It’s okay to be vulnerable and rely on your friends and family when the going gets tough, and that’s exactly what saves the day.

It’s a hell of a thing for the culmination of a character arc to be a new fusion, but what better way to show that Amethyst has accepted teamwork again? Smoky Quartz is the perfect design of a fusion made from two friends who are finally okay with their flaws: their brown mop of hair clashes with their skin color, and they have that gross extra forearm instead of the symmetrical bonus limbs we’re used to, but they’re just so pumped to be here. Their theme is a jubilant blend of Steven’s chiptunes and Amethyst’s drumkit, and Natasha Lyonne, herself no stranger to turmoil, imbues just a hint of her typically snarky delivery (see: Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll) to make Smoky a goofball with an edge. They aren’t bubbly because they’re naive or stupid, they’re bubbly because they’re on the other side of a tumultuous personal struggle.

We once again get a clever-as-hell fusion of our heroes’ weapons, combining Amethyst’s whip and Steven’s shield to make a yoyo. And while they do best Jasper in a fight, the more important thing is that they’re having fun instead of obsessing over a jerk. They crack puns, they cheer themselves on, and they even let dramatic developments like Jasper’s fusion with a Corrupted Gem slide right off. Yes, Amethyst is technically winning a fight in an arc about how it’s okay that she’s not gonna win the fight, but she does it with Steven, and even though we see her bubble a Gem’s gem for the first time, she doesn’t earn the final blow.

Peridot may have hit a major milestone in her character development upon joining the Crystal Gems, but if we’re talking about the story of her becoming an earthling, this is the actual culmination. As with her encounter with Yellow Diamond, she shines when contrasted with a former superior, standing up for herself and her adopted home when it matters most. She’s still a ham, spending most of the episode struggling to show off her metal powers, but her signature hubris is now tempered with a healthier form of self-confidence: she doesn’t hesitate to defend her dignity or lifestyle, and beautifully ends an arc that began by thanking Steven all the way back in When It Rains with a simple “You’re welcome!”

So Jasper’s arc, Amethyst’s arc, and Peridot’s arc all come to a close at the same time. Who are we missing...

Oh right.

This may not be the finale, but it’s the climax of Steven’s Act II character arc, meaning it’s the end of an era for the series that shares his name. There are many ways to read our lead protagonist’s character development for the original show’s three acts, but I see it as a sort of hierarchy of needs: from the beginning, he needs to become a Crystal Gem, live up to his mother’s legacy, and become a hero in his own right, and at the end of every act he checks off one of these goals. He correctly declares himself a true Crystal Gem at the end of Act I, and manages to find himself after his connection with Rose is forever changed in Act III, but Act II is a less obvious story about where he’s going in life, because his life is relatively stable throughout the second and third seasons. It’s everyone else whose lives are in flux: the other Crystal Gems have clear stages of growth and the Week of Sardonyx to deal with, Peridot and Lapis switch sides, Connie becomes a sword fighter, even Greg gains comical wealth, but Steven seems to stick to the status quo.

I mentioned it in Steven vs. Amethyst, but it bears repeating that this act begins with Steven baring his heart and saying he’s not sure whether or not he’s his mom, and ends with him baring his heart and saying definitively that he’s not Rose Quartz, a sentiment he repeats here. The first two acts are about Steven trying to fill the void his mother left behind, but this goal shifts as he learns additional information. He’s uncertain in Act I because he knows very little about her, so he’s just trying to be a Crystal Gem. He then learns she was an alien invader who chose to protect Earth instead, so he spends Act II trying to live up to this expectation. The two stories may seem similar, especially compared to how different things are upon hearing that Rose shattered Pink Diamond, but I think the distinction is most easily found in the midpoint of each act.

Midway through Act I, Steven gains his mother’s healing abilities, learns that the Gems are aliens with opposing sides, and immediately loses his mother’s healing abilities. He’s in over his head, sporadic with the skills he inherited from Rose and clueless about her origins. Midway through Act II, Steven recruits a new ally, saves the planet from a Homeworld weapon, and immediately recruits another ally. He knows now that Rose was a defender of Earth and a friend to all outcast Gems, and is choosing to continue these traditions.

Act II is the part of the story where Steven helplessly watches the Crystal Gems struggle through a serious personal rift, then learns to help each of them overcome their inner demons. He mediates, he inspires, and he grows his “army” by being a good friend to Connie, Peridot, and Lapis. Unlike Act I, he’s competently and intentionally following the footsteps of the Rose we’ve heard about for the entire series. But still, he questions his worthiness.

Steven’s second arc ends with him helping Amethyst, but failing to help Jasper, and it’s just the sort of bittersweet victory that fits a story about trying to personify an idealistic version of a flawed figure. He gets a lot of things right, and looking up to the concept of a perfect Rose is responsible for a lot of good in his life, but it also leads to self-doubt when he can’t possibly live up to this illusion of a standard. And when he tries to keep fulfilling that legacy by using her healing powers to help Jasper, Rose’s other legacy is what gets in his way. Jasper gets a tragedy, Amethyst and Peridot get triumphs, but Steven gets something in the middle: he wins the day, and he becomes stronger in the real way over the course of two seasons, but he fails to become just like Rose because not even Rose was just like the Rose he thought he knew.

For all its resolutions, Earthlings is still an episode that sets the table for a finale that opens a floodgate instead of closing the door. We see the crest of the Diamond Authority more clearly than ever as Jasper exposits about the intended purpose of Gems, and given the slow trickle of lore we’ve gotten so far, this could’ve been it. But then, after a bevy of hints throughout the series that something is up with the diamond on the bottom of the crest, we finally hear Pink Diamond’s name.

That story is about to get a lot more complicated, and I appreciate that we aren’t teased about what Rose did to her Diamond for long. But thanks to Kimberly Brooks (who kills it in an episode that gives her plenty to do), this inherently compelling name drop is given additional weight by the anguish in Jasper’s voice. We’ve seen her down before, and she sounds more defeated than ever when bemoaning her bad luck with fusion partners, but Jasper’s last words are a chilling blend of her signature rage with despair. This is someone bent on Gems fulfilling their intended purpose, and thousands of years later, she’s still devastated that she couldn’t fulfill her own. She wasn’t just made to fight, she was made to win a single war, and she lost.

The table is also set by another cliffhanger, because this may be the end for four huge stories all at once, but it’s not the end of Act II. Strap in, folks, it’s time for Steven’s third arc to begin.

Future Vision!

I mean, it’s a short turnaround, but Eyeball had better get used to being bubbled alive.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Keeping It Together just got back into the top list, and back down it goes. Sorry! But Earthlings is an incredible all-around episode. Terrific character work that coincides with terrific big picture storytelling, lore galore, great music, great action, a new fusion, and a tentative sense that everything’s gonna be alright that leaves us nice and warm until the other shoe drops. The scary thing is that this would be even higher if it and Beta were aired as a single entity.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

(No promo art for this second half of an episode, so instead we’ll go with HeavenSevenEleven’s gorgeous depiction of Jasper. Not used to that much color up there!)

#earthlings #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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svntlago-blog · 5 years

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what’s up y’all, i’m emily ! i’m 21, use she/her pronouns, and i hail from the est timezone ! i’m incredibly pumped to be here, but enough about me — time to introduce this absolute unit of a dumbass, charlie. i was gonna do a real bio, but being lazy is a lifestyle so i’m just gonna attempt to do a summary for y’all instead. buckle up pals !

( sean teale / cismale / he/him ) . introducing charlie santiago, the host for the connard . they’ll be twenty seven years old , and arrived at hartly one month ago . you’ll always see brass knuckles around wherever he is .

trigger warnings for maternal death, implied child abuse, incarceration, and mentions of alcoholism and drugs.

hello and welcome to a happy childhood, soon to be ruined !

his dad ran out on his mom when she was still pregnant with him, but the two of them were peas in a pod when he was born and he was such a mama’s boy; some of his most cherished memories were when they would cook meals together, experimenting and all that bc once upon a time she wanted to be a chef and basically ? it was precious.

she died tho sry

eleven year old charlie was shipped off to his mom’s brother, a hard-drinking ex-cop named tony with nothing better to do than take out his frustrations on a kid he never wanted in the first place.

one thing his uncle did love, though, was boxing. charlie was dragged along with him to the local gym nearly every day, watching the guys train and listening on as his uncle offered pointers and encouragement to the fighters.

eventually, charlie found himself in his own pair of boxing gloves, participating in scaled-down training of his own, and he loved it.

after high school, he threw himself into training even harder, knowing that his ultimate goal was to pursue boxing professionally.

making it was the most incredible feeling, and charlie was on top of the world — he was undefeated, raking in cash, and rising as an up-and-coming name in the boxing world.

at least, he was, until a substantial amount of cocaine was found in his bag one night.

it didn’t matter how much he protested that it wasn’t his — charlie was charged, tried, and wrongfully convicted of possession of a controlled substance. he spent over a year locked in a jail cell until he was released, but he spent the whole time keeping himself in shape, provoking fights if only for the practice, and letting his rage simmer until he could get the hell out of dodge.

three days after he was released from prison, the outbreak started. talk about shit timing am i right lmao

he waded through zombieland alone, struggling with the abrupt transition from jail to outside to apocalypse but managing to keep himself alive.

two weeks after the outbreak, charlie found an abandoned german shepherd on the side of the road. he took in the stray, naming her lola and nursing her back to health. she now follows him everywhere, and the two are fiercely protective of each other.

he mainly kept to himself, avoiding big settlements at first until everything had a chance to settle ( at least a bit ). he stumbled upon hartly about a month ago, and decided it was time to finally be around someone other than lola for once.

as for personality, he’s kind of a dick ngl, in day to day interactions he’s curt and rude and usually looking for a fight. deep deep deep down, he’s actually very soft and kind, but he’s learned better over the years than to expose that soft underbelly to people.

that’s all ?? for now ?? lbh i probs missed smth but oh well

wanted connections !

surrogate sibling — he never had a sibling but like ? he should’ve. these two would probably bicker to no end, but charlie would be incredibly overprotective and really want the best for this person ( the best = not getting eaten by a zombie, ideally ). he puts on such a front for the rest of the world that i want someone that he genuinely cares for !!

ride or die / best friend — i beg

opposites — he is dumb and angry and mean so let’s rope a nice lil bean into putting up with his bullshit ! who knows if there are any nice lil beans left in the zombie apocalypse, but if there are, i’d love to subject them to charlie’s particular brand of jackass.

confidant — charlie would rather die than talk about all his mushy feelings, but even assholes need someone to trust with deep shit and good gossip !

fwb / fling — tbh, he basically only cares about his dog, but a guy’s got needs, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ fuck the apocalypse am i right ? this is open to all genders !

exes — like, pre outbreak maybe ?? charlie is still a hot mess. could’ve ended well, could’ve ended badly – we can connect the dots together.

suspicions — for whatever reason, charlie doesn’t trust this person. maybe they’re acting shady ( in his opinion ), maybe they didn’t trust him first, whatever. there’s tension, and in a world full of zombies, that can be bad for business.

enemy — charlie is fucking annoying so i imagine he’s got some of these. enemies are an especially dangerous thing to have when you’re already dealing with being attacked by zombies, so i think this would be an fun take on what happens when “humans vs. zombies” becomes “humans vs. humans”.

in conclusion plot with me xoxo my discord is emily#8589 or hit that heart and i’ll come to u !

#miseriastart #— about.#shouts into the void !!

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captainmazzic · 5 years

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So every now and again I get a message in my inbox asking about what I thought about such-and-such a thing in new canon, or if I’m intending on writing any meta or analysis on a particular subject in Star Wars. And sometimes I keep those messages sitting in my inbox for months (one has been sitting there for a little over a year), because I think, maybe I will feel comfortable doing in-depth meta again and I’ll wish I’d remembered what this message had asked. But as time goes by I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Okay. Real talk for a minute here. Bear with me as I’m long-winded and I don’t really have a concise way of communicating this. Potential political views and personal opinions on certain points in cinematic history below.

Short backstory first. I’m an older Star Wars fan. I was a tiny child when the last of the original trilogy came out, and both my parents are sci-fi nerds so I was practically raised on Star Wars. They are also tabletop RPG nerds so I was also raised on D&D and the like. So naturally when Star Wars tabletop RPGs were floating around I snapped them up and consumed them like candy. The novels were a natural extension of the RPGs, and I consumed those just as enthusiastically. The Expanded Universe was my bread and butter, and to this day I’m very nostalgic and fond of it even if most of it is quite laughably terrible.

Where am I going with this? Everything is a product of their time. The original trilogy was created when George Lucas was a young liberal-minded fresh-faced director looking to change the world and make his mark. This was the 70s, war was awful, the government was evil, hippies and protests were everywhere, and the only thing that seemed to have any hope of changing the world were small bands of spunky misfits with a mission and a message. And that mentality is one that shows, in the original Star Wars films. Lucas designed the Empire as a representation of the United States circa the Vietnam War, just dressed up in the fashion and ceremony of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. (Sources: Chris Taylor, How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, Pp. 87-88; Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film, p.70) The message of the original trilogy boiled down to “the ability of a small group of people to defeat a gigantic power simply by the force of their convictions… no matter how small you are, you can defeat the overwhelmingly big power.” (quote: Walter Murch). He really struggled to get Star Wars onto the big screen, with a lot of setbacks and rejections, and many times when he thought it would never happen. But it did, and it was wildly successful. And I think in part it was because that message really spoke to people, and it didn’t hurt that it was wrapped up in a package with cool laser swords and explosions and space battles.

But then the 80s happened. And the 90s happened. And through that, what happened to Lucas is what happens to many people as they gain success, wealth, and fame as they grow older. The system started to work for him instead of against him. Suddenly the Powers That Be weren’t trying to suppress his ideas from getting to an audience; suddenly all those organizations that seemed so hell-bent on keeping him out were now enabling him to get and stay in, to conserve and gain influence; suddenly his opinion counted for so much it almost seemed god-like, especially in this galaxy far, far away that was unflowering under his direction and all-seeing eye. I guess the system isn’t so bad after all, eh?

And thus we have the Prequels. They can be a rollicking good time, but their message is muddled. Before them the books and the RPGs seemed to try as best they could to hold on to that earlier message of underdog vs. the powers-that-be (with the RPGs succeeding more often, imho), but they couldn’t continue in the face of their Ultimate Creator coming back in to make more SW movies. With the Prequels, suddenly the Old Republic is portrayed as noble and struggling instead of corrupt and dying, with a lot of hand-waving and “something something well actually” in regards to the role of the Jedi, the nature of the Senate, etc. There’s mixed messages where sometimes we get the old Star Wars back, with energetic groups of activists and freedom fighters trying to bring down the oppressors, but there’s also a lot of storytelling awkwardness where the audience is implored to trust the authorities and rely on the judgment of those with power over you within the same breath. This trend continues throughout the Clone Wars animation, and it is there that it becomes often so cognitively dissonant one wonders how you don’t get whiplash trying to follow whatever garbled message they think they’re communicating. And I think that’s where the Star Wars franchise really began to become a monster in its own right. Big businesses are hulking entities unto themselves, functioning like capitalist plutocracies within their host nations, and the Star Wars franchise is no exception. Whatever garbled message Lucas tried to send out with the Prequels grew amplified and even more confused with the Clone Wars, spread into the video games and the books, and continued to infect Star Wars as the franchise was turned over to the quintessential mega-plutocratic-empire, The Walt Disney Company.

And here we have the Sequel movies, the New Canon, and all of the disasters that come with them.

Disney walks a fine line between well-meaning family-friendly sugar and spice, and ruthless all-consuming hypercontroller of everything from arts and entertainment to food and clothes and government lobbying. Their bottom line is the dollar and the influence on – and power over – people’s lives that the dollar brings with it. Handing them a story whose original message was about people resisting the very kind of mammoth force that Disney embodies, and hoping that they will try to stay true to said original message, is hopeless and foolish at best and utterly disastrous at worst.

With the Sequels and subsequent movies, Disney pays good overt lip service to the original trilogy with things like Rogue One and the Rebels animation, which on the surface certainly do look like the same sort of message as the original trilogy. But scratch just below that surface and Disney is all about communicating that submitting to the authority of, say, higher Rebel command and following their orders even when it goes against your gut feeling (ex. Ezra Bridger in the Rebels animation), or that rebelling against an unjust government is only valid if it is done according to a strict but nebulous set of arbitrary rules and only if it is done in the service of a different unjust government that just happens to be slightly less evil than the one you’re trying to overthrow (ex. any iteration of the Old Republic ever, but I’m especially and particularly looking at you, Sequel-era Republic/Resistance and SWTOR Jedi/Republic).

And here is where I balk about ever doing meta on Star Wars again. I hate that this is the direction Star Wars is taking. I hate that New Canon feels like propaganda to me. I hate that I can’t enjoy any of this stuff if I take it for what it presents itself to be. I hate that the only way I truly can enjoy Star Wars now is by cherry-picking all of the tiny bits of window dressing that was pretty enough or interesting enough for me to want to look at it again, and very deliberately and consciously throwing out all the rest.

The experience of Star Wars that I create for myself is escapist and isolating, because it is so very tailor-made to what I can enjoy out of it now. When I go see a new Star Wars film or play a Star Wars game, I don’t actually see whatever story the franchise is trying to actually tell. I see bits and pieces that I can put together into something I can cope with better, something I can actually enjoy.

Examples include:

In Rebels, when the official franchise’s story killed off Maul. I cannot and will not acknowledge that, or function as though it happened. And I can’t really give my opinion on how not having Maul around will affect the future story, because I very literally do not care at all about any Star Wars where he is not in it.

In The Clone Wars, there are so many instances of Anakin Skywalker having agency and making decisions independent of the Jedi Council or without having their insipid code squarely in mind, where if he had made those decisions in a more realistic setting they would have turned out quite well, but what we get on screen is ominous background music and FoReShAdOwInG.

In The Last Jedi, I cannot fathom any reason why Yoda would be given the role that he was given, and find it a complete affront to Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, who had every motivation, every reason, every right to have that role instead. So I can’t see that scene without him in it. I just… I don’t see it. It didn’t happen that way, and I find I cannot discuss it as it’s presented on-screen. I have nothing to say.

In the Sequel media, both books and movies, Supreme Leader Snoke is portrayed as a one-dimensional Saturday morning cartoon villain whose intended role in the story is blurred as the story progresses, and his death is completely nonsensical in regards to the buildup of information that we as an audience have gleaned about him. We see pieces of evidence that he could have actually cared about Kylo Ren that go nowhere in the actual story, and he ends up just being a scapegoat that gets thrown away halfway through the second sequel movie. I choose to see more in his character than what we were given in Actual Canon™, and thus see him very differently than what common discourse would allow. Because of this, if I discuss Snoke in mixed company I know that I will be called out as someone who advocates for only the limited cardboard-character that is portrayed on screen, instead of for the internalized view that I have personally built for him.

I know everyone’s personal view of a character or characters is different, because we all have different points of view. But there is often some sort of vague common ground in their portrayal that the author or storyteller was originally going for, that most people usually pick up on and base their opinions around. But what if some of the key characteristics that make up a character are just… things you choose not to see or are incapable of seeing, and your own personal view of that character becomes almost entirely different from the “original”? Probably the most benign example I can think of is Hera Syndulla. If I take what I see of her in canon, she infuriates me with how she treats her crew. But if I just decide that such-and-such a conversation never happened, or her decisions on such-and-such a mission were different than the on-screen one, she essentially becomes an alternate-universe version of herself. Only that this version is one that I can tolerate, and it is the only version I see anymore.

How does one communicate that my entire experience of Star Wars is as an AU?

And on and on it goes. Discussing meta and Actual Canon Events™ as portrayed on screen and on printed page has become nothing but a migraine headache to me. I cannot engage in discourse, because I am very much not seeing what everyone else is seeing and talking about, nor do I care to. I just… I can’t keep talking about the same stupid things over and over again. I can’t keep screaming into the void about the unsustainability of the Sith or the Jedi, about the complete inequality and corruption that would have to be absolutely omnipresent in the Republic for it to even be remotely realistic even by cartoon standards, about the inevitability of the Republic turning into an Empire, about the weird dissonance given to the concept of the Force that would end up making both the Jedi and the Sith’s case baseless and weak, etc. etc. ETC. It’s exhausting, it’s stressful, and for something that I’m here to try to enjoy, it’s not even remotely enjoyable.

The very core of the matter is that I love the Star Wars universe. I love the worlds, I love the aliens, I love the ships and the droids and the technology and the concept of the Force. I love the characters. I love all of these things, and sometimes I even love the plots and stories (thank you Chuck Wendig and Timothy Zahn). But I just can’t enjoy digging into the meta of it anymore.

So if you like what I post of my own personal Star Wars-brand AU, by all means dig right in. But I don’t think I can do anymore general meta or discourse. I’m sticking with fanart and fanfic.

#sarc speaks #long post #text post #sarc talks about star wars #star wars meta #kind of #this thing is extremely unpolished and I'm not communicating what I want very clearly #but this is the best i can do

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wazafam · 3 years

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The story of Attack on Titan came to a conclusion in April 2021 — although it left several themes unexplored, its brilliantly fleshed-out characters and their intimate relationships with themselves and each other was worth the wait. Most of the characters in the narrative are generally good, at least in terms of their apocalyptic universe, but they also exhibit rather human tendencies like greed, rage, and envy.

RELATED: Attack On Titan: 10 Fun Facts About Creator Hajime Isayama

Fans have immensely enjoyed the personal journeys taken by their beloved characters, regardless of whether they are killed off or survive past the ending. It may not be very easy to relate to people who have committed the worst atrocities against humanity, but the fact that all of them are powered by a unique set of motivations is both encouraging and admirable (to a point).

10 Captain Levi — Fiery And Soft-Hearted

Captain Levi's temper, however fearsome, poses no real threat to his squad (or anyone else, for that matter). He reserves almost all of his rage for the Titans beyond the Walls, earning his name as the greatest soldier in Paradis.

Levi's most ardent fans are likely to be fiery, quick to action, and, perhaps, possess a darkly bizarre sense of humor. That being said, the Captain of the Scout Regiment has shown himself to be quite a gentle soul on more than one occasion — even if he prefers to be seen as hard as nails.

9 Reiner Braun — Loyal And Indefatigable

The narrative makes it clear that Reiner's decision to become an Armored Titan was hardly his own, but depended on how much it would help the status of his Eldian family living in Marley.

His loyalty, while biased, is powerful enough to keep him running all the way to the end of the manga, never losing steam once. Those who see themselves in Reiner are certain to be devoted to their respective causes, despite how many terrible hands life may cast at them.

8 Hange Zoë — Irreverent And Generous

Hange's perception as a genius scientist isn't without merit: they're pretty much the only person in Paradis capable of understanding what makes Titans tick and exhibits no fear in front of their test subjects.

RELATED: Attack On Titan: 10 Major Plot Holes That Fans Ignore

Their academic mind isn't their only notable feature, though; they rarely behave as seriously as is expected from someone in their position. Hange fans aren't the kind who would allow their thoughts and ideas to be colored by others' opinions, not to mention how kind and generous they would be towards those in need.

7 Erwin Smith — Smart And Strong-Willed

Erwin's strategizing is one of the major reasons that the heroes of Paradis get anywhere at the end. It is all the more impressive that his plans carry the plot forward even though he doesn't survive until the conclusion.

Erwin's conviction is probably his most respectable quality, one that is reflected in viewers who consider him to be their favorite character. While he doesn't exactly reveal the depth of his emotions for the longest time, Erwin's march on the Beast Titan will be remembered throughout history.

6 Historia Reiss — Strong And Tender

It's not very easy to balance the opposing traits of strength and tenderness in one person, but Historia makes it look like child's play. As Krista, she prefers to keep to herself and avoid most interactions (except with Ymir), but the revelation of her true identity doesn't just shift the tides of the story.

It transforms her from a timid girl to the most powerful person on the island, Queen Historia. Her fans are likely to be people who have undergone a similar metamorphosis.

5 Zeke Jaeger — Enthusiastic And Hopeful

Eren's older half-brother, Zeke Jaeger, controls the Beast Titan, understanding exactly how to manifest its various powers to a magnificent degree.

RELATED: Attack On Titan: 10 Strangest Romances In The Franchise

He might have betrayed his parents as a child, but Zeke matures into a somewhat sensible man whose unfortunate childhood is the cause behind his bombastic (and horrifying) idea: Eldian Euthanization. Those who identify with Zeke are, although burdened by their pasts, eager and enthusiastic about their futures.

4 Gabi Braun — Focused And Undaunted

Gabi Braun is introduced as a brash youngster with an iron gut and an ingrained sense of fatalism (making her, ironically, almost identical to Eren.) She knows exactly what she wants, but she sometimes fails with respect to completing her self-assigned missions.

Gabi has as many haters as she has admirers, but this is just evidence of a truly complex character who insists on living life her way. If her fans are anything like her, they tend to face their challenges head-on, without waiting for others to save them first.

3 Armin Arlert — Compassionate And Intelligent

Armin naturally expresses his wonder at the beauty of the world around him, which sadly leaves him open to bullying in a world whose focus on survival eclipses freedom of expression. Like Eren and Mikasa, he discovers that the secret to continue fighting is nothing more than getting up after falling down, no matter how many times it happens.

Armin is the best choice to be both the Colossus Titan and the 15th Commander of the Scout Regiment, simply because he refuses to choose between the smart choice and the empathetic one — his fans can easily relate.

2 Mikasa Ackermann — Steadfast And Protective

Mikasa is an immovable rock when it comes to Eren, and nearly every life decision she makes revolves around the peace of mind and safety of her childhood best friend. In fact, there is little that can ruffle her enough to alter her expression, let alone cause her distress.

RELATED: 10 Best Dark Anime Like Attack On Titan

Mikasa's fans are probably going to be supremely dedicated in one or more aspects of their lives, as well as highly protective of people that are close to them.

1 Eren Jaeger — Fiercely Determined

The origin of Eren's hatred for the Titans can be traced back to a single point — when the Smiling Titan (who is apparently his father's ex-wife, Dina Fritz) kills and eats his mother in front of him.

Over time and training, Eren's rage bursts have been greatly minimized, slowly fermenting into an unbreakable determination. His willpower and tenacity, likely expressed by Eren's fans, ultimately leads to The Rumbling, a rather gruesome fate for the entire world.

NEXT: Attack On Titan Vs. Game Of Thrones: Which Show Is Better?

Attack On Titan: What Your Favorite Character Says About You from https://ift.tt/2QZVzKi

#Blogger

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laresearchette · 3 years

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Wednesday, December 30, 2020 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: MY 600-LB LIFE (TLC) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT HEROES ON THE FRONT LINE (CW Feed) VIKINGS (Premiering on January 01 on History Canada at 9:00pm) TRUE CONVICTION (TBD - Investigation Discovery) THE UFO PHENOMENON (TBD)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME/CRAVE/NETFLIX CANADA/CBC GEM:

AMAZON PRIME PALU PADAMA PALHUKO KUTTE KA BACCHA YEARLY DEPARTED

CRAVE TV DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY

NETFLIX CANADA BEST LEFTOVERS EVER! EQUINOX TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON TRILOGY: CHAPTER 2: EARTHRISE WENTWORTH (Season 8)

IIHF WORLD JUNIORS (TSN/TSN4/TSN5) 2:00pm: Finland vs. Slovakia (TSN/TSN4) 6:00pm: Switzerland vs. Germany (TSN/TSN4) 9:30pm: Russia vs. Sweden

NBA BASKETBALL (SN) 7:30pm: Bucks vs. Miami (TSN5) 7:30pm: Hawks vs. Nets (SN) 8:30pm: Lakers vs. Spurs (TSN) 10:00pm; Trail Blazers vs. Clippers

FOLLOW ME TO DAISY HILLS (Global) 8:00pm: Sparks fly between a young woman and her ex-boyfriend when they work together to save her family's general store.

LOST PYRAMIDS OF THE AZTECS (Discovery Canada) 8:00pm: The long-lost secrets of the Aztec Empire are buried beneath Mexico City, and a cutting-edge archaeological investigation is bringing them to light; experts make new discoveries that reveal the achievements of this once-great civilization.

YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE (Investigation Discovery) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Debbie Puglisi is enjoying life with her husband in their new dream home, but when an unexpected visitor drops by the neighborhood, Debbie's whole world becomes a nightmare.

#cdntv #cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #iihf world juniors #nba basketball

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ruinedbygaysstylinson · 6 years

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hi there! i'm still somewhat new to this fandom but i'm familiar with bg and everything so i'm just wondering why people believe that liam is also stunting with cheryl? is he believed to be gay as well and this relationship with her and his baby is just another cover up? like i understand why people believe louis isn't really a dad but i don't see as much regarding liam? can you try and explain this??

Hi Nonnie!

First of all, welcome to the fandom. It’s a mess, but it’s our mess lol

I’m gonna be honest, when I first got this ask I had no clue where to start explaining just how fake Chiam is, and I wish I had a textbook answer for you. The best way I can put it is that literally everything about it makes no sense logically. None of it. Prepare for a lot of rambling.

Not sure how into the fandom you are, but if you’ve heard of RBB/SBB, they foreshadowed Chiam on Liam’s bday in 2015 at a show, using toothpaste labeled “Colegate” which is a nod to her first marriage, and the original babygate which had been labeled a couple months earlier.

As far as timelines go, Sophiam ended late October 2015. Charcole actually got married for the second time in mid 2014, and while her and her husband seperated in late 2015, they both wore their wedding rings into 2016, despite the fact that later it was hinted that Chiam began at the XF final in 2015. Chiam was announced in the exact same way every other stunt is: via an exclusive to Dick Wattpad from the Sun. Baby rumors started a couple months later, nearly 2 full months before the date Charcole supposedly conceived. During this time, Chiam made a few public appearances, all staged red carpets or pap walks, and they were never spotted together by fans outside of these. Charcole had a baby bump months before she was pregnant, and baited the media by putting her hand over her stomach in multiple events. After she became “pregnant”, Liam basically moved to LA and lived there for her entire pregnancy. He began partying, worked on his album, and acted like a single guy for the duration with no care in the world for Charcole. What a normal thing for a dad-to-be to do. They never officially announced the pregnancy, she just turned up obviously pregnant in December 2016, and then posed for Loreal with a massive bump on a campaign released in February. Her bump changed in sizes and height throughout the pregnancy, but she went into hiding so it was difficult to actual tell what was going on, which was 100% the point. The birth was announced via a single photo of Liam with a baby, despite the fact that usually moms pose with their baby. To this day, we’ve never seen the baby’s face, and Charcole has yet to show off her pride and joy. Privacy is one thing, but this is another thing entirely. If it wasn’t for Liam babbling on, you’d have no clue she had a kid.

So what are my issues with Chiam? First of all, her association with Satan Cowbell. They are besties. Judges together on XF, and recently I found out that she’s also an executive producer. Chiam was used to promote XF in late October with probably the cringiest moment they’ve had yet. If you hate Satan because of what he did to Louis/Harry, you better be concerned that Liam “willingly” shacked up with one of his friends.

Secondly, timing. Liam was planning a solo career. It’s been his dream for over 10 years. Why on earth would he decide to settle down in the middle of trying to launch his solo career, just months after ended a long term relationship? Basically this stunt forced him to “choose” between his career and his kid, which is NOT something that a loving partner would put you through. Charcole was also married until late 2016. If she was so desperate for a baby, wouldn’t it make more sense to have it with your husband rather than a guy 10 years her junior in a completely different stage of life? She’s old but she still has time. Literally everything about this relationship was set up to fail. Also, what exactly do they have in common? They moved so quickly that Liam never had to talk about her/why they are even dating. To me, the only things they have in common are that they were both in a band (with very different experiences..) and they have a kid together. Nice.

Thirdly, Charcole’s presence in his promo. In 2014 she released an album that flopped pretty badly because she really can’t sing at all her. Her fame came from her very public relationship drama and her association with XF when it was at the height of it’s fame. Her career is pretty much over and she’s most likely desperate for anything to reverse this progression. What better way to find new fans than to try and tap into one of the largest fandoms out there? Of course, she didn’t take into account the fact that we aren’t 13 year old girls with no brains, and therefore aren’t going to blindly stan her like people did with Sofa and Elk in the past. She’s ridiculously problematic as a person (she punched a woman in the face for doing her job and got convicted for assault, admitted to attacking her ex husband, dodged taxes via a shady company that closed in 2014 right when she turned up suddenly married to JB. The list goes on and on), and from what I’ve seen her personality stinks, so why would we support her? For the most part, people either dislike her or just don’t care at all. Bummer. Liam’s promo was the only way for her to get positive news out there about herself without her doing all the talking. Unfortunately for her, Liam went overboard and now people hate her just as much, if not more, than they did before this stunt. Just to be clear: normal celebs don’t launch their careers by constantly telling stories about their kid, s/o and hyping up their accomplishments from 8 years ago.

Fourthly, body language. This is a big one. Liam’s eyes in the very first selfie of them scared me to death because he looked so upset and resigned. Literally screaming for help with his facial expression. All along, the lack of intimacy between Chiam is pretty hard to dispute. They are not comfortable together at all, and I know some media sites called them out for faking affection on red carpets when they are distant in private in May 2016. Liam was a lot better at faking it last year as well, because he’s nothing if not professional. At XF this year, it was literally painful to watch them interact, and I made a post about that when it happened. Basically, as a couple they don’t have the familiarity that they should have considering all they’ve squeezed into less than two years. Liam also doesn’t talk about her fondly at all. If you pay attention, a lot of his comments just about her are negative: she scolds him, nags him, rolls her eyes at him, dresses him (in hideous pants, someone burn those), makes all the decisions about the baby, critcizes his music, etc, but at least she was famous back when he was 15 eh? (Them meeting at 14/24 when she was married for years is just another nasty aspect. She was in a mentor role and I’m disgusted she was okay with this stunt. It’s so wrong on so many levels.) Overall she sounds pretty awful to me, and that’s just based off of the picture Liam is painting.

And finally, the saga of Conchobear. The difference between actual celebrities having babies (think Beyoncé), vs Charcole is hilarious. No one ever saw her stomach when pregnant, she hid for months before and after the birth, and low and behold she popped back up with a new face! That’s the second 1D mom to get extensive plastic surgery when she should be caring for an infant. I seriously doubt she actually was pregnant, but that’s not something I’ll go into here. Liam was out working on his career a month after the announcement, and has been travelling pretty consistently since. He’s missed multiple important holidays; for example, on Father’s Day he flew from the US to Italy for a fashion show, and then back to the US. On Conchobear’s 6 month bday, Liam went out and did interviews. Do you really think that if Liam was an actual dad, he wouldn’t make every effort and move mountains to spend as much time as possible with his firstborn son? It just doesn’t make sense with what we know about Liam’s personality. He’s responsible, and he wouldn’t put himself in this situation. What he says, what we are fed, what he does, and what we know about him as a person don’t line up at all. Liam sounds like an amazing involved dad with his tales, but he lacks a basis in basic human development; his stories are cute and so unrealistic. Thus, Liam hasn’t spent any significant time with a baby. The entire stunt has been setting up single mom!Charcole, but Liam’s team has made sure to prevent her from calling him a deadbeat via the stories. It’s hard to say he was never around when he’s gushing about the kid in every interview. He’s also gotten worse at lying recently, and I get the feeling he’s tired.

So yeah, basically every aspect of this relationship is messed up in one way or another, and I’m expecting to see Chiam end sooner rather than later. If they are both out working on material, they won’t be able to hold it together imo. There’s definitely stuff I’ve missed and if any of my mutuals/followers want to add to this feel free. This is just stuff I thought of off the top of my head.

For specific examples of some of what I’ve mentioned you can check out the Twitter thread I linked below. It has some great resources and that account in general is amazing at breaking down stunt events. I’m also gonna reblog a post comparing Chiam to Zigi (another dead fauxmance) and Hiddleswift that is pretty interesting for you to look over.

https://twitter.com/EndBabygates/status/856439540831195137

Enjoy your stay in the fandom Nonnie. If you have any specific questions or need recommendations for who to follow, shoot me a message!

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spiritcc · 7 years

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The Hound of the Baskervilles: director’s script

I’ll try to compress both episodes into one post and that will be big.

Alrighty so this is the wildest script out of the entire bunch, in my opinion, mostly because of one thing in the end. Many changes from the final cut, many additions, closer to the book than it turned out to be in the end. A lot of stuff.

So we’re only the third movie in and the script already hurries to point out that everyone is old.

Mister Sherlock Holmes was having breakfast at the table. Hundreds of solved cases marked new wrinkles on his manly face, brows became darker, and temples - lighter.

Doctor Watson was standing at the fireplace twirling a some sort of cane in his hands. The time left its marks on his as well: his hair got thinner and forehead became higher, moustache...

I’m not sure if Maslennikov had a some sort of weird appreciation for Livanov’s features with all those manly faces and all, but eyebrows getting darker? What kind of an observation is that? Was his first thought upon meeting with Livanov again “MAN those brows!!! Dat going into the script boi!!!”? It’s always the weirdest details.

By the general descriptions of everything and everybody it’s pretty clear that the script was written before the casting, since every character looks like they do in canon. Pretty jarring to read about blonde Stapleton and look at the picture of Yankovsky above the text.

Speaking of Yankovsky.

Sir Hugo Baskerville, a knight of the age of thirty, was standing on a table topless, trying to organise a choir...

They wanted Yankovsky to dance on a table without pants on, alright. Yeah, they later specify that he takes his trousers off after this scene, so yeah, that might’ve been...an interesting scene. I like how they keep referring to him as knight, like from all the things in the world, I don’t think this guy is worth the courtesy.

When was the original case set season-wise? It was summer in the script, the murder happened in June and Mortimer talked about dog footprints on the grass. It turned into January and snow in the final cut, which is more fitting cause what kind of shitty grass would that have been if there are clear footprints on it.

Now, when they said a lot of stuff between sir Henry and Barrymore was improvised, they meant no joke. Of course before Mikhalkov burst in, Henry was a pretty canon-looking bud. No alcohol tiny joke plot ever took place, Barrymore was even compassionate to a degree about everything. No infamous porridge and “oatmeal, sir”, which you should be pretty familiar with if you’re yodeling around this blog. None of that, just plain canon all around. Whether that was a good or a bad change is up to your own judgement.

At one moment he thought he saw...

...a woman wondering around the swamp. Her thin silhouette in a light dress blinked behind the sickly trees and disappeared...

<...>

...a short thin blond man of 35-40, with a clean shaven bland face.

Definitely Yankovsky right there.

Watson managed to kinda annoy me slightly in this script, surprisingly, he kept being a dick for no reason to anyone who asked about his investigation even faintly, remained grumpy for no reason, everything for no reason. Why? There have been moments in the final cut, but they’re not as in your face as here.

...Doctor Watson stood in front of sir Henry Baskerville in his bedroom and helped the ex-Canadian to do a tie in an English manner.

“Where are your tie pins?”

“In this box...”, sir Henry opened it and started picking a pin, “Listen, Doctor, if her name is Beryl, maybe I’d stick a beryllium pin on?”

“Vulgar!...”, Watson throwned.

“You’d have to notice the pin first.”

“Vulgar for your inner wellbeing”, Watson explained coldly, “For a gentleman’s wellbeing! Here’s your smoking, time to go down to the table...”

Henry: beryllium for beryl how bout tha-

Watson: ew. ew ew ew. what the fuck. what the fuck of a pun is that. disgusting. appalling. here, take your big boy pimp suit and fuck off.

I was glad to know there were some extended Watson/Henry dudebro scenes originally.

Interestingly enough, Watson was supposed to remain relatively sober after that dinner, which was obviously not the case in the final version. Quality changes, man, quality changes.

Also a case of a needed change, Mrs. Barrymore and everything about her character. She was supposed to be canon, but Kryuchkova’s husband (Vexler, the lead cameraman of the series) was already in the hospital recovering from a heart attack, and she was pregnant, and her script was nothing but tears and drama. So she decided to fuck this all and play her role with a smile, and the irl Mikhalkov/Adabashyan dudebro tandem helped.

Also about line distribution, here’s a picture of Mrs. Barrymore speaking to Watson about the letter, accompanied by the text where Mr. Barrymore speaks to Watson about the letter.

She found it in the end, so why not give the text to her then.

This script loves to call itself out, here’s the text of Henry and Watson discussing Stapleton’s fit, under a picture of Henry from the final cut expressing his angsty teen self on a horse.

That’s kinda even surprising to an extent that an adaptation that had so many changes from the canon in the end is still considered very faithful to the text.

While listening to Frankland, Watson was constantly looking for a free chair to sit on, and never found one in the end.

The real tragedy.

The iconic “Love, Watson...” moment is nowhere to be seen in the script either, I’m starting to get really amazed. Who comes up with this then, who improvises this on the set? Who’d thought to insert a four second long scene of Livanov explaining love like he’s the creator of this universe? Honestly, this is fascinating.

By the way, a good story for me personally: Cartwright the most unfortunate boy of the series got to arrive home after all. Of course they had to cut it. We’ve no idea where he went. Maybe he’s still wondering around the swamp, keeping the hound legend alive. Who knows, certainly not the final cut.

Double by the way, this script had a rather vivid imagination about special effects in the USSR.

Yes! It was a dog, giant, pitch black. But no mortal has ever seen a dog of such kind. Flames were firing from its mouth, sparks flied in its eyes, sparkling fire was playing on its face and nape.

There was a whole story of delusional Maslennikov vs. actual SFX and canine experts on the set, which ended up with Maslennikov shooting an arrow up his ass or something along the lines, but yeah, definitely not happening, this setup. Let’s set a dog on fire lol k art 👊👊 sherlock holmes adaptation🎩 special effects 😱😱 baskerville hound 💀top quality 👌 (c) Maslennikov circa 1980s.

When a second flashback flashed and Hugo took his pants off, apparently the script says that his girl just fainted in the end. Yes, just fainted, and the guy was killed by the dog. Like pantsless “knight” Hugo was just checking out his bud who had a scar on her upper lip lying on the ground when the dog attacked. I dunno, the streaks of ketchup in the final cut suggest things did not end well for neither of them, but oh well.

Apparently Holmes vs. Stapleton chasing scene was nowhere in existence, but instead we’d have to watch an unnecessarily graphic scene of Stapleton drowning.

A soul tearing, dying cry from the depths of the night swamp interrupted the words of Mrs. Stapleton...

...Stapleton was drowning in the swamp. He was drowning slowly, twitching with his entire body, trying to grab the weak bushes of swamp grass. The more he fought for his life, the deeper the thick liquid was sucking him in. Bits of white fog were consuming him just as stubbornly as the swamp abyss.

Stapleton screamed loudly and beastly, and that’s why his face appeared to have the last final resemblance to his feral predecessor - Hugo Baskerville...

yikes

well, at least the final directions are kinda cool, history repeating itself or something, more like dna is a bitch please don’t breed.

By the way, even there in the script the dog was most definitely shot by Lestrade. I’m still fascinated by this decision, especially now when I know that this always was the original intention.

“Precise shots of Inspector Lestrade in Devonshire”, she read out the big heading, “Is that true, Mr. Holmes?”

“Pure truth, Mrs. Hudson.”

“Is that true, Doctor Watson?”

“Sadly, yes!”

“Why “sadly”? “Times” always claims that this is the best Inspector of Scotland Yard”, the granny said with conviction.

Ah yes, the Mrs. Hudson’s crush plot. Also, Watson, fuck off and be jealous somewhere else, you couldn’t even, like, handle a pun.

And just as the movie is about to hit the final credits, a completely unexpected turn follows. You’ve read this rather weird paragraph about Watson seeing a woman wondering around the swamps, right? Well, no wonder there, that’s Beryl, like who else would that be. Indeed, after a second hallucination like that it was her who emerged in the next scene. Then they go to Stapletons, Watson looks out the window and...sees a woman wondering round the swamps. My weirded out scare didn’t last long, that’s probably Laura Lyons? Who else might it be now, I guess it was a some sort of early exposition, why not.

Several of those incidents come and go, it’s the climax, Beryl is safely strapped in a basement, Lyons is chilling home, Stapleton is about to drown, Holmes tries to chase him and...sees a figure of a woman wondering round the swamps in the distance.

I tell ya this was the first actual legitimate scare I got after reading this, all this time it had a some sort of explanation, but not now, not in a situation like this. Then the flashback follows with that gal described having a scar on her upper lip, a weird detail to point out, but who am I to judge there’s a guy with no pants on.

So literally the final minute of the movie, and it goes like:

“The fact that Stapleton stole sir Henry’s old shoe”, Doctor Watson remarked, “is a perfect evidence that we had to deal with a real dog, not with some mystic force.”

“Perhaps, yes”, Holmes replied, deep in thought.

Narrowing his eyes, the famous detective looked at the flame burning in the fireplace.

He saw a strange face of a woman - pale and mysterious, with a scar on her upper lip. The face turned away from Holmes and started disappearing in the white fog...

“Although, I don’t know, my dear Watson, I don’t know...”

??????

They had a ghost of Hugo’s chick wondering around the place for the entire movie

Jesus man, that is so creepy when I finally realised what was going on, they had a literal ghost, even like 0.3 seconds before the final credits?? A story about some mystical evil forces being proven bullshit accompanied by ghosts and Holmes hallucinating a victim long dead even back home at safe Baker Street. “I don’t know”, jesus christ what the hell and everyone kept seeing this on the swamps and she was everywhere jesus fuck

Like what was I supposed to assume until the end, when it comes to the Hound you expect anything but this sort of shit to occur. A ghost, man. A literal ghost. Don’t tell me this isn’t the wildest script of them all.

So here we go, the Hound of the Baskervilles. Pretty dark undertones it had, I suppose. Helps to sleep at night.

#russian sherlock holmes #the hound of the baskervilles #christ how am i supposed to sleep after this finishing this

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queensofmystery · 7 years

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5x18

Re: this post

@elementary-said-ni said: Totally agree with the Joan thing. But the Sherlock being racist part? Are you sure? He definitely didn’t go by emotions when it came to Shinwell, he was always objective when it came to him, right from the start. But the only reason he was so hell bent on getting the truth out of Shinwell was because he has always believed that if you murder someone, you cannot be excused, no matter what the circumstances. I was reminded of Murder Ex Machina where Mason tries to justify the killer who murdered a bad person, and Sherlock says that the killer did not have the right to take a life, and so he must face the consequences. I also believe that the writers want us to be in two minds, and want us to pick a side. I think this is what leads to the conflict between H and W that the writers have been talking about. Should SBK take priority (for now) or not… And this doesn’t mean that Joan is wrong, I think she is right in prioritizing taking down SBK, I just don’t think that he is in the wrong either… The whole murder being a no-no thing is why he practically pleaded with Kitty not to murder Gruner, and was so relieved when she didnt have a murder on her hands…

I want to answer your comments in two parts - first, on Sherlock’s prejudices and second, on Sherlock’s attitude toward murder in general and the idea of Kitty committing murder.

I want to highlight what @beanarie said here about 5x18 - it made me think of the double standard we’re seeing in how Sherlock is treating the event of Kitty mutilating a man who abused her vs. Shinwell murdering a man 12 years ago because a gang he belonged to manipulated him into doing so. I don’t think Sherlock thinks he’s being racist, of course not, but his distrust of Shinwell has been there from the beginning, and even after he’s been training Shinwell to succeed against SBK for weeks (months?), he’s immediately ready to turn on him once he has proved (to himself; we have a witness account and Shinwell’s indirect confession but so far no physical evidence - Idk what’s enough to make a conviction) that Shinwell committed murder. If it’s not racism in his character, it’s racism in the writing. Kitty, a white woman, was allowed to mutilate her rapist’s face and return to New York without any consequences because Gruner would implicate himself by revealing Kitty as his mutilator.

In my view, Sherlock has never been objective about Shinwell—he has been the Devil’s Advocate from the beginning, I think purposefully on the writers’ part. They wanted to set up Sherlock as the side that believes Shinwell to be inherently bad because of his background. Joan was the side that believes Shinwell to be capable of doing good, of redeeming himself (as she wishes to by helping him, but no one writing the show cares about that). Sherlock then is the person who saves Shinwell from prison, and the person to offer to train Shinwell, even though both he and Joan do the training. After all these sacrifices Sherlock sees himself to be making for a man who he has always believed to be untrustworthy, to learn that Shinwell has committed murder 12 years ago puts Sherlock in a spot that, as you said, forces the audience to choose a side. Racism is inherent in this, because Shinwell is a victim of a racist system.

Even with Sherlock’s comment in Murder Ex Machina, I don’t think Sherlock has a black-and-white view of murderers. I think he is black-and-white about intent, and what the killer in question did or didn’t deserve. There is Abigail in 2x04, his first “killer” who he didn’t give away (and the abused teenage boy who actually was the killer who he didn’t give away either), and the scene with him and Kitty in 3x12 was not him begging her not to kill Gruner. He hoped she wouldn’t murder him, but he did not dictate to her that murder was not the solution. He said: “You, um... saved me. I'd like to return the favor. This is a favor. Interfering. If you decide that killing Gruner is going to make you feel whole again, I won't stop you. But I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that we had found a way to expose him.” (Kitty: What does that have to do with me? With what he did to me?) “Nothing. Everything. Wish I could tell you. Whatever you decide, you must understand that you will always be special to me. You will always... be my friend.” (via transcripts.foreverdreaming.org)

He wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary to murder Gruner to ensure he got the punishment he deserved. I think the issue with Sherlock and Shinwell is Sherlock assumed he knew Shinwell murdering Jameel was proof that he was right about Shinwell, that Shinwell was, in fact, the bad, untrustworthy, dangerous person he had believed from the beginning and this murder from 12 years ago was going to prove to the world, and to Joan, that he was right all along. But he didn’t take into account the circumstances of Jameel’s murder like he did with Abigail and her abusive father and Kitty and Gruner. He didn’t even try. He just wanted Shinwell to admit to the murder so he could get the guy back in prison and out of the way (remember he commented how the structure of a gang and prison gave no proof that Shinwell would make a good informant?) That’s what seems clearest to me, and that’s why I think Sherlock’s actions show racism. In this situation, Sherlock playing the Devil’s Advocate about Shinwell is going to have a racist tone no matter what, because Shinwell is black, and prisons and gangs are predisposed to victimize black people. Sure, the white writers may not be aware of the full social and racial weight of what they’ve written, but it’s there. That Joan, a WOC, is the one to want to help Shinwell move forward with his mission is just as significant (and I sincerely hope they don’t flip their views after this episode and have Joan turn completely against Shinwell I will be pissed because it wouldn’t make any sense).

I definitely admit I am coming at this while being firmly on Shinwell’s side. His murder of Jameel is not excusable, but nor should he be villainized for it. His last lines in 5x18 need to have an impact on people: “You looking for someone who killed one person. SBK kills dozens of people a year. Their drugs ruin thousands of lives, but don’t nobody care. They don’t get press. They’re not clever. They’re not fun. They’re just evil.” Sherlock focusing on the murder of a single person, by a person who has been trying to prove his willingness to destroy the very thing that made him a murderer, over the myriad of crimes committed by the gang he’s trying to take down—if I was Shinwell I’d probably want to beat up Sherlock too. (I don’t like that the show chose to show Shinwell acting that way toward Sherlock, they did not set it up well, I don’t think most of the audience will be discerning enough to not immediately villainize Shinwell…it’s happening already, and Idk which direction the show will go, but I don’t think it’ll be helpful.)

(This might be a stretch for some but idc) Shinwell is like a more extreme version of Joan. He killed someone because he was manipulated into doing so (not that he doesn’t have free will, but think what might’ve happened to him if he’d refused to kill Jameel?), while Joan killed someone during a surgery. Both killed people that they cared about, to varying degrees. Both killed people they would’ve otherwise done everything to save if events had gone differently (Joan was trying to save her patient but did the exact opposite; Shinwell and Jameel were like brothers, and Shinwell would’ve done anything for Jameel if SBK hadn’t lied to him about someone he thought he could trust). Both came to regret those deaths to such an extreme they shaped their lives around redeeming themselves for those lives they had taken. The show won’t address it, but I think Joan sees herself in Shinwell. She sees a successful surgery, a positive memory from her disgraced medical career, a life that she was able to save that actually mattered. What does Sherlock see? A former criminal and gang member, a murderer, someone who doesn’t deserve redemption despite all the strides Shinwell’s been making toward that very thing, with Joan’s help (and if they’d approached 5x09 the way they should have, Joan would’ve had a direct say in saving Shinwell from prison—and there’s nothing in the canon to tell us she didn’t have a say in it /shameless self-promotion)

I hate even talking about what I want the show to do with Shinwell because I feel if I talk about it that means it won’t happen. And I know you didn’t say Shinwell should be villainized, I’m bristling against the writers who seem to want to deliver a moral message with Shinwell’s character that will only demonstrate that people like Shinwell are doomed, fighting a losing battle. Once a black criminal, always a black criminal. The violence against Sherlock in 5x18 rang like a nail in Shinwell’s coffin. So many people don’t excuse violence committed by MOC, while they will excuse it again and again when committed by white men. Like @nairobiwonders said here, Shinwell is Sherlock in season 1. She thinks Sherlock will come to want to see Shinwell redeemed…but what makes me angry about that idea is that the show won’t give us enough to make Sherlock’s turnabout convincing, I just can’t see it. They give so little to Joan I have to resign myself to seeing her emotions twisted whatever way suits the plot best, regardless of what little emotional development she might’ve had with Shinwell if this show actually cared about her.

#elementasquee #elementary #joan watson #shinwell johnson #i want the wolves to come for me #elementary season 5 #my s5 meta #my meta #elementary said ni #kitty winter #episode #518

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