i just kinda wanna be ooey gooey about free! for a second.... i always get so sad when ppl who didnt stick with it still harp on it as just being fanservice and “the gay swimming anime” bc like. sure, it is both of those things, but also. you literally cannot deny that the story is something so deeply human and personal and loving.

like, it’s about doing what you love, but making sure it’s good for you, and that it’s what you really want to do. it’s about finding purpose in your life and in the things you enjoy, and the connections you make with other people. and how those connections will forever shape you, for better or for worse, and if you want it to be for the better, you have to put your own foot forward and take it into your own hands.

and it’s about how nothing that you love ever comes to an end. those bonds, those memories, will last forever, and they will always be there to help you.

it was so popular in 2013 when it first aired bc it was “the gay fanservice anime” of the year, but man, the story as a whole... like the actual story is so lovely. and i think it’s such a shame that the general view of it is so closed-minded because the general public didn’t stick with it past season 1. allow the love and whimsy of unshakeable friendship into your heart!!!

making my own post bc i have thoughts and i don't want to keep having to go back and forth with tags and replies on someone else's post:

anyway original post i started this conversation on: @charlotterenaissance

my tag essay:

@liliana-von-k's reply:

(all this context is bc i have even more thoughts so i thought i should make my own post)

anyway to respond to that i 100% agree!! it also reminds me of something from my very first conversation with bruce (when we did a zoom interview before we knew each other) which idk if i've posted this aspect of before: i forget what my exact question was but i essentially brought up this kind of paradigm the KITH's female characters are often discussed in and how it's kind of strange comparing it to the actual representation of female characters in the show. like, sure dave "passes" the most as a conventionally-attractive female character, but also i'd honestly say any of the kids in the hall can pass as female, not even just from a genderqueer perspective but from a not all women are "conventionally attractive" perspective. like i know cis women who have a jawline like bruce's or a nose like scott's or any other feature that isn't seen as "feminine" from (often white-eurocentric) beauty standards and many of them are gorgeous.

and the fact that KITH's female characters are often discussed through a lens of "who plays the best woman" (meaning the one who "passes" according to beauty standards) is as frustrating as it is fascinating bc i really do think it points to the way the media tries to comprehend this gender nonconformity and shove it into a box they can understand. because the kids in the hall have already destroyed the most obvious box their female characters could be put in - yes, they are male comedians, but even though the most often way society rationalizes men dressing femininely is as a comedic act (whether as a man purposefully trying to elicit comedy via feminine actions and dress or via a man who genuinely enjoys feminine expression being made an object of ridicule via comedy), the kids in the hall break this framework (this "binary", if you will) by being comedians who are in control of the audience's laughter, but playing their femininity as genuine. you don't laugh with them at their femininity because they do not laugh at femininity, but you also can't make their femininity the subject of ridicule because their position as comedians means they are at once in on the joke and steering the joke in another direction. this technique is more subtextual (and likely subconscious) in the portrayal of female characters, but it's a tactic scott knowingly (and expertly) employs when playing buddy cole

so since the "men in dresses equals comedy" box is eliminated, cishet society feels the need to create another box for them to rationalize this gender nonconformity in, by attributing it to a spectacle other than humor. so they decide to instead view these gender transgressions through the lens of beauty and sexual attractiveness. this also helps rationalize any confusing attraction a cishet person has to one of the kids in the hall dressed as a woman - they pass too well, or at least whichever one you're attracted to (most often dave) does. making a spectacle of the kids in the hall playing women eliminates any confusion or implications that maybe gender and sexuality isn't as rigid as we think, by othering these performers as a special case and convincing yourself that there is no real woman who looks like dave foley in drag, and if there was she would be cis.

it's a slightly better box to be in than having the femininity be the target of ridicule, but it still misses the point that the femininity explored in kids in the hall is not meant to be othered. it leaves out so many of the show's most iconic female characters - fran is not glamorous, but she is a realistic woman. chicken lady is more chicken than lady, but she is still a well-written female character - and reduces others to their attractiveness when the sketch itself is not about that at all. and when i brought this up to bruce he sounded as though he had been waiting for someone to make this analysis, because even though the guys joke about it themselves it is at times uncomfortable to be in an interview that focuses so much on how the interviewer finds dave in drag sexy, or picking apart which physical aspect of the guys passes best. i think i remember bruce saying something to the effect of "no one's asking which one of us is the most hot playing a business man, but that's just as different of a person from us as playing a woman"

and it's interesting to think about this in the context of how the media in general treats people who identify as women in this framework of focusing on physical attractiveness all the time. in recent years, this behavior is more widely known to be sexist af so the overtness has declined (tho is it absolutely still present to some degree), but since the kids in the hall are all male it's fair game to make these sorts of comments about their female characters to their face, because it's spectacle and separate from them. even the exact same people who would call out a comment being made about a cis female comedian are often oblivious of how it could potentially apply to these male comedians, or have other bizarre lines within their ability to rationalize this gender nonconformity for themselves.

take the "wedding dresses" sketch that was censored from the amazon revival for example (this sketch was showcased at sketchfest's "scenes they wouldn't let us do" and has appeared in kith live shows since 2015). this sketch was censored because even though amazon would let the guys play women (and even then it was often an uphill battle), they would not let the wedding dresses sketch air because it featured men wearing wedding dresses in a comedic setting. the rule of thumb seemingly is: men wearing dresses is always comedic (and therefore transphobic), unless he (typically dave foley) passes too well, in which case trans people have nothing to do with the conversation. but the fact that they were men dressed femininely was never the point of the joke, it was the idea of a wedding dress, a significant garment symbolizing an event meant to be only worn for one day, being these guys' everyday wear and all the conflicts and community that came from that. it was an ode to the outsiders, a celebration of those who live and present unconventionally. and the fact that it's never about gender is in itself the most upliftingly genderqueer thing of all.

anon from before, i understand better now! i think i just thought abt it too much and confused myself but your explanation helped. im still on the fence abt cultural christianity but i think thats bc it seems like everyone is talking about it in a different way? like one person says it means this, but another person says its that. i think you made some really good points against it, but i also think spacelazarwolf made some good points for it so im just still figuring it out i think.

Yeah, I fully agree people are talking directly past each other in the conversation, and that's exactly why I made this post to begin with.

And I'm gonna @spacelazarwolf here because I respect his point of view a lot, we've been mutuals for a while, and I hadn't seen him talk about it until I went searching his blog literally just now; I don't wanna be talking about this behind his back or anything.

So like- correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like what he's defending is, for the most part, use of the term in some specific contexts:

"You are viewing this issue through a culturally Christian lens"

"Because you come from cultural Christianity, you may have developed blind spots and internalized ideas that you need to pay special attention to finding and rectifying"

(I'm specifically referring to these two recent posts)

I actually really agree with these uses! Those posts also clarify further that this isn't something you are, it's something you've been influenced by, or something you're doing. That's exactly the thing I say in my original post that I am very much here for, because, like I've said: Christian hegemony is obviously real, people are influenced by it- some more than others-, and it's necessary to be able to talk about these things.

I feel like the majority of arguments I see recently boil down to like, "why do you think cultural Christianity doesn't exist?" which, y'know, I don't doubt some people are actually saying. But if a lot of people are only really arguing that we shouldn't use it as an individual label that others get to decide to apply to them, and the people on the Other Side of the argument are only really arguing that we should be able to use it to refer to the impact of Christian hegemony on culture and shared ideology, like...

Maybe it's time to recognize that we're kinda saying the same shit. If we can get behind "don't label individuals, but do acknowledge the cultural impact and behavior", we can probably just move forward knowing that none of us are trying to advocate for something shitty just because someone else on our "side" said it. And maybe have more productive & relevant conversations.

I know very little about FFXIV but I do enjoy seeing some of the lore that comes out of it. One thing I came across had to do with how Loporrits do not have a biological sex but sometimes choose to adopt some gendered traits because they find this tendency in humans to be charming. Which, first of all, is adorable :')

And then someone added this post which comments that dragons have a similar behavior where they’ll adopt pronouns and have consorts despite not actually needing them to reproduce, as they reproduce asexually. Naturally the thought of dragons makes me think of my favorite Bahamut bb, Dion.

My version of Dion isn't particularly attached to the idea of gender. It's a social construct based on body parts (or the assignment of them, bc everyone is different and some can look ambiguous in terms of the binary way they're assigned) and while he wouldn't define himself as a man or title himself with a male-gendered honorific like Prince or Emperor (in verses where he doesn't become a dragoon but an Emperor instead), it doesn't bother him too much. It's all social script; he doesn't take it in.

That said, it would be important for anyone who really knows and loves him to understand this part of his personality and heart. If they are only attracted to capital M men, Dion is not that, and does not want to be viewed through that lens. He wouldn't feel genuinely loved if this integral piece of him was dismissed or blatantly ignored, if it was watered down to something more socially accepted and palatable like "male". So, while he wouldn't make this public knowledge he does make a point in sharing it with people who he loves dearly -- especially partners.

I think in some verses this matters more to him than others (though it always applies) and maybe sometimes Sylvestre is aware depending on their closeness in that particular scenario.

And similar to how he feels about his sexuality, Dion hasn't felt too much inner conflict over it. He's just very careful who he shares it with because it's no one's business unless he wants it to be.

also this is how i'm beginning to feel about my beautiful gender-nonconforming trans muses

i feel like probs 50% of the time i share work w artist friends these days, they are seemingly incapable of saying anything nice or giving a compliment or constructive feedback and instead will just say something along the lines of: “oh sounds like ___” (w no followup or explanation) and it’s like … 😐 what a weird way to respond to something your friend made & was excited to share w you ? feels trivializing asf … who wants to receive feedback like that ?! it’s a pattern i’ve noticed even outside of my own personal experience and i’ve been trying to make sense of it in a bigger cultural context, like 1. why is it so hard for artists to give compliments on others’ work and 2. why do we constantly feel this need to view art through this lens of comparison ? sidenote: i’m defo guilty of this at points and have been trying to examine these tendencies within myself to find an answer … maybe i’m just sensitive LOL but i’m curious if this is something any of y’all experience or think about bc it drives me crazy !!!

reblogs off because my wording is off and and i KNOW that this is like super rudimentary stuff i just wanna explain what i mean. maybe i should turn anon off too idk

idk how to put this but i think that some tme people who will like. say that they r not transphobic or trfy or whatever get really transmisogynistic when they like talk about their own desire like as a dyke or whatever... and i think about the way i see my own gayness versus how they see theirs and theirs seems so unfun and BORING and like not freeing and well hateful. and i don't mean that being bioessentialist is bad like because it hurts *you* or it's ~unenlightened~ or that my talking ab this is some weird way 4 me to brag it's awful and u r disgusting regardless n i am just talking but i just genuinely cannot fathom living like that. and these are the same people that will be like ohhh being a dyke is so freeing and like. it is! For Me! but i mean... honestly you are just awful and i just feel bad for you if like from the way you talk i can tell that your basis for all of this is like very clearly what's in someone's pants. like if you just go around bragging about how you can't get pregnant and how dicks are gross and stuff and that THAT is what being a dyke is ab 4 u and that THAT makes it freeing... very unserious lol.

and it's like okay it's awful regardless but then in my head i'm like okay i should just avoid cis girls. but other nonbinary people will do this shit too!!! i mean it's so prevalent on here even 😭😭😭😭 and it's like dude what r u doing i mean ur awful regardless but do you not see how this is hurting you too 😭

it's funny bc i've like talked w people cis girls and not like that in the past and i mean. i can tell that even tho im nonbinary and like very very very VERY solidly not a girl or a boy and have not considered myself either EVER ultimately like. What they think of me as is 'afab' or girl lite or whatever... like i for one certainly do not feel 'free' around u!

what an incredibly sad lens thru which to view ur own desire. what a sad way to go through the world... i cannot fathom it. idk

This is my first anon here, as I typically only read the anons for my girlfriend on this page. So I apologize if this isn't that good. But I just finished watching Priscilla, and let me say this here and now. IN DEFENSE OF JACOB ELORDI: He is is a FANTASTIC Elvis. I would not have anyone else be Elvis in terms of this movie. He fits the vibes of this movie perfectly, he fits Elvis perfectly in this movie. I'm not saying Austin Butler is a bad Elvis, he's amazing. But he doesn't FIT this movie, at all. If I saw Austin Butler on screen as Elvis in the Priscilla movie, it just wouldn't fit. It really wouldn't.

Yeah, Austin has that Lana Del Rey vibe about him. But he has a Lana vibe when he's blonde, not when he's black haired. Not just this but his face is more suited for a Baz Lurhmann movie, not for an A24 Sofia Coppola movie. When watching this movie on screen, you really cannot envision anyone else as Elvis, not even Austin Butler.

The other reason why Jacob did so well as Elvis in the Priscilla movie compared to Austin. Is because Austin's movie "ELVIS" mainly and solely FOCUSES on Elvis himself. Priscilla- doesn't. Priscilla is focused on Priscilla, not on Elvis. So due to this, they needed to find an actor that could be Elvis, but not look like a full mimic of Elvis, just- have Elvis' voice down, body mannerisms down, and as I said, someone who FIT the movie. Who FITS the vibe of the movie, and also has great chemistry with Cailee Spaeny.

It bothers me how people are giving this masterpiece of a movie a 1 and a 2 purely because Elvis is played by Jacob Elordi. I'm sorry but if you have a true and real passion for movies, and for cinematography, you would SEE why Austin wasn't chosen, and you'd also give this movie a shot.

I loved this movie, I really did. I'd rate it an 8/10, it was such a pretty and aesthetic movie. I won't spoil anything but it was genuinely such a good film. Sorry for the long anon.

i need you to know that i think about the tiktok where you revealed that you read my posts to your girlfriend so much like that’s genuinely one of the funniest in a sweet way things ive ever read about myself on the internet 😭 you’re a keeper- tell her i said hey and that i think she pulled a good one! and don't apologize for the long anons, when they're substantive i like them!

gonna start with your second to last paragraph: yeah it's been frustrating as someone who has begun to "get into" film as a whole that i feel like because i'm a big fan of one specific actor that i have to view everything through that fan lens. i want to watch movies with as small a bias as possible. i didn't go into bottoms or priscilla thinking "well even if i hate it it'll just come online and lie for the cause" if i truly didn't like either film i would say that! i believe in being honest with y'all and think it behooves the community i've built on here to be honest. i'm seeing the holdovers this weekend bc film twitter zoe's tweets about loving it piqued my interest and idk if i'll like it, but we'll see! i've said a few times that while i'm really excited to see austin in dune that sci fi isn't really my thing and i might not like it outside of his parts. but maybe i'll surprise myself, who knows!

i personally think austin could pull off this type of movie so i guess we disagree there for the most part- though i get why it might be harder to like- vision him in that role after seeing him in the other one. but i do get what you're saying. i don't think anyone but austin could've pulled off baz luhrmann's elvis. baz is 100% spot on when he calls him a miracle. (and before y'all get on my ass for posting something slightly critical of austin, please unclench. i welcome genuine discussion like this when it's civil.) he was born for that role and as a woowoo person who fully believes in fate stuff like that...yeah.

i thought jacob was great, and obviously he can't control how tall he is but i think that was a factor of what took me out of it and made me see him as more "nate jacobs playing elvis" in the serious moments. like i get what people are saying in that sofia cast people with a height diff like that on purpose to show the power dynamic. but as an elvis fan who *knows* he was not that tall it didn't work for me. and i mean- she said the movie isn't for elvis fans so that's alright! the average viewer isn't someone who knows how tall elvis was haha. just my perspective. i thought he really pulled off the elvis of it all in the more lighthearted moments and was pleasantly surprised that he did when his focus in his portrayal was obv the darker side. (since you've seen the movie you'll know what i'm referring to with "the salute thing". that CRACKED me up and felt so in tune with how "goofy" elvis could be at times, and i've been wondering if it was scripted or if jacob improv-ed it. i hope sofia releases the screenplay someday like they did for elvis 2022, i wanna see it!)

vincent!!! and rz! mike myers, jason voorhees!! ( if you want !!! )

AAAAAAAA what a line-up!!!

regrettably tho, I never made it thru the entirety of rz's halloween 💀 I got about halfway in and then got distracted by smthn else hfdjhdfjshjdfsh 🤡 and UNFORTUNATELY..................jason's too much of my babylittleguydude for me to conceptualize smoochin him???? I tried and. he's too baby. hdfsjhjdfshjfdsh but I did TRY

so, like a basic ass bitch, I just wrote stuff for vinny. 😔 tysm for the ask tho aaaaaaaaa MWAH MWAH 💖

feel free to send me a character of ur choice for headcanons and I’ll give u 3 pros and 3 cons of dating them. if ur so inclined!!!!

vincent

3 PROS

the calm of being able to exist in silence w/someone else. discovering a way to speak a language without words. finding a reprieve from the constant chaos in quiet moments where u can just.....BE. w/no pretense. sharing late night meals in the kitchen. taking naps in his subterranean lair while he sculpts for hours.

he gives me BIG body worship vibes. he's an artist and he's definitely thinking massive big brain thoughts about the curve of ur boob and comparing it to a hieronymus bosch painting. where tf did that connection come from?? well, come on the twenty-year odyssey voyage of his thought process and maybe u will figure out!! probably not, tho!! he's just a ponderous ass mfer. curious about every inch of u. v slow and methodical. all about taking his time and learning what makes u tick. this is for art!!!!

if artistic devotion and tributes get u goin, he's v much the Guy. get ready 2 be incorporated in all his pieces. u start finding lovingly detailed charcoal sketches of u on ur nightstand. he shows u a new oil painting and there are ur eyes, starin back @ u. meticulously crafted miniatures of u on the kitchen windowsill. granted, ur usually merged with a spider. or a serpent of some kind. and it's honestly pretty creepy. but the detail is really somethin.

3 CONS

SUPER weird codependent relationship. just like bo, I feel like he's absolutely searching for mama. perhaps even more so? bc I just feel that it's likely that he was sequestered inside for most of his youth. I can't see trudy enrolling him in school/letting him interact with a lot of people. he was her favorite of the twins and I'm sure she wanted to cultivate a relationship where he was entirely dependent on her. it would serve double purposes for her: being needed and adored unequivocally.......while also driving a wedge between the twins themselves. that one line in the og script where carly tells bo that he's talentless (LMAO) and that his mother hated him bc he stole her favorite's face. yep. YEAH.

a partner is more of a muse/concept than a person. v much a mirror of bo's weirdness, but in a less obvious way. due to what's bound to be TONS of one-sided communication, he's definitely prone to build up an idea of what kind of person u are. rather than really understanding u. the technicalities of who u are don't really matter bc he views u through a lens of a source of inspiration, something to be molded into his art, something ABSTRACT.

he's unpredictable. his violence is a LOT more unknowable......and significantly more difficult to comprehend than bo's violence. IMO! all of his kills are brutal and almost clinical. he grew up surrounded by medical textbooks and his childhood paintings are surreal and contort the human form into weird shapes. I v much feel like the anatomy of a body and how it is pieced together/could be taken apart is more important to him than.........idk........the fact that that body is inhabited by somebody. yikes!!! I think you'd v much be walkin on eggshells w/him. bc how do u know when the inspiration might run dry. and ur function will have to change. YIKES.

loreeeee, i read the blade fic update and i CANT. express. how much i love your writing (again LOL). ugh, the way you write thoughts, mentalities, how ppl navigate and take in info...insane. INSANE. ugh,,,,,,im sorry but having adrenaline "tumble between the eyes" or the weird sureness of his thoughts but still being unidentifiable (unintelligible? or there little understanding of the source of specific thoughts) in and of themselves...the way you write makes me FERAL. im savoring it so much, i just bit into the juiciest orange, the ripest strawberry, took a mouthful of the crispest apple cider ive ever tasted in my life--(sorry im low on sugar rn HAHA)

i have a lot to say. but not enough mental space to go through all of it...but i do want to mention how you wrote the retrospective scenes of blade being washed by kafka, it was captured so well. i know this kind of experience is very nuanced, and i think you expressed how blade processed it well. especially how this shows up in pieces thereafter in the rest of the fic, it's different from just mentioning or referring to a past moment. you threaded the experience to the present and from reading your works overall, i believe this is a "trademark" of your writing, at least to me.

the trademark is that there is purpose in every mention, there is delicacy in choosing a perspective and the lens in which the world is viewed or something is experienced by a character...there is a specific atmosphere, headspace, etc., that you want to convey and the entire thing is brought together with every sentence that follows the previous. youre making these connections, however small they may be, between shards of the characters' lives...it feels like you properly chewed them so you got the texture, flavor profile, salinity, etc., of those characters. it's what got me hooked onto you works, and im afraid (feral, positive) youre only getting better at it. im in trouble (eager) :D

this is small, but i personally love seeing purely from one chara's pov, i love unreliable narrator-esque stuff, it just tickles something in me, maybe bc life is THAT subjective to the one living it (also AP Lit was one of my fav classes back in hs, so is it rlly a surprise LMAO). i love connotations, questionable morals, existential dilemmas, all of it. and seeing that blade is full of the latter two, im SO up for it. i also love how he's constantly (unconsciously) trying to be mindful of the space he takes up, even if he chooses to not care for certain (most) ppl. idk, to me thats a testament to his previous life/experience, and it just adds lore (see what i did there :3) and depth to everything. and im so looking forward to see how he navigates and learns (pog self reflection!) about his violent urges/tendencies, and what they mean for him (and mc)--and even if he doesn't i am looking forward to your writing 🙏

this is not even 1/4 of what i wanted to say LMFAOO, but its 1am for me and i need some sleep...thank you for this lore. :) we are blessed to have you share your talent, its my spiders thread in the hellscape im in (life), love you always, stay healthy and happy lunar new yr if you celebrate!!

SLEEEPY 🥺!! thank you for the kind words!!!!! 🥺💕💕💕!!!!! i am screaming crying throwing UP i appreciate your feedback so so much!!!!!

rambling under the cut <3

writing blade for the architect has been both like.... deeply cathartic and so very different from any character i have written for!!! i don't write a ton in character POV, however blade's feels unique and interesting in a way that keeps me going back to him. the dynamic between blade and reader is so interesting to continue to revisit, and writing their relationship expand and change has been very fun!!

blade is truly monstrous, but not for any of the reasons he thinks. his monstrous is monstrous in the way that he shouldn't exist or be alive, and that he essentially a human weapon, but how he feels isn't monstrous. he's coping. poorly. and through centuries of compounded trauma and an accumulation of mara. he absolutely sees some of himself in reader and can't help but want to ... protect them? if nothing else be near them. it's horrific, the way he thinks, but not monstrous. and i think that's an important distinction in the architect!!!

blade is an incredibly unreliable narrator. it is integral to the story (moreso as we go on) that he is unreliable. his own confusion is woven into the plot and vital to his relationship with the reader. his feelings towards you are a tangled mess, and so much of that comes from his own fractured consciousness.

its been very fun to write and dive into it just like... explore. full send. i started the architect originally as a drabble that was supposed to be uneditted LOL and i didn't want to pull any punches with the implications and like... 'darkness' of the story. i'm glad that you have enjoyed it sleepy and THANK YOU for your comments and elaborations, they truly make my day and get me hype to continue the story too <33 thank you thank you thank you 💞💞💞

for the ask game, do you ship zelink?

(ask game from here)

ooh ok this one is a little hard for me to answer, bc my answer changes depending on which game we're talking about. I talked abt how I feel for botw/totk zelink here, and I think that's mostly applicable for zelink as a whole. there are some games like ss where I totally would ship them romantically. but in general, let's sayyyy

zelink - don't ship

why don't you ship it?

my reasons are pretty much the same as the post I linked above. I think their relationship is so much more meaningful and fulfilling if you look at it through a queerplatonic lens instead of a romantic lens. like, they care so deeply for each other not because they're in love with each other but because they just have a deep relationship. I think chalking up their relationship to being romantic takes away from the authenticity of their actual feelings and makes it seem like every other straight relationship, when in reality it can and should be seen as something much more

what would have made you like it?

it's hard to say. in general I do think they're very cute together, and especially in ss where they're almost canon I do like them as a ship. but like do I really need to make myself see them as something aside from being queerplatonic for each other? I think viewing zelink as being a queerplatonic couple is just as valid of an interpretation as seeing them as romantic. maybe if their relationship was truly more fleshed out I could understand the romantic aspects of their relationship. but in all the games, whatever we're given for their relationship just isn't enough for me to ship them romantically

despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

yeah!! I mean I do think they're each other's most important person, and they'll always have a special relationship that no one else could understand or have with them. I love their dedication to each other and I think they're peak relationship goals, just not in a romantic sense

I might just go on a huge tangent on here so I sincerely apologize, but I think this is something you've slightly touched on before, so maybe it's interesting to you? About the fact that literally Nobody on the staff/people who work behind the scenes of everything in the kpop industry are credited, mentioned or acknowledged for their work (other than, for example, the surface level “the designer deserves a raise!!!” that i so often see in mv comments :/). What I wanted to talk about specifically though is the company’s complete lack of crediting of these people?? I wanted to look into who directed this new mv that just dropped that I really liked the artistry, editing, and general composition of, but I found absolutely nothing across the group’s yt videos or their pages of who the director is, perhaps the set designer, editor, etc. Utterly taken aback, I checked the descriptions of other kpop music videos, from the most popular to more unknown groups (Twice, Dongkiz, to name a few), and again, nothing. I thought I was going insane, so I looked at mvs for like Amercian bands, and their video details are completely filled with the information of the producer, the recording studio, mixer, master, etc. etc, my point is: so much more than just the group’s twitter or merch page??? I’m like what is going on?? I noticed the kpop mv's only list licensing info at least, but so did the american ones? Idk. It’s either me not knowing where to look, or maybe I’m late to the fact that that is just how things work with kpop group companies or the industry as whole, just giving you no details as to who the hell else worked on this mv or song. I love my biases and appreciate their contributions, but I do not buy for a second that, more often than not, they wrote or produced or mixed absolutely nothing. I think it’s a huge shame that this is done because it reinforces the false idea that the idols are the ones responsible for everything we’re seeing and listening to. Maybe that’s the point, and that’s exactly what the industry wants you to believe, which that just makes it really sad. (Wait also maybe it all gets hidden because its work for hire or the companies buy ownership copyright...)

so i want to clarify some things for you, from the perspective of someone who works in the arts industry. firstly, and most importantly: visible credits exist in western filmic media because of unions. and there are still a LOT of fields that are not unionized. for thousands of years it was fundamentally understood that no performance based art form was done singularly by an individual, so there was often not a reason for there to be 'credits' in the first place. the whole assuming the face of the project is the person who did the most work thing? that's a very new phenomenon in the history of art, and it's capitalism's fault.

secondly: um. you are definitely not looking in the right places bc people are ABSOLUTELY credited? especially music production staff? i guess if you only look at a music video then sure yea there's not always credits there, but companies literally release tracklists and highlight medleys on their main social medias AS PROMOTION that have LISTS of their arrangers and composers. hell, tan's most recent tracklist has their fucking midi programmer on it????

also..............the fucking ALBUMS HAVE CREDITS IN THEM. i can't believe i have to say this but THE ALBUMS ARE THE MAIN PRODUCT AND THEY HAVE PAGES OF CREDITS IN THEM. i...????

like???

i got addy (@hoforwonho) to send these to me, these are from a lucy album and nayeon's album, and they literally have pages of credits???

lastly, and most importantly: the only people who are being 'fooled' into thinking that idols are 'producing' most of the content are western fans. because that is the stereotype promoted BY THE WESTERN MUSIC INDUSTRY. so that is the lens through which you view the korean music industry. koreans and korean fans are well aware that idols do not produce their own artistic content, there is quite literally a stigma around idols in sk about how they are not viewed as artists SPECIFICALLY because of this. gdragon and jonghyun were HUGE deals for being some of the first idol producers + songwriters. music is a huge part of the korean entertainment industry and people who make music are very much a visible part of it. kim eana is a very famous lyricist and she has a popular radio show. kbs just did a whole competition show featuring producers as the contestants. companies are not required to put credits in music videos because music videos are only one part of a kpop cb, and they are also not obligated to put those credits in english. just because you can't find something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist and the whole industry is at fault for it.

i am GRABBING YOU and SHAKING YOU. did you know your mikane is the craziest. did you. did you know that. last chapter drove me so far up the wall i am still yet to calmndown...... poor mikan. imagine ur emotionally repressed gf runs away again only for two children w the exact same problem to come barging through your door.

i have so many things to ask........ but i shan't ask them all. please please tell me anything about ur ideas for mikane in general or in oppdmh bc they're the most crazy insane yuri ever. OH RIGHT YEAH AND. the actual question. obviously opddmh mikan still struggles with anxiety, but how do you think she's changed in mentality and issues after everything that came after danganronpa? any issues outgrown or gained? morphed in some way? love ur work so much every time. u made me pause my utena rewatch and that is such a big compliment u do not even know

GRABS YOU SHAKES YOUSHAKESYOU SHAKES YOU SHAKES YOU

talking about this fic, as always putting the answer under read more for people who dont wanna read lol!!!!!!!

OHHH MY GOD IM INSANE ABOUT THEMM. went into this fic knowing that i wanted mikan and akane to have their own povs because i thought theyd bring different perspectives, especially in comparison to makoto's pov. i knew what i wanted mikans story to involve and i had a vague idea about akanes (fun fact rantaro was originally gonna be kaito LOL) and then like two chapters into writing mikans point of view i was like waiiiitttt a minute. wait a minute hold on. what if they were in love. and what if they were so not normal about it

it made so much sense for the story i wanted both of them to tell that immediately i went into my notes and started pivoting a few things LMFAO. i just think that their relationship (or their pining at least lol) is able to neatly underline some of their core themes/issues in this fic, whether that be for better or for worse. through the lens of their relationship im hoping to convey mikan's sheer capacity of worry and insecurity, how she finds it difficult to move through life without another person to rely on even if she has done a bit of growing since the simulator and how that dependency affects her. and then of course akane's emotional repression is highlighted through their relationship (her forgetfulness, her inability to communicate, LEAVING all of the time), but also it's a great reminder of just how protective akane can get even if she isn't there. not to mention how worried she gets about mikan despite her absolute refusal to worry.

they care about each other to the point of unspoken codependency and while it is absolutely making both of them feel safe and happy it is still a reminder of their underlying problems. akane would do anything to avoid somebody thinking she is weak enough to be cared for. but all mikan can do is care and care and care about her. both of them are so willing to shoulder the problems of the other but neither of them want to be seen as burdens, so all they end up doing is silently dance around their issues until eventually somebody caves. INSANE YURI MOMENT

mikan still absolutely has anxiety LMFAO and dare i say..... she's...... kind of better????????????????????? or maybe not actually. going into this i had to think about how to write these characters in a way that felt true to who they are but also remembering that they have GROWN, even if danganronpa really makes them feel as if they havent lol. this is a mikan who has likely endured years of therapy, even if that therapy is SHIT at best. this is also a mikan who has been shoved into the spotlight rather forcibly and has basically been given the choice to adapt or die. so i probably shouldnt say that shes "better", it's more that shes had to modify herself to fit this new lifestyle of hers. she hasnt been given much of a choice, and i imagine shes had a few years to really fuck up and struggle before reaching this point. she is constantly in the spotlight and basically always under scrutiny, so ive sort of swayed away from her wanting attention and focused more on how she reacts to this attention-- shes grown bitter from the negative and she doesnt think she deserves most of the positive. it's this hurricane of problems with mikan and a lot of it involves her own struggle to view herself as a good person, which stems heavily from the insecurities she already had in her game and intensified by what happened outside of it. years of being seen as this iconic chapter three killer has absolutely worn her down a bit, but there is still a part of her that yearns for control over her life and the people surrounding it. she is still SO anxious, ive tried to really hammer home quite a few recurring symptoms with her like her nervous tics, sickness/lack of appetite, hair shedding, etc!! and she is extremely bitter about how shes been treated, too, which im hoping to elaborate on further on down the line. however she really, REALLY can not be passing out in front of cameras or throwing any fits about the exploitation shes endured since shes been a teen because the company she works for wont accept anything that isnt on brand. and underneath it all shes still that scared little kid that desperately wants to please

she's an older mikan but she is still very much hurting, not necessarily any less but in a way that's a bit different if that makes sense :)

you are SO FUCKING NICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <33333333333

genuinely and with no judgement at all how do people who Hate kiryu enjoy rgg?

like i understand that/why people see him as a neglectful father and whatnot, and if you see him that way that's a good reason to dislike him (not that you Need a reason like that to dislike a character), but if you hate him that strongly, wouldn't that make it hard to play the games at all? like there's tons and tons of stuff to love about the series outside of kiryu, but he's the lens through which we see and engage with so much of it that I'd think it'd be hard to separate most of those things from him, especially in earlier games. wouldn't it taint the parts you like if you're seeing it through his eyes? and wouldn't it suck slogging through several games of kiryu-only player character stuff to get to [insert beloved non-kiryu rgg character(s) of choice here]?

maybe it's because the reasons ppl have for viewing him this way build up over the games. so like if you started hating him bc of 5/6 or whatever you might be in too deep emotionally at that point. hm. but i think if i viewed him as an abuser the extremely forgiving treatment the games and his kids give him would piss me off too bad to stick with it (hell, it bothers me anyway, and i LIKE kiryu. like. challenge him a bit. confront it more bc his kids sure won't and he Has done them wrong).

and the fandom is very (debatably overly) kiryu-centric, so i think it would be similarly frustrating/unfulfilling to spend time in it, so i can't even imagine somebody just subsisting on fandom stuff and avoiding the games.

idk but my point is im curious because that sounds like an unfortunate position to be in

Villain does something, then Kamala is hit by a rock, and dies. It remains to be seen if she’ll be brought back in a similar way this time, and if she does, whether the storyline that will then be written about Kamala’s views on having died and returned in relation to her religion (which is against such things), and whether her first death will be referenced at any point.

K thanks for the info. You'd think they'd do something more,,, direct than a rock.

Yh I'm Muslim so I kinda know the whole deal. They kinda hinted that Kamala thinks that "Mephisto" is simply an incredibly powerful djinn pretending to be Shaytaan (which I totally buy, that mf can't be beaten so easily) or maybe that's just how I interpreted that???? It'll be interesting to see how she'd interpret this through the lens of her religion bc theological philosophy is very cool to me. (I've been raised w the belief that we'll be somewhat conscious after death and just,,, sit unresponsive in our decaying bodies until judgement day. So if Kamala also follows that belief, combined with ideas of knowledge humans weren't meant to know,,, yeah it won't be considered IMPOSSIBLE but it'll be very morally bad.)

to add to the conversation about meta and critical analysis and stuff i just want to say that critical analysis isnt bad in general. Hear me out though keep scrolling if you dont want to read a long discoursey kinda post but its not neg for reference /srs.

NOT A VAGUEPOST! I am commenting solely on trends of things in the fandom since my experience being here since 2020 writing meta since january 2021.

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many people (like me for example) enjoy writing analysis that is through a critical lens even though we enjoy the narrative and character. Some people enjoy writing through that lens and they dont like that character or narrative. some people dont like the narrative or character at all and it would be critical. i think at least in all my experiences in fandoms is a really normal part of fandom analysis and enjoying a story and is fine! if you maintag you for sure should tag your crit and stuff but in general i think this on the whole isnt bad. Gen really weird cc neg is bad, and theres some other nuance of course but thats not the main pt of my post, but i dont think thats the majority of critical analysis in any fandom including this one we are in here. I just want to stress that people engage in this fandom in various different ways as they do in all fandoms.

I think what is really stressful is the vagueing that goes on. and for the record i am not vagueing anyone specifically by saying that and none of my mutual or people i follow or anyone at all, once again i am commenting on trends ive seen /srs! Like meta has become really difficult in my experience in fear of the neg that comes along with it or the thought that people "hate the dream smp/the content" or "hate cc's" etc because of it or even "cc's dont do lore because of posts like this". And i think that's something that needs to be addressed and talked about because it's something that we're all aware of existing and its definitely been a source of contention i think...

I think reblogging someones meta directly to discuss or add your own points (i always include a pls add on personally!) and or sending that person an ask if theyre willing to is also fine. I also think being inspired by meta to write your own points is quite fine too, those are all really enjoyable parts of fandom analysis.

and to use a personal example i know a lot of people who dont like c!ranboo or his narratives and after the ghostboo caimsey stream i remember there being a lot of discourse. I personally dont block crit analysis or anything bc i usually like to read it regardless, but i remember having a vastly different view of that stream and the narratives! So what i did was make meta about the lore from my perspective without vagueing anyone or have ties to what i read. I just was like "i really liked xyz and heres why" kinda posts. Its also crit analysis and all sorts of meta in general that have helped me change my views of characters or explore new narratives because of the different views i see about it.

What i'm trying to say is that like i think we can exist in a world where fandom crit and meta and noncrit meta and silly hcs and etc. can be enjoyable and cohesive together though i do realize there is some nuance to what i'm saying and this doesn't really handle all circumstances within this discussion.

And maybe youre a person who crit analysis stresses them out and it ruins your fandom experience. I think this is very valid but i think in fandom spaces we need to find ways to curate our own experiences. i'll admit some lore discourse has stressed me out too but i generally dont engage with it or i start ask games or hc games or i write unrelated meta or things just to avoid it. I dont have a lot of solutions for this other than: tag discourse and crit in maintagged posts, ask people you are mutuals with or follow if they can tag something (though there is no guarantee someone will and thats a okay!! you may need to block this person or their personalized blog tags for lore analysis), and or do what i do and write meta about how you did love a stream and why and start new discussions. Though i'm not sure of any other solutions off the top of my head, so i'm happy to hear more solutions.

The reason i'm writing this post is because of the crit analysis = you hate a cc and you just hate the narratives and you dont love the dsmp at all and you hold them at too high a standard etc etc etc kinda mindset i've seen since like late 2021. Because i don't hate cc's or the narratives. if i did i wouldn't be in this fandom, i woudn't write meta or engage with the content at all. and the vagueposting that i've seen is very discouraging to see at the very least especially as i've noticed how things have evolved since 2020 fandom.

I'm not sure if this is a good post, or if it adds to the discussion well. Tbh im afraid this will start discourse in itself which isnt really the point (though i tagged it that way for blacklisting...). This post is intended to help our fandom space be more cohesive to allow people the space to take narratives where they want (with nuance of course!) and for people to curate their fandom experience how they want too.

So as i always do with meta please add on, please send me asks about this. Reply. correct me even!! though i have turned off rbs because im kinda nervous for such a large discoursey style post being rb-ed around. All i ask is just dont vague me or sc this...like my anons are on i'm happy to discuss this and vagueing stresses me out which should be obvious from me writing this whole post.

because i want us to have a healthy fandom experience if we can and I see how stressed out its made me and many people on dsmp.blr during lore discourse days/analysis moments/etc.

let me know your thoughts <3!

001 + teen wolf!

Favorite character: scott my best friend scott!!

Least Favorite character: this is so tricky cause i love so much but also hate so much. i think i hate kate most for the obvious reasons but also cause she's dealt with in such a strange way in canon. like maybe this is a hot take, but i truly think it was so unnecessary to make her a literal pedophile? and also strange to never really address the fact that she was a literal pedophile outside of her kissing deaged derek? and even then they did not talk about that at all! it felt like very strange Drama to add and never give any weight

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): obv gotta give it up to my besties berica, but also scallison, stalia, draeden, and scira! can we tell i'm an s4 apologist

Character I find most attractive: HMMMMMM i think malia? this is hard because everyone is so beautiful but i think malia is the one i wanted to kiss most on the mouth when i was however old i was when s4 came out (can we tell i'm an s4 apologist)

Character I would marry: my heart says scott but my brain says i could not survive his lifestyle. he would be like ok babe i gotta go die again and i'd have a panic attack. he'd be like i'm going the store and i'd be like are you sure? are you sure it's the store? are you sure you're not going to go die again? and i truly believe sometimes he would actually be lying and going to go die again. but i don't know who else i would marry? i guess malia i just think she'd be the most bearable of the martyrs. i'd be like please don't die and she'd be like don't worry i'd kill before i got killed and i'd be like okay. well. i guess that's better. also she's cute and fun and strong i'd feel so safe on public transportation

Character I would be best friends with: MY GIRL KIRA

a random thought: scott should die less

An unpopular opinion: scott is the main character! (this being unpopular is embarrassing for the rest of you)

My Canon OTP: stalia!!!

My Non-canon OTP: this is hard bc i love to lie. i think it's gotta be sceo cause i just can't process any of that through a heterosexual lens. this is the one ship that it like makes no sense to me in a straight context

Most Badass Character: i truly deeply in my heart believe it's my best friend scott

Most Epic Villain: it's gotta be either tamora monroe or jennifer blake. the hero in their own stories villains r my fave villains

Pairing I am not a fan of: i hold so much hate in my heart for st*rek i will never forgive the existence of the sterek fandom as its own separate fandom wherein some people literally have not watched the show and have no context for their opinions and are still so loud about it. be wrong or be loud. pick a struggle

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): boyd<3 literally i don't think anyone was done as poorly as boyd. they fucked his whole 3a so bad and gave his death no meaning at all

Favourite Friendship: allydia i think

Character I most identify with: erica!! i saw her at 12 years old and said oh yeah she's me-coded she's just like me for real!! i think my view of her has gotten more balanced as i've gotten older obviously but she's still my girl

Character I wish I could be: literally not one of them. not a single one. i do not want to live in that town nor do i want to live any of their lives. if i had to pick though it'd be lydia just because she's the mom friend by the end and i too want to throw blankets on these people