#can they be? yes but that is all dependent on the narrative and who the protagonist is
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Something that struck me extra on this LLTG rewatch - how subtle yet unmistakable the narrative is about the fact that being sheltered and spoiled as a woman is a recipe for disaster.
NN, ill-educated STEM feral child, gets how important marriage partner choice is more than all the rest of them, properly brought up in womanly virtues.
No, I don't mean she yearns for true love (she gets it, eventually, but that is not what she hopes or looks for) - but what she gets and a lot of the rest of the young women we see do not, is that you want a husband you can like and get along with, who can let you be yourself (and who is also acceptable socially because she's pragmatic.)
That is why her first choice, until it's OBE, is Yao - he's sweet and he's a friend and she knows she'd be the boss in that marriage. All the ladies in the capital swoon for Ling Buyi but she is never consciously swayed. She doesn't realize he likes her and she's not someone to build fantasies/pine for someone she can't have (in a way, knowing the man likes her is a necessary precondition for her to be even able to open her heart - she's spent too much of her childhood fruitlessly yearning for familial love to want to repeat that in her marriage.) Yao openly adores her so this allows her to consider him as a partner (that is why Scholar dude never had a chance btw, his courtship style is negging and NN is the last person that would work for.)
In fact, even after she knows Ling Buyi likes her, she is NOT excited to marry him because she doesn't want someone too high a status compared to her and someone as strong-willed as him because what she sees, and a lot of the rest of women looking for husbands in this story do not, that if there is a huge status disparity and a man is used to getting his own way, there is a risk of having yourself subsumed. A lot of the latter half is the two awkward, scarred by various trauma young people navigating boundaries of their relationship and what is OK for them and what is not (Ling Buyi IS used to barking orders, NN is overly defensive about even the slightest suggestions - they eventually meet in the middle and it's lovely but it's even more lovely that the drama shows it takes work and conversations and compromises.)
The thing that she gets, perhaps because she's a pragmatic survivor, is how the choice of a husband is the most important thing for a woman in that society. Her life fully depends on that, even more than of e.g., an Austen heroine, because in addition to those hurdles, this is a polygamous society (so how many other women brought in and how husband treats the legal wife versus concubines etc also is an issue) AND a society where if your husband goes down, you and your kids will be executed/enslaved along with him. We see how badly wrong marriages can go - Yao's eventual wife's first marriage is a great example, where she marries a man who abuses her and kills her family. Or even that one woman who marries a general who dotes on her and is a great husband, but commits treason and is executed (and she's only spared by the grace of the emperor.)
And the fact that all those women swoon for Ling Buyi and want to marry him SHOWS how the sheltered/spoiled thing has fucked them up. Remember princess whatever? She is dead set on marrying Ling Buyi and it's insane to me. Yes, he's good-looking and quasi-son of the emperor who dotes on him (since it's safe to do so, he's outside the dynastic fight) but that's great for about three minutes and boasting at parties. She is so sheltered from reality, she does not think what it would be like to be married to him. I don't mean his revenge quest since nobody knows. I mean if he was exactly who he appears with no other goals. Ling Buyi dislikes her and makes it known. He's rude to her (he's rude in general. Hell, he's rude to his parental family, openly! And emperor lets him get away with it), he clearly looks down on her and at a couple of points he genuinely threatens her and her family with murder. He's not charming or gentle or considerate. THIS IS NOT A MAN YOU WANT TO MARRY OMG!!! It has clearly not occurred to her to think past being carried into this house, envy of all her girlfriends - day in, day out with a rude, violent man who is the emperor's favorite (so you can't really seek help from your family if he doesn't treat you well), who dislikes you and who is entitled to take other wives.
Anyway, I love NN and her pragmatic mind and that she makes Ling Buyi EARN her consent and her loyalty and her love. (But then she is ride or die for him, isn't she?)
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just a quick thing bc it bothers me and i wanna get this off my chest
*pulls down presentation screen*
yes, both Miguel O’Hara and the Spot are antagonists to Miles
how-ever,
Miguel is an antagonist and a hero while the Spot is an antagonist and villain
that is all, thank you
#atsv#atsv spoilers#spiderman atsv#across the spiderverse#miguel o'hara#spiderman 2099#the spot#miles morales#this has been fluffy’s mini lecture about literary narrative terms#Antagonist and villain are NOT the same thing#can they be? yes but that is all dependent on the narrative and who the protagonist is#Protagonists and heroes are NOT the same thing#Can they be? Yes but like with antagonists it is all dependent on the perspective of the narrative#we are USED to seeing protagonists be heroes because many stories are in the PERSPECTIVE of heroes not villains#thank you for coming to me Ted talk#if you disagree with me go take it up with your lit teacher
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I am once again BEGGING folks in the critrole fandom to understand that terms for problematic queer tropes have actual meaning and context.
Queerbaiting cannot exist in the context of "the queer relationship I prefer didn't happen but another one did." Nor does it mean "a queer character doesn't get into a relationship with someone they're implied to be attracted to." It cannot exist because one character you wanted to be queer was not confirmed as such and did not have the chance to explore a relationship the fandom wanted, in spite of a plethora of other queer characters and relationships in the media.
Because queerbaiting means an intended, marketed implication that there would be a central queer relationship that was never actually going to be delivered on, in an effort to attract queer audiences without alienating straight/homophobic ones.
Bury Your Gays cannot exist in the context of "character I ship in a queer relationship died." It cannot exist in the context of "other characters of canonical queer status lived." It cannot exist if the story and setting otherwise strongly and repeatedly refute the idea that any experienced queer happiness must be punished. It cannot exist if the character you're talking about has not been confirmed queer.
Because Bury Your Gays is a term for introducing a queer character into an otherwise straight work (usually in a tokenistic way) and then killing them off without ceremony or purpose—often or, depending on the definition, exclusively just after they have started or consummated a relationship, as it is an implication that queer happiness must be punished as a cosmic rule of the setting.
These tropes virtually cannot be present in a work if they are otherwise refuted by the work itself due to the presence of other queer characters. They suggest a rule of the narrative that queerness is anathema to the narrative and world, and cannot be allowed to exist, which cannot apply if the world and narrative is otherwise very supportive of queerness. In fact, the context of these tropes when they were established implied that this was applicable to the only queer person or relationship in a work, because in the context of their inception, it was nearly unfathomable to have even a semi-mainstream media with numerous queer characters and queerness normalized and expected within the setting.
EXTREMELY specific parameters would have to be met to have either of these tropes in particular present in Exandria at this point, and even then, the question of whether or not it would still apply given the conceit of the setting's relationship to queerness and gender as well as the improvisational format of the medium is something that would take whole dissertations to discuss and come to anything approaching a definitive answer.
#cr spoilers#cr discourse#cr meta#do NOT try me on this particular subject i stg#because your options are 'read my very reasonable and organized explanation post' (the 'me being nice' option)#or 'take my 600 page thesis on the matter to the fucking face'#feel like I should make a graph here.#does the character have to be confirmed queer? no for queerbaiting. yes for bury your gays.#does the story need to exclusively handle queerness in a tokenistic way? yes for bury your gays. it's complicated for queerbaiting#(complicated cuz... a character can be confirmed queer and it can still be queerbaiting.#depending on severity of the bait vs actual amount of time/importance of the character on screen)#(i.e. end of supernatural? queerbaiting cuz like. the ratio was absurd. the random gay character cameos in disney films? queerbaiting.)#does it have to be intentional? yes for queerbaiting. not necessarily for bury your gays.#death of the author and all that.#honestly I would personally argue that the nature of the game of dnd makes it impossible to have an instance of bury your gays.#but I'm not writing that essay today cuz it would be wasted on tumblr.#and like. in general. suggest a queer person who enjoys narratives about death and grief is homophobic one more time.#you will get the ream of paper to the face.
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this is a personal vent post so please let me just get it all out without trying to come at me lol:
so many ppl saying they respect larian's decision to peace out and not deal with hasbro/wotc, but i have to be honest, i don't respect them at all.
they are leaving a game behind that is unfinished and a narrative mess.
they leave a game behind where everyone paid the same amount of money for it, yet depending on which character you prefer, you get less content.
the disparity between everyone else and their writer's pet ast*rion is insane. he has a half to a third more content depending on which character you compare him to.
they leave behind a sparse act 2, which is already so barren compared to act 1 and all it had to offer. act 3 is a narrative mess and lacks structure.
they leave a game behind where they made promises a handful of weeks before release where they ought to have known that they, in fact, will not be delivering said promises: access to the upper city, consequences for playing certain races across the acts (playing a drow is going to be different in act 1 and gives you advantages vs act 3 where it would give you understandable disadvantages), etc etc etc.
they leave behind a game where content was cut from the companions to make it seem like the origins have something to offer when that system is barely able to compare what origin playthroughs offered in dos2 and it hurts the game and the experience (like tara being cut for companion gale).
they leave behind a game where they promised to much variety and proclaimed in panels from hell how they struggled to show the width and depth of the game, but really? it's about as deep as a puddle. a lot of the choices do not matter. kill ethel? nah, she's alive and well in the city. no sister hags to be angry here. give karlach no infernal iron and never talk to her at all? doesn't matter, she'll survive until the end of act 3 and will still call you her bff. dissuade gale to use the orb? we'll make sure he'll still offer 3 more times just in case. send yenna away from camp bc you don't want her there? doesn't matter, she'll stay. and yes, i'm aware these are all small things, but they are part of a larger problem. almost nothing you do truly matters to the point of where i just skip most things in act 1 and 2 now.
they leave behind a game that they promise to still patch, but some things have been broken since early access / release to the point of where i'm like i'm sorry, but your word that you will continue to patch things means about as much to me as all the other empty promises. the dialogue about morena dekarios is still broken and it's been over half a year now. the astral sea scene has low-res body textures for months. i know from mutuals who love minthara that her romance is still broken. and i could go on and on.
and what gets me the most about this is all is that they have learned nothing at all from dos2: act 3 of that game was so bugged and all over the place that i couldn't muster up the motivation to finish it the first time i played. they neglected a character to the point of where he could have been removed from the game or made a general hireling (beast).
those issues were at least attempted to be fixed in the definitive edition.
with swen saying that there will be no new content anymore and stating that both bg3 and its characters are now property of wotc/hasbro, it seems unlikely we'll even get an attempt of a fix.
so what this boils down to to me is just another game company not delivering on their promises after overselling their product and more or less abandoning it after a year to move onto the next big thing.
i don't think i can respect that ngl.
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I find bloodweave really interesting as a toxic yaoi couple, and I’m only half joking when I say that. I think Astarion and Gale have the potential to bring out their saddest and worst qualities in each other. Because what I find most interesting about those characters is that both of them—whether they realize it or not—want to be like their abusers.
Gale, obviously, doesn’t really realize that. For a while, he doesn’t even get that he was abused in the first place. But he has this love and admiration for Mystra, her command of the weave, and he wants to be like her so badly. His hunger for that kind of knowledge and familiarity with magic is his greatest flaw.
For Astarion it’s a little different. He knows that Cazador abused him. But he still wants to be Cazador. After all, Cazador was this horrible, all-powerful force in Astarion’s life for so long—he was the one who meted out the punishment, who ruled Astarion. If Astarion could be like Cazador…well, he would never be hurt again. He could finally be safe. So it’s not love for Cazador, but fear and desperation that causes Astarion to want to be like Cazador.
And I think these two would really bring that out in each other. Gale already brings up to Tav the idea of becoming a god, and Tav can decide to go either way on it, but we know what Astarion’s answer would be—yes. Of course. That’s a brilliant idea.
These are two deeply hurt people whose lives have been shaped irreversibly by incredibly powerful and immoral people. Their biggest influences in life have been horrible gods. And they can really bring that influence out in each other. Furthermore, when they finally do get their own power, I think they would start to have this anger with each other, that one was more powerful than the other and vice versa, that maybe the other couldn’t depend on them the way the “weak” must depend on the “strong.”
The last thing I’ll say is that there’s a fantastic piece of art that I can no longer find with ascended Astarion in a throne and god Gale sort of lounging above him. They look so fucking evil in that. Gale and Astarion can be so, so bad for each other, and I think their dynamic from a narrative standpoint is amazing.
#baldur's gate 3#bg3#bg3 spoilers#astarion#gale of waterdeep#gale dekarios#bloodweave#cazador#mystra#tw abuse#txt from mi
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whether you like it or not, YES, obsessively reading love/your person/crush/FS/etc. tarot readings is bad for you.
even if you’re just reading them for fun (like i was), you have to really think about it. first, every reading you click on requires some kind of energetic connection with the reader. if you read/watch multiple of these things a day you’ve got a bunch of strangers all up in your energy all the time and that’s just not going to be a good thing. buying personal ones is included in this.
youtube randomly recommended me a video of a woman explaining that we as clients come to these readings because, most likely, our situations are so unfulfilling or confusing so we seek answers through tarot. this is natural imo and isn’t a sign of bad character or anything, but we have to accept that some things are meant to be a mystery to us. beyond that, a tarot reader (especially one doing PACs or collective readings) can only pick up on the energy of the querent. the other person’s energy cannot be picked up on without consent, which means that tarot readers read your energy and the way you interpret your person’s energy. this means that if you see your person as hot-and-cold and are holding onto hope for a connection that clearly isn’t working, the reader is going to tell you exactly what you’re thinking because the only way that 3rd party person’s energy can be accessed is through the footprint it leaves in your aura.
not only does this mean that — if you consume these readings often — you’re consistently getting told a false one-sided narrative, but it also inherently establishes its own reward system that keeps you coming back for me. for example, you tell yourself that your person likes you (and maybe they do!) but they’re scared of their feelings for you which is why they ghost you. when you receive a reading that says this, it affirms to you that you were right, and the reading was “accurate”. worse than that, these readings and your dependency on them can easily be used to justify clinging on to a relationship or connection that isn’t working. your person goes cold and you run to a tarot reading basically to be told that there is some hope, actually, and now instead of dealing with the difficult feelings that come with romantic disappointment and growing through that, you’re stuck in the stagnant state of waiting for reality to match up to the picture in your head. realistically, the healthiest thing for you to do is move on from this person and work on yourself.
this isn’t to say that all tarot readings are terrible, because i don’t think that at all. tarot can definitely be a great tool for self-discovery and just for getting some direction in life. i also don’t think there’s a problem with doing love readings for yourself as long as it’s not constant and obsessive.
if you find yourself looking for affirmation from these readings, you should instead shift your focus to readings about your shadow self, where you need to grow and heal, and other things like that. we cling on to these lackluster connections because of something in our past that makes disappointing people attractive to us. i know a lot of you on here are very defensive about your precious PAC readings, but the fact of the matter is that you read them because either your love life is nonexistent and you have to consume what is essentially self-insert fanfiction to cope (i’m not coming for you bc i’m in that camp) OR you do have some connection with someone but they are falling short or disappointing you in such a way that direct communication is not possible and you have to turn to an outside source for some kind of answer.
at the end of the day, if you actually care about yourself, you’re going to have to do the (very hard) work of finding security in yourself and who you are. these readings and any relationships you have or aspire to have are never going to replace that. and frankly a few of you seem to put too much weight on the meaning of these readings. i remember someone said they don’t bother to put any effort into their current relationships anymore because they “know” their current partner isn’t the one bc it doesn’t match up to what they’ve read in FS readings. at some point you need to use your common sense. the readings get hundreds of notes and thousands of views and there’s no way you can rationally justify making decisions like that based off of something meant to apply to everyone who watches and not just you specifically.
i’m making this post because i’ve stopped consuming readings like this and i actually feel so much better mentally and spiritually. they actually are fully capable of making you completely delusional as well, which in some contexts isn’t exactly a bad thing but it’s not a great state to be in when it comes to your interpersonal relationships. ultimately i hope that i’m able to at least of few other people break their pattern and kickstart a genuine healing journey.
i don’t use this app often, tbh so if you get mad in my replies you might as well take it up with god because i’m not looking and if i am looking i’m not caring at the same time. toodles!!
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For the record, and I will die on this hill, the actual message of Jurassic Park - including the book and the movie - is that we don't have any control, not even over ourselves.
This works in multiple ways, but especially in a meta way:
crichton was originally trying to write a story against unregulated genetic technology. no one, ever, has this takeaway. so he did not have control over how people take his story.
spielberg was doing that, but also "wow look at dinosaurs, look at how birdie and alive they are". some people have that takeaway. most people don't. so spielberg also does not have control over this story.
(remember guys, death to the author, it doesn't matter that this is what they were trying to say. also crichton sucks so who cares about him.)
most people see the story as "dinosaurs are inherently monstrous and we can't possibly live alongside them." this is not what the story says, at all. the story itself cannot control how people see it.
people who are keen observers of the story see how it is really saying unregulated capitalism leads to bad results - nedry is really the cause of many of the problems and its because he was overworked and underpaid. But this is not the intent of the authors, nor really what the narrative points to (as @thagomizersshow pointed out). So that message falls incredibly flat and has many holes. So not only is that not really the message, it is also not something people with decent meta analysis skills can control.
Throughout the story, it is constantly pointed out how little control people have of their surroundings. Hammond is the obvious example, but every character has moments where they wish they could act differently and can't, because they don't have control.
The theme of chaos runs throughout the entire story, not just because of Malcolm, though obviously he pushes it
Even the dinosaurs don't have control, and that's why they freak out - they want freedom, they want their own lives, but they can't have them. Their lack of control even to the extent that we have in nature leads to their own deteriorating mental states and eventual erratic behavior
all the characters - human and otherwise - are at the mercy of forces of nature beyond their control, throughout. the weather, the island itself, but the humans are at the mercy of the dinosaurs, and the dinosaurs are at the mercy of the humans.
in the end, the characters' choices at the climax are inherently limited by other characters' choices at the start, showcasing how little choice we actually have access to (and thus how little control)
yes, as far as we can tell, living beings have free will and are able to make choices. but what choices we have access to are extremely dependent on both ourselves as organisms and our environments that we live in. We do not have control over anything, not even ourselves.
And that is the message Jurassic Park carries, even if few people ever see it. Because it is so inherent to our lives that we ignore it.
After all... how much of the narratives we have in society imply we all can control ourselves completely?
And how much will that all break down when we admit we can't?
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are the 2099 comics THAT bad in terms of racism plus other weird writing choices??? i'm starved for miguel content and would like to read the original comic run but i keep seeing the debate of the original comics being problematic and/or downright just BAD bad (not to mention miguel is supposed to have mexican heritage but he's straight up a white redhead lol)
Some people may disagree but speaking as a latinx writer; it's bad because it is racist, yes! On multiple fronts!! And beyond that, it's also bad as a complete failure of comics structure and compelling narrative.
Longpost, on readmore;
I say this as a long-time capeshit reader, as politely as possible: Miguel's comics are a *paycheck* book. As in; a series a writer does monthly to be paid for it, but with middling aspirations and downright negative characterization depending on where their mood is.
The first few issues of his 1992 run are relatively complete and well-balanced, may even trick you into thinking this story is going somewhere; but that's only because they're the /character pitch./ Ill skip to the end and tell you upfront. That 1992 series ends with the implosion of the whole "2099" line of comics (an universe that included other books, like ghost rider, doom, etc, by other writers) due to dwindling public interest and mass cancellations. The end of that run is basically meaningless, since the whole thing got retconned - and even before that a guest writer had came in and made mistaken character reveals pdavid wasnt happy with and wanted to erase before the finale. The event book that wrapped up that universe was unironically, literally called -- "2099: Manifest Destiny."
Now, I don't like Peter David's writing. I think he's obsessed with the idea of building harems out of his female characters (when he's not fridging them, or making them act ~crazy~ to further alienate them from the protagonist) and it is the kind of grueling, joyless reading experience I can only describe as making you feel Oily Inside. This goes as far as multiple stalking plotlines, the inclusion of a guest appearance from AU s/x slaver Hulk in later years, Miguel's mother being strongly implied to have been forced into conceiving him by his real dad who's the evil CEO of alchemax, general torture painporn. His broader supporting cast is so interchangeable and disposable that they were literally disposed of.
In terms of the racism; I have mentioned how he uses cultures as tokens and does 0 research whatsoever. The way it feels and the way it is deployed is through a lens of Exoticism - tourism. Miguels suit is allegedly "a dia de los muertos costume" b/c pdavid seems to think that holiday is mexican halloween. In the orig book, you'll see plenty of broken japanese and stereotypical orientalist caricatures - after killing his first love interest, pdavid introduces a japanese girl who is unironically, literally named "Xina" (that pretends to be chinese on occasion) to fill in the vacant role. Miguel himself falls right into all the usual latino stereotypes — short tempered, drug addict, sex magnet "latin lover" (this last one also applied to his brother Gabriel, who for the longest time is characterized by just Going Through A Lot Of Girlfriends). And it's kind of insane bc he's still being drawn as a deeply deeply white man, but not even that takes off the burden of the racial microagressions!!! They're the only times pdavid seems to remember that heritage! Then there's the commemorative hanging page. Since you mention the redheadedness; thats another insane thing to me. He has 0% of irish in him. His dad is Blond. Who is this man?
Most of the info in the 2099 run is either revealed to be a lie midway thru (miguel is not mr o'hara's son, nor addicted to rapture) or completely retconned away to be rewritten in new runs. Different writers have tried to come in and do miguel in other team/event books but frankly nothing stands out and most of them get marked as alternate-miguels. Unfortunately, every time marvel decided to give another shot at spider-man 2099 they also brought pdavid back. The newer books were never a success, and theyre just as filled w/ the garbage i mentioned earlier (wow! Steampunk spider-woman is given to pdavid for *ONE* issue and instantly tonguekisses gabriel before leaving, so novel. More fridging ensues. Stalking. Etc.) 2099 as an *universe* has been retconned so many times Nothing is consistent and Nothing is set on stone and frankly i think they should make it an AU separate from main canon and build a whole new world already.
The art in the 2015 + runs consists mostly of tracing, and more of that oily weird feeling applied to fem chars. Perhaps you have noticed in this entire hate review have never once spoken about Miguel's heroic plots and memorable villains --- he has none. At least nothing I can remember or distinguish. (Interchangeable, disposable, etc) There is a vague inkling of "this is an anti-stabilishment spiderman, he fights against The Public Eye, the Corporation Cops!" at the start but much like his cultural illiteracy pdavid has no real insightful politics commentary, so that dissolves into the background in time. Its all buzzwords. All of his plotlines are solved in circuitous or soap operaish extradrama ways; and while some of this is present in other superhero comics, what stands out to me MOST is how utterly fucking joyless Miguel's comics are. It's like going through a slog on obligation. They genuinely gave me a headache every time.
ATSV does a great job of reinventing Miguel and rebuilding the parts of him that showed real promise. Being a different tone-swapped spiderman, futuristic, being more on the tech-science side of crime fighting. Him being a single dad with a daughter is also new. (And he is single! There is no singular mention of marriage or a wife anywhere, he's a geneticist, multiple spider-men we see in this movie were literal clones made in tubes - i am fond of the idea he's a transmasc dad but even if you think he's cis he could have made that baby himself. Adoption is also always there.) I think its very clear ATSV didn't want to bring any of pdavids major weird shit w fem chars to the big screen on the hopes that miguel gets rebooted eventually. I think he's gay. Nobody can prove me wrong.
On that note, Steve Orlando (queer writer, also wrote for DC's midnighter/apollo) did some of the latest 2022/2023 Miguel miniseries. Another reboot! Those were "2099: Exodus" and "Spider-man 2099: Dark Genesis" - i think its campier/trying to tackle superhero plots more head on and trying to do something wide wacky cast focused at Marvel's personal request, but Miguel's future is very up in the air rn. I do really hope they reboot him into something closer to ATSV with latines at the center soon.
What I always reccomend for people curious abt miguel: read his first 3ish 1992 issues, get a general feel and close the book as soon as you feel annoyed. It won't get better. Remember none of it is canon nor has been relevant in over two decades. If you want to know the wider context of his messy chronology, check out some of the 2099 "all comics" type of youtube videos, theres some pretty easy to digest summarizations if u dont wanna waste ur time reading stuff that just got retconned again lol. Most writers now are operating on vibes and that is a freedom you should also allow yourself in your own fanwork.
Putting his panels out of context can be very funny though. (For further curiosity or tangents, there's always my meta tag)
#meta tag#asks#miguel o'hara#miguel ohara#spiderman 2099#spiderverse#spider man: across the spider verse#atsv#my spider stuff#atsv miguel#miguel atsv#marvel comics#spiderman#itsv#2099
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Literally saw someone say that aang didn’t only accept the digestible parts of Katara and to “leave my baby alone!”
I think in this discourse we forget, besides the literal SA (because yes kissing people without consent especially doing it TWICE is SA), Aang is a kid. A child. Aang as a person is over idealistic….it only makes sense he would go about having crushes the same way. And that’s the only flaw of his I don’t “hate” him for. So yes, he does accept only the digestible parts of Katara, because he’s an overly idealistic child who runs away whenever he has to confront something. That is why it’s a such a shame he never let go of his attachment to Katara. Like he NEEDED that, especially to grow. I don’t think that baby needed a relationship at all, and even if he was in one, I’d wish for it to be with someone of the same maturity level (just to clarify I’m in no way saying he is mature just had to say this unless it comes off confusing).
The fact that the conflict of “letting go of attachments” was dropped in favour of Aang just…getting what he always wanted anyways is a big problem with his character arc. His attachment (and dependence) on Katara was holding him back, yet the narrative never truly reckons with that character flaw in him. With that in mind, we can then understand why people still feel somewhat uncomfortable with shipping him with Katara when he hasn’t truly matured.
Some will claim that Aang matured a great deal by the end, but I don’t agree. I think that he changed (slightly) but in truth, he is absolved of making the difficult decisions and gets to pick the comfortable option at the expense of his character growth. He’s idealistic when it comes to Katara, something that makes sense for a childish schoolboy crush, but does not make sense as the foundation of a relationship. He can’t let go of that romanticized view, and because of that, he wasn’t able to connect with her on a level that Zuko was. Romantic or platonic, Zuko saw Katara’s overt rage and pain and was receptive to it (which Aang wasn’t able to do).
Yet so many people don’t see why that is such a gaping hole in their relationship. People can revise history as much as they want, but the facts speak for themselves. Aang never meaningfully digested the uglier and more complex facts of Katara, which is…not great for the endgame couple. Aang’s young, but he’s not a clueless baby. He should’ve learned why his idealized image of Katara was bad.
#atla#Katara#atla fandom discourse#avatar the last airbender#Zuko#pro zutara#anti Kataang#anti bryke#atla critical
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I think, me personally, I want my fic to portray Astarion as I interpret his in-game self, in that yes he is awful, and an awful person for most of it, but he is also capable of change if you guide him to it. Cuz that's canonically a thing he can do.
It's weird to always classify him as inherently and irrevocably evil. It's also weird to classify him as a secretly soft twee baby who just has some traumas you need to massage out with the power of love.
As a writer, I want to show that Astarion is a bad person, but that he has the capacity, and more importantly, the will to change, once he is given the proper tools and freedom to do so.
There's also an interesting aspect of him being a video game character, who by definition must obey the player's agency. It's a difficult thing to balance, because once you take the gameplay aspect from his story out of the equation, your job as an author is to fill that space with his own in-universe agency. And people fill that space differently.
That's also probably partly why you get people who insist he's good deep down inside and just needs to shed all his bad traits ("I can fix him") and people who think he's thoroughly evil and any change for the better is OOC ("I like that he's unfixable"). Both camps are equally mad at the other because both of them are equally "correct," in that the game allows for the player to insert those thoughts where the narrative leaves room for interpretation. Nobody can win the argument because the argument is by design unwinnable. Both are correct. Neither is more true than the other.
It's easier to dunk on bad takes in traditional media where the text is fixed, where the interpretations can range from accurate to bonkers depending on your level of literacy. In games, especially story-heavy ones, there are spaces literally made to allow for player interpretation, interaction, and alteration.
So, to me, I think it's important to show that Astarion is a bad person, but that he is capable of change. That's my take on his character, his story, and what I find the most compelling. Others may disagree, and that's fine, but seeing two technically-incorrect-but-good-luck-proving-it-because-both-have-their-points teams overtake the conversation is quite frustrating to say the least.
#bg3#astarion discourse#anyway ... doing game theory science in my real life and i'm having thots#fuck it ... rebloggable
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Who is White?
If it is not I, your friendly neighbourhood non-binary deranged literature major, once again to tell you about stuff that the voices™︎ have prompted me.
This time, let's talk about the elephant in the room, the odd one out: Mr. White, a.k.a the fandom's babyboy.
(me as Fluke in this GIF, walking in ready to dissect this bitch)
So, what do we factually know about this man?
From what we're directly told in the show:
He's Tee's boyfriend, at least, since 12th grade, meaning they have been together for about 3 years, maybe 4 (depending on when exactly we are in terms of time in the present and when exactly during 12th grade they started dating).
He's younger than the rest of them, according to Por and Top in episode 1.
He studied at a different school from the main gang AND from Phee (yes, despite the embroidery having a similar colour, the writings where the institution's name should be are nothing alike, thus, not from the same place)
He cares a lot about his appearance (he does skincare when Por is literally dying downstairs and he sees a rash on his body while under the effect of New's absynthe - idk if it's absynthe or not but my friends and I have been calling it that since we saw them drink the green drinks so it's absynthe for me and there's that).
He's generally a very respectful person (he always speaks formally and nicely to everyone, even when people are hostile to him, like Tee or Fluke).
His fear doesn't seem to paralyze him in high-pressure situations (he strikes people with a tripod twice to save himself and others when he thinks they're in danger).
Another source could be the Yearbook, which, now, we have to be a bit more skeptical about because, as seen in New's case, it's not 100% accurate. One can argue that it is accurate because the yearbook would have Tan's info, since that's who he's living as and no one knows any better than that, including the institutions and, sure, yeah, fair. But while we don't know that White is hiding anything from us as well, we can't be sure of it. So, take the following with a grain of salt:
(translated with Google Translate)
His legal name is Watcharin Siriphan
He was born on the 25th of February 2005 (which confirms what Por and Top say)
His blood type is A (which according to the Blood Type Personality Theory means he is shy, stubborn, a perfectionist, polite and hard-working, apparently. tbh this thing is super shifty, no source seems to agree on the meaning of each type and, of course, it's a pseudoscience and all, so... yeah. take it as you will)
He's studying Software Engineering
He likes cakes
He dislikes cockroaches
He plays games and programs in his free time
So... We don't know much. He's the most generic person ever. Like... I too, and half the world's population, like cake, dislike cockroaches and like to play games. It's not exactly very special. Which is exactly why he is so intriguing. After all, we had 5 whole episodes so far, which were just the backstory of the people we see together in the mansion in the present. We've seen their personalities, their qualities and flaws, what they did and what they didn't do. We've been given a reason as to why they're here. Not just in the more direct sense of "they agreed to come here for Jin's goodbye party" but of why exactly they needed to be put all together in these conditions for this story. All except White. White is just... Barely an afterthought. We're shown when he comes into this story for the group (when he becomes Tee's boyfriend), but we're not given a reason so far as to why the narrative wants him there.
Because, sure, IRL people sometimes end up in random places and things can be pretty meaningless but this is a work of fiction. One that, evidently, has been greatly focused on details (Non's framed apple picture and Phee eating an apple alone, for example, or the correlation between the group and the colour blue). So why would it just throw us a character that is, seemingly, irrelevant to the story?
And to this, there are 2 possibilities my friends: either White is a narrative tool to get to the audience or White is not who we think he is. So let's explore it, shall we?
White = Narrative Tool
Let's start by assuming, possibly the most likely outcome, that White is exactly just a guy who ended up there due to his connection to Tee. Why would this narrative need that character?
Glad you asked. Because he's the only person who's 100% innocent. If he's just some guy who, as we've seen, keeps being respectful and nice and trying to always do the right thing, then he's got nothing to do with the others who, in different degrees are all guilty of something. He's the odd one out.
Because, yes, this is not a show of villains (at least, not in which concerns the main characters). They're all morally grey. But they have some drop of black that makes them grey.
Por is arrogant and a liar and selfish.
Tee is aggressive and manipulative and a control freak.
Top is an overall asshole and a coward.
These 3 actively bully Non. Por steals his work. Tee and Top blame him for shit he didn't do which puts in the situation where he owns Por and they spy on him. Tee manipulates him into mafia money laundry and threatens him.
Fluke is selfish and refuses to take action even when he knows it's the right thing to do.
Jin's doesn't have the capability to realize that the peaceful passive way with which he normally carries himself with won't solve the issue. Plus he's overly emotional. And a bit selfish too.
They didn't help Non when it was their moral obligation to do so. And Jin records him being abused by their teacher and possibly posts it online (though that's still up for debate).
Phee is too stubborn and also overly emotional and even overly empathic.
New is obsessive and vengeful.
Phee never really helps Non because all the ways he offers Non help are the wrong ones. He almost tries to control him. And he fails. And then he tells him awful things and breaks up with him in a terribly vulnerable moment for Non. And even when he regrets it and tries to bring justice to him, he fucks Jin because he wanted to and tries to cover it up as if it was part of the plan. Sure, they were broken up, technically, but Phee himself seems to have had "take-backies" over that breaking up. So, in his mind, at least, it's fair to say he cheats on him, which is very hypocritical after how he reacts to Non being abused. And New... He tries to help sincerely because he feels guilty but he only makes things worse. Nothing is solved and their father curses them both before committing public suicide at their mom's funeral.
Non (which may be even more relevant if he's still alive) is overly independent and uncommunicative.
He doesn't tell Jin he has a boyfriend when it's clear Jin's trying to make a move on him, event though Non's not interested. He hides very important things from Phee. He commits fraud (understandably, but yeah). And yeah, he's justified in his rage and attack but... Does he ever think of how his actions affect other such as Jin, for example, who, in his eyes, is innocent? Not really.
"Oh but White won't die!", I hear you say. "The innocent people never die in slashers!! Only the people who did the killer wrong do!" And that's exactly where I have to disagree.
So, amidst a sea of grey characters, White is, funnily enough: white. He's just good. He's done nothing wrong. And the narrative needs him because, when the others die, we'll feel (to different degrees, sure, but still, we will) that there's a reason. Even if we like the characters, those deaths will make sense. But what happens when an innocent man dies? What happens when you kill the man who wasn't even supposed to be there (he joined the trip at the last minute)?
As @syrena-del-mar says in this post: "DFF is more than just a 90s slasher film imitation". It "sits at a novel intersection of genre: horror slasher on the one hand and BL on the other hand" as @brifrischu puts it here and, for that, it bends expectations and rules and subverts what are natural tropes and events of the slasher archetype. White dying is the sort of thing this narrative, and our inventive genius Sammon, would do. Because... Do you really think they're giving us grey characters instead of black ones because we're supposed not to question this revenge? Because we're supposed to be happy about this? No. Of course not. That would be dumb. If we're meant to 100% side with the killer, then why give us likeable characters as the targets? Because, and this is as much speculation as it is reading the room, we're not.
This story, I don't know how it will end, but regardless I'm pretty confident it's supposed to tell us something important about cycles of violence: that they're neverending until someone chooses peace instead. That aggression and bloodshed and revenge... They won't bring time back, they won't undo the mistakes we make, they won't restore that which is lost, they won't make the grief go away... That they won't make us feel better. More even: that they will only hurt more people, create more injustice and prompt more revenge. And, thus, perpetuate the cycle.
So what's White's role? Being the final drop into our collective cup of realization (and perhaps the characters' as well) that this revenge mission is pointless and won't solve anything. White's role is to die.
"Oh, but uncle Dang was also innocent! Is his death not enough??", I hear you ask. And well... Maybe, maybe not. I think, honestly, his death is too impersonal for us to feel too deeply about it. Like, sure, yes, it is the death of an innocent, but it's a distant innocent. It doesn't make our blood boil because we don't know shit about that man. But, for all we don't know of White's past, we've seen him cry, we've seen him scared, we've seen him fight for his life, we've seen him be a good boyfriend and a good friend. He might just be some dude but we like him. He's the fandom's babyboy, as I said. It is more impactful and it tells the story better.
But this is just a hypothesis. And it might not convince you. And that's fair. So, because I'm a persistent obnoxious fucker with a little too much free time, I'm bringing you a second theory. For this one, though... You might need a little tinfoil hat... Be prepared.
White ≠ Who He Says He Is
So, if you think just having a character be hollow and pure good in a show of very fleshed-out and grey characters is weird, even if he might be narratively relevant, then we can only assume there's something important to White's character we don't know about yet. (I'm adding this in retrospective because I forgot but this idea came to me partially from @yellingaboutkp and their great analysis of horns in the show that you can find here)
But what could that be? We've seemingly seen all the flashbacks we needed from everyone, White doesn't seem very relevant to anyone's storyline but Tee's but... We'd assume if there was something directly connected to Tee's actions and White that we needed to see, we would've. Admittedly, the next episode seems to be on its way to tell us what Tee knows about what happened to Non and Keng while they were captured by the mafia and he could be there but I think, honestly, that it goes deeper than that. And here's why: because there's a person who's even more of an odd one out then White: whoever Perth's character is.
Now, he would've been completely unsuspicious if it wasn't for one thing: Perth's presence in the promotion of this series. He's just... Always there, somehow? Like, his character has only really appeared last episode massaging Tee's uncle but he's constantly talking about this series. Plus, his name is very well credited. AND, the absolute cherry on top, his character appears in THIS poster:
Now, yeah, I understand Marketing and Publicity (it's part of my Master's, you don't have to explain it to me). So, I know this could very well just be a strategy to sell the series. After all, Perth did get a lot of attention after The Hidden Character, I know, I know. It's also a way to put his name out there for other future roles, kinda like a soft launch. Plus, this is the show that killed Us's character first when he was one of the most popular actors in the cast. HOWEVER, I'd argue that, considering the previously mentioned attention to detail, they would not have given one of their rising stars a role in this series if it wasn't important. Like... No other background character without lines (so far) was given an important actor to play it. So pardon me, but I don't buy it. Perth's character's gotta matter somehow. And, back to what I was saying, I think the next episode will be exactly where.
See, I made a poll here on the hellsite asking what y'all think happened to Non. It's this one. And it shows that, overwhelmingly, we all think Non is alive BECAUSE he was helped by the man himself:
"Okay, Dante, but, even if that's true, where does White fit in all this?" Glad. You. Asked.
Now, if we're assuming Perth's character's the one that's gonna help Non (and possibly Keng or maybe not, idk and it really doesn't matter for now), we've gotta assume he's a possible suspect for the murderer. And even more so under this optic that Non is alive. Who more than a person whose whole reality seemed to be the mafia and who might've escaped it would be okay with murdering people? Right? Or, on the contrary, that he took a liking to Non and is trying to prevent him from further digging himself a hole in life and is trying to save him from himself.
You see, I didn't watch The Hidden Character (and those who did apparently recommend it stays that way). I didn't know any of these people before except those who were in Kinnporsche. And you know what that led me to? Curiously enough, dear reader: confusing Fuaiz with Perth. So, yeah, you know where this is going... White and Perth's character might be related. Brothers, probably.
"All because you think they look alike?" Well, if you ignore the way I just explained how it would tie some very loose ends... Yeah, kinda. BUT, in my defence, it makes a lot of genetic sense.
See, no other characters in the show really look this much alike. Believe me, I tested it.
For this purpose, I tried many different sites but the one that seemed to give me the most reliable results was FaceShape. Most characters got no more than 10%, some even got 0% (e.g. New and Perth's Character). And you wanna know how much White and Perth's character got? Nearly 50%.
For comparison reasons, New and Non who are CANONICALLY brothers, got about 30%.
BUT, if this is not convincing enough, my sister and I (who share EXACTLY the same 2 parents) got lower than them.
(pls ignore the picture, I was trynna make it as accurate as possible so I took a front pic with a neutral expression. also, my sister is censored for privacy reasons)
Now... Will I claim this is irrefutable proof? No. Not at all, but think about it: if White and Perth are related that might maybe explain how Tee and White met. It might also explain that really weird scene in the pre-release trailer (albeit all scenes in that are rather odd) where White-
Yes, thank you, Obi-Wan. And Anakin Tee is looking up at him, as if White has more power than Tee does. Because then, it could probably mean that White knows something and is probably there to do something. What exactly? Idk, man. He could be there to ensure the group remains clueless/confused or that they remain where they need to be for things to work... Or he could be there to try and prevent stuff from happening much to the likeness of what I stated for Perth's character's case.
"Oh, but if he knows something, wouldn't he know what happened to Non? Why would he be curious to watch the recording??"
Well, not necessarily. We know Non is not communicative and that he doesn't typically share his problems with anyone (the exception being Keng, obviously, but then again, the exception confirms the rule). And sure, Keng might be more talkative but idk if he would say something if Non asked him not to. I have a feeling he probably wouldn't (since he has that weird thing JJ mentioned about how he "loves Non" and, therefore, even if he's an abuser, he doesn't perceive himself that way and wouldn't do something he actively thinks would hurt Non). So, while Perth's character would know what happened to Non while he was being held by Tee's uncle and even some things about why he is there, he probably wouldn't know the rest.
But then why would he date Tee? Well, this is a narrative so... Foils are something that can happen. Having White and his relationship with Tee be a parallel to that of Phee and Jin is not weird and, in fact, has happened in the very first episode when both couples arrive at the room where the singles are, in pairs. Therefore, it wouldn't be weird to think of White as someone who maybe also fell in love with the guy that was supposed to be a means to an end or, alternatively, and perhaps more interestingly, have White NOT be in love with him and actually succeed, unlike Phee. Thus, drawing the comparison that, while Tee and White are in a relationship, White didn't fall in love and, inversely, while Phee and Jin aren't in a relationship, Phee did fall in love.
And this would mean that all we've seen of White's fear might, in fact, be an act to throw suspicion off of him. Or even more justified because he knows exactly what's lurking in the woods... After all, why would he suddenly join Jin's goodbye party if he's not a friend of Jin's? What reason better than to tag along your boyfriend's getaway with his friends if not to protect him from the terrible consequences of his actions?
But I get it. It's an extremely convoluted theory and, in all honesty, maybe makes the show more dull and boring if it's true because... Why would they repeat this "secret brother" twist? Or the dating with second intentions trope? It could be a narrative parallel, yes, but I can also definitely see how people could point that out as uncreative or lazy writing.
Either way: these thoughts were circling around my head and, before the next episode confirms or destroys them, I wanted to get them out into the world for y'all to, maybe, hopefully, join in on the hype for it, as it's less than 24h 'till it airs. Hope in that I was successful, at the very least.
Anyway... As usual feel free to (politely) argue with me, tell me I'm wrong, tell me I missed this and that, add to it, etc... Because if there's one thing I currently love more than DFF itself, it's definitely the fandom and I want us to make the most of it!!
I'll see y'all tomorrow when we're freaking out about episode 10!!!
All the love! 💜💜💜
#dff#dff the series#dead friend forever#dead friend forever the series#dff theory#dff the series theory#dead friend forever theory#dead friend forever the series theory#dff meta#dead friend forever meta#dead friend forever the series meta#dff the series meta#white dff#white dff the series#white dead friend forever#white dead friend forever the series#dff white#dff the series white#dead friend forever white#dead friend forever the series white#dff spoilers#dead friend forever spoilers#dff the series spoilers#dead friend forever the series spoilers
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FAQs
Welcome to the FAQs post for Within Your Eyes. More may be added in the future!
Do you take NSFW Asks?
Yes! [Though at the moment, Asks are closed]
Will there be more poly routes?
Right now, the polyamorous routes I’ve included felt "right" to me. While I'm open to the idea of introducing more, I want to ensure that each route is well-developed and fulfilling. Therefore, I’m carefully considering any additional paths. My main focus right now is enhancing gameplay elements and keeping a manageable workload. Future updates might bring new possibilities, but for now, my energy is dedicated to enhancing the current experiences.
How many NSFW scenes will there be?
I let the story guide me a lot on certain things, letting it unfold organically, including NSFW moments. While I do follow a detailed timeline for the story, it's flexible enough to accommodate new ideas, including unplanned NSFW scenes. So, the exact number isn't predetermined — there could be quite a few, depending on how the story unfolds.
You should do __________!!
I receive a variety of suggestions for many aspects of the game. To streamline this process, I've set up a dedicated Feedback form. Please note that while I'm open to hearing your ideas, especially about technical aspects, there are limits to the changes I can implement. I encourage you to read the guidelines carefully before submitting!
Why can't the MC be a virgin?
Initially, I thought the MC's virginity could be an implicit aspect of their background, but I now recognize its significance to some players. While my story isn't purely NSFW, I can see the appeal for having this option, and I'm actively working on incorporating it — this includes adjusting existing scenes. I apologize for any oversight and appreciate your patience!
You said you've been working on this world for so long, why isn't it done?
Bringing a world that's been growing in my imagination for over a decade into an interactive format like Twine has been quite an endeavor. Initially, I envisioned a linear story with three main characters across three stories. However, as I started adapting it to an interactive, choice-driven narrative, I realized these characters wouldn't work as I had intended. This realization led to the introduction of a new character—our beloved Warden—and a shift in the storyline that hadn't been part of the original plan. These adaptations have opened up possibilities that have significantly enhanced my world. It’s taken time, yes, but the depth it's brought has been absolutely worth it!
"Who is ???" or "I already know who ??? is!"
While I love your curiosity and detective work (looking at you, code divers), I must tread carefully here. There’s definitely more than meets the eye. What you think you know is just another piece of a much larger puzzle. Regardless, I hope it will be worth the wait!
I love your story, thank you for sharing!
I promise I see you, and words cannot convey how much I appreciate and adore every message I've received. I keep them to uplift me on the hard days. I may not be able to answer them all, but know I cherish every one! Thank you for being a part of this journey ♥
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im having a great time with Pluto despite not having seen much astro boy (been aware of it obviously just never sought it out) what would you recommend for someone to watch/read after pluto from the astro boy franchise that is similar in tone and content?
Oh boy oh BOY!
If the Pluto anime is your introduction into the Astro Boy franchise then you've been thoroughly acclimated to the most fervent reoccurring themes found within Tezuka's writings and as such a lot of the tone and story telling will be very similar - even if Pluto was written by Naoki Urasawa and not Tezuka himself.
What I personally would suggest for those curious about learning more about Astro Boy and this particular story is to read the Pluto manga (8 volumes) as an accompaniment - the anime is a very good adaptation but some things had to be cut for time (it's inevitable) and the manga was simply better at revealing some things than the anime to give you a broader sense of place that this world takes place in.
From there you have many options before you depending on your accessibility to some of the series below.
NOTE: There is nothing quite like Pluto other than Pluto, but in all versions of Astro Boy you will find the same themes and content found within Pluto but with a different narrative voice.
For the sake of simplicity I am not getting into the bigger Tezuka Star System I'm just focusing on Atom in the most direct way - no this is not meant to be a full complete list of EVERYTHING.
The 1950s Manga
Written by Tezuka himself, where it all started.
Contains all of the original core stories of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) which were adapted in various media.
Is available in English to purchase and is online.... in places...
Can get shockingly dark and gruesome and I do not have the spoons to list all the Content Warnings possible. Adults will find enjoyment from this series.
Is generally episodic.
Classic golden age sci-fi with themes relevant today still.
The 1960s Anime
Written and worked on by Tezuka himself.
Contains many of the core stories presented in the manga adapted to fit a single episode.
Episodic.
The first two years (104 episode out of 193) are available in English to purchase on DVD (with extras!) - I do not know if the 'missing 89' are available online with subs or if the original Japanese is available with subs out there.
Yes, inevitably the dubs sanitized a lot of the stories and Americanized them - but even so they are worth a watch.
The 1980s Anime
Also written and worked on by Tezuka himself.
Is available in English to purchase, but like the 60s dub, it has been cropped, chopped, and censored - in some ways worse than the 60s series. The DVDs at least do have the Japanese track with subs available.
You can find the 80s Japanese unedited online with subs.
Is mostly episodic but does have a subplot featuring a new character Atlas and his sister Levian.
Contains some of the core stories from the manga but this series is much shorter so some of your favorites might have been dropped.
The 2003 Anime
Tezuka did not work on this series as he was deceased at time of production.
Modern Astro Boy with a more modern lens and modern story-telling expected of anime of the time.
Contains a plot and contains the episodic spirit of the original shows and manga, but the plot is still referenced in modern anime story telling. The main plots being 1.) robot rights being established in a world where they have none despite having "kokoro" (heart) which is basically free will and sentience and 2.) who is that boy anyway?
Many of the most beloved Astro Boy stories from the manga are not present in this series.
American voices dictated the direction of this series from the start even in the original Japanese which is a big negative.
The English dub is heavily censored and altered from the original version - but it contains some amazing performances from people like Dorian Harewood whom I still to this day don't know HOW he agreed to play Dr. Tenma but my god he did an amazing job.
The unedited subbed Japanese version can be found online.
Despite the amount of butchering and meddling during production it is still a relevant part of the Astro Boy collective world.
Naoki Urasawa's Pluto Manga and Anime
You already know of this adaptation but it's a retelling of The World's Greatest Robot, the classic story from the manga and is present in all of the above series. It is also direct commentary about the American invasion of Iraq with some names changed so as to not hurt feelings. I generally suggest to adults to read this and if it connects with them then try on the original manga and maybe see if any of the anime gets their eye too.
A note on Tezuka and his extended works.
An American equivalent to him would be Jack Kirby however he had more creative control with his work, was credited for his creations, and had just about the same amount of influence on Japanese comics as Jack Kirby did with American comics (maybe even to a greater extent). Tezuka was incredibly prolific and is dubbed "The God of Manga" for a reason. Many of his stories all circle around the same themes; war, grief, the futility of hatred and the doom of mankind while also taking on blatant political sides including environmentalism, equal rights, gender rights and even playing with gender and expression (note they are products of their time and some of which are offensive today but for the time were groundbreaking).
If you wanted specific stories from the manga that might be more what you are looking for to refine your search, let me know! I've been needing an excuse to drag them out.
#astro boy#pluto#pluto anime#osamu tezuka#tezuka#tetsuwan atom#naoki urasawa's pluto#my niche interests#no i didn't include x thing on purpose
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Rereading the manga, I notice something really interesting. If you go back to chapter 59, you'll find All Might explaining how AFO and OFA as quirks were born. That's the first time Toshinori explains the history of AFO too.
The interesting part is the way he tells the story of Yoichi, the first user of OFA. It reminds me a lot of Tenko's story. It can be just me, but please read it for yourself:
" The man had a quirkless little brother / the man had a quirkless younger brother.
The little brother was small, and frail, but he harbored a strong sense of justice...! / This brother was small and fragile, but he had a strong sense of justice!
His brother's actions panged his heart... and he opposed him / and the deeds of his big brother pained him... So he opposed the tyrant. "
( A quirkless little brother asking why the world is so unfair finding out he actually has a quirk when he decides to oppose his abuser? Of course, here the difference is that Yoichi was older than Tenko when it all happened. He was not a confused 5 years old trying to understand why and how.... )
" Yes... He who was thought quirkless, did in fact possess one prior. / Yes... It turned out he hadn't actually been quirkless from the start.
Though neither he himself nor anyone around him had ever noticed / thought neither he nor anyone else has known it. "
That means there is a previous instance in which a young man thought quirkless had indeed a quirk: Yoichi himself!
It also makes me think about how Tomura/Tenko's control over decay depends on his emotional and psychological state.
The night his quirk awakened, we saw that Tenko had no control over it; everything that touched the ground he had contact with decayed. After he was "rescued" and after he was given the hands of his deceased family, AFO noticed that Tomura had unconsciously restrained decay so he would only affect the things he directly touched. Later on the story, Tomura was able to expand his quirk, evolving to decay without using all his five fingers during My Villain Academia. He was able to decay things at will during the War arc!!!
Could it be possible that Tenko had unconsciously repressed his own quirk for years before the night he killed his family?
Maybe when he tried to repress his own feelings about what was happening at home, Tenko also repressed decay without knowing. If he kept all his negative feelings in check as to not upset his family, it'd be an option.
If we wanted to reaaaally go crazy theorizing, we could even make a case about how Tenko having a previous quirk before AFO implanted decay on him is a possibility (within the frames of the bnha narrative). I'm not going there, but I think that fic authors would appreciate the prompt.
#bnha#mha#my hero academia#boku no hero academia#league of villains#lov#shigaraki tomura#yoichi shigaraki#ofa#one for all#all for one#afo#tenko shimura#bnha meta#mha meta#shan's bnha meta#Shan's mha meta
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😵💫🫡 Anxiety, apathy, withdrawal, delusions 🫡😵💫
@odessa-2 inspired me with her note today and a reminder of the post Oliver Jeffers shared on Instagram on 3 January 2021
(side note: I have a feeling this is a completely random date and has nothing to do with anything other than Caitríona being at the time, as many people believe, already heavily pregnant with this child, whose birth wasn't announced until August, but I could be wrong.
Is there anything that you associate with this date?).
*** *** ***
My body reacts nervously to any event involving Caitríona and Oliver Jeffers.
Maybe it's some kind of PTSD, I'll explain in more detail below.
*** *** ***
Anyway, my first reaction to the news in fandom over the weekend about the New York Times article was quite nervous.
😅
In October, […] the visual artist and author Oliver Jeffers, 46, hosted a candlelit dinner for a group of Irish and Northern Irish artists and friends.
Caitríona was also present at the dinner to celebrate the launch of Oliver's latest book, 'Begin Again'.
Caitríona/Oliver, that combination doesn't sound right to me, it means smoke and mirrors and supporting the narrative.
Luckily I was wrong this time.
*** *** ***
2021.
Oliver Jeffers at Caitríona's 'wedding', sitting in the fireplace recess in a white suit, accompanied by a stone dog.
There was no better place for him than the soot-blackened fireplace?
There was no other suit than white for a friend's wedding?
There was no better companion for this wedding than a stone dog?
❓
Smoke and mirrors. As dense as a spider's web, a web of connections, dependencies and interests.
*** *** ***
July 2022.
Oliver Jeffers invites Caitríona to take part in the 'Our Place' festival he is organising.
Here they are in conversation with Kathy Clugston in Belfast on 2 July 2022 ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Caitríona is sitting on the stage, tense.
Excuse me. I don't mean to be rude, but she looked like she was getting dressed for the event in the dark.
And when you watch the whole thing, you realise that, surprisingly, she wasn't at all comfortable on stage. She didn't have much to say except for her personal memories.
She didn't have any general thoughts, any wider perspective than her own.
You could see her lack of confidence and fear in her body language, the unspoken part of communication.
Sadness, stress and depression.
So what does she say?
What does Caitríona say?
The fandom has been buzzing for years about the fact that Caitríona never referred to 🧛🏻♂️ as her husband.
So now Caitríona, sitting uncomfortably next to Oliver Jeffers, raised her right hand in an embarrassed laugh.
Well, her husband used to say, wait, what did he used to say?
Oh yes, he used to say that a strong personality keeps their accent.
I mean, the most interesting thing is what happens after that.
Because the most surprising thing is what she starts talking about after she calls her 'husband'.
Within a couple of sentences she starts talking about Sam, you know, the one she works with.
And "Sam, who I work with, for the last three months he's been saying, 'What's up with you, you're really Irish all of a sudden'".
And then she talks about her 'only son'.
A brilliantly acted scene (if it weren't for all the nervous laughing and tensing up).
💁🏻♀️
You ask, how do we know which 'husband' was in the festival audience?
From here, of course ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Smoke and mirrors. As dense as a spider's web, a web of connections, dependencies and interests.
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Incidentally, I am keen to compare Caitríona's pictures with her 'husband' with those of her real-life friends:
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That's why when I saw the 'NYT' article about Caitríona and Oliver Jeffers, my stomach tightened.
This time, however, I couldn't have been more wrong.
🙃🙃🙃
… because Caitríona's handbag was on the floor, near her feet, as someone on 'X' pointed out.
Which means that the professional purse-holder had been given the evening off on the day of this dinner.
Can one feel more relieved?
❓
I ate my breakfast in peace and quiet.
*** *** ***
Source 1:
Starting at 36:29 is the short clip I quoted above.
youtube
Source 2:
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Voilà. Enjoy, @lovehimloveherstuff
(Although reading what I've written here probably has nothing to do with 'enjoying'.
I am so sorry.)
[December 11, 2023]
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I usually try to stay in my lane most of the time (mostly bc I am far too old for fandom drama) but what the hell, it's friday, let's put that lit degree to use:
the way people are playing morality politics with fiction is really starting to genuinely irk me and I think some of the responses to ascended astarion are a perfect example of why this type of thinking is actually hugely detrimental to one's ability to meaningfully engage with fiction and also to the future of art.
astarion is one of the most well-written complex characters I've seen in recent years bar none (and I'm clearly not alone given the explosion of his personal fandom lol) and he has a truly compelling, emotionally resonant character arc whether you ascend him or not
If you keep him a spawn, you get a deeply touching, realistic character's journey to healing and personal growth where he learns who he is after the experience of his trauma and depending on the player's choice, explores his relationship to sex, romance and intimacy
If you ascend astarion, you get an equally emotional and well-rounded character arc where he chooses the power that allows him to have the desperate freedom and safety he's wanted, but in the process eschews any hope of real healing or personal development, and again, depending on the player's choices, restarts the cycle of abuse by taking cazador's place.
These options offer vastly different paths for the character and experiences for the player, but while yes, ascended astarion is the evil ending, and yes, ascending astarion is a tragedy, and a fucking incredible one (not only do you have astarion reigniting a circle of abuse but you have the narrative weight of KNOWING he could have actually overcome his trauma...hats off to the bg3 team tbh) but that does not mean ascending astarion MAKES YOU AS THE PLAYER EVIL
Ascend astarion because you love tragic story arcs, ascend him because you want to indulge in a master/slave vampire fantasy, don't ascend him because you want a healing character journey, don't ascend him because you want a sweet romance; all of these choices carry the same moral weight for the player, which is to say, none, because they are an exploration of fiction.
I know I'm saying this to the villain fucker website but it bears repeating; just because someone wants to engage with evil, fucked up characters or content does not mean they support evil acts in their real life, and furthermore, exploring dark, taboo or tragic concepts safely is part of what fiction is for. It enables us to look at those things from a distance, work through difficult feelings and develop greater understanding of what makes our fellow humans tick — and before you get it twisted there's also no moral issue with exploring fucked up media bc you're horny or just, because. You can take it as seriously (or as sexily) as you want.
It's starting to really concern me how many people not only do not get, but are violently opposed to this concept, because equating what someone likes in fiction with their real life moral code and actions is an incredibly dangerous and let's be honest, immature way of thinking that not only stunts your ability to engage with fiction but ironically, hampers your ability to deal with complicated issues and emotions in real life.
I don't know what's driving this trend (though purity culture is certainly playing a role) but it's definitely something that's not just impacting individuals but contributing to the commercialization of art, where we get games and stories and tv shows and books that regurgitate the same safe, mass marketable plotlines and character archetypes over and over and over again so corporations can squeeze out as much profit as possible.
Anyway, remember kids: There's no such thing as thought crime, reaching for morally pure unproblematic media is directly contributing to the death of art, and this is why funding the humanities is important.
#so...yeah#idk man i have thoughts and feelings#and i love astarion so much lol#astarion#ascended astarion#bg3#baldur's gate 3#fandom analysis#media analysis#fiction#a personal rant because i need to vent about this and i just recalled i have a blog where i can indeed do so lol#astarion ancunin
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