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petitelepus · 2 years

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Hello hello G'day I'm here for the matchup event if you don't mind ⊂(･ω･*⊂)

I'm an Intp demigal, I'm someone who's difficult to get to know of at first since I tend to keep as much distance politely as possible, not a huge fan of socializing here also trust issues as I'm someone who keeps to themselves

People who don't know me well also may think I'm too laid-back or even lazy, but when I'm passionate about something like grinding for a game or researching lore I'm bound to be very hardworking that it ends up as my main focus I may forget to take care of myself sometimes.

In my friend group (more like my only friend group consisting of only the three of us) I'm known as the wildcard, I'm very stupidly reckless, loud and careless with what I say in contrast with my very quiet akward first impression I give off and stubborn because when I plan to do something I make sure to see through it till the end no matter how absurd it is and someone who doesn't easily back down from a fight. But despite how stupid I may act, I play a sort of motherly role for them since I am very Understanding as I try to keep an open mind and very supportive to anything they do in a passive aggressive manner of course,I'm usually the one they seek for help in the group because I'm always willing to listen and give out my honest opinions or advice because I'm not someone who sugarcoats things in which they appreciate how I can be honest surprisingly because I tend to worry at times if what I've said was harsh, I'm also very attentive to them like always remembering down to their interests,random small out of topic thing, what they're doing to the point they could be casually talking about something in their memory that doesn't traumatize them somehow and I could point out how that could bigger source to their problem through text.

Funny enough I'm not used to when people do this things as well for me so catches me offgaurd when my friends tell me they love me and it makes me cringe in a flustered way like shut up that's so cheesy what the as if I'm gonna say it as well ew no instead I'll let you know I love you through my actions.

I love Fashion,drawing, grinding for stuff and hyperfixating on something to the point it lives in my head rent free for days and it's what I mostly talk about.

Thank ya for reading sorry if it's too.lomg you don't have to do it if you don't feel like it ( ˘ ³˘)♥

I match you with Lilia Vanrouge!

You may appear a little cold due to the distance you keep from your peers, but Lilia knows better than to let a first impression ruin the possible friendship or relationship.

You certainly keep your distance but how long can you keep doing so when you have someone as open-minded and happy as Lilia courting you?

He never once thought you to be lazy. No, Lilia has been looking at you longer than you have known him and before he even introduced himself to you.

Stalking? No no, nothing so horrible. He just watched you from afar to learn your likes and dislikes and how you act with people you trust, aka your small group of friends. That's how he knows that you aren't truly lazy and that you are actually one ball of energy.

Yes, you might avoid Lilia at first due to the fact that you like to keep to yourself but it's hard not to like him since Lilia has a warm and kind personality.

You are open-minded and once you give him a chance and you never regret it. Lilia makes sure to be the friend and partner you always needed.

He loves to listen to you tell about your latest obsessions. He genuinely finds it adorable when you get excited about something and end up teaching little old him about it.

Since you have a strong passion for things you find interesting you can forget to take care of yourself like missing meals and such. Lilia happily looks after you and offers to make dinner and such, but you end up either putting whatever you had down and cooking instead or ordering something because his cooking is inedible. If you love yourself, don't eat his cooking.

Not only are you understanding, kind, and passionate, you are outspoken and don't fear to give out your honest opinion.

"Lilia, please, your cooking is awful." You immediately feel awful telling your honest mind but Lilia just smiles, "Ha ha, yes, I think I might need some more lessons!"

"No, seriously."

"Ha ha, yes! We could go to couple's cooking classes?"

That wasn't actually a bad idea, but when you get there you see just how awful he is. You took your eyes off from him for 1 minute, how can one burn water? Despite it, Lilia has a fun time cooking with you.

He finds it adorable how you can't take compliments gracefully. You get all flustered and you're actually really cute when you act like that.

"If I was a dragon, you would be my treasure." Sometimes Lilia says something sweet just to mess with you. He honestly can't help it, you are just so adorable.

Be it fashion, drawing, or gaming, he is eager to learn what you like. He might be old, but with age comes wisdom and he enjoys sharing it with you like you share yours with him. You teach him and he teaches you and then you smooch. Wait, what?

#twisted wonderland matchup #matchup #twisted wonderland #twst #lilia vanrouge #anon #ENJOY!

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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

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Hello my friend

An update on my last ask

The reason I thought he (Sandor) might be younger than Sophie or at least what made me think about is I like to hyperfixate on certain character groups.

For example, my first one I hyperfixated on the Harry Potter kids

And then the Harry Potter adults

And then the kotlc kids

And for the past couple months, the bodyguards

Mostly because I’ve noticed my friends act a LOT like the bodyguards and it kinda scares me

So I was comparing all the bodyguards to my friends and laughing because they fit perfectly

And then I realized

She’s only 1 2

(Shes one of the youngests in the group)

So ya that just made me think

Anyways it won’t let me ask things as my Kotlc anon account and just puts my main blog so I’m just gonna sign off as Kotlc anon and ask anonymously

Love ur blog have a good day

~Kotlc-anon

mossy! hello friend!

oooh I think I get what you're saying, at least in a sense! I will admit I wasn't exactly sure what your reasoning for thinking Sandor was younger than Sophie was, but I was curious what it could be. So if I've misconstrued any of this please do let me know!

So Sandor acts a lot like a friend of yours, and as your friend is younger than Sophie you thought he might be younger than her as well? I can definitely see that logic!

I think this might be something I've actually talked about before, how the adults don't really act like adults in the books. All of them, too! Not just the bodyguards, but things like how the adults all treated Marella when she manifested and they found out, afraid of her and doubting her and taking an immature tone with a literal child. And then other things like how Dame Alina (when she was Dame, at least) was straight up complaining about Keefe in his files.

Maybe it's not so much Sandor being younger than Sophie, but that he's written like he's a lot younger than he is! This might be because the series is targeted towards 8-12 year olds and as such the more complex parts of being an adult aren't developed in the story. The focus is on Sophie and to relate to her! I don't know about you, but when I was 8-12 I definitely wouldn't have appreciated the complexity of an adult character written like an adult in a kids series, and it's only now that I'm out of that age range that I can look at it more critically.

But that's just my observations! If Sandor truly were younger than Sophie, even 12 like your friend, that would definitely say a lot about goblin culture. He owns a house and is dating and is a literal soldier! That's a lot for a 12 year old! Like he's completely independent, so it would at the very least make me curious about goblin culture on a deeper level.

Thanks for explaining it! What you're saying makes a lot of sense and is a great observation!

also hyperfixating on a group of characters really does allow you to look at the details of them at times. just gotta know everything there is to know about them and sometimes quotes from them by memory. I may or may not have been quoting Twilight from memory at Matt the other day (I definitely was), which is always fun!!

and don't worry about the name thing, it's totally fine! also I'm pretty sure you sign off as mossy now so I'll tag this as both for the time being. And thank you! I'm glad you like my blog, because I like running it! Haven't been happy with how busy I've been with things in my personal life that've prevented me from being more present here and engaging, but I have very little control over a lot of things so!! I'm trying!!

#also I did have a good day #probably #I don't remember #there were good parts!#I went to the bookstore again!#great thing about this book store is I only spent 32 dollars and I got 4 books and 3 of them were hardcover #I love buying used books <333 #I'll be going back soon because I ordered something like a week ago so It'll probably be ready soon #and having a book ready for pick-up is always used as an excuse for the entire family to go and buy books #one person has a single 20 dollar book to pick up so we spend 175 like yes this is entirely reasonable #i'm getting distracted wait #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #quil's queries #almost spelled that quieres on accident #kotlc-anon #mossy nonsie #kotlc sandor #kotlc bodyguards

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thebearroom · 3 years

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Introducing the mods of The Bear Room!

Here are all the admins for this podcast in development! Right now we're working on audio/video edit teams, art teams and commentary teams! So in the mean time, get to know us! We also have a discord! Please join here<3 https://discord.gg/pYyxkZtv

Hey hi hello there! My name is asshat and you’re watching disney channel - gets slapped- Sorry sorry, sometimes I’m just really weird as you just saw. But anyways, my name is Lilly or Mod Chiaki and I’ve been stuck in sekaiichi hatsukoi hell for 84 years (read: 2-3 years). I am a 16 years old (turning 17 in July) mess who fell in this rabbit hole. This show is the reason why I started writing fanfiction again. What do you want to know about me? Well, I’m a biromantic demisexual (who uses she/her pronouns!) I am a Domestica fan first, Yoshino Chiaki kin second and human being third. Even though I’ve been in the fandom for a short amount of time, I am absolutely loving all of the beautifully talented people here. I’m here to entertain, screech about how much I love Domestica and just to have a good time with some amazing people. If you want, follow my tumblr @yoshiunova 💜 - Mod Chiaki

Heyo! My name is Cammie! I'm a 21 year old disaster bi (and single hehe so if clumsy bookworms are your type hmu) and I'm just happy to be here, honestly. Mod Ritsu, at your service 🌻 I'm Ritsu in human, female form, which is proven by my inability to understand romance, as well as my love for books, coffee, and Masamune Takano. I'm 95% Ritsu kin, 5%, Takano kin, and 100% A Mess™. I'm just here to have a good time and scream about Nostalgia, as I unfortunately love them and they are everything to me. I'm really looking forward to this! You can find me @literally-ritsu! - Mod Ritsu

Hi, my name is Isaac/Puppy and I’m an 18 year old enby trans guy with a lot of feelings. I love Junjou and Sekaiichi very much and I would do anything to show my love for the series. I also made and own the discord server! Please enjoy our hard work, love yourselves, go take your meds and read junjou romantica nonstop. Self care, amiright! Woof! :3 My Tumblr is @nutton-of-tata - Mod Puppy

hey ya’ll its me mod groovy smoothie. I’m just an 18 y/o pan trans guy who unfortunately discovered junjou romantica and now i'm stuck in nakamura’s hell hole. Don’t make the same mistake i did. Dont look behind you. Run. - Mod Groovy Smoothie

Hi, I’m Vera aka You, Me, and Teddy Bears. I’m your local poly, pansexual housewife. My entire life revolves around Junjou Romantica. I am the queen of over analyzing this series, the creator of The JRSIH Timeline Project and I would do anything for Usami Akihiko - Mod Vera - Mod Suzuki

hi im tie and oversharing is my passion. i'm revisiting my middle school hyperfixation and my last braincell went apeshit. anyways, usami akihiko has a fat ass and so do i, muah - Mod Tie

Hey hey heyyy its ya boi uhhhh mabry aka megalodony. I’m basically your 21 year old pocket john mulaney. If there's two things I enjoy in life its Junjou Romantica and Discourse so here I am!!! Ps. I love love love my dog sammie :))) - Mod Mabry

Hello hello, you can call me Ryan or Mod Misaki, either is fine. C: I have been a fan of the SIHJR series for around five years now and I look forward to having discussions about the series and its characters! Some info about me: I’m a trans guy, almost 18, love playing games, and am an artist. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!! <33 - Mod Misaki

Ayo, Gem here coming at you live. Major Romantica simp and Misaki’s honorary mother. I’m the newest addition to the mod group, but I will do my best to try and make an entertaining addition to this wonderful group of people and surely, you will care about these aries as much as we do. I guess it gives a little snippet on me as a human being. I’m 18,lgbt, and poc. I speak english and want to learn spanish and japanese, and I adore being a welcoming person to new people so please don't hesitate to come to me for all your troubles. I've been in these fandoms since 2015, I want to create more content for it, and I go by Mod Gem or Mod Big Sis! *kisses* - Mod Gem

#the bear room #podcast #meet the admin

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dealbrekker · 3 years

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Please answer this later because I'm going to sleep and can't continue talking.

What kpop groups do you like? I have to admit that I don't really know that much about TVXQ. My own favourites are Dreamcatcher, A.C.E, Loona and Ateez, plus some other ones. I only like newer groups so I find it interesting that you have stanned some for that long already

Ohhhhhhhhh boy let me reopen this big old can of worms for ya 🤣🤣🤣

Okay so bear with me. I went through the Kpop Phase from 2010 to 2013. I have not kept up with new bands since then, so I apologize that I don't have any knowledge there.

My bands were thus:

TVXQ/DBSK/Tohoshinki: literally the same band, just different abbreviations based on the language being used. They started as a group of 5 until 2009/2010 when there was a big Split due to company issues. I feel like I used to know the details but it's been so long. Anyway, I was introduced to them as 5 but was coming into the scene of kpop when they'd already split up into a group of 3 (who made JYJ) and 2 who remained TVXQ (my forever favorites). I highly recommend their work whether as 5 or as 2. Yunho is my Bias but Changmin, who is the other member, always caused me a ton of trouble 🤣🤣

For them as a duo, I recommend the Keep Your Head down album, as it was their first album as a duo.

JYJ's songs Empty and Get Out were my favorites of theirs.

The most popular song they ever did was as 5, and it's called Mirotic. But literally any song they do is golden so feel free to leap down that rabbit hole all day long. The first song I ever heard is called Purple Line and it HOOKED ME SO HARD.

Big Bang: I realize now that over the years there has been controversy around many bands or members for various reasons, and I can't even tell you if BB is active at all anymore outside of solo work, but I loved their style. Very hip-hop, a bit edgier than some other groups at the time. I thinkkkk only one member turned out to be scummy, but again fell out of kpop so I don't know if that has changed among any of these groups lol. My favorite song is Fantastic Baby. One member, T.O.P, did a solo years ago called Turn it Up which is still a banger. And the member Daesung has the voice of an actual angel. I recommend his song Baby Don't Cry.

SHINee: this one hurts a lot. A few years ago one of their members passed away tragically, and his voice was one of my favorites in kpop. This was after I fell away from kpop, so I don't know what the group has released since, but my favorite song of theirs is called Lucifer, but all their music from that time is wonderful. They were also on a variety show called Hello, Baby, and it was so cute.

Super Junior: I wasn't as invested in this group as the other 3, but enjoyed their work. My favorite song is Bonamana. This group at the time was MASSIVE. I think there were 13 members at one point. Learning their names was a blast.

2ne1: A girl group that split up (agreeably as far as I know) a few years ago. They were under the same label as Big Bang and had a similar hip hop/edgier sound compared to other girl groups. My favorite song is I Am the Best. The lead, CL, has a solo career now, I think.

Other groups I enjoyed songs from but didn't stan quite as much included:

MBLAQ

Brown Eyed Girls

Block B

Again, I have not kept up with kpop. If I listen now, it's to my old standbys. I'm getting excited for this solo album of Yunho's! Kpop was so fun for me. A true hyperfixation that lasted several years. I even started learning dances from various music videos 🤣

I can tell how out of the loop I am because when I search Yunho in the tags a different Yunho from another band comes up more frequently and I'm equal parts offended and thinking to myself OH GOD I'M OLD NOW 🤣🤣🤣

This was fun to answer, anon! I felt like a classic 90s baby but with 2010 kpop. I hope you check out TVXQ, though. They're the Gods of kpop in my humble opinion. 85% at least of my kpop albums are their albums.

#anon #ask #kpop #tvxq #dbsk #tohoshinki

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monkey-network · 5 years

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?Does SU is Garbage¿: A Measured Response

or THE TROOF ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE, PART 7

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Monkey of the Makaveli, coming at ya live, once again, through the power... of the internet. And this rant is quite menial, especially since the topic at hand is over half a year old now, but I’ve been sitting on it recently and I wanted to get it off my chest.

Back in 2017, I talked about SU’s handling of villains and how the show was plotting up to make them sympathetic, thus neutering the sense of dimension that can come with developing a villain, especially when you initially make them out to be very fascistic in their approach. Over a year later, Lily Orchard released a video essentially touting the same with the addition of saying the show unintentionally bears a theme of nazi apologia thanks to Sugar’s ambition for character redemption, thus making the show objectively bad. I didn’t agree to this but I didn’t have as good of a case then so I left it alone. Cut to winter where I saw a response from her talking about Robobuddies’ video on SU, considering it good but “malnutritious” compared to hers. Again, I didn’t agree with this sentiment but I didn’t have as good of a case then so I left that alone as well. Cut to April this year where, after learning quite a bit about objectivity vs subjectivity, I went back to that response and rereading this one quote, something clicked:

“No criticism of anything should leave out the themes and whether they actually panned out the way the creator was hoping they would. If all you care about is story structure and animation, Robo goes in an impressive amount of detail about those two specific things. But that kind of hyperfixation on these two things while ignoring the themes is malnutritious criticism.“ [December, 2018]

So with all consideration, the analysis of themes seem important to Orchard when it comes to objective criticism, especially when her video was out to prove the why in “Why Steven Universe IS Garbage.” And this isn’t a one time thing, I remember her covering before that the themes are what can make or break a show, episode, what have you. I would agree, but I hate to say this, given that I tend to be quite a writer/critic myself, yet it should be a given:

Themes should not and are not the end all, BE all to objective criticism, because it is an inherently subjective concept.

Now with that said, I’m not saying she doesn’t bring up good points, but for all the talk of whether the themes actually panned out the way the creator was hoping they would, this talk of fascist apologia in SU is not so much discussing Sugar’s intention but second guessing it based on personal hindsight and bias. In all fairness, I’m not above this since, again, I too felt this way beforehand and after watching SU the whole way through, my perspective has certainly changed.

So permit me, if you will, to go on one final SU rant, not only deconstructing that headline statement above, but objectively analyze Orchard’s idea of SU being apologetic to fascism in addition to reflect off of my previous stance for the villains. Prepare yourselves, this is quite a read...

The Themes, Mason

Keep in mind, I’m not saying discussing themes in media is a bad thing because it can enhance how you feel about it. As such discussing only the story structure, characters, the direction of the media isn’t bad either because you’re focusing on how the project came together and what is measurable in terms of good and bad content. But understand that while connectable, they are still separate types of criticisms. And while many writers can disagree with me on this, I feel like this has to be said: themes shouldn't be the point of the show. This goes for creators and critics equally.

I’ve discussed this earlier with someone, but themes are so subjective, you can put the content on a shelf that cannot be considered good/bad; circumventing any criticisms that could prove you wrong, and essentially deadlocking discussion since any opponent can’t really disprove your theme if proven enough and they either have to go along with you or argue to the death that it can be something else while you can sit comfortably in your generally subjective bubble, thinking you achieved objectivity.

You can give counters, but this is what people like Lily resort to define what’s good or bad writing in their eyes, and it can be frustrating trying to deconstruct because you can’t kill an idea. Not to say Rebecca Sugar or other creators can’t/couldn’t fall for this too because trying to contextualize themes over the actions of the characters and the flow of the plot, to force everything around the themes, can often lead to conflicting and sometimes frustrating thoughts as to what the show is trying to say. You will definitely see this with shows containing the most polarized fanbases, i.e. Voltron, GoT, Star vs. Evil, where it’s arguable that the creators trying to put the themes over the writing crippled people’s interest when they actually pay attention to the writing.

That’s not to say themes aren’t important or shouldn’t be important to you, but they should be the shadow that comes with the walking product, not the partner giving you the directions shoulder to shoulder as it goes along. Avatar The Last Airbender certainly doesn’t get the praise that it gets based on the themes alone, but of how well-written the characters were, how they’ve grown, what were their thought processes, and so forth; people love understanding the logic behind writing. Lily understands this. But on the flip side, I’m willing to bet she’ll use the themes as a defense to me saying Captain Marvel is objectively bad in terms of its writing quality. Whether it be their sacred cow or something they want destroyed, themes can be the go-to when trying to convince people that their judgement is concrete, when in reality it’s interpretive.

Furthermore, saying “No criticism should leave out the themes” is the “you have to have a very high IQ” of criticism standards. Truthfully when it comes to objective criteria, the story structure makes the themes, not the other way around. As such what you experience from a movie/show can be different to how the movie actually turned out. Best example would be a look into Armound White, a staple critic infamous for his contrarian takes. Every movie considered great is bad, vice versa, with some even transcending his scale. For a perspective, this man thought Into the Spiderverse was bad and a majority of video games, aside from Detective Pikachu were great, so take that what you will. But if you read some of his reviews, it’s less about what the movie did and more of what it supposedly stands for; His Spiderverse review mostly talks about how, thematically, it’s indoctrinating people into the MCU’s commercial process:

Whoever says Into the Spider-Verse is about “fun” doesn’t understand movies or anything about how 21st-century media operates — particularly the exhausting Marvel franchise. Millennials, and others, delude themselves by accepting market promotion as part of a larger cultural narrative. [...] Marvel and Sony gamble on Miles to meet the identity-politics fashion that now dominates contemporary culture. (Consider that Spider-Man’s example overwhelms Miles’s school assignment, Dickens’s Great Expectations.) But this is not just freewheeling, imaginative, and progressive capitalism, as in Spielberg’s Ready Player One; it’s the worst social, artistic, ethnic, and political engineering.“ [Armound White, December 14, 2018, this is what most of his reviews sound like, FYI]

Now say what you will about White, his way of reviewing is remotely consistent and can somewhat be a nice measurement to what’s considerably good and bad. You can see his review of Man of Steel and take away that it probably isn’t the “Godfather of Superhero Films” or a movie like Suicide Squad where it’s terrible enough that he couldn’t defend it, all the while mostly discussing the themes in lieu of any concrete happenings from the movie. The same can’t be said for most others when they surely want something beaten to the ground or elevated as great. The standards you might have for one thing can be bent to things you like and don’t like if you so choose; warping the context around your idea. As such, you’ll generally find most wanting to enjoy their own perspective while telling others they’re incorrect for having theirs. But how might this collate with Lily’s case for SU bearing the theme of nazi apologia or redeeming the space nazis, making the show pretty bad? Well...

Sympathy and Redemption vs The Deconstruct of Viewpoints

I won’t deny that Lily’s point about the show bringing in the Diamonds as an overarching threat is touchy given what they’ve done and who they are vs how their character was slowly revealed. It was bold thinking that the Sugar gang were gonna offer these characters redemption or show them in a sympathetic light. But I’ll say right now, and I’m talking to 2017 me as well, this is admittedly surface level.

To preface this, I’ll say that Lily’s point amounts to a lot of pattern recognition. This is something people who criticize with themes use and I’m not above that, as I will be doing that soon. Another thing is that in trying to argue Lily’s point, this is in no way trying to defend Steven Universe’s writing; it’s generally just setting some things straight.

With this said, one pattern that she brings up is that the portrayals of the Diamonds is essentially the show trying to make you feel sorry for them. In addition, with Steven being Pink Diamond, it’s trying to justify that without this factor in mind, the diamonds should’ve been killed because they’re far from redemption or sympathy in any light.

Now, I won’t say the part of Steven being Pink is wrong because this opened a disconnect of Steven having to be the mouthpiece for someone that should’ve been alive to give her perspective to characters that deserve it, i.e. the Diamonds and the gems. In fact, Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz is honestly the main problem with this show as a whole and I could into extreme length as to why but I digress. But,,,, on talk of woobifying the fascists, there is a contradiction afoot. With this contradiction comes a question: are the Diamonds ever shown to be in the right?

Weird question but this is where I’ve noticed a contextual pattern that Homeworld’s ideology is always called out on its bullshit, understanding the fact that they’re truly nothing without their sense of superiority. This is with Peridot calling out Yellow Diamond after commemorating how much she respected her before. Blue Diamond getting a fucking farm and a hand dropped on her after stubbornly touting her grief over everyone. And in the end where all three diamonds, including the literal White Supremacist, fall before the fact that everything they thought was right turned out to be crap. Steven does lend a hand to these characters, but it is never shown that he or the show actively justifies their behavior, regardless of their power/status. If anything, the show constantly makes Steven look better than the Diamonds by comparison, while looking like he’s trying to reach common ground with them.

Heck, I’ll go to where Lily talks of Uncle Andy and his episode in that part. There’s no denying that Andy’s retorts were highly xenophobic, but even when Steven and the others try to be chummy with him through dinner, the last third of the episode mostly involves celebrating each others’ presence without him, not once trying to bring him in on the conversation, not even Greg who’s actual family with him. This results in Andy storming off and later on admit that he’s rightfully at fault for not being susceptible to change, and this admittance comes before Steven offers him the opportunity to connect with the family more. Not saying this couldn’t have been tuned better, but we can’t deny that the show doesn’t tolerate attitudes like Andy’s and thus shows them that they’re wrong before Steven offers them the chance to better their worldview, unless you’re Kevin but he’s an outlier all things considered.

And in turn, this also brings in the pattern that the villains don’t submit so easily. The gems had to fight off the Diamonds before Steven got through to them, and even then it took some time before they actually sided with Steven over White Diamond. White Diamond had to be subdued more than once just for Steven to get through to her. While these moments vary in logic and pacing, again thanks to the PD = RQ twist, the point nonetheless rings home that the show isn’t much sympathetic to the Diamonds as much as it’s intolerable towards their stance and reacts accordingly. The only time the Diamonds are ever in the right are when they acknowledge they’re wrong, playing to the theme that no one’s above a change in viewpoint. Say what you will about what happened, it’s at least reasonable to say the writers provided a serviceable story that benefited from not killing anybody (sort of) while giving the heroes a struggle to overcome.

As with redemption, and I’ve mentioned this before, Sugar hasn’t actually redeemed them and the show more or less understands this. Change of viewpoint is one thing, but if they haven’t sacrificed anything beyond their ego or high ground, can’t really count that as them going through a redemption arc because they haven’t really given up anything sincerely valuable of theirs. Given that the show isn’t over yet, it would be premature to say that they’re in the clear and can’t be given time to repent heavily for their past. Just saying, for somebody that sought objectivity in my criticisms of SU for a while now, I’m actually willing to give Sugar a chance to finish her story before vilifying her intentions unlike some. And if I’m proven wrong, I will be happy to admit that.

Now taking everything into account, it’s reasonable to say that the show wanted to give the Diamond more dimension, make ‘em less like Disney villains. And it’s also fair to say that the show stumbles in conveying this rationally given the prefacing condition I’ve mentioned before. But is this prevalent theme of trying to make the space nazis sympathetic applicable to saying SU is objectively bad? Well, if you ignore most of the context, this is a probability, otherwise this is very discrepant to what actually happens in the story give or take its few hiccups. We can say Sugar’s development of the Diamonds comes from a fascination of trying to redeem them, hence trying to sympathize with space nazis, but given what we know and what we don’t know yet, I can’t help but say that this is trying to make it deeper than knowingly. Or if so, the writers are doing it at quite a distance, so to speak.

“”The Argument””

Unfortunately, herein lies a problem I’ve noticed with how criticism is made and handled. Lily and others like her can be pretty inconsistent with their arguments that they resort to inventing quotes and problems to make their arguments look irrefutable and their opponents look crazier by comparison. Not saying Sugar hasn’t flubbed up a few times in the past with SU, but Lily is giving her a lot of credit for something she generally invented herself, only to then say Sugar is remarkably unaware of everything she’s doing like she’s Mr. Magoo. Doesn’t help that the woman offers no citations or references to Sugar providing insight on her intentions or goals in the show, no actual commentary on the matter even when such could exist, to actually make her stance objective. She just says that this theme for SU exists, ergo the show is bad for it... Do you now see what I mean when I say that themes aren’t the end all, be all to objective criticism? Especially for a show like Steven Universe where it can either be analyzed incrementally or as a whole when completed? It’s this dishonesty that stifles genuine criticism because whether or not you're in the right of something, this meshing of objective and subjective takes leads to misinformation and the lack of fair discussion because you can stubbornly keep to your stance. And for the fact that her video’s ratings are disabled and the comment section bears nothing but complete agreements with her, I doubt this troubles her.

Again, won’t deny that the Diamonds aren't fascistic in their character, nor am I saying that the story couldn't have been done better with them, but it should be said that this nebulous vitriol towards Sugar, regardless of her executive position, has lead to a far-fetched presumption that I doubt barely anybody is truly behind other than those who just agree with her. Yet this is what she considers the crux of her stance, an idea that hasn't been denied or accepted by anybody important other than herself. Or better yet a stance she finds irrefutable when in reality, it's a subjective opinion that nobody can or has to really deny unless they actually think about it hard enough. I won’t take away this theme, but if Lily’s seriously believing that this makes Steven Universe garbage... well, she is wrong. And you know what? That’s okay.

The Conclusion

With all this, like I said before, this was less about disproving Lily’s point and more about understanding my old perspective. Cuz when I think about it, critiquing media like SU among others helped me understand what I truly like, differentiate between what’s entertaining and what’s good, generally without having to be interpretive or try to make every argument I have “just my opinion.“ I’ve become more... aware of how see things and I’d say that’s better than trying to stick with a single viewpoint. Doesn’t mean I’m critical towards everything I watch, just feels like I’ve grown thoughtful in how I consume media.

Steven Universe is not a show I find to be a favorite anymore, but through many thoughts and realizations, it’s a show I’ll gladly stay tuned to because it is entertaining and makes me think about it in a nuanced way. Again, this response was in no way an active defense towards this show, but overall, I’ll say the show deserves a better look through than this, so to speak.

#su critical #su critique #anti su critical #lily orchard #analysis #su #Roy Macintosh #long post #i'll see myself out

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windsweptlassie · 5 years

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tagged by @clodiapulchra the mad lad!!

nickname: queenie’s a nickname, and you can call me em (from emily, my name) if you know me and like me

zodiac: leo

height: 5′8″

last movie i saw: no memory of what it was- I’ve been watching Babylon Berlin exclusively for a few weeks.

last thing i googled: machiavelli (nasty rat man)

favorite musician: always changing, right now I love florence + the machine, hozier, the high kings, these people, of monsters and men, the lumineers, and the decemberists

song stuck in my head: the pitnacree ferryman

other blogs: @numenor and @starfighter-rebel, both of which are currently defunct (numenor was meant to be an aesthetic blog, and starfighter-rebel a star wars one, but I’m not hyperfixated on Star Wars right now, and I find it cumbersome to sort what I put on numenor and what I put here.)

do i get asks: ya but send more

following: 776

followers: 389

amount of sleep: aiming for a solid 8 as often as possible

lucky number: 3 or 13

what i’m wearing: black raincoat, green v-neck sweater, pink and blue plaid flannel, green khaki (?) pants, socks with snowy pine trees on them, bean boots, red headphones, a copper ring I made myself, and my hair all a-tangle

bonus, on my wrist: a rope bracelet (literally just rope I tied around my wrist), two black hair ties, and a fitbit

dream job: academic, theater ghost, landscape wanderer, influential artist and muse, countryside historian, retired

dream trip: right now the british isles

favorite food: varies but right now I’d kill for some Champagne Mango

play any instruments?: piano, flute, I can sing but not the best, I can with difficulty play the fife, I played the recorder for a few years when I was small, and I know some guitar chords that I’ve kind of forgotten.

language: English, French (almost but not really fluent)

favorite songs: currently on my mind is- The Pitnacree Ferryman (linked above), Once in my Life by the Decembrists, The Soldiering Life by the Decembrists, The Gael by the Pipes and Drums of Leanisch, Stitch me Up by fun., Ride On by the High Kings, the Russian Dance from the Nutcracker, Birthplace by Novo Amor, etc.

random facts: I’m left handed,,,,uhh one of my weird talents is an uncanny sense of direction (but a near complete inability to effectively tell other people where to go)....uhhh I do swing dance. I used to fence (and still know how). uhhhh what else. I don’t know how to talk about myself, someone else give a fact about me!

describe urself as aesthetic things: my about sums it up pretty well....

aspiring historian/war-poet/bog witch/ Romantic/Academic/general-purpose goblin/allegorical artist/great and mysterious beauty/ghost-friend/selkie/vestal/Scottish folk song/old photograph/rich heiress/poet-dandy/court musician/pretentious scholar/aesthetic concept

what else? i’m a folktale. i’m a mystery. i’m a foolish girl. i’m a painting. i’m whatever. i’m out wandering the landscape thinking about the past. i’m here hello. somebody else describe me I can’t describe myself oof

tag: @crown-and-stallion @henryclervals @eolanthe @estellaarts @molluscprelude @andrei-bolkonsky @star-chart @mezihvezdne and if you see this consider yourself tagged. love u all

#shut up queenie

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sunsandships · 6 years

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the age gap issue, and how i’ve made my peace with it

or: a meandering word dump as i try to sort out my feelings on CMBYN

disclaimer: these are unedited thoughts. i welcome discussion & people engaging with my thoughts. age gap specific thoughts are towards the end; the beginning is just,, literal word vomit. pls handle gently.

to begin with, both the novel and the movie hit me like a freight train; sort of like that part in Inception where they’re on the first level of the dream in that ugly taxicab and the train just literally slams into them from outta nowhere. descriptors like lush or intimate are probably way overused with respect to CMBYN but they are truly what spring to mind. what struck me, and stuck with me, as i read the novel then watched the movie (in that order) was how difficult it was for me to do in one sitting.

for context: i’m the type of person who usually blazes through a novel, no matter how long, in one sitting. and movies, of course, i usually watch in one sitting as well. but i also have a recorded history of sucking at handling second-hand embarrassment. my freshman year college roommates will testify to my ridiculous behavior when trying to watch She’s The Man. i had to cross the room. at one point, i think i rolled on the floor a little in mortification. when it comes to novels, i usually skim past the section that’s causing me second-hand embarrassment, or just flip forward the page entirely.

call me by your name is not a long book. it took me nearly a week to finish reading. i just couldn’t handle too much of it in one sitting -- i would read somewhere between 5 to 30 pages, and something would be too much, and i would have to go do something else for a few hours. it took me three evenings to finish the movie. and i couldn’t even watch the movie in the daytime; the ambience just felt too wrong. but even in the darkness of my bedroom, with no one else in the world to judge me for what i was watching or feeling while watching it, i couldn’t finish the movie in one go either. i paused in strategic places, and had to return to it the next day.

it’s wrong to call what caused these pauses second hand embarrassment. nothing particularly embarrassing happens, except perhaps elio’s straightforwardly fervent attraction and sexual awakening. yet the fact that i needed to take these pauses remind me of the times i’ve had to pause in a movie or skip forward in a book due to mortifyingly visceral second hand embarrassment. and i think that’s the connecting factor, the reason it took me so long to finish both book and novel, despite loving both. something about the narrative is just so gut-wrenchingly real. the novel reminded me of reading Richard Siken’s Crush for the first time as an angst-ridden middle schooler. when, for no reason i could pinpoint, the prose just kind of socked me in the stomach and makes me feel things like a physical ache in my sternum. CMBYN was something similar; less of a punch in the gut, more of a long, slow burn. like the twinge of muscles after you’ve overexerted yourself exercising the day before. and the movie -- god, the movie -- is shot so beautifully; the elegant piano in the sunlit itallian villa, the sounds of summer in the background, the cerulean sea, the ripe peaches like the world’s best and worst metaphor at the same time. and again, the words that spring to the lips when talking about CMBYN -- lush, sensual, intimate.

and there, that’s another key word -- intimate. the novel and movie both feel a little like voyeurism, like the whole thing was a real, private experience between two real people and you’re spying in on them through an omnipotent camera operator, seeing something not meant to be seen, much less by you.

and maybe that’s why i fell head first into yet another hyperfixation; it’s been a long long time since i read something that made me unflinchingly feel that much. maybe because primarily i’ve been reading trope-laden fanfictions, self-indulgent fics that i can know what to expect of. the equivalent of eating literary fast food for years and then suddenly tasting fresh fruit -- am i cheeky enough to say a peach?

but now, and wow it’s taken me a long time to get to the main point, having stewed in my love of the prose and the movie’s cinematography and the frankly gorgeous acting (and persons) of A.H. and T. C., a little niggling doubt in my hindbrain -- what about the age gap? after all, that was the main reason i’d put off reading the book for so long, when i’d first started seeing buzz around CMBYN months and months ago. especially with all the recent sexual abuse allegations floating around, i was hesitant, weary.

to quote oliver, i know myself. i know my kinks, which yes, sometimes include age gaps; i know intimately that what makes it a kink for me is the inherent power dynamic of an age gap. and i think 99% of my kinks trace back to there being that power dynamic. the other 1% is fear. so, y’know -- it’s not that the age gap, by itself, weirded me out. ya girl ain’t about to kink shame herself. but the difference for me was, in the weird cesspool of fandom, it goes without saying that kinks that push the edge of social norms (heck, kinks that go way beyond the edge) are definitely fictional. fantasy. in the realm of things you can explore with fictional characters. unhealthy power dynamics are just that -- unhealthy. played with in the context of kinky fic, yeah. but definitively not glorified, not romantic, not real.

and by god, CMBYN is all of those - glorified, romantic, achingly real. so why, why when i read the novel and watch the movie, did my concern fade into the background? had fic desensitized me? was my moral compass loose? and of course, much ado has been made about the age of consent being so much lower in italy (14, holy smokes), and the absolute ego of applying U.S.-centric morality to everything, so is it really a non-issue?

maybe the first thing is to place the novel in its own context -- the author is not a teenage boy. the author is a college professor of comparative literature. the author is a married man. the author is even a straight married man, in fact. and yeah, despite setting the novel in the head of a seventeen year old, it’s also framed as older!elio looking back nostalgically. so wow, does the narration not sound like a seventeen year old boy. and oliver, poor oliver, does not get his perspective in. everything is framed by older-elio-recalling-younger-elio’s thoughts. and when you’re reading it, you’re caught up in the narration, the feel of the words, the story, and you’re not thinking about the age gap at all, not really, unless the narrative itself calls your attention to it, and by then you’re in it for the long haul, and suspension of disbelief has kicked in, and it just kind of,,, stops bothering you.

and the movie, wow. the casting. T.C. can definitely pass as younger-than-twenty. maybe not seventeen, precisely, but young-ish. still a teen. meanwhile, A.H. is definitely older than twenty-four. he’s thirty-one and at best passes for late-twenties. so hoo boy, did the movie accentuate that age gap. by the time i watched the movie though, i was already a goner for the book. so i didn’t focus on it too much, or at all. it doesn’t hurt that T.C. and A.H. are both gorgeous by themselves, and that together their chemistry is amazing, and that their acting is just,,, subtle and superbly mind-blowing at the same time.

and so wham bam, i finish the movie. i plunge into hyperfixation pretty quickly. and then suddenly, deep in the CMBYN tag, i read a well-written, non-aggressive review of the novel which does a pretty neat take on why it’s an issue the novel is written by a much older man fantasizing about the sex life of a seventeen year old with a older man. when you put it like that, it’s pretty,,, squicky.

so, the age gap problem. time to face it head on, me.

the age gap presented breaks no laws. canonically, elio’s parents are even aware of what’s developing and approve (and perhaps even encourage? setting them up in a bougie hotel for the overnight Rome trip, hello??). but after i separated a little from the initial euphoria of just existing at the same time as the gorgeousness of CMBYN and thought about it a little more, it just,,, felt weird, in a intrinsic level, the same intrinsic level that felt all the positive feels possible for CMBYN when i was immersed in it and had full suspension of disbelief happening.

why does it feel weird? well me, right now, i’m twenty. and i feel so, so much older than i was when i was seventeen. i would not date someone that is seventeen. i would pretty much find it impossible, i think, to find a emotional or intellectual connection with someone that is seventeen. so much happens in those in-between years, and that’s with just the difference of high school vs. college. elio and oliver are looking at the extra gap of high school - college - grad school. it’s not a trivial age gap. and just because it doesn’t break any laws doesn’t make it a non-issue, i think.

back to that power dynamic; the way the age skew totally definitely allows the older person to take advantage, to abuse. is that what’s happening here? certainly, i had issues with the sex scene (hello, lube? hello, condoms? hello, prep?? i do not believe you can engage in anal, penetrative intercourse without needing to talk through it, yet one of the major things after the sex is elio retreats into himself, into shame over the act itself. i’m not in the camp that the sex was non-consensual; elio was clearly there for it. but i don’t think it was written or handled well, much less realistically -- the author is, unfortunate, a Straight) but i don’t think, on the whole of it, any advantage-taking is happening. oliver doesn’t hold any authority over elio, and elio’s infatuation/desire for oliver is full-blown with no encouragement (or, a less-nice word: manipulation) from oliver.

they don’t pursue a long-term relationship. there’s no mention that they might even try to extend the relationship beyond the summer. when oliver leaves, elio lets him go. canonically, elio takes that whole experience, wraps it in bubble wrap, and puts it on a pedestal. and yeah, years later, when they are both much much older, they reconnect and still feel things but also both have clearly done fine in their individual lives and elio is a drama queen ok. he’s nostalgic. he’s still feeling things. but would he have totally buried all feelings if, at the time of their fling, he’d been twenty instead of seventeen?

though on the flip side, why does elio need to be seventeen at all? would it change the story at all if he was twenty? twenty-two, even? just freshly graduated college, summering with his parents one last summer? maybe there’s something to be said about elio being on the cusp of manhood, or whatever. that it needs to be his first love, not just a love. but hey, i’m twenty, and i haven’t been in any type of relationship, much less love. so clearly, within the realm of possibility. here, i think, is a much deeper critique than the age gap in and of itself. something along the lines of Andre Aciman, and his authorial choices as a Older Straight White Male. i’m not really qualified to touch that, though; i’m really here to just digest my own feelings about the age gap, and why ultimately i’m at peace with it, and why i think i’ve made my peace with being at peace with it.

because, no, i don’t really buy that a seventeen year old and a twenty-four year old can fall in true true love without knowing much about each other beyond bonding on a shallow intellectual level over classical literature and music and idyllic bike rides and swimming. certainly, i would be much happier buying the love part of the equation if elio was twenty, or twenty-one, or twenty-two. but nothing about the relationship is manipulative, or nonconsensual, or coerced. and due to the narrative style, in my head, elio isn’t even quite seventeen - more of a amorphous precocious early twenties, maybe.

maybe also because, at the heart of it, i don’t think CMBYN is a love story. i think it’s a story about desire, and the inevitability of time eroding pretty much everything, and enjoying and holding onto things when they’re in your grasp. and so while i think the age gap makes love a little out of my realm of understanding, it certainly puts no barrier on desire.

#CMBYN #boi am i scared to throw this into the tags #but also this is 2k of word vomit so will anyone even read it hahahahaha #also its 2am #on second thought pls dont read this #i just needed this catharsis tbh

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