#<- sorry i'm my own biggest hater .its fine

[justewil]

this has probably been pointed out So Many times before but in eternal diva you can see some of the feathers come off descole's feather boa :)

which .i just think it's a really nice attention to detail ok

i don't know how i only just saw this after watching this movie (checks notes) 187 times

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

What's to note about Sweden in Eurovision is that, for a lot of people when they're picking out songs to send, they don't care what Europe actually wants - they think about the song that has the highest chance to WIN.

And thus, we've reached a dilemma.

The most TRENDING melfest song right now, is this one

It has everything Eurovision WANTS us to send.

It's in swedish! We haven't send anything in Swedish for over 2,5 decades! And when we HAVE, the artists have chosen to sing in english once they reach eurovision even if they sang it in swedish in melfest

It's catchy! Easy to dance to!

Good time!

It's the top 1 trending song in Sweden AND in Finland

It shows a culture not too often represented: Finno-swedes! Sometimes people IN SWEDEN are not aware there is indeed swedish speaking finns, just like there is for example french speaking canadians. And they have their own dialects, phrases and culture.

YKSI KAKSI KOLME SAUNA

However?

It will not win Eurovision (probably)

Some snobby elitist melfest fans (SORRY TO YOU GUYS BUT YOU ARE) thinks if we send something like this we will "embarrass ourselves". And we can't do that! We need to "show the world that Sweden is the biggest music export by getting good scores all the time!" (to which I say yes?? but we can also show some DIVERSITY in our songs???)

And there is the song that people think would most likely WIN the whole esc if we send it:

It's Måns Zelmerlöw, so we know he's good at what he's doing!

The performance is nicely done!

However:

Is the song that good??? Do you remember the song, like, at all? No, you get fooled by the STAGE PERFORMANCE. And sure, it does elevate the song, but not so much that I personally would want to vote for it.

Does my fellow Swedes honestly to god not know that esc people are tired of Måns Zelmerlöw? He kept showing up year after year in esc somehow, either as a middle act or as a sketch or something. He was always there.

If he wins melfest I'm honestly gonna be scared every time time he gets a good score in esc. I don't wanna live through that again. People say "don't care about the haters just enjoy your country winning" and I'm sorry but I CAN'T enjoy it if I know everyone else is mad - I also can't enjoy it when I know I didn't even vote for them to represent us. THAT to me is more embarrassing than sending a more "fun" entry that might not get as high of a jury score.

Personal opinion: I already think there's better songs in esc I think should win

Personal opinion: I do not agree that Måns' entry is better than anyone else this year. There are better songs in MELFEST already that I will vote for in the finale. Not only KAJ, but several others too.

Personal opinion: I'm not a fan of Måns' song and I don't get fooled by the "cool effects". It worked with Heroes, because he did something new with that little animated blob. It doesn't really work here for me. At all.

I do not want to experience 2023 again. Now 2 years later I feel like... fine. Loreen is Loreen. She's an icon nonetheless. MÅNS... is not her. He's more like Charlotte Perelli, Alexander Rybak or Carola: Appreciated as artists, but it definitely did not go as well for them when they came back to esc after already winning once. And I HOPE this is the fate Måns also would face.

Personal opinion: I think Sweden should chill with winning :) That was NOT a popular opinion when I said so on instagram, another Swede told me that I needed to understand that this was a COMPETITION and that we need to strive for the BEST all the time.

My thoughts on this is NOT so much that I've "fallen for the haters who hate Sweden and its success". It's the fact that during the last ten years, I've only liked TWO melfest winners. The rest I did not want to win, and thus I AGREE with Europe when they think we send generic pop songs, and I don't like them being rewarded because I didn't like them in the first place. And I want my country to send something different and FUN for ONCE, but we DON'T. The closest we got was Cornelia Jakobs in 2022. She was a LITTLE different, and I genuinely liked that. And I mean... Loreen IS Loreen, even though I did feel already in melfest that it was a little unfair because I did like some other songs more.

And so now, we have two teams here in Sweden: Those who think Måns absolutely is the only choice, nothing else will do, and we will win esc with him again. Best produced song, nothing else can top it. These people can sometimes come off as snobby and even sometimes a bit elitist in some extreme cases, even though a lot of them only are normal people who had been driven into this mindset.

And the other team is more like me: We should send something like KAJ! Or another little "different" that's already in our finale! Because we AGREE that we for once should see what EUROVISION wants rather than what the JURIES wants. No one likes the juries anyway. They didn't let Yohio win melfest in 2013 guys. Come on. It was their fault we didn't send a visual kei guy to eurovision and instead sent boring Robin Stjernberg.

Even NEWS SITES and podcasts has started discussing this. How the Swede is so predictable and rather wants to send the "safe card" than trying something new.

It's 2 weeks left until we have a finale. And I personally would not send Måns. But the songs I often want to win never win. And I think we keep sending generic pop songs because IT WORKS. It's not so fun for for the esc fans, but it works competition wise. And Swedes have sadly taken this competition too seriously, and forgotten to have fun. And maybe I am a part of that, since I seem to care so much about this I'm being so negative.

But, I will say: In 2023, the whole country was pretty much in agreement that Loreen will win melfest, the end. This year... I feel like we're more divided about this. And I think a bigger part of us will be disappointed to see Måns win melfest, both due to how we know Europe will react, but also because we genuinely don't think this song is that good. And it's a SONG contest at the end of the day, even though some argue "Well! But it's nicely produced!!!! Isn't the staging cool???" Yeah. But the song is the one you're gonna listen to, and... the song I think most people would rather LISTEN to is Bara Bada Bastu. But many people also think "they won't win anyway", and that can sadly also stop some people from even voting. "Why vote, when they won't win anyway? I don't want Måns to win but he's probably gonna win anyway, whatever :/" Not if we try to vote for others!!!

I myself in the finale will vote for Klara Hammarström, Greczula, KAJ, and if Scarlet comes to the finale this time, which I think they will, I will vote for them too. I think I'm even gonna give some few votes to Maja Ivarsson and Annika Wikihalder. There's PLENTY of other people in the finale I'd be perfectly fine and not too disappointed with if they won - especially if they NEVER HAVE WON BEFORE.

I won't vote for Måns. Both because, he's probably gonna get votes anyway, he doesn't need mine :/ And also because I just... don't like the song. Everyone can have a good scene performance with cool effects, smoke, blah blah... but that can't ONLY be it. I've seen that so many times and I'm not fooled by it.

If Måns wins melfest, it's up to Europe what to do. We can't vote for our own country in esc. So it's just up to you then to vote, or NOT vote. Remember the semifinals are all televote. You can choose to feed our ego again so that we keep sending the same thing again because it works, or you can decide not to.

[randomthefox]

Fleetway is... unique. People mostly just take Super Sonic from the comics and run with it (which is fine, I guess) without paying attention to the fact that regular Sonic not only undergoes essentially no change in that comic but is seen being literally the biggest hater of all time. It almost feels like a mockery with metacommentary around the concept of "he can't be wrong" being taken to its logical extreme where is actively a TERRIBLE person and NOT the hero in many scenarios because he has little to no regard for feelings or even the lives of other people (he kills a guy in one issue and does not give a shit. I'm not kidding). Maybe that's why I like it. It feels like a jab at the defenders of IDW and Archie and a slap in the face to those that believe he's always a hero. (See also: Sonic '06 (technically, kinda), Sonic and the Black Knight, etc) It's not good. It has aged TERRIBLY. Sonic is known to be an ally to everyone as confirmed by Sega, and Fleetway Sonic (not to be confused with Fleetway Super) is openly sexist more than once. But the fact remains that it's a look into a world where he actually, genuinely believes he's a hero, fully and truly. It's a violation of his character (he acknowledges his actions in Black Knight and elsewhere in the games) because he's NOT sorry and is actually blind to his own flaws, but that kind of makes it a brilliant piece of unintentional commentary. Anyway, that's just my soapbox take.

What's funny is the popular take on Fleetway Super Sonic that I've seen is actually people completely rewriting it, and making Fleetway Supes still kinda deranged but making him more benevolent and Sonic-like.

So even with Fleetway, nobody actually likes the comic and all they're doing is taking the premise and fanfic-ing the fuck out of it lol

[aroace-poly-show]

ok i stumbled upon your small commentary on the omori manga and i wanted to contribute a Bit as a hardcore omori enjoyer i hope you don't mind..

i don't have a STRONG opinion on it yet, mainly due to the fact that this is still the first chapter and there will be more to come later! so i want to save any hard criticisms. but i do have to admit that some of the choices raised a question mark for me.

but i think the MAIN THING was the fact that the timeline is completely different...

the charm of omori for me was slowly piecing together small bits from headspace to faraway, and then getting slapped in the face with the Truth. the slow and doomed realization.

the way the manga is being paced at the moment doesn't really give much of that? the omori & sunny Same Guy business is very, very explicitly illustrated. the fact that mari is dead, even more so. THE SIGNIFICANCE BEHIND THE VIOLIN?!?!?!?! LIKE THAT IS. INCREDIBLY END OF THE GAME LORE THAT SHOULD PROBABLY NOT BE TOUCHED UPON UNTIL MUCH LATER?

i'm most confused about the fact that headspace was introduced AFTER faraway. like. i really wonder how they're gonna work with this, considering how impactful it is to see how much the characters have grown, how different or similar they are to their headspace versions. + the captain spaceboy and sweetheart toys and comics.. seeing all that after headspace is just so much more endearing. there is just so Much when you piece together that headspace is sunny's preserved reality, made up of all his dear childhood memories, his childhood home, his town, his favourite things. whatever was left. because he just could not live in a time where mari was dead because of him, where the home he and his friends built together would never be the same again. but i digress

i'm personally very hopeful when it comes to adaptations. i like to see how the artist interprets one story in their own way and translates those feelings in a different medium. it's fun! it's cool! i definitely have criticisms, but i wouldn't say i'm a hater either. we'll just have to see how it goes :)

sorry this got a bit too long help.. if you have anything to add please feel free i just rambled a little! but if not that's totally fine

don’t apologize for it being long i dont mind at all!! but YEAH the timelines one of my biggest things with it. especially the christmas memory being the *very first thing* its just?? an odd decision. i can’t put it into better words than you did though you get me.

[redandfranticfeelings]

'tag things making fun of doug' because your personal enjoyment of an abuser's content should supersede the feelings of the people he abused by making them act out rape jokes? the fact that making fun of an abuser upsets you because you like him warrants some serious self-examination on your part. 'you can't make fun of an abuser around me bc i like his content and you can't criticize me bc mental illness' is some wendycorduroy shit. i'm surprised you'd do this given how critical you are of her.

and yes, people are allowed to not like you for still liking the show. ofc people can have problematic interests if they want, but content that has been directly used by its creators to abuse people is a special kind of bad. you’re allowed to like it, but guilt tripping people or implying they’re not allowed to dislike the fact that you still support it is incredibly callous to the people rob, doug, and mike abused. this is not, nor should it be, about your feelings. this is about the victims.             

you know what. upon further consideration, those asks were not kindly phrased. my intention was to emphasize that because the anniversary movies were vessels for abuse (injuries, rape jokes, etc) it was inappropriate to prioritize one’s own feelings over the feelings of the victims or block out criticism, but i phrased them in a way that was not productive and was attacking you. i’m sorry for my wording and for being a dick          

thank you for your follow up apology. i see where youre coming with this but i think there’s a few things that i can point towards me not giving up on the show altogether.

short answer: while i detest the way the company has been run and is executing public relations, and i am uncomfortable watching any video on their channel and have not done such for weeks, and i really want the harmed ex-producers to receive justice, i still believe there is a shred of hope for the show based on what recent producers have said, and that doug can reform himself by owning up to his deliberate ignorance, neglect, and egotism, though he is not the biggest abuser in this situation. i have a lot of emotional history with NC that means i need time before i’m able to drop the show altogether, if i ever can, and i just want to avoid anything that isn’t constructive and just intended to make anybody feel bad for liking the show/movies before this information was widely known.

long answer:

most of the criticism lauded against doug isnt so much being the direct abuser but being complacent and ignorant of people’s health. if i recall correctly, while it was a pretty unnecessary and terrible joke to make in my opinion, he didn’t pick up that the drill scene in TBF made anybody uncomfortable at the time? and in recent years he seems more concerned about what his cast undergoes, and a lot of them have said that he does ask about jokes that might hurt them and make sure they’re comfortable. i believe he apologized for it and acknowledged his naievity in the movie’s commentary but restating that apology would be beneficial now, yeah.

while complacency and ignorance is bad, i think he has been neglectful, not directly abusive. also, idk if you meant this, but your phrasing makes it kinda sound like his projects were intended as a means to abuse people; the abuse happened because of the movies, yeah, but it was because of doug being egotistical and ignorant, not malicious. the content of the movies reflect’s doug’s massive ego but it doesn’t reflect a desire to abuse anybody. if he did the shit that mike michaud or mike ellis did, that would be inexcusable for me and i would have lost hope for him.

if anybody is definitely abusive, it’s the CEO, who i love watching get bashed because he is indeed a sexist verbally abusive asshole who holds the power in the company and is using it for his stupid selfish needs. it’s also been stated that doug is restricted by his contract with the CEO and could just straight up not be able to make videos if he stepped out of turn, so while i wish he would use his walkout power more, he doesn’t have as much power as some people attribute to him. he’s complicit in abuse but i don’t think that’s the same as being abusive? the producers themselves seem to go back and forth about how they feel about him but a recurring theme is that he’s tragically ignorant of abuse, but not on the same level of abusive as michaud, if they call him abusive at all (most just seem to feel betrayed by him).

additionally, almost all creators who have worked with him in the past couple of years, have stated they had generally positive experiences with the network, even the ones who are now leaving. the only thing that seems to remain an issue is the awful, awful PR (that apology sucked, i criticized it myself) and the lack of communication towards anybody not chicago-based. i feel they need to ditch michaud (which probably won’t be easy, since he’s a shady capitalist fuck), formally apologize and maybe provide compensation for past producers who were abused by the higher-ups, and either improve relations or just restrict everything to NC, because at this point that’s the only show that’s going to be left if they don’t get their shit together anyway. but i do think that if they just take the easy solution of apologizing, even though it’s already way too late and they royally fucked themselves over, things can be a little better.

i’m also not against criticizing doug for not speaking out, because the least he could do is apologize at least privately and i’ve even emailed him imploring him to do at least that (i don’t expect a response though lmao). i just get hurt at people attacking the show and movies as being terrible and something no fan should like. a lot of people really attached to the series before this blew up, and for the most part the content of the show doesn’t reflect the behind-the-scenes issues.

i’m spreading relevant information on twitter regarding abuse and producers’ feelings, but so many people (obviously not the producers, but the fans/haters) involved in this are more concerned with just shitting on doug bc they don’t like him and a lot are trying to make him out as worse than he is. i want to spread what the producers say because i trust them, but i’m wary of fans who seem to just be in it for the drama or bc they never liked NC and they wanna spite people who did (yes, those people exist, they mocked me on kiwifarms).

i know this isn’t about me, but i’ve invested a lot of money and time and emotional energy in the show, it’s introduced me to new friends, and it’s been directly and indirectly responsible for some of my highest and lowest points of the past year and a half. my comfort ship has been very helpful in helping my loneliness. it gave me something to look forward to every day. not to pull the autism card, but it’s difficult for me to drop a special interest very easily and i’m jealous of people who can. i need time to grow entirely out of it if i can.

but even still, i haven’t watched a NC episode in weeks, even the new ones, due to my discomfort and shame towards the show and network (only NC thing i watched lately was the hyper q&a, which is on tamara’s channel, and i used it to fall asleep). i unsubscribed, and i really i only care about a few aspects of the show anyway.

if you want to hate me because i can’t immediately remove NC from my heart then fine, but if so, just unfollow me. i don’t want people to not post NC criticism, and i fully endorse spreading relevant information because i care about the victims and i want them to receive justice. i just want hate tagged so i, personally, do not have to be constantly reminded that a show that is/was close to my heart has so many awful things behind it, even if i’m not sure if i still love it anymore. and while i have been a bit guilt-trippy in the past i’ve been confronted on that already and i’m trying not to come across that way, and i’m sorry for having been manipulative at all. i’m paranoid about being abandoned and hated just for having watched this show but unless you’re like, a super close friend of mine, you can unfollow any time you want.