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hopefullysomewhere · 1 year ago

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Ghost story

His bicycle comes to a sudden halt. He sighs. It's clear I slowed him down. Far behind, he doesn't mind that there's not much air. He says to me, "Nini, you're slow.", as though he's mad at me. One day, he'll know that he embodies this concept: adventure. Because he is whole. As opposed to me. I grasp his steps: to take some of his fervor, to take some of his density. I whisper to myself: ''You are nothing''. My dirty hair gathers above my skull. Then, they soar. I love it when they hit my candy-pink cheeks. He goes further into the forest, and I stay there, watching his muscles move like a ghost hardened in a dream.

I am one of those who freeze because I know what separate from the dead. What is life, what isn't, Vic doesn't know anything about that.

But he finally settles. With the tip of his foot, he shapes the soil into small circles. His breathing intensifies as if preparing to say something.

But he doesn't speak; he speaks little. Yet, he doesn't know how to disappear into silence. The resin clogs our pores, and we settle on rocks speckled with lichen. It's summer in the north. We place the food on our laps and explore the dry meals with our crooked fingers. In the sky, I search for a pink cloud to go to. He looks under his feet, head lowered in boredom, and says to me:

-You say we can see it from here, but I don't see it.

-Sometimes, when you try too hard to see it, it moves, I say. You have to act as if, as if you were looking for something else, like a salamander, a precious stone, Ossie's sock, anything that works differently, from another order. He spits a glob that tangles with the yellow grass, seems annoyed to have succumbed to following me.

''Sounds like another one of your lies. ''

Then silence again.

No need to justify myself. Vic will convince himself that the abandoned house doesn't exist until a wrinkle of suspicion grows near his right eyebrow. He thought the same about Marie la Sanglante's story. ''It's true, I swear on Ossie's head'', I told him, and he didn't believe it, and I repeated that it was true, and then he insisted until the truth exploded when poor Ossie died of diphtheria after, just for fun, we uttered the name of the bloody virgin in the mirror. He picked up his sister's torn nails in the gray parking lot. He wondered if lies had the power to kill someone. Peonies rose in the asphalt cracks. No one walked in the parking lot after the little one's death. It was said that her ghost undulated above the vacant lot, a kind of rhythmic dance to the flowers' growth. This time, it's the same. I really saw the house. I was inside. Glass shards bulged the windows, and baby cries stained the walls. My legs lifted towards the door like two different beings; my hand pounded on an ice wall until it resonated in the center of the body, a point in the middle of the stomach, where I would want Vic to touch me, where I would want him to dig a hole to deposit kisses. Slowly falling from his lips, small nits would resist, clinging to the ribs. Thus, wings would sprout from the stomach like a volcano, a lepidopteran from the front of the body, swinging, holding onto ocelli that imitate cat eyes. From his touch, I would become a fairy elytra, a cluster worm, the poison of desire. Under inverted nights, I would increasingly seek to blend into other skins. In the chrysalis, the locks would yield, causing the unveiling of hidden things. I tell Vic:

''In the center of the house, that's where you can find Ossie. There's a ladder, and if you climb it, you'll reach where matter can't escape, the place before birth where Ossie went. She will arrive from an unrecognizable horizon. Eat a peony just before. I turn off the light sources for you. In total darkness, you can open your eyes. You will see all the colors encountered with closed eyes. Only there will Ossie's radiation be accessible to touch.''

His face brightens for the first time. He almost smiles and gently pushes me off my bicycle to tighten a bolt. Now we roll at the same speed. The visions of penetrating trees resemble each other. We go in circles. Vic points to a flat ground, protected by bent firs. He would like to sleep there. I go to fetch some small wood. A fire rises between our two faces, and intoxication sets in. On all fours, I approach, rocks under palms, under feet, and ask if he can hold me. He sweeps the sky, gathers the stars, and does it. We sleep a light sleep, punctuated by shadows of monsters in the eyelids of a dying fire. Vic kisses me in the dream: soft, supple. The ground yields to the comfort of lips. In the morning, Vic resumes his usual indifference while eating boiled eggs. He doesn't ask: why aren't you eating. He doesn't ask: do you want one of my eggs. When we resume the trails, I stay behind, enveloped in sadness like a labyrinth, amazed to see real tears cross mud puddles. The rain accompanies.

I was taught that time here aligns with energy, operates to the rhythm of the water cycle. In hyperspace, cells decline more than elsewhere, evaporate into stratus. I fear our water bodies. Threatened with dissolution, I follow the New World porcupine, the myopic, the solitary one, who escapes vision before being inscribed in memory.

The bikes are left at the foot of a mountain from which Vic hopes to locate the abandoned house. The climb is so steep that you have to cling to the roots to avoid tumbling. After a few hours, the slope levels out. On the plateau, the grass appears surprisingly green, lustrous fruits hang abundantly, and I devour an apple. Children's laughter fills the air. Ossie's little voice sings: Oh, you who are my friend You can see well where I live Oh, you who survive me You can see well from where I cry

Hearing Ossie makes Vic very agitated.

''She is over there'', I said.

He goes back, rushes down the hill; no matter how hard I run after him, I struggle to keep up. I fall several times and decide to let myself roll down with stiff arms along my body.

There it is, the house. In front, a free-standing sculpture of Marie la Sanglante. The infanticidal mother in front of the mirror decomposes Vic's face. Lost inside its forms, he learns fear. He thinks she resembles me. I tell him:

-Let's go inside. It's dangerous to stay in front of the sculpture for too long. Tell me she didn't talk to you. He avoids my gaze and replies into emptiness:

-No, no!

We take the ladder. On the second level, Ossie sings louder and large black winds rise to surround us. Each gust seems to carry a face. Vic says something is crushing him to the ground. He breathes poorly, very scared. I tell him: ''now you are in this darkness that reproduces colors. You can open your eyes.''

His body drifts into a close-death; I tell him to trust. Amethyst stones carve into the dense matter, and I tell him to trust. ''Your lungs are breathing even if you don't know it.'' A huge hand rests on his abdomen. It's Ossie's. And I tell him to trust at least his little sister as she compresses his chest. He sees, like me, the sap flows, the microcosms that compose us. He says ''it's beautiful'' and blinks. All his limbs detach into dust. The moon reveals the grains evacuated from him and me. And I tell him to trust because it is through this path that he will access Ossie. Swimming without synapses, without interpretations, without the birth of the world. Blood still circulates. Arteries plunge into the limbo where dead children await judgments like perched choristers.

On branches, he finds comfort, a hope spotted by myself in the filters that separate from life. He borrows a bit of my perforated skin, pushes back the taste of peonies; he says: Nini, not now, but smiles with his full teeth. I usurp his lifted heaviness. It's halfway that we soon finish circulating through the living.

Vic lied. The Bloody One spoke to him as she speaks to everyone. And my voice overlaid with hers.

#poetry #litterature #horror story #gothic #goth aesthetic #goth girl #romantic goth #poets on tumblr #nature #weirdcore #odd #bizarre #ghost

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malyndabee · 1 year ago

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I'm getting angry, because I don't know what to do.

I don't want to die, but right now, I'm a little disappointed to be living. There is so much to decide on and how do you know when you've made the right decision?

Is any decision ever "right" or do you just stick beside it out of obligation? How do I know when to give up on a plan versus persevere?

I thought I knew what I wanted. I had a plan. I was ready but life had other plans. Life has completely emotionally and mentally exhausted me the last 4 months, I dug a hole for myself and now getting out feels impossible. Did I dig the hole out of fear or for security? Did I put myself in a predicament that I never truly wanted and now I am having to find a way out but it doesn't feel possible because I don't even want a way out?

Maybe the life I have created for myself, I don't even want. Maybe the hole has always been my escape plan and the reality of it is that the world I decided on is crumbling because I did not nurture it. I did not nurture it because I do not want it?

Do I want it? Is suffering a justified part of getting to where you want to be? To doing and being different? Was the hole my safety net because the world around me became too exhaustive?

I don't fucking know. I am losing my mind trying to figure it out. I am tired of being in between decisions. I am tired of being stubborn and sticking beside something that doesn't want me, or I don't wan't it. I am tired of planning and in return being torn away from that very dream. I am tired and I don't know what to do.

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tropicalrpg · 2 years ago

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12 my friend posted a quote from her diary

it feels a little weird to call her my friend. we are friends; we see each other often, though never on purpose, and we never text or see each other on our own. my friend's friend, i guess? i also would never describe her as my friend. i guess. we're on each other's close friends on instagram, but i wouldn't be surprised if she had a hundred people there. (i have fifteen, i think.)

i don't want to judge her here. much to the contrary, kind of? i'm really envious of her. i've always described sloth as my cardinal sin, but i know gluttony is a weakness and as time passes i see how i envy everyone around me. i'm hungry; i'm never satisfied. i'm competitive, and the hand i've been dealt is shit, and i think the referee is plotting against me.

i think i'm mostly to blame, but it just doesn't seem fucking fair. well, before i go into that, let me justify, clarify, that i'm here because my friend posted a quote from her diary on instagram, and that motivated me to come back to this fucking place. but not because of inspiration, though mostly: because of fucking envy. because she wrote something beautiful, meaning to do so but naturally, i suppose (if it's in her fucking diary, she didn't sit down like I'm Going To Write Something Poetic Now, i think) (read that, or all of this, in an angry tone) (i'm getting angrier and angrier

listen, i would love to be beautiful. (like she is). i would love to be thin. (like she is). i would love to be a poet, i would love to love to party, to get along with people, to be desired. is the tortured artist trope true? are my struggles not enough? do i even struggle? i struggle as much as a fucking incel does, don't my friends love to joke that i'm an incel, because i like """nerdy""" things and no one wants me? no one wants me, no one wants me, no one wants me, and i am desperate, and i don't drink and don't smoke and my life has no real problems other than that being alone and for that i am doomed for a mediocre life, i am doomed to not know words when they are beautiful and only when they are forced and my vocabulary is strained and my voice is hoarse and ugly and i sound and look like a fucking girl no matter how much i try

my life is so easy. my life is so easy. if i put any fucking effort into being happy, i would be. my life is shining ahead of me. it is full of promise and, I don't know, light. i've been handed the whole fucking deck of cards. it's hard, or unlikely, to be more privileged than i am. but i dig myself a hole because it's easier to feast on self pity than to make diamonds out of coal. it's easier to watch the bugs crawl than to see the birds fly when you're deep underground. i don't know what im writing. i don't know what metaphor I'm scrambling for, grasping for, my nails bleeding and my face red and my chest bare, scarred, hairy.

i started writing all of this (this blog) for the same reason i write this today right now. someone is better than me, and i would love to pretend i can keep that from being true.

23.04.23

#diary #nonfiction #confession

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kayxleeee · 4 years ago

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Tony Stark: Are We Fighting?(Tony x Reader)

Warning: Sexual implying if you squint. Tony being cute and you being mad at him for a second.

A/N: Y’all this is my favorite, I love Tony fluff.

Summary: Tony’s in deep water after you notice the “head of security” watching your every move for an entire week straight. The only problem is, it’s date night, and can you really stay mad at someone with that face?

Word Count: 2k+

*NOT MY GIF* Don’t copy my work !

The aroma of tomato sauce and Italian herbs wafted the air around you immediately as you swung the large front door open, walking in. Tonight was date night, you were starving, but you had a serious bone to pick with the conniving genius. You kick your heels off and make your way through the foyer greeted by dimmed lights, a candle lit living room, soft romantic music playing, and an excessive amount of rose peddles leading up the grand staircase.

Nice touch Stark.

You look at it all in awe, but try to snap out of it, because you meant business tonight.

“Tony?!” You call out wondering where he was.

“In here.” He says peaking his head through the kitchen entry way, wiping his hands dry on a dish towel. “You look ravishing.” He says as he makes his way over to you, wrapping an arm around your waist giving you a quick hug and kiss on your forehead. “This isn’t too much is it?”

This was probably the best one yet. You were delighted at his efforts to make date nights memorable, especially since you hardly saw him. He had either been busy being an avenger or down in his lab working his life away. You were also very busy yourself running Stark Industries. Between the meetings and work related calls, it was a very rare occasion when you and Tony could just enjoy each others company. So this was when weekly date nights were born; Just a time to catch up and be together and have unadulterated quality time. You sigh taking it all in. Tony always does them well, especially when he is trying to make up for something. The dimmed lights, roses, music, candles, even his cologne— god, did his cologne smell good, intoxicating even. You could swoon right then and there the atmosphere was the definition of romantic and relaxing and here you are ready to uproar it all.

Damn, right.

“Told you date night would be extraordinary tonight.” He smirks taking your silence as a sign that you were pleased, while wiggling his eyebrows up and down. “Be back in a sec, get comfy.” He says giving you a wink before turning away.

He makes his way back into the kitchen to finish up whatever he had been doing previous and you follow him. He turns around and gives you a weird look, scrunching his face as he sees you following behind him. Those dazzling brown eyes weren’t going to get you this time, you were still mad— Maybe not as mad as you were before coming through that front door, but still upset enough to confront the issue right now.

“So something interesting happened to me today.” You say setting your purse on the kitchen counter as Tony strategically plates the pasta he made.

“Oh yeah?” He says maneuvering through the kitchen. “And what might that be kitten?” After he’s done, he turns to you popping an olive into his mouth, as he leans against the counter behind, ready listen attentively.

“Well I was ya know working my little ass off, minding my business… Ya know as I do every single day. When I noticed a very attentive Happy Hogan, watching my every move.” You say eyeing him suspiciously as he smiled innocently. “I thought to myself, now I’ve been seeing Happy in all sorts of wacky places this week, why would he do something like that?”

“I donno, why babe?” He says dusting his hands together for no particular reason looking everywhere else, but your face.

“Mmmh- maybe he’s just being his old paranoid, overbearing self this week. Watching my every move for no apparent reason.” You say testily, you already know Stark put him up to it.

“Happy is very dedicated to his new position. Didn’t you hear? He’s head of security, babe. He’s gotta be eyes and ears.” He sighs, now moving from his leaning position to begin pouring two glasses of bubbly. “That’s our Happy for ya."

Of course you heard, and of course Tony was the one who appointed him, and of course Stark Industries did not need that.

“Oh jeez golly! Eyes and ears on little ol me?” You say in a fake sarcastic souther bell accent.

He raises his eyebrows, and gives you a well justified laugh, because that accent was horrendous.

“Did you send happy to spy on me or what Tony?” You say getting to the point.

“No.” He says shaking his head from side to side frantically like a child who’s just got caught stealing from the cookie jar. “Nope, I don’t recall.”

“You don’t recall?” You scoff. “It’s a very simple thing to remember doing Tony. Did you say oh Happy please spy on my faithful, loyal, beautiful, loving, girlfriend?”

“Um— are we fighting?” We're not fighting are we?” He sighs genuinely unsure.

You didn’t want to fight or argue either, but he was getting on your nerves beating around the bush. You already knew he did it, you just needed to know why.

“Sure, we aren’t fighting Tony.” You say annoyance booming through, hoping he would just come out with it. He was definitely pushing your buttons. “Now did you send him?”

“ I don’t recall.” He says again now putting on a fake ‘thinking’ face.

“You don’t recall asking him?! Okay, well I am sure if we give him a call that might jog your little memory.” You grab your phone out of your purse quickly dialing his number. “Mmmh I think you’ve been hit on the head entirely way too many times, ya know since you can’t recall events.”

Before you can press the dial button to call Happy, Tony swiftly reaches over the counter where you are standing and snatches the phone from your grip, ending the call before it’s made.

“Okay, listen baby, I think we’re fighting, and I don’t want to fight tonight.” He says with pleading eyes putting his hands up in defense.

“Tony!” You yell at him going to where he is standing in the spacious kitchen. “You're not answering my question and you should have thought about that before asking Happy to spy on me!” Which I’m not understanding what for! Just say you don’t trust me and leave it at that, why play all these games?!”

His face flattened.

“Okay, kitten, listen it wasn’t like that. I do too trust you.”

So he did put Happy up to it— of course he did.

“You better explain or I’m Leaving Tony.”

He sighs heavily, shame settling on his features.

“Happy brought up this guy? Aldrich Killian, said you dated him a while back?" “Oh my go- you don’t trust me!” You exhaust throwing your hands up and turning on the heels of your feet ready to retreat out of the kitchen.

“No!” Tony quickly follows behind you. Come on babe, let’s talk about this!” He says grabbing you by your shoulder gently spinning you around.

“Tony you’re doing a lot of the talking, and only digging yourself in a deeper hole.” You say crossing your arms.

“Okay, let’s back track, I trust you, with everything I own, my life even. I’ve just been overwhelmed and overthinking recently. I can’t say what I did was right, but in the moment I didn’t feel it was exactly wrong either.”

“In the moment Tony really? What moment did you realize I needed to be spied on like some convict? What moment did you realize you didn’t trust me alone at work with some guy, I hardly ever dated by the way!”

“Okay, okay! I did not send him to spy on you, I sent him to keep an eye on you.”

“Same shit Sherlock and I don’t appreciate it ! You say you trust me but tis is definitely not how it’s coming off.” You huff in annoyance, trying to grab your phone from him again, in which he manages to keep it away from you snacking his free arm around you. “Give it back now, I’m leaving Tony!”

“Would you stop getting mad?!” He huffs. “Just- it’s not a trust thing baby. It’s a safety thing.”

“I wouldn’t be getting mad if you’d just tell me the truth and stop beating around the damn bush. I’m over it anyways, I’m going to be leaving now, so give me my phone and let me go.” He rolls his eyes and pulls you into him closer. “No you’re not leaving , stop being dramatic.” He says holding onto you tight, still holding the phone away from your grasp with his other hand. You scrunch up your face about to say something, about his remark, but he quickly says. “And don’t be mad that I think you’re being dramatic about this.” He says to ensure he digs himself out of being in trouble over that stupid comment.

He continues, “You already know I trust you so don’t give me that. I did all of this because I love you.” He says holding you close and swaying the two of you slightly to the music that is still playing softly in the background.

“Not the because I love you speech.” You say rolling your eyes, hands resting on his chest trying to create distance between the two of you, but he just pulls you back into him. “You are so annoying.” You comment on the action, surrendering to his grasp.

“No it’s not like that, I just needed to make sure you were safe. No malicious thought behind it or intent, I swear. I just wanted to make name you are safe at all times.” He says softly with a sigh as he feels that you’ve calmed down.

“Why wouldn’t I be safe at work?” You say looking up at him. He now sets your phone down on the near by counter and places the hand to your face, caressing your cheek.

“Anyone can be in danger anywhere honey, I’ve learned that the hard way— and if I were to loose you? Well let’s just say for my sake and peace of mind, I might of let fear cloud my judgment and asked Happy to keep an eye on you. No spying, just an eye. You know how he gets.” He looks deeply into your eyes and you could tell he was telling the truth. “I’m sorry, okay?” He leans into you just enough to rub his nose against yours playfully. “Do you accept my apology?” He says in a child like voice, giving you puppy dogs eyes.

He was so cute.

“Okay fine, I’m hearing you.” You say caving in. “But you’ve gotta stop him from following my every move— if I’m going to the bathroom, I don’t need him right out the door.” You huff.

“Done, you got it, Happy is officially barred off of bathroom duties. Can we kiss and make up now?” He says this as his lips ghost over yours and you happily lean into the kiss, knowing full well it was long overdue after how hard he worked to impress you tonight. This kiss was sweet and sincere, while also deep and romantic.

“I love you.” He says after breaking the kiss.

“You're a pain, but I love you too.” You both laugh before you give him another kiss.

“Now are we still fighting?” He smirks after pulling away a second time. “Just wanna double check before I invest.”

“You're so annoying.” You laugh rolling your eyes playfully. “No we aren’t.”

“Good because our spaghetti is getting cold and our chardonnay is getting flat.” He says intertwining your fingers and spinning you around to walk into the living room. “And you look entirely too good to keep this on all night.” He says referring to your outfit. “I can’t believe you were going to call Happy.”

“Well how about next time, you don’t play with me.” You laugh ready to enjoy your dinner.

“Oh, but honey, playing with you is my favorite thing to do. I especially love it when you scream my name.” He smirks giving you a wink.

Comments, Questions, Opinions :)

See more of what I have written so far: Masterlist

#tony stark x reader #tony stark drabble #tony stark fluff #tony stark #tony stark x black!reader #tony stark x black reader #tony stark x y/n #tony stark imagie #tony stark smut #reader x tony #avengers x reader #black reader x avenger #tony stark x you #i love you 3000 #tony stank #mcu fanfiction #marvel #mcu bwww #tony stark imagines

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rjalker · 3 years ago

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I go to the Murderbot tag to see what people are saying about the series since it's been a while since I checked, and I inevitably find people misgendering Murderbot.

So here's a reminder:

Murderbot's pronouns are it/its. Those are the only pronouns Murderbot uses.

Do not call Murderbot "he" or "they" or "she" or any other pronouns. No, not even other neopronouns. If you want to give a character other neopronouns, pick a character that uses "he" or "she".

You are not "being respectful" by misgendering Murderbot, you're being transphobic. If you actually respected Muderbot the way you claim to, you would use its pronouns.

You cannot justify changing Murderbot's pronouns no matter what argument you're trying to make. Any argument you make for changing Murderbot's pronouns is going to be transphobic.

Claiming you know what's best for Murderbot and that's why you misgender it is not the hill you want to die on. You are literally just being transphobic and infantilizing.

I am telling you right now, as a literal real life person who uses it/its pronouns: Do not change Muderbot's pronouns or the pronouns of any other characters in these books who use it/its. You are literally just being transphobic. Yes, even if you are trans. Yes, even if you are also nonbinary yourself.

If you are so uncomfortable at the thought of calling someone by it/its pronouns, then why are you even here? I'm serious. Why are you reading these books if you are apparently so repulsed by it/its pronouns? Either go read another book, or get over yourself and stop misgendering Murderbot.

You do not get to come into a series where the protagonist and many other characters use it/its pronouns and act like it's a crime to use it/its pronouns.

Murderbot is the only protagonist I have ever seen that uses it/its pronouns. You do not get to take that away. You do not get to erase these characters' gender identities and then claim you're an ally to nonbinary people. You are literally just being transphobic.

You either respect trans people, or you don't. You are doing nothing but being transphobic and disrespectful by insisting that it/its pronouns are bad and no one is allowed to use them.

It's not disrespectful to use it/its pronouns for people whose pronouns are it/its. By argung so, you are just proving that you don't actually respect us. If you did, you would use the pronouns we ask you to.

Yes, person reading this post. Real people use it/its pronouns. I am one of them.

Misgendering doesn't magically become okay and not transphobic just because the person you're misgendering uses it/its pronouns.

You either respect trans people, or you don't. You are doing nothing but being transphobic and disrespectful by insisting that it/its pronouns are bad and no one is allowed to use them.

Whatever argument you make to justify misgendering Murderbot, you better as hell be willing to level against me and anyone else who uses it/its.

Are you next going to argue that I should be misgendered because I'm too stupid and abused to know what's best for myself?

Are you going to argue that I should be referred to as a man because I'm a well-rounded person with an interesting personality, and you think interesting people have to be men? (Because let's be real here, people, there is a gods damned reason so many people misgender Murderbot by calling it he/him or a guy or a dude: fucking blatant misogyny.)

Do not use any pronouns besides it/its for Murderbot or any of the other characters in this series who use it/its pronouns. You are misgendering it by doing so, and any argument you make to justify this transphobia is literally just digging your transphobic hole deeper.

I am a real person who uses it/its pronouns. I am telling you you are being transphobic. This is your wake up call. Do not misgender Murderbot or any other character who uses it/its pronouns.

#Murderbot #The Murderbot Diaries #ititspronouns #transgender #nonbinary #discussion of transphobia #discussion of exorsexism

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positively--speculative · 3 years ago

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Been thinking about the conversations we've all been having about the Loki fandom's habit of being reluctant to see him as the morally grey character he is and, instead, viewing him as a character who was "controlled" or "influenced" to hurt people. And I feel like, for some fans, this comes from either projecting themselves onto him and/or being romantically/sexually attracted to him...and I just want to make a comparison...

Yes, I am one of those people who has a crush on Loki, but you know what? He's a mess. He's smart, but at the same time, he acts on his emotions a lot of the time instead of reason. He digs himself into holes with his own dishonesty and deceit. He has hurt and even killed people (and yes, we can argue that he was "influenced" by the tesseract--even though that has never been explicitly implied or stated in the actual writing of the movies, but that doesn't make his hands clean). Also, I am mutuals with multiple people who don't care too much for Loki and have made that dislike/annoyance/non attraction very clear. I feel no need to defend Loki or try to change these people's minds. I just...don't feel the need to make Loki out to be anything that he's not to justify liking him.

At the same time, I have another fictional crush--Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow. And while having this crush, I can acknowledge that he's a terrible dude (arguably even worse so than Loki) who has forced unwilling (and often innocent) people to consume his fear toxins and traumatize them. Yes, he often is given sad backstories that involve child abuse and bullying. I can sympathize with that, but I'm not about to sit here and act like any of his wrongdoing should be justified, because it shouldn't be. As for being made fun of? LMAO, I think I make fun of myself for being attracted to a character who is often depicted as a dorky bag of bones who resembles a cryptid than anyone else (though, Cillian Murphy is a very beautiful man who has portrayed him in the past).

Both Loki and Crane are interesting, charismatic, and fun characters. That's why many of us are drawn to them. Like, it's that simple. I don't know why suddenly many fans feel the need to be attempting to rewrite canon to make incredibly flawed and often very dangerous characters anything but what they actually are.

#loki fandom fuckery #loki #jonathan crane #scarecrow

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how2bake · 3 years ago

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I don't know lately I've been thinking a lot on the tense relationship i have with myself where I can't do anything but blame or victimize myself against me it's like. Idk like I hate myself still for a lot of reasons, have trouble taking my own opinion seriously or on equal footing as others, constantly am scared of sharing it and being wrong or having trouble being clear in a way that if i clarify myself I'm basically just saying I was always right instead of just admitting i was wrong, among a lot of other things. Mainly I'm like. I don't know frustrated that childhood struggles of fitting in that followed me to my teens are still affecting me like it's a moral failing the fact i couldn't connect to my peers or that i got bullied and that i can't appreciate the love that people want to show me because I'm too busy hating myself. And for that i hold s grudge towards myself and have trouble letting myself be happy and try to make amends and talk to more people justifying this by saying I've wronged them too much and am not deserving of sympathy. On some other days i deflect this by saying any affection or sympathy people extend to me is just people seeing how pathetic i am and pitying my existence. And so I want to improve my life on some level but for that i need to recover my drive so that i can do things, and for that i need to get out more of this depression hole that i put myself in. And like idk it doesn't help my family tried to "comfort me" by saying people care about me and I'm being a selfish asshole by isolating myself and that this is my fault and only i can dig myself out of it. On some level they're right in that i do need to engage with people in order to do that but it just feeds my self loathing. It's a very tense situation in which I'm both the jailor and the prisoner of my own pathetic prison and it only serves to make me more frustrated with myself and keeping myself locked up

#.txt

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androidgram0 · 3 years ago

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Grand Theft Auto 5 - 4 Ways to enhance Your Sequel

L.A. Noire is great. Really great, even. a way welcomed breath of fresh air to a medium that nearly never cares to require itself seriously. except for me? Personally? it is a teaser. A bone on which to gnaw while the most course is being prepared in some mystical laboratory where video games are birthed. That main course is grand larceny Auto 5. GTA3 was the primary game I played on the (incredible) PS2 console and, ever since, I've held video games to a better standard of quality. It knocked down all the walls of the traditional game (figuratively and literally) and pushed the bar for the 3rd person perspective and literally created the open world genre.

Flash forward to today. grand larceny Auto 4 has been out for quite 3 years and, despite the critical and commercial successes of Red Dead Redemption and now L.A. Noire, I find myself primed for subsequent GTA. albeit we should be another year or more faraway from it's actual release there still are the standard signs and rumors that it'd already be in development. And with E3 being right round the corner, I feel it'd be the proper time to mention the question: What do i would like from a replacement GTA?

Modern Multiplayer

There's nothing wrong with GTA4's multiplayer, so to talk . Competitive multiplayer was fair, fun and it worked. The free roam mode may be a dream come true for fans of the series. With or against online players, it enabled you to explore the rich detail of the planet and plan to achieve completely absurd and arbitrary goals, like "How many vehicles can we slot in this nutriment restaurant?" or "How long can we survive holed up during this bank against cops?" and therefore the fan favorite "How am i able to ruin what everyone else is trying to try to to by running them over?". Possibilities are, for lack of a less cliche description, endless. It's fun, but it isn't perfect. Matchmaking, and therefore the basic online UI, wasn't as intuitive because it might be and it could. Unlocking more appearance pieces was arcane and poorly explained (if at all).

So will GTAV's multiplayer be any different? in fact it'll . it'll probably adopt an equivalent infrastructure that made Red Dead Redemption's online a hit . But i feel letting it fall to the wayside may be a mistake. Grant that extra little bit of functionality. Let the creator of a free roam match dictate the principles of the planet dynamically and seemlessly. Allow them to summon all players to one location-- these simple added functions expedite the method to set-up those awesome moments. The money-for-appearance system shouldn't get away completely, it should just be overhauled. getting to a store to shop for hard-earned cash (via competitive multiplayer) on goods for there avatars appearance? People eat that stuff up. Each subsequent DLC release improved the multiplayer, but I could see the multiplayer being lost on those that didn't bother digging deep into it's possibilities. Remember those nifty multiplayer-centric trailers RDR got? Let's have a number of that.

Mission Variety

GTA's single-player is lost on those without a particular degree of patience. The core gameplay can get fairly repetitive: attend this location and kill so then , drive this person to the present place and avoid the inevitable encounter. More often than not, it's "blah blah and oh yeah, kill something". This wasn't the case for The Ballad of Gay Tony, however. The missions introduced were a number of the foremost inventive and theatric I've ever seen. This was because the story was shorter and more condensed. i feel I represent tons of individuals once I say we'd rather have a shorter, more memorable story than one that's longer and dragged out. Will this happen? Probably not. GTA is one among the most important Ip's within the industry and when people hand over their $59.99 they expect a particular amount of content-- an invisible threshold that justifies their purchase. So a more practical request could be to extend the archetypes of the missions that you simply run. rather than a 4 different mission variations with a special coat of paint.

Import/Export Garages

Import Export garages were a stimulating feature only present in GTA3. They were a kind of side mission that asked players to seek out and deliver cars from an inventory . Once all cars were delivered, the player then had access to any of the aforementioned vehicles by visiting the garage. it is a very simple concept that asks an arduous task for a reasonably cool reward. Why this feature never returned to any of the subsequent GTA's, i do not know. And why stop there? Enable import/export garages in free roam at the hosts discretion. Allowing players to manifest any car they please (with an inexpensive cool down) given they've completed the work to try to to so in single-player could leave some really fun and straightforward functionality during a free roam environment.

Relationship System (kinda)

Both GTA4 with it's quirky online dating service and therefore the Ballad of Gay Tony with it's redundant and useless "booty call" side-mission (if you'll call It that) have entertained the thought of a relationship system, but not even at a 'not gonna happen' spoof level (as many things are in GTA), but at A level that required some consideration. Now, I'm not suggesting that since GTA4 dipped it's toes into the dating sub-genre that it's successor have a full fledged relationship mode, but rather it include a kind of progressive affiliation leveling system with any sort of entity.

In GTA4 there have been many "put out, get back" instances-- this could be expanded upon. rather than doing 'x' amount of missions to receive one 'y' reward, mix alittle story in and make the reward less transparent. deem instance the tiny named quests during a game like Oblivion or Fallout 3. You join one so-and-so group/club/faction, do missions that effect it, get up the ranks and obtain access to it's resources. This almost spills over into the mission variety request, except for side-missions. Maybe, almost like Club Management in TBOGT, there might be no real end thereto , just a singular thanks to make money. to raised summarize, they're more elaborate side-missions.

For more info:-

How to Turn On Chat Heads in Messenger 2021

Messenger Chat Heads Not Working Android 2021

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imdoingthismspaintadventure · 5 years ago

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Worm 2.09 (part 2) - In which they seem like good people

Sorry, I had been gone for a while.

Let’s continue then!

I nodded, absorbing the information. It sounded very underwhelming to me, but I was willing to admit I could be underestimating it.

We were discussing Alec’s power last time, and how it sounded silly but it could be really OP in the right hands

“Well,” I said, after a long pause, “I think I pretty much get what everyone can do, then. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Bitch can turn those dogs into those freakish monsters I saw the other night?”

Sitting a few feet away, Bitch muttered, “They aren’t freakish.”

I think Bitch’s power is the most obvious of the group, so it’s normal it hadn’t been discussed yet.

Lisa answered my question, ignoring her. “Rachel can do it with any dog, actually,” she said, stressing the name, “And no codenames when we’re not in costume, ‘kay? Get in the habit of using the right name at the right times, and it’s that much harder to slip.”

It was hard to think of Rachel by her real name. Bitch seemed really fitting given the stunt she had pulled. I apologized to Lisa, “Sorry.”

Yeah slip-ups concerning secret identities and the like could be baaad

Pfft, I love these little inside-comments Taylor makes, like the bitch thing.

Lisa gave a small nod in response, then told me, “She can use her power on any dog, but only Brutus, Judas and Angelica are trained well enough that they’ll listen to her when they’re pumped up.”

Oh so her power juices up the dogs, but doesn’t make them submit to her control like Taylor’s power does with her bugs. She has to actually train them

Makes sense, as Bitch seems to care for her dogs quite a bit (”They aren’t freakish...”) while Taylor really only uses her bugs as a means to an end, and even feeds some to others.

I really like when the nature of the superpower fits the kind of person that it belongs to, and can be used to explore their personality further.

Ah, so that was it. “And Brian makes that oily darkness that screws up your hearing. The Parahumans wiki said it was darkness generation.”

Brian smiled, “I put that into the wiki myself. It’s not wrong, but it does catch people off guard when they think they know what you can do, and there’s something more to it.”

That is something people would do if superpowers were real, no doubt! Editing the wiki about their own powers, either to bring attention to themselves or to obfuscate the truth. Very nice detail to add.

Lisa added, “It’s not just hearing. It also cuts off radio signals and dampens the effects of radiation.”

“That’s what her power tells her, anyways. I haven’t had much chance to test that part of things. I get by as is,” Brian said. He turned his hand palm up and created a handful of the darkness. It was like smoke, but so absolutely black that there was no texture to it. It was like someone had taken a scalpel to reality and the blackness was what was there when everything else was gone. I couldn’t even gauge the dimensions of it, unless I looked at it from a different perspective. Even then, with the way the darkness shifted and billowed like smoke, it was hard to judge the shape.

Brian’s darkness nullifies or weakens wavelengths and senses! That’s amazing! I can see how it could be really really useful.

I love the description of the darkness. It’s absolutely pitch-black, like when you were staring at something bright and then turn all lights out. That darkness so all-consuming you can’t make out dimensions or distances inside of it. Only in this case contained within a single place on his hand.

It remains me of the nothing from The Neverending Story, in that they both feel inherently wrong.

The Nothing was way more unsettling and indescribable though. Especially in the book.

More of it just kept pouring from his hand, climbing upwards to cover the top of the room. As the light from the windows near the upper edges of the room and the florescent bars on the ceiling was cut off, the room got a great deal darker.

He closed his hand into a fist, and the darkness thinned out and disintegrated into strands and tatters, and the room brightened again. I looked at the light coming in from the windows and was surprised it wasn’t later.

It can expand and cover the whole room just like that?

Imagine going up against these guys and you suddently get surrounded by this type of dark abyss and completely lose your bearings. That sounds scary as fuck.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Nineteen minutes before five,” Lisa said. She didn’t look at a watch or a clock as she said it, which was unsettling. It was a reminder that her power was constantly available to her.

Lisa’s power is still by far the most dangerous, with the tactical advantage she represents in any battle. She’s also the most fundamental threat to Taylor’s little undercover plan, easily.

Brian asked me, “Do you have somewhere you need to be?

“Home, I guess,” I admitted, “My dad will wonder where I am.”

I bet Danny could never imagine in a million years the type of situation you are in.

“Call him,” Lisa suggested, “Now that the introductions are over with, you can just hang out for a bit, if you want.”

“We could order pizza,” Alec suggested. Then when Lisa, Brian and Bitch all made faces, he added, “Or maybe everyone’s sick of pizza and we could order something else.”

“Stick around?” Brian made it a question.

Alec really is the most chill out of all of them.

This all feels so normal, hard to believe we were having a fight just moments ago.

I glanced at Bitch. She was sitting on the table behind one of the couches and looking like a mess, with a bloody bandage over one ear, blood smeared below her nose and lip, and a bit of green around the gills that suggested she was feeling a little worse for wear. With her in that state, I didn’t feel particularly threatened. Staying meant I could work to get things more copacetic and maybe dig for a bit more information. I’d also missed socializing with people – even if it was under false pretenses with a group that included an apparent sociopath. It had been a sucky day. Just chilling out sounded good.

Damn Taylor really fucked her up! Maybe even Rachel respects her more now, with that warped view of things she seems to have. Or maybe she is more pissed off, hard to tell, don’t know her enough yet.

Taylor’s clearly looking to socialize with them, but I like her attempt to justify it to herself as part of her undercover mission. Oh boy you’re totally going to end up becoming a member for real

“Okay,” I decided, “Yeah, I think I’d like to.”

“Phone’s in the kitchen if you want to call your dad,” Lisa said.

I looked over my shoulder as I headed across the loft. The others got settled on the couches, with Alec turning on the TV while Lisa and Brian took a second to clean up.

I found the phone and dialed my dad.

“Hey dad,” I said, when I heard the phone being picked up.

This has the potential to be awkward, painful, sad or any of the three

“Taylor. Are you alright?” He sounded worried. It was unusual, I supposed, my not being home when he got back from work.

“I’m fine, dad. Is it cool if I hang out with some people tonight?”

There was a pause.

Yeah that’s not normal for her

As an introvert, I imagine it would be jarring if my parents heard I’d be staying for dinner at a stranger’s house unnanounced.

“Taylor, if there’s anyone that’s making you make this call… the bullies or someone else, tell me everything is fine. If you’re not in trouble, tell me your mother’s full name.”

Oh that is really smart and really great on Danny’s part. You’re a good dad, Danny.

I felt momentarily embarrassed. Was it so unusual for me to hang out with people? I knew my dad was just trying to keep me safe, but it was bordering on the ridiculous.

I feel like in a world with supervillains people would be more paranoid in general about these things.

“Annette Rose Hebert,” I told him, “Really dad, it’s cool.”

“You’re really okay?”

My gaze roved over the kitchen, taking in the details, as I gave him my assurances.

“Better than ever. I kind of made some friends,” I said.

Well that’s kinda true I guess...

My eyes settled on their dining room table. There was a stack of money, wrapped with a paper band just as the money in the lunchbox had been. Beside the money, plain as day, was the dark gray metal of a handgun.

....Fuck

Well that’s a really effective visual to drive home the reality of the situation she’s in and of the people she’s hanging out with...

My attention caught by the gun, I only barely caught my dad’s question. “What are they like?”

“They seem like good people,” I lied.

....

That’s such a good ending line. It gave me chills.

What kind of hole are you digging for yourself here with this?

...

Well, I’m hooked.

#worm #worm parahumans #parahumans #parahumans liveblog #worm liveblog #wildbow

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starmakerdotcom · 4 years ago

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summary : after their fight, min and leda just want things to go back the way they used to be. part two of this !

characters : kang minjung , na jaemin (nct) , son yongmi , jung yeonwoo , cho minjae

genre : i think angst but honestly idk anymore hsjsb

warnings : more swearing , slightly less arguing , uhhh crying ? i guess ? they’re less mean this time around which is always nice

words : 2.0k

[ july 2019, 4:15 pm, solar dorms ]

minjung really needed to stop dressing up so nice on rainy days.

she stood on the sidewalk next to the dorm building, wringing out her soaked sweater under an awning that protected her from the pouring rain inches away from where she stood. jaemin wasn’t there to walk her home that day, he had to do something... somewhere. she wasn’t too sure, she didn’t really pay attention to what he said, but she didn’t mind walking by herself anyway.

she’d told jaemin about the fight, and jaemin was more civilized about it than both minjung and yongmi (and elizabeth) had been. he suggested apologizing to yongmi, which minjung was (obviously) planning on doing at some point, she kind of had to eventually anyway. the only problem was that she wasn’t the best at apologizing, and she’d spent a good two days trying to think of a way to apologizing without sounding passive aggressive and blaming it on something other than her own actions. and knowing yongmi she’d go on some spiel about how minjung was only apologizing to make herself feel better and not for the sake of yongmi and trying to better their friendship, as it always went. either that or she’d put all the blame on herself instead, which minjung didn’t want to happen in this scenario.

surprisingly, the last few days had been pretty uneventful since her and yongmi had gotten into that fight. they hadn’t talked, they hadn’t even spared each other so much as a look, and when they did accidentally make eye contact they would both look away as quickly as one would retract their hand from a burning hot surface. this proved to be difficult due to their schedules, but they managed somehow, or so minjung thought.

she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and when she pulled it out, she’d gotten two texts from jaemin.

[ new message from : jaemin <3 ]

[ jaemin : have you seen this? ]

[ jaemin : https://www.soompi.com/article ]

well fuck. turns out people knew a lot more than minjung thought.

she took a loud clap of thunder that made her flinch as her queue to go inside and dry off. reaching up and flattening her frizzy hair, she sighed, knowing her luck she’d probably have streaks of purple running down the back of her neck from the mix of sweat and rainwater from walking a few streets by herself, and the recent dye job she’d done a few days prior. once she was inside and in the elevator headed up to her dorm’s floor, minjung leaned against the wall of the elevator, huffing. she wondered where yongmi was, if she was maybe in the dorm, sitting on the couch watching tv, or maybe she’d retreated to the cafe in the company building across the street, sipping a hot chocolate and reading a book, away from the rain and any of her worries.

once she’d gotten into the dorm, yongmi wasn’t anywhere that she could see, her room, minjung assumed. that’s really the only place in the dorm where anyone could have the slightest bit of privacy, just kick your roommates out and tell them to go into the living room or the spare room (that wasn’t used as a spare room and was more than often used as a gaming room). instead, in the living room was yeonwoo at one end of the couch, and minjae at the other, watching some show on the tv.

minjae turned to glance at the door when minjung walked in. “did you get the good noodles?” he asked, to which she started digging into the small shopping bag she was holding. “oh heck yeah!” he exclaimed when she grabbed two packs of instant noodles out of the shopping bag.

“have you guys seen yongmi anywhere?” minjung asked as she took off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen to put her bag on the counter.

yeonwoo shrugged, “her room probably, why? you finally gonna apologize?”

minjung paused for a beat, “most likely,” she replied, avoiding yeonwoo’s eye while she unloaded the snacks she’d picked up from her bag and into the cupboards.

“did you talk about it with jaemin?” yeonwoo asked.

minjung nodded, laughing out of nervousness and awkwardness more than anything, “he handled it better than either of us did. that boy is a saint, i don’t know what i did to deserve him.”

“me neither,” yeonwoo snorted, causing minjung to turn around and shoot her a death glare.

yongmi, like minjung had assumed, was in her room, curled up on her bed. she didn’t even notice minjung slowly open the door and inch her way inside until she cleared her throat in an attempt to make her presence known. when yongmi looked up at her, minjung’s chest tightened uncomfortably.

“can i come in?” minjung asked quietly, to which yongmi nodded, and patted a spot next to her on the bed. minjung instead sat at the end of the bed, and yongmi straightened, sitting up better to look at her.

“so...” minjung started, “how are-“

“what’s actually the reason you’re in here?” yongmi blurted, “are you here to apologize? because i don’t think i want that unless it’s an actual apology.”

“i... i actually am here to apologize,” minjung stuttered, pulling at a loose thread on the bedsheets.

“are you apologizing to make yourself feel better, or is it gonna be a genuine apology? did jaemin put you up to this?”

“i mean- yeah, kind of, but i really do- i do actually wanna apologize for the way i’ve been... talking to you,” minjung kept her head down the whole time she spoke, either too ashamed or uncomfortable to look yongmi in the eye.

after a few beats of silence, yongmi sighed. “i shouldn’t have called you a bitch, that wasn’t justified. i was just frustrated with the way you’d been talking to me, and i hadn’t said anything about it.”

minjung nodded, “i shouldn’t have been acting like a bitch. did you see the article?”

“what article?”

“oh, this one, jaemin sent it to me earlier,” minjung held out her phone and clicked on the article. she could see yongmi’s eyes quickly scan the short article from behind the light that minjung’s phone casted on her glasses.

“did you look at the comments?” yongmi asked quietly after a minute.

minjung shook her head, “i don’t like looking at comments.”

“why not?”

“it’s just what i’ve always been told. people always tell me not to look.”

despite minjung’s words, yongmi scrolled down to the comments anyway, “look here... i think fans are overreacting, if you live in a dorm with someone you see everyday you’re bound to not get along with them 24/7. that’s a good point... i’m sure everything’s fine! okay... min ruins their image for me anyway, and leda doesn’t stand out much, she’s always at the- okay, that one is just plain mean.”

“and that’s why,” minjung said.

“is this why you want to apologize? to get the media off our backs?” yongmi asked, pushing minjung’s phone back in her direction.

“no! i-“ minjung stopped herself when she began to raise her voice, and groaned. “i actually want to apologize and say i’m sorry, why is this so difficult?”

“because you’re not used to apologizing to people,” yongmi replied knowingly, “you never hold yourself accountable.” minjung had almost forgotten how long they’d known each other, and just how much they knew about each other. it sucked, it fucking sucked that they felt like they didn’t know each other anymore despite their closeness just a year prior.

minjung stared down, unmoving, eyes burning holes in the bedsheets, she didn’t want to admit it, but yongmi was right. and to the former’s surprise, yongmi spoke again.

“i just...” the redhead bit her lip, trying her best to not let the tears in her eyes spill pitifully down her cheeks and into her lap, “i just wanna know what happened. between debut and now... why we grew apart so much.”

the shakiness in yongmi’s voice struck a deep chord in minjung’s heart, one that she hadn’t been aware of since she was maybe seventeen, when she and yongmi were young trainees with empty promises of a near debut, without another care in the world. to be honest, she had no clue why the two of them had grown apart. was it jaemin? was he taking up too much of minjung’s time? she shouldn’t be blaming that on him, he had nothing to do with it. for all minjung knew, it could be entirely her fault.

“i wish i knew,” minjung replied quietly as yongmi let a tear slip down her cheek.

she quickly wiped her cheek before laughing nervously, “oh god, i don’t want this to turn into a pity party. i just wanna make sure we’re apologizing for the right reasons.”

minjung paused, “...we? no, i should be the one apologizing-“

“no, i overreacted,” yongmi sighed, “i shouldn’t have called you a bitch, i shouldn’t have talked about your parents like that, and you were right. i need to get over myself and be more assertive.”

“wh-“ minjung stopped, she’d almost forgotten how forgiving yongmi was, too forgiving, definitely, she wouldn’t even let minjung apologize without apologizing herself first- even though minjung had a lot more of a reason to than yongmi did.

“you don’t- don’t apologize for that, that’s something you can’t help. i can help acting like a bitch, i can work on that.”

yongmi stuck out her bottom lip in a sad pout, she looked like a kicked puppy as she tried to argue, “but i wanna apologize-“

“you don’t need to!” minjung stopped herself again so when she realized she was beginning to raise her voice again. she immediately slowed down and her voice softened, “you didn’t do anything wrong, i just want you to know that. can i apologize for myself for once?” she laughed awkwardly in a flimsy attempt to ease the once again growing tension.

“i’ve already accepted your apology, but all i really want, is-” minjung watched helplessly as tears began forming in yongmi’s eyes again as she continued, “i just want things to go back to the way they were before, i guess?”

“i do too,” minjung replied quietly, looking up at yongmi and seeing just the raw sadness behind her eyes. she finally let the tears fall, and minjung watched as tears began to stream down her cheeks, not the same frustrated tears from a few days prior, but tears just filled with complete exhaustion and mourning. mourning for all the minutes spent sweaty and exhaustingly laughing at stupid stories when they had a break from training, the hours spent talking on the grassy hill across the street from the company building, the days spent sneaking out and laughing down the streets of downtown seoul, the nights spent staring up at the sky and mindlessly spilling their biggest desires. yongmi missed it, minjung missed it, they missed the sense of complete comfort associated with those days that felt like decades ago.

it made minjung want to cry too, and although a thin layer of tears brimmed her eyes, she didn’t let them fall. she never cried, she’d only ever cried once in front of her other members, and then another on camera, she hated it, never again, she vowed.

as much as she hated physical affection (unless it was from her boyfriend obviously), minjung felt the overwhelming urge to pull yongmi into a heartfelt hug. the former wrapped her arms tightly around the redhead, letting her silently cry into her shoulder without a word, and they stayed like that. they stayed like that for what felt like an hour but probably wasn’t more than five minutes.

“i’m sorry,” minjung whispered, her voice cracking at the end of her sentiment, and although quiet, yongmi could tell that she absolutely meant it, and that maybe, things could start to go back to the way they were before.

#group.solar #solar.scenarios #min.dev #leda.dev #WHEW thats enough of that im done w writing angst for a while thank u #except for a shorter ish botanica piece i wrote a while ago thats going up later lolol #koc #idol!group #idol!au #idol!oc #kpop oc #oc kpop group #kpop imagines #fake kpop group #idol oc #starmaker entertainment #made up kpop agency

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plays-the-thing · 4 years ago

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Netflix’s Witcher: What Makes a Good Adaptation? – A companion piece

If you’ve somehow found this without seeing the video first, here’s a link:

In this video I analyze the screen adaptations of Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the Witcher series. I use the comparisons of the three to discuss what makes adaptations in general work and to explain why I feel the Witcher is heading down the road to mediocrity.

However, this is a hugely complicated subject, and the works themselves are also complex, especially Martin’s work. I make plenty of claims in the video that a reasonable person could disagree with without any explanation for why I think they are true. Unfortunately, if I were to go down every rabbit hole that I touch on the video would be hours long, so I have to gloss over some potentially confusing or controversial statements.

Enter this post. Here I will be attempting to pre-empt any questions that I think people may have, and go through my thought process on certain claims. I don’t recommend that you read the whole thing. Each explanation will be followed by a timestamp and relevant quote from the video that I am expanding upon so that you can quickly search the page and find what you are looking for.

I’m sure there will be things I don’t think to cover, or things that are poorly reasoned both here and in the video, so feel free to ask additional questions. Just please check to make sure you aren’t asking something that I already covered here.

I will also be attempting to give as much credit as possible to all the wonderful writers and creators who have influenced my thinking with regards to these works. I’ll be linking as much as possible to my sources, as well as to additional content that expands on ideas I mention. Also I’ve included some personal tidbits and commentary, just for fun.

Under a cut for length.

INTRODUCTION:

Huge props to the people who put together the behind-the-scenes footage of LOTR. I’ve watched all the bonus footage numerous times in my life. If you have any interest in the nitty-gritty of how movies get made, I can’t recommend it enough. It really shows all the work and complexity that goes into making movies. That they even get made at all is honestly incredible, especially massive undertakings like LOTR.

[3:30] And if you've ever wondered what the hell happened to The Hobbit, to me it seemed like they were indulging all of these worst impulses instead of catching themselves and editing them out like they did in LOTR.

As soon as I saw that they were making three Hobbit movies my hopes plummeted. It just reeked of executive meddling, and of trying to make the story into something it just isn’t. Lo and behold, that’s what we got: sticking in loads of unnecessary and thematically incoherent material to stretch out the runtime and make it more “epic.” I couldn’t bring myself to watch past the first one, but Lindsay Ellis has an excellent video series exploring in detail what went wrong with the trilogy.

PART ONE: LORD OF THE RINGS

[8:40] If you followed the events and the chronology of the book they would just hang out with Faramir for a little bit and then the movie would end

Technically it’s more complicated than this because that’s already following the revised movie timeline. In reality, Frodo would have just left the Black Gate. They *are* moving the events around to some extent, usually by a few of days here and there, but they can’t move stuff together that takes place weeks apart or the whole timeline would crumble.

[9:55] You can call it the theme, the soul, the spirit, the point, or whatever else you want, but the great works of fiction have something at their core that pulls everything together and elevates it into art. It’s a difficult thing to describe, but I think this scene perfectly tapped into the soul of Tolkien’s work.

Huge shout out to Bob Case and his video “Blame of Thrones” for first introducing me to this concept and the language of the “spirit” of a work to describe this phenomenon. In many ways the first two parts of this video are merely building on the LOTR-GOT comparison that he makes in that video, digging a little deeper and looking at more specific and concrete (and spoileriffic) examples of what he’s talking about so that we can apply these ideas to the Witcher…and beyond. Like all his work, it’s excellent. His YouTube is pretty much inactive these days, but he also occasionally writes content for Shamus Young’s blog if you want more of his work.

PART TWO: GAME OF THRONES

Alright, here it is: the section that really caused me to want to make this companion piece. Earlier I mentioned that I have sympathy for the GoT showrunners, and I really do. Martin’s work is incredibly complex, and so this section dominates the blogpost because there is so much to explain and no way that I could explain it all in the video without incredible bloat.

First I should mention that I, and all the writers I am going to credit here, share a very specific interpretation of Martin’s work. This isn’t the only interpretation. I doubt it’s the interpretation of the majority of readers. Obviously, I fully believe it is the correct interpretation, but the showrunners clearly had a wildly different one.

People who have this interpretation express it in different ways. Joannalannister collects hers in her tag #the-meaning-of-asoiaf. PoorQuentyn expresses it here, and in his analysis of Davos, Quentyn, and Tyrion. Other writers express it in their own ways.

With my lit degree hanging over my head, I can’t help but see it as a problem of competing artistic movements. To me, HBO’s Game of Thrones is part of the art movement of the past few decades, namely postmodernism. Art movements are complex, but basically postmodernism is the cynical reaction to the sincerity of modernism which came before it. Cynicism is, I think, the defining trait of Game of Thrones.

But it is NOT the defining trait of the books. In my view, Martin’s ASOIAF is part of the art movement that we are moving towards, which is starting to become known as metamodernism. Metamodernism is a reaction to the nihilistic pessimism and cynicism of postmodernism, and replaces it not with the unbridled sincerity of modernism, but rather oscillation between the two modes. It can be both ironic and sincere, deconstructionist and constructionist, apathetic and affectual. Once you have peeled back all the layers however, it is ultimately hopeful and optimistic. It embraces a sense of radical optimism. In metamodernist works optimism is often radical because the world the characters live in can be so dark. But that darkness serves only to highlight those characters that can hold fast to virtue amidst such darkness.

So, be warned. If you believe that Martin’s work is all about controlling the Iron Throne, and believe that cynicism is for the wise and honor is for fools, we just aren’t going to see eye to eye.

[12:45] Ned is a competent northern politician who has some trouble adapting to southern culture. Through a combination of bad luck, some understandable mistakes, and a misconception about his position, he fails in his goals.

The show didn’t invent the idea of Stupid Honorable Ned. Plenty of people believed this, even before the show. Obviously I believe they are wrong. If you would like to read more about it I would suggest Steven Attewell’s analysis of Ned’s chapters that he does on his blog, particularly Eddard XI and Eddard XIII. Steven does a much better job of analyzing Ned as a political actor than I ever could.

[13:00] Most of these changes are subtle…the best example is the council debate about whether or not to assassinate Daenerys.

Many of the ideas in this section are pulled from two essays by turtle-paced: Poor Doomed Ned and The Argument to Assassinate Daenerys. Turtle goes deep into the details of the differences between the Ned Stark of the books and the show, and I skimmed some of their comparisons for my argument. Steven Attewell’s analysis of this chapter is also worth reading.

[14:09] It’s a good argument, and I think in the books we are expected to mostly agree with Ned, both morally and politically.

When I say “expected” I mean from the authors point of view, which of course relies on me being correct about my interpretation of Martin’s work. Obviously I think I’m right, but if you don’t agree with my interpretation you may not agree with this statement.

[14:16] Notice also that the supporters of the assassination: Littlefinger, Varys, Renly, and Pycelle are all villains (all except Pycelle are trying to destabilize the kingdom), and the people who oppose it, Ned and Barristan, are heroes.

Each of them represents a different sort of evil. Littlefinger is a scheming sociopathic villain. Varys is a well-intentioned extremist whose willingness to commit utterly heinous acts in the pursuit of his goals makes him a villain. This is because, as Huxley puts it, “The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced.” Renly is narcissistic ambitious evil, willing to throw a realm into war to satisfy his own ego, and is totally uncaring about the lives of other people. It isn’t precisely correct to say that Pycelle is a villain because he represents the banality of evil. He thinks he’s just doing his job, but he’s morally bankrupt and politically corrupt.

[16:40] It would take too long to list all the ways that Tywin is awful, and everyone knows it.

To clarify, I mean that everyone in-universe knows it. For some god-forsaken reason, some readers seem to think that Tywin was just being effective after he unleashed the Mountain on the Riverlands and violated every military and political norm in Westeros.

If you are going to say that he is “Machiavellian” I would encourage you to actually read The Prince, where Machiavelli says “Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred” and goes into the reasons why.

[17:17] Tywin on the other hand accomplished a lot of short-term gains by being as treacherous and dishonorable as possible. But this has a cost: by proving themselves fair-weather allies they surround themselves with the same. Nobody trusts them, and so their allies scheme and betray them.

Oberyn and Doran are both scheming in their own way to revenge themselves on the Lannisters for the deaths of Elia and her children. The Tyrells poison Joffrey and scheme to spirit Sansa away to Highgarden.

[17:36] Ned failed due to a couple of minor mistakes, some bad luck, and treachery.

I mention a few times that Ned, and more broadly the Starks, get “unlucky.” Again, Steven Attewell does an excellent job of documenting this with his keen eye for how GRRM cheats political realities, but I’ll note a few of the many ways George has to bend over backward to screw the Starks.

In AGoT Catelyn leaves King’s Landing roughly around the same time that Tyrion leaves the wall, and both are on horseback. In order for them to meet at the Inn at the Crossroads Tyrion has to travel roughly 2,000 miles in the same time that Catelyn travels 400 miles. This is basically impossible, but necessary for the plot so that Catelyn can lose Tyrion at the Eyrie. If she had caught him somewhere further north she could have simply chucked him into her own dungeons and managed his trial herself.

Cersei has been trying to kill Robert for goodness knows how long with just as unreliable methods as “get him drunk on a hunt.” In order for Ned to get screwed she has to succeed in killing Robert at precisely that moment. If it had failed like every one of her other attempts she is most likely dead, because Ned would tell Robert the truth about her children as soon as he got back.

In order for Theon to take Winterfell, veteran military man and castellan Ser Rodrik Cassell has to stupidly empty the Winterfell garrison while he knows that Ironborn raiders are running loose in the North, not even leaving behind a mere twenty-five to fifty men that would have completely thrashed Theon’s assault. If Theon can’t take Winterfell, the Red Wedding doesn’t happen (as Martin has told us that the real inciting incident of the Red Wedding was the fall of Winterfell).

[17:41] However, killing him was a terrible idea, and backfired on the Lannisters instantly.

Continuing this theme, the Lannisters were in an absolutely horrible position at the beginning of the War of the Five Kings. They pretty much just have their bannerman in the Westerlands. Stannis seems to have the support of most of the Crownlands, and he and Renly are splitting the lords of the Reach and the Stormlands (with Renly having the larger chunk). The Starks have all the support of the North and the Riverlands combined. The Lannisters are surrounded by enemies who outnumber them on all sides. Killing Ned immediately jumpstarts a war that will almost certainly crush the Lannisters. That it didn’t took some very thin plotting and improbable developments at times, but overall George made it work. For more analysis of this, again check out Steven Attewell Blog: Race for the Iron Throne.

[17:48] Tywin was killed by both a guest whom he considered his ally, and his son.

I firmly believe Oberyn poisoned Tywin. Here’s a good rundown of the evidence. Beyond simple means, motive, and opportunity it also provides neat answers to lingering odd questions like why Tywin rotted so oddly and aggressively, why Tyrion knew he would find him in the privy, why Oberyn was willing to chuck his life away for a confession before seeming to have secured revenge against Tywin.

It’s also thematically juicy. I love the idea that Tywin, who so egregiously violated Westerosi norms culminating in the total breach of the social contract at the Red Wedding, was a victim of contrapasso. He can’t be protected by social norms, so he gets poisoned by his guest and ally. Did Tyrion know he was dying? Had he put it all together? Was that bolt really an act of mercy? Perhaps it was one final service to the Lannisters, to keep the dream of their alliance with the Martells alive. Who knows, but boy is it interesting to consider.

[18:13] his alliances fall to pieces, and his children are abandoned by even their own family.

I’m referring here to the infighting between the Tyrells and Lannisters (and Martells, though they never had any intent of staying true to the alliance) after Tywin’s death (though there was some before as well, just intensified after Cersei takes over from Tywin). Kevan forces Cersei to take the walk of shame, and Jaime and the rest of the Lannisters abandon her to that fate.

[19:41] Just like Lord of the Rings, and the Witcher, ASOIAF is clearly dedicated to anti-violence. Not pacifism: all three works have heroes dealing out retributive violence in order to try and restore justice.

I understand it might be odd to suggest that three works which feature so much violence can be dedicated to anti-violence, but depicting something is not the same as endorsing it. I would argue in the case of Martin’s work in particular that his depiction of violence, so un-romantically brutal and direct, is intentionally revolting, and therefore is designed to be anti-violence. Martin purposefully makes you want revenge on certain characters, gives it to you, and then forces you to stare at the inhumanity of this thing you thought you wanted. Yeah I wanted Theon to pay, but not like that. Yeah, I wanted Cersei to pay, but not like that. Yeah, I want the Freys to pay, but I don’t think I’m going to like what Stoneheart is going to do to them.

There is a certain amount of this in the Witcher as well. I can specifically think of one scene in The Blood of Elves, but I promised no Witcher spoilers.

The violence in LOTR is much more romanticized, but as Faramir says: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” The hero is still Frodo, who doesn’t fight anyone or anything in the whole story. Frodo is a pacifist, but his pacifism is enabled by others who are willing to fight.

[20:07] In a Dance with Dragons Daenerys allows the old slave-holding class to maintain too much power and so they immediately attempt to continue the old violence of slavery. Daenerys did not commit enough violence against the slave-owners, so they were allowed to continue existing, and as long as they existed they were always going to abuse and oppress the ex-slaves.

A couple years after the release of ADWD, an obnoxiously wrong and poisonous idea began to creep into the ASOIAF fandom: Daenerys’ violence against the slaveowners in Slaver’s Bay is dangerous and immoral, and peace is the better option. This idea was most persuasively argued in the Meereenese Blot’s series of essays.

I’ll quote some of the conclusion here:

“They are supposed to feel this generic distrust for everyone, and to fail to grasp that their peaces were actually quite successful. Dany is supposed to conclude — wrongly — that her behavior through most of the book was silly and foolish. And if you came away with those impressions too, it’s perfectly understandable…The whole plotline is designed to maneuver Dany into a mental place where she’ll decide to sideline her concerns for innocent life, and take what she wants with fire and blood.”

This idea, much like the idea that Daenerys is some sort of unhinged fascist just waiting for the right trigger, makes me unbelievably angry. This idea that I am supposed to value the life of the slaveowner and the slave equally, and that maintaining a “peaceful” slave-owning society is an acceptable alternative to violent revolution is so fundamentally revolting to me, that it turns my stomach even to write that sentence.

Some fans went even as far as to suggest that Daenerys’ occupation of Meereen was a parallel to the US occupation of Iraq, and that she was engaged in erasing an authentic slave-owning culture that she despised. If you read the above series of essays, you can see that they are, at the least, enabling that kind of thinking.

To be clear, I do not consider any slave society to be worth a damn thing. Anything that continues it is evil and all that attempts to destroy it is good. That being said, once again Steven Attewell does a better job than I ever could of rebutting the ideas of the Meereneese Blot, and explaining how the correct parallel of Daenerys’ actions in Meereen is the American mistake of abandoning radical reconstruction. He describes her actions in Meereen as abandoning a revolution half complete. I highly recommend reading it, especially if you are American.

Martin is not a pacifist. He has said he would have fought in WWII. He demonstrated against Vietnam. As far as I know, the first time George ever used the words “Fire and Blood” was in a book released in 1982 called Fevre Dream:

“I never held much with slavery […]. You can’t just go… usin’ another kind of people, like they wasn’t people at all. Know what I mean? Got to end, sooner or later. Better if it ends peaceful, but it’s got to end even if it has to be with fire and blood, you see? Maybe that’s what them abolitionists been sayin’ all along. You try to be reasonable, that’s only right, but if it don’t work, you got to be ready. Some things is just wrong. They got to be ended.”

Daenerys is a slave-freeing, slave-owner-killing Hero with a capital H. She has made mistakes. I weep for the lives of the slaves that she has thrown away by abandoning her revolution, by failing to give the people of Astapor the strength to defend themselves, by maintaining a false peace that allows the Meereneese KKK to kill ex-slaves in the night. I shed no tears for the slaveowners that she has killed. When you treat other human beings as property you forfeit your right to Prosperity, Freedom, and Life. Preferably in that order—I would prefer that a slave society could peacefully transition, that those who attempted to continue it could be locked up, and that bloodshed could be avoided. But sometimes violence is necessary.

Daenerys will make more mistakes, I am sure. I believe that she will swing too far in the other direction, temporarily. But that’s a topic for another time.

[20:57] She comforts the hound even as he threatens her and helps him on his path from violence to peace.

Sandor did not die, despite what the Elder Brother told Brienne. He uses his words very carefully, to suggest that the Hound is dead, but that Sandor Clegane the man is simply “at rest.” He has become a brother of the isle.

“On the upper slopes they saw three boys driving sheep, and higher still they passed a lichyard where a brother bigger than Brienne was struggling to dig a grave. From the way he moved, it was plain to see that he was lame.” - Brienne VI, AFFC

[21:40] If they don’t understand why Tywin is a villain then of course they won’t understand why the Others are the main villains of the series, and will probably replace them with some blonde queen. And if you don’t understand that the cold of the human heart is the real enemy than of course you’ll think you can stop winter by just stabbing it. Like Tywin would.

In the books the Others are the villains. They are what the whole story is building towards, much like in LOTR the story builds towards Frodo casting the ring into the Fire. Martin has said that he thinks that the finishing chapters of LOTR, like the Scouring of the Shire, were important, so we may see something like that, but the clear emphasis will be on the existential evil, and cleaning up Cersei or Aegon “Targaryen’s” mess will be a clear step down in importance. It’s something that the heroes have grown beyond, but still need to handle, just like Saruman in the Shire.

[22:04] There’s nothing wrong with liking Game of Thrones, or disliking Lord of the Rings, or anything else.

I really do mean this. I am going to be critical of things you like, and am going to praise things you love. People are different, that’s to be expected. I am not here to pretend that people should only like the things I like. I’m interested in what makes these stories work. I said much the same thing in my last video about some of the new Star Wars properties. People tend to get really attached to the media they like (I’m no exception) and that can color our perception of criticism. Do try to keep in mind that if you like something I criticize it isn’t an attack on you. You have a sacred and personal relationship to the things you enjoy that no one can take from you. I like all kinds of stuff that other people might consider bad, and that’s okay. Actually it’s great, because it gives us something to talk about.

I may genuinely hate Game of Thrones because it butchers something I came to love, but that doesn’t mean I have anything against the people who do like it for their own reasons. We’re all just out here enjoying what we like.

PART THREE: THE WITCHER

There is less in this section for two reasons. First, I promised not to spoil anything past the material covered in the show and I’ll stick to that here. Second—full disclosure here—I haven’t read all of the books because after Blood of Elves I got pretty bored and from what I had heard they did not improve in quality, and if anything got worse. Having already felt that going from the anthologies to Blood I was happy to end my reading there.

If something I say is contradicted by a later book that I didn’t read feel free to let me know.

[23:31] First I should mention that Sapkowski’s works are not on the same level as Tolkien’s and Martin’s, who are the best and second-best fantasy authors of all time. I have enjoyed the Witcher books that I have read, but they are not anywhere near as complex or beautifully written.

This is just my opinion, see above paragraph. I really do think that it’s a pretty common opinion though. I’ve read it before, and you often see people recommend the first two Witcher anthologies in a “if you like it maybe see if you like the rest of them?” sort of way. Book sales numbers also support this, though by all accounts they are exploding in the wake of the show.

But, one potential issue is that I’m reading a translation so I have no idea how good Sapkowski’s prose actually is. You get a lot of sentences in the US edition like: “it must be both bothersome and irritating.” Translation is art, not science, and passages like these make me worry that the translator is just translating each phrase without worrying about all the subtlety that makes language beautiful. These are minor examples of course, but they worry me about what else might be changed. So take my criticism of his writing with a giant, translated, grain of salt, in that I don’t read Polish.

[23:58] Despite this, Geralt the Witcher has been worming his way into popular culture for years, interestingly on the back of a series of video games

Google trends clearly show that the video games are what primarily generated interest in the character before the show. There were no English editions until around the time the games started coming out, and the US editions all feature concept art from the games on the covers. The release of the subsequently translated books after the games received very little attention in comparison to the games.

[24:15] In my opinion, that decline of focus on Geralt was the greatest weakness in the books, and the focus on Geralt is the greatest strength of the games. Because Geralt is at the core of what made Sapkowski’s story and world engaging in the first place. He is a fascinating character in a way that Ciri, who is a fairly standard fantasy “chosen child,” could never be.

This is just my opinion, and I explain why I think Geralt is so great in the subsequent paragraphs. Reasonable people can disagree on this, but I’ve come across more than a couple fantasy characters who could be generically described as “royal orphans with special powers.” It’s not exactly novel. Geralt is pretty novel, at least in terms of what I have read.

[24:49] He suffers many of the same psychological problems that characters like Tyrion and Brienne suffer from in Martin’s work

The technical name for these kinds of issues is “internalized bigotry.” This happens when you get treated consistently horribly by the society you live in due to some fundamental fact about yourself that you didn’t choose, and eventually you begin to believe and “internalize” their opinion of you. For example, people expect Tyrion to be unlovable, conniving, lecherous, and debauched. Eventually he simply leans into these characteristics, because in a way it’s almost easier to be what people expect you to be.

[25:48] To top it off, he hides all this inside a cynical and nihilistic exterior, he pretends he doesn’t care when in fact, he cares more than anyone.

The shot that accompanies this, of Geralt looking intently at what’s happening in the room while others tend to be watching with a sort of mild curiosity like you might at an unexpected circus performance, did an awesome job of conveying this idea.

[26:36] This was kind of a cool idea, but predictably their scenes ended up being generally less interesting and engaging then Geralt’s. Yennefer’s were sometimes fantastic but Ciri’s rarely were.

This was the opinion of fans that I most commonly observed. I don’t have any empirical evidence of this. If you have any that either supports or contradicts this please let me know, I would be fascinated to see it. I could see someone really loving Yennefer’s scenes, and I personally enjoyed a lot of them, but I don’t understand how someone could walk away from the first season with Ciri as their favorite character of the three. I’ll come back to this in a later section.

[27:40] In many ways the first two books, and the games, have more in common with Sherlock Holmes than they do most other fantasy stories.

Really a more accurate comparison would be Philip Marlowe since Geralt is definitely more of an American Pulp detective than a British one. I do love the similarity between Geralt’s Witcher Senses in The Witcher 3 and Sherlock’s detective vision in Crimes and Punishment. I can’t make the same comparison to a Philip Marlowe game, because no one’s made one yet.

Actually that’s not strictly true. There was one game that came out in 1996.

[28:12] But Netflix’s Witcher has barely a whiff of detective fiction anywhere. I think this has caused a lot of fans to feel alienated by the show, even if they can’t explain exactly why.

It’s not reasonable to expect people to know why they like or don’t like something. It’s a feeling, and unless they have experience with writing, narratology, literature, film studies, or just read a lot of tvtropes.org, they are not likely to be able to put their finger on what it is. This causes people to disproportionally blame the things that are most obviously wrong. The premiere example of this is Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace. Jar Jar was obviously bad, but he doesn’t even come close to the top ten biggest problems with the movie. It was much worse that there was no main character or understandable plot and drama. Check out Red Letter Media’s legendary review for more on that.

I think a similar thing happened with Ciri, in that her story was sort of obviously underwhelming and so received a lot of flak, but there are deeper problems with the show.

[32:04] The third change is more subtle, but I’m worried that this Geralt genuinely believes in neutrality.

Just like Ned, the showrunners would not be the first to espouse this view. This quote in particular about “evil is evil” is obnoxiously peddled about as a justification for fence-sitting despite the fact that Geralt’s actual behavior doesn’t support it at all.

I don’t know for sure if the showrunners genuinely think Geralt tries to be neutral. There’s some evidence for yes in the first episode, the Borch episode, the Striga episode, and a couple of others. There’s strong evidence for no in the Duny/Pavetta episode. We’ll just have to see.

To be clear, when I mean “neutral” I mean in the face of immediate violence or injustice. Geralt often doesn’t care who is king, as he explains to Ostrit. But he won’t let a Striga continue to kill people just for coin.

[37:20] When the writers took away Ned’s best arguments for his actions, when they took his story of existential triumph, of not compromising his morals, and turned it into a simple tragedy, they showed they clearly did not understand his heroism.

See PoorQuentyn’s explanation of existential heroism, and how it applies to ASOIAF.

[37:58] In the books, Ciri and Yennefer are included in the story through their connection to Geralt, because he is our hero and the foundation of our connection to the world. In the show they are included before ever having met Geralt, and they take up time that could have been spent focusing on those devilish detective details that make Geralt’s stories and character work.

Originally this video had a lot of discussion about how well these two other characters worked, but it ended up being kind of useless because it comes down to personal opinion, and the writers failure to properly use Geralt massively overshadows whether or not someone liked or didn’t like either of the other two leads. Again, I get why someone could like Yennefer’s scenes. I get why someone could maybe even like her scenes more than Geralt’s. Anya Chalotra did great. I thought the writing was a little weak at times, but on balance pretty decent. Geralt gets the benefit of all his stories being straight adaptations, and she didn’t, so it was a pretty decent job.

On the other hand, I thought Ciri’s storyline was a giant waste of space. When I think of all the best moments in the show, Ciri doesn’t show up in any of them. She spends the entire season running away from and interacting with fairly minor and forgettable characters that did not need to be introduced in this season. Calanthe, Eist, and Mousesack were great characters and the actors gave great performances, but that did not make up for the fact that her storyline went nowhere and did nothing to justify its inclusion. If someone loved Ciri’s storyline I would genuinely be interested to know why.

[39:10] I do have some sympathy for the writers of the Witcher.

Many times in this video I mention sympathy for various writers. Moviemaking is a massively complex undertaking. If you know anything about the difficulty of getting these things together you’ll know that it’s an absolute miracle any movie gets made and takes herculean effort from everyone involved. Television series are arguably even worse because they are longer, more complex, and often have a lower budget despite that. The people involved are honestly doing their best, and I recognize that, even if I criticize the product.

[39:47] They are in this unfortunate position where they can’t really pull the majority of their writing straight from the books because the material isn’t really strong enough by itself.

The books are very dialogue heavy. As I allude to, the one scene that was very close to the book is that scene with Filavandrel and it’s just obnoxious because the two characters just dialogue at each other. It goes on even longer in the book. How well that works in a book is up for debate but it wasn’t going to work on the screen, and it didn’t.

These problems are not insurmountable though. You can put other footage over these monologues. You could have included some footage of Elves fighting in their war. You could have footage of the “cursed” daughters of Lilit being locked in towers or autopsied while Stregobor explains it. I get this is more budget, but that budget went other places.

On the other hand some great scenes that I think would have translated excellently shot-for-shot from the book with little additional budget, like Renfri and Geralt in the Alderman’s attic, are entirely cut. Ah well.

[40:25] Well, I have my theories, but it in the end it doesn’t really matter.

I have a sneaking suspicion that somebody thought it needed to be more “epic” than the first two books are, so we got all this princess and political stuff in early. If there’s any merit to the idea that this series “copied” GoT, it’s somewhere in here, just like how the Hobbit got poisoned with all of the “epicness” of LOTR.

[44:54] Lastly, I’m gonna do my best to put out more regular content going forward. I’m aiming for at least one video a month.

I place no limitation on topics. It’ll probably be mostly media analysis, but if I’m honest I’m just going to write about whatever interests me. That’s the best way to keep myself interested.

That being said, if you have something you think I should analyze let me know. If I’m interested, I might do it.

#witcher #netflix witcher #lotr #asoiaf #game of thrones #anti-got #lord of the rings #adaptation #video companions

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