#Moral of the story If you don’t like old things or toxic fans whatever but don’t talk about shit you hardly know lol | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

accio-victuuri · 3 years ago

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Hello Anon! 👋🏼 I will try to answer your questions. I don’t know how I can answer this without going into the plan of a Socialist China + other main issues. I will touch upon some of those.

I’m keeping this under the cut so those who are here for FANDOM only can skip. 🤍

So. About Danmei. I won’t go into history, let’s just discuss the recent conversation that has been going on.The gist is they are saying Danmei is perpetuating bad values and unrealistic beauty standards. Some people are also calling out the fact that companies use this genre to bait people — selling it as a product instead of wanting to tell a story. Tho I agree that this genre is/was exploited by companies + Danmei stories have questionable themes I don’t think that it should be targeted the way it is.

There are other medias that show “bad values” but are not getting banned. The comment section I shared was about minors and video games which is not solely a problem of Tencent or Netease. It should not be all on them. These kids have ways to get around it. The notion that this will somehow influence their sexuality is complete bullshit to me. They are trying to appeal to the people’s morality by dropping words like VALUES / CULTURE but it’s all just a ploy to silence LGBT media. They can’t make it too popular to the point that people will accept it.

About Religion and is it a part of Why all this Homophobia in CHN? I’ll answer that with a No right now. Since we’re talking about the present and what all this suppression is about.

• LGBT movement calls for people coming together w/ a common goal that does not show NATIONALISM (whatever that is) or not applauding the CCP so naturally, it should be shut down. The thing with the communist party is they don’t really care what cause you’re peddling, if you’re eclipsing them and their message then you should be out. Take for example the Pride Parade in Shanghai, when asked about it, officials don’t really care much that it’s an LGBT parade. They are calling it out because people are uniting about something that isn’t about The Motherland. You can only organize things like this if it’s about Propaganda.

• The Three Child Policy. You may have heard of this going around but it’s one of CHN’s problem right now— Their aging population. So having Danmei media is not good if they want people to get married and have babies (according to them lol). But really, they put up a poll on Weibo if people are ready for this change and 97% said no. Then they deleted the post. The people are overworked and underpaid. The world is shitty. The younger population who just got out of college can’t find decent jobs ( top universities are rumored to be lying about their student’s job placement rates). Maybe they should look into that first as reasons why people don’t want to procreate before blaming it on Danmei and the LGBT community.

Digging up dirt regarding celebrities is not something new. The Antis and YXH have always been there to get the dirt about these celebrities. It’s their job. They want the clicks. It’s like in Hollywood etc where people dig up old tweets of problematic celebrities and expose them.

There is a crackdown going on in C-ent — not just artists but companies that benefit from them. You are seeing it. It’s only gonna get worse. I’ve talked about Celebrities in CHN being expected to have higher moral standards than regular people. That still applies but this is taking it to the extreme. Celebrities are doing what they can to prove their love for China for example :

• reposting the mandatory posts shared by government accounts.

• if someone gets cancelled they will delete that person’s existence in their social media accounts so they won’t be affected by association.

• cutting ties with brands that are Anti China ( or let’s call it pro Taiwan and Hongkong independence ).

• trying to get their hands on more projects that are 💯 backed by the government. working hand in hand with certain sectors of the government to relay the propaganda to people.

• using their platform to support government causes.

They might as well tattoo I love China on their foreheads as an ultimate act of Nationalism and not get cancelled.

I don’t understand the Logic too. What they are doing is not sustainable at all. The Common Prosperity idea the CCP is trying to instill isn’t the end goal.

They preach about breaking companies who are getting Monopoly of industries when the truth is— It’s only the government who is allowed Monopoly. That’s why they are hitting celebrities with Tax Evasion. They get money. Silencing Billionaires. Seizing their assets. They will get the money. No one can be more powerful than the CCP. It’s a pig farm and once one gets too fat— they will be slaughtered. The media is trying to spin it as trying to stop toxic fan culture, which is, sure, I can agree to than on some level but it’s an excuse to do take more control of celebrities/media.

I just focused on what happening right now to keep it short. My thoughts aren’t always the more organized but I hope this made sense to you 😌🙏🏼

#ask response

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firelxdykatara · 4 years ago

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not gonna lie I would love to hear more about the drama and infighting that went on in The Vampire Diaries fandom if you have the time (and also want to use that time to give your experience with the fandom, which from the snippets you've told sounds Not Fun so I get it if you don't want to lol)

oh god, there was like, SO MUCH, i just

i really feel like tvd is one of those fandoms that is so hard to describe without a lot of ‘you’d have to have been there’, but it really felt like this huge and all-consuming beast for about five years until the show finally imploded and the fandom basically turned on it en masse. (you ever see that post going around that’s like ‘if you ever want to know what true regret feels like, ask someone who once called tvd their favorite show’? still a mood, all these years later. basically the entire fandom thought the show should have just bowed out with whatever shreds of dignity it had left at the end of season 6, and became more of a hatedom than a fandom for the last two seasons. when you have an entire fandom cheering news of your show’s cancellation, i think that’s a sign you done fucked up, julie.)

first and most infamous, of course, are the ship wars. which are pretty much inevitable in any teen-centered drama, and i really think the CW fucking thrives on them, but it was particularly egregious in TVD’s case because not only was the base premise of the show a love triangle, but the two main romantic leads were brothers that the show constantly pit against one another--in pursuit of elena’s affections, but also because it kept up this insistence on the ‘good brother/bad brother’ dichotomy which stopped making sense after about season 2 (by which time we have found out that the good brother was never as good as he appeared, and the bad brother has been growing and isn’t nearly as bad as he pretends to be)--and the question of which brother ‘deserved’ elena (and no, what elena wanted very rarely factored into these discussions, especially in the team stefan camp because they turned on her when what she wanted was no longer The Good Brother, but i’ll get to that in a bit) was hotly contested.

i’m not kidding when i say the shipping wars were vicious. i started watching tvd shortly after it began to air, which was late 2009, and kept up with it fairly sporadically over the years. i didn’t come onto tumblr until 2011/2012, and by then, the fandom was already pretty much a garbagefire. there were anti ship and anti character blogs, any time something bad happened for one ship the rival ship would invade the tags to gloat about it (seasons 3 and 4 were especially rough, and i’m not gonna pretend delena fans weren’t just as bad about tag invasion and shit, but as that was my side of the road i saw a lot more of the stelena shippers being assholes, which soured my opinion on the ship a long time before i started rewatching and realized the red flags were there from the start), confessions blogs were popular also toxic as fuck (so much fighting happened in the notes of those posts, good gods), and this was right around when twitter’s popularity was on the rise and the line between Celebrity and Fan was thinning, so the fandom was absolutely atrocious to much of the tvd cast and crew.

(some of them deserved a lot of the later backlash, but in the early years a lot of it was ‘how dare you write the story in a way i dont like, you terrible fucking person’, and gods don’t get me started on the dobsley vs nian Thing)

i think what really encapsulates my feelings on the tvd fandom as a whole, though, is the way they (to this DAY) treated elena gilbert, which can be summed up in one meme that gained a lot of traction around season 3 if i remember right: that gif of pam from true blood, with the text altered to read “i’m so OVER elena and her precious doppelganger vagina!”

i swear at one time i had over half the active tvd fan accounts on tumblr blocked, because i got to a point where i would no longer tolerate elena hate, and she was (and still is, in what remains of the fandom; you’ll see a lot of ‘elena was one of the worst things about the show’ takes from ex-fans, too) one of the most widely despised characters in the entire fandom. because she -checks smudged writing on hand- was a traumatized teenage girl who -reads off a crumpled notecard- couldn’t always perfectly sort out her own feelings and -squints at the ceiling- sometimes made mistakes or bad decisions. (except a lot of the fandom also insisted that she was a mary sue who had no character traits or flaws or faults and it was like....make up your fucking minds???? is she a calculating conniving bitch whose somehow manipulating these centuries old vampires to tie them around her little finger or is she a boring flat character with no depth and no flaws??? jfc)

there was this massive double standard, too--like, stefan and damon could fuck whoever they wanted and that was fine, but elena was constantly raked over the coals for the crime of developing romantic feelings for the two men who had become constants in her life and whom she cared for deeply, and oh my GOD the slut shaming that happened when elena slept with damon was fucking wild. (and also happened in canon lmfao. like the show had one of elena’s best friends basically call her diseased on screen for falling in love with someone other than stefan. it was gross and ridiculous and the friend in question was also being a giant hypocrite at the time since she was happily flirting with someone who was directly responsible for the deaths of like four of elena’s loved ones and her own boyfriend’s mother but that’s beside the point) but like elena was called a slut and a bitch and a whore for ‘cheating’ on stefan (she hadn’t, and she had in fact broken up with him on screen the episode earlier) and ‘immediately’ jumping into bed with damon, even though none of them said fucking boo when stefan had one night stands or damon had fuckbuddies or whatever.

shit, caroline didn’t get any of this treatment when she started falling for tyler while dating matt! which isn’t to say i think she should have, just that i think it’s fucking ridiculous that elena was absolutely demonized by the fandom for daring to have feelings for two guys at once and eventually acting on them--despite the fact that the entire premise of the show was a love triangle. it’s not a love triangle if both sides don’t eventually get explored, and the crew had been pretty explicit about the fact that delena was going to happen at some point--but when it did, a huge chunk of the fandom absolutely threw a fit.

and a lot of these elena haters were alleged stelena stans, and i say alleged because they hated her so much for not wanting stefan’s dick anymore that it was clear they were really stefan stans and only wanted stelena to be endgame because they wanted stefan to ‘win’ at the end of the day, because ‘he’s the good brother’ so he deserved elena more.

it was all very gross and very misogynistic and very sex shaming (apparently delena was a ‘shallow’ and ‘superficial’ relationship because they had sex after two years of unrequited feelings slowly becoming requited and then pining for ages on both sides, and because they had a lot of on screen chemistry that the show capitalized on for years so of course they did a lot of making out and shit but it’s not like stelena didn’t have its fair share of making out and sex scenes, stefan was just too much of a coward to let elena top i’d apologize for that joke but i’m really not sorry because it’s true), and when i say it was egged on by the crew, that’s because they refused to let the love triangle die back in season 4 when it should have.

they insisted on stringing stelena fans along, dropping little bread crumbs to keep them invested, like dreams of a future where they were married and revealing that stefan was also a doppelganger and he and elena were descended from a pair of star-crossed lovers (a plot that ultimately went nowhere, to no one’s great surprise), and then fucking like. julie plec turned around and threw nina under the bus after she chose not to extend her contract and pretended that stelena might have happened again if she hadn’t left the show, which....i mean frankly i wouldn’t put it past her, but it would have been shitty writing. then again, she thought having a vampire pregnancy where a uterus was magically transplanted from a witch into a vampire that could somehow......carry the babies to term.... made sense and was a good way to accomodate candice’s RL pregnancy rather than like literally ANYTHING else, soooooo. but anyway julie saying that around like, end of s6 sparked off a new wave of nina hate and elena hate and ship wars bc they SEers took it as ‘confirmation’ that stelena was REALLY meant to be endgame and it was all just a hot fucking mess

another thing is that, while tvd was in its prime before the anti/purity culture shit started picking up any real steam, there was still this pervasive attitude throughout the fandom that if you liked Damon, you were A Bad Person. liking damon was apparently grounds for insults and harassment, and apparently he was The Worst Person on the Show even though literally nothing he does on screen is any worse than shit we know stefan has done (and frankly every other vampire too, but i mention stefan specifically because he was always held up--in the show but especially in the fandom--as the Good Brother while damon was the Bad One, and if you liked damon more then that had to mean your morals were dodgy and you clearly couldn’t appreciate what a heroic and saintly figure dear stefan was and....oops, i’m sorry, my salt keeps leaking -cough-).

meanwhile klaus quickly became a fandom darling despite not even really having much of a redemption arc (on tvd anyway, he just became more ‘affably evil’ as the show went on and more inclined to work with the main characters rather than try to kill them; i have no idea what went on over on his show, though), and like i can 100% appreciate liking villains and not caring that they do dodgy villainous shit, even just liking them bc they’re hot and wanting them to kiss a main character bc they have insanely good chemistry (yes i ship klaroline, no i won’t apologize for it, they could have been Really Great), it’s just really the double standard that gets me.

and all of this, incidentally, required ignoring some truly gross shit stefan was responsible for wrt his relationship with elena, that frankly it has always bothered me never really got addressed in the show. i get why elena herself would never be able to actually call him on it, but the fact is that he stalked her for months after he first saw her and thought she was katherine (meanwhile it only took damon .5 seconds to realize she was someone else entirely, but that’s another topic entirely), and then he deliberately inserted himself into her life because, in his words, ‘i have to know her’. he never gave a thought to how his presence in her life might affect her (or rather, he did, and tormented himself about it in his internal monologue, but never let this actually dissuade him from disrupting her life), and elena would wind up blaming herself for every tragedy that befell her friends and loved ones as a result of getting mixed up in vampire bullshit even though none of it was her fault--she literally blamed herself for existing but most of the fandom didn’t give a fuck about that lmfao--and stefan did shit like find out that she was adopted and then withhold this information from her until she got pissed about another secret he was keeping (her resemblence to katherine) and drop it on her to try and distract her from her very reasonable anger, and like... i should stop before this becomes a whole rant about how much i hate stefan fucking salvatore, but the point is, he did a lot of really sketchy shit he never answered for and elena never really took him to task for, and the fandom just kept eating up his insistence that he was the Good Brother and therefore he deserved to have elena, and if she didn’t want him anymore it was because she was a heinous bitch who didn’t deserve him.

uh.....i think i got off track there. and there’s probably a lot of shit i missed, like i think i was incandescent with rage for most of seasons 5 and 6 so i missed a lot of the interfandom shit cause i was too busy being increasingly pissed off at the show itself, but if nothing else this should give you an idea of how much of a goddamn cesspit the fandom was while the show as in its prime. there’s a reason both the show and the fandom have such a lousy reputation lmfao.

#the vampire diaries #tvd #tvd fandom salt #anti stefan #anti stelena #salt for ts #asked #Anonymous

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derekfoxwit · 3 years ago

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Doctor Dorpden’s Critical Tips of Prestige

Note: This post was made with satirical intentions in mind. I’m only emphasizing because I’ve had a couple of comments on previous joke posts I’ve did take it seriously. With that said, here we go.

Tip 1: For starters, remember that when looking at the work, if the Mystic Knee twitches fast enough to punch a hole in a wall, this suggests that the work should be near the lowest of the low. No further development of opinion is needed.

Tip 2: For an equal degree of sophistication, give the warm comfort of nostalgia at least 5 times more chances than the new thing that MAY seem actually poggers.

Tip 3: If you have the anecdote of encountering shitty fans, then use them as a scapegoat for the show they flaunt over being shitty. Clearly, they’re always making the show the way it is.

Tip 4: If you haven’t heard much about a newer film or show you’re yet to watch, there’s an 85% chance that film or show is actually not worth your time. The Father (2020) isn’t as widespread as Joker (2019) for a reason.

Tip 5: At this point, just go for the Asian Artist Dick. I’m actually in the mood to see merit in that because I want to look edgy against cute doodles. Stop attacking Uzaki-Chan, you cowards!

Tip 6: Avoid the electronic tunes. They’ll make you smell like a bum, for there’s no structural in a music album that’s nothing but wubs.

Tip 7: If you see a Tweet that looks dumb, use it as a means of generalizing all the fans of a work as sharing that same opinion.

Tip 8: If the cartoon I’m given doesn’t provide me with mature ideas such as slicing an Arbok in half or fake boobs, then the cartoon might as well be on the same level as Teletubbies.

Tip 9: You know the music is (c)rap when it brings up drugs, regardless of lyrical context.

Tip 10: Raw mood is the indicator of quality cartooning. If you’re quick to assume the worst in the newest HBO Max original cartoon, then you got thyself a stinker. Same thing if you were super bummed out when watching a new thing, regardless of anecdotal context.

Tip 11: When you’re not given continuous throwbacks, ensure you’re as reductive and over-generalizing about the works shown as possible.

Tip 12: If your hazy and imperfect as hell recollection of a children’s film, whether it’s Wall-E or Lilo & Stitch, would describe said film as “too sugary” or “key-waving schlock”, then that HAS to be the case. No meat on that bone whatsoever.

Tip 13: Simpler, more graphic style that isn’t as realistic as old-school Disney or Anime? You got yourself a lazy style with zero passion put into it.

UPA? Who’s THAT?!

Tip 14: Don’t trust anyone saying that western children’s cartoons had any form of artistic development after 2008 (with, like, TWO exceptions). If it did, why didn’t we go from stealing organs in a 2001 cartoon to showing opened stomachs in a 2021 cartoon?

Tip 15: Big booba is always important to the strong female character’s quality.

Tip 16: Only MY ships count, for they provide me with a feeling of intelligence.

Tip 17: “PG-13″ and “R” rating just simply mean you’re not caring for expressing themes in a sophisticated manner. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 18: In this age of smelly radicals, “Death of the Author” is more important than ever. Without it, this’ll imply that a classic like The Matrix was secretly toxic, due to what the Wachowskis have to say about it being an “allegory of trans people.”

Tip 19: Turn the fandoms you hate into your torture porn. Ask in Tweets to Retweet one sentence that’d “trigger” them. Go out of your way to paint all of them as blind consoomers. That’ll show them, and it’ll show how much more intelligent you are compared to those clowns.

Tip 20: Whatever the Mystic Knee dictates upon the first viewing of a work is what shall indicate the full structural extent of the film.

Tip 21: The mindset of a 2000s edgelord is one that actually understands the artistry of the medium of animation. Listen to that crazy but ingenious man.

Tip 22: Because sheer ambition makes me feel manly, the high pedestal you bestow upon a cartoon work should be based mostly on the mere mention or mere suggestion of serious topics. This means that pure comedy is smelly.

Tip 23: Is the new work tackling subjects that you’ve loved a childhood work of yours for covering? Just assume it’s super bare-bones in that case compared to the older case, for there’s nothing the older work can do to truly prove itself otherwise. Seriously, Letterboxd. Stop giving any 2010s cartoon anything above a 4/5

Tip 24: If the Mystic Knee is suggesting that the work is crummy, then consider any explanation off the top of your head for why the work in question is crummy.

Tip 25: Sexual and gender identity is inherently political, so don’t focus on them in the story. It’s no wonder why Full Metal Alchemist has caught on more than the She-Ra reboot.

Tip 26: Since I got bothered by a random butt monkey type character in a crummy cartoon, I’m now obligated to assume that having a butt monkey will only harm the writing integrity of the cartoon.

Seriously, Mr. Enter....what?!

Tip 27: We’re at a point where pure comedy for a kids’ cartoon is doing nothing but dumbing down the children. Like seriously...... I doubt Billy and Mandy would ever use farts as a punchline, unlike these newer kids comedies.

Tip 28: The difference between the innuendo in kids’ cartoons I grew up on and the ones Zootopia made is the sense of prestige they give me. Just take notes from the former instead.

Tip 29: Wanna make a work of artistic merit? Just take notes from the stuff I whore out to. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 30: Always remember this golden rule: If the newer work, or a work you’ve recently experienced the first time, was truly great, why isn’t it providing the exact emotions from your younger, more impressionable years?

Tip 31: If the Mystic Knee aims to break the bones of a character doing certain things (.i.e. having body count of thousands; lashing out to character; etc.), that means the character is bad and deserves no redemption.

Tip 32: If you want me to believe there’s any intrigue or depth in your antagonist, give them redemption, for I am in need of that sorta thing being spelled out. Looking at you, Syndrome. Should’ve taken notes from Tai Lung.

Tip 33: In a case where you’re going “X > Y” (.i.e. manga compared to western comics), ALWAYS CHERRY PICK! Use the recent controversies of the “Y” item while pretending that the “X” item has never had anything of the sort.

Tip 34: BEFORE you bring up those comments that shat on the original Teen Titans cartoon back when it was new, whether for making Starfire “more PC” or whatever.......the DIFFERENCE between them and me is that THEY were just bad faith fools that couldn’t see true majesty out of blind rage. I, however, am truly certain that calling any western TV cartoon from 2014-onward a work that transcends its generation suggests a destruction of the medium.

Tip 35: Based on fandom growth, it shows that any newer show isn’t being watched much by kids, but rather loser adults that act like children. Therefore, there’s more prestige in what I grew with.

Tip 36: The focus on children is bad at this point since the children of today have attention spans that flies would have.

Tip 37: A select few screenshots (or even one) of either a less elaborate attacking animation, less realistic game graphics, or a less on-model image in a cartoon indicates EVERYTHING about the work’s quality.

Tip 38: Consuming or writing media where characters go through constant suffering is little more than gaining pleasure out of it. YOU SICKOS!

Looking at you, Lily Orchard!

Tip 39: Whether it’s a sexual awakening story or just simply a romance, focus on a character being lesbian, trans, bi, etc., then it shouldn’t be in a kids’ work. It’s too spicy for them by default. Kids don’t want romance anyway.

Tip 40: The very idea of a western cartoon with no full-blown antagonist (i.e. Inside Out) is a destruction of animated artistry. Sorry, but it’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 41: Unless it’s my fluffy pillow, such as Disney’s Robin Hood, it should be obligated to assume the inserting of anthros is only there to pleasure the furries. Looking at YOU, Zootopia!

Tip 42: With how rough and rash The Beast was, it shows that he was more of an abusive lover. Therefore, I refuse to believe that Beauty and the Beast has any of the meticulous moral writing that most of Disney’s other 90s films has.

Tip 43: When you suggest one work should’ve “taken notes” from another work in order to do better, BE VAGUE! Those who agree will be shown to be geniuses.

Tip 44: Remember how morally grey Invader Zim was? That really goes to show how little the Western Animation scene has been trying since that show. Really should just be taking notes from that series (and of course anime).

Tip 45: Even if I have a radar that clearly indicates such, hiding the item I look for inside an enemy is always bad, for I refuse to believe it would be inside the enemy.

Goddamn it, Arin!

Tip 46: People struggle understanding your gender identity or pronouns? All there is to see in that is a giant cloud of egotism that reads “My problems” zapping another smaller cloud that reads “other people’s problems”. Seriously, kids are starving, so WHAT if you identity confused someone. Grow a spine!

Tip 47: Stop pretending that adaptations should colorize how a story or comic series should be defined. No way in FUCK can a cartoon or film incarnation become the definitive portrayal of my precious superhero idol.

Tip 48: Enough with your precious “limited animation” techniques, YOU WESTERN HACKS! All you’re doing is admitting to sheer laziness and lacking artistic integrity. Now if you excuse me, I’ll be watching more anime, since that gives me a sense of prestige.

Tip 49: If getting five times more detail than the 2D animated visuals have requires someone getting hurt, so be it. No pain, no gain after all.

Tip 50: Yes, I genuinely struggle to believe there’s this majestic level of layered material without having the most immediate yet still vague re-assurance practically yelling in my face. But that’s STILL the work’s fault, not mine.

Tip 51: Every Klasky-Csupo cartoon has more artistic integrity than any of them cartoons with gay lovers such as Kipo or the Netflix She-Ra show.

Tip 52: If Sergio Pablos’ Klaus is anything to go by, we have no excuse to utilize those smelly as fuck digital animation “styles” found on Stinky Universe, Suck-Ra or Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turds.

Tip 53: Stop projecting your orientation onto works of actual talent. Seriously, how does Elton John’s I’m Still Standing expel ANY rainbow flag energy?

Tip 54: Hip hop and electronica have been the destruction of music, especially the kind that’s actually organic and not farting on the buttons of a beeping or drumming gadget.

Tip 55: The audience for cartoons has become significantly less clear over the years. We should just go back to Saturday mornings of being sold toys or shit kids actually want.

Tip 56: PSAs for kids shouldn’t be about ‘woke’ content. They should be actual problems such as doing drugs; not playing with knifes / outlets / matches; or acceptance.

Tip 57: The instant you realize a detail in a childhood work that’s better understood as an adult, you’re forced to paint that work as the most transcendent thing in the world. It’s just THAT simple until I dictate otherwise.

Tip 58: Before you lash out on ALL rich people, remember this: #Not All Rich People.

Tip 59: There’s nothing to gain out of the (c)rap scene other than becoming a spiteful, gun-wielding thug that sniffs weed for breakfast.

Tip 60: Since the Mystic Knee told me to get anal about prom episodes in several gay cartoons, this shows that writing about one’s younger experiences just makes you look pathetic.

Tip 61: Another smelly thing about Zootopia is how it was painting a police chief as stern and exclusive. #Not All Chiefs

Tip 62: Me catching a glimpse of Grave of the Fireflies as a kid and turning out fine shows that you may as well show kids more adult works without worry. No amount of psychological questions being asked will suggest otherwise.

Tip 63: There’s a reason why the Mystic Knee keeps leaning more toward the 90s and early 2000s than most decades. That knee KNOWS where there’s a sense of true refinement.

Tip 64: The BIG difference between rock and electronica? Steward Copeland actually DRUMS. All that the likes of Burial, Boards of Canada, Depeche Mode and several others did was push drum buttons.

Tip 65: One exception to the golden nostalgia is when the work in question doesn’t stuff your face with fantastical, bombastic stories. At which point, there can only be rose-colored blinds covering Nickelodeon’s Doug. Nothing of merit or personal resonance to be found.

Tip 66: Remember that the sense of nuance in the work comes down to there being everything including the kitchen sink, whether it involves multiple geographic landscapes; giving us hundreds of characters; etc. Only through the extremes will I be able to tell there is nuance.

Tip 67: Once you see a joke that has an involvement with sexual or violent content, just ignore the full picture and just reduce it to having nothing to it but “sex, violence, gimme claps.”

PKRussel has entered the chat

Tip 68: With all the SJWs messing up the art of comedy, lament the times where you could be called a comic genius, NOT a monster, for shouting out the word “STAB,” calling a gay weird, painting Middle Easterns as inherently violent, etc.

Tip 69: Guitar twang will always win out over (c)rap beats. There’s a reason your grandma is more likely to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd than Kendrick Lamar.

Tip 70: Once the Mystic Knee notices a lack of squealing at the video game with linearity, that shows there’s more artistry in going full-blown open world.

Tip 71: Related to Tips 66 and 68, ensure your comedy gets as much information and mileage out of each individual skit as possible. EMPHASIZE if you need to. Continuously spout out your quirky phrase of “STAB” if needed.

Tip 72: Based on the onslaught of TV shows with many seasons and episodes, animated or otherwise, it shows that there’s more worth going for that than simply having a miniseries or a 26-episode anime.

Tip 73: Building off of the previous tip, you’re better off squeezing and exhausting every little detail and notable characterization rather than keeping anything simple and possibly leaving a stone unturned, especially if there’s supposed to be a story.

Tip 74: Playing through the fan translation of Mother 3 made me realize how much some newer kids’ works just try too hard to get serious. Why even make the kids potentially think about the death of a family member?

Tip 75: The fear I had over Sid’s toys from the first Toy Story and similar anecdotal emotions are the be-all indicators of what kind of show or film is fitting for the children.

Tip 76: Seeing this British rapper chick have a song titled “Point and Kill” just further exemplifies the fears I’ve had about rappers being some of the most harmful folks ever.

Tip 77: The problem with attempting to make a more “relatable” She-Ra is that kids aren’t looking for relatability. They want the escapism of buff fighters or something similar. This is why slice-of-life is so smelly.

Tip 78: Based on seeing the rating of “PG-13″ or “R,” I can tell that the dark humor is little more than “hur dur sex and guns.” Given the “TV-Y7 FV” rating of Invader Zim, the writers should’ve taken notes from that instead just so I can sense actual prestige.

Tip 79: The original He-Man has more visual intrigue in its animation than any of those smelly glorified doodles found in the “styles" of the 2010s and early 2020s.

Tip 80: It’s always the fault of the game that my first guess (that I refuse to divert from) on how I have to go through an obstacle won’t work.

Tip 81: Zootopia discussing prejudice ruins the majestic escapism I got from my precious childhood films from 1991-2004. Them kids might as well be watching the news. Now to watch some Hunchback after I finish these tips.

Tip 82: There is no such thing as an unreasonable expectation, and there’s especially no wrong way to address the lack of met expectations! For example, if you expect some early 2010s cartoon on the Disney Channel to be a Kids X-Files, yet you get moments such as some girl getting high on stick dipping candy, you got the right to paint the worst out of that show for not being “Kids’ X-Files.”

Tip 83: Related to my example for Tip 82, if you get the slightest impression of something being childish, you know you got yourself a children’s work that does little than wave keys and has basically nothing substantial for them. In this situation, those malfunctioning robots found in Wall-E are the guilty party.

Tip 84: Without the extensive dialogue that I’m used to getting, how can one say for certain there was any amount of characterization in the title character of Wall-E?

Tip 85: Ever noticed yourself gradually being less likely to expect an upcoming work or view a work you’re just consuming as “the next best thing”? That’s ALWAYS the fault of smelly “artists” (hacks really) and their refusal to give a shit.

Tip 86: It’s obligatory for your lead to be explicitly heroic just so there is this immediate re-assurance that they’re a good one.

Tip 87: Without the comforting safety net of throwbacks, one cannot be for certain that there has been an actual evolution of a series or the art of animation and video games.

Tip 88: Don’t PSA kids on stuff they give zero fucks about. That means no gender identities or pronouns, race, etc.

Tip 89: Don’t listen to Mamoru Hosoda saying that anime women tend to be “depicted through a lens” of sexual desire. He’s just distracting from the superior prestige found in anime women.

Tip 90: If you’re desperate to let others know that your talking points are reasonable, just repeat them over and over with little expansion on said talking points.

Tip 91: 7 or more seasons of art is better than 26 episodes of art. EVERY TIME!

Tip 92: Always remember to continuously talk up the innuendo and mature subject matter of the childhood work as the most prestigious, transcendent thing of all time. With that in mind, there’s a high chance that your favorite childhood work will be better known than Perfect Blue (1997), and there’s likely a reason for that.

Tip 93: An art style that gives many characters relatively more realistic arm muscle details will always shine through more than any sort of art style done for “simplicity” (laziness, really).

Tip 94: Seeing a few (like, even VERY FEW) people show more enthusiasm for Steven Universe over Invader Zim really shows the lower bar that has been expected out of the western animation scene compared to anime.

Tip 95: Electronic music makes less conventional time signatures cheap as hell. REAL music like rock makes them the exact opposite.

Tip 96: If your Mystic Knee suggests that the 90s cartoon being viewed doesn’t showcase a vague sense of refinement or artistic integrity, then every related assumption of yours is right. EVERY TIME!

Tip 97: Doing everything and the kitchen sink for one series or movie shows a better sense of refinement and prestige than any form of simplicity. THIS includes character design as well.

Tip 98: The advent of that Star Wars: Visions anime really shows just how stinky western cartoons have become.

Tip 99: For those wondering, no, Europe isn’t being counted in my definition of “western animation”. Doing so is a complete disservice to prestige.

Tip 100: If even less than half of these tips aren’t being considered, you can kiss that prestige badge goodbye. After all, I SAID SO!

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rosebloodcat · 4 years ago

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A Harry Potter Confession/Rant

Ya’ll are free to ignore it if you want. I’m putting it under a Read More so it won’t clog up the dashes of anyone who doesn’t care about it. If you DO click the Read More, be warned, this got really frigging long.

Firstly, I want to say I love Harry Potter. Like, I really love it and it means a lot to me.

It was an introduction to fantasy for a lot of people. It’s created amazing communities, connected people around the world, and spread a ton of wonderful, uplifting messages.

The kind of power that comes from Love, that something as simple as caring can make huge difference for another person.

Harry Potter has gotten a lot of people to think critically about the world around them, and reminded them that things aren’t always as wonderful as they first appear.

It touches on things like racism and classism in a way that people can understand. It tackles things like morality and how it is different for every person who sees it. That doing what’s right wasn’t easy, and sometimes even the best intentions could make things worse instead of better.

The stories are amazing and suck people in. The foreshadowing is done well in each book and lends itself to the stories in subtle and fantastic ways.

No one had written a series like hers and took off as well as what she’d created. There had been other Magic School-type stories before, but she’d found the right channel to send it out. And now it’s something everyone can name and talk about.

For me, the great thing about Harry Potter was the doors it opened.

How modern fantasy for kids could be written. How a magical community could work in modern world (along with all the good and bad things that were in it). How something as amazing as magic could stay hidden for as long as it had (and the effects it had on everyone involved).

It’s community and the people mean so much to me, and it’s become a strong center to my own views and life.

But that doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to it’s flaws.

Looking at the way the world works, and the relationships of the people in it, gives a very clear view of Rowling’s flawed world view.

And people have written entire essays on all the flaws of her writing, so I don’t think I really need to go into tremendous detail about them all. But I think I can sum the basic idea of it pretty well.

Yes, she can write a great story. But that doesn’t mean she wrote a great world. (As all of her post-story retconning shows.)

Looking back, I openly admit many instances in the books had red flags that showed how bad things actually were.

From character relationships to the corrupted government, the racism and classism, the sexism and abusive undertones. Even just the shitty tracking of things between stories and blatant ignorance of how schools and societies should function!

There are so many flaws and screw ups I can hardly keep track of them all.

So many of the character relationships read as abusive or horribly fractured, that would leave more broken hearts and hurting feelings than should be let stand.

Ron/Hermione is one “couple” I can think of. They’re constantly fighting and at each other’s throats, and had only ever tried to get along due to being friends with Harry.

They’d be that couple who would always be fighting and breaking up with each other and separating, then forcing themselves back together because “This is how love it supposed to be, right? We always fight because we love each other. It’s why everyone said we were like an Old Married Couple. Right?”

(No, that’s not how it works. I know some people still ship them, but I feel like they’re better off friends than lovers. It’s less hurt for them both.)

Or Mrs Weasley, who ruled her house with an Iron Fist and would force her family to follow whatever plan she had set up for them.

From destroying the twins projects and trying to force them into a Ministry job, or her obsessive coddling of Ron and Ginny, or even forcing her husband to not talk about his hobbies/passions and making him need to work in the shed just to enjoy things he liked.

She drove of BOTH of her oldest sons away from home with her overbearing nature, yet so few people seem to see the problems with that.

Remus and Tonks getting together out of grief and just about falling apart when she got pregnant. I honestly don’t know if they were in love or were just together to deal with their grief. (Which would definitely cause problems later down the line if they’d lived.)

(And let’s not get into Harry and Ginny. I think that’s one pairing that everyone else has already beaten into the ground.)

The fact that all of these are the GOOD GUYS, the people that usually show some form of ideal the writer has, says a lot about how Rowling thinks love should be.

The Ministry is so blatantly corrupted and poorly planned, it’s a wonder the Wizarding World hadn’t just flat-out collapsed on itself yet.

Rowling goes out of her way to argue against everything she’s set up that would have made it possible to save the Wizarding World from it’s own corruption. From ways to get around the Truth Serum to blocking people from entering minds to find the truth.

She’s making thousands of excuses for why she didn’t use her own tools to make things easier for her character, but the actual reason is simple. So simple that if she just said it, she could have avoided all the problems people had with it.

She wanted a corrupt government for the story she was writing.

That’s it. That’s why there were no trials with Veritaserum. Why prisoners weren’t interrogated by people who could preform Legilimancy. Why no one had to swear magical oaths to prove they were telling the truth or weren’t on the Dark side.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but if she had just said that instead of making excuses, I would have been fine with that. Sometimes, as writers, we have to admit that the reason we didn’t do things that would have made it better for our heroes is because we needed things to go bad.

AND THAT’S OKAY. Not every story needs to have a million well thought out arguments for why the bad guys were able to get as far as they did. Sometimes we just need to say “they were really corrupt/clever” and that’s fine.

Rowling was really bloody lazy, had no idea how to do things practically, and had a ton of sexist/racist/toxic views that she really should have just kept her mouth shut about.

A ton of the issues in Harry Potter go back to this.

Her researching skills were terrible even when the things she needed to look up would have been as simple as looking at the weekly paper. (The price/value of gold is literally something you can look in the weekly news paper to find.)

She never looked at how culture differences would have effected things when she talked about “international” magics and said things that were just plain stupid because of her lack of research.

(The Mahoutoko School of Magic. ”Mahoutokoro” literally translates into “Magic School”, meaning the school is called “The Magic School, School of Magic.” I don’t think I need to explain why that’s stupid.)

She had no idea how to arrange a schooling/class schedule and was completely oblivious to how understaffed her magical school was. None of the class schedules made sense, none of the arrangements made sense, and even the number of students in the school makes no sense.

(Without getting into how many schools of magic there are in the world when you consider the size of the human population.)

Then, of course, there are the racist/anti-lgbtq+ stereotyping done through the magical beings of HP. From Goblins to werewolves, there’s a lot of poor, negative, and outright offensive representation wrapped up in there. (Really, her Anti-Trans stuff is just the tip of the iceberg there.)

That said, I still really love Harry Potter.

I know it’s flawed. I know there’s a ton of bad shit wrapped up in it. I’m not saying people should excuse it.

It’s a flawed work by a flawed person, and people should remember that.

We shouldn’t try to erase or ignore those flaws by trying to explain them away or claim someone else wrote it. Because that allows for complacency.

It implies that we can excuse these things in other works if we like them enough and that they aren’t problematic. If we can ignore them in one place, we can ignore them in other places. That they aren’t as bad if we can pretend they aren’t there.

And that is a problem. People need to accept that, just because they don’t like something, they can’t just disregard it and act like it isn’t there.

It’s real. It’s there. And we need to acknowledge it.

But just because the series isn’t perfect doesn’t mean people can’t still enjoy it.

We shouldn’t magnify the bad things in it until that’s all that can be seen. Because that would erase all the good things people have come away with from this series.

People shouldn’t be shamed or put down for liking Harry Potter.

There are people who’ve discovered importing things about themselves because of Harry Potter. People who found strength to get past difficult and traumatizing events in their lives. People who have found their best friends and even love because of their connection to this series.

There are even people who have found the confidence to embark on their own writing and artistic journeys because of Harry Potter. That it inspired numerous wonderful and amazing things created by it’s fans.

And I think that’s just as important as all the flaws that Rowling’s stories have.

We can still love something while admitting that there are bad parts to it. Books and media don’t have to be perfect. They don’t have to be utterly flawless to be considered “enjoyable”.

We don’t need to act like everything has to be black and white, perfectly defined good and evil, to be good. We can still love things while accepting that there are problems with it.

I just wish more people could understand that.

TLDR: Just because Harry Potter is a flawed, imperfect series written by a flawed, imperfect (and kinda shitty) person doesn’t mean people can’t still like it. And I really wish more people would accept that.

#rosie rants #rosie rambles #harry potter #world of harry potter #wizarding world #jk rowling #I just really needed to go off #a lot of the hp confessions I've been reading have been getting to me #so I needed to let this out

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scottsumrners · 4 years ago

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Imagine being so upset over people not liking Amber Heard that you tell them to kill themselves. Did your parents not love you enough? IDC what people did or do, you never tell people to kill themselves. Not to mention if they did and they have proof it was because of you; manslaughter charge :/

i was gonna make a jokey response here like “i’m not telling people to kill themselves, i’m talking about johnny depp fans. you know they are at best a sub-species of earthworm at this point”, but i want to be a little more serious here for a moment

this is not about liking or not liking amber heard. fact of the matter is all i know of her are the movies and shows she’s been on. this is not a stan war.

this is about the fact that johnny depp fans (and i mean his fans, not your 60 year old aunt who only knows him as funney jack sparrow man) have spent the last few years doing everything in their power to ruin a young woman’s life. they have belittled, mocked and shamed her; spread lies and made up stories, digging through her past to find any reasons to question her word; harassed and threatened her, her friends, her family and anyone who worked on the case against johnny depp, to the point where she had to get police escort to the courthouse because she was getting death threats. and all of this because she dared to be a woman speaking out against a powerful man in hollywood

some of you (i wouldn’t call the most rational ones, but nonetheless) have tried to come up with all sorts of centrist bullshit for the issue. ‘maybe they were BOTH abusive; we don’t know the whole story!; they were toxic to each other’, etc., but fact of the matter is the majority of johnny depp fans rooted their feet on the ground, stuck their fingers in their ears and went ‘SHE IS A LYING LIAR LALALALALA’ and have refused to see any reason ever since. they have done this since the moment the news broke out, when suddenly it stopped being “believe women” to “believe SOME women” or “believe women...up to a point”

all of this because they refuse to believe their favorite white man could ever possibly be abusive.... never mind the fact that we have 20+ years of documentation of him being violent in clubs and movie sets. despite the fact that his drunken behavior is what got him kicked out of pirates of the caribbean to begin with. despite the fact that there are signed documents BY HIM stating that amber didn’t lie when she said he abused her (on the same trial from where the audios that people use as evidence that she was actually the abusive one came from). despite the fact that the judge found TWELVE instances where her word could be proven as true in this last trial. despite the fact that she had video, audio, photographic and oral evidence. despite the fact that ALL, every single penny, she got from this entire ordeal she donated to charities in favor of women who suffer abuse (even though he refused to pay the money for the longest time). despite the fact that being revealed as an abusive man didn’t affect his career in the slightest - he still got TWO contracts in high profile franchises immediately after the news broke out. despite the fact that he is STILL dragging this out simply because he spent his entire fortune on coke and wine and now he is going broke and trying to make money out of suing people, instead of working in whatever left of his career his still has.

despite the fact that no woman has EVER benefited from coming forward about being the abused one in a relationship.

you people STILL discredit her. you still mock her. you still drag her name through the mud. all because you are incapable of accepting that the men you put on pedestals aren’t fucking saints, and just because you consume the media they put out doesn’t mean you know who they are or what they do behind closed doors. this isn’t an “amber vs johnny”, this is a “do you have morals, or do you still support johnny depp?” and if the answer is the latter, you need to quit. full stop. and if you went into the amber heard tag and saw half of the disgusting things johnny depp fans are still saying about her, you would absolutely, rightfully tell them to kill themselves too; these people don’t deserve to consume oxygen

#amber heard

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emeraldsiren19 · 5 years ago

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Don’t blame AD for your insecurities

Cancel culture is the modern equivalent of the junior high cafeteria pettiness. Most people outgrow it as soon as they graduate high school, but unfortunately many never get the memo.

People are free and expected to skip whatever entertainment they don't want to see for reasons. Nothing wrong with that. But unless you are watching a straight up documentary, you are watching fiction. Same for books too. Because a film is made or a book is written does not in any way imply that the storyteller and actors involved are sympathetic to the cause. You can tell a great story and it's the most uncomfortable thing anyone sees or reads. Does that make it bad or that the actors share the views of the villains/protagonists? Of course not. It is ridiculous to even assume that is happening.

For reasons unknown to the general public or anyone with an iota of intelligence and logic, Adam Driver is the latest scapegoat of said cancel culture.

His wife, who gets an insane amount of unwarranted hate directed toward her, said in an interview when he was starting his career: Adam prefers to make art that is uncomfortable and makes people think.

Which is why Kylo Ren was such a huge divergence from his previous filmography of mostly indie films. At that point, he was thrust into the mainstream limelight with everything involved, especially chaotic folks claiming to be fans who get pissed when he doesn’t fit their mold of what an ideal actor/heartthrob should be. He’s not their imaginary husband or their personal porn star as some “fans” believe he should be. And don’t even get into the homewrecking angle of it that some attempt with no shame, even if it’s just verbal wishes. Those folks don’t deserve any piece of him. Find another actor to do what you do with. Adam deserves more respect than that.

He is one of the very few actors who make you fully believe for 2 hours that he is someone else entirely. It’s because he has a gift that the universe has blessed him with. He’s just that good. So he can portray anyone he wants to and no one else has the right to say a damn thing. Even if that’s a Midwestern man in mid-century America (he was raised in the Midwest so he is an expert, and even if he wasn’t, he could still pull it off with little effort) or a medieval knight falsely accused.

Which leads into why do modern American ideals and morals have to be the universal standard for storytelling? You miss out on so many good tales when you toss out the “problematic” ones just to appease a rare few clutching their pearls and who get offended by the sky being blue. What law says that an actor or storyteller has to condone and agree with the ideals and beliefs of their characters? You would have a crap ton of boring stories and out of work actors/writers that way.

If you don’t like the story, that’s fine. But calling out an actor/writer for upsetting you is not ok because at least in this country (America), you have the freedom to not watch said movie or read said book. You don’t get to call yourself a fan if you cancel an actor because you explicitly do not like their career choices as they make you think and feel uncomfortable. Again, move on to someone else who fits your shallow ideal, and there’s a whole sea of them that no one cares about.

Adam, sofar, has been gifted with choosing good films. I haven’t seen anything that I hated to the point of avoiding entirely even if I only liked his 2 minute role in it. Yes, his characters are gritty and make you use the part of your brain that most people aren’t aware exists. 99% of other actors don’t.

He’s not an undercover KKK operative, he’s not a theater student accused of stalking, he’s not a Senator’s aide digging up dirty secrets, he’s not a misogynistic fuckbuddy, he’s not a womanizer, he’s not a medieval knight accused of rape, he’s not an average guy turned Communist officer, and the list goes on. People insist he is though, because their brains haven’t figured out what the difference is between reality and fiction, and they don’t want to see it. They want someone to project their hate toward and he’s an easy target because he chooses the tough, gritty projects that he does instead of the easy romantic comedies that every other actor does and then can’t get work because no one takes them seriously.

Then you have the labels and trigger words tossed around like confetti when people don’t fully realize what they mean, because they’re never used in proper context. People know they are. Your “abusive”, “problematic”, “toxic” etc. The latest being “Communist” with his new project in the works after the Plague ends.

Outside of schoolbooks and other media propaganda from before these people were even born, no one understands what it means because it is so outside of what they can comprehend. Not saying at all that Communism is right or wrong, but don’t judge something without fully understanding it, and don’t dare put Adam Fucking Driver in the middle of your debate because he is earning his living telling a story for entertainment reasons.

In the modern context, anything the GOP doesn’t agree with is automatically considered “Communist” and therefore evil because it’s trying to bridge the gap of the Grand Canyon social divide. That’s why people like Bernie Sanders (love him, hate him, don’t care, your choice) who are trying to put equality into action are so hated and labelled as such, just because it’s the popular thing to do.

Adam is not Communist either nor promoting Communism in any form because he plays a character we know nothing about at this point. Don’t dare judge a film before you have watched it. You can choose to not watch it, but unless you do view it, you have nothing whatsoever to base your arguments on.

Cancelling actors/writers and their work is essentially a 10 year old’s temper tantrum because he doesn’t like what he was given. Your parents and grandparents just skipped whatever they didn't like and moved on to whatever they did without makng a huge fuss. This is just juvenile insanity disguised as “being a good informed fan” and failing miserably because the costume doesn’t hide any of the rotting flesh underneath.

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irarelypostanything · 5 years ago

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Rick and Morty - my thoughts on season 4

You can’t get very far in Rick and Morty without hearing someone complain about its toxic fanbase. Time and time again, I’ve patted myself on the back for getting whole dozens of likes for pointing out Rick and Morty’s various references. Some of them, like the Total Recall episode, are pretty obvious. Others, like The Ricks Must be Crazy, parody things so old that I’m not sure whether they’re referencing Twilight Zone, or the actual Microcosmic God story from 1941.

I guess what it really comes down to is this: Is Rick and Morty a brilliant and philosophical TV series that makes lasting contributions to the science fiction genre, or is it a dumb show about fart jokes that knows what it is and hates fans who take it too seriously? Maybe the answer is yes, or maybe they’re actually not sure. This last season, like the one before it, had some really solid episodes and a few I wasn’t so sure about.

Was Rick and Morty always meant to be a show about sacrifice, and how love for family is the thing that triumphs over the cosmos? No, which is kind of what they play with when we make the realization Rick is actually more interested in a McDonalds sauce than some origin story. Is it a dramatic, serialized TV show that would ultimately culminate in Rick’s overthrowing some massive Galactic government? Nope. At this point, it can do whatever it wants. There’s no one more powerful than Rick. Threats are barely threats at all, unless they’re squirrels. Even the most popular villain of the series was sort of parodied in a really meta episode, which probably gave a nod to how obsessed everyone is with him.

So what did I like? The vat episode, for sure. It’s exactly the kind of self-contained thing I’d show someone who wasn’t familiar with the series, exploring a science fictional concept (while making a Christopher Nolan parody), accenting a really heartfelt moment, and just generally building up with its absurdist humor in a clever way. Was it brilliant? I don’t know, but it was definitely funny.

What did I not like? Sometimes I feel like they’re still grappling with the feeling that they don’t know if they really like their fans or not, so they give us really meta episodes that demonstrate what they experience. They feel we’re milking them for everything they’re worth, and they kind of hate it. Maybe this criticism is deserved. Maybe they’re tired of dealing with certain members of the fan community, especially ones who don’t pay for the show. They’ve been contracted out for several more seasons worth of episodes. They’re one of the most popular shows out there, and they’re probably a little bit concerned that it might get stale.

Maybe it never will. Maybe it already has. These writers have some experience to go off on, and they know how to write good scripts.

But will we all like where they take us? I don’t know.

It’s a show about human morality and the holes in it. It’s a show about the concept of ultimate power, and the alienation and loneliness it might cause. It’s a show about deep and existential dread, perhaps even an allegory for where mankind itself ends up in reference to the larger and cruel universe it inhabits.

And it’s also a show about fart jokes and constant parodies of other popular TV series.

#rick and morty #15-minute freewrite

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tomasistrill · 5 years ago

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“Don’t look; but I Think The Elephant In The Room is Wearing An MF Doom Mask..”

By @tomasistrill

December 12, 2019

The Manifesto

“I am the elephant in the room;

bringing doom,

really soon.”

-TOMMY TRILLY

-Form & Shape

The image is sized to be square to eligantly frame my thesis of the symmetry that outlines all things asymmetrical.

Using dimensions of 1080x1080pixels gives the piece functionality & purpose as cover artwork for an important project being manifested as we think, speak & breath.

The color scheme is purposely & purely monochromatic. Starting from left to right; the viewer will immediately see that black is the dominating color of the composition.

However, dominant, is nothing less than an understatement. When working with black on this piece; I found myself compulsive, aggressive & even manic at times.

I strayed far from my initial concept of having the black fade to an almost white tone; never truly giving my viewer the graceful embrace of a pure white.

Instead; my fanatical usage of black lead me ever deeper into the enigmatic labyrinth of my subconscious & a graceful awareness of the courage to create.

-Ethos, Pathos & Logos

The toxic love affair between my creative mania & the color black conceived a scene no longer so two dimensional; contrasted with a character that will never be anything more than it’s two dimensions.

The character is depicted in the center of the room. However, because he cannot escape his two dimensional existence, the center of the room is a place he can only observe from afar. He doesn’t understand why none of the people in the room pay attention to him.

His body language communicates a lonely disposition; arms hanging at his sides, hands [possibly] in his pockets & eyes staring far into the abyss; painfully conscious of his glaze matched by the depths of true existence.

On the left & right of our self-ruminating character; reads “S†≡≡Z.”

A word meaning to have style with ease; made popular by hip-hop on the East Coast. In my meditations on the word, came to me, the most clear understanding of grace & what it means to have it.

Bruce Lee describes it as the effortless flow of water; taking the shape of whatever contains you; the body containing the mind & the mind then containing the soul.

This journey inward in search of the holy S†≡≡Z requires you to courageously be yourself purely in the face of adversity. Everytime you choose fear over courage; you’re taking steps outward & away from the S†≡≡Z!

-Spiritual Subliminals

Diving ever deeper into the art & the messages it has for us; we’ll turn our focus to how the word “S†≡≡Z” is communicated to the viewer. Using things such as; color, form, shape, symbology, typography, etc. I was able to effectively communicate ideas to the beholder, in a very visual, yet subtle way.

“S - - -Z”

The “S” at the beginning represents a wavelength that’s smooth from crest to trough.

While the “Z” at the end presents an opposite, but equal wave; this one being more aggressive in it’s frequency.

This is the inevitability one faces in making the decision to be themselves.

Sometimes the wave is S & sometimes the wave is Z, but if you know how to surf; the ride is always steezy.

“- † - - -“

The letter “T” here serves at a ✞ symbol standing for the divine power of love & forgiveness within Man.

“- - ≡ ≡ -”

The arrangement of three horizontal lines is an angelic numerical sequence “111” that tells the intuition to take action.

Encouraging you to keep following your spirit; if you see this listen to your gut/heart.

This rendering of “S † ≡ ≡ Z” is then contrasted across the longitude of the entire ensemble; painting a polarizing picture of the age old existential struggle of the inner against the outer.

The only usage of a true white tone is in the first occurrence of S†≡≡Z; in the darkest section of the piece. Then, almost mockingly, right in the middle of the lightest area, we see the return of darkness; in the second & final occurrence of S†≡≡Z.

This beautifully illustrates; when the world is dark, the individual will intuitively become the light he so desperately seeks.

We can then safely assume if the world becomes illuminated in mankind’s brilliance; the individual will only find peace in the shadows of his own world.

Narrative-

MF Doom:

A character/persona written by british-born EMCEE Daniel Dumile.

From his upbringing in Long Island, New York to his controversial rise to infamy; his story is trill hiphop lore. He became a man deep in the minds of millions & they don’t even know his name.

Initially, rapping under the alias Zev Love X, he formed the rap group KMD & signed to Elektra Records. Just before the release of the group’s second Album, boldly titled “Black Bastards,” the doom rapper’s late brother DJ Subroc was struck by a car & killed.

That same week the group was dropped from their label & the album was scrapped. Dumile left the industry & lived essentially homeless from 94’ to 97’.

He then left New York to settle in Atlanta, Georgia. Still recovering from his wounds; the rapper would don the iconic DOOM mask & take revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him".

Thus the notorious villain of the hiphop underground MF DOOM was born.

He is often praised as not only one of the illest lyricist to ever do it, but also as a genius producer.

However, inspite of his immaculate discography & significant respect from industry legends, he is still widly unaccepted by the community he’s devoted his life to.

The Elephant:

Elephants are known as a keystone species; meaning it has disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.

In fact, by simply existing; the elephant has the power to inflict change in the world it lives in. They, as all animals do, move across the earth manifesting their every desire; unconcerned with anything & everything that isn’t necessary to life.

Effortlessly laying the foundation on which nearly every other speices, within it’s domain, inevitably builds it’s existence.

They themselves embrace a matriarchal lifestyle; in which the feminine is the primary power within society.

Family Groups, consisting of mainly females & children, are led by the eldest female matriarch; with many of the males choosing a more solitary existence.

The elephant recognizes itself in a mirror; demonstrating a capacity for self-awareness found only in apes & dolphins. They also morn their dead & show signs of stress when loved ones aren’t well.

It is well known that the elephant’s memory is stone; able to recall locations of watering holes, family members, vast migration routes, etc. all over their 70 year lifespan.

Conflict:

It’s no surprise that elephants have inspired many literary, mythical & religious cultures; traditionally the elephant has been a symbol of strength, power, wisdom, longevity, stamina, leadership, sociability, nurturance and loyalty.

We see these things reflected in political ideologies of the American Republican Party; who’ve used the elephant as a mascot since 1874.

Conveying a message to undecided voters to preserve the values of the past & to have noble principle guiding your actions.

On the surface level this is honorably patriotic, but as I dived ever deeper; I found a story of people divided simply by perspectives based on how reality presented itself to the misdirected & misguided naiveté of the ignorant & innocent.

The parable of the blind men & the elephant originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent. A group of blind men, who never encountered an elephant before, all touch a different part of an elephants body & insist they know exactly what it is in front of them; based on their limited experience, they all go on to describe what they understood the elephant standing in front of them to be. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". Another man, whose hand reached its ear, said it seemed like a kind of fan. The third man, whose hand was upon its leg, said the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. A fourth man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.

In this parable; I found a moral of the subjective truths we face every day in our common lives.

All of these men share a deep common attribute of blindness & thus will cling to shallow differences in sensual experience & each man will have a different ideology for why he does so.

Man will neglect fellowship with his fellow man if, in his limited experience of reality, he finds it to be a necessary action in his life.

Unfortunately for a more modest man; life is often misunderstood by his neighbors.

Perhaps he dreamns of power, so he creates the illusion he has a higher knowledge of the elephant. Maybe he’s a coward & would rather formulate an opinion than walk away, because he fears rejection from the group.

Man has a habbit of claiming to know the absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience. As they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences. Which may be equally true; only ever able to justify their claims with fear or courage.

Resolve:

Courage requires immaculate moral responsibility & higher knowledge. To stand in the face of destiny with the heart of a warrior is an endeavor most men can no longer dream of.

It requires too much & so most men spend their lifetime in the same predicament the elephant himself is in; standing in a room being ignored by those whose hearts call out to him! To be the elephant in the room is a tragedy largely ignored.

The expression "the elephant in the room" is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, problem, or risk that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable or is personally, socially, or politically embarrassing, controversial, inflammatory, or dangerous. This same sociological & psychological repression operates on the macro scale of modern society.

Should something as conspicuous as an elephant be overlooked in codified social interactions? Of course not. You are the elephant in the room.

Conclusion:

Not only has he not forgotten; but the elephant himself, in all his divine S†≡≡Z, stands in a room full of people he remembers from the beginning of time. They talk of the old days; almost every word hinting at his presence in the room, but they just go on rambling as if the elephant himself isn’t standing next to them. They’re completely oblivious to the fact that there’s a god damn eight-foot seven-inch Asian elephant with a fucking MF DOOM mask on right there. He’s tired of being ignored; soon he will escape from his interdimensional hell & bring doom.

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sparrowstrikewrites · 5 years ago

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Okay, so I don’t normally post personal thoughts on here, but my dash has filled with Star Wars discourse and the incivility is killing me so I’ve got to say something.

Are any of the Star Wars stories perfect (movies, TV shows, comics, books, all of it)? No.

Are they fun? Are there cool space ships, laser swords, and robots? Yes and yes.

Are there complex moral dilemmas and characters? Yes.

Is the fetch quest narrative overused? Maybe.

The Star Wars universe is in my mind one of the greatest sandboxes that fic writers can play in. There’s enough meat/content that you can pick and choose play with whatever you want and enough loose ends that you have a million places to start writing. There are great underdeveloped characters to expand upon and if you ever wanted to drop in an OC, this is one of the best fandoms for it from a writing perspective.

But from a fandom perspective, Star Wars is pretty darn toxic. It’s not just mean discourse on the best trilogy anymore (and that’s was frustrating enough, there’s good bits and bad bits in all of them—no reason to get on a high horse about it). The shipping wars and harassment of the actors is unnecessarily cruel and childish.

The actors all did their jobs to the best of their ability and they deserve respect for that.

At this point, someone is probably thinking “is this going to be a reylo rant?” This is not an anti-reylo rant or a pro-reylo rant, this is a be nice to people even if they ship something you don’t like rant. It is a leave the actors alone unless you have something nice and not creepy to say to/about them rant. If you want to know my ship preferences, we can talk in DMs, but I’m not getting into it here.

Am I 100% satisfied with the ending of this this trilogy? No, but that’s why fanfiction exists— I can read a million different endings that bring me happiness for different reasons.

Outside of the apparently violent divide over reylo, I’m even more bothered by the hate people are getting for multishipping. Maybe I’m old school (funny because I’m not old), but I remember the days where authors made differ AUs for different ships and you either didn’t read the ones you weren’t interested in or you read them all because you loved how that author writes and handles the characters. The mental challenge of looking at the same media and the same characters through different lenses was fun as a reader and made me personally grow as a writer.

Sorry if this comes across as incoherent rambling. I just got really bummed out by how judgemental and mean fandom has gotten. Growing up, fanfiction was a place to explore character dynamics, develop as a writer, and have fun. I don’t like that the next generation of kids don’t seem to be getting that same opportunity. (I say kids, but really this applies to writers of all ages and ability levels).

TLDR;

Writers: tag your work appropriately.

Readers: if you don’t like it don’t read it and don’t post hate.

Fans: remember actors are people and not their characters.

Everybody: treat each other with kindness/respect and remember this whole fandom thing is supposed to be fun.

#fanfiction #relyo #star wars #rise of skywalker #be nice to people #fictional things arent worth hurting real people over

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nadziejastar · 5 years ago

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It's sort of amazing the difference between the fan interpretation of RAX and how they interact in canon. In Days they're super dysfunctional, border on being toxic, and their friendship was unsustainable from the start even if they didn't realize it. In fanon they're a picture perfect family who can never be torn apart. And the KH3 went with the fan interpretation instead of acknowledging any of their issues.

I totally agree. I think the reason is that the fandom tends to be very young. It’s a big reason why Akuroku became so popular, IMO. Young teens tend to misinterpret unhealthy obsession (like Axel’s) as romance and true love. And the Sea-Salt Trio’s dysfunction also was also overlooked in a similar manner.

I gotta be honest. I feel pretty uncomfortable with the general interpretation of the Sea-Salt Trio in this fandom. It’s just so bizarre to me how Roxas and Xion’s friendship with Axel was put on such a pedestal and how his relationship with Isa was pretty much ignored by almost everyone. It’s just…amazingly unrealistic if you think about it. I think it’s a testament to how young the fans are, in general.

Axel’s relationships truly aggravate me, because he was written a LOT differently than Sora or other simplistic characters. I know that the target demographic for Kingdom Hearts is pretty young. And in the end, I think Axel’s character was a victim of that. Nomura tried to write him very authentically at first.

But his characterization was dumbed down to fit in with a largely tween/teen audience and their preferences. I don’t say that to be disparaging to younger fans or anything. But, had KH3 not been a Disney property, and had it been targeted to a slightly older audience, I think Axel and his relationships would have been handled a LOT differently.

I definitely think the Sea-Salt Trio was VERY misunderstood by the fandom. Axel has known Saïx for at least 10 years. Probably more. Even before their backstory was explained, you could tell they have been through hell together in the organization, without anyone else to trust besides each other. Axel was willing to do all of his dirty work.

Then Axel meets Roxas and Xion. Two kids who—let’s be honest—are about on the level of your average fifth grader. Not a bad thing. They’re just very naive and childlike and he obviously can’t be 100% himself around them. Do people really think Axel is gonna replace his best friend so easily with two kids he’s known for less than a year? Apparently, yes. Let’s look how absurd it is.

Day 75

Inseparable

The Genie we met in Agrabah said he and his friend Al are "inseparable." Axel told us best friends can be inseparable even if they're not always together, but it sounded like he wasn't too sure about it himself. I thought Axel knew everything. Oh well...

At this point, Axel spent quite a while at Castle Oblivion. He hasn’t even gotten to know Roxas that well, and he’s only known Xion for a few days. It’s totally realistic that he’d say he doesn’t have a best friend. He sounds like he knows what it’s like to have a best friend, though. He just doesn’t have one anymore.

Day 96

Roxas: I just…want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets…

Axel: Nothing lasts forever, man. Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies. But you know, we’ll still have each other…even if things change and we can’t do this anymore.

Roxas: Yeah?

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?

Roxas: Ha ha, wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous.

Axel: What? I thought it was pretty deep.

Not even two weeks later, he’s acting all touchy-feely about the time they spend hanging out together. Roxas and Xion make fun of him because even they know they’re not really that close, lol. They hardly know each other at this point. If you read between the lines, you could tell that he was thinking about Saïx here, too.

Friends

Author: Axel

I feel like I’ve been spending more time talking to Roxas and Xion lately than my old friend, Saïx. This has to have been what it was like, friendship.

But if that wasn’t obvious enough, the report clears up all doubt. He WAS thinking about Saïx. The message I got was: Lea and Isa had a very close relationship as humans. They were the ones who were really inseparable.

Axel misses that and, the more he remembers it, is desperate to fill the void. Every time he mentions “best friends,” it relates back to this. But this concept went “whoosh” over 90% of the fandom’s head. It baffles me. I really just don’t get it. Again, I have to think it’s due to the fact that this series skews really young.

Day 118

You Changed, Not Me

Author: Axel

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It’s a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don’t feel like it anymore. It’s strange, but I’m content with just missing what’s gone. I’m not the one who changed. You did.

Anyways. Three weeks later. Axel is very hung up on the past. He sounds like a heartbroken lover (because that’s exactly what he is, if you ask me). The reason Axel spends so much time with Roxas and Xion is because Isa changed.

Day 150

Too Precious to Lose

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something. I don’t remember my past, but the idea of losing the present–Axel or Xion–scares me.

A month later. Axel comes back from Castle Oblivion yet again, and he’s even more nostalgic for the past than last time. I bet Axel’s time at C.O was gonna be featured as a blank period in BBSV2. But whatever. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his memories of the past.

The reason Axel treasured his memories so much was because it’s all he had left after losing something. OBVIOUSLY it’s because of his relationship with Isa. I mean, duh. It implies a pretty special connection between Axel/Lea and Saïx/Isa for him to feel that way, especially considering how mean Saïx is to him.

I’m not trying to trash Axel’s feelings for Roxas and Xion, either, or make them out to be unimportant. They were important to him, for sure. But they absolutely did not reach Isa’s level of importance to him. No fucking way. Not. Even. Close. Especially not on Day 150. By the end of the story, Axel couldn’t bear to lose Roxas and Xion because they were all he had to fill the void of Isa.

That’s not to say that he didn’t care about them as friends, or that he was just using them. It just means that I don’t think Axel really would want to be “inseparable” with Roxas and Xion once he was mentally and emotionally healthy. He’d want to be friends with them, of course, but not hang out every day like Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He’s not on the same level as Roxas and Xion. And that’s fine.

Terra: Protect the things that matter… Right. My friends matter to me, too. So, I still have things that I have to protect.

To use a comparison, Riku was very important to Terra. I LOVED the connection between them. Other than Lea and Isa, one of the things I was most excited to see in KH3 was Riku and Terra reuniting (yeah…). They had a very special bond. Riku helped comfort Terra when he was down. But. Riku was NOT as important to Terra as Aqua and Ven were. Even if Terra had spent a whole year with Riku, he still wouldn’t be as important to Terra as Aqua and Ven.

Roxas and Xion being portrayed as the most important people to Axel is as ridiculous to me as Riku being portrayed as the most important person to Terra. It would be weird if 99% of the fanart out there depicted Riku as Terra’s best friend and Terra’s reunion with Riku got more spotlight in KH3 than his reunion with Ven and Aqua.

That’s how I feel about the Sea-Salt Trio. I really liked it for what it was in Days. A complex, morally grey friendship between an emotionally damaged adult and two innocent kids. But I really don’t like the overly saccharine, cutesy, cuddly, one-dimensional fandom version of it, where Axel is treated like he’s on the same level as the two teens. It’s a testament to how young the fandom is that people really thought Lea would be “meh” about reuniting with his childhood best friend who’s been possessed for 10 years, and be waaaay more excited about getting to eat ice cream with two teens every day once again.

Day 172

What’s Love?

On my mission at Beast’s Castle, Xaldin told me about "love” and the special power it has over people. I tried to ask Axel about it, but his explanation didn’t make any sense to me. Every time I ask him about this kind of thing, he tells me I need a heart to understand. It’s like he’s dodging the questions.

Axel tolerates severe emotional abuse from his possessed best friend because he loved him back when he was normal. He copes by with his extremely shitty life by living entirely in the past, through his memories. Hanging out with two kids helps him remember his old life, back when he was happy. God, he was such a fascinating character. Such wasted potential.

Day 193

Best Friends

Xion's awake now. The three of us were gonna go get some ice cream after our mission, but she passed out again, so we had to take her home. I talked with Axel in her room until she woke up. He said the three of us were best friends—inseparable.

Axel said he had no best friend on Day 75. Now it’s Day 193. That’s only 119 days. That’s less than four months!! He gets in a fight with Saïx, who, once again, says he’s changed. A very sore topic for Axel. Then immediately afterwards, he says these two kids are his best friends.

If I was gonna compare it to real life: Let’s say Lea and Isa were two normal high school kids who were kidnapped and raised in a gang. Axel is a 25/26 year-old former gang member. He’s got blood on his hands. He’s a good person deep down, but he’s seen a lot of shit. Then he meets these two fifth graders. This adult gang member, with tear-drop tats and everything, suddenly starts calling these two fifth graders his best friends. He wants to spend all of his time eatig ice cream and playing Minecraft with them.

If this was real life, would anyone say how cute it is that they are best friends? Two kids who he had to teach the concept of “best friends” to? NO! No, they’d say that’s unhealthy and weird and that the guy needs therapy. Because it IS unhealthy and weird. Perhaps it easier to see that as an adult. Perhaps it’s easier to see it in a romanticized way when you’re young.

The Sea-Salt Trio was, in a way, Axel forcing the label of “best friends” on two kids in an attempt to cope with the heartbreak of his loss of innocence. It did have genuine cuteness and sweetness. Of course it did. Axel was not a predator or anything. Roxas and Xion loved him. Axel loved them. But…it wasn’t as cutesy and wholesome as people make it out to be. At least not from Axel’s end. It wasn’t JUST a cute wholesome trio.

That’s what made it so good. It was complex and grey. Axel never went against the organization, even though he could have if he really wanted to. It got to the point where he nearly killed both Roxas and Xion, just because he couldn’t bring himself to go against the organization. And the reason he couldn’t go against the organization was because of Saïx. Yes. Axel came thiiiiis close to killing both Roxas and Xion for a sociopath who treated him like shit. Their friendship was very dysfunctional and had a lot of kinks to work out.

Again, I’m not trying to denigrate the bond Axel had with Roxas and Xion. It was still genuine and sweet, in a sad and messed up way. I can still appreciate the cuteness of it.

But I hated the Sea-Salt reunion in KH3. Because it only focused on the most one-dimensional, saccharine and cutesy portrayal of them possible. They didn’t have to talk about anything. It was just instant hugging and ice cream, now they’re best friends forever. Everything played up to the max to manipulate people’s emotions. None of their issues were worked out and they had no better understanding of each other than they did at the end of Days. Honestly, even though Roxas and Xion got the red carpet treatment compared to Isa, the resolution to their trio was just as pathetic as Isa/Lea’s duo.

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curlyjoe7 · 6 years ago

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Forming Your Own Opinions.

First off - major trigger warning for rape, manipulation and abuse. Second off - this is an adult conversation, between adults and only adults. I don’t want any arguments just informed debate. If you don’t know the situation then don’t speak. If you don’t like my opinion, agree to disagree, unfollow or block and move on. Everyone has the right to express their thoughts, all arguing will result in being blocked. Third off - I know this is old and no one wants to hear about it anymore but I just formed an opinion on it which I want to talk about. Sorry if hearing about it bothers you.

For the longest time and still even so now I have had the mentality: go with the popular opinion or just be quiet and you will be liked. Which is very toxic. I am obsessed with being liked, being plastic and letting others control my thoughts. I’m trying to get away from that though and this is my first step. Stating a controversial opinion. A big one. Very big. It’s hard for me, the whole thing has thrown me into a few severe anxiety attacks but I have to do this to get better or I never will. I’m super nervous and I’m ready to be hated or as ready as I possibly can be whilst simultaneously freaking out. So what’s my opinion? That Melanie Martinez is innocent. Just hear me out. Here’s why I think she’s innocent:

I was a big Melanie fan at the time of the rape accusations. At first when I heard it I thought “wow this is terrible, she’s a rapist” and cancelled her. It was really hard but I knew it was the best thing to do. After all it’s better to side with a potential victim than a potential rapist, right? I also knew nothing about the backstory so I had nothing to work off of but the word of someone I didn’t know existed and the statement “she never said no to what we chose to do together.” I as many thought that was a dumb excuse, just because someone doesn’t say no doesn’t mean it means yes. But like I said, I had no backstory so I moved on and unfanned Melanie, as hard as it was for me. Randomly I thought of it again, in the past week, and wondered if there was anything else about it. Looked it up and well... there’s a ton. I want to make a disclaimer that when looking at all the evidence, I took into consideration both sides. I was completely unbiased in this despite my past love of Melanie. Rape is a serious issue and should be treated like that not just excused because you like the person who is accused of it. Though with what I was learning, Timothy’s story seemed fishy with some holes. So I did more digging. First let’s get the story clear of what supposedly happened:

And that’s it basically. That’s the story, coming straight from her Twitter. Pretty horrifying, manipulating and wrong. Makes you feel bad for Timothy. But it doesn’t end there. After she released that statement Melanie released her own:

Many people thought it was her admitting to it and claiming it wasn’t rape because she let it happen. Which had us thinking she was guilty as sin. Until Timothy started releasing more information. Apparently that same day they went to a thrift shop and picked up a game that included a blindfold, handcuffs, and a dice that said things like “lick leg.” Which she never mentioned at all before. Originally Timothy said that Melanie bought it but then later said she herself did. Which is odd since she stated she has been abused before and sexual stuff made her uncomfortable. But whatever she said she thought it would be funny. Now here’s where it gets weird, she never mentioned the game before, right?Maybe she forgot? Sure that’s reasonable. They played the game on June 25th 2015 according to Timothy in an interview:

At Melanie’s house. Melanie’s house is in LA. This is important because with further information, she was in New York performing on stage that day. She even made an Instagram post about it:

And fans have pictures of her on stage. You notice how her hair is blonde and black in this pic? Well to support her cause Timothy posted a picture of Melanie the night it happened:

Her hair is a different color. And on her phone it shows up as May 6th, 2015. She claims it’s because her iCloud is messed up and that pictures of her recently showed up at being in 2011:

I went to Melanie’s Instagram to see her hair color May 6th, 2015 and just look:

On May 2nd her hair was that color in the picture. It’s actually really easy to change dates on your iCloud too. That’s... odd. But there’s even more, I believe she said they stopped being freinds after that but I know she said they stopped being friends in 2016, yet in 2017 she said this:

Okay. Change it once, maybe you forgot but if she changed it twice and still got it wrong? Suspicious. She actually has changed a lot of the story, multiple times. She said originally she didn’t want to go to the cops because she was afraid they wouldn’t believe her then said on her Instagram Live that yeah it’s bad but not murder so she doesn’t deserve to go to jail. So which is true? I mean it doesn’t matter her reason, it’s her decision but why is the reason changing? In Timothy’s original statement she mentioned some of Melanie’s fans became her fans but their loyalty never strayed from Melanie. That’s... irrelevant. But is it actually? Melanie was supposed to release a new album one month later. Which didn’t end up happening and when you went to Timothy’s Twitter at the time she had a pinned tweet for her song. Kinda weird but okay, it was probably there before. But why mention the loyalty of her fans never straying from her? Like I said, it’s irrelevant to the topic but not to her potential motives. They started their careers at the same time and Melanie was more popular too. And apparently started focusing on her music more than her friends so both of these might be the reason why. Seems reasonable. Now of course I wanted to check the stuff on Melanie’s side too but all I found was the original statement and this one:

Which in my opinion does clear up the “she never said no” thing. I think what she was trying to say is, Timothy didn’t say no multiple times like she said she did and that Melanie would never have sex with someone without their complete confirmation. Maybe even she meant she didn’t say no to the game they played. Though it could mean: “She never said no, I didn’t act on when she did say no but pressured her to give in.” And what Melanie says in this statement: “I trusted so many people in my life who took advantage of that trust for their own personal gain” supports the fact Timothy did it for fame. She also mentioned that in her song she released on Spotify called Piggyback that goes:

Trusted too many people while I was still young

Gave them the benefit of the doubt, I was so wrong

I cut them off and they came for blood cause they know

They ain’t getting no more

I’m so done playing piggyback

Swear to god I wished y’all all the best

You’re lying your way to try to gain a piece of me

When you could never come close cause I know my destiny

I worked hard for my shit

Put my love in this shit

Now you’re trying to kill my name for some fame

What is this?

Tried to help you do your shit

Encouraged you to work on it

Was a good friend and you used that to your advantage

Timothy did mention when Melanie blew up that she didn’t have time anymore for her and that she wanted to focus on her fans and music. So it does make sense that she did this for attention, to hurt Melanie. Even so the way Melanie worded her statement originally, doesn’t help her cause. Just made her look worse. The second statement however does clear it up in my opinion. With all the evidence and what Melanie said, it’s 1 point she’s guilty to multiple that she’s innocent. Even if you don’t like her you can’t deny that. There may be more points towards her being guilty as well, I’m not sure but this is all I could find, though there is just too many points towards her being innocent. In reality though none of this is fact, it’s just evidence and even evidence can be fake or twisted sometimes. Here’s a few more things about Timothy though and this story:

She says she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore but yet is willing to keep bringing it up. She dressed up as Melanie in 2016, a year after the rape, why would you put yourself through so much pain and do that? Idk just seems like it would hurt you more but she did love her so maybe that’s why: she was trying to deny the truth because of how much she loved her. She also suffers from BPD (Boarderline Personality Disorder) which I hate to bring up, just because she has a mental illness doesn’t mean she would do something fucked up. Just because anyone has a mental illness doesn’t mean it’s the reason for everything. Mental illness doesn’t equal bad morals but it can lead you to do bad things. Trust me I know, I have depression, anxiety and OCD. My OCD causes me to try to avoid particular things which I don’t always do in a nice way. I hurt people because I don’t want to deal with something related to it. This could be the same situation. The symptoms of BPD do explain why she would do this to hurt Melanie. For example some of the symptoms for BPD are pervasive instability in moods, distaste of one’s self image, insecurity and problems with interpersonal relationships. It seems logical with that info why she would do it if she is lying. Not to mention Timothy has claimed abuse on past bandmates of her old band Dresses where she only stayed cause they needed her voice. She has the history to make claims, I have no idea if it’s true though. She also allegedly molested a 16 year old girl. Also unsure if that’s true but if she did that she might have based the story on what she did since the story is quite similar. Regardless, here’s my complete opinion on the matter:

Timothy made it up for attention because she was jealous Melanie was focusing on her music not her and that she wasn’t as popular, probably a lot being because of her BPD. She knew a story like this would get attention and people would believe with the rising amount of sexual assault victims coming forward. So she posted it and then remembered she knew she had that picture of the game so she started basing it around that, picking a random date and saying it happened at Melanie’s house cause they are in her house in the pic, not knowing what Melanie actually did that day. However though she forgot the picture was dated and tried to blow it off as her iCloud being messed up which she supported by changing the date on recent pictures to awhile ago. And also she can’t remember parts of her story so she makes up new stuff and changes stuff a lot. Then she goes on to social media shading her and posting things about how hard it is to get empathy. Stuff like the picture on her IG story which is her crying (it just looks like she put in eyedrops to me) I would post but I hit the picture limit. She even contacted her friends to get in on it to make it look legit. She hasn’t gone to the cops because she knows they will find it bs and she’ll be revealed as lying. Most juries which are meant to be unbiased would side with Melanie because of the evidence so if it is false that explains why she hasn’t gone to the cops. And if it is real, honey if you don’t remember a part just say you don’t remember, it’s not helping your cause.

But that’s just my opinion, everyone has their own. There is probably even more to this that I don’t know but I shared everything I do. Though regardless let’s remember no side has concrete proof. To me everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You can’t really call her a good or a bad person and say it’s fact because you don’t know the truth. You can however support her by forming an opinion based on your own view of the situation. That doesn’t make you a bad person or someone who is defending rape. And to everyone who believes it: don’t get on the people who think it’s bullshit. You can’t deny there is a lot of holes in the story. And it doesn’t make you look better or woke nor is it siding with a potential rapist, it’s siding with evidence and your opinion. Evidence is better to side with than a potential victim just because they are a potential victim. Some people make stuff up. Even horrible things like that. Also don’t side with Melanie just because you like her, actually do some research and use your brain not your heart. It makes you a horrible person to just support her because “she’s my idol and a true fan would support her even if she’s a rapist!!!” That’s so fucked up. It truly makes me sick to hear delusional stans saying that. People like you are making the situation worse and contributing to rape culture. Delusional stans are also saying if you didn’t believe Melanie from the beginning on this situation you’re not a real fan. Which is not true at all. We are real fans, we just wanted to not instantly believe she didn’t do it because we like her. We wanted to figure out how we see the situation by looking at the evidence before jumping to conclusions. That makes us logical. On a similar note us questioning the situation and trying to find more information on it to form an opinion is also being logical. Not invalidating a potential rape victim. But rather doing the right thing and giving both parties the right to a fair trial. And if any of you are going to say: “why hasn’t Melanie done more about it then?” Would you want to talk about something like this? Something that damaged your career immensely? No, you wouldn’t. If it’s real, I’m sorry Timothy that this happened to you and Melanie deserves consequences. But if it is false, I’m sorry you have to deal with this Melanie and Timothy deserves consequences. Form your own opinion and please be respectful. I’m going to go back to supporting Melanie because I genuinely believe that she didn’t do it. That’s my decision, make your own. And don’t get on Melanie or Timothy, no cyber bullying them. Like I said you don’t know the truth nor do I, only they do. Even if you did being mean gets you nowhere. Now let’s just let this go and move forward from it.

#melanie martinez #timothy heller #i want to say as well i told both my mom and bf about this #i told the whole story and they both think something is up with timothy’s story #they don’t care nor really know about either of them #so their opinion is as unbiased as it can get #and they both think she’s lying #take that as you will #also i want to say i feel so free posting this #like i cut those chains holding me down to perfection #holding me back #not letting me be me #i’m so proud of myself for doing this #it’s a big step towards getting better

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marlettwrites · 5 years ago

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11/11/11 tag

I was tagged by the lovely @marie-writess! Thank you! Sorry this took me so long, I was really dragging my feet on writing my own questions.

1. How heavily do you plot before starting your story?

I like to make sure most, if not all of the details are planned out. I may change them later as I write, but it helps me a lot to know exactly where I want the story to go. If I don’t do this, I end up getting stuck. A lot.

At the very least, I like to have all my major plot points planned. Where are the characters starting? Where are they going? How do they get there, and what major obstacles do they encounter along the way?

2. Do you have writing schedule? If so, what does it look like?

I wish. I probably should start planning one. Right now, I write when I have the time and/or energy.

3. What are some common themes in the things you write? Is there anything that you almost always seem to include?

Okay, so found family. Always.

I’ve also been noticing a theme of family in general in most of my works. Often, there will be some form of familial conflict that is integral to the story. In A Curse of Healing, Jude is fleeing an abusive family and Kul is at odds with his dad. They find family within each other. In another story, a closeted trans teen is living with his anti-LGBTQ+ parents and siblings, in another one I have an Asian-American teen born to immigrant parents who doesn’t really understand everything his parents did for him and he’s kind of a little shit about it, and in yet another story I have a stay at home mom who feels like she’s losing touch with her husband and daughter.

So yeah, there’s a bit of a theme of a huge family divide that can either be fixed through mutual understanding, or ‘he/she/they is toxic, get the fuck out of there now’.

Also, not to be cheesy or anything, but I totally have a running theme of the power of friendship going as well.

4. What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever had given to you?

Writer’s Block? Don’t know her.

If you can’t think of what happens in your story next or how to word it, just write whatever is on your mind so you can blow your metaphorical nose. Once the clog is gone, you will be breathing freely.

5. What are some of your writer dreams? fears?

For dreams, I want to inspire people (specifically LGBTQ+, disabled, and POC youth) by showing them that they can be the hero of the story too. Really, I just want to help build a world where there is no ‘default’ character and a story with any kind of representation isn’t met with cries of ‘THAT character can’t/shouldn’t be a POC/trans/disabled/gay/a woman/muslim because *bullshit excuse for bigotry*!’

My biggest fear is that my ability to write won’t match up with what I want to do, and I’ll end up harming those groups instead of helping them.

6. When it comes to writing love are you more drawn to platonic or romantic love?

I love me some good platonic love. I adore sweet, wholesome friendships in stories. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll shy away from romance.

Although I can only think of two stories I have planned where a romance takes center stage

7. What weakness in your writing are you currently overcoming or have overcome?

I’m working on both writing and reading more regularly. I’ve had my nose stuck in a book since I first learned to read, but after my sophomore year of high school, I just kind of... stopped reading.

I don’t fully understand why that happened, but I think a big part of it is that I pick up books based on how similar they are to the ones I want to write (because they’re all I want to read) and then I feel disappointed when it’s not MY book.

I know, I know, it’s stupid and paradoxical.

8. What do you see as your greatest strength as a writer?

I can do a grammar and spelling real good.

Okay, but seriously though. I try to make my characters complex beings that feel real. I want complicated relationships, moral quandries, and ‘oh shit’ moments of self-discovery.

People better be able to spend hours psychoanalyzing the characters up in this bitch.

9. Is there a genre you thought you’d never write in that you have? What are the genres that currently you feel you’d never write?

Honestly, not really? I’ve always loved reading fantasy and sci-fi, and that’s all I can think to write right now. If we’re counting subplots, I never thought I’d be able to write anything romantic, but then Jude and Kul came along and whOOpS!

Currently (and probably forever and ever until the end of time) I will never write erotica. Not because I think the genre is ‘inferior’ or whatever (it’s certain to present its own unique challenges, and I’d assume is as difficult to plan and execute as any other genre), but because I am extremely sex-repulsed. Just reading about two characters making out makes me extremely uncomfortable. I wouldn’t be able to do it.

10. What kind of characters do you struggle to write? Why do you think that is?

Oof, uhh... probably really crafty inventive characters. I don’t know enough about the way things work to come up with a rube goldberg on the fly.

But I’m going to have to learn, because guess what kind of character Kul is?

11. Who or what was your biggest motivation to start writing? Is it still the same today?

Okay, so this was a whole process for me, and I kind of have to write out the whole story now. Sorry not sorry.

I hated writing up until one particular assignment in the fourth grade. It was a very specific turning point for me. I had been creating fan characters for awhile before this happened, but what I didn’t realize while crafting their (not so) carefully thought out backstories, was that I was moving along the writing process.

So we get an assignment. We have to write a story about a quest in the fashion of a Greek myth. There must be a character who is sent on a heroic journey to do a thing, and there must be exactly three obstacles that get in the way of the hero’s goal.

I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, but I do recall that it involved my Sonic OC, Crystal Amber Fox. She was an anthropomorphic fox with ice powers and pieces of amber embedded in her body because I thought it looked cool, I guess. She was also the princess of the ice kingdom, and her parents sent her on a quest to... I think slay a dragon? I think she also had to take the prince of the fire kingdom with her (a black hedgehog with flame designs on his quills. Aptly named ‘Flame’, if I’m remembering right. Also, I think he was actually someone else’s OC that I saw on DeviantArt and subsequently went ‘Hey! Crystal should date him!’ To the creator of Flame the hedgehog, whoever you may be, I am deeply sorry for stealing your OC and putting him in a Greek-inspired epic without your permission).

Anyway, there was a swamp and a magic sword and a dragon that they were supposed to slay, but I doubt they actually did because I’ve always had a huge soft spot for dragons.

So it was fourth grade, and the teacher was probably expecting like, two pages.

I turned in twenty and got the elementary school equivalent of an A+.

It was while writing out that story that I first started to think ‘gee, maybe writing could be fun, actually’. Thanks, Mrs. Burpee. I owe you one.

To answer the second part of your question, in a way, my motivations are the same. I write because I like writing and that’s all there is to it.

My questions and tag list will be under the cut. :)

How old were you when you first realized you wanted to write?

What was the first story you ever wrote about?

What are some of your writing goals?

How often do you write, and do you have a writing schedule?

Who is your favorite OC that you've created?

Which is your least favorite OC?

What are three things you like about your writing?

What are three things you want to improve in your writing?

Tell me a bit about your current WIP!

What are you most proud of about your WIP?

What is your favorite scene that you’ve written in your WIP so far?

Tagging: @kai-writesstuff @quilloftheclouds @practising-writer @imaghostwriter @caz-writes @angelolytle @planets-and-prose @runningonrain

#ACOH #11/11/11 tag #tag game #writing #my writing #writing about writing #marlettwrites #marlett

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bardofv0id · 6 years ago

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Meat vs. Candy: Meat

Here’s the thing.

I’m hearing two main arguments online... a lot of people saying the epilogues are Terrible, for various reasons, and a few people saying they're Good, with a smaller but vocal subset of those people arguing that if you don’t like them then you’re obviously just expecting to be spoon-fed a fluff ending in which the Character You Like gets a wish-fulfillment storybook epilogue.

There are probably some people who are mad about not getting that. However, I think misrepresenting the range of anger various parts of the fandom are experiencing as being purely some kind of childish knee-jerk tantrum at not getting the toy they wanted is disingenuous, at best, and parallels some of the mistakes of the epilogues themselves. Note that this in no way excuses or justifies people sending the writers or anyone else death-threats or whatever the hell else has been going on.

Honestly... the Meat ending was pretty good writing, in my opinion. It wasn’t comfortable or happy or flattering in any way to a number of characters who I recognize people care deeply about, but it was nothing really worse than I expected from Earth C, based on the fundamental narrative of Lord English’s giant closed-loop system. The loop had to close, in order for Homestuck proper to occur at all. That means that Earth C is where Calliope and Caliborn hatch and grow up, far, far in the future. And that means that universe, like the others, will be destroyed by a SBURB session one day. Sorry, folks. It was never meant to be a 'happy ending'.

Meat was deeply metatextual. It was gristly and greasy and discomfiting. It raised questions about what it means to have a narrator, and whose biases are implicitly included--and I think those are very interesting questions to raise, whether or not they are particularly satisfying to someone who is also reading for the characters.

Spoilers beyond the read-more, for obvious reasons.

That said, there were elements that did surprise me. The removal of the other kids from different points in different doomed timelines, to fight with John against LE, rather than being his teammates from Earth C--but from John’s perspective, it doesn’t seem like there’s much difference. Either way, they’re not fully ‘real’ to him (and barely feel real to us, as quickly as they appear and then die). He’s from the Game Over timeline, he’s battling depression, and nobody in the retcon timeline is really quite authentic to him, either--just as to many fans, they didn’t feel quite authentic, when the retcon happened and we had to suddenly let go of the characters we'd watched grow and change, replaced by funhouse mirror reflections and could-have-beens.

I’ve also seen some reasonably interesting arguments that a lot of Dirk’s narration, in the Meat route, either sounds eerily like Vriska talking or flips back and forth between Vriska-mode and Dirk-mode, well before alt!Calliope ever gets involved. I’m prepared to believe some Serket element (whether that is potentially Vriska, or the Aranea who was abruptly displaced from her attempt at wresting control of the narrative by John) was involved there, and Dirk was not acting entirely of his own accord. I’m also prepared to shrug and say “okay, maybe it was just a narrative parallel--Homestuck does that a lot”. Some narration, especially when Terezi is involved, doesn't sound at all how I would expect a Serket-influenced narrator to sound with regards to her, in particular. It doesn’t particularly grind my gears to think some version of Dirk, in the right environment, might make a series of choices that leads him to behaving like this, entirely on his own. I recognize that it’s upsetting to DirkJake fans in particular to see their favorite pairing written like this, but it doesn’t feel wholly out of character to me for either of them to develop in these directions, given the right (or wrong) pressures and external situations. This Dirk is the culmination of a very wide multiplicity of Dirks, including at least one if not more who ended up directly subsumed in Lord English and/or under his explicit influence.

I’ve heard that some people were attacking the Meat route on the grounds of transphobia, which... I think is a rather weak argument, given that it’s recognized in the text itself, as pronoun changes are handled respectfully by one narrator-character and inconsistently by a second, who is being set up as the villain of the story. That seems like a pretty solid metatextual rejection of the action, no? Like, if a villain does a bad thing, in a story, while the hero is fighting them, do you argue that the story itself advocates for that thing? There has to be some kind of distinction between ‘character does X’ and ‘author of story advocates X is Morally Correct’, or we would never have any villains at all. Dirk's dismissiveness toward Roxy's agency grows, the further toward 'villain' he slides.

Were there some things I liked, in Meat? I guess. From a sociopolitical and cultural standpoint, the shitty repercussions of the way the retcon gang set up a planet, dumped a bunch of chess people and clone grubs, then left them to do all the work of creating its society and waiting for their eventual 'godly' return... were pretty logical. I'm actually happy that it was acknowledged, instead of just brushed off as inconsequential. It was interesting, too, to see some of the kids playing with notions of gender identity as they grew, and how their companions adjusted. It was telling (in terms of Dirk's character development) how he thought of Roxy and Calliope's gender explorations as something he could choose to 'allow' or not. Also, with how truncated most of the gang's personal development (and plot development) was in Homestuck proper ('thanks', retcon!Vriska), I think it kinda made sense how stunted and incapable of like... dealing with regular life in a functional way a lot of them seemed. Jumping straight to teenage 'godhood' didn't make them experienced or smart. It's sad that all of them just kind of... stagnate there, but Earth C has always felt incredibly stagnant to me.

Retcon!Vriska getting swallowed by the black hole was at least thematically fitting, though I'm wondering why she is using such Seer-themed language, suddenly. I also like that the wallet is finally back in play. Rose and Dirk's philosophical debate about individuation and free will is delightfully creepy, given the themes of the story. There are moments, within the story, that the turns of phrase and the humor just hit me full in the teeth and remind me this is Homestuck, and I do love those moments. And of course, my xenobiological worldbuilding interests enjoyed that apparently, earth onions are quite toxic to trolls.

Were there things I didn’t like in Meat? Yeah, of course. I don't particularly like that John, an Heir of Breath--one who is innately positioned to awaken Breath, freedom and motivation in the people around him--callously shoves an unresisting teenager he's barely met into a refrigerator and just leaves him there, apparently convinced he deserves it.

Did some of the things I disliked relate to the storytelling itself, rather than just how characters were characterized, or what actions they took? Yeah. Why are we still out here queer-baiting with Dave and Karkat? Years have passed. They have spent literal years sitting 1.5 feet apart so it's 'not gay'? I sincerely don't think this pairing is actually healthy or beneficial to either of them, the way it developed in canon, but come on. Then, they still balk and drag their feet unless it's being narratively pushed on them by someone else. It's just painful to watch.

I also take a certain level of personal offense as a Tavros fan when the narrative goes out of its way to repeatedly harp on Tavros being useless and no one giving a shit what he's doing. Ghost Tavros was awesome, okay, and was personally responsible for gathering the ghost army, so fuck you, Vriska-coded narrator. You have bad judgment. But that is not a crime of writing, if it is an intentionally biased perspective and not just writers taking cheap shots at a character they don't happen to like. I'm just incredibly tired of it being done habitually and collectively, as a fandom, to that character in particular. Furthermore, I'm really discomfited by the way Tavros's development (am I the only one who remembers him dancing and telling Vriska to suck it?) is completely ignored and de-legitimized by having him immediately fawning on her, trailing around after her, hiding against her shoulder, etc. Tavros was a victim of emotional and physical abuse, at Vriska's hands. Can we just agree to stop narratively forcing victims back into contact with their abusers, period? It's not a good look.

Moreover, there's the whole misogyny angle. When does a story about misogynistic characters (and narrators) doing misogynistic things while misogynistic shit narratively happens start being a critique of misogynistic tropes rather than a tired old rehash? Every step Jane (allegedly a strong, independent woman, though also stepping into her dictatorial role as 'Heiress') takes is either dictated by Dirk, sent into a complete tailspin that upends her confidence by Jake, or verbally decried as factually wrong and/or stupid by Dave and/or Karkat. Rose and Kanaya both have their agency overwritten and end up separated from each other through the actions of Dirk, and Rose becomes an extension of Dirk, losing her very selfhood. Jade is treated as an accessory to the DaveKat trainwreck, simultaneously discounted as actually emotionally relevant and blamed for its ludicrous problems. She, of course, also ends up having her agency overwritten as she's plunged into a coma and possessed, prevented from actually having reactions to the things that are going on, or taking action for herself. Borrowed!Rose and Jade are KO'd almost instantly in the fight against Lord English, and become either literally erased, or dead weight for a male character to drag around until it's no longer convenient. Terezi admits to wasting a huge amount of time trailing around after Vriska--who was an emotionally abusive gaslighter to her, on the retcon!meteor. (And we're back to victims being constantly evaluated according to their proximity to their abusers again.) Then, she's on to redirecting herself into some quest on John's behalf, instead. She's still not living for herself. Finally, you show me an Aradia who would ever, ever be concerned about 'saying more embarrassing stuff' around Dave, or thinking of him as an ‘outrageously cool dude’, and I'll show you a bridge I'd like to sell you. That ain't any Aradia I've ever seen. So who’s narrating there, Dirk again? A third party?

Other weird things: apparently Jane's kidnapping in the snapchats just... never gets explained or referenced again? I went back to reread those, and they connected to Meat even more than I realized at first. I guess Jane grew up to be... exactly what she was raised/groomed to be, which is *uncomfortable* but not particularly shocking. I feel bad for people who were hoping for happier endings for the human kids, but I don't think I ever really expected Homestuck to serve up happy endings. I don't buy that things in the snapchat were just thrown in at random, though. Those elements were there for a reason, and arguing that everything in the snapchats were connected to the epilogues EXCEPT that one major extended plotline doesn't make sense. Especially when it visually and narratively seems to be a direct link to the events of the Meat storyline.

Also, where the fuck are the sprites? We never see or hear from Jasprosesprite, Gcatavrosprite, or the Nannasprite(s?) again. I’m not sure anyone cares, but. Uh. Yeah.

I have other thoughts regarding the classpect-coded language that crops up pretty frequently in the epilogues, but I think I will devote a separate post to that, if I get around to it, given that this *is* at heart a classpecting blog.

So anyway, Meat ends, it's depressing and futile and grim, I get it. I don't like every element, but it hangs together as a story with a narrative, overall.

Then we get to Candy.

Hoo boy.

I’ll tackle that one next, but as it was considerably more upsetting for me to read, rereading it for fact-checks and commentary is going to be a lot harder for me. I’ll get through it here sooner or later, though.

#homestuck #upd8 #upd8 spoilers #homestuck epilogue #epilogue spoilers #spoilers #tw: abuse #tw: misogyny

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golivethemagic-blog · 5 years ago

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So I have Feelings About Toy Story 4

So. Hello. It’s been a while since I posted here, huh? Like usual, I’ve been skeptical on Disney as a business: ensuring there will be less movies made more expensive by devouring the competition, not letting Galaxy’s Edge Cast Members tell people where things are outside of Galaxy’s Edge, their anti-union policies…nothing they have been producing lately has felt interesting to me. Tumblr has also gone to shit and over half the blogs I used to follow are gone, but I still like it a hell of a lot more than any other social media site. I still use mobile, but mostly to transfer images from my phone to my computer.

But I saw Toy Story 4, and I have feelings about it.

Disney sure is on a trend of writing movies that have nothing inherently wrong with them but leave the fanbase screaming. While I have no interest in associating myself with the toxic and childish Fandom Menace, I can sympathize with them. Star Wars was a series that they had invested a lot of time and emotional energy into, and to see the series take such a left turn—old characters die or change their characterization completely, new characters take center stage, the black and white morality of the series become much more grey and complex—makes you feel like it was all for naught. This doesn’t excuse ANY of their actions, but I digress.

Toy Story is my Star Wars. And Toy Story 4 is my Last Jedi. And I have feelings about it.

Let’s talk about the good things first. Toy Story 4 is an absolute masterpiece in terms of CGI animation, and even animation in general. I have no idea how animation can improve from here. Most of the time when there was something onscreen that I hated, I was just watching the textures of characters, or how they moved around. The plans the toys hatch in order to move around and save the day are some of the strongest writing this series has ever had. The villain was excellent; just as sinister as Lotso or Pete, but still human (for lack of a better term) and able to be sympathized with. Forky is great, and the montage of him and Woody just walking down the highway was my favorite scene in the whole movie.

It’s good to see Bo Peep back. Her being missing was one of the things I really hated about 3. But I really dislike her redesign. It feels like the creators thought that, in order for Bo Peep to be a strong female character, they needed her to be a Strong Independent Woman. Bo Peep in the first two movies was already a strong, competent character--the fact that she was not an action hero does not change that. She was always kind to the other toys, she worked alongside them despite being so fragile, and she took control of the room when Woody and Buzz were gone. The prologue of the movie showcases this quite well. But also the prologue requires wild leaps of logic in order for the story to start and for Bo Peep to be missing during 3. Yeah, she was not Andy’s toy, but Andy still played with her and relied on her like any of the other toys, and furthermore, Andy’s toys were her friends. The whole movie I was waiting for Bo Peep to have a wild make-out scene with Woody like she did in the first two, but it just never happened. Because the nature of their relationship had changed so much, it never felt quite as romantic, no matter how many times they relied on Woody looking at Bo lovingly while she was looking at something else (aka, my favorite romance trope. They used it twice.). Now I get that there are 9 years of separation between them, but it wasn’t like there was any bad blood between them before.

Speaking of wild character leaps, all of the characters seemed to take one at some point. Andy’s toys mostly took a backseat, particularly Mr. Potato Head, who had to rely on archival recordings for his voice. Buzz and Woody spend almost no time together. But we still have Buzz thinking his inner voice is literally his voicebox (Buzz is dumb, but it’s been 20 years. He should know something), Woody sulking that he isn’t the favorite toy anymore (despite, I dunno, THE FIRST MOVIE BEING ABOUT THAT), Bo Peep accusing Woody of caring more about a kid that doesn’t really like him than caring about his friends, and tons of other small things that didn’t really make me like any character. Towards the end of the movie, Bo Peep asks Woody what’s so important about saving Forky, and the fact that Woody says anything other than “Because he’s a toy, and no toy gets left behind” shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Woody’s character.

And then THAT ENDING…strap yourselves in, kids. I need to talk about spoilers.

Very quick final thoughts for people who don’t want to read under the cut: Toy Story 4 is not a bad movie. It’s a wonderfully animated movie full of action and heartache alike. But’s it’s poorly told. I can’t recommend this to longtime Toy Story fans, but admittedly, it probably wasn’t made for us. There’s a whole new generation of Bonnies to play with now. If you ignore all the character history behind it, it’s fine. But I probably won’t be giving this another watch.

So. At the end of the movie, Woody decides to stay with Bo and travel the world. He says goodbye to everyone and gives his Sherriff badge to Jessie, effectively making her the new leader of Andy’s toys (although Dolly was the leader of Bonnie’s toys and I don’t even think she was in the RV but whatever), and they go their separate ways. On paper, it is a great way to end the series. It is the end of the friendship of Woody and Buzz that was forged in the first movie. Woody isn’t dead or anything, but there’s no possible way that they can get back together except for extreme circumstances. It is the end to Woody needing to be someone’s toy in order to feel worthy. It is the perfect use of the theme that it is okay to say goodbye and let go.

But here’s the thing: I hate it.

Like I said before, Woody’s whole first movie was about him dealing with the fact that he was not the favorite toy anymore and learning to get along with Buzz despite that. Why is not being Bonnie’s favorite such a big deal? Furthermore, Woody admits that he was made “sometime in the 50s”. Let’s be generous and say that he didn’t even become aware until his toybox was opened (debatable throughout the entire series, but sure), and let’s be even more generous and say his box wasn’t sold until the 70s. Who was Woody’s original owner? Why wouldn’t Woody feel bad about leaving them? Why wouldn’t he have experience dealing with the loss of a kid in 3 that leaves him okay to move on in 4? Or why wouldn’t he bring him up as well if he did have problems? Woody was an important doll to Bonnie, even if he wasn’t prime playtime material, because someone had given him to her. Wouldn’t she notice he was missing? And considering how Andy switched back to playing with both Woody and Buzz, wouldn’t she eventually switch to wanting to play with him? Also remember Toy Story 2, aka the Best One? In that film, Woody seriously considers going to Japan and becoming a collector’s item. But he listens to his show’s version of him sing the theme song, and he realizes how much he’ll miss his friends. Sure, context is different, especially because of Andy, but I feel like it adds to the same point: Why is Woody leaving his friends? Why do we have to have such a sad ending to our childhood franchise? whY aRe yOU ruINinG my C h I l D h o O d pIXAR

The ending feels forced. It feels like they wanted to end the series once and for all. I may not like 3 very much just because of how cynical and sad it can get, but it at least gave us a happy ending. Now? Screw you, Woody and Buzz are a thousand miles away and there’ll never be a Toy Story 5.

With all of this said, I don’t think there was a version of this story I would have liked. I had no interest in seeing the series end with Toy Story 3, I had negative interest in seeing the series end with Toy Story 4. Apparently, there is a Bo-Peep series in the works on Disney+. I think I would have preferred that as a sequel. Instead of being a feature-length film, make a series of short episodes about Bo Peep travelling the world, helping lost toys, and maybe even piecing together where Andy’s toys could have gone. It would have cost like half the budget, and it would have everyone interested in a Disney+ subscription.

Toy Story 4 is not a bad movie. It’s a wonderfully animated movie full of action and heartache alike. But’s it’s poorly told. I can’t recommend this to longtime Toy Story fans, but admittedly, it probably wasn’t made for us. There’s a whole new generation of Bonnies to play with now. If you ignore all the character history behind it, it’s fine. But I probably won’t be giving this another watch.

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#rae reviews #toy story #Toy Story 4

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