#a lot of them are opposed to each other actually. it's confliction central up in here babyyyy as skills love being hkjh

[volivolition]

its been cool trying to come up with personal skills. Songbird (creative outlets like art and song) is currently being smothered with a pillow by Nightingale (rest, sleepiness, chronic fatigue)

[bikananjarrus]

some thoughts on the acolyte episode 6*

(*reminder that this is my opinion and is based off a first watch. my opinion may change after sitting with the episode a bit more; and i will reserve final judgement on the show as a whole once it's all out)

let's start with what i liked:

it was nice seeing more of venestra (lightwhip!!! hyperspace visions reference!!!), and she felt the most like vernestra in this episode so far to me.

it seemed to me that they were hinting at vernestra being qimir's master, which i am not at all opposed to. also if she took a crack at him with her lightwhip and kicked him out of the order, i trust her judgement asdfsdjkl. that's my girl! regardless, she at least seemed to maybe suspect qimir was responsible for the murders, so even if he wasn't her padawan, maybe she still knows who he is/who his master was, and i'm eager to see that play out.

manny is fantastic as qimir. he has a very calm presence that i don't think we've ever seen from another sith/dark-sider before. (like the closest i think would be dooku, but dooku still had to work under palpatine, and really, who could ever be truly calm in that situation lol.) but manny's presence as qimir is really refreshing, and he definitely has a gravity to him, and it was really great seeing this calmer appearance to him after his slaughter last episode. (wish they would focus more on this duality than just playing up the "manny hot, villain hot, that's good enough." like yes, manny is a beautiful man. but i would like to see a beautifully developed character more)

some things i am disliking at this point in the show (and which became a bit more apparent with this episode):

it does not feel great sidelining the black woman lead(s) for male characters and their man pain (ie qimir's apparent tragic backstory and sol's probable Bad Shit that he did on brendok). it's fantastic having asian leads as well, but it sucks that it has to be at the expense of the leading black woman (especially when amandla has been leading press and has been advertised as THE main character).

going off that, i feel like osha and mae's development is not where it should be at this point in the show. obvs we have 2 episodes left, there's still time for more answers, and i'm guessing we're going to be building to a final confrontation between them. but i still feel like i barely understand their relationship outside of "mae is obsessed with getting osha back, and osha lowkey hates mae and thinks she's a criminal." it's just very surface level for the relationship that is supposed to be the central conflict of the show (with their relationship with sol being the very close secondary conflict).

i feel like we started to touch on the fact that, even though they have a conflicted relationship with each other, there's still a deep connection there. they're twins, and they have a shared history, a shared traumatic event from their childhood. but i barely even feel like they're sisters at this point :/ even pitting them against each other, the conflict between them feels flat. i didn't think their scene at the ep5 had as much weight as it should've, so unless there's some serious development in the next 2 eps, i don't have a lot of hope for their final confrontation being super emotionally satisfying.

and now on top of that, osha is getting more face time with qimir than her own sister. she's asking more questions than she has the rest of the show now that she's with qimir. it's um. hm. 😐 i think qimir and osha's relationship is intriguing (and amandla and manny play off each other really well), but it's with the villain that we get to see most of osha's development? idk, it just doesn't feel great. especially when mae was introduced as his student first, and they just gave us a throwaway "eh, mae didn't want what i want, i made a mistake with her" and that's that.

(i'm hoping next episode they actually give us more of mae's side of the story, but i'm also now nervous that sol's war crimes are going to take the focus, and not mae's journey from the night of the fire on brendok to how she ends up with qimir)

pacing in this episode itself was fine, but as far as how it fits into the pacing of the show overall is not great. this is a mystery show, so it's fine that there are still some unanswered questions. but it feels like there are A LOT of holes right now, and it's a lot to cover in two episodes.

like this episode didn't move things along as much as it should have, probably. everything with qimir and osha, fine. but why did we spend so long on sol's ship being stuck in space? i get they were trying to build up to him and mae finally confronting each other, but the tension was not there. and i get his judgement was clouded with grief and all that, but i just don't think it needed to take him that long to figure out it was mae. i think it would've been more satisfying if he'd figured it out right away, and we actually got him talking about brendok in this episode. like we already KNOW he was involved in whatever happened on brendok, and it was shady enough that master torbin killed himself over it. so like just tell us already please. and then spend the last 2 episodes resolving it. him talking to mae about brendok (telling her the truth) would've also played really well off of qimir and osha's scenes (with him telling her what she wanted to hear; probably some truth, definitely some lies in there too).

if the season was 12, or even just 10 eps, fine. it feels like they’re setting up for a s2 which would also be fine, IF i thought a season 2 was guaranteed. (But with how much hate the show has gotten, I can see them not investing in more.)

overall, mostly solid ep (the performances continue to deliver), but i think the pacing issues are rearing their head again, and i really don't like that osha & mae keep getting sidelined in THEIR show :/

[sunshinechay]

La Pluie and The Kind One

So I finally caught up on the show after missing last weeks episode and I have to say I really enjoyed both episodes. I love that Patts and Tai have decided to be together, not because they’re soulmates but because they love each other and genuinely want to be together. This weeks episodes starts those tentative steps, allowing them and Nara to make peace with each other and allow Patts and Nara to grieve their relationship so they can truly move on. The ending of relationships are sad and no matter how it ends, it is okay to be sad about it ending and I thought that was really nice of the show to include.

The thing that really struck me with this weeks episode, is the introduction of the fact that Tai and Patt’s grandmother (and by extension, Patts himself) used to be neighbours. That during the time when Tai’s parents were getting divorced, that Tai had someone anonymously on his side, and that that someone was Patts. It might strike as a little odd to include, given that the show has spent so much time deconstructing the idea of the soulmate. To suddenly introduce the idea that, apparently, destiny has been trying to bring them together for years, though it didn’t work out when Patts was just “the Kind One”.

These small interactions give Patts and Tai insight on each other that they might not have ever been able to know about each other otherwise. That ultimately, Patts understands Tai’s feelings better than Tai thinks he does. Patts has watched it unfold. Even though he didn’t know it was Tai or his family, he has been the persona attempting to help someone through the separation of their parents and so he is able to try and help Tai in some small way. Knowing who the other party in these interactions, does recontextulize a lot for them, but in the end, for the better, not for the worse. Just one more thing for the two to love about each other. That they would each in term attempt to help a perfect stranger through a difficult time in their lives in any way that they can.

I get where the show is coming from though and I think narratively speaking, it actually makes a lot of sense and ultimately feeds back to what I think is one of the shows central themes: soulmates are not born, they are made. The idea that it takes work and honesty and communication, the same way any relationship does. That a relationship needs a solid foundation in order to thrive, and so does a soulmate relationship.

To introduce now that destiny has been at work the whole time might seem like a cop out or render the work the show has done to deconstruction the soulmate trope useless, but I don’t think that it does. For one very important reason. The timing at which it was introduced. If the show was really trying to say that Patts and Tai are really destined for one another, this would have come up much earlier in the narrative. Perhaps not for Patts and Tai, but for the audience certainly. We would have been told, like very near the beginning, that these two were at one point, each others secret pen pals and were helping each other go through these events. But we weren’t. Instead it was introduced in episode 9 of a 12 episode drama. Perhaps if it was going to be the sole focus from here on one, it would that worse thing, that cop out and regression in the show’s message, but we as the audience already now that the end game conflict is going to revolve more around Lomfon (and likely Tein, as opposed to Tai and Patts, but I am even less articulate about those thoughts than I am about these so you know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

Instead I posit that it is trying to build on the established narrative. These events happened and yes it could be destiny trying to pull them together. I (surprisingly) don’t disagree with that idea. It’s established that Patts and Tai already have their rain connection when this happens, so perhaps it is destiny trying to put them in each other’s paths, however, like with the rain connection, it is only trying to do that. It is not saying that they have to be together, like the common belief that the soulmate connection has. It is only placing Patts and Tai in front of each other and what they chose to do after that is up to them. See again about soulmates being made. Destiny can do all it likes, but that still doesn’t mean Patts and Tai would end up together. They still need to put in the work that helps their relationship to be successfully.

This is in contrast with the destiny keychain. The apparent deus ex machina of Lomfon’s story. Unlike the Kind One, it was introduced much earlier in the story and whether the narrative choose to focus on it in that moment or not, has much more significance to the story than Patts and Tai being pen pals. Why? Because while this show wants to break down certain tropes and story beats, it does play in other ones. While we might not know who Lomfon’s saviour was, we know that it’s likely to be one of the three candidates (Tai, Tein or Patts. For my money, I think it’s either Tein or both Tai and Tein, but that’s another post for another time). And because we know Lomfon is about to become the central figure of the story, it’s about to become a LOT more important to the narrative. The pen pal subplot, not so much. It’s going to end here, maybe become a funny story that the two tell at family get togethers but nothing more.

It’s narrative importance lies with what it tells us about Patts and Tai and not about what the show has to say about the soulmate trope and it’s subversion of it. I think it’s ultimately meant to functions as an understanding moment, for the audience, for the characters, about why their relationship works when they put in the effort to maintain it. Each was willing to put in the work for a perfect stranger and expect nothing in return and their relationship can be even better when they know and understand each other.

[piduai]

i'm writing this post as an attempt to organize my own thoughts and understanding of the main political conflict in gk so it's going to be long and incoherent

there's 3 main parties that had their own separate political ambitions when it came to the use of the gold:

kiroranke, sofia, and initially wilk, who wanted to unite the russian far east and the northern island of japan, hokkaido, under a far eastern federation. their main goals and interests were concentrated in the protection of ethnic minorities in both russia and japan, preservation of their lifestyles, cultures and communities. further political plans regarding governmental structure not specified in the story.

hijikata, and eventually wilk, who wanted to revive the republic of ezo, with an emphasis on the protections of the ainu population. though i suppose the plan was to keep it structured as a republic, considering that most of the shogunate loyalists active in hijikata's time weren't around anymore, he was willing to cede leadership to wilk. they too wanted it to be a multinational federation; hijikata wanted to invite immigrants from all around the world, wilk planned to open its borders to the russian ethnic minorities from the russian east - at least those who could and wanted to immigrate, considering that for a lot of them immigration wasn't feasible due to climate. wilk outlined plans for its national currency.

tsurumi, who wanted to overthrow the japanese government and create an authoritarian military state with all branches centralized. he calls it a fight for the interests of japan and its people. in order to protect those interests, japan requires unity against its enemies; protecting itself in general is at the top of the priority list. after isolating itself for two centuries, japan was at a clear military disadvantage compared to other world powers, and vulnerable to foreign attacks. what he de facto means is that it should catch up on foreign expansion and gain more territorial advantage, as well as cheap labor on conquered areas. his plans for economic growth initially consisted of building weapon factories and selling the product overseas (thus facilitating both internal and external economy), and using conquered territories to plant opium poppies, with the resulting opium being sold to warring states. later it shifted to planting the poppies in hokkaido.

the narrative itself actually neither sides nor condemns any of them, it just presents them as opposing factions and shows their points of view.

obviously they're all at a conflict of interests, but in these few chapters in particular the aspect that is emphasized foremost is uniformity vs diversity. in tsurumi's vision, ethnic minorities have a civic duty towards the nation like the rest of its subjects, ie putting the interests of the nation above all else. said civic duty consists of complete obedience and voluntary assimilation. talk of a different way of life is absurd when the survival of the nation is at stake, and by survival he means the acquisition of power. ethnic minorities are not entitled to special protections and rights in order to continue their lifestyles because they owe their country their cooperation, be it speaking the language, changing their names, or ceding their lands for poppy plantation. if tsurumi were to make that coin it sure as hell wouldn't have any discoloration or disparity, he aims for a pristine, uniform end product.

but the ainu were always there, they're not guests in their own house, why should they owe obedience to their neighbor just because it's bigger and meaner? why should they meekly stand aside as their lives are uprooted, watching their children forget what they were taught by their parents and their parents before them? even within their own ethnic group, ainu people aren't uniform; hokkaido is large, and since ainu live in small communities and are a hunting people, each of them has adapted to the peculiarities of their own region. same is true for ethnic minorities in the russian far east. they are all different, but they are all similar too. and their differences don't put them at odds with each other, because their goal is self-perservation and defense, not acquisition of power. just because that coin doesn't have a uniform appearance it doesn't mean that it's not made of gold, doesn't have value or can't be used for its intended purpose.

[bougiebutchbitch]

https://www.tumblr.com/avelera/733616528394715136/i-feel-like-one-unexpected-side-effect-in-the

Can I ask your opinion on this post I saw? Just really enjoy your critical input on things. It’s okay if you don’t answer this, I’m not trying to demand spoons you don’t have <3 thanks for reading

Hm! I think it's an interesting post for sure. And I think it's a valid vent to make, from someone who's obviously been in fandom for a very long time!

But I do think it misses A Lot Of Things Out in order to make its point.

I do agree with their point about how fandoms prefer 'potential' ships to the actuality. But. The exact same preference for 'ship bait' is common with loads of popular ships, regardless of whether they're queer or not. Mulder/Scully works so well because they never get together. There's a reason why House/Cuddy was teased for so many seasons before it became canon (and why they broke up pretty damn quickly after becoming established). Ditto with Garcia/Morgan in Criminal Minds, who flirt constantly but never progress to romantic interest.

The preference of viewers for 'will they/won't they' narratives is certainly not unique to queer media, and it is, in fact, well known and accepted across show writing? It's not just fans of queer ships who are lured in by the premise of 'ooooooh are they gonna kiss'.

I'm certainly not so keen on the subtle inference of this post (and the less-subtle inference of the comments) that queer people should Sit Down, Shut Up, And Just Be Grateful because a few years ago, there was so little canon queer rep. Like... That is exactly how progress stagnates. Do other queer people really think we should be happy with scraps tossed to us by studio executives, and thank them for daring to write about queer relationships in the first place?

Um. No?

Keep writing meta. Keep writing criticism. Keep pushing for better and better rep, and don't let anyone tell you 'it was worse in my day, so you should be thankful now'. That sort of subtle conservatism is really damaging, especially when it comes from within the queer community.

And just... Saying that Izzy was 'never even canonically established as queer' when he confessed his love for Edward, had a clearly established Toxic Past Romantic Relationship with him, was said by his crew to be in a "toxic relationship" with him, had a whole arc about accepting his queerness that ended in him dressing in drag and singing La Vie En Rose while his ex and his new boyfriend fucked, and had ridiculous amounts of gay tension with numerous men in the show, just because he never kissed a man on screen is....

Um.

Well, it's certainly A Take, I guess. But. Uh. Buddy. I think you may need to rewatch the show. The baseline for engaging in discussion of queer media should really be recognising that a character can be thoroughly established as queer without them kissing another guy.

And just on a more personal note: I and many other queer fans loved the Good Omens ending because it was perfectly in-character. From the start of the season, we were shown that these two characters love each other, and that is a love that has developed over centuries - but they also have a fundamentally opposing relationship with authority (Heaven in Aziraphale's case, Heaven and Hell in Crowley's). We are shown the chief conflict between them from very early on, and this crescendoes to create a dramatic, bittersweet, brutal, perfectly in-character finale.

OFMD could not be more different.

Most of the criticism of Ed/Stede in S2 is wholly from a storytelling perspective. Yes, it's a canonical central queer relationship; that's great. But like.... the development of that relationship was all over the place. They moved too quick. They agreed to slow down. They immediately had sex after this.

In itself, that's interesting!! That shows a lot about their characters! There's the potential for growth and progression here! Hell, I was happy when they broke up because they had different life goals, because it felt as if they had been building towards that point all season. I wanted them to be a happy endgame, yes, but I expected all that divergent character growth wouldn't be thrown away; that we would get Ed perhaps retiring while Stede stayed at sea, with the suggestion that they're in a long-distance relationship, or that when Stede is ready, he will join Ed. That could have worked really well!

Buuuuuuut.

Instead, Stede gave up on his life goals that have driven his character from the very start with literally 0 build up or in-character reasoning. They settled down together, after an entire season (two seasons, in fact....) of a show demonstrating how and why that wouldn't work. And we're supposed to view it as a 'happy ever after'.

In short: the problem is not nearly as simple as 'queer fans aren't satisfied with a queer relationship'. The problem is with the plot, the pacing, and (predominantly) the character writing. If Ed or Stede were a woman, I doubt anyone would feel differently.

Ed and Stede both went on a self-discovery arc, but that self-discovery was entirely 180'd for both of them in the final episode with only clumsy foreshadowing (mentioning the inn in the early episodes is.... not the sort of solid character development you need to lay if you want to make a character like Stede change the direction of their life so utterly!).

[airlock]

well! that's all the jellyfish couldn't swim. might as well write my thoughts on the finale down here from the top of it. maybe sometime in not very long I'll see what the thing looks like watched all at once, the way I usually do this

so first of all: I went in without raising my expectations for yuri too high, so I'm not burned as hard about that as folks largely seem to be. that said, I did go in with a lot of other expectations, and came out underwhelmed

the escalator scene was cute, and I did really want to see mahiru and kano back to being cute and physically affectionate with each other -- but god, what a weird way to build up to the resolution, and what a weak resolution. they really couldn't have had one conversation until after the big show? mahiru couldn't even tell the gang herself about the performance arrangement? and did they really not have more to say to each other than "oops I said something thoughtless" "whoops I may have done a few inconsiderate things" "[in sync] BUT MOVING ON--". like, on the one hand this is totally how some conflicts I've had in real life ended up, but on the other hand, this conflict was gnawing at the core of the plot for three episodes, and spoke to the central character motivations of both characters involved; how was the conclusion of it not supposed to be the main event today?

I guess that's where I really set myself up, because I'd spent the whole week dreaming up what a good resolution would've looked like, what sort of stirring words would've been exchanged then. maybe I'll just have to write that myself sometime.

and speaking of conflicts that were just glided over! I didn't want to believe that the Yukine situation was headed to the old "forgive and forget because they're family" scrapyard, but I guess that's also where I totally set myself up. I'd been waiting for things with Yukine and Mahiru to sour even a little; I'd been waiting for Kano to actually really find her way outside her shadow; and most of all, I'd been waiting to find out about the last depths of her character. and today, for a ghost of a moment, I thought they might actually have Kano choke off a show in front of her, see what something like that would bring her to do. but nope! the gig goes smoothly and all is forgiven. kano ugly-cries at just being called her damn name by her mother, like we're supposed to find that touching. turns out Yukine's just reeeaaaal all-business-like, y'see, and there was nothing deeper than that to when she tossed her daughter to the fucking wolves. remember when this show was good at organically developed drama?

(and while we're at it, anyone find it super weird that Mero just gets to have a "look up at the motivating sight" moment with Kano? out of nowhere? like I'm not strictly opposed to it happening at all, but maybe it should not have been the second thing to be said or thought between them since The Punchening.)

all of it coalesces into the culmination of what'd been really bugging me for much of the back half of the show: weird pacing. things getting glided over that could've been whole episodes, missing chunks, and just the general sense that we went from a superproduction straight into a rushed mess. I wonder what happened in the back end. I wonder if this would've gone better, or just been more of the same, if this weren't a 12-episode standaloner.

at least Kano did finally find a reason to sing that doesn't completely revolve around one person! it was a bit cheesy, but it was one of her matters getting a good, satisfying conclusion. more than can be said for Mahiru, unfortunately.

I guesd that's the other thing I'd been expecting of this chapter that didn't pan out. ep9 centered on Kano; ep10 centered on Mei; ep11 centered on Kiui. but ep12 had like one really good Mahiru scene (the negotiation at the beginning) and that was it for her. not a great comeback for our out-of-focus protagonist! she delivered the final jellyfish speech that I'm sure we all knew was coming, but it felt totally unearned. wish you could've really shined on your own today, sweet jelly

Mei and Kiui got very good slices of epilogue for themselves, at least. Mei gets to be the inspiration she once needed! Kiui wasn't going to have much new to do, but she's already starting to put her dreams into practice!! those two I could walk out happy for, at least!

the graduations and the new mural painting scenes were cute, but they really just kind of happened, despite how much more of the episode they took up; again, weird pacing. and y'know, for how inportant the bonds between those four had become, I wish they'd had more to carry into the future than "maybe we'll still hang out sometimes". still, I suppose I would've been less sour on all of that if this hadn't had to be the episode that so much else was riding on, and crashed down upon. I guess that's also something I'd noticed earlier about this half of the show: the downtime scenes are ending up sort of carrying the emotional core where the main plot keeps letting it down.

oh well! much as all the unmet expectations hurt, and much as I'm not going to be able to say that yorukura actually surpassed a lot of my existing favourite anime, it's been a fun ride up to here. and I'll be carrying the better moments of it forward in my heart

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Reading An English Squire by Christabel R. Coleridge after reading Amelia E. Barr's The Squire of Sandal-Side was an experience.

Both writers have the sort of style that is engaging enough to make reading pleasant, but not so fresh or unique that it really hooks you. Both are writing pastoral period pieces of pre and peri-industrial nostalgia. Both are about English squire families deep in the North of England, and have their main plots spin around an inheritance problem. And yet their approach to the thing is so different!

Barr's story is morally blunt and very simplistic plot wise. Once the conflict of the story is set up, if you know your tropes, you know exactly what the twists are and how and when are they going to happen. The prodigal son metaphor is heavy-handed, in a way that makes it caricaturesque: mother and sister love the heir, but there are no good qualities of his ever presented that justify it. He's a lazy gambler and spendrift, but they will bend over backwards to help him out of trouble and justify him and such. Until he decides to actually settle down and marry and work a bit. Because he chooses an Italian woman. The horror! That's where the family draws the line. That's the unforgivable sin (he isn't even converting to Catholicism himself!). His "watching pigs and coveting their food" moment is his living in Italy with his consumptive wife and son. This stuff would make Charlotte Brontë say "have you considered that maybe you are being too harsh, too rude, exaggerating, even". Don't worry, though! He's not the real heir. The real heir is a good hardworking Anglican, the shades of Sandal-Side will not be polluted by nasty dirty Italian papist blood!

Now, An English Squire has a lot of simple things to it here and there, but it is making a genuine, earnest effort to understand its characters and portray them as realistically as it can. Sometimes these characters hurt each other, and collide, while both trying their best. They are flawed, capable of both generosity and pettiness. It's also unconventionally plotted, and the twists did caught me off-guard more than once. Many sad things happen through the book, and yet the general impression is that of kindness. It is a kind story, a "you catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than a barrel of vinegar" story. And that was so nice?

The premise of the story is also quite unique and interesting:

Over 20 years ago, Gerald Lester, second son of the squire of Oakby, in an act of rebellion, went on an European tour, and while in Spain, fell in love and married a Spanish woman from a wealthy, respectable family, and had a son with her. But then soon enough, both his father and brother died, making him the squire of Oakby. His wife dies while he is away, and his son, Alvar (Álvaro) is taken in by her family. A few years later he remarries, an English woman this time, and has three sons and a daughter by her. All atempts of bringing Alvar to England in his youth, failed; but now that his second son, and favorite, Cheriton, has come of age, things have fallen into place that make it possible, and everyone wonders what will happen when the stranger heir arrives.

As you can imagine, prejudice is a central theme of the story, and for all the pitfalls you can easily guess by reading that summary, the treatment is surprisingly careful and respectful. There was very evident effort put on characterizing Alvar; I may laugh that a boy of his social station would not be just named "Alvar Guzman Lester de la Rosa" but something like "Álvaro Guzmán Luis Enrique José Leopoldo Gerardo Agustín Lester de la Rosa", but for the resources the author probably had at hand, he's plausible. She's even aware of the existence of Carlists!

The relationship between Alvar and Cheriton is the central one; they represent the "opposing" paradigms of the Spanish hidalgo and the English gentleman, but the author refuses the easy way of making them enemies and rivals. On the contrary, so much of the story and their mutual development and at times survival depends on the brotherly love they have for each other. Very often the text will highlight how one character's prejudice against something pertaining to Alvar's person or background is accompanied by blindness towards something very similar in the English culture and ways.

This doesn't mean that the authorial hand is devoid of biases. They are there and pop up notoriously a few times, but I can forgive them because I see awareness and effort in so much of the rest. And the contrast with The Squire of Sandal-Side brought this into even higher relief.

[theminecraftbee]

some thoughts on things i personally liked and did not like about the finale, now that i’ve calmed down a little:

things i liked:

the ending was very cool. i like that they just... went through with what they were setting up, despite all of our assumptions they would not. they set up a world-ending catastrophe... and then it ended the world. that’s like. i will not stop thinking about that. there was no twist. no final answer. they set something up. and then it happened. and somehow, that was more of a twist than it not happening.

i still really like the aspect of the big moon plot that is “all of the hermits and their individual reactions to this catastrophe”; that’s a storytelling idea i really like. there’s this big background event happening; how do they all react to it? they can do their individual reactions and plotlines to this single thing that ties them all together, and i think that’s a neat way to do a decentralized central plot? also, as like, a human element, or a character study, the individual reactions are cool.

the animation was sick i love that they commissioned that.

on the subject of individual episodes... shoutout to joe and cleo specifically for the imagery of their goodbyes. i loved that.

i really like that the hermits are all set up differently in their endings currently. everyone’s in a pretty different place to start season 9, and i’m curious what they’ll all do with that. i think i will feel a little like it’s a cop-out if they all start season 9 normally, haha - i sort of want them to start it from where they’ve each left off their current episodes! there’s conflict and interesting stories there!

also i liked the like, investigative aspect of it. the way the viewers could follow along. i always love story elements that the viewers can also follow as they happen, as opposed to having explained to them.

things i disliked:

you know what, people aren’t wrong when they say this feels a little rushed. that almost certainly wasn’t directly the fault of the hermits - 1.18 happened, and, like it or not, they’re content creators who need to stay on top of things that are going on, to evolve with the times. they needed to switch to 1.18 somehow, and that ended up meaning rushing to wrap up.

on the one hand, i love the fact i was really surprised that they did it. on the other hand... i don’t. like, the suddenness makes sense, but none of us REALLY had proper warning.

welsknight can turn this around, but there are several hermits who REALLY weren’t done. that happens every season, but with how jarringly short this season was, the fact that several hermits weren’t done REALLY stands out. and like, i get that, thematically, the fact they weren’t done works. it’s just also... hm. hm hm hm.

things i need to think about more:

hermatrix. this one will heavily depend on what happens next. i don’t... hm. i currently mostly like it as a side-thing, or as something only central/known to/canon to to ren and doc. or, well. specifically the simulation part. like i said - i REALLY hope the hermits go through with the fact they all ended pretty differently, and if they just all take the rendoc ending. i don’t know what i’ll feel about it? i don’t know what i ultimately felt about hermatrix in general? i think i liked it? but i also think i didn’t like it? i don’t like simulation stuff because i know it makes a lot of people i like upset, and i tend to not like things that make friends upset. but i also do like it in moderation as like... a cool plotpoint? but i don’t like it as an unavoidable thing for all the hermits? but i do like aspects of it as a thing that can tie everyone together? but one of my favorite things about this server-wide plot was that everyone could also be individual? but i... you see where i’m going in circles here.

overall, i can... already see that this ending is polarizing! generally, i stand by my initial reaction: what the fuck, i can’t believe they actually did that, i love it, i can’t wait to see what this means for hermitcraft in the future. i’m just settling my Weird Feelings about parts of it. you don’t have to agree with me! my opinions aren’t gospel! i can see where season 8, like i said, will already be polarizing!

my overall opinion is positive, and i will have parts of this in my head forever now. big moon experience overall: good. you know how i’ve been this whole time about it: feral. i still need to watch more episodes i think. i am having so many thoughts, i think. man.

moon was big, wasn’t it?

[writing-with-olive]

How to write essays fast

I've been writing a lot of papers, so that's what's on my mind.

So this mostly applies to your standard 5-paragraph paper, though it's fairly straightforward to adapt it to longer (or sometimes shorter) assignments.

One of the main things to note is that essays are VERY formulaic, so knowing the formula and being able to write down your ideas in a way that fit into the formula is probably the number one way to get stuff done fast. Because of that, most of what I’m covering is breaking down the formulas so they’re more accessable.

Also this got very long. If there’s anything you want me to expand on just let me know in the comments or send me an ask/DM and I’ll make another post that goes more in-depth about it.

Structure (I hate this step, so I’ve figured out how to do it very fast becuase it’s still important)

The first thing to consider is prewriting and structure. To start, there are two major paper structures I usually consider. The first goes

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Main point #3

Conclusion

This is good if you have a lot to say on the topic, or if it's something closer to a summary essay where there's not really an opposing side. In something where there are distinct sides, (or if you have less to say to support your own side), you may want something that looks like

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Why the other side is wrong

Conclusion

The "why the other side is wrong" side is involves thinking through the MOST credible arguments the other side might make, and methodically breaking them down to show how they don't work. The stronger the argument you choose, the more effective this is.

Since I personally hate prewriting with a passion, I usually do this step very fast and end up with an outline that looks like

Intro [insert thesis statement]

P1: [three word summary]

P2: [three word summary]

P3: [three word summary]

Conclusion

(thesis statement, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion tips are all below the cut)

Usually, this is enough so when I look at my outline, I can see what I'm trying to focus on for each paragraph - and do so without straying from my main point.

For the prewriting, the main things to do are identify with basic structure of the two will serve your purposes better, and write a thesis statement that solidly supports your argument.

Thesis Statement

There are so many guides about creating thesis statements that are powerful, but I'm just going to quickly go over how to be fast about it.

The first thing to know is that a thesis statement is usually a complex sentence: it's your entire essay distilled down to a single line. The general formula I follow goes something like this:

"In their [media type] [name of specific piece], [creator's full name] explored/demonstrated/other verb [theme you're going to be arguing about] demonstrated/using/as evidenced/as shown by [example 1], [example 2], and [optional example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“In his short film Job at Place, David Davidson explored the manifestations of human stupidity through the absurdity of the main character’s home, school, and office.”

Or, if you're writing a historical piece, it might look something like this:

"In [place/time period], [thing you're arguing was happening]: they had to/the conditions were such that/other thing to set up a list [example 1], [example 2], and [example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“During the Tusken Invasion of 32nd century Tatooine, it was the lives of the children that were most affected, from their social development and connections with others to more personal struggles they didn’t yet have the tools to overcome.”

The examples you give are going to correlate to your paragraphs - example 1 is for body paragraph 1, and so on. 

Introduction

I like to think of the introduction as a funnel that gets more and more specific.

First, write a broad statement that touches on whatever theme you’re referencing. 

Job at Place is about human stupidity, so something like “while great minds have flourished throughout the ages, so have the not-so-great.”

Tatooine is about war, and about child development, so something like “children’s development has always been impacted by the state of the world around them.” or “war has many effects, many of which impact those not directly involved with the conflict.”

The idea is that it’s a broad statement that can almost be looked at like a universal truth.

Next, you’re going to go deeper - two sentences that narrow down the time and place you’re talking about specifically, and how that time and place fit into your universal statement. 

The fourth sentence gets even more specific - introducing how the thesis sentence fits into your first three sentences.

Then the last line is your thesis statements. 

Body Paragraphs

Your three main body paragraphs all follow the same formula. (I’ll get to the “why the other side is wrong” paragraph in a minute)

The first sentence you’re going to want is a topic sentence. For this, you’re going to want to look at the example you gave in your thesis statement that corresponds to this paragraph, and see how it relates to your central claim. 

If we’re going with the Job at Place example from above, for the second paragraph, you might open with a line like:

“A striking characteristic of Davidson’s short film was the abnormality of the main character’s school, used to showcase exactly what happens when poor decisions get taken too far.”

Everything within the paragraph will then back up the claim you’re making in the topic sentence (which in turn is backing up your thesis). 

For each paragraph, you’re probably going to want about three pieces of evidence, either in the form of direct quotes (plucking words directly from the source) or paraphrased quotes (summarizing what happened in your own words). The quote should be used to directly support your argument.

After each piece of evidence, you’re going to want about... twoish lines of analysis (this number can change as you need it to, but two lines is something solid to fall back to). 

While analysis can take all kinds of forms, one pattern you can use if you’re stuck is

evidence sentence 

what it means

how that meaning ties back into your main point

Following this pattern, a piece of analysis of Job at Place might look like:

“One of the first images of the private school is that it’s a tall spire with creaking stairs and loose floorboards. Despite this, the principal has eight personal cars parked outside on full display. While the first glimpse of the school might indicate that there is little money to care for the structural integrity, the notion is directly negated by the principal’s actions. By using these two images, Davidson demonstrates what can happen to the youth when those in power let greed carry them away.”

After you write your analysis, include some kind of transition phrase, and go onto the next piece of evidence.

The last line of your paragraph is going to transition into the next paragraph while also summing up the main point of what you talked about in the current one. (This line can also get moved down and tacked onto the beginning of the next paragraph, before the topic sentence, but I have found it tends to look less cohesive that way).

You might choose something like:

“While the school was a disaster in its own right, it wasn’t the only example of human folly.”

If you’re writing a “this is why the other side is wrong” you’re going to want to think about the MOST compelling arguments the other side could make. Take the top one (or two), and figure out ways to crack them apart using evidence from your source material.

In this case, your topic sentence might start off with something like

“While opponents might say [insert compelling counterargument], their reasoning breaks down when one takes into account the evidence.”

At this point, you’re going to follow the same formula as above. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the duration of this paragraph, your point is that the other side’s claim of X is wrong.

Conclusion!

If you know what you’re doing, this is actually the easiest part.

(wait, what??????)

The thing is, you NEVER want to introduce new ideas into your conclusion. Instead, you’re summarizing your main points.

The formula I follow per sentence is:

Thesis statement but reworded (you can change the sentence structure too)

Topic sentence for paragraph 2 or 3, but reworded (I’ll explain why you shouldn’t do the sentence for P1 in just a sec)

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 3 but reworded

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 2 but reworded

Wow sentence or question (i’ll get to this too)

The idea for the middle three sentences is you don’t want them to read as repetitive, so you’re going to mix up the order so it doesn’t match the order of the rest of the essay. This will help to keep it fresh.

The wow sentence is basically the last impression you get to make. I find it’s usually a good idea to go just a tad dramatic (it sounds dumb, but it has never failed me). If I can’t think of anything, a declarative statement on whatever major theme was being discussed throughout the essay usually does the trick.

Examples:

All of this shows that in the absence of friendships and platonic love, humanity will falter.

Fiction may seem far fetched now, but if the world falls into those same mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a reality.

Art has existed for as long as humans have populated the earth; it’s not going away any time soon.

A lesson everyone must understand is the most powerful weapon isn’t anything physical or tangeable: it’s the ideas that exist in the minds of those who care.

(I told you they were going to be dramatic) A way I look at it is if you can’t imagine dropping the mic on the last line, it needs to be stronger (yes I found that plagiarized with not even a whisper of credit on Pinterest, but it works).

If you wrote a SOLID essay, consider ending with a question aimed at the reader (this will push your essay in the direction of either the positive or negative extreme: a strong essay will become stronger, a weak essay will become weaker). Questions can be a call to action or rhetorical as a means to drive home your final point. Becuase they’re more nuanced to the content of the essay, I don’t really have great examples to give you though (sorry).

Hopefully this is useful to at least some of you - good luck!

++++

Tagging:@candlemouse

If you want to be added to or removed from any of my taglists (found pinned to the top of my blog) just let me know :)

[carpisuns]

Pls tell me more of the luxy agenda

ok u literally asked for this!! lol

so this moment is where it all starts. it’s so gay. look at that.

but if u wanna know my in-depth reasons for liking this ship, read on under the cut lol

for me the core of luxy is twofold:

1. Some characters need a conflicting personality to make a really interesting ship dynamic.

2. Some characters are garbage and need someone really insightful and patient to help them get better.

Personally I feel like Luka’s potential as a character is best served when he is met with opposition. That brings out a side of him we don’t get to see often and provides a challenge he can grow into as a character. Like in Silencer! He’s a very chill dude but when you piss him off, he hisses lol. And I think that is interesting and I want to see more of what Luka is like when he is challenged. Because of this, ships like Lukanette and Lukadrien aren’t really my cup of tea personally (no salt if that is your thing tho!), but ships like Lukloe and Lukagami and Luxy intrigue me because of the personality clash. Luka’s generally very understanding, compassionate, and intuitive, so he can have a softening effect in a ship that could really benefit someone who is a little more emotionally stiff/closed off than he is. And on the other hand, someone with a strong opposing personality could have a fortifying/stretching effect on him, inspiring him to be a little more direct and active and state his needs and wants clearly.

So Luka and XY are already perfect counterparts for this kind of opposites-attract ship. And they also have some key similarities that make them potentially able to relate to each other while also still driving that central conflict. For example, they’re both musicians, but they go about it in opposite ways—creating original, organic-sounding stuff vs digital remixing (and also straight-up ripping off lol). They also both have crappy dads, but Luka's was AWOL his whole life whereas XY's basically controls his life.

Ofc for Luxy to work as a ship, XY has to have redemptive potential, which is very easy for me to invent for him based on this one moment lol:

XY is clearly a terrible person in canon lol but this 1.3-second clip provides just enough to fill in the rest with headcanons that could make Luxy sail 😌 Here are my personal favs:

XY actually is a surprisingly talented musician/DJ in his own right, but his dad discourages him from making his own stuff because he wants to stick with the formula he knows will sell. XY is basically just a face to make money off of, and deep down he is dissatisfied with his father's creative control. He wants to stop stealing and make original music instead, but because of his dad's snide comments, he's afraid he's actually no good anyway.

XY is in the closet but struggles with internalized homophobia because of his homophobic dad. Whenever he tries to talk with his dad about it, Bob shuts him down, makes disparaging remarks, and implies that XY's career and life will be destroyed if he comes out.

XY's fame grants him a wide but shallow social pool. He has lots of fans and a group/posse his dad keeps around him for influence, but he has no close friends and no one he can be honest with about his feelings. Underneath his gaudy bling and scientifically impossible hair, he is just a lonely, scared little boy 😔

So when you mix this all together, what do you get? A enemies-to-lovers slowburn that inspires character development on both sides (and a whole redemption for XY), with plenty of room both for crack/clownery and angst and hurt/comfort. And there is also some great symbolism involved, with Luka being the hero of second chances. Very tasty, in my humble opinion 🤠

If you made it this far and you're actually interested in seeing content for this ship, here's some of my fav stuff!

"Pretender" mini animatic by @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights

Macaroni mini animatic by @bugaboo-n-bananoir

Heartsong (Needs More Bass Drops) by @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights

Luka and XY's Excellent Adventure by @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights, ft amazing art by @bugaboo-n-bananoir!!

Aged-up domenstic Luxy by @bugaboo-n-bananoir

Viperxy by @bugaboo-n-bananoir

Luxy frenemies by @bugaboo-n-bananoir and @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights

Urinals by @lllluka

Luxy guitar by @kagamitsu

Luxy bike ride by @gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights

Luxy week drawings by @landturtlealyce/@daily-miracuclass

I Can't Help Falling in Love With You by @janaikam

there is actually a surprising amount of great content for this ship haha, much more than i could fit here, so i would recommend checking out the #luxy tag for any of these blogs 😎 also @janaikam created @luxyweek earlier this year, so you can check that out too!

this was probably much more than you bargained for but you did ask for it and i was not going to turn this opportunity away :) lol

[balillee]

my unpopular dsmp opinions, some of which genuinely should be popular

c!dream has crossed the moral event horizon and is irredeemable. once you cross that threshold, you're no longer a 'morally grey' character.

pre-recorded, heavily produced lore killed the lore. it was cool, sure, but you completely misunderstand the magic that the smp had when people watched it initially. the story is improv and that's how we like it. we can tell the cc's have lost interest in it, you can admit that to us, we'll understand, just stop lying to me.

c!dream's pov isn't necessary to understand his character or his motivations. if you've watched literally any c!primeboys stream he's basically spelled it out for you.

i don't understand how fans can dislike l'manberg or have claimed to be against it since the beginning. i honestly don't get it. what's so bad about wanting your own spot where you make your own rules and skirt accountability that has been used to technically oppress you before - and, before someone who never saw the earlier streams tries to disagree with this, the og l'manberg crew were imprisoned for shit that everyone else on the server was practically encouraged to do. also, what do you have against fun and happiness?

i think some of you forget that 'hybrids' aren't a thing, discounting c!ranboo. there's no piglin hybrids, c!techno is just a pig. there's no avian hybrids, c!phil is just a man with wings. there's no creeper hybrids, c!sam is just a creeper who's indecently exposed from the hips down. canonically there's no hybrids, and therefore no hybrid discrimination. people ran with that concept too much.

the loss and the fanon rewriting of the early lore up until pogtopia has ruined fandom perception of c!dream and the og l'manberg boys. c!tommy is more morally white than you think he is, and c!dream has always been a villain - he massacres and he kills and he destroys and he schemes and he always has broken his own rules. no wonder the boys wanted their own space after how they were treated.

i think ranboo oftentimes forgets his own lore. he brings stuff up that c!ranboo may have done, such as exploding the community house to frame c!tommy, holding onto Cat, and it goes absolutely nowhere. we've gotten all of these developments in his story but they have never been expanded on, and we're nowhere closer to figuring out his relationship to c!dream and what his other side is and honestly i see no hope that we'll be any closer to knowing even by the end of the year.

your characters don't all have to be morally grey for the story itself to be morally grey. this is fiction - some people can be nothing but evil and others can be nothing but good. being purely good or evil doesn't mean that you're one dimensional, either.

c!dream apologists have ruined c!dream for me. he's not a good person. how about you let me enjoy a villain for who he actually is, rather for than your percieved woobified ragdoll you pass off as c!dream.

the story was better when there was a central writer. it was brilliant back when wilbur wrote it to be that the environment drives the characters and the story, and it was really good in early s2 up until techno's execution day when it was more character driven. since then, the amount of autonomy people have over their characters without any central 'director', as it were, has been a detriment to the story overall. there needs to still be one overarching figure or director or writer.

not everyone is a main character. just because they have a pov, doesn't mean they're a main character. some characters have such little impact on the overall plot and describing everyone as a main character oversaturates the story and makes some characters seem more important than they are.

the egg lore had so much potential up until it didn't. all that built up threat that we were expecting and we still don't even know what the egg wants really other than just controlling people. does it hatch?

genuinely, if there's no major plot developments by the end of the year (and let's be honest, it's a very big possibility at this point), a few of the more prominent members of the server should do a podcast style stream talking about where the story would have gone, because at least then we would have gotten somewhat closer to a conclusion.

c!techno is a villain and an asshole and a bad person. he stops caring for people once their interests don't align with his or if they look at him funny. he makes meta-jokes about his own tyrannical and oppressive nature. stop taking that away from him. he's a bad person. cc!techno does a fabulous job portraying that in a comedic manner and the balancing of him being a deeply flawed person with deeply flawed morals and ideas with his comedically-portrayed stubbornness and lack of willingness to hear out opposing viewpoints is incredible. i want to like characters who are arseholes for the sake of being arseholes, and who refuse to take into account the hurt they've caused either out of self-righteousness or because they don't care, so let me. he's the anti-peacemaker, LET ME HIM ENJOY HIM FOR THAT!!!!

i think tommy and wilbur's way of doing lore is my favourite. relies heavily on improv, voice acting, sprite acting and facial expressions. really shows off the acting props and they pull off the emotional moments well for the insanity of the creative medium.

i'm not a fan of fan-music. i find songs about media i'm into difficult to listen to. coincidentally i'm also not a fan of shit like slam poetry or live music/musicals/pantomimes.

the death of l'manberg killed people's motivation to go on the server casually. i've talked about it more in depth before, but destroying what was a central, driving environment for the story killed momentum and motivation. imagine in an episode of she-ra, the princess alliance just nuke the freight zone and all of the members of the horde just have to deal with it. that would be shit.

until season 3 has some momentum, i'm counting the end of the smp as january 20th. that had a conclusion. season 3 has... whores, technoblade and tommyinnit. that's about it.

i wasn't a fan of the development of c!tubbo joining las nevadas. i preferred snowchester and the walled city conflict. give c!tubbo some backbone and some badassery. also tubbo where's the fucking nuke bro if you're shelving that plotline just tell us on like an alt stream what the plan was i beg

add like 2 or 3 new people to the server so that michael mcchill has someone to talk to and so that there's something always happening on the server. it gives the og's more motivation to return if things are happening in and out of canon and it'll help with momentum, and who knows? maybe they can write their own story/stories.

i really think that c!sam is an underrated character. he's multilayered, extremely interesting, and the dichotomy of his loyalty to his job and how far down the rabbithole that's taken him versus the genuine love he has for his friends that drives him to do what he does out of wanting to do right by them is brilliant. i don't talk about c!sam enough.

STOP HAVING FUCKING VILLAIN ARCS!!! I'M FUCKIN SICK OF IT!!!! i want to see more characters who see everyone else being absolute selfish, abhorrent cunts and go 'if nobody else is going to be a good person, i fucking will'. GIVE ME SOME MORAL WHITENESS!!! IT'S INTERESTING AND MORALLY GOOD CHARACTERS ARE FUN!!!

let tommyinnit build cobblestone towers. everyone bullied him too much for how ugly they were and the one he built outside of the prison looked genuinely really nice. it gives the boy something to do.

i'm a fan of the revive book and the canon lives system. don't ask me why, but i think it might just be the morbidity of it. it adds to c!dream's god complex persona, and i think the fragility of death itself is a really fun concept. not enough fan cc's have made connections with that and c!mumza, and it could make for cool fanfic.

ranboo your house is fucking ugly. it's an eyesore

c!niki, and to some extent now c!jack and c!fundy, are boring me and ruining my mood. i think c!jack is the closest to being an actually interesting sympathetic villain, mainly because nobody else seems to realise that c!niki is a villain. not a good one imo, but she's a villain. c!jack just has the problem of starting a new project over and over and over and over again and because of the slow in momentum for the primary cast, there hasn't been a lot of recent development for him.

not really a dream smp opinion, but if philza went full geordie accent, i would love it. i want him to, in canon, say shit like 'me n ye' instead of 'me and you' and use geordie dialect. i want him to be physically unintelligible because it's funny.

i don't really know what's up with c!foolish but i think he's a dumbass. he had a while to think about c!q's proposal and then changed his mind about joining the guy to admitted to letting him die just because. moron

i wish there was more c!eret lore. i wish he was an actual king with an actual kingdom and actual subjects and royal advisors. c!eret is far too fucking cool to be the king of nothing and nobody. fatten up the kingdom and the castle with people who work with c!eret, and don't just make it tyrannical and dictator-y to prove the point of the server's 'anarchists'. make it a healthy working environment, please - if you want moral greyness, have 'anarchists' who claim to care about the welfare of the server oppose a kingdom of happy people under a fair and just ruler because their ideologies clash.

the server needs more characters who oppose anarchy in more peaceful ways, or passively wish for systems to be a part of. i think a chaos vs order conflict ending only in mutual understanding where everyone understands that they should just leave each other alone would slot nicely into the story that's been created so far.

you need to have watched all of the previous arcs to understand the story. i've seen people argue that they don't need to know about earlier lore to understand the prison, but that's the equivalent of only watching the final season of pretty little liars and expecting to understand the context of what's going on.

some characters aren't that morally grey. some characters, take c!tommy for example, are definitely on the whiter side for the morality scale, he's just an asshole. he's abrasive and rude and a dickhead but he also doesn't agree with terrorism, he's patriotic, he strives for a better world, he's apologetic, but he's also a fucking BITCH.

you can add onto this if you want, but not if you're a c!dream apologist. nobody likes your opinions

[ot3]

What's the core appeal of orv? I know the premise but why does it make you so hyped up?

OH BOY OH BOY....... i will try to be as concise as possible here but i could write without exaggeration thousands of words about why orv is good. But I guess here's the big stuff.

- Its funny, for starters. it is extremely funny, which is very high up on my media priority list. in orv, there will be incredibly grim things that make you laugh, and incredibly cringe and silly anime bullshit that will hurt you as heavily as any other media you’ve seen. 

- it executes it’s thematic arcs with pinpoint precision the likes of which i’ve hardly ever seen anything else manage to do. regardless of whether or not the themes themselves are the sort of themes you go bonkers for in media, it’s always just delightful to see something perfectly stick it’s landing in terms of the big concepts its trying to grapple with, and orv does

- it’s got fun and fascinating worldbuilding mechanics. the core concept being ‘reality now operates on the rules of a shitty novel’ means that the worldbuilding doesn’t have to function logically, it functions thematically. it’s explicitly stated in orv canon that some of the internal rules governing this new reality are objectively really stupid and illogical, but they just have to roll with it because that’s what was in the book, and i think it’s a really enjoyable way to do it. This may at first sound like a copout, where the writer is trying to excuse their own bad worldbuilding, but it isn’t. The world building is actually incredibly deeply thought out, but it doesn’t exist for the sake of rational function, it exists for the sake of, once again, furthering orv’s thematic arcs. the rules by which this universe operate do a magnificent job of strengthening the core concepts the authors are exploring. 

- it deals with morality in a really wonderful and nuanced way. there are almost no characters in orv’s extremely large cast of characters who are just explicitly morally condemnable, and almost every conflict allows you to understand exactly why the antagonists believe they’re in the right by opposing the actions of our protagonists. the central conflicts are never pure right and pure wrong; they’re always about contrasting goals, conflicting worldviews, and different priorities between ends and means. this makes the conflicts all feel so much more dynamic and engaging than those where the only stakes are physical harm. 

- the characters interpersonal relationships are some of the most interesting ive ever seen. orv is very slow burn and it takes a long time for a lot of these to come out of the woodwork, by design, but by god once they do they fucking hit. similar to the plot conflicts, the interpersonal conflicts also almost never occur where there’s one side clearly in the wrong. the characters are almost all genuinely attempting to do their best by each other, and the tension comes from the ways in which human communication is fundamentally imperfect and part of our feelings and intentions get lost in translation. it’s very heartwrenching and heartwarming to see unfold, in equal measure. 

- following from that, it’s a narrative that really meaningfully prioritizes non-romantic relationships over romantic ones as the central focus. obviously there’s shipbait and the ot3 is real and good and my friend but if you’re looking for deep complex platonic, (found or otherwise) familial, and antagonistic relationships that never get ruined with forced romantic arcs, we got em baby!

- the pacing is unlike anything i’ve ever seen before. from a purely technical standpoint, it is genuinely a fascinating case study in how to execute a narrative that is almost constantly escalating without exception. there is very little downtime or breathing room in orv, which is insane for something that clocks in at over a million words, and somehow, it still works. i’ve never felt more like a frog in a pot of slowly boiling water than i did when i was reading orv and i can’t believe they pulled it off. it’s so interesting to read something like that.

- it is a tragedy without resorting to cynicism and a very adult narrative that’s really steeped in childlike wonder. i’m a big fan of cartoons made for children cartoons made for children are my favorite things to watch because i like media that is uplifting and encouraging. but of course children’s media will always be simplified and not very relatable to an adult. orv is very much a serious and heavy adult narrative, and a deeply tragic one at that, but this is never tragedy for tragedy’s sake. it’s a very compassionate piece of media over all, that holds a lot of reverence and sympathy for the ‘naive’ optimism of children that gets stripped down over time. if you, like me, feel more like a grown up child than an adult someday, i think it’ll hit for you. 

- if you are a person who has ever gotten deeply involved in media to ignore bad things happening in the real world, which i know you are because you are reading my tumblr blog, then there is going to be a lot about orv which resonates for you. a lot of metanarrative has attempted to comment on the voyeuristic nature of media obsession and storytelling, but a lot of it does so in a bizarre way that almost seems to shame the audience for having the audacity to... enjoy the product the creators have produced for them. orv is what i can only describe as a love-letter to its own audience, and it’s really a manifesto about how engagement with media can foster genuine human intimacy, even if initially it’s something you’re using as a crutch to replace that intimacy. the closest thing to orv’s metanarrative i can think of would be undertale. if undertale made you Feel some Things, orv is gonna make you Feel some Things as well. 

- it is extremely cathartic and meaningful. i am not exaggerating at all when i say that reading it gave me the closest thing i have ever felt to any sort of spiritual breakthrough. it helped unfuck my head a ton during some very grim times and i think the perspective it offers on the value of human life is a really really good one

- its really funny i promise

- its cringe in a way that’s hype

- please read orv please not even for me do it for yourself i want you to experience what i experienced for YOUR sake not mine

[lichposting]

lenya and varaildis for the ask game!

Full Name: Just Lenya

Gender and Sexuality: nonbinary woman, bisexual

Pronouns: she/her, they/them on occasion

Ethnicity/Species: sceltrfolc

Birthplace and Birthdate: ?? Deep Winter/Late Winter 2777 AI, central-ish Aedyr

Guilty Pleasures: oversized beds with expensive bedding and ridiculous amounts of pillows

Phobias: hmmm…any form of horror relating to eyes or the midsection, she’s also pretty avoidant of direct sunlight but that’s more of a practical concern

What They Would Be Famous For: she could be a pretty good diplomat

What They Would Get Arrested For: using her mind control adjacent powers on the wrong person

OC You Ship Them With: crossing fandoms, I’d say Viranor. Vira is actually somewhat similar to her, except Vira’s response to danger or fear is to become a new person, as opposed to Lenya’s just disappearing. They’d make each other worse

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Nialamide. Nia is very adamant about controlling who has access to mentally affecting magic and Lenya would be her next target

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: romance

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: she wouldn’t like found family due to personal hangups

Talents and/or Powers: watcher stuff, lockpicking, theft, stealth, she’s an empath, cipher stuff, archery

Why Someone Might Love Them: on the occasions where she chills the hell out, she’s a very good listener and always knows the right thing to say

Why Someone Might Hate Them:

^ she’s like this but unironically

How They Change: she becomes way more comfortable with herself, and her interactions w/ the grieving mother and then w/ ondra in the white march leads her to view other people’s memories and thoughts less as potential tools and more as the intricate and deeply personal parts of life that they are

Why You Love Them: she truly is blorbo from my brain

Full Name: Varaildís Einasdottir

Gender and Sexuality: trans woman, bisexual

Pronouns: she/her

Ethnicity/Species: glamfellen

Birthplace and Birthdate: somewhere in The Land, 11 Majauton 2759 AI

Guilty Pleasures: rich foods, esp savory ones

Phobias: she doesn’t like areas w heavy tree cover, makes her feel claustrophobic (although actual small enclosed areas don’t freak her out)

What They Would Be Famous For: literally the only thing coming to mind is like one of those tv faith healers except it’s actually real when she does it

What They Would Get Arrested For: trespassing while attempting the defense of “actually officer the stars have it fated that I would go into this guy’s house and rifle through his closet”

OC You Ship Them With: hmmm…i think her idealism would balance nicely with Charlene’s more pragmatic nature (once chuck stopped freaking out about the fuckin blue elf lady in her house)

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: that’s a tough one, as (unlike lenya) she’s generally a nice, pleasant individual. maybe shelue? if they ended up on different sides of a conflict (or even just slightly different stances) shelue would just merk her

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: action

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: does “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” count

Talents and/or Powers: she’s a chanter, later a chanter/shieldbearer paladin, so all that stuff, speaks several languages, fairly good artist (usually works in brush pen)

Why Someone Might Love Them: she can actually hang, and she’s a really reliable person

Why Someone Might Hate Them: she’s not good at managing money, at all, if you shared a company card w her or something she’d spend it on something dumb on impulse

How They Change: she becomes a lot more grounded and practical during the events of the first game

Why You Love Them: she’s very fun to play as a mystical, confident character, since I usually play weirdos and losers in RPGs

[harostar]

Snk 136, 3 chapters to go

The final countdown begins. I am not ready.

There’s.....a lot to process, and I’m not emotionally ready for the conclusion. I know it is going to make me cry no matter what. Isayama has made considerable mistakes over the years, both in terms of his own ignorance re: History and Politics and choices in metaphors to use. 

But this series, flawed and problematic as it is, still manages to stun me every month.

The central argument remains with the issue of having to deal with Eren. 

To Mikasa, he is family. The boy that saved her, that inspired her to fight for herself, and that wrapped a scarf around her neck when she was cold and alone. The one that gave her a home and a family. But Adult Mikasa has been increasingly forced to confront the ugliness, the violence and hatred inherent to Eren. To peel away the idealized version of events, and see Eren for the murderous, self-righteous person he actually is. Someone that could murder another person in cold blood, while declaring that they weren’t a person. Someone capable of murdering innocent children. Someone capable of slaughtering the entire world. 

She doesn’t want to kill him, even with no other options available. Annie gives her the easy way out, by suggesting that she focus on rescuing Armin. Give her something that she can do, that she won’t feel conflicted about. Save your friend. Let other people do the dirty work.

But everyone else seems to have accepted what has to be done. Eren cannot be allowed to live. To save the world, he has to die. As Reiner once said, he is the worst person in the world to hold that power. He’s using it to commit genocide. 

Even with the world literally fucking ending, some people don’t seem ready to let go of their bigotry. Eldian refugees and Marleyan soldiers end up pointing guns at each other, while the Rumbling is literally on their doorstep. They are all about to die, but some people are not willing to abandon the old way of things. We’re left with a cliffhanger, left to wonder if the people that survived the destruction of Liberio will die at each other’s hands. 

Gabi has come such an incredibly long way. She has in many ways become the Anti-Eren, and it has been a fascinating journey to watch their parallel paths. Gabi started out as basically “Girl Eren from the other side”, a passionate youth indoctrinated into a fantasy of saving/freeing humanity while destroying all the monsters. And like Eren, she watches her home get attacked by a Titan and swears revenge. She rampages and lashes out, she kills Sasha, and she’s captured by the enemy. But then their paths diverge, as Gabi learns the most important lesson. She learns that everyone is the same, she learns of the tragedies suffered by the other side, and she experiences compassion. She is for the first time treated as a CHILD to be protected, as opposed to a disposable soldier. The people she hated, the friends of a woman she killed, embrace her and swear to protect her because she is 12 years old. Because she is a CHILD, and it matters to them that she be protected as they were not. 

She saw the Centipede-thing that is the Founder emerge from Eren, and she realizes this thing is the key. Who knows what will come from that. But either way, it’s....yeah. I like Gabi. I know she’s a huge target of fandom hate and rage, but damn has this kid undergone an incredible journey. 

Which brings us to what I think is this chapter’s MVP:

OUR QUEEN AND BEST GIRL, PIECK. (why the fuck is her name “Finger” like whut?) 

Pieck charging down the spear used to impale her Titan, transforming and then abandoning her Titan as soon as she’s attacked. Discarding Titan bodies and transforming over, and over, and over. She isn’t just a support Unit, she’s a Warrior in and of herself with unlimited stamina. She might not be able to tank damage like some of the others, but no one can compare to her in terms of Stamina. She can literally fight for months in her Titan, and she has no apparent limits on how many times she can transform. As long as her tiny, human body remains intact.....she isn’t going to give up. 

Our girl that started out just funny and quirky, has emerged as such a brilliant and determined force. She’s wise beyond her years, and has such unique strength in terms of figuring out what needs to be done and doing it. 

I fear for her survival in this finale, but man. Pieck is amazing.

Which leads us to our final big thing in the chapter.

Armin, who falls back into the old pattern of raging at himself for being weak and useless. He screams at his own body to move, to do something, to save people. He sees all his past failures.....and then he realizes there’s more going on. He’s not dead, he’s in the Paths. He’s been drawn into the center of this entire battle, finding Zeke as the new Slave that must constantly build the Titans from sand. Doomed to take Ymir’s place, as punishment for trying to use her. 

Which means Armin has been placed into an ideal location for his talents. The Colossal Titan might be a God of Destruction, but Armin’s greatest strength has always been in his ability to deal with other people. To convince. To inspire. To manipulate. To reach.

Again and again, one phrase and idea has come up. The regret of not being able to talk to each other.

Now, Armin has been placed into an ideal location to reach the people in control. To reach Zeke, forming the endless Titan army. To reach Eren and Ymir, who are controlling the Rumbling.

Armin being the narrator of the anime is not an accident. Eren has repeatedly insisted throughout the series that he isn’t the hero, that ARMIN is the hero. That Armin is the bravest of them all, that he is the one with a beautiful dream of the world. Erwin entrusted him to lead during a vital mission, and Levi saw something in him that reminded him of Erwin before the years and losses destroyed his hope. 

Armin will save the world. Not with violence and physical strength. But with the strength of his will, his love for the World, and his clever mind. 

[danasmonster]

Comparing the SKAM Remakes: ISAK (Part V)

Robbe (wtFOCK/SKAM Belgium)

The Differences:

OK let me start off by saying this is the most turbulent Isak/Even relationship yet. They lie to each other (Sander & Robbe), they yell at each other (Robbe), and they call each other homophobic slurs (Robbe). They also say “I love you” a lot more . . . 

Instead of pawning the weed off on someone else, Robbe had the weed pawned off on him

Unlike Isak, Robbe is still going through the process of finding a place to live. His mom has just been hospitalized and his dad lives really far away from his school, plus they don’t get along. 

Also, instead of Zoe (the Noora character) being in London, it’s Lisa (Linn) who is studying abroad, thus making the room available. It was a bit like the writers thought “meh, this character is just window dressing” and replaced her with Zoe, and it was nice to see more of Zoe's interactions with all the characters since she is more central to the series. Honestly both Zoe and Milan seem to really look after and take care of Robbe, more so than the other incarnations of Eskild and Noora. 

Milan is way more in your face about making out with men in front of Robbe than Eskild was. 

Both Robbe and Sander are in relationships with girls when they meet, however neither has been long term. Sander’s relationship with Britt has only been going on for six months, as opposed to four years with Even and Sonja. I think this is pretty significant because you could feel a lot of history between Even and Sonja and that is missing here with Sander and Britt. 

Robbe never lied to his friends in order to spend time with Sander, which was nice

But then he also totally freaked the fuck out after they kissed in the pool and went on the offensive with Sander, calling him a faggot and pushing him away . . . yeeek. I liked that Isak never took the hate for himself out on Even, never pushed him away. That Robbe did it here was understandable yes but I think I still prefer the orig. I mean Sanders face goddamn

Robbe broke up with Noor in person instead of just avoiding her/generally treating her like shit until they just fell apart 

I also liked that while yes the boys were creeping on the dancing girls like in the orig, in wtFOCK they were actually invited to be there as part of an actual audience. It didn’t feel as gross here.

Robbe and Sander didn’t just ditch the girls before the bike/pool scene - the girls went off on their own earlier and requested to be alone. It felt a little less dickish this way.

And OH MY GOD THE VIOLENCE! There is very explicit homophobia in the form of slurs and an actual physical attack on Robbe and Sander. No other incarnation has experienced such blatant hatred from other people. 

And what the fuck, Sander??? Sander flat out lied to Robbe when he told him he had broken up with Britt. 

There is also definitely some homophobia on the part of Moyo/Madhi and Aaron/Magnus. I mean, they actually call being bisexual gross and say they would be creeped out to be around a gay guy because he “might be into them.” That’s more than just ignorance, it’s intolerance, something that wasn’t present in Madhi and Magnus. Moyo in particular is way more of a dick. 

The scene where Sander has a bipolar episode is a little different because Robbe never tries to contact Britt, but somehow she is still there? Also her opinions on whether or not Sander’s feeling for Robbe are real hold a lot less weight considering they were only together six months as opposed to four years. Then instead of Sander’s friends and family taking care of him, he admits himself to a mental health facility. Then Jana/Eva encourages Robbe to just give up on Sander. Eeesh. 

Instead of Aaron/Magnus having a bipolar mother helping Sander understand it better, it’s Moyo/Madhi. Moyo also gives the minute by minute advice to him instead of Britt/Sonja. 

My Favorite Parts: 

I love the street art/graffiti subplot. I’ve always loved this type of art (when it is art). That first scene where Noor took Robbe to spray paint was so atmospheric, another song added to my playlist (

Fall

by The Bugg & Ina Copeland)Honestly any scene with Zoe and Milan was fantastic I liked when Milan readily admitted to going through everyone’s stuff when they weren’t home. I love the way Zoe is taking care of Robbe by making him food and just generally making him feel welcome when he moves in to the apartment with her and Milan. She was also really sweet when she made sure his wounds were disinfected after he was beaten up and making sure they were bandaged. Milan snuggling up to a sleeping Senna was great. I also really enjoyed the little taste of couple life from Zoe when she complained about Senna’s snoring. Zoe’s line was definitely on point. I don’t know how her relationship will end for her but this ideology is paramount to having a healthy relationship, period. 

“We’re a couple now but we also have our own lives”

It was really great and amusing foreshadowing when Noor replied to the boy’s saying all the chicks that go to the art school are hot with “

You haven’t seen the boys yet.

” Enter Sander.  

When Robbe meets Sander and they go around the store riding the grocery cart. It’s so carefree and happy and while I miss the pure absurdity of watching Even take all of the paper towels this scene was absolutely wonderful

The Halloween party was fucking epic.

Trick R Treat

by Josh A and Iamjakehill, added to playlistThe conversation between Milan and Robbe about Milan’s gaydar was really good, with the beginning of his response definitely tailored toward Robbe, and the look he gives him is so telling it’s uncomfortable. He was basically like, “I know you’re gay, bro.” Milan describes his gaydar as picking up on subtle signals, 

A certain look in their eyes. Or . . . It’s a bit like there is something in them that is desperately trying to get out. 

The conversation between Jens and Robbe about how sex isn’t everything was a prime example of how to be a good bro and healthy masculinity and I fucking loved it

The conversation between Milan and Robbe where Robbe admits to having feelings for another boy was super sweet. I feel like Milan was kind of taking on an Eskild/school nurse hybrid role here because he was mostly just encouraging Robbe not to keep everything inside and to be himself. His relationship with Robbe seems a bit more paternal and I love it for this version.

The scene where Robbe is actually open and honest with Sander about his conflicting emotions about his sexuality was much appreciated

The scene when Milan was describing a very butch guy on the bus becoming all soft like when he looked at him was great. Everyone melts for you, Milan 💋

Have I said how much I love Zoe and Milan??? Also I can’t wait to see Zoe and Senna’s story when I go through all the Nooras, Senna definitely seems like the best William so far. I know they break up in the last episode of Robbe’s season but I have hopes they will get back together.

It was absolutely amazing to watch Milan put Mojo in his place

The scene where Zoe and Robbe go Christmas shopping is terrific. I just love watching their friendship 

The scene of everyone opening their Christmas presents together was also adorable 

Things I Missed:

The funny, quirky little moments like the metal leg conversation between Even and Isak right before their almost first kiss or the absurdity of the paper towel scene when they first meet

The scene where the whole boy squad is together and giving Isak relationship advice. In this one is was just Jens and I felt let down that Aaron and Moyo couldn’t be there as well. 

And a shout out for Noor, who gets my vote for best Emma

Noor (Emma) kissed Robbe after he complimented her, not after he insulted her. 

Robbe also seems to have more of an actual relationship with Noor than Isak had with Emma. 

Noor is definitely the coolest version of Emma so far, both in personality and appearance. I mean not only does she look fucking great but she was so sweet about how Robbe couldn’t get it up when they tried to have sex. 

I really love the development of their relationship in this and how much more complex it is than in the original.

I also love that she and Robbe seem to have repaired their relationship and can be friends by the end of Robbe’s story

GO NOOR!!

[redantsunderneath]

DC COMICS: Incoherence as Not-a-Bug-but-a-Feature (Spoilers for Batman 89-100)

Due to the emergence of the new Batman villain character Punchline, I wound up buying the last 12 issues of Batman and reading them in a single sitting. I’ve had trouble following DC comics for a while, constantly feeling that they were in trouble since back in the mid 2000s (with a glimmer of hope here and there). The act of reading DC comics has been a frustrating experience, where individual good stories and runs were laying around in the context of a lot of things that didn’t make sense while the company’s thrust felt chaotic and ideas not well blended. Every status quo change seemed hard to figure out the rules of enough to parse the context.  We’ll get into the background of this, but my reading today of this extended stretch of comics that keeps losing the plot in favor of a fever dream of what’s happening at the moment with specific characters that refuse to cohere, it became obvious that what I had been looking at as subtext or critique was actually the text. I could see the messed up trees but was missing the the forest the universe was trying to describe.

What happens in these issues (Batman current series 89-100, I missed the beginning of the first of 2 arcs) is rolling war between the major Batman villains and the heroes (plus Harley Quinn and Catwoman), which shifts into a Joker and Joker adjacent vs. all as the Joker double crosses everyone then manages to steal Bruce Wayne’s fortune.  We meet 3 new baddies – Underbroker, whose schtick is putting ill-gotten gains beyond the reach of the legal system (with an explicit line to rich globalists drawn), the Designer, who back in the day offered the four A list Batman villains plans to achieve what they most wanted, and Punchline, who is your toxic ex’s new millennial GF who really has it in for you (there is also a new good guy Clownhunter, which is a whole different thing, and a new costumed detective that predates Batman).  This doesn’t convey the chaotic nature of what is happening issue to issue, but there’s more than one Batman hallucinogenic spirit quest, dead characters ostensibly walking around, a plan revolving around the Bat’s origin story that tells some version of it several times, and a no-nonsense declaration that the Joker, as the Devil of the Batman spiritual system, cannot die.   The whole thing has the effect of convincing you there is no definitive sequence of events, only versions.

Alan Moore’s Killing Joke is not a favorite of mine, for a number of reasons.  But the ending holds up.  The Joker has done terrible things there is no antecedent for, and Batman wonders aloud if this never-ending dance they do ends in anything but both of their deaths; can they uncouple from the unhealthy duality the cycle of which simply repeats.  The Joker responds, well, with a joke about two lunatics trying to escape an asylum.  One jumps the roof to the next building, while the other is too scared to try.  The escapee offers to hold a light while the other crosses on a beam but he says no, no you’ll just cut the light while I’m half way across.  This not very funny joke nonetheless has a bunch of resonances – BM and Joker as conspiring co inmates, BM wanting to break out, a commentary about their natures (almost a reversal of the frog and scorpion story where the scorpion won’t go because he knows how this ends), but mostly it implicates BM as the one who is enabling the cycle, the reason why it won’t end.  They both laugh uproariously, and the ambiguous final panels can be read as the fundamental realization of his complicity causing BM to kill J.  A lethal joke indeed… except, next month, we see the both of them again.  In broader context, the ceaseless cycle of the diad is reaffirmed.  This has been hellaciously sticky as an idea in the Batmen universe.

My realization of what DC has been doing is pretty banal in its pieces. Marvel has “ground level” heroes while DC has a mythos, a pantheon.  Their archetypal makeup is strong, the seven JLA members lining up with the pantheon of Greek gods and the Chakras weirdly closely.  DC has big characters that are somewhat flat which they can use tell big bold individual stories that are cool the way legends and fables are cool. But these stories require bold strokes that a bit incompatible with each other. People get attached to these iterations. Meanwhile, Marvel trucks in soap operas where the characters give you an empathetic stand in and are narratively flexible. Marvel events are usually about the writer vs. the company, asking you to sympathize or deconstruct the creative impulse amid efforts to impose control or order.  DC’s events are about editorial vs. the audience, the shapers vs. the forces of the world.  It may seem obvious, given this description, that DC’s focus is on an archetypal tableau though it may be less obvious that this tableau is under extreme pressure from expectations when trying to tell ongoing tales month in, month out (or semi-monthly in some cases). The stories are constantly compared against the big stories that have gone before, and the audience’s ideas of the characters exert pressure to push them in directions that capture “the” version they believe in.  This circle is not possible to square.

DC and Marvel both have a multiverse of sorts.  DC used to tell “Elseworlds” stories which were later tucked into pocket universes.  DC invented crossing over between “realities.”  DC’s continuity is heavy baggage and they began to have “Crises” to resolve the narrative incompatibilities.  These only made things worse as you can’t get rid of the past people have a relationship with – it will come back.  Now you have to explain that away too.  Marvel just lets it lay – forget about the iffy stories, they count, sure, just no one is ever going to talk about them unless they have an angle.  Marvel continuity is all angles and amnesia. This is just easier to do with dating and rent and your ancient aunt’s medical bills than with Gods. Marvel’s multiverse is about sandboxes that you can always dump into the mainframe if they work (and never really mention the sandbox again).

There is a shift that occurred in the industry in the 2004 to 2005 era that is less remarked upon than many upheavals in comic’s history. Marvel had gone through a period of incredible new idea generation in the early 2000s after a late 90s creative cratering but had just fired the pro wrestling inflected soul of that moment (Bill Jemas).  DC was coming off of a period of trying to do moderately updated versions of what they basically been doing all along. The attitude was “yeah we’re under stress from the combined history of these characters, but we got to keep telling the stories.” Geoff Johns was one voice of DC over the 99-04 period that showed potential - he seemed to get how to find the core of characters and push them into a new in sync directions if they over the years have lost a clear identity.  But mostly he had internalized a basic schism between something mean that the audience wanted, and something good and wholesome about the characters themselves, and figured out how to mess around with this in a equilibrating fashion.

Interestingly, the ignition point of the main forces that were going to blow DC over the next decade and a half was a comic that had virtually nothing to do with any of those main forces. Brad Meltzer, a novelist, was hired to do a comic called Infinity Crisis, which sold extremely well and was, justifiably or not, recognized as an event.  At the same time, everyone also kind of hated it because the dark desires of some DC fans were pushed forward just a bit too much for comfort and for a comic with Crisis in the name it didn’t do a whole lot other than “darken” things.  Nonetheless, this lit an “event” fire at both companies.  Marvel chose a shake up the status quo for a year, then do it again, pattern and was off to the races (I have written about this, and more, here) while continuing its Randian framing of beleaguered do-gooders opposed by rule making freedom haters.

As this was playing out, Dan Didio quietly took power in DC Editorial.  His outlook was more Bloomian – he seemed to spark off of writers who exhibited anxiety of influence. He recognized Johns was the one person they had could be promoted into something of a universe architect, starting work on two key projects from which the rest would evolve. The first, was bringing back Hal Jordan as Green Lantern and diffracting the GL universe into its own symbolic system, with parts frisson-ing other parts, and almost a Magic the Gathering color scheme of ideas. The other was to build up to Infinite Crisis, which would become the model for most of their universe changing events until the present day.

The basic frame is this: DC heroes want to be good (in a sense of their inherent nature) but forces outside form a context that makes them fall.  It’s a very gnostic universe, DC.  They  examine reflections of the concepts, invent scapegoats for certain tendencies (see Superboy Prime as entitled fanboy, Dr. Manhattan as editors that try and fail to mend things, etc), make characters violate principles, rehabilitate them, then show that the world if anything is more broken than before.  This is kind of Johns’ thing and it fits Didio’s narrative as historicval tension fetish.  But then came Scott Snyder (not to be confused with Zack) who began to work on Batman in 2011.  Since then, as much as Justice League is pushed as the central title and Lex Luthor has been pimped, Batman has been the core of the universe and the Joker the core villain.

Snyder had the same continuity conflict wavelength but was significantly more meta and able to contain multitudes than Johns.  He was the first to make an explicit mystery of how there could be several Jokers around at one time (who are the same but not, he posited 3 – man, Christians!) that seems prescient given the near future coexistence of filmic Jokers that are not able to be resolved.  I believe he was the first to begin to tease out an idea – that different versions of things in comics are not a diffraction or filter effect, a using the set of things that work best for that story and leaving the rest, but are a matter of the archetypal system of the audience coming apart. From an in story perspective what appears to happen is that multiple versions of incompatible things exist in the collective unconscious of the continuing narrative, and this is something that the characters may become conscious of.  

The run I just read is written by James Tynion IV building on the above trends.  The trick seems to be going all in on the Jungian aspect (at Jung’s most religiously epiphanic).  The Designer was a progenitor and adversary to Batman’s predecessor and his intellectual approach eventually defeated the detective… broke him.  At some point in early Batman history, the Designer brought the top four Bat-baddies together and offered each, in turn, a plan to achieve what they most desired: the Riddler, a way to achieve an empire of the mind; the Penguin, power; and Catwoman, money.  They are all elated as they await the Joker to come out.  The Joker emerges with a furious Designer on his heals and promptly shoots him dead.  He explains that he didn’t like his joke in the form of a fable – the devil offered four people the path to their greatest desire: the three chose earthly things, but the Joker’s wish was to be him, to become the devil.  The story proceeds to suggest that the Joker just exists, he is present as a necessary component in the system.   You can kill him, yet he is alive.

DC has been using physics metaphors for the nature of their reality since Flash of Two Worlds in 1963.  The multiverse as a continuity concept was their idea and the holographic universe of the hypertime was a thing.  It seems like since Dan Didio took over, they’ve been heading towards a concept of broad superimposition, of measurement effect being weak, of the universe being like a quantum computer with all possibilities coexisting and the story instantiating not one reality but a path through all the possible ones.  By making Batman trip balls through quite a few issues and relive his origin from different angles, the story is one of its own instability and the heroic task that confronts our hero is attempting to actualize the world.  The Joker is the Devil in the sense of lack of fixed meaning, of relativistic chaos, of the world not making sense because it’s unmoored nature with ultimately no knowability.  Batman, in this story, functions as a postmodern knight crusading against the impossibility of epistemological grounding.

There’s more going on, sure.  One plot is, literally, defund Batman.  There is rioting, people brainwashed by being exposed to toxic ether, people paid to go to theaters even though they will die as a result, and questions about neoliberalism similar to that one Joker movie. Punchline has no personality yet (Tynion’s not the best at that) but she serves well as a generational foil for Harley – a rudderless ideological vacuum susceptible to Joker-as-idea-virus rather than an unfulfilled MD who felt alienated due to the structures of her life and was seeking escape into structureless possibility.  The Designer stuff is both continuity play (See why they changed from goofy villains to more “realistic” ones! Look how pulp heroes informed superheroes!), a comment on the nature of a longstanding narrative (strong intentions die out as Brownian motion overwhelms momentum), and a lawful evil/chaotic evil setup of the dualism of apocalypses (overdetermined authoritarian vs. center does not hold barbarism).  But the thing that ties this to the past decade and a half of DC is the sense that the reality is fluid and susceptible to change or outright s’cool incompatibility.

This is different than other flavors of meta in superhero comics.  Grant Morrison believes the archetypes are stronger than the forces that seek to bend them.  Alan Moore wants you to deconstruct your sacred cows and probably hates you personally.  Marvel might play with self-awareness, but effortlessly resolves inconsistencies after it’s finished playing.  DC, at this point, allows you to watch the waves solidfy into symbols and dissolve, and the constant confusion and lack of grounding is more of a choice then I thought this time yesterday.  The conflict theory of DC reality has been in full swing but this looks to be turning towards a kind of Zen historicism, holding contradictory things in your mind at once. Warren Ellis’ JLA/Authority book is the nearest comparable text I can think of. I need to call this, but I didn’t even talk about Death Metal, DC character multiplicity as meta-psychosis event extraordinaire.  Comics just keep getting weirder.