#and they take the bait every time

[qqueenofhades]

I'm sure it's only a coincidence that a few days after Putin says Biden "needs to be undermined from the left" to help Trump win, noted Russian agent Jill Stein, who the Kremlin already extensively promoted in 2016 in the successful effort to hurt HRC, and who already endorsed fellow pro-Russian tankie Cornel West, jumps back into the 2024 race as the "Green Party candidate" talking about how "the two-party system has failed us."

For the love of fuck, let's not do this again.

[collophora]

Do yourself a favor and go read the entire fanfic work of @fanfoolishness

(In order: Under sun and shade, Blind Side, and Breathless (patching up is one of my fav too, I just had no cool sketch idea for it)

[vero-niche]

ooooh i see. i see how it is. okay. yeah right right. hm. im not getting out of this one huh

[catgirlxox]

Girl, it's 2024 and this guy think he's funny 🙄😒

are you fucking serious

and ofc it’s about Duped 🙄 someone in the comments said it’s Ben vs The Writers and you know what yeah. Ben gets dragged through the mud with a badly written plot line but he himself isn’t a badly written character. And this episode ENTIRELY ignores who he really is in favour of making him the bad guy for “conflict.” If we want to be mad about bad writing how about we acknowledge that first. Even the episode itself does that considering they have to make Ben split his personality into three parts to make him look like “the worst boyfriend in cartoon history.”

[mercuryinjune]

sick of my arm getting tired while jorkin it i wish someone would just do it for me :-(

[megan0013]

Green

WIP Guessing Game

“Aren’t you going to answer that?”

Nomura quirks a brow and glances down at the phone on the table, then back up to the other side of the booth where Strickler’s got a lanky green arm slung around Barbara’s shoulders. There’s zero space between them and they keep glancing at each other with what can only be described as heart eyes, and it’s all so much sugary sweetness that it kinda makes her want to vomit a little, actually.

[derpinette]

when i exchange a message whether i receive or send one i have to immediately shut off my device & walk some laps for a few minutes to shake off the adrenaline rush

[whiskeyswifty]

.

[demigod-of-the-agni]

I'm indulging you. Tell me about one character you hate and what you would do to change them into something better.

the flood gates have OPENED

the winner of worst character ever is Jun Wong

Most people on this round rock don't know her, or flat out refuse to get to know her, but that's okay. It gives me more reason to really tear into why Jun Wong as a character, as vehicle for a narrative's ideals, sucks.

Simplest terms: She's from the HTTYD spin-off show Dragons: The Nine Realms, is one of the main characters and is the main love interest of the protagonist. The thing is, she is terrible at everything she does. She infuriates me. It's like she is personally setting me on fire and throwing me into an abyss of hate. I just can't /stand/ this girl (read on to find out why).

It's not so much that I Hate her, it's just that she has so much potential but is casually written off as the "love interest" or the "quirky girl" with no defining traits aside from physical ones (like- okay, purple eyes? She's not even wearing contacts, it's clearly genetic because her brother also has purple eyes, and...East Asians don't typically have purple eyes?? it just looks unnatural on her, but I digress)

Back to the "casually written off" point - the studio themselves, Dreamworks, doesn't care for Jun or her character or her arcs. They don't care for her attributes or what she contributes to the entirety of Nine Realms series, aside from being a cheap Astrid Hofferson knock-off.

It's also ESPECIALLY clear that the show does not delve into her heritage very well, or when they do it's all very standard stuff (if not heavily based on racial stereotypes): "intergenerational trauma!" "tiger parenting!" "wanting to do her own thing!" I appreciate the idea, it's just that the execution of it is god-awful and terrible. The Jun-centric episodes that focus on these issues have little to no impact on her character. They're quite literally one-and-done episodes. They're not even filler episodes - if you take all her episodes out, nothing in the plot would have changed, nothing in her character progression would have changed. She still whines and complains and is still the same person she was when she was first introduced.

Fortunately for us, Jun is not a lost cause. Her character can be salvaged and be made so much better!

What I think should be done in order to improve Jun's character is to first change her character design. Let me tell you: seeing her final design in the show when the very first trailer came out made me feel weird (purple eyes bruv). But seeing her initial designs made me want to bawl my eyes out.

(IDs are in each image)

Literally look at her design. She looks so cool here. She honestly looks so much more nicer to look at than what we get in the show (doesn't help that the animation is so stilted). These designs have so much PERSONALITY in them whereas Jun's design in the show is... uh........

bruh i don't even know lol. it's just not a good look for her. I really wished they went with one of the other concept designs. Maybe not the ones with the dyed hair because it Will play into the Rebellion Asian Girl stereotype (since the show can't handle nuance if it was handed to them on a plate alongside a note with detailed instructions) but any of the other hairstyles and outfits would have 1000% translated better. The final design screams Basic Girl With A Purple Colour Palette and god I'm so bored of it. nothing about it is interesting. With the other characters there are other things that draw my eye to them, or make my attention last a little longer on them when they are the focus of a shot, but Jun? Jun's design is so plain. It's like slapping a slice of cheese on a really smooth ass and seeing it slide right off. No I am not ashamed to use that comparison because that is what I feel all the time when I look at Jun. Get a boring design, get bored reactions (and unhinged comparisons).

But honestly, the truly best way to really elevate her character is to, you know, do more research on her heritage and her background. East Asian cultures are RIPE with a variety of stories to tell - tying her connection to dragons via her love for stories (and consequently stories being her only connection to her distant father) is such an interesting facet of her already-established character to me!! Why not continue exploring that?? HTTYD has always been about family and friendships, so why not focus on what's Not present in her life: her father? He's still alive, mind you, but for reasons unknown has distanced himself from Jun, and Jun still desperately craves for him through her love for mythology - why???? what did they do together??? Why should I care about Jun's love of myths and the world beyond mortal comprehension??? Contrary to popular belief, this information MATTERS!!

(Also we need to do More Research in general. The Tarot Card Incident in S1 will never not get on my nerves because GOD you couldn't have picked a more easier thing to research!! You could become experts within days!! And yet you still got it wrong!!! And EYE am not even a Tarot card expert!!! The Tarot cards are literally never brought up again after the first five episodes of the show, so there goes another facet of Jun's character down the drain.)

Additionally Jun needs to be given authority over her own character progression. So far it's always been A Person Is Opposing Me And I Have To Overcome That. They Don't Like Me So I'm Gonna Make Them. She's constantly being taken advantage of in her own episodes (S6E3), and it becomes more of race to the viewers on whether or not she can actually pick up borderline manipulative behaviours. (That whole episode was. uh. red flag after red flag. I hated that episode.) It is a disservice to the character to constantly place them back at square one after every victory, and I become more frustrated for Jun than by her actions. Maybe it's because it is set in stone for her to be the Astrid to the protagonist's Hiccup; they damage her authority and independence to benefit the status of the hero (who is most absolutely a fuckwad, but we can talk about him another time).

There's also an annoying inconsistency in how Jun's quality as "mystic nerd/quirky girl/smart one" manifests in the show. Like, it's so obvious that she's capable of critical thinking and using her prefrontal cortex and making unique connections with the world around her she couldn't be anymore neurodivergent if she tried; I'm more inclined to believe that she can pick up a variety of skills in a matter of minutes just because she wants to. She is Actually Smart sometimes, but the show itself disregards this and dumbs her down and gets her into stupid situations (like the aforementioned Red Flag episode). And I honestly don't know why (racism. god forbid having a woman of colour make her own decisions). If you want to have her be the Quirky Girl, let her be Consistently Quirky. I want a Quirky Girl who knows what she's talking about and refuses to be bogged down by other people. Let her be Silly please.

So. yeah. I'm more annoyed with the fact that Jun Wong has a TONNE of potential as a character but literally with every chance she gets to shine said chance is flushed down the toilet and spat out into a tar pit.

We could have had a complex character who turned to stories and myths both as a way for her to escape the expectations of her overly-demanding mother, and to connect with her absent father.

We could have had a complex character who overcomes her beliefs about herself, challenges the beliefs of the world around her, and wants to make a name for herself

We could have had a complex character who has more recognisable traits that speak to her personality and compliment the interactions she has with the cast

Make her neurodivergent this is the only fuckin way

We could have had a complex character who beautifully represents the intricacies of East Asian cultures, as well as a character whom people of Asian descent can look up to

But alas, these are things considered by people who care about the characters they create. Jun Wong is another victim of studios who "tick the Diversity checkbox and refuse to develop her character further and let her be a multi-faceted vehicle of ideals for the narrative"

also obligatory announcement:

Alex Gonzales is best girl. the only good character in this dumpster fire of a show

[fellhellion]

hobie and miguel dynamic is just leftist infighting to me.

[wickedsick]

This manga's commitment to polybait sure is impressive

[antimony-ore]

We have reached the shouting- shut up shut up shut the FUCK up at the tv like Skyler White- part of this election

[luesmainblog]

Before you tell someone to KYS, consider:

would I want my family to know I sent this?

would I want my closest friends to see this?

would I tell my therapist what I'm about to say to this person?

If I would, how would they react?

Is this a healthy response to what I'm upset about? Is there a better way I could deal with this anger?

Is this illegal where I live/where this website is hosted?

If they actually go through with it, am I prepared to face the legal consequences? Is what I'm upset about worth doing time in jail, and spending the rest of my life knowing that I am responsible for another person's death?

Am I relying on the idea that this person will not retaliate if i act cruelly? Am I prepared for a callout post, report, or potentially getting harassment sent my way?

Hackers exist. Is what I'm mad about worth my account, data, or the possibility of being doxxed? It is always morally repugnant to tell someone to kill themselves, no matter how much you may feel they deserve it. But this isn't about morals. It is genuinely stupid and unsafe to do this, even if you own a decent VPN. And always remember: Tumblr has Filtering Tags for you to block what you don't want to see. If you find yourself angry, disgusted, or otherwise upset when you come across certain content, block the relevant tag and move on like a well-adjusted person. It's right there in your settings, under your birthday.

(potentially relevant tumblr tip: the For You dashboard notoriously sucks, and you'll be blocking a lot more people and tags if you rely on it. Use the Tag Search or the Tags to find posts and blogs that you like, then follow them and use the Following dashboard so that you only see things from people you trust to give good stuff.)

[rox-of-iu]

me + mayhem going on a stupid silly hike for my stupid silly mental health

touched grass and i am normal again (lying)

[handkinkbis]

Oh sweet jesus I'm starting to hate this episode again

[designernishiki]

REALLY funny that when it’s revealed that mayumi was a spy sent by daigo, madrame straight up says “it’s a shame she’s fallen for you even though her feelings will never be returned” or something along those lines but like. specifically the use of “never”. like okay. 300th person to clock kiryu. for understandable reasons.