#and a lot of stuff along the lines of 'all the haters are fanboys who are mad about the diversity and the women doing stuff and the jokes'

[kareenvorbarra]

alright after thinking about things more and seeing the movie a second time (even though i fell asleep for the last half hour because i went to a late showing and bought a giant dumb movie-themes cocktail at the theater) i am ready to talk about TLJ in more detail. I am still feeling pretty torn about it, there were things i loved and things I hated, so here are some lists:

things i liked

the diversity!!!! TFA did this too and again it was such a joy to watch a Star Wars movie and see all these female and non-white background characters everywhere. heroic female Resistance pilots and gunners, female First Order bridge officers, the fact that a good chunk of the Resistance leadership is apparently made up of middle-aged women, i love it

Paige Tico was great, and I loved that Lt. Connix got some lines, Tallie aka Blue Leader is my new space girlfriend 

Vice Admiral Holdo and her purple hair and flowy clothing and no-nonsense attitude and the way she fucking HYPERSPACED THE FIRST ORDER FLEET IN HALF which was one of the coolest scenes in the whole damn movie

every single scene Leia was in was gold and I love her and miss her and i’m so afraid of what’s going to happen in the next movie, and I miss Carrie so much ;___;

Poe and Leia’s relationship was very very good, the part where she bursts onto the bridge in her hospital gown and just stuns him very lovingly was another one of my favorite scenes 

Snoke dying was v satisfying and good, get rekt you evil motherfucker (though i hope we find out what his deal was eventually because i’m still curious, who is this clown) 

the Luke + R2D2 reunion made me so emotional, i legit cried a little the first time i saw the scene where R2 plays the old recording of Leia ;__; my poor kids

same with Chewie breaking down Luke’s door, and Luke asking about Han, and Luke’s last scene with Leia, and the part where he turns out to have been fucking astral projecting himself from the island

i like the possibility that Rey’s parents are just randos (v Taran from Prydain) and i really hope they stick with that and don’t pull a “psych she’s actually related to someone important” because lbr Kylo doesn’t know shit about her parents, he was just saying that because it was the thing most likely to make her come with him. 

i loved Rose, she’s a real sweetheart and it’s cool to have a major character who would be a random background tech in any other story

Poe fucking crank-calling Hux was absolute comedy gold, also Hux pretty much did nothing in this movie except get dunked on which was incredibly satisfying

things i didn’t like

i uh try not to talk about how much i hate reylo because it wasn’t A Thing onscreen in the first movie and i don’t begrudge people shipping whatever they want to ship even if i don’t get it, but i really hate reylo you guys. i don’t mind them becoming friends or helping each other out but if they date in canon the new trilogy is dead to me, i really won’t be able to handle it.

i’m totally on board with Kylo turning but i still don’t give a damn about him compared to so many other characters. why does this movie treat him like a child when he’s almost 30? i really wish he wasn’t the focus of Rey’s storyline, I want Rey to be the focus of her own storyline. I want her relationships with Finn and Leia to be moved to the forefront. I want her to interact with people who aren’t white men

my one consolation is that Rey didn’t go with Kylo at the end, and she didn’t buy his bullshit about her not being important to anyone but him, because that was a gross thing to say and she has multiple people who care about her for real and aren’t just projecting their trauma and insecurities onto her 

one of the reasons I loved TFA so much was the strength and depth of the relationship between Finn and Rey. That was the emotional heart of the NT for me and i didn’t expect them to interact much in this movie but their relationship was shoved aside way more than it needed to be. i do ship them romantically, but whether they get together or not i want their relationship to continue to be a big part of the story, and whoever wrote this movie clearly didn’t think that was a priority. 

as much as a loved Rose and Kelly Marie Tran’s performance, Finn/Rose makes me sad. after what i personally saw onscreen in TFA, this movie felt like a reylo fanfic where the author pushed one half of my OTP aside and gave him a new love interest to get him out of the way of their OTP.

Finn, who was one of my favorite (if not my favorite) characters in TFA, just didn’t get much depth in this movie. I really enjoyed most of his storyline while I was watching it, but the more i think about it the more disappointed i get. his desertion plotline was the most compelling part of TFA for me and this movie didn’t have any kind of satisfying emotional follow-up to that; his fight with Phasma was cool to watch but ultimately hollow, and i’m not pleased that she died after getting maybe ten minutes total of screentime in the whole series. Where is my stormtrooper uprising? where is Finn continuing to grapple with the trauma of his past? i guess i can hope that ep. 9 gives me some of this, but i’m nervous now. 

This movie left me with a lot of pressing questions, like where the fuck is Jessika Pava? i guess i’m supposed to assume she died somewhere offscreen but that’s super unfair to her as a character, until i get some confirmation i’ll just hope that she was off on a mission somewhere during the First Order attack on the base and will rejoin the Resistance when she can  

and this is getting its own separate list because i have a lot to say about it:

structural/worldbuilding problems i have with the new trilogy that began in TFA and that TLJ only exacerbated

one of my least favorite things in TFA was the part where the First Order blew up the Hosnian System, where the New Republic government was based. Planetary destruction is a potential anxiety trigger for me personally, so i found the fact that it was included in TFA on a larger scale than in ANH both upsetting and derivative. i also didn’t think that movie explored the aftermath of such a massive disaster adequately, and i think it did an even worse job than ANH did exploring Leia’s reaction to the destruction of Alderaan. 

TLJ, rather than taking any time to rectify this problem, gives the viewer no specific information about the destruction of Hosnian Prime and its effects on other Republic worlds. instead we get “The New Republic has fallen and the First Order controls everything.” i’m sorry, what? the New Republic is (presumably) very large, and while the destruction of the Senate must have been a massive blow, what the hell is happening on the Republics hundreds of member planets? did they all just roll over and submit to the First Order without putting up a fight? because that’s sure as hell not what happened after the destruction of the Old Republic. and how is the First Order even ruling anybody? they don’t seem to have set up any kind of new central government (which the Empire did pretty much immediately when it rose to power) and all of the First Order’s top leadership is busy personally pursuing the Resistance. 

The prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars show dedicate hours and hours of time detailing the events that led up to the fall of the Old Republic, a sprawling and complex institution whose members cannot be pacified overnight even by someone as powerful as Palpatine. Surely the New Republic is no less massive and diverse - i understand that it’s not the focus of these new movies but they really can’t give the audience a single detail? afaik there isn’t even much supplemental material where i can go to find this information, and i’m mad about it. 

i also have a million questions about the Jedi and Luke’s school and i don’t know where to find this information in new canon because it sure isn’t in the movies at all. Luke comes out of ROTJ knowing basically nothing about the Jedi’s history and philosophy - does he study them after the war? what does he decide to adopt, and what does he ignore? he’s obviously invested enough in the label to keep calling himself a Jedi, but what does being a Jedi mean to Luke Skywalker? also, what the fuck happened to the students who left with Kylo after he destroyed the school? 

this complaint has a lot to do with the fact that i’m very invested in the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons, maybe more invested than i am in the movies right now. i don’t expect my favorite cartoon characters to appear in the movies, and i understand the desire to keep the movies highly accessible for people who don’t engage in other Star Wars media. BUT. to me it felt like TLJ went out of its way to severely limit the scope of the kind of stories that could potentially be told outside the movies in the NT era. 

I’m going to make a lot of comparisons here with the OT, because the OT also sticks closely to a few core characters and has a narrower narrative focus than the prequels, but it does so in a way that leaves a lot of room for additional stories. The Rebel Alliance is big and sprawling and has lots of bases and cells and operatives who exist perfectly well alongside the main action even though they never appear onscreen. this openness allowed for later stories like Rebels and Rogue One to exist unhindered. but the world of TLJ has no such openness - we are told that this is the Resistance’s only base, that the 400 people who evacuate and the handful of people who actually survive the movie are all that remains of the organization. there’s some vague talk of allies in the Outer Rim, but we have no idea how closely tied to the Resistance they are and none of them seem willing to respond to an urgent call for help. unlike the Rebel Alliance, the story of the Resistance is a small story that will never be bigger (though i hope to god one of the groups of “Outer Rim allies” is some sort of offshoot of the Free Ryloth movement, because if there’s one thing i know about the Ryloth of the last several decades is that it never fails to resist oppression). 

similarly (and to me, even more distressing) is the way this movie handles the possibility of a Jedi remnant. there are a few lines in the OT about Luke or Yoda or whoever being the last of the Jedi, but that hasn’t stopped Star Wars from telling canon stories about other Order 66 survivors who are engaging with the Force on their own. these people can exist during the Empire’s last days without interfering with Luke’s story - the galaxy is a big place, and with Palpatine in charge it makes sense for them all to be in hiding. but wouldn’t they have come out of hiding during the New Republic and tried to find each other? i don’t want to believe that every possible ex-Jedi or former padawan or hidden Force user secretly developing their talents died before TFA. even if Ahsoka is really dead or ascended to some other plane of existence, even if Kanan dies in the Rebels finale, what about Ezra? are they going to kill him, too? what about surviving Jedi like Jocasta Nu or Quinlan Vos? what about kids who realized they were Force-sensitive during Imperial rule, like Dhara Leonis or Jai Kell? obviously i don’t mind these characters not being included in the movies, but i want a movie-verse that doesn’t make it impossible for them to exist and continue to have stories of their own. i don’t want Luke to be the only person who tried to develop his powers after the Empire fell, or who tried training a new generation of Force users.

[rynnaaurelius]

Just Pirated Loki’s First Episode: The Reactions of a Comics Nerd and No-Fun MCU Hater

-Fair warning, I am a Loki fan, but not in the way, um. Pretty much everyone else on this website is

-Bless Tom Hiddleston for being such a fucking delight as Loki but the MCU straight- and cis-washes its Loki so much that I really am exhausted.

-That being said, the shout-out to the Kid Loki comics, also known as the best Loki comics, with the “your role is this” stuff was. . .well. Watch that space.

-Interesting characterization in the MCU! Can’t wait for them to fuck it all up when it threatens to get too interesting!

-God I checked the tags for the show/characters and I remembered why I stay out of the MCU fandom.

-”They killed people!”/”They enslaved a whole town!”/”They tried to take over the world!”/”He told my favorite to shut up!” This is comics, Susan, everyone’s a terrible person on some level. Pick your emotional support war criminal and go. Also, get a sense of humor.

-Lotta people bitching about the time travel logic and TVA logic need to read more comics. Fair warning: this shit’s par for the course. Like, a lot. Marvel’s getting very comics-y with its treatment of the TVA, MCU!Carol Danvers, and the Eternals (re: The whole “They were secretly there the whole time!” thing).

-I’ve seen a lot of yelling over Loki’s characterization/the morality of the TVA and Mobius and IMO it was. . .fine?

-Like, yes, the script wasn’t amazing, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Honestly, it’s better than I was expecting, and the actors did their best.

-Loki seemed fairly in-line from what I remember from 2012.

-The MCU retcons itself about everything every three years, but it looks like they’re going with the theory of Loki having major autonomy during the events of The Avengers. Probably.

-My unpopular opinion on this is that while Thanos certainly did a number on Loki to push him over the edge, supplied him with the army, and gave him this particular plan--none of which is exactly small beans--some version of this was always coming from MCU!Loki, barring major intervention.

-After the first Thor, he was always going to make a play for Earth the second Thor and Odin decided humans were all right. Thanos just happened to set the timetable.

-I mean, he’s been villain material for most of his MCU run, and it’s frankly hilarious how Marvel keeps being forced to bring him back because they can’t do villains for shit and how you can tell when they have to with each shift of his arc trajectory.

-Like everyone else in this godforsaken cinematic universe, his lines suffer from being post-Joss Whedon’s directorial and writing contributions as well as Marvel Main Character-itis, which is not unique to this series.

-Mobius is surprisingly interesting compared with his comics-self.

-*Ducks and hides from the Loki fans*

-He’s clearly working towards something with Loki maybe beyond the whole stopping someone who’s clearly not just your common garden Tom Hiddleston!Loki thing

-What with the interesting mix of de-radicalization techniques and interrogation techniques that probably aren’t completely copacetic under the Geneva Convention, anyway.

-He’s not a Loki fanboy in the comics, but after having to sit through MCU!Wanda, I’m just bracing myself here for the changes. It’s not like Mobius is much of a character in the comics, anyway.

-Like, his morality is of the TVA, but his priorities in keeping Loki alive and un-reset go a bit beyond what his comics self would, probably.

-Anyway, Owen Wilson remains as charismatic as ever and is doing a great job as him, so I like him right now, but jury’s definitely still out on his trajectory.

-So, the TVA.

-Despite the whole fan theory mess with WandaVision, I’m not unconvinced the Time Keepers aren’t secretly the Time-Twisters or something. The organization is more or less like this in the comics, but the emphasis on “Sacred Timeline” is. . .hmph.

-They monitor the multiverse in the comics. They’re not trying to avert its creation, and the Time-Twisters destroy realities as their schtick.

-Also, the multi-verse is coming, so I’m assuming that there’s going to be a twist that acts as an impetus for Loki plus Mobius and friends to blow the organization wide open and cause the multiverse (Probably re-forming the organization and giving Mobius the same surprise promotion as the comics, along with an excuse to bring Gugu Mbatha-Raw back).

-*chanting intensifies* mutants mutants mutants

-They’re gonna fuck up Magneto so bad lmao

Ending Conclusions

-. . .The Big Bad of this phase is absolutely either Mephisto or Kang, right?

-I don’t see how they do Secret Invasion at this point as a feasible Big Bad without a lot of changes, Deviants were Thanos, basically, Doctor Doom can’t happen without the Fantastic Four, and anything directly tied to the mutants is out until they’re brought in.

-Think a decent dark horse candidate for the Phase 4 is also Scarlet Witch/Chthon since she’s confirmed to be reading the Darkhold--which is pretty much No. 1 on the list of Stupid Shit To Never Ever Do In Marvel Comics--upholding the fine comics tradition of Wanda being manipulated by someone evil into doing world-breaking shit.

-I can’t wait for them to straightwash Wiccan and for me to die inside, unrelated news

-It’s episode 1, so there’s a lotta ballgame left, but this is now the second show to bait the MCU Devil, which I honestly want to see if only so I can watch the world burn over it.

-Then again, they might simplify things and just make the being behind the Darkhold Mephisto instead of Chthon, which would. . .track with some things mentioned by the WandaVision showrunners about removing important scenes because stop listening to fans theorize online, dammit. It’s the Hamlet written by monkeys hypothesis played out.

-Ahem.

-Anyway. The music was nice, the actors did a great job, production value looked good, and while this episode was 95% info-dump, they made it pretty digestible.

-Also, the ‘70s-style matte painting used for one scene instead of CGI was a nice surprise and the animation was delightful.

Recommendations:

-If you’re a Loki fan convinced the MCU hasn’t done right by him since Dark World and think Taika Waititi destroyed his character, this show is probably not going to make you especially happy.

-*Checks Tumblr tags again*

-*Winces* I’m so sorry, guys.

-If you’re someone like me, who’s not the biggest MCU fan but still loves the characters and wants to see what ditch this drives into, I think the show is promising.

-If you’re an MCU casual, ditto, but without the ditch part.

-Overall: 8/10 blue-teethed French kids

[nodesiretogrowup]

I LOVED THIS EPISODE! It was nice to have a kid-focused episode. The past few have focused a lot on the adults, so it was nice to see the kids in the spotlight again. It was SO COOL to see the kids playing off each other. We NEED more of it next season. Lena is my daughter, so I was happy to see her back, though I’d rather she not have to suffer.

Spoilers and more detailed thoughts below:

YAY NERF GUNS! Also, it was super sweet of the boys to reassure Lena that they know she’s a good guy now. 

LOVED all the different jammies on display. I usually rock something similar to Lena and Violet. Dewey in the footie pajamas gives me LIFE. And Huey with his hat. I’m surprised he didn’t say something along the lines of “Warm head, warm dreams.”

Super cute that Lena set this all up. My baby wants friends.

“Self defense weapons, all manner of booby trap.” I feel like Violet would have suggested having those no matter what. I love my slightly feral nerd daughter.

Beakley for BEST bodyguard.

“Nothing weird is gonna happen at this slumber party.” Webby, babe, you’re just ASKING for trouble.

Lena’s little song and cake! MY HEART! I think Huey may have drawn some inspiration from that cake, lol

“Time loses all meaning in the infinite night of the shadow realm.” HELP THIS CHILD! And again, I think Donald would be the perfect parent for her.

“You are a wordsmith!” Webby LOVES her shadow gf.

THE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS! AND THEY MATCHED EACH KID! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS GIRL!

Of course Louie is suspicious. He was wary of his mom AND just spent the last episode getting betrayed by Goldie.

“You literally sound like that now.” Huey, you need to learn how to read a room.

“That’s just my voice, I can’t help it!” I feel ya there. And a nice bit of foreshadowing

“I’ve found it’s clearer to convey no emotion whatsoever.” Also not a good way to talk to people.

Aw, Lena. Like Webby said, you don’t have to prove yourself. That seems to be a running theme this season. Dewey wants to prove himself to his mom, Louie wants to prove himself to anyone, and Della wants to prove that she is a good mom and fits into this family.

“That makes you super-extra-good, right?” “Math checks out.” You two share one (1) brain cell and that’s adorable.

Webby has no table manners and that is valid.

“LET’S EAT PURE SUGAR!” That is just a bad idea in general, much less for Huey.

What happened to Huey? Why was his mouth all grey?

“You know who my best friend is?” “Me.” “Sleep.” A.) Mood, B.) Dewey’s face is PRICELESS! You can’t win them all.

Sleeping Beakley is TERRIFYING.

“It might be sleepy-time.” Webby, you are TOO PRECIOUS!

Anyone getting some Nightmare on Elm Street vibes? Specifically the third one? I guess that was what they were going for, what with the title and all.

Concerned girlfriend is concerned.

MY POOR BABY! HASN’T SHE SUFFERED ENOUGH?!

“Do you need, *whispers* you-know-what paper?” Not sure if Beakley told her toilet isn’t something you should go around saying or if Webby doesn’t want to embarrass anyone. Either way, cute!

Lena pulls of Dewey’s do well.

One of the most precious moments ever! And a reminded that they are still pretty young.

WEBBY IS SUCH A GOOD FRIEND/GIRLFRIEND! *happy tears*

LOVED the shot of Lena with the stars reflected in her eyes.

Heck, the animation for all the dreams is AMAZING! I love how you can INSTANTLY TELL whose dream we’re in.

I’m glad they figured out that they were in a shared dream early. Gives us more time for wacky dream shenanigans!

Webby/hamburgers is otp

I like that they used the “you can’t read in dreams” thing. Nice touch. It looks like at least Launchpad, Scrooge, and Donald had a corresponding emoji.

“Why are you dialing a banana?” DREAM LOGIC!

SWORD HORSE!

Webby CANONLY kins Scrooge!

EXTREMELY EXTREME OBSTACLE COURSE

Louie putting a stop to unicorn shenanigans before they begin.

Those directions. Better than Penny’s at least.

Violet is blunt and to the point. She’s probably a Virgo.

LIVING for all the cartoony sound effects!

POOR LENA! AND YAY SUPPORTIVE WEBBY! Also, love Louie in the background being confused as fuck.

That cute little smile! I WOULD DIE FOR LENA!

I don’t think the whole “don’t wake a sleepwalker” thing is actually valid in real life, but here it’s probably a goodish idea. Magic is weird and unpredictable.

“LET’S FLY, BECAUSE WE CAAAAAAN!” I like the way you think. I love that Louie’s wings have dollar signs. And Lena’s bat wings are DOPE.

“I HATE WALKING!” Louie is MOOD.

Huey and Dewey crashing, lol

That unicorn got DEEP. And I now crackship him and Manny.

Lena walked into Snow White.

“I probably grew horrible bat wings for non-evil reasons.” It’s because you are a baby goth.

“I ATE A BUG!” Dewey, you are a special boy and that’s valid.

“Ew, Webby, why is there a school in your dream?” Again, Louie is MOOD.

Ugh, I wish I could make out what the sign in front of the school says. I see EXCELLENCE though.

Dewey CONFIRMED HSM fan. And I’m getting some Saved By The Bell vibes. He’s binged ALL the high school classics. This is probably how Mabel dreamed high school would look like before the crushing slap of reality hit her.

His hair and jacket. Too cute, expect for his hair being alive. That was freaky. I fear for him when he learns what high school is actually like.

His song. Dewey is in for HEARTBREAK. LIVE YOUR DREAM WHILE YOU CAN!

I know most people are going with Dewey is bi after the whole romantic interest thing, but I feel like he might be aro/ace. Dewey is threatened by choosing a romantic partner. I’ve kind of always seen him as ace though, so it might just be me. Or it could be him trying to figure out his sexuality, which is cool. I love that the crew threw that in. The boy is not straight in any way though.

I love that Dewey’s singing rivals are Beagle Boys.

“Who knows what that’s about?” “I have some theories.” SYMBOLISM!

Dewey Dude is upsetting even BEFORE it turned into Magica.

The balance between comedy and STRAIGHT UP HORROR was handled well.

Lena has watched Wizard of Oz.

“You ruined my big dance!” Priorities, Dewey. Louie looks relieved though.

Dewey’s hair looked super cute when it was wet.

Why did he and Lena taste the water? Is there some sort of significance there?

“I just failed a class called Dew-ology.” “Well I’m the class Dew-torian.” That’s stretching it, Dewey.

“I gotta get outta here.” Haha, Dewey’s dream is Huey’s nightmare.

Louie-field. I WANT PLUSHIES. Also, Louie confirmed furry?

“This is your dream? To be even lazier?” Don’t be a hater, Huey! Louie’s got the right idea.

Wonder if Beakley taking care of Louie-field means anything.

Seriously, Huey is SUCH a hater! He wants out of Dewey’s dream and he mocks Louie’s.

“HOW ARE YOU SLEEP-SLEEPING?” Don’t hate cause you ain’t. Also, I have napped in a dream once so....

Louie’s sleep face is MAJESTIC. HE’S BEAUTY, HE’S GRACE.

“I just am.” Louie is so wise.

Wolf Lena is BEST

Violet, there is a better way to talk about people’s psychological issues.

Why would you choose the litter box?

“WHY, HUEY, WHY?!” No arguments here.

I’m the eldest sibling like Huey and I’m the shortest of the three of us, so I get you, Huey. But there are better, cooler, less upsetting ways to manifest that dream. Like switching bodies with a tall person.

His legs make rubber band noises when he moves.

“Don’t listen to him! Follow your lame dreams.” What a supportive brother.

Huey’s dream is Dewey’s nightmare. Nice.

I too use my feet to do things, like opening doors or getting stuff off the floor. But opening jars of FOOD?! UNSANITARY AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.

Someone is a Spinel fanboy.

Or is he Slender-Huey?

“And it’s my dream to be in a montage.” While it is pretty dope, why does Dewey get two dreams?! Greedy little bastard. Are we sure he’s not the evil triplet, lol.

HERE’S HOW PHOOEY CAN WIN! Liked that they implied he’s the evil one. He’s a yellow, less 90s Dippy Fresh.

JUST SAY NO TO PHOOEY! His name means the f-word.

MORE DRAGON BALL Z!

NERD ALERT! 

Huey has found a kindred soul.

I like that Violet even has Quackfaster as a librarian.

“It’s almost 6am!” Your old man is showing. Sidenote-I tend to wake up around 6. I’m old.

“Go get some jobs!” Scrooge, do you know about child labor laws?

This is the second episode of this set that Scrooge comes off as a bit of a prick.

POOR LENA! At least all the kids care about her. The poor girl needs some friends.

“She’s gonna be cold without her sweater!” His heart’s in the right place.

I love that all the kids jump in after Webby immediately. NEVER LEAVE A MAN BEHIND.

Louie just spinning in the background.

“I think this is more nightmare.” Thank you, Captain Obvious.

I want that castle as a playset.

Good lord this scene was hard to watch. It reminded me a lot of Raven in Ever After High (and Teen Titans Raven too). She’s so afraid of being predestined to become evil that it’s consuming her to the point that she can’t see anything else and feels stuck. Some of this really hit close to home for me because I deal with depression and anxiety and when a big episode hits it’s hard to find my way out. Luckily, just like Lena, I have a good support system.

 Magica gaslighting Lena was really upsetting to see.

Lena becoming Magica then a literal monster? LET MY DAUGHTER HAVE PEACE!

“Ugh, why does everything I say sound sarcastic?” Callback

Was that a hint at a Gargoyles reboot? I JOKE TO EASE THE PAIN!

#youtriedDewey

Dewey’s spinny eyes, lol

Webby is most competent fighter

Poor Louie. The past two episode have not been kind to him physically.

Lena will ALWAYS be there for Webby.

POOR LENA!

HURRAY FOR SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS!

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, BITCH!

“It’s fine, FINE!” Just wait for puberty, Huey. It will be slightly less disturbing.

I TOTALLY CALLED THAT THIS WAS A PLOT FOR MAGICA TO GET HER POWERS BACK! YAY FOR BEING RIGHT!

Magica is meth aunt.

“I don’t need you. You need me!” THAT’S MY GIRL!

FERAL

I bet Magica is gonna lie about still having powers so she can get close enough to Lena to regain her powers and stab everyone in the back. Whether or not she succeeds... 

Boyd and Lena should start a club. The “I thought/felt like I was a real, flesh and blood being, had an existential crises over it, and am trying to deal with my evil relative” club. Huey’s the moderator, he’s working on his consoling badge.

[knightofbalance-13]

what are your thoughts www(.)fanfiction(.)net/s/12667631/2/30-Ways-to-kill-Ragna-The-Bloodedge ,www(.)fanfiction(.)net/s/12667631/3/30-Ways-to-kill-Ragna-The-Bloodedge , www(.)fanfiction(.)net/s/12667631/4/30-Ways-to-kill-Ragna-The-Bloodedge

Oh jesus this is uh- something...

You guys just see me as a cleaner for the haters I fanbases don’t you?Well, this is a really fucking ridiculous thing so guess I’ll do it.

Let’s separate this into parts so the arguments are cohesive:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REBEL 1:

“Do you seriously want an exaggerated anti-hero with little justification, people around him going against his theme and faced with the most evil villains while tearing away the madness he faces?”Yes. Because the world of Blazblue along with all those people around Ragna help support him and make him stand out. Also how is Ragna exaggerated? If he’s exaggerated then what is Guts from Berserk?!

“Then I pretty much made a good argument about why Ragna as a protagonist shouldn’t have his existence acknowledged and be renamed ‘Retard the Dumbedge’“

...Yeah, you’re an obnoxious little shit aren’t you? I don’t see any argument good enough to justify THAT childish behavior. Even Kirito isn't that bad.

“Ragna is said to act like your average Shounen protagonist but he doesn’t even after his character development.”Um...No, Ragna acts like the dull edgy anti-heroes we got in the 90′s. He only LOOKS like a Shounen Protag. And after his character development he kind of does act like a Shounen Protag but in a good way, doing his best to help people and do what is best for them. He pretty killed himself for that goal. What is this guy smoking?

“The characters don't work with Ragna OR with the story that blazblue is trying to tell.”Uh...How? Because all I see is what RWBY originally was: a Rule Of Cool story with an emphasis on good eventually triumphing over evil.

“Ragna is an insult to the “Traditional Hero” for being called a “Chosen One”“

Hey Dumbass, the chosen one trope is used in ALL KINDS of stories, not just traditional hero ones. And Ragna ISN’T suppose to be a traditional hero, he’s suppose to GROW UP into one.

Now onto the next argument-and it’s a copy paste from a previous ask. Okay, the Blazblue ask I had before this one? go read that one for this argument.

“Blazblue’s exaggerated characterization,  unnecessary protagonist, characters that focus on one major role, characters that could have been toned down and UNNECESSARY SEXUALIZATION (comparing it to RWBY) don’t work with Blazblue’s flawed story.”You have not proven any of this, many people like it SPECIFICALLY for this reason, it was the goal of the creators and they succeeded so in every regard you fail.(P.S. Monty Oum was a fan of blazblue dumbass. If RWBY has oversexualization [An idiotic statement by itself] it was probably FROM Blazblue.)

“After the backlash on my rant on Blazblue’s writing and how I will never...NEVER acknowledge Ragna’s existence to this day, even after four failed games.”A. Your rant is barely coherent, nevermind actually GOOD.B. You just acknowledged Ragna’s existence.

And C. Blazblue is almost as famous as fucking Guilty Gear. It’s not failure.

”I do believe Arcsys has left itself in the slammer for letting itself down with this crap.”Take your medication, you’re having delusions again.

“They could’ve seen previous media and make the story light hearted and not rip off guilty gear and make it worse.”*throws a copy of End Of Evangelion at his face* Like that story?

“And fire Mori from the reboot of Blazblue THAT I WANT! NOT THIS!”

Yeah- good luck with that. 

“if you’re ‘pissed off’ while reading this, then accept it as fact. I will be on your good side, nothing will grind your gears. Now, that something we all want in this fandom with me around. Nuff said.”

*glares* Oh fuck off you facist.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REBEL 2:

“*shotguns Ragna in the head and burst out in blood and bones*”Hey RWDE, you forgot one of your Jaune haters!

“AN: Oh, so is this the case then? How disappointing. I was expecting much of a reasoning from all of you, but all get is cynical backlash over how much of a dumbass I am.“Hey if the glove fits man.

“Now, I'm really not into Anime & Manga where a lot of tropes I see are very exaggerating, but come on already. You know how much hate darker, edgier, and brutal characters that believe they are badass, yet their misunderstood that term a lot. And I mean, A LOT.“Yeah and guess what? Ragna gets mocked for that and has to change against that to get respect.“Think about Kirby from Hoshi No Kaabi. He is a badass that can copy/paste other dudes into his will by swallowing them. After viewing the whole series as a kid, it's got wondering about what other sources of fiction I would see. I watched DragonBall Z, I watched Naruto, and I watched Ace Attorney.  But then came BlazBlue, and my god. I bet I know what you're thinking. "If BlazBlue ain't for you, buddy. Then take a step back from the red line or you're toast."“

Well yeah, that’s how fandoms work dumbass. also I don’t care about your experiences.

“The mind is a very interesting concept I'm learning here. Not only do many people in this series is very individualistic, but cynical and self-biased as well. And you wanna know the reason? Is it Ragna? Is the exaggerated tropes in the series? Is it the convoluted nature of the series? Is it my overwhelming backlash towards the series? Or is it my fanfiction story that received so much backlash all because I wanted to replace a character that had the same "backstory"?  Because I'm talking about the one asshole who was in charge of the whole series, the one who clearly wasted his own potential for nothing. It is going to be Japanese writer Toshimichi Mori.“

Oh gee, individualism. How terrible for a fascist like you.Also I highly doubt people are THAT cynical given the popularity of the Gag Reels and Bang Shishigami.

Also the backlash has everything to do with you jack ass. But sure, try blaming the creator for your own baggage. THAT hasn’t backfired before right?

“Now let's take a step back for a moment, shall we? Doesn't Mori ever love to take things down the roof? Does he love to put things into perspective like a Vase, then overwhelmingly shove Vases down our throats to show how amazingly complex they really are?”

The first thing Mori talked about with Bullet was her boobs. ... I’m pretty sure he just likes blowing shit up and making stuff that looks entertaining, especially considering the Astral Finishes, the basic character tropes written in their purest forms and characters like Bang.

It ain’t that deep, douchebag.

“You see, Daisuke was a very successful man in Arc Sys. He's written quite literally the best story out of all time, Guilty Gear. But then, one day, he decided to put his story on hiatus. Then asshole Mori shows up to take the advantage on him, and literally took his concept to the next level.”Isn’t Sol Badguy literally a self insert for the creator? Yeah I think Guilty Gear is just the same as Blazblue but with a different way going about things.So basically you’re a pissy Guilty Gear fanboy? Good to know.

“But goddamn, did that fail. A lot of people were brainwashed into thinking his work is awesome and full of depth, and sadly. It doesn't. Mori character concepts are great, but that doesn't exclude his idea of a "protagonist".“

Yeah because people like you think that it has to be brainwashing and not that your egos are disproportionately big and fragile.

“

Now, a protagonist is the lead character, not a hero. That's true. However, they are many flaws to this concept. One is, the protagonist has to fit the tone of the story being presented here. However, what doesn't make logical sense, is that BlazBlue is supposed to represent a cynical crapsack world that's revived by someone who throws his life like a badass and the day is saved. But unfortunately, the other characters who manage to take the spotlight act differently. That's right. They don't CARE about what the tone is from BlazBlue, they just act all non-nonchalant from the so-called "gag reels" and they are barely mentioned ever in the series fandom. Then we randomly shift from one setting to the next, when all of this couldn't have been solved by just staying the one final spot where they were.“

... Okay so he completely missed the point of a protagonist.Also: no fucking duh. The characters are different because they are different PEOPLE dumbass. PEOPLE aren’t a fucking hivemind.Also I find it hard to say Blazblue is THAT cynical given how the final game is one big triumph for idealism.Also not only are the gag reels SUPPOSE to have a different tone but the fanbase LOVES them.

Also that setting one is just-wrong.

“But uhen we have the main villain, who is said by legends to be the most barbaric and most vile creature ever to be exaggerated off the face of fiction. His archenemy is not the knight, but sour ass protagonist we see in this series. Isn't it ashamed that this battle couldn't have been awesome if a protagonist with a kind-hearted soul were to step up and stop this beast? Nope. We never get. Probably, not in a long shot we ain't.”

A. Yeah and Terumi OWNS that concept. Hence why people love him.B. Ragna stopped being an asshole a game and a half ago. There’s a reason why Tao’s nickname for him is “Nice Guy.”

C. The guy literally erased himself from reality so things could be better. Ragna the Bloodedge is everything characters like Ruby Rose aspire to be.

“And do the games improve dramatically from game play perspective? Nope, each and every game is the same. There are no group battles, it's always 2D, and new characters don't make it different. It's a lazy way of getting the game to be new, but it doesn't feel different from me by any means necessary.“Group battles? That;s a spectacle fighter dumbass!And yeah, new characters DO matter. As in, that’s what Fighting Games are based off you idiot.

“o hate how most of the fighting game concepts were ripped solely off from Guilty Gear. It's like if Mori looked at Daisuke's work by demand and copied off everything that didn't add up from before. That's just not right. It certainly makes more angrier and upset to see Mori put his series like that. What a joke.

Somebody whose played Guilty Gear deal with this.

“Then we have BlazBlue Radio, featuring the ugly protagonist sitting next to two beautiful girls. Now may I remind you, I'm not against every single character in the series, except the protagonist and the evil monster. The protagonist gets the biggest spotlight cause I have quite literally, have the biggest boner to pick with him.“

So basically you’re jealous that Ragna gets the girls? Makes sense.

“ I never recognize his existence. Never have. The series has been a colossal heap of mish-mash concepts mixed in with anime drama tropes. Yet, a lot of people in the series don't recognize that. All of which ruined by poor planning and an occupied existence. This has been no exception because I talk to about being against the series as a fact, was a backlash of them showing me how great and awesome it truly is. And that's like talking to a brick here. I'm not braindead guy who suffers from mental retardation who has to live in an asylum for petes sake.”

A. You just did idiot.B. That;s not a bad thingC. people LOVE IT for being a mix mash.D. That argument makes no sense.E. So the complainer is wrong? Good to know I can just ignore you then.And F. That’s an oddly specific example...

“If you want to keep this up with me, then fine. Go right ahead. Build up as much anger as you can until my head ESPLODE. You stick your asses on this franchise, believe it to be some kind god for the whole Arc Sys works, and never again mention a protagonist replacement or a reboot. Cause I'm being clear, this series will never EVER improve. It's all the same shit, different story. And that different story is barely any better from all the crap I've seen from the characters. Nuff said. Peace out.”

Yeah yeah, the usual egotistical hater shtick. You ain’t special.

“P.S. If you're going to say that my stupid ass that brought me here ruined everything or is making you more frustrated. Then believe me, it's pointless to post a review or PM to say that I suck or my logic is ass. And I won't jolt. Ever.”

You say that but I know from experience you people break easily...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REBEL 3:

“*Places Ragna in a blender and he gets shredded bit by bit, piece by piece until his ass was nothing*“Because this screams “SANITY!”

“AN: Time to get this crap out of the roll...  Okay, so there's a lot of media I'm craving to look for. Of course, sometimes, media doesn't just cut for many audiences, via demographics. And I've seen video games and anime do this a lot, especially seinen. Then I played anime video games/visual novels... Ace Attorney, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Guilty Gear, Trails/Kieseki, and last but most hated of all time. BlazBlue.“So you know why you’re full of shit but you ignore it and keep going? Okay.

“I know what you're thinking, people. Like I really would love to admit, but people have been pulverizing me over my head saying how shit I was to an argument over a franchise that just screams out "FICTION". But no... People point out my hatred for Ragna The Bloodedge. A character that's unique to me in one way of the direction. In BlazBlue, a post-apocalyptic world that's nothing but trouble and people being dicks for crap reasons. Has anyone ever noticed that there is no "real" hero to the story? It's easy. BECAUSE PEOPLE WORSHIP RAGNA THE BLOODEDGE LIKE HE'S SOME SORT OF "ANTI-SUE". A flawed character that gets way too much attention! And Ragna gets all that crap like he's some kind of gold-digger.“

Ragna killed Blazblue’s Satan. ... He’s uh, kind of a hero no matter what you say.Also Noel, Makoto, Jin, Jubei, Hakuman, Tsubaki, Kagura, Celica-We have plenty heroes.

“As much as I really loved the characterization and all that, Ragna ruins the experience for me. I'm not kidding, he really freaking does! He's not even a character, in my book. Let alone a dumbass that can't do anything right because he was trained by someone strong, has a vampire ally/rival and beats out on other things like an impatient chimpanzee. Because hey! That's his character, folks! Ragna isn't Ragna without his edgy, dark past despite it having no emotional value what-so-ever. GODDAMMIT.“A. Rachel isn’t a rival dumbass.And B. He LITERALLY got called out on that shit with Kagura in Chronophantasma and had to become more heroic in order to become a stronger fighter and a better person.

Oh, C. He STILL sacrificed himself for all his friends and family. I do not joke when I saw he’d be Ruby Rose’s idol.

“AND DON'T YOU BRING BANG SHISHIGAMI TO THIS RANT. Bang doesn't count as a hero in my book, he's better off as a supporting character. ALL I WANT FOR THE SERIES TO HAVE IS A REAL HERO. Not this Redcoat wearing jackass that always gets his way done no matter how much he pulls. The story is supposed to be "Black and White". NOT "BLACK AND GRAY"! Sure, there can be some vital exceptions. BUT I DON'T SEE A SINGLE, UTMOST THING, THAT HAS EVER CAME OUT OF BLAZBLUE THAT NEVER CHANGED MY MIND. EVER.”

A. Bang still counts motherfucker, you said ‘hero’ not ;major character’.

B. Hakuman’s right there trying to stab Ragna. C. No it’s suppose to be grey and gray. Mori built it that way. This is his story, not yours.

And D. So you know you’re wrong.

“Keep coming back to me! I don't effing care where it is. You rant, you whine, you even tell me to leave, but no... That all that isn't going to happen. I will be back and in one story... You'll that it is me that's returning. I won't bother arguing about this again. Sure, I've could've talked this through by PM'ing, but "Black and White" morality is always going to my thing. But hey, Fanfiction is all about tryharding! You use canonically made characters to achieve a thing that's worth a damn!  Anyways, I got back from my awesome trip to California. Nuff said.”

And guess what motherfucker? I’ll be right here, challenging and fighting you every step of the way! Each time you scream about Canon, I’ll be there to tear it down. Each time you rant about canon, I’ll be there to cut it pieces. This is gonna be a battle of wills between you and I. And guess what? My will is damn near indomitable. Good luck jackass.

But let me send you off, Blazblue style. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDFR4DoOQQ

[blazehedgehog]

With the recent EGX demo and the reception it's got from fans and critics, do you think there's reason to worry, at least for the Switch version and, since I can't think of a way to put it nicely, has the overly defensive tone some fans taken towards critics who've played the game, or even criticized it, been just or unjust? I know Sonic has this maligned reputation with game journos, but it's not like every person who's been critical are haters looking to take Sonic down.

I think a lot of Sonic fans wear some very deep scars. Many have stuck it out through some pretty dark times, myself included. You learn to put up some pretty strong defenses. You make it easy for yourself to dismiss opinions that don’t line up with what you want of expect. “IGN never knew what they were talking about, so why trust what they have to say about Sonic?”

Plus, there’s a very weird growing distrust of games media right now. It started with Gamergate, I guess. It goes without saying, but GG was an awful hate group actively centered around misogyny (or worse), and it’s a shame how many people did not realize that immediately. But that’s the thing: GG tapped into something that was also real. It did so purely by accident; under the surface, Gamergate was nothing more than an ex-boyfriend getting revenge for being slighted by his lover, and it snowballed out of control into something some are calling the new culture wars, and we’re still feeling its effects today.

But part of the reason GG originally gained momentum in the first place is because there’s an underlying distrust of any and every major games media outlet. Kotaku sucks, Polygon sucks, Destructoid sucks, Giantbomb sucks, GameSpot sucks, IGN sucks, Game Informer sucks, CVG sucks, Famitsu sucks, EGM sucked, 1UP sucked, GamePro sucked, Gamefan sucked, PLAY Magazine sucked, GameSpy sucked. Trust no one. The truth is out there. GG connected to those people who were basically waiting for any kind of “game press injustice” to rally behind, because they essentially hated all of the industry’s biggest, most important names.

Where does that come from? I mean, I guess, at least for me, is that once these places lose my trust, it’s basically impossible for it to be regained. And every outlet, at least once in their careers, has a moment that betrays that trust. Where personal interests or even financial interests outstrip the reader’s interests. Trust is so valuable and so fragile that even a single bad editor can spoil a site forever. Even if that person gets fired, the damage they caused can haunt the site’s brand basically forever. Why would I trust IGN? Hilary Goldstein worked there. I think I disagreed with everything that man ever wrote. Why would I trust Polygon? Ben Kuchera writes for them. He said Mario Kart 8 would be the worst selling Mario Kart of all time, when it was probably the single biggest sales driver for the Wii U until Zelda came along. And so on.

This isn’t even touching stuff like Kotaku’s advertising, where they dedicate whole weeks of coverage to a single game because they are paid to do so, which always ends on a glittering review. Even if the review is written honestly, the frame around it places doubt on and hurts that honesty, which above all else should be protected first and foremost.

And I think the thing that really crystallizes all of this is that once an outlet has this happen to them, where they betray someone’s trust, they never, ever, EVER make even a single iota of effort to rebuild that trust. They move on, they bury it, and it’s just assumed that the person yelling in the comments about bias is just “another crazy fanboy.” It turns into this kind of war – the scorned fan in the comments section who obviously still likes the site enough to hang around versus the person employed by the site parroting a “never read the comments” mantra while also repeatedly insulting the very same people they’ve scorned (actually some of their most dedicated fans) just for cheap laughs.

And so the fanboy’s bitterness grows. Salt in an open wound that never really heals.

It’s turning into a serious problem. Maybe there’s no turning back now. It’s that moment in the opening scene of Pixar’s The Incredibles where (spoilers until the end of this paragraph) Mr. Incredible stops the bank robber but the kid, Buddy, gets in the way. Mr. Incredible scolds him for it, and we as the audience think, “That’s right, the kid shouldn’t be there.” Rejected by his hero, Buddy then grows up to become a super villain, channeling that bitterness into a force to kill Mr. Incredible and permanently destroy his entire culture.

“Little guys” like Videogamedunkey, with nearly 4 million Youtube subscribers, are being treated as the new voice of the people. Dunkey has actively attacked what he called “limp dick game journalists” for not doing what he thinks is their job. Dunkey makes some good points against these journalists, even if he does cross some lines, but overall, the message he’s sending is that sympathy for traditional game press has run out. And Dunkey will probably not be the last big name to launch a direct attack against these establishments. They grew up reading these outlets, got burned by some type of distrust, and were constantly told their feelings of betrayal didn’t matter. And now, as these big establishments begin to show signs of weakness in the face of individuals on Youtube, guys like Dunkey are throwing all of that stored up bitterness right back in their faces. As it turns out, not every betrayed fan in the comments section will remain a faceless raging nobody forever. You might not be reading the comments section, but the comments section reads you.

Anyway, getting back to your original message, do I think some people are going overboard with their Sonic Forces hatred? Maybe. Also tying back into what I was just talking about, there is a tendency on the internet to go overboard. With so many voices speaking in unison, in order to be heard, you have to speak REALLY loudly. It’s not enough to simply communicate with friends, some people are competing for reblogs, retweets, likes, thumbs and favs. The loudest, rudest fan is just trying to be heard above the background noise. That’s why you’ve seen this trend, time and time again, where a person will meet their biggest internet heckler in person and they turn out to be nothing. Some of them just want to be acknowledged. So yeah, there are definitely people out there trying to be as loud as possible, hoping somebody will listen to them.

But here’s the deal: I’m not one of those people, and I think there’s a lot about Sonic Forces that’s worrying. As worrying if not more than Sonic Lost World was. It definitely doesn’t look like the successor to Sonic Generations people were hoping for. From what they’ve shown us, I think this looks pretty blatantly like another game where Sonic Team is flying blind and hoping they can stick the landing. I don’t blame anyone who thinks they won’t.

[padmesbox]

IDK if you know this but there’s a Part 1 video to Lindsay Ellis’s essay. It recaps all the seasons n focuses on where the writers went wrong overall. That seems to be the video everyone from every side could agree on. I want to add, as a blackgirl I kno the white savior part of D’s narrative (DnD really made it that way by hiring POC to be the slaves when it’s supposed to Be all colors) but D herself is not racist. Every woman’s narrative here tho is SEXIST AND TROPEY AF.

I’m sorry I hadn’t replied, I suppose you’re the same anon who sent me two other questions which I appreciate and I will get to eventually, promise. I’ve been a bit busy irl and mourning some stuff in my fandom life lol

I do know there’s a part one, I saw it when she posted it and well, since her Dany rant is titled along the lines of the ‘second hot take’ it’s hard to miss. I’m gonna be honest, though, I completely forgot the points she made in her first video, and when she posted the second hot take I honestly didn’t have the time or will to check it again, much less now.

I’m not a person to argue with a black girl on matter of racism, because clearly I don’t have all the info, nor the experience to do so or even the right. I agree the character is not as racist as the tropes surrounding it, but I also don’t know if you can’t call a character that takes part in the slave trade as an owner first, then as a willing participant ‘not racis’? Like I said, I am fairly ignorant to be saying anything. 

And yeah, you could argue it was D&D who made her narrative racist when it was supposed to be all colors, but you also have to remember that in the earlier seasons GRRM was heavily involved in the show and he approved of it on the ground that ‘well we’re in Morocco what did you expect?’ instead of addressing the problem, we know slavery has been through the years pretty much a universal institution that didn’t start with the african slave trade, but I think that a writer writing a novel in the 90’s should be more aware of what he’s writing and what he’s sanctioning in the adaptation of his work, besides let’s not pretend asoiaf is innocent of coding certain cultures, inspired by real cultures, in a racist light, the dothraki and the dornish for instance, as well as the heavy connection the Targaryens have to nazi ideologies of a pure and special white race, which… yikes, that’s why I don’t like the Targaryens but that’s a topic for another talk.

I’m not saying D&D are innocent, far from it, I’m just saying they’re not the sole part? to blame for the racist undertones of Dany’s storyline, this stuff does come from the books, for what I’ve read about asoiaf (I’ve just started reading the series) D&D were actually very forgiving with Dany, painting her in a much lighter tone than the books, it’s true that in their quest for their idea of a female badass, which is just to kick ass and to only have one trait, they robbed Dany’s character from a lot of her moments of kindness, but they also took away any trace of moral complexity with how much they changed her Essos campaign and her motives (and they still had her tell a native of Meereen how his city would return to the dirt if she so wished and execute a former slave) which would’ve made her a much more compelling character and would’ve allowed us, the fans (mind you, I started worshipping her until, and I’m very guilty of not having picked her white savior narrative sooner, she went to Westeros and I started seeing her under a new light, that of an invader, which I hate) to not see her as either a holy figure on a pedestal or a demon from hell. 

So what I’m trying to get at is that Dany’s story is problematic and it’s meant to make us think about its nuance, what I don’t know, because I don’t want to overstep or to say something unfortunate due to my own ignorance, is if making the distinction between Daenerys and her storyline saying one is racist and the other isn’t, matters. Food for thought.

To end this note, I agree the show was always problematic in regards to its female characters, I started watching it in 2016, but even I heard and read here on tumblr how fans were outraged by the amount of scenes depicting gruesome violence towards women, even the hardcore fanboys and I know they HAD to tone it down because of it, not because they wanted to do it, which yeah… yikes.

Anyway, anon, I appreciate your asks a lot, I love being able to talk about GoT in the form of a discussion and not attacks between fandoms, which is what my viewing experience became when I discovered hardcore Dany stans/Sansa haters… anyway, cheers.

[parthzlife]

@gloomybluebella  Okay, here’s the deal.  

First of all, just a disclaimer: I’m not doing this to be a desperate attention seeker and fully expect this to make up for me annoying you and Sammy so much earlier. If she doesn’t feel like talking to me, it’s fine. Just try to keep in mind the gist of what I’m about to say as best as possible, that’s all. 

So why did I suddenly drop everything and vamoose out of the Internet land for a minute there? Well, I don’t really have a straightforward answer to that question, but for the sake of being concise, I’m gonna try and condense this down as much as possible, so, here we go. 

My short answer to that is that I was REALLY unhappy. And by that, I mean something much more profound that the normal melancholy that we all get from time to time. 

So going right off the bat, this whole thing started around late May/early June of 2017. I came across some plush videos on YouTube starring Peach Daisy and Rosalina, and decided I’d have a look at them. And things seemed fine, at first, but then things changed when I saw that they hadn’t uploaded in almost a year, and that, in the comments, some people were begging them for more videos and calling them “the best videos ever”. Which concerned me, to say the least.

A short time after that, I realized there were a lot more people on YouTube uploading the same sort of things, and so I decided to watch those, hoping that it would solve the problem and that there’d be nothing else to it. But, lo and behold, it did not work. Over the next month or so, I started having similar issues with other people on YouTube, G+, and DeviantArt, and I began to feel a nagging feeling that something just wasn’t right. This feeling slowly, but surely, persisted over the next 4-5 months, and, needless to say, I didn’t want to admit that there was even a problem. 

Around Halloween of 2017 is when it all came to a hit for me. I was constantly dealing with trolls and angry rants on a regular basis, a lot of people (particularly Princess Peach RPers) were manipulating me for attention, and a lot of the comments I was seeing on G+ were just filled with cringey Princess Peach fanboys who acted like people had no life outside of RPing. Not to mention, I was also struggling with my classes at school, which disrupted my ability to function normally during that time, and well into the holiday season. That was the last straw for me. After that, I felt like I had no foundation, and I just felt....completely lost. At this point, one could reasonably categorize what I was experiencing as depression. I had trouble concentrating on things, my hobbies and interests were no longer fun for me, and my body was constantly pumping out adrenaline and cortisol from being in a constant state of stress. It was a pretty devastating and awful place to be at in my life, and it did not stop. 

I took a break in December, and made it a point that I would try and use any means necessary to distract my self, as much as possible, to avoid it altogether; and manage my responsibilities in a way that was well-suited for me. And it worked, for about the first 6-7 months of 2018. But around July or August last year, something else came up. I was feeling overwhelmed from juggling multiple responsibilities, and having trouble maintaining a consistent schedule. And because of that, some of the same issues I was having earlier began to resurface as a result of me being unmotivated (e.g. people spamming lewds and constantly complaining about stuff). Eventually, I noticed that Sammy was uploading content, and, partly because I hadn’t seen her upload anything since the first few months of 2018, I was missing a lot of the sights and content I was visiting earlier. So I decided that, maybe, browsing her content and occasionally commenting once a week (maybe even less than that depending on if and what she was posting) would help take my mind off of things. And true, she has depression and her interests and mine aren’t exactly the same. However, I didn’t necessarily want to dismiss it completely, because, I like to think I’m open to all possibilities, and tbf, at the time, I was really ready to just be done with the whole thing. So there’s that.

Around late February/early March this year, things finally did start improving (for real, this time). However, there was still sorta one problem which I hadn’t addressed yet. And after a lot of self-reflection, I can honestly say this is most likely what started this vicious cycle in the first place. So like I was saying, people were manipulating me and their followers for attention, and when that happened, a lot of their “fans” would almost automatically jump on this bandwagon of getting negative and assuming things without having an original opinion or understanding what’s going on (e.g. “Don’t leave! We still care about you!”, “Ignore the haters!”, “Where are you? Please come back! It’s been too long!”, *cries*, 😭, “For the last time, Waluigi doesn’t deserve to be playable in Smash! How many times do I have to keep repeating myself?”, etc.). Basically, I ended up falling into that mob mentality, and I think that’s really why I got so carried away with wanting to make sure Sammy was okay, but not really stopping to consider if I was going about things the right way or not. 

As soon as I finally took that to heart, I knew that a decision had to be made, and that I could no longer dodge it. My parents pulled me aside and asked me what was up. I hadn’t really talked about it with anyone, because it wasn’t really something that could be resolved just by getting advice from a friend or loved one, and I was just too uncomfortable to talk about it with anyone. But I reluctantly agreed, and I told them exactly what was going on. They basically said something along the lines of, “Hey, it’s okay, everyone goes through a rough patch from time to time, you always have options, and you don’t have to let these things cause you distress.”. 

So after that, I started forcing myself to talk to friends I’d known for years. I began having casual small talk with them and had some discussions about how things were going with them, and that was really special to me, too. But the first 2 weeks were ROUGH, to say the least. It was incredibly difficult to take my mind off of the stressful situation I was dealing with, or even focus on the things I enjoyed at the time. I didn’t want to look at my YouTube notifications anymore. I didn’t even want to look at Tumblr or Instagram, or even anything Mario-related anymore. But I sort of knew that was coming, and so I just braced myself for 2 weeks. I knew I wasn’t gonna instantly find relief, and that it was gonna take time, so I just sort of dealt with it, and that was that. 

But after 2 weeks of talking with people about how I was feeling, contemplating my options, and later actually finding value in my life again, I just started to feel better. By the third week, I no longer felt completely stressed all the time, and I was able to relax and actually laugh, and enjoy time with my family and friends, and I didn’t feel depressed anymore. 

Which brings us to now. After some more discussion with my family about how I was feeling, and realizing that I could be happy just by avoiding certain things that I knew were emotionally stressful for me, I finally started having urges to be creative and pursue my normal interests again. And that’s where I’m at, now. 

I wanna also mention that, deep down, I’m actually a really open-minded person at heart. Yes, there have been times when I’ve felt sad because people disagree with me or people whose content I enjoy don’t upload for a long time. However, despite what my past actions might suggest, it’s not all that I think about 24/7, and it still doesn’t rule my entire life. If you prefer to focus on school/work, or if you wanna show love for Waluigi, post silly yet inaccurate memes, or express your LGBT pride, then, more power to you, go for it. What bugs me is when people just constantly spread negativity to the point of overkill, and in turn, cause other people distress and anxiety. Especially when it shows that they can’t think for themselves. So that’s that. 

And that’s pretty much it. I’m active again, and I’m happy to feel creative again. Sorry that this was too long, I just really wanted to get this out and explain how I was feeling. And, if nothing else, I hope this at least cleared things up a little bit. So with that, I’m gonna end this post. Again, I just hope this was a bit helpful.