#and don't get me wrong i don't like the way echoes treats its female characters overall either

[burr-ell]

Comment mentioned this, but I kinda was referring to the "Celica getting possessed/turned into a witch" subplot.

I mean! I get how people would be bothered by that—but the thing is, given how much control she has otherwise in the narrative, I'm honestly fine with it; I think it adds narrative tension and gives her a role in the climax that she previously didn't have. Her fighting from the inside, followed up by Mila unsealing Falchion and instilling it with the last of her essence to revive the person who was most devoted to her, adds greater emotional weight (as opposed to Alm just. getting the Falchion out of the treasure chest). The only thing that would make it stronger is if it had been Celica's choice all the way to the end to offer herself up willingly, rather than her changing her mind at the last minute and Jedah controlling her, but I'll take what we got.

I mean don't get me wrong—in a game where I think you can literally count on one hand the amount of female characters who aren't obsessed with a man or in need of rescue, I understand not liking that the female protagonist is possessed and also needs to be rescued. But I think the fact remains that up until the last second, Celica made a choice to be there, whereas in the original Gaiden it seems like she doesn't have a whole lot to do in her dungeon cell except wait for Alm to get the Falchion. I think a story where a character chooses to sacrifice themselves as an outgrowth of the logical choices they would make given their personality and background is just more compelling, even if it superficially aligns with the director's cringyass opinions on women.

[thethirdromana]

Jenna's costumes, rated

By actual popular demand (of at least one person), here are my thoughts on Jenna's Blake's 7 costumes, from the sublime to the very, very 70s.

Screengrabs from here (they prefer their images copied, not linked) and record of what Jenna wears when from here. And if you want more Blake's 7 costume snark (mixed with some love), here are Avon and Servalan.

As seen in The Way Back, Space Fall and Cygnus Alpha.

Not many decent screengrabs of this one, which is a pity since it's one of my favourite early Jenna costumes. It's delicate and pretty at a point when all the other characters are wearing something rough and practical, which helps to sell the idea that Jenna the smuggler was a cut above the ordinary criminals she's locked up with. I would wear this. 8/10.

As seen in Cygnus Alpha, Time Squad, Seek-Locate-Destroy and Breakdown.

Well, the pretty costume was nice while it lasted. The pattern Jenna is wearing here is one I would associate primarily with ironing boards or perhaps baby-led weaning. It has a wipe-clean air to it. The collar adds to the overall playschool vibe. 0/10, I hate it.

As seen in The Web and Mission to Destiny.

Something I don't understand is why most of the costumes on Blake's 7 are beautifully constructed (look at anything Servalan wears) and then there's this. It's an unremarkable red dress with random bits stuck to it. The weird collar bits, made from leftover fabric from Jenna's previous weird collar, look like they would come off if you tugged on them, or chanced this in a hot wash. 4/10.

As seen in Duel, Project Avalon and Deliverance.

Matching outfits!! I'm torn, Jenna is very much losing the cool smuggler vibe at this point in favour of being the Designated Girl, and the fact that she gets the pink power ranger costume doesn't help with that impression. On the other hand, this is a gorgeous piece of costume design: plausible, flattering, well-constructed. Jenna, Blake and Gan are all looking great here. So, reluctantly, I have to approve. 8/10.

As seen in Duel, Project Avalon, Project Avalon, Bounty and Deliverance.

There are a few clothing trends I've never quite understood. Jumper dresses with cutouts. Peep toe boots. Cold shoulder tops. The clue is in the name; I don't understand the circumstances under which you would want to wear what is otherwise a warm and cosy item of clothing that randomly leaves some part of you to freeze. I would otherwise like this fun, futuristic space-y top, but all I can think of when I look at it is this: aren't her arms getting cold? 6/10.

As seen in Orac.

Simple, classic, flattering. The belt echoes her favourite necklace! I really like this, so of course Jenna only wears it for one episode. 9/10.

As seen in Hostage and Redemption.

Ack, I should like this one. We're getting a lovely sense of Grim Future fashion trends here in the repetition of batwing sleeves and belted tunics. She looks comfortable and sophisticated. Stylish Smuggler Jenna is back! The problem is that she looks like a pearly queen and I just can't get past it. 7/10.

Also, if I might be permitted to digress: what the ever-loving fuck is Cally wearing?

As seen in Shadow.

It says something about how Blake's 7 treated its female cast that I couldn't find a screenshot of this costume where Jenna was the focus of the frame. And it's such a pity because I really like this. It has all the same things going on as the pearly queen outfit minus the pearly queen-ness. 9/10.

As seen in Weapon, Pressure Point and Countdown.

I think I might have been watching too much of Rosamund Pike in the Wheel of Time, because I love this costume. I admit that the vibes are all wrong: this is a dress for an aristocratic sorceress, not a floaty tunic for a high-class smuggler, but I simply don't care, it looks fabulous. 15/10, fight me.

As seen in Horizon and Pressure Point (pink) and in Killer (blue).

It's February 1979, Abba are at number 2 in the UK singles chart with Chiquitita, and don't we know it from Jenna's costume choices. Jenna's outfits are that bit too much of their time for me to love them (and the contrast with Blake's Robin Hood chic isn't helping), but there's definitely an extra point here for her silver boots. 7/10.

As seen in Trial, Voice From the Past, The Keeper and Star One.

It's time for the biker leathers and for Jenna to wear a different necklace! Amazing that it's taken her this long to get on board with the leather trend that Avon was on since Time Squad. She must have squeaked her way across the Liberator in this but she makes it look so cool. 10/10, glad she got so much use of this one.

As seen in Gambit.

This is a poor imitation of the blue sorceress dress, unfortunately. Deep colours look great on Jenna but black is too severe. Should have given this costume to Servalan instead. 5/10.

As seen in The Keeper.

And we end with another red dress with bits stuck to it, except that Jenna, by now very much being treated as eye candy, has a lot more cleavage on display. But instead my eye is drawn to the Art Deco fish pattern she seems to be wearing like a sporran. Blake's 7 costume design: never knowingly unbaffling. 6/10.

[my-mt-heart]

Here we go again...

I'm going to echo what I said on Twitter about "The Big Three" post on my blog since this is where I feel safe speaking up. I'm very sorry I had to direct it at Valhalla who have been Melissa/Carol/Caryl fans' biggest ally on social media up to this point, even using #TheBookofCarol tag to let us know they see her as the main protagonist that she is. I'm also very sorry that as of today, we've reached the two-year mark since the news of the original spinoff's cancelation and this fandom still has to fight for the respect that they and Melissa herself have more than earned. Again, this is why we need a new showrunner with the intuition and authority to change the messaging on the show and on SM, so that Caryl fans not only feel safe, but also eager to watch, pay for, and engage with new material.

I saw that Valhalla acknowledged Carylers' complaints on their post. I wasn't expecting that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other official account has ever put the needs of the fans over their own need to save face, so I respect and appreciate that. The comments were filling up with voices from other parts of the fandom trying to give Valhalla an out, but it's easy for them to ignore or in some instances mock the issue because their favorite character is represented and they get the satisfaction of a character they hate being left out and her fans being upset about it. It's easy and probably fun for them to accuse us of throwing tantrums, invalidating a very real source of pain for many of us.

There is a long history of fandom bullying and ageism directed at Melissa/Carol/Caryl and their fans to the point of many people, including Melissa herself, having to leave SM. The other factions claim we're a minority, but in reality we're just less active in public spaces because we're made to feel like we don't belong. Caryl fans are very much like the characters in that way and unfortunately other fans and other official accounts take advantage of that.

What happened exactly two years ago has broken our trust and our spirits even more. A lot of us are teetering on the edge of leaving because we're tired of being gaslit and strung along. We're vulnerable and we have triggers. In order to keep engaging with TWD content, we have to feel like its worth it, which means we need to know that the show and everyone affiliated are meeting our needs: that Melissa and Carol are acknowledged for the HUGE impact they've had in the story since S1, not how much they are marketed, and that Caryl is treated like a valid ship.

We need strong leadership for that. Valhalla is a female-led account, so they have the authority to tackle the issues that the actresses and their female fanbases face. A female showrunner would help with that as well. TBOC is fast-approaching. The promotion should focus on hyping the core audience of that show, not alienating them further. We deserve so much better. Melissa deserves so much better. Caryl deserver so much better.

[internet-content]

Ok I'm actually really excited to hear that you didn't like Jurassic world because I didn't either and I want to have a more articulate and informed way to tell ppl why I don't like it other than the "unnecessary and forced romance" point and "it just lost the magic" I was just super disappointed w it and I want to hear more abt your opinion on it. Sorry if this is kind of rambling btw

no worries! for those of you who did not read the tags on this post a couple nights ago, I said:  #I did my capstone on this!!#jp is so explicitly and awesomely feminist#(even though it only has 1 human female character)#the other part of my capstone was that jurassic world is shit garbage its shit it sucks and I fucking hate it

first off I want to correct myself, I said that sattler was the only human female but HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT LEX

these are the bullet points of my 14-page senior project (you asked for it):

jurassic park subverts the male gaze (the dinos do basically all of their murdering when they’re unseen or partially obscured, esp. in the “clever girl” scene; this could be down to spielberg’s famous “less is more” approach to monsters to enhance their effect but still)

this one’s a little more of a stretch but isla nublar, the dinosaurs, and nature in general are all coded as female in the context of the film, and humanity as a whole is coded as male. humanity (who is attempting to impose restrictions on the island and life itself by putting up cages and commercializing everything) is inarguably completely and utterly defeated by the dinosaurs and the island, the protagonists barely get away with their lives and hammond is the only jurassic park employee to see the end of the movie. (female-coded) life finds a way. asshole

also the female characters (ellie and of course LEX) are hugely expanded from the novel (where lex was a whiny younger sister stereotype with no redeeming traits) and ellie probably takes more direct action towards saving the humans than any other character. not to mention that most of the heroic male characters are killed, injured, or too old to contribute anything of value (looking @ you hammond, whose masculine god-playing was the cause of this whole shitstorm in the first place; “dinosaur eats man, woman inherits the earth”). also the book ends with the island getting firebombed and all the dinosaurs fucking dead but spielberg wasn’t having it

jurassic world is on the other hand a rampaging sexist dumpster fire which specifically subverts most of jp’s feminist ideas. owen is in charge of the raptors, when they defy him they are killed (this is the movie where a velociraptor is unceremoniously blown the fuck up for daring to violate her master’s control, in a moment that is an echo and inversion of the “clever girl” scene, i’m pretty sure that prior to this the only thing capable of killing raptors was the t-rex)

claire fucking dearing. hhhh. I won’t go into detail about everything (you can go through my sources at the bottom if you want) but this character is constantly belittled for…basically everything she does, no matter what (even when she saves the kids’ lives they want to chill with chris pratt like fuck no he’s a dick in this movie) but ESPECIALLY egregious is how much everybody (her sister, owen, the kids) wants her to be a fucking mom, she’s “defrosting ice queen” personified but it’s like the movie wants her to be defrosted through sheer brute force (alan grant was forced into a paternal role in jp but that was due to circumstance, not so much his brother on the phone weeping and begging him to quit his dumb job and focus on the important things like babies) she’s basically on the verge of tears this whole movie and it’s not hard to see why, it’s really uncomfortable to watch it while paying attention to how the other characters treat her. the 3.5 inch heels aren’t even worth mentioning tbh. oh also there’s also a moment where owen is pressuring her to prove that she’s worthwhile in a survival situation (my paper was called “sexism in survival situations” after the scene in jp) and she does so by…removing her top. hhhhhh I could go on but there’s more than just this one fucking character wrong with this movie

remember zara, the assistant who’s forced to do the mothering while claire goes and TRIES TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE DOESN’T FUCKING DIE thus leaving her nephews to hang out for 4 HOURS AT MOST? (this unforgivable transgression is what prompts judy greer to call her up WEEPING) well you might remember that she lets one of these asshole kids out of her sight and they go on a……..guided tour in a bulletproof glass dome. and then endanger themselves by straying off the path into an area clearly marked as not for access. so I’m pretty sure zara weeps too as a result of this and then later on she is torn apart by like 20 different dinosaurs over the course of a full minute. and a lot of people already know this but it’s just so worth mentioning: this was the first time a woman had been killed onscreen, EVER, in a jurassic park movie. it lasted 60 goddamn seconds, twice as long as it took the main villain of jp (wayne newman’s character) to be killed. i mean. you can just imagine the filmmakers going “you know what? it’s time for a woman to die onscreen, i think that’s what the franchise needs” like

owen grady (chris pratt) really is a pervy piece of shit in this movie, constantly hitting on claire, esp bad since at the end they fucking make out for no goddamn reason. chris revealed in an interview that the first kiss with her after they fight the pterodactyls was unscripted, and a total surprise for bryce dallas howard (colin treverrow, the director, was also there and he confirmed this). I think there’s another interview where she addresses it and she didn’t seem to mind really so ymmv but that’s at least a little icky idk

this movie has more characters overall but the amount of female characters who contribute anything goes down from 2 to 1. it’s been over 20 years but we can’t have 2 women who push the plot forward, okay, whatever (the characters I’m not counting are the lady in the control room who literally friendzones nick miller and zara, who did nothing wrong and died too soon. i liked merlin. she should fire her agent)

god and there’s so much more wrong just with the structure of jurassic world, the characters, the cgi, the themes, everything about it just falls apart under even the smallest bit of scrutiny, I could turn this into a generic shitting-on-jurassic-world post but it’s already long enough

I might’ve gotten a little carried away but like… jurassic park honestly isn’t even in my top 10 favorite movies but I’m so angry about jurassic world. I really hope the person who sent me this anon actually follows me and I didn’t just write this for nothing lol. jurassic world is so bad. its so bad.

“sources” (these are mostly subjective movie reviews that I used to help me form my arguements, this whole post is basically subjective so who gives a shit): Chris Pratt/Colin Treverrow interview, Jurassic World’s Mother of a Problem, ‘Life Finds a Way’: Monstrous Maternities andthe Quantum Gaze in Jurassic Park and The Thirteenth Warrior (it’s ch. 1 in this doc), The Perma-Pump: Jurassic World’s SilliestCharacter, The Death of Zara Young, or: How I Learned toStop Worrying and Hate Jurassic World, Jurassic World Has A Serious Woman Problem