#and harsher judgment on female characters

[castleofravens]

a lot of people in fandom spaces will hate/demonize female characters for the same reasons they love/romanticize male characters and sometimes it’s not holding male villains/anti heroes accountable for their actions the way that female villains/anti heroes are and sometimes it’s hating female heroes/anti heroes for their personalities/flaws/attributes/trauma responses whilst romanticizing male characters for having the same or very similar characterization?? like hi why so many double standards??

ALSO some of these characters are teenagers??teenagers are really fucking messy, like they’re not gonna make perfect decisions all the time and they might seem unlikeable at times bc they’re … still children …??

[zaleriz]

I find it odd how all the black female characters in Descendants are villainized or judged harsher than their white counterparts who do the same thing as them

Uma was villainized by the show and fandom for spelling Ben which in turn made him publicly humiliate his girlfriend. Sounds familiar? Mal did the same thing in the first movie in fact, Uma got the spell from MAL'S spellbook.

Queen Leah being viewed in a negative light by fandom for judging the VKs and put high pressure on Audrey but nobody says anything about King Beast (Adam) who actually created and neglected the Isle in the first place. Let's not forget about the fact Ben is crowned King at 16 even though he has two healthy and perfectly functioning parents who were ruling just fine before him.

Audrey, before the release of the third movie, was portrayed as a mean bully by most of the fandom when in retrospect, her actions were not any worse than other people in Auradon. Yes, she is judgemental towards VKs, mostly Mal which was a still valid considering their families' history, but the only AK wasn't judgmental was Ben. Jane was super scared, Chad is meaner than Audrey considering he used Evie, Lonnie functioned as a plot device and Doug was scared/wary of them before he fell in love with Evie. Rewatching the first movie, Audrey never actually bullied the VKs. Most of the "mean" things she had to say was away from their eyes. She never spread any rumors about them neither did she harrass them or stop them from doing what they wanted. Family day incident wasn't even solely her fault because why didn't Ben warn the families that the children of their arch nemesis would there ahead of time.

I'm even going to talk about they switched the race of one of the craziest villain in Descendants to Black bc I'm gonna give them the benefit of doubt that the decision was made to reflect Cameron's heritage but given Disney's history, who knows 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

My point is most of the black women in shows are either portrayed as a villain in the franchise or villainized by the fandom.

[beevean]

Honestly I don't get the "if she was a male she would be forgiven" because in my experience male characters get crucified for stuff that female characters get a pass or outright praised for (I mean the whole girlboss thing is a example of that), it feels like I'm in an alternate universe or they're purposely acting like they're the unpopular one to get sympathy

It depends on the fandom and situation. (this is where I'd reference the infamous Lenector rape by deception scene and how in no fucking way the NFCV fandom would be shipping the two if it had been a man manipulating a vulnerable woman into sex to enslave and dehumanize her, but hey, since Lenore is cute and a sexy mommy...)

The Sonic fandom has displayed misogyny in the past. Elise, Amy, Rouge, Cream to a lesser extent... they got some nasty insults by the fans. Elise was a useless load at best, and a necrozoophile at worst. The slutshaming against Rouge was unbelievable. Amy was a bitch for her more aggressive behavior (hey that's familiar). Cream was annoying and needed to die because... she had a squeaky voice. They truly were hated for the most minute things, and yes, you got the impression that their femaleness made the judgment harsher.

But oh, that didn't mean that male characters got a pass at all. Knuckles? Silver? Big? Chris??? Fucking Shadow had haters! Shadow!

I politely invite young fans who weren't around during the 2000s and very early 2010s to watch the Sonic Shorts. They are a wonderful time capsule of the fandom's general mentality back then.

[rise-my-angel]

Im just disgusted by the fact that people would write twin sisters fucking each other and one of their husbands in a threesome

Let's not be so aggressively judgmental. This is fanfiction for a series which nearly every single pairing is already incestuous. Jace and Baela, and Luce and Rhaena were already going to be cousin marriages and both their set of parents (or the boys supposed parents) were also cousins and they are Targaryeans were brothers and sisters were almost expected to marry each other. Sister and sister is just a wlw pairing of this exact thing all over this entire series.

Now you can find that all gross, since I personally do, but there isn't anything different about twin sisters fucking then literally every other Targaryean pairing in the entire show other then they are both female. So, I won't judge that harsher then I judge everything else.

That being said, I don't think the pairing works. I don't see Baela and Rhaena as being open to such free sexual dynamics as that, nor do I think Jace would express any interest in his dead brothers former betrothed, as that would likely feel insulting to his brothers memory.

I think threesome fics work with two siblings if you do so respectfully, as I've written threesome fics one of which was a Jon x Reader x Robb, but I specified in that there would be no interactions at all hinting towards anything between Jon and Robb and it was all about the reader, since I am not interested in insecstual dynamics.

I don't know the person writing this fic, nor am I familiar with their work, so I cannot say if they will approach it with a careful respect for the characters. I will say, it doesn't sound like a pairing I'd be interested in if I were in the Jace community, but I'm also not even in his community so I am coming at this with an outside perspective.

You are allowed to find it gross, as do I, but I don't think it's fair to find sister x sister more gross then literally any other pairing within hotd as 90% of them are alraedy some degree of incest as it is, so sister x sister is only more gross sounding if you have no interest in female pairings, but remember, some people like the incestual pairings in the show and also like female pairings at the same time, so to them, this is a natural leap in their own train of logic.

But I don't think being so aggressive about it to an outsider of the Jace community like me was the right approach, since I had to do some deep dive thinking to get to the core of what you might be really feeling, as I am not familair with what normal Jace fics or pairings look like.

[chcrrybcmbs]

✼  ʾ   𝑎𝑐𝑡.   𝒊   ,   the   bits   &   bobs   .

FULL   NAME:   sheridan   delaney   delacroix.   ALIAS(ES):   dani  (   preferred   name   )   ,   triple   d    (      by   fans   /   friends )      ,   halfpipe   mommy  (      by   fans  ).   BIRTH   DATE:   june   ninteenth.   BIRTH   PLACE:   zurich   ,   switzerland.   AGE:   twenty   five   years   old.   PRONOUN(S):   she   ,   her.   GENDER:   cis   female.   ORIENTATION:   pansexual   ,   heteromantic.   RELATIONSHIP   STATUS:   single.   EDUCATION:   graduated   from   stanford   university   with   a   bachelors   in   biomedical   engineering.   OCCUPATION:   professional   snowboarder   ,   socialite.   CAREER   DETAILS:   click   here.

NATIONALITY:   swiss   -   american.   ETHNICITY:   english   ,   french   ,   irish   ,   german   ,   swiss - german , austrian.   LANGUAGES   SPOKEN:   english   ,   german (   first   language   ).   FINANCIAL   STATUS:   upper   class.   FATHER:   gabriel   delacroix.   NATIONALITY:   french   -   swiss.   OCCUPATION:  international   ski   resort   owner  & heir to the delacroix fortune.   MOTHER:   melyssa   delacroix (   formerly   gottsman  ).   NATIONALITY:   american   -   swiss.   OCCUPATION:   socialite   (   glorified   trophy   wife )   .   SIBLINGS:  tba. PETS:   tba.   PAST   RELATIONSHIPS:   tba.

HEIGHT:   5   foot   10   inches.   WEIGHT:   122   pounds.   HAIR   COLOR:   brunette.   EYE   COLOR:   green.   TRAITS:   ambitious   ,   confident   ,   adaptable��  ,   intelligent   ,   alluring   ,   narcissistic    ,    judgmental   ,   selfish   ,   arrogant   ,   manipulative.   ZODIAC:   scorpio.   HOBBIES:   winter   sports   ,   boating   ,   sight   seeing , journaling .   CHARACTER   INSPO:   regina    george    ,   cersei   lannister   ,   draco   malfoy   .

✼  ʾ   𝑎𝑐𝑡.   𝒊𝒊   ,   the   story   so far   .

sheridan    delacroix    was    not    born    into    a    kind    world    .    it    was    as    if    she    was    born    with    an    innate    understanding    of    this    .    the    world    was    harsh    ,    herediatary    competitive    nature    told    her    to    be    harsher    .    even    as    a    kid    there    was    an    apathy    and    cruelty    for    other's    that    laid    dormant    behind    decieveingly    kind    eyes    ,    visible    to    anyone    willing    enough    to    see    it    .    there    wasn't    any    shield    of    seeing    the    best    in    other's    for    her    ,    no    turning    point    in    her    life    where    reality    knocked    the    wind    out    of    her    .    she'd    always    seen    the    worst    --    that    was    her    power    . 

    the    delacroix    family    ,    maintained    zurich    ,    switzerland    as    their    permananent    residence    through    most    of    her    adolesecence    .    growing    up    on    a    hill    in    a    gated    off    community    .    sheridan    calls    it    "    the    cabin    "    but    dont    let    her    decieve    you    ,    its    virtually    the    largest    cabin    style    estate    in    the    world    .    her    parents    ,    gabriel    and    melyssa    delacroix    were    not    your    usual    couple    and    they    surely    weren't    traditional    parents    .    love    was    not    a    feeling    you    couldn't    escape    but    instead    a    choice    you    made    every    day    ,    which    meant    there    were    conditions    to    their    love    .    high    expectations    were    inevitable    when    you    carried    a    name    that    was    forged    in    gold    for    centuries    .    there   could    be    days    even    weeks    that    would    go    on    before    she    saw    or    even    spoke    to    one    of    her    parents    growing    up    .    time    was    money    and    "    you    two    try    to    drain    me    dry    "    gabriel    would    often    note    to    the    two    women    in    his    life    .    despite    the    harsh    tone    that    was    at    the    surface    ,    the    delacroix    family    had    a    strong    foundation    between    the    three    of    them    ...    an    understanding    ,    that    not    only    her    parents    instilled    in    her   but    they'd    taught    her    nanny's    to    instill    in    her    .    be    great    :    whatever    you    do    ,    be    the    best    and    the    world    was    yours    . 

    its    was    almost    too    easy    for    her    .    intelligent    ,    athletic    ,    beautiful    ,    rich    ...    there    wasn't    anything    she    couldn't    do    and    she    knew    it    .    well    liked    throughout    her    school    years    (    well    more    like    feared    )    ,    everyone    knew    they    were    simply    no    match    for    her    .    there    was    no    competition    so    while    many    wanted    to    be    like    her    ,    she    was    never    afraid    to    remind    them    they    could    never    even    get    close    .    left    with    only    one    option    befriend    her    .    while    being    friends    with    her    didn't    entirely    save    you    from    her    tactics    though    ...    she'd    take    a    '    friends    '    boyfriend    ,    rig    a    school    vote    ,    forge    a    homework    assignment    against    anyone    if    it    meant    it    was    best    for    her    .    it    became    all    too    clear    the    lengths    she'd    go    during    the    lead    up    to    a    snowboarding    compeition    ,    just    before    she    went    profressional    .    a    girl    she    claimed    to    be    friends    with's    snowboard    snapped    mid    drop    into    the    halfpipe    ,    leaving    her    with    broken    bones    .    whispers    quickly    circled    among    other's    that    sheridan    had    been    behind    it    ,    having    one    of    her    '    minions    '    get    a    hold    of    the    girl's    board    simply    because    sheridan    didn't    feel    she    was    good    enough    to    share    the    same    slope    as    her    .    while    the    rumors    are    true    ,    there    was    no    proof    that    tied    the    accident    to    her    and    so    it    was    swept    under    the    rug    ,    left    to    be    entirely    forgotten    by    the    time    she    went    pro    .                           

    it    was    at    fourteen    ,    the    family    made    the    move    from    their    home    in    switzerland    to    one    of    her    father's    properties    in    lake    tahoe    .    a    joint    venture    ,    he    liked    to    claim    :    expansion    of    his    company    and    closer    proximity    to    the    man    who    would    become    sheridan's    coach    .    within    a    years    time    ,    her    coach    ,    freddie    burke    ,    became    something    of    a    pseudo    guardian    to    her    .    taking    her    all    across    the    world    for    competitions    and    meets    .    he    really    helped    shine    a    light    on    the    sort    of    talent    that    was    entering    the    professional    snowboarding    world    ,    he    adored    her    and    wanted    the    world    to    too    .    their    relationship    teetering    a    few    years    later    when    sheridan    got    into    a    rather    public    argument    with    his    wife    ,    who    often    referred    to    sheridan    as    "    a    crafty    little    bitch    "    and    her    family    as    "    tyrants    on    her    husband's    life    "    .    she    ended    up    separating    from    her    coach    after    this    altercation    and    moving    onto    one    who'd    moved    from    austria    to    work    with    her    ,    telling    freddie    "    when    you    drop    the    dead    weight    ,    you    can    have    me    back    "    .    it    took    a    couple    years    but    as    per    usual    her    words    manifested    into    a    series    of    events    that    would    land    her    with    exactly    what    she    wanted    :    freddie    was    divorced    and    crawling    back    to    be    her    coach    .    instead    of    returning    back    to    his    coaching    ,    she    started    sleeping    with    him    ,    having    him    on    her    arm    at    events    .    a    public    showing    ,    that    she    knew    his    ex    wife    would    see    ,    that    she    would    always    win    .    the    relationship    between    them    didn't    last    long    though    ,    sheridan    was    the    sort    of    woman    who    needed    a    man    willing    to    go    through    whatever    hell    it    meant    was    coming    his    way    to    put    his    foot    down    with    her    .    a    man    with    the    same    harsh    make    up    as    her    father    .                  

    accepted    into    stanford    university    .    it    was    the    start    of    her    slow    and    steady    move    closer    to    the    city    of    angels    --    everything    sheridan    did    had    a    motive    behind    it    .    she    studied    biomedical    engineering    for    four    years    ,    joined    the    universities    snowboarding    team    where    she    dominated    every    meet    ,    naturally    ,    as    a    olympic    medalist    at    such    a    young    age    .    during    her    time    in    school    though    ,    she    made    frequent    trips    to    los    angeles    ,    new    york    &    dc    often    alongside    her    mother    who'd    become    a    staple    in    american    high    society    from    the    moment    the    delacroix's    touched    down    in    the    states    .    it    wasn't    long    before    sheridan    was    getting    her    own    invitations    to    high    profile    events    .    hollywood    elites    loved    her    ,    statesmen    wanted    the    swiss    olympian    on    their    arms    ,    by    twenty    two    she'd    become    something    of    a    hot    commodity    .    the    public    had    cultivated    something    akin    to    an    obsession    with    her    .    papparazzi    everywhere    she    went    ,    her    name    a    headline    everytime    she    so    much    as    blinked    .    it    was    a    rare    frenzy    for    a    female    athlete    to    undergo    but    sheridan    chalked    it    up    to    her    own    rarity    . 

    she    made    the    move    to    los    angeles    ,    after    graduating    and    has    claimed    the    city    as    her    permanent    home    since    although    she's    often    spotted    spending    weeks    at    a    time    back    home    in    europe    or    in    aspen    where    her    father    has    carved    out    white    the    private    cabin    for    her    on    one    of    the    resorts    . 

[mermaidsirennikita]

Simone even getting the main female lead role in Bridgerton is a huge thing. I wouldn’t have even imagined them considering a dark skinned Indian woman for a main lead role tbh. The colorism is so obvious in Netflix’s shows. The pressure on Simone is definitely a lot, especially with Kate being such a popular character. The scrutiny she gets will be 10 times harsher than that of Phoebe’s. I already have seen some make remarks that her acting isn’t as good as Phoebe’s, after just a 1 minute clip. Can’t really deduce anything from such a small clip and side roles she has played. From her latest interview with People Magazine, she does seem like a sweet person who wants to focus on doing a good job.

The thing is that we’ve seen so little. I don’t think you could say Simone is the greatest in the world or the worst based off that clip. I liked her—I saw chemistry with JB and charisma, but again you really can’t judge. Yet she’ll have to put up with more judgment than Phoebe did, invariably. People are kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

[flying-elliska]

Well.... If lola looked pysically different (if you know, you know) the skam france fandom at large would struggle to embrace her or be so understanding about her behavior. But alas, she is acceptable so by the time Lola starts to display more positive and agreeable personality traits everybody will quickly rally behind her and the trend of throwing out harsh criticism towards her will be over. All will be well in the end (bar some questionable plot choices)

Also people wouldn't be thinking all these nasty things about Lola if it was Lucas behaving like her  (idk if this is the same anon but it makes sense for me to answer them together)

I don’t like or think it’s very useful to point fingers or guilt trip anyone in the fandom for the characters they connect with or not. But, it is true that the further a character is from your standard male/white/able-bodied/thin/cis/’hollywood’ attractive protagonist, the harsher people tend to judge them, and this extends to real life (and there are tons of studies about it). 

And this is not always a conscious thing. From a very young age we are all taught how to empathize a lot more with men of a certain type, and I think this is something we all have to go about unlearning and working on our own. And having conversations about how and why this happens in fandom can be useful ; but I think the way fans sometimes go about it is too focus on throwing shade and feeling superior rather than actually having a discussion and that’s just...not productive at all. 

In Lola’s case, when it comes to female protagonists there is a strong pressure for them to be likeable/nice/pleasant/caring (it’s even worse for women of color btw) so yeah, I think that if she becomes less spiky, people will start to like her more. Her looking like she does does encourage people to act with more empathy towards her, but right now it’s not always working either. It’s...A complicated thing lmao. And Lucas might have gotten away with more things but also maybe not (a lot of ppl didn’t really like Lucas - and still - at the beginning because of his grumpiness) . I don’t think there are any snap judgments here help. It’s also somewhat normal to be more attached to characters who are undergoing change and growth. 

One question that comes back and that is really interesting to me is ; what makes characters worthy of interest and empathy ? Part of that is deeply personal depending on your tastes and experiences ; part of that ties into wider social patterns - like what we are taught heroes should look like, whose story is worth following, how our moral judgments are impacted by the identity of the person we are judging, etc. And this analysis is worth doing on a cultural scale but also deep down, we all have specific hangups and ways in which we have been formatted. 

When it comes to skam I’m a bit...well i’m telling myself it’s a younger fanbase and the very ‘high school-y’ mentality of it at times comes with the territory but i do wish some people did actually think a bit in more depth about the message of the show lmao. And develop a bit more compassion idk.

[gebrochener-adler]

How would you play this character differently as the opposite gender?

//So this, is a very interesting thought experiment for two reasons. 

One: Austrian politics were extremely disdainful of women. They were seen as overly emotional and best suited for child rearing like many countries, but Austrian court life could be particularly controlling of it.

Two: Austria has always been fairly conservative, not a lot of high swings towards progressive movements even to this day.

So what happens when you apply this to a representative who is already reserved, a bit of a prude, and edgy? You get amplification. A female Austria would be even more hardline. She would have to fight to be seen as an equal among her peers in court life and would have to be even sharper with her tongue. Take Roderich and apply an even heavier strict school teacher Aura. This is a woman who takes no shit at any time from anyone. She would be extremely disdainful of any expressions of emotion or crying.

 This is a very repressed and blunt woman who has a hammer for a tongue and a very sharp and perceptive air.She would dress exceptionally conservatively.

While Roderich regards women as fairly equal due to having to fight a female representative from early in life, Ludmila as we’ll call her would be very quick to judgment, especially of women she sees as ‘flighty’ or ‘hysterical’. Since she would have been in a position where men consistently judge her based on their stereotypes of women, she would have a bit of what you might call internalized misogyny.It would be a lot harder to be friends, because she would be suspicious of even an apology. The hatred of the perception of pity is harsher because she’ll assume you have sympathy because of her sex.

 Austrian politics and the whole culture of the climate used to be very patriarchal and I think this sort of defensive edginess would only be amplified by an atmosphere like that.//

[bi-lullaby]

No one asked

And I should be studying, but here are some thoughts for season 16 so far:

(SPOILER WARNING, OBVIOUSLY)

1 - Merluca and it’s parts: COUPLES FIGHT STOP PREDICTING THE WORST OK. They’ve been completely adorable so far, but this is what someone said in a interview: “This is the after in happy ever after” (or something to that effect). They’re gonna fight and them they’re gonna make up, I hope. As for their fight: They were both in the right imo. Yes, Meredith is being inconsequent and it must be so frustrating for Deluca to A)Have her continue risking her career and license and freedom when he went to such lengths to help that, B) Be crapped on constantly bc of something your girlfriend did. Yes, Meredith is completely right in fighting the system that is so throughtly broken, and yes, coming to apologize to her mentor and longtime friend was completely the right thing to do. I wanna see merluca wedding and marriage! Maybe (since there are two pregnant people in this season already?) next season will be Mer and Jo? One can dream! For them individually: Poor Mer, she has bitten more than she can chew but she is ready to take on this fight! Imma love to see her as auntie mer! I mis merjolex so much tho, I know she’s been busy and all but they seem to forget she is a important part in their support system. Andrew has been all over the place. I love his confidence, but in the ep where he literally screamed at Bailey over her trying to teach an intern? And called her out bc she was using a different material than Mer? I was a bit off-thrown. But he’s still a great character I enjoy watching. Hope they find the balance between confidence and arrogance for him, and develop him even more!

2 - Amelink: AAAAAA. They’re so amazing and perfect and sweet and I wanna hug them both. Link is everything you could wish for, Amy is adorable as ever. If they lay a finger on either them as a couple, them as individuals, or their baby, imma kick some asses. I don’t think they will tho, Amy is been through SO MUCH already and she deserves a breath.

3 - Bailey: OMG SHE IS PREGNANT AAAAAAAA. I’m so happy! Ben is already a great dad, this will be so fun to watch! Hope they don’t put her through the ringer with a difficult pregnancy or a sick child, she does not deserve this! She already nearly lost her first child while giving birth in a bomb-y hospital while her husband had brain surgery NEXT to the bomb. Enough pregnancy drama for a lifetime. As for her actions: I’ve said before: I’m pissed, yes. She’s acting way too harsh and taking it out on people and more importantly (as I’ve touched on in my female grey’s characters ranking post) she’s out of character. Where is the Bailey that went around the hospital runnning after the attendings and kicking their asses into signing her proposal for a free clinic? And gave them a speech on how they had failed her and she needed something to believe in in medicine? She was one of the first characters to point out how broken the system was, to take direct action to try and fix it. Sure, she likes to try and work within the rules as much as possible, much she is not adverse to breaking a few of them if she thinks it’s necessary (hello deactivated HIV inside a young boy’s body without parental consent! Hello changing the date on a surgery which is also insurance fraud!)! If she thinks it’ll save a life! But also, she’s not completely wrong: Meredith did commit a crime, as good as her intentions were; As her boss, firing her was the only logical decision. She thought her hospital (which she dedicated a good half of her life to) was being attacked by someone she trained into the surgeon she is, ofc she’d be mad as all hell. Quadri was disrespectful, not doing her job well, actively getting in the way of her superior doing her job, screaming at her boss in the middle of the hallway about how she didn’t want to work there - firing her was a tad extreme (specially for a charact who has never, herself, had any qualms ahout mouthing off to her own superiors when she didn’t think something was right) but not completely out of nowhere. I hate hate hate how they’ll probs throw a “oh she was being crazy bc pregnancy hormones!” line after seeing how her actions have been badly perceived by people (like there isn’t enough a stereotype that women can’t have positions of power because hormones make them crazy) instead of “hey this character was put in extremely uncomfortable and tough positiona after extremely uncomfortable and tough positions and came off as harsher than necessary while trying to balance a world-class hospital crisis”. Ugh.

4 - Jackson: Ok so the last few eps have rekindled my love for him and I’m relieved! There’s the good, kind, funny and smart guy I like! I was mad bc of the whole Jaggie drama, but hey, shit happens! If they will be better apart, then I’m happy! (Ok 50% of this is because of what he said to levi! Stanning Meredith Grey + dorky Harry Potter reference? Yes!!!!). I hope this season will be kind on him, that he and Vicky work out well (from what I gathered about it, she has also been through a lot) and that we see more Harriet!

5 - Maggie: Baby girl. I love that they’re consistent that she has a jealous streak but is also a very good person who is always trying her best. Plus, official womb secret bearer is the best title omg! Maybe she should change from cardio to obgyn, lol! Plus, the sisters are everything to me! She instantaneous knew Amy was mad! She stood up for Mer! Aaaaa I love them!!!! Hope this show ends with all three of them happy and loved and badass as always!

6 - Others: Tom has been an.... Interesting piece. I love him, but his antics are almost caricature-esque now and it’s getting on my nerves. He was detestable in exploitating that family’s pain but also, the hospital did need a pr boost or it’d be in even hotter waters! The restraining order on Owen was a tad much bc it got in the way of patient care, but also he did get electrocuted in a very sensitive area by someone who had just gotten together with his ex - I’d be a little suspicious that it was 100% unintentional tbh. He’s power drunk and needs to be turned down a notch. Schmit and Nico and adorkable as always and I loved Nico’s speech about demanding more of himself - That’s one of the biggest traps of low self-steem and Imm glad it’s mentioned. I’ll miss Quadri. Helm being a MeredithGrey stan first and person second is still me lol. I loved how this last ep showed how much of a family they are - all the connections and shared pasts and references to relationships and what not. The “bird” storyline was so cute! Pac North seems so promissing and I’ll cry ugly tears when my baby Alex turns that ish around and shows everyone who’s boss!!!! The whole “the world is broken” theme of the season is my jam! Sadly, irl that handful of people are not gonna turn it around, but I want to see it happen on my screen! The medical system being fixed! As a future doctor (I promissed myself I’d not be the person who brings it up in every opportunity but lol here I am) it’d make me so happy! Against my better judgment, I’m liking Towen! They are trying, they’re really trying! Owen has done nothing wrong so far (besides offering to milk teddy which was just dumb, not malicious) and has been great at stepping down from his job so she could work! And him at Pac North will be great tbh - as much as I didlike him, he is an excellent doctor and strategist and he was a great chief at GS (until the last bit which was just gross negligence). From the promo for next ep: I don’t think they’ll make Webber cheat again. It’d be predictable and cheap and I’d be so mad that we’d have another round of acting like he’s a saint with a tiny issue of being a cheater. What I theorize is: He’ll have lunch with his friend, and either A) She’ll be friendly at the wrong time and Catherine will walk in and then think he’s cheating and it’ll be a mess, or B) Gemma is gonna try to get him back to drinking (Or maybe C) She was telling him to stop being bullheaded and fighting with his wife when life is so short). Cristina reference in the text omg, my heart!

Sorry for the long rant!

[iincantatorum-a]

Name: Dr. Ombre Mystique Facilier Age of Character: 23 Species: Human/Shadow Face Claim: Antonia Thomas or Rihanna Appearance: Always well kept, her hair usually permed with curls. Height/frame: average height for a female, slender. A tight corset makes her appear bustier than she is.

Family History :

Dr. Facilier (father) Unknown Mother

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Personality: Mystique has the charm of her father, but her façade is much more divisive. Her natural personality is that of loud, judgmental, selfish, and only doing favors that will help her in some way.  On the outside, she is quite the lady, one who would have made the finest debutant, cooking, cleaning, and sewing her way into a man’s heart for money.

Hobbies: Tarot Cards, piano Fears: Facilier coming back from the shadows.  As much as she would like to marry rich, she fears a “loveless” marriage. Abilities: Precognition through her Tarot Cards, creating simple spells, and amulets for basic things like health, wealth, love.

Brief History:

Voodoo priests and priestesses are often chosen at birth, and Mystique was no different.  Except for having been taken from a loving home by Dr. Facilier and treated generally as a nuisance.  Her abilities exceed the normal expectations of a child, but it was never enough for her “father.” While some couldn’t even understand the cards, Mystique could understand them all, although if she read even one out of order it would be several raps on her hands until she got it right.  She was to be a protégé after all; why else would he have named after“the” Voodoo Queen.

Mystique developed his charms, although more harshly.  While his charm and anger often were quite balanced enough to not scare any customers away, Mystique would eventually snap at what she perceived as their stupidity.  She began to rebel against her father, finding that none of the people she “helped” gave her anything she wanted in return.  Her temper would cause harsher punishments, until she perfected the art of smooth talking her way into a man (or woman’s) wallet… unless she found out they didn’t have anything then her façade would quickly drop.

Mystique had been sent away by her father to learn his art before the events of The Princess and the Frog; he had decided that until she was better than she already was she needed different tutelage.  When she had returned to New Orleans, he had already been taken by the shadows, Marie’s chances of inheriting his magic amulet with him.  This led her to lose out on the powerful (albeit darker) side of Voodoo, leaving her with charms, amulets, and “cure-alls.” Disgusted by her own father’s failure and the future his fall had caused to be snatched away from her,  she decided to do her best to rise up above and beyond her father.

This was easier said than done, and without a way to contact any of her former teachers, Mystique suffered the life of a below average voodoo priestess, scraping by with tarot readings and selling charms and amulets.  This was not the life she wanted.  She was named after a queen, and a queen she would be.  She set out to find any eligible royalty for her to finally get the life that was rightfully hers, one reading, one charm at a time.

[legendofthesmashedwineglasses]

So the PV for the new LotGH anime came out and there were very mixed reactions to say the least. Besides the Ginga Eiyuu no Basuke and Kircheis jokes which I enjoy myself, I’ve been seeing a lot of people acting like it is now guaranteed to be shit. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Kircheis’ design either and I have my fair share of concerns about the series as a whole, but I think that’s jumping the gun a bit. We have only seen a minute and a half of a hype trailer. That’s not even close enough to the material needed to make a fair judgment. Furthermore, I think that there are some good things that have been shown so far but they mostly get overshadowed by the reaction to the character designs. Because of that, I’ve decided to write about some of the potentially good things that I think Die Neue These has shown us thus far.

It’s Distinguishable from the OVA

I know some might disagree with me on this, but I was pleased to see that it looks like DNT is trying to be different from other LotGH adaptations. If it was just going to be the OVA with upgraded animation, it would be pointless. I’d rather just watch the OVA again if it was trying to be the OVA. There’s no meaning in trying to replicate something that just can’t be replicated. Since it looks like they’re working to make DNT distinct, it will have to succeed or fail on its own merits. In my opinion, that’s for the best and I respect the fact that they’re trying something different.

Cinematic Flair

Honestly, I was surprised that the PV was for a 12 episode TV series, because it sure didn’t feel like one. From the music to the lighting to the grandiose scenic shots, it seemed like a trailer for a movie. The transition from Reinhard’s raised to the title in particular was cinematic as hell. The theatrical presentation definitely fits the space opera genre. DNT might be going for a more dramatic approach which is an interesting possibility with a lot of potential. Also, some of the shot composition was just great like the shot below and the vollery fire of the Imperial ships.

Music

There’s nothing known for certain about DNT’s soundtrack at this moment, so the only thing to go on is what was heard in the PV. The new music showed promise. It had nicely timed swells and fit the space opera atmosphere of the PV quite well. 

It might be revealed later that the soundtrack will be entirely original with no classical music. As much as I love the classical music soundtrack, I think it would be an interesting opportunity to give LotGH a musical identity. Neon Genesis Evangelion makes me think of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and “You Say Run” always comes to my mind when I think of Boku no Hero Academia. LotGH doesn’t really have a particular piece of music like that. The closest might be Ravel’s Bolero, but even then it is not distinctly LotGH.

If it ends up being the case that the new soundtrack is entirely original, what was heard in the PV has potential at the very least.

The Scenery

The scenery was easily one of my favorite parts of the PV. Look at this.

I need to see Heinessen now.

Animation

We haven’t been shown much yet, but what has been seen of the animation looks pretty smooth. That’s a step in the right direction and could potentially help the visual storytelling in the story a lot. 

Additionally, the CG exceeded my expectations. When I first heard that the ships were CG, I started to get upset because of certain previous attempts at CG. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised. The CG is pretty well done and could make the combat scenes more dynamic. There’s definitely potential there.

The Uniforms

Attention to detail was put into the new uniforms. You can tell. I would consider that a positive thing.

The Alliance uniforms were changed from air force-inspired outfits to a more naval uniform. It’s an interesting touch that stays in line with the spirit of the old uniforms. (Also, Yang’s little plant on his collar is really adorable).

The Empire uniforms stay in the spirit of the OVAs designs as well, as you can see with the collars of the higher-ranked officers and general look of the uniforms. I really appreciate the fact that differently ranked soldiers now have distinctly different uniforms from early on. It’s a nice detail. 

Miyano Mamoru

To be completely honest, Miyano wasn’t my first pick for Reinhard’s voice actor. That being said, it makes sense why he was chosen. He’s popular, talented, experienced, popular, oh and popular. In my opinion he’s one of the best choices for the character out of the most popular male voice actors right now. Given his track record, at the very least we’ll get a solid performance from him.

Takagi Noboru

Takagi Noboru is the person in charge of the series composition (aka scripts/the writing) and I’m cautiously somewhat positive about him being in charge. My biggest concern for someone writing the new anime is that the person has no experience writing political dramas and stories with large casts. I have more concern about the large cast aspect because that’s easy to screw up. Takagi has a good bit of experience handling large casts from being in charge of the series composition of shows like Baccano! (a personal favorite of mine) and Durarara!!. I don’t know how well he’ll actually do with LotGH but I do think that he has some of the tools needed to handle it well.

I’m not a professional in the industry, so please understand I’m only looking at this from a completely inexperienced perspective.

The Staff of KnB isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing

While I myself am concerned about them being the staff for DNT, there are a few potential positives about it. 

The group has worked together in the past a bunch so they’re used to each other. Having a staff that works well together generally helps the final product turn out better. 

The other thing is that they know how to handle a franchise. KnB and LotGH aren’t comparable at all, but the fact that they are both franchises remains and franchises work differently than a one-off 12 episode series.

The Ships

They’re beautiful and you can’t convince me otherwise, sorry. I love the little scifi touches they added to the Brunhild’s engines. There’s not much else I can say so have some pictures.

Before I finish this I’d like to address some complaints I’ve seen and explain why they are non-issues (at the moment at least).

“They’re pandering to women/fujoshi now! This isn’t LoGH!”

Interestingly enough, this is nothing new. Despite the reputation of the series here in America, LotGH wasn’t only for male “elitists”. In the August of 1986 which was two years before the 1988 OVA, Michihara Katsumi began her manga adaptation of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels. It was released in the bi-monthly magazine Chara, a magazine which printed Yaoi and Shoujo manga. And, uh, if you read through it it becomes even more clear who this was meant for.

Alternatively, LotGH is not a women-only thing either, just the idea that LotGH adaptations have never been influenced by the female demographic is completely wrong. 

“The characters don’t look like they have the same personality!”

This issue just confuses me. There are only seconds of footage of the main characters in the PV. How did you expect them to show you their entire character in seconds? This is especially odd since the PV was meant to show off the space battle side of the series. All of the characters typically look serious during the battle scenes. I’ve seen claims that Yang is now a cold-hearted person because of how he looks in a promo image meant to show his and Reinhard’s opposing paths. It’s not like that he hasn’t looked a bit harsher to illustrate the conflict in the past.

It should also be noted that Yang is an alcoholic plagued with survivor’s guilt, so yeah, he’s not going to look cute and laid back all the time. I’ve also seen similar claims like Reinhard being too cold (despite him being in battle and commanding his subordinates) and Kircheis not smiling or looking kind enough and looking sly instead. The first can easily explained with context, though I can definitely agree that Kircheis doesn’t seem as openly friendly as the OVA. However, there are subtle signs of Kircheis personality and relationship with Reinhard in the one shot we get of him.

Kircheis has a raised eyebrow and a slight smile as he speaks to Reinhard. It shows their familiarity and the fondness he has for Reinhard. This is the exact opposite of contradicting his character.

“How are they going to fit 110 episodes into 12 episodes and three movies? It’s going to be rushed.”

There’s a huge assumption here. That is, Production IG is planning to tell the entire ten-volume story in just 24 episodes. Never have they said anything to suggest that they are going to do so. I like to think that such a prominent company wouldn’t be so stupid as to attempt that and completely butcher the story in the process. I’d say it’s likely that they are planning to end with the aftermath of the Lippstadt Rebellion. 

“Why didn’t they just use the original anime designs?”

Easy, this isn’t the 80s. The OVA’s character designs are distinctly 80s and I love that about them, but that’s just not going to happen in 2018. The popular styles have changed as have the styles that animators commonly use. Sadly, curly hair is rare these days. I feel your pain.

Many people have misgivings about Die Neue These. I am one of them. I just think it’s important to remember that the PV had more than just the character designs and that the purpose of the PV was to show off the space opera-like war setting. There is nothing to indicate that the most important part of LotGH- the plot and characters- has been handled terribly yet. It’s certainly possible that it is badly written, but at this point it’s equally possible that it isn’t. Who knows how it will turn out? I certainly don’t.

[lydiahopemoore]

Collection of important findings

Survey responses - What would you like to see happen in the future in regards to women who enjoy gaming? 

“I'd like to see developers seriously try and clamp down on harassment. I left Overwatch several months ago because I just couldn't handle playing with toxic players anymore and getting harassed because I'm a girl. I know the OW team specifically has made strides to reduce toxicity, but I wish they'd use more serious methods, like what League of Legends does.”

“id like everyone to be able to play the game they want without being told that its not for girls, at whatever level they want, and for girls that are open about being girls e.g. on twitch to not be harassed”

“I am not interested in playing with people I don't know because there is a higher than average chance (given how little the larger gaming community seems to care about standards of conduct between players) that unknown players will be sexist or abusive, and that is absolutely not fun or acceptable.”

“I'd like to see male gamers start to police their own. I'd like to see them stand up to sexism and not tolerate it, regardless of whether they are friends with the person doing the harassing or not. I'd like to see standards of behaviour enforced in multiplayer games, and I'd like male gamers to stop complaining about diverse character options, games in which the main character is female, or more realistic female characters (i.e. less fantasy armor that hardly covers anything or more realistic body types).”

“That more girls feel comfortable participating in online games without fear of harassment or immediate judgment, that women who work in the gaming industry will be treated well.”

“Maybe more MMO games that appeal to women, that's kind of lacking”

“I'd like to see women able to enjoy gaming without experiencing any gender based discrimination. There will always be harassment of some type on online games, but I just wish that women wouldn't be unfairly targeted because of their gender.”

“More punishments for people who bully women online (or people in general)”

“I would like to see companies do a lot more to deal with their toxic communities and deal harsher punishments to repeat offenders. I would like women in gaming to feel safe and welcomed.”

“I'd like to be respected as a human being. I'm okay getting insulted because I suck at gaming sometimes, I'm not okay with being called hateful slurs on the sole base of my gender and sexuality”

Stand out information from secondary research:

“Among the players in the survey, 62% said video game companies themselves should do more to make online games safer and more inclusive. More than half (58%) said the targets of online gaming harassment should have more legal recourses. Another 55% indicated that the games should use technology to monitor in-game chats, a recommendation echoed by the ADL.

The organization also calls for the gaming industry to work with outside experts to modify its ratings system to give more “meaningful information” to consumers about the nature of an online community.“ 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/07/25/video-games-online-can-harbor-harassment-and-hate-adl-finds/1804991001/

Problem:

-51.84% of women have experienced gender-based harassment while playing video games.

-93.49% of those women have blocked/muted the person due to harassment.

-14.81% of women want to see less harassment and more acceptance while playing video games.