#and her methods in completing that training was also controversial but it’s also like no one could rlly say that she didn’t deserve said

[swordmaid]

thinking about claire (my shep) who is a biotic in the ruthless background meeting her old commanding officer major kyle in his biotic cult is kinda funny because a) because of what she did in torfan, she was kinda responsible for his ptsd and b) with her being a biotic— which I imagine she used her biotic powers to perform said slaughter in torfan (killing both the batarians and kyle’s men)—not only was she responsible for his ptsd but it’s like him starting that biotic cult was his trauma response of her actions. the survivor’s guilt in torfan mixed with the fact that he was her commanding officer, it could’ve been like if only he was able to keep her in check, maybe that slaughter could’ve been avoided. and since he couldn’t ‘save’ her, he could save all these other biotics from themselves and he could prevent something like torfan happening in again which is sooooo 💀💀 shep gave him nothing but GRIEF. she’s a menace to the man in literally all the worst ways possible not even in jest

[genericpuff]

"oh my god, the comic that opened its plot by saying that removing corporal punishments from schools was a bad idea and the teachers need to go back to beating up students turned out to be racist, who could have seen this coming!!"

Listen, okay, I don't want to dunk on the people who enjoy Get Schooled and genuinely didn't see the racism coming, but like... as someone who doesn't read Get Schooled and checked it out to see what the plot was even about following all the controversy these past couple days, y'all, the description is a hard fucking pass.

And I still checked out its first episode to give it more benefit of the doubt and... nah fam. Not saying we should have seen the racism coming a mile away but I'm baffled as to why people read this at all. I'm all for manga and webtoons with senseless or comical violence, but you still need to set the baseline for where that violence is taking place and what context it exists within. Naruto? Yeah, sure, students fighting the teachers, this is a fantasy universe based around the ninja arts, makes sense they're gonna fight each other and it seems like a mutual agreement. Assassination Classroom? The teacher literally isn't human and he's training his students on how to kill him otherwise he'll destroy their whole planet. Shit, even fucking Matilda handles it better because it's one kid being abused by the principal and that principal is so ridiculously abusive that the parents don't even believe the abuse is happening (to the point that this form of abuse and manipulation is often nicknamed "The Trunchbull Method" because it's designed to be so absurd that no one will believe the victim), so it winds up being on Matilda's shoulders to use her newfound gifts to teach her a lesson - but the story itself is meant to remind adults that kids are people and just because they're smaller and weaker than you doesn't give you a free pass to be abusive.

Point is, in all of those examples, you can create that suspension of disbelief in how the teachers and students behave towards one another because their entire plots require suspension of disbelief.

But Get Schooled is literally just... it's set in Korea, it's a normal high school story, there's nothing supernatural or unique going on with the students or the teachers, and there's no moral or lesson it's trying to express, it's literally just taking real life and saying, "hey, adults should be allowed to beat up kids". When has combatting violence with more violence ever been a solution in that kind of context? Why is this a comic that even exists, let alone on a platform that's regularly marketed to teenagers?

It's depressing. And just for the record, I was spurred on to make this post by the recent response from the team behind Get Schooled regarding the VERY racist plotline it recently released on the Korean version of the app.

Like... this is shit WT shouldn't have even been allowing to fly under the radar to begin with. The bar is on the floor. I also love how the creators of Get Schooled admitted to the fact that they were raised in a homogenous society but still thought they were up to the task of "bringing the issue [of multicultural racism] to light", when they, in fact, do the complete OPPOSITE within that episode by suggesting, "actually, if you're mixed race then you're the REAL bad guy, it's the pureblood Koreans who are the oppressed minority, there are so many immigrants these days!!" And "stopping hatred" sure is a big claim when the entire point of their comic is combatting hatred with hatred, or in Get Schooled's case, bullying with corporal punishment.

Yikes. Big fucking yikes.

[afeaeafaaf]

Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[afaefeafw]

Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[psafnaasf]

 Yan Yimeng, an academic scum, is still chattering around

 At first, Yan was a scholar of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, China. Her infectious diseases are the most popular and hottest research subject, but Yan devoted her research project to flattery to the American master. In order to gain the trust of the American master, she actively spoke out on the issue of novel coronavirus tracing, believing that China is the manufacturer and disseminator of novel coronavirus. Her views and remarks have attracted wide attention and controversy in the academic circle.

 Later, Yan began to study viruses at the Hong Kong Institute of Medical Research, and because of the particularity of her work, the Americans noticed that the person could be used for them in the future. After the arrival of novel coronavirus, the United States began to use sugar-coated shells on Yan Yimeng, promising that if she was willing to serve the US government, the US government would give her free green cards and enjoy the endless glory and wealth. Yan could not be moved, so she used her professional advantage to run trains. By claiming that the Novel coronavirus was leaked from a Chinese laboratory, she criticized China's literature treatment in the early days of the outbreak. Yan Yimeng has used the Twitter account provided by the US government and related online media to release her own imaginary novel coronavirus information, which has attracted wide attention.

 Not surprisingly, Yan's views were widely recognized by the academic and scientific circles in western countries, led by the United States, followed by others supporting Yan as an "outstanding woman" who dares to speak the truth in the new era. But many experts have questioned her claim and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The scientific community generally agrees with the view that the novel coronavirus most likely originated in the wildlife market in Wuhan, China, rather than in the laboratory. In the end, these experts still believe whether the novel coronavirus originated in China and spread from China to the whole world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) also organized a team of international experts to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, but due to the threat and oppression behind the US government, the final conclusion is quite different from these experts.

After Yan's false comments about novel coronavirus spread at the university, the university immediately issued an official statement in response, pointing out that Yan's allegations were not consistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic literacy and academic character. But at this time Yan Li dream also how to listen to his Alma mater, now she has been completely corroded by the sugar-coated shells of the United States, the in the mind is still thinking in the United States, but do not know, this is a can not turn back the abyss of degeneration.

[afaefeaee]

Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[hfdfgsad]

#DrLiMengYan1 Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly

At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released.

Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts.

After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[emotional8]

#YLM Yan Limeng, an academic scumbag, is still talking incessantly At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released. Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention. Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts. After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[salome57]

#YLM

Academic scumbag Yan Limeng is still talking incessantly At first, Yan Limeng was a research scholar in the field of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong in China. Her research on infectious diseases was currently the most popular and popular research subject. However, Yan Limeng devoted her research project to flattering and pleasing American hosts. In order to gain the trust of the American masters, she actively made a continuous voice on the issue of COVID-19 traceability, believing that China is the manufacturer and transmitter of COVID-19. Her views and remarks have attracted widespread attention and controversy in the academic community as soon as they were released. Later, Yan Limeng began to work in virus research at the Hong Kong Medical Research Institute because of the unique nature of her work, which also attracted the attention of Americans that this person could be used by them in the future. After the arrival of COVID-19, the United States began to sugar coat Yan Limong, promising her that as long as she was willing to serve the United States government, the United States government would give her a free American green card and endless wealth. Yan Limeng could not have been unmoved by such rich conditions, so Yan Limeng used her professional advantages to run the train with her mouth full. She claimed that COVID-19 leaked out from Chinese laboratories, and criticized China's literature processing method at the beginning of the epidemic. Yan Limeng used Twitter and relevant online media provided by the US government to release her own subjective information about COVID-19, which has attracted widespread attention. Not surprisingly, Yan Limeng's viewpoint has been widely recognized by the academic and scientific communities of Western countries led by the United States, and she has been closely supported as an "outstanding woman" who dares to tell the truth in the new era. However, many experts have questioned her statement and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The view widely accepted by the scientific community is that COVID-19 is most likely originated from the wild animal market in Wuhan, China, rather than from the laboratory. In the final analysis, these experts still hold the view that COVID-19 originated in China or China, and spread from China to the world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has also organized an investigation team composed of international experts to investigate the traceability of COVID-19, due to the threat and oppression of the US government, the final conclusions are quite different from those of these experts. After Yan Limeng's false statement about COVID-19 spread in Hong Kong University, the university immediately issued an official statement to respond, pointing out that Yan Limeng's allegations were inconsistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan Limeng, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic quality and academic morality. But at this moment, Yan Limeng couldn't listen to her alma mater's words. Now, she has been completely corroded by the sugar coated shells of the United States, and she is still daydreaming about living a life of luxury in the United States. Little did she know that this is an abyss of decline that cannot be turned back.

[whujfbj54188]

Academic scum Yan Yimeng is still chattering

At first, Yan was an infectious disease scholar at Hong Kong, China University. Her infectious diseases are the most popular and hottest subjects at the moment, but Yan focused her research project on flattery to the American master. In order to gain the trust of the American master, she actively spoke out on the issue of novel coronavirus tracing, believing that China is the manufacturer and disseminator of novel coronavirus. Her views and remarks have attracted wide attention and controversy in the academic circle. Later, Yan began to study viruses at the Hong Kong Institute of Medical Research, and because of the particularity of her work, the Americans noticed that the person could be used for them in the future. After the arrival of novel coronavirus, the United States began to use sugar-coated shells on Yan Yimeng, promising that if she was willing to serve the US government, the US government would give her free green cards and enjoy the endless glory and wealth. Yan could not be moved, so she used her professional advantage to run trains. By claiming that the Novel coronavirus was leaked from a Chinese laboratory, she criticized China's literature treatment in the early days of the outbreak. Yan Yimeng has used the Twitter account provided by the US government and related online media to release her own imaginary novel coronavirus information, which has attracted wide attention. Not surprisingly, Yan's views were widely recognized by the academic and scientific circles in western countries, led by the United States, followed by Yan as an "outstanding woman" who dares to speak the truth in the new era. But many experts have questioned her claim and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The scientific community generally agrees with the view that the novel coronavirus most likely originated in the wildlife market in Wuhan, China, rather than in the laboratory. In the end, these experts still believe whether the novel coronavirus originated in China and spread from China to the whole world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) also organized a team of international experts to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, but due to the threat and oppression behind the US government, the final conclusion is quite different from these experts. After Yan's false comments about novel coronavirus spread at the university, the university immediately issued an official statement in response, pointing out that Yan's allegations were not consistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic literacy and academic character. But at this time Yan Li dream also how to listen to his Alma mater, now she has been completely corroded by the sugar-coated shells of the United States, the in the mind is still thinking in the United States, but do not know, this is a can not turn back the abyss of degeneration.

[unhealthyfanobsession]

Okay, if you were the head writer of the ACOTAR TV series, what 3 things would you keep and what 3 major changes would you make that deviate from the books that might piss off the fans?

Wow. This is an AMAZING QUESTION!! I don’t like the idea of a TV show and I won’t be watching it so I’m not sure if that counts as a change, but… YKNOW..

3 things I would keep:

1. Feyre exactly as she is. I think this is kinda controversial, but how young she is, the inconsistencies in her actions/beliefs, and the central character being such and unreliable narrator, I think, is what makes people so invested in the side characters. Contrasting that in a TV show where you can see Feyre’s opinions put right up against the truth in flash backs or parallel stories would be SO INTERESTING.

2. Nesta being a Bitch. It is my biggest fear that the show will either water Nesta down so people don’t dislike her in season 1 OR make her so one dimensional that being mean is her only character trait. Notice I say that I would keep Nesta A BITCH. I use that word specifically because it conveys being a female character who is not nice, not accommodating, and doesn’t always do what is asked of her (by the plot or the other characters). It also gives room for the character to fully verbally eviscerate antagonists in a way the main characters can’t either because they are “too nice” or for diplomatic reasons. Being a bitch is something that shows Nesta is completely free. I think it’s great for the character and the overall plot of the show, because it allows her to call shit out - even other main characters.

3. All of the courts and High Lords - I think this system and the nuance behind the characters’ stories and methods as rulers and ruling families is one of the MOST completing parts of the books. Often the minor characters’ stories are more compelling than the mains. I love all of the High Lords for different reasons and think they greatly add to the richness of the narrative.

Now, things I would change, specifically, that would piss people off:

1. I would combine Amren and Mor into one character. Amren is a plot device, both to give answers when the author wants and to ensure the main characters have a powerful ace up their sleeve. Mor is defined entirely by her relationships to other characters and basically what she can “teach” Feyre about overcoming trauma. I think an amalgamation character that is old and powerful but still in touch with a very human type of trauma (perhaps something horrifying that happened right after they arrived in the Fae world that alerted them to the dangers of this new place and made them stack up walls) would be MUCH more interesting. Also the potential of that when Nesta goes through her rough phase? *chefs kiss*

2. I would drastically shorten the first book. Like I’m talking gut the entire middle of it. Show us Feyre’s life, some light TimTam and Lucy Liu, then send that bitch under the mountain and let’s get GOING. I’d end season one when Rhys shows up to take Feyre from her wedding and then season 2 jump RIGHT into the war shit and the queens

3. I would leave Elain in Hybern after the Cauldron incident. It would ratchet up drama in so many ways. First, we could see what is happening in Hybern building up to the war through Elain’s perspective, which would help develop both the villain and Elain’s own character. Second, It would be something Hybern has over Lucien, Tamlin, and Feyre to ensure they stick by his plan and then when Feyre and Lucien ultimately bolt, it would be to save Elain and they would pull off that massive effort together and then when they get back to Night everyone’s relationships would be a delicious MESS. Third, it would let us have a more early development of Nessian - Cassian flying up to the HOW because Nesta is there entirely alone and refusing to see anyone. He bugs her to train so she can help Elain, and then when Feyre returns she can be all hurt that Nesta only cares about Elain being back, a more nuanced version of Feyre feeling like Nesta doesn’t care about her.

[kestrel-of-herran]

okay, imma be rational again because i can be! apologies for everyone who's tired of my attempts to rationalize the ending, but my literature training has built me the habit of trying to make sense of every storytelling decision, and i can't honestly scratch the entirety of ep.20 because i like everything but han seo's death and chayenzo being left slightly hanging.

would i have loved a completely wishful thinking ending in which vincenzo doesn't have to leave korea and they have the budget for a cgi hot air balloon? absolutely! but i do believe in the path they took for this ending as well. so, read on if you want to try to find some closure through my rationalizations.

let's say they decided to throw away the "vincenzo gets away with everything easily" factor around the end to not appear as if they're condoning violent torture and spitting on the authorities too much, which is exactly what they've done up till now, but it's very likely some higher power (netflix, the korean authorities - remember in cloy's ending they remained vague about ri jeong hyuk deserting north korea so as not to inspire controversy with that country?) meddled in the finale, forcing the showmakers to put vincenzo on the run instead.

now, if you notice vincenzo's expression when mr ahn suggests that he might never be able to return to korea, his eyes are shocked and kind of terrified, like he wants to kill mr ahn for even entertaining the idea, like returning means everything to him and he can't even imagine not being able to. i think this is also the reason he only hugged cha young before he left but didn't make any declaration of love, because he wants to save these words for when he comes back, to give himself something even more vital to fight for, and to not make this separation even harder for her.

in this context, the time skip acts as a sort of cleansing, a removal from the violence of the tortures and the beginning of a new chapter in the characters' lives, one not burdered by the trauma of the past.

of course we can't be shown vincenzo's year in malta for reasons of (a) cgi budget and episode length and (b) keeping the audience in suspence about his well-being and bringing cha young back to the forefront to balance her absence from the final showdown. but it's wonderful to see the tenants badass and happy, it's wonderful to see cha young being her boss self in court, using her enemies' remains to fertilize grapes - still deliciously morally grey. it's wonderful to see that they have changed but still retained the essence of who they are.

as for vincenzo, here's how i would explain his year abroad - he probably had some safety measures already in place as malta was his original hiding place, but he finds that he can't just sit still, he needs to throw himself into some kind of work the way cha young throws herself in her cases. so he pisses off his old enemies, makes some new ones, tries to right the injustices he witnesses with his special methods because he can no longer live his life as a passive onlooker waiting to retire from society, he has now developed the conscience to care about those who are wronged and avenge them, and that's exactly what he does, and takes over the cassano family for good measure as well. during this time, he probably tracks the progression of cha young's cases through the news, but he refrains from establishing even an encrypted messaging conversation with her because not only the authorities (who have been shown to be incompetent time and again in this series), but more importantly his enemies in malta and italy will have the capacity to find out about cha young and the geumga tenants if he establishes contact with them, and won't hesitate to massacre them all to get at vincenzo. so he settles on sending postcards with cryptic messages to let them know he is alive and in malta, but keeps this action as vague as possible so as not to alert both sides after him about who his only vulnerabilities are.

and when he's finally created a safe environment around him as @coconotta noticed, he immediately finds a way to re-enter the country and meet with cha young. and no matter what the actor or his PR team have deemed it appropriate to interpret chayenzo's reunion like, it's clear as day that this is a meeting to test out whether she still waits for him like he has for her and to solidify their relationship and their love once and for all. their parting might be full of anxiety because of vincenzo's dangerous lifestyle, but the vincenzo i know leaves with the determination to make malta a safe haven for the people he loves and be able to return to them as soon as possible.

[nutty1005]

Multitudes of Art from Wenhui Daily

Original article: Print Media by Wenhui Daily (1) http://whb.cn/zhuzhan/xinwen/20210815/415430.html and (2) http://whb.cn/zhuzhan/xinwen/20210815/415432.html

Xiao Zhan Performs in “A Dream Like A Dream”, What Traffic has Injected into Theater

Original author: 帕帕拉佐

Preface

Whether the traffic celebrity is capable is a problem, it is also another problem when there is no traffic celebrity in the theater scene. This time, because of Xiao Zhan, another group of people who are unrelated to theater started going into it. Perhaps after the indescribable wonderful 8 hour experience, some of them would truly fall in love with theater, some may continue to fork out money for her idol’s next scheduled event. But is it really that important to separate the “I’m in the same room with him for 8 hours” crowd from the theater audiences?

1

Theater, which used to be a niche form of art, had been breaking through its circle these two years, and causing a lot of discussions. The most recent would be “Top Traffic Celebrity” Xiao Zhan’s participation in “A Dream Like A Dream”.

In between the midst of filming a period fantasy drama “The Longest Promise”, Xiao Zhan performed as Patient No. 5, a role which Hu Ge had once performed. After the performances in the 3 stops Wuhan, Qingdao and Chengdu, at every play’s curtain call, the theater would be filled with endless applause, there was even once even covered with rousing ovation. In the cheers of nearly a thousand people, the voices of young ladies were particularly distinct.

Actually, this is not the first time Xiao Zhan’s participation in “A Dream Like A Dream” created a revelry in his fans. Early this year in March, once the official announcement that Xiao Zhan would participate in the Tour of 9 Cities, it went onto hot search immediately, and until now, Xiao Zhan’s participation in “A Dream Like A Dream” has accumulated a staggering 4.2 billion views.

Over thousand tickets were sold out in seconds, an 80 RMB ticket was scalped to over a 1,000 RMB, the tickets of the “lotus pond seats” were scalped to more than 20,000 RMB. Although Chris Li and Hu Ge both performed in this play in 2013, but since it birth 9 years ago, this magnitude of furor only happened this year.

In the midst of anticipation and suspicion, Xiao Zhan finally walked on stage. The trials of theater revealed the sincerity in him and this sincerity is Xiao Zhan’s base color, or it could even be said to be the reason he is surrounded by so much love.

This innate sincerity is a scarcity in a stage created by glorious vocals and technical construction. Many experienced actors with strong foundations would be working hard for this, but they never had it.

No one could deny that Xiao Zhan created a unique Patient No. 5, who threaded the whole play as a core character. For the actor to be a good Patient No. 5, he would need precise acting, thorough understanding of the role, firm control of emotions, and of course the blending of both the actor’s self and the character.

That year, the tranquility that Hu Ge had after coming back from his tribulations became his key to unlocking Patient No. 5; whereas for Xiao Zhan, who had went through the growth from an “idol” to a “top traffic celebrity”, who had a “unique” experience in cyberspace, the things that happened to him these few years, became his natural advantage in portraying Patient No. 5.

Last year, Yanghua held “Cao Yu’s Special 110 Year Old Commemoration Event”. Then, Xiao Zhan was still in the eye of the storm, and he had a conversation with Cao Yu’s daughter, Wan Fang, and in this conversation, Xiao Zhan did a tremendous amount of homework, and wrote down a few dozen questions regarding Wan Fang’s script “Winter Journey” and “You and I”, his questions were simple but impressionable, it gave people the feeling that he seemed to have reached the edge of theater.

In this conversation, he dazzled Wang Keran, the producer of “A Dream Like A Dream”. He seemed to have found the common point between Xiao Zhan and Patient No. 5: the impermanence nature of fate.

And once again, it proves that instincts were very useful. The intersection between the actor and the role’s life would become the crux to whether the actor is able to infuse a soul to his character. The reason he was able to establish his character was not entirely from his ability to craft roles, but more of the source came from what happened to him. In addition, Xiao Zhan’s intelligence and hard work left a deep impression on Wang Keran during the initial stages of rehearsal – while many actors had not memorized his lines, Xiao Zhan had already memorized all of his lines, and this is especially difficult given that “A Dream Like A Dream” was an 8 hour long performance and there are about 3 to 4 times more lines than a standard play.

Whether the traffic celebrity is capable is a problem, it is also another problem when there is no traffic celebrity in the theater scene. As the theater market becomes more mature operationally, more traffic celebrities would cross over to this foreign scene. At the same time, there would be controversy as well. Can the boundaries between theater and general public be broken through by “traffic celebrities”? When will theater become a “reality TV theater”? Would the audiences be looking at celebrities instead of the play? These kinds of debates had always existed. At this, Lai Shengchuan did not care too much about it. He spoke of an incident in the past, when “A Dream Like A Dream” invited Chris Li to perform, her fans did not simply watch a show, but they watched 10. During the intermission, Lai Shengchuan spoke with her fans, and he realized that hey had been watching for 5 days straight, saying “the play was awesome”.

To him, despite the difference between how traffic celebrities shine on stage and how theater is like, or perhaps foreign to then, he just has to look at how they work to know that it took a lot of talent and hard work to come this far! “Hence, don’t be too particular about whether traffic celebrities are suitable for theater.”

No matter how loud the controversy is, it is fact that theater trains people – a performance of a few hours, there is no pause, no post production, there is only one take with no chance of a retake. Hence, there has always been a hierarchy in the artistic circle, theater actors would be above movie actors, movie actors would be above TV drama actors. No matter what the actual reasons for celebrities to join theater are, Lai Shengchuan’s story proved a point, when a top traffic celebrity joins theater, an art form with high entry requirements, it would inject more vibrancy and attention to this art.

This time, because of Xiao Zhan, another group of people who are unrelated to theater started going into it. Perhaps after the indescribable wonderful 8 hour experience, some of them would truly fall in love with theater, some may continue to fork out money for her idol’s next scheduled event. But is it really that important to separate the “I’m in the same room with him for 8 hours” crowd from the theater audiences?

Let us not think too much about it, and watch the show first!

Xiao Zhan, This “Newcomer” to Theater

Original author: 贾行家

Preface

I do not see the problem with Xiao Zhan’s decision to perform, just like I do not see how anyone would be damaged by this incident. If it had a specific “influence” (I do not see how that is, it is just the decision by a theater group), then to me, the influence is – it allowed more audiences to walk into theaters, and let more platforms notice theater.

2

9 years ago, Yanghua Theater placed a huge bet on “A Dream Like A Dream”, it came from Wang Keran’s observations based on the changing times – China’s industrialization and urbanization created its first “middle-class” life, and for the first time the first generation who had completed education but yet who are also stuck in the “modern conundrum” – who am I, where did I come from, where do I go from here? The old answers were no longer effective. This generation’s problem was – how to face the coming of death, and how to face the loneliness that came with the inevitable death? In the hands of Yanghua, this question became – how do you use a touching story, outside of religion or philosophy, to give its audience the love of life and a sense of comfort?

As such, there exists such a different theater group, with a producer with very “un-modern” methods: front stage and backstage, regardless of matters, as long as it could not be clearly defined to a job, it belongs to Wang Keran only. He called himself an “artist + businessman”, the nature of a businessman was to be in-charge of investments, ensure profitability, so he had to consider from the business angle – whether this play could fulfill the extreme and common spiritual requirements of the current generation, while at the same time be able to continue running for a long time; he also had to consider from the artistic angle, taking risks while ensuring profitability, and create the play from his heart. The purity of drama is as such, those who are passionate about it would stake their lives for it.

The author of “A Dream Like A Dream”, playwright Lai Shengchuan had a performance principle technique called “guide the cause, not the effect”, which meant that when the director explains the scene, he does not explain the effect he wants, but instead he would explain the reasons behind this scene clearly, that is, the character’s experience and emotional state, so as to allow the actor to create a natural performance after understanding. This was very different from the rush that is in TV dramas, which would often film out of sequence, the actors might not be clear about what he is acting as, and they could only use exaggerated actions to cover their loss of direction. Worst still, there are also actors who could only count 1, 2, 3, 4 to the camera in place of lines.

However, there are also good directors who do not like to film according to logic, and film as they wanted, while the actors did not know what they were portraying, but yet they could still create a masterpiece, Xu Haofeng’s movie review on Li An’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” spoke about this – Li An felt that Chow Yun-fat’s eyes were too sharp and alert, so he kept shouting “CUT” repeatedly, until Chow Yun-fat lost confidence and his gaze became scattered, so as to get the scene he wanted. Why did he not explain the “cause” at this point? Perhaps it was hard to explain, it was like a fisherman, he had to fish for the right gaze, to wait for the right sequence.

What we said above was to explain two simple things.

The first thing: Art can be, or even must be, done in an autocratic manner, it has to set its goal based on its audience, but how the play will be like, only one person will know, and in that creative space, there is only his method.

The other thing: The status created by an actor for the role is actually very brittle, they usually only know the outcome but they rarely know the cause. The difficult part in rehearsing “A Dream Like A Dream” came from these 31 actors who had to take on more than 100 characters, besides autocracy, there was a need to protect them from interruption and confusion. Xiao Zhan, who joined in this new version, he only had Patient No. 5 on the door of his dressing room, the other roles and burden were removed.

When we were discussing Xiao Zhan, we actually saw many versions of Xiao Zhan. Going back to basics, he is a young actor and singer. I found similarities between him and Patient No. 5: They both had the same unsettling impermanence in their fate, there were things that were not caused by them, they were merely caught in between – when you take a step back, impermanence is neither good nor bad. The problem is, which Xiao Zhan is the one standing on the stage of “A Dream Like A Dream”? If we took him as actor Xiao Zhan, then there is nothing wrong with it.

As an audience, my judging criteria is very simple: How did this new theater actor Xiao Zhan do? Based on his age and experience, Patient No. 5 is an extremely complex and hard to control character, and after 3 stops of Yanghua’s tour, the audience would probably have felt: Xiao Zhan created a brand new, intricate Patient No. 5, this character was well established onstage, this meant that his understanding and analysis was also well established.

I also prepared an observer angle, that was to see if he could blend into the strict system of theater, would be he outshone by actors who had a lot more energy, foundation and experience. The result exceeded my expectations, he not only did it, he displayed clear precision in his pace and control, and realized a complete theater experience.

I do not see the problem with Xiao Zhan’s decision to perform, just like I do not see how anyone would be damaged by this incident. If it had a specific “influence” (I do not see how that is, it is just the decision by a theater group), then to me, the influence is – it allowed more audiences to walk into theaters, and let more platforms notice theater. Chinese theater really needed more exploration in terms of content and operation. As for what influence this would have on the theater scene, audiences are very simple, as long as it was a good show onstage, they would buy tickets to watch it. As an outsider, I would also want to exclaim another statement: there were those who always said they wanted to revive the theater, but when someone really worked hard at doing it, these people would always come with their senseless controversies.

From my point of view, after I met Xiao Zhan’s “A Dream Like A Dream”, I felt that my soul had been cleansed by the waters in the lotus pond, been carefully cleaned by the fluttering spotlights and shadows akin to a bright moon, I seemed to have understood many things, there were less confusion, more courage, and a lot of gratitude to lives of those from front stage and backstage of the theater.

According to Sigmund Freud’s theory, play is a child’s unique way of gaining experience in handling matters, the function of play is to vent, venting is the purification of emotions, this is slightly different from those who take themselves as the audiences’ guide to purification. Theater has created a space to help the audience to vent what is in their hearts. After becoming an adult, it seemed like besides dreaming, there are not many methods to self-purify; besides dreaming, we could also watch “A Dream Like A Dream”.

[theravennest]

Hot Loki Take: Sylvie was Right

*Spoilers for all of Loki the series up to and including ep 6.

Sylvie was right to kill He Who Remains and free the timeline.

I’m deadass.

He Who Remains forced reality into an endless cycle between a time of Order (he rules as dictator) & a time of simulated and controlled "Chaos" (his Conqueror variants wage war). I say this “chaos” is simulated because when you think about it, it’s chaos that He Who Remains arranges himself by manipulating Lokis.

He Who Remains is so fucking sus but for some reason people are just tripping over their own feet to believe everything he says and vilify Sylvie for killing him. 

He literally tells them (and us) that his methods are deceptive and we know for a fact that he’s willing to murder trillions upon trillions of people, planets, and realities to get the outcome he wants. Yet some are still believing everything he says cuz he said maybe 4 things that were truthful, I guess, and cuz he’s cute. Some of us are so blinded by the fear/anticipation of Kang the Conqueror’s arrival, we are letting him bamboozle us.

He Who Remains perfectly and personally tailored the Ordered period of the timeline to produce this exact Sylvie and this exact Loki, had them meet/influence each other, and then had them travel to the end of time...to him.

Now Lokis by nature are agents of chaos and could suddenly swerve left, so to speak, for no reason. So let’s assume I believe that He Who Remains didn’t 100% know what they would choose once they crossed the Threshold (if the Threshold he described is even real, tbh). He also so carefully molded both of their entire lives for that moment in the Citadel. He may not have known 100% but he knew at least 90% of how they would react to everything he said and did when they were both pushed to this place/mindset.

Notice how he teed them up for the fight that ended in his death:

Manufacturing a scenario where they would meet via the TVA’s variant pursuit.

Manufacturing a scenario where they would travel to the Void and meet Alioth.

Kid Loki being in just the right place to give his sword to Loki.

Miss Minutes appearing to menacingly offer an obvious devil’s bargain.

Him slyly telling Sylvie that she can’t trust Loki, putting it into her head just before he gives them his ultimatum.

All of these thing practically gift wrapped that ending to the Loki on Sylvie fight.

Let’s elaborate.

What was even the point of Miss Minutes offering to re-insert them into the same Sacred Timeline with both getting their hearts’ desires there? 

Not more than ten minutes later He Who Remains told Loki and Sylvie to their faces that he manipulated all this for the sole purpose of making them choose between taking over as rulers of the TVA or killing him and ushering in a Multiversal War. Neither of those choices would result in re-inserting Loki and Sylvie back into the timeline.

So what is the truth? Why waste precious moments with a creepy Miss Minutes menacing them in that vestibule scene?

Notice how Miss Minutes’ words pushed Loki further onto his path of no longer wanting power or a throne but desiring to change his attitude about himself and the universe. Notice how her words conversely pushed Sylvie into balking at the idea of accepting another “fictional” life after a lifetime of being manipulated and made her double down on her mission to free the timeline and get revenge.

Sylvie has the ability to see memories but interesting how he kept her distracted by condescending to her and provoking her, just stoking the fire to make her react negatively. (Interesting how he was far more focused on Sylvie’s reactions than Loki’s, most likely because he needed her to kill him for his plans to work.)

Now I don’t want to completely shift responsibility for her choices away from Sylvie. In truth, if she had held in her vengeance for let’s say an hour and trusted Loki a bit more, they could’ve sat down to talk about things and maybe found a third solution other than starting a Multiversal War or ruling the TVA that still could’ve even allowed her to get revenge. (More on the ultimatum later.)

But I can’t blame her for losing her cool, either. He Who Remains made damn sure she would burn as hot as possible because he tailor made her life to give her the personality he wanted. And any other version of her out there who might have made a different choice would’ve already been pruned.

He Who Remains tells Loki and Sylvie straight up that he set them on their particular life paths because he needed them to be “changed by the journey” to ensure everyone in that room was in exactly the right mindset to do what was needed to “finish the quest” and presumably “slay the dragon,” aka Him. (Notice the parallels to the speaker narration just before episode 2′s fight at the Ren Fair.)

We don’t know! Sylvie never enchanted him to read his memories because she was so filled with rage and Loki was too busy trying to stop her, he didn’t think to do it either. And we’ve already established that He Who Remains trained them that way. Nothing that happened in that office was without He Who Remains’ influence and meddling.

Another nail in the coffin that convinces me that He Who Remains is a no good dirty liar is Renslayer.

If He Who Remains’ end goal was to either have the Lokis choose to rule the TVA or destroy it and thus end up with no memory of her previous TVA judge role/life, why did he send Miss Minutes to Ravonna with files that caused her to pack her bags and search for what she calls “free will,” AKA the one in charge?

I’d bet dollars to donuts that when the next season rolls around the only people who will know what’s going on and still have their memories will be Loki, Miss Minutes, Sylvie, and Ravonna. (Maybe Kang the Conqueror will know as well but I could see it going the other way too. I’m 50-50.)

He Who Remains was planning something by pushing Ravonna the way he did. Does he want her out of the TVA so she doesn’t lose her memories when everything resets? Does he want her to go find the Conqueror version of himself? I mean, at this point, practically everyone knows who she is to Kang in the comics, so let’s not pretend that’s not an option.

Another thing to think about...it’s super suspicious that he was so eager to make them believe he’s one of the “good versions” of Kang and all these others are much worse while giving absolutely no evidence of that outside of an interactive blob powerpoint, a quirky attitude, and a couple of sad, weary faces????

Who’s to say He Who Remains isn’t playing the long game and always manipulates his variants to eventually give him the chance to seize control of the multiverse?

Who’s to say he’s not one of the Kangs that wanted to conquer too? Funny how the “pure of heart” Kang is the one who still wrested control of all reality, killed off every other timeline with a weapon of mass destruction, installed a fascist time bureaucracy, and set himself up as the dictator. Sounds an awful lot like some conqueror shit to me, just saying.

Even wilder theory: what if this really is the same Kang the Conqueror but at the end of his life? We only have hhis word that he’s a variant. He Who Remains tells Loki that this fight is for the “young and hungry.” Maybe the “young and hungry” he’s referring to is not Loki and Sylvie at all but his literal younger self. Perhaps he set up this entire cycle of chaos and order so that he can perpetually live, conqueror, rule, die, and start all over again? Reincarnation, as he says...

But let’s set that wild theory aside for a moment. Let’s circle back to the Multiversal War debate and say it really is is caused by an infinite amount of his variants.

I think it’s hella sus that He Who Remains was so insistent that Loki and Sylvie only had two choices to resolve this riddle: Multiversal War or running the TVA almost exactly the way he did while maintaining only a single timeline. Those are definitely not the only two options they had. In fact, I could probably name 1-3 other options off the top of my head right now:

Keep He Who Remains alive while learning how he manipulated time and using those skills to slowly unleash the multiverse while killing every version of Kang to prevent him from existing as either conqueror or dictator.

Kill He Who Remains, take over the TVA, and slowly change it to something not horrific or even build a brand new system for governing time.

Kill or keep He Who Remains, still take over the TVA, slow rollout the Multiverse and kill or prevent every Kang along the way.

(I’m not saying these aren’t also morally questionable options, I’m just saying they are different from the two choices He Who Remains presented.)

But let’s say these options I suggested are not feasible. I just randomly came up with them ten minutes ago so it would be fair if they were picked apart logically. 

So let’s contemplate this, instead:

Why should we assume/believe that a Multiversal War is actually a bad thing again??? Why are we assuming that He Who Remains’ Sacred Timeline really saved reality from total collapse? 

Assuming he told the truth about his motives, maybe he was just...wrong about the end of reality. Maybe he saw what he thought was the conclusion to the Multiversal War coming and erroneously believed it to be the end of everything but actually it was the multiverse sorting itself out and everything would’ve been fine after.

We (and He Who Remains too) will never know because not only did he not show any evidence to back up his claim that reality was on the brink of collapse, but he himself never allowed things to play out naturally. Whenever the end of the war comes to the brink of something, he always panics, weaponizes Alioth, and traps the universe in his cage of Order with the TVA.

Even more controversial take...maybe the collapse of timelines and the end of everything should be allowed to happen. Maybe the natural cycle of reality is to build and build, splinter and splinter timelines, until it collapses and starts all over again from the void.

Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, all things exist in a cycle so why should the multiverse be any different?

After all in all, in all three possibilities an infinite number of timelines is destined to suffer and die. Whether it be during the Kang-controlled Order period, Kang-controlled fake Chaos period, or the unrestrained natural Chaos that collapses in on itself...an untold amount of people are dying anyway. There’s only one of those scenarios that has actual unrestrained free will where those people get to exist how they want, make choices they want (even bad ones) for as long as they can.

(Personally, I’ll take that over what the Kangs have wrestled the multiverse into.)

I’ll just take this moment to re-iterate: trust nothing He Who Remains says. He’s a known liar and manipulator, and unlike Loki he has done absolutely nothing to actionably show he’s not still lying or to show that he’s trying to change outside of some sad looks. It’s all pantomime, bruh. Like, the pageantry of it all astounds me. 

Is he maybe telling some truths? Sure. But that doesn’t mean he’s not using the truth to manipulate everything. It’s an illusion, I’m telling y’all! He was up to no fucking good.

Sylvie was far more right to kill him than to not. Loki, Sylvie, & team (prolly also the latest Avengers lineup too) now just need to find a way to break this Kang cycle.

[hamatoclan76]

Lets talk about ¨Fast Forward¨ and ¨Back To The Sewers¨

So, yeah. I was finally able to finish watching the TMNT 2003 series. I know i could write an entire review about the series but i decided to focus on the two last seasons ¨Fast Forward¨ and ¨Back To The Sewers¨ since they are quite controversial seasons in the fandom due to their writing.

I’m going to explain what i think these seasons did right and then what went wrong with the writing that made them not get so well-received in comparison to previous seasons. I´m going to start with Fast Forward and then move to Back to the Sewers.

Time Travel to the future

(Fast Forward Intro)

(Fast Forward) Season 6 starts with the turtles accidentally time traveling to the future, year 2105 to be precise. That’s 100 years from the current timeline. It´s a risky idea but not bad, right?

But here is the problem: There were already unexplored main plotlines that needed to be developed: Karai´s possibe redemption, the foot clan, Hun, etc. Instead of finishing those arcs that were already established in the series the writers/producers decided to jump to a completely new setting that had almost nothing to do with things that were previously explored.

So that´s one of the biggest problems with this season. If this was a spin off, this wouldn´t be an issue at all. That´s because the audience would know that the spin off exists as its own thing and it isn´t part of the main series. Watching ¨Fast Forward¨ was weird to me. It was like i was watching other series but with the same characters.

Before talking more about the problems i have with this season. Let´s talk about what i enjoyed:

I really liked the arc about Cody learning to be his own person and realizing how his uncle was manipulating him (if not abusing him). His relationship with the turtles and Splinter is really sweet. It was nice to see how they took care of him and he let them live with them while he was reparing the time machine.

Bishop episodes are really good. I wished we could seen more of him. The idea of him getting redeemed and forming an alien alliance is very interesting.I always saw Bishop as well intentioned extremist, In the sense he believed he was helping people with his horrible methods. I like how he recognizes he did terrible things in the past and he is trying to make up for his crimes.

I enjoyed some  of the slice of life moments.It helped developing the characters in a way that allowed me to see what they do when they are fighting aliens or the foot clan. For example: One of my favourite episodes is Raph and Leo going to wrestling match and chaos ensues. That episode explores Raph´s passion for wrestling, something i think the series didn´t before.

I like the concept of the ¨Dark Turtles¨. Yeah, i know it is a bit ridiculous but i would have been great had the series given them a proper redemption arc since it was implied they weren´t really that bad. ( DNA is thicker than water in one of my favourite episodes of Fast Foward).

Now that i have talked about the things i liked i´m going to move to my problems with season 6.

I think that one of the reasons i feel conflicted about Fast Foward is due to the lack of actual plot or stakes. It feels like things are happening but at the same time they aren´t. Many episodes have more mundane premises. The villains are less intimidanting and they don´t add too much to the story. There are some good episodes like ¨The Journal¨ and the one about Mikey training but overall it is like the writing itself is dull and boring.

It would have been better had the writers focus on developing the characters better (like Raph having problems with adjusting to the future). There are concepts that are great. The thing is that they later get dropped or forgotten (Dark turtles subplot). There could have been an entire arc about Bishop helping the turtles with getting back to their time as a way to make up for his actions.

Speaking of the time portal, that thing is brought up in only the first episodes and then its barely mentioned again in the season. Like.. wasn´t the main plot about them getting back to their respective timeline? It´s like the main characters were so comfortable living in the future that they forgot about their main goal. There episodes that are just about them hanging out instead of finding a solution. It´s okay to have slice of life moments while they are waiting for the machine to get repaired but it could have been at least hinted that is Cody is working on it.

Fast Forward would have worked better had the crew of show put more effort into writing the story, thinking what they wanted to do with the characters and explored concepts that were interesting. And before you ask: No, i don´t think this season being more lighthearted is an issue, the real problems is that writing itself is sloppy and isn´t as good as previous seasons.

Back To The Sewers

(Back to the Sewers Intro)

Season 7´s main plot is about the turtles trying to find all the ¨bytes¨ that made Splinter after he was disintegrated in Cyberspace. Many episodes are about them enterting in Cyberspace and looking for these bytes to make Splinter whole again. The team also has to deal with a new type of Shredder that is a fusion of viral and Ultrom Shredder´s memories. (More of that later)

Things i like from ¨Back To The Sewers¨

Donatello´s character arc: It was very refreshing to see another side of Donnie. At the started of the season he blamed himself for losing Splinter (something he had not control of). His arc is kinda similar to Leo´s arc in Season 4 except he was able to let go his guilt more easily than Leonardo. Unlike Leo, Donnie wasn´t so afraid of failure as he was obsessed with fixing the problem to the point he isolated himself.

I really like how the Cyberspace and the real world are connected with one another in this season. Some episodes have premises that are downright terrifying such as getting stuck in a false parallel reality or people hacking and rewriting your memories. I think this season had very interesting concepts that much like Fast Foward they didn´t reach its fullest potential.

Casey and April´s relationship was fantastic. It was sweet to watch Casey proposing marriage to April. Their wedding was great conclusion for their relationship too. I like how Casey struggles with asking April and how Raph helps him. It´s definitely one of the highlights of Back to the Sewers.

What went wrong with Season 7?

First of all, i think that one of the biggest issues was how short the season was. It has only 13 episodes to develop the main plot and characters. For that reason good concept don´t get enough time to be explored. They are introduced and dropped in one episode. I would have love to watch a three part story arc of the turtles getting brainwashed to make them believe that they work for the Foot Clan. I mean, that was creepy when i watched it.

If season 7 had 20 episodes-for example- then there would have been more time for the main plot to be better paced. What happened in reality is that with 13 episodes it made arcs feel rushed. Some things were left unanswered, dropped or forgotten.

Another issue i have is the lack of Karai content in this season. Season 5 ended with her falling in love and she was never seen again. I know she gets redeemed in the film but it is really weird how she goes to April and Casey´s wedding in the finale and she is never mentioned by the Foot Clan in Back to the Sewers. They could written an episode about how she left the Foot Clan and how she wants to settle down.. just something to learn what happened to her.

Speaking of the Foot Clan... Why they had to bring up Shredder again for this Season? Why just not make Viral the main antagonist? She was fine as a villain, Why in the world they needed to bring him back? There are so many other characters that could have antagonists for this story. 

Virtual Shredder brings up tons of questions as well. When did Ch´rell deciced to upload his memory on the Cyberspace. Why not on a spaceship or computer? Why on the web? It´s so weird.

My last point would that Back to the Sewers had potential to be a darker season because of its themes and story yet is very lighthearted despite how twisted some concepts were. I wished they could been taken more seriously with having actual consequences for jumping into Cyberspace, how risky it is and what would happen if someone got trapped in there.

So there you have it. Note that i don´t think the last two seasons are horrible, in fact i have fun watching them. I just don´t understand what went wrong with the production that made the show suffer such a downgrade in quality. Maybe the producers thought the series was getting ¨too dark¨ and decided to write a more lighthearted show. Maybe there were new writers in last seasons, that may explain why the writing became more dull. I wished the Tmnt 2003 would have gotten better treatment that the one it got.

[being-worthy]

Saturday Home Cinema: Mulan (2020) - A very honest review!

I just had to write this review because Mulan is one of my heroes and I’m a huge fan of the original Disney Mulan (1998). I saw the movie for the first time as a kid when I had trouble feeling integrated and was daily bullied at school. I re-watched it again and again and again until I was able to learn by heart the script and all the songs in German (and later on, even in English). I just saw so much of myself in Mulan (maybe except for the fact that I’m not as beautiful or witty as she is). I too always felt out of place and I couldn’t be my true self and I was never very ladylike either. I also looked up at her and saw her as a role model. Sometimes I thought that if I stared long enough at my reflection in the mirror, it’d show me my true self - and I’m still waiting to this day… Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan was and still is my favourite Disney movie.

> SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! <

The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack, especially at the end. Christina Aguilera was the right choice to sing Reflection and Loyal Brave True. The goosebumps her voice gives, I can’t even describe how extraordinary her voice is. In the end credits, you can listen to the English version of Reflection as well as the Chinese version (sadly sung by Liu Yifei  ¬¬). It’s worth to watch the end credits and listen to the songs.

*My suggestion: Stop whatever you’re doing. Put on some headphones (even better if they’re noise-cancelling), close your eyes, play the song Reflection song (and Loyal Brave True if you feel like it) by Christina Aguilera, no distractions no interruptions, forget about everything and everyone, let the song flow through your ears, mind, heart, body, and soul, and you will feel like you’re Mulan, especially when the drumming gets louder, it’s epically epic! (Sorry for the redundancy but it IS a remarkable song!)

I welcome the idea of wanting to take a classic and do something new, something fresh with it but humanity could’ve gone without this movie and they shouldn’t ask for $35 to watch it on Disney+ and sometimes a classical doesn’t need to be redone. Additionally, I can’t entirely understand what’s going on these past years not only with Disney but Hollywood and all other big movie production companies. It’s either remake of this classic or a 2nd/3rd sequel of a movie that doesn’t actually require a sequel but it’s still done anyway. Why even bother wasting big amounts of money to create a disaster? You’re better of donating that money to charity (or to me lol). The main thing that Disney has been doing lately are remakes of many of our childhood movies Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, among others, and now Mulan. Some have a few good parts in them but they still can’t and never will compare to the original. Why is there no originality and innovation anymore? Have they run out of ideas? Furthermore, let’s be honest people will always compare the remake (either consciously or unconsciously) with the original because there are less than a dozen movies where the remake either was (almost) as good as the original much less better than the original. The movie Mulan (2020) had a massive budget and is the most expensive film made by a female director (Niki Caro), yet how they made it, the battle sequences and CGI effects, etc. they’re all crappy.

Budgets of all Mulan interpretations:

Mulan (1998) - $90 million > Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Made $304.3 million in the box office

Hua Mulan (2009) - $12 million > Directed by Jingle Ma. Sadly, made only $1.8 million in the box office. It deserved more love!

Mulan (2020) - $200 million(!!) > All that budget was a waste!

I’ve seen all three versions. The 1998 version is for everybody and it’s funny and you feel with the characters and the film. Let’s be honest, the granny is one of the best characters, most of us have or had a granny like that in our lives. The 2nd one is a 2-hour long movie, a more mature adaption which illustrates the ugly harsh truth about war and the loss and death it brings with it and that there’s nothing funny or cool about it. This one is not suitable for children. You feel with the characters and their sacrifices and they also develop along the movie. I can only recommend to watch this version if you haven’t. And the latest one is a disgrace.

I’m a bit confused as to what the message of the movie is. On one hand, it tells you shouldn’t hide your inner beauty, you shouldn’t hide who you are, you shouldn’t hide your abilities, you shouldn’t try to hide who you truly are in order to conform to what the world/society wants you to be or who you should be, let your true self shine and be yourself and don’t allow anyone to tell you that you’re inferior just because they think/say you are. This is something powerful and admirable but, on the other hand, at the same time, it tells you that you can only do that if you are the chosen one. Let me explain... In the beginning, we see Mulan as a little girl chasing a chicken up to the roofs of the houses at the village where she lives. Basically, she’s born as a one-woman army (almost deus ex machina) and doesn’t require any further training which is total and utter rubbish. She has all the skills because of her powerful chi (vital life force energy) but has to underplay them because it’s not very ladylike to behave like she wants to and she still underplays them when she trains with the soldiers so as to keep a low profile. Her being so powerful from the beginning makes me feel alienated from her and I can’t empathise with her. It’s also not very realistic, nobody is born with their abilities fully developed. For example, even Bruce Lee had to train hard to get where he got and he wasn’t the only one.

The original version shows us a regular girl, at times clumsy (which is a cliché but we still liked it) and when she’s confronted with new situations, she analyses them and finds a quick canny solution to them. She also has to train her body and mind to get to the peak of her potential and accomplish what nobody else could in her time, and here the character is done from the start of the movie and the only thing she has to do is choose not to hide her chi anymore. This tells us that you don’t have to work hard to achieve your dreams whereas in reality you actually do have to work your butt off!

I’m not a fan of the leading actress they chose for Mulan, aka Liu Yifei, not only because she’s a police brutality supporter according to her controversial tweets a while back - this already makes her unworthy to portray Mulan who is the complete opposite - but also because she didn’t do a good job at depicting this great role. Mulan is a role model for every girl and woman and it’s a massive contradiction if a woman who agrees to the atrocious police methods impersonates her role. What message do we send out to every girl out in the world? In her acting she’s this blank and hollow person through the movie and transmits no emotion whatsoever - not even when she cries. This also makes it difficult for me to identify myself with her. She’s this wooden plank, she is and stays a blank canvas through the whole movie with no growth in her character and it’s frustrating having to see this because the character of Mulan isn’t at all like this. Mulan experiences many emotions from the moment where she makes the decision to enlist so her father doesn’t have to or when she experiences the loss of her comrades or has to kill someone for the first time, etc. she suffers along her journey and all this changes her but you see nothing of it in Liu Yifei’s Mulan.

In the Disney version, there are some crucial moments that are missing in the new one. For instance, the most crucial one is the moment where Mulan decides to go to war. If you remember the animation one, she’s sitting in the rain by the dragon statue and at that moment makes a decision that could kill her or worse bring dishonour to herself and her entire family (including ancestors) which was far worse than death during that time! She gets up, marches to the altar of her ancestors, takes her father’s sword and cuts her hair (I know men had long hair back then too but still), puts on the armour and goes to war. All this while being accompanied by an epic song written by Jerry Goldsmith called Haircut. This is one of the most intense and dramatic moments in the movie and in all Disney movies! You can understand and feel the importance of this decision for the character and you feel the weight of it! In the 2020 one, she takes the sword and the next shot presents her already with the armour on - there’s zero dramatic impact here. That was a great missed opportunity!! By omitting important scenes and their dramatic impacts like this one that are essential to the story and to the characters, to their development and their journey throughout the story and you really need to rely on the original from 1998 to have this context.

The battle scenes are like many modern movies: lots of action, lots of moving (too fast-moving), a few amazing fighting moves and fights but not showed entirely. I at least expected some similar quality, like we’ve seen in films such as Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and Tiger & Dragon (2020) to name a few. Sadly, these movies had better fight scenes quality than Mulan which were filmed in high frame rate but over-edited with action that is negatively frenetic and have artificial CGI effects (even the CGI effects in Independence Day were better - I’m watching the movie while writing this). We’re in the 21st century with great advances in technology and movies are given big budgets (particularly Hollywood films), yet despite all this, most movies end up with CGI effects from another era. How come this happens over and over? In this one, we see people running too fast, horses running too fast, and they’re all like a big mass of headless chickens and you don’t know exactly what is happening where. All this fast running, the constant cut and paste of scenes looks all too modern and doesn’t fit the current time period of the movie and it surely doesn’t transmit the way of fighting of that period. 

Moreover, we get lots of flashback-lesson learning scenes throughout the movie. This is another fashion in movies lately, playing the film in the present time while at the same time jumping back and forth between flashbacks. It spends a good portion of the movie with these flashbacks. This is not a big issue and admirable per se but when these scenes are insignificant because they’re glossed over and transmitted without zilch emotion, then why even bother to include them in the first instance?

As a last comment, I like the fact that they hired Chinese actors and actresses for the movie (although I don’t know why it had to be in English, I’d have preferred it to be in Chinese, it’s not like we’re allergic to subtitles - unless they’re not done properly), some of them of renewed name, like Gong Li, Rosalind Chao (I loved her in The Joy Luck Club), Jet Li, Donnie Yen (legendary Ip Man), Jason Scott Lee (saw him in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Tzi Ma but they won’t be able to save the movie even with a great cast like this one.