#and then they see her and don’t recognize her from Critical Role meaning that they literally only watch TLOVM

[moghedien]

I’ve watched two reactions for episode 9 so far where the people saw Ashley, didn’t recognize her, heard her voice and went “that’s Pike from The Legend of Vox Machina!” which is objectively the funniest way to recognize Ashley Johnson in this situation

[webfactor]

Wikipedia editors push offensive language to delegitimize some Native American Tribes

Article Text As Follows:

Wikipedia editors push offensive language to delegitimize some Native American Tribes

By Sherry Robinson

Special to The Independent

ALBUQUERQUE — When Lily Gladstone won a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the public recognized a Native American actress. But to Wikipedia readers, she is an American actress whose father was Blackfeet and Nez Perce and whose mother was white.

Three long-time editors at the online encyclopedia argued that even though Gladstone grew up on the Blackfeet reservation, she couldn’t be called Native American unless she was an enrolled member of the tribe. When Gladstone’s uncle weighed in to say she was enrolled, they dismissed his comments. She is still, in Wikipedia’s view, “an American actress.”

In recent years, outside of a national debate in Indian Country over fake tribes, a handful of Wikipedia editors have been deciding who is Native American and who isn’t.

Look behind the curtain of the sprawling site and you will find a network of 265,000 volunteer editors writing and editing within a Wiki universe that has its own rules, language, police and courts but no traditional hierarchy.

Wikipedia’s structure allows likeminded editors to work together, but it also permits editors with a bias to advance their agenda. The site has drawn criticism from media and academics for slanted articles on Blacks and Jews. Wikipedia documents its own systemic bias in an article by that name and attributes the problem to too few minority editors. The typical editor, it says, is a white male.

By Wikipedia's definition, the only real tribes are federally recognized; editors of Native American material denigrate state-recognized and unrecognized tribes and seem preoccupied with revealing fake Indians.

The fakes are out there, and they’re a problem. But there’s a big difference between people who invented a Native ancestry and people who have a long, documented heritage.

For this story, aggrieved tribal members didn’t identify themselves because they fear the site’s size and power – it reaches 1.8 billion devices a month – and some editors’ vindictiveness.

Behind the curtain

Wikipedia is transparent about its process. Click on “talk” at the top of each article and you find the (sometimes endless) debates among editors about an article and see the site’s rules in action.

Editors are anonymous because the Wikipedia Foundation has a strong commitment to privacy, says a spokesperson. However, readers don’t know what expertise editors have or whether they’re Native American.

Editors select their subject matter. With experience they can rise in the pecking order until they gain authority to reverse or eliminate the edits of others. They quote the site’s often arcane rules in Wiki-Speak to anyone who disagrees. While Wikipedia espouses objectivity, neutrality and civility, discussions can take the low road.

On Lily Gladstone’s talk page, a newish editor, user name Tsideh (Apache for bird), asked, “What are your sources supporting the idea that Native Americans are only those who are enrolled in a US recognized tribe?”

A Wiki editor, user name ARoseWolf, answered: “A notable subject can make a claim… but you must have that respective tribal nation’s acceptance as verification through enrollment."

Gladstone’s uncle wrote: “I’m a primary source for Ms. Gladstone’s tribal heritage. Her father is my brother. Through our father, we are both enrolled in the Blackfeet Tribe in the USA,” he wrote. “Our mother is enrolled Nez Perce. So Ms. Gladstone is a direct descendant of both Blackfeet and Nez Perce.”

ARoseWolf shot him down. “We can not use primary sources to verify such information and, you, as a claimed family member have a WP:COI which means we need an independent source.”

WP:COI is the Wikipedia rule on confl ict of interest. Wikipedia forbids primary sources, and yet they’re the gold standard for journalists and academics.

Tsideh challenged the position that only enrollment in a recognized tribe “entitles somebody to claim to be a Native American” as an unfounded, minority point of view that Wiki editors didn’t support with a citation or explanation.

ARoseWolf and others chastised Tsideh for violating Wiki rules on bullying, false accusations and arguing Wiki policy. Tsideh countered that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t have to prove he was an Italian American, but Lily Gladstone had to prove she was a Native American.

As the back and forth continued, ARoseWolf slammed a new editor who "just happened to find this discussion,” a dig that implies one party enlisted another to join the debate. That too is a Wiki violation.

Bohemian Baltimore, another regular, insisted, “If she’s not enrolled, she may be a descendant, but she’s not a Native American.”

Who is Native American?

Terry Campbell, a Navajo born in Tuba City, Arizona, who lives out of state, has been studying Wikipedia for five months, after friends complained about poor treatment in trying to edit Wiki pages.

One friend wanted to add some facts to an article about a tribe. “These changes were rejected by a handful of editors who cited other Wikipedia pages as sources,” he said, “and I thought that was very, very odd.”

A friend citing sources that prove her tribe survived the Indian wars and received state recognition ran up against Wikipedia guidelines on determining Native American identities that were largely crafted by two editors, user names CorbieVreccan and Yuchitown. Wiki editors used the guidelines to reclassify dozens of state-recognized tribes as “heritage organizations” and removed “Native American” from biographies of prominent tribal members or, worse, called them a "self-identified Native American.”

The implication, Campbell explained, is that the tribe no longer exists and that its members are suspect or even “Pretendians.” Wikipedia has a page for that too.

The same group has shaped many articles on Native subjects. Campbell said he combed through references and found they were misrepresented, taken out of context, sourced from far-right academics, or unreliable.

“The scope of this issue is huge,” Campbell said. “It permeates all the Native articles I checked.”

Campbell recognized talking points from what he called a far-right movement in Indian Country intent on erasing state-recognized and unrecognized tribes. (New Mexico has no state-recognized tribes and six unrecognized groups or tribes.)

Some Native Americans and Anglos, he said, believe that Indigenous people outside the circle of federal recognition should be considered non-Native. They also want to prevent members of the disenfranchised groups from selling their art, receiving ancestral remains, accessing disaster relief or re-establishing their homeland.

Outside Indian Country, it’s not generally known that U.S. Indigenous groups live within a caste system based on government recognition, with 574 federally recognized tribes on top, dozens of state-recognized tribes second, and several hundred unrecognized tribes last.

In 2021, Yuchitown wrote, “The overwhelming majority of ‘List of unrecognized tribes in the United States’ are completely illegitimate.”

There are many reasons why groups aren’t recognized. Some avoided the reservation. Some lost their recognition during the termination era. Some were broken up and scattered during the Indian Wars. Some went underground, practicing their culture secretly while passing as Hispanic. Many simply stayed put.

When Wikipedia editors claim that “Native American” is a political status conferred by the U.S. government, that an individual can only be called a “descendent” until their tribe is recognized, they push this narrative, Campbell said. It’s a contradiction of federal Indian law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “As a general principle, an Indian is a person who is of some degree Indian blood and is recognized as an Indian by a Tribe and/or the United States. No single federal or tribal criterion establishes a person’s identity as an Indian. Government agencies use differing criteria to determine eligibility for programs and services. Tribes also have varying eligibility criteria for membership.”

Extreme points of view

Campbell has contributed to a lengthy report, as yet unpublished, that identifies biased editors. They include Yuchitown, CorbieVreccan, ARoseWolf, Indigenous girl and Bohemian Baltimore.

“It was like a tree with many interconnecting branches that had been created over time by the same small group of people pushing extreme points of view,” Campbell said.

Initially the group made changes slowly, he said, “but they started pursuing their agenda aggressively after November, when state-recognized tribes retained their voting rights in the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). Essentially, after the movement to delegitimize state-recognized tribes failed officially, the key players doubled down on altering and controlling the flow of information about Native Americans through Wikipedia.”

Campbell observed widespread violations of Wikipedia standards: “I found evidence that they blatantly misquoted and misrepresented sources to push extremist political beliefs; teamed up to manipulate the consensus system by voting in blocks; exploited Wikipedia rules, such as conflict of interest, to block outside editors from making changes to Native-related pages; excessively cited opinion pieces from fringe political figures, including those accused of racism and anti-semitism; blocked the use of legitimate primary and secondary sources that contradict their extremists beliefs, which violates Wikipedia’s rule against information suppression; posted originally researched, politically motivated essays instead of well-sourced articles; and harassed and defamed Native American tribes and living Native American people.”

Reacting in February to an early draft of the report posted on Google, the editors were incensed that anybody would voice complaints “off-Wiki.” ARoseWolf wrote that “we have been attacked, threatened with legal action and had misinformation/ false claims spread against us.” She and Yuchitown denied being part of a conspiracy against tribes or organizations and said they were just following Wiki rules. Yuchitown accused critics of being “meat puppets” of a person who objected to some Native content and enlisted others to back them up. In WikiSpeak this is meat puppetry.

“Volunteers on Wikipedia vigilantly defend against information that does not meet the site’s requirements,” the Wikipedia spokeswoman wrote. “These volunteers regularly review a feed of real-time edits to quickly address problematic changes; bots spot and revert many common forms of negative behavior on the site; and volunteer administrators (trusted Wikipedia volunteers with advanced permissions to protect Wikipedia) further investigate and address negative behavior. When a user repeatedly violates Wikipedia policies, Wikipedia administrators can take disciplinary action and block them from further editing.”

Inaccurate and insulting

In 2006, Wikipedia established the WikiProject Indigenous Peoples of North America to improve its Native-related content of 14,000 articles and more than 37,000 pages.

Recently, a hot topic on the project’s talk page was a proposal to change a category name from “unrecognized tribes” to “organizations that self-identify.”

On April 15 Melissa Harding Ferretti, chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts, wrote, “The proposed renaming of the category on Wikipedia is not only inaccurate… but also insulting.”

Ferretti is one of the few Natives to take on Wiki editors openly.

Herring Pond was originally listed with other Wampanoag tribes. In 2022 Yuchitown stripped “state-recognized” from the page, even though the state Commission of Indian Affairs regularly engages with them. Last year Yuchitown created a separate page for Herring Pond. Wiki editors resisted attempts to make changes or corrections.

After Wikipedia called Herring Pond a “cultural heritage group" and a nonprofi t that "claims" to descend from Wampanoags, Ferretti wrote in a Wiki discussion, “There is no claim, it’s a fact! Might I add, nonprofit status was imposed upon Tribal nations in the ‘90s because we didn’t have our federal recognition yet.”

Her tribe has a well-documented history. “We still have care and custody of our sacred places, burial grounds and our 1838 Meetinghouse, one of three built for the Tribe after the arrival of the colonizers. Our continuous presence and stewardship of these lands are recognized by historical records, deeds and treaties.”

Ferretti wrote that tribes without federal recognition already face significant hurdles to gain recognition, "and being labeled as 'self-identified' can add to these challenges by casting doubt on our legitimacy.” Mislabeling unrecognized tribes “can lead to the spread of hate, misinformation and further marginalization.”

Some Wiki editors agreed. One wrote that “there are strong negative connotations to saying someone who is Native 'self identifies,' because the inference is that they are Native in name only or falsely claiming to be Native. A change like this will impact countless articles…” Bohemian Baltimore, ARoseWolf and Yuchitown insisted there were no negative connotations. They opposed calling an unrecognized group a tribe because it legitimized groups with unverified claims. ARoseWolf said, “If they had proof of their connection to the original people they would have gotten federal recognition.”

This is a frequent refrain among the insiders, who apparently think the application process is a slam dunk instead of the long, difficult, expensive journey it is.

Yuchitown noted that “all of the editors who actively contribute to and improve Native American topics on Wikipedia have voted to support the renaming.” It’s a remarkable declaration that he and his allies act in concert.

The insiders took even stronger action against Lipan Apaches in Texas.

Late in 2022, Yuchitown changed the entry of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas to say that NCAI recognizes the tribe as state-recognized but the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) does not. In fact, NCSL took down its web page listing federal and state-recognized tribes because it couldn’t verify the accuracy.

In boilerplate that appears on all the Texas unrecognized tribes’ websites, Yuchitown said Texas has no legal mechanism to recognize tribes, citing an online article that in turn cites the discredited NCSL web page.

In 2022, a tribal member and Yuchitown fought back and forth, reversing each other’s edits. In WikiSpeak, it was edit warring. The tribal member informed Yuchitown that the NCSL page he quoted no longer existed. CorbieVreccan told the member she was up against “two experienced editors,” and Yuchitown accused her of conflict of interest and edit warring. His fellow travelers demanded to know if she had an official position with the tribe. She didn’t.

ARoseWolf wrote, “As Wikipedia is not a state or government-controlled entity it can make up its own rules for what content is allowed on its platform.”

The Wikimedia spokeswoman says that in some extreme cases the foundation relies on a trust and safety team that will investigate and may also take action.

Campbell wrote in the report that many Native American communities and people “have been targeted by the small group of propagandists in this complaint… And the thousands of people who make these communities have been slandered and assaulted on Wikipedia through the actions of these propagandists.”

Link to the original article:

[revenantghost]

Heyo, let’s talk about my girl Meryl and why she’s so critical to the plot of Trigun Stampede and Vash in particular! (Well, that’s true for any Trigun, but Tristamp theories are rotting my brain atm.) Some spoilers for Tristamp and vague talk/references to the other series ahoy!

Meryl gets way too many accusations thrown at her for doing nothing/not enough in Tristamp. To the point that I started a rewatch to see if I was misremembering, but absolutely not! Those first three episodes alone, she’s critical to how things develop! She’s a foil to Vash, just like Wolfwood is!! She’s essential to his humanity!!!

But it took until I was watching ‘98 for the first time this weekend for it to crash into me like a freight train exactly what Meryl means, just like it took Trimax for the full weight of Wolfwood to click into place for me. Because she’s set up a lot like her older anime counterpart (though no one gets the same amount of character interaction—Tristamp, I adore you, but please slow down and let these poor folks breathe). She doesn’t understand Vash at first, she even goes so far as to call him a coward in a really low blow for what she easily recognizes as his bravery (and sometimes stupidity) later. And while they both (well, pretty much all the Trigun protags, let’s be honest) share their bullheadedness, I see a lot of people say she’s just like Vash... And I disagree, sorta.

She’s just like Rem. Just look at that last episode.

The two women don’t have the same belief systems, they have wildly different paths, and they come into Vash’s life in incredibly different ways. Meryl may keep Vash in check sometimes, but she’s not a mother figure imo. But they still play a similar role.

After over a century of traveling alone, we see (especially in other versions of Trigun) that Vash is often used and abandoned. Even when he makes genuine friends, they let him drift in and out of their life—and to their credit, he’s good at that! He can’t handle any more pain, so he slips away before the hurt catches up. But not Meryl! She ain’t gonna let that happen!!! At first, yeah, she follows him because of her job, but it never takes her long to go from frustrated and fed up to growing fond of Vash. And I especially love the career shift in Tristamp allowing her a complete out, to walk away and abandon Vash when things get rough, and no one would blame her for it.

But she stays. Because she sees that he’s good and worthy of the love that he denies himself. She sees this vile, hopeless world that they live in through his eyes, and sees the beauty in it too. She’s the first person to have faith in Vash not just as a savior, but as a person—unlike anyone has since Rem.

When all hope is gone, when Vash has lost his way, when he stumbles and falls, Meryl—who starts off doubting him!—is the one there to pick him up and remind him that he’s loved, that his love for humanity isn’t for nothing. Throughout the entire series, she has faith in him. She chooses Vash even when he won’t choose himself. She’s tired and done living in this selfish world of awful people, and she becomes the anchor that ties Vash down to what’s good in humanity. She’s just as critical as Wolfwood in taking a distant, disheartened, and broken Vash and reconnecting him to a world that cast him aside. And we’ve already gotten so much of that in Tristamp. It’s most obvious in the ending, but it’s built up so beautifully imo. She’s not as flashy as our fighters YET, but she’s absolutely essential to Vash, and I will die on this hill. I can’t wait to see her come crashing back into the picture with Milly next season.

[canichangemyblogname]

for what it's worth, i don't think the 911 fandom is capable of critically engaging neither with the source material nor fandom... behaviours. your words are wasted on this audience, babe. 😔

OOF

NGL— I don’t actually expect to change hearts and minds if I don’t have an interpersonal relationship with someone. The internet isn’t really designed for revolutionary discussions because by design, it creates “echo chambers” and rather abrupt “culture shock” from the inelegant melding of worldviews. People are confronted with worldviews and analyses before they’ve been equipped with the background knowledge and vocabulary for the discussion at hand.

So someone with a conservative worldview, let’s say, will see a tweet by a history museum that seeks to teach about racial inequality. That tweet includes an infographic about how the nuclear family and perfectionism are features of cultural white supremacy. However, that conservative has not had the necessary pre-requisite conversations that establish the definitions of “social construct” or the features of “white supremacy” or the political origins of the “nuclear family.” But they know the tweet has something to do with race and racism because it mentions “white culture,” and so—through the knowledge they have—assume that this history museum is calling parenthood racist.

This is an actual thing that happened in US American Political discourse.

Given the primary criticism my post received was in regards to me “making up” reasons to hate a trope and trying to “moralize” dislike for a common feature of 911 fanfiction, I think it’s safe to assume that most 911 fans have not previously had discussion about the mammy trope. They’ve yet to essentially be taught to recognize the way racist writing tropes manifest in character building, the development of a character’s interpersonal relationships with other characters, and in plot and plot devices. (Although, I do find it hard to believe that they’ve never heard this criticism of the way they write Black Women, as there are Black Women in this fandom who have certainly said something before. Like… there is no way this has gone unsaid.)

Because they’re unfamiliar with this, they very likely think that their writing does no harm, despite the fact they’re shoving these characters into caricatures with a very long history in stereotypes and bigotry. They’re also unlikely to assume that these caricatures have affected the way they view people because they’re unaware of how they’re based in stereotypes or how these stereotypes do harm. Assigning the “caregiver” role to a Black Woman just feels right to them, no analysis on why they came to that gut assumption.

Then they see a post criticizing something they do and it feels to them like making a mountain out of a molehill.

(A recent example— although not race-related— being that one 911 blog who claimed that gay men are non-committal, sleep around a lot, and really lax about prophylactics and disease. When called out on that, her reasoning was that stereotypes must come from somewhere, and that “somewhere” must be reality. But while a hegemonic class may base stereotypes in some part of a political reality: the disparate treatment of a marginalized class by the hegemonic class, they are not materially true (aka— those realities that exist on the ground). EX: It is a political reality that queer communities were devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but the reason for that devastation was literal governmental neglect. The hegemonic class used this very real political truth to portray queer men as diseased, sexually deviant, and to further stigmatize queerness. It is true that queerness has been stigmatized by disease, but it is untrue that this is the fault of certain members of the queer community and their inherent behavior. A stereotype is ultimately a political narrative.)

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who are simply… underinformed. They see that same post and go, “Huh. I didn’t consider— that’s a good point.” They have a light-bulb moment and come to see what they were reading in a new light. An example being—well—you during 911’s “daddy discourse,” where you said that in hindsight, you recognize that your discomfort with “daddy,” but not “mommy” was due to your relationship with archetypes of masculinity as a woman in a patriarchal society.

And while I do write these posts for that light-bulb moment among a few, I ultimately write them for the people who are directly impacted. If you roll your eyes and say, “Why does everything have to be about controversy, just let me write whatever without criticism; I’m giving it to you for free,” you aren’t my intended audience. My intended audience is ALWAYS the individual who has been scrolling through the main tags, blocking people left and right for bad takes and terrible caricatures. My intended audience is the fan who wants to give up on a fan space because of how hostile it is to them. They deserve to see that there are people in that same fan space who recognize.

[agirlwiththoughtsandnegativity]

Dear Reader (by Taylor Swift) Analysis. I suddenly got obsessed with this song so here’s an analysis of the whole thing. please read it took me like 30 minutes 🙏 warning: it’s a bit long

This whole song is extremely interesting. It is one of Taylor’s songs that addresses not only her fame, but also how she sees herself, and her flaws. It’s almost like anti hero, but somehow more self critical. At the conclusion of the song, we see Taylor is really trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be looking up to her, a flawed and broken person, but she is too famous and too perfect to the public. She “shines too bright” for us to look away now, and it is impossible to give up the fame at this point. 

Dear reader

If it feels like a trap, you're already in one

The song opens with the phrase “dear reader”, a pattern which continues throughout the rest of the song. We can only assume that this reader she is addressing is us, the fans. “If it feels like a trap, you’re already in one” it is unclear if Taylor is just starting off with giving us life advice here, or if this is addressing something relating to her.

This pattern follows for the rest of the verse, lines starting with “dear reader” and the ending with a piece of life advice:

Dear reader

Get out your map, pick somewhere and just run

Dear reader

Burn all the files, desert all your past lives

And if you don't recognize yourself

That means you did it right

Does this advice have to do with Taylor? We can perhaps relate the map line to Taylor disappearing after the feud in 2017, or perhaps running from the paparazzi and press. The second advice, about burning files and deserting past lives, could possibly be about Taylor reinventing herself during each era. “And if you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right” could relate to her most drastic changes, like going pop and her bad girl rebellious reinventing for the Reputation era. It could possibly be Taylor stating that these “transformations” or “eras” do make her feel different not only in her work, but in her personal life too. It’s possible Taylor is also stating that she has become so famous/popular that not only is the brand of Taylor Swift and her artwork getting reinvented, she herself must be too.

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

(You should find another)

Directly after giving us lots of advice, Taylor follows it up by saying “never take advice from someone who’s falling apart”. Is this her telling us to forget all the advice she has just shared, to not listen to not trust it? Or should we not even listen to this advice either? I believe this is Taylor sharing that she feels like she cannot give us advice or be a role model because she is not doing well. She is saying not to base ourselves off of her, not to listen to things she says because she is falling apart, yet we all believe her to be perfectly fine. It is contradicting to put this right after her advice, but I believe that is the point. At the end, Taylor says “you should find another” this is the beginning of a later line “you should find another guiding light, but I shine so bright”. Not only is it the beginning of that line, I think it can also be read as it’s own line. The fans should find another idol, role model, favourite, etc. because she is falling apart.

Dear reader

Bend when you can, snap when you have to

Dear reader

You don't have to answer, just 'cause they asked you

Again, after telling us not to listen to her advice, she gives us advice again. It is hard to decipher this, but I think the deeper meaning could be she so desperately wants to be giving us this good advice, but feels hypocritical because she is falling apart. “Bend when you can, snap when you have to” she is telling us to compromise, to only give in when we really, really need to. “You don’t have to answer just cause they asked you.” Don’t give everyone everything they want or ask for. This follows the same train of thought as bending when you can and snapping when you have to.

(You should find another)

Taylor throws this line in there again. Could it be said that it’s almost like her interrupting herself, reminding us (and her) not to listen to this advice? It could also be noted that this advice does not seem to be bad advice, depending on your opinion/situation you apply it to I suppose, but perhaps Taylor believes she is not qualified to tell it.

Dear reader

The greatest of luxuries is your secrets

Dear reader

When you aim at the devil make sure you don't miss

“The greatest of luxuries is your secrets” Taylor would know this better than anyone. When you have her kind of fame, can you really have secrets? In her own words, celebrities get their secrets splashed in the news front page. 

“When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss.” Perhaps Taylor is saying that you’re sure someone is the devil before you shoot, that they are enemy instead of friend. Or maybe she’s saying to make sure you are strong enough to make that shot before you attempt it. Is she inferring to a personal experience of hers? I couldn’t be sure, especially depending on which interpretation of it we’re talking about.

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Never take advice from someone who's falling apart

Again, after her advice she tells us to not trust this advice, to not take it from her. 

So I wander through these nights

I prefer hiding in plain sight

Now we launch into the bridge, which I think is one of the most telling and personal parts of the song. “I prefer hiding in plain sight” Taylor is perfect to us, we don’t say she is falling apart, yet here she is telling it to us directly, and yet so many would still take her advice. Even after releasing songs like “My tears ricchoet” or “this is me trying” or “mirrorball” many still see her as perfect and unflawed. She is hiding this in plain sight.

My fourth drink in my hand

These desperate prayers of a cursed man

“My fourth drink in my hand” is very very very very interesting because many fans have been worried about Taylor’s alcohol consumption for awhile. She mentions drinking a lot more on recent albums, lots more pictures of her holding wine being released, and if I’m not mistaken her saying at the eras tour that she was “borderline alcoholic” during the pandemic. This line seems to be Taylor admitting to relying on drink to escape her mind, to forget that she is falling apart. The second line could be a bit confusing. Who is this “cursed man” that is praying, and what are they praying for? Is this a character in Taylor’s life, or could this “cursed man” just be Taylor herself?

Spilling out to you for free

But darling, darling, please

You wouldn't take my word for it

If you knew who was talking

“Spilling out to you for free” Taylor shares her songs and lyrics with us for free, all her deepest feelings public and on the radio. “But darling, darling, please. You wouldn’t take my word for it if you knew who was talking” Taylor almost seems to be begging now, for us to see she is not perfect and not the person we should be listening to this advice from. “If you knew who was talking” If we knew who she really was, we wouldn’t look up to her or trust her words.

If you knew where I was walking

To a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there

“If you knew where I was walking” again, if we really knew Taylor past how she presents herself, we would not feel the same way about her. “To a house, not a home, all alone cause nobody’s there.” Is this a literal house, Taylor feeling lonely in her big mansion, or is it metaphorical? Could this perhaps relate to what is discussed in “Tolerate It”, saying the man she is in a relationship isn’t putting effort into it, isn’t paying attention to her, and so she feels alone? Or could it perhaps refer to her mind, where she feels lonely and like no one gets her? Or is she too famous now to have any real friends?

Where I pace in my pen and

My friends found friends who care

No one sees when you lose

When you're playing solitaire

“Where I pace in my pen” Some people pace to think, but Taylor writes songs to think. That is her method of seeing her thoughts more clearly. “My friends found friends who care” Is Taylor saying here that she is a bad friend? Or does she have bad friends? Perhaps we could also read from this that Taylor gets so caught up in her work it can seem to others in her life that she doesn’t care about them. We already know she is constantly working and writing songs. “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire” we can guess at the fact that fame and constant attention from the press could make Taylor feel isolated. She feels as if she is “playing solitaire” and so no one sees her losses, including us, blinded by the image she wants us to see.

You should find another guiding light

Guiding light

But I shine so bright

You should find another guiding light

Guiding light

But I shine so bright x2

You should find another

She ends the song in her telling us this full line “you should find another guiding light but I shine so bright” which she repeats a few times. She is saying you should find someone else to look up to, another idol, but at the same time she knows how famous she is, how impossible it is to look away from her. How she is plastered across every tabloid and newspaper and piece of media, on billboards and on the radio. And she knows how strong her “perfect” image is. How easy it is for her fans to see her as that. She is saying she shouldn’t be the guiding light, she is falling apart and is not qualified for it, but oh how she seems like she is.

The song ends on the line that has been going in and out the whole song. “You should find another”. This is the message she has really been trying to share all of the song. The message is that we should find another. We shouldn’t be Taylor’s fans, shouldn’t idolize her, shouldn’t follow her advice or look up to her, because she is falling apart and a flawed person who pretends to be perfect. At the end of the song, it almost seems like she is begging us (the reader) to understand this, and the thing is, we probably still don’t.

Dear reader, thanks for reading this, especially if you read it all the way through lol. I hope it made sense and was entertaining, not just me rambling, I really did try my best.

[amarumpersici]

My issues with Princess Peach's personality in the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Not everyone will like this rant, I’m aware of it. I promise that I’ll accept any criticism of my writing, as long as it’s reasonable and in good faith and that I’ll respect your opinion, regardless if we agree or not. Before commenting, please, read it throughout it all or if you’re lazy, go directly to the TL;DR section.

Last month, like most of us, I saw the long awaited Mario Movie: it was generally a really enjoyable experience which made me smile during pretty much its entire length, from its reference and its lighthearted humor. If I have the chance, I wouldn’t mind rewatching it.

It had some flaws, many of which are generally recognized and I agree with: I wished that the movie would be a bit longer and I felt it was too childish for my tastes, as in general Mario games are enjoyable to all ages. Today, however, I want to focus on the aspect of the movie I generally found to be the weakest: Princess Peach’s personality.

There has been a lot of discourse in merit, some of which I contributed to with a previous rant I published in my other blog before the movie released, which luckily partially aged bad. I’m sorry if I sound angry or overly harsh: Princess Peach is a character I deeply connect with since I was a child and I’m not lying that her portrayal in the movie worried me ever since the first trailer she appeared, so it’s also kind of personal.

If you like Princess Peach in this movie, you're fine! But I also ask you to respect my positions as well.

Please don’t label me immediately as a misogynist who hates to see women have larger roles in movies (I mean, I’m a woman myself) or as a snobbish cinema critic who expected to see Citizen Kane from the Mario Movie. I’m just a huge Nintendo fan who loves the franchise but also likes good writing.

Before starting to write, this rant WON'T be:

A political commentary, so don't expect me to talk about culture war or whatever debate is occupying USA’s society at the moment (I'm not even American). So I won’t complain about how the Leftists or the Republicans ruined a children’s movie. I’ll also refuse to use terms like “problematic”, “girlboss”, “woke” or any words which are fashionable right now.

A judgment about Anya Taylor-Joy's performance, as I didn't watch the movie in English.

What I attempt to do, instead, is to judge Princess Peach’s character based on the writing and how well it adapts with her games’ counterpart.

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The criteria in which I’ll base myself

For my judgment of the Princess’ portrayal in this movie, I also need to make an important distinction, to clarify my point: the one between Role and Personality.

In brief, the Role is the placement that one character has in the story, its social placement, how it affects the plot (e.g. Protagonist, Antihero, Damsel in Distress, Princess). In general, while analyzing a piece of media it’s useful to recognize a role in a metatextual way, an abstract way to see the character’s dynamic.

Personality  is the combination of the psychological qualities that form an individual's distinctive character. On a broader side, this includes how the character’s interests or how they view the other characters along with them and the actions that would be made, based on their tendencies, hopes or fears. (e.g. optimistic, greedy, stylish, likes baseball or dislikes soda)

Sometimes both parameters influence each other but there are many others they do not, depending on the author’s writing styles, the plot or the development of those specific stories.

From these two theoretical traits, I’d like to add a third one, partially disconnected from these two: adaptation.An adaptation is a re-development of a piece of media, whether a book, a movie or a videogame into another. They usually base on the original plot but many others would rather use some elements to make another story, like it happened with the Mario Movie. Usually a good adaptation, regardless if it uses the original plot or not, either keeps the original’s feeling and morals or it coherently expands it. Here’s why this cinematic adaptation of the Mario games, as flawed as it is, is already regarded more fondly than the 1993’s movie.

With my criterias now made clear, let's start this rant.

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The positives

Of course, I like the role the writers got her in the movie: while I don’t mind her classic damsel in distress role, seeing Peach in a position in which she could constantly help Mario put a huge smile on my face. She constantly encourages him and her people as well, like an actual ruler would do and she would even sacrifice herself to save even one of her subjects. Her combative side was somewhat accurate to the Princess Peach from the games and her dynamic with Mario was rather interesting. Her not being kidnapped and being more experienced than the plumber also makes quite sense, since the movie is an origin story to the parable of Mario. I even say that switching Luigi and her role was actually a clever choice, since it gives a much stronger motivation for Mario to explore the Mushroom Kingdom and a reason for them to bond.. Many argue that this version of Peach was too perfect: I can see their point but at the same time I think that while the writers overblown her combat capability, Peach still needed some help to succeed, whether from Mario or the Kongs. She had some flaws, even though they only affected her relationship with the plumber that could easily be explored in the sequels. Not everything it’s perfect with this writing choice, mostly regarding the management of her role with her personality, but I’ll explain myself better in the next section.

Her backstory and fascination with humans could have potential as well, if we take the context of the movie as a separate universe from the games: it gave this Peach a sort of flavor that differentiates her from other similar characters in recent animated movies. Throughout the projection, there were a few moments in which her caring side from the games somewhat emerged, such in the scene in which she advises Mario to be more cautious against Donkey Kong or when she saved Toad multiple times, most notably by surrendering from Bowser. Unlike what the trailer made many of us believe, Princess Peach could have been managed way worse, but still this doesn't imply that I liked her personality, with which I still have a load of issues with.

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My criticisms Even though she could have been even dirtier, I still don’t like Peach’s personality in the movie, sorry. Let’s not confuse (negative) potential with the actual result: an idea, as good or bad as it sounds, it’s often not good enough to make a final product worthy of praise or loath. It also needs a deliberate narrative choice to make it shine. For these reasons tropes and cliches are constantly invoked even by non experts. As I mentioned in the section above, my issue with this version of Peach wasn’t the role she was attempting to do: it was nice to see Princess Peach in action and having a mentor role to Mario but I still feel her arc was managed poorly, which also affected the pacing of a good chunk of the movie. Even the positives I mentioned earlier seem to be afterthoughts put by Illumination, probably under Nintendo’s pressure. Whoever was in charge of the writing seems to have missed the point of what made Princess Peach unique in the first place, some common characteristics present both in the games and in the comics: her sweetness, well integrated with a bubbly side. In the games she seems defenseless, however here also resides her strength: she’s not always ready to combat but she always is to forgiveness and kindness, even to villains. Emotional strength is not always explored in recent narrative but in reality it’s just as important as combat capabilities. Even the times in which she decides to join the adventure she always sees the big picture, contributing to her party with her grace and femininity. Even though she was often kidnapped she wasn’t a complete pushover: even in difficult times, the Princess always tried to do everything she could to escape or to help Mario to find her. Among the main Mario characters, Peach is among the most developed ones, with Luigi, Rosalina and Bowser, especially in the RPGs, because she never fulfills a stereotype, whether being the damsel in distress or the competent warrior. Despite being pure by concept, she’s still a flawed character who pays her kindness and patience with naivety and dizziness. We’ve even seen her prideful and stubborn side from time to time!

In the movie, I barely saw any of these traits, especially in the first half: in general her dialogue, especially with Mario, is left vague, not in a way that felt mysterious but rather lazy. In general, Princess Peach may have had more agency, but at what cost? Compared to the other characters, who kept their loose but iconic characteristics, she didn’t feel like her game self but rather a toned down version of a generic action heroine like many others seen recently. With this I don’t want to imply that there mustn’t be a place for stoic and capable characters, I even love many of them, I just prefer to see new ones rather than an adaptation of a character who already had a developed and different personality. Luckily, she wasn’t as bad as other offenders: she seemed to support and cherish Mario and Toad throughout the movie but at the same time her tough mentoring style felt really forced and out-of-character. She felt really aggressive and condescending, both in her animation or small remarks, as by calling Mario “Mustache” or "unimportant" (this last one was a joke but it was in a rather poor taste) or even by even much bigger scenes, like in the infamous training level scene. She was almost never the center of a joke, even if the movie was filled with gags and it seemed that her role was just to remark how much she was capable of fighting. In general, Peach's character doesn't seem to evolve through the movie (if we leave the really quick moment in which she didn't trust Mario) nor is connected with a solid theme like Mario, Luigi (brotherly love and overcoming one's own fear), Bowser (the effect of an obsessive love) or Donkey Kong (feeling worthy of a parent's approval): even if the movie was not deep, the writers did attempt to attach some moral for the kids, even as trivial as it is, which is unfortunately missing from Peach's arc.

The more I think about her movie writing and more questions I ask myself. Aside from the vague defeating Bowser, does she have an objective which motivates her to do everything she does? Does she really appreciate the Toads’ company or just thinks that she’s superior to them, as it’s evident to her reasoning to bring the one who presented himself to Mario on an adventure? Does she have some other personality traits than being headstrong, smug, supportive and self sacrificing? 

Why does she often recur to action even if there may be a more diplomatic alternative to resolve a problem? For example, let’s talk about Peach’s first encounter with Mario: the situation may not have been the best but I was surprised that she, alone, could lay the plumber on the ground. If I were to write this part instead, I would have debuted the Princess by either being extremely confused and telling the guards to do anything or, alternatively, to tell the guards that she would take care of Mario, ever since he already tried to apologize to her and, later, to calm him down. Turning back to the movie, it’s fair to assume that the castle is pretty big but then, why hire some Toads, if she’s so strong as well as the first to admit that they’re weak creatures and therefore not the greatest option to even protect an eventual treasure she may hide? I may get a lot of hate for this but I also need to criticize the Ice flower scene that many seemed to love: at this point Peach was aware that Bowser liked her, she could have been way more cunning by at least attempting to convince him to not do any harm to his prisoners while Toad himself could have been using the ice flower in case Bowser misbehaved, therefore letting Peach to escape safely to search Mario, to reciprocate the sacrifice that the Princess did for him and let Toad to guide a riot with Bowser’s prisoners against him. In this quick idea, I also gave more purpose to Toad, which is only used in the movie as a way to introduce Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom and to make it even more evident that Peach was awesome, whether telling him or with the facts. I also gave the princess a moment of evident emotional vulnerability.

While I found her fascination with humans rather interesting in the very context of the movie, it still feels an arbitrary choice considering the extended Mario lore: in canon, it's implied that Rosalina is born in the Mushroom Kingdom and had a family there. If we also involve the spinoffs, how Princess Peach didn't know about Sarasaland, which is ruled by Daisy or even Diamond City, where many humans live? Peach’s backstory in general makes sense if you don't think too much about it: when you do, many canon discontinuities emerge, too many to be ignored. And even without caring about the games lore, this plot line goes nowhere: when she’s transported to Brooklyn, she seemingly doesn’t react to how her surroundings changed so drastically, not a single cue, dialogue or even a small animation to express at least awe or confusion. The only thing she does is to support Mario and Luigi and, lastly, to feed Bowser that mushroom which will be the final straw to his demise. 

In short, despite her popularity I don’t like Princess Peach’s personality in the Super Mario Movie at all, since it’s a rather cheap adaptation of the characterization that Nintendo and its affiliates were giving to her during the nearly forty years of her existence to give a characterization that is too similar to other characters in recent cinematic times. Even considering this Peach as her own character, her writing still comes out flat and inconcludent to the movie’s plot line.

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Movie Peach and Comic Peach: a comparison

Speaking about this portrayal of Peach, a lot of people and even Nintendo itself like to mention the Nintendo Power comics that were released in the 90s. I can definitely see where this connection may come from: she is indeed more proactive than in the games. However, she retained a dreamy and dainty side which is evident when she interacts with Mario. She directs her sarcasm and even violence towards Bowser and the Koopalings themselves. As a characteristic that also was brought up in the games, Peach was snarky, with those who annoyed her in the first place. It’s especially evident in the first three Paper Mario that she uses it when she’s fed up with everyone’s misbehaving.

In everything she did, Peach had a strong and personal purpose which it’s absent in the movie: to save Mario and herself and she was not above failing in her plans, as it's evident in the Bowser Marriage scene. Hence this is why I think that, even by Nintendo itself, the comic was just used as an excuse to justify the lazy writing for the Princess, since it was the closest example to what the authors wanted to do with her.

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Conclusions

TL;DR: Princess Peach’s role in the movie could have had a lot of potential and I’m glad to see her helping Mario in a more involved way but I’m disappointed in how the writers butchered her personality from the games just into a mellower version of a common Hollywood trope, especially since the essence of most other characters seemed to have been respected to the most part.

I’m even more disappointed that even Nintendo, after those first concept arts in which Peach retained her personality, could approve of a similar change, even because the others retained their characteristics. I think they tried to overcompensate the widespread (and, to be honest, unjustified) hatred for the Princess with a personality that has little to do with her character, and judging from the general consensus, they succeeded to make her liked. I may have an severe opinion regarding this topic but it’s fine to appreciate this version of Princess Peach, even prefer her to the games' one: everyone likes different kinds of characters and there’s nothing bad about it. 

I ask you to respect my opinion as I accept yours. Mario movie debates have been really exhausting, and I genuinely hope that this rant could lead a constructive dialogue from both sides, which wouldn’t use ad hominem/political party insults or to assume my political affiliation basing on this rant, let’s keep politics out of this rant.

In general, I strongly encourage you to correct me whenever I was wrong or if there's anything you'd like to add to my points!

I hope that you won’t hold a grudge against me and I hope to see you soon!

[chongmiz]

initially posted to main blog but i wanted to expand so

i think a good rule of thumb is artists don't need to disclose their medical history to "prove" their credentials. i understand how the fortnight MV and suicidal lyrics throughout ttpd can read as careless; i had some initial hesitation because i haven't stopped thinking of britney spears' memoir since i read it, and the lineage of women in her family being institutionalized against their will by and pumped full of lithium. but just because one blond pop star publicizes this doesn't mean every other should follow.

however, strong reactions to fortnight, in particular, must come from the discomfort of taylor's proud ownership of her songs as "about her life" (miss americana doc), but this wasn't even true of her discography at that point in time, before folklore; they've been about friends' lives, the kennedys, characters from books and film and tv, like she says about "death by a thousand cuts" and much of her older songs at NPR tiny desk. but taylor hasn't framed her music as narrated by characters since folklore and evermore, and she's never not appeared in a self-directed music video; i think she's only been a supporting role twice, in the ATW "film" and "i can see you."

i wonder if some more obvious buffer between her and the material might help its reception infinitesimally, like having an actor in the fortnight MV. then again, i'm reminded of pj harvey:

'Some critics have taken my writing so literally to the point that they’ll listen to 'Down by the Water' and believe I have actually given birth to a child and drowned her,' scoffed Harvey to Spin in 2005. It’s a curious trend: unlike her old pal Nick Cave, a man always left free to slip into the skins of murderers, sleazebags or demonic preachers because he’s playing characters, Harvey has often been shackled by folk desperate to bolt autobiographical meaning to her every song. 'It can be very frustrating, particularly when it seems almost preposterous that it could be autobiographical,' she told me in an interview for the Quietus in 2011, just before the release of Let England Shake. 'People don’t allow the metaphor, the imagery, all the things that you work with as a writer … standing completely outside, as the narrator of a story.' (The Guardian, 2015)

i don't bring in pj harvey for no reason. her late career has included incidental music for ivo van hove's west end productions, including all about eve starring gillian anderson and lily james. a few years prior, gillian anderson played blanche dubois in a streetcar named desire at st. ann's warehouse dir. benedict andrews. the ending of "hits different" (feeding into beginning of "fortnight") made me think of a streetcar named desire on first listen, which ends with blanche involuntarily committed after her brother-in-law assults her, her sister helpless to intervene. you might recognize the line "i have always depended on the kindness of strangers" that lana quotes somewhere on born to die, said by blanche to the nurses taking her away. i suppose early lana's midcentury nostalgia successfully separated lana from lizzy, and pj harvey did not start her career claming her lyrics as autobiography. unfortunately, taylor swift may never be allowed such estrangement because she doesn't seem to want it ("i hate it here"), even if her next directorial outing is something vastly more "period" than fortnight, even if she doesn't appear onscreen.

as much as people fantasize about her writing a musical one day, 1) "beautiful ghosts" was redundant to an already nonsense libretto and really just the ingenue version of "memory," so you're back to a ybwm madonna/whore binary, groundbreaking and 2) based on her music video treatments, i question her interest in writing in someone else's voice, as in a flesh-and-blood character with material context, not loosely-defined devices like betty and james

[i-love-magi]

Chapter 1: A Fated Encounter

“Lady winters, Look!! Look!! We completed our first dungeon!” Rudie yelled out in excitement.

I couldn’t help but smile, They were all so happy and excited. I had only been there in case something happened but luckily nothing did. Seeing the five of them reminded me of the debauchery tea party days.

“Minori what is that?” Serara asked.

My eyes went straight to Minori’s hands ‘Is that a celestial crystal?’ I wondered. For context, There are said to be 20 celestial crystals each one representing a critical power. The 6 I have are basic, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, and Darkness.

“I’m not sure….It seems to be some kind of crystal.” Minori said in confusion.

“Minori….” I called out. But before I could ask her to let me see the crystal my vision started to blare.

___________________________Sometime Later____________________________________

“Miss? Miss?” I heard.

‘That voice I don’t recognize it.’ I thought. I slowly opened my eyes to meet two men. One with white hair and what looks to be some sort of uniform, like an advisor, and the other with pink hair and armor that reminds me of a gladiator.

“Who are you? Where are my friends?” I asked as I tried to get up but almost fell due to a dizzy spell coming upon me. ‘Mister Gladiator’ caught me before I fell and helped me stand.

“Miss? Are You alright? I don’t know where your friends are. You were the only one here.” Mister advisor said.

“ I’ll be fine, I’m just a bit dizzy, thank you, Mister. May I ask where I am?” I asked. I was starting to feel better but didn’t let go, not trusting myself right now.

“ You're in Sindria, more specifically you're in the palace gardens.” He said in a confused tone.

I looked up at him in confusion, “Sindria?”

“Miss, what do you remember last?” He asked if I could tell he was trying to figure out the situation.

“Ja’far! Where have ...My who is this lovely lady” The strange man with purple hair asked. ‘He must be some sort of royalty…possibly some sort of Ruler.’ I thought. The discoloring on his skin….Is that a curse?

“This is…” Ja’far paused ‘Ja’far? So that's his name.’I thought. “Winters….My name is Winters.” I said when I noticed that Ja’far realized that he didn’t know my name.

“This is Lady Winters, We found her passed out in the garden. I was just asking Lady Winters what was the last thing she remembers because it seems as if she does not recognize her surroundings. Lady Winters, This is his highness King Sinbad, King of Sindria and head of the Seven Seas Alliance.” Ja’far announced ‘Knew it...He was a ruler of sorts.’ I thought.

I let go of mister Gladiator feeling better but not straying away just encase the dizziness decides to return. I curtsied as a noble lady would and said “ My name is Winters, I am a high-ranking adventurer and I am one of the members of the round table conference, my role is a representative for unaffiliated adventurers and non-adventurers”

I could see that the interest peaked in King Sinbad's eyes but there was no recognition to be found in them. He gently took my hand and pulled it to his lips and kissed it before pulling away, Though he did not let it go. “You're quite the interesting young lady….I can’t help but become curious.” I mentally rolled my eyes at his seductive words and mannerisms. ‘ If I were normal, that might have worked on me. But I will say he does give Shurigo a run for his money in the looks department’ I thought which brought a gentle smile to my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ja’far and mister gladiator roll their eyes.

“I understand what you mean, your highness, But curiosity could come with consequences if one is not careful,” I said sweetly. His smile fell a tiny bit and I could hear the other two trying to keep themselves from laughing at their king.

“You're very wise, Lady Winters.” His Highness said.

“ I would hope so, I am quite a curious person. So I should know a thing or two about the subject.” I teased. King Sinbad was not used to someone teasing back because I saw a small amount of blush appear around his cheeks. Looking out of the corner of my eyes I could see the absolute shock on Ja’far and mister Gladiator's faces. ‘Two can play at this game.’I thought.

“Well….I….Um….I see, perhaps we should take this inside. I’m sure you would like to sit down and we do have questions of our own but fear not we will do everything in our power to help you.” He said as he positioned me on his arm like a gentleman would with a young Lady.

“Of course, I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability….As I would hope you would do the same for me.” I said as he led me down some halls while Ja’far and Mister Gladiator followed close behind.

“ So Lady Winters….” His Highness started but stopped when we passed by an open courtyard. I sensed magic power. I looked up to the sky to see what seemed to be a barrier being breached.

“How….? Judar!!!” King Sinbad exclaimed. I let go of his arm and walked into the courtyard.

“Lady Winters!! It’s dangerous. Please come back and allow us to take you to safety.” Ja’far said firmly.

I stopped and looked back at the three men “ You are helping me...so it’s only fair that I help you.” I said.

My staff appeared in my hand, it was silver with the 6 celestial crystals floating around it as if they were planets and my staff was the anchor. Holding my staff up toward the sky I said “Crystal Dome” Before a cyan-colored beam shot up from my staff and started to enclose the whole country. The barrier looked like it was made out of crystal as it shimmered due to the light reflecting off of it.

I turned back to see the three of them pale in the face and shocked “ What? I did say I was a high-ranking adventurer. Though I'm starting to think you don’t know what that is, never mind that right now, I think it would be best to get rid of your attackers.” I said.

This seems to snap them out of their shock “My what do we have here? You're new? Who the hell are you?” The mystery attacker 1 came down from the sky.

King Sinbad grabbed and pushed me behind him protectively “ No one, What do you want Judar?”

“I came to ask what you think about ‘that guy’ but now I found something more interesting.” He said, peeking over King Sinbad’s shoulder at me.

I popped out and waved at him “ Hi, my name is Winters, These nice people are helping me find my friends. Who are you?”

King Sinbad tried to keep me away from the man named Judar as he tried to get closer to me. This however was a failure because I just went around the King and walked right up to the man “I know your name is Judar because that is what the king called you but that is all?” I said.

“Why aren’t you quite brave? Most would tremble in the presence of a Magi.” He gloated while he circled me in the air.

“Magi? What's a Magi?” I asked. ‘Is that a title for a noble or something?’ I thought.

“What?!! You don’t know what a Magi is? How stupid are you?” He said.

I tilted my head and with a big smile, I said “ Ignorant…Me not knowing what a magi is makes me ignorant not stupid.”

This seemed to tick the man off because he summoned what looked to be ice spears and threw them at me. I dodged them easily, which only pissed him off more. He was slow compared to some of the monsters I had to take down on those quests, so it was easy to dodge his attacks. I noticed his demeanor change, which caused me to transfer magic to the tip of my staff and draw a circle around me. As I did this Ice came up from the ground. ‘Man, it’s a good thing I noticed that or that would have hurt.’ I thought.

King Sinbad seemed to be analyzing my fight with Judar, while the others were shocked at how easily I was handling him. “ Why you little…!! I was just trying to test you…but you're pissing me off!!” He said. I felt an abundance of magic being formed.

I stood my ground. ‘ This is boring and a waste of time.’ I thought as I cast thorn hostage Bind. Thorns of pure magic power appeared from the ground and wrapped around Judar. “If those thorns are cut you will be electrocuted with pure magic power and I do have the power to cast it multiple times. What your problem is that you don’t think nor do you care to. You have the power to be a force to be reckoned with, but sadly you're too self-absorbed to see it. Also a little advice, even the weakest of persons can take down the strongest if they know how to analyze a situation. So don’t underestimate someone just because their power is weaker than yours. I say this because I didn’t become well-known for how much power I had. It was the ladder that made me well known and feared.” I released the spell on Judar and then melted the ice from his previous attacks before turning to the others.

“I appreciate that you were trying to shield me from him but as you can see I can handle myself. As for Judar, he will be taking his leave, won’t you? Or will you behave yourself and finish your business here.” I said looking over my shoulder before making my way over to the king and his subordinates.

“Your something else and I like it…I think we could have some fun together. But I guess I should get to the point. So what I was talking about earlier was “Aladdin.” Don’t you think it’s strange? That there exists another Magi in this world!!?” Judar asked.

His highness Sinbad seemed to not be happy with what Judar was getting at. My lack of knowledge of what was being said annoyed me but by listening to the conversation and observing their body language I can come up with a few theories. One is that Magi’s seem to have great influence and another one showing up is causing concern. I could feel the king's eyes on me as well as Judar’s. I’m sure they were curious about my thoughts.

“In all the previous Eras…there were only three magi…you know about this, right? History proves that…there were always three magi who chose kings, created countries, and built this entire world! It used to be like that in this era also, right?” He said.

Everyone stayed silent listening to what Judar had to say. But a smile graced my lips realizing I knew what was happening but no one else had figured it out. It would make sense, I know quite a bit about balance, chaos, time, and space. Ja’far looked at me confused as well as the king though it was hard to tell he was watching me from the side.

“For the first, there is me, and then that old hag in Reim, and the last one is that guy who travels around the world, making dungeons appear and disappear as he pleases.” Judar continued.

‘Dungeons? Appear? Disappear? What is he talking about?’ I thought as he continued his speech. He was buying time that I knew but still the things he was saying are interesting no less.

“That should be all of them. If a new Magi appears, someone among these three people must have died…but, I didn’t get such information. So then…what the hell is “that guy”...? For the first time in history, the “Fourth Magi” has appeared…Plus, that time… he displayed a mysterious power that even I don’t know anything about…From that moment onward, those old men from my organization desired that power. Could it be you’re interested in that, too?” Judar asked the King.

King Sinbad was silent for a moment and then asked “ What are you trying to say?”

“Quit acting innocent! What do you intend to do? What do you intend to achieve by using that midget? Or better yet what do you tend to do with that girl? Both have usual power?” He asked.

I rolled my eyes “ Leave me out of this, Mister. My power is my own to wield and will use it as I see fit.” I was annoyed that he was trying to get me involved.” These people are helping me so I will help them in exchange but it's under my will and my will alone. Do you understand me?” I said, making it clear to everyone what my intentions were. But my answer seems to amuse and cause them both to become more curious.

“It’s none of your business.” King Sinbad said coldly.

Judar picked up because he said “So cold…Do you want to make me feel lonely? You should have joined forces with me, and yet…of course, there is still a chance for you Winters.” This caused me to roll my eyes.

Sinbad tensed up and his anger flared “ you’re one of the people of that organization!! Did you forget what you did to us…That time in Partevia!?” He yelled in anger.

I instinctively place my hand on his back to calm him, he seemed surprised at my actions but I felt him relax a little.

“Don’t give me that look, Sinbad. I am, too…I am, too…one of altharmen’s victims!” This outburst seemed to surprise everyone but I can see his true intentions as I looked at him with a blank expression.

He seems to notice with an almost unrecognizable smirk he continued. “ That little magi…showed me… my past…I was chosen by the rukh and was born in a small, eastern village…But…but my father and mother, everyone, were immediately killed by the “organization”... I was taken by the “organization” and they took advantage of me even before I understand a thing…I’ve been in this situation since I was an infant…I wanted to live a normal life!! And yet, are you saying that I’m at fault here!!? Sinbad!!?”He crouched down as if he was crying.

I’ll give him that he is a pretty good actor, award-winning I would say “Judar…!” King Sinbad said before trying to reach to comfort him.

I stopped him from reaching out he looked at me confused and then turn back to Judar the moment he heard laughing. “Buhahaha…I can’t do this anymore…Gyahahahaha!!! Hahaha!! Did you pity me!? You are a good person!!! I’m surprised though the only person who didn’t believe me, was that girl!!! Hahaha!!”

This seemed to anger the king because he became angry when he said Judars name but it didn’t seem to faze Judar because he continued. “Don’t get me wrong!! Everything I said before was the truth…But I don’t care about those things at all! I’ll just keep doing as I please, just as I’ve been doing until now!...” Judar paused and the mood around him shifted “Hey…This country is a beautiful place…It stinks of humans no matter where you go. This country that you created isn’t half bad. And that magi as well…it’s not like I hate him…It’s for these reasons…that I decided that I will destroy both of them!”

The tension in the room could be cut with a sword everyone was tense and no one knew what would happen. Well all but me of course, I may not know what they were talking about but I knew what I sensed and what directions things are flowing toward. With that, I could predict the moves of people and monsters giving me an advantage.

“Hey Sinbad, Are you sure that you don’t want to join forces with me? You are the king vessel…with a superhuman quantity of Magoi, that Commands 7 Jinns and strong familiar vessel users! I thought that it would be incredibly fun…to conquer the world together with you! Even you, girl, I think it would be fun, with such skill and power! But…lately, I noticed…That people like you two who are incredibly strong…would be more fun to kill than anything else!! Isn’t my Kou empire incredible!? It even has 5 dungeon conquerors. Ren Hakuei was the first imperial princess. Ren Kougyoku the 8th imperial princess and the sons of the emperor ren Kouha. Ren Koumei. Ren Kouen!! Among them Kouen is good…not only he is a king vessel that would not lose even to you two…he also likes war. If we join forces we could gain control of the eastern continent in a blur of time! And after that…this place…the Kou empire will destroy Sindria!!” He yelled in excitement.

‘He’s a fool like the rest of them but that makes it even more fun when I break them!’ I thought then gasped at my dark thoughts. ‘ I need to be careful thinking that way after all they are the people of the land and not Naotsugu or Crusty. Those two are my favorite to torment.

“...This country, is our enemy now…See you.” Judar said before flying off. I blushed to realize I was so in thought that I missed completely what was said and who is the girl.

For some reason, I felt the need to comfort the girl because she seemed conflicted. I walked up to the girl and pulled her into my arms “ People get caught up in what's right or wrong…their responsibilities along with many other things…the only advice I can give you is to do what you want, don’t think about anyone else or what they might think…This is your life do what you want or what you think is best. Do what makes you happy!” I said everyone was watching us. I could that they were uncertain but I could feel three sets of eyes on me.

“But what if I don’t know what to do or what I want to do?” The girl said her sad eyes staring up at me.

“You take some time to figure it out and even if that doesn’t work talk it out with someone you know you can trust. I good friend will never judge you for your actions.” I said as my right hand played with her hair.

“... what's your name?” She asked.

I smiled at her gently and said “My name is Winters and what is yours?”

“Kougyoku…Can we… We are friends?” She asked shyly.

I gave her a big smile and said “ I would love that and as your new friend might I suggest you get some rest.”

She paused before pulling away from me and nodding, turning toward a man in black, he led her away.

I sense the king move toward me, I turned to him causing him to stop. “Thank you, for everything. I appreciate your help even though we just met.”

“I did it because it was the right thing to do and because it's only right to help those who are helping me. That being said I do not care what power you hold but I will be respectful unless I’m given a reason not to be. Your pretty face and sharp tongue won’t achieve anything. If that’s going to be a problem, let me know now.” I said with my head held high. I could tell what kind of man he was.

He let out a loud laugh and said “ I like your honesty, you seem to have figured me out. I'm impressed, as for it being a problem I have no problem with it. I would love to get to know you better. You are quite an interesting person. While the princess is resting, how about we continue our talk." Despite my warning, he still tried to use his sharp tongue on me.

“ I would love that…After the whole incident with Judar…I do have questions.” I said Making it obvious that I was not falling for it.

“That's great because I have some as well.” He said.

____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 111 + 110

[nell0-0]

I had a feeling you be excited seeing them. It does answer a few things to help with people’s fan stories. Rei was the one who fell and similar to Ingo, he has amnesia and admits he only faintly remembers his life before Hisui. However, while he says Pasio feels familiar he also admits it doesn’t feel right and that it isn’t where he came from. Whether that means simply not that location or if Ingo’s theory that Rei came from a different world/universe may hold weight. This may also keep the theory Rei=Lucas alive since while they imply they are two different people, there is the chance Rei is Lucas from a different universe. I guess we will have to see when Ingo falls if he has those feelings of familiarity to see. For the main story it’s mainly the two protags learning to become sync pairs with Akari using a Samorott she caught to avoid dying in the space rift since the rest of her pairs aren’t taking Pasio well and Rei exploring with Cynthia after getting jump scared by her Giratina(to be fair, the other three Hisui members apparently don’t know about the whole Volo thing). They came across ruins Rei recognizes and Giratina starts behaving erratically. They leave and the last shot is a Togepi running behind a pillar to confirm he’s been there the whole time. As for their sync pairs, Akari further explains her want to become great pairs with Samorott so she can be Rei’s equal while Rei concludes Kukui would be fine in Hisui after he has Decidueye shoot triple arrows at him for research. They also interact with Irida and Adaman in selections and victories which is cute.

As for battle wise, they are completely broken. Akari is a Field pair who has potions, a move to summon a dark zone while raising speed by 4 and adding both types of move next effects by 2, Ceasless Edge with crits easily and adds a type of Field to the opponent side that damages them when they do a move, and that damage unlocks a move that will never miss always crit and increases in power by 20% when use in succession. Both characters have a passive that reduces sync move countdown, raises attack by 4, and raises crit rate by 3. She also has Quick Tempo and Critical Strike 2 while Rei has S Move:Team Free Move Next 9 and Soften Up 1. He is a Sprint pair who has a move that reduced sync countdown, raises speed by 6, applies Supereffective next, and increases his physical move effect by 2. He has the move gauge boost move, Triple Arrows has crits be easy as well as 50% change to lower defense and 30% chance of a flinch, his sync move gets stronger the faster he is, and that activates a move that targets all opponents without lowering chances for additional effects while critting, lowering defense by 2, and flinching. They both also get additional strike roles if they eat the cake roll and have ex. I only fed Rei but now his Sync hits all opponents and reduces the countdown by 3 while also having a 50% boost to his attacks.

So yeah…busted but interesting characters

I mean, it's not the first time that Masters just glosses over something just to not mess too much with canon (which it does, anyways!). Not a surprise they went with something vague when it comes to the memory stuff.

I love that the Hisui characters are so strong in this! But it does raise some concerns when in general for the game. Irida and Adaman were already bamf. Don't get me wrong, it absolutely makes sense that Rei + Akari would be powerful too with that premise, but then what are they gonna do for Volo??? He's supposed to be stronger than most in Hisui once he actually fights you (MC). As always, the only option left is to wait and see.

[melis-writes]

It’s surprising to see how many readers don’t like or flat out hate Victoria in some post comments and submission. Personally I love how you’ve written Victoria as a character with a unique personality with challenges, successes, a whole family, and a backstory that could be an independent standalone character from the main male characters and she doesn’t get overshadowed. I enjoy that she could be paired with Al Pacino’s different characters in prompts and still works cause it’s fun a dynamic non-canon scenario. It’s so refreshing to see fanfics that’s not just “Y/n” over and over again cause I don’t like to self-insert “your name” into fanfics but we could still read from your OCs pov

I could understand how some may not like some of Victoria’s actions or decisions like any other character but I’m loving her spicy attitude and the interesting dynamic she adds to the GodFather story. I appreciate the effort of character development you put into OCs like Victoria and continuing with Celeste 🥰 🥰 Team Victoria forever!!! Gatekeep Gaslight and Girlboss 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼

-From a very dedicated Meli supporter 😘🫡

To be honest, everyone has their own opinion about Victoria and that's fine. ❤️ The beauty of it is that everyone will experience her story, her actions, her lifestyle and her decisions differently and I completely respect that, but Victoria's character has also been rudely slandered in the past and called "annoying" or any other unhelpful criticisms which I absolutely don't accept. There's definitely a way to word how you feel about a character, their mannerisms and their role in the story you're reading without writing/sending literal anon hate which sadly I have seen in the recent past for Victoria.

I didn't create Victoria to be a likeable, relatable and quirky character. She fits in the world of Moth to Flame for The Godfather as one would expect a character in the canon world of The Godfather to. I love how you mentioned Victoria does have her own challenges, successes and a backstory without being overpowered by other main male characters. It's true! 🥰 She's a human being, she's not a stone cold monster who would let something like lies, betrayal and manipulation go past her. Victoria has emotions, her own values and morals too. There's things that get Victoria upset and there's things that don't even get under her skin.

I think somewhere along the way, some may have misunderstood this and expected Victoria to be cold, ruthless and a demon but we can't forget she's a mother, an aunt, a daughter, an academic, and a whole lawyer. Victoria had a life before she married Michael too, and she still does. She's not Michael 2.0 and she isn't designed to be. To be fair, it's not in my interest whatsoever to have Victoria be a likeable character or not just as I won't write out character personalities for the sake of being able to relate to them. I mean, Victoria's a corrupt lawyer and in the mafia... Should not be relatable. 😂

Of course Victoria isn't perfect. She's only human and she's not made to be a "perfect" character. She has her flaws and she has things she needs to work on; don't we all? At the very least they are mentioned and Victoria recognizes them too. You step into her perspective and see how Victoria reacts, speaks, and acts in Moth to Flame. Sometimes we may not agree with what she's said/done but it all adds to the story! That's what it is.

I also agree with what you said about the prompt shipping! 💞 It's for fun, it's unique and based on reader submission and I love interacting with you guys and playing around with suggestions/input!

GATEKEEP, GASLIGHT, GIRLBOSS -- VICTORIA CORLEONE 💅🏻

Lots of love to you and thank you for sharing your opinion on Miss Victoria!! ❤️❤️❤️

[keyleth-clay]

I posted 4,527 times in 2022

That's 4,132 more posts than 2021!

176 posts created (4%)

4,351 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@quinn-of-aebradore

@vethbrenatto

@viciousmollymaukery

@sparring-spirals

@rainydaydecaf

I tagged 4,527 of my posts in 2022

#critical role - 4,434 posts

#fanart - 3,255 posts

#cr 2 - 1,518 posts

#cr 1 - 1,489 posts

#cr 3 - 883 posts

#moodboard - 578 posts

#vex'ahlia - 317 posts

#keyleth - 313 posts

#vax'ildan - 312 posts

#exu: calamity - 282 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i'm also fully prepared for some emotionally devastating shit in their backstory and how that affects their relationships with the other pcs

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Critical Role Moodboards: Essek Thelyss

165 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#4

I genuinely love Callopea and I hope that it goes fully canon.

Not because a ship has to go “fully canon” to be legitimate, or to be enjoyed by the fandom, but because I think the dynamic between Fearne and Chetney is so different from the vast majority of ships that we’ve seen on Critical Role so far.

Because the thing is, I feel like a lot of the fandom kind of sees Callopea as a joke? And not just goofy or lighthearted, but kind of mean-spirited. Like, the idea that this could ever be a “legitimate” ship or that it has any meaning to it is laughable. (This is also kind of reflected in fanworks, since there’s basically no art of them, and there’s like... two people making gifs. In comparison to pairings like Imodna or Dorym which, while I do also ship, there is arguably less concrete evidence of in canon at this point in time).

Which I don’t think is true! I think there’s a lot of depth to both Chetney and Fearne, despite being largely comedic characters, and I think there’s also a lot of potential depth to their relationship, despite it being largely played for laughs.

Take Chetney, for example. I think the depth of his character is best summed up with this quote from The Night Before Critmas (and yes, I know that was Chutney, but he was the basis for the character):

“He told me to make Voltron out of wood. No one wanted it. He told me to make a Game Boy. I can't do circuits. He told me to make the little trolls, but the hair didn't move.”

Again, yes it’s comedic, but the core idea of the character was here – because Chetney/Chutney isn’t just talking about toys. He’s talking about himself. A huge part of this character is dealing with the feeling of obsolescence, of the world moving on without you and you not being needed anymore. That same idea also shows up with Bertrand at the beginning of the campaign, and I don’t think that’s an accident, and I don’t think Travis is doing that just for the joke.

Growing older can be scary. Feeling like you’re out of touch with the world, or that you aren’t needed anymore, or that you just don’t understand things anymore – that’s scary. In a way, it feels like parts of the fandom treat a character being old as a punchline – it sometimes feels like the very idea of a character being elderly, and an elderly character wanting some form of intimate relationship in particular, is worthy of mockery.

I’m sure we’ve all seen commercials or interviews or something that contain some variation on “as we age, our need for intimacy does not diminish”. Yes, Chetney has flyaway white hair and wrinkles and a squeaky old voice and a hat he’s almost laughably attached to and goofy curly toed boots, and he is still deserving of love, and that isn’t a joke. Not that that love needs to be romantic love, necessarily, but love nonetheless.

And I think that it makes perfect sense that Fearne would be the one to recognize that! For one thing, she’s the only one in Bell’s Hells that is anywhere near his age (though there is still a noticeable gap, but who knows how the fuck time works in the Feywild anyways). For another, with her wildshaping and his werewolf transformation, the two of them are the only ones in the group that understand that idea of letting animalistic instinct take over, of the freedom of being wild, and also the occasional lack of control or fear that can come with it. Not to mention both of their… impulsive morals.

But there’s two more ways I feel that these two connect, which are even deeper than what I previously mentioned – one of which I only realized after this most recent episode.

The first is related to this wonderful bit of meta from @captainofthetidesbreath, which I’m not going to reiterate here because a) you should go give them some love, and b) because this is long enough as it is. But to sum it up, Chetney is a toymaker, and takes great pride in that. He takes great joy in seeing other people, especially children, finding joy in what he’s crafted. Out of everyone in Bell’s Hells, I feel that Fearne is the only one who would truly appreciate that. Just look at what he’s made for everybody else – a box, which isn’t a toy. A skyship, which was immediately left behind for a child who would actually play with it and appreciate it. A wooden hand? And a house for Pâté and Sashimi, which is kind of a toy and kind of being played with, but also kind of not.

Fearne, on the other hand, has always had a certain whimsy about her. She enjoys the frivolous, she appreciates the silly, and she makes it a point to collect and steal and have things, simply because they make her happy. That, to me, is closest to the heart of why Chetney is a toymaker in the first place.

The second was something that Fearne said in episode 25. When Dusk showed her the locket that contained the portraits of her parents and that whole conversation started up, Fearne said”

“I don’t know where they are, and I’ve been looking for them, but maybe they just forgot? ‘Cause it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen them.”

I’m very curious as to whether this is a thought that she’s had before during her search for her parents – or if this will continue to weigh on her now that she has thought of it, at least until she’s able to reunite with them.

Because I feel like this ties in with the idea I mentioned above of Chetney feeling obsolete now that he’s gotten older. I could see a real and genuine heart-to-heart happening between them over this. I also wonder – Chetney’s never mentioned any family; no parents, no siblings, and most importantly for this Callopea ship manifesto (apparently), no spouse(s) or children. I get the sense from both of them of just… getting used to being alone and being lonely. That they are genuinely lighthearted and humorous individuals, but that humour does still help to hide some heavier feelings.

CHANGING TOPICS ENTIRELY, I also want to touch on something else that might seem completely counter to everything I’ve written here so far, and that is that this ship doesn’t need to be deep! They don’t need to have a “You know I’m in love with you, right?” or a “My heart belongs to someone else” or a “You were not born with venom in your veins”,  etc etc etc.

A ship doesn’t need to be deep and intense and Romantic-with-a-capital-R to be real and genuine and enjoyable! It can be as simple and light and fun as just two people being attracted to each other and having fun exploring that attraction. Hell, their relationship doesn’t even need to be romantic! I’ve seen people headcanon Fearne as arospec, and I love the idea of a non-romantic but still sexual relationship being explored, and not being treated as lesser because of that.

Hell, they could still end up as a romantic relationship, but start out here, with heavy-handed flirting and overt sexual overtones, and see their relationship as fun but ultimately not particularly meaningful, but then *intense and emotionally-heavy moment later in the campaign happens, especially if one of them nearly dies or does die and is brought back*, and then they realize Oh shit, this isn’t just for funsies, I’ve got real actual romantic feelings for them and I’d be miserable if they were gone. Oh fuck.

And that’s not even touching on the wolf/deer theme they’ve got going on, or the sun/moon vibes that they’re rocking, etc.

Basically there’s just… SO much potential for Callopea, guys. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

244 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

#3

Y’know, the “Big moon, little moon” reveal makes the whole conversation with Fearne and Dorian about big/middle/little spoon hurt a whole lot more in retrospect.

305 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#2

You’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf, now get ready for

783 notes - Posted August 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

From the moment that Exandria Unlimited: Calamity was announced, everybody was saying that “we already know how it ends, what matters is how they get there. We already know it’s a tragedy.”

Except... it wasn’t tragic. Not really.

Nydas made sure that as many citizens of Avalir survived as possible. He made sure that the students of the Sorcerer’s Academy, his pride and joy, made it out of the city. His brother and his sister-in-law made it out of Cathmoira.

Zerxus got to see his husband again, got to see his son one more time before everything went to shit, He made sure Tempus got out, and because of that, they were reunited. And even though he ended up damning his soul and serving the Lord of the Hells, he did it because there was no other choice he ever would have made.

Patia realized as she died, 1 in-game second into the episode, that you can have all of the knowledge in the world, but it means nothing if it dies with you. Against all odds, she got a second change, a grand total of an hour and a half before she ended up dying for good, and she fucking took it. She made damn sure that that knowledge didn’t die with her. And she always served Avalir, but Avalir is not the cobble streets or the ivory towers or any of the Rings. Avalir is it’s people, and she served them to the very end.

Loquatius was given the opportunity to leave, and he chose to stay with the woman he loves, with the world he loves, with the people he loves. He got one final message out, and with it, made sure that as many people were warned of the danger as possible, made sure that they knew to escape and where to go to do so. He got to be there to see Laerryn’s life’s work reach completion, and that was the whole point, wasn’t it?

Laerryn got to see her life work reach completion - not the way she thought it would, but in a way that mattered infinitely more. She did something brilliant and incomparable, surrounded by her loved ones, in and for and as the Heart of Avalir. She and Loquatius made amends and rekindled their love, and in the last few minutes of their lives were married again. ‘Til death do they part.

And Cerrit broke off from the rest of the party, one of the most taboo things in TTRPGs, and because of that he was able to find a way to make sure his family was safe, he was able to get to his children before things got too bad, he was able to get them out of the city. He fucking killed Vespin Chloras, saved his friend’s life, and made it possible for her to prevent the Primordials from re-entering the world. With one final telepathic map from Laerryn and a symbol of a broken pact from Loquatius, was able to escape and make it back to his family.

None of them died with regret. None of them wished that they had done things differently, there was no would-a should-a could-a. There was more hope than anything else in this story.

925 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[m1ckeyb3rry]

I’m speed typing this so I can go read that one shot ASAP SHSHSHSHSH I saw your post about the word count LAMOAOA hoping this doesn’t come at any (or any big) cost to you but I kinda live for when your word count goes way beyond expectations HAHAHA like that’s how I know Mira is cooking a five star meal…..

Bro Rika’s page threw me for a loop like wdym implied murder of her parents??? And all this other interesting info…

FR!! It’s honestly hard to find any constructive criticism for any big series because all the discourse is drowned out by hate train bandwagon hoppers etc

Wait yeah you’re so right because why do I have to wait for an interview to understand what’s happening?? So frustrating especially since those not in Japan don’t have easy access to interviews usually either…also the fact that it took them SO LONG to confirm it’s been like three years??

And ugh in the same boat :(( It’s so popular that whenever a chapter comes out it floods all my feeds but I’m def not actively looking for chapter links…

OO I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN!! I think it’s because as you said Rin’s so invested in soccer right now as his motivation and goal in life but sae has kinda already figured out his role in soccer ish..? Like how he now knows he’s trying to be midfielder but also maybe something about him already having secured a role in a club outside and has a career makes it feel a bit different…

Ugh TABIEITA COMEBACK WHENNN (speaking of did you see the newest panels?? There was like one Karasu one but he looks good LMAO) and I MISS THE SMIRK where’s my cheeky dude….s2 please hurry…

And OUU TRUE!! I completely forgot about the order thing?? I was always a little confused like was it really one by one and how long did they have to wait for the next person to go in??

Glad you’re feeling better!!! Honestly yeah allergy meds are so debilitating sometimes like if I know I need to be awake or have something scheduled it’s like…lemme take half a dosage because I need to be AWAKE LMAO

OK GOODBYE OFF TO READING WILL BE BACK WITH COMMENTARY!!!!

-Karasu anon

AHHH i’m just a chronic rambler so i always end up writing way more than i plan to but no it’s not at any cost to me!! it actually makes me happy to see smth i’ve written getting to be a high word count hehe. the only ‘cost’ ig would be that it takes a bit longer before i can post but as long as you all are willing to wait i don’t mind writing lots (plus then i feel less bad about randomly disappearing and taking writing breaks because i’ve left a lot to be enjoyed LMAO)

SO MUCH STUFF AND NONE OF IT WAS ELABORATED ON!! and yeah even legit criticism or analysis gets put down as hate and people jump on people who do that when they’re just examining the story with a constructive lens. i agree that interviews absolutely should not be how you convey key info!! especially because they’re SO unreliable and so easy to twist. like people will make up a headcanon and say that the author said it in an interview and it’ll become so popular that everyone accepts it as fact even though there’s no source for it and it literally never happened?? i can’t think of specific examples but i know this happened a LOTT with the attack on titan fandom back in the day and i’m sure it happens w jjk as well.

YES I AGREE sae has like established himself almost?? he’s not striving for anything anymore and he’s been recognized by some of the best strikers in the world (ex luna from the world 5) + he’s a ng11 so it just feels to me like he’s kinda relaxing?? he has the time to think about other things just not the motivation/will, but it’s easier to write him gaining an interest in someone than justifying rin giving up on the pursuit of his goal for another person. i also really like to write love interests that are down BAD (or end up being so anyways) which would make sense w sae being lonely in a foreign country more than rin who would prioritize soccer over everything (as he did in cherry tree when he told y/n to come back to him after the world cup or smth like that iirc)

I DID SEE KARASU!! one thing abt pxg vs bm he’s been having a panel or two per chapter which has been rlly nice. we got to see his smirky little icon at least?? i miss tabieita being together and karasu being a jackass though…forever heartbroken that nagireo got to be the headliners or a team instead of tabieita…MISSED OPPORTUNITY 😭💔

i think it was probably not one at a time — there were probs multiple fields, but i doubt they had 300 that they could use so everyone could go at once!! they probably had like 10 (arbitrary number) and as people were finishing other people would enter, so someone like kiyora might’ve just entered in an earlier round than karasu, who probably waited a bit to feel out the situation or smth. shidou was probably too busy being up to random nonsense to go early which is why he was like 111 despite being bllk’s number 2 😭

I’M EXCITED TO READ THE COMMENTARY HEHE LET ME RESPOND TO THAT RN 🫡

[khetho-040517]

My reflection on the Cultural Humility.

Marcus Garney once said, “People without knowledge of their history, origin, and culture are like a tree without roots”, therefore there’s no life without culture. There are different types of trees in the world, but their roots have the same function thus our cultures can be different but are a way of life for all. A continuous process of introspection and self-reflection mixed with an openness to picking up knowledge from others is what is meant by cultural humility (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia 1998). It entails approaching someone to respect their values, traditions, and beliefs. Today I will share my experience of using cultural humility with patients at the hospital and with colleagues.

South Africa is a multicultural society thus in hospitals every patient has their own cultural beliefs that are meaningful to them. As a health science student, we always see new clients from different places, which calls for respect for their traditions, beliefs, and values. However, this cannot be presumed, instead, I ask the client about what they believe in, which may include their religion and how they perform certain traditions. For example, my client was involved in a car accident and suffered multiple injuries, now she believes that she is being punished by her ancestors, but I don’t believe that, however, because I respect her belief and I understand her cultural background I won’t argue with her, instead, I listen to her and that is how I learn or get exposed to her culture

The following are the Elements of Cultural Humility:

Self-reflection and self-critique

To acknowledge the innate power that doctors have over their patients, it is important to actively participate in self-evaluation and self-criticism (Cooper-Patrick et al. 1999). This is where the cultural humility method begins. It is imperative that before exploring a patient's belief system, healthcare providers first recognize the presumptions and beliefs ingrained in their own expertise (Hunt 2005).

Learn from patients.

To resolve power disparities and achieve the learning objective of regaining access to the cultural aspects of each patient's experience, a complete involvement in listening to patients is essential (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia 1998). It is possible to prevent cultural stereotyping by listening to patients' stories without drawing conclusions too quickly. Put differently, practitioners are urged to take on the role of student, learning from patients to comprehend their views and desired course of treatment.

Partnership-building

To ultimately benefit each patient through health advocacy, practitioners are encouraged to form and preserve respectful partnerships with both the communities and the patients they are currently treating.

A life-long process

Attaining cultural humility becomes not an end point but an active process of being in the world and being in relationships with others and self (Miller 2009).

QIAN DIAGRAM EXPLAINS CULTURAL HUMILITY.

Being in the hospital and seeing different clients has taught me to be humble by not acting superior or all-knowing to the client, I treat the client as an equal partner because I may find that the client knows more than me about the way of life and how are things done, this links to the importance of client-centredness/collaborative mode. My client is a 51-year-old Zulu woman and is a mother of two young adult daughters thus this means I should treat her with respect since the Zulu culture emphasizes the importance of respect, I call her by her surname and I use words like “please and thank you” to show that I value and respect her. This has built a good relationship between me and her.  

The importance of Cultural humility in Occupational therapy

Improved communication: I’ve developed a good relationship with my clients due to active listening and willingness to understand their perspectives.

Reduced Prejudice and Stereotyping: It helped me to recognize my biases and how I can overcome them to foster a more inclusive and respectful interaction.

Enhanced Cross-Cultural relationship: I’ve developed close relationships and good rapport with the clients built from understanding their cultural background.

Increased Cultural Competence: I’ve gained knowledge about different cultures and that increased my cultural competency.

Promotion of Social justice: Cultural humility aligns with principles of social justice by acknowledging power imbalances and working to address inequalities in society.

Personal Growth: it encouraged me to do self-introspection and analyze my own biases and assumptions.

Professional Development: It has helped me to choose my professional self over my personal self to improve my professionalism in the healthcare sector or with my clients.

In embracing cultural humility, we embark on a journey of profound self-awareness and openness to the rich tapestry of human experience. It is not merely an intellectual pursuit but a transformative embrace of empathy and respect for the diverse narratives that shape our world. Through humility, we relinquish the illusion of knowing everything, instead embracing the beauty of continuous learning and deepening connections with others. In this spirit, let us weave the threads of understanding and compassion, celebrating the mosaic of cultures that adorn the fabric of humanity

Article links :

REFERENCES

Miller, M. E. (2009). The literary influences of Jim Wayne Miller. Appalachian Heritage, 37(3), 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1353/aph.0.0160

Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233

[mapleandgingeroatmeal]

I posted 910 times in 2022

That's 322 more posts than 2021!

110 posts created (12%)

800 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@questbedhead

@capitola

@rosiep8801

@gorgynei

@bonbongiveshell

I tagged 861 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#critical role - 258 posts

#cr3 - 143 posts

#acofaf - 113 posts

#dimension 20 - 90 posts

#cr spoilers - 83 posts

#cr2 - 41 posts

#animorphs - 35 posts

#tumblr culture - 31 posts

#ask meme - 26 posts

#disco elysium - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#but in this story they move on slowly and love others and only ever think in the quiet moments about the life they could’ve had together

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

There are direct ties to Voc Machina within Bells Hells. These guys are inevitably going to save the world or some shit.

There’s a not insignificant chance that Laudna could meet Vex.

HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT CONVERSATION GO.

Would Laudna recognize her? Would she SAY SOMETHING????

“oH wOnDeRfUl to mEeT YoU, mY lAdY! We’ve actually met before, do you rEcOgNiZe mE? I was the HORRIFICALLY MUTILATED CORPSE that served as a grim mockery of your image!! Oh but It was years ago now, I don’t blame you for having forgotten my face, don’t worry.”

203 notes - Posted March 22, 2022

#4

Ok so one of the things we were all wondering after last episode was in what way does Zerxus, this quiet humble man unsure of his job and frightended of his dreams, fit in thematically to the arrogance of all the other characters? Tonight it seems like we got out answer.

Because Zerxus sees himself on an equivalent emotional level to the gods. He doesn’t respect divinity, and what that really means is he thinks he can change the mind of the lord of hells. At first, I thought he was just insane for not having heard how much Asmodeus is a bad guy, but then Zerxus implored him to think of his son, the city, and to spare them some day. And I realized that Zerxus is showing kindness not from a place of naïveté, but from one of trust and compassion and, yes, arrogance. Zerxus thinks he can make The Lord of Hells a forgiving person through kindness and understanding.

478 notes - Posted June 3, 2022

#3

Is this just going to be an annual thing with him??

528 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

#2

The idea of a mini-campaign built entirely around the concept of tragic dramatic irony has me going fully fucking feral. We’re going to watch this thing and fall in love with characters and the whole time know that whatever they do, whatever their triumphs or setbacks or goals, it will all end in terror and bloodshed add the deaths of millions. This is absolutely going to break me.

1,709 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Aabria Iyengar Presents:

@quiddie thank u for my whole heart

2,761 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ceruleanwhore]

I get your points @sokkastyles and obv they’re super valid, but I also think @usernamesuggestionsarefunny has some points too (not including that age in any way actually minimizes abuse.) I think Azula’s age hugely contributes to how people view her beyond just the misogynistic double standards you talked about above. People keep sympathizing with her and wanting her to be redeemed because general perception is that she’s just a kid, she’s only fourteen years old, so it would be really truly horrible if, by such a young age, she really were twisted to such an irredeemable degree as is shown in canon. They want her to be redeemed because she’s young and they can’t accept that her life and her story are already over so early on, so aging her up would affect that.

Honestly, all the characters should’ve been older too, so a version with an 18 year old Zuko and older sister!Azula who’s like 20 isn’t even that wild of a thought. I get that there’s certain messages and value in presenting these characters the way they did, as the ages they are, but I also think that it wasn’t exactly something their audience was ready for and, even all these years later now that the whole audience is a bunch of adults, still isn’t. I think usernames touches on actually a really good point that it doesn’t matter as much what the original intent is or what the messages are supposed to be as what your audience actually gets from it. I’ve said before that, the way communication works is that it’s all about conveying a concept or idea to another person or people, so the only thing that actually matters is if/how they receive your idea, not what you actually say, and I think it’s also true in media. If people are missing the point with Azula or struggling to receive that message because of something like her age, then I think it’s valid to say that hey, maybe they should’ve changed her age.

I’d also like to finish by pointing out that this aired in like 2005 and is one of the first pieces of media many people ever saw that really covered sibling abuse in a real, meaningful way. Think about how many things before it showed brothers beating each other up or whatever and played it as a joke. So they were tackling a subject that, as far as I’m aware, was (and still is) a pretty new concept for a lot of people, even people who actually experienced sibling abuse themselves, and they chose to simultaneously challenge other preconceptions/biases by making the abuser a younger sister, like sokkastyles pointed out. I think what happened is that it was just too much that was new and too many preconceptions being challenged so even still the audience struggles with accepting all of it.

Does this mean that girls or younger siblings can’t be abusers? Of course not, but it does mean that saying hey, maybe they shouldn’t have tried doing so much simultaneously because it was clearly too much for a lot of the audience to take in and understand might actually be kinda valid. In this fandom, people rarely have a nuanced view of Azula and either just view her as a villain without particularly recognizing her abuse for what it was and just seeing it as “villain” behavior or they see her as a sad little girl who just needs some tlc and a redemption arc. Oh, and then there’s grown ass men on Facebook sexualizing her so that’s cool 🙃. But my point is that rarely anyone actually looks at her and sees her for what she is: a victim of abuse so she became an abuser herself as a tool of self preservation, like many others have done, but it’s a fantasy story so they also made her a major villain since her daddy is Ozai, and maybe changing her age would also help people to see that.

So anyway, I don’t think that age actually minimizes abuse, but when public perception is taken into consideration, I really do think it plays a role in how people see Azula. I think it is valid criticism to argue that aging her up could have made her character more effective in terms of audience reception, just as much as I think it’s valid to speculate that changing her gender might have helped or hindered that as well. I think username just uncovered some unexamined biases here and maybe this post will help with that, but I also think they’re harmless and also, to some extent, made a good point, and I thought it would be a shame not to acknowledge that, so I am.

I've heard that Azula was meant to be male originally. I wonder how different the writing would be for the character and how different the fans would react to it. I am glad that they made Azula female tho.

I remember hearing that male Azula was also supposed to be the older sibling, which does change the story quite a bit. It makes Ozai's favoritism into a simple issue of succession. Male!Azula would be naturally favored because he would be the crown prince. Zuko would be raised to be subservient to his younger brother and that would be considered normal. Even Zuko being sent on a quest to find the Avatar becomes much more reasonable from that perspective as a practicality. Historically, second sons often went on those kinds of quests because it gave them something to do that wasn't "usurp my older brother for the throne."

Ozai would be even more aware that this was a issue, since he himself usurped his older brother. Actually, now that I think of it, it's really rather odd that Iroh, as crown prince, was the one out campaigning while Ozai stayed home, and that gave him an opportunity to stage a coup against his brother. A politically savvy Azulon would have sent Ozai out to man the siege of Ba Sing Se while Iroh was at home preparing to inherit the throne.

As for how fans would receive Zuko's older brother? I know a lot of people might argue that male characters are more easily forgiven than their female counterparts, and I have no doubt that a male version of Azula would have people ready to excuse his every move (see the inexplicable fandom that has sprung up around the likes of Billy Hargrove), but I also think the ways in which he would be excused would be vastly different.

Because with Azula there's a lot of "oh, she didn't really mean it," especially when it comes to the way she treats her brother. This idea that she actually really loves him, she just doesn't know how to show it, or twisting the things she does and says to him in canon so that they're actually proof of her love. I've been thinking about this a lot in terms of people saying they want to see Azula be "humanized," and what they usually mean is that they want to see her given redeeming qualities. Which to me reeks of a misogynistic double standard because most male characters aren't required to show kindness or be really loving deep down to be recognized as human. Being cruel and arrogant and sadistic are also human traits, and women are just as capable of these things as men.

I also think that because Azula is female and Zuko is male, there's a certain perception that she can't hurt him that much, either physically or emotionally. And the first one can be dismissed because the show takes place in a world where bending eliminates most differences related to physical strength. The second one is just wrong and relies on misogynistic beliefs about boys being less emotionally vulnerable than girls.

I do think that the Ursa blame would still be present if Azula were male, and possibly worse, because there would be that Freudian current about how Ursa damaged her son by not being the perfect madonna figure.

If Male!Azula were still the younger sibling, I think it would flatten the character in a way because it makes his cruelty and resentment of Zuko about envy for the throne. One of the most interesting things about Azula is that the fact that she is younger and girl makes her cruelty towards her older brother less expected, and more personal. And it takes something away from the character to try and excuse it away or soften it.

[msbarrybeeson]

Listen | F!Reader Insert

A/N: When the movie trailer dropped, I knew there are many opportunities for angsty fan fiction, so I kind of took one. Some of the dialogue is canon, everything else is from my imagination. Anyway, getting the characters’ "character” was a challenge. I’ll appreciate any constructive criticism to improve it. Enjoy!

Summary: Casey Jones is trying to warn them of their future.

Pairing(s): Rise! Leo X Reader (Established Relationship)

Reader: Feminine pronouns are used. No actual appearance, only mentions.

Genre: Humor / Slight Angst

Warning(s): Rushed writing. Written before release. Mentioned character death.

Word Count: ~840

~

“So what’s your business with our friend, pal?”

Casey slowly opened his eyes, groaning through the headache. The world seemed upside-down, but judging from the ropes tying his body to a chair, he got the memo. So he was knocked out and taken into the underground subway station. The human boy grimaced; the stench reeked here.

In front of him stood four mutant turtles, in addition to the presence of a sewer rat and another human. “Master.. Leonardo?” Casey murmured as he recognized the blue eye-mask and red markings.

“Hey, did you hear that?” Mikey gasped. “He knows your name!”

Leon smirked. “And he added a nice ring to it, too.”

“So Blue does mature after all.” Splinter scratched his fur.

“Great,” Donnie rolled his eyes. “Thank you for inflating his ego.”

“Guys, come on now—,” Raph began.

“Shh. Give a minute, hermanos, I’ve got a plan.” Leon announced with confidence.

All the voices blurred. Casey glanced around groggily, only to realize there was one person missing from the group. “(Name).... Urgh…. Where’s.. where’s (Name)?”

The group quieted down.

“Oho, skipping the introductions, are we?” Leon narrowed his eyes. He stepped closer to the human boy. “You got something against her too? …I’d let it go if I were you,” he threatened.

“This is what happens when random people jump straight to asking about his girlfriend before doing introductions,” Donnie remarked. Casey panicked under Leon’s glare, especially once he saw Leon pull out his katana. “Hey, hey!” Casey shook fervently. “Hold on a minute! It’s not—.”

“My hermanos, what do you think we should do with him?” The turtle pointed with the tip of his blade.

“Ooh, ooh!” Mikey raised his hand. “Give him a nasty haircut!”

Raph thrusted his fist forward. “We could use a nice punching bag.”

“Or here’s a better idea,” Donnie pulled down his goggles, doing a quick analysis of Casey, “how about I alter his brain, so we can remote-control him?”

“Pfft. Think we’ve scared him enough, boys.” April clapped her hands, making them drop the act and fall into laughter. Raph was snickering in back, seeing Casey all pale and shaken up. “Oh man, that was good.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Leon wiped a tear. “In all seriousness, who are you, ‘cause we need to call you something other than— I don’t know, human guy?”

“...The name’s Casey Jones—.”

“Hold up, Jones as in Cassandra Jones? Never knew she has a brother,” April asked.

“Son,” he grumbled. God, how many times would they be interrupting him? “I’m her son.”

“Guys, I think he’s gone insane,” Donnie remarked.

“Careful, Don,” Mikey hushed. “Maybe he’s got trauma, and was put up with his sister being the mother role.”

Leon scratched his chin. “Seriously? Casey— I mean, Cassandra here— acting like anyone close to a mother?”

“For the record, I’m not insane!”

“Then, explain how you might be Cassandra’s son, when you’re just about her age.”

“Woah, Donnie, don’t tell me—.”

“That I took DNA samples from his teeth while he were knocked out? Why yes, yes I did.”

Casey shook in the air, which only had the rope swinging him from side to side. “Listen! You want to know how I’m her son? Simple answer is: I’m not from your time.”

“Huh?”

“...Is this going where I think it is?” Donnie covered his own mouth with his hand.

“I know how this sounds,” Casey cautioned. “But I need you to believe me, because I’m from… the future.”

…

Once again, everyone bursted out into laughter. In fact, even Splinter was amused.

“Y-you cannot be serious!” Donnie crouched over, dying. “That’s not possible!”

“Look, person named Casey,” Raph wiped another tear, “no offense, but if you’re trying to scare us, I can assure you you’ve got better things to do.”

“No! I’m trying to warn you guys about the future!”

“Right,” Leon rolled his eyes playfully. “And uh… how do we know whether we should take your word for it?”  

“Because if you won’t do something about this,” Casey’s face contorted in anger, “(NAME) IS GOING TO DIE!”

Noise slipped into immediate silence. Everyone stopped, eyes wide.

“Woah, woah,” Raph’s tone lowered, “You crossed the line there, pal.” The snapping turtle looked to his red-eared brother in concern. He found Leon clenching his hands and narrowing his eyes. “Yeah. There are other ways to get us to listen, y’know.”

“But you wouldn’t listen! And I’m not lying when I—!”

“Then, what are you talking about?!”

“Fine. Let’s start over.” Casey sighed, “My name is Casey Jones. In the future, an alien race by the name of Kraang decimated the planet. Master Leonardo gave me a mission: find the key and stop them.

When I arrived, I couldn’t recognize the place at all. Seeing Commander O’Neil, I thought she could the best person to start with.”

“What’s (Name) got to do here?” Donnie questioned.

“She—.” Casey hesitated, meeting Leon’s eyes. The red-eared slider crossed his arms. “Say it.”

“…She was killed trying to save Master Leonardo.”