#and you dont know how it could ever be fixed because its so pervasive.

[hiddenintheveil]

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[jovishark]

What tags did you even look in to find antihomestar? I just found out about him like a day or two ago

i always like to go through the blogs that reblog my art and i stumbled upon reblogs from other people

i was old enough to read fanfiction by havoc-creations and interact with the authors during their other works and i promise im not just saying all of this because im sentimental and old, im saying that making fun of a ten year old fanfiction is kind of silly? like. we laugh at it still to this day because i think even the authors would agree that some of it is very 2010-esque and also not at all how theyd represent themselves now but. thats what fanworks Are

they represent who you were and your thought process at the time, and the way that things in your life effect your writing yknow? so comparing fanworks from literally ten years in the future directly waters down the impact that the old stuff used to have. opposites attract/oa 20x6 were very obviously a passion project from two friends who felt like writing together. there wasnt a ton of influence from people other than their niche fans. there were other homestar fanworks on like ffnet and da at the time but none of them were as Long or all-encompassing as oa, and none of them really explored the kind of fiction oa did. there was alternate universe travel, time travel, casino shenanigans, Murder, dinosaurs. i think strong bad definitely killed someone in self defense at least twice. dragons for sure. 

(the plot, because we arent willing to reupload the fic, is that homestar and strong bad steal alternate universe traveling equipment from homeschool winner and end up humanized in the real world. there was a fanfiction before this called real world runner, where homestar does the same thing and meets a person named alex and also the brothers chaps, and has to get back to the website before it falls apart without him. that branches into oa because alex’s apartment is the home base for all of the characters that come through to look for hr/sb to help save the website a second time. they have to navigate real world events in atlanta georgia while also having to figure out how to get back to their reality, and figure out feelings for each other along the way which of course they do. long story short universe travel is an ever moving target and they meet opposite versions of themselves. i mean Way opposite. antihomestar kills people, including the king of town, and i think antimarzipan eats puppies. antistrong bad wears oven mitts instead of boxing gloves. you get the picture. strong bad is caught between antihomestars edgy pushiness and homestars puppy dog eyes. at some point they go to the middle ages. its a whole mess and basically in trying to put everything back together they make a million more mistakes, and homeschool winner cant fix all of them. its my favorite work of all time)

what im trying to say is that the work represented the authors interests at the time (star trek, dinosaurs, boys kissing and being tsundere about it, very dramatic improbable things, etc) and you could see that it was a Creative work by very creative people. so calling aspects of it uninspired or not creative is a very big slap in the face of something that was pretty shockingly original for its time. i know it sounds ridiculous in the context of 2020, but does it? i saw people yesterday assigning gay culture terms to the rats from animaniacs. everything is just as silly as it was in the entire scope of fanworks. 

antihomestar, a character that did not exist before like 2009, was pervasive enough to make it into the real life, actual fan costumes videos from homestarrunner.com. someone cosplayed him and sent it into the brothers chaps, who included it in their photo slideshow with no comment. not to say that giving him black pants, a black star, and blades instead of a propeller isnt Very edgy on purpose, but maybe that was the point? hes Anti homestar. homestar runner, a character who does many things on accident and falls into things as they happen to him, might just wear a propeller hat without a second thought. to be an Anti version, antihomestar would have to do things in a calculated way, on purpose, to achieve results. which he does, as evidenced by him trying to steal universe travel equipment for very on-purpose power reasons. i dont know if their thoughts into him went that deep but id like to think they did.  to take a character as vague and for-the-punchline as homestar runner and subvert him, to turn his traits inside out and think of what that person might do if given an opportunity? thats Very creative to me. but then again, i read this fanfiction like every day for years and years until it was deleted from the internet, so maybe these things are more obvious to me because i have the context?

my point is. giving an Unfounded critique based on a thing you have only seen once or twice is just as silly as saying ‘what if homestar runner wore black pants and licked knives for fun’. but one of those things is more enjoyable to look at.

(he also had black straight hair and piercings, because IT WAS 2010 ON LIVEJOURNAL. of course hes going to look like that. he wasnt just made for the aesthetic, he had plot reasons and character development and everything and i just want everyone to know that.)

[opalsiren]

W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot! W.I.T.C.H. Reboot!

hi love! so, with the plethora of reboots kicking around mainstream media these days, its no surprise that the question of a w.i.t.c.h reboot has been broached by its fans. i have so, so, so many thoughts and this, but ill divide them into three categories for the purpose of brevity: firstly, general thoughts on what i would like to see if a w.i.t.c.h reboot is on the cards; secondly, what i would like to see in a live-action w.i.t.c.h reboot; and finally, what a decent animated reboot of w.i.t.c.h might entail. this is not an exhaustive list so please feel free to add onto this if youve any more thoughts! without further ado because jesus, we might be here a while….

general thoughts:

a w.i.t.c.h live action reboot should largely use the comics are source material. while the cartoons are beloved by many including myself, i reckon the good parts of each should be combined to be thematically consistent, fix plot holes etc. but the comics should be the bible here

the target demographic of younger women and girls would need to be established early on by the producers (personally i would love to see a slightly more mature, w.i.t.c.h college AU where the target demographic could be teens/young adult women and girls, but more on that later). this isnt to say that young men and boys would be absolutely excluded as an audience, but misogyny is alive and well in 2019, and our voices as women need to be uplifted. this is exemplified by the fact that caleb was given far, far, far too much screentime in the cartoon so that the show could reach a young, male audience, and his characters was mangled by chauvinistic tendencies. thank u, next.

i have my own preferences wrt to ships, but i think we can all agree that introducing male characters as mere plot devices for drama/conflict only to put them ‘on a bus’ when theyre no longer useful is just plain bad writing. this is a critique levelled both at the cartoon and comics, but largely the comics (see: Eric)(rip in peace).

i also believe that sticking to the conventions of a particular genre, or hybrid genre, would be preferable if a w.i.t.c.h reboot were to take place. some shows get it right, but I’ve seen a ton of shows go off the rails when they try to be a fantasy/comedy/crime/drama/horror/sci-fi/occult/soap-opera extravaganza all in one. i reckon a YA fantasy drama with comedic moments, something with a similar vibe to Shadowhunters or The Shannara Chronicles, could work really well. if we’re talking animated reboot, something with a similar tonal atmosphere to The Dragon Prince or Into the Spiderverse, would also be great

this shouldnt even need to be said but please, for the love of god, no musical episodes (heres looking at you, Riverdale).

i think i speak on everyones behalf when i say that, irrespective of the age demographic of the show, LGBT rep in w.i.t.c.h would be amazing. irma/cornelia have always been a practically canon fan favourite, but cassidy and nerissa’s relationship is definitely more than strictly platonic, so that could be developed upon too. trans/nonbinary!will is also a popular headcanon that could work. once there are lgbt heroes, and not just lgbt villains, i think we’ll all be happy.

similarly, seeing some neurodivergency in the characters could also be great: elyon dealing with pts after the fallout with phobos; irma struggling with adhd in school or college; hay lin and taranee also exhibit some traits of anxiety in canon. autistic!will would also work, and someone else in the squad is bound to be affected by depression given its pervasive nature these days.

much and all as i adore the guardian outfits, i think there would need to be a few changes made. the midriff-and-leg-baring get-ups, though very cute, become very jarring when you realise the characters are meant to range in age from 12 to 14. i dont have any specific thoughts on how improvements could be made, but lengthening hemlines could be a start. if anyone has any more thoughts, i’d love to hear them!

of course, there needs to be women in the writers room, lgbt people in the writers room, poc in the writers room, people with neurodivergencies in the writers room, etc. we all know what happens when writers rooms lack diversity, and it sure as hell aint pretty.

body diversity was something that was tentatively approached in the comics (irma is curvier than the others, at least in her mundane form), but eschewed almost entirely in the cartoon, with all the girls maintaining similar heights and waifish proportions. it would be worthwhile, not to mention realistic, for the girls to go through some body-image hang ups. maybe will is insecure about her ‘underdeveloped’ body, or maybe taranee longs to have the same curvaceous figures as other dancers her age. i think if they were to go for a message of body positivity, irma, loud and brash with no fucks to give, should love every inch of her fat body and encourage the girls to adopt her 'devil-may-care’ attitude. the patriarchy be damned.

one flaw with the comics AND the cartoons are that they dont really explore the worldbuilding a lot. we do spend some time on meridian in the comics and the cartoon, but largely from the perspective of either elyon, or caleb and the rebels. i wonder what a day on meridian would look like for the average meridianite peasant? what do meridianites do for fun? what language(s) do they speak? what are their religious/spiritual belief(s)? what are the styles of dress dictated by? meridian is based on medieval societies, and a caste system is suggested, but i would have loved to see the social hierarchies expanded on a little more. does the matriarchal nature of meridian rule value women and their labour? what about LGBT people on meridian? people with disabilities and neurodivergencies? is there any discrimination against the different species on meridian? in fact, i dont know if it was ever explicitly outlined to us the different species of peoples on meridian, in the cartoon or the comics. honestly id be happy to see a filler, AtLA Tales of Ba Sing Se-esque episode on meridian to cover all of these bases

one thing i loved from the comics that didnt translate as well in the cartoon were the girls’ passions and interests. will is obsessed with frogs, she rides her bike to her job at pet store, she swims, stresses over math homework. irma loves music and talking to her pet turtle, leafy; i could totally see her doing a stint at the college radio station or working part time at a record store. cornelia loves ice skating and has received tons of awards and accolades for her achievements on the ice. taranee is an avid photographer and dancer, but i could totally see her spending her spare time at rallies and protests too. hay lin is a proficient artist, making her own clothes and poring over paintings between shifts at the silver dragon. all of these things and more are what make these characters so well-rounded, relatable, likeable. their hobbies need to be weaved into the fabric of the show (not just brought up once for a silly plot device in cornelia’s case, or never brought up at all in taranee’s, as seen in the cartoon) in order for it to work

live action reboot thoughts:

this should go out without saying, but a live action w.i.t.c.h reboot should cast actors of colour to play characters of colour. hay lin, and by extension her family, need to be played by Chinese actors, while taranee needs to be played by a black actor, preferably one of east asian descent, etc. if they add a little more diversity to the cast i would be totally pleased. latina!irma is a popular headcanon that i ascribe to, and will has always been kinda ambiguously brown, so adding less ambiguous representation for poc to the cast would really be excellent

of course, age-appropriate casting is a must. more specifically, there should not be any 25-30 year olds playing characters in their mid-late teens, unless ofc they could actually pass for the age they are trying to play. shows like The OA and The End of the Fucking World really get this right (most other teen/YA dramas, not so much. less of the chiseled abs and rock hard pecs on teens, please)

this one might be tricky to get right, particularly with budget constraints, but i think a really good CGI/visual effects team is necessary for a w.i.t.c.h reboot to work. unless an adequate amount of the budget is spent on making sure the magic looks realistic, almost plausible, it will make everything else look cheap by comparison

also, this is more of a personal preference, but i’d love to see someone with a really beautiful visual aesthetic and scope of cinematography. i’m talking Sense8-esque levels of cinematographic beauty

i’m really rambling now but, similarly, it’d be so cool to see someone who could use lighting/colour theory in very particular ways. in Marvel’s Netflix Originals, each character has their own theme colour; in Jessica Jones, for example, all of the scenes are very blue and almost leeched of warmth, while in Luke Cage there seems to be a warm yellow filter over everything. how cool would it be if all Taranee-centric scenes had a slight gold hue? or if all of cornelia’s scenes were lit with green? maybe all of the colours could combine in the a subtle yet effective way when all of the guardians are together to show their unity and combined strength.

thoughts on an animated reboot:

i know very little about animation so these thoughts will be brief, but an art and animation style something like that of Into the Spiderverse would be really gorgeous. it is fluid, dynamic, beautiful to look at and, most importantly, reflects the comic format in a moving image perfectly. alternatively, the animation studio behind The Legend of Korra could also be wonderful. the visual effects used for magic would look absolutely incredible

one thing i have to praise the Jetix cartoon for is their choice of voice actors, which were, in many cases, spot on. while cornelia’s VA was annoying and shrill, the actors playing characters of colour were themselves people of colour. if an animated reboot was on the cards, i think it could be a great opportunity to once again include some diversity to the cast, namely hiring actors of colour to play characters of colour

please let no one who worked on voltron near a w.i.t.c.h animated reboot with a ten foot pole. no i will not elaborate

tl;dr at the risk of sounding like an entitled millennial, a w.i.t.c.h reboot should be less about creating something entirely new for a brand new audience, and more about building on what the longtime fans of w.i.t.c.h already love and bringing it forward for the older generation. all on all, we grew up with w.i.t.c.h, so it’s time for us to have our reboot. thanks for coming to my TED talk!

[lovelinelives-blog]

Loveline listener survey

Copy and paste to your own preferred word processor, so that you can save progress, and return to esmelovesll@gmail.com or dm me your completed survey on twitter, @basicallyesme This survey is for all Loveline listeners of any kind, any era, even the occasional listener who just really liked the show but just didn’t listen very consistently. I’m looking for patterns and similarities as well as differences in the listener community. Though respondents to this survey are going to be a much smaller group than what was probably possible when it was when Loveline was still in the format we remember of 5 nights a week on terrestrial radio, I still think it’ll be interesting to see what patterns and surprises arise. I’m that hoping within a year I can have enough data to see some kind of something, which I’ll update on my Tumblr. But after a year I will continue to take surveys as long as people are willing to answer, for as many years as there’s interest. Though I will not share stories or details unless specifically given permission, if you wish to remain anonymous but still want to answer you’re going to have to start an anonymous email or twitter account to answer from (if I dont follow right away tweet me to let me know you’re not a spammer and just trying to answer the survey). I might have questions I would like elaboration or clarification on and may want to ask for permission to use stories, so PLEASE do not close your anonymous reply account right after completeing and returning the survey, I’ll let you know when I’ve read your answers and if I have more questions or not. Heres the really fun part: I’m looking for fans to interview over Skype for an upcoming fan podcast. I can’t say exactly when that will go online just yet, because I want a bit of backlogged episodes and just started the first interviews, but it will definitely be linked to this my Tumblr account and shared on my twitter account as well as on reddit. If you are interested in being interviewed please specify at the top of your reply email. Thanks a million in advance, take your time, please forgive the longwindedness and say as little or as much as you want. But if your fingers get tired and you’re planning on being interviewed just mark answers with an ansterisk (*) at the end if you’d like to elaborate on that topic over Skype. Thank You Mahalo You Live Sex Age Location Occupation past occupations Approximately when did you start listening? If you listened as a minor or school aged, did you ever have to hide that you were listening from parents or guardians? If the adults in your home knew you listened, did you ever stay up later than they thought you did just to keep listening? Where were you living at the time, geopgraphically? What station was it out of if you started listening? OR how were you listening primarily if not through terrestrial radio? Did you ever listen from other cities due to moving and wanting to continue listening? Did you ever have to stop listening because of it not being available in a new city or location? Can you remember the first episode you heard? Describe it briefly, hosts, guests, jokes or calls that stood out? Was there anything about your life or experiences leading up to starting to listen regularly that you think might have drawn you to Loveline? Do you remember why you started listening? as in Stumbled on it, recommended by someone, or another reason? Nightly listener, rare listener or somewhere in between? Did you ever listen via podcast or online to stay caught up on current shows? Did you ever listen to live online streaming somehow? Did you listen regularly in your car during a commute or for other reasons? Did you listen on a traditional AM/FM radio that was not your car’s radio? Were there ever lapses in your listening? Why? Approximately how many years total did you listen? Who were your favorite hosts? Least favorites? Did you listen to the early eras at all? (this is considered anything pre Adam Carrolla) If so, what were your opinions of this time? What did you think of DJ Poorman Trenton? DJ Swedish Egil (Egil Aalvik) Scott Mason? Were you a listener of the "golden era" of Adam and Drew? If so, what were your opinions of this time? Did you hear Adam’s last episode? Did you have any thoughts or opinions on his departure? Did you watch Loveline the MTV show? If so, what was your opinion of it? the Dr Drew and Stryker era? If so, what were your opinions of this time? Did you hear Stryker’s last episode? Did you have any thoughts or opinions on his departure? Dr Drew as a lone host at any time? (this is not days when Drew would be on air by himself because the cohost was out but rather was the only official host? If so, what were your opinions of these times? Did you listen to the last era of Mike and Drew? If so, what were your opinions of this time? Did you hear any of Simone Bienne and or Emily Morse? Any thoughts or opinions on them? or about female cohosts or hosts in general? Did you hear Mike’s last episode? Did you have any thoughts or opinions on his departure? What about the last month with just Drew and sometimes Emily leading up to the end of the terrestrial radio show? If so, what were your opinions of this time? How/when did you find out that the show itsself would be ending or was already over? How did you feel when the show first ended if you stayed fairly current and up to date on the show? How do you feel about it being gone, now that its been a while that its not a daily radio show with Dr Drew? Did you listen to the very last episode live, afterwards on the internet somehow or not at all? Do you still try to get your loveline fix even though its off the air? If so, how? (Lovelineshow.com, livelinetapes.com, Superfangiovanni.com, random youtube clips or some other means) Name some of your favorite guests Did you ever discover new music from the show guests? New movies? Tv shows? Books or any other media? Did you ever discover music, movies, tv shows, books or any other kind of media from the hosts mentioning them? (As in not because the creators of that content were on the show but because the hosts were talking about them not in the context of upcoming guests) Ar you familiar qith the gambling concept? Are you familiar with Germany or Florida? How about ace's Mexican ranchero accordion count down? Do you know about the Geneva convention of bogus calls? what are your thoughts on the smoke detectors? Are you familiar with the game Spencer’s Racial Sensor? What do you think of Spencer? If you could ask Spencer 3 questions what would you ask? Do you know how to play stinky pinky if so prove it with an example of a perfect rhyme AND a perfect clue. If you dont know how to play then in Mr Catherwood’s words “go eff yourself” Do you have any “Mexican superstitions” or crazy non hispanic superstitions or crazy recipes from your own Gramma? (please specify what kind of hispanic if you are hispanic and if not, thats awesome I knew those superstitions existed somewhere and please state what ethnicity. What do you think of Rudy? If you could ask Rudy 3 questions what would you ask? If you could ask Sad Girl 3 questions what would you ask What did you think of Gene? If you could ask Gene 3 questions what would you ask? What did you think of Razmik Hartounian? 3 questions for Razmik? What did you think of Pervy Pedro? 3 questions for Pedro? Do you think Pedro has a Record? if yes, for what? What do you think Pedro does for a living? Did you ever have stories for open forums that you couldnt get through to air? were you on hold and not answered or did you not get past the screener or was it just a busy signal? what was the topic? Have you heard or had things happen to you that would make a good open forum story? Feel free to share and please specify if theres an open forum topic you would categorize it under Do you have ideas for open forums that you wish they had done? Did you ever get Rudy Rolled? Why? Other Favorite bits, games or jokes that you enjoyed from any era or host? Are you familiar with the basically bell and if so do you avoid saying it yourself? Have you noticed any other pervasive over used words in modern american culture? (besides “like”) Do you notice any trends or patterns in the use of the B word? Were there any calls you remember that really hit home, or that actually helped you in your life? Any other lessons you learned from the show that benefited you personally, perhaps not just from one single call, just from your time listening? Perhaps lessons that you used to help another person? Did you ever try to call in and only get a busy signal? Did you ever get through to a call screener and either not get put on hold? Did you ever get through If so please describe, and tell me if it was bogus If a multiple times caller please list your question for each of your calls in the best order you can remember. And if it was bogus and you refuse to specify that then I’m terribly disappointed in you. We’re all friends here, but we will judge. Did you follow advice from the call? Why or why not? How did the problem you called about end up? During any time being even a semi constant listener did you ever ignore advice you heard someone else get on the show that you see now could have been helpful? what was the advice? Were there things covered in the show that you think would have helped you if you had listened earlier in your life, especially if you started listening as an adult? What other interesting or useful things did you learn from the show? Do you have any favorite calls? Do you have any favorite types of callers? Such as non listening hot girls who don't actually want advice, stoners, good or bad bogosity, combative callers, the ones who argue, or maybe even frequent callers, perhaps a type of caller I haven't thought of. Do you now or have you ever listened to any podcasts or radio shows associated with any past hosts? Examples to jog your memory or spark your curiosity, please specify if you are a current listener as well... The Adam Carolla show or any of his other podcasts? Any other podcasts on the Carolla Network? The Adam and Dr Drew show? Classic loveline as it was called on Podcast One (now the Get It On Podcast on superfangiovanni.com)? The Dr Drew show? Weekly Infusion with Dr Bruce? This Life with Bob Forest? Dr Drew Mid Day live with Mike catherwood On 790 KABC? Have you heard Mike recently on the Jason Ellis show on Sirius radio? Any past or no loger airing podcasts or radio shows involving the hosts of loveline? Have you ever consumed any television content, current or past that involved Adam, Drew, or Mike Catherwood in any way? What shows? Have you read any of Adam or Drew’s books? Which ones? Have you seen any of Adam Carolla’s movies or documentaties? Which ones? Are you familiar with Jules Dash? Have you listened to any podcasts involving Anderson including the After Disaster and the Film Vault? Have you seen any of Anderson’s short films? Have you heard of Anderson’s upcoming full leghth movie Groupers? If so did you contribute to the budget? If not, LOOK UP “Groupers the movie” and watch the trailer. you wont regret it. You might regret it, but you’ll still want to see Groupers. Have you listened to the new Loveline podcast with Amber Rose? Do you continue to listen and stay up to date on current episodes? What are your thoughts on the Amber Rose Loveline podcast? Have you ever used or engaged in any of the internet media or social media associated with the show (the old Loveline App, Facebook, Twitter, or any version of the website)? For the longtime listener, or just the late but loyal fan, tell me if you agree with the following statement and feel free to elaborate or interpret however you like: “Loveline is more than just a an advice show that was on the radio for 30 years...” Please add any other thoughts or suggest other questions you think should be asked of all listeners in this survey (if you suggest a question please answer it also): Thanks you so much for taking the time to answer these silly questions, I cant tell you how much I appreciate it. Stay in touch and maybe in a year or two ill have collected enough answers to see some data or patterns... or something.