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bhnsby · 2 months ago

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Since you like jo, i need to hear more about your opinion about her

GOD I THOUGHT ID NEVER BE ASKED

Resident Jo guy here ready to talk about her too much

Funny enough I think Jo might be the character I’ve talked about the most on here? Not that anyone asked but I know I’ve done one on her and her dynamic with lightning, multiple jomarias, and whenever AS or roti comes up I always talk about her it’s like there’s some unknown force making me.

But for my jo take for today, I wanna talk about her/heather and the dynamic as well as the parallels between both.

Jo and heather are like one of the only mix gen dynamics, which is crazy. I can only think of like Scottney and like every other interaction between characters are so basic they have the essence of just “hello _____ character from other season!” “Hello _____ character from other season! We’ve now hit our interaction check box meaning this season wasn’t entirely pointless and definitely couldn’t just have been another roti season but everyone complained at the new characters” “huzzah!”

Sorry got sidetracked. Butt Jo and Heather do interact beyond that and I WISH we got more of them

To compare both, both are a “villain” in the series they compete in. And both are a take on a type of “bully”.

Heather is your classic mean girl but better. She’s the Regina George the Heather Chandler thats her trope. Yes there’s more depth to her but for this comparison I just want to talk about her in relation to Jo. Now to contrast Jo is more of the “jock bully” archetype. But once again, better.

Despite there clear differences they actually have more in common than I initially thought. Both take advantage of people they see as “less than them”. Heather with Beth and Lindsay, and Jo with Cameron and Lightning. Lightning and Lindsay clearly have some similarities in they’re both stupid and their manipulator uses this to their advantage, making them think they have an ally/friend but in actuality they are just being used. And Beth and Cameron are similar in the sense that their dynamic with their “bully” is also disguised as a friendship. Beth wants to be in the popular clique and Cameron wants to just survive this, meaning he’s willing to work with Jo despite her clearly being mean rude and horrible to him. Both Jo and Heather use these people to make it far, but ultimately their downfall is due to the people they used all season (jo being betrayed by cam and voted off by cam and lightning and heather having Lindsay being the reason she looses the challenge).

They also both have a very similar dynamic, heather with Gwen and Leshawna and Jo with Zoey and Anne Maria. Yes I know the Gwen/leshawna dynamic is very different to the Anne Maria/zoey dynamic, but when it comes to heather and Jo they’re actually kinda similar. Gwen is typically a little play thing for Heather to torment, with Leshawna always being at her neck standing up for other people and not being afraid to put heather in her place and fight back, and while Jo is rude to everyone Zoey will often not retaliate back, unlike Anne Maria who is, like Leshawna, always at her neck usually standing up for herself and other people (seen with how she defends the likes of cam guys wait till I drop the AM essay I have proof of this) and not being afraid to put Jo in her place and fight back against her rude/pushy/bossy/etc.

Their competitiveness and want to win is also something that both have. While it’s not as evident in heather (more in world tour than any other) they both have a desire to win individual and team challenges, as well as overall too.

Also just remembered in All stars they both make an alliance with an enemy of some kind only for them to immediately try to get them eliminated, both times backfiring with heather getting out instead and lightning being seen as useful later on (stfu no he wouldn’t have been)

The first clear difference between both is Jos internalised misogyny.

GOD I hate when people deny this it’s so obvious to me am I the only one that sees this but yeah anyway Jo makes an off handed comment about heathers “girly short shorts” or something idk I can’t remember I’m not rewatching I’m at college right now

Butt, I think some of Jos hate for Heather comes from some of her internalised misogyny. They would genuinely make for good friends if they weren’t both such haters. But alas Jo sees someone she’s compatible with and would get along with, but said person is a girly teen girl and doesn’t want to allow for a platonic female relationship. She doesn’t want to be friends with someone who is what she hates about herself. She’s not feminine and I don’t think that’s the reason for her internalised misogyny, I don’t think she needs to be “girly” or anything, and I don’t think she’s implied to be trans to me, I see it more as a societal thing where she feels like she “isn’t one of the girls” and better than people who are girly because to her she’s an exception and society tells her that guys are better than girls and her personality/attitude/interests/identity aligns more with the masculine gender (not trans just vibes ykwim) and so she denies all of her feminine traits to be better than everyone else. I think had jo and heather had more time, she could’ve overcome this and eventually formed a bit of a alliance/even friendship with heather, similarly to what started to/would’ve happened with jo and Anne Maria guys jomaria canon guys guys please

So yeah tl;dr Jo and heather are peak and would’ve been even more peak had they had more time

#I’m the jo guy now this is my niche I’m here for you jo fans #total drama #tdroti #chat time #total drama revenge of the island #total drama island #roti #tdi #jomaria #td heather #td jo #total drama jo #total drama heather #long rant #ranting #jo take for today

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acquired-stardust · 5 months ago

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Anime Spotlight #3: Project A-ko (1986)

Join Ash as she takes a look at an underrated pride month anime classic and formative movie in her journey navigating queerness - it punches way above its weight and is well worth your time. Perhaps the greatest queer anime popcorn flick of all time, Acquired Stardust's spotlight on 1986's Project A-ko is here!

As previously discussed, time and tide can play funny tricks with our memory and perception. To that point, there's a special sort of magic that old media facilitates. Separation from the people and circumstances that produced it goes a long way towards helping us disconnect from preconceived notions and expectations to experience works more at face value. For a brief amount of time the brain is tricked into allowing itself to believe that this ancient work of art exists somehow outside of time and place - apart from not only the underlying political and cultural factors but also the individuals that birthed it.

Project A-ko is a work that synergizes incredibly well with this psychological trick but is perhaps doubly impressive when looked at in its proper context.

Released theatrically in June of 1986 (only a little over a month before Studio Ghibli's first official project Castle in the Sky) and named after Jackie Chan's 1983 Project A, Project A-ko was born out of the staff behind foundational hentai OVA series Cream Lemon deciding to pivot and make a mainstream movie for theaters. Carrying a similar spirit to Project A, Project A-ko is a sci-fi action-comedy that smashes together the absurd and the mundane brilliantly.

Opening with a scene entirely in English (even in the Japanese language version) that sees a spaceship fall to earth and destroy the coastal southern Japanese city of Graviton, we flash forward 16 years to our protagonist (the eponymous A-ko) waking up to walk her friend C-ko to school for their first day. Deeply steeped in Class S tropes that had been popular in anime since the 70s that saw homoromantic relationships between women become somewhat normalized, C-ko catches the eye of rich and elegant classmate B-ko who immediately becomes overwhelmingly (and inexplicably) infatuated by her and deeply jealous of the relationship C-ko shares with A-ko, which stokes a rivalry for the affections of C-ko that gradually becomes more unhinged as the movie rolls on, even managing to slip in an unexpected cameo from an American fast food icon.

It is here, beyond the basic setup, that Project A-ko begins to coalesce into something far better and much more clever than it has any real right to be. The lead characters, at first basic archetypes generically named but actually containing multi-layer puns, are wonderfully self-indulgent, given tons of room to come into their own and become a surprisingly strong ensemble. Gender, gender roles and sexuality are portrayed with a fascinating nonchalance (the likes of which is also featured in anime of the time such as Dirty Pair, as made clear with a very popular post on this very site). Fight choreography is shockingly good for the experience level of all involved (who by this time had mostly been known for their involvement in adapting Rumiko Takahashi's manga Urusei Yatsura).

The soundtrack (also in English and very of its time) matches the tone of the film in the best ways possible and helps to shape the film into something that is all too rare in the world of queer media: positive, happy stories celebrating the love people have for each other without getting too far into the weeds of angst and tragedy that is unfortunately often part and parcel with the real life queer experience. The Japanese voiceover cast features a stellar lineup of actors including Miki Ito, Emi Shinohara, Michie Tomizawa and Shuichi Ikeda (as well as a very early appearance by Megumi Hayashibara), and needless to say they knock it out of the park. One potential pain point is C-ko's loud and obnoxious nature, which despite being a central part of her character is toned down in the English dub. If one finds her to be especially grating, which is one of anime's hallmarks in this era, the English dub is serviceable enough.

Watching Project A-ko was a formative experience for me, with its Goku-esque lead becoming a hero of mine. The final shot of the movie still manages to make me emotional every time I see it. Its simple concept of 'the superheroes and supervillains in your everyday life' is executed wonderfully and the bright-eyed, saccharine tone is an incredible breath of fresh air in contrast to the misery that queerness (and, more often, external reactions to said queerness) often brings about in our lives. There is so much to be said about this movie but as is so often the case with anime spotlights, it's hard to get granular without spoiling the experience and I'd much rather you see it for yourself than have it spoiled for you in what is in all likelihood the first time you're hearing of it.

They say that the best queer media is often accidentally made by straight men who have no idea that they're making queer media and that holds true for Project A-ko, who's character designer/animation director Yuji Moriyama says they simply hadn't put much thought into in that context which is unfortunately believable - although Project A-ko receives several sequels, they get progressively further away from the shockingly refreshing queer love story that is the relatable heart of the movie, contrasting its rising stakes and insanity that culminates with a three-sided battle that once again causes widespread damage to Graviton City.

But such is the beauty of old media - for a brief hour and a half we are able to allow everything but the thing we're watching to fade away. To take it at face value. To see ourselves in these archetypal characters, and to brim with pride as they become engaging characters all their own. To hope that perhaps one day the world will treat queer people with the same sort of complete nonchalance featured in this movie, and to hope that we too may one day be able to have the sort of relationship between A-ko and C-ko in our own lives.

A gem hidden among the stones, Project A-ko is undoubtedly stardust.

-- Ash

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tomatoluvr69 · 10 months ago

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It’s so funny to be lazily ambiguous with gender and sexuality in real life because most people are like oh that’s a butch lesbian. Because I am lazy. And because I only clear things up with vetted friends and literally do not care about pronouns and names and have had different names/pronouns in different circles etc. and they see my men’s attire and the fact that I haven’t binded (bound?) in years and my short hair has long grown out. And then they tell on themselves and their own lazy heuristics when I talk about liking a man that it either a) takes them visibly aback and they have to stumble over themselves to pretend they’re not shocked or b) straight up think I’m joking and continue to believe I’m a butch lesbian. And the craziest thing is other queer people like somehow often worse about this despite this sort of idea that they have of themselves that they don’t assume anyone’s gender/sexuality and that they don’t tie ideas of androgyny to a flat chest and that they do believe that pretty extreme gender fluidity can and does exist and that everyone’s experience with gender is unique. And then there’s all sorts of shit where if I don’t feel like explaining/justifying the fact that I feel my concept of identity and self shift at such a glacial pace that it’s not worth establishing a conventional nonbinary or transgender identity (that conforms to the accepted experience, timeline, and desired considerations) in public, beyond my trusted friends who are chill about deviant experiences within the queer norm, I’m just one of them theyfabs claiming to be queer for clout. Ugh anyways it’s crazy to be one of the few people on the planet who needs to occasionally come out as what may appear at the outset as straight. I’m literally not a lesbian and no one ever ever stops to think I might not be. But I’ve had so many profound experiences with women and within that sort of community that I do feel such a strong affinity there, and in an ideal world would love to be something like a he/him lesbian. But I’m not a lesbian. Because I like men!! Despite only ever having been with women!!! And it also is so funny to me that were I to enter into a relationship with a man I would be considered completely and entirely cishet despite my extensive experiences within the gay community and specifically the lesbian community. Who would accept me with open arms if I’d ended up permanently with one of the women I’ve been with!! But I remain steadfast in my convictions that I do not need to explain myself to anyone. And truly I do not care in the least what people assume about me, I’m a very private person for whom open identity is not important and I’m literally way too chill to care. But it’s just continuously funny to have to come out as not a lesbian. How many dozens of times have I had to be like “actually I am not a homosexual”. Literally the opposite experience of most LGBTeeeees I’ve just got that deeply intensely masculine swag for real that the effect lasts even when my hair gets down to like shoulder length. And it’s like, even though I am perceived as female, albeit a queer one, I have had literally every single one of the stereotypical experiences of the ‘knew I was transgender from early childhood’ archetype and that’s just supposed to be completely invalid because I decided not to medically transition due to the spans of time I have where my identity shifts and I know I’m not qualified to pick one of the three acceptable genders for the rest of my life? And I understand the broader community’s frustration with certain aspects of hegemony re: people whose identities are snidely referred to as “theyfabs” and bisexual women in LTRs with men HOWEVER im just so tiredddddddddddd of the condescension, and lazy heuristics I notice in queer people’s treatment of me and assumptions about me. Anyways thanks 2 the gay people in my phone for letting me be amorphous and being so so chill about it. I mean it probably helps that you can’t see my genuinely gargantuan and unbindable breasts from my posts. But christ man it’s just exhausting lol

#sorry. guess who just had to say the sentence ‘actually I’m not a lesbian! no worries though’ out loud for the 4000009th time #also #which is why if you’ve noticed me use every single term under the sun for myself it’s because ummmm I am like everything and nothing #and if you hate theyfabs and bisexuals then just unfollow me and let’s live in our separate worlds. life is too short to justify yourself #to everyone I’m straight up just chilling #like sorry my hair is long. is that hard for you to understand in your toddler’s conception of boys and girls #ok now back to ur regularly scheduled apathy and ignoring of all discourse infighting and identity gatekeeping lol

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time-is-restored · 1 year ago

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oh shit i forgot here's another one, this time its an old neal caffrey analysis rant (this one fueled by insomnia, and written much earlier into my first watch of white collar - i think early season 3??):

im gonna be weird about white collar but the thing is so many people are weird about white collar in the wrong direction

like woobifying neal to hell and back or inventing whole new personalities for el or . i don’t even know how to describe what they do to peter

like the thing about neal is he Is a magpie he’s just a surprisingly loyal one, he flits from shiny thing to person to ideal, sure, but certain classes of ppl can fully hold his attention

peter holds his attention bc he is good as in skilled (it’s borderline canon that no one else can catch him, or even really come close), and extremely principled w a cunning streak which neal basically approaches as like. a puzzle box, bc like none of their principles line up so he’s curious how the apparent closed system rube goldberg machine of his morals work LOL

then it becomes a dedication through loyalty, in that peter sticks his neck out multiple times due to faith in neal, and neal is EXTREMELY weak to loyalty/consistency (gestures at the mess of his childhood)

and due to generally low self image (morals wise, he kind of thinks he sucks? like he’s competent and cool and charming and everything, but he also tends to consider himself a nuisance, w how he’s disruptive to ‘normal’ / ‘good’ people) that dedication can become disproportionate

we see through kate (and later, adler) that the easiest way to con neal/get him acting against his own self interest IS to cultivate that loyalty

there’s an easy archetype to it, even, in that u present him with a competent, smart individual (bonus points if they’re a conventionally attractive woman), but have her off limits in some way (uninterested, taken, stand off ish, whatever), activate his thief urge to ‘take’ what he wants, then when they are friends/partners whatever, his inadvertent guilt over like. corrupting/endangering this person/tricking them about who he ‘really’ is will loop around into VERY strong loyalty, and a commitment to being whatever they want him to be x2, bc he Cannot handle being left behind LMAO

peter simultaneously feeds into + challenges this framework, bc he clearly has the least biased opinion about who neal is, even though he’s still wrong about a lot of things. and beyond that, he REALLY likes neal, thinks he’s interesting and funny, but at the start of the show can’t deal with even 0.01% of his chaotic neutral methods

WHICH IN TURN!! actually breaks through some of Neal’s shit bc:

peter picked him out of prison before neal had changed at all

he essentially sees his role, from as early as ep 1, as tactically breaking the law where peter can’t/won’t, in ways that help them close the case faster

after peter (more or less) gives a thumbs up the first time he does this, neals puzzle box brain goes ‘oh?? morally grey bestie??? CRIME BESTIE????’ and now he’s trying to ‘solve’ peter’s moral code

this is actually almost in complete opposition to elizabeth, who is compete open and clear about her affection and friendship w him basically since they meet, and apparently has no prerequisites for it. which, again, pointing to the low self esteem, triggers the ‘oh god what have i done to deserve this i haven’t even CONNED her yet’ so he’s low key more invested in + comitted to elizabeth in a specific. 'i want to be on good terms w this person' targeted way than he initially was w peter (since their mutual obsession manifests so fucking frequently as 'what, you're gonna hit me? you're gonna hit me with that big bat? better make it hurt. better kill me in one shot!' style antagonism)

HENCE the constant check ins w their relationship, reminding peter about anniversaries and dinner times etc, though that’s also due to a general fascination he has w stability + permanence

we learn in s2 he was seriously considering proposing to kate, and that he genuinely wanted to take the ‘true love’ way out of the conman life, even though he wasn’t quite sure whether it would stick, hence we see a lot in s2 his fascination w peter + els marriage, along with june (crime aunty <3)‘s relationship w her passed husband

a lot of his dedication to peter circa s2 is, by my reckoning, explicitly because peter is so determined to stick with Neal, and doesn’t give up on him/their deal even when it would be entirely reasonable (neal admits to crimes, gets put back in prison, constantly breaks rules and goes looking for kate) which is like. neal HATES being trapped, but he also REALLY values consistency + competency

hence the complexes, y'know?

#wc #white collar #can you tell im procrastinating uni work. im gonna get a functional draft of this assignment done and then i'll reward myself by posting my #inconsolable wailing circa elizabeth's kidnapped arc

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spammreviews · 10 months ago

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Quick Thoughts On Blue Eyed Samurai

Blue Eyed Samurai feels both extremely familiar and extremely distinct.

All of the characters are archetypes we’ve seen before:

Stoic loner on a quest for revenge

Princess who doesn’t want to be married off

Chivalrous knight

Large guy who is nice but also dumb

However, it is the way these characters are used which makes it special. Our main character, Mizu, is more than just your usual Bryonic character. Obviously, there’s the racial identity and the ambiguous gender and sexuality, but what we learn about their backstory makes them unique. We get an entire episode focusing on how Mizu played the role of a traditional woman for a time, and she didn’t hate it. Mizu is not only mistrustful because of the abuse she suffered as a child, it was because her husband betrayed her, and that was after she embarked on her quest for revenge! I can’t think of another story which does that.

I was also surprised that the blacksmith who raised Mizu is still alive in the present. It shows that there are other choices for Mizu to take in life, and she’s aware of this, but she’s still willing to throw it all away. Her quest for revenge is one of the most illogical quests for revenge ever, and that’s what makes it so interesting.

Taigen is also a really fascinating character because of his dynamic with Mizu. Him wanting to protect her so he can later kill her is pretty hilarious. We really understand that Taigen is constantly trying to prove himself as this honorable samurai, even in situations where it doesn’t matter at all. Both him and Mizu are on really stupid quests. The two are actually quiet similar in a lot of ways, and that makes their dynamic all the more fun.

Ringo is a weird character. At first, I found his childish attitude rather annoying, and he seemed rather one note. However, I quickly changed my mind. Ringo actively making the decision to leave Mizu was not something completely unexpected, but it was done in a perfect way. Not only that, but he never really makes things better between him and Mizu, they just realize they need to work together. This makes Ringo really interesting.

Akemi is also an interesting character just because of how complex her arc in this season is. She doesn’t to be this princess, but then she finally escapes and goes on an adventure, and she hates it. Then, she learns to actively get power by following the rules of her society. This is really interesting in comparison to Mizu, who does the exact opposite. Akemi learns that what she really wants is independence, not to become someone else. Her story has a lot of interesting things to say about growing up and having to care of yourself and how stressful it is, and it wraps that together with these musings on how women can have strength in a patriarchy.

This story also has a variety of fantastic side characters. I love the main villain, Fowler, as he’s not just evil, he just annoys everyone around him. He’s also a good example of a character who has a tragic backstory, but that doesn’t make us feel bad for him, it just makes us understand him. This guy is beyond sympathy, but seeing him as a human being makes him all the more terrifying.

I also like Fowler’s reluctant henchman because of how frustrated he is with the story he’s in. It’s very funny.

The head prostitute lady was interesting in the way she represented another way for women to get power Mizu and Akemi’s methods, where she weaponizes her womanhood, but in a way that society frowns on.

While the characters are fun, the story does a fantastic job of having them all cross paths at different points, which is extraordinarily satisfying to see.

The story also has some delightful world building. We get a very clear sense of this world, which feels both real and exciting, and we also see how the culture affects every specific character.

Moving on from the writing, the animation can look a little odd at points just in the way the characters look. It’s stuck in an awkward place between realism and stylization, and it’s mixing 3-d and 2-d and it looks a bit awkward. However, I wouldn’t say the animation is bad. It is very fluid, which helps for the fight scenes, which are all absolutely perfect.

I suppose another complaint I have is that Mizu is a bit to good at being a fighter, to the point where it removes some tension from the story. However, I don’t care to much.

Overall, the show was a very fun time.

#blue eyed samurai

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bride-of-dracaenca · 2 years ago

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Thank you for responding to my ZORT! Now for my next question:

What is your all-time favorite Brinky moment? =D

Well Anonymous, you asked this perfectly easy to answer, reasonable question that I should have answered a long time ago. So, of course, I had to turn it into something needlessly long that I had to rack my brain and wring my hands over and aaaah anyway. Not your fault, but here since NOBODY asked for it, is:

MY TOP TEN BRINKY MOMENTS (OF THE 1990S): HONORABLE MENTIONS - #4

(PART II IS HERE. I might do one for the reboot soon, too, if I have time ;_;)

HONORABLE MENTIONS. NARF:

“Where Rodents Dare” – Brain looks sad about Pinky.

“Where Rodents Dare” was only the second Pinky and the Brain short ever and only the ninth episode of the original Animaniacs. It aired on September 23, 1993, the second week of the og show’s very first run. It was also the very first time I remember seeing mention of Pinky x Brain online.

It’s an incredibly short moment and seems like an extremely minor little bit. After Brain tries to communicate with Pinky via walky-talky, he gets no answer. His ears start to droop and his face falls. It’s really the first clear indication that Brain cares about Pinky and that they have a relationship beyond "angry guy and bumbling sidekick."

With two characters of this archetype, it’d be easy to imagine Brain acting comically happy at the thought of an annoying lackey’s demise and then only regretting the situation when he realizes he needs “dumb muscle” to help him complete the plan. Instead, this little moment seems totally sincere. Brain is elated when he hears Pinky’s voice and realizes that he’s thankfully okay! But Brain quickly hides his emotion when Pinky comes back into frame.

It’s an extremely early appearance of Brain’s tsundere soft side. Pinky’s love for Brain was screamingly obvious from the very beginning, but clear hints from Brain actually start appearing sooner than I used to remember.

“Just Say Narf” – Pinky Sings It! (+Bench Flirting)

Pinky: The friend that everyone wishes they had, but nobody deserves, maybe? Where would Brain be without Pinky’s cheerfulness and support?

….

Let’s not think about that, shall we?

(Also. Bench flirting.)

“Every Single Freaking Time Brain Praises Pinky” – Not Enough Episodes. NOT. ENOUGH!

“Pinky, that was perfect!” “Pinky, that’s brilliant!” “Pinky, you’re a GENIUS!” YES. YES, BRAIN. WE LOVE TO HEAR IT.

Now let’s hear it some more. MORE! 87 Billion more times! 100 years of Pinky and the Brain – Brain praising Pinky! Saying nice things!

“Hoop Dreams” – Chumsicles

“No, Pinky. Those are a delicious treat to be shared only by you and me.” What’s not to love about this little moment, which involves…the fact that Pinky and Brain like to eat fish heads on popsicle sticks together, I guess? Uuh. I know that might not sound very romantic, but actually, it really is! Brain actually makes it sound really intimate, and it’s all just so weird.

...that's a good thing.

“That One Where I Always Forget Which Skit This Is From” – “Bagels with no cream cheese?!?”

Look so sue me, I constantly forget what this is actually from, okay? But I love this little “old marrieds,” domestic type kind of moment between them in general. Pinky lets Brain know that he’s forgotten to calculate the cost of cream cheese in with their onion bagels. Brain realizes Pinky’s Omnipotent Omniscient Rightness and hastily and rightfully makes a correction. If not, Jobu Tupaki would have smote them right then and there. True story!

PUT THE CREAM CHEESE ON THE EVERYTHING BAGEL OF DEATH, PINKY.

“Brain Storm” – Brain Fixes the Scarecrow

Pretty simple, Brain takes time out of schemin’ hours to re-assemble a broken scarecrow that Pinky’s grown fond of. This is also funny foreshadowing for a Wizard of Oz gag later, I think. Mostly, it just shows that Brain values Pinky’s feelings, and will go out of his way to make Pinky feel better even if he himself thinks that Pinky is just being silly. Pinky’s feelings matter a lot to Brain.

“Wakko’s Wish” – Our Happy Ending

With the 2020 Animaniacs reboot about to end, it’s worth looking back at this – and I might write a longer post about it. For now, very briefly: Wakko’s Wish was kind of the closest thing to “endings” for the Animaniacs’ stories that we got, although I generally agree that Hooray for North Hollywood is better for the Warners themselves. And I know this is an “AU,” but, look – A! continuity is a mess, it’s “AUs” all over.

I do love a lot of the other endings (except for the Mime’s! Justice for the Mime!). It’s especially satisfying to see Buttons finally get rewarded and appreciated, and Rita and Runt finally find a home! But I actually generally like PatB’s ending, too. Yes, Pharfignewton plays far too big of a role but I, like, love her, okay and Pinky’s wish should have been about Brain, instead, definitely. Still, this ending sees them together, happy, and with a cool pet horse! Brain’s fate, having a bit of his dream (a position of some authority) but doomed to work with the Warners, is kind of fitting, in a strange way. The Warners are excellent at knocking people down a few pegs and keeping them in line if needs be, but they also have meta awareness that trying to take over the world is just Pinky and Brain’s skit’s schtick, so they’d probably just find it amusing and humor them a bit.

More importantly, it’s really cute that the very first thing that Brain does with his new authority is to make Pinky’s dream come true! Pinky also encourages Brain and Phar to get along here. After a little speed bump where she briefly eats him by accident, it seems like it might have worked. It’s a positive and peaceful little note to end the 90s franchise story forgetting that other thing, for the moment on.

SPECIAL CATEGORIES: From…That Other Thing – “Pinky’s Dream House” and “Yule Be Sorry”

Now, my thoughts on that other thing…you know, the THING are a whole…like a whole THING. So, I won’t get into it right now. Confession I'm going to cross out, and had to do a lot of old memory-searching to rediscover: I was a fan of Elmyra Duff at one point in Tiny Toon Adventure's early days, okay? But this isn't the place to get started. But I’m putting these two here in a nice convenient little box for now because I am freaking lazy and I don’t want to get into the pros and cons and TTA and so on, but they’re (the moments) both just AAAAAHHHH so darned fantastic so. YOU KNOW.

"Pinky’s Dream House" is such a sweet episode. Who wouldn’t love Pinky singing a riff on “Somewhere That’s Green” from Little Shop of Horrors, sadly minus an awesome singing man-eating plant (but nothing’s perfect)? It’s a touching look into Pinky’s dreams instead of Brain’s. Also, while I was making this list, I had the weird realization: Brain is seriously tempted to separate from Pinky not by world domination, but by the promise of a “normal” life. In “This Old Mouse” and “The Third Mouse,” he seems to be under the mistaken impression that getting a normal life also means leaving Pinky behind, but without Pinky, winds up unhappy. Here, he seems to have his cake in a frilly apron using a feather duster and eat it (*tee-heeheehee* :3), too, and for a little while, they both seem very happy.

In “Yule Be Sorry,” Brain telling Pinky that taking over the world would be pointless and worthless if Brain lost Pinky’s friendship is something we’ve known for a long, long time. Still, it’s one of the closest things (maybe the closest?) that we get to Brain confessing his true feelings to Pinky. It’s utterly heartwarming. A shame about…the episode itself.

From the Comics – “It’s A Wonderful Narf”

I do really love the PatB comics, which I bought fresh off the rack as they came out! Still, as much as Sassy Comics Pinky owns every bit of my heart and three-fourths of my spleen, and the ever more obviously gay Brinky subtext owns I dunno Maine and Idaho, the characterization can be a bit spotty and hit-or-miss for me.

One of its Christmas stories, “It’s a Wonderful Narf,” winds up surprisingly touching, though! Especially since it opens with Brain being such a massive jerk to Pinky that Pinky contemplates jumping off a bridge. Urgh. What follows is the usual “It’s a Wonderful Life” scenario where Pinky sees how much colder and bleaker a world without him would actually be, especially for Brain.

The reveal at the end, which is that Brain has staged the whole thing just to show Pinky how much he means to him, is actually pretty darn great. Yes, it’s cartoony zany that he could pull it off, and you just have to roll with the Looney-Tunes-ness. But in a way, it’s more precious than if it had been magic. Brain knows how much Pinky means to him, and goes to great lengths here to show Pinky that.

Of course, he STILL NEEDS TO APOLOGIZE, but…

And now the list proper and YES I CHEATED by grouping some moments together. :P Well...it's not against tumblr's ToS. Yet.

#10: “The Family That Poits Together, Narfs Together” – Chase Me! Chase Me!

I don’t really have to go too deep to explain why this one is so cute! In an episode about what “family” really means, Pinky initiates the same game his mother and father have been playing with each other throughout the entire episode (“Chase Me”) with Brain by playfully stealing his pencil. It’s a really nice, understated way of showing that the two mice are already a family.

Pinky also says something along the lines of, “I don’t think a family needs to be perfect to be wonderful!” And if there’s a more imperfect pair, well, then.

#9. “Megalomaniacs Anonymous” – Pinky and the Brain Go To Therapy And Talk About Their Feelings And Better Themselves as “People” and Work Out the Issues With Their Relationship

Okay I actually seriously really love this episode; I don’t mean to be quite so snarky. I just wanted to say well. For people who want this. Yeah, it can happen. It did. Why didn’t it take? Status Quo is God, welcome to the “1990s Zany Syndicated Cartoon Shorts” spot on the Sliding Scale of Continuity. The planet could explode or…I don’t know, be replaced by a Chia Earth, or they could hmmm…have both of their brains fried by a machine, and next skit, BAM, back at the start. Sorry, guys. In some magical place where syndicated, non-arc-series characters are allowed to have actual character development, their sessions, and self-improvement, continue.

#8: “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Snowball” – Saving The Day…Eventually (For You)

I grouped these two together because they have a few similar elements that I love:

Brain falls into the pits of bleakest despair that mean he’s at the Act II Low-Point three act structure blah blah blah. He’s spurred out of it, of course, by his love for Pinky. And what could pluck the heartstrings harder than a megalomaniac lab mouse rushing heedlessly into danger to save his One True Love trusty sidekick and best friend in the whole, wide world?

In some odd way, the mice actually come together as a team to save the day! It’s kind of rare to see them working together (even if it is in unusual ways) to bring out the best in each other and triumph, but it’s here in different ways. In “Snowball,” Brain supplies the mechanical suit and starts the mouse vs. hamster showdown, but it’s actually Pinky who takes Snowball down in a moment of true Pinky brilliance – one of my favorite things! In “Welcome to the Jungle,” Brain only manages to become MacGuyver and kick Snowball’s fuzzy behind because Pinky went full MacGuyver first – he led the way and inspired Brain.

#7: “Broadway Malady” and “This Old Mouse” – Happier Without You?

I think people have often noticed “Broadway Malady,” where Pinky seems to be doing pretty well without Brain, but is actually miserable. What gets mentioned less often, in my experience, are “This Old Mouse” and “The Third Mouse,” where Brain seems to be doing pretty well without Pinky (in the sense of making connections with people and supposedly being “happy now"), but is actually miserable.

Both of their reactions reveal a lot of each mouse’s character, and are typical, really: Pinky knows that he’s unhappy (to the point that he sings an entire musical number about it, and to all of Broadway!), and he knows it’s because he misses Brain. Brain, meanwhile, is in denial that he’s unhappy (“I’m happy, do you hear me?! HAPPY!!” Yeeeeahhhffffft reeeeaaal convincing there, Brain), and even if he is (which he isn’t!), it’s only because he misses trying to take over the world. Right?

It's interesting to see what actually drives a wedge between the two mice. In both of these episodes and “The Third Mouse,” Brain is the one who leaves, and it’s usually for something “humble” – having a “normal” job, finding love and settling down, making pretentious obnoxious art according to his own personal vision that nobody else likes (okay, that seems less humble, but compared to being world conqueror?), etc. Pinky, meanwhile, might self-sacrifice for Brain like in the Halloween episode, or stand up for his morals, but only seems driven to actually leave in “Snowball” when Snowball tricks him into believing that Brain never actually cared about him. Which Brain probably doesn’t help with, by…you know…constantly claiming that he doesn’t actually care about Pinky. Brain, you…fuzzy, fuzzy butt, you.

Both of these episodes show how devastated each mouse can get when they’re apart. Brain sneaks into Pinky’s performances mourning their lost friendship to weep silently in hiding as he gazes on; Pinky finds a yam that kinda sorta looks like Brain if you squint at it funny in the right light and becomes instantly obsessively attached. Oh, the angst! Angst! the Musical, even. The end of “Broadway Malady” shows the great lengths that Pinky will go to yet again, but “This Old Mouse” does even more so, as Pinky goes full action hero and defies both fate and the odds to save Brain’s life.

It's pretty notable that in “The Old Mouse,” all Pinky can think about is saving Brain’s life, and all Brain can think about is Pinky forgetting about him and getting himself (Pinky) to safety. There’s really nothing these two mice won’t sacrifice for each other, and for good or ill, they each value the other one more than themselves: here, in danger, the other mouse’s life and safety are the only thing on each rodent’s mind.

#6: “Operation Sea Lion” – In a Disney Film!

It strikes me as really weird, to be honest, that I put this one this high. What the heck, me? Why?

I guess it’s like this. This is just a really genuinely sincere and sweet episode for both mice. Brain is an unusually really great friend here, trying to help out with Winny despite thinking it’s doomed between her and Pinky – like in “Brain Storm,” what’s important to Brain is that it matters to PINKY. Pinky even rubs Pinky’s back to comfort him and HOLDS HIS HAND <3 <3 <3 :3

As for Pinky, it might seem strange to put an episode about Pinky “pursuing someone else” on a Brinky Moments list. But despite one line here that I really hate about Pinky not knowing where babies come from (way too childish, characterization-wise, for my taste), it actually shows Pinky taking some nice steps. Some of Pinky’s other “pursuits of animals (or socks)” just show Pinky assuming that this or that animal or creature is his “girlfriend,” without obviously being able to communicate with them. I thought it was really sweet that Pinky was actually trying to learn to talk to Winny here, and to hear about her thoughts and feelings. It showed, at least by zany cartoon standards, a bit more of a mature approach to romance, and is nice for me to think about in a Brinky mindset – Brain’s got to be even harder to talk to than an animal from a different species after all. Pinky's got his work cut out for him, and this is great practice!

#5: “Brain’s Night Off” – First-Date Jitters

Okay, granted part of this is just because I’m losing steam here, but I think some of these speak for themselves. “Pinky and Brain’s Date Night” is adorable – albeit awkward. And I don’t even care one whit what the writers meant it as; I see first-date jitters there, and nothing else. Brain’s corny "snoring barnacle" joke seems like the kind of thing Pinky would usually laugh at, because Pinky laughs at almost everything, and unlike Brain’s unhinged rant outta nowhere in “Das Mouse” about turning into a hawk and eating baby mice alive and seriously what the ever living whatever was that Brain?!?!? ANYWAY. This joke was harmless.

But put the mice in what looks pretty much EXACTLY like a romantic date for all the world to see, and the butterflies come home to roost. In the end, once they get more comfortable, Pinky and Brain prove that even a roll-around in a mashed-potato castle can be the height or romance…provided you do it with the right person. Er, mouse.

#4: “That Smarts” – The Gift of the Magi: Pinky and the Brain Edition

Okay, so the story The Gift of the Magi always used to make me angry as a kid, and you know what? It still does!

But I get it, okay? The real gift is LOVE. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I get it.

In this case, instead of being out a head of hair and a watch (note: the guy got the worse deal out of that; hair grows back), we have two brain-fried mice sitting in a cage, with absolutely no clue in the world what they’re going to do tomorrow night. Invest in Tesla stock, maybe?

This is another one I want to make its own post for, because it somehow sums up for me a big reason that I ship this! It’s constantly the characters doing what one WOULDN’T expect these archetypes to do!

Brain thinks Pinky is the reason all their plans fail? Well, he’ll just get rid of Pinky, right? After all, Brain only keeps Pinky around because he’s using him to take over the world! Well, no, Brain never considers that; Brain “keeps Pinky around” because Pinky is his best friend and he loves him, even if he thinks (wrongly) that Pinky’s just a hindrance on the world conquest front.

Pinky’s been made smart? Well, clearly, he’s going to turn into a huge jerk and reveal that his friendship with Brain was never real, right? After all, he only seemed nice because he was too darned dumb to know any better and he was also too dumb to form real relationships, he just seemed cluelessly friendly to everything because of his sheer stupidity! Well, no. Pinky’s the exact same Pinky he’s always been, he just knows a bunch of new math stuff now. And Brain’s friendship is more important to him then being good at taking over the world.

Another thing to throw in here is Brain sacrificing his own intelligence instead of asking Pinky to give up his, as short-sighted as that turns out to be. He doesn’t even seem to consider it. Brain chooses to give up what makes him "special" and let Pinky take the lead rather than asking Pinky to give that away now.

There’s more I want to say, but TL;DR: It’s not a show about taking over the world. It’s about two friends who care about each other.

It’s a love story.

Okay, I’m actually going to take a break here and put the Top Three in another post, really just because I’m tired. Hope to see you then!

EDIT: Part II is now over here!

#pinky and the brain #animaniacs #brinky #pinky x brain #pinky #the brain

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jonsnowunemploymentera · 1 year ago

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Me seeing the ask game: *cracks knuckles* Let's go.

I hope you don't mind answering all of these 😅.

10.

12.

13.

16.

20.

21.

22.

24.

25.

Have a nice day!

I won’t answer all of them haha. I had no time to write that much plus I wanted to actually give hOt TaKeS.

8 common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I’ll start of by saying that I’m not one who wants to police other people’s interpretations of the text. BUT I will say this: Jon is not a below average swordsman! He’s not even average. He may not have many on page feats, but he’s only been in less than a handful of serious fights and they were against middle aged men with decades of experience over him. People like to bring up his loss to Mance, but this fight was against a man who managed to unite the wildling tribes under his rule; Mance is a highly skilled warrior.

Remember, Jon is 15-16 years old when most of these fights are happening. So he’s still young and growing. People will also say “oh, but Jaime Lannister was a god at that age”. Honestly, who cares? How many characters are comparable to Jaime at any age? It’s such a dumb comparison. I’ve even seen people argue that a 13 year old Peck is better than Jon and huh? Jon hasn’t won over any knights….because he’s not encountering them in the first place.

It’s clear that GRRM holds Jon’s skill in high regard. I mean the first Jon POV chapter established him as a noted swordsman. It also clear that Jon isn’t meant to be the warrior type. He’s a deconstruction of the archetypal fantasy protagonist. GRRM has chosen to build his political skills, so he’s not putting much of a focus on how well he swings his sword. That doesn’t mean though that he doesn’t have any skill at all. Just that it’s not the main focus of his character. But I think this fandom generally has the most wretched discourse when it comes to this stuff. Like people on Reddit this past week tried to argue that Brienne is overrated…Brienne, of all people. It’s just insane to me that people think they know more than the guy who wrote the damn books.

13 worst blorboficiation

Has got to be Kevan Lannister. Not so much on tumblr, but it’s a disease in some of the other communities. For whatever reason, he’s quite beloved. And this is rather strange because he is very much complicit in the corrupt Lannister regime. And as far as we know, he’s also fully supported Tywin in everything (which includes legitimate war crimes). He has his moments where he is shown to actually care for family members (e.g., Lancel, Tyrion), and that makes him a delightfully complex character. He’s also really funny. But we shouldn’t ignore his really bad traits. I’ve had to suffer a bunch of “Kevan Lannister is the best guy ever” posts on Reddit, and it’s absolutely maddening. That’s not to say that we can’t like “bad” people! Heck, Cersei is one of my faves. But it’s weird how certain characters get a pass for doing problematic things (e.g., Kevan or even Bobby B), and other characters get lambasted for the most tame things imaginable. It’s just the hypocrisy that’s annoying.

16 you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Powerscaling lol. It can be fun, but the people who engage in these discussions can be so tedious and boring. Tiktok and Reddit are full of this. “Who is the greatest fighter”, “who is the best warrior”, “this is why prime Robert low diffs Barristan Selmy”, and it’s the same old arguments every time. I think we should get more creative with powerscaling if we have to do it. Like “who has the best 🛌 skills”. Let’s at least argue over something fun, damn.

22 your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

This is going to be twofold:

- On tumblr? Easily Jon’s relationship with magic. In fact, people on here will go out of their way to argue that it’s actually not important to the plot, which is absolutely bonkers. Beyond warging, there’s a lot of weird magical stuff going on with Jon that should be put under the microscope. And I’d even argue that Jon’s a pretty special warg and cannot be compared to the other Stark kids (even Bran) because of how his powers manifest. Ghost is also obviously one of the most special animal familiars in the series (maybe even THE most special one), but no one ever talks about how special he is. A lot of people seem to believe that Jon will be KiTN, but it’s insane how we don’t talk about why it’s magically important for him to rule the North, considering his deep connections to Northern mysticism, religion, and lore.

- Elsewhere: the parallels between Jon and Bran. They’re essentially the same character base split into two (Seoman Snowlack, Frodo, King Arthur, Paul and Leto Atreides, Odin, etc). Both arcs parallel each other and are heading to the same destination, but the details will be different. This is getting to my last point, but I firmly believe we’re getting an ending with both King Jon and King Bran. I like to think of them as two competing but complementary sides of King Arthur’s tale. Jon is the one that is true to legend, as he follows the archetypal hidden prince-to-king trope. Jon is essentially “what if Arthur actually went on his hero’s/knightly quest?”Bran is the subverted one, where young Arthur gets a little detour; so “what if Arthur didn’t go on the hero’s/knightly quest but instead had to take up a job as a part time wizard?” Both will end up kings, just as Arthur did, but it will be different versions of the legend.

- Also: WTF is up with the Watch/Wall? What magic was used to build the Wall and who built it? Why can’t dragons cross? And why can’t wights cross either? What magic dictates that? What’s up with the Nightfort? Why does one only need to say part of the vows to open the gate? And what’s up with the NW vows? Why do they give Lightbringer vibes?! Is the NW Lightbringer? The NW is directly credited with the ending of the Long Night so was the last hero a member of the original group? Who was he? What happened to him after? If the last hero inspired AA then did the NW (and their vows) inspire tales of his flaming sword? And why did the relationship between the Watch and the CoF fizzle out? When did it fizzle out? And who are the LCs whose tenures have not been recorded? Why did they only start recording in the 600s (iirc)? What other history has been lost over time? Who was the Night King? Where did his half-human children go? Need that old man to answer these stat

25 common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Several people will block me for this…but King Bran. Look, I get that Bran isn’t the most popular character out there. But so many people convinced themselves that he would die in that cave or he would amount to nothing which is very, very strange. And it also doesn’t help that a lot of the complaints reek of ableism.

GRRM obviously considers Bran to be central to this series. He is the first viewpoint character (and potentially the last one). He is the most magical character in the story. The scene that birthed ASOIAF came about because of Bran. It’s also said that GRRM considered writing the books through Bran’s POV but decided against it pretty quickly.

Anyone who paid attention to Bran’s story would know that we’re going to get some huge payoff to his story. In fact, I think it’s safer to assume that kingship has always been in the cards for him. I think most of us Bran stans thought he’d be KiTN (actually some of us over at Westeros.org thought he’d end up as the final Lord of Harrenhal). I never once considered King of all Westeros but I’ve had time to think about it ever since the show ended and I’m like, “duh!”. It’s thematically relevant and sound for Bran to end up king. We’re about to enter into a winter apocalypse but Bran’s direwolf is called Summer. Not only is he the representation of summer (which means renewal, rejuvenation, etc.), but he’s also fashioned after the Fisher King. He is also the second coming of Brandon the Builder - who constructed castles all over Westeros, not just the North; and if legends are true, this happened after the Long Night. He’s following after the footsteps of the Last Hero, and is the only other character apart from Jon who is actually fighting in the front lines against the Others. He’s going to be super important!

I can understand some of the questions people having regarding King Bran, mainly those of a political nature. But we’re left with two books. And two books is plenty to move the necessary pieces for Bran’s crowning. Hell, did people expect that Dany would be Queen of Meereen as they started reading ASOS? Most didn’t. A lot can happen in two books. A lot can happen in a singular book. GRRM has enough time to set up a scenario on which Bran is the only one left to rule.

I personally think that the apocalypse will essentially destroy Westeros as we know it, leading to the creation of a new kingdom(s). D&D botched the GoT ending so people have a hard time seeing the thematic weight of a boy who represents summer rising to kingship, but the books lay enough groundwork imo. And I think ACOK shows us that Bran, despite his age, would make a wise ruler. So I’m all for King Bran. Not only is it thematically sound, but I love the idea of a disabled kid rising to power at the end since we don’t see that in a lot of fantasy.

#asoiaf #ask game #jon snow #bran stark #kevan lannister

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rosencrantzsguildenstern · 7 months ago

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Hamlet......the eternal blorbo......character meme pls (also i7 trigger if you'd like)

OKAY. i was at school all day but here we go

(did gaku already here)

hamlet:

gah. hamlet. one of the most famous blorbos of all time. the thing about him is that he's not only tragic and well written, he's also, like, funny? relatable? the college-educated prince i think would have been someone much harder to connect to in shakespeare's time— definitely not impossible, and he's written as someone you can connect to, but still— but in this day and age the world is FULL of depressed college students, and hamlet's genuinely charming. i recoil at adaptations that frame him as a clear asshole (apart from immortal ros&guil performances that are clearly just having some fun with him) because while you can say 'oh, he killed those people, he mistreated ophelia, he caused the problems' and all that, you can and should sympathize with him, and a performance where you get to enjoy every moment of his being onstage is a good one; he makes a kind of sharp-tongued joke that an audience should be able to laugh at. i'm sad about him, too, but the tragedies that REALLY make me sad tend not to be hamlet-brand; what draws me to him is just like. his energy. and his tragic fall is done very well (of course it is, it's one of the most well-liked plays of all time)

tenn:

compared to hamlet tenn isn't as much of an all timer but on god. i'm obsessed with him. stream hidden region mv right now.

i always get hyped whenever a character is a collection of archetypes i've never seen before and on god. tenn. nice guy who acts like an asshole who acts nice. his layers. but that's such an oversimplification too... i want to dissect him. he's so stubbornly self sacrificial my boy LET PEOPLE HELP YOU. not me tho i wont help u i'll hit u with a baseball bat for being ableist to riku . but he's really good

ryuu:

RYUUUUUUU i tend to like the characters who are like... weird and complicated and really unique concepts and ryuu is not that like he DOES have complexity + every idolish7 character also has a cool twist that takes them beyond an archetype (i think every) . but i do love him he's just like. lovable. like how could u look at ryuu and NOT like him. i also really like when he gets mad like when he scares yaopapa or REALLY GOOD SCENE the times he like. very seriously and calmly, at a very mentally low state, gets antagonized by ryou and just. verbally eviscerates him. they make really good foils because he's everything ryou's not: he's down to earth, he deeply cares for people and isn't afraid to show it, and he understands himself. he's got moments of anxiety and self doubt, but he's managed to build himself up from that as trigger's grown closer. ik other fans like him when he's dumb/oblivious, i tend not to laugh as much at those moments (though some are iconic) bc i really like him as someone who like. knows what he's about. he's also kind of the touma of trigger; when i first met trigger, they were antagonistic and tenn and gaku were always bickering, so i saw them as villains, and ryuu was the member that endeared me to himself first (pretty much as soon as he stepped onscreen lol)

#hamlet #lit #i7 #ask game

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lesbeet · 2 years ago

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glass onion spoilers //

k this would be a video essay if i made video essays but i don't so. i've been ruminating more on what was missing from glass onion for me bc as much as i enjoyed it i felt like there was SOMETHING knives out has that glass onion doesn't, and i actually think it's the same reason i love the big short but don't look up didn't do much for me even though they were both written and directed by adam mckay (the big short was adapted from a non-fiction book tho) just like rian johnson did knives out and glass onion

and i think what knives out and the big short have that glass onion and don't look up lack are real emotional stakes. glass onion and don't look up both feel like movies that are SAYING SOMETHING! but don't have the emotion to back it up

like. knives out and the big short are both hilarious and are also both cynical as fuck about the world, about systems, about people. but the big short makes sure to remind you every few minutes that real every-day people are the ones who ultimately suffered due to the corruption of the us banking system, and knives out is a story told entirely over the course of a familial grieving process for a character who brings out poignant emotion even in largely unsympathetic characters like linda. don't look up and glass onion both fail to attach their messages to actual emotional stakes. don't look up is saying "you should take these extinction-level threats seriously!" while not really taking anything seriously itself, since the movie is mostly just caricatured versions of contemporary media archetypes running around acting unreasonable until it's too late, with very little in the way of showing the actual consequences of ignoring such clear warnings with any kind of gravity. similarly, the message of glass onion is "elon musk is an evil moron" and it's like. true! and...? the emotional undercurrent (helen trying to solve/avenge her sister's murder) is more like an emotional whisper since it's only revealed about halfway through the film, and honestly i think having miles be alive the entire time prevented anything deeper. if he'd either eventually been murdered or maybe had been pretending to have been murdered from the beginning (maybe he's the one who invited blanc to get someone to confess to his murder, and then he could pin andi's murder on them too, etc), maybe there could've been some more nuanced character exploration, but like. there's no central "harlan" figure to hang all the shitty personalities on bc miles is an alive jackass moron so it's hard to care enough about any of the charactrers to find them interesting beyond simply being funny and entertaining a la jodi from knives out. but i don't think knives out would've been good if every character was jodi, and that's kind of what glass onion was.

idk if this made any sense i just wanted to get it out of my brain before going to bed bye

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proofofburden · 2 years ago

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My Steven Moffit hot take is that if his output had stayed at early Sherlock and Matt Smith's Doctor quality, his rethinking would not have been as harsh

This is on my mind because people are surprised by this, and like, no, actually, you've been reading everything he's done as uncharitably as possible because that was easier than just admitting he ran out of steam on shows you like

And I want to be clear, I'm not kidding when I say as harsh as he has some troubling tics and some obviously regressive politics. So I'm saying just as much that early in his string of hits many people were willing to overlook it because he was doing other things well; if you want to post his litany of sins, yeah, I agree with a lot of them--- but where were you in 2010? That said, I also think there's at least as much winking and nodding in the writing of Coupling where the show very much knows those are ridiculous archetypes and not, like, a plain map of his beliefs even if it is sometimes unintentionally revealing too.

As an example, the way he skewered Jane's faux bisexuality was both funny on its own terms and spoke to me, a queer person who has watched weird, dubiously bisexual women latch onto a bisexual identity for clout. It's a real thing and he had a keen eye for it, and the show never says or even implies all bisexuals are fake. The metaphor it uses, in fact, to show Jane's insincerity here is vegetarianism, and I think it's pretty uncharitable to understand Moffat to be saying all vegetarians eat meat anymore than he's saying all bisexuals are faking it. I think the criticism that it links up to unfair scrutiny bisexuals receive holds water, I just don't think the generalization follows from the text the way people insist it does. I'd give the harsh reading a bit more credence too if Moffat hadn't actually brought a cascade of queer characters to Doctor Who, including Captain Jack as well as Madame Vastra and Jenny. (Probably a sign of the times as much as anything, but Moffit's tenure on Doctor Who was actually queerer than Davies'!) I don't think his writing is at all beyond criticism, but I think with even a modicum of charity you basically have to conclude that he was telling our stories in good faith.

So while I wouldn't have been shocked to learn he was an LGB only ally, albeit with some misogynistic baggage to work through, I'm also not surprised to find out his views on trans people are basically accepting---though, I'm quite certain any probing here will reveal some disappointing thoughts. Still, when Moffat was in his stride, even his bigoted tics were offset by what I think is a genuine, humanist interest in women's and queer people's stories and so it's unsurprising he'd clear this very modest bar.

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canmom · 2 years ago

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guess I'm semi liveblogging this. stop me if i get too granular, Umineko is the one that gets that treatment. anyway i finished book iii, general impression much the same, but here are some speculations and specific comments.

it seems all but certain that the mysterious 'DM' running this show is Arthur. just because, who else could it be? unless it's Joon himself and there's time travel/ancestor simulation shenanigans, which I can't rule out, because ratfic. either way we've been told this is some kind of simulated Joon, which is a cute sinister spin on what 'levelling up mental stats' could mean.

right now Joon is working under the assumption that Arthur got isekaied before him and assumed the character of great king Uther, which is the conclusion the scenario is strongly pointing towards, and also yes Arthur literally got run over by a truck, very funny. but I think either Arthur did the become-a-god thing, or wrote this scenario to give Joon the impression that he got isekaied. Joon's memories of Arthur give us a sense of his general affect, but not so much his motivations beyond their shared enthusiasm for D&D, so who knows why he'd cook this up?

Joon's entire life seems like it revolved around D&D, and it seems like a welcome escape for him given what hints we have about his parents. the helicopter thing is mentioned twice now, but in a weirdly indirect way - Joon calls it part of his 'backstory' and seems indignant that the narrative isn't giving him the opportunity to show that he can fly a helicopter, but none of his flashbacks have involved helicopters - one of many ways he acts more like a character operated D&D player than a person trapped in a potentially deadly situation. another is his indifference towards violence - he will say he vaguely morally dislikes killing (the undeserving), but at this point he and his party have racked up a kill count comparable to 'famous sniper in WWII', and he seems only mildly bothered by the game system likening him to a potential Hitler. I assume the story is doing something with this, since it keeps asking us to pay attention to artifice.

the romance subplot is kind of eh to me. Fenn and Amaryllus aren't badly drawn characters at all, but they feel kind of like Bioware companions - perhaps not helped by the fact the 'game layer' treating them exactly as such. Tiff, who is very likely drawing on memories of a real person, feels a lot more solid - she could very easily have been just a shallow 'sjw' archetype, but the author does a great job of avoiding that, and her worldview and interests come across as thoughtful and genuine. but mostly it's kind of hetero and straightforward and loses me. I kind of want Joon to figure out he's bi, if only because throwing him for a loop on sexuality might make his narration a little less dry lol.

I actually reached the quote that prompted me to read this book, which involved manipulating someone's body with blood magic, but if the story is going to lean into any interestingly messed up dimension of this, it hasn't yet. the abundance of magical healing does allow the fights to have a good level of blood and guts nastiness to them, but... Charity once wrote a fantasy story with the injury-transfer damage sponge concept and went really hard with it, but by contrast this story generally steers clear of the kind of very intimate cruelty that involved, which is... ok, I can't say 'a shame', it's not fair to ask a story to be a completely different kind of story. this is a self-insert story about clever plans and figuring out mysteries, i knew what i was signing up for.

there's at least a real preponderance of magic systems, most of which involve Body Stuff in some way - the most recent battle had a 'pustule mage', the MC is always using blood and bones, although using bones really fucked him up. the 'game' abstraction and its precisely enumerated drops of blood takes away a bit of the impact this could have had, but I do appreciate the creativity. in a similar way, I appreciate the semi-modern magitek setting where everything is powered by souls. most litrpg I've encountered goes for a pretty boring kitchen-sink fantasy setting, occasionally with a little turn of the century Violet Evergarden flavour, or 'wwii with magic' in that one unfortunate case... whereas this definitely feels like something a creative D&D player would come up with.

anyway I guess I'm like 20% of the way in, and probably in it for the long haul by now. if he's just getting with Fenn now, I'd have reason to expect she'll die even if I hadn't been spoiled on that. maybe that will screw Joon up a bit more. and I hope things continue to get weirder and more chaotic with off-the-wall plans and magic item interactions, that's a more satisfying progression than just numbers going up.

all in all my feeling is like... I'm taking a lot on trust, mr. alexander "cthulhuraejepsen" wales. show me you're going somewhere with all this! but i guess it's in me if it doesn't - I've been disappointed by isekai so many times, yet i keep coming back lmao

continuing to read Worth the Candle, circa ch43.

this continues to clear the bar of being an actually interesting litrpg isekai and also (sigh) ratfic, which I didn't realise at first, but i saw an article on the author's blog which named it as such - which mostly seemed to mean 'fiction which spends a lot of words on thought processes' - but now a little of that bayesian stank is getting in there. but nevertheless, well first it's About Grief in a way that's written in a way that feels raw and genuine enough that it resonates; chapter 42 in which are shown how the protagonist went to pieces has some particular insights on what it's like, thinking particularly of

Looking back, I have to wonder how much of Reimer being a dick to me was just him trying to process the grief in his own way, in the same way that I started to lash out at pretty much everyone around me for every little slight, or anything that could possibly be interpreted as disrespect to Arthur. I was his best friend, and he was mine, that was how I saw myself after his death, and I applied as much paint to our relationship as possible, until it was sometimes hard to remember that I’d been anything but a perfect friend.

and it makes me think like. i wasn't one of Fall's closest friends by any means, indeed for most of this year she wasn't speaking to me for complicated psychosis reasons, and although we'd started to rebuild things at the end and i was really looking forward to spending more time with her, the huge public show of grief I made - it was genuine, but i was certainly partly grieving that i hadn't done a better job of being "Fall's friend" when she was alive.

and second is the author has clearly spent many years reading the same sorts of D&D board I grew up on, so the metafiction aspect builds on a familiar suite of concepts and is thus quite compelling. the author's game design digressions are on point.

and third, or I guess continuation of second, I'm in a very well run D&D game at the moment which is like, highlight of every week no question, so it's on the brain. this is unapologetically a self insert story, but that results in the author/MC's D&D games and the thought and passion he puts into them ringing very true.

it's way longer than it needs to be, I think, and puts little attention on prose styling - it's perfectly serviceable, and does have a recognisable voice, but mostly just 'gets the job done'. the ratfic angle means a great deal of time is spent analysing, planning and deliberating in enormous detail, which doesn't stop people whining in the comments.

but the virtue its prose does have is that it's frictionless. I'm like a little under a fifth of the way in, which means I've read about a sizable novel already, but it really doesn't feel like it.

speaking of which, I've never seen a more condescending set of AO3 commentators. it seems like litrpg attracts a certain kind of reader who isn't shy about saying they think the MC is unbearably stupid, and then backseating the writing in general and the character's build decisions, which seems an absurd thing to get hung up on.

the way this kind of thing works, you've got the small scale series of arcs - 'how will the character solve this problem' - and the longer mystery arc - 'what is revealed about the System underlying it all' - but all of that is just kind of arbitrary really, because what it's really about is the gradual unfolding of theme and character.

why does Juniper have to fight a unicorn? because his reasons for designing 'unicorn as possessive, controlling man with timeline alteration' gives insight into his relationship with Tiff, and more generally serves as an illustrative example of the reasons we play D&D and write fiction. because that's one of the things the story is quite overtly talking about. oh, but you'd better write another post about how the protagonist is unsympathetic because he didn't put a point in luck lmao

anyway i think this is kind of what Baru Cormorant might look like if Seth was less ambitious and of course a less ruthlessly demanding editor. this might seem like an odd comparison because Seth's prose is punchy, poetic and rich with information and Baru is a grand epic about imperialism etc. with a highly driven protagonist, while the characters in WtC spend most of their time trying to solve the problems their last adventure caused and it's a more personal story. but the reason I draw it is that both wear their themes on their sleeves, both seem to be written by caring and passionate people with 'approximate knowledge of many things', both are shaped by desires to write fiction which approaches character in a certain way, both prefer to communicate directly rather than dissemble through subtext and implication... maybe it's just that the image of each author i receive through the text is someone i think i can understand.

anyway no more tonight i must sleep.

#worth the candle #fiction #novels

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thephantomcasebook · 2 years ago

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I’m a pretty casual fan of ASOIAF, Lord of the Rings is more my style, but I’ve been reading some of the lore recently and I’m absolutely delighted by how many parallels and clear inspirations GRRM took from Arthurian legend. Aemond in particular caught my attention because he bears such a striking resemblance to Mordred in so many ways in terms of his role in the narrative. Mutual kill with his uncle? Check. Close relationship with an evil sorceress? Check. Mommy issues? Check. Doomed by the historical narrative? Check. Are you a fan of Arthurian legend? What are your thoughts?

Same.

I'm pretty steeped in ASoIF lore - though Martin continues to change the lore at convenience - but I'm a bigger Tolkien fan and nerd than G.R.R. Martin. Especially Tolkien's First Age Stories like "Beren and Luthien" & "Children of Hurin".

"Beren & Luthien" might be the greatest story ever told. Around Christmas I put that chapter on when I'm out doing Christmas shopping and when I'm out on my Birthday.

And "Children of Hurin" is one of my favorite books of all time - the audiobook as read by Christopher Lee is beyond epic. And has been one of the biggest influences on my writing.

As for Arthurian Legend, I grew up on it. My old man was a geek before the word really existed and he was into fantasy. So, I was introduced into Knights and Chivalry at a very - very - early age. Especially in the early-2000's when "Lord of the Rings" was big but there wasn't a lot of it available where I lived, my 11-13 year old self's want for Lord of the Rings anything sent me back down into the Arthurian rabbit hole.

I grew up with and still love "Excalibur" and the Merlin Mini-Series from the late-90's that Jim Henson and NBC did.

It's funny you bring up Tolkien and Arthurian Myth because I've written Downton Abbey fanfiction for years and a lot of the story series is based on "The Children of Hurin" by Tolkien and I used archetypes from Arthurian Legend for the characters. I steeped a lot of those Downton Abbey stories in an Arthurian mold and Tolkien sensibilities.

As for Aemond being Mordred.

Oh, you done done it now, my friend.

You got me started.

If I might expand your ascertain of Aemond being Mordred.

The way I see it is that Alicent is Guinevere and Criston is Lancelot. Aemond is most definitely Mordred. And Daeron is absolutely Galahad.

I would postulate that both Aemond and Daeron are the sons of Alicent and Criston's duality. Of course, I don't mean literally - but figuratively. They were both born after Alicent and Criston devoted themselves to one another, both were raised by the two, and both look at Criston is more of a father than Viserys. Unlike say Aegon and Helaena. Both Aemond and Daeron see Alicent and Criston as their parents.

Much like Mordred, I see Aemond as sort of the manifestation of all of Alicent and Criston's sins of envy and lust, not just of Rhaenyra's transgressions, but of their want for one another. Aemond bears Criston's hatred and Alicent's anger. He is a creation, a creature, of that darker and more human side of a virtuous and righteous idealistic veneer.

While, much like Galahad, Daeron embodies the ennobling features of Criston and Alicent's relationship. He is the dutiful and virtuous figure that his mother strives to be and the stalwart and just warrior that Criston tries to maintain. Making him the noblest of all knights.

While Aemond carries Alicent and Criston's humanity and flaws

Daeron bears their idealism and dreams.

The two showing the almost duality of their parent's two natures as a whole.

#House of the Dragon #Alicent Hightower #Criston Cole #Aemond Targaryen #Alicole #alicent x criston #Daeron Targaryen #Arthurian Legend #Arthurian Mythology

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utilitycaster · 3 years ago

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I fully agree with your Jester Growth Opinions and unsurprisingly I'm very interested in hearing about your thoughts on Jester and Essek as narrative foils

Sure! Honestly I feel someone, and I think it may have been you, made the point that Jester's morality is "you can be evil as long as you're not evil to me/consequences don't really matter as long as our friends are okay" and Essek's episode 97-99 morality was like "I'm not...not evil yet, per se, but I feel terrible about being evil to you" which is what got me thinking about their characters more generally. It's definitely less pronounced and very different from the Caleb and Essek parallels - it's a lot more complementary than the same, I guess?

Anyway, they're both initially very much defined by two things, for me: a pretty lax attitude towards the consequences of their fairly self-interested actions (in Jester's case, it's much more a pampered only child behavior, vs. Essek's outright selfishness), and very, very deep need to appear as though they know what's going on and having the situation under control

It's funny because I think most people's obvious reference for "character who wants you to think it's all under control" is often, well, kind of cold, remote, and arrogant like our first impressions of Essek . Jester is a pretty unique portrayal of like, the popular girl who is in way over her head, because usually stories about that archetype either focus one very specific and somewhat external reason why she's in over her head and don't really explore the character beyond that (think like, after school specials) or else they make her extremely bitchy. You rarely get that portrayal in which she's sweet and nice because she's equally terrified of being a disappointment and being disappointed, and also she's just genuinely friendly, even though it feels very real.

It's also funny because despite that shared attitude of "I will do things I deem important to me and not really think through the consequences for anyone outside my small circle, if that" (which in Jester's case is still usually, well, chaotic but morally pretty neutral at worst vs. Essek providing his country an excuse to bring low-level hostilities to a flash point), both have this very real attitude of "only I can [spread the word of the traveler properly/handle the true powers of the Luxon]", like, there is one consequence they do care about and don't trust anyone else to bring about properly, but it's only one.

In the end we see Jester's priorities shift and facade fall away in real-time, and she gets a pretty clear priority shift in the form of "okay you've found your dad and it turns out your god does not want his word spread at all, so uh...what do you, Jester Lavorre, actually want to do" but we kind of only get the jump for Essek from "I feel terrible about hurting my friends" to "if it is important to you than it is important to me" (vs. Jester who I think truly internalizes that sense of responsibility - she doesn't need it to be important to others to be important to her) and we don't really find out what his new goals may be other than Normal Wizard Curiosity. On the other hand, Essek's facade is sort of just ripped off in episode 97. Jester and Essek are great to contrast because first, Jester starts off in a much different place morally (and in terms of power), and second, Essek, sort of by default as an NPC, doesn't get quite the same agency and development and so he speedruns half of it against his will, and is still in the middle of the other half.

(fwiw I also think this is why it makes sense they end up with people with respectively similar attitudes towards The Facade - you need someone who can recognize it- but who start the story already extremely focused on consequences and end up sort of meeting said people in the middle)

#critical role #jester lavorre #essek thelyss #this is way less coherent than the jester herself post but I did take out some weird digressions

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autumnslance · 3 years ago

Text

About Plagiarism

I left a long, planned essay on Twitter tonight. I will copy the meat of it here for y’all, as recently a friend was copied (a rarer ship in the fandom, so very noticeable by the writer and their regular beta reader) and it seems we need a Talk, kids. Links and screenshots and my rambling underway.

------

Apparently we need to discuss what is and isn’t plagiarism. Especially in FanFic where we're interacting with the same characters, settings, ideas. Let’s start with the dictionary and continue the thread from there (I like the word origin/history personally):

Definition of plagiarize

transitive verb : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

intransitive verb : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

The Kidnapping Roots of Plagiarize

If schools wish to impress upon their students how serious an offense plagiarism is, they might start with an explanation of the word’s history. Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.” This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another. When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.

“Ideas” is fuzzy in the Merriam-Webster definition. There are story archetypes that exist in many forms. Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth/Hero's Journey outlines many famous stories. And it's popular to say that ��Avatar” is “Dances with Wolves” is “Pocahontas” is “The Last Samurai” etc.

But note how while those films have similar plotlines--”Military Guy falls for Native woman, learns to appreciate her Culture, stands up to Evil Bosses”--none of them execute those ideas in the same way. Sully’s story is different from Dunbar’s not just cuz one’s a Science Fiction epic and the other a Western. Disney's “Pocahontas” Very Loosely takes history and uses the same story beats. The Last Samurai uses the Meiji era Westernization. Same ideas, different executions, even beyond settings.

None of these are plagiarizing each other though the ideas are similar. They’re told in their own ways, own language; both in the genres they belong to (Western, Pseudo-History, SciFi, Animated) and how characters interact with each other and settings. Original dialogues (variable quality).

We also see this in books as similar novel plots get published in waves so we end up with bunches of post-apocalypse teen revolutionaries or various vampires or lots of young wizard stories all at once. Sometimes ideas just happen like this; multiple discovery, simultaneous invention, concurrent inspiration, cognitive emergence are all phrases I’ve seen for it. So it happens in original content as well, and legality gets fuzzy (Also why you don't send authors your fanfic ideas).

In existing properties, this gets trickier but even “Elementary”’s Holmes and Watson are nothing like the BBC’s “Sherlock” characters. Who are nothing like other versions of the Detective and his Doctor pal over the decades in various media properties.

FanFic's in a similar position where like Sherlock Holmes we play with the same characters, setting, and storyarcs but give our own spin to them. People can and will have similar ideas about plots. Trick is to use your own words. Take the characters and make the story your own.

I have a good example courtesy of @raelly-writing. We both ship Wolcred. We both wrote soft post-Paglth’an scenes with Thancred and our WoLs. Both features the couples helping each other undress, examining injuries, bathing, bantering. My fic was written soon after 5.5 part 1 came out. Dara’s is much more recent. Yet at no point reading hers did I feel she was copying my words. The PoVs differ. Our characters focus on different things. Mine has a mini-arc concerning the Nutkin.

The links for comparison’s sake (and maybe leave kudos/comments if so inclined please and thanks). Note while the scenes are very similar no phrases are written in the same way. Mine: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25417882/chapters/76059467 Dara’s: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26067565/chapters/81832915

Dara and I both hang out in certain Discords and I know conversations about Thancred and WoL caring for each other post-battle has come up in those channels and we've both participated. It’s a stock FanFic scene to boot. Cuz it's soft and feels warm and snuggly.

I HAVE been copied before, back in WoW. My case is pretty clear cut so here are the images of my old RP Haven profile (1st, old RP website) and the plagiarist’s RSP (2nd, an in game mod to share descriptions and basic info).

This was a decade ago on Shadow Council and I think the character deleted so any Availa’s in WoW now aren’t the same person. I left the names to point out what changed. Just the names and a word or 2 to make sense for the class changes as well. Otherwise lifted directly from my RP profile.

The funny part is how the person got caught. Literally walked into our weekly RP Guild meeting that I was running and asked to join. Folks noticed right away the similar backstory; after all there may have been more Outland-born Azerothians. My initial excitement at a character I could weave into our story turned to gut-twisting rage and grief as I recognized my own exact words though. Words I’d carefully crafted and constantly iterated on to improve over time (before and after this incident, until the site died).

When caught they tried to claim their significant other had leveled the character for them and made up the backstory based on Skyrim. If you know WoW’s Outland story and Skyrim’s plot you know how ridiculous that is. Also tried to lie about other drama I knew about thanks to roommate's characters but hey. I had to be blunt that I’d shared the info with Haven mods and other guild officers Alliance and Horde. That we would not “laugh about this” one day though lucky this was “just” RP not original or academic work. Cuz if it'd been monetized or academic I would've raked them through the coals.

I felt violated. Hurt. Had anxiety attacks. They took MY WORDS and tried to claim them as theirs. Have another character born in Outland trained by Draenei; Awesome! Our characters have an instant connect in similarities and differences of that experience. Don’t steal my characters wholesale!

Then the audacity of trying to come into my guild as if no one would notice. ShC wasn’t a large server by then, still active but not nearly Wyrmrest Accord or Moon Guard big. My character was well known due to my writing and RP. Speaking of how easy it is to get caught in specific spaces...A case of a self-published novelist getting noticed for plagiarizing fanfic was discovered recently (explicit erotica examples through the thread).

One way they got noticed was how much content they put out in only a year, lifted from fandom. The examples in Kokom’s threads show how the material was altered but still recognizable. In some cases, just the names are changed as in my experience. In other passages more has changed but you can still see the bones of the original fic poking through in the descriptions and character interactions, even with adjustments made.

Similar ideas happen. Similar plots exist. Same 'ships with friends are fun! In FanFic we’re working with the same material. It’s possible to write a similar scene differently. To make that scene and characters your own. All we’re asking is not to copy others' words. Others' characters. Others' specific phrases and descriptions used to bring those words, those characters, to life. Use your own. In the end you’ll be happier.

I get wanting to have what the perceived “popular people” have. I get seeing concepts others succeed with and wanting some of that too. We all get a bit jealous now and then for various reasons. Sometimes we don't even realize it, consciously. But do it in your own way. Maybe check to see if you’re getting a bit too close to the “inspiration” you admired, maybe reread often. Don’t hurt your fellow creatives. If you do and get caught don’t try to double down. Have the grace to be abashed at least and work to do better. Eventually you WILL get caught. All it takes is once to throw all else you've done into question. Ao3 doesn’t take kindly to plagiarists. Nor do a lot of fan communities focused on writing and RP. Getting back that trust is hard. The internet doesn’t forget easily, for good or ill.

#writing #blogging #about me #social media #plagiarism #fanfiction #Ao3

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