#but honestly i think this shows what the series thinks about police a lot better than | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

formulaorange · 1 year ago

Text

2023 Fall Anime

This is honestly a loaded season full of new shows based on relatively new manga. Lots to look forward to

Spy x Family - Season 2 One of the most fun SJ series that have come out in a while. Season 1 was killer, high hopes for season 2.

Goblin Slayer 2 I didn't realize they were even making a second season. This was such a killer series. I'm really hoping they don't fall into the many mid-tier fantasy tropes out there in anime right now. I thought the appeal of the show was really Goblin Slayer himself and less about the lackeys along the way. So we'll see how it goes.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End This is definitely one of my highly anticipated series. It's about an elf who was part of the Hero's party and her life after he dies. (Since elves live longer) Definitely a darker take on fantasy but has some really solid fantasy and adventure vibes.

Rising of the Shield Hero - Season 3 Season 2 was pretty disappointing and slow. While this looks like it'll be more fast paced, it does look like a tournament arc of sorts. I know some aren't a fan of that kind of arc, but honestly I think it's exactly what this series needs to pick things up again. We'll see.

The Faraway Paladin - Season 2 This was legitimately one of my favourite fantasy series. I thought it was really well written and didn't rush things like other series. I'm looking forward to this season.

Sequels/Continuations: Eminence in Shadow - Season 2 killer series with an anti-hero main character. Definitely worth checking out. After-School Hanako-Kun Hanako-kun spin off Dr. Stone Season 3 - Part 2 One of the best novel concept series with nothing else in it's genre to compare to. Definitely didn't drop the ball on the recent seasons and still worth watching. Dead Mount Death Play - Part 2 One that I didn't particularly enjoy, but has a decent sized manga following. Tokyo Revengers - Tenjiku Arc The continuation of the series. Might be just me but it feels like the series fell off after the first season. The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent - Season 2 A more mature take on fantasy isekai that just started to get into romance at the end of last season. A solid combo of shoujo genres. The Ancient Magus' Bride - Season 2 Part 2 One that I haven't had a change to check out yet but have only heard good things about. Hypnosismic - Season 2 a weirdly addictive musical/rap series. Unique characters and honestly solid rap battles. One I'll be enjoying. -- Related - Paradox Live - Music battle with what looks to be the same style of animation and solid character design. Definitely worth looking at if you're a fan of Hypmic. The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse A sequel of SDS. Looks like it could be a fun watch for the fans of the series. New:

Shangri La Frontier A new manga fantasy series. This may be a horrible way to describe but it is what it is - a new age SAO- full dive fantasy game. A gamer who only plays shit games, gets into a new massively popular MMORPG and is op. One that I'm excited for because it ticks all the fantasy game boxes I like.

Undead Unluck A relatively new manga series that gained a lot of traction in the last year or two. A gory action comedy that's super chaotic and a lot of fun.

Shy Brand new hero manga series about a shy girl and her anxieties and struggles going into the hero world who grows and gains confidence as she becomes a better hero.

Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions This is a manga series that I have kept forgetting the name of so never got a chance to read but all the covers for the manga look phenomenal. Likely the anime doesn't do him justice but it is what it is. Essentially sherlock in anime form. A PI with issues and the wholesome police detective work together to solve crime. Other New Series: Green - Fantasy Pink - Romance Red - Action Purple - Drama The Kingdoms of Ruins A world where witches were hunted down by humans as science surpassed magic. A kid who was raised by a witch swears revenge on mankind. This honestly looks solid. The animations are very cool looking and the mc seems to be an anti-hero. Will be looking at this one. Under Ninja A well known manga series about modern ninjas. Definitely a unique series for this season. The Apothecary Diaries A historical medical mystery show. I've heard the name before and I've also only heard good things. Will be worth a watch. A Girl & Her Guard Dog The granddaughter of a crime syndicate goes to highschool out of town and the current young boss lies his way into the same school. Would be cute romance if it weren't for the fact she's 15 and he's 26.. Butareba - The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig What the title says. A girl finds him and the story goes from there. I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness The usual light novel title. Honestly, doesn't seem as yikes as I initially thought, might just be harmless breaking the rules kinda thing. Could be fun, also a Capybara that strikes fear into people's hearts. My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Looks like a wholesome series where an adventurer finds a baby, raises it and she becomes so strong she's busy working all the time. Just a cute father daughter relationship in a fantasy setting about her wanting to come take time to see him but being caught up in OP fantasy battles. Ragna Crimson Dragons vs Humanity - a human and a dragon team up to destroy all the dragons. Action fantasy series. Berserk of Gluttony I honestly added this because I thought it was hilarious. Looks like a combo of knock offs - the Gluttony skill from Tensura (reincarnated as a slime) and the mc being called Fate with the main girl who looks exactly like Sabre. I'll be skipping but its' here so you know.

354 notes · View notes

burningupp · 2 years ago

Text

nine: searching

tw: panic attack! pls don’t read if it triggers you, your mental health very obviously has priority over my stories <3

<<< masterlist >>>

permanent taglist: @sunnytaes @unadulteratedlyunique @alanniys @vantxx95 @sai-kida134 @halesandy @hibuki-chan @goldenhoney-cas @wondering-out-loud @soldierstangirl-blog @txtandroll @3sriracha @snow-pegasus @jwnghyuns @enaluvs @popcatx0

skz taglist: @to-mi-yo @nattisbored @idunnomanmynamewastaken @meowmeowisdaname

series taglist: @sunnibearr @punks-rad @jovialdelusionbouquet @mchslut @vampcharxter @soobin-chois @phobia0325 @lumineeee @thearcher-withglasses @itsallaboutkey @seungminsapuppy @gothmingguk @rindomo @hyunjingin @reighlee-greaves @wannabekris @midnightfury71 @multifandomtrash-dree @kwnshi @wonkiewolfie @kpflyn @lilydaisyyy @jason-peter-n-shitposts

He had no clue where to even look. Music shows generally took place in very large buildings, and those buildings had a lot of windows in a lot of places, as Hyunjin came to find out. He didn’t really know why he was looking for his makeup artist so frantically - sure, she had looked sad, but there was a deep panic spreading through all his limbs which didn’t really make sense.

How had Chan seemed so calm when Y/n walked out? The poor girl was shaking, teary, and it sounded as if she could barely breathe. She was supposed to be one of Chan’s best friends, so how could he just ignore it like that? The distress of a friend had never been something Hyunjin was able to take lightly; not that his makeup artist truly counted as a friend in his case.

He couldn’t ask people who worked in the building if they had seen her for fear of rumors spreading about him dating someone, so he was left with the option of running around the maze-like corridors like a headless chicken. As soon as he spotted a window without anyone sitting by it, he would do a 180 and run back the way he came. He most likely looked insane.

Y/n’s teary eyes kept flashing in his mind, and it made him more and more frantic as time went on. He was climbing stairs three steps at a time, which most likely would result in an injury if he didn’t calm down, but he didn’t care. He was on the eighth floor, panting and sweating like a dog, and if he couldn’t find her here he was going to call the police. She was a small woman, sure, but she couldn’t hide this well, could she?

And then, just when he was losing hope and thinking about how to explain to the police that he was panicking because his makeup artist had been missing for exactly 23 minutes, he found her. She was curled into a ball under a window, holding the sides of her head and heaving like she had just ran a marathon. Honestly, he practically had and he wasn’t panting that badly.

“Hey…” he said softly, and though her body hadn’t exactly been relaxed when he arrived, it tensed up further at the sound of his voice.

The look she sent him broke his heart into a million tiny pieces. She looked afraid, like he was going to yell at her and hurt her and Hyunjin had never hated himself more than he did in that moment. The way she was gasping for breath sounded almost inhuman, and he wondered how she even made it that far if she was in such a horrible state.

He wanted to do anything to help, but he had never struggled with anxiety to this degree and he had no idea what would make things worse or better. Even though Jisung has had issues with anxiety, he never went that deep into it with most of the members and Hyunjin had certainly not wanted to push.

It felt awkward to just stand there and stare at someone who was very clearly in distress. So, testing the waters, he took a gentle step towards the hyperventilating woman in the corner. She shrunk in on herself as well as she could, and he sunk into a squat, still a few steps away from her.

“Y/n?” he said gently, and was met with nothing but continued gasps for air that seemed like it would never reach her lungs. He waited a few seconds. “Can I sit next to you? I-I promise I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, but I figured you wouldn’t want to be… alone.”

Again, nothing but heaving gasps, but she didn’t react or tense up in any way when he stepped closer, so Hyunjin took a seat a foot or so away from her. He rested his head against the wall, his legs crossed and silently watching Y/n struggle.

He hated it. He hated himself for upsetting her, for making her uncomfortable, for being such a judgemental baby, and most of all for never having paid attention to what people needed while having panic attacks. He didn’t know much, but at least he knew that’s what this was. Panic.

“Do you-” at his words the woman tensed up again, so Hyunjin fell silent. Then he decided that it was okay, that maybe if he said the right thing, she would feel better. He took a deep breath. “I’m not very good with this whole thing,” he started. “I’ve never really experienced a situation like this. Jisung had some issues with anxiety, but I’m sure you knew that already. He never came to me with it, though. He mostly went to Felix and Chan hyung.”

Y/n said nothing, just kept gulping down whatever oxygen she could - way too fast, Hyunjin knew, and he was surprised she hadn’t passed out yet. Glad she hadn’t, but surprised nonetheless. He didn’t know what else to say, and reached out a hand to place on her head. She tensed up and let out a sob-like sound, and Hyunjin pulled his hand away like he had just gotten burned.

He wanted to give her something to focus on other than her apparent panic, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t know if it would work, either, but he figured that to stop panicking she would have to stop thinking about the fact that there was something to panic about. He racked his brain for something to say, something to catch her attention, and came up with absolutely nothing.

Except… She had been able to hear him and at least somewhat process what he was saying, right? So what if he gave her something to listen to? And really, he was a singer, wasn’t he? Well, singer, rapper… whatever he was, his job was giving people all around the world something to listen to.

So, he did what he does best and started to sing. He was singing their latest title track - really, he had to warm up for the performance anyway, right? - for a good thirty seconds before he heard something from the woman next to him.

She was laughing.

She was still breathing heavily, and he most definitely spotted some tears on her cheeks, but she was laughing. Because of him. He stopped singing, and she laughed harder. He was unsure as to what was so funny, but really, he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything other than the fact that she was no longer panicking and he was the reason for that. She could laugh at him all she wanted, as long as she calmed down enough to get her breathing back to normal.

After a minute or two, her breathing started going down enough to be considered at least somewhat normal, and she straightened her back a bit, wiping her tears off her face. Then she looked at Hyunjin and smiled softly, and his stomach moved in a way he couldn’t quite place.

“You’re terrible at helping people when they have a panic attack,” she said jokingly, looking down at her lap where she was picking at her nails.

“I know,” he answered, smiling softly. “It worked though, didn’t it?”

“That it did,” she mumbled, looking back up at him. “I’m sorry for just leaving, I was just not prepared for all those people, and cameras, and-”

For a second, Hyunjin feared that she would work herself up into another panic attack, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, grabbing her necklace and fiddling with it. He observed her quietly, wanting to learn anything and everything he could about her habits and moods.

“Anyway, that entire situation was just a lot for me. I’m sorry, it was unprofessional of me and I will do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again, I promise,” she finally finished.

He blinked at her in disbelief. Why was she apologizing? It wasn’t her fault that she had trouble handling large crowds of people. If she was unprepared for a situation like that, it would obviously be overwhelming and unpleasant, and that wasn’t something she had to apologize for.

“That’s okay,” he said gently, pushing her softly with his elbow. “If you ever need a break, just let me know. I know I’m not Chan hyung, and I don’t know you quite as well as he does, but I still care about you and your comfort.”

At his words, she smiled so brightly he almost felt blinded, and his stomach did that thing again. This time a little more violently. He should probably go to the doctor if it kept up.

“Oh my god,” Y/n suddenly gasped, grabbing Hyunjin’s jaw gingerly and turning his head back and forth a few times. “I have to fix your makeup, Christ. What did you do, run across the entire country?”

“Felt like it,” he joked, grinning impishly.

She suddenly released his jaw, blushing furiously and looking down at her lap again. “I’m so sorry! I should have asked before touching you, I-”

“Hey, it’s okay. You were doing your job.” He assured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he took it out to see at least twenty text messages and two missed calls from his members. His eyes widened and he turned it to show Y/n, who immediately let out a shriek and shot to her feet.

“Shoot, we have to go fix you up! Let’s go!”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway. His arm felt like it was going to be pulled out of its socket, but somehow, he didn’t mind all that much.

429 notes · View notes

cellsshapedlikestars · 2 months ago

Note

do you plan out your stories in advanced or do you just start writing and hope for the best? I'm trying to get back into writing but I always end up completely deviating from any plan I made beforehand

My writing process is chaos, anon.

For a tl;dr: I just start writing and hope for the best

For a longer explanation of my process, see below the cut. Also, I feel dumb saying this, but spoilers for my own fics, especially the mysteries (which are better examples for plot planning than my romcoms)

1a) I get an idea, something super basic. Like, "time travel murder mystery" or "Sansa and Jon reluctant roommates". The idea then usually forms into a series of scenes or one particular scene in my head - for example: Sansa is dead, Jon goes to her funeral, later is questioned by police as a suspect, then time travel. Or, Sansa is already having a bad day and arrives at her brother's house only to find he's also letting his friend stay there and they were both unaware & kinda pissed about it, which starts them on the wrong foot as she threatens him with a knife.

1b) OR I watch a piece of media, go "wow they fumbled this great premise hard and I want to fix all the things I didn't like" and then I take the inciting incident and build my own story from there. (See: Doona. Business proposal is different, I actually liked the show, but Jon and Sansa did not fit the main leads' personalities so I had to change everything after the inciting incident. Plus I just find it more fun to come up with my own story than following the source material to a T)

2) this idea does not leave my brain, even if I want it to. I don't think you can force this step, tbh

3) I write a first chapter to get the idea/scene out of my head so I can get back to writing the story I'm already in the middle of. I post the chapter to exorcise it from my mind

4) this does not work

5) People in the comments are excited, which makes me excited! I obsessively think about it until I have a vague idea of how I want the story to go. Usually I have an end goal and some important story beats. Nothing is set in stone, and 99% of the time I don't even bother writing an outline, because I know I won't stick to it. The only "outlines" I make are just a string of ideas in the general order I want them to go in

6) I think of scenes I want, then work backwards to how to connect them

7) when I write a chapter, I know what I want the chapter end to be/the cliffhanger, and I write until I get there. Only once or twice have I had to cut chapters in two, but I try not to do this, even if the chapter ends up being pretty long.

8) sometimes you have to throw away ideas/scenes you thought were set in stone. Sometimes you start writing and those scenes Do Not Work anymore, and that's ok

For example, in mongrel heart, there was supposed to be this big, super dramatic showdown with Ramsay, like this big action movie scene. But when I got there, it felt totally wrong for the vibe of the story, so I went with a more intimate/personal final fight. The scene I had envisioned was totally gone. I had to add Oberyn kind of at the last minute, because I had come up with this elaborate world in the background, and needed to wrap that up.

For you on the run, I wrote the first chapter because "Sansa is kidnapped in a library" would not leave my head. I then posted it and had to scramble to come up with a plot. I knew the why, I knew I wanted it to be for Sansa's own safety, but WHO is out for her? I honestly don't think I decided for certain until she's back in winterfell.

In help me out of the shape I'm in, the bad guy was going to be ol' Bobby B, until I started writing chapter 4 when it switched to Joffrey because I had started fleshing out that case more and liked the horror of it being someone Sansa had "dated" more

Anyway, the gist is, I write as I go, and I go where the story takes me as I write. I'll be completely honest and say that a lot of the time, the excitement in the comments makes me excited to write and fuels my creativity. (this can backfire though. The few bitchy/negative comments on trojan horse kinda ruined the momentum for me on that one, which is why I'm not as actively writing it, despite REALLY liking it and thinking those comments were kinda dumb/narrow minded. And I'm not even talking about the rando anon who seems to have made it their mission to be negative on multiple jonsa fics, those people I don't even take into account. It was the ones from people who CANNOT escape a POV trap and make me so frustrated that I don't want to write anymore lol. I feel like how grrm must feel in these moments). But yes, the basic gist is: chaos and my obsessive brain that needs a creative outlet

I know this method isn't for everyone. I know there are authors out there who write an outline before they ever write a sentence, and they post their first chapter with the chapter count already out, bold and confident in their outline. This is not me. I could never aspire to this level of control

Anon, I hope you keep trying! Write those stories! Be creative! Remember the number one rule of fic: it's FUN, so have fun and write what YOU would want to read!

#cellsshapedlikeasks #as usual got really long winded #but i also feel like i don't talk about my behind the scenes & reasoning all that often #or even my personal thoughts on certain fics & how I feel about them and the decisions I made #so i got wordy #may delete it all later but who knows #i'm trying to get better at not doing that

10 notes · View notes

mabith · 4 months ago

Note

I also love Sister Boniface Mysteries, series 3 was fantastic and I'm rewatching the entire show all over again and MFMM is one of my top shows as well! I actually haven't watched Father Brown, but I was considering it because I'm looking for more shows like Sister Boniface - what other detective/mystery shows would you recommend? :D

Father Brown was never amazing, but I think after Sister Boniface it just feels even worse, so I kind of wouldn't recommend it unless you have it on as background maybe (there are some fun side characters and Mark Williams is perfect in the role). In particular the moralizing is meh (Father Brown is all about letting the murderer go to the police themselves and repent and YAWN). The earlier seasons were better, I think, but now my mind is so taken up with Sister Boniface it's hard to remember.

The first seven or eight seasons of Murdoch Mysteries were quite fun (starts out in 1895). It features a lot of actual historical figures in random episodes, and the side characters are just so great. Good bit of humor, Murdoch is always inventing modern things decades ahead of schedule. There is also an annoying recurring pseudo villain and it seems to be a prerequisite that Murdoch is accused of murder most seasons.

There's a not-quite spin off related to it, Frankie Drake Mysteries, more in the vein of Miss Fisher and also set in Toronto but in the 1920s. Definitely nowhere near the same quality as Miss Fisher but some fun stuff especially in the first couple seasons.

Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries was fairly fun as well. The mysteries were incredibly easy to solve, but it was a neat set up and I enjoyed the main character a lot.

The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries was a short-lived late-1990s show set in the 1920s, which I really liked. Only five episodes, but quality. Plus it's Diana Rigg.

Poirot is the classic, of course, and always a comfort watch for me. I mention out of acknowledgement that I am older than a lot of Tumblr. Of the newer Marple series, the first three seasons with Geraldine McEwan were good but if you're very familiar with Christie's works the cannibalizing of other stories and turning them into Marple stories can be annoying. The actress who succeeded McEwan just wasn't right for Marple at all and I stopped watching it (Miss Marple is a curious and vaguely menacing heron, the second actress was a field hockey coach).

If you're up for something in Chinese (with English subtitles) and not picky about historical accuracy in clothing, vehicles, etc..., Detective L is stupid fun (it's on free on WeTV and also Youtube but I think the Youtube one will have areas where the sound is cut). 1930s Shanghai, eccentric brilliant detective (and devastatingly handsome if you're into that), slightly dopier sidekicks, lots of humor. I honestly can't remember how the actual mysteries hold up, but every three episodes is one mystery arc and after ignoring the opening, previously on, etc... they're quite short episodes. You want to only watch up to episode 21 because they were banking on a second season which they did not get so the last three episodes are a cliffhanger and related to a wider mystery and who needs that. I'm a little biased because the lead actor is one of my favorite Guys, but I loved it.

The 2001 Nero Wolfe series was fun (another 1920s-30s), but I've also read all the original books so I'm not sure how much that makes a difference. No idea how it would feel to someone going in without knowledge of the books.

Bletchley Circle was an interesting one, far more harrowing than any of these others, and as you may gather I'm mostly into Fun Times.

For modern-set mysteries I'm quite devoted to Jonathan Creek.

#mystery TV #Sister Boniface Mysteries #I am not good at keeping up with TV so there may be loads of more recent shows I just don't know about #but then you see lists of period mysteries that have Peaky Blinders on it and like bro that is not a mystery #and again I'm a Fun Times watcher - I require humor like it's my blood because my life is fucking harrowing enough thank you very much

8 notes · View notes

k7l4d4 · 6 months ago

Text

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 22

Alright, now onto the episode where we are supposed to sympathize with Andre! Emphasis on "supposed to."

There are several things I could focus on with this episode. I could call attention to the show arbitrarily trying to have Caline attempt to reach out to Chloe only to get her gesture slapped away, despite the prior episode having her "realize there isn't any good in her" at the end. We could focus on how Gabe is once more being painted as sympathetic, alongside Nathalie, because of videos from Emilie, despite the fact that they've known about those videos all this time and knowingly chose to go against her wishes anyway, even though they had known for YEARS that she was going to die. There is a lot I could focus on.

But no, what I'm going to focus on is the episode trying to depict Andre as sympathetic and honestly failing. This episode tries to double-down on the idea that Andre secretly isn't a bad guy... but that's wrong. No matter how pushy or bratty his daughter and wife might be, Andre is a grown man, one that has basically been mayor longer then the majority of the cast has been alive, with his wife spending ninety percent of her time overseas, long enough that she had a kid with someone else (not that the series ever acknowledges this!!).

This episode tries to frame Andre as having no choice but to obey Chloe's whims... and anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, who has kids should know that that is a load of horse shit. Andre goes out of his way in this episode to downplay or ignore his actions, and treats his running away from the consequences of his own actions as some noble deed, rather then cowardice. His claims that "City Hall is no longer for sale" is a farce; by abandoning his position, he is, if anything, making it MORE vulnerable because there is no guarantee that whoever replaces him won't be able to be manipulated, and he's leaving all the damage he inflicted on the city over the course of his tenure in place. The man is a coward, and a social parasite of the highest order.

Beyond that, I think it's time to get onto the review. There is too much to go over and too little that I can use to accurately express my frustration. I hope you aren't disappointed, but please mind the profanity.

Episode 22: Collusion

Alright, we open with Gabe monologuing to his wife, once again ignoring how he's going against her wishes for his own selfish inability to let go and move the fuck on with his life, WHY DO WE KEEP DOING THIS SHIT!?!? Also, he mentions something about a cycle. Now, if this were a better written story, this might hint towards there being some kind of time loop going on, or what have you... but it's not, and I've got no fucking clue what this asshole means.

Considering we literally had it revealed this Season that Emilie explicitly DID NOT WANT HIM to pursue the Miraculouses in her name, him saying he swore in her name that he would reunite them feels disgusting on multiple levels. He is explicitly using her as justification for his own obsession, with no regard for the harm he's caused his son in the process. Get bent, asshole.

And now we get Nathalie watching the videos from Emilie who is trying to justify Gabe's actions by how he just gets too focused on his goals and that he's doing it all to make his wife happy, all while ignoring how this season has literally shown Gabe ignoring his son's happiness on every level and trying to dictate his life. You can't try and paint a man as being haunted by his actions and driven beyond belief in the sake of those he cares about while ALSO having him act as a direct and deliberate obstacle towards the happiness of his only child!! Also, Nathalie is far too late to start giving a shit about Gabe's actions, especially as she's refusing to bite the bullet and just TELL THE POLICE WHAT HE'S BEEN DOING ALL THIS TIME. Seriously, STOP TRYING TO FUCKING PORTRAY NATHALIE AS SOME KIND OF MOTHER FIGURE FOR ADRIEN!! SHE HAS STOOD BY AND ENABLED ALL OF GABE'S BULLSHIT ALL THIS TIME!! THEY HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THESE VIDEOS ALL THIS TIME SO ALL HER WATCHING THEM IS DOING IS HER THROWING A FUCKING PITY PARTY FOR HERSELF!!! GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!

Now we get a montage of Adrien and Marinette spending their morning together through a video call. If it's meant to be sweet or cute, it's kinda undermined by the fact that being that fixated on your phone, up to the point of dragging it with you while you are brushing your teeth, is NOT healthy. Oh, and then we get Adrien walking into his kitchen where Gabe asks him if he's told Marinette about him moving to London... and for all that's good and decent in this world, I cannot fucking get WHY THE IDEA OF A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP DOESN'T OCCUR TO THEM. Seriously, they are literally showing off one of the premiere methods of making a long-distance relationship work, VIDEO CALLS!!! It would honestly be more impactful to focus on how him moving to London would impact his abilities to be a superhero, or how it means he won't be able to hang out with his friends like Nino and the rest anymore, not just fixating on why it's all about him and Marinette!!

"I'm doing this for your happiness," he says as if he hasn't literally threatened his son's girlfriend into breaking things off with him and dictates who his son can and can't hang out with. Nathalie offers a token effort of sticking up for Adrien, which I'm ignoring because again TOO FUCKING LATE BITCH. And STOP WITH THE FUCKING PANCAKE METAPHOR!!! IT DIDN'T WORK TO START WITH AND IT JUST SOUNDS STUPID!!!

One thing that kind of baffles me is why Adrien or Plagg think Adrien going to London is something he can refuse. Abusive asshole or not, Gabe is his guardian; if he decides to move Adrien to London, there's nothing he can do to prevent it short of running away. Aaannnddd we get a sappy comment about how him and Marinette will last forever, no matter what. HA!! HAHAH!!! No. Not even gonna pretend to take that seriously, it's too dumb. Also, really dumb thing; Adrien was STILL ON HIS VIDEO CALL when he walked into breakfast, and I didn't see him turn it off before Gabe dropped his bomb, so that should've honestly revealed at least SOMETHING of what is going on to Marinette, yet she doesn't seem to know. Let's see if that changes. And multiple failed attempts at a kiss in a row and I'm gagging; this is dumb. This isn't cute. This is just obnoxious.

WHY THE FUCK ARE THEIR CLASSMATES STILL FIXATED ON THIS!? THEY ARE TOGETHER, MISSION SOLVED, GET OVER IT AND GET TO CLASS!!! THEY AREN'T A LIVING SOAP OPERA FOR YOU TO GAWK AT!!! Rose... sweet, innocent Rose... FUCK OFF. Do NOT DEMAND SOMEONE KISS IN FRONT OF YOU!! THERE IS SO MUCH FUCKING WRONG WITH THAT I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO GET INTO WHY THAT IS WRONG!!! GET A THERAPIST GIRL!!! Also, shut up about the "will seal the eternal love" BS; that isn't how love works, that is not how ANY healthy and lasting relationship works, and you are fucking old enough to know this by now, who the fuck am I kidding, this is the girl who honestly wanted to be a hairstylist for mythological animals!!! I'm honestly half-expecting the reason for this scene is meant to be one of Astruc's terrible attempts to be "in on the joke" by "signaling" to viewers that he fully gets how annoying dragging out the kiss is, but trying to reassure them it's for a good cause. Too bad it's condescending as hell!!

Yeah, the way that Rose is talking really feels like this is badly done meta-commentary, given her gushing about Adrien and Marinette being the "Cutest sweethearts ever" that they've been "waiting forever for." It just plain DOES NOT WORK, because an actual group of people openly and deliberately shipping two people they actually know like that is uncomfortable as hell, and it's the kind of thing that kills a ship for me (there's a reason I don't like Molly x Ollie for TGAMM).

"We're just waiting for the right time!" No, you really aren't seeing as how the two of you literally both tried to kiss each other twice already only to stop when you saw the other person was trying to initiate it. That isn't "waiting for the right time" that's "pussyfooting around something you are well past the point of being able to just fucking DO by now!!"

Now they are doing the stereotypical "no you are" thing. Not cute, that's annoying as fuck. Also, them openly calling each other perfect is disgusting to me, considering how much this series itself has emphasized the toxicity of "perfect" as a concept. Them acting like lovestruck idiots gushing about how "perfect" the other is comes off as a red flag to me, not something sweet and/or entertaining. Even their classmates are fucking sick of it. Once again the show proves it can't do self-awareness to save its life.

Now we are in the classroom and Sabrina is apparently officially "good now," since she chooses to sit next to Nathaniel instead of Chloe. I'm honestly surprised Chloe didn't try and yell at her or anything and just sighed in exasperation. How long before this show makes things worse? And we get the grade-school insults upon seeing Adrien and Marinette, only this time she's focusing on Adrien. They really are committed to having her burn down every possible bridge they can.

Also, the way they are having Marinette confront Chloe by talking about how she was able to get rid of Lila, how she had to leave because of all her lies, while gripping Chloe's desk and looming over her... just the positioning and the way she's talking makes HER come across as the bully. Seriously, there is NO WAY TO MAKE HAVING YOUR PROTAGONIST THREATEN TO DO ALL SHE CAN TO GET SOMEONE KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL LOOK GOOD!!!

Now we get a look at Lila's lair, base, whatever this weird room with a map of Paris and a web of photos connected by strings is supposed to be. It's really disturbing to take in just how much of her life she's apparently willing to waste for... we haven't even been given a MOTIVE FOR HER YET. This isn't just pathetic, this is unhealthy. And we get a scene of Chloe choosing to play music and make a spectacle of herself. She isn't a threat. This, this petulant CHILD is not a threat. WHY IS THIS SHOW SO OBSESSED WITH MAKING HER LOOK LIKE SHE'S A THREAT!? THERE IS NO WAY TO TAKE HER SERIOUSLY AS ONE, SHE IS JUST ANNOYING!!!

Also, as an aside, as someone who has gone to school, any students unironically saying they care about the lesson is sus. On the other hand, them wanting her to quit being distracting is totally in-character; having someone be a jerk and loud is ANNOYING no matter where or when it happens. Also, oddly enough, while she took the wrong thing away from the lesson, she apparently WAS paying attention to it enough to correctly name and describe the subjects of it. It makes it a bit odd why Thomas insists she's dumb; lazy and unmotivated, maybe, but this scene makes it feel like the issue is that she thinks she doesn't need to apply herself. Then again, she's apparently ignorant of the fact that spending money makes it go away, and she can't expect to coast by on her family's collective wealth; as fucking awful as both of her parents are, they at least actually WORK and made their money.

Yup, Ms. Mendeleiev immediately proves to be just as, if not MORE spineless than Damocles. Marinette decides to scold Chloe over causing their pregnant teacher stress (despite her not seeming stressed out in the slightest), instead of Chloe once again abusing her father's authority to bully someone into doing what she wants. Alright, that's a choice I guess. And as meanly as she phrased it, Chloe's right; none of the class can STOP Chloe from abusing her dad's power and authority, only HE CAN.

What makes this stupider is that if Chloe was able to bully her dad into doing shit like this, WHY HASN'T SHE DONE IT BEFORE!?! For fuck's sake, this season has bent over backwards to make it clear that Chloe doesn't give a shit about protecting her reputation or being anything less then a complete and utter fucking pain in the ass, so why the fuck has it taken THIS FUCKING LONG for Caline to "realize" that Chloe is a cheater and a pain in the ass. If she was able to make her dad allow her to get away with playing music in class, WHY HASN'T SHE DONE IT BEFORE NOW!? The big fucking problem with all this is that if Chloe was ALWAYS supposed to be this bad, why hasn't she tried shit like this before?! WHY!?

Oh, and Andre isn't even pretending to give Chloe's whims legitimacy and just tells the school to let her do whatever she wants, and Ms. Mendeleiev keeps proving she's useless. "He's my superior." NO HE FUCKING ISN'T!! THE MAYOR OF PARIS HAS NO AUTHORITY LIKE THIS OVER THE SCHOOLS OF PARIS!! IT WAS LITERALLY A PLOT POINT IN SEASON 2 THAT HE HAS LIMITED ACTUAL AUTHORITY OVER THE SCHOOLS!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!!!

And now Lila has Chloe faking Marinette hurt her... I can see where this is going. And wow, Chloe seriously forgot that she's already been ratted out as a liar to Miss B, this is fucking stupid. And yup, immediately throwing her weight around. And now they are gonna shoot Chloe's one act of genuine kindness towards Miss B in the foot, just like they did everything else. Honestly, them having her try and reach out to Chloe NOW of all times doesn't work, considering that last episode involved her "realizing that Chloe has no goodness in her." FUCK THIS NOISE.

"We all tried to help you." THE FUCK YOU DID!!! YOU HAVE DONE JACK SHIT TO HELP HER!! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN HER MOTHER VERBALLY ABUSED HER ON LIVE TV!? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN CHLOE WAS CHEATING!? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN CHLOE HAS BEEN ABUSING HER DAD'S AUTHORITY FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG!? YOU HAVE NEVER DONE SHIT TO HELP HER, YOU ARE JUST GASLIGHTING HER!! If she wasn't meant to be the bad guy, this would be more disgusting then it already is.

Yada yada, Chloe being awful, Mendeleiev being a spineless worm, Hawkmoth tries an Akumatization, Caline calms herself down. This would be more effective if it weren't for the fact that he successfully Akumatized her LAST TIME despite her not even being the actual fucking target; them introducing the possibility of an Akumatization being rejected was awesome at first, but now it just feels pathetic. Also, them making it look like Bustier's gonna cry doesn't work when her tone of voice NEVER FUCKING CHANGES.

I'm just... I'm literally fast-fowarding so much of this since it's nothing but contrivance. This is bullshit. This is SHIT. I'm just waiting for it to get to the scene where Gabe meets with the Mayor, because so far this is just engineered idiocy, minute after minute of Chloe being a braindead, upper-class twit stereotype who makes me want to punch a wall. There isn't anything emotionally impactful about this, it's just INFURIATING.

Okay, that didn't take too long, and we get the Security Robots. Honestly? For starters, ignoring the fact that Andre does not have the authority to affect Paris' police force in the slightest, getting rid of these things DOES NOT EQUATE TO GETTING RID OF THE POLICE. You CAN have both, and if anything having them work in coordination would be the optimal choice in terms of ensuring that they are following their duties properly.

"It seems like Ladybug and Chat Noir are the ones enforcing the law in Paris." ...What is that even supposed to MEAN!? Outside of blatantly WEIRD stuff like that thing with the flying clone dinos and their patrols, they only deal with supervillain stuff. HOW does dealing with the one thing that NO police force, robotic or otherwise, could handle equate to them "being the ones enforcing the law in Paris." And Hawkmoth HAS MADE TECH CONTROLLING VILLAINS BEFORE IN THE FORM OF ROBUSTUS!!! I'm aware that it's Gabe and Tomoe pushing this, but Andre should KNOW about Robustus, meaning he should have a ready made reason to NOT ACCEPT THEM that doesn't involve badly executed arguments!!!

Seriously, this episode's entire root conflict basically relies on Andre somehow not remembering Robustus. Oh, and now Lila's infiltrating the hotel, which makes no sense as I'm pretty sure that the workers would be able to tell she's not one of them. Blah blah blah, pretentious rich girl sounds from Chloe... Lila using her video camera to spy on them...

Also, how the hell does Andre not realize that letting his daughter talk to him like she's his boss makes him look like a complete and utter loser in front of Tomoe and Gabe?

Lila is literally having Chloe say things she knows will make Gabe want to Akumatize her, clearly these two are criminal masterminds. /s

Wow, Gabe describes Chloe acting like a pretentious little brat as "not being cowardly." Even ignoring how he's clearly only doing this for Akuma reasons, this is fucking stupid.

Andre earns one point for pointing out that trying to ban superheroes is dumb as people love Ladybug and Chat Noir (not even mentioning the impossibility of actually ENFORCING such a ban)... and immediately loses it for not realizing that he has allowed Chloe to get away with PLENTY unreasonable bullshit, so him standing up on not BANNING HER ENTIRE CLASS FROM EVER GOING TO ANY HIGH SCHOOL is utterly toothless. Heck, he's not even standing up to her, as he's literally just standing up to her in the most superficial and tepid way imaginable.

Weird, when Gabe revealed he's taking Adrien out of Paris, even if she almost used her new grade school insult for him, Chloe almost sounded WORRIED about him not being around. I have zero doubts in my mind that if the show bothered to acknowledge this, it'd be because she's "upset at losing a new target to make suffer" or some pretentious shit like that. I feel like I'm using pretentious a lot.

And Andre once again proves to be a completely spineless JOKE when he "promises to do whatever Chloe wants" so she'll stop pestering him. My guy, it is so far past any point where you could salvage your image, you should've shut her down and had the staff take her to her room THE SECOND SHE CAME IN YELLING AT YOU WHILE YOU WERE IN A FUCKING MEETING!!! All admitting you are bowing to her whims does is make you look like a spineless jackass.

Oh, and Lila feeding Chloe's ego by saying that Chloe's engineered temper tantrum was a "real display of power." Yeah, how in the WORLD could Chloe have turned out so awful. /s

We are back to the class, all of them deciding to spend their afternoon at Juleka's place, ROSE SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT THE GODDAMN KISSES!!! Stop "awwwing" over them!! THEY ARE NOT THAT CUTE AS A COUPLE!!!!

And we're back to Gabe and Andre, Gabe's about to confront Andre, what was the fucking point with the scene at the boat?? They start off talking very familiar with each other, implying that they have history beyond both being Rich People In Paris, with Gabe basically pulling a "just trust me bro" to Andre's request for an explanation behind the robots. I'd honestly like one as well; what is even the fucking point of those stupid things?

"Remember when we were young and penniless?" No. NO. SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU DO NOT GET TO DO THAT!! YOU DO NOT GET TO STOP AND REMINISCE ABOUT BEING POOR, NOT WHEN YOUR FUCKING NAME IS LITERALLY A TERM FOR BEING BORN INTO FUCKING WEALTH AND PRIVILEGE YOU CORRUPT PIECE OF SHIT!!! YOU DO NOT GET TO START TALKING ABOUT "THE GOOD OLD DAYS" AFTER ALL THIS FUCKING BULLSHIT, NOT WHEN YOU AND GABE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PORTRAYED AS BEING RICH AS FUCK, EMILIE LITERALLY HAVING BEEN DESCRIBED AS FUCKING OLD MONEY!!! IF YOU WERE EVER FUCKING POOR FOR REAL I WOULD EAT MY LEFT FOOT!!!

"Don't you think we were much happier back then?" NO!! SHUT UP!!! YOU DO NOT GET TO GO "WOE IS ME" ABOUT BEING FUCKING RICH RIGHT NOW!! IT IS NOT A MATTER OF WHAT YOU HAVE NOW OR WHAT YOU HAD BACK THEN, ALL YOUR FUCKING PROBLEMS ARE ENTIRELY BECAUSE YOU ARE A CORRUPT, SPINELESS PIECE OF HUMAN FILTH!!!! YOU MADE YOUR CHOICES!!!! YOU CHOSE TO BE A FUCKING MONSTER!!! YOU DO NOT GET TO BLAME BEING WEALTHY!!! YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHT TO DO THAT!!!!

"A woman who barely respects me, a selfish heartless daughter, and a city hall that I never wanted!" SHUT UP!! SHUT! THE FUCK!! UP!! STOP WHINING ABOUT HOW AWFUL YOUR LIFE IS!! YOUR WIFE DOESN'T RESPECT YOU BECAUSE SHE'S A BITCH AND BECAUSE YOU ARE A SPINELESS WORM WHO DESERVES NO RESPECT!!! CHLOE IS ONLY SELFISH BECAUSE YOU HAVE SPENT YEAR AFTER FUCKING YEAR SPOILING AND NEGLECTING HER!! YOU MADE THIS FUCKING BED AND YOU CAN GODDAMN LIE IN IT LIKE THE FLEA BITTEN DOG THAT YOU ARE!!! AND YOU NEVER WANTED CITY HALL, YOU COULD FUCKING QUIT AT ANY TIME!! NO ONE IS FORCING YOU INTO THIS LIFE!! NO ONE IS MAKING YOU DO ANY OF THIS SHIT!!! YOUR MISTAKES ARE YOUR OWN, OWN UP TO THEM FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE EXCUSE FOR A LIFE YOU LIVING SHITSTAIN!!!

"All my life I've lied, cheated, and abused my power." NO ONE FORCED YOU TO!! YOU DON'T GET TO BELLYACHE ABOUT YOUR MISTAKES WHEN YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING TO CORRECT THEM YOU DEGENERATE SACK OF WASTE!!!

"I've become a tyrant in service to my family and their friends," STOP FUCKING BLAMING YOUR OWN CHOICES ON YOUR FAMILY!! THEY HAVE NO POWER TO FORCE YOU TO ABUSE YOUR POWER, YOU CHOSE TO DO SO!!! CHLOE BEING A BRAT IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! AUDREY DISRESPECTING YOU IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! YOUR LIFE IS NOBODY'S FAULT EXCEPT YOUR OWN!!!!

God fucking dammit, that isn't out of my system, but if I keep pausing for every little thing that upsets me, I'm gonna have an aneurysm. Yadda yadda, long-winded lecture about Andre abusing his power in stupid ways that he has no power to actually enforce, we get the "reveal" that Gabe used to be better, once again without any evidence when all the evidence regarding his treatment of Adrien instead points to him having always been a self-absorbed, self-righteous control freak, and FUCK does this bullshit piss me off. There is NOTHING I loathe more than slimeballs like Andre, who whine and cry about how unfair life is when everything being shit is entirely a product of their own actions, grow the fuck up and start doing something productive with your life. You've got the office, stop bending over backwards like a coward and just DO YOUR FUCKING JOB.

"Maybe there's still hope, maybe we can still change." I do not trust you to "change" in any meaningful way that doesn't involve running away from your mistakes and leaving someone else to clean up the mess. "Give up our privileges, go back to the way it was," yup, immediately proven right. His idea of "changing" is "plug his head in the sand, ignore reality, and act as if all the damage he's caused is no longer his problem." THIS is the man they want us to sympathize with? Yeah, fuck that.

Also, the way they used "privileges" reminds me of Astruc's bullshit about Chloe not redeeming or changing as a person. WHAT fucking privileges?? His status as the Mayor? All he has to do is stop running each election. Give up his money?? He's already rich because of his fucking hotel, that's not happening, and it means he'll still have a massive status to rely on. WHAT fucking privileges could he even give up!?

"City hall is no longer for sale." What, have you been making illicit deals like this with Tomoe before now? If it's ever been "for sale" you've got no one but yourself to blame. And Gabe had been recording the entire thing, and Andre's monologue just so happened to include a sarcastic list of awful abuses of power, conveniently all in a row, that Gabe can neatly and easily edit down into a "confession" he can use to induce an Akumatization, because apparently he can't just force the process despite having shown that yes, he can do exactly that during Zombizou. Also, weird thing with the edited video, it somehow changed the pitch and tone without any efforts to actually DO that, he just shuffled stuff around.

Caline's Akuma form is stupid looking on so many levels, and why would she even NEED the Pig Miraculous power?? Hawkmoth has made forced recruitment powers LOADS OF TIMES!! Heck, this time is even weaker then normal since her recruits are FUCKING BALLOONS!!!

Gabe and Tomoe plot to make Chloe look like a savior, I wonder how in the world they'll do that. /s

And now Caline's Akuma is on live TV, announcing her intentions. I can't even take her words seriously because of how stupid she looks.

Back to Adrien and Marinette, and right when it looks like Adrien's gonna share the bad news, word about Caline getting Akumatized arrived. They aren't even trying not to drag this out anymore.

Adrien, it's NEVER going to be the right time. It's the kind of thing you just have to get over with. Ideally, you do it in a situation where the other person is comfortable. But there's never gonna be a "right time for it."

Zoe takes off running after seeing the doctored video, and we get a scene with Chloe, who shows... well, annoyance at Andre's words. Either because she's dumb enough to think that this is a genuine and knowing confession, or because she has enough moral standards to know that what he's suggesting is idiotic... who am I kidding, of course it's because they think she's stupid.

Yeah, she's just stupid. She literally had to have Lila spell out the problem with assuming she'll still have any kind of power or protection from her actions after this engineered confession.

Caline confronts the cops, and after slashing through a bunch of them... all except the two that are LITERALLY right next to her landing spot are just standing in place, not doing anything, despite holding weapons. They, they aren't even RUNNING AWAY FROM THE SUPERVILLAIN IN THEIR MIDST. Also, this scene honestly makes Tomoe and Gabe's creation of a robotic police force look JUSTIFIED just due to how utterly incompetent the cops come off here.

"I think it's strange that Monarch would support a revolutionary." Ladybug, he literally already did this with Darkblade. He might've been more about personally seizing power, but it is literally the exact same fucking principle. He doesn't "support" anyone, he uses people's personal crusades as a bludgeon to get his way, nothing more and nothing less.

"A revolution when everyone is corrupt," you literally heard a single clip regarding a single politician. If that's proof that everyone's corrupt, that points more to you having been one bad day from going on a rampage to start with.

Also, just noticed, her "army" is even weaker than minion-maker Akumas normally are; they literally can't do anything but FLOAT THERE.

"It's not up to us to decide who should or shouldn't be a mayor, we just need to deakumatize the villain." ...NO FUCKING DUH!? FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THAT IS LITERALLY WHAT YOU WERE ALREADY DOING!! ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY YOU WEREN'T TAKING HER SERIOUSLY TO START WITH!? IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE IT, BUT WHAT THE FUCK DO I KNOW, I'M NOT THE CREATOR WHO DECIDES EVERYTHING IN-UNIVERSE!!!

Oh hey, the Balloons finally do something, I wonder how hard it'll be to make literal balls of air go away... Oh, they are actually struggling. That's honestly sad.

"Deep down, he's not a bad mayor!" Zoe's on the scene for some reason, and trying to talk down an Akuma, clearly that'll do something. /s

Also, no Zoe, your step-dad is a TERRIBLE mayor. He's done nothing but use and abuse his powers for YEARS, and no matter what he says to the contrary, it's entirely his own fault, and he is literally planning on abandoning his position, doing nothing to actually correct his mistakes, to live out his hobby.

"I thought we were friends, Gabriel, but it seems that is no longer the case!" Andre, buddy, for him being your "friend," the two of you never hang out or communicate in any way. Heck, why would you think he's your friend when he literally made a high-end "get along shirt" to mock your dysfunctional marriage?

"Then again, what you did was finally the push I needed to make the right decision." I suspect you don't mean "own up to my mistakes and do all in my vast power as both the Mayor and a wealthy hotel owner to correct them and keep them from coming back again."

Seriously, why the hell aren't Ladybug and Chat just taking her out from behind. SHE IS DISTRACTED!! YOU LITERALLY SAID YOURSELF THAT IT IS NOT UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHO GETS TO BE MAYOR OR NOT, YOUR ENTIRE POINT IS TO DEFEAT AKUMAS AND SHE IS NOT SO INTIMIDATING THAT YOU NEED TO ENABLE SOMEONE WHO IS CLEARLY NOT IN THEIR RIGHT FUCKING MIND!!!

Yup, just got confirmed that he's going to weasel his way out of his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions. Corruption carries steeper penalties then just losing the job, there's jail time and steep fines involved.

"The Lucky Charm was warning me about her!" ...How? How in the WORLD could it be warning you about the powerless BRAT before you? I just... I cannot deal with this shit. This is just stupid.

Also, this scene kinda shoots the "her spotty vision is all in her head" idea in the foot given that it only went off after Chloe entered the room. If it's meant to be a representation of Marinette being creative, it fails massively when it's clearly reacting exclusively to her biases right now.

"A crown for the queen of brats" OH GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELF YOU LEATHER CAT-SUIT WEARING SIMP!!!

And here comes the scene of Chloe illegally taking power that she doesn't actually have, and trying to pin the blame on Ladybug and Chat Noir. How pathetic. And everyone watching the news as Chloe appoints herself mayor... I'm pretty sure the VICE MAYOR is the person who gets the position if anyone wants it. Also, if Andre DID resign under duress, he's technically still in office and can just COME BACK.

Also, if anyone believes that CHLOE of all people, especially when she's actively in the middle of illegally seizing power, would unironically say "power must return to the people," they are an idiot.

WOW, she just declared the known terrorist an outlaw, THAT will actually mean something and have a tangible effect on what happens going forward! /s

Not even gonna touch her "outlawing" Ladybug and Chat Noir, since that's stupid to start with.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb season 5 salt #mlb season 5 spoilers #mlb writing critical #mlb writing salt

8 notes · View notes

hussyknee · 2 years ago

Note

do u really not see the difference btwn writing fanfic on the internet and buying a game whose storyline is actively being written by white supremacists and having the money go directly into the pocket of the most vocal & influential terf in the UK? that's not even touching all of the other racist and offensive bs in her series inc her antisemitism, appropriating first nations cultures, her asian racism, etc? i guess thats why you dont have 'antisemitics dni' on your blog

First, let me be clear – I do not give one single shit about Harry Potter. They are the best memories of my extremely shitty adolescence, I still read fanfic from time to time, but other than that, if I never hear the word "Harry Potter" again it will be too soon. I care about the fact that you clowns are

encouraging bullies and endangering mentally ill marginalized fans

leeching the air from leftist and queer discourse

fuelling a Western culture war that distracts from combating systemic transphobia

making suffering Black and brown communities, who mostly see white and Western trans people, think that trans people don't have any real problems beyond video games

Now, on to your ask:

I said never said not buying the game was the same as writing fanfic on the internet. I said that the furor over buying the game is leading to everyone who had anything to do with Harry Potter, including just writing fanfic, being bullied. I've had to unfollow so many people for reblogging posts attacking people for being in the *fandom*.

Asking people to refrain from doing something to prove that they care, especially demanding that they don't, has never in the history of activism worked. Black people have been speaking out against copaganda shows forever and STILL get harrassed. Indigenous people have been asking people to boycott Avatar and gotten nothing. Some people comply, but more do the thing simply out of contrarianism, and the entire issue becomes a culture war divided along political affiliation. People on the right go out of their way to do the thing, the people on the center and center-left won't really care, and people who identify as leftist divorce themselves even more from the rest of the left as being no better than the right, which eventually devastating results when it comes to actual elections and agitating for political change.

What works a lot better is harm reduction. Pirating is harm reduction, asking the HP fandom to offset JKR's fuckery by making their own merch, promoting indie games and donating to trans healthcare funds is harm reduction. People won't stand for being policed, but they like giving and also not paying for stuff with a clear conscience. You would have raised so much fucking money and promoted so many different things in all this time you've spent giving the game negative engagement clicks and keeping it trending on social media so long after its release.

You keep insisting that people shouldn't be fans because JKR equals her fandom with her own influence. This is called buying into the right-wing narrative. The woman is delusional (I can't think of a non-ableist word atm, and I honestly think that she's not all stable) and you're enabling her and her terf cult. We created the online HP fandom ourselves back in the aughts, before there was any merch, before movie rights were ever sold to WB, a full decade before her advertising machine ever woke up to the fact that an internet fandom existed. JKR has lost relevance for HP fans a long time ago; imagine the slap in the face for her if the fandom starts countering her bigotry by very prominently engaging in trans activism? The JKR terf cult in the HP fandom are a minority, like TERFs themselves (they're only so loud because the right-wing promotes the shit out of them). The vast majority of fans are just the kind of vaguely well-meaning cis people who don't agree with transphobes but are pretty ignorant about trans issues. And I do mean the vast majority, because literally a billion people grew up on her books and only a bare fraction is on social media at all, and even fewer even see the leftist drive to boycott the franchise.

Let's talk demographics. Because of the aforementioned vastness of consumers, the majority of HP fans are cis het, abled, neurotypical Millennials. Because of the way internet penetration works, the majority of HP fans online and even in fandom are white or Western. Leftist spaces mostly attract young and marginalized people, and transformative fandom is full of neurodivergent women and queer people. Which means the majority of people you're reaching are young queer neurodivergent people who have limited economic power themselves. And the people most vulnerable to and impacted by policing and harrassment are trans, Black and brown, Jewish, mentally ill, poor. Do you see the problem? You're policing the very bottom rungs of the socio-economic ladder on the off-chance of maybe influencing a privileged few who might give a damn.

This is literally why we say that boycotts, especially over social media, don't fucking work. Firstly because they penalize the most disenfranchised consumers, it's hard to reach enough people to even explain why they matter, it's hard to keep up with the constant discourse and changing information, and it relies entirely on performance. Someone can stay quiet or nod along furiously to whatever you're saying and then just...go out and buy the thing. Social censure doesn't work when you have the option of not having to face the consequences. Contrary to hellsite opinion, the Fantastic Beasts franchise died because it sucked, and Harry Potter is dying because it's fading from relevance and JKR is being an embarrassment. The wider market doesn't even know y'all exist.

As for the game being racist and antisemitic...you come on my blog, a South Asian who has been in fandom for twenty years, and try to tell me about racism in media???? NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF ALL MEDIA IS RACIST AND ANTISEMITIC YOU ABSOLUTE CLOWN. I'm from South Asia, our children grow up on books written by colonizers! LORD OF THE RINGS is white supremacy! NARNIA is white supremacy! Disney and Marvel is one of the biggest figures in US military industrial complex that razed the Middle East to the ground. It's so ubiquitous that we have to accept the racism and white supremacy as a matter of course to engage with any Western media! And even then fandom is so racist it's hard to even exist in it! We get run out of it when we try to talk about it. You suck on white supremacy every single day you live like it's your Mum's teat! Do you know what it's like to hear whiteys ranting that people who consume this one game they hate are being antisemitic and racist??? While still fawning??? Over cop shows???? And Disney???? And sending Black people??? Death threats??? Over a game???

I don't say "anti-Semites DNI" for the same reason I don't say "racists DNI". Nobody identifies as a racist or antisemite, that's not how systemic oppression works. Radfem and Zionist and Communist are political identities. Radical feminism is underpinned by transphobia and racism, Zionism is currently entrenched in Palestine occupation, Western communists refuse to acknowledge USSR and Global South genocides. See how that works?

Bitch, you didn't just come at me about JKR's indigenous cultural appropriation when I was among the few who were trying to discourage people from supporting Fantastic Beasts back in 2016 and literally got flamed for it. You people did not give a single shit about Natives back then, and you don't give one now. Just like you don't actually care about Jews and never did. I literally never heard about why and how openly alt-right people keep getting this kind of power and position in the gaming industry. Conversations about antisemitism in gaming and antisemitic tropes in entertainment haven't gotten this much traction. No wider revelations about how entertainment media directly funding and promoting social harms. But sure, it's about antisemitism and racism and has absolutely nothing to do with a mess of white queers realizing they can weaponize it like a cudgel against anyone they believe are against them. We know you whites. You care about excuses to take the moral high ground without having to do any self-interrogation or cost to yourself.

Finally, to give y'all one example of where the current discourse around this stupid shit is at:

Fuck you.

#harry potter #fuck jkr #transphobia #antisemitism #racism #fantastic beasts #western leftists #white privilege #white people #imperialism #knee of huss

115 notes · View notes

juniperhillpatient · 1 year ago

Note

How’s it going @juniperhillpatient ?

So I watched the two most recent scream movies for the first time this weak. Starting on Friday night and finishing on Saturday morning. They were entertaining, see I’ve only ever watched the original first one years ago but the connections between the films were interesting.

To get to the question, I recall that one of your Azutara AU ideas is a Scream fic ( along with the IT Au). In it I think one of your post in the past stated that Azula would be (slightly) based on Sam? If so, would that then make Ozai Billy Loomis? If so, I’ve got to say depicting Ozai as a deranged murder would be oddly appropriate. What with the emotional and physical abuse of both his spouse and his kids, along with the attempted genocide and all.

Oh! I also greatly enjoyed todays (well yesterdays) chapter in Happenstance. I’ve got to say though, I’m with Azula, Katara not turning in Hama is a very… injudicious decision. What happens when Hama decides to no longer go after corrupt officials like she did in chapter (one of whom has a family!) and she decides to go after innocent people (as she did in canon). What if Hama decides to escalate from just hostage taking? What if lives of innocents, of children even are lost her quest? That’s starts of with noble intentions, but become corrupted. Becoming in reality just hate of Fire Nations under the façade of environmentalism? Are Katara/Yue/Jet prepared for that possibility?

Or would Jet, Katara, and Yue not care cause those innocent people are Fire Nation? Naw just using rhetoric for Katara and Yue. They obviously would care. But Jet? Him I’m not 100% sure about.

It would have been better to get rid of threat (Hama) earlier on by turning her over. Than again, some police can be corrupt (though I use the world loosely) so maybe they were also right not to turn her over?

It’s a bit of a head scratcher, ain’t it. Which is awesome by the way. It’s fun reading these little moral quandaries and philosophical question in a sitcom fic. Questions like, is it okay to harm others we deem immoral to bring about ends that we believe to be an objective good? Can intrinsic good come from an extrinsic evil? Essentially, does the ends justify the means? And how far is too far? Happenstance is great in that and In all ways! Especially horror, romance (it’s Azutara so that’s a given 😉) and comedy.

Thank you for indulging my ramblings. I hope everything is well on your end. I recall a post from earlier speaking about your cat preventing you from cashing a check at your bank. Your bank decided to come to you right? To give a house call as it were? It’s the polite thing to do after all.

745 voice of the people

Hello! It could be going better. I am suffering because I’ve been sick on & off for like a fucking month & it’s starting to feel like God hates me 🥲 However, it could also be going worse. My mommy gave me money for groceries even though I told her not to because she is the best & she knows how much work I’ve missed due to illness so I have lots of good food & also hot chocolate with marshmallows 💜🙏

Anyway I am sure you didn’t expect that TMI when you asked how it’s going but I’m a dramatic rambly bitch 😌 I hope you are doing good yourself 💜

I am so happy you watched the new Scream movies 🍿 Most iconic series of all time honestly. Yes, Ozai would be a version of Billy Loomis in this AU! However, keep in mind this is all just ideas & not a real project in the works just yet 😉

Anyway I don’t have too too much to add to your analysis on the moral dilemma from last week’s Happenstance because I want to purposefully leave it open. I like posing these quandaries without creating a firm resolution just like there wouldn’t necessarily be in real life sometimes! Of course - Hama may just show up again. We will see!

I will say - Katara & Yue would definitely feel guilty if someone innocent got hurt because of their choice not to turn Hama in. Also, even though Jet hates the Fire Nation, he is dating Zuko & friends with several Fire Nation characters by now including pretty much best friends with Azula. So…. Could he really justify it if innocent Fire Nation civilians got hurt at this stage of the story? Tricky. Unlike Katara & Yue I don’t think he’d have much trouble justifying it if someone like Ichiro or Daisuke got hurt. While the girls would feel guilt over anyone being harmed, I think Jet would have a more pragmatic attitude if the people getting hurt were doing a lot of harm. The only reason he stood up to Hama in the end was that she hinted at plans to “subdue” Katara & Yue if they didn’t go along with her ideas. So, he was probably the least opposed to kidnap of the three. But I don’t think any of them would be okay with it if Hama hurt innocent people down the line - which is not out of the realm of possibility if it served a cause she cared about.

Anyway- I said I wouldn’t add & then I did! I love rambling about my story too much 😁

I seriously love your analysis & thoughts on this head scratcher! Thank you SO much for sharing 💜💜💜

#asks #happenstance #mutuals #thank you sm for this fun ask!!#sorry it took so long to answer #every day this week I’ve been struggling so hard with brain fog 😶‍🌫️

7 notes · View notes

moonsprings · 2 years ago

Text

ccir episode 15 thoughts (it's long)

admittedly i'm mildly surprised at some folks saying ccir is a great critique on the educational system - imo i personally found it poorly handled mostly due to pacing issues and i don't really find the way they wrapped up the mr ji plot to be satisfying. if people want a show that critiques the extreme culture surrounding the asian educational system i think sky castle is a far better drama. despite some of the qualms i have with the last episode of sky castle it was well written overall and didn't suffer from so many of these issues like ccir does. i stand by this serial killer plot not really adding much to ccir's story - i think it would have been better if they went a more realistic route exploring what someone in that situation would do, especially in regards to ji dong hui being a victim of an abusive parent and a witness to his sibling's suicide. i think even just expanding upon the murder of his parent would have been enough of a mystery without adding in this whole serial killer plot if they really wanted the thriller mystery. i'm not against having a murder plot line (again, see sky castle) but i don't think the way it was executed worked here. a lot of plot lines seem poorly resolved. i can think of several b-plots that were wildly rushed or never mentioned again: - they never mention the female student stalker who got shot in the very beginning of the show ever again. honestly i only found out she was dead this week because the news in the story says 3 dead, multiple injured - but the drama never said she was dead explicitly before or acknowledged it with any additional scene of her family/friends asking why she's missing, especially given that ccy was accused of dating this particular underaged student. it's weird they never mention it or show an investigation of her death unlike the other student who was also killed on screen. - what happened to ccy's piano date? not even a short text msg from her on screen to finish out their short relationship and they act like she never existed. - sua's onset mental illness issues - likely will be mentioned in the last episode? but i find the way sua's story's been paced really awkward - in the beginning she got significant screen time, and now she's dropped off so much i forgot she existed for most of the last 3-4 episodes. they also never elaborate why she's obsessed with haeyi either. - jaewoo and yeongju's rapid 2 episode romance was badly paced. they should have set it up from the beginning so it didn't feel so last minute. - haeyi's bio mom suddenly appearing and dominating the last 3 episodes of the series completely overtaking the focus on the serial killer plot, which ended up giving the murder mystery a rather lackluster ending. - haeyi unaware? of mr ji's death as there was no scene connecting the two despite her being attacked and kidnapped by him, and in general mr ji's death feels like it's glossed over quickly - we don't see the impact of his suicide on his coworkers or the police or the victims's family/friends. it also feels like ccy also gets over it really fast. like... i feel like they needed short scenes or even just a line to acknowledge these things happened in order resolve these story points more completely. there were parts i also enjoyed about this ep like the smaller moments - sunjae and geonhu's hilariously wholesome back and forth outside the hospital. i liked that haeyi didn't pick either of them and that the love triangle isn't so combative or typical, and that they're all genuinely good friends with each other. ccy and nhs's short interaction to show he has a support network now and someone who cares for him as much as he cares for her was nice, as well as haeyi's teacher's gentle banter with nhs about ccy. idk how the last episode's gonna go but eh 😔 jeon doyeon does dramas so rarely that i know i'm gonna watch it to the end anyways... and i enjoy jung kyungho's acting as well so... only one episode left so i really do hope they can wrap this up enough to be an ok ending.

#ccir #crash course in romance #moon.txt

25 notes · View notes

animebw · 2 years ago

Text

Alright, now that I’ve had some time to process, I’ve come up with some thoughts on what I want to see from Lycoris Recoil’s recently announced second season. Honestly, I’m excited: I always felt that the last episode was more of a season 1 finale than a full series finale, so getting a chance to follow up on all its unresolved threads could lead to something truly incredible. Or it might completely fuck everything up, who knows? Regardless, here’s what I would do if I was in charge of writing season 2, below the cut.

So the biggest issue with LycoReco season 1 is how unconclusive its politics end up being. You’ve got a full-on secret police of cute anime girls maintaining the illusion of peace at any cost, one of the two protagonists rejects the violence-first mentality of her organization and tries to solve conflict non-lethally, the antagonist wants to blow a lid open on the whole scam and show Japan their peace is built on a lie, and the ending resolves... none of that. Majima revealing the Lycoris’ existence to the public is somehow papered over by the flimsiest of propaganda, but both he and his guns are still out there promising to cause havoc in such a way that it can no longer be ignored, and the Lycoris organization remains basically unchanged. It’s clearly trying to say something about the conflict between giving up rights for peace and giving up safety for freedom, but it doesn’t come to any answers by the time the final episode wraps. Which is why I’m glad we’re now getting a season 2, because the inconclusive nature of that ending makes way more sense as a thematic To Be Continued than a conclusion in its own right. And if everything goes right in season 2, it’ll be a lot more forgivable considering what it helped to bring about.

So the big question is, of course, how do you follow up those threads? How do you tell a satisfying story about grappling with a fascist police state that actually, you know, says something about grappling with a fascist police state?

Well, if it was up to me? I’d go full Gen Urobuchi on its ass.

To be clear, I’m not saying LycoReco season 2 should turn into a greek tragedy and kill lots of characters very messily. That’s not the kind of show it’s been, it would be too big a tonal swerve (though I do absolutely think season 2 should be darker overall). No, what I mean is that it should borrow Urobuchi’s fascination with heroic ideals being tested and broken against the complexities of reality. If the ultimate end goal is to either destroy the Lycoris program outright or at least reform it into a non-fascist functioning community service (as it should damn well be), then both our leads, especially Chisato, will have to seriously consider what it means to protect people from harm, and what responsibility a governmental organization like this has to do so ethically. And that’s gonna demand some hard questions that the first season didn’t really get around to asking.

Consider: Chisato’s nonviolent philosophy stems from her desire to create a world where everyone can be happy. She refuses to kill, even when her target arguably deserves it, because she believes she can make a better world by solving things without bloodshed. A noble goal, to be sure, and one that puts her at odds with the rest of the Lycoris program. But, well, it’s not like Chisato is actively fighting against the Lycoris program either. She’s content to walk her own renegade path, solving problems her own way, while the organization she’s a part of continues on its bloody streak regardless. She may not kill anyone herself, but as long as she’s part of the Lycoris program in the first place, she’s still contributing to an engine of death that’s surely executing far more people than she can possibly save. And if Chisato truly wants to create a peaceful world where no one has to die, well... won’t that require doing something about the people who are responsible for the most needless death?

So if I was writing LycoReco season 2? That’s the angle I would explore. Majima’s schemes start causing chaos around Japan, the Lycoris program becomes even more authoritarian in response, and Chisato and Takina are pulled out of semi-retirement in Hawaii to help in the anti-terrorist efforts. But as things escalate and the Lycoris become even more violent and totalitarian in their efforts to keep the peace, Chisato will be forced to confront the fact that like it or not, she’s part of a system that’s working against her pacifistic goals. And if she truly wants to build a better world, then the Lycoris program in its current form needs to go. Which means not just acting as a free spirit inside the program, but outright opposing it and everything it stands for. Thus Chisato and Takina will become targets for both Majima’s terrorists and all our former Lycoris friends from season 1. Of course, plenty of those Lycoris will probably be reluctant to fight Chisato and Takina after they saved everyone’s asses in season 1, which eventually leads to a revolution from the inside as characters like Fuki and Sakura reject their boss’ orders in favor of following in Chisato’s pacifist footsteps. Eventually things climax in a big fight where the Lycoris program is destroyed, Japan is set on a course toward a less authoritarian future, and Chisato and Takina get to kiss in the sunrise of a new world.

Speaking of, Chisato’s crisis of faith could be a really fantastic way to officially jumpstart Chisato and Takina’s relationship into a proper romance. We could get a scene where Chisato’s breaking down over being a part of the Lycoris, saying she has blood on her hands and it can never be washed clean, and Takina steps in to pull her back from the brink and assure her she can still make things right. Just as Chisato freed her from her demons all throughout season 1, now Takina can free Chisato in turn. We can even get a callback to the artificial heart business, Takina can say something like "I was really the one with the fake heart... until you came along and made it real."

That doesn't account for everything, I know. You'd still need to figure out what to do with Mika, how the Lilybells factor into things, where Majima's character journey ends up. But if I was writing Lycoris Recoil season 2, that's the direction I'd take things in. Will the writers take any of that advice? I guess we'll find out in a few years.

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #lycoris recoil #lycoreco #chisato nishikigi #takina inoue #chisato x takina

24 notes · View notes

all-pacas · 1 year ago

Text

ok ok ok just for fun: if i were to reboot spider-man into the modern era. not a remix, just adapting the 60s cast and setting into a modern one.

A lot stays the same! Uncle Ben, Parker financial anxiety. Instead of Spider-Man trying to get famous and on TV, Peter at first chases fame online, all over Youtube doing stunts and showing off before transitioning into heroics. Mary Jane cameos here: she’s a pretty well known TikTok influencer, so we get an early cameo of her reacting to one of his videos. This leads to JJ’s original distaste for Spider-Man, and his original bad reputation: he’s considered a glory hound, he’s only stopping criminals for the views.

Peter is still the slightly standoffish social outcast/nerd. He was honestly a bit of a jerk in his early comics, kind of resentful and feeling like he deserved better. In the reboot, he thinks he’s better and smarter than his peers. He thinks Flash and Liz are vapid showoffs and he’s smarter. Flash is still a bullying jerk, but Peter also openly thinks he’s better. Similar dynamic to/with Johnny Storm, and as Peter gets over himself a little and becomes more heroic, both relationships soften a bit.

College! Harry tends to be adapted as really “cool” and I disagree. Harry is a loser. He is a rich trust fund loser. He looks like he has it all and is super privileged, but he’s actually really cripplingly shy and anxious and awkward. He and Peter hit it off over nerd crap, and Harry opens up to him, leading to their friendship.

Gwen is really cold and standoffish at first. She’s sort of “perfect,” comes off as a bit haughty and better than. But she and Harry are old friends and run in similar “rich and influential” circles, and her genuine warmth and friendship with Harry is an early sign she’s a nice person; she warms to Peter through him. She comes off as aloof because her dad is chief of police and she’s often getting dragged into the politics and blame that comes from “my dad is THE number one cop in New York,” and she loves her dad even if she maybe has more complicated feelings about his job and influence. She’s tired of having to live with all the assumptions that come with it and wants her own life. She and Peter can bond over having high expectations for themselves and wanting more out of life, despite not knowing quite what “more” is. Gwen has big plans and is very ambitious.

Mary Jane is a huge influencer; online she’s known only as MJ, so when May starts talking about setting Peter up with “Mary Jane” he’s like lol no. He’s heard of her from his glory seeking internet fame days and they even had a brief social media interaction or two, so he’s smitten when they do meet… only to quickly decide she’s too shallow and fame obsessed and silly — she wants to turn her social media savvy into being an actress, imagine! He still likes her as a friend and they get along great, but he’s like yeah, not dating her.

MJ for her part is much more ambivilant to Spidey than she acts online, because… she knows he’s Peter. And, as in the comics, she is not sure what to think of someone who acts so differently in a mask than unmasked. Which part is the act? Slowly she realizes that there is no act and it’s all Peter. She’s highly ambitious but because she feels like all she has to offer are her looks; she likes the adulation that comes of influencing but is so driven because she’s sure it’ll end and wants to get as much as she can before it does. She’s driven by her insecurities.

Gwen dies, Mary Jane and Peter start dating, Harry has his series of breakdowns and marries Liz. Peter and MJ have a courthouse wedding, and around the time the Clone Saga happened… instead, we introduce Miles. (Sorry, Ben). Now instead of Peter retiring and being replaced by his clone, he meets and is initially wary of Miles — after all, no one but him and only him can take care of New York (due to Peter’s immense guilt/responsibility complex). But slowly Miles and Peter bond, and Peter becomes more comfortable with sharing his responsibilities and being a mentor instead of his usual loner self.

Mary Jane does transition to actress in a similar arc as the comics: she tries Hollywood, but realizes she’s only a stunt cast, and moves to off-off-broadway and finds real success and pleasure in smaller, better shows. She is the breadwinner of the home, and still maintains some social media but mostly steps back. Not because she doesn’t still like it, but just because she doesn’t need the constant validation to prove she’s not worthless anymore.

Mayday is NOT kidnapped, and Peter’s new status-quo as a father allows him to step back and let Miles have more of the spotlight, while still remaining an active character/hero. Also because I really like her, Peter and Mary Jane’s next child is Annie. IDK, Peter really does just come off as a Girl Dad, yanno?

11 notes · View notes

essayofthoughts · 11 months ago

Text

Tag Nine People You'd Like To Get To Know Better Tag Game

I was tagged by @chamerionwrites over Here. I will be tagging no one, for I am where tag games go to die.

FAVOURITE COLOUR(s): As mentioned in the last tag game I completed (here) it's purple! I wear other colours more frequently, but I have a lot of small purple things around.

FAVOURITE FLAVOUR(s): That's hard. I like savoury and sweet at the same time, I suppose, and I like adding some confit garlic into a toastie because it just... elevates the savoury of the cheese with some extra umami. I like a good chai or a medieval spice mix - cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves. In the UK they're so often used specifically at Christmas but they're such a good combo all year round.

FAVOURITE MUSIC: I am... bad, at genres. I like what I like and the music I like tends to be... melodic but textured? It's not just one instrument or type of instrument, I like the roughness of a more metal guitar over the smoothness of a rounded backing beat or melodic synth, and I like more melodic tunes than pure beats - this is why I don't gel with a lot of rap or hip-hop. They can be lyrically very impressive, but I listen to music for music, and I've got to be in the right mood for a spoken word poem over a beat. I also just... don't like Musicals in general. I'm not opposed to songs with stories - one of my most-listened to songs is Aviators' Godhunter which is about someone revered by a god who's waiting to be hunted by the person who's killed the rest of their "godly" kin - but I just don't like musicals in general, so musical songs are more miss than hit for me.

FAVOURITE MOVIE(s): Crimson Peak. Guillermo del Toro's films do not miss, and this is the one that dragged me into the gothic horror/romance pit and made me realise that while I don't like standard "thriller", shock-value horror, I like things that go "Hey, isn't this fucked up? Do you want to see how more fucked up it can get?". Things that are aware of the awfulness and don't revel in it but use it to show you and teach you and help you see.

FAVOURITE BOOK(s): Probably the Several on my trauma reading list, honestly, with right now A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson being tops. For all of you hyped by @theabigailthorn's "Dracula's Ex Girlfriend" announcement who wants something of that premise while they wait, it's a fantastic look at abusive relationships and is told from the perspective of one of Dracula's brides after she and the others have murdered him. Exceptionally good and crunchily fucked up.

FAVOURITE SERIES(es): I don't know, actually. I don't think I have a singular series I enjoy (Well. I did. But then the author went to shit, so it's kind of tainted now). Or- no actually. The Gotham TV Show. Started as a dull as dishwater police procedural set in Gotham and by the time it gets to multiply resurrecting definitely not the Joker you're not sure how it got there but the tonal shift makes perfect sense somehow. Fantastic style, fantastic cast, why are Nygma and Penguin so perfect as bickering, acrimonious exes.

LAST SONG: When I like I song, I listen to it on loop. It is still:

youtube

LAST SERIES: That I actually finished was probably Raven of the Inner Palace which is an extremely good anime! Magical worldbuilding and mystery, slowbuilding relationships and fun court drama. It's like Apothecary Diaries but with more magic, and has a similar style to it's worldbuilding as Mars Red - where that slowly dripfed you information on the vampires and makes a rewatch well worth one's time, this also sets stuff up and lets you start to figure it out as it slips in more lore. Highly recommend it.

LAST MOVIE: As said in the last post - it would be Barbie, last week's film night pick. Was good.

CURRENTLY READING: A book called Old Gods, about Finnish wildlife and folklore. I like folklore a lot, so seeing how folklore affects how people have historically seen the world is really cool!

CURRENTLY WATCHING: The latest dubbed episode of Apothecary Diaries (yes, I watch dub. Sadly, I am bad at paying attention when it's subbed because I like to multitask).

CURRENTLY WORKING ON: Several fic projects. Currently aiming to finish up the Kash backstory fic.

#chamerionwrites #tag games #about me #Youtube

2 notes · View notes

deuterosapiens · 1 year ago

Text

So I was thinking briefly about a SAW television series. I suppose there are all of the obvious reasons a show like this couldn't work, but I want to propose a hypothetical series that could work, if it were executed correctly.

First off, let's talk about some of the critical components of a SAW movie, and how those elements might be adapted to a longer-form series (I'm picturing like an eight-episode Season format, for obvious reasons. A network like AMC or something that would allow us to get away with on-screen depictions of gore, torture and blood).

So the three main components of most films in the series (I don't say all because SAW X actually lacks one of them): 1- The Police (most films, except X, features a plot involving detective investigating Jigsaw related cases; 2- Traps (the obvious appeal for most fans, this series is defined by the creative a ruthless traps its victims find themselves caught in); and 3- Mythology (SAW as a franchise is so hyper-saturated in its internal mythology that untangling its webs within webs produces something of a inconsistent headache, if you.dont subscribe to a Just Go with It-mentality).

So for SAW: The Desciple (which I just realized abbreviates poorly), let's think about ways we can incorporate these elements into something interesting. Just a final note on this idea: SAW canon is... weird. As a result, I'm considering this series to be a partial reboot, a partial continuation, and also, reasonably, its own thing.

As the sub-title suggests, The Desciple will follow an apprentice to John Kramer's teachings. As is the case with most of his apprentices, our Pilot will depict our main character as a Player in one of his Games. The focus of the series then is on the development and growth of a Jigsaw player-turned-Gamemaker. We will explore this main character as they observe Games and learn the principles of trap design and construction.

Through flash-backs we will witness a past history of abuse and treachery. Mistreatment and neglect. The finale of course would be our main character playing their very first Game, bringing in a cast of victims who have "wronged" our protagonist.

The integration of a detective narrative could easily be filled if our protagonist is a cop deprogramming himself from his legal teachings. Or, better yet, their love interest (spouse or otherwise) could be a detective whose investigation into recent Jigsaw Killings has begun to create a violent rift in their relationship, culminating in a finale where they learn that their partner has been involved this whole time. Granted, both of these plots have appeared in the films before, however I see no reason to not incorporate previous story-beats if they serve a different purpose.

What I would like to see is a smarter, more introspective look into the Jigsaw philosophy of self-discovery through torture. Obviously the pros and cons of this must be discussed. Perhaps this series takes place after the main films and this features a protagonist who's learning through a copy-cat of a copy-cat. Where different sects of Kramer's followers have taken his game-making ideas in radically different directions and thus we see more Amanda-esque games (which are not meant to be won) and Hoffman-esque games (where winning requires participation from all players).

Seeing familiar faces would be cool, but honestly, I think a fully original cast would be best. Yeah, yeah, it sounds a lot like I'm saying "Hey, let's make a full length series based on Spiral!" And I guess that's fair. But going forward, I cannot imagine there's much more of a story to tell with any of the pre-existing characters that wouldn't feel completely nonsensical.

Thoughts? If I'm bored I might draft something, I dunno.

#saw franchise #rambling #saw series #fanfic ideas

6 notes · View notes

littlebugs · 2 years ago

Text

my personal outer banks rant (character based) A/N: i have absolutely nothing against the actors of the show, this is just my full on review of outer banks and it's characters (i loveee the show so much tho, can't wait for obx 3!!!!)

see my site! https://littlebugs.tumblr.com/

jj maybanks obviously i had to start with jj.... this man has some serious trauma but somehow the series almost manages to play it off? i feel like there are a few key moments in the series but you don't really see his character getting a lot of sympathy from the other characters except for whenever it just manages to come up (sic the hot tub scene). also this man is straight up gorgeous MWAH! cut like a diamond, and he has that beach boy vibe. favorite vanilla boy in this series.

john b john b has an interesting personality and tbh it confuses me sometimes. maybe it's because his actor is like way old to play a 16-17 year old, he has this air of an adult while like doing stupid stuff, and he looks like an adult as well. he also got... married. not legally, but he got married. and honestly hes been through so much i don't even blame him- man just wants something stable in his life.

sarah cameron to be honest about her... i dont hate her! i though sarah might be stuck up in her old ways but she actually is quite a "go w/ the flow" girl. but home girl looses her dad (for a short time anyways) literally watched him die with leads to like a huge amount of trauma, has her brother attempt to murder her (yikes) and is on the run from police after being framed an accomplice in murder? not to mention getting kidnpped by her dad who turns out to be alive... i kinda forgive her for any rash actions because she arguably has one of the hardest times in the series.

kiarra carrera im sorry. I HATE IT. kiarra is a privileged girl who decides to run with underprivileged guys. i have not problem with that whatsoever! the problem is that now from hanging out with them, she calls herself one of them. you can't just think that (almost) poverty is easy peasy. yeah it's fun to hang out with the pouges, but at the end of the day she goes home to a warm house with food and a bed. people like jj and possibly john b might not have food in the house. she calls herself one of "them" but shes truly just glorifying the lifestyle and taking the advantages. not to mention her unstable relationship with pope who actually likes her. shes incredibly self centered and unaware and I HATE IT.

pope heyward POPE! i love popes rational thinking skills, hes one of my favorite characters. he rlly cares for his friends, but he also wants to have a future, unlike some of the other pouges who seems to be just lounging around. he works hard, and then works harder. he is probably one of the most underrated characters in obx. there is also something just so aesthetically pleasing about his voice it's crazy. pope arguabbly has a better home than most of the charecters with a mother and father who care bout him, but what hurts is when he runs away from them with his friends (i know he comes back, but the looks in his dads face almost made me cry istg).

rafe cameron ok... controversial character alarm!!! a lot of people like rafe but i can't understand it! yes rafe is... very handsome. yes rafe is.... also probably a psychopath. rafe definitely has something physiologically going on, and it seems like his family isn't intent on getting him help. rose cameron even says rafe has been like this since eleven. eleven!!! and they still haven;t helped him... sounds like it's getting worse to me. that may also be the reason rafe seems to fall into drugs more than any other character- it might - per say - let him escape his mind. all in all mr. rafe cameron needs some serious help and i would love to see if he has a healing process in season 3

ward cameron i do not like this man. not at all. he seems to completely ignore wheezie, honestly poor wheezie (we'll dig deeper later), he lets one of his children kill someone for him, and the other framed for the murder, murders people, marries rose (a mistake on his part because shes def toxic), and puts his children through immense trauma by killing himself and coming back to life. he also kidnaps people and blames the people HE murdered on some poor 17 year old. i can't.

topper to be honest i kinda like topper. topper is yes, a white, cis, straight male, but aren't rafe and jj? he is rlly respectful to be honest. he friends and some of the other kooks on figure eight are kind of jerks, but topper seems to be nicer. despite pushing john b of a tree or something he hasn't done anything wrong. he literately gets broken up with by sarah and WILL STILL risk himself for her. he also tells her he will never stop loving her, but gives up on the chase because hse doesn't want him. this man has a very very decent amount of respect and i adore him.

wheezie oh my god this poor kid. she's what 12 or 13? so uhm... i dont even know where to start. ok so her dad is a crazy murderer who scars her for life. her brother is also a murderer. her sister has been framed for murder. her mother is an accomplice in wards murder..... ugh. just let me whisk poor wheezie away and adopt her. also like ward does not seem to care about wheezie he speaks to her like 10 times -_- its crazzzy. i hope she turns out okay and honestly i would like to see some more wheezie character development.

carla limbrey poor carla. shes a jerk, but i feel bad. kinda. girl was dying and just wanted a cure, something to hold onto. she didn't have any sinister intentions, but it kinda turned evil because of her overwhelming urge for this cross and garment.. and omg renfield you jerk i hate him.

anyways this took an hour give or take so i hope you liked it!

#outer banks #obx2 #obx1 #rafe cameron #jj maybanks #kiarra carrera #pope heyward #john b #sarah cameron #wheezie cameron #topper #kooks #pouges #outer banks review #obx3

13 notes · View notes

dalesramblingsblog · 2 months ago

Text

The thing to understand about Chibnall (well, there are several things, but we only have time for one) is that, first and foremost... he writes cop shows. Broadchurch is the obvious one, yes, but he also wrote for Life on Mars, and parlayed his work on Torchwood into showrunning Law & Order: UK, which ironically served to prevent Children of Earth and Miracle Day from having Freema Agyeman return as Martha so lol. And I think that's really at the heart of his rather chronically milquetoast/centrist political outlook. Even beyond Yaz, you can see this in Flux, with Vinder's whole backstory basically being a lost episode of Line of Duty, complete with a guest spot from Craig Parkinson.

And honestly "cop as Doctor Who companion" was done much better thirty years ago and her name was Roslyn Forrester. Then again, it helped that she was very pointedly a futuristic space cop in the vein of Judge Dredd, a series which comes with anti-cop satire practically baked in. Roz is a cop, and not a very nice one at that, but the novels at least recognise that fact and give her the designated role of "person in the regular cast who will go along with whatever awful thing Seven has decided he's going to do this month, even if she argues with him about it a bit."

(It also undoubtedly helps that it's a consistent throughline in the New Adventures that Seven has strayed from the Doctorly ideal, so picking up two cops as his latest companions feels a bit more pointed than it does in the case of Thirteen, who was just one regeneration prior telling Clara "I'm not the police, that's just what it says on the box.")

The Roz/Seven dynamic is spiky and toxic, but it never pretends to be anything else, and it's also complex and challenging in a way that Thirteen's era and its handling of Yaz could pretty much never dream. If there had been a moment on par with "History kills people and sometimes even you can't save them" in the Chibnall Era, I'd probably be a lot less hard on it.

But then again I guess that's why Kate Orman remains the GOAT.

i really did enjoy the 13th doctor HOWEVER, if i could change anything (other than chibnall's flmisy political messaging) i wouldve made yaz a social worker in training. it literally made no sense to make her a cop, especially when she was constantly comparing herself to the doctor, who is literally the opposite of a cop in every way. and if she had to start off as a cop, she should have resigned and pursued social work or something similar that matched her backstory as a trouble teen AND the doctor's pacifist ideology. the idea that she felt a renewed interest in becoming a cop was sp dumb. why the fuck did he make the doctor's companion a cop when they fucking hateeee people of authority. wwtdd? not be a fucking cop

#13th doctor #yasmin khan #acab #virgin new adventures #doctor who #roz forrester #sorry if this is too harsh op #this is just one of those things that i find really illuminating about my personal issues with the chibnall era #and frankly i do think mandip gill was honestly great as yaz and i just wish she got more consistent/quality writing to work with

590 notes · View notes

lmaoitsyuuji · 25 days ago

Text

Cue the music!

Has any fandoms you’re involved in been part of any protest or acts of social activism (e.g K-pop and Black Lives Matter)?

I have the power of God and K-pop on my side!

Fandom?

A fandom is a term used to describe a subculture of fans who are immensely devoted to a particular area of entertainment, such as music groups, TV shows, movie series and more (Later c.2024). Fandoms are communities of people who share the same enthusiasm and passion towards a piece of media or pop culture. Social media platforms serve as a place for these communities to express their enthusiasm, discuss and share content and connect with others who have similar interests. Fandoms also create hashtags on social media related to their favourite topics to boost visibility for their interest and create discourse online (Later c.2024).

OMG fangirl alert!!!⋆｡𖦹˚.★

Everyone is a fan of something. Take me for example: I’m in tons of fandoms (Jujutsu Kaisen, Ace Attorney, K-pop, etc) and being in fandoms are a lot of fun!! We engage in interesting discourse online, fangirl about our interests, cussing out any lowlife haters, and literally just enjoying life as a fan.

Of course, being a part of a fandom can be exhausting as there’s bound to be toxic fans lurking in every fandom. However, being in a fandom also helps us become our better selves as many fandoms engage in social activism. Fans often unite around causes that resonate with their favourite artists and the messages in their music, channelling their passion to advocate for social change. We can see these sorts of engagements happening with K-pop fandoms.

When K-pop meets social activism

Now, when it comes to K-pop fandom and social activism, I can only think of one group and their fanbase regarding this topic: BTS. BTS (방탄소년단) is a 7-member boy group from South Korea which debuted under Big Hit Music (KProfiles 2024). I’m sure everyone and their grandmas know who BTS are and honestly, I’m quite proud to say I’ve been an ARMY (that’s what they call their fandom—plz don’t think I’m in an actual army) since 2015 until now.

BTS is mostly known for their catchy songs, meaningful lyrics and impressive choreographies and their fandom, the BTS ARMY, is known for their hardcore dedication towards the boy group. Their devotion to the group manifest in countless ways, from streaming their music and voting for them in award shows to organizing charity events in their name and engaging in social acts. Groups like BTS and their fandom, ARMY, have been particularly influential, using their platform to promote messages of love and acceptance and they are known to promote and advocate for social justice online. Due to BTS’ profound influence on their fans, the group had partnered with UNICEF to launch campaigns such as the LOVE MYSELF campaign aimed at combating violence against children and teenagers worldwide. UNICEF’s partnership with BTS leverages popular culture to raise awareness and funds for critical issues concerning children’s mental health (unicef 2024).

Additionally, both BTS and their fans have come together to raise and donate over $2 million in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was formed in 2013, dedicated to fighting racism and anti-Black violence, especially in the form of police brutality (Britannica 2024). K-pop fans gained widespread media attention for their active antiracist work in support of the BLM movement during the Covid pandemic in 2020 (Kim & Hutt 2021, p.8). After BTS donated $1 million to the BLM movement, their fanbase ARMY matched the million-dollar donation using the Twitter hashtag #MatchAMillion in under 24 hours. The fundraise, which was led by the fan-formed ‘One in an ARMY’ charity project, began the next morning after the boy group donated $1 million for the cause and hundreds of thousands of fans followed suit to support the movement (Madden 2020).

This is my fav fancam ever!

Let me explain what a K-pop fancam is: A fancam is a video closeup filmed by an audience member during a live performance by a K-pop idol group (Romano 2020). These fancams are typically posted on social media platforms like Instagram and Twittter (X) and fancams have always been a source of frustration for many Twitter users as their viral threads are often hijacked by users posting fancams to capitalize on the thread’s popularity.

However, in the case of the BLM movement, fancams were used in a positive way. K-pop stans have taken over white supremacist hashtags with fancams (Bhandari 2020).

Fans weaponize these fancams to boost the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and bury white supremacist hashtags by redirecting their energies to post K-pop fancams on Twitter (X) and Instagram (Bibliolore 2020). Besides that, K-pop stans also spammed their favourite K-pop fancams on a Dallas police intelligence app that was trying to collect “illegal activity from BLM protesters” until the app crashed (Ekin 2020). LMAO!

He also stole my heart, officer.

Thoughts

I was there on Twitter (X) when this whole thing happened and although, I didn’t have the means to donate during that time, I did my duty of spreading the hashtags and encouraging people to show support for the BLM movement. Thinking back on it now, I’m so proud for joining an incredibly passionate fandom that supports amazing artists and advocates for good causes like the BLM movement.

(842 words)

References

Ekin, A 2020, Are K-pop and BTS fans a new force for social justice? Al-Jazeera, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/7/1/are-k-pop-and-bts-fans-a-new-force-for-social-justice >

Bhandari, A 2020, The Mobilizing Power of the BTS ARMY, Reuters, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-RACE/BTS-FANS/nmopajgmxva/ >

Bibliolore 2020, K-pop and political activism, Bibliolore, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://bibliolore.org/2020/10/26/k-pop-and-political-activism/ >

Britannica 2024, Black Lives Matter, Britannica, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Lives-Matter >

Kim, P & Hutt, E 2021, K-pop as a Social Movement: Case Study of BTS and Their Fandom ARMY, Journal of Student Research, Vol.10 Issue 3, pp. 1-15, viewed on 20th October 2024.

KProfiles 2024, BTS Members Profile, KProfiles, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://kprofiles.com/bts-bangtan-boys-members-profile/ >

Later c.2024, Fandom, Later Social Media Management, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://later.com/social-media-glossary/fandom/ >

Madden, E 2020, The BTS Army and the Transformative Power of Fandom As Activism, The Ringer, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.theringer.com/music/2020/6/11/21287283/bts-army-black-lives-matter-fandom-activism >

Romano, A 2020, How K-pop fans are weaponizing the internet for Black Lives Matter, Vox, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21279262/k-pop-fans-black-lives-matter-fancams-youtubers-protest-support >

unicef 2024, BTS and UNICEF celebrate LOVE MYSELF campaign with renewed support for UNICEF’s #OnMyMind initiative, unicef, viewed on 20th October 2024,

< https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/bts-and-unicef-celebrate-love-myself-campaign-renewed-support-unicefs-onmymind >

#mda20009 #week 6 #swinburnesarawak

1 note · View note