#but like. the sheer prevalence of these tropes. should tell us something | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

randomclam24 · 1 year ago

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Getting kind of bored of a lot of things. The shills aren't hard to see through - in fact it takes a minute of thinking about it to find a contradiction in motives. I don't know why they want to push certain things. It's very annoying, and yet the majority of people still contribute to these conversations online.

I finally continued my run of Hell on Earth Starter Pack and just deleted the saves which were still early on for Doom II - so we're going to do this run instead. This is being run with Death Wish spawning being the default now, on Painkiller difficulty. I haven't beaten Doom episode four on this mode, but that came out after Doom II.

Update Given the oversaturation of boring shills, the whole Internet by the sheer overshadowed speed of the stupidity going around at any given moment in time seems like the movement of tectonic plates

I want a place to post things that not everyone will see or something

One thing I know that I can just tell anyone is that if anyone wants to further the use of the word "mid" - there's one instance I know of that that applies to for sure, and that is Sonic the Hedgehog 4, which doesn't even have the original Genesis physics remotely intact. The fact of it being "mid" is on account of the fact that the very team that conceived of such a thing couldn't even get their motivations straight, so ultimately there just ends up being a gross amalgamation of mixed - what do you even call them?

If something has a determined direction - even in the case of Sonic '06, I can see the fact of that - there isn't a place to call it "mid", because even in the case of something being fundamentally flawed, that still is applicable to its *execution*, not to its origins themselves, as in the case of Sonic 4, where nothing great was *ever* going to come from that.

I don't buy either of those games by the way.

Update This world, with its expectations, is at foundation an antipathy to a world, supported only in that it continues society's previous values on the *surface* "I know, I'm just not going to [respect you] is all...*laughing noises*"

Update High-tier freemasonry - every time you appeal to logic on any level, you're appealing to a God that failed hundred of years ago - sorry ******fam******

Update Listening to get caught up to Common Filth a bit more, we have the trope that people thought blacks and gays were the same thing - equity, guys! I'd logically agree in any situation, modifying the slogan a bit, we're all one species, the human species

Hell

Update Race relations - to have race relations without - what exactly do you call it? Equity, Tikkun Olam,

9/15 Okay, so I've eaten good this morning. If my feelings that everything is pointless were in any way caused by hunger, that should do it.

I just feel like whatever I would choose to do, it would be more like coasting than actually actively doing anything anymore.

Update About now, I'm feeling like the dog that someone once said could just go run off wherever it wants because he doesn't really care if it comes back at all or not or if it dies. I don't see any reason to think any more of human life than that, because it's so pointless. I'll keep fending for myself when it comes to these crunch scenarios which seem so prevalent that life itself seems like a showcase for these damned things and nothing else, given how much of a barren wasteland the sheer expanse time is compared to how often they crop up just like it's nothing. But aside from them - granted that there can be any moment where I truly get to relax for an extended period of time, not cut short - it's hard to even get back to what I was thinking, but - I was thinking life itself is fundamentally meaningless, not worth the time of day. I can't say anything *bad* about these people, so there's no free will left of my own self in this world. There's no other opportunity because the risk of being fired would be too astronomically high at every given moment. Just think about the little guy for a second. It's not worth it, dumbass, dipshit. Implying you would actually think - hence, dumbass, dipshit. Dumbass, dipshit. Don't know what else to call you. You're a - midwit. Oh right, we already called you that.

The modern employers are brutes!

I keep wrestling with the reality against my natural thoughts. Look, at the scale we're at, when it comes to conspiracy theories as a proposition, it really is true the fact that I have to redact any attempt at self-expression as it relates to other people really has preceded any event of being shown conspiracy theories at all in my life. I just don't like human beings. I can't consider myself one, technically, because my natural thoughts just keep drifting off the deep end of what everybody else cuts short on instinct. So - human instincts aren't *mine*

I already posted what I'd be watching for a while somewhere else. I can't even muster the focus necessary to watch anything right now. I just feel like going to sleep.

Update I felt like just wandering around wherever for a while in hopes of getting a palate cleanser, and so I took a relatively long walk. Now that I've rested a minute but am still too tired to go do it again, that's the exact same sentiment I have now. Let's go eat food (and possibly get drunk later)

I feel like contributing nothing to evil old mankind today. It feels like a good day for that.

Update Up until the moment there was the major lapse in judgment on the part of whoever in the upper ranks in New Mexico with the self-declared-emergency gun laws, the entire zeitgeist that the right wing won't do anything was quickly realized to be projection. Now, with that established, and with all of this crap done, I don't feel like there's really anything left to be anxious about, not on my part. Now all that's left is - well, a complete lack of anything.

It's like if you were all to die trying, that wouldn't affect me so much because it was due to factors that are now entirely out of my control. But really, I don't relate to any of these groups.

Update In any case, if I'm not focused on making any personal breakthrough and just intend to truly live aimlessly, I have an obligation to hang myself for reasons that are beyond my concern.

Update There's no reason for doubt: if Silent Hill 2 didn't represent a finalization of consensus against the kinds of people the government wants to target, being such a strong psychological game, in 2023, they wouldn't make it.

So inasmuch as I said the deal's over, with people finding out that it's projection when shills keep parroting the, "you won't do shit", in reality it's only the people doing the effective bidding of the mainstream against its dissenters that have any organic motive for action. Just because they don't want to carry this out on the forefront with violence means they're *smart.* You won't do shit.

Going back to continue Silent Hill 3 might be in order, but at the time being, I really just don't care. I feel like laying in the dust to die.

9/16 I've *already* admitted conspiracy theories are a sham, start to finish.

I honestly still - well now more than ever - don't see why murder would be considered so heinous and in religion be the foremost sin when human lives are so altogether wasted in their very conception. I have it from experience that my own human life is not *worth* much. Otherwise, you could do something with it *It's like I'm living in an alternate reality. No one else considers their life cut off from everyone else like me.* (So, what - that itself is in an alternate reality)

The "merit" of human life is a *sham*, and everyone should see through it - it's not hard.

Update I had a run going of Silent Hill 2 where once at the prison, I basically stopped picking up any items, but at first I was still killing the enemies. This time I started up a while earlier than that but also stopped killing the enemies once there too. Now for some reason I had a ridiculous migraine, and now I can't stop having a recurrence of this headache. I can't do anything anymore.

Update Okay, finally. I usually forget what I'm even doing when login requirements get to this extreme point. So the last time I tried to take pills for a severe headache, my bitch *mom* espouses her usual typical spiel that I'm (I don't care) - this time I'm in so much pain, I've already cycled through considering hanging myself to stop the pain. I took the pills - since they had already left.

Update I finally heard enough talk about Ukraine for it to jog in my conscious awareness - all these people saying they support Ukraine, the money being channeled there which is against our will in the first place even *without* said consent is for a fiasco that didn't need to happen, if anyone ever really wants to pay attention, or at least to the extent it's been taken to at this point, where so many people out of the population are being used of out of Ukraine that they're allegedly having to kidnap old people out of wheelchairs now just to keep the forefronts fed. Is it the Ukranian people you support? If only it could have been America instead of a people that have nothing to do with the modern world's sins.

Update Existence sucks. Pull all funds It's too bad we're not any of us major financial donors, so that doesn't make any difference?

Update I don't know why. I'm making slow progress through Hell on Earth Starter Pack (with the mods, including my modification of a music mod) - but even then, a lot of the time I stop, it's just because I feel like I can't be bothered. I feel like sleeping more often now. I never actually get to doing that.

9/19 Honestly, if there's wisdom to be passed down from generations by the *modern* era, it's only that everything that gets passed out as reasons, from people living at the ground level all the way up to modern sciences, is post-hoc in nature.

From that, you should already be a recluse. I'm not saying you have to right away.

Well, I looked up the actual definition of "post hoc", and for people looking for the definition with my meaning removed for reasons that are post hoc in nature, the official definition isn't very serviceable for me, trying to convince them back - not at all. It never works.

What I'm trying to say is that these things passed out in the modern day as reasons are in fact more accurately known as rationalizations after the fact that a decision is already made in the subconscious. Science, in paid-off disingenuity, is just the same in this respect as the people influenced to then say "it's okay" and try it themselves at the ground level with their *own* dismissive bullshit. There isn't any value in listening to other people, even in recorded content with a deliberate purpose in mind (although when most people speak, there's a purpose they have in mind in the conversation also, but that just kind of proves the fact that that in itself doesn't *mean* very much), that is more than cursory in nature. If you're thinking with pangs going on over it, oh, those exceptions that I saw that had me so hooked prove what you're saying is a ton of bullshit, you're thinking too hard. Good things are the exception to the rule, and the exception proves the rule.

So what do you do? You become a recluse.

Really, you can listen to other people saying things of a deeper nature in *their* concerns, and in that instance maybe you'll scrape a few bits of meaning off of what is to them merely the surface of their real underlying point, since some things are more widely applicable regardless of the context - beyond that, all interest is lost. I don't relate to other people hanging on listening. Doesn't make sense.

I don't exactly *know* - at this point, it doesn't really matter if 2030 agendas actually play out, because there is the truth underlying agendas such as simply taking farms off the people's hands: people making their own individualistic attempts at higher reasoning doesn't pan out anything in the modern day, where people are already lesser than they were before the modern existence. By this point, by the fact that it's proven to be most effective just to listen to and believe the shills when they're talking like evil henchmen on the internet to understand the higher nature of the world around us, we know that higher knowledge lies - soundly - in the hands of the few

Honestly, though, it's not just ritualistic - people aren't worth their salt

If it was only 4chan - people there are actually actively trying - there it sounds like a fixed response to say "we'll just take this off your hands" for your better good - although it's *true* - listening to and believing the shills is the only way to know *concisely.* I was going to say, look - those aren't the scope of mankind, and with the same words turned around, mankind is a separate entity from the exception to the rule.

So, basically, it comes down to: if you're looking for answers in life as to its meaning, entities like the WEF and Blackrock already have the answer, and the shills of such entities gladly dispense that truth in a backhanded kind of way with, "and you can't do anything about it because you're broken and demoralized"

Wait - that's still assuming that we can't make our own way with our own answers - but again, I'm thinking too hard. This is to be considered as in a classroom setting in which we're conditioned from a young age: there's a right answer to every question, and we're just trying to align ourselves with it as a fundamentally separate entity from ourselves. That is the truth. That is correct. Something like, in the modern world, every question already comes with an answer deriving from past studies

I know that's fine and dandy as a world order for everyone else, but for me as the exception that proves the rule, you realize quickly it takes in fact an IQ *low enough* to process without being drawn on its own to broader subjects, which defeats the point, when just anyone else with a midwit IQ would be already all up in that. They would already be making six figures, not enthralled with anything *I'm* thinking on my own - I've missed the boat.

I don't know why I'm even talking, but I guess the agenda of higher entities like WEF and Blackrock of taking farms off our hands into a more definitive system just derives from the long-standing mindset that all our knowledge is now derivative of studies which are only helpful in that they have been collectively accumulated.

I thought about that once before, and it would seem to contradict the idea that evolutionism as a mindset arose from the direct relative of Luciferians: it says that, unlike this system which *denies* people at the ground level doing their own thing just to take the farce off of their hands, all forms of life originally came into being entirely *because* random generation eventually panned out winners.

You know how leftists are always calling it water-under-the-bridge when called out succinctly for doing what they made into the end of the world in their accusations of the other side? This might be in fact a case of that, on display in a more esoteric sense.

Honestly, I don't think we have any real upward mobility, even when it comes to trying to figure out matters of a higher nature on our own. The best you can hope to do is take the shills already out and about and try to *bait* them with some talk like this so they get enraged with it over the knowledge they already have and correct you, saying it's obviously this, this, and this. I've heard someone use a better term for it, but there isn't a time where the shills *aren't* or don't have the answer such that they're not the baseline for opinion, where the buck stops there for any given purposes. If I had to guess, these are established from top-level Masonry, where the agendas are formed organically, but not in a way that seems intuitive to us mere mortals on this pointless child's play-pen earth relative to the reality.

It's pointless. We're all going to live our lives as they were before we were conceived. I'm just going to lay around a lot.

And then the shills come out and say, this guy isn't a "part of it" - there's *really* nothing wrong with it (the WEF agenda, etc.)

And it's *true* - I'm really not a part of it when it comes to regular human people's processing of thoughts or any motivations or anything - shills don't even have to do a *job*; they are tasked only with the basic switching back on of people's suspended judgment based on that fact, and (really) they aren't needed to do that. It's just kind of like pouring salt in the wound, their being there, being that.

Update Well, anyway, I'm not an evolutionist. I don't believe that random generation can actually lead to the entire history of living creatures. (Honestly it gets off point to go on about this, but evolutionists will win the argument based on the fact that micro-evolution is demonstrable, creating a consensus such that they only need be obtuse to uphold it when presented with the question about the lack of evidence of macroevolution even in amber fossils, because with that consensus, that's neither here nor there.)

People tend not to find more profound results unless they were explicitly looking for something along those lines and then were essentially surprised by reality. People toiling at the ground level rarely produces these results. Plus, people that casual are just going to get bribed with external funding to skew the science to meet the producer's preconclusions. As usual. What do you expect? Science? That's been fundamentally defunct for however many several years.

Honestly, whether you're listening to a paid-off nu-scientist or the ramblings of some random person who may not really know much, we are mere mortals compared to the baseline-of-opinion online shill

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flightfoot · 4 years ago

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Do salt asks bother you? Not salters' asks but people ranting about salt ? Because It'll be rude of us not to consider how you feel about them you deserve to enjoy the show without us bothering you .

Eh... mostly I get worried when I get too many that I’m becoming too repetitive. The asks themselves don’t bother me.

At this point I find the “Ron the Death Eater” syndrome that I encounter nonstop in ML saltfics - so usually against Adrien, Alya, and the class, though with special guest appearances by Ms. Bustier, Principal Damocles, and Tom and Sabine, in order to emphasize how horribly they’ve wronged Saltinette and how badly they should pay for it - to be INCREDIBLY triggering, as in if I even see the summary of or promotion of one of those fics, of those concepts, see it still being treated as good and well-deserved, it’s likely to bother me for the rest of the day.

I was actually having trouble sleeping because of it like... a week ago I think? And I had a day to a day and a half during this past week, if I remember the timing right, where I just felt really exhausted and like I was on the verge of tears because I’d seen promotions of these types of fics, the ones that have been part of an incessant onslaught for over two years now. Whenever I manage to go a couple days without seeing them and just sticking with fics that show them caring about each other, especially ones that emphasize that Marinette loves and cares about Adrien, Alya, the class, her parents, etc, it helps, since that helps to counter the narrative that’s built up over the years.

To some extent, talking about it helps. It helps to reframe and recontextualize this never-ending warping and hatred I see against those characters, and the plotlines that were built to allow for that warping. Unfortunately just telling myself to stop caring about seeing this nonstop narrative about how everyone’s just taking advantage of Marinette, what horrible people they all are, that the only thing that matters is that they’ve ‘failed’ Marinette and the sheer contempt for them in the face of that failure, doesn’t really do much to get it to leave me alone.

When I’m actively doing stuff with the saltfics, like the commentary I did on TvTropes fandom-specific plots, that takes a lot of the bite out, since it’s showing why those tropes, those plots, that complete warping and bastardization of the characters isn’t remotely justified, how wrong it is. Because it’s not just seeing that these things EXIST that causes me so much distress, but seeing how many people adhere to it, and how deeply.

I’ve ranted about this to my mom repeatedly over the years. She keeps on trying to get me into something else, some fandom or show or something where I’m not constantly dealing with this stress and anger and getting upset every day. Which I’ve tried to do, to an extent. I tried to run back to the Trials of Apollo fandom last year, see if maybe getting back into that might help me cope better with what was going on in the ML fandom, since all my fandom eggs wouldn’t be in one basket. But then bashing started cropping up in that fandom and people started going after Rick Riordan and I wasn’t only on the VERGE of crying thinking about that but full on WAS crying and it just... it wasn’t worth it. I cut ties with the fandom for the most part and just stuck with the books, which thankfully I enjoy as much as ever (which is a LOT. Seriously, best book series I’ve ever read).

Even just last week my mom was proposing that maybe I take up shop in whatever corner of the She-ra fandom that my younger sibling has found, since that seems less distressing.

But it’s not like I can trade fandoms just like that. It doesn’t WORK like that.

Plus... well there’s a major problem with that.

I LOVE Miraculous Ladybug.

I LOVE the non-salt fics for it.

Like, more than for any fandom I’ve been in previously. And I’ve been reading fics constantly for the past 15 years, so that’s saying a lot. I just enjoy seeing the characters hang out with each other and fall in love and just... look I’ve never been this invested in reading fics where the characters just talk or have a date, but I am with this fandom. I absolutely LOVE them.

The newest restriction I’ve added to try to cut down on the salt is not looking at the ML AO3 page when I’m on my phone, not even with filtering out the most prevalent salt tags. For some reason my AO3 account is weird and I can only get logged in on my phone by going through my email, which limits what tags I can set up and actually leave open.

Unfortunately that still leaves a ton of fics that slip through that Ron the Death Eater people that aren’t part of the five or so tags that I immediately block, and then there are many fics with nothing I can use to filter them out at all, especially if they were started before saltfics were recognized as their own genre.

At this point I’m really hoping that either people drop the bashing fics or I can make myself stop caring. I don’t know whether either of those are feasible.

#ask #ml fandom salt

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they-did-what-to-allura · 6 years ago

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My letter for the @justice-for-allura project. Posting mostly to remind anybody who might be lurking that this is a thing, and it’s a cool thing. If you feel bad bout how Allura’s story went down and wanna make your points known, this is a great opportunity for it.

Edit: Changed some things, fixed a couple typos and reworded some points for clarification.

To the Voltron Team, DreamWorks, to Any and All Involved with the Decision to Kill Off Allura,

Let me begin by thanking the team for giving us this iteration of Allura to begin with. She is a beloved character to many fans. If she wasn’t such a great character, there wouldn’t be so many of us upset about the way her story ended. So, thank you for Allura. She was an amazing character with interesting layers of personality and a delightful design.

In this letter I will explain not only why I was personally disheartened by her death, but also why I believe it was a poor choice to make in terms of writing and the larger narrative.

On the personal end, I related very much to Allura. I empathize with the trauma of losing loved ones and it was cathartic for me to see a character lose so much, but not be defined by that loss. A character who retained a multifaceted personality that included a playful streak, a love of sparkly things, a sense of justice, and abundant courage. She is not reduced to her loss even though it impacts her journey as a character.

Allura’s struggle with Alfor’s corrupted AI also deeply resonated with me. While this is coming from a rather abstract point, it reminds me of my own struggle with a father who is an addict. Allura had to let Alfor’s AI go in spite of how painful it was, in spite of the better memories haunting her every step of the way. The possibility I will have to let my own father go is a very real one because he has made it clear he will never change. His addiction has effectively corrupted our relationship and fed into my own stints with substance abuse. This will be an unspeakably painful decision for me and we have many happier memories that reel through my mind every moment I even contemplate making it.

To relate to a character, to be inspired by a character and her persistence, and then watch her die…really blows. My stomach sank. I felt like crap. I felt even crappier upon hearing that my friend’s nine year old niece sobbed when she watched the ending. I doubt we related to Allura for the same reasons, but I do know that Allura was her favorite character. So with that, I’ll get into the less personal and more objective reasons as to why I feel Allura’s death was a horrible decision.

Firstly, VLD is geared toward younger audiences. I know VLD has a notable periphery demographic, with many older teens and adults such as myself watching and being in the fandom. I know sometimes this periphery demographic can be louder than the intended audience, which I can only assume is children due to the toys and easy-read supplemental materials. VLD has a Y-7 rating, so even if the volume of the periphery demographic drowns out that of the intended, the rating alone demonstrates that this is a show that’s at the least meant to be accessible to children.

Children are impressionable. Representation is important for people of all ages, of course, but it is especially important to children. Kids connect more easily to media where they can see themselves and for the good or the ill, fictional characters can be role models for children.

Allura was a non-white female leader, described in-universe as the “Heart of Voltron.” That’s amazing! That’s truly rare. It’s sad that it’s rare. It’s 2019 and there should be a plethora of non-white female protagonists for young girls of color to look up to. But there aren’t.

Allura was fantastic representation for young girls of color. Representation they hardly ever get. I cannot see a single good reason to take that representation away from them. In fact, it seems downright mean to take that away from them. I do not want the excuse that the staff weren’t aware of the importance of representation, either. You can’t promote the show with official art like this:

…and claim you’re unaware of how important representation is. Particularly for children, for whom this show was rated as being appropriate for.

I do not feel the excuse that this show was about war is reasonable either. Yes, in real life, war is painful. Lives are lost indiscriminately. This was one of the justifications cited for Adam’s death when VLD was criticized for portraying the “Bury Your Gays” trope. However, VLD had already made it clear that war had costs. The Arusian village was destroyed purposely to bait the team. Several Blades of Marmora lost their lives aiding the team. The costs of war were very clear early on in the show. Allura certainly didn’t have to die to reinforce a theme that had already been reinforced several times prior.

On that note, it is very telling that an apology letter was sent for the death of a character who had all of two minutes of screen time, but not for Allura, a major protagonist.

Many people are offended by Allura’s death, feeling that it is racist and sexist. I do not want to believe that Allura’s death was intended to be either of these things. However, there are serious unfortunate implications in killing off your only WoC in the main cast that cannot be ignored. VLD is fictional but it exists in a real world, where real people are impacted by these issues.

While Allura’s death ultimately feels disrespectful given what she represented and its sheer pointlessness in the story, I see attempts at respect in its overall framing. Allura is revered as a hero. There is a statue built in her honor. She has a legacy. These are things that generally shape the celebration of a fallen hero. But even within the framing, there are mixed signals. Most notably, her loved ones take cheery selfies in font of her monument. In my personal opinion, that is the antithesis to an attempted respectful tone.

And I specifically use the word ‘attempted’ because despite the framing, Allura’s death does not actually come across as respectful in the least. It is crammed into the last nine minutes of the final episode. It is immediately followed by a flash forward to the future. Neither the characters nor the audience have time to mourn her. I do not want to hear the excuse that Allura’s death isn’t offensive because “she died as a hero.” Simply because something may be framed to be respectful doesn’t mean it actually is. The poor execution of that attempted framing itself is one of the lesser of many harmful messages sent by the decision to kill Allura off.

In a world where representation is important, an importance that is acknowledged by the staff, somehow someone still came to the conclusion that Allura’s narrative should end in death. Intent aside, her death falls into the “Disposable Woman” cliche, and is especially gutting because she is a WoC. I cannot reiterate how rare it is to see characters like Allura, non-white women that serve as major protagonists.

Allura suffered unduly throughout the series. She lost an entire planet, her family, her home, her title, and eventually her life. She was always a giving character. She was willing to sacrifice herself to save the Balmera as early as season one. It is noble of her to have that kind of dedication, I’m not saying it isn’t. But girls are socialized to sacrifice their happiness for others, it is a message they internalize at multiple levels.

Girls are socialized to put others before themselves and to sacrifice, and this expectation is especially pressing for girls of color. The SBW (Strong Black Woman) stereotype is a notably prevalent one because of the expectation placed on black women specifically to always be strong and constantly put their own needs last. While Allura is an alien, she is in-universe a minority post Altea’s destruction and IRL, redesigned to be non-white. And many fans, including myself, do see her as specifically black-coded because of her skin tone, hair texture, and having Kimberly Brooks as her voice actress.

A hopeful ending for any character who sacrificed as much as Allura would be one where that character is rewarded for their sacrifice. Where they’re able to find happiness on the other end. Where the audience feels payoff because a character we’ve seen give for so long finally gets. Where the audience feels fulfilled because a character we’ve seen grieve and grieve finally gets to breathe. For kids to see a non-white female character get this kind of ending isn’t only hopeful, but important. Girls— especially girls of color —should be shown that they don’t have to give up everything. Boys should also be shown these narratives, because they shouldn’t internalize the expectation of the girls and women in their lives to constantly sacrifice.

Allura’s sacrifice stands out as particularly glaring when we take into account that teamwork was supposedly one of VLD’s major themes. In a show entitled Voltron: Legendary Defender, wherein the titular robot must be formed by a team, it seems very out of place that it was up to one person to save the day. What was the point of the team bonding with each other, and with the lions, if all of that was going to be rendered useless in the battle that mattered the most?

None of the main characters we’d been led to believe loved each other made any real attempt to find another solution through teamwork. They more or less accepted Allura’s sacrifice at face value even though she was supposedly important to them. The paladins offered some minimal protest, then each gave Allura a hug and just watched her walk to her death. In addition to undercutting the theme of teamwork in the show, it just felt very strange to watch. I didn’t feel like I was watching a team who fought side-by-side at all. These characters felt less connected to each other than they did during the first season and at this point, supposedly they’ve fought side-by-side for years.

Not only did Allura’s lone sacrifice seem to undercut the theme of teamwork, but it just seemed incongruent to the atmosphere of the series. While loss was depicted and prevalent in VLD, nothing ever indicated that it would be a tragedy. Watching Allura’s death play out feels like watching a show that forgot what genre it was supposed to be. The emotional beats aren’t the right ones.

We feel no payoff from her death because it didn’t accomplish anything of value in the narrative. Allura had something to live for after the war, her newfound family and love interest. She didn’t have anything to atone for, unlike Honerva. At best (and I really mean at best here) one could argue that her death contributed to Lance’s development because he spends his life spreading her message after the fact. However, many viewers understandably perceived this as a demotion for Lance with its own set of unfortunate implications. Even if that was the case— which itself feels like grasping at straws for some kind of explanation —I shouldn’t have to point out why it’s extremely problematic for a female character to be killed for her love interest’s development.

Allura’s death felt as pointless as it did out of place. It felt unsatisfying and frankly, just like someone in the writer’s room wanted to be Edgy™ for the sake of it. It also felt particularly mean coming from a team who acknowledged how important representation was to its viewers and who used representation as a promotion point.

VLD is over. That is clear. I do not write this with the intent to get the “real ending” or anything of the like. I write this to express why Allura’s death effected me personally, why I feel it has harmful messages, and why it comes across both as harsh and as poor writing.

I hope all those who were involved with this decision reflect on the feedback from the way her death was perceived, most important the feedback of the WoC in the audience. Major character death should always be handled with care, especially in children’s programs. Representation should always be handled with care, especially in children’s programs. The way Allura’s story ultimately ended feels careless at best and malicious at worst.

Signed,

An Incredibly Disappointed Viewer

#justiceforallura #voltron critical #representation #allura #justice for allura

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wazafam · 4 years ago

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Margot Robbie rose to prominence less than a decade ago, thanks to her part in Martin Scorsese's 2013 biopic The Wolf of Wall Street, and it's impressive how much she achieved in so little time. She is also a producer, involved in prominent films, like the recent hit Promising Young Woman.

RELATED: 5 Ways Rachel Green is Jennifer Aniston's Best Role (& 5 Better Alternatives)

Robbie's career is still in its early stages, but she already has performed the role of a lifetime: the chaotic and charming Harley Quinn. Although audiences go back and forth with the DCEU, Harley is one of its most beloved characters. Robbie successfully explored other genres and even achieved two Oscar nominations, establishing herself as an Academy darling and displaying her versatility as a performer. But to some, she'll always be Harley Quinn — and it's easy to see why.

10 Harley Is Best: Beautiful Chaos

Harley Quinn is the perfect combination between chaos and hilarity. She's her own person, an unpredictable woman bound to cause a riot wherever she goes. Unlike the Joker, Harley isn't cruel or merciless. She just wants to have a good time, even if that sometimes means breaking the law.

Harley is unlike any female character in comics or movies. She's not an outright femme fatale, nor a helpless damsel in distress. In fact, she doesn't fit any classic archetype. Harley is a true original, and Robbie does a fantastic job capturing her essence.

9 Better Alternative: Sharon (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood)

Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is unrestrained and thrilling. A movie made by a film lover, for film lovers. Tarantino once again blends fact with fiction, creating a provocative and thought-provoking fantasy that translates into a satisfying film experience.

As Sharon Tate, Robbie is the embodiment of said fantasy. She exists in the film as a dream, almost detached from the reality around her. And Robbie gives it her all in the role, becoming an incandescent and irresistible ray of light that illuminates and elevates the entire movie.

8 Harley Is Best: Robbie Made Her A Star

Like most fans know, Harley Quinn made her debut in the now-iconic Batman: The Animated Series. The character was an instant hit and soon made her way into the pages of the comic books. Harley is now a staple in the Batman franchise, even receiving her own HBO Max animated show.

While the character was already immensely beloved when Suicide Squad came out in 2016, Robbie's performance helped consolidate Harley's popularity. The actor defined Harley for an entire generation, and the two became bonafide stars in the process.

7 Better Alternative: Queen Elizabeth I (Mary Queen of Scots)

2018's Mary Queen of Scots was a critical and commercial disappointment. Starring Saoirse Ronan and Robbie, the film focuses on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her troubled relationship with her cousin, Elizabeth I, Queen of England.

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Despite its lackluster reception, critics and audiences agreed that Robbie gave one of her best performances in the film. As Elizabeth, she's a true force of nature, commanding, overbearing, and absolute. It's a challenging role, but Robbie rose to the challenge and came out victorious.

6 Harley Is Best: Fashion Icon

Suicide Squad featured Harley in an instantly iconic yet problematic outfit. Things changed with 2020's Birds of Prey, as Robbie and the film's team decided to go all-in with the absurdity and camp. The result is a vibrant and eclectic clash of colors and patterns that create a truly distinctive look for Harley.

The fashion choices in Birds of Prey are, for the lack of a better word, fantabulous. They not only capture Harley's personality but actually enhance it. Even when she's not speaking, audiences can tell who Harley is, all thanks to the clothes she's wearing.

5 Better Alternative: Naomi Lapaglia (The Wolf of Wall Street)

From the moment Robbie first appeared in The Wolf of Wall Street, it became clear that she was a star. She commanded the screen, holding her own against a heavyweight like Leonardo DiCaprio, who in turn was doing some of the best work in his career.

To use internet vernacular, Robbie understood the assignment. She fit perfectly with the film's tone, delivering a performance that's as over-the-top as it is sincere. It's a tricky combination to pull off, but Robbie did it, and she made it seem effortless.

4 Harley Is Best: A Woman Antihero (At Last!)

Stories of male antiheroes became increasingly prevalent in the 21st century. Numerous television shows — Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Dexter — indulged in the trope and gave audiences iconic but questionable protagonists. And as the age of the antihero rose to its peak, fans wondered when a female antihero would come along.

Harley fits the description perfectly. She's not good or bad, just selfish. Her self-preservation instinct guides most of her decisions, and while she certainly tilted more towards the "good" side in Birds of Prey, the upcoming The Suicide Squad seems to take her back to her antagonistic roots.

3 Better Alternative: Kayla Pospisil (Bombshell)

Bombshell is far from perfect. In fact, it leans into sensationalism when it should treat its delicate subject matter with more nuance. The result is an uneven story that benefits greatly from the sheer amount of talent in front of the camera, especially Charlize Theron and Robbie.

RELATED: 5 Ways Black Widow Is Scarlett Johansson's Best Role (& 5 Better Alternatives)

As Kayla Pospisil, Robbie proves her ability to elevate even the thinnest material. She imbues Kayla with earnestness and vulnerability while still retaining her humanity. And while the film around her somewhat lets her down, Robbie is in complete control of her craft, and it shows.

2 Harley Is Best: LGBTQ Representation?

Harley is currently in a relationship with Poison Ivy in the HBO Max animates series. The romance received praise from critics and audiences alike and provided some much-needed positive LGBTQ+ representation.

Robbie recently discussed how she lobbied Warner Bros. to include Poison Ivy in the DCEU. And while her efforts were unsuccessful, she assured fans she'll keep trying, stating how great it would be to bring the relationship to the big screen. It would also be a huge step forward for representation and a welcome addition to Harley's characterization.

1 Better Alternative: Tonya Harding (I, Tonya)

Fierce, committed, and transformative, Robbie's performance in I, Tonya is nothing short of spectacular. She never once judges the character for her actions, but she doesn't try to excuse them either. Instead, she does something far more complex: finding the humanity in Harding and displaying it to the audience without any embellishments.

It's a meal of a role, and Robbie made the most out of it. She received rave reviews and her first Oscar nomination, and in all honesty, would've been a deserving winner. Still, and with her entire career ahead of her, it's only a matter of time before she delivers another stunning performance that finally lands her the gold.

NEXT: 5 Ways Superman Is Henry Cavill's Best Role (& 5 Better Alternatives)

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shippingk8 · 7 years ago

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RWBY Rundown, Episode 8 Volume 5

Anonymous

If you have seen it: What's your opinion on v5e8? We see that Yang have revealed more on the depth of her feeling for Blake but also Weiss initiating a more proactive role in helping Yang recover. I appreciate Weiss's canon frankness, but I will admit I'd enjoy it more if we got a hint of that jealous dere-dere like your Weiss from recovery.

Jacevi

Hello, it's me again :) Because I love your way of thinking and the way you write, I was curious if you would have some spare time to give us your opinion on the newest episode? Also really really curious what they wanted to represent with the close up on Weiss's fist clenching in that moment?

Ohhoho, so very many opinions and thoughts, to be honest. So without further ado, here is the rundown.

Weiss and Yang talk

Okay, wow. Let’s just get the giddiness from the sheer amount of Freezerburn moments in the last 4 episodes out of the way. Like YOWZA! (I think I’m gonna need to make another theory post just from everything that has happened in the last 3 episodes alone!) *rolls eyes* That said, I know that Freezerburn is still really unlikely to happen, so I will save the rest of my fan freak out for another post.

Weiss was such a major and important character this episode. It has been awesome to see Weiss shown as such an influential and rounded character this season. From the two dimensional ice queen of Volume 1 to the heart that is trying to keep their ‘family’ together in Volume 5 it has been really cool to see her character develop. I am very interested to see if this same level of help gets extended to all of her team members, or if there is something a little special about Yang in particular. On those opening comments let me elaborate.

The trend of Weiss and Yang ending up spending time together has been quite interesting to me, not just as a freezerburn shipper, but as writer. They are both so opposite, yet extremely similar, and I loved that about this episode. Yang doesn’t see how Weiss could possibly relate to her and yet Weiss explains just that.

She shares that just because she has a nuclear family, that doesn’t mean it is a good family. And it is because of that, that her team/friends have become her surrogate family. I thought this was awesome for multiple reasons. 1) It makes Weiss more real and multi-dimensional. 2) It helps fill in with more detail as to why she was an ice queen to start. 3) It was relatable as hell. Coming from a very similar family situation I just felt for Weiss and understood that need to make family when your own isn’t great. 4) You can see that telling Yang this wasn’t easy, but Weiss did it anyhow because she knew that it was what Yang needed to hear.

Now that said I did find a couple of things to be odd or interesting choices on the writers’ part. I thought it was a little curious that Weiss was the one to have this talk with Yang and not Ruby (more on that below). And it was a bit weird that Weiss said that she and Yang weren’t close, I am attributing this to her own insecurities, but (in my opinion) given how often the have been paired together in the past as well as the fact that she literally glomped Yang when she saw her again makes that sort of a weird thing to say. @toomuchfreetyme2 disagrees, as my editor says that Weiss is comparatively the least close with Yang of the group, ie Ruby is her sister and Weiss is her battle partner. Buuuuut I don’t like that argument, so I’m choosing to ignoring it. (Lol, I’m so getting yelled at later for that comment. Worth it~) And lastly, the hand gesture while Weiss is talking about Blake was an interesting and super confusing choice.

In my opinion that gesture was pretty really vague, and could have been interpreted a ton of ways. For instance, (in order from most to least likely) it could have been her secretly being mad at Blake for leaving too, but not saying it out loud because she didn’t think that was what Yang needed to hear right then. It could have been her worried about how things will go when Blake does come back. It could have been interpreted as her knowing that the closeness that she shares with Yang will be gone when Blake comes back. It could have been her knowing that she will have to be the bigger person, and put her feeling for Yang aside when Blake comes back. It could even have been interpreted as her having secret feelings for Blake. (Seriously if that is true then the show will have fallen into becoming an anime about Blake’s harem.)

Given just how vague and secretive this show can be I felt extra frustrated about the ambiguity of that gesture, because it was intentionally animated (meaning it was important) but also very unclear as to what it actually meant. I am hoping that it meant that she was holding onto some anger at Blake, because otherwise I feel like it is odd for her to be soooo supportive of Blake running away and leaving them. Especially considering that she got mad at Blake for not trusting or leaving the team more than once before The Fall. I also felt that it did undercut the validity of Yang’s feelings of being abandon a bit to not have Weiss at least acknowledge that she does have the right to feel hurt. *shrug* Overall props to the Weiss scene, it gave me the feels.

Ruby

I think it is significant that it was Weiss that talked to Yang and not Ruby. Of everyone, Ruby got to see more than anyone how much Yang was effected by The Fall. In my opinion I think it shows Ruby’s lack of experience as a lead and still prevalent immaturity. She has yet to acknowledge that Yang isn’t okay, whereas Weiss has on three distinct occasions. (In the bandit camp, when she speaks for Yang during the conversation with Oscar/Oz, and when she talks to Yang in this episode)

At this point it seems that team RNJR is happy accepting that Yang is fine. Which I could forgive from Nora, Jaune, and Ren, but not from Ruby. It is her sister, she felt that distance that was put between them from everything that happened to Yang, and she saw just how broken Yang became before she left. I get that they all just want to have a fun at ease night once they are all back together, but it is troubling to me that Ruby hasn’t reached out to her sister or at the very least been shown through body language or context to know that Yang ISN’T okay.

This mixed with all that we have learned about Ozpin makes me question if Ruby really is ready or supposed to be a leader, or if she was just put in the position because she is “special,” like her mother. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do think Ruby can become a great leader. She already has that paragon/inspirational touch, but I think she is still too young to have the wisdom to lead her team emotionally and does lack a level of maturity needed to be a good leader. Ruby has always been the one to go off and take care of things herself, being a rogue agent isn’t really a good quality for leadership. From what I have seem in volume 4 and 5 I think that that will be where Ruby’s character arc will grow next. Her maturing, gaining some more confidence, and figuring out how to be a true leader.

Blake and Illia

Sigh… If Illia is the only queer character on the show I am going to be epically pissed. Not even kidding a little bit.

Not because she is a bad character, but because her storyline got botched. The premise of her character was pretty solid to start. She was in the White Fang because her parents were dead and no one cared because they were faunus. She did seemed a tiny bit too willing to sacrifice everything for the cause, but I blame that feeling on a lack of a more fleshed out back story. I’m sure there are lots of other little stories and instances that got her to where she is right now, but it really sucks that we don’t/didn’t get any of that.

She was an interesting and important character, because she was the most relatable member of the White Fang and she was still struggling with the morality of taking her actions all the way. Which was good and very important for building empathy with the audience and throwing doubt in that ‘no one is completely evil’ sort of way.

But then they went and messed things up on sooooo many levels. First off, because of how and when Illia confessed her feelings most people are going to think that she is only acting like such a sacrificing member of the White Fang, ‘because she is in love with Blake.’ Which ends up obliterating the relevance of her back story and her actions being based on the fact that her family is dead. Second, *shakes fist in anger* could you stop with the vengeful unrequited lesbian trope! I know that wasn’t what they were going for, but that is what most people are going to see. And I can not tell you how unbelievably fed up with the shit writing that gets thrown at the gay community. It is like your options for a gay character are either to be a psycho, killed off after getting together, or be a psycho and killed off. Negative representation is not good representation!

(Deep breaths~)

Okay, moving on!

Blake

I was going to write something about Blake and her development, but I think I will save that for another time.

Blake and Adam

This is going to sound weird, but it would make for a better story if it was revealed that Blake and Adam didn’t actually have a relationship.

Here is why:

1) It is a really lame, extra psycho, and terrible message to send if Adam only wants to hurt Blake because she broke up with him. First off, and most important, we do not, I repeat, DO NOT need to be sending men (or anyone) the message that if someone breaks up with you you should go psychotic on them. Second, if Adam’s only motivation for going after Blake on a murder spree is because she broke up with him then that makes his character really lame, ultra one dimensional, and frankly boring. Sure it helps you hate the guy, but if he is going to stick around for more than a volume you should really add some depth and complexity to the situation and by extension the character.

2) If they weren’t actually ever together then it makes Blake look way better. The fact that Adam has turned out to be so violent and unstable has called into question Blake’s judgment in a big way, but if she held back because there was just something that didn’t feel quite right then that would give her character a lot of credit and make her more empathetic and relatable. That sort of hero worship scenario where someone turns out not to be quite who you thought they were has happened to almost everyone. And lastly Blake already has WAY too many love interests. I think it actually gives her character power back if she is the one that is able to say, “No, I choose not to be with you.”

3) It opens his ‘revenge’ story line to be a lot richer if they didn’t date. If it is established that they dated then the vast majority of people will simplify the entire thing to be all about him going crazy for being left. Anything significant that happened between them or any other very real and valid reasons for him wanting to get back at her will then become essentially a moot point for most people. Because, again, most people latch on the the biggest most easy to swallow thing first. For example a great element that could be introduced would be that Adam didn’t actually care that much for Blake emotionally, but wanted to be with her for the recognition that she brought. Adam obviously wanted to be leader of the White Fang, what better leverage than dating and having the support of the daughter of the previous White Fang leader.

Overall I actually did really like the episode, but I do wish that the Illia thing were handled differently. Now my thoughts on Episode 9 are a whole other post and I am really behind, so it will have to wait for after the new chapter gets posted on “Recovery.”

#Blake Belladonna #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #freezerburn #rwby theory #rwby volume 5 #here is my very long opinion #opinions #writing theory

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