#but one thing you can't say about them is that they were boring and pandering to fan service

[marklikely]

its really nice being a horror fan tbh if only because most of the complaints i see online about Movies These Days just don't really apply to the movies i watch at all

[chim-chim1310]

Have you seen the new jk ck ad and to which jkkrs are using the rhetoric that he is gay and doing this as a rebellion to scooter braun's made up persona of het global star in seven and I'm here be seeing these same ppl say that tae wearing these type of queer in his first solo release is not a big deal bc he's proven straight and dates jn ( I don't doubt but he's not even given the benefit of bi/pan ) but just bc jk acts like this in a contractual ad that has no personal thoughts or ideas (and as a queer person, I see what they're trying to do bc they've done this type of thing for other make stars like HS) and for his first release he still went with the het agenda just for his global superstar male and deleted his thirst trap for his boyfriend just last week for this same agenda (again the theory of these jkkrs) but this week his back to his rebellion era which make me think if he has some type personality splits but whatever..

What really makes me angry is jm is seen as some panicked/ashamed gay by these shippers just bc he stopped giving moments to their ship and this guy as some rebel just because of his pandering to these shippers but when you see that jm released art work that can be seen by many with many sexual and gender queer references without involving other ppl is what a rebellion queer is but I have yet to see other members especially jk in this case to do something mild to even allude that they're in the queer side like all these ppl have are magazine/ads and jm with them to mostly make them gay but jm is seen queer even without mentioning these ppl, which makes me think of why I never see jkkrs discuss jm's solo queer moments to argue he's queer but always insisting jk's gay (& don't get me wrong bc he can be gay/bi/pan or even get but these ppl's dumb reasons are just really stupid) once every two weeks that it now seems like they're just manifesting it to happen but yeah and I'm sorry this ask is all over the place like I just don't understand this panicked gay jm when that barked for usher in a live for millions of fans..

Jungkook is literally doing his job. Like what's so hard to understand for these people. The ad requires a certain kind of look and he's going for it. He's not the one who plans it. And he had the chance to express his sexuality in his art and he portrayed himself as straight. So there's no point in arguing.

Even if anyone else was gay in the group they wouldn't have enough guts to do what jimin did.

What jimin has been doing in his art need some solid guts. People don't talk enough about how brave jimin is to express himself in a homophobic country especially when his career is on line.

I don't know about jk. But I'm sure other members are straight. And i believe yoongi is queer. But still he didn't have enough guts to express himself. I'm not saying they have to. They don't have to because it's a homophobic country and it can jeopardize their career. But we should acknowledge and praise how brave jimin is for doing something like this.

Jikookers love to make jimin some damsel in distress who needs jungkook to help him(I swear it makes me so mad) and they think jungkook is some rebel. But what's exactly his rebellion? Coming live at ass o clock at night. You call this rebellion? Oh he came live without company's permission. How brave. He's rebelling against the company to protect jimin when there's literally zero connection to jimin.

And for clothes. It always makes me laugh. How can wearing a certain type of clothes make you gay? That's just stereotypical. Men can't always wear boring suits. What's the point of fashion if it's not changing?

They were even calling taehyung gay because of his clothes in the mv. Dumb people.

But what can we do? They're always gonna think what they wanna think. No matter how dumb and stereotypical they sound. They don't care.

[onewomancitadel]

I think what's funny about being a very dedicated romance lover is that there definitely times where I actually don't want it in the thing I'm into or at the very least I don't want it to be bland and really boring. I get it, Zelda/Link shippers go way back, but the gestural relationship was always way more interesting as a chaste knight/lady dynamic, and it's just lazy leaning into cutesy wholesome rivals-to-lovers shenanigans. (There are no intended TOTK spoilers in this post). It could not be there, and the story wouldn't really change in BOTW (or indeed even Skyward Sword); it's not achieving overly much except finally leaning into the (ostensible) inevitability of Link and Zelda getting together. Meanwhile - yeah - if I have to draw comparisons, any implicit Beauty and Beast dynamic to Link and Midna actually transforms Midna's character arc and the ultimate tragedy of her disappearance (and inability to reconcile their partner dynamic with who they both are and the nature of the Zelda myth).

Similar to that vein I really don't like companion romances in DW, which is why I feel that (even though she was polarising) someone like River Song was more interesting if the Doctor had to have a romance, but I always preferred the Doctor as a sexless figure/professor/parent type thing. Idk, the companion romances were very clumsy and uninteresting (which is why Donna remains one of the best companions - despite the fat single woman jokes, ugh, I can't believe people say only Moffat's run was misogynistic) and just obviously there to pander to a more familiar format of storytelling by the time of the reboot (self-insert Doctor with a sexpot companion). This is why I really don't like the Thirteenth Doctor's casting as an attractive (relatively) younger woman, just because it's really apparent they weren't thinking too hard about who would actually be appropriate for a Doctor. I don't know if that makes me unfeminist (I don't even like Tennant's Doctor, and Eleven works because he's unconventional) or something, I'm not sure - I think they did her wardrobe well enough but I just can't get over the casting there (and I know she has some sort of a companion romance, again, which it seems like they didn't even commit to with a female love interest, which says a lot. What I'm really getting at here with Thirteen is that I would've preferred a less conventional actress for the Doctor).

But it really comes down to motivated versus unmotivated romance, and sometimes we're not even really talking about the same thing - fluffy superficial shit (and yeah, you can definitely argue Doctor/Rose isn't superficial, but to me it does break part of the identity of DW and the Doctor's dynamic with the companions, and the characterisation of that relationship is exhausting and so fucking boring) is just fluffy and superficial, but from a storytelling perspective I want to be thinking about what these romances achieve narratively. If anything I think what is, say, critical to writing a companion romance with the Doctor is that it should by nature be fraught and taboo, and despite Rose's parallel-world disappearance the nature of them having feelings for each other is just a foregone conclusion and the will-they won't-they shit is just boring romcom bullshit. I find the Davies era mostly unwatchable because of this nonsense now (and then Martha gets saddled with that bullshit too, which brings down her entire run as companion).

I enjoy romance which is narratively justified and I find it tedious and boring when it's shoved in my face where it's inappropriate, which is fucking hilarious because that's a common detraction to the romances I enjoy. But we know it's assigned as a bad faith criticism in these circumstances and rarely do they explain why it doesn't work. But in writing romance, what I think is valuable is asking what it achieves on multiple levels - character, plot, theme - and whether it belongs there, particularly tonally.

I understand it's not a popular opinion (Zelda/Link and Doctor/Rose are huge ships in the General Audience alone, and the reason I think the former especially has been leant into is for an obvious reason) but I think it's worth considering critically for where romance does and doesn't work, because even if those ships are nominally popular, sometimes things are just popular because they hit familiar tropes and feel inevitable and cute.

[bloggrgirl]

Hi, it's me again (i dunno why I did anonymous ask before)

Damn, now I'm really curious what the one fic in your bookmarks might be..

Anyway, I went through my bookmarks to see if there's anything you might enjoy. And it was kinda difficult because we have different taste in dnf fanfic and 90% off what I have are AUs..

For me personally, ao3 dnf and irl dnf became sort of like two separate ships that are somewhat intertwined. I'm not sure if I'm making any sense now, but basically for fanfic I feel like there is a certain way most authors tend to portray Dream and George and it they might have more in common across all the different fanfics than they have with their irl counterparts. I'm personally very comfortable with that because I still can't confidentially say I ship irl dnf (in the literal sense of - I actively want them to be together). If they ever became a couple it would make me happy and I eat up all the pandering but it's not something I realistically expect...

Anyway I enjoy the AUs very much because they have the familiar essence of characters I know but with a different twist so the plot isn't the same old every time.

Sorry for the essay I was trying to respond to what you said and explain my point of view but I'm in no way trying to imply your opinion wrong. Your points are very valid, you just have a different perspective than me, I think.

The recommendation I have for you is "i'd take care of you" by cranblackberry. It's very, very fluffy but if you're ever in the mood for that you might like it..? It's the second closest characterisation to irl dnf I have in my bookmarks and it's a "series" of two oneshots.

no i love it. it's a conversation for sure. i think some ships i'm disconnected enough from the source material that i can just think of the irl people/original characters and the fic characters as different things, like if i finished a show and started reading fic for it after. but since i'm currently so actively a fan of this content i have trouble switching back and forth. it's like i either want it to just not even be about them, or actually be totally in character, the middle ground is weird for me rn.

actually it's funny you say that about literally shipping bc like if you ask me what i "ship" i guess i would list like 15 things including dnf, but (and i think i said this on this blog a long long time ago) stucky is probably the only thing i actually technically ship, in the sense that i genuinely want them to get together canonically. me shipping dnf is more like me being entertained by their unusual and sometimes not-so-platonic friendship chemistry, i think the way they interact is cute, funny, charming, etc. and it makes me happy. i wouldn't say i really want them to date irl, though obviously if they did that's fine, it's none of my business. actually it's funny cause back in like 2014 i guess i could technically say i felt the same way about like dan and phil lmao and they actually were dating, but like frankly i didn't and don't care about their actual relationship, what i care about as a viewer is like...the joy that they bring each other and the joy it brings me to see them together, as friends or otherwise.

also i kind of love the same plot every time lmao. i'm like. let me find a good fic and then hit repeat with slight changes. i know that's boring but i've just found what i like.

also just marked your rec for later!

[bardicious]

Spider-Man: No Way Home Spoilers

Massive Spoilers under the cut...

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My thoughts on Spider-Man No Way Home

Ultimately this whole movie is pure pandering, if you liked the original Spider-Man trilogy and the Amazing Spider-Man and miss the old villains (which I did and love Octavius and Osborn with my whole heart), there's a good chance you'll like this movie despite it's frankly boring and repetitive lesson and plot. And it's frankly, unlovable characters (Yes I do refer to Peter, Strange, Aunt May, Happy, most of them really?? Idk Just my opinion though)

The jokes were funny (as I am a fan of the previous trilogies) and I enjoyed myself in the theater. That said I would not watch it again, because it simply doesn't add anything to Peter's character (at least what I liked about him in Homecoming - for future installments this movie is (likely?) a big deal.

There are a few worth while emotional points in this movie. Aunt May's death (which Tom Holland acted spectacularly with), Norman Osborn's utter helplessness between himself and the Green Goblin, everyone forgetting who Peter Parker is (literally everyone) and Peter is left alone to start a new life (it's sad - but a bit moronic as a plot point).

Most of it was just flashy cgi, however, or funny quips, any bizarre plot points where Peter selfishly causes his own problems. Between talking way too much during Doctor Strange's spell (is he a toddler?), making no effort to change his circumstances besides taking the easy way with magic (didn't even bother to talk with the colleges after they sent their rejections), and then sacrificing everything for something he doesn't understand. (Though I truly blame May - who has become prime piece of shit to me).

With great power, comes great responsibility. May Parker steals Ben's quote and then promptly dies becoming the brand new Ben of this world (literally does he even f*cking exist? Doesn't seem like it), she proceeds the role after Tony's death, as he was dubbed first Ben post Endgame. :P Tell me how they have the same plot for Peter in every movie. Each time learning great responsibility and then losing it as quick as it comes. Spectacular indeed.

Aunt May... I genuinely dislike her. The police took her in for child endangerment. I absolutely agree. She does nothing but encourage Peter to go into dangerous situations, seemingly unaware of the true dangers that lie before him. Her encouragement (to help Osborn and the other villains) rather then leave them to their fates on their own world, ultimately causes her death and the whole universe forgetting that Peter Parker exists. Because Peter wasn't responsible for them. And in the grand scheme of things, he helped nothing. Because there would always be a world where doc ock gets cured, or green goblin. Or complete worlds where they hadn't become so. Peter doesn't save the Doc Ock of the original trilogy, he merely saves one of a similar history.

However, Peter is just a kid and he's only been given guidance from the world's biggest idiots apparently. First Tony, who gives Peter all powerful glasses to do whatever he pleases with. Then Aunt May who encourages him to take responsibility for things he simply can't take responsibility for. And Doctor Strange? Well, lets just say I don't think he's particularly intelligent in this movie either. His powers? Selective at best. But we can't have a plot in the mcu if any character is competent. Then where would our story be?

The movie - while I enjoyed it for its jokes, doesn't capture light hardheartedness or grim reality. The villains are cured! Cured in the most convenient ways possible. Good for Pete, it doesn't change the meaninglessness of it. His aunt is still dead, and his whole identity (not just his Spider identity) is erased from existence. Somehow we're in an even darker place than old Spider-Man comic canon - but why? What will it bring us? Will he for once be the Spidey we know in comics? Or will this be undone in the next movie? Better question, has he finally, truly understood the meaning of responsibility? Fuck knows. Either way it's a convoluted mess as continuities gone.

Peter Parker's relevance to the MCU is completely obliterated just as in the last movie they were setting him up to be the "next" Iron Man.

Despite how ridiculous the set up for the end of the movie is - I did like this feeling of Peter being alone and no one knowing who he was as Spider-Man. Finally! Finally it felt like how he should have started. If only he had started this way and not ended this way.

Some smaller things of note: Sick to death of Captain America getting f*cking memorials (he didn't even die) and putting the shield on the statue of liberty straight up felt oddly disrespectful? Meh, hard to say what I feel about that one. Happy was useless as usual and didn't matter f*ck all to the plot. Doctor Strange is mad at Peter for jumping the gun on the forgetting spell, but hey Doctor Strange jumped it too, so they deserve each other. People really thought it was worth while to make May the new Ben, huh? All I can say is MJ is lucky to be alive (however Andrew Garflied's Spider-Man getting to save her was nice)

In essence, it was funny + I enjoyed it because I loved the old Spider-Man movies, I've learned to truly dislike mcu Peter which is a shame because I loved him in homecoming, but the mcu has butchered that character to none existence and I find very little to care about. I've learned that Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man may be my favorite. And I'm reminded each movie visit why I don't enjoy these movies because all I leave is feeling absolutely nothing. (Okay, sue me - I watch this bs to hang out with my mom - honestly I'm not that upset about how ridiculous this movie is - I'm just very aware of all the bs)

PS. Actually Matt Murdock is also there, which hey! I can respect, because I could never mesh those two universes together. Might not mind seeing him in a fic now that I've seen him in a movie. LMAO. But he too, was pandering Im sure. (Depending on whether he has any more relevance to movies in the future - hard to say)

Anyways good luck peeps, I'm out, going to go back to gushing of the Witcher series. :P

[electricprincess96]

I think the problem with Edelgard isn't that she's not bisexual (she canonically is) but that theres literally no difference between her supports with male and female Byleth. Its the same with most other bisexual supports in the game too and it is a problem, but other characters do have other same-sex endings that are romantic while Edelgard does not. Its just lazy writing and Edelgards lack of other romantic same-sex endings that make her seem more player-sexual than the other bi options.

I mean that can be chalked down to saving time and money. I still wish in Fates for example they kept Shara and Zero's Same Sex exclusive S Ranks in English but Treehouse wanted to avoid as much controversy as possible you know. That's a fair thing to be annoyed at, to be annoyed at the characters actually chosen is fine like I don't like Edelgard, I don't like Jeritza, I'm not fond of Sothis in that way, Alois and Gilbert were quite frankly unnecessary and if anyone in the fandom has a right to complain its the male lgbt players who's options are pretty boy, prettier boy, bloodthirsty psychopath OR they can friendzone themselves to the two old guys.

I get that you guys are really passionate about this but I just think its a really bad look to be saying "this character isn't gay" enough when in canon they can marry at least one person of the same sex. I know you're saying you accept canonically she's bisexual but you then add a BUT after it... there's no need for that, you can complain as a character she isn't very good representation, that's fine but going around and saying things like "straight but for byleth" or "bylethsexual" doesn't necessarily send the greatest message, you don't even need to bring these things up to argue against her character, you don't even need to mention it even when talking about her player pandering because she is incredibly player pandering and is very "male gaze" centric but that doesn't take away from the fact she is a bisexual character. Not every bisexual is gonna be into every guy/girl they meet. Edelgard doesn't need to have lots of endings with other girls because Dorothea and Mercedes have them, Hilda and Marianne exists as well. And again if we want to complain about this sort of thing I think the guys just have it worse because Linhardt's most subtext is with Caspar and even then its debatable how much substance it has. Yuri has it a bit better but still only one male ending but at least its pretty subtext ridden and Jeritza has no other endings with guys (and is also a bloodthirsty psychopath who gets off on pain/inflicting pain...) and the other two are friendzone options that have the Avatar marrying a random nameless woman in their endings so sure its all good to complain about Edelgard being questionable representation but maybe we should focus on where the real issue is.

Also this is my way of saying I'm bored of this discussion now, you're allowed to believe what you want, you're not gonna convince me that Edelgard's sexuality really even needs to be a major topic of discussion anyway (she's bi, that's the canon, there's no point debating anything that's not canon cause then there's no foundation for the debate). You can claim her being bi is fanservice but I'm gonna let you in on a little secret... all of the bisexual characters are fan service to a certain degree because the developers wouldn't have bothered to include them if they thought people wouldn't like having them there. Which is why games like Awakening didn't have any because back then IS could get away with that sort of thing, they can't anymore.

[theangrypokemaniac]

Cassidy and Butch can't come back since they're both sporting the 90s Boyband Curtains Haircut, and that's too much for today's kids.

The things you want could only happen in the Nostalgia Episode, not any adventure with a connection to the main plot.

On one hand, the first few episodes of every generation tell us everything we already know, acting as if every viewer is three years old and ignorant of the basics, ones never to be exposed to even the hint of a past, for fear they realise Pokémon existed before them, so isn't theirs personally.

Yet then we have The Nostalgia Episode, and suddenly it's okay to show new kids the past!

But so far, every major reference took place in filler, meaning kids can skip faux pandering to the old people.

I've been meaning to ask you where you think this series is going.

• If Ash beats Leon, fans will moan he's a 'Sue' and boring, and if he loses, they'll see it as a betrayal of him winning the Alola League, ie. back to the format.

• Goh will not get every Pokémon. There is not enough time, no matter how many rules of combat are broken.

He'll have at least one Gen. Nine Pokémon in the final series and that's it.

You won't see him find any Gen. Thirteen animals, thus his entire 'journey' is pointless.

• I haven't seen series two, but I hope I'm wrong thinking that, to promote Sinnoh, Chloë will morph into a May / Dawn / Serena clone and enter bloody Contests. Hence why I keep hearing about her with Dawn.

• Eras tend to come in twos. Gen Nine is the start of a new pair and quartet, so I expect there to be another massive graphic overhaul and reset where Ash knows nothing again.

• We had Kanto remakes for Hoenn and Johto releases in Sinnoh, one generation after the other, as a pair.

We skipped Unova, had sequels, then Hoenn for Kalos.

We skipped Alola, had sequels, now Sinnoh for Galar. Another pair of remakes.

I'm guessing then Unova remakes will come three generations from now, then Kalos three generations after that.

But I wonder how long it's going to be before someone says Fire Red and Leaf Green need a remake. They're far more technologically 'backwards'.

• I don't know how well this series has been received, but the last annual was the fourth year of Alola content rather than moving on, which suggests it isn't as popular.

• Are the Sword and Shield games really this bad the writers go out of their way to avoid depicting them?

Why wouldn't the audience want to see new Pokémon and places?

• I won't go into why I think Alola Forms were a bad idea, but since they're climate dependent we'll never see them again.

But now these Galar Forms have evolutions, so are integral to catching 'em all.

What do we do in all future games when players want an Obstagoon?

Has there always got to be a way to reach Galar in-game?

Have later fans got to rely on large contingent of Gen. Eight players ready to trade?

Are they going to retcon it so Galar Zigzagoon is now normal Zigzagoon, and the original becomes Hoenn Zigzagoon, since it's now of less use?

Perhaps I'm missing something but I often feel these gimmicks aren't thought through enough.

Summary for JN076 via Adamant.