#but why try to fix a problem if I can make memes on it?

[morebeanthanman]

Look. Maximum Mike Pondsmith, I love your games, but my little brain can’t keep up with all of this. Well, I guess it’s like that old saying. “Born to play Mekton Zeta, cursed to not really feel like rereading the rule book.”

[decolonize-the-everything]

When are we going to talk about how gen z and alpha growing up with lifelong access to tech didn't make them good with technology, it made them bad with people.

A lot of people, when Leave the World Behind was released, related to the youngest character. The daughter who's only priority and desire was to watch the Friends finale as the adults around her were crippled with anxiety about politics, current events, and the very real possibility a war was happening.

One of her most hard-hitting lines was about wanting nothing but the smallest of comforts in a world that guaranteed you none. So if she was gonna die, she was gonna die watching Friends.

She had little to no empathy for her parents or the rest world, which is key to her character's behavior throughout the movie.

"yes, okay the internet is out and there's a blackout and flamingos are in the pool in the USA, and you're terrified, but can you just please fix the TV for me?"

And yeah, I do think it was the damn phones. Because what she's doing isn't all that different from what a LOT of Americans and Gen Z are doing right now while genocides happen.

It's not that different from what a lot of us do. See something awful on our phone and at some point put the phone down like we didn't. Instead we make dinner, do laundry, go to work.

It's our routine.

But gen z and alpha were born into that climate, unlike the rest of us. They didn't grow up seeing the internet be built. They didn't grow up with friends who created forums or sites or were constantly finding new ones. All that already existed. The internet doesn't have secret corners to hide in anymore. Just shadowy ones you really shouldn't wander into.

The work that needed to be done was already done or being done by someone else. Markets and sites were already saturated. If I want to Google something right now, I know for a fact that someone already posted sources and a webpage for it, too.

So much was simply Provided to them. They're so used to the idea of Unknown Others solving problems for them.

Why would they make the effort to solve anything themselves when experience has shown they just have to Google it. Or that it probably already exists. And what difference would They make anyway?

Afterall they themselves are just another Unknown Other in someone else's life, aren't they? Someone nobody thinks about again after their avatar scrolls by.

Is it really that far of a stretch to say that doing this everyday or even just seeing it happen everyday has had material and tangible effects on us as a society?

That it's resulted in a generation of kids who not only undervalue themselves but the impact they are capable of having on their society. Who have resigned to simply Existing within the world instead of trying to thrive in it?

Can we talk about how millennials saying "the next generation will handle it" was nothing but entitlement? We wanted to stop fighting and tried to pass the torch onto a generation that hadn't even graduated high school yet.

And we made things worse by doing that. If we can refuse to fight for them, why would they fight for anyone else? And when parents hand their kids an iPad and send them off to occupy themselves why would they look for human connections?

We taught them not to.

The internet was and is the only consistent thing Gen Z and alpha has had that did not expect anything of them.

And now most of us would be content to doomscroll in the apocalypse in the name of our "mental health"

We've all seen the memes and jokes about it, don't backpedal now. Like I said, a lot of people saw Rose in that movie and made #me & #same posts.

Few would get up and try to cause the change to change anything. Which, in that movie and IRL is how change is made. Real people getting up and working together. Someone doing the work nobody else wants to because someone has to.

But what happens when you grew up thinking someone else was always gonna do it for you anyway?

And that if they didn't, that you were the least qualified because the internet is Full of people more capable than you, right?

The world is full of people more capable than you. Your phone told you that, didn't it? So there's no point in you doing anything.

Is there?

X

People need people, in case you forgot. People need you, in case you forgot.

You're not an Unknown Other in my phone. You are person, in case you forgot.

My tribe has this saying that I know is shared with other natives "be a good ancestor"

A reminder that not only are we the product of the people who came before us, but the people after us will be products of us and our choices, too. That time is linear and goes forward and that how we spend that time matters. Not just for us, but for every single person who will come after us.

A reminder that even though we may be one person in a very long line, we are never ever without the power to change our future. That we have a responsibility to our community and family to use the time we are given for good. A reminder that the life I have isnt just for me. It's for a we.

That I am not just some Unknown Other. I'm a community member, I'm a person, and as such I owe it to my community to be better and demand better for them.

I think a lot of people need that lesson.

You're not an Unknown Other that nobody thinks about. Youre a community member and I actually think about you all the time.

I think about everyone who has resigned to doomerism all the time and I wish y'all would wake up. You're like the depressed cousin on the couch who naps too much and this is me trying to snap you out of it again.

Wake up.

You're loved and valued and people need you. Get up. Be a good ancestor.

[kaylorstree]

TTPD Gaylor Lyric Analysis

Because there are so many songs, I’m only analysing the gayest ones.

SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO POST THIS!!!!!!

But Daddy I Love Him

Possibly Taylor’s gayest song EVER.

‘These people only raise you to cage you’

A lot of this is about her team, handlers and parents wanting her to stay closeted.

‘These people try to save you because they hate you’

This references judgemental religious people, to whom if she ever came out would want to save her, and pray for her, out of faux concern.

‘Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best’

Again, religious Bible names, but also could reference American conservatives.

‘Told my parents and they came around’

This has to be about being gay. I really doubt her parents wouldn’t have a HUGE problem or be able to influence her that much in terms of problematic men, since she has dated many previously, such as John Mayer and Jake Gylenhall.

‘Tell him to floor it through the fences’

This references Getaway Car, but I also think it references the YNTCD fences, and the other fence meme.

‘I’d rather burn my whole life down’ Dating a man would never ‘burn down’ her entire life.

Down Bad

‘Crying at the gym’

Taylor and Karlie went to the gym all the time. There is so much photographic evidence of this.

Side note (which I think I have previously posted about): I’ve always found it odd how they would be so dressed up for the gym, particularly Taylor. It makes me think they were having lunch or hanging out in secret, for some privacy from the paparazzi maybe?

‘Like I just lost my twin’

Do I really need to elaborate this line?

‘Fuck it if I can’t have him’

I genuinely see no way Taylor couldn’t date any man she really wanted. The only way she REALLY couldn’t have someone would have to be a HUGE reason.

‘Did you take all my old clothes, just to leave me here naked and alone?’

A man wouldn’t take a woman’s clothes, Also, Taylor and Karlie shared a load of clothes back in the day.

Guilty As Sin?

The religious undertones continue, along with the references to heaven and angels.

‘Written mine on my upper thigh, only in my mind’

‘What if the way you hold me, is the thing that’s holy’

‘Without touching his skin, how can I be guilty as sin’

Surely it isn’t a sin by any standards to THINK about having sex with a man? But a woman, YES.

‘I keep my longest locked, in lower case inside a vault’.

This was suggest she has repressed longings she needs to hide, but also suggests ‘loml’ and ‘iwannagetyouback’ are important to listen to and decipher.

Fresh Out The Slammer

‘Fresh out the slammer, I’m running back home to you’

This suggests being imprisoned or trapped. To consider a 6 year relationship as being a prison would be offensive to Joe, but would make sense if this was just another fake relationship she’s trapped in until she can finally be with the person she has been waiting for.

Clara Bow

‘You look like Stevie Nicks, in ‘75, the hair and lips’

At first I didn’t understand why this reference jumped out at me- I then realised that there was this tweet comparing Karlie to Steve Nicks’ ex, Linsday Buckingham.

‘You look like Clara Bow in this life, remarkable’

She sings about women and their features throughout this song.

‘Half moonshine, full eclipse’

Karlie is always referred to the sunshine, hiding the sun would be an eclipse.

Peter

‘In closets like cedar, preserved from when we were just kids’

‘You said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me’

This suggests waiting for someone when they can finally be together.

‘As the men masqueraded, I hope you’d return’

Men masquerading suggests acting or pretending, just as her beards have been until she can be in a real relationship with the person she actually wants to be with.

iwannagetyouback

‘Wait til you fix your face’

Only a girl would need to fix their face. This also aligns with The 1975 song ‘Girls’, the one that was playing when Taylor and Karlie famously kissed.

‘Curse you out, or pull you into the closet’

I mean, again, when does someone ever literally pull some into a closet? Only figuratively.

Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus

The premise of the song is talking about someone bisexual. It’s impossible to decipher it any other way.

So, she’s outing and implicating one of her previous boyfriends which would be EXTREMELY problematic.

On the other hand, if she was singing about a bisexual woman, that would make sense. There is less stigma surrounding bisexual women compared to men, by some extent.

The Prophecy

‘Don’t want money, just someone who really loves me’

Again, this doesn’t make sense to attribute to a man. Why would she lose money by being in a relationship? Only if it was incredibly controversial, like a queer one.

Also, ‘The Prophecy’ suggests that this is the way things have to be, have been and will be. However, if she changes this it will not be expected for others in the future.

‘I got cursed like Eve got bitten’

‘Was it punishment?’

This alludes once again to sin and religious imagery, but also about how being LGBT can feel like a curse or something unwanted.

‘Looked to the sky’

This suggests God is responsible for the prophecy itself.

‘Pat around when I get home’ alludes to crime and accusations. Perhaps growing up her family were maybe onto her concerning where she’s been and who she’s been with.

Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?

‘You don’t get to tell me about sad’

‘You wouldn’t last a year in the asylum where they raised me’

As discussed online, Taylor didn’t grow up with any particular trauma or a bad childhood by any stretch of the imagination. However, the concept of her being closeted on a global scale, to constantly having to lie in order to keep her livelihood is pretty traumatic in my opinion.

A lot of people wouldn’t be able to survive that.

Please tell me what your interpretations are! 🌼🌈

[yanderehsr]

I have been thinking of this for a couple days now and I wanted to say it sooooooo. Imagine Danganronpa Characters with a reader who's just pure evil/insane. Anyways, feel free to ignore!

Sure, hope you'll enjoy😄

Trigger Warning: Yandere, Obsessive behaviour, Possessive behaviour

Nagito Komaeda: Sure he might not be evil... ok maybe he's a little evil, but he got insanity, a lot of it as well. How he will treat you is based upon if you have an ultimate talent or not, if you don't then he will hate his own crush on you, he will try to change you into his ideal partner, not this evil, talentless loser.

If you do have a talent, well in that case everything is different, Nagito worships you, it's impossible for you to do any wrong, those dead bodies wasn't because of you, it must've been someone from the reserve course.

And Nagito will accept any abuse you make him go through, as long as he gets to stay by your side he doesn't mind. You want to kill someone, wait he'll help you hide the body, even if he finds out how evil and disgusting you are, he doesn't mind, as long as he is yours he will do anything you want.

"Please, let me hide the body, that way if the police notices it, my fingerprints will be on it and then I can take the fall for you"

Junko Enoshima: This is just the spiderman pointing meme, she is probably the most disgustingly evil person you have ever seen... and you love it, I wouldn't be surprised if you two plan to destroy the world together like a pair of supervillains.

Junko enjoys seeing you just be evil, this is a girl who tries to kill her own sister for fun, she could see you torture someone and she would find it enjoyable, just don't focus too much attention on others, she doesn't like that

Junko will try to kill even you, she loves despair, not only with making others feel it, but she herself wanna feel that deliscious emotion, to feel so helpless as she kills her own lover, no matter how evil you are, this is her ultimate goal, you should fear her... or maybe not, she would probably enjoy that as well.

"What do you wanna do today, oh I know, we can kill your friends, I'll even let you do the finishing blow on them, am I not the nicest"

K1-B0/Keebo: He doesn't understand, why are you like this? What is your goal? Is there even a goal? There are so many question that he had in his mind but the one he asks is "Will you go out with me"... Ok, maybe a bit strange that a robot would ask you out but sure, why not

Keebo doesn't really understand love, sure he can feel emotions but this is new to him, on top of that he didn't really expect to fall for someone so disgustingly evil, someone who would kick puppies for funsies.

Keebo doesn't realise the diffetence between love and obsession, they feel the same for him, all he knows is that he likes this feeling. He will try to 'fix' you, maybe make you a bit of a nicer person, it's annoying for you but you can't really escape him or do anything, he is much too strong.

"I don't understand, how did you turn out this way, please tell me your entire childhood, maybe the problem is rooted there"

[mxtxfanatic]

I'm not very active online socially, so I find your takes on the whole JC stans situation very helpful and interesting. It does a lot to contextualize what I see reading a lot of fanfiction, wherein I've found much MDZS fanfiction to be very divorced from the reality of the source material, both due to cultural insensitivity towards the Chinese source material, the CQL problem, and of course the ubiquitous JC apologia. I've been in equally, if not more, contentious fandoms before (the Sherlock fandom comes to mind) but, if I can be frank, to me the difference between those experiences and now is that MDZS is an actually good book! I feel like a lot of the fandom inclinations toward sanding down conflicts or exacerbating them, inventing personalities for background characters, turning all the characters into dolls and the setting into your dollhouse (which no one else may touch!) were codified for the current userbase in Superwholock, whether people realize or not. Those fandom instincts were helpful when working with source material that was shallow, inconsistent, and from the english-speaking world, but it did not equip fandom to deal with a book from a foreign culture that didn't need "fixing" for lack of a better term. It also reminds me a lot of early otaku culture in the USA, with the botched translations, weird cultural takes, and... odd characterization in fanfiction (why does Naruto need a harem???). Which, one may hope, could indicate that things will get better over time. That's just my spaghetti thrown at the wall, though.

I think it's a combination of both the quality of the book (Western fandoms are unused to having source materials with such tight storytelling where they don't have to fill in major parts of the plot with their own imaginations) and racism (Western fandoms feeling so entitled to Asian works while also not respecting their creators enough to even pretend to attempt to understand what the creators are trying to say, instead, choosing to fall back onto the orientalist "those Asians are just an enigma" stereotypes to justify superimposing their own ideas onto the text and calling it "basically the same thing").

I also believe that the sheer volume of unchallenging art that the Western world mass-produces, paired with disdain towards literary pursuits like critique and analysis, has led to a generation of "fans" who believe that the only "right" way to engage in your favorite media is to turn your brain off. "If you joined fandom to share quotes from the book and not just follow the 'incorrect-quotes-blog' and laugh at out-of-context excerpts, then what's your problem???" seems to be the consensus nowadays.

Here's to hoping one day people get over themselves and realize that just because their usual interests are careless drivel written to make money doesn't mean that everyone is writing trash stories they could care less about outside of how much money it makes them. Mxtx writes amazing stories, but you don't actually care about the story like you claim you do if everything you "love" about it can be easily just summarized in a recycled fandom trope meme.

[mindl3sssoul]

Fluttering Love

“I don't feel lonely when I see her

Even my sad emotions disappear far away, She's my fairy of shampoo

I will love you now.”

་༘࿐Summary: where Yuuta unexpectedly falls in love with you, who illuminates his world and transforms his life with your presence.

✧this is based from the song fairy of shampoo by dosii!

Word count: 788 words

Reader's gender is unspecified!

Prologue

School year just started 4 months ago, you've made some friends along the way, most of your friends are popular among the students, although you were not that much fond of it.

Fame was never your problem, you disliked it. You want to maintain yourself as a normal student, not a famous one nor an unrelevant individual.

You sat at your chair like as always, your friends kept pestering you about your love life. You never had any interest on someone, most of your friends already has their significant other. You can't help but just stare at them being sweet to each other, finding yourself making a weirded out expression, despite the stirring heavy feeling down your heart.

The other day, rumors scattered all over the school about a new transferee, you didn't mind it. You just ignored it, but your mind can't help but wonder about it, you thought again, that it's best to not let your curiosity get to it.

Just as usual, you went to your classroom, met with the warm atmosphere and the laughter of your classmates with their banters. You sighed, used to the noise as months passes by.

You head to your desk and chair, placing down your school bag on the side, fixing your uniform before sitting down comfortably. You took out your phone, putting your headphones on to distract and reduce the noises around you. Playing fairy of shampoo by dosii. It is always a classic, a song you adored, that you can never get tired of.

Mindlessly scrolling to social media, giggling to yourself everytime you pass by a meme, about a toilet with head. You could only wish you had someone to share them to, but oh well you were akward as hell, you stutter at your own words sometimes which makes you wanna rip your hair off your head.

Time passed by and the class is about to begin, stuffing your phone back to your uniform's pocket. You sighed, preparing to listen to another hour of your teacher's yapping session.

You never really paid attention when your teacher entered the room, but your head rose up, the word transferee ringing through your ears. You averted your gaze from your teacher to the boy standing infront, noticing his every movement, fiddling with the hem of his shirt nervously, dark circles visible on his undereye, it almost looked like he was blushing because of how it almost reached his cheeks.

Your teacher finally spoke which brought you back into your senses, you haven't realized you've been staring at him for a whole minute, analyzing him like you're a professional detective.

"Alright class, before we start an another lesson, let your new classmate introduce himself first."

The guy infront a little when he heard the loud voice, staying quiet for awhile, trying to ease his anxiety. He sighed shakily before hesitating to speak and introduce himself.

"I.. I'm Okkotsu Yuta, It's nice to meet you all and.. ehh.. I hope.. we get all along..?"

He sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down infront, averting his eyes immediately from the audience, back to staring in the floor again. You can't help but click your tounge on the roof of your mouth, looking outside the window to distract yourself a little bit, but you can't help but wander back to think about the guy. Then, your teacher spoke once again.

"Then, you may take a sit Okkotsu, beside that student."

Your own teacher pointed at your direction, feeling betrayed when he didn't call you by your own name. Cursing him on your mind

"Yeah this is why your hair is almost looking like a crater of a volcano."

"And for your information you can still say my name and point at me! Its [name]! I'm definitely gonna sue you."

You mumbled all to yourself, frustration etched on for features a little, you didn't even realized that the boy was already sitting beside you, keeping a comfortable distance between you two. You eye him from the side, not wanting to turn your gaze directly at him. You have his gaze, but turned away immediately when he sensed you staring at him from the side, his cheeks flushing a light red hue.

A bead of sweat rolled down your cheeks, both from the akwardness and the warm weather, even though it's still spring. You gather the courage to speak, to introduce yourself, to at least lessen the akwardness.

Clearing your throat, which definitely caught his attention, you hoped you won't stutter or embarass yourself randomly this time, if you did, for sure you're definitely going to rip all of your hair out.

a/n: This is the first fic I wrote, English is not my first language so please bear with me! I'll try to update this as soon as possible!

[yagirljosieohyeah]

Hello! I saw you write for Demon Slayer, if it's possible, may I request some headcanons of the hashiras seeing reader as an older sibling figure?? Please and thank you! ^^

congrats on being my first request of course it’s no problem I wasn’t sure how you wanted it done so I did head cannons for each one and then at the end is a little mini scene with all of them. I didn’t specify readers age and I used they/them pronouns. If you see anything that you don’t like let me know and I’ll fix it.

tw: mention of injury but nothing to detailed or major (it’s like patching up an injury but I know people on the internet can be sensitive)

GIYŪ TOMIOKA

I think that he would be pretty reluctant to the idea of opening up to an older sister figure and it would take a lot of time to get him to trust you

however once you do he’s definitely going to be with you as much as possible

he’s lost a lot so now having someone he’s trying to be careful not to lose you

if you were to hang out with him it would consist of the two of you doing your own thing in the same room as each other

After missions he would definitely have you patch him up if needed (I doubt he would really trust anyone else to do it)

definitely says mean things as a joke but with how nonchalant his voice is it can be hard to tell if it’s a joke

if you were to ever consider giving up being a Hashira I think he would be angry because in his eyes you are a symbol of strength and you giving up makes him think you’re weak

eye contact I don’t know why I just feel like he’s the kind of person to constantly try and make eye contact with you

KYŌJURŌ RENGOKU

you would definitely have a lot of fun being his older sibling figure

Tons of compliments because he thinks you’re just great and he wants you to know it

definitely wary at first of being too attached to you because he doesn’t want the pain of losing you

Would support you if you decided you didn’t want to be a Hashira and would help you achieve your goal

constantly pushing you to do your best

You are the brains of every operation

he’s the little brother who stands just outside your door and says “I’m not in your room” when you tell him to get out

TENGEN UZUI

omg the most chaotic duo ever to exist because even if you’re chill he’s not so you won’t get or be either

you have to try really hard to keep him chill

a bit of a selfish sibling on the surface but is really caring deep down

you have to be friends with his wives you don’t get a choice

they all definitely love you too and like to hang out with you when he’s away

over all he’s giving that one meme that’s like

Uzui: “Can I have some of your fries”

You: “sure, can I have some of your burger”

uzui: “no”

Random person: “well that rude”

Uzui: “my burger has pickles on it she’s allergic to pickles do you want her to die”

SHINOBU KOCHŌ

I don’t think she’d want you around at first simply because I think that the person she’s always seen Kanae as her sister even in death

it will take a very long time so you’d start as friends but I think she’s slowly begin to give in to you taking care of her

like after missions if she comes home with a bloody scratch she goes to you to patch it up even though she knows she could do it herself

you are also now Kanao Tsuyuri’s older sibling to

you are going to be hearing a lot about Giyū being a freak and a loner

If you ever get sick she will try to make medicine for you

And if she gets sick she’ll refuse help at first until you force her

MUICHIRŌ TOKITŌ

A total air head and super forgetful

you’re going to have to remind him of everything he has to get done

there will be a lot of you taking care of him since he forgets when he has things to get done

He often acts like he doesn’t care but see down he does

when injured or sick he would avoid getting help

he would see it as not a big deal

however if you noticed and said something I think he would accept your help

generally pretty quiet I suppose

Deep down he’s got a lot of rage so I think he might snap at you occasionally.

(Sorry this one’s so short I don’t know much about him)

OBANI IGURO

Honestly a total ass but it makes sense with everything he went through

he is very petty and will try to get revenge for every little thing

he definitely Calls you weak sometimes or mocks you

you’re the only person he would ever allow to change the bandages on his face

only you would be allowed to see the scars

he would probably give his life for you

please help him talk to Mitsuri he needs it

not a great brother over all but I think he has some highlights

MITSURI KANROJI

stop I can see it now it would be such a cute family dynamic

she would want to make flower crowns with/for you

pretty quick to open up to the idea of an older sibling figure

please help her even though she’s a love Hashira she has no idea how to talk to Obani

she would make you food, definitely

I feel like she would enjoy going on walks to clear her mind of all the bad thoughts that come with being a demon slayer

she’s a hugger I know it

she laughs at all your jokes

if she’s sick she will whine that she’s dying and needs you to take care of her

if she gets hurt she will whine that she’s dying and needs you to take care of her

literally the best sister you could ever have

SANEMI SHINAZUGAWA

This ball of rage would be so overprotective

he would rarely let you take care of him because he didn’t want to be seen as weak

is always trying to push you to be stronger because he doesn’t like to hang around weak people

will go with you as back up on your missions

if anything ever happened to you because of a demon he would lose his shit

you have to stop him when he stabs nezuko cause he won’t listen to the others

he’s fun but very intense 8/10 on the brother scale

GYŌMEI HIMEJIME

He’s so emotional like he would be very sensitive to how you were feeling

if something is bothering you we’ll now it’s bothering him

would definitely be fine with you bandaging him up when he needs it

he would teach you all the things he knows even if you’re older than him

you’re his eyes

he gives you little trinkets

I think you are the type of siblings who can have a whole conversation without saying a word

EVERYONE TOGETHER

ANGST

what we’re you supposed to do the demon had obviously made a plan before coming here. You watched as he calculated exactly when to launch his attack on the others. You couldn’t let that happen they were your family and you would do anything for them. So before he got a chance you full force slammed your shoulder into his side knocking him over. Raising your sword you plunged it into his head before pulling it out. Just as you were about to sever his head something pierced through the front of your uniform into your uniform. With a barely contained scream you looked down and saw it was a large stone. The one he had been fighting with. With whatever strength you still had you sliced off his head. Just as he began to disappear you collapsed.

“hey guys” Mitsuri said softly her eyes slowly filling with tears. Looking over the other hashiras saw your limp body. With eyes wide Shinobu ran towards you as quickly as she could before dropping to her knees. Mitsuri followed closely behind followed by the others. Placing her ear to your chest she heard nothing. She pulled away before shaking her head and staring down at your Giyū turned walking away he couldn’t look. Gyōmei’s tears fell more rapidly than usual as he clasped his hands praying for your safe travel to the world above. Sanemi looked at where the demons face was still disintegrating and he stabbed it over and over. Obani and Muichiro both stood there eyes totally blank and hearts broken. After everything you had done to protect them they had been to weak to protect you when you needed them.

I feel really bad that this took so long. I got pretty sick a few days ago so I’m not doing my best: Sorry if this was bad it’s been a while since I’ve seen demon slayer so I don’t remember everything about the characters. Thanks for your request and I hope you have a wonderful day.

-🍬

[lolotheparagon]

What is your favorite and least favorite My Little Pony art style in terms of toy design and show/other media design? What I mean is do you like how the ponies look in one medium but don't like how they look in another medium and vice versa.

I have no experience in critiquing toy designs but for animation designs, i liked the styles in both G3 and G4. But I bet you’re wondering by thoughts on the other gens. So, essay time!

G3 style cleverly adapts the old MLP G1 designs by keeping the ponies horse like with small, yet rectangular muzzles, small pointed ears, a stocky build yet streamlined enough to be easier to animate, detailed hair and doll like eyes to make them more expressive. There is a problem though, all the ponies share the exact same design with different colour schemes and cutie marks telling them apart. The only ones that break this is the unicorns and pegasi, which don’t get featured nearly as enough as the earth ponies. Now, I understand this is purely to save up on animated different body types and this is perfectly understandable, you don’t want your animators to work their fingers to the bone. But when all your characters are practically identical and the only way to tell them apart is colour schemes, that’s just bad character design. Simply changing up their hairstyles would make a huge difference

Case in point: these are the main cast (credit goes to @heckyeahponyscans for this scan) without their colours and they all look identical, save for the cutie marks.

G3 also has the same downside that G1 had: being so on model that it’s limited in expression (along with the disadvantage of budget direct to dvd animation) There are some characters that do work like with the regulars like Minty, Rainbow Dash cos they’re the most theatrical characters in the show but that’s it. When the ponies are on model, they look their best, but when the animators try to make them look in front view or be expressive, it ends up looking so off. If they had more skilled storyboard artists/animators, it would’ve fixed this issue cos the actual character design is fine, albeit very standard. It’s all down to awkward animation

(This pic is from a scene of two ponies arguing, apparently. Look, I’m all for polite disputes but is no one gonna frown or get cross? This is just unnatural)

I still love G3 cos it has great stories outside of the weird animation, but I would’ve loved more moments where the character animation was like this:

It just brings them to life a bit more.

Now G3.5 is another story. Because a lot of kids media went through the chibi-fication phase (see TTG, Care Bears Adventures in Care-a-lot) it only makes sense MLP would do this too but the added bonus is because of this drastic change, they make the ponies a lot more expressive. With the emphasis on bigger eyes and smaller bodies, it leaves room for more dynamic character animation

Granted there’s still moments where the character’s expressions are stilted and awkward cos this was from the same studio as OG G3 but it’s amazing how much a change in art direction can make a big difference. The ponies also get more customised hairstyles to fit their personalities from Rainbow Dash’s sophisticated ponytail (lol) to the studious twintails with the Y2K flower hairpins that Cheerile wears. The two younger ponies, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are also drawn smaller compared to the others which helps give them more a unique silhouette.

Now G4’s design is the perfect marriage between expressive character animation and toy-centric cuteness. The ponies can look cute one minute and absolutely deranged the next and it won’t look like the ponies broke every facial muscle for doing so. And this has only improved as time went on. There’s a reason why there were so many reaction memes were made from this.

The character designs are much more stylised, with even smaller muzzles and anime-esque eyes, streamlined bodies, different hairstyles and body types are present and even cutie marks are much more detailed and clear. MLP before then never knew how to animate cutie marks properly.

While the heroines follow a simple, easily manufactured for tv character model, so many side characters have different body types from short like the CMC, stocky like Mrs Cake to tall and slender like Celestia and Luna. There’s even character models for old, withered ponies like Granny Smith or Grand Pear. And don’t get me started on villain designs. I think MLP G4 is the first time since G1 that it had unique villain designs. (Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon and especially Discord)

You can tell a lot of heart and passion the artists went into making a more gender neutral and diverse character design into this generation. I think the only downside is nitpicks: I wish the mane 6 had incorporated the unique character models that the other side characters have inherited

Finally: The only art styles I can’t stand is G1 and G5

G1 suffers from 80s TV animation which had even LESS BUDGET than direct to dvd shorts 20 years later, so if you thought G3’s animation was stilted, bruh you haven’t SEEN NOTHING YET. What’s worse is that the character are constantly drawn off model, because the character designs are copy pasted from the toys with very little changes and outside of colour schemes and wings, the ponies all look identical. Even the baby ponies don’t have their own character, let alone even colour schemes, they’re just reused designs of their mothers but drawn slightly smaller. It’s eerie seeing baby characters that are just direct clones of their parents. That is some Dolly the sheep shit.

I will give credit for having some wild villain designs (Erebus, Grogar and the Smooze) and even some unique pony designs from the Clydesdale ponies in one episode to the Big Brother ponies to even the Flutter ponies.

This combined with the many different species that inhabit Dream Valley compliments the fantasy setting of G1. But not surprisingly for a first gen, there’s a lot of room for improvement

And finally, G5. I haven’t watched enough G5 (I’ve literally watched the pilot movie and that’s it) to make a solid argument so take what I say with a grain of salt and personally… I’m not a fan. Nothing against 3D animated ponies. I think it’s a natural step up since 3D animation is a much more preferable medium in both cost-effectiveness and commercial appeal. However I’m not a fan of the more realistic look to the characters. While it’s still stylised, the eyes are much less pronounced, the bodies are more regularly proportioned and the teeth is oddly detailed. They look less like “little ponies” and more well, regular horses. It doesn’t help how G5 is trying so hard to keep its roots in G4 when it’s supposed to be its own thing cos the design philosophy of the show match the philosophy of FiM which was stylised above all else. This is why I prefer the 2D shorts much more.

In conclusion, in terms of story, I rank each gen:

1. G3 and 3.5

2. G4

3. G1

4. G1.5 (MLP Tales)

(Can’t comment on G5, haven’t watched enough to judge)

And most importantly, in terms of design and artstyle:

1. G3.5

2. G4

3. G3

4. G5

4. G1/1.5

I hope that’s answered your question, Yui :)

[atla-confessions]

I can't stand Zutara but something about Zutaraang makes me so happy.

I'm convinced every zutara problem could be fixed via zutaraang. (Before I move forward, while I understand if this is tagged anti zutara, I am not anti zutara, I quite like zutara, when I speak of 'problems' it is because there are problems and conflicts in every relationship. There are also plenty with kataang and zukaang but this ask wasn't abt those two.)

So one of the biggest things I think they'd struggle with is they're both so strongwilled, you just KNOW they're gonna bump heads sometimes. Both of them have a tendancy of lashing out with harsh words when they get angry or frusterated. That combined is a recipe for disaster.

Enter Aang, who is repeatedly shown to be a peacemaker. Enter Aang who is repeatedly shown to be able to take bad bahavior and just shrug it off. Enter Aang who'd be the number 1 zutara shipper whether or not he was in that relationship lmao and would be estatic to scheme to set them up toward getting along. (A lot of locking them in a closet tbh)

I also think zutara just tend to make bad decisions together, namely going to kick people's asses (which is also something I love about them lmao, you cannot leave them alone for five minutes before they're plotting some raid on an asshole)

Enter Aang who's literally that meme of the person holding the leash with the gremlin only there's two kwbdjsdbb one of my favorite zutaraang ideas is Aang having a set of rules like, sure, go off and kick ass, but don't get caught and no more than three broken bones please. I think it's a good compromise.

Zutara are neither very subtle. They'd be causing drama and political problems All The Time lmao, collectively the thorn in everyone's side.

Enter Aang who can lie like a snake and be like "that doesn't sound like my Katara and Zuko :0 besides, they were with me that night :) you trust the avatar don't you? :)" And like, who's gonna disagree? That's the avatar. This works almost every time but they're all aware that EVENTUALLY he's not going to be able to pull that off, which is why "don't get caught" is one of the rules ksnfnsndnd

Also, Zuko and Katara have shown to have a tendancy of giving a certain kind of attention that the other would struggle with. Zuko has his severe possesive issues, and Katara gets a little Too determined to help everyone even when they make it clear they want to be left alone. Katara would not react positively to someone trying to control what she can do or who she can talk to, and Zuko tries to fight anyone who dares make him feel even slightly vulnerable when he's not in the right mindset for it jsbdnsndnd

Enter Aang, who would be a fatastic distraction. Zuko's trying to be possessive? Well he can't be posessive over Katara AND Aang at the same time now can he, Aang's probably perfectly happy to let Zuko scare people off sometimes (being the avatar has got to be socially draining.) Katara's prodding at Zuko a little too much? Aang's perfectly happy to have deep conversations about emotions to quell her need for that until Zuko's ready.

I'm just saying, Aang is the perfect bridge between them. I love zutaraang so much. I love these trigger happy idiots and their long suffering pacifist nsbfnsndns

X

[pianocat939]

hello!! :0 can I have a blurb of the yan!turtles (I feel like this mostly applies to Leo bc he makes all the jokes but idk) Whos MC thinks they’ve got a weird laugh so theyre always trying not to?

HOW DARE YOU HIT MY WEAK POINT. Seriously tho, I have a windshield wiper or seagull laugh so people stare at me weirdly when I start laughing. (I still make my friends suffer through it tho 💝)

Tw: Mikey threatens to burn people,

(Very fluffy)

Raggedy Cloth:

At first, he thought nothing was funny enough to make you laugh but then realized the actual reason why. He’ll come running at you and engulf you in a hug before reassuring you that your laugh isn’t weird. "Your laugh isn't weird! Don't you ever say that again!" If you don’t start laughing soon he’s going to attack you with more affection.

Laundry of Dirt:

Notices it right away. Immediately shuts off his typical snarky personality and gets serious. "I know what you're trying to hide. Forget everybody else, laugh; laugh for me, and only me." Then busts out his barrage of corny one-liners and jokes. Even a giggle will keep him satisfied...For now.

Decaying Fabrics:

May not notice it the first few times but does catch on quickly. He's not like empathetic like the others but does give you a blunt statement. "Your laugh is fine, endorphins are released from your brain when you laugh so...Just do it." (That was an unintentional reference to the meme we all know) Would never admit it but kinda likes the way you laugh.

(He would not love mine I sound like a fucking seagull ready to attack trash)

Mangled Sleeves:

Literally offended. Why doesn't his divinity like their laugh? Do they not feel loved enough? Then no matter what, he'll fix the problem. Proceeds to blabber praises. "Omigosh, you should never hide your laugh, it's a melody of joy! I'll burn the people who dare say such things to you! And-" Once he finally gets you to laugh, he'll record it and listen to it every night before sleep.

(Did you guys notice the names? I went for clothing as my topic)

[ach-sss-no]

Things I do if i'm stuck on a WIP

I keep seeing memes about people fighting with their WIPs so maybe you could use some handy weapons?

Some of these are passed around pretty often, but they're in here again because I personally found them useful, as opposed to the common advice I see passed around that has never helped me whatsoever, also, you never know when it's someone's first time seeing something or when it might be worded in a way that makes it more understandable.

Some of these are more useful when you have some options for how to proceed with your story but can't decide on one, and won't be as helpful if you can see no way to proceed.

These are intended primarily for writing and many don't really have other applications I can think of, but some of these strategies should also work for any creative thing you're trying to do that is not progressing in the way you want it to.

Disclaimer: Sometimes none of these work. Good luck!

CRIPES, I'm Stuck

Complain

Tell someone (or pretend to tell someone) who does not know the inner workings of your story all about your story problem in as much detail as you can articulate. The more detail the better, including what events led up to this point and what you want to achieve going forward. Go all the way back to what the main premise is, even. When I do this I often end up figuring out the problem while I am describing it and never even send the message, which is why this can be an imaginary conversation if input from another human is not desired and/or available for whatever reason. You can also tell your problems to your cat, dog, tarantula, or Pokémon team! BONUS: Those things are all cheaper than a therapist!

Randomize

If you have multiple ideas for how to go forward and are paralyzed because you can see no greater or lesser value in any of them, great news! The machine can be trusted! (Disclaimer: The machine cannot be trusted) Go to random.org and use the list randomizer to scramble your potential plot options. Pick the one on top. If you realize you're unhappy with it, examine why. Whatever reason why you've decided you don't like that option after all will help guide you towards what you should be doing instead.

Got any kind of two option yes/no, pass/fail, success/disaster question? Flip a coin! This can be done digitally if you don't have coins lying around (I usually don't myself).

There is also the tried and true method of dice-rolling, which can also be done via app if you don't have dice of the desired type or you've lost yours.

Really stuck? Showrunner's challenge.

Iterate

This is both the least efficient one and the thing I do the most often. Writing a scene? Not sure how it should go? Just write different versions of it until something sticks.

Every time you feel unhappy with the scene, back up to the point that led to whatever you're not jiving with, cut it, and start over from there. I recommend saving all of your different versions so you can reconsider or do some horrific Frankenstein cut-and-paste later.

Like I said: horrendously inefficient. it doesn't have to be pretty... it just has to exist.

Play

Go do something else totally unrelated to writing. Just go do something else you enjoy. Just take a break. Your brain may actually fix your story problem when you ignore it and let it run in the background, and if it doesn't, you get a break. No downside! Chances are, you've heard that before. I'm telling you again because I so often fall prey to the 'but my break will be more satisfying if I fix the problem first' well, it's not getting fixed and I am not equipped to fix it right now or it would be fixed already, so it's break time now.

Work on another project that seems more fun to you at the moment. Battering your head against your current WIP because you think you "should" work on it instead of whatever shinier idea is in your head is probably not helping you progress on that project. Working on something else as a treat may jog your brain to unstuck you from your main idea, and if not, it will lead to a new creative product existing, and even if it never gets finished, you've tricked yourself into thinking art is fun again. No downside!

There's nothing wrong with adding [placeholderlmao] and going on to a part of the story you like better. In fact, knowing what happens later may help you fix the problem point (assuming you don't already know because you either don't work from an outline, or your story has diverged so wildly from the outline that it's not helpful anymore)

Edit

Depending on the length of your project and whether you have already declared parts of it off-limits this may not apply; but if you don't want to go forward right now, it may be a good time to go back and edit what you already have written. Sometimes when I do this I will see a stray idea I mentioned earlier that I can follow up on now, and that gives me a new path forward. I'll also sometimes discover that, while my current story problem is manifesting at my sticking point, the cause of it happened much earlier and needs to be addressed farther back in the story (and once that's done I'm not stuck anymore!) Just like pulling crabgrass out by the roots.

Did you have an outline that has stopped tracking with your story? Maybe you should go look at that outline and revise it to the new version, or at least remind yourself of what you thought was important to put in it. If nothing else, doing this should help you think differently about your story.

Steal

That's right! There are millions on billions of stories out there. Just like infinitely variable humans are built upon skeletons that look very similar, your story is uniquely yours, but its underlying structure probably follows a pattern that other stories with similar goals have used since human communication began. So go look up a story you enjoy that includes a similar scene to the one you're struggling with, and look at what it did to fix the problem you're having. Chances are, there's a way to map that onto your story while keeping your version unique, or at least you can get some helpful hints. Do expand beyond the medium you're working in. There's a lot that novels/movies/games/etc do differently, but basic story beats and interactions between characters are pretty consistent things across anything that's telling a story. If I'm looking for a model for a scene, I always look for something with a similar plot, theme or character dynamic that I thought was done well.

Alternately, do you know of a story that tried to do what you're doing and failed spectacularly? Go look closely at that and see why it's not working. Then ask yourself how those problems could have been avoided. The solution you arrive at may apply to your story as well, or at least lead in the right direction. Alternately-alternately: Do it wrong on purpose for the fun of it and fix it later (or don't fix it later)

Just have no ideas? Hang out with stories with the vibes you want until something clicks. When I was doing this fancomic, I watched The Emperor's New Groove a lot.

Well, there you go. If you think I missed something- which I absolutely did, because the creative process is very individual and there are some highly successful things I never, ever do and can't speak on because I am restricting myself to things I have personally done and found helpful-

-please add it on to this post, and make it longer and longer until no one is ever stuck on a WIP ever again (✿◡‿◡) because they are all too busy reading this infinitely long post to start any projects!

[ganymedesclock]

50 and 55 for Taylor because they're juicy!!!

[meme]

50. What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?

A big theme of Chiaroscuro is essentially that there's no such thing as "good" and "bad" traits- in that virtues can be maladaptive and vices can be beneficial, and it's a lot about how you observe and think about them. Part of that is that all the heroic characters have stereotypically Villainous Traits- and since Taylor's playing on the dark tyrant / rpg final boss Lord of Demons kind of archetype, their personal trait is tyranny.

They are a very controlling, pushy person, who's got a natural impulse to kind of weave themselves into other people's lives and try to help fix them. This creates a lot of problems and tends to tick people off, but at the end of the day, it's because Taylor genuinely deeply cares about people. If you earn their sincere trust, they will be one of your staunchest defenders.

The actual trait that's quieter and sneakier- and that makes this more maladaptive than not- is that Taylor tends to assume they know better than other people. This is a very fifteen-year-old vice; Taylor's smart and astute and thinks they have a real shot at changing up the world, which is very comprehensible, but they're weakening their genuine love and fascination for other people by propping up their ego about it. They're also dishonest with themselves about it- if pressed or asked, they don't see themselves as in charge, it's just that Good Ideas (their ideas) can occur to anyone and really anybody who should be in charge should agree with them, right?

(They will grow out of this a bit, but in other regards, well, a leopard doesn't change his spots)

55. What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

The easy thing to go with would be their magic aptitude vs. their witch training, but Taylor doesn't precisely understand why their mentor is so pushy about it. It's not actually that Aunak thinks the only possible thing for Taylor to do is follow in her footsteps (though she does lean towards the idea it'd be good for Us All, a 'needs of the community' mindset looking at their immense natural talent), as much as Aunak is trying really, really hard to force the fifteen year old fleshsculptor mage to sign some equivalent of the hippocratic oath before they piss off to go Find Themselves in the big world out there, because she's perfectly aware of how stubborn and pushy they are, and if they have no reason to hesitate they could easily start doing things like "you were mean to me so I grabbed you by the heart until you behaved"

Perhaps a bit closer to the question- they come from a culture of elder worship (vulnerable members of the society get a bit more credence because survival's difficult!) but Taylor's general argumentative nature and [gestures above at their inclination to see themselves as The Smartest Person In The Room] means they have a tendency to bicker with prospective authority figures unless said authority seems to listen to them most of the time.

[decepti-thots]

Ask meme: Rodimus (idw)

one aspect about them i love: Rodimus has this really fascinating combo of being extremely unselfaware in the moment and then excruciatingly self aware after the fact that you can dig into a lot if you feel like it. That really horrible sense of 'I know I keep fucking it up but I can't actually manage to STOP it' which I think explains a lot about him. There's an idea of like, just knowing about the problem isn't enough to fix it. The trap of self awareness is that you can get stuck in a position where you see the problem and how it IS a problem, but you mistake that for actually making progress on it, which I think is where Rodimus is at when we start MTMTE, and it's… a very frustrating place to be in. And because he's surrounded by people firmly in the 'that's just how he is and we Manage him' mindset, he has very little obvious motivation to try and approach it from any other mindset. Yes all this is a GOOD thing, I love him.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: Rodimus is not just accidentally callous, though he can be. He is absolutely inclined to genuine pettiness and even cruelty. Any version of Rodimus which assumes he is only ever accidentally cruel is, to me, an incomplete one. He's a very compassionate person deep down, but that's just why that inclination towards pettiness bothers him. I think it's really important that this be something he has to work against- because when he does work against it, that means something.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: Rodimus partly has so much antagonism towards Whirl because Whirl is terribly good at seeing through Rodimus' bullshit and when he wants he can cut Rodimus down with absolute precision. We actually see Whirl be quite astute about Rodimus a couple of times in canon and it just seems like he'd be very willing to deploy a frustratingly on-point observation of Rodimus' worst issues when it pleased him. Usually even when people do call Rodimus out, they don't do it correctly, they see an issue but not the correct origin point under all his posturing- but Whirl does, and Rodimus deeply resents him for it. For this exact reason, they would be shockingly good friends under other circumstances, in their own way.

one character i love seeing them interact with: Magnus! I fucking love their s1 interactions. I love that there's a sense of them having known each other before and how even though they're so antagonistic, they still demonstrate a sort of frustrated familiarity with each other. Rodimus always feels like he's the only one on board with the context to know Mags is acting out of character during the early issues, and Magnus is one of the only people in the comic to ever seem like he expects more of Rodimus sometimes. Their interaction at the start of 'The Sound of Breaking Glass' is one of my favourite in the whole series, when they discuss Rodimus wanting to change, and how Magnus thinks maybe it's a good thing Tyrest's portal broke. Or the bit after Overlord, where Rodimus talks about why he was ignoring Magnus' memos, and we see Magnus had tried to get Rodimus' help with his breakdown. They're almost... resigned to being a little more honest with each other? I love them.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: Rung. I love the bit we get in the aforementioned post-Overlord scene, where Rung reads Rodimus bang to rights and at first Rodimus gets angry, but later is like. Yeah, you were right actually. I appreciate the honesty. Come help me out on Luna-1? Like, it's such a telling scene. Rung understands Rodimus in some ways and completely doesn't in others, because he knows what Rodimus' real problems are but he doesn't understand Rodimus needs something other than gentle sympathy. And then I think Rodimus has the potential to be... surprisingly insightful about Rung's own issues, his loneliness. I can imagine him seeing through Rung's impartial front quite shrewdly. It would be an interesting dynamic.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: Rodimus is the only other person on the ship except Tailgate who is interested in Cyclonus' old Cybertronian songs and such. Because, well, he's interested in the "golden age", he wants to hear about a time before Cybertron was as he remembers it, i.e. on its way to being fucked. And Cyclonus remembers that time in a way that makes it sound better, the actual truth aside. He's very embarrassed about this fact and tries to cover it up under a layer of irony or whatever but he sometimes sidles up to Cyclonus at the bar after a couple drinks and. Prompts him. To talk about stuff. And just sort of tries to look bored even as he's listening. Cyclonus will ramble on without the need for much encouragement after he's had a few, it turns out.

[feralboo-the-weirdo]

BARBIE SPOILERS. if you have not seen it and you don't want spoilers, just skip over this. Unless you would like some prior warning for it. :)

This is honestly the only summery of the Barbie movie I can give without going into a giant rant:

Spoiler: Yes. They pushed both. I just couldn't get the other meme to work.

dang, I have a feeling this is going to garner quite a bit of hate, but as a disclaimer before I go into what I will try to keep a tiny rant-- I understand there are people who did like it and I want to like it, because it's you know, it's Barbie and the old movies were wonderful, but... the movie made itself irredeemable to me.

Yes, it was satire, but it was honestly hard to tell what was satire and what they proclaimed was truth. I hated it. Every moment I spent in the theater I wanted to leave it.

why was how they broke the brainwashing reminding women how mistreated they are? Like. HOW. DOES. THAT. FIX. ANYTHING? was it satisfying for a bit? admittedly yes, the initial rant the mom gave was satisfying.... and then they dragged out the bit and it was just like "what on earth is this?" why is this what unbrainwashes them?

Also, I know people are going to get onto the "well they were white so that explains everything" No. no it does not.

Also everything they brought up they did not go deep into. like Ken being hurt by the Patriarchy too. they spent about five minutes (if that) on it and then were like "yay! problem solved, it's barbie land again." Also mental health. Was handled VERY poorly. it's not a joke. as someone who deals with mental health struggles on the daily I did not appreciate how they presented it.

The "only baby dolls" thing. This should not have made me hate this movie so much because it's (MAYBE???) satire. But still. They have not been the only doll to exist ever.

This movie hated both genders equally but tried to make it seem like they loved women.

Also. I hated the extremes they went to in the real world. Not every man is Evil. there are some that definitely should not be allowed around women or other people yes, but not all of them are evil. And not all women are good either.

No one, the barbie movie: women are so mistreated, woah is us!

Also the barbie movie: eck! we're so powerful we can't stand it!

But mostly, I just hated it because I was promised a happy movie of Barbie having a midlife crisis and Ken coming along for the ride and instead it was like Tik tok. in movie form.

This movie did not make me feel anymore comfortable with my gender. if anything it made me feel worse. I left the theater feeling like I should have been empowered, but I just felt gross. Overall, this is probably the last post I will ever make for this movie because I want it to fade into the background and be ignored. The worst insult I could give this movie is ignoring it's existence entirely.

Does anyone else miss when movies just had strong CHARACTERS instead of it being a strong gender? like it wasn't "LOOK A FEMALE WHO IS A CHARACTER!!!" and "oh, a guy character, gross." Why does it have to be so extreme? Like I appreciate there are more female protagonists out there but I also miss when they weren't all hot headed, arrogant, jerks, and when they were FEMININE. like. what. is wrong. with. being soft??? also I miss smart male protagonists. and male protagonists in general who were good characters not comic relief. (unrelated, but semi related note: I will never forgive the Harry Potter Movies for what they did to Ron to make Hermione smart. Ron is SMART TOO. My boy deserved better!)Like there was a while there where women and men both had equal roles in stories and they were good because they were good characters and now... it's just politics. and I'm sick of it.

I don't know what Barbie was supposed to be but it was not what I wanted to see when I went to see it. I had low expectations, but somehow, it failed them. failed them hard. Honestly, I don't know how anyone likes it, and I'm still to angry at it to look for reasons why people did. Maybe in a few years after my anger at what this movie was actually about subsides.

In conclusion, I finally remembered why I don't go see movies anymore. I want a story, not a message. Barbie provided a message. a very dark undertone that hid under "discover yourself and your role in the world :)"

P.S. If you liked Barbie and wish to tear me to shreds, please remember I was not the target audience, I did not "get it" as those in the target audience did.

[actiasteeth]

ASKBOX MEME 055 / BLUE EYE SAMURAI S01E01-03

All prompts taken from season one of Blue Eye Samurai (2023). Adjust as needed.

01. HAMMERSCALE

"Maybe I've been following you."

"You don't deserve my blade. You don't even deserve this blade."

"Go home."

"My whole life, I couldn't do anything right, but now I know what I'm supposed to do."

"A breeze can throw a crane off course. You are a typhoon."

"To a man lost in the dark, an ember can light the way."

"Have I defeated the undefeatable _____?"

"Think of it as an engagement gift."

"Every secret is revealed here."

"Yet an impurity in the right place is a quality."

"Are you stealing from me?"

"I do no know their names. I do know their fate. They will all die by my hand."

"You may be something shameful. You may also be strong."

"Oh, good. We get to kill you."

"A poor technique—easily learned, easily defeated."

"But... then you'll die."

"You've climbed some heights to be the prize of a miserable lot."

"You had a name for me."

"Thank you. No one has yet deserved my blade."

"Death comes for everyone. For you, today."

"Revenge is like gold. It does not rust. It will wait."

"I can never repay your kindness."

"You have spoken enough nonsense today."

"We cannot part in a lie."

"That is your burden to keep."

"You came to me as a stupid lost boy. If you insist on leaving now, it will be as a stupid lost man."

02. AN UNEXPECTED ELEMENT

"I do not want you anywhere near me. Stay away."

"I know why you think you don't want me around, but you can trust me."

"I'd never tell your secret—not ever."

"If I see you again, I will kill you and never think of you again."

"You will not find what you seek at my side."

"I am owed my revenge, and I will have it at any cost."

"My whole life has been a battle."

"Why didn't he just kill me?"

"Victory cannot come from dishonor."

"But what if he kills you this time?"

"There's no shame in making a home here and keeping your life."

"_____. Is your mind clear?"

"_____. Is your soul at rest?"

"Forgive my failure."

"This hand has taken many lives."

"We can only mind our own soul, _____."

"You do not try to change my mind this time!"

"You are not the hero of this family's story."

"Stupid girl. Too stupid to see—I am giving you an opportunity."

"Why didn't you stand up for me?"

"You think I don't know you, _____?"

"What choice do I have?"

"If we're running away, let's at least do it warm."

"I'm not even good at what I thought I was great at."

"You got somewhere better to be?"

"You have enemies now."

03. A FIXED NUMBER OF PATHS

"Killing it is a mercy. Do it already."

"Ugh—coward. I'll do it."

"Don't touch him."

"If that door opens, we die."

"You solve the problem."

"Is that an order?"

"So, if you might, my dear, dear friend—my trusted partner and clear equal, my right hand and both feet on land, fondest heart—spare a cup of concern towards our purpose... and do it your fucking self."

"If he dies, you die."

"You can barely stand, let alone hold that sword for long."

"I didn't kill you when I easily could have."

"How many days do you need before you're well enough to die?"

"You cost me my station and my honor. I'll have it all back when I return with your corpse."

"If you wanted me dead, you should've struck when you had the chance. The time to kill your enemy is when you can."

"You don't want revenge. You want a party."

"No one gets to kill you but me."

"There is no possibility this will be anything other than a trap."

"Revenge does not hesitate."

"Fight within your confines, not against them."

"I am not out here to learn a lesson."

"Count to ten, then climb out that window. Run."

"Been some time since I killed a man. I wonder if I still remember how."

"If you prefer, I can kill you now."

"You need me because you're weak."

"I can beat you with any weapon you choose."

"Oh, no. No, thank you. We're not going in that death trap."

"So if he's walking in to meet certain death, I'll be there to keep him and death from getting too friendly."

"To find out only now—you never believed in me."

"I look your way and don't even see you."

"I have no interest in money or power. I have no interest in being happy. Only satisfied."

"How do I trust you don't leave me in there to die?"

"My reasons are my own."

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Stop counting seconds till we die."

"Men like him like to talk so much they eventually tell you how to destroy them."

[animation-is-my-jam]

Halo heloo!! Popping in to say if you have any more Wordgirl hot takes? I'm new to the fandom and I saw your post about the opinion meme. (Btww my favorite character is Lady Redundant Woman and I ship Tobecky-- I wonder if you also have unpopular opinions on those mostly cause im curious)

Hi!! Thanks for the ask.

Kinda funny that I'm asked fandom/character questions considering my activity and obscurity, but I have been in the Wordgirl space for 7 years and observed it back in the early 2010s.

As for hot takes...hmm, I could give some since I was watching through the series again, and I recently had some discussions with a friend about Wordgirl stuff. (The Disclaimer, aside from one of the takes I have, these aren't that serious, or do I want to come across as confrontational, just my thoughts and opinions):

Scoops is not a jerk. Random, I know, but it's also connected to the idea of Scoops being this secretly selfish boy and why he's the least liked kid character in the fandom next to idk Eileen. Yes, Scoops is a bit of dunce and can often say or do stuff because he gets carried away or his ego--but he wouldn't straight up be malicious. He's a kid. And idk, I think it's pretty funny how oblivious or callouse he can be to others. But no Tobecky fans, Scoops wouldn't just straight up hate or stop being Becky's friend if she either confessed to him or started seeing Tobey. (I agree that he's such a dummy at times and could say the wrong things, but come on, look at Scoops and tell me he would treat his friends terribly.)

Granny May is funny. I know a lot of people don't like her or her episodes because they hate the gaslight or turn on Wordgirl schemes, but idc I think it's hilarious that this 75 year old is beefing with a child and gets away with manipulating people for the 100th time. Plus, I think it's interesting that her episodes could bring out a Becky that makes us question if she's doing good deeds bc it's the right thing or doing them because it gives her purpose and adoration. Either way, I'm like the only Wordgirl fan who is interested in Granny May character lore, and what exactly is her relationship to her own kids and grandkids. And that's cause she makes me laugh.

(Oh boy, serious time) Okay, so this is a very recent observation and discussion I had with a friend who is more educated on this matter over the entire fandom perception of Two-brains|squeaky. And I'm gonna say it on mine and on their behalf... I don't like the usage of squeaky as this ultimate evil or an overt metaphor for the difficult/bad side effects of mental illness. Like, okay, I know this is touchy for people since Two-brains is the favorite--but I don't like the constant fandom aesthetic sticking to making Two-brains the ONLY character with either DID or any number of serious mental conditions just because he fused with the brain of a evil mouse, especially when their depiction of it is worse than Detroit Become Human with racism. At worst, it could be ablelist and ignorant to people with those actual diagnoses. What do I mean by this? Well, it's mostly for people who think that Steven is still inside Two-brains or that Two-brains could be fixed. I'm one of the Steven is gone believers, but regardless--it's kinda ehh to try and make Two-brains represent someone with mental illness or addiction and just say "dw he can be cured if we kill this other part of himself". Even worse than when he does get "fixed," it's only squeaky's influence that encourages his bad behavior and that others would care for him more if only he got rid of the "problem" and went back to being "normal". Like...that's not how a mental illness/condition works. I should know. And this idea kinda makes me uncomfortable because idk, it's like the equivalent of when TOH was still airing and some ppl going: "Why doesn't eda just isolate or destroy the owl beast?" Or the audacity to say that she should have been fully healed at the end when no, she was a good example of the metaphor, and it would completely ruin the purpose. (Plus, I don't get the Jekyll and Hyde comparisons if you try to apply the mental illness metaphor).

As for the other parts of your question. Hmm do i have unpopular ideas/takes of Lrw or Tobecky?

For LRW, um, not really? She's one of my favorite villains, so I'm good, not really any complaints with her or how she's done in fandom tropes. All I know is that fandom actually makes her cooler somehow, and I get mad about that bc shes so awesome/lhj

For Tobecky...yeah I know, another discussion about them, lol, can't help it. But for unpopular ideas/takes...I guess one is that I don't think Wordgirl was completely terrible during the Miss Power scene with him. Like obviously it hurted Tobey's feelings and Wordgirl shouldn't be so mean, BUT you can't lie to say that if not then...Wordgirl would have blown up at him one day and it's good that Tobey at least knows what she deep down thought of him. I know a lot of people who like Tobey don't think he should be treated badly ever, but no, the kid kinda needs the humbling (the stuff of his appearance was uncalled for though. Like who cares about his drip Wordgirl--he destroys buildings and belittles others 😭 thats the least of his issues.)

Another one is that I don't think Wordgirl/Becky owes him anything just because he likes her and is secretly lonely. Like you can have Tobey as your favorite and want him to be happy, but, to me, it's like don't just make Tobey the one who only gets Becky because he like deserves it after getting mega sad or he "won" her (im saying this as a tobey fan). What's Becky thoughts? Or make her the one to realize why she would be with Tobey? How does Tobey make her happy? And that it's okay that Becky rejects Tobey in a fic or art. It doesn't make her the bad one in the scene or that she's treating him unfairly. (Something I realized in my own fic).