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thepersonperson · 2 months ago

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Thoughts on JJK's ending and my Dream/Delusion Theory being wrong.

Original Theory

Follow-Up on Characters Feeling OOC

(Written using TCBscans. Click images for captions/citaitons.)

Preface

I want to say that this ending could’ve worked if it were given more time. The majority of my complaints are the rushing which I mostly blame exploitation at the hands of the manga industry and predatory contracts.

Here are my original thoughts on JJK 268 when it released and JJK 269 when it released. I've basically reverted to those opinions.

Examining JJK 268–271 as Presented

When the last chapter of Umineko came out, its author Ryukishi07 very much spat in the faces of fans. He mocked them mercilessly and it was glorious. Every single criticism he lobbed at them was warranted because he targeted the fans that refused to see the love he put into his work or engage with the story on its terms.

“Without love, it cannot be seen.”

Ryukishi gave you all the tools to solve the mystery. He told you exactly how to do it. And yet some weren’t satisfied. They wanted everything neatly handed to them in a bow. Ryukishi denied them that simple ending in favor of sticking to his vision and rewarding the fans that accepted Umineko for what it was.

I have my own issues with the ending, but none of my complaints are related to that. I can also say with confidence what happens is completely in character, it’s just not something I personally vibe with.

When I read JJK 268–271 I feel that same creator frustration. I see Gege’s fatigue with fans who care only about the surface level presentation and nothing else. There’s been so much fun setups and follow throughs. So many subtle characterizations and symbolism that goes unnoticed by those who are unwilling to see the love Gege puts into his craft.

“JJK fans can’t read.” This is a fandom joke that is very true. A massive part of the fanbase ignores subtlety and gets upset or confused by Gege following through on it. The entire Sukuna battle was like that. You could pick out all the reasoning behind their actions if you paid close attention.

But then we get JJK 269 where Gege does something he's never done before—over-explain everything bluntly in a way that adds more plot holes and hinders character development. It feels like Gege is going “You don’t understand what I put down? Ok fine! Here are the answers!” It feels like getting to tell those fans off was more important than everything else.

Instead of doing a Ryukishi where he tears into uncharitable critics and rewards those who gave him a chance, Gege just abandons it all and makes an ending that won’t fully satisfy anyone.

With my theory, I decided to look past everything I hated. I decided to trust that if a mistake was made, Gege would call it out like usual. I decided to trust that the inconsistent locations were intentional because Gege has not once ever flubbed them. I decided to trust the clever set up and follow through that’s always been there, even when Gege’s health problems were at their worst.

I decided to look at Gege’s work with love and my heart was trampled for it. My post now serves as glaring proof the ending is botched and nothing makes sense. All the plotholes I found solutions for are bigger than ever. JJK 269 in its entirety is utterly pointless narratively. It could’ve been spent on political fallout, grief, or villain backstories, but instead it reads like a defensive Reddit post.

JJK 271 isn't Satisfying

JJK 271 made everything about JJK 269 worse and then added some more nonsense. Sukuna’s last appearance really sucked for me. I found his entire interaction with Mahito to be grossly OOC.

Mahito is a character who finds humans disgusting and doesn’t care about their opinions or what they do. They also don’t like Sukuna. When Jogo believes that the age of curses needs Sukuna to work, Mahito says they can surpass him. The very idea that Mahito would be upset by Sukuna becoming more human goes against their entire established character.

And more continuity errors!

This conversation is actually their 4th. Here are the other 3:

Sukuna warning Mahito not to touch him.

Sukuna punishing Mahito for touching him.

And Mahito telling Sukuna to shut up and watch him be even better.

Their relationship was antagonistic and Mahito desired a world without Sukuna. Why would Sukuna be with them in the afterlife?

And if Sukuna was going to change his mind it should’ve been with someone he cared about. Jogo and Gojo would’ve been great candidates. Or you know…it could’ve been Uraume themself. In the way Yuji voiced his feelings to Megumi and reached out to him, Sukuna could’ve done the same with Uraume. It could’ve been a thing that expanded more on their relationship and how it came to be. But Uraume doesn’t even get to voice how they feel about anything.

What we get is Sukuna talking to someone he doesn’t like about his emotional issues he has been suppressing and then deciding to live for a person whose history we know nothing of.

I knew him being an unwanted child screwed him up. But that kind of stuff takes a long, long time to unpack. And Sukuna, up until this point has given no indication he was ready to acknowledge his trauma, just like Gojo. Even in the end Gojo can’t admit to Toji and Geto traumatizing him. Sukuna knowing his heart and being so casually open about it just flies in the face of the subtle characterization that existed up until that point. (I wanted Hidden Inventory Arc type reveal you know! But tell not show is prevailing seemingly out of spite.)

He dies stubborn and hateful towards Yuji. He lies to him about feeling nothing and not liking flowers. For him to turn around in death and go I was wrong the entire time no problem to someone he has an antagonistic relationship with is extremely OOC because it wasn't earned.

And since when did Sukuna fear his own curse? When was that ever hinted? All that was suggested was Sukuna having a rough childhood and being exploited by others until he had enough.

Even for all the characters that survived, this isn’t a satisfying ending. Their coping with trauma is unrealistic and contradicts earlier characterization. Their relationships are not explored further. All their arcs or goals are neglected, save Yuji. Nobara didn’t even get to meet up with her childhood friends like she always wanted to. Just the mom letter.

It’s also jarring to see that a series that began with mourning, a series that made itself different by having children deal realistically with traumatic things, end where that heart no longer exists. We have so many characters who are explicitly motivated by their trauma. And we get to see them cope with it in their unique ways and still choose to chase joy through the hurt.

And these final 4 chapters? It’s gone. Yuta being so distressed over everyone treating Gojo like an object and not acknowledging his personhood? Gone. Megumi, Yuji, and Nobara sucking at dealing with death? Gone. They all act like none of it really mattered and won’t affect them for the rest of their lives. Those who were lost are forgotten quickly and their efforts are not remembered. (At this point, everyone ignoring Choso hurts worse than Gojo tbh.)

The Totally Not Kenjaku surviving decapitation and brain eating makes no sense if that's real. And the implications from that are horrible. All Gojo wanted to do was mourn Geto’s body. All we wanted was to see someone mourn him or acknowledge his efforts. I was hoping they’d be buried together. The idea that Geto’s body is possibly being used by a the master manipulating rapist while everyone is ok with that sickens me. (Does any remember Choso?! But hey, let’s kill all the incarnated culling game players who were victims of manipulation or outright helpful to the protagonists’ victory!)

It’s also why Mei Mei surviving and going unpunished or criticized for her treatment of Ui Ui sucks to see. And I guess while we’re at it. Kusakabe really did tell a 15 year old to his face he should’ve died. (And he was wrong about that like the higher ups. Yuji and Sukuna were a backup plan and the fingers were getting stronger all on their own. Gojo was the only adult who took productive action against it.)

The revolution really did die with Gojo. His dreams were good and noble. Resetting the Jujutsu Society and its exploitation was needed. But he gives up on them and asks to be forgotten. It's done in a way that feels like Gege is addressing his fans directly and telling them to get over him too.

I knew Gojo was suicidal, don’t get me wrong, but he was characterized as someone who had a hard time understanding that others did care about him. I was hoping for the revelation his intuition was wrong via a funeral or mourning. That didn't happen and it breaks my heart.

Yuta tried to empathize with him. We see it with the Yujo plot that goes nowhere except to disrespect Gojo’s body one last time. We don't even get to know if he was cremated or buried or how Yuta felt about that experience. It is extremely hard to see this all as anything but Gege expressing resentment for Gojo’s popularity.

And I’ll give Gege credit for that. The only theme that stayed consistent was Gojo being seen as an object to be exploited by everyone, except Sukuna. (I’m not even sure if I can include Yuji and Yuta in the cares deeply for Gojo anymore. It’s so OOC for them to be like this that I want to ignore it.)

The balance of the world changed when Gojo was born. We had several chapters dedicated to how this impacted various people's lives from Toji to random curse users. His death should be just as impactful.

But you know. Kenjaku was proven right. The cycle of curses will continue on because the systemic problems were never dealt with.

The conditions that allowed for Yuji and Sukuna to be created still exist.

Reflection

I understand why people like myself want to reject this ending. It doesn’t feel like Gege put love into it. All the fun little quirks this series had are flattened and discarded in what feels like spite. Not even the final battle has the fun energy that was present just 4 chapters ago.

I’ve decided that I’ll accept these last 4 chapters for what they are, but reject everything they stand for. They’re more interesting to discuss and pick apart than actually read…which ironically is how I feel about Umineko’s final chapter.

And speaking of Umineko… My favorite thing about the reaction to my Dream/Delusion Theory was this—the people who said, if they can’t handle what’s in the catbox, this is their canon.

The fans who love the series and want to weave their own tales based on this in a way that helps others cope, please tag me in your creations. (Especially you @rosemaryreality!) It’s all incredibly Umineko and I’m forever grateful I got to experience the Rokkenjima Incident in real time.

Very important to Umineko’s themes, there was a common sentiment type across those that were dismissive of my theory vs those who were receptive to it—their perception of the mangaka, Gege.

To those that believed Gege was a bad writer, the idea that he could be clever and put love into this series was impossible to them, and therefore my theory was impossible. To those that had faith in Gege as a writer, my theory was solid, even if it needed a little tweaking.

I had the most fun with those who cited manga at me to make corrections like @runabout-river. Or those who wanted clarification on the holes I missed.

The ones that were entirely dismissive? It was boring. Their arguments mostly amounted to “Gege bad”. (I won't post screenshots here because I don't want them harassed, but they are there if you want to verify them.) Not a single person offered me an interpretation where the events were literal and took place in reality using manga panel citations in a way that tied it all into JJK’s themes and characters.

That disappointed me immensely. I wanted someone to prove to me my reasoning was wrong with a similar methodology. Instead they drew rebuttals stemming from their perceived flaws or outright dislike of Gege.

This is quite literally what happens in Umineko. It’s a murder mystery that can only be solved if you consider love. Both the love within the characters themselves and the love the author has put into his creation.

Is it magic or is it a simple trick? Is it a delusion or is it reality? Depending on how you answer and solve the mystery, your interpretation of the story itself changes too.

I wound up being wrong of course, and Gege really did screw up everything in the end. But while that delusion was real? I had a blast.

I’ll be forever grateful to everyone that proved Ryukishi right about Umineko’s core theme.

#cactus yaps #Something something capitalism destroys art.#Umineko Kaisen was the friends I made along the way.#This has been my Potential Kaisen.#The potential man memes should be applied to the worldbuilding and plot points.#I'm not joining the leaks are intentional fakes copium. I witnessed BBC Sherlock S4. Dec 25th Vol release won't change anything.#I do expect Gege to be interviewed about the ending and him discussing alternatives he had in mind.#Since I'm going on vacation next week I'm leaving asks off until after I get back. Then I will go back to true yapfesting.#jujutsu kaisen #jjk spoilers #jjk 271

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funhouse-mirror-barbie · 18 days ago

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Okay. I gotta talk about it.

Warning for major spoilers for season 2 of Hazbin Hotel and discussion of leaks—I will NOT be posting any links to the leaks or posting pics/screenshots from them here. Just going to be talking about a particular character.

Okay, last chance if you don’t want to know anything about the spoilers/leaks!!!

Im serious!!! Last warning!!!!!

Lute is now unironically the most compelling character in the entire fucking show and I am not kidding.

Whoever wrote the little bit of her character that’s been leaked did a really good job. She is incredibly interesting to me now because we get to see her when her entire way of life and ideology is challenged.

Lute is a very flawed and cruel person, but she has always been extremely sure of herself and that she is unambiguously CORRECT in her way of life. And now she’s being faced with the fact that she and everything she lived for is WRONG and they just CANT accept it. So much so that it appears that she’s now hallucinating Adam to cope.

Lute cannot accept redemption is possible and her viewpoint is SO black and white that it’s likely going to end up killing her or at the very least will drive her to madness. She would rather burn the whole world than accept change. There’s a tragic element as well that comes with every character that lives in the extremes—she fully believes she’s in the right. So much so that she can’t understand why EVERYONE else in Heaven seems to be horrified by the exterminations. She thinks she is doing the best thing for everyone, and is now resisting the reality that is front of her.

What would be really amazing, and what I’m hoping for is that Adam really did fall and became a “Demon” in Hell. Because then she would have to deal with the person she looks up to and admires the MOST becoming what she’s sworn to annihilate. I don’t know if she could handle that.

The question of whether or not she could reconcile Adam, someone she saw as being heavenly and perfect, could fall and become what she hates the most, a demon, is really interesting. She’d be forced again to question her ideals and beliefs about what is right and wrong. That is the sort of deep character exploration I had been hoping to see from season 1 of Hazbin and didn’t really get.

This small glimpse into her character reminds me of other characters that are so lawful or black and white that they can’t accept change or realities that conflict with their worldviews. Rorschach from Watchmen and Javert from Les Miserables come to mind.

It would be really cool to show her in direct contrast to V (not calling her that sexist ass name at least I can pretend “Lute” is named after the fucking instrument) and have Lute be the foil to V’s continuing character arc from season 1.

Please please please don’t let this characters complexity be reduced to “evil bad villain is bad and evil” for the rest of the story please please please. (Gotta say tho, given Hazbin and Helluva’a track record with writing women villains….and tbh just. Women in general. I am going to be VERY VERY cautiously optimistic)

(Also I don’t care if her song is cringe I think it fucking SLAPS)

#funhouse convo #media criticism #hazbin hotel spoilers #hazbin hotel leaks #Hazbin hotel leak discussion #no links to leaks no leaks in post just discussion of leaks #Hazbin hotel critic #Hazbin hotel critique #tbh I thought it was a fan song animatic at first and then was like #wait that is 100% the actual voice actors what the fuck????#hazbin hotel critical #Hazbin leaks #Hazbin hotel season 2 leaks

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fictonrantsworld · 1 year ago

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I just find it funny, that alicent,the epitome of duty and graciousness, probably likes it for people, especially her children, to behave in an orderly conduct befitting their station, to then have a daughter that casually leans and basically folds herself 90 degrees over the table to make sure otto sees the details in her beetle (that aegon got for her-this is the alleged rumours of the script im not 100% sure myself).

Like i imagine as a personal headcanon, back when they were still friends, rhaenyra was the tomboy princess, that was always reminded by a half japing young alicent to act like a proper lady, then years later u have helaena like:

u can clearly see helaena even putting her legs up to push her body forward, so her favourite peepaw can look at her beetle.

While rewatching this scene and putting my volume up in my headphones,im pretty sure i heard her distinctively say 'look at it' to otto.

Another thing, its just hilarious to me that aegon and aemond noticed viserys coming in and started going to their seats while helaena didnt even bother😭😂.(she probably didnt notice lol)

Also the last pic, I can't, like what were rhaenyra and daemon thinking when she did that lol. I need the script for this whole episode

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arowyn-m · 3 months ago

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I meant to do this ages ago but knowing the leaks exist is driving me insane so I’m devoting my energy to it now—

Obsessed with the idea of Arcane characters becoming their opposites in S2 so I’ve attempted to summarize each character in 3 words—a good quality or strength, a bad quality or weakness, and a neutral trait.

Vi: Protective, Hotheaded, Sentimental

Caitlyn: Empathetic, Naive, Perceptive

Jinx: Creative, Impulsive, Childish

Ekko: Nurturing, Aggressive, Distrustful

Heimer: Patient, Unresponsive, Pessimistic

Jayce: Charismatic, Shortsighted, Proud

Viktor: Self-sacrificing, Stubborn, Reserved

Mel: Wise, Manipulative, Perfectionistic

Singed: Calculated, Sadistic, Cryptic

Sevika: Loyal, Impatient, Honest

Ambessa: Cunning, Ruthless, Selfish

Assuming that these are solid descriptors for each character, and S2 will show these characters becoming their own opposites, we can expect good qualities to become bad ones and vice versa. Neutral qualities may also be turned on their heads:

Vi: Vulnerable, Apathetic, Repressing

Caitlyn: Cold, Experienced, Blinded

Jinx: Destructive (in maybe a different context than S1), Deliberate, Mature

Ekko: Neglectful, Avoidant, Trusting

Heimer: Impatient, Proactive, Lighthearted

Jayce: Unlikable, Farsighted, Humble (or Humbled)

Viktor: Selfish, Compromising, Outspoken

Mel: Foolish, Sincere, Self-accepting

Singed: Careless, Empathetic, Unambiguous

Sevika: Independent, Patient, Aloof

Ambessa: Candid, Merciful, Self-sacrificing

Further analysis below ->

A lot of these qualities are probably going to be tweaked. I don’t think we’re going to get a wildly empathetic Singed, but rather we’ll see some more of his personal motivations, which will show him to be more feeling than he seems.

I honestly don’t see us getting a straight-up self-centered Viktor, so part of me believes that he’ll be “selfish” in the context of his personal ambitions. He’s been working in tandem with Jayce for years; been willing to give up time for other projects that aren’t Undercity-centric. Viktor’s focus is going to be entirely on physically healing the Undercity—a project that only he seems to see the value in. That’s probably going to be the “selfish” aspect we see from him.

Or at least I really hope so.

Viktor’s selflessness is such an integral part of his character that it’s hard to imagine him suddenly becoming self-absorbed, but if the writers handle it well, then 👍

Similar issue with Jayce—I don’t see Jayce becoming humble so much as being humbled or put in his place (maybe by Ambessa, who looks poised to usurp Piltover’s Council judging by previous story beats and her strong presence in the S2 poster.

I like Jayce as a character and really think the fandom doesn’t give him enough credit for caring about those around him—but he’s pretty full of himself, and I only see him leaning further into that trait as those he trusts (Mel, Viktor, Caitlyn) are either pulled away or abandon him.

Sevika’s possible development in particular is quite interesting specifically because she is a follower by definition. In S1, Sevika would not have made a good leader, but maybe she will in S2.

Sevika could start acting independently to contrast her previous loyalty. Even when in an alliance she can have independent motives. We know she’s going to team up with Jinx but it’s unlikely that Sevika is going to be personally devoted to her, and maybe this alliance is a temporary, spur-of-the-moment decision.

If Sevika starts being independent, I’ve no doubt she’ll later become Renata Glasc.

okay that’s it! Feel free to add to this or take away or completely contradict me I’d love to continue to think about and discuss what defines these characters :)

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blackcat419 · 4 months ago

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Just saw the leak for episode 8 where Alicent meets with Rhaenyra on dragonstone and…. It’s worst than septan Rhaenyra.

Alicent saying she loved Viserys? Basically flagellating herself infront of Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra gets to scoff at her. She also wants to leave with only Helaena?? Not her other three children???

This isn’t character assassination, this is character disembowelment!! Alicent of season 1 has been flayed open and her organs strewn around the floor for Rhaenyra to spit on.

This is not a story about a civil war, it’s now a story about women being dragged into war by men and then everyone realizing ‘wow, war sucks’ omg so deep so much enlightenment.

Barf, I hate it. I hope Condal and Hess are kept far away from any future ASOIAF adaptation.

#hotd #house of the dragon #hotd leaks #hotd discussion #hotd critical #anti ryan condal #anti sarah hess

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sonknuxadow · 7 months ago

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hey guys look what i found in my drafts. from a few days ago .

#sorry i think its my fault that this happened #still unsure if The News is actually real or not tbh since no official sources have said anything about it as far as i know #and i hear the hollywood reporter is usually right about this stuff but idk #the fact that there are no actual sources or evidence for any of this other than ''just trust me bro'' is a bit suspicious to me #+ the fact that theyve been keeping the development of sonic 3 very quiet and secret #yet shadows voice actor. which is one of the biggest topics of discussion surrounding the movie. just. happened to leak somehow ?#but . the timing on this is kinda funny . and very tragic. if it is real #i said it already but i dont get why so many people are celebrating this. from what ive heard he doesnt fit ....#and it feels like another case of casting a random celebrity over an actual voice actor just to have a big name attached to the project #regardless of if theyre really the best choice.#which i thought everyone agreed was a shitty and annoying practice especially if its some iconic video game/comic/whatever character ?#but maybe i just havent heard the right specific voice clips that make people think its a good choice i dont know .

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angy-grrr · 4 months ago

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A thought about the leaks:

It makes more sense when you think about Izuku Midoriya as an unreliable narrator who wanted to talk about a hero story.

He doesnt want us, the audience, to know about the depth of his own feelings and emotions, because this is the story of how he and the rest of the class kept reaching out their hands to those in need of help.

Something that kind of surprised me when he talked to Ochako was how he would frame it almost like "you are my hero as you have reached out your hand to me multiple times since the beginning, and I want to also be a hero to you too, so I must help you with everyone else"; he wants to be a hero from the beginning to the end, and this act of kindness for Ochako and need to let out her emotions for Himiko is framed as heroic. This is him being a hero.

Who saves the heroes? Other heroes, instead of being alone. And anyone can be a hero. This is a story about it.

Izuku has no intentions of showing off his trauma, his loneliness, his pain, outside of what's heroic; he cant even talk about romantic feelings without going back to it.

It made me feel much better, to see it that way; its not that the whole story ends with what he said, he is literally skipping all he parts that wouldn't be part of a cool hero story.

He parallels AFO after all.

I think it makes sense considering how much different Ochako's feelings and thoughts are depending on who tells the story; when we have her POV while fighting Himiko everything is personal and emotional, but when she explains her feelings to Deku she doesnt even mention anything related to how much she wanted her in her life, besides the childhood friends comment, and even brings up the uses of her quirk. Its like she is comparing herself to Deku? Like if she noticed those things about quirks instead of focusing on the emotional aspect, then maybe she could have helped her sooner. And in the final chapter, when she is mentioned, its about her heroic work, not about how much they talked, or their hangouts, or anything like that.

Izuku skips the handhold, and I want to believe its bc it wouldnt make it for the hero story. He doesnt talk about what he felt when he sacrificed himself for the first time, but we saw his anger and his uncontrolled pain. He doesnt talk about how he forgives him, but we saw how much he always wanted him in his life. He doesnt talk about Katsuki dying. but we saw how someone else had to tell him they didnt lose anyone yet and he was getting help. Control your heart. Izuku hits his chest, black whip makes a heart, and he focuses in what he knows to do: heroics. He will save, and he will fight to save.

Another reason why he wouldnt bring back his own feelings when it comes to imitating Katsuki unconsciously even if he knows others would dislike it; he wants to be selfless hero Deku, and while he does admire Katsuki and cherish his company, he knows he himself wouldnt get a pass to be rude when he isnt as brilliant as him from his perspective.

And like any hero would, he wants his friends by his side, and forever to help others. That's what he wants to represent in his hero academia, another saving hero like his All Might.

(Also apparently Horikoshi and his team were especially pressured by Shonen Jump during these months and he admits he found it rushed, so once again the capitalistic corporation is the evil to defeat. This is just my own interpretation in universe)

#grrr talking #bkdk #bnha spoilers #dkbk #bakudeku #dekubaku #grrr discusses leaks

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jesncin · 1 year ago

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Coddling Colonizer Guilt

"Performative diversity is when MAWS features a Native American variant of Lois Lane in the multiverse episode only to end the season on a Thanksgiving episode."

...is something I like to joke with my friends as a shorthand for referencing MAWS' squeamish approach to politics while still trying to reap the clout of "diverse representation". I want to get my thoughts out there and perhaps start a discussion over why this feels off.

Some disclaimers: Firstly, I'm not Native American. Understand this is an observation I'm making from an outsider perspective with no personal authority. I'm just a disappointed Asian Lois Lane fan. Secondly, I know the MAWS crew/creators had no malicious intent in any of these (what I consider) poor writing decisions. I'm simply here to challenge and analyze these narrative and visual choices.

MAWS takes a fairly controversial take on Superman mythos so far. Unlike Superman's historic roots as an allegory for Jewish immigrants with Clark coming from a Kryptonian socialist utopia (leading the imperfect people of Earth to a better tomorrow), MAWS chooses instead to reimagine Superman as a descendant from a planet of "alien invaders". If the leaked(?) concept art (warning potential spoilers for s2) is to be believed, Clark is the direct descendent of the leaders of the "Kryptonian Empire". Supposedly gone are the parents of Superman being scientists that warn of the destruction of their home planet- instead we have the "proud, loving, brilliant" "leaders of the Kryptonian Empire".

While we don't know if this is the direction the show is going in, there are already cryptic hints of it being planted and thematic elements set up that point to it being a possibility. Clark had spent a majority of the season wondering what/who he is (being incapable of talking to Jor-El's hologram because of a language barrier) only to find out his supposed origins in episode 9. He's devastated learning that he's an alien invader and, once he regroups with his friends, angsts about believing he's a weapon sent from Krypton to invade Earth. Asian-Lois Lane and Black-Jimmy Olsen assure White-passing-alien-man Clark Kent that he's different and not like other colonizers. Clark ultimately saves the day, proving he's an exception. It's curious then that the season ends on Thanksgiving.

As I've mentioned before, MAWS is exhaustively squeamish with getting political. Whatever happens in the show that resembles "themes" is quickly contradicted with very little consistent internal logic. One minute Superman is supposedly a threat that "wipes out good American jobs", should "go back to where he came from" and Lois makes a hope speech about how we shouldn't treat people who "are different" and "don't look like us" (??) with cruelty (so Clark's an immigrant going through xenophobia?) and the next he's a redeemed colonizer (a more prominent thematic arc). One minute Clark is "different" and scared of being othered- likened to a gay couple and allegorically closeted, and the next his friends call him out for being a lying liar for not disclosing his marginalized identity within a week (the narrative frames Lois and Jimmy as being in the right). This show's writing is non-committal with what it wants to say, and largely goes on vibes. That is to say I don't think the writers intended for the themes of colonizer guilt to accidentally tie into Thanksgiving as a set piece for their final episode.

I'm sure the reason the writers chose Thanksgiving as their final episode is because it's "relateable". Half the episode is dedicated to slice of life family reunion shenanigans and the dang turkey still not being cooked through. But in choosing Thanksgiving, the writers told on themselves here with their biases. The existence of Thanksgiving implies the existence of genocide (of Native American people) by colonists in the MAWS universe. And yet Black Jimmy Olsen doesn't know what racism is (Mallah and the Brain give him a judgmental stare as Jimmy admits he can't relate to being violently marginalized) and Asian American Lois Lane doesn't understand immigration and xenophobia (constantly being entitled to Clark's immigrant identity, being incapable of comprehending why he would keep it a secret, because secrets are lies). The MAWS crew wanted a "relateable" set piece but in doing so ended up reinforcing the historical revisionism the holiday entails. A foreign colonizer sharing a meal with his friends of color on Earth, whose culture, history, and identity are all white washed.

I would like to challenge this idea that Thanksgiving is somehow the "relateable" choice. Why pick this holiday? Why not celebrate Thanksgiving as a National Day of Mourning (as some Native Americans do)? Why not pick any Jewish holiday as a nod to Superman's creators (ignoring this version's colonizer interpretation for a second)? Why not pick Lunar New Year, a holiday celebrated by many people including Koreans (Seollal in South Korea)? It could've been another fun opportunity to showcase Lois' heritage, and create a fusion of cultures from Jimmy and Clark's families. At its most non-political and secular, why couldn't they pick any weekend? This is what happens when a show doesn't consider its world building and setting in a holistic way. MAWS will nod to xenophobic rhetoric, portray allegorical queer marginalization, and make the vaguest nods to systemic bigotry (Prof Ivo displaced a whole neighborhood! Yet we never hear from those figurative displaced people). But it does nothing to discuss any of that on a deeper level. Its characters of color don't know what racism is and Thanksgiving is just a fun family reunion, guys.

All this and they had the audacity to sneak in a Native American Lois Lane in the multiverse episode?? Why is she, out of all the Lois Lanes in this screencap, the only one in full traditional wear? Why isn't she in a smart casual business fit like Black Lois and STAS white Lois? Would she not have been recognizably Native American to the non-Native audience otherwise? Isn't this tokenizing? Do you think she has a xenophobic dad in the military like Korean American Lois does?

But that fits MAWS' approach to diversity, doesn't it? Surface level cultural nods, maybe make Lois wear a hanbok one time, and let the audience eat it up. Never mind that both Korean American Lois and Native American Lois have been stripped of their culture and history in every other aspect.

I use the word "relateable" a lot here, but I think the important question to ask is "relateable for who?". 'Immigrant' is too charged a word, so MAWS universalizes Clark's marginalization to "being different". Superman isn't even an immigrant in this version, that was all a smokescreen for the twist that he's actually a descendent of colonizers! Being wracked with colonizer guilt is way more relateable to the white audience than being an immigrant, surely. Thanksgiving is more relateable than celebrating any culturally specific holiday our "diverse reimagining" could have represented. Characters of color being functionally white (in a way that doesn't threaten middle America) is way more relateable. MAWS is a show that doesn't want to delve into Native American history. It would rather put a Native American Lois hologram on a pedestal and call it a day.

#ramblings #jesncin talks maws #media criticism #includes discussion of that leaked(?) concept art btw so warning for potential s2 spoilers #this is long but I wanted to provide context as I talked #hope yall enjoy! and also pls be nice!!#jesncin dc meta

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electrozeistyking · 8 months ago

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DID YUO SEE THE GIF GLITCH JUST DROPPED-

I DID NOT AND DO NOT WANT TO.

Allow me to explain: I want to watch any and all Murder Drones episodes blindly without knowing or seeing anything on them. In fact, that's how I enjoy watching this show. Why, you may ask?

Because that's how I first watched the pilot.

I knew literally nothing about it. I didn't know who voiced in it, what it was all about, who created it... nothing. I just saw a thumbnail for a show that had to do with robots on the internet, and decided to watch it on a whim.

I was blindsided by everything. The first thing I did when N spoke was to very loudly exclaim "MICHEAL?!" And you know what? I enjoyed what I saw! It may have taken me two separate occasions to finish, but I enjoyed my experience watching it!

Did I know episode two came out? I was hyperfixating on something else at the time, so I only found out about it months later. And like with the pilot, I knew nothing about it. I hadn't seen any teasers or anything on it, so once again, I was blindsided by everything I witnessed. So on and so forth, for each and every episode.

It was easy for me not to see anything, because I didn't have reliable internet at the time. Therefore, I was completely unaware of release dates, I didn't see any teasers, I didn't see anything for any episodes.

Obviously, I could not avoid the one featured in GLITCHX, so it was unavoidable and is therefore the only exception to this rule. I am willingly choosing to commit to how I watch these next episodes, because it's been an enjoyable experience for me to get slapped in the face by every episode of this series so far.

And I'd like to keep it that way.

Okay, this is turning out longer than I meant it to be, so let's get to the point I wanna make: while this is the first news we're getting in a long while and it's certainly exciting, I am purposely trying to avoid seeing it so I can continue enjoying it this way.

Anyway, here's N playing the trumpet as an apology if I came off as aggressive at the start there. :3

wait shit was it murder drones related i blacked out when i wrote this

#Zeisty's Askbox #murder drones #murder drones n #promise me you guys won't send me any pictures of the news or tell me about it unless it's a release date or something #if it's a teaser i do not want to see it and won't look at it #thanks for respecting my discussion :3 #you gotta be specific with me too #like this was so vague that I panicked #I know there's going to be news and I know it's circulating tumblr UNTAGGED AND NOT UNDER A READ MORE #but I know not of any gif #if it's digital circus related you can definitely tell me about it though #I saw its first teaser and trailer before the pilot #and I definitely knew all about it #so I don't mind seeing any leaks or teasers or anything on the amazing digital circus #basically please be specific? I misunderstand things if you're too vague with me :(#zeisty’s goofs

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justarandomuserbnamiguess · 4 months ago

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The "Rules" to Targaryen Dragon Blood, Dragon Riding and Dragon Taming Explained ! SPOILERS!

The Velaryons have been intermarrying with the Targaryens prior to Aegons Conquest. Aegon's mother was a Velaryon who in turn was half Targaryen; their continued condition to marry the Velaryons after the conquest further affirms this. The Velaryons at this point have a little "dragon riding blood" within them, whatever the amount in Addam allowed him to tame the Seasmoke without issue. I'm primarily a book reader. Moreover, generally, the "blood of the dragon riders" is a hand wavy concept in the books itself. It functions as George wants it to function. The function of the dragon seeds narratively is to pointedly undermine the Targaryen doctrine of exceptionalism. They were given said exceptionalism by the High Septon because they had to intergrate with Westerosi Feudalism that strictly follows the faith of the seven (incest =bad but ok for the targs), but moreover, it is a concept by which George can critique those with perceived absolute power being the same as everyone else in reality.

On the topic of dragon taming/riding, there is no clear or even definitive answer to this; the entire narrative point of the Dragonseeds (Bastards with a trace of Targaryen blood; Addam, Hugh, Ulf etc) is to highlight said point - what we can come to generally agree upon is that anyone with a smidge of Targaryen blood increases the chance of taming a dragon but does not guarantee it's assurance. In the show, we have both Rhaena and Steffon Darklyn - Rhaena was noted to almost have lost her life in several attempt's and we see Steffon lose his to Seasmoke. Dragon's are capricious creature's thus there can not be any true way to know what actually goes into taming a dragon. Intriguingly, in his most recent blog post, he dove into the subject of dragons which contained potentially massive revelation for the widely accepted Targaryen (Valyrian Dragon Lord) blood = necessary to tame a dragon belief;

If dragons were nomadic, they would have overrun half of Essos, and the Doom would only have killed a few of them. Similarly, the dragons of Westeros seldom wander far from Dragonstone. Elsewise, after three hundred years, we would have dragons all over the realm and every noble house would have a few.

George is a very deliberate and pointed writer - he says, "every" noble house in Westeros would have a few. If this very specific ascertain is true, it could be interpreted to totally shatters the aforementioned belief that Valryian Dragon blood was necessary to tame a dragon. It's incredibly huge. We will find out the exact specificities later as quoted below;

They bond with men… some men… and the why and how of that, and how it came to be, will eventually be revealed in more detail in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING and some in BLOOD & FIRE. (Septon Barth got much of it right).

At this point, we can only really wait for winds and speculate but the new information provided has somewhat shaken the idea of Valryian Supremacy to it's core, which ironically seems to be inline with his message to start. Only the release of the THE WINDS OF WINTER can provide the answers we really want.

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