#english bitter

[cubbyhole-for-flea-bee]

Once the theatre monkey discovers angsty broadway musicals its all over y'all

or: I got a new personal project I'm workin' on! I'm at the first pass on the animatic rn! I forgot that 'generate matte' is a thing you can do in SB Pro for a whole hour!! I'm suffering!!!

[frenchiepal]

3.11.23 🍂˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚☕️

i thought i was done with my assignments for the day but the moment i moved to close my laptop my prof sent a mail with the biggest reading assignment ughhh

[mr-payjay]

hi can i,bgg he he

what the fuck was that my keyboard just had a seizure. ok. i was trying to ask for tacojay content i guess my keyboard really didnt like that.

you dont have to draw tacojay thoug but can i get a hello (i think you’re really cool n stuff and your art is awesoms)

smiles nervously

i hope you don't mind if it's evil tacojay where she's trying to kill him

og meme^

thank you so much also :) im really happy you like my art, i always super appreciate asks about it like this!!! very kind and makes my day <3 so Hello to you rottkitt i hope you're having a lovely tacojay day

[sincerely-sofie]

Doodled some Cult of the Lamb while waiting for my brother to finish the testing we were doing!

[separatist-apologist]

what are your thoughts on this booktok drama https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/1i1i05p/your_thoughts_on_kallmekris_booktok_drama/ a lot of people were offended by the video (it was removed from this person's youtube channel, but internet is forever and someone uploaded the 37min video on tiktok). i get why people were upset, especially since this creator used clips of people without asking for permission and i think the OG title was T'hese Viral TikTok Smut Books Are Really Gross' which pissed off a lot of people. i just don't know if people are being overly sensitive or not to the content of the video.

yeah she makes fun of some of these popular booktok books, but people do that all the time. trash gets published so much in the guise of spicy romances so i'm not quite sure if people are conflating this creator talking shit about the books with her talking shit about them or maybe i missed something and she actually did talk shit about them. i know you have hatersbookclub (which i love, i find your commentary super funny) so i was wondering if you had a take on this drama since it's been blowing up all over tiktok and now reddit.

Okay I'm gonna be real and upfront- I'm not gonna watch the video because I don't want to be pushed anymore booktok content. However I do have general thoughts about the culture, which I am, once again, putting under the cut. blah blah blah read at your own discretion

Obligatory not all of booktok.

Without watching the video (so I lack context), one of the things I find wildly frustrating about booktok is the performative outrage. The CONSTANT performative outrage about EVERYTHING. Maybe the video was offensive but I'm betting it was a mild, but mostly fair, criticism of the culture over there and they are allergic to any nuance, and take even constructive criticism as a personal attack.

The anti-intellectualism floating around the space is deeply frustrating. "I just read for the vibes" "its a brain off read for me" "its not that deep" "let people like things" "no one ever says men are consuming too much porn" ""good" is subjective" alongside the weaponization of like, feminism and other progressive language to silence ANY critique is exhausting.

No one is saying you shouldn't be allowed to brain off read 700 books written in an hour that aren't edited and actively uphold the very patriarchal, white supremacist culture you swear you want to dismantle (only when it's time to cancel someone, though, and never when its time to do the uncomfortable internal work that forces you to ask why you only consume books in which women are referred to as "females" and are subservient to men in overtly domineering roles, though).

What people are often saying is that its frustrating the way these POORLY written (not subjective- thats an objective, measurable standard), copy cat books are peddled and often shielded from criticism under the guise of "feminism means you can never criticize anything women enjoy ever" or how if you're offering up book recs, a deluge of "Is there spice" floods the comments. Books are being marketed on fanfiction tropes rather than a PLOT, of which there very often is very little to none of.

I've seen people GENTLY try and discuss, like, the lack of media literacy and booktok is always there arguing why any reading is good reading, wholly ignoring that, often by their own admission, they ARENT reading (brain off reading means....what? You didn't absorb any of it? I don't even know what that means and I honestly don't want to), or that its good for your brain to actually pay attention to what you're reading and then THINK about it. Even your dark romance trash is saying SOMETHING.

Booktok is addicted to their own victimization.

[muffingnf]

need dteam’s new hispanic friends to qrt tommy and tell him to die in spanish

[vroomian]

Hi ✌️I read bitter waters and I became interested in what other people think about YRZ? In one of the chapters we see that the other students are quite friendly towards him and even seem to respect him. But these are only Qing Jing's disciples. What about the others? PL? Especially considering the events of the last chapter. Will we see their point of view eventually?

(Sorry if there are any mistakes, I don't speak English and use Google)

he's a highly respected head disciple and a lot of people think that he should've been the head disciple of the first peak and therefore the next sect leader. yrz and yqy both know how to put on a show so most people don't know how much they dislike each other lol.

yrz is good at his job and his shidis trust and look up to him a lot. he's never unfair and he takes the kids seriously so the all like him. the qing jing shidis all brag about their perfect shixiong so the other peaks all know about yrz. his reputation is a devoted and hardworking cultivator. everyone agrees that it's a shame that his master is sqq, but they all know not to say anything to yrz about it.

we won't be getting any outside pov, or at least i haven't planned anything at this time. who knows with me lol.

[irhabiya]

the stillborn, arwa salih

[einaudis]

Remember how a European man made a movie about a Latin American (historical) event, and took his time to do some good research, contact the people involved and craft the movie with respect? And The Academy pretty much ignored him AND the movie? Ahhh, but LSDLN wasn't racist and didn't portray latin Americans as criminals, so it didn't cater to Hollywood's "let me say I care about latin Americans without actually taking my time to CARE for latin Americans" performative side.

Now tell me those Oscars Emilia Pérez will sadly get are not the ones La Sociedad de la Nieve deserved. Come on, I'll wait.

[manjushagep]

Sweden send something in Swedish challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)

[ladyluscinia]

All the interviews about S2 are still not great, but I do want to grab a quote for us all:

Looking back at Izzy’s arc over the two seasons, Jenkins said that he doesn’t see Izzy as a pure antagonist in season one because on some level… Izzy was right in his hesitations about Stede. “His boss is falling for this manic pixie dream girl, and he’s got to keep his boss safe because that’s his job,” Jenkins explains. “And then he has to get this ship to operate like a normal ship would operate. And they’re all weirdos. So he’s got the worst middle management position. And on top of that, his boss is a lunatic.”

David Jenkins from this Gizmodo article

The man may have lost the plot, but he's still holding strong on his stance from S1 that all that toxic discourse that people projected on Izzy was mostly just shit they made up. The weird vibes-based mentor / father figure pivot has NOT canonized calling him Edward's third abusive dad. They gave him a redemption arc and killed him off, but Mr. Jenkins did NOT deem him the horrid villain that was ruining Edward's life.

It was all still just a souring workplace partnership and a lot of jealousy.

[mafufuu-2-with-cheese]

“ dear mother, can we both agree that i have grown up now? “

[allthetropes]

OKAY, AO3 CHILDREN, GATHER ROUND

peek = verb = to take a look

peak = noun OR verb = the summit, to come to the highest point

pique = verb = to rouse

The boy peeked around the corner at the peak of the mountain, his interest piqued by the noise he was hearing. If I have to read one more fic that says something like "this will peek your interest" i'm gonna lose it

oh, that's another one

lose = verb = to fail or misplace [looz]

loose = adjective = baggy, not tight [loos]

and while I'm at it

affect = verb = to change

effect = noun = a change

blond = adj = male with yellow hair

blonde = adj = female with yellow hair

brunet = adj = male with brown hair

brunette = adj = female with brown hair

fiancé = adj = male betrothed

fiancée = adj = female betrothed

( yes all of those suck, blame the french )

revenge = noun = a victim gets their own back on the person that made them suffer

avenge = verb = back-pay is given to a bad person in the name of their victim but not by the victim themselves

desert = noun = large wasteland

dessert = noun = meal course, typically at the end of the meal, usually consisting of something sweet

breathe = verb = to inhale and exhale

breath = noun = the air that is inhaled or exhaled

bridal = adj = belonging to a woman on her wedding day

bridle = noun = tack for around a horse's head (can also sometimes be a verb meaning to restrict and lead somebody or something)

[isfjmel-phleg]

Justice League Task Force #37, the final issue of the series, is set at Christmas and gets me every time with its character dynamics and ultimate tragedy. I've talked about this story before, but here it is in more detail.

Story time!

It's Christmas. The Justice League Task Force has been back from a mission in space for an extremely short time, when Ray, who at this point is only kind of a member of the team, gets an alert that they need him. He responds at once and reflects on how lonely he's realizing he is and how much he's looking forward to seeing his friends, whom he considers to be all that he has. He's even making sure to think up some insults to have at the ready for Will because that's like 90% of their communication.

Turns out the alert was in fact a way to make sure he comes to a Christmas party. Most of his team is there, along with the members of Extreme Justice (Captain Atom's extremely 90s team) and Wonder Woman (the current leader of the JLA).

Santa even makes a surprise visit--except it's actually Will, aggressively costumed and making a big show of being full of goodwill and gifts and ostentatious apologies. He and J'onn have been on bad terms ever since J'onn kicked him off the team for chronic insubordination, but now Will makes a whole speech about his faults and where his bad behavior came from and how unfair he's been to J'onn and how he wants forgiveness.

He presents J'onn with a hourglass that he rigged with his electromagnetic powers to run backward as some heavy-handed Symbolism. And J'onn very graciously shakes his hand and agrees to start over.

Cindy and Ray are surprised at this apparent maturity from Will, and Ray's kind of disappointed that he won't get to use those insults he's been storing up now.

Things are going just fine. Cindy drags Ray into a dance, everyone's having fun, and Will is chatting with Captain Atom and finding out that he's not the only one who has missed out on years he should have had. He even tries to present himself as the calm, rational one when an argument almost breaks out among the three team leaders. Everything's great now! No more hard feelings! And since he's back on the team now...

"Who said you were back, Triumph?" says J'onn.

And just like that, the new pleasant Will disappears. He feels that he's owed full restoration now that he's forgiven, but J'onn refuses. Captain Atom offers him a spot on his team, but Will rudely rejects him, yells at Wonder Woman when she tells him to calm down, and proceeds to have a very embarrassing, very public tantrum.

Cindy and Ray are not surprised.

A lot of Will's problem here is his massive sense of entitlement. The apologies were another of his strategies, with restoration to the Task Force, not so much genuine amends in his relationships, as the ultimate goal. It's not that he wants to be on a team, any team--that's why he rejects Captain Atom's offer--he wants his old team back. He used to hate being with them instead of the full-fledged JLA, but he's come to realize that they're his only social circle. He has no other friends, no living family he's on good terms with, no one but his team of employees and his stockbroker. The Task Force are like family, and he wants those bonds back--but without the responsibility of actual personal and relational growth.

Will's fit escalates into a fight, and J'onn finally puts a stop to it and lets him leave in a huff.

Cindy is concerned and thinks they should follow him, J'onn and Ray agree that it's better to just let him go, but Cindy insists that this time there seems to be more to his behavior than just being a jerk as usual, and she and Ray set out to find him.

Vandal Savage, the Task Force's main nemesis, crashes the party. He claims he's there to make amends, because soon one of J'onn's "students" will change the course of the Task Force's strained history with Savage.

That student is Will, out in the snow, regretting everything and contemplating the candle that the demon Neron gave him, which if lighted will restore his lost years and erase all the mistakes, in exchange for his soul. Avoiding the consequences of his actions and starting over with a blank slate is looking pretty appealing to Will now, and he's about to go through with the deal when Cindy catches up to him.

Will addresses his guilt over the death of their teammate Mystek during their recent space mission. Cindy counters that he saved her life. Will points out that that choice was calculated, not compassionate, and he was more concerned about how letting her die would make him look than about saving a friend. That's more or less true, but Cindy isn't having it.

The fact that he saved her, she insists, is more important than why he did it. And that's worth something.

...she then proceeds to kiss him. He's not very responsive, she immediately realizes that that was a mistake, and Ray emphasizes that by showing up to act disgusted and tell them to get a room.

He and Will exchange a flurry of the most juvenile, offensive insults they can think of, but it ends with the three of them sharing a sincere hug. Though they're all terrible at expressing it, they do really care about each other, and this is their way of making up for recently fractured relationships.

Back at the party, Vandal Savage is still gloating about what Will's about to do, when Will returns. He's decided not to take the deal, because he's realized that getting the lost years back would also lose him his friendships, and he doesn't want to give those up. This time his apology is short and to the point. No posturing, no costume, no bribes. And J'onn says that it "is more than sufficient."

Cindy and Ray are still out in the snow, reflecting on the sand sculpture of Mystek that Will made. Ray uses his powers to crystalize it for greater permanance, as a memorial to her. Cindy finds the candle that Will abandoned and, not knowing what it is, thinks it would be the perfect addition, and even though Ray insists that the candle is hideous and not worth it, she pushes him to light it.

The deal is sealed. The timeline resets.

This time, it's another estranged former teammate showing up to the party as Santa and asking for forgiveness. This guy is actually sincere, and the festivities go on with dancing and singing

...while Will, soulless and ten years older, stands outside listening to the friends who now have no memory of him. Cindy is still alive. His great heroic act of saving her didn't matter; someone else stepped up and did it in his absence. Even with those ten years he lost, he didn't really matter at all. He's alone.

He walks away as his friends are singing "Auld Lang Syne."

And that's it. That's the end of this team's story, the end of Will's tragic arc. A sort of reverse It's a Wonderful Life.

Of course this probably means more having read the entirety of this writer's run on this series, but this one haunts me. There were so many opportunities for this to go right, but Will is his own worst enemy, and his refusal to learn gets the better of him. And it looks like the Power of Friendship is about to save the day and redeem him--but it's his friends who, in trying to honor another friend, unknowingly doom him to a fate that he does in fact deserve. But they wouldn't have had the opportunity to do so if he hadn't taken that candle in the first place. It all ultimately comes back to him and his poor choices--his tragic flaw of arrogant entitlement. This is as close to a Greek tragedy as a comic like this is liable to get.

Tragedies in literature are meant to give the reader/audience a sense of catharsis through witnessing the suffering and downfall of a flawed hero in a way that lets us safely consider the same questions and emotions in the context of our own lives. Will's story is that of a deeply flawed young man with lofty ideals who almost learns from his mistakes, over and over, but keeps returning to his worst tendencies and destroying any positive relationships he might have. He is unloving and unlovable, unworthy of redemption because he is unwilling to truly change for the better. Yet he almost gets his chance. We might be able to believe his friends love him. We might be able to believe that this time he's apologizing for real. But it never gets to happen.

It can be easy to feel like we ourselves are caught in a neverending cycle of being the worst versions of ourselves, regretting it, and failing again to do better. Easy to feel like we are incapable of anything more than the shallowest connections and hurting everyone close to us. But we live in a world where we can have the opportunity to escape those cycles, where we aren't hopeless, where we have a way to our own redemption arcs that this tragically flawed hero never gets to have.

So what are we going to do about it?

[cyberslasharpie]

Thank you cross duel for giving us two drastically different Kaiba responses to loosing in a duel with Ultimate Blue Eyes. 😂 😅

[dandelionjack]

just gotta wait 16 years, hang in there 🤞🤞