#he's among my favorite minor protagonists

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Anatomy of a Hero - Samuel Vimes

He wanted to go home. He wanted it so much that he trembled at the thought. But if the price of that was selling good men to the night, if the price was filling those graves, if the price was not fighting with every trick he knew... Then it was too high. History finds a way? Well, it would have to come up with something good, because it was up against Sam Vimes now.

Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

Fantasy has created some truly remarkable characters, and it's fair to say that Samuel Vimes of the Discworld series is among them - and he's a personal favorite.

This is the first in a (sporadic) series of posts analyzing my favorite fantasy protagonists and what I think makes them work as characters and how they fit into their stories.

Samuel Vimes is the protagonist of eight of Terry Pratchett's seminal Discworld novels - specifically, Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, and Snuff. These novels make up what is colloquially referred to as the City Watch series, and they answer the question "what if the city guard in a fantasy series got stuff done?"

Vimes is the head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch and starts off as a parody of the drunken watch captain, literally waking up in a gutter at the start of Guards! Guards!. While it's obvious from the start that he has a sense of justice and a desire to see justice served, years of being beaten down by a city that doesn't need him anymore has left him at his lowest point. In fact, Guards! Guards! is about him getting her proverbial groove back and solving his first real mystery in ages.

We then see Vimes grow into a respected member of the community, transforming the City Watch from a joke (at the start of the series, it's four people) into a pillar of the City, an institution in its own right.

Vimes himself struggles with addiction throughout the series with the help of his wife, Sybil, and members of the Watch (especially his right-hand man, Carrot), going from alcohol to cigars to bacon sandwiches by the end of the series.

We also see how Vimes fits into the central theme of the City Watch - social inequality and the importance of overcoming it. Sam starts the series with a... not-great view of the non-human residents of the city of Ankh-Morpork (although this view is better described as general misanthropy than racism, with him distrusting anyone who isn't his wife or a member of the Watch). This view is changed as the series progresses - between the first two novels, a coalition of minority groups successfully sues the city of Ankh-Morpork for employment discrimination in government positions and Vimes is forced to allow non-human people into the Watch. He comes to recognize that these people are, well, people with value not only as people but as law enforcement officials. Twice, Vimes uses his social power to advocate for downtrodden species to be treated as people, with full rights and protections under the law - for golems in Feet of Clay and goblins in Snuff, and the City Watch becomes the most diverse organization in the entirety of Discworld.

The last thing I'll talk about is Vimes' aforementioned desire for justice. Night Watch gives us a view into the life of an early Sam Vimes (Vimes is sent back in time to just before the Glorious Revolution, a now-forgotten struggle against a despot) - indeed, in his youth Sam was a revolutionary, inspired by Sgt. John Keel (whom Vimes takes the place of after finding Keel dead). During this Revolution, young Sam Vimes witnessed a number of things that would impact him for the rest of his life, including the torture chambers of The Unspeakables, a secret police force who committed horrible crimes in the name of the public good and who act as the antagonists of the novel. The quote that started this essay comes from near the climax of the novel, and I think it really encapsulates that desire for justice and why Sam Vimes works as a protagonist - one of the best in fantasy.

[angel-of-hunky-doryness]

Disney's Hercules: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Inaccuracies

Ah Disney's Hercules.

Now I'm sure I've made it no secret that this is one of my all time favorite movies. Both for it's witty charm and impressive character design, there is something to be said about this film that makes it stand out among the line-up of Disney's Renaissance films. It's not one of it's finest, nor is it your classic fairy tale movie up there with the likes of Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but just like Lion King, Hercules takes a unique spin on a timeless tale for a more modern audience.

Perhaps my love of this movie and other Disney films are biased. We had quite a lot of these movies on VHS and since I was still learning english, they were a great introduction before I started kindergarten.

Now as I watch these movies again I'm still surprised how well these movies have aged. I recently rewatched B&B with my dad the other day from flipping channels and even he was blown away with how good these movies really are after nearly 2 decades of not seeing them. It's astounding especially now in an age where we have started to see a decline in the quality of Disney movies. Back when there was a greater focus on art instead of profit.

While there was a rise in harsh criticism on Disney movies and their protagonists(like Snow White, Cinderella, etc) primarily in the 2010's that was perpetuated by internet culture (i.e. memes, Youtube critics, pick your poison) I am glad to see that we are starting to dial it down again and see just how progressive many of these movies were for their day and age.

Now this post isn't about any of that.

There are much better blogs here on tumblr that go into that, so I highly recommend @marciabrady, @artist-issues for their look at early Disney princesses and other similar blogs I will hopefully tag before I post this.

There is one movie though that kinda got the worst treatment and that is, to no one's surprise, Disney's Hercules.

And it's kind of deserved.

Now I'm not here to cast stones. Like I said in the preamble, it's one of my favorite movies and I've written quite a bit of fanfiction in this fandom. So I've done it dirty quite a lot. Sorry HS me, we need to talk a bit.

So instead, we will be going over why the inconsistent depiction of the Greek Mythology presented in this film had to be done and some small examples. Nothing too deep. The Mythology Guy on YouTube made a great video going over all the inaccuracies in the film and I highly recommend giving it a watch if you are interested in learning more about the Greek myth of Herakles.

With that out of the way, let's get started.

Part I: Child-Proofing

As I've mentioned before in one of my earlier posts, Disney films are made for children. Now that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it, but the content within the films are primarily so children can watch and enjoy. Sure there are adult jokes and themes that will go over kid's heads, but they are generally pretty minor or toned down enough that can pass the films off as rated G/PG.

After all, Disney films have very easy and digestible morals: true beauty lies on the inside, don't judge people on their background, follow your dreams but don't lose sight on what's important, don't talk to strangers unless they're hot, invite everyone to the christening- things like that.

Disney films for the longest time have been a sort of moral standard since they have such a big influence on Western culture. Because of that, many fairy tales they have made films about tend to throw out some of the more grim and dark details attached to these tales.

Take Cinderella.

In the original Grimm's Fairy Tale, the happy couple ride off into the sunset while her step-sisters get their eyes plucked out by Cinderella's birds. In fact, before that, the step-sister's lopped off bits of their foot to try and fit into the glass slipper, only to be found out as the slipper gets soaked in blood.

Now I don't know about y'all, but I don't see anyone complaining that Disney left out those details. Okay, well the general consensus, at least.

But Cinderella is a classic fairy tale that had many adaptations and versions from across the world that allowed Disney to pull inspiration from, so who cares that they didn't follow the Brothers Grimm line-by-line?

And that's a good point.

There are versions where Cinderella isn't as gruesome. Charles Perrault, another very famous fairy tale author, had his own version of Cinderella where her step-sisters are fully intact by the end of the story. So it's quite obvious Disney was more attached to this version since it was much more decent.

Just like Cinderella, Greek Mythology has hundreds of different versions about just a single myth. You have Hesiod, Homer, Apollodorus, Ovid and those are just the writers from thousands of years ago. Nowadays, we have thousands of modern adaptations, translations, and rewrites of Greek myth to comb through.

There's just so much to choose from! And that's not even considering how interchangeable Greek myth is with its Roman counterpart.

What that means is you're never going to be able to get everyone to agree on one myth. Sure we can agree on certain details, but just like Ancient Greece, every city state had it's own version of a myth.

Herakles or Hercules was no exception.

Yet it's like I alluded to as well. There are some certain details that remain consistent from myth to myth.

Now let's look at a story that doesn't have a lot of versions to pull from, and just like Disney Hercules, it was heavily toned down: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This Disney film is arguable the most sanitized of the animated adaptations. A personal favorite of mine that far outranks Hercules in every way, but it was a huge hurdle to adapt.

From Esmeralda's attempted SA and death, racism, Quasi being bound and abused in jail, Phoebus' less than honorable pursuit of Esmeralda, Frollo's creepy obsession and his horrific control over Quasimodo, the religious themes and motifs, it's crazy how Disney was able to adapt it at all.

While it is pulling from Victor Hugo's original novel, there were a dozen films made before it that also tried to adapt this famous tale. The 1939 version of this film starring Maureen O'Hara is one of the greatest films ever made. For it's time, it made an incredible movie that sanitized many of the darker aspects in a way that cemented this classic tale into a more modern audience.

So is it any surprise that a lot was dialed down in Disney's version so children could also understand the message Victor Hugo was trying to tell? That the deformity Quasimodo was born with unfortunately led him to have a very harsh life- not because his disability affected his quality of life, but because of how society viewed/treated him. Their own perception led him to be isolated, ostracized, abused, and pitied. Likewise with beauty and race in Esmeralda's case.

They are different sides to the same coin.

I have a lot to talk about with Quasimodo. The next disney movie I will begin analyzing will be Hunchback, so prepare yourselves as I wrap up on Hercules.

But I digress.

Because Disney films are catered towards children, is it any wonder Hercules got the same treatment?

Part II: Greek Myths for Dummies

Greek Mythology is not an easy thing to adapt for a single film. Disney films, especially animated ones, are gonna get you at most a 90 minute timeslot and that's already a lot to ask for a highly-trained team of animators, musicians, writers, actors, artists, etc.

There are a lot of bases to cover.

Especially since this may very well be a kid's first introduction into Greek mythology. So we have a lot to answer

Like...

Why is Zeus king of the gods? Why does he have so many kids? How does the afterlife work? Why do I have to pay a man to get into hell? Are winged horses normal here? Why are the Titans bad? What goddess is that with the funny flower headband? Why won't they name all the background gods- are they important in the world? Is being compared to Aphrodite a good thing? Why doesn't Zeus realize his brother is trying to kill him? Why can't I have hubris as a treat?

All good questions, dear reader. And with a limited timeslot, there's not a lot they can talk about, so animators are throwing as much visual exposition as possible.

But who is this glittering assemblage?

That's why to understand what's going on you have to have prior knowledge to get what's going on in the background.

Like Lord of the Rings. Big world, lots of story to tell. The Silmarillion will help, but that's already a lot for a first time fan.

And since Hercules is written with kids in mind, it has to be rewritten some. So the established canon is kind of being thrown out the window, rearranged, and patched up like an old man who threw off an emperor's groove.

But Gerald Scarfe and a team of Disney animators managed to combine the former's caricature design style to the Disney standard to create Disney Hercules' unique style.

These gods aren't given the background character design treatment you'll find in other Disney movies, they are very stylized and exaggerated to visually convey their personality, their role in this universe, and if they're good or bad.

And the nice thing is, Greek mythology has an extensive list of symbols associated with each god that allowed Disney's own technicolor pantheon to reflect the very same icons.

Look at Athena above. There's her war helm, her breastplate, a cute little owl. She screams war goddess, but look how gentle she is with the bird. Her glass of nectar is a prop to show off her generosity, her self-restraint, and her desire to keep the peace.

But on the flip side, Ares is in the same get-up as her, war helm, breastplate, but his sword is drawn and his stance is one of action. We can see both these war gods are similar, but their temperaments and approach to war (same as their personalities) are so drastically different, and their color scheme helps so much as well.

It's incredible how much detail was poured into this and while I can go on gushing about the designs, we must push on.

Say what you want about how accurate the greek mythos is shown downgrades the overall movie, but the background story is lining up with a lot of the context we would lose were this in any other medium. The gods, how they look, their personalities- it's there.

It's accurate.

Sure the same cannot be said about the gods and mortals who have a role in the overall story they made, but that's the last issue this post will hopefully tackle.

Part III: A Hero's Journey

While Disney had already dipped their toes into Greek mythology with the likes of Fantasia and Goddess of Spring, Hercules was the first try to make it more than just a short.

So the myth they chose to adapt had to be iconic. They couldn't do it about the gods- that's just too much drama. They needed a hero, someone who struggled and fought and had a support group comprising of supernatural beings. And who is the most famous hero of Greek Myth?

Herakles.

There's just a few slight issues with that, heh...

Herakles is a really rough story.

To summarize, Zeus magics up a disguise to look like the mortal Amphitryon to woo the guy's wife, Alcmene. She gets preggers, Hera finds out and naturally goes ballistic. So Zeus pulls a fast one on his wife to save his kid, and thus Hera nurses baby Herk giving him god-like strength. A few assassination attempts later, Herakles grows up, marries, and has kids. Despite this, Hera isn't done, but she doesn't target the H man anymore, oh no, she sends him into a fit of madness whereby he decimates his entire family. Once it passes he works for a king, like his distant cousin, and he does 12 increasingly intense labors as a sort of penance and at the end of it, he's promised immortality or an indefinite Hera leaves him alone pass. Wonder Boy finishes that, but then he gets infected with centaur blood after taking on his dad's worst personality trait (adultery), he dies via his own funeral pyre, but at the last second his dad saves him and he becomes a god.

And Disney is gonna try adapting that???

That's about a dozen labors in itself, so how are they gonna do it?

To summarize here are the elements Herakles has going on that can be adapted to your standard Disney film:

Protagonist: Hercules (b/c the Roman version is much more popular)

Damsel in Distress: Megara or Deianeira (most notable love interests in myth)

Side-kicks: Iolaus (Hmm those undertones, huh)

Antagonist: Hera

Flaw: wrath / impetuous/ salacious

Unique ability / quirk: super strength

We have a pretty solid line-up for a story here. But at the time in the 90's, there is already another adaptation of Hercules going on strong: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

This show first came out in the mid-90's and ended a couple years after Disney's Hercules dropped.

So how are they going to make it distinct from that?

It's really easy actually.

Super easy.

Disney's Hercules got a lot of inspiration from Superman (Christopher Reeves version).

Hercules is literally an innocent farm boy (mild-mannered Clark Kent), Meg is your hotshot spitfire Lois Lane, and Hades is your bald megalomaniac investing millions of dollars trying to axe one guy - Lex Luthor.

And let's be honest, the myth of Herakles reads like a modern superhero. He has super strength, he fights monsters, there's a damsel in distress every now and then- he fits the bill!

At this point in time, Disney didn't have a superhero and since that started to be a bigger appeal as the 90's marched on (*laughs in Marvel*)

It was a smart choice to bridge this tale to the modern time.

So for that reason, if they were going to make Hercules a super hero-esque character. He needed a villain and Hera wasn't going to cut it.

Part IV: A Hera-Shaped Hole

Hera was absolutely vicious in myth. This lady orchestrated the entire demise of Herk's family, his sanity, and his freedom. She wanted him to suffer just so Zeus could see how betrayed she felt every time he had a dalliance with a mortal.

Zeus never learned, but Hera's tactics did. And it was by her hand that sent Hercules into servitude under his cousin, the king. A title Herakles should've had had Hera not intervened.

And while wicked step-mothers are abundant in Disney's canon, it wasn't going to work because she's Zeus' wife. Yes, Hera received repercussions for starting a coup against her husband once in myth, but it was a brief punishment. Most of the time this couple can't stand each other, but they are what's keeping the pantheon together. And Hestia's cooking.

But here's the thing, Hera may be a bad person in this myth and others involving sons of Zeus, but she's a good person in other myths. Even at the beginning of this one, Hera found an abandoned baby and nursed him because he was all alone and crying out of hunger. She has her virtue, she's a good queen.

Yet with her iconography of peacocks, marriage, family, cows, and queen of the heavens and gods, she gives off very ethereal imagery.

This was the lady sending monsters and horrors of Typhon and Echidna's brood- that's her?

It can be done, I'm sure someone will do it better than Blood of Zeus, but it's much harder to adapt, especially with Treasure Planet on the duo of director's mind.

Just see Lindsey Ellis' Disney Hercules video, you'll understand.

But y'know that thing with the monsters.... Kinda cool. Monsters coming in from the pits of hell- pretty rad i guess. Well who else could throw a litany of monsters at our little hero?

Oh.

Yeah, okay, fine.

Hades, you're hired.

Yeah, the direction of this movie absolutely did a backflip the second the writers wanted Hades as their villain.

However, based on concept art, this was something they wanted from the very start and I'm sure we can all see the appeal.

I mean as soon as this movie came out so many other greek myth adaptations jumped to make Hades a bad guy, and like kudos to y'all, but this really is the easiest god you can paint as a villain. Home boy literally is dark and dank and emo as can be. Congrats we found another goblin sewer man to dress up as the mustache twirling evil-doer!

Like... This writes itself.

And pitting a god of the dead vs a mortal who's striving for immortality? It's poetry. It's an on the nose symbolism. I can't make it any clearer.

There's even an excerpt in Revelations that Disney references:

"Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." 20:14 (NIV)

Hades is written as a Devil character. He's a deal maker, soul stealer. There's so much you can do with a Mephistopheles archetype. It's always a show stopper, I mean Ursula did it with extra steps.

Hera is a goddess of the heavens. Hercules is fighting the heavens to get into Heaven(TM). That's all kinds of complicated to simplify in a kid's film.

We want a villain to be scary, to be mean, and unjustified in their cruelty.

Hera wasn't going to work since Herakles' mother (though unwillingly) is the other woman. It would paint Zeus as another morally bad person. Why on earth would Herc look up to that guy? In fact, why would he want to join a band of morally corrupt people?

So let's make a new villain.

We can have the hero endure a different kind of pain.

The damsel's story doesn't have to end tragically because of a betrayal.

Make the story relevant and simple.

What archetypes can we match up to make this ancient myth fit into the modern day?

Make it clean, and make it understandable for kids. Throw in as many myths as possible so kids can see how big this world is.

The mythology is wrong, sure, but we'll spark that interest. We can make mythology fun. It'll make kids curious to learn more about them.

It certainly worked for me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Part V: Conclusion

This movie is an absolute blast. I think many fans can agree and though the story does have its issues (See Conflicts series), it did it's job. With such a fun and memorable cast, lovingly animated characters, and mind-melting musical numbers, it stands uniquely among the other adaptations of Greek Mythology and perhaps it's why there was a bit of a resurgence in it's popularity as time marched on.

Herakles is a tale of struggle, sacrifice, and courage. One man battled and fought to achieve the divine, but at the end of his life, he did what few other mortals were ever able to do.

And Disney's Hercules took that character and developed him in such a loving way. To see his struggle both internal and external, it's a beautiful circle when he accepts his mortality and gives up his greatest dream for love. He didn't belong anywhere, caught between heaven and earth. Yet somehow he found it with someone who had been through hell and was hungry for heaven.

And just remember.

Not every work of fiction has to adhere to these magical bylaws that dictate how your Greek Myth AU must follow. However, I would like to softly counter-point my own point and say if you are going to make interpretations of greek mythology, be they musicals, video games, fanfics, or modern retellings, one must include the soul of the character they are based on. Hadestown, Hades(the game), Percy Jackson (most of the time), and the God of War franchise being prime examples.

Disney's Hercules took these characters and made them more exaggerated and updated to fit modern archetypes that are prominent in a Western Christian based-society. To me, I still see the soul of what these characters represent, even if some things were heavily condensed or rewritten.

Stories evolve. As is the nature of living things.

Till next time, Dear Readers.

[fictionalmedicshowdown]

Kenzo Tenma (Monster)

He's my all-time favorite character (and biggest comfort character) from anything ever!!! Tenma is such a force of compassion and kindness, but it never feels cheap or un-earned. He's fiercely determined to see the good in human beings even when he's completely beaten down by the narrative and people around him, and believes all lives are equal. This is so important in the series because it takes place in the late 80s / early 90s and there is a lot of racial discrimination among minorities living in Germany (where the series takes place). [continued under the cut]

vs

Akiko Yosano (Bungo Stray Dogs)

she’s so awesome and cool and pretty and won’t hesitate to kill a man - kureha is what i wanna be when i’m old old, yosano is what i wanna be now

[continued] Tenma is Japanese himself, and during the time he's on the run as a wanted man, he is also targeted racially in this way. The series doesn't shy away from displaying the brutality and stupidity of white supremacists, and it truly makes Tenma's dedication to justice and kindness have an even bigger presence in the story. He's fully dedicated to the "do no harm" principle on which his doctor identity And his personal identity are based, which makes his ultimate goal in the series (to put a stop to the boy who he saved when the boy was a young child, who has grown up to be a serial killer—Tenma sees the boy as his responsibility, and wants to put an end to his crimes before any more lives are lost, but also wants to understand him and find out what happened to him that made him this way) all the more painful to watch unfold. Monster is such a poignant, gritty, yet hopeful series and Tenma is such a perfect protagonist for it. It's definitely got some triggering moments as a series but if you're able to find a list for that, I highly recommend giving it a watch!

[princeescaluswords]

13, 14, 15

These answers are for the "Choose Violence Ask Game" so I assume that they're meant to be provocative.

13. worst blorboficiation

This one is easy: ARMITAGE HUX.

When The Force Awakens came out in 2015, General Hux was mildly prominent among the minor characters. He gave a speech, gave Kylo Ren side-eye, and supervised the destruction of billions of people and their civilization. Other than that, he was not-a-bad-looking man with red hair who could fill out a suit who was on the screen for a smidge over four minutes in an 138-minute movie.

And the fandom blorbo-ed the shit out of him.

It mystified me then; it mystifies me now. Hux was clearly intended to be a hollow man, someone so eager to attach himself to any vision of something greater that he was a willing -- enthusiastic! -- participant in genocide. He was the type of soulless bureaucrat that fascist regimes have always needed to accomplish their goals. In his total of twelve minutes of screen time, the only thing that kept him from being nothing more than an animated Nazi-esque mannequin was his annoyance with Kylo Ren's antics and the fact that in the end he was unsurprisingly revealed to be a spineless incompetent.

Of course, someone could say that him a blank slate onto which people could project their desires, and the only way I can respond to that cliché is with another cliché: "That's worse. You get how that's worse, right?"

There are literally dozens of minor characters who are far more of a blank slate than a man who could have been in charge of the coat-check at the Wannsee Conference. But the 'worst' part is: that's the point. It's somehow liberating to certain people to dabble with the forbidden, to take the absolute worse examples of humanity and hug them to their breast, as long as there's just enough distance between him and real life that they feel no one can call them out on it. And that he's a young white man.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

The Trauma Olympics is not only a terrible way to view the characterizations in your favorite media property, but it's also hypocritical as hell. At these games, the judges always cheat.

I want to be clear. I'm not talking about when fanfictions explore the traumas that serve to establish characterization, even when these traumas create monsters and villains. It's fascinating to see how identity and character can buckle under the force of an excruciating experience.

No, what I'm talking about is when trauma is used as a tool to distort the narrative into something it was never intended to be. The Trauma Olympics can be used to dehumanize or decentralize heroic protagonists because they didn't allow trauma to upend their moral character, which is what makes them a heroic protagonist. The Trauma Olympics can be used to cloak antagonists or outright villains as the true victims because their reactions to what shaped them are not healthy. Comparing one trauma to another creates a scale whose sole purpose is to make characters more or less valid, and that denies the essential individuality of all characters. If a story governs the arc of all characters by an arbitrary scale of the severity of their pain, it's simply bad writing.

And it's arbitrary. Context is stripped at will from pre-existing stories in order to increase or decrease their final scores. It turns a fanfiction story into propaganda; it can't help but do that.

Let me give you an example. I can't tell how many times in my own fandom, Scott, the protagonist, is castigated for not treating one villain EXACTLY like he treated the other villains. Peter-stans write stories where Scott is a hypocrite for treating Theo with more mercy; Theo-stans write stories where Scott is a hypocrite for treating Peter with more mercy. Peter got sent to a low-quality mental health facility and imprisoned with a deranged psychic, while Theo got sent to a discount punishment realm by appropriated demigods, and yet both argue with equal fervor of the unfairness of that comment, with no analysis of why this happened. Only the pain inflicted on their blorbos matter and that pain is seen as undermining the narrative when compared to others.

Or another example -- the fandom loves to excoriate Scott, the heroic protagonist, when he grabbed Derek by the back of the neck and forced him to bite Gerard, the villain, as part of a ruse to defeat the old bastard. You see, Derek was a victim of sexual assault six years ago, and this had to be triggering to his trauma. Scott is monstrous because he used sexual assault (it wasn't) against a survivor (of something which Scott didn't know about) and profane a sacred ritual of Derek's family (which the Bite isn't -- just ask Jackson Whittemore and Victoria Argent) as part of his scheme (and not because the villain threatened to kill his love). And yet, this same fandom remains adamantly silent when Peter Hale, as part of a scheme to gain power and kill the heroic protagonist, leads that very same Derek (his nephew) into an ambush arranged by the woman who sexually assaulted Derek as part of a deception designed to ambush and kill their family. It doesn't even occur to them to note the hypocrisy -- if the Trauma Olympics makes Scott a terrible person, than Peter should win the Gold Medal. Yet I've never seen it dealt with in fanfiction.

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

I love fanart. I wish I could make it, but my lack of talent is a difficulty I have yet to overcome. But what always disappoints me is when an iconic and important image about a character-- often romantic -- is repurposed in fanart to serve as an iconic image between a different character in the same property. It just seems to me unnecessary, unimaginative, and demeaning to the original character.

For example, one of the promo shots for Season 3A of Teen Wolf has Scott standing in the front of the cast. Some artist exerted a lot of effort to rearrange the photo to put Stiles in the front. It was a lot of work, a lot of talent, and it was used in the worst possible way. Or when the upside down kiss from Spider-Man is used in the same fandom. It just strikes me as cheap.

[moiloru]

⛸️ Yuri!!! On ICE Review! 🏳️‍🌈

Hello! Welcome to a new anime review, everyone! In this one, I'll review a classic among the classics: Yuri!!! On ICE!

Before we begin, I'd like to ask any homophobe reading this to brace themselves, as this will probably hurt their fragile ego. Also, please do not be homophobic; thank you :)

Now, Yuri!!! On ICE aired in 2016 and has twelve episodes. As you may have surmised, it deals with ice skating with a romantic subtext. Surprisingly, it's a very mature anime that will resonate more with adults than kids!

To start, I have to point out that this anime has some vibes that remind me of my favorite anime, Your Lie In April. That, in and of itself, makes for a strength in my book. It's also somewhat similar to Free! if some of you have watched this series.

The plot is a mere character development device, so I won't write an essay about it. It does its job and does it well, even if it's fast-paced.

Ah, the cast... well, it's very gay. I think that sums it up quite well. More seriously, it's got a decent cast with a good duo of main characters and an okay third wheel. The side cast is hit-or-miss, with one a-hole and some pretty cool characters. But yeah, very gay.

The main strength of Yuri!!! On ICE is its character dynamics. It's a short anime but has excellent character dynamics. It has some romantic, sensual, and even sexual vibes that separate it from the rest. It's nothing NSFW, but pretty unusual nonetheless.

The focus on the leading duo shows the story's maturity, although I'll admit I didn't like the dynamics with the third MC quite as much. It's minor, though, and doesn't hurt the experience much.

Yuuri, the protagonist, is a sort of Kousei Arima with Shinichi Izumi's character design. I think there was room to improve his character (his humor, especially), but he's a good protag.

Victor, the second member of the leading duo, is also a good character with fewer flaws than Yuuri, in my opinion. His character was more complete, to begin with, so I suppose it was easier. They make for an adorable duo, though, no questions asked.

Damn, this anime's got good music. Of course, ice skating relies heavily on music, so it makes total sense, but still. Big YLIA vibes here with some classical pieces.

THE OPENING. History Maker, by Dean Fujioka, is one of the best openings I've ever heard. Possibly the most fitting of its anime, too. It falls really short of my top five, honestly. I'll be listening to it a lot in the near future, that's for sure.

Visually, Yuri!!! On ICE has good animation and decent art. It was actually made by MAPPA, which surprised me when I saw it since they're usually known for their shonen anime (JJK, CSM, AOT Last Season...).

Overall, this anime is an experience. It's nowhere near my favorite anime or even my top ten, but it's intriguing, to be sure. I would recommend it!

Down below is the tierlist for the characters in this anime!

...I'm just kidding, haha. But, honestly, this might be the most realistic tierlist you'll find for this anime. More seriously, down below is the true tierlist. Thank you for reading this review!

[popculturegenealogy]

Deception, the Diamonds, and the Truth: Steven Universe's family tree

Steven unsure what to think of his mom, as shown in the episode, "An Indirect Kiss" in Season 1

Steven Quartz Universe, the protagonist of my favorite animated series, Steven Universe, has a non-traditional family tree, although it is not affected by time travel and distortion as Philip Fry's tree is in Futurama. His family is unique but has some features of typical families. [1] Warning, that there are some spoilers about major plotlines in the show here, just a heads up.

Reprinted from my Genealogy in Popular Culture WordPress blog. Originally published on August 4, 2020.

Using various fandom pages, here is a rough chart I produced:

This chart leaves a lot of questions. For one, who are the parents of Greg's parents? They would be Steven's great-grandparents. Additionally, who are the parents of Doug and Priyanka? Who created Blue, White, Yellow, and Pink Diamond? Who are Andy's grandparents? And that's only the start. Technically, all four Diamonds are one entity, the Great Diamond Authority, but Rose/Pink is Steven's mother, who sadly died while giving birth to him, throwing the Crystal Gems (Steven's guardians) into a bit of turmoil. Due to this connection and the fact that White, Yellow, and Blue treated Rose/Pink as their child of sorts, they are basically Steven's grandparents, specifically his three grandmothers. Also, only a few of the couples on this chart are married, specifically the parents of Greg and Andy, while it is presumed that Doug and Priyanka, Connie's parents, are married. To be exact, Connie and Steven, former lovers Rose and Pearl, former lovers Rose and Greg are not married. Andy points this out rudely in the episode "Gem Harvest." There is another detail I need to talk about as well. The surname of Universe is one that Greg changed from Demayo. As such, Steven was born with the surname of Universe, and the middle name of Quartz. His full name, according to his fandom page, is Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe.

The above chart misses a lot, however. Steven considers his guardians (Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst) to be his family, as he does with Connie, Lion, and his other Gem friends (Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot) to be his extended family. As Steven's chosen family, as some people call it, they are definitely a part of his life, but with the chart in its current organization, the typical hereditary format, I'm not sure where to add them without creating confusion for the viewer. Perhaps if the chart had a different format, they could be included in their entirety. It also misses something else, the four beings considered his creations: Watermelon Stevens, Pumpkin, Cactus Steven, and Topiary Stevens. Since they come about from his DNA/Gem abilities, they can be considered his children. It's almost akin to artificial insemination, where, according to WebMD, a "doctor inserts sperm directly into a woman's cervix, fallopian tubes, or uterus."

Among other issues that complicate this is the fact of fusion, symbolic of relationships or friendships between two or more people. This almost completely operates outside the above-mentioned family tree, with a few exceptions: Steven and Connie form a fusion, while Steven and Greg form a fusion. Some people have shown them in a "fusion tree," while others put together a "fusion graph." Unfortunately, both are sorely out-of-date, with the fusion graph done three years ago. So, I made a new chart, with the Crystal Gems in the center, and not including Fusion Gems not tied to that core group. [2] Since Steven is half gem and half-Gem, he is a fusion himself!

This chart says a lot more about Steven's family and the connections they have together than the earlier one shown in this post.

© 2020-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] To create this tree, I used the Steven Universe, Greg Universe, Minor Characters, Andy Demayo, Rose Quartz, Pearl, Doug, Priyanka, Connie Maheswaran, White Diamond, Blue Diamond, and Yellow Diamond pages from the Steven Universe fandom site.

[2] This includes Bluebird Azurite, Rhodonite, Topaz, Lemon Jade, Topaz Chamber Guard, Crazy Lace Agate, Watermelon Tourmaline, Ruby, Hand Cluster, Giant Ruby, Fluorite, The Cluster, and Cluster Gems.

[oddishblossom]

asking about # 1 (for the wip game 🖤)

You said earlier that I could change the ending to this story. That I would merely have to follow key events. What are these key events you keep mentioning?

[“This system is feeling generous and will share three events with the user. First, the user must go to the kingdom of Huan Hua. Second, he must be Luo Binghe’s servant and personal guard for four years. Third, he must try to kill Luo Binghe by pushing him into the Endless Abyss. This last event will take place during the Immortal Alliance Conference, a few months before Luo Binghe’s coronation and wedding to the maiden Xiao Gongzhu.”]

And how exactly am I supposed to circumvent my death if I still have to betray the protagonist and push him into hell? Oh, sorry. I meant to say, “The Endless Abyss.” This one thinks you’re full of shit, System!

[“The user is free to think what he likes.”]

It may all just be in his head, but Shen Yuan could swear that the monotone voice sounded annoyed.

[“This system would like to remind the user of the review he left regarding the ending to this world. Were you not unsatisfied with the ending? Was there not anything you wished altered? There may be some limitations placed on the user, but he is now in the world he claimed to hate. This system would like to encourage the user to make changes where he can.”]

Shen Yuan scoffed and crossed his arms.

What kind of changes? Shall I bat my eyelashes and beg the powerful demonic protagonist to spare my life? Maybe I’ll throw in some tears and he won’t decide to rip my head off.

The voice in his head stayed quiet.

System…? Hello?

Despite Shen Yuan attempting to get a response, the voice had retreated back to whatever void it originated from.

Eyebrow twitching in anger, Shen Yuan slouched from his position, sliding until he was lying back down in bed, arms still crossed against his chest. The earliest chapters of Proud Immortal Demon Way were replaying in his head, along with every word that that dreadful system had spouted at him.

It wasn’t hard to figure out that he was in a scene long before Luo Binghe had become a demon lord feared by all.

This took place years earlier, before Luo Binghe even knew he wasn’t completely human and before Shen Qingqiu had even become the protagonist’s right hand man. If he remembered correctly, there had been attempts on the protagonist’s life and the main suspect was definitely among the crown prince’s own guards. And so, the current regent of the kingdom, Lao Gongzhu, had reached out to someone he trusted in the kingdom of Cang Qiong, asking for a strong knight who could guard the young prince. However, given that the king of Cang Qiong was the villainous Shen Jiu, a man who secretly had an intense hatred for the crown prince and the rest of his family, he sent Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua.

Shang Qinghua was a minor character, a random servant who was revealed to be a traitor during the Immortal Alliance Conference Arc. The man was actually a lord who served Shen Jiu. Well, his title was that of a lord, but honestly, he was more of a glorified henchman. He was the one who opened the rift that had let demons wreak havoc and murder plenty of the young lords and ladies who had been attending the friendly competitive event. Shang Qinghua had arrived in Huan Hua alongside his friend, Shen Qingqiu.

Ugh.

Just thinking of the name filled Shen Yuan with hot rage. Shen Qingqiu was one of his least favorite characters. He spent four years by the prince’s side, garnered his trust, protected him from all who would mean him harm, and then to what end? To betray him? To stab the man and throw him into hell? To leave him for dead in an abyss surrounded by hellfire and demons?

In a world that was already relentless in its cruelty to the protagonist, Shen Qingqiu’s actions, his thoughtless betrayal, was what pushed the kind young prince over the limit.

Shen Yuan may have had the extreme misfortune of having been reborn into the body of a two-faced guard, and maybe there happened to be an all-knowing voice in his head giving him instructions on “remaining in character,” but that didn’t mean he would be anything like that rotten person.

Turning on his stomach, he buried his face into his pillow, covered his ears with his hands, and tried his absolute hardest to stop thinking.

He really didn’t want to become that person.

WIP Ask Game

[twistedtummies2]

Top 12 Arch-Enemies in Comics

I’ve probably spoken of this before in the past (in fact, I’m almost certain that I must have at least once before), but the origin of the word “Nemesis” comes from Greek Mythology. (Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this, stay with me.) Nemesis was the name of a minor goddess: she was neither evil nor good, but was, instead, a punisher of hubris. Her job was to ensure that those who frankly got too high on their hobby horses would find retribution, and be made to see the error of their ways, usually through some tragedy or another. She was objective in her perspective, simply carrying out her goals: ensuring those who believed themselves to be invincible would get a swift reminder that they were not.

Over the centuries, the word “nemesis” has become synonymous with another phrase: “arch-enemy.” In fiction, the arch-enemy is an antagonistic presence who, it might be said, fills the role Nemesis would play in the world of the protagonist, hence why the terms have become so firmly linked. While a protagonist may have many different enemies and obstacles to deal with, the arch-enemy - their nemesis - provides a specific challenge none of the others can manage. They are the ultimate hurdle the hero must overcome, in heroic fiction; the bane of their entire existence. David fought many battles, but it is for Goliath he is most well-remembered; Sherlock Holmes only fought Professor Moriarty twice, but people will always recall him before names like Jack Stapleton or Sebastian Moran. The arch-enemy is the character who shows the hero’s mettle in a way no other villain can; contrariwise, for the villain, the hero gives them a sense of focus, that one unsurmountable obstacle, that persistent thorn in their side, which prevents them from ever seizing the day forever. As you might guess from my educating ramblings, the concept of the arch-enemy is a fascinating one to me. Nine times out of ten, when a heroic character I like HAS an arch-enemy of note, that character becomes my favorite villain in their rogues gallery. It’s not simply due to popularity’s sake: to me, the idea of the arch-nemesis is just something I latch onto firmly, and truly love with all my heart. I thought it would be fun, therefore, to take a look at some of my favorite nemeses in fiction…and there’s no better place to start than with comics. After all, most of my favorite such relationships come from comic books, and especially superhero fiction. (I say “especially” because there will be at least one, arguably two, exceptions on this list.) I may do other lists for other mediums, but I figured this would be the easiest to start off with. Most of these choices will be from DC or Marvel; there are two exceptions (three, if you count the Honorable Mentions), but only two. With that said, I think I’ve bored you all enough. Let’s get into the good stuff! These are My Top 12 Arch-Enemies in Comics!

12. TMNT vs. Shredder.

I actually debated whether or not to include this rivalry for a bit, for two reasons. The primary one is that, to be perfectly honest…I have not read very many TMNT comics. And unless you count the Batman crossover series, all of the ones I HAVE read have actually been spinoffs of versions in other media. As a result, I really don’t have that much knowledge of the Shredder OR the Turtles in the original source material itself, nor how it’s changed and morphed over the years. I can really only judge based on interpretations in other media. This is not the case for the rest of the nemeses on this list: I have at least read SOME mainstream comics with all of them, even if not very many. However, I ultimately decided I needed to include this one because, arguably, the TMNT are the most successful non-DC-or-Marvel superhero team out there, at least among those born from comic books. With that said, the other reason I placed this rivalry at the bottom is because the Shredder’s relationship with the Turtles is different from that of all the others on this list: the Shredder isn’t so much the arch-foe of a specific character, but rather the antagonist of a collective group. I guess you could argue he’s Splinter’s nemesis, in particular, but honestly, it’s never really felt that way to me: the Shredder is really the arch-villain who challenges the TMNT as a whole. He’s an opponent so dangerous, that it takes all four of them, and often with help from others, to overcome him in whatever nefarious plots he’s hatching. He’s still an effective arch-enemy, he’s just a different type of arch-enemy. I will say that I think it’s fascinating that, originally, the Shredder was never MEANT to be the arch-foe of the Turtles; he was basically just meant to be “the first boss” while other enemies would arrive over time. But people liked the character so much, he sort of just became the arch-nemesis by default: sometimes a rivalry is so strong from the start, it just cannot be topped.

11. Daredevil vs. Kingpin.

I rank these two low because the issue with Kingpin is…he’s not SOLELY focused on Daredevil. Kingpin actually started out as an enemy of Spider-Man, and to this day he’s still a frequent enemy of the Wall-Crawler. In fact, Kingpin has appeared in more Spidey-related media than Daredevil-related media, at least partially because there’s just naturally more out there of the former than the latter. He’s even been the main villain of multiple major storylines for Spider-Man, and played huge roles in various portrayals in other media. It’s just odd to have a character who is effectively “shared” between two different heroes in such an extreme fashion. HOWEVER, while Wilson Fisk may be AN enemy of Spider-Man, he is not his ARCH-enemy: the title of nemesis for him undeniably goes to Matt Murdock. Daredevil and the Kingpin have been at each other’s throats for decades, and many of the worst things that have happened in Murdock’s life have been the result of Fisk’s ill-doings. Over time, the relationship between the two has taken on new layers and complexities: in a way, each is trying to help the city they live in, and trying to do what they think is best for themselves and those they care for most. What ultimately sets them apart is that Kingpin will go to certain lengths Daredevil will not attempt, and it’s these extreme measures that paint one as the antagonist, and one as the deeply flawed but ultimately heroic protagonist.

10. Mr. Fantastic vs. Dr. Doom.

In some ways, this superhero/supervillain rivalry has similarities to the past two. Victor Von Doom has bedeviled multiple heroes over the years, not just Reed Richards. On top of that, it cannot be ignored that Mr. Fantastic is really the leader of the Fantastic Four, and it’s the group as a whole that Doom plays antagonist towards. HOWEVER, I think this pair of nemeses trumps both of those earlier ones for one simple reason: the sheer level of OBSESSION that Doom, in particular, has with his heroic counterpart in this diabolical duet. Dr. Doom may fight Spider-Man, Iron Man, and even the X-Men on occasion, but to him, they are merely minor itches he has to occasionally scratch. Once he’s done with them, he typically moves on without much concern. Even with the rest of the Fantastic Four, Doom is much the same way: they are persistent little pests, but simple pests all the same: easily dealt with, at least in his own conceited mind. But Doom can NEVER treat Mr. Fantastic with that same nonchalance: practically everything he does is either directly or indirectly his way of thumbing his nose at Reed Richards, and when he does go after the Four, it’s almost always with their de-facto leader most keenly in his sights. As a result, while other enemies may come and go, and the Four typically come in a pack…it is Mr. Fantastic, specifically, who will forever be the center of Doom’s hate-filled world.

9. Flash vs. Reverse-Flash.

It’s not uncommon for the nemesis of a heroic character to be something of a dark mirror of the hero themselves. There are many ways to achieve this, some more obvious than others. The relationship between Flash and the Reverse-Flash (sometimes called Zoom, or Professor Zoom, depending on the version in question) is one of the most overt examples of this idea. Both are characters with the same basic powers, and costumes that complement each other, using the same basic colors. What sets them apart is, very simply, that one is good, and the other evil. Different people have taken on the mantle of the Reverse-Flash over the years: the most noteworthy and long-lasting is Eobard Thawne, a time-traveling mad scientist whose twisted obsession with Barry Allen, the second and arguably most well-known Flash, led him to a life of crime. Another is Hunter Zolomon, a former ally to Wally West, the third Flash: Zolomon was once a competent psychiatrist, but a series of unfortunate incidents in his life caused him to ultimately go mad himself, and he spiraled into the darkness, eventually becoming another Reverse-Flash. There are other interpretations out there, of course, but these two are arguably the most well-known, as well as my personal favorites. No matter who wears the costume or takes the title on both sides, the rivalry between the two speedsters is seemingly endless: it is a simple and classic race of good vs. evil, with no finish line in sight.

8. Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah.

Much like with the Reverse-Flash, there have been several people to take on the title of the Cheetah. But no matter who has the name and spots, the character has been one of Wonder Woman’s longest-lasting adversaries, as well as probably her single most well-known. But what makes the Cheetah such a great antagonist to Wonder Woman? I have to admit, for a long time, I never fully got it: even though she was my favorite Wonder Woman villain, as she was so many people’s, I could never really explain what made her so excellent. How does a woman-feline hybrid compare to a warrior demigod? Where is the connection? Only in recent years has the significance of these two characters and their rivalry truly struck me: while the Cheetah’s name and appearance has been adopted by many villainesses - some more sympathetic than others - all of them provide a look at the same basic ideal Wonder Woman, herself, offers. Wonder Woman is, in my opinion, one of the strongest and best female protagonists in the history of fiction: she is powerful, fierce, and more than willing to throw down the gauntlet with gusto, as well as more than capable of taking care of herself. At the same time, however, she does still have her romantic side, and - more importantly - she stands as a beacon of truth and compassion. Wonder Woman is a largely selfless character: she does so much of what she does for the sake of other people, almost never for herself. The Cheetah provides a twisted mirror of this same exact vision: she, too, is strong and battle-ready, and many versions of the character have some element of sympathy to them - some tragic or understandable side to their character. However, what makes Cheetah the villain is that she chooses to use her power for selfish purposes. It is this skewed mirror image that makes the pair so perfectly matched, as they offer two different outlooks on the same exact concept.

7. Green Lantern vs. Sinestro.

Sinestro has been the nemesis of the Green Lantern - and especially the second Lantern, Hal Jordan - for many years. Over time, the character has become more complex and layered. From the beginning, though, his backstory already set him up as a fascinating figure: he was a former Green Lantern Corps member, himself, once upon a time, who ultimately turned to the dark side and went rogue, becoming mad with power. In the early days, the character was something of a bad seed: someone who was rotten from the beginning, and represented a failure of the Corps. This isn’t surprising, since he looks like a demon and is LITERALLY NAMED “SINESTRO.” However, in more modern times, the character has been reimagined as a more tragic character, with his backstory making him a friend and mentor to Hal Jordan, and he has even taken on a heroic (or, at least, anti-heroic) role on some occasions. Ultimately, however, the pull of power and fear is too great, and Sinestro returns to his wicked ways. Broken friendship or not, the character is a perfect foil for Hal Jordan. This was a person who was chosen to become a Green Lantern, rather than more or less stumbling upon the power the way Jordan did; furthermore, his power is the polar opposite of Jordan’s, being constructed from fear-fueled yellow energy, against which Jordan’s green energy is typically weak. He is, in short, someone with many advantages on his side, which makes each encounter with Hal and the others in the Corps a special challenge.

6. Captain America vs. Red Skull.

A lot of times, the relationship between two nemeses takes time to germinate. The arch-enemy of a hero is not always readily apparent or available. It took five issues for Doctor Doom to make his first appearance in the Fantastic Four. It took about two years for Sinestro to appear before Hal Jordan, and that was almost twenty years into the existence of the Green Lantern as a character, on the whole. To give an example outside of comics, Sherlock Holmes never even so much as mentioned Professor Moriarty until six years into the detective’s existence. I say all this because, with Captain America and Red Skull…this is not the case. For as long as there has been a Captain America, there has been a Red Skull: the two characters appeared for the first time in the same issue of the same book. Granted, the Skull was a different character in that first story from the one we know now, but the point stands: the two have always coexisted. What is great about Captain America and Red Skull’s relationship is it is the single most simple of all the ones here. It is truly a black-and-white story: the Red Skull is practically evil incarnate. A character who represents treachery, cruelty, destruction, death, and overwhelming control - all the worst qualities humanity has had to deal with in its long history. Captain America stands up for the ideals not only sought after by American culture, but by all good people: honesty, compassion, rejuvenation, life itself, and the spirit of democracy. There is no compromise, no deeper meaning to the struggle: they are avatars for all that is ideal and all that is corrupt, all that is light and all that is dark. Sometimes, that simplicity is all it takes. Just as there has always been a Captain America and a Red Skull, there will always be evil…and, we can only hope, there will always be good to try and overcome it.

5. The Shadow vs. Shiwan Khan.

The fact I have a whole AU inspired by this duo should give you some idea of how much I love them. I’m cheating a little bit here, since these characters actually got their start in old pulp magazines (and equally old radio programs, for the Shadow in particular), not in comics themselves. However, the comics are where they’ve managed to survive best over the decades, so I’m still going to count them here. For those who don’t know, the Shadow is a character who is credited as being the father of the modern superhero: he was an inspiration for Batman, the Punisher, multiple Alan Moore creations, and even Darkwing-friggin’-Duck, of all characters, just to name a few. While the Shadow has had many enemies, by far the most prolific is the Golden Master, Shiwan Khan. The relationship between these two adversaries can best be described as what you would get if Ra’s Al Ghul was blended with the Joker: Khan is an unhinged criminal mastermind, who has the same powers and abilities as the Shadow himself. But while the Shadow uses his powers to combat evil and seek vengeance against its perpetrators, all in some symbolic quest to seek penance for his own dark past…Khan is the exact opposite. He uses his abilities to try and conquer the world, and revels in his own unabashed evil. While the two are forever at each other’s throats, Khan - in multiple renditions - expresses deep respect for the Shadow, and even seems to admire him in some twisted fashion. He’d honestly much rather have the Shadow as his partner than as his foe, but alas, such is life. As for the Shadow, in Khan, he sees a broken reflection of himself: not just who he COULD be, but who he ONCE WAS. And while he despises the villain endlessly, he does hold a certain level of respect for him, also. It’s that mixture of recognition and bitterness that makes their struggle so intense and fascinating, and it’s been there since the two first appeared. Every version of the pair worth its salt holds that idea close. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Both of these enemies do: how they react to that knowledge is what makes them nemeses.

4. Professor X vs. Magneto.

While Magneto is, indeed, the overall arch-enemy of the X-Men as a team…it’s really with Professor X, himself, that the relationship is most strong. Really, you can see these two characters as the commanders of two opposing armies: Charles Xavier as the leader of an army of light with the X-Men, and Erik Lehnsherr the leader of an army of darkness with his Brotherhood of Mutants. Just like with Captain America and the Red Skull, these two forces have been at odds since the very beginning, as the very first X-Men story was also the first appearance of Magneto. The relationship between these two specific characters has become more complicated over the years: while some characters here are former friends turned enemies, Magneto and Professor X are STILL friends, as well as nemeses. Their radically different viewpoints on society and the world as a whole lead to conflict, but each recognizes the other as a decent person at heart, and each has a bizarre sense of trust, respect, and genuine care for the other. They will fight if need be, but neither would ever want to truly harm the other. They are not TRULY enemies, but simply two brothers-by-bond, working on opposite sides of the same war. It is their inability to compromise for their respective beliefs that make each of them antagonists to the other. The result is one of the most compelling and intriguing relationships between two arch-rivals in all of comic book history.

3. Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin.

Much like with Wonder Woman and Cheetah, while I have always loved the rivalry between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, I could never fully explain why. Over time, I’ve come to realize it’s because the best versions of this classic villain - by which I mean the original and most well-known and popular Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, and his immediate successor and son, Harry - each, once again, provide a twisted mirror image to Spidey himself. First of all, the gimmicks are surprisingly compatible: Spider-Man is based around…well…a spider. And typically, spiders are pretty creepy, and are associated with horror and Halloween. The Green Goblin adopts the imagery of such things with great gusto, from his signature costume to his bat-like glider to his infamous pumpkin bombs. So even though they don’t have the sort of obvious reflection characters like the Flash and Reverse-Flash have, there is still a parallel to be seen. More importantly, however, are their personalities: Peter Parker’s eternal struggle is to keep the hard-learned lesson of “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” in mind. He believes he has to use his power to help other people as often as possible, and while he doesn’t always make the right choices, and those choices aren’t easy, you know that lesson will eventually help work him back around to what the responsible option really is. Norman Osborn is a man who uses his power irresponsibly: he believes that wealth and control are things he deserves to have, and the more powerful he becomes, the more of those things he craves. No amount of it is enough: he’s a person born with a silver spoon who never learned the lesson Peter did, and when you combine that with a heavy dose of psychosis and psychopathy, it is a dangerous concoction. He can’t cope with things that threaten his power, and lashes out as a result, believing he is in the right simply because he has what others do not. Harry, meanwhile, is sort of the opposite of his father, and yet also very similar: he is a vengeful runt-of-the-litter who never felt fully appreciated or noticed by his family and friends. When he gets his power, he uses it to try and fulfill his own selfish ambitions and desires, seeking the things he never felt he had before. This is true of other Goblins, and, indeed, of nearly all of Spidey’s Villains, when you think about it: Peter Parker’s hard-earned lesson is something none of his rogues took to heart when they, themselves, got their abilities. As a result, he realized he had to try and aid the world, while they felt the only way to go on was to exploit it. What makes the Goblin so particularly prominent in Spidey’s Rogues Gallery is the personal connections he has to the two main wearers of the mask: one was his best friend, the other his best friend’s father, and both are responsible for some the ugliest, nastiest, most horrible things to ever happen to Peter Parker in his long career as a superhero. Not only that, but both know about his true identity, which obviously raises the stakes significantly. As a result, the Green Goblin is a particularly unwelcome enemy, and as time has gone on, the struggle between these two has only grown increasingly more intense and dangerous.

2. Superman vs. Lex Luthor.

“Superman’s worst foe is Lex Luthor: a wealthy genius who uses his power for evil…Superman’s best friend is Batman, a wealthy genius who uses his power for good.” This quote from Internet reviewer Linkara is honestly a good explanation of not only what makes the relationship with Batman in question interesting…but also Lex Luthor himself. Over the years, Luthor has been depicted as everything from a classical mad scientist to a crooked businessman, but always one thing remains static: he is only human. Unlike Superman, he can’t just fly into the air, run at supersonic speed, punch people halfway to Milwaukee with a single strike, or shoot red-hot lasers out of his eyes. He has to use his brain, and his own sense of grit, to do battle with the Man of the Steel. In Luthor’s eyes, Superman is a symbol of his own envy and obsession with control: he cannot stand the idea that this alien from outer space, who - in his own mind - has life far too easy, has the respect and love he can never achieve. At the same time, he cannot stand the idea that this guy has so much power - more physical power than he does, really - and cannot fathom how he can use it simply to do good. He is someone who has learned to value profit and effort, and in Superman he sees something totally alien not only to his planet, but his entire philosophy of life. On the other side of the coin, Superman sees Luthor as a man who could be so much more than he chooses to be. No amount of political or economic power can make Luthor a better person, and Superman has seen far too much to believe the fellow will ever truly change his ways, even if - deep down - he’d like to imagine he can. Some versions of the characters depict them as another case of friends gone wrong, but even if you don’t use that setup, their conflict is intriguing in both how simple it is, and how complex it is. It is one man from humble beginnings with incredible power against a man from noble stock who has no real idea what power really is. A poignant duel that will never cease.

1. Batman vs. Joker.

It might seem overly predictable and populist to elect Batman and the Joker as my number one choice…but it also happens to be my honest and truthful opinion. The Joker is my favorite villain, and, in many ways, he is the quintessential arch-nemesis. Not just in superhero fiction, but I would argue in fiction in general. The numerous ways you can look at the relationship between these two characters has been studied, analyzed, and discussed so many times, and by so many people far wiser than I am, I don’t really know what I can say that others have not said a million times before. There are so many different angles you can take with depicting these two characters, so many different approaches you can have to how their grand war with each other plays out. They are perhaps the most perverse depiction of good vs. evil any story can have: a colorful clown with a childish disposition and a bag full of deadly toys, who battles a man dressed in the trappings of a bizarre, Gothic figure of power, standing up for justice. Each knows so much about the other, yet so little at the same time. Each would love to kill the other, yet each can never bring themselves to do it without feeling something is now wrong with the world they live in. They are the strangest and yet the most perfect pair of nemeses that has ever been created, and even the worst versions of these characters often can have some value in the way their immortal fight plays out. Some incarnations of the Joker are sympathetic to some degree, others are completely rotten to the core; regardless, no amount of tragedy can make up for the crimes he has committed, and especially the atrocities he’s inflicted upon Batman: while other villains on this countdown are certainly responsible for some of the worst chapters in their hero’s career, perhaps none - aside from perhaps the Green Goblin - has so consistently and frequently managed to HURT the hero in increasingly despicable and awful ways than the Joker has hurt Batman. For these reasons and more, I see no reason not to name the Clown Prince of Crime and the Caped Crusader as My Favorite Arch-Enemies in Comics. Case dismissed.

Honorable Mentions Include…

Aquaman vs. Black Manta.

Dick Tracy vs. Flattop.

Hulk vs. The Leader.

Thor vs. Loki.

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Children of the Great Buddha

[The following review contains MINOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

The opening scenes of Children of the Great Buddha don’t really give the impression that it will be a particularly emotional cinematic experience. The first several minutes consist almost entirely of expository dialogue: the young protagonist guides groups of tourists through the temples and shrines of Nara Prefecture, reciting memorized historical facts and legends pertaining to the various relics and artifacts encountered in a dispassionate monotone. At times, it feels more like a documentary than a narrative feature—informative, but not terribly dramatic.

As in much of Hiroshi Shimizu’s best work, however, a compelling conflict resides just beneath the surface of the seemingly simple story, emerging gradually before striking at the viewer’s heartstrings with devastating abruptness. Early on, for example, our hero is filling out a postcard for mail-order binoculars. “What will you put down for an address?” asks an acquaintance with a lack of malice that doesn’t make the query any less insensitive; “You don’t have a home.” Later, a conversation with a vacationing World War II veteran reduces the orphaned boy to tears; his own father is still missing following Japan’s recent surrender, and the cruel reminder that he probably numbers among the countless soldiers killed in action immediately (albeit briefly) shatters his façade of cool, composed professionalism, unleashing the grief that he’d previously repressed. Even the character’s childish daydreams are surprisingly poignant: he longs to one day nap in the open palm of a colossal Buddha statue—a powerful metaphor, symbolizing his subconscious desire to be nurtured, protected, and loved unconditionally.

Ultimately, though, these loosely structured episodes aren’t nearly as thematically significant as the spiritual and religious icons around which they unfold. The sculptures, towering pagodas, torii gates, and stone lanterns that populate the setting are magnificently photographed, framed from low, tight angles that emphasize their awe-inspiring stature (further magnified by slow, fluid camera movements). I’ll admit that I initially had my reservations about Children of the Great Buddha’s frequent (and excessively lengthy) educational interludes—after all, they tend to disrupt the rhythm of the otherwise lean and elegant plot—but Shimizu’s exquisite craftsmanship eventually won me over; I now consider them to be some of the finest sequences in his oeuvre (comparable to Ornamental Hairpin’s gorgeous ending montage, which remains a personal favorite of mine). For sheer spectacle alone, the film deserves to be ranked alongside the director’s greatest stylistic triumphs.

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

favourite tj moments in the series?

Okay, so,

That moment in Sword of Summer when he's supposed to arrest Magnus and he drops the handcuffs and says "Oops." Iconic. Beautiful. Show-stopping.

When he tells Magnus about how he died in Ship of the Dead. I picture the scene in my head and it's just so interesting: the two standing on the deck of the ship, the wind blowing, the skies blue. Just TJ's long-suffering smile and Magnus's listening ear.

The scene where he's fighting Hrungnir and he just goes entirely merciless. The cold efficiency of it... I just find it so fascinating and so interesting given his usually up-beat disposition. He shot the Achilles tendons to render his legs useless.... that's good stuff. That's cruel stuff. It's intriguing for this usually happy-go-lucky character.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hihihi this is may be a weird question but is your opinion on the main hypmic cast?

In brief:

(Spoiler alert: It was not brief. Stuck under a cut for length)

Ichirou: He's a good kid. I wasn’t super into him at first, as main protagonists very rarely hold my interest, but I appreciate him now for the struggles he goes through and the growth he’s experienced across the series.

Jirou: Jirou is also a good kid in his own way. I didn’t know what to do with him for a while, but now I feel like I understand him too. I don’t think he quite gets what makes Ichirou be as loved as he is, nor does he really understand what makes people love him for who he is. But that’s okay. He’ll get it someday.

Saburou: If you had tasked me as a fourteen year old to create an idealized anime boy sona, I would have come up with someone shockingly similar to Saburou. I’m fond of him. He can be a bit mean at times in a very fourteen way, but deep down, he’s a good kid too. All the BBs are good kids.

Samatoki: I just can’t not make fun of him. His posturing is so ridiculous to me that I am constantly filled with the urge to clown on him. Oh, you think you’re so tough? You think you’re a big tough guy? Well, I’m just a little bastard; what are you going to do about it? But underneath the posturing, I do feel sorry for him and admire his strengths a lot. He’s a good kid too under a very funny exterior.

Juuto: I’m enjoying learning more about him from the BB/MTC+ manga, but I’m a bit surprised at how much of a dick he is even deep down. Still, he has plenty of good qualities too, and I like him in a vague sort of way. I’d throw fruit at him over a fence but wouldn’t put any malice in it.

Riou: What a delightful individual he is. The BB/MTC chapter about him really resonated with me. For a character so outwardly obsessed with the military, Riou has an incredible understanding of the weight of his actions and such a deep appreciation for every living thing. There’s a lot of his depth to his simplicity, and the level of care he exhibits towards everyone is delightful to witness. An absolute favorite among the cast.

Ramuda: Self-recognition through the other (derogatory). In all seriousness, Ramuda’s story arc and actions are great narrative tools for me to examine some things about myself and grow to try to be a better, more considerate person towards myself and others. I want to see him achieve freedom and happiness.

Gentarou: I enjoy Gentarou quite a bit, although I think he gets overshadowed by the other members of Fling Posse at times due to my sheer passion for Dice and Ramuda. He’s my favorite character to translate at the moment, which is apparently heresy among Hypmic translators. More than the sheer fun of writing his witty banter, I find him to be a very intriguing individual, and I’m excited to learn more about him. I want his happiness too.

Dice: Oh, Dice... He’s a really good kid in a way that the BBs could never be. He’s deceptively good, and he does choose to hurt other people and himself in ways that characters like Ichirou don’t. But he also finds the goodness in the oddest places, like a person finding a coin in a cracked sidewalk, and that’s delightful. His narrative is one of the most compelling for me. What a champion of a character.

Jakurai: Wow, what a good foil for Ramuda. Let me bounce narratives off of you like a mirror. I’m slowly learning to find him compelling in his own right, however. This is also a self-recognition through the other (derogatory) scenario, but there’s more of an emphasis on the derogatory part.

Hifumi: A funny little individual bearing a lot of sadness and a whole lot more courage. Like most of Matenrou, I admire him a lot, but I think that Matenrou resonates much more strongly with other people than they do for me, so I prefer to sit back and let other people appreciate them. I think he’s very brave and very fun to read/write.

Doppo: The biggest fucking mood in existence. When you move past the stereotypical aspects, you end up with another character who has a lot of deep flaws but also an incredible amount of courage. I’m excited to see where they go with him, but again, I’ll sit back and let others take the first row here.

Kuukou: Having already drafted Saburou, if you came back to me at age eighteen and asked me to make an idealized anime boy sona, you would probably have ended up with a character astonishingly like Kuukou. He brings me sheer joy. Astonishingly, I feel like Kuukou has exhibited the least growth out of any of the cast, and yet I do not mind a bit. He is the closest to the perfect man I have ever met. I would drop everything to be this dude’s homie if he existed in real life. Just a champion individual.

Juushi: Juushi’s a good kid. I’m very fond of him and like writing him, but much like Matenrou, I feel like he does a lot more for other people than he does for me. Therefore, much of how I work with him is less, “How do I enjoy this character as a reader?” and more “How do I nurture the traits about him that other people love?”

Hitoya: Hitoya strikes me as a damn good person with a lot of heart who sometimes lets his anger drive him a bit too much. He’s also utterly ridiculous, of course, but I try to write him with as much strength as possible to be present behind his words. He honestly seems like a great person to know in real life, not simply as a fictional character, as well.

Sasara: I have to clown on him to assert dominance. Joking aside, I admire the depths of his character and the growth he’s shown over the series. He can be pretty callous at times and goes to odd lengths to get what he wants, but I think he’s now starting to realize how much his actions affect other people. For a while I was really in his camp as a hardcore Sasara lover (back before he was a main cast member - I love writing quirky minor characters), but now I approach him with the idea mentioned above, ie how I can present him for other people.

Roshou: Whenever he’s around the rest of Dotsu Hon, I think he’s kind of an idiot. I mean that in the best way possible. It’s very endearing. Yet moments when he’s on his own are where I think he best shines, and I would love to see more solo material for him. He’s an incredibly good support character, and I admire his passion for his students.

Rei: I really enjoy asshole antagonists, which is why I liked Ramuda for a while before the clone story came up behind me and struck me into the ground with its mighty fists. Now Rei fills this role. I would love to learn more about him and team up with the Buster Bros to pelt him with rotten eggs in a fun bonding activity. I’m sure there is some strong backstory that will absolve him of at least some of his shittiness, but until now, I’m still not excusing his whole abandoning his children thing, not to mention the human trafficking thing he pulled with Ramuda.

Otome: I hate translating her, if only because she and Rei frequently talk about things in extremely vague terms that I have no context for. It’s hard to make her sound idiomatic in English while also not shooting myself in the foot by accidentally filling in the wrong information. But with that aside, she’s okay. I like her, I guess. Her motivations are pretty interesting.

Ichijiku: Ichijiku was written for people who are sexually attracted to women, and I’m not at all, so I 100% approach her in terms of her pull on other people. She’s fun on her own, though, and I’m impressed at her ability to walk in high heels. Her complete disrespect for everyone but Otome brings me no end of entertainment in reading and writing.

Nemu: YOU. Maybe this is some stupid toxic masculinity thing, but I always feel embarrassed speaking affectionately about male characters but not at all about female characters. Therefore Nemu gets all of my loveposting. She’s a wonderful girl! She has such a strong spirit, and I’m completely overjoyed that she’s making her own decisions and becoming her own character defined on her own terms. I want to watch her grow up big and strong. Fuck yes, baby girl! Fuck it up! I’m very proud of her.

[arabian-batboy]

“The Journey” movie review.

It was a great movie, basically the anime version of the Prince of Egypt and I highly recommend you watch it.

Minor-to-medium spoilers:

The protagonist of the movie was so lovable, he’s already one of my favorite characters of all time. I absolutely adore his character’s design, it was a perfect a balance between being realistic while still being interesting at the same time. I read that some of the Japanese animators were told by the Arab animators to redo a lot of their work because it was too fantasy-like and I’m glad that they put their foot down, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten these beautiful result (See what happens when you actually allow people to be a part of the retelling of their own stories?)

For example, it was a really small detail, but I really appreciate how they had the men lift their thawb and tuck an edge around their waist to run instead of just giving them knee-length tunics like a lot of non-Arab artists do when drawing Arab men (they’re supposed to reach our ankles not our knees)

Another moment that was a highlight was Aws putting the kohl his wife gave him on his eyes before battle

Although I’m not going to lie, I hate how almost all the background characters had big crooked noses and darker skin/eyes than the characters with spoken lines, it’s giving me deja vu to Disney’s Aladdin and how he and Jasmine were significantly less ethnic than the rest of the cast.

The enemy’s army on the other hand had no cultural accuracy for the real-life Abyssinian culture, their costumes and weapons were completely made-up, but I actually think that this is a good thing? They probably deliberately made this choice because they didn’t want to show Eastern Africans/Ethiopians in a negative light by taking their culture and giving it to irredeemable villains for the sake of “historic accuracy.”

I also love how the conflict between the two groups had nothing to do with race whatsoever, it was completely portrayed as “invaders vs natives,” in fact they even had a Black character among the Meccans while an Arab character was among the Abyssinians and they were no comments by either sides about them being traitors or anything like that (the only thing that was racist imo was a scene where a character with a blonde afro, the guy in the middle of this pic, had his hair be called a “bird nest”)

I liked the plot of the movie, it was based on a real event so there was not much room for creative liberty, but the execution was great and it really reminded me of the execution of The Prince of Egypt (minus all the music of course). I really found all the cutscenes with the animation changes to stories of the Quran/Bible/Torah really interesting, at the moment I was restless and I didn’t understand what they had to do with the story/plot, but it all came together when Aws said that their story need to be passed down to their descendent the same way their predecessors passed down their stories.

All of the voice-actors did a fantastic job, even though having Levi’s voice actor was distracting. (I watched in the Japanese dub btw, I may rewatch a 2nd time in the Arabic dub tho)

The animation was as great as any other popular anime show, my only real issue was that I wished that they didn’t make all the fighting scenes so shounen-y. I would have much preferred it if they went with a more realistic approach to fit with the atmosphere of the movie, maybe something like how the fighting scenes in Vinland Saga were animated, but then again this IS Toei Animation, maybe that would be asking for too much for a studio that specialize in over-the-top anime (I also thought that ending scene was weird, it would have been a better and complete ending if they had Aws reuniting with his wife and child on-screen as the closing shot)

All in all, as both an Arab and anime fan, I very much enjoyed this movie and I would give it a score of 8.5/10 or even a 9/10 for being so visually unique and pretty to look at.

[oddnub-eye]

The Emer Post

Emer, wife of Cú Chulainn, is fucking rad. Personally, she’s one of my favorite characters in the Ulster Cycle, tied only with Cú Chulainn himself. And this makes sense, given that, at least in my readings, they seem to parallel each other in several ways.

The build up to the introduction of Emer seems to emphasize this, “Cuchulaind said that no woman should go with him but she who was his equal in age and shape and race, and skill and deftness, who was the best handworker of all the maidens in Erin”. The buildup to Emer emphasizes that she is more or less “his equal in her own fields”. Where Cú Chulainn has established himself as the best of the best of warriors, he seeks a wife who is the best of the best among them, with Emer fulfilling those conditions. Their actual “introductions” parallel each other. Emer is introduced with her foster-sisters, the daughters of the lords around Forgall’s dun. She appears to be the leader of the group, as she is teaching them, teaching being a position that implies more experience, or superiority. This is similar to how Cú Chulainn’s interactions with the boy-troop of Ulster is described in The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn; Cú Chulainn defeating all the other boys in the games they play, and taking them under his protection, proving himself to be the best of the bunch. They both, at separate points, are established as “the best” of their given fields and the best among their peers.

This shared superiority in their fields and abilities is reaffirmed in Bricriu’s Feast. While the major plotline and events of the story focus around Cú Chulainn fighting over the “Champion’s Portion” with Conall Cernach and Loegaire, Emer competes with their wives in a battle of words to try and claim who is the best. Emer takes the opportunity to assert her superiority and that she is the “the standard of women, in figure, in grace, in wisdom; None my equal in beauty, for I am a picture of graces...”. As if to be a visual metaphor of Emer winning, where Conall and Loegaire lift one of the building's pillars to allow their wives to enter the house, Cú Chulainn lifts the entire house off its foundations, “till the stars of heaven were to be seen under the wattle.”

Emer, however, did not view Cú Chulainn in the same favor or equivalence that he saw in her. When Cú Chulainn approached her for marriage, she did not immediately agree to his conditions, laying her three famous marriage conditions, “until he has killed a hundred men at every ford from Scenmenn ford on the river Albine, to Banchung - the “Woman’s Yoke” that can hold a hundred”, “until he has done the feat of the salmon-leap carrying twice his weight in gold, and struck down three groups of nine men in one stroke, leaving the middle man of each nine unharmed,” and “who hasn’t gone sleepless from Samain, when summer goes to its rest, until Imbolc, when the ewes are milked at spring’s beginning.”

She does come around after Cú Chulainn agrees to attempt to fulfill these conditions, even shooting down her father’s attempts to marry her off to Lugaid. She also marries Cú Chulainn after he fulfills her marriage conditions.

Arguably, Emer’s shining moment as a character comes in Serglige Con Culainn, otherwise known as The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn. Which seems strange at the outset, considering that it's arguably the story where she’s at her most unlikable. Most versions of Serglige Con Culainn you can find are pieced together from two separate tellings, with the role of “Emer” being filled by the woman Ethne in the first half. However, Emer begins to be used in the back half as the primary character, and arguably is the protagonist over Cú Chulainn for this portion of the story. And in this half after Emer starts being used, much of her actions don’t come off as those of a particularly likable or even those of a character we would deem as “in the right”; for the some-odd year her husband has been suffering wasting sickness, she’s not been by his side (Ethne was described as such, but Emer explicitly needs to be fetched from Emain Macha by Laeg), she shames Laeg (who traveled to the otherworld to seek information about curing Cú Chulainn) for not returning with a cure, she badmouths the Ulsterman who had stayed by Cú Chulainn’s side for not fixing the problem, she shames Cú Chulainn for “lying prostrate for a woman’s love” despite knowing their was fae bullshit and involved, and then, in probably the crowning moment of “what the fuck” in the story, despite spurring Cú Chulainn to go to Fand, and knowing full well that Fand both beat wasting sickness into her husband and that Fand wants to marry Cú Chulainn, reacts rather violently when she finds out about the tryst between Fand and Cú Chulainn.

Let me repeat this for emphasis. Emer knows that Fand wants her husband’s hand in marriage, having established that as a consequence of him doing what he needs to do to free himself from the wasting sickness, shames Cú Chulainn for having wasting sickness, sends him to Fand, and then reacts violently when all of that ends exactly how you think it does.

However, the interesting thing is, Emer is not portrayed as incorrect, foolish, or negative in any way for that. In fact, it is instead another thing meant to establish Emer as “the bestest wife”. She is “the hero” of this part of the story. In her debate with Cú Chulainn regarding Fand, Emer wins. She’s the one with the most iconic line of the story “Yet fair seems all that's red; seems white what's new alone; and bright what's set o'erhead; and sour are things well known…”

And this is because Emer isn’t actually meant to be the sole hero of this story. Indeed, we are supposed to sympathize with Fand in her plight as well. That is why the detail of Fand’s dissatisfaction in her marriage with Manannan is included. We are supposed to sympathize with Emer for Fand’s interference and her life, and her response to Fand’s status as a threat to her position, as well as sympathizing with the plight of Fand and how it isn’t necessarily wrong of her to seek Cú Chulainn. Fand’s love for Cú Chulainn is equated to Emer’s in the text, shown through both of their attempts to yield him to the other. Likewise, both Emer and Fand are established as “ideal wives”, described as having the traits of one, for the sake of both Cú Chulainn’s arguments to Emer, and to further drive home how both Fand and Emer are meant to be viewed as sympathetic. It is something that is driven home even further when Fand confronts Manannan, reminding him of her status as “the bestest wife” echoing Emer’s assertion to Cú Chulainn during the actual conflict of the story.

A minor thing that’s intriguing about this is how it almost seems to mirror the “myth moral gap” that is present in so many other stories about ancient heroes. The values these heroes adhere to are different from ours, and this is present across nearly all ancient stories. Emer and Fand’s “hero-like” position in this tale proves no different; beating wasting sickness into the object of your affection, shaming your partner for getting his ass beat, badmouthing the people who stayed by his side when you did not would hardly be considered behaviors of a “good” partner, much less supposedly the “best of the best”. But, they are not framed as slights against Emer or Fand within Serglige Con Culainn.

Emer is fucking rad. She’s a pretty interesting character, via her parallels to Cú Chulainn and her proactivity across various stories; even appearing as what could be described as “the hero” of a few of them. Fair is the plain indeed, as Emer stands above several of her compatriots in the Ulster Cycle in terms of interest and being pretty damn awesome.

Source List:

Early Irish Myths and Sages; Jeffery Gatz

The Tain; Thomas Kinsella

Fled Bricrend (The Feast of Bricriu); George Henderson

The Wooing of Emer by Cu Chulainn; Kuno Myer

The Sickbed of Cu Chulainn; Maelmuiri mac Ceileachair

[whythehellnaut]

The secret brilliance behind Nickelodeon All Star Brawl‘s marketing

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the Nickelodeon fighting game after it was announced, progressing from mild interest to ironic excitement to unironic excitement for it.  So many jokes and memes have been made about it that they’re almost impossible to avoid.  But when I thought about it, I realized that that’s exactly what the marketing team for this game wanted.  The idea of the game is so absurd that no one would expect it to exist, but they figured out a way to make absolutely sure that it would create just the right buzz to get people like me to take serious interest in it.

Watching the trailer again, I figured out that every character they picked to showcase in that minute and a half trailer were carefully and strategically chosen to cater to as many people as they could.  Even the order of their appearance had deliberation behind it.  Here are my thoughts:

Michelangelo comes first, establishing that the game is combat focused.  After all, who better to show off first for a fighting game than a character that has already appeared as a playable character in at least two of them?  Plus, the Ninja Turtles are the oldest characters in Nickelodeon’s library when you consider that they first aired in the 80′s, before Nickelodeon even started making cartoons.  This is a character that everyone recognizes, parents included.

Lincoln Loud comes next, a more modern character that adults might not know but kids will.  This is to quickly lure the kids, who have less patience than adults, into watching the rest of the trailer, assuring them that it won’t just be older characters like the turtles that show up.

Powdered Toast Man comes next to snatch up the other side of the equation, the adults/90′s kids who remember him from the original Ren and Stimpy show from 1991.  I’m not sure if it’s still airing as reruns on Nick today, but considering I hear very little about the show online, I’m guessing not.  This is a bit of a surprise to the adults who thought it’d be a kids’ game, so it lures those folks into staying for the rest of the trailer as well.

Sandy is important to show off early for a number of reasons.  Spongebob is popular among kids and Millenials, and is arguably the only property here as well known as Ninja Turtles, so they’re luring in more fans.  It also serves to imply that other Spongebob characters will join, as, even though Sandy’s passion for karate makes total sense for her to appear in a fighting game, you still can’t leave out Spongebob himself.  Showing her first implies more possibilities of characters to come, proving it won’t just be a festival of protagonists like Jump Force was.  It also shows off their female representation to keep women interested.

Patrick is just a fan favorite to get out of the way before the sponge shows up, so he’s only here to confirm that the game is going to be full of characters that people actually want to see.

Oblina was personally a shocker to me, as I barely remember Ahh Real Monsters from my own childhood, but I remember enough to know that she wasn’t the protagonist, necessarily.  I also know it’s relatively obscure in comparison to Spongebob or Ren and Stimpy, so they proved that they are willing to take characters from more obscure shows that the young kids won’t remember.  This solidified my interest as I could tell that they are doing more to cater to the 90s generation than just confirming Powdered Toast Man.

Nigel Thornberry is arguably their most important addition at the halfway point.  Outside of Spongebob characters and maybe Stu Pickles, I would say Nigel is the internet’s favorite Nickelodeon character to use for memes.  The marketing team had to have known this.  After getting some of the core audiences hooked, they now have the memer crowd invested, ready to spread the word about the insanity of this game’s premise across the internet.  This is exactly what happened, and why the trailer has 2 million views on Youtube right now.

Lucy Loud is shown off quickly to remind the younger crowd to keep watching, and to add a little bit more female representation.

Spongebob is shown off a little bit late, but since we were expecting him to show up, it’s just to make sure the casual fans who only know the big names stay watching.

Helga is an older character, but I recently saw a young kid wearing a Hey Arnold tee shirt at the supermarket, so I’m positive it’s being shown as reruns on Nick today, so most Nick fans of all ages will be excited about her.  Moreover, since she came immediately after Spongebob, who is a protagonist that was introduced after Sandy, a side character from his show, it gives an implication that Arnold will also appear.  Although he is not introduced in this trailer, it allows the fans to speculate that he will soon be showcased, perhaps in the next trailer.  Also, she’s the fourth female character shown, confirming that the game is being fair and inclusive to both sexes and not simply catering to male gamers, like say, Jump Force or Dragonball Fighter Z.

Reptar is another shocker, because although Rugrats is very popular and well known throughout the generations, he is a very, very minor character in the show.  He is literally a fictional character within a separate fictional universe.  The marketing team threw him in to show off that just about any character from any Nick property, no matter how minor or obscure, has a chance of making it into this game.  Again, this forces the fans to speculate about future announcements with even more creative thinking, as we now know that it won’t just be major characters joining the fray.

Zim is a well thought out choice because he caters to a specific crowd that I’d describe as the alternative niche.  That is to say, there are people who are fans of Invader Zim who don’t watch other Nick shows, so they are luring in the folks you’d expect to see at Hot Topic and the like.  It was an edgy show with a feel and fanbase unlike other shows of its era, so it’s important to use him to diversify the roster.  They also showed off Gir as his assist, and although that may deconfirm him as playable, it still pleases the fans, who often prefer Gir over Zim.

Danny Phantom is the only character that comes strictly from the 2000s era, so they are making sure to maintain the attention of the teenagers who watched that show as kids.

Leonardo seems like an odd choice to end on, maybe even anticlimactic, since they started with Michelangelo, but it makes sense when you think about it.  They couldn’t show just 1 turtle, or else it might imply that the game’s roster was small.  But if they showed all 4 turtles, they would have needed to leave two other characters out of the trailer to make room for them, and they didn’t want to make it look like a Turtles fighting game with guest characters.  So having exactly 2 turtles allows them to show off enough characters from other properties, while also confirming unofficially that the other turtles would appear later, since you can’t just have 2 of the 4 turtles in the game.  By leaving it open like that, they’re giving an implication that the roster is going to be huge.  So big that the turtles were just a small portion of it.  They end the trailer this way to leave the crowd speculating again: how many characters will appear in total?

The only characters that curiously don’t show up in the trailer are the cast of the Avatar franchise, who are quite popular.  However, one of the stages shown is clearly the Air Temple with Aang’s glider in plain sight, implying that Avatar characters will be announced later.  Another smart move to instill hope in the fans.

Finally, the Rollback Netcode announcement that came afterward solidified a very important group- the serious/competitive gamers.  For those who don’t know, rollback netcode is relatively new technology that speeds up online gameplay to cut down on input lag, which is super important for fighting games in particular, as they rely on strict timing more than other game genres.  It’s so new, however, that not all competitive fighting games use it.  Popular tournament fighters like Super Smash Bros, Tekken, and Dragonball Fighter Z have not implemented rollback netcode for their games yet, so of all games, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl beating them to the punch is causing a stir.  This is a sign that the devs are putting serious effort into making the game enjoyable online, which could potentially help its chances to be taken seriously in competitive settings.  Only time will tell if that truly happens, but it’s a sign of quality, nonetheless.

So ultimately, this short trailer and announcement manage to cater to dang near every crowd that may want to play it: Kids, teenagers, young adults in their 20s and 30s, parents in their 40s, men, women, memers, casual fans, alternative fans, and serious gamers, and opens up a ton of potential for speculation regarding new announcements.  That’s a fantastic way to start off and explains why this game, which for all intents and purposes should have been nothing more than a thought experiment that people joke about in the car with friends, has been trending so much for the past two weeks.  Congrats to the marketing team for what they put together.

[princeescaluswords]

I don’t know if you have any interest in the IwtV show, but I wanted to bring something up that is an ever present piece of fandom.

It has long been a piece of the fandom that, knowing that Louis is an unreliable narrator in the first book is used to erase the crueler aspects of Lestat’s behavior. With Louis now cast with a black actor, I’m already seeing that tendency in fandom grow more present. Any mention by Louis of being manipulated by Lestat is being wanked into a barely coherent reason to pretend that manipulation and self absorption aren’t quintessential piece of his character. But they gladly discuss Louis hypocrisy and anger, which are just as important.

The favoritism towards the white characters is already exhausting. It always is.

I'm afraid I have not consumed enough of that series to responsibly comment on it or its fandom. I did read the original novel and watch the 1994 movie, but I suspect that the dynamics are different. I will have to keep my remarks general.

I have a brother, and I try to talk to him about my observations when it comes to racism in entertainment media, its audience, and its fandom, and he's always so resistant to the idea, it can be quite annoying. His objections usually take the form of either 'innocence of intent' or 'over-politicizing individual behavior.' To put it in more poetic terms, he accuses me of seeing a racism problem when there isn't one.

When it comes to innocence of intent, he exhibits the same malady many people who produce and consume media do. He believes that since it's simply entertainment, it has no real impact on people's lives and thus intent matters more than impact. It's a concept enshrined by the white patriarchy, though it still has sway among other groups (see "fiction=/=reality"). If no one is actively choosing to hate or neglect a character and since that's not their ultimate motivation, the fact that characters of color tend to be ignored, disliked, or stripped of their complexity and depth in order to serve the needs of white characters is simply a relatively harmless by-product of media consumption.

Except it's not harmless. There's a reason that it's only been in the last few decades that protagonists of color and antagonists of color who aren't caricatures have begin regularly appearing in media. I probably could give many examples, but all I have to do is to point to the outcry about Moses Ingram's casting and performance in Obi-Wan Kenobi to know it's not harmless. People who enjoy a franchise where one of their favorite characters is a humanoid squid with five lines had a problem with a black woman being a major character. It's a trap, indeed.

And then there's my fandom where the hatred for the lead protagonist, a character (and actor) of color is still going strong over a decade since the beginning of the show and five years since it concluded. My brother argues that an individual person might dislike Scott McCall without being able to articulate why or explain why they like white characters who exhibit similar behavior or pretend that certain things in the series didn't happen, but that an individual does this doesn't mean there's a problem with racism.

But it's not an just individual. It's a multitude of individuals, all exhibiting the same inarticulate hypocrisy. There are entire subcultures (Eternal S/terek and the S/teter Network) dedicated to ignoring, disliking, or stripping this protagonist of color of all complexity and depth in order to turn Teen Wolf into a story about white men.

These aren't unfortunate incidents. These aren't solitary accidents. These aren't misfires by productions. There's a reason that you can set your watch by the appearance of outrage when an animated character is given a non-white ethnicity or a minority actor is given a major new role in an established franchise. There's a reason that Teen Wolf the Movie has to promote the appearance of a white male character whose story was over at the end of Season 4 rather than you know, the actual Teen Wolf. As you suggest, there's a reason that Louis is tossed aside to defend the indefensible Lestat. It's not innocent, and it's not individual.

BUT IT'S NOT RACISM.

[silentfcknhill]

FAVORITE SHOWS IN POSTERS

Well, we’re back for another installment of this tagged meme, this time for TV shows! I also stole this from/was indirectly tagged by @jcmorrigan. My taste in shows also differs a bit from my taste in movies, as I tend to like a lot of comedy shows with not as many horror ones. I’m not into shows as much as movies overall, but there are some that I am very passionate about so I picked twenty again. So, here we go for part 2, in order:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra (2005-2014)

I'm including these as one show since they take place in the same universe and tell a continuation of the same overall plot. Altogether this is probably the best piece of media to ever exist, including movies. It has so many great characters and villains especially and some of the most epic sequences, charming humor and heartwarming moments ever. I've never met a person who didn't like these shows, even people who normally don't like cartoons. My dad, who is biased against animation? He loved it. My mother? She loved it, watched it with her multiple times. My grandmother? Loved it. My ex-boyfriend? Loved it. My best friend? Loved it. I dare anyone not to, and I'm so glad it's making a resurgence since it's on Netflix for a new generation to enjoy.

2. Black Butler (2008-2014)

I never was big into anime growing up and only really started watching anime when I was like 16 and above, but this is one of the exceptions because holy shit is it ever dark and epic. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it for kids, it's more of a teens and young adults kind of anime and that's probably why it's so good, because it isn't afraid to explore dark and mature topics and do it with all of the intensity and gravitas required to do said topics justice. It has lots of great characters, and the story of demons who make deals with children who have a dark side is fun to watch play out.

3. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

My dad was a huge fan of this show so I watched it growing up since I was a toddler and it became a classic for me. I've watched thw hole show through at least 8 times, and I'll never stop because it never gets old or boring. It's also my only comfort show when I'm having a panic attack because of one time a few years ago when I was having a drug-induced psychosis episode and watching it calmed me down, so now it's like the opposite of a trigger and whenever I'm having an episode or something I watch it to bring me back to reality. For that reason it's more than a show to me, it's a medical treatment and I'm forever grateful to it.

4. The Good Place (2016-2020)

The big four shows made my Michael Schur all made it on this post (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office and Parks And Recreation), either in the main list of the honorable mentions, but this is my personal favorite of the four. It's so funny, quirky, relatable and basically tailor-made to suit my interests. Not only is it an entertaining and wholesome show, but I think watching it helped me come to terms with a lot of things like mortality, ethics, philosophy, religion and my relationships with other people. It gets  alot of different viewpoints across and if you're a very analytical and philosophical person like me you'll probably enjoy seeing it all play out. Not to mention, every single character is 'favorite character' material. It's rare you find a show with no filler characters in the main cast, but I genuinely can't choose who is best.

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-?)

Another of Michael Schur's shows, this one is just barely under The Good Place and to be honest it was tough to pick my favorite between the two because they're both equally funny. I know it's kind of controversial right now because of the whole law enforcement thing, but I actually think they do a good job of handling social issues in the show and remaining respectful of real-life systemic problems. As for the characters, this is another one of those shows where every single character is gold and I think that tends to be a trend among Schur's shows in general. He produces damn good comedy, and damn good characters. I can't wait to see what they bring next.

6. Rick And Morty (2013-?)

This is unfortunately one of those cases of 'great show, horrible fandom' and for that reason I don't get involved in the fandom even though I love the show. It's a shame because it really is a great show, so funny and, again, such good characters. I think it's a lot more accessible than the fandom likes to claim, so I'm hoping more people will give it a chance and not get put off by the intellectual elitism of the fandom because it does have some of the most entertaining and batshit crazy episodes ever, poking fun of some of the staples of science fiction in media while also poking fun of itself the whole time. Unlike the fandom, the show doesn't take itself seriously and that's enjoyable nowadays.

7. Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

While this show is a comedy, it is also a lot of other things and it's probably made me ugly-cry just as many times as it's made me laugh. Well, maybe not as often, but those few scenes (if you've watched the show then you know the ones I'm talking about) made me hysterically sob hard enough to be worth like fifty minor sads. But I didn't even mind because the show is just that good, and it makes you /feel/ something in a real way. Probably because of just how real it gets in terms of telling stories that happen all the time in the real world, sometimes with inevitably tragic endings. But these things do happen every day, and it's important to shine a light on that. It's not just representation for LGBTQ+ but also for POC, the neurodiverse, the poor, and many more. Give it a watch to broaden your perspective!

8. Big Mouth (2017-?)

This is probably the grossest show I've ever seen but by god is it ever funny. Maybe it's because I have an immature sense of humor or something, but I love this show. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea and I don't recommend you watch this show with anyone else around because it will get awkward. I think part of its appeal to me is that everyone I talk to who likes it considers it so relatable to their lives growing up but for someone like me who grew up on the autism and asexual spectrum and who was physically an early-bloomer by years, nothing about this show is relatable to me in any way so it makes it all the more crazy and bizarre watching how the people around me must have experienced things. Did y'all really have these experiences with puberty in middle school???

9. Dexter (2006-2013)

I recently heard that this show is coming back for a reboot soon and I'm so excited because this is my absolute favorite drama/thriller show, as evidenced by the fact that it's the highest one on the list so far that isn't a comedy. I love the idea of having a protagonist who is sort of a villain (or at least morally dubious), and the idea of a serial killer who only kills bad people is particularly satisfying for some reason. Maybe because he's the vigilante we all deserve and want in this unjust and evil world of modern times? Idk but the very premise of this show set it up for big things and aside from the ending I think it delivered consistently.

10. Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

This show took us on some journeys, and you can't deny that. Sure, maybe it didn't always finish what it started and didn't always end in the most satisfying way, but part of its charm is that you didn't care because the experience was just so much fun. They took characters and stories that have been told to death and somehow managed to put a unique and unexpected twist on them, and that alone is admirable. Good twists, good villains, and pretty much every cliffhanger known to man will keep you hooked on binge-watching every episode.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-?)

A bit different than the other entries on my list in that it's not fiction but a reality competition show, but I couldn't leave Drag Race out because it's just so fucking iconic and perfect. Even when you disagree with the judges or can't stand a certain contestant you'll still be having a good time. It's got the personalities you love to love, the ones you love to hate, and the comedy that's completely meme-able. I mean just how much has this show contributed to pop culture and the internet? More than most of us, henny. I've watched every single season, even the international ones and all of the spinoffs. This show will probably be on for another thirty years when Ru is throwing shade from a hospital bed and I'll still be watching.

12. House (2004-2012)

Some people hate on this show, and I don't get it. I love House. Yes, he's an ass. That's the point. He's supposed to be unlikeable, and that's why I like him. Maybe because I always love the rude, sarcastic, misanthropic jerkass-genius characters for some reason. And I also love procedural shows, so it's a win-win. I also work in the healthcare field so it appeals to me for that reason too, because obviously the whole premise is outlandish which is what makes it funny. Of course it's not realistic for a hospital, so just enjoy the absurdity and don't get too hung up on the details of medical accuracy and professional ethics and you'll be fine.

13. The Office (2005-2013)

The third of Michael Schur's show and the last one that made the main list (sorry Parks And Rec, I love you too but there was just so many good shows to choose from and I saw you last so the nostalgia isn't as strong!) I don't think I need to hype this show up any, it's already a classic and you can't even turn around online without getting hit in the face by a dozen Office memes. You'll have to pry this show and it's relatable characters (especially Michael Scott) from my cold, dead hands.

14. All Hail King Julien/The Penguins Of Madagascar (2008-2017)

Like Avatar/Korra, I also consider this as one show for the sake of this list because it also takes place in the same universe (Madagascar, specifically) and I just couldn't choose one over the other because they're both so perfect. They're funny and I love all the characters (it cut out the weaker links of the Madagascar film series and just focuses on expanding the standout side-characters like King Julien and the penguins). It also delved into some lore, particularly the first show, and even though I didn't also agree with the directions it took (you may have seen me get salty about the ending because I cared too much), I can't deny how much I love it.

15. Bones (2005-2017)

One of the other scarce non-comedy shows on this list, it still has it's funny moments. It's also, like House, another procedural show that involves some medical stuff, but this time on a more scientific and forensic level which is even more interesting. It's nice to see a lead female with Asperger's, too. There's a lot of cop/law enforcement shows where they try to solve crimes, but this one is the best, and I'm saying that as a fan of CSI as well. Don't fight me on this, I'm right. Oh yes, it's corny, it's campy, it's cheesy, but I love every minute of it. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach though.

16. The Simpsons (1989-?)

We all grew up with this show, don't lie. It's been around longer than most people on tumblr have even been alive. Should it have ended seasons ago? Hell yes. But that doesn't take away what the first like 20 or so seasons gave us (there's a lot of argument about when the show jumped the shark, for me it wasn't until much later than the popular consensus). The characters are amazing, but the secret to the show's longevity is that they always return to status quo and there's comfort and nostalgia in that. Bart will still be in 4th grade when you're out there pushing 90. This show is persistent. This show is eternal. This show will outlive us all.

17. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)

Sorely underrated. This show is hilarious, gruesome and campy as hell and I love it. I don't think you necessarily have to watch the Evil Dead movies beforehand in order to get the plot of the show, although it would probably help. In my opinion this show ended way too soon and I'm hoping someday we'll get a comeback because Ash is the reluctant, self-absorbed hero we all need and it's 2020 so at this point there really might actually be a demon-zombie apocalypse and who's gonna save us then if not for the impulsive womanizer with a chainsaw for a hand?

18. Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)

Another show I grew up with, I don't think it gets as much credit as it deserves. It has some damn funny episodes and great characters, and it did a lot of the popular sitcom tropes before they were 'cool'. Some other great sitcoms, The Middle in particular, took a lot of influence from this show and it helped pave the way for the future of sitcoms at a time when they were about to make a comeback. If you want a good show about the real experiences of growing up, this is a much more accurate representation of the highs and lows of being an awkward tween from a dysfunctional home.

19. A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Unlike most people I actually liked the movie version from the early 2000's, and I read the books growing up so I was excited when I saw there was a live action television adaptation of it on Netflix because I felt like they cancelled the movie franchise too soon. I was interested to see how new actors would handle the roles, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I liked either portrayal of the characters better or worse, they both added their own twist to it and this show is a great and loyal adaptation to the books, probably because the author was so heavily involved. He knew just when to stick to the books and when to improve upon what he had done with the benefit of hindsight. This show is basically the books, but remastered.

20. Winx Club (2004-?)

Sort of an odd one out on this list, but I really love this show even as an adult and it may surprise you to learn it is still going on and the most recent season came out last year. They take big breaks sometimes in between seasons, but it's still going strong and in multiple countries. The only thing I don't like about watching this show is all the different and inconsistent dubs since the original show is Italian and each dub only goes for a couple seasons so by the time you get used to one set of voices/names for the characters oyu have to abruptly switch to another, but it's still worth it for the beautiful animation and cool characters (especially the villains!)

Honorable Mentions: 

13 Reasons Why, America's Next Top Model, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Black Mirror, Care Bears, Chernobyl, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Criminal, CSI, Duck Dodgers, Goosebumps, Kenny Vs. Spenny, Kim Possible, Kingdom Hospital, Lazytown, Lost, Making A Murderer, Mayday, Mindhunter, Modern Family, Monster High, Obsession: Dark Desires, Parks And Recreation, Prison Break, Project Runway, Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, Salem, Schitt's Creek, SCTV, Spongebob Squarepants, The Emperor's New School, The Good Doctor, The Haunting Of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Middle, The Pretender, The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Through The Wormhole, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unsolved Mysteries, Yugioh

Tagging: @bullet-farmer​ and anyone else who wants to!