#i disagree with a lot of criticisms for this show just cuz i feel they just derive from the worst possible interpretations of the text

[my-coven-is-claudia]

the issue with any piece of media produced by a large corporation and which partially acts as an extended ad for a video game (even if representatives insist that it’s actually the other way round) is that any form of radical political messaging will almost always certainly be squashed for the sake of brand image, time constraints, budgeting etc. even with full creative freedom the writers themselves own flawed perspectives can negatively impact the final product. the constraints of the sci-fi/fantasy genre compound this with several staple narratives concluding in two opposing sides rallying together against a common enemy. it becomes less a sincerely complex sociopolitical narrative but rather about the choice between stupidity or survival. of course anyone would want to fight against an invading force, no matter their position, but who might second guess the use of violence as a form of resistance or reflect on their own enabling of the suffering of the oppressed. i do not take issue with crafting sympathetic storylines for even the most despicable and complicit characters, but the shift in focus still remains true. maybe the writing was always on the wall, but you sold me a tale of two cities and now i want my money back.

[ca-suffit]

i haven’t read the books but from the way some book stans talk about lestat like he’s some saint, i was not expecting sam in that interview to be like no actually he loves being evil and he’s really good at it and all the stuff about male rage/akasha and the devil being like wow he’s so terrible i need to recruit him actually. and i’ve seen the odd comment on twitter that’s like oh poor sam for having to put up with this lestat character assassination. like i don’t wanna call ppl out but i saw someone say “he signed up for anne rice’s iwtv, not rolin jones’s iwtv 😢” like ??? no actually he did sign up for rolin’s adaptation. and then they act like he’s so put out by the changes like a) he’s getting paid to pay his favorite character i think he’s okay. and b) even if he has reservations or questions about a change or even outright disagrees with one, he’s always full of praise for the final product and for rolin in general. like girl he is fine lol. like he said, some changes needed to be made and were for the greater good e.g. wrt improving the louis character.

I forget if he clarified in the interview or not, but that bit he says about going to hell comes right from the books

But what had I done to Claudia? And when would I have to pay for that? How long was she content to be the mystery that bound Louis and me so tightly together, the muse of our moonlit hours, the one object of devotion common to us both? Was it inevitable that she who would never have a woman's form would strike out at the demon father who condemned her to the body of a little china doll? I should have listened to Marius's warning. I should have stopped for one moment to reflect on it as I stood on the edge of that grand and intoxicating experiment: to make a vampire of "the least of these." I should have taken a deep breath. But you know, it was like playing the violin for Akasha. I wanted to do it. I wanted to see what would happen, I mean, with a beautiful little girl like that! Oh, Lestat, you deserve everything that ever happened to you. You'd better not die. You might actually go to hell. But why was it that for purely selfish reasons, I didn't listen to some of the advice given me? Why didn't I learn from any of them-Gabrielle, Armand, Marius? But then, I never have listened to anyone, really. Somehow or other, I never can.

he's not a saint (but he wants to be one for a second lol) but I personally didn't feel like he was that "evil" either. anne rice wasn't rly a good writer and fired her editor 3 books in on top of it. the series was unplanned and it's a wreck. he does awful shit but nothing I'd view makes him rly "evil," so it was a struggle for me to get on board with all that. an internal fight about how he views himself, I could understand, but idk what was rly that bad otherwise. especially cuz she was so in luv with him that consequences for anything he does just drop off as the books go? let me not write a whole thing about this lol. but ya the good and evil thing is from the books. the rice-a-ronis do mention it in posts sometimes but ever since the show has aired, everything has to be explained away now, bcuz they don't like black and brown characters or fans judging their white fav. he's either an innocent meow meow or a gothic monster, depending what mood they're in that day to dodge whatever criticism comes for them.

AMC explores a lot of stories about violent men so I've never understood this insistence like it's going to be some soft romantic series. the romance is gonna exist in the violence somehow, especially cuz they're vampires. louis slamming dreamstat's head into a rock wall while being goaded to do it bcuz dreamstat says it's the only way louis knows how to luv is sort of peak loustat for where we're at rn. I'm sure eventually they'll be more tender but it's still gonna have gritty undertones for the network it's on and who is writing it. the stans luv to make it about gendered shit, like rolin is ruining it all bcuz he's a man, but anne rice wrote violent, fucked up things too. worse than the show is prbly going to go. it's all excuses. u can just not like something without having to justify ur dislike of it to death. like damn. it's not ur taste, just stop watching??

and yes sam is a grown ass man getting prbly a good paycheck from this so loll he will be fine!

[clarabowmp3]

You forget that ttpd's streak was broken and then it re-entered number 1. why do you have something to always complain about? is it affecting you? no! are you affecting her in any shape or form? no! am i affecting her? no! so like, stfu for fucks sake

oh….oh my god??? I wouldn’t call my tags on that post complaining ??? That was just my opinion. And I dont know if it’s considered ‘forgetting’ if I never even knew that its streak was broken in the first place. Like you said, it’s not rlly smth that affects me, so the only times I’d hear abt its streak etc would be with the occasional variant drops. Also, Im very serious when I say I don’t care. I’m not celebrating every week it stays #1, and I’m not crowing over her “failing” ie dropping out of #1, I rlly dont care abt chart sales records etc etc

The reason why I talk abt it is cuz my feelings surrounding her differ from day to day. Some days I’m more apathetic so I don’t rlly care, but other days I miss the years when I rlly looked up to her and feel upset/betrayed (yes I know the parasocial is showing) because of how frequently I disagree with her actions these days, in comparison to pre-midnights era. For example, I’m not going to get into it here but I feel like she’s pretty unsportsmanlike with respect to the charts etc, and I think I made a post abt it a while back. Yes, it doesn’t affect me, but my brother in Christ you and I are on tumblr dot com what else would u expect?? this is pretty much my online diary/running internal monologue (like I post abt a lot of my thoughts, a decent chunk of them happening to be about taylor)

On a broader issue, you say that I “always have something to complain about.” In case it wasn’t clear before, I personally am not a cupcake swiftie. I’m mutuals with a few ppl who could be considered cupcake swifties i suppose, but that’s mostly cuz I’m too close to them to want to unfollow them etc. Sometimes taylor does things that warrant criticism imo, and sometimes I feel like talking abt it on my blog, which some ppl agree or disagree with - that’s pretty much the basis of tumblr esp when it comes to discourse. If you don’t like seeing it, you could always unfollow/block me/my #discourse tag (and I’m rlly not being sarcastic here; curating ur online experience to your tastes rlly helps in my experience)

[pinkcrocss]

Best and Worst Episode of Gen V Poll Results

The results are in! For the best episode of Gen V, according to 57 votes, it's:

A tie between EPISODE 4 - THE WHOLE TRUTH and EPISODE 6 - JUMANJI!!!

My personal vote was for episode 7, because I thought it had the most interesting revelations.

I think the reasons for episode 4 are pretty obvious for us Limoreau shippers, case in point:

But also, it introduced Tek Knight, who was a pretty funny character and we got a pretty cool fight and look into everyone's abilities at the end of the episode.

However, episode 6 was one of the better directed episodes I think. The director did a lot of really cool transitions as we went through Cate's mind, and I think episode 6 probably gave us more understanding of our main characters and their motivations than any other episode:

Now, for the worst (least best) episode of Gen V, according to 57 votes, it's:

No surprise, EPISODE 8 - GUARDIANS OF GODOLKIN!

(Runner up was EPISODE 2 - FIRST DAY)

Full disclosure, this was also my personal vote, but I want to head off some criticism beforehand. I feel like the people that voted for the final episode fall into two camps: people who didn't like the ending, or people who had issues with the actual episode. To be clear, I fall into the latter.

It's no secret that Gen V definitely had a few pacing issues over the course of the series, and they are most evident in the last 3 episodes. However, I was actually fine with the ending. I am familiar with the boys universe, I wasn't expecting a cookie cutter ending where our heroes would win. That's not standard for the boys.

However, on a technical level, I had so many issues with this episode. I am definitely more of a story person. I never notice technical things like lighting, cinematography, camera angles, etc. So if those things start to bother me, there must be some serious issues. I think this was probably the weakest directed episode in the series. There were so many choppy, cuts and shots that really messed with the tension, especially this one:

Like, yeah it was shocking, but the way the scene was shot really telegraphed what was a bout to happen the whole time. Also, as cool as Marie's "Coming into her power" moment was, idk if they were running out of budget atp, cuz I think that was probably the worst of the CGI blood we saw so far, even for a TV budget:

I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but I swear I'm not! I love this show and I was totally fine with the writing of this episode. I just maybe wished someone else had directed it... 😬

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANYWAY! Thank's so much to everyone who took part in the polls. Feel free to share your thoughts on the best and least best of Gen V season 1. Do you agree with the masses? Do you disagree? What are your predictions for season 2?

[weaselbeaselpants]

Lily, I did/do agree with you on some fandom takes, especially back during the DownWithMolestia days. Heck I agree with a lot of your takes in current year. Even if I agreed with you on everything you say I'd still fucking drop you and hope every single one of your fans wakes up and does so to for the right reasons --that you're a predator/lying abuser, not that you hate Gay Rocks in Space-- too.

Like, you wanna hear proof some folks' who I not only liked but REALLY like their videos and still absolutely think are in the wrong?

JonTron and Brad Jones.

I still find myself quoting their damn videos every now and again because god damnit that shit is/was funny, sue me. I loved CinemaSnob especially and god JonTron's videos were so much fun.

Too bad JonTron said some of the worst, most horrendously antiblack shit I've ever heard and has never fucking apologized for it or even BEGUN to have an iDubbz moment. I believe Pewdiepie feels+understands what he did was wrong more than JonTron and that's a bad sign. Jon was funny, a white person. Don't care. I'm never going to follow anything he makes again because the stuff he had to say was heinous and no it doesn't just "go away" because another white yter is in trouble for this kind of thing or it's been so many years since his 'canceling' and 'doesn't matter'. Really?

CinemaSnob is less racist (publicly) but he showed his true colors by publicly choosing to stay with his toxic friends and showing he was a two-sided jerk, and then made up lies about doxxing and harassment just to sweeten the deal. What he did (while roping Double Toasted in no less) was straight up admit that he doesn't care about any of the shit leveled at Channel Awesome, even after CA themselves admitted to hiding a sexual predator, because "he'd still have a career" even after he hurt anybody. Say all you want about any yter, breadtube or whatever, being callous and 'uncaring' or blocking ppl that just disagree w them- "apologize even if you don't mean it = dumb", "Logan Paul filmed a dead body and he still has a career", it's that side you showed of yourself, Brad, that is always going to make me actually genuinely hate myself for quoting your old videos or seeing you show up in an old Phelan or Allison vid.

Whether it be personally or politically, you can look like an ass and even the biggest fans of your work are gonna be shaken up and drop you for it-- to which you'll probably say they were never really "your REAL fans" for being "sensitive" w really it's just people having independence and critical thinking.

I would not be the person I am now if I didn't disagree/look into the drama buzzing around my personal fav yters like Lindsay Ellis and Jenny Nicholson with an open mind. I know (of, not rlly know) these women and their careers and the points where they were definitely getting harassment and if there's any credible basis for shitty behavior they've done - no matter how I feel about their work, I DON'T want to defend it just because I have this parasocial comfortzone in their essays. I don't want to entertain hate campaigns and lolcow farmers, I want to always do my due diligence and genuinely know "wait wtf did 'x' say about 'x'." In the case of folks like Ellis or PanPizza or Quinton Reviews here's usually always some degree of nuance or-"yes soandso isn't a [thing I thought they were cuz of drama I saw], but I'm personally allowed to not like them bcuz of how they handled these accusations"-vibes. Valid asf. That's me with some of the people I watch, like Wendigoon. It's fine.

In the cases of JonTron, Brad Jones, Emily Youcis and now Lily Orchard....no. Fuck this. I'm an adult and it's not the quality of your work you make whatsoever, it's all about your personality. If you are shitty and vile, possibly even criminal (hate speech should count as criminal, Youcis) and you don't even begin to care that you are any of those things...yeah why should I give you the time of day or treat your work like it's different from you as a person?

[firecrackerhh]

“Wwaaaaaaah I don’t feel welcome in the fandom, surely it must be that this fandom is racist and sexist or whatever and not that I constantly talk shit about the show, I’m totally not weaponizing my minority status to try and make this fandom look worse than it already is, don’t you know that as a minority my opinion is the only correct one and anyone who disagrees is clearly a bigot??? REEEEEE!!!”

Call me a bitch but that’s just what a lot of criticals sound like to me.

Like maybe the issue we have with you isn’t your race or sex, maybe the issue is that you’re fucking incorrect and you grasp at straws trying to make Viv’s shit sound like it’s the most racist, queerphobic thing in the fucking universe when in reality it’s significantly more left leaning than these idiots realize, it’s just that these people can’t look past the veneer of edge the shows have cuz these people are still 4 years old and they immediately assume the worst out of everything because…I dunno, I don’t know what condition can cause this shit beyond indoctrination into evangelicalism, OCD, or unmedicated schizophrenia. Maybe all 3.

Minorities have the capacity to be fucking idiots too yknow, you aren’t special, no one is, we’re all equally retarded in the eyes of God, just shut the fuck up and find something else to cry about that’s actually worth a damn, “Waaah the hazbin fandom-“ then get the fuck out.

Hell, they aren’t even IN the fandom! They’re in the hatedom, that’s a whole entire other beast. But of course, clearly the hatedom can’t be as racist, sexist, queerphobic, whatever, as the fandom itself right? Right??? No way in fucking hell!

Clean up your own house before you go looking at other people’s, dumbfuck.

[malo-mart]

Gonna complain to you cause I need to complain to someone about it even if you disagree. I kind of hope totk is the last zelda game. I love the series, I could tell you every piece of information about every game and the 80s TV show. I've played and beaten every game (except totk because I got it late and im getting everything done before I progress). I dont like that they're changing the formula of the game. Why change something that makes the game what it is? It was just a ploy to get new fans but like?? I loved zelda because of what it was and now they're just rewriting it?????? I didn't like botw all that much honestly, I didn't like being told a story rather than experiencing it. It never felt like a zelda game to me totk is better so far but it's still just, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Yet they tried to fix something that wasn't broken. It's upsetting to me.

Wow first of all what an honour to still be the one stop shop for botw hate. I absolutely know what you're saying and I have battled despising botw for what it is for 6 years. They took all the Zelda conventions from us and left no scraps, not even an iconic boss redesign. No music scraps, nada. But I am learning to appreciate that it really was Game of the Year and it deserved the praise it got, but at what cost 😭 I think after straying so far from a traditional Zelda game, it means that at some point they are going to deliver an iconic traditional game that rocks us to our core. And it's worth noting that they have to move away from botw completely now. It's like OoT and MM - after that, Wind Waker was born. They will change the art direction, the gameplay, the story, the characterisation....so even though I know we will most likely never get what we had back, at least it will always be new.

I also completely get what you mean by being told a story rather than experiencing it. My girlfriend and I joked that the cutscenes were like watching TV cuz it's completely disengaged from what I am doing in the gameplay. I always had a criticism that for twilight princess, it's midna that confronts ganondorf and it's all her motivations which lead up to the final fight, but I also learned to appreciate that Link was just a pawn in the game. Like that was Midnas story and her fight, much like botw/totk seems to mainly revolve around Zelda. But at least Midna and Link are interacting the whole entire game. And also midna is gay to me so I love her regardless

Well after writing this I can very much see there are two wolves inside of me - botw hater and botw apologist. Feel free to always vent in my inbox, its a botw hate safe place.

I hope you're enjoying totk a lot more. I thought the first half of the game was SOOOOO good and the second half needed some story improvement, but the final boss and cutscene??? absolutely worth it!!!!! good luck out there <3

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

So I don’t really care that much about song meaning,but I read some pjms and armys theories and I don’t really understand why dome of them are so against LC being about sex. I am not saying the song is only about that, LC is deep, it’s about escapism etc but when all back up dancer and doing very explicjt sexual moves I think it’s safe to say the meaning it’s connected to carnal please too

Getting this ask today reminded me of this other long ask I got weeks ago and never got around to reply. Finally I went and searched for my face posts 😅

- jimin confirmed on release day that he was inspired by Like Crazy (2011) and never missed any chance to mention this film during promos. so what was he trying to correlate? bear with me ✋

Sex and Alcohol are interchangeable coping mechanisms. both jacob + anna cope with pain of separation by carelessly drinking and having sex. in fact jacob's sex scenes also hold interesting symbolisms regarding intimacy. let's move to anna: she's toxic in wanting to get back with jacob despite being apart for so long. this is reminiscent to how the girl pulls jimin into the dream club and meets him midway the mv. as jm said in the spotify intvw, he's showing how "one loses themselves after a loved one in a Dream". what does it imply? he's yearning for something meaningful to feel complete yet it's unattainable, nor can he stay healthy post loss in Face-Off hence confrontation in the bathroom mirror cuz he's the problem. (the next track 'Alone' is where he accepts his mistake of not properly dealing w/ his complex emotions beforehand.)

the anima theory (which armys/jikookers poorly mutated into a gender crisis) is Jung's belief that man projects his inner desires on his wife/lover. this phenomenon is criticism by psychologists on emotionally stunted man-childs!!? so not only do theories which refuse to address the clear romantic/sexual imagery just plain disingenious but disrespecting jm as well.

he is a hopeless romantic but he referenced a movie about withering relationships here, and how sex is not necessarily love (jacob realizing his sexual compatibility with sam cannot help him move on from anna with whom his attachment is sincere)

i'm not peaking into jm's personal life but im not denying the song's adult concept either. he didnt need to dance such sensual choreo nor refrain teens during the fancall from watching the dance (the backup dancers were having full blown sex) but he did! for he had a story to tell! remember when jm, during encore, said he'll do a modest version of a dance step to pacify jealous fans, it wasnt the group hug intro but the mirror step, which he did with a male dancer instead on stage. jm and karmys had a mutual understanding of what that move signified, and why 1 female dancer was specifically chosen for it in the first place. jm was rightfully teasing them about the whole dance and not just because girls were in it.

---

There's nothing wrong with thinking it's about sex, but there's also nothing wrong with thinking it's not about sex. I mean, Jimin never explicitly said "it's not about sex" or otherwise, but at some point he did use a bed as prop with people all around (over) him. There's also the fact that men embrace him in the original choreo but he didn't think that was appropriate for music shows which would be aired on Korean tv. He also said he wanted the song to have an "ambiguous" feel and honestly, he got that concept very well executed. The song feels like a lot of things at once.

I agree with many points of the second ask, and I think you'd find I said similar stuff when I talked about my own interpretation.

The only thing I disagree with is the last part because it feels -to me- kinda deranged to see something sexual in the mirroring part because there's nothing like that going on. I think Jimin was just joking with the fans, and it was all banter, and that's the easiest part of the choreo to rearrange for fun. I really don't see anything sexual in that part of the choreo.

I don't think I have much more to add at least for now. I re-read my posts and I still feel the same way about the song.

Also this one about set me free because why not 🫡

[authorofthemoon]

Alright I just finished TAZ: Ethersea so imma do a quick ranking of the seasons. Disclaimer I don't hate any of them since they all made me laugh a shit ton even if I don't fully love where certain plots and stuff went.

1. Balance. She's iconic. We love her. I feel like if this isn't your number one you're a liar. I think Balance was really lightning in a bottle and I don't expect any series to be exactly the same.

2. Graduation. Apparently this is a controversial opinion and a lot of people hate graduation? I don't understand like how can you hate a show where Phesto, Rainer, and Fitzroy exist. Of course it's not above criticism but I feel like people hate it just bc Griffin isn't the DM.

3. Amnesty. Was a weird hard turn after Balance since they were eway more limited and lived more in a community. It was really fun beginning to end I just disagree with some character choices made near the end *cough* Duck and Minerva.

4. Ethersea. I think Ethersea had a strong start and there were so many good comedic bits in it, but I think that it ended too abruptly. I don't know if it ending was planned at that moment or if the events in the last arc made it end. It could've benefitted from one more arc imo. The ending kinda confused me but maybe it'll clear up for me in the wrap up. Also I love Travis, I really do, but Devo became too insufferable for my taste even if that was the point.

5. Commitment. Commitment was a fun mini arc and I hope they go back one day.

6. Dust? I guess I need to watch season 2 of Dust but season one didn't really leave much of an impression on me cuz I thought I was a rollover one like commitment.

[totaldramafan-lauri]

My Top 5 Songs in Hazbin Hotel (season 1)

W-well.....it's been a week since the finale, and while Hazbin still occupies a lot of my thoughts, I've mostly calmed down and have returned to thinking about my other hyperfixations alongside it again. Now that I'm not reeling with excitement anymore and I've rewatched the episodes and have let all the details sink in.....I have a few posts I wanna make!

This is the first one I wanna do. I LOOOOOVE the music of Hazbin to flipping DEATH. You can tell this is a show that was made by people who adore musicals and wanted to embody that in their show. Two songs per episode, and not a SINGLE dud. I mean it! While I have my personal favorites, I can say with confidence that every single song in this season is GREAT. I can easily see each song being someone's favorite, and I can see soooo many fans having unique top 5s filled with songs outside of mine. The soundtrack is THAT varied. There's something for everyone!

B-but, yeah, these are MY personal favorites. I'm not expecting my opinion to be the popular one, I just wanna show appreciation for five songs I love and have been playing on repeat since I first heard them. Anyone who's been around me during Eurovision season knows how much I love rambling about music I love, even if I'm by no means a music critic. It's just something I LIKE doing, and am maybe a bit passionate about too. S-so, if you disagree with me, that's fine! ^^

I-if you're interested in what I have to say, then feel free to read, as long as you know that I'm a rambler, so...be warned. Here we gooooo~!

"Poison"

Yup, can confirm, I'm still obsessed with this song. I haven't been listening to it AS often since the other songs came out, mainly cuz they're newer and I wanna spend more time with them, but I still go through withdrawal when I don't listen to this song a few times a day. Fittingly, it's....well, addictive to me! I-I can't help it....When this song was released on its own in early January it blew my mind! I did NOT expect this kinda song from Hazbin! Before it, I was fully expecting all the songs to be in the vain of Broadway, like "Happy Day In Hell" was. So, when this song hit, and I listened to it for the first time, my synthwave-loving heart was smitten within the first few seconds. It was love at first listen! I-I listened to this song on repeat for TWO HOURS STRAIGHT when it was new, and even after that, I could BARELY pull myself away from it for long for the next week. To say I was frothing over this song would be an understatement. And that was only because of the beat and instrumentation! That was enough to make me love it, like....I can say that even if I had never heard of Hazbin, I would still love this song.....but not only that, the lyrics are also FANTASTIC and make me feel so badly for Angel, showing how he blames himself for the situation he's trapped in. The first verse and chorus making it sound like he's having a good time, only for the second verse and chorus to start showing the cracks, and the ending absolutely gut-punching you by showing you the real him, with absolutely amazing voice acting. It's the perfect progression. And it hits even harder when you get the visuals along with it....

N-not gonna lie.....The scene that this plays in is hard to watch. That's not a complaint, since it was clearly the point, but....y-yeah, while I adore the song, I do tend to look away during its part in the episode. I love LISTENING to it on its own, but watching it is another story. Still my favorite song, but if you were introduced to it within the episode, I can definitely understand why it wouldn't be yours.

If I do have one complaint with this song, it's the lack of bridge. While a lot of great Hazbin songs are short, this is one that feels like it SHOULD be a full-length song, but isn't. However, this doesn't actually bother me. Never has. It's perfect as it is, it's just more of a "what if" thing, really.

2. "Stayed Gone"

When it comes to songs that feature Hazbin's resident scene-stealer, Alastor, you have two choices to pick from (W-well, there IS his amazing verse in "Finale", but I'm talking about songs where he's one of the main singers), and this is easily my favorite of the two. "Hell's Greatest Dad" is catchy and fun and all, but at least to me, it PALES in comparison to "Stayed Gone". I love this song to flipping death, holy crap. I can't WAIT to see Vox be the main villain of season 2 as Viv told us. I NEED to see more of this rivalry, cuz it gives me LIFE. I wanna talk about Vox as a character in another post, but in short, I really ended up liking him. The way he tries to be all cool and collected, but LOSES HIS MIND when Alastor comes up is extremely entertaining. The way he's so insecure about being rejected, yet tries to act like he doesn't care, it's great. Just the way he laughs nervously when he says "Where's he been? Who gives a shit!?" says it all. His VA is amazing. But really, Alastor just steals the show here, like he always does....The main reason why I like this song more than "Hell's Greatest Dad" is Alastor's demeanor here. H-he's SO confident and in control the whole time....acting so effortlessly level-headed as he puts Vox on blast, calling him out for his insecurities, his reliance on the other Vees, AND him still not being over being rejected all in one perfect verse....and then, capping it all off with that incredible, chilling ending, that ominous warning that he's got more in store, and he can't wait to have his fun....Easily my favorite single verse of the whole soundtrack. Exactly the kinda thing I wanted from the Radio Demon....J-just....the fact that he hijacked Vox's diss track on him, flipped it around, and ended it with THAT.....Holy crap....just....wow. Perfect....

A-also, this song is just....incredibly quotable, too? SO many memorable moments-

-Vox's drawing of Alastor -"Now his medium is getting bloody rare! *holding a plate of venison*" -"Clout-chasing mediocre video podcast" -"Every day, he's got a new format!" "You're looking at the future, he's the SHIT THAT COMES BEFORE THAT!" -"I said no and now he's pissy, that's the tea!" -"Uh-oh, the TV's buffering~"

Overall, I can't get enough of this song. It's a VERY close second. The only reason I put it below "Poison" is that this is a ranking of the songs as songs specifically, and "Poison" is easily the song I listen to the most on its own more than this one. To compare them, "Poison" is my favorite song to listen to, while "Stayed Gone" is my favorite song to watch in context. It's probably one of my favorite scenes of the whole season! The song's great, but the episode around it, knowing the characters, makes it even better. If you aren't a huge Alastor fan, I can't see this being one of your favorites, but if you are, it will most likely be. It's not really a song that can stand on its own without you knowing the characters.

3. "Hell Is Forever"

Now that Adam's dead, and we know we won't have to worry about dealing with him in the second season (unless he's in flashbacks)....we can come together and agree that this song is a flipping BANGER, right? I mean, holy crap, this song blew me away when I first heard it in a similar vain to "Poison". I heard it, and immediately knew I had to hear it again. I did NOT expect a song this epic in the first flipping episode. This sounds like a song you'd hear during the CLIMAX of some shows, it's so big. Seriously, it's BIG! Like, the way this song builds is incredible! That's the best part about it! I love a good rock song to begin with, and I LOVE the chorus, but then the song just kept topping itself! Each separate part- first chorus, great, second chorus, great, then it RAMPS UP with the instrumental break ("GUITAR SOLO FUCK YEEAAAAH"), clap along part, and FLIPPING KEY CHANGE ("Fuckin' HELL is forever, and it's meant to suck a lot!") that STILL gives me chills! This song has SO MUCH packed into it, it's crazy! It feels complete in a way a lot of other songs don't. This is the song that makes me wish I knew more music terminology cuz of just how many parts it has. I don't really care for Adam as a character, even if he does do his job at being a hatable villain, and cuz of that, for a while I was a bit ashamed of loving this song so much...but y'know what? Why SHOULD I be ashamed? Yeah, I don't agree with him, but I'm happy he gave us this song. AMAZING chorus, great buildup, just a dang epic song and I will NOT apologize for loving it! This is probably THE song I've been singing along with the most recently. It feels great to just....belt, even if I don't agree with the lyrics. XD

4. "Out For Love"

First off, I LOVE Carmilla's voice. Every song she's in gets bonus points from me by just her being in them. I can't explain why, I just find her voice very ear-pleasing. Part of that might be how distinct it is, but I know that's not the only thing....in any case, she's great. She's my second-favorite singer in the cast (after Alastor, of course). But even if she wasn't the one singing this song, I would STILL ADORE IT. This is a song that lives on its melody rather than its vocals, and holy CRAP is it catchy. The chorus, particularly the "LooooOOOoove, lo-o-o-OVE"s, live in my head rent-free. I also just tend to adore energetic fight songs and training songs, and this one definitely succeeds in hyping me up! It's a great song to put on when I need an energy boost cuz of how much of a punch it packs! The lyrics are great too, really tying Carmilla and Vaggie's motivations together as well as giving me inspo for my writing (let's just say that fighting for someone you love becomes relevant in the fic I'm working on, so...bias). It's too bad that this song is SOOOOOO SHORT! It's not even two minutes long! I would've loved for it to be longer! But, I guess not all songs can be long....*grumble* doesn't mean I can't be at least a bit bummed....I-I can't put this song on my playlist only cuz of how short it is....but for what we got of it, it's still incredible.

Also, I know that I'm only listing the songs here, but I do still wanna mention the visuals for this song, and how COOL they are. The choreography, ugh, it's soooo pretty! Carmilla is magnetic to watch, and I hope we get more of her in season 2!

5. "Respectless"

"That was a productive meeting!"

OK, n-now that that obligatory comment is outta the way, heh....

Yet another song that's shorter than two minutes, yet still packs a heck of a punch! This song being as catchy as it is is even more impressive than with "Out For Love", cuz unlike that song, this one has no chorus! It's just a short conversation in song form, that's all....and it goes SO unnecessarily hard!? Carmilla's voice is amazing like always (Her coming in mid-song with "You and the Vees are inane and uninfoooormed" is probably my fav part of the song), and Velvette absolutely crushes it here, calling out the older Overlords for being scared to fight and calling into question Carmilla's apprehension given that she's the one who makes guns for a living. Velvette's a brat, but she's smarter than you think she is, and I like that a lot. This song does lose a bit of impact following the finale, knowing that she doesn't follow through with any of what she says here and sits out the extermination with the other Vees, so....that's unfortunate, but this song still KILLS. It's basically an Establishing Character Moment for her, letting you know exactly the kind of person she is- confident, childish yet somehow smart, and showing her domain being social media by throwing in "I'm the hashtag bitch" and "Sorry bae, but I ain't swipin' right". This song makes you wanna see more of her, which we'll hopefully get next season! But honestly, that's all just the cherry on top for me. The main reason this song's one of my favorites is just the beat. I can't really explain what makes a song catchy, but....yeah, this song's catchy catchy CATCHYYYYYYY. All there is to it. It makes my monkey brain that likes catchiness happy.

And there we go, my five favorite songs from Hazbin Hotel! Like I said, I like all the songs in the show, these are just my favorites, and I hope you enjoyed me rambling about why I love them all just so, so much! But, I do have some honorable mentions that I also love almost as much, sooooo.....here's the rest of my top ten, if you're curious!

6. "Finale" 7. "You Didn't Know" 8. "Loser, Baby" 9. "More Than Anything" 10. "Whatever It Takes"

[emblemxeno]

I feel like the Ladlegard discourse is a byproduct of a rather concerning trend I've been seeing in fandoms lately of woobifying the villain/antagonist and saying they did nothing wrong/they're right. Besides Ladlegard, I've seen people try to frame Hylia as the villain and Ganon as the hero, say Kylo Ren/the Empire is right and all sorts of stuff. And what's kinda alarming is that when an article calls out on this, like the TeenVogue article, a lot of people double down and say the writer needs to be fired for writing said article. It goes without saying that you can enjoy/love a villain/antagonist, just don't condone their actions and say they're right cause that can be dangerous and sometimes have uncomfortable implications.

It's a very complicated topic that I have a lot of mixed feelings on, cuz on one hand, do I think all things that I consume and enjoy should be viewed with a critical lens at all times? No, not really. Media in general is meant for audiences to enjoy in whatever manner they see fit, and if they're not being outright dickbags and/or trying to pull bad things from media into their real life ideology, then I don't see the need to really condemn them.

On the other hand though. Critically thinking about storytelling media I feel-not to sound like some kind of literary elitist hack (especially at my age lmao)-has seen a noticeable... degradation? Warp? Something, in the past few years, and I honestly think social media culture interwoven with fandom culture has a huge part in that. The relative privacy and boundary of social media gives us the confidence to post what we're thinking at the moment, and if/when we get pushback for hot takes, we still have the relative comfort to not engage in a respectable way and instead say the other person's an idiot or a freak or doesn't know how to read or blah blah blah. And fandoms on the internet are mostly associated with geek cultural phenomena, like video games, anime/cartoons, sci-fi and fantasy movies and shows, etc. a.k.a. bastions of weirdos with opinions on weird things. So it's a perfect storm of "I have free reign to say what I want and to act like an asshole to people who disagree with me in a way I don't like", which at its worst becomes places like 4chan or certain corners of Reddit, but even at its best it's still... not pleasant.

But yeah, I guess to reiterate, I think people have every right to enjoy media in a way that they want, be it a "no thoughts only vibes" type of way or a heavy analytical way, but when it comes to interacting with others, it's good to be conscious of the types of people you're interacting with.

[darlingbudsofrae]

idk... my issue is that these tweets are about 10 years old. i know i thought and said and posted things over 6 years ago that i wouldn't stand by today, and i too would delete them and ignore them. now, if he still stands by those tweets today, that's a whole separate issue. but 10 years is a long time, and i think if he said anything publicly at this very moment, he might end up fucking over shadow and bone. also, he doesn't seem very active on social media, so he may not feel like he's under any obligation to explain himself to the general public, even though it is in his best interest to do so.

hmmm i didn't consider that tbh,, cuz the criticism against him i'm kind of considering valid is that "he had the time to delete the tweets within seconds but never addressed them" altho i do think it's harsh to say never because for all we know, and thanks for reminding me,, he could be taking the time to collect the words to appropriately address the situation because it is a grave matter. either that, or his management told him to stay put or something. or we have the third option where he does still uphold these views which hopefully isn't the case. one thing i'd disagree on tho is the obligation part, i feel like as a professional slash public figure and feel free to correct me on this but i think he knows he has the obligation to explain himself regardless of how inactive he is in social media. i do wish he could address this really soon because yeah,, it's looking really bad for him the more he puts it out but until then, i hope the fandom can be less toxic and at least reserve their judgments until he addressed the tweets.

i didn't really want to spoke about this but the thing i hate about the internet is how most of the times, the culture and time isn't considered at these cases. i think we've come so far as a society towards this social issues that we easily forget that this wasn't the case at times back. also, a decade and a year is a pretty long time, there's a chance for growth there- lots, i just hope he took it.

i saw a lot of people on twt saying "he was famous for a while now (since he was on a big show or something) and if he really regretted it, he should've apologized long ago". the thing is tho, these tweets only resurfaced because majority of the fans were so unhappy with the casting that they managed to miraculously dig up tweets that he made a decade ago when he was in his early/mid teens. for all we know, he'd probably forgotten about it as he grew up. i honestly felt bad for him on that regard, although it really would be on his best interest to respond asap cuz while there are some of us that can give him the benefit of the doubt like that, most people on the internet aren't really forgiving. of course, again- regardless of the words whatever he has to say there will always be people that'll hate him, but a bit of acknowledgement would be nice.

i am all for holding people accountable but most of the grishaverse fandom, at least on the side i've seen about this issue, confuses accountability with life sentence. everyone is so set on subjecting him to the tweets and not giving him the space to at least clarify himself, and i saw a lot of people sending him death threats and people making fun of his looks and people joking about organizing a murder and it's just so sick?? like,, that's just as low as the tweets he made those years ago, altho i'd push that the condemnation against him now is worse than what they're condemning him for because we're at a time and height of the internet were majority of us know this is wrong, this is vile and sick and it just reeks of performativity. at least give him a chance to explain himself before condemning him completely to his past.

i'd clarify that i think it's valid to be offended and hurt by those tweets, but to stoop down below to the level of decade-old tweets that were likely influenced by his surroundings, this isn't a defense this is to give understanding to what probably made him tweet those things but here's a serious question— what's the excuse of everyone in the fandom jokingly plotting on killing him/sending him death threats/and other insults?

the sad thing is, i honestly don't think those tweets would've resurfaced if most of the fandom didn't hate him so much (or at least they would've resurfaced at a much later time or sum). they just tried to find an opportunity to hate on him and sadly for patrick gibson's part, they found one. i would clarify again that these tweets did offend me, still feels a bit off for me, but as someone who had similar thoughts way back because of my surroundings,, i can't help but feel bad for some of the hate he's receiving rn (we can do both people) and hope that he changed.

this is pretty long and lowkey kinda preachy (also i derailed a lot lol it's the adhd lmao) so sorry for subjecting u to that anon, but thank u for this ask ♥

[fish-00]

Dream SMP hot takes you probably are gonna wanna fight me on:

- Techno has a victim complex and is a bad person. He’s also enforcing his beliefs onto outers by wanting them to destroy all governments because it corrupts people. He can say that but why should they listen to him since the only language Techno speaks is violence? You know what also corrupts people? Trauma. It’s fine if he thinks they should take down all government but if the way he’s gonna do it by traumatizing everyone in the process more then L’manburg ever has by simply just existing then he can fuck right off. He’s caused more harm than good that way

- George's "Just tell me you hate me." line is so fucking toxic but he’s palls with Dream so it makes sense. Also him not showing up for the elections to be there for his friend was a dick move and I don’t think he ever apologized for it to Quackity even though he knew It was important to him.

- Sam didn't originally know who was gonna be put in the prison so him building it as inhuman as it is even if pre dream's request was shitty of him to do. He started out driven by greed and was on a payroll just like Punz and STILL is driven by some sort of greed showcased by the fact he is starting a  bank so he can control the economy of the server. 

- Tommy didn't deserve the fucking exile him threatening Dream and burning 10 blocks of a house does not warrant an exile! Why is it when everyone else does it to him X10 (Dream with the disks and people constantly grifing him with no consequences) it's ok but the moment he does it back in the slightest he gets exiled???? Make it make sense.

- Tommy hasn't started nearly as much conflict as he's ended. Sapnap on the outer hand has started conflict after conflict and killed pet after pet time and time again and was never punished even once but people still blame everything on Tommy when he never even killed a pet and even ended that war by being the bigger person and making amends with Sapnap returning his pet back to him unharmed. Throughout that entire war killing a pet wasn’t even an option in Tommy’s head. He threatened Sapnap but never raised his hand against any of his pets. I don’t care if he has Karl and Quackity now he doesn’t have to lose them or surfer in order to learn from his mistakes improve and be a better person he needs to take accountability.

- Wilbur was kind of shit from the start and made children fight his wars. Wilbur shares a lot of similarities with Dream and is arguably just as bad as him but for different reasons and his cannon D&D aliment chart pretty much confirms it. He also probably  had a hero complex somewhere down the line. After he is resurrected he needs to take responsibility and own up for his mistakes even though I compare him to Dream in his actions I don’t think he deserves to be locked up like him since he didn’t want as much of a reach or tried to get as much of a reach like Dream did. Wilbur wanted power over L’manburg a small portion of the SMP while Dream wanted everything. 

- Niki & Jack have no actual good reason as to want to kill Tommy and are mostly looking for someone to take there anger out on and Tommy is the perfect target since he’s been villainized so much by Dream and is really to overlook his actions as selfish when not knowing what his end goal is. 

- Jack Manifold keeps on preaching about being in the right to want to take his anger out on a child for losing his items so many times saying that Tubbo will learn to move on eventually because everyone does because he moved on every time he lost his stuff. His stuff he can replace and grind back that held no sentimental attachment like the disks and can be replaced. People can’t be replaced. This makes him a hypocrite since he criticizes Tommy for fighting wars over stupid disks yet he himself is willing to kill for losing his armorer he can replace. When it really came down to it Tommy always choose people over the disks no matter what. And while I don't want to discredit what Jack has been through because there are people who have been through worse Tommy fundamentally can not understand why Jack would be upset with him since in his exile losing his armor and weapons was a daily occurrence for him (by force mind you if he didn’t compile Dream would hurt him) and since he’s lost so much more and never been upset with anyone to the point of wanting to kill them after everything everyone’s done to him. Even Dream. Tommy satiated he wanted to make it very clear that he thinks Dream doesn’t deserve death. Plus the fact that Jack has never brought it up to him before.

- Niki who can't find a proper coping mechanism is taking out her grief, pain and anger onto Tommy. Blaming him for all their problems believing that if they killed him there problems would go with him. Which simply is not true. She’s following in to Wilbur’s footsteps and even Tommy told Sam Nook that she gave off that sort of creepy vibe Wilbur used to have during Pogtopia.  She acts as if Tommy is the source of all her problems and I feel like she even participially blames him for Wilbur death and everything that happened with L’manburg. She believes  it'll make her feel better about everything and even burned down L'mantree which Wilbur wouldn’t have been proud of her for doing since he has said himself

right before the Pogtopia VS Manburg war: 

"You can't erase history just cuz you disagree with it." 

-  Wilbur-fucking-Soot while on his way to blow up the country yet still covering L'mantree in obsidian and wanting to protect it the only thing that was left untouched from original L'manburg and what they stood for eventually after there rough start of being propaganda that eventually turned into a symbole for something much more. Despite Its rough start L’manburg had potential and if it weren’t for Wilbur being power hungry and wanting to show off in the elections they could have just enjoyed the peace they fought so hard for. 

- They also compare him to/make him out to be worse then Dream which I find downright disgusting knowing what he did but even without knowing about everything Dream’s done to Tommy It’s still a huge stretch (but they are blaming him for every bad thing to ever happen on the server and ignore all the times he’s has been done right punished for making small mistakes or misunderstandings).

- And lastly Dream manipulating minors to the point of breaking them physically and mentally isn’t hot pull it together.

[wherearedreamgiver]

Season 2 of Euphoria Review. How would you write it?

There's a lot I got to say about season 2. It's almost been 2 months since season 2's season finale, the finale that left tears in my eyes. I have been contemplating rather or not I wanted to do a review video on season 2 on my youtube channel but...I feel like I'm kind of late and season 2 kind of left me shook. I'm going, to be honest, the Reddit of Euphoria, there were leaks and spoils every day and I saw some but I was still shook when I watched them in the show as if I never heard about what was gonna go down. Overall. the season was pretty okay but there was too much change, unanswered questions, missing plots, and poor writing. And before some of y'all, hardcore Euphoria fans come dragging me, I'm going to use my Uno reverse card too. I'm a hardcore Euphoria fan as well. I know how people in the Reddit of Euphoria can get when people have a totally different opinion, I mean what subreddit or fandom doesn't? Y'all can get scary. I just don't know how my sis, Tumblr is gonna get. This is all my opinion about Season 2. You're either gonna disagree or agree or be in the middle. I get it. Let's get started.

My Review-

Like I mentioned earlier, I thought the season was good but it didn't feel like Euphoria to me. I wish Sam kept it to where every character had an episode of their own. This post is not a post to shit on Sam's writing...sort of. I can't talk shit cuz my writing be all over the place at times too. But I just felt like this season was missing big things from season 1 and it showed so hard. You may have a different take on this but this is just my opinion. I personally felt like the Cassie and Nate story was so overdrawn that I wanted to see more than that. I got to the point, I was like "get off my screen." Sydney and Jacob did a really good job with their characters this season and every else too. The part where I got so irritated was when Cassie moved into Nate's house and she started hitting on Nate that was when I got so annoyed with Cassie, especially the scene in episode 2 where she runs out of Nate's car, like "Sis, did you want him to chase you because it turns you on?" I don't hate Cassie. I know she's just going through stuff but why get to the point of being with your best friend's ex? The funny thing is before I found out Nate and Cassie were gonna be a big plot of season 2. I watched this edit because I was thinking to myself "What if Nate and Cassie got together in season one?"

I wish I ain't ask that question, lol.

At the time, I was like they would make the most sense because they both deal with daddy issues then I saw the scene from season one where they're at the carnival. The one where McKay and Cassie is talking to Nate and Jacob. I noticed both Nate and Cassie passed some looks to each other. Cal said something about how he's trying to teach Mckay to keep a girl like Cassie and Nate laughed at her. And now they are in "loveeee".

I hate what they did with McKay season 2 but it made sense I would've left too after that incident with Nate's hot ass breath. Also, he was a college student but people have been saying he wasn't in season 2 because Algee didn't go with the vaccine requirements. Just rumors. I got dragged by the subreddit so hard because I still said I supported Algee and could understand if the rumors are true about why he didn't want the vaccine. I got my vaccine but I allowed myself to critically think. I'm not the type to get upset if peeps don't wanna were a mask, I'm not gonna go up to them and be like. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU NOT WEARING A DAMN MASK?" The subreddit was so rude to Algee like damn. But, I wish Mckay was still a part of season 2 but the way he was written in season one seems as if Sam didn't care much about his story. I think if Mckay had a big part in season 2, the season would've been so different. I hated how Mckay, allowed Nate to walk over him and get into his head. I also believe that McKay wasn't that great of a person either but not Nate level bad. I have always side-eyed Nate and McKay's friendship since the first season. I feel like if McKay had a huge part in season 2, Nate would've gotten hands part 2, I'm surprise he ain't join Fez.

What was the point of Travis if he was only gonna be in one episode? Well, he may have more of a plot in season 3. I honestly would've had more scenes with him and Maddy. I was hoping he was the one who was gonna tell Maddy that Cassie was the one in the bathtub at the party. I feel like Travis's purpose in the show was to show Maddy that she deserves someone better than Nate. That there are still guys out there who would love her for her. Maddy deserves better but let's not forget that she's done stuff too. Like lying about blacking out and saying that Tyler r-word her to Nate and lying about her age, twice. The same thing about Jules too. The thing about season 2, is it showed that all of these characters are not perfect, not even Lexi.

Fez and Lexi's love story is really cute. I'm proud of Lexi this season. She reminds me of myself when I was in high school. I'm still questioning about the whole Rexi (Rue and Lexi ship) but I'm 100% Fexi now, I mean I like their friend group they got going on.

The scene where Rue was yelling at Jules. Hit hard. I hated how people got so angry at Jules but I can understand why. Jules cheated on Rue. One thing I don't get is why people saying she cheated on her twice when she didn't. Unless I'm missing something. I feel like Rue was too dependent on Jules, I get it, she was in love with her. In season one she had the drugs, in season two she had both the drugs and was finally with the girl she loved but it didn't work out. I feel like in season 3, we will finally see a clean Rue and see a happy side to her but...Laurie. Laurie is probably gonna be a huge part of season 3, cuz there ain't no way she's gonna let Rue run away like that but Faye did mention Laurie in the last episode and that could prevent Laurie from getting to Rue. Faye our hero.

Lexi and Fez this season were so cute. I definitely feel like Faye was catching feelings or just noticing how cute he and Lexi were. She probably wished her boyfriend was as kind as Fez is to her and Lexi. She probably feels like she would want something like that.

I cried so hard at the end of the season finale. Poor Ashtray. I wish we got to know more about him as well. I wish he had said something to Fez before dying, that whole scene he was just so quiet. I feel like Lexi is going to visit Fez while he's in jail. There's probably gonna be a time jump season 3. That would be interesting. Maybe they will get the life they planned out if Fez gets off easy. Maybe a few years in jail and Lexi is waiting for him.

I don't like how Sam wrote Kat this season. It makes me wonder if the rumors were true and Barbie is just covering them up but I hope she and Sam didn't get into drama. Some parts of me think Sam was being petty with her character. I feel like Barbie should've done the ED storyline because it would've been interesting to see because most eating disorders storylines I've seen are about girls who are already skinny. I also feel like the way Kat broke up with Ethan was so stupid. It annoyed me so much. It literally made no sense. The way she was gaslighting Ethan, sickened me. But I think they were bound to break up anyway because she ain't love him the way he loved her. I feel like Kat was also a yes woman to Maddy, especially when she said she never trusted Cassie. So, Maddy must've been Cassie's only friend or Kat was just being fake.

I strongly believe that Nate didn't deserve a story of redemption after everything he did. I hope his little game is caught on. In the end, I still wanna scream Fuck Nate Jacobs.

Watching season 2, I felt like everything was crazy. I felt like it kind of became a whole entirely different show but I feel it was the change of camera and setup they used that changed it. When I watched Euphoria back in 2019, I enjoyed how different the show was, it was amazing. Season 2 was great too. I think the taking away of the glitter stuff, was part of the big change too. I didn't watch Euphoria just for the glitter, I watched it to enjoy it as a whole. I fell in love.

How would have written it?

Kat would've had a bigger storyline this season. Kat wouldn't have broken up with Ethan the way she did in the show. That ish pissed me off. She wouldn't be a yes man to Maddy either, especially after she stood up to Nate saying she had a mind of her own."

I would've filled in many more missing holes of season one that is missing from season 2.

Nate's ass would be in jail.

I would also focus on Jules more too. I would add more Nate and Jules scenes in there because we needed to see more of them in season 2; how was that affecting her this season? I feel like there wasn't enough connection. And no I don't ship them together.

What was the point of Travis if he was only gonna be in one episode? Well, he may have more of a plot in season 3. I honestly would've had more scenes with him and Maddy. I was hoping he was the one who was gonna tell Maddy that Cassie was the one in the bathtub at the party. I

would still keep Lexi's play in it.

McKay would still have a part in the season. Let's say Covid never happened and there weren't no Vaccine requirements.

I probably also have fewer nudity scenes.

How would you have written season 2?

thanks for reading :)

[bigskydreaming]

How about this? Dick tried to clean up the police, but unknowingly introduced a new (and much worse) form of corruption (Remember Amy offering to bury the murder charge that, while he was innocent, she didn't know that?) because, well, even a paragon of morality falls into the system.

Yeah, I mean.....I know? Conceptually nothing about Dick being a cop and a vigilante works IMO because the whole reason he’s a vigilante is because he has no faith in the morality of institutions and would rather put his faith in the morality of individuals. Something I’ve said a lot actually. That specific line. Cuz see even when vigilantes cross lines and do shit that’s amoral according to whomever’s standards, the thing is that vigilante is still operating as a sole individual without the backing of an entire system and institution which is what ALL cops have that they can lean on and enable them when covering shit up or crossing lines.

My apologies for being snippy if this ask was made in earnest but tbh I get a lot of attempts at ‘gotchas’ meant to show holes in opinions I have, and I did feel this came across as a gotcha about how even Dick and Amy are bad because they’re cops so if I truly believe ACAB then I’m saying that about them too and the thing is like....I mean, yes? That’s exactly what I mean and believe.

That’s the whole reason WHY I don’t engage with cop Dick content and heavily criticize it and always make changes in anything I write to make it so Dick was never a cop. Because it doesn’t work IMO. Like my whole thing about canon is like you SHOULD change it when and where you don’t like it, because I agree that’s the point of fanfic. I’m just always like....you should tho still be able to acknowledge WHEN you have made changes from canon and thus a character or narrative choice is of your own design, because that becomes immensely relevant the second anyone has any reason to go ‘huh this is different from canon and like go ahead and rock out with your most fanfic self, but it does make me wonder why they made such a significant change to the canon arc of the character.’ Because if that change makes the character come off significantly worse than in canon you can’t point to canon and blame it. Which is what most people still try and do and that and only that is the source of my gripe about ‘but canon didn’t say that tho.’

The above is my reason for making the change to never have Dick be a cop. I’m literally changing it BECAUSE I think it makes Dick better and addresses a major problem I have with a character. People are still free to write cop Dick but I’m always gonna say yeah I’m not interested in interacting directly with that content and here’s why. The same as I don’t blame people for not wanting to interact with abusive Bruce content, I just think they need to not constantly try to invalidate other peoples’ attempts to engage with that content for their own reasons.

(Please note the key word in all of the above is ‘interact.’)

But yeah again, sorry if this rant is not relevant to you at all, I just can only go off my own perceptions and this ask was worded in a way that makes me scrunchy eyebrowed. Shh those are real words. You can trust me, I’m a doctor. No I’m not. But whatever.

Either way, point is like....yeah I actually agree that even Amy and Dick fall under ACAB when cops. That’s like. Why I don’t want Dick ever being a cop, especially because he’s my fave and I’m thus biased.

But I mean yeah. I’m totally with the actual point of this ask. The thing is cops unlike vigilantes swear to uphold a universally applied code of law and justice created by others and not based on their own morality and vow not to let their own personal beliefs overshadow the laws they have sworn to uphold or let their personal connections or views of people make them selectively apply those laws differently with specific people.

But cops don’t actually hold to that vow to be impartial enforcers. And even if and when they do, that means they’re consenting to enforce even laws that are racist or homophobic or inherently oppressive to certain groups or individuals. This either or is a damned if you do damned if you don’t sort of situation imo that’s inherently built into the very framework of what it means to be a cop in inherently white supremacist or otherwise racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic and ableist societies where the laws are made by majorities and not minorities and are innately geared to be more protective of the lawmakers who make them from positions of power than of the people most likely to be oppressed or exploited by those in power. This trap is one no person can avoid falling into one side of or the other upon making the choice to be a cop.

Hence....ACAB. And why I vehemently dislike and disagree with cop Dick content and always will. It happened, sure. I just don’t like it and it’s not for me and here’s why. *shrugs*

[legends-live-in-memories]

I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin… 

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion, 

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing… 

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

 i don’t give a solid fuck. 

Not one. 

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically. 

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss. 

AND BOI is it a miss. 

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story, 

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

 77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because. 

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing. 

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time. 

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?