#i don't even have a problem with these movies being made just how the politicians keep on using them to further their own narratives

[sunshineindark]

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[yournewlodger]

I think the self-built criminal empire "drag yourself up by the bootstraps" ification of Oswald Cobblepot is indicative of a larger problem with Batman that refuses to address that hey, maybe billionaire politicians who hoard all the wealth with a refusal to relate to or in any way help the less fortunate, are bad maybe. Like of course the Penguin is a self-made criminal immigrant mob boss, because these days you can only be a Batman villain if you are 1.) Mentally Ill or 2.) An Immigrant. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with characters being immigrants. Before you say "how dare you piss on the poor" please understand I'm talking about intent when you see these characters always presented as villains.

And I'm all for reimagining characters for the modern lens, and I fully understand the inherent problematic nature of a character like The Penguin, and maybe I will be Bobo the Fool when The Penguin (the show) comes out, but I think reframing the Penguin as something out of The Godfather severely misses the point. Not only because never more have I wanted superhero media to critique billionaire criminal politicians running for public office (historically, the Penguin's whole bit), but because we don't need the Penguin to be something out of The Godfather. We have someone for that already. And clearly they know that. Because his name is Carmine Falcone.

I think that this notion that the only crime in Gotham City has to be drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, and domestic terrorism severely misunderstands the inherent whimsical nature of superheroes, and historically the Penguin. I mean we are circlejerking into infinity a self-hatred in superhero media. His name isn't even Oswald Cobblepot anymore. When's the last time the Penguin had an umbrella?

And here's the thing. I like Gotham (2014 - 2019). I do. But that universe at least understood that the Penguin is aesthetically ridiculous. Try as they may to present him as a threat, but he will always be a guy who calls himself Penguin.

I do think this problem started with Batman Returns. I'm not here explicitly to critique that version of the Penguin, but I do think it's where we began to lose the plot. Because once again the Penguin is presented as an underdog, a minority, an outcast. And again I ask you to think about intent when the Penguin is a villain and Batman is not. But that movie had Max Shreck to balance it out. What do we have now?

They are so, so allergic to presenting the rich as villains, because they'd be calling themselves out. Because calling the Penguin what he is, a cartoonish portrayal of a wealthy Gilded Age capitalist who preys on the less fortunate to further and further elevate his own wealth, doesn't align with their messaging, which is "billionaires are so awesome, and more importantly, infallible." The Penguin is meant to be an antithesis to Bruce Wayne, who is also generationally wealthy, but most importantly a philanthropist. Bruce Wayne is supposed to be someone who dedicates all he has to making Gotham City a better place, which also includes helping reform Gotham’s villains. But these days we see a man who more and more seems less like a hero, and more like a Penguin. Because if Bruce Wayne cared about Gotham City, really cared, beating every one of his villains to a pulp, just shy of his "no kill" quota, would be less of his focus. I mean how does a man with near unlimited resources allow institutions like Arkham Asylum to exist, let alone send his bad guys there?

And yeah, I know. The answer is the Batman mythos has turned it into The Good Place. His world is too complicated to do any real good. And yes, I know, it mirrors our world too. But why is it that the people who are pointing out that corruption, these We Live In A Society types, the villains? Why are they always the one presented as "insane" for pointing out what's right in front of them? And when's the last time Bruce Wayne did charity work, anyway? Tell me, who are we supposed to be rooting for in the end?

Anyway, the summary is this: The Penguin isn't a Capitalist anymore. The Penguin isn't even a Cobblepot anymore. Who is he? Because he isn't the Fine Feathered Fink I know. And we all know why. And personally, I'm sick of it.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

A general problem the MCU has is that while they may be good at bringing up potentially interesting and complex takes on real-world issues or things that could shake up the status quo, they're not good at commitment, and usually have the issues get solved in anticlimactic fashion, whether that be by the end of the same project they were introduced in, or have them get solved offscreen.

Like, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, they raise a legitimate issue through bringing up the topic of how immigrants and refugees are treated. Setting aside Karli falling into the same trap as Killmonger of "villains who suddenly kill a bunch of innocent people at random because they were raising too many legitimate points, and we need the audience to not root for the", the issue is resolved through Sam effectively giving a "Do better" speech to the politicians while the deportation issue is solved offscreen.

Setting aside that they come off more like a HYDRA manifesto, the Sokovia Accords could've been the foundation for a discussion about acceptable forms of oversight for superheroes. But it really just amounted to a plot device to allow the airport battle to happen, they're pretty much forgotten once Zemo enters the picture, they're mentioned a few times in Ant-Man and the Wasp and WandaVision, and then Matt Murdock's scenes in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law reveal that the Accords were repealed offscreen.

Secret Invasion seemed to be on track to deconstruct Fury's habit of using superpowered people to help him, by having it reveal that he basically exploited alien refugees. But he doesn't actually solve that issue by the end (in fact, when it comes to defeating Gravik, he exploits G'iah having superpowers and wanting to avenge her parents to utilize her as an assassin).

I very much agree with you.

The MCU likes to bring up certain points of discussion but they seem to believe that either the audience is too stupid to understand complex storylines or they just want something easy to digest that won't upset anybody (mostly the execs).

It comes to show that while in the past the superhero movies were all about celebrating the heroes and their "otherness", nowadays we get organizations like the TVA justified by the narrative, the governments are protected and the blame is deflected towards the heroes like Bucky, or a series that could have made a fantastic story regarding Fury, Shield and their shady missions turns out to say... absolutely nothing at all.

What they did to the Flagsmashers and Karli was so utterly disgusting that I can't even begin to say how mad it made me. Hell, Secret Invasion was dealing with refugees as well (the alien-kind but, still). So why not try to connect the two somehow? We had Nick speak to Talos about racism, much in the way Sam gets to mention some of it especially when he's with Isaiah, but nothing ever comes out of it. They're short lines that can be quoted in tweets and memes but they're pointless when it comes to the story being told in the series.

And maybe that's the problem, it would seem that's all Marvel wants. It's like their "queer rep". They want something quick, short, and ambiguous that won't bother anyone too much. Probably because they're one of those who think "both sides" are equally right and wrong and so they don't want to alienate anybody.

And one of the reasons I hate this is that when it really comes to it... does the existence of heroes really change anything in the MCU universe? When it comes to external threats they're essential, but with internal affairs? They always stop the immediate threat but everything else that made it happen is left as it is (the worst offender is CW, the Accords and that damn Raft. "Oh let me break my teammates out of here but watch as I do nothing to help the other inmates or anybody else that will be sent here in the future". WTF is that?!!).

[scoobydooisadetective]

Hi. I just wanted to ask if it's possible for you guys to post the English translation of the Spanish posts? Tumblr doesn't have the translation option like X or Facebook

Hi! I'm guessing you're speaking about this post. Sure, no problem. I think it's relevant for everyone to know how long he has been in these kind of situations. I'll try to do my best w/ translation and offer some context.

Luz said in her post:

"I don't have a Twitter, I consider it an intolerant and racist world, this is the social network where Tenoch has the most bots against him, he receives a lot of hate and they generate that hate. But yesterday in a group they sent this picture, it's a publication about a radio host saying Tenoch apologized to him for being a person "without education and without ethics" according to his words.

(In the tweet: I share with you the picture when #TenochHuerta apologized to me for behaving as an uneducated being, without ethics and as the chairo without words he has always been. If I had known, I would've charged $1,800...

Note: Chairo doesn't have a translation, but it's basically derogatory way to to describe an individual who holds a far-left ideology, specifically any person who thoughtlessly defends, idolizes, and fawns over a populist politician and demagogue with an attitude similar to that of a religious fanatic.)

I thought it was weird and I found a publication made by the director Alonso Ruizapalacios in 2015 where he explains what happened that day

(full text here: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02fkKp1ZGWvpcweaavk8e13ke4HQj2k616EPv75JrrExeEB49DUGPL7m31WJzGDqqil&id=1369494912&mibextid=Nif5oz)

"COMMERCIAL BREAK!

A few hours ago, me and Tenoch Huerta went to promote our movie GÜEROS at the radio show "Charros vs Gángsters", hosted by Jairo Calixto and some José Luis Guzmán "Miyagi" (I confess I didn't know about him until today).

Since we arrived at MVS Radio in Polanco, we saw patrols and riot policeman surrounding the radio station and preventing the production van from passing through. The driver suggested it was "because of that reporter that they are going to fire."

Despite this rarefied atmosphere, the inteview about the movie went like most interviews in radio and TV he (Tenoch) helped with in Mexico: wih cordiality, but with simple and unexciting (no preparation), but overall with the hysteria that characterizes a large amout of the communicators in our country - a kind of perpetual nervousness about not leaving even a moment of pause, to "fill the air" with whatever, with an incessant strident chatter that passes for irreverence and freshness. Despite that, we promoted our move without problem, between jokes about the Partido Verde and bestiality.

At the end of our interview, Tenoch took the floor and said: "Before we leave, I'd like to comment something in a personal capacity, I think it's necessary to have dialog to clarify the situation about the communicator Cármen Aristegui and her firing from this radio station." In that moment "Miyagi", who had not heard a single word about Güeros nor had he looked up from his iPad during our entire conversation, ordered: "Let's go on commercial break!" and it was obeyed immediately in the cabin. After a awkward painful silence, Tenoch and I realized we had finished. After a painfully awkward silence, Tenoch and I realized that we were done. We approached to say goodbye to our hosts, who barely shook our hands, without looking us in the eyes. But before leaving Miyagi told us: “We opened the microphones for something else, not so that you could continue with that…” To which Tenoch responded “We just want to know what is happening with Aristegui.” And nothing else was said.

We went out of the MVS with our heads spinning aournd, trying to understand what had just happened. And we still continue to not understand...

My interpretation: We're still trapped in this climate where communicators -even those who brag about being irreverent- fear (maybe justifiably) about their continuity in the enterprises that pay their salary. We're still living in a climate of very litte solidarity and a lot of intolerance.

Maybe "Miyagi" simply made a mistake and acted on impulse, a byproudct of the frustration from reading trolls against him since he didn't defend Cármen Aristegui. Or maybe the sushi upsetted his stomach... But what he did was censorship, it's indisputable. Turning your back on such a valid and relevant question and go on commercial break when things get awkward, in true Televisa style, was something surprising to witness live.

I don't have information to venture an absolute theory about all of this, nor to affirm that it is censorship that comes from above, or if it's rather self-censorship, a product of fear. But that there's something rotten in Denmark, I have no doubt.

While I appreciate the space that was opened to talk about our film, I deeply regret the continuation of this state of fear we live in.

I'm sorry that our communicators don't look at us in the eyes. I'm sorry there's no room for pauses. And I'm sorry there's no time to listen.

Context on who is this journalist and why this happened:

On 12 March 2015, two journalists from MVS, Daniel Lizárraga and Irving Huerta, were fired after they used the station's brand name without permission in a newly created website known as MexicoLeaks, which leaked reports on government corruption. Aristegui issued an ultimatum and threaten to quit if MVS did not reinstate her two staff members. Four days later, MVS fired Aristegui after considering that she had crossed the line for issuing an ultimatum to the MVS management.

My friend Tenoch says: My name is José Tenoch Huerta Mejía, mexican.

I love who I am, where I live and with who I live.

I don't like what's going on in my country, it's not the country I grew up in, nor the one I want to live in.

I don't understand a lot of things and as many more I'm scared about what we're living.

It hurts my soul to know that thousands are no longer hugging their families when their time had not yet come.

I wonder what's up, what can I do so everyone can be alright, the truth is I don't know but I decided to talk and ask.

I have nothing against any politician or people in power, I just want a different country.

I don't want one where we're all poor to be equals, but one where we're rich at heart, pockets and tummy to decide what to do with our time in this land.

Yersterday I asked something I needed to know, the mic was open and I asked.

Today, someone went to my house, intimidated me while hiding their face behind a brown scarf and a newspaper. They took photos of me, laughed mockingly at me and then disappeared into the hallways of the place where I live and have called home the last four years of my life.

What did I do wrong? Ask, say that I don't like any of this, thinking that we could have a better life, think?

A lot of people supports and helps me, but what about those that don't have the fortune to be visible?

I write this and I cry because I don't want to live like this, we don't deserve to live like this.

Mexico hurts my guts.

My little corner on land that gives me food and air to breath, that gives me a house and family.

I love my country, I love my people and even you, who doesn't understand we can live in a better way.

Thank you for your support, for being there and might our voices and hearts always sing.

We deserve something better.

Then, Luz adds:

What really happened was that exactly 8 years ago, in that booth, there was no freedom of speech, Tenoch tried to speak about a topic and was quickly cut off. Another account later shared that Tenoch had reported that he was being followed and photographed.

What I'm trying to say is that they have always hated him for telling them to their faces what he thinks about some topic and that makes them angry, they "can't stand it." Now that he is doing a little better, they are trying by all means to ruin his career. Tenoch himself has mentioned it in many interviews, and they have paid the media to destroy him.

I think we have to be careful, those media and haters are always aware of all the publications about him and if it is something controversial they can manipulate, they will do it, have no doubt about that, even if it is from years ago.

Do not react, do not comment or retweet, only report the publication if it has racist content. Never try to talk to them, it's not worth it. (Personal note: Please listen to this!! Especially twitter folks, since it might be counterproductive. By fighting them, you're offering them more interactions because that's how the algorithm works).

---

Hope this helped!

[duhragonball]

Were you aware of/do you have an opinion on the Dragonball theme park that is starting construction soon? On the one hand it seems like that Harry Potter theme park (which was a dumb idea, nobody serious cares about HP anymore), but Dragonball also isn't shitty, and Akria Toriyama didn't spend the last years of his life making sure everyone knew he was a transphobe (which J.K. Rowling is doing her best to do). Do you have a take?

I was not aware of any of this, so I don't think I have much to contribute to the conversation.

The article I just found was published only a few hours ago, so I guess this is a HOTTT scoop? Also, it looks like the thing is being built in Saudi Arabia, so I guess that's why this got announced in the middle of the night where I live. It's 3am here and I'm up early because I went to bed at 7pm and woke up around 1am.

Okay, so the Saudi connection is something I can talk about, because this sounds a lot like the same agenda that led to the WWE's infamous deal with Saudi Arabia. For those of you who aren't into pro wrestling, in 2018 WWE started putting on events in Jeddah and Riyadh. This has been controversial for several reasons, but the main sticking point is that the Saudi assassination of dissident journalist James Khashoggi took place in October 2018, a few weeks before WWE's second-ever Saudi show, Crown Jewel. The U.S. condemned the assassination, and politicians pressured WWE to call off the show, but the Kingdom paid a lot of money for the deal, and Vince McMahon only cares about himself, so they just went ahead and did the show anyway. There's other issues, but that one especially stuck in my craw, and it's why I canceled my WWE Network subscription and haven't watched their product ever since.

Basically, the Saudi government has been trying to revamp their economy to reduce dependence on the petroleum industry. The WWE deal is part of the "Saudi Vision 2030" project, which aims to increase the economic, social, and cultural diversification of the country by the end of this decade. Tourism is a big part of that plan, which is why they're paying big money for sporting events, live shows, and so on. Their plans also include a lot of political and social reforms, but this feels like an afterthought, especially to a lot of critics. For example, they announced a "Red Sea Film Festival" in 2019, but in order to put on such an event, they first had to lift a 35-year moratorium on building new movie theaters. They started allowing women to enter the King Fahd International Stadium for the first time, but that's probably just because they really wanted a packed house for these shows and concerts they're putting on.

The whole thing smacks of propaganda designed to distract the public from KSA's lousy record on human rights. When WWE was promoting their first Jeddah show, they ran a lot of video packages about Saudi Vision 2030 and talked up how cool it was that the country was seeking to modernize. Meanwhile, a lot of their roster couldn't even go to these shows for various reasons. Sami Zayn's a Syrian by descent, Noam Dar is an Israeli, and Montel Vontavious Porter is a former Muslim, so he might get executed for apostasy if he entered the country. The women's roster was a whole other thing. I think they were just left at home for the first couple of shows, and then they gradually started allowing more women to participate. And all those slick Saudi Vision video packages looked pretty hollow when James Khashoggi got murdered.

My take has been that KSA is just throwing money at their problems and trying to distract their critics. Saudi Arabia is practically synonymous with oil, and that's what made the country rich. I watched a video on this a while back, and if I remember right, they discovered oil in the 1930s and wanted to avoid getting exploited by the British and French, so they partnered with the United States. That prosperous relationship allowed Saudi Arabia to become a regional power and basically have things their way. The human rights problems were allowed to persist because they knew the U.S. would always back them up to protect their oil interests.

But over the last fifty years or so, U.S. dependence on Saudi oil has declined. See, it's not that Saudi Arabia has more crude oil than other countries. What made it so important in the petroleum industry is that Saudi crude is much easier to refine than other sources. So Saudi refineries can produce more fuel in a short span of time, which gave them a lot of leverage in that sector. But there's been a big push in the U.S. to seek out and refine more crude oil domestically, and that's cut into Saudi Arabia's prestige. Now, when rival powers like Iran start bothering Saudi Arabia, the U.S. isn't as quick to offer support, and that's why KSA is trying to figure out how to adapt to the changing times.

To be blunt, I don't know how the hell a Dragon Ball theme park helps solve any of this. If the oil revenue is on the decline, then it makes sense for a country to invest in other industries while the coffers are fuil, but now Saudi Arabia has to backtrack a lot of their draconian laws and authoritative policies to improve their public image. And they need to do it quickly, but not so quickly as to upset the conservative elements in the country.

Like, all right, let's say they open this park, and they really want people to fly in from all over the world. I know a lot of women in the Dragon Ball fandom. What kind of restrictions would they have to deal with in the park? Is there a stringent dress code? They made a big deal out of the historic first-ever women's match at one of those Crown Jewel shows, but the wrestlers had to wear black unitards under their usual ring gear. So they eased up on some rules, but you watch the show and you can tell there's still some rules in place.

I've met a lot of LBGTQ+ people in this fandom. Can they go to the Saudi Dragon Ball theme park? Can a same-sex couple hold hands as they wait in line to ride the Ginyu Force Log Flume? And I'm sure there's a guy at the General Entertainment Authority office who would assure me that it's all good, nothing to worry about, everyone is welcome, please come to the theme park and spend lots of money. But once you get there? Remember, James Khashoggi was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, and he walked into that consulate assured that everything would be cool, and then it wasn't.

You mentioned the Harry Potter theme park, and yeah, that whole franchise is a PR hot mess, but at least I don't have to ask these kinds of questions about who can go to the park without getting detained. That's the public relations mess Saudi Arabia has to clean up. At least with Harry Potter, they just have to distract people from one hateful, cranky billionaire. For most casual fans, "J.K. Rowling" is a name they barely notice in the credits. But Saudi Arabia's issues are baked into the government, laws, and history of the whole country. Reform is possible, but it isn't as simple as the propaganda makes it sound. There's a lot of damage that needs to be repaired.

I'm sorry, I kind of turned this into a rambling essay about Saudi Arabia's pivot to tourism, but for me that's the main issue here. The park might get completed and it may even do big business, but I don't think there's a lot of transparency with these projects. From what I've heard, the WWE shows in Jeddah and Riyadh don't actually make a lot of money. Much of the live crowd attends for free just to make the shows look more popular than they are, and WWE only plays along because they're getting paid handsomely for the effort. It just comes across like the country is spending lots of money to imitate a tourist destination without actually becoming one. So the Dragon Ball park looks like it's also going to be a means to an end. Someone in charge liked the idea enough to push it through, but that doesn't translate into success.

Oh, wait, I just realized: What if the park opens, then fails, and it gets abandoned? I really don't have any interest in theme parks, but abandoned theme parks kick ass. Imagine Dogpatch U.S.A, except it's Dragon Ball themed. That would be amazing. I hope I live long enough to see photos of it when it gets all old and decrepit.

[steviesbicrisis]

"if we don't like it, we make it gay" that isn't the point, though. so many other people have said this more eloquently than i can, but you can't claim "death to the author" when the author is alive and actively lobbying for the genocide of trans people in the uk and influencing (and funding, iirc) republican politicians in the states to do the same thing. if you say "fuck terfs" but then continue to engage with the franchise and ignore the multitudes of jewish and lgbt+ people telling you the reasons why you shouldn't, the reasons why this franchise is literally killing us, your trans and jewish friends/followers are going to be cautious of you. *i'm* cautious of you, now. you're not only supporting a terf by giving her engagement, but jkr is a fascist. i can't assume your response to this, and this isn't sent out of malice, but i hope you can ask yourself if a book series and nostalgia are more important than the real people being affected by the political career of its creator.

I'm going to answer this as best as possible, but please be mindful that English isn't my first language, so I might not be as eloquent or exhaustive as I could've been in my native language.

Leaving this premise aside, I say this with no malice nor desire to sound bitter/defensive: please take a step back and stop assuming stuff about me.

I don't even know where half of the things you said come from, I genuinely thought you sent this ask to the wrong person until I read the "fuck terfs" part.

"continue to engage with the franchise" how am I doing this? I have 1 word associated with it, that's it. Do you see me promoting the books or the movies? do I reblog stuff about the franchise? Do I go around showing anything related to this? I've stopped giving money to that author the moment I found out what she stands for. I have one post related to the franchise before I knew how big of a deal it was to make fan-related content (I thought it was okay to still go on with stuff she doesn't get money from), which I decided to not continue writing it the moment I understood it might've been hurtful to someone.

You also assume I don't listen to fellow friends/followers. The thing is, you don't know me, this is Tumblr, I do not show everything about me in my blog. I have lgbtq sources I go to inform myself on how to approach topics that interest the community but not me personally because I wanna be supportive. You also have to understand that I get my information mainly from Italian resources and the approach on the topic might be different. This is not me speaking for the Italian trans community, obviously, but they seem to not really care if you engage with fanmade content, while I see in the "internet world" trans creators who don't accept fanmade as well and some do. I simply don't know where I stand but in the meantime, I'm not engaging even with fanmade stuff just to be safe.

All of this to say, I have no problem admitting that I don't know what I should do about fan-made related content because I tried to understand but with the mixed up opinions I simply don't know. Me not knowing translates to me engaging with any content until I understand better.

I'm trying really hard to not see malice in your words to be honest, since you've been assuming so much stuff about me. Everything else you touched upon it doesn't apply to me (like having nostalgia about the books, I never once said anything like that).

All of this being said, I am sorry to know that people are cautious about me. I hope you can understand that this blog is supposed to be a happy place to talk about Stranger Things and have a nice break from chaotic everyday life and I'm really saddened to know that it isn't as lighthearted as I thought.

To the people who were disappointed/had hard feelings after reading my bio, I am sorry. I mean it, I would never write something anywhere with the intention of hurting everyone.

To anyone who reads this, I hope you don't see me in a bad light after what this anon wrote and my response, I'm trying to handle this situation the best I can and be mindful of everyone's feelings. I am far from perfect but I am trying.

(I'm leaving the bio as it is if people wanna check it out after reading this but I'm going to change it after a little while.)

[phoenixlionme]

If you disagree with me, fine. But do not insult me in any shape or form. You want your opinions respected, then respect mine.

I wanted to give my personal two cents on both sides of the argument regarding the whole "woke" media. Personally, I feel both sides take it too far. And below I will give my reasons. But first I want to educate that the term "woke" was coined by the Black community to have other people in said community be aware of social injustices; it was supposed to be about vigilance. And somehow it got turned into an insult (mainly by the more conservative groups, even politicians), with many not being able to define it and thinking it's the end of all humanity. Look, humans have more important and urgent things to deal with than stupid culture wars and it be nice if said politicians got that but they don't. And that's the end of that, now I will begin my thoughts.

Anti: Just because something has diversity in it doesn't mean it's "woke". And (like I stated in the above paragraph) I don't think you can even honestly define it. Most people in these groups take things out of context in some moments to make your point. And I strongly believe that it's just performative outrage meant to get clicks so you can get money. You get bent out of shape if you see very brief political stuff (i.e., BLM) if that said stuff is opposite to your liking. You claim not to be bigoted but your content is mainly dragging down or outage porn over women, minorities, and the LGBT. You call the other side sensitive but look at your actions. Not to mention, you cherrypick any shows/movies that did fail with this "woke" content in order to provide "evidence". Getting some type of sick glee at watching it fail. You make some valid critiques over the problems with race bending and gender swapping but proceed to attack the creators and actors for essentially a fictional piece of work. Also, quit being an asshole to someone who genuinely states how seeing someone on screen who looks like them made them feel seen; it's not about them saying they relate to someone only because of surface level feature. It's about seeing someone who is like them in some way (race, sexuality, gender, etc.) who isn't made into a joke, criminal, sacrificial lamb, or diversity checklist. They are happy to see someone who looks like them in a role that they often don't see them in, and are written with respect and nuance. You don't get it, fine but don't be an asshole.

Pro: Diversity can't be the ONLY reason to watch a show and/or movie. There has to be good storytelling, characterization, plot, pacing, etc. to draw the audience in. Also, raceswaps and genderbends are (in my opinion) not great diversity examples. While I won't mind a few selections it's mainly for the former and still very limited. People of underrepresented groups should get original stories. And while it's okay to discuss social injustices in the work, you gotta do your research on it and not just hearsay from Twitter. You have to be careful and thorough thought into these moments and let it happen organically. And bragging to audiences about how inclusive you are makes you look performative especially when you start canceling actual good shows with great diversity. Also if you want to empower certain groups then given them actual stories from a variety of genres where they are fleshed out and given a personality. If they just show up mention their sexuality, race, and/or gender in some way with nothing else about them as a character it comes across as pandering.

Middle: Diversity and good stories EXIST. The Owl House, Arcane, Carmen Sandiego 2019, The Old Guard, Disney's original Mulan, Black Panther, ATLA/TLOK, Never Have I Ever,Everything Everywhere All At Once, Power Rangers, Steven Universe, The Dragon Prince, Star Trek, Harley Quinn TV series, Into the Spiderverse, Craig of the Creek, Dead End Paranormal Park, Brooklyn 99, Love Simon/Love Victor, Amphibia, Captain Planet, Dreamwork's She-Ra, Fullmetal Alchemsist, Paper Girls, Moana, DuckTales 2017, etc. They aren't mutually exclusive.

To summarize: Good storytelling can have diverse casts, people from underrepresented groups should get original stories instead of rehashed movies/series, fans are free to critique artwork and can offer valid criticisms but there are some "fans" who will behind the term "woke" to hide how they genuinely don't like a story simply because of their own bigotry (and might be profiting off of outrage porn). Everyone's entitled to their opinion but no entitled to be bullying, mean-spirited assholes.

[fantasyinvader]

...I just want to do this.

I'm watching a video by Illuminaughtii on how we need to stop romanticizing serial killers, mostly based on the movies pushed out by Netflix.It honestly reminds me a lot of the issues with Gundam IBO and, by extension, the Fodlan games.

The problem with IBO is it's direction. If we go by interviews, the director always intended for the protagonists to end up digging their own grave. It was a show with villain protagonists, though the producers dictated that it had to appears as close to "good vs. evil" as it could. The director's solution to this was to make it so the audience wouldn't question the protagonists, wouldn't think they were wrong or misguided.

In short the anime empathized with it's villain protagonists, made the audience understand why they were doing the things they were doing and trying to make them seem like they were the good guys.

In execution this means as Tekkadan recruits more and more children into their ranks, it's framed as a good thing while the show is basically listing all the push factors for child soldier recruitment. That we are meant to go along with their belief that they need to complete any mission they are hired to do no matter what the cost, and that crushing their opponents is the way to go. The AV system, something Tekkadan uses extensively, is treated as simply being taboo while out-of-universe sources state it's completely illegal while Tekkadan's enemies are meant to be demonized for using illegal weapons. That we the audience should want to avenge a guy who took runaway girls, employed them in his smuggling operations, made them part of the mafia, called them his "daughters" while they compared their situation to being in a woman's shelter," slept with them saying they came to him including the girls he's known from a young age, got them pregnant, then would put their babies on his ships while they smuggle and fight off pirates, and did all of this to hook up with the woman he "loves." That Tekkadan put a corrupt politician into office during the first season or that Kudelia's character arc involves her abandoning her former ideals and ending up as a pawn of the mafia is meant to be seen as good.

To the show's credit, it seems to have a message of "don't blindly follow along, question your leaders" and at points will drop lines that are meant to call things into question. That you, the audience, need to stop going along with that information and process what is being said. But that's not what people took away.

You have people saying Tekkadan fought for Martian independence, yet in the show they joined McGillis in order to be kings of Mars. That they fought to make sure there would be no more child soldiers like them, yet they recruited hundreds of kids according to numbers given by staff and had no problem killing child soldiers the other side used. They want to spin the ending as Tekkadan being the winners, and any nasty things they did was okay because the other side wasn't humanized enough.

God, I'm getting flashbacks of people supporting Flit "Grandpa Genocide" Asuno from Gundam AGE with that last one.

And of course, you have the people demanding a sequel where Tekkadan are avenged...even having the MC's son do it. That people say IBO is pro-war. Considering G-Witch features the MC being used by her mom for revenge, and using an illegal mobile suit and labeled a witch (due to the witch hunt for people involved with Gundams. Fun fact: the creators have said people are hunting Tekkadan survivors down to bring them to justice) it feels like Gundam is tackling what IBO accidentally said by proxy.

We see a lot of these same issues pop up in the Fodlan games. That we are meant to emphasize with Edelgard no matter what route we play. That we should feel bad about fighting her and for her. You know, instead of feeling bad for HER GODDAMN VICTIMS! And of course, you have people trying to make any good change after the game be directly because of her and for her to be the "real" good guy rather than the villain (possibly protagonist) she was meant to be.

Here's hoping G-Witch continues to be good, and that Engage doesn't try this shit again.

[bobbyfiend]

People don't "deserve" things, but it's not because they don't deserve them

I guess I'm an existentialist, now. It's been a decade or two coming, but here I am. I find the basic premises of existentialism convincing, especially this really big one:

Nothing has meaning in and of itself. Thinking beings create meaning.

A beautiful waterfall isn't inherently beautiful, even though we say it that way; we find it beautiful (note: maybe not everyone does). People are not inherently good, bad, etc.; these are evaluations given to them by other people. Humans make meaning, we don't discover meaning that was already there. Because it wasn't.

This doesn't mean life is a bleak, meaningless experience[1], because we make meaning. That's what humans do. When we say "America is great" or "You are an amazing teacher" or "Room With a View is the best Merchant Ivory movie," we are expressing a meaning we make and experience. We can try to persuade others to adopt our meanings, and we can be persuaded by them to adopt theirs. This is how we get things like "justice" and "freedom" and "taxation without representation." The discussion of meanings is critical to creating a life worth living, and it never ends (welcome to the dialectic).

The hard part

When someone says, "Every human deserves [x]" (x = love, freedom, compassion, water, healthcare, safety, etc.), that is a logical problem for me, because of the stuff above.

Before anyone yells (not that anyone will read this, but just in case), please understand first that I fully agree with the end goal of those statements: we should be making sure people have access to those things. I'm not arguing with that view, I'm talking about how to understand it in a consistent way.

People don't have inherent meanings any more than rocks, nations, or political parties do. We give them the meanings. Beyonce is an amazing artist, Trump is a garbage fire disguised as a politician ... these are meanings we assign to others, or that emerge from meanings we assign to behaviors, identities, etc.

Saying a human deserves something packs a lot of meaning into that person. I don't think it makes sense to do that, so I [2] need a different way to think of this stuff--a way that respects the principle that meaning is created, not discovered.

I'm not 100% sure how to construe or talk about this, so internally I say things like "I believe, because of meanings I made or accept about humans and a bunch of other stuff, that I need to work toward humans having access to the things I consider human rights"[3]. I think making humans safe, happy, loved, healthy, etc. is a good thing, and that the human race will be better off the more we do this, so I'll try to convince others to do it. Underneath that idea are some more beliefs like "I believe making humans happy is a valuable thing to do," "I believe trying to convince others of this point of view is a valid activity," and "I believe I cannot be who I want to be unless I strive for this."

Again, I don't know quite how to say all this without saying humans "deserve" something. Here are some stabs at it, none of which really satisfy me.

"The more people working toward [x], the greater overall happiness will be, which means our world is better."

"People will be both individually and collectively happier if we work toward the happiness of others, such as by providing [x]."

"Your rationale for not striving to provide [x] to all humans regardless of identity or context is much less convincing than the rationale for providing it."

In the end, I don't think it's too important to convince others to drop the "all people deserve [x]" language, because I generally 100% agree with the push to provide [x]. We're working toward the same goals. The "deserve" frame also probably appeals to a lot more people than my kludgy attempts to express this without "deserving" in it.

Anyway, I haven't worked out quite how to conceptualize or talk about this, yet, despite being (currently) convinced that "deserving" is not it. My internal dialectic is ongoing.

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

[1] Maybe that's nihilism?

[2] I don't expect everyone to need this; maybe it's just me, and that's okay.

[3] Human rights aren't the same (at least from some perspectives) as humans "deserving" things; human rights can be seen as legal or moral statements about what a bunch of humans need to be doing, without saying that it's because other humans have inherent meanings that nobody made.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Finally got around to watching the villain therapy video about Anakin Skywalker on YouTube. Brought so many feels. It made me think of so much.

The point that stood out to me the most was when the film guy (Alan) said he related to Anakin because of his issues and how his wife loved and helped him.

A lot of posts I see about Padme say that she was stupid for staying with Anakin. She deserved him choking her since she married him despite him killing the Tuskens. How she was a horrible role model and bad female representation for just being Anakin's wife. She should have married a straight-laced guy like Obi-Wan (which the men in the video joke about, ugh).

I have some issues with Padme. She can be disregarding of Anakin's problems. Also I don't think she should have married Anakin so quickly. Maybe after a year to give Anakin more time to mature. I see their relationship like a college student marrying a career woman. It's legal but...just no.

But this video made me realize how strong she was. Instead of running away and demonizing Anakin, she stays and gives him a shoulder to cry on. Tells him his feelings make him human. Even after he choked her, she still saw the good in him. Who knows what could have happened if Obi-Wan did not enter the scene on Mustafar and Padme had more time to talk Anakin down. Not advocating for domestic abuse here, but the Anakin who choked her was not her husband. He was obviously off his rocker. It's possible that she would have separated from or divorced him if the empire was stopped successfully. But that does not stop her from caring. It's possible their marriage could have continued with extensive therapy and reconciliation given the circumstances. Few women have that inner strength. I don't know if I could be that person.

It makes me think of the movie "A Beautiful Mind". Alicia Nash stays by her husband despite the disappointments. Without her, Nash would not have the support to accomplish what he did. She eventually got to enjoy his successes after his come back.

I do not think people appreciate Padme being a wife and mother as much as a politician which I think is sad. The people who think these things about Padme represent how people no longer value commitment. As soon as their partner loses his job, becomes ill or have other calamity befall him, they run for the hills. I want a partner like Padme if I get married. Someone who will be loyal to me and someone I can be loyal to.

Star Wars fans seem to love Han/Leia a lot. Honestly, I find their relationship boring. I can appreciate it and Han's development. But I don't see it as anything special. Plus Leia kissing Luke to spite Han was disgusting IMO, even if Luke was not her twin. Also, Han advancing on her despite her refusal is not good. But the cool guy gets the girl at the end. Whatever. I find it hard to find another couple like Anakin/Padme in media though. It challenges my bias towards women dating younger men. Also, it gives me some more realistic perspectives on how awkward romance can be. Whenever I watch movies or TV, the guy knows all the right things to say most of the time. Which is not very authentic and makes the romance feel fake. Despite cringey scenes, this couple really pulls my heartstrings.

The bible has many verses about good wives that even non-Christians can appreciate. I hope I can improve myself to be a good wife like this: Proverbs 12:4 – “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones.”

[thestrangestriddle]

Spoilers and thots on Grindeldore: The Movie

Beware, unfiltered spoiler content ahead, opinions, and whatnot all over the place

I should be prefacing this with the fact that the only proper horse I have in this race is the backstory of Albus and Gellert as individuals and as a collective.

As far as that went, my needs were pretty much met. Mads's and Jude's chemistry was very good, you got an actual palpable feeling between them that there is (!) a great love between them. Even without dialogue and just their expressions it's very obvious. They solved the Blood Pact in a way that made sense despite being a bit... eh at first, but sometimes the easiest way from A to B is a straight line.

I personally dont like any statements of "[insert actor] is [insert character]" bc it ends up hinging on the actor being the only one to be able to portray the character instead of it being "only" a portrayal. All things considered though, Mads was a phenomenal Grindelwald. His Gellert is a crowdpleaser who loves the audience as much as the audience loves him. He has the mischievous air of being permanently amused but also with a sense of humour that might be a little too sharp for someone. He also is a predator on the prowl, ready to lash out at any moment. Just like he went nuts with throwing lightnings at Newt and then destroying Paris on a whim, he's still quite impulsive when things don't go his way.

We get a man who is entertaining, charismatic, cunning, resourceful, and capable of being very cruel. It's beautiful to witness.

So no surprise at my highlights being any scenes with Albus and/or Gellert.

Other than that, the general problem of the movie is that it tries to be too many things at once: it tries being a political thriller, it wants to be a heist movie, it has a load of characters and at the end... it is quite messy and besides our two leaders, Jacob, and arguably Newt, they... just kinda float in the ether, barely with any meat on their bones.

I liked Theseus more than in the previous movie. Lally was cool but underutilised. Queenie's storyline was predictable but in a way that annoyed me. I could've done without Bunty, thank you very much. They tried to maintain some tension with Yusuf but of course but it fell incredibly flat and I have a hard time believing that Grindelwald ever fell for it. Grindelwald's Alliance is made up of non-characters and Vinda Rosier, and its newest addition of Anton Vogel as a corrupt politician... was too slippery a character to even make sense in his treacherous ways.

After three and a half years of radically rejecting the whole "Credence is a Dumbledore" nonsense, I found myself... accepting it. Maybe because I liked Credence more in this movie and after all these years. We still don't know how exactly he was able to communicate with Aberforth but I can tolerate that, it is what it is.

Speaking of Aberforth, I have a similar feeling to the retcon ‐ it is a retcon of him and Albus being estranged, not to mention the whole teenage father business (which... idk, I always imagined he was extremely dedicated to taking care of Ariana but Oh Well), but one where I can shrug and go "fine, I can take it or leave it".

This might be the first time the titular Fantastic Beast actually was a part of the plot in a way that didn't feel forced. I'm gonna be frank and say that the concept of "Wizard Steve Irvin and his critters" has not once tickled my interest (cue me only caring about Gay Wizards And Their Lovers To Enemies Story), so to weave it together in this way was the best possible way for me.

I still 100% believe that the movies should've focused on Dumbledore VS Grindelwald from the beginning on instead of what we got, but I'm very much in the minority. They wanted something with kid appeal and critters give that, even if these films very much don't feel like kids' movies.

TLDR; it gave me I needed wrt my niche but also there was a whole lot that couldve been done much better. If the movie was literally only about Albus and Gellert, i'd be happy as a clam.

[plsbyallmeans]

For the love of God, Please Look up - A Don't Look Up Movie Comment (4/5)

There's so much hype about this movie from the social media promotion to the stellar casting. Who wouldn't be intrigued to check this out when they have Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, among others in their belt?

I usually have a problem with too many big-time celebrities in a movie because in my experience, big time celebrities in a movie have their own arcs, and having a number of A-listers in this movie made me wary if they will compress the story to give each artist their own story line.

In the film they didn't have to give each celebrity's character their own arc but enough to give us an idea about who they are and how their characters would end. But the main focus of this movie is on Leonardo Dicaprio and Jennifer Lawrence's characters. The other A-list celebrities play secondary.

There are two things that I love about this movie:

1.) Comedy reflecting the current events - It mirrors what's currently happening. The movie did that by exaggerating an event (in this case - a comet hitting the earth) and they showed how the media and politics would react to it. Initially, I find it comical how the two subjects reacted, thus I thought it falls under comedy. However, vis-a-vis that to reality, it makes me think how relevant it is today even though how comical it seems. Even the characters and the role they play are somewhat reflective of the kind of politicians and influential media personalities we have.

I couldn't help but wonder, would they react the same way when a comet is reported to hit the earth?

I also appreciate that they highlight how women are being treated vs men here. They showed it by how Jennifer's character got treated. She didn't get much credit and isn't celebrated when in fact her character discovered it first.

There's really a lot of element in this movie that reflects what's happening today, I don't want to mention them one by one but there's also a depiction of: corruption, cheating, social media, etc., they are brutal in showing this in the movie that you'll hardly miss them they just made it comical but it sends the message across - and as an audience I received it clearly. The movie didn't have space for ambiguities. It's very straight to the point.

2.) The ending - It's horrifying but I particularly love how the ending was shot and how meaningful it is. I found myself almost fighting back the tears. I imagined if that's happening: They are seconds away from dying - the table is shaking and they know that any moment they will be gone. Leonardo Dicaprio says, "thing is... we really...we really have everything, didn't we?"

That made me think, when we are in brink of annihilation what really matters? How could we show the people we love that we truly love them? How can we hold on to them?

I felt a sense of hopelessness and frustration that things could have been resolved if only they have a functioning government and a media that doesn't sugarcoat/manipulate the event.

In the end, I couldn't help but reflect after. This isn't just any comedy but it could possibly happen (it has a slogan on its poster that says: based on a truly possible event) and we could really die under the hands of idiots.

I think this and Children Of Men are the kind of movies that makes you think of what future we really have and how closer we are in a dystopian world regardless of how exaggerated and comical it seems.

Have Letterboxd? Let's follow each other!

[depizan]

Actually, my problem with the villain's line from the trailer for the thing that I won't name, since it is now impossible to talk about things without Tumblr putting them in tags is twofold.

One, as mentioned, it dovetails too much with the hyper cynical reimagining of the galaxy that Disney!Wars is. Again, yes, villain. But it's a plan that only works if they're mostly right. If other people aren't fighting back or helping people or anything. And, in Disney!Wars, that's plausible. They retconned (yeah, it's in a squidgy area of canonicity, but they've made loads of Legends stuff canon, and stole other parts of his Legends background) why Han saved Chewie, which diminishes him as a character and makes Chewie teaming up with him long term seem weird. (I cannot at present remember whether the life debt is still canon. If it is... I have words. They aren't nice words.) But, again, they also don't grasp friendship, considering what they did with Han and Lando. And they couldn't see Han outside of a flanderized version of who he was when we met him in the first movie. Which also seems cynical, since it negates character growth.

Nothing from the final movie of the original trilogy stuck meaningfully. From the ludicrous returning villain (I pity the actor having to say that line. It looked like it hurt.), to the government being ineffectual and shitty even before somehow the capital being destroyed ended it. (And any resistance. Again, hyper cynical. I hate to point at the real world, but, um, I think there's some proof happening right now that normal people will fight back when their country is threatened. Even by a more powerful country.) There's stuff from the Aftermath trilogy that's also really deeply cynical, and kind of turns it all into a matter of sports teams, since what you do doesn't matter, only who you do it for. And the whole weird thing of the galaxy turning on Leia (and only Leia, not Luke?) because of who her father was. Not impossible, no, but, again, deeply cynical. Who you are won't matter, only who your father was. Implications that Leia was wrong to try to be a politician and a mother when Legends had her succeed at both admirably. Everyone being rendered ineffectual regarding the whole influenced through the force to evil thing.

Time and time again, they've gone with the most cynical interpretations of the world and characters. This doesn't give me a lot of hope that, just this once, the villain's cynical take is wrong. (Though other beard guy did look like maybe he was thinking about doing something? (Side note, please make sure your actors look, dress, and are styled very differently. Some of us are bad at faces.))

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, the Jedi have never actually been portrayed as caring about other people in the way that the villain wants to exploit. Slavery, eh, not important. Unless you're the chosen one. Galaxy went to shit? Better hide in a swamp for decades. Or, to go with something specifically Disney!Wars: galaxy went to shit? Better be a drunken loser for a decade or so and run if I start having human emotions like caring. (Human emotions like horny, though, that's cool.) Fuck, I don't know how many times in the longer animated show Jedi are explicitly not supposed to or reluctant to help people. Their own. Clones. Other people. Other people's relatives. Meh. Force said it's their time to go.

I mean, yes, it would be nice if we actually got to see Jedi doing good for once. But the framing is terrible.

And, yes, maybe I'm being overly cynical about their cynicism (and the Jedi, as shown, not told). I'm just frustrated. And they keep teasing at things I might like and then fucking them up. The sequels. Rebels. The Mandalorian Remember This Guy? Show. (Which, I understand also happened to the next show.) On the one hand, I want to watch a show about people doing good and trying to avoid an evil empire. On the other hand, I suspect it will actually be the "oh no we have to let bad thing happen for the greater good, which gives me a sad" show.

Or I'm just a pillar of salt, partially because of fiction, and partially because of *waves hands at the world* all that.

[the-writer-reem-shadili]

#Guardians of the temple Ankhritos

or

Cursed Book of Temple Keepers #

( a novel )

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍

By Reem Shadili

Translated to english

part One ( 1 )

✍✍✍✍

"The Cursed Book", that might sound like a proper title for a movie, right??

Starring as James Bond

Fida in all international cinema halls.

But hey!!

Does the hidden government allow this??!!

Does the one-eyed antichrist allow this??!!

I don't think so at all, it's impossible!!

Because this book is one of the most dangerous cursed books on the face of the earth, which caused wars and bloody epics for kings who suffered from horrific endings, including revolting and chilling, and princesses and princes from royal families whose end was tragic because of this cursed book that, if it entered a land, a city, or a palace, but made Whoever in it is like the dead, and the ghosts of demons play and plunder during the day and howl at night, and lie in bed with the great people, having sex with ease and giving birth to the young demons who will rule the world later, after their blood is mixed with the blood of royal humankind.

It is a book that makes everyone who reads it crazy and unbalanced, making everyone who reads or touches it wish for death.

Because it is the gateway of demons to the human world,

Therefore, reader, do not be alarmed by what you will read in this novel, for the truth is more difficult to say once or to believe a single sentence, not only now, but as it has been throughout the ages.

The truth will not be seen in its entirety, because not all minds comprehend the events and observations going on around them.

And not all souls can stand the truth that is stripped of all artificial paint or colors with the taste of sugar and vanilla.

In this talk, you will know many things that you are not aware of... but let me tell you something very important...

I'm just telling you the truth,

And because the truth is absent from you, I will tell you in parts, piece by piece.

And because your small mind may not comprehend these great things.

So focus on me well, from now on you will only hear my rough voice in your big ears.

Where do you want to start?!

Shall we start centuries ago?

Or do we start from the terrifying palace (Satan Caesus)??

Or do we start with the era of the pharaohs??!

Or from the time of "George Washington"??!!

Or do we start with the church in which “George Bush” learned and how he came to see God in his dreams, and how he used to give him orders to conquer the world??!!

Or do we start with the bohemian jungle??!!

Or from the time of the Soviets??!!

Or from the time of the great conspiracies??!!

Or from the Church of Vice and Sorcery??!!

Or how do the "temple guards" practice immorality in

Daylight with the people of Lot??!!

Or how did the “temple guards” come to rule the world from money to politics to women to rulers??!!

Or are we talking about the influence of the underworld on the world of humans and how they can control them??!!

Or are you afraid and want to know only the part that interests you in how to get rid of this bad world, the world of immorality and demons. And how to get rid of them and overcome them all??!!

What do you think??!!

Are you afraid??!! Are you afraid??!!

I apologize to you, the reader, and you, the reader, but the truth is in order to be able to know it, you must also know the dark side of it that controls it, otherwise there is no salvation for you without knowledge.

The question now is: Have you chosen the topic you want to talk about?!!

Or are you confused and he is confused as usual??!!

So let me choose for you, um, what do you think?

Shall we start from that (church) which is in the middle of the city of Rome, the “Church of Saints and Mujahideen” who left

The world and what is in it, that they may worship their “god.”

This is the desired day when the bells are sounded and human sacrifices are sacrificed to be presented to their bloody god, the “God of Light” “Lucifer” as they describe it, so I tell you do not panic.

Do not be afraid of what you will know and hear in a world full of darkness.

Do not run away, dear reader, and do not close your eyes when the scene shocks you, so I warn you.. If you cannot, do not approach this church, because it is the church of Satan.

And do not approach this novel because it is my story..not

The writer's novel.

Come on then I will take you with me from history to history and from dimension to dimension and from layer to layer, if you are not psychologically prepared, do not continue reading, and run away very far..even without shoes.

So, would you like to enter that church with me???

Do you see it now??!!

It's right there where it was hundreds of years ago.

We will not enter through the big door, but from

《Pastor Lombardo's Entrance》This entrance will lead us to what's under the church, let's go down the narrow stairs quietly, we are now six floors underground, and now tell me do you smell this??!!

It is the smell of satanic "incense" to prepare the place,

Do you hear those loud noises???

They are not the sounds of celebrations, but rather the sounds of people being tormented.... Yes, it is. I told you that if you are not ready, go back, do not enter with me through this door, because if you enter it, you will not leave it until you complete the novel

Yes, as I heard, it is not a threat, but a warning!!

If the decision is up to you,

.........thought

.........Think well

.......... Rethink

So you decided to continue the novel, right??!!,

Well, I'll open the door quietly...

Do not be afraid, because they will not see you, because you are hidden from their red eyes.

But .... if your soul is foul and they smell your scent, do not blame me ... I have nothing to do with it,

They can reach you anywhere on earth

If you are the owner of a bad breath, be sure that you will see them tonight, and they may torture you and the Jathoom may visit you... Yes, the Jathoom... But please tell me if someone visits you, you may be innocent... Only I can help you get rid of them.

So try to enter quietly.

Come on in, do you see this blood scattered everywhere and these bodies??!!

Exactly here the (vampires) of the human beings were celebrating sacrifices, do you see that man standing there in the middle of the circle cheering incomprehensible words??

Yes, that person who wears a red cloak,

It's the head of the church 《Antonio》 cast a spell to bring demons, do you see those naked girls there and handcuffed on the table??

They are the sacrifices of (Satan Caesus) and his disciples.

Now in the presence of “majestic” priests and veteran clergy will declare their allegiance to “Lucifer”, so be prepared that you will see the most heinous crimes,

It is a crime of survival,

crime of force,

crime of lust,

crime of pleasure,

That's how they call it

...

After slaughtering the sacrifices and drinking their blood, the declaration of loyalty and obedience is an obligatory matter.

So do not look at those naked and stripped bodies lying on the church table,

And leave you those beautiful women who are standing there while they are having sex in the most horrific way possible, because they are in fact just demons in human form, Here in this world that you entered with your feet, you will see and hear the ugliest words and the worst possible letters.

Here in this world you will see the dead eating the living, then you will see them eating the children while they are alive.

And you will see who among them still drinks blood and practices vice with the priests who claim to protect the sanctuaries and and and ... and all

These slogans...

Forget everything they say on TV .

and color magazines, all that absurdity,

Never mind, oh, hear me well, and do not look there, for I see those looks that made you see the world in black, and listen to those words that I shall say to you, perhaps they

Never leave your thick head

Do not believe a religious man whose eyes are round... Nor a politician whose eyes are glaring... Nor a man who claimed your friendship and eyes on your life and your pocket... Do not believe anyone... Because the time of friendship

is over , Just believe in yourself...Believe in yourself,

Did you know who I am??

No of course . . . .

You certainly will not know me.

How do you know who I am??!!

But it's okay. I will tell you my news. I am the servant of the Bible. My name is ( Jamon Lombardy ), from the village of ( Jericho) , and my mother is from the town of Khan Yunis. I wrote this book with ink of blood. Anyone who reads it will be cursed, and it is a forbidden and cursed book. .

You will ask me why??

And I will tell you the story and the truth that you will not know in

any other place.

I will be very frank with you to the point of astonishment,

Five thousand five hundred years ago I made a deal with

(Lucifer) in order to convey all the secrets of the underworld to this book, but on its terms and requirements, and in exchange for it that I obtain supernatural power and life without death .

I was a very ordinary young man from a Jewish family, plowing the land and watering the crops. All the girls and women of the village wished to see me, and because I had the physical strength and intelligence that made me special and among the strongest of the village’s youth, a rich man asked me to be his bodyguard who guarded him from bandits, For a very large sum of money, I agreed at once because it was an irreplaceable opportunity.

He was a wealthy man, and had a luxurious mansion, which he filled with all that he wanted, but he had no wife or children. He was a reprehensible man, with a hump on his right shoulder, glaring eyes, and curly hair, and they called him "Komoro bethawon "

Throughout my work with him, I did not see him eat like humans, sleep like them, or even look at women!! ,

Sometimes I saw him entering the palace door, although I'm sure he never came out!!

How did he get out again??!!

After a year, completely and completely, he asked me a very strange request,

He asked me to share his dinner with him, and the problem was that his dinner was disgusting. Every day he ate one of the children who were kidnapped at sunset, in addition to drinking the blood extracted from their bodies. At first I categorically refused, but he took me to a room I don't know about. Although I know the palace, inch by inch, but it was the first time I saw this room, as if it had no end, filled with gold, mountains like mountains my eyes had never seen before, treasures and statues of gold, something like an incredible imagination.

While I was touching those jewels and that stored gold, the owner of the palace called "Komuro" spoke softly, saying: Do you see all this gold?

I said to him with confidence: Why are you not afraid that I will kill you and seize everything you own, especially since you have no family, and I am a strong young man that no one can confront me??!!

But he laughed loudly and turned to me and said, "I hope you'll try just to see what happens to you, handsome one."

While (the owner of the palace) was leaving that room, I saw bright eyes everywhere, and they were scary eyes, so that they started making noises like the sounds of wild beasts, which made me go out quickly, as soon as I came out until I closed the door hard as if someone had locked it, I went quickly Behind "Komoro bethawon "

And I ask him and I say: Who the hell are you??

Who was in the room??

But he did not pay any attention to me. He sat down on his chair and asked me to sit down to share his supper, while he drank his glass full of blood. All my prey trembled with fear, and I, who had never been afraid in my life, sat down and shared dinner with him, though it was disgusting to the point of nausea.

My plate was raw, uneven steak with blood still on it.

But all my thoughts were in that room full of all those treasures and precious gold, I was thinking how I could get it and it had its guards guarding it, so there was no solution to take all those treasures except with this "cursed dinner", I said it was dinner for one day and it became From the rich, it's okay.. I will bid farewell to poverty once and for all, and I will bid farewell to the miserable life I was living,

Today if you ask me do you regret that night??

My answer: I have reached a point where regret is no longer useful.

This heart no longer feels remorse or fear,

My body is empty of feelings and emotions.

And I reached the point to be or not to be.. It's only the end,

After we finished dinner, he asked me to go down with him to the basement of the palace, there in a room I had never seen in my life. It was a black room filled with half-human monsters and snakes. As soon as they saw me, they threw themselves on my body and tore my clothes and had sex with me over and over again without my will. I was as if I was a tool to satisfy their sexual instincts, and as if they were thirsty for sex with a human being, I could hear them screaming in different voices??!! ,

As for me, I did nothing but be completely submissive to them.

On the morning of the second day, he asked me to go with him to the same room, but I refused, except that he told me this time it would be different,

When we went down, no one was there but a small desk, red ink and a blank book, and he asked me to carry everything

Found in these leather manuscripts to the book,

When I asked him what this was, he said that it was the "Secrets of Solomon" and that I had to write them all with this red ink, which is the blood of cursed demons mixed with the blood of men.

The wrongdoers and the blood of virgin girls.

Throughout my time in that room from which I did not come out, I could hear frightening noises until morning, except for those serpents that would circle around me every night until the last third of the night and then disappear after they had sex with me

Until I completed (The Cursed Book), which took me forty days, which was full of incantations, types of magic, how to use them, their rituals, and the names of demons and servants of the underworld.

And on the last night the serpents came and brought me news that they had given birth to me young serpents and that they were my children. My shock was indescribable... Four serpents gave birth to thirty-three serpents. The upper half looked like humans and the lower half looked exactly like a serpent, except for one that was completely human, except That her eyes are like the eyes of a serpent, I called her "Leona"

After forty days I came out of the room with the book in my hand and thirty-three serpents named after my name (haha)

really strange,

(He is the one who can sleep and wake up in the morning, he has the flu and he does not have a clogged soul to eat, not even how many dishes are stuffed.. but he enters a room and when he comes out, he has a pile of meat, excuse me, life, in the name of God, Masha Allah.. Thirty-three live except one and a cursed book.. From you to God, Komoru... Haha)

It was " Komoru bethawon"

He is waiting for me in the gold room, and he is happy to say to me : Today you have the right to all this wealth.

Surely you will die now of envy and wish you were in my place, forty days have passed and I will become one of the richest... Rather, one of the richest men on the face of the world.

But I apologized to him and asked him to leave me alone , I was no longer greedy for that gold or that wealth , My intuition was telling me that it was not the end... but only the beginning....

And my hunch is true.

And because I am talking to you from the underworld .

Here there is nothing like above .

There is nothing like humans .

Nothing like what you know .

There is nothing here but murder, sex and conspiracy.

Here you hear them plotting against human beings, how to kill them and enter them into wars, and how to make them obsessed with sex and money.

Here no one sleeps but a little as if they are taking an evening nap .

Here everyone is practicing with everyone .

Here there are no morals or mercy .

Here there is no emotion or comfort.

Here you are either with them or you will never be .

It is a base...!!

What did you say, reader ??!!

Did I hear you correctly ??!!

Are you asking me what I did ??!!

The question itself is wrong,

You have to ask me what I have become ??!!

"Four thousand years later"

Do you see what I see today??

Do you smell this scent that fills the streets??

The world is struggling with death, all the streets of Rome are fighting

black death again .

Today is Sunday of the year 2020, I am here witness to the terrible event, in the middle of " the Vatican" , witness to the history of " Rome" and "europe" with this outbreak.

It's a "devil epidemic."

Whoever believes in him become one body, and whoever does not believe in him turns away from him, but he is one of our secrets, we are the hidden world .

Don't tire your little mind thinking, we don't get anything wrong,

We are "holy"

You make me laugh....because you are arrogant, arrogant, and a selfish person who only thinks of himself, yet you want to know everything, you curious one.

Listen to me well.. it is one word I will say, and because the journey is still in its beginning and we are still in the first chapters, then hear me :

It is the epidemic that we have been working on for centuries to kill humanity and reduce its increasing growth!!

Do you think this pandemic is the last??!!

So, you are naive and stupid !!

İt's just because...

it's only the beginning

✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍✍.

End of the first part of the novel

" Guardians of the Temple "

" Ancheretos"

✍✍✍✍

______

I apologize to the reader for the harsh terms and images that were mentioned by the central character in this novel, but they are scenes of their filth that explain the truth.

🙏🙏🙏

by

#Reem_shadili

[getmemymicroscope]

So, when this movie came out, there were a couple of selling points in the trailer: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, and the idea of a glimpse of a 'future' that was better than the nonsense that we're turning this planet into. The hope that maybe, just maybe, things were slightly salvageable.

And while Clooney and Laurie were good, what really made the movie fun while watching it were the other 2 main characters: Casey (Britt Robertson) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy). Athena, especially, was great, but even just the interactions between the two of them - right on from the first bit of repeated yelling - was entertaining. And Athena kicking ass was nice, even if it came at the expense of Key (he of Key & Peele fame) and who we now better know as Agatha (not that Kathryn Hahn wasn't amazing before, but, let's be honest - it's Agatha).

The downside, I guess, was that so much time was spent in the now that other than a glimpse of this 'future' all you really get, when you finally get there, is this extradimensional place (more than just 'the future' sort of thing) ... and Casey pretty much gets there and is told "you need to fix it." That's it ... she needs to 'fix' the future, or whatever it is, in the 30 mintues before the movie ends.

Which, well, we're not idiots - there's no quick fix for the future. So sure, they have a battle/fight, and things end well enough (poor Athena - the one person, well droid, that you really care about), but the end result is just: we need to tell people to be better, and find the dreamers who haven't given up hope. Which is, of course, very true for the world we live in, but like ... I don't know. I want to see more of this future/better place. It seems nice.

Of course, while maybe slightly preachy, the movie does have a point. The problem is, of course, that the majority of people - or, at least, the majority of people with the power/position to do something about it - don't give a damn. Because, to them, it doesn't really matter. If the world is in trouble, they'll be the people who can buy their way into space, or whatever it is, anyways.

And then, equally on point is this speech (below) by Hugh Laurie's character. He might not be the most 'good' person, but he's got a point - and the fact that he's the bad guy for trying to look out for himself in a world of people who only look out for themselves is kinda unfortunate. Don't get me wrong, dreamers are great, but they need the help of people in charge to make a difference. And the people in charge don't care to make a difference, because they're profiting just fine from how things are now. And that's all that matters to them.

Let's imagine... if you glimpsed the future, you were frightened by what you saw, what would you do with that information? You would go to... the politicians, captains of industry? And how would you convince them? Data? Facts? Good luck! The only facts they won't challenge are the ones that keep the wheels greased and the dollars rolling in. But what if... what if there was a way of skipping the middle man and putting the critical news directly into everyone's head? The probability of wide-spread annihilation kept going up. The only way to stop it was to show it. To scare people straight. Because, what reasonable human being wouldn't be galvanized by the potential destruction of everything they've ever known or loved? To save civilization, I would show its collapse. But, how do you think this vision was received? How do you think people responded to the prospect of imminent doom? They gobbled it up like a chocolate eclair! They didn't fear their demise, they re-packaged it. It could be enjoyed as video-games, as TV shows, books, movies, the entire world wholeheartedly embraced the apocalypse and sprinted towards it with gleeful abandon. Meanwhile, your Earth was crumbling all around you. You've got simultaneous epidemics of obesity and starvation. Explain that one! Bees and butterflies start to disappear, the glaciers melt, algae blooms. All around you the coal mine canaries are dropping dead and you won't take the hint! In every moment there's the possibility of a better future, but you people won't believe it. And because you won't believe it you won't do what is necessary to make it a reality. So, you dwell on this terrible future. You resign yourselves to it for one reason, because *that* future does not ask anything of you today. So yes, we saw the iceberg and warned the Titanic. But you all just steered for it anyway, full steam ahead. Why? Because you want to sink! You gave up! That's not the monitor's fault. That's yours.

Yes, no. He's 100% on point. Preachy or not, that needs to be the message from this movie. Sadly, nothing has changed. The companies and people in charge, the ones that can help start righting this ship, see no immediate/short-term monetary benefit in it, so they won't. Because that's all that matters.

Back to the point - the movie wasn't bad. I really liked the Athena character a lot. Kicks ass, is funny, saves the day, and continues to have hope all the way to the end. The whole 'shut down if you ask too many questions' thing was splendid too.

[santaclausdeadindian]

Sorry for doing it this way, I think OP deleted their post or blocked me like a mature, balanced person would, so I have to tag you in

@mr-laugh

Oh boy, lot to unpack here.

So you didn’t even know there were that many subgenres of fantasy, one of the most popular classifications of fiction on the planet... And you think you know enough to tell ANYBODY what classic fantasy is?

And where exactly I attempted to do that, huh?

If you don’t even know the most common subgenres of this vast pool of fiction, why are you jumping into this discussion? You just admitted you don’t know anything!

There is no discussion, there is a stupid ass post. Don't flatter yourself, you don't know jack shit.

Me not knowing what exactly are the precize subgenres of a genre of literature, which, btw, are completely arbitrary and for your information, sword&magic is a legitimate category, has absolutely nothing to do with what that post you were so keen on agreeing with above. It was you who said pretty much any classic fantasy is like that: some poorly written, self-indulgent and borderline racist.

Did ya read the link, buddy? Howard talked about knowing what burning black man smelled like. He was quite approving of these things! And the books are pretty racist, it’s not hard to see, unless you ain’t looking.

Yes, I started reading and by the end of the first paragraph I was convinced he was ahorribly racist man. And? Still doesn't change the fact, that for my 12 year old self, there was nothing racist about it. I definetly wasn't looking for it, that much you got right. If I'd read it again, I'm sure I'd catch on to it now, that I know what kind of asshole he was. So the implied racism would be there. You got a point for that.

Rugged individualism? It always amuses me how that argument always pops out of the mouths of guys who are aping what they’ve heard their buddies say. If ten thousand mouths shout “rugged individualism”, how individualistic are they?

Then you should amuse yourself by looking up why this thing crops up as of late. It's coming from certain, supremely racist yet unaware of it publications that claim ridiculous shit like "rugged individualism" is a hallmark of white supremacy, among other, equally laughable things, like punctuality. It's a joke.

Again, I will give Howard to you, if someone that racist writes a black man saving the hero of the story, I bet there was something else still there to make it wrong.

Conan’s not some avatar of rugged individualism.

Uhm, yeah, he pretty much all that.

He’s as unreal and unrealistic as the dragons are,

It's called fantasy for a reason, buddy.

but more dangerous because White Men model their ideas of reality on Big Man Heroes like him;

Glad you are totally not racist, yo!!! It's such a relief that White Men are the only ones with this terrible behavior of looking up to larger than life, mythic superpeople and nobody else. Imagine what it would be like, if we would have some asshole from say, hindu indian literature massacering demons called Rakshassas, by the tens of thousands, or some bullshit japanese warlord would snatch out arrows from the air, or a chienese bodyguard would mow down hundreds of barbaric huns without dropping a sweat, or some middle eastern hero would fight literal gods and their magical beasts in some quest for eternal life.

it's a poison that weakens us, distracting us from actually trying to solve the world’s issues, or banding together to deal with shit.

This is what you just said. It's up to the white man, to get their shit together, be not racist and solve the world's problems, because those poor other people's just can't do it. If we would just not be oh, so racist, then China would surely stop with the genocides they are doing now, or blowing more than half the greenhouse emissions into the athmosphere, the muslims would stop throwing their gays from rooftops or ramming trucks into crowds and would just start treating women as equals, India's massive rape problem would be gone, subsaharan African would be magically bereft of the host of atrocities committed there on a daily, yeah, you sure have that nonracism down, buddy!

A rugged individualist would be smart enough to realize that even the most individualistic person needs others; no man’s an island, and a loner is easier to kill.

Individualism doesn't mean at all what you think it means, it's a cluster of widely differeing philosophies that puts the individual ahead of the group or state, it's ranging from anarchism to liberalism and is also has nothing to do with my point.

Central Europe?  What, Germany?  Because let me tell you, historically they are SUPER concerned about race!

Germany traditionally considered western european, central europe would be the people stuck between them and the russians, to put it very loosely. We are equally nonplussed by the self-flagellating white guilt complex and the woe me victim complex of the west. We did none of the shit those meanie white people did to the nonwhites and suffered everyting any poc ever did and then some. We don't give a shit about your color, we care about what culture you are from and if you respect our values.

I’m an American from a former Confederate state; trust me, race is everything.  It always is.

No it really isn't. How old are you? Asking without condescension, genuinly curious, because if you are in your low twenties at most, it's understandable why you think like this.

See that hike? Do you know what happened at that time that made virtually all american media suddenly go all in with racism?

Occupy Wall Street, that's what. It's a brilliant way to sow victimhood and hate and desperation amongst the people who have one common enemy, the powers that be, the banking sector, the politicians, the megacorporations.

Can't really blame you if you are in your early 20's at most, you grew up with this bullshit hammered into you. If you are older, step out of your echochamber please!

If you actually believe, that mankind doesn't progress naturally towards a more accepting society purely on the merit of there being more good people than bad and sharing a similar living with all the hardships in life, seeing that our prejudices inherited by our parents are baseless, that's how we progress, not virtue signalling courses and regressive policies. I was raised as any other kid, I had a deep resentment towards the neighbouring nations, I said vile, racist shit against people who I actually share a lot of genes with, of which fact I was in deep denial about, and then as I gradually got exposed more and more actual people of these groups, I started to realize I was wrong and everybody should be judged by their individual merits. It works throughout the generations, my grandma was thought songs about Hitler and how all jews are evil in school, she legit thought all black people at least in Africa are cannibals and shit, my mother stillsays shit that would get her cancelled in the USA, and I will probably have a mixed race kid as we stand now.

This whole racism is an eternal problem is laughable and disingenuous and I am actually sorry for you that you feel like that.

Moving on. As for Dany, the “noble white girl sold to scary dark foreign man” is a very popular trope, especially in exploitation films, which Martin draws on much more heavily than most authors do.

No, he fucking doesn't. I already wrote a bunch of examples from the books you seeminly ignore willfully. First of all, she is sold to those olive skinned savages by a white man, who is a terrible, increadibly evil man. He want's to fuck the then 11-12 ish Dany so bad, she picks his slave most resembling her and rapes her repeatedly, "until the madness pass." He also maimes children and traines them as disposable slave spies by the hundreds. There is no boundaries colour here, GRRM prtrays all kinds of people as reprehensible, evil and disgusting. Just like you can find plenty of examples to the opposite.

What is he drawing from your exploitation movies exactly? He writes about the human anture, he writes about the human heart at war with itself, that's his central philosophy of writing.

ASOFAI is basically just a porn movie with complicated feudal politics obscuring it, which is probably why it worked so well as an HBO series (up until the last two seasons or so.)

There is no gratuitous sex scene in the books, the rapes are described as rapes, they are horrible, they are very shortly described and usually just alluded to.

The people commiting them are not put into generous lights and one of the single most harrowing stories hidden behind the grand happenings of the plot is a girl named Jeyne Poole, whose suffering although never shown, is very much pointed out, along with the hypocrisy of the people who only fight to try and save her, because they think her a different person.

Honestly, if you actually read the books and they came of to you as porn, you might want to do some soulsearching.Btw, the HBO series was a terrible adaptation, it immedietly started to go further and further from the books with every passing season and the showmakers made it very clear to everybody, that they didn't understand the very much pacifist and humanist themes of Martin. And neither did you.

We also get no indication Essos will eat it when Winter comes; hell, they seem to not know Winter exists, given the way people act, even though that is also unrealistic and weird.  Essos was just super badly designed, and Dany is a terribly boring character.

to be continued