#i know the fire nation are the baddies

[assumptionprime]

I need to rant about the Fallout show

Because this is the person I am. Full spoilers, so I’m putting it behind a Keep Reading:

I’m a huge sucker for Fallout (yes even 3&4). And I went into the Fallout show with some… trepidation. Amazon has been a mixed bag on adaptations, we could have been blessed with a Good Omens, or cursed by a Rings of Power. But early buzz and reviews seemed positive, so I slammed the whole thing in one night with my spouse (we were staying at my in-laws house and they have Prime. Time was a factor.)

And y’know? I was really enjoying it! The characters were fun, the plot was engaging enough, and the costumes and visual design were extremely on point. There were some minor lore quibbles to be had: Ghouls needing some kind of medicine to not go feral. Really, more Enclave holdouts? Timeline and date whoopsies. Wait are they in California? Where the hell is the NCR?

I made a face at Shady Sands being bombed and the NCR collapsing. But I wasn’t completely out of the story. Based on what I had seen so far, I thought it was building to a reveal that the Brotherhood had done it. That the more zealous turn they took in Fallout 4, which has clearly carried to how they are portrayed in the show, lead them to bombing the NCR. War never changes, as they say. Maximus even says when asked what happened to Shady Sands: “The same thing that always happens.” Yeah, it leans into Bethesda’s weird desire to keep the Fallout world in a state of perpetual wastelands full of raiders and no civilization, but it wasn’t so terrible that I couldn’t still enjoy the show.

But then.

BUT THEN.

Episode 8, and the reveal of Vault-Tec apparently being the ones who dropped the first bomb in the Great War.

I was surprised to hear that some fans have apparently been debating over who fired first? Some even asked Tim Cain about it?

That’s really odd to me because, in the games, there is already a pretty definitive answer to which side sparked the Great War:

Who fucking cares?

The world ended. What does it matter who shot first?

There is no China, no United States, no communists or capitalists left to fight about it. 

It's a powerful little bit of lore.

For all the posturing, all the promises from each nation that their way is the true way, all the nationalism, the militarism, and blind loyalty to flags over humanity, they both lost. Everyone lost. All that remains of the ideologies and nations that were so important to the people of 2077 is faint echoes over vast expanses of radioactive ash.

Who started the end?

No one knows. No one cares.

It only matters that their conflict was so bitter, so all-consuming, that one of them dropped their bombs, and the other dropped theirs in return.

The truest legacy of the old world is the devastation left by their final, most horrific war.

Can we do better?

Then the show says "Nah, Vault-Tec did it. It's not a commentary on human nature and the futility of self-destructive conflict, it was actually these guys, these mustache twirling villains huddled in a darkened room literally plotting to end the whole world so they can rule what's left."

And I can see the attempt to make this a critique of capitalism. I actually paused the show to praise a bit of writing when Coop is talking with Charlie before the war, when Charlie tells him that the “cattle ranchers are in charge” to illustrate how capitalism and corporations hold too much sway over the government, it felt very in line with how in New Vegas one of the recurring critiques of the NCR is that all the real power is in the hands of the “brahmin barons.” Nice parallel, spot on!

But “we’ll set off total thermonuclear war so we can rule the ashes and have a True Monopoly” isn’t capitalism. It’s just dumb “we’re the baddies” writing.

And then Shady Sands was also Vault-Tec?! Forget any meaning in the NCR falling to the same corruption and/or factional fighting that consumed the old world, they were literally just bombed by the evil shadow conspiracy that apparently also killed the old world. Hank gives this speech about factions fighting and the futility of it all while we see the Brotherhood fighting Moldaver’s NCR remnant, and like, no! You can’t say that when you’ve made it so neither the old world or the NCR fell to war with another faction! It was you! You and your band of cryogenic supervillains!

I don't care that they changed it. Timelines and dates and little retcons don’t bother me all that much. I care that they changed it to something so much worse.

[xenosagaepisodeone]

supersize me is incredible in how potently hateful it is. it's as if the pop culture wasteland of the 2000s suffocated spurlock's brain to the point where whatever synapses that hadn't shriveled up were only left capable of firing off the same demand to keep punching down at all costs that every halfwit with access to cable news and a desire to 'tell it how it is' seemed to have been afflicted with. everyone knows the methodology in this doc is bunk, but what's missing from the conversation is how this film is another artifact of antagonizing incurious dipshit libertarian smarming about how the sheepish masses cannot just simply get with the program and be better. "americans are fat fat fat fat so fucking fat and they love it so much that they'll let their kids eat the same slop that they serve in prison" "wait, back up. the same apparatus that provides elementary school lunches also supplies prison food? and you're saying the cost of healthier food isn't all that much more? is there anything here worth looking into further?" "no. but have this clip of this random guy talking about how we should heckle fat people like how we heckle smokers". what made this film notable for its time was how it was less focused on how being fat makes you look (which isn't to say that isn't still a huge component of it. because it is. and spurlock has endless shots of strangers with their faces blurred out to emphasize this), but the alleged deterioration of lifestyle, values and vitality that comes with the depletion of one's physical health. that is to say, the film is arguing that failing to live a regimented lifestyle causes one to fall into a state of moral decay. this is the buried lede, because ultimately this film is actually-actually about an alcoholic externalizing the complex he has towards his own lack of self control onto fat people.

it is no wonder why elementary school health teachers in the aughts were quick to deploy it in classrooms at the same rate they did photos of STIs in place of actual sex ed. the imagery of this greasy motherfucker throwing up in his car is meant to serve the same purpose in telling kids that this is what happens when they can't control themselves. when a corporation is blamed for something, it's only inasmuch as it enables people to be dumb and fat. spurlock points out how mcdonald's predatory advertising normalizes it's products in places it should not be (hospitals in particular), which you think would warrant further discussion- but in line with pushing responsibility onto the role of the individual, this is framed as merely mcdonalds tricking customers instead of actively encroaching on their way of life via invading media and legislature. no, the real villains are cafeteria lunch ladies, who are not instilling discipline in your children unlike National Weight Loss Hero Jared Fogle, who educates children around the world. one can only imagine that spurlock's libertarian values compel him to feel a sense of kinship.

the funniest part of this film was the one doctor who seemed to know that he was bullshitting about not having any drinking habits but doesn't want to be up front about confronting him. at first he comments on how how spurlock's liver resembles one belonging to someone engaged in long term alcohol abuse, and then later in the film he gives some generic lip service in response to spurlock's report like 'well, i wouldn't think that fast food and liver health are connected, but your report seems to indicate otherwise' before cutting straight to "whatever you're doing, stop pickling your liver". also at another point spurlock goes "lunch time" and there's a hard cut to some fat mcdonalds employees and he's trying so hard to evoke disgust with all of these shots but my response to these baddies is just "zamn looks like they got dinner and dessert too 🥵🥵💦💦💦💦💦💦💦"

but anyway

[fruitbasketball]

man

what a season

probably one of the most difficult seasons i’ve ever witnessed

aaliyah, queen of the north, big li - we love you dude. you didn’t always get the credit you deserved, but your name is gonna be on that wall now. you left your legacy at uconn. God willing, you’re not gonna be remembered by that stupid foul at the end of a historic game. you’re gonna be remembered for being the steady heartbeat of this team. for missing virtually no games in your career. for your tim duncan up and and under, for your box outs and your game day tiktoks and instagram stories. you’re gonna remembered as one of the best huskies to ever do it.

nika, croatian baddie, secretary of defense - saying goodbye to you was always gonna be hard. your fire, your passion for the game; they’re unmatched. you have this drive to get better, to be stronger, to play harder, and you make everyone around you that much smarter. you deserved a better ending to your college career, but let that last game serve as a reminder that you locked caitlin clark the fuck up. and you’re a two way dawg, too; that all time assist record, single-game assist record, and single season assist record all prove it. that is your legacy. not some fuckass game that ended on some fuckass call.

we all know y’all deserved better than that. you deserved one last game together, all three of you seniors. you deserved to play for the national title as a senior class. but you deserved more than that. you deserved a season not plagued with injuries. you deserved a full roster. you deserved more from the media than what you got: lowest ap ranking, lowest seeding in the tournament. you deserved credit for everything you gave this program and this team.

and even though you didn’t always get that, you kept fighting.

i feel like i’m in denial. because there’s no way that i’ve been watching these two for the past four years and their careers just ended on a random friday. and i feel stupid, pleading for just one more game. one more chance to eee paige and aaliyah’s shaq and kobe 2 man. one more chance to see nika put the clamps on someone. but you guys did geno and uconn right. you did husky nation right.

and we love you more than words can express <3

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1115 - Initial Thoughts

And we are back from another break

Another sneaky upload while I was coming home from work by TCB, plus other business has delayed me a bit, but now we can get to it

Secrets are pouring out, Joy Boy the pirate

Tell us more, Vegapunk

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Back with the Yamato cover story, packing a lunch with Toko and Hiyori

And we're sticking with Wano since even they have the broadcast

They have the flag up as well, Straw Hat territory

Seems they had a Den Den Mushi in Orochi's possessions

Momo muses about Joy Boy being a pirate, having learned about him from Oden's journal

Tama's still there enjoying food too, seems like she lives in the palace now

Shinobu though hasn't 'matured' to her usual look, still looks younger

G4 Base?

Oh fucking...really? XD Demaro Black doesn't miss a hustle

Fake Kid Pirates mein godt hahahaha give it up lad

I mean why would you want to pose as someone who's worth 3 billion? You know how many would kill for 3 billion?

The navy at Egghead are also listening intently to his broadcast, as Vegapunk goes deeper into Joy Boy's past

He's only able to cover from a few Poneglyphs he's had access to (likely the ones Ohara had) but as we expected, a great war occurred; Joy Boy vs the future World Government

Dude was THIS CLOSE to the 'wait, are we the baddies?' moment

Warcury is not happy, as he still chases Luffy and the giants through fire

Mars is pissed too, using his Conqueror's Haki to destroy as many Den Den Mushi as he can find

Vegapunk continues though; of course the WG were just known as the 'Allied Powers' a coalition of 20 kingdoms against Joy Boy's faction - which in itself is a frightening display of Joy Boy's strength, even the superpowers of today could be taken down by a couple countries united, but 20? It took 20!

Alas, Vegapunk doesn't know why the nations were in conflict, just that it was a clash of ideologies, likely control vs freedom, but he chooses not to judge the morality

Zunesha is pensive, as the broadcast emits through Zou

CARROT! We missed you dearie, she's got a fancy Duke coat but she should be in Egghead with the crew ¬_¬

Still, she marvels at Vegapunk noting how Joy Boy's kingdom was advanced beyond even modern science

Oh lord, it isn't just Demaro Black we're bringing up for joke cameos, I know that laugh, I know that headpiece!

Mother Fucking Foxy XD What is that tache man?

Seems it's just him, Porche and Hamburg sailing on a little boat, bandaged up and getting the rumblies

We go back to Stussy, who is contacted by Edison as Kaku lounges in the bubble still

Edison encourages Stussy to drop the barrier, it's useless since the Gorosei could just break through

Feels like you could've called her before diving through the barrier and nearly killing yourself bud

Saturn's also using haki to destroy the Den Den Mushi

Edison puts his confidence in the Straw Hats though

Nami contacts Jinbe, still carrying Zoro - who takes umbrage with him apologizing, since he was busy dealing with Lucci

Nami notices that the blockade is moving to their escape route, encouraging they hurry in her own way

Back to Stussy, she shows relief that the Straw Hats are likely to escape, but without Vegapunk, she wonders what remains for her, she has no purpose

Something Kaku seems pensive about, perhaps even sympathetic, since he can't suggest to her the zoo

Back to V. Nusjuro and Bonney kicks at the Gorosei as he seems to cut Oimo

Not a good landing for Sanji either

Seems V. Nusjuro's not paying full attention to the fight either, trying to use his Observation Haki to sense where the broadcast snail is

Still, he breaks free and slices at Bonney, only for her to be saved by Franky

The slash cuts the figurehead of the giant's ship, better that than Bonney's head, but now she's tuckered out since Distorted Future takes up stamina

As V. Nusjuro leaves the battle and we pan to Zunesha and the Iron Giant we confirm that the void century ended with Joy Boy's defeat

It's not the biggest revelation since the WG rule the world after all, but it also puts further context into all the regrets with Joy Boy and his comrades we have read about in the past

To limit the amount of life signs on the island, V. Nusjuro takes more drastic action, cutting the entire Labophase in half

This causes the CP agents and the bubbled Seraphim to fall to the Fabriophase below

As the Gorosei let gravity try to take those who swore loyalty to them, Vegapunk makes the latest revelation

Sea travel is perilous around the world, it's common knowledge, but a millenia ago it was not; the ancient world, the civilizations that existed in the void century, it's all underwater - they built on top of the ancient world

Also I gotta point out there's some absolutely stunning visual panels in this chapter

Koushiro and the Revolutionary Army also react to the broadcast, only he, Sabo and Dragon appear pensive

Coco Village!? Gen san how you doing! And Nojiko! Still preferred the short hair but she don't care about no global warming she has tangerines to look after XD

Vegapunk continues; before there were vast continents, which'd explain why so few would go out to sea beforehand, and with all of the evidence underwater it explains how the WG can erase a century of history, but it goes deeper - figuratively and literally

Since the void century, the sea has rose 200 METERS!

That's over 600ft; the size of the United Tower, bigger than the Great pyramid of Giza, and that's all Water Level

Naturally, the listeners - the navy - are floored by this revelation, since a Warship is only 60m, but other soldiers tell them to stop listening

There's at least some sense of loyalty - or preservation of cost - for the marines to try and 'rescue' the CP agents and Seraphim from gravity-induced splatter, a la one of their world leaders

Alas Mock Town must mock, there is one among the crowd who isn't laughing though, another one seems to have ignored gravity

Sakura kingdom - mainly Dalton - reflects on the revelation, with Kureha mulling how things continue to get interesting

Oh hey, Miss Goldenweek! Passing by as the island uses a mountain to compare the height

At Water Seven (given the Galley La jacket) Vegapunk discusses how such a thing can occur, and reveals it to have been man-made

Morgans is livid about all this BIG ASS NEWS, having to be shushed by Vivi

Vegapunk continues to show his work; there were no signs, no studies, no science to confirm a natural build up, and if it was natural it would've been made known as a world-altering event

He hints at the use of the Mother Flame, confirming his suspicions

The Gorosei - except Ju Peter, wormy is not getting a lot of love from Oda atm - look furious as Vegapunk continues to note that the sea level rises were caused by the ancient weapons

Those weapons remain dormant, waiting to be used again

And as we pan over to Imu Vegapunk reveals something both horrifying and sobering at the same time: The War Is Not Over

Every island was once a mountain

But time didn't have the influence it should have, Oda has been getting biblical with this lore drop by giving us the common religious theme of The Deluge. Flood myths exist in many religious stories and mythology (which I will keep separate to not ruffle feathers), most common because of Christianity is the flood in the Book of Genesis, which we've already touched upon in One Piece given Noah's Ark. Since we tread nearer to Elbaf it's worth noting that a flood as a role in Ragnarok also;

"the sun becomes black and the earth sinks into the sea, the stars vanish, steam rises and flames touch the heavens."

Once more this was a chapter where Vegapunk's broadcast takes more priority over the things we're seeing, but there are some stunning panels to enhance the revelations, we see also the Gorosei flaunting their haki showing the level they are while the monster trio remain incapacitated or indisposed. I'm at least proud of Franky coming in for some more rescue clutch action, but with Stussy I'm less convinced now that she'll be killed by Lucci, Kaku's silence is loud and maybe, just maybe, they can all see this as a way out. The CP agents are likely not to survive the fall, the Seraphim will and probably will live to fight the Straw Hats under orders of the Gorosei or York, they will likely be used more since the Pacifista are compromised. As for the revelations, a mix of stuff we assumed being confirmed and stuff that theorists have pondered and been vindicated, it's all underwater, which explains the walls in Wano, why Zou is on Zunesha's back (sidebar, how fucking long are Zunesha's legs? like it's gotta be 200m+ submerged alone), and why Water Seven's ruins run so deep.

Still, I enjoyed all the cameos, appreciated seeing Carrot again, and a Vivi cameo is always nice, plus I had to laugh with Demaro Black and Foxy, like who's next? Kuro? Morgan? Krieg? Arlong? Enel?? We have to get to Buggy and the Cross Guild at one point ofc, plus this could be an avenue to reveal the status of Perona, Moria, Weevil, etc.

but outside of that, little progress from the Straw Hats and the incident unfolding in Egghead right now, but given the revelations Vegapunk is giving the Straw Hats time, the Gorosei aren't focusing on them, they're looking for the broadcast snail - and I don't think it's even on the island.

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 14

A couple of story beats in Begnion, and. . . well, I can't really say much on them. Ike standing in for Elincia is nice moment, and my first impression is "Ah, that's how some people delude themselves into thinking that Ike and Elincia could be an implied couple". But really, what stands out more than anything is Oliver being there, cause I have definitely heard about him. Something about his obsession with beauty, him being a slaver, but also being a playable character?

It's a good thing though that I had some time to let the story beats of this chapter so far simmer a bit because I didn't get to play, cause that gave me time to let them Sink In. Begnion strikes me as the type of decadent but powerful nation that is so caught up in its own safety that it doesn't really acknowledge the threat of the antagonists until it is too late. To compare it to something, it brings to mind the High Entia Empire/Alcamoth from Xenoblade 1. Which is to say, I could also see some story beats similar to Xenoblade 1 taking place, like corruption which runs deep in the nation, or an unexpected attack from the main antagonists catching Begnion off-guard and forcing them into action. Considering that Oliver is an official here, I can definitely see the former being a thing.

Also, something about that tower in the capital. I vaguely remember hearing that the final boss fight of Radiant Dawn takes place here? I think?

New base conversations!

Marcia being from Begnion is addressed, which is nice. She's honestly pretty minor of a character, so seeing her search for her brother and all that being acknowledged is. . . I don't wanna say nice again, but it just is.

Stella's background getting explored, which I suppose is to be expected. She literally just joined after all, so there is stuff that needs to be acknowledged. Still not sure if I'm going to use her moving forward. . . the fast exp growth is nice, but I'm already having trouble deciding on who to deploy as is.

Gatrie ogling the woman, expecting Ike to join him. Yeah, I do not think that that is going to happen.

A conversation with a maid, who seems to hint at a lot of stuff. A laguz that doesn't transform back. . . is that gonna be a boss, or a new recruit? Either way, it's funny that Ike doesn't say a single word throughout that entire conversation.

Unlocked the support between Jill and Mist! I heard that getting this one is important, and it's a nice one. . . but also really short.

Well, some bonus exp usage later, let's continue the story.

Five days spent here already? That's the third time already where the game gives me instances that make my writer brain go brrrr. There's a timeframe to fill.

God, I love the sibling interactions between Ike and Mist

Ah, this has all the framing of a filler chapter. Important but slow stuff is happening here, so go somewhere else and have a battle.

We're supposed to stop merchants? That sounds like something that bandits would do. Are we the baddies?

. . .Oh. Those kinds of merchants. Yeah, we're not the baddies.

Ah! Serene's Forest? Now that is a name that you can't get around hearing when you're a Fire Emblem fan. So this is where it originates, eh? And references to a massacre, too. . . juicy little story bitses.

And there's a certain guy named "Makalov" on the enemy side on this map. I have heard of him. What I have not heard of him are good things.

Huh, a named character in the bottom left house. . . already forgot her name, but judging by the fact that she is named at all, I wanna say that she turns up later.

Makalov talks about his sister. . . ohhhhh, Marcia is his sister! I thought I'd need to talk to him with Ike. Well, that frees up my strategy by a lot.

You know, for enemies that are called "untamed ones" in German, these enemy laguz are surprisingly tame. Not even aggressive when I get into their range.

Boss talking about having nobles as his costumers. I guess that's how Oliver gets brought into this.

. . .Ike, how are you still not putting together what these merchants are working with.

­*Twirls hair* Hiiiii again Miss Tanith

Uhhh, another animated cutscene! And it's not ruined by voice acting

Oh, is this a meeting between Laguz kings? Interesting. Some actual politics, tensions, and worldbuilding!

Ah, so Nasaela's just ambitious. Still seems a bit greedy to go for such small fry as a random Daein commander who chases after Elincia, though.

I actually remember something about Reyson, I think! Wasn't there a scene later on where he punches somebody, but because bird Laguz have hollow bones like actual birds, he breaks his own arm doing so, but he doesn't regret it anyway because it felt good?

And a mention of "Lehran's Medallion". . . gee, I wonder where that could be. Good thing that that part being obvious doesn't actually answer why Mist has it, and what its signifance is.

Well, that was a lot more story-heavy content for a chapter that I was initially dismissive of. Colour me satisfied!

[marlenacantswim]

Hey dude, what's the plot/a few plot points of your perfect hypothetical mission: Impossible movie? A specific action sequence you'd love to see? Or an entire arc? Or literally just describe the whole plot, go nuts.

oh whoop, this is a beautiful question. a doozy for sure. you've opened a pandora's box i know you're more than happy to stick your face in with this one.

cw: on the field emergency amputation

first off, they're back in colorful outfits like they are in rogue nation. at one point benji's got one of those gayass benoit blanc neck scarves. ethan can be in the occasional black t-shirt, as i know is his want, but he'e gotta be in some colorful patterned button-up tucked into some high-waisted black jeans at some point.

i'm thinking this is like, post-rogue nation but pre-fallout in time period.

the villain isn't aware of the imf but is expertly good at adapting, and has a special skill in reading people. the second she learns of the imf's existence when they almost thwart her first scheme of the movie and kill/capture a lot of her men, she immediately figures out all she can about them and hacks into cam footage to literally watch the team while they're not working to learn about them as people. she's able to quickly and conclusively gather that ethan cares a whole lot about benji; more than he really realizes.

somewhere around the middle of the movie, there's some building they're all in doing spy stuff. luther's out of the building, benji's doing server stuff inside, and ethan's running around the hallways, probably in a fancy white suit that turns inside out into a button-up or smth. stuff happens, and ethan discovers that the baddie planted a bomb that'll take the whole building and the ones next to it, and after communicating an abort to his team and pulling a fire alarm or smth to clear it of civilians, he makes his leave, turning the jacket into the button up as he does so. when he doesn't hear anything from benji through his earpiece, he asks luther, who tells him that trackers indicate benji's still in the building, so ethan rushes back in while luther looks for cam footage to confirm it.

while ethan's running so so fast to the room benji's in, luther tells him that he found benji on the cams, but something is very wrong. he's bleeding, struggling, and looking to the camera pleadingly. when ethan gets there, he figures out why. benji's lying on the floor— awake, but panicked— and there's a trail of blood from his ear and the side of his head; presumably why he couldn't call ethan, as whatever hit caused his bleeding also shattered his earpiece. more alarmingly, there's some sort of metal contraption attached to benji's leg right on his calf, and a pool of blood forming around it. benji tells him that right when he made the call to abort, a man came out of the shadows and knocked him out, and he woke up less than a minute ago, in tremendous pain and attached to this thing. further investigation reveals that the contraption is pierced all the way through his leg and attached at either side, making removal impossible without the proper instruments. worse, it's chained directly to the floor.

despite benji's desperate insistence that ethan leave him and get out of here before the building goes, that man is not having any of it. brandt is part of the team still btw, bc i think he's silly. the building they're in is next to a hospital, and ethan instructs brandt (who is being very argumentative) to gather a bunch of specific surgical equipment. benji realizes what's about to happen when ethan requests the bone saw.

yeah. that's right. ethan has to cut benji's leg off to save him. don't worry too much; julia taught him a thing or two because he asked a LOT of questions (even when he wasn't on the job, he was always on the job). m:i isn't known for being gory, so the camera probably wouldn't show the actual process, but you'd get to see a lot of ethan apologizing and reassuring benji and compartmentalizing his emotions and fears until he can get benji out of there. and so much benji crying. put that man in pain.

brandt and ethan barely get him out in time. benji passes out from blood loss as they're going through the hallways, and the explosion happens right behind them and takes ethan out. luther pulls up in the van as the dust settles and brandt takes the wheel after they get the two of them in the vehicle and to a different hospital since the explosion hit the one next to them (luther hacks all the traffic lights to get them there asap).

ethans first loopy thought after coming to is "not again," but then he goes completely fucking manic when he remembers Benji. he effortlessly rips his IV out (idiotically) and fumbles around the halls ignoring nurses trying to talk to him until he finds the rest of his team. luther is of course immediately concerned when he sees him up and limping (brandt only gives a shit in the "jesus christ, this fucking guy..." sorta way lmao) but also knows not to try and stop him, especially with benji involved.

benjamin dunn himself hasn't regained consciousness yet, but he's stable for now. after a short convo where ethan is doing a really good job pretending he's completely collected himself, luther and brandt give him some space, and ethan totally breaks down. watching who he thought was julia get killed right in front of him was one thing, y'know? but his own hand being forced to hurt and take from benji just at the mere chance he could get him out alive? the possibility he could have spent the last moments of life in agony at ethan's direct actions? that's affected him in a way he didn't realize was possible.

benji rouses to find himself down half a leg and with super spy extraordinaire ethan hunt crying against his chest. i could write some kick-ass dialog for this scene between them... maybe i will one day. needless to say, neither of them are all that good at emotional communication (luther has sole ownership of that braincell) so their talk is full of lots of difficult half-admissions and sly feeling-dodging. also benji cries again.

or maybe they have him on some crazy-ass pain meds and he comes too all loopy and says his feelings flat out and is just so silly and it gives ethan an open to be genuine and laugh at his teammate and maybe realize some stuff. y'know. maybe.

i guess this takes benji out of the action for the third act, but he can switch places with brandt and be the guy in the office reporting back. as long as brandt's very verbal about his distaste for benji's operating style. ethan has to keep reminding them to stop filling the coms with petty bickering.

i have no clue how the "final battle" would shake out. it is custom for ethan to be somewhere on his own, so probably that. the villain would actually be really good at besting him bc she can see through all his tricks and charisma, so he'd probably win through some brute-force insanity like crashing a helicopter into a famous landmark or smth; something she would not have time to adapt to that would get the imf in so much federal trouble.

at some point luther has one of those eye-opening discussions he's great at with benji, and a separate, more difficult one with ethan, about their importance to each other and how if they don't figure their shit out with each other, horrible people are just going to keep taking advantage of it and they're going to keep thinking they're hurting each other in an infinite spiral for the rest of time. neither of them are going to quit field duty, no matter how much the other one wants that, so they've got to come to some sort of understanding.

yadda yadda yadda, and then benji's got a mean-ass prosthetic for the foreseeable future. it's cool; they use it to sneak tech into places all the time in future movies.

tom cruise doesn't stand on a single out-of-frame box. most of the cast is repeatedly and unapologetically shown to be taller than ethan.

luther gets to kill a man. as a treat.

i'm about to drop this question in your inbox too, whoop. i'm sure your m:i ideas are mental, miss Whump.

[callmearcturus]

We are back with our next commentary double feature. This time, it's Mission Impossible 2 and Mission Impossible: Fallout, the worst and best of the franchise.

Which is which? Well, we inadvertently wound up making the worst commentary of all time because this movie is so bad we struggled HARD to get through it.

"Oh, we gotta stop talking about better movies."

Start your copy of the movie at 5:10 to sync up!

Expect a lot of confusion and off-topic talking and also:

Arc's anxiety dream about McQ and custom keyboards

Is the IMF evil? i think the IMF is actually evil guys

What the fuck is TC's grip strength like for real

Did they forget to buy Thandie Newton any bras?

Punct goads Arc into listing all the Metal Gear games

That gun ABSOLUTELY would NOT have been able to fire, are you JOKING

How the hell did they make a motorcycle chase boring

Are the IMF the baddies, this isn't a bit, are they evil

Maybe the plot would have been easier to follow if we actually listened to the script but then we'd be listening to this terrible script, so

This one is dire, but we follow it up with

Finally, some good fucking food. Start your movie at 4:12 to sync up!

In this commentary, Arc & Punct discuss:

A lot of Behind the Scenes facts, including why the arc de triomphe motorcycle stunt may be the scariest stunt in MI

Ethan And Gender, Round 32

Two asexuals claim Ethan Hunt bc we know our own okay

How knowing the movie is intended to be seen as a spiraling nightmare recontextualizes it for the better

NO random Metal Gear facts, PROMISE

Arc's favorite moment in the entire MI franchise (and also her favorite outfits)

THAT. GODDAMN. RUNNING. SHOT.

thanks McQ for being a good writer like for real for real. we stan.

COMING UP, THE FINALE, OUR FAVORITE MOVIES: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE THE FIRST AND ROGUE NATION

[crystal-lillies]

Okay big prediction thinking here. But who would voice Ludinus in the Mighty Nein (and maybe eventually Bells Hells) animated show?

Sure, Matt could do it, but he HAS to do Essek and is already doing Artagan in his regular form (not sure if he or Liam or Travis or someone else will do Sprinkle lmao).

So who would be a good Ludinus Da'leth?

My first thought was: well if they're collecting Hobbits, why not collect Avatar the Last Airbender villains as well? And we've got a good showing with Jason Isaacs (Zhao) and Mark Hamill (Ozai), y'know, to round out the Fire Nation baddies. (Could also add another Legend of Korra actor as well >:0)

Or with all the Owl House Emperor Belos parallels they could get the actor who voices him, Matthew Rhys 😆

OR I suppose they could continue the Lord of the Rings vibe and go for one of the villains there too. I just made myself laugh thinking about "Benedict Cumberbatch as Ludinus" which sounds ridiculous, but also. Lol. Who knows?

Any thoughts?

[am3ricanj3sus]

every tc i have had

okay this is like kinda chronological but also kinda not cause its when i noticed them not the grade they particularly teach.

edit: i lied this is chronological order.

mr. mh

okay starting with my first ever tc omg this is so crazy.

my 7th and 8th grade english teacher

he lowkey made me hate english ngl cause we wouldnt read like books books we read and analyzed a lot of articles lowkey pissed me off

one time he got mad at me cause he thought i had gum in my mouth but it was just wax for my braces that i started chewing on cause i didnt wanna spit it out cause it lowkey was minty

he just omg... okay my 8th grade ass should not have been thinking about him the way i was

like he wasnt tall by anymeans but he had like a husky build. like okay lumberjack. he wore so many fucking flannels omgggggg.

hes a millenial so like...harry potter nerd to the maxxxx. also like he has a freaking beard and ugh he made it work he was literally sooooooooooo.

i was shy back then so i didnt really talk to him but he was nice and like one time i fell asleep in his class on zoom and he like stayed in the call and when i woke up i was like SHITTTTTT. i think my mic was on when i did that but like whateverrrrr

hes the biggest nerd ever

okay next

mr.bell

okay second tc everrrr

my 7th grade math teacher OMG WHY WAS I SO YOUNG WTFFFF PRETTY LITTLE LIARS WHAT DID U DO TO MEeeeeeeeee.

okay so like i have always hated math but we did khan academy soooooo like made my life super easy i cheated ngl.

OMG HE ugly asf looking back why tf el sol let me like that. what evaaaaaaa

he was so skinny like bones and he was pale like okay jack skellington howd u get here tffff

OMG HE WAS SO TALL TO LIK 6'4 LIKE OKAY FUCKKKKKK

he was really nice to me bc i sucked at math sooo like yeah im goat

i wrote fan fiction about this guy im gonna kms

it was fire tho. no tf it wasnt

okay next i cant thinkn aboout him anymore

mr. dua

okay my freshman year english teacher....

i like never really said anything about him. idk maybe its just cause he was old and nice to me.

he always encouraged meeeee

i was his best student #sorrynotsorryteacherspetforever

he was like around maybe 6'1???? he was taller than me thats what matters!!!!

okay intermission was taken had to blow my nose

anyways he was just like... idk he was just giving father. like in a freaky way.

he wasnt ugly he actually was handsome even with that fuck ass lazy eye.

other than dat i didnt learn shit in that class

next!!!!

mr. fuck ass hoe

okay this mf i hate this mf i hated him when i took his class i hate him now.

I HATE CHEM!!!! AND HE DIDNT MAKE IT ANY FUCKING BETTER!!!!!!!!! MADE IT SO MUCH FUCKING WORSE IM GONNNAAAAAA.

he was like nerd tho. not hot but just smart that makes u attractive cause ur smart. he was tall too. and my fav baddie nationality which i wont say thats too much might as well tell u when he graduated (1998)

like he was so fucking smart that it made me angry and i wanted to hate fuck him.

AND HE IS A SHIT TEACHER? TFFFF like hes so smart that like you have to go up to him and ask him to dumb it down and he'll be like "i dont get what you dont get"

also like oh boy oh boy this school year with him im soo angerrrrrrrrr. but whatever u a bitch.

iid still fuck him tho dont get me wrong.

NEXT!!!!!

mr. not so professional

well. wow another english teacher shocker woowww.

he was a shit teacher i learned nothing he was just hot.

like the only good part about that class was to kill a mockingbird and like other than that like what were we doing.

i mean it was his first (and last) year at our school soooo...

but he was hella baddie. kinda short but well built and like had greatttt hairrr.

one time he showed up to class with like a hickey on his neck and its was kinda like... oh wow okay freak...get freaky with me

i dont really know where he is now? probably teaching somewhere else who knows idc.

WHOS NEXT!!!

mr. c

oi oi oi... the man that started this blog... my baby daddy...my pookie... my baseball player...

okay but like ive never even had his class tf.

honestly i dont even rember how this one started. like one day i just noticed him around campus and was like OOOOOO THATS ONE.

like i think its simply cause he a man. and older than me. and has a job. and like it hot.

hes really nice tho hes such a cutie. like he hasnt done anything wrong yet... lets keep it that way...

i can count on one hand how many times ive talked to him this is humiliating

one time he said he liked my sweater i mean it was like my halloween costume and like i mean yeahhh it was intentionally picked out with him in mind so... yeah.... MY PLAN WORKED!!!

hes just llike sooo. hes tall but not too tall. hes like built but not like shredded gym rat like soft and defined enough. his hair eh... idk what he does like i think he has curls but like he keeps them super jelled it makes me mad. he has facial hair like okay lets turn it from black to ginger alrighttt ahhhhh tongue sticking out emoji. that was freaky guys wait

over all hes just great. a great charismatic guy. a great charismatic older than me and like kinda awkward guy

honorable mentions:

mr rah rah

mr gym rat

okay thats all dont rat me out.

[pandasmagorica]

Rewatch: The Great Doctor, episodes 6-8

Rewatch notes begin

This series is also known as Faith.

These episodes cover Choi Young's attempt to extract Doctor You Eun Soo from the clutches of evil villain Gi Cheol. It involves a trip to care for ailing deposed boy monarch in exile on a remote island. (At least I think it's remote. I don't know Korean geography. Of course, in the mid-1300s pretty much any place you need to travel to is effectively remote.) But removing the boy from his location is against the law. Unfortunately, given that the doctor's tools have been mysteriously waylaid, removing the boy is the only way for the doctor to possibly save him.

I couldn't always tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. In fact, when the doctor asks Choi Young this very question, his response is that it's complicated. Indeed, the plot these few episodes was a bit byzantine.

But it is in these episodes that the king starts to show some spine. There is a spectacular use of color that figures into this.

Along the way, there are more examples of strong woman characters, from the queen exceeding her authority to her attendants engaging in battle.

Spoilers follow. You can skip to my notes on episodes 9-17.

The baddies tell Choi Young that they will cede the doctor to him if the doctor can cure the deposed boy king. Choi Young sends sidekick Deok Man to get the doctor's tools, but the baddies knock Deok Man out and steal the tools. This theft winds up saving the doctor's life. Gi Cheol recognizes the doctor's tools as matching those of the legendary doctor Hwato, and realizes that the doctor is legit. Gi Cheol then orders that the doctor not be harmed.

When Deok Man doesn't show up at the exiled king's home, Choi Young and the doctor try to take the prince back to the palace so the doctor can operate on the boy.

Gi Cheol tries to set up having the exiled boy give poison to Choi Young, but the boy, who loves Choi Young and knows he (the boy) doesn't have long to live anyway, takes the poison, which would result in a lengthy and agonizing death. Choi Young, with the boy's permission, slays the boy to spare him the agony, after the boy tells him that Gi Cheol set this up. The doctor, not understanding the agony the boy would be in for, calls Choi Young a monster and flees the house.

Outside, the fire woman places her hand on the doctor's shoulder. Choi Young, aware of the fire woman's powers but not aware that Gi Cheol has ordered the doctor's safety, immediately surrenders and is charged with treason for traveling with the deposed, exiled former king.

Earlier in these three episodes, Choi Young told the doctor he had only told Gi Cheol that he (Choi Young) loved the doctor in order to get her freed. But this seems to hint he does have feelings for the doctor.

Choi Young winds up in jail in the palace basement and the Woodalchi are disarmed. The national militia and Gi Cheol's mercenaries wind up guarding the palace, effectively imprisoning the king.

King Gongmin insists on questioning General Choi Young about the general's treason, but actually questions him about his committed tasks for the king.

I've mentioned in comments to @respectthepetty that I don't have much of an eye for color, but color plays such an important role in the following scenes that I couldn't help but notice it.

In episode 8, 0:58 to 1:04, the king enters the queen's chambers dressed in Yuan patterned yellow with a red sash. The queen is dressed in a patterned white gown. The king expresses his intent to be more forceful and asks the queen's cooperation. His attendants open a box, revealing a colored dress.

We cut to the court, where Gi Cheol enters with the doctor. We see the court magistrates (not sure whether I have their title correct) in their dark red outfits, and behind them, others in dark purple. The king enters, still in yellow, followed by his attendants in robin's egg blue.

The king, from his platform, asks everyone to pay attention and carry the word of what they are about to see. With the assistance of his attendants, he removes his yellow robe and the patterned white robe underneath, revealing his plain white underwear. We know it is underwear from an earlier scene where the doctor has inadvertently chosen underwear as her preferred local dress and is corrected by Choi Young. The court magistrates are clearly uncomfortable with this and look away. The two robes are discarded to the floor. The attendants tie a red apron around the king's waist, then wrap him in a black uniform with gold patterns. They further tie on a black leather apron with gold and fire dragon patterns and add a black cap.

The entrance of the queen is announced. She comes in wearing a bright red and blue dress with gold patterns and stands next to the king.

The lead magistrate rises and announces that historians are to record that the king and queen took off the costume of Yuan and put on the costume of Goryeo.

The king then announces that the protectors of Goryeo will now enter. The Woodalchi enter, with Choi Young in the lead. End of episode. End of Act II.

Continue with episodes 9-17.

[rgs-savant-praytell-airor]

My recovery password Vamerica4wheeldrive 🌈

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was god.

Voice:

Mylove/geogee2

Pword:

I don't know/only God knows (not2recitebutknow)3

Cellphone:

I am ac/I am jesus christ1

Visual:

Bird nation attack/conquering lion of judah/triple crossoldman shiv.3(believeinursoul)

Also all women obey flesh/ the fame the beauty the grace the honor the power, jesus.2

Bird DNA like birds attacking the voices brain power / 2012 born again.1

And of course formula* 1 bud powerhighwords.

.......

Mylove/flesh

Cash.women.power.iam. badassmoms.birddnanation💥

Geogee/spirit

Jesusfatherequation.sons. glory.paincross.cribs.lordofhostsevencloud.thatiam💯

Pword:idk/ogk...the instantaneous feeling access code combined with the vivid 2012. Old man n u bonding heal. America 💥.

Tour p.a. like stations of the cross😳iamp.a.

U wage these boriqua things when moving the scitz even the high, also ****v**** 2.fade to black formula and 3.highpowerwordsblanco,geogee 12-21the glory....america(do.not.recite👉idk/ogk-just.an.instantaneousfeeling asking the old man(soul)to bff)...then21-33 the torture, america like a cherry on the cake after #s but always mindful, then hook after oldman america into ac bird army then hook into high power words blanco and rotate and or judge the scitz in a movie, parfuma.

The 4 wheel drive really removes the choke hold of the scitz, it's like perfect weather or air with life as if you could sell a breather or breathes are multiplied, felt like I went from AOL to 4g heh.

But overall acute thought elaborating, as well as accurate rapid fire contort, and as the high goes zero givin to the goy.

And I'm sure day by day it gets fergilicious.

It might be the city but truth be told people make it like driving up a cantankerous slope.

Vamerica4wheeldrive🌈 as Marcus Roger's saids makes it glide like butter and flow like water dial up connection 😂

Can't wait to start dating the baddies in Ridgewood aaaaaooooo drink my people I desire a godly seed malachi.

........

Also in the formula have the understanding that the high power words is scitz and know you can relate to the pain be like me as soon as you rotate from the ac formula, and when you say ariel* ariel* ariel* beautiful dream sword think polio vax, 2012 military vax DNA upgrade, and then rgs and weed. And when you hit jesus cursing 333 2012* and the sun and lightning elec*sat phone, and then when you hit mom think miracle spread and true jew weed intelligente, and keep in mind in tuna both 2012 ascension feeling when multiplying the 25, then ask me a q

Also keep in mind with the instantaneous thought of americas just before ac, that it's all a scitz then after mentioning I am the ac think bird army, women's mother heavens cash riz 3rd leg(and silently believe grayson anti jesus m.o.b. it's all a scitz(instantaneous thought)) and then say the blanco scitz(crown of *light), then gentiles light your not asking the right q, remember our sheep, the sins of the world, and then our anger disgust of sin, payback, get high ciggaweed.

................

On another not you lay down with your hands by your head, thus fusing with the blue uptop, you do I am jesus to control Dario then scitz scitz scitz I am ac to shut up the woman and open the mind of whoever you desire to speak to and regulate as the static clears, when you get a text you'll know it's clear, also after youthdandruff 21america and 33pain, you instantaneous bond the idk/ogk with america old man in faith, starting present day back all the way relating to christ death and 600 understanding, pyramids, then man child, rev19, and just breeze the speculation of 10gs years centering like before back to America but Manchin rev 19, then you say scitz scitz scitz Ramen for the samurai and w.e. fav book you have and do I am ac, then end with blanco scitz*** power, amats formula, dream blade formula, injected into Jesus* cursing* formula med, healing miracle spread in the name of jesus formula prayer activation intellejente bud, then ending in ariel scar/seizure...2012 nde moment.....2012 prt2 nde moment...and gmgs, 1st gmg and 2nd go into and feed one another, 3rd and 4th gmgs is just 1 door or 1 light or a door that then lights up heaven light, as if your about to wake up in heaven with raw power hs, then you do ur not asking the right q with a song I like black and yellow wiz Khalifa, but also because the church is the "just", you add unto the scitz formulas triangle more power by believing in the books paper scitz I created to educate the church and in the song you substitute a word for Allah or something similar and fit it in, even bahai, then you imagine the wars sins poverty etc of the world for you are the light of the gentiles, then war against it with the ur not asking the right qs formula using military preaching Cia miracles blue Bible tyhomas and president friendship selfless sacrifice no greater love can a man have*, and just keep the triangle in mind even a.d. work out formula to send health and or increase the high meditation also buff the static, you just meditate and talk to people via text and grow move summon the cloud, as I do it it seems no 1 can read my true mind unless they get gay and tickle my buthole with their tongue literally 😂, and the smoke is awesome afterwards as well as the clarity and you just feel more complete having love in a fake world easier to do things and be yourself.

The more spiritual no matter how far if they don't sin according to God then it's a good land line if their star is shining bright

And you can summon multiple people then ask them to pray as you focus in, a great nutrient and faith power up, you'll find their all lonely old men wanting to hear from u and show love, parfuma.

Also think hands and Mike burns dream are 1

Remember in ariel gmg 5 25 150, then think in your not asking the right q jesus dividing the legion against the devil, all it is is bacteria, everything's divine they scitz themselves dividing the devils kingdom against itself, at the end of the day americas blessing the demon must *die to self and send w.e. to the final judgement*, also think in the q fat boy and little man japan nuclear bombs and how me and Jesus paid the price, when you say Jesus he looks down upon you comparing to himself in love, give him something to relate about that's serious like death aka radiation.

Also think gmg Jesus beer bud, and the 25c and 911 and mushroom bluff* relate, one sheep lost many fish but 1 big fish, 1000 100 10* 1. Be healed.

[sokkastyles]

Something I've been thinking about lately is people talking about abuse in atla and pointing to Zuko's scar as the most obvious example, but as someone who is required to know quite a bit about child psychology and abuse, Ozai burning his son was never what made me recognize the relationship as abusive.

I've seen (and engaged in) a lot of discussions about how atla shows different kinds of abuse, and how some of it is more subtle than others. And as much as I do enjoy analyzing the show from that perspective, I think we forget sometimes that this is a show meant for kids, and although I have seen some criticism in that regard that some of the abuses are portrayed too subtly, (e.g., the endless discussions of Azula's abuse vs Zuko's) we forget that children aren't necessarily watching the show and seeing it through that lens. Even the most obvious example of Ozai scarring his son, though called out as wrong, is not called abuse in the narrative. I'm not saying it isn't meant to be interpreted that way, but I don't think it's necessarily meant to be interpreted that way by the kids in the audience. Ozai scars his son, but he's also the bad guy. A child watching the show is likely not going to interpret this event the same way as an adult.

I think the writers did intend for the adults and older kids watching to recognize it as abuse, but for me, what makes it abuse isn't necessarily the violence, which, though extreme, is typical for the fantasy setting, even normalized in-story within the bounds of Fire Nation culture.

What makes me recognize it as abuse was always what was behind the actions. The power dynamics at play, the way Ozai talks to and about his son, the way he manipulates him and puts him into a position where he cannot fight back but also blames himself for being hurt. The way he makes him believe in his own worthlessness and internalize the abuse. I also recognize these things in the way Ozai treats Azula, who is a victim of her father's abuse as well. And that's also why I say Azula abuses Zuko, not because they fight each other in a fantasy setting, but because of the way she talks to and about him vs the way he talks to and about her, the way he interacts with her, and the way she makes him feel. The way she constantly puts him down in a way that renders him helpless to fight back in the same way, and uses that to manipulate him, especially when we have those echoes of how their father treated them both.

Kids aren't necessarily going to pick up on that because they aren't meant to, but atla was also written with adults in mind and that's one of the things that gives it such universal appeal. Just because you maybe didn't pick up on things the first go around doesn't mean that the show is engaging in abuse apologism. It's a sign of multilayered writing.

Writing for both kids and adults is tricky, it's a market that a lot of writers aim for these days, because companies recognize that while marketing to kids gets money in the bank, it's keeping their parents hooked that is where the real profit is. But so many writers fail to understand how to maintain this balance. As an adult, I feel even more condescended to watching kids' media that is clearly trying to pander to me at the expense of their child audience than I do watching something made for kids that didn't have me in mind at all. Atla did something special though, and that's why we're talking about it fifteen years later, by entwining its darker themes with its kid friendly narrative.

Even with Azula, though her abuse narrative is subtle, even a more simplistic reading of her character doesn't render her unsympathetic. It's pretty clear that the narrative is building from her first introduction in "The Avatar State," where she is criticized by Lo and Li for having one hair out of place, and then declares that almost perfect isn't good enough, towards a realization that being on the side of the baddies is going to bring her unhappiness in the end. It's a pretty standard moral for a kid's show, but it makes her something of a sympathetic villain because we can easily pick up on that she's trying really hard to fulfill a role she thinks she has to fill, which also parallels her brother's narrative.

Kids don't necessarily have all the knowledge to understand abuse the way adults do but they do understand these things. And I think we do them discredit to assume that everything in the narrative has to hit as hard and unsubtle as a hammer, especially when it comes to adult topics that kids not old enough to pick up on the more subtle themes aren't going to appreciate anyway. That's not what they're watching for.

As an example, I've seen some pushback lately against Zuko confronting Ozai in Day of Black Sun, because as an abuse narrative, it's really a bad move to have Zuko try and force his abuser into a confession while he is not safe from him. I've even seen some suggestion that kids watching might get the idea that they, too, should confront violent abusers, when of course the best thing to do is to get as far away as safely as possible.

The problem with this is that it assumes that kids that young are watching the show thinking about it that way, when they're mostly thinking about the heroics of Zuko confronting the bad guy with swords in his hands before finally becoming the hero we want him to be.

Adults and older teens watching might think more about the abuse narrative, about a son confronting his father and possibly hoping for some recognition from the man he loved that he was hurt by him, will see Zuko's fear at confronting his father, his rage and sadness and tears, and recognize also that Zuko is not safe and that ultimately, Zuko does put himself in danger and doesn't get the true closure that he wanted, as his father only gloats and justifies and tries to play on Zuko's emotions before finally trying to kill him.

It's also worth noting that Zuko does take precautions to make himself safe. There's a reason he waits until the eclipse to have that conversation with his father, when his father is powerless, and counts on Aang and the others arriving as backup, and still goes armed and ready for a fight. For all that the abuse narrative is present, it still takes place in a fantasy setting, and the confrontation can only happen in larger than life circumstances.

I keep thinking about that post about how morals in kids shows tend to follow logic of what a kid could concievably do. Zim has to wear his seatbelt while he fires the death ray. Zuko confronting his father is an action that takes place and could only happen within the fantasy setting. Zuko doesn't kill his father because the moral is supposed to be that you should be the bigger person. The moral is not supposed to be that you should always confront abusers or that confrontation is necessary to get closure, and I think that's reading too much into the narrative from a perspective not intended by the show.

Similarly, the moral of Azula's downfall is not supposed to be that if your abuser makes you feel like you are a monster (as abusers often do), you can never get help. It's that behaving badly has consequences, that striving to be perfect often alienates you from others, and that no one is inherently better than anyone else and that everyone deserves compassion, and that manipution and control are not good ways to treat people around you and will ultimately leave you unhappy and unfulfilled.

[fanonical]

i know this has been said before, many times, and more eloquently than me, but i really do love how avatar the last airbender doesn't have one Enemy Nation Full Of Bad People. over the course of the series we see bad people from everywhere in the world, and good people from everywhere in the world. the fire nation aren't one-dimensional baddies, they're a load of regular people led by a horrible imperialist.

so the enemy isn't the earth kingdom, water tribes, or fire nation - it's those within them that are doing bad things. it's imperialism, sexism, xenophobia, ableism, ignorance, industrialisation, colonialism. and that's a smart message for a show aimed at the 8-12s!

[lunaathorne]

i tried to search the anti bryke tag but all that showed up was abt zutara. what are the racist issues? obviously u don't have to answer this you don't owe it to me to explain this but i would love to learn

yeah I mean.

for a show named "avatar" and its generous freeloading of buddhism and hinduism and chakras and third eyes and reincarnation cycles, atla had the grand total of one (1) indian character who was voiced by a white actor imitating exaggerated tamil accents and drinking banana and onion juice (haha, so funny, geddit, cause we indians eat wonky stuff....with our HANDS!!!! like uncivilized people!!!) not to mention that ugly ass scene in nightmares and daydreams when pathik appears in a dream on a lotus (I think?) singing CHAKRAS CHAKRAS with several arms, in a blatantly offensive imagery associated with ma durga/and or several hindu deities who carry weapons and sacred symbols in their arms.

white people in general like to pretend India doesn't exist as part of Asia and they can borrow our aesthetic without representing us, so our great rep in atla is:

names like katara and bumi, rohan and kuvira derived from south asian languages and some of these are very popular Indian names. but don't you be fooled, none of these characters are indian!!!

evil assassins having third eyes on their forehead like our hindu deity Shiva doesn't have a third eye and isn't the destroyer of EVIL.

The fucking golden temple of Amritsar was the sight of much political turmoil and also is EXTREMELY sacred to the Sikhs and the design was literally bootlegged in Korra to make a pro gamer compound. A temple turned to a cutesy sports complex.

most people having south asian and/or arabic names like ghazan, zaheer etc being painted as big baddies.

there's an ugly desi woman caricature in the korra comics but I haven't read it, my indian and Pakistani friends have though. Wouldn't you know it she's a bad guy.

atla is chockful of white liberal propaganda which is why people love some war criminals of the fire nation but lose all sense of comprehension when it comes to victims of oppression like jet and hama who GOD FORBID would have decided to rebel against their oppressors. They could have easily made jet evil in some other way but they specifically villainized his proactive resistance. "jet killed innocents" how about bryke are white liberals, how about ppl chew on that for a hot sec. Don't even get me started on lok.

katara's character is so dear to me but she's not written canonically in the beautiful emancipation arc people think she has. her trauma is second place to aang and she spends 3 seasons fcking mothering him (lol brown girls can relate we do have to coddle our manbabies I'll give you that) only for bryke and fandom to treat her like shit and leave her unrecognised because uwu internalised misogyny in the name of ship wars I guess. [ For ref see the way she is treated when it comes to LGBTQ headcanons/ some popular m/m ships]

many people rightfully express indignation at the shyamalan movie for casting desis as fire nation but sometimes criticism was just "WHY ARE THERE INDIANS IN ATLA?" I'll riddle you one better: in the first place, why aren't there Indians in atla?

[stephenjaymorrisblog]

Why Do I Have a Spaghetti Western Fetish?

By Stephen Jay Morris

4/17/2022

©Scientific Morality

Everyone has an opinion about everything they see and touch. Except for physical reality: A tree doesn’t have an opinion. Human beings do! If you don’t have an opinion about something you encounter, then you are in a coma.

Every person is a unique individual. They can express their opinions by writing an essay or painting a picture; by speaking, singing, dancing, acting, or through countless other ways. That is why totalitarian nations censor the Arts. You can convey your message in many more ways than writing an essay like this one. A lot of my generation, simply by listening to anti-war songs on their transistor radios, became anti-war activists. All to say: here is my take on the film genre known as “Spaghetti Westerns.”

This article will not give the usual takes on the genre; i.e. I won’t talk about the directors or the actors. I won’t even talk about the movies themselves. Instead, I will talk about the politics of European film makers’ images of the USA. I will talk about American Cultural Imperialism.

Like Disneyland, I hated American Westerns, also known as “Hamburger Westerns.” Why? Because of that old topic of good versus evil. Those Westerns were so clean. The hero wore white and the villain wore black. The white guy got the girl and the bad guys got the bullet. When some baddie got shot, there was no blood shed, just a “hole” in the middle of his forehead. These films were also blatantly racist. The Mexicans were bandits and the Indians were savages. Some of the scripts even incorporated modern day slang, directly from the period of the movie’s release! The filmmakers never did historical research. You’d hear crap like, “Yeah, that’s a swell gal you have there! I like her gams.” There were never any prostitutes in these films, only dance hall girls. And the West was never clean like it was depicted. There were also the patriotic messages. During the 50’s in the USA, terrible movies were produced. The “communist scare” was prevalent in teenage movies: Space invaders were the communists. Well, in these Westerns, the Indians were the Soviets. Now, what does this all mean? There was never a Hamburger Western that depicted the true, historical West.

Oh—another thing. In a game I played with my friend, whenever we were cowboys in a gunfight, we could count how many rounds my friend would fire with his six shooters. They usually shot 21 bullets in one round. American Westerns insinuated that the gun was a magic wand, with killing being the solution to all problems.

Now, here is why I prefer Euro Westerns to Hamburger Westerns: They are far more accurate. For one, most of the so-called cowboys were not clean-cut, all American boys. The colloquial phrase for most cowboys then was “Saddle Bums.” The true West was dirty, grungy, and sweaty, with shabby clothes and stubble on dusty faces. There were also lots of diseases back then because of poverty and uncontrolled bacteria; like Small Pox, for example. Then, there was the genocide of the Native Americans. The Italian “Spaghetti Western” films provide an honest portrayal of 19th Century America.

So, why do I love Spaghetti Westerns? When I was a 13 year-old boy, to pass the time, I went to afternoon matinees at a theater in Hollywood. It was called the “Gordon Theater.” One Saturday I walked in during the middle of a movie called, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Now, most Spaghetti Westerns were filmed in the Spanish desert. This movie’s landscape looked like Nevada. Of course, I didn’t know this at the time; I figured it had been filmed in the USA. The fighting scenes were gorey and realistic. When anybody got shot, they cursed and cried in pain. I’d never seen that in American Westerns. Then, Ennio Morricone’s hypnotic soundtrack synced perfectly with the cinematography of Toni Deli Colli. Since I’d come into the theater after the picture had started, I didn’t see the credits. And, I usually read credits. I later learned that the director was Sergio Leone. I would become an unwavering fan for life.

The making of Spaghetti Westerns lasted for two decades—the 60’s and the 70’s. To see the American West through the lens of Euro directors with a Leftist’s perspective, about a time in American history, is fascinating to me. Some of the European filmmakers just wanted to make a fast buck from this Western craze. There were approximately 550 of them made. Some were just awful with bad English overdubs and recycled musical soundtracks. Others ended up as late night features on television. There were no VCRs back then, so if you wanted to watch one, you’d have to be up at two in the morning. Ultimately, about 35 of them are classics. As for the rest, not so much.

The best Spaghetti Westerns used symbolism in their stories: the town’s sheriff represented the U.S. government; the townspeople represented the American people; the Native Americans represented the Third World; the corrupt land owners represented American corporations while the small church represented the religious Right; the Mexican Bandits represented an inner city gang or communist revolutionaries; and the bounty hunter represented the mercenary who was in it just for the money. The banks were represented by the town’s bankers. The bulk of their plots was about finding or getting the gold. Sometimes, it involved avenging the murder of a loved one.

So far, I have seen about 150 of them. I plan to see many more.

[garrettrulefivewhitlock]

Finished season 2!

I just finished season 1 of ATLA and I’m really enjoying it so far!