#i think that’s my issue with how people criticize this film and how they interact with films in general

[meat-wentz]

hi I love reading your takes on saltburn so much!! i love your fae parallels <3 what i really really liked was how in the end oliver wasnt any deeper or more 'moral' than the cattons, it is all about greed and want, how societies perceptions have more influence than reality, the importance we place on things that dont really exist. i think most people place an importance on oliver or the plot expecting it to diliver a 'moral' to tell us something 'meaningful' we already know and want to hear (like oliver to the cattons) to make us feel better about ourselves/life/the world. when instead it just shows us shallowness. if you want to find a meaning behind the movie it's like a reflection people don't really want to see. I think it highlights the pointlessness behind believing everything has a meaningful reason. capitalism, beauty, materialism, societal norms, they are all consepts witch are ultimately nothing. they are not meaningful other then how they make us more acceptable to others. the cattons are the epitome of what is acceptable to others and oliver uses that to his advatage to achive not something 'meaningful' but just something that he wants. anyway that's my take!

YES SAY ALL OF THIS!!!!!

[strangebiology]

I think a lot of the people in my life who have expressed disgust or disapproval of my interest in/collection of animal remains have come at it first from the perspective of "but diseases!" like regular uncleanliness stigma. the second most common reaction is that interest in/collection of/comfort with animal remains (to be clear, i collect bones and sometimes preserved tails or pelts and these are the objects in question) is... creepy? and, the people who are most disgusted/creeped out are usually people who by and large dont interact with wild animals or livestock. my friends who are vet techs or who hunt or who practice animal husbandry are more or less unfazed.

(Re: What are actual common attitudes towards animal remains?)

Interesting, thank you!

Now, I'm wondering if people mistake personal discomfort for immorality.

I've mentioned my one video that did get some negative comments, showing the slaughter of a reindeer (you can see it here but I have warnings on it for a reason! Blood and death!) And, I think 90% or so (I suppose I could go count them) are more reasonable.

First, people are mad at the assumption that I killed a reindeer (I did NOT kill it, I just filmed it.) Then, the issue is it's being killed for no reason (it was NOT no reason, it's for food.) Then the method is criticized (this is one of the ONLY legal ways to kill them and it's quicker than it looks because of post-mortem spasms.) Then, when those concerns are disproven, the only issue left is "filming and posting it is sadistic." So...killing was no problem, but showing anyone that their meat came from a death was a problem. (Again, I respect if you don't want to see it! So please heed the warnings unless your desire to know how reindeer are killed outweighs your discomfort with watching a death!)

I wonder if sometimes people are overly focused on prioritizing their own 5-second comfort over things that matter a lot more, but are external to them, and they don't really care about others who they are not currently looking in the face of at all.

This isn't a 100% relevant example, but consider the people who don't want to donate their organs after death. A common reason to forgo something that could save and improve lots of lives is "it sounds gross!" Ickiness really should not be a factor in whether or not to save lives--the donor will never see or feel it, but since it's not their own life being saved, the 5-second icky feeling when checking the "donor" box is suddenly more important than the saved and improved human lives.

I know I shouldn't think too hard about one random experience, but I will always remember this one. I was once at a consumer survey thing for a turkey meat brand, where participants tried the meat and said what we thought about the name, taste, packaging, branding etc. We were instructed to circle what we liked on the branding and cross out what we didn't like.

One participant crossed out the part where it said "humanely raised." I asked if she had made a mistake, or...does she feel like the label is disingenuous or something...? Surely she's pro-humane treatment of animals, right??

"No," she said. "I don't want them to do that. I don't want to think about their lives when I'm eating them, and they don't need to be humane to animals that are going to die anyway." Most of the group agreed. I couldn't help but point and say "YOU'RE gonna die anyway!"

That may have been the first time I encountered a group of people shamelessly agreeing that they would rather animals suffer unnecessarily than think for one second that the animal whose body they are using/eating was ever even alive. Because not feeling guilty about something was infinitely more important to them than any amount of suffering that someone else might experience.

[mosaickiwi]

14DWY As a Drama AU

Hey remember when I said I’d post this in February oopsies!! (don’t ask me about demon!ren i will cry)

Open at your own risk this thing is LONG. Tried to give everyone at least a little something! upon putting this in my drafts i realized olivia exists i'll add her at some point uhhh. Also you can tell how much I love Elanor... hehe

14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI

The cult classic romantic thriller, 14 Days With You, is now a drama! Coming to all your favorite streaming platforms this summer. A whirlwind romance gone right and wrong that you DON’T want to miss.

Cast List

[REDACTED]

🖤 Quiet kid that used the after school theater program to delay returning home. Never wanted to perform, but loved doing costumes, make up, and correcting others (in his mind) on how to portray their roles. 

🖤 Spent a little extra time perfecting the costumes of a certain someone who didn't even know they existed. He always traded house chores with his sister so she'd sit in the audience to solely film Tree #2's performance.

🖤 Was an apprentice special effects makeup artist after graduation at first, particularly for horror films, but it didn't exactly pay the bills when they left home.

🖤 Easily rose to the top in their acting career due to his dedication for crafting characters to perfection. 

🖤 Dolly Parton/Lady Gaga-esque in their separation of work and life—completely unrecognizable in their regular civilian attire. Paparazzi have never gotten a picture of them in all their years trying.

🖤 Has zero issues getting into character, but does "method acting" on occasion to make sure people leave them alone on set. And also to fuck with directors and producers they don't like. Notoriously difficult to work with because of it + their overall attitude towards others, still gets hired somehow.

🖤 Got offered the role as the main love interest in 14DWY without an audition, thanks to a previous manipulative pink haired character he played in a film that ended up never being released. (2017 Ren because it's funny)

 Angel (you!)

💜 Participated in the same after school theater program as [REDACTED] and Leon for a few semesters before you got bored of it. Curiosity for acting resurfaced later in life.

💜 Newbie actor at the recently formed talent agency of your friend. Only starred as non-speaking roles or background characters in small productions until the drama. You moved back to Corland Bay after uni for the better industry prospects.

💜 You initially auditioned for a very small role in the drama as an employee in a seaside shop at first, but somehow you wound up as the lead? (un)lucky you.

💜 Feel free to fill in the blank for any whys and hows you think of to fit your OC/self/sona as you so please <3

Elanor

💖 Normally an actress and casting director, first time as an executive producer for the drama. Dreams of bringing her own romantic screenplays to life. Hasn't quite proven herself the way she wants in the industry to feel confident enough in them. 

💖 Catalyst for the drama being made. A "friend" mistakenly recommended the 14DWY book to her. She absolutely loathes all the psychological horror of it but sees the potential it has.

💖 Also the reason [REDACTED] was immediately cast, and you as well once she saw your chemistry with him while reading for a minor role. He hadn't shown a fraction of as much interest when reading lines with other potential candidates, so she decided to take the risk of an untested talent as the headliner.

💖 Refuses to use her family's name to get her stuff made. She wants her works to speak for themselves. Very picky about who she works with due to her family having hands in most of Corland's entertainment industry so she hardly gets a genuine interaction beyond ass-kissing.

💖 Always partial to working with Conan's small studio since he was the only director to give her any sort of criticism in spite of her family, as gentle and polite as it was. She still cried a little in the dressing room though.

💖 Genuine confusion when Conan wants her to act as both a producer and assist with direction. She only intended to bring it to his interest. But how could she say no to someone whose judgment and opinion she respects so much?

Conan

💖 Runs and owns a small scale studio in the Bay that seems to pick and choose its productions at random. It is in fact Alice sneaking into her dad's home office and putting scented stickers on the ones she likes. (She only reads the titles)

💖 Extremely proud of Elanor for getting so far on her own, and would take on one of her dozens of scripts no questions asked if she'd only work up the courage to show him one. So imagine his surprise when she comes to him with a romantic horror instead of one of the fairy tale romances he sees her scribbling notes on during breaks.

💖 While he’s the one with the final say, he does try to let Elanor have as much free reign as possible on the project in the hopes to boost her confidence.

Kiara

💖 A super-star actress and model that got her start in Corland’s local industry, but quickly hit it big. 

💖 When she isn’t drowning in work, she’ll swing through town to check in on her sister.

💖 Desperately wants to star in one of Elanor’s productions, but respects her sister’s desire for independence. Though she does like to tease about certain casting decisions on the drama when made aware of them.

the rest of the cast are unfortunately very silly i couldn't resist

Moth

💖 Started a talent agency out of spite for the terrible castings in their favorite media. Got further invested upon realizing they could read the scripts before the movies or show adaptations were even announced.

💖 The one who pushed you to audition for a minor role in the production once the rumor about who was cast as the main love interest reaches them. They've heard all the horror stories about [REDACTED] so wanted the inside scoop. Horrified and fascinated to find out you get the lead role. It’s like watching a train wreck.

Leon

💖 Joined the theater program initially because of you, but got really into it. Moved away to attend a performing arts school until his mother got sick.

💖 Took every wacky infomercial or street performance gig he could find to pay the hospital bills until Teo found out and swooped in.

💖 Eternally grateful for the burden of financial ruin being relieved, so he always accepts the jobs Teo gets for him. He definitely won’t complain since he’s not dressed in an animal costume and shouting nonsensical slogans for cleaning products.

Teo

💖 Met Leon through a shared production and quickly bonded. Attended a different performing arts school and met Jae as a child.

💖 Almost the exact opposite of his game character purely for the funnies. Shy, introverted, can’t flirt to save his life. Still a nepo baby but he can hold his own in acting. Doesn’t like his character much, but is extremely jealous of the confidence he oozes.

💖 Leon and Jae are his only friends in the industry so he uses his sway to get them parts if they haven't already gotten a call back. Gets REALLY nervous on set for certain roles so he needs their support.

Jae

💖 Attended the same school as Teo when they were kids, and is constantly pitching intentionally bad ideas and joking on set to reassure his friend.

💖 A little bit of a thrill seeker, so does all his own small stunts if he thinks he’s capable. Stands there and gawks watching the more extreme stunts, loudest to clap when they go well.

💖 Kept bringing Maple to the shoots cause how could he even think about leaving her at home? She would occasionally break her leash and wander into a scene for head scratches and kisses. The film crew always booed when a PA came to take her off set.

Violet

💖 Completely terrible at caring for plants. Inspired by her role, she starts vlogging about her plant mom journey before shooting even begins. All her advice is completely wrong and terrible. Her personal assistant keeps her in the dark by tending to the plants themselves to fix her mistakes.

💖 Finds out she has a talent for flower arrangement, though. Does thank you vases for the cast and crew on all her future productions that last a lifetime because her PA made sure all the flowers were fake.

Exposition

(silly on set shenanigans)

🎬 Scenes get retaken quite a bit, since you’re still extremely new to it all. Most of the cast and crew expect anger out of [REDACTED] after the 4th call for a re-shoot on the first day’s library scene, but he’s surprisingly cracking jokes about his dye job and reassuring you that you’re doing great. The infamously ill-tempered actor is smiling somehow… even being patient? Not glaring down his co-star for minor slip ups? They cannot recognize this person.

🎬 Violet and [REDACTED] naturally butt heads on set. She respects their acting, not the actor. Zero hesitation to snap back if he’s getting snarky with a PA. You’re the one people have to beg to separate them, and you’re completely baffled that [REDACTED] doesn’t treat others as nicely as he treats you.

🎬 Even though Elanor is a nervous wreck about the first real thing to ultimately make or break her career, she’s scarily efficient on set—as long as no one distracts her. She does get sidetracked once in a while, only because she loves chatting and answering any questions the cast or crew might have. She even brings one of her own cats to set during a slower day to see if they can get along with Maple. Leaves Conan in charge when the horror scenes are being shot. They’re both put off by how vivid they feel, but Conan at least can grin and bear it. 

🎬 You and Leon manage to catch up on set while [REDACTED] is otherwise occupied shooting said horror scenes. You tease him about a few infomercials you saw when looking up his actor reel, and Leon teases you back about your unlucky streak of being a tree or a rock in every play the theater program put on when y’all were younger. Laughs even harder once he finds out your most prominent roles until then were “unnamed zombie #5 at the bottom of the pile” and “sleeping train passenger.”

🎬 Try as he might, [REDACTED] doesn’t convince Elanor to change up a few crucial parts of the script for his benefit. His offhand threats of leaving the production fall on deaf ears, as she is all too happy to do re-shoots to make Teo the lead. His innocent hints to you about the shoddy script fly over your head for some reason! You love how it's turning out, what does he mean?

🎬 Super shy Teo prefaces and warns his co-stars before acting in every scene of his character being excessively flirty. Most of the actors have worked with him at some point or another beforehand, so they let him go through his routine without issue. Some crew members love the whiplash of him switching between overly courteous and smarmy, others vastly prefer the flirty character and mourn the loss as production comes to a close.

The Build Up

📺 The higher ups pressure Violet to start a short-lived streaming career to boost interest, since she’s hopeless with plants. She amasses a cult following for her MMO reviews, blind raids on new patches, and her wild ride of a Minecraft playthrough. In the end she winds up preferring to play games off stream, but once in a blue moon she’ll do a first time raid stream so her more dedicated fans can join and watch her alliance get wiped. Creative trolling is highly encouraged.

📺 Teo, Jae, and Leon appear on a late night TV show for promotion. It was meant to be for Teo and [REDACTED] at first. (Where’s the leading lover? [REDACTED] refused all promo appearances or sit downs without you being involved in them.) The host plays a clip that Teo’s particularly embarrassed about, and he hides his face in shame when the crowd hoots and hollers praise about his portrayal.

📺 [REDACTED] comes across as doting and overprotective of you once you’re pushed into the spotlight of celebrity, and shows increasingly concerning behaviors as the premiere looms closer. Depending on your response, they’ll back off to a point or dial it up. Interviewers and consumers mistake it as the eccentric actor’s “method acting” so the red flags just slide right past.

📺 Elanor and Conan guest star in a podcast for off-the-cuff romance enthusiasts. Their strangely cagey and joking comments like “there were so many retakes we couldn’t keep track of what was meant to be the actors messing around or part of the final cuts,” and “we’ve actually sent all the reviewers 1 of 14 versions with completely different endings,” leave listeners all the more curious to see the film.

The Climax

🎉 Reception is huge, in good ways for most. The majority of the cast see a surge in popularity if they didn’t already from the hype. 

🎉 Teo bemoans his endless offerings for sarcastic pretty boy jobs, Leon makes enough to get picky about his roles (and pay Teo back), Jae somehow cons a studio into an action film starring Maple—and subsequently adopts every single one of her stunt doubles. 

🎉 Moth throws the agency away to start adapting anime and manga themselves. Elanor finally feels validated enough to bring one of her romantic screenplays to the big screen, starring her sister Kiara and a very enthusiastic Violet as the leading couple. 

🎉 Conan’s studio is overloaded with scripts, and Alice runs out of scented stickers that much quicker. They are severely backlogged send help.

🎉 One determined conspiracy theorist sets out to prove those missing 13 versions of the ending are real, based on minor cuts and inconsistencies purposefully left in the public release.

The End, Roll Credits

choose your own ending

Bad End 💔 - A Falling Star

💔 If you respond negatively to [REDACTED]’s demeanor during shoots and promo: he plays the waiting game, uses his connections and blackmail to make sure all your roles without his name attached don’t garner nearly as much attention as the ones where you’re co-stars.

💔 Your negotiating power quickly plummets as you fall out of demand and end up begging just for the non-speaking roles you once loathed.

💔 The careers of anyone you got close to on set fall apart much faster than yours, before they’re outright blacklisted in the industry.

💔 You begrudgingly call up your last option. He can’t do much for your friends, but their offer to help you make a comeback is always open.

Neutral End 💌 - Just One More Try

💌 If you respond indifferently to [REDACTED]’s demeanor: the drama leads to you getting more offers, though a handful are for playing opposite of [REDACTED], as the on-screen chemistry was too much for studios to ignore for cash grabs.

💌 Elanor has rid herself of the drama’s subsequent rights, despite positive reception, so a sequel sprouts up in the works at a different studio. One that doesn’t mind catering to the whims of their actors when it comes to script integrity.

💌 You arrive on the set to find that not just one, but all of your cast mates except for them were written to have much smaller parts in the sequel. In fact, you rarely find a scene in the revised script where [REDACTED] isn’t alongside you.

💌 Sadly the contract is air tight, just put up with it until it’s over… What’s this clause about further sequels?

Good End 💍 - Off Into the Sunset

💍 If you respond positively to [REDACTED]’s demeanor: you’ll sadly announce at the post premiere press conference that acting was a one-and-done adventure for you. Retired effective immediately, no farewell interviews.

💍 You’re spotted around town for a few weeks in a mask with a tall, darkly dressed companion at your side before you disappear from the public eye and Corland Bay all together.

💍 A few of your friends at least have an idea of where you are, and they meet up with you whenever you're in a nearby city. None of them can recognize the man glued to your side, though. Not that he'd say anything to clue them in.

💍 After months of near inactivity, [REDACTED] mysteriously deletes their socials without a word, sparking confusion and outrage among hardcore fans still desperately hoping for a sequel.

[ponett]

I have now finally seen the Mario movie. It was Pretty Good. Here are my wordy thoughts on it. (I am going to spoil the entire movie. Duh.)

In many ways, the Mario movie does what I wish the first Sonic movie had done. They just took the characters and the premise and the world from the games, and made it a straightforward animated adventure movie. It's bright and colorful and remixes things JUST enough to include fun elements from multiple games, and it doesn't make Mario get adopted by James Marsden or whatever. It even has the music!

That's all you really need, right? Right...?

I'll get this out of the way up front. Chris Pratt was fine. He's fine

If anything, it really feels like they did the movie a disservice by letting us hear so little of the Mario voice in the previews. It took one scene for Pratt to disappear into the role for me. It was totally fine. If anything, I found Charlie Day's normal voice coming out of Luigi WAY more distracting, even if I did like him in the role.

Everyone else was pretty good, for the most part. Jack Black was obviously very good as Bowser, but I'm biased. Seth Rogen does the Seth Rogen laughs as Donkey Kong, but I thought DK was fun, too. (I liked his little rivalry with Mario where he was just constantly giving him shit.) The only casting choice I truly hated was Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. I hated every line that came out of his mouth. He sounds atrocious. Just the worst. I swear to fucking god if they do a DKC movie and we have to hear him for 90 minutes

I did think Peach was lacking, but that was on the script, not Anya Taylor-Joy's performance. It's cool to see Peach fight, but it's one of those all too common instances where the writers put so much effort into making the main girl kick ass and be an effortlessly confident girlboss that they forgot to give her an actual personality. Not that I'd point to Super Princess Peach and its mood swing superpowers as positive representation or anything, but there's a happy middle ground, surely. Shrek was 22 years ago, just having the princess do flying kung fu kicks isn't enough.

Okay. With the voices out of the way, let's talk about the big picture:

It's way better than the words "Illumination Mario movie" implied, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. The spirit of Mario is there 100%. But I'd also describe it as "ruthlessly efficient."

This was perhaps the main complaint critics had, and they were absolutely right. People have responded to these totally average reviews with "Well, what did you expect? Shakespeare?! It's MARIO!!" Like, yes, I would prefer it if the movie I paid to see had writing that was good instead of bad. What a shocker. My issue isn't that it's not "high-brow" enough. The problem is that it feels mercenary. It feels like an editor went through and deleted almost every line of dialogue that isn't some form of exposition, at the expense of the pacing. Any scene that's not a montage or some sort of action is kept as short as they could make it, with barely any room for embellishment, character interaction, or anything other than the bare minimum word count to hit all the typical Save the Cat Hollywood screenwriting 101 story beats to the letter. There aren't even as many jokes as you might think (and the ones that are there are extremely hit or miss, including a lot of the slapstick with Mario himself).

Mario and Peach's little arc together in the front half of the film is probably the worst example of this pacing. Even having read reviews that complained about how fast Peach goes from meeting Mario (by her admission the first other human she's ever met) to deciding to train him as the new savior of the Mushroom Kingdom, I was SHOCKED at how fast it was. They don't even lampshade it.

Peach takes Mario straight into the big training sequence where he learns how to use mushrooms and jump over platforming obstacles. Peach is apparently already a hypercompetent platforming pro and a great fighter, so there's no clear reason why she's taking the time to train this random guy to be half as good as her when the world is in danger. Then they set off on their adventure, Toad joins them, and we get a VERY brief travel montage. It's about thirty seconds total - just long enough to give Peach a line about how she wants to protect this beautiful world of hers to try and give her some stakes. We get the genre-mandated nighttime campfire heart to heart, which is exactly long enough to have Mario say he misses Luigi and to have Peach give the two sentence summary of her origin story and not a second longer. Then they reach the Kongs, and their big journey is complete. (They barely interact for the rest of the movie.) So much of the movie is like this - always ready to get on to the next scene as soon as a new one starts.

I'm not criticizing the script because I expect The Super Mario Bros. Movie to be a prestige drama - although there are certainly halfhearted attempts at a dramatic arc. The stuff with Mario's family was a fun enough idea, but again, ruthless efficiency. We get one quick scene with them at the start to give Mario some pathos, because I guess Save the Cat said he's gotta have some pathos. And then Mario gets his dad's approval amidst the action of the final battle in Brooklyn to resolve his arc, just so the movie can end as quickly as possible once Bowser is defeated. (Despite now having the approval of their family and their community back in Brooklyn, Mario and Luigi move to the Mushroom Kingdom off-screen without a single word dedicated to this decision, because that's where they live in the games.)

Look. I am not comparing it to The Godfather. Don't give me that shit. I am not asking for an extra half hour to explore Mario and Luigi's childhood trauma. I am not asking for the complex inner workings of the Mushroom Kingdom monarchy. I know this is gonna be a basic Hero's Journey adventure for kids. It just feels like it's turning down so many opportunities to have a little fun with the characters, to let them interact and play off of each other, to let there be some adventure on this adventure. This is the first time we've gotten to see these characters interact with fully voiced dialogue in a very, very long time! "Yeah, it's not High Art, but it's FUN!" Stories are fun! Character interactions are fun! The script could be having so much more fun!! It is adamantly against making the Story parts of this story-driven movie any more Fun than they functionally need to be!!!

Mario, Peach, and Toad's journey to find the Kongs is shorter than the training montage that precedes it. After the opening, Bowser mostly just sits in his castle and waits for the third act to start. Luigi's there, too, but he only gets one scene with Bowser and then the movie mostly forgets he exists until the climax. He doesn't even get to try and sneak out of Bowser's castle and get up to hijinx. He's just there to be a motivation for Mario, so he sits in a cage for half the movie. It's the bare outline of a script with action scenes added in.

Aside from the fact that it's Jack Black singing as Bowser, I feel like this overly-efficient script might be part of the reason why the "Peaches" scene stands out so much. It's a moment that didn't strictly need to be there to keep the plot moving or to provide an action setpiece. It's not even a reference to another Mario thing. It's just a fun and memorable little character moment that's there for its own sake. That's what the movie needed more of. To stop and smell the roses more often. To play in the space.

To be clear, this isn't a unique problem with this movie. Critics have been noting for years that second acts are disappearing from big Hollywood movies in favor of the Act I plot setup and the Act III action, even though Act II is supposed to be where you get to explore your actual premise. And lots of animated movies give me this exact same vibe of being too "screenwriterly," or feeling like they had an executive breathing down their necks and demanding changes based on focus testing. But these common issues are why I come away mostly feeling like the movie is on the better end of "average," rather than totally blowing my mind. You have seen this movie many times before, just not with Mario in it.

And, of course, there's the music. The score by Brian Tyler based on various classic Mario and Donkey Kong tunes (frustratingly all attributed to Koji Kondo) is absolutely beautiful, but it's unfortunately frequently overshadowed by the licensed music. Everyone already complained about things like the use of Take On Me in place of a lovingly arranged DKC medley, but it feels illustrative of the tug of war the movie is caught in the middle of, between wanting to be a lavishly faithful Mario movie and wanting to be a generic tentpole animated adventure movie. Every single licensed song used is the most obvious, overused song they could have picked for the scene. It reeks of cynical executive meddling and it took me out of the movie every time.

But there really was a lot of care and love put into this movie - more than probably any other video game movie ever made, not that that's a high bar. I don't want to underplay that too much amidst all my complaints spurred by the absolutely insane response to the reviews.

Aside from the countless background references that people will be picking apart for years, touches like the Captain Toad tune playing in the background of Toad's introduction or the Mario Kart 8 menu music playing in the kart garage really help bring it to another level of authenticity. I also enjoyed seeing some more obscure Mario enemies that felt like they were picked more for being fun to animate than for being nostalgic and marketable. No matter how many times I sarcastically pointed to the screen and deadpanned "reference. reference." I am not immune to noticing these things and smiling. I am not immune to the DK Rap. These alone don't make the movie good, but it's nice to have a video game movie that feels like it was made by people who like video games.

Most importantly, the animation is great throughout. It's leaps and bounds ahead of other Illumination work, and it's the best the Mario cast has ever looked. They even made Donkey Kong handsome, somehow. They're all so squishy and expressive, and they move so fluidly - especially in the action scenes. I particularly liked the more kinetic ones like the aerial Banzai Bill chase and the Mario Kart sequence. Truly, the Mad Max-inspired car battle on Rainbow Road where Mario literally does the speedrun shortcut is this movie firing on all cylinders.

Other, more hand-to-hand fights nail the Popeye-esque vibe Mario should be going for. He's an underdog who gets the shit kicked out of him by bigger, stronger opponents until he gets his signature powerup and turns the tables on them. My favorite animation of all probably came from the use of Cat Mario to turn the tide in the DK fight. They had so much fun making Mario move like a cat. Again, it feels like a choice made because it'd be fun to animate rather than just a nostalgia move.

It's that animation and that attention to detail that carry the film, really. They elevate it from mediocrity into being a fun watch for a fan like me, albeit one I couldn't help but pick apart with Anthony as we watched it at home. I'm glad I saw it, but there's a lot of room to improve with the inevitable sequel. I hope they do. I can't deny that I had fun with the movie, but I hope next time that fun is partially because of the script instead of in spite of it.

Stray thoughts:

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the movie a lot more than Sonic 1, but probably not as much as Sonic 2. Not that these movies need to be pitted against each other.

I hated the Luma. I hated how hilarious they clearly thought the Luma was. They have the fucking Luma break the fourth wall to end the movie and start the credits. This is going to be a deep cut for fans of bad animated films, but the whole time I was just thinking of the little fish from Romeo & Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss who's just the director's kid saying random nonsense. You know I'm right

I rolled my eyes at the "our princess is in another castle" joke and several other jokes that would have been dated in a gamer webcomic 20 years ago but I guess they had to be there

How much of Brooklyn did Bowser's giant floating castle take out? We know 9/11 happened in this universe because the Freedom Tower is there, hasn't New York been through enough

I can't believe there's a Diskun easter egg

The dog is the most Illumination character design in the movie. It felt like it wandered on set from The Secret Life of Pets

Mario being a gamer and playing Kid Icarus of all things just made me remember this tweet:

Yes Anthony did get mad at me for being thirsty for Bowser

[everygame]

Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Developed/Published by: Coal Supper / Panic Released: 1/08/2024 Completed: 7/08/2024 Completion: Finished it!

It seems contrarian for me to open this by saying this is definitely the best game of 2024 and it’s definitely going to be my favourite game of the year… but it’s true.

The thing, I suppose, that makes that kind of wild, declarative statement seem so difficult to declare is that… games are just so broad, aren’t they? Playing something like Thank Goodness You’re Here! is so unbelievably different from playing, say, my favourite game of last year, Hi-Fi Rush, that it doesn’t feel as easy to say as declaring one movie “the best film of the year.” I mean in that case, you still just sit there and watch a movie. There’s not quite the same… granularity of experience. I mean even if you were talking indie games, Balatro touches such a different part of my brain from Thank Goodness You’re Here! So how could I ever, really, compare them?

Well, you know what? Sometimes you gotta just stick your flag somewhere, and my flag goes in the top of a Yorkshire pudding, and when it unfurls it’s the flag… of Yorkshire. Which surprised me, because I’m Scottish, so normally it goes in the top of a Scotch pie, and it’s a Saltire, so I guess I really like Thank Goodness You’re Here!

To describe it, though, which is what you’ve paid for, Thank Goodness You’re Here is a non-evil Untitled Goose Game. You play, in some respects similarly, an agent of chaos in a small town: a tiny man with… jaundice(?) who has been sent to the town of Barnsworth to help the mayor, but end up in the tangle of everyone’s lives. You help them do things that sound explicitly rather simple like mowing a lawn to buying some soup… but it’s not simple at all.

Unlike Untitled Goose Game, your tiny man isn’t just a wee dick; you’re actually helping people, it just happens to be in a very anarchic fashion. You rise to the level of the town, rather than lowering it, so outside of a few smacky bum-bums, you never feel like you’re bullying anyone… well maybe that guy with the chimney. But the joke works.

It would be regressive to describe this game as “weird” or “crazy.” What it is, and what makes it so brilliant, is that it’s so British. If you love the era of British comedy that brought us things like Look Around You or Alan Partridge, you’ll feel right at home here, and I was genuinely laughing all the way through this. Mileage may vary: some jokes and sequences are unbelievably puerile, some are a little smutty; some are… disturbing, but there’s a joyful nature to this whole thing, and it’s all so rapid fire that if something falls flat, it’s not long before you’re laughing about something else.

I think also that the game has a near-perfect take on interactivity for this kind of story-based experience. Outside of special sequences basically all you can do is slap things or jump, but everything is reactive, and the level design is cleverly focused; your path through the game is a sequence of designed loops that you can’t deviate from, but as a result you don’t suffer from the kind of downtime you can struggle with in more open adventures and which can ruin immersion. 

Here you’ll never return to an area and discover it static, how you left it, and have to waffle around trying to find X or Y; you’re always moving forward onto Z. I can hear the criticisms, but at least for me this never felt restrictive; the only issue I really had was feeling that I had to put the game down regularly lest I finish it too quickly–though it’s surprisingly lengthy for something featuring so much bespoke art and sequences, at almost five hours.

To be honest, the game manages something that I wish designers of interactive experiences–think your Meow Wolfs, your Sleep No Mores–would learn from, which is how to always be guiding your player forward through a space and yet still allow them to experience it at their own pace. Sure, it has the benefit of being able to lock doors behind you, and there aren’t 300 other tiny men with jaundice trying to do everything in it at the same time (though I’d love to see that?) but I couldn’t help but be impressed with the flow.

(This may relate to me seeing Sleep No More before it closes just before playing this, finding it a hard to navigate mess of meaningless rooms in a warehouse and thinking it was fucking rubbish.)

The reason, really, that this is my game of the year already is that it’s trying to do something specific and it’s doing it as unbelievably fucking well as anyone probably could. Your dexterity won’t be challenged, your brain won’t be taxed, but they don’t need to be. Sure it’s a funhouse mirror, but if someone was to ask me “What’s the UK like?” from now on, I’ll probably just say “Play Thank Goodness You’re Here!”

Will I ever play it again? Absolutely. Not for a long time, I think, but I didn’t technically see “everything” according to the achievements, and I’d like to.

Final Thought: For categorisation sake, I would like to mention that I do think that Thank Goodness You’re Here! is largely specifically English, and Northern English at that, but there are enough commonalities and it features a big role for Davey Swatpaz that I think it’s fair to think of it as extremely British anyway. And speaking of the excellent casting, Matt Berry is in this and as always he’s brilliant. There are few games where I’d say “I really hope you run out and buy this” but there are few things that are such polished diamonds, and even though this was funded by Panic, who apparently have enough money that they can piss it up on a wall on the world’s most niche handheld (hey, I still bought it) smaller games are having such a rough time of it that when they’re good we should really, you know, reward that. Don’t just do it for me; do it for Tiny Tom. Or Big Ron.*

*pie size preference depending.

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[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Yk something that I would really enjoy if Yana did in twisted wonderland? Make evil/awful characters be RSA students instead of NRC students. It would make sense considering rook,silver, Kalim, and kinda ortho? Are kind people with quirky personality that don’t really fit into the campus at all. Plus, I feel like a perfect school with no issues is too bland and too much of a dream come true. Yana never came off as the type to toss potential for a good thriller. Anyways, My vote for secretly fucked up RSA student?

It 100% has to be lotso hugging bear from Toy Story 3, he fits perfectly into being an awesome handsome swell class representative that everyone adores and respect, to outsiders though? There is something off about how he runs the classes and newcomers… 😭 ahh, there is so much I can go off but don’t wanna make this too long.

Obviously we have Hans from frozen, hector from Coco, Robert Callaghan from big hero 6, there’s prob a few more I skipped but those are the few I can think that can fit into RSA. Respectful young men with potential futures ahead of them, goody two shoes that don’t defy the law… at least what our NRC boys think. Just a simple idea though, I don’t think it will ever happen so a poor person can only dream 🙃

TWST!Lotso perpetually smells like strawberries/j

You never know, it might! Yana did say that she wanted to continue the main story of Twisted Wonderland following what I will call the “first arc” (which encompasses all 7 OB boys and Grim). There’s also future Halloween events to consider (Yana has already indicated that’s she’s very excited for the next one)!

We don’t know exactly what that “next” main story might entail, but a lot of fans theorize it will involve increased exposure to or interactions with RSA. If that’s the case, it would be very boring if the RSA students all turn out to be perfect and problem-free. I’m sure some trouble would eventually arise.

The “twist” villains of Disney seem like perfect candidates to be the “black sheep” in a school supposedly full of good-natured souls. It would also give TWST an opportunity to actually… fix??? Make up for??? Some of their poor implementation in the actual films (which is a point they’ve been criticized for, since most recent Disney movies have either had bad twist villains or no “real” villain at all). In my opinion, Hans is a particularly poorly written one—

If we want to get super modern, I think even King Magnifico from Wish (I think it’s out to the general public now?) would count as a twist villain. (Even if the advertisements all make it clear he’s the bad guy, within his own universe he is still considered a good guy!) Although… looking back at the twisted characters we’ve seen so far, all of them essentially come from older, more “classic” Disney films, so maybe the far shinier and more recent Disney villains won’t be “twisted” so soon?? 🤔 That’s just me speculating though!

[homosexualmorelikehomiesexual]

am i just biased, or is there a...weirdly high level of vehemence in negative saltburn reviews? like i get it, ppl are entitled to their opinions, i definitely have media i dislike. but i still find it interesting to hear what other people like about it, even if i dont agree...? but with saltburn hate, its like theres just a brick wall at the mere notion that it could be anything but trash.

and it strikes me as...interesting, considering one of the films major themes explores the kneejerk reaction to avoid and never process discomfort and disgust, to the point it fundamentally hamstrings our ability to interact with the world in a rational healthy manner.

and like, yea no shit, the movie about desire vs repulsion that deliberately disgusts audiences is going to have people feeling...uncomfortable and disgusted. but i dont think i really understood till now just how resistant people are to examining their own immediate reactions, and just how little people are willing to take art in good faith. even and especially when they think of themselves as operating otherwise.

i dunno. it is what it is, i recognize that my tastes in media are a bit extreme. but it still kind of bums me out how determined people are to sneer at this movie. esp bc i would genuinely love to hear and discuss like...actual good faith criticism of it. but almost every single one ive heard has felt like it had nothing to do with the technical issue being raised, and was instead just...masking and intellectualizing a deeper discomfort they didnt wanna acknowledge, in order to get away from the conversation as quickly as possible. which...is sad.

[trash-gobby]

✨🦇 Trash Gobby Intro 2.0 🦇✨

AO3: severenvansickle

Ways of Supporting me

Ko-Fi Link!!!

Redbubble: DreamScapeSev7n

Hello! I am trash_gobby, also known as trash. I kinda disappeared for a really long time from this tumblr account, only really showing up in small spurts to post or reblog stuff.

I've been dealing with a LOT of personal stuff that has made it really hard for me to keep up with this blog in general. Not for lack of desire. What's been going on in my personal life isn't really something I want to share here or anywhere regardless of my anonymity. Needless to say it's been rough and now things have really started to improve for me. I've even gotten published in an indie published anthology which was a real special thing for me.

Now I've been focusing a lot on my original works of fiction and improving things personally. I still want to post here. However, I won't be taking requests anymore and will be reformatting my content around posting only fanfics or headcanons which I will come up with. There are some stuff which people have requested in the past which I may consider working on if the mood strikes me.

A lot has changed for me in the past two years so I want to focus more on content which personally interests me right now.

There will most likely be a follow up post which goes into more detail about formatting and how things are gonna be organized once I've actually found time to devise a proper system for my old works. It might take a while though, considering I'm working full time now, and also doing a lot of important life stuff outside this blog.

Rules

1. I will DON’T encourage anyone who interacts with NSFW content who is underage.

2. Be respectful!!! No hate speech allowed (this includes anything transphobic, homophobic, transphobic, racist, fatphobic, antisemitic, ableist, Islamophobic etc.)

3. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS WELCOME!! This is a place where I want people to feel welcome to give respectful critiques of my work as I’m always trying to improve.

4. I won't be writing things from specific fandoms I've grown a certain sourness towards (usually because of the person who is in charge and not the fandom itself). I.e. Harry Potter is a bit of a sore spot for me and I have no interest in writing for it (I don't have an issue with others doing so since it's not up to me what others write and I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion and feelings about a fandom or work).

5. Relating to rule 2. - please don't bring any anti-palestinian sentiments to this space (this is not an invitation for others to be anti-Semitic so don't get things twisted. I support Judaism and the right for Jewish people to exist in peace and security within ALL countries and to be able to self determine. I think the same rights should also be extended to the Palestinian people who have been ignored by many and have had their rights and humanity stripped from them). This is not the blog of a Zionist and I would encourage others to follow or unfollow accordingly. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

✨ What I Write!!: Fluff, Headcanons, platonic/friendships, NSFW, Dating/SFW, LGBTQ+, tragedy/angst, crossover, reader x insert, character x character, mini-fics, character preferences

✨ What I WON’T write: p*dophelia, r*pe/non-con, tortue p*rn, BDSM that’s to outside of my comfort zone, b*astiality, incest, raceplay

Fun Facts About Me

1. I crochet lots of things for fun

2. I am a gender gremlin

3. My favourite all time characters are Severen (Near Dark 1987), Bishop (Aliens 1986), David (TLB 1987)

4. I am a huge A24 movie studio fan, because I am a pretentious film school graduate (I'm not a fan of Christopher Nolan or Quentin Tarantino though. Which I guess means I'm not as pretentious as I thought?? 🤔)

5. I have an AO3 account which has more stuff on it then this blog.

6. I am an aspiring author with a short story already published in a small indie press anthology (won't name here because my irl name is in the anthology). Little Ghost Books is the publisher though, and I would encourage y'all to check them out if you like 2SLGBTQIA+ horror often published indie and major horror titles. They are very worth it 💖

Masterlist for works

[phantomoftheorpheum]

In my opinion, there were plot holes in the season that are really off-putting. But I also think the writers were just really unwise about their narrative time. With 2 episodes less than the first season, they did not balance their characters and storylines well.

I’m flabbergasted about the amount of time that was spent on the love triangle (I refuse to waste anymore brain power complaining about.. all of that). We could have had less of that in favor of:

- Giving Mouse a real storyline > making Ash more prominent, giving her grandmother an actual purpose or just cutting the character all together.

- Showing us the character development that they only tell us Greg has gone through.

- Follow through with Imogen’s mental health, hallucinations scares, and concerns for her child’s safety that were only relevant in the first half of the season.

- Make redemption house even more sinister and/or show characters like Kelly, Henry, or Greg noticing everyone around them becoming obsessed with Spooky Spaghetti. It would’ve been so easy to permanently write out Henry by making him one of Wes’/BR’s followers but of course they didn’t do that.

- Show at least a little bit of conflict between Mrs Langsberry and Tabby’s mom - opposing mothers defending the reputation of their children. Although I will say, this might have made it too obvious.

- Maybe even including more conflict by not waiting until the last episode to finally accuse each others partners.

Just some thoughts :P

I agree! I think the biggest issue with this season was the reduced runtime (I don't know if that was at all due to the writer's strike, but I hope they get an absolute minimum of 10 episodes if they do a third season), and the mismanagement of the time that they did have.

To address some of your points specifically- I also felt Mouse was super sidelined this season (yes, she is technically the person most intent on solving the mystery, but she's basically just around to info-dump at everyone else, not have any personal growth), and Ash was barely present. I was particularly disappointed by this, because I knew the actor's billing had been upgraded, so I thought we'd get noticeably more Ash.

Greg's redemption arc, if you can really call it that, since it seemed to skip the crucial "oh, he's questioning his ways and changing" part felt super rushed (as did Kelly's turn from 2x06-2x08). I think they did film more of it (since we know of some cut stuff), but since it didn't make it to the screen, it felt very strange that Faran suddenly liked Greg (I'm not saying they played it like she's in love with him or anything, but I feel like they skipped the middle bit between "he annoys the hell out of her and she really dislikes him" to "he's apologized and now they're hooking up,"). It was just too fast.

I definitely expected Imogen's mental health to ultimately play a bigger role than it did, considering how much time they spent on it.

It is hard to believe Mrs. Beasley, Pastor Malachi, Kelly, Greg, (and presumably Henry, since they never reveal him as an antagonist) didn't notice that there was an entire additional cult in their cult.

The scene where all the girls started bickering about their SOs was one of my favorites from the finale. It felt so realistic that they wouldn't all just be on board with these new people they don't know at all (and most of them didn't interact with the new love interests that weren't their own almost at all) and assume they're all great. It was refreshing to see the girls disagree and take a few jabs at each other, because while I love them supporting each other, those moments of coming together feel like they mean less when they're all just always on the same page.

As a writer and creator myself, I understand that it is much easier to criticize than it is to create, but one of the big advantages of collaboration is that theoretically you have a lot of people looking at your work with a critical and constructive eye and shaping the story into the best version of itself. This season felt like it really could have used some editing and refining (in the writing process, before you even get to the film editing) to streamline the storylines and not get too bogged down in areas that don't pay off.

To leave things on a high note- I really did have fun watching the show this season & trying to puzzle things out. I just feel there were some pretty glaring flaws, as well.

[tenebriskukris]

Oshi No Ko Chapter 144 – My Thoughts/Analysis

We're thrown a bit of a curveball for this chapter, but it's certainly an enjoyable chapter nonetheless. Spoilers for Oshi No Ko Ch144 below.

A timeskip??? After the absolute banger we got in the last chapter we’re served up a timeskip?? Considering how the last chapter ended I fully expected things to focus on everyone else’s reactions to the kiss scene as well as Aqua and Ruby’s new dynamic but shifting the spotlight to the movie’s hospital scene in Miyazaki is a massive departure from where we were in the last chapter. The pacing issues of the arc are starting to become more and more evident.

Traditionally movie productions take months if not years to get to a stage where they can actually film the movie. Even setting aside that most of the people involved are basically newcomers to the big leagues of stardom, the production shouldn’t run this fast towards the finish line. And now the manga’s telling me that there’s nothing that would be relevant in between the bureaucratic mess that would actually be making a movie of this scale? I can believe reincarnation exists, but certainly not paperwork and bureaucracy running as fast as it has throughout the arc.

The manga does infodump some cursory knowledge on how actual productions are supposed to work—thankfully enough. But the fact that it has this basic knowledge and it hasn’t seen fit to add in other, smaller interactions between the cast members who already lack sufficient screentime—and by proxy Aqua and Ruby—is a grating offense. Perhaps it would have been better to split this entire movie arc into two, perhaps three arcs in total while juggling more character focused chapters? I’ll make sure to give my thoughts on this arc as a whole as soon as it finishes.

With all the hubbub of Aqua as Hikaru and Ruby as Ai, I’ve almost forgotten that Melt wiggled his way into production. Why is he here again as a B-list actor? I know Kaburagi likely pulled some strings to get him in, but his acting ability isn’t really something to harp on. Then again Goro would basically be a B-list character in a story about Ai so I get why they didn’t try very hard to find someone good in acting.

Ruby’s face as she glares at Melt is perfect. Her roasting Melt is fucking hilarious, especially since she’s not even wrong in her criticisms. Of course that girl is going to have opinions on someone that’s trying to portray her sensei. If it was some role that wasn’t Goro I’m sure she wouldn’t have cared as much as she has about how he acts.

The little little princess shirt in Ruby is a treasure. This girl needs to be protected.

Melt knowing that his acting skills are only decent is a great moment of self awareness from a character we don’t seem to see much of. Other actors coughKanacough would have egos too large than to admit that they were doing anything wrong without some sort of outside intervention.

We’re basically in the final stage of the movie??? This arc’s pacing has been all over the place, so I can believe we’re approaching its conclusion, but there’s still too many plot points left unresolved. 

It’s refreshing to see Melt admit his deficiencies to Ruby and doing what he can to shore up his weaknesses.  It shows that not everyone is not to the level of Akane or Kana or even Aqua—Melt may just be the least experienced actor among the cast. And while Ruby’s acting ability may be less refined in comparison to Akane or Melt, I don’t think it’s a leap to say that she performs the role of Ai better than Akane or Frill simply because she can understand Ai’s heart better than what’s written on the script. Her impromptu scene after Kana’s outburst was proof enough of that—I doubt that either of them would’ve let their emotions run free and gave us a peek at what Ai was really feeling.

Ruby saying that Himekawa would’ve been a better fit for the role of Goro is multi-layered. On one hand of course she wants a good actor to play her sensei. But on the other hand Himekawa is also her half-brother. 

Melt saying that he’s putting more effort to understand the characters than anyone else is somewhat ironic considering Akane’s very existence. Ditto for Aqua and Ruby when they’re playing their parents. Perhaps Melt has also been affected by Kana’s insensitivity with how those words can be interpreted very badly.

Oh. Some of Ai’s merch in Melt’s pocket. I’m starting to see where this is going. Also I know that guy who sold Ai’s merch! Funny how he keeps popping up.

Melt’s analysis of Goro…even if he’s not on the level of Akane or the rest of the cast, I think he’s managed to grasp the man’s heart well to make these kinds of statements. I have to give Melt props for it and I have to dock the manga points for basically infodumping this to Ruby and the average reader. It’s a typical case of the manga telling us rather than showing us Goro’s character. Really, would it be difficult for us to see another Ruby flashback of what her thoughts are of Goro?

Ruby’s face as Melt explains his reasoning for his portrayal of Goro’s character…And the way the panel is drawn—hiding Ruby’s star eye from the reader—that’s good paneling. Also, “A symbol for his feelings for that child.”? I’d say that the manga was trying to bash in the fact that Goro and Sarina had a very unique relationship even further but the fact that I can still see people screaming about this exact subject even almost 150 chapters into the manga so I can forgive them for it.

Ruby gushing about Melt’s portrayal immediately after dissing him is also funny. Melt’s proved he can understand Goro, so she has a greater respect for him after that. I’d also wonder if Akane would have similar thoughts about Goro from the script…

Crow Girl???? Finally you’ve reappeared. I was wondering what the payoff for her being in the arc would actually be.

Oh man Ruby…with how 143 ended I think this tells us that Aqua didn’t break Ruby’s heart after that kiss scene. If he did—which would be very much out of character with how AquaGoro holds RubySarina in his heart—it would definitely be shown to us immediately afterward. Letting what happened after that scene linger in the background still doesn’t sit right with me with the arc’s already bloated pacing, but I understand why it’d have to be offscreened—doesn’t mean I can’t critique the hell out of it.

Crow Girl lore???????? Crying and shaking and throwing up right now what the fuck does she mean by that. The implications are all running into each other because with how Crow Girl described how the reincarnators could be considered gods it’s looking more and more likely that Aqua and Ruby are in a position to eventually become gods. Comparing that with how Miyako in the flashforwards was talking about how Aqua and Ruby were given favored treatments and trials in equal measures alongside divine guidance…it paints a picture of how the potential supernatural aspect is going to pan out. 

I am also pretty sure that some of the gods Crow Girl refer to are Aka and Mengo themselves, the actual writer and artist of Oshi No Ko. Especially with that whole “you guys often receive help from god without knowing it” bit. That smells very much like narrative relevance and protagonism. If the manga decides to go meta now I wouldn’t really mind that, but I’d hoped it would be foreshadowed better beforehand. A small comment about how “god-like” Aqua and Ruby would be would’ve really helped. 

And of course we end off on Crow Girl being a gag. For a very powerful supernatural entity she seems to be easily handled by Aqua and Ruby. You’d think she would put the fear of god more into them, really, but if Aqua and Ruby actually do become gods I can see why she’s being pushed around by them like this. 

What the actual fuck was this chapter. We don’t get to see if Aqua has white star eyes after the kiss but we do see Crow Girl and her massive lore drops written between the lines. Ever since she’s been introduced in this arc I’d been wondering what the followup would be to her whole thing but having even more evidence that Aqua and Ruby are on the path to godhood was not on my bingo card for this chapter.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have the cultural knowledge on the Japanese versions of gods—the kami—so I can’t put the pieces together on some of the more subtle things that Crow Girl might be referring to, but casting off mortality for the divine isn’t something that most people can aspire toward on a whim. In my mind you’d ideally need at least two things for it. Belief and freedom.

The former for people to believe in you in a certain manner—of which both Aqua and Ruby are already there with the movie releasing—and the latter through some sort of catalyst that makes a person more than flesh and blood. For a manga without much of a magic system at all, the only thing I can think of at the top of my head is dying.

Of course this assumes that both Aqua and Ruby will choose to become gods in the first place. Perhaps to reincarnate Ai again? But with how the manga is pushing this narrative of godhood and the supernatural it’s still in the cards for them. Something to consider as the arc unfolds.

[mortimer]

Im not ever going to post this publicly bc 1) its not very good and 2) I dont really care to expose myself to annoying angry internet pedophiles (especially since i havent been active in fandom since like, 2016-18 and as an adult i find the way that those communities frame & interact with media deeply insufferable anyway) but in uni i literally wrote a research paper on the potential irl impacts of media that doesn't handle themes like sexual assault, incest, csa, etc with tact. and that's the thing i have never once advocated for NOT exploring those things in writing or art - *i* write about those things, fairly frequently. To be frank, that's why I wrote the paper, because I actually care about the ethics of art and I give half a shit about other potential victims. Which I feel like is the absolute bare minimum for being a half decent artist/writer. I might publish the bibliography at some point if not rewrite it in its entirety bc i feel like the research i did was good even if the paper was not, but this one quote from bell hooks really stuck in my brain regarding the topic:

It's scary to me now, because, particularly in issues around erotica and sexual violence, people want to deny the direct link between representations and how we live our lives. I think that it's possible to embrace the knowledge that there's a direct link between representations and choices we make in our lives that does not make that link absolute, that does not say, "oh, if I look at a movie in which a woman is fucked to death," than I will go out and think I should let myself be fucked to death by any man who wants to fuck me. I think that's an absurd sense of a direct link, but that is not to say, that if I watched enough of those images I might not come away thinking that certain forms of unacceptable male violence in coercion in relationship to my female body are acceptable.

bell hooks, “Bell Hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation.” directed by Sut Jhally (1997), documentary film. (Transcript)

[toomanycartoonswithnotenoughlove]

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms

RULES: List your ten favourite characters from ten separate fandoms then tag ten people!

Tagged by @boatswainscall

Thanks, I love being a part of these! Also, I'm not nessicarily involved in these fandoms, but I'm in a character appreciating mood, so...

Roz the Robot (The Wild Robot) (I am not going to shut up about it once this movie comes out, I swear on my library) She's friend shaped. She works to make her home. I can't stop trying to draw her and realizing how much more practice I should have with drawing circles before I try.

2. Brea (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) choosing one from this show is hard! But she's the one who gets put in the most mental animatics, so she's here.

3. Yfling (A Choir of Lies) (No last name given) (I probably shouldn't have even stated his first name, but he uses it.) Sad wet cat of a man. The most white man to ever realize how badly he broke a failing system in the wrong direction. He's the narrator. He's unreliable. He still works as a storyteller while writing, a cultural taboo. The book is certainly worthy of praise and criticism. This guy also needs a hug. Badly. That doesn't make any part of his actions OK.

4. Alinua (Aurora) One of my favorite uses of "Life Magic" as a character element without it being her entire character. Also, hair floofy. (all of the aurora characters with hair have floofy hair. Go read Aurora the webcomic, if you so choose. It's fun)

5. Mrs. Frisby (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM) Only ever read the first book, but I've read it at least 8 times. One of my favorite examples of an almost flat character arc in a protagonist. Different in the film. Still good, but a different that I've learned to live with.

6. Martin Blackwood (The Magnus Archives) the themeeeees.

7. Amelia (Infinity Train) Hooooooo boy. Talk about backstory not justifying current actions but. She's trying. She's working towards a different ending to the self destruction she promised herself. She accidentally adopted someone who's technically her daughter. She needs to work on her personal issues SO much more than she already has. It was between her and The Cat, for I T, by the way.

8. Sophie Hatter (Howl's Moving Castle) Yes, you are in a story ma'am, but I am so glad by book 2 you've also learned that there are Consequences to your Actions and that causes you to change absolutely none of them. Yeah they got you turned into an old lady, but only the once!

9. The Pooka (Hilda) "I would like to borrow an egg cup" has become a familial in-joke. Shape changer that can only look like himself?

10. Jack Frost (RotG) This man took up Residence in my brain in 2012 and Has Not Left Since, and I have given up on trying to make him, and that whole world in general, for that matter, go away! Fanfiction of my own it is! (of the "Put this man in more situations" variety. I want to see how I think fantasy rules for TMA and ROTG interact. Also, separately, Danny Phantom)

I'm sorry, I don't know 10 people to tag, but I do have 5.

@kiwipigment , @hardcore-solangelo-19, @smolbonbon, @geektrashfan , @i-want-cheese , Care to take a swing at it?

[joealwyndefenseattorney]

Re: okay let's have an adult conversation

I had to respond cause I’m sick of this BS. This is generally a lot of questions I see asked about Joe from Swifties and it’s kinda sad because critical thinking skills would give them the answers they need. 

The spamming of questions is not an adult way to have a conversation for a start but let’s get into it anyway. 

why didn't he show up for taylor when she needed support?

People show up for people in all kinds of ways and sometimes the people who truly show up for others aren’t doing so in public. 

Why was he resentful of her success? 

Where have you found this narrative? It’s not in her music.

Why didn't he go with her to several awards shows? Including the Grammys!

If he did the narrative would have been why was he clout chasing. This is a lose/lose situation for him. 

Why did he party in her house whilst ignoring her all the time? 

Were you at the party? What proof is there of this? And you can’t use a photo cause I can’t tell you how many parties I went to with my current partner and we aren’t next to each other in photos. Cause it’s a party and we socialise with other people. 

Why did he want her to not be as famous as she is now while Travis is very open to it? Taylor wanted to be loved out loud but joe always seemed embarrassed by her. I want serious answers here, not fangirl deflections.

Wasn’t he celebrated for allowing her to be private and not on show at all times but then she released Bejeweled and the story has flipped. Because why? She changed, not him. She wanted something different from the relationship not him. That’s totally fine as well. It’s happens to lots of couples it doesn’t make either of them bad it just means they grew apart. 

Why didn't he answer what his fave taylor song was? 

Why did he have to? It is probably just as well he didn’t because the Swifties would find a way to hate on him for it. 

Why did it always seem like he hated us, the fans? 

It is not the job of the partner of your fave celeb to interact with you. This also wasn’t the way people acted towards him whilst they were dating, these are only claims I’ve seen since they’ve broken up. 

Why did he interact with several of his female co stars but locked her away in the basement of his heart? 

Again, he would have been accused of clout chasing if he was constantly posting and seen out with her. 

It is also common knowledge that it is part of certain contracts for film and tv shows (particularly tv shows) that costars have to be seen together as part of the PR strategy. Even if it wasn’t men and women can be friends without any other strings attached. 

Or literally not see she was depressed as he left her behind at home (caging her) while he went to the bar?

Be for real right now. You can’t seriously think she wasn’t on large property whilst living together. Pretty sure I’ve seen that they had a large garden in London whilst during lockdown. She’s not living in a tiny apartment with no outside space. She was not caged. Also people can go out separately from their partners and it not be a personal attack on them. I too struggle with depression and as hard as it is to reach out for help she could have sought help from a professional, the same reasoning Swifties use for her leaving Joe due to his mental health - it is not the responsibility of your partner to fix your depression. My partner supports me through my issues but ultimately it is my therapy and medication that is going to make the change. 

The issues with how Joe apparently treated Taylor are mostly made up fan issues but the issues they’ve created are the exact same as what Taylor admitted doing to Joe in her new album. How can you vilify Joe for unfounded claims and praise Taylor when she admits to treating him badly in her own words. It’s infuriating that they are all still hating on Joe, it’s like they went through the breakup.

👏🏼

[marciabrady]

what’s your take or do you think disney fans can still like pocahontas even though it’s faced MUCH criticism for going so far off the original story and being extremely disrespectful? or even if she should still be in the disney princess line? i grew up with the movie and still like it but apart of me thinks i shouldnt because of how (again) disrespectful it is to the original story as well as her ancestors

This is honestly something I think about a lot and- just as a disclaimer, I am not a Native American person so my voice contributes nothing to this conversation, but...personally, I like seeing Pocahontas's inclusion in the Disney Princess lineup. I think she substitutes as a gateway for people to start researching about her and Native American culture and I think, as the years go on, the inaccuracies of her film just make people that much more motivated to learn from history and not repeat it, but also make sure they do know what the true stories were? There's honestly little to no Native American representation around and...I understand pulling her, because there have been descendants of hers who have asked Disney stop using her likeness...but the voice actress of Pocahontas for her speaking parts, who is Native American and has played Pocahontas more than once on film, has said that- while inaccurate- she thinks the film captures the spirit of Pocahontas and the messages in the films are positive ones. Plus, again, by pulling Pocahontas, you are limiting the representation for Native Americans drastically both in Disney and in media in general so it could really go both ways in terms of whether the repercussions would be positive or negative.

Ultimately, I honestly think Disney is still messing up in major ways (having a white British Prince Eric in a live action Little Mermaid that's set in the Caribbean is so tone deaf and I honestly don't know why Disney is allergic to portraying black men or men of color EVER and this is an issue that's literally still going on in 2023) and, ultimately, supporting a character of color is never a bad thing in my opinion? Pocahontas brings a fresh perspective, a great design, incredible music, and- again- allows people a gateway to interact and learn more about Native American culture. I, personally, don't think they should cancel the movie- what I think they should do is make a television series about her, as they're doing with Tiana and Moana, and set it in pre-colonization times (please lol) and have it focus on Pocahontas's history and her tribe, their customs, fun moments with Nakoma, and that would be a beautiful way to depict appreciation for the culture and the people and would totally avoid the whitewashed history. I hope it retains its mature tone from the movie though and doesn't resemble the recent projects that Disney has come out with, that feel very immature, so that adults can get into it mostly and then children can use it as an educational tool. Also, if Disney really wanted to show us they were serious about respecting her, I think they should hire a majority- if not entirely- Native American cast and crew, both for the speaking parts and for other parts of the creative process. Because, again- I'm over Disney using minorities in their marketing but never putting their money where their mouth is.

[thirdmagic]

honestly if barbie had been a 100% uncritical and unironic celebration of barbie as an empowering feminist figure i would have really checked out of it quickly. because yes, the takes that barbie is literally ruining the world and is a literal agent of the patriarchy is wrong and unfair and the idea that she's single handedly responsible for causing body image issues is really reductive, there's a reason it's in the movie and it's from the mouth of a tween girl in its most cartoonish exaggerated form lmao. but we've all been that pink-hating tween girl at some point who has only just discovered these words and terms for things we've always felt all our lives and our understanding of it is still kinda immature and reactionary. i do broadly think and feel very positively of barbie as a cultural icon, and I mean yeah a lot of it is nostalgia some of it is just me wanting to reclaim this symbol of everything girly that is derided for being girly and we feel we're forced to give up because its considered lesser. but genuinely i do think she's been the target of lots and lots of very unfair and bad faith criticism over the years. At the same time, if the film had unironically taken the "Barbie is Only a force for good and Has Solved Feminism" stance, like- that would have just really stretched my ability to engage with the film, because well, that's not really true or fair either, and I just wouldn't be able to buy it even from a very good film.

in the end the place barbie holds in legacy and place and culture is just... complicated. good or bad isnt really the question, she is a cultural icon, she responds to certain trends, she represents certain trends, she defies certain trends, she is shaped by the culture she is part of. and people will respond to that differently. that's why the trailer tagline was 'if you love her barbie or if you hate barbie, this movie is for you', and i think why the film really really works for me is that it delivers on that promise. it does what i most wanted and hoped it would do when i saw it would go for that more meta angle, by wrestling with the many different complicated layers of her legacy and what she means to many different people, good and bad, without damning her or elevating her on a pedestal.

because yeah i don't think we can deny that in many ways she is an embodiment of a sort of ideal and stereotypical femininity that yes is a largely patriarchal standard. but it's also the fact that she does do a lot to empower girls to have dreams and ambitions and to seek out self fulfillment and creativity in their play, and that is important and significant and beautiful about what she does do. but the other side of that is the insane amount of pressure you might feel as a girl to Be Something and how your only worth is if you're exceptional in some way, and she does interact with that, the messaging behind her does feed into that, if only because its an idea that already exists and is ingrained in us from society on the whole. and the film responds to that by making 'it's ok to just be you' its core message, by emphasizing with that struggle, by having barbie herself decide to just be regular and human and find worth in humanity and human flaws of flesh and aging and body. and a fully grown adult woman, a mom with a desk job who understands full well that nothing about barbie is realistic and didn't fulfill any of the ambitions barbie represents, can find joy and relief and value and beauty in playing with her.

it doesn't offer an easy answer of 'is barbie good or bad' because there is no easy answer to that, and it gives us the veneer of a hollywood happy ending but ultimately it doesn't pretend that everything's been solved forever and now everything will be good. there is a fair bit of cynicism in the line 'one day the kens will hold as much power in barbieland as women do in the real world' with how the film understands that inequality cant be magically fixed and it doesn't try to sell you on that either- again, if it had been the kind of Inequality Has Been Solved And Everyone Is Happy ending you kind of expect from most fantasy-ish movies to this effect I would have just not bought it. Ending on the note of and "our Barbie, the main character, found her path in life and is happy even if the world isn't fixed" just feels more honest for this kind of personal story really.

beyond saying only one specific thing about it, the film is in conversation with the legacy and the discussion around barbie, which is the most important thing that a film about barbie, as a brand or as a character, can be. it brings it into the film and makes that entire conversation the central conceit and uses it as a vehicle to explore ideas about womanhood on the whole, which i think is ultimately a good choice because it's that very legacy and discussion that makes barbie as a character and a cultural icon perfect for this kind of metaphor.

[pynkhues]

Do you think shipping culture has ruined or changed how some people consume TV shows.? Did it change for you?

That's a really interesting question, anon. I guess it depends on what you define shipping culture as, and whether or not you see it as an isolated component of fan culture or as a part of the tapestry of it.

Personally, I don't see it as isolated, so I don't really think shipping itself has ruined anything per se, but I do think the way it interacts with things like fandom going mainstream, capitalism, bigotry, social media, the erosion of the fourth wall, individualism and entitlement has a lot to answer for, both in terms of broader fan culture, media literacy and the death of the Golden Age of TV.

None of these things exist in a vacuum after all, and as a result, they all feed off and inform each other. Fandom going mainstream for instance is what made it profitable, which in a capitalistic society meant brands and corporations leveraged it to sell stuff, which in turn makes fans feel a greater degree of entitlement over characters and relationships and storylines, because they feel they've made a financial investment and they are now owed something. Pair that with social media eroding the boundary between celebrity and fan, brand and audience, and advertising and conversation, as well as the natural reactivity of social media call-out culture, and everything's out of its box.

To put it more simply, capitalism has turned stories into products and audiences into consumers, which means creative exploration and engagement matters far, far less than units sold.

That’s not to say that there was some golden age of storytelling where viewership didn’t matter – film and TV have always been a business after all – but the shift from the language of movie or show to content is a really telling one for me, and, as offered in many an anecdote by showrunners and critics alike, there’s no way shows like Friends or Seinfeld – shows that took a season or two to find their footing and their audience – would survive today.

I do think shipping's been affected by that cultural shift too. Not to be all ‘back in my day’, but - - y’know, back in my day, haha, it literally didn’t matter if your ship went canon! People multi-shipped! And I mean, I’ve said this before and will forever be the biggest champion of it, but I think gen fic was a lot more popular than it is now. People did don shipper goggles back then too, of course, but I do think there was less entitlement around shipping overall. Again, this is in no small part because corporations have learnt to leverage shipping and fandom broadly to market a show and sell merchandise, and it’s in that relationship where I think the story becomes less important than the product, and to a corporation, sometimes a ship becomes a tool to sell the product.

Look at the new Star Wars trilogy and everything that happened with Reylo, for instance, which is the perfect storm of capitalist intent, artistic de-prioritisation (to put it mildly), social media fan entitlement and pretty diabolical levels of bigotry (also to put it mildly).  

But y’know, even great shows do it to a degree these days – look at how Succession’s leant into Greg x Tom – and in cases like that, it’s not always a net negative. With good writers, they can balance that seesaw between artistic worth and commercial gain, but I don’t think it’s easy, which is why so many shows and movies these days feel like they’re pandering or trying to sell a Funko Pop.

So in answer to your question, no, I don’t think shipping culture itself is the issue, but I do think what audiences feel they’re entitled to when they turn on their TV has changed, which has in turn impacted the way they watch it, and the way a lot of networks make it too.