#it is so bad most consider it satire

[lacking-hydration]

that postal movie is so inconsistently ok

[ravewing]

whirlpool — is he really as awful as the fandom makes him out to be ?

a wings of fire character analysis. minor content warning for mentions of abuse, grooming, pedophilia, and the likes.

whirlpool is, indubitably, the most universally disliked wings of fire character (and by a long shot, too). in the seven years that i've been an active wof fan, i think i've only seen two, maybe three, people say that they can even stand him. ask anyone in the fandom who the "worst character" is; nine times out of ten, they will probably answer, "whirlpool." ask the reason for this, and they will probably reply with something along the lines of him being a pedophile.

but is he?

i would like to note that i am in no way defending whirlpool. he is by no means a morally good, nor redeemable, dragon. i recently reread the lost heir, so i'm trying to approach this with an unbiased, strictly objective viewpoint. this is just my analysis of his character based on what i've heard people say about him compared to his actual character in the novel.

for a character that appears only in one book (two, if you count turtle's brief flashback in talons of power), whirlpool is a character that wings of fire fans just cannot seem to let go. for countless years, whirlpool has been the subject of a wide array of jokes, memes, and is overall used as the fandom's punching bag—and with good reason (at least, to an extent). however, this has, in recent years, quickly downspiraled into blatant pedophilia jokes.

pedophilia is something that, as i've noticed, is seen as "funny" or "quirky" in certain niches of the wings of fire fanbase, especially so on reddit. make a post asking for people to share their favorite ships, and you'll get at least five people saying something like "clay x bumblebee" or "burn x auklet" to be funny. perhaps it's just the fact that most of the people cracking these "jokes" are teenaged redditors, but the fact that pedophilia is watered down to nothing more than "Boiii!😂😂Cursed funny joke🗿🍷" is, without a doubt, an issue. this downplaying of such a heavy topic not only leads to people just blatantly saying insensitive things for a bad jest, but it also results in the people making those jokes becoming desensitized to the severity of the issue.

when something as serious as pedophilia is treated as nothing more than meme fodder or a buzzword to casually throw around, it diminishes the real harm and suffering experienced by victims. and over time, this normalization will blur the line between satire and genuine endorsement and create spaces where predatory behavior is either ignored or, in the worst cases, subtly encouraged under the guise of just being “dark humor.” this kind of discourse can also alienate victims of a genuine real-world issue, which inevitably makes it harder for them to speak out or feel supported in these communities. and while yeah, humor can be a tool to cope with difficult topics, there’s a stark difference between using it to challenge harmful behaviors and using it to trivialize them.

but i'm getting off track.

whirlpool is not a good dragon. he's manipulative, concerned with nothing more than his personal status and wealth, lacks proper seawing etiquette and self-awareness of his patronizing, annoying personality, by all accounts, an awful teacher, and is just overall a condescending know-it-all. he was a one-off pretentious antagonist, and that is all he was ever meant to be.

he serves as queen coral's most trusted advisor in magic and publishing in her council, and, since he's practically bending over to kiss the ground that her talons walk on like a well-trained circus seal, she finds him to be absolutely delightful, intelligent, and just overall a brilliant gift to all the world. considering this, it's no wonder why coral arranged for him to marry anemone in the future.

that's a detail that most people seem to forget. coral is the one who set up the whole anemone and whirlpool thing. of course, this doesn't mean that whirlpool didn't want to marry anemone; it's just that he was only in it so that he could become the future king of the seawings. he is never shown to have any sort of attraction to anemone (nor to tsunami or auklet); he simply views them as pawns in a game that will ultimately result in his seat in a throne. obviously, this is not a good thing. it's implied by anemone that he was essentially manipulating her to use her magic more, thus becoming "evil" and more susceptible to challenge her mother for the seawing crown (and i'm pretty sure that blister was encouraging this, too; the only difference is that her ideal end result would be using anemone as a war weapon to secure her reign over the sandwings). he is a manipulator, but not a pedophile.

when i first read the lost heir in elementary school, whirlpool was nothing but just an annoying side character who's only trait was being a boring "erm, ackshually" kind of guy who spent his every waking moment praising queen coral's literary works. obviously, i didn't fully pick up the more serious underlying tones of manipulation for power and the intricacies of royal politics, but after re-reading the book many, many times over the course of seven years, i've gathered a much more comprehensive grasp of his character.

the thing is, he just... doesn't have that much depth to him. that's the whole point; he's meant to just be a one-off antagonist that the reader isn't supposed to like. think about it. why would tui intentionally put a pedophile in a book directed towards elementary and middle schoolers? she wouldn't. he's literally just supposed to be annoying and die.

compare him to coral, for instance. yes, whirlpool was awful. but unlike coral, he did not write a scroll about eugenics, treat and harness a dragonet like a literal dog, publicly torture and execute loyal subjects for an accident (that was really coral's brother's fault), threaten to KILL his own daughter (okay, well, he did attempt to murder tsunami, but i think it's also pretty bad to tell your kid that you're going to kill her), neglect over 30 other of his own children, among a bounty of other not-so-great things. what i'm trying to say is, people often bash repeatedly on whirlpool with the same three jokes (like, come on, at least make a new joke. like whirlpoop or something i haven't heard that one before) while overlooking awful things that other characters do as well.

people love scarlet, blister, burn, darkstalker, vulture, mastermind, and countless other villains, despite the fact that many of them have done the exact same things as whirlpool or worse (elaboration in like two paragraphs). and there's nothing wrong with liking villains at all (personally i love a ton of wof's villains; i mean, come on, who doesn't?), so long as you're not trying to justify/redeem/defend their actions!!

what i'm trying to say is this:

this extreme vilification of whirlpool relies on literally nothing but exaggeration or outright misinformation. while yes, it is absolutely true that he was manipulating anemone to serve his own ambitions, his interest in marrying her had nothing to do with attraction or pedophilia—it was calculated power play, one arranged by queen coral herself. many people conflate his manipulative tendencies with predatory behavior, but his treatment of anemone was no different than how many other power-hungry characters in wings of fire have used young dragons as pawns in their schemes. this does not make him any less of a bad person, but it is important to distinguish between the two accusations.

another major issue with the fandom’s treatment of whirlpool is the sheer inconsistency in how different villains are perceived. as mentioned earlier, characters like darkstalker, scarlet, and even queen coral have committed arguably worse acts than whirlpool. darkstalker, for instance, manipulated young dragons like anemone, moonwatcher, fathom, and his own girlfriend, placed magical compulsions on his own friends, and tried to commit genocide—yet he has a massive fanbase, with many people willing to justify or romanticize his actions. scarlet is a tyrant who tortured innocent dragons for entertainment, but she is often seen as a charismatic, even beloved villain. (i can't lie, i love her too) coral, despite being directly responsible for the forced betrothal of anemone and whirlpool, does not receive nearly as much backlash as he does. why, then, is whirlpool singled out as the worst villain when he is hardly unique in his cruelty?

the answer likely lies in the nature of his character. unlike other villains who are powerful, charming, or entertaining, whirlpool is pathetic. he is not a fearsome warlord like burn or a tragic antihero like darkstalker is meant to be—he is an annoying, self-important sycophant whose ultimate goal is to climb the social ladder by cozying up to queen coral. he is the kind of villain who is easy to mock, easy to laugh at, and easy to pile hatred onto without deeper discussion. it’s the same reason why villains like mastermind or vulture don’t inspire the same level of vitriol—they are manipulative and amoral, but they aren’t written to be particularly cool or interesting in the way that characters like darkstalker or scarlet are.

at the end of the day, whirlpool is a terrible dragon. he is an opportunistic manipulator, annoying, a pathetic wet cat, and an overall detestable character. however, the way the fandom fixates on him, and exaggerated or misrepresents his crimes while ignoring worse actions from other villains, makes me wonder: why do some villains get a "pass" while others are relentlessly mocked? why do people misrepresent certain characters in ways that turn serious topics into joke fodder? and most importantly—why are we still talking about whirlpool, a one-off side villain from a book released over a decade ago, as if he’s the worst thing to ever happen in wings of fire?

side note: i couldn't figure out how to work this in there, but i don't know where the misconception that whirlpool is a super old decaying man came from. is he far too old for anemone? without a doubt. but from what i gathered from reading tlh, it seems like he's implied to be only slightly older than tsunami; somewhere around riptide's age, perhaps. anyhow, thank you for reading my chaotic mess of a character analysis! as a treat (or an abhorrent punishment, depending on the kind of person you are), here are some funny whirlpool expressions. the last two are my favorites .. he looks like he has eyeliner on in the last one lol

[rozcdust]

I don’t speak to whores

Pairing: Bonten x AroAce!GN!Reader

Genre: Crack, SMAU

Word count: 500ish

Warnings: Canon divergent, profanity, ooc, whore behaviour, NO ROMANCE, just reader bullying Bonten

masterlist

The breakfast passed with Kazutora stubbornly trying to get to know Kakucho better - no matter the man’s valiant attempts of evading Kazutora’s curiosity - the latter was a relentless chatterbox in hours even Sanzu would find ungodly early to try and speak.

By ungodly early, Kakucho means before 1 p.m.

He picked up on the fact that Kazutora was apparently an early bird, the habit of waking up at 6 a.m. sharp still heavily instilled in him, even if it has been nearly a decade since he got out of prison - today was an exception, considering the events of last night exhausted everyone present, but still.

Kazutora clearly perfected the art of being both a talker and an excellent listener, with a soothing smile and perfectly placed nods whenever the conversation demanded it, bright, amber eyes shining with more life than Kakucho has personally seen in years.

It probably said something depressing about his joyless excuse of a life.

Kazutora’s optimism and genuine desire to get to know him made Kakucho feel exceedingly small. Kazutora, even while knowing his background, seemed kind, gentle, lithe shoulders perfectly relaxed even in the company of a wanted criminal, silky smooth hair cascading down his back, back slightly slouched so his collar bones were revealed, showing off the end of his tattoo.

You seemed to ignore the conversation between the two men entirely, only offering brief, sarcastic commentary upon request, busy braiding and unbraiding a small section of Kazutora’s hair as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

The coffee was better than anything Kakucho has tasted before.

“So yeah, y/n loves to trash Fight Club, but they rewatch that damn fucking movie at least once every other month.” Kazutora smiled at your scowling face, only a roll of your eyes indicating your true annoyance as you proclaimed Kazutora a traitorous bastard, letting go of his hair only to take hold of it again.

“It is a homoerotic, satirical movie mocking toxic masculinity, and then dudebros salivate over Tyler Durden and call him an alpha male. That man is a peacock*. I’m not admitting I like that shit publicly.”

“I think Ran likes that movie, actually.” Kakucho remarks, tilting his head - he’s pretty sure Ran told him about it before.

You snort, shaking your head.

“Of course he does.” You clicked your tongue, “He doesn’t get it. Next you're gonna tell me he loves Clockwork Orange too."

“Y/n is a bit of a movie snob.” Kazutora took your hand into his - he glances up at you, silently asking your permission - upon a slight nod of your head, he smiled, planting a soft kiss on your wrist.

Such an innocent little gesture.

It has Kakucho's chest aching.

"I don't think he does." Kakucho tilts his head, scratching his cheek, "He mentioned how he hated the main character."

Your quirk an eyebrow, sipping your coffee.

"Well. Maybe he isn't a hopeless dumb bitch."

"He truly isn't that bad."

You choked on your drink, glaring at the scarred man - he shrunk under your gaze.

"Get out of my house."

a/n: i'm alive. shockingly.

Taglist (i need to start a new one so please do say if you wish to be tagged):

@rinsie @r-xochitl @7rkx @sunahyejin @yamaguccitadashi @minoozi @trashmemebitch @sup-zfam @xashiui @hana-patata @erza-uzumaki @sh4nn @sisnot @kneeapartman @anahryal @reiners-milkbiddies @satsuri3su @aretheea @bluerskiees @winterv-black @astropheia @requiem-of-a-fool @kunikya

(rest of taglist in the comments, so sorry if i tagged anyone twice!)

[reignpage]

this might be a bit on the nose, especially if we’re considering their Eden au personas

but canon only, if the jjk men (and boys if you want) were actors, which genres do you think they’d each dominate or be known for? like who’s the scream king, the rom com lead, slapstick comedy vet, or the dude who’s somehow on every reality show? Other genres can be included too sports dramas, k/c/jdramas, documentaries etc etc

gojo: jack of all trades

he's a romcom king, really sells the guy next door/best friend vibe

he does the scream really well for horror (would deffo be a Ghostface that everyone makes edits over)

he'll do reality shows and steal the show every damn time cause he's just so funny and reactive

geto: psychological thrillers

could really fuck people up

one of those very mysterious actors that everyone just has to have in their films because of the fans

choso: indie/artsy drama

think young timothee chalamet

lots of angst

very relatable and makes one think

toji: action/comedy/satire

very Jason Statham/Vin Diesel

type to do whatever for money

has a clause that he can't be beat like vin diesel and the rock

nanami: documentaries/period piece dramas

he has the voice for docs about politics and climate change

he's also very good at those gut wrenching dramas

think pride and prejudice hand scene

sukuna: horror

bad guy usually

think Bill Skarsgard

he can transform into the most monstrous creatures and people are subconsciously afraid of him

[gatheringbones]

[“Ladies of the court were not reticent. Joan, widowed Countess of Holland, called the Fair Maid of Kent, whom the Black Prince married in 1361, was considered “the fairest lady in all the kingdom of England” and “the most amorous.” She wore daring and extravagant clothes copied from the dresses of the “bonnes amies of the brigands of Languedoc.” At tournaments, to the scandal of the people, there often came groups of questionable ladies, “the most costly and lovely but not the best of the kingdom,” dressed “in divers and wonderful male attire as if they were part of the tournay.” Wearing divided and parti-colored tunics, short capes, and daggers in pouches, riding fine coursers and palfreys, they exhibited a “scurrilous wantonness” that “neither feared God nor blushed at the scorn of the crowd.”

No female iniquity was more severely condemned than the habit of plucking eyebrows and the hairline to heighten the forehead. For some reason a particular immorality was attached to it, perhaps because it altered God’s arrangements. Demons in purgatory were said to punish the practice by sticking “hot burning awls and needles” into every hole from which a hair had been plucked. When a hermit was frightened by a dream about a lady suffering this treatment, an angel comforted him saying, “She had well deserved the pain.”

As satirized by Jean de Meung through the mouth of the Duenna in the Roman de la Rose, the concerns of a 13th to 14th century lady were not peculiar to the Middle Ages. If her neck and bosom were lovely, she should wear a décolletage; to add color to her face she should use ointments daily, but in secret so that her lover does not know; if aware of bad breath, she should not talk with her mouth too close to others; she should laugh prettily and cry gracefully, eat and drink daintily, and take care not to get drunk or sleep at table. She should go to church, weddings, and parties in her best clothes to let herself be seen and gain renown, lifting her gown to show her fine foot and opening her mantle like a peacock’s tail to reveal the beautiful form beneath. She should spread her nets for all men in order to snare one, and if she hooks several, should take care they do not meet. She should never love a poor man because she will get nothing from him and might be tempted to give him something, nor love a stranger, for he may have a vagabond heart, unless of course he offers her money or jewels. While pretending to be won by love alone, she should accept all gifts and encourage presents to her servants, maid, sister, and mother, for many hands get more booty and they can press her lover to get her gowns or other pledges out of pawn.”]

barbara w. tuchman, from a distant mirror: the calamitous 14th century, 1987

[dedicatedfollower467]

okay unpopular opinion but i don't think the colour of magic is actually a bad book.

i think it's a pretty decent book, actually! it's funny, it's weird, it's a loving-yet-vicious parody of a genre that i have enjoyed for most of my life, and it is a genuinely enjoyable read! yeah, there's some underlying sexism, racism, and ableism that isn't so much fun, but most of the time it's honestly trying to critique the sexist, racist, and ableist pulp fantasy conventions of the era in which it was written, even if it doesn't always do that super well.

it's just that terry pratchett wrote so many phenomenal books over the course of his life. like genuinely life-changing, spectacular masterpieces of writing and satire and fantasy. stuff that could and should be considered among the highest echelons of english literature.

colour of magic isn't a bad book. it's just nowhere near as good as some of pterry's other books.

but that isn't a fair comparison to make of ANY book, imo, even if it is something else he wrote.

[saintwyfe]

࿐ ˚ . ✦ PROVE IT. jude bellingham

summary. a night out, gone lewd

cw. slightly toxic relationship, implied infidelity, cursing, alcohol consumption, nsfw [!!!]

wc. 1682

most relationships, or at least the ones we see today, always have that overprotective boyfriend and free-spirited girlfriend dynamic.

as much as you hated it, you were the jealous, possessive one in the relationship. always ordering him around, issuing the ‘don’t do that"s and the ‘why are you looking at her like that?"s.

at one point in the relationship, the roles were reversed. he’d always be the one kissing up on you in public, clinging his arms tightly around your waist to let the men in the room know you were his, and only his. it’s crazy how times have changed now, huh?

“i’m gonna go grab a drink. you care for one?” he ducked, hovering over your ear, before taking a last sip from his bottle.

you nodded your head. “i’m fine for now, thanks,” you replied, quickly adjusting the collar of his top. he nodded, and with that, he drifted towards the bar. you glanced off at him during his departure before scanning the rest of the club, filled with young people dancing to bouncy music. 

to be honest, clubbing wasn’t your thing. maybe with the right group of people, it wouldn’t be that bad, but you're stranded for now. introverted you thought it was a somewhat-good idea to sway to the beat of the music while scrolling through instagram to not seem awkward. contrary to your plan, it did. and now, you were in the corner of the nightclub, pulling down your tiny cocktail dress that’d been riding up your thighs to some corny pop song. better than being stuck at home, right?

your eyes strayed from your bright phone screen for a second to check up on your boyfriend, just to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. and funny enough, you saw just that: his smiling, tall figure leaned up against the bar, giggling next to some short, dark-haired girl. your mouth dropped. you didn’t even want to hear the end of it.

in a fit of rage, you marched toward the entrance of the place, uber already pulled up on your phone. nothing else crossed your mind. just the image of him next to her. some skanky girl in a tacky, sequined dress. even thinking about it makes your fists ball up. to add to that, you looked ridiculous pacing the sidewalk bordering the club, getting glances from passersby as you waited for your uber, which at this point was a few minutes away.

your phone immediately buzzed after you found the location of your driver.

where are you?

i can’t find you

seen 2m ago

y/n?

i left

find your own way home

seen just now

thankfully, your uber had pulled up just in time. pulling the handle of the black sedan, you were ready to plunk down in the back seat and just sob. 

“y/n?!” the club door scraped the pavement, a wave of loud music following a breeze of air hitting your skin. fuck. maybe if you just got in quick enough—

“where are you going?” he was quick to shout from behind you, his warm hand stationed upon yours on the car’s handle.

“home,” you replied, turning your head to face him from behind you. “i’m going home. just have fun by yourself, alright?”

he shook his head, scoffing. “are you serious?”

considering him looking so taken aback compared to your aloof face—it’s almost laughable knowing that he was just cozying up with another woman back at the bar. did he seriously think you didn’t know? like you didn’t just see that flirty interaction between the two?

you huff out a laugh. “jude, you’re seriously so funny,” you mocked, squinting up at the puzzled individual. 

“what are you talking about? what the fuck’s gotten into you?” he spat.

“i’m sure the girl at the bar would keep you company ‘til you come home, yeah?” you click your tongue, a satirical smile spreading through your lips, before lowering your head into the back seat of the car.

but he had different plans.

you could almost feel your blood start to boil as his legs crept next to yours in the car as well.

you scoffed, throwing your head back. “what the fuck are you do—-”

“you can start driving now, sir,” he interrupted you mid-sentence, and contradicting the way he’d just been speaking to you just a minute ago, he kindly instructs your driver. you could almost feel your eyes rolling to the back of your head to his sudden change in mood.

and, bizarrely enough, he’s silent for the ride. his eyes glared at the road. the only sound was that of the car wheels on the street, the driver not daring to ask any questions. 

“have a good night, mister,” you said to the guy behind the wheel as you shut the car door behind you. jude, who’d already been at the front door of your shared home, was tapping the keypad, eager to come home once and for all.

your heels tapped the pavement of your driveway. his cold gaze locked on you while he held the door open for your entry inside. you, on the other hand, are not daring to speak a word. yet, you couldn’t ignore the adrenaline rush happening inside of you. jude wasn’t the type to go to bed angry, even if it meant handling things in a different way.

“so what is it with you?” he inquired, his voice softer, less hostile than before. “you just think leaving without saying anything would solve anything?”

you jumped a bit, not expecting to exchange words—not at least in the foyer. slowly, you turned around to meet his seething eyes. his hands still grasp the door handle, and he’s anticipating an answer from you.

“i could ask you the same thing, jude,” you stared. “what were you doing with her? hm?”

in an instant, he shook his head, biting his lip to stifle his laugh.

“y/n, did you forget who i am? that i have a public career, and maybe she was just a fan?” all of a sudden, it just hit you. you could just annihilate yourself from the shame you held upon him tonight, but it was in the heat of the moment, and you gave yourself no time to think. and, god, you looked so dumb just accusing him of something so distasteful and unlike him. 

“you think i’d just throw away our relationship for some girl at a club? no. i wouldn’t, y/n,” he added. “you’re mine, and only mine. understand?”

your eyes skimmed the floor, before meeting his dark brown irises. “then prove it.”

at once, his cold eyes turned ravenous.

“you don’t even know what you got yourself into,” he chuckled as he approached your figure. quickly, he locked his hand into your hair and pressed his lips against yours. he didn’t hold back on ambushing your lips. there was still liquor on h​​is tongue, which you could still taste. his arm intertwined around your waist as you began heading upstairs, groans escaping his mouth as you two struggled to find your bedroom.

your back was pressed up against the cold doorframe of your shared room, and he, taking advantage of your state, sought to lace his arms under your thighs. you took notice of the queue and jumped onto them, making it easier for him to spill your body onto the edge of your bed once he’d opened the door. you found yourself giggling once he did, especially with your dress threatening to expose the risque areas of your body. his hands locked your wrists in place, and now you were just docile under his spell. 

his kisses moved from your lips to your neck, leaving hickeys all over. his saliva around each bruise. you were a moaning mess, with his pace almost giving you whiplash. 

his fingers traced your waist, unzipping your dress’s zipper from the sides and finding its way to the wooden floors once it was off. he’s heaving as he’s doing so, almost like a predator finally getting its prey. you hissed once his hands fondled your now exposed breasts, with no warning, whatsoever.

his eagerness doesn’t halt while he’s pulling off your panties. he gives you a quick, sinful glare as his head dips between your thighs. you propped yourself on your elbows while you anticipated what he’d be doing next.

“you’re so wet already, angel,” he purrs against your dribbling cunt. “such a fuckin’ slut for me.”

his tongue wraps around your pussy, giving you no signal or build-up. your back arches from the sudden contact, which quickly leaves you breathless. his eyes linger on you, watching as you go dumb from being tongue-fucked so hungrily. his arms twined around your thighs, leaving you almost powerless against him while he held you in place.

his tongue ran through your slit while his thumb simultaneously found itself toying with your clit. your moans were so loud and pornographic, and you quickly grew your orgasm. 

“fuck, keep going, just like that, baby,” you cried. your hips found themselves grinding against his mouth. you were just growing so impatient, wanting to chase your high so desperately. your hands latched onto the bed sheets to distract yourself before cumming.

his tongue keeps swirling around your clit, your bud puffy and sensitive, while your thighs begin twitching. you could feel tears start to well up in your eyes—you were so close, and he could definitely tell by the way your legs started to tighten and clench around his head.

“jude, i’m gonna cum—” you yelped, throwing your head back and squeezing your eyes shut. right then, he pulled away, leaving you absent of your climax. 

you gasped, anticipating so heavily to cum, but instead, you were left emptyhanded. you could almost cry then and there.

he coughed up a laugh, almost mocking you. “brats don’t get what they want, at least not without earning it.” he stood up, petting your hair. 

“get on your knees.”

an: ntm on my amateur smut writing

[thousand-winters]

Saiki K is frankly fascinating because it's truly such a "technically this is comedy so while it does satire of anime tropes, it's in a comedic tone" and yet, and YET... the Horrors™️ are hiding underneath.

That said, I've been thinking a lot about that one teacher with the weird face (Iguchi Takumi) because that whole mini arc was so interesting to me.

First there's Saiki's comment about how he hadn't realized how different the exact same things were interpreted depending on the face of the person who says it. They were taking everything the teacher said in the wrong way because of his face. It's actually so interesting with the comparison of Yumehara freaking out about him knowing their names (because they were gonna be his students so he learned them) and the boys at school not only being okay but actively wanting Teruhashi to know personal information about them.

The difference looks make.

Furthermore, I think it was fascinating that he was worried about Nendo specifically, because while he was so off about his relationship with Kuboyasu, Kaido and Hairo, he was right on the money about people bullying him. The other students DO ostracize him and a big part of it isn't even that they consider him dumb, it's his looks. Consider that one episode where he gets a different haircut and people start liking him until they see him being "weird" again.

That he paid attention to Nendo in that sense was very sweet to me because he seemed to be such a caring teacher, even if he was kinda bad at making his students understand him (not aided at all by his face), and Nendo too is very sweet and kind. But due to how they look, most people didn't even give them the time of day.

[merlinmerlot]

Discworld character analysis is a can of worms because frequently, throughtout all the books, there is inconsistent characterization.

In broad strokes a character will remain the same — utterly static, in fact — but in the nitty gritty Pratchett will take whatever name and archetype is necessary and go baby-on-pottery-wheel with it. Satire over persona.

Which is why I cannot fault the fandom characterizing Vetinari as the sees all, omnipotent, always correct, 20 steps ahead 5-year-plan ankh morporkian mastermind. Because there is some textual evidence for it. But dear lord, it is the most boring interpretation possible for him.

Anyways, to further my point that Vetinari's character is simply what you make of it, here's a quote from Men at Arms:

"A great many rulers, good and bad and quite often dead, know what happened; a rare few actually manage, by dint of much effort, to know what’s happening. Lord Vetinari considered both types to lack ambition."

And here's a quote from Jingo:

"After all, you couldn’t plan for every eventuality, because that would involve knowing what was going to happen, and if you knew what was going to happen, you could probably see to it that it didn’t, or at least happened to someone else. So the Patrician never planned. Plans often got in the way."

The first quote implies he plans for the future. the second implies he doesn't bother. what is Really going on here is that Vetinari's Schrödinger's Plan is whatever Pratchett thinks is funnier/cooler in any given moment.

I've lost the plot a little. My main point: Broaden your horizons when it comes to vetinari's characterization! I find it much more fun to view him as a man with a flawed worldview and a capacity for mistakes! It's much more entertaining to see him as frequently not 100% knowing what's going on. This is the man who was so caught up in his big picture, all-men-are-cruel inner monologue that he missed when Leonard mentioned his Plot-bearing submarine! This is the man whose two last ditch efforts in a city he couldn't control were 1. Hiding in his own dungeon and 2. Running off to another country in the aforementioned submarine.

[worrywrite]

Except it is, it's poking fun at all the magical girl tropes. But that's not a bad thing. It's like that Red Ranger Isekai anime. It's a parody of Super Sentai, but it's also a love letter to it.

Im assuming this is about my post responding to the (concept of) comments regarding I don't want to be a magical girl.

I think you've missed my point. And, I'll grant you, I'm not a great speaker, I'm often wrong about things, and I get off track very easily. But allow me to further distill down what my main point regarding that post is.

IDWTBAMG (man that's a long acronym, is there a shortened way to refer to the show I haven't seen?) is a magical girl story. "Magical girl" is a genre. It has tropes and elements that combine to make that genre. Is it a satire? Not particularly. Satire requires a number of things that aren't present; typically satire is antagonistic to the genre or tropes, engages with the source ironically, or treats the source with sarcasm and derision. Parody is similar. Frequently satire and parody are shown as having a very shallow and superficial grasp on the media they are interacting with as well; this isn't required, but it is common. Anyway, if it were a satirical parody, which I believe it is not, it would still be a magical girl show by definition.

IDWTBAMG isn't ironic or sarcastic or mockingly low quality. It's a sincere, comedic adaptation of the genre and it's tropes and themes. It isn't even all that derivative due to the amount of western influence. It checks pretty much all the boxes for a genuine magical girl story. But rather than follow the typical adventure narrative of a magical girl story where magic is used as an escapist fantasy, it has the comedic perspective that mundanity and having average responsibilities and worries is a magical state to be escaped into. And it does this by sincerely engaging in the tropes and themes expected of a magical girl story.

As an example, the transformation sequence trope. It's still there, but the transformation is from magical to mundane. It shows that Aika feels like a magical girl by default and becoming normal is an escape from her reality. I wouldn't call that satirical or parody, it's a shift in perspective that fits the comedic narrative and it shows the viewer how the character sees herself and what what Aika's values are. It is very much not a shallow element.

I was going to keep this short, but I figure I should at least include an example of what a satirical parody of a magical girl story would be. So, as example, consider Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. This is also a magical girl story. It contains most of the tropes and themes, but engages with them in a much more ironic way. The titular magical girls are comically sexualized, their transformations subverting the otherwise fairly wholesome expectation if the genre. Magical girls are typically chosen to be magical girls due to their innocent or virtuous natures, but Panty and Stocking are placed in this position due to being exiled from heaven for their sexual nature. Their transforming weapons/tools are lingerie. The overall animation style and quality is blocky and lower quality save for the very detailed hyper-sexualized transformation sequences. And the entire series is characterized by its absurd overly-american stereotypes. These elements are projected to their extremes and used to point a finger at the absurdity of the show and the overarching genre. In so doing, the show becomes satirical parody. And, to be clear, it isn't parody because it is sexual, but those elements parody the elements typical to the genre. Is it a bad show? Eh? It's fine from what I remember seeing when it came out, though not particularly up my alley.

---

Now. I don't particularly want to be the IDWTBAMG guy, or even "the magical girl genre" guy. It's a bit silly to get so invested in something that currently exists as a series of posts and notes and a 20-some-odd minute passion project pilot episode mostly expressed in storyboard frames. I'm not hating on the project, to be clear. As I've said, I quite enjoy it. But there isn't much to engage with and so engaging this much feels silly.

Ultimately I hope people engage with this post as a sort of media literacy lesson. I wouldn't consider myself an expert, but I do know I have a better grasp of media literacy than most people. So pardon me while I get my soap box out for a second.

I'd like to be clear that satire and parody aren't bad. However, it is important to understand what they are so that you engage with media through the proper lens. When you engage with media as though it were parody when it is not, you blind yourself to the actual message and the emotion it contains. You can still enjoy it, to an extent, but you prevent yourself from understanding it. That does not mean that you need to know a piece of media's status as sincere or parody or even really understand it to engage with it or to enjoy it; but it should be something you always consider when engaging with media.

When you don't understand media, you are prone to misinform others about it. This is what people mean when they say that poor media literacy leads to rampant misinformation. When you fail to see sincerity and ascribe parody to it instead, you become very easy to fool into advocating for things you do not believe in. And while that may sound hyperbolic in the context of magical girls, being able to distinguish between sincere media and parody is a very transferrable skill.

[ravings-of-a-mad-scientist]

Personal Heroes

Historian: My favorite person from history and one of the most influential people ever was Carl von Clausewitz

Military Scientist: Oh, that was literally what I was gonna say.

Political Scientist: That's funny. Well, my personal hero is Niccolò Machiavelli, he was the father of political science, and just got an undeserved bad rap. The whole “Machiavellian” thing came from a book that actually was written as satire, against that kind of thing, I think.

Military Scientist: Ah, yes, Machiavelli is one of my heroes too. He personally considered his writings on military theory, Dell'arte Della Guerra, to be his own greatest work.

Chemist: Well, uh, Fritz Haber invented artificial fertilizer stopping billions from dying of famine… so he must be fine?

Military Scientist: That same process also made bombs cheap, and he literally invented mustard gas.

Physicist: *cautiously* … Einstein?

Military Scientist: Without his recommendation to do so, the US likely wouldn't have invented the Atom Bomb.

Physicist: OH, COME ON!

[peoplesrazor]

Stop trying to make fetch happen, Lily.

First, you don't just get to decide that, Lily. Sure, you can say, I think of this as a thriller, but you can't just say it is a thriller no matter what genre the creators put it in. It's classified as a Shonen and marketed as such, because that's what the people behind it intended it to be. The quality of the creations, as per your personal standards, doesn't matter, either.

Just call a bad show, a bad show. No need to blame a whole genre. If you didn't do that, you wouldn't have to pretend Spy Family was a different type of show then it is.

This is the same thing as you asking who would call BG and Dragon Age dark fantasy when that's what the people who made and marketed the games called them. You don't have to think of them this way when you engage with the media. You should acknowledge it, however, if you are going to talk about it with any authority.

Secondly, you really should engage with genres you don't necessarily like, more often. The more media you consume, the better you will be at critiquing media in general. It's just learning through exposure and experience. You may even find other things you like.

For instance, to use myself as an example; I'm not particularly fond of gore, even in horror films. I'm not squeamish necessarily, but I do find it's more often done just to be gross for the sake of shock value and I'm usually not shocked. Generally, it's just not an effective way to get my attention the way it's intended.

Yet, I consider the following one of the most enjoyable, fun, interesting, well-done and well-executed sequences in all of cinema. It's an absolute masterpiece. And it's one-hundred percent pure, unadulterated over-the-top, glorious carnage and gore:

As great as that four minute clip is all on it's own, I promise you it is so much better if you've seen the whole film. Sort of my point. Even if you don't like slasher/ teenagers being offed in the woods movies, and I usually don't, you'd miss that glorious scene if you didn't give this film a chance.

By the way, that's not the genre that movie is in either, but you wouldn't know that if you didn't watch it. Despite the fact that they marketed it as a Science Fiction Comedy Horror, if you only saw clips, you are going to think slasher movie. Myself, I consider it more of a satirical deconstruction of the slasher and eldritch horror genres.

But if someone asked me I'd include the sci-fi comedy horror elements as well. Because, yeah, it's that, too. I just appreciate the deconstruction elements more.

[houliburns]

some additional thoughts on my most recent reblog, which i didn't put in the tags bc i didn't wanna derail from the base message... as frank exists in canon, he's an irredeemable laughable caricature. he's also a fantastic character who, while not particularly multi-dimensional, is given just enough depth for us to know why he is the way he is. and that backstory is sad. that backstory makes you feel bad for him. it's meant to. i saw another post about how frank is a scared child who became a cruel adult. fear breeds reactivity. narratively, he's a mocking personification of the values he upholds. he's representative of how dangerous ideology typically comes from the most absolutely batshit insane, beyond parody types of humans. there's another post about how frank's an absolute cartoon of a man and simultaneously someone we've all met. truly, people like him are just like that. bizarrely, he's an accurate depiction. down to a callous, oppressive, hateful childhood ruining a perfectly innocent child. and these people continue to exist. some of frank's more deluded beliefs are things i've heard modern conservatives say unironically fifty years later. as a one-off character says at the beginning of season two, 'his kind is indestructible.' so what do you do when you just have to live with these people? when you have to tolerate them because you don't have a choice? you laugh at them. you take the piss out of them. you treat them as the joke that they are. and the cool thing with frank, as opposed to real world people like him, is that it ends up paying off. frank's flanderization and downward spiral can be attributed to a lot of things, but within the show, frank's a lot more competent in season 1. he's more confident, he's a 'fair' surgeon rather than a terrible one, he's less dependent on margaret, he's less whiny and more decisive. by season 5, he's a mess. at least some of this is because hawkeye, trapper, and bj completely wear him down with their antics. entitlement dries up fast when no one takes you seriously. he loses his confidence and his only ally and he spirals. he is, effectively, defeated. fortunately he didn't take anyone down with him. that's satisfying, narratively. he's never redeemed because he can't be, because of what he represents within mash as a satirical media.

so with all that being said, how do you get someone like me who actually likes frank? how do i justify that? and i've been thinking about it, after seeing some discourse, and i guess it boils down to the fact that morals personally don't factor into my interest in a character. for me, i can think a character is an awful person who i'd never want to encounter irl and who got the unhappy ending they deserved, because they're representative of horrible real-world things, and still consider them my favorite. i can have strong personal values pertaining to real issues, and not feel as strongly about the same issues within media. i guess that gets into the fiction vs reality debate, but i think it's just how different people are wired, because personally, fictional characters being a certain way simply doesn't inspire the same gut-feeling reactions as their real-world equivalents do. i think that differs from person to person. to me, a real person is a threat; a character is a narrative device to be studied, if the themes pertinent to them are remotely interesting. and sometimes unsavory things are interesting! being fascinated by how something works isn't an endorsement of it. it's an academic interest. and sometimes you get attached to your test subjects. that's really the crux of it. some people have a knee-jerk reaction to frank and deem him unworthy of analyzing deeply whatsoever, and that's fair, but to me, he's an idiot on a screen that i like picking apart. my favorite characters in shows are almost always the ones who give me the most to think about, who are a challenge to dissect. frank's so fucked up that when i watch mash, i go "wtf is wrong w this freak", and that, for me, is often what leads me to deem a character my favorite. and his shitty beliefs are part of that. it's not that i think other aspects of him are enough to erase his politics and make him redeemable; it's that he's a bizarre bundle of neuroses and shittiness all packed into a fucking. rubber ball band of a man and that compels me. that's all there is to it. i think when people criticize liking frank it's bc they think we're going "this character is a fascist BUT he's also queer and ND so i like him and can excuse the fascism 🥺". in reality it's "this is a character who is a mess of contradictory qualities and reprehensible behaviors that imply a deep-set pervasive but unconscious self-loathing and internal confusion and that's immensely interesting as a character trope". i think that people think favorite characters have to be people you'd want to know irl but most of my favs are mfs i wouldn't touch with a twenty foot poll. i have a room full of specimen jars that i do inhumane experiments to recreationally and i wouldnt want it any other way <3

[deafeninggalaxycandy]

✨️JIMMY VALMER HEADCANONS ✨️

trigger warning: tiny mention of drug use and gangs

if these suck, sorry im sleepy rn

• James Anderson Valmer

He/Him

• Born on May 13th 2004

• 5'7" without his crutches, around 5'6" with them.

• Straight

• Dreams of being on SNL or at least being a writer for it.

• Huge crush on Taylor Tomlinson

• The minute he comes up with a joke he immediately tells Craig. Good or bad, he's the first ones he goes to for honest feedback. He regrets it sometimes though because he's brutally and a bit hurtfully straight forward

• Plays Dungeons and Dragons with his friends. He's always the Dungeon master.

• Best friends with Timmy and Scott Malkinson.

• After the fish sticks joke, he stayed in touch with a lot of comedic celebrities including Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler and Jay Leno. He still cringes when it's brought up though.

• Likes shows like Impractical Jokers, The Office, Parks and Rec, and Brooklyn 99

• Jimmy bonded with Craig while they both had their braces on. His actually funny jokes and teasing about them made Craig feel a lot better contrasted to his sisters' and classmates actual bullying.

• Tried to reconcile with Nathan even after the dude tried to straight up murder him (they were eventually cool as adults)

• One of the least bothered by Cartman's antics since they aren't around as much and Cartman is generally a lot nicer to Jimmy because he makes him laugh all the time. Unlike Clyde, Jimmy doesn't think Cartman is joking about the crazy shit he says but he tolerates the guy simply because he hasn't done anything super bad to him yet.

• Jimmy is the only one of the main boys who hasn't experimented with drugs. He's had plenty of beer and other liquors, but after the whole steroids thing, he didn't want to do any sort of drug ever again. However, he's been peer pressured to, mostly by Clyde and some of his fellow Crip members.

• Oh yeah, he's still a Crip. Him and Timmy. They never left the gang. They eventually realized that it's a violent gang in around middle school but decided not to leave since the Crips were so nice to them and offered protection against any bullies (which really came in handy in high school, the gang killed like 10 students who were picking on the boys.)

• Jimmy didn't even ask them to do that he just asked to get them off him and Timmys backs and they took it terrifyingly serious.

• Preforms at comedy clubs and mostly does improv. He's amazing at crowd work too.

• Sings in the shower but is kind of nervous to sing out loud. He was a good singer as a kid but puberty hit him at a weird time and his voice was screwed up and cracked for a long time. He eventually used this as new material for his stand-up but he was genuinely embarrassed about it.

• Tricia decorates his crutches with unicorn stickers.

• Got smacked in the mouth by Tolkien for saying the n word (due to influence from his Crip buddies)

• Jimmy hates being left out or not considered part of Craig's gang when he's literally almost always seen spending most of his time with them.

• Is in the school band and plays the trumpet.

• Has a BIG crush on Tammy but heard about her being a slut and is kind of on the fence about asking her out. He doesn’t even know about Kenny getting syphilis but he's still scared of getting an STD.

• LOVES the Bee movie. It's so incredibly stupid, it's like Jimmy's playground. Also he fucking loves Jerry Seinfeld.

• Also really likes the Muppets. He unironically had a crush on Miss Piggy (he will take that secret to the grave)

• Favorite book is iFunny by James Patterson and he heavily relates to Jamie Grimm being a cool disabled comedian with all he's going through. He just generally likes James Patterson books.

• Listens to The Lonely Island, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bo Burnham, and Glorb (He's on YouTube)

• Thinks ThatVeganTeacher is 100% satire and funny as fuck and he doesn’t understand why Heidi gets annoyed when he shows her the womans TikTok's.

Listen I tried-

He's not easy to write for I borrowed some of these ideas I apologize

If you follow me and notice my work, they all have smth in common I usually elaborate on a mental health or trauma related issue on the characters.

For example, I mentioned Nichole and Tolkien's issues with living in a racist ass hick town like South Park and frequently being around a racist ass hick like Cartman.

Or with Stan, I mentioned his drinking and how he hates his shitty ass father.

However, since Jimmy is one of the only characters who hasn't been seen or even hinted at having any real, intense, long-term mental health problems, especially with his disability, I decided to go a mostly chill, lighthearted route with him.

I mentioned him and Timmy getting bullied but that happens during high school and middle school and it was more for comedic purposes so I could mention how the Crips may or may not have killed a bunch of mean teenagers bc of two disabled kids who accidentally joined in the first place💀

And that does it for Craigs gang!! The little siblings are up next, it's time for my girl Karen!!!

Be prepared, I've given lots of thought to her.

Also I made a masterlist that I'm posting in like 3 minutes, with all my links all to my South Park works so far

Stay safe, drink water, byeeeeee :)

[salvadorbonaparte]

2024 in Books

Every Book I read in 2024 very briefly reviewed. I'm ignoring re-reads.

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (I definitely want to read the rest of the series but I haven't managed to get my hands on it yet)

Death's Country - R.M. Romero (I read this as an ARC, it's a journey to the underworld in free verse)

More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary - M.R. James (I love this guy's ghost stories)

100 Poets: A Little Anthology - John Carey (I read this as an ARC, would have liked more international voices)

Ariadne - Jennifer Saint (Very solid version of Ariadne's story highlighting the lack of agency under the patriarchy)

Cien Microcuentos Chilenos - Juan Armando Epple (Not gonna lie I barely understood anything)

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller (I'm soooo not normal about this one)

The Murderbot Diaries 1-4 - Martha Wells (I'm really enjoying this series but I had to wait for months to get a library loan for the 5th one and now I forgot everything that happened)

Darius the Great is Not Okay & Darius the Great Deserves Better - Adib Khorram (Actually made me cry which tells you what kind of year I'm having)

The Jeeves Collection - P.G. Wodehouse (A 40h long anthology of Jeeves stories read by Stephen Fry what more can you want)

Von der Pampelmuse geküsst - Heinz Erhardt (Funny)

Die Jodelschule und andere dramatische Werke - Loriot (Funny)

Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree (This was truly so cozy)

Poemas Portugueses - Ed. Maria de Fátima Mesquita-Sternal (Good collection of different works)

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store - James McBride (Highlight of the Year)

Quality Land - Marc-Uwe Kling (How is his satire so real??)

When Women Were Dragons - Kelly Barnhill (Highlight of the Year)

Gender Queer: A Memoir - Maia Kobabe (Very affirming to read)

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (I'm so not normal about this that I'm considering getting a tattoo about it)

Andorra - Max Frisch (A play about antisemitism but in that very Max Frisch way)

Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman - Richard Feynman (I want to study this guy under a microscope but I also learned a lot about education and people skills)

Von Juden Lernen - Mirna Funk (Bad, unfortunately)

House of Leaves - Mark Z Danielewski (I've been reading this on and off for the better half of a decade and I have many thoughts none of them coherent)

Views - Marc-Uwe Kling (One of the most upsetting books I ever read and I mean that positively)

Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (What the fuck is happening but also oh cool)

People Love Dead Jews - Dara Horn (the other really upsetting book I read this year but beautifully written)

It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror - Ed. Joe Vallese (An anthology so up my alley you'd think it's fake)

Camp Damascus - Chuck Tingle (More upsetting than scary but a really good read)

Stephen Fry in America - Stephen Fry (Very funny and insightful if you've just moved there)

You Like it Darker - Stephen King (I'm still thinking about some of the short stories)

Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut (Also not normal about this one)

The Song of Roland - Unknown, Trans. Glen Burgess (It sucks that this slaps so much because it's blatant propaganda)

Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum - Heinrich Böll (Worst year to read and watch this tbh but highly recommended)

Herzog Ernst - Unknown (Medieval Fantasy but like actually Medieval)

Willehalm - Wolfram von Eschenbach (Sorry I only partially read this because I got too busy with school)

Bury Your Gays - Chuck Tingle (Better still than Camp Damascus but again more upsetting than scary)

[irregularmelody]

Hi, the following is a 643 word long essay about Null Baldi's Basics. Yes. It's me again in the trenches. I never left. If you desire to read it, enjoy.

Null might be one of the most interesting characters I ever stumbled upon. My fascination with him grew greatly when I sat down to digest what every single encounter and interaction with him meant. However, there's this specific detail that has particularly stolen my attention.

Constructing characters that are meant to interact with you, the player, is, in my opinion, a very delicate piece of work. Because those characters aren't speaking nor interacting with another character in-world, someone who's already set in. They're speaking to you, the one behind the screen, the one who has their hands on the keyboard and mouse.

Those types of interactions tend to feel more intimate because it's you who fills the role of being a character in said world. A blank state meant to be controlled by you and the way it happens must be polished for a pleasant, vivid experience. Otherwise, it will ruin your entire product.

Which is why Null is so brilliant to me. His entire nuance, characterization and interactions with the player are masterfully crafted as it should be because Null is a one time event in Classic Remastered. It feels purposeful - lowkey an irony, considering his departure leaves the player with several questions while feeling like that all the same.

Your average “haha, I hate the player” character – no matter how sarcastic it is meant to be – is bland and falls flat as unfunny and unworthy of experiencing them at all. If you do that, AT LEAST give them a proper and good reason why so. Most of the time it's just a “gotcha!” moment from the creator and it's… it's not good. It's not good, stop it.

Then why does Null, a character who at first glance might cross as this exact trope, work? Because he actually has his reasons. His appearances are focused to show and tell in a progressive, seamless narrative towards the player, involving them as the story escalates. It isn't Null coming over to tell you off out of nowhere, far from it.

Pushing the player aside as a figure of ridicule and/or mockery is a proof of utter lack of ability, logical and critical creativity. Especially when those types of characters are born from a metafiction setting.

Null's behavior seen in Classic Remastered stems from frustration, not hatred. In the narrative, it's understandable because the game makes it clear. How? Through his dialogue. With every secret ending achieved, we can feel the sensation of a story going through his dialogue. You, the player, are again and again warned by this mysterious guy who pleads you to leave the game because something bad might happen. It has continuity. His frustration at the sight of failure accumulates as you keep finding him. It does not come out of nowhere.

The player, naturally, is in their right to have an answer as to why. Why must we leave? Why is he the only one who's this much aware? You progress the narrative and Null acts accordingly with it. All of that combined makes his inevitable end hit a lot more harder when you pierce the pieces together.

Null never hated you, he was just looking for you and your safety but the player's unwavering will is stronger than whatever power Null possesses.

Aside from the crushing guilt of being the one responsible for his demise because he warned you and you didn't listen, he warned you and you didn't listen, he warned you and you didn't listen— it's an unique experience, one who tries to submerge you in it and it succeeds. The Baldi's Basics franchise in its entirety might be one of parody and satire but it still introduced a rich and unforgettable tale and character, which demonstrates that Mystman has a finesse for actual competent writing.

I believe Baldi's Basics Plus will be just as great.