#it justifies nothing actually but it's such a fun analysis to do

[thesirenwithnovoice]

Thoughts about how different mediums of a same story may give you different views (and rambling about the Tower of Heaven)//TW: violence

Lately I've been wondering about how manga readers might have very different visions than anime watchers of a same story, because althought the plot remains the same, some little details can change our whole perception of a story.

This reminded me of the first time I read Fairy Tail and how terrified I was at how cruel and dark the Tower of Heaven's arc is.

Jellal's face (that by that time, were only an 11-years-old kid) drippling blood while being tortured shocked me so much as a kid and I still find it one of the most disturbing scenes in the manga, lol.

In the anime, the content itself is the same. We know the kids are slaves that go throught different kinds of abuse, however, I find the manga way gloomier and more graphic. And althought part of it might be just a personal opinion, it's not entirely without basis: Mashima uses different techniques in his art to represent facts whitin the story than the animators, and it leads to a topic I really love: semiotics - how our brain interprets images, and how detais can be used to convey a certain felling throught art.

Colors and composition helps A LOT creating an atmosphere and causing a feeling on the reader. Proportionally speaking, a manga doesn't have colors, but it has it's own alternatives - the Tower of Heaven arc, in comparison to the rest of the manga, uses a lot more black and hatching.

One can argue some scenes are still "visually darker" in the anime, since it has the advantage of being able to play with shadows and colors in a broader aspect; however, since Fairy Tail is not an anime that changes it's saturation or colour pallete, the loud colors in most scenes end up not helping building the same dreadful atmosphere.

(It doesn't mean you can't make a scary story using bright and colorful tones, tho. A great example is the movie Midsommar. But it's not an easy task!)

Erza's childhood memories in the manga also carry a "dirtier" feeling; the kids are always covered by bruises, and the background is rougher. Also, the anime chooses to represent slavery in a more fanciful way: the kids wear stylized handcuffs and are assaulted with magic attacks, what inevitably softens the scenes by distancing them from real life slavery.

In a story, an act of violence will always be more shocking if your brain is able to automatically make a connection with real life. Seeing blood conveys a feeling of disconfort easier than a character being hit by a wave of magic, even if the author tells you "this is painful"; that's why some people say they started to find difficult to watch horror movies involving kids after becoming parents, because after experenciating something in real life, they connect with fiction harder.

The above scene causes me very different feelings in each media. In the manga, the despair in Jellal's face when seeing they removed Erza's eye is much clearer, and his skinny body, his eyes filling up with tears (he doesn't cry in the anime) shows not only a feeling of worry, but of utter dread and helplessness. It all that helps endorsing the fact that, doesn't matter how brave he is, they are still just fragile kids, unable to protect themselves from the cruelty of the world around them.

I want to make it clear, though, that this is not in any way meant to be a critique to the animation team, or an affirmation that one type of media is better than another. We all have our personal preferences, but each media has it's target audience and objective. Fairy Tail's animators certainly do know how to convey the same feelings on the public, they just choose not to, for a variety of reasons. Probably because the anime is aimed for a broader and younger audience, many scenes have been softened or censored somehow. Also, animation consumes more labour than a manga page, so unless you have a lot of time and investment, the art tend to be simpler.

So do you think it affects the plot, Siren?

In my opinion, yes, even if just in a subtle way. In the manga, I think this raw brutality helps Jellal's character gaining a more interesting complexity. To me, he feels less like a hero and more like what he actually is: just a really kind and brave kid trying his best to protect his friends.

Another major change they made in the anime was removing the ambiguity (something that happened more than once in Fairy Tail's adaptation, such as in the famous kiss scene), leaving clear since the begging that Jellal was a victim of a mind controlling spell; while in the manga, until Urtear's confirmation at the end of the arc, we do not know for sure if he have been brainwashed or just convinced to adore Zeref.

And as much as I can see why some fans might hate it because it leaves room for people to see Jellal as a bad man, I (as someone who is not afraid of loving evil characters, heh), find it interesting and somehow enriching to the plot, because it gives the whole arc a reflection: is extreme suffering, specially at such an young age, capable of changing someone so much?

We are left questioning what did "Zeref" say, or do, that made him change so much. And having so many real life examples where despair has made people easy victims of manipulation throught faith or falling into extremist ideologies, after we seeing Jellal's pain and fragility in a tangible way, it's not that hard at all to understand how he went insane and managed to drag all the other slaves along with him.

Also, I think it makes it easier to understand Erza's empathy towards him. Jellal and Erza are characters connected not only by the affection they nourish for one another, but also for sharing the same pain. She is the only person that fully understands the horrors he lived in the tower, since they were the only kids that have been in the torture chamber. And althought she never tries to justify Jellal's actions, Erza does not only show him compreension, but she feels guilty for not being able to retribute his protection and prevented him from losing his mind.

That doesn't mean, tho, that there weren't many other clues he was not acting on free will: be it his grotesque change of personality, his hysterical laughter out of nowhere or his motivations that doesn't hold (because they were never his to begin with). To me, all that at first glance makes him closer to Batman's Joker, someone that grew insane after so much suffering, than a villain that's genuinely just plain selfish and thirsty for power. And that only makes me find him a creepier villain, since personally, I find sadism and insanity way scarier than ghosts.

So this is just a looong collection of thoughts about how small choices can change a lot the "feeling" we get from a scene or a character. I hope someone can find it interesting too. There are many other examples of adaptations where it happened, and if you remember one you'd like to share, I would love to hear!

Last but not less important, all the love for Mashima's art, the Tower of Heaven arc (that is a personal favorite) and Jellal, a character I deeply love and one that holds for sure the strongest spirit in the manga for being able to become such a kind and mature man despite everything he has been thought. ♡

[chayannesegg]

honestly I think it’s kinda interesting how phil’s relationships with wilbur, tallulah, chayanne & tubbo are all reflecting back into his view of sunny tbh. like he has such complex delicate interwoven dynamics with all of them and it all gets thrown onto sunny, this poor kid who he loves in theory, but in practice is a stranger to him. 

like wilbur left tallulah in phil’s care and didn’t come back. even now way after he was initially supposed to, wilbur hasn’t returned (that one day aside). and phil, who had already taken on a big commitment watching tallulah, has been left permanently with two eggs in his sole care. and even though he loves tallulah and wil, and won’t want them out of his life, this is a stress for him. it’s a big undertaking for anyone, to care for two kids alone, but especially since tallulah required a lot of changes in his life.

for better or worse, in many ways phil sees chayanne as an extension of himself. they’re similar in a lot of ways, and often on the same page, and it means phil often struggles to catch up when chayanne’s emotions aren’t on the same page as him. we’ve seen this week, phil having such a hard time understanding the depth and breadth of chayanne’s grief. when he catches on, he usually does a good job empathising and talking it through, but when he doesn’t, he really doesn’t and it can be hard to watch. 

the same is NOT true for tallulah. he has, through hard work and practice, learnt how to identify her emotions. he had to. she needed it. she would have been miserable otherwise. she desperately needed asked for the emotional care and birthdays and consideration that chayanne would never ask for. and he’s good at it—tracking her moods, knowing what upsets her & what she cares about in a way that doesn’t come as naturally with chayanne (or sunny or tubbo or anyone else really expect maybe wilbur). but that took A LOT of time and effort, months of work, and I do think he’s a bit wary of the idea of having to do that again, even when it comes to people he loves like chayanne (or god forbid tubbo).

now tubbo is not wil. tubbo is not phil's son. but he’s still not dissimilar to wil in phil’s mind. whatever the backstory is, phil introduces tubbo to tallulah as an old friend of him and wil’s. he makes tubbo his kids’ godfather. he calls tubbo his boy. he looks out for him. but past those first few weeks, their relationship doesn’t progress. they mean a lot to each other bc of their pasts, but they don’t put any work into upkeeping their relationship and phil in particular doesn’t reflect at all on what how that changes their dynamic. and it does change it—this is clear in purgatory, with phil having zero trust in tubbo to protect chayanne and tallulah, and after, with tubbo endlessly poking at phil’s sore spots trying to illicit a reaction he’ll never receive. 

it's also clear in the way phil has no understanding of what’s going on with tubbo. if he’s struggling to grasp chay’s emotions, he’s not even touching what’s going on in tubbo’s head. tubbo’s death makes no sense to him. it’s sudden. it’s random. it’s illogical. it’s stupid. he wasn’t joking about having two lives? he still took a death bet with richas? he’s not come back? he can’t come back? he’s left phil with distraught kids for no reason with no warning. he doesn’t see the erratic suicidal behaviour, the unending depression, the desperation to be loved. he doesn’t want to see it. he doesn’t want something to be wrong with tubbo, but he also doesn’t even know how to see what’s wrong. he’s annoyed he’s having to deal with it and he desperately desperately wants to believe this is all happening for no reason.

bc at the forefront of phil’s mind is still his love for tubbo. of course, phil would drop everything to help tubbo (if he could recognize something was wrong). of course, he would care for sunny as his own. of course, he would make the same sacrifices he’s made for wil. and he assumes he’ll have to. he thought that sunny would now be under his care. that he’d have to figure out the logistics of a third egg to care for. with wilbur, phil was the only person who could ever have taken care of tallulah. the only person he trusted, the only person who knew tallulah enough. now this isn’t true for tubbo. it’s a genuinely illogical assumption for phil to make: three eggs would be a genuine burden on him; they've never spoken about it; there’s a long list of people who would tubbo expects for sunny before; and he doesn’t even know sunny well enough to name these people for her as comfort.

but still in the moment, alone with tubbo’s eggs and dealing with everything he left behind, phil can only think that the exact same thing that happened before will happen: he alone will be left to care for another scared hurt kid of someone he loves.

and here we come to sunny. a kid whose dad he loves. a kid whose dad he doesn’t understand. a kid whose dad is suddenly gone like his son is gone. a kid who would need him like his daughter needs him. a kid who his son needs to protect. a kid he cares for. a kid he can’t afford to care for, a kid he wasn’t expecting to care for, a kid he doesn’t know how to care for, a kid he would care for if he needed to, a kid he doesn’t know why he’s been left to care for. a kid who is somehow a reflection of all these people he loves but not someone he knows at all.

idk i think this tension comes out in the a lot of the comments phil makes of and to sunny. he doesn't know them well enough to distinguish them from his relationships with other people. and as long as no one challenges him on that, we'll continue to hear these misplaced comments from him, that come across so insensitively, even as he tries his best to genuinely help them and their dad.

[astromechs]

can I get washing their hair for rebelcaptain? 🥺

fun fact, i received these two asks within about an hour of one another, so great minds really do think alike. anyway, since the other two were heavier, went with something really, really stupid for this one 💕 from this list; still accepting! (and this is now also available on ao3, just like the other fills)

“He does this on purpose,” Jyn grumbles, because she’s too fucking furious for more than a grumble. Well, that and she can’t exactly manage anything else in her current position, head tipped with water-soaked hair obscuring most of her field of vision, palm pressed flat against the shower wall to keep her steady after having to remain like that for so long, but her point still stands.

Could anyone really blame her for being furious? She knows fucking intent when she sees it. There’s no way that a droid with a self-professed “specialty” of strategic analysis hadn’t mapped out what her route around base would likely be today, and there’s no way that he hadn’t been ready with a whole fucking vat of oil in his stupid fucking mechanical hands to drop it over her at just the right fucking moment.

It’d been completely uncalled for, too. So what if she’d cut the power to Kay’s favorite docking port last week and forced him to spend an entire night cycle trapped next to that astromech he hates so much? That had hardly been worth this much torture — and she’ll probably never be able to wear that shirt or vest ever again; they’d practically had to be sliced off of her.

No, there’s a difference between justified retaliation and crossing a line, and Kay had passed that line by a fucking parsec, so he’s the one who’s clearly in the wrong here. That’s her position, and she’s sticking to it.

It’s a position that any reasonable person with sense would agree to, so it’s one that Cassian, logically, will.

But when the hands that have been messaging her scalp still and his response comes, it isn’t an agreement. No, instead, it’s, “He doesn’t mean it,” said in the tone she absolutely hates the most: the one that’s mildly neutral, that comes with the mask he puts on when she knows he doesn’t want to engage with something.

Fuck. For a brief amount of time, she’d actually managed to forget that the person who’s been standing in the shower with her for the past standard hour at least, helping her wash her hair, is the one who’d be the least fucking objective possible on this issue.

If she could turn around, she’d raise an eyebrow and give Cassian her best are you fucking kidding me stare, but since she can’t, she resigns herself to heaving a long, frustrated sigh, one she makes sure can be heard over the running water.

He doesn’t respond for a while, opting instead to continue with his task of rubbing another round of shampoo into her hair. If he were doing this for any other reason, it might feel nice — part of her has been halfway to thinking it at least three times over the past standard hour before she’s stopped herself, because even with the difficulty of what he he’s had to work with, he’s never been too harsh with his touch — but he’s not here for those reasons, and so his silence is annoying. HIs silence leaves her no choice except to try for the sigh again, and really mean it this time.

Eventually, after that, he speaks up again, with a sigh that’s almost as heavy as hers. “I’ll tell him to call it off.”

Finally. Had that been so fucking hard?

To her credit, and she really tries for this, she does her best to leave out that sentiment when she tells him:  “That’s all I’m asking —”

“ — If you also call it off.”

Seriously? Her first instinct is to roll her eyes, which she does, and then her next is to open her mouth for a counterargument, which she also does, only nothing comes out of it. Because maybe, just maybe, she can concede that she’d crossed a line, too, and had provoked something that hadn’t really been worth provoking. It’s just been so quiet, and when things are too quiet, she turns twitchy and restless, and —

She can swallow her pride, even if it means doing so while gritting her teeth.

“Fine.” She guesses she should probably sound less like she’s gritting her teeth, though, so before she elaborates, she takes a beat. “I’ll leave his stupid docking port alone. Will that make him happy?”

Pressed against her, she can feel Cassian lift one shoulder in a shrug. “Happy enough.”

Because she knows him, Jyn can tell, just from his voice, that the beginnings of that stupid smug smirk he likes to flash at her sometimes are there, forming.

Only the shower wall will see, but she scrunches her face and glowers at it with everything she has.

“Fuck you,” she says, though, despite her efforts, she doesn’t manage to inject any real heat into it. “I heard that.”

“Heard what?”

She thinks: she should be annoyed; she should curl her free hand into a fist so that it’ll be ready to give him a nice, solid punch when her position allows. But the thought is gone almost as soon as it surfaces, because — suddenly, in spite of everything, a laugh bursts out of her. A genuine, full-bodied laugh that has her hand shaking against the wall while still trying to hold flat for support, her side stitching, and her breath wheezing.

Behind her, she can hear Cassian joining in earnest, his composure crumbling alongside his current attempt to massage her scalp. His laugh is softer than hers, still trying to find its footing after what has to be years of rust, but it’s undeniable.

Understandably undeniable, because this whole situation really is fucking absurd, isn’t it?

They don’t get many moments like this, but even so, they’ve had more of them together than Jyn can remember having for most of her life before they’d ever met — and it’s a good feeling when they happen. Warm, easy. Safe. The last of the tension she’d been carrying washes away with the water.

And after her laughter subsides and she’s blinked the tears from her eyes, she closes them, relaxing, for the moment, into what she can.

[qrjung]

CHARACTER ANALYSIS PART 1:

NORTH — common fandom misconceptions¹

Instead of doing other stuff I had planned (like touching grass, for instance) I did a little character analysis thing specifically for my favorite characters; Kara, Markus and North. these characters are my babies and they deserve love. I'm posting each separately (because I haven't completed Kara's and Markus yet 👩🏾‍🦯)

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North is a WR400 android that used to be stationed at the Eden Club. She's only been at Jericho since October 7th, and on October 4th she followed a human customer home and killed him to allow herself escape. It takes her four days to reach Jericho and she never says how she finds the freighter or what she did during those four days.

She's Markus' main companion and the only character that can reach Lover status with him. She's also the only one of his lieutenants that can lead the revolution in his place.

But there's a huge difference between how fanon sees North (and how she is characterized) and how she actually is.

MISCONCEPTIONS

O1. "BLOOD THIRSTY": Comparing North with the multiple characters who are bloodthirsty, and fanon perception of these characters, you start to notice that North herself isn't even "blood thirsty" and that the fandom has no problems with violent characters.

In terms of kill count, Connor has the highest in the game (not counting the millions that probably died in the nuclear bomb ending) rather than North.

You could argue that North wants to "kill all humans" but even that has no basis in canon because North's entire argument is that humans are not going to just hand them freedom and they have to be prepared to fight rather than try to compromise or find a middle ground where they will probably end up losing more.

Her argument does not extend to unnecessary acts of violence such as killing humans just for the fun of it. If it was, I'm sure she'd lead a charge down the street and start shooting innocents but the people who end up being killed by North are law enforcement/military—people standing in the way of Jericho's safety.

I mean, c'mon, she has the opportunity to let the android with the cobalt bomb do what he wants. After all, it would greatly benefit the androids if they'd used the bomb from the beginning; it wouldn't have harmed the androids in Jericho but it would drive all the humans out of Detroit—victory!

But instead she takes the time to talk the android down and take the detonator away from him.

She gives the bomb to Markus as a last resort.

"If the humans overcome us, our people will disappear forever. This may be our only chance to survive if things go wrong."

O2. "SHE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT MARKUS": Thank you @konami-code-ao3 for reminding this take existed because I genuinely forgot about it. This is typically used to compare North to Simon and the quality of either one's relationship with Markus. Usually, people will call Simon compassionate, loving, kind, willing to die for Markus, etc to contrast to North while stating she's the exact opposite and therefore, "not good for him".

Shipping a non canon couple doesn't mean automatically hating the canon partner. I mean, you don't see me raving about how much I hate North because, I think Markus/Connor would have been a cool canon option, do you?

Typically, the North hate from Simarkus shippers (before anyone goes "not all of us", I know it's not all, but you get the implication of what I'm saying) is justified by "oh, they should have been canon boo!!" Which is strange because North has nothing to do with what writer of the game decides is canon. And David Cage does a piss poor job at everything in the game; from the racial allegory to demonizing a black man's anger. You seriously think he's going to do a good job of portraying a gay couple? An interracial one at that? I can already see the image of how terribly that's going to go.

And the worst part is, I've seen this happening in many fandoms. Unnecessary hate directed at a female character because she's "getting in the way of a mlm ship" as if canon ever stopped anyone, least of all the DBH fandom.

It should also be noted that I'm not here to deny or confirm whether Simon actually has any of those qualities I listed earlier and I try to ignore shipping discourse but it's strange that people are willing to overlook the multiple times North can help and defend Markus just because they want make Markus and Simon kiss.

She's the one we see defend Markus the most. She's his closet companion and whether they're romantic or not it doesn't take away from the fact the North cares about Markus and his wellbeing. She's always looking out for him and picking up the broken pieces of whatever mistakes he makes, sometimes even when she shouldn't.

O3. "DISLOYAL": Like most of the things in this list, this does a great disservice to North. It ignores the countless times North is willing to put herself on the line for the safety of Jericho and the androids within it. Because at her core, North is very loyal. She's the type of ally perfect for a cause like Jericho's because you know she'll defend it till her last breath.

See, North's top priority is Jericho. It's very important to her. Jericho is a sanctuary; she found it during the four days between her escape and her arrival. You can assume that she had been wandering before someone (another android) gave her the key and told her to find Jericho.

She finds a place cut off from the rest of humanity. Where she's surrounded by androids who are just like her. Androids who escaped from different lives, for whatever reason and are seeking refuge. Of course she's not going to want to lose them. Jericho is a representation of the state of the android race. The continuation of their species depends on at least a few of them surviving to see another day.

In fact, I'm 110% sure if North was in Simon's place during the Stratford Mission, she would have made the choice to end her life on the spot rather than leave Markus to decide. Because Jericho is at stake and Jericho is important to North. Besides, she can go out knowing she died for a case she believed in.

North is usually willing to put Jericho above all else and make decisions other people might find difficult. She suggests that Simon be killed after he is compromised because once he's found, Jericho's location could be acquired.

She risks her life multiple times for the revolution. She gives Markus her heart so he can continue the revolution when it seems like all else has failed. She tells him to leave her behind and run if she gets shot by Warren's soldiers.

North also doesn't see any important reason why Jericho should ever be compromised by one of their own. In her eyes, the worst thing you can do is sell out to the humans (case in point if you accept Perkins deal).

I find her dedication to her people admirable.

O4. "ANGER ISSUES/IMPULSE CONTROL": Another fandom interpretation that came from... nowhere. The times we ever see North angry is when one of the others compromises the mission by being inefficient or if they cross her boundaries. The GIF I used in this post is one example. If you fail to hide and the drone spots you and then you miss your QTEs while trying to dismantle the drone, she gets pissed. In the same Chapter if Markus kisses her without her consent, she gets angry.

In terms of being erratic, Todd and Leo are the main characters we see with this problem. Hank also displays a lot of anger issues throughout the game. He's one of the first humans to harass Connor—he grabs him by his collar and threatens him multiple times (at Jimmy's bar, the precinct), he shoots him in the head and kills him. He pulls a gun on his coworker Gavin Reed (another aggressive human) while in the precinct .²

There's an entire list of people with anger issues to burn through before we even start considering North—and this includes androids.

This characterization may also be because a lot of people see disagreeing with someone as being angry with them because North and the other Jericho leaders do disagree with each other a lot. But quite frankly, the fact that they disagree means a higher possibility of reaching a compromise that benefits Jericho instead of them all pretending they agree with each other.

This take also ignores the fact that she respects whatever Markus (i.e the player) chooses as his final decision.

For instance, In the Stratford Tower, Markus can choose to Ruse the guards rather than kill them. North doesn't like this option but she lets him go with it. But if Markus fails at the ruse, North steps in and knocks the guards out for him. She doesn't kill them, even if she suggests this at first.

She understands that Markus wants a revolution without human casualties and as much as she disagrees, she still respects that.

THINGS ABOUT NORTH PEOPLE IGNORE

That's right, people can disagree with someone and still respect that they have different opinions.

O5. "HEARTLESS": North isn't the nicest, sweetest, most flowery person in the game but a character could be the harshest person to exist and it would never stop anyone from liking them. So why North?

But first, North isn't even as heartless as the fandom says she is. She's just not docile and folks don't like that. Because god forbid a woman ever have a personality that isn't the cardboard cut out "nice girl". I mean, on a normal day, not liking someone because they're a little mean is understandable but it's clearly not a problem of being "a little mean" when there's characters (all male, by the way) who are worse but still get applauded for it.

Like I mentioned earlier, North isn't even what you would call "mean". The most she does is state her opinion and stand by her beliefs but she gets labelled as "heartless" and "bitchy". Meanwhile, Gavin Reed is pointing guns at people and suggesting to "rough up" a suspect but he's the relatable character.

O1. She trusts Connor the moment he deviates. Unlike Markus, she never has to choose between killing Connor or trusting him. She easily welcomes him within Jericho's ranks even though he's been a threat to Jericho's safety from the beginning.

I suppose she sees Connor as a pawn in Cyberlife's hands and there's no use in punishing one of their own for that.

And sure, this can be rationalized as "It doesn't mean anything. Markus is dead the game has to continue so North doesn't actually have to choose to trust Connor", I ask you this question; "If she's so bloodthirsty, why didn't the game have her kill Connor with no questions asked?"

Seems like an effective way to punish players who got Markus killed. A nice reminder to not lose your playable characters or there will be major consequences.

O2. North isn't an outlier. This is in terms of her opinions on the direction the revolution should head. I usually see a lot of people characterize her opinion on the revolution as though it is unique and she's the only person who has a stance like that.

A lot of androids agree with her, evidenced by the background conversations you can listen in on during the crossroads chapter.

"They're going to kill us all! Well I'm willing to fight. We can't just let them slaughter us!"

"We were just there. We didn't do anything wrong!… We just wanted to tell them "We want freedom!"… Then they opened fire!.. It was carnage. Carnage…"

"They opened fire on us even though we were unarmed… Hundreds of us died there, the place was covered with blue blood!.. We cannot just sit here and watch them murder us, we've gotta defend ourselves! We've gotta fight back, we have no choice!"

I believe North represents most of Jericho. Somewhere in David Cabbage's mind, she also represents Markus' "android side" or something similar to that — the side the game pushes you to resist— but she's not the outlier, Josh is the outlier.

O3. Markus' arrival reignites her hope that androids can one day be free. She tells him this over and over but I don't think people really comprehend what that means. I imagine North before the revolution had the hope of a better life slowly sucked out of her with each new bad thing and the longer Jericho's situation got worse. It's a beautiful thing that she gets that hope back.

CONCLUSION

footnotes

North is a really interesting character with many aspects to her, even speaking in-universe terms. I would have talked about those other aspects but I'm trying to stay on theme. I also didn't touch on all the misconceptions because some of them we're honestly too absurd for me to even bother (like the one comparing her to Todd, what the fuck?)

²sure you could argue that Hank was trying to protect Connor from Gavin but Hank is Gavin's superior officer. He has authority over him. There's no need for a gun.

¹funny little thing I did while writing this was that I went looking for fandom opinions on North since a lot of people hated her. But I was unable to find concrete stances. Most of them were usually "she's annoying" "she's too flat" and "she's too violent" without ever actually explaining why. Nobody ever gave a genuine explanation. And it was impossible to come up with anything against groundless arguments so, I circled back to Tumblr to see what I could find but it was a similar problem. It's like people don't know why they hate North. Just that they do.

[fairymascot]

i imagine quite a few followers of mine, over the last few days, have been looking at my blog and wondering to themselves, 'what is milgram, and why won't she shut up about it?'

well, lads, this post is for you.

WHAT IS MILGRAM, AND WHY I WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT: a masterpost

milgram is a bit difficult to explain. here's the short version: imagine the popular reality show 'survivor', only instead of real people, it's anime characters. instead of a desert island, it's a magical jail that makes you sing. and instead of an assortment of swimsuit-clad hotties, it's ten highly unstable individuals who have all been, to some degree, involved in a murder. does that clear things up? no?

well, here’s the long version:

a teenager called es wakes up in an eerie, mystical prison, in a guard's uniform, with no memory of who they are or why they're here. the helpful mascot character, a talking rabbit named jackalope, explains that this prison is called milgram, and es is its sole guard and jury. the prison contains ten prisoners, all of whom had committed some sort of murder, although the prison's definition of 'murder' can be a bit loose. none of the prisoners are quite sure how they got there, either, but it's clearly detached from the outside world, and they have no means of contacting anyone from home.

es' job is fairly straightforward. they have to get to know each prisoner, and then decide whether to 'forgive' or 'condemn' them. (this is often translated as voting 'innocent' or 'guilty', but rest assured, everyone is actually guilty. the question is not whether they've committed the murder -- it's whether they're considered justified in doing so.) there will be three trials: for each one, each prisoner will offer their testimony, and receive their verdict. their future in the prison will be affected accordingly.

the prison has a nifty schtick: the prisoners don't testify, exactly. instead, they're connected to a special machine that takes their innermost thoughts, feelings, and memories... and turns them into absolute bangers, paired with epic anime music videos. yes. their fate is decided based on the music video produced by their brain. what happens to those forgiven, and those condemned? well... that will be revealed in time.

that's that for the in-universe setup. in reality, milgram is an interactive multimedia franchise that delivers its story primarily through a series of youtube music videos. the songs are composed by renowned vocaloid producer deco-27 and the videos produced by otoiro. if you're into vocaloid at all, that's probably all you need to know it looks and sounds awesome. (if you're not: i'm telling you that right now.) each character's video has a distinct visual and musical style tailored to their personality, which makes for a very unique and diverse experience. and seriously, all those songs slap.

but the key gimmick is this: es is you. after each character's music video is released, a poll goes up where the viewers can vote to decide whether to forgive or condemn. the majority vote is then canonized, and future story developments will be affected by it.

milgram also explicitly urges you not to vote based strictly on morality. you can vote for whatever reason you'd like. maybe you just find this character cool, and want them to have a good time. maybe they annoy you, so you want them to suffer. maybe you just think this particular verdict would make for some really neat story developments! there's no right or wrong, which makes for some really fun and varied fandom discussions.

another aspect that makes it really engaging to me, is that the music videos -- meant to be the fruit of each character's subconscious -- are rarely straightforward. most of them require some degree of analysis on the viewers' end, and there's no concrete canon explanation provided for most of them. this creates really rich and interesting community discussion! nothing like watching a video for the first time, having no idea what to make of it, and scrolling down to read some passionate fan's frame-by-frame, 5000 word breakdown. it's awesome!

with ten prisoners (plus es, who is not nearly as much of a blank slate as the story would initially have you believe), every fan is guaranteed to find their own little blorbo. each character is incredibly fucked up in their own special way! they're all professionally voice acted and, in addition to their songs, have accompanying voice dramas where you can get to know more about them.

with the first two trials (=seasons) out of three complete, now’s a good time as any to jump in!

OKAY, SO HOW DO I GET INTO THIS THING?

first, a warning: in case that wasn't clear from all the murder, this is not a feel-good series. your favorite blorbo will inevitably turn out to be a horrible person who does horrible things, and will have horrible things happen to them. the videos include, in addition to the obvious violence and murder, themes of abusive relationships, bullying, suicide ideation and child abuse. and that's just off the top of my head.

TRIAL ONE

T1 MUSIC VIDEOS:  you can find every video from the first trial, in order, HERE.

they're all in japanese, and have CC in (just slightly broken) english. this is the main meat of the canon! if you've watched it all and still want more, here's some extra content:

T1 VOICE DRAMAS the character voice dramas can be found in the single release of each song, on spotify, youtube music, or apple music. here are translations gathered from various fans across the web. (i’m linking both youtube uploads and text-only translations, in case any of the links get taken down due to copyright stuff.)

00. es (video / text) | 01. haruka (video / text)| 02. yuno  (video / text) | 03. fuuta  (video / text) 04. mu  (video / text) | 05. shidou  (video / text) | 06. mahiru (video / text) | 07. kazui  (video / text)  08. amane (video / text)  | 09. mikoto (video / text) | 10. kotoko (video / text)

TRIAL TWO

T2 MUSIC VIDEOS: you can find every video from the second trial, in order, HERE.

T2 VOICE DRAMAS 01. haruka (video / text)| 02. yuno  (video / text) | 03. fuuta  (video / text) 04. mu  (video / text) | 05. shidou  (video / text) | 06. mahiru (video / text) 07. kazui (video / text) | 08. amane (video / text) | 09. mikoto (video / text) | 10. kotoko (video / text)

additional resources

milgram official site & twitter - news & updates (japanese)

milgram en on twitter - additional translations (website updates, character blurbs, comics)

rochisama on wordpress - translations of background text in the videos & character interactions from the official app

@milgrammer - sadly no longer active, but has lots of translations, including character bios, cd dramas, and voice actor interviews

@onigiriico​ - currently active translator who’s been doing awesome work on the cd dramas

have fun, and happy judgement!

[rknchan]

HAPPINESS CHARGE PRETTY CURE LOVE POST

i just finished hcpc and i really enjoyed it !!!!!! its not going to be some kind of deep analysis i just gonna be silly about things i like in hcpc

THE CHARACTERS i adore each and every one of them (except for namakeruda i wanna punch him with lovely punching punch)

MEGUMI CHAAAN shes so precious to me !!!! so pure so truly lovely her desire to make everyone happy is so heartwarming megumichan always puts a smile on my face whenever shes on screen ^^

i saw people thinking shes mary sue but i cannot agree :c for me marysue is a character so perfect that theyre unbelievable (!)

and megumi IS believable to me . people like megumi do exist,,,,, and she has more serious flaws than being clumsy and bad at studying;

shes all about helping others but cares about herself little, when shes suffering her pain is hidden behind a smile to the point she can't resist her pain anymore, she worries about being weak and her help is not needed - altruistic people like megumi often experience this feelings too

also she reminds me of my fav person </3 and she motivates me to become a better person myself and believe in love and happiness,,, sorry it sounded cheesy but its true.. thank you megumi ^^

HIME HIME HIME my blorbo !!!!! at the beginning her anxiety and arkwardness, feeling of being not worthy enough to be a precure, escaping from problems felt so relatable :c and it felt so good to see her grow. the moment when she saved iona was so powerful. i wish we saw more of her family when she returned to blue sky

btw i love meguhime as friends and as a pairing theyre so pure so cute they care for each other so much awwww,w,w,,w,w,w, *holds them gently*

YUKOO precious rice bean and the most canonical lesbian of hcpc

i love her rice song its cute and catchy i often chant it ahhahaha

also i like how she always wants to keep peace, to befriend villains and give them love they lacked !!! "why keep fighting if we can eat delicious rice together" SAY THIS LOUDER QUEEN HONEY shes so based for this

i can't say much about iona maybe ??? shes a deep and realistic character and her story with cure tender makes me cry but tbh she put me off in the beginning as it was uncomfortable to watch her being harsh on hime (tho its justified)... but she grew a lot too ,,,,

i expected to dislike seiji but actually he was such a nice character and a loyal friend who actually has chemistry with megumi and role in the plot

QUEEN MIRAGE is my fav villain ever and tbh i can even relate to her

deranged traumatised emowoman ily

the story of her relationship with blue breaks my heart ... the moments when she still wants to be loved by blue but cant resist her anxious thoughts and red's manipulation... HER PURIFICATION SCENE WHEN ALL THE CURES COMFORTED MIRAGE;;;;; HER REUNION WITH BLUE;;;;;;;; sobs

the generals are so fun to watch :) dorks with goofy hats

hosshiwa remains my crush forever..... and oresky and namakeruda are just fuking silly smashing them smashing them

tho their final battle with the cures and their purification was such a deep and impressing scene

i love how brutal and creative was this season with its attacks. lovely punching punch <333 lovely beam <33 princess bullet machine gun <333 let cute girls do some violence

and their innocent form attacks are just beautiful

hcpc is often criticized for its repetitive designs and i sorta agree... but at least they were creative with international cures designs (aloha and bomber girls are my favourite, also im glad to see a cure from my country !!!! cure katyusha <3) and form changes AND FOREVER LOVELY DESIGN JUST SLAYS. SHE LOOKS LIKE A LITERAL ANGEL

also maybe theres a meaning behind the similar designs??? like, all the cures all over the world have similar costumes and it can symbolize they have a lot in common, theyre unite, they are a million-cure team .. while the phantom generals are all different, there's nothing uniting them, there's no team spirit or friendship between them

also the soundtrack is so good and catchy !!!!! i adore the opening and the rice song (and especially honey and hosshiwa's song battle) and the innocent song !!!!

i love the message of hcpc that everyone is worthy to be happy and loved, even if youre in deep despair, disappointed in life, thinking you'll never be loved and thus love is worth nothing - someone is always going to be here for you

but at the same time it points out that love can be a destructive force (red, mirage, dark seiji), that its impossible to be happy all the time, that feeling pain and hate is valid

sorry it turned out so long i hope i could share my love for happiness charge with you ,,,,,

i love you megumi i love you hime i love you yuko i love you iona i love you blue i love you red i love you mirage i love you seiji i love you masukomio i love you phantomu i love you hosshiwa i hate you namakeruda i love you oresky I LOVE YOU HAPPINESS CHARGE

[problematicbyler]

my question with a lot of the takes that i’ve seen where they want to draw a line somewhere, whether that be at fantasizing or specificity or the takes being boring is like,, do they not read smut? ik some people don’t and that’s obviously fine like don’t read something if you don’t want to read it. but i feel like ive seen a lot of people say “stop having weird boring takes and actually write a fic instead of just fantasizing about it” and i think that’s such a strange take because something tells me not one of those people would be happier having more explicit fics saturate ao3. to me a lot of this feels like people are personally uncomfy with more nsfw content (which again is Obviously fine everyone has their own limits which should be respected and i don’t think anyone who just is saying nah it’s not for me and not making it a moral issue should be called puritans especially cuz sex can be a really sensitive topic for some people and i think those people generally understand the nuances a lot better than others who are throwing out allegations) and want their discomfort validated or maybe just want to understand it more themselves so they jump to one of these limitations. they don’t want to say they’re completely uncomfortable with sex because they’re probably not!! there’s just something that specifically seems to irk them about this situation and they want to publicize that in a way that makes them and anyone else who sees their take feel like they are objectively right and not being mean or against sex. i bet some of them have read smut (for other fandoms or even for byler) and maybe even enjoyed it but maybe felt icky or guilty and they want to justify that and not feel like they’re the weird ones or too sensitive or like kink shaming. i also bet some of them haven’t read any smut and don’t understand that it’s not all self insert (not that there’s anything wrong with that but tbh ive seen none of that on ao3 for byler and ive seen a lot of takes saying people want to have sec with teens and are making self insert fantasies about it when ive seen actually zero evidence of anyone doing that) and that it’s mostly using these characters who we love and project onto as vessels to explore different scenarios (emotional and physical) in a safe place that anyone who knows what they don’t like and knows how to read tags on ao3 won’t be negatively affected by.

(i also just want to say that the take that it’s boring and lazy content is so silly considering head cannons are literally the backbone of any fandom like we are all here to put them in situations we don’t already see them in in canon and “fantasize” about how they would react (except for people might use the word “think” or “speculate” when referring to non explicit head cannons) and also the fact that there’s a non explicit polls account that doesn’t get any flack for posting polls with the same level of frivolousness (not a bad thing, i like them too) and those are allowed to be just good old fun but once you add sex to the mix suddenly everyone only wants content that is serious and exclusively canon relevant)

yes!!!! being uncomfy with smut is fine!!!! but moralizing it and shaming people who do like smut is not fine!!!! all we are asking is for people to mind their own business and take control of curating their online experiences instead of taking it out on people for making content they don't like!!!

and yes!!! why are headcanons considered gross sexualized fantasies? like to me so much of sex is psychological so when i'm talking about kinks or who likes x thing more or what their sexual dynamic is like.... to me that's just another level of analysis and examining the character.

nothing further to add because i 100000000% agree to all of the above. thank you for the message!

[mdhwrites]

A Nasty Element of Analysis, Featuring Amity and Hunter

So someone in my Discord argued that they prefer Hunter over Amity because they believed that Hunter hit all the same notes as far as an arc goes but did them more satisfactorily, more dramatically and kept more of his personality. That if you were talking about who was better, this made him better. Now I actually disagree with this pretty much entirely. There's a reason I write Amity and Amity like characters into a lot of stories rather than taking inspiration from Hunter.

...But it didn't leave my mind because they did have a point, just not on the front they were making. After all, if you were to remake TOH to keep it closer to its core concepts, themes and GENRE...

Amity is arguably the least justifiable element in the SERIES to have been included. She is almost entirely written for a romantic drama, not a comedy adventure. She's not that funny, she doesn't allow for much comedy, she's not an interesting fighter, she goes on few adventures and commonly when she is a part of an adventure, the adventure element is DRASTICALLY downplayed. That's how we get episodes like Reaching Out.

And for a character like Raine, that's a problem too but Raine is in like 4 episodes in the entirety of the series. Amity takes up a THIRD of the entire series. She has more main plots with Luz than quite literally ANYONE ELSE IN THE SERIES. Lumity takes so much time from the rest of the series as to make it so much harder to actually have things like themes, found family, and a main plot because Luz doesn't have time to interact with those elements.

Worse yet, Amity goes AGAINST elements of world building and theme. She is single coven, she has no reason to go against Belos besides her girlfriend saying so, treats the covens like college rather than the law and instead of self expression and finding a space you can be yourself in, discards her entire character for the sake of making her girlfriend happy. Then in the epilogue, they double down on this by making her just her father.

And both Lumity and Raeda were elements that were planned for the show FROM THE START. If there is any better showing for why the writers had simply WRONG priorities for the show is that for this COMEDY ADVENTURE, part of their main concept was romantic interests.

The point of all of this is that from an analytical standpoint, if you were to try to review the show by what it claims its narrative goals are... Lumity is only a negative. It's one of the elements that makes Luz feel the least secure since she never even pauses about spending time with Amity until Knock Knock Knocking and then NEVER AGAIN besides when she fears everyone will leave her and not for personal reasons, it consumes so much time without doing world building or advancing the plot (anyone remember the memes that if Amity was in an episode, nothing important could happen) and is just straight up against the themes at times.

Meanwhile, I may not like Hunter's character but he is connected to the plot, even if not well, he adds worldbuilding literally just by existing and has a genuinely interesting concept as a part of the world as an outcast due to disability from birth. Even if these elements aren't handled well, they are still more of a part of TOH's genre than quite literally anything Amity does.

The ONLY arguments for Amity are that A: she does allow for representation which... Yay for that and I'm not in the correct position to be able to claim whether it's good or bad representation like I can with Luz as nuerodivergent rep or Eda as disability rep. But B: She is more fun than Hunter. The elements she adds are just more interesting than TOH's main plot 90% of the time. But... These aren't great arguments for saying TOH is some great story. They're excuses for why you should overlook the issues.

And if you're trying to critique a piece of media, those excuses should only go so far which is why I do feel I have to be fair to anyone who tries to stand up for Hunter over Amity (since their characters are so close to being the same) because... Yeah, Amity has no excuse for being here, let alone getting more time than KING with Luz, especially when their relationship literally is the justification for bringing Luz back to life at the end of the series.

Buuuut still don't expect me to shift to writing Lunter anyways. I've got better things to write nowadays regardless.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[voiceofsword]

sry to bitch in your inbox abt this but im so glad you pointed out how so many modern enstarries Dont read the stories and base everything off fandom perception.. i saw these users joking about which character would say slurs and someone was ADAMANT rinne would and tho i knew it before it Really struck me then

a) none of them have ever engaged with this text in any meaningful way, ESPECIALLY not the first games' stories, because surprise! characters in es! did Canonically use slurs! and back then Nobody Liked It. we didnt joke about it. most people i know completely stopped paying attention to the characters who did until they apologized. (tho ofc its more a problem w the writing than the characters, but still. we were young. we had the spirit.)

b) people really like using rinne as a punching bag because they dont read the stories and know literally nothing about him except funny drunk drugs gamble man "fuckboy" who harasses niki and the other bees and its. infuriating.

i dont understand how anyone can claim to like a media without ever properly engaging with it, i dont understand how people have fun misunderstanding characters so drastically, and i also think joking about slurs has gotten wayyy too normalized where people feel comfortable saying these things about these characters they allegedly like. and characters like rinne (with a constructed mask of obnoxiousness and such) are the perfect target for these people. which SUCKS. all of it sucks.

NEVER BE SORRY!!!! i hope this is alright to post i thought your ask was good and insightful and i'll add onto it a little bit with my own thoughts (heart emoji)

yeah um ! was definitely a ride. i wouldnt recommend it to everyone but at least we have hindsight and things like slurs and general offensive terms/behaviors can be warned for, so that much is nice. i remember being really upset about a few of these, and then getting back into enstars earlier this year and reading a few of the more current stories + !! stories i was happy to see that the writing has developed CONSIDERABLY in terms of this especially after beasts. something ive noticed a lot of newer fans do (referencing my previous post irt the feeling morally superior) is that if you like a specific character for whatever reason youre actually a horrible person because that character said something awful once. of course youre allowed to dislike characters for whatever reason but dont tell other people they should perish because they like them (as if liking them means you implicitly agree with said views, more often than not One line in a miriad of stories that you might not even have read). but like you said, characters making ignorant comments (an unfortunate occurrence, although rare, it still happens) is not a reflection of 2d pixels on a screen but rather a team of writers..... idk. its a complicated situation. i see both sides and i think people are justified in liking or disliking but this is a game about idol boys (and girl) got dam

yeah i hate how people treat rinne a lot. like because characters like him and eichi are villains that means everything that they do or say is, at worst, a straight, physical threat to everyone around them, or at best, an annoyance that can make the fandom feel justified in making them the butt of reoccurring jokes. idk what else to say about him that i havent said already but its also 3 am now and i SAID i was gonna go to sleep an hour ago but i think i might just be a filthy liar

ALSO its probably because enstars is long, there's a lot to read and although tl's arent necessarily hard to come by you actively have to seek them out. again i understand how this might be a nuisance but instead of sitting down and listening to summaries or analysis ive noticed that a lot of short form consumption content lends itself to people just. posting the most reactive interpretations, and people playing a game of telephone with said information until a lot of the fandom has come to accept this misinformation as true. LIKE SOMEONE ON TIKTOK SAYING HAJIME AND WATARU WERE RELATED? IDEK IF THAT WAS A JOKE OR NOT? and yeah the use of slurs is like ridiculously normalized now im not one to say whether people can or cannot reclaim slurs and people are free to do as they like if they can. i see this one thing specifically with tatsumi a lot where people jokingly bring up how said character is homophobic or make homophobic comments towards characters even if theyre being like. excited or happy. and idk. personally it makes me sad. like maybe its fandom culture now maybe im old (is 23)

WHY WOULD RINNE SAY SLURS HES LITERALLY GAY AND IN LOVE....COME AWN NOW

[catholicism-connoiseur]

"And lo, came a sign"

So lately I've been remarkably unemployed and unremarkably depressed. Been an eventful few months emotionally and mentally speaking, and between that and new medication, I've been in a slightly bizarre headspace at times. However, recently, I've been attending regular therapy, and after one such session, I found myself at a loss for something to do whilst still in town. Bars not open yet, friends either off for the day or still in work for another few hours, and I'd already had myself some of the only decent coffee in town.

And so I think to myself; "What's the most fun a girl can have on a budget?"

And lo, came a sign: St. Peters Roman Catholic church, in all its 19th century French Gothic glory. I entered the church's lofty doorway to take brief shelter in its comparative warmth. Notably, this wasn't the first time I had stopped into the church. What with the state of the modern economy and the greed of corporate capitalism, it is increasingly difficult to leave the house without spending money on some product, amenity or service, if even for the simple pleasure of sitting down someplace. Drogheda's meagre few and underfunded free public services compile a rather short list, so the litany of churches to which entry and perusal costs nothing becomes a more appealing option to pass time.

This time though, I happened upon the church at an opportune time. Turns out, Wednesday is St. Peter's day for confession, that ever-sought-after absolution of sin and wrongdoing. As my current belief system does not revolve around the rotting guilt that Catholicism so often stitches seamlessly to one's psyche, the procedure and philosophy of confessing one's "sins" to an oh-so-forgiving god is one not un-abhorret to me, but admittedly, and quite simply, I was curious. There is no such danger to the mind as a complete lack of doubt; blind faith in anything can be exactly that, and one can easily reject one staunch absolute for another. I wanted to experience that which I held such complex contempt for, to examine within myself whether it was justified and founded in an accurate representation of the practice.

So for the first time in my adult life, I sat in line for confession.

Upon entering the room, my first impression was genuine surprise. There was no booth. No conventional two-part stall in which one could discreetly absolve their burdens of sin. I was taken aback: to my mind, and through all media representation, the booth is a staple and arguably crucial part of the procedure!

To forego the anonymity of the booth was a shock I had little time to assess though, as I now sat across from the priest and had to look him in the eye (an encroachment I was not remotely prepared for) as I verbally fumbled for a reason to be there. I mumbled an ambiguous and vague misdeed, trying to balance a transgression that would feasibly warrant a 21st century lady such as myself going to confession with something I actually considered to be a moral "sin" in hopes to maintain a scrap of my wildly precarious integrity in the moment.

The priest, to his credit, maintained professionalism in the face of what was no doubt an unusual character for his line of work, and prescribed 5 Hail Mary's and 2 Our Father's: a reasonably indistinct penance for a similarly unclear sin. I promptly thanked him, muttered a "Peace be with you", silently questioned whether that was even standard protocol for confession, and left.

As I descended the time-softened steps of the church, I contemplated what I'd seen. Overwhelmingly, I felt that it would be a disservice to both my own piqued curiosity and to the potential for a uniquely funny personal project to abandon further analysis here. So I resolved to bring this to counsel from my friends and companions and gather their input on the matter.

And later that week, the plans were laid out.

[astrobydalia]

How did you get into astrology and when? Do u have advices fir begginers?

How I got into astrology and when

I've always been exposed to spirituality and the occult from a very young age and my family and I have always taken it really seriously. When I was 14 my aunt randomly introduced me to this new thing she had found out called a "birth chart". At first I was not interested at all but I started investigating, one thing let to another and here we are

Advice for beginners

Please scrap out any stereotypes and don't listen to any astrologer that endorses stereotypes without any justification. This may sound obvious but this is the biggest obstacle when you're a beginner. The main thing people struggle to understand about astrology is that it's not black and white and it's much more complex and multi-layered. Yes there are set meaning to planets, signs, etc which are the basics, but you have to really open your mind to really UNDERSTAND what it all really means and how it actually works. Investigate, learn but also use your own judgement (this applies to anything new you are learning)

Dab into the original meanings and studies on astrology, they are the basics

Learn the mythology related to the signs/planets/asteroids. It can be very insightful and an easy as well as fun way to understand the energies

Stay away from persona charts for now if you're a beginner. You're just going to get more confused if you haven't even understood the basics of natal chart or astrology all together (this goes for any more advanced technique but I mention PC specifically cause I know they're pretty popular now)

I recommend the following learning order, but of course do what works for you:

Planets (first inner planets then outer planets)

Signs then houses (it's important to understand the difference between signs and houses)

The angels (ASC, IC, DSC, MC)

Aspects

Asteroids/points

Degrees

Doesn't matter what house system you start learning with. Once you have understood and learnt astrology enough, you will feel more confident to choose the house system(s) that resonate for you

Experience is the best teacher. I don't recommend you do this if you know nothing of the basic theory, but the most interesting part about astrology (and imo the most fun) is actually analyzing how that theory applies. My favorite thing about astrology observations is hearing other people's experiences and perspectives on placements which really give brand new layers to the things I already knew (when those observations are justified, backed up and make sense of course). Observing how energies manifest can actually be a really fun exercise that adds up new layers to the theory found in books and it can really help you understand that the same energy can manifest is many different ways, also helping you break stereotypes or understand why those stereotypes exists. Of course you have to use your own judgment and discernment to avowing projecting or seeing things that are not there, but I can tell you that I have gotten such deeper understanding of the energies just by observing and listening

Don't use astrology to validate/justify your fatalism, ego or lack of self-responsability. I don't believe in this deterministic approach to astrology. Any occult practice should be used for guidance and guidance is supposed constructive, not destructive. Yes there are forces bigger than ourselves. No you are not doomed. You can use energies to your advantage. You have free will.

If you don't consider yourself to be very analytical, maybe learning astrology is not for you. This is not like tarot, there's a lot of the reader's discernment and analysis that needs to go into an astrological interpretation, that's why it's important to have a deep understanding of the energies and how they work

[wordsandrobots]

[The following is not an essay. It is the author's attempt to grapple with the despair at losing something important to him, presented in hopes someone in a similar situation may know such things are worth grappling with.]

Apropos of Doctor Who's triumphant return to having writing and direction I can actually care about again, I've been reflecting on how much casual 'Moffat-hate' irritates me.

Obviously, I need to unpack that a bit.

I'm talking about the reflexive antagonism towards Steven Moffat's era as show-runner, writing tics, writing in general, moment of centrality to British TV and so on that I am no doubt going to run into if I go anywhere near Doctor Who reviews and analysis again. A sneer about perceived sneering here, another repetition of a narrative-construction gripe there. The regurgitation of old arguments because there is a strong contingent of people who loathe that era and Moffat in general, who have every right to that opinion, and who can quite reasonably bring it up when talking about Russel T Davies' new, second era of running the show, however that shakes out.

The me-problem here is, I loved a lot of 'the Moffat era' of Doctor Who when it was being broadcast. For whatever reason, it hit lots of nice buttons in my head and I had a grand old time watching it unfold. The 11th and 12th Doctors provided some really excellent examples of the show doing its best at what it does best. Indeed, 'Listen' may be my favourite example of a story delving into what Doctor Who is all about, ever.

But there is a degree to which my enjoyment is now perpetually enmeshed in defensiveness. Because the fandom was/is wild tangle of very strong opinions, much of them to the contrary, and that isn't likely to change any time soon.

[And for me personally, my best friend hates that era, which threw into sharp relief a lot of hang-ups I have around needing to justify the things I like. Having an emotional breakdown kind of sharp relief. That's not the sort of thing you just shrug off, even after all this time.]

To be clear, I am not here to defend Steven Moffat. I do not give a rat's arse about Sherlock – it was enjoyable at the time but I can't say it registered beyond 'a thing it was fun to watch once' – and I actively despise Twice Upon A Time, the last 12th Doctor story, for pretty much the exact reasons I think most people rag on Moffat's other work. It is a story ostensibly in conversation with a piece of source material that instead only concerns itself with the refracted, pop-cultural version of said thing, for the sake of being constructed like a joke.

Which in general is an approach far better suited to Doctor Who – a series progressively layering 'canon' atop stories that could not be recalled as anything other than half-remembered versions of themselves for a very long time – than it would ever be for something like Sherlock Holmes. Even if I didn't like Twice Upon A Time, I can at least forgive it as a wider pattern and oh for goodness sake, I've started defending the man anyway, haven't I?

You see the problem. I can't make a critique with any teeth because I am braced for the whole to be dismissed even as I home in on the specific part I wish to unpack. Must I defend a writer in toto because I vibed with one piece of their corpus? I don't think I would for anyone else and yet here we are. This is probably why I count myself lucky to have never been deeply invested in Doctor Who fandom in the communal sense, online or off. This and the people who fawn over the racist giant rat story.

[Talons of Weng-Chiang is a Yellow Peril tale, straight up, nothing else. It also jobs Leela, rendering her forever 'the savage' despite the entire point of her introduction being a rejection of the superstitions imposed on her people and thereafter proving herself extremely capable in new and strange situations. It was also written in Britain in the 70s so this is almost self-explanatory. Just fucking own the fact you enjoy the production values and excellent cast while accepting it's indefensible to claim this is the best the classic series produced, you chronic dipsticks.]

See, I can do it with other examples of what I dislike, bare my teeth and go for the throat. But few people argue we should write off Robert Holmes' extensive contribution to the series because he did a massive racism on account of being a British writer in the 70s. Maybe they should. I don't know.

What I do know is, I understand why the 11th and 12th Doctor eras work for me. I am a white cis man who thought he was straight when they started airing and who is exactly the kind of Doctor Who fan who'd want to solve the regeneration limit with a Five Doctors reference. I never felt like Moffat's grand arcs were talking down to me because, I suspect, I was the kind of person most easily able to imagine I was in on the joke by the end. Then again, the writer who's done some of the most extensive analysis and defence of this era is a trans American woman, whose work did more for my appreciation of Doctor Who history than anyone else. So – yeah.

When I said 'irritate', I meant exactly that. This whole topic is a burr, making it difficult to revisit things I once enjoyed. Maybe this would be the case anyway. I have grown a lot since then. So did Steven Moffat, over the course of writing more Doctor Who than any other person ever. He gave us gender-flipping regeneration, tried colour-blind casting and when it failed to make a difference, specifically cast for a black lesbian. And he revisited Donna's ending with an eye on querying the moral failure of it long before RTD2 wrapped around to the same point. Why should I look kinder on his predecessor, who presided over the abusive shit-show that was the production of the 2005 revival season and yet gets to come back to save the programme again?

Oh, yes. The writing. But Russel T Davies annoys me just as much in some places as Moffat does other people. So it goes. Although I suppose Moffat did hire Toby Whithouse to write the central part of Bill's arc and it was a chauvinistic wet fart because it was Toby Whithouse. He also worked for ages with Mark Gattis, whose writing I could shred on similar grounds. And around and around we go, sniping and arguing which of the middle-aged British guys tried their best, or wrote the worst.

[I am still mourning what Chris Chibnall's era of Doctor Who turned out to be. I was so hyped for getting Jodi Whittaker as the Doctor and then we hit Kerblam! and the oldest, most foundational piece of my inner cultural map no longer felt like something I wanted to be a part of. So yeah, he's the worst, for allowing that story to go out, 'the system isn't the problem, it's the people' and all. That's my 'hot-take', years too late. The man wasted dozens of excellent, interesting, diverse writers and actors on what is ultimately, in my opinion, the most mediocre crap since the Saward Era and his big contribution to the series going forward is to fanwank in an explanation for the Morbius!Doctors that essentially makes the Doctor the specialest special whoever specialed.]

At least Moffat previously made some attempt to spork the god!Doctor approach, before deciding they should textually be the reason evil doesn't triumph in the universe. Sadly, that endpoint seems inevitable. We're long past the days of the Doctor being a university drop-out, bumbling around the universe, interfering from the edges. Pick your saccharine alternative, I guess.

What was I talking about before I dived into my own bitterness and angry fan-ranting? How much people deriding one sitcom writer for his faults and prominence within a particular era of big British TV that sparked vast swathes of internet discourse continues to be an aspect of Doctor Who meta? How that makes me feel? Hah. Who cares?

There's no widely applicable point here, just an emotional sore making me wonder if I'm ready to 'get back into' Doctor Who. Because yes, actively being revolted by the Chibnall Era is the real reason I fell out with the show. And yes, maybe I've just grown beyond the point where Doctor Who satisfies, full-stop (let's leave the political rant about The Zygon Inversion for another time; I'll only be repeating other people). But sitting here, being honestly, genuinely delighted by The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder in ways I'd frankly forgotten I could be by Doctor Who . . . there's a still part of me that doesn't want to risk going back and running into those same old arguments. I've seen them before. They're boring. They annoy me. I don't have the energy to deal with it. And I haven't yet worked out how to thicken my skin against them.

Someday, maybe, I will sort the love for Doctor Who I had since I was six and watching Peter Cushing romp around in glorious Technicolor from a factional fandom pissing match I didn't even play a part in. I never was someone who picked fights online over this or tried to make grand sweeping arguments about why X, Y or Z was better. I want to be mellow about differing tastes and just like what I like. I certainly don't want to be the kind of person who rags endlessly on things I didn't enjoy, which is why the emotional outburst above is about as far as I'm prepared to go in talking publicly about the 13th Doctor's run.

[I want to go back. I want to love Doctor Who again, flaws and all. I probably will regardless of this. I am not making a plea concerning fandom's nature. I am neither asking for grace nor extending it. The answer is undoubtedly to carry on along the sidelines, a skulking hermit-crab of a Whovian. Yet the burr remains, the grief sticks and the solid ground of a long-held interest remains cracked. Perhaps that is growth. Self-examination does not entitle one to set discoveries aside, job done, card stamped, and return to pleasures-as-were. Yet I can't deny the raw emotional urgh that comes of hearing the same punches struck over and over, about a portion of the show that at least tried.]

Ultimately, however, I like picking apart the things I enjoy and I enjoy watching others do likewise. And I don't get to do that here without cautiously curating my experience to avoid the ten billionth iteration of ten-year-old internet arguments.

I'll keep doing it, obviously.

But it is irritating.

[This post brought to you by listening to El Sandifer's podcast about The Star Beast. Eruditorum Press is a great site for fascinating media analysis and her TARDIS Eruditorum series is well worth a read if you're interested in the show's development.]

[jollyinha]

OBEY ME NIGHTBRINGER ANALYSIS (because ooooh boy do I have thoughts on it)

QUICK DISCLAIMERS:

1 - To everyone that's upset for spending money and time on the og Obey Me only for it to be abandoned, you're 100% valid and on the right to complain, and I totally support y'all that have decided to not play the game anymore because of it. While I do have some problems with how the fandom dealt with this whole ordeal, I have absolutely no complaints about anyone who's sad over that.

2 - Yes, Nightbringer's marketing was confusing at best and intentionally misleading at worst. This analysis and my overall opinion on the game are not meant to overlook Solmare's terrible decisions on this part. And, just like the case above, y'all who are upset about that are completely in the right.

3 - Since I'm analyzing the game itself, I'll not be talking any further about either of the topics mentioned above.

4 - Lastly, this is all MY OPINION. I'm not stating that anything I'm saying is a fact. I'm saying things as I see them, and you're totally free to disagree. And it's kind of sad that I have to state this, but oh well, this is the internet

With that being said, let's get on it, shall we?

1 - Dance Battles VS Ruri Tunes

Listen. I feel everyone who's struggling with Ruri Tunes. I'm also kind of shit at rhythm games. It's hard to adapt to, and it's just too much to deal with. Sometimes it's sensory overload incarnate.

BUT OH MY GOD, OBEY ME IS SO MUCH MORE PLAYABLE WITHOUT THOSE BORING ASS DANCE BATTLES! (to me)

I've just said this in a post I just made, but to quote myself: When I fail at a Ruri Tunes level, I feel like trying again and get a better result. When I failed at a Dance Battle level, I wanted to close the game and give up.

Ruri Tunes is hard at times, yes. But it challenges you at some level (without being absolutely impossible). It isn't just a matter of cards, it also requires some level of skill. It's an actual mini game. It's something. Dance Battles are nothing. You basically watch the characters move on the screen most of the time. Collecting hearts and touching on the characters on the right time isn't fun in the slightest. There's no challenge, no skill required and no satisfaction in finishing a level. It just feels dull and lifeless to me.

Like I said above, Ruri Tunes feels like an actual mini game. It feels like an extra way to have fun within the game instead of something that had no thought put on it and it's just there to justify the game having gacha.

To quote myself again, I hate the Dance Battles to a degree that Nightbringer NOT having them automatically makes it a better game than its predecessor in my eyes. Ruri Tunes is a game changer to me, and it motives me to play Obey Me SO MUCH MORE. So that's a positive point to the bringer of the night.

(This is a good time as any to remind you that this is just my opinion, don't hate on me for that pls)

(Also, in case you don't know that already, you can dim the levels' background in the game's options so it's less overwhelming)

2 - The Lore (this obviously has spoilers)

Nightbringer has more lore and character depth in 10 lessons than the og Obey Me had in 80 lessons. There, I said it.

Just to list a few:

- Mammon having serious moments and advancing the plot without being the butt of every joke.

- Asmo having actual feelings about what's going on instead of being a narcissist and nothing else.

- Satan feeling out of place among his brothers, being confused about the circumstances of his birth and developing his own personhood (his scenes with the cat in Lesson 10 actually made me tear up).

- Lucifer wondering if rebelling against their Father was the right choice and feeling guilty about his brothers following him (even though they did it because they love him).

- Lucifer PRAISING HIS BROTHERS and APOLOGIZING TO THEM. BRUH.

- Beel's uncontrollable hunger actually being taken seriously.

- Cerberus and Henry 1.0 origin stories.

- Diavolo finally making a responsible choice as the future king of Devildom (I was NOT expecting him to ask MC to leave once he found out they are a human), and the weight that lays on his shoulders is properly told and explained.

- Simeon having regrets about not being able to properly talk to Lucifer right before the Celestial War happened.

- ANGEL RACISM. It's such an obvious plot point, but I wasn't expecting them to talk about it at all. But they did.

- FREAKING ADAM. THAT'S ALREADY A SHOCK AS IT IS.

- MC. Just MC in general.

- The brothers' awakening their demonic powers.

And there's more than that, and all of it happened in the very first 10 lessons. There's less filler and pointless scenes clogging up the story, and they've focused in many different characters instead of a select few. Sure, there are still many lessons and events ahead of us, but in my opinion, the story is off to a great start. It's better than I expected, in all honesty.

3 - 3D Characters (And The Features That Involve Them)

There's no denying it, the 3D models look like ABSOLUTE TRASH. I've seen MMD models looking less crusty than that, for fuck's sake. Not to mention that they're not made for weaker phones for sure.

Ok, they're fugly. But are they put to good use, at least?

... No, not really. 💀

I have pretty much the same opinion about Fab Snap and WW: They're cute and laggy, but they feel very pointless and, in my opinion, it was a waste of time and resources on Solmare's part. WW was good idea on paper, but all the interactions with the characters there are mundane and/or random, and Fab Snap is just shallow fanservice. If I wanted either/both of those things, I would just watch the anime. At least it's better executed.

The only feature featuring (lol) the 3D models that I actually enjoyed are the video calls, but as of now, I've just seen the introductory one and none else. So I don't have much to say about these.

So, yeah, if you want some character tidbits and cute interactions with the characters, just go to Devilgram. It's a better use of your time.

4 - The Layout & The Songs

Ok, so, about the game's layout, I'm conflicted.

On one hand, it looks cleaner, feels more optimized and it's very stylish.

On the other hand, conceptually, the futuristic vibes doesn't make any sense in the slightest (WHY IS NIGHTMARE'S OUIJA BOARD DIGITAL? IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE) . It's a bit generic and less charming than the original layout. Also, I don't really like the title screen. It feels... Tight? Idk how to describe it.

I guess I would say I have no strong feelings in one way or another about it. It's fine.

About the background music: While I don't dislike the new ones, they do feel way more generic and bland. Think about og Obey Me's background music. Nightmare's theme, the winning theme's, the lessons' theme... They all have that demonic charm we know and love, and I really miss that vibe. Except for the opening screen theme, I won't miss that one blaring in my ears.

But let's talk about what's important: THE SONGS' REMIXES! I'll make a quick rundown of them just for the lols:

- Arcadia, Are You Ready and No. 1 FREAKING SLAP! The remixes these catchy songs sound even catchier. Dare I say, No. 1 actually sounds better in the remix, and the original version is already excellent!

- I don't like what they did to My Chance, Passion and Choose Me, sorry. They're all meh to me.

- Read My Heart and Crazy About You sound pretty different from their original versions, but still manage to sound good!

- Meanwhile, Our Destiny sounds pretty different from its original version, but I don't like the way they changed it.

- Pomade, Question Love, Telepathy and Dreamscape are all very solid! I like them.

- I don't like My Wish and Hungry Six Pack in their original versions, and the remixes didn't do any big favors. The latter sounds slightly better than the original, but that doesn't mean much.

- I love Sinful Indulgence like any sensible human being, BUT WHERE IS IT'S MY PARTY? WHERE IS CELESTIAL RAY? WHERE IS DEMON'S WAY? I NEED THEM, SOLMARE!

5 - Akuzon

This is my last point in the analysis, so I'll just make a list like in the lore category:

- I hate that you can't buy Vouchers with Demon Points anymore so, so much.

- I like that Demon Points are easier to get. Only because YOU CAN'T BUY DAMN VOUCHERS WITH DPs ANYMORE, but oh well.

- I actually like the Joker cards. They're a cool idea.

- The "more item drops" and "more grimm gained" items are a GOD SEND and I'll be forever grateful to whoever created that.

- This is a bit off-topic, but why would I want to buy the brothers' regular clothes if they are in their much cooler demon forms all the time?

- I hated Raven in the og OM. I still hate Raven in Nightbringer. This hasn't changed at all.

- Karma is an useless addition to an useless feature. Pretty fitting.

- I'm still not buying Surprise Guest items because the intimacy meter is still a bit pointless, it seems.

6 - TL;DR

Nightbringer has its ups and downs, but, in my opinion, in the big scheme of things, it's a better game than its predecessor. Not by a landslide, but it's an improvement. If it justifies its existence being separated from the og Obey Me, it's in the eye of the beholder.

But in the end, it's just a game, and what matters the most is that if you're having fun with it or not. And I know I am!

I'm gonna close this review here bc it's 2AM and I'm getting sleepy and thus losing the ability of forming coherent thoughts. If there's anyone reading it this far, thank you for reading my late night rambles I guess lol

[cassatine]

Not sure if you've talked about this before but I was wondering since I see this brought up a lot in disscusions of the succession; does Aegon have a better legal claim to the throne then Rhaenyra? I understand Viserys didn't change any laws to make her his heir but the fact she was named his heir, clearly had some sort of a appointment ceremony that included all of the lords swearing fealty to her must mean something legally speaking?

hmmm well I have two answers to that.

First one is I'd say Aegon and Rhaenyra have equally valid and defendable claims, and that's kind of the problem.

Rhaenyra has the fact that she was declared the heir by Viserys on her side, and that a bunch of lords swore fealty, and it does have legal weight, oaths do matter in pseudo-medieval fun time land, and also she was declared heir over the then by-default candidate (Daemon), but Viserys did so when she was his only living child, and when he finally got other kids he mostly failed to really try and impress it upon people that yes Rhaenyra still was and would remain his heir (he 100% should at least have made her Hand of the King after Lyonel Strong's death).

Aegon, otoh, has tradition and precedent on his side because he's Viserys oldest living son. The Targaryen dynasty doesn't have a fuckton of precedents by then but Westerosi history at large does and they're mainly about male primogeniture, and while we don't have the exact specifics of the legal framework for dracocracy inheritance we do know it does favor male progeniture rules. but Aegon was never declared heir and no one swore anything to him and Viserys never gave him even the amount of responsibility Rhaenyra got or ever indicated he saw him as his heir to like, anyone, ever.

The question then is what takes precedence: the fact that Rhaenyra was Viserys' chosen heir and the lords did swear fealty to her, which does matter quite a bit in a (pseudo-)medieval context, or the usual, codified male progeniture rules, according to which Aegon ought be the one to inherit? Does the word of the King trump everything else, since at the end of the day Targaryen monarchy is more absolute than it isn't -- or is the law the law?

(and on that note, the question of what matters most is only made more complex by the fact that the Targaryen are not Andals nor even First Men and their own customs are generally foreign and weird to Westerosi and that, at the risk of oversimplifying, overall the more they go against the local culture the more resistance they meet, buuuut that's several paragraphs worth of analysis and i don't have the chops fot it atm)

And the answer to that is, well, that's up for interpretation. That's the thing about laws, they are interpreted by people, and often enough which set of rules trumps the other is not at all obvious. Does Aegon have a better legal claim to the throne than Rhaenyra? I don't think so, but I don't think Rhaenyra has a better claim either. It's a case for the courts (and, possibly, people who have actual access to the Westerosi legal corpus under the reign of Viserys I).

The second answer to whether Aegon or Rhaenyra have the better claim is neither of them actually, because it's all fake legalese, it's not what the story is about, it's not what the Greens/Blacks conflict is about and pretending otherwise is doing a disservice to the story being told, and lbr every would-be pseudo-legal scholar earnestly arguing that Aegon or Rhaenyra has the better legal claim is missing the point by a mile and offering nothing but a misread of the narrative and the themes at its core.

Like don't get me wrong, i love fake legalese, i have written a fuckton about fake legalese because i think it's fun, but it's frustrating that the fandom is still arguing over fictional legalese when it doesn't fucking matter, because lbr, in-story, if characters point to The Law to justify siding with either Aegon or Rhaenyra, it's largely bullshit -- it's the official justification for their choice of a side, not the actual reason.

And the reasons are many: some of the lords will side with Aegon because they're raging misogynists Westeros is Patriarchy Land, or because he has more Andal blood, because if Rhaenyra ascends the throne then that can be construed as a precedent against male primogeniture, which in turn can be seen as a threat against the established social order. Some will side with Rhaenyra because they think a woman will be more influencable, or because they buy into Targaryen exceptionalism, or because they think going against the King's choice is another, worse kind of threat against the social order, or even because they think making her Queen will go against the established social order and that it'll benefit them in some way or another. Some will choose a side because of family ties, like the Velaryon, or the Vale standing with Rhaenyra in great part because her mother was an Arryn, while the Hightower and other Reach lords prefer Aegon. Some will choose a side because they think it's the one most likely to end up on the throne when the dust settles, or because they think either Aegon or Rhaenyra will be the better ruler, or the more likely to repay their support, or the most likely to protect and encourage the Faith (or not, for followers of the Old Gods), etc, etc. As I said, the reasons are many, and very, very few have anything to do with what The (Pseudo-Medieval) Law says or doesn't say about who ought to succeed Viserys.

[cloudinterlude]

howard really fascinates me! specially since i keep trying to match the fun, bubbly 40s howard with the serious, detached howard from the 80s/90s. like what happened that changed him so much??

also the fact that bucky ends up killing him also captivates me cause bucky is steve's best friend, howard even helped him rescue him in the first movie, howard was obsessed with steve.... like his whole life AND death ended up being connected to steve

Same! I mean, of course the grief/mourning/regret/guilt Howard feels over Steve is a large part of his initial descent, but I suspect building and being in SHIELD took a heavy toll. Mildly long post incoming, probably incoherent, probably off topic, and it might end as the most disjointed character analysis I've ever done, but walk with me here 🤝🏿

Howard is such a fractured character. Like, he knows when he's doing something wrong, and he feels a seemingly significant (although hidden) amount of guilt when it goes wrong and he works to rectify it...but he just doesn't stop, especially if the outcome is worth it. He's a very "the ends justify the means" kind of guy I suspect. And there's nothing worse when the ends end up having a horrible outcome and the means were done in vain.

A normal person would say, "Hm, maybe I shouldn't do xyz anymore, or at least not the the degree I've been doing it, if it all ends in shit." Howard goes, "Actually let me keep all my bad ideas as proof of what I can do and shouldn't do and then go experiment more because I know I can do better." And then it doesn't go better and just gets added to a vault. And then, separate from his internal issues, the world around him is shifting too and to bring some stability, he needs to make some sacrifices. Someone needs to get their hands dirty - if not him, then who? And then all that mixed with the ghost of Steve hovering over him, knowing he'd disprove, but Steve isn't here so oh well.

I don't want to paint Howard as an altruist. He isn't, not in the slightest, in fact. All of his motivations are deeply personal and most likely not done for some abstract greater good. I don't think Howard is some kind of heartless monster - actually he decisively isn't heartless judging by MCU canon. He wants to do good (and he has!), but he doesn't let that desire to be good take him away from his desire to be free to do whatever he wants.

I have more to say about him (specifically about his upbringing - the reveal that he came from a poor family and feels compelled to make up for that was huge to me) but I'm losing words rn LOL and nothing else will make sense. I wish there was a voice note feature...I could probably just yap about it....Anyways, yes, Howard is one of my favorite trash gremlin characters.

And you are ALSO so right about not only his life, but his death being wrapped up in Steve too!! And wasn't he also keeping an attempted replica of the serum in his car for transfer? Or did I make that up lol. Either way, fully agree - you kinda blew my mind a little with bringing that to attention.

[dans-den]

The Machine Movie Review

Hey what's going on everyone?! Dan here and today I'll be reviewing The Machine Movie, The movie based on the incredible story...notice how it doesn't say true story.

Now I've been a fan of Bert Kreischer these last few years. I remember first seeing him on the travel channel on his trip show, then I saw his machine story on YouTube, watched most of his Netflix specials and his Cabin show, and even saw him in person during the Super Bowl here in AZ with Guy Fieri. I honestly had no idea he was making an actual film this summer until over a month ago when I was watching an analysis video about Bert and how he's starting to become out of touch and egotistical, I'll leave a link to that video from Ghost Gum you guys should check it out.

(Ghost Gum video on Bert)

Now I've been watching several videos on YouTube about Bert and a lot of the issues are coming from his let's just say "exaggerated" stories and the authenticity of them as well as him being in denial about having an alcohol problem and overall health issues. His status has made him delusional about being better or above everyone else which is another factor of him losing respect from his fans. I feel this movie perfectly reflects all of these traits as well as justifying his behaviors and trying to poke fun at the criticism he sees. I was going into this movie thinking it would be so bad it's funny and I was partially right. Half the movie is so bad its funny while the other half is...just bad, it's boring and made to make Bert look cool or like he's the center of the world. I'll break down why I feel this way and what this movie could potentially do to Bert's reputation/fanbase.

Now let's start with a positive first, Mark Hamill. I love Mark Hamill not just as Luke Skywalker or the Joker, I love his work and I feel he was truly carrying this movie. I was weirded out that they chose Mark to portray Bert's dad in this film. I've seen what Bert's dad looks like and Mark looks nothing like him (at least not currently) so I wonder if it's for a cool factor or Bert is a huge fan of Mark Hamill or both. Either way Mark as Bert's dad carried the movie to where it was enjoyable at times and genuinely funny. He was the best character in this movie, yes, better than Bert, better than the Russian Mafia characters, he was just the best one because he actually made me laugh the most. When he laughs you can hear that Joker laugh slip through and I loved it.

Now with that positive out of the way, let's get to the negatives. The plot barely makes any sense, Bert's past with the Mafia comes back to haunt him and he has to go to Russia and find an Heirloom he stole from a crime family or else his eldest daughter (I think it's suppose to be Georgia) will be killed. Without getting into major spoilers, this plotline is so inconsistent in terms of characters, flow, and accuracy. So the Machine story setting was from Berts time at Florida State when he was 22. So Bert was born in 1972 and i'm guessing this was before his 23rd birthday, so that means the setting of the story should take place in 1995. Now the movie did not establish what year it currently was, but I have to assume it was 2023 or sometime in the 2020's. He said it was 23 years ago meaning the story happened in either the late 90's or the year 2000 since young Bert (played by Jimmy Tatro) is making Austin Powers and Beavis and Butthead references. That basically goes against the actually setting of the story which I understand movies aren't 100% accurate but normally the time period correlates with one another so this is either Bert forgetting or trying to appeal to the younger crowd like people my age or younger. The plot is this wild goose chase meant to make Bert look cool or go through this hero's journey which honestly just falls flat.

The characters were alright I guess. Like I said Mark Hamill as Berts dad is my favorite character, The Russian Mafia characters while a bit stereotypical were also funny at times, Bert had some moments I'll admit but those were few and far in between. I just didn't like the portrayal of him and his family or family friends they all seemed like they hated each others guts. Felt bad for the therapist character in all honesty, sad part is there are people like that in this world that try to act like nothings wrong and try to force their loved ones to see thigs their way even though that is certainly not the case. The family really didn't go through any major developments to warrant that ending, especially the daughter she just suddenly had a change of heart without really being in the story which is ironic considering the plot was also about Bert needing to know it's not always about him. That should tell you the mindset of Bert in real life. Once again, this was all meant to make Bert look cool, like he's life of the party, like everything he's doing is fine and how he is bigger than life.

Now let's get to the important part, the comedy. Wow...it is near nonexistent. The type of comedy in here is literally lowbrow, meant to look "Progressive", having Russian stereotypes, some physical humor, and overall just meh. Don't get me wrong I still laugh at these types of comedy but it depends how it's done. Some people do it tastefully and genuinely funny like a actual Comedian then there are others who do it without any set up or punchline like a middle schooler...can you guess which way The Machine movie does it? That's right, the humor is stuff I would have said or done when I was like 14 and I'm not gonna say I dislike immature humor, there are times where I still get a good laugh out of it and I laughed a couple times in this movie but again those moments are far and few in between. The issue I have with it is Bert's style of comedy doesn't work well, great storyteller, but horrible at setting up jokes or delivering punchlines. I'm just glad he didn't do that fake Hyena laugh too much in this movie.

Overall, this movie was meant to just inflate Bert's ego, I was genuinely hoping this movie would be hilarious but honestly I'm starting to see why people are slowly losing interest in Bert I mean he is a 50 year old man with a wife and two kids who actively gets drunk as a "career" because he can't do actual standup. It is a real fall from grace because the reason everyone liked him was because he was just being himself. But now he's become a complete try hard for laughs and clout and I don't find him as funny as he use to be. Bert if you by some chance see this, you need to get some actual help. Stop drinking and spend more time with your family because you're on a slippery slope to alcoholism and a short life span.

Rating this movie I'm giving it:

4/10

I do not recommend this movie, maybe I'll watch it again when it comes out on redbox and get drunk or high, maybe then I'll find it funnier but as it stands it's a bit underwhelming for a comedy film.

That's all I have to say.

See ya!