#just (very lighthearted) media analysis

[locallepidoptera]

i love you shapeshifters. i love you imposibly powerful beings looking mundane. i love you appearance being used as a performance. i love you being everything and nothing. i love you adaptability as a superpower. i love you metamorphosis being used as a metaphor for personal growth. i love you innate ‘fakeness/otherness’ that defines who you are. i love you weird parasitic relationships with the people you imitate. i love you i love you i love you i love you

[reachfolk]

the way people talk about children's media is so bizarre to me bc they judge adults who watch it by saying "it's for kids" and like buddy...... who do u think makes children's media? hint: it's not children

[falseficus]

if i may play the devil's advocate for a moment -- it doesn't really bother me that most of the fan posting around disco elysium on this site is more focused on the emotional aspects of the game than the political ones. i mean, firstly, it's well-acknowledged that fanworks tend to fill the gaps of unexplored potential in the original work -- ie, envisioning darkness in lighthearted works, re-imagining dark works as lighthearted. a lot of the emotional or relational aspects of disco elysium are left ambiguous, abstract, or at the very least dependent upon player choice and interpretation. this renders them fertile ground for speculative art. by contrast, the game's political statements are, if you have the context to analyze them well, complete. there simply isn't much more to say.

beyond that, those political aspects are also leagues ahead of many other pieces of media in terms of their complexity, nuance, and real-world analysis. that's part of what makes the game so great, and i do think may fans understand that. but, to be honest, being capable of engaging with those aspects of the game (just glance at reddit, and you'll see that many fans don't even reach that level) does not mean that fans are capable of generating that level of work themselves. like, it's simply more mental work to come up with a piece of creative art/writing that expands upon the superb worldbuilding and commentary of DE than it is to write about harry and kim getting goopy nasty. people know how to do the latter because it is a commonly exercised muscle of fandom. the former is almost academic.

that doesn't mean people *shouldn't* engage with the political aspects of the game generatively/creatively. but also... like... maybe it's better this way. seriously, look at reddit, guys. the DE subreddit is full of people *attempting* to engage with the game politically, and the analysis they're putting out is hot steaming dookie. i lose brain cells every time im forced to read another take that earnestly assumes the game positions moralism as the Right and Good Choice for Revachol. on tumblr, analysis is generative, practiced through art/fanfiction... and if i had to see the type of shit i see on reddit on tumblr in the form of fanart, id kill us all.

so anyway, i dont think the fanwork hyperfocus on relationships/emotion indicates that people aren't properly understanding the political points of the game, but simply that those points are much harder for fans to process in a generative way. their underrepresentation in fanwork doesnt particularly indicate anything about the way people are actually receiving and understanding the themes of the game.

except for the people inexplicably clogging the tag with jean viquemare. they do not understand the game and will not see the light of heaven

[cursedbyastro]

the faces I reflect

💋 through my exploration of beauty, identity, and the art of reflection, i have turned the mirror inward—toward myself and those who echo my features in the public eye. guided by curiosity and a quiet reverence for fate, i have gathered the names of celebrities i resemble, whether through shared essence or striking similarity, as observed by others. while surface comparisons may appear coincidental, there lies an undercurrent of astrological nuance. birth charts, after all, weave their own stories—sometimes mirroring others through planetary dominances, shared inclinations, or complementary placements. in this brief analysis, i examine not only these surface parallels but also the deeper connections between us.

to preface, i have an ashlesha ascendant that conjuncts my ashlesha jupiter in the first house, magha moon sitting in the second house, mula sun in the sixth house, conjuncting my uttara ashada mercury. it’s also worth mentioning that my vishakha venus and vishakha mars in the fourth house aspect my ascendant. these aspects i feel, and through third party chart anaylsis, make up the largest part of my appearance.

while i lean more towards tropical astrology, i’ve noticed that when it comes to appearance, vedic astrology tends to be much more accurate and often aligns with synchronicities that make sense to me. i’m by no means a professional in either vedic or tropical astrology—these are simply my personal observations based on my own chart. i’ve found joy in exploring both systems individually and together, appreciating the insights and patterns each one can reveal. this is just something i’ve noticed and thought would be interesting to share. the placements mentioned for these celebrities are based on information available on the internet. while birth times and chart details can vary in accuracy, they provide an interesting foundation for observation and comparison. as with any astrological analysis, these placements are shared with curiosity and a lighthearted approach rather than absolute certainty.

💋 china anne mcclain (magha sun, ashlesha venus, magha rahu)

the first and most frequent mention is china anne mcclain—a comparison i’ve heard so often it feels woven into my reflection. between her and lisa bonet, these names have followed me the most, to the point where even my photos app seems convinced her pictures are mine. the resemblance feels uncanny, and while some of our features differ in size, there’s an undeniable thread of similarity that people often say could make us sisters. astrologically, it doesn’t surprise me; there’s a shared energy in the planetary influences that shape us, particularly those ruled by ketuvian and mercurial influences.

as i look back at older media featuring china anne mcclain, i can’t help but see glimpses of my younger self reflected in her—almost as though looking into a mirror. it’s a surreal experience, like rediscovering parts of myself through her image, and at times, it truly feels like a sight to behold. 

being compared to someone as stunning as china always feels like an honor, especially since we’re both in the acting industry—a shared path that makes the connection feel even more significant. the more i’ve acknowledged the resemblance, the more i’ve found myself looking to her for inspiration, particularly when it comes to style. it’s as though seeing her is like seeing a version of myself in a different light, and i often find pieces she wears that i imagine would suit me just as well. it’s a quiet connection, both familiar and affirming, and i can’t help but admire her even more for it.

💋 lisa bonet (magha jupiter, i suspect ashlesha ascendant)

another very frequent mention, rivaling china anne mcclain in frequency, is lisa bonet. i’ve been told for years that i resemble her, to the point of being called more her twin than her own daughter, regardless of my hairstyle, and while i used to attribute it to our similar fair-toned complexions, i’ve come to see more of my features reflected in hers over time. people have described it as a certain nostalgic beauty—an essence that seems to linger in both of us—and i can’t help but feel deeply honored to be compared to her. lisa’s beauty has always felt timeless, and being placed in such company feels almost surreal.

out of everyone i’ve been likened to, she is the one i sometimes see most clearly in myself. while i still find a strong resemblance to chyna anne mcclain, especially in essence, complexion-wise i naturally lean more toward lisa. growing up, i always thought she was the epitome of “cool”—effortless, magnetic, and the very definition of an it girl. it’s no surprise i’ve found myself subtly emulating her style and demeanor, as she represents a kind of quiet confidence i’ve always admired.

surprisingly, lisa and i share only a similar ascendant (even though on most sights it says her ascendant is in punarvasu, i feel it is in ashlesha), which has made me reconsider the significance of my own ascendant. for so long, i’ve placed greater weight on my moon nakshatra, overlooking how powerful this placement truly is. as an honorable mention, her sun falls in my ketu nakshatra and her moon in my rahu nakshatra, adding a fascinating mercurial influence to her chart. perhaps it’s these unseen threads—subtle yet undeniable—that make the resemblance feel so natural, a connection that extends beyond what meets the eye.

💋 tessa thompson (magha moon)

another celebrity i’ve been compared to—though very slightly more sparingly and quite recently—is tessa thompson, who is absolutely stunning. i’ve admired her work for years, so hearing this comparison, especially for the first time while getting my hair done one day, felt both unexpected and flattering. when i mentioned it to my mom, she immediately agreed, saying she could definitely see it, despite the differences in our bone structure. admittedly, i hadn’t noticed it much at first, but now, when i look at her, there’s a resemblance i can’t deny.

tessa and i also share a ketuvian moon, which aligns with a pattern i’ve noticed: the people i resemble most often share an ascendant or moon placement with me. there’s something fascinating about that subtle astrological link, as if it explains why these comparisons surface so naturally. what i find even more comforting, though, is that many of the celebrities i’ve been told i look like are actresses. as an aspiring actress myself, there’s a certain reassurance in knowing i’m in such good company—or, at the very least, that i could be someone’s doppelgänger on screen.

honorable mentions :

pinkpanthersss (ashwini venus) now, i’ll be honest—this is one comparison i don’t really see at all, and even my mom doesn’t see it. yet, my older sister and a few people on the internet have pointed it out, so it’s a mention worth including. surprisingly, we don’t share any exact placements, though we do have a few ketuvian-ruled nakshatras in common, which may lend a subtle energetic similarity. while there isn’t much astrological linkage between us beyond that, i’ve still been told on occasion that i resemble her. it’s not as frequent as some of the other comparisons, but it happens enough to have caught my attention. even if i don’t see it myself, it’s fascinating how others perceive similarities that sometimes go beyond what we’re able to recognize.

doja cat (vishakha venus, sun, & ascendant) a comparison i’ve received sparingly but often enough to take note. while we don’t share any exact placements within the same nakshatra, there are subtle connections between our charts. her mars aligns with the nakshatra of my sun, and her sun, ascendant, and venus nakshatras mirror my venus nakshatra, which aspects my ascendant. i’ve been told that, from certain angles, i resemble her—enough that i could pass as a stunt double or doppelgänger of some sort. at first, i thought these comparisons were tied to our lighter complexions, but over time, people have specified that i resemble a younger version of her. though i hadn’t seen it myself initially, hearing it repeatedly has made me pause and reflect. it’s a comparison i now find worth mentioning, as it’s been brought up enough times to leave an impression.

halle berry : (magha moon, ashlesha venus & sun) a name that has followed me through passing comments at work, shared observations from coworkers, and the casual assessments of strangers. admittedly, i don’t see the resemblance myself, yet the repetition of it has made me pause. sometimes, beauty can be more than what is plainly visible; it can exist in essence, in the intangible, in a certain way one carries themselves that draws a familiar reflection.

💋 perhaps there are unseen threads that tether us, subtle overlaps in energy or expression that extend beyond what the mirror shows. halle’s presence has long been synonymous with a kind of poised magnetism—graceful yet undeniably powerful. it is a quality that cannot be distilled into features alone, as though it is whispered into existence by something greater. while i remain uncertain of the likeness, there is a quiet acknowledgment that others have seen it—a connection, however faint, written into the nuances of energy and expression that we carry.

💋 in reflecting on these comparisons, i can’t help but feel honored to be in the company of such beautiful, talented women. it’s fascinating to see how astrology connects us in ways we don’t always expect—through subtle threads, shared energies, and placements that reveal themselves quietly but meaningfully. every part of the chart holds significance, from the aspects we value most to those we might overlook—loose connections, harsh angles, or seemingly minor placements all contribute to shaping who we are. in my one face, there are a million—the faces of others reflected through shared features, the essence of similarities, and the faces of my ancestors carried through me. it’s a reminder of how interconnected we all are, not just through appearance but through the energies we hold and the worlds we observe around us. beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder, and i am so grateful to be seen and compared in such great company.

until next time, continue observing xoxo

[dr-spectre]

My Splatoon Idol Headcanons!

Im so normal about them, like totally...... (note, some of them may be more serious than lighthearted so keep that in mind. i have warned you.)

Callie

Has ADHD 

Got a permanent version of the octopus tattoo that she keeps hidden with make-up when on stage. She sees it as a reminder that she has grown and to always believe that she is loved and to never listen to the dark thoughts that lie in her head

Hides most of her issues from everyone no matter how big or small because she’s scared to upset her family and friends. She'll only tell what's going on with her if someone REALLY presses her about it 

Always talks to Frye after each Splatfest loss to make sure she’s okay. She cheered extremely loudly when Team Bucket List won

Can be kind of clingy around her friends and family 

Marie

Is on the autism spectrum but has not told anyone due to feeling shame about it 

Considers Agent 3 family and treats them extremely nicely. She knew what happened to them in the Deepsea Metro

Massive Pokémon fan 

Constantly worries about Callie and was told by her that she willingly left with the Octarians. Marie checks up on her every day and needs to make a call with her otherwise she’ll get fidgety and restless 

Best friends with Marina and Big Man and they hang out when their schedules all line up

Pearl

Used to have an eating disorder that affected her health badly before she met Marina, she is currently working on eating better with Marina's help

Feels guilt and shame over being very rich and tries to do all she can to help out less fortunate people via charity and music 

Has sleeping problems and needs Marina to be in the same bed with her to fall asleep 

She still keeps up with the heavy metal scene and loves seeing new artists pop up

Loves outer space and being high in the air

Marina

Is on the autism spectrum and has told Pearl about it which she accepts and still loves her all the same

Wears her headphones as much as she can because she’s very sensitive to certain sounds and other sensations. If she becomes too overstimulated, she needs Pearl’s help to calm her down 

She loves to ramble on social media about her special interests and machinery

Is a workaholic and doesn’t like to relax for long periods of time, she must be doing something 

Wants to adopt Eight as her child but she hasn't gotten around to it or asked Eight about it due to her schedule

Shiver

Has a strained relationship with her father and mother and has low contact with them 

Has an addiction to juice and can chug down several boxes of it every day, she has kept this addiction hidden from Frye and Big Man but they have noticed an odd amount of juice boxes in the garbage 

Seeks companionship and deep connections with people badly but hides it with a cold exterior because she's scared of getting hurt or betrayed. She sometimes cries at night because she thinks she’s all alone and wants to be held 

Was an extreme perfectionist at high school and would get upset if she got decent or poor grades

Wears pajamas all the time at home and isn't the most hygienic 

Frye

Has a plushie collection that she keeps on her bed 

May have ADHD but she has not gotten a diagnosis for it yet 

Has issues with analysis paralysis and can never decide things easily 

Can be a bit too overbearing with her siblings but she means well and loves them to death 

Is deep down insecure about her appearance from seeing comments about her body online and trains her body constantly to feel good about herself 

Big Man

Is constantly overworked and wishes he could just relax

Has a vinyl collection where he has boxes upon boxes of vinyl records 

Is secretly a big fan of Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters 

He’s a pro bowling player and takes it VERY seriously even amongst friends 

Hates getting into arguments and gets very emotional even at the slightest of criticisms 

[impactrueno]

I saw your twt about holding back on telling stories with serious and deep tones and it reminded me of an issue I had a while back. Im a south park fan and I loved reading deep analysis of the characters. and south park being south park, people dont take it seriously and think its just funny so it doesnt deserve deep analysis like other forms of media. I always came across comments saying "its not that deep" or "doing all of that for south park" and I used to hate that so much because why are you commenting that under the authors post? In media there is like a "spectrum" of how deep you are in it as a fan, and it doesn't make you less of a fan if you like to binge watch the show when you feel like it because its funny. Someone who makes fan fiction and psychoanalyses the characters doesnt make them a better fan than you. I hate "it's not deep" because it is that deep to me, I enjoy it, but it dismisses critical thinking and discourages deep discussions about our interests. I want to learn more about the turning point for eric cartman and the friendship dynamics between the main 4. I want to read psychoanalysis of the characters and understand why they do the things they do. I loved reading fan fics with an author that understood how the characters work and put them in situations while making it believable. Whether the content was deep and serious or lighthearted and silly. I don't see those as cringe at all. What I see as cringe is trying to downplay someones time and effort. you dont care for it. cool, just dont make it our problem.

I believe in recent years, this cringe and its not that deep mentality is linked to media literacy/reading comprehension issues. On top of the fact, that fandoms right now has been "normalized", so alot of mean and rude kids and adults are in this space not having a mature and respectful conversation and discussions, as well as zero fandom etiquette. (I understand the past wasnt this magical respectful place but this behaviour has increased compared to past years).

Please don't worry about making deep content, its super fun and there will be fans of what you write/draw that will definitely be into it.

GOSH anon you are absolutely right. cringe culture has done some serious damage to people's creativity and freedom of expression. doing things in earnest is now cringe to so many people (specifically that 18-21 age where they think they're better than everyone else and everything is cringe to them, image is everything) and they actually give you shit for it?? it's crazy. the most harmless thing in the world. whenever my hey arnold comics would leave my target audience on instagram i would get the meanest comments for no fucking reason, because i was taking hey arnold "seriously" (nevermind that hey arnold is probably the nicktoon with the most emotional depth and moments besides ginger but i digress) but hey at least i'm not the one losing my marbles over some random cartoon comic on the internet.

i think rudeness in general has been too normalized not just in fandom, but in social media in general. it's sad. the only thing you can do about it is be kind as much as you can to counterbalance it. i'd like to think that rubs off on people just like how being rude rubbed off on them.

i said that thing about holding back because i'm admittedly too hard on myself sometimes. no one is calling me cringe or making fun of me for what i do, thankfully, people have been super cool and supportive. and it means a lot to me because i'm very earnest about everything i create, even when i try to hold back. i literally cannot help being myself. it's all i know how to do. i'm just glad i was able to grow a platform where i'm free to be openly passionate about the things i like, talk about them and why i like them, the little things that i find fascinating, the emotions they make me feel, all of that shit is awesome and i wish more people did that.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Meaningless Suffering ≠ Consequences: An SPOP Rant Analysis

so one huge argument i've seen from SPOP fans, when it comes to Catra's redemption is that “she got tortured and mind controlled by Horde Prime. she almost died at his hands. therefore, she faced the consequences of her actions.”

now.. could this be considered a consequence of her actions? the important question here is: why did Catra get punished by Prime? for going against his rules and freeing Glimmer. she got punished for doing one good thing. this was the consequence of her doing something right. if anything, she would be more discouraged to do good in the future, because the first time she does something good, she almost gets murdered for it.

but i digress. i've seen this trope be used with quite a few characters in media. the other example of this i want to talk about is Marcy from Amphibia. (spoilers for Amphibia below)

in the s2 finale, Marcy is revealed to have stranded her friends Anne and Sasha on Amphibia on purpose, because she didn't want to be alone. while this wasn't as bad as any of the shit that Catra pulled, it was still a fucked up thing to do. Marcy deliberately took Anne and Sasha away from their home and their parents, for her own selfish reasons.

like Catra, Marcy also has abandonment issues. her parents had informed her that they had to move and Marcy was terrified at the idea of having to leave Anne and Sasha behind. but that was still not an excuse for what she did.

not long after her secret was exposed, Marcy gets stabbed by King Andrias while trying to escape Amphibia. she doesn't die, of course, it's still a kid's show.

but to make things worse, she gets possessed by the Core later on, which is shown to be an extremely painful and traumatizing process (which they barely touch upon later). and then they show in a flashback that Anne and Sasha used to ignore Marcy and make her feel lonely, when this was not touched upon earlier in the series. in fact, Anne was shown to be very caring and attentive to Marcy up until this episode.

at this point, it's clear that the writers are trying to make the viewers feel sorry for Marcy. if they keep adding reasons why she's so miserable and traumatized, maybe the viewers would forget what she did to Anne and Sasha. right?

there is a small scene in s3 where Sasha questions why she should forgive Marcy, but it is quickly fixed by Anne telling Sasha that she should forgive Marcy. there's also a moment of realization for Marcy but even that is done in such a cliché and lighthearted manner, where the severity of her actions aren't addressed. and that's it. Marcy is rescued, she apologizes, and is immediately forgiven.

but then again, like SPOP, the last season of Amphibia was trashfire. i refuse to believe that people genuinely liked that season, it was so badly written and ruined everything that was set up prior to it.

anyway, let's come back to SPOP. it's clear that the writers of SPOP were also trying to do the same thing. put poor catgirl through the wringer, have her almost die and come back to life and voila! she is absolved of all her crimes.

for those of you who are still not convinced, let me try to make a real world comparison. let's just say i'm someone who bullies or abuses people. one day while getting home from school/work, i get hit by a car. i get grievously injured and go through a lot of pain. heck, maybe it even leaves some kind of permanent disability or injury.

is that a punishment for my actions? you can call it karma, but let's be real, karma doesn't exist. it's just a coincidence. and you bet i'm not going to wake up in the hospital thinking “this must be my punishment for abusing people”. if i really am an abuser who has no remorse for my actions, a random accident isn't going to change my mind.

and that's what happened with Catra too. she didn't consider Horde Prime's torture as a consequence of her actions. if anything, she used that as an excuse to mistreat Adora and the others even more. it's clear that she pitied herself for what happened. and everyone else pitied her, including the audience.

imagine if the good redemption arcs were written this way. imagine if, instead of working through his issues and facing actual consequences of his actions, Zuko was just tortured and traumatized even more by Ozai, and the Gaang just forgave him because they felt bad for him. yeah, people wouldn't be praising his arc anymore. or they would, who knows. i know i wouldn't be praising his arc.

because this is not the way to redeem a villain. the only way to redeem a villain is to have them face consequences of their actions and work for forgiveness. to show them consistently trying to make up for what they did and trying to be a better person, not because they want to be forgiven or accepted by the heroes, but because it's the right thing to do.

[hawkogurl]

Sometimes I feel like the 'did we watch the same movie' readings of Raimi!Norman (ignoring the mess that was NWH) could be tempered if people were willing to treat characters as narrative devices to tell a story and explore themes than like, a real person who is close to you and is need of their (moral) character and honour defended bc it would harm them otherwise, plus not making being likeable, relatable, and sympathetic (not to confused with being complex and character motivations making sense) as obligatory traits for a 'good' character - Norman is far more interesting and layered when he's a morally awful person who doesn't want people to know his true nature bc it would get in the way of his goals and a foil to Peter in terms of the power/responsibility and man behind the mask themes than if he was just some sad woobie who never did anything wrong and is genuinely a sweet and kind person.

And like, if you want to play around with sweet old man Norman in your fanworks, then go wild, but just embrace that's what you're doing and not act like it's canonical text or a well-supported possible reading of the film and then try to shove that into actual analytical critiques of the movies.

Totally agree. When I disagree with other peoples takes on especially platforms like tiktok or reddit, sites I generally hate where for these movies narrative analysis tends to be put on the back burner, I will often give more elaborate explanations why, from a storytelling angle, something is or isn’t true. And consistently I tend to get comments which are, in fairness to the commenters, very lighthearted saying that I’m providing college essay level stuff when I really don’t feel like I am. Due to the absolute plague of anti intellectualism and the far more natural reality that when it comes to mass media, people do not think about media in an intensely critical way. And I think that’s fine, it would be elitist of me to think that people can’t just like things to like things. But when you’re going to enter the territory where you’re making statements on the narrative fabric of something or start arguing in favor of something or against something or just for something with other people, you do have to start examining it critically.

And I completely agree with the concept you’re communicating. And I would be hypocritical to say I never do the same, I very much do, but when I’m trying to make storytelling or analytical points I do my damnedest to separate what I’m saying from my own more meta reasons for thinking a way I do, whether that be my attachment to a character or relating my analysis to some sort of metatextual fan reaction that isn’t totally relevant. There are certain points where I go against my instincts to defend characters like Harry or MJ whose general fan perception is unjustified because it doesn’t help or actively weakens my point with that sort of bias.

I also think people have developed this idea that to be a good villain, the villain must be sympathetic or morally gray. Especially in the face of people tending to moralize their own or other people’s personal preferences, people often feel the need to justify their most evil faves as sympathetic or tragic when they aren’t, at least not in the capacity they argue, rather than just accept that it’s not a reflection on them to like an evil character. It’s often worse to try and justify Norman. A lot of the time, in the process of trying to frame Norman as tragic or sympathetic, they make things worse from multiple forms of critical lense by both weakening the narrative and what it’s trying to say and also by unintentionally or subconsciously falling into some not so great tropes, such as implicitly belittling the actions against the child he abused or using Emily, Caroline Mulder or whoever it is that Harry’s mother was as a sort of scapegoat, blaming Norman’s negative traits on her as something she made him develop by betraying him however they decided she did or otherwise dragging her down to make him seem better. And in my perspective, the character assassination of a woman to justify or prop up the poor innocent man who only became cruel as a result will never not be misogynistic. It’s just a method of stripping the male character of responsibility for his actions by pinning them on his female counterpart. This happening with a woman who never even shows her face on screen is, for me, an example especially cartoonish in its egregiousness. I’m all for adding flaws and nuance to Emily or whoever’s character, but you’ll lose me when she’s portrayed as a bitch who’s at fault for any amount of Norman sucking. He is an adult man. He’s responsible for himself.

I feel the same about the varying executions of Ambrose Osborn. There are examples I like a lot more, like The Final Act on ao3 where he’s never used to excuse Norman’s actions. But most of the time, he ends up as an excuse. Cycle of abuse narratives only work if you still acknowledge the abused is not any less now an abuser for it. And going back to Harry, it contributes to this sort of mass belittlement for what happened there. Within fandoms, themes that feel real are always more worth hating someone for than vaguer, more distant concepts like mass murder and terrorism. Norman’s abuse of Harry is more egregious than his crimes as the goblin because it’s more real to people. It’s more of a condemnation because more people have been there. As a result, a lot of people seem to believe that to redeem Norman or to be allowed to like him, Norman can’t have been abusive towards Harry. You get a lot of things like Harry being treated as unreasonable, or Norman never having been abusive and just having been unable to express love properly (usually with a nice side of blaming Emily), or using Ambrose as an excuse, often trying to do the comics canon Harry breaking the cycle with Norman. Which both erases Norman’s abuse and never really executes that plotline in a way that works because it’s so tied into the ways Norman directed harm at Harry for traits in Harry he saw as weak. It doesn’t work with Norman and it’s still rather off putting to never acknowledge that Norman was awful. I don’t think people really realize that writing Norman as a good father in fanfic isn’t as much of a… I don’t know, support to abuse victims as they think it is. I’m not going to begrudge anyone who does so as a coping mechanism, I’m not here to dictate your trauma and you can do whatever feels right, but most of the time it comes off as thinking what Norman did wasn’t real abuse because he never hit him, or because he still loved him, rhetoric that’s directed against the experiences of real life victims quite a lot.

And all of that comes down to the fact that people implicitly treat characters like they’re people. Liking a character who did something has become the same as liking a person who did the same. But Norman isn’t a person. He’s a character. And while characters are obviously a lot more and making them feel like people improves most stories, at the end of the day characters are not people, they’re narrative devices. Within storytelling, while there’s a bit more nuance than what I’m saying here, at the end of the day good writing is writing that works. Norman doesn’t need to behave like a real person, ignoring that he pretty much does, because he is a character who, at the end of the day, only needs to act in a way that makes the story work.

This whole reply is disjointed so I’ll probably revisit this topic when I’m capable of intelligent thought. As always for anyone reading who disagrees, always willing to participate in good faith discussion.

[talkingpointsusa]

The Michael Knowles Guide to Bitcoin, lab grown genitals, and the Olympics

After some intense politics related posts and some downright horrific bigotry being expressed in the grifter-verse, I wanted to do a bit of a more lighthearted post. Naturally, when you're writing a blog like this you kind of have to wait out for something particularly dumb if you want to write a more lighthearted post. Enter Michael Knowles:

02:06, Michael Knowles: "The Olympics has now had a transvestite carry the Olympic torch on the way to Paris or something. I don't -- people, the conservatives are freaking out about this, I actually think it makes perfect sense, we'll get to that in a moment. First though I want to tell you about Hillsdale College."

"Or something" is the kind of brilliant analysis that you can always expect from Michael Knowles. Truly a luminary for the ages.

So, the Olympic Ceremony featured a number of drag-styled performances and naturally the free-speech for me and not for thee crowd has wasted no time in bitching about it. It's just dumb transphobia about something that has zero affect on anyone's life outside of the terminally online. Michael Knowles, the king of declaring that things are pagan, thinks that this was a pagan ritual.

But before we talk about that, keen eyed readers of the blog may have noticed that Michael isn't at his usual set over at the Daily Wire. That's because at the time of filming he was busy on the worlds dumbest field trip. I'll let him explain it.

03:44, Michael Knowles: "And speaking of learning things, you might be wondering 'Michael, why is there so much ambient noise?' If you are listening to this right now or if you're watching you might say 'Michael, where are you? Why are there people walking around behind you?' It's because I am at the Bitcoin conference."

That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Daily Wires getting into cryptocurrency! Bencoin baby!

In all seriousness, Michael and cypto-grifters share a lot in common so this is a pretty suitable environment for a guy like him. Hilariously enough, he's filming live in the middle of the conference so sometimes you can hear the people in the background milling about way more clearly than you can hear Michael’s voice. This "lets get Michael to film his show live in the middle of the convention centre" idea clearly wasn't something that the Daily Wire thought through very well.

I feel like this whole situation is exposing my own moral failings because if I was at the Bitcoin Conference (god forbid) and I saw Michael Knowles just sitting there doing his show live I'd go up and harass the crap out of him. You guys would get to see the first Talking Points USA live fact-check!

Ok, we can't spend all day making fun of Michael Knowles going live from the Bitcoin Conference, even though it is pretty funny, so lets get back on track here.

05:11, Michael Knowles: "Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, was just asked a -- a question about Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris was put in charge of the border by her boss Joe Biden and -- and then the Democrats when Kamala became the presumptive nominee wanted to deny that she was put in charge of the border."

A lot of right-wing media coverage lately has been devoted to claiming that Kamala Harris was the Biden Administrations "Border Czar". The way that right-wing media has been framing this "Border Czar" thing has been extremely dishonest, although a bit of blame also falls on the MSM as well for giving Kamala that title in the first place.

"Border Czar" is not an official title in the United States government and the United States border falls under the jurisdiction of the secretary of Homeland Security. Where the confusion lies is that Kamala was appointed by Biden to be the chief diplomatic officer to Central American countries where undocumented immigrants often originate from in order to address the root causes of migration to the United States. That's a far cry from being in charge of the border however that didn't stop the mainstream media from irresponsibly calling Harris the "border czar" and acting as if she had a semblance of control over the border itself. Thanks to that, right-wing media has decided to have a field-day with claiming that Kamala Harris was in charge of the border. This is a good example of how even mainstream journalists can exaggerate news stories in todays click-based digital economy and how that exaggeration is genuinely dangerous at times.

06:38, Michael Knowles: "I will quote March 21st, 2024. These are the verbatim words of Joe Biden; 'I've asked her, the VP today, because she is the most qualified person to do it to lead our efforts with Mexico and Northern Triangle and the countries that help -- are going to need to help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration of the Southern Border. It's not her full responsibility and job but she's leading the effort because I think the best thing to do is to put someone when he or she speaks they don't have to wonder about is that where the president is.'"

This quote sounds significantly different from what Michael wants his audience to think it sounds like when you understand the fact that Kamala's position was a diplomatic one. Biden even said in the quote that "it's not her full responsibility" and talked about "When she speaks". She was talking to the leaders of foreign nations, not determining policy about border security.

07:22, Michael Knowles: "If you were confused here he is, next sentence, 'When she speaks, she speaks for me'. He imbues her with presidential authority on the issue of the border and migration."

By speaking, Biden was referring to speaking to foreign leaders to devise strategies to cut down on the need for migration, not speaking on the matter of security which is Homeland Securities job.

07:49, Michael Knowles: "So, that's -- that's what happened. Biden put Kamala in charge of the border and now the Democrats are saying 'there's no real -- there's no position of border czar'. Yeah, there's no position of czar in the government. There's no formal position of czar, czar is an imperial title that derives from Caesar so no we don't have a formal position named Caesar or Czar but if you look to Wikipedia, or if you look to Wikipedia before a couple days ago, you could type in 'Biden Administration Czars' and you'd get a whole list of them including Kamala Harris as the Border Czar."

As mentioned previously, the media will often refer to select people as Czars including Kamala Harris after she was given the diplomatic appointment by Joe Biden. Doesn't change what she was actually charged with doing which had nothing to do with security.

09:07, Michael Knowles: "So then, when the nominalism nonsense doesn't work, Karine Jean-Pierre tries to redirect and says 'Well, the Republicans killed a border bill'. Yes, there was a border bill that the Democrats were peddling. It was always a bad idea to consider any of the Democrats border legislation because the president was ignoring the immigration laws that were already on the books. The president already had the authority to enforce immigration law and he chose not to do it because he wanted migrants to flood into the country because the Democrats believe that it gives them a permanent electoral majority."

There is no better metaphor for the current state of the Republican Party and modern American Conservatism in general than Michael Knowles pushing the Great Replacement Theory at the Bitcoin Conference. You can't make this up, it's truly beyond parody.

I'll humor his argument with the exact amount of respect it deserves; Hey Michael, you dumb dipshit you, if the Biden Administration wants the border to be open to replace the hhhwhites or whatever, why did they propose a border security bill in the first place? Wouldn't they just ignore it?

Anyway, this Karine Jean-Pierre stuff is dumb and just standard issue bland right-wing mush. He continues talking about it for a bit, does an ad, comes back to complain about the FBI director testifying before Congress which is just whatever and I'm not talking about it. The GOP drags guys like Chris Wray and Tony Fauci in to generate clips for FOX News and the Daily Wire pursue truth justice and the American way so often that I kind of struggle to care about it. Congress is just a circus these days and the whole point of it in the year of our lord and savior 2024 just seems to be to generate viral clips. Essentially, Chris Wray said that the FBI didn't have all the information about the Trump shooting yet and that Trump may have been grazed and Michael's all fumed up into a tizzy about it. We have way more important things to cover though so that's an immediate skip.

19:31, Michael Knowles: " Now, speaking of gaslighting, a transvestite, a drag queen, has been tasked with carrying the Olympic torch on part of its journey to the Paris Olympics and this has sent the conservative commentariat into a tizzy."

This was before everyone got all pissed off about that Last Supper thing which I'm pretty sure I'll also end up covering at some point but my general thoughts on both things are simple; who gives a shit?

The world isn't designed to cater to this loud minority of bigoted assholes. If you have an extremely bigoted mindset towards trans people, occasionally you're going to see things that you don't like. These ceremonies don't effect Michael Knowles' life in the slightest nor do they effect most peoples lives. Plus, this is just yet another BS culture war story that all of these guys will forget about in a couple weeks when the next reminder that queer people exist comes up.

The lefts key issues are making sure that everybody has access to lifesaving healthcare and preventing children from being shot. The rights key issue is "We had to see a trans person on TV and our bigotry can't handle that".

20:35, Michael Knowles: "The conservatives are really upset about this, I don't really know why. The Olympic torch ceremony -- the Olympic torch ceremony is an overtly pagan ritual."

Well, we can add the Olympics to the increasingly long list of things that the Daily Wire thinks is satanic/pagan.

To be fair, the Olympics do actually have origins in paganism but the torch ceremony wasn't a part of the original games. The first torch ceremony was in the year 1936. Interestingly enough, the guy who created the modern Olympics as we know them was a man named Pierre de Coubertin and he was actually a devout Catholic.

If Michael wants to throw out everything that has pagan origins, than he should get rid of his yule logs and avoid buying a tree when Christmas comes around. Anyway, Michael doesn't care about the Olympics and he doesn't care so much that he's devoting a segment to it and calling for people to boycott the games on Twitter. Really this whole story is just an excuse for to push some gross transphobic propaganda.

21:12, Michael Knowles: "You know me, I'm as rock ribbed about the trans movement as anybody. I think transgenderism ought to be eradicated from public life entirely, the whole preposterous ideology at every level, but pagans gonna do pagan things."

If I was in the background at the Bitcoin Conference this would be the point where Michael starts getting tomatoes chucked at him. Real nice how he's equating being trans with paganism in order to stoke more hatred towards this minority group in his audience. God, this sucks. Wasn't this supposed to be the fun lighthearted post that I write before I go on holiday? Well, he's still broadcasting live from the Bitcoin Conference so there's still that element of accidental satire to all of this.

On that rather dismal note, we're talking about lab grown penises now and with that Michaels show went back to being so dumb its funny.

23:31, Michael Knowles: "Scientists, according to this report, scientists have grown male genitals in a lab and there are fears that it could make blokes obsolete."

This is a headline from a UK tabloid called The Daily Star which lets you know how great Michael's information sources are. I read the article from The Star, as well as articles from the real news, and essentially the gist of this story is that an Israeli scientist used mice cells to grow miniature testicles in a lab and is planning on moving onto using human cells to grow the next pair. She says that her goal is to help treat infertility. Michael offers some truly brilliant insight into this story, check this analysis out.

23:43, Michael Knowles: "This is troubling, not because I think its going to make blokes obsolete but because that must be a very creepy lab. Could you imagine the petri dishes? That sounds really gross."

"That's creepy and gross!", what truly insightful commentary. It's a wonder that Michael hasn't made it to the scientific journals yet. Remind me again why people take this guy seriously.

Conclusion:

Well, that was the Daily Wire live at the Bitcoin Conference. I can't say I'm surprised by how stupid it turned out but Its fun to make fun of regardless. No crazy new revelations about right-wing media and the Daily Wire here; Michael Knowles is as deep as a puddle and they think that everything is pagan, surprise surprise. A fitting last post before I venture off to Washington D.C for a vacation where I get to finally flip off the Capitol Building in person and do the obligatory disinformation writer pilgrimage to the Pizzagate restaurant.

Cheers and I'll see you in the next one after my trip!

Original Video:

“Ep. 1539 - the Olympics Embrace the Rainbow.”

Sources:

Byik, Andre. “Harris’ Border Work Was on “Root Causes” of Migration; She Wasn’t in Charge | Fact Check.” USA TODAY.

Ryan, George. “The Catholic Church’s Hidden Role in the Creation of the Modern Olympic Games.” UCatholic, 27 Feb. 2023.

Ghert-Zand, Renee. "In breakthrough, Bar-Ilan University scientists form artificial lab-grown testicles." The Times Of Israel, 23 February 2024.

[shiraishi--kanade]

my dear jay. how the heck do you have such good thoughts about the pjsk peeps. and you can tell me to shut up i know im being nosy--- /lighthearted

(but actually i do wanna know bc i want to understand pjsk and media in general better)

Autism I'm afraid

Also you're fine don't worry, I don't mind. On a serious note, things like that always came naturally for me, so I don't think I can give substantial advice besides like...

Read/watch stuff more, especially high-quality media (something that is universally agreed to have good writing, anyway). Write down your thoughts and predictions and theories about the media over the course of reading/watching it. Notice which things you've guessed correctly, what you didn't, and why were you incorrect. Read more media/literary analysis, both internet essays and published analysis too, if you want to get real good at it. Learn about writing methods as well, because understanding how writing a story works from the inside and the methods writers use will help you better understand the intention behind certain things, which leads to a better understanding overall. That's probably the gift of it.

But I'm seriously not always right as well, so don't out me on a pedestal haha. I'm just hyperfixated on An Shiraishi. Admitting your mistakes is a very admirable quality if you dabble in literary analysis, you literally can't avoid messing something up even if you try.

[mariacallous]

For around $340, actor Elijah Wood can record you a personalized video wishing you happy birthday. John McGinley, best known for his role in medical TV show Scrubs, will give you a lengthy pep talk for around $475. Priscilla Presley will record a clip talking about everything from Christmas shopping to Graceland for around $200.

These celebrities all use the video-sharing platform Cameo to quickly snap homemade videos for fans who pay them for the honor. They can be seen celebrating anniversaries, lightly roasting people, or offering advice. This summer, however, some videos have been weaponized by an unknown Russian group, which has crudely edited the clips and used them as part of its wide-ranging information warfare tactics against Ukraine.

At least seven seemingly unaware celebrities, including those listed above, have had their Cameo videos manipulated by pro-Russian actors to appear as if they are criticizing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, according to new Microsoft research published today. The altered Cameo videos were shared on social media then heavily reported on by Russian government-owned or controlled newspapers and TV channels, the research says.

The videos started appearing in July and follow similar patterns. “It's at a regular interval,” says Clint Watts, the general manager of Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, which published the research in an update on Russian information and cyber activities. “It's a different actor or actress popping up saying a very similar script,” Watts says.

The videos often see the celebrity talking to “Vladimir” and saying they should get help with possible substance abuse. The videos are later edited to appear as if the celebrity were addressing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky—the Kremlin has consistently pushed disinformation calling Zelensky an addict. The videos can have emoji, links, and social handles added to them before they are shared on social media.

The seven celebrities Microsoft highlights are actors Elijah Wood, John McGinley, Dean Norris, Kate Flannery, and Priscilla Presley; musician Shavo Odadjian; and boxer Mike Tyson. There is no suggestion that the celebrities knew their videos would be edited or manipulated in this way.

“I just want to make sure you are getting help,” Wood, the former Lord of the Rings actor, appears to say in the video. The manipulated video has a Ukrainian flag, a social media handle for Zelensky, and a link to a drug and alcohol research center, and has been made to look like it appeared on Instagram. The video has several jarring cuts throughout and is evidently altered. “I hope you get the help that you need. Lots of love, Vladimir, take care,” Wood seemingly says at the end of the footage. In another video, Kate Flannery, who starred in The Office, appears to say, “You need to go to the rehab,” and that Vladimir deserves a good life.

Over the past decade, Russian disinformation efforts have evolved to keep up with the current web trends, Watts says. Around the 2016 US elections, pro-Russian accounts were sharing their messages using blog post links. Watts says that the Cameo videos did not appear to have reached a wide audience, but the effort was “novel” and part of Russia’s ever-changing tactics. “It’s very hard to influence if you’re not in video, in the current era,” Watts says, adding that the Cameo videos were not edited to a high quality.

“The request was submitted through Cameo and was in no way intended to be addressed to Zelensky or have anything at all to do with Russia or Ukraine or the war,” says a representative for Elijah Wood. A spokesperson for boxer Mike Tyson says the video of him is “false” and he does not produce such content. “Anything outside of his usual lighthearted Cameo videos [is] being altered,” the representative says. Representatives for other celebrities in the Cameo videos did not immediately respond to requests for comment or could not be reached ahead of publication.

Brandon Kazimer, a spokesperson for Cameo, says it is the company’s policy not to comment on any trust and safety investigations. However, Kazimer says the kind of videos described in the research would violate the company’s community guidelines, and “Cameo will typically take steps to remove the problematic content and suspend the purchaser's account to help prevent further issues.”

Additional analysis of the Cameo videos shows how they spread through Russian government-owned or backed media outlets. Antibot4Navalny, an anonymous Russia-based disinformation research group, looked at mentions of the seven celebrities and the videos and found they appeared dozens of times in Russian media, which is largely state-backed or owned.

An Antibot4Navalny member, who was not involved in the Microsoft research, says it appears that one celebrity was targeted each week for nearly two months. The researcher says that Priscilla Presley’s video was mentioned on one of the biggest “prime-time political talk shows” in Russia. The “widest coverage, as measured by number of major media agencies mentioning [them], was received by John McGinley,” the researcher says. This included news service RT, which is sanctioned in Europe. They add that Russian fact-checking website Provereno has debunked several of the videos.

The Cameo videos are not the first time that pro-Russian actors have used celebrities to try and push their messages. This week, WIRED revealed how a notorious Russian disinformation effort called Doppelganger, which has links to Russian military intelligence, has been using images of celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Oprah, Justin Bieber, and Cristiano Ronaldo, to promote anti-Ukraine messages on social media. The efforts reached more than 7.6 million people on Facebook in November, according to an analysis of ads on the platform.

The Antibot4Navalny researcher says people trust well-known, public figures, even if they are not an expert on a subject area. “This is exactly what is exploited by Russian media domestically, and in a quite similar way by Doppelganger operators targeting other countries,” the researcher says. “If you are out of experts saying what you need, just use a video footage (or a photo) with whoever looks familiar, and add subtitles, voiceover, or a written ‘quote,’ with whatever talking points you are seeking to amplify.”

“When the Russians are particularly successful is when they're quick and tied to current events and news stories,” says Microsoft’s Watts. In recent weeks, researchers, including those at Microsoft, have linked some disinformation about the Israel–Hamas war to Russian actors trying to capitalize on the moment. Videos faking news reports from the BBC and Bellingcat have been posted on Russian Telegram channels in the past two months. The videos, according to researchers, include false quotes attributed to Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins and use a similar style to the BBC. The videos push messages incorrectly claiming that Ukraine is selling weapons to Hamas.

Most of the Russian narratives highlighted by recent research focus on discrediting Ukraine and its leadership as Russia’s full-scale war enters its second winter. However, next year, dozens of countries—including the US, EU, and UK—are set to hold elections. As this happens, Russian influence operations may also change course. Microsoft’s Watts says he expects that by March, one of the biggest concerns will be whether Russian malicious actors, including hacker groups, are targeting more European and North American targets to potentially conduct “hack and leak operations to drive narratives around any sort of political warfare that they want to pursue.”

[cursed-man-prayers]

personal update ✨

cw; ed (mention only, recovery focused), mental health treatment

(picture of my cat for vibes/divider)

soooo i am currently in daily intensive ed treatment which is super cool and awesome. i chose to start treatment mostly on my own (some prompting from my therapist too). i am very tired (for obvious reasons) and feeling quite unmotivated to write in the way i once was. since this isn’t a side blog, i figure i’ll just make this a more ✨ personal ✨ space to share random thoughts, reblog whatever interests me or is funny or is important, etc. i might share some poetry too bc i’m into that.

there just isn’t a lot of space in my life or mind to do media analysis. the thoughts are there but the energy to articulate them is not. lots of brain fog happening bc of the whole ed thing lol. it’s fuckin rough out here (in my brain) so i really want to make spaces in my life that aren’t as anxiety-inducing.

so anyway! i’d love for u to stick around but i understand if u unfollow since my blog is changing. i’d also love to get so encouraging asks, or even just lighthearted questions to answer :) i like talking about myself lol

also i may change my url soon but idk that takes creative energy lol. ok love u! drink some water! byeee

[widowsliver]

favourite songs / lyrics from each album? (bc i know u love talking abt lyricism) (again, go into detail)

-> also so jealous you got to scream sorry if you're living and you're seventeen AT seventeen, must've been so life affirming :,)))

walked to work this morning with self-titled playing in preparation to answer this (I am also on a mission to rank their entire discography anyways), I have been waiting all day to write this!

self-titled — although I love all the albums, self-titled is probably the one I listen to less frequently , so you could ask me this question in about a week and it probably would’ve changed. at the moment, I’m in love with ‘settle down’ mainly because of mattys vocals saying the title in the chorus “sETtle dOWn” (the best way I can visualise it through words haha). this song is just so the 1975, especially through the guitar! other than that, I love the contrast with “and your cold and I burn” — it’s giving teenage angst. it’s giving 2014 tumblr. and I eat it up every-time. sometimes your favourite lyrics don’t have to be political takes on modernity or complex metaphorical perspectives, they can just be fun!

iliwys — this album is very hard to choose from, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to ‘ballad’ as my favourite song production wise, and ‘nana’ when looking at the lyrics. the simplicity of ‘ballad’ is what makes it stand out to me I think, and like I’ve talked before I am a massive fan of synth and baselines — the repetitiveness of the drums as it’s all layered is fantastic and just stands to show you don’t need all your songs to be complex masterpieces to work. the way the lyrics are also sung ( / spoken ) is just so therapeutic to me as it’s also once again harsh and emotional. in regards to ‘nana’, very similar to my thoughts on ‘I always wanna die (sometimes)’ , having that personal experience of loosing somebody close to you and battling with my own mental health really shifts your perspective. straight off the bat, “I wish you’d walk in again” is so strong in my opinion to open because of its relatability and sets the songs standard of having an unfiltered, honest craft. the same goes for “the things that I wished I’d said”, because, once again, this consumed my mind from my own personal experience, and shows that you’re not alone when dealing with your grief. being so strong near the end with “I think you can tell” shows the hope that no matter your religious beliefs, you want to think that they’re still connected to you even if they’re not in a physical form — the best thing that I’d ever been told was that it would be impossible for the relationship to stop existing after their gone, because your memories and experiences with them will last forever.

abiior — although I’ve already expanded on my favourites ‘give yourself a try’ and ‘I always wanna die (sometimes)’ in my other post, I thought I’d talk about my third favourite (as it’s my favourite album) being ‘sincerity is scary’. I just love the feeling I get when listening to this song because of all the instruments and the easy beat that flows the lyrics perfectly. this song is perfectly juxtaposed because of the evoked lyrics against the steady, lighthearted beat, which is what I love about not just the song, but the 1975 themselves, with matty himself saying that he knows he’s in a song. the backing choir as well? perfection. my favourite lyrics from the song would probably be “and why would you believe you could control how you’re perceived” — it’s almost provoking, “why would you”? that “why”? I think that’s what stands out the most to me. again, looking at the genius video, it’s important to know the divide that’s lost between this is what I do vs. this is what I am. a very accurate take on modern media construction!

noacf — this is probably the easiest one for me to decide, ‘nothing revealed / everything denied’ to my deathbed! probably my shortest analysis out of them all, because I genuinely believe everything that needs to be said is obvious. once again the production in solid, although I don’t have a lot to comment on — because it just fits. the bridge took me by surprise by how much I like it, because normally I wouldn’t think this would be my style. my favourite lyrics being simple, “life feels like a lie, I need something to be true.” you want to make connections to the people in your life, you want to build relationships, but sometimes all of this can get clouded because life is not simple in the slightest, hence the feeling of falsehood. you crave honesty, you crave simplicity, because that’s not what you’ll often find; questioning your own experiences against others, wanting to find answers — “Is there anybody out there?”

bfiafl — the final one! again, this was a toss up between two, ‘part of the band’ and ‘all I need to hear’ (an honourable mention to ‘about you’ as I couldn’t not mention the masterpiece that it is, this song is just an experience), however I have settled on ‘part of the band’. the whole album uses the creativity of incorporating all of these different instruments to create a dynamic and layered approach which I believed is showcased to its fullest ability within ‘part of the band’, especially when you watch the podcast episodes behind the production. fun fact; the first time I listened to this song, I did not like it at all and couldn’t understand the hype (oh how I grew to love it). funnily enough, one of my favourite lyrics is “cumming to her lookalikes” because of how unfiltered and (sort of?? a bit of a reach) masculine it feels, I feel like this lyric goes best with the whole ‘at their very best’ era and really plays into mattys character, it creates like a melancholy feeling? other than that, “that feeling on the internet, it’s like someone intended it” really grabs your attention in realising how far we’ve come through media consumption and how it’s designed for you, in all the good ways and all the bad ways. it’s manipulative, and it’s dangerous. finally, “am I ironically woke? the butt of my joke?” speaks for itself. I hate saying it’s so ‘meta’ (because I do not want to be cringe), but that’s the best way of putting it — and I love it. my personal project that I have to complete in college is all about the responsibilities that we’ve handed to famous people and the expectations that have exceeded them just being band members or just being actors, and I think matty healy is the perfect example.

and that’s that. so many thoughts my brain is now foggy asf. and yes it was so validating screaming I’m sorry if you’re living and your seventeen I’m afraid I’ll never experience something like it again :’)

[watatsumiis]

different anon btw but just out of curiosity (tone clarification: not judgemental just pursuing info in like a bit of an analysis/contemplation/seeking differing opinions way) have you done either of e!'s story quests? and if so was it just confusing, or you didn't like them for some other reason?

(if it's too much effort to elaborate of course no pressure, but id be interested to hear your thoughts! & don't worry about being too harsh, she's my blorbo but i agree the inazuma arc kind of made light of a lot of war stuff and felt a little shallow, and a lot of people i know didn't like her at all bc of that)

~🍓 (signing off with an emoji in case this turns into a conversation later)

Before I go into this, I just wanna say thanks again for approaching this in such a genuine and calm way, I sat and thought about this on and off since I got it and it's kind of made me step back and look at how I consume media (especially in this game) and the kinds of characters that I tend to enjoy.

I have done both of her story quests, but as with a lot of the pacing in the story quests, I found it pretty confusing and hard to follow, with heavy dialogue and exposition that I struggled to retain. I'm sure she as a character is extremely nuanced and interesting, I just struggle to feel anything more than disdain for her after seeing how her actions affected the entirety of Inazuma and the people she was supposed to be protecting.

I'm sure I could be convinced into liking her (as is the case with most characters that I 'dislike') or at least tolerating her, but the way the information was presented to me in canon felt a little ham-fisted, and I struggled to parse it all when it was just kind of tossed at me in a jumbled pile like that.

I think some of the ways this game handles really heavy topics seems to be almost... dismissive, at times. I understand that it's a game that's supposed to be marketed towards a broad audience and there are some concessions that need to be made to keep a smooth gameplay experience. This isn't a knock at the writers at all, just an observation. These huge events seem to happen in canon story and they seem to be dropped soon after apart from a few hints and side mentions, and I wish it was explored more?

Sorry that's kind of offtopic, but going back to the character at hand, there's just something about the rules she enforced and the things she let happen that just... yucks me out a bit. (again this is nothing against anyone who does happen to like her! This is all personal opinion and meant to be very lighthearted) I feel like they're trying to write all the Archons as 'good guys', but with E! it feels ...viscerally wrong, everyone seems to forgive her very quickly and have no hard feelings about what she put her nation through, even if that wasn't what she'd directly intended to do. I think if there had been some kind of main story scene where she really acknowledged the harm she caused and admitted her wrongdoing to her citizens id be a little more ambivalent towards her, but i genuinely cant remember a scene like that (though please correct me if im wrong).

The way her character lines refer to some others, too, kind of icks me out. Especially when it comes to Kokomi, who she still seems to be intending to discipline in some manner, and acts as if allowing the people of Watatsumi Island to worship their god is some gracious and generous act of kindness that she's doing as opposed to the basic human right of believing what you want - something about that especially sits pretty badly with me.

[douknowanoah]

SUPER DUPER LATE INTRODUCTION POST🎉🎉

[SUPER DUPER LATE INTRODUCTION POST]

Hi-llo!!! Welcome to my blog. Here’s some basic stuff about me. The rest is under the cut because no one likes scrolling 10k banana lengths (yes I am a redditor 🥲). Basically a Q&A. Have fun meeting the me!

What do I call you?!

For simplicity’s sake, call me Noah or some other variation of my username (douknowanoahnoah). Honestly, I don’t care. You can even call me dookie.. 🥲

Pronouns?

I’m alright with any out of she/he/they, but I do prefer she/her since I’m more used to it.

Activity Level?

I’ll be a little inactive (reposting mainly, and only posting little memes) on basically all my socials, not just Tumblr because I’ve gotten more into reading lately :D So if I disappear for a bit, im just getting all my happy brain chemicals from fanfic or published work

Blog Mood?

I’m not a serious blog. Everything here is very lighthearted. In the past I have posted about some serious subjects (personal overdose/drug abuse, therapy) but I try to smother it was humor to keep it low-key. I don’t post about that stuff often, if at all, anymore.

If you found this account from r/exfor from my abandoned Reddit account u/justNormi, then just beware that I posted about serious stuff on that account (self-harm) in case you’re sensitive to that sort of thing. I’m cautious about that part of life touching my tumblr, so it will most likely not be here

Fandoms?

Lately my blog has been more like a little diary for myself, but it started out as a place for me to post about my Expeditionary Force pirate AU (which I haven’t abandoned btw!! I’ve just been focusing on other things. I plan on continuing that AU in the future)

OK. No more rambling. Here’s a list of fandoms I’m into (but don’t necessarily post about)

- Expeditionary Force

- Starkid

- 9-1-1

- All For The Game

Issue is, I usually drop a fandom the second the original media ends or after I’m saturated myself in it too much. My interests revive after a while tho 👍

Expect fanart reblogs and occasional meta-analysis

Other Socials?

- AO3: douknowanoah

- To be added :D

Timezone?

Well I live in New York so Eastern Standard Time (EST). As of writing this, it’s 5:46 PM!

Blog Organization?

It’s currently not organized, but I’ll try to organize this sort of stuff in the future. My previous posts will not be organized because there’s just too many.

#personal -> bite-sized life updates, random thoughts, etc

#art -> reblogs of beautiful fanart and sometimes my own shit

#[fandom name] -> self-explanatory. Fandom specific stuff

#meme -> my own lazy memes or stuff I reblog

Wrap-Up

This blog is a safe-space for anyone who isn’t unsafe towards others (looking at you transphobes :/)

Sometimes I vanish for a while (more often recently) but I always come back like a stray cat.

Mutuales, feel free to tag me in things! Even if I don’t reply, it IS appreciated. I’m probably just overthinking what to say until it’s too late lol

The rest of this will just be random things about me so..

If you don’t want to read more, you can stop here. Thanks for reading!!

[IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ MORE, YOU CAN STOP HERE. THANKS FOR READING!!]

Hobbies?

READING 💯, writing, binge watching shows and fanfic, shopping

MBTI?

Last I checked, it was INTP or some other IN

Misc. Facts

I love denim jackets. I have ridiculously long hair (seriously, it reaches my upper thigh when wet). I like to eat Lays chips with Kraft cheese. I don’t have a numerical password.

I take 1-3 hour long showers. I chew my fingernails. I like to eat vanilla ice cream with the following toppings:

-Chocolate syrup

- Pepsi

- Jell-O powder

- plain cornflakes

Current obsession?

All For The Game by Nova Sakavic 💯 Who knew I’d fall in love with a gay trilogy about a fake sport and the mafia?

Current Songs on Repeat?

[georgesportsjournalismri]

The Hidden Gem: Rob Demovsky and the Green Bay Packers

Few people in the sports realm capture the range of things like Green Bay Packers ESPN reporter Rob Demovsky does. Rob is dedicated to his work and has been covering the team for almost 20 years to date. His work comes as a major source for not only Packers fans but sports fans across the world as well as he writes for ESPN and is the official Packers reporter for the network. He has worked for ESPN since 2013 covering the Packers and can be seen weekly on SportsCenter and NFL shows on the respective network breaking news within the team.

Demovsky serves as an avenue for quick up to date information regarding the Green Bay Packers and coverage that you can trust. Challenges often arise in Demovsky’s work when it comes to dealing with fans’ opinions while objectively covering the team. His work provides the world with a top tier analysis of news surrounding the team and everything to do with the NFL. I will dive into the focus Demovsky puts into his work and the impact he has on the Packers fandom.

            Demovsky is known for his groundbreaking analysis regarding the Packers and all the news surrounding the team. He is the first to break news out of the Packers reporters for secondary sources besides the NFL. He has been noted as one of the premiere reporters and journalist of the NFL by colleagues due to the time and effort he puts into his work. Rob is a massive Packers fan, and it was always a goal of his to work for the team in such a high capacity. He attends every single press conference for the team in season and out of season to capture every angle of what is occurring inside of the locker room and meetings.

            His reporting and writing style are unique because every tweet, interview, or post comes off as lighthearted and often incorporates comedy into his work which some claim is keep his audience engaged and wanting to click on his work when it surfaces their devices. His voice is distinct as it just has this special touch during press conferences that you can immediately pick out without being able to see the reporters asking questions post-game or practice. Demovsky is extremely well known in the Green Bay area and loves to give back to the community and is often seen at local sports games and events supporting the town and the Packers.

            On a personal level, I am an avid Packers fan and experience a mix of emotions because of the typical rollercoaster season they have. Demovsky is the first X tweet I get every single time news break regarding the Packers, and I often make time out of my day if I know he will be airing on television. This is because readers buy into Demovsky’s reporting and journalism because of his unique style of reporting and writing that gives people the sense they are reading something from a friend while being as informative as possible.

He was the first tweet I received 3 years ago when the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets in the offseason leading to him appearing on ESPN just an hour later to further discuss the news. He always provides a deep analysis of his work and breaks down every aspect of the trade whether it is small details referring to a clause or the breakdown of the money. I often find myself scrolling through Packers media and immediately turn my attention to Demovsky’s page because he always has the most up to date information and the most accurate and entertaining to read. It is also very easy to access.

            As someone who watched almost every single Packers postgame or post practice interview, Rob often asks in depth questions to the coaches and that has earned him responses over the years referring to his level of insight and the notion that his question was a great or interesting one to ask. His work has been noticed worldwide as when the packers played in Brazil at the beginning of the season, he received recognition for his great work speaking about the jersey dilemma.

            Demovsky is the epitome of sports journalism as he tackles his work with strong opinion and unconscious effort. His work is recognized day in and day out by not only the Packers organization and ESPN but also the fans worldwide. I will continue to follow him for the years to come because of his ability to bring the audience in and provide content for all.