#like believe it or not but adult fiction is as diverse in topic and themes as YA and MG

[desert-dyke]

Everyone who relates to that “I used to read a book a day as a kid and now I barely read at all” consider: you need to build up your endurance again. 

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

The Colors of my Soul(mates) [1]

[Second oneshot]

[AO3 link]

Kanene’s Notes:

Nope, I do not regret the pun. Okay, okay! I’ve plaining this AU for almost an year so I’m pretty excited to post it!! dfghjsdfrtyucfvgbhjv yaaaay!! Thank you very very much @olliedollie1204 for such a positive feedback and awesome ideas. it helped me a lot!! 

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That fanfic has Virgil, Logan, Patton and Roman (only a brief mention of Remy) in a platonic relationship (yet), but it can be viewed as romantic, if you wish. 

* Warnings: A bit of swearing and depreciative thoughts. It’s mostly fluff and hurt/comfort, tho.

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing Thomas Sanders in his series of Sanders Sides.

* Something around 4.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Say to someone important how much you love them, be safe, talk with the one that you love, drink water and sleep well! Byeioo!~

                           [~*~]

What can do a creature if not, between creatures, love?  - Carlos Drummond de Andrade

  - What the fu-

 Virgil only discovered he had more than one Soulmate when he was twenty years old, more specifically the exact moment he took a wrong turn and kept going even knowing he was in the wrong way because one hour it would lead him to somewhere Virgil would recognize before his mortal being inevitably starved to death in the middle of nowhere and his eyes got dragged from the visions from thousands of futures created by his mind to a Teddy Bear Store - they seemed to replicate worse than bacteria during Valentine’s Day - and two bears from the crimson shelter suddenly dyed themselves in two milliseconds as he slightly glanced at them.

 Two of them. Virgil felt his entire face burn in hot shades of embarrassment with drops of disbelief, almost as if all the people running, stumbling, locked in their own worlds and swearing while walked in the sideway because ‘some stupid teenager decided to just stop and block their way’ could, by only looking at him, stare deep into his soul and realize the one staring astonished the store already carried in his fate another one more Soulmate at home.

One completely different in shape and form, even if also blue, however in a light, sky blue completely opposite shade from the new navy one staring him down - Virgil knew plentily their link wasn’t bonded yet, albeit he was equally sure that the person behind those black glooming teddy bear’s eyes were already judging him, - wondering why, between all the people, he was their soulmate. The other red one was very much likely crackling in his face when an employee came and pointedly turn the adult’s attention to the sign in big, graphed words clued in front of their store:

 “You dye, you buy.”

 Virgil signed, pushing his hoodie down further, wondering how much time it would take of him hitting his head on the wall to finally pass out. This option sounded much more attractive when he realized that this new ‘discovery’ about himself would cost all his month’s saves.

 He asked, to the Universe, the stars, the Earth and whoever was seeing him in that exact moment: why?

 Was it a kind of prank? A punishment from fate when, years and tears ago, Virgil lifted his chin up and dared the Universe to give him more soulmates as he locked all his uncolored – although never really free of some weak drops of paint from what one day they came to be – simply stuffed animals, - and nothing more, anymore, - away and promised he would never, ever allow himself to go all through this shit again?

 But… That had been… years ago. Almost a decade since that soft voice he got to know so well, the impulsive acts, long conversations and warm feelings.

 But…

 Time has passed, that is true. Nevertheless, deep down has he really changed?

 Virgil stared at the bag carried so close to his chest since his bare hands were sweating and shaking way too much for this task. Yes, he knew his Soulmates won’t feel anything until both of them decided to ‘give the First Step’, accepting to link their souls and fates, for the longest as it lasts. However, he didn’t want to risk it, because what if they felt? What if he in some way broke the Soulmate System when got two at the same time and now everything was messed up and they could already feel his touches even through the bag and the first impression Virgil would gave to them was ‘That anxious, weird boy and his creepy, sweaty hands’ and-

 A girl almost hit him as she passed running at his side, making his arms protectively hug further the teddy bears closer to him, arms protectively involving them, the soft touch somehow calming his tumulted thoughts. The lost man took a deep breath.

 Clear your mind. Rational thoughts. Focus on the two sides of the coin. Three people wouldn’t be able to break a millennial, unknown system, don’t matter how good he was in screwin… No, a voice that sounded suspiciously a lot like his psychologist calmly pointed, not like that. Virgil huffed, trying again. He was a magnet of problems and bad…Okay, also wrong. Neutral thoughts, focus on neutral thoughts. Come on. Come on.

 It was okay.

 They wouldn’t feel him until they gave the first step. Right, that… sounded like a start. He didn’t do anything. Now, what Virgil needed to do was go to his house, clean his bed in order to find a good place where he could put and ignore them and then he would get his headphones, listen his playlists and wonder where the fuck his life was going.

 It was okay. Everything would stay okay as long as he didn’t give the First Step.

 Virgil unconsciously hugged tighter the teddy bears, his fingers finding way and drowning themselves in the soft, cozy fur, combing them in light, soothing touches as he continued his way.

 Okay. Everything was okay.

 [~*~]

 Plurinfanto, or Multiple Souls, it’s the nomination used for the cases when a person has diverse soulmates at the same time and in a same period.

 The first known case was with Pharaoh Cleopatra when multiples of her woolen fabric started to dye themselves in various colors and shades. In Ancient Roman, it was believed that the occurrences were blessings from Venus in a sign of prosperity and abundance. Grand, longstanding parties were executed through days nonstop in order to get together those intertwined souls. When the connection broke and the colors disappeared, it meant that days of pain and foreboding were waiting forward.

 It is not known for certain the exact moment when the meaning changed, albeit researchers believe it was around the fall of the Roman Empire, when all the invasions resulted in a cultural reconstruction which led to the loss from much of their costumes.

  CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER HOW TO HAVE THE SOULMATE OF YOUR DREAMS!!!!  

 [~*~]

 The computer made a soft ‘click’ as Virgil closed it and sat on his bed, adjusting slightly his position to stare the three vivid, brilliant stuffed beings contrasting to the general dark theme of his room.

 Virgil growled, resting his back on the cold wall, the shivers calming his flowing thoughts about all the variants this whole thing had. No to mention that people change with time, leading to the souls who they “relate” to change as well, meaning that you can have someone in your life for years and then, one month, or weeks or the next day, you can wake up only to discover you and the said person don’t “match” anymore.

 And NO ONE talked about this just because it was a freak tabu to doesn’t have ‘an only one soulmate who will be with you until the end of your existence’. Oh, for fuck sake. Virgil ran his hand through his hair, wincing when he accidently pulled some tangled strands. That sounds like a line of commercial, does anyone believe that bullshit for real?

 “Hello dear, newer fellow!!” The popping thought broke his line of reasoning, jumping excitedly in his mind and automatically pulling him out of his wanders. It has a strong and full of… about everything, tune demanding attention. Virgil felt a warm kiss on his forehead, meaning one soulmate – a deep part of him turned his attention to the red colored teddy bear, - had given the First Step. The one who in some moment changed his position so now he was sitting on the floor felt his face get hot again, heart thumping strongly in his chest as his arm moved, fingers stopping inches away from the fur, questioning if he was ready to retribute the gesture.

  [~*~]

 Many history icons have reports of being Pluriers, as shown in the book ‘The Romance in the History of Those Who Wrote It’, by historian Henry Senyura. The subject is also beginning to gain more visibility after the protest from the teacher Joan A. in 2010, who got touched towards the situation of some of her pupils being forced to choose only one among their Soulmates for the six-month annual exchange, by the end of that period most of them lost or weakened their bonding due lack of communication, small changes of personality and continuous absence. She held a protest at the front of the school, stating that no one had the right to interfere in ‘matters of the heart’.

 A lot of fiction works are beginning to address the topic more frequently, as in I’m Not One, a movie directed by Devon Stan; The Seven Colors of Rainbow, a book written by Lílian Lee and the psychological analysis Life’s Watch, recently found between drafts by the famous writer Robin Green, published after their husband’s authorization, Josué Green.

 [~*~]

 Logan hummed. As it seems, this was a relatively common thing, since the concept of Soul Mates surpassed the barriers of unity and time, being ‘souls who in a way or other intertwined themselves in some part of their life. Sometimes it didn’t necessarily mean a romantic relationship, as the majority of society and media pointed, but it also didn’t hold any assurance that all of them were platonic.

 He massaged the bridge of his nose. Remy wasn’t in the dorm so everything was silent enough for him to hear his own thoughts.

  It has been a remarkable amount of years since he got his last soulmates, - except for Remy, however they both considered this occurrence as a separate incident - well, until, of course, this day. At least it was a good thing he always carried in his bag extra easy manageable stuffed animals or else maybe the System would dye one of clothes, what would be less than ideal for him in the middle of his philosophy debate. But things got even more interesting when, after his classes, as he arrived at the small, pleasantly well-organized store next to his university, one more stuffed animal colored itself right before him.

 He didn’t exactly understand why. Logan considered himself an owner of a… quite strong, strict personality, this added with his difficulty in managing his and one another emotions usually tended to bring some complex tribulations in his rela-

 Anyway, that is beside the important matter. The one laying his chin on his crossed fingers undid his pose for a bite of time in order to adjust his glasses, barely fixating his gaze on the two plushies in the desk before him, his third – Pat - resting a few centimeters away, closer to Logan’s fingers, who were barely touching. Mind running. Asking, reflecting, wondering what was the exact amount of time to be acceptable to give his First Step?

 ‘The First Step’.

 Logan never really understood from where and how that expression emerged. It didn’t come from the words’ etymology nor some semantic detour. His most concrete hypothesis consisted of the phrase being derived from old romances.

 “Did you know it used to be called the ‘First Kiss’?! But that confused a lot of people who really believed that, to be able to talk and interact with their soulmates they would have to kiss each other, like the Sleeping Beauty! I always got confused in this movie when I was a child, by the way! That ended up messing with a bunch of relationships before they even started, since a lot of peeps don’t feel comfortable enough with strangers kissing them. However, they also speeded up a bunch of them as well…” Logan blinked, his attention escaping from his previous thoughts to the light sky blue plushie of Baby Yoda, for a moment surprised with the sudden input. He felt fingers carefully holding his arms and a bit of ghost movements as Pat probably moved his representation to somewhere else, a hug and warmth engulfing the one yet absolving the new information moments later.

 “That was… enlightening.” His voice danced across the room. Even though he was completely aware they could chat telepathically, the childish act of saying the words out loud still comforted him, in a way. “Thank you for your contribution.”

 He took a deep breath and closed the tab of research on his cellphone, internally thanking from the escaping of his turmoil of thoughts, his free hand carefully combing the Baby Yoda’s head fur, almost methodic.

 “Looo, no!” The other protested with no heat in his tune, leading a toothless smile to resurface in Logan’s features. “Stop doing this. You know I end up sleeping every time!”

 “Oh no, what a tragedy.” He deadpanned, already plugging his phones and changing to a most relaxed position on his chair, his eyes traveling across the countless movies on the device before him. “In which episode did we stop?”

 “I’m going to fight you.” Pat sounded like he was pouting.

 “How so?” Logan asked, trying to hide his amusement.

 Silence followed his words.

 “Pat?”

 “What is the skeleton’s favorite instrument?”

 “Pat, don’t you fucking da-”

 “Language! It’s a xiloBONE!”

 Logan audible growled, fast in his final decision. “I’m going to drop you out the window.”

  “I’m going to hug you!” And immediately the one rolling his eyes felt himself being squished in a strong bear hug, huffing only half annoyed.

 “You are an incorrigible heathen, let me go in this exact instant.” His answer was a ‘butterfly kiss’ – as Pat was fond in calling them – on his forehead. “Urg, affection.” Yet he smiled and mirrored the act, lightly poking the other’s side.

 “We’re on episode 19.”

  [~*~]  

Roman stared the paper, his pencil’s tip stopped in the middle of the biggest petal’s flower, his eyes narrowing in the hope of a clearest way of how to convert the vague idea he had in transforming the night full of stars in a flower. No to tell he also would need to choose a good pallet of colors indication for it, later, and probably re-do all the process over and over and over until got the best result as possible. A yawn found its way from his lips and the designer stretched, getting up to drink a bit of water and rubbing his eyes, wondering if it was really worth it to make a black tea to help him through the night.

 A glimpse of color caught his attention. The navy blue teddy bear on his couch, the main inspiration of his newest tattoo. Roman wondered why it wasn’t resting in front of him while he drew. A corner of his brain, obscured by the tiredness, telling he had a previous good reason for this choice although his actual self carried absolutely no idea of why.

 Well, if he couldn’t remember it, it means the reason wasn’t THAT good, right?

 Roman held the stuffed animal, spinning with it across the room for a couple of minutes, imagining who would be the person behind it. A king, a queen, a non-binary royalty? Did they like Disney? Musicals? Sing? Would they chat for hours at first with a few words exchanged or would they take a bit to warm at each other? Was navy blue their favorite color or…

 Or…

 Navy blue.

 Oh.

 He fixed his glare on the plushie, his hands feeling and slowly drawing in the soft fur of it.

 Navy blue, huh? A humorless chuckled flew in the air. It could have no significance, it could be a world of it. It probably didn’t mean what he, for a moment, a so silly, stupid moment, wished it meant. Of course, one day this would happen, right? It was something normal, something expected. Not the magical, right out of the story books or his old daydreams, occurrence.

 This wasn’t a second chance. The Universe doesn’t give you second chances. He wasn’t the same boy from eleven years ago, holding his own costumed teddy bear crying his eyes out, hugging he – No, it – the closest as possible, wishing with all his heart and soul for the color, the voice, the thoughts, the rambling, their bickering, the forgiveness to come back again.

 No, he grew up. He moved on. He got better.

 Then why did a part of him still felt this way? Like he was about to hear the excited giggles, the soft reprimand, that lovely, deep and so truly -and sometimes boring, Roman had to admit – questions? Why would a part of him still say that he could have it all again if he just… waited long enough, hoped high enough, dreamed long enough…

 …If he was enough.

There aren’t more than seven billion colors in the world. Roman would be stupid if he really believed there was a path where he wouldn’t stumble in that so (un)fortunate well-known shade of blue again.

 Roman growled, his forehead making a loud, dry thumping sound as hit his desk. The one who should be asleep hours ago had absolutely no energy to battle against those thoughts, again. At least for now. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the teddy bear laid on the cold tabletop before him. Well, what a better way to get rid of your own means thoughts than put some stranger’s unpredictable thoughts in the middle of it? Roman slightly pushed the bunch of flowers and some warmup sketches he had out of the way, carefully carrying the representation next to him, nodding. Honestly, that was the best idea he had for a while, why did he even put the lovely thing away?

 Awake Roman was so silly, thinking that… something he couldn’t quite recall right now would be a bad idea, he pointed as snorted softly, pressing his lips on the teddy’s forehead, the quote he knew by heart flying from them in a natural flow.

 “It is not immortal, since it’s flame. But let it be infinite while it lasts.”

 A warm sensation rested on his own forehead moments later, leading the sleepy form to hum happily.

 “Is it… poetry?” Oh shit, Roman widened his eyes. His soulmate heard that?? Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Roman mentally facepalmed himself. So that was why he usually said it before the First Step!

 “Uhh, yeah. Of course. Fidelity Sonnet by Vinícius Moraes.”

 “I see. Classicism, I presume. A literature of very soundly pleasant rhymes, indeed. The first sonnet was probably created by the humanist Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it got even more known in the western literature after the works of Camões, who- ”

 “He is from Modernism, actually.” Roman didn’t know why he suddenly sounded so defensive. Logan felt a cold feeling run his body when the other’s hands let go of him, for a piece of second wondering if it was supposed for him to do the same with the red narwhal plushie on his hold.

 “A very common mistake to make due the lack of context.” He retorted, unable to formulate another answer. He had, of course, thought, balanced options and chosen the best topics to discuss with his new soulmates when they bonded. However, his fingers firmly gripped the pen, its tip tapping on the first topic written in the notebook partially forgotten in front of him, the poetry figuratively threw him out of his tracks, leading the decision to be the most impartial as possible due his… not so impartial past memories with that specific shade of red an even more difficult task than it already was.

 “Yes. Sure. Sorry, I- I’m just… very tired right now.”

 “You should go sleep, then.”

 The other snorted with the direct, immediate response. “I should, shouldn’t I? Gotta work, though.”

 Some part of Logan’s brain registered the new fact, separating and keeping it in a special place so he would remember to write it down in the new folder he bought, later.

 “I see.” … poetry? That wasn’t a hard topic to talk about. The one now nervously cleaning the very clear lenses twisted his mouth. He could talk about this for hours. No, correction: he already had previously talked about this for hours non stop.

 Logan strangely felt the urge to rub his face and scream. It has been years, - eleven years and 10 months to be precise – and exactly eight years since the one wearing glasses learned poetry because of him. Because of his constant habit of reciting Shakespeare before they would go to bed, until Logan brought himself to research and decorate all the poems he could muster, taking the task to now wake Prince – the name still carried a strong taste in his tongue – in the same way every single day. Before they realize, that becomes something between them. There were times when both didn’t talk, content in only reciting some verses and hear the other complete them. A part of Logan, that illogical and unfortunately full of feelings one wondered how their rap battles would be if they found each other right now.

 Did Prince even maintain his liking the same things he one day did? Does he still recite poetry? Does he maintain the same dreams? The same habits?  Does he even remember about him?

 Highly improbable.

 “You can call me Lo.”

 Roman slowly blinked, getting out the fog surrounding his brain to realize he was mindless staring at the pan’s boiling water, surprised the other still there. Well, it seems like he hasn't screwed terribly everything yet.

 “Lo? Like Lowrance?”

 “Even though my name does contain ‘Lo’ in it, no. It’s ‘Lo’ like Logic. I came to believe it’s a good idea the nomination after a predominant characteristic, since we can’t actively exchange our real names through the Soulmate System.”

 Roman’s breath hitched, a memory with yellow-ish edges and nostalgic smell unrolling in front of him.

 …

 ‘I think we should choose you a name with more personality in it, ya know?’ He threw himself on his bed, kicking his legs on the air before immediately scoping the plushie and laying it on his stomach. ‘Like a characteristic!’

 ‘I don’t see what is wrong with the nickname I choose.’

 ‘No, no! There is nothing wrong with it! But that could be something just between us!’ Then he gasped, picturing that, if he was inside a movie there would be a lamp shining right above his hair in this moment. ‘We could call you Ro!! You wanted to be a robot, right?’

 His soulmate growled and Roman felt a few pokes on his arm, the verbal protest doesn’t taking long before accompanying it. ‘I was three years old!’

 ‘And I’m never letting you live this down.’ He beamed, both knowing the annoyed scoff he got as response held no real heat. ‘Besides, we could even match our names!!’

 ‘That would be very counterproductive.’ Roman felt his hair being softly smoothed, a usual indication the other was losing himself in his thoughts. ‘Nicknames are supposed to help us. Having two equal names is not the most efficient thing.’

 Roman dramatically scoffed, picking the stuffed animal and half hugging it, his free hand occupying itself in making a couple of gestures to no one, since his soulmate couldn’t exactly see them. ‘It’s not about being productive, Bear! It’s about feelings!!’

 ‘And since when,’ a light poke was delivered on his belly, making him squeak and mess with the teddy bear’s hair in revenge ‘Everything isn’t feelings for you, your highness?’

 …

 “Okay,” Roman and his self past disappearing with the fading memory said, in synchrony “You shall call me by Prince, then.”

 Suddenly he felt himself falling, his hands quickly holding on the tabletop as the cold, nauseous feeling took over his stomach, more like a punch on it, his veins being filled with amounts of adrenaline for a glimpse of a second.

 “Excuse me? Warn a guy next time you decide to just drop his representation, dude! Damn.” Roman shook himself, trying to bring his body to calm down.

 “Sorry, I got… startled.” Logan gulped. The word ‘Prince’ echoing on his mind as a broken vinyl disc. What were the chances? That couldn’t be such a common nickname, right? Nor color. Nor interests. What were the chances? What could be the chances? Maybe he was just projecting, being played, tricked by a dangerous partnership between his own brain and emotions. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions due the nostalgic feeling fogging his actions, his thoughts. Perhaps-

 “Hey, Lo? Are you there?”

 “Yes.” Logan answered, his fingertips colliding quickly with the fabric of his pants as he visualized his options. “Yes, I am.”

 “Hm. Okay, then. I’m… glad to know.”

 Silence. Logan took a wobbly breath.

 “Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back; Wherein he puts alms for oblivion; A great-size monster of ingratitudes:”

  “Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devour'd; As fast as they are made, forgot as soon.” Roman continued without even noticing until the words danced in the air, just like the years haven’t passed.

 Then he understood.

  His heart stopped for a second, his eyes widening and his voice disappearing, as if his whole being was afraid to break the moment, the spell; as if this was a dream and a miscalculate step would make everything fade.

 “Bear?” Roman felt a light poke on his cheek.

 “Hello, Prince.”

 Roman choked a laugh, quickly crawling the teddy bear next to his chest, hugging it both firmly and yet so caring, curling around its - no, him - feeling an equal warmth involve his form as he hided his face on the soft fur, giggling and hugging, feeling so happy, so alive and right and good and he would never, ever, ever again let him go.

 “I missed you, bitch. Never scare me like this again.”

 “I… missed you, as well.” Logan tried to not let the emotion take over his tune, his hand petting the narwhal plushie softly, the words had abandoning him, as it seems. “This reunion is a… good surprise.”

 “Oh, shut up, I know you’re having a blast somewhere in that logic soul of yours, too.”

 Logan huffed, grinning. “Stop crying on my hair, your troglodyte.”

 “Make me, I dare you.”

 “Always so dramatic.” They both rolled their eyes, letting the moment be bathed in the deep waters of a comfortable silence.

 “Eleven years.”

 “We have so, so much to talk about!! Oh, my goodness gracious, I’m going to get my tea. Do you remember about that play I wrote about zombie princes and a dragon witch? You will NOT fucking believe what happened with it!”

 “Good thing I have you to explain to me then.” Roman stopped, a gigantic smile taking over his features as he closed his eyes to feel everything even more.

 “Yeah, I agree.”

 Somewhere in the world Patton and Virgil smiled during their sleep, unable to control themselves when a gigantic wave of pure joy and delight filled every corner of their hearts, coloring it on the most brilliant gleam, just like their stuffed animals resting peacefully on their grip.

[contextualalice]

Contextual Studies: Final Essay 2020

Essay Research and Preparation:

Possible Topic:

·       Why do art teachers hate Manga?

·       Why is Manga so popular?

·       How Ghibli captured the hearts of the world

·       The Dark Side of Manga: Erotica, Violence and the Sexualisation of Children

·       Is there really a lack of diversity in Manga?

·       Is Hollywood misinterpreting Manga through white washing?

·       Is Manga endorsing damaging gender stereotypes?

·       How Manga is causing a racial divide in East Asia

 Manga and its origins:

·       Manga are comics/graphic novels that originated from Japan during the late 19th Century, but is an art form believed to have been developed from earlier Japanese art.

·       The art style has no set genre and is therefore very popular among all ages and backgrounds.

·       If a series is popular enough it will sometimes be developed into Anime which is essentially just Manga animated.  

·       The first Manga are said to date back to the 12th Century and represent the basis of reading from right to left, but the word came into common usage in the late 18th Century.

·       Uncertainty of origins due to cultural/historical events following the World Wars and Meiji.

·       Meiji is an era when industrialisation and consumerism (western society) started to overpower Japanese culture/tradition.

·       Edo period (1603 to 1868) is also said to have influenced Manga. It is characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, stable population, “no more wars”, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture.

·       Osamu Tezuka is believed to be the first official Manga artist (“The Father of Manga”) because he globalized Manga with the success of his Manga series such as Astro Boy, Princess Knight and Kimba the White Lion during the late 1940s.

·       In more recent times (from 1985 when it was co-founded till now) Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films have also made Manga/Anime more popular than ever with consistent viewings of the films on television and high praise from other animation/cartoonist such as Disney.

·       Manga combines elements of comic, animation, expressionism, Monochrome, screen tone (hatching/line art), digital, traditional etc…

·       Santo Kyuden is a Japanese artist, poet and writer from the Edo Period who is believed to be the first to illustrate elements of the Manga style.

The Dark Side of Manga: Erotica, violence and the sexualisation of children

What is Manga?

The term Manga is believed to have come about during the late 19th Century and simply refers to comics and graphic novels that originate in Japan. When translated Manga literally means ‘irresponsible images’, which immediately suggests a playful and exoticness many Westerners in particular would find appealing.  Manga also has no set genre and has therefore grown very popular among all ages and backgrounds; some series even getting developed into live actions and Anime (Japanese Animation). Typically Manga is Monochromatic due to being mass produced and is created using the technique of screen tone, which is primarily line art and hatching. In more recent years this traditional method has also been combined with digital programs to make the process faster and even more detailed. Despite these diversities Manga has a very distinctive style that sets it apart from Western Cartoons. The most notable factors of the Mange style are in its character design. These are evident in aspects such as large eyes, colourful hair, additional lines to reinforce emotion and tribute to Japanese fashion through their clothing. The reason these character features of Manga are so important is because not only do they define the unique image of Manga, but have also stirred a huge amount of controversy across the globe in relation to themes of violence and erotica. Nevertheless is this the true nature of Manga or are they just misinterpretations of the Japanese art and culture due to its swift advancement from niche to mainstream?

How Astro Boy paved the way for Manga

An example of Manga Plagued by this Controversy is Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy. Astro Boy came into existence during the 1950’s and was the first successful Manga to become a household name, even raising Tezuka’s status to ‘Father of Manga’. The Manga was initially revered worldwide for the styles simplicity because it made the illustrations versatile and relatively cheap to develop into animation and merchandise. The character design of Astro Boy himself also contributed to the art styles success by rivalling Disney with his large but beautiful expressive features and bold outfit of underwear paired with boots. Howbeit the Western world quickly perceived the prepubescent android’s somewhat androgynous appearance as too provocative firstly because it subtly encourages the idea of sexualising the underage, and secondly because it is a similar aesthetic to robots and dolls in the sex industry. On the other hand, it could be argued that these character design choices are merely a reflection of Japanese culture as they are known for looking youthful due to genetics and advancements in cosmetics/surgery. Japanese fashion also demonstrates this idea of preserving youthfulness and embracing uniqueness with styles such as Kawaii, Lolita and Visual Kei for which purposely go against the suppressive traditions, stereotypes and labels within their country. It is believed this experimentation of art in Japan was provoked by the Meiji and Edo Period (from 1603 to 1868) when the industrialisation and consumerism of Western society started to overcome Japanese culture and tradition, resulting in economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policy and population stability. Evidently much of the Manga style actually stems from Western ideas and is hypocritically criticized when it is the readers that interpreted and fetishised the characters. This is distinct in Western superhero comics that adorn their characters in revealing and/or form fitting outfits, with emphasis on body shapes that are over-sexualised and dangerous to obtain. Many artists and readers of today would disagree that this range and exaggeration of character designs has vulgar intent because they quite accurately capture how different bodies are and fashionably experimental everyone is in real life through a playful, shocking and thought provoking style.

Another aspect of Astro Boy that is heavily condemned is how graphically the violence is depicted since understandably, something so similar to a children’s comic will be available to younger viewers. In addition, at the time of the mangas rising popularity there wasn’t much thought for potential adult fans, hence why many ended up hugely censored or difficult to come by. Regardless of how explicit some of the illustrations were, from an artistic perspective this sort of censorship is quite unreasonable because it prevents readers from fully experiencing the meanings and emotions Tezuka is trying to convey through rawness, whilst enabling for misunderstanding such as the sexualisation of Astro Boy that was discussed previously. The fact Astro boy falls into the genre of Science Fiction, with the majority of characters involved in fighting (including the protagonist) being robotic further suggests that the violence portrayed shouldn’t be as much of a concern as critics make it out to be as it doesn’t deliberately encourage human harm. However, due to how human-like and heroic Astro Boy is this fear of inspiring younger readers in particular to be a ‘beautiful weapon’ is valid.

Conclusion

In conclusion there is definitely an issue within the Manga industry associated with providing their readers with ‘fan-service’ in a far too revealing way. However, I believe these artistic choices are rarely intended to encourage violent or predatory behaviour, but rather to keep up with rapidly changing trends of topics and styles across the world. Ultimately proving the Manga style is a form of expressionism that is inspired by society and interpreted by the readers.

References:

Matsutani, M. (2009), ‘Manga’: heart of pop culture, Japan Times [September 21, 2016]

Ladd, Fred (2009). Astro Boy and anime come to the Americas: an insider's view of the birth of a pop culture phenomenon. McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3866-2.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's Astro Boy leaping from niche to mainstream (theage.com.au) Vanessa Burrow, March 19, 2006  

9 anime things that Astro Boy did first (syfy.com) Michelle Villanueva, April 26, 2017

Birmingham Museum of Art (2010), Birmingham Museum of Art : guide to the collection, Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Museum of Art, ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5

 Tokyo Fashion. "Genderless Kei - Japan's Hot New Fashion Trend." Medium. January 30, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2020 from https://medium.com/@TokyoFashion/genderless-kei-japan-s-hot-new-fashion-trend-9e25a2c559c6

[brightbeautifulthings]

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

"Most everyone thinks of Smekday as the day the Boov arrived, and as the day they left, one year later. But the longer they've been gone, the less I care about that. The Boov weren't anything special. They were just people. They were too smart and too stupid to be anything else."

Year Read: 2020

Rating: 3/5

About: Gratuity "Tip" Tucci has been assigned a five-page essay on what Smekday--the day that the alien race called the Boov that conquered Earth suddenly left--means to her. But Tip's story far exceeds the assignment, and before long, she finds herself chronicling her journey from start to finish. Her mother was abducted the day the Boov arrived, and Tip goes on a journey to find her, first in Florida where the Boov relocated all the humans, and then to Arizona (when they decided they wanted Florida for themselves). Along the way, she becomes unlikely allies with a fugitive Boov who calls himself J.Lo and learns of a threat even greater than the Boov: an alien race called the Gorg who conquer every world for its resources. Trigger warnings: death, explosions, violence, severe injury, car accidents, racism (some countered).

Thoughts: I have a tendency to imprint on the first media I come into contact with, so I ended up liking Home (2015) more than its source material, but it's almost not even a fair comparison. It's one of those cases of taking the same premise to tell two totally different stories, and Home is definitely geared and sanitized for a younger audience than The True Meaning of Smekday. The film misses a lot of the larger, messier themes like colonialism and racism and trades them for themes of belonging and perspective (but I love the adorable movie ending). I enjoyed the deeper themes of the novel and feel like its slightly older audience would be ready for them. There's a strong parallel between the Boov "discovering" Earth and relocating its population to British-American treatment of Native Americans, and it includes a Native American side character later in the story.

Character-wise, I didn't always find Tip to be quite that believable. She often comes off more as a cynical old man than a twelve-year-old girl, which I think is partly her complicated relationship with her mother (with Tip sometimes having to play the mother role herself) and partly the author creeping into the character. J.Lo is about as silly as an alien character who names himself J.Lo would be, but I enjoyed the way his and Tip's friendship develops over the course of the novel from grudging allies to almost family. The Boov and Gorg cultures are also well-developed, and it's surprisingly science fiction heavy for a middle grade book. (A little too sci-fi for me, truth be told, but I like the idea of a female lead in a genre that's often male-centric.)

I don't like the essay structure of the book, and I don't feel like it best serves the story that's being told. Tip's first essay is barely an introduction on the topic, and she ends up writing the rest of it to be read only after she's old and dead. Again, this comes off extremely cynical for a kid, and I think the action of the story would have been better from a first or third person narrator instead of in Tip's "words." The other genres included are a fun diversion though, from photographs (illustrations) of some of the characters to J.Lo's comics about Boov life. The ending veers into the ridiculous, at least from an adult perspective, but I can see it working well for a middle grade sense of humor. I'm not quite the right audience for it, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from picking it up.

[fredenglish]

Feature Friday: Nishta Mehra

Recently, I had the honor of being able to interview Nishta Mehra, the author of the book Brown, White and Black. An intimate collection of essays on motherhood and intersectionality in the modern world, the book deals with the process of raising a child in a household which incorporates diversity in both race and sexuality. Her demeanor, ever polite and cheerful, brought a warmth to Fredonia which any local could tell you was sorely needed in these winter months, and her insight on the cultures of both modern America and the publishing business exhibited a wisdom which both charmed and inspired all at once. 

“The book was a way to think about private domestic life,” Nishta began, as I asked her what her goal was in publishing her collection. “Which was, on some level, uncomplicated, and beautiful, and intimate. Yet even inside your house, you know what your kids are going to have to face when they leave, and you know what’s going to come with that. Conversations about what it means to be a family; discussions about parenting, and what people assume about that and its connection to biology. Those are things I wanted to try and explore from a personal perspective, but also from the perspective of how it reflects on a larger level.”

I asked Nishta if all of her work, then, came from personal experiences, and whether she felt that her book gave voice to demographics which have historically lacked one. Her response, funnily enough, was more pragmatic in its beginning than I had expected, but quickly veered into meaningful insights on the impact of both her work and others of its kind. 

“I don’t know how to write fiction,” she said with surprising honesty. “I admire people who do, but I don’t know how to be one of them. I find it far too intimidating to start from a blank page and imagine things, so I have to start with my own set of experiences.”

She took a moment, presumably to think over how better to explain how she felt about the impact of her literature. “I am a writer,” she said, “but I am a reader first. So I know what it’s like to read something and to feel so grateful that it was written. There are so many historical narratives we might want to go back to and recontextualize, but we can’t, because many of those narratives have been lost or silenced. So I found that writing about my family’s experiences can be very useful in the future, both for people who see themselves in the story, but also for people who don’t, and now think about their own experiences differently.”

I found that particular point interesting. So many times in history, the narratives of marginalized people have been squashed by the forces of those in power, suppressed and kept from the public eye because they either threatened the status quo, or simply weren’t seen as exploitable. I wondered to what extent Nishta felt this had changed, and asked her how much time and place had played a role in enabling or constraining her ability to say what she wanted to. 

“That’s a good question. Definitely both. There’s a sense in which you know it’s an industry, and like everything in late stage capitalism, run by a motor of profit. And so in a sense, I’ve benefited greatly from so many people scrambling to try and diversify their publishing lists. I don’t feel that anyone was trying to tokenize me, or use me from a utilitarian perspective, but just in terms of metrics, you know it plays a role. Personally, I got very lucky. My editor found me through some work I published online, and contacted me to ask if I was planning to publish any more. And that’s the dream version of how it works, so my experience was not typical.”

Elaborating on the process of being published, and on the culture of publishing in general, Nishta said “I think what’s hard about it is navigating something you know almost nothing about. You get the sense that once you get to a certain level in publishing, things will operate differently- it all seems like a secret society, and you wonder what the secret handshake is-- but it’s not; they’re all just people. But there are a lot of aspects of ‘who you know,’ and who your agent knows. Not that that’s different from any other industry in that way. But when it’s something as intimate as your personal story, it’s hard to reckon with the fact that there are factors at play that you can’t control.”

That topic, of control, was reminiscent of a crucial theme in Nishta’s book. Very often, she had written, the process of parenting a child became a question of protection; how much should a child be protected as they grow up in the world, and to what extent should they be exposed to the very real issues which they will one day face? I asked in particular what her experience was with helping her child develop their own sense of identity in the modern world, and whether her methods differed greatly from those of her own parents. 

“I think the personal identity stuff has been very important for us to do two things; one, to make sure that she has a world she can move around in, and is safe. And what that’s created is a situation in which when we talk about how the rest of the world may respond to her, her response is ‘well, that’s a them problem.’ She doesn’t internalize it, which in a way is fascinating to watch.”

When I asked Nishta what she meant by this internalization of the world's struggles, her response was extensive. “I get the experiences of watching my kid move around in a way that wouldn’t have been conceivable ten years ago-- but I still have students who are afraid to come out to their parents. There’s a lot of damage which is still being done to children, but we are also finding pockets of freedom, where we can see what is possible when a kid doesn’t have to fight for their identity as much as they used to. For so many of us that are queer and of a certain age, we didn’t even know what that would look like.”

As we ended, I asked Nishta whether or not she felt that this diversification of voices, this progressive movement we’ve seen the literary industry taking over the last decade, would change. The response was optimistic, yet tinged with realism.

“I like to look at the young adult literature section as a microcosm, and watching what’s happened there, is interesting how that subset has grown so much faster than both children’s literature and adult literature. It’s some incredible new authors and narratives. And a lot doesn’t feel forced-- I feel there have been genuine openings for people who are trying to tell their own stories. You have a very active community of authors who are outspoken about what they do. I wonder whether it will continue. I doubt it, because the industry is such a dinosaur, and that’s something you really learn-- yet I think more people are finding more power to express their narratives, especially through the media. You’re seeing a lot of really high quality writing online.”

Ultimately, I concluded that Nishta is a writer who best operates when bringing order to a chaotic environment. Her position as a mother and teacher, writer and speaker, fit together neatly to provide blanket guidance for a society which has still yet to adjust to the profound changes which have occurred in the last decade or so. In our present circumstances, many who fall on the spectrum of marginalized people see the very real threats to their livelihoods which have cropped up in recent years. Yet these threats are matched by a slew of creative and diverse writers, whose narratives give voice to the struggles of marginalized peoples across the nation. They comfort not only those who struggle to live and develop in a world which so often rejects them, but enlighten the minds of those who may never have taken into consideration the struggles of their peers. I believe that with the efforts shown by Nishta and others, as well as the countless voices of progressive writers and readers across the United States, real change can continue to be made in the literary world, endlessly diversifying the narratives we have available to us, until everyone has a voice. Written and edited by: Henry McClure

[sterekweek-2024]

Hey hey Sterek Fans! Today is the day that we announce our 2018 Sterek Week Schedule!! Without further ado, here’s the theme schedule for this year’s Sterek Week!

Thursday October 25th- Scooby-Wolf: Supernatural fans may be somewhat familiar with this one, as last season's "Scoobynatural" episode was one of the most well loved in the show's history (and definitely my personal favorite!) We at Sterek Week are ENORMOUS Scooby Doo fans, but don't let that fool you! You DO NOT have to use actual Scooby Doo charectors in your work at all! You can if you want to, but rather than this being a crossover, this theme is alot more about the theme of Scooby Doo it's self- young adults going out to unmask monsters and solve mysteries! You can use the theme of "Scooby Doo" any way you'd like, it could be a crossover, or you can take that simple mystery-solving theme and use it for Stiles and Derek (there's already a taste of that in canon if you don't want to go full AU) or you could even use one of Scooby's famous monsters for them to fight.... and maybe make it real, the sky is the limit for this one, so grab a box of Scooby Snacks and climb in the Mystery Machine! (Quick note: If anyone does intend to use a monster from the Scooby series and isn't sure what to go with, Admin Void and Admin Asagi, your local Scooby fanatics, are more than happy to assist!)

Friday October 26th- Lyrics and Quotes: This is one theme that can truly, easily bridge across any fanwork medium with ease, be it a video set to music, a songfic, graphics covered in quotes, or art inspired by lyrics, let your imagination run free with any words that inspire you! They can be dark, light, romantic, angsty, from fiction or real life, there are no limits, and CERTAINLY feel free to include more than one if you’re so inspired!

Saturday October 27th- Vampires: Throughout literary history, werewolves and vampires have long been enemies, but it wasn't always that way, in fact, many believe that the popularity of the werewolf was partly launched by Dracula, who's favorite forms included not only bats, but also cats, ravens..... and wolves, this is your chance to vamp up Teen Wolf in any form you choose! Are werewolves and vampires mortal enemies? Are they freinds? Can they become hybrids? We want to know, so sink your teeth into this theme and let your vamp flag fly!

Sunday October 28th- Alternate Canon: We've all had our complaints about canon, but the Sterek community is a very diverse fanbase, meaning that controversial topics like taking Derek's Alpha powers, Stiles joining the FBI, and even weather or not Sterek should have become canon in the first place, are less fandom-wide agreements and more matters of personal taste, but no matter how much you like (or dislke) canon, you surely have atleast ONE complaint... and now is the time to fix-it! Alternate canon however you'd like! Be it in a big way (magic!Stiles, no Hale fire, alive Laura Hale) or a small way (everything is the same except... Stiles keeps his jeep in 6A, the sheriff's name is John, Derek DOES have a cell phone) this is your chance to put a band-aid on whatever burn canon may have caused!

Monday October 29th- Scene Stealer: Take a scene, any scene, from any show/book/movie, and Sterek it! Do Stiles and Derek have to stop Thanos from getting the Infinity Gauntlet? Maybe Stiles is an exceptional assassin... with an exceptional desire for Detective Derek Hale? Do the two of them take part in the annual Purge? Or maybe they both want to save the world of their favorite virtual reality? Maybe someone can fix that Bleach redux, if you’ve ever thought “Hey this scene would have been SO much better with Sterek..” then this is the theme for you!

Tuesday October 30th- Witch Hunt: Ahh witches, over the course of time they've really done a 180 from the believed-to-be-pure-evil of Dracula to getting their wands and brooms for an adventure at Hogwarts, there are classically bad witches, good witches, and everything in between, but perhaps the darkest moment in the history of witches is the Salem Witch Trials... but just because that's the most famous witch hunt, it's far from the only, now Stiles and Derek will have to battle witch hunters themselves, are they after Stiles for being a witch? Maybe in an AU, Derek is the one who possesses magic? Or maybe it's canon and they both have to rescue a witch from being hunted? Anything you can come up with is our pleasure to see, so cast a spell and remember- DON'T burn the witch!

Wendsday October 31st- Halloween: Our last day this year is my personal favorite day of every year: Halloween!! From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, let your love for Sterek rule the night! The best part of Halloween themes is that you can use the actual holiday as Halloween for your theme- picking out costumes, trick or treating, and carving pumpkins, or you can just use what Halloween REPRESENTS- the celebration of all things magic, haunted, and living in the shadows, or hey, you can always combine it! You could also mix Halloween mythologies and modern day Halloween, maybe something special happens to werewolves on Halloween, maybe the Hales have always had a history of Halloween parties and some wicked pixies take over, maybe Stiles goes to the woods as Little Red Riding Hood and his Big Bad Wolf is waiting there for him… this may be the end of Sterek Week this year, but mark my words, as long as there is Halloween, there will be Sterek Week!

We’re so excited to announce these themes, and even more excited to see your work in October! Now that the themes are here, it’s time to start your engines, and gear up for Sterek Week 2018!!

[liskantope]

Back during my early days on Tumblr, around the time I started here actually, I started reading Questionable Content comics from the beginning, 10 per day, to catch up to the current ones (at the time the comics numbered just over 3000). The day I finished the first 1000 I blogged about it, and then after the 2000th and 3000th I reblogged to update my review. The final reblog, from December 15th, 2015, is here.

The 4000th QC comic came out on Friday, and I’ve decided that in keeping with tradition it’s time to write a review of the past 1000 (although I’m doing it in a fresh post and not reblogging because apparently back in 2015 I hadn’t discovered readmore links yet and the post would look annoyingly long). So let’s get right to it... under the readmore link which I now know is a thing.

This past thousand comics, more than the previous runs of 1000, happens to converge upon a few prominent themes and one very prominent new character: Bubbles. As Bubbles is introduced soon after comic #3000 and is then heavily developed through the next thousand comics, with many of the story arcs (including the longest one ever seen in QC) centering on her, I might call the period of this past thousand comics The Year of Bubbles or something like that if in fact it were only a year instead of almost four (The 200-Week-Period of Bubbles doesn’t roll off the keyboard quite as nicely).

More generally, this webcomic has taken the AI theme to a whole new level in the past thousand comics with Bubbles’ introduction and development only the most major component of this -- whereas the presence of AI was a very minor and almost awkward side-issue in the early days of QC, the comic has now gone full-on robot-themed. I’d estimate that something in the ballpark of one third of the content in the #3000′s was focused on robots’ interactions and relationships with each other -- I think for the first time one could say it passed the AI-rights analog of the Bechdel test. Some 1000 comics ago I remember being mildly impatient at how robot-themed the content was getting, perhaps out of a vague feeling that the human characters were the ones I identified with the most (perhaps in the QC universe, and possibly the real world before the end of my lifetime, this would be considered a semi-subconscious form of bigotry which I can’t call “human-ism” but would deserve some term). I particularly remember not being enthralled with Bubbles when she was first introduced and was slightly irritated that she was immediately taking center stage.

But Bubbles, as well as the story arcs involving AIs in general, grew on me a lot, not just as an allegory of real-life social justice issues but as stories which provoke ideas and questions that I find interesting in their own right. In the case of the comics involving Bubbles, I think they mainly show just how masterful the cartoonist Jeph Jacques’ writing and approach to character development has become. Every bit of dialog taking place between Bubbles and other characters (particularly Faye of course) is gold, often without a single word that could be changed. The sequence of scenes during the #3700′s through which Faye and Bubbles finally get together is the epitome of this and in my opinion the very best writing we’ve seen in QC.

The actual outcome of Faye and Bubbles winding up in a relationship with each other, along with all the constant hints and speculation and build-up leading up to it, now that I have much more mixed feelings about. It precisely puts its finger on one of the main ever-present aspects of the ethos of QC which I’ve complained about before more than once and wound up calling “sex-causality”. Part of me wishes I hadn’t spent as many words ranting about this issue and I’m still uncertain on exactly how I categorize it, as purely a personal distaste or something more objective that does happen in certain subcultures and is bad when pushed on members who are uncomfortable with it, or what. But I do think the slow development of Faye/Bubbles over the course of most of the past thousand comics deserves a brief discussion as an example. There are two prongs to this thing: the fact that Faye and Bubbles getting together was the outcome, and the intermittent banter of all of the other characters about that outcome through hundreds of comics in approaching it.

With regard to their getting together in a both romantic and sexual relationship, it would go against my principles to oppose something like this. That said, it’s a departure from what we knew about Faye (which, to QC’s credit, is openly acknowledged), I would imagine that in a universe with human-like still-made-of-metal AI such a thing would still be somewhat more unusual than it’s given credit for being in the comic. Then again, it’s almost impossible not to underestimate the variety and frequency of still-under-discussed sexualities that are out there (e.g. romantic love and sexual attraction towards metal objects is definitely a thing), and certainly it makes the story more interesting, which after all is part of the writer’s job. No, what I think bothers me here is what feels like an under-representation or under-recognition of profoundly intimate friendships that don’t at any point contain an element of one party wanting to sleep with the other -- does there have to be a sexual element to every relationship that’s deep? It was mainly for this reason, I guess, that once I saw a meaningful (platonic) relationship blossoming between Faye and Bubbles, and noticed how well it was written and how much good it was doing each of them, that I feel it was a really beautiful thing as it was and began actively rooting against the ship that most of the other characters were rooting for.

As for the speculation between the other characters, well, if you’ve been following QC and my posts on this issue like the one I linked to above (those of you who have even made it up to this point in this post!), then you might guess rightly that my main reaction was profound annoyance. I don’t like getting on my high horse about other mostly-inoffensive adults acting kind of immature because I’m trying to stay open to it possibly being a personal-taste thing and maybe mostly on my end, but, well, I thought a lot of the banter irritating in a way that perceived immaturity irritates me. These two comics epitomize what I find annoying, and the “You just... seem to care about her a lot, that’s all” line at the start of this one points to precisely my complaint about the existence of deep platonic friendships not being recognized. Anyway, by the time we got past the dinner conversation in the comics I just linked to, I was throwing up my hands and fully onboard with the Faye/Bubbles ship just to finally be done with all the excited speculative giggling. And as I said, when it finally did happen, the writing (including of the reactions of other characters) was fantastic.

To (finally) change the topic away from Bubbles, some of my emotional reaction to QC has shifted subtly while the last thousand comics were coming out. The period of publication from #3001 to #4000 happens to have spanned a segment of my life (which will hopefully be ending soon) in which I’ve felt quite lonely and isolated. And watching all the interactions going on in the QC world makes me feel... not nostalgic exactly because I was never really part of a social circle quite like Marten’s... but rather bittersweet because of how much I’d like to be in so many ways. QC presents a fictional environment that in the confines of my brain I often call a “social utopia” or, perhaps slightly less ridiculously, something like a “social circle / subcultural utopia”. It’s poor terminology because the QC universe on the whole isn’t a utopia in any sense of the word -- in fact there are plenty of social ills that form the backdrop of many storylines -- and even when confined to looking at how the particular social circle operates “utopia” doesn’t seem like an appropriate term. But the variety of people in the social group, the places, they meet, and the way they interact with each other all seems to click together and operate in what I would consider -- and I believe the artist Jeph Jacques would consider -- to be pretty close to idyllic. I like especially how much diversity there is among the characters, both in their backgrounds and interests as well as their quirks, and how completely at ease and accepting they are of each other in spite of or almost because of them. There’s this vibe of “We’re all a little weird but we share the same values about how to be decent human beings, so let’s all revel in our weirdness together and be there for each other through thick and thin!” (Of course there are some bad characters lying on the periphery and kinda-sorta-dicks like Sven who are mostly excluded from the group, but that’s not the core of the world.) With few exceptions, conflicts are resolved in a very systematic way and almost immediately (with only a couple of exceptions that did eventually end happily).

And as a matter of fact, even during times when I was fairly socially happy, I was never part of any group that was so exemplary in this particular way. But reading QC, which is hopefully at least somewhat drawn from the cartoonist’s own experiences, sort of gives me hope or at least a very concrete means of imagining such a crowd. And even if I did feel the need to gripe from time to time about what I call the “sex-casual” norms that permeate the group interactions, honestly in the grand scheme of things that’s just something I could live with or even enjoy if comes through in a non-pushy, non-conformist way, in order to be part of such a welcoming and healthy family.

[nicoolios]

The Power of the Dystopia

What do nanotechnology, young adult dystopias, and zombies learning to love again have in common? As the old meme says, the answer may surprise you. By nanotechnology I mean Michael Grant’s BZRK trilogy, by young adult dystopias I will focus mostly on The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and by zombies learning to love again I am referencing Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies. Each of these books will be discussed in great depth in how they relate to the common theme of power in the following collection of literary criticisms. Power surfaces in BZRK through the obsessive lengths the characters go to to maintain it with superior technology and firepower. The Hunger Games refrains from the subject of actively maintaining power, but its story accurately depicts a society where power is exploited to keep its poorer citizens in line. The zombies in Warm Bodies regain power in a world that exists to destroy them by relearning language. Again, each of those topics will be explained at the introduction’s conclusion in their individual essays, but I will add a bit more clarity later on in these opening remarks.

This issue, which puts power front and center in the spotlight, tackles problems pertinent to the world we live in today by using a wide variety of popular books to reach the widest reader base possible. All of them can be considered young adult fiction, but each series pushes the boundaries of the genre. The Hunger Games specifically doubles as political commentary, BZRK is hardcore science fiction written for the eyes of teenagers, and Warm Bodies is technically a zombie romance.

As previously stated, The Hunger Games is political commentary, which only gets all the sweeter the more the political scene in the United States and around the world goes south. The main character Katniss lives in District 12, the poorest of the twelve districts, and is forced to hunt illegally to keep her mother and sister fed. District 1, the wealthiest district home to people so rich they take medicine to force themselves to throw up at parties so they can continue eating the fanciest, most expensive food, holds the Hunger Games every year to keep all the other districts in line. All three books in the series have the same background: the rich exist to stay rich, and the rich have all the power, so when District 13 starts the rebellion it sends them into a panic. The entirety of Mockingjay, the third book of the trilogy, is about that very topic. Money plus power equals bad guy, especially in this series. In regards to the essay on The Hunger Games, not only is there a common theme of power in all three books and all four movies, there are also real-life connotations for both the people spending money on the series and the young adult genre in general. While the essay specifically talks about the genre and what political books do for readers of young adult fiction, The Hunger Games just so happens to be the most popular representation.  

BZRK also deals with money and power and rich people trying to control the universe, but this time it is set in contemporary New York, rather than the fictional Panem. In this universe nanotechnology, which was originally developed to cure cancer, is instead weaponized and is used by both the good and the bad guys. The bad guys, the Armstrong twins and their lackeys Nexus Humanus, want to use nanotech to brainwash the planet into their cult through “sustainable happiness.” The good guys, BZRK, want to protect free will by using their own nanotechnology, biots individually linked to one user, to manipulate others. The whole concept is built on shady deals and backwards justification on both ends of the stick. Both sides think they are in the right, think they are the ones with access to the most power, both already have access to the money and resources that will get them that power. The Armstrong twins spend the series doing everything they possibly can to become rulers of the world, while their second in command Bernofsky goes mad with power and wants to destroy the world with nanobots that feed on carbon. Most of BZRK New York’s plotlines are about playing catch up to Nexus Humanus and holding on to what little power they have. By the trilogy’s conclusion the proper balance that everyone was fighting over has been restored, eliminating the need for technology-based power.

A book about zombies learning to love again seems like a stretch. How could power possibly be involved? Half the main characters are dead. And judging by the movie, there is no possible way for the former dead to regain the power they lost upon getting into their current predicament by reteaching themselves how to speak and act human again. But there it is. The movie is a better illustration of it, but the novel still details R, an incredibly articulate zombie, struggling through a language barrier to communicate with his human captive turned friend turned girlfriend Julie. At the beginning the most R can get out are a few grunts to the zombie he deems his best friend, M. When Julie finds herself the survivor of a zombie attack but the only member of her group still alive and unable to make it back home, she ends up at the airport R lives in. The two of them form a relationship different from the usual zombie eats human, even though R ate Julie’s boyfriend during the attack where they met. Julie teaches R English, pop culture, and how to be human again. The zombies must fight to prove they can become what they once were again, first and foremost by Julie demonstrating R is physically able to love her. As they become living again they go through their own revolution.

These essay’s order in this collection is due to their subject matter and relativity to the real world. The Hunger Games takes place in a fictional country similar enough to our own to make accurate political commentary. BZRK takes place in real life New York, and its plot is one that might happen with how quickly nanotechnology is developing. Warm Bodies’ setting is never specified, but the aftermath of the apocalypse is clear, and for all we know it could be right next door to where we grew up. They move from the clearly fake to the it might just be real, from this could never happen to me to holy crap, this might be happening right now. Please see the meanings these novels preach, what lurks between the lines. Right now this kind of commentary is more important than ever. With people being censored and completely silenced right and left, these books are clearly about power and its consequences, both by exploiting it and by regaining it.

"If Peeta and I were both to die, or they thought we were....My fingers fumble with the pouch on my belt, freeing it. Peeta sees it and his hand clamps on my wrist. ‘No, I won't let you.’ ‘Trust me,’ I whisper. He holds my gaze for a long moment then lets go. I loosen the top of the pouch and pour a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm. Then I fill my own. ‘On the count of three?’ Peeta leans down and kisses me once, very gently. ‘The count of three,’ he says. We stand, our backs pressed together, our empty hands locked tight. ‘Hold them out. I want everyone to see,’ he says. I spread out my fingers, and the dark berries glisten in the sun. I give Peeta's hand one last squeeze as a signal, as a good-bye, and we begin counting. ‘One.’ Maybe I'm wrong. ‘Two.’ Maybe they don't care if we both die. ‘Three!’ It's too late to change my mind. I lift my hand to my mouth taking one last look at the world. The berries have just passed my lips when the trumpets begin to blare. The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouts above them. ‘Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you - the tributes of District 12!’” (The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins).

Young Adult dystopias have been an important part of American culture for so long it feels like they have always been there. As children we had The Hunger Games, which later spawned Divergent, The Maze Runner, Uglies, and countless others. In school we read 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange, and the list goes on and on. Their movie and television show adaptations are everywhere. Everyone has a favorite example. So when Moretti's data suggests the genre bubble will burst in the coming years, it is kind of hard to believe. The genre is still going strong, and for good reason. Young Adult dystopias have something the classics neglect: diversity. Katniss Everdeen is a physically and mentally disabled woman of color surrounded by other females, people of color, people with disabilities, people from every walk of life. When The Hunger Games shot up the best sellers list Katniss inspired Tris Pryor in Divergent, Teresa in The Maze Runner, and Tally Youngblood in Uglies. The sheer volume of books and characters guarantees there is something for everyone. Everyone turned out to be mostly adult women and teenage girls. It is the reading power of the latter that presents my point: so long as we live in the world we do, with the current political climate active, and with a steady stream of strong female characters willing to stand up to oppressors, there will be a need for the genre. Multiple people see that need and write books based upon what they think needs to be said. This bubble, much like the superhero movie one, will stay untouched until the world proves it has no need for that kind of fiction anymore. Therefore, I think the genre is here to stay for years to come.

Seeing yourself in a character on the big screen or on the page is so incredibly important. Some little girl with hearing issues read about Katniss' ear trauma and saw herself; if for whatever reason she was unable to get it fixed, related to Katniss refusing surgery to restore her hearing. Or someone living under an oppressive government learning first that they should fight back and then it is okay to do so. Or that people bullying you for something outside your control deserve to be called out on their behavior. Or any number of things prevalent in what makes it big in the genre these days. The books that make it big pave the way for even greater diversity to truly reach the entire reader base. Those might carry on as something no one has ever heard of, but reach the right audience and lives can be changed. I feel like the genre will be around for quite a while. Not just because it is one of my favorites to both read and write for, but also because it is important. We are faced with the possibility of the complete destruction of life as we know it. Someone must recognize what is going on and do something about it. At this point they might as well be fictional, but that is the only way to get the ball rolling.  

“Tell me something, Noah. Which is more important: freedom or happiness?' What was this, a game? But Nijinsky wasn't smiling. 'You can't be happy unless you’re free,' Noah said" (BZRK, Michael Grant).  

Michael Grant's BZRK trilogy depends upon nanotechnology to further its plot, give motivation for characters and their development, provide multiple bad guys, and generally make BZRK what they are. One of the main character's father invented biots, part human machines smaller than the head of a needle, capable of acting on the controller's behalf within a body. The good guys, BZRK, use biots reluctantly to fight the bad guys, Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation. AFGC is a cover for the cult Nexus Humanus which wants to take away free will to guarantee eternal happiness. This war is mostly fought at the nano level. Even during "macro" fights, with guns and fists, the focus is always on protecting the nano. Emphases placed on the nano and neglecting the macro, which is only protected by BZRK's enforcer Caligula, exists because of only looking at the available technology and how to improve it. When the original tech, designed to cure cancer, fails and is proven archaic, BZRK only wants to move forward with more advanced biots. Benjamin argues for only looking to the future, for using tech to get and maintain power. The Armstrong twins (founders of AFGC) only maintain their power through superior firepower and lots of unethical manipulation. Under the guise of innocent gift shops across the globe they plot to control world leaders and, therefore, everyone on the planet. That is an extension of Benjamin's philosophy. AFGC has money and manpower, giving them the ability to accomplish their goals. BZRK only has the money, but its members are determined to prevent doomsday. Their conflict over who's in control spans three novels.

There is a connection here with how the world is going today. We even touched upon it in class. For the longest time everyone was obsessed with the technology of tomorrow made today. Classic standbys like books or physical music or playing outside fell by the wayside as electronics fell in the hands of the youth. Why use what cavemen did when you can use what Marty McFly did? For the longest time my younger sister and I were the only kids on our street playing outside. We made fun of our neighbors three doors down for having a pool and never going in it. My parents still can't drag me out of ours. At restaurants we read books, my sister drew and I wrote or, heaven forbid, actually talked to each other. Then, out of nowhere, that changed. The many, many little kids living in the cul-de-sac behind us were outside screaming at all hours of the day. One time we saw our neighbors in their pool. Tables around us when we went out to eat started implementing a no phones rule. The shift was real and, according to the Internet, commonplace. Retro was becoming hip again. We aren't the only people who feel that way, but we're the ones making it happen.  

"In my mind I am eloquent; I can climb intricate scaffolds of words to reach the highest cathedral ceilings and paint my thoughts. But when I open my mouth, everything collapses” (Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion).  

Whoever controls language controls culture. Whoever controls the culture has all the power. Whoever has all the power writes all the rules, determines humanity's fate, and generally determines the ongoing nature of life. While a lot of stories tackle that concept, Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion handles it without beating around the bush. It's about the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, sure, but it is told through the point of view of a very articulate zombie. The narrative hints rather heavily at the main character, R, being the only zombie outside of the Boneys capable of higher thought. It is only with the help of a human that he learns basic speech. The surviving humans are the only ones capable of speech, of making sure human culture does not die out. Them being able to talk makes them superior to zombies, even after zombies become human again at the novel's conclusion. The settlement the novel focuses on is run based on that fact. It is only poetic that the leader, Colonel Grigio, is the father of the woman R is in love with and the one who sparks the change from zombie to human. Colonel Grigio controls the whole narrative, both the book's and the city he runs. Zombies are to be shot on sight, anything dead must stay out of the walled city, and the language he uses to spread that information reflects how deeply rooted his control extends. On the other hand, R is the first zombie capable of replicating full human speech. By the end the other zombies learn speech as well. Them relearning speech perfectly coincides with them wrenching power from the Boneys in their twisted society and, a bit later, wrenching power from the humans when they rejoin the society they used to know. Language lets them write their own culture again, this time as rediscovered human beings.

I feel like not a lot of zombie books take advantage of exploring the concept of retaking a culture through language. It is a topic that is easily applicable to the genre. World War Z comes close, but that is the best example I can think of. What is happening right now with millennials and gen z is the closest real-life example. I tried tackling the concept in my own zombie novel Flowers Die specifically because I am unable to find anything quite like Warm Bodies or even World War Z on bookshelves. The main character comes back from the dead, but because she reanimated through the original radiation and not a classic bite, she is still fully mentally articulate and, later, verbally as well. As the apocalypse spreads zombies like her become increasingly rarer. She joins the military and fights to take back the culture she once knew by force. Her and her friends are superior by nature. Her husband, who eventually dies to prove the point, used to be a lawyer, defending traditional culture with evolving language. Later on, she meets a young woman trapped by isolation in the woods bound by her lack of language and loss of the culture that raised her. Reintroduction to what she used to know helps bring her back. This is all a work in progress, but as the old saying goes, if you want something specific you have to write it yourself.

[northernreads]

Canada Reads 2018 Day 1

Alright so I finally got a chance to listen to day one Canada Reads and I’m left with a couple of thoughts so far.

First, in regards to The Marrow Thieves. I cannot believe this is not obvious, but apparently it needs to be said: just because it is a YA book does not mean that it cannot be looked at, examined, critiqued, and explored beyond that single aspect. It’s an issue that Canada Reads (and CBC Books in general) cannot shake. YA is a market category that simply states that the book has been marketed towards young adults (beyond that YA is vastly diverse and cannot exactly be defined in any closer way that does not then exclude books that fall under YA). But that does not negate its possible value and insight. YA does not mean watered down version of adult. Let me repeat that, YA does not mean watered down version of adult. 

Admittedly the defenders are treating this book with more respect than I recall the last YA book receiving overall (I believe the last short listed YA book was When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid in 2015, but I may be missing one). Despite this respect they are consistently distancing themselves from the story by saying things along the lines of (paraphrased) ‘I don’t get it but maybe it’s because it’s for teens’ or ‘maybe this carries more weight with a younger audience’. It comes across as rather condescending, even though I doubt that is their intention. Throughout the debate today I got the sense that everyone agreed that The Marrow Thieves is a great and important book... for kids. But not for Canadians. Because obviously the themes and topics brought up in a YA book can not possibly apply to more than just teenagers. There is no possible way for a book written with the upcoming generation in mind will have any possible value. 

I’m told that CBC is supposedly trying hard to pull in younger audiences. But how is a young adult/teen audience supposed to feel when the books written with them in mind is spoken down to in the biggest battle of the books event in the country (the world perhaps?) and when the “real” literature (aka adult lit) is treated with instant respect. Why would young listeners bother to pay attention to the choice book of the year when they are not even considered part of its potential audience?

I will not be surprised if (when?) The Marrow Thieves is voted off, because YA books are not on a level playing field on Canada Reads. The defender must waste their breath trying to convince people that YA books have value and can tell universal stories, before they can even get to the merits of that individual story. Adult lit books, (so long as they do not stray into genre fiction) are assumed to carry value. Their value is not questioned and time need not be wasted to prove it, their individual stories get to championed right from the get go. 

I have no deep ending to that rant. Mostly I want to get to my second point and say, I cannot believe it was almost a 5 way tie! I was not able to get a hold of The Boat People (I’m still on several library waiting lists) so I can’t say I was said to see it voted off first. But from here on out things are going to get intense. I cheering for The Marrow Thieves, kind of expect it to go to American War because it’s already been commercially successful (and hey, isn’t that really why last year’s winner won?), but I have a funny feeling that Forgiveness might surprise me. Precious Cargo was wonderful, but as was mentioned earlier on CBC, people do not take comedy seriously as an art and I think that this book’s light and humorous tone will only hamper it in this situation.

Anyone else follow Canada Reads?  What are your thoughts on this years books?

For those that have no clue what I’m talking about (probably everybody), Canada’s public broadcasting service (CBC) runs a battle of the books event called Canada Reads where five books are chosen and defended by (usually celebrity) people to see which book Canada should read that year. 

Also tagging @be-fantastic because I remember you messaging me about this awhile back (I think it was you but I lost your message somehow!)

[flameysaur]

So. This is going to be a rant about the most topical of subjects: the ending of Avatar: The Last Airbender!

This is something I discussed with @harunohoe but I remember when Avatar finally ending there was a lot of bitterness. Now I’m in the zutara side of that shipping war. (The right side.) But there was a lot of bitterness among people I talked to that had little to do with the ship. It felt like it did, because Katara centered the discussion, but it wasn’t. Later, when Harry Potter ended, I noticed an interesting echo, and I think it comes from the same place.

The finale for Avatar: The Last Airbender felt wrong with the rest of Season 3. It had the same feel, scope and depth as season 1. Season 1 was epic. It’s easy to forget because seasons 2 and 3 so blew it out of the water, but Season 1 was large. It was deep. It had pathos and engagement and fun. If the finale had come at the end of Season 1, I don’t think a lot of people would have the feeling that something was off the way they did when it came at the end of season 3. I think this because I think the finale was written before episode one ever hit the air.

(This is a good thing, btw. When writing serial fiction with a solid end point, you need to know what the end is if you want to keep working towards it. That’s how you avoid ended up in the reeds with no way back except how you got there in the first place.)

But things changed. The Avatar crew was very vocal in they changed things in response to fan criticism. (The amount of female characters in season 2, for example.) And that change included adding depth and character struggles that were so much more than season one Avatar. Especially in season 3 which dealt with adult themes of redemption and darkness with a maturity that I’ve never seen in an adult show. The biggest examples being: Katara’s flirtation with murder and Zuko’s redemption.

Katara is a dark female lead. It’s easy to forget, because she’s the Mom Friend(tm) and she’s so loving and she’s the healer but Katara is also a person that about a month after promising to never use bloodbending again, USED IT. She premeditated an attack to use it and she used emotional blackmail to carry out that attack. Katara has, from season 1, put her friends first, but her feelings before that. She wants to do what’s right, mentally. But emotionally? Katara wants what Katara wants. It’s a complex side of female characters we do not get in fiction. That someone can be both the light and the dark. She is the moon, always shifting between the brightest and darkest points during this very long night.

Then you get Zuko, the masterfully written redemption of a character. I don’t think anyone can argue that Zuko’s change from one dimensional whiny villain to desperately trying to redeem himself boy wasn’t amazing. You could argue it’s the best thing written for television, never mind a kid’s show. And his redemption. His confrontation of his abuse. Him receiving everything he ever asked for and realizing it wasn’t what he needed, then taking the steps to fix his mistakes. All that was beautiful and complex and hard and understated within the show. Which is perfect. The show trusted us with knowing more than they told us, and that’s hard to do.

Both Katara’s darkness and Zuko’s redemption were confronted the most during season 3. They told us this show understood moral complexities without losing its optimism. Katara didn’t kill because she couldn’t. Zuko did the right thing because he wanted to. For all the greyness of them and their actions, they chose the light. Which, again, isn’t something you’re likely to get on an adult show.

Then we have Aang.

One of my, and many people’s, biggest complaint with Aang in the finale was the spiritbending/stripping of bending power. I remember watching a lot of people discuss the morality of that choice. How it wasn’t “better” then killing. How it was more evil and Aang was wrong to do it. And I don’t agree. It was a fight to the death and Aang found an option that wasn’t death because he chose his morality over the easy answer. That should be a good choice. It should be powerful. It should be the culmination of everything Aang has grown to be.

But it wasn’t. Because Aang lost nothing in making the choice.

Season 3 showed us again and again that it was morally complex. This theme continued with Aang realizing everyone expected him to kill Ozai.

(Tangent! This was also something I saw people complain about. I don’t think anyone, really, had an issue with Aang being anti-killing Ozai, but it does not make sense that the death didn’t come up before it did in season 3. Death rules this world. Reminder: Katara was a small child, eight, when she watched her mother get murdered in her own home. That means, from young childhood, Katara knows death can come to anyone and from anywhere. Sokka likewise, was ten, maybe eleven, when his father left to fight in the war. Sokka declared himself a man and asked to go with him. He was a CHILD. And he wanted to go KILL people. That’s brutal. He only agreed to stay because his father framed it as needing him to protect the villiage. Sokka has, since young childhood, decided that his job is to kill to protect his family. Death is a part of these kids in a way most first world people will not understand. You think Sokka or Katara would use “stop” and “destroy” every time they discussed the finale battle? No. They’d use kill. And Aang would have had to have the debate sooner than the last quarter of season 3. End tangent.)

Aang’s character arc, from episode one, is a painfully simple conflict between Want and Need. In writing, the easiest way to create tension in a story is to have your characters Want a Thing, and they do whatever it takes to get that thing, but they Need something different. And if that Need conflicts with their Want, then bam! You get instant story tension.

Aang wants to be Aang from day one. He wants to be the fun loving monk boy who doesn’t hurt anyone, gets along with everyone and always had a hand outstretched. He wants the world to support this boy. He wants to be a child who helps people and travels and makes friends everywhere and has no care greater then taking care of Appa or what his next prank is.

Aang needs to be the Avatar, savior of the world, master of all four elements. In a world that’s desperately unbalanced, he needs to find and maintain balance. Not just in himself, but in everyone around him. He needs to know not only how to solve surface issues, but the deeper issues that arouse from a 100 years of war and conflict.

And in all three seasons, Aang turns down being the Avatar for being Aang. We get told this rather blatantly in the season 2 finale. His love for Katara is holding him back from becoming a fully realized Avatar. And one thing this show fails at in all this telling, is it fails to show it’s not about Katara the person, but Katara the representation of the love he’s found in this time. Aang failed at being an Avatar before the show began because of this same love. They were going to take his beloved master away from him, and so he ran away. Now, a hundred years later, and everything a hundred years worse, he’s making the same choice. His love, his heart, over his duty. Aang doesn’t want to kill the boy in service to the Avatar.

(And if the show focused on this rather than if Aang could totes bang his first crush, we’d not be left feeling that Katara is a rather literal prize that Aang is fighting for, but instead Aang choosing between his humanity and his destiny.)

Now we return to Season 3. Aang has lost contact to his Avatar spirit. But he’s growing closer and stronger with these people he surrounds himself with. By being himself, Aang has formed a family that is as diverse as he has always wanted. He has Zuko, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Suki, and more allies always reaching out to him. Aang has gotten his want, and he thinks he has married it with his need. He is both a boy who is Aang and the Avatar who is going to save the world. He did it. And in the finale we got...yeah. That’s it. Three quarters into Season 3, Aang stops growing as a character and he never starts again.

But here is where things should have changed. Aang has achieved balance, he thinks. He’s not a fully realized Avatar, but he shouldn’t have to be. Being the Avatar in this world is more about being the spiritual guide to the world, the one person who is not attached to any one country and so can help lead them all to balance. Aang can do that as he is. He already has! He has brought balance to his friends and united a group of people from around the world to join him and believe in him. And it can all stay that way.

But he has to kill Ozai.

We remember, I’m sure, the scene where Aang talks to his past lives and they all say, “Yeah, no, smoke the asshole. Kill him dead.” And that was a weird scene. It was supposed to be a dark moment, before Aang figured out a third answer, but...he...didn’t. He talked to a lionturtle, we don’t see what really happens, and then end of show, BAM! Magic answer from no where.

What should have happened, what would have been stronger, is if he’s told in all his lives, there is faint memories of a non-lethal option. He can find and learn that option, but only if he becomes a fully realized Avatar. Aang knows he can’t. He doesn’t want to pay the price, his heart, his self, for that. So his past lives agree. That’s fine. You can do that. You can do everything you’re supposed to do and never reach that finale pinnacle. Many Avatars, great Avatars, never get there. You are best as you are, Aang.

But you will have to kill Ozai.

That’s the cost here. Kill the boy, or kill the man.

And I want to focus on something: neither of these options are evil. Aang would have to make a choice that echoes the very first one he ever made in the series. He can chose the world or himself, but before, when he chose himself, he doomed thousands (at least) to die. This time, no matter what he does, he will save the world. He is not choosing between dooming humanity or dooming his own heart. He is choosing between his heart and his morality.

(Something that, btw, would echo Katara’s journey. She had that choice when she faced her mother’s killer. She chose her morality over her heart. Something Zuko knew she would do because she’d done it once before, with him. In the season 2 finale, Zuko and Katara had their moment and Katara offered the water from the spirit well to him to heal not a debilitating injury or to save his life, but to heal his scar. He is someone who chased her across the world and has tried time and again to kill her best friend but when he showed her weakness, her response was kindness. That’s why Zuko took her to face her mother’s killer. He knew she’d chose empathy in the end because that’s who she is. If Aang was going on this journey, Katara could be brought in to echo what Zuko did for her.)

I also want to say it is very clear what Aang would chose as well: himself. Aang has, from the beginning, been selfish. He’s caring, empathetic and giving, but he is always selfish. From day one, he put the world on hold so he could do what he wanted. The more he started to understand what the world was going through, the more he clung to what he wanted. That’s why Katara became this giant sticking point in the series. He wanted something to make all this worth it. And she, his crush, became that something. That thing he could want and have and hold. And though he and Katara are friends. Though they are best friends, he still turned her into an object in his head. Something for him to clutch to. “You can have this world, but I want this in return.”

And I think, if we confronted this head on, it would give Aang what he needed. Clarity.

Here’s the scene in this story: Aang has learned the price of his Want and his Need. To get what he wants, he only has to kill someone that everyone agrees should be killed. To get what he needs, he has to kill the part of himself that is so desperate to live. And Katara talks with him about it. She relates it to her mother’s death and what Zuko did for her. She tells him that she knows he’ll do the right thing. That he’s a good person, and a good Avatar, and that he will--

And Aang kisses her. Not on the dock before a battle. But here, in this private, intimate moment. A moment where it’s just them as they are, at their best. Friends who love each other. He kisses her and he thinks, yes, I choose this. I chose her. I will always choose her. I love her.

And Katara pulls back. Because she doesn’t love him. Because. She. Doesn’t. I don’t care if she’s kissing Zuko or not. (Though she is.) But she doesn’t love Aang. She, at best, doesn’t like it when the boy who likes her show interest in other people. And as a former fourteen-year-old girl? MOOD. Even not wanting someone, you can get pissy when their attention is given elsewhere. You feel like shit about it, but damnit, it’s yours even if you don’t want it.

Now Aang is kissing her. He crossed that line she put up a long time ago. And made his feelings clear. And her response is, at best, “Not now.” And she leaves. And Aang is alone. And Aang has to come to some realizations about himself.

He expected Katara to fall into his lap. All his stress and angst and fighting for her, he never realized that...he never asked her how she felt about it. In his head, he was fighting for his future with Katara, but it was never about Katara the person. It was always about Katara, the symbol of all his new love he found in this dark future. 

And Aang would look over his friends. He’d watch them go through the nightly routines. He’d see the joy they had (Sokka and Suki flirting casually together.) and he’d see the growth (Toph, loud as she ever is, bullying Zuko, able to take it and smile) and he’s see the darkness (Katara, alone because of him and his feelings and his choices and him not doing the blindingly obvious) and Aang will realize something.

The problem has always been him. Aang, the boy, has been the issue this entire time. The good he’s done, the good he will do, isn’t what this world needs. This world doesn’t need empathy. It needs balance. And Aang gets up. And he leaves.

He goes to the lionturtle. He learns what he needs to know. The finale battle happens. And he is still Aang, the boy. He’s hoping he can make a third choice. He’s hoping, Aang, the boy, is enough. But he isn’t Ozai isn’t willing to be anything less then ruler of the world. Aang fights. Fire, rocks, wind, water. All of it flying at him. At a pivotal point, a dagger of rock is snapped free from the ground around him. Aang throws it, and it’s aiming for Oazi’s neck. And it would kill him, but at the last moment Aang stops it.

Because he made his choice.

He will kill the boy.

And in that moment, he becomes the Avatar.

He takes Ozai’s bending. No longer a cop out “yay no death in our kids show” ending, but the price of peace. Something must die. In this case, it was Aang.

He doesn’t smile as bright after this battle, (though he does still smile.) And he doesn’t laugh as hard (though there is so much laughter to come.) His pranks are smaller (but they do still happen.) Aang still lives, but as a man, and a man who carries the lives of everyone he killed because he was a boy for too long. (And not near long enough. Spirits help him, not nearly long enough.) And he still has his love. His friends gather around him. 

The ending isn’t Aang and Katara kissing. It is Aang, held and loved by the family he formed on his journeys. The reward for Aang isn’t a girl he earned by virtue of saving the world. It is the family he made because Aang, the boy, chose mercy at every turn. Now Aang, the man, still has them. All of them. They all lived. All grew. All loved.

Aang won.

[ethan1220world-blog]

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #1 - Ethan Limsana

During the introduction of our text, we learn many different ways to describe the concept of an audience and how a particular audience has and can function over time. A critical piece in learning about where we are now, is to examine how they began and evolved overtime based on popularity of politics and social needs. In order to relate to these teachings, I will apply them to my modern life with a form of entertainment that I access daily in many different ways and social settings depending on context: music. Whether it be walking through the supermarket with a pair of headphones on, or at a live concert surrounded by crowds of rowdy young adults, music demonstrates a multitude of ways an audience can be affected. I listen to music daily on my phone with the goal of finding melodies that are addicting, and artists that write lyrics that heighten my emotions either by making me feel excited when I’m energized, or depressed when I’m sad. Once I’ve found the right song, I can listen to it many times before I get bored, and look at other works the author has to offer through streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube to choose what else I do and don’t like. This work that I’m doing to curate my music tastes are demonstrating an information based audience by simply listening to the artist and what they have to say about a given topic. It also demonstrates a meaning based view because by choosing I like and don’t like, the artist will see those tracks and adapt future works based on the reviews. Although, these messages would be much different face-to-face by exact knowledge given to one another, I am a part of the mass audience and communicate through my views, likes, and shares. This is my role in obtaining music for low cost, often free, for the large profit organizations that provide me music. Like any other job, I perform these roles when I am the audience member, and when I stop listening, I am no longer an audience member. Although I enjoy listening to 1980s music, my music taste has changed due to shifts in society and me as a demographic. As streaming services kept offering me to listen to rap music for being a young adult male, I eventually tried it, giving into Drake, Young Thug, Tupac, and more. Here, my shift in music taste was a result of the audience-as-outcome model because the media altered my taste. As mentioned before, I filter into the grand scheme of advertising and ratings as an individual on my phone, without a public space to listen or review the music, where most others are listening too. Since this experience is primarily alone, and I have no connection with other listeners, I am part of the audience-as-mass model. Not to say I have no power in this situation, I demonstrate audience-as-agent too by telling social media, and the entertainment providers what I think and ultimately making the final decisions of my interests on my own; in this case I happened to not enjoy older rap music, but enjoy modern rap music because it heightened my excitement. I chose to keep what I enjoyed because it fits me and my lifestyle, as an act of my free will. 

A small percentage of the time I spend with music is live because it costs more money, often requires travel, and isn’t nice for time management, but it's the most engaging and memorable musical experiences I’ve ever had because of the nature of crowds. As a practice dating back to ancient Greek and Roman audiences, concerts are the same in essence; hundreds or thousands of people leave their homes to gather in one specific location to listen to a select few. Here, it is entirely dependent on the people on stage to determine the energy of the crowd. At rap concerts, loud music is played, and messages of substance abuse, and violence are in the lyrics. The crowd responds to this content by showing up to the concert dressed in fashionable clothes, drinking, getting high, and most of all, being rowdy by pushing, shoving, crying, and sometimes even fighting. As feared by the end of the 19th century, live concerts often display the potentially destructive qualities of crowds. As an individual listening to music alone, the reality is relatively unchanged from regular society, but when a crowd gets together, it is a temporary change in that particular society as a collective because individual actions have less consequences associated with them and immediate emotions can freely be demonstrated by all. The positives of the crowd are also unchanged; they create a physical setting for me to go, and create a memorable experience for me to worship someone who was already in power, to reinstate my value in enjoying their music, and keep them in power. 

This power opens up new opportunities for record labels and artists to scheme new ways to alter our decision making process to make choices that continue their revenue flow and keep them in power for as long as possible. For example, Drake and his label OVO, use advertising and multimedia to keep us thinking about his music and persona even when we’re not listening. The money made from live events and music sales, goes into buying and selling merchandise, buying restaurants, maintaining an entertaining Instagram page, and utilizing television and film for documentary and selling the idea of his rich lifestyle. Although it is our own agency and free will to choose what we enjoy, these power moves are made to trigger appeal and to trick us into a cycle of worship.

It is the complete truth that modern rap music is a gold mine for those in power: it is repetitive, subject matter is relatively the same throughout different artists, and it is insanely popular among young viewers who make up most of the internet’s usage in North America. It can be tough for myself to take a moment to realize all that I see online is not real, but I’m one of millions, with many that don’t have the education to consider that. The effects perspective is a lens I can use to think about how I am affected by these powers in media that influence me now, and over time. In order to be informed, and understand why I’ll be advertised certain types of content in the future, is to study why my demographic reacts so positively to rap music. 

As part of mass society, I and others are listening to this music alone, with little to no exposure of the themes suggested aside from movies and tv shows. Mixed with being a young adult, male and naive, this ignorance to the rapper lifestyle is exactly what advertisers capitalize on to gain and keep my attention. We live in a progressive time where racial equality, specifically black, is at the forefront of all media concerns and therefore, our concerns. The issue is that I have no first hand idea what is different in their culture as opposed to mine. There are few popular media that demonstrates African American’s as regular people who do regular daily things; instead the popular discourse uses selective exposure to say they grew up on the street and have become rich and surpassed whites. When music videos and lyrics suggest their lifestyles include endless amounts of money, having sex with multiple women, and killing people they don’t like, there’s actually very little I can actually do to disprove that even though its highly unlikely. Early concerns with mass persuasion worry that even though I have the critical ability to deem what is true and what isn’t, my brain wants to imagine something before it experiences it. I’m only shown stereotypes, so that's all I have the capacity to imagine for the time being. The artists acts as a barrier between me and their affairs; they only let me imagine how rich their lifestyle is for their specific interest of me believing that listening to what they have to say will elevate my life in some way, or keep me racially diverse. 

I keep listening to these fake notions of black culture because, well, it's addicting for me. The Payne studies showed some important facts: intense violence and action scenes were more memorable for boys, the more exposure of similar themes created pronounced beliefs within children, and the interest in sexual themes became more engaging in children as they grew older. The themes I’m exposed to represent delinquencies that parents and teachers have taught me to stay away from, so they are exciting for me to see and fantasize about. It is an over-saturated market also, so I have more pronounced internal feelings about the content. Also, it is at a point in my life that I am more gullible to what is shown to me online. If these reasons weren’t enough to argue why I don’t stop listening, the presence of opinion leaders and emotional contagion make it increasingly difficult to leave the genre. Opinion leaders rise within my friend group, and reviewers I find online. Being so close to Toronto, most of my friends fall into the same demographic trap and see Toronto rappers as something to take pride in and constantly keep up with celebrities’ internal drama. Online reviewers, although they have more credibility, often promote the popular opinion in order to keep fans happy, sharing, and make their program more popular, and they might even be incentivised by outside sources to create and artificial opinion. Seemingly everywhere wants me to keep listening to this music, and when it consistently keeps my friends and I in an energized mood through emotional contagion, it at least feels like it's doing more good than bad in the moment.

As an audience member, mass media has treated me like an object whose attention can be persuaded, changed, and sold, but it's too early for me to see long term detrimental effects. I spend about 6-8 hours looking at screens everyday with heights of around 12-14 hours. Some of this is because of work, but more than half is for consuming entertainment and social media. It often gives me a fictionalized perspective of different topics which is why I’ve worked hard in the last two years to improve my lifestyle and create more unique experiences. Most of this leisure time is worse spent than when the media originally pulled me into addiction at the beginning of high-school. I was recommended to watch things I’ve already seen, or are so similar, it offers no unique ideas, so constantly being offered what I already like has put me in a rut. Also, I am weary of gaining emotions because of my viewing habits. Since most of my interests in entertainment are associated with delinquent themes, I recognize that when I’m out, I am not outgoing with strangers because I don’t trust them. Commonly in mob related movies, they give the feeling that you can’t trust anyone, and those feelings lie somewhere within me.

Public opinion is the most powerful information a company use to always have the upper-hand over the consumer when it comes to buying and selling. The information can be private or public depending on if it is beneficial to the company. It can be used to gain honest opinions about what the population thinks about a product, or a survey can be made specifically to trick the public into conforming to a certain ideal by use of question-wording-effects. The information can be used to alienate consumers into bandwagoning onto a perceived public opinion. The potential to mix and match these uses seems like a modern day superpower to me. To examine the ways public opinion is measured and used by large corporations for profit, I’ll relate to myself working in sales at Best Buy and Virgin Mobile to compare and contrast by looking at what I do to earn an individuals’ opinion on a much smaller scale. 

When working with a customer, I want to ensure my commission is made whether or not it is in the buyers’ best interests when they walk in. First, I want to find out why they’re in the store. I ask about what issues they have with a current device, and move further to find out important things about their lifestyle: if they have kids, are they in school, where they live, and what hobbies they have. At this stage, I am giving my customer a person-to-person interview where I establish rapport, and my most advantageous position as a salesperson to both learn about the client, and earn a degree of trust so I can be given true answers to my questions. Here, I avoid leading questions because the answers wouldn’t accurately depict the information I want to offer a product that is relevant. The tactics of my survey change depending on what part of the sale we’re at for my benefit. Once we find the right phone for the user, we talk about the price which is where response effects are wildly useful. If the first thing I say is the actual price per month, the customer would be unsatisfied with the number and feel entitled to bargain, or wait for another sale, or go to a different company entirely. Instead, I show the original price for the phone, and their mobile plan separately which is always high, then show them what I can save them by signing up with a new contract; the response is almost always positive. This is because the original price has nothing to contrast except for some kind of number they’ve had before, or seen in a flyer which isn’t obtainable for me. In the second example, I’ve given a realistic, yet unfavourable example for them to contrast instead to get rid of any pre-existing notions of price. Once the customer has decided to buy the service or product, they will be less likely to buy anything else because they either don’t have enough money, or are weary of me taking advantage of them. When defenses are high, question-wording-effects can be used to make the customer think they want more. The last thing I have to sell is extra insurance for your phone, which everyone is accustomed to say no to because of negative connotations of other insurances like car, or life. Once they tell me they don’t want insurance, I proceed with the process and move on to the next topic, but realistically, I’m using this time to include specific words and body language to make them feel unsafe about their new product. I will begin using words in our conversation that have to do with the length of their contract, the price of the phone, specific words like fragile, stuck, lost, regret. My body language also changes to be more loose and clumsy, and often I place my drink uncomfortably close to the new device. When I ask again later in the process, the customer feels they have made the decision for themselves, drop their defense and buy. 

Sometimes, other means of gathering opinion are beneficial as well. Although a personal interview offers me the most advantages, a telephone interview is a cheaper and time efficient way of gathering information. There is a possibility I could employ the same tactics into this interview, but that poses a couple problems. I cannot establish rapport as well, so if I ask too many personal questions, the customer will feel uncomfortable and hang up. I generally need to avoid leading questions, and keep the call strictly about the sale. This is a good way to earn information to use in the future, not the present. I can filter their answers to find out what may be a successful offer for the future. For use of large companies, this type of information could be used to find out where and when to sell things, but not as precise to find out what type of product to make. The final type of survey I look for is an email survey. These help me to gain a higher personal rating to gain recognition within my company, but as the text suggests, these are borderline useless way of gathering and asking for information. Just about all ways of surveying have some kind of flaw which skews the data gathered with varied impact, but email has to be the most negative impact. It requires the customer to actively do it during their leisure time, and it holds no benefit to themselves. Out of every ten customers I offer the online survey to, one may actually do it. This means they would have an outstanding reason to do it; either they really liked, or really hated the service. The numbers of completions are low, and the sources are not credible.

After information is acquired, the Government and large corporations use qualitative and quantitative data to use audiences in ways that far exceed the possibilities of an individual. They use this information to operationalize their audience; keep their viewing habits the same, and constantly sell their time to advertisers without suspicion. In order to find examples of political economy today, I will examine myself as an audience member of advertisements specifically through my phone on social media platforms and entertainment streaming services. Now that I can identify how advertisers obtain my personal habits and information, I can assume who is buying it based on what advertisements, or entertainment I’m offered. 

As a consumer, I actually pay for many of the streaming services I use which I know isn’t the norm for post-millenials. I pay monthly to access Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube, which means I don’t receive advertisements through these entertainment services, which is great for some of my leisure time, but I do not escape advertisements altogether. In fact, each of these streaming services, including the phone I bought, have a mandatory a lengthy multi-page terms of service agreement which states that they are services which I use while I pay for them, and during this time, they can gather as much information about my viewing habits as they want to improve their services. In exchange for signing this contract, I am given thousands of choices of the most popular movies, TV shows, and music of today with a service that knows what I want to watch even before I know what its about. In the meantime, however, all information of my demographic including how much I am paying for streaming is being sold to google, to then sell to advertisers in similar markets. I’m still not rid of the blindspot that advertisers use to steal my leisure time. Often while watching a show, I browse on my phone, and during that time I get ads for tv shows and movies on subscription services I have yet to pay for. The luxury of using Netflix services is paid for by me enduring ads for other similar subscription-based websites, which I am then working for free to review by looking at them and seeing whether or not they are worthwhile, just for it to be advertised again when there's a new incentive for me to consider again. This same operation happens to everyone who uses streaming services, as the audience is a commodity to be bought and sold by advertisers. 

I’m treated very well as a subscriber of these services; the servers send the program are reliable with few buffers, the websites don’t have malware or bugs that slow down the speed of my computer, and I even get special features such as the option for subtitles on any show, and even an automatic option to skip opening credits. The same can’t be said for those who can’t afford to pay monthly, or who are using ad blockers. For example, my girlfriend is the daughter of Asain immigrants and she watches Korean TV, but she doesn’t pay for streaming services, and there are no channels for her to watch them for free. She streams these shows from free servers she finds online. These are often filled with malware, regular ads, and pop-up ads that ruin the viewing experience as well as poor servers from outside of the country which buffer and crash often. I am labelled as a priority customer because my viewing consists of popular American TV and I pay for the service, meaning I will most likely respond well to the advertisements that are sent to me and have a higher chance of purchasing, so my leisure time is improved to keep me as a customer. My girlfriend is exactly what advertisers will ignore, she enjoys foreign shows and doesn’t pay for her streaming service, so her leisure time is not cared for or valued, so is less important. This is a slightly different take on what the text has to explains, but it is a similar issue. Racial formation is causing someone close to me to not enjoy their leisure time as much as me because of their background and taste. 

Adding market value to certain demographics does show signs of massive potential in new technologies though. Our viewership is measured on any platform we visit through server logs, and cookies. Even now with Google assistant and Google Home and smart home devices and surveillance systems, our voices are being monitored too. I had a conversation with my mother about what Halloween costume I am going to wear this year, and Google offered me advertisements for Halloween costumes the next day. This is the evolution of peoplemeters that tracked TV viewing habits, but on a much smarter and efficient scale that people meters couldn't achieve. Because of psychographics, we are not purely treated as a mass audience in this situation. I am not being offered to listen to Drake because Drake is popular with men my age, I am being offered curated advertisements that are relevant to me based on my demographics, psychology, and my actual web searches and needs described through conversation. This conclusion is very controversial because devices that listen to your voice at all times is creepy, but it is the peak of what target marketing strives to be in its most efficient form. When this form of information gathering and target marketing is perfected, it is hard to say whether our thoughts are truly our own because of the power of suggestion.

[adventure-hearts]

I kind of remember you mentioning that you'd be interested in writing up something about how Digimon made their female characters awesome at some point.

Great topic! You could probably write a whole thesis about this, but I’ll give it my best.

I truly believe that one of the main reasons why Digimon Adventure/02 managed to transcend its genre and is so enduringly popular is because of how well it portrays women.

Let’s face it: this is still a series for boys, made in a deeply patriarchal society, and where sexist themes and scenes still abound. With some vague exceptions, traditional gender roles aren’t really questioned.  But, despite of its limitations, Digimon has a special and progressive way of portraying girlhood and female friendships. I find that… pretty remarkable.

In Digimon Adventure, we start off with only two girls, easily outnumbered by five boys. Therefore, Sora and Mimi have the difficult task of representing all girlhood.

They’re also pretty different from each other, which could make it tempting to have each of them stand for a specific “type” of girl. Really, it would have been so easy to have “the tomboy” and “the princess” and put one against the other.(Are you a Sora or a Mimi? Who is better? Who is stronger? Who do guys / parents like best?)

Adventure doesn’t do that. Both girls get individualised, well-written arcs. Their role in this story is not to be “The Girl”. They fight alongside the male Chosen Children. They show agency and complexity. They have flaws. They’re relatable. Both are valid. 

Moreover, their relationship has no real signs of conflict or jealousy. You don’t see Sora resent Mimi or Mimi judging Sora based on their different ways of displaying femininity. Instead, it’s all about solidarity, acceptance, and affection.

Later, the series introduces a third female protagonist – Hikari –, who gets less time to be developed, but still manages to become of the most powerful characters. DigiJesus is, in fact, a girl.

Digimon Adventure 02 follows pretty much the same formula: two very different female protagonists (one less “traditionally” feminine, by Japanese standards), outnumbered by the boys. Still, it adds a new dynamic by showing their relationship with older girls (specifically, Miyako looking up to Sora, Mimi and her sisters).

Yet, in 02 the  main girls do face a conflict. Yes, the series makes “the girls” Jogress with each other (would the subtext in a boy/girl Jogress make it too problematic?), but it’s not all sunshine and roses. Girls getting along isn’t automatic or easy - the diferences in Miyako and Hikari’s personalities don’t stop mattering just because they both have vaginas. Before Jogress, they simply aren’t that close, and that issue is addressed. There’s a fight – they admit they don’t get each other, that there’s jealousy involved. Slapping happens.

Once again, what could easily have been depicted as a cat fight for superficial reasons is instead rich in depth and complexity. Hikari and Miyako aren’t petty or “overreacting”. Instead, they talk about their feelings, work out their differences, decide to learn from each other and support each other. Female solidarity wins, and they come together metaphorically as Silphymon to fight darkness. Miyako – rather than one of the male characters – becomes Hikari’s protector.

02 even tackles a dangerous trope: a teen girl who is in love with a boy who choses another girl over her. The victim in this triangle is Motomiya Jun – the funniest, yet least dimensional character in the series: an obsessed groupie who stalks Yamato and won’t take no for an answer (all of which is played for laughs, and provides none of her POV; did I say this series was perfect?). Wouldn’t it be predictable, even logical, to just play it as the “scorned woman” cliché, and show Jun as the woman who goes crazy or destroyed when she’s replaced by a “rival”?

Nah. Jun’s reaction is not like that at all. She’s upset, but quickly decides to move on. She doesn’t mope around, and she certainly doesn’t decide to attack the guy or the other girl.

In this series, even the worst female character is handled with respect.

Another shout out to the many strong, interesting adult women in the series (many of them working mothers – something that is rarely depicted in Japanese or American children’s fiction). The choice in villainesses is more limited, but Tailmon and Arukenimon are probably among the best written foes in this series.

In short: if you were a girl growing up with Digimon Adventure & 02, you had plenty of positive, diverse representation. You could watch girls who weren’t constantly judged on their looks or who had to be constantly saved by men. Children of both genders got to see something that (sadly) isn’t common in children’s fiction – well-written, strong, active girl protagonists interacting in equal terms with the boys. Girls forming girl-boy friendships that are not based on romantic attraction, and lots of female friendships based on solidarity and respect. This is a Japanese show for boys from the late 90s, and its messages have aged great. Are there many current shows who could say the same?

So far, I think tri. seems to be true to this heritage. The addition of a female member to the main team is a great idea; Maki is one of the best Digimon characters, period. Moreover, although the girls are now teenagers, we really don’t see any of the typical elements that often seem characterise girls in teen dramas: they’re not romantic interests; they don’t seem too worried about their looks. They are pretty damn independent and funny and strong. But, above all, their personalities and the strength of their relationships are preserved – you may have qualms about Meiko, but you cannot deny that it was mostly the girls who made her feel welcome. Even the girls who were rude to Mimi were handled well.

So, yeah. Despite its flaws, and considering its time and place, I’d argue that Digimon Adventure/02/tri. is a pretty feminist show. Not only are the female characters awesome, but there’s one overearching theme which I find crucial and which, unfortunately, isn’t always present in fiction:

In Adventure, girls support girls.

[makingscipub]

“It’s just like epigenetics” – scientific metaphors for non-scientific concepts

This is a guest post by Cath Ennis. Cath is a Knowledge Translation Specialist with the University of British Columbia’s Human Early Learning Partnership and the Kobor Lab at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

***

In our new paper, Brigitte Nerlich, Aleksandra Stelmach and I examined the metaphors used by academic social scientists and alternative health marketers to describe and discuss epigenetics. We found some overlap between the metaphors used by these two very different publics, as well as some shared misunderstandings and over-interpretations of the science of epigenetics.

I’ve been intrigued for years by the diversity of the metaphors that people use to explain epigenetics, and by how such metaphors can highlight some of the common misperceptions of the field. In my 2017 book “Introducing Epigenetics: A Graphic Guide” I referred to the DNA sequence as the text of an instruction manual, and epigenetic marks as highlighting and crossing-out that helps each type of cell to identify which parts to use and which to ignore. My colleague Dr. Michael Kobor refers to genes as lightbulbs and epigenetic marks as dimmer switches, and I’ve seen others use everything from hardware/software to musical scores/artistic interpretation to describe the same phenomena. (Aviad Raz, Gaëlle Pontarotti, and Jonathan Weitzman published a fantastic paper earlier this year about how different epigenetic metaphors are perceived by technical and non-technical audiences, which I highly recommend reading if you’re interested in this topic).

While working with Brigitte and Aleksandra on our paper, I also stumbled across various examples of the opposite case: of people using epigenetics as a metaphor or analogy to explain non-biological concepts. This seems to be a recent trend (quite possibly a premature one, given that even biologists can’t agree on the precise definition of epigenetics), and one deserving of a more systematic analysis than is possible in a short blog post. Hopefully, though, the four diverse examples presented here can provide a good starting point for whoever wishes to pick up this baton!

Mapping aspects of molecular epigenetics onto sacred texts

The first example is a comparison between different cells using different parts of the genome, and different Christian denominations using different parts of the bible in their sermons. I encourage you to read the entire article by David Sloan Wilson, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University, but here are the most relevant parts:

“sacred texts bear an intriguing resemblance [to] genomes. Both are replicated with a high fidelity and even have a hierarchical and segmented structure. The Protestant Christian Bible, for example, is segmented into 66 books, which in turn are divided into chapters and verses. […] 

Just as differences in gene expression are often visualized in the form of “heat maps” (the brighter the color, the more the gene is being expressed), we can create a heat map for the expression of books in the bible [this refers to the use of different parts of the bible in sermons] by the six churches. […]

Thus, when differences in Biblical citations are combined with differences in interpretation, the concept of a sacred text as a cultural epigenetic inheritance system, capable of adapting a religious community to a wide range of environmental circumstances, has much to recommend it. […]

Formalized sacred texts such as the Bible or Quran are the cultural equivalent of an epigenetic system because only the expression of the passages, and not the passages themselves, are allowed to change. However, the cultural equivalent of genetic evolution (the addition and subtraction of the passages) took place at an earlier stage of their history and to some extent still, to the extent that religions accumulate supplemental texts in addition to their core text. During the Protestant Reformation, even the core text of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian Bibles was reduced”

Here we have a metaphor that I think would work well in either direction, and that’s pretty similar to my own preferred epigenetic metaphor of text and highlighting. The author seems to have a solid grasp of the science of epigenetics, and applies it to a concept that does indeed have a number of parallels to genetic regulation.

Mapping aspects of epigenesis onto understanding how robots learn

Our next example is drawn from the world of epigenetic robotics. I’ll freely admit that I don’t have anywhere near enough knowledge of robotics to truly understand the nuanced distinction between epigenetic and other forms of the discipline, but the primary allusions here seem to be to the role of epigenetics in human development, and the concept of epigenetic plasticity in response to changing environments.

Epigenetic robotics is concerned with “the study of cognitive development in natural and robotics systems”, and what it can tell us about “the typical and atypical development of children, and creating better robots” as well as “the appearance and modification of cognitive structures in a progression from the embryo to the adult form”. According to Jordan Zlatev and Christian Balkenius, “The term was used to refer to such development, determined primarily by the interaction between the organism and the environment, rather than by genes”.

The focus of this metaphor is on the plasticity afforded to organisms by epigenetic marks that change during development and in response to certain environmental exposures. If I’m understanding these texts correctly, what this means to a robot relates to how it learns from experience rather than from pre-programmed routines.

My perception of the robotics metaphor is that it’s built on a solid foundation, but might overstate the science to some extent. Epigenetic marks do change during human development (some of them so predictably that our group at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver has used them to develop an “epigenetic clock” to assess childhood development), but to what extent these epigenetic changes actually drive rather than merely reflect pre-programmed (genetic) and responsive biological changes is still a matter of active scientific debate. Perhaps this distinction isn’t critical to the use of the word epigenetics in the field of robotics, though – I’m hoping that a reader who knows more about robotics than I do can help to enlighten me on this point!

Using epigenetics as a free-floating signifier attached to ‘cultural DNA’

I also spotted a reference to epigenetics in an article written by anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky for Vanity Fair in 2018:

“something fundamental changed in our society in 1998 […] And ever since, the scandal has had an epigenetic quality, as if our cultural DNA has slowly been altered to ensure its longevity. If you can believe it, there has been at least one significant reference in the press to that unfortunate spell in our history every day for the past 20 years. Every. Single. Day.”

This is a bit of a puzzling one. At first glance, Lewinsky’s metaphor seems similar to the use of epigenetic concepts to describe how sacred texts and their interpretations change over time. However, the references to cultural “DNA” being altered slowly, and with long-term effects, seem to contradict the common perception of epigenetic changes as a faster and more transient alternative to the slower and more permanent evolution of the genetic sequence. My best guess here is that the author has heard of epigenetics as a new concept in evolution and/or phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental changes, and used the term in her article to draw attention to her theme of the lasting cultural impact of her unique experiences in 1998, despite these contradictions. As such, I would say that this comparison is based on an incomplete understanding of the science of epigenetics. (my apologies to Ms. Lewinsky if my assumption is incorrect!).

And finally: the metaphor of epigenetics detaches itself from all meaning

In his recent novel “Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff”, the actor Sean Penn writes:

“While the privileged patronize this pickle as epithet to the epigenetic inequality of equals, Bob smells a cyber-assisted assault emboldened by right-brain Hollywood narcissists”

What does ‘epigenetic’ mean here, other than a technobabble word that’s fashionable and sounds sciencey? Something to do with subtle differences between superficially equal entities, such as the common trope in the public discussion of epigenetics of DNA methylation differences between genetically identical twins? Something else? All answers welcome!

Epigenetics as a (flawed) tool to think with

So there we have it: four examples of people using epigenetics as a metaphor to explain three very different concepts, plus one rather nihilist use of the word. As we also saw in our published analysis, these examples use different aspects of the popular understanding of epigenetics to drive their comparisons, with varying success in terms of scientific accuracy.

I think we’re going to see more examples of this phenomenon arise as discussions of epigenetics continue to migrate out of academic science and into more common usage. I also think that epigenetic metaphors are likely to add to the rather muddled nature of the public epigenetics discourse; some of the same misunderstandings that we highlighted in our paper are already apparent in these first few reversed comparisons that I stumbled across (and also in some of the uses of epigenetics that I’ve seen crop up in science fiction, which is a topic for another day). I believe that all scientists working in this field should be aware of common public perceptions and misperceptions of epigenetics as we endeavour to communicate our work to non-expert audiences; paying attention to the epigenetic metaphors people use – in either direction – is part of this awareness.

Image: Writing Robot (writing a biblical text), Wikimedia Commons

The post “It’s just like epigenetics” – scientific metaphors for non-scientific concepts appeared first on Making Science Public.

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[barbosaasouza]

The Heartbeat Symposium - Exploring Love, Sex, & Intimacy In Games

"I've always been interested in telling stories about connection - to land, to a person, to a thing, even to a point in time. Exploring connection is the focus of so many areas of creativity - especially film, art, and music - but much less so video games. Why is that, I ask myself." says Katie Gall of The Blushbox Collective, a group promoting the exploration of intimacy, love, and sex in games.

Games possess a unique power to place the player into a different headspace, having them become the role of another for a time. There is a special power to empathize in this, tasking the player with feeling what that other person is going through as they go through their actions and live out their lives. Like a form of acting, the player becomes this other avatar and exists as them for a time, and in this action they are brought into intimate connection with the thoughts and feelings that come from living these lives.

This unique ability to live and empathize with, moreso than books or movies or other forms of passive media, can make the player truly feel what the characters are going through. Gall's work with The Blushbox Collective, as well as their annual Heartbeat Symposium - a three-day event where they seek to bring developers together for days of game jams and speakers from various disciplines working in love and intimacy - looks to capture and explore that connection.

"I think there is something powerful about the prospective opportunities you have in video games. You can play with how inside the character a player is - give them agency and put them in the shoes of someone different from themselves. There's so much opportunity to capture the nuance, silliness, fun, excitement, and heartbreak through games, and I want to explore how more games could contain those moments." says Gall.

Love & Games

Games, through their ability to connect a person to another life, may have been underutilized for years in placing players in more realistic, emotional experiences, but that has begun to change.

Still, why explore these kinds of connections? "Because hello, it's fun!" says Gall. "Sex, romance, love, these are universal desires for everyone. Games can also allow us to play, observe and process some pretty complicated issues, or partake in light-hearted fantasy for fun. It's such a diverse topic that there are many reasons to explore it."

"Games in particular are an interesting way to explore these topics because you can engage more senses than reading or film; you can see, you can hear, you can feel and touch and in some cases, with alt controllers, you can also taste :P. That's a bit more senses being engaged than with music, art, or film. How can we manipulate these senses to create a new experience for these stories? That's what I want to know." Gall continues.

It's a largely untapped part of what games are uniquely capable of, and for Gall, something that offers some interesting opportunities to explore our emotions in and feelings on challenging issues in a space outside of the self. They allow for a safe self-reflection on actions we might not otherwise experience or be afraid to experience, allowing us to learn about ourselves through these shared digital experiences.

Gall has explored these themes in games before as well. "My own work often focuses on nostalgia in a lighthearted way. The Blushbox Collective is my side project, so I generally don't make these games for commercial purposes. I see it more like drawing or painting as a hobby. So, having said that, I've worked on a range of games from the casual, Pudding Boyfriend, a game about dating foodboys (croissant boyfriend was my fave) to other games such as ASL."

"ASL is a 3D walking simulator about exploring a world inspired by my memory of 90s internet sites. I've imagined the sites I used to frequent such as Neopets, MSN messenger, Hotmail, Yahoo, and others as real physical spaces. In the game, you can explore and flirt with or interact with the creatures or people in those environments. I've also been working on Nic Cage Himulator- a game where you've accidentally guessed Nic Cage's Hotmail address and you're going back and forth on the phone with your friend, Becky, about what to say to him. It's a coming-of-age story which explores teenage development." says Gall.

These works, while appearing light and fun, explore important aspects of life growing up, dating, friendships, and connections, all with disarming stories that can encourage players to feel something about their own thoughts on these subjects without necessarily meaning to. Their charming nature gets the player to open up within themselves, or feel free to explore more serious feelings even if the context is light.

"With Blushbox we've worked on IncorpoREAL Romance Revival Center, a game about dating dead people, 'find the love of your life, even if theirs is over' which explores power and control as well as themes of digital online persona and generally dystopian future ideas. Currently I'm working on Woblets (working title) with a friend of mine, which is what I'm calling an interactive sculpture toy. It's like a Mr Potato Head game but all the parts are fleshy genitally type things. You can create your own strange sculpture which will react to things like shaking and prodding. It generally just flops around. Think of a plumbus, it's a bit like that." says Gall. Intimacy, love, and sex can often be treated as incredibly serious subjects, which can make players uncomfortable in opening up their feelings about them. Looking at these subjects from different angles, be they lighter or humorous, or through a fiction that lets the player explore the subject from a different angle, can allow an openness in the self that allows them to explore their feelings in ways that feel safe. Gall's work aims to utilize these tools to help players open up about their feelings a bit more, using the framework of these games to feel in ways they might not feel comfortable doing otherwise.

Romantic Difficulties

Games, in allowing players to live out other lives and control their fates, words, and deeds, seem like a natural place to explore intimacy, but this isn't often the case, from Gall's own observations. Not everyone is comfortable exploring these topics through their games, and for various reasons.

"What makes it so difficult to explore the messiness of human love through a video game format?" says Gall. "Is it that we just haven't been trying? Is it that it's too difficult with the technology we have available? All these questions were running through my head and I'd been having conversations about this with a few of my developer friends."

Preconceived perceptions of what games can be and do also harms their ability to explore intimacy. "Also fear, because people are afraid to be associated with projects that deal with sex in the games industry. It's strange because most other creative industries wouldn't bat an eyelash, but because games have this perception that they for kids, people put their arms up in the air when they present adult themes."

There have been other challenges that have made the exploration of sex and love in games difficult as well. "The biggest challenge to exploring these themes are ignorance and fear. A lack of research in the nuance of characters and environments, and stereotypes and bad writing are rife in the sex games category." says Gall.

Exploring character, especially when it comes to love, sex, and intimacy, requires a grasp of writing and character creation. It requires a deft hand when it comes to telling their stories and creating believable moments and feelings between them. It can be a challenge to tell these kinds of stories from a purely skill-based perspective, and also require an honesty from the writer that can be daunting.

With this need for a deft hand and high skill comes a fear of what will happen should the developer get those things wrong. "Fear also stops people from trying and failing because the repercussions of failure can be so damning- you can be kicked out of a community and blacklisted for trying something that people perceive as derogatory, sexist, racist etc. It's a minefield. Like any creative field it's important that we practice our art and have places that are safe for us to try, fail and learn from our mistakes."

It can be difficult to experiment in this field without possibly making insensitive mistakes, or fouling up the game with stereotypes or other poor writing mistakes. To avoid these, developers need room to goof up without it feeling like a career-ending mistake. This requires help and encouragement from players and other developers, which would be what lead Gall's work in bringing developers together to encourage each other in the creation of these games.

The Heartbeat Symposium

Shared experiences, hopeful advice, and an actual connection with other developers doing the work seemed like a powerful way to help creators explore intimacy with comfort and help. As such, The Blushbox Collective's work would lead to the creation of the Heartbeat Symposium, a gathering of developers designed to further work in interactive experiences in love and sex.

"Heartbeat Symposium is a 3-day event focused on love, sex and romance in games. It's held in a different place each year. The first one was held in Byron Bay Australia. The aim is to get developers and creatives out of the traditional game making spaces and use the environment as both a source of inspiration and a framework for creativity." says Gall.

It's been designed as a comforting space for developers to experiment in, as well as receive advice from other developers, psychologists, actresses, writers, and other creative individuals, sharing their knowledge of love and sex in games and beyond. Through this, the event looks to improve the works developers are creating, as well as provide them with a place where they can explore intimate themes with their peers.

"I think Heartbeat provides education about pitfalls, cross collaboration from other industries (our speakers are not just game developers, but also psychologists, sex workers, artists, performers and more), and also a space to practice and get guidance. It's important that developers and creative have a community to check in with and create with so we're not just doing this in isolation. The more diverse a community can be, I think the better educated we get." Gall continues.

Through this diversity, Gall hopes that developers will be able to see their topic from all manner of angles and backgrounds, helping move away from painful stereotypes and into a well-thought-out exploration of love and sex.

With events like The Heartbeat Symposium and other initiatives around the world, development of intimacy in games has seemed to be steadily improving. "I actually think it's going great! We've come so far in the last 5 years in including these topics in both mainstream games and in independent titles. I think we've got a lot of work to do building tension between characters and removing some problematic trends, but I do think we're out there making a massive effort, so go games industry!" says Gall.

"I think that we could improve it by collaborating more with other industries." says Gall. "The screen industry is becoming rapidly more interested in video games, and there are a lot of great script and dialogue writers out there who could help us in the games industry a lot. Also, it would be good to work with film and television makers who have mastered camera angles to create a meaningful gaze from the player or viewer to the object of attention. We could learn a lot from that. I'd also like to see more support from the industry in creating and talking about these topics at conferences and online, more of those spaces to practice that I mentioned earlier."

All of these things are exactly what Gall and The Heartbeat Symposium are working towards - more creatives from other industries contributing helpful tips, and more places for developers to experiment and hone their craft without fear. In doing this, The Blushbox Collective and Gall hope to continue the positive trends they've seen in the industry, continuing to help developers unlock the ability games have to help players explore intimacy, love, and sex in meaningful ways.

For more information on The Blushbox Collective, you can head to their site, or to learn more on The Heartbeat Symposium, you can head to its site.

The Heartbeat Symposium - Exploring Love, Sex, & Intimacy In Games published first on https://superworldrom.tumblr.com/

[kayawagner]

The Heartbeat Symposium - Exploring Love, Sex, & Intimacy In Games

"I've always been interested in telling stories about connection - to land, to a person, to a thing, even to a point in time. Exploring connection is the focus of so many areas of creativity - especially film, art, and music - but much less so video games. Why is that, I ask myself." says Katie Gall of The Blushbox Collective, a group promoting the exploration of intimacy, love, and sex in games.

Games possess a unique power to place the player into a different headspace, having them become the role of another for a time. There is a special power to empathize in this, tasking the player with feeling what that other person is going through as they go through their actions and live out their lives. Like a form of acting, the player becomes this other avatar and exists as them for a time, and in this action they are brought into intimate connection with the thoughts and feelings that come from living these lives.

This unique ability to live and empathize with, moreso than books or movies or other forms of passive media, can make the player truly feel what the characters are going through. Gall's work with The Blushbox Collective, as well as their annual Heartbeat Symposium - a three-day event where they seek to bring developers together for days of game jams and speakers from various disciplines working in love and intimacy - looks to capture and explore that connection.

"I think there is something powerful about the prospective opportunities you have in video games. You can play with how inside the character a player is - give them agency and put them in the shoes of someone different from themselves. There's so much opportunity to capture the nuance, silliness, fun, excitement, and heartbreak through games, and I want to explore how more games could contain those moments." says Gall.

Love & Games

Games, through their ability to connect a person to another life, may have been underutilized for years in placing players in more realistic, emotional experiences, but that has begun to change.

Still, why explore these kinds of connections? "Because hello, it's fun!" says Gall. "Sex, romance, love, these are universal desires for everyone. Games can also allow us to play, observe and process some pretty complicated issues, or partake in light-hearted fantasy for fun. It's such a diverse topic that there are many reasons to explore it."

"Games in particular are an interesting way to explore these topics because you can engage more senses than reading or film; you can see, you can hear, you can feel and touch and in some cases, with alt controllers, you can also taste :P. That's a bit more senses being engaged than with music, art, or film. How can we manipulate these senses to create a new experience for these stories? That's what I want to know." Gall continues.

It's a largely untapped part of what games are uniquely capable of, and for Gall, something that offers some interesting opportunities to explore our emotions in and feelings on challenging issues in a space outside of the self. They allow for a safe self-reflection on actions we might not otherwise experience or be afraid to experience, allowing us to learn about ourselves through these shared digital experiences.

Gall has explored these themes in games before as well. "My own work often focuses on nostalgia in a lighthearted way. The Blushbox Collective is my side project, so I generally don't make these games for commercial purposes. I see it more like drawing or painting as a hobby. So, having said that, I've worked on a range of games from the casual, Pudding Boyfriend, a game about dating foodboys (croissant boyfriend was my fave) to other games such as ASL."

"ASL is a 3D walking simulator about exploring a world inspired by my memory of 90s internet sites. I've imagined the sites I used to frequent such as Neopets, MSN messenger, Hotmail, Yahoo, and others as real physical spaces. In the game, you can explore and flirt with or interact with the creatures or people in those environments. I've also been working on Nic Cage Himulator- a game where you've accidentally guessed Nic Cage's Hotmail address and you're going back and forth on the phone with your friend, Becky, about what to say to him. It's a coming-of-age story which explores teenage development." says Gall.

These works, while appearing light and fun, explore important aspects of life growing up, dating, friendships, and connections, all with disarming stories that can encourage players to feel something about their own thoughts on these subjects without necessarily meaning to. Their charming nature gets the player to open up within themselves, or feel free to explore more serious feelings even if the context is light.

"With Blushbox we've worked on IncorpoREAL Romance Revival Center, a game about dating dead people, 'find the love of your life, even if theirs is over' which explores power and control as well as themes of digital online persona and generally dystopian future ideas. Currently I'm working on Woblets (working title) with a friend of mine, which is what I'm calling an interactive sculpture toy. It's like a Mr Potato Head game but all the parts are fleshy genitally type things. You can create your own strange sculpture which will react to things like shaking and prodding. It generally just flops around. Think of a plumbus, it's a bit like that." says Gall. Intimacy, love, and sex can often be treated as incredibly serious subjects, which can make players uncomfortable in opening up their feelings about them. Looking at these subjects from different angles, be they lighter or humorous, or through a fiction that lets the player explore the subject from a different angle, can allow an openness in the self that allows them to explore their feelings in ways that feel safe. Gall's work aims to utilize these tools to help players open up about their feelings a bit more, using the framework of these games to feel in ways they might not feel comfortable doing otherwise.

Romantic Difficulties

Games, in allowing players to live out other lives and control their fates, words, and deeds, seem like a natural place to explore intimacy, but this isn't often the case, from Gall's own observations. Not everyone is comfortable exploring these topics through their games, and for various reasons.

"What makes it so difficult to explore the messiness of human love through a video game format?" says Gall. "Is it that we just haven't been trying? Is it that it's too difficult with the technology we have available? All these questions were running through my head and I'd been having conversations about this with a few of my developer friends."

Preconceived perceptions of what games can be and do also harms their ability to explore intimacy. "Also fear, because people are afraid to be associated with projects that deal with sex in the games industry. It's strange because most other creative industries wouldn't bat an eyelash, but because games have this perception that they for kids, people put their arms up in the air when they present adult themes."

There have been other challenges that have made the exploration of sex and love in games difficult as well. "The biggest challenge to exploring these themes are ignorance and fear. A lack of research in the nuance of characters and environments, and stereotypes and bad writing are rife in the sex games category." says Gall.

Exploring character, especially when it comes to love, sex, and intimacy, requires a grasp of writing and character creation. It requires a deft hand when it comes to telling their stories and creating believable moments and feelings between them. It can be a challenge to tell these kinds of stories from a purely skill-based perspective, and also require an honesty from the writer that can be daunting.

With this need for a deft hand and high skill comes a fear of what will happen should the developer get those things wrong. "Fear also stops people from trying and failing because the repercussions of failure can be so damning- you can be kicked out of a community and blacklisted for trying something that people perceive as derogatory, sexist, racist etc. It's a minefield. Like any creative field it's important that we practice our art and have places that are safe for us to try, fail and learn from our mistakes."

It can be difficult to experiment in this field without possibly making insensitive mistakes, or fouling up the game with stereotypes or other poor writing mistakes. To avoid these, developers need room to goof up without it feeling like a career-ending mistake. This requires help and encouragement from players and other developers, which would be what lead Gall's work in bringing developers together to encourage each other in the creation of these games.

The Heartbeat Symposium

Shared experiences, hopeful advice, and an actual connection with other developers doing the work seemed like a powerful way to help creators explore intimacy with comfort and help. As such, The Blushbox Collective's work would lead to the creation of the Heartbeat Symposium, a gathering of developers designed to further work in interactive experiences in love and sex.

"Heartbeat Symposium is a 3-day event focused on love, sex and romance in games. It's held in a different place each year. The first one was held in Byron Bay Australia. The aim is to get developers and creatives out of the traditional game making spaces and use the environment as both a source of inspiration and a framework for creativity." says Gall.

It's been designed as a comforting space for developers to experiment in, as well as receive advice from other developers, psychologists, actresses, writers, and other creative individuals, sharing their knowledge of love and sex in games and beyond. Through this, the event looks to improve the works developers are creating, as well as provide them with a place where they can explore intimate themes with their peers.

"I think Heartbeat provides education about pitfalls, cross collaboration from other industries (our speakers are not just game developers, but also psychologists, sex workers, artists, performers and more), and also a space to practice and get guidance. It's important that developers and creative have a community to check in with and create with so we're not just doing this in isolation. The more diverse a community can be, I think the better educated we get." Gall continues.

Through this diversity, Gall hopes that developers will be able to see their topic from all manner of angles and backgrounds, helping move away from painful stereotypes and into a well-thought-out exploration of love and sex.

With events like The Heartbeat Symposium and other initiatives around the world, development of intimacy in games has seemed to be steadily improving. "I actually think it's going great! We've come so far in the last 5 years in including these topics in both mainstream games and in independent titles. I think we've got a lot of work to do building tension between characters and removing some problematic trends, but I do think we're out there making a massive effort, so go games industry!" says Gall.

"I think that we could improve it by collaborating more with other industries." says Gall. "The screen industry is becoming rapidly more interested in video games, and there are a lot of great script and dialogue writers out there who could help us in the games industry a lot. Also, it would be good to work with film and television makers who have mastered camera angles to create a meaningful gaze from the player or viewer to the object of attention. We could learn a lot from that. I'd also like to see more support from the industry in creating and talking about these topics at conferences and online, more of those spaces to practice that I mentioned earlier."

All of these things are exactly what Gall and The Heartbeat Symposium are working towards - more creatives from other industries contributing helpful tips, and more places for developers to experiment and hone their craft without fear. In doing this, The Blushbox Collective and Gall hope to continue the positive trends they've seen in the industry, continuing to help developers unlock the ability games have to help players explore intimacy, love, and sex in meaningful ways.

For more information on The Blushbox Collective, you can head to their site, or to learn more on The Heartbeat Symposium, you can head to its site.

The Heartbeat Symposium - Exploring Love, Sex, & Intimacy In Games published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[bhbookreviews]

IT by: Stephen King

Finished: 1/24/2018

Hey everybody! It has been awhile since I’ve posted a review, but that is only because I’ve been reading this behemoth of a book (1153 pages, yikes). Here are some of my thoughts on what I read (Just a heads up, this review will most likely be significantly longer than my other reviews due to the length of the book):

Overview: It is about a group of seven kids that must deal with a menace in their town. This menace is pure evil and It feeds off of fear and brutally maims children, taking the form of their nightmares.This menace often takes the form of a clown that goes by the name of Pennywise that haunts Derry, Maine, about every 27 years. The children think they have dealt with It until they get a call 27 years later. This time It wants revenge. 

Writing: I really enjoyed the writing in this. King goes into detail about everything that goes on in the quaint little town of Derry, most of the events being quite evil. This book is set in 1985 when all the children have grown up into adults and have forgotten most of the horrific things that they had to go through. About half the book is told in flashbacks to 1958 when they had to confront It. I think what really hooked me was the history of the town and just how awful all of the residents can be. A lot of the horrifying things that go in this book are things that Pennywise isn’t even (directly) a part of. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but there are some pretty messed up things that happen within Derry. This book definitely shocked me with some of the brutality that occurs throughout. By far my favorite thing within this book is when the Losers club (the 7 main children) are just hanging out and having fun. King does such an amazing job at writing the simplicity of childhood and I thought there was just a really nice heart-warming feeling while I read these parts. I will say that if you are kind of sensitive towards the subjects of racism or homophobia you might not want to read this. Like I said, a lot of the people in this fictional town are really bad. Now the really important question that everyone wants to know: Is the book scary? This book didn’t give me nightmares or anything, but I will say that this book is super creepy and disturbing. A good majority of the book is psychological horror with some gory stuff thrown in throughout. King set up a very elaborate backstory for Derry that unfolds as the book goes on and a lot of it was super interesting. Also, the dialogue was spot on. When one of the kids are saying something it sounds like something a kid would say. I really liked that. I can’t really think of any negatives as far of the writing goes. King did a great job of having just the right amount of description and the conversations flowed really well.   

Characters: Alright folks, strap in because this is an important one. This novel has some of the best character development I’ve ever read. You almost feel like you grew up with these characters and watched as they matured. Not only that but you then get to learn about how specific events from their childhood unconsciously affected them. A big theme in this book is about growing up, the innocence of childhood, and how much we really forget as we grow older. I want to briefly go over the main cast of characters and kind of why I love them all. 

First off is Bill, Bill is the leader of the Losers’ Club and has a pretty serious stutter, his brother dies pretty much at the very beginning of the book (otherwise I wouldn’t be telling you) and it destroys his home life and the relationship that Bill has with his parents. I love Bill because he realizes that he must be the rock that holds the group together so they don’t lost their minds from all the crazy stuff that is going on around them. Second off I’ll talk about Richie, Richie is a comedy man that is constantly talking in different voices and never knows when to shut up. Richie (in my opinion) is the child that has the least to worry about in his life. I love Richie because he is a genuinely funny kid and has some really good moments of bravery when his friends lives are in danger. Third off I’ll talk about Eddie (poor Eddie), Eddie has a myriad of diseases and has a very overprotective mother. I can’t tell you why I love Eddie so much because it kind of gets spoilery (I’ll say it involves a hospital and that’s it). Fourth off is Ben, Ben is so adorable and is just a great kid that is the definition of purity. Ben is made fun of a lot due to him being overweight. One reason I love Ben is being he shares the same name with me and also because of his love for Beverly. It’s honestly heart-warming. Speaking of Beverly: Fifth off is Beverly, I don’t really want to talk too much about Beverly because you should read it for yourself. I can say that I love Beverly because she is strong. Not just with strength, but also with mind. A lot of things happen to her and most of them are sad that’s all I’ll say. Sixth off is Stan, Stan is very quiet and is the youngest. When Stan talks he speaks wisdom, he has a lot of problems as time goes on though. I love Stan because he faces his fears head on even though he really doesn’t want to. Last off is Mike, the reason that I saved Mike for last is because isn’t introduced to the club until very late into the book. Mike is super important though. I love Mike because he has a great head on his shoulders and is really smart. 

Wow, that was a lot of writing and that was only a portion of amazing characters in this book. I’ll speak of three more characters that I loved. Henry Bowers is the absolute worst. Any time I saw his name I had a kind of sick feeling in my stomach and just wanted one of the kids to beat the crap out of him. Really awful character, but a really good villain. Next is the one everybody wants to know about: Pennywise. Pennywise is an amazing villain mostly because he is so evil that it is terrifying. Pennywise is cold, calculated, and super manipulative. Pennywise is a monster like no other monster. Another favorite character of mine is The Turtle, I won’t tell you why though. Honestly, the characters are what made this book. If the Losers weren’t as diverse and unique (but also somehow so normal) then I think it would have taken me twice as long to read this book. My favorite characters in this book was definitely The Turtle, Eddie, and Beverly.

Pacing: The pacing in this book was really well done. I thought that King did an awesome job of making you ask questions and that is what pushed me forward until the very end. King would ask a particular question and then I had to keep reading until I knew the answer. Even though this book was the size that it was, I was so engaged with the plot that it really didn’t feel that long. As I got towards the end of the story I honestly wanted to stop reading, not because I was bored or tired; but because I didn’t want it to end. Also, I have to take a second to compliment King on how he weaved the present and the past together. Instead of the book being half the past and then the other half being the present he decided to kind of weave the story through flashbacks and I thought it went spectacularly. If I had to think of a negative in the pacing I would say that since I was so engaged with what had going on with what was happening with the kids sometimes the story would take a turn and talk about the history of the town when I would have preferred that the story would have progressed farther along. This qualm isn’t a big one, I can only think of it happening twice. 

Enjoyment: I can honestly say that I’m genuinely sad that It is over. I had so much fun reading through this book and looking into the lives of such interesting (and a few very twisted) characters. This book was an emotional roller-coaster that had me fixed to the pages until I had to eventually put the book down because what was going on was so crazy. I can’t wait to reread this in a few years. 

***On a very serious note, there is something that was weird and awkward to read. At first I wasn’t going to bring this up at all, but I eventually decided that it be wrong of me not to inform you of this. Near the end the children were trying to find their way out of the sewers under Derry only to get flustered and frustrated as they become more lost. Beverly has an idea that the only 6 boys should have sex with her in order to unify their friendship and minds to figure a way out. You heard that right, there are about 4 pages where these 10-11 year old boys are having sex with Beverly. I kind of understand where King was trying to go with this, but since they are kids it’s just really awkward to read and I think there should have been another solution to their problem. Other than this part I believe the book is pretty close to flawless. I still enjoyed the hell out of this book, I just wish I could redact those four pages. 

Ending (Don’t worry, no spoilers): One word: Bittersweet.

My Final Thoughts: Overall, this book is easily in my top 5 for King books. This book disturbed me, made my face light up with glee, and always kept me engaged at all times. I won’t ever forget It and I can easily recommend this to King fans (although I’m sure most, if not all, of them have read it), fans of horror, and fans of coming-of-age stories. I don’t recommend this to people that dislike large books, people that don’t like disturbing imagery in their books, or people that shy away from controversial topics. King lays it all out in front of you. It gets 2 thumbs up from yours truly (I would give it 3 if I could grow another arm). 

P.S. I just wanted to thank anyone that ended up reading this and I hope you enjoyed it. I just started reviewing books and am still trying to get the hang of it. If you want to discuss anything about any books that I have or haven’t reviewed feel free to bring it up. Until next time!