#like the beauty standard of 2010.

[thebirdandhersong]

rlly appreciate that the casting for OUAT is like. normal people! with wrinkles and freckles and moles and crow's feet

[ruminativevagrant]

An assortment of facts about Adam Lanza

Adam's low self image issues began showing during elementary school. he would write the words "loser" and "ugly" on his hands, believed that "everyone else in the world deserved more than he did”, and would hit himself as punishment when he thought he made a mistake. He would sometimes come home with bruises that he would refuse to explain, and Nancy almost sued SHES because she thought he was being beaten by other students.

One of Adam's middle school creative writing assignments got rejected for depicting violence, and he was made to write a poem instead. this poem was apparently so beautiful that it made his father cry.

Adam wanted to be a hamster for halloween as a kid, but they couldn't find hamster costumes, so nancy made one for him.

Ryan remembers Adam being a lot closer with his father as a child. Adam and Peter would routinely spend hours playing with legos in the basement, making up stories and games.

Adam developed an interest in political and economic theory early on and used to be very talkative about these subjects, as Peter recalls: "man, that kid, you couldn't shut him up!"

When Adam was sixteen, he made a meme of Karl Marx (huge beard), Lenin (small beard), Stalin (mustache), and Mao (clean-shaven), with the caption, “Comrades, we must rectify the faltering facial hair standards.” and Peter thought it was so funny that he got T-shirts made of it.

Adam carried a black briefcase instead of a backpack in high school. To avoid other people in the halls he would either turn to walk in the opposite direction, or press up against the wall and clutch his briefcase to himself "like an 8 year old who refuses to give up his teddy bear". He was described by his highschool advisor as "a very scared young boy" and by classmates as being quiet but extremely intelligent, "he was the smartest person I knew, he was probably a genius"

Adam would constantly express his anxiety to his mother, that he felt frightened and unsafe both in public and at home. Nancy told psychiatrists that his fear was so severe that it physically paralyzed him. When being interviewed by psychiatric professionals, Adam sweat through his shirt and was holding back tears throughout the sessions.

One time Peter had mentioned to Nancy that Adam had stopped to tie his shoes when they had been hiking, and Nancy expressed surprise and bewilderment to this.

Adam would have panic attacks in middle school that were so severe that he had to be sent home. In high school these were replaced with "crises" he would have in class, where he would be overwhelmed with hopelessness, give up whatever he was doing and "shut down".

Adam's teacher were advised to keep an eye on him because he "couldn't feel pain", as Nancy had informed them that he might not stop doing something even if it's hurting him.

Peter recalls that as Adam entered his teenage years he would often state how much he missed being a little kid.

Adam routinely checked and compared weather conditions across the country, he wanted to live in Washington because it was the most overcast state and Nancy entertained the idea of them moving to seattle together.

After Adam stopped talking to Peter in 2010, whenever Nancy brought the topic of his father up to Adam he would begin crying profusely and withdraw.

Adam once told a friend that he was "bulky" when he was a child, and that he had fat cheeks, comparing himself to a hamster with its cheeks stuffed.

Adam would sometimes play ddr for up to 10 hours straight, where he would enter what was described as a "trance". Workers at the Danbury theater recall him being unresponsive at closing time, and they would have to unplug the machine in order to get him to stop.

Adam identified as asexual but denounced the label towards the end of his life, claiming to be confused about his sexuality. On a university application form asking for a gender marker, Adam wrote "I choose not to answer".

Adam wanted to own not only hamsters, but also mice. He specifically wanted a brown deer mouse and a white fancy mouse. He would routinely watch youtube videos pertaining to rodents and rodent care, and would give advice in the comments.

One of Adam's top favorite movies was Willard, a movie about an isolated young man who lives in a large house with his mother and befriend rats. In this movie his mother dies in her bed, and the story culminated with him using the rats to enact revenge on an authoritative boss, killing him. Adam also owned a copy of the book that the movie is based on.

[astrstqr]

☆˙˖ DESIRED REALITY !

things i script for my modern dr. lmk if you want more

⬭ racism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, islamophobia, anti semitism, misogyny, global warming, climate change, overconsumption, overpopulation, deforestation, habitat destruction etc., used to exist, however they currently do not and will never suffer from them again.

⬭ everyone is treated equal

⬭ no “pro-life”

⬭ people are allowed to have abortions no matter what age they are

⬭ women products are free such as pads/tampons and birth control

⬭ everyone is educated on problems happening around the world

⬭ health care is free

⬭ natives are seen as the founders of America

⬭ south, west, southeast, & central Asians are seen too + people know Asia is not just the east

⬭ having guns are illegal unless your job requires you to have one and there is no other way to get a gun

⬭ periods last a day and are very light

⬭ covid-19 doesn’t exist

⬭ plastic surgery is normalized , isnt look down on but people rarely gets it unless necessary

⬭ children of any age are not sexualized in any form or shape

⬭ in public bathrooms the toilet is always clean, people don't knock on the stall you are in, there is always toilet paper, always soap and a hand dryer

⬭ the Chinese government isn't so harsh & gives the citizens freedom

⬭ people of color’s cultures are RESPECTED, & not appropriated

⬭ foster care takes treats kids nicely

⬭ nobody harms animals and kill shelters are not a thing

⬭ all country leaders are good and honest people

⬭ human trafficking does not exist

⬭ the government never watches you through your phone

⬭ trump never ran for president

⬭ no world hungers

⬭ no one is homeless, and everyone has a home

⬭ world peace

⬭ women and men are equal

⬭ it’s easy for people to make money

⬭ all sickness has a cure

⬭ bullying does not exist

⬭ black history and pride month still exist

⬭ the government isn't greedy and take care of their people

⬭ every country has money, food, isnt poor, etc. etc.

⬭ no toxic parenting

⬭ the Sewol ferry never had an accident

⬭ school shooting doesn’t exist

⬭ minimum wage is $15-$20 an hour

⬭ crimes are punished with justice in mind

⬭ history is recorded correctly

⬭ people can start driving at 15

⬭ Korea is not conservative

⬭ Korea doesn’t have an unrealistic beauty standard

⬭ Korea never divided, it is united and free. But south of korea is like the city part and the north is like rural part

⬭ pollution does not exist

⬭ earth air is clean and easy to breathe no matter where you are

⬭ no acid rain, urban sprawl, ozone layer depletion

⬭ allergies do not exist

⬭ the world is more colorful and not dull looking

⬭ coral reef still has it color

⬭ no water in unwanted places

⬭ grass is always green

⬭ if the population increases the planet gets bigger to produce resources to accommodate the growing population. it doesnt effect the mass of the earth or the gravitational pull

⬭ global warming doesn't exist

⬭ humidity doesn't ruin hair

⬭ the library of alexandria was never destroyed

⬭ apple pencils work on iPhone

⬭ everything is wireless, and nothing needs a cord

⬭ line is always short in stores and restaurants

⬭ buildings and renovating don’t take longer than a wee

⬭ you can book a hotel with being 18 or older

⬭ traffic is always fine

⬭ netflix have more of a large selection of things and dont remove shows/add shows no one wants

⬭ spotify is free

⬭ the switch have a web browser

⬭ tv companies still make tv shows similar to the 2000s and early 2010s , just updated to keep up with the times

⬭ the sims franchise lore is linear throughout the series

the open world features from sims 3 is still present in sims 4

sims 4 is like an updated and better version of sims 3 keeping all the features from the sims 3 (still including everything that is already in sims 4)

non of the games have bugs

every expansion pack etc is just added to the game as an update and no one has to pay for it

⬭ cheap jewelry doesnt tarnish

⬭ washer/dryer cycles are 15 mins

⬭ in the show dancing dolls everyone was treated equally and was never fake to each other.

⬭ people actually do the theme for the met gala and it’s always unique

୨୧⠀˙⠀⠀˖⠀ world aesthetic & vibe

[catherinetheprincessofwales]

“I felt absolutely reassured William and Catherine were in love.” Adapted from Meet Ella by James Middleton

There is a terrific buzz throughout the country because the rumour is spreading that Catherine and William are about to get engaged. Our family know a day or so before it is officially announced in November 2010. Catherine, Pippa and I go out for a walk with Ella and Tilly to our local pub in a village close to Bucklebury.

We sit in a corner, chattering quietly. Catherine whispers the news and says it will become public in the next day or so. Pippa and I want to be visibly excited, but we have to tamp down our emotions so no one suspects a thing.

We make a quiet acknowledgement that we’ll always be there for each other, look out for one another, support each other. No matter how crazy things get.

William has been in our lives for so long and we’ve grown very fond of him. He feels like our older brother and he and Catherine are so clearly a good fit, just right for each other. As we digest the news, I know I haven’t yet experienced the love they feel for each other myself. But I’m hoping one day I will.

On the morning it is going to be announced, Catherine rings to let me know. I walk with Ella in Battersea Park savouring the secret knowledge and feeling a thrill of happiness for them.

I remember tramping for miles that day and returning to our flat via Sloane Square Tube. The first edition of the Evening Standard was piled high.

There on the front page was a picture of Catherine in her blue dress. I tucked a copy under my arm and walked home with a sense that it was all quite surreal.

I thought how lucky William was to be marrying my capable, down-to-earth big sister, and I felt absolutely reassured that they were in love.

It was beautiful to see how he brought out her confidence. She’d blossomed. I knew he’d look after her, and he does to this day.

[itstokkii]

Now that the anthology is released, please check it out!! A lot of my friends, both writers and artists, put a lot of work into their pieces, and please make sure to follow their work as well!

However, I'll also take this time to explain why I left the @hws-anthology project.

Before I begin, I must clarify that this is not a callout post, that is not the intention. Rather, it's to clear up and explain the situation for those in the server that saw the aftermath and were confused as to what happened and why I left.

I joined the server at around mid to late February as an artist with the intention of highlighting and promoting the two countries that make up my identity: Uzbekistan and South Korea. I had also joined as I had always wanted to be part of a big project like an anthology, and I wanted to see how it would go.

By August, I had made and finished my pieces so they were ready, and no problems occurred until January 1st. At this time, I had begun a conversation about Korean history and culture. One of the people in the server asked about whether they, a plus sized foreigner, would be stared at in Korea as that was their deciding factor for travelling there. My response was that this may have been the case a few years ago, however this attitude has changed over the years among Koreans as more foreigners regularly visit Korea, and that society is more accepting of bodies that do not fit the standard. And at the most extreme, Koreans have higher standards for nationals compared to foreigners, so foreigners are less likely to be judged by East Asian beauty standards.

However, the owner of the server had expressed firm disagreement and insisted that, from their experience of going to Korea and Japan, that people will stare. I had brought up that as an ethnic Uzbek and a Muslim, a visible minority, neither has my community or I experienced such lengthy staring, if not during the early 2000s when foreigners were first beginning to come to Korea. And even through the spikes of terrorism and following Islamophobia in the mid 2010s, hate crimes, let along staring, was not a common reaction to or against the community, despite the worldwide reaction of terrorism being conflated to people like me that are visibly Muslim.

(in these screenshots, pink = the one who asked the question, blue=the server owner, purple = my friend, orange = third party(general), red, purple = third parties(individual users)

They insisted they were trying to help, as they were "coming from a country where staring is rude," implying that staring is normal and not rude in Korea.

At that point, they had attempted to "shut down" the conversation because we were "both right," and that I "didn't really understand what [they] were saying or where [they] were coming from."

As I tried to reiterate that as an Uzbek Muslim born and living in Korea as a Korean national, and as someone who has lived in Seoul and less populated regions of Korea, has seen the different reactions by Koreans, they instead opted to firmly say that they weren't continuing the conversation, insisted that we can both be right from our different perspectives, but that theirs was more helpful as a non-asian.

At this point, I expressed my discomfort with someone who is non-asian and has never experienced living in Korea, only as a traveler, speaking over my voice as a naturalized Korean citizen who was born and raised in Korea as a visibly ethnic and religious minority, and even insisting that my advice was lesser compared to theirs.

They replied by saying we both had to "agree to disagree" and that they didn't want to undervalue my opinion or upset me(despite my actual feelings of utter distraught), despite repeating again that they believed their advice to be more helpful. They said that if I did want to continue, I'd have to do it privately because it wasn't helpful to "duke it out in public," and ended the discussion by disabling me from being able to text in that discord channel for a day, and no longer being able to access that channel.

I was left speechless and distraught by this whole interaction. Not only did I feel that I was being talked over by someone who has had no lived experience in Korea to see the trends and beauty standards change along the years, and even placing their advice as "more helpful," but that they had also muted me from speaking up for myself in the channel, effectively placing me in a virtual "timeout." I felt like I was being treated like a young child from the way I was being told to "agree to disagree" to the way I was constantly shut down and had my voice ignored, to the eventual timeout where they muted me from the channel for a day.

And to me, it was also interesting to see them talk to others in the other channels like nothing happened while I was the one crying and shaking uncontrollably from being denied a place to speak and be heard, from having my lived experiences perceived as "lesser than."

As much as I didn't want to leave the server, I thought it was the better choice because as much as I wanted to promote Uzbekistan and Korea through my art, I realized that it shouldn't have to cost me my mental health to do so. The next day, I left a message as to why I was choosing to leave, and left.

Elif Harris's summary of Said's Orientalism: "The very purpose of Orientalism is to take control of the Orient and take away from it any ability to speak for itself." I quoted this because at its core, the way I was being treated was orientalist in nature, in the sense that the server mod continues to speak over me, a Korean citizen born and raised in Korea, when it comes to advice about Korean society, and then pushes it by emphasizing that their advice was more helpful, while also refusing to listen to me and trying to quell the conflict by repeating that both of us were right, and that we should agree to disagree. And, finally, they time me out like a child and blocks me from speaking up and standing up for myself. Know that I do not make accusations out of thin air because I'm feeling bored.

However, it didn't stop there. According to a few mutuals, my message was quickly taken down by the server owner, who then prevented people from using the channel I had the conversation in(misc-serious) the day prior. A friend of mine tried to repost it so that others would be able to see my message, to which she was muted from texting to all channels and using the voice channel for a week. Others began to question this, and I had heard a few people left the server due to the obnoxious level of muting and the fiery comments by the server owner as they defended their actions as us having a "normal disagreement" and that my message was deleted for being "immature."

After a little while, my friend was also placed in "timeout" for a week.

Due to this, Green relayed my friend's message on her behalf, and then left, with Red following as well, citing how the server became "oddly toxic."

To those of you who reached out and sent me kind messages, thank you so much! You didn't have to, but you felt the need to reach out anyway and even that gesture was truly grand to me, and comforted me as the shock still remained with me the next day.

As for the fandom, I have said it before at the beginning that the intention is not to be a callout post or a post about "drama" or "tea"—do not call it that. Asides from explaining my sudden departure from the anthology weeks before its release, it is also to ask the fandom a few very important questions:

"Why is it the norm for people to speak over others who have lived experiences in a particular place?"

"Why are we invalidating or ignoring their experiences and instead giving the power to speak about a region to someone with minimal interaction or knowledge about it?"

And lastly,

"Why is the fandom so comfortable with this?"

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[househrt]

something about how House was made during the time of 2000s beauty standards is so interesting to a 2024 viewer, like

House's endless comments about Cuddy's ass being big and therefore bad because it's 2005 and 2005 loves Big Boobs + No Ass

how a g-string poking out of a pair of low-rise jeans was considered peak sex appeal

also Chase in that episode where he's in an all-black suit, black dress shirt and black tie (almost repping the standard uniform of 17-year-old Aussie boys at their Year 12 formal in 2007, an all-black outfit with a Thin Red Tie)

and then in season 7 we hit 2010/2011 and get Masters' fuckass layered outfits with the big chunky belts and coloured tights

[commajade]

i guess since i talk about shinee so much i should make an official blog statement about what happened lmfao. i didn't see it until yesterday because i was offline. and yeah! those r genuinely harmful and hurtful and nasty colorist statements they made to minho, and that's p cut and clear. no excuses tolerated here. i'm immensely disappointed in taemin and key as people because i thought they were better than that, but turns out they're pretty much the same people they were in like 2010 which is the last time something like this happened.

the consequences of them trying to loosen their professional boundaries and be more real people with real connections with their fans (which is overall a good thing i have said i appreciate) is that real people pretty much always have racist biases ingrained and naturalized in their heads. korean people have an neocolonial relationship to the US that rewards racism, so it is always present. colorism is rampant in asia with a direct tie to US colonial antiblackness. just on a personal level taekey should know better despite being so deep in the celebrity world and its beauty standards. colorism is not taught to be a social ill and related to racism in korea but if they took a second to think it would be obvious that it's hurtful.

people on twitter are being actively racist to people who say the truth which is that what they said is harmful. i will not be talking about shinee for the next whatever amount of time because i have a distaste for my faves currently and it hurts.

(post edited because i misspoke)

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Early 20th-Century Western Fashion

am i hip with the kids yet

General information Dotschkal, Janna. "1920's." FOUND. October 21, 2016. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 3 – 1930s." YouTube. April 16, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Standardized Sizes in Womens Fashion and Why They FAILED." YouTube. May 16, 2021. Vintagebursche. "100 Years of Classic Menswear - and what we can learn from each decade." YouTube. February 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "1920s Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. May 20, 2018.

Accessories Cox, Abby. "Flappers, Y2K, & Capitalism are Why Women "Don't" Have Pockets." YouTube. January 12, 2023. Cox, Abby. "The Disappointing Truth On Why We Don't Wear Hats Anymore..." YouTube. December 18, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of the Iconic Cloche Hat: Making 1920s Fashion." YouTube. September 18, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "When Hats were Illegal: Sewing a Goth Edwardian Hat." YouTube. February 21, 2021. Sheehan, Sarah. "Neo-Egyptomania." PatternVault. December 31, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Why Did We Stop Wearing Hats?" YouTube. April 28, 2020.

Cosmetics Banner, Bernadette. "Making and Testing a Victorian Skincare Routine." YouTube. April 8, 2023. English Heritage. "1930s Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. December 18, 2018. Holland, Evangeline. "On How to Be Lovely." Edwardian Promenade. April 15, 2010. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Wearing Overalls to Boycott Fashion Greedflation? Weird History of 1920." YouTube. March 16, 2024.

Gowns and formal wear Banner, Bernadette. "I Redesigned Mary Poppins' Jolly Holiday Dress Based on REAL Edwardian Lingerie Gowns." YouTube. February 20, 2021. Banner, Bernadette. "I Remade Mary Poppins’ Dress to be Actually Edwardian." YouTube. July 9, 2022. Cox, Abby. "Alexander McQueen & the Patriarchy Problem in Modern Fashion." YouTube. October 20, 2023. Cox, Abby. "What Makes a Gown Haute Couture (like House of Worth) in Victorian and Edwardian Eras?" YouTube. September 19, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "An Edwardian Woman's Fashion Evolution." YouTube. June 4, 2022. Oakes, Leimomi. "Terminology: what is a lingerie dress or lingerie frock? (and blouse, and skirt)." The Dreamstress. July 21, 2018. Rudolph, Nicole. "Stop Idolizing Coco Chanel: a shocking history of theft." YouTube. January 13, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth about the Fringed Flapper: Making 1920s Evening Dresses." YouTube. November 6, 2022. Vintagebursche. "1920s Theme Party - How to dress." YouTube. December 9, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "1920s Fashion Encyclopedia, Pt 1: Daywear." YouTube. November 27, 2019.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "I Tried Following a Real Edwardian Hair Care Routine." YouTube. May 12, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the Edwardian Era / Gibson Girl Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. June 12, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Titanic-era Hair Tutorial // Getting Dressed in the 1910's." YouTube.September 4, 2020. SnappyDragon. "Historical hair myths debunked : How often should you wash your hair—daily shampoo or no shampoo?" YouTube. August 12, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Weird Edwardian Beauty Tips." YouTube. February 11, 2017.

Laundry and starching Banner, Bernadette. "Ok but how did the Edwardians WASH these dresses?" YouTube. August 3, 2022.

Outerwear Cox, Abby. "Athleisure: Destroying Fashion & the Environment." YouTube. January 18, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "150 years of Masc Women causing a Moral Panic." YouTube. June 17, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "SPRING/SUMMER FASHION TRENDS REVIEW but it's 1936 (ft. original fabric samples!)." YouTube. April 22, 2022.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "I Made Witchy Edwardian Shoes by Hand!" YouTube. March 14, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Making 100 year old Comfy Slippers: Free Pattern!" YouTube. December 30, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The True History of Stiletto Heels : the battle between Ferragamo and Dior." YouTube. August 26, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Why Is No One Talking About 1930s Shoes?" YouTube. September 15, 2020.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "1903 Patented Bustle Pad Reconstruction." YouTube. June 8, 2019. Banner, Bernadette. "Achieving That Classic Edwardian Shape: Reconstructing a 1902 Bust Bodice." YouTube. April 16, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "So What are Guimpes Anyway? // Examining Antique Edwardian Guimpes." YouTube. August 21, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "They Wore Corsets in the 1920's?!" YouTube. January 29, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Brassieres End the Corset?" YouTube. February 28, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dressing in Edwardian Clothing: Undergarments and Layers of 1907." YouTube. November 1, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "How Flappers got their Figure: the 1920s Silhouette." YouTube. July 10, 2022. SnappyDragon. "How pin-up photos fooled dress history : the making and marketing of lingerie pictures." YouTube. April 1, 2023.

[angel-of-hunky-doryness]

Disney's Hercules: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Inaccuracies

Ah Disney's Hercules.

Now I'm sure I've made it no secret that this is one of my all time favorite movies. Both for it's witty charm and impressive character design, there is something to be said about this film that makes it stand out among the line-up of Disney's Renaissance films. It's not one of it's finest, nor is it your classic fairy tale movie up there with the likes of Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but just like Lion King, Hercules takes a unique spin on a timeless tale for a more modern audience.

Perhaps my love of this movie and other Disney films are biased. We had quite a lot of these movies on VHS and since I was still learning english, they were a great introduction before I started kindergarten.

Now as I watch these movies again I'm still surprised how well these movies have aged. I recently rewatched B&B with my dad the other day from flipping channels and even he was blown away with how good these movies really are after nearly 2 decades of not seeing them. It's astounding especially now in an age where we have started to see a decline in the quality of Disney movies. Back when there was a greater focus on art instead of profit.

While there was a rise in harsh criticism on Disney movies and their protagonists(like Snow White, Cinderella, etc) primarily in the 2010's that was perpetuated by internet culture (i.e. memes, Youtube critics, pick your poison) I am glad to see that we are starting to dial it down again and see just how progressive many of these movies were for their day and age.

Now this post isn't about any of that.

There are much better blogs here on tumblr that go into that, so I highly recommend @marciabrady, @artist-issues for their look at early Disney princesses and other similar blogs I will hopefully tag before I post this.

There is one movie though that kinda got the worst treatment and that is, to no one's surprise, Disney's Hercules.

And it's kind of deserved.

Now I'm not here to cast stones. Like I said in the preamble, it's one of my favorite movies and I've written quite a bit of fanfiction in this fandom. So I've done it dirty quite a lot. Sorry HS me, we need to talk a bit.

So instead, we will be going over why the inconsistent depiction of the Greek Mythology presented in this film had to be done and some small examples. Nothing too deep. The Mythology Guy on YouTube made a great video going over all the inaccuracies in the film and I highly recommend giving it a watch if you are interested in learning more about the Greek myth of Herakles.

With that out of the way, let's get started.

Part I: Child-Proofing

As I've mentioned before in one of my earlier posts, Disney films are made for children. Now that doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it, but the content within the films are primarily so children can watch and enjoy. Sure there are adult jokes and themes that will go over kid's heads, but they are generally pretty minor or toned down enough that can pass the films off as rated G/PG.

After all, Disney films have very easy and digestible morals: true beauty lies on the inside, don't judge people on their background, follow your dreams but don't lose sight on what's important, don't talk to strangers unless they're hot, invite everyone to the christening- things like that.

Disney films for the longest time have been a sort of moral standard since they have such a big influence on Western culture. Because of that, many fairy tales they have made films about tend to throw out some of the more grim and dark details attached to these tales.

Take Cinderella.

In the original Grimm's Fairy Tale, the happy couple ride off into the sunset while her step-sisters get their eyes plucked out by Cinderella's birds. In fact, before that, the step-sister's lopped off bits of their foot to try and fit into the glass slipper, only to be found out as the slipper gets soaked in blood.

Now I don't know about y'all, but I don't see anyone complaining that Disney left out those details. Okay, well the general consensus, at least.

But Cinderella is a classic fairy tale that had many adaptations and versions from across the world that allowed Disney to pull inspiration from, so who cares that they didn't follow the Brothers Grimm line-by-line?

And that's a good point.

There are versions where Cinderella isn't as gruesome. Charles Perrault, another very famous fairy tale author, had his own version of Cinderella where her step-sisters are fully intact by the end of the story. So it's quite obvious Disney was more attached to this version since it was much more decent.

Just like Cinderella, Greek Mythology has hundreds of different versions about just a single myth. You have Hesiod, Homer, Apollodorus, Ovid and those are just the writers from thousands of years ago. Nowadays, we have thousands of modern adaptations, translations, and rewrites of Greek myth to comb through.

There's just so much to choose from! And that's not even considering how interchangeable Greek myth is with its Roman counterpart.

What that means is you're never going to be able to get everyone to agree on one myth. Sure we can agree on certain details, but just like Ancient Greece, every city state had it's own version of a myth.

Herakles or Hercules was no exception.

Yet it's like I alluded to as well. There are some certain details that remain consistent from myth to myth.

Now let's look at a story that doesn't have a lot of versions to pull from, and just like Disney Hercules, it was heavily toned down: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This Disney film is arguable the most sanitized of the animated adaptations. A personal favorite of mine that far outranks Hercules in every way, but it was a huge hurdle to adapt.

From Esmeralda's attempted SA and death, racism, Quasi being bound and abused in jail, Phoebus' less than honorable pursuit of Esmeralda, Frollo's creepy obsession and his horrific control over Quasimodo, the religious themes and motifs, it's crazy how Disney was able to adapt it at all.

While it is pulling from Victor Hugo's original novel, there were a dozen films made before it that also tried to adapt this famous tale. The 1939 version of this film starring Maureen O'Hara is one of the greatest films ever made. For it's time, it made an incredible movie that sanitized many of the darker aspects in a way that cemented this classic tale into a more modern audience.

So is it any surprise that a lot was dialed down in Disney's version so children could also understand the message Victor Hugo was trying to tell? That the deformity Quasimodo was born with unfortunately led him to have a very harsh life- not because his disability affected his quality of life, but because of how society viewed/treated him. Their own perception led him to be isolated, ostracized, abused, and pitied. Likewise with beauty and race in Esmeralda's case.

They are different sides to the same coin.

I have a lot to talk about with Quasimodo. The next disney movie I will begin analyzing will be Hunchback, so prepare yourselves as I wrap up on Hercules.

But I digress.

Because Disney films are catered towards children, is it any wonder Hercules got the same treatment?

Part II: Greek Myths for Dummies

Greek Mythology is not an easy thing to adapt for a single film. Disney films, especially animated ones, are gonna get you at most a 90 minute timeslot and that's already a lot to ask for a highly-trained team of animators, musicians, writers, actors, artists, etc.

There are a lot of bases to cover.

Especially since this may very well be a kid's first introduction into Greek mythology. So we have a lot to answer

Like...

Why is Zeus king of the gods? Why does he have so many kids? How does the afterlife work? Why do I have to pay a man to get into hell? Are winged horses normal here? Why are the Titans bad? What goddess is that with the funny flower headband? Why won't they name all the background gods- are they important in the world? Is being compared to Aphrodite a good thing? Why doesn't Zeus realize his brother is trying to kill him? Why can't I have hubris as a treat?

All good questions, dear reader. And with a limited timeslot, there's not a lot they can talk about, so animators are throwing as much visual exposition as possible.

But who is this glittering assemblage?

That's why to understand what's going on you have to have prior knowledge to get what's going on in the background.

Like Lord of the Rings. Big world, lots of story to tell. The Silmarillion will help, but that's already a lot for a first time fan.

And since Hercules is written with kids in mind, it has to be rewritten some. So the established canon is kind of being thrown out the window, rearranged, and patched up like an old man who threw off an emperor's groove.

But Gerald Scarfe and a team of Disney animators managed to combine the former's caricature design style to the Disney standard to create Disney Hercules' unique style.

These gods aren't given the background character design treatment you'll find in other Disney movies, they are very stylized and exaggerated to visually convey their personality, their role in this universe, and if they're good or bad.

And the nice thing is, Greek mythology has an extensive list of symbols associated with each god that allowed Disney's own technicolor pantheon to reflect the very same icons.

Look at Athena above. There's her war helm, her breastplate, a cute little owl. She screams war goddess, but look how gentle she is with the bird. Her glass of nectar is a prop to show off her generosity, her self-restraint, and her desire to keep the peace.

But on the flip side, Ares is in the same get-up as her, war helm, breastplate, but his sword is drawn and his stance is one of action. We can see both these war gods are similar, but their temperaments and approach to war (same as their personalities) are so drastically different, and their color scheme helps so much as well.

It's incredible how much detail was poured into this and while I can go on gushing about the designs, we must push on.

Say what you want about how accurate the greek mythos is shown downgrades the overall movie, but the background story is lining up with a lot of the context we would lose were this in any other medium. The gods, how they look, their personalities- it's there.

It's accurate.

Sure the same cannot be said about the gods and mortals who have a role in the overall story they made, but that's the last issue this post will hopefully tackle.

Part III: A Hero's Journey

While Disney had already dipped their toes into Greek mythology with the likes of Fantasia and Goddess of Spring, Hercules was the first try to make it more than just a short.

So the myth they chose to adapt had to be iconic. They couldn't do it about the gods- that's just too much drama. They needed a hero, someone who struggled and fought and had a support group comprising of supernatural beings. And who is the most famous hero of Greek Myth?

Herakles.

There's just a few slight issues with that, heh...

Herakles is a really rough story.

To summarize, Zeus magics up a disguise to look like the mortal Amphitryon to woo the guy's wife, Alcmene. She gets preggers, Hera finds out and naturally goes ballistic. So Zeus pulls a fast one on his wife to save his kid, and thus Hera nurses baby Herk giving him god-like strength. A few assassination attempts later, Herakles grows up, marries, and has kids. Despite this, Hera isn't done, but she doesn't target the H man anymore, oh no, she sends him into a fit of madness whereby he decimates his entire family. Once it passes he works for a king, like his distant cousin, and he does 12 increasingly intense labors as a sort of penance and at the end of it, he's promised immortality or an indefinite Hera leaves him alone pass. Wonder Boy finishes that, but then he gets infected with centaur blood after taking on his dad's worst personality trait (adultery), he dies via his own funeral pyre, but at the last second his dad saves him and he becomes a god.

And Disney is gonna try adapting that???

That's about a dozen labors in itself, so how are they gonna do it?

To summarize here are the elements Herakles has going on that can be adapted to your standard Disney film:

Protagonist: Hercules (b/c the Roman version is much more popular)

Damsel in Distress: Megara or Deianeira (most notable love interests in myth)

Side-kicks: Iolaus (Hmm those undertones, huh)

Antagonist: Hera

Flaw: wrath / impetuous/ salacious

Unique ability / quirk: super strength

We have a pretty solid line-up for a story here. But at the time in the 90's, there is already another adaptation of Hercules going on strong: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

This show first came out in the mid-90's and ended a couple years after Disney's Hercules dropped.

So how are they going to make it distinct from that?

It's really easy actually.

Super easy.

Disney's Hercules got a lot of inspiration from Superman (Christopher Reeves version).

Hercules is literally an innocent farm boy (mild-mannered Clark Kent), Meg is your hotshot spitfire Lois Lane, and Hades is your bald megalomaniac investing millions of dollars trying to axe one guy - Lex Luthor.

And let's be honest, the myth of Herakles reads like a modern superhero. He has super strength, he fights monsters, there's a damsel in distress every now and then- he fits the bill!

At this point in time, Disney didn't have a superhero and since that started to be a bigger appeal as the 90's marched on (*laughs in Marvel*)

It was a smart choice to bridge this tale to the modern time.

So for that reason, if they were going to make Hercules a super hero-esque character. He needed a villain and Hera wasn't going to cut it.

Part IV: A Hera-Shaped Hole

Hera was absolutely vicious in myth. This lady orchestrated the entire demise of Herk's family, his sanity, and his freedom. She wanted him to suffer just so Zeus could see how betrayed she felt every time he had a dalliance with a mortal.

Zeus never learned, but Hera's tactics did. And it was by her hand that sent Hercules into servitude under his cousin, the king. A title Herakles should've had had Hera not intervened.

And while wicked step-mothers are abundant in Disney's canon, it wasn't going to work because she's Zeus' wife. Yes, Hera received repercussions for starting a coup against her husband once in myth, but it was a brief punishment. Most of the time this couple can't stand each other, but they are what's keeping the pantheon together. And Hestia's cooking.

But here's the thing, Hera may be a bad person in this myth and others involving sons of Zeus, but she's a good person in other myths. Even at the beginning of this one, Hera found an abandoned baby and nursed him because he was all alone and crying out of hunger. She has her virtue, she's a good queen.

Yet with her iconography of peacocks, marriage, family, cows, and queen of the heavens and gods, she gives off very ethereal imagery.

This was the lady sending monsters and horrors of Typhon and Echidna's brood- that's her?

It can be done, I'm sure someone will do it better than Blood of Zeus, but it's much harder to adapt, especially with Treasure Planet on the duo of director's mind.

Just see Lindsey Ellis' Disney Hercules video, you'll understand.

But y'know that thing with the monsters.... Kinda cool. Monsters coming in from the pits of hell- pretty rad i guess. Well who else could throw a litany of monsters at our little hero?

Oh.

Yeah, okay, fine.

Hades, you're hired.

Yeah, the direction of this movie absolutely did a backflip the second the writers wanted Hades as their villain.

However, based on concept art, this was something they wanted from the very start and I'm sure we can all see the appeal.

I mean as soon as this movie came out so many other greek myth adaptations jumped to make Hades a bad guy, and like kudos to y'all, but this really is the easiest god you can paint as a villain. Home boy literally is dark and dank and emo as can be. Congrats we found another goblin sewer man to dress up as the mustache twirling evil-doer!

Like... This writes itself.

And pitting a god of the dead vs a mortal who's striving for immortality? It's poetry. It's an on the nose symbolism. I can't make it any clearer.

There's even an excerpt in Revelations that Disney references:

"Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire." 20:14 (NIV)

Hades is written as a Devil character. He's a deal maker, soul stealer. There's so much you can do with a Mephistopheles archetype. It's always a show stopper, I mean Ursula did it with extra steps.

Hera is a goddess of the heavens. Hercules is fighting the heavens to get into Heaven(TM). That's all kinds of complicated to simplify in a kid's film.

We want a villain to be scary, to be mean, and unjustified in their cruelty.

Hera wasn't going to work since Herakles' mother (though unwillingly) is the other woman. It would paint Zeus as another morally bad person. Why on earth would Herc look up to that guy? In fact, why would he want to join a band of morally corrupt people?

So let's make a new villain.

We can have the hero endure a different kind of pain.

The damsel's story doesn't have to end tragically because of a betrayal.

Make the story relevant and simple.

What archetypes can we match up to make this ancient myth fit into the modern day?

Make it clean, and make it understandable for kids. Throw in as many myths as possible so kids can see how big this world is.

The mythology is wrong, sure, but we'll spark that interest. We can make mythology fun. It'll make kids curious to learn more about them.

It certainly worked for me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Part V: Conclusion

This movie is an absolute blast. I think many fans can agree and though the story does have its issues (See Conflicts series), it did it's job. With such a fun and memorable cast, lovingly animated characters, and mind-melting musical numbers, it stands uniquely among the other adaptations of Greek Mythology and perhaps it's why there was a bit of a resurgence in it's popularity as time marched on.

Herakles is a tale of struggle, sacrifice, and courage. One man battled and fought to achieve the divine, but at the end of his life, he did what few other mortals were ever able to do.

And Disney's Hercules took that character and developed him in such a loving way. To see his struggle both internal and external, it's a beautiful circle when he accepts his mortality and gives up his greatest dream for love. He didn't belong anywhere, caught between heaven and earth. Yet somehow he found it with someone who had been through hell and was hungry for heaven.

And just remember.

Not every work of fiction has to adhere to these magical bylaws that dictate how your Greek Myth AU must follow. However, I would like to softly counter-point my own point and say if you are going to make interpretations of greek mythology, be they musicals, video games, fanfics, or modern retellings, one must include the soul of the character they are based on. Hadestown, Hades(the game), Percy Jackson (most of the time), and the God of War franchise being prime examples.

Disney's Hercules took these characters and made them more exaggerated and updated to fit modern archetypes that are prominent in a Western Christian based-society. To me, I still see the soul of what these characters represent, even if some things were heavily condensed or rewritten.

Stories evolve. As is the nature of living things.

Till next time, Dear Readers.

[simplydnp]

genuinely wondering why phil was considered the "ugly one" out of dan and phil. he's so hot? like there was a time where by some fans phil was literally seen as second best always... has that changed completely? i see more phillies than dannies these days which used to be absolutely the other way round if i remember correctly... like maybe it's just due to the fact that the fans grew up and delevoped some brain cells and/or phil having a glow up. what do you think abt this?

caveat: attraction is subjective and this is not a definitive guide as to what counts as hotness, nor is hotness the epitome of existence or something that people 'need' in order to exist, but instead this serves as an exploration into the culture surrounding perception of appearance as it relates to dan and phil, with care to note that 'conventional' beauty standards are highly correlated with white features and are problematic for many reasons but especially the racist aspect. i do not endorse the 'conventional' standard as the only acceptable one, but it would be remiss to ignore the fact that it plays a role in this conversation, especially in 2010s culture.

this is an interesting question for me because i don't Get all the layers of attraction just in general. so much of it makes very little sense, despite how hard i've tried to understand it. and what i've found out is that it's not supposed to make sense, it's something that just is and. well. my brain doesn't like that 😂 i've 'learned' what 'conventional' beauty standards are and thus can somewhat identify 'objectively' attractive people/qualities, but i'm absolutely just three possums in a trenchcoat on good days 🤣 so my best approximation is as follows:

- phil *pulled* back in the day online

- he stopped playing into it as much and because he wasn't exuding it as much, people stopped seeing it

- combine this with the less traditionally masculine energy he conveyed, alongside moving moreso away from the fully 'emo' look

- i think his fashion sense/choices played into this as well, came across very much like 'guy in tshirt' --which is fine, but unless your features really meet societal beauty standards at the time, it's not 'selling' you in the 'hot' department

- as well, contrasted with dan who had more of the 'societal beauty standard' look, people were less likely to see him in that role, especially because he seemed quite happy not being there (i'd argue some of it was a confidence thing too, especially on a day to day--the outfits video in gamingmas kind of confirmed that for me. he Knew he rocked that plaid suit, cause he did, but i don't think he felt that about his every day attire)

- people love to sort people into boxes and did as much with dnp, especially in making dnp 'opposites' (despite this not actually being true)

- truly think the fringe staying as long as it did didn't help, especially when, self-admittedly, it got a little blocky near the end.

- i think quiff really unlocked something in him. it really suited him, and he felt quite confident about it, as he had every right to. this, combined with a fashion upgrade in him paying a little more attention to it and developing his own personal style, people started to notice. (also dan hyping him up publicly about it made us talk about it more too)

- further style enhancements, more quiff experience led to him experimenting a little more, which let him find things he really liked

- i also think he's learned how to pose better/isnt 'being intentionally awkward' in pictures as much

- his ykw i want a change and idc what you all think attitude in going back to brown, and then into messy--he really Knows he's attractive now and how to dress himself to bring that out (even if he doesnt feel like it all the time)

there has definitely been a shift--i think the fandom has gotten smaller, and a lot of their 'mainstream' audience were dannies back in the heyday bc of the 'societal beauty standards'. so combine many of those people leaving, at a similar timeline to phil figuring his 'look' out, his audience getting older (and the lesbians being Very fond of him), and his consistency in uploading the last few years, i think it all swirls into this current existence where there's a lot of phillies out there and they're loud and proud about it (as they should be), especially cause a lot of them have Always Known but it wasn't the 'popular' take at the time.

i am but a hapless dannie and any phillies who would like to share their two cents/drag me for being wrong pls do so

[imustbenuts]

im free from yakuza kiwami 2. fuck the writing in this one. this was a complete mess of pulling from the most popular generic east asian drama tropes at the time of 2006 and having it be handled by a super inexperienced writer at the helm.

i went from having no expectations, got somewhat surprised, only to end up downing alcohol and laughing hysterically before the credits rolled. so that should set the mood for how i feel about this one. thought vomit under the cut, a lot of info dump about culture incoming

yakuza kiwami 2 is pure heterosexual east asian romance bullshit.

im gonna just. describe as best as i can what i know and remember from the general media coming out from the 90s to the 2010s in around this part of the world before i just start explaining why i think this story is a mess.

so. 2 parts i swear is responsible for this rubbish.

1) East Asian Beauty Standard

the general consensus for a beautiful feminine woman AT THE TIME in this sphere is the following

be willowy thin (fat = lazy and ugly)

have black hair that ISNT short (dyed = too much individuality, too much WESTERN INDIVIDUALISM, gasp how dare!)

fair skinned (bc dark = she works in the fields and is from a lower class)

young. if you heard of the term "Christmas Cake" in japan context, yeah. (ie women over age of 25 are undesirable)

be educated and refined, bc that indicates class and femininity (failing this means shes vulgar and gasp like a barbarian)

be submissive to her male peers in the sense that her authority cannot override his at least in public (for the sake of his face)

dresses feminine and not like a man (trousers and jeans are man-ish. traditional clothing, skirts and dresses are preferred. the further back the stronger this sentiment is.)

incidentally, theres a lot of classism tied to this EABS due to sinocentric culture influences. it has to do with the chinese court system and how korea and japan copied it and a lot of the culture wholesale but. anyway. thats like over 1000 years of history in there thats not really worth detouring to rn.

and also, the worth of a man is sometimes (not always) upheld by how classy and feminine this wife of his is. as of 2024 though, this line of thought is still around in the more conservative pockets. also, the education might not matter as much these days as how deep her and her parents' pockets and wealth are.

moving on.

2) media tropes

so. off the top of my head.

if you wanted a popular romance drama in this time period, the popular offerings no matter where you looked tended to offer the same flavors of tropes.

the woman always has dark hair, is fair skinned, thin and younger than her male love interest. ive never seen this broken or subverted in my time absorbing via osmosis the dramas playing on local tv growing up in the early 2000s.

everything else about her can be subverted though. sometimes she can wear fancy pants or have short hair to indicate her strong individualism. BUT, her personality no matter how strong it begins, no matter how her intro begins will 99% of the time encounter an effect where catching feelings turns her into a meek loyal woman to her love interest.

bc she cant override his authority in this culture context.

at worst, she becomes highly irrational and even hysterical in the dramas when bad things happen. this includes things like love triangle, or a fallout of family business, drama, plot or whatever. she would cry and sometimes even die.

see: sawamura yumi. sayama kaoru.

meanwhile, the male love interest can be anything. ive seen middle aged guys to young good looking upcoming actors playing the lead, with looks varying from haggardly okay to young and handsome. it. really depends on the genre.

depending on what specific country it came from, the drama would have the male either grow, become manlier (by learning honor ig), become stupid in the name of love, but he rarely if ever actually dies. the woman effectively becomes yoshi for mario to lauch off on when they're crossing a chasm

the romance is forced. a lot of the BIG LOVE SPARK ie kissing happens in tense moments bc it builds drama, but in reality comes too fucking close to sexual assault (some of the old jackie chan movies does this iirc for slapstick even)

see: sayama getting kissed right after handling her biological father's ashes less than 24 hours ago and admitting to kiryu that shes scared. this scene right fucking here.

bc in general, the scriptwriters for popular dramas tended to be guys themselves and tended to write more human dudes. and the women in the stories are reflective of the ideal societal expectation at the time: being a Refined Housewife.

so her character development is often headed in the direction of marriage and being a stay at home mom.

if it sounds a little like tradwife bullshit, it is.

Refined Housewife

(i have massive negative thoughts about this which i KNOW for a fact is a thing bc a lot of these societal culture femininity was impressed on me as a kid in a world where it was already getting increasingly impossible to have 1 spouse be a SAHP. and also i hated the whole thing about giving face to the patriarch of the house when i personally saw so much ego dick measuring from my uncles. anyway understand that this is both a bias an a lived experience, so proceed with that in mind)

there is a problem with the Refined Housewife expectation: education.

in general, education has been a good metric to judge how classy or smart one is in asia's largely on-the-surface meritocracy based culture. people will look at each other's school first and then judge them from there, and pretty hard too.

so everyone regardless of gender will be expected to study super hard. and bc having good test scores and going to good schools looks good for the family's face, parents will often pile on tuition to the child to get them a leg up in life.

bc also no good degree from good school means no future.

but then... the woman is expected to be a housewife. 🙃 meaning... the education, her accomplishments, are kinda... tossed away in this context. put a pin in this.

it wont matter how much she studied or accomplished, bc the expectation is that the woman would marry and obey her husband, and give him face/honor that way. the kids will come eventually bc having kids = being filial to ones parents in this context.

also uh. no, having adopted kids is not thought of as being filial. continuing the bloodline is.

and if you've been paying attention, then yes, ive been skirting around the backbone of sayama kaoru's writing foundations this entire time.

Her story has been butchered so clumsily i cant even...

lets just. ugh.

she fits the EABS standard, her tropes are trying to subvert the expectations of a womanly woman in this context, she has IMPRESSIVE education and career achievements. she works in a male dominated field, and is keenly aware of sexism. she is strong, stronger than her male peers, at least we are told.

by 2006s standards, its still considered a fresh take with those alone in japan. sexism there is its own flavor of crap. (if you noticed ive not spoken about LGBTQ+ stuff at all, its bc how ridiculously BINARY the expectation is at that point in time. it still is today but less so)

however, the writing has this sense of trying to copy the popular tropes at the time while not fully understanding and dissecting them, and ends up butchering sayama's character before the romance even properly began.

i mean, for fucks sake even, sayama and kiryu has a whopping 14 year age gap. when im told these are supposed to be believable people living in japan, this is too big for me to just go 'oh ok!'. and remember the Christmas Cake thing? shes 25. (FUCKING--!!!! !!)

the problem here that i see is the writer trying to apply all of those while trying to play the tropes straight. trying to imitate. trying to make a statement but then finding out theres nothing within yourself to stand by what you want to say and backtracking.

we are told:

sayama is strong yet she goes down with 1 slap by random thugs and needing kiryu to come in and body them. because romance ig.

we are told shes a yakuza hunter but she doesnt scare a single one beyond her introductory scene.

she goes from defiant and bossing kiryu around to getting her actions overridden by kiryu and ryuji, both men, towards the end

her subtext is that shes not feminine and therefore conventionally undesirable, but then kiryu tells her shes actually feminine and therefore desired, as if its all that matters.

she becomes so stricken by grief and freaked out that she runs off solo to deal with ryuji in the most out of left pocket planning ive ever fucking seen.

and then yells as she takes out her police baton to take down the big yakuza dude, drawing attention and turning herself into a hostage.

i know the writing will fumble but i didnt expect it to fumble this bad.

for all the good the surface chemistry kiryu and sayama has, its being undermined by a fundamental failure to understand tropes and then using said tropes as a crutch so much that everything here has become a bloody mess.

this failure of over-relying on tropes without understanding them extends to yumi too. sawamura yumi was young and beautiful, and became the Refined Housewife to the Not-Male-MC and ends up regretting it, and gets killed for it.

her defining trait is that she is beautiful in subtext. thats. thats what the tattoo is. in a world where the tattoo makeths the person, thats what she is and all that she is.

dear lord.

ive read up a bit more on sayama and you know what. good that she chooses her career over kiryu. the romance would have caused both of their characters to explode with the trajectory this was heading in. ffs sayama could have had her own game. she has so MUCH potential.

and also GOOD that the writer is forced to think of kiryu in the position of the Stay At Home Parent for haruka and the orphanage down the line!!! subverting the fucking traditional BS expectation! yes!!!!!

all i got was sayama and kiryu making out before the bomb went off in front of my alcohol and salad while they're like 'eh, haruka will forgive us for dying :')'

and i ran out of alcohol.

sexism? maybe. incompetence? definitely.

hhgrhgrhrghrghrgrhgr wow this got long. ugh. guhhhhhh.

[eerna]

My very specific gripe with SJM that I haven’t seen anyone mention yet is how she tries to justify her characters being hot— like in ToG there’s like a whole paragraph dedicated to making sure the reader understands that Celaena is super skinny, pale, and has very long blonde hair. But then it’s revealed that those traits are a direct result of her being forced to work in a salt mine for years and so she’s insecure about her appearance. SJM wants to have her cake and eat it too, where her female lead has to be insecure in order to make her relatable to the teen girl audience, but also she has to be extremely conventionally attractive.

This results in SJM enforcing conventional beauty standards while also making them seem reasonable and easy to achieve. After all, if half-starved Celaena can look like a super model, why shouldn’t the real human teenager reading the book be able to? It also implies that starvation and other unhealthy behaviors are a viable way to get skinny which is obviously an absolutely HEINOUS message to give to teens. It also reeks of misogyny, because the only time that characters written like Celaena are able to see their own beauty is when they start getting attention from men (usually there’s some sort of intimate sex-adjacent scene where the male love interest blabbers about the female lead’s beauty and then she realizes that she’s been hot all along, actually). It’s just so disgusting to me. I read ToG as an insecure teen and I’m just glad that I realized how bad it was before I took any of these messages to heart.

I do think this issue is small potatoes compared to SJM’s racism and gender essentialism stuff, but worth bringing up anyway. And to be fair, even authors I really like are also guilty of this on a lesser scale, specifically Leigh Bardugo with Alina in TGT and Holly Black with Jude in TFoTA. It seems to have been a symptom of mid 2010s YA, but SJM has brought it into the 2024 fantasy landscape, of course…

I totally agree, SJM uses the "she's staving but DAMN are her boobs rocking" sooo many times in her books. ANd it's funny bc Aelin is supposed to be this super confident badass but also an everyday teen girl and the whiplash is so strong... I never liked Divergent all that much, but I distinctly remember that at one point Triss has issues with her clothes bc she became too thick for them and sees it as becoming stronger, and at 13 that was such a big comfort to me ahahah. But I have to say, I think Jude's weight loss isn't treated the same because I don't think it's referred to as anything other than unhealthy, and by the time book 3 rolls around she's back to looking the same as Taryn. I don't recall Alina's though so I can't say anything abt it.

[kiefbowl]

Are radical feminism and gender critical ideology two separate things?

probably depends on who you ask lol

radical feminism is a movement born out of 1960s western feminism, some people say it's interchangeable with "second-wave" but I've seen others argue those two phrases aren't interchangeable. Radical feminism is anchored on the idea of addressing "the root" of female oppression, and identifies that as male supremacy. This is why radical feminists (among other feminists!) talk about the "axis of sex" - it understands that there is a hierarchy of male over female, and that this is oppressive and wrong. In my experience, you can find this idea throughout feminism...plus it's worth noting that not every feminist text specifically identities what "ideology" it's "meant" to belong to. A good thing to keep in mind.

When it comes to the phrase "gender critical," I personally don't find this phrase all that useful. I've written a couple posts about this, but I'll never find them so I'll try to quickly outline some thoughts here. In my experience, I see the phrase gender critical pretty much exclusively online. I see it used pretty much one of three ways: 1. interchangeable with "radical feminism" 2. describing radical feminism 3. as a name for an ideology. I honestly don't know where this phrase originates from, so if it really does come from a specific era or text or something like that, I'm happy to be corrected, but I have a suspicion that it originated online in loosely "radfem" spaces and has now been accepted as terminology despite no cohesive definition. "Radical feminism" and "gender critical feminism" both have wikipedia pages, and only gender critical feminism immediately references "TERFS" with a HUGE list of sources I find suspicious, despite its short length. The wikipedia page says "Originating as a fringe movement within radical feminism mainly in the United States" up front with three sources, and those sources are published in 2021, 2022, and 2023, (suspicious). I just don't buy it, I think this a misappropriation of casual feminist parlance that took place online while those feminists navigated talking about trans critical ideas in the aughts and 2010's. In any case, I've never considered myself "gender critical" as something specific. I find myself critical of gender in so far as I consider gender part of the system that enforces the sex hierarchy, and I'm critical of, like, being oppressed for being female lol. I just find it a sort of loop-di-loop sort of phrase, and not particularly clarifying to what gender is. I suppose I see the use at least at first to say "critical of gender ideology" as a way to say "critical of ideas of inherent gender identity", but now that it's understood to mean many incorrect things outside the in-group, I don't see how it continues to be useful when discussing outside the in-group. I also don't find the idea of "gender abolition" particularly helpful in many the same ways: gender only exists because of female subordination. I want female liberation, and with that gender will be eliminated. I also think this idea of "gender critical" and "gender abolition" is why radfem tumblr will go in endless circles about very superficial beauty standards as if they're the crux and not the flavor. If we eliminated make-up, it would be nice but it wouldn't do much to address female liberation, imo. That's just one example.

So, if I were to answer the question, and zoom out as far as I could, I would say no they aren't the same thing, but not for the reasons most people would assume.

[rholsof-film]

My Unsolicitated Opinion on VSFS

The show has had a lot of iconic moments throughout the year and is known for excelling model’s careers, even when they walk it just once. Models are able to make a name for themselves after having some type of association with the brand. This year we saw models that were new to the show get wings, they might have been in the industry for a while, but VS usually introduced them with the pink segment first. Then the models had to work their way up to gain wings. The wings on the runway were always earned, after walking three shows models were able to attain wings and get contracts working for the brand. This did a lot more for their careers in the industry if they were able to attain these contracts. The pink segment was missing from the show this year entirely.

Secondly, not only did we have pre-runway interviews, but we had talked with the models on what makes Victoria Secret so special; and who exactly is Victoria Secret. We also got introductions from some of the angels and how they got their start with the brand or how they got into modeling as a whole. We got backstory and then we got campaign shoots for the show and behind-the-scenes preparations with the models. We also got model workout preparations and destination shoots for the campaign, to see the magic behind the scenes. There was none of that this year, no special moments, no backstage cameras that gave a look at what was happening, none of that. This is what built a fanbase for the brand, a parasocial relationship with some of the models and what gave models a name for themselves.

Thirdly, we got to see how wings were made and how they sourced the artist to make some of the wings. There was also aesthetic for each segment, like in the 2010 show we got a prairie aesthetic for one segment, then a amazonian aesthetic with animal print. There was time spent with putting thought behind each segment. This year we did not get that, we got a plain runway that was not elevated or raised off the ground, the whole point of VS is that the models are unattainable. That the models are out of this world and not like regular people, there is this air of unattainable attraction. The runway being the same level of the audience diminished that standard. We also got plain lingerie and dresses, there were never dresses in VS, there were trains hanging off the models but never full-on dresses. We may have had slips before in the past but never actual dresses because this is a LINGERIE show. I get it is more inclusive, but lingerie is lingerie, if the models aren’t ready to showcase how beautiful their size and curves are, then casting needs to be better about who is walking. I get inclusivity is a new thing and concept, that is fine but be ready to show us those beautiful curves.

Hair and makeup were insanely unprofessional this year, I wanted to see romantic curls and blowout with voluminous, teased hair, 90’s blowouts and bombshell, sex crazed hair. The slick back ponytail was absolutely dreadful. I wanted to see smokey eyes and contoured, chiseled faces and Sunkissed skin. A lot of them were pale and not Sunkissed skin at all. No one was glowing from head to toe with bronzer or any oil. All of these preparations are what made the show iconic. It was like we were there every step of the way, from wing sourcing to getting background on some of the angels and getting introduced to new angels. We got none of that and that is why it was so lackluster.

I understand that these might be nostalgic expectations, and that people were looking for nostalgia. I cannot deny it, but I was also expecting to see something new, to be introduced to some new traditions. I think that was the reason some of my expectations were so high. I think that might have been the issue. Our expectations should have been low in watching a comeback. We have to keep in mind that a lot of people have stopped shopping for the brand so the money and funding is not going to be as out of this world as it used to be. The glitter or LED light runway was not in the budget and a lot of the underwear was not as expensive as it used to be. The brand also could not afford a lot of things like makeup and hair, wings and venue. If the brand can get to where it used to be then maybe expectations will be met again. I think the show is back in it’s premature days when it was just a normal runway show like when Monica and Yasmeen Ghauri walked. There was no glitz or glam, so this might very well be an end of an era, so we must give grace and welcome something new. I can admit that this is a turnover, that this is something that is possibly played out and we should not expect the glamour it used to give. This is truly a sad moment but hopefully the future can bring something new and interesting.

[tododeku-or-bust]

Gonna start out with im white but tbh thats probably obvious so like. You rbed an interview about Miles G's hair and ive been wondering

Are there specific stereotypes to certain black hairstyles? Im curious bc i do character design a lot, and tbh ive always thought the double braids was a really cool look, are there implications to it? Or is it just regular racism from nonblack people that make some view it as "thug" as opposed to just a normal hairstyle.

Like when i was little i used to have my hair like that all the time, and i still do it sometimes bc its really good for hot weather, so i kinda associate it more with beating the heat/good hairstyle for when you're gonna get sweaty than anything else lol

🤣 it tis obvious, but I'm gonna answer this for you and anyone else who wants to start looking into it bc yes this is very important. So let's talk about it!

(this became a history lesson I did not mean to give lmaoooo)

The CROWN Act

PBS Transcript- How Hair Discrimination impacts Black Americans...

So first, to be frank: it's Racism. Understand that this shit is rooted in White Supremacy towards any nonwhite hair. I'm also approaching this from a Black American standpoint. While I won't be discussing their perspective bc it's better for one of them to do it, Native Americans also have a long history of White society forcing them to cut their hair, regardless of the religious/spiritual/symbolic importance. It, and its damage, lasts til today. And head wraps? Psht almost all of Brown America has a story.

In the beginning, they had enslaved Black women (and then through Jim Crow) cover their hair altogether. It was somehow seen as a way to protect property, then to call our hair ugly and an affront to whiteness, and yet a Jezebel lure for White men to sin (i.e. rape Black women, but White women didn't think that was possible so it HAD to be that concubine!!) This perception lasts to this day. Later, it turned into Assimilation or die- hair presses and conks to better meet white beauty standards. Being proud of our afros and natural hair had a revival in the 60s and 70s, and (this is subjective) i noticed it again in the 2010s with women and natural hair.

To present: You gotta realize that having afros, cornrows, braids, and locs is enough to get Black kids kicked out of some schools and extracurriculars. An entire education or valuable experience, and you cant have it bc of the hair that grows out your head. One of the saddest videos I've ever seen was when they forced a Black teen to cut off his locs (i.e. they held him there, looking miserable, as they sheared off his hair) in order to compete in a wrestling tournament, and all the white people in that place did was watch. No one stood up for him, as he sat there getting handled like property (bc his Black body was bringing them wins but his hair was just TOO MUCH 🙄 but that's a whole Convo about Blackness, Whiteness, and Sports).

My brother went to Catholic school and they basically said he couldn't grow his hair out. None of the looks we ascribe to our culture were allowed. The girls, unless it was flat ironed (to replicate whiteness), couldn't have long braids. Certainly no locs. Meanwhile, white girls can grow their hair out as long as the sun is old, and it's treated like innocent, beautiful youth.

And this lasts into adulthood with jobs! Bc that socialization, the idea that some hair is better than others, LASTS. A newslady just took her wig off to reveal her locs on camera, after hiding it for a decade because of public perceptions. The idea that if I have locs, oh they must be dirty (they're not), so they don't care about their physical appearance and we can't hire them. Like when that old white woman said that Zendaya's faux locs probably smelled like patchouli- that was an assessment purely made on stereotype.

This is also why we get so annoyed when white people- white women in particular- wear their hair in these styles. It's usually associated with "being edgy, being rebellious and older" (i.e., bc being a Black girl is so far from what you're supposed to be as a White girl, it's not innocent or valuable, it's dangerous and it makes everyone notice you) and as soon as they're done, it's back to Mother Mary of Whiteness. It's how cornrows and braids on Black and Latino men (or both, like Miles and Miles G!) are misperceived as gang or hood shit, but a kpop rapper will get them poorly done and it's 'cool' 🙄 it's White men with dreads (I refuse to ever call them locs bc they are NOT) who think they're in their "hippie/fight the power phase" cut them when it's "time to be respectable", but when a Black man with nice locs has them already he's suspicious.

You're basically saying that being Me/Black is a trashy, edgy phase that will never succeed, but it's cool for when you wanna feel Different!

*it's also why it pisses me off in fandom spaces when people refuse to give brown characters their hair texture (or whitewash at all!). It's a statement, that "good hair" is White, and "not good/aesthetic hair" is Black. You might not think that's what you're saying, but it's what you're saying, and every Black viewer of your art can hear it loud and clear. So if you're a character designer, put some thought behind and give your Black characters their features. It'll make you a better artist and a better person.

Anyway, to come back full circle to your question: as far as I'm aware, no, there's no "bad implications" of Miles G or his braids. Nothing we wear on our head is inherently bad, just like him. But bc we've all been raised in White society to unconsciously and consciously associate certain stereotypes with these looks, Black and Brown viewers of ATSV were quite worried that that statement was being made. It was nice to hear that it wasn't.

[a-really-good-lawyer-abandoned]

Some of my fave things I often see in Daredevil (Netflix) fanfic:

- Matt giving lovely descriptions of things he hears or otherwise senses in the city that make everyday life sound beautiful in a very Miyazaki-ish way

- Accounts of how Matt experiences/is affected by different kinds of weather. He always has somewhat to very strong feelings about rain, positive or negative, and even when the explanations are similar every writer brings something new and different to it

- Pretty much any time Matt/DD and Brett interact ever

- Matt being good with kids > particularly kids dealing with trauma > especially kids dealing with trauma that echoes Matt's own trauma

- How Foggy always has a code name, capitalized, for the night he finds out Matt is Daredevil. I've seen That Night a lot, or The Fight or something along those lines. I just love when fandom gives rise to these little details that become like fic fanon standard, it's very human in a good way

- Honestly, any time Foggy doesn't think of Matt's abilities as 'creepy' or 'freaky' or does think that but changes his mind later. Maybe I'm especially sensitive to this because I was a Weird Kid (undiagnosed ASD) who became a Weird Adult with lots of disabling Weird Medical Issues that make strangers far too interested in how my body works, but having what's essentially part of Matt's physiology called those things gets under my skin every time

- How the majority of the time writers have Matt and Foggy meet as freshmen in undergrad despite having on-screen confirmation they meet in 2010, about 4 years before the events of the show begin, and how they take this extended friendship and run with it; how Matt and Foggy know so much about each other in the way long-time friends do. Of course, it makes stories where Lies are a topic hurt that much more, because while tbh I can get Matt not telling someone about what he can do in just 4 years (my trust issues and secrets aren't nearly as bad/big, but I still have plenty of stuff I don't tell anyone I haven't been close to for a good decade or more) 10 years changes things, but it's still worth it

- Matt's manerisms: the fidgets, the occasional stutter, when he does or doesn't use his glasses. All these little things writers noticed in the show and then turned around and used to tell us all kinds of things about Matt's state of mind with these details

- THE NELSONS. Even when the descriptions vary wildly from what we see in Season 3 it's always fun and interesting and most of the time Foggy's mom loves Matt and I just