#mischaracterized as in: they get to know your character but choose to view them differently from how the story portrays then

[dorianwolfforest]

How would your OC be mischaracterized by the general fandom if they were a real character on jorvik?

Cause I know people would see Rebeca as a “smol bean who looks like they could kill you but is actually an uwu cinnamon bun” just because they have a soft spot for Dorian when in reality they literally would just kill you. I also feel like some ppl would HC Dorian as transmasc instead of him just being a dude.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hey! wanted to say i appreciate you talking about how malleus doesn’t appeal to you :,) he doesn’t quite appeal go me either, but i couldn’t find anyone that didn’t either hate or love him, both sides often mischaracterizing him. i felt like i was going mad. but you put my feelings about him into words in a really eloquent and well thought out way, so, yea! thanks for saying your honest opinions on the internet haha

[Please check my pinned post’s FAQ section if you’d like to read about why I personally dislike Malleus!]

Thank you!! It’s not often that you get gratitude for being critical of a character (as opposed to, like, outright praising them) so this ask genuinely took me by surprise.

I find that Malleus is one of those characters that’s quite difficult to talk about. Because he’s so well-liked by English-speaking fans (fandom-run polls consistently show that he is liked by at least 50% of responders), his presence has become almost stifling… which formed a counterculture (ie hate) against him. In any case, whether you think negatively or positively of Malleus (or feel nothing at all for him), that can really color how his words and actions are perceived. But sometimes it feels like you can’t even talk about him without walking on eggshells. People tend to feel so strongly about Malleus and you never know how they’ll react to the thoughts you express.

It should be recognized that both extremes will blindside you. The most ardent Malleus lovers will make everything about him or enable and defend him to the bitter end even when Malleus has done reprehensible things. The most passionate Malleus haters will nitpick what are just normal or innocent actions as The Worst Possible Thing Ever or claim he’s aggressive all the time. Neither truly compasses who he actually is.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’d like to think that even though I dislike the guy, I try and give him a fair shot 😅 Some of the issues I have with him are no fault of his own and result from the narrative’s failure to capitalize on his intrigue or the nature of gacha games and the main story being limited. Other issues I’ll admit are completely my own annoyances and gripes (like how I take issue with OP characters with few setbacks, how I don’t like characters that try to force their views onto others, or how I have had bad Malleus-related fandom experiences). Then there’s just the objective truths, like how Malleus is extremely arrogant but is rarely called out for it or rarely faces consequences for his actions in-universe (or from the fandom). He’s still a complex character, just… not one I enjoy.

Looking back on it 💦 I almost can’t believe I have like… 8 or 9 posts detailing my frustrations with Malleus, and each of them expressing significantly different issues from the last. I’m glad that this blog can be a space for me to discuss my thoughts and opinions without angry fans of X or Y character coming at me 😭 I unfortunately can’t say that this is always the case… But for the most part, it’s pretty peaceful here and I really appreciate that!

I’ll close this post off by shouting out the Malleus fans who don’t take it personally when someone else says they’re not a fan of their blorbo. The Malleus fans who are willing to come to the table and listen, the Malleus fans who acknowledge his imperfections and faults, the Malleus fans who accept that others can choose to dislike him for any reason, whether big or small, and don’t push for “correcting” the “wrong” opinion. I know that it sounds like such a low bar to clear, but trust me when I say I’ve witnessed and experienced much worse behaviors (from a loud minority of Malleus fans) and would not wish that upon anyone.

[aloevhello]

Why Did Miguel Cheat, Making Some Tweaks to the Plot Line, and Remembering Your History

Something interesting about Miguel and Dana’s infidelity is how the hurt they inflicted upon Xina and Gabriel differed due to the extent of their personal history with them. Dana is definitely in the wrong for cheating on Gabriel with his brother and for flirting with Miguel while knowing he was in a relationship with Xina. However, Dana was mostly a stranger to the group when she decided to be unfaithful, thus causing Gabriel and Xina to feel less impacted by her betrayal as they had less history with her.

Miguel, on the other hand, has an extensive history with the two as Gabriel is the little brother he protected from their abusive father and Xina is the childhood friend/crush who protected him from school bullies and later became his girlfriend. Compare this with his relationship with Dana, a girl he got engaged to after having known her for a year and learning that she has a sister only after she died.

Considering these differences, Miguel’s betrayal is much more painful for Xina and Gabriel due to their personal history and him never exhibiting any signs that he would hurt them before. So one must ask, why? Why did Miguel cheat? Why did Miguel essentially choose a stranger over the two most important people in his life?

The comics tried giving some insight into Miguel’s infidelity in issue #37 by showing how the affair between him and Dana first started. However, through this explanation, two issues arise. For one, the comic explains Miguel’s distancing from Xina due to her alcohol problems (something she was never shown to have prior or after this issue). If the narrative’s means of explaining the protagonist’s failings is by mischaracterizing another character, the same character they’ll end up hurting, then it’s a pretty poor explanation.

Another issue is how the comic shows that Miguel fell in love with Dana at first sight (despite already knowing that Dana is Gabriel’s girlfriend), which explains why they both happen to “click” and were willing to have the affair. While the narrative addresses that this explanation is shallow, it doesn’t change how this remains the primary motive for why Miguel had the affair despite knowing how much he could lose as a result. Ultimately, the comic portraying this “clicked” narrative as the main reason why such a critical event in sm2099 occurred makes this arc less compelling and reduces Miguel’s complexity.

However, one detail from this arc that could set a better foundation for the cheating plot line is shown in the above panel where Dana is impressed by Miguel’s geneticist work for Alchemax. Granted, issue #22 shows Xina being supportive of Miguel around this time period when she helped him move into his new apartment that is owned by Alchemax, despite her dislike of the company. What if the comics had more flashbacks where Xina criticizes Miguel for joining a company they both know is unethical and Miguel getting defensive by saying her views are moral but not realistic, thus creating a rift in their relationship?

This conflict about Miguel’s job creating their rift works better because instead of relying on mischaracterization and happenstance, this explanation is based on a pre-established dynamic between these characters with Xina pushing for Miguel to the right thing and Miguel being too scared to do so. The conflict also highlights PAD’s sentiments about how Miguel felt “threatened” by Xina being his intellectual equal since it allowed her to get on his level and call out his behavior (above). Additionally, there could also be flashbacks of Gabriel criticizing Miguel for joining Alchemax (not for the same reasons as Xina since he didn’t learn about Alchemax’s inequities until he met Kasey) because this could mean Miguel is following the same path as their abusive father, George, who also worked for that company. With Miguel facing constant scrutiny from his loved ones and him being too scared to follow his conscience, he ends up being attracted to Dana because despite them not having any personal history, she becomes the only person who admires the work he does for Alchemax and does not challenge his behavior, consequently leading to Miguel having the affair and losing the two most important people in his life.

Parting Thoughts:

It’s also important to remember that Xina and Gabriel are important to Miguel’s life because they knew him when he was a vulnerable kid who was pushed around by his father and bullies, a stark contrast from the arrogant genius hotshot that Dana knows. However, with Miguel choosing to be with Dana, he’s leaving Xina, Gabriel, and that vulnerable version of himself in the past to make way for the stronger, idealized version of Miguel that he believes will exist through his job and intellect. In a way, this parallels Nueva York’s history, particularly how Alchemax shrouds the city’s history in secrecy to hide their contribution to the city’s inequality and continue posing Nueva York as a utopian society. However, with Miguel and Nueva York lacking a connection to their history, they will strive for idealized versions of themselves that lack the foundation to actually materialize.

[splatcat64]

i had a really long convo with my friends about this but it really seriously feels like ppl get rhys and fionas characterization switched up HARD. this is bc of the u choose the path thing but also a heavy hand in the misogyny and racism (and general way ppl tend to approach pandorans due to being effected by how jack talked about them . LOL) fiona is such a sweetheart whos working her hardest to protect the people she loves + imo shes the one who helped vaughn grow into someone who adores pandora as well. it makes me blow up. i have a few songs that have been making me go nuts about her . hai i got excited sorry

NOOO DON’T APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING EXCITED I totally get it my god,,, this blog is becoming so tales centric I’m sorry not sorry here we go. If you haven’t seen tales and want to be mindful of light spoilers. ⚠️

This has been talked about on my side a bit but I tooootally agree, Both of their characterization gets switched up BAD and it’s absolutely insane, both Fiona and Rhys are good people, but flawed. Flawed, but good people, and it gets constantly jumbled around in the fandom. I feel like a lot of people have a really hard time grasping that “choose ur own adventure” protags still have a core personality set, especially telltale. I always use Lee TWGD as an example, because sure you can portray him as either very very confrontational, or more soft spoken and sweet, but in the end of th edgy he still killed someone. In the end of the day he still ALWAYS cares about Clem. It’s not any different for those two idiots, they still have their respective arcs and the such.

I feel like Fiona gets a lot of shit specifically BECAUSE she’s snarky and she. speaks her mind. And god forbid a POC/Black coded woman do ANYTHING. Jack really messed up ppls views on Pandorans but the look into Sasha and Fi’s life is literally just more, HEY, they’re people!! Maybe don’t listen to the GENOCIDAAAAL [big arrows pointing to the word] MANIAC. It’s thrown right at your face. People take wtv the fuck Jack says way to seriously when he lies. So much. All the time. And I don’t get why no one takes it with a pile of salt constantly. When really she does just have a heart of gold, most of her being mean is literally just playful banter like hello. Sasha’s meaner than her by a mile but Fi still gets slaaandered for it. And even tho Sasha does have her really mean moments I will defend her to the grave with strangers bcus “hating her” without a valid reason gets veeerry racy really quick and as a black person it really does rub me the wrong way sometimes. So much mischaracterization everywhere. It’s a weird mix of a patriarchal, misogynistic, racist deal with EVERY character in The Group and I’m just… how do you manage to mischaracterize everybody from a game that’s all story.

And the point I made in a post somewhere about how Rhys is written differently than a LOT of men in borderlands and ppl have ran with it and decided hey this guy actually sucks. Or hey haha this guy can’t do anything. He’s completely out of his element on Pandora, of course he’s stumbling somewhat but bro is brave as hell for that shit. He’s a completely capable dude, yes he cares about Fiona and Sasha and Vaughn. Yes they care about him. I feel like people also get it twisted because of Fiona and Rhys in the intros, but people gotta remember that they’re acting like that because the game was episodic and we weren’t rlly allowed to know that they’re super buddy buddy. That’s one gripe I have w the game is that they made Fiona seem like she HATED his ass in some of the future settings in the beginning of episodes and people took it way too literally. Please I beg they’re besties,,, you’ve never boxed with a bestie before??? Either way it’s obvious that it’s blown out of proportion especially after Rhys’ whole arc concludes. You’re supposed to be like oooh he’s like that cause we couldn’t know. You look at Fi and you’re supposed to like daaamn she really cares about him/them they were all just split apart after extremely traumatic events. [I’m gonna stop here with this point cause it’s starting to be a run on but people do not talk enough about how traumatic both Helios’ crash, the wreck, and Gortys’ first fight was for all of them.]

I’ve talked extensively with a friend about this too but Tales had a looot of budget issues during its making cause of Telltale nuking itself, and the game was meant to have more time. ALL of them were!!! I always think about maybe if they all got more time they’d be treated this way less. But yknow,, whatever I guess.

AND THE VAUGHN THING UR SO CORRECT GOD. I think she really help him crawl out of his shell for a lack of a better term, both the sisters tbh I feel like they’re a very rare and cute friendship pairing and I need to see more of Sasha daring him to do shit like in the Chimera dome. They all care sooo deeply for each other and people even manage to miss that like god. One of Rhys’ core traits if you don’t make him abysmally evil is loyalty. LOYALTY. Fiona hasn’t had many, hell if any friends since tales started, She is SUCH a caring person of course she’s gonna ride or die for her friends. Like that one scene on Helios where Rhys can ask her not to leave, And she’s like “If I wanted to leave, I would’ve done it a looong time ago.” There’s so many points in the game I could,d bring up that show how great all of them are, Fiona, after knowing him for not too long at all, tries to convince Vaughn to be brave, and that he can survive Bossanova’s race. Yes, she had to do that so they wouldn’t die, but she went out of her way to say it in a way that was reassuring enough. That’s sweet. If she didn’t care about them she wouldn’t have played cards on the roof with Rhys, or play bunkers and badasses with the boys, or I don’t know, let them LIVE IN WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY HER HOUSE FOR A YEAR. /ref ep.3 of tales. I’m being dramatic, of course there are factors that didn’t let her kick them out. But, my point stands.

That wasn’t meaaan that was playful reassurance, she’s telling him she’s THERE FOR HIM. They all care sooosososo much. If none of the, cared about each other, any “betrayal” wouldn’t mean that much. People get hurt like that because of their bonds and yes, YES I’m being opinionated but they’re like the found family ever, god. Fiona is fucking amazing and she wouldn’t put up with anyone if she didn’t either have to, or care, and after a certain point it’s very obvious that it’s not the first one.

TLDR; Tales is great, stan Fiona, stan Rhys, Stan Sasha and Vaughn,,, my glorious queens and kings. Forgive any typos or grammar I wrote this on a passionate whim,

[jedi-enthusiast]

I have to say that your breakdown of themes and issues in the prequels is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

I’m still always surprised that not everyone sees it this way because

1. That’s clearly how it’s intended to be viewed.

2. It always just seems so plainly spelled out for us.

I am not an Anakin fan, I have more of a love/hate dynamic with him, but it seems like it’s Anakin apologists above anyone else who like to demonise the Jedi and I just don’t get how people don’t realise you don’t have to choose one or the other. The downfall of Anakin and the Jedi go hand in hand because they were both manipulated by Palpatine. It really takes away from the emotional impact of the story if you don’t acknowledge that the Jedi were a genuinely good group of people who did support Anakin to the best of their ability, he was just convinced that that wasn’t actually the case.

Although I do feel empathy for the hardships Anakin endured, the Jedi had such a beautiful culture and way of life and people are missing out on so much by pretending they’re the “real villains”.

Also it was obviously genocide. How is there even a debate about that? I don’t know if there’s ever been an entirely successful genocide in history because it’s essentially impossible to completely eradicate a group of people but that doesn’t stop it from being classified as genocide. If you have to argue that it technically isn’t genocide, you probably don’t have the strong argument you think you do.

Thank you so much <3

I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't want this blog to be a platform for people to debate if the Jedi were "really good" or not with me (hence my blog description) and I don't really like getting into debates with people who are anti-Jedi or Anakin apologists.

Firstly because, in order to think the Jedi are the "bad guys" of Star Wars, it requires a certain level of bad faith assumptions, ignorance, and disregard of literally everything that canon shows us.

Secondly, because I have anger issues and it's kinda hard to work on controlling my anger and not letting it control me when I'm arguing with people who--at best are saying the Jedi caused their genocide, and at worst are saying they deserved it. Especially since Star Wars is my comfort franchise and the Jedi are my comfort characters--so it's just frustrating to see them so mischaracterized.

I'm glad my 2 am anger-induced, sleep deprived, aggressive rant resonated with you, though lol

I'm not a big fan of Anakin either and I'm largely of the opinion that Anakin caused most of the problems he had in general, but I'm not completely unsympathetic to him--my main issue lies with his apologists.

I don't really care if other people like him, I can see the appeal and I get that he's your blorbo. I also don't really care if other people don't like the Jedi, I have the "anti-Jedi" and "Jedi critical" tags blocked for a reason. I don't engage in debates with these people because I know it's pointless, and I leave them be--let them have their side of the internet and I have mine.

I do, however, have a problem with people coming onto my blog and posting their ignorant, bad-faith arguments. Like what you like, have your opinions, but keep them out of my space. Y'know?

I'm all for letting people like what they like and have different opinions on the media and leaving them be, but the moment you come onto my blog- (which literally says "this is a Pro-Jedi blog, fuck off with any Anti Jedi bullshit you have and keep it to your own page") -and start spouting that shit is the moment all of that flies out the window.

And yes, it's insane that the words "well, it wasn't actually a genocide" were actually present in that person's argument.

[artist-issues]

Blanket statement that I acknowledge your blanket statement and appreciate it; but I’m going to respond anyway. ^^

Zegler’s Responsibility

It is not disproportionate when you realize the implications of what she’s doing, based on her job position as Live Action Snow White’s actress and the “face” of the film, especially pre-release. She is the gateway for the public to begin stepping back into a world where Snow White is relevant in pop culture. Therefore, she isn’t just stating her opinion. She is directing, and attempting to shape, attention given to both the Live Action Snow White and the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Her comments are indicative of how the character will be portrayed. Because filming has already wrapped. That means she had these opinions during, or worse, her opinions were influenced by, her time acting as Snow White in the upcoming film. The media attention did not begin negatively (nor does it continue to be negative in the large majority) but the backlash is the logical response of people who are dedicated to the original and the values it represented, who notice that the original and the values it represented are being mischaracterized and scorned by the person in the spotlight who is supposed to represent them for modern audiences. So no. It’s not disproportionate, when you look at it like that. It might be disproportionate if someone interviewed any other actor who was not playing Snow White, or it might be disproportionate if someone interviewed you or I. But when the comments are coming directly from the young woman playing and representing Snow White, it’s not disproportionate.

Respectfully, there is absolutely one correct way to interpret a character or story. Characters and stories do not exist without a real person first deciding what they are, and what they should mean, objectively. How people “interpret” them might be subjective—but what they actually are is objective. As C. S. Lewis says: “There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there’s never more than one.” I can “interpret” a hammer (a created object) as a microphone, but that doesn’t mean it was made for, or even will succeed in, amplifying my voice when I sing into it. People can have different interpretations. But there are right ones, and there are wrong ones. Once we start behaving differently, say goodbye to language and hello to gibberish. Say goodbye to impactful stories and characters and hello to colorful nothings.

There are just as many examples, if not more, of articles that list Rachel Zegler’s casting as just one of many controversial (not even “bad,” but “controversial”) decisions in Snow White. For example, the Peter Dinklage comments and changing of the dwarf characters has certainly sparked just as many comments and articles. (Article 1, Article 2, Article 3) Again, the headlines are not making it sound like the main and “ONLY” bad thing is that Zegler was cast in the first place. Any time social media divides into two points of view over a mainstream issue, articles will spin in both directions to get clicks. That’s how media works. That’s how press conferences, like the ones where the comments originated, work. 

One could easily argue that a 22 year-old who is “funding their feet” does not have to do it by stomping on others’ feet to see what’s solid. There are other ways to “find your feet—“ like taking direction from those older than you, choosing your words with care because you have the humility to acknowledge that you’re new and you don’t know everything yet, and making sure you know what the opinions of your main audience are before you shoot off your own. Most “backlashers”know that there are two different ways to “finding your feet.” They just take issue with the way that Zegler picked. And that’s okay. Because if there were only one way, and that way was “shoot off your opinions about classic things that have been around way longer than you with self-assurance,” then yeah, nobody would be able to act as if she needed to take responsibility. 

I’ll give you two answers:

Zegler’s “miscasting” isn’t truly the issue. I said in my original post: “stories matter because they represent values. Values shape a culture. Rachel Zegler isn’t a target: she’s an example of what’s happening in the culture, and makes a good entryway into talking about it.” Nobody’s arguing that Disney’s casting choice is her fault. Most people are arguing that her words and her attitude and her tone are her fault. Some go further and argue that her opinion is poorly founded and therefore her fault. Not her casting.

I don’t know what “ableism” you’re referencing or what it has to do with anything. The “downfall” of this film is a vague phrase and, because such a large amount of people dislike it for such a large amount of nuanced reasons, impossible to pin on one cause. But I would argue that the overarching issue is, again, this movie is not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—it does not even pay tribute to, acknowledge respectfully, or enhance appreciation for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At every turn, it tries to correct something about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For so many reasons, nobody likes that. Zegler is just one of those reasons.

Your two personal views on the reason the movie is getting less than favorable anticipation are valid. But again—they’re two examples out of the vast amount of reasons people don’t like how this movie is being made: it’s just not actually about Rachel Zegler alone. 

Zegler and Discrimination

I didn’t claim “ONLY.” In fact, I said “How to Stick to the POINT About Rachel Zegler and Snow White.” Implying that the point should not BE “racism,” but some people who want to make everything about racism will bring it up whenever Zegler is criticized for anything.

Yup, being upset over an actress’ race is, in general, a silly thing. As you may be realizing, my whole post was about focus—and that focus is not on race. 

See above point. 

See above point. 

But it isn’t linked to “this” issue. That is my whole point. Why are we talking about it—because it wasn’t my point, and it shouldn’t be anyone’s. 

I never claimed that Snow White “resonates” with all women—perhaps I implied that she should. But go ahead. 

Experience with the original

That’s fine, and it’s even understandable, but it doesn’t say something about whether or not Snow White’s character is objectively empowering. It only says that she is not empowering to you. Which is a comment on what makes you feel empowered, and what you consider “power” to be. It is still not a comment on what Snow White objectively is. 

All it says about you is that you either were uninterested in romance at the age you saw Snow White (so was I) or you were not taught what “true” love is, and what makes it worth wishing for, as a child. Or that you were too young to understand either. The best thing that men or women can ever wish for is true love. I don’t mean romantic love—romantic love is just the most-often used expression of true love, because it has an element of choice and sacrifice that is more obvious than a parent’s true love or a sibling’s true love. That is what I mean when I say “my definition of power is just different (and truer, and more powerful.)” 

Again, just because you were not inspired does not mean she is not inspiring, objectively. After all, you just admitted that “love is indeed a noble thing to aspire towards.” She is inspiring, but for whatever reason, you weren’t able to be inspired by her. What we have here is a difference of values…which is the whole problem with the live action Snow White. You believe that “living for yourself” and “standing up” and having a “personal core” are strengths. And you’re correct about one thing: the original Snow White is not about that. I, and the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Movie, believe that “faith,” “selfless service,” and “valuing true love” are strengths. They don’t go together. This new movie is trying to shove in words that don’t fit in Snow White’s mouth. You’re illustrating my point. 

It is okay for movies to make you question whether or not the way you exist is correct. It is okay for characters to do that. I would argue that that is one of the most helpful and beautiful things a movie can do, and that “empowerment” (as in, making the audience feel like they don’t need to change anything about themselves because who they are is fine) is not helpful. And again, that’s the key: “she does not represent the values I’m currently able to prioritize.” Okay, so go watch another movie, if you need to. But what the creators of the new Snow White movie did was CORRECTLY say, “she does not represent the values I’m currently able to prioritize,” and then INCORRECTLY continue, “in fact, her values are bad, outdated, dead, and need to be replaced.” 

Stories might be malleable. But truth is not. Truth remains true over time and society. It will always be objectively good to love self-sacrificially. It will always be objectively bad to be consumed by yourself, and your image, and jealousy. —You’re correct about Snow’s value, and you’re correct that the new do not “automatically” negate what is true and real in previous versions. However—they can fool new generations into believing that the truth and reality in previous versions are negated. That’s the problem. I work with kids. I’ve seen how values change from grade to grade, and I’ve seen how movies directly influence that. The new movie is an indicator of how values are changing, and getting further away from truth. 

Tangent: Different views on story interpretation

Oh look, we are going to talk about that! Good!

It is not. If I say “North is this way,” and you say “No, North is that way,” and we point in opposite directions, one or both of us is wrong. Stories are communication. They are, at their most useful, communication of truth. You can interpret communication (like words or stories or characters) correctly, and then make a moral judgement, or you can interpret communication incorrectly, and then make a moral judgement. Interpretation, by its very nature, is meant to “find” truth in whatever you’re interpreting. And truth is not malleable. 

Stories are absolutely meant to be judged through an objective lens, or else discussing them through a subjective one would not only be useless, but impossible. You might as well advocate for gibberish. If I can’t say “Snow White is about faith,” and have those words mean something to you, objectively, then you can’t disagree with me. Because you can’t even understand me. Because you’ve done away with objectivity. I could say, “A + B = C” and you could reply with, “yeah, I totally agree that B + C = potatoes, I’m glad you said that.” That’s how discussion works. I don’t care what’s “interesting.” I care about what’s true. It’s all very fun and entertaining to talk to you about media, but in the end, what’s the point? To learn more about each other? Okay, great, but all that does is leave me with questions like “but which one is more valuable? Service or living for yourself? @loneswaggingranger thinks it’s living for yourself—but is she right? Which one should I act upon?” In fact, that’s what stories used to be used for, before we got obsessed with entertaining ourselves and experiencing things arbitrarily. Shining a light of appreciation on what is good, beautiful, and true.

What even is “validity” of an interaction with a story? What? If you’ve watched it, congratulations, you’ve watched it. Nobody is going to come along and tell you you hallucinated seeing the movie, it didn’t really happen, you didn’t really think those thoughts and feel those things while you’re watching it. What you really seem to be implying (correct me if I’m wrong) is that I should never say that your interpretation (as in, what you think the story means / whether or not it was successful in communicating that meaning) of Snow White is incorrect. And for the above reasons: I’m going to tell you you’re wrong if I think your views don’t line up with reality. Once we stop doing that, we might as well all speak gibberish and let each other wander into traffic and off of cliffs.

Concluding observations

It’s not Snow White who deserves defense. Snow White isn’t a human—she’s a n anthropomorphized character. What Snow White represents deserves defending: her values. What we value shapes a culture. What Rachel Zegler says shines a light of negativity on values that have shaped our culture in ways that are positive—and she places a light of positivity on values that have shaped our culture negatively. 

I don’t consider one young woman’s feelings about “public opinion of her” (she will probably never read this, and if she does, stands just as much to gain by reading it than she does to falter) to be more important than defending those values, because of the generations of lives that will be affected by a culture that no longer has those values. 

Compassion is something that all human beings should be treated with—it is not discompassionate to criticize and point out the flaws of a young woman, especially not one who behaves in a self-assured manner in the public arena. It wouldn’t be discompassionate to slap the hand of a child who thinks she knows better and reaches for a hot stovetop, either. Some things are unpleasant—that doesn’t make them an example of a lack of compassion. 

Respect? Respect is not something all human beings should be treated with—respect is earned. In any situation, if I refrain from leveling criticism at someone even if I know they’re doing something foolish or wrong, it usually stems from a pre-established, earned respect for that person—one that leads me to believe that they may know more than I do in that situation, they may not have meant what they said because it is inconsistent with their character, or there may be circumstances that I do not understand. 

Rachel Zegler, with her 8 years of experience in the public arena and her documented self-assured attitude, has not earned that respect from me. And it is not discompassionate to criticize her for something she said, regardless of her age—that’s how you learn to be more careful with your words. 

How to Stick to the Point About Rachel Zegler and Snow White

"Rachel Zegler is just an actress doing her job, Disney is the one to blame for the Snow White changes!"

Just because she didn't write the changes doesn't mean she's not responsible for the words that come out of her mouth and the tone in which she says them. If anything, her skills as an actor, which usually include control over intonation, make her even more responsible for tone and attitude, not less.

Disney didn't write her a script for her interviews that said "now include a childhood memory that insinuates a negative opinion of the original Snow White!"

If you want to make it about how well she's doing at her "job..." She's not being professional: if her goal is to promote the new movie, alienating fans of the original is the worst way to accomplish that goal.

"Why are you attacking her just because she doesn't like the original? Lots of people don't like the original!"

The problem isn't that she doesn't like the original. Harrison Ford didn't like Han Solo, and he did a great job playing Han Solo anyway: because he understood the character, even if he didn't like him. Zegler is demonstrating that she doesn't understand the original movie, and doesn't like it based on that misunderstanding.

"You're just criticizing her because you're racist!"

Not really, because the point of Snow White as a character is pure love and pure innocence: and that point has been retold across all cultures. Rachel Zegler's skin color takes very little away from the role: it has nothing to do with her comments. Why are you making everything about a person's race? Kind of racist of you.

"You're just criticizing her because you hate women!"

If I hate women, why am I defending one of the greatest female characters of all time?

"Snow White is a movie where the Prince has to save Snow who does nothing but sing and dream of being rescued. It SHOULD get an update!! You're just worshipping the old one because you hate empowered women."

You don't understand the original movie. Snow White is a movie where the main character has faith that pure, innocent love will find her even when the odds are impossible.

She is the only character in the movie, contrasted with Grumpy and the Queen, who is genuine and doesn't hide what she is, because she's not afraid. She has several lines in the movie pointing that superpower-of-character-strength out. The Queen is afraid everyone will see how ugly she is in the inside if she's not Fairest of All. Grumpy is afraid his tender heart will lead to heartbreak so he hides it with grumpiness. Snow White hides nothing. She's the strongest character in the movie for that reason.

Again: Snow White IS an empowered woman: she's empowered with strength of character that can't be broken or twisted by circumstances even as a child. My definition of power is just different (and truer, and more powerful) than yours.

The Prince has two scenes: one where he falls in love with Snow White and promises to give her his heart in one meeting because that's how amazing she is, and the other where he fulfills that promise. His "effect" of waking her up wouldn't have happened without her "cause" of being a worthy enough woman to love.

They're not just "reimagining" the old version: they're replacing it. They're claiming to fix what's "broken" about the original. Therefore attacks on this movie are not attacks against the patriarchy or attacks against bigotry: they're attacks against the previous VALUES of faith, innocence, and the worthiness of pure love. Love that doesn't have to fight because it's powerful enough on its own. Faith that isn't corroded by circumstances. Innocence that doesn't turn bitter and inspires others. That's what they're saying is "broke" and trying to fix.

Do not let people derail the actual argument. Stories matter because they represent values. Values shape a culture. Rachel Zegler isn't a target: she's an example of what's happening in the culture, and makes a good entryway into talking about it. Don't get it twisted.

[lovee-infected]

For the anon talking about how they hate how over exaggerated a character is. I am not trying to start hate or anything, but if you don't like the way how someone portrays the character, just stop reading it. Some people don't delve deep, they just want to write fanfics for fun they're not going to make sure it's 100% the characters VERY complex personalities. Or the way how they view a character is different from their beliefs. I've gotten this message before and I am TIRED of it

I think it's a good time to talk about this because I've been thinking about bringing the topic up for a while. To begin with, let's clear something between the two anons because I think it's a misunderstanding:

Note: Please read this, this is important.

Anon A is saying that they're sometimes bothered by how some fanfics and Aus have a different way of picturing character X, in other words, they don't really enjoy it when a character is bring mischaracterized

Anon B (this anon) is saying that if you're bothered by a fic because you don't like how they're characterizing an specific character, then you don't have to read it.

Let me say that both of these anons are right, yet to think that their ideas are the opposites of each other, is totally wrong. In other words they both have a point, but I guess their points needs a stronger a better way of being explained in order to avoid any further dramas and misunderstandings.

Why am I doing this? Because I've seen -enough- of it. After the twst character analyses, aruges toward the mischaracterizations in this fandom became a thing, it's been causing some issues and arguments between the fans and it's mainly because of how sides fails to explain their points clearly.

Though I didn't really receive any rude asks/comments regarding myself the matter I can still how some fans feel attacked, offended or called out by character analysis posts or have the NERVE to attack or offend others with their own perspective on characters and try to force others into accepting them.

Enough with drama, I'm sick of it. I'm going to explain this as clearly as I can, hopeful that this would at least lessen the chance of having to go through another drama regarding the mischaracterization issue.

1) The concept of FANfiction

First off, the fanfiction itself; what is a fanfiction? What type of writing is considered to be a fanfic? What is it even used for? These are the questions we all need to answer before getting to know the world of fanfic.

Just as its name explains, it's fan + fiction. It's the result of the fan's creativity and imagination taking place in a fictional plot, something that hasn't happened with the original characters and he original story. The fans' imagination is often far beyond the plot which the original story/series/book offers, yet this isn't going to hold fans back from imagining it. Fanfiction is the way of giving yourself (or others) the specific and plot with the original and canon version isn't going to give you, in other words it's a way of getting what you wish to see through a story but this time, it's you who'd decide what will happen.

You are the one who decides how characters will be, you are the one who decides how and where this story happens and you are the one to choose how this story must come to an end. It's all about your own imagination and creativity, which enables you to have power over everything about your own story and fanfiction, everything (In expection gor than legal issues including claiming the original character as yours). You have the power, and you choose how it should be.

2) Fanfiction and mischaracterization

This was mainly the most brought up issue in the recent Twst drama, mischaracterization through writings. Many were saying how they find this annoying and nerve-wrecking, but no one really talked about how mischaracterization comes to life.

Let me tell you, as long your writing is a fanfic, there is a 70% chance of mischaracterizing the plot or the characters and there's nothing wrong with it, that's just how fanfiction works! It isn't supposed to be canon, it is fanon and only fanon. Everything that happens is fictional and fanon based, in other words, it's the fan who decides what should happen in a fanfiction and how it's supposed to be!

One of the Fanfiction's best purposes is giving the fandom a chance to mischaracterize! To write the characters the way they wish them to be and not necessarily the way they truly are. Fanfiction allows us to imagine and create something that isn't true, so let me clear my point here: It's totally okay to change the characters' personalities in your fanfics! As the writer, you have the right to do so, and since writing a fanfic must be for your own pleasure in the first place, no one can stop you from imagining whatever you want! No one can jump out and say stuff like "YOU CAN'T MISCHARACERTIZE A CHARACTER IN A FANFICTION" because that'd be super lame. It's your own fanfiction, your story, your creation and you're free to mischaracterize if that's how you like it to be! And if anyone doesn't like that, remember that they don't have to read that.

3)What is the problem?

Look, we've been going through some drama because of the recent character analyses of twst fandom, and I'd like to explain why. First off, note that I think both sides of the argument have been wrong and I'm going to talk about both of them.

Let me begin with a small example: It's been argued that based to what we've seen from Leona's personality so far, he doesn't seem to be the type to love healthily or even easily fall for anyone. Some of the fans seemed to be offended by the statement and said that "They still want their Leona fluff no matter what everyone else says" okay okay, this is the problem I was talking about: Saying that canon Leona doesn't seem to be much of a fluffy lion or a sweet lover isn't equal to forbidding the fans from writing fluffs for him or picturing him as a adorable and gentle lover! No one has the right to hold fans back from appreciating and enjoying what they like! But it's important to know what exactly is happening.

I'll talk about some crucial points you need to know about character analyses and how it's different from a fanfic in part (4), but before that, let me continue to give some examples of the recent argues and how each of the sides were wrong.

A) You enjoy reading fluffy Malleus content but character analyses have been saying that he isn't as soft and cute as you'd expected him to be. Does this mean that you can no longer ask for wholesome Malleus content or enjoy reading them? -> Of course not! You're still free to read/imagine/write whatever you like with Malleus! No one has the right to tell you what to do, and character analyses aren't meant to be a way to hold you back from enjoying what you like! If you're enjoying something, go for it! In this fanon world no one can accuse you for not following the canon interpretations!

B) You've spent a rather long time getting to know Ace and his canon personality, and you really like the way he is! But by reading fanfics/ fandom's interpretations on him you can't help but to feel like they aren't giving his personality the justice he deserves, and aren't seeing the great and amazing character he truly is. Is it okay to feel upset about this? -> Just as I said, it's totally fine to have your personal interpretations of a character no matter how different the rest of the interpretations are! But the real question is: what should you do when you think fandom isn't doing a character justice? This would be answered in part D!

C) You are enjoying your personal ideas and headcanons with Idia and many are saying that your way of picturing him is so adorable! Does this necessarily mean that the canon Idia as well is like you describe him? -> Absolutely not! No matter how adorable an Au/headcanon is, everyone's free to enjoy it but you should remember that canon ≠ fanon. You are totally free to imagine whatever you'd like! But keep this in mind that you shouldn't insist on your ideas being necessarily canon!

D) You feel like many are mischaracterizing your favorite character and you don't like it, what should you do? -> Well to begin with, remember that other fans have the right to characterize a character just as much as you do! You can't stop them from doing what they like or expect them to change the way they are because of how different the canon interpretation of a character might be. But you as well have a great chance to inspire the fandom by your own ideas! You can try to discuss how different the canon personality of your favorite character is and even try to turn that into a character analysis! This way you'd not only avoid causing any drama because of disagreeing with someone's way of picturing your favorite character, but you will also have a chance to present your personal ideas and characterizations to the fandom in a friendly and polite way!

E) You don't like how an author is characterizing some of the boys, what should you do? -> Easy solution, don't read it. Let me tell you, I have gone through this a lot and do you know what I do whenever I read/see something that doesn't match my tastes and expectations? I keep scrolling! That's all, I don't have to like it, but I don't have to read it either! 😀

F) You're an author and a writing request is asking you to write for a character in a way you just can't or don't want to write because that goes totally against your idealistics and ideas on a character, for example: You just can't write something really wholesome and fluffy for Leona because you can't imagine him being like that, what should you do? -> It's obvious, then don't write it! You have the right to choose what you'd like to write and how you like to picture a character no matter what others think. If you want to picture Leona as an emotional and soft boy, it's totally okay! If you want to picture him as a cold-hearted and mean prince, again it's totally alright! Remember, just like fans you have the right to picture and characterize the characters the way you want to, and no one can tell you otherwise!

G) You've read a character analysis and you realize that you've been mischaracterizing Floyd for a while, should you feel bad or sorry about it? -> Of course not!! Even if you were mischaracterizing him, keep this mind that there's nothing wrong with picturing Floyd as the way you want him to be! As long as you don't claim your headcanons to be canon and share stuff like "Canon from is definitely like this" or "Floyd would do that, canon! ^-^" it's totally alright to imagine him the way you like!

H) You saw someone saying something about Malleus that didn't match the canon interpretations of him. You quickly replied to then and corrected them about their wrong point of view and tell them how the real Malleus is, which kinda led to and argument between you and the person, did you do the right thing? -> Absolutely not! Attacking others out of nowhere and without any context isn't the right way of introducing the canon characterizations to the fandom! Even if you were right, keep this in mind that the other person has the right to picture Malleus or any other character the way they want them to be so if you want to correct them or try to get to know the canon character interpretations, you should do that from the logical and polite way.

I) Someone wrote a character analysis for Idia and said how they find it so annoying when people who refer to Idia as "Baby" and "uwu beanie". You often refer to Idia as baby or cutie yourself and the context of that analysis/general post some how got to you. You feel lowkey attacked and offended, did the original poster say the right thing? -> No, matter what the context is or how accurate and well-written that analysis was, directly calling people who have a certain way of picturing a character "Annoying" is rude no matter how you think of it. Even if the original poster were right about Idia not being UWU, their way of wording their sentence wasn't really pleasant; keep this, in mind that everyone in the fandom is free to picture Idia as they like and it doesn't even matter if you don't like it or not! If you're going to write an analysis/essay regarding a character's personality, remember that you should prove your point and disagree with opposite opinions through logical reasoning and explaining your point, NOT by offending and attacking other ideas by savage contexts like "You have to stop saying that Idia is like this", "I hate it when people say Idia is like this", " It's so annoying to see people saying Idia is like this... "

4) What's with the character analyses then?

There's a difference from the canon and fanon interpretations of a character, this is a truth which cannot be denied. But it's important to remember that just because a canon interpretation of a character exists, you can no longer enjoy the fanon interpretations!

Even I, for example, enjoy picturing someone like Malleus as an purely evil being like Maleficent herself because I enjoy seeing him as a perfect figure for "Mister of all Evil", but in my Malleus analysis post I explained how we should NOT think that Malleus is nothing but pure evil or a heartless monster! See, this is the difference I've been talking about. I'm pretty well-familiar with the canon Malleus, but I'm also enjoying the my own fanon Malleus and I know that the Evil Malleus I admire is a fanon one, not the canon one!

The thing is, character analyses aren't meant to be a way to hold anyone back from enjoying their fanon interpretations or imagining what they like, they aren't call out posts either. They are simply a way of getting to know the characters as if you're getting to know one of your irl friends. You come to think of them, see how deep their personalities are and get to learn more about them!

It's true that reading a character analysis might make you realize that you've been somehow mischaracterizing a character but this, isn't anything to be sorry or frustrated about! Character analyses are written to learn us more about our favorite characters, or as I like to name it, they want to show us that they're a lot more that we may imagine them to be!

Now, you may wonder how can we write a good character analysis without getting out of the line, offending anyone or giving out any cheap information?

I, personally, am pretty strict when asked to do a character analysis. Doesn't matter if I like the character or not, I'd try to judge them nonetheless. You HAVE to talk about both good features and bad features, and you must strictly avoid your analysis from getting personal; you have to make sure that your personal thoughts, feelings and emotions regarding a character aren't effecting your analysis. You shouldn't be writing it in a way to show off with your analytical ideas either.

Some people think coming off as rude would make them sound valid and acceptable, or they might just be used to being a little offensive in general, but as I explained in part 3-I, I won't recommend using any harsh or mean languages at all. Let me note that your way of wording your ideas is crazily important and if you're not careful enough with what you say and how you describe your ideas, your post would be not only be not much helpful as an analysis but also a cause of more drama and arguments. Also, keep this in mind that even the best of character analyses can't totally catch the characters' personalities correctly because we do not own them! Twisted wonderland's characters are a property of aniplex and neither me not anyone else in this fandom has the right to claim what a character is 100% like unless Disney officially releases those details!

Writing character analyses can be hard, from finding enough of hints to defend your point to choosing the right Grammer and way of speaking to avoid any further misunderstandings. But remember, those who write character analyses have no right to attack anyone because of them (They can oppose to different opinions of course, opposing ≠ attacking ), but keep this in mind that readers have no right to attack then because of their analysis either! See, that's a two-sided relationship. Both of the, sides have to learn to respect, both of the sides should, know, their boundaries and both of the sides have to be respectful!

Warning: When I say you're free to do or imagine whatever you wish to do, know that posting and sharing writings too has its own rules. Make sure to put the proper warnings, and avoid using any taboo or clearly impolite and sometimes, illegal concepts such as incest, pedophilia, etc.

I actually had a lot more I wanted to say regarding the matter but I'm keeping it short, because I know that writing too much would make this boring and pretty hard to read. Hope that it's clear enough and avoid the possible future misunderstandings and arguments regarding the matter. Please, this isn't even about twst, it's about learning to respect each other it's about real life. Having people read THIS is a lot more important than having them read my character analyses or writings.

[ruby-rambling]

i can't believe you found another connor "anti" (you guys are not antis cmon, have you SEEN the c!dream antis,,,, pleeeease) amongst the c!dream apologists xD

"you know that scene after hank kills him where he’s just. visibly shaken and hank will very sarcastically dismiss his hurt because he failed to lie enough to make him think he was the perfect partner and didn’t try to become friends with him." AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA RUBY I AM IN PAAAAIN /POS 'HE FAILED TO LIE ENOUGH TO MAKE HIM THINK HE WAS THE PERFECT PARTNER' *CLENCHES FIST* WHY DOES THIS HURT SO. FUCKING. MUCH.

28?!!! ("twenty. eight. stab wounds" echoes in the distance) what's the minimum then? also, what are the deleted scenes about? :D

"he’s representing / the main threat to the actual protagonists the entire game and just watching how terrified the deviants are of him. the “last chance” scene with the fricking dead bodies on the wall and him just proudly standing over his work because he collected 'evidence'. oh my God." ... i think i'm turning into a "connor anti"-

omg. ruby. how could you not be a c!dream apologist, c!dream is basically kinning connor

the parallel with c!dream proudly displaying his vault... obviously it's not the same thing! but there's something about how they both thought it was a good thing that would "solve the problem". fuck. idk, i view c!dream in a very specific way and that is just. IT

don't mind me... i just love seeing how favourite characters may differ or be similar in terms of personality/general vibe.

also, thoughts on Markus, North, Simon and Josh? (jericrew my beloved <3) ^-^ tell me anything you want! your personal opinion on them, how the fandom treats them, your thoughts on the romance (or lack thereof)...

hi this is late askfh my ask box is a mess, anyway-

yeah i guess it's just us cool people! i found a bunch of unrelated analysts at some point and then saw them interact and agree with the connor anti group as well ksahd might just be being good at understanding the story maybe

i mean what else to call us?? the connor army would eat us alive. the others don't call themselves that, but it's the closest it gets to the terminology we use on this side of fandoms. it's more like connor enthusiast tbh but we don't even use the "enjoy him as a villain" excuse the enjoyers/"enthusiasts" use to bash on c!drem we just don't woobify him or dumb him down for shipping skdhdfd-

I KNOW IT HURTS. AAKDSH THEY ARE. THEY JUST. HM MMMM

i saw someone do a playthrough where connor was honest to god doing his best and choosing all the compassionate choices when it came to actions, but didn't constantly suck up to hank (Did You Know: spilling his drink makes his relationship stat go down as much as killing two people!) and hank shot him as a result and it was the most painful description i've ever read. IT'S SO FAKE BUT IT BECOMES REAL AND IT HURTS. WHY CAN'T THEY JUST AAAA

well, as we say, "the furthest you can play connor from being a villain, is making him a bad villain". if you purposefully fail all the qtes and waste all your time and make the character absolutely useless, you don't kill anyone! the average person kills at least a couple though.

deleted scenes are like, alternate dialogues, there was a whole different option for the hank scene at the cyberlife tower, for the rk900 ending, don't really remember rn! but it was v cool

SEE I AM DOING GOOD WORK HERE AKSH JOIN THE DARK SIDE MY FRIEND-

true connor and c!dream are so similar and the fandom response being so overbearingly different is just funny to me.

i love parallels too. ruthless bastards who secretly have strong emotional attachments to people my beloveds i will die for you <3

jericrew!!! i love north a lot. josh and simon get horribly mischaracterized by fanon and just. completely different from canon, which does have slightly compelling characters but they are tragically underdeveloped, they were done so dirty by the writers.

markus is a great character. i wasn't really that attached to them before but Coincidentally all of the connor antis are markus/north fans who make wonderful analysis of the in-canon moments and i just. the two of them mean a lot to me whether together or not (i don't care for romance in every sense of the word sfjd) and yeah i love the jericrew part of the storyline i'd love it more if david cage didn't push his horrible tonedeaf allegory through it but welp

there's a lot more i could say but this is already long and all of the people who came here from my dsmp posts are probably very confused, feel free to send more asks tho i enjoy this :D

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

This is why I think BH needs to speak out about Toxic TK shippers. My friend doesn't know BTS really and saw MTV Unplugged. She called and said BTS is the group you like, I finally watched them, who's your fav. I said Jimin, V and JK. Her first comment, isn't JK the possessive/jealous one over the Tae guy? I was like what? She said she looked up BTS videos after Unplugged and saw lots of videos titled JK being jealous over Tae. She said it turned her off from him, until I explained its all lies

And this, exactly, is what I was trying to get across with my post about Jungkook and the way he is represented by (toxic) shippers (of both JK+ML ships) which, like anon’s story shows, is simply doing him a huge disservice. Because we know he isn’t the person those clickbait titles and trashy videos make him out to be. But those new to Bangtan? Those curious to know more about them and being recommended these videos? Baby ARMYs getting into ships, by chance or on purpose because a particular pairing caught their eye, and are being fed these things which are tragically untrue and unjust? They don’t know. They might believe it. Many really do believe it. And sadly, only a few eventually realize that this gross mischaracterization is not real.

This is a conversation I feel like we’re having every other month, or even every other week. Those videos are toxic, portray the maknaes in abusive, harmful/hurtful and toxic ways, oversexualize and villainize them, and unfortunately, it’s done in a way that manages to convince people that it’s reality, even though it isn’t. Anon, I’m so sorry that those videos had to be your friend’s first “proper” introduction/impression of Jungkook after the masterpiece that was MTV Unplugged though I’m glad she had you to explain it all away. Which is something many unfortunately do not. It’s why I’ve said, time and time again, that I’m strongly against those videos and recommend staying as far away from them as possible.

Ship whoever you like, frankly, I don’t care, which I’ve also said plenty of times. I do care about the members though, about their real bonds, their personalities (the degree of them we’re privileged enough to get to know), their talents and artistry, and the things they have to say. Whenever I speak negatively about a ship or those who fall into the ugly bad-shipper behaviors, I never mean the members themselves, because usually they are not the ones to blame. At all. Jungkook didn’t choose to be “the possessive” one, Jimin didn’t choose to be “the homewrecker” or “the flirty/promiscuous” one, and Tae certainly didn’t choose to be “the one who doesn’t know what he wants/the manipulative” or “the jealous” one.

I don’t like being the one to point fingers but there was (and still is) a huge issue being discussed on twitter and other sns regarding BTS (by ARMY and media across the globe alike) and yet many big accounts focused on one or the other main ML ship were more “worried” about how big OT7 accounts “surely won’t post X ship moments again once Winter Package will be released” because (insert sarcastic nonsense here). It’s moments like these that make it crystal clear who is actually here for the members, their artistry and their message, and who only cares about their ship and proving to everyone that they are married or whatever.

But, regarding what you said about BH. The thing is that, unless shippers cross the line is a way that truly puts the members in real danger (physical or mental or both), there is basically no likelihood of them saying anything at all, ever. Ships (as in two members being together in a photoshoot or interacting in other content) are a marketing tool after all from a company point of view. Tae saying something was monumental, all things considered, and yet in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really do…anything.

The unfortunate thing is, even if BH were to post a white background, black text announcement tomorrow denouncing T/K shippers and ask them to stop with the videos and everything, do you know how (toxic) shippers would react? They would take it as grand confirmation that they’ve been right all along, that BH is hiding their ship, that they are restricting them, and that this is actually just a hidden message for shippers that they are on the right track. It wouldn’t discourage them; it would likely somehow just lead to even more (borderline or worse) invasive analysis videos and posts putting every twitch of Tae’s or JKs muscles under a microscope to prove that BH is lying.

Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? And yet we all know it’s true. And all of this counts for both ML ships involving him.

The unfortunate reality of it all is that those toxic shippers who twist the members words and personalities to feed their agenda would not be stopped by any announcement, and they would also likely not stop even if one or both halves of their ship would ask them to stop in 100% clear words that would leave no room for “different interpretations/translation”. Because frankly, they don’t care. Those people who make those videos your friend saw? They earn way too much to willingly stop. And even if they would, their toxic theories have spread too far and even having their channels terminated wouldn’t help anymore.

I love BTS and I love JK and truly it makes me sad how some people treat him, how they misrepresent his character, how they manipulate his words and gestures and facial expressions, and how they seem so misguidedly unable to see, appreciate and love the true sweet, kind and talented boy that he is beneath all their made up fantasies and clickbait titles.

[gayregis]

you might've already answered this but i adore all your takes on the show SO what did you think abt twn having the timeline all out of order? i didn't mind (even tho i read the books after) but i know it bothered a lot of people. thanks !

honestly, this is something that bothers me the most. it is on-par with the sincerely bad mischaracterizations of all of the characters and removal of the significant messages and themes of the short stories.

i feel that it’s insanely confusing for the majority of people when watching to have timeskips that are many many years apart without as much as a text card to say (20 years later). it’s good that you didn’t mind, but yeah i have heard from basically everyone, even people who loved the show, who say that the timeskips were the one thing that super confused them.

now, i watched the show having had read the books and legitimately dissecting any little thing as i watched. i went at this show with fucking tweezers and a scapel. i don’t get to say that i was confused by the timeskips, because during every single shot and scene, i was literally taking notes in a text document as to where the narrative was going and which scene was which from the books, where they were on the continent, what short story they were doing... although i was confused when things diverged so wholly from canon during the brokilon arc, i don’t get to say i was confused by the timeskip between the events of the lesser evil and the massacre of cintra, because i knew these stories already. 

but as a viewer, i was confused as to why they felt that was necessary. there was no reason to add in timeskips. there was no great parallel being made. they didn’t connect the two stories at all besides renfri making a side comment about how she was jealous of calanthe, then-princess. there was no thematic parallel. it felt like a gimmick to keep people from being bored with the first story (which it was, because there was a lack of interesting dialogue and i got very bored with it).

and it gets worse when i try to think of what it would have been like if i had NO prior knowledge of the witcher, or even just knowledge from the witcher 3. i... would have had no idea where cintra geographically is. i wouldn’t know who vesemir is when geralt mentions him. i wouldn’t have the faintest fucking clue as to why the story is switching between this man and this girl, and i’d be trying to establish their connection with no luck. because there’s literally nothing by this point which tells you that ciri is his daughter.

i think it’s a fucking stupid gimmick that lauren hissrich did because she wanted to gain more viewers by being “progressive” and including female characters yennefer and ciri earlier in the story even when it makes everything all the more confusing to have them there. i think it was a really stupid move that isn’t justifiable in any way because it’s sincerely disorienting to the viewer and makes everything make no sense. in the books, the stories are laid out in a certain order with a certain framing story for a reason. ciri appears as a character when she does for a reason. 

geralt finding ciri in brokilon was... such an incredibly significant moment and the fact that they didn’t introduce ciri in this way was really heartbreaking and sore to me. when geralt realizes that ciri is not just some random girl, but his daughter, that she is his child and she is not his destiny but something more... as ciri says to yennefer in blood of elves, you should have seen the look on his face. i wanted to see the look on new fans’ faces, on even my own face because it’s worth it to see a story retold. it was meant to be a surprise... she is the surprise child, as geralt says, she’s the biggest surprise he’s ever met. and the fact that geralt has to part with her, that he HAS to because otherwise he would bring danger to her, is incredibly painful. that was ciri’s introduction for a reason. the saga begins to follow her from that point on, that distinguishable point in brokilon. after this, the next story is something more, which revolves around many significant people in geralt’s life, but is focused on his desire to become ciri’s father for real. this point is very important because it’s a turning point for the series. it stops being about geralt, and begins to be about ciri.

similarly, yennefer is introduced as she is for a reason. in the last wish, she is not meant to be immediately likable. she antagonizes geralt and is actually kind of the antagonist of the story for a good part of it. the netflix series introduces her with her sad backstory, making the first emotion you feel towards her be pity and outrage at her treatment. yennefer in the book series was slowly developed, yennefer in the book series is carmelized onions. at first she is like raw onions, when you chop a raw onion your eyes might water, and raw onion is very strong and overwhelming taste that a majority of people find unpleasant (think of biting into a whole onion). but over time, when you put these chopped onions into the pan with olive oil and salt, they begin to get softer, sweeter. even when they’re not entirely browned yet, they’re palatable and delicious. yennefer in the bounds of reason shows sincere depth as she defies her trope and is sincerely emotionally hurt by geralt for leaving her without a word. she gets even more developed in a shard of ice, and her relationship with geralt is developed even when she is not present in a little sacrifice, and by the end of the sword of destiny, it makes sense as to why they are together as a couple. then in blood of elves as she becomes a mother to ciri and in time of contempt, baptism of fire, tower of the swallow, and lady of the lake, she is such an incredibly selfless and caring mother and you learn her backstory that she develops this incredible depth that you would never have thought she had the potential for in the last wish. 

the timeskips are really detrimental to not only yennefer and ciri’s characters, but also geralt and dandelion’s. geralt is introduced in the specific order of stories for a reason. in the witcher, we learn what a witcher is. we learn what he was created to do, but also how he as an individual is incredibly different from many of the rest of his guild and how he has this inner depth and humanity that he has to keep hidden. i’ll admit that a grain of truth is skippable, but i appreciate how it also shows that geralt will go out of his way to help others even when there is no contract and no reward involved. in the lesser evil, we learn why he has committed himself to neutrality and how society views him as a witcher. this is very significant for how he interacts with others, especially ciri, as he does not want to pass this legacy down to her. in a question of price, we see him choosing the route of pacifism yet again and also are introduced to the concept of destiny linking him with ciri. then in the voice of reason 5 / the edge of the world, we learn more about his humanity as his relationship with dandelion is explored and we get to see geralt in a closer, more intimiate friendship light, not on the job or embroiled in a conflict. we also see him acting pacifist again and learn of his opinions on otherness, the otherness that he himself is classified as. in the last wish, we learn how human he really is, we see his real devotion to dandelion and then his choice to assist yennefer and his vulnerability with yennefer. of course it’s not meant to end there because it has yet to take down the trope of a happy ending that it ended with, but you can see geralt’s linear character progression in just this first collection of short stories. you understand him as a character and what his motivations and relationships to others are.

tl;dr: the timeskips in twn do more damage than everyone thinks; they’re not just annoying and super confusing for new fans, but they are a major enabler of poor character development and bastardization of the books they were meant to be an “adaptation” of 

[pawprintcooper]

This is the TechSummit Rewind, a daily recap of the top technology headlines.

Lyft confirms $600M in new funding at $7.5B valuation

Lyft has raised a new $600 million round of funding form a mix of new and existing investors at a valuation of $7.5 billion post-money.

Contributing investors in this found include Alliance Bernstein, Baillie Gifford, KKR, and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), along with previous backers Rakuten and Janus Capital.

In a blog post, the company said that it’ll be investing in the “people behind our business, making sure to take care of our drivers, passengers, and team members.”

“We’re working hard bringing Lyft’s mission to life, improving people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. This begins by focusing on the people behind our business, making sure to take care of our drivers, passengers, and team members. We have big plans on the horizon, and will continue investing in new technology and hospitality in order to create experiences that passengers and drivers will love.”

-John Zimmer, Lyft president

Instagram Direct unites ephemeral & permanent messaging; counts 375M users

Instagram Direct will now combine disappearing ephemeral photo and video messages with traditional permanent text and image messages in the same one-on-one and group threats.

Direct usage has spiked to 375 million users since ephemeral messaging launched in November.

“Direct is our best friends experience, for just goofing around on the couch and sharing with your best friends.”

-Robby Stein, Instagram sharing product lead

Google: pay model prevents salary discrimination

In a blog post, Google claimed that it has a rigorous process to ensure employees are paid equitably regardless of gender.

The Department of Labor sued Google, a government contractor, in January to release salary data and documents that the company has refused to provide. In court in San Francisco Apr. 7, the Department of Labor claimed that women at Google face “systemic compensation disparities.”

“The government’s analysis at this point indicates that discrimination against women in Google is quite extreme, even in this industry.”

-U.S. Department of Labor, to The Guardian

“Our analysis gives us confidence that there is no gender pay gap at Google.”

-Eilen Naughton, Google VP of people operations

According to Naughton, the company’s annual process for determining compensation starts with suggested compensation for each employee that’s based on an employee’s role, seniority, the campus where they work, and their performance. Managers have “limited discretion” to adjust employees’ salaries “providing they cite a legitimate adjustment rationale.”

“This suggested amount is ‘blind’ to gender; the analysts who calculate the suggested amounts do not have access to employees’ gender data.”

-Eilen Naughton

Google’s AutoDraw uses machine learning to help you draw like a pro

Google is launching a new experiment called AutoDraw that uses machine learning algorithms to match your doodles up with professional drawings to make you look like you know what you’re doing.

AutoDraw works on both your phone or desktop with a pretty straightforward experience. You simply start drawing your best pizza, or house, or dog, or whatever and the algorithms will play Pictionary to figure out what you’re trying to draw. It then tries to match your creation with drawings in its database, and if it finds any possible matches, it’ll show them in a list at the top of your virtual canvas. If you like one of those options, you click on it and AutoDraw polishes up your artwork.

Artists can donate their drawings to the project here.

Dropbox for Android now lets you scan, save documents

Dropbox users can now scan and save documents with their Android devices as PDFs. The feature rolled out to iOS users in June.

Users will be able to aim their device at documents, make tweaks like cropping or rotating if necessary, and then saving it to Dropbox as PDF files for later access.

People whose organizations pay for Dropbox Business can search for text within scanned documents with optical character recognition.

Qualcomm sues Apple for hobbling iPhone chips to make Intel look better

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After Apple hit Qualcomm with a barrage of lawsuits earlier this year, the chipmaker is countersuing Apple. Qualcomm filed its Answers and Counterclaims to Apple’s January lawsuit today, filed in the Southern District of California.

The full details are in this 139-page document released by Qualcomm, but the company has five key complaints here – including the claim that Apple deliberately didn’t use the full potential of Qualcomm chips in iPhone 7 phones so that they wouldn’t perform better than Intel-provided modems.

According to Qualcomm, Apple “chose not to utilize certain high-performance features of the Qualcomm chipsets for the iPhone 7,” and when Qualcomm iPhones supposedly outperformed Intel iPhones, Apple “falsely claimed that there was ‘no discernible difference’ between” the two variants.

Qualcomm also says that Apple prevented it from revealing to customers “the extent to which iPhones with Qualcomm’s chipsets outperformed iPhones with Intel’s chipsets.” The company also says that Apple “threatened” it to keep quiet about the differences between Intel and Qualcomm iPhones, preventing Qualcomm from “making any public comparisons about the superior performance of the Qualcomm-powered iPhones.”

Other complaints include claims that Apple breached and mischaracterized agreements and negotiations with Qualcomm, encouraged attacks on the company in a number of markets by misrepresenting facts and making false statements, and interfered with Qualcomm’s existing agreements with other companies.

In the countersuit, Qualcomm seeks – among other things – damages from Apple for “reneging on its promises in several agreements,” and to stop Apple interfering in deals with manufacturers for iPhone and iPad parts.

Microsoft says goodbye to Windows Vista

Microsoft is saying adieu to Windows Vista over 10 years after it debuted. Support for Windows Vista ended Tuesday, meaning users will need to move to a more recent version to retain access to security updates.

Codenamed Longhorn, Vista was originally going to revolutionize Windows with a new file system and user interface. Microsoft’s development of the operating system spiraled out of control however, and the company was forced to reset its plans to focus on shipping a stable version of Windows in the middle of its development phase.

The WinFS file system was eventually canceled, but Microsoft attempted to turn the Windows file system into a giant database that could be searched quickly, with linked data sets and related relationships between files mapped out by the system.

Windows Vista also introduced a new Aero user interface, turning windows into glass panels with blurred borders. A sidebar provided easy access to widgets, and the Start menu was tweaked to focus on a new way to search in Vista. Microsoft also launched a flip 3D feature that would render the live contents of windows in a 3D view to essentially replace alt+tab. However, its graphical intensity led to it not gaining traction.

These graphically intense parts led to criticism. Older hardware didn’t perform as well, and Microsoft introduced confusing “Vista Ready” stickers on PCs that didn’t always mean it could handle Aero Glass well. Vista also became known as a resource hog especially on laptops, and at the peak of netbooks, most PC makers opted for Linux-based options or Windows XP as the low-cost machines couldn’t keep up with Vista.

Overall, Vista will most likely go down as a flop that had good intentions but missed the mark with consumers.

Roku TVs now learn what you watch, suggest related shows

Roku is now rolling out a software update focused at Roku TV owners – units that have its media software directly integrated into televisions. One of the more standout features here is called “More Ways to Watch,” offering viewing suggestions that pop up on screen, based on what you’re currently viewing.

Yes, Roku will now know what you’re watching, presuming that you opt in to the feature after installing the update, or after you turn on your Roku TV set for the first time.

To be clear, Roku is only tracking your viewing behavior when you’re watching through an input – like your digital antenna or cable box.

This is enabled through the use of automatic content recognition (ACR), which is common to smart TVs.

According to Roku’s privacy policy, the data will be used for personalized recommendations and personalized ads, as well as to measure the viewership of ads and programming. This viewing data will also be combined with other demographic data Roku has on you.

If you’re tuned into an old episode of your favorite show, for example, Roku might mention that it’s available on streaming services like Netflix. You could then choose to switch to Netflix and continue watching without the commercial breaks of live TV.

It may also suggest related shows to the one you’re viewing.

The recommendations appear as a pop-up on screen, but if you’re not into that, you can disable the pop-up overlay and access them with a press of the remote control.

You can either use the right arrow button to view the ACR results, or the OK button to bring up the info dialog box.

These recommendations will be supported on HD and FHD Roku TVs and 2017 4K Roku TVs with the launch of Roku OS 7.6. 2016 4K Roku TVs will get the feature this summer.

Also included is a feature to make a list of favorite channels with a broadcast antenna; the addition of thumbnail images when using the Live TV Pause feature; support for Closed Captions on Live TV Pause’s “replay” feature; support for a faster resume from standby on some Roku TVs; and support for custom input names on Roku TV.

Both players and TVs get access to an expanded search that can track content on over 300 streaming channels, up ten-fold from a year ago.

The update is rolling now to all Rokus released from May 2011 on.

Slack passes five million daily users, launches in-message drop-down menus for apps

Slack has surpassed five million daily active users, up a million from six months ago. The number of paying customers has also gone up to over 1.5 million from 1.25 million.

The team chat app counts over 38,000 paying teams among its ranks, with half of its daily users from outside North America (specifically the UK, Japan, Germany, France, and India).

At the end of January, Slack had 3.5 million users simultaneously connected.

Since its third-party app directory launched over a year ago, the number of available apps has grown over 500 percent to at least 900. According to Slack, at least 90 percent of paid teams are actively using at least one app.

“We’re really happy with the app directly. It’s a strong ecosystem, and we’re really proud of it.

“Slack is your communication platform where software is embedded into the conversation. We have a suite of different features on our platform. Before we had the slash command … bot users … and message buttons. Message menus are the next step of that functionality.”

-Ceci Stallsmith, Slack head of platform marketing

Message menus are drop-down menus that developers can incorporate into their Slack apps. Not everything can be responded to with a couple of buttons, but when you’re dealing with information pulled from a database, a drop-down menu may be best. For example, if you’re connecting Slack with a customer relationship management tool like Salesforce, you could incorporate a Message menu to show relevant accounts to the user.

Developers can use five different menu types:

Static menus: A set of fixed choices

User menus: Members of a Slack team

Channel menus: Public channels

Conservation menus: All channels (public and private) & direct messages

Live menus: Dynamic based on a server’s response

Slack is launching Message menus with 16 partners:

Front: Bring your team’s external communication (email, social, SMS, messaging, and voice) into one shared inbox

Growbot: Encourages and listens for team appreciation, automatically adding positive reactions and saving team wins forever

Kip: A smart penguin that helps workplaces, organizations, and teams coordinate their group purchases

Lever: Make it easy to engage your entire team in the hiring process. Users can post announcements to Slack channels through #mention notes on individual candidate profiles

MailClark: Send and receive emails, tweets, Twitter DMs, and Facebook messages within Slack

Memo (formerly Pogo): Save and find code snippets, meeting notes, links, Slack messages, or other short work notes – inside Slack or on the web

Nikabot: Keep track of your team members and projects, and get reminders about the day’s missing information

OpsGenie: An alerting and on-call management solution that gives Dev & Ops teams flexible schedule management, escalations, and notifications

ai: Engage your team and boost participation with recurring polls in Slack

Slaask: Allows Slack to function as a “real-time customer service app shared among your team.”

Statsbot: A personal analytics assistant powered by AI to give data insights inside chats

SurveyMonkey: Gathering feedback with surveys

To-Do Bot: A to-do list inside Slack

Troops: Centralize Salesforce workflow in Slack, helping companies “update and share information in order to make better decisions”

Workato: Eliminate app hopping and get work done across cloud apps like Salesforce, Zendesk, Github, JIRA, Mixpanel, and more without leaving Slack

Zylo: Directly survey users of cloud applications across your business in Slack

“[Message] menus points to the fact that we see the conversation you’re having in Slack at the heart of what you’re trying to do. We’re adding functionality that allows developers to use the message as a canvas.”

-Ceci Stallsmith

Message menus are available now.

Dailymotion plans major relaunch focused on premium content, less on user videos

Dailymotion is about to abandon its user-generated content roots.

The video site, now majority owned by French media conglomerate Vivendi, is planning to relaunch in June with a focus on providing a curated feed of professionally produced content.

The new Dailymotion will provide a “daily digest” of topical video programming, centered around news, sports, music and entertainment, according to company CEO Maxime Saada.

“We want to highlight the ‘daily’ in Dailymotion.”

-Maxime Saada, Dailymotion CEO

Dailymotion first launched in 2005, and has long been compared with YouTube.

At launch, the new Dailymotion will be available on Ios, Android, and Apple TV with later support following for Google Chromecast, Xbox, Android TV, and PlayStation.

Users will still be able to post their own video on the platform, but it won’t be “the main purpose of the platform” going forward, according to Saada.

The new design will feature an Instagram-like look on mobile, according to company chief product and technology officer Guillaume Clement, with a new video player built entirely from scratch.

Daliymotion is in the process of on-boarding an expanded lineup of content partners, but Vivendi-owned Universal Music Group is already in the mix. Saada didn’t reveal specifics on what the platform’s ad-revenue split with content partners will be, however he did say that “we intend to be more generous than existing platforms.” YouTube gives 55 percent of ad revenue to its partners under its standard agreements.

The new Dailymotion has three sections: a personalized feed with videos of accounts you follow; a search and discovery section, with suggestions about trending content; and a library for saving videos to watch for later. It will also let users follow topics like “politics” or “pop music” In their feeds.

“We want you to always have the feeling there will be more video.”

-Guillaume Clement, Dailymotion chief product and technology officer

The new Dailymotion apps also feature a shrink-back feature that keeps the current video playing in a video on the bottom of the app while a user browses older content.

TechSummit Rewind 168 This is the TechSummit Rewind, a daily recap of the top technology headlines. Lyft confirms $600M in new funding at $7.5B valuation…