#not even an anti-jimmy/curly thing

[coffin-hopping]

I ain’t even that deep in the mouthwashing fandom but I saw a post that was like “if jimmy just admitted he loved curly he wouldn’t have attacked anya and crashed the ship lmfao” 😐 what the fuck are we doing here man

[franki-lew-yo]

Mouthwashing and fandom discourse as a whole.

So I recently explored the tag for Mouthwashing after watching two no-commentary lets plays of the entire game. I'm seeing a lot of posts pointing out how annoying it is that this game has a fandom and that this fandom is doing fandom things and stanning/"uwu-ing" characters from this incredibly nuanced, raw and not-fandom friendly piece of art. To paraphrase someone I just saw "you don't want mouthwashing; you want Among Us ocs but darker". And

for a moment I wanna talk a bit about how I absolutely agree with this statement while also talk for a moment about how and why fandom and catharsis fan fics exist and shouldn't be shamed inherently. Or, I guess, not in theory.

The "come on! Stop trying to make everything shippable/cutsey/memey/have a happy AU and face unpleasant emotions someone's trying to tell you about!" is SUCH a vibe with me. I felt this way in the 9 fandom a lot as a kid and that was just 9. Mouthwashing is like 9 on bathsalts emotions and theme-wise. It's a game where you play as both the flawed but caring captain of a doomed ship who's life becomes a Johnny Got His Gun-nightmare, and also a deplorable, hateful piece of garbage who got himself and his friend in that nightmare situation to begin with. Both characters, moreso Jimmy but Curly too, are the causes of their own misery. They're complex dealing with one of the two committing SA and doing nothing really about it/dodging the responsibility and humanity needed to support the victim whom they've wronged.

I fully admit it's groan-inducing seeing people be shipped up Anya with anyone on the ship considering what happens to her. On a pure pr level I think it would be illegal even since romance between coworkers in a workplace is considered conflict of interest/harassment as it so often is. (NOT that what Jimmy did to Anya is 'romance'. I'm talking about the shipping of Anya with the other three guys. I know there's people out there who do ship Jimmy/Anya; you don't have to tell or show me I believe you and also I already hate it.) It's ALSO groan inducing to see people ship Curly and Jimmy considering all Curly does to him- and just the fact that this incredibly tragic, toxic one-way-gone array friendship is reduced to "toxic yaoi teehee". It's annoying AT BEST.

I get the hostility towards fandom-tastic stanning and fandom behavior in general...the issue is it's still hostility and I wish some of you guys got that. Like it or not (you don't have to like it) fandom culture is inevitable to some degree. You can and should complain about your hangups but that's all you can do besides avoiding tags and just not engaging with that side of the fandom at some point. Save your call-outs and rage for when you see active deplorable bs being committed that people are excusing for dumb fandom reasons, like lolicon, hatespeech or harassment. I'm sorry but you can not actively go after and try and take down the innocent people involved in your trigger that aren't directly hurting you by liking the thing that triggers you; ie. people who get all shipping and fandom-brained about Mouthwashing's characters which you find offensive to do at all.

This type of convo is the crux of most 'antifandom' v profandom discourse in general; for Antis I think there ought to be a difference between the people that set you off bcuz of fandom nonsense vs sociopathic 'got mine'-creepiness. There's a difference between someone who draws r34 v Shadbase. For profandom types you out to face the fact that yes- maybe NOT EVERYTHING is meant to be shippable/memed. Maybe try practicing that a bit. Yeah it's most harmless and makes you feel happy, but considering how people outside of your hyperfixation-of-a-hyperfixation is a thing. The thing about the "don't like, don't read" argument is it goes both ways. If you're truly a "good fan" like you say you are than you have to realize that people will not like your problematicisms. Learn to interact with characters and stories without the possibility of shipping sometimes- or at least understand that that's the crux of what makes a story like Mouthwashing engaging, even if you also partake in the fandumb and AUs on the side. You can call Curly your babygirl and ship him or make him happy all you want but PLEASE acoknowledge that the game doesn't woobify him or excuse what he did to Anya as well. You can make some kind of AU scenario where Jimmy gets out somehow and becomes/is a slightly better person for all I care...so long as you PLEASE remember that he is canonically a r@pist and awful. Also, even if I'm okay with your fan decisions, note that myself and others are still going to be critical and be upset that you wrote it at all because of what kind of character Jimmy is. 'Critical' =/= declaring something evil.

Fandom behaviors are not souly a destructive parasocial outcome of brainrot; they're also a natural reaction to what happens canonically and the emotions you have to experiencing a story. It's normal and rational to sympathize and love Curly and despise and hate Jimmy. You can love/like/enjoy a problematic-to-DEEPLY DISTURBED-character based on their complexity in canon. They are fiction. They are not real. The reason you are so invested with them is because of that complexity and yes because they are fiction they are your 'toy' and you can doll them up in any kind of speculative AU crap you make. That's fanfiction, baby. Make yourself a fixit fic if you really want

BUT-

remember: it stays as a fixit fic. DO NOT cross the streams, or insist that your active misreading of the text is the same as the text itself. EVER. You should care about your special interest's escapism as a means of self-care. What you shouldn't do is demand that EVERYONE ELSE LOVE your coping mechanism and that any complaints by people on their own terms on their own blogs is #badfaith or an inherent attack against you. It isn't. You'll know when it is an attack against you and that's when you, the profandom-type, need to be prepared and save your call-out posts and blocklist for.

To me that's the fragility to fandom debates and fandom as a whole. You can not/should not police or control an entire group of people and how they perceive or interact with media. That's not fair and it's definitely not sporting or decent of you in a community. You have to share your community -your fandom- with people who hate ur fav and people who love your least fav. Agreeing to disagree means not tagging your nOTP as their shipname or by tagging your shipname loud and clear. It means filtering out posts with those topics but enjoying and/or reblogging the fandom takes you do share with your fellow fandom-mite that obviously posts abt those topics.

When schmit REALLY goes down and some assface reviewer/fan/SOMETHING is being an assface or doing something amoral under the guise of fandom-ing, that's where you out to put your foot down. Callouts and complaints are for people who did an egregious thing and refuse to take responsibility(lol) for it. They're not for "soandso likes the thing that triggers me, kill them"/"so and so is hating on the thing I'm kinning because it triggers them, kill them". Be an adult.

Your DNI lists should consist of "lolicon defenders" not "proshippers", as those ARE NOT one in the same. Same goes the other way around. List off "bigots, purity culture bs", not "antis and critics". These positions ARE NOT interchangeable. If you make them interchangeable than you're making things a lot harder for yourself.

-sincerely, a message from autistic ADHD/OCD woman who likes horror and media analysis as much as she loves popcorn fanfic schlock.

We don't all have to be friends and buddybuds. I just hate us hurting each other over being different kind of fandom-folk rather than for when someone sincerely mucks up and does something bad. Can't we all stick to our guns and just boycott Harry Potter like god intended?

[billygoated]

Finally got around to playing Mouthwashing and god damn is this gonna be one of the games that sticks with me for a while. because like, what the fuck? (in a good way dw)

Spoilers below the cut! (CW: rape, pregnancy, cannibalism, suicide, Jimmy.)

Honestly the biggest thing that surprised me about my experience with the game and the so far two days since my completion of it, is Curly. Fucking Curly. i have a love-hate relationship with this man. because on one hand i can genuinely believe in his competence as a captain, but on the other... he utterly failed Anya (and the rest of the crew to by extension) by showing blatant nepotism towards Jimmy due to their being friends by not doing anything about him actually just straight up RAPING Anya and getting her pregnant.

Like, don't get me wrong, if Jimmy wasn't the whiny egotistical jackass that he was i fully believe the crew would've completed the journey just fine and gotten paid (even if they where gonna be jobless afterwards anyway due to the company going bankrupt). But this one fucking failure of his, this one fuck up due to a personal fault, singlehandedly doomed the entire fucking crew and condemned him to not only watch, but to outlive all of them by a long time. And by the time he realized his mistakes, it was far, FAR too late for him to do anything. All he could do was laugh as Jimmy picked up the gun.

And this man really stared his failures in the face when Anya took her own life in front of him, and he was the one to tell her that the medbay could be locked no less! And he had to watch Jimmy kill Swansea, and then eventually himself, after forcefeeding Curly his own leg and putting him in the cryopod. Curly essentially paid the price of his own actions, as well as paying the price for Jimmy's (who he is partially responsible for the actions of as his captain, best friend, and as someone WHO KNEW DAMN WELL HE RAPED SOMEBODY).

But at the end of the day i don't believe Curly is some belligerent psychopath who went out of his way to be just as bad as Jimmy himself, Curly is a person who let his social nature and friendship turn into favoritism and complacency with the status quo, ultimately trying to preserve it much to everyone's detriment.

I genuinely believe Curly cares about his crew, I really do. And i like that about him. But his mentality as a captain to preserve the status quo was a big part in why Jimmy was able to do what he did. It's not like the signs weren't there even not accounting for what happened to Anya, it literally would've been written all over Jimmy's psych eval, Anya herself even points it out to him. The man is not well and shouldn't have been allowed on the ship (though corporate bullshitery was also partially responsible for this as i am not blind to this games anti-capitalist themes).

I think that's about all i have to say though and i suck at concluding long winded stuff like this so TL:DR Swansea should've been captain, He's a real one and actually has a spine.

(i will almost certainly edit this if i think of anything i want to add or correct about my takes.)

[moxuanyus]

one thing i haven't seen any mention of, maybe because people aren't aware, regarding anya's nausea when its time to give curly his meds—is just how intense ones nausea reflex gets when you are pregnant.

you get nauseous so easily, even the slightest smell can have your stomach be emptied. the strongest anti-nausea meds out there are for those who are pregnant.

she's a couple of months into her term.

of course, jimmy assumes its because shes incompetent as a nurse. he belittles her for running. even though he knows. even though he knows.

[crashimminent]

Hello! Might I request transmasc Anya headcanons if you do those things? Anything is fine, I just want my daily dose of transgender. Yum!

YESSSS YES YES YES ANON YOUR BRAIN

I will be referring to Anya by He/Him pronouns on this post- if this isn’t what you had in mind, please correct me!

The big question is always “is he on hormones?” and honestly? No, I don’t think so.

T can be a lot! Gel can feel gross, shots can be scary and painful, patches may slip, etc etc etc.

Not to mention costly. He’s already struggling with nursing school, damn it. A prescription is just another hassle.

Top surgery is definitely on the plans up there. He’s still anxious about the idea, but knows he won’t really regret it.

Until then, his binder will do. He takes extra precaution to follow the safety rules, especially while in space.

Pony Express hired him, at the very least. Even if they’re a corporate who’s likely deeply transphobic at their core, they want money, damn it!

It’s sort of illegal to ask about that anyways. So it’s fine.

He prefers to wear bigger, baggier clothes. Nurse scrubs tend to be unisex, so it’s not like his clothes options are limited…

But sweaters and turtlenecks seem to be big favorites.

He likes his long hair too. It’s easy to tie back into a ponytail. Frames his face nicely.

The socks and sandals were deliberate though. That was a specific euphoria producing thing. People groan and call him an old man.

It’s just a nice idea to think he’d get there. To grow old as himself.

It’s not really poorly received though. The crew has other worries than the personal lives of the others.

Jimmy himself isn’t really… transphobic. Just sort of… anti-Anya. He makes lots of remarks to make Anya feel self conscious or dysphoric.

Mainly about his body. A lot about his body. It’s hard to determine whether he’s trying to help Anya “pass”, or if he just wants to jab at insecurities.

Curly… is trying! He doesn’t quiiite get it, but he’s accepted Anya as “one of the boys”, and tries to engage in almost frat style humor.

And you know what? If there’s a different name he prefers, the name “Anya” is getting nigh erased from the ship. Curly sure likes his paperwork to be accurate, it it’ll be accurate!

Swansea doesn’t care. Really, why would he? He’s not thrilled to be on a ship full of guys, but it doesn’t change anything.

( He does chat up Anya though, compares him to his own sons every now and then. He’s an oldtimer, but that’s no excuse to be a bigot. )

Daisuke takes this as an invitation. Whenever Swansea isn’t working him like a dog, he’s down in medbay, talking about girls and sports and video games and whatever he can think of that Anya might have an interest in.

Like, Anya’s a guy, right? He’s GOT to be interested in girls. What do you MEAN that’s not how it works? Daisuke knows everything there is to know about the ladies, and he’s gotta tell the guy!

He seems to forget Anya used to have hands on experience.

It’s… a bit of a relief that the restrooms on the ship aren’t separated by gender.

The crew tries to give him space, even if he doesn’t entirely mind that much. They don’t go in the showers if they know he’s there.

Swansea once came in while he was showering. They didn’t really say anything.

What’s he meant to care? They’re in different stalls, and…

Well. Swansea has a bigger rack than him. If anyone’s staring, it’s Anya. (Which of course, he didn’t- he’s got priorities.)

It’s still a little awkward navigating the social environment as a trans guy- a lot of effort is put into making him fit in when he really just wants to be treated normally.

But it’s nice to be seen and heard about one thing.

[noapollegies]

i'm a little too embarrassed to say it in ao3 comments so i'm putting it in a tumblr ask T_T but HI! i really liked "how good men are made" not necessarily from a sexual standpoint (i'm ace) but from how compelling curly's perspective was as a groomer.

i've had the same experience as a child so reading stories with that topic (when handled tastefully) can be very healing to me, and it was so satisfying to see curly reassure himself over and over again that he's not doing anything wrong to this poor young child, but eventually he abandons all his morals, he has to see how badly he fucked up that kid, he suffers the consequences of his actions.

i'm always so interested in the povs of abusers (i guess that's why i like mw in the first place lol) but i've never quite had a chance to see the pov of a child groomer. you wrote him in such a real and human way that i couldn't help but feel bad for his internal struggle, but at the same time i wanted to hit him so bad because. leave that fucking guy alone.

and outside of that, i just love the writing quality, it's so perfect. i couldn't believe that was 11000 words when i finished because i just read it on a whim and got absolutely sucked in. it was definitely long for a oneshot and yet there was barely any filler??? that's amazing???

sorry this is so long i've just been thinking so hard about it since i read it. TL;DR: i love how curly is written, i love the cycle of abuse shown through jimmy, i love the prose, and i'm finally learning the joys of anti-censorship. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi anon! Glad that you liked "How Good Men Are Made" enough to send such a lovely and thoughtful ask. The ol' inbox is always open for such things, and leaving a public comment on an AO3 fic can be a bit daunting, so that is understandable. Reply got chonky, so sticking it under a read more.

Curly's perspective was an interesting one to get into, and it's flattering that you found it to be a compelling one. Yes, definitely have seen just fiction in general from the POV of abusers, less from child groomers, but perhaps Lolita is just too ingrained in the public mind to spawn many more works like it? That did inspire Good Men a lot, but then again it's fanfiction and comment moderation is a thing, lol.

Curly is complicated, yes; he's humorous and self aware yet he is still salivating over Jimmy like a beast. There are planned-ish interludes from Jimmy's perspective that show more about how Jimmy actually feels, because Curly conveniently stopped narrating anything about Jimmy's reactions to his actions once it became all about Curly and his satisfaction. How Humbert Humbert of him.

He doesn't think he is a bad guy, even at the end, probably. Just a guy who did bad things, who doesn't want to think about how Jimmy used to cry when he felt helpless and scared. Nuh uh.

It's doubly appreciated that you think that this work handled the topic in a tasteful manner; part of the reason this genre is compelling, personally, is that thread of horror that runs through it, that yes maybe it's a little about sex but so much more about power and fear. And that can be a fun and dark place to wander around as a writer and reader. Your statement about it being healing is a relatable one, as there are some personal experiences informing the writing of "Good Men". Both of knowing men like Curly as an adult and being a kid like Jimmy once.

11k words of Curly pretending he isn't a bad, bad man. It was a fun write for sure, happy it was a good read.

Thank you so much for your ask once again. It's so great to hear from people about it ☺️

[funkii-fox]

Should I block the French Guy?

This mf has the audacity to pretend to agree that AI “art” is wrong, then STILL is using AI to generate images of his ocs. I posted the quote of Araki condemning AI “art” and this fucking guy has the audacity to like it, even tho I had him in mind while posting it.

I was like “yk, I havent seen this guy’s story in a while because it’s 100% hateful, maybe I should check to see if he still does.” The most recent one I could find was from September 8th in a highlight abt ocs, but that’s not to say he hasn’t used it since and just didn’t save it to highlight. Make of that what you will, but I choose to believe he’s still using AI. I remember once I even had a convo telling him to stop using AI, but bro just went “ok” and still used AI BRUH🗿

But guess what else I saw: he likes Jimmy 😭😭😭 this was 100% expected tho. He once changed his pfp to Curly and i was like “your ass is NOT Curly ur Jimmy bro.” He posted 3 whole stories abt the community judging ppl that like Jimmy. He compared it to how ppl like DIO and said its bc he has pretty privilege and not Jimmy and thats why ppl judge them. I won’t lie; yes, most ppl like DIO bc hes pretty and charming, but at least he has some types of redeeming qualities. Jimmy is just 100% asshole. Every scene you see of him is he’s being a jerk or a fuck up that says “i can fix this” but actually can’t. Mouthwashing is SO un-nuanced in the way you’re supposed to hate Jimmy, it’s amazing rlly. We’re not even shown much of his personal life or other aspects of his personality; unlike other antagonists like Kira or Diavolo.

Now, am I gonna throw rocks at your window for liking Jimmy? No. Do what you want. But, i will psychoanalyze you and conclude that you like him either for the abusive dynamic or you like him bc he’s like you. This guy 110% likes Jimmy bc he’s relatable.

Simply looking at it face value right now, the way this guy is so OBSESSED with other people is insane. 90% of my conversations w this guy has been bruja arianna, snerufu, antis, women who make self insert ocs, or his arch nemesis Fay that he just can’t stop stalking. It reminds me of how Jimmy was obsessed and jealous of Curly’s success. He is also negative all the time. Even when making a joke, the punchline is always someone else or a cheap horny joke that comes across as a 7th grader. It reminds me of how Jimmy HAD to take Curly saying “i want more in life” the wrong way. It even manifests in the way bro had Curly as his pfp; because he wants to be like Curly.

We met from me shitting on bruja arianna. My criticism came from logic and a want to make change in the community, but it’s clear now that his criticism comes from hate and insecurity. He’s so passionate about hate, i think it’s the only thing he’s passionate about. He’s not even passionate enough about his own ocs to draw them himself. He’s so hateful he makes fun of women in the fandom for damn near anything they do, as if millions of ppl don’t also see him as a woman and as if he never lived as a woman. Then he hides all of his edginess as “im French lol we’re just angry :p” be so serious

His only other characteristic is being hypocritical. This guy “doesn’t deserve hate” but is constantly negative all the time. This guys gets upset at shit on a screen just to search it up more. This guy HATES bruja arianna for mocking trans men, yet all his male ocs are “androgynous” no mf they look like girls.

Chat, I don’t care anymore about being stalked. I’m stronger now. I have better things to worry about now that I have a life. I don’t care if he talks a lot of shit nor do I care if he “exposes” me for some made up bs. He can have a tantrum all he wants; i have better things to care about

Poll whether I should block him under the cut.

[m00ngbin]

mouthwashing for the ask gaaaame??

if youve even FINISHED IT YET

I DID. IT TOOK ME THREE WHOLE DAYS BUT I DID >:]

My favorite female character: it's Anya by default but it would've been anyways I think. Her whole situation drives me insane and I feel so awful for her. Driving me insane with her FINALLY taking agency and control back at the end and the way she does it is literally just her killing herself. Oughhhhhhhshhhhjskfkfjskkfnf. Also that scene when she first locks herself in the med bay and Daisuke is like "DONT WORRY JIMMYS HERE EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE." I imagine she and curly were looking at each other like 😥. ALSO JUST THE FUCKING MISERY OF HAVING TO WALK AROUND AND LIVE WITH THE MAN THAT ASSAULTED YOU, THAT YOU KNOW IS SO DANGEROUS THAT YOU HAVE TO HIDE THE GUN, (an acted on hunch that was proven right after her death), THAT HAS BOTH DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY KILLED ALL OF YOU??? ughhgsjkdfjndkdjg :(

My fav male character: Daisuke or curly. INSANE ABOUT BOTH OF THEM. Daisuke. Useless goddamn ray of sunshine. WAILS. He was so sweet and he just wanted to get the approval and acceptance of the older adults around him and by god he did everything he could. AND IT GOT USED AGAINST HIM. HE DIED BECAUSE OF IT. HE DIED BECAUSE HE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SWANSEA PROUD :( AND CURLY. CURLYYYY IM INSANE ABOUT HIM. He just has to lay there and watch the consequences of his inaction play out in real time, and he is at the mercy of the Danger he let keep walking around. And he just wants to go home, man :((( God. Also like the horrors of your autonomy and choice being forcefully ripped away from you in every way possible. Jesus fucking christ

My fav (?): I'm going with like. Chapters? Idk I'm calling every time the pov changes a chapter. I went SO insane over the one where curly was trying to find the gun and Anya tells him she's pregnant and he's like what??? Who- and she just says I told you. I HAD TO TAKE THE BIGGEST FUCKING BREAK, TWO PEOPLE CAN ATTEST TO HOW FUCKING INSANE I WENT ABOUT THAT PART. MADE ME SICK AND CRAZY

My favorite cast member: I don't think this one really works for this

My favorite ship: I don't understand people that ship mouthwashing characters, it just feels weird and I do not think that this is the game to be doing that. But peace and love to anyone that does I just don't get it

A character I'll die defending: Anya. Forever. She never actually did anything wrong and even if she HAD I wouldn't care. On the front lines defending her. I'm her most dedicated soldier

Character I can't sympathize with: let's be real. It's Jimmy. I don't even have to tell you why, literally every single thing he does is the worst and for his own gain and he does NOTHING but shift the blame onto other people and he even convinces himself that it's NOT his fault and it never has been. Poor, poor Jimmy. Bitchass. What's the thing polle said. Uhhh OH Poor you. Caged and misunderstood. I genuinely cannot pick a thing I hate him the most for, and frankly I don't think it matters WHAT I hate more

A character I grew to love: SWANSEA. I was originally just ok with him, but if he was a mold growing on me then buddy I got the worst hay fever you've ever seen. Because you can get hay fever from being around mold too much. I don't think that makes any sense but I adore him. Grumpy old(er) man my dearest

My anti otp (notp): I still don't get any ships in mouthwashing bc I don't think this is the game for that and it's all super beside the point, but anything with Jimmy. Obviously. And I get SUPER iffy with anyone and Daisuke but ESPECIALLY Swansea. I know Daisuke is an adult but he's like 18-19. Maybe 20

[nikrei]

October Comics Round-Up

October has been a pretty fun month! I really do think that the switch from the silver age to the bronze age was slow and steady, then went exponentially faster once 1970 hit and by 1972 we have an entirely different atmosphere to the comics. The loosening of the comics code in 71 was a huge factor I'm sure.

Action Comics (372-408) (1969-1972)

I love how none of the extensive shit that supes is going thru in these titles makes it over to JLA. Supes has been straight up dead and now amnesia-ed and there is none of that even a little bit over there. Of course this works the other way around as well, over in JLA this man is fighting literal demons from the pit because hawkman had been turned into salt, has met and adventures with zatanna, actual magic user, and frequently says "magic is one of my weaknesses" (not even mentioning earth 2 stuff) and in his own titles he's like "the supernatural is isn't real, ghosts and magic don't exist." Buddy ur best friend went on a whole ass adventure with Deadman a couple of months ago. U regularly piss off circe. The witch. Get it together buddy. Action Comics 1970 give me a main continuity story challenge!

Superman (214-247) (1969-1972)

As of issue 220, Barry and Clark know each others secret identity! In other news, they have decided to take kryptonite out of the equation by turning all the kryptonite in earth into iron! I honestly didn't think it was a long term thing but it has turned out to be one of the bronze age/70s gearshift. I guess they got tired of ever Larry Curly and Moe having a lifetime supply of the stuff. After a multi-part story in 1971, Superman has lost a chunk of his powers, as part of the continued "nerf the supers" agenda.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (118-139) (1969-1971)

Made it to Jack Kirby!! And ooooohh my god we are really really not concerned with cloning ethics right now! Last time I read 4th world I sorta skipped all the Jimmy stuff and wow boyo did I miss a lot!

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane (90-118) (1969-1972)

Hey hey hey! Just because you gave up on the supergirl/human!superhorse relationship you really didn't have to go for horse!lois/superhorse!! Bls do not set human!superhorse up as a romantic rival! ..... 106 is really certainly an issue, huh? They start digging more into race politics and anti-racism.... just in the most 70s sorta racist ways (bls for the love of god, stop pushing the 'reverse racism' button.)

World's Finest Comics (183-209) (1969-1972)

Back in conjunction with what i was saying about Action, Superman immediately and correctly notices that a guy has been possessed by a demon from his lack of a shadow, at about the same time that he's like "I don't believe in magic" over in his own title. At 199 this title becomes the Superman + title, like Brave Bold is the Batman + title. 202, we have the reason that the superman robots aren't being used anymore (increased pollution and radiation messes with them too much) which explains a lot because I was wondering why Kara wasn't using her robots over in Adventure.

Superboy (154-181) (1969-1972)

Making a note here, the adult male kryptonians are wearing headbands! (158) now I'm wondering if they've been doing this for a while and this is just the first time I've actually clocked it (this is important to me for future reasons). Loved the Superboy Aquaboy team going full industrial sabotage to prevent environmental damage, in the 80s comics are so wishy washy with the "corporations have rights too" can't just physically force them to follow proper repair and maintenance standards, meanwhile back here in 69/70 these kids are wrecking oil tankers (in environmentally conscious ways). Pete Ross has showed back up! Apparently his family left smallville when his dad went bankrupt, hi Pete!

Adventure Comics (377-414) (1969-1972)

I was all ready to be really grumpy that the Legion took supergirl's spot as the backup in action, but apparel they just switched! Supergirl is now the lead of Adventure!! Anyway, fellows, is it gay for the most powerful computer in the world to determine that ur perfect match is a superhero from another planet, and ur both girls? In the 60s? I'm wondering just where Nasty Luthor came from, when we've met Lena, she's only a bit older than supergirl, and has one son. Did they just make up a secret other sibling for lex? But yay! Kara has graduated college! In 1971, kara is nerfed by making her powers fizzle in and out, which will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Aquaman (44-57) (1969-1971)

Hit the hiatus, it won't pick up again until 77. Thinking about how Aqualad still hasn't got a name, but tbh right now Aquababy doesn't have a name either. And Aquaman is Arthur, but 98% of the time he's just Aquaman, so its deffo just like, an oversight rather than a slight.

Green Lantern (59-89) (1968-1972)

Omg we've made it to the old man road trip era!! This bit is a reread from my green arrow readthru, but I'm enjoying it even more with Green Lantern background! Ahh snowbirds don't fly is such a comic. I have big feelings about it that i don't really know how to articulate, but I really do love the focus on social inequality being the root of crime, it's such a breath of fresh air after the sixties and their goddamn "we put a device in his brain with all of our evil crime chromosomes so we can be sure that he'll grow up to be a criminal, like us!" Anyway I made it to the hiatus so I will see this guy again in 1976!

Justice League of America (61-81) (1968-1970)

And with this, I have caught up to where I was before in the justice league! And a little bit past to get the conclusion for Jean's situation. Now I just have to convince myself that I don't need to reread it all!

The Brave and the Bold (82-99) (1969-1972)

Issue 99 drops the wildest batlore, like Thomas Wayne was experimenting with bringing the dead back to life type shit. A supernatural bonanza that is absolutely not what you'd expect from a Flash-Bat team up.

Teen Titans (14-37) (1968-1972)

Mal!! Mal Mal Mal is here! Also I just wanna say how very wierd Mr. Jupiter is a character. Like... they wanted some sort of mentor figure, but couldn't spare any heros, so here's this old guy, the richest man in the world, and you, teen titans, you're gonna work for him. And he spends all his free time with you guys and takes you around the world with him and you see what I'm getting at?? They are some sort of benevolent Jeff Bezo's private army!!

The Hawk and the Dove (1-6) (1968-1969)

This one was really interesting actually. You get a very thorough view of what the sixties thought was extreme political positions, but it also doesn't forget that the characters are teenagers, so the half-baked strawman positions really make sense for them as they try and figure out what really drives their core values. Also Hank you are the worst goddamn, but somehow your teenage self is more palatable than your 20 something self.

Beware the Creeper (1-6) (1968-1969)

This was very fun! A nice little romp a pretty satisfying mystery, and the Jack Ryder / Creeper situation where Jack is in absolute control when he's Creeper-fied.... or is he?? V neat. Recommended.

Showcase (33-36) (1961)/The Atom (1-38) (1962-1968)

Gave in and went back to pick this up, honestly I love Jean so much in this she's awesome! (It makes me hate identity crisis that much more) The other best character is Major Mynah the bird that ray adopts at the end of the run. And Ray is not so bad himself i guess.

The Atom and Hawkman (39-45) (1968-1969)

The numbering for this mini picks up where the atom left off. Its not so bad, but they deffo manage to forget the Major by the end of it and also in the very last issue a group of subatomic assholes elect Jean as their queen, which to them means "driving her insane." I hate the way that the 60s talks about "insanity" and this is honestly the culmination of everything I don't like about it so... I guess I'm glad that things work out with it over in JLA.

The Phantom Stranger (1-17) (1969-1972)

I am liking this incarnation of the phantom stranger, I was a little worried because of the major religious overtones of 80s phantom stranger that it would be even worse back in the 60s/70s but he is waaay more secular back then. (Not entirely secular, because the xtianity really does sink into everything around here but... less)

So here's the spreadsheet (it makes perfect sense and is easy to understand, right?):

So Hurrah! I get to start out November with the fourth world saga! I can't wait!

[carygrantsbeard]

Anti Vaxxer’s characters rated on how much I want to date them :

Jake Lamotta : 1/10 he would try to kill me after i make eye contact with the cashier and would insist I delete every man’s number from my phone even though they’re all my uncles. The 1 is bc he’s a boxer and has curly hair that’s hot

Vito Corleone : 10/10 A hard working family man, a loyal man who provides and cares for his family first. I don’t like to deal with mothers in law and he’s an orphan, too bad for him but a bonus point for me. We’d all be lucky to have a Vito <3

Johnny Boy : 4/10 He would only go out with me to steal money from me and he wouldn’t even pay his debts with it. I would get killed hanging out with him bc he’d piss someone off and they would shoot me to retaliate. Also he’s gay

Travis Bickle : 7/10 I want to date Travis so bad. I love it when men are sick and twisted. He’d take me out on weird dates and order the most disgusting things. He’s also strangely romantic and absolutely clueless. He would try to psycho analyze me all the time and I love that.

Jimmy Conway : 6,5/10 Jimmy would definitely take care of me and I would be rich but he’s very paranoid and he would end up killing me bc he thought I’d snitch say something to the police. I don’t wanna die.

Ace Rothstein : 10000000/10 THE MAN OF MY DREAMS. HOT GIRL FASHION ICON ACE. Not only is he devoted and in love but he also gives you everything you could ever dream of. He’d let you do anything as long as you love him and make you the richest happiest woman. I would never betray him and we’d live happily ever after bc i am not a stupid woman named ginger in love with a pimp.

Neil McCauley : 2/10 makes nice romantic speeches but would kidnap me and in the end would leave me stranded just to go fight with Al Pacino and LOSE. Weirdly obsessed with the detective that wants to kill him and would rather get shot by him AND DIE than to stay with me. That’s gay.

[aspiringpolymath]

Liveblogging the Terrible Pt. 2

With Love, Christmas is a terrible title. With Love, Santa or With Love, Secret Santa would make more sense. But sense isn’t what these movie are aiming for.

Advertising agencies at Christmas . . . are probably pitching things for summer. No one works this close to the date. You’re not figuring out your ad campaign minutes before you’re airing it. So these settings always bug the shit out of me. 

Okay, so this is a bobo-You’ve Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner . . . sort of?

I’m not a fan of this lead actor. I mean, I guess he plays arrogant very well . . . but he just seems like a giant Ken doll with weirdly over-groomed eyebrows.

Is this lead actress related to Erika Christensen? They look a LOT alike. 

Their bald boss has a great voice. (Though he is aggressively bald.)

Oh, okay, we’re ice skating in this one, too. I really need to work on a spreadsheet of winter/holiday activities they do in each movie. Every movie is just PACKED with extra-curriculars. How do they keep up the energy for all those long hours at the ad agency AND attend holiday fairs/bake cookies/decorate trees/skate/have snowball fights/etc . . . ?

WHAT is UP with this dudes eyebrows? They just, like, disappeared! 

I’m having a real hard time keeping track of the two dark-haired second-string actresses. I think one is her friend and one is . . . maybe a rival? Or mean girl? But so subtly mean I can hardly tell? They both have flowy beachy dark hair and vaguely Canadian accents--*shrug*

Wait WHUT? He’s not even gonna let her LOOK at the proposal before he pitches it as THEIRS? This is everything that’s wrong with corporate culture.

“Oh, nononoNO, we’re not a COUPLE. This isn’t OUR adorable child!” *sheepish eyeroll* “Okay, I GUESS we’ll just pose for this photo with Santa anyway!” 

Ugh, this guy’s dad is pretty terrible. “Did you know your sister is amazing and I’m super proud of her? What is it you do, again?” G’BYE

They’ve chosen two different fonts to display the messages on screen while they correspond. Apparently, he more of a serif guy, she’s all Arial Bold. 

I kind of hate the name Donovan.

Uh OH. He’s gotten the wrong end of the . . . her lying to him. Oh, well. I guess she screwed herself.

Hey, she stood up for herself! Sort of. (And she REALLY looks like Erika Christensen, guys.)

Ooooh, it’s the BIG PITCH. RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMaS. 

*tenterhooks* What will HAPPEN???

THE BALDS LOVE IT! THEY’RE ON BOARD!

Dark haired actress differentiation has finally been achieved . . . just in time for Melly to have her heart broken. A MISUNDERSTANDING? In MY Hallmark movie?

OKAY, I’M SORRY. I SO don’t buy that Donovan’s dad is talking him up to his assistant. He ignores his son, makes him feel bad for his career choice, but then tells everyone ELSE how great he is? SKEPTICISM.

Stringing popcorn . . . Ugh. Fine. But does anyone actually do this anymore?

The hair department can is a freakin’ one-trick pony. Everyone has beachy waves. Is it because you’re not leaving out straight hair or curly hair? Is it the perfect happy medium of hair inclusivity?

OOpS. He figured out that he DOESN’T have it figured out.

Ooh! ARCH that eyebrow, Slightly Mean Dark-Haired Girl! 

These dueling dark-haired girls even part their hair in the exact same spot . . . 

HE FIGURED IT OUT

Did her sister just say “Calvary” instead of “cavalry”? It so doesn’t matter, but there’s a big difference.

Is the guy playing Donovan’s dad the actor’s actual dad? A random guy who walked past the studio? Because why is he so bad at saying words. 

Ooh, Slightly Mean Dark-Haired Girl might be getting together with the ad agency’s Jimmy Olsen!

What is this dress, Melanie? It’s too long AND too tight? Also your hair is terrible.

I like Nice Dark-Haired Girl’s dress, though!

Of COURSE Melanie gets the promotion. And there’s a THIRD BALD in this?

SECOND MOMENT OF TRUTH . . . oh. Anti-climactic.

Ad Agency Jimmy Olsen has THREE lines in this one. “Hey, guys! You’ve GOT to check this out!”

I’ve made a sad realization this Hallmark Christmas Movie season . . . they can’t afford the time and/or equipment to shoot MOVING carriage ride scenes. It’s easier to get coverage if they’re just in one spot. So they’re just sitting there like dopes while the carriage ride guy is ostensibly thinking “I get paid by the hour; I don’t care if you waste it having earnest conversations while we don’t go anywhere.”

UGGGGHHHH.

[sueboohscorner]

#iZombie S3 Ep9 "Twenty Sided, Die" Recap & Review

Welcome to the ultimate episode for not only nerds; but Veronica Mars fans too! Yes, Logan has arrived! Well, actually Jason showed up last week as the new head of Fillmore- Graves, but for some reason I didn’t recognize him! Dumb me!

Don't Fear the Reaper!

We pick up where we left off last week with Ravi going undercover at Harley’s anti-zombie meeting. Harley plays the video of Justin in full on zombie mode and explains the danger at hand. Ravi definitely seems concerned! He even outs D.A. Baracus-future zombie mayor. John’s has the security guard; Billy Cook tell what he saw at the Max Rager party again. John’s then starts passing out dossiers on suspected zombies and asks for volunteers to keep an eye on them.

The Scratching Post is under new management and Blaine is falling into his old boss roll just fine. Don E is now his number two!

His goals are simple, keep the money flowing and get his new blue juice biz going. So- he asks Don E to try part of a brain soaked in the juice for twenty days, twice as long as Ravi’s recipe so should make for a hell of a trip. Don E isn’t into it but his weirdo sidekick (whom I am not sure has a name) is very into it! I am pretty sure Curly would be into taking just about ANYTHING!

Back at the meeting, Harley has assigned his zombie trackers. Harley wants his people to capture zombies, starve them and then he can broadcast it on a live stream.

Ravi must stop the madness so he stands up and explains that capturing zombies is a very bad idea-one could get scratched and turned into one and start the Zombie Apocalypse. He covers by saying he is working on a zombie vaccine to stall for time.

Harley agrees to go ahead with the surveillance plan minus the capture! Good save Ravi!

Outside the meeting Ravi meets a cute girl, Rachel, who explains she is not so much a zombie hater-she’s just an artist who would love to photograph one. Then she gives him a ride on her motorcycle! Go Ravi…

Finally, the nerd setup we have been waiting for. A game of D and D is taking place until the dungeon master takes a sip from a chalice and chokes to death. Nerd brains for Liv! Not only that, the strange IT guy from a former episode is BACK! I hope he makes some regular cameos on the show.

On the way to the crime scene Ravi fills in Liv and Clive on the details of the meeting. Clive isn’t quite sure what dungeons and dragons is but seeing the game definitely takes Ravi down memory lane, although he denies is a bit.

“Do I look like a nerd?” -Ravi

Clive is introduced to other players and some happen to work at the station. Since the goth guy is from IT I am going to guess the others are as well.

 I am stereotyping here, I realize but I do know IT guys and the ones I know DO play Magic the Gathering every week.

Back at the lab, Liv cooks up a type of brain stew soufflé of some sort. It actually looks rather good!

After the stew kicks in Liv heads to the station to question the first suspect, Vampire Steve-our goth guy from earlier in the season. She is now starting to speak in story structure and rolling die to make decisions.

Clive explains to Vampire Steve that the victim, Master Dan was found to be into online poker which could be a motive for murder.

 Vamp Steve explains Dan did not talk about his wealth but did just purchase a high-priced nerd item. Join the club Dan! Ostensibly, he owned a rare piece of art but Vamp Steve has not seen it in a while.

Liv discovers the entire group was poisoned in the game last week-ironic since Dan was killed the same way. Liv and Vampire Steve have an off topic back and forth and Clive is noticeably confused and irritated. Sometimes I wonder if Clive feels like dealing with all of Liv’s crazy personalities are worth the trouble. Anyone else?

Suddenly, after rolling her die, Liv gets a vision of the night the group all died in the game and they were all rather distraught by the news. Next suspect to visit-Zoe, the token girl of the group.

Meanwhile, Blaine is reviewing Curly’s notes of his blue juice trip. The brains came from a World War II vet who happened to be a lady’s man so yes, Curly had the trip of his life.

“Boys, we’re gonna be rich!” -Blaine

Obviously, Don E does NOT want to be left out of the fun so he downs a rather generous slice of the blue juice brain while no one is looking.

Over at bro-mance land, Ravi discovers Major has found a giant stack of hate mail that he has been hiding from him back when he was the accused Chaos Killer. He finds him reading them in a depressed state.

“I may never be loved, or have sex again…” -Major (Major have you looked in the mirror lately)?

Ravi tries to get him to stop, but Major finds a letter from a girl named Shawna who supports him explaining she also had been accused of a crime she did not commit. She includes a picture and a phone number, but Major isn’t buying into it.

Over at Peyton’s office, she is still working on the Dom case from a few weeks ago. She is interviewing one of the victim’s psychiatrists who insists there is no way her client would be visiting a dominatrix.

Liv and Clive visit suspect, Zoe’s place of work at a comic book store where Clive reminisces about his comic book reading days. He loved The Flash! Suddenly, they spot the piece of art missing from Master Dan’s house, now for sale at Zoe’s work. The painting triggers a vision of Zoe in an erotic cosplay session with Dan.

Zoe explains the piece isn’t missing, she won it off Dan in a bet. Liv suggests that she possibly won it during the cosplay session. Zoe also informs them that another player, Jimmy had a thing for her and was possibly jealous because of a naughty text he spotted.

Liv and Clive haul in Jimmy who denies the crush at first until Clive brings out his sketchpad complete with naughty heroic sketches of not only him Zoe-but one of Liv too!

Clive wonders how far his obsession might take him but Jimmy suggests they take a look at another player, Diego’s back.

Diego gives up the goods but explains he regrets his ink foible and explains he’s actually not the obsessed one either. It’s Vampire Steve whom had the real issue. Evidently, Steve used to be just regular ol’ Steve but because of Zoe’s Twi-Hard status he became who is today-Vampire Steve. The guy we know and love!

So, they haul back in Vampire Steve who explains he did not become V Steve for Zoe. He came to Vampirism of his own accord, he claims, and that despite her tryst with Dan- he believes him and Zoe will be together one day. Clive is frustrated with the dead-end suspects. He suggests they do some more digging.

“On a quest!” -Liv

In order to speed up some visions, Liv hosts her own D and D game, as master of course, and I cannot even write about it. It is seriously one of the funniest scenes I have ever witnessed on this show and possibly even ever on any show. I would absolutely love to see the outtakes from this scene.

Liv is obviously taking the game very seriously, as is Ravi. Major and Peyton are more reluctant along with Clive-well, for a little while anyway-he eventually become a little TOO involved!

I mean, honestly there is nothing I can say-you just have to watch it for the genius of it!

It does, however, spark a vision for Liv where she discovers Master Dan has a secret room so after the all-nighter her and Clive go to check it out.

Clive is pretty proud of himself!

“Hey, maybe we could have a regular game!” -Clive

Liv and Clive find the secret room which turns out to be a computer geeks paradise. Clive makes another white people joke-my favorite thing he does!

Back at the station they bring Zoe in to discuss the secret room and the computer they found in there that had a connection to Russian power plants. But the interview is interrupted by Clive’s boss saying they are shutting down the case and handing it to the feds. Dan was a possible hacker attempting to infiltrate Russian computer systems, so it’s out of their hands now.

Suddenly, his boss mentions the case has gone to Dale Bozzio, Clive’s old flame from Season Two.

If you recall, Clive was never able to explain all the things he had to cover up one he discovered Liv was a zombie so he rushes out to find her. Cue the sad love music.

He does find her! Just in time!

“You were right about Major Lilywhite not being a Mass Murderer, turns out he was just a Mass Kidnapper!” -Dale

She asks him if he wants to communicate anything new to her and although I am sure he wants to, he understandably cannot.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you, I’m absolutely lost without you…” -Clive

He asks her about the latest case and she tells him she can’t trust him. So, sad…

CUE SAD MUSIC

Back at Liv’s, she downs some army brain mush Major brings her to get rid of her personality so she can act normal for Justin at the fundraiser for Baracus.

Justin picks her up (looking pretty nice in a suit)!

Major seems slightly uncomfortable so he takes off home.

Back at The Scratching Post, Don E is having serious consequences to eating the large portion of the super charged brain! He’s trippin’ hard and he hauls ass out of the bar but no one cares enough to go after him. I find this wrong. When your friend is having a bad trip, everyone knows you are supposed to be there for them! Not that I have any personal experience…(clears throat).

Justin and Liv arrive at the Baracus event and Liv finally gets to meet Logan! I mean Chace Graves! The meeting is brief but I am definitely looking forward to more of him.

Peyton shows up explaining she came straight from work.

“Can you least pretend that this takes some effort?” Liv to Peyton.

Peyton grabs her boss, Baracus, to discuss the dom case but he wants, for obvious reasons, to let it go. Liv is there to give her the scoop on the real reason he wants her to let it go.

Meanwhile, at the lab, Ravi is working hard painting his D and D figure, when Harley arrives with an emergency.

He is all excited because he caught himself a real-life zombie! Not only that, the surveillance has led them to the existence of The Scratching Post and they figure Ravi has some tranquilizers to mellow out the captured zombie.

Guess who the zombie is??? His friends SUCK!

Back at Major’s place he is sulking on the couch, obviously depressed because he can’t be at the party protecting people like Justin and also just saw Liv leave with a date. Even “The Love Boat,” theme bums him out.

The Baracus party is still in full swing and Liv and Justin are about discussing going home for some sexy time! She points out Chace Graves to Justin and he confesses about him shooting him because of the missing cans of Max Rager on their wild night out. Liv is pissed and makes her way to confront him when abruptly -a mass shooting breaks out! Baracus freaks out and starts to turn into full on zombie mode but Liv talks him down.

All these big events, the helicopter crash and the shooting, have to be related and far too advanced for the likes of Harley and his inept crew! Does Fillmore Graves have something to do with it?

Back at sad Major-land, he appears to be getting ready for something and gives us this…

Thank you, Robert, director, camera man-whomever!

Of course, the girl from the letter, Shawna shows up and he lets her in.

Finally, Blaine pays a visit to his dad in the well…I was wrong! He did come back to feed him! Well, some scraps anyway! He even reads him the news…so sweet! Father and Son bonding time-iZombie style!

“That’s from an impotent proctologist, by the way…enjoy!” -Blaine          

“Don’t fear the Reaper,” plays as Blaine feels pleased with his new life.

Somewhere else...a car pulls up and guess who is back?

Mr. Boss.

Cannot wait to see how this plays out!

Episode 10/10 Best one of the Season and one of the best overall!

Here are some more pics from this episode-ENJOY!!!