#not that I doubt you OP but its the internet you know

[leatherbookmark]

my favourite thing abt tumblr mass-finding out about the origins of the “poor little meow meow” phrase is a couple of people in the tags, who listen to things like, i assume, punk or rap, going “oh so THIS is what people got so emotional over? wow they wouldn’t last a day over here” or “ah, this, yeah a couple of guys from our side did it too”. refreshing

[agentrouka-blog]

i checked ur hair tag which was informative with some things u said and also reblogged but for you personally, how do u see the color of sansa's hair? bc there's this one post u rb and it has sample pics but they're so.... brown 😭 i know(? or not really...) that auburn is like brown-red....ish. even op mentioned that their pics are a bit too brown but sansa's hair is compared to redheads or fire or something so... idk... do u have like pics of what you think is the color of sansa's hair? honestly, it's for reference if i ever practice making sansa fan art 😭 i probably sound dumb but i've lived my life surrounded by people with naturally black hair, not a very diverse place tbh, i rly know nothing abt auburn hair and the internet is a bit confusing abt it... 😞 fan art interpretations are also v mixed from almost pure brown to ginger (which is probably bc of the show)... i hope this isn't too dumb of a question but if it is, feel free to ignore but also thank you for taking ur time to read 😭

GRRM makes sure to tell us:

The nearsighted hedge knight scratched his head. "I recall no such maid. What sort of hair is auburn?" "Browny red," said the older man. "No, we saw her not." (AFFC, Brienne I)

He also describes the contrast to her Alayne shade:

The wash her aunt had given her changed her own rich auburn into Alayne's burnt brown, but it was seldom long before the red began creeping back at the roots. [...] And at Winterfell, Sansa was a little girl with auburn hair. My daughter is a maiden tall and fair, and her hair is chestnut.  (AFFC, Sansa I)

Even in its dyed state, there are clear reddish hues ("burnt brown", "chestnut"). But more importantly, there is red in the natural roots. That's the darkest shade someone's hair will naturally be, right at the roots, so if it's red there, the ful body of it would absolutely have a strong red hue.

Auburn is a shade of red. It has more brown than the bright orange ginger, but it is absolutely a shade of red and if there is any doubt about whether or not the hair color is a shade of red then it's not auburn. It's caramel or light brown or chestnut brown. But it is not auburn.

I am very militant about this. An intolerant shrew, even. (I neither have nor want red hair, either. But I have Strong Opinions.)

There would be zero. ZERO. reason for GRRM to use no term but auburn, or make any mention of "the red in it", if Tully hair was essentially just a vibrant shade of brown.

Seriously.

[ssaalexblake]

Out of curiosity, do you think anything in particular will cause people to come around on 13, or it’ll just be that their perspectives kinda soften with time?

Hm. I don't really think there will be a particular event that'll cause people to suddenly change their perspective, the only way I see any kind of ~catalyst to changing opinions on 13 in a dramatic way is if RTD really does Whedon himself, and to be fair even thought I said i doubt there will be a catalyst, I genuinely think there's at least a chance he will actually do this because fandom is a fickle beast that will turn on people as if a bird on the wind. The fatal mix of hero worship and nostalgia, the time gap where fandom has had More than enough time to become attached to their own view of things were back in the day even if that view doesn't entirely mesh with what actually transpired. The passage of time leaving viewers nowadays far less forgiving of the type of things rife in his work that can be written off on 'product of its time' for 2006 but will not be if they show up again in 2023. The expectations being So high. People only have So much ability to write things off before the straw breaks the camel's back.

I have seen this pattern in fandom before, and yeah it might not happen, but this is also potentially whedon after the first avengers movie being everybody's best buddy straight to being their most disdained after aou.

Generally speaking, when shit like that happens, people tend to reassess preconceived notions. a 'why did we think that one was ever bad?' as a result of the above eventuality is the only way i see some kind of Thing happening that softens people on 13.

But, also, those tags was me kind of responding to the op's tags on their gifset, because despite the fact that the people on the internet have been sipping the nmd's misogynistic koolaid light without even realising it for years, the vast majority of viewers Not being chronically online haven't been doing that and were fine with her era. Judging her popularity only from the people obsessed with the show on the internet is absurd, and i include my positive views in that. I am not the average viewer lol, neither are the weirdos being hateful, no matter How much it benefits them to make people think Everybody hates it and that they're peddling the Bestest Opinion and that it's not cool to like the girl doctor.

So with the caveat that I do not think she's actually unpopular (radiotimes favourite doctor poll my beloved. 10 & 13 coming in highest with 21% of the vote each. Over 50,000 votes in total and he received only abt 90 more than her. There was no way to victimise anybody on this poll with strategic voting, no amount of block voting to support one doctor could dent her total and she came second out of all the doctors by a few measly votes. The general public Like Her.)

In time, it will soften. The misogynists will stop spending all their time talking about how uncool it is to like her to peer pressure people and the ones who don't eventually stop will be marked as losers obsessed with insulting her not worth listening to, so people will just watch it with no one sitting on their shoulder telling them it's bad. People will rewatch it with an open mind instead. I literally have had (multiple times) people in my activity page saying once they stopped listening to people saying how bad 13's era was and went back to it with an open mind it was good! This was a few different people! This has already happened and will continue to.

The nmd squad, quite successfully, were allowed to make it uncool to like her. They were open that their reasoning was misogynistic and even if they didn't use the word, anybody who knows what that means knows they are, but it was not called out as such and it poisoned the well because it gave them legitimacy they did not deserve. It won't stay that way forever, though. People will watch it and judge it Fairly without their influence. Let it have flaws without using them as an excuse to express hatred they already felt for no reason. Let it shine where it shines. Discuss its issues analytically instead of as a gotcha. Talk about themes. Discuss the characters.

This bullshit shall pass, basically.

idk how long we'll have to wait, but i'm willing. I got through being in the fandom and open about my love for it when it aired, and i sure as hell am not missing the moment when people stop being weird and can just be normal about it. I earned that sense of peace through suffering and i intend to collect. I'm not letting it go though. Being an active fan Really Really Sucked.

(shout out to my man colin baker who told the misogynists to get over it from points A to Z. Had everybody had the balls to do what he did they'd never have gotten a foothold and would have been booed out of the room as they should have been.)

[necronatural]

My thought is why does the extremely reductive reblogger get the leeway from the reader to assume they're talking about ONLY exploitative works, while that EXACT concept - that exploitation and dark subject matter are separate topics - isn't allowed to be what the OP means in this scenario. Like only the guy you like more is allowed to be nuanced?

Like the instinctive response I have to posts like this is "people who say 'don't police what I write' are often posting out of frustration that they or someone they know have been criticized for their fetishistic joyriding". But... when someone says "not pedophilia or incest", that isn't saucily toeing someone's potential doublespeak about self-servicing artistic desires, they're saying like. Not pedophilia or incest. Pretty straightforwardly in fact.

Saying only one person gets the benefit of the doubt even if they are the one coming in with a significantly more incoherent comment, and then affirming that you literally shouldn't be able to create art about a human experience many people have familiarity with because you're not an acclaimed writer? Is just childish and reactionary.

How are we starting with world's simplest advice "if you see someone post shit about people bullying you for your writing WATCH OUT 🛑 READ THE PROFILE 🛑 SEARCH ACCOUNT FOR THE WORD 'ANTIS' ⚠️ STAY SAFE 🫡" and go completely into "only people who blindly hate the bad thing are correct".

I'm a little more fussy about this sort of thing because these topics are used as a kind of weapon to ramp up internet harassment using scandal, e.g. Tamsyn Muir being accused of being a pedophile for writing a pretty straightforward non-explicit horror short story about grooming, the infamous attack helicopter short story blowback, Kikuo being momentarily castigated for drawing a horror manga about child grooming, the general nuclear hyper-hostility in "wholesome" communities like cute fluffy gay art twitter (have met actual demons from hell here) - this harassment causes real immediate human harm that can't be reversed.

If the end result of bad reading comprehension could be someone being ostracized and verbally abused en masse, is it actually just?

This is what bothers me about reactionary thought. Even if I agree with the sentiment, its like dude, do we have like safety regulations here

i think when someone replies to the thought of "your triggers don't get to determine the kind of art other people make" with "maybe not pedophilia and incest though" maybe they are not talking about the controversial novel "lolita" or anything else with "dark themes that may make you feel uncomfortable" and are in fact talking about the people online that write thousands upon thousands of words about fictional kids being abused purely for fun and pleasure. like i dunno. uncomfortable themes have a place in something with good writing, sure. but maybe i'm tired of seeing this fucking "let people write what they want to write uwu" type bullshit post every other day, even if the OP means well. no one on fucking ao3 is vladimir nabokov. let's be honest

[translationandbetrayals]

The importance of having good and catchy music in an anime

Who hasn't happened to that, while watching a video on social networks, they have been interested in the background music, only to discover later that it comes from an anime or video game. This, in some way, motivates you to see or play because of the impact of that music. In my case, one of the first that comes to mind is the Persona 3 OST (Mass Destruction is a incredible song), as well as several popular seasonal anime that I ended up getting to know thanks to its soundtrack. The openings (OP) and original soundtrack (OST) of an anime are crucial elements in capturing and maintaining the audience's attention. From the first chords to the visualization of characters and worlds, a good opening can be the hook that hooks the viewer, providing not only an introduction to the plot and atmosphere, but also a first impression that often remains in the memories of the audience. fans. This initial "hook" is especially important in a context where competition is fierce and viewers quickly decide whether or not to continue with a new anime.

Here I give some global examples of animes that, at least I, came to know thanks to the popularity of their music.

One of the best examples is the opening Renai Circulation from Bakemonogatari. Kana Hanazawa's catchy melody and carefree rhythm attracted thousands of viewers who, perhaps, were not familiar with the anime's peculiar visual and narrative style. Although they knew nothing about the series, the song became an internet phenomenon, widely used in social networks and memes, which generated interest in the anime that originated it.

Another good example is Tokyo Ghoul's Unravel, which with its melancholic and emotional tone perfectly captures the internal conflict of the protagonist, Ken Kaneki. Performed by TK, this song became popular worldwide and attracted the attention even of people who did not yet know the plot. It's a shame that this opening is the only notable thing about this adaptation :/ .

Finally, the clearest example of all is Kawaki wo Ameku from Domestic na Kanojo. Without a doubt, this opening performed by Minami, with her incredible vocal performance, exceeded all expectations and became a captivating hit that perfectly expresses the turbulent emotions of the anime. Personally, this opening was what led me to watch the series, although honestly, I think it would have been better to stick with just the song.

These openings and OSTs are more than just pieces of music: they are an emotional extension of the narrative. They draw in audiences by offering a promise of intense experiences and unforgettable characters. Without a good opening or a memorable OST, many anime would lose the opportunity to capture an audience that is looking for something unique and engaging from the first second.

Juan José Calaf Venegas.

[audioandart]

The New Comment Section Sucks

Or at least, it appears to be new, I got it a couple days ago (read, just a little over a week ago). It could be I just got it late 🤷‍♀️

I've sat with it. I've tried to see if it has merit. Any pros. I don't usually like change so I tried to be conscious of that and not let that cloud my judgement. I tried looking at Tumblr on multiple devices to see if perhaps any issues was my phone (it wasn't.)

The new comment section does not work. I haven't seen anyone else say this so honestly who knows, maybe it's just something with my account, but in case this is an actual problem and maybe there's someone else out there who's noticed it doesn't work and feels like they're losing their mind because they don't see anyone else talking about it, here's this post.

I'll start with the only pro I've noticed. The fact that you can immediately see which comments are in reply to other comments. Great! Something I've bemoaned in the past was the difficulty to find the start of comment chains. It wasn't too difficult or upsetting for me but it could definitely be a chore. It is pretty nice to immediately be able to see what is from where.

The cons. Oh dear. I'll go in least bad to absolute worst imo

The replies are not seen automatically in some chains. I'm not sure why some chains they are automatically visible and in some they aren't but I don't think it's good? One of the ways people communicate here is jumping into a conversation they see in the replies, but they don't do that if the effort to see the reply is too high. In many situations it's too high to press the small button (that I doubt people with vision issues of any sort can see) that also for some reason some times breaks the comment section and launches you back to the top. Most of this is a nitpick but the broken button and its size is a problem.

The new background. I don't have vision problems but I can't see, I cannot imagine it being good for anyone who does have them. The greyish blueish color behind black text is NOT helpful. Idk, I do know there are some people who this would actually be good for, but I think it's very important to at least maybe have to option to have the normal black and white, because some people need that to see. (Including me, please bring it back.) Honestly, the comments have just been made endlessly less accessible. I genuinely have to reread things multiple times because I cannot retain what I'm reading. Long story, but yes the background color affects what my brain retains. Iirc it affects everyone's brains but I digress.

When typing, the comment box (where you type) no longer stays at the part you're typing, but at the very top. You can no longer see what you're typing past a point. I'm also not sure this is or isn't my device, but I checked this on multiple and it still happened so I'm leaning towards the site. This started gradually before the change.

I cannot find my comments. This also started gradually before the change, and is why I thought my account was broken, but I was since informed by multiple people that my comments are genuinely just disappearing. Deleted it would seem, however it hasn't been staff. Small simple things like a little compliment on art. Literally just a "good job!" gone from the site. (And just in case someone thinks it might be the op deleting something on their post, about half of the people who informed me my comment was gone was the op. They were trying to respond to the comment I left for them and found it was no longer there, so it isn't them.) And it happens days and even months after the comment was posted, as well as completely randomly. However, some comments I've posted aren't deleted, because I'm receiving replies to them. They just aren't visible to me (and ONLY me) anymore. I also assumed this could have been my Internet, but I've tested that multiple times as well and found it is still just Tumblr. I've literally been in the middle of a comment convo when the person trying to respond to me will have to ask what I said because my comment(s) are suddenly gone. And I usually can't remember! This is usually at least a week or two after I posted it. This is not good. I also only was able to respond because comments weren't linked, and now that they are I won't be able to respond to the people asking about my comments because if I can't find the start, I can't find the replies.

Replies are also gone. This is the worst offender. Every single reply someone has left on any of my comments are GONE. I receive notifications on them, and not only are MY comments straight up gone, COMPLETELY, because for some reason all of a sudden, after this change ALL my comments no longer exist, but any reply left on my comments I can see don't exist. To everyone who's tried to reply to my comments recently and I haven't gotten back to you, this is why. I'm being super serious. I've received probably about 10 replies since the change. I know, I'm so popular. I haven't been able to find a single one. And from the little notifications I got, these seem to be pretty important replies! I would very much like to reply! But I can't! It's not just aggravating, or frustrating, but also very concerning. Someone out there, anyone, have any of you had this happen or is this one really just me? Etc etc if anyone has had this happen please feel free to reach out to me, I would appreciate the examples for if I bring this up again, thank you very much.

Basically, @staff, I say this out of frustration but also concern. While it's nice to have the comment sections just that tiny bit neater and slightly more intuitive in the sense that you immediately know what is in response to what, this feels very much like a monkeys paw situation. The rest of the comment section has broken. Almost in it's entirety... Please, PLEASE for the love of god fix this. I'm hoping that if anyone comments on this post, something about it being my post will let my actually see the damn things, but I don't know. We'll see!

And to everyone who's NOT staff, please if you have examples I would love to hear them. If I'm not responding to your comments below, send me a dm because I probably can't see them. I'm serious about appreciating any stories because it would help greatly to know it's not just me... 😅

[zandercomics]

You know what, fuck it, I’m going to make this a big thing now because you just don’t seem to get it.

TL;DR because I’m fairly certain you won’t read this, you aren’t helping anyone with all these comments. You are either stroking your own ego, are oblivious, or both. And it’s fucking disgusting.

I literally used it once, but go on I guess, maybe im taking the quote to literally.

You did say my “willful ignorance” was “hilarious”, which is both making fun of me assuming a lot about me. Also all throughout these interactions you’ve called me part of the problem and other things, implying that I am at least accidentally (though you lose the accidental benefit of the doubt by saying it’s willful) in the moral wrong, while you are saying you are in the mora right. If that isn’t implying you think you’re better than me then idk what would be. Just because it’s not directly stated doesn’t mean it’s not there.

But here let me clarify why I think you are just (again I hesitate to use the word because of how it’s been co opted but it’s so much quicker to type) virtue signaling.

First off this is clearly a joke. OP has made it clear that they are in no way suffering under the delusion that the boys will either come to the wedding, respond to the STD, or even open the letter (though I’d be willing to concede the last point given that they added jokes so at least the HOPE for that one is there). At most their interactions with NSP has been to offer a business transaction; be 99% turned down,but told to send info; and, clearly knowing that it’s a lost cause, send a piece of paper in the hopes of making them and some other people on reddit smile at a joke. Can it be misconstrued as serious after EVERYTHING? I guess, theoretically, someone with an incredible inability to read social queues (digitally or otherwise) and/or with serious mental illness saw this they COULD think that OP was being serious, though I’d question whether they would wait to see the answer before assuming that they see it as okay. I think only THE MOST delusional or oblivious would think that they could get a different result from the same tactic, but there is things like NPD, so maybe there’s a SHRED of a point there, but, and this is important, a stranger’s mental illness/state IS NOT OP’S RESPONSIBILITY! It is solely the responsibility of the person with said illness and (assuming it’s to the point of diminished accountability) their care network (be they family, friends, doctors, etc.) if you like quotes so much here’s one I always liked from a great podcast “your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility”. To believe anything else is both unfair and unrealistic.

Second, your original reply was a massive exercise in futility. If OP had said something to the effect of “sending NSP an STD for my wedding, I hope they actually come!” Or something to that effect your response would’ve been pertinent and I wouldn’t have said a fucking thing. But, as I said before, OP is under absolutely no delusion that, if they even read the letter, it’ll be seen as anything more than “haha save the date and sexually transmitted disease have the same acronym” plus a few other random jokes to make them laugh. If someone as delusional or oblivious as said above STILL thinks they could send it and NSP Will seriously show up, your post will hardly change their mind. If someone is either unwilling or unable to see that sending a serious STD is futile and unrealistic, a stranger being sardonic on the internet is definitely not gonna be what stops them. To think it will be is both delusional and self centered.

Third, if there was ONE benefit of the doubt I was willing to give you its that, in your original reply, it could be seen as saying “oh well if they are impressionable enough to be swayed by one person being okay trying this then one dissenting voice would be just as noticeable”. I can at least see a bit of logic there. But you lost that benefit with all your bad faith arguments and “caring” (will clarify this part) and hypocrisy (see the response about not making fun of or acting like you’re better.)

Fourth jokes like this are not direct causes of any of the danger of parasocial relationships . Except in potential fringe situations, they arent even indirect causes. There is no research I have found that anybody who has stalked and/or killed someone they were a “fan” of were pushed in that direction by obvious jokes. What I HAVE seen is Untreated Mental illness, lack of a good social and medical security network, and ignoring the causes of mental illnesses, the lack of said networks, and the warning signs that a person is dangerous leading DIRECTLY to atrocities.

This is why I think all your sentiments about caring about people being hurt are made in bad faith. Someone who generally wanted to help people wouldn’t waste their time on this non issue.

Given That, let’s go down a rabbit hole, if you’ll indulge me. If you REALLY wanted to combat that you would be working to address those issues. But maybe you don’t have the time, but when you see something dangerous you call it out. That’s fair, life is busy! But, as I said before, clearly labeled jokes are not a danger that needs to be called out. Maybe you got mixed up, that’s fine, it happens. But wait, you’re doubling down even when you’ve been shown why you’re wrong? maybe you weren’t convinced? But there were direct points where flaws in your argument were shown, why didn’t you address these? If they didn’t convince you surely you can explain why? Oh wait you address them by saying they’re irrelevant or implying the other person is a bad person. Well that doesn’t make a lot of sense, why would you call flaws in your argument irrelevant? Why would you attack my moral character without explaining why you weren’t convinced? I’m sure there’s some other benefit of the doubt I could give you, but honestly it’s getting hard to keep doing so.

So what am I left to think? The most likely, in my opinion, is That you’re just trying to show how awesome and great you are for caring so much about people that you are willing to even call out simple things to strangers OR you derive some enjoyment out of publicly showing people online they’re wrong when you GENUINELY believe they are. Tbh the first one is at least partially true to me, so that’s fine, but, as I said before, you haven’t really shown you were worth giving the benefit of the doubt to and that you are willing to use bad faith arguments.

THAT is why you “explaining the dangers of parasocial relationships” in THIS Thread the way you have been is actually you acting “Holier than thou”. Admittedly it might not be 100% the best phrase to use, but that’s more because I try not to use “virtue signaling” (the actual best phase imo) because it has been co opted by alt right shitheads and now has the connotation of a buzzword to dismiss ANY form of giving a shit. Does that answer your fucking question?

Honestly you’re probably gonna make fun of me for this big explanation and not even look at the TL;DR, and that’s fine, I probably should’ve tried to find a way to let this conversation go, but you really pissed me off. It’s not a good look to use a real societal problem to boost your own ego, but it’s fucking disgusting to do that, go in places where it’s not even an issue, and THEN act like you give a fuck and are trying to help just to make yourself look good. That is far more damaging to the people who this issue affects because it not only DOESNT ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE, but it in fact MAKES PEOPLE THINK THE ISSUE IS TRIVIAL. People will be more likely to dismiss this issue because of people calling out things that aren’t part of the issue and THAT is far far FAR more damaging than a fucking sex joke.

[nnnnobodyy]

Filming them and posting it online is certainly excessive and questionable. One would *hope* partner in question got permission from the other and they both have a sense of humor about it, but I suppose we shouldnt give them too much benefit of the doubt. Admittedly I have not seen these videos due to my aversion of TikTok, but I have to partially disagree, personally I think it is important to showcase to other people what we (cismen's partners) have to put up with so other women know theyre not alone in having to deal with astoundingly incompetent (cis?)men.

It is sad they were failed by their parents, and its surely a testament to the vileness of the gender roles that cause people to raise incompetent (cis?)men and women who have to clean up after them. Its one thing for them to not know how to get blood stains out of clothes, generally the average cisman doesnt have to deal with blood-stained clothes as often as someone who menstruates does. Its another thing when they need help with nearly every task, no matter how minor and easy to search the internet for a solution it is.

I admit I am biased against your point OP because I just left a 5-yr relationship with what tumblr would lovingly call a "himbo." I was more fortunate than the average het couple in that he could largely cook, clean, and do laundry on his own, but his inability to do other tasks and weird disinterest in using the internet to figure out how to do it correctly really wore down on me over time. For example, at the height of my grad school tenure, I burst into tears over him struggling terribly just to fold up a sleeping bag. It was one he had gotten out and left on the floor for weeks, and when I asked him to roll it up, it became evident he did not know how to re-roll it as it had been before he got it out. And instead of watching a video online about how to do it on his PC 3 feet away or using the smartphone in his pocket, he asked me, who was already on a wire's edge and mentally exhausted from grad school, to show him how to do it. Cue the waterworks, largely due to guilt that I felt so mad and guilt at so badly wanting NOT to help him, and frustration at not knowing how to even begin to explain why I'm so upset about an issue as seemingly as minor as just a sleeping bag.

Undoubtedly you are familiar with the term "weaponized incomptence"--its not a term I would apply to this former partner, as I feel it implies a certain level of conscious choice and intention, perhaps a different way to describe his incomptence would something like "cisman incomptence privilege." I know that as a man who was raised as such in a still-very-gendered society, he likely wasnt taught how to do x, y, & z, and as a partner and someone who strives to be good I feel the responsibility to kindly teach him how to do it, but at a certain point it becomes an unfair demand of his partner's time and mental energy for them to always have to be the teacher and for him to never make more of an effort to not only learn on his own, but to actively explore to learn more about the kinds of things he has no clue about so he can learn to anticipate them.

And I imagine thats also why something as simple as not being able to clean up ketchup has these people filming their partners in a way that is definitely cruel and mocking at a surface level. Sure its sad that the dude cant clean up ketchup, but its exasperating as hell and loses its humor when you near-constantly have to teach him everything when the internet is RIGHT there. I did my best to be a patient teacher but it was a mental load that got too heavy to shoulder.

In defense of the men, there are some things you wouldnt know to look up online because you dont even know its a thing or problem that exists or needs to be done, such as cleaning out a hot water heater or how to replace a shower cartridge (hell even my engineer-fix-everything-himself dad didnt know what a shower cartridge is). But in retort to that defense, thats why taking the initative to not just learn for yourself but EXPLORE is so important. When its a problem thats plainly in front of you, it takes a certain level of self awareness to realize you might not know or be able to figure out the best way to handle this, and the internet is an easy place to consult for help. And it takes more self awareness to know there's all sorts of things out there you dont know about and therefore cant just search up online, hence the value in "exploring."

TL;DR weaponized incompetence or whatever you want to call it sucks and these mean videos bring attention to it

I can't be the only one that sees those like "watch if my boyfriend can clean up ketchup" style videos and not just get extremely sad about how much those men were failed by their parents right? And how they were then failed again by their partners later?

Like, can we stop putting the onus on these men and mocking them for not having a skill? Y'know, a skill? I thing you have to be taught.

Can you imagine your partner - someone you care about and you think cares about you - puts you in a situation where you're set up to fail, then filming you and mocking your lack of skills if you fail or jokingly praise you like you're a child if you do. Then on top of that post it on the internet for everyone - strangers, your family, your job and coworkers, potential future partners, whoever - to see and also laugh at you.

All for clout and content.

That person doesn't care about their partner. You could help them learn this skill that their parents failed to teach them, because of a patriarchal society where men are expected not only not do housework but also not know how to do housework. (Or because they're a shitty parent, that can also happen).

And like it is no one's responsibility to put in that kind of labor for someone, you are not obligated to do that.

However, if you supposedly care about someone and see they lack a skill, and you then film them, mock them, and post their unblurred face on the internet? That's kinda fucked up and you're a bad partner, honestly.

[theurbanorc]

Just wish to say to the younger or the people that was not in the fandom shit at the time:

The problem Anne Rice had with fanfiction had NOTHING TO DO with gay sex. She didn't give a damn about people fleshing out what was obvious in the books, and lots of characters are openly in relationships in the chronicles.

She was an atheist at the time she wrote it, and she was pretty fine with people writing out their desires in the pages.

The problem was that she didn't understood fanfic and she believed people will make money over her creations.

There was a precedent of trouble between a writer and a fan, where a person wrote a fanfic with too many common elements that Marion Zimmer Bradley pretended to use in a novel and everything becoming a shit storm.

So, Anne Rice was very affected, very scared by watching this shit storm happening. This was one of the first GIANT INTERNET CONTROVERSY, mind you, in a time when the surface internet of today didn't existed, and the fandom wars happened at the same time in the virtual world and in photocopied fanzines, conventions and God forbid us to remember all the ways we did fandom stuff before internet.

And at that time, the chaos about discussing the space that fanfic should occupy and how the authors should relate to the fans was a boiling cauldron exploding at every few minutes.

The problems Anne Rice (and her agent, and her editors, its impossible to know exactly what each part of it over reacted first) had with fanfiction didn't had shit with control of the narrative, and everything about money rights protection.

I cannot say this didn't make me have some bad blood about Rice. I, like a lot of fans, had a huge love and hate relationship with her as author because of it. It was a fucking mess. It was scary to everybody writing and reading fanfic.

Been a Vampire Chronicles fan was suddenly a big problem. And to be honest, that was a moment where been openly queer was dangerous and society was much more closed. Letting things between the vampire lovers been only suggested in the pages was necessary to it been published in a lot of places.

I rightly doubt it will be published in Brazil if it was more open about everything. Even in the 90's, with the movie, when my generation got our filthy queer hands in it. But we KNEW. And at that time, it worked fine to us.

So, just repeating for the people in the back:

ANE RICE FANFICTION BAN WAS A MONETARY FEAR ISSUE, NOT A VAMPIRE HAVING SEX ISSUE.

She even declared that she regretted her overreaction at that time. Apparently, her fear was fuelled by her editor when Merrick has been published. And later she perceived that if she was not going after the fanfiction (like Bradley used to do), it was pretty easy to just ignore it.

She was never comfortable with fanfiction, and we got kind bitter about it until her death? Yes.

But this was never a sexual thing. It was capitalism fucking with nice things only.

So, except for the short time she had returned to the church and was really on it, she was never a prude. But writing gay vampires in the 70's had a fuckton of problems to be published that we don't dream about today. And I firmly believe that if things was not more ope than in the books, was not because of her, but because of the public bigotry of the time.

[aizenat]

Idk i was following a lot of yuri on ice pages back during its airing and the conversation i saw was whether the show was gay since nothing was explicit. It wasn’t them saying it was absolutely straight but rather whether we gay people (because yes it was lgbt ppl debating this) should see it as gay rep considering how underwhelming it was.

It was a rehashing of the “We never got in text confirmation of dumbledore being gay so do we count him as gay rep” convo. The internet struggles to understand that two perspectives can be true at once: yes gay ppl exist and aren’t walking around making sure everyone knows how gay they are, but at the same time given long term censorship of gay depictions in media of course some gay people may not look at that as representation since it’s NOT explicit and there is enough room for one to argue that it’s not gay.

THAT was when the theory/claim that it was censured because of Japanese laws of when content like that can air (despite the anime airing in the middle of the night in Japan). And then yes, the interview with Yamamoto confirming that it was censored. I think the problem was in marketing because Yuri on Ice was originally marketed as a sports anime. And while sports anime has tons of yaoi fangirls shipping men together, they’re notoriously hetero. And that was why the gay spin between Victor and Yuri didn’t work and why the studio shut it down. Just my take anyway; I have no proof of this and I doubt a studio rep would confirm it. But you’re right that it seems more like a studio censorship issue not anything to do with Japanese laws.

Either way, all that just to say that this WAS a conversation happening in good faith by ppl of all different backgrounds. I wanted to comment op because I saw you sort of do the same thing James got called out in his video, which is make claims that are difficult to prove given these conversations being lost to time, and specifically zero in on a demographic that you’re claiming is causing hoopla over this. And as that Todd fellow kept repeating, maybe you just saw things I didn’t? And vice versa with what I saw that you didn’t see. But this is the thing we need to be mindful of.

I didn’t see ANY straight men, especially the 4chan sort, watching and insisting the show was straight. I saw a lot if lgbt people seeing a situation where homosexuality is implied but not specified. And so we were asking “uh does this count?” And people, well intended or otherwise, passionately declared it was because “Japanese art is subtle” and cultural relativism and other more valid reasons. All the while another group argued back that it wasn’t because it was the mid to late 2010s and we deserve better more explicit representation that doesn’t have us hunting for clues to someone being gay, which was also valid.

And, again, because the internet cannot understand that those two points can exist at the same time, James decided it was straight white women making that claim because, lbh, they make up the majority of yaoi fangirls online and so it’s easy to lump them in as the trouble makers and everyone would believe it because they’ve done it before so it’s a reasonable assumption. Let’s learn from hbomberguy’s video and let’s not repeat this behavior by claiming it was another group that we can point the finger at without definitive proof.

Also, just gotta say, as someone who was There: the vast majority of the people who insisted Yuri on Ice wasn't gay (and it was a minority for sure, but they were there) were men. Like... weird anime 4chan and Reddit dudes who for some reason watched a show about about handsome men figure skating and kissing who were offended that people thought it was maybe kind of Actually Gay.

There WERE one or two people that were mildly well known in the fandom that identified as women who were weirdly pushy about Victor and Yuuri just being really really REALLY good friends and nothing else, but that was out of thousands of women who loved the show and fully embraced what it was. I never encountered any hordes of straight female fans trying to no homo it, and I was in DEEP with that fandom.

(Also, IIRC, Sayo Yamamoto did talk about how she had to fight for the kiss scene to even make it into the show, because the higher ups weren't comfortable with it, but that's, you know... an attempt at network censorship and not actual Japanese law threatening to arrest anyone who animates men kissing and shows it on TV before 11PM. This was years ago though, so take this with a grain of salt!)

[aphrodite1288]

Ks has been receiving love calls since he was still in the army. He had already said that if he was asked to participate in a variety show, he would accept. He doesn't want his private life exposed is one thing, doesn't mean he doesn't want to be promoted. You are making excuses for the neglect, mistreatment and sabotage the career him

#Disclaimer: 1st of all that's going to be a long ass Post to reply to any asks like that, so I hope people would read everything and not just read half of it and go bark somewhere about something I said that I have explained later but y'all didn't reach it to read it! So read everything before making comments or sending me asks. I don't want to repeat what I said here. So read before coming at me and bombard me with asks about stuff I already discussed here in this answer!

Sis you barely even know anything of him now. He already started filming his movie in June and finished filming his MV in late May or early June and you knew nothing about it 💁🏻‍♀�� coz if he really wanted to share that with y'all he would have mentioned it in his bubble or at least we would have seen him outside in the set. BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO 🤷🏻‍♀️ HE doesn't want y'all to know, and don't tell me "coz SM is locking him up in the basement" that's why he can't breath and write you in bubble?? Heck! He even comes sometimes just to tell us about the weather or to drop a song and never mentioned about anything else about his life or his schedule. Normally all the members update about them going into their schedules but without revealing the content of the schedule coz that's the rules, but at least we get a pic or two of them heading to their schedules! To know that they're jobless! Heck Sehun is jobless now but we see him more than we see Ksoo who's extremely busy with a drama a movie and a debut and album preparations and promotion preparation! But Ksoo doesn't want that! He doesn't want y'all to know things about his life or what he does, or where he goes 🤷🏻‍♀️ That's why his fans and Fansites are so secretive and don't share anything, UPON HIS REQUEST. And to respect his extreme private character.

If he wanted he would have accepted Variety shows darling. He is busy filming a drama and a movie and making a debut and an album and preparing for promotions. Do you think he is free to be on Variety now? Even if he was asked , he can't now. Maybe later after or during his debut to promote for his album yeah, But definitely not now. Yes he had opportunities and he refused them coz he's busy. And maybe we would see him in the future but he is not into reality shows that much. Now he is focusing on his acting career and singing career relatively. As he is still not built as a solo artist yet to start a new journey for building a variety character and image for himself now. But maybe after his debut. Hopefully 🙇🏻‍♀️🕯️🕎

Sis he is busy, booked and he doesn't like being in the lights. He said it himself he had trauma in the past that left scars on him and affected his behavior with his own fans that's why he said he is distant from them.

Stop making me look like I hate Kyungsoo. This account is MAINLY and ONLY about HIM and Ji 💁🏻‍♀️ do you think I'd bother make an acc about him and talking about him 25/8 if I hated him 🤦🏻‍♀️

Fans don't want to admit their idol don't like interacting much with them 🤷🏻‍♀️

That's the truth. He likes his job but not the fans and sasaengs and aeygo part of it. He said it himself, he even thought of quitting Many times, as he found that he isn't FITTING into this idol world.

There's something u need to know, SM only wants to renew with Ksoo and Chan and Ji and Baek and mainly KSOO and Baek. So he is not sabotaged he is favored in the company. It's just that he doesn't like working with sM anymore! and he is enjoying his acting career and idol life while being locked up in the studio and movie sets without fans mobbing him and following him everywhere. If it wasn't for Hongki we would never know that Ksoo started filming and making his album and blah blah. Yes Ksoo doesn't like talking much to the fans and he isn't the type of idols to share everything about his life and everything he does.. with his fans. As he does his job as a real job and he enjoys it. I sometimes doubt that ksoo is the one writing in bubble 💭 except for the song recommandations maybe. 🤔

If he wanted he would have sent y'all pics of himself in Bubble like how all the members do but HE DOESN'T WANT TO 💁🏻‍♀️ Now go blame SM on that too.

I was always told that Ksoo said he wished he was a professional actor and singer but to not be famous! He said he wishes to be known for his talents and to do his job that he loves so much but to not famous at the same time 😂 which is impossible btw. He said he hates fame. He wishes he could do the job he loves so much but without the whole interacting and fame and spotlights part of it. I was told that. Since very long ago and I was sad at first to hear that. But after seeing Kyungsoo enjoying his privacy and not being mobbed and respected by his fans, I was extremely happy. Heck you can rarely hear anything about him or see any pics of him from his fans coz they keep everything to themselves coz I was told that that's what Kyungsoo wants and they keep his life private and never share anything about him- I was so happy to see him do what he likes the way he likes it in complete privacy.

We rarely hear he was out with someone for a meal but when we do, it's years after it happened 😂 or with no pics at all. Like how he met Zico and they were both at the studio maybe collaborating. But we didn't get any pics from his solo stans and Fansites not even Exol. Cuz they know he doesn't like it when things about him get exposed .

Like we rarely saw any pics of him outside not before military nor after. And this been happening for years now since debut (I mean the issue of rarely getting updates and pics about him in the streets or restaurants or hanging out with friends) wdym SM is putting him in the dungeon for once debut?? No! Sorry he was the most promoted member and the first one to start a solo career as an actor ONLY 2 years after his debut when he was still a rookie, he has always been the most promoted among all the members even before Jongdae and Baekhyun ! 🤷🏻‍♀️

To put it up in another way: Ksoo doesn't like working with sM anymore and all the members too as they're all now going to leave and not renew so they mostly accept few of the projects suggested to them to make profit from them and stay active in the lights in the mean time before they decide what to do later. So they will not risk taking big opportunities with big companies or shows and sign big-long term-contracts for a long period with big acting or variety companies coz they can't do much projects now in the name of SM since the contract is nearing its expiration, so as long as they r still labeled as SM ARTISTs and still under SM contract so SM would still take their fair share of the profits, So since their contract is nearing its end..they can't do big projects that require long period of time such as accepting deals for long term positions in a show such as "Official MCs" or "Fixed cast member in a show that would last for years" or to "sign with an acting company coz most of them have the bare minimum for a contract is 3 years i guess (idk i don't remember) or to sign with any company that obliges a long-term contract " etc.. coz SM would still take their profit even after they leave as the contract was signed with those companies when Exo's contract with sm was still on. And that's the last thing they want.. is after leaving your shitty company, they would still take profits from you.

Also most companies don't suggest you big and long term projects when your contract with your company is nearing its end! That's why most if the members now are jobless only getting few short-termed projects, Coz these companies are not only working with the idol BUT they're working with their company as well. As it's the one who decides most of the the idols opportunies and decisions and does everything for them.

So if you don't like the truth and don't like to hear things that don't go along with your fantasies about your Oppa then that's not my problem 🤷🏻‍♀️ Go Fix it .

And I hope you won't drop Ksoo after discovering something about him that you didn't like to admit he has 💁🏻‍♀️ he doesn't like yall to know things about him and he doesn't like interacting with his fans that much through social media. He has a private IG and if he wanted to talk to y'all he would have made a public one but he doesn't 🤷🏻‍♀️ just like Jongdae! And they are free and we should respect their decision! Jongdae Chose his private life over fans and trust me he is so happy with his wife and daughter and i saw them with my own eyes. He is enjoying his privacy and he is caring less about what haters are saying or if fans are disappointed.

You should get used from now on to the feeling that your bias doesn't want your nose always in his life and doesn't always want you to know everything about him and doesn't want to show himself up in programs and projects he doesn't want to do just COZ YOU WANT TO SEE HIM THERE. Also Make it in your heads that your bias private life and his close people are 1000 better than being with you all the time and satisfying your requests and fantasies💁🏻‍♀️

Respect and understand that your idol doesn't always want you to know everything about them and if your Oppa likes to be introvert and private you should respect that ! instead of complaining 25/8 on Bubble and twitter and IG about wanting to see him.

Be like Korean Exol they see Ksoo they meet him all the time they photograph him yet they never share anything or if they do it's after a long time, just coz they respect him and they know how private he is and how he hates his info and pics of him enjoying his day being exposed all over the internet. That's why we rarely get updates about Ksoo from OPs. And even if you beg them to buy his pics and updates they won't give u anything. That's why sasaengs always say they can't get anything about ksoo coz it's very hard as he is a very private person and his info are the hardest and most expensive to get.

Remember in the first half of 2019? When he disappeared for 6 months straight and never updated one word about himself and we were so worried and though he was leaving? He didn't even come out to deny the departure rumors it was SM who did, instead when we were all scares he was leaving and we haven't heard anything of him and were dying of concern, he was enjoying his cooking courses and applying for military and preparing for his position as a chef in military and going on vacation with his friends and squads and lover and chanyeol and you didn't know anything about him, you didn't hear one word from him! (Except for the pics with chanyeol at the airport and just coz chan was there if he wants tI doubt we would have got pics of ksoo at the airport leaving to japan) And he went straight to military after that with no update nor a goodbye Party nor anything! Just a plain letter in which he said he will enlist and after that he disappeared for 3 years (6 months before military and 1 year and a half of military and 7 months after discharge💁🏻‍♀️) Heck He even went and told the member that he will enlist without hesitation coz he is like that and members said they were shocked when he came and said he is enlisting all of a sudden like he just told them he was going to play football or something 🤷🏻‍♀️ He didn't want to make a goodbye party for his enlistment like how XIUMIN did, and why again? for the same goddam reason 🤷🏻‍♀️ don't you ask yourself why we rarely get any news about him 🤔 it's COZ HE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW. 😂

After his discharge we heard he went along with Park shinhye and his Hyung actors squad to play golf together right after his discharge (in January 25th) , in February but we got no pics 💁🏻‍♀️ Why? Same reason🤷🏻‍♀️ everyone in korea knows Ksoo doesn't like coming out of the closet and expose himself to the public and interact with FANS and haters and obsessed fans and sasaengs.

KSOO WAS TRAUMATIZED BY FANS and SASAENGS AND IF YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO HIM AND WHAT HE SUFFERED YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND HIS LACK OF INTERACTION WITH FANS and you WOULD GIVE HIM EXCUSE. HE CAN'T HELP IT! He tried so hard to get over this issue but couldn't. HE LOVES HIS FANS BUT HE CAN'T INTERACT WITH THEM PROPERLY AND HE APOLOGIZED ABOUT THAT A LOT! So please understand him.

Sometimes it's not always the company sometimes it's the idol himself who wants some SPACE. Maybe A LOT of space 😂 in Ksoo's case.

I'm not making excuses for the sabotage and Mistreatment, I'm showing you the Kyungsoo that you probably don't know.

We can't judge SM mistreatment to him now as he is not active now, but once his album is dropped that's when we would see and we could judge if they treat him well or not. And i hope his album would get all the promotions his talents deserve.

[thegoodomensdumpster]

(1) I'm fat and I fucking love the crumbs, it's such a bummer that they won't be around anymore. Besides, stereotype or not, some fat people (like myself) are messy and gross and some aren't and that's okay. I liked seeing myself represented in Aziraphale here, and it sucks that it's now being cencored. I'm fat and I'm messy and the fact that people want to hide that that's a thing makes me feel more ashamed about who I am than I wouldn have been if it was just left alone.

(2) I'm sick of the trope that fat people have to always be pristine and constantly ON AIR just to be given the same respect that a thin person would have, even if they themselves were also messy. I loved your crummy Aziraphale, he made me feel like I was still worth something and capable of great things and worthy of a dedicated love. He made a lot of people feel like that. Art shouldn't be cencored. This asks breaks my heart a little, because... I’m not the authority on validating people of course, but in case anyone needs to read that: OF COURSE you are worthy of love and respect and just being a human if you are messy, if you are fat, if you are messy and fat, or if you happen to fit a stereotype that mainstream media have rendered harmful. Because you are people, not fictional characters, and you exist beyond these stereotypes boundaries. You are complex, and alive, and your existence matters.

More under the cut for discussion on character design, stereotypes, tumblrfoolery, and my own incapacity to know what to do. The most important bit is above, but if you guys want to take part into a bigger conversation with me, either by replying to this post or MPing me, I’m welcoming you with open arms. It got a bit long, but hopefully it isn’t too confused.

(Also, quick side note: I’m not deleting any of the crumb jokes previously made, so if you miss them, you can still find them in the archive of this blog under the crumb omens hashtag.)

My opinion on character design is actually this one: there is no inherently harmful trait for a certain type of people, it is all a question of context and quantity. In the case of a character that is fat and messy, if it just happens that, among other fat people, one of them is messy, then it’s not a stereotype, and it’s not harmful. However, in our current media landscape, those two attributes happen to be associated way too often, enough that it leads to essentialisation of fat people ( aka: if you’re fat, you’re necessary messy, lazy, etc... these reductive associations are almost systematic ).

In the context of my blog and my work at large, if you’re familiar with it, I think it’s safe to say that I, personally, don’t use the fat and messy character as a stereotype, because I also depict other fat characters as non messy characters. Thats for my context. That’s also probably why, when I made all the crumb jokes, I didn’t even think about this stereotype.

But the thing is, I don’t post my fanarts in a vacuum. Especially on Tumblr where posts tend to have a life of their own when they get reblogged. They get cut from their context, hence only showing the tip of the iceberg, which is what I consider to be a harmful stereotype. And even within their context, it might still come as insensitive and hurt people who have been badly affected by this stereotype. And this has nothing to do with my original intentions.

This would lead to the consideration of how much of a private / public venture exactly a blog is, and to what extent should we take mainstream depictions into account when we design characters ourselves, and how much can we expect people to take things into the context of the OP’s work, or the OP’s blog, or the website it was posted on... This is something I’m scratching my head over, I’m not sure I have an answer to that. I’m not even sure there is an answer to that. But what I know is that this specific blog, though it still is MY blog, also has a following big enough that I cannot fully consider it as private ( although, I never consider any internet space to be really private ...).

However, I one hundred percent agree that there is a huge issue in, as a reaction to these harmful strereotypes, not allowing minorities and oppressed group as appearing any less than perfect. This is a terrible response, a terrible pressure, and it’s as much dehumanizing as only seeing people through the prism of stereotypes. And I know I can not satisfy everyone when I make a choice, but I do try to make the choices that hurt the less, or at least the ones that won’t hurt the group of people I care about (and by that I mean: I would not hesitate to make fatshamers feel ill at ease, but I do not want to hurt fat people over fatphobia).

So, yeah, it does feel like I fell into another trap that ends up guilt tripping people. But I don’t know how to react, I don’t where to stand, because I don’t know which reaction would bring the less suffering. It seems that there is no perfect answer, and fat people might get hurt either way. I just know that, since I’ve been made aware of the kind of hurt the crumb jokes could do, I’m feeling uncomfortable myself continuing them. So, this is not strictly censorship. Because, at least right now, I don’t feel like I want to continue them either. Maybe my mind will change, I don’t know, but I have the feeling that maybe my issue is mostly based on the media (aka: a tumblr post) rather than the joke itself. Because if, for instance, I had one messy fat character in a comic book where you can see other fat characters in all their diversity and complexity, then it wouldn’t feel like I’m tapping into a stereotype, and therefore I doubt it would make a lot of fat people ill at ease. Because that one messy fat character could hardly be cut from the context of its book. But with a tumblr post that can escape its context or directly be surrounded in a tumblr search on my blog by other similar post declining the same messy joke with the same fat character... I don’t know. 

I just, really, really don’t know.

I feel saddened by the hurt I’m doing to people either way, and I’ve received several messages of fat people telling me they liked the crumb jokes. But I cannot know if people who were actually hurt are just silent on this issue or if I’m just ... anticipating a hurt that wasn’t there to begin with ( because the original message that made me aware of this issue wasn’t actually written by someone who personnally felt ill at ease at that joke, it was just pointing it out as fatphobic, which I agreed to be an issue as well ). 

So, yeah. If you have any insight on this issue, absolutely feel free to contact me. This is an important conversation to have, or at least it is to me, and it touches on many important topics so it’s ... potentially long and convoluted and confusing. But I want to learn, I want to do better, and I want to help people feel good about themselves. This is possibly my number one goal as an artist. 

<3

[my-name-is-siduri]

I hope you don't mind me expanding on this, OP. I have a few thoughts about this.

Like you said, the earliest sources we have about valravns* have different tones. I'll go over the three you've listed as well as one of my own:

1) The creature specifically referred to as 'valravn' does not appear until Valravnen, at least according to this source I found online. This is not to say that there weren't valravns before then (see point 4 below for some speculation about that), but we have no surviving records of them.

As I can glean from the internet, the earliest forms of Valravnen were created at some point during the 16th or 17th century, though I can't find the exact date anywhere. The first solid date I can find online is 1803, which is quite a bit later. In any case, in Valravnen we see a tragic figure that's been transformed into a valravn by a troll woman, a curse that has to be broken for him to regain human form. In some versions, the curse is simply broken by him helping out his sister and making a wish. In others, he has to eat either the eye of his infant niece or drink her heart's blood, in both cases killing her (although she is later revived). And in yet others, he remains cursed and never becomes human again.

While no doubt the audience feels sympathy towards this cursed valravn, we can already see that valravns are capable of very dark acts.

2) If you don't mind me asking, which noble family are you referring to? I've never heard anything about this and I am very interested in finding out more about them.

While I don't know what the context of this valravn coat of arms is, it should be noted that heraldic beasts have a wide variety of meanings and reasons for their depictions. Sometimes it's because the family wants to channel what the animal represents: a lion is used to show ferocity and nobility, for example. Other times, the depiction has a more practical reason. Perhaps someone's land is known for having many deer, so a deer is put on their coat of arms to represent 'we have a lot of deer on our land.' And in some cases, the heraldic animal is actually depicted negatively. Saint George's dragon, for example, is depicted on coats of arms as a representation of triumph over evil.

As such, it is not guaranteed that the usage of a valravn means the family is saying "we approve of this animal and think it's great." There are many possibly reasons for its inclusion and we'd need more context to understand why the family used it.

3) Danske Sagn: Som De Har Lyd I Folkemunde was first published in 1892, 99 years after the Valravnen date I listed above. You can read it online here. I assume this is what you meant by the third source you listed, even though it's from the late 1800s and not early. (If you meant a different text, please let me know and I'll take a look!) This is the book where we get the most used quote about valravns and the very one I have pinned to my valravn sideblog. Here's a translation:

If a raven eats the heart of an unburied king or chieftain that died in battle, the raven transforms into a valravn. This transformation gives the valravn great intelligence and superhuman strength, but it often turns them evil and manipulative as well. They are terrible creatures.

"They are terrible creatures." The passage does not say it's guaranteed they will become evil and manipulative, but I have to imagine that the use of 'often' implies it's fairly common occurrence.

4) We know that the themes and symbolism of intelligent ravens feasting on the bodies of fallen kings can be found throughout history. For example, the 9th century skaldic poem Hrafnsmál depicts a valkyrie speaking with a talking raven that has done just that. If we assume that Hrafnsmál is depicting some sort of proto-valravn, it's worth analyzing the poem:

[The valkyrie asks,] "What is the matter with you, ravens? From where have you come with gory beaks at break of day? Flesh hangs from your claws; the stench of carrion comes from your mouths; I think you lodged last night near where you knew corpses were lying." The grey-feathered sworn-brother of the eagle [raven] gloated and wiped its bill, and gave thought to an answer: "We have followed Haraldr son of Hálfdan, the young king, since we emerged from the egg."

The tone taken on here seems to be that the valkyrie is scolding the raven for its behavior ("What is the matter with you") while the raven seems to enjoy what it's doing ("gloated"). What the raven is doing is not something completely hated, it would appear to be something that the valkyrie does not entirely approve of. The raven feels no shame in what it's doing.

Now I do want to say this interpretation might be inaccurate. Another translation I found of this poem depicts the interaction more neutrally. I don't know what tone the original text takes on since I can't read it. But if the first source has held on to the original tone, it's worth including.

Now onto the point I'm trying to make here...

I fully understand the frustration with the way valravns are interpreted in the modern day. Believe me, I have some very choice things to say about the way that pop culture has interpreted for a lot of different folklores. Have you seen what people have done to Greek mythology? And don't even get me started on the treatment of indigenous folklore, it's outright disrespectful.

With that said, I do think there is a place for antagonistic valravns just as much as there is for sympathetic and neutral ones. I agree that making them 'evil' is grossly glossing over a far more nuanced tradition, but let us not forget that in several versions the Valravnen killed his own infant niece (even if he later revived her and it all worked out) and that our 1892 source called them "evil and manipulative" and "terrible creatures."

I think it's safe to assume that it was always established that valravns are dangerous creatures that are not necessarily on humanity's side. Does being at odds with humanity make them evil? Well that's a philosophical question far outside of the scope of this essay, so I'll just settle on saying it's fair for them to serve the role of antagonist in stories just as much as anything else.

(Full disclaimer, I will admit I've fallen victim to this in my own story. I do my best to depict the 'bad guy' valravn as having more of an alien, bestial mindset rather than just being pure evil, but I fear he comes across as just evil anyway oops.)

In conclusion: I completely agree that it's inaccurate to depict valravns as straight up evil bird bad guys, and I have full sympathy for your frustration with it. But, it is valid to use them as antagonists to stories and/or have them do less-than-savory things. Several sources from the 1800s and possibly much earlier depict them behaving as such.

*On the internet in English, anyway. It's entirely possible that there's more information out there, be it written or in someone's oral history. But I wouldn't even know how to begin to seek that out, and it would probably be impossible for me to do so anyway, as I only know English and am located in the US. I do my best, but I have limited resources. For all I know there's some Danish book that hasn't been digitally scanned out there that explains in detail how everything I've written above is wrong.

Hooooowww did people 1) hear the folksong Valravnen about a knight who's been transformed into a bird (likely an eagle, not a raven) and can only break the curse by killing a baby, 2) see that one (1) now-extinct noble family referred to their heraldic beast, a wolf/bird, as a 'valravn', and 3) read one single 1800s countryboy's explanation that valravnen is like an evil valkyrie, and SOMEHOW extrapolate from those three wildly unrelated sources that "The Valravn" (because it's never a folkloric concept with different interpretations, it's always a single specific creature) is a were-wolf/raven who haunts battlefields to drink the blood of slain warriors????

Please stop depicting 'the' valravn when you don't even know what it is, I'm begging on my fucking knees, I hate the way recent Danish folklore-inspired popculture has latched onto this figure and keeps depicting it in wilder and wilder ways😭😭

If you want a folkloric evil bird creature in your story please just use a fucking dragon or gammen. Use a damn cockatrice or vættehane, idgaf. Please just stop muddying the already-confusing lore of valravnen. The figure has been abused enough already and you are making my hobby as a folklorist very difficult😥

[wolfsteax]

I want to make something as crystal clear as possible:

Lately, I will get random messages from people who’ve never spoken to me before telling me how someone on the internet is terrible. Now, this is fine if I’ve directly shared something from someone and you have solid proof this person is being harmful. But, under no circumstances do I need to messaged when a post with a huge number of reblogs has a TERF OP. Especially if the post has 0 things to do with its creator and I reblogged it from a mutual who reblogged it from a mutual, etc. 

If you come into my messages and demand I delete random posts or else “I don’t care about trans women”, I will not give you the benefit of the doubt. For context, someone came into my DMs last night because I reblogged footage of a snowball  fight from decades ago that was colorized. I reblogged it from a mutual who reblogged it from someone else. Basically, going back through who knows how many reblogs, this person claimed the OP was a TERF. Look, I hate TERFs. I hope all of them get struck by lightening. But, this is tumblr. You could be lying and, also, if you automatically assume because I am confused on what you’d like me to do about this person that I hate trans women you’re an idiot. 

I’m a trans man. I’ve been in this community a while now. If you honestly think me not deleting an insanely spread around snowball fight video supports TERFs and oppresses trans women, you are an idiot. Let me say it again. You are an idiot. I told this person if they themselves truly cared about trans women, they should stop policing blogs and go buy from trans lead businesses. Go help out in this horrible healthcare system that targets trans people. Especially trans women and even more so trans women of color.

I have several friends who are trans women. Do you know what they need a hell of a lot more than blog policing? They want their works supported. They want to not be discriminated in work places. They want to not be afraid in public. They want the healthcare they deserve. They want to be treated as people who’s rights are basic human rights.

If you honestly believe that you sitting on your laptop and fetishizing attacking people for the most mundane things so you can pretend you’re actually helping the trans community is aiding trans women, you are an idiot.

Trans people need real help. Trans women need real help.

Get off of Tumblr and go the fuck outside. If you don’t prioritize “Support Trans Lives” over “Fuck TERFs” then your fuck TERFs chanting means nothing to the trans community. Especially if your method of “helping” trans people is on Tumblr where you try and attack others to give yourself a hero complex.

To wrap this up, do not message like this. I don’t want to hear it unless it is someone I know directly and you have proof they’re hurting trans people.

And, emphasis on get outside and REALLY help trans people and trans women. Support their businesses. Aid in making our world trans safe. Be an activist and ally to them in the actual world. Trans people live and exist offline for 75% of their time. Make sure your support for us is made as such.

Also, if your bio contains slurs towards queer people I lose all respect for you immediately.

[zandercomics]

You know what, fuck it, I’m going to make this a big thing now because you just don’t seem to get it.

TL;DR because I’m fairly certain you won’t read this, you aren’t helping anyone with all these comments. You are either stroking your own ego, are oblivious, or both. And it’s fucking disgusting.

I literally used it once, but go on I guess, maybe im taking the quote to literally.

You did say my “willful ignorance” was “hilarious”, which is both making fun of me assuming a lot about me. Also all throughout these interactions you’ve called me part of the problem and other things, implying that I am at least accidentally (though you lose the accidental benefit of the doubt by saying it’s willful) in the moral wrong, while you are saying you are in the mora right. If that isn’t implying you think you’re better than me then idk what would be. Just because it’s not directly stated doesn’t mean it’s not there.

But here let me clarify why I think you are just (again I hesitate to use the word because of how it’s been co opted but it’s so much quicker to type) virtue signaling.

First off this is clearly a joke. OP has made it clear that they are in no way suffering under the delusion that the boys will either come to the wedding, respond to the STD, or even open the letter (though I’d be willing to concede the last point given that they added jokes so at least the HOPE for that one is there). At most their interactions with NSP has been to offer a business transaction; be 99% turned down,but told to send info; and, clearly knowing that it’s a lost cause, send a piece of paper in the hopes of making them and some other people on reddit smile at a joke. Can it be misconstrued as serious after EVERYTHING? I guess, theoretically, someone with an incredible inability to read social queues (digitally or otherwise) and/or with serious mental illness saw this they COULD think that OP was being serious, though I’d question whether they would wait to see the answer before assuming that they see it as okay. I think only THE MOST delusional or oblivious would think that they could get a different result from the same tactic, but there is things like NPD, so maybe there’s a SHRED of a point there, but, and this is important, a stranger’s mental illness/state IS NOT OP’S RESPONSIBILITY! It is solely the responsibility of the person with said illness and (assuming it’s to the point of diminished accountability) their care network (be they family, friends, doctors, etc.) if you like quotes so much here’s one I always liked from a great podcast “your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility”. To believe anything else is both unfair and unrealistic.

Second, your original reply was a massive exercise in futility. If OP had said something to the effect of “sending NSP an STD for my wedding, I hope they actually come!” Or something to that effect your response would’ve been pertinent and I wouldn’t have said a fucking thing. But, as I said before, OP is under absolutely no delusion that, if they even read the letter, it’ll be seen as anything more than “haha save the date and sexually transmitted disease have the same acronym” plus a few other random jokes to make them laugh. If someone as delusional or oblivious as said above STILL thinks they could send it and NSP Will seriously show up, your post will hardly change their mind. If someone is either unwilling or unable to see that sending a serious STD is futile and unrealistic, a stranger being sardonic on the internet is definitely not gonna be what stops them. To think it will be is both delusional and self centered.

Third, if there was ONE benefit of the doubt I was willing to give you its that, in your original reply, it could be seen as saying “oh well if they are impressionable enough to be swayed by one person being okay trying this then one dissenting voice would be just as noticeable”. I can at least see a bit of logic there. But you lost that benefit with all your bad faith arguments and “caring” (will clarify this part) and hypocrisy (see the response about not making fun of or acting like you’re better.)

Fourth jokes like this are not direct causes of any of the danger of parasocial relationships . Except in potential fringe situations, they arent even indirect causes. There is no research I have found that anybody who has stalked and/or killed someone they were a “fan” of were pushed in that direction by obvious jokes. What I HAVE seen is Untreated Mental illness, lack of a good social and medical security network, and ignoring the causes of mental illnesses, the lack of said networks, and the warning signs that a person is dangerous leading DIRECTLY to atrocities.

This is why I think all your sentiments about caring about people being hurt are made in bad faith. Someone who generally wanted to help people wouldn’t waste their time on this non issue.

Given That, let’s go down a rabbit hole, if you’ll indulge me. If you REALLY wanted to combat that you would be working to address those issues. But maybe you don’t have the time, but when you see something dangerous you call it out. That’s fair, life is busy! But, as I said before, clearly labeled jokes are not a danger that needs to be called out. Maybe you got mixed up, that’s fine, it happens. But wait, you’re doubling down even when you’ve been shown why you’re wrong? maybe you weren’t convinced? But there were direct points where flaws in your argument were shown, why didn’t you address these? If they didn’t convince you surely you can explain why? Oh wait you address them by saying they’re irrelevant or implying the other person is a bad person. Well that doesn’t make a lot of sense, why would you call flaws in your argument irrelevant? Why would you attack my moral character without explaining why you weren’t convinced? I’m sure there’s some other benefit of the doubt I could give you, but honestly it’s getting hard to keep doing so.

So what am I left to think? The most likely, in my opinion, is That you’re just trying to show how awesome and great you are for caring so much about people that you are willing to even call out simple things to strangers OR you derive some enjoyment out of publicly showing people online they’re wrong when you GENUINELY believe they are. Tbh the first one is at least partially true to me, so that’s fine, but, as I said before, you haven’t really shown you were worth giving the benefit of the doubt to and that you are willing to use bad faith arguments.

THAT is why you “explaining the dangers of parasocial relationships” in THIS Thread the way you have been is actually you acting “Holier than thou”. Admittedly it might not be 100% the best phrase to use, but that’s more because I try not to use “virtue signaling” (the actual best phase imo) because it has been co opted by alt right shitheads and now has the connotation of a buzzword to dismiss ANY form of giving a shit. Does that answer your fucking question?

Honestly you’re probably gonna make fun of me for this big explanation and not even look at the TL;DR, and that’s fine, I probably should’ve tried to find a way to let this conversation go, but you really pissed me off. It’s not a good look to use a real societal problem to boost your own ego, but it’s fucking disgusting to do that, go in places where it’s not even an issue, and THEN act like you give a fuck and are trying to help just to make yourself look good. That is far more damaging to the people who this issue affects because it not only DOESNT ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE, but it in fact MAKES PEOPLE THINK THE ISSUE IS TRIVIAL. People will be more likely to dismiss this issue because of people calling out things that aren’t part of the issue and THAT is far far FAR more damaging than a fucking sex joke.

[xfadingstarx]

A Bleach Retrospective: In defense of Bleach

These are opinions, please respect that.

_______________________________

My Journey with Bleach (please skip if you want to go straight to the analysis):

On September the 8th, 2006 YTV’s weekend evening anime programming block (Bionix) aired the first episode of Bleach. I, unfortunately, did not catch this episode, instead, I caught the second episode on September 15th the following week. I was ten and from then on, Bleach fascinated me. It had an interesting concept, tight pacing, catchy music, a good story, and unique character designs. I also really enjoyed how Bleach lacked the same kind of emotional labour that Naruto demanded (as child who survived off of constantly seeking validation from others because of absentee parents, Naruto is way too much work).

My fascination with Bleach got me started in the fandom communities of yesteryear, for I was a child with zero internet supervision. My introduction to fanfiction was because I loved Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Bleach was my entry into poetry (poem at the start of every volume).

But alas, all good things were not meant to last and by the summer of 2009, I was officially done with Bleach. It had felt stilted for some time before then. Over the years, I would gradually revisit bits and pieces of Bleach, but I would not read it in its entirety until months after its finish, about a decade after I had first saw Bleach on my TV. Between the time I stopped reading and the series ended, I became friends with people who didn’t think highly of Bleach and I also started seeing criticism I had made about Bleach in 2011 being repeated by fans on the internet, I started to think that maybe Bleach was bad, but I knew what bad writing looked like —I started reading fanfiction through Bleach fanfiction AMVs on YouTube — and somehow Bleach didn’t sit right with me in the “bad writing category”. 

I sit back now, a decade and ahalf later from when I first started and ask, “was Bleach really that bad, and if so, why do I keep coming back to it?”

-----------------------------------------------

What Made Bleach So Good?

Unique story and aesthetics: When Bleach first started in 2001, it was one of the first manga series to talk about souls and death in a poetic way and with such coherence. Bleach clearly knew what it wanted to say about life and death. It also had a very unique aesthetic, very similar to that of “The World Ends With You” or “Persona 5″ — an urban Japanese take on R&B kind of vibe. Also, Bleach had the most “realistic” and minimalist art style amongst the Big 3.

Cool Music: Bleach had cool music, from very solid rock’n’roll and R&B style songs in its OPs and EDs to very funky OST music with lots of pizzazz. Many singers feature by Bleach ended up successful (to varying degrees) outside of anime, eg: Orange Range, UVERworld, YUI, sid, etc.

Versatile tone: Bleach was edgy, there’s no doubt about that. It was willing to show a lot of blood and bodily violence, especially in the manga (eg half of people blowing up and bits of bone still attached). Despite this though, it was not pretentious about its edginess — it didn’t revel in it. To contrast the edginess, there is a lot of humour in Bleach with character interactions. It was able to be laid back enough with its strong characters that it would rely on the characters’ relationships for comedic relief. The post-credit skits and the fillers really helped to add to this overall feel as well.

Maturity of the Story: Bleach was very willing to handle topics that made people think. For example, the Ulquiorra - Orihime subarc was treated with a sense of carefulness about it, as if to reflect Ulquiorra’s own cautious curiosity about the heart. A less emotionally mature story would’ve gone for the cheap rape/torture porn, but instead we are treated to determined strong Orihime, who has found strength through the heart after the death of her brother, clashing with the nihilistic hollow who wants to know if there is happiness outside of emptiness. It’s a very loaded question and one that requires both perspective and life experience to fully understand both parties. As well, Bleach always knew what it wanted to say about life and death as the final conflict of Bleach is between Ichigo, who has accepted his transient life and Yhwach, who is scared of death. And ultimately, underneath all that action, Bleach produced takes on its themes that were hard to relate to unless the reader themselves had a certain level of emotional maturity (eg: 12 year old me got nothing out of the Ulqui-Ori arc, but 20 year old me spent a good 10 mins crying after)

Strong characters: Contrary to popular belief, Bleach does have quite solid characterization. In fact, Bleach is the journey of Ichigo as a character, from grappling with his weakness and pain to finally accepting all the parts of himself and his history in order to defeat Yhwach and protect those he cares about. Even the secondary characters of Bleach receive a sizable amount of backstory and/or development. Bleach also managed to have more proactive female characters. Even the damsel in distress Orihime stands up to Ulquiorra and slaps him. As a result of these strong characters, Bleach was able to rely on them and their relationships to drive aspects of the story (eg Ichigo crying in the Fullbringer arc).

Willingness to Deal with Emotion: Given that Ichigo is an internally motivated character, it was obvious Bleach would deal with emotion at some point in time. Making Ichigo just a normal high school boy also relives the previous edginess. Bleach also clearly too the time to make its readers feel in its early years. We are treated to beautiful panelling and very real displays of strong negative emotions. Bleach is also very good at giving its characters room to breathe and be sad. Eg: moping Orihime, moping Ichigo, etc. As well, Kubo went to extraordinary lengths to break Ichigo down during the Fullbringers Arc.

Interesting Character Designs: Every character in Bleach feels vibrant and unique with their personality showing through in their designs. For example: Shunshi’s sloppily tied up hair, visible stubble, and overcoat-hidden-haori show that he is both easy going and not looking for a fight; meanwhile Byakuya’s neatly pulled back hair and neck covered by scarf show that he is both someone who likes structure and is conservative.

Poetry and Symbolism: Kubo manages to weave poetry into Bleach in the beginning of each volume. The poem was said by the character on the volume. It gave the reader insight to this character and it gave Kubo a chance to flex his poetic chops. Further proof of this is the fact that many people don’t realize that the name “Bleach” refers to the bleaching of soul that is key to the story. Kubo loves to use rain to set sad scenes. It rains when Ichigo fights Grand Fisher, Zangetsu tells Ichigo that he hates the rain, etc. Kubo also specifies that he wishes for the reader to read certain volumes on stormy, rainy nights.

Panelling: Many people like to criticize Kubo for the lack of effort with the Bleach manga, but Kubo has stated that he uses negative space (i.e., foregoing backgrounds) to focus more on his character’s expressions. This not only further proves that Bleach cares a lot about its characters, but it’s done well enough that the average reader likely doesn’t notice the lack of background on the first read through. As well, Bleach has very cinematic panelling. Kubo uses the format of manga well, utilizing the human mind’s ability to fill blanks in with clever panelling to create tone and build tension and the feeling of movement through a scene.

In fact, in finding pages for this analysis, I found myself noticing that Bleach panels very similarly to slice-of-life shoujo but with a boy MC manga like "Horimiya": focus on expression through intimate angles and use of panels and breaks to create mood and the feeling of cinema; whereas something like DBZ panels like a shounen action manga with many hard lines and action shots, instead of a focus on subtle details and emotions.

Some Examples:

Notice now in Chapter 197: The approaching danger, Kubo uses a gradual zoom to build tension and the black background to add intensity and signal to the reader that Hitsugaya is relaying important information.

Here in Chapter 234: Not Negotiation, the immediate close up to Ulquiorra’s eye from the full body shots creates a sense of intimidation and unease with its sudden intimacy. As well, the immediate zoom in from Ulquiorra’s side full body shot to his facial profile creates tension and the change from the dark background to the white face with Orihime releases this tension (very fitting with considering the line for this panel is “but not you”). (This scene also ties into Ulquiorra’s central dogma of “that which is not reflected in my eyes does not exist’.)

Again in the same chapter, this gradual zoom in on the two creates tension that is then release in the next panel and summarily cements Ulquiorra as a terrifying BAMF.

In Chapter 262: Unblendable, Kubo uses the negative space to create a feeling of isolation, similar to how Orihime is supposed to be feeling.

In the same chapter, notice how Kubo creates a sense of intimacy (not in the romance sense) with the relationship of Ulquiorra and Orihime. He creates tension gradually with the zooming into Orihime’s eye and releases it with the zoom out to Ulquiorra. Through this scene, Kubo has shown us that Ulquiorra and Orihime have a tense relationship and with the implication of eye contact through the shots and panel breaks creating both the intimacy and showing Orihime’s defiance.

(Interestingly, I’ve noticed that Ulquiorra and Orihime have a lot of these intimate zoom shot-reverse-shot eye panels)

___________________

What are the Bad Parts of Bleach?

Okay, so by now, you’re probably thinking that I’m ignoring the massive amounts of critique that Bleach gets and don’t get me wrong, while Bleach does have a very special place in my heart, I’m also not maudlin enough to pretend that Bleach was all good.

Pacing:

Pacing in the First Half of Bleach (Karakura Town - Arrancar)

When Bleach first started out the pacing was excellent. Kubo showed great mastery of pace to control the tone and highlight the emotions throughout the first two arcs. Mid-way through the Arrancar arc, the fatigue sets in and it was hard to keep up with, especially since Kubo would interrupt one exciting fight set up to go set up more plot elsewhere (eg Fake Karakura town right as Ichigo and Ulquiorra were about to battle). Whilst looking back and reading it all at once does help with the pacing, it was frustrating if you were reading/watching on a weekly basis.

Pacing in the Anime:

I don’t ascribe to a simplistic belief of “fillers bad” simply because I think that sometimes fillers can be a good thing, for example, since every chapter is ~15-20pp, some character interactions have to be cut for the sake for space, so filler is a great opportunity to add those moments back into your story. For example, a lot of early Bleach fillers are just the people of Karakura town just hanging out. That being said, Bleach does have an unfortunate amount of fillers, with some of them even interrupting tense fights (eg the Beast Sword Arc interrupts Ichigo’s battle with Ulquiorra). However, the padding that the fillers provided did wonders for the transition between Soul Society to Arrancar Arc in the anime. Ultimately, the Bleach anime adaption was a long-running anime made for syndication and that’s okay.

******* Brief Aside: many people like(d?) to point out that Bleach has a very cyclical plot structure. I used to think this way too; however, this is not the case. There are many other long running stories that repeat similar goals. The problem lies not in the idea, but the execution. The main complaint about the Orihime rescue was not that it was uninteresting, but instead that it felt a rehash of the plot of the previous arc. This is largely because the story was not given enough time to breath between similar character arcs. For example, in One Piece, Luffy and Co have to save Nami and by extension, her home village so she can join them; however, the next time a Straw Hat needs to be saved is 227 chapters (2 whole story arcs) later. In between saving Rukia and Orihime, there is only a really an arrancar encounter, a bit of training, cheering up Ichigo, and a Grimmjow encounter before Orihime goes with Ulquiorra, thus making the goal of this arc “save Orihime” in only ~59 chapters vs 227. These two similar arc goals so close to each other does indeed create the sense of repetition.

Pacing from Fullbringer to End:

This is where Bleach really lost a lot of people. If you weren’t gone after the Ulquiorra fight, you probably were by this arc.This arc went at breakneck speed, and ngl, during my first full read through I almost gave up here too. I mention earlier that Ichigo had been broken down in this arc, but it was hard to feel his despair and the weight on his shoulders because there wasn’t enough for the reader to take a beat and breathe. The Thousand Year Blood War, similarly suffered from sloppy pacing, with many readers feeling like story lines of Squad 0 and the Soul King were anti-climactic. As well, this arc started with a massacre and feature the deaths of many fan-favourite characters, and unfortunately due to the pacing, their deaths were not given a sense of gravity.

Missed Opportunities and Forgotten Story lines: Many people felt that Kubo forgot about a lot of his characters after the Aizen arc. Many thought the Fullbringer Arc was going to be a Chad/Orihime Arc. Whatever happened to Uryuu lolol? We all just collectively forgot about him for a large portion of the last half of Bleach. At one point in time, there was a rumour going around that Kubo had written out the story for Bleach and lost it. Idk if there is any credibility to it. However, in a 2017 interview, Kubo did say that he did end the series exactly the way he wanted to.

(If anyone wants to see me write an entire ass text post about Orihime and her treatment in Bleach, please let me know because I will do it)

Too mature:Even though above, I praised Bleach's mature handle on its themes, an unfortunate side effect of this is forgetting that the characters are only 15 at the beginning and for the first half of Bleach. This unfortunately, leads to some readers feeling disconnected from Bleach.

Epilogue: THE DESTROYER OF SHIPS!!! A lot of people hated this ending. Many people felt like the romance was shoe-horned in, others didn’t like the pairings, and there were some people who actually liked it. Personally, I didn’t like it too much, but it was a cute conclusion nonetheless. Since it didn't add anything to the story except for a "where are they now" look and because of that, I low-key felt like it was unnecessary, but w/e.

------------------------

Perspective

Making a long-running weekly serialized story is hard and doing it for 15 years is gruelling (obligatory “fuck capitalism” here). Like many artists of long-running manga, Kubo destroyed his health for the sake of publishing Bleach weekly. Kubo on his health after Bleach (photo from AshitanoGin on Twitter):

Given this insight, I think it’s only fair to be respectful and grateful for Kubo’s contribution to the anime-sphere. Also, through his work, Kubo seems to be a very understanding person and artist. I’m sure he knows better than anyone where Bleach went wrong, but there’s nothing that can be done now. Despite him having a twitter, he is not Joanne and doesn’t feel the need to constantly hemorrhage out word of god info about Bleach (and thank god for that).

------------------

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to forget my happy memories when I think about Bleach. It had my first adolescent crush and first OTP. As a result, I think the best way to enjoy Bleach is to take what you want out of it. People always think that something has to be 100% without flaw for it to be good, but that is not true at all. It is totally okay to just like the parts that you like without engaging with anything else. It’s special to you for a reason, you know? 

There’s no use in fretting over what Bleach could’ve been, besides, very rarely is the reality better than the fantasy in your head.

I do think though that a lot of Kubo’s issues could’ve been fixed if he planned the story better but not all of us can be “I've been planning One Piece since elementary school” Oda Eiichiro.

Other voices on this issue: here

----------------------------

Wow. I can’t believe you made it this far down. Congratulations! Thanks for reading my 2:30am non-sober take on Bleach (it only took me 7 hours to write). Here's a cookie <3