#not the real haters. they’re like. okay. don’t get it but they’re consistent and i truly respect that | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

renegadewangs · 4 years ago

Text

Van Zieks - the Examination, part 9

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

How the turnabouts have turned! It's time for Twisted Karma and His Last Bow!

Episode 2-4: Twisted Karma and His Last Bow

With Van Zieks's tragic backstory (…) exposed, it's time to head on into waters we've charted before, waaay back in the very first Ace Attorney game: The Prosecutor becomes the Defendant. It all starts off with some shenanigans which appear to have very little to do with Van Zieks (the arrival of Mikotoba and Jigoku, the Red-headed League, a missing prison warder, etc.).. Ryu does still run into Van Zieks very briefly in Stronghart's office, with Susato noting that there appears to be an awful lot of tension in the air. I expect Van Zieks is questioning that decision to leave Genshin Asogi's son in his care, but even so, he's very civil towards Stronghart. Susato also notes that Van Zieks gives Ryu a cold stare as he leaves, with Ryu wondering what he's done to earn that. This may also be a result of him being besties with Kazuma, since Van Zieks had already buried the hatchet towards Ryu for the most part. When Ryu asks about the decision to leave Kazuma in Van Zieks's care, Stronghart explains it was to best keep an eye on this 'mysterious amnesiac with no identifying papers'. Well OK then. Stronghart also explains he made Kazuma wear a mask because he didn't want to “burden Van Zieks with tiresome explanations about why he had an Eastern appearance.” … I would assume the very simple explanation is that it's because he's of Eastern descent, Stronghart. Regardless, the Lord Chief Justice has high hopes for Kazuma's future and isn't at all bothered by the fact that the guy has gone missing for a little bit.

Things take a turn later when Gina Lestrade comes barging into 221B with some pretty shocking news. Inspector Gregson was murdered. Yes, THAT Inspector Gregson. The suspect has already been arrested:

It's true that to the average civilian like Gina, Van Zieks's name is pretty much synonymous to the Reaper (of the Old Bailey). Even so, to have her outright calling him by that title adds a sort of emotional distance that's really striking. Gina explains they caught him at the scene and there were several witnesses, but Ryu thinks to himself that there's no way Van Zieks would have taken Gregson's life. So naturally, we owe it to our good pal Gregson (who actually was just coming around and being nicer to Ryu) to find the truth. Time to go have a talk with Van Zieks in prison!

… Okay that's funny. Don't worry, Barok, one day we'll all look back on this and laugh. Anyway, Van Zieks says he's in the last place on earth he'd want to be, with the last person on earth he'd want to see. And this line can easily be misinterpreted as Van Zieks saying he hates Ryu more than anyone else in the world, but what he's actually saying is that Ryu is the last person he wishes would see him in this troublesome situation. Ryu says he couldn't very well not come, but Van Zieks tells him to go home since it has nothing to do with him. Susato interjects, pointing out that Gregson has helped them out on numerous occasions and so, they're indebted to him. She pleads for Van Zieks's help with the investigation and he's silent for a moment, only to say: “There's really nothing I can tell you.” Which I suppose means he doesn't think he has anything helpful to say. Ryu asks about what Van Zieks was reading when they came in and assumes it to be a case report. Van Zieks says the Yard wouldn't share case details with a suspect (keep that one in mind) and explains it's a letter from Albert. Dear Professor Harebrayne has arrived in Germany safely! Ryu notes that Van Zieks usually never minces his words, but they seem to have less bite than usual now. No wonder, really, since he's in prison for the murder of an old friend. Van Zieks asks how much they already know about the case, so the two of them go through the facts and Van Zieks says they're well-informed. He's got nothing to add, because... Well.

Oh, this is going to be another one of those cases, huh. Susato asks what Van Zieks was doing at the crime scene in the first place, but Van Zieks points out he doesn't need to answer that, as they aren't representing him. When asked who is representing him in court, he says it'd be anyone other than Ryu. That said, he doesn't actually have any representation because of his reputation as the Reaper. Sixteen people he's prosecuted have mysteriously died and now that he's actually been apprehended for a murder, that whole Reaper ordeal is sure to be thoroughly examined.

BOY, have we got news for you! When it's pointed out that Van Zieks didn't actually have anything to do with those mysterious deaths (right???), he replies that no one wants to know the true identity of that killer more than he does, but it seems things may come to a head before he can uncover the truth. Van Zieks basically tells Ryu to leave, but being the kind-hearted gentleman that he is, Ryu offers to advocate for him in court. Van Zieks asks whether Ryu trusts him, which is a pretty fair question to ask. He's built up so many racist scumbag points and has such a bad reputation in town, it would be weird for Ryu to trust him unconditionally. Luckily, Ryu has been paying attention just as much as I have; he's heard Van Zieks speak in court and seen the way he treats people (uhh, English citizens, anyway), so he doesn't believe this 'Reaper' has it in him to take a life. Unfortunately, Ryu also has to acknowledge that feelings can't be used as evidence in court. Van Zieks considers the offer gracious, but...

“Not the police, not the judiciary... And not you Nipponese.”

One more scumbag point for putting “you Nipponese” in its own category for no reason. Either way, this man has built up such high defensive walls, you could see them from three galaxies away. Trusting no one is a pretty drastic way of living. Ryu thinks to himself that there's a chasm between the two of them that's 'just too wide and too deep'.

As a sidenote, presenting the attorney armband doesn't lead to any interesting conversation this time, but we can also present the Red-headed League advertisement! Van Zieks surmises that if it were a Black-headed League, Ryu would join without delay, which Ryu then confirms. Van Zieks says that sadly, his hair is neither black nor red. He goes into a most curious identity crisis of sorts, where he looks quite anguished as he wonders which coloured league he should join instead. There have been several debates over his hair color, actually, from lavender to purple to grey. Regardless, Susato points out that “people are troubled by the most unexpected problems at times.” It is unexpected, since Van Zieks needs neither the money nor the company that he would get from joining any such league. It's just the principle of the matter, I suppose.

Over by the crime scene in Fresno Street, Gina gets a little razzled when she suspects Ryu is thinking of defending “that Reaper bloke”. Susato points out that if “Lord van Zieks” really is responsible for the crime, he'll be judged fairly in court. This gets Gina to calm down again, because she really wants to know the truth of what happened and much like Van Zieks, she must know that getting the truth is what Ryu does best. A bit of conversation later, Gina points out one more interesting thing; Gregson apparently held a lot of respect for 'the Reaper'. “I take my hat off to that fella,” were his exact words, apparently. Ryu is skeptical, as am I, because I've seen the way Gregson talks about Van Zieks behind his back.

Gina explains that's exactly why he respected Van Zieks. That's... a little weird and ambiguous. So either he respected Van Zieks's ability to stand tall despite all the public scorn, or he respected the fear he struck into people's hearts. There's one more option; Gina keeps talking about the Reaper instead of Van Zieks, so it's possible that Gregson was talking about the actual Reaper. This seems unlikely, though, since he didn't seem to enjoy being part of the Reaper organization.

And now that we know Van Zieks is the defendant, one might be wondering: Who is the prosecutor? Who is the antagonistic force who will try to stop Ryu from uncovering the truth? Well, we find him over in Stronghart's office. Apparently he took an express train back to London from wherever it was he's been these past few days.

YOOOOUUUU!!! Though before we can address his presence properly, we need to discuss the new case. Stronghart wastes no time asking Ryu and Susato whether they've heard “the sickening news about the Reaper's latest devilry.” Which stands out, to say the least, since Stronghart has always been a strong supporter of Van Zieks up until this point. When Susato points out that surely he doesn't believe it, Stronghart says he believes only in facts, which all point to the unavoidable accusal of Lord van Zieks. Someone sure had a quick turnaround when it comes to his number one prosecutor, geez... Stronghart points out the irony that there's no salvation for anyone prosecuted by the Reaper of the Bailey, and now the Reaper himself must stand in the dock. Just as Van Zieks had already alluded to, Stronghart now claims the public will want answers about those mysterious deaths. Ryu and Susato both point out that which had been rubbed into our faces several times already; Van Zieks denies any involvement, and also there have been several investigations into whether he had anything to do with it. Stronghart kind of brushes this off, though. Turns out, Van Zieks is being traded in for a newer model number one prosecutor: Kazuma Asogi! Which seems weird at first glance, since Kazuma is a defense attorney, but Stronghart considers that a bonus:

“A devastation combination, wouldn't you agree?”

I do agree. Granted, it seems Van Zieks had already figured out the defense's strategies too, he just never actively used them to his own advantage. It also turns out that Kazuma personally requested the prosecutor position for this trial. Susato thinks it's pretty unprecedented to grant a newcomer exchange student such a request, but Stronghart offers some petty excuse about how this way, it won't look like the judiciary are closing ranks. Kazuma, who assumes his friend will take on the defense, says he'll see how Ryu's skills have been honed after practicing law in England for so many months. (Uhh. Actually, bestie, it was only about two months of being a defense attorney and six months of disbarment.) Ryu notes that Kazuma is being hostile towards him and wonders why. On a final note, when asking Stronghart about the gun found at the crime scene, we're told that it's issued to all members of law enforcement, including prosecutors. Van Zieks claims to have lost his. That's a troubling claim indeed, because it's difficult to prove or disprove. GOSH, if only fingerprints were allowed in court.

As Ryu and Susato turn to leave, Kazuma stops them. He once again states he wants Ryu to witness this trial as the defense counsel, to “see how it ends”. Since Kazuma has a very distinct vision for how he wants it to end, I guess this means he intends to confront Ryu with Van Zieks's guilt and have his bestie see that a man like him is unworthy of his trust. Either that, or he expects Ryu to use this trial to find the truth of what really happened with the Professor ten years ago, just as he used Albert's trial to dig into that incident. Still though, this reads as pretty scummy to me, because it means he wants Ryu to lose a trial and lose some of his belief in his clients. In the trial itself, it seems to me that Kazuma desperately believes Van Zieks to be a horrible person deserving of the guilty verdict. Therefore, he in no way can hold hope that Ryu will prove him wrong (unlike what went down in case 2-3 with Albert). Anyway, Ryu says that Van Zieks would never put his fate in his hands.

“... It's not easy to see behind the facade sometimes.”

Case 2-3 already told us this, but it's nice to have it confirmed by someone who was closer to Van Zieks. Because remember, Kazuma spent three months by Van Zieks's side (and even fighting by his side), so of course he would know more about his personality than we do. Kazuma hands over a photograph of Barok when he was younger and

GOOD LORD, HE CAN SMILE. Or he could when he was younger, anyway. Kazuma states the picture was displayed in Gregson's office. What he's 'trying to say' is that if Ryu really thinks he can trust “the Reaper” (distancing choice of words again), he might find that some straight talking will change his view. I got the impression we've been straight talking Van Zieks ever since we first met him, but okay. Let's take the picture and back to the gaol we go! Van Zieks is once again reading from some paper and Ryu points out that either he's an incredibly slow reader or it's an incredibly long letter, but either way, Ryu might even be able to read English faster than him. Naturally, this was said loud enough for Van Zieks to overhear.

Scumbag point for hypocrisy, but also a scumbag point for “Nipponese”. When Ryu asks whether it's still Albert's letter he's reading, Van Zieks says he had the case report brought to him in secret. So wait, the Yard does share case details with its suspect? Hilarious. Once again, Van Zieks insists the situation has nothing to do with Ryu, up until the prosecutor's name is revealed to him. And so, the masked cardboard cutout student has become the master! Ryu notes that all the color drained from Van Zieks's face, which is pretty impressive when there's barely any color there to begin with. Ryu has the opportunity now to thrust the photograph into his face, so let's do that. He's immediately alarmed, since he assumed it to be lost and would never have expected Gregson to have it. When Ryu says that Gregson had a deep respect for him, he dismisses that as nonsense, only to correct himself. “There was a time things were like that.”

Van Zieks thanks Ryu for that nice glimpse into the past, and Ryu thinks to himself that there was a glimmer in Van Zieks's eyes- a brief twinkle. He considers that “an insight into the true nature of this man known to all as the stone-cold Reaper of the Bailey”, with “the true nature” being highlighted as orange. So this right here is undeniable; this is what the narrative is illustrating to us now. The true nature of Barok van Zieks is that of someone who was hopeful and jovial; kind-hearted, as Albert knew him. What we see now, that harsh exterior full of harsh words, is not his nature at all.

Van Zieks is more willing to talk now. He once again speaks of Klint, rehashing the same story we've heard several times already. Van Zieks claims there's not a single day where he doesn't curse the name Asogi. He considers it a cruel twist of fate that the man's son intends to crucify him in 'some kangaroo court'. Clearly, he doesn't think highly of the upcoming trial if he refers to it as a kangaroo court, but that's likely because he knows he isn't the real killer. When Ryu points out that he still doesn't understand why Stronghart apprenticed Kazuma to Van Zieks, the explanation is that “it's what he does”. Van Zieks believes that Stronghart knew Kazuma's true identity from the outset, but still provides no real explanation as to why Stronghart 'did what he did' and even assigned Kazuma as the prosecutor this time. Van Zieks goes on to contemplate the name Asogi some more and calls it 'the epitome of his bane'.

I've talked before about how utterly flawed it is that Van Zieks attributes Genshin's crime to his race and/or cultural upbringing and proceeds to tar every single Japanese person with the same brush. There's no need to go into this again; we all know it's wrong. Turns out, even Van Zieks knows it's wrong, but we'll get back to that momentarily. First, Van Zieks needs to talk about Klint even more. (good lord...) He explains that Klint van Zieks was hunting down a mass murderer and “assigned to the investigation as his partner was a certain visiting student dispatched by the Yard.” This was Genshin, of course, and I believe this is the first time it's said that he too was looking into the Professor case. So Van Zieks already mentioned in the previous case that the Japanese students had left a deep impact on him, and also that he once toasted friendship with a Japanese person, but now we have this:

“But none of us saw the true nature of the man.”

True nature is once again in orange here, but this time as a red herring. Van Zieks believes that the Professor murders were Genshin's true nature, when it isn't quite true at all. Regardless, since Van Zieks was still in university at the time the exchange students were in the country, I don't think he would've had that much contact with Genshin. I expect he encountered the man on rare occasion while Klint associated most with him. Every meeting was enough to foster this respect and friendship, though, so it's clear that young Van Zieks was easily influenced and had a very open mind towards a foreign exchange student. But then, that's what makes the next portion of the story all the more damaging.

“My esteemed brother... The people I believed in... And any semblance of right prevailing over wrong!”

As Van Zieks also already alluded to in the previous case, he found himself in a very dark place. That isn't surprising. Every positive thing Van Zieks knew in his life, from his family to his closest friends, was ripped away from him in extremely close succession. What must've been the final nail in the coffin was Genshin outright admitting to his crimes. It erased all doubt that perhaps there was some sort of misunderstanding or a frame job. Going over everything Van Zieks has said so far, it seems he didn't just blame Genshin for the tremendous loss he suffered; he blamed himself. He must believe that his trust in Genshin blinded him to this supposed 'true nature', just as it must've also blinded Klint, and that the whole tragedy could've been prevented if only he'd been more cautious. So now, in present day, he no longer trusts anyone. He outright says so.

Van Zieks goes on to talk about how he was the one who prosecuted the Professor. Since he'd only just graduated, such a thing usually wouldn't be allowed, but he “beleaguered the ascribed prosecutor until he consented.” This person was Mael Stronghart, who back then was apparently still no more than a prosecutor. A highly accomplished one, but a prosecutor nonetheless. Since Klint was the Director of Prosecutions (or Chief Prosecutor???) at the time, that means he actually ranked above Stronghart. Interesting. Regardless, since Stronghart agreed to let Van Zieks lead the prosecution and instead only acted as an advisor, Van Zieks now feels indebted to him. That certainly explains why he's usually so good about following Stronghart's orders and not asking questions.

“And, of all things, as a lawyer.”

Ahhh, this is the part where Ryu enters the chronology. Our protagonist points out that he's felt Van Zieks's animosity since the first time he faced him in the courtroom; his obvious deep loathing of Japanese people. And here comes perhaps one of the most important, yet most overlooked lines Van Zieks will ever utter in these games:

“But for so many years, that hatred had festered inside me, I could no longer control it.”

So here, Van Zieks admits to two things. First of all, he admits that he was wrong to hold such deep loathing and by extension, to give that loathing a voice. He's a man of logic, after all. To cling to something which he refers to as illogical is about as wrong as one could get. Not only that, he admits that this was an unstoppable force he should have controlled, but was too weak to do so. The hatred overpowered him and did away with common sense. He behaved stupidly and irrationally because for ten years, hatred and negativity was all he knew. But what's even more striking here is Ryu's answer, which is also often overlooked:

Ryu, bless his heart, doesn't blame Van Zieks for succumbing to this weakness. Bear in mind, he's the victim here. Van Zieks wouldn't have encountered many other Japanese people in those ten years, if at all. This means the first person he lashed out against was Ryu. Naturally, Ryu can't speak for Susato or Soseki, who received their own verbal assaults and might have different opinions on the matter. Ryu is just one man, but in our narrative, he's the main protagonist and the main target of these outbursts. Is it misleading and perhaps even problematic in the grand scheme of things to have the protagonist sympathize with such motivation? Well, that depends on many different factors. There's no easy answer for this because it's a nuanced, cultural sort of thing. Personally, I was a bit bothered by it, but not to the point that it ruined the experience for me.

Van Zieks admits that just as the Japanese were the bane of his life, Kazuma Asogi must believe Van Zieks to be the bane of his. He is, after all, the Reaper who sent his father to the gallows. Van Zieks thinks that Kazuma intends to take revenge in court and... Really, this is true.

There's a quick bit of conversation about Gregson now. Turns out, the only reason the Professor was caught at all was because Gregson forced an autopsy on Klint despite it being considered the highest taboo at the time. Van Zieks says that as a result of Gregson's powerful conviction, he could avenge his brother's death. He looks quite torn, a bit pained. He must believe he owes Gregson something for this. The conversation then moves on to Van Zieks's revolver, which he claims to have misplaced an undetermined amount of time ago. “I must have stowed it somewhere, I suppose. Or left it somewhere, perhaps.” Van Zieks clearly doesn't think highly of firearms as a weapon, since he's constantly carrying a sword around instead. Susato points out that Ryu has a talent for misplacing things in common with Van Zieks, which leads to one more scumbag outburst.

… Dude. Come on. You just admitted it was illogical. You came so far! Scumbag point for you. Still, as the conversation rounds to a close, Van Zieks utters the words “Mister... Naruhodo”, much to Ryu's surprise. This is the first time he's actually said Ryu's name! Van Zieks once again reiterates that he's lost all confidence in England's judiciary system. He doesn't trust the police, the judiciary or lawyers. Even so, there's still one thing he's willing to believe in.

“That which you see in the eyes of another across the courtroom: a simple determination to know the truth. From the very first time we clashed in the Bailey almost a year ago now... I couldn't deny it, even though I dearly wished I could. 'Here is a loathsome Japanese... who has absolute integrity as a lawyer.' There are only two other men I've known with that same look in their eyes: my brother, Klint. … And Genshin Asogi.”

This is interesting. So at first when he saw that look in Ryu's eyes, he must've been reminded of Genshin. And again, this is why he directed such hatred towards Ryu; he saw someone who wasn't alive anymore. But now he recalls that Klint also had that same gaze, and so he wants to believe that Ryu is not similar to a deceitful murderer, he's instead similar to his beloved brother. (Boy is he going to have to reevaluate how he judges people when he finds out that his beloved brother was the deceitful murderer.) Van Zieks says that when he saw the photograph, he was reminded of a time when he could laugh, free of the shackles of mistrust which plague him now. This is very relevant since Van Zieks indeed can't laugh anymore. We never see him do it. He can't even smile.

“But at times the mire into which I've sunk makes it almost impossible to breathe.”

Someone please get this man to a professional therapist. If he means that in a more literal sense and he does occasionally feel like he can't breathe, that's telltale signs of panic attacks. It could just be, of course, that he's being overdramatic and the “impossible to breathe” bit is just fanciful wordplay to go with the mire analogy. Still though, considering he's also mentioned being in a dark place and that he's willing to die so long as it serves a useful purpose, and that he drinks his wine to stave off tedium... He's clearly depressed. But then, he seems to know it. He acknowledges that the way he is now is not the way things should be, and that he needs to fight to overcome it. And so:

“... In tomorrow's trial... Will you advocate for me?”

Boom. Swallowed his pride and turned to Ryu for help because he knows it's what's best for him. He no longer trusts anyone, but he's willing to trust Ryu because once he starts opening up again and has that trust repaid, then perhaps things can gradually go back to the way things were when he was younger. Mind, he still hasn't apologized for his actions, but that doesn't change that Ryu at least is willing to extend a hand to Van Zieks. It's a little sad that Susato doesn't properly form her own opinion on this and instead just goes along with whatever Ryu says. I would've liked to know just how she feels about Van Zieks's attitude and whether or not he deserves to be helped. She doesn't object to it, at least, and since Susato usually always speaks her mind, I can only assume she genuinely agrees with Ryu's sentiments.

The next day, in the defendant's lobby, it's remarked there's a 'menacing tension' in the air and Ryu surmises out loud it's the result of the menacing appearance of the defendant. Well-deserved, that remark. Touché. Van Zieks asks him for a little more courtesy in a polite enough manner, but considering the lack of courtesy he's shown Ryu over the past 8 months, that's hypocritical. He informs Ryu that this is a closed trial without a jury, which bums me out because it means no more Summation Examination. I would've liked to see Asogi react to that. (S)Holmes comes in and has the weirdest little banter with Van Zieks that I honestly can't... really decipher. There's several things about it that really strike me as being off:

- “And I you. I see London's celebrated great detective is as active as ever.”

- “Oh, you exaggerate, my dear fellow. Compared to my paltry engagements with a few trivial cases... The Reaper's overbearing presence is a far greater deterrent to the black roots of crime in our capital. And whilst I may not agree with your methods... There is at least one point on which I would readily commend you.”

- “What an honour. And that would be...?”

- “Your eye for a good lawyer, sir. […] Behind this lawyer there is a very great mind. My own.”

Alright, so... First of all, we know (S)Holmes is super arrogant and would never refer to his past cases as “trivial” in all sincerity. Plus, it's established that he's very weird with compliments, such as referring to Gregson as “the best of those blunderers of the Yard”, so complimenting Van Zieks directly on the effect he has on crime feels off. Aside from that, (S)Holmes addresses Van Zieks as the Reaper and continues to talk about 'his methods', when it's already been established (S)Holmes doesn't believe Van Zieks has anything to do with the Reaper killings. Taking all that into account, I can only really assume that the first half of this above conversation is (S)Holmes being weirdly passive aggressive towards Van Zieks, with Van Zieks being passive aggressive in turn. It really, truly feels as if there was some sort of backstory between these two that they had to scrap at the last second. Regardless, the exchange ends with (S)Holmes warning Van Zieks that this will be “quite a trial”.

Gina Lestrade shows up with Yujin Mikotoba (….. when did they meet???), saying they intend to watch the trial, and I am very impressed with how (S)Holmes manages to disappear from the scene and not say a word when his old partner arrives. Anyway, Gina looks Ryu square in the eye and asks him why he agreed to take Van Zieks on. Everyone's saying it was him who killed Gregson. Considering everyone was saying it was her who killed Pop Windibank six months ago, you'd think she might want to tone down her attitude, but she's clearly in mourning and lashing out. See? People who are hurting can say insensitive things. Ryu insists he doesn't believe it to be true, but Gina demands to know that if it wasn't him, then who?

“An' if it turns out it was 'im wot killed the boss... Then God 'elp 'im!”

It's interesting to remember that during The Unspeakable Story, Gina wasn't afraid of Van Zieks for his Reaper reputation. She didn't believe in the curse and didn't think she would end up like the other defendants. Now, she absolutely no longer gives a damn whether Van Zieks is the mysterious Reaper or not. She only thinks he might be a murderer who took away her mentor and that's what has her judge him so fiercely. Van Zieks remarks on her fiery eyes and tells her that the culprit does indeed deserve every inch of her loathing. “At least that may be some solace to the deceased.” So here, in a roundabout way, it rather looks as if Van Zieks is sympathizing with Gina's anger. At the very least, he's condoning it, just not towards himself.

Entering the courtroom, it becomes clear very fast just how serious this trial will become. Just as was alluded to before, the judge confirms that the 'Reaper of the Old Bailey' has been undermining Her Majesty's justice system and therefore, the people will demand answers on this matter. Ryu thinks to himself the trial will be a lot more far-reaching than just Gregson's murder. Sure enough, Kazuma is at the prosecutor's bench and ready to get that vengeance Van Zieks referred to in jail. Shockingly, the first witness he summons is actually Van Zieks himself. The judge is surprised, but Kazuma explains that as a prosecutor, Van Zieks believes in the oath of office he's taken; he'll be compelled to tell the truth. Because contrary to what happened in Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro, Van Zieks is against perjury! (I WILL NEVER GET OVER WHAT HAPPENED WITH SHAMSPEARE!) Sure enough, he takes the stand and Kazuma says the court would like to hear him explain some things away.

He really is just brutally honest, isn't he? Both in his courtroom methods and in how he shows his emotions. He doesn't sugarcoat, he doesn't beat around the bush, he definitely doesn't lie... At most, he may withhold some information. Unfortunately, his testimony is mostly useless. The judge remarks that he didn't want to imagine this day would come, but ever since Van Zieks became known as the Reaper, he's been dreading it. The judge, our neutral ground, seems to be convinced that Van Zieks may have actually done the deed. That's not good. Kazuma acts all smug, saying that Van Zieks indeed hasn't explained anything away and that his testimony barely qualifies as an excuse. Van Zieks notes that his 'mute apprentice' has a way with words. Meanwhile, Ryu thinks to himself that Kazuma isn't behaving like himself, which is a sentiment they'll keep repeating throughout the case. … I gotta be honest here, I didn't notice all that much of a difference between this Kazuma and the one from the very first case of the game. I mean, come on, he sliced a man's hair off and cursed his descendants just for insulting Ryu. He's slightly more arrogant here, maybe, but since he was only the assistant there and is a leading counsel here, it makes sense for him to be more proactive and confident in his methods. Then again, I'm not a Kazuma expert; maybe there's something I'm missing.

In his testimony, Van Zieks revealed that he was investigating Gregson, but when pressed on it he won't admit the exact reason for it. He only says he'd identified a distinct possibility Gregson was involved in a case he was investigating. When asked how he even knew where Gregson would be, he openly admits to having stolen into his office and consulted his diary. (“Dear Diary, today I dropped my fish 'n chips on the way to Fresno Street-”) When told that illegally entering Gregson's office would warrant serious consequences, Van Zieks says he was aware of that risk.

The rest of the testimony is pressed without further hitches, though what did strike me as interesting is that at one point, Ryu suggests the gunshot might've originated from outside the room, but Van Zieks immediately says it's out of the question. He shoots the possibility down with evidence only he could have experienced (the bang sounded inside the room and he could smell gunpowder), and in doing so, only implicates himself further. Detrimentally honest, this one. Not only that, but he picked the gun up.

NO KIDDING that was carelessness. Is he related to Miles Edgeworth after all? Kazuma talks about how three street peddlers overheard the bang and burst through the door with some force. Van Zieks states they almost gave him a heart attack in the process (omg) and Ryu thinks to himself: “(But you're supposed to be the Reaper...)” C'mon Ryu, haven't you seen enough of this man by now to know he gets jarred easily?

When the testimony rounds to a close, things get interesting. Kazuma uses his defense attorney skills, as promised. He uses evidence from the Court Record to point out contradictions in Van Zieks's testimony, thereby 'proving he's lying'. Hey, what happened to Van Zieks believing in the oath of office and being compelled to tell the truth? Did Kazuma call Van Zieks to the stand just to expose him as a liar? He wins the judge over quite easily by illustrating these contradictions and casting doubt on Van Zieks's integrity. Tragic, because as Van Zieks says:

Van Zieks steps down from the stand and disappears for the remainder of the trial day. He doesn't even show up during intermission in the defendant's lobby. Characters do still talk about him, though!

I mean... He ain't lyin'. At one point, Kazuma utters the words “the defence is fated to lose. And the prosecution to win,” which once again confirms that Kazuma basically asked Ryu to take part in an 'unwinnable' trial. Which, y'know, is technically fine. Losing a trial isn't the end of the world, especially when the defendant (in Kazuma's eyes) is actually guilty. Still though, personally asking Ryu to take on Van Zieks just so he can watch the man be exposed as a killer is kind of... Kazuma, sir, are you also unable to control your hatred and having it lash out in illogical ways? Is that a parallel with Van Zieks I spy?

The rest of the trial isn't directly related to Van Zieks. It's just a whole bunch of roundabout arguing with street peddlers, red-headed scammers and the revelation that one of those peddlers is actually Daley Vigil, the missing former prison warder. Despite knowing of the dangers, Kazuma asks Ryu to help him forcefully break some of the man's black psyche-locks (c'mon, we all know that's what's impeding his memories) and they send the man to the hospital as a result. Welp. Unveiling the truth is becoming increasingly dangerous in this game and that's really upping the stakes for us.

Into the next investigation day we go! Ryu surmises that it's clear now “Van Zieks definitely didn't do it.” Even so, there are some unanswered questions about the man. What was he even doing at the crime scene and what's with that investigation into Gregson he didn't want to talk about in court? Heading on over to the Chief Justice's office, we overhear him pressuring Kazuma into 'continuing the trial as instructed'. Once he takes note of Ryu and the others, he tells them that he wanted Van Zieks's trial concluded that day and blames 'Asogi's unwelcome inquiries' for it taking longer than necessary. Stronghart's becoming increasingly ominous, here... I don't know for certain why he doesn't just go the extra mile to have Van Zieks proven innocent so he can keep using his Reaper tool to intimidate the masses. I suppose it's because with Gregson dead, he's lost his most important strategist in the killings and the tool of the Reaper's curse can't be used as easily anymore. Assassins probably come a dime a dozen, so Shinn can be replaced, but Gregson... Not so much. Ryu asks Stronghart whether Kazuma truly believes Van Zieks to be the Reaper, but Stronghart says he wouldn't know. He once again talks about the history of the Reaper with its very long run of coincidental deaths and tells us nothing new or interesting.

To prison we go, to visit Van Zieks himself! He's reading a book now, but we're never told what it is. He tries to ignore the visitors, but just as always, eventually comes up to the bars to talk.

YOU FREAKIN- I CAN'T- WHY- How many more times must we teach you this lesson, old man?!!! Thankfully, even Ryu is fed up at this point.

Finally. He spoke up. I've seen a lot of people criticize the fact that Ryu never properly confronts Van Zieks with the damage he's been doing, and on the one hand I would agree. Calling people out on their bullshit is a very useful step in having them notice their mistakes. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that is also a very Western view. It's very easy for us to think that Ryu should stand up for himself and call Van Zieks a prejudiced little tosser who needs to think before he speaks, but that simply isn't part of his character. There may be several reasons to explain why he doesn't confront Van Zieks more firmly, but I'd like to focus on just two. The first is that Ryu is an exchange student who came to England as a 'guest' and is facing not just one racist. Not even five or ten. Everywhere he goes, he's surrounded by people just like Van Zieks. We've seen it in the judge, we've seen it in the jurors, we've seen it in Gregson and in witnesses... Ryu is a minority in a very literal sense, since there's only one other Japanese person (two if we count Soseki) we know of in this entire city. There's a very natural, very understandable defense mechanism which may kick in when surrounded by potentially dangerous individuals, and that is to withdraw; to be as quiet as possible and to attract as little trouble as possible, since 'they outnumber you'. Bonus points for the extreme difference in social standing between Ryu and Van Zieks.

There's one other thing which adds to the above. Ryu was written to be your everyday Japanese person, and their view on confrontation is quite different from our own. I remembered this from a job interview I once had with a Japanese company and looked into it again to refresh my memory: Japanese people are non-confrontational. It's very important for them to maintain a sort of harmony during conversation and therefore, they'll rarely utter negative sentiments, such as criticism, in a way that will cause embarrassment to the person they're addressing. Instead, they employ something often referred to as indirect communication. “The pattern of Japanese indirect communication uses far less words to convey intent in a more subtle manner. Indirect communication uses expression, posture, and tone of voice of the speaker to draw meaning from the actual conversation.” This is very deeply ingrained into the Japanese culture and, if the sources I reviewed are correct, it goes all the way back to the feudal days. Mind, this attitude isn't even limited to Japan. I've been told there's several other countries who adopt that very same attitude and if you cause someone else to lose face, it can have some very severe repercussions for you. Kazuma is a bit more outspoken than Ryu, for example when they face Jezail, but this makes sense also, since Asogi was written to be more progressive. It seems to me that Ryu has been using indirect communication quite often already and, since Van Zieks is woefully unequipped to read this type of communication, Ryu has now finally resorted to something more direct. It's still not a sharp call-out, but rather, the above line reads to me as something in-between direct and indirect communication. And it works.

HELL FROZE OVER! We've done it, lads! Or, as Iris puts it:

So even the rest of the cast is acknowledging this is a big deal and we've made tremendous progress. Could someone else have confronted Van Zieks in a more direct, more Western way before this point? Sure. But would he have listened? The judge has already snarked at him several times during trials and it's always been brushed off as nothing. The only person he might've listened to would've been Albert, but what is the narrative significance of having a side character confront Van Zieks? There isn't one. This was a very impactful moment where Ryu himself resorted to a more Western tactic to get his point across and Van Zieks, in turn, finally uttered an apology. So now we get to have an earnest conversation with the man at last. Van Zieks says he was impressed; not by Ryu but by Kazuma. On first glance, this seems like a mean thing to say, but... Van Zieks is already intimately familiar with Ryu's performance in the courtroom. Why would he still be impressed by that? Kazuma, however, he's never seen in action before. Van Zieks thinks it's all rather “sardonic”.

It's called a cruel irony, Barok. A common tool in storytelling. He himself considers it “retribution for having played the part of the Reaper all these years”. So once again it's discussed how the Reaper minimizes the amount of crime in the capital and since that's a goal Van Zieks is committed to, he never said anything to disprove the rumors. Ryu insists that someone else is profiting off Van Zieks's silence on the matter and is basically using him as a scapegoat. As it turns out, Van Zieks wasn't quite as passive about the matter as he's led us to believe.

Hm. Alright, so he thinks it's good the Reaper's curse is reducing crime in London, but clearly he wants the Reaper organization brought to justice. In a way, he's profiting off these 'accidental deaths' since the fear that comes from them aligns with his goal of crime reduction, but he doesn't actively condone the Reaper murders and wants them halted. Since there's so much accurate information about the accused used in the killings, Van Zieks surmised a while ago that someone from Scotland Yard must've been involved in the killings. It's taken him “many years” to identify the central figure in the organization: Tobias Gregson. Naturally, everyone is shocked. We knew Gregson! And sure, he wasn't exactly a kind person, but he certainly didn't appear to be a killer. He was very rough around the edges, but from what we'd been led to believe, he had a good heart. … A decent heart. Mediocre, one might say. Ryu asks whether the reason Van Zieks was investigating Gregson was to expose him as the Reaper, but Van Zieks repeats the notion that the Reaper is not a single person. He doesn't have a doubt, though, that Gregson was a key member of the organization who did all of the planning. Believe it or not, Gregson was the brains behind the killings; the tactician who investigated and plotted, then left the dirty work to an assassin by the name of Asa Shinn. (LOCALIZATION WHY)

So now that we have this information, we can come to a very interesting conclusion. Both Gregson and Shinn are dead now, so by Van Zieks's reasoning, the Reaper is dead. You'd think this is good, but it does in fact make it very difficult to find the truth. Rather, Van Zieks believes that the truth died with Gregson (he hinted as much twice already) and while the seasoned Ace Attorney player knows it won't be impossible to expose a dead person as a killer, it'd be a hectic ordeal. The seasoned Great Ace Attorney player will know the Reaper hierarchy extends just a bit higher and the two who died are only pawns, but... Y'know. Approaching this from a first-time-player point of view, you'll know things will get troublesome.

There's another topic of conversation where Van Zieks once again addresses how sharp Kazuma is in court. He didn't miss a thing.

OUCH. So when Ryu first arrived, Van Zieks saw Genshin whenever he looked at him, not only due to his roots but due to 'the look in his eyes when searching for the truth'. Now, he sees Genshin in Kazuma, which surely makes a lot more sense. Van Zieks goes on to say that it's true some of the aristocracy from 10 years ago were problematic and abusing their power. “In a way, Asogi was carving out a canker from society that we British couldn't deal with ourselves.” So here, he sounds almost complimentary of the Professor's actions- specifically Asogi's actions. As if it would've all been well and good, were it not for the Professor's final victim. “But that's precisely why it makes no sense. Klint van Zieks was a noble and upstanding man. He wasn't corrupt.”

Remember way back in The Unspeakable Story when I surmised that Van Zieks boiled Genshin's actions down to his race in order to avoid the belief that there might've been a reason his brother was killed? We see it here again. Van Zieks is in doubt. He may say vocally that “it makes no sense”, but that line in itself is already telling. The fact that he acknowledges it and draws it into question implies to us that he's skeptical of the story. Deep down, he knows something is amiss. He knows there's some sort of explanation he's missing, but if he were to dig too deeply into it, he'd have to acknowledge that perhaps his brother was corrupt. And this still isn't all of it. There's one more thing Van Zieks has to discuss before we can round this conversation to a close. Ten years ago, shortly after Klint died, Genshin saved his life.

There's that phrasing again. “True nature”. It's not in orange this time, but it's there all the same. Van Zieks is convinced that Genshin is the one who had a hidden true nature. In this story, we learn that 'the scum of London' had already targeted him several times even before he became known as the Reaper, simply because of who he was and who his brother was. JEESH. Harsh. So on the night in question, a couple of thugs also tried to kill him (allegedly) but Genshin stepped in to protect him. Genshin became lightly wounded as a result. This is the part where I would have expected them to explain Van Zieks's scars, but he never mentions being wounded himself, so we can't be sure this is when it happened. Curious. This was the perfect opportunity and they let it slide. So anyway, two days after that incident, Genshin was arrested.

Some more telling lines here. Van Zieks thinks he'd never recount the story to anyone; not because there's no need to tell it. It's because it must be difficult to talk about. On its own, that might be a farfetched conclusion I wouldn't make, but Ryu confirms it with his follow-up line: “Thank you... for confiding in me.” We can take this line to mean exactly what it says; Van Zieks confided something painful. He let down some more walls. Growth!

So with all this out of the way, there's a whole load more investigation to do before this case is over. Most of it has to do with Genshin's will, a mysterious trunk belonging to Gregson, the missing time of death on the autopsy report... Nothing too relevant to Van Zieks's character. However, if we go into the prosecutor's office and examine things while Kazuma is there, we do get some fun tidbits about how Van Zieks wouldn't trust anyone else to touch his things and would rearrange it all himself whenever needed. From the sound of it, Van Zieks is very meticulous and a loner, which aligns with what we know about him. Some more conversation later, we reach the topic of the Reaper with Kazuma. He agrees that Gregson was definitely involved in the Reaper organization, but there's one thing that's more important. “Who's been giving orders to the Inspector?” In my eyes, it's a bit of a stretch to assume with certainty anyone was giving orders; Gregson might've just taken up the vigilante justice by himself and found some way to pay Shinn enough money to get in on it. Kazuma insists, though, that Van Zieks is 'the real Reaper'. We as the audience already know that's nonsense, we know Kazuma is wrong. Or perhaps we might think that if somehow Van Zieks pulled the wool over our eyes and Kazuma is correct, that'd be one heck of a wild twist. Kazuma gives no real reason why he believes this, he only goes on to say that ten years ago, it was Van Zieks who 'decided his father must be a mass murderer'. Shockingly, Susato is the one to jump in here and outright say to Kazuma that he's wrong; that Van Zieks only saw that 'justice was done as the law dictates' and he wasn't to blame for Genshin's execution. Kazuma insists that people condemn people and the law is just a tool they use for it. So I suppose that's exactly what he's doing right now. He's condemning Van Zieks, just as Van Zieks once condemned Genshin. We're cycling! And my main question now is this: If Stronghart had been the prosecutor in the Professor's trial instead, would Kazuma be just as vengeful towards him? Because remember, it's people who condemn people. This implies that anyone who had taken on the job of prosecutor at that time is the one who 'decided that Genshin must've been a murderer' and would need to take responsibility in Kazuma's eyes. Kazuma's beef isn't with Van Zieks personally, it's with the prosecutor who used that tool of the law and also evidence.

HAHAHAAA! HAH! If you align this screenshot next to the “Klint van Zieks was a noble and upstanding man” line, you get a wonderful parallel. These two prosecutors are both dead wrong about their beloved family, and they're about to find out in the worst way possible.

One murder mystery spread out over two episodes? You bet! Stay tuned for the last case, The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo!

#dgs #dgs spoilers #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #barok van zieks #I can't believe I managed to cram it all into one post #phew #but this was a big one

39 notes · View notes

lucemferto · 4 years ago

Text

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PH1LZA (or Why Philza is a Victim of Narrative Circumstance)

Heyo! Per request I am posting the script to my video of the same name here on tumblr. I must warn you that just reading the script will probably not give you the full experience, so I would encourage you to watch the video (linked above).

There might also still be a lot of grammatical errors in the text, because I don’t proofread.

Intro

LAST TIME ON LUCEM FERTO

Okay, so! I don’t want this to turn into a reaction channel OR a Dream SMP channel for that matter! [echo]

Well, I lied.

[Intro to “Luc is pretentious about the funny blockmen. Episode 2”]

I swear, I’m working on other stuff. It’s just that my dumb lizard brain has only capacity for one interest at a time!

So, something you might not know about me, is that I am on tumblr – who am I kidding, most of you will know me from tumblr. Before starting this whole YouTube thing, I thought that website died years ago – but as per usual reality proves me wrong. I’m also on Twitter and Reddit, but I get the most engagement on tumblr – by far! – and I need those sweet, sweet numbers for the serotonin!

Anyways, one of my favourite past-times on tumblr is to razz Philza Hardcore Minecraft – that’s his full name – for being a frankly awful father [clicking away] – wait, wait, no! Philza fans, this isn’t a hit piece on him, I promise! Please come back!

This is video is meant to be a companion piece to my previous video about Technoblade and the Doomsday event – you can tell by the shared nomenclature – so you should probably watch that one before you proceed. Unless you don’t want to, which is also perfectly understandable.

DISCLAIMER: This video is mostly about the character Philza plays on the Dream SMP. Whenever I talk about the content creator Philza, I will say so properly. Also, Spoiler Warning for Dream SMP Season 2.

… What is that? You’re wondering what the Dream SMP is? Well, if you had just watched the other video like I told you to do, you would know, because I explained it pretty well there. But in case you don’t know, here’s the cliff notes.

Dream SMP is the hottest New Media Series on Twitch right now! It has it all: gaslighting, child soldiers, Machiavellian political intrigue, Hamilton roleplay, desecration of the dead, shounen protagonists, SO! MUCH! AMNESIA! Filicide, furries, a red egg that’s definitely homophobic and teenagers inventing nuclear warfare. And it’s all done in Minecraft – yes, the funny block game where the only way to emote is to crouch.

And you say the perfect brief doesn’t exist!

Now, you might be wondering, why do I want to talk about this? Well, it’s because Content Creator Philza is one of least controversial internet personalities that I can think of. That man exudes pure comfort. So, it’s just very, very amusing to me that his character became one of the most controversial figures on the SMP, only outshone by Tommy and Technoblade.

And it’s not just amusing, it’s also extremely interesting! I want to dig deep to uncover and discuss the dynamics behind why that is. How did it come to this point? How did a man who appears genuinely so pleasant create a character that inspires so much discourse!

Now, if you watched that Technoblade video – like I told you to twice now! – you might know, that I am the resident character analyses hater of fandom! And that impression is false and slanderous! Don’t tell other people that I hate character analyses! I love them!

It’s just that, in the Dream SMP in particular, there is an abundance of character analyses! Every streamer has at least two very good essays written about them, exploring every possible angle to view their characters and backgrounds and everything. All I’m saying is: I don’t have anything to add on that front.

So, instead I want to pursue a different approach – something, that I feel is a bit underrepresented in the fandom! And I’m not just talking narrative analysis – that’s right, this episode we’re going even more pretentious! – I’m talking Transtextual Analysis!

Now, what is Transtextuality? Well, unfortunately it has very little to do with actual Trans people – #transrights, just in case that wasn’t obvious – but instead describes a mode of analysis with which to put – to quote French literary theorist Gérard Genette – “the text in a relationship, whether obvious or concealed, with other texts”.

Basically, you know how the L’Manburg War of Independence heavily quotes and borrows from the hit musical Hamilton? That’s transtextuality! A lot of the analyses surrounding how Tommy mirrors the Greek hero Theseus, who was invoked by Technoblade multiple times in the series, are already doing transtextual analysis! So, it’s really not something that’s new to the Dream SMP fandom.

But how does this apply to Philza and how he is looked at and judged by his parental skills? Well, there are multiple forms of transtextuality, two of which we will discuss today.

But before we continue, I gotta do that annoying YouTuber thing. I know these videos don’t look like much, but I spend a really long time making them. I work fulltime and I try my best to keep up, but sometimes I can’t. So please, like, subscribe, comment to give me some algorithm juice – I really need it – and most importantly share it! Share it with your friends, share it with your family – I’m sure Grandma is very interested in what I have to say about Philza Minecraft.

And I’m trying to be better! If I sound at all different for this video, it’s because I finally bought a new pop filter, so I can hit my plosives without it sounding like there’s a thunderstorm in my room. I hope it makes a difference; it was a very cheap pop filter, so maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it sounds worse – that would be bad!

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, CHILD NEGLEGT!

Intertextuality: Why is Dadza?

You know what’s really interesting about the Dream SMP – aside from, you know, most things about it? Very few of the characters have concrete, fleshed-out backstories – and that’s pretty weird! In no other medium or genre could you get away with something like that – at least for long-form storytelling!

So, how does Dream SMP get away with this? Well, it’s because every character on the Dream SMP is basically a self-insert – and I don’t mean that in the “This character is based on me”-kinda way, but in the “This character, for all intents and purposes, is me!”-way. This, like many things that are fascinating about the Dream SMP, is owed to the fact that this series didn’t start off as a continuous drama – it started off as a Let’s Play.

And while we can talk about how someone’s on-camera/on-mic persona is in some ways a character, it’s still miles off of being an actual, fully-realized, separate character in a storyline.

This is where Intertextuality comes in.

Intertextuality is a subset of Transtextuality. It describes how the hypertext, which is the text, you’re currently engaged with, uses another text, the hypotext, to supplement itself. The interconnection the hypertext establishes with the hypotext, through stuff like allusion for example, uh-hum [Hamilton], can colour how an audience interprets the hypertext. Basically, Hamilton and Theseus are the hypotexts; the Dream SMP is the hypertext.

So, what does this have to do with backstory? Simple: The backstories of the characters in the Dream SMP consist basically of nothing but intertextual references. Through intertextuality their content effectively substitutes their character’s backstory.

You can see it everywhere. Wilbur’s and Schlatt’s relationship and rivalry is hugely enriched, if you are aware of their shared history like SMPLive, for example – I think anyway. I haven’t watched SMPLive, because … there’s only so many hours in the day and I cannot keep up with the Dream SMP and catch up on SMPLive and live a healthy life – which I already don’t do, so…

BadBoyHalo’s and Skeppy’s relationship, which has become the crux of the Crimson-Storyline of Seasons 2 and 3, is hugely supplemented if you know that they’re also very close as streamers and in real life.

Another great example of intertextuality is basically Technoblade’s entire deal. If you just look at him completely within the text of the Dream SMP and try to transplant his entrance to any other medium: It would be extremely weird! Like, he’s just this guy that comes in in the middle of a very climatic arc, no build-up, no explanation what his deal is, and he’s treated like he has always been there. In any other medium that just wouldn’t work – at least not without a flashback or some sort of exposition!

But because of stuff like Minecraft Mondays, the Potato Wars, his Duel against Dream and SMPEarth, we understand that he is a Big Deal!

Anyways, to bring all of this back to Philza Minecraft: What kind of hypotext informs how the audience sees his character? Well, this is where I will have to talk about SBI.

SBI is an acronym that stand for State Bank of India, the 43rd largest bank in the world and…

It also stands for Sleepy Bois Incorporated. Sleepy Bois Incorporated is a loose assembly of content creators, consisting of Philza, Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit and Technoblade. It is most well-known for its very endearing family dynamic – a dynamic that is frequently acknowledged and played up by the creators involved. Tommy is the youngest brother, Wilbur and Techno are the two older brothers and Philza is of course the dad. And when I say, it’s played up, I really mean it! Wilbur seems to be especially enamoured with the idea and leaves no opportunity untaken to bring it up – which we will come back to.

And I’m not saying that they’re faking this and this is somehow an act. While I know none of these people personally, it appears to me, that this is genuinely how they interact – if a little exaggerated for the streaming experience. Even when they’re not consciously playing into the family dynamic, their interactions still very much lend themselves to that interpretation by the viewers.

Philza especially just radiates Dad-Friend energy – so much so that it has become a huge part of his brand identity – yay, I can bring that back (check out my Christmas video if you want to hear me ramble about that). The nickname Dadza stuck even before SBI was a thing.

So, even if we completely disregard SBI – which we shouldn’t for reasons I’ll get back to – Philza has cultivated an image of strong paternal guidance. He is, in my opinion completely deservedly, regarded very positively. He is highly respected and in turn seen as a voice of reason.

All of this would eventually inform the hypotext of the character Philza within Dream SMP.

Interlude: Before Dadza & November 16th

Okay, so now we have established that a) Dream SMP heavily hinges on intertextual readings by the audience to supplement character backstory and b) that Philza’s entire deal is that he’s the dad-friend – more specifically that he’s the dad of SBI (not the bank). I think you know where this is going.

So, yeah, ever since it was on the table that Philza could join the Dream SMP, it was immediately assumed that he would take on the paternal guardian role all these traumatized people on that server so desperately needed – and with good reason! Like I said before, the audience at this point was trained to take intertextual interpretations as basically canon or at the very least canon-adjacent.

I want to emphasize that this is most likely not done deliberately. I’m sure content creators Wilbur and Philza didn’t sit there and said: “Yes! We will rely entirely on the audience’s inclination to interpret our characters intertextually to define character Philza!”. Like, obviously that did not happen.

But it’s also important to remember that unlike with traditional media and the fanbases cultivated there, the separation between the Dream SMP and its audience is almost non-existent – and purposely so. The story events are streamed live, Chats are acknowledged in canon and even outside of livestreams creators are extremely involved with the fandom. So, the weight of fan-expectations is equally amplified and will more likely be incorporated into the writing process. Case in point:

[Wilbur “I miss Philza”/Philza about Wilbur]

During Wilbur’s villain arc, even before his official involvement, Philza became a prevalent point of discussion. The hope that he would be the one to snap Wilbur out of his downward spiral was not only wish-fulfilment on behalf of the fans; it also very much played off of the intertextual reading of the SBI-dynamic in relation to the Dream SMP.

Of course, this still doesn’t make Philza and Wilbur canonically blood-related – but it definitely used the “paternal”-dynamic of SBI to build-up tension and drama.

And that ultimately brings us to November 16th. The Grand Finale of Season 1 and Philza’s first canonical appearance on the SMP.

Now, for this I want to pull back from the transtextual analysis and talk about simply narrative analysis: What is Philza’s narrative purpose on November 16th?

Philza serves as the last threshold on Wilbur’s Villain’s Journey – to appropriate Vogler’s version of the monomyth for a minute here – he is what Vogler calls the “Threshold Guardian”. He is the last enemy the Hero faces before completing his quest – in this particular case Wilbur’s quest is to blow up L’Manberg. Multiple people have at this point tried to dissuade him from this course of action: Tommy, Quackity, Niki and others. So how come this Philza moment is not redundant in terms of dynamics compared to these prior scenes?

Well, it’s through our intertextual understanding of Wilbur’s and Phil’s relationship. Because Philza does not just occupy the role of the Threshold Guardian – he is also implicitly the Mentor. Before Phil there was no character in the storyline that held a higher position of moral authority than Wilbur – Dream and Schlatt, while at points more powerful in terms of actual authority, were never positioned by the narrative as Wilbur’s superiors in the same way as Wilbur was to Tommy, Tubbo or even Niki.

Before November 16th all challenges Wilbur faced were from people narratively subordinated to him. But that trend is broken with Phil. That is why he is the Threshold Guardian, why this confrontation is at the climax of Wilbur’s arc. Because Phil is the last thing tethering Wilbur to whatever morality he held before his villain arc; Phil is the last, moral obstacle Wilbur has to discard before gaining his reward.

And, just a quick sidenote, because I’ve seen it around the fandom a bunch: When I’m referring to Wilbur denouncing his morality, I’m using that in terms of narrative analysis. I’m mentioning it, because Wilbur’s character can very easily be read as mentally ill or neurodivergent and some people have – rightly! – pointed out that the excessive vilifying when talking about his character is … problematic, to say the least.

So, I just want to make clear, this isn’t a character analysis, I’m being purposely broad when talking about Wilbur and Phil.

In the end, Wilbur takes that final step and gets his “reward”: As his final request his mentor takes his life and vanquishes the evil – the dragon of Wilbur’s story slays the dragon of L’Manburg. It’s very Shakespearean in its tragedy – but beyond the larger theatrics it’s not really used to further characterize Phil – at least in the context of Season 1. There’s not a lot of focus on his characters internal conflict during November 16th.

Phil, like Techno, is very utilitarian in how content creator Wilbur writes him: He serves as a moment of hype; an obstacle Wilbur has to face; a participant in the tragic climax of Wilbur’s character and ultimately takes on his implicit and expected role of mentor and guiding figure to the rest of L’Manburg.

I think not a lot of people talk about how Philza does not join Technoblade during November 16th. He takes the side of L’Manburg – he fights against the withers and he joins Tommy, Tubbo and the others at the L’Mantree, thus framing him as loyal to the L’Manburg administration – even though Season 2 would make his loyalty to Techno central to his character. But more on that later.

What’s also important about November 16th is that this is the day when the general intertextual interpretation became canonized text.

[You’re my son!]

Wilbur is made Phil’s canonical, biological son. The intertextual interpretation of SBI as it pertains to these two characters on the SMP was completely reinforced by the narrative. Or to put it in Fandom terms: The headcanon became actual canon. At least when it came to Wilbur … but what about Philza’s “other” children?

Well, that leads to our second form of transtextual analysis:

Paratextuality: Is Dadza?

These titles are just getting better and better.

The Paratext is defined as all those things in a published work that accompany the text. It comes in two forms: One of them is the Peritext, which are non-diegetic elements directly surrounding the text – like chapter titles, author’s notes, and stuff like that. Translated to the medium of the Dream SMP, it would be stuff like this:

[Examples]

And, trust me, I could make a whole separate video about how people on the SMP use their peritext as a tool for storytelling – I’m looking at you, Ranboo – but that’s not what we will talk about in the context of Dadza.

Instead, we will focus on the second form of Paratext, the Epitext, which consists of all authorial and editorial discussions taking place outside of the text. That’s stuff like interviews, private letters or J. K. Rowling’s Twitter Account – you know, before she decided to become a full-time asshole.

[Wilbur: Transrights]

After Season 1 ended, Wilbur indulged pretty heavily in providing epitext for the Dream SMP, something he had not done prior to November 16th. His paratextual additions ranged from the playful, like assigning DnD alignments to various SMP members, to the extremely impactful, like the whole three lives system!

You probably think, you know where this is going. Wilbur provided some epitext about how Tommy and Techno either are or are not biologically related to him … and I have to be honest I thought that too. But then I began looking into the impenetrable web that is the SBI-canon on the Dream SMP and found this!

[Ghostbur explains family]

So, it wasn’t paratext, it was just straight text. Said in character, in canon, without any implication that we the viewers should question this. The text of the SBI family dynamic was explicitly linked to Dream SMP-exclusive lore, namely Fundy being Wilbur’s and Sally the Salmon’s son. This is as clear as Philza’s anguished declaration on November 16th in establishing the intertext as text. And because Wilbur also had a very heavy hand in the discussion of paratext around that time, it gave his character’s words even more “canonical” weight. Metatextually speaking, this very much read like the author giving exposition through his character – exposition that we should understand as reliable.

And, by the way, before I continue, I need to give a huge, huge shoutout to kateis-cakeis on tumblr, I hope I pronounced that right, who was just so quick in providing me with these crucial clips. Without him I would have looked for days because these people don’t archive their shit! And the Dream SMP Wiki was NO help, by the way! I love what you guys do, but stuff like this belongs in the Trivia section on characters’ pages!

Anyways, basically during the entirety of early Season 2 the SBI family dynamic was basically canon to the SMP. Sometimes it was only alluded implicitly, again letting the intertext fill out the rest.

[Philza clips]

But just as often it was just explicitly talked about – both in the text and in the paratext.

[Fundy clip/Wilbur “Twins” clip/Tommy clip]

So, I know what you’re thinking: “Why is this part called paratext, if the entire family tree is just textual”. Well, that last clip might give you a hint, as to what I will talk about. Notice how Tommy, one of the people most directly impacted by the canonization of SBI lore, is both unaware of and seems generally unenthused about it, to put it nicely? Well, that would soon turn out to be a much bigger deal than anyone could have imagined as he wasn’t the only one.

[Technoblade decanonizes SBI]

Yeah …

This happened on 20th of December. Regular viewers of this channel will remember that I put out a 90-second joke video, where I complain about this very development. And while I was mostly kidding around, the core idea is still true. The paratext provided by Technoblade and established text were in direct contradiction with one another – and that brought a lot of confusion into the fandom. Confusion, that would soon be followed by frustration.

Because Techno only decanonized himself as part of the SBI family dynamic – but what about Tommy and Tubbo, the latter of which was incorporated into the dynamic exclusively within the lore of the Dream SMP. Was this still canon or wasn’t it?

What followed was a muddled mess of contradictions, intertextual implications, text and paratext in conflict with each another. It was for the most part inscrutable to figure out how Tommy and Philza related to one another. I’ll spare you every comment made about this – mostly because I want to spare myself from looking for all of them.

In the end, the current status is that their familial relationship is … unclear. Philza said, again in paratext, that it’s ultimately up to the writers to decide, whether or not Tommy is his son … which, I personally think he and Tommy should be the ones to establish that, but I’ll come back to that later.

But why is all of this important anyway? Why would this ambiguity create such an uproar, such controversy – especially when it comes to Tommy’s character? What makes Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship such a target for discussion in the fandom?

Well … this is where we will have to talk about the storyline of Season 2.

Interlude II: Tommy’s Exile and Dadza in Season 2

Okay, Season 2. This is where the spoilers are, so I will just sneakily drop this again. It took me five seconds to google this gif and I will milk it for every penny it’s worth!

At the beginning of Season 2, Philza’s narrative role has not changed much from where Season 1 ended. He is in L’Manburg dispensing earthly wisdom, being a paternal figure to Fundy, Ghostbur and Tubbo, helping with the nation’s rebuilding efforts; just generally occupying the role of the mentor.

[clips]

And then came … the Exile. The Exile Arc took place between December 3rd and December 15th during Season 2 of the Dream SMP. It revolves around TommyInnit getting exiled from L’Manburg and slowly getting psychologically tortured and broken down by Dream. It’s a really great arc, at least in my opinion, that explores and deepens a lot of Tommy’s character relationships, whether that be Tommy and Dream, Tommy and Tubbo or Tommy and Ranboo. One relationship, however, is noticeably missing.

So, yeah, Philza spends basically the entirety of the exile doing pretty much nothing of consequence. And that’s not a problem specific to him – One big criticism I would levy against the Exile Arc is that a lot of characters are left spinning their wheels. Which is why we get zany stuff like El Rapids, Drywaters, Eret’s Knights of the Roundtable, Boomerville – anyone remember Boomerville, that was a thing for 5 seconds, wasn’t it? – basically a lot of storylines are started and then unceremoniously dropped. Now, I will talk more about this, when I make a video about Season 2 of the Dream SMP … in ten years, look forward to it.

In the case of Philza, this inaction was especially damning, because at this point it was still a considered canon that he was Tommy’s dad. So, the fans were left with a situation, where just a few weeks prior Philza was occupying a paternal role for Fundy and Ghostbur … but now, that his youngest son was in a very concerning predicament – to put it lightly – he was nowhere to be found.

So why is that?

Well, the most obvious answer is that Dream and Tommy didn’t write him into the storyline. We’ve seen that Tommy wasn’t particularly interested in exploring a familial relationship to Philza, at least at the time. And it would just not fit in with what Dream and Tommy tried to do with the Exile Arc: they wanted to tell the story of Tommy being isolated, completely under Dream’s mercy, slowly worn down and manipulated. If Philza had been constant presence for Tommy during that time, it would have definitely shifted the narrative focus. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have done that, it’s just a matter of fact that they didn’t.

This also reveals another truth about content creator Philza’s character work, that I think is extremely crucial: He takes what the writers give him. Outside of a few choice moments, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in expanding or even solidifying his character on the SMP.

What I’m saying is that he is very go-with-the-flow: Wilbur wants to enact a Shakespearean tragedy? Philza’s up for it. Fundy wants him as a parental figure and mentor? Philza’s here for him. Tommy, conversely, doesn’t want him as a paternal presence, even though it would make sense for Philza’s character, as it was established so far, to be there? Philza will oblige.

The reason I’m mentioning this is because, while Tommy and Dream were unwilling to utilise Philza in their storyline, someone else was more than happy to. Which leads us back, like it always does, to everyone’s favourite Porky Pig-kinnie in a crown: Technoblade.

Technoblade and Philza, from everything I’ve seen of them, seem to be very good friends – and they share a lot of history even outside SBI. So, it’s commendable that they would collaborate on a storyline together.

A consequence of that, however, is that Philza’s narrative purpose shifts completely with very little transition. His entire character changes from being the Mentor-figure of L’Manberg to being pretty much exclusively defined as Technoblade’s ally; his man on the inside. It is a very sharp turn from the end of Season 1. Their relationship is once again informed via intertext – this time the Antarctic Empire on SMPEarth serves as the hypotext – but there isn’t a huge effort made to smoothly integrate that aspect of Philza’s character into the larger narrative framing around him.

How much the narrative utilisation of Philza has shifted can be very easily observed through the Butcher Army event on December 16th, a story event that I like less and less the more I think about. Here Philza is used to show just how corrupt and violent Tubbo’s administration has becomes. He is no longer the respected mentor, he is now the stand-in for the oppressed populace, similar to Niki’s role in Season 1. On a narrative level, he is here to prove a point.

If you’ve seen my Technoblade video, you know how I feel about … just that entire storyline, so I will not reiterate too much on it. I just want to make clear that I’m not principally against this development – if they wanted to truly explore Tubbo going down a dark path and getting corrupted by power, so much so that he would even treat the person who effectively raised him like a prisoner, I would be extremely here for it, I cannot stress that enough.

The problem I have is that it’s just so sloppily done. It is not coherent with how these characters behaved and, more importantly, how they were narratively framed prior to the Butcher Army event. Fundy gets one token line about Phil being his Grandfather – a far cry from the very emotionally complex relationship they had established at the beginning of Season 2 – and Phil then callously disowns him.

The major problem simply is that we don’t see how Philza changes from Mentor-figure to embittered, oppressed citizen. And there was enough time to build to that. During the entirety of Tommy’s exile Tubbo was pretty much spinning his wheels and Quackity and Fundy were opening up plot cul-de-sacs that didn’t end up going anywhere. This is time they could have spent on developing their relationship to Philza and the dark path they were going down – but again, Season 2 video.

There is not much to say on Philza’s narrative purpose and framing beyond the Butcher Army event. He remains pretty much exclusively Techno’s consigliere with his role as Mentor to L’Manburg a distant memory. He has some cute character moments with Ranboo, because content creator Philza is just big dad-energy whether he wants to or not, and whenever he and Ghostbur share a scene suddenly the narrative remembers that there are people other than Technoblade that should exist in Philza’s inner world. But aside from that, Philza’s storyline in Season 2 remains … pretty definitive is the nicest way I can put it.

Most importantly his relationship with Tommy continues to be completely unexplored – whether by chance or choice – and that combined with ever vaguer paratext leaves “Dadza” in a very peculiar situation.

Conclusion: Is Dadza a Good Dadza?

So, the question to end all questions. The big, obnoxious text, that I will probably have put in the thumbnail – I haven’t made it yet, but I know myself. The honest answer is: I couldn’t tell you.

I have, in the past, been expounding the virtues of narrative analysis. That is because I feel that Narrative Analysis and Textual Analysis, like in this video, can provide certain tools that Character Analysis lacks. Often times I see people trying to get at a writing problem or query and getting frustrated because they’re not using the toolset, they need to figure out what they want to figure out.

But I’d be a hypocrite if I pretended like everything could be solved through the modes of analysis I prefer. And I think the Dadza-issue is exactly such a case.

I set out to explore why the Philza-Tommy-“Dadza”-relationship has become so controversial. It’s a combination of expectations build up through intertextual readings, that were partly canonized – something that is very common for the Dream SMP – conflicting pieces of paratext, which only serve to muddle the issue further and a text that is not only completely uninterested in actually exploring Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship – as it stands right now they might as well be strangers, narratively speaking – but also completely changes Philza’s narrative purpose as it relates to characters like Fundy or Tubbo about half-way through with little to no transition.

That is why I say, that Philza’s character is a victim of narrative circumstance. Because unwittingly, through all of these factors and decisions, there is not coherent reading of Philza that frames his parental skills in a particularly kind light.

The question of how we can judge Phil as a paternal figure ultimately falls within the purview of the character analysis – and that’s a very multifaceted issue, highly dependent on which POV you focus on and how you interpret the other characters in that POV’s periphery.

To put my cards on the table, I think that Philza is a very flawed father/father-figure – and I find that absolutely okay. Flaws are the spice of character building. He is not Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother – but he’s also definitely not Mufasa. If we were to read Philza as a paternal figure, then he would have made a lot of mistakes and decisions to the detriment of his “children” – least of all everything that happened on Doomsday.

But I also have sympathies for Philza fans who are tired of the Dad-Debate and would like to have his character judged independent from his relationship to Ghostbur, Fundy, Tubbo and Tommy.

Ultimately, to bring it all to a point, I’d like to end with saying, that I think that Philza, out of all the characters on the SMP, has the potential to be on of the most intriguing, multifaceted ones. There are all of these different patches of story, character moments and narrative and transtextual implications, that, if brought together, could create a beautiful tapestry of the character Philza.

You have his relationship with Techno, which holds the potential for so much emotional conflict and vulnerabilities, you have his time as mentor of L’Manburg, which is just criminally underused; the complex relationship between him and Ghostbur/Wilbur; and – for me, personally – most intriguingly this weird, almost uncomfortably distant non-relationship with Tommy. That last one is intriguing to me, because it contrasts just so much with our intertextual understanding of the characters and streaming personas – and it just holds the potential for so much conflict, so much drama, so much angst. Which I live for!

And, yes, I do believe that most of this is narrative happenstance, that this was largely not intended by Philza or really any of the writers. It’s just what happens when hybrid-roleplay-improv a long-running, livestreamed storyline in Minecraft.

But I want them to realize the potential they have on their hands, because it could – with barely any adjustments – turn Philza from a victim of narrative circumstance to a champion of it!

Outro

Thank you so much for watching this video. Usually, I don’t record outros this standard, but after this beast of a video I felt it necessary. I hope that whether you’re a Philza fan or a Philza critical or just completely uninvolved in the whole thing, there is at least a little entertainment you could get from this.

I want to take this opportunity to say that my next few videos will probably not be Dream SMP related – a sentence which undoubtedly lost me a bunch of subs – simply because I don’t want to burn out on it. I genuinely enjoy watching the SMP and being exhausted by it would be something I wouldn’t want to force on myself.

But who knows what will happen? The Karl Jacobs video was something I did spur of the moment because the idea just came to me – so I can’t guarantee that the next video won’t be a three-minute joke about Purpled or whatever.

Anyway, my concrete plans for future Dream SMP videos are essays on Season 1 and Season 2 as well as one for Tales from the SMP.

Before that I have a longer video in the works, which I’ve already teased a bunch, so I hope it will finally be finished sometime. And I also may be working on something … eboys-related? Maybe. I’m not making any promises!

118 notes · View notes

barryallenis · 4 years ago

Note

I so so so wish we heard about the other speedsters more on this show because haters and team flash alike still act like they didn't know a speedster needs a lightning rod to keep them out of the darkness, to keep them balanced, to keep them from getting lost in the speedforce. Jay has Joan. Wally was supposed to have Linda. If Barry had another speedster to talk about that more with, preferably not Thawne, then it'd be a no brainer next time. I've seen complaints about Iris being the key amongst all those scientists. Well, guess what, the smartest scientist in the room told Barry to run towards love. Barry may be everyone's hero, but Iris has always been his hero since childhood. We tried the ASF earlier with all the Welles, but none of that amounted to the love of Barry's lightning rod to create the real speedforce. The science is right there, whether you value Iris as Barry's wife or not.

You pose interesting points anon. On one hand, I think people like looking at Barry and Iris as this unique level of soulmate tying into their “lighting rod connection”. But looking at the whole thing through a sci-fi lends does make it feel more concrete than uniquely emotional. If they did highlight other speedsters connections to love and lighting rods, it could help drive the overarching point home that speedsters need a deep connection to humanity in order to thrive. Thawne could even be a good example of the other side, what happens when a speedster is void of love, lacking in humanity - all they can create is a force for anger and hate.

Honestly though, I think most of that hate comes from people who try to downplay their closed mindedness (to put it mildly in this context) views by saying Barry is “too emotional” for simply ... loving his wife and showing human emotions in emotionally traumatic situations (how dare he right?). So the argument that ALL speedsters are emotionally driven by love would likely fall on deaf ears. Even if you tried to approach it scientifically by means of a trend.

It’s a shame honestly, in my eyes this portrayal of Barry Allen has been breaking barriers around how a superhero is suppose to behave on an emotional level. If only the haters could take away the lessons that it’s okay to be emotionally vulnerable, and that emotional connections drive the world like the show has been constantly and consistently preaching for the past 7 years. But if they haven’t gotten it by now, I don’t know that they ever will. I’m also not sure why they’re still watching the show tbh lol

#time vault #7x03 #the flash spoilers

8 notes · View notes

silver-wield · 5 years ago

Note

I really don't get people who are "fictional characters aren't real, so if people hate them it's not that deep", like please stop, I will defend tifa and cloud till I die. There's nothing wrong with people liking and defending fictional characters.

Ok, let’s unpack this shit and I’ll try and use small words for yall creepers....Who am I kidding? I’m not gonna use small words because even if I did yall wouldn’t understand. So Imma do this my way and fuck yall if you don’t understand. Go back to school. Fucking google it.

The association and relation to fictional characters.

Cognitive brain function is the mental process that allows us to receive, transform and recover information that we take in through day to day life. It’s what allows us to relate to the world and people in it. Through cognitive brain function we gain both emotional and physical skills.

Emotional skills developed through cognitive brain function include empathy.

Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Notice there’s no codicil to that. There’s no “you may only have empathy for others under these specific requirements or situations. Your empathy is null and void in situations others deem inappropriate.” There’s none of that. Because empathy is individualistic. It’s a learned trait, not something we’re born with.The brain chemistry exists for greater or lesser degrees of empathy, but it must first be brought to life by experiencing it. Empathy needs a trigger.

Some of the first exposure we get to empathy is as children when we’re learning to read.

We want the hero to save the day. Because he’s earned it. We want the wicked stepmother to suffer because the heroine is so sweet and kind and “omg how dare they hurt her?!”

That’s empathy.

You put yourself in the heroine’s shoes and felt her pain. Related to it. Was that just meaningless because she’s fictional? Or does it matter because you care? Have I ruined your favourite childhood story by making you question why you cared at all?

It’s okay to care.

As the brain develops from childhood, we use these early memories to form the foundation of our identity. Those who felt empathy to a greater degree will continue to feel empathy to a greater degree. These people make amazing listeners and they often work in caring professions or volunteer or they’re just basically great human beings because they have an innate sense of kindness. Because they learned early what it felt like to care for others. Because they cared for fictional characters. (That’s not to say I’m discounting other situations good or bad that act as a trigger. In this instance, I’m only referring to what’s necessary to explain empathy in relation to fictional characters)

Through these fictional characters they were able to try out different facets of their personalities. Learn what felt best for them. Helped them build their core values. Once these are set people don’t change. They evolve them, add and take away, but at their core, this is who these people are. If you are empathetic at your core you will always be empathetic at your core.

Recognition.

The act of recognising others is a basic identifier and part of cognitive brain function. We look for similar aspects in ourselves to identify in others and prove their legitimacy. They exist because we acknowledge them. Yeah, it’s actually that simple. It’s the same reason we see the sky as blue because that’s the identifier we’ve given it. We acknowledge the legitimacy of blue and relate that identifier to the colour of the sky.

With fictional characters it’s no different. They exist because we acknowledge their existence. The brain, while sophisticated, does not know the difference between fact and fiction. We use our judgement and knowledge to provide the necessary context to the situation. If we say it’s real, then it becomes real, and any feelings related to that also become real. The brain doesn’t stop us and say “but this isn’t real.” It doesn’t know it’s not real. The brain is an 3lb blob of pink jello wobbling about in your skull. It takes the information that you send it and makes conclusions based on similar past situations.

If you showed empathy towards fictional characters as a child and treated them as though they were real, the brain will continue to recognise fictional characters as though they were real.

Why you hate.

I was gonna say we, but let’s be real, it’s just you lot.

Hate: a hostile feeling directed toward another person or group that consists of malice, repugnance, and willingness to harm and even annihilate the object of hatred.

Hate is not an emotion. Anger is an emotion. Hate is a motivator to emotion. Hate is long lasting and gives you excuses for your actions because you ascribe emotional attachment to it. You’re angry and it’s unfair that you’re not getting your way. The object of your anger is preventing you from being happy. It’s causing a block. So you hate because it makes you feel out of control of yourself. If only this thing in your way was gone, you’d feel better about yourselves. It’s not you that’s the problem. It’s them. You’d be a perfectly good and decent person -- you are a perfectly good and decent person any other time -- if just this one thing wasn’t bothering you. Hate provokes resentment, which leads to bitterness, which leads to the erosion of the sense of self. It damages you at your core. Like all negative influences do.

Hate also leads to fear. A basic emotional response that is prevalent in every single human being from birth.

Yeah. Birth.

Humans are born afraid.

Fun right? Wanna know how I know that little fact? It’s called a startle reflex and all babies have it. It’s that really cute thing they do when they’re sleeping and suddenly throw their arms up because they think they’re falling. That’s fear. Not so cute anymore, is it?

Since we’re born afraid, our instincts work to resolve that fear. In the case of hate, the “correct” response is to obliterate the thing making you afraid. Oh, look, now we’re segueing into racism. Something else that’s funny not actually funny.

Do I need to go on? Or do we get the message that those with empathy have a positive outlook on life and that their response to outside stimulus is to try and understand and help work things out. Those with a hateful outlook take a different path.

I’m not even gonna go into the whole gaslighting bs that yall haters use to try and resolve your fear and hate in these situations because part of that resolving is the need to be acknowledged as being in the right. Your hate was justified.

No. It wasn’t.

In conclusion.

Because we gave legitimacy to a fictional character and showed a realistic emotional behaviour towards them, they became real. Our brains do not differentiate between real and fictional because of connections made during early years brain development. Once those connections are made they cannot be undone. If we feel they are real, then they are real. And you do not get to decide to what depth that emotion is felt. You do not get to undermine that emotional connection that we form with fictional characters.

You are not in charge.

Your innate sense of fear and psychological lack of development in certain emotive areas makes you small minded and hateful because you lack development and the expression of that hate is to attack the thing you fear because by doing that you think you will find peace.

You will not. Because that thing will always exist. Because there will always be someone who disagrees with you. Because you cannot control the world. Your control issues are something yall need therapy for. Among your other many many issues.

TL;DR Fictional characters legitimacy and emotional connection is dependent on the individual and you don’t get to tell us “how deep” that connection is, but yeah, it is actually that deep and you need to get over yourselves because you’re not the boss of the fandom and your hate is harmful to yourselves as well as pathetic.

#ship war #for common sense #long post

34 notes · View notes

auntynationalsblog · 5 years ago

Text

Good Father or Godfather?

Why ‘The Sopranos’ is the best possible shit you could watch this quarantine.

NO SPOILERS.

Okay, so as the picture depicts, The Sopranos is a male-dominated show. It definitely is, there is absolutely no denying that. While there are a few crucial female characters, out of which some are really, REALLY important to the series, the spotlights mostly belong to the men, like Tony, Chris, Paulie or Silvio (from right to left in the above image). It is also set in a time and space where most women are treated as objects and servants. The wives and girlfriends are expected to stay home and cook dinner while the men do the business. They’re expected to look pretty and accompany the men to important events, like the welcome party of a new member of the mob, or a funeral.

But despite carrying such a high level of toxic masculinity, The Sopranos has often been cited as one of the best TV shows of all time, if not the best. I’d like to write about my perspective on why The Sopranos does indeed deserve all the credit.

The Many Lives of Tony Soprano

The title of the blog, “Good Father or Godfather”, is inspired by the two main themes of The Sopranos. The first theme is his mob life. The story begins with Tony Soprano’s (played by the great James Gandolfini) quest for power as the skipper of the DiMeo crime family based in New Jersey. His most immediate rival is his deceased father’s (a former boss himself) brother, Corrado John “Junior” Soprano Jr. Uncle Jun and Tony’s rivalry forms the crux of the first season, as Jun battles old age and Tony’s rising influence. Technically, Tony’s job is that of a solid-waste management consultant, but we can all guess that’s not where his money comes from.

The second theme and some would argue that it is more important than the first theme, is his family. The Sopranos is a brilliant depiction of how a mobster with unlimited money and influence, struggles at the face of familial issues like his marriage, or the upbringing and education of his two kids, and making sure that they develop enough self-sufficiency to not follow their father’s footsteps into the mafia life. The picture below shows Anthony “A.J.” Junior Soprano, Tony, Meadow Soprano and Tony’s wife Carmela Soprano.

The third crucial theme is Tony’s battles with his own demons. This theme is presented through Tony’s therapy sessions with a psychiatrist, who is, in my opinion, the most indispensable character of the show - Dr. Jennifer Melfi - portrayed by Lorraine Bracco (you might remember her from the superhit mafia film Goodfellas). Tony’s relationship with the psychiatrist is arguably the most interesting relationship between any two people throughout the series, as Dr. Melfi herself struggles to come to terms with the fact that she is psychologically helping a man whose food on the table comes from gambling, prostitution, and murder.

The Intensity of the Characters

The only other television show that can match the intensity and diversity of the character line-up of The Sopranos is Game of Thrones. It is hard not to develop a certain attachment to every major character of The Sopranos, and this attachment is not necessarily one of admiration and respect. The amount of contempt I have for Ralph Cifaretto (played by the bald guy from Baby’s Day Out) is unparalleled to my hatred for any other character from any other show (Ramsay Bolton and Dodd Gerhardt come close). The point being, the characters are so beautifully developed throughout the show, that there is not a single dull moment in any episode, simply because of the director’s (David Henry Chase) ability to connect us to every character.

While an analysis of characters, or ranking them, deserve blogs of their own, my point is that the characters are so well made, that we are likely to identify each character with someone we personally know. Silvio and Paulie might be your funny old uncles, while Christopher might be you yourself during some stage of your life. While getting arrested in the finale of season three, Silvio tells the officer that in the previous year he made bail so fast that his soup was still warm when he got home. We’ve all been in Meadow’s shoes at some point in our lives, and Tony, well, he’s a complicated guy. I’m sure you’ll see some part of yourself in the man.

Just the Right Amount of Violence

You might have an apprehension of dismissing The Sopranos as an ordinary action-packed TV show with guns, blood and a lot of kicks and punches. While the show obviously consists of violent scenes, it really does not overkill.

The only drawback might be the sound effects. The punches, to some ears, may not sound as...punches. But I am willing to let that slip because the plot keeps my mind too engaged with questions related to the story of the episode, like why the guy is being beaten up, or why was Tony betrayed, you get what I mean.

Dramatic, but not Overdramatic

Lastly, one of the many reasons why The Sopranos is one of the greatest television shows ever is that it does justice to good old-fashioned TV drama. It maintains its realistic narrative. It does not spice up the plot, because the spice was never necessary for a plot which was already so deep and meaningful. It is very well-paced. It is neither too slow (the description which Breaking Bad haters use for Breaking Bad), nor does one episode cover a massive portion of the plot. The plot is not huge, it is not complicated but it is covered patiently enough, for viewers to immerse themselves in it. It does not depict unnecessary violence, or unnecessary screaming or crying like we see on Indian television. That is why this show keeps its viewers glued to the television. It just seems so real.

James Gandolfini’s performance as Tony Soprano is said to have redefined the world of television. But it would be fair to say that he may not have managed it without a cast that has often been branded as legendary. There are six seasons and eighty-six episodes. If you pace yourself, then your quarantine would fly by. Don’t binge one season a day, there’s no pleasure in that. It’s not that type of a show.

You can thank me later. Trust me on this recommendation.

#coronavirus #the sopranos #quarantine #coronamemes #covid-19 #covidquarantine #netflix #amazon #prime video #hotstar

11 notes · View notes

divorceddanneel · 5 years ago

Note

Stans as in the ones that religiously follow J+D around. The likes of Abi, kaci, tessa etc like can’t help but think people that follow/stalk you and see you in person frequently is far worse than cyber bullying.

okay so, that’s not the general definition of stan that I’m familiar with, so let’s toss the word out for the sake of clarity here.

I’ve already said before, I don’t know who those particular people are. I’ve been given some gossip as very vague explanation but no real sources, and I find groupie culture pretty boring so I’m not interested in spending time reading about groupies. However, if you really really want my opinion on specific people, feel free to DM me sources and we can chat.

That being said, I’m working on a deep-dive series of posts related to types of fans and fan behavior, so here’s a preview, and you can determine for yourself who is the most dangerous:

A stalker is an actual criminal that exhibits escalation in obsessive behavior, with crimes including but not limited to: trespassing, extrortion of money, blackmail, fraud, theft, sexual harassment, death threats, assault, and murder. Here’s a very good example of a dangerous celeb stalker. however, keep in mind that people who are not famous can have extremely dangerous stalkers. Here’s another famous example. Of course, there’s a huge difference between the girl who “came in through the bathroom window” to steal a pair of Paul McCartney’s pants and the murder of John Lennon, but since stalkers always have patterns of escalation you really can’t know how far they will go.

A groupie wants to (consensually) fuck famous people for the sake of bragging rights. they are not always stalkers, and they don’t want emotional connection in the way that fans do. sometimes they have particular actors/bands they are obsessed with, but they tend to care more about the fame than the actual people or their art. Groupies are boring.

A super fan is not a stalker, even if they are cringey as fuck, they do not exhibit criminal behavior. they are a fan-for-life who invests a lot of time and money into their favorite things. sometimes they are cringey, but they are the cash cows of nerd conventions and concert tours, and meet and greets and festivals. A lot of the stuff casual fans love wouldn’t exist without super fans creating the incentive for business investment. they can become familiar faces to preformers, and among lower-to-mid tier touring bands, for example, these are the people that put food on the table and new tires on the van. these are the people that many low-to-mid tier actors cater to as well to get a paycheck because fandom money is more reliable and consistent than acting gigs. In my opinion, the worst a super fan is going to do is be unintentionally rude and/or treat a famous person like their therapist.

A cyberbully is also an actual obsessive criminal on a trajectory of escalation. Thats an extreme example, but it’s a good example of how difficult it is to escape cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is difficult to prosecute, and a lot of cyberbullies get away with it. In fandom, the most damage is done to other fans. The escalation of hate against Euclase comes to mind, but I can’t find an UTD source. That’s part of the problem, so much evidence can just disappear from the internet or it was never verifiable to begin with.

An anti is a self-identified hater, whether or not they are an actual cyberbully depends on the blogger and what they hate depends on the blogger. I’ve seen two or three escalate to the point of cyberbullying. Sometimes they think they have a mission, sometimes they just think they’re entitled to be cruel as much as they please. Either way, there’s a lot of obsessive creepy behavior involved.

Does that clear things up for you, anon?

#replies #anon #reference #stans vs antis #fan behaviors #profiling #theory #toxic spn fandom

2 notes · View notes

laughing-with-god · 6 years ago

Text

Unpopular opinions part two🤪

1. Old Kpop fans deserve their respect.

They were here before it was ‘cool’ or ‘normal’ for them to like Korean pop. Before it was accepted. Before the ‘Korean wave’ was a thing. They were here before Vlive, world tours and merch. They were here and have watched many idols go to the millitray, multiple scandals and disbandments. Pls be aware of how young you are as a fan to the entire industry as a whole. Esp since it was prob an elder Kpop fan that put you on and made the fan culture was it is today: more accessible to fans all over the world.

2. A lot of the hype in America for Kpop isn’t genuine....

The shows that include BTS and stuff only did it to get a boost in ratings. If you honestly think Ellen and John Cena are armys....I got some bad news for you. It’s literally just white men at board meetings looking at what teenagers think is hot at the moment. Also, if you honestly think BTS was gonna get that Grammy.....sis no. Maybe in the future but like Kpop isn’t recognized as ‘real’ music yet.

3. Big Bangs’ Top needs to come back.

His scandal wasn’t even that bad tbh. He smoked some weed with a one of his bitches🤷🏻‍♀️ his name literally stands for ‘The Orginal Pimp’. Like we know he had hoes, just like any other famous guy idol. And she was a total social climber who tried to defame him, this was proven by the outrageous things she did after the TOP scandal calmed down. So all the bad things she said about him should be taken with a grain of salt. Personally, weed isn’t a big deal esp since we apparently got rapists out here now👀 but in Korea it is a big deal. Still he reflected and has been quiet for like 2 years now. How long should he punish himself for? He was one of the best rappers out here🤧😩

4. The big three are the big three for a reason.

SM, JYP and YG are some of the oldest companies that have been around with the most distinct style and influence. The amount of revolutionary groups to come from those companies alone is i n s a n e. Being the big three isn’t about money, so ppl saying BigHit outsold so them so they are bigger than the three, is just wrong. The big three have been doing this consistently before some of you hoes were even born and produced amazing groups over and over again. BigHit’s success is new, and they only have one big and successful group at the moment. Give it some time🤷🏻‍♀️

5. Fan service is a thing.....just thought you should know

In Korea, idols are taught to please their fans by any means necessary......this includes acting very cutesy and clingy with certain members. Yes.....some of your opts are for show.....they know what they’re doing.....😬

6. BlackPink’s Jennie was being lazy

Sis......you’re a whole barrel of laughs if you honestly think that we’re all just haters who decided to attack her out of the blue. When she was being dragged for her rude faces, I defended her bc some resting faces are just naturally aloof looking. But c’mon. Y’all really trying to play the mental health excuse or the tired excuse when all her solo activities actually had energy??? It’s rude bc all her members actually pulled through🤷🏻‍♀️ no hate to her but sis was lacking🤷🏻‍♀️

7. Some Ideal Types are kinda.....weird? Idk lemme explain

I know that having an ideal type is kind of a given in Korea but can we talk?? I think the whole descriptions of the the types given by some of these idols is kinda.....VERY FUCKING DETAILED? Like the weight and stuff. And no hate, it’s okay to have a preference but I wanna talk to some of these fans. I literally watched some fans change their entire persona for their bias. My sister even tried starving herself for a bit bc someone said Taehyung perfered girls who were like 90-100 pounds. Please guys, don’t take that stuff to heart......

8. Facemasks literally don’t do anything

Not necessarily Kpop but Kbeauty. Ummm....dermatologists even admit that it doesn’t do anything to your skin. It can make ur skin feel nice for a short period, but in the long run you are actually doing more harm than good to your skin......just think about that next time you wanna buy a facemask.

9. Be careful with Kbeauty.....there’s a fine line to walk

If your eyeliner is meant to make your eyes look Asian.....it’s cultural appropriation. If you’re using bb cream or foundation that’s way lighter than your actual skin.......that’s colorism. Also trying to give yourself aeygo bags is kinda fetishizing a feature that many Asians have. Just don’t. Work with what you have instead of tryna became a whole other race. 🤦🏻‍♀️

10. AOMG should become the new YG

YG is so fucking problematic these days, it’s sad really bc they were that one company that was all about hip hop and ‘dark’ concepts. I think they were even called the black label out of the big three 🤔 so they are def taking a hit with all these scandals they got rn. I got to thinking....what other company is all about hip hop and more rap driven whilst having a good management/ceo? AOMG! Jay Park is literally so nice and all the artists under them have so much creative freedom and make good music. If Jay Park made a boy group or a girl group?? It’d be fucking over for YG! Y’all should blow up Jay Parks dm’s and ask for a group debut 🤪

143 notes · View notes

keishajay · 6 years ago

Text

I meant for this whole review to go in one post, but damn, I had a lot of complaints, way more than I thought once I started writing them down. Some are nitpicky; most are related to characters and writing choices. For the fans of this series, I did enjoy this series for what it is, but I’ll never defend it as great literature. It’s Sharknado levels of fun, and I live for stupid shit like that. For the haters, enjoy. Oh, and spoilers ahead.

Now, on to the cons, and hoo boy, are there a lot of them. First, I was shocked to see this was labeled book 7 and not 6. I had no interest in reading Tower of Dawn, as it was marketed as a side story novella. Kingdom of Ash expects you to have read it and spends little to no time explaining who all these new characters are. It’s not confusing, just annoying for those of us not invested in Chaol’s story enough to read the novella. If you like Chaol, more power to you. I just didn’t care enough about what was a sure outcome to waste my time reading a novella about him and only him. Nesryn goes with him as well, but she was barely a character in the fifth (fourth? I don’t know anymore) book, more a cool background piece than a real person. That’s not nearly enough for me to pick up an entire book.

Maas brings in four new “personalities” from Tower of Dawn that really just take up space and fawn over Aelin, just like everyone else. Hasar is just a crabbier version of Aelin; Sartaq loves Nesryn and that’s it; Yrene is Chaol’s wife who’s a healer and that’s it; and Borte likes arguing with her fiance. They might be more interesting in ToD, but here, they just read like cardboard cutouts. They’re unnecessary and boring.

And speaking of unnecessary, there are WAY too many POV characters in these books. What started with a handful of mostly essential characters has now become a library’s worth of them. Even Lysandra’s ward, Evangeline, gets a couple POV bits to herself. Why? They added nothing to the story aside from remind us that she was there and still alive. More POVs should only ever be added to further the story or themes. I kid you not, Elide and Lorchan are together for 90% of the last two books, and for some reason, they both have POV chapters. Elide was already established and should’ve been the only one necessary, but you know, Lorchan’s hot so we should hear him angst too. And that is all he does, by the way, angsts over Elide. Hell, by the end, I was a little surprised Abraxos didn’t have his own POV chapter.

Maas also adds nonsensical things in to ramp up the drama. The worst offender is the character Darrow. He and TWO other old men boss Aedion around throughout this entire book, because... reasons, I guess. They don’t recognize Aelin as queen, fine. But they’re three old dudes against Aedion, who literally commands their entire army and the fire-bringer all the people in their whole country rally to. If anyone can give me a logical reason why Aedion didn’t just ignore every order they attempted to give him, I’m all ears. Instead, he tiptoes around them constantly and outright steals his own army from under their noses to do what he wants anyway. Why? They all know damn well Aelin is the rightful queen and they wouldn’t even have an army without her and Aedion. She could crush them under her thumb, and they all know that too. Hell, Aedion’s treason would even be forgiven in moments when she took her throne back from... no one. Darrow isn’t even trying to be king of Terrasen. He just doesn’t like the idea of this bratty teenager being his queen, and who can blame him? Yeah, I know she wants her country to be different, but she can’t change anything from the sidelines when the old rules are the only things keeping those men in power over her. There is no good reason for Aedion to obey any of their orders. They can do nothing to stop him, and they all know it. They are literally only there so Aedion has someone besides Lysandra to be pissed off at.

Speaking of Aedion being pissed off at Lysandra. For the haters out there, yes, he has every right to be mad at her. She may not have been the one to come up with this insanity, sure, but she knew Aelin suspected it might be necessary. Telling the one person who foams at the mouth anytime someone gets within spitting distance of his cousin that maybe something terrible could happen to her, making this plan necessary, should be at the top of your to-do list. She knew damn well what she was doing and how he would react the entire time Aelin was teaching her to play pretend. He should be angry with her for not telling him what was going through Aelin’s head, not for following the orders of their queen. Yes, him throwing he naked out in the snow was a major dick move, and I’m glad that she didn’t let him forget it. What I don’t condone is his reaction to seeing Aelin again. He just hugs her like nothing ever happened. He’s an asshole to Lysandra for months, but he just forgives Aelin for everything as soon as he sees her. I’m sorry but no. I would’ve forgiven the entire conflict between him and Lysandra being tedious if he had just punched her in the face before he hugged her. God knows she deserves it for all the shit she’s pulled over the course of six books.

So, I hate Aelin Galathynius. Like straight up hate her. She went from being a brat in the first few books to being the worst case of Mary Sueitis I have ever seen outside of self-insert fanfiction. First, she’s a secret princess, a “twist” anyone with a brain could see coming. She’s also somehow the best at everything she does, even though she shows no evidence of any of it. How does the country’s best assassin get caught? On top of that, how does anyone even know who the country’s best assassin is? Shouldn’t hiding your identity be rule number one in the assassin handbook? This shit-licker could’ve been any happy-ass teenager with a knife pretending to be this famous assassin when they caught her. How would they know? Answer, they shouldn’t have any idea (that would’ve also made for a much more interesting story). So, not only is she the best at everything she tries for reasons, she’s also the only one in the whole damn world with fire magic, the only thing that can hurt the demons for a majority of the series. And she doesn’t just have regular old everyday fire magic. No, she has fire to rival fifteen suns going supernova at the same time. She’s also the prettiest and smartest and nicest and snarkiest and funniest girl in the world. She outsmarts someone thousands of years old who could’ve snapped her neck or dropped her in to a literal Hell with a flick of her wrist. But no, Princess Mary Sue wants her new boytoy free, so the villainess has to get tricked into letting him go. Now, let’s not forget she’s also the Chosen One who deus ex machinas her way out of sacrificing herself because no one can do anything without her there to save the day. Seriously, no one ever wins anything unless she’s there. It happens more than once in this book. Her boytoy and company show up to rescue her from aforementioned villainess just as she’s breaking herself out, and they can’t get her chains off until she somehow shows them how to unlock them. She then proceeds to get them out of the country through her magic of summoning deus ex machinas whenever she needs one, and they arrive just in time to rescue Chaol and Nesryn from certain doom. She stops a cascading river with fire because science, and when all hope is lost back home, she shows up on a magical white deer with the Rohir- oops, I mean her army. She also somehow holds off two of the most powerful creatures in the world with her assassin skills and barely any magic, because... villains have to lose, I guess. You know what Aelin loses by the end of the book? Her humanity, which she suddenly cares about ten pages before it’s gone. Aedion lost his father and at least half an army at his command. Manon lost the only people she really cared about in the whole world, and she could do nothing but watch them sacrifice themselves. And Aelin lost her humanity when she’s already been living as a fae since book 3. Oh God, how will she ever survive such a loss? She is actually the worst.

These books, this one in particular, are clearly written with a younger audience in mind (much younger than me at least, and I’m 30), and I strongly believe the target audience is girls. There is so much description of how beautiful the men in this series are that it almost borders on obscene. I do appreciate having a clear picture of what characters look like, but I do not need to know about all the rippling muscles and long fingers that all the men in this series seem to have. Even bookworm Dorian is described as being oh-so-sexy even though he doesn’t appear to have ever handled a weapon in his life. There is a lot of pandering to the female audience, especially with the sex scenes. In a YA novel, these are pretty inappropriate. She started with sex scenes being a fade-to-black kind of event, and now, almost every single one is described in disgusting detail. I like romance as much as the next girl, but if I wanted soft-core porn, I’d read romance novels. To top that shift off, she still insists on using “rutting” as a substitute for “fucking,” and I think that’s what bothers me the most about the whole change here. They are completely interchangeable in every context, to the point where I just read “rutting” as “fucking” every single time. This isn’t Brandon Sanderson’s silly but story-appropriate swearing. It’s just lazy writing. And detailed descriptions of sex are okay, but swearing? Someone call Takamata. We need to start the Inquisition. (History of the World reference for anyone confused.)

This story ends exactly as you should expect it to, with a happily ever after. None of the main characters die, and those with names go out as sacrifices, which is honestly consistent with the rest of the deaths in this series. The deaths we do get are mostly to make the main characters feel bad for no real reason. Aedion even flat-out states that Gavriel could’ve stayed inside the walls, and there is no argument, author or characters, as to why he had to go outside. At least the Thirteen’s sacrifice makes more sense. It was still pretty dumb to have them go out at all, but I don’t know if I could come up with a better way to destroy those witch towers. What they did was noble and understandable in context, though there were probably any number of ways it could’ve been avoided. I’ve seen Desolation of Smaug. Just drop a dragon/whale/elephant-Lysandra on top of the tower before they even get it fixed up to move again.

One last complaint that I have regarding the ending is largely the villains. There are three of them, and all three kind of go out like bitches. Erawan, the dickhead pulling the strings since book 1, gets tricked and healed to death. There are a lot of millennia-old creatures getting tricked into doing stupid things in these books. Manon’s grandmother (who never gets a name by the way) gets blown up by Asterin. Honestly, hers was probably the most satisfying end of the three because Asterin got the vengeance she deserved for her hunter and child. Maeve somehow became the biggest threat halfway through the series, and she meets her end in the most extravagant fashion, impaled by Fenrys and then decapitated by Aelin and burned to ash. What irritates me most about Maeve is she could’ve been great. If anyone has read the manga, Magi, you know what I’m talking about. Maeve is discount Gyokuen with half the threat and less than a quarter the sense. Where Gyokuen is highly capable, both as a fighter and a politician, Maeve is kind of a pushover who gets tricked by our “heroes” numerous times. She’s shown preparing for all sorts of unlikely eventualities, but she somehow can’t handle the plucky teenagers. Give me a break. From the moment you meet her, you know Gyokuen is going to be one of those bad guys that will require some clever thinking to defeat. I felt like Maeve could just be snuck up on and murdered by anyone who knew her schedule. Her last ditch effort against Aelin was clever, but other than that, she barely puts up a fight despite all the fear and hype she gets from almost every character in the book.

Now, like I said above, I did enjoy these books. I don’t feel like my time was wasted or that I was manipulated by them at all. I had fun with them the same way that I have fun with SyFy channel original movies. The characters and story had so much more potential than what this amounted to, but I don’t hate this series at all. Yes, the subplot with the gods was idiotic and unnecessary, but the valg were interesting as an enemy type. Yes, the romance shoved down my throat could be awful at times, but some of the relationships were genuinely sweet. Chaol and Dorian are the best bros, and I love Lysandra taking it upon herself to protect this little girl when she could’ve looked the other way. Manon’s relationship with Asterin was great as well. Do I wish it was better? Absolutely. Should it be boycotted by everyone? Of course not. Despite their problems, these books are fun, fluffy, popcorn movie fun, and sometimes, that’s just fine.

#kingdom of ash #throne of glass #spoilers #complaints #honest review

4 notes · View notes

piracytheorist · 7 years ago

Text

Reactions to this post hating on fanfic, that the original poster/hater will never read. Sadly.

(I'm doing this partly in a live-blog fashion, so keep that in mind.)

1) But I/we aren’t trying to make any money out of it!

Well, see, this is where “illegal” comes in. You can’t break into somebody’s house, even if you don’t mean to steal anything. You can’t camp in someone’s backyard without permission, even if you aren’t raising a marijuana crop back there. And you can’t use someone’s copyrighted characters for your own purposes, no matter what those purposes are.

That's bullshit. This is bullshit. And btw, the law isn't always right, let's not forget. You can't compare those things; you're practically saying every musician who ever played a variation/remix of an existing temporary music piece without asking for the rights to use them but also without demanding money to show their work, are criminals. I guess say goodbye to street musicians. You're saying anyone who paints themselves a copy (or a variation) of Picasso's Guernica and hangs it in a public space (say, a coffee shop) is a criminal. Bullshit.

Oddly enough, the notion of using someone else’s characters never occurred to me. I just tried to do it on my own. Surprise! It worked.

Oddly enough, not everyone's like you. Surprise! The world doesn't turn around you.

[...] are you getting positive feedback because some fans are so hooked on the characters that they’ll read anything involving those names (whether the writing accurately reflects those characters or not)? One real easy way to find out. Write anything you want, using Jamie Fraser, Edward Cullen, Harry Potter _and_ Dr. Who….and then change the characters’ names before you post it. Simple. Find All: “Jamie Fraser”. Replace with: “Joe Kerastopolous”. No problemo, all your own work, and any praise you get is duly earned.

How does this even make sense? The only thing this woman cares about are what names we use in fanfiction? If we don't then everything is solved?

4) But nobody would read stuff I wrote if it wasn’t about characters they already like!

Possibly true, possibly not. Depends on how good a writer you are, and how you go about displaying your work once you’ve written it. But—allowing for the moment that this argument holds water—what you’re saying is that a) you deserve an audience, no matter what, and b) you’d prefer to exploit someone else’s talent and hard work, rather than go to the trouble of making your own way.

Way to encourage newbie writers!

I already mentioned the shit she said about Donald Duck being created by Carl Barks. And she was paid by the Walt Disney Corporation, for crying out loud.

[...] if you want to write stories for the Silver Surfer or Superman, go talk to Marvel or DC, and see if they’re taking new submissions or would let you write a sample script.

You know, not everyone wants to be a full-time writer. Some only want to do it in their free time after a work that has nothing to do with writing. What she's saying is to either dedicate yourself fully to writing or not at all. Again, way to encourage newbie writers.

This is, btw, one reason why fan-fic versions of popular characters so often seem superficial; they lack the depth that the Real Thing has—the writer has merely grabbed at the broadest impression of the character, not built them in complex layers.

Did she just ditch the entirety of fanfiction on the basis that they aren't as DEEP as the Real Thing? Even if in a lot of cases the opposite applies?

I understand the urge to take a story that’s fired your imagination and carry it on or explore other avenues that it might have taken. ¬_Everybody_ does this, when they’ve seen a movie or read a book that captured their imagination [...] Giving people intriguing possibilities is one of the hallmarks of good fiction. But what you do in the privacy of your own imagination is a matter of total freedom; what you do in public is not.

So... we have no freedom of speech then? I mean, I get calling out someone who is talking rude in public, but that's still this asshole's right, as it is my right to call them out.

Beyond the specific arguments against the concept remains the unfortunate fact that a terrible lot of fan-fic is outright cringe-worthy and ought to be suppressed on purely aesthetic grounds.

So are so, so many published books that had no connection to fanfiction whatsoever. Didn't see you going against publishing in general.

Now, I don’t go looking for fan-fiction written about my characters; in fact, I try _not¬_ to see it. But now and then someone sends me a link to a site displaying it [...]

See, if the writer didn't send you the link themselves, you shouldn't blame them for you getting exposed to it! There's a reason the majority of fanfiction writers don't want to send their writings to the original content creators. But you would’ve known that, had you asked the fanfiction community first before you tried to paint us as horrible people.

Now, look. Human beings are hardwired to be interested in sex. We just _are_. Any kind of sex, performed by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Bad sex, good sex, poorly depicted sex, elegantly drawn sex…it doesn’t matter. We have a genetic compulsion to _look_. We’ll look at _anything_ having sex, human or not.

And on your right side, you can see erasure of asexuality.

But…imagine opening your daily mail and finding a letter detailing an explicit sexual encounter between, say, your twenty-one-year-old daughter and your forty-eight-year-old male neighbor---written by the neighbor. At the bottom it says, “Fiction! Just my imagination. All cool, right?” This would perhaps prevent your calling the police, but I repeat…ick. I wouldn’t like people writing sex fantasies for public consumption about me or members of my family—why would I be all right with them doing it to the intimate creations of my imagination and personality?

Is she actually comparing her protective feelings to her fictional characters with the protective feelings to her own family? Is this woman mentally okay?

And personally, I would have called the police.

[...] Emmett someone (who I _think_ is from Twilight; I sort of hope it’s not the willowy young “bottom” from the TV show “Queer as Folk”…)

I'm treading carefully here since I haven't watched the show... but I do get an air of homophobia and discrimination against people who are into BDSM. Wouldn't surprise me, tbh, but I can't be sure.

I also mentioned the fact that she was angry someone wanted to write a fanfiction with her character in order to raise money for a charity. Hm. And then tried to cover it. Of course she would.

People in the book end of the trade watch these developments with a lot of interest—and some apprehension, knowing what happened to the music industry with the advent of Napster and file-sharing. The music industry still exists, of course, but it’s a lot harder for the creative people who _make_ music to make a living from it.

Dude, file-sharing harms the music industry because they take the original content and give it to the world for free. Writing fanfiction isn't copying the entirety of your book and giving it to the world for free. That's still file-sharing, blame the pirates. Fanfiction can fucking promote your work without you having to offer a single penny.

People who read my books tend to be both intelligent (not just because they like _my_ books, but by and large, it takes a fair amount of intellectual resilience to want to take on 1000-page books of any kind), and creative.

LOL honey, get over yourself already. Also, the Twilight series consist, overall, of over 2k pages. Does that mean anything for the people who read it? I read three of those books. Am I intelligent and creative too?

Characters—good characters, “real” characters—derive their reality from the person who created them. They _are_ the person who created them, refracted through the lens of that writer’s experience, imagination, love, fear, and craft. Another writer seeking to duplicate that character might equal—or conceivably surpass--the craft; they can’t touch the essence.

When you mess with my stuff, you’re not messing with my characters—you’re messing with _me_.

Who are the writers of the Outlander TV series again? Oh that's okay because you're making money out of it?

readers occasionally _do_ stumble over bits of fan-fiction, and—while they realize they’re reading fan-fiction at the time— still incorporate these _faux_ stories into their comprehension and memory of the real series.

I wonder if the script for the Outlander TV series is exactly, word-for-word the same as the script in the book series. Has she complained about that? (I’m actually asking this, though, I’ve no clue) Why should she complain about fanfiction? Because she doesn't make money out of the latter?

There is also the issue of a fan at some point writing a piece that inadvertently picks up a plotline that I have myself written, but that hasn’t yet appeared in print—and then turning around and claiming that I’ve stolen it from him/her [...].

*them. Also, that's one problematic behaviour. She's literally judging all fanfiction writers based on one problematic behaviour, what a grown-up.

Anyway, yeah, even if at some point I would have wanted to give her books a try... now I know I never will, purely out of spite.

#lillpon rambles

6 notes · View notes

onisionquotes · 7 years ago

Text

Why I Delete Comments

Hey guys, first off I apologize for the no make-up. Not really. If I actually felt bad about it I would put make-up on if it was actually a big deal. But, uhh… I want to talk about why I delete comments and why you should delete comments as well if those comments don't sit right with you. I have this thing on my YouTube channel where people subscribe, turn notifications or otherwise check up on it regularly just so they can dislike my videos no matter what I talk about. Like I could talk about how it's bad to punch people in the face who don't deserve it, and and I would get a thousand dislikes. That's just how it is right now. And I think people are doing this as part of an agenda to keep my videos down or something because videos that tend to have more likes are more successful. Typically, not always - but typically. So, I don't appreciate these people that obsess over me to the extent where they regularly come back again, and again, and again and dislike my videos or otherwise hate comment. Leave things that aren't search friendly. That the algorithm will automatically demote if they see said in a video. Like swear words and so forth. I don't need that in my comments. I don't need search engines to think this is some sort of profane video. So, the more swear words you have in the comments; the more nasty things said in the comments; the more dislikes; the more negativity you have in your video- the less likely your video is going to be successful. And this is just based of theory and some real world experiences. So what do you do with all these people who literally only watch your videos to hate, and to dislike etc.? Well, you probably, if your a person that doesn't waste too much time on the same people. Instead of just responding to them and trying to prove them wrong and wasting hours on these random human beings. You just remove their comment, but in a way that makes is so that they can not comment again. So, there is this option. You can't really block people as far as I know. The only option is 'Hide users comments'. So it's basically like your forced to delete comments if you want someone to F off. Right? So for the reasonable people watching, witch likely are people that agree with me. Because I don't know why you would want to consume your life with negative people who are regularly coming back to your video. There are some things that are more important than video views. Okay? So me hiding users comments is going to prevent them from having this platform. Specifically on my videos to propel their agenda forward or otherwise advertise their hate. If I hide all comments or otherwise block them - they can no longer come back on the same account and continue to just vomit the most negative ugly things. So, we've established that there is no real blocking system as far as I'm aware, and that is just hide users comments forever. So what happens as a result of that? Well this person realizes that they no longer are going to get attention for their insane level of negativity. What do they do? Well they likely lose the motivation to continue pointlessly watching videos of a person they don't even like. Okay? So I loose a view, but that's fine with me because I don't appreciate those views. I don't appreciate the negative people coming here and just existing to advertise to everybody that they think that I'm some kind of master mind manipulator. You know like, I'm some kind of methodical super genius who thinks his every little action to the highest amount of detail; all for the sake of some petty vengeance or otherwise messed up time wasting agenda. I don't get it. I don't get this obsession. So, they no longer can advertise on my videos their horrible hate, and yet they still have free speech because they can go to their own channel and make a hate video. They can go to their own channel and say most anything they like. Okay? So when we talk about this being censorship or whatever. It is removing people that who are cancerous from my group, and they can go off and make their own group and be cancerous over there. Anyway, So, My experience is that initially my videos get a lot of good feedback and then all the creeps catch up and then they start bombarding my videos with nasty things. And the reason I say they are 'creeps' is because I have never, ever been the type of person to consistently go to someones video and and just leave hate comments. I've just never been that type of person because I have better things to do. If I'm going to consistently say something negative about someone- I'm probably gonna make a video. I'll probably make a very compelling video or otherwise. Video that is passionate and that will be the end of it. And I'll feel it's been productive because I've shared a message that generally, oftentimes is good for the majority of people. Maybe not good for the person I'm talking about but generally I'm talking about somebody's audience and how their audience is being hurt by the person I'm talking about. Or, otherwise talking about a big issue that's important. That I feel needs to be shared for the sake of people growing their minds or otherwise growing as people in their lives. I don't know, I believe what I'm doing is generally constructive. Generally, not always, but generally constructive. I believe that overall I'm a decent human being based on the numerous people I've encountered. Friends, etc. Like YouTubers that you may like. Many YouTubers that you may like are friends with me or otherwise have a positive association with me, and those people agree with most everything I talk to them about. I rarely, rarely encounter a positive Youtuber; a person who is a really cool YouTuber, who has nothing but negative things to say about me. I have never sat down with any YouTuber ever and had them trash me. Most every single time I've ever even talked to somebody - They're typical talking about how cool they think that I am and I'm talking about how cool I think they are and we get along great. But the people that leave these hate comments are people that most often have never ever met me. Who have no idea who I am in reality. Who are just basing their ideas off the lies of others. People who aren't right in the head. People who are doing everything they're doing for the sake of monetary gain or otherwise getting attention off my name. Which use to to be worth a bit. Still, still I'm quite the punching bag, but it's not quite worth what it was before. The point of all this though, is I'm establishing that I do videos, I make videos to have a positive outcome generally. Sometimes I'm negative, I'm rude, I'm down right annoying. But for the most part what I'm doing is good and I think that's the reason I have over one million subscribers is because those people believe that as well. The ones who aren't subscribed just to hate. So now you know why I delete comments, hide comments etc. Because I'm trying to cure the cancer that is these individuals coming here just for attention, just to get their negative message spread and not even actually pay attention to what I'm really saying in the video at all, oftentimes. For instance I'll make a video about another YouTuber. Like for instance yesterday I made a video about another YouTuber and about how their story has not been shared with the public as it should of been. So I shared their story for them, and I got a comment from someone saying 'You know I was agreeing with this video until I realized you where actually making it just because you have spite for another YouTuber.' It's literally not true. This other YouTuber they're talking about probably believes that everything I do is about them. Probably. But that's not how I live. This person… I don't have and interest in them as far as who they are as a person. Every single thing I do it seems, is to react to their comments and their negativity and I don't see how I could obsess over someone I don't enjoy thinking about, I don't enjoy ever looking at. I just don't enjoy them as a person and yet that person seems to make every other thing I do about them. And that's the kind of comment I don't appreciate because it really did. The video had nothing to do with that person other than using a statement that they made in the past to support what I was saying. So again that contradicts the theory that I was somehow trying to say one thing to negatively attack another when again it was in compliance with their own statements that where supportive of the overall video I was making when those statements where spoken. It's very complicated but it's also very simple. We say, 'don't put up with the crap of anyone. Don't take crap from anyone. Don't let people walk on you.' We have all the phrases that people love. They cheer, they support. Like 'Aww Yah, put that hater in their place.' 'Don't put up with the hater BS.' We're all supportive of this idea that people that are negative like that, who go to other peoples videos and exists just to hate on them, who go to peoples videos and just dislike with out even watching the video. We have almost a unanimous opinion of those people - that they are gross humans, that they are waste of lives, that they are generally sad pathetic individuals. Right? But when we actually take actions that fall in line with the 'don't take crap from anyone'. When we take actions that fall in line with our hate for these hateful people. Which is ironic in a way. But our distaste for these hateful people when we do things, suddenly now we're the bad guy. So is it all talk? Do we say 'Don't take crap from anyone at all' talk. Or are we actually going to mean what we say and say 'Yah, you should kick those people off of your videos.' You should because you're not taking crap from anyone. Now you understand, hopefully, the majority of the full picture. And to anyone thinking I'm making a video about them with out specifically saying who they are or otherwise very in detail describing them. Please get off your high horse. Please stop thinking everything is about you. It's creepy and you need to move on.

#onision #took this from the Forums again #thank you based transcript annon

10 notes · View notes

sorrymomandcat · 5 years ago

Text

Wed. November 6 2019

12:21AM I need a new lighters

8:09AM

I woke up with that feeling.

Surprisingly not tired.

I might be after I cry.

Goodbye past.

4:33PM I'm starting this in my car on my anxious pressured 'break' at the ever busy Budapest. I'm gonna not. Brb.

4:55PM Okkkk, I’m going to be real with you.

I had a lot of clever ways to open this conversation but I have forgotten them since sitting in my Ferrari having not 1, but 2 smokes. You ever feel like you’re chewing on your own teeth? No? Good, that means you haven’t smoked meth for the past 255 days. To be clear- Cobain, Lampwick & The Joke are all synonyms for a former co-worker. Although the same person, they’re sort of not #mentalhealthawareness. TLDR; the more evolved part of me really hopes this guy is just a mean, jaded fucking asshole because the alternative is that they’re deeply psychotic and likely the permanent kind. Both leave little hope for improvement but the former at least KNOWS that. KNOWS I know. I could do a whole bullet-point slideshow fucking presentation on the red flags I had been seductively blindfolded to through exploitation of deepest nature and a stubborn unwillingness to accept pain and anger & I just might. I might. I might need to! I processed most of it as it was happening, denial was a bitch though. If you come from a place of; neglect, abuse and chaos but decided to assess your damages rather than project them on to innocent and typically pretty wonderful people.. then you need to equip yourself. Even if you took the more outward approach, leaving everyone in your path as empty useless collateral damage.. you could benefit as well. Tell yourself 'I’m only self-improving to gain further access and a tighter hold of my victims’ It doesn’t matter. Educate yourself on the impact of trauma/abuse/upbringing. See what happens to you. @ me.

5:53PM There’s a lot of Construction Boyz here tonight. They hit on me and I’m all like ‘omg I smoke crystal meth and I’m in an over-sized hoodie at work with obviously contrasting roots growing in.. you have no idea how much I needed this’ hahah. Still, it’s nothing quite like the validation I get from making humble jokes to myself in my neurotic head! Where was I? Oh yeah. The Joke; Lampdick. This motherfucker fucking pulls out a REAL LIFE meth pipe, Chief Leaf right there. Of course CL is through-n-through up to date and real time a best friend without judgement, so it doesn’t reflect on me, but I’ve been fighting tooth (lol) and nail against obvious (but not blatant) disapproval toward this endeavor with Joke.. (of course gaslit with remarks like ‘fuck the haters’ ‘you’re really going to care what they say’ ‘it isn’t their relationship’ .. you’re the hater.. they treat me with consistent respect so duh.. you’re absolutely fucking right-it’s ours-and it fucking sucks because you’re an abusive psychopath.. shove that isolation groundwork technique up your) ? No respect. To pull out a fucking meth pipe after:

Day 1 appreciating we had a different DOC (drug of choice) and agreeing that use needs to be controlled in the best harm reduction sense possible & I firmly disclosed that I am 100% in no fucking way ever going to be okay with anyone-ever smoking meth near/with me. I still barely forgive the fuckers that ever let me do it - and I know full God damn well it was my choice/fault/willing action. I barely forgave myself! For letting them let me! Or that I even let me let them do it! So. No. It was immediately made clear. Day 1.

Throughout this treachery The Joke made here-and-there comments about like “pass it this way” and “why don’t you save me any” and other repulsively ignorant and juvenile comments and my stance toward the matter remained firm. Which he always met with “yeah I know! I’m obviously joking! I agree! I would never do that to you” Like I was crazy for hardening my responses. Fucker, fucking fucker.

Seeing/hearing what I have vulnerably shared and experienced since the first day I made this choice (and I know not everyone who has/will make that choice is going to have MY experience. I’m not claiming that. I’m claiming ‘I don’t give a fuck what another person’s experience may be - I am not fucking here for it’ - ‘it’s a no from me dawg’

Knowing how desperately I am trying AND want AND try to want (some days it really do be like that) to stop smoking crystal. To end-all repair the damage it has done to myself, my relationships and my life. To prevent the inevitable damage that waits if I don’t.

Not to mention all the attempts at ‘crazy making’ by exploiting my guilt and fear of potential harm: caused by crystal meth. ie; “you’re definitely sleep-stealing my keys and/or moving things because YOU’RE smoking crystal meth, and that shit is BAD bad + your traumatic childhood,’ (that he doesn’t give a fuck about unless using it against me in similar scenarios) ‘so come on. You can’t deny engaging in these behaviors, that I refuse tell you about. You meth-trauma black events out.. you’re not conscious of it because of YOUR big bad drug.” (which it is and I don’t intend to downplay it)

Seriously. These are real events & that’s just scratching the fucking surface. Note: this blog intentionally has NO followers and is ran anonymously. My intention is only to self-vindicate the man made madness I've enabled. Yet STILL it manages to drag into a month and a half of my God damn precious and OBVIOUSLY seriously fucking sensitive time. I feel NO shame for that; for struggling right now. For falling the fuck on my ass/face/faceassfuckhands onto a SERIOUSLY cemented floor! that manages to also be falling upwards into my fucking face! So instead of ceasing upon impact; continuously bashing my fucking FACE in. It fucking happens man. I fucking know that and I fucking own it as shamelessly as is safe to. Not as a way to justify where I am right now - but to foster a belief that I am worth the insidiously meticulous effort that's required to be better. In a better position to improve the quality of how I serve myself and thus actually beginning to serve those around me. Jesus shit what a Joke. I can’t believe I let myself: be treated this way, be ignorant to it, be willing to entertain the idea that maybe it was OK (even warranted).. but between you and me: I find it even harder to believe that another human being - one who has clearly been deeply wounded as well - can see the genuine sincerity of another human being’s soul and heart.. compulsively bleeding from a profundity raw enough to captivate a nihilist.. and humbly exposes it.. with nothing but purity in the regard of inherit human good.. and could intentionally stick their dirty fucking arms vigorously inside and tear at the exposed gauge made faithfully available. I’m not innocent here. But there’s no blood on my hands. I won’t point my fingers but my eyes are staring right at you. I know what you did to me. I did not agree to it. I agreed to taking the risk. Do you know what you did to me? Educate yourself. Wash your fucking hands.

I didn’t bring any crystal to Budapest today. I didn’t know I was going to begin opening this, or I would have.

= I’ve got to go for a smokes.

That’s enough for now.

7:55PM I don’t know wtf but Doug offered me to get stoned and so I did outside but the guys who needed to switch rooms came back and then outside too because they insisted on my break.. Golf was looking for tape and offered me a Tim Horton’s, I said hot chocolate. Then Striped Vest guy also forever chatted and offered me a Tim Horton’s; I said hot chocolate. Still no tape and I tell him about Striped Vest and hot chocolate. He says ok. Meanwhile, Doug and his friend Chevy Lover are shooting the shit too and Doug asked for my number. Well first he asked if I was single. He asked if I was dating anybody LOL first of all I’m stoned and second of all the literal words out of my mouth were ‘everybody’ sincerely believing it as a reflection of my innocent love for life and immediately realizing that was a stupid answer so on reflex I said “no, myself. ha ha no. nobody. nope. that’s a. this guy who was my boyfriend died once. like a long time ago. no. weird. yeah it was wicked. wait what? why? but no. I don’t. not.” and I’ll never forget that or this hot chocolate.

8:03PM Golf asked me to put his poppy on (dude you’re 51, you’ve definitely done this more than me and I HATE war) so I asked him like, when the war was and what it was called - “Oh no, I don’t know a lot about history” meanwhile a second ago he was like “I guess I should put one on because my Grandpa fought in the war” no that was you. anyways so I’m learning about WW1. You say you remember so much, name 5 of our veterans? #therealneverforget

Disclaimer: I still haven’t read anything about it, I’m sorry to all relatives of dead soldiers I deeply condolence and RIP. No disrespect. We out here.

8:07PM Damn I really wish I had another hot chocolate.

8:39PM How is it not midnight?

#fuckyou #inhumane #livingtumbstonefeels #enemiesnotfriendsintokyovibe

1 note · View note

andrewuttaro · 6 years ago

Text

New Look Sabres: GM 80 - NSH - Didn’t Suck

John Vogl of the Athletic wrote an article last week called “How a Tuesday Night in December set a fateful tone for the rest of the Sabres’ Season”. It’s another excellent work by one of the better elder statesman of Buffalo Hockey media but more importantly it helps one in having an honest conversation about what this season is, was, and will be remembered as. One might look back on February 20th as some kind of turning point this season as well when Jason Botterill said he supported Coach Housley and a coaching change was not imminent. The post-vote of confidence part of the season, roughly Game 60 on (Buffalo has been 3-14-3 in that time), has been so bad it’s forced even optimists like me to swim in the deep ocean of miserable Sabres takes. I hate doing that if that hasn’t been clear and I was the kind of guy who didn’t think their playoff chances were really dead until that four-game losing streak earlier in February. I’m rehashing all these turning points for a couple reasons. For one, I’ve already spent one of these blogs covering an Amerks game and another entirely on coaching. I’m running out of shticks and there are still two games left. The other reason is that facing Nashville tonight got me thinking about turning points. The only other time the Sabres faced the Preds this season was an early December loss three games removed from the end of the winning streak. At that point we all knew nothing except for joy and happiness; I was strung like a loaded coil to go to the first Leafs game in Buffalo. I recall the other Nashville game clearly: it was a neutral zone battle that made me proud to be a Sabres fan, but it ended 2-1 in favor of Nashville. I was still so pompous at the time I was prepared to make a sign for the Leafs game to follow that referenced there almost being a team in Hamilton, Ontario! What a different time that was. This whole trip down memory lane I just took would’ve been a little monotonous and stupid, kind of like the Sabres season at this point, if I didn’t lead off with a bump for John Vogl. He is worth your time and money so go subscribe to the Athletic Buffalo. I guess I have to talk about the game we had tonight now… ugh, okay: The Sabres lost again. This time they didn’t seem completely lost.

The Nashville Predators have been the subject of some discussions of playoff readiness. The defensive juggernaut that isn’t too bad on offense either has been just ok lately. The 2017 Stanley Cup Finalists have been outmaneuvered or outright smashed in several games in March resulting in some upset fears going into spring. The Buffalo Sabres playing with Nashville as close as they did, particularly for the first two periods of this game, is in some degree attributable to this sagging Preds team. Nashville’s Craig Smith opened up the scoring in the first frame at a little under 9 minutes into the game. As the game continued the play of both teams opened up a bit; chances became more plentiful for both as each team kind of tripped over their own defensive schemes. It was the Preds defense struggling to get into to position that allowed for a tic tac toe pass play in the offensive zone for the Sabres. Kyle Okposo ended up getting the puck behind Pekka Rinne and tapped it in. It was 1-1 through the first intermission but that changed awfully quickly in the second period. P.K. Subban got out all alone against Carter Hutton and shot it past the former Predator in net. It was practically off the faceoff. It was 2-1 for a very brief time again before Conor Sheary thought he evened it up about three minutes into the middle period. The ref said it did not count. Before we go on it’s worth mentioning this was probably the best effort the Sabres have completed in several weeks. Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Casey Mittelstadt, really all the guys, even the ones who aren’t big names did good tonight. The key follow-up there is they didn’t win. You guys got to figure out how to do that more consistently. Nonetheless, it felt nice to not watch another skating clinic.

Jeff Skinner evened up the game at 2 after gathering a nice rebound off the back boards with mere seconds left in the second period. I tuned into the third period full of hope Buffalo would make a real game out of it. They did but Ryan Johansen snuck a puck high on Hutton: it was one of those bounce in bounce out goals that gives Philadelphia Flyers flashbacks to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. I built that up like it was a momentous play, but it was just a goal and it put Nashville up 3-2 where the game would end. The boys in blue and gold put up a good late effort to tie it, but the third equalizer never came and this one will look like just another regulation loss in the history of this season. This game didn’t suck and that maybe the summation of the only things that make this game watchable. It was so refreshing to see Jeff Skinner scored again that I wear a smile thinking about this game; maybe that’s a sign of just how far we’ve fallen. The Skin Man Skinner is now being treated as a departing hero by some and free agency seems like an inevitability with him at this point but silly optimists like me will continue to concoct ways he stays. The rumor mill has been so silent on him lately it feels like no one will even tolerate us being hopeful about the situation. On the other hand, I heard a theory Skinner is waiting for Phil Housley to be fired to sign. That’s probably some smelly bullshit but if that were true how quickly would Jason Botterill drop Housley? Immediately? That leads me to the considerations of everyone’s favorite weekly hockey column: 31 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman.

This time we look at Friedman’s writings with a little skepticism. He states in thought number 8 that Jason Botterill doesn’t want to do a coaching change because there have been five coaches of the Sabres since Lindy Ruff left back in 2013. That doesn’t meet the smell test by way of the simple fact Botterill has only been here for one coach. If he has been indoctrinated with the concerns of ownership that’s another story but I don’t see him worrying about past bench bosses. The other half of the thought is that if the Sabres can’t get one of the big names this offseason following firing Housley (cough Joel Quenneville cough) than it makes since given Jason Botterill’s history in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization that he’ll promote Chris Taylor. Firstly, I want to point out I called it and have now been vindicated by Elliotte Friedman and second, why not? There is a glut of good AHL coaches and NHL assistants soon to be finding new jobs. Imagine this: The Rochester Americans win the Calder Cup after a hard-fought season and as reward Chris Taylor is announced as the replacement for the vacancy in Buffalo (because we know they’re firing Housley, right?). This allows you to hire one of half a dozen great AHL coaches to fill that void instead of taking another risk with an unproven guy for the NHL job. I will continue building this case until it comes to fruition. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

You know what to do: like, comment and share this blog around with friends and family. There is a certain dark-side of Sabres fandom that has reared its head in recent days that I have relegated to the P.S. of today’s blog. Instead of talking about that stupidity with any degree of credence we’re going to have a little talk about women’s hockey. I am an asshole, or at least I feel like one. I have only really mentioned the Buffalo Beauts or women’s hockey in passing this season and that’s not great considering the real titan of a team we had in Harbor Center this year. Now with the sudden folding of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) the whole professional outfit of women’s hockey in North America has suddenly gone into crisis mode. NWHL looks to be expanding to Toronto and Montreal to help the cause but this is really an issue all hockey fans should be screaming from the rooftops about. I waited far too long to do so myself. So that’s all for tonight folks, we only got two more of these Sabres games left! Let’s Go Buffalo!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. He is everything and definitively not the problem. Stop. If you bring up the Eichel-hater discussion going on right now in the Sabres Noise-o-sphere I am going to block you immediately. Just an fyi.

#buffalo sabres #hockey #blog #nhl

0 notes

igumdroppoop · 6 years ago

Text

oh my god guys i literally just finished writing this sub blog and then i refreshed the page by accident and it all disappeared i can’t SO HERE WE GO AGAIN....

happy march guys! i had a long month of february and a lot to tell and share with you guys. i’m pretty sure you guys noticed that i spent a lot of time with my friends during that month, specifically with aria/joyce/celine especially. it’s probably because i started playing games more that we started hanging out more, and it’s honestly really funny when we get together because it seems like four degenerate girls in a slice of life anime just exploring life together and messing around together and yeah LOL. here’s a picture of when we walked in the rain to get fried chicken and finally got it after a long and hard road battle...

other than celine/aria/joyce, i’ve been hanging out a lot with albert too! we’ve just been streaming together a lot and if you guys saw, we did a cooking stream together where we assigned eachother a recipe that we had to impromptu follow. i gave him pork roast from shokugeki no soma which he tried to recreate and here is the expectation VS reality:

LOOOL. it was pretty funny and annie’s reaction to tasting it was the most wholesome thing ever. you guys probably don’t see much of annie because she’s so busy with school but she’s like my older sister who always cheers me up when i need it the most and i love her so much...she also literally takes care of my wounds (on thanksgiving i peeled some of my finger off and she wrapped it up for me and made me a homemade ice pack)

janet’s surprise birthday party was also in february! i’m sure you guys have seen this picture already but just in case any of you haven’t~

it’s crazy because only a year ago, i remember shitting my pants going to the offline tv house to play mafia because i was so nervous if we would all get along or not. and only a year later i feel like all of us have been through so much together that we really trust and love eachother like a big family.

anyways, now to the *real* part... i spent a lot of february not alone and in the company of my friends. and i was debating on not sharing this with you guys, but anybody who isn’t lazy enough to type in the password and read this subblog probably does care a lot about me so i want to share you guys to why february was a harder month for me. i fell into a deep dark hole of internet hate last month and even though it started with just a few mean youtube comments, i dug deeper and started reading mean reddit threads and hateful anonymous comments and even anonymous DMs. before last month i kinda always knew that this hate existed, i just never bothered to read them or put my attention onto them. idk how it happened but it did, and before i knew it i was in really dark place.

people would be calling me spoiled, ugly, not deserving to live, a fake bitch, telling me i should kill myself, and above all those trolls there were serious people too who were messaging me in their disappointment in me, along with just a lot of false assumptions about me...i always thought i had thick skin and that those things wouldn’t bother me which is why i never read them, but some days you’re more sensitive than others, and i guess it just hit me during the wrong time. this made extremely insecure, and at one point i even started to believe the things that people were saying about me and it made me hate myself even more. it was hard for me and it really made me feel like i was letting everybody down in my life when that wasn’t the case at all.

after that i was super self-conscious about all my actions and whatever came out of my mouth. it was hard for me to stream because there are literally people who are watching my stream at ALL times just waiting to clip a moment that shows me being “violent”, “spoiled”, a “fake bitch”...i was kinda scared and it was super hard to sleep too

that’s why i spent a lot of time with my friends last month because they did really make me feel safe. since all my closest friends are in the public image as much as i am if not more, i really felt understood and secure being with them. and guys, honestly, that month was really hard for me but it made me so so so much stronger. i have really changed my perspective to know and believe that i really can’t please everyone, and i need to work to make ME happy and nobody else especially not a hater on the internet. it made me appreciate all the people who were always there for me (you guys, my friends, family) and i realized all the attention i give to negative haters should be given to all my loved ones instead.

i also wanted to thank you guys, who always sent me such supportive messages and any of you who watched my stream whenever you could in your free time. guys, don’t get me wrong, the supportive messages always meant a lot to me, but after reading so many hate messages, seeing a sub just sending me a message of support in my chat just made my HEART SO FUCKING WARM!!! i fucking love you guys. AND I AM OVER ALL OF IT NOW!!!! AND I AM BACK STRONGER!!! HELL YEAAAA JAIME THICKER SKIN +10 POINTS IN LIFE BITCHES!!! what doesn’t kill u makes u stronger

ANYWHO!!! look what anna (nakoini) sent me!! SO CUTE!!

okay honestly not gonna lie after i wrote all of that (twice) i’m pretty tired and have no idea what else to write in this entry... OH! here are my goals for this month:

♡ workout consistently

♡ get better at league

♡ incorporate more games onto my channel

♡ spend more time with my community

with that being said, i’ll be bringing back anime/movie night! i was thinking of doing them on fridays at 5pm PDT. i’ll talk more about the time on stream, but yeah everyone always requests for them so let’s do that more.

also wanted to tell you guys that because i’m going to be streaming league more, you’ll probably see a bit of a change in my community/chat... i don’t think it will be a bad change, but i checked my analytics and already just from streaming league of legends the past week, more of my viewers watch league more than they do just chatting.. isn’t that crazy? it’s only by 3% but still HAHA.

and i’m aware that i’ll have a drop in viewership while i invest more times in games, but to be honest with you guys i couldn’t sustain a healthy balance for myself constantly doing IRL. and also league makes me have so much fun right now and it’s a game i seriously want to keep on playing! and don’t worry, i was never really one to care too much about viewership, as long as my chat is happy and i’m happy fun i still absolutely love streaming. if you told me a year ago i could have even more than 300 viewers playing league i’d be so happy HAHAHAHAH. but whose to say i won’t change my mind next month hehe, life is always kind of a search for balance. this month i’ll be spending a lot more time on my stream and community at the sacrifice of spending time with friends/family but that’s completely okay since i spent so much time last month rekindling those. <3

and to get into the healthy habit of being proud of our achievements even if they are small, here’s my list for the month of feb! and feel free to share them with me while i’m streaming, i absolutely love hearing your guys’ little achievements even if they’re small.

♡ i’m pretty sure if friendships had a grade, i got 100% A+ last month for all my friends <3

♡ got through a rough month with an advantage after (a stronger mental and appreciation for my loved ones)

♡ my uber rating went up to a 4.8 LMAO

♡ learned four new cooking recipes

ok.. as you can see my month was not very successful BUT.. i have my own personal list of things i am going to work on too! and from what i’ve learned from being in the public eye and having a magnifying glass on me:

your life is YOUR life, and nobody is in the position to tell you what to do with it. you decide what you wanna do for yourself, and those who support and love you will support and love you, and those who don’t shouldn’t stop you from doing what you love or doing what makes you happy.

0 notes

mycokezeroromance · 8 years ago

Text

My friends and I have been talking a bunch about horoscopes/star signs and even though for the most part I think it’s just a bit of fun and don’t take it too seriously or judge people/predict the future with it or anything, I also find there’s some (maybe coincidental) grains of truth in it.

I don’t know people from all the signs, so I don’t exactly have a well-rounded impression of all of them. But some friends/family/people I know have also given me impressions of certain signs, if certain traits pop up a lot.

I kinda just wanted to write them down. For fun.

To start with: Pisces, Gemini, and Capricorn

Pisces

Pisces folks pop up most often in my life, which is why I’m doing them first. My mum and many of my close friends are Pisces, so I’ve formed some pretty in-depth impressions of them. From my point of view, the “sensitive crybaby” stereotype is overdone as hell and doesn’t do justice to most Pisces. It doesn’t really cover the range of Pisces traits or why they can come across as sensitive, and is very simplistic and reductive. If I see another ~*pices are so precious &weak and sesnitive pls protect them uwu*~ post I’ll yell.

Pisces ARE sensitive as hell, which is by no means a weakness. They are very often empathetic, too - sometimes a gift, sometimes a curse. They’re very sensitive to other people’s feelings and emotions, which makes them great carers and nurturers, and very understanding friends. But it does a number on their own emotional wellbeing, and it’s not uncommon for them to just get overwhelmed when there’s a lot of bad shit going on. Sometimes it results in total emotional withdrawal, making them seem cold and uncaring - don’t take it personally, they’re trying to protect themselves. Sometimes it results in mental breakdowns and tears. Pisces are easily at risk of emotional overload. Being so emotionally receptive makes Pisces especially susceptible to trauma. A Pisces not seeing a psych or counselor is a damn lucky one. Also, not often known, but this empathy makes Pisces dangerous as hell to clash with. Most people see empathy as a passive, nurturing trait, but don’t often see how it can be a deadly weapon. They know all your insecurities and emotional weak spots, so they can jab like vipers if they’re in a fight with you. Pisces are by no means weak or helpless - they’re steely if they need to be. This especially extends to those they care about. In relationships with others - friends, spouses, family - Pisces are your most loyal companions. They’re understanding, supportive and helpful without second thought. Another aspect of their empathy is they know you sometimes better than you do - and will help you with what you need sometimes before you realise you need help. They’re incredibly thoughtful friends and never need to be asked to help, or give kind gestures.

But they don’t take kindly to having their giving nature taken advantage of. Betray a Pisces and you’ll find they can be utterly cold, and do not give second chances. You’re pretty much dead to them. So I don’t recommend fucking them over.

Pisces primarily value and deal in emotions - these are very important to them. A good way to piss one off is to tell them “you’re overreacting”. To them, feelings are important and real and ought to be respected, as valid as facts and action. Learn to respect and be accepting of emotions if you want to show respect to a Pisces - emotions are how they communicate with themselves and others.

Gemini

I’m doing Gemini next because I’m Gemini myself, and again I know a ton of Geminis as well.

With Gemini, the “two faced bitch” stereotype is typically untrue, though not far off the mark. Geminis have a problem of feeling that they have two people inside them, two sets of values and opinions and emotional ranges, and it can be hard to maintain a consistent front with different personalities battling it out.

Understandably, this comes across to others as inconsistent, fickle and insincere. Imagine telling someone you hate drama and gossip, only to gleefully beg to know the details of some recent scandal! No wonder others see us as two-faced. But don’t worry, it frustrates the hell out of us too. Geminis struggle with asserting and being confident in their own ideas, beliefs and values. They are always sincere, even if they might say one thing one day and say another thing the next. They’re not lying to you - they truly felt that way both times. Because of that, Geminis have trouble with figuring out their own identity and values, even paths in life. They struggle to assert opinions, fearing they’ll feel differently next time the conversation comes up. And they are very often conflicted - wishing to follow different paths at the same time, and feeling torn down the middle. So dealing with Geminis can be difficult. They’re ever-changing, and keeping up can be confusing. But never doubt that a Gemini is telling you the truth about how they feel.

Where Pisces deal in emotions, Geminis deal in knowledge. Hence the busybody gossip aspect - we might not want to be involved in the drama, but boy do we want to know the details of what went down. They love people who can match them intellectually and give them new ideas and information to absorb and mull over. They love feeling smart. But this value can also be crippling - if they don’t feel smart, they feel worthless. If they’re not good at something, they’ll avoid it. They feel most valuable when they’re doing something they’re good at, but this can prevent them from leaving their comfort zone and trying new things. A Gemini who isn’t doing something they feel proud doing is a miserable Gemini. But an unstimulated, unchallenged Gemini learning nothing new is a bored one. It’s a vicious cycle.

In conflict, Geminis are prone to talking (or yelling) things incessantly when given the chance. They want you to know INTRINSICALLY what you did to hurt them and how they feel about it. And they have a lot to say on it. It’s not them trying to make you feel like a shitty person - they just need you to know exactly why they’re upset. In turn, they’re infuriated by lack of communication. The worst thing you can do to a Gemini is “give them space” or leave them in the dark (or on ‘read’). Nothing unleashes a Gem’s rage like you ignoring their messages when they’re trying to resolve shit with you. Communication is so important to them, and things can’t always be resolved with a “I’m sorry” - they need to talk it out with you, discuss everything and wrangle every problem into resolution or compromise. Depending on the person, they may not be brave enough to bring issues up with you, though. If you notice something bothering a Gemini, ask. And most importantly, listen. More often than not, they don’t want drama or to push you away - they just want to fix things.

Geminis are not easy to take advantage of, as they do not naturally have trusting natures - their dual personalities and tendency to second-guess and question things makes that inevitable. They are natural skeptics and don’t give out kindnesses easily. But earn a Gemini’s trust, and they’ll be loyal to you unfailingly. Break that trust, and don’t expect an easy forgiveness. Gemini give second chances, but you’ll have to start all over again to earn your way back into their trust to get it.

Capricorn

Capricorns are interesting folk, and can be either awe inspiring or devastating depending on the person in question. Their traits can make for either wonderful or terrible people, it all depends on who wields them. Typical traits of Capricorns are stubbornness and hard work. These are people of action. They are extraordinarily tough people, with an ability to bull through hardship with their head down and shoulders up, but this makes it extremely difficult for them to open up to you about fears and trauma. They’ll never admit to needing help, as much as they might need it, and it takes a lot for a Capricorn to confide in you. This is okay - just wait. Patience is key with Capricorns, and earning their trust allows them to let you help carry some of their weight. For this reason, the Capricorns I know work especially well with empathetic Pisces.

Capricorns are immovable once they have their mind set on something, which can be either a good or bad thing. In a good way, it makes them driven and strong-willed, determined to push through and ignore criticism and ill-wishers. Haters aren’t a problem for them. In a bad way, though, it makes it impossible for them to back down or compromise, which can be devastating for relationships.

Capricorns can also have a tendency to look out for themselves first. Family and loved ones can sometimes be included as part of that equation - they fiercely look out for the people they care about. But if they see you as an obstacle, prepare to get mercilessly steamrolled. They look out for themselves and their own first, and resent people who they view as wasting their precious resources.

Being hard workers, Capricorns have a strong focus on career goals - they are ambitious and strive to go far in their field of passion. Their drive and passion is a force of its own, and awe-inspiring to see. Again, though, this means you need to be a careful friend. Capricorns who are too career-driven have a tendency to pick friends who they believe will complement and support their career goals - they can unknowingly view friends as resources. As such, if you stop being important or helpful to their goal, they can lose interest in you. If you are not cheerleading them through their work without criticism, they may see you as unsupportive.

Their stubbornness also makes conflict with Capricorns difficult - they don’t do compromise. Either be flexible with Capricorns, or wait for them to come to the right decision themselves. This is largely dependent on a Capricorn’s other traits - if they are proud and particularly career-driven, don’t hold out for a Capricorn ever. They will walk all over you and you’ll never hear them apologise. If, however, their personality is more humble and they value friends+relationships as more than just resources, then be patient. They’ll come around. They can be stubborn as hell, but their care+love for you will ultimately lead them to do what’s right and fair for both of you. And Capricorns can learn to compromise and change their mind on things - it takes patience to allow them to figure it out for themselves.

In the end, Capricorns are as complex as any other person, and they are not inherently bad or good - that is defined by how they relate their stubbornness and drive to the people around them, and how much they value others. And generally, if someone doesn’t value you for you as a person as opposed to what you can do for them, then they’re not worth being around - regardless of their star sign.

Capricorns are especially tough friends to begin with - but as always, patience is key. Wait. Be understanding. With time, you’ll earn their trust and they’ll grow to be a generous and kind friend. Communication is not always easy with them, but they have nonverbal ways of letting you know they’re there for you. Physical gifts are a common token of friendship for Capricorns who want to let you know they’re thinking of you. They’re generous with second chances, but blow it too often and they’ll give up on you. They won’t waste their time on people who continue to repeatedly let them down.

#ali talks #horoscope #astrology #star signs #gemini #pisces #capricorn

10 notes · View notes