#of course the original intended viewing of that art should be respected

[cowardlylittlebranchman]

"Its okay for artists to put things in their art with the entire purpose of it looking/sounding cool" and "people should be allowed to find deeper meaning and connections in things that are not meant to have meaning" are statements that should coexist.

[lostcauses-noregrets]

As a veteran fangirl who only got into aot 2 years ago. I have been a massive fic reader for many fandoms over the years but the sheer number of long, detailed epics in the eruri fandom needs to be studied.

The number of long cinematic fics with indepth world building that are crafted with sheer love and respect for the characters in this fandom is incredible. Usually a fandom is lucky to have few that becomes classics but there seems to be one in every corner here.

I am very grateful for your Tumblr which has been a massive archive of knowledge and guide to navigating this fandom.

Thank you so much Anon ♡ I didn't originally intend for my blog to become the Eruri archive when I first got into the series in 2015, but 9 years and 23K posts later, here we are!

You're not the first person to be struck by the sheer range of incredible writing in the Eruri fandom, to say nothing of the fanart. We've been blessed by so many amazingly talented writers over the years, and one of the most amazing things is that they just keep coming. Many people predicted the demise of the Eruri fandom when Erwin died, when the manga ended, when then final anime episode aired, but the fandom is still thriving and new writers are posting fic every month.

However as you rightly pointed out, it's not just the quantity of the fic that's remarkable, it's the quality of the writing, the characterisation and the world building. I have a few of my own theories as to why that should be. First of all the canon material is a gift. Erwin and Levi are both mature adult characters with considerable depth and nuance and their canon relationship (regardless of whether you view it as romantic or not) is intertwined with the plot. It doesn't hurt that both of them have tragic backstories and then of course there's Erwin's internal conflict, heroic sacrifice and Levi's determination to fulfil vow. Honestly what more could you ask for from a ship?? It's no surprise that 3 of the 5 most popular manga chapters chosen by readers of Bessatsu Shonen manga focus on Erwin and Levi's relationship. They really are just that good.

I also think that because Erwin and Levi are both adults, rather than typical teenage shonen protagonists, that they attract a slightly older fanbase. That's not to say that younger fans can't be amazing writers of course, many are, but I think older fans often have a range of life experience that they can bring to their writing. Also I know for a fact that there are many Eruri authors who have successful professional careers and are published authors in other fields including technical writers, academics, researchers, historians, poets, journalists and more.

I've lost count of the number of times I've heard fans say that the Eruri fandom has spoiled them because of the quality and range of the fic and art, and honestly, it's hard to disagree. I regularly re-read fics that were written a decade ago and the characterisation is still pitch perfect. Some of them even pre-empt canon events that appeared in the manga years later. At the same time, I'm discovering new authors every week who are writing heart breaking fics that provide new insight into these characters who I've loved for so long. The Eruri fandom really is one in a million and I'm very grateful it's been such an important part of my life for so long. I'm glad you're able to enjoy it too ♡

[glngrbred]

Story about Grime

a short story i wrote in universe for my main project (the card game :) "

Homunculi Magic is part of the seed that is creation, not existence, not life, creation, of course, by its own nature, the very first thing to spring into being was grime, and it did so purely because it thought it should try something new, everything that had yet to exist was to scared to try, but grime knew it would be fun, and at the sight of this, they fey chose to learn from the muck, Soon they learned to populate the world seeds with plants and detritus, and creatures of many kinds, and the muck thanked them, for now it had people to play with. 

But nothing loved the muck back, They dug it out from their nails, stripped it from their fur, shoved it out of their nest, and cried when it tried to hug them through their finery. And one day, Grime gave up on trying to befriend others, it went still, and quiet, and it didn't move for a very long time. Sadly, one day grime was alone in thought, thinking about the beginning, and how it felt to be lonely,

and grime wept, for it had not changed one bit, and out of those tears came a little Goby. 

The fish was so beautiful, it shone like a star,  and then it swam up to grime and rested its own head in the muck.  Grime was never lonely after that, and so grime was at peace, accumulating as time passed, as it knew for certain that somewhere, its shelter was being enjoyed.

And that’s where many stop telling that story, for young ones are normally asleep by the time the dirt cries. But that’s not everything in the story,  No! Goby wasn’t content bringing grime to peace!  Soon the Goby Multiplied and became many, And soon the entire ocean was full of fish, all of them bringing and savoring their own Muck! 

The goby never let Muck feel alone, And soon they had found purpose, making sure no where, no way would muck be forever lonely again, The gobies of course knew that fear and loneliness waited around every corner so they always worked in teams, some went onto the shores and one day became new birds,  scrounging leaf litter  to keep grime’s favorite view of the sky clear. 

Some went to cities and became orcs Like you and Me,  They thought that Everyone ought to appreciate grime, and soon they did!  Creativity was born out of appreciation of crime, of the unclean, of the messy,  and into that chaos, out bloomed art!  And soon the Goby knew no one who thought could ever forget Grime’s peace, 

but There Goby who still wasn't content, there was only One so determined,  It dug into the grime and found temperance, a feat so magical that we now begrime homes on the solstice.  That same goby, with newfound temperance, newfound understanding, and newfound respect realized something.

Sometimes, those who nurture grim and mess don't intend to,  sometime, those who are not fending for themselves can’t fight well,  Sometimes, those in pain don't fight to live on because they want to, they do because they don't know what else they can do

And the goby now took a moment.

 and it cried, and it let itself cry. But the goby was determined

And into that tear the goby swam, and swam, and swam, that goby never gave up, and on the other side of its tear, it emerged a dragon.

its molten scales shattered against the sand the dragons emerged above.  And those scales? Those scales are what became the Bwbachog. In it’s tear, The dragon had made a wish as it swam, and it’s plea with the universe, In its one foundational, original selfless act,  The wish.

It wished to be able to ward off loneliness, and fear, and Dejection, and so many more plights it knows deep down it helps cause,  and the universe answered,  Creation made a promise to birth more Bwbachog wherever loneliness needed a friend. 

But bwbachog are frail, and they get tired, so it is best to help them however you can. 

That is why you leave a blessing on the counter after you finish dinner, so the Bwbachog can rest, and know that we are thankful for Goby’s wish. We are thankful for friendship."

-A small peice of Orcish oral history.

[unolvrs]

Buddist anon here again (god I should really create a tumblr to talk to you). I think I know why our perspective of the jedi differ. Sorry, I should have made clear to you that only consider the Prequels (PT), Original Trilogy (OT), and the The Clone Wars (TCW) canon and I base most of my opinions from there bc George Lucus worked on those things and Lucas doesn't view anything out of those things canon. For the rest (Legends, EU, games, etx), I pick and choose what I take as canon. If it doesn't align with what I think Lucas's ideas and themes are like the entire idea of gray jedi, i ignore it. Some things that I like and consider canon that's not apart of Lucas's canon is "Obi-wan & Anakin", "Dooku:lost Jedi", "Shatterpoint", the Revenge of the Sith novelization, and "Scum and Villainy". I really liked the "Star Wars Propaganda: A history of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy" book and thought it was really interesting.

So when you say that the galaxy can't be held accountable for standing up for themselves because their the victims and the government is corrupt enough that it wouldn't matter. But how do you think their government ended up that way? It's because the public gradually stopped holding their government accountable and stopped paying attention to politics (you kinda see this in the US). Of course this doesn't apply to governments who were corrupt from the get go. In the PT and TCW, the jedi do help where they can help. But they can't be everywhere at once. I don't know anywhere in the PT and TCW, where the jedi refuse to help when they can help.

The galaxy views the jedi as miracle workers because most ppl have never seen a jedi (remember they're a tiny minority in galaxy full of billions of people) so exagerated rumors spread about everything a jedi can do NOT because the jedi themselves believe that.

For the children thing, based on my understanding from the PT and TCW, the kids aren't taken from their parents, the kids are adopted by the jedi. For most cases, the jedi are given the kids by their parents. In TCW, the Disappeared episodes show the Jedi respecting the wishes of and stopped going to the planet of Bardottans who were unwilling to give their kids to them and accused them of being kidnappers (they found out later that the anti-Jedi attitudes was influenced by rumors spread by the Frangawl Cult, who didnt want the Jedi to discover their plans). In The Children Of The Force episode (esentially Cad Bane steals force sensative babies/infants), Wee Dunn (the Rodian infant) was left with his bio mom despite being intended to be a Jedi. His mom specially said "Master Ropal said that they would come for him to go to the temple but nor for some time." to Cad Bane when he pretended to be a Jedi to steal her kid. If the Jedi just took force sensitive kids, Cad Bane wouldn't have to trick her into giving her kid up. Roo-Roo Page (the Gungan child Bane attempts to steal) is left with her bio mother, there's no indication that she's going to be a Jedi, only that she was on the Force-senssative list. The Jedi don't seem to feel a need to have every single Force-sensative child become a child, considering:

a) they first thought that it was safer to leave Anakin untrained

b) left the Bardottans, Nightsisters, etc alone

c) let ppl leave if they want and still speak highly of them (in Attack of The Clones, the Jedi are reluctant to even entertain the idea that Dooku tried to assassinate Padme).

The Jedi ADOPT kids they don't kidnap them. And from what I can see from the PT and TCW, the Jedi Order are preety respectful about other people's culture and that Jedi from different cultures are allowed and encouraged to celebrate and practice and learn about their birth culture. Are there parents who were pressured to give their kids up? Probably but its probably a miniscule ammount and isnt mensioned in the OT, PT, or TCW. Tbh I don't know why there is a cut-off for kids, I have to think about this more.

I do agree with you that people with power should be held accountable. But why should the Jedi be held more accountable then the corrupt government that rarely ever listens to them? A few notable examples:

- Obi-wan tries for diplomacy bw the Talz and the Pantoran, but is told it's an internal Pantoran matter (TCW, "Trespass")

- Mace tries to prevent further testing done on the Zilo beast and set the Zilo beast free in an uninhabited planet but Palpatine overruled him on Malastare. Later on Coruscant, Mace tries warning Palpatine that bringing the Zilo beast here was a mistake, but Palpatine ignores him (TCW, "The Zilo Beast")

- Mace says that they don't want to send Anakin to Tatooine to make a treaty with the Hutts, but Palpatine does anyway (Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie)

- Mace attempts to stop Palpatine from interfering with Anakin but Palpatine pulls rank and shuts him down:

"Thank you Chancellor, but I'm sure Obi-wan has it well in hand."

"Why, young Skywalker is a Jedi, is he not? The Jedi are under the Senate's jurisdiction. And as i the Chancellor of the Senate..." (Obi-Wan &Anakin)

-Dooku as a Jedi advocates for Serenno in the Senate is practically told to fuck off: "With all due respect, our honorable friend oversteps the mark. The Jedi Council claims to be a servant of the republic, and yet here they are ateenpting to influence senatorial policy. Master Dooku has no buisness petitioning the Senate on such matters." (Dooku: Lost Jedi)

- Mace tries to get Boba's sentence reduced, but is ignored: "A recommendation from Gerneral Windu suggested leniency and rehabilitation as opposed to corporal punishment, a request that ultimately fell on deaf ears in the Judiciary, who cited zero tolerance to attacks against military assets in this time of war." [Scum and Villainy]

Obviously the Jedi weren't perfect because they're people and people are never flawless but they do try to use what little political sway they do have to help better things, but they just get shut down time and time again. They work within the system because they still belive that the Republic can become better.

Now, I'm sorry but I'm going to ask something completely off topic. Do you like thriller psychological crime kdramas? If you do I have a rec for you.

ooh, i treat most games as canon because swtor is amazing, let me tell you that. i can't stop talking about it tbh.

and if i made it seem that "the government is corrupt enough that it wouldn't matter" because that's definitely not what i meant. what i meant with my whole rant is that yes, while the government should be held accountable, the jedi should also be held accountable. it's not entirely the fault of the jedi but they should also share that fault. and you can't really blame the victims for it because that would end up as victim blaming.

victims don't normally know they're victims and have to rely on higher power for them to realize that they really are victims. hypothetically speaking, while some may acknowledge and know that the government should be held accountable, what are they going to do about that without resources? my point with telling victims that they're kind of at fault for not standing up for themselves, is just that you can't expect them to do that. because that's what they are: victims. it may be because of education and the influence of their government as to why they don't know they are victims, which goes back to the government being at fault too, and there are many factors involved but you don't blame the victims. i understand that maybe, that's not what you're trying to say, but i want to clear that up. they should never be held accountable for failing to stand up for themselves because they're the victims.

as for the jedi, i'm sorry if it seemed that i was throwing all the blame at them but what i was trying to say is that they should be held accountable too. they are, at the end of the day, in a privileged position with magical jedi powers, an organization that's been out and about for a lot of years.

i'm also not saying that they should be held more accountable than the people who are literally doing the bad things themselves but they should be held more accountable than they should be. jedis have been around for, like we all know, more than enough years, and there are many times when they sat around and did nothing (though this is in reference to kotor which isn't considered as canon by most people, like you said). so you can ignore this part, but privileged people can always do more. they can always try harder.

and as for the kids...

i get that the jedis don't kidnap them. i hope i didn't allude to that accusation but there's just something inherently wrong with jedis taking kids from their parents, whether it looks like adoption or not. i don't think anyone can justify this to me. i understand it's for the children's safety, and for the "no attachment" rule, but it just bothers me a lot. i feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. that's probably the 'i grew up in an asian household and had a complicated childhood so i'm 100% more sensitive towards the topic of children' in me. but while i understand that, imo, it can't be justified for me.

no one can really convince me to stop being uncomfortable at the idea of jedi taking children, adoption or not. so that's it for me :") and you should definitely make a tumblr! i'd love to talk about this more with you ^

as for the psychological thriller, yup! i love psychological thrillers. i'm not very fond of kdramas since i find them really long and repetitive, and i'm not the type to watch them tbh... but i'd love recommendations regardless :D

[siriusbunbryist]

In defence of Abed x Annie.

Thanks to the magic of Netflix, I’ve rewatched Community at age 24, and still found Abed and Annie to have hit the heartstrings as much as I did when I was in high school watching the show for the first time.

But watching the series in its entirety just reinforces my thought that Abed and Annie had so much potential that was wasted, and it’s a shame that the writers planted all these seeds to only decide that perhaps this direction was not worth it / too risky / unfavoured by the audience. But I mean, Alison Brie herself (and I’m assuming Danny Pudi as well) endorsed them! Find here and here.

This was a pairing that with all the crumbs scattered throughout the show (I think we are all aware of these crumbs I speak of), could’ve easily played the “oh we’ve been secretly dating this whole time” trope during the last episode and it would’ve still made sense.

Naturally I did some scoping, and of course unsurprisingly the J.eff x Annie pairing takes the cake, while not a lot of love for Abed x Annie. So here are common points of contentions I see surrounding Abed and Annie, and my rationale on them.

Before I start, a note - I fully respect the J.eff x Annie ship and I don’t intend on starting a ship w.ar/debate. I understand where their support comes from! I just needed to vent because no one else in my social circle watches this show. No hate please.

1. Abed doesn’t see Annie romantically

I think on the contrary it’s been set up rather long ago that Abed at the very least is attracted to Annie.

Exhibit A: “What are you making” in Beginner Pottery

Exhibit B: “Flat B.utt and the one Abed wants to nail” in The Art of Discourse

This video basically explains it! The summary: Annie is Pierce’s favourite, Pierce constantly insults Britta, therefore Britta is flat b.utt.

Exhibit C: Not even trying to hide it in Accounting for Lawyers

But, a romantic interest has to be further built upon finding someone attractive right? There has to be intrigue to their character, such as

Exhibit D: “I can only connect to people through... movies” in English as a Second Language

It is pretty obvious here that Annie is a rare someone who has successfully broken the impartial screen that Abed filters everything through. Jeff saw it too which is why he said Annie was the ark of the covenant before Abed fell for her disney face. I can only imagine Abed to be quite struck with Annie’s infiltration.

A romantic interest should also share common interests, such as

Exhibit E: “Which makes Annie is my third favourite show” in Paranormal Parentage

I’ve said before that for Abed, a guy who lives life and communicates through comparing it with television and movies, it’s not unthinkable for him to be attracted to someone who genuinely watches his favourite shows and commits to roles during cosplay. And who, besides Troy, would fit this profile? Annie. 

And finally, the biggest indicator of it all, we also see how Abed views the Jeff and Annie pairing in everyone’s favourite episode Remedial Chaos Theory. Keeping in mind that the timelines are rendered by Abed, out of all the timelines, J.eff and Annie only kis.sed when Abed left the room for pizza. As well, as conjured in Abed’s head, Evil Jeff and Evil Annie only existed as a couple in the Darkest Timeline. To me at least, it’s arguable that this alludes to Abed’s omniscient “director” standpoint that he may be the obstacle in the Jeff and Annie relationship - pointing towards him perhaps harbouring feelings for Annie.

2. Annie doesn’t see Abed romantically The general consensus on this point is that Annie is only attracted to Abed when he’s playing a character. I rather think that being attracted to someone, and being attracted to someone during role play, aren’t mutually exclusive. Let’s take a look at the different characters that Abed played.

Don Draper: serious, sophisticated, and smooth.

Han Solo: immature, flirty and a smarta.ss.

Batman: mysterious, complex, and brave.

Three different personas, yet Annie responded to all of them. Since the common denominator to all three is that they are played by Abed, I would like to offer a counterpoint that perhaps the attraction to Abed has always been there, it’s just emphasized when Abed plays a character. Who knows, role playing might even be Annie’s ki.nk. After all, during For a Few Paintballs More, it is shown that Annie is disappointed when Abed dropped the Han Solo persona after the battle ended.

Annie also loves big romantic gestures. Who’s better than doing that than Abed? Since the beginning, Abed has already been doing big romantic gestures of varying degrees for Annie. With this, it’s not ridiculous for Annie to see Abed as a romantic potential.

Exhibit F: Staying in a room for 26 hours in Social Psychology

Annie: You sat in a room for twenty-six straight hours. Didn’t that bother you?  Abed: Yeah I was livid.  Annie: Then why didn’t you leave?  Abed: Because you asked me to stay and you said we were friends.

Exhibit G: Rescuing her from “captivity” and inviting her to move in in Remedial Chaos Theory and Studies in Modern Movement (even Troy was surprised at Abed’s invitation)

Exhibit H: Tearing down the Dreamatorium in Studies in Modern Movement

Annie: What about the Dreamatorium? Abed: Oh it's staying. The Dreamatorium is more important than any of us. But you're more important than our bedroom so we put the bunk bed in the blanket fort.

Bonus: Confirmed by Alison Brie

3. The show was about Jeff and Annie

Dan Harmon said that Community’s approach is that anything and any pairing is possible. We see this is as the series started with the classic “player vs smart snarky girl” trope with setting up Jeff and Britta as the main pairing. We also see Troy and Annie as the potential B couple in the show. The writers also threw Pierce and Shirley, Annie and Britta, Dean and Jeff, and even Chang and Britta in for a laugh.

And then the show subverted this all by introducing Jeff and Annie, and made Troy and Britta a couple, showing us that Community is a show that intends on breaking these classic sitcom stereotypes by experimenting with different pairings. Abed and Annie was no exception to this, as the writers often pair them up in different shenanigans and hint at possible grounds to explore*.

A few examples: Han and Leia in For a Few Paintballs More, Hector the Well Endowed and the Elf Maiden in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, spy partners in Modern Espionage.

No doubt that the show dabbled in and out of Jeff and Annie throughout the series. However, to say that Jeff and Annie was the primary pairing in the series would mean overlooking Jeff and Britta. Especially when Jeff and Britta have the whole love-hate dynamic, three(?) marriage close-calls, and emotional snippets such as helping Jeff reunite with his father in Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations.

Anyway, not to discredit Jeff and Annie, but knowing that the show explores the possibility of different pairings**, why write off Abed and Annie?

* Not to mention that the cop pairing in The Science of Illusion was originally written with Abed and Annie in mind! ** We also see a stray Abed and Britta during Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps.

4. Annie is in love with Jeff To keep this short and shipper-goggle free, Annie has said on numerous occasions that she’s in love with the idea of Jeff, not Jeff himself. Specifically this scene in Virtual Systems Analysis:

Abed as Annie: "…We love Jeff…" Annie: "No we don’t, we’re just in love with the idea of being loved. And if we can teach a guy like Jeff to do it, we’ll never be unloved, so we keep running the same scenario over and over hoping for a different result."

And this scene in Conventions of Space and Time:

Annie: All right, I may have been play-acting that we were married, and then the staff thought you were cheating, and I had to save face. Jeff: Do I have to worry about this? Annie: No, I was just daydreaming. I mean, I've married you at least a half a dozen times. And Troy. And Zac Efron.

Not to mention that their conversation in the finale says it all.

Jeff: I don't wanna be fine. I wanna be 25 and heading out into the world. I wanna fall asleep on a beach and be able to walk the next day, or stay up all night on accident. I wanna wear a white t-shirt without looking like I forgot to get dressed.* I want to be terrified of AIDS, I want to have an opinion about those, boring a.ss Marvel movies. And I want those opinions to be of any concern to the people making them. Annie: Well I want to live in the same home for more than a year, order wine without feeling nervous, have a resume full of crazy mistakes instead of crazy lies. I want stories and wisdom, perspective. I wanna have so much behind me I'm not a sl.ave to what's in front of me, especially those flavourless unremarkable Marvel movies.

*Shipper-goggle on: Part of me thinks this is a reference to Abed, whose iconic style almost exclusively comprises T-shirts. What Jeff is saying is that he wishes he is 25 again with his future open before him, someone who compatible with Annie, but here he acknowledges that he isn’t, and lets her go in the end.

5. Abed and Annie wouldn’t work as a couple Another point I see is that Abed and Annie are strictly platonic and are more like brother and sister. On the basis that they have made out a couple times and are attracted to each other, I would disagree with the sibling statement.  

Troy, in contrast to Abed, I think actually resembles a more sibling-like relationship with Annie. Although Troy and Annie have the strong friendship of Abed and Annie, when disregarding the high school crush stage of season 1, their storylines never dwelled further down an attraction path, nor was there any specific episode that was dedicated to a deep dive of vulnerabilities and confrontation between them. As a comparison, Troy and Britta had opportunities to explore these setups (Troy admitted to lying about his b.utt stuff story and Troy helped Britta face Blade) - an indication that Troy and Britta were heading into non-platonic territory. Jeff and Britta too, had several opportunities to confront their feelings (up till the very last season), a clear indication of a non-platonic relationship.

For Abed and Annie, what I think pulls their friendship towards actual love interest potential is best pinpointed to Virtual Systems Analysis. Annie’s participation in the Dreamatorium prompted her to not only fully submerge into the way Abed thinks and comprehends his surroundings, but she also got to understand and address Abed’s stubbornness and flaws in a vulnerable way, confronting some of her own flaws as well.

Abed as Shirley: Your hospital school, young lady, is a simulation being run through a filter of other people's needs. Abed's been filtered out because nobody needs him. Annie: I need him!

And to point out this little tidbit in VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing,

Annie: That's why Abed is like a brother to me. You guys are so alike. Abed: I can't accept that based on one time machine story.

This whole episode, instead of establishing Abed is like Annie’s brother, I would argue is rather doing the opposite. Abed and Annie’s hyper antics in the episode were basically matched by Anthony and Rachel’s blatant indifference and confusion. For lots of Abed and Annie supporters, this episode was a major setback. But I think it instead highlights how in-sync they are with each other, which is a good thing.

Another point, despite Annie trying to prove otherwise, Abed and Anthony had different vibes, and each shared different dynamics with Annie. And as Anthony pointed out in the end, who were Abed and Annie trying to replace in the apartment? Troy. The person who they are trying to fill is Troy - their roommate, their brother, their best friend. Troy was the brother role that neither Abed and Annie can fill for each other.

In Basic Sandwich, we get this exchange:

Abed: The point is, this show, Annie, it isn't just their show. This is our show, and it's not over. And the sooner we find that treasure, the faster the Jeff-Britta pilot falls apart. Annie: Got it. Thank you, Abed. Abed: You're welcome. I have a girlfriend. Annie: What? Abed: You were about to start a kiss lean. Annie: I was not.

Not only did Abed saw right through Annie’s anxiety and comforted her in his own uniquely Abed way, but he also felt the need to remind her of his girlfriend. The fact that he broke the fourth wall here is likely the writers’ way to be meta, but simply acknowledging the tension and bond there says a lot in between the lines. If tension does not exist, there would be no need for this line.

Besides, instead of thinking that they’re strictly platonic (which of course is also okay), they would rather work great as a couple. In terms of opposites attract, Annie grounds Abed with just the right amount, while Abed clearly encourages Annie to be her true self and be immature. Such as this scene in Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism,

Annie: I’m following him.  Troy: You moving in here was supposed to tone us down!

Annie also doesn’t just tolerate Abed’s idiosyncrasies, she actually likes them and fully participates as multiple paintball games and cosplays would tell us. Special shoutout to the missing lovers footage in Wedding Videography, which through Britta, actually shows us that Annie is the only one who would go along with Abed’s projects - while Britta found the project extremely weird and unhealthy, Annie thought it was fun and commits well to her role.

And while others may tiptoe around Abed, Annie isn’t afraid to call Abed out when he’s out of line and makes a point to teach him about empathy in Virtual Systems Analysis. Remember that Britta tried teaching him this but it didn’t work as well.

I am Abed Nadir... And I don't know a lot of things everyone else knows. I wander the universe with my friend, Troy, doing whatever I want. Sometimes accidentally hurting innocent unremarkables. This week, however, Troy went to lunch and I adapted. I now have the ability to enter the minds of others using an elusive new technique known as "empathy".

As well as in the entire episode of Cooperative Polygraphy.

They also know each other best. Abed knew her cushion preferences, was the one who spelled out her true pas.sion for forensics, and after living together, Annie knew how to navigate Abed’s peculiarities and to soothe him whenever he had a nervous breakdown. 

Annie also knows him so well that she can predict his reaction.

They are also each other’s exception. Annie was always the one who manages to pull Abed out of a trance and back to reality, usually with touch.

Abed is also very forgiving with her. An example is when Annie seemingly lost all common sense because she broke Abed’s special edition dvd in Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism.

Annie: Well, Batman, on behalf of all of us that aren't perfect, can I just say I'm sorry I broke your DVD? Abed: Apology accepted. But I wouldn't mention it to Abed. That guy's pretty ruthless. And that's coming from Batman.

And in Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, Annie was the only claymation doll that didn’t have a weird form (except Troy as toy soldier of course). Annie was a ballerina because Abed sees her as a creature of grace. Abed was also the first one who got her “brighter tomorrow” diorama and responded with enthusiasm.

They are also in the same stage in life. As Dan Harmon explains the choice of Abed and Annie being the ones who leave the group, with Troy gone, Abed and Annie symbolize the many possibilities of the future - a possibility that makes them viable. I like to think Annie transfers to the LA FBI office after her internship and they reunite.

And as the Spice Girls said, “if you wanna be my love.r, you gotta get with my friends”. In Paleyfest, Dan Harmon says this about whoever Troy and Abed ends up dating, “I mean a woman that comes into either of their lives is either going to drive them apart or she's going to have to be really accepting of a very special relationship”.

Britta tolerated their friendship but to a point of asking Annie to distract Abed for alone time with Troy, Troy dumped the librarian as she called Abed weird, Robin disappeared, Rachel we never got to see much of, but was pretty quiet and separated from the group. From this, logically speaking, Annie would actually be the perfect match for Abed, as we all know they’re the ultimate trio within the study group and a transition from friends to more will be natural. 

Oh, and, Abed is wrong. They’re not Chandler and Phoebe with little storylines together, they’re Chandler and Monica. 

Anyway, that’s it for my super long rant/analysis. Community the series is done and over, so there isn’t a need for any ship war. All I want to say is, if #andamovie happens, hopefully, the writers will actually take a leap.

[that-scouse-wizard]

Sightseeing Part One

A/N: Hello everyone, welcome to this little one-shot of mine. I love the friendship between David Willows and Judith Harris that I and @judediangelo75 have developed. So, here’s a tale of David showing Judith around Liverpool, his home city.  Originally, I’d intended to show both the muggle and wizarding side of the city but then it got longer than I thought it would and didn’t want it to be a slog. So here’s part one to briefly show the muggle side, part two should be coming soon to show off the wizarding side.

Context: This takes place in the summer between second and third year so David and Judith are about thirteen here. Also my first time writing David’s mum, Rue (should be mentioned, her face claim is Fiona O’Carroll). Some mild spoilers for my ideas but I hope you all enjoy especially you @judediangelo75!

Word count: 2867

MC friends: Judith Harris ( @judediangelo75 )

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5th of July, 1986

Judith Harris hated the summer holidays, some people would be able to enjoy it, likely going to somewhere abroad with their family but that simply wasn’t an option for her. For Judith, leaving Hogwarts for several weeks meant being stuck with her mother. 

She tried keeping her head down but living under the same roof meant little chance of escape from being constantly subject to her mother’s judgements and cruelty. The tension at home was always so suffocating.

Recently though, she had received a letter from someone she knew, David Willows. The younger brother to Jacob Hall, a friend of her own brother, Jamal. Both of them had gone missing in their search for the Cursed Vaults, she supposed it was fitting for their younger siblings to get acquainted. 

First impressions when they had arrived at Hogwarts, David was stand-offish, sharp-tongued and short-tempered. He wasn’t afraid to go for low blows in a verbal spar or physically fight people much bigger than him. Oftentimes, they had stayed out of each other’s way. She never tried to pick a fight with him. Although, unlike most of their peers, he had never been unkind to her. 

Their friendship was a fairly recent development, only beginning at the start of their second year when they tried out for the recently vacant positions as Beaters on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Practice together meant more interaction especially as they both came under the mentorship of Erika Rath, Slytherin’s top Beater. It was during these practices that she had seen a different side to David.

Though he was aloof, they shared a remarkably high number of mutual friends, the most prominent of which were Penny Haywood and Rowan Khanna. When Judith had asked the two about their fellow Hufflepuff, both had spoken fondly of him. If they vouched for him, he surely couldn’t be that bad? 

Though he was snarky, that tended to be when he was aggravated by someone he didn’t like, he had a tendency to give his friends good-natured ribbings. Judith had happily returned the teasing, especially when it had come to her own and David’s respective crushes on Orion and Erika.

Though he could come across as aggressive with a foul temper, it took specific things to put him in such a mood. Namely... rumours about Jacob, especially so if someone dared to openly compare the two brothers. His ferocity wasn’t just to defend himself either, he had very nearly started a fight with an older Hufflepuff when they had made a derogatory comment towards Judith. A fight would have started if professor Sprout hadn’t intervened. They had barely known each other for a month at that point yet he’d still stuck up for her. Of course, she could handle herself but the sentiment was appreciated.

Other than that, Judith and David shared a love of art. Drawing together in silence, maybe occasionally asking how the other’s sketch looked, a peaceful respite from the stress they were under. They quickly gained a reputation on the Quidditch pitch as Hufflepuff’s star Beaters after their team handily defeated both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor 

Their titles as the ‘Heroes of Hogwarts’ had only served to connect the two further after conquering the Ice Vault. 

All in all, the two of them had formed a decent relationship.

Still, it was a surprise when Goliath, David’s eagle owl had arrived with a letter inviting her to come visit Liverpool for a week. An opportunity she had practically leapt at. Thankfully, the owl had found her bedroom window first. Judith shuddered to think how her mother would have reacted if she found out she was receiving letters from a boy, no matter how platonic the nature of it was.

Keeping that fact about her friend a secret from her mother was definitely the only reason she was currently making the journey. She was sure David would agree to making plans in advance if they wished to do something like this again, lest she risk her mother’s ire.

She had purchased muggle train tickets as soon as she could, sending Goliath back to his owner with the day and time she was expected to arrive. Though expensive, it was the swiftest, and most direct mode of transport between London and Liverpool.  

At least the weather had been nice with hardly a cloud in the sky. It had been relaxing, watching the landscape go by slumped back in her seat as the train had weaved its way through both city and countryside. Though it wasn’t nearly as hot as it could get in Barbados, it was still warm enough to justify her current attire, a yellow sundress with matching sandals. 

“Now approaching, Liverpool Lime Street.” The automated voice of the train echoed. Judith stood up smiling at the announcement as she retrieved her suitcase from the overhead luggage area. That was her stop, the end of the line, it would be nice seeing David again.

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

Liverpool Lime Street was a large station, two cylindrical dome roofs made up of mostly clear glass and metal provided cover for all train platforms, giving it a tunnel-like appearance. Archways made of stone and mostly filled by windows supported the upper half of the building from the front. Great, red pillars held up the right side, creating a pavement for both foot traffic and a road for vehicles into the station’s car park. 

David paced about, unable to keep himself from showing excitement. Wearing a plain grey tee shirt, denim jean shorts and black sandals for the hot weather. Occasionally looking around watchfully through the throngs of people going about their business. 

His letter to Judith had asked for her to find the car park at the station and she would be sure to run into him. From where he was, simply turning left after arriving at one of the train platforms, then continuing straight would assure it. 

It was about quarter past eleven, the time Judith said she was likely to arrive in her letter back. This would be the first time he had invited a friend around in a long while. 

Frankly, although he was excited, he couldn’t help but feel nervous about the whole thing. Though he and his mother Rue had reconciled somewhat, she had tried to persuade him into inviting someone other than Jamal Harris’s little sister. She assumed they were just Quidditch teammates who happened to share a history with the Cursed Vaults and that was it. 

It was only when David had told his mother the full story of their delve into the Ice Vault that she had relented. The curse had begun its most dramatic transformation midway through their match against Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. Ice conjured by the vault had begun encompassing the school, threatening to overcome it entirely. 

Together, they, alongside Bill Weasley and Penny Haywood had made their way to the vault. Breaking the seal on the door had caused Penny and Bill to become trapped by the cursed ice; as well as unleash its guardian, an animated suit of armour held together by ice and frost.

In the midst of the Ice Knight trying to carve them up, Judith had used an Incendio that had briefly drawn its attention from David after he was cornered. Whether his mother liked it or not, Judith had saved his life. An invitation to his hometown was the least he could do for her.

He had initially wanted to face the vaults on his own. Though, that plan seemed doomed to fail before he had even set foot on the castle grounds after he had bumped into Rowan. Now, Judith was a part of an ever-growing circle of friends that David was slowly building up, an addition that he was glad for. 

He hadn’t thought much of her when he first arrived at Hogwarts. She had made no effort to seek him out, which was just fine for David at the time. Playing Quidditch with her though had shown him there was more to Judith Harris than first met the eye. 

Underneath her quiet exterior, she was fierce, witty and a hell of a lot stronger than she looked. The first time they sparred together, David hadn’t been expecting her to use a back kick on him. While she had at first been worried she overdid it, David had shrugged it off despite the sizeable bruise it had left on his stomach. If anything, it had just convinced him it was a good idea to spar with her further. Nothing would keep his own hand-to-hand combat skills sharp like fighting an experienced opponent.

A splash of bright yellow caught his eye, quite distinct amongst a sea of other colours. A dark-skinned girl about his age with long, brown-black locs tied back. Her gold eyes looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings before finally landing on David, getting a beaming smile from her. There was no mistaking who it was.

“Judith!” He called out enthusiastically, grinning back. 

“It’s good to see you David.” His friend answered, walking up to him and giving him a brief hug. One that he returned.

“Same here, welcome to Liverpool.” He replied, grandly gesturing to the outside of the station.

Judith rolled her eyes playfully, giving a brief scan of the view. There was a busy junction that ran alongside the station, vehicles coming from at least three different directions. A Neo-Grecian-style stone building and a white tower tipped with a room with blue windows dominated the view. Impressive in its own right but it would definitely be better to explore the city with David to really see what it had to offer.

“Thank you for the invitation, shall we?” Judith’s implication was clear to David, time to head off.

“Of course, mum is waitin’ for us in the car park. Just a heads up, she can be a bit... intense.” David warned.

‘Oh joy.’ Judith thought sarcastically, hoping David’s mum wouldn’t be an exact copy of her own...

She wouldn’t have long to wonder, moving along a pavement that ran parallel to the train platforms, towards the car park, separated from the rest of the station by a wrought-iron fence. A few cars were in it, without their owners of course. All except one.

In front of a silver Ford Escort stood a woman. Pale-skinned with shoulder length dark brown hair. She was dressed in a grey pinstripe suit, a pale pink shirt under it being the only other colour. Curiously, a small, sharp and serrated tooth was hung around her neck by a black thread. She held what appeared to be a red snakeskin handbag.

Brown eyes were fixed on the pair as they approached her, though especially on Judith. Clearly David had his mother’s eyes, ones that were intent on analysing Judith for their first meeting. Watching her warily in silent judgement, a stoic expression not giving anything away.

Judith could see what David meant. She didn’t like being watched ordinarily, it made her feel like she was being judged. Under Rue Willows’ gaze though, she couldn’t help but feel a nagging sensation at the back of her head, one that commanded attention. Not cruel exactly but not friendly either, it made Judith squirm. 

“I-it’s nice to meet you, Ms Willows.” Judith greeted quietly, anxious to see if there was any change in the woman. Receiving nothing but another glance over.

“Ahem.” David coughed, trying to defuse the tension. 

It worked, Rue finally spoke up after that prompt, “A pleasure to meet you too Judith.” She replied curtly, her accent making it clear she was from Ireland. She turned her attention to her son, taking a large pouch out of her handbag that clinked as she moved it before tossing it to David. “I was thinking, David. Maybe you could show Judith around the city centre? Even show her Under Mersey. Just be back by five, if you can.”

David’s eyes widened both at the statement and the amount of bronze, silver and gold staring back at him as he looked inside the pouch. Sure, they had talked about loosening the tight restrictions that had troubled their relationship since Jacob’s disappearance but something like this so soon was unexpected.

“Thanks mum.” David answered, sounding grateful for it.

Rue’s features softened slightly as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, “You don’t want be carrying your case everywhere you go, do you Judith? Let me take it while you and David are out.” She asked, holding out her hand, sounding just a bit friendlier with her offer. Though despite it being phrased as a question, there was clearly no room for argument.

Judith handed her case over, “Thank you, Ms Willows.”

Rue only gave a nod of acknowledgement and a quick “Have fun.” as she put Judith’s case into the boot of the car before driving off.

“I see what you mean, intense is certainly a word for it.” Judith stated, “Question though, what’s an ‘Under Mersey’?

“Well, y’know how Diagon Alley is in London?” David asked as he started walking, getting a nod from his friend, “In every major city across England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, there’s a place for wizards to go to, Under Mersey is Liverpool’s.” Judith hummed in understanding at that, she had never been to a wizarding community outside of London.

“But, how about a brief tour of the muggle side first? There’s a couple of iconic places in walking distance from here. Any other bits of history, I can just tell you about.” David suggested.

“Whatever you want David,” Judith shrugged, “This is your city, let’s see what it’s got.” The two friends stepped out onto the streets of Liverpool catching the scent of the sea on the wind. The general style reminding Judith of the inner city of London. Buildings being tightly packed together, only allowing roads through. Little to no space for alleyways turning the city centre into a maze of roads.

David grinned at her statement, “Well then Miss Harris, on your right you will see St George’s Hall. A big concert venue, mostly for dead posh events.” He said, making a show of it as he pointed out the stone building Judith had seen previously, “However, if you fancy more modern tastes, to your left you’ll see Radio City, Liverpool’s local radio.”

Judith chuckled at her friend’s showmanship, “Are there any music venues we could go to?” She asked as the two of them crossed the junction, content to follow David’s lead.

“Closest one to us is the Cavern Club. Mostly does local bands, Jazz, Rock and Roll, R&B, that sort of music.” Judith grinned, that was the sort of music she could get into, David wasn’t done with his little tour as they began walked through the streets, “Though it’s only open on a Thursday nowadays. It’s not the original, that was the cellar of a warehouse on Matthew street that got filled with cement when they were goin’ to construct part of an underground railway but it didn’t happen in that part of the city. They tried excavating the place to reopen it but there was too much damage to the structure. So they just built a new one on the same street.”

Judith’s brow furrowed at that, it was definitely an interesting piece of the city’s history but in retrospect it seemed to have been a waste of time.

“But Liverpool itself has been around since 1207, though it didn’t gain much prominence as a port until the 17th century.” David explained before pointing off further in the distance. “Up that way is the Pier Head, used to be where a lot of the goings on at the docks were handled earlier this century. More recently though, Liverpool produced one of the most famous bands in the Muggle world just over twenty years ago. They performed in the original Cavern Club, speaking off, we’re coming up to Matthew Street, right now.”

David suddenly turned onto Matthew Street, Judith following close behind him. It was clear to see where he was heading with the street being devoid of any foot traffic.

The Cavern Club.

Judith cocked an eyebrow at this, “I thought you said this was only open on Thursdays?” She asked as they now stood in front of the black archway, the doors of the club very clearly closed and likely locked tight.

“Oh it is,” David confirmed, “But this also the only way I know of to get into Under Mersey.” He continued, stepping beneath the neon sign of the club into the archway. 

“How do you do it?” Judith asked, giving him a slightly sceptical look.

“Take my hand, brace yourself, and you’ll see.” David said, offering his hand to her. Judith took it tentatively, joining him at his side. David tapped his foot six times, the first two beats were slower than the next quick four before he then said, “Hey Jude.”

At first, Judith thought he was addressing her, though she only managed to get out a “Wh-” before she felt her stomach lurch as she and David fell through the pavement beneath them.

[lastsonlost]

Oh gasps, I'm shocked.

Who would have thunk it?

The story:

Updated with Sunday figures: In the wake of Terminator: Dark Fate’s failure at the B.O., and Paramount’s recent decision to make Beverly Cops 4 for Netflix, we have the further breakdown of cinema IP in Sony’s Charlie’s Angels reboot, which is tanking with a God-awful $8.6M domestic opening, $27.9M worldwide (from 26 markets), 3 Stars on Screen Engine-Comscore’s PostTrak, and a B+ Cinemascore.

The Elizabeth Banks-directed-written and produced pic is also opening in 27 offshore markets,

China being one where it’s also bombing,

with a $7.8M 3-day take in third place behind No. 1 local title Somewhere Winter ($13.1M).

All of this is primed to further spur a WTF reaction and anxiety among film development executives in town in regards to what the hell exactly works in this have-and-have-not era of the theatrical marketplace. Many will make the hasty generalization that old, dusty IP doesn’t work, or is now deemed too risky when it’s not a superhero project. However, moviemaking is an art, not a science, and annoying as it might sound, good movies float to the top, and this Charlie’s Angels reboot didn’t have the goods going back to its script.

<Maybe somebody should have been working on a good story instead of pushing an agenda.

We’re going to break down for you what went wrong in another graph, but we don’t want to bury the success of Disney’s release of Fox’s James Mangold-directed Ford v Ferrari, which looks to be coming in at $31.5M, well ahead of the $20M+ many were seeing, with an awesome A+ CinemaScore and 4 1/2 stars and a 68% definite recommend on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak. After a franchise-laden summer which buried originals, now an original pic is sticking it to the IP.

When it comes to the bombing of Charlie’s Angels, the takeaway is this is what happens when you have IP, but there’s no reason for telling the story.

In the walk-up to developing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and in the wake of its near $1 billion success, a fever broke out at the Culver City lot in the post-Amy Pascal era to reboot former Sony franchises or extend them, i.e. Zombieland: Double Tap (well over $103M at the global B.O. now), the upcoming Bad Boys 3, and, of course, Spider-Man, the latter electrified by Disney’s Marvel. Development studio executives define their being by getting films greenlit, and whenever that happens, it’s 90% of the job.

And the pressure is on to fill a 10-12 picture annual slate in a world where Disney vacuums up all the best IP. A third Charlie’s Angels with McG directing and Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu starring, wasn’t made immediately after the second chapter, 2003’s Full Throttle, as the sequel turned out to be 29% more expensive than the 2000 original at $120M, and also made less worldwide, $259.1M to $264.1M. With Elizabeth Banks coming off her hot feature directorial debut with Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 (which over-indexed in its stateside opening at the B.O., going from $50M projections to $69.2M, and finaled global at $287.1M); after she expressed interest in September 2015 in taking on a Charlie’s Angels reboot with a modern feminist spin, there was no question in Sony’s mind that the project should move forward.

<Yeah Sony, how's that working out for you? You think they would have learned their lesson...

Guess not.

Back to the story.....

However, there were script problems, I hear, that could never be resolved. A few months after Banks boarded, Evan Spiliotopoulos came on to write. By the time cast was assembled in July 2018, Banks had penned the latest draft off a script by Jay Basu (The Girl in the Spider’s Web), and earlier drafts by Craig Mazin and Semi Chellas. Andrea Giannetti oversaw the project on the lot. However, I hear that the script for Charlie’s Angels didn’t really attract top talent, i.e. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Margot Robbie (a trio that would have potentially jazzed up business). Hence, why the production opted to go with largely a fresh face cast outside of Kristen Stewart. While we overwrite that stars mean nothing at the box office, they do, sometimes, when it comes to propping IP, and unfortunately and arguably, no one in Middle America knows who British actress Ella Balinska is, and they’ve only became recently acquainted with Naomi Scott from Disney’s Aladdin and Lionsgate’s Power Rangers. Stewart, who is hysterical in the movie and even needed more funny bits, is in a different place in her career professionally, publicly, and privately. It’s unfair to think that she could delver her Twilight fans now.

Had she done Charlie’s Angels promptly in the swell of the Twilight whirlwind (like Snow White and the Huntsmen) then maybe it would have popped.

But she has largely been dormant from popcorn wide releases for the last seven years since 2012’s Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, busy excelling and wowing in specialty awards season and festival fare like Clouds of Sils Maria, Still Alice, and this year’s Seberg, to name a few. Stewart needed to be paired with equal or bigger-name actresses.

was a one quadrant movie, eyed at women 13-39, especially given its lack of action scenes, and wisely limited their exposure to what I hear is 50%, with co-finance partners 2.0 Entertainment and Perfect World. Sony claims the budget is $48M net; we’ve heard in the mid $50Ms. Tax incentives were taken in the pic’s Berlin and Hamburg shoots. Perhaps Sony should have spent more, because Charlie’s Angels biggest problem is that it has very low-octane, we’ve-seen-it-all-before action scenes. Heck, there’s more action in a 1980s Chuck Norris movie. After watching Charlie’s Angels earlier this week, I put the first two McG movies on Netflix, and it was like watching Star Wars in comparison to this reboot, with his sharp production design, camera movements, unique action, and comedy set pieces, and, of course, the first movie blasted Sam Rockwell out of a cannon. Understand that the first two movies in the series were able to compete and hold their own in an action space where, yes, Mission: Impossible and Fast & Furious (the first two films came out in 2001 and 2003) also thrived. Mission and Fast sequels distinguish themselves on multiple 10-minute action sequences that we’ve never seen before on screen; it doesn’t matter who the villain is. This Charlie’s Angels doesn’t have that. And not even a super-duper hit song “Don’t Call Me Angel” for the movie from Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Ray can trigger lines at the multiplex; the music video clocking over 116M views on YouTube, per entertainment social media monitor RelishMix.

Some will claim that Banks’ version was never intended to emulate the meat and potatoes version of McG’s films; that this version was expected to be more comedic, and more feminist. Unfortunately, after McG set the table here with the franchise as an action film, you can’t reverse it. You can only outdo him. And with a franchise movie like Charlie’s Angels, you can’t make it for a one quadrant audience.

The film arrived on tracking with a $12M-$13M start, and really never budged, but sank. That means marketing didn’t work. I heard that a $100M global P&A was first planned on Charlie’s Angels, with the studio now reducing that overall cost greatly to around $50M and pulling back on expensive ads. Another hurdle in activating the young girl demo is that much of the pic’s cast isn’t on social media. RelishMix says that Banks is the social media star with over 6.6M followers across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with Scott counting 3.4M.

Sony kept pushing Charlie’s Angels, which in hindsight means there were development issues. In May 2017, a release date was announced for June 7, 2019. When the cast was locked down in July 2018, Charlie’s got moved to Sept. 27, 2019. In October 2018 when Warners pushed Wonder Woman 1984 from the first weekend in November to summer, Charlie‘s took over the autumn spot, which was the same exact place the original 2000 opened. However, when Terminator: Dark Fate moved onto the same first weekend in November, Charlie‘s relocated to this weekend as they vied for a China release which they ultimately got.

Charlie’s Angels drew a 66% female crowd, split between 36% over 25 and 30% under 25. But both demos respectively graded it low at 68% and 79%, with men at 35% giving it a 68% grade on PostTrak. Diversity breakdown was 52% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 14% Asian/Other, & 13% African American. Charlie’s Angels best markets were on the coasts and big cities. But again, nothing to brag about in Friday’s $3.2M gross, which includes $900K from Thursday and Wednesday previews.

Says RelishMix, which also foresaw this disaster approaching on social media chatter, “Angels is the latest example in a ‘woke’ effort to reboot a franchise that many were not all that interested in to start with. In fact, many references to the 2000 version get a call-out as a reason this one doesn’t seem to compare – whether it’s the cast or the action teased from the film.

And, as observed with other recent films, some action/adventure, unfortunately fans say they’re steering clear of this one because of its ‘girl power’ messaging.”

[art-now-germany]

Contemporary elegance - Portrait Original !, Igor Bajenov

What is art? .... "I am art." Definition of art: Art takes on complex relationships in all areas of life, and more creative perspective answers the spirit of Indiviudalität match in itself and draws from the collective Gedächntis and understanding of the world. Art is thus the only acceptable form of conflict develop culture and politics real and visionary. Art is communication between Mind and me ... me and my work ... my work and the next reason ... Art is thus an entertaining evolierende chain reaction. Perhaps Art Evolution? Art = The past, present and (or) future in their wide range of colors, shapes and sounds to show. For me, art is a form of expression of thoughts, feelings, emotions, but, unfortunately, often by commercial interests. You may be wondering now, what I mean. So I explain it to you. An artist per se, every human being is of creating something that he thinks is art. Whether it was written, painted, sculpted, forged, declaimed or otherwise prepared. The important thing is that there is, therefore, the work that needs to come out from the inside of the creator and that it precisely the man who created it, considers art. Because True art can not be obtained on head pressure or with an order one. Art is about the Muse. Yes I know that word is prejudiced, one connects it with ancient myths or just one or a lover, or the places the artist in a state feely. But, just that it is not, is not it. The Muse is a kind of phenomenon, rather a feeling that you wanted to give a figure in ancient times. A muse is a burgeoning idea, an association or even a clue to something that you will create. In any case, the true artist, and thus the true art has this to do something as the origin, which inspires from within something. But now the company set up an ad hoc basis have created something comes want. Of course, it must be great, stunning, new and convincing. Simply put, something gigantic that all ideas met, if not exceeds. And here starts the second part of my statement. For now I ask you, if as I just said, art comes with a Muse. How can they then with a contract, no matter by whom issued, be created? The artist who is perhaps known for his works from his musical creative phases, is now to create something on command and although it is possible and often even artistic nature. But it is a work to order. If you ask me, write me a poem or write me a story, because you had the pleasure to read one of my works and I liked you. So I tell you simply "NO" because I do not live it. But the one who has chosen the art as bread and life merit. Must say "YES" and it is also. See also commercialism "creates" art, but whether this works really should bear the title of art or rather commissioned art or just work? In my opinion, they should be demoted because they reduce the art in its value. I'm not talking about artistic taste, because even though I like better than a Monet a Beuys, so I have to both recognize as art, as they both emerged from such an idea. Art is self-realization, art has only the feelings of the artist is no longer expressed, and no less, is not about beauty !! For me, art is a form of communication. That is, the artist expresses not only his feelings, but wants the people with his work say something. He / she does not spontaneously and unwrought but processed so that it is understandable and enjoyable for the reader / viewer / listener. But sometimes even the incomprehensible pleasant or the unpleasant is meaningful. This art is a dialogue and not a monologue, I think it's also important that the artist has contact with his audience and the feedback takes care about what is normal for live performances, for writers or visual artists but should be. "Art is an expression of their own culture" Art for me is a kind of self-realization and liberation. Maybe even a little criticism. If you can do something that few can. - Everything is art - Survival is -life Art is art - Art is dying - Laughter is art - is not to laugh Art - Whining at a high level is Art .- Not whining is Art - Doing nothing is art - Art is thinking - Non-think is art - Everything is art so art is nothing other than art. Geez. Art is free figures from free spirit Art is a zweckfüßiger Sunrise in sausage glow of its own frequent lightness. Waiting a herausgepurzelten cheese princess on the verge of a frog loose Vaginalbrunnens. As the name of the site says it all: "Everything is art" The way of individual lives, loves, suffers and works. Then, when someone else may well something special, can he used his art to others to enjoy it. Art transforms people through images, archetypes and Symole. Art touches feelings and emotions. Art awakens to new life. Love Art curious joy, here is my proposal for the characterization of the concept of art. Art is the art with the help of a medium, for example, (music, painting or even mathematics) to develop a language all its own. The use of these media is only once "only" a craft. In conjunction with an idea and creativity arises from art, but can not be shared must be shared. "What is art" This briefly worded question is deceptively simple. Anyone who jumps up in his mind to do here made known, should know that it enters one of the oldest areas of employment of mankind. And seen do this from the perspective of those who art or take claim for themselves than buy from the perspective of whose who like art to be such, and some of their "understanding" and last but from the perspective of those who , judge the art or rather the art critics. The description of what is art, therefore highly dependent on the angle of view of the art actors. So art is for the artist or the artist certainly a form of expression for feelings, observations and findings. To convey a message where / her importance to him. How high is the acceptance of his / her work of art, is probably secondary. Here the enthusiasts want the discussion to the "true", respectively the "not-true" artist probably connect, this is here, however, inevitable. For the art viewer contrast, our own perception is crucial. The must not be congruent with the embassies of the artist / the artist. Well made possible by the artist intended message is hidden and yet he feels / she addressed herself. He / she buys a piece of art and presents / suspended / installed it in the habitat or visited an idea and takes the seen and heard with. Here interested feelings, observations and findings of the receiver. Seen one can understand art as a form of communication that makes visible Contemporary and contemporaries in a special way and consolidated. Whether see future generations yet to be connected to these messages, is debatable. Modern productions of Shakespeare, Schiller and many other throw such discussions again and again. Interpretations of paintings or sculptures can vary widely. And yet the art manages the employment of people with himself and his environment Oscar Wilde is certainly correct when he says: "Art is the strongest form of individualism, which knows the world". But it is without doubt the individualism with the largest collective benefit, I mean. Art does not rely on evidence and free. Your freedom is the perfect fulfillment of the self-determined shape. Their quality is determined only by itself. The created is absolutely and belongs to humanity. Art is a way to escape from reality for me. "Art, I am."...Exclusive Photo Collection in Contemporary Art - Digital Photo Mix - Abstract /Expressionism - Figurative/Cubism - Portrait Fantasy in Fine Art- Paint/Drawing-Vector/Graphic.

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Photography-Contemporary-elegance-Portrait-Original/462428/2774422/view

[fanexus-dot-net]

FAQ

What is the purpose of Fanexus?

Fanexus was originally conceived as a way to make it easier to organize fandom content. The founders are fans who have followed fandom activity as it has migrated across many different social media platforms, and found that none of them quite suited their needs. After spending years thinking about how each of these platforms could be altered to better support fandom activity, we eventually realized that we’d amassed the money, skills and connections to make a platform ourselves.  

Fanexus is also open to use by original creators; original works are where fandom begins, after all. Enthusiasts of non-media fandoms, such as people who are passionate about interests as broad as cooking, crafting, interior decorating, brewing, extreme sports, rock collecting, history, model-building, archaeology, philosophy, etc, are also all welcome to use Fanexus as a place to post about and discuss their interests and ideas. Fanexus can be used for any type of interest so long as it doesn’t violate our rules regarding legality, harassment and hate speech.

While we originally wanted to create Fanexus as a means to better organize our content, as we’ve watched toxicity in fandom grow to increasingly alarming levels in the last few years, we’ve decided that making Fanexus a space that actively opposes this toxicity is a goal of equal importance to us. We want Fanexus to be a place where people can explore weird, complex and dark things in art and fiction without being accused of endorsing those things, and can have nuanced discussions and debates without things immediately devolving into insults and dogpiling.  

You can read more about the philosophy driving Fanexus here.

Why an integrated wiki?

We would like to go over some of the issues we’ve faced as fans that inspired the inclusion of the wiki:

There are a lot of fandoms that have very complex fanon worldbuilding/terminology/characterisations/etc, and this can be very confusing for a new fan. The way we have the wiki set up means that users will be able to go straight from a post that mentions those concepts to the wiki page for those concepts (we’ll elaborate on how this works in a later post dedicated to this feature), instead of having to search through other parts of the internet for an up-to-date fanon wiki for this fandom. We feel like people will be more likely to keep these wiki pages updated than they would if it were an external wiki, because once they have accounts on Fanexus, it will be very easy to quickly go and update a wiki page on the site, rather than going and creating a new account for a separate wiki.

In a similar vein, fandoms can produce very interesting AUs that many different fans contribute to. We’ve had the experience of coming across a piece of artwork or fiction based on one of these AUs and wanting to know more, but then finding it very difficult to track down information that explains what the AU is about, and people’s various different takes on it. We thought that by providing a wiki feature, people could create pages for each of these AUs and then update them as they develop. The AU itself may not be complex enough to justify the creation of an entire wiki for it, but having a page or two dedicated to it could certainly be helpful. The same logic applies to things such as OCs.  

People develop their own personal headcanons which can be very complex, and it can be tiresome to have to explain them over and over. So if users can create wiki pages for each of their headcanons (or AUs, OCs, etc) and link them whenever they’re necessary to understand the context of say, a fic they wrote or a piece of art they made, it could save them a lot of bother. Personal wiki pages won’t be available on launch, but we’re endeavouring to add them as soon as we can.

Can you tell us more about your other features?

Details of the features we’ve announced so far can be found here. 

We intend to add new features to Fanexus to improve our users’ experiences for as long as we have the funding to do so. We endeavour to add features that are highly demanded by our userbase, so long as the features in question are within our legal and technical capabilities to implement, and align with the philosophy of Fanexus.

How is this being funded? Will it be free to use?

Right now the beta is being paid for by the founders. Once the beta is online and in use, we plan to have a Kickstarter to fund the development of additional features we couldn’t afford to include in the beta. Fanexus will be freemium, which means it will be free to use, with premium features such as added customisation, that will be used for the ongoing funding of the site.  

Will there be a mobile app?

Currently we have a responsive web app, but a mobile app is one of the first things we intend to develop should we get the required funding via the Kickstarter. 

What kind of customisation options will Fanexus have?

In the long term, we hope to introduce in-depth customisation options to Fanexus, some of which will be premium options. We will take feedback from our userbase to decide what customisation features we will prioritise implementing first.

Are all ships welcome on Fanexus?

Yes. We understand that the reasons someone may enjoy a ship can be very complex, unexpected and/or personal, and have nothing to do with a belief that the ship is healthy or a desirable relationship to have in reality. So long as a person understands the separation between fiction and reality, and knows what a healthy real life relationship is like, we maintain that they should be able to ship what they like. We just ask that they tag their content for people who wish to avoid it. This extends to the shipping of real life people, with the provision that if Fanexus gets a direct request from any of these real people asking to have shipping content of them removed, we will remove content containing them specifically, out of courtesy.

Is NSFW content allowed on Fanexus?

Fanexus welcomes NSFW content, simply requiring that it be tagged with an adult content warning so that it is hidden from underage users.

Our servers are currently hosted in Denmark, so content posted on Fanexus must abide by Danish law. 

Further details of what sort of content is and isn’t permitted on Fanexus will be outlined in our TOS, which will be shared prior to launch.

How old do you have to be to use Fanexus?

Fanexus will be 13+, with adults-only spaces. On sign up, users will be asked if they are over 18, and anyone who indicates that they are a minor will be required to enter their DOB. Posts and blogs that are marked as Adults Only will then be hidden from minor users until they turn 18. Minors found to be lying about their age to interact with adult content will be banned. We looked into ways we could have people prove their age on sign up, but we couldn’t find any practical, reliable method. People were uncomfortable with providing personal information, and given that many adults don’t have credit cards, while many minors borrow their guardians’ credit cards, having people make a credit card deposit to prove their age wasn’t a viable solution.

Will Fanexus be doing anything to protect minors?

We believe that the best form of protection against online dangers is education, and so we’re in the process of compiling educational resources to be made available on the site so that people are aware of what sort of red flags to look out for when it comes to a variety of online threats. We also want to provide information about the separation between fiction and reality, so that minors (or anybody impressionable) won’t misunderstand or be manipulated with fiction into thinking that unhealthy behaviors and attitudes presented in dark/complicated/self-indulgent fiction and art are acceptable in reality.

We currently have the following ideas for distributing this information:

We’ll have a staff blog that provides site updates, and also periodically posts articles containing this information.

We’ll keep a compilation of this information available on a page on the site, which will be easily accessible via the navigation bar.

Eventually we want to introduce a feature where if a user searches for particular keywords, a banner appears above the search results, linking to helpful/education information relevant to the keywords. The banner will be able to be hid so it doesn’t show up again in subsequent searches.

We will of course also have a mod team watching out for any reports of suspect behaviour that may be endangering minors (or any of our users), who will take action to neutralise these threats. Another feature we are planning to develop to help our mods protect minors is a keyword detector for comments and DMs. This will scan the comments and DMs of minor users for any keywords that suggest they may be being targeted, and send a warning to our mods to check up on them. 

What is your affiliation with the Prostasia Foundation?

The Prostasia Foundation is a child protection organization that adopts an evidence-based approach to child sexual abuse prevention, that respects human rights and is sex-positive. Being evidence-based means that their positions are based on scientific research. Fanexus reached out to Prostasia because we agree with these tenets, and wanted to find ways to create a safe space that doesn’t resort to censorship. Prostasia proved to be extremely helpful in this respect, offering us information on legality, the impact fiction actually has on reality, and effective methods to protect minors, all based on research. They have also offered to help us develop our keyword detector feature.

Prostasia has an Advisory Council made of voluntary, unpaid experts from relevant fields. These advisory members do not carry any vote or authority on deciding Prostasia policy, and the views that they express on social media or elsewhere are not necessarily representative of the views of the Prostasia Foundation. Fanexus’s point of contact with Prostasia has been with the Foundation’s Executive Director, and we have no affiliation with the members of their Advisory Council.  

Similarly, Fanexus has no vote or authority in deciding Prostasia policy, nor do we sign off on anything they publish, unless it directly references us. The reverse is also true, while Prostasia provides us with advice, they don’t sign off on all the decisions or statements made by Fanexus.

Are you trying to replace Archive of Our Own?

No. We love Archive of Our Own and we have tremendous respect for the Organisation for Transformative Works, but we can’t affiliate with them due to the rules that govern not-for-profit organisations. You will definitely be able to host fanfiction and original fiction on Fanexus, but we’re currently more focused on covering the areas that Archive of Our Own doesn’t already have great features for, such as providing a space where people can host art, have discussions, role play, and document information about their headcanons, worldbuilding, original characters, etc.

Will Fanexus be open to all or invite-only?

We want Fanexus to be open to all eventually, but we also anticipate that the sort of people who promote and thrive on fandom’s toxicity will sign-up with the express purpose of breaking the rules we put in place to protect people from them. To avoid that happening en masse on launch, Fanexus will initially be invite-only. Once we have an established community of fans who can report trolls and other troublemakers, we will open Fanexus up.

In order to get an invite to Fanexus, you will need to apply via this form. If you are accepted, you will be emailed an invite (please check your junk mail) to our  Forum and Discord. Users of the Forum and Discord will be given priority invites to the site.

When’s the release?

As of the 29th of August, most of our initial features are finished, and are in the process of being bug-tested. We plan to start allowing users of our Forum/Discord on the site within the next month. Fanexus will open up to the public after the Forum/Discord users have thoroughly tested the capabilities of the site, and we’ve implemented any further features required to cover weaknesses they’ve found.

Are there other places I can follow Fanexus news?

We share updates on the following accounts:

Tumblr

Twitter 

Facebook

Mastodon

[jancynco]

Layers

The undoing of an idea, the becoming of a new form of woman and the evolution that connects two happenings. Over the course of this forceful time of reflection and reconciliation I have developed a healthy appreciation of design. Let me explain. We all get to a point of life where we ask ourselves about purpose, how do we fulfill it, and ultimately how does that purpose connect to who we are. I realized that a great portion of my life was used to conform who I was in order to maintain my sanity. To blend or assimilate because my uniqueness was created by manufactured, generational curses and the awakening of quenched curiosity. I clothed myself with layers… suitable, self-satisfying defense mechanisms to protect the future I thought I wanted to build. It was exhausting upholding this idea I knew wasn’t organic. I remember praying to God to devastate me. It was a very distinct and intentional prayer because it came at the cusp of my undoing. A quiet plea to save me from my ideas and set me anew. I desired devastation because I did not want to return to my former self. I wanted to be a phoenix unfamiliar to the common and received by the unknown. Something happened after my baptism by fire or in my case the isolation and the pain of an illness physically, mentally and spiritually. The idea of what a Christian… a woman… a Black human was, chiseled away like I was being reborn out of a shapeless marble stone and crafted into who you know today by the perseverance and struggle of one. I am so liberated in my becoming. It is a metamorphosis realized in the middle of transformation which makes the journey validating in being present. 

 As a woman, discovering the power of femininity left me adverse to new traditionalism. There is a beautiful art within the vulnerability of submission. I felt empowered submitting to something outside of myself knowing I have the strength to undergird the weight of a thing that is also designed to protect me. I am in essence fortifying my protection and, in that submission, therein lies my greatest superpower. Because I was designed whole, I as a woman, encompass everything I will ever need to survive. There just needed to be a mind-blowing encounter. Loving my husband in this manner is honoring the Spirit of God in both of us. I chose to acknowledge my womanhood through the lens of contrast of gender because I believe appreciation is birthed out of opposition in a sense. The tango of becoming one, yet maintaining your identity leaves me baffled. The discovery of an answer beckons the reinvention of oneself to accommodate the time needed for an unbreakable union. Wife in today’s view is looked upon as a role, an interchangeable one, but if we are characterized as such before we become a wife by Biblical standards is that not a calling? To be called to marriage is to have your nature tested and celebrated in its necessity of a particular purpose within connection. I truly feel the brevity and distinction of myself by the awareness of those around me and their differences. I am empowered because I am a woman. Differences only need the explanation of what it is… not why it is. What am I to you determines the functionality and purpose in relationship. Why my differences exist are to be revealed. Black. It is way more than an identifying marker. My race was determined before my sex or the acceptance of my beliefs. It is my belonging personified, my inherited brand, my power tethered to ancestral dreams. I am so enamored by my own skin. It refuses to be tamed by oppression and conformity. It is a bell curve that highlights the trials and triumphs of a people through the linear progression of time. In our current state we are just awaiting the ascension out of a valley. It seeps out through texture both in voice and curls. Through the curvature of body and smile. In style through decorum, the swaying of my hips or the creative expression cultivated by broken limitations. 

Black. I am God’s appreciation of Himself conceptualized in all of my genetic make-up… “…and it was good.” I am the summation of the intended good of countless generations before me originated from one design. The undoing of an idea or what it means to be “Black” as well as the growth into womanhood are all cataclysmic phenoms. The evolution that bridges these two moments of time and keeps them at bay respectively is faith. The audacity of intersectionality within a Black woman is deliberate…intentional… purposeful. The full circle experience in having faith in the Creator of your distinction is a practice of adoration for the careful customization the world gets the privilege of witnessing but only for a vapor. It is such a beautiful thing to witness when a Black woman is refined within the safety of love. The currency of her faith flows as abundantly and melodic as her presence in the desolation of uninspired spaces. 

 The makings of me, many layers when peeled away is meant to be pondered singularly and consumed whole, however to garner an understanding she must be felt as a force in its full capacity. To not have the intimacy of knowing her in her full extent is a disservice. Life will uncover who you were already designed to be. You in all of your glory should be revered as an experience and not hushed into objectivity. What will it take to discover who you have always been meant to be and meet the arrival the world so desperately needs in identifying your layers and embracing transformation.

[its-jijii]

chuuya’s masculinity

i was talking to hannah and thinking about the whole chuuya feminine/masculine debate and decided its time to write an essay on this. i have been waiting for the opportunity. and now my thoughts are gathered, so prepare for a mildly frustrated tangent abt the portrayal of chuuya in canon and in fan-made things.

i think that there are a lot of factors in play that influence how people see chuuya, the main one being canon content of course. in the manga, i do not get the vibe that he is feminine or weak in any way; in fact, he’s very aggressive and his stance indicates that he does not intend to be viewed as less. i will agree that the anime portrays him as more feminine: he has a higher pitched voice, and he is short. 

my problem with this is both the people who take that as being feminine, and the people who try to say chuuya is not feminine or weak. i don’t enjoy seeing chuuya in dresses not because i view it as feminine and therefore weak- rather, the circumstances of the source that makes me dislike it. for instance, primarily when he is drawn in dresses, he is clearly annoyed and doesn’t like it. i believe that to be because despite his “feminine” body type, his personality is very masculine. the way he acts and speaks does not imply that he is weak or feminine in any way.

my thought process isn’t dress = feminine = weak, so chuuya in a dress = weak, but in contrast, he is doing nothing about it. he is out of his comfort zone and obviously doesn’t enjoy it, yet he always seems compliant in wearing a dress. all of that is also usually for dazai’s entertainment, in some way. same thing when i see scenarios of them on an undercover mission together. one always dresses up like a girl, and that is usually chuuya. that is still because people equate his height and body type with girls, which makes sense to a certain degree, but one i still disagree with.

chuuya’s body type has almost nothing to do with being feminine, in my opinion. subconsciously people equate his height with femininity, which is not really the case. i don’t think they are necessarily equating his body with that of a girls and determining its weak. rather, they likely look at his height and body build and think “that’s weak.” that has no direct relation to being feminine, nor is it true. i think everyone knows he is far from weak, he is just never portrayed in the way he should be: masculine and dominant. 

his body type being feminine does not change the fact that he is strong and fit; his outfit doesn’t exactly show that off, so his features can be dumbed-down to long hair, cute face, and curves. this is completely disregarding his personality and actions, which annoys me considerably. in people there are often traits that are tied together- outgoing and dominant, quiet and submissive- and there are actions that tie into those categories, too. people on the quiet and introverted side tend to curl up and take up as little space as possible. extroverts assume a position that takes up more space (called power posing) 

“power posing” is a stance that indicates that the person is comfortable and confident. many times i have noted that despite chuuya being small, he does tend to stand in ways that take up more space. just from his body language, you can tell that he feels strong and in control. the art and scenarios of him unhappily sitting in a dress for someone else’s entertainment, but doing nothing to get out of the dress? that shows he is yielding to someone else, which is incredibly unlike him.

more chuuya in high power pose positions here lol

the reason i believe a lot of people think of chuuya as feminine ties into how he was introduced and how dazai treats him. upon his introduction in the dungeon, he is shown as a powerful and confident character. to me it seems that the first impression he made, which was asserting dominance and strength over dazai, was erased somewhere along the way. well, dazai happened to plot things out in advance, and later felt like he had the upper hand on chuuya. so despite chuuya’s strength and intentions, in the end he was rendered powerless by dazai. and to finish that off, he ended up pretending like he was a very feminine girl for dazai’s amusement.

his initially strong introduction was overwritten by the funny scene where chuuya acted like a girl. chuuya continues being masculine and dominant throughout the series, but oh so often is ending up following what dazai wants, or used as the object of dazai’s jokes. in the end, that rubs off on people so they think of him as less than dazai. his voice actor and the way he is animated likely ties in the thoughts of him being feminine, and when combined, people tend to think of him as either feminine, weak, or both.

it seems that no matter how this argument is presented, i find fault with it. even when people state that femininity =/= weakness, i feel that they are not presenting it right at all. i understand where they are coming from, but from my standpoint it isn’t as in depth as it should be (which i guess is why i’m writing this lol). maybe im overthinking things i accidentally analyze stuff and feel disappointed when people post unpopular opinions with nothing to back it up 😭

lastly, slight nsfw warning? (discussing top bottom stuff nothing explicit)

the entire top/bottom debate regarding soukoku also exhausts me. i believe chuuya to be a top, but again not because i equate being a bottom with being weak or submissive. power bottoms are a thing. however, i do acknowledge that there is a power difference between tops and bottoms- tops have considerably more control over the situation than bottoms do. and that is where i believe people have misconceived notions of whether he is a top or a bottom. on some level they do associate him with being a bottom, likely due to his size and believed inferiority to dazai. as dazai always seems to be ahead of chuuya, isn’t it only natural that dazai would be in control and would top?

w r o n g you can’t convince me dazai isn’t a lazy bottom, at best a switch. he does not seem like he would enjoy putting forth the required effort for topping. additionally, dazai himself isn’t exactly dominant or controlling. often he is relied on and respected, yes, but he only really tries to dominate and control chuuya as a way to harass him. chuuya on the other hand is outwardly dominant and likes being in control of a situation- and above all, hates doing what dazai wants. so even if chuuya was ever to bottom, no way in hell would i believe that he’d do it with dazai. he would not want to surrender control to him unless absolutely necessary.

additionally, i guess i just see chuuya as an active person. bottoms don’t seem to really do much,, they are on the receiving end of it all, so they often aren’t controlling the situation or moving around. it is hard for me to imagine chuuya to be the type to sit around and take something like that. it is much more reasonable to me to believe that he would rather be the one in control, and the one actually moving and doing things. if talking in the terms of soukoku, that seems doubled in my eyes. chuuya is far more physically capable than dazai, and likely has better stamina too. dazai would be one lousy top lol

thank u for reading! ive always thought about this, as there was a lot of art and fanfics that were the opposite of the impression i got from chuuya. to me, chuuya has always radiated big dick energy, top/dominant vibes, etc. i love chuuya and its not really a big surprise to me that my first post/analysis regarding him is talking about his masculinity haha. it’s always been a hot topic for me to think about and talk to my friends about.

i apologize for the lack of posting & original content rn ;; still con crunching for ota this weekend, and then i will be at the beach for a week. so i’ll probably just be reblogging art nd stuff when i can. hopefully ill get back to writing and posting normally after im not ultra mega busy. edit: forgot to say earlier but thank u for 200 followers! didn’t really expect anyone to care for my content but it means a lot to me

[arecomicsevengood]

I’ve been trying to slow down the pace of my anxious brain, to move it away from the obsessive unsatisfying masturbatory procrastinating of clicking refresh. I want the presence of mind that comes from focused reading, I want to heal the destroyed reward mechanism of my brain. Absent the structure to days that comes with leaving the house, quarantine conditions have exacerbated these problems. I sought out older newspaper strips, because they have a leisurely pace. While no one would actually read a book-length collection a day at a time, in recreation of how they were originally read, the guiding principle that they be taken in as a diversion while doing other things is worth keeping in mind, as it runs opposite to current directives to binge-watch TV shows. Theoretically, having these narratives exist in parallel to the procession of days would be a nice respite from quarantine’s time-warp effect. However, when reading older newspaper strips, especially if you’re paying attention to the news at all, one is frequently jarred by the presence of racial caricatures.

I really try to avoid being someone offended by work that comes from a completely different cultural context. I’m a white dude, and while I don’t want to be quick to forgive anyone’s racism, I also don’t want to be one of those people that rush to condemn things as a way to posit myself as some sort of enlightened authority. Trying to “cancel” someone who’s long dead really only makes you into someone dismissive of history, which only works to one’s detriment.

Still, when the protests against police violence turned to easily-communicated gestures of symbolic speech, and iconoclastic energy was directed against statues of historical colonialists rather than the more immediate threats presented by police cruisers, conservatives defended such statues arguing their historical importance. This argument is extremely disingenuous. We can choose the historical narrative we want to present to ourselves. While the majority of opinions enshrined in law throughout the course of American political history were those slave-owners and genocide-justifiers, there’s nonetheless a vast cultural history it would serve as well to look to and posit as who we are. Every decision made was the result of argument, the losers of the arguments unaccountably brave. Ever since reading Nicholson Baker’s Human Smoke, I’ve been convinced that if any woman should be preserved on our money, it’s Jeanette Rankin, if only so her story would then be taught in schools. The work of a historian is to make an argument by collecting threads of a narrative out of the collective chaos of ongoing time before it’s all lost to entropy and rot.

Much credit is due to comics historian Bill Blackbeard, who edited the Smithsonian Collection Of Newspaper Comics, for what it is now clear is the considerable effort he must’ve made to avoid including too many depictions of racial stereotypes in his survey. He did so because he was arguing for comic strips being an art form, and avoiding the laziness of racial caricature helps that argument be made. He doesn’t bypass them completely: They’re in a Herriman strip, Baron Bean, albeit only for a few panels. They’re also on prominent display in the McKay Little Nemo strips. Maybe they’re somewhere else I didn’t look at too closely, it’s a large book.

But imagine my surprise and mortification when I bought a big collection of Polly And Her Pals Sunday strips and encountered these “mammy” caricatures in the depiction of servants. And then, when I bought a collection of Walt And Skeezix dailies, there it was again. These strips are well-regarded, considered the best of their day, and the comic strip as a whole was regarded as intellectually superior to the comic books that followed. When Gary Groth wrote his introduction to the first issue of Love And Rockets, these strips were the works he cited as the historical apex of the form.

(Apologies may be in order for my not wanting to actually include the relevant imagery of racial caricature here, and this post being all text. I would definitely need to apologize if I did include them though.)

The thing about the racial caricatures is they demonstrate the limitations of their artist’s ambition. The most charitable reading I can afford to give is that the caricatures exist within a larger context where all of the characterizations are burlesques, intended strictly for laughs, and somewhat thin. Gasoline Alley, currently being reprinted as Walt And Skeezix, is meant to evoke some sense of feeling, and while there are some melodramatic plotlines, the bulk of the work it does to accomplish that end is by being low-key and gentle. If you view the strip not as a light comedy historical piece, and admit you are meant to project your feelings onto the white main characters, you kind of have to concede that maybe Frank King didn’t really see black people as human. You know black people read these strips! It ran in a Chicago newspaper. If you lived in Chicago at this time, you would see black people living their lives, which would surely include the buying and reading of newspapers. It seems really weird to then depict black people as dumb and superstitious, even if the depiction of them as working as servants was primarily how the cartoonist would have encountered them in the middle-class milieu he lived in and depicted.

Herriman is a fascinating complicating factor. Because he’s black, and he’s arguably one of the best strip cartoonists of this era, and was respected by his peers. But he was also white-passing, in all likelihood because he knew his racial background would create problems, including with his peers. I think there’s a strong case to be made for the case Ishmael Reed basically implicitly makes with his Mumbo Jumbo dedication: That Herriman is one of the great artists of the twentieth century, and his art is informed by his blackness in the same way that blackness informs the great American art form of jazz. That his identity was denied to his peers doesn’t make his own art any less great, it simply complicates the ways that art works. But if you think of Cliff Sterrett being one of the guys who called Herriman “the Greek” and then drew this comic strip that features these horrible stereotypes, it just hurts your soul.

Sterrett is even I think someone whose work gets called “jazzy,” because there’s a certain modernist verve to it, a visual inventiveness. While the limit to King’s work is in how well-written you can really view it as being when you’re considering the racism, the limit to Sterrett’s is in how well-drawn and actually wild it is, considering that every strip  has the same gridded layout, when contrasted against the more inventive architectures of a Feininger page, or Charles Forbell’s Naughty Pete, or a Garrett Price White Boy strip. (I haven’t actually read the White Boy collection. The people who have read it and like it cite how it’s beautifully drawn, and how not-racist it is in the depiction of Native Americans, as being the things that credit it.)

Here’s something: I’m not even reading the strips drawn by conservatives! I’m not reading Chester Gould, or Harold Gray, or Al Capp. Each of these cartoonist is their own weird thing, with effectively different forms of conservatism, who I don’t wish to dismiss. I can get down with some Dick Tracy strips, whatever. To a certain extent, being an adult in dealing with history means seeing the virtues in people you probably disagree with in many ways. But it’s seeing the weird unconscious attitudes of people you would like to genuinely admire that makes you want to throw the whole project in the trash and start anew, because it displays evidence of such a deep taint.

Racism is basically America’s original sin. Comic strips are, along with jazz, the great American art form. It basically follows that you can’t talk about comics in any sort of accurate historic light without talking about racism. (There’s also racial caricature in Winsor McKay’s Little Nemo strips, obviously.) Reading the supplemental essays in these books of reprints, or critical reviews of them, you realize the desire to distance oneself from talking about the racism in the work is similar to how the conservative view of “American exceptionalism” goes hand-in-hand with a refusal to acknowledge the racist premises at the heart of its founding: People arguing for the exceptional quality of these strips are not addressing the elephant in the room, or only address it in the most cursory and hand-waving way imaginable. They are trying to paint a portrait without blemishes, without flaws, and in so doing depict a platonic ideal that does not actually exist.

These strips are not the work of Robert Crumb, where the racist imagery being employed has ostensibly an satirical end. It’s not Huckleberry Finn either, where the use of racial slurs is commonplace to set up a default mindset that then becomes undercut as a common humanity is realized. I’m actually unclear on if you could print such racial slurs in the newspaper at this time, or if it would be avoided as strenuously as any other profanity that couldn’t run in a “family newspaper.” What you see in these strips is the soft racism of paternalistic attitudes in the twentieth century American North laid bare for what it is. The volume I have of Walt And Skeezix collects the strips from 1923 and 1294, the Polly And Her Pals collection collects work from 1928 to 1930. This was an an era where black people could be reliably counted on as Republican voters, in the era before the realignment in politics that came with the Great Depression and the New Deal.

The current ahistorical posturing of Trump’s Republican party has them occasionally downplaying their overt anti-black racism to claim the “party of Lincoln” banner. So these strips are relevant, essentially, for depicting the sort of status quo the Republican party seek a return to, prior to FDR-instituted social programs, where black people exist primarily as servants and their concerns or agency, beyond how they exist in service to liberal white people, who address them from a place of charity, while conservatives would theoretically exist in all-white enclaves, are dismissed. The racism in the world depicted in these strips is inarguable, but the hope exists, in the eyes of conservatives, that liberals will see the way it flatters them, and wave it away as basically acceptable.

The alternative, as ever, would be in Herriman’s Krazy Kat, “the future liberals want,” where race and gender are forever up for debate in an shifting desert landscape. The issue there, of course, is the basically true argument that the strip doesn’t make any sense, and the more-up-for-debate point that the unique language of the strip is the result of repression of identity and internalized self-loathing. It’s also notable that the strip lacked popular appeal but was allowed to continue existing because it won the support of a wealthy benefactor. Maybe one day we’ll all learn to vibe with it, but I don’t really see that happening.

[theangrypokemaniac]

I'll state from the beginning that the images below display the sort of sweet synchronicity to which only love can give life:

MaAndPaShipping is the best ship, and here are five reasons why:

1. It Made James

Like the boy do yer? Ever felt the slightest tingle of warmth at the mention of his name?

Well get down on yer knees and give thanks to his mother and father for gifting him to the world!

Where would we be without their remarkable commitment? Could James have grown into the dandified dream boat of your desires if deprived of the safety provided by his parents?

Had they not brought him up, he'd be dead, The Dog of Flanders fantasy made reality. If miraculously he survived, foraging in the wild is not conducive to a foppish personality.

Is that to yer fancy? No? Then let's have a little respect. The luxury Ma and Pa gave enabled his macaroni tendencies to reach such heights.

Their love created him! How can it not be celebrated?

You lot would ship Jessie's parents but you can't, because she has no dad, and I don't suppose you'll ever assent to his obvious identity of Windy Miller, although 'Jessie Miller' has a wonderful ring to it, so what can be done?

Should a Pa Jess be conjured for the purpose, he still buggered off, didn't he? Where's the allure in a faithless git?

I can't comprehend the obsession with Ma Jess. As soon as here she's stiff, and what is there to remember but coercing her daughter into eating snow?

Hey, I named her. What more do you want from me?

I'd rather have the living, visible ancestors, if you don't mind.

Yeah, says the history fanatic.

Why not make the most of the chances offered, and follow a devoted couple whose love made a difference to your existence?

2. Canon!

There are many ships which I find repulsive for involving depravity, or absurd as the subjects haven't met, or don't inhabit the same fictional universe.

Video et taceo: I see and I say nothing.

Neither does anyone. Forcing decent folk in to incest, bestiality etc. is quite alright.

Perverted ideas are left alone, but woe betide a Rocketshipper, because that's offensive.

It may be the only original ship left standing, with proper evidence and sanctioned by Nintendo, but no, it's fair game for undermining. People pick at your arguments, quibble constantly and NEED to register their objections NOW. You MUST be made aware of opposition. You're not to be permitted your views the way those with twisted tastes are indulged.

Why, out of tens of thousands of combinations, does making Jessie and James an item provoke hostility?

The strength of negativity actually serves as validation, for why be so concerned if it's an impossible relationship?

However sick they are, I'm not anti any ship. I can't muster sufficient interest to do it, and if I scroll on, I forget. I certainly don't attack those responsible.

Anti-Shipping is inherently nihilistic for promoting loneliness. They aren't against Rocketshipping through wanting Jessie and James to be with someone else, as an alternative is not readily available, so the outcome of it is neither finding a companion.

MaAndPaShipping attracts no sourpuss silliness, for 'tis canon beyond question. There's nothing about being 'just friends' when married with a son.

How's the state of your O.T.P.? Not looking too clever I expect, and what's your contribution: wishing, and hoping, and thinking, and praying?

Cast it off! None of that longing is necessary in these quarters, as MaAndPaShipping is a fait accompli.

Hallelujah! Wallow in that Love!

Don't you yearn for at least one ship that all of us accept by default, to the extent these aristocrats are spoken of as a single unit?

Across the internet, Ma and Pa are bracketed as 'James's parents', never 'he' and 'she', always 'they', barely counting as distinct characters. That's how undeniable the love is between them. Sheer indifference has awarded it a blessing from everyone.

MWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Of course, now I've drawn attention to it the moaning will start, but we all know a spoilsport when we see one.

If they had any legitimate complaints they ought to have mentioned 'em before this piece highlighted the marriage!

Except it won't have occurred to 'em previously, proving the eternal, indissoluble quality of MaAndPaShipping.

You get good value with this one.

Find a post referring to Ma and Pa as individuals and I'll have written it, for that's what you call ironic.

3. It's a Fine Rocketshipping Proxy

I was at primary school when Pokémon hit the West like the bright, bearded meteor it is, atomizing all competition for a child's attention.

I have shipped Jessie and James before I knew anyone else did it, unaware shipping was even a thing.

There are other pairs where I think: 'That seems to fit', but it's incomparable to what I feel for them.

It is part of me. I bleed it.

I have shipped it longer than most Tumblerries have dwelt upon the earth.

I used to believe, what with the hints and manga finale, that this resolution was  inevitable, and all I had to do was wait.

Well I've been patient for two decades now, thus when I look at the modern incarnation, and realise it's no nearer to that goal, and instead is further away, waiting starts to wear a bit thin.

I resent the lack of appreciation shown to the fans by the cretins in charge, how any meagre shippy inclusion is done not with an interest in deepening bonds, but with the blatant cynicism of moulding us into performing monkeys dancing to their manipulative tune.

I dislike being treated like a sea lion, expected to clap me flippers at the wave of a fish, or as a panting dog begging at top table, where, because they're desperate to maintain the status quo, every scrap flung down from above now comes with an Anti-Ship kick in the teeth, just to be sure nothing progresses. Not whilst the franchise can still be milked for all it's worth.

I have lost faith Rocketshipping will happen. What passes for Pokémon today carries not the remotest indication of any intention on the so-called writers' part to finish it that way.

Even if it did, it's not my Team Rocket, it's those skeletal, gargoyle bastardisations. My Jessie and James never got the reward they deserved.

I'm somewhat in the market for a replacement. Beneath this loathsome carapace of acid and ice beats the tender heart of a true romantic, and it must have an outlet!

Shipping Ma and Pa provides a certain spurious relief, because it's as close as you can get to Jessie and James without it being them, both biologically as his parents, but they're so similar to the duo it counts as proof in itself.

Holy Matrimony! is prime Rocketshipping territory, not merely the balloon lift, but many slight additions are as important, like the haircuts matching.

Ma and Pa are therefore Jessie and James in the past, present and future:

The past for representing Jess 'n' Jamie gone Victorian, and we've all wondered how that'd turn out.

The present as it's there right now, absent of suffering the shameless whims of morons to get what you want. 'Tis yours to savour.

The future as a glimpse of Jessie and James once married with children, and they agree:

That's how they play it given the opportunity!

What, James in blue, for his and Pa's hair, and Jessie wearing purple, like Ma's, with a red shawl for her own, and Ma Jess's orange earrings to copy the beads?

• Money!

• Bun!

• 'Tache!

• Classy pad!

• Fancy gear!

• Pampered pet!

• Identical cups of Earl Grey!

4. Original Blend

Ma and Pa have only got two fans! We care more than the entire fandom has in twenty years!

Rocketshipping art is ten a penny, so why not display a pioneering spirit, sharpen up those pencils and be inspired?

Let your mind expand and marvel at the possibilities of these unchartered territories, and I'll reblog it if it's nice.

Pay attention to the condition of it being nice. I'm not putting up with any old toss.

Real Ma and Pa is what I want too, not those Sinnoh coffin-dodgers.

It's never been done! Every drawing breaks new ground!

I don't like fan fiction, but I wouldn't say 'no' to that either. Recall the 'nice' stipulation again.

Come on, be the first amongst your friends and get ship shape!

5. It Gives Us All Hope

Suppose your favourite amour one day became canon: you imagine that's the end of the matter?

Well it ain't.

Between Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, James, Gary and Tracey, there are three-and-a-half out of fourteen parents (Flint doesn't count as a complete man) and one out of twenty-eight grandparents, and that's not enough!

If the series drew to a close with your beloved couple apparently walking into the happily-ever-after, there's no guarantee it'll endure. In fact, the odds are they'll split up within a few years and leave another generation to fend for themselves or starve.

That's right, so don't presume the final episode is all you need to worry about. Can you rest easy knowing it'll go pear-shaped once the camera stops rolling?

It's futile soothing one's worries with:

Oh, but they know what it's like to be alone. They'd never inflict such stress on their children.

Oh really?

Look at that poor showing of grandparents. Either Pokémon has a system reminiscent of the sci-fi film Logan's Run, where everyone over thirty is vapourized, or these disappearing maters and paters were themselves victims of abandonment.

I bet when they settled down, they thought it'd be different for their kids, they'd make sure of it, but no, off they went down that same route of feckless self-indulgence, and that's being kind assuming they intended not to repeat history.

Depressing eh? What's the good in any of us surrendering to romance, real or otherwise, if love is but a mayfly of emotion, and all dreams are doomed to die?

Then Ma and Pa arrive, and suddenly the storm clouds part for a ray of heavenly light.

It's not only that they made the effort in what was probably an arranged marriage and have stayed together from youth, it's that they've stayed together when no one else has, which augments its value.

When separation is commonplace, sticking it out becomes rarer and rarer as any belief in the sanctity of wedlock erodes with every failure.

If they didn't bother, why should I? What's the use when it won't work?

Once that idea enters your head, it's over, and your gloom-laden attitude fulfils itself.

Society is collapsing about Ma and Pa's ears, but they persevere nevertheless, refusing to buckle under the turgid malaise engulfing the arrogant and weak.

It's bloody beautiful, man!

You may suggest an environment of supreme wealth erases normality, and to their class and time period divorce is still taboo, so they don't really have much of choice but to remain wedded.

Ah, but it's not as if they simply tolerate one another for appearances, or carried on for the sake of their son (which is more than anyone else did besides), not when he walked out on them.

They've been married longer than James has lived, so at least eighteen years (don't all squeal at once), and they're still blissfully contented!

They hold hands!

They use terms of endearment like 'dear' and 'my precious'!

They were made for one another!

They work as a team!

They want the same thing for James!

It could bring a stone angel to tears it's so beautiful!

See what success can be achieved when you try? When you endeavour to love the one you're with and make yourself worth loving in return?

Better that than chucking 'em at the first sign of trouble.

Ma and Pa is such an irrevocable union even the despair of losing their only child failed to tear 'em asunder, and that'd defeat many, but not this husband and wife.

Be grateful, for it means all is not in vain.

It doesn't have to be misery and pain: love can last despite the pressure of a wretched, hollow culture bent on self-destruction. Your ship might just succeed too.

God bless 'em for keeping the magic alive!

...

Why do I have the presentiment that I'm going to regret encouraging support?

[cogentranting]

Y’all, Frozen 2 is lit. 

Full disclosure, I’m not a big fan of the original Frozen. I think it’s a fairly mediocre movie with a lot of flaws.  But this one? This one I really REALLY like. So, here’s my list of:

10 ways that Frozen 2 is better than the original. 

(spoiler free, apart from the last entry which contains vague comments on the types of conflict found in the second movie)

It has a plot- The first one has kind of a wandering plot with a lot of random things happening on the side. It’s very unclear why certain things happen, some actions seem arbitrary, the central problem keeps changing etc. But Frozen 2 is very focused. There’s a goal, the characters all act within their characterization to achieve their goals, and their individual motivations and arcs are very clear 

The plot is driven by the characters’ choices- More than its semi-confused, somewhat arbitrary nature, my issue with the first movie’s plot is that after the first third the characters stop actively making decisions and mostly just react to whatever’s happening at the moment. Elsa doesn’t choose to return, she’s arrested; Anna is forced to go back to Arendelle because she’s hurt; Anna doesn’t realize Hans is evil/wrong for her, he tries to kill her etc. Even Anna’s big act of love for Elsa is more a split second reaction than a choice. But in Frozen 2, both Anna and Elsa are very much in control of their decisions all the way through. At every stage it’s their intentional actions which steer the plot, up to and through not only the climax but also the resolution. 

It knows who the movie’s about- The first movie has the issue of not really knowing who the main character is. Is it about Anna or Elsa? It feels like it can’t decide who it wants to focus on. It feels like one started as the main character and then in the revising process it started to shift to the other sister and it never got the chance to finish that process (which, if I know the behind the scenes stories of that movie correctly, is exactly what happened. Anna was the main character but over the course of development Elsa started to steal the show). But what we ended up with feels like a rough draft. Elsa’s need for development (her flaws, her fears, her shutting people out, her running from responsibilities) are what drive the plot, where Anna’s need for development is more of a B plot (her misguided views on romance being the main thing), however, Anna’s arc is the one that more directly resolves Elsa’s flaws and it’s Anna’s actions that save the day. Elsa just has all her growth happen within about 15 seconds after that. Meanwhile Anna’s growth is more informed than shown. So in the end it doesn’t really feel like it’s about either sister fully. They just each have half an arc. Frozen 2 doesn’t pick one sister to elevate over the other. But it clearly intends for them to be equals from the beginning of its development, so the story supports them being co-leads, instead of feeling like it’s undecided and in conflict with itself. So both have fully developed arcs, and both have an equal share in the progression of the story. 

Anna and Elsa interact- The relationship between Anna and Elsa is the crux of both movies, but in the first one they have barely any screen time together. The only time they get to bond is the opening scene. That’s then followed by around a decade of Elsa completely shutting Anna out of her life. Then they have a scene where they argue. They’re separated, argue again, are separated again. And then at the end their love for each other saves the day. We never really get to see them form a relationship as adults. Frozen 2 does more to establish their bond, we get to see them interact, and they spend much more of the movie actually working together, so the emphasis on their love and their bond means a lot more and makes the emotional moments much more effective. 

They do some world-building and the magic makes sense- The thing I see most often... not so much criticized as questioned, about Frozen is where do Elsa’s powers come from? It’s not exactly a flaw or a plot hole, but it is a little distracting. As is the fact that even though Elsa is treated as powerful and frightening in the movie, they still somehow manage to undersell how powerful she is. The other issue with the world of Frozen is that the rock trolls feel vaguely out of place and totally unlike anything else in the movie. Frozen 2 is clearly designed to answer the question of where Elsa’s powers come from in a way that is not only satisfying, but thoroughly fits in with the previously established elements of the world and makes things like the existence of the rock trolls or how omnipotent Elsa is, actually work better than they did before so that it all fits together well. On its own, Frozen 2 embraces the idea of magic and does some really good world building around the concept that makes Arendelle and the surrounding world feel rich and interesting, where before they were basically just a generic place-holder setting. 

The animation and art design get a chance to shine- Frozen has excellent animation. But because everything is just snow and ice, there are very few chances for you to really admire the art. The “Let it Go” sequence is really the only stand out that I can think of. Frozen 2 on the other hand, goes all out with beautiful animation. There’s a variety of different locations, each character has multiple outfits (most of which I love), the character’s have different hair styles, the nature magic has it’s own set of unique and beautiful animation, Elsa’s powers get used more and get to do really visually interesting things. There’s just so many beautiful things to look at.

The songs don’t just stop- Fixer Upper is the last song in Frozen. Which is like, a beginnings of a relationship type song. And then the songs just stop. There’s no song anywhere near the climax. There’s no song related to any kind of character revelation or growth. There’s no finale song. The soundtrack doesn’t feel resolved. Frozen 2 has a song to accompany each of the crowning moments of Elsa and Anna’s respective arcs. The soundtrack progresses along with the movie and feels a lot more complete as a result. Also Kristoff gets a song and that’s good. And this is more of a personal preference thing but my gut reaction is that I like the Frozen 2 soundtrack better (though I still think Let it Go is probably the strongest song out of both). 

Olaf is funny- I don’t like Olaf in the first movie. I only find him funny occasionally, and more often than not he’s annoying. But I really really enjoyed him in this movie and laughed at a lot of his lines. I may even have to rethink my wholesale dismissal of Josh Gad. 

Kristoff doesn’t become irrelevant- Kristoff has two major purposes in the first movie: to take Anna to the trolls, and to be a “true love’ red herring (the second true love red herring, if we’re being real). You could honestly probably take Kristoff out of the movie without having to do much to rewrite it. Kristoff still isn’t hugely important in Frozen 2, but he has his own arc, he has an active role in the finale and over all he just feels a little more included.  [Spoilers-- vague spoilers that give some indication of the nature of the movie’s plot, not revealed for certain in the trailers]

There’s no villain- I feel strongly that the first movie would be a lot stronger if they did not have a villain and let Elsa’s inner conflict be the major conflict of the movie. It would force them to actually address Elsa’s character development. It would push the climax to be centered entirely around Anna and Elsa. It would keep the story focused on the central issue: Elsa can’t control her powers and is shutting people out, instead of bringing in a secondary point as the main problem. It would give Elsa more agency in taking control of her powers. And Hans is not a strong enough character to really lose anything from either cutting him, or relegating his duplicity to a B plot.  Frozen 2 does what the first movie should have done. There is no villain to fight. The conflict at the climax doesn’t revolve around a person that needs to be fought. It’s all about Anna and Elsa’s choices and discoveries and it makes the themes clearer, the arcs more memorable, and the whole story less generic. 

[mokkoriness]

ROCK AND READ vol. 085 - Show Interview

Photo credit: ROCK AND READ Twitter

Succession of "aesthetics"

At the final of the tour called "A9 LAST ONEMAN" at Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall on August 10, they announced that their band name would go back from "A9" to their name at debut, "alicenine.". Although the way we say their name has gone back from "A Nine" to "alice nine", why did they choose not "Alice Nine", but the katakana + kanji mix of "alicenine.", which once felt out of place to them? Junior bandman RYO:SUKE (WING WORKS) gets to the heart of the matter with the vocalist Show, who is responsible for the band's vision.

It has been a while, Show. Why did you name me, one of your junior musicians, to do this interview, which comes at such an important time?

Show: It has been a while. To me, you're one of my juniors that can speak logically. I suggested the idea, thinking that we would be able to deliver something interesting for the readers if a person such as yourself did the interview. I am really glad we were able to do this, thanks to the kindness of the editors.

I am really honoured. Thank you. Let's get straight into it. I was really surprised that you changed the band name back to "alicenine.". Frankly, why did you decide to do that at this point in time?

Show: Right from the start after we went independent, we almost got into trouble operating under the name "Alice Nine" without permission from our previous company. That was, of course, not our intention. We wanted to do our activities after having gone through the proper channels with our previous company. So we had no choice but to change our band name to do activities, and so we changed it to "A9". Since we changed the stylisation and even the way the name was pronounced, when people would call us this new name, there was this hesitant feeling. Even after 3 - 4 years, that feeling was still there.

Is that so?

Show: Of course, the fans accepted the name "A9". However, we did activities feeling bad for the fans, that they were in a situation where they wanted to call us the name they were used to, but couldn't. Some time after that, with the cooperation of many people, there was talks among ourselves of operating under the "alice nine" once again. So we decided to use this name again.

I was very surprised, and at the same time glad, that not only that, but the stylisation returned to the original "alicenine.".

Show: That's more interesting, right? Back then, we started to feel dislike at the fact that that stylisation made us stand out from others. When this band started from the lowest of the low in this scene, we gave it a name focusing on making it look as eccentric as possible and setting ourselves apart as much as possible when compared to other bands. However, 2 years after forming the band, we signed a contract with a major label and were able to land on the front covers of normal magazines. As a matter of course, won't your make up become more natural and your styling become more casual? So we felt that the band stylisation "alicenine." was very out of place, and changed it to "Alice Nine". At the time, the background to changing our band name was different from this time.

Meaning this time, that from the beginning, you decided to change the band name not to "Alice Nine", but "alicenine."?

Show: That's right. Although it's a name we gave the band 15 years ago, I feel like the times have finally caught up with this name. Over the last few years, no matter the genre, there has been a real increase in the number of bands that have a strong impact in terms of band name stylisation, but before anyone else, we had a history of attracting attention from people, who say, "How do you read that band name?". The same goes for the band you were in, "Lolita23q" (laughs).

That's right. Of course, that band name was also heavily inspired by "alicenine.". Even so, I bet the fans, particularly the ones that have been supporting you from the start, must be very happy.

Show: Yeah, rather than going halfheartedly with "Alice Nine", we thought that it would be easier for the fans to understand the meaning behind this name change if we went back to this stylisation. As there are many fans who accepted and supported our activities as "A9", after careful consideration of what form would make the most sense, we decided on "alicenine.", and here we are.

That said, I think that as you had done activities as "A9" for 5 years since leaving your previous company, people must have gotten used to it. Personally, the name "A9" doesn't feel out of place to me at all.

Show: In the band's 15 year history, we did our activities in cleanly divided eras; with 5 years as "alicenine.", 5 years as "Alice Nine", and 5 years as "A9".

Oh! I see!

Show: It wasn't planned at all, but before we knew it, it ended up like being different eras of dinosaurs, like the "Jurassic period" and "Cretaceous period" (laughs). Since we changed our band name back on the assumption that there were people who felt familiar with "A9", we understand that we ourselves need to have the determination to do this.

Hearing you say that, it means that you felt it necessary to change your name back from "A9", which you had used for 5 years. When doing activities, don't bands have times where something is like mysterious fate? Things like an important venue to you happens to be available on an important date, even though you don't intend it?

Show: There is that, but I also think that a band can't continue if there are no obstacles that they are supposed to overcome. I think it would be impossible to continue for 10 years without having any sort of obstacles. Because I think that with the momentum from overcoming an obstacle, you have a run-up to your next 5 years.

Do you have this awareness of trying to create your own hardships by changing your band name back?

Show: No. It might be more accurate to say it feels that all we are doing is what we're supposed to do. To be honest, the Visual-kei scene is in an ice age, and I think that it's a miracle that magazines like "ROCK AND READ" can continue to exist. Also, lately, I have been very busy, so busy to the point that I can't help but be annoyed that I have to do an interview for a magazine today (laughs). But I really have a lot of respect for the chief editor of "ROCK AND READ", in that they are playing a role in communicating the charms of this scene. That is why when I got the offer, I was able to say yes to doing this interview. I think that it's because this magazine has "aesthetics".

"Aesthetics"?

Show: In this age, where a DJ can fire up a large crowd with just a single mp3 track, bands, who do their activities while carrying around heavy instruments and equipment, are really inefficient. But as long as there are people who say "Even so, we are a band" and "Even so, I like bands", in terms of the manner of how to respond to such people, I think there is no choice but to persist with "aesthetics". Even the degree of influence that mass media has has changed, and I'll say it again: I am so busy that I actually think that accepting interview requests from the media is a stupid thing. But even so, I would like to accept the requests from media that I feel thankful for for covering us, and I strongly feel that I would like to be someone who persists with my own aesthetic. Precisely because bands and Visual-kei itself is no longer popular, by changing our name back to "alicenine.", I would like to once again appeal to the world about the coolness of this kind of persistence.

"Aesthetics" is a really good term. If you were to describe with words what exactly your "aesthetic" is, what would it be?

Show: To phrase my aesthetic in terms of kabuki, it would be "to make a grandiose gesture". Although I won't do something that I truly think is lame, if it is something that will make the people supporting us happy, then I will do anything; even if I have to drink muddy water, even if I lose face, even if people laugh at me. I think that it is painfully lame to put on airs only for your own benefit, but if it is to make the people supporting me happy, then I will desperately put on airs. That is my aesthetic.

I see.

Show: I only speak about it from this point of view because my main job is the artwork, vision, and management of the band, but I definitely do not reference other Visual-kei bands. What my aesthetic is is in the upper echelons of art, for example, top fashion brands; the part that is at the cutting edge of the times. I think that you show sincerity to those who support you by digesting such elements and then reforming them as art.

I think that's what the Paris Collection is.

Show: Yeah. To simply bring that into Visual-kei is the same as buying a product from a $1 shop and only changing the label and selling it for $1.20. That is betraying the people who support you, so I definitely will never do that. I agree with what MUCC's Tatsuro said in a previous issue of "ROCK AND READ", that "all bands that do uncool things should disband". I feel that perhaps aesthetic is to always wonder to oneself what the most correct thing to do is when creating a piece of work.

At first, I had always thought that you were an businessman-like artist, but after watching you over these last few years, I feel like you are someone who has a oddly unique balance between the business aspect and the art aspect.

Show: When it comes to the business aspect, ever since when we were in our previous company, I always wondered "Why do people suck at their jobs so badly?". Although I have met people who are really good at doing business, like the president of our previous company and the people that lent us a hand after we went independent, there are only a handful of people that truly understand the nature of business, and it has only been 2 years since I was able to understand business as well.

Surely, the way I saw you started to change from around then too.

Show: I think that before then, all it was was me desperately sinking my teeth into the "Neo Visual-kei" movement and being able to secure a position for myself. All it was was me riding the trends by doing things recklessly.

Does that mean that you don't think you were the trailblazers of the time?

Show: We weren't. The band that set the trend at the time was Baroque (currently active as BAROQUE). Baroque were the ones who "invented" the fact that you could still be Visual-kei even without make-up during an era that was teeming with flashiness, and the generation after us definitely must not forget to respect that. And that caught on overseas, and bands from the 90s, like X JAPAN and LUNA SEA, were well-received once again in the 00s. Of course, a big part of that is because our seniors were the founders of Visual-kei, and in addition to that, Baroque's reinvention in the 00s spread overseas, and Visual-kei was once again well-received as a part of Japanese culture. That's why I keep on saying that what Baroque did was amazing.

I see. I think that is a very accurate analysis.

Show: So all I did was desperately ride the waves of that movement that was born then and secured a position. Then, it was when we went independent that I realised the joy of having people who support you. They really are like family. They buy tickets and make the time to come and see us at our live shows, and I have nothing but gratitude. If they are going to be happy when a band sets aside their instruments to dance, then I feel like I'll do anything and everything, like dance practice.

That is wonderful determination.

Show: Because there are many people who dedicated their youth to the Neo Visual-kei movement that we ran with. I believe that only we can make those people happy. It's impossible for us to tell those people who have been supporting us since the beginning "Please forget about clean and fresh bands and fall in love with J-Pop or hip-hop instead". That is why they still come to our live shows. That is why going on as a band is an obligation. And that's what leads me back to saying that in order to keep this going, I don't mind drinking muddy water.

But with the history that alicenine. = Alice Nine = A9 and the relationship you have with the fans that you have met, I think that you have been able to continue activities in order to make people happy, even without having to drink muddy water.

Show: It is certainly true that there is an easy method to have people who were fans of bands in the 90s to come to your live show without hesitation just by being active as a Visual-kei band now. Doing that is like making a frontal assault, and that is yet another correct method. The way to approach the current scene is a business model where of the tens of thousands of people that like Visual-kei, you get a certain percentage of those people to come see your live shows to make a living.

That is exactly right.

Show: But ever since back then, we've always had more of a punk band spirit, or rather, this need to "break the format". You can see that when we set aside our instruments and dance, or like last year, when we incorporated 2.5D play-like elements into our live show. Although the tour we did in Summer for our best of album is pretty standard for a band, since it was a tour we did after having taken on such challenges, I feel that both the band and the fans are growing. I want people to think of the expression "to drink muddy water" as expressing the mentality of searching to see if there is something that is even more interesting, even if it means getting down on the ground on your hands and knees.

What is the driving force behind that? You're an intelligent person, have proven to be able to ride the trends of the time, have band members with high potential, and have many fans. Why would such a person as yourself continue to take on these challenges and even throw away the easy route?

Show: Since it's not as though I do this because I want to show myself off, to be clear, I don't aim for 10; it's either 0 or 100. If I imitate the format that the amazing bands of the 90s did, then I can aim for 10, but I definitely won't be able to aim for 100. Now, the only band that can compete on equal footing with our seniors from that era is Golden Bomber, because they had made a new "invention". Though it seems like a waste since Baroque stopped activities when they were at their peak, I think that that in itself is cool.

I see. It's either 0 or 100.

Show: To go even further, to speak of something I personally regret, when we had the experience of playing at a large venue overseas in 2007, when Visual-kei was at its peak overseas, even though it was right before our eyes, we weren't serious about the show. Right after that, K-Pop had taken the world by storm, and the cultural power landscape in the Asia region changed in one fell swoop. That was something that I painfully felt when we played at Singapore a few years after that. The regret of not taking on challenges in the past is with me today.

So that's how it was.

Show: I feel that it is much better to take on a challenge and fail than to not take on challenges at all. It is not my intention whatsoever to act self-important and say, "I always work harder than everyone else!". I just hate not taking on the challenge and regretting it later.

And this way of thinking was only possible because you have come to understand business, and because you took on the new challenge of doing activities as an independent band.

Show: Business cannot be understood if you don't understand the entire network of operations, marketing, management, politics, law, and finance. That's what I know. I think every waking minute was spent on studying business.

How did you study?

Show: With books. At first, I read books written by Japanese businessmen, but recently, it's been insufficient, so I've started to read mainly books written by American economists. I also get the latest information on business from Twitter. Apart from the several tweets I make a day and reading those replies, I only read information on business. I want to tell bandmen to read books. Myself included, I think it would be better to be aware of the fact that we are still in a primitive world.

This is something that I want to ask you precisely because I think you are a person that, in the middle of the movement of the 00s, came out of nowhere and stood out from the rest, and on top of that, is able to flexibly handle the changes of the times. Do you have any advice for the younger generation of artists that are currently battling in this scene?

Show: Right. Since advancement of the internet, the mechanism where information flowed in one direction from those people called "celebrities" to those people called "ordinary people" has completely disappeared. I want to tell them that when you understand the current world in this way, there are only two types of artists that are of any value to consumers.

And those two types are?

Show: Whether they are "convenient or not" and whether they "have meaning or not". To compare it to cars, there are only the two choices; one is pursuing "convenience", like a Toyota Prius that has good maneuverability, or pursuing "meaning", like a Tesla that is an environmentally friendly electric car. In other words, it has changed to whether or not artists can offer something that is necessary in a consumer's lifestyle, such as something they want to listen to to hype them up when they go for a run, or something they want to listen to to calm down before going to bed. I don't know how many people realise this, though.

So that is the context when you say "convenience".

Show: Yeah. In an era where you are questioned on what kind of manner you make something that fits into the lives of the listener, we have already been plunged deep into that. Conventional Visual-kei has a business model where people who like artists that wear make-up will come to live shows. However, I think that it is only natural that that sort of thing is disappearing.

What about whether they "have meaning or not"?

Show: That would be the "aesthetics" that I mentioned earlier. It's about whether or not the listener empathises with the artist, even though the genre is not popular and the artist isn't famous, and feels their life has meaning to it when they support such an artist. Meaning it's about whether or not you are persistent with your aesthetic to create something that people feel has meaning, and for as many people as possible. That is whether an artist "has meaning or not".

I really get what you are saying.

Show: To dig even deeper from a business point of view, there are the terms "problem resolution" and "reproducibility". If even one of the two is missing, then your thing is no longer needed by people.

If "problem resolution" is being able to offer "music that people want to listen to to hype them up when they go for a run" or "music that people want to listen to to calm down before going to bed", then what is "reproducibility"?

Show: For example, with YouTube videos that have a lot of views, it is not just information that the listener is passively receiving; it is content that can be reproduced in the viewers' lives. Something like "When I give speeches, I can talk in front of people without getting nervous" or "With these ingredients, I can make food at home that is like what you see at restaurants". Watching that kind of content is for your own benefit, right? That makes is reproducible.

Now that you mention it, that is certainly true.

Show: A Visual-kei band is content that is very difficult for the consumer to reproduce. Although when the consumer goes to a live show and headbangs because they are told to might just be to fulfill their need for recognition, at the end of the day, it is only unidirectional supply and demand, and you can only increase customer satisfaction on a small scale. Just like I said before, the boundary between a celebrity and an ordinary person probably doesn't even exist anymore, and it's an era where we're all equals. I want to tell people that they should understand this fact.

I see.

Show: What I'm going to say next applies to all of society from here on, but if we're to focus only on the Visual-kei market, right now, we are at rock bottom, so if you are going to keep on doing the same thing, then you'd best be persistent about it.

So that's the way you think about it.

Show: To put it in other terms, I think that there's only one way, and that's up, and that could be in 5 years' time or 10 years' time. I really think that we're in an amazing place right now.

But aren't Visual-kei fans also hearing sad news, like CD shops closing one after the other? What is your stance on that? Of course, there are many artists that are calling on for people to buy more CDs.

Show: That is just plain stupid. Don't you think it's like telling people to eat a Belgian waffle?

A Belgian waffle?

Show: Belgian waffles used to be popular in the past. [Telling people to buy more CDs] It's just as stupid as saying "Hey, quit drinking pearl milk tea1! If you don't start eating Belgian waffles, it's going to disappear! All the Belgian waffle stores are going to close!". It's not popular any more, and you have to accept that. People surely must have realised a long time ago that it would be impossible for a "Visual-kei CD shop" to exist. On the contrary, I think that the customers who continued to buy CDs to support the existence of such shops are really cool.

Earlier you mentioned an "obligation to fans". Going forward, what do you think artists should do for the people who love this scene?

Show: I merely have this feeling that I'm obligated to not let Japanese culture go extinct around the world. Just like I said before, "Visual-kei" is a format that YOSHIKI and HIDE "invented", and now, as it were, all we are doing is selling a watered-down version of that, so I don't think of it as something that needs to be kept on going at all cost. However, I don't want people to misunderstand me; I think that the that essence of the art form where there are people who are happy when men in genderless make-up play dazzling music should be kept going.

I understand. At a glance, that difference may appear similar, but they are two separate things.

Show: So there is absolutely no need for everyone to worry about whether Visual-kei will keep on going or not. There will be a time when people will stop drinking pearl milk tea. That's how it is. I can't help but think that it would be lame for us to try and protect it because we had a bit of a taste of success and have vested interests. Rather than that, I think it would be best to concentrate on the happiness of the people that listen to your music.

I went to see alicenine.'s first solo show at Shibuya AX. At the time, Shibuya AX was a place that bandmen first dreamed of playing at.

Show: That brings back memories. It was the gates to success for our generation.

I will never forget when you said on stage during the encore, "Dreams do come true!".

Show: Oh, really? I don't remember (laughs).

That's why there is something that I wanted to ask you no matter what today. What are your "dreams" now?

Show: Right. Now that I'm older, I do really think that in the end, you are held captive to and cannot escape from the things that you wanted when you were in your teens. So from that point of view, I want to be a person that be of use to someone in a form other than music and bands.

That's a typical answer from you.

Show: I am just an ordinary person, after all; I was a kid with no friends, I wasn't popular, and wasn't cheerful. So then how do you run a band, and how do you come to run a company? By communicating that methodology and scheme, I think that perhaps I can be of use to someone.

That is amazing.

Show: I've been thinking this lately. Although we see in the news that reclusive adults are committing violent crimes, I might have become such a person had I not encountered music. Or rather, it's not a matter completely unrelated to me. I want to be someone's strength in some kind of way. If there are some of our fans out there who want their husbands or boyfriends to be sharper, I believe that now, I can communicate that to those men.

Although it's a specific example, it seems like you could write a book about it.

Show: Right. It's my dream to be able to create such output, or rather, I want to be of use to even more people. Since Visual-kei bands are not reproducible in the lives of the listeners, in that respect, I've not really been able to directly become someone's strength. In terms of contributing to the happiness of the people who devoted their youth to Neo Visual-kei, it's only because I can be their strength that people come to see our live shows, and I think that I can be of use to them. It's only obvious that bands who appeared after the boom had passed will have a rough time, but because I think they are all wonderful bands, at this rate, it's painful, or rather, it's saddening. All the young bands are really amazing, too.

That's something that we all feel.

Show: If technology advances, people may be able to make a living by uploading music from a country with cheaper costs of living than Japan, but now, the only business model available is to communicate your music from around the Tokyo area, go on tour, and have people buy merchandise in order to make a living, right? I want to be able to resolve that kind of problem too. I think that doing such things going forward is the mission that I have been given.

I am really looking forward to the future of alicenine.

Show: Right. This is something I should have talked about in the very beginning, but by going back to this stylisation, a huge part of me feels proud to be a part of Japanese culture. Right now, the music people are listening to in the Asia region is only K-Pop, and I think that perhaps the Japanese culture that can compete with that is X JAPAN, LUNA SEA, L'Arc~en~Ciel, DIR EN GREY, and MIYAVI. There is also this sense of danger with the problem that the low birthrate and aging population will keep on getting worse in Japan, so I think that going forward, Japanese artists will have to go out into the world. I want to be a rock band that puts the fact that we are Japanese and the fact that we are oriental out in the forefront.

I hope we can hear your new song soon.

Show: Our first single as (the new) alicenine., "Kakumei Kaika - Revolutionary Blooming-", will be released on October 2nd2. We're finally doing the kind of interviews musicians do (laughs). I hope people feel our dignity as a part of Japanese culture, more so than Visual-kei artists.

Dignity, you say. That is another good word.

Show: Since we are communicating to the entire world, I think I'll try to be more particular about using Japanese in the lyrics. I mean, no matter the country, K-Pop competes on the world stage using hangul and the Korean language, right?

The Korean language has strong consonants, and people say that the advantage it has when competing on the world stage is that it is compatible with Western music.

Show: On the other hand, as Japanese is a language that has a dominant component of vowels and pauses, in order to compete on the world stage, it's becoming more important to find a method of singing where it sounds like you are singing in English. I think that going forward, Japanese artists will need to be more active in that sort of information exchange. Even if you were to sing the same language as they do overseas, that will probably take about at least 10 years to become proficient. So if that's the case, I think that you will have a chance at winning by putting the culture of your own language out in the forefront. Going forward, no matter what, we will be even more persistent with our "aesthetic" as alicenine.

1 At the time of the interview, pearl milk tea was incredibly popular in Japan. 2 The release date given on the official site/Twitter is October 23rd.

[gojira007]

So About That Slap

So I was originally just gonna do this as a comment on @thankskenpenders‘ post but

a)       I’d already reblogged that post twice to highlight the on-point comments from @robotnik-mun and @starsandpawprints so doing it yet a third time with my own comments felt kinda tacky?  Plus their comments wound up feeding into my own so doing this as my own post means I can refer you more easily to both of what they had to say (read ‘em here ‘n’ here respectively)

b)      This got kinda super-duper long

And just to preface this with some stuff that I do think is important for context

1)      I do not now nor have I ever condoned or approved of the way Jon Gray or Karl Bollers were treated over what happened in this issue; the harassment they’ve both faced even now about this plot point is utter bullshit on every level and I want to be crystal clear that none of what I say or how I feel here is meant as an attack on them at any level

2)      I’m very aware that this is older than Old News; the comic is literally over, the moment itself happened 15 years ago, and even at the time it wasn’t really The Biggest Deal no matter how the fandom took it.  This isn’t meant to be any sort of Definitive Final Word or whatever on the whole thing; it isn’t even necessarily meant to be Me Venting My Anger. But I do have Feelings on it even all this time later and hey!  Since the topic’s come up again?  I felt like putting them down.

All that having been established?  Let’s dive right in!

So I’ll say upfront I actually agree with a lot of what TKP has to say on the matter!  Not just that the reaction to it as a whole was ridiculously over-blown at the time (and I will admit upfront that at the time my feelings on the topic were pretty raw), but that textually speaking, we’ve been building up to this for a while!  On The Page, there is in fact a lot that informs why Sally does what she does the way that she does (and for that matter I actually do think Jon Gray’s art for the scene really works; I know some have complained that the zippy cartoony look undercuts the drama of the scene but I actually think it places the exact right emphasis on the intensity of the emotions and the violence with which they swing as the scene progresses)!  For that matter I agree a lot with what @starsandpawprints said about how brutally unfair the situation is to Sally when you actually step back and take a look at the circumstances surrounding it!  And to be clear?  I’m a big Sally fan; not only am I already inclined to relate to and sympathize with her character but I think that notion of Sally struggling with these exact sorts of personal issues is a fascinating and worthwhile story to tell with her that could have lead her down some interesting and meaningful paths.

However, I also think @robotnik-mun is onto something when he points out that the overwhelming majority of the audience saw Sally’s actions as unsympathetic and unreasonable.  Only I’d take it one step further: the problem isn’t simply one of perception, but of framing.

For one thing?  As much as we’re all picking up on how ill-considered Max’s choice to put all of this on Sally’s head now of all times is, nothing within the comic itself actually suggest that this is meant to be taken as a poor choice; although Alicia airs her concern over the matter, nothing in the comic suggests that Max’s confidence that Sally can handle it is meant to be regarded as unfounded or foolish (we even get an absolutely-adorable shot of Sally looking super-happy and flashing the V-for-victory sign to go with it), even as it does ultimately prove to be mistaken.  Likewise, there really isn’t anything in this comic or the prior comics that specifically goes into detail about the strain Sally’s relationship with the rest of her friends is under; we may perhaps infer that fact if we’re so inclined from the bare facts but the truth is nothing in the “Home” arc thus far has really delved into it with any real detail.  Which makes sense!  Sally isn’t our point-of-view character here (which poses a problem of its own admittedly but we’ll get to that), we only have so much space in any given issue of this comic, it’s easy to see why that element wouldn’t be deemed relevant enough to go into detail on.  It just also means we the reader aren’t given any reason to view that as a factor in Sally’s emotional state of being; all we have to go on, all the story focuses on, is her fear of losing Sonic again.

And the thing is?  That’s kind of just how she’s been written for a while now.

Again: at the strictest level of what’s on paper, the idea that Sally is suffering from PTSD (and quite possibly Depression, something the fantastic @sally-mun has explored in some really interesting ways) is pretty easy to support, but in the framing I’m not entirely sure it scans.  This exact kind of Emotional Reaction when it comes to the idea that she’ll lose Sonic has in fact been THE go-to Thing Sally has been doing for the last few years in the comic at this point; what happens with The Slap really doesn’t seem all that far removed from how she acts during all that asinine Love Triangle Nonsense with Mina right up to her teary farewell to Sonic in #125.  Which in turn makes it feel a lot less like this is the repercussions of deep-seated trauma rooting their ugly head but rather that as far as the writing is concerned this is just sort of how Sally handles this stuff when it comes to Sonic, which is to say poorly.  Indeed, even the way she’s restricted to staying in Knothole away from the fighting feels less like an example of her parents being unfair, and more like the entirely right course of action to protect her from her unstable Emotions, No Matter How Hard It May Be.

In other words, I don’t necessarily think this is a case of us being meant to sympathize with Sally that we just misunderstood; I’m really not convinced we actually are meant to sympathize with Sally here.

Which isn’t to say that one can’t!  Again, there’s a ready-made case that one should!  It also doesn’t mean I think this story hates Sally and wants us to hate her too.  But a story is more than just raw data, and whatever we might be able to infer from that data, what reactions and feelings the story wants from us comes down to how it attempts to guide us through that data, and in this case it is really hard for me to see that being done in a way that is favorable to Sally much at all.  We as the readers intrinsically know that she cannot be right to ask Sonic to stay: Sonic cannot be meant to Not Be Out Fighting because he’s the Main Hero of the book and that’s just flat-out what he does, to say nothing of the fact that it’s what he wants to be doing, and as the main character his is the point of view we’re generally meant to take, with the book again doing nothing to indicate that we shouldn’t in this case.  Meanwhile, with no real reason to think of all the other factors that could be influencing Sally’s state of mind here, we’re really only left with the one explicit reason she offers, which is that she wants Sonic to stay with her where he’ll be safe.  Not in and of itself an unfair feeling, but in this context?  With a War going on that the rest of the story keeps insistently reminding us about?  As part of a story where we saw that a single year of Sonic’s absence was enough to drive the Freedom Fighters to the brink of destruction?  It’s exceptionally easy to read it as Over-Emotional Sally putting her need for Romantic Security over the safety of the rest of the planet. And while I don’t know that I think the story quite intended it to land that harshly?  It’s really easy for me to feel like it at least wants us to be thinking in that direction.

Because the thing is we get zero insight on what else it is that drives Sally to this point otherwise.  @thankskenpenders put it really nicely during a look at #88: “for a long while now, the main action the writers have permitted Sally is a series of sudden emotional outbursts. We rarely see the action from her perspective, as Sonic is the protagonist and the audience viewpoint character. So instead of being about Sally’s emotional struggles, it becomes about how Sonic can never please Sally.”  By much the same token, what could have been a story about Sally finally breaking under the myriad emotional and psychological pressures that have been building up inside of her in the year she spent stewing in the belief that Sonic was dead while the rest of the world slowly but surely fell apart without him instead becomes a story about how unfair it is for Sally to expect Sonic to be something he fundamentally isn’t simply to make her feel better.  We aren’t given her point of view; nothing prior to this story (and only one thing after this story prior to Flynn about which I have Decidedly Mixed Feelings but I’m trying to keep us focused only on what has already happened up to this point so I won’t go into that here) attempts to delve deeper into her mental or emotional state at this point in time; the framing of the story provides us no context to Sally’s reaction save the apparently-overwhelming strength of her Romantic Attachment to Sonic.  Is that basically business as usual with this comic?  Absolutely; that TKP quote above is in reference to an issue published four whole years prior to this one!  

But that’s precisely the problem for me.

The Slap stands out as especially bad to me because it is the final breaking point where all the problems baked into the approach the book has taken to writing Sally over the years-simultaneously unapproachable and out of focus as a Main Character and yet constantly present, rarely if ever allowed to actually do anything of consequence but always available for a Big Emotional Reaction-came home to roost.  It was a culmination of the bad direction they’d been taking her in for a long time, and as a result it felt the most difficult to reconcile with the character as I’d understood her; back in the day this marked the first point at which I basically dropped out of the comics for a while, keeping my finger on the pulse via online scans and fan reviews but absolutely not going out of my way to pick up and buy new issues as I’d been doing consistently for about as long as I’d been a fan prior to that point, and it was because I really just didn’t understand what they were doing with Sally’s character, my favorite character, anymore at all.  These days I’m more sensitive to the Behind The Scenes realities that drove this choice, and also just older and more mature in general such that it’s not quite as upsetting.  But I won’t lie (in case the preceding near-2000 words didn’t convince you already): even now I think it’s a pretty bogus choice all things told.  One that could have worked?  Sure!  One that did?  I don’t think so at all.