#part of me feels like this might qualify as an unpopular opinion

[rickktish]

Maybe it's because I'm a product of my time and place, idk, but sometimes the anti-car posts I see come across my feed get to me in a silly and purely emotional way. Because as much as I love the idea of implementing better public transit, both for the sake of the environment and for the impact it would have on citizen's wallets, I actually know that I personally would almost never use it.

Both for practical reasons, since my work covers an extremely broad area and I frequently drive over a hundred miles each way to and from work in a day, but also because my car is a part of my support system. It's a marker of my independence and ability to care for and provide for myself in spite of the fact that I can't live on my own. It's a safe space that belongs to me and isn't limited by someone else's ownership or control over that space. I bought it with my money, and I pay all the insurance and gas and repair costs. When I'm exhausted and feel alone and trapped I can literally just get in and go anywhere, and I don't have to worry about having a panic attack because someone can see me or hear me breathing or be annoyed that I'm taking up space, because it's my space and only mine alone. Sometimes that means driving around the block to the local park, sometimes that means going two or three miles to a grocery store, and sometimes that means picking a road and just driving in a straight line until I feel less crazy again, but none of that would be possible without my car.

I used to walk 20k+ steps in a day, and when I could do that maybe I could go on a walk to clear my head instead, but for the last three years going more than 3k steps in a single day means I have to spend the next day in bed recovering.

And yes, driving-- especially driving stick, which I prefer massively over automatic-- has its own toll. Today I wasn't able to drive the four hours each way it takes to go visit my brother at school like I had hoped because I drove two hours each way to work yesterday.

But because I spent yesterday driving, I got to spend today getting things done that I wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Today I walked around the kitchen to make myself food. I worked on daily tasks like cleaning and organizing, hell, I ate more than one meal today because I could actually get out of bed to do so. I can't do that on a day after I've had to walk around a lot.

If I lived in one of the "walkable" communities that have been cropping up all over my area, I would need to get myself a wheelchair to achieve the same level of independence I currently have, and likely still have less of it because I would need to plan around a whole different kind of fatigue from buying groceries or spending time with friends than I currently deal with. Driving five minutes to the store and spending a thousand steps there leaves me with more steps for things like showering and making dinner than walking five minutes to the store would, and that's so important to me. It's necessary in order for me to have the quality of life that I do, even as limited as I am by my body. I may not be able to work full time, but at least I can spend three days of my week doing a job that I love and value because I don't have to plan around distance from bus stops or adding public transit time to my already-fucked sleep schedule.

I don't know. Mostly I think I get a little bit tired of the posts that spend so much time denouncing the evils of personal cars and declaring that we have to replace them with public transit because I honestly think that ideally, we ought to plan for both. Public transit works really well for people living close together who don't go very far, and that needs to be supported better than it is in most places at present. It's also really good for people who need to go relatively far away at predictable and plannable times. But we shouldn't dismiss cars wholesale as evil; we need to try to strike a balance, for the sake of those whose lives or jobs aren't predictable and plannable, and for those who don't or can't live in communities structured for "walkability."

[the-blue-fairie]

hey, no worries at all about venting in the tags of... your reblog of my reblog of your post, lol!! as i mentioned, i was trying to find a completely different old post by someone else, and then ended up seeing your post in my search and i just feel that it's a great explanation of some of the issues that i have with the ending. i can totally understand why people who like the idea behind the ending and what the writers were trying to say with it want to defend it, to an extent, but i agree with you that they just didn't successfully say that. which only makes me more frustrated with the ending than i imagine i would've been otherwise. and i'm sorry people have been trying to group you in with frozen 2 haters when you didn't want to be seen that way! and to me, the posts of yours that i've read about the movie (including the one i reblogged that prompted this ask) never came off that way either. you always seemed like someone who had your issues with it and criticisms of it, but could also still see positives in it and things to celebrate about it.

Thank you for sending me this message. I apologize for not replying for a day; life got a bit busy.

Looking back on my old discussions of F2, I feel I was hamstrung by not wanting to make my friends angry. I have friends who are fans of F2 and, while I wrote those posts, I was cripplingly scared that they would stop being friends with me, or unfollow me, or dismiss my critiques as mere negativity. In fact, my fears were justified. Some of these people DID unfollow me and DID tell me I was being overwhelmingly negative. This broke my heart - especially because I spilled so much ink trying to balance every negative I discussed with a positive and celebrating the good elements, but it felt like it didn't matter. It didn't matter how anxious I was to be understood, it didn't matter that I was writing in good faith. And that hurt.

I also feel that I was intimidated by the extreme sides of the fandom. If, for example, I wrote a post criticizing Elsa's arc, anti-Elsa people could jump on it and say, "See, this is why Elsa is a bad sister."

So that's why, in my vent, I said I was too kind to the film. I was so constricted by being terrified of other people's reactions - terrified of having an unpopular opinion. So I qualified all my statements with, "Of course, I don't mean to be overly negative" instead of just focusing on my points.

I just want to shake people sometimes when they tell me the point of the film and say, "They followed through on their intent with very poor execution. They DIDN'T DO the things you are saying they did. They tried, but there are scores of reasons why they did not succeed - reasons that go beyond my personal preference, that have to do with characterization, pacing, story structure, etc."

It hurts because... I feel like, in the past, I tried to force myself to like the film more than I do. I've wanted to like it for years, but the last time I put it on I broke down crying and not in a good way and I just... I wish it worked. I wish that all the various thematic threads coalesced into an emotionally satisfying whole. And I know that, because of my emotional response, people might just dismiss all my discussion - no matter how nuanced I am, no matter how fair towards the film I am in my analysis, as, "Well, you're biased from the start."

No. I've spent years trying to see all sides, empathizing with a variety of people in the fandom, sometimes even at my own expense. I do value the parts of F2 that work and acknowledge the beauty of various elements including Anna and Elsa bonding with the Northuldra, the anticolonialist themes, The Next Right Thing, and more.

But at the same time, I argue that my case against other aspects of the film is robust, cohesive, and correct.

And to the friends that can see I am writing not to be a hater, but in good faith with actual analysis and discussion in mind - you mean the world to me. Thank you.

Sorry, this became kind of a vent in itself.

[aptericia]

1, 4, and 5 for Jarod & Micaiah? [You probably have more thoughts about her than him, I'm guessing. ;)]

yes!! I can always trust you to let me ramble about Tellius!!

How I feel about this character

Jarod: I was surprised by how much I ended up liking him! He's not my favorite by any means, but he's one of the best examples of a stereotypical first-arc villain who does his job at being utterly hateable while also having some depth and tying into the main story.

Micaiah: I think she's awesome. She's kind and empathic but also capable of utter ruthlessness. She hates violence but is a terrifying general. She's an apostle of the gods but is fully grounded in reality and the hard choices she has to make. What's not to love?

My unpopular opinion about this character

hahah I think for both, just liking them might qualify as an unpopular opinion...

In particular, it's because they are kind of cliché. Jarod is a violent, rude, and bigoted villain who murders for no reason. Micaiah is a fragile young maiden who wants peace and cares for her friends and country above all else. I can see why people are tired of those tropes, but Radiant Dawn does them well and puts interesting twists on them, which I love to see!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Honestly I really like how everything with Jarod went down, there's nothing else I think his story needed.

For Micaiah, I kinda wish she'd taken a more active role in Part 4, as opposed to Yune just doing everything. It would have been fun to see her and Ike figure out their strategy and actually have to work together.

[pirdmystery]

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

hey would you look at that!! not sure i’ve heard of this guy before…

first impression - oh what a precious babygirl. oh what’s this? he has problems???

impression now - (years of inner turmoil later, blood dripping out of my ears and nose while typing this) what a precious babygirl! He has problems!

favorite moment - god almighty how could I possibly choose… ok here’s what i think i’m going with. you know when after remire when he cracks for real in front of everyone for the first time. and then if you talk to him at the monastery he’s like “wow I’m so terribly sorry you had to see that side of me it’s just that I can’t stop thinking about tearing the flesh from the bones of our enemies. anyway what did you want to talk to me about? something about a dance contest? oh please for the love of god do not ask me to dance.” just. like. that’s my boy in a nutshell right there :)

idea for a story — i am going to lovingly redirect you all to ao3 user reflektion, where at the time of writing there are no works that do not feature him! ok that was a bit of a cop out. a dream that i doubt i’ll ever realize is a collection of ficlets about all the different ways he could have lost his eye.

unpopular opinion — this is so hard bc like. there’s 3h fandom at large and then there’s the little corner of fandom I’m part of that is in general pretty dimitri centric and what would qualify as unpopular varies greatly depending on where you are. here’s what i’ll go with that feels like it might run slightly against the current of how people on here treat him in general: dimitri is not the main character or “hero” of fe3h. azure moon tells his story and it does a fantastic job at that but it isn’t telling the most comprehensive story of what could or should become of fodlan as a whole. I don’t know that him becoming king is the best outcome. It’s just the one I focus on the most personally, because I am obsessed with him.

favorite relationship - i think uhhhh. i think everyone here knows. that I’m a little not normal for dimilix. maybe more than a little. unquestionably that is my favorite dimitri pairing. the depth to mine there is endless i mean literally endless, every single day i have a new thought about them that knocks me out. what don’t they give me. what can’t they do. childhood friends to childhood enemies to teenage divorcees to pining lovers to depending on the route even worse enemies the cause of each others literal deaths OR lovers or king and advisor lance and shield closest friends two halves of a whole fbdvsxfjgbdjdj….

that being said ofc i have appreciation for plenty of his other relationships as well. dimidue is godlike and not comparable to any other relationship I’ve ever seen in anything. his… vassal. i love his relationship with all the lions. i would also like it if hilda braided his hair.

favorite headcanon — MODERN PUNK DIMITRI… yeah. that’s all!

[savethepinecones]

4, 13 (bakugo), 10

ooh thisll be fun

4: do you have a notp in your fandom? are they a popular otp?

oh boy im about to get absolutely destroyed but tododeku. i dont read established relationships much and i prefer lots of drama but the vibe i get from tododeku is theyd get together without much hassle so i just have no interest

13: unpopular opinion about bakugou?

ohhhh boy. i dont think theres anything i can say about him that hasnt been said before. the fandom has analyzed him to hell and back and honestly i think theyve got a pretty good grasp on his character at this point so i dont think any of my headcanons would really qualify here....

i think the biggest thing would be that i think he gets too much focus in the fandom. yeah hes the foil for the mc and hes had probably the most character growth out of everyone but there are other characters yall can obsess over smh.

also i think hes much more up front about how he feels than hes portrayed as a lot of the time. the shit he keeps to himself is either stuff hes still figuring out or stuff he feels guilty about but even in the case of the latter it comes up sooner rather than later (deku vs kacchan 2 for example). once he knows how he thinks/feels he doesnt really hide it. i think a lot of the time in fics he tends to keep things pent up or is sometimes a bit tsundere but honestly i think hes much more straightforward than that. hes not afraid of consequences because he very much believes he can overcome anything with enough effort so hes going to say what he thinks and deal with the results as they come up.

ngl though most of the fic i read is shippy stuff so this may not apply in non-romantic scenarios

10: most disliked arc? why?

the pre-ua arc. mostly because the only characters we see are all might deku and bakugou and im more invested in the dynamics of the class as a whole.

early bakugou is The Worst and while i think showing that is important in order to establish how he grows as the series goes on, its not something that i especially care to rewatch. i think looking back on cringey middle school times is always difficult for me irl or otherwise so its not really a complaint about bakugou specifically but yeah.

as for all might i frankly disagree with a lot of his views on being a hero and this is when most of them are established. every time i watch this i just want to argue with him lol

and with deku tbh im just not super a fan of him??? i think part of it is because a lot of his behavior thats emphasized in canon is stuff that i personally struggle with (his tendency to worry about others to the point that he completely neglects himself for one) and while overall i think this is something the series discourages i also want to shake him and scream at him every time he does this stuff. please value yourself small green child. (also all might encourages the self sacrificing stuff and sees it as a sign of being a True Hero and this is an excellent example of what i was talking about in the previous paragraph.)

also its always kinda bothered me that the initial couple episodes are all deku trying to become a hero without a quirk but a) hes not actually doing anything to get closer to his goal (unless you count the analysis of other heroes) like he knows he wouldnt be able to rely on a quirk but hes not even trying to figure out any more obtainable alternatives hes just saying "i want to do this thing" and then not putting any effort in until all might offers to train him. meanwhile characters who are equally committed to the same goal (bakugou and todoroki for example, although todorokis situation is complicated what with endeavor being The Worst and all) are training themselves physically in addition to strengthening their quirks. i would consider deku to be more on par with characters like kirishima who didnt commit to the hero thing until their last year of junior high but that just doesnt match up with the emphasis by both deku himself and the narrative that he has always really wanted to become a hero.

also the whole "i want to become a hero even though i dont have a quirk" thing gets resolved by him just. getting a quirk?? idk i feel like bnha toys with the idea of addressing quirkless discrimination but always just handwaves it away. like oh this character wants to do something that historically has never been achieved by someone with his disability. the resolution is that he no longer has the disability.

also in the case of touya it talks about his experience having a quirk thats incompatible with his body and how that affects him and shapes him but then it just gets kinda pushed aside by endeavors influence on the situation and instead of talking about how touya was affected by a bad home life and struggling with disability and being unable to accept his limits, it just becomes "endeavor was bad at dealing with the situation and then touya became a villain" idk it just keeps skirting around this stuff that i think is important from both a world building perspective and also applicable to actual things that irl people deal with but ultimately it just dismisses it as unimportant. like objectively saying "hey the mc is considered disabled and then in chapter three is magically no longer disabled" is a dick move. yes he struggles with adjusting but like?? the emphasis was on the disability and then it immediately just removed that factor and moved on to a New Problem (oh no the quirk is Too Awesome) (because he didnt bother to do any sort of training or anything to reach his goal until all might was in the picture)

i went on a big tangent but tldr a lot of the problems i have with bnha are especially emphasized in the first five episodes or so and because of that and my lack of interest in the characters with the most screen time (sorry deku stans) i just cant stand the "training to get into ua" arc

thanks for sending the ask! i had a lot of fun talking about this and also spent way too much time on it lol

[ohemgeeejay]

This is actually a subject I am very qualified to speak on!

I have all 3 of these disorders (and more, but that’s not relevant), and I have done extensive research on each. Neurodiversity has always fascinated me; I read the DSM-V when I was like 13 because I wanted to better understand these things. I’m always learning and reading newer information about neurodiversity, and I have a lot of opinions on the representation we get, so I am pouncing on the opportunity to talk about it.

This is gonna be quite the spiel, so prepare yourselves.

Starting with 2012 Mikey.

I always thought it was very evident that Mikey has ADHD in the 2012 show. He outwardly embodies a lot of symptoms, such as hyperactivity, lack of focus, inattention, and forgetfulness. He struggles to stay organized, is easily distracted, and has poor volume control. He also had a tendency to act on impulse, and speak his mind even at inappropriate times. I found this to be an accurate portrayal of how ADHD symptoms can manifest in unmedicated people.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. I liked that these traits proved to be beneficial to Mikey and helpful for the team on multiple occasions, but I also have a lot of problems with this portrayal. I’m not a fan of how this perpetuates the stereotype that people with ADHD are stupid and/or childish. I found that TMNT 2012 would often use Mikey’s ADHD related traits to emphasize his immaturity in comparison to his brothers. However, they did also subvert the trope on multiple occasions to show that Mikey could be just as smart and capable as anyone else on the team.

Now to compare this to Rise Mikey.

Mikey’s ADHD is just as clear in Rise, but I found that it was handled better than it had been in the 2012 show. Rise Mikey also shows many outward symptoms of ADHD, like hyperactivity, forgetfulness, and impulsivity. I also found that he exhibits a lot of verbal quirks and speaking patterns/habits common to people with ADHD; fast paced speech, interrupting others, and blurting things out. I also noticed that Mikey stims, both verbally and physically.

In Rise, Mikey’s ADHD symptoms are never regarded negatively, they are just part of who he is. His brothers never think less of him for these traits, they just accept them. Mikey is never portrayed as stupid (at least not any more than every other character is). Mikey’s emotional intelligence is shown on many occasions, it’s one of his strengths that the rest of his family lacks. He’s also one of the most socially competent characters in the show, in part because of his openness with his thoughts and feelings. These traits are never used to show that Mikey can be as smart/capable as his brothers, but to show that he is. I also enjoyed how his hyperactivity was incorporated into his fighting style.

Moving on to 2012 Donnie.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think that TMNT 2012’s portrayal of Donnie’s OCD was really well done. It was subtle, and if I didn’t have OCD I might not have picked up on it, but I recognized and resonated with a lot of Donnie’s symptoms. He’s very particular about the way that his things are organized, and he hates when other people touch his things. He becomes very distressed when things don’t go the way he planned or when his belongings are tampered with. He plans excessively for every possibility, and becomes very anxious in unpredictable situations. These are all things I saw in myself as well.

I also sincerely believe that Donnie’s feelings towards April may have very well been a manifestation of his OCD. “Obsessive” is literally in the name of the disorder. Donnie was obsessed with protecting and pleasing April. He went above and beyond to make sure she was safe, which frustrated her a lot. He did so much in an effort to make her happy and ended up making her uncomfortable many times. He was so dead set on making sure April was content and secure that, on many occasions, he failed to consider what she even actually wanted. This is one of the main ways that my grandmother’s OCD affects her and those around her.

The way that 2012 Donnie’s OCD is presented is actually really realistic. It’s not stereotypical, nor is it really stigmatized. The way it influences his relationships and emotional regulation is seriously one of the most accurate representations I’ve ever seen. My main issue with the way Donnie’s OCD was written is just that it was never clear enough that he has it. It can certainly be inferred, but if you don’t know what OCD is beyond the stereotypes, you would never guess that Donnie has it. Which is kinda sad, considering that it’s such a faithful representation of the disorder.

Finally, Rise Donnie.

As an autistic person, I always knew that Donnie was intended to be autistic in Rise. Right from the first episode, it was very clear to me. He is genuinely one of the best, most accurately written autistic characters I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t understand social cues, he struggles to understand other people’s emotions, he has very specific, set interests, and he has an absurd amount of knowledge about said interests. He also struggles to engage in casual conversation, especially when it doesn’t concern one of his interests.

Donnie is a low empathy autistic person, much like myself. He struggles to grasp how other people feel about things, especially when their feelings differ from his own. He doesn’t quite get the way his actions can affect others until it is explicitly expressed to him. He’s very bad at expressing his own complex emotions, and tends to speak in a very monotonous manner. Despite all of this, Donnie is never once portrayed as emotionless or cruel. He very obviously has feelings, he just tends to express them differently than others. Often, low empathy characters are seen like robots, which is kinda dehumanizing, so having one who is shown to have complex feelings and loving relationships is so special to me. Donnie cares about others, he loves his family, and it’s evident!

His lack of social knowledge is also a realistic autistic trait. He doesn’t understand rhetorical questions, consistently fails to recognize sarcasm, and tends to take things very literally. This all relates to how Donnie struggles to pick up on social cues and emotions. This is very common for autistic individuals; it can be really confusing and frustrating.

I also have to mention the fact that Rise Donnie stims on many different occasions. He does so when he’s happy, excited, and angry, and those are just the specific moments I can currently remember. He also has very obvious sensory issues. He expresses hatred towards gooey substances, he’s grossed out by anything sticky or squishy, and he visibly recoils at the sight of it. This is a detail I really love, because it’s super relatable to me.

I don’t really have anything negative to say about Rise’s representation of Donnie’s autism. It’s authentic, it makes me feel seen. His speech and his mannerisms are very similar to my own, as are his diction, sentence structure, and emotional reactions. I know that many other autistic people feel the same way, which is another reason why I believe that Rise Donnie is great autistic representation.

2012 and Rise Mikey cannonly have ADHD

2012 Donnie cannonly has OCD

Rise Donnie cannonly has autism

I don't know if there are any other neurodivergent characters in the rest of the shows and or movies so please to tell me if something was said.

What I wanted to ask is, what do some of ya'll think about these guys's representation? In other words, do you think they are infantilized due to their disorders, do you think they are stereotypes, do you think it's good, bad? Overall just asking what you guys think.

I especially ask those who do have one of these or both of these or all of these mental disorders to say or voice their opinions on how they feel personally. I also do wanna know your guys's opinions on how the fandom treats them so uhh yeah.

Just wanna do this out of curiosity and to just see in general what people think.

Btw: I am not a professional when it comes to this kind of stuff. I've done research and have heard from people online and what they have said. I am gonna be reblogging peoples responses to if there will be any.

Overall, this is just to see how people, especially people with these disorders, feel and what their opinions are. Also let's just keep this all friendly and not attack those with different opinions. Again this is just for curiosity and to see what people think.

[autisticcassandracain]

Alright finished Tom King's Mister Miracle yesterday and unpopular opinion but I fucking hate it lmao.

I'm not terribly comfortable doing an objective (or at least as objective as literary analysis can ever be) analysis of the book, so this'll be my subjective opinion. The reason I'm not comfortable doing an onjective analysis is because. Well. I honestly can barely tell wtf is going on in the book.

I am HORRIBLE at visual metaphor; written metaphor I'm able to catch just fine (at least 95% of the time) but visual metaphor has approximately a 100% chance of tripping me up. I can never tell it's a metaphor; I'll always take it as literally happening. (It's probably the autism.) This means that then they kept showing me glitch effects, I. Assumed something was actually glitching. Which, combined with the blacked out panels with just the text 'Darkseid is.' and the fact that the content in this book is so much darker than anything that's ever been done with Scott, lead me to the conclusion that nothing was real. As in, the events took place in a simulation of some kind, with the intent of either breaking Scott's will or convincing him to join Darkseid. Which. Obviously. Was WILDLY off base lmao. You can see why I don't feel qualified to actually analyse this book.

Even with my obvious inability to analyse this run objectively, I can see that a very large part of my distate for it stems from personal preference. This simply isn't the kind of story I want to read for Scott. To me, the point of Scott has always been to escape the concept of the Darkseid/New Genesis conflict. Despite verious writers' attempts to integrate him, he's always been kind of separate from the lore of the New Gods, and while I think he could be a little more connected to it, for the most part, this is simply because Scott doesn't WANT to be involved with the New Gods. Scott's stories are always about him trying to create a life on Earth away from Apokolips and New Genesis, and clinging to it as much as he can. This is a large part of what I LIKE about him! I enjoy stories of people escaping horrible situations and/or a pre-determined role to create their own life, especially if it's mundane compared to their supposed 'destined role'. It's why I dislike the endings of Mister Miracle volumes 1 & 2 as well; I think moving Scott to New Genesis because he just can't seem to live on Earth is a mistake, and essentially reads to me as Scott giving up.

So what I REALLY don't want to read is a story about Scott getting dragged into the New Genesis/Apokolips war and eventually becoming the leader of New Genesis. I have a very hard time believing Scott would ever even... do that. He's repeatedly given up his position as New Genesis' heir/ruler, and has also repeatedly avoided godhood in general. Darkseid having the complete anti-life equation is a scenario desperate enough that Scott MIGHT agree to fight for New Genesis, but that raises another problem to me.

We've seen the complete anti-life equation in action before. If Darkseid had it. There'd be no war. There would be no way to fight against him. There just wouldn't. I get that they made the anti-life equation a metaphor for trauma/hate/etc (or at least I THINK they did, again, I'm not good at analysing this book), but it's still an actual existing thing? I really don't feel like King read Orion before writing this, because this book doesn't really seem to understand how the equation works.

Anyway, you could argue the entire comic is about Scott fighting to maintain his life on Earth, which, fair enough, but even so, I simply do not want to see him be this heavily involved with the war against Apokolips, at least not in this way. It defeats the point of Scott's character to me. I do really like the idea of exploring Scott's trauma from Apokolips, which in my opinion has never been done satisfactorily, but I want him to have space to heal from it. Not be repeatedly re-traumatized. If you want a story about someone's mental health deteriorating as a result from being stuck in a perpetual war, Orion and Lightray are right there.

(Also, gonna be frank here, I do not want a story about a perpetual war written by an ex-CIA agent. It has Connotations that are hard to ignore.)

Speaking of Orion and Lightray. The one bit of objective criticism I AM comfortable laying against this book is the horrible portrayal of Orion and Lightray, but especially Orion.

Once again, CONVINCED King didn't read Orion's solo, because if he had, I doubt he would've had the nerve to call that character of his Orion. King's Orion is a bloodthirsty, underhanded, selfish egomaniac, which is a WILD misunderstanding of who Orion is. I haven't read as much of Orion as I've read of Scott, but I feel like I have a decent understanding of his character. Orion is the noble monster, NOBLE being the keyword here. He enjoys fighting, yes, and he struggles against anger and bloodthirsty impulses, but he's honorable to the bone. Honor in battle is an EXTREMELY important concept to Orion; yes, if necessary, he CAN play dirty, but he never does so unprovoked. The idea that he'd betray Scott and Barda and deliberately lead them into a trap with the intent to kill them is simply ludicrous. WHY is Granny Goodness portrayed more sympathetically than Orion??

In addition, Orion fights for peace. He genuinely just wants people to live in peace and harmony. He wouldn't needlessly slaughter 6 million of New Genesis' Bugs, then send Lightray to kill Forager for telling Scott. Even during Orion's solo, when he had a corruption arc, gained control of the complete anti-life equation, and used it to effectively become a tyrant, his goals never changed: he wanted everyone to live in peace and harmony. He wanted to protect others, and have them be happy. He doesn't fight for power; power is a tool he uses to protect others. He became the leader of Apokolips not because he craved the power, but because he wanted to make Apokolips a better place to live; he used the anti-life equation not to crown himself king of everything, but to force others to do good. He would never exhibit the tyrannical, egocentric control over New Genesis the way he does in this series. He just wouldn't.

And Lightray is portrayed as Orion's lackey, following him without question, doing his bidding without much opinions of his own, which is, again, ludicrous. Lightray has never had a problem calling Orion out when he's going too far or making the wrong choices. Lightray is an extremely moral, dutiful person, and would never allow Orion to misuse his power over New Genesis the way he does in this series. Lightray is forgiving of Orion, yes, because he loves him, but that doesn't translate to mindlessly following his orders or making excuses for inexcusable actions.

In addition. Does King know that Orion is supposed to be the frontline fighter, and Lightray the schemer? It's not that Orion can't plan or that Lightray can't do things without thinking, but their methods of fighting are very important to their characters. In this series, Orion is shown scheming much more than Lightray is, which, all things considered, is a minor problem, but it still points to a misunderstanding of the characters.

Other, shorter/more minor problems I have with the series:

Tom King's dialogue has a particular cadence to it that's impossible to ignore once you noticed it, and it drives me nuts. He writes like this. All the time. Every single piece of dialogue... is written like this. It ends up sounding. Very stilted. Especially in the... longer monologues. I hate it.

Barda feels kinda sexualized. You can tell thet were trying to disguise it behind 'realism', but she's shown naked, in her underwear, or undressing much more often than Scott.

The fact that they removed the scene where Orion drops the knife from his backstory is SO telling.

Love the part where a cashier spouts the textbook definition of utalitarianism. Like seriously?

Why would Darkseid's Omega Beams affect the anti-life equation. What.

STOP PUTTING CHRISTIAN ALLEGORIES IN SCOTT'S STORIES IF I HAVE TO SEE JESUS!SCOTT ONE MORE TIME I'LL LOOSE IT!!

But hey at least the art's good?

[kerra-and-company]

For the character meme: Crecia!

@mystery-salad

Crecia! All righty, Crecia thoughts coming up :D How I feel about this character I like her quite a bit! Her character arc through Icebrood is one I enjoy, and the dynamic with her and Ryland in particular is among my favorites of LWS5. I thought I would have more words here, but I think they're mostly about the rest of Icebrood and the folks that interact with her. As far as she goes, that's a pretty good summary, I think! She's definitely a character I enjoyed meeting/getting to know in Icebrood. All the people I ship romantically with this character Rytlock and Crecia as a past thing is fair and interesting for what it was, but I don't ship it in the current time period. As far as anyone else goes, I think Soup of @commander-soup deserves a mention here :D My non-romantic OTP for this character Hmmm...as in the last ask I answered, not exactly an OTP, but Crecia's dynamics with the other imperators are very very interesting, and seeing more of that would be very neat. My unpopular opinion about this character I legitimately am unsure what qualifies here in Crecia's case, so I'ma pass on this part for now. One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon I bounce between appreciating and disliking the last bit with Crecia, Ryland and Rytlock. I get why the decision was made for Rytlock to be the one to kill Ryland (with Sohothin and all the symbolism inherent there, no less), but there's a decent part of me that would have liked the last strike to be Crecia's. (You know what, this might qualify as an unpopular opinion too asldjfadf.)

[die-tenebris]

Okay we will do this with whims and vibes :3

The character everyone gets wrong

Maybe I'll go with Princess Bubblegum here because when I watched Adventure Time last year for the first time, the text gave me No reason to think she was especially noble or moral in any way. Truly feel that this impression is carried on the back of her being a cute pink princess and people inserting ideas about her that just don't exist.

Like, there are so many times that she's just straight up mean and uncaring about Finn, Jake, or the candy citizens. She's always been petty and revenge focused, I don't think she ever decided to be the bigger person if there wasn't any personal benefit in it. Where did people get this idea!

7. What character did I begin to hate because of how the fandom treats them?

If I'm allowed to speak on fandoms I'm not even a part of I'm gonna go with Astarion. He's probably also a good candidate for being too blorboified but man. I do not get the hype. I don't think he's worth all that. His backstory sounds very overdone. His personality is stale. And if I may be so petty, I CAN'T STAND HIS SMUG BRITISH VOICE!!!

Kinda more about the blorbifying- people are so into him being tragic and pathetic and it just doesn't seem like he's as much a sopping wet cat as people make him out to be? Or they flatten him just to be the most obnoxious "suave" pick-up artistry man you've ever met. If he acted the exact same but wore a fedora I think it would cure people of their obsession.

12. Unpopular character I like and propaganda for them

13. Worst blorbofication

↑ I took a break from this for several days 'cause I got on this when I had a splitting headache and assumed that was the reason I couldn't think up anything for those, but I might just not have an answer

Honorable mentions I didn't think quite qualified were Sour Cream for unpopular (but as with all my other considerations for it, I really don't think he's That unpopular) and maybe Kim Wexler from Better Call Saul or Zelda for 13. But the reason is almost an inverse of 7, that the canon text for their characterization is extremely lackluster imo and the fandom fills in those gaps to varying degrees of success.

Women are just written so poorly and more often than not the fandom doesn't gaf or notice so they just accept them as cardboard gestures (in Zelda's case I don't think that's a horrible crime if she errs on being a bit shallow. For Kim, though. Literally there was no reason to drop the ball on that. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were great, but it's so extremely noticeable how the women are a complete afterthought.) Oh, Claire from The Bear is another shining example of this phenomenon.

Honestly I have way more opinions about moments, themes, and writing than specific characters, it turns out. Like, all I could think about for 12 was this bit in taz where they're looking up the rules and they all repeat "medicine" like, 7 times in just slightly different tones and it legit gets me every time. Can't recall the episode or part it was in, but it was definitely in gerblins when they still cared about rules LMAO

1 7 12 13 baby i was born to enable your haterism

only one problem . Both of us have neglected to specify a fandom

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Unpopular opinion: I really don't want to be sorted into Hufflepuff. Because if you are an Hufflepuff, people will expect you to be sweet and accepting, if you don't, people will even hate you for this. I am always trying to be understanding and empathetic irl, but I want to have the chance to just be cold. People's opinion of Diego doesn't belongs to Hufflepuff and their hatre to Jane makes me scared of the stereotype so much and honestly this makes my impression toward this house worsen.

Speaking as someone who just made a post criticizing Jane for not upholding the values of Hufflepuff House in her role as Prefect...I feel a degree of responsibility here, and I just want to immediately say that both she and Diego are Hufflepuffs, because that is where they were sorted. They don't go anywhere else outside of re-sorting AUs. The Houses are arbitrary, and just because a character seems to suit another more than the one they're in (Snape comes to mind) or does not seem to fit the traits of their sorted House (Dumbledore, in my own humble opinion) doesn't mean they aren't a part of that House. Ultimately, you do get to choose. That is made very clear. If you want a particular House - or don't want one - badly enough, the Hat will probably listen.

There is no obligation to hold up the expected and stereotypical traits of your sorted House, either. Ben and Neville are cowardly Gryffindors. You can be a Ravenclaw without being conventionally smart, you can be a Slytherin without ambition. Wherever you are placed, or wherever you choose to go, it is where you belong unless perchance you come to believe it isn't. Like a friend of mine used to think she was a Slytherin, but more recently she's been considering herself a Ravenclaw. And when it comes to Hufflepuff...well, Zacharias Smith speaks for himself. Beatrice can occasionally have attitude as well. Hufflepuff as a House has some of the strangest stereotypes. Literally, why is it a Hufflepuff thing to like Herbology? It's even been mentioned in HPHM, but why? Because the Head of House in the books was the Herbology teacher? So what, by the epilogue she had been succeeded by a Gryffindor.

And one more thing - being nice and sweet and accepting? Yeah, those are not Hufflepuff traits. That's another stereotype. And sure, plenty of us do fit in to that stereotype, but what does the Sorting Hat actually say about the House of Badgers? They are just and loyal, patient, true, and unafraid of toil. To be a Hufflepuff, you might be incredible loyal. You might have a strong sense of patience. You might be diligent and hardworking. Or you might have a strong sense of justice. You may exhibit more than one of these traits, or none of them. You don't have to match up to anyone's expectations, but the vision most people tend to have of Hufflepuff House is a bit romanticized, if I'm being honest. Speaking as someone who could basically live up to the cinnamon roll stereotype of my House...yeah, not everyone will, and that's okay. Because pretty much the only one of the traits you listed that arguably qualifies is to be accepting, since "good Hufflepuff, she took the rest" This is the House where, most of all, you don't have to worry about living up to a standard. If you don't feel like you fit in any other House, you are still welcome here.

[eurosong]

Undo my ESC 2021 - Semi-final 1

Good afternoon, folks! Every year, I take a look at each semi-final and share what feasible change I would make – as small as changing a few lines of the song or an element of staging, or as big as a different song completely winning a national final – to make it even better (just in my own opinion of course!) This year will be harder than usual, but I’ll try to set aside my conviction that every 2020 artist should have been able to return to see how different SF1 might look. Let’s go!

🇱🇹 Lithuania: PiN was in the Roop's hands, and whilst I fell in love with some of the underdog songs they were up again, most notably Home and Never fall for you again I wouldn't take away the chance away from the Roop. There's nothing I'd change about Discoteque, and I love their nod to On fire, but the way that they also took things in a different direction to last time.

🇸🇮 Slovenia: I may be in a small minority, but I absolutely love Amen and I loved Voda too! Ana Soklič has so much presence and stunning vocals with so much texture and depth; she can sell me pretty much everything. My only change would be to insert Slovenian language lyrics!

🇷🇺 Russia: I was initially really disappointed that we wouldn't see the iconic Little Big on the ESC stage - but I commend the way they wanted to share the limelight with other artists. The unexpected Russian mini-NF ended up being a revelation and very diverse for its size. I liked all three songs, but I think that the best hands down won. There is nothing I have to change to Russian woman, one of the most powerful propositions of the season for me. I just hope juries will value it and we won't see a Telemóveis style situation!

🇸🇪 Sweden: After a year of being happy with the result in Sweden - I was always in Dotter's corner, but who can't love the Mamas? - we return to more familiar terrain of an MF result disgruntling me. Tusse has charisma and talent, but his song is lacklustre at best for me. My fav was, once again, Dotter, and I wish that either she'd taken the win or that the Mamas got their shot at ESC as main artists.

🇦🇺 Australia: I really enjoy Technicolour, one of the more out-of-left-field entries from Oz. I am so intrigued as to what the Diane Warren song offered to Montaigne was like, as I'm certain that this isn't it, but I'm glad she trusted her gut and went for something so distinctive. My one change would be to get rid of the unnecessary key change at the end.

🇲🇰 Macedonia: When there was a nationalistic furore with attempts to stop Vasil from representing MK, I was entirely on his side even though his song for me is one of the least appealing of the edition. I'd still want him to get his chance at ESC - but his Sudbina would have been such a more compelling entry for my taste.

🇮🇪 Ireland: Lesley Roy served nostalgic pop wonderment for the second year in a row, and another song that has etched itself already onto my life's soundtrack. I don't know what I'd change, except perhaps translate one of the choruses into Irish Gaelic - it'd make the message of a return to home even more resonant for me.

🇨🇾 Cyprus: Cyprus and I haven't seen eye to eye for several years now, and it's a shame as they were one of my favourite countries of the 90s. I do enjoy El diablo more than their last trio of songs, but I find it leans too heavy on a clear inspiration from Gaga, which takes away from some of the more original elements of the song. So, I'd rework the chorus, and also change some of the lyrics elsewhere because some lines just flat out make me cringe.

🇳🇴 Norway: I seem to have been in the minority of people delighted at MGP's final results! I had bigger favourites - the rambunctious sea shanty that is Vi er Norge, the kickass empowering Witch woods or the pulsating groove of Playing with fire - but I wouldn't take Tix' win away from him given how meaningful it was for him and what the guy has been through. My change? Revert partially or entirely to the Norwegian version, Ut av mørket; for me, it hits my heart harder.

🇭🇷 Croatia: Sincerely, my biggest disappointment of the NF season potentially - I wish Damir had been internally selected, not just because of my wish to see all ESC'20 alumni return, but because his was the best Croatian song for me since Moja štikla. Tick-tock is harmless but if we can't get a Damir return in this hypothesis, then I'd go for Rijeka, which captivated me with its epicness on first listen and has just risen in my estimation since. Though, given Nina's histrionics after coming second, maybe I'd have Albina perform the song instead.

🇧🇪 Belgium: I was prepared to not be on board with Belgium this year despite my long-lived love for the country - I found Release me, whilst orchestrated beautifully, entirely lacking in dynamism; and I really couldn't stand the way the band dumped Luka unceremoniously. And yet... this lush piece of art is one of my favs of the entire season. And there's something different and singular in Geike's voice. So the only thing I'm changing here are the dudes' attitudes to ESC so that they can value it more, especially Alex.

🇮🇱 Israël: As one of the most naturally charismatic performers of 2020, I had high hopes for Eden's return and the original idea of a mega-NF for her seemed really promising. Instead, we ended up with an uninspired strewing of songs, of which the best didn't even get the chance to be recorded by her. Set me free was my favourite of the three that got to the final, but I feel they've really worsened it with the revamp, in between the hail mary pass of the whistle vote and the extra emphasis on "I'mma". I would have Eden perform Shoulders instead - I don't know how it NQd and think it would allow her to showcase her personality a lot more.

🇷🇴 Romania: I really enjoyed Roxen's selection last year - small but quite diverse, and I felt the best song won. My change would be to have seen a similar national final with 3 or 4 other songs of hers this time, because I'm not convinced in Amnesia anywhere near as much as I was of Alcohol you.

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: I wish they had gone with something at least a bit different rather than this cut, smudge and paste from last year that is so on the nose with its "you loved Cleopatra, so you will love this, won't you?" feel that it even namechecks the previous song. Efendi has a lot of talent and could have shown more diversity here.

🇺🇦 Ukraine: I'm getting used to the surprise revamp of Šum by now, but the question still remains for me, why did they do it? They needed to cut about a minute off the duration of the track, but to me, that doesn't explain why they also had to change the melody in large parts of the song. I'd be tempted to revert to a shortened form version of Šum version 1.

🇲🇹 Malta: Another unpopular opinion, but I'm just not that into the Maltese song this year. The lyrics are great and Destiny has poise and presence and PIPES and I'm sure she'll do well, but the style - a glammed up Electro-Velvet, essentially - doesn't heat me up, and I feel like the different parts of the composition are too dissonant from each other, like we have 2 or 3 songs in one here. My change would be for her to have gone with something more soul-ish in its sound, like AOML was.

And the AQs of this semi

🇩🇪 Germany: How did juries decide upon this, especially when there seems to have been many promising artists in the German selection? No shade against Jendrick who seems like a lovely chap, but the song sounds like the cheerful four chords on a ukulele you hear repeated as royalty free background music on Youtube tutorials, merged with a post-chorus breakdown taken from a Stefan Raab b-side. I would have gotten out my phone book and given Lilly among clouds a call - she gives me the vibes of being able to create something totally show-stopping.

🇳🇱 Netherlands: My original slight disappointment at this was more because of how high I have Grow than any fault of its own. It's another gorgeous composition from Jeangu, with probably the best set of lyrics of the year, and this is going to be a moment. I change nothing.

🇮🇹 Italy: I like Måneskin and their performances at Sanremo were brilliant - but they were far from being at the top of my favourites list. I would have given the win to Madame with Voce, or Ermal with Un milione di cose da dirti. Both would have been my #1 of the entire year, both move me deeply. Madame showcases contemporary Italian style with classic songwriting, whilst Ermal almost created a companion piece to Fai rumore - Diodato wanted to hear the sound of his loved one, whilst Ermal struggles to make a noise and say what he feels about his love.

Join me soon as I take a look at SF2 and its songs (and France, Spain and the UK, the auto-qualifiers from that semi!)

[hamliet]

I think your blog is one of the best out there. Maybe becuase of this , maybe because of your awesome takes... I find it hard being in the fandom. And I wanted to share this very unpopular opinion. The more it goes on the more I wonder : how did Enji turned into this? Most of all in fandom tends to justify touya because he’s the result of Enji’s abuse. However Enji isn’t a natural born abuser. I’ve read and saw plenty: he has not manias of control. He accept easily his wife to leave him (he wanted to build an house for her and since Shoto’s accident he hadn’t forced himself on her). He wanted an heir, true and he was more neglecting (which is a form of abuse). But many time were found evidences in studies neglecting parents have issues of their own. Which can be found in their original family and / or society (if no mental illnesses are implied).

This made me wonder. I love Japanese culture , novels and society. And one of the most recurrent theme , especially some decades ago, is the high pressure people are exposed. It was and sometimes still is a nichilist model in which you die or fly and sometime you can’t hope to Rise once again when you fail. For example the concept of “you need to go at a go prek to get in a good university and find a good job” is often depict and put to extreme in many media. This inspire even books in which families are up for anything to push their children and they are under great pressure. Since Enji seems a not so bad man per se, has no mental illnesses , the only thing left is his immense obsession that must come from something. And the fact that in society a man must be successful... I think here it is.

The fact he can’t express his feeling correctly for the most of MHA , neither he can’t read them at the point of being perceived “with no compassion at all” comply the stereotype of the father with way too high standard , this can’t come from nothing. It’s not hard unreasonable thinking he was most likely pressured as much when younger , and that broke him at some point (which is a recursive theme in many others novels). This doesn’t justify him, but it might explain why he ended up like this.

But while everyone seems to be able to... forgive dabi , justifying his doings becuase of how he was raised while condamning 100% Enji. However the lingering theme of my hero’s villains is that they aren’t a monster , they’re turned into one; and society played a huge role. I don’t stand for Enji’s actions (who would) but ultimately? If all villains were broken by society at some point (being AFO the only exception for now) why can’t be him too? Broken by a society that demands from heroes to be perfect , to never be weak, even through total desperation? Society even made a joke of all might who gave his life entirely and part of his organs for Japan. Rather than only condemning Enji for his doings , much like is doing with Dabi, the spotlight should be society again.

He did wrong. Terribly wrong. and now everyone is ready to crucify him. But how society taught him better ? How society perceive heroes as humans , how far they can be weak and fails and not be blamed? Like father , like son. Touya is the result of his family , I think it should be considerated Enji was the product of a corrupted society. Which never correct itself , never tries to change... they just discard heroes and villains alike just for not being “perfect”.

Hi! Aw, thank you for your kind words <3

So, I’ll break this down a bit, because I think this discussion needs a lot of nuance. I agree society affected Enji, but I don’t quite think that a victim of society is remotely comparable to being a victim of parental abuse.

To start with, I fundamentally disagree with the notion that abusers are born, and hence don’t buy that Enji is somehow different (or better) because he wasn’t born that way.

To note, I talking specifically about physical/emotional/spiritual domestic abuse, not about sexual abuse (and I don’t wanna talk about that because it’s not relevant here, so no one send me asks about it, thanks).

Abuse is a description of an action and its affects. I’ll quote @linkspooky’s meta on Hawks last week: abuser is not a bad word, it’s not just something that bad people do. It’s an unhealthy relationship dynamic that even good people, even sympathetic people can participate in. It’d be great if we could just do a genetic test and determine if someone is an abuser (actually it wouldn’t be great; it’d be dystopian and terrifying), but that’s not how people work.

However, “abuser” is seen as a bad word, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (nuance/abuse is horrific and takes such a toll on people that I’m glad it is given serious weight in some respects, although imo it’s overemphasized in fandom places and underemphasized in real life) and I’m not getting into good/bad/pluses/minuses of linguistic connotations here.

Hence, I would actually categorize what Rei did to Shouto as abuse, and I do think the story indicates she was neglectful towards her other children. However, I have never labeled her an “abuser” because of the negative connotation as is clear she is not a repeat offender and Shouto doesn’t even blame her--he blames Enji, and I don’t think that’s an incorrect assessment either. It’s complicated. Abuse victims can be abusers at the same time as they are victims (ask many a kid of an abusive dad what their mom was like; at best if they didn’t intervene it’s usually neglectful and often people go no contact with both parents). People we love and care for can participate in abuse.

Mental illness is also complex in its relationship to abuse. Mentally ill people are far more likely to be victims of abuse than perpetrators, and  mental illness doesn’t make someone predisposed to being a bad person. Mental illness does affect how I see Rei’s actions, because she was clearly out of her mind at the moment she burned Shouto’s face; at the same time, mental illness doesn’t erase harm done even if the person can’t be held super culpable. Enji on the other hand was not mentally ill in the same way; he was able to think logically and separate right from wrong even within society (because society clearly still views beating your kids as bad).

It’s actually not really accurate to say that Endeavor didn’t try to control Rei and just let her go--he put her in the institution to keep her away from Shouto, which may have been motivated of course by trying to protect Shouto, but was more likely “trying to protect his masterpiece.” Rei instantly regretted what she had done; Enji didn’t show regret until after Kamino. Also, Shouto himself views it as taking their mother away, not as protecting him. In fact, he sees it as removing his protector and leaving him with just the abusive dad. Plus, Rei’s doctors probably wouldn’t have let him see her. So I absolutely do think Enji is a control freak.

For Enjii, there’s no indication of prior trauma besides just not getting what he wanted. But, as you say, I do think Enji was absolutely a product of society--culturally, though I’m not qualified to comment on that, and within the manga’s own framing of that culture. However, while Enji is a product of society, he is not framed with the child framing that is present around Touya; hence, why he’s not a victim in the same sense. He was an adult when he started doing bad things, capable of reason, as far as we know and there’s no indication this isn’t the case. He was ~20 when Dabi was born, so that means he was looking for a quirk marriage at the very latest by 19. That’s like starting your career as an administrative assistant and being pissed you’re not CEO like, a year after starting! That implies that he had a sense of entitlement at a very young age, entitled to the point of believing kids were not full people but instead extensions of himself to ignore, beat up, and cast aside as he pleased. Every aspect of Enji’s personality screams of toxic masculinity as well.

Also, almost every person who has ever done something wrong (and those who haven’t!) is a product of their environment as well as of their genetics, but I wouldn’t classify everyone as a victim--even though technically I suppose they would be, but the connotations are just not particularly fitting--and I wouldn’t call Enji one. Enji might be a product of society, but his kids are victims of a deliberate choice he had to be a terrible parent. Society sucks, but we don’t choose it and it doesn’t choose us in the same sense a parent chooses to treat their kids a particular way.  So, rather than saying Enji’s a victim of society, I think it’s more of society reaping what they’ve sown in terms of their #1 being revealed as a mass abuser; it’s karmic.

So to return to his character and Enji is also a representation of toxic masculinity--that is why for me personally, his crying this chapter  actually resonated. Like, I think it was well-framed in that his victims didn’t feel sorry for him and he cried before he knew they were coming, and while I get that people think he has no right to cry (as Rei and Natsuo said!). I see why people interpret that as manipulative, and while I absolutely think it was self-pitying, I also personally see it as human and realistic, and perhaps as a slight chipping away of the toxic masculinity that he embodies. We’ll see. I’m still no fan but that was the first moment in his redemption arc that struck me as sincere.

[purecommemasolitude]

Part deux

Denmark - To no one's surprise, I liked his first rehearsal outfit better 😔 In a vacuum I do actually prefer the second, but the first one, being a more neutral tone, felt like it fit the different colours better. This one is nice though, well-made, however much I'm not sure if I like the heart-shaped cutouts (I'm very baffled by the one in his jacket, because after multiple attempts to look at it closer, I've come to the conclusion that either he's wearing the weirdest crop top ever or I'm just very bad at distinguishing colours because that looks like his skin tone). The stage looks very empty which I'm not a fan of, and I would love to know why the hearts only cover part of the wall?? Overall I'm still waiting to make up my full mind on the staging, but unless their prop usage blows everything out of the water, I'm thinking this probably isn't one of my favourites

Armenia - I'm really scared about their staging, but honestly I think most of that is just me really really wanting them to do well and being scared that anything short of absolute perfection will chuck them into last place. I don't know how I feel about Brunette's facial expressions, but the whole thing is very atmospheric, which is perfect for a song like this. The ripple to rain effect is very nice, and I'm sure the whole moment will look better when it's in context and not by itself. I don't know how much I like the projections on Brunette herself, but I'm also sure the staging will be great and I'm just very scared and paranoid

Romania - This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think this song needs either dancers or a smaller stage to be effective. Theodor is still a great performer, but he has slightly less charisma here than he did in the NF, and the huge stage looks very empty behind him. Very curious to see whether he'll wear the Pikachu or Spongebob ensemble (or maybe a secret third cartoon outfit)

Estonia - Lowkey disappointed to see her first rehearsal outfit is indeed her final outfit :( it rings a lot like Armenia and Lithuania's to me, and I was hoping for something with a different vibe, but oh well. Her styling is naturally better today, and the staging does seem to be nice (have yet to make up my mind on the choreography) but I'm really scared this won't qualify due to the absence of juries (please europe you wanna vote this into the final you want to do it soooo bad)

Belgium - Not thrilled on the camerawork, but that's pretty much my only complaint-- there's not much to say from the video, although if I recall correctly, the pictures implied there might be a bit more colours than expected? Intrigued to see if this is true

Thoughts on Eurovision second rehearsals

Because I love self-sabotaging and looking at esc videos instead of doing homework 🤪

I'm lowkey getting scared for a lot of countries I thought were safe ngl

Norway - The LED on the floor is neat, but her vocals and energy seem a bit off? I still think her pre-party vocals was just cause she decided to have fun at them, which, fair, and I do think a lot of this will be fixed by the energy a live audience brings (depending on the audience it make elevate one's performance tenfold), but we'll see

Malta - This seems a bit less fun than the first snippets seemed, but once again I bet a lot of that is the lack of live audience. I bet it'll look great for a first-time audience, though, and I think they're going to do much better than I initially expected

Serbia - This is either going to place very well or incredibly flop, and I'm soso scared as to which one :(. I don't mind the word projections so long as they don't over-use them, but I'm scared the graphic on the LEDs will discourage people from voting :((. The lighting and everything looks great I am just full of fear

Latvia - This looks great!! Honestly, at this point I'm convinced they're qualifying (and will be soso sad if they don't). I was right when I predicted camerawork would make this, and I'm relieved the camerawork does seem to be good. Hoping they have now found their costumes elemayo, and also I'm really happy they managed to bring the lights!! The blurry shot right before it cuts off also looks intriguing and I'm sososo excited to see their final performance

Portugal - This is another country I'm getting worried about-- she seems tired, and I can't tell if that's true or if I'm just looking for things to be scared about, but I'm hoping this will once again be solved by live audience. The dress is doing the opposite of growing on me, but the rest of her styling looks good!

Ireland - I like Conor's costume here better than the last one by far (I'm pretty sure they're different but I can't bring myself to check), however I'm not as much a fan of his vocals :( I'm by no means a vocal expert, but his particular rasp sounds unhealthy and bad vibes, even if it actually isn't. I don't know, we'll see how he sings the night of the semi-final. I really like the gold into multi-colour in the chorus decision though!

Croatia - Their staging actually looks really clean and good, I'm intrigued as to what their full performance will look like. The cut-off being right after Lenin with his bombs and the lightning is really funny

Switzerland - I'm actually really scared for their staging now :(( the pyro and the smoke and the rapidly shifting lighting and the everything is just So Much visual stimuli and I'm scared it'll take away from their actual song by a lot. Still don't really like his outfit, but that is way overshadowed by my staging worries. The last second right before the cut away looks good though, so I'm hoping the rest of it is still okay

Israel - The more I watch this, the more I actually like the choreography for the dance break less, which I wasn't expecting. However, I'm sure Noa will sell it even more with the energy from a live audience yadda yadda yadda. My main complaint is the far-away shots, especially the one when they do the fancy spin-- it's such a cool moment, and making the audience not look at it is such a baffling choice??? Israel don't you want to do well. But overall I have no doubt they'll place high

Moldova - Not much to say here again, other than that it's very very well-done and that it bugs me that he's ever-so-slightly off-centre in the circle

Sweden - Ohh no :(( I knew something would be lost with the downsizing of the platforms, but it seems to fall so much flatter now-- hoping it will still look cool for first-time viewers. I'm really not a fan of the lighting, it washes Loreen out and makes everything so much less atmospheric IMO. Also I think there was smoke in her Melfest performance that's missing here? If so I wish it were back. Overall it is still good, and I hope she pulls off the semi performance

Azerbaijan - This might??? Qualify???? After all????? Or I may just be losing it. I really like the staging, the lighting especially is great, the camerawork adds a lot, and if they pull off everything just right, they miiiiight just qualify

Czechia - I have gone from very optimistic to oh so scared again. Their vocals seem off a little, I mislike a lot of how they're using the LEDs, I'm baffled by some of the choreography choices, and overall I just really really hope it looks better in the three minutes than it does here (I am also being overly pessimistic about them because I am so so scared). At least the sound for the rap part is finally not awful though!

The Netherlands - They might qualify?? Maybe??? It's pretty nice, Good camerawork (mostly), the costumes are still nice and it's pretty atmospheric, which is needed for a performance like this. I don't know if it would've worked better had they gone with strictly lights instead of LEDs, but overall it's a decent job

Finland - I mean obviously the beginning of this is going to bring the house down come semi-final. I'm very excited, the staging seems great. Again not much to say here, other than the first shot amuses me (he's just a little guy) and that live audiences bla bla you get it by now

[irkimatsu]

Okay, after way too much delay - it's my Eurovision 2021 Final Ranking! This took me a while for a lot of factors - took extra hours at work to make sure I could get time off this week, some recent family events... and most relevantly, the fact that this year is so damn good that no matter what, I knew someone was going to get ripped off by ending up somewhere in the bottom half. Just know that being toward the bottom of the list doesn't necessarily mean I dislike it, especially this year - it just means I like other things more. This year is going to be an absolute bloodbath. I am both excited and terrified.

Try not to take my ranking too seriously, by the way - I'm an American who unironically listens to stuff like Scooch and Dolly Style. I'm not exactly a seasoned music critic. I just know what sort of music makes the happiness center of my brain light up, what the hell is music theory

Ranking made with the sorter at http://esc.gerbear.com/sorter2021.htm, then slightly adjusted when it put some songs concerningly low on the list. Okay, so I cheated a little

Firstly, in the interest in completion - if Belarus didn't get disqualified, they'd be in the big fat 40 rank, with a big bold "Hate" right above. Fuck that song. I've only listened to it once and am so glad I have no obligation to acknowledge it any further. Those fucking lyrics. Mother of Christ. Fuck you guys.

I also offer my condolences to Armenia for their having to bow out this year. I'm sure whatever you guys sent, it couldn't have possibly been worse than "Chains On You".

Now, for the songs that actually matter:

Indifferent:

39 – Spain - “Voy a quedarme” by Blas Cantó: Welp, already I’m gonna get shot. I can’t remember how this song sounds at all. I know it’s tender and genuine and sweet and everything… I just… kinda don’t care. Nothing to say. I liked his entry last year even more, and even that was pretty damn dull. Just not destined to be a Blas Cantó fan, I guess!

38 - North Macedonia – “Here I Stand” by Vasil: I’m with most other rankings I’ve seen; what the hell is this? I at least kinda remember it, which is more than I can say for poor Spain, but oh my god it’s so boring. I really liked “You” last year! What the hell happened, Vasil?

37 – Albania - “Karma” by Anxhela Peristeri: Another “oops” from me, huh. It’s another one I immediately forget about the instant it ends. I at least don’t remember it boring the crap out of me, hence it placing higher than Spain and Macedonia, but I still can’t say anything nice about it – or anything at all, really – so I’ll leave it this low. I acknowledge that I’m in the minority, I won’t protest if it qualifies, but personally, it’s not my pick.

36 – Georgia – “You” by Tornike Kipiani: Give him points for passion, I suppose! At least I’m not laughing at him like I was last year. On the other hand, less ridiculous also means more boring. Points for earnestness, but this is just another song that goes right over my head.

35 – Portugal – “Love Is On My Side” by The Black Mamba: An English song from Portugal? That’s new. Too bad it hasn’t rescued the song from the darkest depths of Boring. I will confess that I spice it up a little by associating it with Homura from Osomatsu-san, thus rescuing it from the deepest pits of my ranking list… but it’s still stuck down here. Portugal and I have never gotten along well Eurovision-wise. I’ve come to accept that.

34 – Slovenia – “Amen” by Ana Soklič: I’m gonna call this a song that I respect more than I like. She’s got a great voice, I can’t deny that… but when I’m ranking this purely based on what I’d go out of my way to listen to, this one falls flat. I warned you at the beginning that I have no taste! I’m not normally into straightforward ballads, the religious connotations are lost on me… this isn’t the song for me.

33 – Austria – “Amen” by Vincent Bueno: Back to back “Amen”s! Tip for getting me to like your Eurovision entry, apparently, is “don’t call your song Amen”. It’s a ballad, earnest and trying but overall not my type of music. I’m running out of ways to say that. Breakup song, a tad bitter, we’ve all heard this sort of song so many times before. It doesn’t stand out, and I think it’d be a waste of a spot in the final.

At least, I thought this was a breakup song when I first wrote this, but apparently it’s about the death of a loved one…? I would say that makes me hate the bitterness, but… given how I’m handling a death in my own family right now… god, I don’t know. I just can’t handle this song, not at any time but especially not now. It doesn’t even provide catharsis like a song later on in the list. It stays this low regardless of its meaning, I just don’t like it, I’m sorry, moving on.

…” 'Cause it all feels like you didn't even try to save us, all this time wasted on a lie”… ugh, my personal problems…

32 – Switzerland – “Tout l'Univers” by Gjon’s Tears: Another one I respect more than I like, and another opinion I’m gonna get my ass beaten for, I’m sure. I respect the artistry, but this is so far removed from anything I’d ever listen to on purpose. It might have landed even lower if I wasn’t afraid of pissing people off. I’ll understand if it wins, but I’ll also be hoping for most anything else.

31 – Russia – “Russian Woman” by Manizha: I don’t get it. Sometimes it’s pleasant enough to listen to, but overall I don’t get it. It’s unique, I’ll give it that! I understand why it won its national final, and why so many people enjoy it! But for me, it doesn’t quite cross that line between “interesting” and “enjoyable”. I'm not Russian - this isn't for me, and it wasn't supposed to be. Though I will confess that there may be some bias at play here. God, I miss Little Big…

Okay:

30 – Estonia – “The Lucky One” by Uku Suviste: The voice is okay, the music is okay, I like how the bitterness is handled here more than in Austria’s… but this is still as high as I can go on this one. It’s serviceable, but this year has so much better to offer.

29 – Sweden – “Voices” by Tusse: Sweden really does like sending the same song over and over again, huh? I don’t hate it, but it does strike me as a lesser “Too Late For Love”, sound wise. Sweden almost never takes risks, and it’s causing me to look over them more and more with every year. I respect it too much to put it in the “Indifferent” category, but given how the rest of my ranking played out, this the best I can do for it. (But again, do not trust the opinions of someone who teethed on cheesy Europop and fondly remembers when Sweden was flooded with the stuff…)

28 – Belgium – “The Wrong Place” by Hooverphonic: Once again, Hooverphonic help Belgium fill the role of Eurovision’s “Most Likely To Appear In A Bond Movie” song. It’s fine. It’s a song! I don’t know what else to say about it! It does its job well enough, it’s just not really a job I care for that much.

27 – Ireland – “Maps” by Lesley Roy: It’s cute enough! A cute little radio tune. It’s no “Story Of My Life”, though. If “22” couldn’t qualify then this probably won’t, either, and I can’t say I’ll miss it all that much. Still pleasant enough when it comes up on the shuffle.

26 – Bulgaria – “Growing Up Is Getting Old” by Victoria: I admit it, this ranks as high as it does because of anime and that’s basically it. If I was still doing plain category sortings this would have landed straight in “Biased”. My favorite anime is about a bunch of 20-somethings learning that growing up sucks and trying as hard as possible to avoid it, and I first heard this song around the same time that I watched that show’s relatively melancholy season finale, so it ended up sticking with me on that note. Don’t have much to say about it musically, just that it makes me picture sextuplets crying and that’s one of my hobbies, so I’ll grant it an “Okay”. (It may also worth noting that if I heard this song before 2019, in the state my life was in before then it would have probably left me too inconsolable to listen to it more than once. Growing up is growing old indeed!

…it’s also worth noting that after I wrote this blurb, a major event happened that really enforced that growing up is getting old, so I listened to this quite a bit for a few days, among some other non-Eurovision songs. I’m probably gonna have an emotional breakdown on Thursday when this one starts. So, um, look out for that, guess. Between this one and Austria’s, I swear to god…)

25 – Italy – “Zitti e buoni” by Måneskin: I’ve been trying to get this one to rank higher, I really have, but its inability to crack the top 20 just says a lot about how damn good this year is. It sounds great, it’s very well done, and I wouldn’t hate to see it win! It’s earned its popularity. Everything holding it back in my own personal ranking is just that, personal – I do lose something when I can’t sing along or understand the lyrics, and there’s another rock song this year that I like way better. Still wishing you guys the best!

24 – Netherlands – “Birth Of A New Age” by Jeangu Macrooy: This song has a great style that I respect a lot. The message, the vibe – even if it’s not a culture I’m a part of, I feel and appreciate the hell out of it, and I really hope it does well. I don’t understand why so many people seem to think it’s not interesting! It may not be the sort of thing I’d go out of my way to listen to, but I’m glad it’s here. Catch me singing out “Yu no man broko mi” on Saturday! It’s been a while since I’ve given a shit about a host country’s entry, so I’m really glad for this one.

23 – Romania - “Amnesia” by Roxen: I’ll admit something else unpopular – I hated “Alcohol You” last year. Didn’t see what the big deal was at all. It sounded okay, I guess, but the lyrics were so pretentious and awful, and I’ve never liked the topic of “I love you even though you have no redeeming qualities whatsoever and you make me feel like shit”. But it seems like in that year, Roxen has discovered that self-love is important, actually, and it’s not worth it spending your time on some shitbag who consistently disappoints you. I appreciate it for that alone. Character growth! Plus, I feel the whole thing of “forgetting how to love yourself because everyone around you sucks”. It’s not the perfect song, not by a long shot, but it has a nice melody, and Roxen has a nice voice. It’s good to hear her using that voice on something I don’t find obnoxious.

22 – Norway – “Fallen Angel” by TIX: Okay, I’ll admit it, this is one where I watched the live video the first time I heard the song, and I was too busy laughing at his outfit to take the song seriously. Jesus Christ, dude, what the hell. Well, that’s Eurovision for you, and the more I listened to it, the more I admitted to myself that I’m a sucker for “I love you but letting you go for your own good, not sure what I ever offered you in the first place” type songs. Knowing the song is inspired by his own disability and self-loathing really twists that knife, to the point where I feel bad that I almost threw this at an anime character. I know I’m usually cold on songs that try to evoke emotions about the singer’s personal problems – Germany 2018, and this year’s Austrian entry – but this one really works for me. Only reason it’s in “Okay” tier is because of its competition – it’d rank way higher in a weaker year.

21 – France – “Voila” by Barbara Pravi: I like a good waltz, I guess! It’s a unique number, and the French language sounds nice, especially with the music. It’s yet another example of how this year is filled with so many interesting entries that I appreciate the hell out of. God bless this diverse year! (Or maybe everything just sounds so good to me because last year’s cancellation left me in withdrawal.) I expect a really nice performance for this one – this song isn’t one you can perform while just standing there, especially not during that speedup toward the end.

20 – Australia – “Technicolour” by Montaigne: That song that sounds like it’s about stripping if you don’t know that she’s saying cloaks. (Guilty as charged.) It’s catchy and fun, and I really love it when it first starts… but unfortunately, it does wear out its welcome toward the end of things. It’s a good party song, just a little repetitive. I still like it just fine, and wouldn’t mind seeing her in the final this year! Hope the performance is colorful and sparkly, it’d suit the song well

Like:

19 – Germany – “I Don’t Feel Hate” by Jendrik: I know stereotyping is bad but I was not remotely surprised to find out that Jendrik is gay. This song is pure gay sass, and god, I love every minute of it. I fully expect it to fall on its ass – this wouldn’t make it to the final if it wasn’t an automatic qualifier – but I’ll have a grand old time watching it! The sarcastic lyrics, the cheerful little ukulele, the middle finger costume… this song is a delight. Only thing that I think really brings it down is that weird spoken bit that interrupts the song. That’s so annoying, brings me right out of it. And I did purposely rank it below songs that aren’t complete shitposts. But thank you for your existence, Jendrik, your contribution to Eurovision is much appreciated.

18 – Israel – “Set Me Free” by Eden Alene: I said it this year and I’ll say it again this year, Eden Alene is a goddess of a woman. Absolutely gorgeous. Appreciation for pretty women aside, it’s a fun party song in a sea of fun party songs! I really do like it, I like her voice, but there’s so much else this year that drowns it out – not much stands out here compared to later entries on the list. Still a good song, though.

…and I do not expect for an instant that this is going to make it to the final. …my personal ranking is based on how the song sounds, okay? Just the song. Just the song. Nothing else. Just the song. Anyway…

17 – United Kingdom – “Embers” by James Newman: What’s this? A UK entry I don’t find bland as off-white paint? That doesn’t happen often! I didn’t like his entry last year, romantic ballad bla bla bla whee, but I’m always down for a good party song. It’s a little generic and radio friendly, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun as hell to sing along with!

16 – Greece – “Last Dance” by Stefania: I really liked last year’s ��Supergirl”, but figured it didn’t have too much of a chance because it struck me as being a little too teen poppy to be taken entirely seriously. It seems like Greece thought so, too, because they’ve ramped it up with this year’s entry. They’re not playing around anymore, sending a grand, powerful song that, like “Embers”, is fun as hell to belt. This is another one I’m really looking forward to the live performance for – the music video is gorgeous, and I hope they capture that same majesty on stage!

15 – Moldova – “Sugar” by Natalia Gordienko: Oh, Moldova, I’m so glad you guys decided to be completely batshit again this year. I’ve missed your nonsense so much. Dancing ice cream cones. Cake men. This video is glorious. And the song goes well with the insanity! A catchy dance tune that can only be improved with downright insane staging. Please let the dancing ice cream cones be on stage, I’m begging you

14 – Latvia – “The Moon Is Rising” by Samanta Tina: A unique electronica number backed with a powerful as hell voice. I can see where all the wubbing would get on people’s nerves, but personally, I love it! I love the voice, I love the attitude, Samanta just oozes confidence, and if she doesn’t make it to the final it’s not gonna be because she didn’t give it her goddamn all.

13 – Poland – “The Ride” by RAFAL: Why is this one so unpopular? You people don’t know how to have fun. Yeah, yeah, last year’s “Empires” was a powerful song… but I like my club nonsense much more, so I’m favoring this one. Yet another song that gets me pumped – this whole Contest is gonna leave me with a smile on my face, there’s so much good party music

12 – Azerbaijan – “Mata Hari” by Efendi: Yeah, they’re basically just sending “Cleopatra” again, but “Cleopatra” was so goddamn good that I can’t even blame them for it. This song needed a chance to compete, and I’m glad it’s getting it again this year. I like it so much that I can even forgive the line about being a “godless”. Oh, Europop, don’t you ever change.

11 – Cyprus – “El Diablo” by Elena Tsagrinou: Huh, I didn’t know Cyprus had perfected their Lady Gaga cloning technology. Neat. More seriously, the early 2010’s club vibe of this song is exactly my jam, enough that I can forgive the “I’m in love with a horrible person” theme. (I think I forgive that theme a lot more from catchy party songs than heartfelt ballads I’m actually supposed to feel for.) Hell, I even like the creepy chanting! Sure, it’s a little cheesy, but cheese is always a good ingredient when used in moderation.

(How many songs are we going to get this year, not just in Eurovision, about wanting to fuck devils? I mean, not that I don’t get it… mmm, Akuma Ichimatsu… um. Anyway.)

10 – Czech Republic – “Omaga” by Benny Cristo: And here we enter the top ten of a strong year, where I’d love to see any of them win! Benny, what is with that title. Why. Ah well, like I said earlier, I do like moderate amounts of cheese, and this song is more than fun enough to have earned itself a ridiculous lyric or two. It’s unique, I’ll give it that! The song is just so bouncy and fun that I manage to ignore how pushy the singer is. Another one I expect big things from the staging for.

9 – Lithuania – “Discoteque” by The Roop: Ignoring the current events that surely inspired the song, I do love the more generic “party song for introverts” read on it – if only you knew how many one-person dance parties I’d had in my own house. This song speaks to me deeply. I can’t even begin to call it a joke song; I think it’s doing exactly what it set out to do, and it’s doing it oh so well. God, those synths. Totally okay with dancing alone!

8 – Iceland – “10 Years” by Daði og Gagnamagnið: I want Daði Freyr to adopt me. I don’t even care that he’s younger than me. He’s just such an earnest, fun guy, and I love his 8-bit aesthetic! And come on, he submitted a song about how much he loves his wife! If I ever stop loving this song it’s because my heart shriveled and died. Love isn’t dead, it’s just in chiptune now. I will throw things if this doesn’t make it into the final, do you all have no souls, this is too damn cute

7 – Serbia – “Loco Loco” by Hurricane: Another group I am so excited to see return, because I adored “Hasta La Vista”. I don’t know if I like this one quite as much, but it’s still catchy as hell! I love trying to sing along with it despite not knowing a word of Serbian.

6 – Croatia – “Tick-Tock” by Albina: Another catchy-ass club song! What more can I say? I love how much of this stuff we got this year. I will absolutely be screaming “Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go!” Oh god that was cheesy… I’ve been working on this ranking for too long. Don’t know what else to say about this one, just that I adore it. Just barely missed the top 5.

Love:

5 – Malta – “Je Me Casse” by Destiny: This girl’s got pipes– not surprised to hear she won the Junior contest before! I get major “Toy” vibes from this song, and you all know just how much I adored that one. Aaa, those horns! Expecting big things from you, Destiny! We may have our winner!

4 – San Marino – “Adrenalina” by Senhit – As much of a soft spot I had for last year’s “Freaky”, I don’t think it was gonna make it into the final, unless Senhit had the blessing of the same angels who were looking out for Serhat in 2019. This one, though? San Marino tasted the final two years ago and they are never giving it up again! This song goes hard! Love the song, love the video’s aesthetic, I even kinda like Flo Rida’s rap, even though I’m still baffled by the idea that I have been regularly listening to a song featuring Flo Rida on purpose. I don’t know what he’s doing here but I’m glad he is. Please, please make it to the final, San Marino! You clearly want the hell out of it this year! Favorite club song in a year of amazing club songs.

3 – Finland – “Dark Side” by Blind Channel: After spending about five seconds disappointed that Finland wouldn’t be sending Pandora this year, I gave this song a shot, and was not expecting what it gave me. I feel like an angsty middle schooler again, and it is bliss. This is everything Hatari wanted to be, but unlike Hatari who just confused me, I absolutely love the hell out of this song. …some of those lyrics, though. “27 Club, headshot, we don’t wanna grow up”? Yikes. But as dark and questionable as it might be, I can’t help but get pumped when I hear it. Definitely my favorite rock song of the year – sorry, Italy!

2 – Denmark – “Øve os på hinanden” by Fyr & Flamme: I love you, 1983. I don’t care how dated it is when my entire soul consists of a disco ball. The song’s so damn cute! This is the one member of my top 5 that I’m most terrified of losing – I know it’s not popular, with everyone calling it dated, but my top 5 always has that dated song that I love the hell out of becauseit sounds so classic. The translated lyrics are adorable, too. Even if you guys flame out in the semi, you’ll live on in the disco in my heart.

Favorite:

1 – Ukraine – “Shum” by Go_A: Holy fucking shit. There’s something about the blending of traditional and electronic that gets me hyped – see KEiiNO – and this one does not disappoint. The last minute of this is the best minute of Eurovision this year, and god, the buildup! I don’t even know Ukrainian but I am trying my damnedest to get the lyrics down, phonetically, at least. You know that “dancing goths” meme video? That’s me whenever this song comes on, especially during that speed up. Love the hell out of it. Could Ukraine be on its way to another victory already? I sure hope so, because this song fucking rules. Definitely checking out the rest of the discography someday, if all of their songs are in this folktronica style then they’ve gotta be a treat to listen to. Go Ukraine!

Ideal Qualifiers (favorite of each semi in bold):

Semi 1

Australia

Azerbaijan

Croatia

Cyprus

Israel

Lithuania

Malta

Norway

Romania

Ukraine Semi 2:

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

Greece

Iceland

Latvia

Moldova

Poland

San Marino

Serbia

This is definitely not what's going to happen - there is no universe where Switzerland and Sweden don't make it - but it'll be interesting to compare the reality to my hopes.

Let's go, Eurovision 2021

[daily911]

I can't speak for everyone else in fandom, but my issue with Ana calling Eddie "Edmundo" comes from the fact that GW is not actually Latina and therefore needs to alter the way she speaks just to play the part. It's not her fault she was the chosen one, but I cannot overlook her desire to audition for a role that could have gone to a Latina actress who would have been just as deserving, and it's not the first time. (I guess all of that might qualify as an 'unpopular opinion'.)

I totally understand being frustrated that the actress isn’t Latina (I’m taking you at your word that GW isn’t because I don’t actually know) but isn’t she just using the correct pronunciation of his name?

I have an ~~ethnic~~ name and someone once told me that saying my name correctly made them feel like they were putting on an accent/trying too hard but....that’s just the correct pronunciation of my name!

Curious to hear how other people feel.

Should clarify that I am not Latinx!

[duhragonball]

Krillin for the character ask :)

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: It’d be easy for me to say “he’s just a good dude” and leave it at that.   I think people would agree with that statement, but I think it runs deeper than that.   The thing that stuck with me about Krillin was when I was checking out the bonus features on the Movie 6 DVD I bought in 2002 or whenever, and they had an interview with Sonny Strait where he explained that Krillin only got into martial arts to impress girls, and that was the same reason Sonny got into voice acting.    Maybe I’m misremembering that, but it always stuck with me.   

Krillin wants things out of life, and unlike a lot of the other characters, he’s not looking to get them by wishing on a magic dragon.   He wants to become worthy of the things he wants, and he may not always be sure of how to get there, he knows that he has to become more than he is.  

Recently, I’ve been seeing excerpts from Barack Obama’s book, where he talks about reading up on subjects to try, unsuccessfully, to get girls to like him in college.    I think the idea was that he was trying to be self-effacing, but it hasn’t gone over very well.  I’m not sure if the problem was that he wasn’t being self-effacing enough, or if there’s something more sinister about reading Karl Marx just in case it helps your odds of getting noticed.    I’m not going to wade into that controversy, except to say that it reminded me of Krillin.  

Is it shallow to have self-serving reasons to improve yourself?   Did I just answer my own question?   The point I’m making here is that it’s a useful motivator.    Krillin has self-esteem issues, and he joined the Orin Temple and then Kame House to try to overcome them.   He thought “If I just get really good at this one thing, then people will like me.”   And we can say “Oh, no, it doesn’t work that way, Krillin, people like you because you’re a such a good person, and besides, it doesn’t matter how good you are at martial arts.”  

Okay, fine, let’s assume that’s true, and Krillin deceived himself by training in martial arts.    Oh no!   He put in all that work, and all he got out of it was... being the strongest human on Earth.   Shoot.    He made himself a better person for nothing.

The reality is that I don’t think he would be as well-liked if he hadn’t gone down this road, simply because people wouldn’t have gotten to know him.   That’s really what it’s about.   It’s easy to say that you’re liked for “who you are on the inside”, but what people really want is to be noticed long enough to be liked for who they are.    And sometimes you gotta take a long look at yourself and say “I need to do something to grab people’s attention.”

And sometimes, in order to motivate yourself into that kind of work, you have to play that trick on yourself.    “Just think, if I put in those extra reps in the gym, the ladies’ll be all over me!”   And it never actually happens, but it gets you through that workout, and the next, and the next, and the next.  

I think we can all relate to that.   I’m writing this because three people asked me to, and I’m sort of hoping a few more will see it and like what I wrote.   I try to get better, because I like the rush of validation that comes with it.   And if I don’t get it, well, boo-hoo, I wrote a few hundred words about Krillin, a subject I enjoy writing about.   It’s a no-lose situation, and there’s some non-zero chance that attractive single women might see this and decide to slide into my DMs.    It’s a tiny chance, hardly worth mentioning, but it’s a lot higher than if I just sit in my apartment and stare at the wall.   

Why I don’t: Ocean Dub Krillin really rubbed me the wrong way, because they wrote and voice directed the character to be really nebbishy.   That wouldn’t necessarily make him a bad character, but it definitely conflicted with what you see on the screen, where he’s stepping to Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, and everything else he has to deal with.    Once Sonny got the role, everything turned out cool.  Mondo cool, if you will.

I suppose I should point out the flip side of what I wrote above.  Krillin’s so focused on being worthy that he fails to recognize his achievements.   That’s admirable in its way, but it also makes you worry about the guy.    Like, he knows 18 is crazy about him, right?   Wait, does Obama know people like him?   Do I?  Oh I might have made myself sad there for a minute, excuse me.

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Probably the moment he tries to take on Super Buu all by himself.   One of the cool things about Krillin is that he’s taken on every major villain from Piccolo Junior to Buu, despite being outclassed.    I think the Super Buu thing is the best one, though, because in that situation there’s literally no chance of anyone jumping in to save him.    His entire plan is to hold off Buu for a few seconds and maybe buy a few minutes for the others. He’s doomed and he knows it won’t even work as a diversion, but he still jumps in anyway.    It proves that this is who he is.    When there’s literally no one left to impress, and nothing left to gain, he’ll still play things out the same way.  

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell Saga is probably his best material overall, just because of his conflicted feelings regarding 18, and the difficult choices he makes because of that.   You can make a strong case for the Namek Saga, where it’s literally just Krillin and Bulma and Gohan, so he has to take the lead by default, but I’m just not that into the Namek Saga.

Favorite line:

This is really more from one of the video games.   I think Budokai 3, but I’m not sure.   Piccolo demands custody of Gohan and Krillin’s like “No way, you’re probably gonna eat him or something!” and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t in the Ocean Dub, so it completely caught me off-guard, like it was the last thing I expected Krillin to say.   And then Piccolo comes back with “I’m not going to eat him!”  like he’s offended at the very suggestion.   As a runner-up, I dig that part in DBZA 54, where Trunks and Vegeta are both reeling from their losses to Perfect Cell, and Krillin reminds them that they don’t have to posture around him, because it’s just him... “Krillin.    Everyone’s friend.”

Favorite outfit: That’s easy.

Yeah, the Frieza Soldier armor looked mighty good on this dude, and the cop uniform does too, and the classic Turtle Hermit outfit is a signature look, but this, right here, is the Krillin for me.    My man’s got the blue shirt under his orange shirt.    No more of the Yamcha slipppers.   Those look great on Yamcha, don’t get me wrong, but Krillin needs those big chunky Goku boots, because they’re perfect for stomping those pesky girlfriend-exploding remotes.   Fellas, this is the ideal male body.    You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.   

OTP: Maron HAHAHAHAHAHA oh wow.   No. It’s 18, obviously.

Brotp: Clearly Goku is his bro, but it’s not surprising at all how effortlessly he gets along with just about everyone else.   He’s bros with the entire world.

Head Canon: I’m pretty sure the Maron/Marron thing was just a coincidence in real life.   Maron the girlfriend was a filler character, and Marron the daughter was introduced in the manga some time later, and both used the same naming convention to end up in the same place.   However, I choose to believe that Krillin actually named his kid after his ex, and he somehow convinced 18 to go along with that idea.   

By that, I don’t mean he had to sweet talk her into it or promise a bunch of stuff in exchange.    I mean he must have discussed what to name their kid, and 18 was like “Your ex-girlfriend?   Seriously?” and he was like “Yeah, I know she’s a ditz, but you gotta understand I was in a really low place and she helped me through it.”   Or something like that, where once he lays out the whole reason 18′s like “Yeah, you know what?   Okay.” 

Or maybe Maron helped deliver the baby or something.   Or she was the surrogate mother?   Holy shit I might be onto something.

Unpopular opinion: Krillin clanks when he walks, due to the solid brass balls he’s got.

A wish: They should do a movie where Krillin just fights Frieza and wins.   Decisively, undisputably, irrevocably.   Krillin is stronger than Frieza from that point forward.    I don’t care if that means nerfing Frieza or godmodding Krillin, but I just want it made plain that if they use Frieza from here on, it has to be with the understanding that Krillin can whip his ass at any time.  

That might sound silly, and I guess it is, but you see what this accomplishes, right?   It forces Frieza into a new character dynamic, so it’s not just the same old shit with him.    Or Toei collectively admits that they can’t use him anymore, which was what they should have decided in 1995.   I’m fine either way.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Don’t grow his hair back, okay? 

5 words to best describe them: Qualified to sell real estate.

My nickname for them: The Kriller.