#pearls of meta

[dyinggirldied]

Rosemary's Baby Misunderstanding

It's the usual: Ellie and Dan get injured and reverted back to cores which Danny basically adopts inside his own to help protecting them.

Meanwhile, every single mages, wizards and magical-inclined person sees this young, high-school-age boy carrying what must be a sort of equivalent to Satan's babies except this particular Satan is not really Satan and is more of the High King of Infinity Realm I guess.

[salemoleander]

Double Life is so funny to reflect on

bc at the time it was (given 3L -> LL game mechanics and how each game evolved from the last) clearly intended to help with balancing; assigning random pairs to try to alleviate the skill disparity of his friends. And then we get to see Grian real-time speedrun the 5 Stages of Creator's Grief as he realizes that RNG has somehow striated everyone by skill level

But in retrospect, as a piece of narrative, it is one of the most compelling and enduring seasons to engage with. It resulted in pairs that betrayed deep and fascinating character traits. Without a mechanic literally forcing them together we never would've gotten a season of only pairs; a season where Impulse & Bdubs married via clock, where Cleo & Martyn had so many solo discussions, where Joel & Etho burned together in the end. Their similarities, RNG be damned, were precisely the thing that made the season so fucking good.

[ranna-alga]

"Do the Evolution" - Pearl Jam

[girltimeswithscar]

we need to teach fandom girl likers to be rabid about women in a more constructive way. i know being cutesy and going "ough women" is in right now for many reasons including not wanting to fall into the trap of sexualizing a real life woman on the internet (fair) BUT for my health and wellness consider being more specific about that woman . tell me how you love how weird she is and tell me about a specific thing she did or said that made you go crazy. tell me about her freakish behavior. and tell me all her charm points. "ough women" is lame tell me about THAT WOMAN SPECIFICALLY !!!!!!

[novantinuum]

So, one of the interesting meta things I've been thinking about lately with SU: Future is that...

When Steven was wanting to "marry" Connie so he could fuse with her and live as Stevonnie (which, given Garnet is the biggest example of marriage in his life, is genuinely how he conceives of marriage now), he was in fact acting out with the same sort of "fusion lust" that Pearl experienced when she betrayed Garnet in the episode Cry for Help. He felt a surge of belonging and joy and love he probably hadn't experienced in a long while when he got to skate as Stevonnie in the previous episode, and then he just... got fixated on that, I think.

It's... a really good thing that he at least had the sense to ask permission from her instead of resorting to subterfuge like Pearl did, but regardless both Steven and Pearl had a similar brand of insecurities at play causing them to want to become something bigger than themselves.

"No matter how hard I try to be strong like you, I'm just a pearl! I'm useless on my own. I need someone... to tell me what to do." -Pearl, Friend Ship

"Wherever we go I already trust I'd know what to do if it were us I'd know what to say I'd know how to be I'd know your entire syllabus..." -Steven, "I'd Rather Be Me (With You)," Together Forever

Both of them felt directionless and powerless on their own at this point in their lives, and came to the conclusion that a fusion relationship with another person would somehow "fix" them, would somehow bring purpose to their lives they didn't have on their own before. Which, of course, was not the solution at all. Pearl had to deal with her deep-rooted insecurities about her former role on Homeworld on her own, and Steven had to wrestle with his own mental state in therapy in order to once again regain a sense of trajectory within his world.

All this to say though, I hope the two of them had a heart-to-heart about this at some point beyond canon, because I think they would have a lot to connect with on this topic.

[lintwriting]

thinking about Binghe being a washerwoman's son, as I do. There's the cuckoo's jade aspect to it—

But also I think it would be fascinating to explore the viscerality of it. Binghe is a laundress's son. He views love through the lens of this mundane, working woman.

And so, love must smell of her bath beans or detergent, and her water-wrinkled hands must look like they're lined with love, like what I'd imagine a palmreader would see taking his hand.

his love is inextricably tied to laundry, so there's a beauty to him doing laundry for Shen Qingqiu.

For him, it's willing work, lowering himself for someone else. For how unfilial he would be if he saw mundane work as shameful!

And when Shen Qingqiu wears his freshly laundered clothes, that's Binghe's love threading the air, like a tether. like a leash. like a lifeline.

he keeps his master's hands unlined, like his mother did for him.

[ultraviolet-ink]

what are ur thoughts on phoenix and maya's relationship? saw a post the other day talking about how they're not really sibling coded and it got me thinking. (ie the fandom kinda shoe-horned them into that)

personally i think maya was ride or die for him from the moment he got arrested for her (see her offer to break him out of there) but didn't really see him as a sibling until later (maybe when she gives him the magatama?) whereas i think phoenix felt like he had to look after her for mia, but didn't really see her as a sibling until farewell my turnabout.

Honestly to me, they're just really good friends, legitimately the other person's best friend ever! Kind of like platonic soulmates if that makes sense! I used to also really lie the found family trope, but fandom just basically turned it into the nuclear family with extra steps, and that defeats the point of it to me. I definitely think they consider the other family, but there's not that specific role they'll assign to the other person-- just a sort of nebulous concept of family, like home is where the heart is rather than 'siBLiNgSsSsS!!", hence, platonic soulmates XD I really like your breakdown of the relationship, I think Maya definitely warmed up faster to Phoenix than he did to her, she just kind of seems like that kind of person that can figure out someone's vibes, where Phoenix is definitely a lot more guarded. She's not afraid to be more vulnerable, even as early as 1-4 where she says she wishes she didn't wake up. It definitely shows that Phoenix is still super guarded around her when he absolutely refuses to even talk about Edgeworth's "death". I think 2-4 was sort of a wake up call for him, not only because he had to step up to make sure Pearl was doing okay, but it was when he realized he really did care for Maya a lot, she's not the Chief's little sister, she's HIS friend Maya!! It really makes T&T really special where they kind of have this unique rapport that wasn't seen before, where Phoenix is somewhat more playful/relaxed/open with her (until the ex-girlfriend shaped elephant lingers in the room, which, honestly, fair, who would really want to open up about THAT mess?) So yeah, hope you enjoyed my little ramble!! :D

[textpostmemespksp]

Meme #640

(Image description in ALT text, original images below the cut!) 

For the record, all of the dex-holder EXCEPT for Blue, Red, Silver, Gold, Green, Black, Ruby, Crystal, White, and Sapphire are under 5’2 in canon. (What.)

[huggywuggysuppy]

Obsessed with PICS (pearl/impulse/cleo/scott) and how absolutely dysfunctional they are. BEGGING to fall apart in the messiest breakup and make it everyone else’s problem.

Dissection on why:

Pearl is obviously suffering under scott/cleo’s usual pressure, especially their disregard for her side of the story. When she’s like “yeah double life was awful for me, it was a win at what cost” they just brush it off as character development. Impulse doesn’t back her up at all either. Soup Group for life, but not in Life Series. Logically, she knows she works well and lives long with these people, but it always costs her emotionally. She’s just not comfortable around any of them. In the breakup, Pearl would probably go to BigB, Gem, or Tango, as they’ve all treated her with constant kindness in the past. It’s only a matter of time before she leaves.

Impulse is in a weird place. Him and Scott were buds in Secret, but it was more of a coworker relationship held together by Gem. Impulse tried to cut him loose during tag, but Gem shot it down (“are you breaking up with me?!”) They were also spontaneously allied for a bit in Limited, and betrayed by Martyn together, but again that’s more coworkery than real bonded. Impulse has betrayed Cleo, who holds a grudge forever, and will have to spend the whole series trying to make up for that. He’s got a fondness for Pearl, but nothing concrete. He canonically doesn’t remember the other series while the other three (winners) do, so there’s that angle too. Impulse isn’t in danger, there’s just no real loyalty. If I had money on it: if he’s not taken in the divorce he ends up with Skizz again.

Cleo doesn’t want to be with Impulse and Pearl. Scott and Cleo are chosen soulmates and would probably stick together post divorce, but they are definitely beefing with the other two. Cleo has a clear and loud grudge against Impulse and wouldn’t mind cutting him off immediately. As for Pearl, Cleo is uncomfortable naming Pearl’s new wolf, as they understand just how much weight that carries. Cleo knows that PICS is almost certainly gonna fall apart, and is already dreading what they’ll have to do. They might even have to kill it themselves, as they’ve tried with many of Pearl’s other dogs. Others have pointed out and I repeat here: Pearl only kills Cleo when they’re not allied, Cleo kills Pearl when they are. If and when the breakup happens, Cleo will be the first to walk away, maybe dragging Scott with them.

Scott knows all of this. He’s perceptive and likes making power moves and will set up contingencies and alliances in preparation for the breakup, which will only speed up the process. More unconsciously, he hasn’t forgiven Pearl for double life either (ex: powdered snow comment). As I’ve mentioned, he and Impulse have some unresolved distrust from their professional coworker relationship in secret. Scott’s mostly chill with Cleo, but if they don’t officially stick together then all bets are off (ex: limited, secret). I expect him to struggle a bit post breakup, as he usually leans on strong day one alliances he can put his back to.

This is the interpretation from lore!! The actual creators are clearly having a blast with things. And honestly, that just makes it better. They are storytellers and I have faith they’ll pick the best one. Personally, I’m rooting for the breakup.

[cali-kabi]

~ Random Favorite Character Canvas Doodles💫🌟🎨

[haphazardlyannotated]

This post made me think about how in Rose's Scabbard and Sworn To The Sword Pearl puts her importance to Rose in terms of what she can do for her. If you listen to Pearl, their relationship sounds pretty transactional on Rose's side. Pearl emphasises her importance to Rose with the 'jobs' she's doing for her. She can keep secrets Rose wouldn't trust anyone else with. She can fight for and protect Rose with her life. Even when she's arguing with Greg in We Need To Talk she defaults to "You're no threat to me because I am a Gem who can fuse" rather than, I don't know, anything about her actual emotional bond with Rose?

Listening to her, it's no wonder many viewers would initially come to the conclusion that Pearl's romantic feelings, or even feelings period for Rose were unrequitted, and that Rose valued Pearl more as an ally than anything else.

But then we see Rose's side of it and Pearl's abilities aren't a factor in her affection for Pearl at all! In fact, I don't think I recall a single instance where Rose even mentioned things Pearl can do for her as a positive. More than that, every time the acts of service Pearl treasures so much come up, Rose seems more worried than anything.

Judging from Pearl's flashback to her arguments with Rose in Sworn To The Sword it sounds like Rose was actually actively distressed about the very acts that Pearl seems to regard as the foundation of their relationship.

When Rose actually expresses positive feelings for Pearl, we get this:

Rose emphasises simply being with Pearl. In a world where they can be free and at peace and Pearl would never need to take on any burdens for her. She doesn't want Pearl to do anything for her, she just wants Pearl.

Where is my point? I had a point. Oh, right!

Pearl seems to determine the strength of her relationship with others, especially Rose, by how much she can do for them, and doesn't realise that her loved ones not only love her for herself, but would, in fact, appreciate if she stopped throwing herself into the meatgrinder for one second, we mean it, Pearl, Rose is getting the gem equivalent of dehydrated.

(Rose, of course, takes all of this as evidence that her existence is causing everyone she loves to suffer and they would be better off without her)

[whenmemorydies]

90s alternative rock, masculinity and The Bear

This post by @bbythurs got me thinking about The Bear's soundtrack, specifically its use of 90s alternative rock. Some thoughts below.

Chris Storer and I are very close in age, and going by the soundtrack choices for The Bear, grew up listening to very similar music. I came to grunge a few years after its heyday but when I did, I quickly became obsessed with these (mostly) white boys singing frankly about things like domestic violence, sexual assault, drug use, and mental health issues, and who seemed to revel in challenging traditional masculinity. Their hair was often long but usually not overly styled (or washed for that matter), they sometimes wore dresses, lipstick and eyeliner on stage (but were decidedly unglam about it), and they scribbled "PRO CHOICE" on their bare arms during prime time television performances (shout out to Eddie Vedder).

Kurt Cobain on the cover of The Face, September 1993.

Michael Stipe, who often played with gender in R.E.M.'s live shows, had also recently come out as queer (his words were, an "equal opportunity lech") during the promotional cycle for REM's Monster (the album featuring Sydcarmy's infamous "Strange Currencies"). Alternative rock in the 90s was full of folks who were challenging convention, including the necessity of traditional masculinity.

The irony is that so many of the people who listened to grunge were white guys who had no problem with traditional masculinity. These were the same guys who head-banged and dove in mosh pits to these songs but went home and beat on their partners, or perpetrated sexual assault while singing the lyrics to these songs. No one can control who consumes your art, even if some artists did try to (see Kurt Cobain's liner notes from Nirvana's Insecticide):

In contrast, it seems like Chris Storer (thankfully) got the correct memo.

Ever since watching the first episode of The Bear, it was clear to me that this show has plenty to say about masculinity: how its performed and weaponised (2x06 Fishes is a master class in depicting this on film), how its subverted (think: Emmanuel and Pete but also Marcus and Chester), how those who don't conform to traditional masculine archetypes - in even the most innocuous way, like being artistic - can be isolated and picked off, including by those who might love them the most (see: Carmy's treatment by many in his family), and how those who do perform traditional masculinity to a T, can still be decimated in its wake (see: alpha-male Mikey).

Hearing tracks like Pearl Jam's "Animal" and "Come Back", REM's "Strange Currencies" and "Oh My Heart", Radiohead's "Let Down", and Nine Inch Nail's "The Day The World Went Away" used in The Bear is incredibly nostalgic for those of us who grew up with these artists. Their inclusion in the soundtrack is also incredibly intentional (like everything to do with this show). This is the music that Mikey was likely listening to growing up and that Carmy would have heard his brother playing. This is also undoubtedly the music that Storer grew up listening to as well.

I love that in a show about a man who is coming into his own after years of toxicity and abuse - much of which was targeted at Carmy because of how he performed (or didn't perform) masculinity - that reference is being paid to this genre. And if it was the case that this was the music Mikey was listening to and, perhaps even playing for Carmy when they were kids, that Carmy would be able to go back and re-listen to these artists now and know, that despite Mikey's demons and his own relationship with masculinity, that his brother always loved Carm, just as he was.

Author's note:

Also if there is a temporary (because it has to be fucking temporary, you hear me lol) Sydcarmy break up/parting of ways, I'm gonna need Storer and Calo to soundtrack it with Pearl Jam's "Black" (the MTV Unplugged performance). I'll need Eddie Vedder growling/screaming "WE BELONG TOGETHER" over a close up of Carmy's distraught face as Syd walks away. I'm going to need to hear,

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life/I know you will be a star/In somebody else's sky/But why, why, why can't it be/Can't it be mine?,

over the end credits please.

[sepublic]

Now that I’m older, it’s occurred to me that Jack Sparrow really does play the role of the mentor figure in Curse of the Black Pearl. He’s definitely a very cleverly subversive take on the trope, but he is a take on it nonetheless; The older figure who teaches our young, hotshot hero how to act and passes on wisdom. “I knew your father.” An experienced member of a forbidden group that our protagonist learns to accept he is a part of. Acts as a call to action, and isn’t introduced until past the first few scenes of the film.

By contrast, Elizabeth and Will are established in the movie’s first scene, which further strengthens the actually hot take that they’re the main protagonists of the film and the trilogy as a whole, not Jack. Jack is just less recognizable as a mentor because he breaks a lot of the rules (more guidelines really) of the trope, and is treated as more than just a tool for our main character’s growth; He’s someone with his own life and wants and stake in this, too.

Jack Sparrow is ultimately the Gandalf, the Obi-Wan of Pirates of the Caribbean. And that leads me to my argument that PotC is the Star Wars of its generation, with its own Empire Strikes Back and everything. It’s got a lot of the same tropes and structure, but it’s mixed around and dressed up in such a unique way that most people fail to realize this at first glance. 

Take for example, the dynamic of Davy Jones and Cutler Beckett... This is just Vader and Tarkin in A New Hope; A more iconic, supernatural threat, physically imposing, who is nevertheless subservient to Just Some Guy who is British and represents the Machine that strips the world of its magic and wonder. Vader and Jones are more romantic, they’ve got sad backstories and are humanized to the audience; But Tarkin and Beckett are banal and simple, just ruthless men who don’t care, like in real life.

But while Tarkin dies in the first film to make way for Vader taking the spotlight, as well as his similarly theatrical Emperor, the creators of PotC clearly wanted to explore the dynamic of a supernatural force straining against his imperial collar, and the tension of knowing he is contributing to the decline of his own kind. They took Vader and Tarkin’s relationship and made it front and center, happening at the end of the trilogy and not at its beginning. And it is Beckett and the imperial machine that is emphasized as the true evil, whereas in Star Wars, the Empire takes orders from Palpatine and his Dark Side shenanigans, who are framed as the foundation for the conflict.

The crew reinvented Star Wars for a new audience, rather than just... pulling off of the brand and imagery of Star Wars, or copying it word-for-word. They understood the core foundation of the story and the earnest creativity that comes into making something both familiar yet inarguably new, which subverts the stories that came before it in a meaningful manner.

[soups-princess]

i hate when people argue about who love like you is about. oh my gosh. it could be pearl to rose. it could be rose to pearl. it could be ruby and sapphire. it could be pearl and/or rose to garnet. it could be amethyst to the three of them. it could be steven to connie. it could be connie to steven. it could be rose to steven. it could be you to your best friend. it could be you to your crush. it could be you to your ex, but please stop that, they’re your ex for a reason. it could be you to your ex who’s your best friend and your crush. i’m not even going to try and help you with that. it could be you to your f/o. it is absolutely your f/o to you. it could be any non canon ship you want, as long as it’s not one of those absolutely heinous su ships.

just please stop fighting over what love like you is about because rebecca didn’t even write it about any specific character !! & if someone writes an analysis or makes an edit with love like you & a ship, they are not necessary saying that love like you is ONLY about said ship.

i love the song because it can be about so many people and so many situations

[hikaaa-bi]

i'm still not over the intense hate that suf got and how unfair it was.

“suf demonizes mental illnesses because steven turned into a monster! that's not realistic and it sends a bad message!”

first off, it's a fantasy show with sentient rocks. it's not supposed to be entirely realistic. i didn't see this type of judgment when the owl house portrayed eda's disability as a magical owl curse (no hate to toh btw i relate to eda on a spiritual level).

secondly, tell me you don't understand nuance without telling me you don't understand nuance. steven didn't turn into a monster because the writers wanted to demonize ptsd or mental illnesses. he turned into a monster because he felt like a monster.

time and time again in su, it was mentioned that steven's powers depended entirely on his feelings. and during suf, he felt like a monster, he felt like he had no control over anything, he felt helpless. all his life, he was blamed for his mother's actions and even for the actions of the other gems. it's obvious that he would internalize all of this and blame himself. he had been doing that in the original series as well.

but no, i feel like the people who were complaining either did not watch su or they just wanted something to complain about. y'all are dumb asf if you think that suf was trying to portray steven in a negative light. he was a victim, he was suffering from the trauma he had endured in the original series.

not to mention, he actually starts seeing a therapist by the end of the series, unlike other children's shows where a character's trauma is either healed by the power of friendship, the power of timeskip that erases everything or it's just never addressed. even in good children's shows, the ones that i really like, i've never seen therapy mentioned. the best we get is a drawn out character arc that allows the character to take time and heal on their own.

suf did something amazing for its younger audience - it told them that it's okay to seek professional help if you're struggling with mental health. you don't have to deal with it alone, it's not wrong to see a therapist or a psychiatrist. it did the opposite of demonizing mental illnesses, it broke the taboo of therapy that still exists. but y'all still want to misread the entire show so you have something to complain about.

(this post is talking about suf and suf alone. i am well aware that su had a lot of problematic elements and i'm not defending it by any means. i'm just talking about suf's portrayal of ptsd.)

[the-bar-sinister]

I saw a post expressing some frustration with the state of f/f shipping in the Ace Attorney fandom, and there are definitely some elements they discussed that I agree with.

While I don't feel that FranMaya is exactly a "crackship" per se, I do agree that it's overly represented given the amount of time that the characters actually spend with one another in canon (which is next to nothing.) The pairing is largely speculative and results from Maya and Franziska being considered as sidekicks to or subcategorized to to their male counterparts, Phoenix and Miles.

It definitely comes off as very "pair the spares" to me– specifically in I feel like the pairing got started more because people ship narumitsu rather than finding Maya and Franiziska as having any chemistry in their own right.

The post I read was unfortunate also correct that a large subsection of the fandom will go off if you do pair either of them with anyone else.  There tends to be a low tolerance in the Ace Attorney fandom in some ways for shipping outside of the main top pairings-- this isn't unique to femlash, people will come at you for the wrong slash pairings, or het pairings also.

Franziska and Adrian Andrews was brought up, which is a pairing that I personally find very compelling, and plan to write more of in the future.

I feel like if Adrian was less of a "one case wonder" and got more screen time that this could have developed into a fairly common pairing.

Another pairing discussed was another favorite of mine, Trucy and Pearl. This particular pairing I think suffers from the heavy infantilization of both the characters.

While in the last game, Trucy is 17 and Pearl is 18, both of them are introduced to the series as children, which I think makes many fans hesitant to write them in any romantic or shippy material.

However, I feel like the best way to combat all of this is the same as combating most fandom problems simply to keep putting the material out there that you want to see, in whatever capacity you enjoy, be that fic, art, edits, meta or just talking about the pairings.