#tag: media parallel

[emma-whoisleft]

WIL + text posts

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

Do you remember before? We stood facing each other on opposite sides of that door. Now we stand side-by-side. Let's go home together this time.

[diamondcitydarlin]

'wow beetlebabes shippers have NO media literacy didn't they see how TRAUMATIZED Lydia was by her past with Beetlejuice????!? she's literally TERRIFIED OF HIm omg yall are SO DUMB'

I mean...she literally summoned him again to get his help and then brought up marriage within 10 secs of doing that and, at worst, just seemed mildly annoyed by the idea/him. See, I think if you actually have unbiased media literacy, you can recognize that Lydia's issues don't stem from Beetlejuice specifically, she isn't inherently frightened of him (and to suggest so is to completely misunderstand and infantilize her character imo, she never was frightened of him give me a fucking break lol) so much as she is by the reminder of her inherent connection to the afterlife, which ironically she's trying to fight against despite having a successful show about it. Like, again yall, it's fine if you don't like the pairing. It's fine if it grosses you out. What is wholly unnecessary is the suggestion that people who do like it are somehow media illiterate or just 'not as smart as you' or just not getting some elusive concept that only super intelligent moral people can for not also thinking it's gross. You aren't smarter, you just have a different preference for interpreting and enjoying the story. There was a time more people understood that concept.

And not for nothing, but despite your HIGH INTELLIGENCE some of yall still don't know how to tag your anti posts so they don't show up in the shipping tag- though I kind of suspect that's on purpose to try to start shit where there doesn't need to be any, but still, show me how so much smarter you are than me by censoring beetlebabes in a hater post just once challenge (level: impossible)

[percijester]

THEORY TIIIIIIIIMEEEE!!!! chat, it is time for me to finally actually share this theory of mine because i am INSANE over this

dragons rising is directly paralleling the original seasons of ninjago. the new generation of characters is walking the same path, following in the footsteps of the ninja.

rise of the serpentine + legacy of the green ninja - season one

the beginning. this is where everything starts. the first threat is introduced, the lore begins to get explained, all that stuff.

the ninja are rookies, being trained by wu. the new ninja are rookies being trained by lloyd (+co). the serpentine = beatrix + the dragon hunters. it seems like the big bad is garmadon, turns out its the overlord pulling the strings. it seems like the big bad is beatrix, turns out ras has been pulling the strings. lloyd unlocks his power and defeats the overlord, sora unlocks her power and defeats beatrix. a lot of these are just smaller, more basic parallels. but bare with me.

rebooted - season two part one

here is where the parallels get slightly more noticeable, at least to me. we have 'big group of evil people, being led by the one who was pulling the strings last season', aka the overlord and the nindroids in rebooted, versus ras and the wolf masks in dr. the overlords goal is to get out of the computer world, and regain a physical body/power, versus how ras + co want to bring back the forbidden five. the overlord needs lloyd to do this, ras needs bonzle to do this.

then, when all seems lost, when it seems that evil is about to win, someone stops it. zane sacrifices himself to destroy the overlord. bonzle uses a burst of her power to close the portal. both of them were treated as objects by the big bads, both of them sacrificed themselves in the end to stop evil from winning.

tournament of elements - season two part two

(idk if i should label this as spoilers for s2p2, i think its been out for long enough??)

this one is even more obvious. im pretty sure everybody noticed the parallels between tournament of elements / tournament of sources. we got the ninja go to a tournament not for the tournament itself, but to save zane/to find out who is behind the the archdragons deaths. roby and skylor with their evil family members. zane and cole trying to get escape chen, bonzle and kai trying to escape netherspace. the tournament was rigged and also someones stealing all the powers. but theyve been stopped, but someone has been lost (garmadon having to sacrifice himself / arin leaving for ras's side). overall, a ton of parallels.

possession - season three (or possibly just s3p1, we dont know yet)

arin. we all saw his character arc. he is directly. paralleling. morro. its painful how obviously history is repeating itself. season 3 is going to parallel possession. but this time, instead of it being that morro's story was in the past, this time it's arin's, and its happening in the present.

i think morro is going to talk to arin. we have the leaks/rumors that he is coming back. we see what is happening to arin. after everything, after morro finally redeemed himself, realized how painful the path he went down was, he would not want arin to do what he did.

this is where things have a chance to change. the ninja have a chance to realize the path arin is going down, a chance to stop history from repeating itself. they have a chance to save him before he no longer wants to be saved.

so anyways! 😁 thats my theory, ive had it for a hot minute but with the rumors of morro coming back/just generally more to back me up after part two came out i NEEDED to share this or else i would spontaneously COMBUST.

if you have any thoughts or stuff to add please tell me because im insane over this AKSJDJDJDHHW

thank you for readiiiingg!!

[starboysbrainrot]

I have never publicly said this but : Jet drowning Gaipan and Zuko burning down Kyoshi Island are

1) narrative parallels

2) are widely exaggerated by the fandom as actions taking place in a 100 years war and performed by two teenagers

because yes context does matter. and you CANNOT possibly think that these actions come even close to the atrocities of what the rough rhinos did to Jet’s village or what Ozai intended to do to the Earth Kingdom.

NO THIS IS NOT ME EXCUSING WHAT THEY DID. DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THIS.

all I’m saying is that context, intentions and knowing what is going on in a character’s head are actually important in that case for a better understanding of their actions.

let’s take a look at Jet. he’s an orphan boy, who grew up with this very idea that every thing that went wrong in his life was caused by the FN (which is true) and that the only way for him to survive is to fight the FN (which is, again, true). therefore, the logical conclusion to years of trauma, and impregnated ideas of vengeance and wrath is to loose touch with your sense of morality and ending up doing heinous things because he’s convinced that it is the right thing to do. the ONLY thing to do. to survive and to escape the war. what people like to forget is that Jet didn’t grow up like Sokka and Katara, who even though faced a terrible tragedy after their mother’s death, and had to live in a tribe that had been weakened by the FN, also lived in a sheltered place for most of their lives, with their Gran Gran and father’s love, with a community, a family. Jet grew up in constant solitude, hunger, pain, fear, death and had to become a parent to those around him. and that’s not me trying to compare them. but you cannot seriously think that they grew up in the same conditions. growing up like that you just CANNOT turn out fine. the absence of love and protection coming from an adult actually does that to a kid. as time passes he realises that he, as an orphan boy, has to do what has to be done in order to survive. the question of morality doesn’t even crosses his mind. because fear and anger are the only thing left for him to survive. and all of this leads to him drowning Gaipan, and committing this heinous crime. which well doesn’t really happen because everyone is safe ! everyone survived ! yes the village is destroyed but that’s material loss. that doesn’t come near the loss of actual people.

now for Zuko, his core character trait in season 1 is that he’s very short sighted. he only sees his goal, and never what’s in between that. this shortsightedness comes from years of obsession fuelled by extreme (FN) propaganda, indoctrination, trauma and anxiety in regards of what awaits Zuko if he never gets to catch the Avatar. like Jet, Zuko’s anger and fear brings what’s most ugly in him : his lack of regards for any collateral damage he might provoke while trying to reach his goal. which ultimately leads to Kyoshi Island burning down. however, they are a few things that need to be said here. he never steps a foot on Kyoshi Island with the intention of burning it. that’s actually where it diverges from Jet. Zuko is extremely short sighted and his only goal is to find Aang. nothing. else. which differentiates him from his sister especially. who wanders through the earth kingdom while yes chasing Aang but also never stopping (or at least trying) to expend the FN’s power in the EK. Kyoshi island burning down comes actually from him being shitty at managing his firebending (and his crew) in season 1. it’s quite literally collateral damage and most of the damage on Kyoshi Island actually comes from Zuko’s soldiers (who we never actually see receiving orders that would indicate Zuko wanting to burn the island. he only says “I want the Avatar” before splitting up, and go rewatch the scene if you don’t believe me). we do actually see Zuko shooting a few fireballs at Aang but we see only one of them actually hitting the cabins. so it would be logical to assume that it was Zuko’s crew, while fighting the Kyoshi Warriors that did it. after the gaang left, Katara even says “he would have destroyed the whole place” meaning it wasn’t destroyed. and then Aang eventually saves the village and Zuko and his crew leave.

what I’m trying to say with this is that I cannot keep seeing people actually demonising and adultifying Jet and Zuko’s actions (especially at the very beginning where both of them are clearly villains with the narrative intent of doing heinous things) with using these two specific scenes, where, ultimately, no one got hurt (except Sokka & Aang while fighting Jet and the Kyoshi Warriors while fighting Zuko).

this post isn’t me denying what they did. at the end of the day, Gaipan got destroyed and Kyoshi Island lost a lot of infrastructure and cabins. this post is me explaining why I’m tired of the over exaggerated claims in regards of these two characters.

the problem with this fandom is that people will talk about Jet and Zuko’s actions in episode 10 and episode 4 like they would talk about Long Feng’s actions or Ozai’s actions.

like, no, two indoctrinated traumatised teenage boys in a war cannot be held accountable in the same way that two adults (who funnily actually did kill people !) are held accountable. like, textually by LAW they cannot be held accountable in the same way. because of their age, because of the circumstances, the consequences, etc etc.

and what’s even more important is that both actually do their best to make amends. even though doing this after years of indoctrination is actually hard. jet dies while doing so and Zuko nearly dies at the hand of his father for doing so. (and that’s without even talking about his actions as a Firelord)

you can dislike Jet and Zuko as characters. but the hate these two get will always look ridiculous at the end of the day. because it’s either completely exaggerated or out of context or doesn’t apply to them because they actually did change. and did try to make amends.

again, this is not me saying that they weren’t villains at the beginning of the series. this is also not me saying that these actions are excusable or even remotely okay. no, it’s me begging the fandom to just use their brain for two fucking seconds. it’s me begging the fandom to just understand what the war and it’s consequences does to people, especially children. on all sides of the war. especially war children.

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

Everyone says they love a devastatingly painfully slow burn romance until I, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—

[pasdetrois]

girls when the Narrative & Co. attempt to wrestle back control of the tale

[yantao-enthusiast]

what did you expect when you both fought over the same person but it was never about the so called center of your affections? it was always about the one you were competing with. you're best friends, one objectively 'better' than the other, the other one always eager to catch up but still admiring the other fervently. maybe that's why you went after that person the other wanted/had. maybe it was insecurity, because chasing the person was never about the person themself, it was about your best friend. it was about taking them away from your best friend, about trying to find what your best friend found so worthy of this person, or maybe, in a form, this was the closest you could get to your best friend. because everything was about them, even your own identity, or the person you fought with them over.

it's completely heterosexual to be inexplicably intertwined with your same sex best friend in every possible way. totally.

[rzvera]

Alexey Volgin is a main character of "Prologue", a novel that N. Chernyshevsky, russian writer and revolutionary, wrote while being in exile. Volgin functions as a stand-in for Chernyshevsky himself, and his views may represent Chernyshevsky's disappointment in his faith in revolution that didn't come.

[asena-queenslayer]

my favorite fellow peeps who make themselves sick over the tragedy of the high cloud quintet and especially yingxing who became blade

I bring ya the Korean original musical Frankenstein (프랑켄슈타인) by Wang Yong-beom and Brandon Lee

It's loosely based on the Mary Shelley novel and actually goes almost balls to the wall off the rails unhinged plot-wise, but it does it so WELL and it's made me absolutely insane over the past three days or so and I didn't even like the novel so you know it's good

I'm not fluent in Korean (though I do understand a fair amount) but the songs slap so fucking hard (y'all music truly needs no translation for its emotions to be felt)

And for those songs that do have translations on YouTube,

GOD

WOW

basically, for the uninitiated to either piece of media,

disaster gay(s) decides resurrecting someone they loved from the dead is a good idea and ofc that goes horribly wrong for them and ruins their life and kills/destroys everyone they held dear and changes them irreversibly and they become everything they feared :)

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

A few songs + English subtitles to get you started (23:16):

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

Also it's actually being performed rn in Korea since this is the 10th anniversary of the musical

So a couple of the main actors were interviewed recently by an entertainment show and they got to each perform a song from the show (linked below) (no subtitles unfortunately, but there are other videos of these songs on YouTube by other people that DO have subtitles) (I just thought these were best visual + audio quality)

The Great History of the Creation of Life Begins by Shin Sung-rok (위대한 생명창조의 역사가 시작된다 by 신성록) (5:30)

Victor Frankenstein sings abt defying God and shit while creating his creature/monster from his dead (boy)friend

BANGER ass set & special effects

I am the monster by Park Eun-tae (난 괴물 by 박은태) (6:18)

About the monster's loneliness and longing to be loved but even his body is not his own and he's been rejected by his own creator :(

Also THE Park Eun-tae's vocals and acting (worth a watch for that alone)

TW for fake blood & stitches just in case

[scooterpengie]

My two favourite shows at the moment

[emma-whoisleft]

[fruitsofhell]

Goofy ah Forgotten Land essay incoming:

It took me till like a week ago to realize that KATFL writes Elfilis and Forgo as being the same characters and I don't know how to feel about that. I feel Forgo is more interesting as it's own being the way Elfilin is from 'Lis, because I like the idea of them both being these smaller figments of the past self reduced to childish forms representing absolutes of the original. But at the same time, what made me realize that this isn't the game's intention is when I was going to say something about how hollow Elfilis is as a character in comparison to Forgo.

So really, you either make Forgo and Elfilis effectively one character and Elfilin another, negating Forgo of its own identity as a pathetic pitiable beast so that Elfilis continues to have a presence - or you make all three of them seperate characters, and Elfilis loses what they gain as a character from Forgo's motivations.

Elfilis has not a single defined motive for why it attacked the people of the Forgotten Land very much unlike other Kirby villains who can atleast say something like, "power/gain (Magolor), vanity/power (Sectonia), greed (Haltmann), or vengeance (Hyness)". Elfilis and Forgo are often described as invasive species, but what that entails isn't obvious because all we know about 'Lis' evil intentions is from Forgo. But Forgo has its own motivations that exist outside of Elfilis' original wishes - that being its captivity in Lab Discovera, which is very strong on its own.

It adds a very engaging sense of darkness to the legacy of the Forgotten Land, and makes you pity and understand its raw animosity as much as you wish to defend the world from it. The fact that Elfilis was a violent invader rather than just some other alien adds little to its motive, but does add thematic garnish to the idea of how alien life has approached the Forgotten Land. But at the same time, Forgo's captivity is such a strong motivator it really could have stood on its own and still been effective as an alien antithesis to Kirby... Though I admit not as much as what Elfilis is.

Probably to most people that have been reading straight from the games intentions, the former sounds more appealing than the latter. But, probably due to my own stubbornness and bias I really really do love them being 3 seperate entities even at the expense of depth for Elfilis. Because one of my favorite reoccurring themes in this series is vain idealization of the past fucking villains over.

I like this in Taranza's devotion to a Sectonia that no longer exists, Susie to a father that has long since been lost in his own mad schemes to find her, and Hyness obsessing over a very flawed understanding of his cult's past. And I USED TO LIKE the idea that Magolor's obsession with the crown was him, as a *Halcandran* glorifying Halcandra's past relics, but CANT HAVE THAT ANYMORE.

If the Kirby writers don't got me anymore, I guess I'll got myself. I like the idea of Forgo being as seperate from Elfilis as 'Lin is, but while Elfilin is all of their originals innocence, purity, and hope, Forgo is its raw anger and vengefulness. Visually taking Elfilis's soft/mammalian and alien/insectoid motifs respectively, but both distinctly being immature and incomplete states. Elfilis was not just that anger nor just that hope (wherever it came from), and is only the culmination of those two sides, it's a symbol of a self the two can never be on their own - one that Forgo idealizes and one Elfilin avoids.

For the sake of the ending where Elfilin reclaims the last bit of Forgo/Elfilis that is willing to go on, I prefer the mutuality of Forgo and Elfilin moving on together, rather than Elfilin just accepting Elfilis if that makes ANY sense. I just like the way Forgo and Elfilin parallel eachother more than he does with 'Lis? I like the narrative of healing that acknowledges that Forgo and Elfilin are both lost and grieving children, rather than Elfilin abandoned Elfilis who then became Forgo. Like the latter feels oddly possessive and unbalanced.

And as I said in line with past series themes, I kinda like the idea that whatever the fuck Elfilis had going on is irrelevant, just as seeing the faces of the people of the Forgotten Land is irrelevant - all that is relevant is what was left behind. I like the idea that Elfilis cannot really speak for itself anymore as a character the way the people of the Forgotten Land can only speak through their ruins and audio recordings. And as those people left behind a legacy of reclaimed wonder and terrible cruelty, in response, Elfilis left behind one of innocent hope and unbridled anger. I'd prefer to try and piece together what those two opposing visions say of their predecessor than just assume one speaks for them in its entirely I s'pose...

[maxiwaxipads]

babbling about potential fragaria memories worldbuilding (of course, it is made up <3)

Essentially, the concept of a “castle” is a kingdom’s lifeblood and creates the entire kingdom in the first place. It originates from the “Lord” who creates the castle and shares both a physical and mental connection to the Lord.

(The castle creates the castle itself and is a literal and symbolic heart of the kingdom) (Potentially creates the walls that protect/surround the kingdom, and might have the power to erect entire buildings) (Technically, a castle can expand its borders but expending too much power might strain the lord who creates the castle(?)) (Can only create buildings within the boundary of the walls)

(I like the idea that SEEDs are naturally attracted to castles because of the high density of magic surrounding these areas(?)) But also because the existence of a lord is essential to the kingdoms since they’re highly exalted and revered, taking them down would mean taking down the whole kingdom.

If the lord is damaged in any way, the castle itself will be vulnerable to attacks depending on the severity.

Relying on the idea that magic doesn’t come naturally to faeries (or whatever the people in fragaria are), I describe it as more “communal” if that makes sense? Castles provide unlimited magic to all citizens for public and daily use. Everyone has access to magic but is limited if too many are using magic at the same time. Communal magic can only be used within the bounds of the kingdom.

Using communal magic in an attempt to harm the castle is possible, but barely damages the castle. I imagine foreign magic or attacks by SEEDs are the only ways of directly harming the castle without attacking the Lord themselves(?)

Maybe the idea of “communal magic” can only be used through special wands(?)

If a castle undergoes damage, it can heal but requires the concentration of the lord to perform the healing.

Alternatively, everyone can use magic but has a limited use of it per month. The wand thing still applies. (Perhaps you can buy extra chargers for magic, but maybe it is a bit costly(?)) (Technically you can probably hoard magic, but maybe a heavy tax is placed to prevent people from hoarding magic(?)) (<- I kinda forgot, but I remember the initial idea was that hoarding magic is bad since it is considered a precious source and it would be preferred if it can be used for more important and practical matters rather than being stored and saved up(?))

Technically “communal magic” comes from the lord but are still vulnerable to others using their power against them(?)

(i like the idea of castles being a physical and mental representation of the lord) 

(something similar to brainless witch but less depressing) (…or would it be just as depressing?)

(creating a castle doesn’t require a constant maintenance of power, but for things like “communal magic,” it does)

(i like to think of castles as an extension of the lords)

Knights of Fragaria require a lot of power to form contracts and may deplete the kingdom’s defenses. They’re considered great assets for their loyalty and ability to act around as they please. Unlike normal faeries, they’ve been granted the ability to use magic as they please and more capable than the average faerie. It can be risky to have two knights of fragaria since it may endanger the defenses of the kingdom.

(Maybe Knights of Fragaria have an intrinsic connection to their lords and the castle themselves(?)) 

(I find it more instinctive rather than all-knowing(?))

A SEED that takes over a castle will absorb immense magic power for their own and may become unstoppable. Their abilities are heighten but are bound within the castle until it stops possession for whatever reason. A SEED possessing a castle may also strengthen SEEDs within the vicinity and birth new SEEDs. (Maybe they drain the castle themselves until it disappears for good(?))

“Purification” is the magical defeat against a SEED.

“Banishment” is the physical defeat against a SEED.

Music is something culturally significant in the world of Fragaria, especially during the SEEDs crisis. I might not explain this idea well, but imagine playing songs and trying to soothe a loved one while trying to remove the SEED from them? Even melancholic music being used to attract SEEDs.

Imagine singing being an important song to a loved one, hoping they turn back to normal? or maybe this is just me trying to make the fragaria memories music videos have lore significance aha 

Maybe I haven’t seen a lot of others write about lore, but have you ever thought about the implications of forgetting someone because of a SEED? 

Imagine looking at old photos, but suddenly recognizing someone you once knew as a stranger? Imagine having decorated rooms meant for someone, but not remembering who these rooms are for? Imagine finding old letters and notes you’ve lovingly written to others or have been written to, but not knowing the context or the people behind these letters.

Imagine someone sacrificing themselves under the brave act of protecting people from SEEDs but only to be forgotten.

What is the pain of wanting to desperately remember someone? Do you even want to remember anyway? Should we forget the people we can’t even remember? Maybe there are memorials or murals that honor these people, how would kingdoms honor those who are forgotten?

Maybe they don’t in the first place? Who knows?

But I’m more curious about the nature of SEEDs themselves? Are they a species that is controlled or are they animalistic and feed off a person’s negative energy for survival?

Do SEEDs have some level of intelligence? If they do, I imagine it isn’t too comparable to a human’s. I feel like it’s similar to the demons in Frieren in the Funeral(?)

In my opinion, I think SEEDs can discern if emotions are “negative” but are unable to truly understand the essence of negative emotions. They see it as a source of food. I mentioned melancholic music as bait for SEEDs, but I wonder about the idea of "manufactured negativity," if that makes sense? Imagine the sounds of crying children being used to attract SEEDs themselves. Imagine trying to purposefully invoke the saddest moments in life just to see if you can use that negative energy to attract a SEED?

I find it more meaningful that SEEDs have always existed as a consequence of the world. In Twisted Wonderland, using magic produces a pollution known as blot. But if Fragaria Memories was once a world that relied on magic but never thought of the consequences of producing its own blot?

So basically: "SEEDs are the consequence of using magic."

what if SEEDs is like the original sin if you get me...?

What was the world like before the arrival of the Strawberry King? Before the idea of lords and their kingdoms existed?

[gayalienballs45]

yall oh my god. gary and uppsulka as a dynamic always interested me and i had no idea why until now. uppsulka is a spider and gary, really talpians as a species, at least in the older colorquest days iirc, are based off of pigs. the reason i drifted to them so often when i first got interested in colorquest, is because of charlottes web.

i could totally be reaching here but in my head the dynamic between gary and uppsulka is so interesting because of the connection i subconsciously made to charlottes web in that in a way, at least in one of the older scripts, uppsulka is sort of seen as a guide to gary in a way. he seems like he looks to her for some semblance of guidance even subconsciously (ex. letting her drive hannah's van and blindly following her to an isolated location shortly after meeting the desert weirdos) because hes, for lack of less over the top words, enchanted by her when they meet. a lot like wilbur is with charlotte.

the part where the two dynamics deviate is obviously with the power dynamic between spiders, charlotte is maternal and acts as a nurturer to wilbur while uppsulka takes advantage of gary, she strings him up, gets him alone and attempts to pick him off from the group when its convenient. charlotte in contrast makes herself convenient for wilbur, she doesnt want him to die therefore she uses her control over wilbur to do something in favor of him while uppsulka does it for HER convenience, to endanger gary.

[readthephible]

shayne topp in the violation (2013) — themes