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ripplestitchskein · 14 days ago

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Let’s talk about miscommunication in narratives for a second because I think it’s a point that gets missed based on comments I see in various social media platforms and on the episodes themselves.

Bad writing of miscommunication between two characters is usually down to a few things:

- Two characters who would normally talk about the issue just…aren’t. There is no narrative explanation as to why the two characters are not discussing whatever The Issue is and it’s purely to create an artificial conflict. Usually the lack of communication is wildly out of character and there are many examples of the characters discussing similar issues previously without issue but because the writer needs two people not to talk about it, they don’t.

- The miscommunication is caused by an easily cleared up misunderstanding. A missed phone call. A missed note. This does not include plot devices like another character deliberately orchestrating the misunderstanding by deleting a call or throwing away a note but is usually just a lazy way of inciting a miscommunication through pure coincidence, and it would be easily solved by a “Didn’t you get my note/phonecall?” If there has been previous established character anxieties or a history of a character being flakey or not following through this can also be used effectively to create a plausible reason for The Issue that could be rooted in real conflict, but if it’s just a simple happenstance it’s usually just laziness on the part of the writer to drive conflict for conflict’s sake.

- Two characters are given information by someone the narrative has already established as being untrustworthy but for plot reasons they believe them anyway. Again, on its own this isn’t necessarily bad writing, if some effort has been made to give the characters a reason to believe it, such as a doctored image or other proof, even if the credibility of the messenger is shaky because they are a villain or otherwise untrustworthy, that is enough to dodge the bad writing accusation in most cases. If there is no reason to trust the information they just do because that’s what the plot needs that is bad writing.

So let’s talk about when miscommunication is NOT bad writing or why two characters can’t simply say what needs to be said to resolve the issue based on comments I’ve seen for HB:

- A character has been previously established as having difficulty opening up or discussing The Issue. A good example is Stolas and Octavia. A commenter said “If Stolas had just told her he was depressed/unhappy they wouldn’t be at odds”. Well yeah. But we saw in LooLoo Land that he has difficulty discussing it with her. He had difficulty discussing it with Blitz as well. It’s a well established character trait that he does not discuss these things. It’s a critical part of his character arc so it makes sense that he wouldn’t just say it, and where they are now it’s been established that even if he HAD she wouldn’t believe it. The writing covered it from both angles.

- Two characters are avoiding a conversation because of circumstance or a character conflict. For Stolitz they still haven’t just come out and said how they feel. But we also spent a bunch of episodes showing why these two characters wouldn’t just do that, we’ve shown they have trouble expressing those feelings verbally, and we also have several situations where it simply wasn’t appropriate to have that conversation. Right after the trial wasn’t a good time, Stolas was still reeling from losing everything and at best it would read as Blitz saying he loved him because he saved him. And it wasn’t a good time after Octavia because obviously that’s a bad fucking time to broach the subject of a relationship that is the root cause of a major family upheaval. We the audience have both sides but as I’ve said before from Stolas’s perspective the last contact he had with Blitz that we know he remembers was before the party. He also just went through an entire season where he was shown that he shouldn’t trust his own judgment or choices. There is a whole song where he questions his own perceptions and that was NOT resolved. Before Stolas saved him the last Blitz had was Stolas going off with BTB guy, and Stolas is an emotional mess from the moment they meet again until the end of Sinsmas. All perfectly valid and established reasons they can’t just say the thing.

-Two characters are manipulated into not speaking by outside forces. While I do think Octavia and Stolas teeter between believability when it comes to Stella and Andrealphus’s machinations enough has been established to make it at least credible that Octavia would still doubt her father even though her mother is blatantly keeping them from speaking in Sinsmas in front of her. I don’t think the BEST choices were made there writing wise, but I think they established enough to make it at least tolerable. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was bad writing, maybe a little rushed but not bad. We’ve had enough shown of Octavia’s insecurities and Stolas’s probably neurodivergence and trauma driven Out of Sight, Out of Immediate Mind to make it credible.

A major reason why two characters can’t simply “talk to one another” is simply that the plot demands it. There’s no story otherwise, especially in a largely character driven narrative like Helluva Boss. The external threats are secondary to the character’s own issues with this show, there wouldn’t really BE a show without them, at least not an interesting one. And I do think this lack of understanding of what comprises good miscommunication based on established characterizations and events from bad miscommunication that is forced for plot convenience drives a lot of the misinformed takes I see.

Just because two characters aren’t communicating does not automatically = writing bad, you have to consider all the factors and where the characters are to make that determination.

#helluva boss #stolitz #long post

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ikeoji-subs · 6 months ago

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Zettai BL Ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL Ni Naritakunai Otoko 2024 - Episode 2 Eng Sub

VS SMELLS and VS AGE GAP RELATIONSHIPS

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translation notes:

about Fish Cake Man (7:28)

As we state in the subtitles, this guy’s monologue isn’t something we’re equipped to translate and if we did, it probably wouldn’t make much, if any, sense to English-speaking viewers. We learned from Snow’s Japanese friend that he's a comedian who is famous for doing this particular bit. After we had already finished most of the subtitles, I rewatched seasons 1 and 2 of the show and found that he was also in the other two seasons. In the first season, when Mob is explaining about how he's a side character and intends to keep it that way, he looks at a gardener on his university campus who is pulling weeds, illustrating that the world of BL needs to include some people who are unlikely to ever become main characters. That’s this dude. He appears again in season 2, when Mob is scouring the university for signs of Kikuchi after reading his goodbye letter. In every appearance, he's shown wearing the same sort of nondescript work clothes and cap and seems to work in some kind of maintenance or cleaning capacity at National BL University. –Towel

His name is Nou Misoo (脳みそ夫) which means brain tissue. I believe there's a pun here I'm missing but you can check our his sillyness on youtube, instagram or tiktok. –Snow

about “the gods decided to smite me” (10:24)

The first version of this line said that Mob “received divine punishment” for his Mob Move. That was already a great line! But I thought it had the potential to be a little more specific and evocative in an English-speaking context. At first, I was just trying to think of something a bit more specific to replace “received.” I thought of a few possibilities, including “I was smitten by divine punishment.” But since “smitten” is barely used anymore except to describe someone who's in love, it had the wrong connotation. Then I thought about how another tense of the same verb, “smite,” avoids those connotations and has a kind of King James Bible quality. But if I was going to say “smite,” I’d have to change the sentence from passive voice to active voice (which is generally best anyway) and give the sentence a subject who is doing the smiting.

I thought a unitary, capital-G God would make it sound a little too Biblical, possibly tipping it over into sounding overtly Christian. I knew that some religious traditions practiced in Japan, like Shintoism, included multiple gods. So I tried “the gods decided to smite me.” This seemed to balance out the Old Testament-ish aspect of “smite” a bit. The end result seemed more vivid than the earlier version, and it seemed like something Mob would say.–Towel

about “select shop” (11:30)

Observant English speakers might notice that when the guy who used the same shampoo as Mob talks about where he got it, he uses a term made up of English loan words. He says he bought it at a “serekuto shoppu" (in English, a "select shop"). While both parts of the word are borrowed from English, the term you get when you put them together isn’t commonly used in the US. I ended up replacing it with “boutique,” which gets across some of the meaning. But I’ll explain in more detail here.

It turns out that a “select shop” is a kind of smallish shop with carefully curated items that all fit a certain aesthetic. A business like this might be called a “lifestyle boutique” in America, but it’s slightly different from any business model used widely here. The big selling point of a shop like this is the fact that they’ve already vetted and coordinated these products. Their offerings are tailored for a particular niche, so that if you’re into the general idea a select shop is going for, you’re likely to be interested in a lot of what they’re selling. The items for sale will also have been hand-picked by a professional who’s able to find just the right thing in a way that a typical consumer wouldn’t be able to.

You can imagine what kind of college student would not only shop at this sort of place but declare it proudly. Even if Mob was going to fall in L with a B, this guy would be a bad fit.–Towel

about “a listless ne’er-do-well” (19:04)

The more literal translation of this part goes “a man like this, without ambitions or vitality.” It’s a nice turn of phrase, definitely, but I thought if I could localize it a bit it might evoke more of the right feeling. I thought it would be more typical in English to express this in terms of an adjective plus a noun describing the kind of person he’d appear to be, rather than saying he was without these qualities. From “without ambition” I got “ne’er-do-well” and from “without vitality” I got “listless.”–Towel

Tag list: @absolutebl @bengiyo @c1nto @come-back-serotonin @lurkingshan @my-rose-tinted-glasses @porridgefeast @sorry-bonebag @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist

#zettai bl #zettai bl 3 #zettai bl season 3 #zettai bl 2024 #zettai bl ni naru sekai vs zettai bl ni naritakunai otoko #a man who defies the world of bl #translation notes

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dreamchasernina · 8 months ago

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Kataang could have been developed more after The Invasion Kiss but on the other hand it is important that katara hugged him after the defeat and stood very proud next to him when he thanked everyone for participating. Then they were very chill sitting next to each other in the western air temple and even in sozins comet part 1 after their biggest fight so far they stood next to each other in their group hug and katara watched him training when zuko taught him how to redirect lightning. If aang was really such an incel or simp like people make him out she would try to avoid him at all costs but she didn't.

I agree with you, if Katara was at any point uncomfortable by Aang's advances...actually, the only two advances he has ever made at her, she would definitely distance herself from him, or, knowing Katara, would just talk to him. Of course even after the kiss at the invasion Katara is comfortable with Aang. It wasn’t even their first kiss, they canonically kissed in the cave of two lovers!

Don’t even get me started on the topic of people calling Aang an incel HOLY SHIT that is a different level of dumbassery, please. I don’t even know where it’s coming from. The way Aang kissed Katara in the invasion? Well let’s see, Sokka kissed Suki THE EXACT SAME WAY IN THE SERPENTS PASS AND NO ON EVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. So please tell me, how the way Aang kissed Katara is any different from the way Sokka kissed Suki?

Plus people who call him an incel think he forced Katara to be with him, bothered her after she told him to stop multiple times. And please, what show are you people watching? Aang never lets Katara know he has feelings for her until the invasion episode!!! Where exactly is the forcing? Where exactly is Katara turning him down? Are you making stuff up?

The kiss in the cave was initiated by Katara, Aang didn't let her know of his feelings for her. If she knew he liked her, she wouldn’t be offended when Aang tells her he wouldn’t want to kiss her. She's offended because Aang makes her think he doesn't like her...why would that offend her if she herself didn't like him, and didn't want him to like her back?

The first time Aang EVER shows Katara he has feelings for her is halfway through the third season! And the only time Katara turns his advances down is in the last episode before the finale, after which we never even see them together. Aang totally backs off until she’s the one who kisses him in the finale.

The whole time Aang is pining for her secretly. He just has a crush on her, and even that is exaggerated by the haters. It's not like they don't have a relationship outside this crush. The crush is such a minor detail in their relationship. They have mutual respect, trust, they're each other's moral compass and biggest supporter. Aang's crush on Katara comes up in 13 episodes out of 61! I literally counted! And I counted every tiny thing like Aang blushing at Katara in City of Walls and Secrets, something that lasts 1 second. MOST of those crush moments are so tiny and have little to no impact, but even counting those, it only comes up to 13 episodes! And some of them don't even include Katara in them, like The Guru. So if the crush is not referenced or mentioned in 80% of the show, how exactly is Katara pressured or pursued constantly, to the point where she has to tell him to stop? Did the turning him down get lost somewhere between all the kisses on the cheek Katara gives him throughout the show?

Look, I would take all that criticism seriously, but literally anyone who ever said that is a ZK shipper. Which just makes it disingenuous, because they’re only saying all that stuff to prove their ship should've been canon...which in no way makes it canon anyway so what's the point for all this hate? I just don't get it for the life of me.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #avatar #aang #kataang #katara #pro kataang #anti zutara #anti-zutara

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quakenshake · 2 years ago

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Dating Chishiya Would Include Pt. 2

Hi, guys! I still have to do the second part of 'The Next Day', but wanted to squeeze this in beforehand. In the first part of Dating Chishiya, I focused on love languages, so with this one, I decided to do the alphabet! (Or half of it, anyways lol...) I will likely finish the rest of the alphabet at a later date, but hopefully, this will tide you guys over for now. As always, let me know if you have any requests! -S

A = Affection

Chishiya has never been comfortable with excessive affection. Truthfully, anything more than the occasional half-second hug is entirely new to him, giving him a feeling which he assumes to be dislike. But as your bond and trust grow, he begins to finally feel safe with giving and receiving affection. Once this barrier is crossed, he’s much more open to exploring things like hand-holding, snuggling, and longer hugs. That being said, he’ll never fully be comfortable with too much PDA, so you can expect most of these moments to happen behind closed doors.

B = Banter

Being that Chishiya is no stranger to sarcasm, you can expect a bit of banter in your relationship. And while his cold demeanor may come across as true annoyance, you know him better- he actually quite enjoys these moments with you. Teasing is a form of love language for him, and he’s happy to have a partner that can keep up with his wit. And, being a master of reading body language, he always knows how to reign it in before things go too far and he accidentally offends you.

C = Curiosity

Chishiya has always been the curious type- from a young age, he found himself drawn to complex questions about the universe, humanity, and most importantly: emotions. Being that he has always struggled to fit in or relate to others, he gained his observant nature by attempting to learn more about those around him. But once your relationship started, his curious nature became focused on you. Oftentimes, you’ll catch him watching you- even if its something seemingly miniscule like folding laundry, reading a book, or making dinner. He seems to soak in each and every decision you make, storing it away in his bank of knowledge about you. Sometimes it borders on unsettling, but you’ve come to enjoy that he pays attention to the details. In his own odd way, it shows how much he cares.

D = Dates

By now, you’ve come to accept that Chishiya will never be the outgoing type. Much preferring the comforts of home, it’s rare that Chishiya initiates venturing outside. For this reason, most of your “dates” take place on the couch, watching a newly released film you’ve both been excited for or playing a far-too-complex boardgame that he insists you’ll enjoy. But as mundane as these moments may seem to an outsider, you’ve learned that the truth is in the details. Sure, he may not treat you to a night on the town…but you’d better believe that he’ll come prepared with your favorite snacks, a comfy blanket to wrap you in, and the look of adoration only a lover could have. After particularly stressful days, he’ll even light a candle or two for you (the really smelly ones that he insists he hates.) And perhaps most telling of all is the fact that he never misses a single one, even with his busy schedule.

E = Evenings

Given that both of you have busy schedules, your best moments with Chishiya tend to happen in the evenings. With work over and done with, coming home to each other is like a breath of fresh air each time. And while you may not have as much time with each other as you’d like, you both work to make each second count. Whether it’s sharing a dinner and talking about your day, settling in to watch the latest episode of your current tv obsession, or taking a shared bath and melting in each other’s arms, you’re always sure to be there for each other each and every day. It’s a lot of work, sure, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. And for this reason, you’ve come to view the evening as the best part of your day.

F = Flirting

I’m going to be honest…Chishiya is not much of a flirt. He can be witty, charming, and even give you compliments. But to call it flirting would be inaccurate. It’s not for a lack of chemistry between you, but merely because he doesn’t quite understand the point or how to do it. In truth, the thought of being flirtatious seems embarrassing to him- at least, that’s how it feels whenever he sees other people flirting. With that said, you adore flirting with him, mostly due to the way it makes him cringe. It’s your own special form of teasing that he barely tolerates. And if you’re in public? Even better. You’re sure to have him blushing by the time you’ve made it home. And while he’ll never admit it to you, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

G = Gentle

This was already kind of covered in Part 1, but Chishiya is surprisingly gentle when it comes to you. It doesn’t always come naturally to him, but he’s definitely learned to tone down his sarcasm and arrogance when your feelings are involved. He’s also made efforts to pick softer words for you, especially when you’re sad or upset. It’s taken a lot of patience and self-reflection, but he prides himself on being able to provide a comfort to you that he hasn’t quite figured out how to provide to others. And his efforts are definitely returned, with you being his greatest source of comfort as well. In truth, it was through you that he even learned how to be gentle- something he is immensely grateful for.

H = Handmade

When it comes to gift-giving, you both have fallen into a habit of making rather than buying. It started off almost as a running gag, with Chishiya gifting you a hand-crafted puzzle after you complained about your poor memory. You were quick to tease him in return, choosing to write him a list of ‘conversation starters’ after he complained of “overly-friendly coworkers who don’t know how to take a hint.” From there, what started as sarcastic half-gifts slowly formed into ones filled with meaning and love. His gift of a velcro phone attachment (because you always seem to lose yours) slowly morphed into a hand-painted canvas overlooking the bridge and pond at your favorite park. And your gift of a “happy mask” (i.e a paper mask adorning a comically large smile) slowly morphed into a collage of the patients he’s saved. In a sense, these gifts have become a special way of saying ‘I love you.’

I = “I love you”

I imagine that these three words in this sequence are probably one of Chishiya’s biggest fears…at least, when you first started dating. Being new to this, he was likely filled with confusion and doubt about when and why to say it. How could he know if he was really in love? Was he even capable of it? And if he was…how could he know you felt the same? Was there a timeline for these kinds of things? The thought of confessing something so large was likely overwhelming for him. So imagine his surprise when it slips out of his mouth at an ordinary moment, watching an ordinary movie, on an ordinary night with you. At first, he didn’t even catch it; perhaps he’d spent so much time rehearsing in his head that he hadn’t realized it had been said out loud. And when the realization finally set in, it was as if time stopped, only to be restarted when you said it back. From that moment on, those three silly words no longer seemed so scary.

J = Jealousy

Chishiya isn’t an exceptionally jealous person, but he definitely feels it to some degree. He’s not so much bothered by the physical stuff- a coworker hugging you goodbye, a friend standing closer than normal, etc. It’s the emotional stuff that gets him worried; seeing you have close bonds with others sometimes makes him insecure. After all, the only time he’s established a close bond has been with you and Kuina, both of which took a lot of time and trust. And because he treasures these relationships so much, he can’t help but wonder if you feel the same about anyone you have a bond with. Little does he know, he’s the only one on your mind. And whenever you sense these insecurities, they’re easily subdued with a gentle reminder of your love for him.

K = Keepsakes

One part of Chishiya that you weren’t expecting was his knack for hoarding things- in particular, mementos of your relationship. It was something you’d stumbled on by accident when cleaning out his desk, finding a small compartment filled with memories of your time together. A movie ticket from one of the rare times you guys actually went out for a date, a napkin filled with doodles that you’d drawn while out for coffee, a rock from the garden that you’d once pointed out as resembling a heart in shape, etc….each one a small glimpse of the bond you’ve formed together. And as much as seeing it made your heart fill with glee, you were careful to place each item back in its original position so as not to let on that you knew of his little secret. But on nights that he works late and you’re really missing him, pulling out the box of trinkets helps bring you comfort.

L = Letters

Chishiya may not be the most expressive partner, but this doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care. Emotions are still difficult for him to navigate, and expressing himself often makes him feel vulnerable. However, the feelings are still there, and he needs some outlet for them….hence, the letters. It started as an experiment one day, early in your relationship; not quite ready to tell you how he felt about you, Chishiya decided to jot his feelings down in a journal, choosing the format of a letter to you. Originally, he had planned to give the letter to you, but instead chose to push himself to tell you in person. He kept the letter, though, feeling like it was something worth saving. From that moment on, he made it a habit to write you secret letters, never to be mailed. Stored in a top-secret location, he’s sure you’ll never find them. But as the relationship has grown, he’s found that he relies on them less and less, feeling like he can finally express himself to you without feeling so vulnerable. He still writes them, though, as it holds a special place in his heart.

#chishiya headcanons #aib chishiya #shuntaro chishiya #chishiya shuntaro #chishiya alice in borderland #chishiya imagine #chishiya fanfic #chishiya fluff #chishiya x y/n #chishiya x reader #chishiya

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bluebeewings · 1 year ago

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I started Our Flag Means Death FURIOUS and bitter. I was still high on the Always Sunny train and feeling that no other type of humor would ever compare to sunny’s humor and as I watched the pilot I was seething with anger cause I was already feeling the show wouldn’t live up to what I thought it could be. Nobody was talking about it and there were a few episodes to come out, so I hadn’t even heard of it before (my friend told me it was a Taika pirate show and we should see what was it about). My first impression of Stede was that he was gay, but that the show wouldn’t possibly go there and that I’d eventually be disappointed when it’s not the case. Secondly, Jim. The moment I saw them I thought trans, but then again, how often it is that the trope of “dressing as a guy to blend in” leads to actual trans rep? I saw all the queer allegories, the queer undertones but honestly thought the show wouldn’t deliver. It’s a silly show about pirates, a workplace comedy with a new gimmick. I thought it was fine when I finished the last episode. Maybe a week later (if I recall correctly) I went back to it, giving it another chance. With each subsequent episode, I understood the series more and more. I saw that Jim’s actor was non binary and that gave me hope that the queer undertones was actually intended and thought of.

Then of course, Blackbeard. Episode four was an eye opener. Firstly I thought “people are gonna ship the hell out of these two” (me included) but I was still skeptical. But then… The parallels with Mary and Blackbeard? I thought I was loosing my mind. But it just got gayer and gayer (Taika’s heart eyes like, they’re impossible not to notice). But it was still in my mind that it couldn’t be the case, how can a show be this unapologetically queer without being marketed as such??? I’m always on the lookout for queer stuff so I’d certainly know. Episode 5 went on and we saw Lucious and Black Pete as an item and I took that as confirmation that nothing would happen between Stede and Ed (like, come on, we got a non binary character and a gay couple, if there’s more than it’s officially for the gays) but then!!! The moonlight scene! I legit thought I was going insane thinking to myself this is the most romantic shit I’ve seen I can’t believe this is happening is it really real or am I this delusional??? I was in it now and couldn’t stop my binging the show. With each subsequent episode I got more and more sure it was really a romantic comedy and let me tell you the rush and the serotonin I felt knowing more and more that for the first time I was getting what I hoped for? Scratch that, something better than what I had hoped for.

There were only 8 episodes available and when I got to Calico Jack everything happened again. I looked at him and though “lol ed’s ex” but thought I wouldn’t be so lucky… Well think again! I was still wondering if it was all some sort of next level queerbaiting but Jack went there and said “nope, we used to fuck” (and for that I’ll be forever grateful of Will Arnett). Then obviously the feet touch aka the most romantic thing to have ever happened in fiction. The first thing I did was to look up people here on tumblr to see if everyone was consuming it with the same eyes as I and let me tell you, watching the fandom start was so cool and I’ll remember those simpler times fondly. We were all wondering what would happen, if there would be a kiss (and people still debating if it was bait or not).

The last two episodes released like a week later and I waited as patiently as I could. The kiss and subsequent break up oh I was in heaven. If there’s something I like is drama and it peaked as Mary realized Stede had come back. Ohh and episode ten hm! Delicious. Anyways after the kiss everyone and their mom knew that it was not only canonically queer but an inherently queer show, the fandom grew in unprecedented ways. I lasted like four months before I quietly got away cause big fandoms intimidate me. Too much content for me to process and way too much discourse… But I’ll be here for this season because the brainrot is real and I’m exited to see the show being even more unapologetically queer and more explicitly than ever as a love story.

I’m just really happy to have stumbled upon this show without knowing a thing and finding out in real time that it’s one of the queerest shows in existence.

#is this considered a rant?#ofmd #gentlebeard #im getting mad waiting for the second season #oh that and i have covid #maybe its the covid #mine

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bride-of-dracaenca · 2 years ago

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First of all: thank you so much to those who made nice comments about the first part of this list (right over here)! I’m glad some people enjoyed my nostalgic rambling, but much more importantly, I loved hearing your thoughts, too! I would see other fans’ own lists, so much.

So without further ado, here is the rest of:

MY TOP TEN BRINKY MOMENTS (FROM THE 1990s): #3-1

(Content warning for one kind of bad word below, and worse, I vaguely mention Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue which...shudders.)

I remember Tom Ruegger and Peter Hastings, probably the most influential voices in creating Pinky and the Brain, saying something to the effect of, “It goes there sometimes, but we didn’t want to just do the old ‘a jerk and an idiot’ story,” several times. Although I’m actually a big fan of Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, etc. and the “Vaudeville Comic Duo” thing is indisputably the kernel this franchise grew around, in my opinion, it was deliberately grown into something more.

A while ago, I listened to an Animanicast where one of the PatB Spin-Off writers (Charles M. Howell) mentioned that he thought that Pinky and the Brain were more complex as characters than the old vaudeville duos, and even said he was getting teary-eyed thinking about the characters because they made him emotional. It’s been a while, but I remember hearing another story where one of the spin-off’s writers recounting talking to an executive with a fellow writer about the characters. Supposedly he was saying, “These two mice…they’re REAL,” and he joked that they thought the guy was maybe uuuh losing it, but said actually, he understood what he meant.

I think that’s probably why most of the Brinky moments I hold dear and remembered through the decades came from the spin-off. The og Animaniacs skits were very funny and cute, and my absolute favorite thing about them was their classic Looney Tunes short tone and sensibility. Still, their spin-off is really where the true humanity of the characters and their relationship was able to develop.

…okay, I know what I sound like, here. I don’t actually think that the show was some brilliant work of high art or anything. There are many weaknesses, it was silly and inconsistent (sometimes very much on purpose, sometimes not), it had a famously troubled production with the network not truly valuing it making these things less surprising, blah blah blah, etc. Still, all I’m saying, as I said in part one of this list, is here are the characters being more complex and unique than people might expect or than many people (including me!) usually remember.

More importantly, here’s their relationship being different than people would expect or are likely to remember, and deeper, too.

#3: “The Pink Candidate” and “Inherit the Wheeze” – Pinky Stands Up to Brain

TL;DR below, but a summary: Once the mice get fleshed out as characters, if Pinky has a problem with something that Brain says or does, he just tells him. If he doesn’t want to go along with something, he just doesn’t. Brain doesn’t attempt to “make” him, and he wouldn’t be able to, anyway.

This might seem like a strange choice. Also, full disclosure: this part is much, much more about “The Pink Candidate” just because it was (in my opinion) the much better episode over “Inherit the Wheeze,” and also because American Drug PSAs from this period in general have…real-world related issues imo. Still.

(As far as I’m concerned, above didn’t happen and was just a bad dream.)

I thought back to these when I was trying to figure out why I never really thought of Pinky/Brain as an unequal relationship, at least not in the particular way I think it might been seen as sometimes. Again, they have massive, massive issues; I think these are so obvious there’s not much purpose to my pointing them out, even. But what’s more surprising is that, even though Brain doesn’t seem to either realize or want to acknowledge this, they actually really are PARTNERS, in my opinion. At least, once their characters are properly fleshed out.

This is more depth than they had at first, while their characters were still being worked out; while it’s a great short with amazing animation, “Brain Meets Brawn” is an example of an early story where the dynamic between the two mice is more “just what you’d expect,” and I’ll be honest with you here, there are a few nice moments in the short that are big exceptions but I mostly just don’t like it! “It” being the dynamic between the mice in the short; I very, very much enjoy the short itself – just not the core relationship in it, mostly.

This brings me back to little summary I wrote before rambling. They’re partners. Brain isn’t forcing Pinky to help him take over the world. Brain wouldn’t even be able to!

“The Pink Candidate” is a really great episode for Pinky’s character, and I could go on and on about it. But it actually shows some of the nuance of Brain’s character, too, which is why put together, it shows some of the nuance in the RELATIONSHIP. I just re-watched it and was again really struck: Pinky’s even less of a frivolous doormat than I remembered, and Brain is even less dismissive or pushy. And this depth doesn’t sacrifice the show’s humor; in my opinion it’s a funny ep. – just that fact that Brain ends up on trial partly because he’s in the Splash Zone of Bil Keane’s Campaign of Vengeance against Pinky for saying that The Family Circus isn’t funny, and that that’s a REAL plot point, sends me.

By the way, Pinky’s right: The Family Circus isn’t funny. ANYWAY.

Pinky stands up to Brain (despite actually CRYING during this scene) and gives well-reasoned points for doing so. This is my favorite take on Pinky: both more aware and, yes, “intelligent” than one would think, but also genuinely a good person. One of the reasons he supports Brain’s efforts is because he thinks that Brain’s leadership genuinely would be “what’s best for the world.” If that changes, he doesn’t stop supporting Brain as a PERSON, because he loves him. But he does stop supporting his actions and he stands up to them and says exactly why.

Brain’s actions in this episode get a “condemning with faint praise” framing from me here, but actually, it really does show how different he is here from a shallow archetype. For starters the principles that Pinky gives as reasons to stand up to Brain are ones that Brain just taught him, and Brain seems to genuinely believe in them, even if he’s not practicing them. Brain actually concedes Pinky’s two points to him in their argument scene, and sincerely (if…”wackily” and not very well) tries to address Pinky’s concerns. Obviously, his idea that an absolute authoritarian dictatorship is compatible with democracy is either hilarious or scary depending on the tone of a story, but well, delusional as he is, Brain genuinely seems to think so. Brain’s response, which is basically to have a tantrum and storm off, also isn’t commendable, but by Looney Tunes standards might be downright constrained. He doesn’t belittle, threaten, lie to, or insult Pinky here. He just tells him honestly that he’s going to do it alone and walks away. That’s it.

Of course, Pinky is going to choose Brain’s friendship over the Presidency, just by itself. But again, I like how Pinky’s reasoning here is actually deeper than even just that. Pinky mentions (to the Abe Lincoln statue, lol) that Pinky is only President because of Brain. If Pinky did what they wanted him to, and claimed to not know anything about their “Take Over the World” schemes, it would be an outright lie. Pinky is only President because he knowingly was a part of one of those schemes.

Pinky’s scene in court is also great. “I take full accountability for everything that happens in my administration.” Ironically, Pinky is impeached for doing exactly what a President SHOULD do in this situation.

The little interaction between them in the courtroom scene is nice and telling. When Pinky starts to talk, Brain shouts, “Pinky, NO!” Again, you might expect him to have blamed (or at least implicated) Pinky already or want to be saved here, but he’d rather go down alone. He doesn’t want Pinky to be impacted or take any of the blame. And again I can’t stop thinking about how, though Brain is at fault for Trying to Take Over the World TM, in some ways he’s taking the fall for Pinky here because this happened because Bil Keane wanted revenge against PINKY, and again I’m sorry but The Family Circus really isn’t funny.

Pinky also responds by cutting Brain off with, “Brain, let me handle this,” which shuts Brain right up. I often think of this when people think that Pinky just had no power or say in the relationship. Pinky has lots of issues (including with standing up for himself at times), and they and his strengths are inconsistent in this comedy cartoon. But Pinky CAN advocate for himself and he CAN take charge sometimes. I mean yeah, it’s easier when you’re the President, but this is only one of the times that Pinky puts his foot down or steps up, and Brain listens to him or follows his lead.

(One other thing is Pinky is just…weird /pos. So much that others would find insufferable, he either doesn’t mind or loves, so he wouldn’t want or need to put his foot down about it.)

“Inherit the Wheeze” might be more notable in showing just how much Brain actually does value Pinky’s opinion, despite claiming otherwise: Brain actually calls off the whole plan there, and a big part of it is Pinky’s words. While he doesn’t do that in “The Pink Candidate,” the episode actually ends with Brain thanking Pinky for standing up to him, and reminding him of principles he actually does value, even if he’s incredibly, comically bad at putting them into practice (cue “What are we gonna do tomorrow night?” joke at the end).

Anyway, I could go on and on, but the point here is:

The Family Circus is not funny.

#2: “A Pinky and the Brain Halloween” – Pretty Much the Whole Thing. There.

After rambling on and on too long about the last “moment,” this one is going to be short because it’s just so straightforward. The whole episode almost feels like it’s been written to just say, in big, bold letters:

BRAIN CARES ABOUT PINKY MORE THAN HE CARES ABOUT TAKING OVER THE WORLD.

This episode just makes that incredibly clear-cut. He chooses Pinky outright over, not just losing control of the world (again, he is ACTUALLY ACTIVELY RULING THE WORLD in this episode, and he gives that up), but EVER trying to take over the world again. I think Brain has an “I can do it myself!” attitude towards taking over the world that both seems kind of admirable (see him turning down the Devi-Walt Disney, and ripping up his contract right in front of him!) and also…actually kinda also isn’t, when you think about it (more massive ego stuff at work there), and I could almost see him giving up rulership for that. So he can say he wasn’t just literally handed the world.

But it’s not JUST that that Brain is willing to sacrifice for Pinky, it’s his entire dream, and his supposed goal in life and reason for living.

It's everything.

Brain is also willing to brave He-HADES in the first place. The fact that he briefly is selfish and doesn’t rush to Pinky’s rescue immediately, again, is part of how he’s still extremely flawed in this episode; Pinky made the deal he made, in part, because Brain literally, callously called him worthless. That’s really horrible, but the sheer lengths he goes to for Pinky here show why Brain is a complex (and, imo, pretty great, all things considered) character in the spin-off. It shows how much Brain cares and can demonstrate it through his actions, he just can’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Oh yeah, Pinky also sells his soul to the Devi-Walt Disney here, and that’s NOT because he was tricked. It’s because he thinks it’s a fair trade. ☹

He thinks it’s worth it to give his best friend in the world what he wants. It’s both heartwarming and sad, like so many things about Pinky. But the end is happy: Brain shows through his actions here that Pinky’s reasoning makes no sense.

What Brain really wants is HIM.

;_;

#1: “A Pinky and the Brain Christmas” – “Dear Santa, hello, hah hah, narf...”

I know I know how shocking and original, what a surprise. OK.

So I’ve often thought that if EVERY episode of Pinky and the Brain exploded except for the Christmas special and “Bubba Bo Bob Brain,” I’d be just fine. And if I had to choose between the two, it’d obviously be this one. And honestly, kind of…yeah. If this entire franchise was nothing but a beloved, perennial family Christmas special classic and fond childhood memory that also won a flipping Emmy, I’d still love it. And pretty much, yeah.

It's all about the ending.

I don’t know what I could say about That Scene (plus the coda, where Pinky gives Brain the world ;_; ;_;) that hasn’t already been said. The performances by both Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche here are brilliant, the score is excellent, and of course the rightfully famous Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd., animation is AMAZING. Those camera shots, those pans, those tears!

LaMarche’s delivery of “I don’t care about your STUPID LETTER!” is a great moment where the show really clearly and effectively shows the difference between the mice’s for the purposes of comedy vaudeville duo banter and Brain actually being way over the line. He sounds vicious and cruel there, and it’s not funny at all.

Despite that, I always think of what Brain does in this episode. He’s actually ruling the world, albeit for a brief time, here. He has everybody in the world under his control, in part due to the Christmas special rule that for the special’s purposes everybody in the world celebrates Christmas, but anyway.

But all his does with it is to make everybody genuinely happy, while getting nothing back for himself. Not even acknowledgement. People don’t even know that Brain is why they feel like having a Merry Christmas. They just do.

In this one moment, Brain proves that he can be who Pinky believes him to be. Pinky just described him as this in his letter: someone who “only wants what’s best for the world.” In this one moment, he gives the world a very happy holiday, without getting anything for himself. He made the world a better place.

And it’s all because of Pinky.

As for Pinky’s character in this episode, there I really don’t know how to express what hasn’t already been said. This is part of what makes Pinky one of my favorite characters of all time, why I even think of him as one of the “best,” instead of just the amusing but unthinking sidekick he could have been, instead. Pinky’s letter is really quite eloquent and insightful – and well written! It shows again his utter selflessness, but also his awareness of what’s going on.

And Pinky’s not even crying because he’s mad at Brain, it’s because he’s upset with himself for not getting his letter to Santa Claus. ☹

This whole scene could easily have fallen flat. But the fact that Pinky and Brain get fleshed out into “not JUST an idiot, not JUST a jerk” is what makes this, and the other moments on this list, work for me. If they were that simple, Pinky wouldn’t have been able to write such a letter in the first place, and Brain wouldn’t have cared about it except to think it was stupid.

It’s the way that their relationship follows by not just being “jerk leader and idiot sidekick” who don’t care about, or even hate, each other like people generally expect.

Instead, they love each other. In their own way, they are a family. They come to understand each other very well. They are well aware of each other’s flaws; though Brain is absurdly overly critical and condescending about it, while Pinky wears massively thick rose-colored glasses, even Pinky can be brutally honest with Brain about his flaws (from “Hoop Schemes,” basically - Brain says, “I’m sorry I was such a jerk,” and Pinky says casually, “That’s okay, Brain. I’m used to it.”). But both of them see the good in each other, too. ( “Lets just say that your extra jumbo sized heart more than makes up for your little free sample sized mind,” a jerky way to say it? Yes. Brain’s crummy, tsundere, socially incompetent way of saying he knows that Pinky’s pretty great? Also yes.) They care each other, anyway.

That this scene works at all shows how the mice and their relationship have been expanded into something more touching and human – the heart of the show.

#pinky and the brain #Brinky #animaniacs #pinky x brain #pinky #the brain #PatB

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annamarabella-grumble · 2 years ago

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mass effect replay thoughts, episode 6

episode 1 / episode 2 / episode 3 / episode 4 / episode 5 / episode 7 / episode 8 / episode 9

it’s two for two for surprise inspections/interviews after coming out of an airlock/elevator on the citadel!

imagine investigate journalists getting wind of the two and a half war crimes we covered up for admiral hackett on all those unc assignments!! now that’d be a conversation full of moral quandaries that i would enjoy trying to wind my way out of

like, shepard wouldn’t want puff pieces written about them or the council or the alliance, for that matter, but if you’re gonna call them a shill, do it because they just lied to you about the shit the alliance tried to pull on luna, or the citadel administrator who deceived shepard into a hit job on her own sister so as not to lose her diplomatic privileges.

additionally, what both reporter al-jilani and rear admiral mikhailovich miss in their lines of questioning is that the normandy itself is a peace-keeping venture (doesn’t anderson even say as much early in the game? or did i hallucinate that?) and that means: compromise

by working so closely together on the design of the normandy (and other cooperations that we don't know about yet shhh), humans and turians now know so much about each other’s engineering and military tactics including strategic weaknesses that it would be farcically undignified to start another war with each other. this goes for both entities and requires trust. (trade and multilateral treaties are another huge part of that: when hurting your ally hurts you, you'll have a lot less incentive to do it. see also: the founding of the precursor to what's now the european union after ww2.)

i’m sure the turian public aren’t thrilled about this ship being under human/alliance command, either, but y’all are just gonna have to deal. i’m sure there’ve been press releases coming from both earth and palaven about this, why are you askin me, rear admiral???

the whole point of this thing is that we’re all friends now, and we don’t. eat. our friends.

anyway everyone on earth seems to be very surprised pikachu at the fact that working with and for the council in order to get a foot in the door means, well, working with and for the council. human interests are not the only ones that shepard can consider — much as the council themselves don’t make that easy when hiding behind “we can’t be seen only helping humans.”

so. about those war crimes, huh? girl, hackett will NOT STOP CALLING ME. he’s got a tracker on the normandy’s ass. “oh while you’re in the area; we weren’t doing anything technically illegal, but if the council finds out we’re up shit creek with no paddles, so…” yeah how about humanity’s interests now??

and then, garrus said something so unbelievably vile to tali on a citadel elevator that we put him in time-out for three missions. fucking hell

most importantly, however: we support women’s rights, but also women’s wrongs.

this criminal enterprise is only beyond salvaging because it has a pr problem. you’re free to go, ma’am.

#mass effect #mass effect 1 #me1 #meta #grumble has thoughts #video games #mass effect legendary edition

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cyarsk52-20 · 2 years ago

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Celebrities Are Standing With the WGA

Updated May 27, 2023

Mandy Patinkin. Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

Hollywood royalty is on the side of labor. The Writers Guild of America called for a strike on May 2 after negotiations for fair pay and streaming-era regulations broke down, leaving late-night and variety television immediately impacted, the future of your favorite show an open question, reality and animated TV the only sure things … and no Pete Davidson–hosted SNL episode. Celebrities voiced their support for the strike in the days and weeks leading up to the anticipated walkout, but the first Monday in May proved to be the most fruitful moment to get them on the record about the then-potential seismic event. “Everything changed with streaming, and everyone needs to be compensated for their work,” Amanda Seyfried told Variety on the Met Gala red carpet. “It’s fucking easy. I don’t get it.” Jimmy Fallon, who also attended the fashion extravaganza, said he “wouldn’t have a show if it wasn’t for my writers, and I support them all the way.” Game of Thrones mastermind George R.R. Martin expressed support for the writers in a blog post: “No one wanted this — no writer with an ounce of sense, anyway — but the producers and the studios and the networks and the streamers gave us no choice.” Below are the celebrities in support of the writers’ strike and those on the front lines.

David Seidler

Oscar-winner David Seidler telling truths on the picket line! #WGAstrike #WGAstrong pic.twitter.com/0jDMtXHQm4

— Ken Pisani (@kpsmartypants) May 27, 2023

Mariska Hargitay

In the Writers Guild of America, corporate greed and not valuing writers are considered especially heinous…

Thank you Mariska! #WGAstrong #WGAstrike pic.twitter.com/EROD6CIqf8

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 25, 2023

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo came straight from his art class to share a message of solidarity! Thank you @MarkRuffalo ��#WGAstrong #RallyattheRock https://t.co/pKxn2xTN50 pic.twitter.com/sWnAAz8RTn

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 23, 2023

Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell speaks at the WGA picket line: "It's a testament to the arrogance of those at the top that these people are now out of work because they are doing the right thing." https://t.co/WLAhBc0cqZ pic.twitter.com/zEqKpB9NnM

— Variety (@Variety) May 25, 2023

Lil Wayne

Thank you, Lil Wayne, for sending a @Fatburger truck to the picket lines today AND for having a turkey burger so I can keep this #StrikeBodSummer going! #WritersStrike #WGAStrong pic.twitter.com/PX97OjFKBq

— Gennefer Gross (@Gennefer) May 26, 2023

Barack Obama

Obama said he hopes striking film and TV writers "get the fair share of the fruits of their labor." https://t.co/ds6kKUQYmK

— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) May 25, 2023

Drews Carey and Gooden

🚨Ateention #WGA Folks! 🚨

Show your WGA card at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank or Swingers Diner on Beverly (near Fairfax) and your meal is free.

For the duration of the strike.

Dine-in only, Tip included.#WGAStrong #WGAStrike

Spread your the word 🙏❤️

— ʎǝɹɐƆ ʍǝɹᗡ (@DrewFromTV) May 19, 2023

James Cromwell

It begins with the words.

Nothing happens without them. Sometimes, the writing achieves transcendence, but, in every case, it’s seminal. I got to a give a brilliant speech recently, which not only explicated my and my brother’s characters, it illuminated an entire narrative. 1/3

— James Cromwell 🐷 (@jamesocromwell) May 22, 2023

This is what great writers do. And they need to be compensated in accordance with their contribution. At the very least, they need to be able to provide for themselves and their families. 2/3

— James Cromwell 🐷 (@jamesocromwell) May 22, 2023

In this era of corporate greed and union busting, management seems to hold all the cards. Except for the most important ones: Unity; Solidarity; Fraternity. All of us win when the writers win. And we will win. Union! Strike! #wgastrike #UnionStrong #Succession @jessearmstrong1

— James Cromwell 🐷 (@jamesocromwell) May 22, 2023

Flavor Flav

DON’T WRITE, JUST FIGHT 👊🏿💥 #DoTheWriteThing #FightThePower WGA x Ted Lasso x Abbott Elementary pic.twitter.com/CQEUbQZAw7

— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) May 18, 2023

A true spread of burgers and pizzas at Warner Bros courtesy of Flava Flav! Please come picket and eat! #WGAstrong pic.twitter.com/V1pJZ4raIr

— Brittani Nichols *Strike Version* (@BisHilarious) May 18, 2023

Chris Pine

Chris Pine brings empanadas to the picket line.

Me: you should call them

em-pine-nadas

Get me back to work! I’m giving great jokes away for free! #WGASTRONG pic.twitter.com/h3o5ws0UNq

— WGA Strike Captain Jonterri Gadson (@JaytotheTee) May 16, 2023

Kerry Washington

It was an honor and a privilege to be out striking with the writers of the @WGAWest today! @SimpsonStreet and I support and LOVE you all! #WGAStrong ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/963S5pXzyX

— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) May 11, 2023

Desus Nice

We outside! #wgastrong pic.twitter.com/OuQjs6TnGH

— Desus MFing Nice💯 (@desusnice) May 11, 2023

Bob Odenkirk

Saul’s unite! #wgastrong

Support our writers! pic.twitter.com/VdyElwh7C5

— Mandy Patinkin (@PatinkinMandy) May 10, 2023

Mandy Patinkin

Kind of an intense guy… https://t.co/WtFoto7CCG

— Mandy Patinkin (@PatinkinMandy) May 10, 2023

This is what I would be doing on TV without writers.

Writers are asking for fairness: when the studios invest millions into producing a film or series, they can pay for the value writers create. #WGAStrong #WGAStrike @WGAEast @WGAWest pic.twitter.com/CVQwBZocQC

— Mandy Patinkin (@PatinkinMandy) May 8, 2023

Damon Lindelof

Damon Lindelof talks about the energy he feels from young members of the WGA outside the Disney lot in Burbank with THR's @Snoodit pic.twitter.com/2fxtGY98V4

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 10, 2023

David Simon

David Simon, the creator of The Wire, says he’s on strike to protect new generations of writers and make sure they aren’t exploited by studios.

He also explains how studios are cutting jobs to please shareholders and making TV shows almost impossible to run. cc @AoDespair pic.twitter.com/JNaBsOCEEN

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) May 11, 2023

President Biden

"I sincerely hope the strike gets resolved, and writers are given a fair deal as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry & we need the writers—and all the workers—to tell the stories of our nation, and the stories of all of us." - @POTUS #WGAStrong #1u pic.twitter.com/cyH7HrTK6G

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 9, 2023

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello

tom morello of @RATMofficial came to sing some protest songs at the #wga strike line! #wgastrong #insolidarity pic.twitter.com/5wuGqMSjOF

— javier grillo-marxuach (@OKBJGM) May 10, 2023

Jennifer Coolidge

Thank YOU, @JENCOOLIDGE 🫶🍿🏆 Welcome to the Comedic Genius Award Club! #MTVAwards pic.twitter.com/CLH78d1bP3

— Movie & TV Awards (@MTVAwards) May 8, 2023

Nathan Fillion

“Hi, I’m Nathan Fillion from SAG union here in support of the WGA. You should be too.” #sagaftramember @NathanFillion joined the #WGAstrike picket line at Paramount Studios today! #WGAstrong #solidarity #1u pic.twitter.com/bnWgYgiarU

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) May 9, 2023

Jason Sudeikis

He needs no intro, but meet @jasonsudeikis, star of #TedLasso, on the picket line at WB this morning. Why he's striking: "to support my union." @WGAWest #WGAWest #WGAStrike pic.twitter.com/V8btZyNC3Q

— Angela Treviño (@Angela3vino) May 11, 2023

Imagine Dragons

Surprise Imagine Dragons concert @ Netflix picket line!!!!! pic.twitter.com/oLK4VZaKzF

— James Alexander 👨🏾‍💻 (@ScriptsByJames) May 9, 2023

Tatiana Maslany

Tatiana Maslany stands with the Writers Guild of America in New York. #WGAstrike #WGAstrong pic.twitter.com/SFJHECqbWU

— Henning 💚 10 Years Orphan Black (@SestraHulk) May 12, 2023

Pete Davidson

Pete Davidson just dropped off pizza from Spumoni Gardens for striking Writer’s Guild members in Greenpoint pic.twitter.com/RjO5HgIje8

— Liam Quigley (@_elkue) May 5, 2023

Live from New York, it's #sagaftramembers #PeteDavidson and @MarissaJWinokur on the WGA picket line! We're #WGAstrong in #solidarity! #1u pic.twitter.com/GVDU0u1GgI

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) May 5, 2023

Breckin Meyer

breckin meyer from clueless during the WGA strike 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/kPlOI4cu7K

— bethany (@fiImgal) May 5, 2023

Lisa Ann Walter

Lala Kent

‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Lala Kent No Longer Attending MTV Movie & TV Awards Amid Writers Strike (Exclusive) https://t.co/yfO5EJxIXF

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 4, 2023

Ben McKenzie

Drew Barrymore

Ziwe

exploiting laborers is very hater behavior

— ziwe (@ziwe) May 4, 2023

Gina Prince-Bythewood

WHY I’M STRIKING: “We want everyone to succeed...but we want our fair share” - Gina Prince-Bythewood, director, ‘The Woman King’, outside Warner Bros in Burbank today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/4PBDIQFuwV

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 4, 2023

Timothy Simons

Why I’m Striking: “I’ve never said a funny thing without a writer” - ‘Veep’ actor Timothy Simons tells Deadline outside of Netflix in LA today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/LFkv3uH9r2

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 4, 2023

John Mulaney

Dermot Mulroney

Dermot Mulroney, SAG-AFTRA, and Robert Ramsey, WGA, on why they’re striking: “You can hardly make a living anymore [in the entertainment industry]...” #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/XGl1rzVKUy

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 4, 2023

Snoop Dogg

Snoop gets it. https://t.co/wNrNBZx3wd pic.twitter.com/JvvLOuX1s2

— Ashley Nicole Black (@ashleyn1cole) May 4, 2023

Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

#UnionStrong pic.twitter.com/P9ZsgApSX9

— Las Culturistas (@LasCulturistas) May 3, 2023

Ilana Glazer

Ilana Glazer getting to the core 🎯 of what we're on the picket lines fighting for. @ilazer #WGAstrong #WGAstrike #RallyattheRock pic.twitter.com/BHTO7NgseT

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 26, 2023

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon at #WritersStrike in NYC today: “I feel like it’s important to be out here because writers are some of my best friends and some of my heroes...” pic.twitter.com/VxrRNiCMvF

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 3, 2023

Cynthia Nixon 👑 at WGAE’s #RallyattheRock, speaking on the “existential battle” writers are facing to prove the value of the craft - despite profits soaring. @CynthiaNixon #WGAstrong #WGAstrike pic.twitter.com/uYSeRphfHz

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 26, 2023

Mike Schur

WHY I’M STRIKING: “Writing as a career is under threat,” Mike Schur tells Deadline on the picket line outside of the Paramount lot in LA today #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/QhBW5FNtq3

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 3, 2023

Bill Nye

Thank you @BillNye for joining @WGAWest writers on the picket line today! #WGAStrong #FairContractNow #WGAStrike pic.twitter.com/oZzTlt6fb3

— Andra (on-druh) Whipple (@whipsical) May 3, 2023

Mark Hamill

I stand with @WGAWest and @WGAEast and fully support them in their strike.

"If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage."#WGAStrong

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) May 2, 2023

Jay Leno

Jay Leno just came to Disney to hand out donuts to us writers. Thank you @jayleno for the solidarity!! #WGAStrong pic.twitter.com/4pq8kpWTSk

— Caroline “WGA Captain on Strike” Renard (@carolinerenard_) May 2, 2023

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe on the picket line outside of the Paramount lot in LA today: “We’re only as good as the writing we get�� #WritersStrike pic.twitter.com/x7UASNi1af

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 2, 2023

Amanda Seyfried

Amanda Seyfried on the potential WGA strike: "My writer friends think it's going to happen." #MetGala https://t.co/OcPy5cjK1f pic.twitter.com/zkMT2aIqZU

— Variety (@Variety) May 2, 2023

Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon on the potential writers strike: "I wouldn't have a show if it wasn't for my writers, and I support them all the way." https://t.co/m94XaFKHbE pic.twitter.com/oKLq4GrgkR

— Variety (@Variety) May 2, 2023

Quinta Brunson

“AI can’t write Tariq’s raps” 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/5VEbdXOj5F

— j a d a (@jadawadas) May 3, 2023

Quinta Brunson, at the #MetGala, on the potential writers’ strike that could happen as soon as Tuesday.

"I'm a member of WGA [Writers Guild of America] and support WGA, and them getting — we, us — getting what we need." https://t.co/3Xv5AzigsM pic.twitter.com/1aDQsh8d0L

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 1, 2023

Olivia Wilde

When Olivia Wilde was asked about the writers' strike she said:

"I support the writers," and "I support unions."

That's how it's done. pic.twitter.com/iObmQhBzGx

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) May 2, 2023

Brian Tyree Henry

Brian Tyree Henry on the potential writers strike: “I just hope that everyone is treated equally…People strike for a reason.” #MetGala https://t.co/OcPy5cjK1f pic.twitter.com/5hq6gg85D2

— Variety (@Variety) May 1, 2023

Edie Falco

Just spoke to Edie Falco who was supposed to appear at Peacock NewFront today to promote her new series. She will not cross our picket line and is canceling her appearance.

Thank you Edie. #UnionStrong #WGAStrong#SAGAFTRASolidarity

— WGA Strike Captain Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) May 2, 2023

Mindy Kaling

Does Mindy Kaling have a plan if there's a writers strike? #MetGala https://t.co/OcPy5cjK1f pic.twitter.com/cfy9KpnHoO

— Variety (@Variety) May 2, 2023

Seth Meyers

Boots Riley

Day 6. At Paramount with @BootsRiley and @Karaszewski ✊ Come thru #wga #wgastrike #wgastrong pic.twitter.com/xurvwgvNjd

— TZE CHUN 🍥 GREMLINS is out now on Max! (@thetzechun) May 9, 2023

U know hard I promote I'm A Virgo

Posting&reposting anything that helps do that.

That ALL stops soon as a #WGAStrike is called.

Its a move showrunners r making in hopes2make negotiations go faster.

Still hope ppl see the show, but I wont put in work for it during the strike.

— Boots Riley (@BootsRiley) April 30, 2023

Melanie Lynskey

I stand with the WGA members voting to strike! The main thing any of us have to go on when choosing a project is the quality of the script. It’s everything. There is no industry without writers. They deserve to be able to make a living! https://t.co/yeWxa1ALCv

— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) April 11, 2023

Yvette Nicole Brown

Writers are ESSENTIAL. I stand with the @WGAWest. They deserve what they have been asking for. I pray the producers go back to the table with a deal they can say yes to. #WritersStrike #UnionSolidarity ✊🏾❤️💫 https://t.co/Sd1LQb7DdV

— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) May 2, 2023

Zach Cherry

Actors Clark Gregg and Zach Cherry were seen at the #WritersStrike Day 1

Full gallery of #WritersGuildofAmerica strike in New York City and Los Angeles here: https://t.co/5c51C0cWSv

📸 Getty pic.twitter.com/EOrv0xWyAn

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 2, 2023

Sharon Horgan

.@SharonHorgan at #BAFTATVAwards:

It all “begins and ends with the #writers, so solidarity with my WGA brothers and sisters”

Congratulations to all the winners, including WGGB members who have taken home awards this eve

— The Writers' Guild (@TheWritersGuild) May 14, 2023

Sean Penn

“the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time... including the use of AI. It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers"

- Sean Penn at Cannes Film Festival #WGAStrong https://t.co/J85Bhsh8F6

— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 19, 2023

Elizabeth Warren

If you’re enjoying your weekend, thank the labor movement.

And if you’re winding down with a movie or TV show, thank the working people who create the stories we love.

I stand with @WGAWest, @WGAEast, @SAGAFTRA, and #DGA in their fight.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 20, 2023

Bernie Sanders

I stand in solidarity with @WGAWest/@WGAEast workers on strike for a fair contract. pic.twitter.com/XnGONY729j

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 19, 2023

Sent from my iPhone

https://www.vulture.com/2023/05/writers-strike-2023-celebrities-support

0 notes

shihalyfie · 2 years ago

Note

What do you think the Dark Seed is/does? I maintain that while it pulled together parts of Ken’s psyche and didn’t create anything that wasn’t already there, Ken wouldn’t have become the Kaiser if not for it and Oikawa’s influence. Otherwise, why have those plot points at all?

(Sorry if this comes across as hostile. It’s just that I feel like there’s a part of fandom that’s reacted to people woobifying Ken and separating him from the Kaiser by taking the opposite - and to me, equally irritating - extreme by ignoring the Dark Seed and Oikawa’s role entirely. Not to say you’re doing that, but it’s kind of a sore point, for lack of a better word?)

No, no, I completely understand where you're coming from.

I think the writing around the Dark Seed was deliberately vague (especially since it generally serves as a metaphor for depression and other relevant issues, which are rarely clear-cut in themselves in terms of where they come from and what effects they have), but personally I think the biggest hints come from (and I know people are going to go "of all things!" at me for this) the scenes with Ken and Noriko kicking small animals.

It puts a serious nail in the idea that the only reason Ken was having a tantrum in the Digital World was that he didn't see the Digimon as living things, because he clearly had no issue just kicking a puppy for doing nothing but be a minor annoyance.

This is far enough in the range of headcanon that I don't generally include it on my analysis without the preface that it's a headcanon, but personally my impression of the Dark Seed is that it does only one very simple and yet very powerful thing: it numbs the host's ability to feel compassion, empathy, or sympathy.

I think if Ken had never been hit with the Dark Seed, he'd probably have never even entertained the idea that Digimon aren't living beings or perhaps even cared (I like to cite the classic cases of people generally wanting to be nice to video game characters or the Roomba even if they know they're not actually alive). But with that sense of compassion blotted out, and with encouragement from Oikawa to continue seeing it as a "game", he started venting out all of his negativity with less care about how it hurt or impacted others, like the Digimon, or the kids, or his own parents. So my impression of the Dark Seed’s role in this is that it tried to induce Ken to believe nothing mattered anyway and he should feel free to do whatever he wanted, with Oikawa’s email only solidifying that idea further for him and claiming that the Digital World would “free his mind” with no consequences.

And to push the headcanon even further, I don't actually think it makes anyone "inherently" smarter or good at sports or whatnot per se, but because even their sense of compassion towards themselves is dulled too, they push themselves to study harder and perform harder at the cost of their own mental and physical health, which only makes their mental state worse. Ken is all but said to be a perfectly smart and talented kid even without the Dark Seed in play, and it's most likely those abilities simply weren't recognized beforehand, but after Osamu's death and all of the factors pushing Ken to "replace" him, he pushed himself to the absolute limit he could handle and crumbled under the pressure.

So under this reading, the Kaiser persona does come entirely from traits and tendencies Ken would have had already, but at the same time I also agree that it's unlikely he would have gone that far if he hadn't been pushed that deeply into it by the Dark Seed and Oikawa's "encouragement". It's also in line with Ken's statement that the best way to counteract its effects is simply to understand and recognize the love around you. This would mean that Ken dropping the persona in 02 episode 21 comes from, simply, his better nature winning out because no matter how far the Dark Seed tried to get him to stop caring, he couldn't stop caring, especially with incontrovertible evidence that Digimon are alive and he's causing them all terror and pain en masse. Osamu and Wormmon recognized that kindness in him before any of this all happened.

...Which also would mean that, ironically, Oikawa's choice of Ken as the Kaiser was possibly one of the worst he could pick for his purposes, because under such circumstances, Ken's better nature was strong enough that it was able to overturn its effects with only that little of a push. And if it had been someone who actually was self-serving and condescending even before getting stuck with the Seed, I think it would have been much worse. So it was arguably a very fortunate thing for the world that the one to become the Kaiser was someone able to fight it off like Ken did, and not someone else.

#ree-fireparrot #shihaheadcanon #shiha's ask box

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taiey · 4 years ago

Text

Melanie has this self-image that she's—not just angry but dangerous, a hairsbreadth from violence. We hear it in 131 when she talks about her past:

Anger is… Anger’s been all I’ve had for a very long time. Years. Maybe since… oh, I, I don’t know. ... Angry at being passed over, being disrespected, ignored. That sort of anger, it – it powers you. Right up until it slips out and hurts someone.

and in 190 when she talks about how she feels about the cult:

If I didn’t have Georgie, I think I might just snap and beat them all to death. ... I swear, if it’s another hymn I am going to break something!

But look at how she actually reacts to Arun:

MELANIE: [Awkward] Oh, okay, um… Right, so… Arun, I just think that the… GEORGIE: I don’t think either of us is particularly comfortable with your use of the word “redeemers”. MELANIE: That’s… that’s not how it works. Is it? John? ARCHIVIST: Oh? No. That’s not how it works.

John and Georgie are included to demonstrate what "person being distinctly less gentle with Arun than Melanie is" looks like. Actually, ‘gentle’ is a bit of an understatement—I might be better to say ‘timid’.

And it’s not like this is the product of the therapy or, idk, Georgie. This entire post is inspired by pronouncingitwang’s post pointing this out—rewind to her first appearance:

I waited for another five minutes, but when Sarah still hadn’t returned I started to get a bit worried. I should have woken the others, but if it turned out she’d just gone to the bathroom, I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of everyone. In that case she should have got one of us up to take over watching, anyway, but she’d hardly been the most professional while she was working with us, so it wouldn’t have surprised me if she hadn’t. After another five minutes, I decided to go look for her.

Like, Sarah is not fulfilling her responsibilities that she agreed to carry out. (and in a kinda dangerous way) But Melanie’s worried about embarrassing her.

In the end it was actually Toni that asked we not work with Sarah Baldwin again. Apparently she’d gotten “weird vibes” and didn’t feel comfortable around her. I agreed, though I didn’t share my reasons.

She doesn’t even speak up first to say “let’s not work with her again”—again, this is kinda crossing the line from 'gentle' to 'timid'. Like, you can react to things that negatively affect you without over-reacting? (This is something she works on in therapy! Speaking up that she doesn't like 'Mel'; work-stoppage at her evil work: constructive responses.) (the apocalypse, uh, derails this a tad. :| )

What effect does the Slaughter have on this? Well, the next example is while she's got the bullet in her.

In episode 100, she's already tired and frustrated when Brian comes in. (let’s get this over with. I just don’t hold out a lot of hope for… coherence.) She does not get coherence. Instead she gets a panic attack. (Admittedly kinda her fault, because she said that the archives couldn't help with his spider problem. But like, that's more about the circumstances being objectively panic-inducing, she wasn’t being Mean or anything.) And... she's gentle.

I… Please, just… There’s, there’s tea there. Okay. Right. Yes. Okay, breathe. Yeah… well… Drink, drink the tea.

I’ll, I’ll get you some biscuits. I’ll get you, I’ll get you, I’ll get you… something… Just breathe! Breathe for me… [BRIAN TAKES SOME CALMING DEEP BREATHS] Okay, yes. Good. Good.

She's not confident or practiced or comfortable at it. She's out of her depth and kinda at the end of her rope and... gentle. Trying.

I think the through-thread is—people she has power over. She feels that anger and chokes it down because she could hurt them.

It’s difficult to strike the right balance, when you’re doing that.

(There’s another bucket of just—equals. Basira’s always there; John is for the rest of season 4 after 125; Helen :| ; Martin at least in season 5; etc. She has casual, unguarded conversations, too; and ones that are mostly focused on some goal, and ones where she’s getting what she wants, and all sorts of things.)

Towards people with power over her (the guy with the steady office job and authority over whether her experience counts as genuine; apparent boys’ club; evil mindreading murder boss; etc) she bites back. The difference is it's safe to do that because��one part she can't hurt them, and one part it'd be deserved. (Melanie as a comedian who always punches up.)

Except, you know... there's this bit in where 106 Basira and Melanie discuss how she 'literally' made Tim and Martin cry, and... while you can construct reasons they could 'have power over her'—seniority, gender—Basira's only been around since 092. Since that point, it's obvious that those aren't real power here. That's what the Slaughter is doing to her with her; validating seeing the world as more and more against her, handing her power and encouraging her to see herself as a put-upon victim, free to fight back guiltlessly.

And then she wakes up to a numb, wounded leg and stabs John. I wonder—what if "Right up until it slips out and hurts someone. I hurt someone." & "It didn’t stay in my leg because of some ghostly master plan. It stayed because I wanted it." in 131 are saying that - like - it wasn't taking out the bullet that de-Slaughtered her? That it was the wake-up call that she hurt John, someone who was trying to help her, and she didn't want to do that.

Didn’t want to be that.

@melaniemonth I don’t know if this is Platonic, or Health: therapy&recovery, or simply Self, but it is very, very Melanie.

#Melanie King #the magnus archives #melamonth2021 #tma #tma meta #meta #mine #characterisation

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forestlingincorporated · 4 years ago

Text

I wanna talk about Janet Drake

I’m not against exaggeratedly evil versions of Tim’s parents, tbh. It’s fanfiction, if we can depict an Exaggeratedly Good version of Bruce (which we can, and I do, and I love) then we can depict the Drakes as Exaggeratedly Bad. As someone who personally identifies with Tim, and his brand of complicated parental abuse in particular, I find it cathartic to uncomplicate that abuse and rescue him from the Obviously Evil Bad People.

That said, since much of comics lore is passed down word of mouth, the oral tradition surrounding Tim has developed this idea of Janet as The Worse Parent between her and Jack that was never really present in the comics. We see much LESS of Janet, and we have 20 years worth of comics depicting Jack as a neglectful hotheaded idiot who ultimate does love his son. More importantly, Jack isn’t very much LIKE Tim, so there is a habit to attribute Tim’s traits to his mother... and, as someone who really really identifies with Tim, Tim has... some negative traits. Tim can be a bitch sometimes. He’s fiercely intelligent and sweet and kind, with a strong sense of justice, but he can be cold and judgmental and unthinking - he fights those traits, but he does have them.

And it is perfectly fine to depict Janet that way. I’ve enjoyed depictions of Cold Calculating Janet Drake, but it’s not the ONLY option, and I want to challenge fans to consider different avenues. Tim could pick up these traits from anywhere: a nanny, Mrs. Mc Ilvaine (”Mrs. Mac”), a teacher, tv, Sherlock Holmes novels, Bruce Wayne himself. Tim is capable of not being like EITHER parent.

So, what do we KNOW about Janet? (I’ll also touch on Jack, but only in scenes he appears with Janet.)

When Janet was first introduced she was depicted as a gentle but “modern” woman. This was written in 1989, told by a 13 year old Tim, so this theoretically was meant to take place in 1979. I’m not here to give a lecture on the history of sex discrimination in the united states, but much of the legislation protecting women in the workforce or surrounding women’s bodily autonomy would have been very very new in this initial depiction.

Here, Janet is shown to be encouraging, emotional, maternal, and projects her own feelings onto Tim. Jack is shown to be slightly sexist, possibly discouraging, but not overbearing. And the artist is shown not to know how to draw children.

To insert some speculation, I think it’s important to note all the Drakes witnessed a terrible murder/accident that day. I point this out, because this is the last time Jack and Janet are depicted this way. It’s possible they changed as a result of this event specifically.

However, this is also a story being told by Tim. It’s also possible these events aren’t really “real” at all, and Tim is misremembering what his parents were like as a three-year-old, possibly projecting a more palatable version of his parents into the narrative. This is entirely up to personal interpretation.

In fact, the Drakes are shown in Legend of the Dark Knight attending Haly’s Circus, and the artist knows what a toddler looks like and they’re depicted as already having a slightly strained relationship. Jack is clearly on the defensive, and Janet seems to be passive-aggressive, though she could just be attempting to explain the situation to her toddler honestly. The intended tone isn’t especially clear.

I do want to point out, in this depiction, Tim isn’t being carried like he was in the previous one. He’s walking ahead of his parents, which isn’t a terrible horrible crime, but could be dangerous in a crowded place like the circus. Might be a subtle hint to his parents overall neglect.

Back to A Lonely Place of Dying, in Tim’s memories of the night he discovered Robin and Dick Grayson were the same person at nine-years-old, his parents are home, and watching TV together while Tim played... trucks, idk, in the living room with them. (This is semi-interesting, because you could say “oh, Tim liked vehicle toys as a kid” or you could extrapolate that this is another subtle indication of Jack’s sexism, providing Tim with appropriately “boy toys.” Either interpretation is valid. If Tim was assigned female at birth, would they have been given “girl toys,” or allowed to play with whatever they wanted?)

This is, to my knowledge, the only panel of the Drakes when Tim is between ages 3 and 13. They’re all together, which might indicate that the Drakes were home more often when Tim was 9, only later going on business trips when Tim was “old enough” but...

This is Tim’s boarding school when he’s 13. While most boarding schools in the US are for grades 9-12, Tim is clearly not a freshman at age 13; look how much younger the other kids in this panel are. In the US, the youngest you can attend most boarding schools is 7.

That means Tim could have begun going to boarding school anytime between 7 and 13. He most likely spent all of middle school in boarding school, at least. There are an almost infinite number of possible ways the Drakes handled having a business that required lots of international travel, an archeology hobby, AND a very young child. Janet staying home until Tim was 7, 11, 13, is equally possible as the Drakes having a nanny until 7, 11, 13. Tim just doesn’t talk about that period of his life very much.

(”What about Mrs. Mac?” - it is unclear when Mrs. Mac begins working for the Drakes. We only see her when Jack comes out of his coma. She could either be a long standing staff member, or a recent hire.)

Note: I’ve seen it said that it’s canon that “According to Tim, when his parents were home, they made a point to try and include him in their activities, bringing him along to events that were normally adults only.” I have never seen this panel, or I don’t remember it, so I cannot confirm, but I also cannot debunk this because... comics.

By the time Tim is 13, Jack and Janet are away on business trips a lot, with limited communication, and no firm return date. If I’m feeling generous, I’d say it was harder to communicate internationally in 1990 than it is today. If I’m not feeling generous, I’d say the Drakes are extremely wealthy, and international communication was easier than ever before in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even going home to see Tim in a week or two, they’re going home and calling Tim at boarding school in a week or two.

Even Bruce thinks its weird, though he doesn’t say so to Tim’s face. It’s written almost as if Tim’s parents’ neglect was meant to be a plot point that just got forgotten about.

Tim’s parents are fighting at this point (their poor assistant), but Janet still goes with Jack on these business trips. And she’s clearly involved in the business, somehow, but the comics never SAY what Janet’s JOB is. We’re told Jack is the exec, but Janet is ONLY ever referred to as Jack’s wife, though they’re later described as the “heads” of the company, plural.

Just to be clear, this is Jack’s business. There’s a perception that Jack is a bad business man because he and Janet fight over company decisions, and Jack looses the business after Janet dies, but Jack looses the company YEARS after Janet dies, and maintains it for about a year after No Man’s Land at that. We’re not told how Jack looses the business, but he’s got to be doing something right. Janet isn’t necessarily the “real brains” of Drake Industries.

And I’m not... gonna... touch the... exploitation and racism because... I’m not qualified to do that. But, here’s the panel. The Drakes sure seem exploitative and racist in their business decisions. Someone else can... analyze that with more nuance.

Regardless how how long they’ve been fighting, when their lives are in danger, the Drakes fall back into a loving husband and wife. Their marriage may be falling apart, but they do care about each other.

I want to show these panels because it shows that Tim and Jack do have things in common. They’re both level headed in a crisis and can be somewhat cold in their practicality. Janet meanwhile and silent. Jack is later willing rant and rave at their captors, but Janet remains silent.

That is, until they’re alone, and she finally lets herself fall apart.

God, Jack can be obnoxious. Janet just looks miserable and resigned. I actually think Tim takes after his parents in this respect in equal measure. Tim can have a temper, but he can also be fairly melancholy and defeatist.

Jack keeps reminding Janet to be strong and in control, which could be period typical sexism? But Jack seems so practiced and ready with the words of encouragement, and with Tim’s history with depression, I wonder if Janet has an inclination towards it as well.

As the end approaches, when Jack brings up Tim, Janet seems to have a lot of regret. She talks about “wasting” the good things, and I don’t think it’s too big of a stretch to assume she’s talking about time spent with her only child.

From this point on, Janet is at times spoken of, but not seen. Like here, when Jack says Janet wouldn’t approve of him and Tim being so “far apart.” He says this after he tells him he takes back his threat to send him back to boarding school, which might imply Janet was against the idea of boarding school? Though she obviously lost that argument when she was alive.

Jack will of course renege on this later, but that’s Jack Drake for you.

Or here in Tim’s illness induced dream, where he gets everything he wants. Though, since this is a fantasy of Tim’s, where his father and girlfriend are both more accepting and understanding than they are in real life, I would take this depiction of Janet with a grain of salt.

After loosing Drake Industries, Jack thinks about Janet (though, they call her Catherine/Cathy for some fucking reason) during his depressive episode. And... uh...

Hallucinates a Valkyrie???? Is this symbolic of suicidal thoughts, or is she... real? Or is he seriously hallucinating?

Anyway, we’re not here to discuss Jack’s mental state, the fact that he forgot Tim’s birthday, or that concerning “I was going to knock some sense into you but you’re still bigger than me” statement from Tim, we’re here to talk about Janet. And even though this entire arc is about Jack mourning his first wife, they don’t SAY anything about Janet herself at all. I mean, they don’t even get her name right, so I guess what was I expecting.

Then there’s Origins and Omens, which also doesn’t say anything about Janet, except that Tim’s memory of her is faulty - Janet was poisoned, her assistant Jeremy’s throat was slit on television, but Tim seems to have conflated the death he did see with the death he didn’t.

The only piece of canon to suggest that Janet might be cold, is Tim compares her to Thalia. And even then, he’s really just saying Janet was protective of him. It’s kind of a scary look to make at your kid, but Bruce does the same thing, so.

I do want to say... it’s not 100% clear if Tim is even talking about Janet. He could be talking about Dana. Dana was observably protective of Tim, though I don’t think he’s ever called her mom. He PROBABLY means Janet.

And finally we have Tim visiting his mother’s grave (in a duel Christian/Jewish cemetery, make of that what you will), where Tim says she was “a little religious.”

And that’s it! That is all we know about Janet Drake in New Earth. Hardly the Mom From Hell, but she isn’t perfect. I’d be interested in seeing some alternate depictions of her within the fandom.

I’m still gonna eat up Terrible Parents From Hell like a starving puppy dog, though. Just some food for creative thought.

#Tim Drake #janet drake #jack drake #robin #Red Robin #character analysis

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small-as-a-mouse · 3 years ago

Text

Independent Study

Fandom: Arcane

Characters: Viktor, Jayce, Heimmerdinger

Summary: Viktor wants to leave his mark on the world, but that’s kind of hard to do when his mentor refuses to let him be seen by the world.

Author’s notes: I’ve been hyperfixating on Arcane pretty hard and I told myself I was gonna work on oc stuff so I opened google docs and then blacked out for three hours. Anyway here’s 2k words of Viktor being just a little guy (rewrite of episode 2 from the perspective of borrower!Viktor, if y’all are interested in me doing episode 3 as well lmk cause i do have thoughts) This is not beta’d.

Viktor was the academy’s worst kept secret. He still didn’t quite understand why he had to be a secret, but after Heimerdinger’s fifth lecture on safety and people hungry for power over those with less than themselves he had given up the argument. Like he hadn’t grown up surrounded on all sides by people stronger than him. Fissure Folk knew about borrowers. You still tried to not be seen, and plenty of citizens of the Undercity would much sooner stomp on Viktor than help him, but there was a certain respect that was given to his kind. Thieves respecting thieves, perhaps. The small respecting the small. Or maybe it was just that most people knew that there were much, much bigger fish to fry, and it wasn’t worth it to treat the borrowers as a threat.

In Piltover, it was like no one had even heard of borrowers, and the council seemed to like it that way. Another facet of the Undercity to overlook. When Viktor had snuck into the dean's office to demand a place at the school, he’d been worried he’d killed the 300 year old based on how frozen in shock he was. Heimerdinger had quickly explained to him that no, he couldn’t be granted a traditional position as a student as it was far too dangerous for someone of his stature (it was almost nice to be singled out due to his size and not his ability. It wasn’t, but almost) but he would be happy to teach Viktor himself, if only it meant that the borrower wouldn’t be popping up in any other staff offices. He’d of course had to explain the contraption that he’d used to get up to the academy in the first place, a crude miniature replica air ship that was powered by the chemical steam that rose from the mines. It had almost crashed due to the clear air in the upper city, but he didn’t include that detail in his explanation. Heimerdinger was impressed by the precision he’d managed to include on such a small scale, and said he would be happy to let Viktor assist on some of his other projects if he was interested. Viktor was incredibly interested. Five years later, he had a consistent job and the cushiest apartment a borrower could ask for. But that wasn’t the point.

The point was, not many people knew that Heimerdinger’s assistant was a borrower. But that hadn’t stopped the information that Heimerdinger had an assistant from getting out among the student population. An assistant that no one ever saw. He’d overheard students speculating that he was an Undercity refugee that couldn’t risk being seen by spies (almost true), that he had a crippling illness that was contagious to humans (he was pretty sure his weak constitution wasn’t contagious but perhaps), or he was a robot that Heimerdinger had built (this one seemed very silly to him, since a robot would have no reason to be hidden), or ghost. This last one was especially popular among students who had been in Heimerdinger’s classes and had heard movement in the walls and seen items seemingly move themselves around on Heimerdinger’s desk.

Viktor didn’t like being a ghost. Sure, he didn’t really want people looking at him. Or talking to him. Or asking him questions. He’d never been a people person, per se. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want credit. After five years he’d worked on more projects than he had fingers and working toes, and none of them included him on the patents. He didn’t get thanked in any speeches, he didn’t get honors at the academy even though Heimerdinger told him that he was doing better than 99% of the student body when it came to arithmetic and physics. Heimerdinger paid him for his services, provided him room and board, and consistently brought him shiny new contraptions to tinker with, but the novelty had worn off.

The people of piltover knew their founder had an assistant. About 50% guessed that he had something to do with the Undercity. The other 50 had an inkling he wasn’t human. And Viktor wanted to actually leave his mark on this city.

He just wasn’t sure how to do that without Heimerdinger knowing about it.

And then, on a Saturday afternoon in early Spring, there was an explosion in one of the academy dormitory buildings. A student had been tinkering with something that the council didn’t like, and Viktor needed to know what it was.

The student was Jayce Talis, and Viktor only knew three things about him. One, he was an exceptionally smart student and had been awarded permission to do an independent study due to this. Two, Heimerdinger liked him, and three, well. He was much, much taller than Heimerdinger. Viktor was no stranger to being aware of his size next to humans, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be nervous about someone who was six and a half feet taller than him, who was built like he worked in a forge all day.

Viktor hadn’t been there for the arrest, but he was there for the trial. “There” being in an alcove next to the light fixtures, looking down as Jayce Talis gave up his future with just a few words. ‘Magic’, Viktor pondered, ‘now that’s interesting.’

Heimerdinger wasn’t happy that night.

“That boy,” he said, “doesn’t know what he's dealing with,” puttering about as Viktor flipped through Jayce’s notes.

“I must admit, his theory intrigues,” Viktor said, not taking his eyes off a diagram of a complex spell circle overlayed on top of what looked like a battery.

“If dangerous ideas didn’t excite the imagination,” The Professor replied, “we would never wander astray.”

“Could it work?” Viktor spoke softly, mostly to himself, though he knew Heimerdinger would hear. “Could the stones really invoke… magic?”

“Nonsense. It’s far too unstable.”

“Could… you stabilize it?” Viktor asked, looking up from the notes. Heimerdinger turned to the shelf with a shocked look on his face.

“Me? Why would I?” Not a no “that only leads to more problems!” Like letting me have freedom would lead to ‘more problems’. Of course. “And that poor boy has enough problems as it is. No matter. His work will be safely disposed of in the morning, and then we can put this whole thing behind us. Goodnight, my boy.” Heimerdinger walked out of the office, though Viktor could hear his shrill ranting about magic continue as he strolled away.

“Goodnight Professor,” Viktor closed the book, and the lights flicked off.

Dragging the book into his apartment was as difficult as someone might expect it would be for a borrower with one fully working leg to drag a book into his (surprisingly spacious) apartment within the university walls and all the way to his ‘hangar’, but it was less difficult to hook the book to his airship and take off. The extra weight slowed him down, but the ship was well suited to Piltover conditions at this point, so he wasn’t worried about crashing. The sun had set, so he also wasn’t too stressed about someone seeing him.

It was pure luck that he found Jayce before the man took his own life. He’d been aiming for the Talis home, hoping to sneak in through a window or chimney if he had to, but as he passed by the old factories he’d noticed a shape standing near the open window. Precariously near. Viktor landed through another open window and weaved as best he could through the rubble on the floor until he had a clear view of the human’s back. He suddenly was very aware of how dangerous a position he was in. Heimerdinger wasn’t here to protect him. He didn’t know anything about Jayce’s temperament, but he knew the man was impulsive, and there was nothing stopping him from kicking him or throwing something, leaving him with a broken neck at worst and another broken leg at best. Jayce had dropped his bracelet on the ground close to where Viktor was now standing, and he saw that it was inlaid with a gemstone similar to what had been confiscated from the lab. Neither of them moved at first, but Viktor watched as he took one step forward, then another towards the ledge that Viktor knew overlooked ground that was far too many feet down, even for someone of Jayce’s height. No one else was around to see this. No one else would be able to stop one of the greatest minds of the century from destroying himself. Jayce took one more step.

“Am I interrupting?” Jayce jerked backwards and spun around, and Viktor had to stop himself from jumping as well.

“The hell’s your prob-“ Jayce cut himself off, “Hello?” His voice still had an edge of frustration, but it was overlaid by confusion. “Who’s there? Where are you?”

“Down here,” Viktor called from where he’d dragged the book over and took a few steps forward to where the bracelet lay on the ground. He was going to have to rest his leg for a week after this was over and done with, but he could deal with a little extra pain for now. He gave a little wave when Jayce’s eyes landed on him. “Hello, I wanted to talk to you about your work,” Jayce stared at him.

“I was intrigued by what you said at the trial.”

“You are six inches tall.”

“Seven, actually, but it really doesn’t matter. But again, this hextech theory of yours.” Something shifted in Jayce’s vision, and suddenly he wasn’t a man who had been about to jump off the roof looking at someone the size of a test tube. He was an academic.

“It’s not a theory, it could work and it could help so many people if someone just…” he shook his head again and glared down at the borrower. “Who even are you? What are you?”

“I’m assistant to the dean of the academy.” He said, attempting to hide the smirk that threatened to appear after finally getting to use his official title. Jayce blinked.

“Heimerdinger’s ghost?” Viktor rolled his eyes.

“Oh, so you’ll believe a ghost story, but not that borrowers exist. How narrow minded.” Jayce looked taken aback by this. He blinked again, like he was visibly cataloguing new information into his worldview. Jayce steeled himself outwardly, but Viktor knew that while he was out of danger he’d have to answer quite a few questions once he got through this conversation.

“I saw with my own eyes what magic can do. You have know idea how beautiful it is,” Jayce took a deep breath and looked upwards. “And now it’s gone. No one believed me.” he murmured the last words, closing his eyes, Viktor assumed, to prevent tears. Viktor took a step forward until he was directly above the bracelet. Jayce looked down at him.

“No one’s ever believed in me,” Viktor replied, surprising himself with his own sincerity. “I didn’t have the benefits of size or patronage. For most people in Piltover I don’t exist, even more so than most that come from the Undercity. I simply believed in myself.” To his surprise Jayce knelt down to meet his gaze directly. He continued. “I want to help you complete your research,” Jayce looked into his eyes with disbelief.

“No one thinks it can be done,” he said, his voice taking on a softer tone as he spoke to the borrower, and Viktor felt a thrill shoot down his spine, at finally, finally speaking to someone like this who wasn’t Heimmerdinger.

“When you’re going to change the world,” Viktor reached down with the arm not holding his cane and lifted the bracelet up, “don’t ask for permission.” He held it out.

Gingerly, like he was afraid of hurting the borrower or possibly breaking an illusion, Jayce reached out and took the bracelet from Viktor’s offered hand and stared at it for a moment. His gaze turned back on Viktor.

“I don’t even know your name,” he said, which wasn’t a question, but Viktor understood.

He smiled.

“It’s Viktor.”

#g/t #fandom g/t #gt #gt writing #fandom: arcane #i dont really want this to show up in a main tag so no character tags for now

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scoobydoofenshmirtz · 4 years ago

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The Horny Cinematography of Seasons 4 and 5 of Supernatural

So I made this kinda silly post about how horny the late Kripke era of Supernatural was and it was mostly meant as a joke, but then it got me thinking. So I did a little bit of digging, went through some memorable scenes, and noticed some actual patterns in the way Dean and Castiel are shot versus other characters. Disclaimer: this is not exactly a scientific analysis. I didn’t rewatch the entire two seasons for this and there are probably shots with other characters that I missed that go against it, but this is just the general trend that I noticed.

Click on the images for higher resolution. Analysis is under the cut.

So the general premise of this analysis is that Cas and Dean are shot noticeably close-up, typically staring intensely into each other’s eyes. I think we all know about the whole staring thing, but the actual close-ups were way more intense then I think some people might realize, especially when compared to other interactions between different characters. Cas in particular is shot very close-up frequently whether he’s talking to someone else or by himself (there are so many gorgeous close-ups of Misha in season 4), but the intense eye contact is pretty much only with Dean.

It starts off almost immediately in 4x01 Lazarus Rising where in Dean and Castiel’s very first interaction, they stand very close and the camera focuses on their faces. First we have two close-ups, then in what is maybe my favorite shot in all of Supernatural, Castiel steps in closer to Dean and the close-ups get even tighter. He tilts his head and stares thoughtfully at Dean with those big blue eyes. Cut to Dean’s look of discomfort after being told (very accurately) “you don’t think you deserve to be saved.”

Things amp up in literally Castiel’s second appearance in 4x02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester with one of the horniest Destiel scenes in the show (again this is only their second interaction!) We have Castiel unexpectedly showing up at Bobby’s house, Dean sassing him, and Castiel stepping very close to Dean and saying “You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.” This is a very tense interaction with some beautiful low key lighting that pretty much went extinct after season 5. Notice how tight the frame is, even compared to 4x01. These are extreme close-ups where both Dean and Castiel’s chins and foreheads are cut out of the frame.

Castiel’s third appearance in 4x03 In the Beginning is a lot more prominent as he has many scenes throughout the episode instead of just one. I’m not gonna include pictures of all of them because there’s lot, but there are plenty of close-ups and intense gazes between the two (e.g. sitting on the bed, “Hello Dean. What were you dreaming about?” which according to Misha, Kim manners said was “too gay” but they did it like that anyway) and contains the first time they touch and the first time they are shot in more high key lighting. Go rewatch the episode if you want to see more lovely close-ups between Dean and Cas.

Next I would like to draw your attention to episode 4x07 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester. This is Castiel’s fourth appearance and the first time we see him interact with a character who’s not Dean. This is where the differences between how they’re shot start to become apparent. First we have Sam’s first interaction with Castiel (greetings blood freak) that is shot with standard close-ups. Eventually, Dean comes in, conversation happens blah blah blah and we get to the more intense discussion about how the angels want to destroy the town. The discussion is between Dean, Cas, Sam, and Uriel, but Dean and Cas get most of the focus. The camera tells us that they are the main subjects in this scene. Dean and Cas are shot more close-up and tighter and they are standing closer and looking in each others eyes unlike Sam who is looking back and forth between them and standing a few steps back.

Of course this doesn’t stop in season 4. Here is a similar example from 5x02 Good God, Ya’ll! but the difference between Dean and Cas and Sam is even more obvious. This is the “I'm hunted, I rebelled, and I did it, all of it, for you,” exchange which I find interesting. Some people could say here that Cas means “you” plural as in Sam and Dean but the Camera is so focused on just Dean and Cas while Sam just sorta hangs there in the background.

One thing that I think is interesting is that these types of shots-extreme close-ups with two characters looking into each other’s eyes and standing no feet apart-are not necessarily exclusive to Dean and Cas, but they are usually in a different context. Pretty much all (at least that I could remember) the other examples of this type of shot are between one character and a villain. Below we have three fairly intense confrontations between characters, Sam and Uriel in 4x07 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, Dean and Alastair in 4x16 On the Head of a Pin, and Dean and Cas in 4x22 Lucifer Rising. The composition is almost exactly the same with similar lighting as well, but one of these things is not like the other. Very obviously Cas is not a villain and this scene in particular is a huge moment for his character that cements his decision to fully rebel against Heaven for Dean.

Also characters that tend to be that close together looking into each other’s eyes in two shots are usually villains except for Dean and Cas. Below we have a shot of Ruby and Sam very close together right before he drinks her blood and a very close-up shot of Dean and Alastair both in 4x16 On the Head of a Pin. Compare that to the two shot from 4x02 Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester above for example. There is a certain sexual nature in these two villain scenes (and a lot of villain interactions on Supernatural in general). Obviously, Sam and Ruby are literally having sex, but Alastair is also portrayed as a villain who sexually objectifies his victims (the torture scene with Ruby, calling Dean “Daddy’s little girl, etc.) but Cas is not a villain and yet the framing is very similar.

Now I want to compare two fight scenes, one in season 4 and one in season 5. Here we have the fight scene between Ruby and Sam in 4x09 I Know What You Did Last Summer. Ruby is of course a sexy lady who Sam sleeps with in a sexy fight scene where she “proves” that she wants to help Sam by killing the other demon instead of Sam. But of course, the fight scene in 5x18 Point of No Return is shot way more close-up and Dean and Cas are inches away from each other. While I wouldn’t described this scene as “sexy” (Cas is literally beating Dean to a pulp) it is way more charged...intimate isn’t exactly the right word but there’s a similar but more intense erotic energy than in the fight scene with Ruby.

Unrelated side note: there is a great use of breaking the 180 degree rule in this scene that I think works way better in this instance at disorienting the viewer than the shaky cam does.

Next I have some random examples I noticed that show some of the different shots between characters. We have Anna in 4x10 Heaven and Hell right before she has sex with Dean. It’s fairly close-up, but still pretty loose framing compared to a lot of scenes between Dean and Cas. Anna’s entire face is still in the frame. Then we have a scene between Sam and Ruby in 4x09 I Know What You Did Last Summer that is also not as close-up as a lot of Dean and Cas scenes. On the bottom is a shot from 5x17 99 Problems which is I think the closest Sam and Cas physically get in these seasons before they ever hug. It’s more of a medium close-up than most of the scenes between Dean and Cas where they get that close. Lastly I have probably the tightest close-ups between Dean and Cas from 4x16 On the Head of a Pin. It’s similar to the shots from 4x02 but the context is pretty different with Cas trying to reassure Dean about the apocalypse. I know these don’t really have a theme but I thought they were good examples of the general pattern.

Finally I would like to point out a scene that is sort of the opposite which is the infamous staring scene in 4x21 When the Levee Breaks that goes on for like an hour. I don’t really know what to say about this scene only that I can’t believe it’s real. They literally just stand and stare at each other.

So what’s the point of all this? I honestly don’t really know. None of these observations are hard and fast rules and I’m sure there are times when other characters are shot like this. However, Dean and Cas seem to be the only ones consistently framed this way-tight close-ups, staring into each other’s eyes standing zero feet apart. What does it all mean? To me it shows that their bond is unique and special (profound you might say). It’s not even like they’re shot in a similar manner to love interests, it’s that their framing is unique, it stands out. Was it on purpose? Maybe. How shots end up looking is interesting because it really is the work of a lot of different people including the director, the cinematographer, the editors and more. I don’t think they were thinking “we should film Dean and Cas in this very intense way because they’re in love” or anything, but they obviously recognized there was something special between these two characters. And truly, the intentions don’t matter all that much to me. What’s there is there, and watching it the first time around I noticed how close Dean and Cas always were and watching it back post 15x18 all those shots stand out even more to me. There’s really no conclusion here, but I think it’s interesting to look a bit more closely at the cinematography in TV shows that we don’t always think of as having the highest quality production. There’s a lot of layers to be discovered outside of scripts and acting and things we tend to focus on more as viewers.

#destiel #spn meta #supernatural #the cinnamon tography #yes i went to film school and this is what im doing now

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tofumedic · 3 years ago

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Brothers + Diavolo w/ a selectively mute GN!MC

summary: how well the brothers would be able to deal with you being selectively mute and how they respond to you talking to them !

Lucifer

Other than Diavolo, he may be the only one to know beforehand as helping in the organization of the RAD program, however it may only be overlooked if it is not present in any kind of record like schooling or medical.

When you first come into Devildom, your D.D.D. may be used as a sort of translation object between you and those present.

He is a little peeved in the beginning before you are able to explain it, he would regain his calm but would see it as a small setback to how he expected orientation to go.

Other than that he quickly learns about you and how you work so that he can work with you while trying not to dote on you!

The one that would gift you small portable whiteboards and markers if you had a preference over it for typing, professional though only dark blue and black inked markers <//3

Your first words to him are probably about answering a question or a summons, he does a lot of both but don't call him out for being clingy okay

Anyways

If this man is standing or getting up to greet you expect him to stumble, just slightly catching himself on the edge of his office desk or resting a hand against the wall

When he meets your eyes you can see there's a pinch of panic of "you did not just see that please tell no one" that melts back into "oh my god???????"

He's quick to relax back into what he wanted to talk to you about, not wanting you too feel anxious or guilty for however long it took for you guys to have a mutual trust and safety net.

For the rest of the day his face remains in this pleasant smile and everyone except Asmo and Beel are suspicious, Mammon being especially on edge.

If they call him out on what has him so happy today he will brush them off for being nosy about what isn't their worries but the small blush that rises to his face as he crosses his arms does not help his case.

Mammon

He is all of your noise

He gets forgetful and will try to have conversations across the house by yelling at you only to barge into your room in his petty fake anger just to see your face either amused at him or completely deadpan and he just ....🧍‍♂️

He gets anxious about leaving anywhere without his D.D.D. now what if his human needs him while he's not "bothering" you

Takes extreme pride in helping you order food when you go out places whether with his brothers or just alone, he loves it. Not only does he get an excuse to sit by your side and lean into your shoulder to see what menu item you're pointing at but it means he also has less worry about, he likes being close by to help you just in general.

Your first words are probably involving some drama he was mourning over earlier that day, probably with Lucifer or being the butt of the joke with another brother.

If Lucifer would stumble, expect this man to fully fall. God forbid you two are walking down the stairs instead of him rolling off the edge of your bed or just plopping on the carpet.

He would be so excited, his cheeks are burning even though you may have not even complimented him those words are gonna be ingrained to his memory maybe even written down in his notes app.

But he will downplay how happy he is that out of all of them he was the first you talked to, because of course it would be him the great Mammon and your first man it just made sense.

He's over the moon he won't flex it unless you start being verbal with more of his brothers he doesn't want them to pressure you into speaking no matter how much the urge bubbles up while Asmo is talking about how you would rather match outfits with him that others

Leviathan

He doesn't mind that much, at the beginning of your relationship he is very shy and doesn't really start talking unless something reminded him of one of his shows or games

Will gain a habit of just texting you instead of asking you a question outloud, just because he thinks its more polite and understands as in sometimes it's too much energy to open his mouth to speak

Teaches you phrases from his games, basically call outs, as an extra layer of code to let you know if you're camping out in his room that he is gonna leave for a package (going to spawn camp) or food (healing) etc

He does get jealous saying it's unfair about Mammon helping you order stuff in the "irl" while absolutely being too nervous to do it for himself as well

You two have your own codes for entering each others room, knocking to the tune of a popular sound effect from a game you play together for the ease but he enjoys when you try to do the beginning of an ost or girl group song and he tries to guess it

Your first words for him are probably you entering his room with some snacks or having picked up a package for him from his door, his response to you entering would be asking you to hold on this match or episode was almost done

So when you give out hum and either let him know you're staying or you're signing off (leaving) it's an insta-death, his attention is caught so fast

His posture extremely straight from his hunched focus as he speedquits his match closing every tab back to desktop before standing up on his wobbly legs and giving you the most affection he can handle of having that without warning

He gives you a small headbutt, pushing his forehead into your shoulder as he controls his breathing. He can't handle it that's like finale love interest marrying the protag and you hit him with it so lightly.

He wouldn't change his preference of texting you questions as it's something he's still comfortable with and you speaking to him makes him feel like he's reached masters rank without losing any matches

Satan

He is your best bet for knowing sign language, he finds it interesting that there are so many regional variations has tucked his knowledge of them into his big ol head

His movements would be hesitant as he's mentally dusting off the memory of practice but he is very good at it, though he wouldn't be more than only a pinch disappointed if you didn't prefer that way.

He be more interested in you in the beginning before learning about your magical presence and the pact hunt, it's unusual to him and he likes the study

Picks up small things that are unnoticeable to everyone but you about small habits and things that barely make it easier, like remembering to rebuke Mammon when he goes to order but forgets you don't like a certain ingredient and asks for it to be removed himself.

Would ask if you would like to learn Devildom's concept of sign language, maybe just quick easy signs for going about RAD tasks and classes

Your first words are probably said to him in the safety of his study, surrounded by books or even your homework while he reads

MC i love you very much but i feel like it would be something really stupid or cursed along the lines of

"I'm tired of people making Frankenstein's creature ugly he's literally written to be sexy" or "Why are people so attracted to Dracula he's supposed to ugly af >:/"

He would be.. very nonchalant about the fact it was you speaking to him and acting like he was talking to one of his brothers and going against you in the argument until he picks up those books to prove his side to be like "oh."

He needs a moment after such a not so public embarrassment so it would be later while you're both laying in your respective rooms and he's going over it in his head and then it hits him. It also hits that it was perhaps the most unromantic way it could have gone but it makes him smile into his pillow.

He has it as a secret weapon against Lucifer but he likes knowing something his brother doesn't

He can't look at you for too long the next day but will use the two figures of your mock argument to lightly bully you being soft on you in the comfort he wanted you to know was returned

"In case of argument, you would make a very good creation made in such a pleasing image"

Asmodeus

He is willing to fill up space for conversations for you also, he has a lot to say but will still ask you questions and for your input so you're included

He thinks the whiteboard concept is very cute! He would be the one to get you little accessories like a bag just for that and your markers or a strap for it. He would also be the one to get you more marker colors, you having just black and dark blue is unforgivable

Enjoys asking you how you're feeling, in a way that's easier if you didn't want to write or type it all out is giving him a number between 1-10. 10 is for your absolute worst like if you are having a day that you can't get out of bed or 1 where you're feeling really good like nothing can hurt you.

Doesn't force you to go out and party with him in case it's bad for your nerves or there's a worry demons will rude about "their advances being ignored."

Likes being close to you, so you can write in a notes app or use some other alternative other than texting where he might not see it getting buried by other messages.

Asmo would enjoy either holding hands or wrapping his arm around yours of your non dominant side, he makes good by staying on that side when he's going for affection or just to be in your bubble.

You talking to him for the first time would probably being during an outfit review or ordering new face masks off of Akuzon.

And he would melt, pelting you with kisses smothering every empty inch of your forehead, your cheeks, the bridge of your nose he's so happy

Whatever you were doing or looking at becomes his favorite, a fit he wears when he feels down to keep him happy, or using a specific brand of nail polish or face mask specifically due to the memory

Would find any lisp or rasp overwhelmingly adorable, of course it fits his angel you sound undeniably perfect. Loves how conversations sound with your two voices mixing together.

Beelzebub

He wouldn't completely understand but he isn't rude about it, his actions remaining normal to how he usually acts

If you wanted to learn their version of sign language he would try with you no matter if it was a struggle to fit into his schedule between the gym and spending time with Belphie and RAD and anything else but wouldn't want you to do it alone

He would keep you safe from anyone who had a problem with it, he's used to Belphie not wanting to talk to people other than him so he would be able to handle it especially if you two had similar gestures you used

Beel is also quite quiet in his own other from rumblings or dislike about being yelled at, he's good at still talking and holding his ground in arguments too but affection with him would be extra quiet compared to extra brothers

Your silence other than shuffles or small laughs, it's comforting like a sense of calm. It makes him think of your human dream catchers always quiet yet supposedly helpful and healing

You may verbally ask for a treat or some of his snack he brought for you two instead of a small gesture if your arms are trapped in the cuddle position you've been stuck in and any food he was eating would pause. Giving him a second he would easily give you all that was left

"Not hungry anymore" he would say his eyes warm before closing with his warm smile, he melts more into you like a jacket to let you feel how warm his heart was.

You were always special even if as an agent of chaos with some of the phrases you would drop, and he would adopt into his vocabulary and even further speaking for you in situations you couldn't

Belphegor

Belphie when you first met would give you a different gaze, in a slight squint almost breaking his image of being a helpless human but he would override it, continuing on like normal

At the beginning he may have even less belief in you getting pacts with his brothers but you still prove you're capable and things are normal for how he would treat you, not really changing just like Beel.

For a man (demon) to say actions are stronger than words, he certainly strains his ears just in case you answer his question in that way not that you would know and i certainly did not let you know ok??? cool cool

Other than that he really doesn't mind!!! You and Beel are really his top two people he has interest in being with and you being mute wouldn't change anything ! He may seek you more for naps outside of his room or the attic you don't move as much as Beel does as long as he doesn't curl up over your arms

In the privacy of one of your rooms- whether Asmo and Mammon are out on the town or in his while Beel is at the gym or somewhere else- is your first words spoken as softly as you can to him

Him laying across you with his head resting with his mouth close to your collarbone and ear resting almost on your neck he can feel the vibration in your vocal cords, you were probably asking him to move

Which you probably thought he was doing but any movement was so he could be closer to that feeling of your words if you spoke again, his knees tucking up while his toes curl

You wouldn't be able to fully process just how important that action was to him, you trusted him and felt safe and could let words out to him, after everything that was real forgiveness.

Diavolo

Him just looking over and encouraging you being chosen by Lucifer, he probably would not know unless again it was strongly present in your transcripts

He would find it interesting, it was your first surprise to him and filled him with mirth at the concept of seeing Lucifer tense in confusion his feathers absolutely ruffled

Though while you were already human which meant your interactions were sure to be interesting to him, the way you interacted was also completely different from Solomon, he would love giving you his time no matter how Barbatos would sigh already seeing it before it went into motion

It may mean a little extra work for Lucifer but he wouldn't complain he did a good job picking you for Diavolo to enjoy your company so much even if he was slightly worried on your influence on him

For doting only predict help with fixing the RAD program and making your class experience more accessible, if he tries to help too much someone would certainly have a word with him

He's known being compassionate, he just wants it to be easy for you as it is probably hard enough on you between the brothers, school, and being selectively mute

He barely uses his D.D.D. but if you prefer using that it's no problem though do give him awhile to type out his long messaged questions instead of asking them on call

First words with him may be said on a trip out to explore or in his castle during a private moment in the retreat or in his office

No matter the context it would be a mood booster, he would compliment you you're voice is perfect to him it matches the image you've shown so far

It's a delight, you never fail to surprise him he may repeat your words in his own voice laugh resting on his breath. He'd ask you to stay a little longer if he can get away with it, and if he can't he surely will try

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thedeadhandofseldon · 3 years ago

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The Anti-Mercer Effect

On the Accessibility of D&D, Why Unprepared Casters is so Fun, and Why Haley Whipjack is possibly the greatest DM of our generation.

(Apologies to my mutuals who aren’t in this fandom for the length of this, but as you all know I have never in my life shut up about anything so… we’ll call it even for the number of posts about Destiel I see every day.

To fellow UC fans - I haven’t listened to arc 4 yet, I started drafting this in early August, and I promise I will write a nice post about how great Gus the Bard is once I get the chance to listen to more of his DMing).

Structure - Or, “This is not the finale, there will be more podding cast”

So, first of all, let’s just talk about how Unprepared Casters works. Because it’s kind of unusual! Most of the other big-name D&D podcasts favor this long, grand arcs; UC has about 10 hours of podcast per each arc. And that’s a major strength in a lot of ways: it makes it really accessible to new listeners, because you can just start with the current arc and understand what’s going on!

And by starting new arcs every six or seven episodes, they can explore lots of ways to play D&D! Classic dungeon delve arc! Heist arc! Epic heroes save the world arc! Sportsball arc! They can touch on all sorts of things!

And while I’m talking about that: Dragons in Dungeons, the first arc, makes it incredibly accessible as a show - because it lets the unfamiliar listener get a sense of what D&D actually is. (It’s about telling stories and making your friends feel heroic and laugh and cry, for the record). If I had to pick a way to introduce someone to the game without actually playing it with them, that arc would definitely be it.

And I’d be remise not to note one very important thing: Haley Whipjack and Gus the Bard are just very funny, very charismatic people. Look. Episode 0s tend to be about 50%(?) those two just talking to each other about their own podcast. It shouldn’t work. And yet it DOES, its one of my favorite parts, because Haley and Gus are just cool.

And a side note that doesn’t fit anywhere else: I throw my soul at him! I throw a scone at him - that’s it, that’s the vibe. The whole podcast alternates between laughing with your friends and brooding alone in a dark tavern corner - but the laughs never forced and the dark corner is never too dark for too long.

Whipjack the Great - Or, the DM is Also a Player!

I think Haley Whipjack is one of the greatest Dungeon Masters alive. The plots and characters! The mechanical shenanigans! The descriptions!

Actually, let’s start there: with the descriptions. (Both Haley and Gus do this really fucking well). As we know, Episode 0 of each arc sees the DM reading a description - of a small town, or the Up North, or the recent history of a great party. And Haley always strikes this tricky balance - one I think a lot of us who DM struggle with - between giving too much description and worldbuilding, and not telling us anything at all. She describes people and events in just enough detail to imagine them, but never so much they seem static and unreal - just clear enough to envision, but with enough vagueness left to let your imagination begin to run wild.

While I’m thinking about arc 3’s party, let’s talk about a really bold move she made in that arc: letting the players have ongoing control of their history. Loser Lars! She didn’t try to spell out every detail of this high-level party’s history, or restrict their past to only what she decided to allow - she gave them the broad outlines, and let them embellish it. And that made for a much more alive story than any attempt to create it by herself would have - but I think it takes a lot of courage to let your players have that agency. Most Dungeon Masters (myself included) tend to struggle with being control freaks.

And the plots! Yeah, arc one is built of classic tropes - but she actually uses them, she doesn’t get caught up in subverting everything or laughing at the cliches. And it’s fun! In arc 3, there really isn’t a straight line for the players to follow, either - which makes the game much more interesting and much trickier to run. And her NPCs are fantastic and I will talk about them in the next section.

Above all, though, I think what is really impressive is how Haley balances mechanics, and rules as written, with the narrative and rule of cool - and puts both rules and story in the service of playing a fun game. And the secret to that? She’s the DM, but the DM is a player, and the DM is clearly having fun. Hope Lovejoy mechanically shouldn’t get that spellslot back, but she does, and it’s fun. The changeling merchant in Thymore doesn’t really make some Grand Artistic Narrative better, but wow is it fun. And she never tries to force it one way or the other - the story might be more dramatic if Annie didn’t manage to banish the demon from the vault, but it’s a lot cooler and a lot more fun for the players if Annie gets to be a badass instead - and the rules and the dice say that Annie managed it.

Settings feel like places, NPCs feel like people, and the narrative plot feels like a real villainous plot.

Anyway. I could go on about the various ways in which Whipjack is awesome for quite a while - she’s right, first place in D&D is when your friends laugh and super first place is when they cry - but I’m going to stop here and just. Make another post about it some other time. For now, for the record I hold her opinions about the game in higher esteem than I do several official sourcebooks; that is all.

Characters - Or, Bombyx Mori Is Not an Asshole, And That Matters

Okay, I said I would talk about characters! And I will!

Just a general place to start: the party! All of the first three parties are interesting to me, because they all care about each other. Not even necessarily in a Found Family Trope sort of way, though often that too. But they generally aren’t assholes to each other. The players create characters that actually work together, that are interesting; even when there’s internal divisions like SK-73 v. Sir Mr. Person, they aren’t just unpleasant and antagonistic all the time. Listening to the podcast, we’re “with” these people for a couple hours - and it isn’t unpleasant. That matters a lot. (To take a counter-example: I love Critical Role, but the episode when Vox Machina pranked Scanlan after he died and was resurrected wasn’t fun to listen to, it was just uncomfortable and angering and vaguely cruel).

All of the PCs are amazing, and the players in each arc did a great job. If you disagree with me about that, well, you have the right to be incorrect and I am sorry for your loss. Annie Wintersummer, for one example: tragic and sad and I want to give her a hug, but also Fuck Yeah Wintersummer, and also her familiar Charles the Owl is the cutest and funniest and I love him. And we understand what’s going on with Annie, she isn’t some infinite pool of hidden depths because this arc is 7 episodes and we don’t have time for that, but she also has enough complexity to be interesting. Same with Fey Moss: yeah, a lot of her is a silly pun about fame that carries into how she behaves, but a lot of how she behaves is also down to some good classic half-elven angst about parenthood and wanting to be known and seen and important. (Side note: if your half-elf character doesn’t have angst, well, that’s impressive and also I don’t think I believe you).

There are multiple lesbian cat-people in a 4-person party and they both have requited romantic interests who aren’t each other. This is the future liberals want and I am glad for it.

Sir Mister Person, the human fighter! Thavius, the edge lord! Even when a character is “simple,” they’re interesting, because of how they’re played as people and not action-figures. And that matters a lot.

In the same way: the NPCs. There really aren’t a lot of them! And some of them come from Patreon submissions, so uh good work gang, you’re part of the awesomeness and I’m proud of you! The point being, the NPCs work because enough of them are interesting to matter. It’s not just a servant who opens Count Michael’s door, it’s a character with a name (Oleandra!) and a personality and history. They’re interesting. Penny Lovejoy didn’t need to be interesting, the merchant outside the Laughing Mausoleum didn’t need to be interesting, but they ARE! And Haley and Gus EXCEL at making the NPCs matter, not just to the story but to us as viewers. I agree with Sir Mister Person, actually, I would die for the princesses of the kingdom. I actually care about Gem Lovejoy of all people - that wouldn’t happen in an ordinary campaign! That’s the thing that makes Unprepared Casters spectacular - and, frankly, it’s especially impressive because D&D does not tend to be good at making a lot of interesting compared to a lot of other sorts of stories.

And, just as an exemplar of all this: Bombyx Mori. Immortal, reincarnating(?), and described as the incarnation of the player’s ADHD. I expected to hate Bombyx, because as the mom friend both in and out of my friend-group’s campaigns, the chaos-causer is always exhausting to me. And yeah, Bombyx causes problems on purpose! But! She is not an asshole.

And that’s important. Bombyx goes and sits with the queen and comforts her. Bombyx gives Annie emotional support. Bombyx isn’t just a vehicle to jerk around the DM and other players; Bombyx really is a character we can care about. To compare with another case - in the first couple episodes of The Adventure Zone, the PCs are just dicks. Funny, but dicks. Bombyx holds out an arm “covered in larva” to shake with a count, and robs him of magical items, but she also cares about her friends and other people! She uses a powerful magical gem to save her fertilizer guy from death! Yeah, Bombyx is ridiculous, but she’s not just an asshole the party has to keep around for plot reasons; you can see why her party would keep her around. And one layer of meta up, she’s the perfect example of how to make a chaotic character like that while still being fun for everyone you’re playing with, which is often not the case. And I love her.

The Anti-Mercer Effect - Or, “I think we proved it can be fun, you can have a good time with your friends. And it doesn’t have to be scary, you can just work with what you know”

The Mercer Effect basically constitutes this: Matthew Mercer, Dungeon Master of Critical Role, is incredible (as are all of his players). They’re all professional story-tellers in a way, remember, and so Critical Role treats D&D like a narrative art-form, and it’s inspiring. Seeing that on Critical Role sets impossible standards - and people go into their own home games imagining that their campaigns will be like Critical Role, and the burden of that expectation tends to fall disproportionately on the DM. And the end result, I think, of the Mercer Effect is that we get discouraged or intimidated, because our game isn’t “as good as” theirs. (And I should note - Matt certainly doesn’t want that to be our reaction).

So the Anti-Mercer Effect is two things: it’s D&D treated like a game, and it’s inspiring but not intimidating. And Unprepared Casters manages both of those really freaking well. Because they play it like a game! A UC arc looks just like a good campaign in anyone’s home game. They have the vibes of 20-somethings and college students playing D&D for fun because that’s who they are (as a 20-something college student who plays a lot of D&D, watching it felt like watching my friends play an especially good campaign). They’re trying to tell a good story, sure, and they always do. But first and foremost, they’re trying to have fun, and it shows, and I love the UC cast for it.

And that’s the other half of it: it’s inspiring! It’s approachable; you can see that Haley and Gus put plenty of work into preparing the game but it also doesn’t make you feel like you need hundreds of pages of worldbuilding to run a game. Sometimes a cleric makes Haley cry and she gives them back a spell-slot from their deity! That’s fantastic! It’s just inspiring - listening to this over the summer, when my last campaign had fallen apart under the strain of graduation, is why I decided to plan and run my new one!

That quote from Haley Whipjack that I used as the title for this section? That’s the whole core of this idea, and really, I think, the core of the podcast.

The Mercer Effect is when you go “that’s really cool, I could never do that.” But Unprepared Casters makes you look at D&D and go “wow, that looks really fun. I bet I can do that!” And I love the show for it.

And I bet a lot of you do too.

#unprepared casters #bombyx mori #haley whipjack #long post #this is really rough but I don't have time to keep working on it and it's already a month later than intended

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