#this whole movie was icon behavior

[corvidrey]

I love this silly little traumatized psycho

[matrixbearer2024]

Imagine Dipper and Mabel wanting to take you out trick or treating, problem is that you don't have a costume. You don't want to disappoint the twins, so you decide to fashion one on extremely short notice.

You had closet cosplayed characters before thanks to your extensive wardrobe, unfortunately right now– there wasn't really a combination that seemed to fit any trendy icon at the moment.

At least when you thought about it globally. In the small town of Gravity Falls Oregon...

The red turtleneck peeking from the corner of your closet seemed to beckon you, tempting with an offer to be worn. Only after pulling it out did the realization properly hit on who you could dress as. You just hoped that it was obvious enough.

Imagine the expression on Ford when he sees you in his signature wear; glasses, coat and all to complete the ensemble. Was your hair gelled?? He was dressed as a wizard, but you were dressed as him? The scientist was a cross between flattered and embarrassed by your brazen behavior.

Mabel seemed to think your choice of cosplay was cute, Dipper figured it was an intuitive choice on short notice, only Stanley seemed to think it was one hell of a comedy show.

Despite the fact he and his brother mostly hung back while you joined Dipper and Mabel collecting candy all over town— Stanford couldn't fight the intrusive curiosity to how you'd look in his clothes. Sure, right now you were dressed as him; but what if you were wearing the real deal?

Was that even an appropriate thought?

His twin didn't stop the mischievously relentless teasing through the whole night. You and Ford were already extremely close, neither of you just made anything official.

Stan even wondered if you guys ever kissed, he knew you both hugged each other often enough— but he wouldn't be surprised if the answer is no. His brother was everything but forward when it came to romance.

The nail in the coffin seemed to be when a cryptid of sorts came after you in the middle of your candy spree with Dipper and Mabel thinking that you were Stanford. Nothing in this family was the epitome of normal, this included.

Sure, the older pair of twins saved all three of you from the Halloween chaos in time— but you couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious all the same.

Ford was especially clingy when you all got back to the shack, cuddling you on the couch while everyone binged movies and drowned in sweets. You didn't question it, instead falling asleep in his arms in the late of night surrounded by your favorite people.

The author gave you one of his sweaters after that night, you were too busy finding it adorable to question it.

Another collectible for cosplay in your closet you supposed, but one you were more than happy to have.

[abnomi]

EVERY REASON (that i can think of) AS TO WHY TURBO/KING CANDY IS NEURODIVERGENT 💥💥

i would like to make a disclaimer first and foremost about the obvious, being that Turbo/King Candy is heavily implied to have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Very often, characters with these disorders are portrayed as villains, and Turbo is no exception to this. There's nothing wrong with antagonistic characters having said disorders, per se, but when the only representation available for people with these conditions are found in characters you're not supposed to root for, it can be really disheartening. i won't be erasing these parts of him because i feel it would be in poor taste to gloss over those core elements of who he is, but plz keep in mind that having any kind of personality disorder doesn't make anyone inherently evil!!!🌞 your ACTIONS make you, not your brain

Also if anyone has any suggestions or other ideas for his neurodiversity, i would love to hear them! please do share!! I LOVE PSYCHOANALYZING CHARACTERS AND HEARING OTHER PEOPLE PSYCHOANALYZE THEM !!!! YAY🎉 if u agree or disagree with any of my points I'd love to discuss them further :-]

without further ado... click read more to find out…😈 be ready for a lot of reaches

💥 ADHD 💥

STIMMING

Turbo's constantly moving around in some way; he's a very expressive character! even as King Candy, he can't seem to conceal his frequent giggling. it's a big habit of his; he seems to do it involuntarily to regulate himself, including when he's nervous or uncomfortable.

he seems to display other repetitive behaviors as well, like doing his iconic thumbs-up pose, sticking out his tongue, or hopping around gleefully. he is but a jovial court jester..

i personally like to think that his phrases, "Turbo-tastic!" and "Have some candy!" are vocal stims of his, although i equally really love the interpretation that these (and the aforementioned stims) are tics :-]

another headcanon; i think it would make a lot of sense for him to have an oral fixation of some sort (ignoring the whole sigmund freud part of the term ermm...); just lots of biting, chewing, needing to have something in his mouth. It would align with the whole idea that he smokes, too

HYPERACTIVITY

we can clearly see throughout the film that Turbo has a lot of energy, made abundantly clear by his mannerisms and general behavior. he's constantly moving, using exaggerated expressions and gestures to communicate + express himself. He's one of the most animated and bouncy characters in the movie, next to Vanellope! it's silly how a character not very grounded in reality is such a threat, but i suppose that's what makes him so threatening in the first place...

another factor in this is how he is very adrenaline-seeking, craving activities that give him a rush (sugar rush...😂😂). more on that in a bit!!

HYPERFIXATION

Turbo's fixation with winning is all-consuming for him; it's an obsession. he doesn't appear to care about much else, if anything besides it. this could be interpreted as a hyperfixation for him (or special interest if ur all about that autism lifestyle), as it overtakes all of his focus and impedes every process of his mind.

it's clear that racing is much more than a passion for him, and while that fact is due to how he was programmed, it's a major character trait of his regardless that could be correlated to neurodivergence.

HYPERFOCUS

There seems to be a big theme of "all or nothing" when it comes to Turbo. he will either be fully dedicated to something or brush it aside without a second thought. it can't be denied that he fully wraps himself up in what he wants, whether it's a conflict he can't let go of or a new pursuit he's hungrily chasing after. 

ultimately, his dedication varies depending on if it is relevant to him and his interests or not, but this aspect of him still shares patterns with neurodivergent thought processes.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Seeing as he has a tendency to cheat in his use of code to spawn in whatever his heart desires, it can be assumed that this could do with Turbo wanting instant gratification to fill that bitter, empty void inside of him. while this could simply be brushed aside as greed and his belief that he is obligated to have access to whatever he wants, this trait is consistent with his generally dopamine-seeking behavior and wanting to be instantly rewarded by his actions. His obsession with needing to feel good directly relates to his need for another buzz, constantly after the next rush. (a sugar rush if you will☺☺☺)

ADRENALINE-SEEKING

Closely related to the previous speculation, Turbo always seems to be chasing his next high. he loves the thrill of action and being surrounded by crowds of people below him. it's why his big thing is racing! people cheer him on, he can do whatever he wants, he can go really fast and look cool..

it's possible that a big aspect of why he does this is to distract himself from any kind of pain, because pain = vulnerability. bro does NOT know how to independently cope with his own problems.. HE MAD AS HELLLLL!!! 😂😂

STRUGGLE WITH SELF CARE

(i know this is reaching but bear with me... 🐻) going off of his appearance and tendency to make poor decisions, it can be gathered that this man lacks skill in the self care department. his yellowing teeth and sunken eyes not only serve to complement his design, but also give way to the idea that he neglects himself in favor for whatever weird scheme he's up to.

of course, Turbo does prioritize himself above everyone else, but he doesn't strike me as the type to care much about how others think he smells. him being a bother to anyone isn't a concern of his. he cares about whatever gets him the most praise and attention from as many people as possible, which is winning and racing. Who cares about how clean he is when he's up on a podium holding a shiny, golden trophy, anyway?

It's likely that he had to step his game up when he went under disguise as king candy, which is why he looks well-groomed in comparison to his more corpse-like appearance. Ugly hoe. it can also be assumed that he's had more time to focus on himself because everyone loves him without question... Well, except for Vanellope, but who cares about her, right?

also, i know he makes a condescending comment to Ralph about how bad his breath smells, but it's made abundantly clear that Turbo is a massive hypocrite. his comment doesn't erase the possibility that he has suffered from such "halitosis" as well.

💥 ANXIETY 💥

GENERAL ANXIOUS BEHAVIOR

i know, i know, this could technically be chalked up to be "Turbo is nervously giggling and shit because he's scared of getting caught," but guys. g

even in the flashback scene, we can see how easily stressed he can become in an alarmingly short period of time. he is extremely insecure, therefore i am led to believe he is not only emotionally dysregulated, but also by extension, anxiety ridden.

yes, this is purely speculative, but who's to say that he wasn't like this before? being high-strung and intense are significant facets of his personality consistently portrayed throughout the film. as long as he is getting exactly what he wants, he is happy; the moment he loses even a blip of control, however, he immediately grows extremely tense.

if Turbo wasn't anxious about his disguise as King Candy before, he was anxious about how much attention he was receiving on a given day. if not that, then he'd be anxious over how he presents himself. He hates how he can't control how other people perceive him, which is why he is constantly trying to act like he's better than he is.

its why he justifies his behavior to himself, proudly making others refer to him as the "rightful ruler" of sugar rush and relishing in the attention of his countless underlings. Any secure and stable person would NOT ACT LIKE THIS!!!!😭😭😭

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

As we can see a handful of times on screen, Turbo's instinct to protect himself is very easily activated.

 his fear manifests in anger and aggression. we can see at multiple points how easy it is to upset him or fluster him; his anger is one side of the same coin, the opposite end being his fear and paranoia.

Going off of this point, have you noticed that Turbo is either satisfied or furious without much of an in-between? how the second something isn't under his manipulation, he lashes out and fights back? I'm led to believe that this is how he responds to fear (AAUAAYAUUUUGGHHH 🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡). This guy is so against the idea of being vulnerable, that even when afraid, he will utilize violence to regain his dominance over the situation at hand.

CONTROL + PARANOIA

Turbo's always trying to writhe or fight his way out of uncomfortable situations, unable to exist outside of his comfort zone for seconds at a time.

his defensive, paranoid, and controlling behavior are all reflections of how deeply insecure this man is. He feels such an intense need for everything to go exactly how he expects it to go that the moment he senses any kind of threat, he instantly jumps to defend himself and what he feels that he has "earned," regardless of whether there truly is a threat or not.

this could potentially be a coping mechanism for his anxiety and sense of stability; can't forget to mention how territorial he is!! he jumps to conclusions about what others' intentions are before they even get a chance to reply, as seen with his first encounter with Ralph in the movie. 

the racer is so internally discombobulated that he seeks any sense of stability on his environment, including on those around him. his sense of self is so warped that he copes with constant distraction; being under the spotlight, being actively racing, having to be showered with attention, having others make him feel good because he doesn't know how to do it for himself. he needs to feel like everything is under control, lest everything falls apart.

"...if there's ONE thing I can't abide, it's ANYTHING out of order!"

💥 NPD 💥

INFLATED SENSE OF SELF IMPORTANCE

Turbo's most in-your-face trait above all else. It's made more than crystal clear in every scene he's in that his arrogance is a determining factor in how he interacts with others. This is exactly what drives him to desperately crave admiration, to chase after others he's envious of because he thinks he is obligated to take what they have.

he seems to genuinely think he is entitled to get whatever he wants, just because he is inherently "special" or "better" than everyone else. Why else would he have made himself a king, a step above princess?

EXCESSIVE NEED FOR ADMIRATION

Turbo's self worth is COMPLETELY dependent on the opinions of children and teenagers. I think i don't need to say any more than that, but i will. (Evil).

As cartoonishly massive as his ego is, i think that it's fair to assume that Turbo has a very unstable sense of self, distorting his perception of his own worth down with it. his near-constant flaunting and need to be the best is a dead giveaway to his deeply-ridden self-doubt. The foundation of his stability is built around how "good" he is (at racing and winning), how powerful he is, whether or not he is being prioritized above everyone else, whether or not he is the absolute best, etc. etc.

The racer outright manipulates others to shower him with admiration and undeserved appreciation. He is incapable of forming a true sense of internal value, instead heavily and codependently relying on others to form it for him. if he isn't the best, he may as well just be nothing.

INTENSE JEALOUSY

He reacts so severely to what he perceives as others taking away what is rightfully his that it only goes to solidify my previous points even further. the second someone else is getting more attention than him, Turbo will bend over backwards to rip back the praise he believes he so rightly deserves.

being extremely competitive, he will one-up against anyone he thinks of as a threat, dedicating himself to taking them down to the best of his ability, and making sure they STAY down to top it all off.

INABILITY TO HANDLE CRITICISM

if we really dissect the entire one-off joke with Turbo insisting that his stolen pink castle is actually "salmon," along with all of his other domineering behaviors, we can garner that he is very persistent in how he wants others to view him. i wholeheartedly believe that this would translate into him not only being defensive over his supposed "ownership" of Sugar Rush, but also over himself and his own insecurities.

He needs to feel good about himself or else he will die and quite literally try to kill everyone.

LACK OF EMPATHY

He appears to have a fondness for making jokes in very poor taste. Turbo has a big sense of humor, but it's always at the expense of others. Be it a pun about a "fungeon," or jumping to protect himself with a joke about "hitting a guy with glasses," he has a tendency to take serious situations very lightly. It's not that he's unaware of the weight of it; he simply doesn't take it Seriously.

its admittedly impressive how he was able to feign empathy so well for Ralph; it goes to show how he is very capable of understanding that what he's doing is wrong, but ultimately does nothing to change his behavior because it doesn't impact him personally. 

i would like to honor this part of him, because even in the possible alternate path of a redemption arc, his struggle with empathy can be explored in a variety of interesting ways :-] he can understand complicated emotions and situations on an analytical level, but he doesn't feel for them unless it has to do with him specifically. (this obviously doesn't make him inherently evil, his ACTIONS make him evil)

💥 ASPD 💥

LACK OF REMORSE/GUILT

One of Turbo's core characteristics is just how far he is willing to go for his own self-interest with lack of regard for how it impacts everyone else. he has absolutely no concern for how anyone else feels besides himself, willing to go so far as to attempt to mutilate a 9-year-old to achieve his petty goals.

Turbo is shameless when it comes to how he goes about getting his way. While I'd like to believe he isn't fully incapable of feeling regret, he doesn't showcase feeling it in the movie itself. The most regret he'll feel is when he slips up and exposes himself. anything else is the fault of everyone else; he is untouchable in his eyes.

DECEITFUL TENDENCIES + LYING

Where do i even start with this one.

well, first of all, let's acknowledge the... erm, horse? in the room? 🐎😅(Please someone help me there is a horse in my room help helphel) being that Turbo went under disguise as King Candy for at least a decade. Even before this, there's a good chance that he's already had plenty of experience with lies and manipulation. i'd be willing to bet on this!!

one of his specialties is being proficient in manipulation, be it the code of games or the minds of people. theyre basically the same thing to him, anyway... I'm sure you all know the scene where he uses 16 manipulation tactics against Ralph and wins. this was Obviously not the first time he'd done this.

REPETITION OF HARMFUL BEHAVIORS

Time and time again, Turbo can't seem to help himself when it comes to poor decision-making. he never internalizes that his bad choices aren't JUST bad for others, but also for himself, continuing to escalate further and further into very dangerous behaviors until he literally dies.

Here's a list of bad decisions he has made! (at least, that we know of)

Pinning himself above his peers

Harassment + stalking

Carelessly charging through GCS with his car, endangering countless civilians

Attempting to take over a game that isn't his x2

Vehicular manslaughter

Implied mass murder + attempted murder, attempted mutilation

Mass endangerment

Breaking and entering, theft, usurpation, plagiarism

and more!!!!!!!

AND HE LEARNS FROM ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS!!! with some of the items listed here, he's attempted to do multiple times! Absolute buffoon.

RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR SAFETY OF SELF AND OTHERS

Considering how he was willing to charge into a game that wasn't his own with the awareness that it could permanently kill him, going as far as to recklessly crash into another car (albeit it's possible this was unintentional), it's easy to gather that he doesn't seem to consider anyone's safety at all in the spur of the moment.

IMPULSITIVITY

his impulsivity and disregard for safety both go hand-in-hand. When it gets to a certain point, Turbo's emotions will boil over and blow up in a cold rage, thus causing him to spiral and act on impulse, becoming a detrimental force to himself as well as everyone around him.

What's interesting is how much restraint he is capable of; he typically is very strategic in how he orchestrates his plans! but once he reaches his breaking point, he snaps and leaves all of his hard work behind in favor of something that calls for his immediate attention.

💥 ETC. 💥

extra tidbits i didnt have enough energy to fully delve into :-]

BPD

Fear of abandonment

Blurry sense of identity

Feelings of emptiness

Self destructive tendencies

Emotional instability

Explosive anger

ODD (oppositional defiant disorder)

He seems so infatuated with his own autonomy that he gets to the point of being resistant and defiant

Resisting against the rules of the world that he directly caused as a result of his own actions, being that one shouldn't "go Turbo."

Enjoys upsetting/getting a rise out of others. this is more speculative as i am going off of the assumption that he thinks pissing people off is funny, based on his other behavioral patterns. (cruel sense of humor, wanting to feel above others via control & manipulation, enjoyment of inflicting pain onto others)

Forcefully defends himself and refuses any kind of criticism

Lashes out when he feels slighted

Excessive persistence despite all odds, whether it's beneficial to him or not

ok bye!! thank you if you managed to read this far ^^ peace and love take care of yourself! all in all turbo is so neurodivergent ok please Okay <3 get this thing his meds

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Lena Horne (Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather)— Incredibly talented biracial actress, singer, dancer, and activist (she did so much work towards integrating audiences). Because of the racism of the era, she rarely got to be the lead actress but filmmakers loved her so much that they would often create stand alone segments within a film to highlight her beautiful singing, knowing that these segments would ultimately be cut from the film by censors in areas that forbid films with Black performers. Also, she's just so wonderful in Cabin in the Sky as a gold-digger villain who is not the least bit subtle about her intentions. I would highly recommend checking out her work.

Jane Fonda (Barbarella, Sunday in New York, Barefoot in the Park)—Feminist icon, LGBTQ+ rights activist since the 70s, Civil Rights and Native American rights advocate, environmentalist… she really is THE woman ever

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Lena Horne:

Black American powerhouse singer and actor who faced all the usual bullshit that any BIPOC faced in vintage Hollywood and achieved legendary status anyway. Also a Civil Rights movement icon.

She was a gem

She was so beautiful and those dimples are amazing! Truly depressing how badly Hollywood treated her because she was black. I would love to have seen what she really could have been if they didn’t cast her in so many yikes roles. She’s got gorgeous eyes and that body! Her joyful smile makes happiness sexy!

Civil rights actress, singer, dancer, actress, she's got the whole package

Lena Horne was a wonderful singer and actress who largely starred in black cast musicals. While she had a lot of main stream success, she ultimately lost the lead role in showboat (a role she had played on the stage) to a white actress due to hollywood's prejudices. She was also blacklisted during the HUAC hearings, but she still managed to be hot be hot as fuck and have a career spanning decades, working with more well-known stars like Judy Garland in musicals, and working on stage and releasing albums when her hollywood career began to suffer.

Miss Horne became famous during a period of time when Hollywood had very few meaningful roles for people of color. Although she is more so known as a performer, she starred in two successful all black productions (Cabin in the Sky & Stormy Weather). If that wasn't enough, she also guest starred on the Muppets (Season 1, Episode 11)

Jane Fonda:

" I assume she's already been submitted but I gotta make sure. I think there's an element to movies like Barbarella or her segment of Spirit of the Dead of those having been directed by her husband, who famously made movies about her being hot, and the incredible costume design also helped, but good lord. Look at her"

"She was so pretty, dear lord! She was and still us stunning. She’s great at comedy and drama."

"Shes so hot im so gay for me i will let her hit me with hers car"

"Gorgeous and also still getting arrested at climate protests, which is sexy behavior"

"Watching her in Barefoot in the Park seriously made me, a straight woman, question things"

"PLEASE I LOVE HER SO MUCH"

"Her vibes in these movies are so interesting because she, the daughter of an Old Hollywood star, went on to make both poignant dramatic movies and the some of the silliest things you've ever seen but even in the silly space adventures and sexploitations there's always this undeniable gravitas to her. It's like she's able not to take herself very seriously but at the same time never stops having this grace and elegance and makes it all work together. And she's always been very politically active which is also sexy. Her famous mugshot is from 1970 so right at the cutoff mark but come on"

[cybertron-after-dark]

I was gonna ask a question but i honestly forgot it 😅 so just tell me something you want to rant about

If you do happen to remember what you were gonna ask feel free to do so, do not worry about spamming my inbox bc I live for that shit.

As for the rant

Transformers Rescue Bots had some of the best, kindest, and most respectful representation of neurodivergence I have ever seen in media and I'm tired of pretending it didn't.

While there are obvious complaints to be made about neurodivergent traits (especially autistic traits) usually being portrayed in media by inhuman characters like aliens or robots, this being a case of both, I feel like thats a pretty negligible sin given just how human the show makes the robots feel. (Also it was like 2011 and we were STRUGGLING for any scraps of rep anyway)

But like. The behaviors all these robots exhibit are all shit that I do that was always deemed unacceptable when I was a kid and seeing it portrayed with the level of kindness and gentleness they do in that show has me fuckin crying a little man. I wish I had actually watched it when I was younger and it was first airing because maybe if I did I would've had an easier time explaining what the hell was going on with my brain a LOT sooner.

Blades being anxious, overly sensitive, and WHOLEHEARTEDLY queer (which they had the absolute unparalleled balls to just casually confirm by having him swoon over "hunky vampires" in one episode and NOBODY commented on it. Fucking iconic) and getting so so deeply invested in the shows and movies he loves that he acts out the roles with enough passion to steel his nerves and completely flourish.

Boulder getting really confused at concepts that are basic and intuitive for most people, but still being so fucking intelligent, and never being made to feel stupid for the mix-ups, as well as just being so wholely, unabashedly in love with the planet he's found himself on, even if he doesn't understand all of it (Also apologizing to inanimate objects when he knocks them over 😭)

Chase being obsessed with rules and law because he NEEDS the structure to not fall apart at the seams, even feeling the need to fabricate a minor crime to justify using the emergency line to get a hold of the firehouse when he can't find the other bots. As well as just fully not understanding comedy (BUT TRYING HIS DAMNEDEST), taking things super literally, and having a lot of trouble with tone and expressions (even though you know just how deeply he feels All The Time).

Heatwave being desperate for attention and recognition, but completely allergic to asking for it. And honestly allergic to showing any genuine emotional responses other than aggression. The constant sarcasm and sass and defensiveness that he POORLY maintains because everyone knows that underneath that tough guy front is the loneliest robot on earth that wants to be loved SO bad but would rather jump into unicron's mouth than voice it because if he lets his guard down who knows what will happen to him or the people he cares about.

Just. All of it man. Seeing them exhibiting all these behaviors and quirks that all too often get met with poor reactions from people who don't want to deal with what they don't really get, but here they're met with patience and understanding?? It's got me fucked up. They get to be functional adults that struggle with what they have going on but still push through. They get to have unconditionally loving relationships with people that treat them with respect. And that's the kind of shit that gives me a lot of hope for folks like me because maybe some neurotypical kids that watched it picked up on what's helpful when their friend who acts like one of the bots is going through it. And maybe some neurodivergent kids watched it too and for the first time they just felt SEEN.

Okay rant over, I'm gonna go cry over some plastic robots 👍

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

as someone who relates a lot to both Anakin and Padme because i grew in a stressfully abusive enviroment (not being allowed to express too honest emotions and fear, having to mask my neurodivergent tendencies, not being able to raise my voice ever or cry or be angry, etcetc) and i was a "gifted kid", and on top of that i'm queer. So for a lot of my teenhood i "attached" *badly* to anything that would remotely give me comfort, mostly objects but also people and friends, it's been quite healing to read your analysis about how "attachments" are presented in SW and how the fandom tends to twists attachments as something toxic and selfish, it's understandable when people don't like him but when everyone runs to say he was evil just for getting attached or feeling "too strongly" about something is quite hurtful

victims should be accountable for the things they do wrong, and anakin outright did so many many horrible bad things, but it's cathartic for me bc he shows how victims of abuse and trauma aren't and can't be perfect, and they react in ways that are inherently affected by the enviroment that shaped them, and in the end, anakin had one of the most famous and iconic returns ever, so it's really important to me, and your analysis are great

Thanks anon. I had a period over a couple months where I was very hardcore pro Jedi/anti anakin which in retrospect was really just to fit in with what was popular on tumblr since all the big SW blogs like Kanansdume/antianakin or GFFA are Jedi apologists. I regret a lot of my past behavior and how I treated some Anakin fans. A lot of Jedi stans like to paint anyone who likes Anakin as a right wing dudebro and it doesn’t help that there are a few people who are that way such as caripr94 or Otnesse. Yet their side isn’t much better. There’s a lot of ableism, victim blaming, and queerphobia rebranded to sound progressive. For all their pseudo-wokeness, a lot of them sound like conservatives when they put the blame entirely on Anakin for his fall and refuse to acknowledge systematic and psychological issues he had because they’d have to accept that the Jedi were flawed and not perfect.

Fandom in general has become a lot more puritanical and moralistic. People insist that you can’t show any sympathy or depth for villains, possibly as an overreaction towards movies like Maleficent or Cruella as well as the rise of Trump, hence why everyone felt Big Jack Horner was refreshing and propping up TOH as the anti SU for killing Belos. The SW fandom is no different. Antianakin has a whole pinned post ranting about not just Anakin but Padme, Ahsoka, Kallus and Crosshair too. People insist you must view Anakin as an allegory for a white boy radicalized by 4chan and Jordan Peterson but one could argue he’s closer to those in the global south who live in poverty and oppression as well as queer people who have to hide their relationships or risk being rejected by their communities.

SW isn’t even close to my top fandom or favorite media but I do post about it if it relates to stuff I do like more like anime or Ben 10. It’s easy to write off a character as just born evil which removes the tragedy knowing that he was a good person at one point and dehumanizing villains allows people to reject the idea that they could become that way. I like a lot of characters who are flawed or abrasive because of trauma or abuse they suffered such as Shinji and Asuka from NGE, Hodaka from WWY, Raven from TT or Homura from PMMM. Anakin/Vader is an interesting character who has been dumbed down to just a “fascist MAGA manchild” by some when, for all my criticism of him, is not what Lucas wrote. As a side note, knowing that all 4 OT Vader actors have passed away is sad. RIP Sebastian Shaw, Bob Anderson, David Prowse and James Earl Jones. May the force be with you all.

[wickedcoeur]

i think that we, as a community, need to talk about the parallels between the black brothers and tai lung and tigress from kung fu panda. i can (AND WILL) elaborate, but now i'm just lazy

oKAY, NOW I'M READY

so it all started when i went to watch kung fu panda 4 with my niece. first i was inconsolable bc the great lesbian icon tigress wasn't in the movie, but then, when i was out with some friends we started to look up fanarts of her at pinterest and there was this cute fanart of her and tai lung being siblings and playing togheter and IMMEDIATELY i thought about the black brothers

i need you guys to forget about the goodxbad stuff here bc that's not the point, the point is siblings angst. so tai lung, aka sirius, is the first son, the one to carry all the expectations, the one literally beign raised to become the dragon warrior/heir to the black house. and here they diverge a little bc tai lung tries, he gives all of him to achieve this, and all the love and attention from master shifu is conditioned to him beign the next dragon warrior but sirius is a rebel, he hates all that's linked to be a black and hates the person that his parents want him to be, so he do wathever is in his power to not be that person.

BUT THERE IS A BREAKING POINT FOR THE BOTH OF THEM: when their parents realized that they aren't and never will be what they want them to be. so tai lung goes insane bc not only he's beign denied everything that he fought for, the very thing that defines him as a person, but he can see that his father, whom he always though loved him, is starting to resent him bc he didin't get what he wanted from tai lung (this post is not a shade to master shifu, i love him, but i'm here for the drama). now with sirius his parents finally realized that he's not going to be the perfect little heir, so they torture him, and the last piece of hope that he had for his parents to love him is gone, THEIR LOVE AND ATTENTION WAS CONDITIONED JUST AS IT WAS WITH TAI LUNG AND MASTER SHIFU, now that he's to no use, he isn't valuable anymore. so they're both gone (tai lung go insane and ends up in jail and sirius go live with the potters)

meanwhile, we have tigress, aka regulus, the younger one, that is only there to fill the void that their older siblings left. regulus saw sirius with their parents, he (regulus) never received much attention from any of them, but he just knew that if sirius had been a good son they would've loved him, bc they tried, they tried to teach sirius the ways of the black family and there were moments, when they were satisfied with sirius behavior, that almost seemed that they loved him. so when sirius left and their focus turns to regulus he's ready to be the most obedient and well behaved son on this earth. now, tigress had never lived with tai lung, when she came to the temple he was already in jail, but she heard how master shifu adored him, and how broken he was that he was gone. she also knew that what caused them to drift apart was the whole "you're not the dragon warrior" thing, so the only way that she could gain the master's attention was to become the dragon warrior. but it didin't matter how hard they tried, how much they gave away to those people, they just weren't their siblings, they weren't enough.

i also like to think of the fact that tigress always felt like she was doing good, like, i'm not enough, my father doesn't really care about me, but this is my purpose and i'm actually helping people so at some point everything is going to be ok (when i become the dragon warrior), and i think that's kinda what regulus felt too, and i'm NOT excusing any bigotry behavior here, but he genuinely believed that he was doing some good for the wizard world by supporting his parents cause, so it's interesting when we think about "why reggie didn't leave??", because why would tigress leave???

i ALSO like to think about the skittles beign the furious five: tigress as reggie, monkey and crane as barty and evan (just two dorks who are superpowerfull), viper as pandora (i fell that there's no explanation needed) and mants as dorcas (c'mon, that little thing full of rage is very dorcas coded).

anyways, now i'm tired and won't be rereading nothing, so i don't know if it's understandable or if it's even english at this point, if you have any doubs fell free to ask

@morallyundefined

[atwoodsfemalefantasy]

so sorry to take a break from politics for a second, but i need to rant about this new Joker movie.

please no. please please please no. for so many reasons.

the simplest of which is that the Joker is just such a tired story. it's been told so fucking many times. we get it! toxic masculine asshole falls into chemicals, turns into supervillain, manipulates and abuses his girlfriend, "sOcIeTy" yadda yadda fucking yadda. it was interesting for a while, but it's not anymore. there's no new way to tell this story!! it's been told!!

if you know me personally, you know that Harley Quinn is an icon of mine, and the movie Birds of Prey is extremely important to me. now before anybody comes at me about how "bad" a movie BoP was, i don't wanna hear it. you won't change my mind in thinking it's incredible. the only legit criticism i've seen has been badly veiled misogyny, or upset about the pacing (it was told by Harley Quinn! what did you expect?). but Birds of Prey was AMAZING because Margot Robbie fought HARD to FREE HARLEY QUINN. as the comics have made clear, Joker/Harley is one of the most toxic relationships to exist. Joker is manipulative, abusive, take all the credit for Harley's work, and overall, it's just a shitty relationship. but somehow the Joker movies have convinced the media that Joker/Harley is soooo romantic because Harley is so ride or die. Joker/Harley feeds into the "dark romance" genre. it appeals to men because Joker forces Harley into sexuality and Harley does whatever he says. women somehow got tricked into thinking it was romantic, too. and this pisses me off especially because in the comics!!! Joker/Harley is established to be abusive!!! and Harley gets out!!! and has a healthy relationship with Poison Ivy!!! and in BoP, Margot Robbie had to FIGHT the writers every step of the way to make Harley a) leave the Joker b) not go crawling back to him and c) be her own, fabulous person like she is in the comics. the point is, BoP and Suicide Squad 2 Harley is perfect, lines up with comic Harley, and is a huge role model for women, especially women leaving toxic relationships. and NOW this new Joker wants to throw all that away and make Harley that girl who bends over backwards to support Joker's abuse again! they want to undo all of that progress just to give us the same old "love story" that's really just a sick man preying on a girl (who was put in an uncomfortable position to turn him down because she was his therapist!!). why must we tell this same, tired story, WHILE throwing away all our progress with Harley that Margot Robbie pushed so damn hard for!

and finally, i'm just sick of how the audience receives the Joker. no matter how obviously Joker is shown as not a good guy or role model, teenage (and older) boys will ALWAYS view him as this hero who enforces toxic masculinity in a way that's cool enough that it sucks them in! the more we tell this fuckers story and glorify his shitty behavior (EVEN IF THE MOVIE IS TRYING TO BE SATIRE THAT CRITICIZES HIS BEHAVIOR), the more boys and men will insist that he's a role model and let their own toxic masculinity and woman hating grow and feed off him. THE JOKER IS NOT A FEEL GOOD STORY!! you're not supposed to hear the Joker talk and actually agree with him!! but just like American Psycho, these men will take a piece of media telling a CAUTIONARY TALE/SATIRICAL PIECE about toxic masculinity and make it their whole personality and use it to justify their own shitty behavior.

Gaga, please. I adore you, but i expected more from you. we do not need another Joker. i'm not prepared to see the halloween costumes of girls who are genuinely tricked into thinking this story is romantic. i'm not ready for the boys and men imitating the Joker again. i don't want to hear the same damn story again and again and again when the original point has been lost and misconceived dozens of remakes ago. why.

[ak319]

Unveil

(Gp actress x fem reader)

(Scene# 01)

(your name is Fairoz in the story)

Aman Dagon, the enigmatic, handsome and alluring actress that everyone drooled on. Who wouldn't? Her tall height, black soft, silky hair that one desired to touch, including her co-stars but her cold and mysterious personality intimidated them not to. She was famous for her villain roles especially the ones in which she was in a historical drama playing a distraught, arcane yet passionate lover oh, and how can we forget her iconic mafia lady role. It was her debut role that caused the wave of enchantment among women and men. People also know about her softer side for the heroines as she always acted gentlewomanly around them. This caused her female fans to fall in love with her more. She was always surrounded by paparazzi and everyone wanted to know more about her personal life. Her family owned many different businesses which she also took care of when she was not busy doing movies or dramas.

People were more than shocked when they found out that she was engaged. It all started when a fan made a TikTok about a ring on her finger that seemed different from her usual style and that she began to wear on more than one occasion. The internet went wild and even though her PR team was ecstatic to see that, they were tired of seeing and trying to control baseless and atrocious articles. It was after a month that the team was finally instructed by Aman to confirm that she was engaged. Aman didn't have any socials, which had made her fans more agitated as they had little source material to do research from. People were already jealous at her wife and few were genuinely happy for her. Even her co-stars were shocked as Aman's behavior didn't give the slightest hint about her engagement.

The real truth was that this marriage was hell, to begin with.

(2 months ago)

"Aman ma'am -- what? I mean didn't we already decided the amount to be 5 million? How come you are changing this now?" The director, Usama looked at Aman stunned.

"Mhmm , so you are saying you can't do it? Is that it?" Her deep voice , although calm , still sent chills down Usama's back. Not to forget her father was quite influential in entertainment industry.

"I am - sorry but yes , the contract had been signed prior , you remember right?."

"Do you know I can buy this company of yours and actually don't want your money . I didn't have any interest in doing this movie too but .....I did not do it for money or any of your shit." Yes , this is how she talked when she was annoyed . Her die hard fans would refuse to believe that she can be this egoistic but she was , and she was good at hiding it as well.

"But you do know if I sue you for forging a fake contract and paying me less , you will loose everything ....not to mentions my fans , they will make sure you can't do shit after this. So , all of this can be avoided if you hand me over , oops , haha. I meant , give me the hand of that girl you brought on set one day to me in marriage."

Mr. Usama nearly fainted right there. The girl she just talked about was her niece who was still in college. He couldn't believe his ears. Marriage of Fairoz to a woman like her, this is ...a nightmare.

"Earth to my favorite director" Aman snapped her slender fingers in front of his face, startling him. " I know it's hard to digest. That's why I will give you some time to decide and discuss this with your family and by that I mean ......a date for our engagement pronto.."

"She is my niece and what you are asking for is---I am sorry but --not possible."

"Not possible? Mhm. it has been forever since I have heard that word. Or you can say I am not used to hearing it ." She paused to let out a sarcastic chuckle. " Let me give you even a better one, I hate when people say it to me." Making the man gulp with her slow steps cornering him, she continued "I don't get what is impossible about a marriage? Isn't that the best thing you can get in your whole life? Me as your niece's wife. Pft. Never knew you to be so ungrateful."

Usama pondered over her words . Maybe she is right. What if she is a bit arrogant , that is a pitfall of being in the industry. 90 percent of people Usama had worked with are like her. If only focusing on the pros momentarily , the proffer doesn't sound terrible. Especially in the long term. Fairoz , if this goes well , may live a fruitful life. Just like her parents wanted and if Aman is proposing herself that must mean that she likes his niece.

Heaving a breath in , the words "I'll have a talk with my family . Sure." flowed from his lips which made the taller woman smirk.

"I am looking forward to a cordial response." Usama very well knew that she definitely won't take anything other than a cordial answer anyways.

Little did Aman know that the girl she was probing after would change her life in ways she hadn't had the slightest inkling about.

Unveil part 2

[jovenshires]

ask time!! do you have any obscure/niche headcanons of your fav ships? (whether in general or specific to a fic) i wanna know bestie!! -baflegacy

@baflegacy i was not ignoring you i promise just thinking VERY HARD. okay im gonna do specific fics bc otherwise my brain will melt like goop right out of my ears

the right side of my neck (still smells like you):

shayne and kimmy text each other immediately after work. "did he tell you" "did HE tell YOU" and meanwhile spommy are talking to each other like "oh my god those two are gonna have a fucking field day with this one"

spencer always trims tommy's hair after that whenever he asks. he's basically a hairdresser now honestly icon behavior

tommy gets confused bc all the sudden his shampoo starts getting used up and he's like ??? turns out spencer's been using it every time he showers there. "bro it smells like you." tommy just gets him his own bottle LKNDNFKNF

baby, you're a haunted house:

first official date is to a horror movie <3

they come into the office later and ALL of the crew is laughing at them. rightfully so. by the end of the day the whole office knows and is bullying them mercilessly.

shayne and kiana will take credit for getting them together until the end of their days (they didn't do anything but they pretend that they did <3)

he said baby (that's what he called me):

when tommy wakes him up for dinner they Do Not talk about it because spencer genuinely doesn't remember saying it and tommy is a nervous wreck. spencer notices but doesn't ask because tommy will talk about it when he's ready <3 also tommy makes spaghetti

they lay on the couch for the rest of the night bc tommy knows spencer's gonna be Awake now so he's gonna stay up with him. they play some video games and throw on a movie. eventually tommy falls asleep on the couch using spencer as a pillow

tommy starts packing spencer's lunch for the next day because he's manifesting he'll take care of himself better <3

they lost their minds and fought the wars;

tommy trying to teach spencer how to cook era ensues!! it does not go very well. spencer keeps almost burning down the kitchen. but tommy persists! he learns how to make more than breakfast eventually and no longer burns toasts <3

courtney asks spencer about the card bc they're nosey and so she Must. the irresistable urge to know things, just like me fr. spencer immediately goes red and tommy has to jump in to protect him from being teased for the rest of his life FKLNWNNN (it's not easy)

spencer gets some stars tattooed. that's it that's the whole headcanon. and im going crazy about it.

i could be the reason (you don't sleep at night):

they barely leave their room. for the rest of the weekend. chanse makes fun of them maliciously for this. arasha is more "go gays! gay it up!" about the whole thing.

kimmy comes over and is like "omg your bed is so tidy angela how do you do it!!" and angela doesn't have the heart to tell her she decided to be gay instead of sleeping in her own bed so she just goes "uhhh slept on top of the covers" shayne-style

they both ride in rock's car on the way home <3 and they both sleep <3 rock is also pro but anti pda in the car ya nasties

‘til our fingers decompose, keep my hand in yours:

instead of abby lee miller, spencer and tommy do horror movie-themed carves (spencer does sam trick r treat bc i said so and tommy does pinhead Also because i said so)

they also do a couple's costume bc tommy is just that bitch, respectfully. the couple from the shining methinks. tell me they wouldn't eat that up.

spencer gradually gets more comfortable with pda and tommy generally eases up. they meet in the middle <3

right where you left me:

for the next few halloweens shayne is ALWAYS on edge. just in case you know. what if he lets his guard down and it happens again. damien just comes to understand "this is gonna be how it is" and always makes sure to pay extra special attention and take care of him on halloween <3

they move like. stupidly fast in their relationship which everyone else thinks is a little. strange. but damiens been in love with shayne for as long as he's known him and shayne has lived through a time loop so yeah they're moving in together as soon as one of their leases end and saying i love you within days what about it!

shayne turns off taylor swift songs any time he hears them. damien does Not Ask and also begins to pre-emptively turn off her music. in fact EVERYONE comes to understand Not to put ts on office party mixes because shayne WILL take control of the aux

sunflower:

tommy starts spending All his time at spencer, arasha, and shayne's apartment because he's gonna take all the time with spencer he can get because his job (the school newspaper? tommy thinks?) takes up so much time. this leads to of course shayne and arasha having to quickly and comically hide any spiderman-related things around the house

the next time tommy sees spiderman he expects it to be awkward and spencer, kind of forgetting the whole rejection happened bc the love confession also happened, is like "??? huh. oh. OHHH i mean. ohhh noooo my broken heart :(((("

shayne talks about how he gave one of arasha's partners the shovel talk and tommy's like "lol you didn't give me the shovel talk shayne what are you homophobic" and shayne's like "oh no. i gave SPENCER the shovel talk. you're too cool for him to fuck this up"

dancing on my own:

in my brain trevor enters smosh in the domoverse and spends a lot of time hanging out with spencer and sees what's going on INSTANTLY. i might touch on this in the sequel but he is less afraid to meddle than anyone else and if he spots spencer getting uncomfortable will offer to sub in for a video for him or will drag him out of a conversation / a room. yeah. lil brother trev :')

as part of his birthday present for tommy, spencer gets bussy some official adoption papers. obviously.

courtney and kiana are stressing and texting about all this CONSTANTLY. tommy will look over at court and be like "you look stressed is everything okay" and court will slam their phone on the table and go like "NOTHING. UHHHH TAXES." and change the subject

blue christmas:

at the christmas party the next night shayne does end up showing and having a great time. chanse is an excellent party host and has them play a bunch of games that makes him feel like he isn't a stranger to these people at all. not to mention chanse's friends are just cool

the office actually doesn't find out for Forever bc they keep it on the dl for a while but one day chanse just comes in and kisses shayne hello and angela does a full spit take

every year for christmas chanse definitely does a bit that only he finds funny thats like "this year ive decided to get you the renewal of our anniversary <3 i am your greatest gift <3" and shayne's like "cool i got you a spiderman blanket" and chanse is like. "... okay fine i actually got you another open overshirt for straight men :/"

we can leave the christmas lights up 'til january:

they both just decorate the tree at spencer's apartment bc they basically both live there anyway, so tommy only gets / brings ornaments to put on spencer's tree. together they start a whole dorky ornament collection it's very cute :')

the christmas party they throw is incredible and all of their friends ARE pissed that they got them gifts when they agreed on no gifts. but courtney does cry over her little grease cat <3

they officially move in together at the beginning of the new year <3

if we keep score:

their first official date is to mini-golf because they literally cant not be competitive. then they go get ice cream !

tommy can't go to spencer's prom BUT. spencer can go to tommy's! he goes as the date of one of tommy's female friends at olops so they get to hang out. they can't like dance or anything (tommy WILL get in so much trouble he'll be lucky if he graduates) but they're there together and that's what matters <3

they do go to each other's graduations though and they are both extremely embarrassing while cheering each other on. shayne, damien, and alex also tag along to tommy's graduation and they have like a full banner for him. tommy pretends he hates it (he LOVES it)

i could go on and on and on:

this is less of a headcanon and more of a fun fact but their cat is named after dwayne the rock johnson <3 this is bc the song the fic is based on mentions a baby scorpion. dwayne the rock johnson - scorpion king in the mummy - dwayne the kitten - baby scorpion.

after they finished that hike in the redwoods park spencer almost throws up and swears he's never doing anything outdoors again. it makes courtney laugh so hard they cry

spencer goes on to tell courtney that angela threw her chair at chanse because he took the top hat when she wanted to be the top hat. it was the beginning of the game and it only went downhill from there. amanda refuses to play monopoly on the channel ever again.

[hellomynameisghostface]

TATUM RILEY AND ANIKA KAYOKO ARE SUPER UNDERRATED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED!! Excuse me while I go on another little rant but something that's always bothered me in the "Scream" franchise is how Tatum was Sidney's best and only real friend. 2/4 of her friends actually wanted to kill her and Randy didn't seem to be all that close to her until the second movie after they'd gone to hell and back together. Tatum was a real one. She was by Sidney's side through thick and thin and really, truly had her back. She was so protective of her. So for Sidney to just forget about so easily after the first movie is crazy. Especially because she was Dewey's sister and neither of them mourned or mentioned her. It would've been nice to just get a scene where she maybe had a picture of her and Tatum together and she has a little moment looking at it or just her being sad and missing her. Just one little moment to truly mourn and reminisce her would've been nice. Instead all we get is Gale mentioning she was one of the victims from the first killings as Dewey just kind of looks away and Steven mentioning her death to who he thought was Dewey but really it was just Roman. We did get to see that Dewey had her ashes which was nice but she deserved better, to be honest.

Anika was basically the Tatum of "Scream VI." We're introduced to her by her literally saving Tara from someone who was going to take advantage of her. Mindy, who's known Tara longer, didn't even get up from the couch...some friend. When they get attacked by Ghostface in the apartment and when Mindy gets her arm slashed Anika, the second tiniest of them all, has the guts to start throwing hands for her girlfriend...to save her fucking girlfriend she goes up against a killer who she clearly doesn't stand a chance against resulting in her getting gutted! What does Mindy do with that tiny little slash in her arm compared to the gapping gash in Anika's stomach? She sits and watches like the shitty girlfriend she is (I'm sorry to the Mindy fans, I don't hate her but she really pissed me off in this scene.) She then listens to Anika when she tells her to go across the ladder first. If I truly loved someone, I'm not leaving them. She's either going across that ladder first or I'm staying to fight for them. We're either living or dying together. Shitty girlfriend behavior if you ask me. After she dies it's very much so like Tatum but worse. Tatum dies near the end of the movie and Sidney doesn't find her body until a little while later when she running from Ghostface. She doesn't have time to be sad or mourn her. Anika dies halfway through the movie and they have SO much time to be sad and show how her death affected them. Mindy was over it by the time they got to the theater. Tara, who Anika clearly cared for enough to save her at the party, seemed more concerned about Quinn and her father who turned out to be murderers and Chad was more concerned about Mindy which is fair since she didn't really seem to be friends with Chad. The only one who seemed to care at all about her death was Sam which is shocking. On top of all that, she’s the only important person (excluding the killers) that died in the sixth movie. She died so The Core Four could live. 😞 Which isn’t fair…at least one of them should have died. She. Deserved. Better.

However, besides being the bestest friends anyone could have in this franchise, Tatum and Anika have the most iconic death scenes in the whole franchise so at least they got that.

I'm not a huge fan of her but another character I actually want to mention who got disrespected was Liv Mckenzie. Liv was obviously friends with Tara before Liv and Chad started dating so for Tara and Chad to start dating when their friend/girlfriend died under a year ago and don't even seem to be affected over it in the slightest is honestly so crazy. Chad claimed to have loved her and now he doesn't even care she's dead? No mention? Just move on and date her friend? I get Tara and Chad have known each other longer but that's still fucking crazy to me and even thought I wasn't crazy about this character, she still deserved better.

[trolls-confessions]

I love fics that try to explain why jd was like that cause my guy looked like he was going through it during his brozone era. There is a potential explanation that I haven’t seen yet that seems like it could explain his behavior. Honestly wish someone wrote a fic where brozone era jd was on cocaine like most child stars in the late 90s early 2000s. Because that dinner conversation as adults would kinda be hilarious and angsty at the same time just like “yeah guys I was coked up that whole time and I barely remember doing any of that” honestly hope they go that route to redeem jd in trolls 4, the theme of 2 of the movies being that trolls are drugs only for the finale’s message to be an anti drug psa iconic.

trolls 4 should have a scene where jd overdoses in a public bathroom

[mask131]

Dionysos: Why paint him fat?

I want to talk of a strangely specific topic that is however not only surrounding Greek mythology fans but also essential to understanding the character of Dionysos (or Dionysus, as English people call him - I never understood where the “us” comes from). Around this seemingly trivial question there is a whole cultural evolution to talk about. And  this question could be summed up as: why is Dionysos fat? How come we went from an effeminate teen in Ancient times to a balding obese man in modern media? Let’s talk about Dionysos’ appearance.

As many of you know, in modern media, and that for quite some times now, Dionysos is depicted as a fat man. A fat drunk man, often balding or bald. The list of these large Dionysoses could be long, but as an example I’ll give you one iconic case: Disney’s take on Dionysos, which mixes the obese old man and the fat baby, and reflects how this “fat Dionysos” is associated with the joke that the god is just a useless and silly drunk here for background comical effect.

While you see this fat Dionysos in numerous recent-days movies, comic books and children books, it isn’t actually as “new” as we would believe. Before the 20th century it was already there. Most notably in paintings: Bacchus/Dionysos was often depicted as an obese man, either a ridiculous fat drunk or a grotesque ugly one.

This image is so prevalent in modern-day culture, it cannot be ignored. But the questions I want to talk about here are: why does this depiction exist ; and is it a “good” way to depict Dionysos?

Because this obese Bacchus is the literal opposite of how the Ancient Greeks depicted Dionysos. As with all Greek gods he was a man of a great beauty with zero body fat (because for Ancient Greeks fatness was ugliness, and the gods are supposed to embody the ideal of Greek beauty) - even more, he was usually an effeminate and androgynous youth. 

So how come this svelt teenage beauty became this old obese drunk?

A first answer is: the mythological confusion. Dionysos, in art, got confused with a close companion of his, the mythological figure of Silenus. Silenus, a satyr or man who was one of Dionysos’ besties, always with him, and who was attested as an old, fat man, constantly drunk to the point he often fell from the donkey he rode and had to be carried by others to stand up. 

And so, while for a Greek the two were definitively separate - with time, painters and artists started to confuse the two and thought that the fat, elderly, drunk clearly not able to stand up on his own WAS Dionysos. Hence how the god inherited all of Silenus’ traits: the “comic” relief nature, the silly drunkness, the baldness, the large belly... 

Plus, as times evolved and drunkness became condemned by modern societies as something vicious, dangerous and in general nasty, people saw this “Silenus portrait” of Bacchus as much more fitting: for them it represented everything drunkness and alcohol had to offer. Grotesque excess, laughable behavior with pathetic bodies, a waste through debauchery resulting in a god that doesn’t look like a god - a god becoming fat, bald and old among the slender and muscular youths. 

But just to place Dionysos’ fatness on Silenus would be over-simplifying a vast and more interesting debate. Because Dionysos was painted as fat long before he was confused with Silenus. You have quite a number of clearly Dionysian Dionysos, separate from the old satyr, youthful depictions of the god as a Greek god... but a chubby one. And that is because during the Renaissance era (to simplify the chronology a bit), ideal and beautiful bodies were painted - maybe not as “fat” as we would believe it today, but definitively plump and curvy. It was a tradition of the painting back then but also a different canon of beauty: skinny meant you were poor or vicious or ugly, having flesh on your body meant you were of good constitution, noble and healthy. People often limit it to the paintings of Rubens, who exemplified this “ideal fleshy body”, but it was something present among numerous painters across countries and centuries.

The Greek gods being the embodiment of beauty ideals, the living personification of aesthetic canons, their body weight also evolved depending on the culture depicting them. And so in Renaissance paintings you have soft-bellied Aphrodites with large hips, you have chubby Apollos, and you have fat Dionysuses. Randing from the god having chubby cheeks and a bit of pudge around the waist:

... to him being truly plus-size, with a big belly and fat rolls: 

Not only was this a different standard of beauty, but depicting Dionysos fat also brought forward connotations of youth. In this type of paintings, children and teenagers were usually depicted with what we would call today their “baby fat” or “freshman fifteen”. It was the chubbiness of youth, and so with gods supposedly eternally young, curves were needed. 

So, if we recap it all, Dionysos started as a slender youth in Ancient Greek, became a chubby youth in paintings, and then became the fat old guy we see everywhere today. But even more - we could say that Dionysos did a full barrel roll (no pun intended) from maturity to youth and back to maturity again. Because indeed, before being depicted as a slender effeminate youth, the older portraits of Dionysos in Ancient Greece depicted him as a mature, bearded man:

And so from a mature bearded god, we went to the androgynous teen, then to the plump young man, and then to the overweight old man. 

But now I want to raise another question: is it a “correct” or “good” depiction of Dionysos? 

This very question will make people scream because - and I agree with that - it should not be asked in such a way. In truth, people can depict the Greek gods any way they like because the gods are symbols and emblems before anything else - as long as someone gets the role, function, essence and symbols of a god, and as long as they show they understand the original Greek spirit, then they can draw the god in any height, size and color they like. But there is still a massive wave of people who want to “get things right”, who are not satisfied with just being faithful in spirit but want to be faithful to a T, and who will scream “IT WASN’T LIKE THAT IN ANCIENT GREECE!!”. And so I will answer them.

Yes, fat Dionysos is not how Ancient Greek mythology or religion would have depicted Dionysos. As I explained, gods aren’t fat in Greek mythology, because fatness is ugliness, and Dionysos was only depicted as either a mature bearded man or as a slender effeminate youth. BUT... it doesn’t mean fat Dionysos didn’t exist in Ancient Greece.

I present to you: Aristophanes’ The Frogs. A Greek comedy that depicts a parodic and humoristic take on Dionysos. Note that Aristophanes isn’t just any Greek writer - he was one of the “big playwright” that embodied Ancient Greek theater as a whole, and he was THE big writer of comedies who embodied the Ancient Greek comedy genre all by himself. (It helps that he was one of the few comedy writers preserved from Ancient Greece). So “The Frogs” isn’t just some random little thing, it was a popular, renowned and well-known play in Ancient Greece. And in it, Aristophanes presents us a caricature of Dionysos as a plump and rotund character, with a prominent, round belly, and who is called “fat” or “pot-bellied” by other characters. The whole point of making Dionysos fat was actually double. On one side, this fat Dionysos served the point of the play, as the plot was about comparing Dionysos and another famous half-god turned full god: Herakles. And Dionysos tried to emulate the strong, brave, muscular Herakles, when in fact he is a fat, lazy and cowardly figure. (Of course there is a commentary of how Herakles became adored through exploits, battling monsters and leading quests, Dionysos essentially became a god for very passive things such as getting drunk on wine). On the other side, making Dionysos fat was a caricature of Dionysos’ androgyny, as for Ancient Greeks fatness made the body of the man effeminate (the fat chest of a man is similar to the one of a woman ; a fat man’s belly is like a pregnant woman’s ; fatness makes the man’s hips wider and more female like, etc...). 

So yes, fat Dionysos did exist in Ancient Greece. A theatrical and parodic version of him, but still. 

In recent media the concept of the “old fat Dionysos” seems to have been gotten rid of, as most modern stories choosing to return to the more traditional depictions of him:

But hopefully fat Dionysos hasn’t been gotten rid of completely! Hopefully because while I don’t personally like Dionysos’ depiction as a “Silenus-like” character, I do think that the past of Dionysos as a fat god shouldn’t be entirely ignored, and could be reused in a world open to more body types in media. What is interesiting however is that recent media, when they keep fat Dionysos, actually play with it or justify it instead of doing the simple “old fat drunk” cliche. See Riordan’s take on Dionysos/Bacchus:

Or how Bacchus’ design evolved in Smite, going from a design originally influenced by the “Silenus-Bacchus” concept (bald, clearly loud and rowdy, with strong, stout, not traditionally pretty facial traits) ; to a new design reflecting more the historical Dionysos as the god becomes youthful, “prettier” in a more conventional way and softer/more delicate in features, while still being fat and bearded:

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

I’m probably going to get heat for this but I don’t think there should be a Britney biopic at all. For several reasons. Firstly, even if SHE approves it herself, she’s quite obviously mentally unwell and I think it’s a bad idea for her with this movie idea. I think she should remove herself further from Hollywood and the spotlight and all this is going to do is thrust her right back into it 😭 Criticism is worse than ever and can you imagine what people will say if she’s in interviews etc 😣 Sometimes she can hardly string sentences together without sounding crazy (respectfully). There also won’t be many actresses with enough talent to play her. I cannot think of one currently. It’s also too soon. Too soon since everything has happened and she’s still young and going through it. Should we really be dredging things up already? 😳 The whole idea feels yuck. It really bothers me when people comment about her Instagram videos and say things like “Queen” and “iconic”. I work with youth and part of it is mental health and her social media is NOT of someone mentally sane. 💔

i don’t think you’ll get heat for this, because i think anyone rational who has been observing her behavior finds it concerning. i don’t believe she is mentally capable of consenting to anything, and it’s predatory for anyone to turn a blind eye to this and pretend that she’s mentally healed just because she’s no longer in a conservatorship. you can believe the conservatorship was wrong/damaging and still acknowledge this. if you watched the doc with wendy williams, i honestly see the same sort of behavior happening with britney.. it’s painfully obvious that she is not well at all, but there are people who cannot admit that because they benefit from her continuing to work, or authorize projects about her.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

PEARL (2022)

A character study about a young woman finding her way through some complicated feeling no one else seems to have. Throughout the film you can see Pearl struggle with her humanity and it is rather fascinating. You get to see how things got set up for the previous movie in the series, “X,” or you can just enjoy this as a stand alone film. The pacing is very good, it wastes no time getting things going or keeping them there. Not a perfect film but a weird one that I think fits nicely into the Horror genre.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Hello Herman” vibes right out the gate, “you’re a superstar, yes you are, yes you are,” but also killing small animals is surely a sign of what's to come in Pearl’s future, I mean, honey… (At least Maxine was just a coke fiend before she met you.) I like that she feeds Theda the alligator but it debunks my “she's a witch” theory from “X” and also I wish she didn’t feed the gator with a pitch fork, what if she stabbed the poor thing and it couldn’t death roll a certain hot blonde in the future?

Pearl exhibits some strange behavior from the beginning of the film, it’s hard to tell if it’s mental illness, a reaction to the stressors of life, or if she might just be a little evil. She doesn’t have the easiest life with her husband at war, her strict mother, her disabled father, and her dashed dreams of dancing for an audience, but she isn’t entirely without. When the man working at the cinema encourages her to live her youth, you feel that she is entitled to spreading her wings a bit, but then we get a harsh reality check at dinner when Mama informs us how tight money is.

The only thing tighter than the money was how tight the women in that house were wound up because it came to physical blows very quickly. The worst part is they both had reasonable points but things heated up so quickly. Speaking of heating up quickly, Mama. Pearl accidentally (on purpose) pushed Mama into the fire and her dress caught up and burned her badly. Papa watched the whole thing (remember, disabled). Mama was sent to the punishment basement to die while father got his favorite pillow. Pearl goes to the cinema worker to run away but he takes her home first and gets spooked and tries to leave so she freaks out and kills him, classic Pearl! Here we get to see her iconic pitchfork before it was iconic.

When the church dance audition rolls around, Pearl really hams it up… Which the Church folk don’t want, they want someone cute and blonde like Pearl's sis-in-law. Pearl gets all her anger and sadness off her chest to her Sissy-in-law before taking a lot of Sissy’s chest and back and everywhere off with an ax. Finally, her husband returns to the gruesome stage Pearl has set with her parents at the table, complete with a roast pig in the middle, rotten, maggoty, and molding. He is horrified at his wife, his Pearl, and all she can do is smile and cry. The unease you feel as Mia Goth grits her teeth at the camera while tears roll down her cheeks, the tendons in her neck splaying out, as the screen slowly closes around her in a black circle, evokes just the final feeling we needed. I felt such sympathy for both characters in that moment though after I remembered what they both got up to in “X” I felt much less bad for them. This movie posed the idea that misery breeds misery. The old “If I can’t be happy, no one can be.” Which is a sickening mindset to have but could explain a lot about the events in “X.”

[dogtoling]

Splatoon and dinosaurs are simultaneously stuck in my head with no signs of leaving anytime soon and after seeing the post about what inklings think of humans I feel super motivated to dump all my headcanons relating to paleontology in the splatoon universe I definitely think mammals, especially marine mammals would be the "dinosaurs" to inklings and other sea creatures, land mammals and other animals like insects reptiles etc would probably be more akin to like, aquatic reptiles and pterosaurs where they're still popular and iconic but not really on the level of dinosaurs and may often get mistaken as one. I do feel like fossils of species before the Cenozoic could still be getting dug up and studied to this day though I don't know how much of an issue inaccurate reconstrucions of animals would be for them, I mean it definitely would still happen but I don't know if it'd be on like, Jurassic World level with a lot of shrinkwrapping and maybe marine mammal fins are reconstructed as having fingers instead, because assuming it hasn't just completely been ruined beyond recognition there'd definitely be statues, pictures, drawings, etc of former life that could be referenced by researchers and used to help them with reconstructions. I think the problem that'd come up would be trying to identify those resources to a particular species which could cause a mix up like a statue of a tiger being confused for a jaguar. And with drawings, if they reference something more stylized they could end up with a few incorrect traits such as a dolphin's eyes being larger than they actually are, and there's a bunch of species that aren't as popular as tigers jaguars and dolphins that wouldn't have so many things of them made so they don't really have a lot of reference material if they even have any, but like considering we are still making reconstructions of prehistoric creatures and have been evolving with their accuracy when we didn't have a sentient species documenting their appearance and behaviors I don't think that'd be much of an issue Mammals would 100% be used like dinosaurs are in media, a movie where people are exploring an ocean then somehow this killer whale just appears and starts eating them or something is something I can see existing in the splatoon universe.. PLENTY of documentaries about life in the Cenozoic for sure, I think that killer whales would be seen as a T. rex I mean it's a huge and super cool predator what else could it be, other dolphins would be seen as other large theropods, leopard seals would probably be seen as velociraptors etc Yeah normally with larger pieces of texts like this my wording might end up being weird or I didn't really explain something in a way that made sense but I think I got it pretty clear

i dont even know if i'm going to add anything to this bc i agree with pretty much the whole thing. TL;DR i think it's pretty clear that some mammals and land animals that are iconic in our day are also still popular in the Mollusc Era due to appearing in some of their items; and yeah this is likely because humans created so much stuff OF those animals that there is no way a lot of that isn't being found, dug up, and associated with the creatures. Marine mammals are the most relevant in setting to most creatures in the Mollusc Era, so those are also the most popular (we literally see an anthropomorphized manatee on a sweater in Splatoon 3); also i really hope there's a lot of academic arguing on whether some popular commonly depicted creatures like dragons or gryphons or trolls are real animals