#thoughts on media

[juneiper-art]

this is a tangent but i think one unfortunate side effect of media focusing on 'morally good people' or whatever is that it denies us the chance to see characters who are incredibly fucked up and who do terrible things to themselves and others like... healing. Like idk man maybe its just me but sometimes i feel hopeless about my own path to healing and making these characters who survive horrible things in horrible ways like...helps me. It doesn't really help when i see a person who is always good doing good things through horrible events and having a good ending, I guess. it's not that simple to me. really caught up on this idea that sometimes what we do to survive can't be considered 'good' but i'm trying to find grace for that in my own life and for others in their lives, you know.

[talekk]

Just stayed up all night watching what I assume is the final season of umbrella academy and while I thought it was good some sections of it felt rushed or too contrived and I wish they'd had maybe two more episodes to work around. I get that there were a lot of spinning plates and they had to get from plot point A to plot point B but this season was only 6 episodes whereas all the others had 10 and I think this one definitely would have benefited from that extra runtime.

[crimsoncold]

Ah yes when authors or creators totally fudge the execution of their story and/or view their character in a way that is not actually supported by the very content they have created...

Complex and flawed characters are often more interesting than ones that are "perfect," whether or not they get the opportunity for growth or change in the story. Anti heroes can be refreshing and more compelling than traditional heroes. Villains themselves can be extremely entertaining, and occasionally are the best part of a piece of media...

But the author and narrative needs to have some coherency in their understanding, treatment, or presentation of their characters.

(When I say this I don't mean an author should be expected to explicitly condemn their character or their character's actions ....that is where one's basic reading comprehension comes in)

But rather I mean that when a creator doesn't understand or has an incredibly inaccurate view of their character or their character's actions- one that is totally unsupported by their actual body of work- it becomes incredibly frustrating as a reader or viewer.

I start to become irritated with the story, suspect the author is incompetent as a storyteller/incapable of engaging with media (even their own) in a thoughtful in depth manner, lose faith in their ability to make an engaging well thought out narrative, and often no longer feel its worth my time to continue to watch or read their story.

Truly I'm fine with a narrative or character that an author purposefully makes and understands is dark/disturbing/monstrous/satirical/misleading or unreliable

... but please, please just give me anything other than an author sincerely (i.e. delusionally) presenting or believing something or someone is virtuous and good when everything in their body of work indicates they are really just awful...

(Being you know a typical reasonable person I posess the ability to analyze and separate the content/actions/words of fictional characters from the opinions and values of the author... and I can appreciate dark stories or character without feeling like it says something bad about my own morals and without requiring the author to justify their choices by either incorporating some sort of moral lesson or explicitly condemning/critiquing something within their work itself... e.g. I am still unapologetically a huge fan of hannibal (series) and hannigram- awesome dark show/dark pairing...)

or on the other end of this same scale (and another pet peeve of mine) when it's not the author or story with a disconnect but rather fans who are interpreting a character in a manner distinctly unlike how the story actually presents them.

Being totally in denial about the flaws/mistakes/darker aspects of a character, badly misinterpreting the author's story, rejecting or outright ignoring all the obvious canon evidence that their favorite character made a mistake/was in the wrong/or is much darker than they are willing to admit, or harassing fans whose interpretation/opinion does not match their own heavily biased one...

(Guys just accept/embrace a character's flaws or even their villainous aspects and enjoy whatever story or character you want to...you can like a fictional character without having to deliberately/inaccurately interpret them as always in the right or perfectly virtuous... you don't have to have/fabricate moral justifications to support you liking a character ... they are fictional characters ... you are free to like/appreciate/critique/dislike/or otherwise engage with characters... but they don't exist and their actions aren't real ...you don't need to purposefully bury your head in the sand or go to other extremes to defend someone/something that doesn't exist)

Here's the thing I keep trying to articulate and possibly failing: I don't actually mind characters who are terrible people. I have enjoyed many. What I mind is characters who are terrible people while the narrative keeps trying to say that they are wonderful, often contradicting what the narrative shows us, with no self awareness

[noodles-and-tea]

Our hextech dream….

[tariah23]

Oh brother

[fanaticalthings]

Bruce Wayne except he texts like an ominous boomer

wdym you can't tell if he's threatening them?

Based on this post by @mysterycitrus :)

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Bonus:

Happy birthday, Tim 🥰

[badolmen]

People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

Edit: if you are able, use $5 you would otherwise use for a streaming subscription to donate to a GazaFunds campaign.

[captaingimpy]

Roko’s Basilisk and the Broader AI Conversation: A Reflection on Fear, Control, and Human Nature

Hey everybody! Recently, I watched a very long YouTube video, on the thought experiment “Roko’s Basilisk” merchandising posted to a YouTube channel called Aperture. For your convenience, I will include the video here. And if you guys wanna watch and discuss, I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments. Recently, I watched a video that expanded on the infamous thought experiment,…

[mroddmod]

they are like puppies. 2 me

[sharks3ye]

Oh i didnt post this here yet?? Hi

[nekhcore]

HEY YOU!

Yeah, you! Are you trans? Do you like reading books? Or watching movies?

Do you like media about trans men/transmasculine characters but don't know where to find it?

That's sooo crazy because I have this little spreadsheet I'm working on where I'm trying to document all media with protagonists/major characters who are FTM or transmasculine.

The spreadsheet currently has 400+ entries spread across the following categories:

Books

Manga

Memoirs and non-fiction

Movies

TV Shows

Graphic novels / Comics

Webcomics

Audio dramas

Books and movies are also sorted by:

Which character is trans (MC, love interest, antagonist, etc)

If the trans character is POC

The trans character's sexuality (Because I saw lots of transhet guys sad about only being able to find gay romances)

If the author/actor is also trans (if we know for sure)

It's free to use, and free to add to as well! Editing permissions are on, and I check on the spreadsheet every now and then to make sure everything is in order and to clean up.

If you know something that isn't on the list, please add it! You don't have to fill in every single column, but fill it to the best of your abilities.

If you don't want to use the big ass long link below, you can also use: bit.ly/FTM-protags

I made this because I want it to be a community resource. So even if you're not a trans guy or transmasculine person, please reblog!

[forecast0ctopus]

i get it now these guys are cool

[composeregg]

edit (10/23/2024) now that the poll is over: Original version, with 10 questions, from April 2023 here

And, given that the original is from April 2023, that means I can very easily say:

No, this was not an ISAT reference!

Just because I use parentheses and 2nd person pov and love the same concepts of what a time loop can do to a person doesn't mean it's ISAT

(Yes, I like ISAT, the original poll is why I was recommended the game! But if you look at the original, you can see all the origins of the options to choose from, including what spurred me on with the moss option from the replies)

If I were going to make something for ISAT, I would never be so vague, you can simply look at my ao3 for proof of that

[laddersofsweetmisery]

I don't see enough people mourning over the slow death of physical media. And I don't just mean TV shows, video games, or movies--which don't even get me started about how we don't really 'own' anything anymore. It includes notes, journals, and letters to one another...so much of our history is lost when we lose a password, a website goes down, a file/hardware is corrupted, or a platform disappears. History that doesn't seem important until you no longer have access to it. Physical media does a lot for memory recall. How many memories will we lose because we don't have something tangible to tie it back to? Something to hold in our hands and stir up those memories we thought were once lost? Sometimes I wonder what the difference between burning a book and losing access to physical media is when someone can pull the plug and remove your access so easily.

[grrlterrier]

Lesbians should start using the battle axe, or “Labrys” as a symbol of empowerment again

[dollyhyuckii]

+1 new post from dollyhyuckii ၇୧ㅤㅤ

(강화하다) — DOWN BAD ENHYPEN ۟ ׅ ͡ ୨ৎ

౨ৎ in which … enhypen is down bad for you

── 𝑬𝑵𝑯𝒀𝑷𝑬𝑵 (강화) ꒰ 𝒈. headcanons, suggestive, fluff (fluff for the maknae line) ౨ৎ 𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺: not proofread, pet names- baby, doll, pretty, beautiful and princess ˖ ་. 𝑾𝑪: 250-300 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝑬𝑨𝑪𝑯 𝑴𝑬𝑴𝑩𝑬𝑹٫ 𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀~ enhypen being down bad for you

秋のメモ… ︵ ︵ ིྀ got this idea from all the tiktoks ive been seeing, like and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

── 𝑫𝑶𝑳𝑳𝒀𝑯𝒀𝑼𝑪𝑲𝑰𝑰'𝑺 𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑹𝒀 ౨ৎ

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、LEE HEESEUNG

heeseung wasn’t subtle, not in the way his eyes kept finding you across the room, or the way his lips curved into that soft, almost helpless smile every time you looked at him. he wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore..

you were sitting on the couch, focused on on your phone, completely unaware of the way he was practically melting into the chair he’d claimed as his spot for the evening. his cheek was propped against his fist, eyes lazily tracing the shape of your face.

“baby” he muttered, voice low but enough to catch your attention

you hummed, barely glancing up “yeah?”

“you’re so pretty” he blurted, the words coming out with a mix of sincerity and disbelief, like he was still trying to process how someone like you was siting here with him.

your lips twitched into a smile, but you didn’t give him the reaction he clearly wanted. “is this your new thing now?, staring at me and saying whatever’s on your mind?”

he laughed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “can you blame me baby?, you look so good all the time, it’s distracting”

this time, you looked at him fully, arching a brow “distracting?, you’re the one who has nothing to do but sit there and admire me”

“and what’s wrong with that?” he tilted his head, his smirk turning into something softer “i could do this all day baby”

he wasn’t kidding, heeseung’s gaze was so heavy with affection, it almost made your stomach flutter, almost.

“down bad much?” you teased, setting your phone aside

“for you?” he didn’t hesitate, his voice steady and warm “always baby”

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗝𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗦𝗘𝗢𝗡𝗚

jay leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching you like he was waiting for the right moment to pound on you at any second. the kitchen was quiet except for the faint hum of the fridge, and you were oblivious to his intense stares as you reached for a glass of water.

“princess” he drawled, his voice low and thick like honey, cutting through the silence

you turned your head, eyes meeting his “hm?”

he lips curled into a smirk m, his dark eyes trailing down your figure. “you look so beautiful princess.., you did this on purpose beautiful?”

you blinked, caught of guard. “what are you talking about?, im literally only in sweats”

jay pushed of the counter, closing the distance between you in slow steps, he towered over you now, his head tilting slightly as his gaze dropped to your lips

“that doesn’t matter.” he said, his voice dropping lower. “you make anything look good princess”

your pulse quickened, but you refused to let him see it. “your being ridiculous”

“am i?” he leaned down, his face so close you could feel the warmth of his breath “or do you like it when i can’t keep my eyes off of you?”

your fingers tightened around the glass, but you kept your expression neutral. “you’re imagining things jay”

he chuckled softly, his hand brushing against yours as he took the glass from you and set it on the counter. “am i imagining how much you like it when i get close to you like this beautiful”

your silence gave you away, and the smirk on his face only grew

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、SIM JAEHYUN

jake swore he wasn’t staring. okay maybe he was but could you blame him? you were sitting on the edge of the bed, tying your hair back, and somehow the simple act had him completely mesmerized.

your focus was elsewhere, completely oblivious to the way his jaw was slack, his fingers frozen halfway through scrolling on his phone. you looked over your shoulder and caught his gaze, raising a brow.

“baby what?” you asked, a small smile tugging at your lips.

jake blinked, as if snapping out of a trance. “nothing.”

“doesn’t look like nothing” you teased, standing to stretch. your shirt lifted slightly, revealing a sliver of skin, and jake audibly exhaled.

“baby” he groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “you’re killing me pretty.”

you tilted your head, playing innocent. “i’m literally just standing here.”

“exactly” he said, tossing his phone aside and sitting up on the bed. “you don’t even have to try baby, and I’m losing my mind”

you crossed your arms, giving him a challenging look. “sounds like a you problem.”

jake laughed softly, but his eyes were dark as they roamed over you. “oh, it’s definitely my problem” he muttered, pulling you by the wrist so you stumbled into his lap.

“jake..”

“don’t act so surprised,” he murmured, brushing your hair back to look at you fully. “you know what you do to me, baby. and you know i’ll never get enough of you.”

his smile was sweet, but the look in his eyes was anything but.

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、PARK SUNGHOON

sunghoon stared at his phone, the faint glow of the screen illuminating his face in the dim light of his room. it had only been two days since he’d seen you, but it felt like weeks. he groaned, tossing the phone onto the bed before running a hand through his hair.

this was ridiculous. you weren’t that far away, but for some reason, the thought of spending another day without seeing you made him restless.

his phone buzzed with a notification, and his heart jumped. it was a simple text from you: “what are you up to baby?”

without thinking, he typed back,”missing you”

your reply came quickly, “it’s been two days, hoon”

he sighed, leaning back against the headboard. two days too long. he typed again, his thumbs moving faster than his thoughts. “come over doll”

you sent a laughing emoji, followed by, “you’re really that down bad for me?”

he didn’t even hesitate, “yes”

it didn’t take long before his phone rang. he answered immediately, your voice warm and teasing on the other end. “sunghoon, you saw me two days ago”

“i know doll” he said, his tone soft but insistent. “but two days feels like forever. just… let me see you, princess. i’ll drive over if o have to”

you laughed, but he could hear the affection in your tone. “fine, but you owe me”

sunghoon grinned, already grabbing his keys. “anything you want doll, just hurry”

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、KIM SUNOO

you weren’t expecting to see sunoo standing outside your workplace, but there he was, leaning against the hood of his car with the brightest smile you’d seen all week. his hair fell perfectly into place, and he looked so effortlessly pretty that your heart skipped a beat.

“sunoo?” you called as you approached, confused but smiling. “what are you doing here baby?”

he pushed off the car and opened his arms dramatically. “picking up my favorite person of course”

you laughed, stopping in front of him. “you know i could’ve taken the bus, you didn’t have to come all the way here”

“i did though beautiful” he said, his tone soft as his arms dropped to his sides. “i missed you baby”

your heart melted instantly. “it’s been what, eight hours?”

“eight very long hours” he countered, pouting slightly. “do you know how hard it is to go a whole day without seeing my beautiful girl?”

you rolled your eyes playfully, but the warmth in your chest gave you away. “you’re so dramatic”

“maybe” he admitted with a grin, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. “but i just couldn’t wait until tonight baby, so here i am.”

you shook your head, but the smile on your face only grew more. “what would you have done if i said i already had plans?”

“crash them” he said without missing a beat, opening the car door for you. “because wherever you are is where i want to be baby.”

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、YANG JUNGWON

jungwon followed you through the store, hands tucked into his pockets as he watched you browse through the store windows. you stopped in front of a display of necklaces, your eyes lighting up as you picked up a delicate silver one with a tiny star pendant.

“this is so pretty,” you murmured, turning it in your hands to admire it.

jungwon smiled softly, leaning slightly closer. “you should get it baby”

you hesitated, glancing at the price tag before setting it back down with a sigh. “it’s cute, but i don’t really need it”

he frowned, the sight of your smile tugging at his heart. but he didn’t push it, he knew you too well. “ready to go then baby?” he asked casually.

“yeah” you gave the necklace one last look before turning toward the exit.

as soon as you walked ahead, jungwon slipped back into the display, grabbing the necklace without hesitation. he made his way to the register, keeping one eye on you to make sure you didn’t notice.

later that evening, you found a small box on your nightstand. confused, you picked it up and opened it, gasping when you saw the necklace inside.

“jungwon” you called, stepping into the living room.

he looked up from the couch, innocence all over his “yes?”

“you bought it?”

he smiled, shrugging. “you really wanted it didn’t you baby?”

your chest warmed as you walked over, wrapping your arms around him. “you’re too sweet, you know that?”

“only for you, baby”

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི 、NISHIMURA RIKI

niki wasn’t sure how he ended up here, sitting cross legged on your bedroom floor, completely ignoring the video game controller in his hands as he watched you work on your homework at your desk.

you weren’t doing anything extraordinary, just scribbling notes in your messy handwriting, but somehow you had all of his attention. he didn’t even notice he was smiling until you turned around and caught him staring.

“niki what?” you asked raising a brow.

he blinked, quickly trying to play it cool. “nothing”

“doesn’t look like it” you teased, spinning your chair to face him.

niki huffed, setting the controller aside. “you’re just… cute okay?”

your cheeks flushed and you tilted your head. “cute? i’m literally just doing homework”

“yeah, but you make it look cute” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

you couldn’t help but laugh at his shy confession. “you’re so weird sometimes you know that?”

“maybe” he shot back, a playful smirk forming on his lips. “but you like it baby”

you rolled your eyes, but the smile tugging at your lips betrayed you. “sure,sure now stop staring and go back to your game”

“can’t” he said, leaning back on his hands. “i’d rather watch you”

your heart fluttered at his words, and you threw a pillow at him to hide your flustered expression.

niki just laughed, catching the pillow with ease. “you’re not getting rid of me that easily baby”

©dollyhyuckii ꒰ do not rewrite, copy, repost, or translate any of my works without permission ۟ ׅ ͡ ୨ৎ