#unironically I love it when a character is a rapist and to play down that aspect of his character in the dlc does him and Miquella both

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

As someone that likes Mohg precisely BECAUSE he’s a creep with heavily implied sexual abuse implications (either in a literal or metaphorical sense, either way “bloody bedchamber” with an unconscious person is not subtle in the least) I absolutely agree. I actually DONT think he beat the allegations at all, and people are just going with that because that’s what they want to see, and the DLC playing up the whole ~oohhhh he’s a poor victim~ angle way too much (from a biased source) certainly doesn’t help.

We see through people like Leda and Hornsent especially (who openly states his distrust of you!) that the charm is NOT total mind control, and furthermore they’re self-aware of it. Even Ansbach didn’t switch fully to serving Miquella, rather his goal was to find out why he was there. It can prevent people from hurting Miquella, sure, but with Mohg’s twisted sense of “love” as far as he was aware he’s not, so I don’t think it would stop him. And these are non-demigod characters we’re talking about. The dynasty was still all Mohg’s, and he wished to make Miquella a god under the formless mother, which is not Miquella’s plan. And I also don’t buy Miq counting on him being killed either, cause that’s way too unreliable, you can become Elden lord or even burn the world down without ever setting foot in his area. I think Miquella merely was adapting to failed plans, and the charm only fed into Mohg’s pre-existing obsession. But since the game shied away from showing how Mohg hurt Miquella, the main story feels poorly done, and that’s before getting into all the Radahn nonsense and how the Haligtree isn’t mentioned at all, and how important Malenia is to him largely forgotten.

controversial opinion maybe: i dont think mohg should have ever beaten the allegations

It's like... I dont know how to describe it... A character who was initially perceived as evil, kidnapping their half-brother from their sacred resting place, with overall strange incestous/pedophilic implications.......

Only for the two-year long awaited DLC to come out for it to be like, "Naw it's actually a reversal were the Eternally Cursed Child is the predator who bewitched the poor sad man who established a Blood Cult, and kidnaps Albinaurics and War Surgeons and uses Maidens blood in rituals in the name of a bloody Outer God" who is a victim actually 🤪

and im like

[surejo]

( victoria pedretti, cis woman ) hey ! have you seen JOSEPHINE “JO” CORMAC around ? SHE works at the HOT COCOA STAND at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 24 years old & they’ve been working here for TWO YEARS. they tend to be +OPTIMISTIC & +EMPATHETIC, but can also be -IMPRACTICAL & -PASSIVE. the other employees have labeled them THE IDEALIST. thanks a lot ! ( the few nights the stars can be seen, books worn down by dog-ears and marks left throughout the years, the first crisp breeze of autumn, the duality… of t.s. eliot ) 

OK. a few notes before i get started:

1) i hope everyone loves how i literally j copied my ivan stuff. url format? ‘sure jan’ lives on. theme? too lazy to find a different one that’s easy to work with. luv that for me. 2) speaking of this theme i forget if i addressed this on ivan’s blog but tabbed bullets don’t appear tabbed.... so if anything seems like it doesn’t make total sense.... it is supposed to be tabbed™. 3) get ready for drama!!!!! you may ask yourself “but the app looks so tame! there will be no drama!” but you are wrong........ because she loves cats. the t.s. eliot book......... the musical........ even the movie.

ok jo,, is also a resurrected character,,, hence how i already kno,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that she loves cats. anyway ! let’s begin ! (listen,,,, the intro format will at least be a little different from ivan’s ok im evolving)

QUICK FACTS:

full name: josephine “jo” rose cormac

date of birth: march 6, 1995

*does not perfectly reflect the below big three zodiac chart because that’s too much math

zodiac big three: pisces sun, gemini moon, cancer rising

gender & pronouns: cis woman & she/her

sexual orientation: bisexual ( preference for women bc we luv that for her but we also luv leaving things open to chemistry )

education: bachelor in english - literature that she is doing nothing with

enneagram: 2w1

mbti: infp

various inspirations: eleanor crain ( the haunting of hill house ), dolores price *as a child and towards the end of the book ( she’s come undone ), fox 8 ( fox 8: a story ), “why try to change me now?” - fiona apple (cover), “be still” - the killers

BACKGROUND INFO:

triggers: verbal/mental/emotional abuse/gaslighting, very slight implication of spousal abuse, brief mention of car accident/death & drowning

( ivan and jo’s breakout pop-punk single: “fuck happy backstories!” stream it on spotify ! )

jo......... was born into the wrong family, let’s get that out of the way.

it was pretty clear she was a ploy to save the marriage of her parents ( who have names: lucy and benjamin, luv that for them ). it didn’t seem like they’d ever picked up a parenting book, gone to a parenting class, rly prepped for being a parent at all...... in their entire lives.

that being said, her mom was actually decent at parenting. her major flaw, though? ok, so you know how kids usually have that one bedtime story that they love and want it to be read to them over and over? well lucy complied ! but y’all wanna know what that book was ?

t.s. eliot’s “old possum’s book of practical cats” whfeiuldjkn

anyway ! when jo was seven, after many failed attempts and simple threats, her mom was finally divorcing benjamin for realz. due to his volatile nature, it was becoming very clear that she was the more fit parent and she almost got sole custody ( the only reason benjamin was motivated for it in the first place was the power so?? )! how exciting!

but the keyword is ‘almost’!

alexa, play ‘my heart will go on’ but the off-tune flute version

just as the proceedings were going through, jo’s mother was hit by a drunk driver on new year’s eve. the car skidded onto some ice, minimal damage done... then the ice broke.

jo and benjamin both devolved after that. jo withdrew more into herself and pretty much coped by..... just reading old possum’s a LOT (hate that for her). all mopey, benjamin became much less outwardly violent. the keyword is ‘outwardly.’

ya, instead of j bein like “i will just chill” he was like “i will just make my rage more subtle because in this house, we love intimidation, manipulation, hostility, the blame game, and gaslighting! uwu” managed to convince jo that her mother’s death was somehow her fault, that he was the only person she could trust, that she will never be able to live without someone else, etc., etc.

a few years in and a cycle of many impromptu sleepovers began. luv that for her. hate that for her, but luv that for her. 

there is a lot i cld talk abt here, but it all seems like it cld j be tl;dr’d as: “basically became the surrogate daughter of a bunch of other people”

as for things that r not tragique™, jo was v much a drifter when it came to friends. managed to make a fair amount bc she does not seem like she will put a tadpole in ur hand like ivan. also j a people-pleaser but that’s starting to get into her personality which is another section.

did go to college. luv that for her. has NO CLUE what she’s going to do with her degree, but she can make some really sick niche william faulkner jokes. 

began seasonally working at big bear during the winter break of her last year in college because bitch needed some money!! wound up loving it and was like “i think,,,, i will continue to do this,,,, the people here,,,, r cul,,,,”

still visits benjamin every once in a while. not a way to say that uwu you should forgive ur abusive parent(s) uwu rather that jo.... still has slight belief in him. just to end on something emo.

THE REST IS HISTORY!!!!

TL;DR:

started life out as a saddie, not a baddie. still not a baddie, but no longer as much of a saddie. loves “cats” and there is no irony to that statement. can make good niche literary jokes, but that’s about it.

PERSONALITY/MISCELLANEOUS INFO:

a child. a literal child. a child to the point that she should have supervision when she goes on grocery trips because she falls for marketing ploys so easily. can’t believe she hasn’t fallen into a pyramid scheme yet.

an absolute dumbass. again, can make some great niche william faulkner jokes, but ask her the order of the planets? “...well mars is somewhere in there.”

unironically LOVES cats - both the musical and movie. thinks jennifer hudson’s grizabella is the best. will start sharing random facts about it or old possum’s book of practical cats if she runs out of things to talk about but feels pressured to keep talking. was broken when she first read a different t.s. eliot poem and realized he was actually super dark. the only thing that got her through it was a comparison to batman :\ bruce wayne is old possum’s, batman is everything else.

to take a brief break from fun personality facts, v down on herself bc benjamin’s words rly!! stuck with her!! convinced she is an absolute idiot and does not trust her own memory. v indecisive bc of this and always longs for someone to help her figure things out. tries to distance herself from memories of her mother because, again, benjamin got to her. her love of cats doesn’t help that, but... can you believe that’s her coping mechanism? makes up for it by giving all of her love 2 everyone else!! we love tragedy!! and needing to go to therapy!!

secretly knows her love of cats is weird and dumb. a part of her knows why it’s considered one of the worst musicals ever. but LISTEN. we luv rly weird coping mechanisms!

big dreamer. will develop the most impractical goals. she usually knows they are impractical, but still..... uwu

has decided everyone is good until proven bad! except for,,,, like,,, murderers and rapists,,,,

is #StraightEdge for the most part,,,, literally has a drink maybe three times per year

says “like” a whole lot for someone who majored in english with a concentration in literature and should therefore be more eloquent.

i am not great at these sections!! feel free 2 j refer to her zodiac, personality tests, and character influences!!

literally fox 8. i put the others there bc she’s similar but wow,,,, if u read fox 8 (it’s a short story i recommend it i luv george saunders u can find a pdf online),,,, she is fox 8. 

here u go here is a sample that doesnt need context: "Fox 4 woslike: No ofense, Fox 8? Your ideas are not super praktikal. Dreem, dreem, dreem, said Fox 11. Fox 41 woslike: Fox 8, does this honestly never get old for you?"

OH ALSO. she has a slet. a cat,,,,, named asparagus,,,, whom she calls “gus”,,,,, and y’all know WHY.

recent development: has downloaded tor so she can get on the dark web. why? because she thinks there will be more funny animal videos on there. is shockingly good at navigating it.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

close friends bc we luv that –– roman (nuanced), aylie (nuanced), hazel (nuanced), cleo (nuanced), vic (nuanced), marco (nuanced)

childhood friends whom she possibly had impromptu sleepovers with bc that is v soft and,,,,, y’all i left the city blank for a reason. –– hazel, marco, 

on that note, the person who was like “wait,,,,,,, u know that book was turned into a musical right,,,,,, like,,,,, a musical literally everyone knows” and shook jo’s world

good influence / bad influence –– cleo, vic, 

~*confidant*~

roommate

exes –– ian,

reciprocated pining

unreciprocated pining

someone..... who has accepted..... that she likes cats.... in a way that is not ironic. will see the movie with her. –– aylie, 

an enemy,,,,,, aka this person was like “cats is literally the worst thing in the entire world” and now they r on jo’s very short hit list –– riley

idk!!! im also obvs up for brainstorming!!! luv that!!!

** descriptive connections page is here ( only people who i’m messaging are on it, but i ?? would love to plot w everyone ?? so don’t make the short list make u think i’m trying 2 limit it 2 these ppl auhfoeidla )

LIKE THIS OR HMU TO PLOT !

[algernoninwonderland]

Why the Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics is a rubbish idea, and how to do better

I’ve been reading fanfictions for almost a decade now, younger me really liked Johnlock and Stony and things like that. I’ve read some godawful things and some genuinely great stuff. But if there’s one thing I’ve always felt quite iffy about, it’s the a/b/o dynamics and the omegaverse things.

I genuinely believe that the entire premise of the omegaverse is rubbish and really easy to use to portray harmful ideas, relationships and power structures as something hot and sexy and whatnot when it’s clearly terrible.

Let’s:

1. Take a look at what the a/b/o premise is 2. See what is utter rubbish about it 3. Propose a few ideas to avoid writing an omegaverse fic (if you still wish to write one) which present these ideas at face value

But before we begin, a few things:

First, the themes of rape, sexual violence and abusive relationships will be discussed during this, so there’s a tw tag for these things.

Secondly, I do not believe that depicting terrible things in art means you automatically condone them. Take the way Toni Morrison deals with that scene between Pecola and her father in The Bluest Eye, for instance (that’s the one example that comes to my mind but there are countless others). But I also believe that you have to be responsible when you depict terrible things, and that you should try to make sure what you produce cannot be interpreted as an endorsement of these things.

I’m not here to tell you you are a bad person if you enjoy omegaverse fics, I don’t know you and I’m not here to judge you as people, I wish to engage with ideas and the way they may impact people.

At last, I am not here to tell you what to think or what to write. These are just my thoughts and suggestions, nothing more. I have no authority over you, I can’t tell you what to do.

Are we good?

Alright, then, let’s get started!

1. What are these Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics all about?

There are posts all over the internet for that’ll explain you that in more detail than this post, a Fanlore wiki page here if you want to read that, it does a great job at tracking down the history of a/b/o, but I’ll sum it up here with a few extra things I think are relevant.

So, in the omegaverse, the society is split between two, or three categories. Characters are either alphas, betas or omegas, well-established roles, socially and genetically: Alphas are in a position of power, the sexually ‘dominant’ ones, whereas the Omega is the opposite of this and the one to carry the Alpha’s seed and whatnot (there are no other ways to put it); the beta is sort of a middle ground between the two.

This introduction of these concepts and that distinction between so-called Alphas, Betas and Omegas comes from a 1970 bestseller, “The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species” by zoologist L. D. Mech, and we’ll talk a little more about that thesis later.

So it is not surprising that the omegaverse tropes are really common in werewolf fiction and werewolf AUs. Teen Wolf and Supernatural have thousands of these fics on ao3 alone, and there’s more on many other websites.

The classic narrative scheme is the following: the strong and domineering Alpha is in heat and mates with a submissive Omega, bonding with them in the process. The great majority of these fics are M/M fics.

What we have here is the superposition of a social role and of biological functions: the Alpha is in a position of absolute power from a social, and material standpoint, and is the one who gets to impregnate their partner/partners, they have the most sexual power. To put things crudely, they are the ones to make use of their penises whereas the beta/omega does not have this sexual intensity and plays a more passive role.

In the omegaverse, you need Alpha blood and an Alpha’s social status to have sex the way an Alpha has sex, you need to have Alpha blood to live like one. These two things cannot be dissociated. And sex… There’s a lot of it in the omegaverse, I mean it’s basically the offshoot of other kink fics and is pretty much a kink itself.

2. So, OK, the hierarchical aspect of the relationship is a bit weird, and maybe Mpreg is as well, but that’s it, right?

Well not only. Remember that thing about the 1970 bestseller? Its own author acknowledges that it is biologically incorrect and does not apply to wolves at all. There are no such things as Alphas, Betas and Omegas in wolf packs.

But did that keep people from using these notions even though they have been proven to be rubbish?

I mean, the alt right seems to love them and uses them unironically so, I don’t know… And so do some fics. Does that mean that all a/b/o fics are inherently fascist? For the most part, I don’t think so. But they don’t always try to detach themselves from that either.

What about the sex? Yes, let’s talk about sex. That’s the main reason why 14yo me once clicked on one of these fics, out of curiosity and because I was 14 and didn’t know better. I regret so many things.

Sex in the a/b/o fics is very explicit, very anatomically inaccurate (though it’s not why we click on these in the first place, or smut in general, but none of the gay/bi/pan men I personally know enjoy a/b/o), and quite often, it’s very fucked up sex. Dubious consent, underage sex, outright rape, you name it, that’s what tags are for.

Sex in the omegaverse is a traumatic experience with that strong sense of hierarchy, a possessive alpha and their possession, an omega. It often comes with knotting, too. And if you don’t know what that is, you’re really lucky, don’t google that, ever. Just know that, at least in the beginning, sex doesn’t feel good for the beta/omega, and when it does, it still comes with quite some pain.

I’d argue that sex in a/b/o fics is not too far off from the uke/seme dynamics in yaoi, the two even overlap: there’s an “attacker” and a “receiver”. This is not just dom/subs, which can still be healthy, it’s almost spelled out “the way these have men have sex is downright abusive”. I won’t discuss the rape tropes in yaoi here, many have done so before and better than I could ever do it, but they’re here.

The Alpha is the attacker, depicted with hyper (and obviously toxic) masculine traits and quite the emphasis on his… Membrum virile. He is not the one who has to carry the child in the case of a Mpreg fic. He can’t act any other way, it’s in his blood, it’s his nature, his instincts, he can’t help it if he’s in heat and wants to fuck. Oh, I sure wonder what that sort of justifications makes me think of. I’m sure you’ll find it.

The Omega, on the other hand, is in a position of inferiority because of his role during sex and due to his social status: he is submissive, abused, soft-spoken and physically weaker than the Alpha. He is belittled because he is the one who can give birth to a child, yet a prized possession — not a being, a possession—  because of that. Change the pronouns from “he” to “she” and there you'll have a nice surprise. (It’s really not surprising at all).

I’d like to quote a prompt also featured in the Fanlore wiki page for a/b/o, and think about it for a little while.

“There are three types of men, alpha males, beta males, and omega males. Alpha males are like any ordinary guy with the exception of their cocks, they work just like canines (the knot, tons of cum, strong breeders, etc) The beta male, is an ordinary guy without the special cock. Omega males are capable of child bearing and often called bitch males”

The use of “bitch” here is extremely revealing, don’t you think? We’ve got both the animalistic aspect and the misogynistic undertones that come with it. And we, readers, are supposed to find that sexy.

So, what we have is M/M fics dripping with rape culture, misogyny, homophobic clichés (the rampant homosexual and his uncontrollable and violent sexual urges). And don’t get me started on the transphobia and transmisogyny, and racism (when there are POC in at all, which is to say rarely).

Does this mean all writers who write a/b/o fics are rampant misogynistic, homophobic people who endorse rape culture?

The answer is complicated. But, as a former member of the “not like the other girls” group, I’d say that internalised misogyny is very, very pernicious. Rape narratives are ubiquitous in modern “Western” culture. And a/b/o often perpetuates homophobic clichés.

3. What do we do now?

With such a terrible premise, it would be wise to not write anything a/b/o at all.

But perhaps with a self-aware approach, perhaps by subverting these tropes, by dissociating this “biological” aspect from the societal one or by throwing them out the window completely, writing something a little more interesting is possible.

Showing that these categories are rubbish and an artificial construction, for instance. Have the rape victim get away from his rapist, or even better, no rape at all. Have the couple adopt children.

But, personally, I believe writing something else than a/b/o is still the better option.

Fan fiction, fan content can be so much more than these terrible shitty things if we try our best to know where ideas come from, what they imply and how to execute on them.

[dearyallfrommatt]

The thing that's so funny about people complaining that Captain Marvel is pro-feminism is that Carol Danvers was originally portrayed as a pro-feminist superhero, something new and daring from your friends at dear ol' Marvel. That's why she was called "Ms. Marvel." A woman calling herself "Ms." whether or not "Mrs. or Miss" applied was a huge deal back then. It was the source of debate on political talk shows and you dickheads that get incensed at someone's use of pronouns, you sound just like them. Congratulations, you're the folks Stan Lee and Chris Claremont were making fun of in the '70s. People who wore flares and bellbottoms unironically consider you a source of mirth.

She was introduced as the Lois Lane for Marvel's Captain Marvel He was an alien guy sent to spy on us but fell in love with humans, yadda yadda; it's an old story. After his debut, it was revealed that the overwhelming majority of his race is blue-skinned, he is white, and "you know about those white-skinned Krees." His commanders looked down on him and gave him shit jobs like spying on Earth so the original Captain Marvel was actually a minority working under a racially oppressive system.

So, Carol was an Air Force major when she ran into Captain Marvel. Probably due to copyright reasons, she soon became part-Kree through comic book whim-wham, and the world was introduced to Ms. Marvel, the one with the sash. When she got her own book, she became the editor of a woman-centric magazine published by Jolly J. Jonah Jamerson. Why they made an Army major a magazine editor, I don't know, but that's what said "strong, independent female" back in them days.

A side note: while I'm not sure how they match up timeline-wise, this is also around the time Power Girl (Earth-2 Supergirl with massive cans) came on the scene and she was touted as a strong, independent female by guys who came of age in the '40s and thought "feminism" meant they were ball-busters. At first, she was going to be called "Power Femme" because, for a brief moment, conservatives were worried feminists were going to make them start calling women, girls, broads, and other assorted chicks and dames "femmes." Yeah, sounds weirdly familiar, doesn't it?

Anyhow, after becoming a fairly heavy figure in the Marvel Universe and an Avenger, Carol Danvers was mind-controlled, raped, had her best friends and closest comrades in battle tell her it's no big deal, give birth to her rapist thru comic book whim-wham, have her powers drained and personality wiped by Rogue (who was a middle-aged lady back then and not a sexy Southern teenager), and while therapy to reconnect with her emotions, get told by the X-Men, "Yes, that second mind-rapist, the one who destroyed your life and emotional connections. Yeah, she's one of us, is in shit shape, and you're one of them and we'll still help, but we're taking her in. Just before then, the Brood (back before one of them became cute and they scared Wolverine) juiced her up to Binary, and she told everyone on Earth to fuck off while she hung out with space pirates.

Another side note: Carol was the victim of Marvel's mid-'80s attempt to remove pretty much every '70s creation from the playing board and I've never really figured out the rhyme or reason. Johnny Blaze was a '70s horror character but after the Satanic Panic bunch turned their eyes towards media, I don't imagine a superhero who'd made a deal with (a) Devil was long for the decade.

Carol also makes a bit of sense, as even the creative team admits they did her far dirtier than any character deserved, much less a flagship character like Ms. Marvel, and either had to kill her off and get her completely out of the scene for a while. As a Starjammer, she appeared in a couple New Mutant issues and a real fun little two-part mini-series featuring the 'Jammers and Charles Xavier as Bald Phoenix.

A side-note's side-note: I love the Starjammers. Space pirates fighting a repressive regime led by a guy playing Eroll Flynn. How can you not love that? And I'm not going to lie, while there were a lot of extenuating circumstances and it wasn't the nail in the coffin, Chris Summers' death 10 years back or so was one of the factors that got me out of regular reading. I understand they've brought him back but I don't care.

Back to the '70s purge. Spider-Woman was depowered in circumstances I forget. Why? Iron Fist was killed (actually an alien plant clone from his hidden city's immortal rival, one of many we'd learn) and Power Man (Luke Cage for you kids 'cause it's still not as dumb a name as Giant-Man) was accused of his murder, so he went on the run. Why? Marvel dropped a lot of licenses around this time so characters related to them went to the wayside, like Shang-Chi and Fu Manchu. But I never have figured out some, especially when it removed Marvel's really physically powerful female superheroes. Remember Marvel Versus DC when they had Storm beat Wonder Woman by kicking her in the head?

So, why did it happen? A lot of these characters have strong ties to Chris Claremont - and indeed, like Carol, Jessica Drew became a semi-regular X-Men character - and maybe he had issues with incoming Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter. But Claremont's X-Men run is legendary for a good reason and was considered one of the '80s golden titles.

Okay, bringing it all back home. People who complain Carol Danvers and any iteration of Captain Marvel in the past 20 years are "too feminist" are merely a prime example of the intellectual vacuity of cultural conservatism. The targets change because what once was acceptable to attack has been proven to be far too human all along, and they simply do not have it within them to come up with something new.

X-Men is about civil rights. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get X-Men.

Black Panther is about civil rights. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Black Panther.

Captain America literally fought Nazis. He is the embodiment of fighting the alt-right. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Captain America.

The Empire in Star Wars is fascist. The Rebel alliance are Anti-Fascist. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Star Wars.

The Punisher isn’t meant to be a role model for police or armed forces. So much so that the writers of The Punisher made him actively speak out against it in a comic. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get The Punisher.

Deadpool is queer. He’s pansexual. Fact. If you didn’t get that you didn’t get Deadpool.

Star Trek is about equality for all genders, races and sexualities. As early as the mid-60s it was taking a pro-choice stance and defending women’s right to choose. One of its clearest themes is accepting different cultures and appearances and working together for peace. (It’s also anti-capitalist and pro-vegan). If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Star Trek.

Superman and Supergirl (and a whole host of other superheroes) are immigrants. The stance of those comics is pro-immigration and pro-equality and acceptance. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Superman or Supergirl.

Stan Lee said “Racism and bigotry are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today.” If you’re bigoted or racist, you didn’t get any of the characters Stan Lee created.

The stories we grew up with all taught us to value other people and cultures and to treasure the differences between us. Only villains were xenophobic, or sexist, or racist, or totalitarian. I can’t understand how anyone can have missed that.

If you’re upset that there’s a black Spider-Man, or a black Captain America, or a female Thor, or that Ms Marvel is Muslim, or that Captain Marvel was pro-feminism, or any of the other things right wing “fans” say is “stealing their childhood” - you never got it in the first place. The things you claim are now “pandering to the lefties” were never on your side to begin with.

If you consider yourself a fan of these things, but you still think the LGBTQ+ community is too “in your face”, or have a problem with Black Lives Matter, or want to “take the country back from immigrants”, then you’re not really a fan at all.

Geek culture isn’t suddenly left wing... it always was. You just grew up to be intolerant. You became the villain in the stories you used to love.

****

Kenny Boyle - Actor and Playwright

07 June 2020

[baradorable]

My opinions on the current anime season. I’ll go over come popular shows and try to warm you up to some hidden gems.

Attack on Titan (Season 4)

I ended up liking this show a lot more than I thought I would. I ended up binging the first three seasons in like a week. Now I’m impatiently waiting for more episodes.

I will say that I’m kind of mixed on this one, though. Like I know they want to flesh out the country of Marley, make the war less one-sided and establish how villainous Eren is later, or whatever. I preferred it when the characters were fighting the enigmatic, monstrous force of titans. The political drama was like the least interesting parts of season 3. (That, and Eren being kidnapped for the millionth time.) Regardless, I’m still liking what we have so far, and there’s only one thing that makes me hesitate.

Gabi Braun. Fucking Gabi Braun. She’s so fucking obnoxious. She’s like Eren, except without the character traits that made him interesting. We have less reason to care about her, and her story is mostly just a retread of Eren’s. And I’d tolerate that if she wasn’t such an obnoxious cunt all the damn time. “But euuhughhg Gabi is a kid and she’s brainwashed! She’s actually really well-written!” Yeah, but she’s still an annoying little shit and less sympathetic than the other Marleyans we’re focusing on. She shouldn’t be the main focus character.

“Did you see it happen?” BITCH. There’s being brainwashed and there’s being a fucking moron. And don’t give me that “Well, in real life, brainwa-” Yeah, I don’t care. She’s not real. The only thing real about her is the headache she gives me.

So she’s this unlikable kid who came in and killed a fan-favorite character. I loved Sasha. Everyone did. But I’ll live. (Unlike her.) But she just HAD to be killed by fucking Garbage Braun of all people. Honestly, if Falco killed Sasha, I’d get over it. He’s a way better character than Gabi. I could go on and on about how he works better on a fundamental level, but none of you are even reading this post in the first place. So whatever.

8/10

Beastars (Season 2)

It’s good. I don’t like it as much as season 1, but I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s not a show I actively wait for, but it’s always pleasant to see.

7.5/10

Cells at Work!! Code Black

I never saw the original Cells at Work, but this show makes me not want to. Because I don’t think it would be as good as Code Black.

For those who haven’t seen it, Cells at Work is basically about humanized cells working in a body. You follow a red blood cell as they deliver oxygen, and you encounter all sorts of issues and quirks you see in a body. From sicknesses, to infections, to even cancer, you actually learn a lot. It’s genuine edutainment.

Black is set in a body that’s incredibly unhealthy. The characters are scrambling to survive and keep a failing body going. There’s this growing sense of dread each episode as the body grows worse and worse. You get frustrated because these characters don’t deserve the Hell they go through, and you just want to shout at the human to eat healthy, quit smoking and shape up. Because you care about the cells and want them to have a better work environment.

It’s really fun and makes me feel guilty for my unhealthy habits.  

7.5/10. Maybe 8/10 if these last few episodes keep up the momentum.

Dr. Stone

I really liked season 1, and I’m liking this season so far as well. I prefer the set-up and use of tech in season 1, season 2 is kind of moving too fast with tech while the story is a little slow. But despite all that, this show is still great and is on track to becoming a classic. If it weren’t for Attack on Titan, it would be Anime of the Season for me.

8/10

Jobless Reincarnation: 

A 40-year-old NEET gets isekai’d into the body of a baby. You watch this child with an adult mind grow up and learn about this magical fantasy world. It’s pretty good, I like it. It has good humor, nice characters, interesting lore, and a fun magic system. 

If you ever watched Isekai Cheat Magician? (Of course you didn’t. No one did.) This is what Isekai Cheat Magician wishes it could be.

I give this show a 7/10. It loses points because it made me think of Isekai Cheat Magician just now.

Ex-Arm

No words. Except four words: Go watch this show.

Oh boy. This show is. This show is a doozy. If I had to explain, I would say it’s like... shit. Because it is shit. But it’s very entertaining shit.

The story and characters are cool, but unimportant. You just can’t get into them because the animation is the highlight of the story. It just blows every other aspect of the show out of the water.

What kind of animation are we talking about? If I had to describe it, it would be the visual equivalent of that girl on Tik Tok who made a video series where she plays a Jewish girl during the Holocaust. It’s like a present you would give your eyes, if you hated them and wanted them to die.

Some characters are 2D, but the rest are 3D. And not even good 3D, because this shit is worse than those bootleg mobile games with stolen assets that don’t fit together. They had to censor kisses because they couldn’t animate lips moving, and pushing their faces together would just make their models clip. One of the characters has a wide-eyed smile all the time, no matter the situation, because there’s like no animation for her expressions. This show makes the 3D Pokemon games look like fine art.

Another thing I’d like to mention is the opening song, if only because I can’t tell if it’s good or terrible. I genuinely can’t tell if I like it ironically, or unironically. Either way, it’s perfect for this show.

So yeah, I love this show. It’s such a fucking mess in the best way. It always brings a smile to my face. I just wish the story was bad, so I can have another level of awfulness to enjoy. This show never fails to make me smile. Anime of the fucking decade right here.

HELLO, HELLO/10

Kemono Jihen

It’s kind of like Inuyasha, except without the humans, Naraku has big boobs, the Shikon Jewel/life stones aren’t that important yet, Bakugo from My Hero Academia is on the cast, everyone is a 12-year-old with bad fashion sense, and it’s a lot more generic in premise and execution.

So, nothing like Inuyasha. Honestly it’s more like My Hero Academia in terms of vibes. I still enjoy it though. My favorite character is probably the little fox girl because I like her design. But I also like the little fox boy because I’m not entirely sure what game he’s playing, but I’m into it. 

6.7/10

Redo of Healer

It’s basically just rape hentai with a budget. Honestly, I appreciate the boldness of the show, if anything. (Aside from the fact that they don’t show any dick or vag. How cowardly.) The sex scenes are decent and frequent, so no complaints there. I’m not really into rape (been there, getting raped isn’t fun), but a true hentai connoisseur can still appreciate it.

Plot-wise, it’s neat. Making the main character a revenge-seeking rapist fighting even worse rapists is an interesting take. And there’s a lot of fun creativity in how he uses his powers, though I wish they explained them more. Like I get how he’s doing everything, but breaking it down would make them feel more intriguing. He’s also a broken self-insert power fantasy, but it’s nice seeing one that’s smart, evil and methodical. 

In execution, it’s a pretty generic story with generic settings and plots. The lead’s carrying the whole thing, though I can’t help but like the villains for being so over-the-top evil. If nothing else, the audacity and sex scenes make this show worth watching. Pretty entertaining.

Re: The harem. Setsuna is too young and innocent for my tastes, but I like her. The white-haired girl is cool, she’s my favorite even though she hasn’t really done anything yet. Freia’s meh, but I like the idea of her being a major cunt despite the memory wipe. 

I give this one five rapes out of ten. And if you like this show, I recommend reading that one Megg, Mogg & Owl comic where the characters become obsessed with rape-based puns.

Re:Zero (Season 2, second half)

I love this show. The first season was pretty good. The second half of season 2 was also pretty good, and the plot was shaping up to be great. But now we’re in the second half of season 2, and it’s meh. Which is really disappointing for such a great show.

Like, I get what they’re trying to do: they’re shaping up alliances, digging into the characters’ pasts, moving everyone forward, yadda yadda. But this arc is so slow now. It feels like we’ve seen nothing but flashbacks, characters standing around and talking, flashbacks, more talking, flashbacks. There’s so little action to break things up. The mystery and exploration from earlier episodes is gone, since we pretty much understand the important things. We’re just left waiting for the things they’ve been building up to, to finally happen. 

“AEUUGHG You’re Just an action anime fanboyyy, this is serious plot and excellent story!!” It’s endless exposition, flashbacks that go on way too long, and characters standing around and repeating the same points over and over. Compare how the story was delivered in the previous season. 

6/10

The Promised Neverland (Season 2)

Boy, did this show go off the rails in only a few episodes. What the fuck is even going on in this show anymore?

I ranted about this show on Twitter, but it pisses me off. Season 1 was a well-crafted, suspenseful show about these kids using their brains to unravel the mysteries around them, plan a daring escape from their captors and try to survive in a world of monsters. It was easily one of the best anime of 2019.

Season 2 skips about 80 chapters and off-screens tons of development. Like Norman fucking shows up in season 2, all fine and dandy with his own personal army of freaks. Also he lead his own escape, learned a ton of info AND found a way to auto-kill all their enemies, and we didn’t even get a flashback of any of this. Now Emma’s bitching about saving demons, even though they’re all assholes who probably wouldn’t change their ways even if they could. But she’s an iDeAlIsSTTT!!!!! But she was an idealist last season and had to learn how to compromise when faced with the reality of the situation? And the whole William Minerva plot, which was a major driving force in the last season, was handwaved away and unceremoniously dropped?

So yeah, I dropped it after episode 4 or 5. It’s not even fun to hate-watch I’d give it a 3/10 on its own, but it gets a -2/10 for ruining a great legacy.

Sk8

Free!, except they’re skating instead of swimming. It’s a well-animated show with an interesting premise: undergound gay skateboarding. The battles are fun, the characters (while cliche) are appealing, and it’s fun. And yeah. 

But I dropped this one because Langa is boring as a lead. Canadians, they don’t deserve representation. He’s a fine character besides that, but he’s gotten way too much screentime over the other protag, Reki. Reki was just pushed aside and the show quickly became about Langa. Which is sad, because I feel like this show would have benefitted from making them both stars. Especially since the characters’ friendship is a key selling point.

Ended up dropping this show. I read through later comments that they’re making a plot point about Reki falling behind, but even the fans are having their doubts that he’ll have a satisfactory story. And even if they make him a real protag again, the show’s been so imbalanced that I don’t think it’ll matter. Especially since we only have like 4 episodes left.

6/10

Yashahime

The sequel to Inuyasha, staring Sesshomaru and Rin’s twins, and Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter. Except 2/3rds of the main cast are dull, and most of the stories are blatant retreads of Inuyasha plots, starring retreads of Inuyasha characters.

Think I’m kidding? The first episode was about Mistress Three-Eyes (Mistress Centipede but with three eyes instead of two) coming to eat the character’s magic sacred jewels. Rainbow fucking pearls, what the hell is this shit plot. Fuck you.

“Euhrghhghgh but they’re just paying homage to the old show!” Nah, they’re fucking ripping it off every step of the way. 

The most frustrating thing about this show is how Moroha, Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter, is such a great character. She has great dynamics with other characters because she’s so lively. She has the best traits of her parents, while still being unique on her own. Then you have Sesshomaru’s kids, who are just Kagome 2 and Tsundere. The latter has more depth than that, but she’s  not that great anyway.

Guess who’s the focal point of the series? The fucking Kagome knock-off, followed by the tsundere. Moroha is a minor character who is often forgotten by the plot, or reduced to a joke. The already-boring plots are exacerbated by them ignoring best girl to focus on 

And I’m not alone on this, too. Read all the anime forums, pirating websites, and pretty much anywhere talking about this show. Moroha is the most popular character, far and away. People like her way more than the twins. 

4/10