#very appropriate given the nerdy context

[starlightseraph]

I MET HANK GREEN?? can’t believe it tbh

[skulltopcomputer]

I Have So Much To Say About Transmasc Jake English

Disclaimer: This is my opinion- I definitely don’t think you have to interpret Jake this way, both gender and character-wise. Also, this is just for fun (I swear). Although I am interested in working in the confines of canon for as much as possible, I'm not trying to "prove" Jake is transmasc, I'm sure Hussie wrote him as a cis man. Content warnings under read more.

Content warning for discussions of transphobia and misogyny (if I need to add anything else let me know).

Just for context, I believe Jake realized he was a boy very early in his childhood. Thematically, it would be most appropriate shortly after Grandma English dies, so basically, as long as he's been old enough to understand the concept of "gender", he has known he is a boy. (I have a lot of ways that I think transmasc Jake would interact with the text of Homestuck, but that's all you really need to know for this post).

Also I’m going to talk about “the narrative” a lot here, which I'm mostly using to mean the perceived author of Homestuck, that is, the person who writes the narration, controls who to focus on and how the plot plays out, etc. I say "the narrative" instead of "Hussie" because 1. Hussie is a literal character within the comic and I'm not referring to them there and 2. I don't think they intended everything I'm going to say "the narrative" pushes here, even if their vitriol towards Jake was very much deliberate. It's important to have a term for this as Hussie's background as the specific type of Internet Poster they were greatly impacts how Homestuck is written- in Jake's case, how the reader is made to perceive his character.

OK onto the actual analysis.

(One of) the whole point(s) of Jake is that he conceptualizes himself in certain ways that aren't reflected in the reality of his actions. Specifically, he thinks of himself as some grandiose, charismatic action hero, even though in reality he’s just kind of a nerdy teen who watches movies all day. There are many reasons he views himself that way, but most relevantly to this post he’s raised solely on media to influence his worldview, and therefore both consciously and unconsciously assimilates the roles of movie character archetypes onto how he thinks of real people. This is easily mapped onto Jake’s perception of himself as a “man”, as (most of) the men he knows are the rough-and-tumble, kick ass adventure type. He thinks that since these are traits of men, and since he is a man, he must inherently be that way as well- even though in actuality, he's done very little to show it.

By the narrative’s standards, Jake makes a lot of mistakes as someone who wants to be considered a “man”. He idolizes female heroes alongside male ones (most likely influenced by Grandma English’s being his first model of what a hero should be), even going so far as to dress like them. He’s not ashamed of his attraction to men. In fact, he's open about his attraction to what the narrative considers to be abnormal (I know in the real world, an attraction to "blue women" would be regarded as incredibly tame, but considering what Homestuck considers a furry it's safe to say the standard of deviance is rather low. I think the emphasis on Neytiri is meant to accentuate Jake's affinity towards blue woman as "weird", especially as the narration highlights her nonhuman anatomy and she's repeatedly described as "furry"). The narrative punishes him for these traits, often in ironic ways. He is given a skimpy, uncomfortable, god tier outfit meant to objectify him (reminiscent of how women are objectified in the movies he likes), he messes up his relationship with Dirk so bad he convinces himself he's not attracted to anyone*, and he is embarrassingly awkward with the real-life blue alien girl he meets. Sincerity, especially among male characters, is often unforgivable to Homestuck.

*To clarify, what I think is happening when Jake says he's not "capable" of romantic attraction is that he's trying to convince himself he can't feel attraction, because he doesn't want to have a relationship where he hurts people/other people hurt him that bad ever again. I don't think it's "wrong" to interpret him as aromantic, and I especially don't think aromanticism should be treated as a "punishment". I just don't think of him as such.

Jake’s whole SBURB adventure is the narrative repeatedly, humiliatingly tearing down Jake’s perception of himself by placing him into situations wherein he is shown to fail to uphold it, both internally to the characters and externally to the reader. The “charismatic” part of his persona is all but demolished in his conversations with Aranea, as well as his relationships with the Alpha kids in the void session. In the Game Over timeline while Gamzee is fighting Terezi, all Jake can bring himself to do is politely ask him to stop. His most damning blow comes in his confrontation with Crockertier Jane, as he fails twofold at what a “man” would do in his place- he doesn’t want to fight her, and he doesn’t want to have sex with her. His admission of “not wanting to be a man and not wanting to punch her in the face” at BGD’s pestering is the narrative finally succeeding at pressuring him into admitting he’s too weak for the standards of masculinity imposed on him, or put another way, that he’s not a "man” at all. (Relevantly, BGD functions as both a Dirk [a character praised for his adherence to masculinity] analogue and Jake’s internal monologue, proving Jake is aware and ashamed of himself in the moment and that he thinks his friends would most likely judge him too). Once the narrative has proven Jake has failed at the standards of masculinity, it forces him into what he, and the reader, would understand as positions typically held by female characters in media (objectifying him, assaulting him, etc.).

Jake is often treated as “silly” and “stupid”, both outright and insidiously. He's the kid who grew up on an island, isolated from society, and therefore doesn't understand how the world "really" operates. He also shares Caliborn's unspecified "learning disorder", which in the narrative's terms, is just another reason he's out of touch. The more characters who think of him as stupid or ignorant, the more Jake's autonomy is diminished- how can he claim to know anything about his identity when he so disconnected from reality? Jake's continual crying falls into this too, as large displays of emotions are often conflated with stupidity, or at the very least irrationality.

All of this is so resonant for me as a transmasc person, especially since Homestuck is so influenced by internet culture. I was never a forum goer but I did a lot of digital self harm on Reddit and the sentiment that transmasc people are stupid, fanciful, confused teen girls that only want to be men because they want to imitate characters in media is (was? I try not to go on Reddit anymore) very common in those types of spaces. (This is amplified if you read Jake as autistic [as I do] as the “confused autistic teen girl” is unfortunately a very prevalent transphobic stereotype). Anyone who did not live up to a very specific caliber of toxic masculinity (wearing only masculine clothes, being attracted exclusively to women, repressing grand acts of emotions, etc.) was labeled as faking, and often subject to misogynistic harassment. I hope by now you can see how this connects to Jake.

(One of the reasons) why John's conversation with Jake in Act 6 Act 6 is so important to resolving his character is that John shows Jake that there's more than one way to be a man. John introduces a new type of masculinity to Jake, that of a "side kick", evidently referencing Robin, as he contrasts this archetype with "bat man". He recontextualizes his outfit meant to objectify him as something this character would wear. Robin- and therefore this role of the "side kick"- is still very much a male character who is allowed to be male even though he's goofy instead of a chiseled, emotionally repressed paradigm of masculinity. Jake shows a lot of joy at inhabiting this idea.

In summary, transmasc Jake is an extrapolation of the themes of how the narrative punishes Jake for not meeting the expectations of masculinity put upon him. There are other reasons why I view Jake as transmasc, but this is the most important one to me, as it's the most poignant. There are few stories that portray the experience of growing up on the internet, fewer specifically with a transmasculine lens, and even fewer that discuss the hardships of doing so in both cases. Ironically, the narrative's contempt towards Jake made for a more realistic, and therefore more evocative, experience for me.

Of course, not all transmasc people are going to view it that way, so please don't generalize. I like seeing negative experiences reflected in media, but not all people do. Also, I don't want to give Hussie credit for all of this- some (probably most) of what I talked about was legitimately intended to be bigoted, or at least rooted in bigoted assumptions. Homestuck is a text you should read critically, as it is embedded in its author's history, for the better and for the worse.

This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg concerning both transmasc Jake and especially Jake analysis in general so hopefully more posts to come. Also, despite the fact I didn’t go into them much as characters in this post, know I am a staunch Jane and Dirk defender (crockertier Jane is not really representative of Jane and BGD is not really representative of Dirk. I also don't think Jake is perfect or anything). They are also both transmasc but that's a post for a different day.

[phoenixyfriend]

I guess I was thinking about the obiwan being dad shaped au an another fic before I fell asleep because I dreamt that obiwan was embarrassing little anikin and Ashoka and adultish Jango by dramatically making out with Jaster like over the top embarrassing your kids make out session. And then they had tea and laughed. Basically give dad shaped obiwan a nerdy (older?) husband (qpp they were in it for the nerdyness, tea, and ability to embarrass their children)

First time I read this I thought you meant Jango/Ahsoka, then I thought you meant Jango/Obi, but now I'm grocking it properly as Jaster/Obi-Wan. I'm going to blame it on the lack of commas.

Jaster isn't alive in Dad-Shaped Obi-Wan, but we can whip up an AU of an AU.

So, we don't know much about Jaster, especially in a "Legends isn't canon anymore" context. The first time I saw an image of him, I thought he looked a lot like 616 Nick Fury, and that's kind of influenced my characterization attempts, if only in my own head.

I think it would be easy to put Jaster and Obi-Wan as very... friends with benefits, types? Obi-Wan's had his great loves (namely Satine), and he always comes back to his duties as a Jedi and his duties to the children in his care. Jaster puts his duties to Mandalore first, and the only thing that measures up in terms of importance is Jango. And they're both, I imagine, the kind of people who see someone saying "I put my responsibilities to the world and to my children first, and I cannot do the same for you," and respect that way more than someone trying to make "I'll put you first" promises to more than one or two places/things.

So, you know, they respect each other, as people. Their politics don't line up perfectly, but it's close enough that they can respect those too. They can respect the Fighting Abilities of the other. They have some disagreements over child-appropriate activities, but then both panic because Anakin and Jango just went to blow up an entire Death Watch base and nobody knows where they are except maybe Ahsoka, and she's not talking.

Yeah, they're pretty well suited to a QPP, if given reason and opportunity to spend time together.

And, well, it's easy to imagine that once they're spending that much time together, they just... tumble into bed, here and there. Everyone needs a bit of stress relief, and sex with a trusted friend is safer than many of the alternatives.

And if they use that comfort and ease they have around each other to tease their children with some wildly dramatic kissing in a public space...

[cosplayswitzerlandaskblog]

Unlike last time Hetalia got a new season, the response has not been particularly positive, and I’m seeing a lot of twisted feelings towards the show and the fandom to a point where it seems long time content creators are stepping away from it. I know anyone still active who follows me either are or were fans of Hetalia, so it should be relevant for all y’all.

As a fan who never fell out of the show, I find the response sad though healthy, and even if I know I ghosted you all on tumblr (sorry) because of time constraints and mental health, I still make the occasional CMVs. Fact is, I do not let go of special interests very easily. It seems a lot of you all started watching the show at 10-14 years old, where I myself was a bit older – 17 – and had grown a bit more. Long story short, my Naruto phase was your Hetalia phase, and no, it’s not pretty. You’re young and stupid and don’t know much critical thinking and make mistakes, and you have to forgive yourself for those mistakes, especially when the content you consume is associated with the real world in a sensitive subject.

But after seeing all these posts explaining all the bad we see from Hetalia, I wanted to make a post explaining what I learned from it – all the good that can come with a show like this if you stay aware of perspective. I am not excusing all the bad that came with it, for WWII is a serious event in history that should never be forgotten nor made fun of, but here goes:

I went from a ‘war-is-cool’ history buff to one who truly delved in and learned the intricacies of history, being fascinated with the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’ as well as getting an excuse to look at the histories of nations which I’d never otherwise be interested in, and I know a lot of other people in the fandom did the same. This is how history should be known, as that is how we can truly apply it to the real world.

I learned to separate people from their countries. To give an example that’ll hit close to much of tumblr, when I started Hetalia I hated Americans with a passion because of the road “you” had put the world on, and I considered all y’all dumb and bad as a cause of it. Getting that excuse to take an ACTUAL look at how your nation functioned and what communities truly hid behind the borders, I learned instead that your government is corrupt as shit, your society is rigged against you and you have been forced to stand by and watch as chaos happens. It got applied to the world as a whole, where I considered other nations being as dynamic as my own, with people both good and bad, and the actions of the nation is even less of a reflection of the people in the cases of corrupt democracies or dictatorships.

I separated from Colonial world views. I was never actively racist, brought up in a proper home, and already before Hetalia I fiercely protected the rights of Muslims who are often mistreated in my nation and tried to hear them out when possible. But I was a Westerner, and even if the nation I came from had barely participated in invasions, I had learned to consider my culture ‘correct’ and native and African cultures ‘primitive’. While the journey was long, a step wise process of realizing things like there was nothing inherently ethically wrong eating dogs or partially incubated duck eggs, only in how the animals were acquired, that cultural progress is heavily dependent on perspective and that fucking genocide of native peoples still happen in this damn century, Hetalia was the stepping stone which gave me the interest in other nations to expand my world view. I probably ain’t done here – I have a whole life of outside influences to unlearn – but I’m further than most people I know in my near surroundings, and I’ve even managed to move my parents who originally taught me to respect people of all kinds in the first place.

I learned Nazis were people. This is a conversation which often comes up here on tumblr, and the demonization Nazi Germany and its government directly allows actual Nazis and fascists like Richard Spencer a free pass because they look groomed and proper. Until then, I’d simply assumed no one was ‘stupid enough to be a Nazi’ because of the atrocities of WWII and therefore looked at the world naively. Realizing how little true support Nazis had during WWII and similarly anyone could end down that pungent rabbit hole, I became careful of what I excused on social media and allowed myself to doubt seemingly normal people if their behaviour was alarming – such as the police man who is supposed to be a damn ‘hero’ of society.

I learned how to deal with material sensitive to others. A common problem in the fandom has always been the cosplaying and portrayal of Nazis, especially at cons and the like, and in a similar vein – I did blackface once because of Hetalia. The horrible thing about this is that blackface is immensely common in Europe – at least my own country – and blackface frequently happens at schools during ‘international’ events, where whole classrooms are assigned to portray a designated country. A whole of two times – in 6th grade as well as 2nd grade of high school – I was exposed to blackface as my class was given an African nation to portray – Somalia the first time, Kenya the second. No one, adult, teen or child, are aware of the history of race imitation in my country, but by the second time I was supposed to participate in dressing up as an African tribe, I’d understood the issue – thanks to Hetalia. My friend group of white, privileged, European teens discussed what symbolism was appropriate at cons or in videos – could we wear the Iron Cross? The Nazi flag? What if we burned it during the video? These thoughts are not usually a part of the mind of European youth, and I consider that a grave problem which leads to people making fun of ‘triggers’, downplaying racial issues and the like.

It offered me a means to make history personal. The biggest struggle for good history teachers and the reason we are often made to read and write letters from the periods we study is to make it seem real and get a emotional connection to these past, lost peoples. Hetalia offered puppets for me to place into historical contexts to make them truly real – the main driver pushing me away from mere fascination of war, since I suddenly felt the horrors of warfare through the characters that I loved. Things like Elizabeth I’s court, the conquests of Rome, the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, the battlefield of Somme, the invasion of America, damn slavery becomes different when something you already know is a part of it and you can see them in there. Hearing of people of the past should in itself be enough, and for the closest parts of history (WWII and afterwards) it always was for me, but we are human. We cannot understand the size of a billion, and we struggle understanding the lives of those living centuries before us, unless we are offered context.

I’m not blind to the issues of the fandom or the show. I was here for ‘the r*pist, the pervert and the p*dophile’, I know of South Korean and Chinese issues with the show, and I heard the gassing joke in the show’s dub and got nauseous from discomfort and anger. I’ve always been in the fringe of the fandom due to my social disabilities, so I don’t know everything that happened, but I’ve seen many racist OCs and disrespecting of historical sites. It’s not pretty, but I will believe these people, who were likely young, likely learned in time. And I may have been able to learn these things by other means, but not in the same way, and not through personal interest and research that’s helped me become sceptical and analysing of the world around me.

At its core, Hetalia is about watching a normal, nerdy guy learn how to draw, using stereotypic country personifications mainly from the perspective of Japan. It’s natural he chooses Japan, since he’s Japanese, and WWII is unfortunately the automatic historical event for most common people to focus on – but Hetalia doesn’t even solely focus on that, but is an amalgamation of vaguely correct historical situations played out by the characters, and often it is with the intent of comedy rather than the grimness often associated with historical settings which allows a wider audience than merely history nerds.

What I want you all to do is learn from your mistakes and forgive your younger selves for not knowing better. Maybe reflect on what you got from the show, rather than what you lost. A new generation of young Hetalians is likely coming with the new season, and us old timers might be able to help them avoid pitfalls if we stay around to teach them. The best of the show is compassion towards the people of the world combined and love of history, as I believe Hima wanted it – the worst is Nazi apologetics and racial stereotyping. We decide in what direction we take it, and what lessons we bring into the future.

TL;DR: As a lot of media intended for older audiences, Hetalia is a show which has to be watched critically, which makes it dangerous for young people to watch unhinged, but it also opens up for interest in the world beyond the borders you live within. We should be aware of the issues and learn from them, but in and of itself the show has a lot of good to offer in learning compassion for other nations and cultural groups.

[brothermarc7theatre]

“Head Over Heels” show #816

A couple of years ago, Head Over Heels received its pre-Broadway run in San Francisco and I was tempted to see it. However, in those pre-COVID days, free time was near-non-existent, so I chose to simply wait to see it, knowing it was headed to Broadway. In the 2018-2019 season it opened and, unfortunately, closed before my annual NYC trip, but I feared not. I remember telling whomever would listen, “I’m good; I know Selma’s gonna do it.” I was right, and I am happy that Selma Arts Center’s production, helmed by Michael Christopher Flores, was my first time seeing The Go-Go’s done theatrically. A production that is perfectly-suited for an outdoor venue, Selma’s Head Over Heels is the right dose of post(ish)-pandemic musical medicine we’ve been craving.

Loosely based on 16th century’s The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia by Sir Philip Sydney, the music of the Go-Go’s meets literature in the style of your basic jukebox musical. All the foundations are there: multiple love stories, mistaken identities/misunderstandings, a nerdy guy ya’ love to root for, and lots of dancing. Where Head Over Heels rises above most is that audiences aren’t wading through scenes just to get to the next song. Rather, the songs complement the depth of the character’s emotion(s), and, at times, forward the plot. Head Over Heels’ weakness is that its book, originally conceived by Jeff Whitty and then James Magruder, does nearly nothing to serve the production as a whole. And unless you’re a diehard fan of The Go-Go’s, you probably know about four-and-a-half of their hits, and you will find yourself muttering, “Oh! I didn’t know The Go-Go’s sang that!” However, in the exceptional hands of Flores’ direction and choreography, and Mindy Ramos’ stellar vocal direction, this production rises above the material in a way that will have you getting the beat from the show’s opening moments.

Flores astutely makes the show’s jokes and love plots clear, allowing the few gems in the book to come through to audiences. Where Flores’ direction shines is how he calibrates a heightened delivery of the scenes while taking the songs seriously, whether they be seriously-fun, seriously-romantic, seriously-comedic, etc. Troy Sloan delivers an affable Musidorus/Cleophila, whose fluid allure becomes the fixation of three different characters in the play. Sloan’s early solo, “Mad About You,” is a triumph and he never relinquishes the cheering we give him as an audience. Opposite Sloan is a pitch-perfect Annelise Escobedo Lyman as Philoclea, the true apple of Musidorus’ eye. Lyman shines in her leading of the trio, “Good Girl,” delivering innocence and genuine love for her beloved while giving dynamite vibrato. Her ongoing snippets of duet and solos are welcomed turns among a, honestly, fantastic vocal company. Playing Pamela, sister to Philoclea, is Julia Prieto, who gives not only a vocally dominating performance, but one which delivers on the comedy, romance, and drama the role requires. “Beautiful” is a wonderful solo turn for Prieto, and “How Much More,” is a gem. Prieto and Jessica Meredith, playing Pamela’s maid/eventual lover, deliver a show-stopping duet in “Automatic Rainy Day,” and nail the delivery of their romantic arc, the most solidly written in the show.

(Company of Head Over Heels; Photo credit: Kyle Lowe)

William Bishop, as King Basilius, and Ellie West, as Queen Gynecia, give wonderful, appropriately juxtaposing performances of royal buffoonery (the King) and royal intelligence and duty (the Queen). With solid vocal and acting work throughout, their highlight is in their act two duet, “This Old Feeling,” complete with a memorable comedic performance by Sloan, balancing the two’s source of affection. Both West and Bishop lead a wonderful “Heaven is a Place on Earth,” a nice upbeat moment amongst the act two drama. Nwachukwu is a dominating force, both vocally and physically, as the oracle-delivering Pythio. Partnered with I Adeficha’s Snake-puppetry/Pit singing, Nwachukwu gives the musical a grounded focus, a standout performance which truly benefits from their flawless execution of the old theatre note, “less is more.” With engaging crouching, a few sliding stair units, and featured choreography, Nwachukwu’s turns at “A Vision of Nowness,” a few reprises, and “Our Lips are Sealed” are gold. Juan Luis Guzman delivers a scene-stealing turn as Dametas, father to Mopsa. It’s never an easy job to be the comedic relief in a musical comedy, but with Guzman’s physical antics and eloquent delivery of several plot-serving asides, he comes through with aplomb.

(Front center-right: Nwachukwu (Pythio), Up on stairs: I Adeficha (Snake/Pit Singer); The Arcadian ensemble of Head Over Heels; Photo credit: Kyle Lowe)

Now, the Arcadian ensemble. For those who don’t know, “jukebox musical” almost never equates to “easy singing,” and this ensemble delivers on all fronts. The ensemble is truly a unit in voice and in movement. With Flores having a very specific storytelling style while still creating formations and aesthetics which don’t bore, the movement and dance breaks in the score are filled without overdoing. The ensemble is giving it all, in the heat, outside, on a not-cushy stage, and you would have no idea because their execution appears effortless and fun. Flores choreographs the entire company with intelligent vision, always serving the script. I found his (without spoiling it) context of a lift that Sloan receives in act one’s “Mad About You” to have a wonderfully tender meaning when reprised after act two’s “Here You Are.”

Within an intentionally stripped-down tech, it is Damen Pardo’s costume designs which take center focus, and rightly so. The entire company is dressed with enthusiasm in color palettes to complement the company numbers and individual journeys the principal characters take. Head Over Heels is a show that I never have to see again because I’ve seen a peak production. Many bravos and bravas to Flores, Ramos, team, and cast for putting on a highly entertaining show, one which is progressive in bringing to light the importance of understanding pronouns, gender fluidity, and societal norms. These topics are given discussion, and explored through question, in a responsible manner, both in the show and in Selma Arts Center’s program excerpt. It’s not often, or ever really, that one will receive entertainment and education at a jukebox musical. Selma Arts Center has nailed it, so head out and go see this show!

[gritsandbrits]

Why I hate Carlie Cooper (Spider-Man Rant)

So I've been going around sites such as CBR, Reddit, Tumblr and Deviantart to see what people's opinions were on Carlie Cooper, and the results were mixed at best. As many other fans of the webcrawling hoodlum, I have my share of gripes with her character and this chapter explains why Carlie is the absolute worst Spider Man love interest.

Sour Introduction

Carlie was introduced too soon and too quickly, just after OMD. The travesty already left a sour taste in our mouthes, but when she was introduced showing Mary Jane the door, this scene not only spat in the face of MJ fans and Pete x MJ shippers, but also made the rest of us go, "QUESADA!!!" This made the replacement girlfriend thing very obvious. Marvel made it clear that MJ is gone and Carlie was here to stay.

Notable character traits were ripped off from other love interests

Many readers caught on that the core traits Carlie displayed in her time in the comics were established within previous love interests. Keep in mind, two characters sharing similar attributes isn't wrong. My own OC, Lucy, shares Urusla Ditkovich's love of baking and apparent shyness, and having powers like Sophia Sanduval, but other than that she is nothing like the latter two in terms of personality, looks and personal history. But this is not about my OC.

Carlie has aspects that are blatantly ripped off from other love interests, and they happen to be their good or recognizable traits. This may or may not be intentional on the writers part but merely a product of trying and failing to develop her as a character. Let me run down the list for you.

• Nerdy, adorable and the supposed "regular girl": Debra Whitman

• Dark past involving some serious daddy issues: Mary Jane Watson

They couldn't have given her mommy issues or problems with authority figures in general. To be fair, comic books are drenched with characters with daddy issues. Cyclops is the walking example. 

• Idolized within the comics and sometimes praised as "The One" for Peter: Gwen Stacy

As opposed to in fan's memories, some point out that Gwen Stacy hated Spider Man. That's another sad thing about her death: she died hating the guy she loved.

• Dad was a cop: Gwen

To justify Carlie's relationship with Gwen, they made her dad a cop. Later it was revealed that he wasn't a cop nor a good man for that matter. This goes back to the daddy issues thing as we are supposed to feel bad for her, but it came across as cheap and not genuinely tragic as MJ's abusive past. Also, Carlie has a missing mother like Gwen.

• Served as an informant on the force: Jean DeWolff

Whereas Jean had an interesting dynamic with Spider-Man, Carlie's dynamuc seems forced in, rationalized as sharing his love of science. Everything Carlie does could have easily been solved by Spider Man or any of his allies, even Greer Grant.

• Peter vs Spider-Man conflict: Black Cat

Carlie was briefly torn between Parker and Spider Man after discovering the big secret. It took Felicia decades in real time and a few years in comic book time for her to accept Parker but by then he had already moved on to MJ and BC decided to move on as well.

• Fell in love with Parker persona: Gwen, MJ, Sophia from Marvel Adventures

Gwen hated Spider Man though, but she fell in love with Peter. MJ preferred plain old Peter and accepted Spider Man. Sophia played an active role in both Peter's civilian and superhero lives and used her mutant ability to talk to animals to help.

• Personality included being a tsundere: Gwen, and Michelle Gonzales before she went nuts

• Had an interest in science: Gwen

NOTICING A PATTERN HERE!?

• Friends with Harry: Gwen Stacy (again)

• Was depicted as blonde and began with a minor crush on Parker: GWEN STACY!!!

Wow is it just me or do the writers at Marvel lowkey want to resurrect Gwen Stacy? Damn, just let the lady rest in peace!

• Pushed as Peter's intellectual equal: Debra (give us two points for Debby)

• Supposed to have a fun, sociable personality: MJ

Did I mention that Carlie at one time was depicted with red hair with a very similar hairstyle to MJ? They weren't even trying to be subtle with the replacement thing.

• Loves both Spider Man and Peter: MJ  also an inversion of Black Cat who only really likes Spidey (she was kinda getting along with Peter but that never took off)

• Went from meek and submissive doormat to assertive and optimistic action girl: Betty Brant

• Named after a particular person given the context behind it: Joe Quesada named her after his daughter

From what I heard, Joe's daughter was around three years old when he shat out OMD. That is very creepy, as if he wants his toddler to be with a fictional character that bad.

When Doc Ock impersonated as Peter after his supposed death, Carlie was the only cast member out of the whole Marvel universe to correctly figure out that Doc!Peter was a faker.

Mary Jane and Aunt May were used to villains dressing up as Peter (and even beat up a few of them), but for some odd reason none of them could figure out the Dcotor Octopus was posing as him. 

Depsite MJ being his main love interest and Aunt May having raised him from a kid, they could not have told the real Peter from an impostor.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND THE AVENGERS COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT DEPSITE WORKING WITH PETER FOR YEARS!!!!!

Yet is was the great detective work of Ms. Carlie Cooper that was able to determine that Doctor Octopus was using Peter's body to do some bad things. You know, like a villain.

Speaking of the Doctor, Dan Slott often used him a lot in his stories to the point that fans believe that Doc Ock was becoming a bit of a Villain Sue. And their arguments were sadly proven right later on, but back onto Carlie...

The way she did this was by following Spider Man's money trail to see how he could afford expensive equilment and minions  (excuse me, employees) and it leads right to Doc Ock.

The simple fact that one of Spider Man's smartest foes was stupid enough to not cover his tracks showed that something had to be altered just to make Carlie look good. What was that something? Taking basic common sense out of the Marvel Universe so that Carlie could play Miss Marple!

When Carlie got infected with Goblin Serum and turned into Monster (the lamest villain name since Menace), she was the only person to ever resist its brainwashing effects. She gets some scars around her eyes but is otherwise fully cured and that experience is enough to make her leave the world of Spider Man forever.

In the story arc Spider Island, Carlie broke up with Peter just because he didn't tell her he was Spider Man. Alternatively MJ got closer to Peter, which made fans everywhere sigh with relief. This also proves how very little Carlie seems to care about Peter's side of the story.

Also in Spider Island she used her new powers to play around while MJ used hers to actually help people. When a supermodel is better at heroics than a police officer/forensic scientist, then you know something is wrong.

Mary Jane stayed with Peter when she found out, in fact she already knew it was him but didn't confront him because she didn't think of herself as a good confidante and feared Peter would lie to her but she understood why.

It was implied in the comics and stated by old writers that, had Gwen not been killed off she would have eventually found out about Peter being Spider man and stayed with him; they would have even gotten married.

Carlie managed to pop up in other Marvel titles such as The Punisher even though she was irrelevant to the plot, and the writers claim that she was "the sanest member of the cast." This was after her irresponsible antics during Spider Island.

Character shilling when not appropriate

One of Carlie's major problems was how she was pushed as being perfect for Peter without getting to know him. It became even more egregious when other characters started pushing Carlie as perfect, such as Auny May and Harry Osborn.

Mary Jane told Peter that he needed to hook up with Carlie, which was awkward coming from a woman who was married to him for twenty years.

Peter himself couldn't stop gushing over how perfect Carlie was for him, and he spent a lot of time in angst over how undeserving he was of their lust - I mean love.

Everyone, from Harry Osborn to Black Cat said that Carlie was perfect for Peter. I get Harry because he was friends with her, but Black Cat???? The real clencher was that Felicia didn't even know who Carlie was at the time.

No wonder she turned crazy at the end.

SPEAKING OF CRAZY!

Characters personalities were changed in order to make Carlie a total saint

For example, Michelle Gonzales (another hated Spidey Love Interest) used to be a regular old tsundere. Sure she had problems of her own as a character, but once Carlie was introduced her aggressive trait was exaggerated to violent extremes and Michelle begins abusing Peter. If that's not enough she eventually gets RAPED by the Chameleon of all people. The same Chameleon who got his ass beat by Mary Jane and verbally pawned by Aunt May for impersonating Peter.

No matter how Marvel tried to say it, no matter how bitchy she was, Michelle got raped and Chameleon got off scot-free.

I mean he didn't force himself on her just shapeshifted as Peter and had sex with her. Apparently shapeshifters can't be charged with rape as long as it's consensual.

In The Many Loves of Spider Man, Gwen Stacy was presented as a worry wart which goes against her original characterization as a proto-Tsundere. Carlie was presented as a gutsy young girl, which made her look smarter than the supposed science girl Gwen was.

Gets mad at Peter for the dumbest reasons

When Peter had to go on a mission for the Future Foundation (aka the Fantastic Four), he told Carlie that he was going out of town for Horizon Labs, the place he had worked for before becoming Tony Stank 2.0.

Naturally, Carlie found out that Peter had lied to her and during one of her roller derby competitions, ends up beating up a rival skater so badly that she was suspended for the rest kf the game.  Afterwards, her team took her out for a drink to calm her down and she gets drunk and goes to a tattoo parlor.

Deciding to get back at Peter, she decided to get an Osborn tattoo, more specifically a Green Goblin.

This was the man that murdered her childhood friend, Peter's first girlfriend and first true love (and to some fans his only true love).

This was the man that ended the Silver Age of Comic Books.

This was the man who killed innocent people just to get what he want.

This was the man who subjected his son and other people to so much pain, misery and sorrow because of his actions, some of which he still had yet to answer for.

But yet.....

You decide to get a tramp stamp of Green Goblin all to spite Peter because he lied to keep you separate from his superhero life?

I'm surprised that everyone who ever did a rant on Carlie never brought this part up. This woman would go as far as to taint her own friend's memory by getting a tattoo of her killer, all just to spite a guy she barely knew for not even a year. And this guy loved her friend.

When Peter finally told Carlie the truth, she broke up with him in yhe most melodramatic way possible. She claimed that his life was a lie and that his Parker persona was "just a suit."

She was also upset that Mary Jane knew about it, even though MJ and Peter were friends far longer than she knew Peter, and he trusted MJ with that secret. Eventually, Carlie accepts the Spidey persona, leaving her with a good reason to hang out with Mary Jane.

I have problems with the above scene because Peter lied to protect her and to keep her out of a very dangerous lifestyle. Yet, she does not want to hear his side of the story and the writers fail to persuade the readers to sympathize with her. This scene also shows that she is a complete and utter hypocrite. She can keep secrets like the identity of the new Wraith (and unlike Vin and Ray she doesn't turn the new Wraith over to the police), yet Peter cannot lie to her for very good reasons.

Featured on "Many Loves of Spider Man" - when Carlie and Peter had not hooked up yet. 

At the time Carlie was still a minor character and not engaged in a romance with Peter. Yet for some odd reason she was featured on the cover with characters people grew up with and came to love.

Carlie was not featured in s single comic yet was immediately pushed as one of Peter's many loves. Debra should have been here, or Betty since she was his very first girlfriend. And how come it's called Many when the cover only has four? 🤔

Closing Statements

The positives of Carlie is that she was shown a lot more capable of handling herself in dangerous situations than MJ and Gwen, and even willing to pick up a gun. But MJ was never a traditional damsel in distress; the lady took boxing lessons from Captain America for God's Sake! OG Gwen was never a fighter in the first place and to be honest, she was supposed to be a tsundere. She had a personality, and no matter how people say that Gwen was a boring character who deserved to be killed off, she wasn't in need of no saving while she was alive.

Okay except for that one time.

Others say that Carlie was being unfairly judged because she wasn't like Mary Jane. In contrast, Sophia Sanduval wasn't like Mary Jane and people love her (assuming they know who she is). Sophia is regarded to be one of the best Spider Man love interests. Ursula wasn't Mary Jane and people love her; fans who watched the original trilogy preferred a Peter x Ursula romance because MJ was that bad. There are even people who watched Ultimate Spider Man that started to ship Aya with Peter based on a few ship tease scenes, and she wasn't MJ.

On Quotev, AO3 and right here on Wattpad, you have dozens if not hundreds of Peter Parker x OC fanfictions, many that are amazing and written by pretty talented people. OCs aren't canon in the first place, but the OCs I'd seen (talking about the well-defined ones here) aren't MJ and I have not seen one negative comment about OCs or their creators. In fact people love them because they demonstrate how you can have a unique and relatable love interest without copying canon characters.

Final Statements

Overall, the problems Carlie have are she has inconsistent characterization, tries so hard to be the Perfect Girl for Peter, and she is irrelevant to the plot. If you take away her core traits she just ends up being a flat, boring character.

In conclusion, Carlie is a textbook case of Relationship and Black Hole Sue, and should be used as an example of what not to do when creating love interests. The key is to develop a character over time and not spending so much on making her (or him if any of you prefer same-sex pairings) the perfect girl/man/whatever for Peter or whatever random character you plan on shipping with.

Anyways, that's all I have to say about Carlie. Yeah it was a lot of words but I wanted to show and tell why so many Spider Man fans do not like her. It's not that she replaced Mary Jane, it's because she tried way to hard to be so many different characters and her general unlikable attitude and the subtext behind her whole creation.

Thanks for whoever took the time to read this mess of a rant.

[summerspn]

Batwoman

2019 series > Ep 1-3

*sigh*

Okay here goes...I’m going to break it down for you:

The trailers & ads:

I was skeptical about watching this show as all the trailers for it were terrible.

As a woman I can honestly say each and every trailer made me cringe & go ‘stop!’. They were SO bad.

But, that’s not the actors’ fault. They’re given lines they have to deliver on & Ruby Rose seemed to deliver on those decently enough I suppose.

In the trailers, my biggest issue was the terrible dialogue & poor makeup/wardrobe.

The campy style Batwoman costume & the sloppy bat tattoos...ugh! Why would anyone think that would be appealing?!

Now, onto the show...

There is one & ONLY one reason I watched this show...my mom! I figured I had to give it a shot. But it was not because my mom like it. She in fact, hated it!

My mom, who loves everything from medical & criminal dramas, to shows about witchcraft & medieval times. She somehow even loves campy movies like Dark Shadows. She’s a huge fan of Wonder Woman (comics, tv show & recent movie). She loved the Captain Marvel movie. She is a comic fan and loved Batman & Batwoman growing up.

Yet, she hates this show!

After seeing videos & online posts ALL saying it’s because non fans hate the show because they’re bigots, that’s not true.

The show is awful - so I suppose the trailers were accurate.

My mother could care less what people do for their own pleasure- and like she taught us, “as long as no one’s being hurt & it’s consensual, who cares?”

So right now, just to paint you a picture, neither her nor I care about the lesbian storyline in Batwoman. I don’t care if she’s gay straight, bi, attracted to pumpkins etc. Have at it.

The reason I chose to watch this show is because my mother loves fun well written entertainment & sometimes just silly fluff to get her mind off reality. And as my best friend we have that in common. Our viewing tastes are very similar. So when my mom says something was terrible, it piques my interest (much more than those awful trailers).

The actors:

Most of the actors aren’t bad. Since Dougray Scott is in this I take it as a comparison amongst the others. If you don’t know who he is ...he was in Ever After, Desperate Housewives, Fear the Walking Dead, Hemlock Grove and a thousand other projects. He’s a good actor. However, in Batwoman he has a few mistakes with his accent & delivery of a few lines (much fewer mistakes than the rest of the cast).

But all the actors have mis-steps with their lines & delivery of the lines. Whose job is it to stop them & try again until it’s good? The director

Some actors aren’t as strong as others but after watching the show, I think the strongest actors are: Dougray Scott, Nicole Kang, & Rachel Skarsten. They seem to work with what they’ve got. Trying their best. But the dialogue!

There was a line about Kate Kane having mixed feelings for her sister & didn’t want her hurt because “Duh, feelings”. .... 🙄...she’s a medical student?? The writers gave the actor THAT to work with? Okay...um, they couldn’t have done a second draft and tweaked it? You didn’t find it needed a little more work? Like wrote this instead “it’s only natural to be conflicted...” which makes her sound intelligent. Instead, “Duh, feelings”?!

Unfortunately we come down to Ruby Rose. She’s not a good actress. She seemed to be more talented in the trailers than the actual show but that was because she showed something I like to call emotion.

What happened? Every single line RR delivers has zero affect. Even when she’s literally smiling there is no emotion in her eyes....what only makes her look psychotic. And she moves her eyebrows up & down sooooo much. It’s distracting.

However, she (like the other actors) does seem to be trying. With that said, if you can’t be pulled into the character or the actors’ take on them then it suspends disbelief.

I have nothing against Ruby Rose but knowing she was a model gives context. They work with their eyebrows a lot & any acting they do is for about 20 seconds of a commercial. It’s clear that RR is tackling the tv show like she would a modeling job. Only now she has a s****y wardrobe.

However, she can’t act. She is monotonous & sounds robotic.

I do think though that’s made worse by the director probably not pushing to do enough takes. Sometimes directors instruct actors to act a certain way which makes them sound worse.

Ie) Hayden Christensen acted beautifully in an old tv show where he played a victim of molestation. In Star Wars a Phantom Menace he was apparently told to act more annoyed then angry so voila he came across as a brat...

So I do wonder what influence the director had here.

The wardrobe/makeup:

Papa Kane, Leaders of the Crows, my man Dougray...yes he still looks good in his suits but he’s always shown wearing the same suit. Wardrobe actually helps tell a story especially in a show like this. But it’s like the budget is too small or the director forgot about anyone other than Kate & Beth.

Morning scenes, have him with a little extra stubble, some make up to look like he has dark circles under his eyes. Ruffle his hair. Have him sitting in a hideous vintage t-shirt while they have breakfast. Kate could see how awful he looks and ask “did you get any sleep?” Then they could talk about how worried he is for the city, Kate, or even thinking about Beth! Kate could see the shirt & go “didn’t I get you that?” And he says “yeah for my birthday” and she says “that was ten years ago”.Boom! Shows he loves his daughter & a tiny bonding moment. ...but this never happened.

Luke Fox. Somehow they took an attractive actor and made him look about 20 years older just by wearing glasses that belong to Angela from Who’s the Boss!

Give Luke some 2019 glasses that sit properly on his nose! And the same for the rest of his clothes. They don’t fit right. The show is trying to nerd him up but you can make people awkward, nerdy , or quirky without downplaying their looks. Have Fox wear jeans with his vests, or a fun t-shirt with a suit jacket etc.

Kate Kane. She has the worst wardrobe in the show! Though Batwoman’s suit looks tacky & campy...

Give Kate nicer clothes! They do not need to be expensive but they do need to give her a personality.

1) Plaid...why? Lesbians wearing plaid is a stereotype so WHY would this show advertising itself as modern & breaking the barriers have their main character wearing something so cliche? Makes zero sense. However, since plaid (aka tartan) is making a comeback in fashion they could have used it (if they really had to) in another piece of clothing. A scarf, gloves, shoes? (I actually have a pair of red plaid boots which are durable and adorable). Throwing on a plaid shirt is just lazy.

2) Her hair. Okay so if they’re going for the short-during-military-training look I get it but Ruby Rose has the same hairstyle in everything. I wish she’d just either grow it out or chop it all off. They could have had a scene where she’s fiddling with it in the mirror like she’s self conscious about the new do...showing human insecurities.

3) The leather jacket. Sigh... okay this is my personal opinion but I think the black leather jacket in shows is used too much. It immediately signals strength & a tough exterior right? Well literally everyone knows this. It’s not subtle. I mean I love how it was used on Supernatural where the coat had a history but it was tied into a backstory and eventually was used less and less. But the leather coat was used more in early seasons (which was as far as 15 yrs ago). Other shows always have the ‘bad boy’ wear the jacket. It’s so boring. I’d rather if Kate strolled you wearing a fun typographic shirt or a basic t-shirt and have an expensive belt because she has a thing for belts (subtly nodding to one Batwoman has to use).

There were many choices other than a basic plaid top and black leather jacket. Wardrobe decisions that could give the character/actor subtle layers or tools to work with. But that too was done lazily.

Set design:

Dark & gloomy? ✅

Isolated & abandoned feeling? ✅

Appropriate to the corresponding event... 🙈 not so much.

Ie) the bridge where the family’s car fell off. Whether it’s done with cgi or finding the right location, the bridge in question was generic. Now if the bridge was higher up and/or there were super super wild & crazy rapids maybe, just maybe we’d believe Batman thought Beth was a goner. But it was actual fairly tame so it made Batman look like he just saw the car hanging and go “hey my shift ended an hour ago” and walk off.

And,

The “secret” entrance to the bat cave is in Wayne enterprises? Wouldn’t that be hard to get to? I can picture Bruce hanging around in the garage waiting to go in...he starts over to the door, someone comes, he stops...ya know because everyone knows him...

It’s just weird. There were so many other options.

Special effects:

Some have been pretty bad so far. This is a CW trait. I don’t know if they separate the budget for the directors or not. Is it all one lump number or are they told ‘this is for the production & this is for the special effects?’. I wonder because other CW shows seem to have tiny budgets allocated to the effects. In any case, a show about super villains & heroes needs bigger budgets so it looks more believeable.

The writing:

The writing is just bad. Writing lines like “duh sisters” for a character who is supposed to be educated & intelligent seems ridiculous.

Question - if Bruce Wayne has family why didn’t he stay with them when his parents died? Or they with him? Is this a plot hole from the comics or just this show?

Unrealistic. Yes it’s a superhero story but we care less if the person has all their skills & abilities immediately.

My bff and I love superhero shows but we both had the same problems here as with Supergirl. She just had her powers & didn’t really struggle with them. I watched 2 episodes & was bored already.

Batwoman was so boring but I wanted to see if it got better. It hasn’t.

This show needed to spend episode 1 where she’s discovering how bad Gotham was without Batman & where he went. Is he doing a really long pub crawl? Saving people in another country/city? Dead? Kate shows zero concern for her missing cousin & for some reason, hates him.

Kate immediately knowing how to use the bat equipment with zero practices...how at the beginning she’s swimming in ice water for no reason and doesn’t get hypothermia?? That’s all very unbelievable.

Kate is written as Mary Sue. She knows all & has the most skills in the world! Why??? Okay so she was in the military so yeah give her a backstory of taking taekwondo classes or something but for her to know how to do Luke Fox’s job better than he does? Or where the cameras are at Wayne Enterprises...more than the security team?? And to know what the computer password is, okay... basically she has to be great at everything & the other characters have to be written dumb in order for Kate to be appealing. Why?

Bashing Batman...in a show based in the bat-universe. Terrible move. Kate doing this repeatedly makes us think she’s a villain. Not a hero.

Bashing everyone with male genitalia...makes Kate look like a pr*ck. You can hate certain men you’ve known but to constantly reference women as being superior to men...

1) negates equal rights. You can’t be equals if you act/think/say you’re superior.

2) any boys watching this show is going to feel like something is wrong with them.

3) it’s sexist.

Just like many of us women grew up hearing repeatedly that men were better at this & that...

4) male bashing IS spreading hate. STOP.

That is actually why (more than anything) I didn’t want to watch in the first place because of how the trailers made it sound like they were bashing a whole gender.

Too much too soon. Revealing Alice is Beth in the first episode? Why? Drag it out an episode or 2. Each episode is both boring and yet they try to cram everything into a single episode it’s bizarre.

Ridiculous scenarios. Like Batman would leave a child to drown. And why didn’t Beth/Alice just go home or contact the police...or anyone...when she got out of the water all those years ago? Why does Kate keep letting her sister go when the woman is a multi-murderer?!

Yes, Kate is still hung up on her ex but it was years ago & she was the one dumped. And Sophie is married so Kate is coming off like a stalker 👀

All of it makes Kate look unsympathetic & unlikeable. The show isn’t funny except when we hear bad dialogue. It’s trying to be overly dramatic like a soap opera but it still doesn’t work. I think that’s due to the writing & the directing.

Now don’t get me wrong, even with RR’s lack of acting skills there are ways of making it work...that weren’t done.

Keanu’s Reeves isn’t the most skillful actor but he tries. He’s good at certain things & sticks to it. He knows where his skills are. Yes he’s improved but he’ll never be able to pull off an intense dramatic role. So he sticks to what he’s good at. He’s also a good person & tries to talk openly & intelligently about things so he has people’s respect IRL.

Ruby Rose has been touchy & volatile about people criticizing Batwoman. That made me lose what little respect I had for her.

Awhile back I had tried watching this design show (yes I like those too) Love it Or List It Vancouver. The show was fine but the designer Jillian was being critiqued left right & Center on social media after the pilot episode for sounding like a child. She used phrases such as; “totally”,”for sure” , and used the word ‘like’ a thousand times... she really did sound like a valley girl. However, about 5 episodes later that was gone. She was speaking more eloquently and more grown up - which in turn made people like her more. She & the show worked to help improve her speech patterns so it wouldn’t be distracting. And the show has been around for years now.

My point? RR could have taken the criticism & worked with it. I get she’s probably upset as she worked hard but we all go through it. We all have a project of some kind at work that falls flat. We take the criticism & try to improve. RR could take acting lessons or at the very least, practice in the mirror.

Most of the other issues I’ve mentioned are a result of the awful writing, poor direction & likely some interference from the network.

What this show should never have done was act superior. That’s being a douche. Anytime I see or hear someone being arrogant like that I just roll my eyes and walk away (or in this case, turn the channel).

If anyone working for the CW and/or Batwoman reads this I hope you’ll take some pointers.

I like myself too much though to subject myself to anymore episodes though. I’m done. ✌️

[nomadicism]

I struggled to put it into words too. But from way back when we first saw Lotor his design appealed to me since he’s a gender inverted lady of war. Long flowing hair in battle and the armor skirt and even thigh high boots. The initial pitch with Lotor seemed to have made gender be a huge part of his character since all the ladies would have been under his command before that got scrapped in order to not have Zarkon be sexist. I would even dare bet that in the DnD episode Lotor will be the maiden

Lotor as the maiden in a DnD episode would be hilarious.

I’ve generally read his character design as act of defiance on his part—a decidedly Altean-themed look combined with elements of Galran scientist uniforms—it’s his “fuck you dad I’ll grow my hair out if I want to,” while also doubling as subverting tropes applied to female characters. He definitely has shades of “dark action girl who really needed the heroine to be her friend” going on.

At the risk of a rambly-word-vomit: there are three things that have always broke a Voltron sequel/alt-continuity/reboot/etc for me: (1) art style; (2) the treatment of Allura; and (3) Lotor’s characterization. (I’ve included some in-line links to my other Lotor meta posts that I think are relevant).

When it was announced that DreamWorks was going to create a new Voltron series, I was incredibly pessimistic because all prior attempts were broken for me based on those three criteria. Excluding the Robotech/Voltron crossover and Vol 2 of the DDP comics, the characterization of Lotor just could never rise beyond the limitations of Voltron DotU (and those two continuities still had issues).

I love Sincline as a villain within the setting of Golion because he’s completely appropriate for the type of story that Golion was telling. I can’t blame the non-Japanese speaking DotU writers who were given raw Golion tapes (while expecting Daltanius tapes instead) and no script to work from for giving us “Problematic 80s Lotor”, and not being able to wipe out the misogyny towards Allura that was baked into the animation—however—successive series/continuities had no damn excuse for not trying to do better by both of those characters.

I have a complex about both Lotor and Allura and how—as much as I love 80s Voltron and can laugh at it now—that show really affected me as a child and gave me a high bar for any form of fiction that portrayed similar characters, for as you so eloquently put it—“suffering through” the kinds of scenes that continuously happen to female characters—have their start in 80s Voltron for me and I had to stop watching/reading a lot of fiction for a while, as I waited for writers to catch the fuck up with the times. So that’s the baggage that I sat down with when VLD first dropped.

The bar has been low for so long, that I was overjoyed that there was no Lotor at the start of VLD, and after the first few episodes I was so pleased with how so many content/context problems that have plagued the franchise were being inverted, fixed, played with, and solved, that I was excited but anxious to see what they would do with Lotor. It was clear that we weren’t going to get another iteration of Stalker-Space-Barbarian-Lotor, but I was anxious that his characterization wouldn’t break the show for me as it has in the past.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled with the way both Lotor and Allura are written and designed and I can even enjoy a Lotura ship which I certainly never did before. I’m ship agnostic, but always down for ships that subvert tropes or do something otherwise unexpected in a story.

But, like you said, “Lady of War Lotor”: I’m loving it.

That is such a great lens with which to view this iteration of his character. The scene in Oriande really gave me Magical Girl show vibes (Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, Wedding Peach, Revolutionary Girl Utena, etc) but more on the Utena side of things for the gender inversion. I’m totally down for Allura playing the protector role (e.g. princess saves the prince), because in any other concept of Allura x Lotor, it would be assumed that he would be her Knight Protector, but in that scene, she’s the one doing the protecting, and he’s the “smart nerdy plot device” that is Allura’s vehicle for her story fulfillment and not the other way around like it usually is.

That was the conclusion that I came to in my answer to @blackmoonbabe ’s question about lotura, when thinking about how the writers handled their dynamic. I still think that we might see this revisited on the flip side, with Lotor doing something to protect Allura, but it’s better that she’s the one who gets that scene first. I don’t think that we’ve seen the last of magical girl show moments with those two.

And that slave comment from Sendak was really interesting because it reveals another layer of how Lotor has been viewed by other Galra, especially those with power. In a way, that’s always been a part of his characterization in prior continuities, in that Zarkon views him as a “tool of the empire” or “instrument of evil.” We’ve just never seen that objectification taken to this level before.

You really nailed that comparison to how that’s never a comment directed at a man by another man. Even with Lotor’s feminine qualities, it’s not a stretch to assume both Sendak and Lotor are coded as cis-gender and straight.

Additionally, Zarkon’s line in Blacksite, referring to Lotor as “my wayward son” really struck me as something that a strict, 1950s father in-denial would say about their not-quite-closeted gay son. I wonder if that was an intentional connection to make—especially with Zarkon’s “my darkest shame” comment in Blood Duel (which can also be read in multiple ways).

To me it feels like Lotor is a byronic archetype that has these gender trope inversions applied (which works very well for byronic archetypes), I’m not sure if he’s meant as a faux action girl, but I can see where that’s coming from.

All iterations of Lotor usually end up having predictable paths to failure based on his obsessions and over-confidence, and that’s mostly how I viewed the times where he’s come up short. His losses definitely makes for a better story because if he won all the time (and he does have wins) then there wouldn’t be any challenge. A character can be competent and still come up short, and in the past this was usually only seen with female characters and some male villains.

The writers still pull from prior continuities (not just DotU), and core concepts behind Lotor’s character remain, but VLD Lotor is a really fresh take on it, and those gender trope inversions you’ve identified are a key part of that.

[boglog]

Wholesome Questionare Tag Meme

Tagged by @80sglamcowboy Rules are: -Post the rules -Answer the questions given to you by the tagger -Write eleven questions of your own -Tag eleven people

This is long as Hell, friends and I apologise.

One inquisitive bitch has asked me:

1. Name one person (real or fictional) that you think you could 100% take on in a fight

Foaming mouth guy from Avatar. He’s got no stamina, barely any health, no skill. He’s unfocused and weak and my noodley nerd-ass could take him. (Though I am a little concerned he has rabies.)

2. What’s your favourite snack rn

Grilled cheese w veggies, mustard, and grilled tofu w a side of ketchup made by my roommate. It’s honestly the purest thing.

3. Which apocalypse do you think you’d do the best in? (i.e. Nuclear winter/ robot uprising/ Too many vampires, etc)

O man. I love apocalypse movies and I love survival horror (that one episode of the X Files where they’re trapped in a cabin, anybody?). I also genuinely love camping and I’m a bit of a medical hobbyist. I also watched an unreasonable amount of prepper videos on YouTube. That said, as mentioned above, I am a couch potato weekling. Furthermore, I don’t do well in conflict so if the world hierarchy collapses into a power vacuum where you have to Orange is the New Black-style intimidate ppl for supplies, I would melt and die quickly.

My best bet, it would seem, is an Arrival-esque alien apocalypse where the ones who have enough patience and sci fi knowledge to communicate w aliens are at the top of the food chain. And worst case scenario it’s better for my ego to die at the hands of an alien than a human.

Sci go apocalypses are just cleaner y'know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


4. Best and worst fandom you’ve been in? Or have you somehow managed to avoid fandom completely?

Worst has to be Steven Universe. I regret not just moving on after I got bored. Ah well.

(I also think celebrity/real ppl fandoms are a dead end.)

My other fandoms all have various pros and cons and it’s hard to pick a favourite.

Adventure Time has great fanart, great meta and ppl have yet to descend into Homestuck-ian chaos. That said, they’re quiet af. People also fixate way too much on the fake fanfic AU Fionna and Cake. I have yet to read a really good Bonny/Marcy fic and that is a tragedy (a few have come close tho). Bottom line for AT tho is that it’s my go to wholesome cartoonist fandom. I like that it has depth but that it’s generally very simple and fun and that the fans are mostly shut in animation adults.

AtLA/LoK fandom’s biggest pro is that it’s huge and you literally never ran out of quality content. I’ve even made a few friends via this decade old franchise. It’s also enjoyably rich and complex. One of my favourite (now inactive) blogs was one that connected world building and little background Easter eggs to real Chinese history and culture. That wAs so cool!! I defs think as a Chinese person it allowed me to connect to non-western culture in a socially acceptable way.

The downsides tho are many: it can be overwhelmingly complicated (esp as someone who knows jack shit abt Chinese history), people take it too seriously, The Great Shipping Wars, it’s so big it’s a little lonely, the show itself has so many flaws upon greater inspection you wonder why you wasted your time on anything related to it, it’s an Asian themed story created by white dudes who make fun of their fans, the best parts of the show were written by other writers but those same white guys get k the credit. Also as w any fandom related to POC culture, racism happens. Anyways most of you know this already. IMO the best thing to have happened do the fandom is korrasami. Now it’s just abt Asian lesbians ruling the world.

(Though I also thoroughly enjoy the Family Rivalry part of the fandom. There are so mNy dysfunctional families to choose from!)

Rick and Morty is technically speaking my newest fandom. It’s got a lot of obvious cons (pickle Rick sexists, Szechuan sauce racists, asfhkkh incest) but one other con is just how pedantic and overly analytical people are abt the world building. I can’t breathe wo being corrected. RM has a misleadingly complicated high sci fi aesthetic that begets the kind of overanalysing my brand of overanalytical nerdiness can’t handle. Too many alternate universes. It’s just too complicated.

However one thing I like is that conversely I can overanalyse the writing and characters’ psychology/relationships (which I LOVE) and ppl take me very seriously. (At least they used to.) it’s kinda validating to have your 3k word essay on an old man’s bedroom and what that signifies for his depression get over 1k notes.

Rm also attracts the fun, super talented animation crowd so there’s boundless fanart and memes. I never knew I would like a gravity falls crossover retirement home AU btwn Rick and Stan so much but the art is objectively gorgeous?? So ??

I really dislike the lack of attention the female characters get from fandom bc they’re all really great? Female rep is limited but both canon and fic really do their 2-3 tokens justice. Also the jerry hatred is getting old (that male aggression… Like… Calm down, Jake) but it’s a refreshing departure drom when Megg from family guy was the butt of the joke.

Harry Potter, one of the pillars of nerd society, has both changed my life and irreconcilably annoyed me to death. (W no thanks to the racist creator herself!) One can’t underestimate how huge the hp fandom is which offers you as many reasons to love it as reasons not to. Harry Potter’s canon has complex world building that’s also charming enough not to take itself too seriously and much the same could b said of fanon. To a degree. Certain corners of the fanbase are fantastic shitposters and meme-ers and can draw you back in like a black hole. Casually enjoying Harry potter imo is where it’s at. The fanfic is probably one of the most impressively vast. Strangers at Drakesaugh, believe it or not, still updates and not only that, I still read it.

Not casually enjoying Harry potter is, um, yikes? HP and Hunger Games love to insert themselves appropriately in real life political traumas and honestly the dedication of the fandom can be overwhelming.

The HP fanart corner of deviantart circa 2010-12 and @flocc HP comics however are the best.

Meet the Robinsons, Ye Olde Fandom, still stands to this day. (Thanks in part to me ngl) As Iroh might say, they are a proud people. MTR is so bizarre and tiny it’s the only fandom I was able to read EVERY fic summary in existence (ones published on obscure sites excepted). The fandom has never ceased to surprise me for better or worse and mostly due to its age range. The original movie was intended for 8-12 yr olds and their (jaded) parents which means that now, ten years later, the fans are anywhere between 12 and 25. It has approximately 20 pieces of professional-grade fanart and fic and I am downright serious abt the quality and thoughtful complexity of this minority of fanart. Like I shit you not some of it’s almost too dark. However, tragically, one can’t talk abt obscure Disney fandoms wo also mentioning the incest ships (this is what happens when middleschoolers have to resort to cartoons to explore their sexuality in an anti sex ed world), the disorganised crossovers, and the blinding lack of imagination. Nonetheless, that a fandom of any kind could sprout from a 90 min cgi movie before the recession, based off an obscure but objectively fascinating children’s book, is still impressive. The fandoms smallness can in many wars work to everybody’s benefit: it’s a tightly knit community w little to no drama. And lots of memes (that I mostly make) to enjoy sincerely or ironically.

I’m also going to mention, very briefly, the Twin Peaks fandom, most of whom, even the die hards, are v casual when it comes to fan content (I need more fic damnit). Nonetheless it’s a decidedly cool art kid crowd for an art house show and I really enjoy befriending twin peaks watchers.

5. What’s one hot food that you prefer cold? (or, alternatively, one cold food you like hot)

Is it snobby to say I like food to be the temperature God intended?

Like I like cold pizza and salad-y pasta but I wouldn’t mind if everything were room temperature as long as the food itself was well made.

6. ya like jazz? What music do you enjoy listening to? Can you recommend any songs/ artists from that genre?

I think in some contexts I can like jazz. It’s very cosy and nostalgic, it can make you feel like a grand dame stepping out of your limo into your martini filled mansion as records pop around you and your fur carpeted living room. I also occasionally like jazz covers and alternate genres of jazz like electro swing etc.

Generally though I also think jazz is a little antiquated and a little all over the place. I lean more towards the ambiguous minimalism of mellow techno music like Jonna Lee, Grimes, Björk, early Lorde, Yasmine Hamdan, Austra, TRST, etc

I mean I don’t stick to just one genre (I imagine most ppl don’t). I like alternative (Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom) and some musicians who seem to completely exist outside of genre like iMonster and the Gorillaz. Not to mention straight up pop like broods, Ellie goulding, lady gaga and Lana del rey. (I mean technically Ldr isn’t pop but u get the ideer)

7. What binge worthy show do you like?

So many man. There are so many out there! Twin peaks, Transparent, Love, Grace and Frankie, Adventure Time, House of Cards, Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty, Mad Men, Girls, Broad City, Black Mirror, Avatar TLA, 6Teen, Chowder, Over the Garden Wall, Flapjack, the first season of Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, etc

The list goes on. I’m a TV fiend.

8. What’s an old meme that you miss and wish would be brought back?

Always liked the Gothic [x town or whatever] meme. It was like a text post version of the cursed images meme. Currently I’m really enjoying the song from another room meme and I hope even after it gets old it’ll make a comeback.

9. Tell me your aesthetic



O man. That’s a can of worms! Okay. Deep breath.

I like futurism, of all kinds. I like strong lines and clear shapes. I like colour blocking and minimalism and glass and holographic LED neons. I like white Japanese urban tiled buildings. I like aliens and ruins and cubes and white and colour blocking and black. I like technology and aliens and Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake. Rooms that are empty but for one light and one window and one plant. Love that.

I like the midcentury cubism and Mod and 30’s futurism. Clear and strong industrial shapes and curves and post modernist abstractionism.

I also love nature, I love most every Björk and Iamamiwhoami music video. I love the mountains and the forests and the desert and the winter tundra and most of all I love the water. A vast expanse of sky and sea w so many colours and textures. I love the 2000s and funny blob shapes and y2k’s obsession w secondary colours and shiny round things. Love pink. I am a grown adult who will never tire of pink. (Though I don’t really like when people overdo pink.) I love cursed image family photos taken with flash in a suburb. I love the grime and the sanitary aesthetic of suburbs and hospitals and brutalist office spaces. The fluorescent lights of the institution but with purple carpeting!

I love 70s mod and I love colorful 80s brutalism I like it when houses are shaped weirdly and they have carpets and polished curved wooden countertops and spacious nothingness where everything looks clean and cosy and bizarrely ugly and it all looks like an art gallery w too many plants.

I also really love maximalism and wood and detail and fur and velvet and embroidery and silk and windows and wood carvings.

I love 70s kitsch like John waters movies and Shrimps designer fake fur CDG17 where they just piled on knickknack after knickknack onto white dresses w food long trains. Toys and novelty items and lamps shaped like a woman’s leg in a fishnet stocking. (See also: most Tim burton movies, wes Anderson, Carrie fishers house)

An overwhelming mishmash of wool patterns with clean cubic 70s architecture and so many plants and windows and wallpaper and candles and cobwebs. Also really like witchy mourning jewelry and essentially every house in Harry potter. Love the unfortunately racist boho/hippie aesthetic. Any house designed by bill kirsch is a masterpiece. Woven baskets on the ceiling piles of hats and art supplies everywhere. Stuff!! Everywhere! Hidden passageways reading nooks fireplaces the Pink Palace from Coraline!

Everything!!!

I’m a cartoonist who’s a nerd for design so I like when concepts are taken to the extreme in a humourously charming and clear-minded way. Whatever aesthetic someone chooses, they should go all out and really dedicate themselves to the highest form of that aesthetic. It has to be perfect without being sanitary of fake. It has to be alive yet beautiful, frozen in one perfect moment.

10. Favourite time of day and why?

Dusk. I think it’s a nostalgia thing. I loved the hours before bed time as well the hours before dinner when it was getting dark and the sun was reflecting freaky colours along the horizon while I ran around the grass. It’s cozy but it’s spacious and adventurous. So many things can happen at dusk!



11. You have the choice to live in any fictional universe - which one do you pick and why?

Harry Potter!!! You get the best of both worlds: magical, over-romanticised Victorian/medievalism, wish-fulfillment surrealism and wifi. It’s great. Likelihood of dying is so low, medicine is so advanced and even then ppls n°1 choice of lethal weapon (Avada Kedavra) is painless. Me and Luna could hang in her garden. I’d never have to pay for the subway again. I could live a nomadic life in a tent w infinite space. If you chose to live as a wizard amongst Muggles you’re basically god and you can cheat capitalism. Gravity is my bitch! And I’m not gna lie my dream house has always been a combination of The Burrow, the Lovegood house, and Shell Cottage.

My turn to pick your brain:

1 Favourite texture?

2 Favourite smell?

3 Favourite children’s book/children’s TV show? (I’m talking about the bizarre abstract ones for toddlers)

4 Best and worst prank you’ve ever pulled?

5 Weirdest beginning of a friendship?

6 When you’ve been in fandom for a while you start to notice you’ve a habit of staying in the same corners. What corner are you in? Are you part of the fluffy ship corner? The intense world building spec meta corner? The shitpost comic fanart corner? Etc

7 If you could invent a class that would be obligatory for all high schools across your country what would it be?

8 What’s the weirdest thing you’ve gotten at Halloween while trick or treating?

9 Weirdest family tradition of yours?

10 Describe your significant other (or your crush, or your dream partner or if you’re aromantic your fave person) through only TV references.

11 Favourite piece of dialogue in a movie?

I don’t know 11 ppl but nonetheless tagging: @that-guy-in-the-bowler-hat @skairheart @nochangenohope @eventheslightestrayofsunshine@autistic-jaredkleinman@phoenixkluke

…and YOU (if you were not mentioned above and so choose to accept this mission)

[negativereader]

Everything Wrong with the Twilight Saga: The Audience

The audience of a book is something that most writers have in mind. We usually set out to write a children’s book, or a YA novel, or adult fiction, and the writing reflects that. There are things that I can get away with in YA that wouldn’t fly in middle grade, but there are also things that I can’t do in YA due to the fact that it’s essentially the PG-13 of the writing world.

The audience of a book can also dictate themes. Several people disliked the moral relativism that was being discussed in A Series of Unfortunate Events, particularly at the end, because they thought that it wasn’t appropriate for children, while GRRM enjoys the ability revel in moral relativism.

Stephenie Meyer set out to write her book with a very specific audience in mind. She tailored her book to appeal just right to that audience.

The only problem was that it wasn’t the audience that the series was marketed to.

Teenagers weren’t the intended audience

The Quote

“MTV: Did you purposefully plan out the demographic you were writing for?

Meyer: The surprise was really the young adults, because when I wrote "Twilight" it was for me, and I was 29. So it was for the moms who still remembered what it was like to be 17. But then it really caught on with the 17-year-olds, and I'm not surprised at all by the 30-somethings. I love them all! [Laughs.]”

http://www.mtv.com/news/1591941/twilight-creator-stephenie-meyer-talks-about-breaking-dawn-cover-controversy-and-books-appeal/

In all honestly, this makes tremendous sense in context. People have wondered just why it was that Bella never seemed to work with the technology that existed in 2005. There seemed to be no cell phones, no DVD’s, or anything else of that nature everything seemed stuck somewhere in the nineties. This also explains why there are quotes such as ‘adolescent laughter’ that just sound like an older woman looking back and remembering things.

Stephenie Meyer wanted to write a romance, but at the same time, she wasn’t particularly interested in writing the sex scenes that often seem necessary for adult fiction. As such, she decided to write her book and then declare that, given the ages of the protagonists, it was something for young adults. However, the audience, the people that Meyer honestly thought were going to be interested in the book weren’t people like me when the book came out (AKA the actual twelve through twenty-year-olds) they were the people like I am now, women in their mid to late twenties who still enjoyed YA.

This was a wish fulfillment fantasy, but it was one for older women, who were looking back and dreaming of their glory days in high school. What was more, this was a book for older women to dream about how high school SHOULD have gone. Where the quiet student managed to have all the guys interested in her, have the ‘dangerous’ relationship that she knew that she shouldn’t have, and put everyone who she didn’t like in their place.

Bella’s friends also avoid doing things that are considered more normal in this day and age. For instance, you hear about ‘Chess Club Erik’ because that was something that was considered ‘smart and nerdy’ at the time, back when D&D was something that no one admitted to, and girls just weren’t thought of as being capable of being nerdy.

In reality, the Twilight Saga is mired in Meyer’s own childhood, and it makes sense. Meyer admits to have written for an audience of one, and maybe other women who are like her.

And in reality, this should change how we look at this series.

The Effect

When we consider that the books were not written for teenagers, it means that there are a lot of things that need to be approached differently. Even the romance between Bella and Edward takes a completely different light. One of the biggest critiques about the series is the Meyer wrote what was honestly an abusive relationship, and one that the target audience of twelve to seventeen year olds might not really even realize was abusive. However, when the target audience is older women, then things change.

Suddenly, we’re dealing with an audience where this is the risky adventure that they never had because they were too smart, but they’d always fantasized about having. They should know that Edward isn’t someone who in reality they should date, but that doesn’t stop them from sort of fantasizing about it.

At some level, it’s the same internal logic as the bodice ripper. Yes, it’s bad, and they wouldn’t necessarily want someone to watch them when they sleep, but they’re adults, and they’re fantasizing about the things that they’d known better than to do.

It also explains Breaking Dawn. Almost entirely.

The biggest problem with Breaking Dawn, other than the lingering specter of Forever Dawn that I’m going to need to talk about, is the fact that the story was something that the teenage reader isn’t going to want to read. They don’t want to read about being a mother, or having the perfect child. That’s ages away for many of them. The idea of pregnancy is still categorized under ‘don’t do it’ for most of them. But for the older reader, this is more of the same.

When writing for teenagers, most romances end with marriage, because usually the younger reader isn’t interested in going beyond that in fiction. Having a baby is a little like going to the moon. Also, most of the time, YA romance is actually supposed to be, at some level, instructing. They’re talking about what to do and not to do and what constitutes a good man. At some level, the Twilight Saga isn’t doing that. And it isn’t doing that because it doesn’t think that it has to.

It’s not supposed to be used as a way to find a perfect (or even a good) guy. It’s there for older women to fantasize about the forbidden romance that they’d wanted to have with that guy that they knew was sort of bad news.

Consequences

So, why is this a big deal?

First of all, if Meyer didn’t have a younger audience in mind, then she’s not going to worry about what would or wouldn’t be appropriate. This means that many of the themes of the book exist because this was essentially Meyer’s version of writing her kink out for other women her age and seeing if her sin was the sin for them. The idea of whether or not this showed a healthy relationship probably never even entered Meyer’s mind when she was writing, because she, and most of her intended readers, were already married and presumably happy enough. When it moved to YA, things that needed to be changed weren’t, turning it into the mess that we’re so familiar with today.

The themes are terrible because they were never really even considered. Meyer never really thought that she’d have someone reading her books who was impressionable enough for the themes to really matter. Most people who enjoy bodice rippers don’t really consider what the story is actually saying about relationships between men and women because they’re not reading the story for a depiction of a healthy relationship.

They’re reading it because they find it sexy.

Next, it’s the reason the Breaking Dawn was the messed up thing that it was. Again, Meyer was writing for herself, and for women like her, and so far, this formula had worked fine. She had no reason to think that maybe, just maybe, something that she found attractive or interesting wasn’t something that the majority of her readers weren’t going to find interesting.

She never had to think about the fact that readers weren’t reading the story for Bella. Most readers weren’t even all that interested in Bella. They were reading the story for Edward. This had nothing to do with the readers wanting to recapture their glory days. They were living high school. They were dreaming about meeting a perfect man. As such they were hoping for resolution that Meyer didn’t understand. They wanted the love triangle resolved, the Volturi defeated, and marriage. They even had wanted Bella to struggle with being a vampire and see just how the change affected her.

But Meyer didn’t really understand this, and the reason is because, in the end, the book was never meant to be for them. From the beginning to the end, the young adults reading this book weren’t the intended audience.

This story was for Meyer and for people like her.

In some ways, the fact of the matter is that the Twilight Saga was set up from the start to fail in the end.

Writing for yourself and for your audience

Now, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m saying that Meyer only should have had her audience in mind when she wrote, and it should have been the majority of people who were reading the book. That’s not necessarily true. Writers often tend to write the things that they themselves would like to read. Particularly in regards to plots, types of characters etc. However, there comes a point in writing when an author has to look over their work, particularly if they intend to sell it and ask themselves, ‘who is this book going to be marketed for, and are they going to be interested’?

This is one of the many reasons that literary fiction sneers at genre, but it’s a fact.

There was nothing wrong with Meyer originally writing out her dream, and writing the most self-indulgent crap ever to grace print. The problem was when the time came around to revise, and she didn’t look at what she was doing and think ‘Ok, I’m going to keep this really fun copy for myself, but I need to be ruthless and sell this thing.’

There was nothing wrong with Meyer’s first audience being herself, but there comes a time in writing, particularly when a story is starting to sell, that she needed to sit back and look at her work. There was never a point where she needed to wonder if she should save the first draft, which was maybe closer to what she wanted, and then work with the editors to see what was going to work for young adults and what wasn’t.

Fixing it

Edit your stuff with a target audience in mind.

Ask yourself questions about things that might cause trouble. Is Edward watching Bella sleep in the first book really something that I need to have in order to show his character? Is there something else that could be done in order to show how protective he is over Bella? Is Jacob’s forced kiss appropriate? Do fifteen-year-olds actually care about a perfect baby who you never need to change the diapers of? Is imprinting going to come off as creepy?

Listen to the fans and the things that they really, really want. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to give it to them, but it might help with some ideas for just what is actually important to them verses what you think is important. If Meyer had at least listened to the things that the fans wanted from Breaking Dawn, the book would have been different. At the very least, there would have been an actual confrontation with the Volturi.

A book, once it is going to be read for others, is not just something that the author writes for themselves. While that doesn’t mean that an author has to write what other people demand that they write, it means that an author must take their readers into consideration when they write.

Even though Meyer honestly thought that no one other than other people in their late twenties, early thirties would be interested in the book, the fact that it was marketed towards young adults meant that she needed to consider that young adults would read it, and in failing to do so, it contributed both to the problems with the story and to its, and Meyer’s, eventual loss of fame, name, and fans.

But that wasn’t the only factor, not by a long shot.

The biggest specter that haunted Meyer and eventually caused her demise is going to be subject of the next Everything Wrong with the Twilight Saga.

[the-golden-ghost]

Pika 1, 25, 38, 41, and B; Prilana 2, 16, 18, 28, 43, G, and H 14 (the character not the number) 11, 31, 32, and A!

1. What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

For Pika, 23.7 minutes. (Translated into Earth time for the benefit of the reader). This was calculated by 14. 

25.  What are their thoughts on marriage?

In keeping with Thwaren tradition, Pika sees marriage as a beneficial and mutual pact used for the advantage of both families involved and not merely the individuals. (Thwaren marriages are not made for love). As such, she is married to a Thwaren of her father’s Mark named Kuutz. 

That said, she has long been separated from Kuutz and their interests no longer align. He is a burden to her. As such, she has been trying to annul their marriage from afar and form a different pact with one of her main allies and fellow Outlander refugee, Miigrett Valahan. 

38. What memory do they revisit the most often?

She’s gone over the memory of her brother’s disappearance time after time but even after years it still makes no sense to her. 

41. How do they feel about children?

She finds them insufferable, annoying, and unnecessary. She’s not able to have children of her own, and is just fine with that, thank you very much. 

B. What inspired you to create them?

Pika was originally based off another OC of mine named Florizel. Her main purpose in the story was to be sort of the shy, nerdy sidekick to the main crew, and 14′s companion and partner in crime. And then over time she started to take command, become more self-assured and angry despite her (supposed) shyness and insecurity.

And then that insecurity got buried under bitterness and her lack of confidence became cold-blooded determination and single-minded fortitude. In short, she became someone she wasn’t at all supposed to be but dear lord, she is infinitely more interesting this way. She still has elements of her former self; she’s still a bit insecure (as much as that’s hidden) she’s still the clever one, she still tends to blush and get flustered when she’s thrown off, it’s just rarer for her to be so. 

2. How easy is it for your character to laugh?

(For Prilana) she has an excellent sense of humor! Braccan laughter isn’t quite the same as human laughter and doesn’t mean exactly the same things, but when it comes to both she’s adept at it. 

16. What makes their stomach turn?

Ugly curtains. Seeing a perfectly good android be destroyed when there was no cause. Being double-crossed.

18. What embarrasses them?

Her past failures in attempting to create a perfect droid. The loss of PR-6-15. Her sister’s arrogance.

28. Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?

Would she prefer to tell a lie over an unpleasant truth? Yes. Would she prefer to be lied to? No. 

43. If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

She would first ask what sexuality is since Braccans don’t tend to discuss sexuality on the same terms as humans do and she may not understand the question. Then she would laugh and point to Tulia. 

G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

As much as I think it’s interesting to write, she’s very manipulative and sometimes cruel to her followers and the people who support her.

H) What trait do you admire most?

Her ability to keep calm and carry on, and weigh a situation before taking immediate action. 

11. How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

(For 14) He pretends he understands. 14 comes off as very clever and part of that is because he’s been programmed to glean context clues and to fill in gaps of knowledge with prior knowledge. (And to withhold/alter knowledge!) This is incredibly hard to program into a droid and makes 14 a good liar and excellent at problem-solving, but it also means that sometimes when he’s given an unclear instruction he’ll jump to “this must mean this” and will act entirely incorrectly and not appropriately. 

31. Who are they the most glad to have met? 

Pika. She’s very important to him. More than even she knows. Heck, more than even he knows. She’s one of the few people he hasn’t been able to trick out of hand. Beyond that, she knows he’s awful and still bothers with him. Because she’s awful too. 

32. Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?

He’ll just pull something at random from one of his 100035 units of mental storage space and ramble about it. Usually it’s about botany, avians, or blatantly incorrect facts about human culture. 

A) Why are you excited about this character?

I’ve always wanted to write an evil robot butler. It’s my calling. 

[atrocitycl]

Critical Discussion: “PRISTIN’s Fan-Signing Confrontation: Addressing Delusional/Sasaeng Fans Seriously”

“PRISTIN’s Fan-Signing Confrontation: Addressing Delusional/Sasaeng Fans Seriously”

Posted on April 19, 2017

So for where I do want to direct our discussion, I instead wish to focus our attention on how we, as sincere and supportive fans, are to address fans who genuinely are delusional and obsessive. For aspects this post will discuss: the need to take delusional fans seriously; a misunderstanding of how idols are to be perceived; discussion of mental health; and lastly, the idea of compassion even towards those who seemingly do not deserve such.

Personal Message: To clarify, I am in the middle of reviewing PRISTIN’s “Wee Woo” and hope to finish the review quite soon. That said, and especially as I believe that K-Pop and generally pop culture of any kind is more than just the entertainment, musical aspects, this Critical Discussion is one that I hope readers will seriously consider. For what will be discussed, in light of PRISTIN’s recent confrontation with a man I personally deem dangerous, I think it is time I personally bring up a topic that even I have oftentimes belittled: the topic of delusional fans—or in Korean terms that K-Pop audiences might be more familiar with whether one knows Korean or not, “sasaeng” fans.

Now to clarify, quite obviously this Critical Discussion will not focus on persuading readers to not be delusional fans; I expect that many genuinely delusional fans would not even be reading these types of posts in the first place, and furthermore, I say with full confidence that those who are reading this post are intelligent, critical, and ethical human beings who already know why it is problematic to be an overly obsessed, delusional fan. So for where I do want to direct our discussion, I instead wish to focus our attention on how we, as sincere and supportive fans, are to address fans who genuinely are delusional and obsessive. For topics this post will discuss: the need to take delusional fans seriously; a misunderstanding of how idols are to be perceived; discussion of mental health; and lastly, the idea of compassion even towards those who seemingly do not deserve such. And of course, I will cover in brief terms what exactly occurred between PRISTIN and a delusional fan, but admittedly this discussion will focus more on delusional and obsessive fans in general rather than just PRISTIN’s case. After all, sadly, this concept of delusional fans—or “sasaeng” fans—requires a discussion that addresses them all rather than just a particular case. (Another prevalent case in mind is, if I am correct, with EXO and how Suho was sexually threatened—or “sexually harassed” if my language here is too biased—with rape from a woman. Point is, there are many of these extreme cases involving both male and female artists and thus, I wish our discussion to be general and that PRISTIN’s case will merely provide a contextual example.)

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Context: I will link a news article that addressed what occurred: Soompi’s article. I have praised Soompi before, but I will do it once again—and no, I am not sponsored by them at all nor write for them: I simply appreciate their professionalism and website layout of not pouring in obnoxious pop-up ads as do many other translated K-Pop news sites do as of the late. But on topic, the news article should cover what exactly occurred with PRISTIN and the “fan.”

For more specific details on why this person’s behavior is highly inappropriate, he intended to propose to Kyulkyung at this fan-signing, and regarding a sketchbook he planned to give, he wrote in the sketchbook sexual threats (or, again, “harassment” if my language is overly harsh and biased) such as desiring to get Kyulkyung pregnant along with including an image of a decomposing corpse. For where credit is deserved, the staff and group members all acted very professionally and appropriately despite such pathetic actions from the “fan.” The only criticism I have on this practical, procedural end however is questioning why Pledis Entertainment does not use a blacklisting system akin to, if correct, JYP Entertainment (and of whom are also very strict with how fans can interact with idols when not at meetings). The fact that an infamous delusional fan is able to physically meet PRISTIN is perhaps the more disturbing aspect of this entire incident—and bear in mind, the company was aware of his coming given that fans have taken preemptive measures of alerting the company and hence why the staff was prepared to deal with him. With that, though, let us now focus on the actual and more general discussion at hand.

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Analysis: Already, one of the major takeaways I hope readers have from this post is the fact that delusional/sasaeng fans need to be taken seriously. I connote this on both practical and social levels. In PRISTIN’s case, once again, I highly wish to emphasize the fact that such a fan was still able to attend despite multiple, proactive warnings about his behavior. While there could be many reasons for why this occurred, and to clarify I do believe in the best intentions and that Pledis Entertainment agreed it was—for whatever reasons—the best to still allow the delusional fan to attend, I do wonder if part of the reason involves the company not necessarily taking these types of fans seriously in the first place.

In defense of Pledis Entertainment however, especially with most of the delusional fan’s comments being online, it could all be an entire hoax to make everyone anxious for the person’s own amusement—and admittedly, I would consider most of these delusional fans to indeed be mere frauds and jokes. And of course, this is complicated by the unreliability to detect when someone is genuine or not online; after all, if someone despised me enough, she/he could take my sarcastic humor of me jokingly claiming TWICE’s Jihyo will propose marriage to me as real evidence to me being a delusional/sasaeng fan. Now for a more complicated case, while my own “delusional” points are easily found as sarcastic, there are cases where drawing such clear distinctions is difficult. A prominent example is, if correct, how a boy sexually harassed IU in a live stream. While IU’s label company brilliantly did decide to press charges—after all, sincere or not such behavior deserves to be addressed—the boy did claim he was merely joking and was not genuinely going to act on his words. Nevertheless, we find our tension here: how serious are companies to take delusional fans?

While I personally propose we need to take all actions and words from these types of fans as serious, I still wish for readers to consider the opposing view: many could disagree with me as perhaps there may be fans who are indeed misunderstood and therefore wrongly punished. And of course, I am thinking of genuinely innocent examples; in IU’s case, whether the boy was joking or not, the degree of his words are unacceptable. Instead, “innocent examples” might involve how a fan “jokes” on SNS that she would kidnap a certain idol if she could. Quite obviously, there is the tension of whether this fan would need to be investigated and blacklisted or if it is quite clear—whatever constitutes as “clear evidence,” another issue in of itself—she was joking. All in all, readers can see there is in fact a serious discussion on this front. I urge that we need to take all repetitively “proven” delusional fans seriously, but already that statement can be strongly and rightfully disagreed with and I do encourage readers to always be critical thinkers with considering various perspectives.

Switching onto our next topic, this one will be relatively brief as I hope to many readers this will already be common knowledge: that idols are not to be perceived in an objectifying manner. I bring up this point as there is a peculiar yet reasonable argument for why delusional fans “can” exist: some argue an idol’s job and role does, at times, involve putting themselves out there for fans to figuratively consume via entertainment or in some cases even sexual appeal. After all, it seems far too extreme if a genuinely well-behaved fan can never say, for example, “Kyulkyung is so sexy!” without suddenly being labeled as a dangerous, delusional fan. Indeed, to some extent, I agree: it is not unethical to idolize idols—and hence, perhaps, the very label of “idol.” In fact, this idolizing can range beyond just how one might look up to an idol as a role model; I think it is not utterly inappropriate if a fan is suddenly expressing how she is very much sexually attracted to some idol. If such occurs, then so be it. However, this is where I argue there needs to be an appropriate balance: idolizing to extreme ends to the point it affects idols and fans, whether sexual or not, is never acceptable.

For example, despite my conservative beliefs (as admittedly while I am socially ethical and therefore categorized as “liberal,” I culturally am “conservative”--and of course, “conservative” or “liberal,” we all should be socially ethical) of how a “real man” and a “real woman” never makes sexual comments to others, I have—as indeed, I am a regular nerdy human—made sexual-based remarks before. With PRISTIN in mind, I believe I have even posted a YouTube comment along the lines of explicitly calling Nayoung “sexy.” Is this entirely unethical? I argue far from it; my comment was that of being a fan at the moment and I obviously meant it as a lighthearted praise. Most importantly, I did not take it to the degree that the comment would be objectifying and I very much praise and acknowledge Nayoung more for Nayoung herself rather than for her physical appearance. Now that said, and particularly to male readers, this is not an excuse to suddenly go on a “she/he is sexy” complimenting marathon. I say this to male readers as we have to acknowledge that an innocuous sexual-based comment, even if meant to be lighthearted and a genuine praise, can indeed still be considered sexually objectifying and demeaning because we speak from a position of social privilege. In other words, we speak from a male privileged stance and could be unintentionally contributing to the issue of freely sexually objectifying women (and men) because speaking from a male privileged stance automatically justifies a male’s sexual comments as acceptable (due to gender expectations) when such actions should not be excused at all.

Thus, my overall point is this: in a reasonable, mature and respectful manner, there is not a problem should a fan idolize their idols—whether with admiration or with sexual attraction. The key idea is that such comments and idolizing need to be respectful and reasonable. Praising that Nayoung is sexy is not an issue; there is an issue, however, should one keep repeating and pushing forth such a comment to the point where Nayoung—a wonderful human being—is reduced down to purely her body. And of course, adding on male privilege should the fan be a male, and indeed we have an even more serious situation as it now leeches beyond just one individual case but is now reaching a social level of perpetuating the idea that men can freely sexually objectify women. Likewise, claiming that Nayoung is one’s role model is not a problem; there is a problem, however, should the fan suddenly find the need to stalk Nayoung and genuinely believes she loves him/her back in a romantic sense.

As for PRISTIN’s delusional fan, he is indeed in the wrong: he has made a sexual threat to Kyulkyung—a comment that claims he would make her pregnant versus merely complimenting her—and his excessive admiration has led him to believing she genuinely loves him back in a romantic sense. Yes, idols’ jobs and roles do involve them being idolized, but an ethical dimension still exists: idols, too, are human beings and deserve respect and dignity. Indeed, many Korean idols (I have no authority to comment for other pop cultures) are absolutely fantastic role models for male and female fans and thus, I do find it acceptable should fans admire them as role models or even find idols sexually attractive should a fan opt to go this route. (Biasedly with my cultural views, though, I do urge fans to praise idols beyond their physical appearance if physical appearances are to even matter at all. Idols’ work ethics, respectful conduct, care for members, skills, and so forth are what I find most “sexy” and I do encourage fans to view idols in this aspect rather than merely physical attractions.) What is problematic is when such infatuation—sexual or not—goes to the extent of disrespecting the idol and said idol is no longer a human but instead an object. After all, as much as I joke about being delusional and loving TWICE’s Jihyo and how she will one day get on her knee to propose to me, I obviously know at the end of everything—besides how we will never meet at all—Jihyo is simply an amazing woman who brings a lot for the world as a role model and musician—not an object that I can somehow “possess.”

Finally, this brings up perhaps the most sensitive topic yet in this post: a discussion on mental illness. Already I wish to clarify that I do not want to further perpetuate the stigma that socially deviant behavior (if that is a proper term; I merely mean behavior that is not of the norm and do not intend to connote something else) must automatically be the result of mental illness. Whether it is PRISTIN’s delusional fan or the woman who claimed she would rape EXO’s Suho, as ethical and critical human beings, we should never automatically assume these individuals are mentally ill. For all we know, they might be very sane and reasonable people; the only difference, though, is perhaps they lack ethics and have no regard for acting upright in the world. (This is why readers constantly see me discussing social topics in an ethical lens; in the end, I consider my ultimate goal as a human being—let alone a K-Pop reviewer and future teacher—is to spread as much goodness and to encourage others to do as much good as possible.) Nevertheless, however, I think the discussion of mental illness is still relevant: it needs to be reminded that us mentally healthy individuals have an ethical role with challenging the stigma of mental illness, but should the case be that certain delusional fans are mentally ill, such needs to be addressed appropriately.

Without intending to, I have already discussed why readers should not hurry to the conclusion that delusional fans are automatically mentally ill. Again, the example of how these types of fans might be sane but merely lack ethics is a possible and reasonable explanation. Furthermore, the automatic association that any social deviant behavior means one is mentally ill is a highly misunderstood idea. Mental illness cannot be easily generalized in that sense, and I argue such negative associations of mental illness—such as how individuals who are mentally ill are dangerous—make it even more difficult for those who need mental support to get that very support. Think of, for example, those with depression: if mental illness is considered wicked and dangerous, the likelihood of a depressed individually getting the help she/he needs is highly reduced due to social stigma. Thus, I do challenge readers to be more critical in their view of mental illnesses and to very much confront biases they have towards mental illnesses. Although I am the one suggesting this, I do indeed admit I have biases that I very much am working to challenge—after all, my first instinct to reading about PRISTIN’s incident was a quick assumption that the delusional fan is “crazy” and “mentally ill” (in other words, I used the label as an insult rather than its appropriate use as a general, clinical label). These are disturbing, highly biased thoughts I have, but indeed I share this as readers need to realize we all have biases worth correcting and I indeed am joining along in the process of being a more compassionate, knowledgeable human.

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Conclusion: With addressing so many different points, I might now have made readers feel overwhelmed, more confused, or simply unsatisfied with how one is to reconcile what PRISTIN and Pledis Entertainment staff members experienced with the delusional fan. I will attempt to conclude this Critical Discussion: a discussion on compassion.

Indeed, I find that the ethical layer is why a lot of social-related topics matter as all of these related discussions is ultimately an attempt to answer how we are to make the world a better place for each other. On one hand, compassion here means that we need to understand what idols feel and why, despite idolizing them, they are worthy of respect and dignity as is every other human entitled to. Now for where the idea of compassion gets tricky, admittedly feeling compassion—in other words for those unfamiliar, having a sense of understanding and even “acceptance”—for delusional fans is difficult. In fact, I wholeheartedly admit despite my current teachings and discussion, I do struggle with having compassion for these types of individuals. After all, how is any ethical, critical person supposed to “accept” and “understand” a woman who dares to make a rape threat to a man or a man who dares makes a sexual threat to a woman? But, this is where I challenge readers and myself: we still need to, at the very least, make attempts to understand these individuals.

For perhaps a controversial point I will make, having compassion for these delusional fans does not mean one is to necessarily accept them entirely; I absolutely prohibit these types of fans from ever attending fan-meetings and also desire to ban them from posting content on idols’ fancafes. What I mean by “accept,” then, is that I still have to accept and acknowledge these delusional fans are humans. It would be wrong, for example, if fans suddenly made plans to kidnap the woman who made rape threats to EXO’s Suho and physically assaulted her—reason being she still is a human, and that using such escalated violence would lead to nothing. (Now even more controversially, I do want to clarify that I do believe at times violence to counteract violence is sometimes essential and appropriate. For a random example, a police officer who kills a criminal who would have otherwise harmed innocent people is, in my argument, worthy of praise as she appropriately used violence in this case to prevent malicious violence. This is the only violence that is acceptable—in my argument, that is.) Therefore, in one sense, compassion in this regards means delusional fans do not deserve equally heinous treatment—barring, as in the example above, cases where violence must be used to prevent a delusional fan from inflicting violence.  

Secondly, another reason for compassion and perhaps the most important reason is that it allows us to be critical in assessing such types of fans. Why are they behaving this way? Compassion grants us the moment to genuinely attempt to understand where a delusional fan is coming from. With PRISTIN’s case, I am highly curious of the background of the sasaeng fan. His mental health, his relationship with women in general, his views on ethics and behaviors, his views on masculinity, his views on sexuality—all of these are aspects that can very much help hypothesize reasons for why he behaved highly inappropriately towards Kyulkyung. And through this process, we come to realize there is a humane side to a person who we otherwise would only desire to bash and trash.

All in all, while these types of fans should not be physically accepted at all, I think they ethically deserve to still be—if not accepted—then at least understood in regards to motives. But, this is indeed still a tough situation and how one feels about this situation will ultimately be up to their own moral views. Some fans might feel compassionate and attempt to understand the delusional fan’s seemingly troubled life and mind, but others can equally and rightfully believe such a man is disgusting and perhaps even inhuman for his actions and words. It all depends on one’s own ethical views, and that is something I do not desire to shape. All I desire is to make people think of their very own ethical views—regardless of what they are. If hate is to be used, then I hope there are at least solid reasons for such. No matter what, though, we all can agree on this: on a practical level, delusional fans are a threat to idols and staffs, and indeed, I believe safety precautions need to be implemented such as blacklisting such fans or thoroughly inspecting these types of fans for any suspicious items (be it weapons or hidden cameras).

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This Critical Discussion took far longer than expected. As a result, the review on “Wee Woo” will be posted much later, but of course, I do believe that this post is much more valuable than a musical analysis of their debut song as this post matters on both a practical and social layer. My words here are not necessarily to convince readers what to think, but I do hope it sparks discussions and encourages more critical, deeper thinking for PRISTIN fans or other K-Pop fans—or even simply fans of any pop culture should this post reach a broader audience.

Look forward to a review on PRISTIN’s “Wee Woo” in a week or perhaps even two weeks as I will be heading into university finals soon. Thank you to readers for being patient, and thank you to those who have read or skimmed this post.