#when it is ENTIRELY Joss's fault people think he's weak

[reachexceedinggrasp]

What do you think could’ve been a way to make Loki AA’s primary antagonist AND keep him in-character? Would’ve been my dream movie tbh

It wouldn’t take a huge amount even if you leave almost the entire plot the exact same. He could have been an infinitely more effective Big Bad, but that would be more structural work and that kind of major overhaul isn’t necessary if you just want him to be in character.

There is some stuff to work with. There’s already emphasis on him being in a very bad way physically and it’s already implied he suffered some kind of torture, so the most generous reading of the film as it exists is that Loki’s mental state is so poor that he isn’t in touch with reality. For example, when he says Thor threw him into an abyss- the charitable reading (and the only thing I think makes sense with TH’s acting choices) is that he genuinely doesn’t remember it accurately. His trauma and paranoia, spending however long in a void obsessing over what happened and trying to reconcile his own actions, spending however long being tortured, etc. have distorted his perception of events.

Now that he’s been forced to go on living, he can’t admit that he tried to kill himself. The whole reason he tried to kill himself is that he can’t cope with the reality of his situation and what he’s done- there’s nothing to live for in that moment of lucidity when he offers everything up to Odin and Odin rejects it.

So, lean into that way more. Make the coercion more explicit and take out all the stupid, wrong ‘you want daddy to make it better’ power speeches (fy JW), the ‘a throne, any throne, at any cost’ stuff, delete that awful (pointless anyway) scene with Black Widow, and give him an actual plan that makes sense from his pov. Have him still motivated by his desire to be a worthy son, a worthy prince of Asgard, and desperately trying to consolidate an identity of his own. He does not care about power, he never pursued power, what he wants is love, respect, belonging. He wants to prove that he is just as valuable as Thor.

He’s not a ‘full-tilt diva’ who wants his name on a building. Fame and adulation are not what he desires or what he’s missing. He’s missing self worth and a sense of place. He is a terrified and insecure emotional-child who absolutely loathes himself and has had every anxiety-thought he’s ever had apparently vindicated by reality. His meltdown came about because being the temperate and sensible one (his natural disposition) is inextricably linked with being ‘other’ and ‘less than’ in his life. He had thought the problem was Thor’s impulsive, arrogant behaviour overshadowing everything, needing to babysit his brother rather than accomplish anything on his own, and that his pragmatic approach to life was obviously superior- if only Odin would acknowledge him, but then he discovers he’s a monster and so they must have been right all along.

A very substantial part of his original motivation was also genuine concern for the realm. He’s diplomatic and relatively sober-minded until his very personal fear-buttons are being pushed; his anger is cool, only his hurt is hysterical. Nothing he ever does is done for no reason or just to make someone suffer (even his lies to Thor are intended to keep Thor from ever trying to return to Asgard, not solely to humble or wound him). He’s callous in pursuit of goals he considers very important (in an unthinking, I’m-royalty-this-is-the-fate-of-the-kingdom kind of way), but he’s not sadistic.

So to get him to act as the big bad, what makes sense? He has to think what he’s doing is necessary. He has to be able to justify it to himself as a greater good to cover the child-like, selfish, vulnerable primary motives; he does not want to be in charge and would never consider his own rule a ‘greater good’. He doesn’t consider collateral damage but doesn’t cause it on purpose, and he is only driven to direct, extreme actions by panic and desperation. He should be a cerebral villain (Joss thinks he is in AA, but he’s not), so he should be playing 3-dimensional chess and should have at least two apparently contradictory layers to his plan (as he does in Thor1, where is seems like he’s aligned himself with the Jotuns and will allow Laufey to kill Odin until it’s revealed his real plan was to lure Laufey to a vulnerable position and secure that total victory for Asgard Thor has been boasting he’ll get since they were children while also gaining an opportunity to personally rescue his father). He never stops adapting to changing circumstances, but his solutions are surreptitious and non-violent until he’s backed into a corner.

Therefore, a story where we think he’s just trying to usurp a world to find self-worth in ruling it for the first half (preferably one where he beats the shit out of Cap and Iron Man before allowing himself to be captured so the audience actually understands that he can and so he feels like an actually dangerous threat to the heroes), but it’s revealed that he’s really playing a triple cross. He is trying to prove himself to Odin and be vindicated, but he’s doing it by deliberately conning Thanos out of the Tesseract and protecting Midgard from harm; controlling and negating the invasion from within. He managed all this so he could be a ‘defender of mortals’ as Odin and Thor are, so he can take home a powerful artefact like Odin did the Casket of Ancient Winters. Planning to drop these spoils at his father’s feet while pretending he didn’t orchestrate the entire situation. Like Thor1, this plan could essentially succeed completely even while parts of it blow up in his face and he struggles to keep believing it’s worth it, and the point is that his parameters aren’t acceptable, it’s not okay to use whole planets as pawns, etc. and the heroes have to thwart him right as it’s coming together.

So instead of randomly disappearing leaving everything necessary to defeat him lying around unguarded and being completely superfluous to the climax as he is in the actual film, there is a meaningful fight with emotional stakes. Instead of Our Heroes vs Organic Battle Droids for forty minutes, there is a genuine conflict and genuine tension. Loki remains consistent and very sympathetic while still being a major existential threat. The film doesn’t slap him around as comic relief or render him pathetic when you’re still supposed to fear him, he doesn’t become a ridiculous cartoon misogynist space Nazi, he doesn’t feel like a total damp squib of a villain who really didn’t merit the big team up.

[sohotthateveryonedied]

My Review of Joss Whedon’s Terrible Wonder Woman Script 

I’ve seen a lot of posts about how bad Joss Whedon’s original script for Wonder Woman was, and I just had to read it for myself. And...boy was that a bad idea. This thing was atrcocious. I’m pretty sure my eyes are still bleeding. So please, because I can’t seem to suppress my rage at this, enjoy a super long post about how incredibly Bad this screenplay was. 

Warning: I’m gonna be cursing a lot because this was one of the worst things I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading in my life. Enjoy! 

Let me begin by saying that this entire screenplay is basically about Steve Trevor and what a burden it is on him to have to save the world and deal with Diana the whole time. What a fucking tragedy. If I wanted to watch a misogynistic movie about a man being weighed down by unfairly-written women, I’d watch literally any other movie in Hollywood. 

Not to mention that it doesn’t even include anything about Diana’s backstory? Like, at all? It basically begins with Steve’s plane crash because apparently he’s the most important character in this movie despite it being called Wonder Woman. My deduction is that Joss has no idea who Wonder Woman is and didn’t want to read the comics because he was afraid of what reading something about a woman hero would do to his masculinity, so he decided to just wing it and ignore her backstory completely. 

Also wow, it’s plain within the first few lines of dialogue that Steve is reduced to nothing but a sarcastically jerkface, such is the tragedy of all characters who have the misfortune of being written by Joss Whedon. Makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe, misogynistic assholes shouldn’t write movies because their characters will end up like them? Just a thought? 

Okay one: WHY IS STEVE TRYING TO MAKE HER FEEL GUILTY FOR DOING LITERALLY NOTHING WRONG?? Gee, sorry if her curiosity about the world is such an inconvenience to you, what a terrible offense. I had no idea insults were the newest form of flattery. I should have known that women actually enjoy being insulted, because of course Joss Whedon knows more about what women like than I, an actual woman, would. How silly of me. 

“‘‘Let’s keep in touch’ is American for get the hell out of my face.’” WHAT?? THE FUCK??? WHY IS HE BEING SUCH A JERK??? She saved your goddamn life and you repay her by rudely shoving her out because she’s such an annoyance despite your unfortunate situation of being executed tomorrow. Cry me a freaking river. He is in no position to be anything less than grateful that she saved his sorry life in the first place. 

Not only is he insulting her mother, he’s also using “Princess” as an insult, which is such a douchey thing to do?? And the fact that despite his knowledge that she is clearly an incredible fighter and stronger than he’ll ever be, he still thinks she’s not strong enough to take on the real world. Who is this man because this is NOT Steve Trevor this is some monster and from now on his name is Stupid Terrible and I don’t know him. If Joss wanted to make a movie about an asshole saving the world with his sidekick girlfriend, then go make that garbage heap on your own. Don’t sacrifice our Wonder Woman movie to do it. 

Oh yes, that’s right, Joss, have someone call Diana a whore. Because that’s obviously what feminists love to see in movies. *Looks into office camera* 

It’s funny that despite not being a woman, Joss Whedon seems to think he knows how we want to see ourselves depicted in movies. Newsflash, Joss! You’re not doing it right. 

I.

I CAN’T.

I NEVER THOUGHT I’D EVER IN MY LIFE HAVE TO READ ABOUT DIANA BEING TOLD TO SHUT UP BY STEVE TREVOR AND GETING SHOT ON THE SAME PAGE.

WHAT, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE FUCK.

WHAT RIGHT DOES STUPID TERRIBLE HAVE TO TELL HER TO SHUT UP? THE REAL STEVE TREVOR WOULD NEVER THINK OF DOING THAT BECAUSE HE IS AN ACTUAL GENTLEMAN AND NOT SOME ASSHOLE WHO WANTS DIANA TO SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET BECAUSE SHE’S IN THE WAY OF HIS FRAGILE MASCULINITY. 

STEVE AND DIANA’S RELATIONSHIP IS ONE OF MUTUAL LOVE AND RESPECT, AND JOSS IS AN IDIOT FOR EVER SUGGESTING OTHERWISE. 

“An outfit skimpier than Diana’s.”

“An outfit skimpier than Diana’s.”

“An outfit skimpier than Diana’s.”

Do I really need to comment on this one? 

And what a surprise, Diana is being called a bitch. Someone should play a drinking game with this where every time someone calls Diana a disrespectful name everyone takes a shot. Guarantee they’d all be blackout drunk by the end of the movie, since words that degrade women are the only ones in Whedon’s vocabulary. 

Yeah that’s right, tell Diana what she can and can’t handle, that’s a good idea.

Also.

WHAT

THE

FUCK

!!!!!!!

Why is she literally naked for the entire next scene so Stupid Terrible can patch her up even though the real Diana collapsed a building by smashing into it and was completely fine and even had a cute dance with Steve right after? Diana would never be debilitated by something like that, but I guess according to Joss Whedon’s image, Diana is a weak damsel in distress who is in over her head and needs a strong male to help her overcome her fragile feminine obstacles and fix her when she’s broken. And I’ll bet you all the five dollars and forty cents in my wallet that had this horrific script actually made it on camera, there would no doubt be tons of side boob shots because, as everyone knows, movies exist only so men can see half-naked women. 😒

Just this whole page is so gross I physically cringed when I read it and screamed into my pillow. 

Oh look everybody, it’s time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The time in the movie when the Man must tell the woman what he thinks she is because of course he knows her better than she knows herself despite only knowing her for a few days.

And don’t forget to feel bad for the poor Male because sadly, his attraction to her is such a burden to him and she should stop being so distracting because it’ll get in the way of his manliness. 

And oh, what’s that I hear? The sound of Stupid Terrible hilariously admitting he is secretly hoping for her to flash him? Oh, well of course that’s just comic relief, obviously not contributing at all to rape culture or how men believe it is their right to see women as sex objects and sex objects only.

No problem, just laugh and agree that it’s the funniest thing in the whole world that his priority is seeing Diana naked, rather than be disgusted by the fact that Joss Whedon literally typed this page out and decided it was good enough to include in this god awful script.

Please note the fact that Diana and Stupid Terrible being rejected from the club contributes nothing to the plot whatsoever. Joss just got it in his head that the best idea was to add in a situation with the bouncer just so he could remind the audience that Diana is “fine” and it’s the only way she will ever be allowed anything.

What an inspiring message to little girls who came to see a movie where someone like them could be a hero. Sorry kids, apparently, according to the wise Joss Whedon, women can only get what they want if they are attractive enough to earn it. Thanks, Joss, go burn in hell you pig 😊

(Also, Diana being called a bitch yet again, but what else is new.)

Not only is Diana being called a bitch for I don’t even know what number time, but this guy is taunting her by calling her scared and crazy and sad. So far, nothing in this entire garbage heap of a script has included anything that depicts Wonder Woman as wonderful. 

They may as well rename the movie Pathetic Woman or, if you want some better alliteration, Weak Woman, with the way this is going.

This scene.

May this scene please burn in the depths of Tartarus for eternity.

What, pray tell, is the fUCKING POINT OF THIS? WE HAVE DIANA SEXY DANCING HERE FOR WHAT EXACTLY? SO JOSS GETS THE CHANCE TO DESCRIBE ALL THE CAPTIVATING WONDERS OF A WOMAN’S BODY BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE’LL NEVER ACTUALLY GET TO SEE ONE UP CLOSE SINCE HE IS SUCH TRASH THAT NO SELF RESPECTING WOMAN WOULD WANT HIM??

Please,, someone,,, just pick up a sniper and take me out right now. I can’t read another line or I’m afraid my eyes will melt.

Though you know what, on second thought maybe I shouldn’t get my brains blown out because judging by this script, Joss would probably just find it sexy and include it in his next movie.

Here’s a delightful example of Stupid Terrible making the misguided assumption that blaming Diana for everything that goes wrong and telling her she does nothing but create chaos is a good idea.

Here’s the deal, people. Telling someone they’re a failure and everything is their fault? Yup, not as good an idea as you may think it is.

Now, dear reader, you maybe be asking yourself right about now, Why isn’t it clear to other people that what he’s saying is awful and he should stop being an asshole and respect Diana’s ability to make her own decisions?

Excellent question!

You see, my friends, that’s the thing about Whedon Science. You notice how he slipped in that Wise™ and Insightful™ elephant and mouse analogy in the middle of his (probably menstruation-caused) pissy rant? The logic of Whedon Science clearly states that by throwing in an intelligent analogy that somewhat applies to the situation, it reverses his argument completely and shows that clearly his rant is meant to be an inspiring pep talk to push Diana to be the best she can be, rather than a gross speech intended to tear down her confidence. Isn’t science fun, kids?

And oh, the dreaded feelings. Here we’ve got Stupid being the Cool and Mysterious character by treating his feelings like a dreaded disease that will kill him on contact.

Though you know what’ll kill him faster? Me when I murder Stupid Terrible with a bulldozer for telling Diana she doesn’t know what it means to be human and she doesn’t belong in the real world.

I can’t even with this part. What kind of human being writes something like this? 

Here we have the great and powerful Male Character ranting angrily because right now his feelings are so passionate and important that they must be yelled into Diana’s face, threateningly enough to scare her. 

Now I don’t know what this reminds you of, but to me it sounds a lot like what one would picture domestic abuse as. It seems that Joss apparently thinks it’s okay for men to show women who’s the boss by intimidating them into submission. That’s emotional abuse right there, and I will tell you right now that MY Steve Trevor would never even think of doing this to Diana. Ever.

He wouldn’t yell in her face to inform her on what she isn’t capable of. He wouldn’t make her feel like trash and like she should just go back to Themyscira so she can’t mess anything else up. And he definitely, without a doubt, would never ever call her a Fucking. Tourist.

What’s an action movie without a female protagonist being groped by some disgusting perve.

And can I just say that it’s bad enough Joss spent the whole screenplay making Diana seem like nothing but a sexy prop. But now he has the audacity to compare her to a “plague dog” and make aforementioned perve toss her away for fear of catching disease?? This isn’t what we wanted when we demanded you stop treating female characters like they exist only to be desirable, Joss. Nowhere close.

*cups hands around mouth* PRINCESS DIANA AND THE REST OF THE AMAZONS CAN SPEAK HUNDREDS OF LANGUAGES YOU IGNORANT SWINE

*sigh* I don’t even have the energy for the his one. Fuck you, Joss Whedon 🖕

Why???

This entire screenplay was filled with Diana doing incredible feats that Stupid Terrible didn’t believe she could do, but she proved him wrong anyway. So of course when she tells him she can fly, his immediate thought is “Of course you can’t fly, that would be crazy.” Here’s an idea. Maybe...don’t have male characters constantly tell women what they are and aren’t capable of?  

.

So yes, this script is garbage. Every time I watch the real Wonder Woman movie, I thank my lucky stars that Patty Jenkins exists and took over this project and made it amazing. 

Though I have to say, the fact that Whedon is still planned to direct Batgirl is worse than Hitler being a fashion designer. I would rather have no Batgirl movie at all than have this guy do it. This is the same guy who made Diana sexy dance for no reason and called her a bitch at least three or four times. If Joss directs Batgirl, I guarantee there will be at least one naked scene, sexual tension between Barbara and Bruce, she’ll have an estranged relationship with her dad because according to Whedon, women aren’t capable of loving familial relationships, and she will definitely be in too over her head at some point and need Batman to save her, after which he’ll yell at her because she’s not fit to be a hero. And that’s just off the top of my head. 

So yeah. Fuck you, Whedon. 😊

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #173

BTVS 6x19 Seeing Red

Joss Whedon, you sneaky, twisted, evil bastard…

Trigger warning for everything that’s wrong and awful in this world, btw.

DISCLAIMER: Rewatching this episode felt a whole lot like self-inflicted torture. Two of the most horrible events in the show’s run happen in the space of twenty minutes. Two of the most questionable writing choices in the show. I had been putting off my review for this episode precisely because of it. And I could only stomach dissecting one of the aforementioned events. I was kind of drained by the time I got to the second. This recap is not an invitation to spark off a debate. We all know what happened in this episode. I think it’s safe to say we all hate it. I know I won’t write anything here that hasn’t been written or said before. I know no one will be enlightened by what I had to say on the bathroom scene. I definitely don’t want to stir up a debate and I don’t want to answer any questions about this episode. This is my polite way of asking you not to send me any asks. Read on at your own risk.

1) OMG, I 100% recommend watching this opening scene…

…with headphones on… I can’t believe I’ve been missing on all that moaning and giggling before the camera pans out on Willow and Tara for so long!

2)

WILLOW: Mmm, I forgot how good this could feel. Us. Together. Without the magic. TARA: There was plenty of magic.

ME:

3) Sorry, but hadn’t Willow arrived at this conclusion in the previous episode when she saw Buffy’s look?

WILLOW: I know this is going to sound crazy, but... I think something might be going on. With Spike and Buffy. I mean, she looked so hurt when she saw him with Anya. I think maybe- TARA: They've been sleeping together. WILLOW: No. I wouldn't go that far. TARA: No, I mean she told me they've been sleeping together.

4) 

WILLOW: How could she hide something like this from me? TARA: I think she was afraid of the look you'd get on your face. Kinda like the one you're wearing now.

Tara is right, and Buffy would admit this herself during her conversation with Xander. The bigger issue was, neither Xander nor Willow wanted Buffy to talk about how she was feeling. I mean, not really. I mean, she had opened up about her depression after they had pulled her out of heaven, but they never truly approached her to see how she was doing. Granted, everyone was dealing with their own shit, but Buffy was the only one dealing with a pile of shit others had burdened her with. If she had told them she was having casual sex with Spike, they would’ve questioned her reasons. And that’s the part they couldn’t handle - the knowing that whatever Buffy was going through was their fault - and Buffy was all too aware of it.

5) Dawn’s precious face when she realizes Tara had slept over… 

6) Still one of the most badass Buffy moments in the show… 

7) At least Anya’s one-night-stand with Spike gave her a new outlook and she could relate to the people on the other side of the vengeance gig...

ANYA: I know how you feel. Maybe I can help. CRYING WOMAN: How could Carl do that to me? That bastard! ANYA: He's a man. Look no further. CRYING WOMAN: But with my sister? She's not even pretty. ANYA: Well... it isn't always about looks. Or a beating heart. Sometimes intimate sweaty relations with the wrong person just seems like a good idea at the time.

8) Well, if there’s something good Spike-related to come out of this episode is that Spike was also a Tara/Willow shipper, right? I mean, look at his face when he finds out they’re back together…

8) This is the moment when things start to go wrong. See, I applauded Buffy on my latest recap about being upfront with Dawn as regards her relationship with Spike. But there was no follow-up to their conversation in the backyard right after Buffy saw Spike sleeping with Anya. And Dawn was left with some bits and pieces, and her youth and ingenuity lead her to believe that if two people are sleeping together, then they must love each other; and if her sister was hurt when she saw Spike with someone else that must mean she loves him. Things aren’t always that clearcut, especially not with Spike and Buffy. On top of that, Dawn had hardly ever seen Spike’s darkest side. What she knows about him is that he always protected her, that he always seemed to speak to her in a more earnest way than other grown-ups, and that he cares about Buffy. She’s definitely not privy to how dark and twisted the relationship between him and her sister was, and she probably would have been scared if she knew. So whether she thought she was doing both of them a favor or if she was just there to try and vindicate her sister and throw salt in his wound, that was hardly the end result. Of course, leave it to an evil blood-sucker to take a 14-year-girl’s words to heart when it comes to adult relationships. But we can tell Dawn’s words made a dent and thoughts of getting Buffy back – which might have been festering for a while – came to the surface…

DAWN: You're not going to be coming around anymore. Are you? SPIKE: It's complicated, Nibblet. DAWN: Everybody's been saying that. SPIKE: Must be true then.  DAWN: (...) Do you love her? (...) Do you really love her? Then how could you do that to her?

SPIKE: Oh, right, 'cause Big Sis was treating me so well up until that point. Must still be a bit of the evil left in me after all. DAWN: I don't know what happened between you two. But what you did last night... If you wanted to hurt Buffy, congratulations. It worked.

In Spike’s twisted misconception of love, he believes that hurt/pain = love. So if Buffy is hurt, that must mean she loves him. He’s clearly misguided, but we shouldn’t forget that’s the only kind of love he ever knew and the one he was taught.

10) So… not only did Xander slut-shame Buffy, but she is the one who is the bigger person and takes the first step to make amends…

11) What does he mean by this?

BUFFY: She loves you. You know that. Anya was just... She was hurting. She was... hurting and, and she did this really stupid thing. XANDER: With your boyfriend. BUFFY: He's not my boyfriend. XANDER: I know why Anya... I understand, I do. But you...

He didn’t seem to understand why Anya slept with Spike hours ago, so it seems he’s only saying this to make Buffy feel worse? Like, “I expected better of you”. So where does that leave Anya? Gross on two accounts.

12) She’s so damn right, though… and you can tell because he’s pretty much judging her from his high horse until she brings this up and then he looks away…

BUFFY: You don't know how hard it's been. XANDER: What, lying to me? BUFFY: Being here. After I was brought back. You have no idea how hard it is just being here.

XANDER: You could have told me. BUFFY: You didn't want to know. XANDER: So you went to him instead?

13)  I love this. 

14) So… this is the super fatal blow that leaves Buffy weak and helpless to fend Spike off...

Yeah, I’m still not buying it. We’ve seen Buffy get kicked around like this (or worse!)countless times, and she ALWAYS walked it off. I get why they needed her to be vulnerable (Spike wouldn’t have been able to force himself on her if she hadn’t been hurt…), but maybe they should’ve put more thought into this scene since it would turn out to be pivotal to the development of the rest of the episode…

15) And so the bathroom scene begins…

I hadn’t seen this scene in a very long time, and it doesn’t start horribly wrong. It doesn’t seem like Spike arrived there with the idea to take things that far. I don’t know if I’m in the minority here, but I believe Spike didn’t go to Buffy’s with the idea to rape her. I kept thinking how does all go to shit? I mean, they were having an honest talk…

SPIKE: I'm sorry. Not that it matters anymore, but I needed you to know that. BUFFY: Why? SPIKE: Because I care about you. BUFFY: Then you might want to try the not sleeping with my friends. SPIKE: I didn't go to Anya for that. I was looking for a spell. BUFFY: You were going to use a spell on me? SPIKE: It wasn't for you! I wanted something. Anything to make these feelings stop. I just wanted it to stop!

SPIKE:  You should have let him kill me. BUFFY:  I couldn't do that. SPIKE: Why? BUFFY: You know why. SPIKE: Because you love me.

BUFFY: No. I don't. SPIKE: Why do you keep lying to yourself?

BUFFY: How many times... I have feelings for you. I do. But it's not love. I could never trust you enough for it to be love. SPIKE:  Trust is for old marrieds, Buffy. Great love is wild... and passionate and dangerous. It burns and consumes. BUFFY: Until there's nothing left. Love like that doesn't last. SPIKE:  I know you feel like I do. You don't have to hide it anymore.

Buffy has definitely grown out of her delusional view of love in which love does not require trust (remember her “I love you. I don’t know if I can trust you” in Angel?) Spike, however, hasn’t outgrown his twisted view of love because that’s all he’s ever known, and can a vampire really mature and grow when he’s stuck at the same age forever? (food for thought)

16) And we get to the scene I’ve been dreading pretty much since I started my rewatch. I don’t know if you could tell, but I haven’t been very active on Tumblr lately, and it was partly because every time I logged in I remembered this was the next episode I had to watch.

I’m not going to post pictures of the bathroom scene because I think it’s unnecessary. If you’ve seen Buffy, you’ve seen the scene and it’s probably seared into your memory forever. Whether you feel indifferent to, like, love, or hate Spike, I think the utter revulsion for this scene is unanimous among the fandom.

I had to check how long the scene lasts because it felt to go on and on forever. It’s only one minute. It definitely doesn’t feel like it, and it’s probably the most unsettling minute in the entire show.

It’s easy to tell why it is so. Rape had been referenced in the show before. Hinted at, suggested, toyed with. There had been plenty of rape “metaphors” – some of them with results even as questionable as, if not more, than the attempted rape scene in this episode (Xander in The Pack, The Trio and Katrina, Faith abusing both Riley and Buffy in Who Are You?, Willow erasing Tara’s memory and sleeping with her at a time Tara wouldn’t have probably consented to have sex with her because of their fight…) But this scene always feels so much worse – more terrifying and more abhorrent. It’s the definitely the first scene that pops to mind when talking about rape in the Buffyverse.

Like I said, it’s easy to tell why.

This feels too real, too close to home. There’s nothing supernatural about this scene. This could be you, or me. It could be any of us in that bathroom, in Buffy’s shoes, struggling to fight off the man trying to rape us.

Spike is not in a vampire face – which was obviously a deliberate choice. Much like they made sure Angelus was in vamp face when he was doing the nastiest things so that fans wouldn’t resent Angel for Angelus’s actions, here the writers wanted the fans to understand that it was the man doing this, not the vampire. They wanted to remind you that Spike was pure evil, that whatever shred of humanity we thought was left in him was corrupted and heinous.

Buffy is also semi-deprived of her slayer strength. She was in a weakened state at the beginning of the scene (from a fall that normally wouldn’t have caused her a scratch, but never mind that) and then she hits her back again when Spike starts forcing himself on her. She is also emotionally exhausted from the previous night’s events and her conversation with Xander. 

For all intents and purposes, she’s just a girl. Like us. She’s just a girl trying to fight off her ex-boyfriend who’s trying to rape her.

The cinematography doesn’t help either. There’s no music, no sound other than Buffy’s cries, the shower curtain as Buffy rips it off the rod, Buffy’s back hitting the bathtub, the screeching of her shoes scraping the bathroom floor and the tearing of her robe as Spike tries to rip it off of her. Every pull, every push, you can hear it. You can hear everything, and everything is awful. Our point of view changes from the aerial shot of both of them on the bathroom floor as Buffy struggles to escape from him to close-ups of her struggle – her feet, her hands, her face.

It’s all too real.  And it feels like it doesn’t belong on a show like Buffy. But that’s beside the point.

What I always end up going back whenever I rewatch this scene or whenever someone brings it up, is…

WHY?

The writers have provided an answer. “We needed to remind people that Spike was evil” “Spike needed to do something awful enough to warrant him going on his soul quest” SPIKE. SPIKE. SPIKE. SPIKE.

The writers were so focused on Spike’s journey that didn’t really stop and consider what this scene would mean for Buffy as a character, or even for her relationship to Spike beyond this point. I really don’t think they thought anything beyond this scene and Spike going after his soul. Again, it’s all centered around Spike and his journey. In the process, they had their main character be subjected to one of the most atrocious things a woman can ever be subjected to, and her journey was never explored. Her coming to terms with what had happened and almost happened was never shown. Her feelings and fears and trauma were never addressed. They made it all about Spike.

So I ask again, why?

I mean…

WHY?

17) This moment brings up another issue with the whole attempted rape scene…

SPIKE:  What have I done? Why *didn't* I do it? 

That’s a good question. Angelus would’ve done it. And for all intents and purposes, they are the same: demons without a soul. Yet Spike didn’t do it (and it wasn’t just because Buffy stopped him, he could’ve easily tried again, I mean, that’s what a true soulless monster would do, right? Go on and on until he’s had his way with her…) But Spike had been on an interesting journey for a very long time, without a soul. He went from enemy to ally to almost-friend to confidant to enemy-with-benefits. He’d shown empathy and sensitivity towards different characters. He’d always been in touch with his humanity, and I get that having a vampire be good would kind of mess with the show’s mythology. But what if his quest for a soul wasn’t about doing something terrible but about wanting to be good?

The writers could’ve also chosen to go down their usual “metaphorical rape” route and have Spike bite her. (That was the earliest rape metaphor in the show - the vampire bite.) But I guess it would’ve lacked the shock factor.

18) Now, you see what I mean about Buffy’s earlier injury being unrealistic? Here she is, having suffered not one but two back injuries AND an attempted rape, and she’s in tip-top shape…

19) Bless you, Jonathan. I knew there was some good still left in you.

JONATHAN: The orbs! Smash his orbs

20) At least there’s one good thing to come out of this episode…

20) Andrew, I love you now, but you so deserved this.

21) Also, how did Spike get from Sunnydale to Africa on a fucking motorbike? Yeah, right…

22) NO NO NO…

23) See, Xander, why didn’t you open with this? I can get behind this…

XANDER: I thought I hit bottom, but... it hurt. That you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. It hurt. BUFFY: I'm sorry. I should have told you. XANDER: Maybe you would have, if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it. BUFFY: Guess we've all done a lot of things lately we're not proud of. XANDER: I think I've got you beat. BUFFY: Wanna compare? XANDER: Not so much.

XANDER I don't know what I'd do... without you and Will.

BUFFY: Let's not find out.

24) FYI, if you’re a writer, this is so not the way you should end an episode that had an attempted rape scene as one of its major story points…

25) At least the bullet didn’t get Willow, everything will be f…

Oh.

[oopsabird]

listen, I love Atlantis as much as the next person and have adored it for 17 years, but nothing about what any of the last two commenters have said about how wonderful Milo is as a character (and he is! he is great! one of my all-time lifelong favs!) makes the statement “the whole plot is that Atlantis needs a white, cishet man to save it from extinction and for some reason he understand their culture and language better than they do” any less true!

it is pretty unarguable that the whole main plot action of the movie hinges on the idea that the native people of Atlantis were too helpless and backward-minded to save their own asses from extinction before this white boy came along to teach them back their own language, show them how to use their own technology, and then lead their people to victory while their living rightful ruler, Kida, is narratively sidelined into a chunk of crystal (from that point out she literally just functions as a plot object to be fought over and used as a device to bring about the salvation of the city. I’m pretty sure that part doesn’t even technically pass the sexy lamp test).

Kida is great, and I love her and all the potential she had, but the story as it exists robs her (a woman of colour who has lived there her entire life and is the rightful ruler after her father’s passing) from the chance to actively participate in the salvation of her people beyond her initial self-sacrifice of absorbing the crystal. this leaves all the ass-kicking and people-leading through the film’s climax to be done by Milo, a (very nice, very moral, very likeable and kind) white guy who literally just got there!

the sad fact is, even a white saviour narrative with a really likeable white saviour protagonist is still a white saviour narrative! and hey, that’s not Milo’s fault! it’s the fault of the team of overwhelmingly white male American-born Hollywood folks (Tab Murphy, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Joss Whedon, David Reynolds, Bryce Zabel and his wife Jackie Zabel) who wrote every aspect of this film.

does that mean Atlantis as a garbage movie we should all disregard and hate on? fuck nah! it has gorgeous animation and so much great dialogue and many truly compelling story moments and themes which I have loved with my whole heart ever since I was a wee bab. it has great progressive elements, like those listed above, or like the representation of Doc Sweet as a proud biracial African American/First Nations man, or this scene with Audrey! side note, I’m pretty sure the (certifiably badass) character of Helga probably counts as my first gay crush.

Atlantis was also (as a sci-fi non-musical) an ambitious leap for the Disney Animation creative team to take at the time, and I’ll always be sorry it didn’t get more acclaim when it came out (though I’m convinced a movie like it would have been far better recieved in the children’s movie market and cultural climate of 10 or 15 years later). and I’ll always, always be devastated that the planned follow-up tv series (of which the four episodes they made were cut together to make the film’s quirky little sequel) never got off the ground, because THAT had some serious goddamn potential to continue exploring all of the best elements of the original film. man, I frigging love this movie.

however, I’ll also be the first to admit that when looked at through an adult lens rather than through the veil of adoring nostalgia, it suffers from some script/story weaknesses; some of the jokes do not land as well as they probably did 17 years ago, and the white saviour-y plotline is.... well, there it is. it has flaws. ¯\_(ツ)_/��

Atlantis is an imperfect film, and as someone who wants to make movies someday, I think it’s so so important to be able to recognize the parts of it that are flawed and discuss them honestly, in order to learn how not to repeat those same mistakes. but that doesn’t mean you can’t still love it (and it’s characters) from the bottom of your heart and enjoy it anyway!

viva la nuance!!

[rubiaryutheroyal]

MGSV Story Study Sequel

@aireyverkhovensky submitted:

hey rubia are you feeling ambitious

(i’m kidding, i just want to know about the little comics and charts included, not the huge walls of text!)

Thank goodness. I sure wouldn’t want to have to explain the entirety of MGSV’s story here in one post. It’s an in-depth analysis of the story, characters, plot, etc., compiled into 73 pages, counting table of contents and preface.

As it goes without saying, spoilers abound. Also, a few mentions & pictures w/ adult themes, but nothing explicit.

Sorry that it took so long. I couldn’t find the time to finish up until now.

P1: Cover

P2: Intro & argument for why BB didn’t betray Kaz or Venom

P3: Table of Contents

P4

“The (Grossly Oversimplified) Character Relationships Chart 1”

Top box: main characters of this game

They all love BB and want to help him.

But M. Zero calls BB “his possession”, and BB: ((((;゜д゜)))) -> ( `;ω;´ )

So they all want Zero dead. (bottom right: only Venom is playable, so he doesn’t know that Zero is directly involved in the story)

And Zero wants them all dead. (bottom left: while another Snake is being made, Miller’s plan is to “get” Jack as he’s killing ’em)

left note: Code Talker is Zero’s henchie, and so was Huey until he got jossed.

P5 - 6: MC introductions

P7

“The (Still Somewhat Complicated) Character Relationships Chart 2”

top: TPP is about Venom tracing back to BB’s last mission. MGS3 ended with killing The Boss. Venom’s version of The Boss is Kaz.

Zero: “Crush them all”

BB, Ocelot –blue–> Kaz: has to keep this guy alive (hence why his limbs are cut & eye scarred, as per Zero’s objective…)

Venom –red–> Kaz: “Kill” // Zero’s final objective succeeds //

Skull –green–> Venom: Since Venom catches onto him, Skull has no choice but to kill him (he’s sad, since they’re supposed to be allies) -> Expecting Venom knew about the source of the vocal parasites, he had to kill him anyway… Once he learned the truth, all was good.

BB –gold–> clash: “Stop that”

BB – Venom: precious friend, lover

BB – Skull: from bottom of heart, want to be bros

BB, Ocelot –gold–> Skull: keeps him alive, get Zero’s whereabouts from him “I’ll leave it to you.” “John’s counting on me, I’ll do my best!!”

BB –green–> Kaz: doesn’t want to worry about the truth

BB –red–> Zero: trying to find where Zero is to kill him

bottom: “But Ocelot doesn’t do anything this time?” you’d think, but he may actually be moving behind the scenes.

P8 - 10: Facts & FAQs about Skullface

P11: Eli

P12: Sahelanthropus

P13: What Eli has to do with it

P14: The whole lotta digs on Kaz (following pages are numbered by these questions)

P15 - 20: 1. Venom

P16 - 20: Ties b/w Chico’s reports in GZ & TPP’s untold scenarios

P17, right: shojo manga depiction of angst comfort

P20 (on character relationships by distance):

Kaz: Hey! This isn’t some kind of ero corner! Why are we heading for this kind of horror? And the background’s all pink!

Venom: It’s fanservice.

P21: 2. Soldiers (minor chars)

(right) Boy who ends up getting gang-raped

(left) Woman who completely crushes all TNK attempts at rape

P22 - 24: 3. Boss

P22, top:

(right) Quiet: Snake ♥

BB: …

Ocelot: ?

Quiet: Not you!

(left) Kaz: Boss ♥

BB: !

Ocelot: …

P23: Paz’s reports on Kazuhira Miller - “His adoration of Big Boss is obvious”

top panel: cigar (right) [true adoration] lights his cigar for him (left) [adoration…] ignores his attempts at lighting it

mid panel: way of calling (right) [true adoration] “Boss (respectful)”, “I’ll be there for you!” (left) [adoration…?] “Boss (resentful)”, “Zadornov disappeared again. Go find him.” “And get me a hooker while you’re on it.”

bottom panel: how they’d show off their bods (imagined) (right) [true adoration] “…Alright… If you wish, I’ll happily show it to you!” ”May I rest in your room tonight…?” (left) [anything but adoration] “Aw, Boss! You’ve been waiting on me? Well, I guess we can’t help it!” *strips*

A/N at bottom right: ^ What Paz imagined was probably like this

Paz: It was a report from the beginning of Peace Walker…

P24, center: Three-way deadlock

[T/N: For the top & bottom, I’m not exactly sure what scenes the author is talking about. What’s “MSF”? And some episode where Kaz & Ocelot are arguing…?]

Kaz: strong to BB, weak to Ocelot

Ocelot: strong to Kaz, weak to BB

BB: strong to Ocelot, weak to Kaz

BB -> Kaz: says whatever

Kaz -> Ocelot: ‘fesses up

Ocelot -> BB: loyalty & adoration, “John’s the best”

P25: 4. Liquid

Meryl: Hey! Stop messing around! Ahaheehee! What, you call this torture!? This is just sexual harassment! *blah, blah, blah*

Ocelot, Liquid: (Shut up already…)

A/N, bottom: Captive female soldier, “Quiet”-type

P26: 5. Zero (imagined)

[Setting: Kazuhira Miller, age 12]

Zero: You may not know this, but it’s a Japanese school uniform.

Paz: (What the heck is this play…?)

[T/N: Namely, it’s a uniform for boys. The author goes on to explain the episode about Paz and Zero’s wiretap.]

P27 - 32: More FAQs about Zero

P27

Zero: Look, Jack~ It’s (my and) your kids!

BB: Waaaaaahh!!

A/N: So he filled up his entire bedroom with flowers to cleanse himself of the dream.

P29-30: Seeing BB x Kaz from BB’s & Zero’s relations

[T/N: I guess this is a scene that happens in-game, where BB tries to snap his neck, but decides against it?]

P33 - 34: comics

P33: “I thought a ‘sauna’ was like this”

Swan: Oh, while we’re using the soap, let’s add the vihta too. Okay, Armadillo, if you please.

*Now you can slap the subcommander on the ass*

Kaz: Whoa, wait a sec. It’ll make me seem like I’m in a S&M relationship…

Swan: Huh? Did I get it wrong?

Gazelle: But wouldn’t it be great to **** the boss?

Elephant: Right to the sexual harassment!

Puma: The boss is **** so wouldn’t **** **ing her be ********?

Dolphin, Cotton Mouse: *w*

Puma: Besides, ****… and then ** and *****…

Kaz: Stooop! This game is rated CERO C!

Armadillo: (Women are so rough…)

[Ending]

???: Clean the sauna for a year.

Kaz: Yes, sir…

Elephant, Puma: (He’s done for.)

Gazelle: (I guess he won’t.)

Swan: (Thank God I don’t have to clean the sauna! Lucky break!)

[Thinking about it, women on the battlefield wouldn’t be so weak.]

P34

Venom: When will I get to see Kaz’s smile…?

Kaz: *mmph*

Quiet: *push push*

Venom: What, Quiet? Huh? Those are…

Kaz: Ahahahaahahahahaaahaha!!!

[Electric tickling rods] * used by Ocelot

Kaz: *huff huff*

Venom: I didn’t mean by force… And he’s not used to it, so using those shock rods can be dangerous.

Quiet: Okay.

Kaz: Ahahahaahahahahaaahaha!!!

[Analog tickling rods] * used by Ocel…

Kaz: Damn it! Stop tickling my nipples!

Venom: Hehe. (Quiet’s making a calm face, but maybe she’s got a grudge…?)

[Boss smiled. Mission complete.]

Kaz: Hey, wait. Why are you ending this like it’s a happy ending? Hey!

P35-36: Quiet

P36: On Kaz & Catherine

(lower right)

Kaz: “That’s no way to treat your mother!”

??: “Ah, it’s fine.”

Kaz: “Dear!”

[Parents]

[T/N: below is a quick chart of their relations]

P37-46: More about Eli

P43

[End of chapter 1] * screenshot trace

Kaz: (I have the feeling it’s not over yet…)

P44

[Zero.]

Zero: (I’m watching you…)

P47-50: Review/Summary

“MGSV’s story is full of misleads and false info to trick the players, and this is the real S3 Plan (MGS2).”

[T/N: Welp, I wouldn’t have been tricked because I’ve been lost since the first page. :D ]

P49: “VR Boyfriend”

Genre: virtual reality boyfriend simulation Developer: Illusion

A/N: So MGSV:TPP has been from Zero’s point of view.

(just below) “Become Venom Snake and get real close with Miller!”

*insert facts about Kaz*

Zero: We can have a spiritual conversation!

Skull: Leave it to the Major to keep up with the latest tech. (This eroge nerd is hopeless. Use it properly already…)

VR Snake: >_<;

P51-64: references & homages made in-game

[T/N: There is way too much to cover here, so I think I’ll just skip over all the text and some comics. I’ll list the names of the sources, though.]

P53: Berserk

P54: Silent Hill 2, Blade of the Immortal

P55-56: Siren

P56

Kaz: Boss, Ocelot shot me in the face.

Ocelot: Don’t give them the wrong idea!

P57-64: Yakuza

P59: [T/N: Apparently in the JP version, when Venom puts on the Golden Armor, he starts talking in Kansai dialect.]

P60: [T/N: I feel like I’m missing a lot here, since I don’t know much about the Yakuza series, but it’s basically the characters from each swapped into the other game.]

P65: “No Way He Wouldn’t Finish Manga With That Moe Poster in DD’s Lounge”

Kaz: Hm? What, you like manga, Ocelot?

(books) “Weekly Shonen: Champion” “Japanese for Beginners”

Ocelot: I’m only reading them to better understand other countries’ culture. But, these ‘mangakas’ come up with some interesting ways to capture other people’s attention. (Hmph. This is for kids.)

By the way, did you find the next issue?

Kaz: Oh, the series I was reading ended, so I didn’t buy it.

Ocelot: What!? Don’t screw with me! Go get it already! NOW!! GET GOING!!!

Kaz: So you are addicted.

[20 years later, roleplaying]

Ocelot: L-Liquid! I beg of you!! My hand! My haaand… My right hand Liquid has been captured–! I wasn’t betraying the Patriots! It was Liquid’s fault!

Zero: What!?

Snake: Liquid!?

AI: Liquid!?

Wolf(?): What.

P66-70: More on Liquid & Ocelot, spanning MGS1, 2, 4

P71: Character relations across the games

P72: MGR: SOLIS & Kaz?

P73: Conclusion (feat. pun with Peacewalker, how Kaz ties into everything, and extras with Hideo Kojima)

And with that, I am officially done with this post. Not done like “I’ve covered everything I could”, but done like “My brain needs rest”. Thanks for your submission…