#where a man doesnt have to play an integral role
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Welp, at least I'll get a good night's sleep tonight since I don't have a reason to stay up talking about the episode š
#agatha all along#agatha harkness#agathario#just give women a show#where a man doesnt have to play an integral role#i'm here for agatha#and rio#and lilli#and jen#and alice#and even sharon!!!#just keep the men out of it
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to me, xpap is pretty close to a "perfect" swap papyrus by my own metrics. bc ill be honest, i personally have never liked the traditional "sans is now just papyrus, papyrus is now just sans" swap. ive always preferred swaps like ts underswap, where their roles (and maybe some aspects of their personalities) are swapped, but theyre still distinct characters rather than preexisting ones wearing a different shell. xpap is that to me.
he retains classic's positivity. he retains his energy and his motivation. pretty sure jakei has explicitly said that, like classic, xpapyrus has that belief in every single person, though id say he takes a different approach to it.
he's more violent. more likely to kill. classic is actually more violent than people give him credit for: sure, he wont kill you, but hell give you a pretty fucking brutal beating, and he's always stoked to spar with undyne, which as you can imagine is not a harmless process on eother side bc its fucking undyne. but he wont kill, because a huge facet of his character is his own moral code (his integrity if you will gets shot gets shot gets shot), and that includes not resorting to killing because of his belief that anyone can be a better person if they try! and you cant really try if youre dead.
xpapyrus has killed and will kill, most likely because thats something he has been trained for. not necessarily in the royal guard - i dont see them training to kill bc their whole thing was protecting frisk and not rlly agitating humanity too much?? which wouldnt work too well if they were killing them constantly. but i do see them resorting to it in extreme situations - i think xgaster and the way he raised them plus his own pushing his sons (and others) in certain directions to better suit his future wouldve contributed to that a lot more. however, we dont have much on that really (or if we do i havent seen it. sigh why must so much xtale content be deleted...)
despite his positivity, he is noticeably more jaded than classic, most likely because he knows the circumstances of his universe and his being. he's more laid-back, im pretty sure in the timeline x comic he tells cross to take a nap and says something implying that they have the classic swap thing of "now papyrus is the nap guy while sans hates naps and sleeping", which i think fits.
at least from what weve see so far, xpap seems less. "performative", lets say. because despite his morals, classic pap is also known for sort of. playing a role. he plays the confident cool guy who has lots of friends and admirers and therefore doesnt need any more, and thats not to say that he isnt cool and awesome, but that he feels the need to compensate for his insecurities via the "fake it til you make it" method. also, if you pay attention to things like his phone call dialogues, you see him constantly contradicting himself and switching what he does and doesnt know depending on who's with him. he has a delicately and deliberately crafted persona, tailored to the people around him so they can find him more likeable. i dont really see xpapyrus doing that.
he seems more open, less willing to be pushed around. thats not to say classic is a pushover - hed object to something like, that, too. but hes more likely to go along with certain things if he thinks itll make him more likeable. like his phonecall with undyne in grillbys. she says she fucking loves grease, so papyrus backtracks on his grease hate to talk about how much he loves it (but also, i believe if you talkto him in front of his house when undynes there too, he outright admits he doesnt like grease?? so idk what changes between that and the grillby's phonecall. maybe the fact that in the latter, undyne specifically expresses an opposition to his own opinion and he feels if they clash like that, their friendship will be tarnished?? idfk this man is a mystery to everyone but himself but probably himself also). i think if it was xpap instead, hed just agree to disagree, or maybe start a like. play-argument of sorts.
same thing i can see with a scene like the one where you see undyne for the first time - he tries to tell her that frisk is cool and friendly and they dont have to fight and she doesnt have to kill them!! but undyne is clearly unhappy w this idea and papyrus backs down pretty quickly (though he obviously still works to help you bc he wants to be friends rather than enemies). xpapyrus i think would not back down, at least not so easily.
and i think his belief in people is different from classic's in the way that, yes, he does believe people can be good. he does believe in choices and the ability to make the right ones. he also, however, believes that he doesnt have to stick around for that shit if he doesnt want to. he believes that sometimes, too much is too much, that anyone can make the right choice, and in this moment his right choice is getting rid of whoever has wronged him. "dont kill" isnt imprinted in his moral code like it seems to be for classic, so hes more. "flexible" in his options for dealing with people who just wont listen. he wont go out of his way to injure or kill, but hes not above doing those things for whatever reason he deems necessary (and i do believe it has to be a necessity for him, he wont do it otherwise).
like overall he very much still evokes "classic papyrus" - hes full of positivity and energy, he sticks to his morals and beliefs, he loves to fight, he believes in people. but hes also more "mature", a bit more mellow. he's laid-back. he's measured in his views and expectations of people. he's more "open", more willing to be himself no matter the situation or who hes around. honestly, id say hes a swap papyrus if, rather than the swap being in relation to being more "sans-like", it was more about being the opposite of being "papyrus-like", if you know what i mean.
idk theres a lot i dont know. what i do know, however, is that i love and care him. if he doesnt play a big role in 0.8, either part one or part 2 (or both) i will riot.
if you do find the comic you were talking abt... tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell m
ok so. i talk a lot about how cross is a swap sans, and his au is a mashup of a classic and swap timeline, right?
well. xpapyrus also acts like a swap papyrus too i feel. obviously heās not entirely a swap pap, given how heās in the royal guard and has a lot of energy and more outgoing personality. heās a blend of a classic and swap papyrus. given the outgoing ability and efficiency while keeping some swap papyrus traits. notably, how willing he is to harm others. obviously heās not going around beating the shit out of people, but unlike classic papyri, he would hurt or even kill people. this includes cross, his brother. āhe remembered the cruelty of xgasterā, classic papyrus in underverse after remembering all of the resets didnāt dare harm frisk, the person making his universeās resets happen.
crazy how xpapyrus says this given he completely had the intention to kill cross. like he was 100% willing did you see those blasters. also stop deadnaming your brother :(
heās also generally been a fairly snarky kid compared to cross. cross fears xgaster as a child (because xgaster is implied to beat the shit out of his kids. crazy how we ignore that one), and still does as an adult, but as a child itās. itās obvious yk? but papyrus never really gave a shit. xgaster can mistreat him all he wants but heās going to call him out whenever applicable. in the ālooks like we have to kill this guy stevenā meme, he would be garnet. he and 1-S would be friends as kids because both would most likely let their gasters die under certain circumstances, whilst 2-P and cross would be more similar (both want approval and acceptance from their fathers/gasters, and both defended him despite how there is literally no reason to not let him die, etc).
also, compared to classic papyrus, xtale papyrus is more laid back at times. thereās this comic jakei made ages ago which shows it really well and iām trying to find it but god itās so old and also deleted i think. i have it saved somewhere hold on. WDYM I DONT HAVE IT SAVED. hold on. wow ok 2 hours later and i have no idea where it is. but heās chiller than the other papyri and more comparable to swap papyrus at timessigh
idk just thinking
#i dont fully know if the things i say make sense i just kinda word vomit until it stops#but by god do i start frothing at the mouth whenever any papyrus comes up#love my au sanses but if their papyri show up im pushing them (the sanses) off a cliff and going āomg papyrus..... omg......ā#i am no expert in anything but i know how to be insane abt characters and that counts for something i think#that being said if i got smthn blatantly wrong do tell me#rebog
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persona 5 strikers thoughts and feelings
This is going to be a long post. Like, the type of post youād only really have time to read when youāre trying to sleep but youāre not ready to be unconscious yet so youāre just looking for something to do to spend your time with minimal effort.Ā
So in 2018, a masterpiece was born into the world: Into the Spider-verse was released and it was amazingāitās honestly the best spiderman movie we have without a doubt, and itāll be very far into the future before Spider-verse is beaten as the best spiderman movie. Themās the facts. Then in 2019, Spider-man: Far From Home was dropped. Itās a great movie! Great characters, great continuation of who these characters are and works fantastic as a continuation of a story. Itās really hard trying to take the torch of a previous movie (or in Marvelās case, juggling twenty something movies) and come up with a new movie that both works on its own, as well as being the next step in this series of films. Thus, with that idea in mind, I think itās kind of unfair to judge into the spiderverse and far from home, because these are two movies with two completely different objectives in mind.Ā
Okay, so this is still a persona 5 strikers post, I promise, but the idea is the same: Persona 5 could basically do whatever it wantedānew story, new characters, new everything, and itās just plain old awesome. However, Persona 5 strikers did not have that sort of freedom. It was bound to the original game, and it had its own rules and stuff it had to keep intact, characters they had to work with, and on top of that, it had to justify its existence as a sequel (lets pretend money doesnt exist lmfao).Ā
SO, the big question is: did it do that? Did it justify its existence?Ā
And my answer: holy fuck did it ever do that
I came into this game knowing the extreme bare minimum. I knew there was someone named Sophia, and i knew there was roadtrip, and i knew there were Personas. Thatās my knowledge of it before i played it on the Switch.Ā I should also clarify like, early on, that i was not expecting anything from this game. At all. I was the worldās biggest cynic of this gameāif you scroll down my p5s tag far enough, youll just see me complaining about a game that hasnāt even come out yet. I was fully expecting to have this be a Waifu show, and any male character that isnāt Akira to just be shoved aside like some kind of nerd in a high school hallway, and i have never been more pleased to be wrong. In fact, i actually owe it an apology, because of how fucking rude i was for no reason!!! Because this game deserves everything to be honest.Ā
Persona 5 strikers is, frankly, insane. Insane in the sense that it got to pull shit off that just would never have existed in the original game, because the original game is scared. It had to be as impressive as possible and garner as much attention as possible. Strikers does not have that problemāevery single person who bought that game does not need to be convinced that persona 5 is a good game. They already played it. That means Atlus can just fuck around and have a good time, and man did they have a good time. Thereās still scenes that still shock me if i think about it too hard, because iām used to atlus having to follow this sort of rule set when it comes to persona 5 (or any of the main games im assuming, but i havent played them.) And on top of that, thereās still shit thatās Atlus Trademarked Branded in a good way. The style of story of story telling, and revealing the mystery that is so integral to what p5 is, is still there.Ā
So, to make this even a little bit comprehensible, i will make a list!Ā
First of all, What is this game?
In short, this game is an OVA of an anime. Itās bonus side content that has one thing in mind: to showcase these lovable characters more by putting them in fun situations. Thatās it, and it is just phenomenal. That was the main point of, iād say, like forty hours of the game. Itās just fun times with fun characters.Ā
But to get deeper of what i think is happening, or what they were thinking during the development, is that this is a second opportunity. Persona 5 (as we all know) had a lot of problems, and we were not quiet about those problems. We yelled it all out, made posts, made complaints on every social media platform ever. And Atlus heard all of them, and Strikers is a way to mitigate those mistakes. Aside from being a fun OVA, Strikers also works to be a deeper exploration of these charactersāmore specifically, the characters that did not receive much in the original game. Creating this sequel is having the ability to redo what they felt (or to be more specific, we felt) in the original game while adding new ones. I will get to that in a second.Ā Ā
The format of the gameĀ
Absolutely brilliant to throw them on a road trip. P5V already forced us to experience Shibuya for 200+ hours, and im so glad that they didnāt do that again. Going from town to town, making us experience these new places alongside our favorite characters is so good, and it just makes sense. Itās fun, itās lighthearted, and itās actually shockingly good. But one thing i do want to talk about early on is the way the story unfolds and the villains that they use, and what they do with it because itās very interesting.Ā
So as we explore japan and stuff, we encounter jails, and with those jails comes an antagonist. This antagonist works to be a parallel to one of our characters. That character will find it in their hearts to feel bad for the antagonist, because the antagonist could have been them had the original game not happen. At first I thought all of the thieves were gonna get an antagonist, and i was really hyped for the ryuji one. And then came to hour forty of the game where i realized āyeah thatās not gonna happen. Thereās just not enough time.ā And i was right, and the game ended. But i am not salty at all, honestly, because the people who got a direct antagonist were: Ann, Yusuke, and Haru. (we wont count zen and sophie).Ā
Is there a trend??? Yes. these are all characters in the original game that have received the worst treatment by atlus. The three of them are basically cast aside the minute they finished their original arc, and its horrible! BUT thatās why this is the path that atlus chose for themāto give them more depth, and screentime, and a way to show their inner self. That isnāt to say that the ones who arenāt those three (makoto, futaba, mona, akira, ryuji) didnāt get anything. Futaba still has her thing at the end with ichinose, and she was very prevalent and animated during the rest of the game. Mona and Akira have to be a focal points, thatās just the nature of the game. The other two though, I will talk about in depth in a second.Ā Ā
Makoto
Yāall i poke fun at shumako fans sometimes cause its kind of easy and fun, but i honestly love makoto. In my very first playthrough of p5 (my first ever jrpg game, first persona game, i had no idea what i was doing), i had only maxed out two characters: ryuji and makoto. And i know she had a lot of screentime and love in the original game which is great, but i truly felt like she was dissed in this game. Her only roles were
A driver
Someone to tell them āwe donāt have a choice. Letās keep going and see where this takes us.ā (seriously, if you replay this game, you will see how much she does this)
Idk, i just wish she had more to do, especially compared to how much love they gave the other characters.Ā
But letās talk about some of the new characters!Ā
Zenkichi
Damn you atlus. Damn you and your insistence at bringing in cop characters. I was fully on board with hating zenkichi, i was fucking ready for it. I was convinced that there was nothing they could do convince to like zenkichi. I was immune to their copaganda.Ā
And then i ended up loving him, which makes me sad a little bit. I didnāt realize how desperate i was to have an adult who has a persona. Someone who wants the world to change just as much as they do, while still having that aspect of them that makes them adult. Like??? As someone who is technically an adult, its a breath of fresh air. An adult. Who fights. For justice. Using a persona. And god i love akane so much, and her obsession with the thieves (that scene is probably in my top ten fave scenes of the game). Also what i loved about zenkichi is that he fucking hates the cops!! He hates the system of the cops!! And thats why i actually really started to love him!! Because i thought it was atlus saying that the systematic problem of the police cannot be solved by one person, and zenkichi threw away his badge. I actually cried at that part!!Ā
But then he became a cop again, and i was just :/ but as a character, i really love him to bits and would love to do a study on him, or at least use him as an outside pov. But! i absolutely love his persona, since im a les miserables fan hehe
SophiaĀ
sheās probably my favorite new aspect of the game. I was ready to not like herāagain, i just suck like that, lmfaoāand when i saw her, i was scared that she was just another waifu. I mean, she was very cute after all. But then as the game went on, i thought she was a little too cute. And even further into the game, i finally slapped myself in the face and realized oh my god shes not a waifu. Shes a sister.Ā
That blew my mind, im ngl to you. A female character that isnāt supposed to be romanced? By jove, what a miracle!Ā
And sheā¦is an amazing character. Im sorry, i just love her so much. I love her so much that sheĀ probably ranks as my fifth or sixth favorite character which is surprising even to me. Everything about her is delightful and invigorating. Sheās funny??? Her comedic timing is amazing, and she has such chemistry with the rest of the team. Sheās actually useful to the plot, and while her character design is a little too on the nose for me in terms of cuteness (i mean, good god sheās wearing oversized sweater to show how cute and tiny she is, and her hair has literal hearts in it), she is absolutely lovable.Ā
But what i actually really wanna gush about for a second is sophia at the last stage of the game. You get the idea, i dont really like to get excited over things, so at this point i figured that there was nothing this game could do to shock me.Ā
And then sophia had a persona awakening.Ā
Like. holy fuck did i yell. I didnt realize what was happening until the music had already kicked in. and its just so fucking smart!!! Sophia??? The ai?? With no heart?? gOT A PERSONA???? AWAKENING??? BECAUSE SHE LEARNED WHAT THE HEART IS AND THE PASSION THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO GET A PERSONA??? I started crying honestly, because it was just so smart. And looking back on it now, its obvious!! Of course it would lead to this, it only made sense that the culmination of her character arc leads to her getting a persona, nothing else would have been as good. Also, her voice actor is just amazing?? When she was talking to ichinose at the end, i actually got incredibly emotional because of the line reads. Its just so spot on and it really captures the essence of sophia.
Muah. five stars Atlus. You got me.Ā
Ryuji <3!!!!
Oh man. Oh boy. Okay. so where do i start.Ā
Yall know i love him. Hes probably my favorite fictional male character of all time, and he is the one i was the absolute most cynical about in this game. I was expecting literally nothing. Nothing. Like. nothing. I thought he was just gonna keep being used as a joke, or a gag, and heās gonna be super horny all the time for the other girls and it was gonna make me mad and there was gonna be some insane homophobic/queerphobic jokes in every other scene and i know i was being unfair, but i cant help it.Ā
And then i played the first two hours of the game, and i cried the entire time. Because ryuji has never been better than he is in this game. Its crazy.Ā
The ryuji in persona 5 strikers is who ryuji should have been/how he should have been treated this entire time. From the actual funny jokes (for example, the gold bar joke + his reaction to it in the beginning of the game), defending his female friends instead of being the one people need to defend from (natsume arc), and the fact that he was the one to be there with morgana and akira in the very beginning of the game. Its such a small thing that they didnt even need to do, but it was such an integral part of the original game for me, that i just was convinced that nothing like this was going to happen. But then it happened. Its just small stuff like that that could have been overlooked but it wasnāt because this game? Persona 5 strikers? Fucking loves ryuji.Ā
The actual respect they gave this boy is insane and i wasn't ready for it. Like, they gave the shujin trio lunch, they gave the little charm of the katana when they were in natsumeās jail, and, in my opinion this is the second-best thing that they could have given ryuji is sophia. Ryuji and sophia are the pinnacle of a brother & sister bonding relationship in the game that isnāt akira & futaba. And its really prevalent too?? Small stuff from the beginning of the game (pulling her out of a jail, calling her shorty), but then you have the iconic āshut the fuck upā scene, and that scene was so well characterized and written and voice acted, that somehow him saying āfuckā was the least exciting part of that scene to me. Ryuji is an older brother to her, like its undoubtable, and its only further cemented at the end of the game where Ryuji helps out ichinose because he knows how much sophia cares about her. This game. Love ryuji. And i love. This game.Ā
You know what else i love? Akiryu.Ā
Guys. i was fully prepared to starve in terms of akiryu. But theres just. So much of it. I wont get too deep into it, because i think this aspect of the game for me still needs marinate a little bit. Like, what was that last shot when EMMA died and Ryuji walked to approach Akira so they could relish in their victory together?? And the smile from both of them??? What the fuck. That was amazing. Also Joker being saved by Ryuji when he was about to fall from the cliff to save sophia??? WHAT. The LEADER AND HIS RIGHT HAND MAN? WHAT. anyway. If theres anything i want to keep for myself in my own brain, its the akiryu aspect of this game, so i wont talk too much about that part of things (instead, itll probably manifest in fic lmfaooo).Ā
Sure, thereās tidbits of stuff i dont like that they gave ryuji: sexualizing ann in that one cut scene and making him touch the jails even though it hurts, and i recognize those and frown at them, but for the most part, i am blown away with how they treated him.
Basically, Ryuji has never been better. From the opening of the game with him being the first text message and the one to sling his arm around akira, to the very last cut scene where it was ryuji wordlessly leaving because heās so confident that they would never be separated for long, this game adores Ryuji and i am so so happy to say that.
The Royal aspect of things
Yeah, i had to talk about this, but itll be a short thing i just wanted to point out. Because the last part of this game...is persona 5 royal. Which is curious. Like taking reality and giving that power to someone else so you dont have to experience suffering anymore? And even like, the final section just looked a lot like the top half of marukiās palace?? And whats even crazier is that we had a boss fight with sophia, just like how we had a boss fight with sumire? Royal and Strikers have like, the same thesis statement. Itās kind of uncanny.Itās interesting, itās like atlus came up with these two ideas, and then just decided they liked both of them so much that they just did it twice. I donāt mind thoughāactually, in terms of how the last Palace/Jails go, i probably like them both about equally.Ā
Though i did love the final battle in this one more than i did in royal. Splitting into teams?? Thats cool as fuck, and really innovative and i didnt see it coming. It also kicked my ass. A lot.Ā
Now for the last stretch: the small stuff!
The music ā bomb as fuck. In my heart, Daredevil is ranked the same as Rivers. Axe to grind is also amazing, but Daredevil owns me
Akechi ā i really debated whether or not to talk about him, but i figured a bullet point should be enough. Im really shocked that he wasnt in this at all. Like not even a name drop. If this is an OVA, and the point of the game is to please the fans, and akechi is arguably the fan favorite character, i was really ready for something. But there was nothing, except for the pancake hallway if that even counts as a reference. Thats it. Thats all i wanted to say about him.
The humour ā FUCKING HILARIOUS im convinced that in my fifty hour playtime, five of that is dedicated to me laughing and unable to continue the gameĀ
Akira ā so much personality! His lines of dialogue are crazy sometimes (like. Whats up with him saying Ryuji has ānice absā when they were in bath? Im crazy and even i dont know what the fuck that could mean)Ā
Battle system ā oh my god i almost forgot to talk about this. I love it! I kind of miss the turn based aspect just because i found it very comforting for some reason, but this hack and slash style of gameplay is so invigorating because i do feel like it justifies shit like the baton pass and huge attacks.Ā This battle system fully encompases how the Phantom Thieves are supposed to fight, you know what i mean?
Anyway, thats my thoughts on strikers. Loved it. Amazing. 9.3/10, wouldve been higher but Konoeās Jail almost bored me to death. Also im a monster and i didnt do any requests that isnāt a fun one, teehee.Ā As if i play persona 5 for the persona aspect of things.
#cant believe im done#but you know what?#i was actually at peace when i finished it#so i consider that a good healty thing#p5s#alex plays p5s#mine#p5#my moon and stars#the leader and his right hand man
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I saw someone comment this as a criticism towards iris so I'm curious what you think. they said she/barry claim she's a good reporter but she's never actually had a successful story, and always calls barry or needs someone to help her clean up the messes she gets herself into on purpose. I'm a biiig fan of iris so regardless of criticism it doesnt change my opinion of her at all, but i'm still interested in your thoughts :)
Letās be clear, if it wasnāt for Iris and theĀ āmesses she gets herself into,ā Barry would still be unemployed.
Actually, I didnāt even know this was a criticism folks made, but I appreciate you asking me about it, nonnie, because hopefully I can dispel this as a bad faith (and utterly false) criticism of Iris. To do that, though, we need to talk about Irisās journalism over the years.
Iris is looking for her story at the start of season 1, and she finds it when a mysterious super-powered hero begins saving people. She names him the Streak and starts her blog, where she records sightings of the Streak. Barry and Joe are literally trying to get her to stop writing, while Eddie pretends to Iris that he doesnāt even believe the Streak is real and that sheās wasting her time (Eddie writes him off as a hoax, all the while heās trying to get Singh to allow him to create a task force to catch the speedster). Sheās essentially on her own, but she continues to write about the Streak, later renaming him the Flash, and this lands her a job at Central City Picture News, where her mentor, Mason Bridge, writes her off immediately as an over-eager aspiring journalist. She has so many, well-researched stories she wants to write, but the editor of CCPN is more interested in what she can write about the Flash. Itās such an uphill battle for Iris from Day 1, when it comes to her aspirations as a journalist, and nobody is coming to help her out, exactly. When she gains Masonās respect, he tasks her with researching Harrison Wells. Iris is intuitive and sharp, and when she meetsĀ āSamā at the West house, she immediately goes into the archives of her blog, where sheād also recorded sightings of other meta-humans, and connects the dots thatĀ āSamā is Ronnie Raymond. Irisās blog also serves as a meta-human database, which we see Oliver and his team use, and furthermore, the information Iris gathers on the Burning Man which she gives to Caitlin is what Caitlin uses to locate Ronnie. From the very beginning, Irisās meticulous research is what allows for huge positive plot developments to take place. Furthermore, itās hers and Masonās research on Wells that propels Barry and Joeās investigation into the truth about who Harrison Wells is. While I am still incredibly peeved that what should have been Irisās investigation is just unceremoniously handed over to Joe and Barry, neither Barry nor Joe would have known to even begin investigating Wells. While Cisco discovered the truth on his own, this was in an isolated timeline that was erased, a timeline that saw Cisco murdered for discovering the truth. Meanwhile, Iris compiles all the data of her research and is able to connect everything back to the Particle Accelerator, a conclusion she reaches on her own through her research. She later helps the team locate Grodd, because of reports sheās kept track of.
In season 2, Iris is still a journalist for CCPN. This is really the first instance of Iris needing Barryās aid with a story, and itās because sheās trying to take down an illegal eviction scam and gets caught in the crosshairs. Barry saves her, and she later writes the piece. That was all her; her own research, and her own story. Barry coming to her aid, while sheās in the thick of it, is pretty standard for journalists in superhero stories, and it really doesnāt diminish the fact that she exposed this scam on her own. (And honestly, who doesnāt love the trust fall scene?) She uncovers the truth about Wally on her own and confronts Francine about it. She later confronts the speed-racing crook, in her attempts to protect Wally, and while he threatens her, she has back-up, having recorded everything he was saying, wiring it all back to CCPN to protect herself. She refuses to write a negative piece on the Flash, when Trajectory attacks Central City, and instead proves to Scott that some people are always heroes no matter what. Irisās determination as a journalist is what makes her successful, and we see that time and again.Ā
In season 3, she is investigating Frankie Kaneās home situation, and she goes to interview her abusive step-father, where she discovers his physical and verbal abuse of Frankie. She also ensures the entire hospital is evacuated, while Barry goes to talk Frankie down. A clear visual representation of truth and justice working together to save the day: Iris using her investigating prowess and realizing who Frankie is targeting and then evacuating the hospital, and Barry going to Frankie and saving her. Again, thereās no one coming to get Iris out of theĀ āmesses she createsā; instead, sheās actively using her journalistic talents to help save the day. Is Iris sometimes reckless with her own well-being when she goes after a story? Yes. Iris blatantly lacks self-preservation. But thatās also what makes her so incredibly compelling as a journalist, because she has flaws, but sheās smart and determined and intuitive and heroic. In 3x11, she writes a big story on the illegal arms dealership sheād been researching and how Wally saved the day. Yes, Iris enlists Wallyās help on this case, but sheās the one who has been following through and doing all the research. She tracked the man selling the illegal arms down and busts him out. This is her story, and while Wally did come to her aid, once again, she originally enlisted his help, so that she wouldnāt just recklessly be walking into a trap. Iris was also struggling with her own future demise, and so her recklessness is understandable. We have to also allow her growth as a journalist, as well.Ā
After the PTSD she suffered during season 3, Iris leaves CCPN, but she returns to journalism in the back half of season 4 after her time as the Flash imbues in her a newfound confidence and sense of fearlessness. She wants to write a piece informing the public about DeVoe, so that they can be informed, and she makes a compelling case to Barry as to why she wants to publish this article. And he agrees with her perspective. She publishes this, and the public begins reporting directly to her blog on sightings of DeVoe, which helps Barry and Team Flash track them. Her articles on the DeVoes are all from her own research that sheād been accumulating, and they have a profound affect not just in terms of the individual success of the story, but on protecting Central City and helping to save the world. AND her articles on her blog are what get Barry is job back at CCPD, and we should all listen to David Singh who says,Ā āYou can thank your wife.ā Thank you, Iris West-Allen.Ā
In season 5, sheās quite active in reporting for her blog. We donāt know necessarily the specifics of the stories that sheās writing, but we know she actively reports on meta-humans in the city. We see her at the crime scene in 5x02, where she asks David Singh for a quote, which he gives her, because he respects her integrity as a journalist (Irisās articles on the DeVoes brought her much acclaim in the city as a whole). We see her investigating Ragdoll in 5x05. In 5x12, she officially launches the Citizen, and in 5x13, she immediately goes to follow up on an old colleague of Dwyerās. This leads her to Dwyer, and she holds her own against him, stabbing him with her pen. She only calls Barry in the aftermath to inform him about what happened and that she discovered Cicadaās weakness on her own. Iris saved herself and discovered vital information to defeating Cicada.Ā
In season 6, we see her investigating a lot more, and we see how her style of investigating has changed. Sheās more meticulous now. Sheās more careful now. Sheās really come into her own as a journalist, and thatās the point of character growth. Folks canāt criticize her more reckless decisions in 2x03 and 3x11, without recognizing that Iris also has to come into her own as a journalist. She and Team Citizen do all the research on Black Hole and then successfully publish an explosive on Black Hole, implicating McCulloch Tech. Carver sends an assassin after Iris, but she escapes by herself, after going to meet her source. While injured, she realizes that Carver is behind Black Hole, and she successfully gets him to drop the defamation suit, by coming up with an elaborate, contingency plan. That was all Iris, by herself. She then pieces together the truth about Eva.
Iris has had much success as a journalist, from writing and researching lots of stories, particularly about meta-humans, in Central City. But her most successful pieces were (1) her original blog; (2) her exposure of the illegal eviction scam; (3) her exposure of the the illegal arms dealership; (4) arming the population of Central City with information on DeVoe; and (5) her exposure of Black Hole. For only two of these, did she need Barry or Wally to come to her rescue, but she did all the research for those pieces. The success of those stories are her own. And she didnāt get herself into a mess; she was in a dangerous situation, and she made the right choice of asking for help. For all the others, she never needed anyoneās aid at all. In fact, she was cleaning a whole lot of messes up. And those five stories are simply the ones we heard the most about; we know sheās had a lot of success as a journalist otherwise, and sheās constantly using her journalistic abilities to save the day (whether it was more direct, such as in the Frankie Kane episode, or more subtle, emphasizing how her journalistic abilities play a huge role in her ability to quickly recall information and stay calm in high-stress situations, such as in the Flashtime episode).
So yeah, I think that criticism is entirely false on all accounts. I also think thereās a lot of bad faith criticisms of Iris: the same folks that will call her aĀ āMary Sueā (a blatantly false character assessment, itās not even funny) will also turn around and whine about Iris being reckless. Which is it? Is she so perfectly good at everything or does she have flaws? So, I would pay no heed to those people, because they are just looking to hate on Iris without providing any real or valid criticisms.Ā
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Hi! Can I ask question about the movie Paris Texas? I am not sure if youre the right personbut i have always wondered why it is so highly revered. Like I liked the movie, i thought it was good. i could feel the longing the characters are going through, i liked how it was shot(?),i can see why the 'booth' scenes are always replicated in music vids & other shows & stuffBut idk what makes it iconic- like everytime i listen to people talk about films, they bring that movie up.
my favorite actors and directors for around the world even mention that filmLike i enjoyed it and know its good, but i am not sure on what makes it great. what are your thoughts on this film?
ahh hello! lmao im so happy people are asking me to talk about film lmao this really does excite me. and im so glad you came to me with this! just in general! thank you!
trust me like...i get it. paris texas is a great film, and i did enjoy watching it, but i see where you come from. i can understand why its been so revered, so hopefully i can shed some light on that for you. but! i really do understand where you come from. if im honest, theres a lot of flaws and issues with the film. its slow, doesnt actually handle the heavy themes the script attempts to portray very well, and doesnt really actually offer any nuance to janes character. shes actually a really complex character, but shes boxed into the role of like...the manic pixie dream girl, except not that. shes not and ideology of freedom or growth or perfection the way that trope is usually portrayed. instead she exists to further a male centric narrative and the depiction of women is really shallow, so trust me i get why there is a dissenting opinion.Ā
that said, there are a lot of things that make the film as cult and important as its become among cinephiles. they range from the use of americana as a plot device, colour theory, voyeurism, the breakdown of the american dream, etc. ill be breaking down some of the major points here under the cut, but there are even more ways to read this. and!! i stress!! it is ok to read all of this and still disagree! thats the beauty of film studies.
to really understand fundamentally why this film is so important we need to focus on two intertwining notions - that the film is a portrayal of america and this portrayal of a america is coming from a foreigner. the director of the film is win wenders, a german filmmaker, who has always claimed to be fascinated by the history and character of america. effectively, america itself becomes a character within the film. it does not matter thatĀ āamericaā is the backdrop - it plays such an integral role in shaping the narrative of the story, one could argue it has more autonomy than jane. take for example the opening scene - it opens with the scene of a man walking aimlessly through the desert with a gallon of water - nameless and aimless. from this very first moment, we are presented with land. an endless expanses of land in which there is no real ownership; from this moment, we are meant to understand this america shapes the lives of its people as much as this perspective on america is shaped by the director of the film.Ā
furthermore, if we consider the opening shot; the saloon; the fact that a full 26 minutes elapses before the main character says a single word, we can argue the mise en scene within each of these scenes a visual alignment to the classic genre of western cinema. here, too, in this genre is the stress on land as it relates to and symbolizes the importance of freedom, autonomy, and identity, but moreover is there a stress on the notion of the anti-hero. by cultivating this understanding of america and the western, we can immediately align travis with the failed man, the failed husband, a failed owner of land, and a failed dream.Ā
but...did he fail? or did the notion of americana and the american dream fail him, instead? this seems to be the case as we considered the continual use of americana references. one of the fundamental aspects of americana is the nature of nostalgia - americana is traditionally idealized as the desire to return to small towns and cities from the turn of the century. the hope of creating a home, only for that essence of home to be lost; the period of exploration from 1820 to 1880, and then the comfort of being settled from 1880 to WWII. these are the fundamental aspects to understanding americana but they are foundational in the nostalgia that drives the narrative. aspects like: a barber shop, a diner, route-66, etc these small town notions are the driving pieces of nostalgia. and these are the elements of nostalgia that generate the plot device of paris texas.
im taking a moment here to really stress the following: western films and the concept of americana is inherently problematic. it exists on wester colonization, appropriation, and genocide. americana is a white-washed version of history and that, explicitly, is why all the elements of americana, nostalgia, and the american dream fail within this film because, again, it is america from the perspective of a foreigner and the perspective is profoundly unforgiving.Ā
(also, like, i literally hate western films because they are so racist and sexist and hyper-masculine, from any historical or modern perspective, so again...me being me saying i understand why you might have had a hard time with this movie lmao but when you realize this is not speaking in favor of those things it kind of hits you like...oh, damn. like, imagine this film from the perspective of a white american male, you know? travis would be a king, someone admired rather than someone youre not even sure you like or tolerate by the end)
right! so! now that we understand how important the elements of a failed america and american dream are to this film, we can see how nostalgia continually presents itself - not for a home lost, but for the hope and the opportunity lost. consider: the colour, the wide, open expanses of land (could have been owned, but are entirely empty), the way characters gaze at their own reflections - hell, the conversation between jane and travis at the end, double sided mirrors, jane forced to look at herself in the mirror while travis looks at nothing because its his memories and his memories are presented at a visual and emotional distance. memory presents itself through illusions, reflections, and disorganized narrative structures - it is not that they cant remember, but that they want to remember without criticism. this comes to a head when they view the home movies, another example of how life was or could have been - how it was supposed to be, and the sudden confrontation that it very much is not that.Ā
primarily for me, the thing that makes me enjoy the film (apart from realizing wenders has an extremely unforgiving view of america) was the colour theory. you cannot talk about this film without discussing the colour. the predominant tones in the film are red, white, and blue - americana and american flag. but why all the green (i.e the doctors office)? why the isolated events of solid red (i.e the strip club)? well, green and red are put perpetually at odds with one another. green, a usually soothing colour, is subverted to denote internal conflict; red, becomes regret, falsehoods. the colours in the film exist to at a sub-textual layer that speaks for the characters when they refuse to speak for themselves. and by the end, the colours return to a normal palette. black, beige, tan - travis recounting their history to jane in a room that is natural. things are finally exactly as they are meant to be, the intense colours of their emotions faded by distance and time, and forced now to confront their truth.Ā
but still...the elements of voyuerism exist. because he can see her...if he chose to. she cannot see him. she can only see herself. and so we are left, then, understanding that there is no hope. no connection. the achievement of the american dream is a falsehood of nostalgia that exists to drive our motivations, forcing us to live in a time or a place or a hope that never once was tangible, but craved just the same.
#i hope this helps you understand WHY its considered incredible#but remember theres a large number of films#EVERYONE obsesses over that i personally despise#this is just why#doesnt have to be right for you tho!#the joy of film#and any practice really#is the ability to praise a film you love and ensure it gets a place in history#if its great to you then it is great <3#ahgishaman
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12 āUnpopularā Viddy Game Opinions
Iāve seen this topic floating around a lot, but didnāt think I had enough āunpopular but maybe notā opinions about games to make a post. Turns out I do! So if you see this and I say something blasphemous, remember itās just my opinion and my personal experiences with the games I list. Hope you enjoy or hey, maybe even agree with some of this!
Note: Canāt stress enough. This is just me. Also, spoilers under the cut!
12. The opening of Kingdom Hearts II isnāt as terrible as everyone says
Okay, so itās not brilliant, but at the same time, I donāt think itās the worst. For those not in the know, KH2ā²s opening is a basically a massive slog where you play as a character you donāt know or care about with seemingly no real link to the events of the previous game. The general consensus is that thereās some interesting stuff in here, but itās buried among endless dialogue that really doesnāt mean much. And theyāre right, but I really think thereās some great stuff here that people tend to gloss over. The music and the motif of Twilight Town is atmospheric, thereās some genuinely intriguing plot elements that are woven into Roxasā story and believe it or not, the stuff that happens here is intrinsic to the rest of the game. So yeah, it drags on a little, but I donāt think KH2 would be miles better without this opening.
11. I loved Breath of the Wildās final boss
One of the problems I see talked about with Breath of the Wild is that the boss fights are fairly mediocre, especially the very last one, Dark Beast Ganon. And I couldnāt disagree more. I think every boss in the game is wonderfully crafted, intense, challenging and great for testing you on what youāve learned throughout the game by encouraging you to make creative use of your slate powers and the flurry rush technique. And while Mr. Pig Man at the end here is sort of easy and short, it serves as a brilliantly epic finale to damn near perfect game. While the difficulty is mostly gone after the mammoth fight with Calamity Ganon, itās still just as intense as you frantically fire off arrows into the massive beast in front of you. Plus, the design of this thing is one of the best looking monsters in the game, so I really donāt understand the dislike for this ending.
10. I really like Crash of the Titans
Okay, so maybe childhood nostalgia has something to do with this pick, but every Crash fan Iām aware of seems to hate this game. But I donāt really know where the hate comes from! I played the PS2 version of this and I thought it was a genuinely fun 3D platformer with a variety of locations, good visuals, well-designed boss battles and even a vague story you can sort of follow! The gameās main gameplay feature is also brilliantly integrated, as using Aku Aku to possess various monsters throughout the game keeps everything interesting. One thing I will say though, that tiger dude you have to fight about halfway through is the most annoying thing Iāve ever had to endure in a game.
9. Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is BAD
I loved Life Is Strange when it first dropped, so I was beyond excited when they announced a prequel from Chloeās perspective. But I really think they dropped the ball and they dropped it hard. But everyone else seems to adore this game! For me, this wasnāt a touch on the original. For a start, they dropped out one of the main mechanics of the first game, the time travel, which they then replaced with a much less interesting āBacktalkā feature, which was then only used about twice throughout the game. Instead of interesting, developed characters reacting to genuinely dangerous or heartfelt situations, it felt to me like a bunch of one-dimensional teenagers who are edgy for the sake of being edgy. Chloe spends the majority of the game being a dick to her mother and bunking off class to spend time with Rachel, who she has literally known for like a day and their sudden relationship drops out of nowhere. Not that I didnāt enjoy the emotional moments of their relationship, it just didnāt feel like it stemmed from anywhere, unlike Max and Chloe from the first game. And the gameās attempts at villains were also rubbish compared to the first, with Damien (random scary knife guy who doesnāt really tie into the plot that much) and Eliot (who doesnāt appear for the whole game and suddenly goes full incel on Chloe when she breaks into Rachelās house). Yeah I think you can tell I had some problems with this one.
8. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider was also a hot mess
I LOVE the Dishonored series. The first game and its DLCs are amazing, the second game was arguably even better. And then this happened. In this one, you play as Billie Lurk, a character I love, and Daud comes back, a character I also love. But both of them are incredibly badly written and it doesnāt feel like thereās any development to them or even much reason for them to do what theyāre doing. This entry took the mystery surrounding the Outsider and basically did a big poo on it, giving us the revelation that he was apparently HUMAN this whole time. I think that was the nail in the coffin that made me sort of think this was a bit rubbish. While the combat and side missions were as brilliant as ever, the level designs felt less creative than other entries in the series and lacked variety or colour, all the side characters were entirely forgettable and to wrap it all up, they killed Daud offscreen. Out of nowhere, they just killed him, mentioned it offhand in a cutscene and that was that. If you like this game, fair enough, but it kind of baffles me that more people donāt see this in the game.
7. Mario Galaxy 2 is good. Itās just sort of good
Some people cite this as being one of the best 3D platformers of all time, and thatās fair enough, but I just kind of see this one as āgoodā. Sure, it has a good, satisfying control scheme for the most part, the level design is creative and the bosses and puzzles are pretty standard for a Mario title, but still enjoyable. However, sometimes, the floaty physics and weird knockback effect from jumping into walls led to quite a lot of unfair deaths, especially if Iād been punished for messing up already by losing a life, only to then immediately be punished again by falling into the void. Plus, I found Yoshi near impossible to control at some points with the motion controls. So yeah, this one is genuinely enjoyable, but I donāt think Iād personally put it with the best of all time.
6. I LOVE Dragon Quest IX TO DEATH
This is a game in a legendary franchise that consistently almost always see ranked at the very bottom of the pile in the series. But I really donāt understand how or why. Okay so your protagonist and party are basically silent and donāt have a lot of character, but I donāt see this as a reason to totally write off the game! The side characters, villains and story are all amazing and well-developed, the world is huge, colourful and interesting, the monsters are brilliantly creative and Dragon Questās signature lame sense of humour is gratefully carried through the whole game. The music is always brilliant and atmospheric and the bosses are just as memorable as each character you meet. What was everyoneās problem?? This is genuinely one of the best RPGs Iāve ever played and if you havenāt had a chance to pick it up, it is so, so worth it.
5. Sonic Adventure is a broken mess
So before I kick this one off, Iām not someone who hates Sonic and Iām not here to slate the whole franchise, but considering this game is often considered to be one of the best in the series, I thought it was definitely worth addressing. When I first played this, I literally couldnāt believe this was made in 1998, AFTER Mario 64 and yet itās so broken! The physics and control scheme are totally wonky and hard to control, the unending amount of glitches make a fair amount of the stages almost unplayable, the voice acting and facial animation is cringey and oddly broken and yet, this was all on the Dreamcast. The most powerful console of the time. And I donāt think I even need to mention how boring some of the later stages get, with Big the Catās fishing section being the main offender. I canāt vouch for Adventure 2 as I havenāt had a chance to play yet, but I really hope it isnāt like this.
4. Dragon Age Origins is the best Dragon Age
Dragon Age has always been a popular RPG series, but I think it properly shot to fame once Inquisition dropped in 2014. And donāt get me wrong, I liked Inquisition! The world was colourful and expansive and the characters were fairly memorable, but I still think the best experience you can get is in the seriesā first entry, Origins. While itās pretty easy to see that itās slightly dated considering itās ten years old now, the best characters and story in the series I think is here. Each companion you recruit is varied and developed and the story wraps up brilliantly in the end with each companion and army you meet playing a different role in the final battle. Plus, I kind of canāt forgive Inquisition for making Leliana lose her sense of humour and making her kinda boring.
3. Oblivion is better than Skyrim
Okay so Iām not sure exactly how unpopular this is, but I just thought Oblivion was miles better than Skyrim ended up being. Just to clear it up, I still love Skyrim and I thought it built on the seriesā combat system and variety of enemies really well and still provided an enjoyable experience. But Oblivion feels like more of an adventure you feel at home in. The story is dense and full of twists and turns. The soundtrack has some of the most atmospheric music Iāve ever heard, the world is full of bright colours, each city is vastly different and has its own lore and I found some of this to be absent from Skyrim. Iād go into more detail, but I think the simple fact is that Oblivion had so much more I liked than Skyrim.
2. I donāt think The Witcher III is all that amazing (in some regards)
This by no means says that I donāt like the game, because I do, but I think it has more flaws than people let on. Now, donāt get me wrong, a lot of the stuff people praise about this game is true, the quests are in-depth and masterfully crafted, the characters, especially Geralt, are extremely memorable. In fact, Geralt is one of my favourite game protagonists. But most of the problems I had were in terms of the gameplay. The combat, while fast-paced and satisfying, can sometimes feel a little finicky, so a lot of precision is needed. However, I felt that the world itself didnāt particularly interest me and the music is often ambient but outside of combat, isnāt anything special. Mostly though, the leveling system I found to be a bit wonky. I did absolutely everything I could in the first area of the game; all the side quests, treasure hunts, killed a whole bunch of monsters etc. And then I arrive in the second area and find Iām too underleveled to do literally anything. The majority of the quests have too high a level cap, a lot of the monsters kill me very quickly. And because the bulk of EXP farming is in the quests, Iām sort of stuck in an endless loop of constantly not being strong enough to do anything. On top of that, all my equipment keeps breaking and Iām finding that repair kits are extremely few and far between and that makes me even WEAKER. Itās something Iām gonna need to persevere with I think, but hey, this is just my experience with it.
1. Ocarina of Time, as amazing as it is, may have overstayed its welcome as best game of all time
I reckon this might be the most controversial, so itās number 1. Let me preface this by saying I really like Ocarina and I agree that it was innovative for the RPG genre at the time. Thereās a hell of a lot in this game that we have to thank for the games we have today. But considering how far the gaming industry has come since then and the sheer amount of high quality games weāve been getting year after year, is still fair to call this the best game ever? When more recent games have taken what Ocarina started and built upon it? Games like Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption II, God of War all gave us expansive, beautiful worlds and a story you can really get stuck into. And all the time, more and more games of this caliber are coming out. So yes, of course Ocarina of Time deserves a place in the hall of fame, it was revolutionary and still holds up really well today! I just canāt help but think there have been plenty of games since then, as flawed as some of them may be, that have improved upon the formula tenfold since Ocarinaās release.
Thanks for reading if you got this far! Just to reiterate, these are all just my opinions and my experiences with the games I mentioned, so pls donāt attack me. Got any viddy game opinions you think are sort of not popular? Drop them down below if you feel like it!
#zelda#loz#nintendo#nintendo switch#kingdom hearts#ocarina of time#botw#breath of the wild#oblivion#skyrim#dragon age#sonic the hedgehog#sonic#dragon quest#mario#Super Mario#Dishonored#life is strange#gaming
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since apparently you can get banned from tumblr for posting endgame spoilers instead of, yknow, actually being a reprihensible human shaped pile of SHIT, im going to trash this movie so fucking hard. ive been waiting for an excuse to rip this movie and its fan a new one
so basically it starts with tony stark being all emotional because hes dying in space but all the dramatic tension is removed because you already know hes going to live, and itās also removed because tony stark is not a person people should feel emotional over. hes a pile of garbage given sentience, hes literally one of the worst characters in the mcu, which isnt saying a lot because any attempt by the writers and directors of the ACTUALLY GOOD MOVIES to make the characters interesting got flushed down the toilet in civil war and infinity war
so anyway captain marvel shows up, saves tony and nebula, then they make a plan to kill thanos because they found him. they find him, he says he destroyed the infinity stones, and thanos is dead 20 minutes into the movie. i applaud this choice because its actually genuinely funny. there are some parts of the movie that are enjoyable, and watching that purple scrotum chinned pile of refuse get his head chopped off was very enjoyable
then we move on to like 5 years later, scott lang aka antman finally comes out of the quantum realm or some shit, and thats when the seeds of time travel are planted. fun fact about time travel in this movie. it isnt like bill and ted time travel and it isnt like dbz time travel so it makes zero goddamned sense whatsoever. this is nothing new, time travel never makes any fucking sense, and trying to explain it will make even less sense than just fucking DOING the thing
anyway, they get the gang back together, hulk is now the unholy amalgamation of bruce banner and the hulk. he then dabs, blah blah blah, time travel bs, they get thor, hes fat now, his fatness is the focus of a lot of jokes that dont land and it just plays off like theyre making fun of fat people for being fat. his trauma is played for jokes, korg plays fortnite, blah blah blah.
so anyway while theyre Getting The Gang Back Together, tony has had a kid in the past 5 years. they really do a lot to humanize tony stark and the fact that he is happy with his current state in life where thanos won and hes trying to move on is very humanizing, which is odd considering that tony stark is a sub human pile of melted human waste
anyway, tony figures out time travel because they REALLY want him to be the hero instead of literally anyone else who is more deserving. they make stupid time travel suits which look ugly as shit and they wear over their normal costumes, which is really funny
the next like hour and a half of the movie plays out like a time travel comedy. tony and steve fuck up getting the space stone, they have to time travel AGAIN into steves past, he has an emotional moment seeing his former flame whose name i forgot because pretty much any mention of her past captain america 1 was to increase manpain. isnt fridging fun? speaking of fridging, they send clint and natasha to get the soul stone. because i said speaking of fridging, i assume youll be able to figure out the rest, but because i dont trust anyone who likes endgame to think critically about tropes, natasha dies so clint can get the soul stone. they really really REALLY could have done it the other way, but no, its not as emotional if a man dies for a woman or some bullshit. whatever, it was scarlett johansen so er character dying wasnt THAT much of a tragedy lmao
anyway everyone gets their stones, nebula gets captured by thanos of the past, and then a bunch of shit happens, new nebula from the past who still likes thanos brings him to the future, he starts going on and on and on about making a new universe and destroying this one. before that they make the infinity gauntlet, hulk snaps, brings everyone back, again... blah blah blah blah blah stupid shit that we all already knew was going to happen
anyway, thanos is back, because they REALLY didnt know how to introduce a villain that was good enough for this movie, whatever. they all go off to fight thanos, he beats thor captain america and tony stark up. the entire fight is 100% fanservice because as soon as other people show up from doctor stranges portals its a total EVERYONE IS HERE moment, which like. those are always enjoyable, every character from the past showing up to kick the bad guy in the dick. its a hard trope to fuck up and i congratulate the russo brothers for realizing this. captain america gets to hold mjolnir, he beats the shit out of thanos, thanos also gets to hold mjolnir, its just a giant 30 minute long fanservice party. everyone is here! blah blah i dont fucking care. anyway, the climax of the battle is thanos smacks spiderman out of the air while he has the new infinity gauntlet, he puts it on, and everyone starts making sure he doesnt snap. also captain marvels role in the movie is really really lame because she shows up for like the first 15 minutes, and then shows up for like the last 15 minutes. it fucking sucks, shes like the only good character in this entire movie.
anyway, tony steals the infinity stones, integrates them into his armor, snaps thanos and his buddies away, and then dies like a bitch. good riddance but also whatever, his death is treated like a totally emotional thing like hes redeemed himself even though hes basically done nothing to actually redeem himself except for killing thanos, which like, anyone could have done given the chance. it seriously pisses me off that they gave him the kill instead of someone who deserved it, like nebula. all signs were pointing to nebula and gamorrah from the past killing thanos, finally givng us some righteous feminine fury that this movie desperately needed. unfortunately, it doesnt happen. the battle is won, they have tonys funeral, and they remake the quantum time machine so they can let steve go back to return the infinity stones from whence they came. steve doesnt come back, and it looks like he got to live his full life like he wanted to, which i guess good for him because hes like one of the only good characters in the movie. seeing old man steve was nice, and he of all people deserved to be happy. the movie ends, everything is over, and i just wasted 3 hours and 10 dollars. congratulations me, you just wasted your life on a movie you knew you were going to hate.
anyway, whatever, tumblr ban me now, hereās my endgame spoilers. fuck you, and fuck you for banning people over shit like this instead of banning nazis and pedophiles.
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Hey! I would like to ask for some Vermillion and Silva headcannons if the families were living in a modern world and maybe for the Black Bulls too? If it's not to much! Thanks!
Thanks for the ask, I will give it my best! :D
Mereoleona: Maybe in the Military, but she would also be awesome as a chef or sous chef in a high class restaurant. I could see her in a workplace thats a bit more secluded, as she doesnt like the fuss politics and economie bring with them. She owns a harley, next to a more practical jeep, and she loves to spend her vacations by making tours on her baby. She also loves Leatherjackets. In her free time she participates in Kickboxing-classes, sometimes even teaching the class when the instructor doesnt show up. Her house is full with weights and she has two maine coon cats (called Simba and Nala, because, even though shed rather die than to admit it, she loves the Lion king and never got over Mufasas death. She quietly checked up on Leon and her father when she couldnt sleep to make sure they were fine and still there)
Leon: He would make a great trainer for a famous team, whatever kinda sport. He probably would take over the familys business, though. It would fit, if their family has something to do with sports equipment. But actually, he is the perfect man for the job of police captain or higher up. Also much political influence, give due to his lineage. Before working he graduated from Law school and is an certificated Lawyer. He is also big on saving animal and helps fighting for their rights in his free time, especially big cats.
Leo: still in school, but he aspires to be like his bro. Hes great in Sports of all kind, and even the Captain of the soccer team. Apart from that he plays tennis, basketball, does judo, rows, and if you would place him on top of a horse he would even manage that. He still lives at home, but he is over at Leons so often that he has Keys, some stuff stored in a closet and the Pull-out couch is also always reserved for him.
Mimosa: Also still in school, wants to become a doctor since she was 5. She is pretty grown up, even for her age, and is a school council member. Sometimes she models for Kirsch, because she still loves him, even though they fight often. She likes to help the underprivileged by tutoring them, this way she met asta, who is a pupil on her sisterschool.Ā
Kirsch: Hes in college and studys fashion and design. He also works as a model, has gotten a role in a movie and runs his own fashion and make-up brand. (Keeping up with Kirsch is a running Headline in boulevard magazines)
Nozel: He would either make a kick-ass attorney or judge (with customized robes), but also be great as head of a company that has to do with aviary systems, satellites, planes or else. Also he has influence on politics and plans to run as major in the future. He is pretty old fashioned when it comes to his freetime-activities. He collects art, stamps and researches birds in quiet. Sometimes he funds expeditions to discover more about rare species, or integral nature reserves. He also bought many plots of lands, where endangered Birds live, all across the world, because the ongoing destruction of their habitat and their extinction is bothersome to him. He has degrees in law and business and is a wanted Single on the market, a circumstance that has led to him living more and more secluded, in the company of a grey parrot. (it once belonged to his mother and sometimes it would say sentences it copied from her)
Nebra: Nobody knows what Nebra does. Nobody dares to ask. She clouds herself in mist and mysteries. She probably works for the government.
Solid: He goes to college, majors in either business or law, because the family wants him to do that. Actually he is more a partyguy, the typical fratboy. Obviously, the frat is like completely his because Silvas of many generations were members. Also he has a thing for fast silver cars. Nozel hopes he will grow out of this eventually.Ā
The Bulls: Okay, this one is tough, I have tried to think of a place where a bunch of adults, teens and kids can live together at. So how about they are all neighbors in a House with cheap rent, and over time they formed a big family?
Noelle: She goes to school, and after she was kicked out she emancipated herself. She moved into the Black bull mansion and lives from her allowance. She works as a waitress in the cafe-bar-restaurant on the groundfloor of the building.
Asta: He and Juno both got scholar ships, he especially for his physical abiltys, but the money wasnāt quite enough for an accomodation, so he lives in a small, run down 1-room apartement and also works in the restaurant, but as a bouncer.Ā
(No, im sure its not legal for minors to work in such a place, but they need the money)
Finral: is a manager and bartender, ran away from home and landed there. After his family got more and more abusive he couldnt stay any longer and nearly ended up as a gigolo, but Yami saved his behind before he could self destruct. He still has the bad habit of flirting with every woman he sees, and hes a day dreamer, but all he wishes for is to find the perfect wife, to have many children and be a stay at home dad. He has a lot of love to give and many holes in his heart to fill. For the time being he is something like the eldest brother of the bulls, and whenever someone has to disappear because some investigations are going on, he knows of many hiding spaces and secret escape-ways.
Vanessa: Also ran way from home because of her abusive mother, is from another country and was found by yami shortly after she ran away. Now she also works as a bartender and sometimes as waitress. She has great talent with sewing, crocheting, making and changing clothes. She takes on jobs on the low from the bulls and other people, she even sells some of her works over the internet.
Gordon: Due to his shyness and anxiety he chose to move into a rather antisocial environment, but got aggressively adopted anyways by the bulls. He makes money as accountant, for the Bulls and over the internet.
Gauche: basically, his story is the same, and after his imprisonment was over hes out on probation) Yami got him a room in the building. Sometimes he works as a bouncer, when they are short on staff, otherwise he works in a library or old book shop. During the nights he takes online classes to graduate from school, so he can one day get a well paying job to provide Mary with all the money she needs to get through live easily.
Magna: Is a punk who got picked up by Yami one day, after he and Luck fought in front of the black bulls base. He works at a local shelter, and plays baseball with kids at the community center. Hes a good guy with a tough demeanor. He also tries to help Yami whenever he can, with whatever he can.
Luck: After his mother died he was sent to a social living community, where his attitude to fight everyone was only strengthend. He ran away after an especially bloody fight and landed on Magnas hometurf. They got into a fight, which woke Yami up, and so he and Magna both ended up living there. Yami said, it was so they could attone for their sin of disturbing his sleep. Luck and Magna share a 2-Room flat, because there werenāt that many 1-room ones left. He works as a courierboy and is known for his quick deliverys, but he also really has a knack for electro-engineering. He plans to graduate, too, someday and to open up his own business.
Ā Charmy: Nobody exactly knows where Charmy comes from exactly. She just turned up one day after she saw, that the Bulls looked for a chef. She only talks about food, and the bulls understood after a while that she really does not want to talk about her past or family. All they know is that she is smaller than average for her age and that her obsession with food could come from shortages of that in her early life.
Gray: Is a nonbinary youth who ran away and lived on the streets. They like to change their looks, now that they make money by working for the black bulls, often just washing dishes, restocking and such. They are great at adapting to new jobs, if these dont require much human interaction. Also the peptalks from the bulls really help. They also posses a great talent for theater works, such as costume design and make up. If they werenāt so shy they would be a great actor too.
Zora: He is one of those inhabitants that come and go. Mostly hes some kind of lone wolf crusader, some sort of social justice warrior who either helps the poor when he sees them being mistreated or posts videos showing misconduct of upperclass jerks. He has a whole network going on, and often sends his videos to the police or news senders, if he has the feeling, that the law enforcement is sweeping something under the rug. He has a high IQ and is proficient in hacking. His mask is his sign, he always wears it when hes in action.
Yami: He is the son of immigrants, or was an illegal immigrant himself. If that was the case, i can imagine that Julius helped him getting citizen status after Yami stopped a Criminal on the run who just happened to run into his direction, looking dangerous and armed. He either is a Detective (private, not police), a headhunter or probation officer. Could also be a cop. Also he runs the Black Bulls bar, mostly so the inhabitants have a place to work at.Ā
- The Vermillions main Mansion would be huge, but more modern. Much space, training rooms, sports equipment, Medals, trophys and certificates won in various tournaments of all kinds by Mereo, Fuego and Leo covering a whole room.
-The Silvas Mansion would also be huge, but more in a VictorianĀ āThis house belonged to our family for generationsāstyle. The colourscheme is cold, lots of Silva, blues and dark wood. Also so many chandeliers. So many. Also the family crest is everywhere. Its a place that could easily become a filmset for a historical movie.Ā
-They donāt have their name on the Postbox, just the crest. Thats how extra they are about it. (This has also often led to drunk or confused people thinking they are some sort of special church, and then trying to enter the house. These incidents always end with unamused Silvas)
- All the eldest children have moved out of their main Mansions, and live in Flats, Appartments and Mereo in a small house a bit out of the city. They all only come back together for celebrations or in cases of emergencies.
-The Black bulls Castle is officially Julius property, because he has the money and power, also he wants to help his eldest sonĀ Yami out. Its a total mess, but the Bulls manage to repair most of it themselves. They love their broken down house so much, the started to call it their castle on the clouds, mostly because it is the biggest building theyāve ever lived in, with more luxury they ever imagined they would ever get to enjoy.Ā
#Caw caw#phew this was a lot#I hope this is okay anon#I couldnt do all aspects that could be part of a modern live thing#and i have probably made many spelling mistakes#but here goes :)#im on a roll#some wild modern black clover headcannons appear
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i can see where you're coming from but there's other forms of drag. some forms of drag are far more gender bending, abstract, and androgynous. drag also doesnt inherently exclude women, as there are such things as bio-queens (women who do femme-presenting drag) and drag kings (basically what it sounds like). there is more to drag and drag culture than pageantry, though it is the most popular form thanks to RPDR (which yeah definitely has its own problems). also most drag queens end up loosing more money than they make due to expenses from things like wigs, costumes, and makeup.
i understand where your point of it belittling woman comes from, but not all drag queens play the airhead bimbo role. there are some that do, but its most certainly not all. not all drag is the over-the-top bimbo, such as categories like fish queens (ok this term is a bit controversial but idk what else to call it) who try to look like women (this is actually a style that's gaining popularity as its more fashion centered and has more room to be experimental). many (male) drag queens recognize that they do possess male privilege and try to bring awareness to women's issues through their drag.
also, not all drag queens do "mindless talents". standup comedy and choreographed dancing, and occasionally live singing are often integral parts to drag shows, all of which take years of practice and dedication. The kind of dancing some queens do is especially physically demanding. the kind of makeup drag queens do is also extremely difficult, having to completely restructure their face using only concealer, highlight, and contour.
if you want some examples of less gender focused drag then I would encourage you to watch the Boulet Brother's show Dragula. It's also a reality competition, but it is more focused on alternative drag, and more inclusive. the elimination process can be disturbing (episode one of season two has queens being suck with needles). but its a great show, and generally more mature than RPDR. That being said not everyone on RPDR is the bimbo airhead. Some contestants like Rock M. Sakura or Yvie Oddly I think would fit better in Dragula, although that also doesn't mean no one on drag race experiments with the limits of fashion and cosmetics. And the current season has the first out trans man contestant, Gotmik, who is currently in the top four and all of his looks, in the most sincere way possible, are gnc af.
I need to ranbtyyttttttt ok so an organization Iām in is hosting a drag show at school and I decided not to participate bc like I think drag shows are really fucking sexist....
like what does the world say about women who do pageants????? who dress provocatively????? to do useless mindless talents???? Yeah they get called airheads and stupid and that all they can do is sell themselves to the male gaze.
But when a man does it.............. they can be on nice reality tv shows and become millionaires and etc etc etc. a woman cannot do it but a man fronting as a woman can.
and and i had to say i didnāt want to participate for religious reasons (only bc they started saying how they wanted to purposely spite christian groups) and not bc of this bc I really feel then Iām gonna get called things Iām not. Bc defending women takes a backseat bc we must uplift men at all times i guess
and like I get some men can be more effeminate but like why the caricature. why the grotesque portrayal of women. Itās all super stereotypical and over sexualizing femininity. and whatās worse is that women get tricked into supporting bc we donāt want to come off a certain way but itās just another way men objectify and degrade us and capitalize on us.
#i get where youre coming from#sexism is an issue in drag#but drag is not inherently sexist#im not trying to start shit#drag is just important to me since its help me with figuring out my own gender identity#needles tw#long post
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No autocorrect. e for stickie
āThats such a good lesson. On patienceā he says. After yanking out two of the sapota seeds he had to lovingly planted. Its sticking out of the mud, may be i should pushi it back inside, something is not right, let me pull it out and see whats going on he must have thought. And the two of the early earnets, reposnding to his watering dropped dead. Thats the garden as the zen master i suppose.Ā
The very change that we water and nourish, when it starts expressing, we wonder why it is not how it is supposed to be - familiar, buried deep in the soil and my role to keep watering. Or final, green and with a leaf on it. The inbetweens where its neither this or that, uncertain. I assume im a doing something wrong.
I notice that as a programme running when i am doing my body work. A sense that i am not paying attention where i should be paying attention. I notice the feeling and when it dissolves more attention is generally availble and flowing.
I am feeling like now. Oh! This is not what i wanted to start the post with.Ā
Its because R is around. Otherwise i would be more contemplative. I should have this, i should have that. I havent this, i havent that.Ā
And its not entirely just the whiner programme. Had i woken up early i would ahve had more quiet time. But for that i have to sleep early.Ā
Now that it is what it is, i didnt sleep early, i didnt wake up early, things arent going picture perfect, but they are not bad either. A chunck of the sticky can see that. Its sticking. Stuck like resin onto how it should have been. This is theĀ cant-let-it-go resin.Ā Can let anything go. Want to stick to everything and anything passing by.Ā Like an ocptopus with a million legs and holding on to everyhthing passing by and being pulled in infiinte direction.sĀ
Imagine if it suddenly lets go, what a whack it would get from all its legs combined recoil.Ā
Methi paratha. Would go very well with the garlic pickle he is making.Ā
Where is this
Where is thatĀ
Incessant. Wont look. Cant see.
I havent been making sprouts for a while. Nor micro greens.Ā
I like the kichen counter to be clean. Spot less. A fewĀ
You this. You that.Ā
A clean kitchen counter whre we can cook.Ā
Its a small counter and i need it clean. Right now its a clutter.
You this you that
This is like this This is like that
Where have i seen this play out in loop. My mother. R has turned into my mother this morning. R keeps turning into my mother.Ā
That when i hate him. Hate is strong. Intensely dislike. When he keeps driving home this point of how one is not doing what what one is supposed to be doing. That what and who one is,Ā isnt ideal.Ā
This was beginining to feel like a whiny pointless post with zero insight.Ā
And R calls up his mom to ask if she mindsĀ onion in the kadala curry he is making. We are taking puttu and kadala over with us when we go to visit them today.Ā I would have thought it odd the affection he bestows on his mother. And early on when i met him, he wasnt so expressive with his affection towards his parents. A 54 year old man being being possibly moer affectionate with his mom that i am with mine. Is actually such a wonderful and beautiful thing. In my own conditioning, formed by acerbic relations between my mom and her mom-in-law and my fatherās absence, that i never got a clear idea of my fathers relationship with his mother. WhatĀ do i mean by that? I suppose we form neural pathways of expectations based on what we are exposed to. Somewhere in my liberal hyper-independent idea of the free woman, modelled along the independent man,Ā was one who didnt need anyone. And so it seems strange, for the adult man to express his affection for his aged mother. He can take care of the financial and social obligations et al. But to express geniune affection outwardly. How unstoic.Ā
ANd how human. To actually accept and acknowlege ones need for this primary connection to the world. Than hide it in thick layers of indifference and independence as expression of masculinity.Ā
And somewhere, the articulation of the Oedipus complex lurks suspiciously, watching out for abnormality in everything and everyone. That if one thing that has been named and labelled, and its all just that.Ā
I know that its my own possessive tendencies and programming that assumes that every ounce of the adult maleās attention must be and must only be directed towards his ālegalā mate.
Ah. There were are inching closer and notice the familiar subject in the horizon. Envy.Ā
Yesterday when R said he was intensely attracted to E at some point in the exercise which was to gaze into the eyes of another, a stranger or friend for 10 minutes, i felt the sensations. Bubbling that demanded more space. Didnt want touch. Words that came out first - was to reassert power. āI know, i sensed it thenā. And its true, i am quite sensitivve and i may have sensed it then and it may have had its effects on the evening. Sure.Ā
But what was remarkable was how my viewing expereince of the film that E made, (and it was while watching the film that R made this statement) shifted ever so slightly. My neutral viewing and expereince of admiration shifted slowly and clearly towards disinterest and and veiled criticism. Basically, to put it simply, i found more faults with the film in the last half an hour after the greens than i did in the whole one hour before that. To the extent that i even found a scene dishonest and without integrity.
Now the question that i wont ever have a real answer to - is if the scene actually had elements that lacked a certain integrity and congruent with the position taken by the maker. And my envy allowed for a critical lens, or a wiping out of rose tinted admiration?
Or it was a discouloring and distrotion of the viewing experince, from the sensations expereinced?
I dont know.Ā
Maybe what i am trying to ask is - is there any use of this sensation or expereince of envy. Does it serve any purpose in the larger sense of things? Because everything does, no, if we go by the idea of interconnectedness. Even the weeds have uses, unknown to us.
The sensation is sure unpleasant. It immediately put a distance between me and R and even E.Ā
It created a distinct expereince of seperation. And with it came thoughts of security, or more like insecurity. Discrediting the other in someway as being weak. The need to claim, reclaim power. ā yea. When i have hung out with her husband, i was also quite intensely attracted to himā.Ā
And also raised aloud once again the nature of commitment. Between R and me thats an on going conversation. How does one arrive into a mature sensible relationship.Ā
Writing is slower today. I shared the blog link with 3 and a half people. And i know this will be read by someone other than me. Earlier there was no such thought at all.Ā
It is changing the tone of what is being written. At this point atleast.
__
ā Dil mein mere hai Dard-e-disco dard-e-discoā ā¦ keeps appearing in head at random moments. Like a tape was left on and the power kept coming on and off. The two lines become backdrops to the most incognruent thoughts.Ā
I go looking for the source. I dont find it.Ā
In the play -Ā
The character goes looking for the source of the song that fills the scene, and keeps looking and doesnt find it.
In another play, as ina thiriller , the song is the red color coating the pill. The memory that needs to placed into the slot to rewire the expereince of reality. Of joy. Or rights and wrongs. Of this one girl and hence of the collective. The logic is a lotĀ like inception.Ā
__
Ok. time to wrap. Dissatisfaction .
That the future gaze of another is coloring my expereince of perceiving and expressing. Maybe thats the distance between the master and the novice. The future gaze of another, for the master is also the future gaze of herself. The other not seperate from the self. And the novice rolls in the muck of otherness.Ā
Rolling nice long distances made by the idea of such a seperation. Making huge spaces. And feeling small. Pretending to be big and feeling small.
I have had more backspaces operating today than i have ever in the recents.Ā
Ok so envy makes some space and distance on one plane, while clingling like resin on another plane. Two opposite properties belonging to the same idea. Thats also another interpretation of duality.
HUnger hunger.
I go eat and make puttu.
I really hope i do my exercises in the evening. My knees need it. ANd not keep it off to the next morning - because only mornings are perfect. And if i cant do it in the morning i can nver do it, nonsense.Ā
Afternoon today mom starts stitchinging classes with me.Ā
We pulled out almost a hundred bed sheets from the trunk in the outhouse. Apparently, they are some 40-50 years old. Belonging to Rās grandmom.Ā
Quite timely that R opened the trunks. We intend to keep some sheets for us, and for people who visit and some for the stiching classes and send the rest to La. Maybe there will still be enough to generally give away.Ā
R and Rc are bantering int he kitching. Waiting for some sense of satisfactiong and lcarity i stick onto the word doc. Inspite of raging hunger and the smell and sight of mangoes.Ā
Ok thats it. Today is this. Just observe it. Guilts. Nothing to do. Just watch.Ā
_
I entered. I apologize if i pushed it. I have sense that i may have. Or treated it casually.
I ask for forgiveness. And i forgive. As a student would.Ā
I leave now. To return wiser tomorrow.
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In late May 2016, I was invited to a private home in New York for a chat. Like a lot of other people, the host was concerned about Islams growing influence in Europe, and she wanted to meet because back in 2005 and 2006, I had been been at the center of the Danish cartoon controversy, one of many clashes between Islam and the secular values of freedom of speech and the right to criticize and satirize religion.
A man whom Id never met before entered the living room. He sat at the table across from me. He was about my age, maybe a little older, burly but not overweight. His face was a bit ruddy. He was unshaven and barefoot with long and greying hair.
During our conversation, he introduced himself as Steve. It turned out that his last name was Bannon, and he was then the chief executive of Breitbart News, an alternative U.S. media outlet, which has become one of the most read and watched news websites and has recently expandedto Europe. A couple months after our encounter, Bannon joined Donald Trumps presidential campaign as a top adviser. The rest is history.
What disturbed me most was Bannons apparent belief that violence and war can have a cleansing effect.
Just a few weeks into Trumps administration, it is clear that Bannons influence in the White House is far-reaching. He co-wrote the presidents inaugural speech, in which Trump promised to stop the carnage in America, take the country back from a globalized elite and rebuild it on the principles of America First. Bannon is the only political adviser to a president in recent memory who gained a permanent seat on the National Security Council. He was also one of the key drivers behind the travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries and asylum seekers from Syria. An editorial in The New York Times called Bannon the de facto presidentand Time magazine put Bannon on its cover with the headline The Great Manipulator.
When we met, Bannon had just returned from the Cannes Film Festival in France where his film Clinton Cash had screened. Our conversation began calmly enough, but pretty soon it became heated at times. Bannon apparently assumed that we were on the same page when it comes to confronting the threat from Islamic terrorism, the challenge from parallel Muslim societies in Europe, and European countries failure to integrate many Muslims.
When he discovered that we held different views, our conversation became intense.Bannon is energetic; his lively body language is very much part of the way he expounds his opinions. And he doesnt shy away from profanities.
Trump is only a premonition of what will ultimately come. āJust wait and see,ā Bannon said.
I was a bit taken aback that a person I had never met would burst so immediately into a passionate assault on my opposing views. Bannon was straight in-your-face, without any formalities or niceties. That kind of explosive candor could be considered refreshing if what he was saying werent so worrisome especially now that he is one of the most influential policymakers in America.
Bannon is angry. The object of his anger is the globalized elite. He argued that Trump is just the beginning of a rebellion that will grow increasingly aggressive in the coming years. In a way, he told me, Trump is not the real thing only a premonition of what will ultimately come. Just wait and see, he said.
Bannon talked about how he he traveled across the U.S. and met with ordinary Americans who feel abandoned, powerless and betrayed by the establishment. Capitalism has gone off track and has to be saved from itself. For him, the tipping point was the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 and the governments bailout of Wall Street while ordinary Americans had to pay the bill.
Bannons conviction that the way to a better world sometimes necessitates blowing up what is sounds alarmingly Leninist.
Ronald Radosh, a social historian affiliated with the conservative Hudson Institute, wrote recently about talking to Bannon at a book party in November 2013. According to Radosh, the guy who is now Trumps chief strategist proclaimed himself a Leninist. According to Radosh, Bannon explained his Leninist tactics this way: Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and thats my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of todays establishment.
Bannon didnt mention Lenin in our conversation, but I certainly recognized the rebellious, even revolutionary, fervor in his manner. Of course, Bannon isnt a Leninist in the ideological sense.Quite the opposite. But his conviction that the way to a better world sometimes necessitates blowing things up sounds alarmingly Leninist.
What disturbed me the most in our conversation was Bannons apparent belief that violence and war can have a cleansing effect, that we may need to tear down things and rebuild them from scratch. He made it clear he had lost faith in Europe as secularism and arriving Muslim immigrants had eroded traditional Christian values as the founding pillar of our civilization. Losing the Christian faith, in his view, has weakened Europe its neither willing nor able to confront Islams rising power and some European Muslims insistence on privileged treatment of their religion.
Bannon is of the belief that, if Europe is to be saved [from Islam], there is no way to avoid armed conflict.
Bannon is of the belief that, if Europe is to be saved, there is no way to avoid armed conflict. The power of Islam cannot be stopped by peaceful means. In short,Bannon told me in no uncertain terms that the West is at war with Islam.
I begged to differ. Yes, we are in a hot war with violent Islamists and in a cold war with nonviolent Islamists who want to undermine secular democracy. But we are not at war with Islam. The Cold War was fought on many fronts, but basically it was a battle of ideas in which Marxists of a social democratic mold played a crucial role defending democracy against totalitarian Soviet Marxism-Leninism. Its important to provide the same space for Muslims on the side of democracy to engage in the battle against Islamism. That seems impossible if we insist on being at war with Islam.
Bannon disagreed. He shook his head. After another emotionally charged verbal tirade, he looked at me, slightly embarrassed. Then he said: Flemming, I hope we can do it your way, but I am not sure.
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