#which is probably why this series resonates with me so much lol

[sage-reads-things]

The way Taiyo INSTANTLY goes in for the kill after associating the little girl with his own little brother. His berserk button has proven to be "putting his family in danger," but unlike the threat to Mutsumi, this is something that triggers Taiyo's intense grief and guilt over not being able to save his brother. Nothing in the world could stop him from saving that kid once she called out for her onee-san. And obviously it's going to have immediate consequences, but hot damn, is it fun to watch.

[dano-or-not]

Multiple times now have I thought about why the ending of Mob Psycho 100 worked for so many people while the ending of Steven Universe: Future fell flat. They seem pretty similar: the protagonist gets overwhelmed by their feelings of self-loathing and belief that they're a monster, resulting in them turning into the monster they believe they are until their loved ones/the people they've helped come together to bring them back in a teary finale. However, as someone who's faced these kinds of feelings, the ending of Mob Psycho 100 just resonated with me more so I wanted to compare the two.

(I just want to mention that it's been literal years since I've last thought this much about Steven Universe considering I was young and never actually watched the show so I'm just speaking from what I remember and that memory's probably fuzzy at this point lol.).

They weren't that far off in amount of time: Steven Universe Future had 20 episodes while Mob Psycho 100 III had 12 to use to wrap up the series. Steven was in monster form for one episode while Mob was at ???% for three, meaning the latter didn't feel like the building problem was instantly resolved. The resolution matched the build-up better in terms of length.

Another difference is that Steven Universe focused more on the other characters and how they had to help Steven while Mob Psycho 100 focused more on Mob and how he had to be there for himself. Obviously both relied on the support and acceptance of their loved ones, but Mob Psycho 100 also showed Mob's thoughts and decision to love himself, which worked more in its favor. As much as you need people, you also need to be able to be there for yourself on your own. They can only take you so far.

I also think that there were just too many people at once in Steven Universe: Future. It was harder to appreciate Steven's connection with each one of his friends when they were all there at the same time. Each of Mob's friends (and it wasn't all of them, just a select few that were closest and he would want/need to see in a time like this) showing up one at a time made it easier to digest.

So really I think that if Steven Universe: Future had dedicated a bit more time to bringing Steven back from the edge and let Steven make the final step himself it could have been that much better and maybe resonated as much as Mob Psycho 100's ending did. But if you think differently or have anything to add I'd love to hear it :)

[forabeatofadrum]

El WooWoo Wednesday to y'all. It's been a while since I kicked one of these off, but here I am.

Also, I just posted one of those "Female character poll" polls, so if you're reading this, feel free to vote on it!

A while ago I got a comment on Isolation, a fic from the Dancin' on that bamboo ceiling series, a series that explores adoption and the Asian representation on Glee. After all, that was at time, uh, questionable. Isolation in particular is about the comments Tina and Yu-Jin (OC) get about adoption and this commenter said it resonated with them. On a whim, I decided to reread the entire series and this night, instead of sleeping, a new topic for a fic in this series came to me: names.

This takes place after Tina and Mike started dating.

Mike's mother Julia is an incredibly kind woman and Tina's nerves about meeting Mike's family fly out of the window. "So glad to meet you, Tina," she says warmly as she shakes Tina's hand, "Mike has said so much about you." "All good things, I hope," Tina says back. It's such a cliché line, but she still wants to impress Julia. "Of course, of course," Julia's smile widens, "Mike told me and my husband about how you met in Glee club and then got close on the Asian forum." "Well. We even went to Asian camp together," Tina says through gritted teeth. She still doesn't really understand why her parents sent her to Asian camp. Julia nods happily and then turns to Mike. She says something in Chinese to him and Mike groans, but smile. "Ma!" he says. "I say how it is," Julia continues, and then says another Chinese word that Tina obviously doesn't understand. Mike says something back in Chinese, which makes Julia laugh. "Oh, clever boy. I go to the kitchen now, okay? I made snacks for Tina!" Julia bids them farewell and Tina follows Mike to the living room. "Do I wanna know?" she jokes. Mike sighs. "Ah well, I always know something's up when my mother uses my Chinese name," he says, "But luckily, it was all good. She complimented you." Chinese name?

Ah, Asian camp.

I have A Lot more to say about names, identity, racism in the Glee fandom about this thing, and what not, so I'll put it under a cut.

That being said, I would ideally have some help here. If you speak/read Korean, could you help me out with the hangul of Yu-Jin's name (유진) and Tina's Korean name (Min Ji, 민지)? And also, if you are Asian and you have a Western name on top of your Asian name, like Mike in this snippet, could I ask you some questions?

Anyway, more musings and explanations on those questions under the cut.

The names of the characters that are central to this series are Tina Cohen-Chang, Yu-Jin Danvers, Blaine Anderson, Mike Chang and Wes Montgomery. That's an interesting bunch and lately, in real life, the whole idea of names and identity has come up a lot, cause most of my friends are trans, lol. We have this inside joke that, even though I am cis, I very much am part of the club of "people who use a name not given by their parents", since due to adoption, my parents never named me.

Someone asked me if I wanted to share my feelings about the fact that some adopted parents change the names of the children they adopt. I will delve more into that in this fic when it comes ot Yu-Jin and Tina, since Tina's name was probably changed, but I chose to give Yu-Jin, who is an OC, a Korean name. (Yu-Jin isn't a self-insert, since we differ a lot, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't base Yu-Jin's name on my own.)

And well, names are powerful. Not only in mythology, but also when it comes to identity. And I realised that all character in this fic, apart from Yu-Jin, use a Western name: Mike, Wes, Tina and Blaine. So this fic idea started forming in my head, since there is a very interesting conversation to be had here.

So as I said, this chapter (or maybe multi-chapter installment) will be about their names.

Yu-Jin and Tina's story will be about the aforementioned discussion, since that has happened several times in my life and I have thoughts. I chose Min Ji as Tina's name pre-adoption, since that is Jenna Ushkowitz's pre-adoption name. I am lazy, I know. That being said, I might change it, since I also made the choice in this fic to not have the characters be exact copies of the actors who play them, which is why Harry's Puerto Rican heritage isn't part of Mike's character and Blaine's dad is Filipino, not his mom. I do like Min Ji, though. It sounds nice.

Anyway, The reason I'd like some help here is because I have zero (0) knowledge of the Korean language, so I have no clue is Yu-Jin and Min Ji also have a meaning in their hangul. If so, I could maybe use that for the fic. Heck, I don't even know if Min Ji is a surname only, or if it's a combination of a first and last name. Again, I'd like some help.

Wes and Mike have Chinese parents, so I am taking a wild guess here and say that they have Chinese names on their passports. That's because basically every Dutch-Chinese person with Chinese parents I know has this. Honestly, apart from adopted Chinese people, I only know Chinese people here under a "Dutch" name. (Although I do know one that has started using her Chinese name in daily life at the age of 27.)

The thing is that I do not fall into that category, obviously, which is why I'd like to hear some thoughts on it. In my life, I've always experienced Chinese names as a secret within the family. My other Dutch-Chinese classmates would go great lenghts to keep their Chinese names hidden. If people were to ask for their Chinese name, they would refuse to say it. I never understood the secrecy, so if someone would "let me in on the secret", I'd appreciate it. I mean, for this chapter I am using a cop-out by having Tina's POV be the POV on Mike's name, and Tina doesn't understand it either, but I would like to give truth to Mike's part of the story.

I could take the Radio Silence route, where Daniel consiously decided to not use Dae-Sun anymore, due to racism. We'll see.

Next, Wes. In canon, Wes's last name is Montgomery.

(EDIT: lol it's not, it is a big fanon name and the mandela effect got me.)

In this series, the explanation for this is that his parents changed their last name when moving to America, in order to better their chances in the job market and what not. This is based on Chloe Bennet, an American actress who once Tweeted that the reason she uses Bennet professionally is "not because I hate being Asian, but because America is racist" (paraphrased here by me, so the exact wording might be a bit off), since her name is actually Chloé Wang, (or Wāng Kěyíng if you will, which ties back to Mike's story). For Wes's story, I'd like to go back to the moment Wes first tells Mike and Tina this story on the forum.

(Side-note, in Myosotis series, Wes's middle name is Xiùlán (秀兰), which is not canon. Maybe I'll bring it back. I am aware it's a feminine name, though.)

And then we have our boy Blaine Devon Anderson. In this fic, I made the wild switch and made his dad Filipino, since again, we're working with canon here and his mum is portrayed by Gina Gershon. (Cooper is also biologically Pam's child, since yes, they're half-brothers here in this fic to explain why Cooper is white.) This raises the question of whether his dad already had the name Anderson, or whether they took the Jake Long American Dragon approach and the husband and kids took the wife's name, which is a reasonable explanation, but I also portray his dad as a conversative man.

That being said, the thing that came back from a deep, buried memory is... ah... fun times... the time people insisted Blaine, as a character, couldn't be a person of colour, because Blaine Anderson was a rich name.

Yeah.

The big rebuttal to that was obviously the fact that richness got immediately equated with whiteness, and that there are many other reasons that could've let to Blaine being named this way, but yeah, this was a thing. God, being in the fandom when Gina Gershon was cast was not a fun moment. The amount of "opinion pieces" I've had to see that basically were long rants on whether Blaine couldn't be Asian was kinda shit. (Shout out to the person who didn't want Blaine to be a person of colour, cause they're a person of colour and they hated Blaine, and they couldn't deal with the fact that they'd be hating a fellow person of colour.)

So anyway, I kinda wanna do something with his part about how assumption are made based on his name, especially coupled with his appearance. Wes Montgomery will still be clocked as Asian, Blaine not. (Darren actually had a very interesting conversation about being white passing with KAYE on her Golden Hour podcast.)

And that's the plan, folks!

There's obviously one big issue looming over me when it comes to names: the Cohen-Chang of it all. I've explained away other things, like Wes's name and Blaine's family situation, but ever since I came up with this series in 2017, Tina's last name being Cohen-Chang has loomed over this series. So far, I've been just ignoring it, but if I am doing a chapter on names... maybe it will come back to haunt me. There is in my eyes no great explanation why Tina's white family has the last name Cohen-Chang.

Since I am very adamant about working within canon, I cannot change it. Heck, the whole point of this series is giving the shitty canon representation of its Asian characters a place. Hence my dig at Asian camp in the snippet.

Well, okay, there have been explanations. Someone once suggested that maybe Tina's family is mixed as well and that would work, since we never meet her parents in canon, so nothing in canon contradicts me. It does contradict literally every other aspect of Tina in this series, since Tina's story focuses on transnational adoption, especially the story of a Korean girl in a white family. I admit I hadn't thought of this when I started this series, and I am afraid I am too far gone to find a way to add it. We can maybe go back even further in Tina's family tree and add an explanation there.

Another explanation, which is what I initially came up with, was that Tina's parents also changed their last name in order to make Tina feel welcome. But here is the thing: why Chang? It is seen as a Chinese surname. I am aware it can also be a romanisation of the Korean last name 장, but again, Glee canon presents it as a Chinese name. I think it is also pronounced differently in Korean, but again, I don't know shit about Korean. Jenna herself has mentioned in the podcast that it bothered her that Tina was given the same Chinese name as Mike since she's not Chinese (and Kevin was also shocked to hear the show never acknowledged that she is Korean). I wrote Tina's parents as being very sensitive about Tina's Korean heritage, so it would go against my fic to have them make this mistake. Again, I could pretend they used Chang as 장, since even though Glee did imply it to be the Chinese 常, it is never actually stated in the show, but hmmmm. Not only that, but 장 is more commonly romanisised as Jang.

Again, if I weren't limited to canon, I would change it. I have changed Tina's name to Cohen-Choi in my unpublished Sense8 fanfic, but in that fanfic, she isn't adopted and I changed multiple characters (shout out to Blaine Sotto and Brittany S. Pearson). Of course, since Glee canon itself is blurry, there is some freedom, but that freedom has limits as well.

Or maybe, again, I keep ignoring the Cohen-Chang of it all.

Well. That's my musings. If you're still reading this, hi!!! Have a puppy:

And now, the weather: @quizasvivamos @coffeegleek @caramelcoffeeaddict @raenestee @tectonicduck 

@nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @bookish-bogwitch @confused-bi-queer

@that-disabled-princess @special-bc-ur-part-of-it @larkral @cutestkilla​ @wellbelesbian​

@artsyunderstudy​ @facewithoutheart​ @shrekgogurt @rockitmans @bitbybitwrites 

@whatevertheweather @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion @esilher @kurtsascot @blackberrysummerblog 

@nightimedreamersghost @ivelovedhimthroughworse @thnxforknowingme @martsonmars @snarkyhag

[gloriousburden]

Hey!! I just wanna say your takes on Loki are super refreshing to read, and they cleared up my mind a little! Maybe this sounds a little stupid but I got so confused after rewatching everything (+ watching the series and I feel like that was the breaking point xd) and since I didn't read anything nor any opinions I was. Just lost in these jambled thoughts because I couldn't figure out Loki's character well since he just feels so... so different after Avengers/TDW and I really couldn't tell wtf was going on with him for a while until I sat down and deconstructed everything since it was so bad?? Maybe it's just me and I'm slow but I seriously never had that experience with a character I fixated before and I can't tell if it was because how badly Loki was handled by his writers or it's just me being scatterbrained or both 😭

Anyway thanks again this isn't anything new just wanted to let you know,, your/others takes in your posts are the ones that resonate the most with me and I feel less alone lol when I read some of them on other platforms it's either too much shipping or just... things that don't really make sense to me xd

So yeah, there's no take here, but thanks if you read!! You don't have to answer 🫰

Hello! I am so glad to hear that I could help. I know that feeling all too well, and it’s exactly why I started posting on here. Watching each weekly episode of the series as it was coming out was torture. It was like a punch to the gut every single time that they belittled Loki, mischaracterized him, hinted to the romance with Sylvie, had him consistently forgive the characters who treated him like shit, and took it all in a direction that… had absolutely nothing to do with Loki.

I fell in love with Loki’s character around 5 months before the series came out, and everyday I mourn what the fandom used to be despite the short amount of time I experienced it the way it was. Of course there was mischaracterization, but never was it as widespread as this.

In all honesty, the series turned me off from liking Loki for a hot minute. It disgusted, angered, and saddened me so much. I lost the ability to enjoy watching or interacting with anything related to Loki because I was reminded of it all each time. I remember watching the finale feeling complete fucking shock and a sense of dread. On top of all that bullshit… there’s going to be a season 2?! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I took comfort in the shared reaction and negativity Loki TikTok (at the time) had to it lol. What annoyed the shit out of me also was people beginning to ship Lokius/Sylki. You saw what both of those characters did to him, why ship them? the shipping bullshit is the worst. What happened to people liking Loki for JUST BEING LOKI?

I had that same confusion. How could this be Loki at all, but especially Loki after the events of THE AVENGERS?! This couldn’t even be Ragnarok Loki, so how could it be Loki DIRECTLY after/during his most villainous? I just kept thinking to myself.. Loki is intelligent. He is strong. He is more than what they represented him as. And he never deserved any of that. He is playful, of course. But he is not a buffoon who lets others walk all over him. He doesn’t deserve to be the laughingstock in a series that was supposed to uplift him. No other character was “humbled” in their own series like this.

Like you said, you’ve never had this experience with characters you’ve been fixated on before. I felt the same way. I had many favorite characters who were killed off, yet their deaths weren’t as brutal to me as the character assassination Loki was put through. I think I posted something along the lines of that. That all of this has made mourning Loki’s actual death in Infinity War so… weird.

The next months or so, I tried getting back into loving Loki. Which as you can probably tell… it worked. But I was still so disgusted by the series. I would pace around my room thinking of Loki rants in my head, and I’d write them down in my notes app just thinking… ‘well that doesn’t fucking add up.’

What helped was knowing there were others that shared the same feelings that I did.

I began lurking on this side of Tumblr, reading everyone’s posts (and even masterlists) of reasons why the series was so fucking garbage, and how it did absolutely no justice to Loki’s character.

It helped me realize and identify the reasons why the series upset me so much. It also helped me learn more about Loki’s character in general, to which I fell more in love with him. It helped me feel less alone, and I wanted to voice my own opinions as well. I felt so lost, and I really wanted to connect with others who felt the same.

Eventually, I began posting my own rants as well as following a bunch of other OG Loki fans who primarily focused on Loki’s character before the series (as well as before Ragnarok.)

These were people who understood Loki, and loved him as much as I did. I found community, and everyday I am so grateful for everyone here. I was (and still am) heavily fixated on Loki, and the mischaracterization would irk me so fucking badly. The lack of love for Loki for who he is, outside of ships and fanon, hurt me. He means a lot to me even if he is just a fictional character. I see myself in him.

So… long story short, it really means a lot that I could play a part in helping you out with your own confusion and feelings of loneliness through all of this bullshit. It’s the same thing I went through a few years ago. Wanting to help as well as wanting to connect with others who felt lost and hurt like I did, was why I started posting on here. It’s a bit of a full circle moment for me lol.

Other platforms are DREADFUL. I think I’ve said this on here somewhere before, but Pinterest has a lot of OG Loki content, and I find it easier to avoid the series related stuff. I recommend checking it out if you haven’t. Also… I HIGHLY recommend using the google search Before:Year feature helps so much!! It’s pretty fun to see a lot of the first reactions to Loki’s character, as well as the outdated memes 😭😭😭 OG Loki fangirls paved the way!!

It really is a peculiar ass situation. My favorite character has been killed off, an alternate version of him was revived, and it’s all complete misery. What REALLY annoyed me though was people just accepting it.. Like what? Really? This is Loki to you?

Thank you for this, and I’m glad you feel less alone. I hope that you continue to find community within this side of Tumblr. It’s all I ever wanted for anyone who stumbled across my blog. So sorry for the long ass response LOL

[nalyra-dreaming]

Who is your favorite and least favorite IWTV series, movie, and book character and why?

Hey nonny!

(There's two ways of reading your question, so I'm just gonna answer both versions^^)

My favorite is the new IWTV series, the revamping (ha, pun^^), of the characters, arcs, books in and by themselves while keeping the important bits and elevating it all to art is breathtaking. I love how clever it is, how much it subverts some tropes, how it plays with the meta level by giving us the books Louis reads, or what is laying around in the set behind characters. Hints over hints, and every friggin' line counts. Show of the decade, truly.

I will always love the 1994 movie, since it was what introduced me to the Chronicles, I cannot tell you the state I was in after I came home from the theater. I watched it daily as soon as I could get it on tape, I shit you not. (Easily Tom Cruise's best performance, too, imho, as a note^^)

And I waited years for the sequel... only to get Queen of the Damned. Ahem.

I am sorry, but that has to be my least favorite of it all, though Aaliyah was breathtaking. And the soundtrack was good.

Now character-wise...interestingly enough book-Louis came to mind immediately. He is (probably) my least favorite. And I say that as a fan *laughs* He is just... IDK. I know the history behind it, and I know the pain Anne must have been in (and which I do not dare to imagine), and I know why she had to leave him behind... but even though he has his reasons, too, they never really resonated with me. And neither did his backstory. As a vessel he works very well, because he is empty in IWTV, or he feels so for me, but as a character I do not feel him.

Thankfully the show version has completely eclipsed him for me, and I can finally enjoy who Louis truly is and who he will become - quite the feat I have to say, and I love, love, LOVE them for it.

All in all Lestat is probably the character who is my favorite though, not the least because he can be so capricious. There are... parallels to my own life, parallels the show will yet touch upon in future seasons. When I read The Vampire Lestat I felt those in my bones. It doesn't matter here if show, 1994 movie or book, though of course Sam... IS Lestat now. ^^ Season 1, filtered through Louis' (influenced) POV was only a hint after all, and... Lestat is yet to fully appear.

I do not really have characters that I don't like in the show - every character they have is very well cast, and very poignant in their function for the story, even the repugnant ones. They vibe. Maybe there will be a future show character I do not like in and by "themselves", but... I actually doubt it. They're so terrific at casting.

In the movie it is the same, on the contrary, I always remember here that Christian Slater jumped in for the late River Phoenix, and donated his salary, so there is always a warm feeling when watching him. For example. Antonio Banderas did have the gravitas and managed to... insinuate at least.^^ And watching that scene with the girl on stage in the theater, totally unprepared was something else. There was no sound in the theater. NONE. Absolutely breathtaking.

Now QotD of course... (the movie). Where should I start *laughs*. I said it before, but maybe the best thing that came of it was Sam getting into the VC through it. The worst was probably Armand there, lol. Not sure if he ever says anything in the theater cut (I know there were scenes cut), but... just...

So yeah.

Show characters and show have taken over^^. Will continue to take over, too, I bet. I cannot wait.

[wyllzel]

but what are your bridgerton opinions? share share

AAHHH 🫣 ty for asking omg! opinions time 😏

my big thing is that i'm annoyed whenever people complain about the lack of historical accuracy in the clothing, or when people complain that it all looks over the top... i firmly believe that bridgerton as a series of works has no interest in historicity (see rants A and B)!! so i think it's much more interesting for the costuming department to be able to construct these really interesting, elaborate gowns instead of painstakingly trying to recreate clothing from 200 years ago :^) plus they get to use modern visual language to emphasize characters' roles!!! like we know cressida and the featheringtons are trying too hard bc the patterns/materials they wear are what we associate with tacky/costume-y sort of looks 👀

i haven't seen many people talk about this - but i really wish the show had stuck with the 10 year time skip before colin's book... penelope is 28 years old during her book romance! both her maturity and her having to reckon with being "old" while never having been kissed/romanced is a big part of why her story resonated w me ;; it doesn't quite hit the same in the show, where she's probably in her early 20s still...

probably the worst decision the show has made for the polin romance is having colin keep an erotic diary rather than what he has in the novel, which is a travel journal 😭 i'll put this below the readmore since it's a pretty big spoiler haha

^ anyway cressida's gowns are everything 😔🫡

spoilers ahead for colin's weird erotic diary!!!

basically, the polin romance works so well bc they both respect one another as writers! so far, we only have one comment from penelope about colin's writing, which is right when she reads his diary and he finds her snooping :(

throughout colin's novel, we see him as really insecure bc his brothers have achieved some measure of success (anthony is respected as the viscount bridgerton and benedict is a renowned artist) while he's just kind of traveling the european continent lol... so when colin discovers that penelope is lady whistledown, he freaks out A) because she has haters and he has to "protect" her (LMAO) and B) because she's a successful writer and he wants to publish his travel journals, but he's insecure as an amateur writer...

and basically colin has to grow from:

not understanding why penelope is so proud of her gossip column, to

understanding why penelope is so proud of her gossip column (it's her life's work and is a valid literary artform), to

overcoming his jealousy of penelope's success, to

being actively proud of penelope's success and her talents

which is so fascinating!!! i can't think of many other romances/works that feature a male romantic partner who's jealous of his female romantic partner's abilities!! dude overcame his toxic masculinity and basically spends the rest of the bridgerton saga telling anyone who listens how much he loves his wife :') it's great stuff

anyway... i'm not super sure how the bridgerton show is going to tackle the whole "colin is jealous of penelope's talents as a writer" thing... because if he's writing erotica, how is he going to get published??? is he going to be regency nicholas sparks????? also, not everything has to be about sex/romance!!! his travel journals were perfectly fine as they were!!

plus so far the only hint we have that colin's insecure is his weird playboy era, but even that... i'm not super sure if that's supposed to be evidence of his insecurity, or if the show is hastily establishing his "rake reputation" that all the bridgerton men have LMAO

[hanzajesthanza]

i just finished your newest video essay and again you did not disappoint!! i love how your essays talk about the things no one else seems to even think about, and in such depth as well. as someone for whom the witcher is like. probably the most important story i’ve ever come across (plus i’m polish so it’s even more meaningful and personal lol), seeing the work you’ve put into researching all this genuinely warms my heart 💞 congrats and thank you!!!!!!

aw, thank you! tbh i was a little worried when i put it up because i thought maybe it wouldn't do well and i'd be a "one-hit wonder" 😅... also i didn't know if the subject would be interesting to everyone :x

so i'm really glad it resonated with you and people seem to be enjoying it!! i'm especially grateful you see how i try to look at things "no one else seems to think about," that's indeed the case... or, well, maybe not "think" about (because idk what other people have in their minds), but at least, "talk about": the witcher has an absolutely interesting story, and on top of that i find it just as interesting as a cultural phenomenon, which affects how we understand its story!

(this turned into a long ramble :p no pressure to read all of this, just thinking out loud)

there's a broader context to everything we discuss "as a fandom"; and how witcher has been added to, modified, re-interpreted, and changed for international audiences (which isn't inherently "bad," but is definitely something that exists and should be considered) has created a lot of fragmentation in how it's understood, which leads to confusion (and some very passionate arguments) online.

it's kind of meta, because witcher itself (in my interpretation of it) is (in part) all about how "we live in a society" and none of our decisions, views, or ideas are truly "our own," because they've been influenced by our experiences and those around us - emphasizing the role of society in individual identity, and calling into question individual agency to make decisions. at least that's how it seems to me, in my view which is probably affected by how the US is a very individualist society and has been from its very conception. (though -okay really going on a tangent here- i'd be interested to read on how individualism and collectivism present themselves in poland, as central europe but also a post-soviet bloc country, because what i studied about collectivism focused on only the US, the mediterranean, and east asia).

back to topic, i feel like most american interpretations of the witcher, both on the scale of the company (orbit, netflix) and consumer (readers, audiences), have not only been divorced of its polish context, but that most readers are not going to be aware of that that context even exists, much less go to seek that context on their own. (by 'context,' i don't only mean the cultural, historic, and mythological references in the witcher, but stuff like when/where witcher was written, how it was written (short stories to saga), andrzej sapkowski's background and perspective, how witcher presented itself as a pop culture phenomenon in poland). to most american readers, it's just "another fantasy series" with no context as to who or where it came from, which leads to confusion, upset, and even dislike, when they come across something which they don't understand the context or reasoning for.

though i guess take these statements with a grain of salt, because this is really based on my own personal experiences with the series and my experiences are not universal. but this is what happened to me when i first read the witcher: i had very little context for it, so didn't understand why the books were supposed to be such a big deal, nor most of the messages their author was conveying with them. (and i guess i'm a creature of emotion too, and there's something very moving about disconnect between generations and cultures which makes me want to investigate, learn and try to understand different perspectives. i don't like resentment and arguments, when they are the result of miscommunication)

total rant lmao, but, yes, you're correct and i'm grateful for this ask because i feel seen by it!

a key motivation of mine in making these essays is absolutely that most audiences are not innately, if they know about or have heard of the witcher, going to think about this big-picture stuff: the morphing and changing of the witcher over time, across countries and languages, and in different authors' hands... and yet, they (and their fan experiences) will be affected by these broad cultural understandings all the same.

and, though i will eventually like to make some casual, more insular videos (like character analysis, book review, fun games and discussions) i just feel like it's absolutely necessary to look at this huge context behind it all first!!

[fate-inspiration]

Back with a few questions, if that's okay ^^ "some fools think that Gilart fans like violins" do you mean that they think we don't know it's actually not a super wholesome, uwu sorta ship (lol)? Also I'm very intrigued by your concept of a GilAlter- if I were to accept one (I think it's contrary to the essence of Gil's character for a GilAlter to exist,but.), I think I'd like your version best- "he turned to his divine blood and not his human side.".

Super last thing, if you still feel like answering questions. I'm curious: would you feel comfortable sharing your shipper story? Like why drew you to GilArt, which of these 2 characters do you resonate with more, etc? And what do you think of CasGil and Lion King Arturia (personally, I love that ship -so grateful for zoro's art- and any and all combos, like Casgil x default Arturia)? Thanks!

I just realized the mistake, but it's even worse than the violins, I was talking about the rape. They think that Gilart's fans like rapes because in fsn route fate, Gil plans to rape Arturia.

(Of course, for the connoisseurs, we all know Gilgamesh's state of mind in this route).

Thanks for choosing my version of Gilalter. I had already thought about him a long time ago and I can say that he will be horrible. But I didn't really think about if he will be interested in Arturia, maybe he will.

Aaaah, I fell in love with this ship. I already knew the name of the Fate license, but I never managed to watch the 2004 (2006?) anime version because it was ugly XD (I was a teenager at that time)

So I was convinced to watch Fate/Zero very late, in 2018. And I was not disappointed, it's a good way to discover the license. I fell in love with the ship at the end of the series when Gil proposes Arturia. It came out of nowhere and Gil didn't really put his best side forward and I didn't notice the moments where he praised Saber. Since I didn't know the stories of the fsn, I guess it was like an arrow in the heart XD. I think the most important thing was the sincerity of Gil in that moment. It seemed like a whim, but when you think about it, not at all and he was making the effort to force her to accept, when in principle, if it was insignificant, he wouldn't have even asked her.

So after that, I did some research and research. I never watched fsn, because I didn't want to see a SaberxShirou and I didn't have the opportunity to play the game yet, but I watched almost everything related to the license, just to have a little official moment between Gil and Arturia. (I was unfortunately very disappointed XD Arturia became a worldwide waifu, same for Gil, because even if he's an asshole, everybody loves him. So I concluded that they couldn't put them together to mix them. Probably because it would break the fantasy, I'm not sure). Then I turned to Fanfictions, I found my little happiness, even reading the most horrible stories XD, it was not serious, I had my dose. And I started to draw humans again just to be able to draw them, and I was very happy.

For the other versions... Arturia Lancer is a problem for me because of the Fanservice. It goes from a small flat woman to a big disproportionate woman, I don't like it at all. I mean, it's impossible XD. And she is presented as someone more mature and rational than Saber when Saber is this King Arthur at the end of his life in the license. So to see Lancer made my heart ache because it's like denying her true self.

After other people will probably not agree with me XD.

I have less of a problem with Gilcaster because it's just an older version of Archer, but technically they're still the same. It's just a shame that he references Lion King more than Saber. But I like that he loves Saber Lily in Carnival XD.

I love Saber Alter. But I modified it for myself and I think others like my version.

And Lily is cute. (With Ko-Gil it's the little extra)

I don't look too much at the other versions, for example the Caster version, I haven't had the chance to know it yet. But I don't think I like her, I think she's a distorted version of Saber, but I'll wait until I get a chance to read her story to be sure.

(but I'll gladly ship Arturia saber with all the Gil XD)

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

Okay, despite being gleeful all week, I do have some thoughts/musings on IWTV and fandom commentary on ableist tropes. Probably will get a little spicy idk

So pretty much since the episode dropped on streaming platforms, I’ve seen people hoping Daniel still has Parkinson’s despite being turned and that it will be ableist if most or all of the symptoms are ameliorated (the terminal illness aspect is already gone.)

And well….. I really fundamentally and completely disagree with this.

I get why people are wary about miracle cure storylines. Truly I am. I love FMA but I think it’s obnoxious that everyone gets their disabilities wiped away at the end of the plot.

But … but but but but. I have an invisible illness myself. Started up late 2017, is mostly just annoying, but it interrupts my sleep every single night without fail. The cumulative lack of sleep leads to constant fatigue and the subsequent brain fog. It’s had a cascading considerable ripple effect across my whole life. Through a lot of trial and effort I’ve come to build a life I’m increasingly happy with. I’ve come to be very proud of how much I can do despite it all. I have greater internal strength than I realized.

And if someone offered me a miracle tomorrow even with a terrible trade off I’d take it. I’d take it even if it was only 3 full nights of sleep a week instead of 7. I’d take it in a heartbeat.

Now, Daniel……… clearly didn’t get to make that informed decision lol. Knowing what Armand is like. But he is super hype at the end of the show and I get it. I get it.

The worst symptom (which, again, is DEATH) is gone. Even if he has some of the other symptoms the worst one is gone gone GONE. Of course he’s ecstatic. Throughout the series he’s loudly and repeatedly said he wanted a cure. Hell, he explicitly says as much to Armand. His manic joy at the end is just so…….

Also it’s not actually a cure. He’s largely traded Parkinson’s for a host of other terrible things I.e. now the sun will kill him, he’s eventually going to see his daughters die (which he’s worried about before). He can’t taste nachos anymore for Christ’s sake.

If the quality of the writing remains up to par than this isn’t going to be the story of someone who had a redo button pushed on their disability. The trade off is enormous and we’re bound to see the negative side of vampirism with him.

In addition, this isn’t a like … Glee-tier style portrayal of a disability. Daniel isn’t sequestered from the main plot except for a few special episodes about how sad and inspirational he is. He has a lot of other things going for him (I wrote a whole post about this.) He’s also very vocal about how much it all sucks and he wants to feel better. You also see a lot of the mundane stuff you have to do with doctors and meds etc. The only thing we didn’t get was a depiction of the fairly common experience of him crying and screaming in a car because nothing exists that will make him feel better and confronting that yet again after being on the 15 minute conveyor belt in and out of the doctor’s office.

Not that I’ve been there or anything.

(I also thought I was alone in this until I started reading personal essays about invisible illness and kept coming across scenes like it.)

There’s a lot of reasons to be wary of disability rep in fiction. Right there with you. Totally get wanting to see stories of disabled joy.

But … I’m not there yet. I might never be. For me, the disability rep that currently resonates with me most is a miracle cure narrative. It’s the biblical story of the woman who can’t stop bleeding. Who touches Jesus’s robes to try and get a cure. And she does. But the cure is secondary to me. It’s what comes before; the desperation, the isolation, the mention that she spent all her money on doctors that didn’t help. It’s bleak, but it’s also an emotion I recognize in myself. That parable was clearly written with very real emotion involved and I can feel people in similar straits over the millennia reaching out to me through it. This too is yuri a disability narrative.

And yes it gives me comfort. Invisible illnesses can be very isolating, and many people have dark nights of the soul where you wonder if it’s going to be worth it carrying on like this, what you’d trade to get your old life back (if I do get it back…. I won’t actually because these years have changed me.) You learn a lot about the depths of your desperation and the heights of your strength. And yeah, that’s what I’ve felt through Daniel’s narrative.

He’s a weird fucking dude with a different illness than me but (not to use this word again) a specificity to his depiction that actually makes him feel way more relatable to me than inspiration porn or corporatized Pride ™️. And I can’t stress how much I apparently needed that. The care in his character has me curious to see what comes next. There’s a trust there that they’ll continue mining this side of his character even if the symptoms have changed. I just really highly doubt we will get something as blithe about it as FMA. Future Daniel will probably have moments as harrowing as All’s Well by Mona Awad (which I haven’t finished yet despite plodding away through it for years because it’s so accurate about chronic pain it makes me cry. But it explores miracle cures as an unsettling fever dream. The excitable anger that comes along when you have Good Days and can really contemplate how much goddamn bullshit you’ve been through.)

And yeah I …. Don’t know how to end this. Maybe I’ll just quote Pain Woman Takes Your Keys:

This raises the question of which woman is a better writer—me in pain or me without. The pain-woman speaks in a pared-down voice; she is a dreamy laser. You can’t tell her a single thing. She has room for only one emergency. She has to creep slowly and hold onto the backs of chairs as she moves, but she has a strange superpower. She cares more about the vulnerable soft flesh of everyone than my normal busy pre-pain self. She aches in slow motion for everyone’s crumbling life. She sees dead bodies wrapped in skin, sees the present moment as death in reverse. She is in a kind of ecstasy—not the way we understand the word as joy, but the older definition in Webster’s Dictionary: “an emotional or religious frenzy or trancelike state, originally one involving a mystic sense of self-transcendence.”

And then there was a day, a quiet landmark on the couch: the first day that I realized I wasn’t depressed because I was in pain. I realized my mood could separate from the bad news broadcasted by my nerves. I was okay in here, in terrible pain, but alive and watching it. Pain explodes, over and over. It’s also super tiring. And then I need food and sleep.

Later tonight I’ll get depressed because I have lesson plans to do, and I want to be more than this ecstatic, shattered, staring beast looking at the swirls. But for now, I see swirls, and I feel the weather in my bones. And I am two bodies, and one is the history of me. And the other is a lava-lamp Ghost Girl with a new voice I have to listen to—no, more than listen to. She wants the keyboard, and she doesn’t care about the life I had before she was born.

[noblechaton]

on October 16th, 2020, I started playing Persona 5 Royal

on October 16th, 2023, I finished playing Persona 5 Royal

here's some thoughts I have on the game and the inbetween. spoiler warning btw - gonna talk about a lot

I picked up Persona 5 a few Christmases ago for myself while it was on sale at Gamestop because while I'd seen very little from the game I had grown pretty interested - I'd had an interest in Persona 4 and plenty of friends who enjoyed the series in various ways, too, so I figured it'd make for a good like. "in", as it were. but then I never really got around to playing it and eventually found out that a Royal version was coming, one that would have changes and additions and such and decided to just outright wait and get that one since like. it'd be better, presumably

and while I can't really speak to the vanilla experience as I hadn't played it and probably won't I will say that based on what little I know about the game as a whole I'm kinda glad I waited because Royal was an experience

I had few expectations given how unfamiliar with the series I was but I knew it'd be long and that there were sim elements to some degree, though I was surprised by just how engrossing it all was. it really does come across as a life simulator at times, with how much stuff you can do being kind of ridiculous in both good and bad ways imo. I loved the confidants (tho I still think there's one or two too many - Ohya literally never made it past level 1 for me lol) and the minigames like darts, baseball and such. every activity was at least amusing for the most part, though the job elements felt kinda shallow and there were some things I was surprised weren't more involved like the arcades

there's just so much here though, all the same, it's overwhelming but ultimately worth it to try and do at least a little of everything by the time the final credits hit. there's so much going on that it's why I stopped playing at times, because I'd stop for a day or two and then think about all I had going on in the game and all I had to do and just sort of groaned to myself lmao. it borders on a chore at times, but it's always fun. there's a flow to things, where you chat up confidants and play pool and do laundry and go to Mementos to do requests and then go to school the next day and answer questions so you can chat up confidants and play darts and go to the bathhouse. etc. etc. there's a cycle to things that's really addicting when it gets its claws in you, though things are at times kinda mundane and your interest in something can vary pretty heavily depending on the character(s) you interact with

which is to say that I really enjoyed it overall. just about everything up Futaba's palace was some of the most fun, engrossing and immersive stuff I've played in a game, snappy and addictive and so fun. I was having a blast, despite health and personal issues alike, and feel that period of the game is definitely the strongest as far as what I assume the base game was like, and it definitely lived up to whatever hype I'd seen up to that point. I loved the introduction with Ryuji and Ann and the buildup of the concepts and themes, I loved the gameplay and how it genuinely wanted me to think and consider my moves in a way I haven't in most other games, I loved the core cast and how despite some shallow stuff here and there they all got endeared to some level, the music, the style, the story. Yusuke was a great addition, Makoto was even better and Futaba's entire substory felt so impactful and strong, it really resonated with me, and how it connected to the larger narrative was great

and then I hit Okumura's palace and my opinions fucking nosedived lmao. it's not so much that I didn't like the place - the aesthetic was fun, the music and style were still great too. it's more so that Haru had been alluded to or otherwise had a slight presence to that point and then the payoff to her was. Ryuji and Morgana getting into some melodramatic fight over nothing? huh? I genuinely still don't really get it. I don't know why they couldn't do that story earlier on, when it would have made more sense for the characters - nor do I know why it basically assassinated Ryuji's character and likely Morgana's too

it doesn't help that Okumura wasn't at all interesting like the previous palace rulers were - which, granted, was probably intentional given that he wasn't really a natural target in the narrative - and that Haru stayed in the backseat for the duration. she didn't even get that big a moment prior to the boss fight, which was also maybe the single worst boss fight I've ever subjected myself to in a video game, one so bad and frustrating that I almost outright dropped the game as a whole before I took some time and learned how the max difficulty actually makes it easier lmao. the fight sucked, the writing jumped off a cliff, whole place was just nightmare fiction

things rebounded a fair bit with Sae's palace and Akechi taking a more serious role in things and it all kinda smoothed out again through the rest of what I assume was the base game. which I'll say - I loved Akechi. the guy was so much fun, from his social mask that hid the insanity beneath to everything he does in the third semester. easily one of my favorite rival characters in anything at this point, and his relationship with Ren Nobility was a total treat

but yeah. Okumura's palace definitely sucked a lot of fun out of the experience, enough that I took another long break lmao. but a short while back I came back around and knocked out the end of the "vanilla" story, as it were, and found it pretty okay. I think I would have been fine with it had I played that version, but since I unlocked the third semester and got the more Royal portion of the game I will say I don't think I was satisfied with the original ending in comparison

a lot of this stems I think from how much fun I found Maruki I as a character and then as an antagonist. Shido didn't really leave much a mark, the God of Control also didn't do much for me despite the Mementos palace being really neat in design/aesthetic. going from like, realistic, street-level shit people to a girl in desperate need for help to a guy who kinda didn't deserve it to someone who kinda didn't need it to a boring corrupt and shitty politician was kind of lame honestly. I know he technically jump started the game but Shido just left me with very little impact throughout - a guy that needed to go down, but that I wouldn't have flinched at being the third or fourth target lmao. I definitely would have preferred Akechi as the final boss, or something like that

but Maruki was a breath of fresh air honestly. I went into the game with relatively few spoilers or expectations but then it felt kinda obvious that his side of things was both new - an issue with Royal implementation in general imo, it all felt kinda obviously new though I'd say Maruki himself felt the most well fitted - and that whatever he was going on about would impact the end of the game

and boy did it fucking whip

I love antagonists like him. people that you get to know and see and understand as a good person trying to do good for others that's constantly stepped on and shoved around by people with less than good intentions, that finally break and try to take matters into their own hands and become somewhat twisted and corrupted by their own still respectable, upstanding morals and goals. Maruki wanted to help ease pain, to erase it from people and help them, and his intent never shifts wildly nor does he ever come across as some suddenly crazy guy and I really appreciated that. he believes what he's doing is right and, in some way, you could argue that it is - or at least that his goals are in the right place, while his means ultimately aren't

his palace and that entire third semester are sort of highlights for me and I can't really imagine a version of the game without that now. I found it all so strong for the most part that it probably stopped me from ever playing vanilla or at least from playing it for a while

this also brings me around to Sumire - I quite enjoyed her as a character and her story I thought was really solid and given some recent events a fair bit impactful but, as I mentioned, I wish the Royal stuff was better integrated. you go into the endgame and there's a meeting of the Thieves and they basically look at the camera and go "Jeez, sorry, Yoshizawa, you can't come along because you didn't exist when this portion of the game was made :/" and I think that's pretty detrimental. she kind of isn't much of a character throughout the majority of the game, she's rarely acknowledged by the rest of the cast (save Akechi, who I think had his role adjusted in Royal too fwiw) and it really shows, though nothing barring a proper remake of the game could really amend that I imagine and what is there is still good, just sorta nailed into the preexisting structure, as it were

as far as the more general game goes. yeah. this is the one, honestly. I dunno if I can classify it a masterpiece both because I haven't played the others and because there is plenty I didn't like - I found that the romance routes were all pretty hollow for the most part given how most of them end with a sudden turn towards the romantic lol, a good few side characters weren't all that engaging to me and only seemed to exist to give me something to do, Okumura's palace is genuinely that bad, Shido could have felt more important, the twist near the end of the base game was kinda whatever, etc. - but it's definitely really good and has certainly left a mark on me, enough that I keep wanting to play it even now with the game finished. I gave it a 9 when I put it in my media thread and that opinion hasn't really shifted much in the days since. maybe a replay at a faster pace would lower it, or raise it, dunno

above all else though, Persona 5 was an experience, and I feel that word is the best I have to describe it

it reflects a lot of my best and worst days from the last two years, it holds a lot of warmth for me. it's a comfort game, it's fun to play, it's engaging and immersive unlike most any other game I've ever played. there's a lot to it, a lot of gears and a lot of things, it's long as hell even despite my gaps in playing. there's downsides and low points, but there's also some of the rawest shit in a game too. it's got a killer soundtrack, amazing presentation, endearing characters and plenty of stories that gripped me. it ends with an exhausted fist fight against the biggest and yet more understandable antagonist you've faced while one of the coolest tracks in the game plays

it took me three years, to the day, to beat

and I'm glad I saw it through

[chaos0pikachu]

Yeah like, on an objective level I can understand the benefits of branded pairings in a purely capital sense. Like I get gmmtv's business model of pushing their talent more as idols rather than actors and encouraging fans/audience to be hyper para-social with their talent because it means more ticket sales for concerts, fan meets, and sales of merch. The product in turn, becomes OffGun, rather than the Sean and White (Not Me).

Because it's easier to sell a baby bottle lightstick to fans than to try and sell merch for your show with anti-capitalist themes (this was a problem for Ready Player One for comparison).

[The lightsticks really bring home to me that gmmtv wants idols not actors btw]

But products need to have very strong branding, so they're easier to market and sell to consumers. Disney's acquisition of Star Wars and Marvel is a good example of this as those films are so much more bloodless and sexless than their predecessors.

Disney has a strong specific brand identity which effects just how far the films and shows they produce will push that identity. Disney will never make a show like The Boys, for example, ever. At most they would foster it off to a sub-division and never put the Disney brand on it.

That identity and brand integrity is why often times, imo anyway, it can feel as though the actors are playing very similar archetypes in every show. Where the dynamic of the couple feels very much the same.

I watched the Heart Killers trailer and I was left extremely unimpressed - give them another god damn light I'm begging this is ridiculous - but what I noticed was First and Khao's characters gave the same energy, tone, and overall dynamic as Ray and Sand. Khao's the pursuer, saucy and flirty bottom, while First is the reluctant but highly attracted to Khao moderately stoic top.

Before people jump me, I'm not saying they're playing the same exact characters. I'm saying this is a typecast, or maybe couplecast is a better term.

An example is Chris Evan's early career pre-Captain America where he was often typecast as a wisecracking, smart ass, who was likable and funny (Push, Cellular, Fantastic Four, The Losers, Scott Pilgrim) getting cast as Captain America was pretty against type for his more major films at that point in his career. Because Steve Rogers is sarcastic, but dry and he's very sincere where as like, Nick Grant is not a serious nor sincere character lol and you can see a wider variety of roles post Captain America too (personally my fave performances from Evans is probably Sunshine, Snowpiercer, and Knives Out).

Typecasting is true as far back as Marylin Monroe and Judy Garland - notice, Judy never played a sexy temptress character while Marylin never played a farm girl - it's nothing new it's just frustrating.

Considering they were novel canon why wasn't Black allowed to be Gram's love interest? Would that only have happened if Gram and Sean were twins suddenly and played by Off? Why is Khao constantly playing the pursuer characters to First's characters? Why can't Force play a shy intern to Book's in charge boss? Why can't Mix play a character that leaves Earth's character at the end of a show or vice versa?

In the end it all becomes more like live action RPF roleplay than a tv show I want to invest my time in - and I'm so fucking lazy when it comes to tv shows lmao

Not always, I want to iterate this isn't always the case.

I like Earth and Mix for example in Moonlight Chicken even though I still hold that Earth was miscast. He was simply to young for the role of Jim and the themes of the story would have resonated more with an older actor (and made the age gap thing work). But overall the show is well made. I'm looking forward to Pooh and Pavel's new show because I love horror and it looks interesting. I didn't love Pit Babe - ok I didn't like Charlie and Babe as a couple lmao - but I appreciate the ambition of the series a lot and I see that same ambition in their new shows trailer.

I'm not "anti-branded pairs" but I won't pretend my eyes didn't roll at The Intern trailer either. Because it's just not my thing. After a while it all blends together for me. At the very least they gotta change up the style, the dynamic, the set dressing. I've been served pale chicken breast but sometimes it's cut up into chunks and sometimes it's shredded but it's still pale ass chicken breast.

But selling fanmeets and sticker sheets of your idols or couples are always gonna trump that because making shows is expensive.

on a meta-textual/Doylist level what I like about the Korn/Tonkla/Win subplot is there's actual tension and the fact that JJay & Fuiaz are a "branded pair" doesn't influence the story so much that the subplot overall lacks tension.

Tonkla as a character has genuine feelings towards Korn and they've shared on screen intimacy that enforces their relationship - even if that relationship is partially transactional on Korn's side or otherwise. This provides tension in the narrative with the characters and makes their overall relationships with each other and thus the story much stronger.

Comparison - one that might get me kicked but it be what it be - example the Sand/Ray/Mew/Top storyline in Only Friends which had zero tension.

Why? Because the audience pretty much knew from the get RaySand and MewTop were endgame but that's just a factor, knowing the endgame isn't contingent on poor storytelling - don't we all know how Romeo and Juliet ends after all?

No what made is weak and flimsy was the narrative never provides any real stakes or tension for those characters.

Mew never once feels anything for Ray that isn't friendship, they never even attempt to have sex (even bad sex), Ray openly continues to hookup and pursue Sand whilst with Mew (and Sand is even mostly okay with this as tho it matters none at all because ultimately, it doesn't) and while Top was bothered, he wasn't threatened. It was all just narrative punishment and penance for his cheating. We don't even see Ray and Mew on a real date or share a real moment of genuine emotional intimacy that's romantic and/or sexual, their bookshop date only makes Mew think of Top, Ray spends more time with Sand, etc.

It's not just that the endgame is Sand/Ray & Mew/Top it's that the endgame is FirstKhao and ForceBook. It's that this is an rpf au dressed up like a tv show rather than a story.

Which is where Korn/Tonkla/Win feels different.

Off the bat Tonkla and Win are already vastly different characters from White and Tee from their roles in Dead Friend Forever. Korn is obviously different from Arm in Kinnporsche. And the narrative has built genuine feeling between Korn and Tonkla, where Win's feelings for Tonkla - at this stage - appear more one-sided. Yet Tonkla's slept with both characters, he's showcasing agency and desire in different ways with both of them. His relationship with both is very different. Will he even "end up" with one or the other? How will Korn react if/when he finds out about this affair? Especially since Win's a cop and Korn is involved in illegal shit. We don't actually know which makes the story far more exciting to engage in.

Even though objectively I knew Win and Tonkla would "get together" in some capacity because of JJay/Fuiaz, there's far more tension and character motivation here which makes for a vastly more interesting story.

My issue with "branded pairings" as a whole is more often than not I find it hurts the narrative potential of a story by cutting the tension off at the knees, by not allowing more interesting and complicated relationships and character motivations to form and develop. As well as hurting an actors growth and ability to like, act when they're playing the same boxed archetype to fit their branded pairings, well, their brand.

[everye]

tell me please, why on earth this game supposed to be so impressive ?? ..

yeah im sitting here guessing wut am i doing to my life so i feel like share w my sorta theory

in nowhere section, alessa's hospital room after one cutscene you can hear a strange sound resonating in your ears

kinda scratching inside braincase

as it turned out, this eerie soundrack (BLESS AKIRA AND HIS MUSIC—) accompanied us for the rest of location

it's almost funne how such small detail could trigger neuron activation and lead me to conclusions LIKE THIS lol

the first link of the chain was immediate thought that harry might have a mild headache or dizziness near this place

idk how to explain this properly maybe it's just a vibe ..

but air w h i s t l e s around that hospital bed with blood-stained sheets even though it's empty

as if it keeps remains of some energy trace so far

what kind of ? good question

if you recall dahlia's monologue, it's the place where God had been nurtured for long 7 years, endless pain threshold test and immense suffering for one little girl

A Very Heart of the Nightmare

don't feel like taking it like a bunch of empty, meaningless words so let me be clear – presence of God in alessa's womb could have real, physical effects on environment or even more, living creatures. i imagine it like some kind of radiation emerging out of her body, that badly affects a human condition and reduces lifetime in general

yeah just trying to find the reason why dahlia had turned into an old hag to the moment of the first game in precisely short time and kauffman looks kind of pasty and pale w his yellowish skin like he has a serious problem w liver. other member of the order who were attending the ritual could at least develop chronic diseases

i'd like to remind here the order was a sect of private religion and had really dangerous people in it. their influence grew into various areas of town's life, we already know abt kauffman being the director of alchemilla hospital

lisa mentioned the series of strange assassinations of officials who were intending to bring some economical changes into structuring of silent hill's life, also later we discover abt murders of the drug traffic case investigators – and it can be said they're responsible for all of that

the order operated discreetly to keep existing power structure as it was

one day, lisa garland – the member of alchemilla hospital's staff was appointed to take care of new special patient

should i describe amount of shock she probably experienced? it was tremendously cruel that someone who had suffered burns covering their entire body that far beyond the fatal level – and still struggles to breathe. but since the girl was impregnated she couldn't die, the malevolent deity simply wouldn't let her. so nurse's new duties included making sure that holy mother's body – one big solid open wound – wasn't eaten by larvae

lisa was terrified so much in the face of that new circumstances, even expressed her plea to be out of that business which is totally understandable

even though she begged superior suspend her from that case, lisa was just an innocent resident and good soul. she couldn't offer them more but a honest promise

no girlie, work it

lisa had to handle it on her own without anyone's help, because the less people know about what really happened that day is better. and just one drug-addicted nurse from uninitiated is pretty convenient number to control the situation. moreover judging from the newspaper article, it was believed alessa died in the fire caused by blaze of antiquated boiler in gillespie house's basement

ok can't say why in the game initially exclusively medical staff were among possessed human enemies known us puppet nurses and puppet doctors. but we know during its events cybil becomes the same species as them and red liquid aglaophotis makes it possible for harry to rid her of the parasite's influence and save her life

now i'd like to remark that aglaophotis and ptv are both produced by white claudia – a plant indigenous to the region where silent hill is located

in other hand, this recreational drug is meant to help member of the order to communicate with the spirit guides and spiritual realm

lisa in her diary states she suffered from severe hallucinations that suspiciously clear remind of some otherworld features: insects, blood and pus coming from bathroom faucet. even though the otherworld itself firstly appeared only at the period of game? amount of ptv her organism received only grew over time, maybe it gave her some immune against spiritual realm's invasion and helped visualize true picture of suffering beyond human comprehension in this room

im inclined to think lisa eventually wasn't allowed to leave her work space at hospital's basement at all. guess, it wasn't too difficult for order to manipulate another fact in the face of public to cover lisa's sudden disappear

the thing is, she spent really dangerous amount of time in close proximity with alessa. she felt bad at the first time with constant need to throw up, but i believe her state became only worse because of God's poisonous influence. it caused breakdown of internal organs and gradually, lisa's hair and nails fell off, her skin sloughed off and finally melting flesh dripped off her face and body

and for some reason i was sure the case of lisa's death was drug overdose: by accident or on purpose. but things got more complicated when m. ito confirmed she was actually killed by valtiel. idk what to think abt it maybe an act of mercy ??

so lisa's bloody scene probably was an allusion to her body decaying and falling apart, that is to say, very light version of what could happen to her through the years of nursing her secret patient

and as long as alessa was bedridden for life she was forced to watch how the only sincerely good person in her life turns into a literal piece of meat in due of her mere p r e s e n c e

just by being there, with alessa's body

the order went too far playing with fire, no wonder why alessa acts like this. the only option left for her to prevent the birth of God is destroying the whole town and probably killing every single person in there

because she firmly believed there's a fate worse than death

[yeetlegay]

I have an *controversial* opinion and I'm here to share it. I'm a little bit disappointed with the pool scene. There I said it. I feel like they (and we) were hyping it so much and woo it's crazy scene. And then it came. And with hand on my heart I'd take another "mutual masturbation" over that. Don't get me wrong, it was great but there was something missing.

You’re totally valid anon! I think it can be difficult for a scene with that much hype to live up to expectations, especially when it came like a month later than we thought it would lol. I actually am with you that the ep 7 love scene is hands down still my favorite of the series. The emotional resonance, directing, camerawork, lighting, writing, acting, etc. were absolutely flawless and elevated the whole series for me from an already great show to a genuine revelation in queer media. It might actually be my favorite love scene of any film/show ever, and considering my horny brand y’all can probably guess I’ve seen a lot lol.

Also, the pool scene is interesting bc it doesn’t necessarily feel as intrinsic to the plot as the other love scenes did, which I guess makes sense considering it was more of an impromptu addition rather than a planned part of the narrative. It was a good way to cinch their romantic arc and show the natural cadence of their relationship without external pressures or foils to add tension, but the result was that it felt extraneous in a way the other scenes didn’t. So maybe that’s where some of your disappointment stems from, which is totally understandable.

I liked the scene and have all my usual horny thoughts about it lol but I can totally see why others might think differently and would def agree that from a storytelling perspective, while it certainly added something, it didn’t add as much as prior love scenes so in comparison it might not resonate as strongly for some.

[musical-chick-13]

In GoT, is there an unpopular arc you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

All of them lmao

For the purpose of not choosing the obvious answer of "Jaime going back to KL and not ending up with his fandom-preferred love interest made sense because his arc was never about him becoming a good person, but about accepting that he was a bad one," which I've already talked about at length...

D-n-ys (if I spell out her name I think this post will end up in the tag and I'm not that person) ending her story by becoming The Villain™ made perfect sense to me and actually made me appreciate her as a character infinitely more. I'm already the og Season 8 Apologist, but I will defend this decision specifically.

Every time she took over somewhere or threatened someone to get there, she seemed to...enjoy it? Many of the other characters, even if the decisions they made were sympathetic or understandable in the show's context, faced consequences or censure for any kind of brutality. But not for Dy (that's how I'll refer to her for the rest of this post, again to avoid the tag). Any victory she achieved this way was...celebrated? Almost?

Even when she was talking about or engaging in discussions about reforming the world, it was usually in terms of what she thought was right. And it often accompanied by language indicative of destruction (breaking the wheel, burning things down, etc.). The earliest example of this is probably when KDro (lol at the abbreviations I'm using for people's names to avoid the tags, I'm so sorry) was talking about how brutally he'd subdue the rest of the world, and her response was very much, "Oh, I am into this." She traveled around with what were essentially three sentient WMDs, and she used them to gain ground a lot.

All of which made me interpret this character as...not really wanting the Iron Throne to make the world better, but more just...because it was there? And/or because she could? At the very least her desire for it came across to me as an audience member as more selfish than she was claiming it was.

And after season 1, it was like...she didn't spend too much time in one place or with one problem? People would just randomly follow her even if I couldn't think of any good reason for them to, or toward the end, named characters would follow her not because they thought she'd be A Benevolent Ruler, but because they were either backed into a corner or thought she was the easiest end to their own goals. Most obstacles she encountered would get resolved in one scene or within a couple of episodes, whereas it took the rest of the characters one or two seasons to solve a problem with any degree of finality. Which in a series that served to deconstruct and subvert a lot of usual fantasy story beats (like Plot Armor) and priding itself on showing realistic outcomes, made me sincerely question what the point of this character not suffering pushback/having difficulty achieving her goals was. Why was Dy exempt from the general narrative trajectory befalling the other characters? (Especially since in season 1 she was on the same general path as the other characters in terms of the amount of time and effort it took to solve various problems. And then...it's not like she didn't have obstacles, it's just that they were out of the way almost instantly.)

I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but a character just...getting the things they want with minimal time, struggle (either from external sources or within), or mess is never going to resonate with me. A character who gets that is a form of escapism for many people, and I completely understand that. But for me, escapism comes from people going through hardship and having trouble getting what they want before they finally achieve it. Because life...kind of sucks, if I'm being honest. I struggle with quite a lot of things and so do most of the people I know. Seeing people just get what they want with no struggle doesn't make me feel better, it just makes me feel worse.

And that against the context of everyone else in this fictional universe struggling so much, against the rest of a cast full of extremely relatable and sympathetic characters made more human through their continued struggles, and against the prevailing themes that pursuing absolute power will ruin you and no one should have unilateral control over who lives and who dies...Seeing people willing to just risk everything for her after barely meeting her? (Many times, after seeing her engage in a violent or destructive statement/display?) For her to come into all of these places (even if the general atmosphere was harmful and bad) and have little trouble taking over and getting people to agree that "This is the way things are going to be now"? None of that read to me as "escapist fantasy character," I actually found it very disconcerting.

So, all of this made me go, "But is this really a good idea? What if she changes her mind and the things she wants aren't helpful to anyone other than herself? How altruistic are her goals actually? Should we really give anyone the power to decide how every single person should live their life always?"

I thought it was a pacing issue, and/or just me not seeing eye-to-eye with the writers/GRRM on Dy. But for me to realize that all of this, everything I felt, everything I questioned, was the whole point????? That was an absolutely amazing narrative payoff, and it made me fall in love with the story all over again. It once again drove home to me all of the cool things works of fiction can do.

Because, yes, this IS a deconstruction. If someone came in, got everyone on their side with little-to-no time or discussion or resistance or protest; if someone was able to do everything they want, to make anyone and everyone listen to them; if someone said that they knew better and no one had the power to dispute that claim without putting themselves and their home in jeopardy; if someone was exempt from the "rules" of the world and generally untouchable just because they were The Chosen One?

That would be terrifying.

Sure we can put our complete and total faith and trust in someone with what we consider to be good goals, but what happens if that person's goals stop being "good"? And whose job is it to decide what "good" really means?

Where Dy ended up made perfect sense to me, and recontextualized everything beforehand in a way that made the story seem more complete. Her Villain Arc™ (which I believe, contrary to what I've seen a lot of people say, has been going on since season 2-albeit more subtly) served to uphold the idea, present since the beginning, that a single-minded quest for unbridled power is corruptive, harmful to both oneself and others, and ultimately not worth it.

Being The Chosen One doesn't make you inherently better than anyone else. It doesn't mean that you deserve more, or that you are blessed with a higher level of moral good. It doesn't exempt you from human flaws or criticism or consequences, and it doesn't mean that you are owed a level of happiness or basic respect that other people aren't.

And...I don't know. I guess in a world inundated with stories about how some "chosen" people (usually thin, young, pretty, cis, abled, white ones) are more qualified to lead or are more deserving of the things they want, that their goals mean more, this was a story that I really needed.

As I've said before: this and C/X/G/F (wow, look at me plugging this show in a completely unrelated context) were pretty much Made For Me, in a way that probably won't ever be matched by a piece of media again.

Salty ask list.

[pretty-boy-omar]

Hi there! 🌼

10 months later and still head over heels over Young Royals. 🧡

So what's your story? 🙂 How did you come upon YR? What's resonated the most about the show? What are you looking forward to in S2? Do you have a favorite scene? (This is a toughie lol)

Have a lovely day! 😊

🌼🧡

Omg thanks so much for the ask, I am truly bored despite being busy lmao 😂. I started YR because of Heartstopper. Heartstopper is what I'm really looking forward to and I heard people saying HS fans will like YR too so I watched it and I was so invested, I haven't watched a teenage show in a long time that I super loved. Not that I didnt love HS or Stranger Things (if that even counts). I liked those shows but I didn't really get obsess with those then YR happened and I'm just so 🥺🥰😍🤩💗

I think what I really love about this show is that the characters are complex and felt real despite this just being a teenage show and being about a school full of rich teenagers in nobility which is something I can definitely not relate to 😆 (I'd be honest, this is probably one of the few teenage shows I've watched so I dont have much idea about this. 😅) I'd like to say more about Wilhelm and Simon's character but this is gonna turned into an essay. I do plan to make a youtube video of why Simon is such a comfort character but I'm still making a video of Happier than Ever with Simon and Wilhelm, the focus will be on Simon's POV.

I really hope that Wille will have the courage to come out to anyone and declare that he is wholeheartedly in love with Simon. It didn't need to be a public announcement, just anyone who will realize 'holy shit, this guy's really in love.'

I hope that Sara gets her sense back and realize that August is truly not worth it. I want Wille to hang out more with Simon's friends and I want to meet his friends from his previous school too. What do his friends think of the video? I think Wille's gonna be honest to his friends about what he feels for Simon. How will they react to this?

I need more Felice and I want her to be friends with Wilhelm too. August should definitely pay back for what he did.

While I want Wille to be honest and address his sexuality in public,I just think that this isn't a Red White and Royal Blue story where you can be optimistic about what will happen. For sure, there's gonna be more drama in the 2nd season. I'm so excited for the new characters, hope one of them is Wille's friends

The favorite scene is such a tough question because there's so many, most of them Wilmon moments but I'd go for the football field scene. Wille remembering Simon's number, calling him to confess his feelings and Simon going to the football field so he can save him even if Wille didn't ask. When Wille couldn't believe that he actually came and he couldn't help but hug Simon and call him beautiful. Like, he's so in love. I want that 😭

And Simon's reaction of being genuinely mad and annoyed but concerned for his safety and health which is a pretty realistic reaction on that kind of situation btw. Simon doesn't let Wilhelm calling him beautiful and confessing his love gets on him. He's just focused on getting him out of there. In other movie/series, it would have Simon staring at Wille's eyes while he's on the ground when he calls him beautiful and probably a kiss between the two to make it romantic but for me, the fact that Simon's reaction is realistic makes this scene more romantic.

[s1utspeare]

I was tagged by the lovely, brilliant @foxofninetales, who is the love of my life and i would die for, as well as the incredible @t-eyla, who is single-handed my fueling me, to share my top five creations of this year! which is very exciting!! i love reflecting and looking back on what I've done because it's good to remind ourselves of our accomplishments, big and small!

With the year ending, let's look back at what we did! What are your favorite creations you did or the ones you think deserve more love? Send this to (or tag) five other creators to share the love.

So, a countdown:

5. The DMBJ Theatre AU: I love the theatre AU! I couldn't choose just one because I like all of them, and they're all very fun and silly and self-indulgent. idk i just think i can have a little theatre nostalgia, as a treat.

4. for want of a rope: I've talked about this one before but if you had told me before 2021 that i would one day make a living writing smut i would have probably run away screaming. not only is this smut, but it's threesome smut, and it's kinky?? hello?? i genuinely don't know what i'm doing but this was such a fun challenge and I really enjoyed the process of it.

3. Tianzhen Looks Like Spring and In Your Very First Tomb: two pangxie ficlets that i just really enjoyed writing, especially because they were very spur-of-the-moment. i can literally never find the links when I need them >:( but yeah those were both very poetic enjoyable EDIT: I found links lol

2. The Swiftly Tilting Series: i started this one partially for fun and partially as a challenge to see if I could even write something this complicated and long, and lo and behold, I could! i kind of astounded myself with all of the plotting and worldbuilding I did for this series, and i'm very proud of the work and dedication that i've put into it, and I'm SO EXCITED to round out the WushanCrew's story in 2022!

1. i wish that you would love me: this. this is why I became a writer. this fic, and the ways that it's connected with people, and connected me to other people, has been the best and most wonderful thing that could have happened. It was such a cathartic piece for me to write, and i'm so so happy it could resonate with other people (ngl i was SO nervous to post this bc i was worried that people would not like the ace! Liu Sang headcanon, but then i discovered that like. half the fandom is ace so that was an unfounded worry aldighasldfjlds).

Thank you so much to everyone who has read or commented or kudosed my work this year!! I am so grateful for you and the love you have given me and my writing, and for giving me space to create and learn and grow! i love you <3

tagging @psychic-waffles, @humanlighthouse, @mejomonster, and @daydreamorama, if you haven't already been tagged and would like to do this one!!