#which like you said !!!!!!!! is very!!! interesting in terms of stewy being the one to want him out of the company but also give him drugs.

[pynkhues]

Hi! Just wanted to pop in and mention how much I enjoyed your meta on Kendall and Logan. The line “To give it to Kendall is to let him wear that trauma - a trauma he doesn't understand - like a cloak and tell him it’s a gift.” will live in my head rent free from now.

To piggyback off of the idea you mention towards the end of your post on Kendall’s perceived vulnerability – I think you’re definitely onto something there.

Warning – the rest of this kind of long so feel free not to post publicly but – to my read, so much of Logan is grounded in the trauma of losing his family and I think there’s an echo of that in how he understands and reacts to Kendall. Logan is fearful of losing anyone on anything other than his own terms, and Kendall, by his very nature, evokes some of that fear. Kendall is generally understood within the family to be soft and emotional and by extension vulnerable either to substances, his own mind, or being led astray by ‘dangerous’ figures like Stewy (at least in Logan’s way of thinking, rightly or wrongly).

I think this tends to pluck at Logan’s more protective instincts.  But when Logan exercises that protectiveness, it functionally allows his own ‘vulnerability’ to show through. Logan is generally so reluctant to acknowledge the past, his own traumas, and his perceived weaknesses, that revealing those sides of himself, even indirectly, creates a type of unique connection. Logan might see Kendall’s soft bits, but Kendall gets to see Logan’s too. I think that may be part of what drives the relationship we see between them throughout the show and was the foundation for a certain kind of intimacy and emotional reliance in both directions that deepened and grew over time.

Logan trusts Kendall intimately and lets him in in a way that he can’t with his other children because it would require letting them into a softness or ‘weakness’ he may resent or refuse to acknowledge within himself. He doesn’t want anyone to see those parts of him. But Kendall’s own softness inherently brings that out in him and, although not all the time, it does allow a kind of intimacy to live solely between the two of them. I think it’s this very intimacy that allows Logan to trust Kendall with his pills/health and, ironically, makes him a good pick (in Logan’s mind) for sacrificial lamb at the end of S2.

I don’t think the above is the only driver at play (or even that the characters are aware of any of this), but I think it may be a meaningful one. And while Kendal isn’t Logan’s sole emotional crutch, I think he tends to take the full weight of Logan’s love – which I guess is in and of itself a form of violence because that’s all Logan knows how to give.

[As an aside, I’m endlessly fascinated by Logan’s refusal to lean on Shiv in this particular capacity, which arguably might be expected as she’s his only daughter and yet, I can totally see Logan being completely against the idea of his little girl seeing him with any weakness whatsoever. Just endlessly interesting to chew on Logan’s relationships.]

Hey! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm so glad you've enjoyed some of my meta! It's such a fun show to think and write about, so it's always very lovely to know that people like to read my thoughts too.

I totally agree with everything you've written here. That shared space for vulnerability and intimacy due to the very specific nature of Kendall and Logan's relationship feels really right, and the way that places a unique sort of love and violence at the heart of their dynamic is it's own sort of devastating.

It's interesting too, because I think in some ways that vulnerability also comes out of their respective relationships with the truth.

I said it in a post quite a while ago, but I find there's this really compelling juxtaposition between Kendall and Roman where Kendall can be vulnerable without being honest, while Roman can be honest without being vulnerable. It's a contrast that I think is particularly unique, and it's interesting to look at that against Logan, because Logan's sort of both and neither.

Which makes sense given Logan's relationship with the truth often feels pretty unique too. Logan as a character never seems entirely honest, but he's not really a dishonest character either. His truths seem uniquely tied to time, and a moment of warm and genuine honesty like him telling Shiv that it's her at the summer palace can become a bitter lie in the future.

For Logan, I think truth and honesty has to be tied to the present, because as he says in the show, there's just too much history. The past can be complicated, it can be twisted, it can be marked by your mistakes as much as your successes, sure, but for a character like Logan, the past is also punctuated by unmanaged trauma. As a result, the past for Logan is something that can't be touched, and I think that in s2 in particular is something Logan tries to teach Kendall, sometimes cruelly and sometimes with the only type of kindness Logan knows how to offer.

After all, we know that for Kendall, particularly in s2 and s3, the past is something he can't stop touching. He presses his finger to the bruise of what happened with Doddy repeatedly, and the secret of it does create this further space of intimacy. Kendall won't know until after his father dies that Logan felt responsible for his sister's death, but Logan will die knowing Kendall feels responsible for Doddy and simultaneously tries to alleviate him of the guilt of that while also using it to keep him close.

In some ways, it's a sort of shared trauma that Logan never lets Kendall know is shared at all, but then doesn't that just sum up Logan's relationships in general?

(And yes re: Logan and Shiv! I think the added factor of losing Rose / blaming himself for Rose too is absolutely key in seeming invincible and infalliable to Shiv in particular, which is another really interesting thing to consider).

[vaguelyprophetic]

ok okay so stewy hosseini thoughts/general headcanons? because that man is the love of my life and he does not get the recognition and attention he deserves!!! What’s your hc sexuality for him? What’s his family like? Is he close with them? We are completely disregarding the “his family was in the oil business” hc so what do you think, are his family similar to Logan in how they built the success, the complete opposite? Anything and everything you think about this man, let us know!! Did he ever have a crush on Ken when they were younger? Fuck it, whose his celebrity crush? Does he totally judge Kendall for his music playlist does his Spotify wrapped actually look the same as Ken’s? What’s his love language? Does he believe in love or has he always been a no commitment-hook up kinda a guy? Some general stewyroman hc’s as well because I cannot resist. Because if the writers of Succession will not give us these details, dammit we have to do it ourselves! (also, yes yes to your comment about him having sisters)

I am kissing you DIRECTLY on the mouth for sending this ask bc holy fuck I love stewy so much and he needs all of the attention in the world. a lot of my thoughts about stewy come from what arian has said about him in interviews and online, but I also have my own ideas about him!!!! putting it under a read more because this is way longer than I thought it'd be lol

first of all that man is gay. 100% homosexual kinsey six has never had interest in a woman GAY. I don't see how there can be any other interpretation of him.

his family is VERY intriguing to me. arian has said that he has an idea of what stewy's backstory is but that he didn't want to discuss it in canon, so we'll never know for sure. my personal headcanon is that stewy's parents are immigrants and that he's first-gen -- I think his parents and his older sister came to the US from iran a few years before stewy was born. I don't want to speak to an experience that I know nothing about so I won't expand too much, but that's just my basic idea! he 100% grew up with sisters -- one older, one younger (yes he's a middle child. I know he is). I think there's probably like a 4-5 year age gap between each of them, maybe slightly more between stewy and his older sister. he had the experience of being the Only Boy in his family, which I think makes sense for how he acts in canon lol.

and he's close with his family!! absolutely!! it's fascinating to me that we now have canon info about stewy's dad -- that he's still alive and older than logan by like 10-12 years. but that's all we know! I think he's also very close with his mom (only son = total mama's boy) and his sisters. he texts his sisters at least every other day and I just KNOW that man is an uncle and absolutely spoils his sisters' kids.

I do think his family is well-off, but definitely not roy levels of rich. they had enough money to send stewy to buckley, which is a ridiculously elite and expensive school, so clearly they were at least relatively wealthy. maybe his dad was also involved in business, similar to logan, but just not at the same tier. I think probably his fam made enough money to get their kids started off and then stewy was able to take his share of it and make himself ridiculously rich.

I think stewy had feelings for kendall when they were younger in the way that queer kids always have crushes on their best friends but don't really understand it. and that probably lasted until they were in college -- stewy always knew that there was no chance, but it didn't stop him from having those feelings :( but I think that when they went to harvard he was able to start meeting other people and having his first few relationships with guys and eventually got over his childhood crush.

I think he's not really a relationship guy in the sense that he's never had a serious, long-term relationship, but that he doesn't really feel like he's missing out on anything. his mindset is just that if he meets the right person, then that's great, but if not, then he's fine on his own, too. and hmmm I think that his love language in terms of how he shows love is through gift giving and quality time. he just likes to be around people he likes and is also a master at gift giving -- he knows exactly what people want and always finds something that's very high quality without being so expensive that it's a stupid purchase. and on the receiving end I think he's a physical touch and words of affirmation type of guy :) he's a cuddler for sure.

I could keep going on about him forever and ever but I think I'll stop there for now lol. please keep sending asks though!!!!!! I have so many thoughts abt stewy hosseini and I am so happy that people want to hear them <3

[stewyhosseini-bf]

okay YEAH. All of this.

Kendall truly, in his mind, does see it as a choice which. I mean. The idea of 'I can quit whenever I want' and so on, that's not necessarily specific to him. But there's something else there, too, that you mentioned at the end. That he says he's 'interested in becoming a meth-head', that his family shows him attention, whether positive or negative, when he starts using drugs again. But also how in Austerlitz, he says 'I'm off my nut ... your dreams have come true' to Logan. Or I even have to think of that scene in This Is Not For Tears when Roman compliments him for doing good in front of Congress, and Kendall's answer to that. (he wants, chooses to take on this role). And of course the falling off his floatie thing, blaming the whole thing on having taken something/having been drunk and acting like it had nothing to do with what was going on outside of that. It's like. If he chooses the weakness (taking drugs) he's not actually weak. Because he's actively choosing it, because he could stop anytime. So when he takes drugs and then 'falls off his floatie', that doesn't have to mean anything in his mind, because taking drugs and being weak was a choice, and the rest just an unfortunate, meaningless consequence of that.

But also when he's weak, he can allow himself to be cared for, to an extent. He can even ask for help, or at least admit he's hurting. In Austerlitz he feels betrayed by his family, which is when he starts using again. He not only wants to feel better, but he wants to make bad choices, and maybe for them to see how hurt he is, because he has no other way of voicing that or reaching out. In Prague it's the same thing with Stewy. He 'chooses' to be weak (as a direct consequence of feeling betrayed and hurt and sad. and already feeling powerless and weak after the failed coup, and he spins it in a way where he's yeah. not weak but in his mind choosing to be weak, and thereby it's okay or he doesn't feel as powerless)

It's of course also significant that, after a while, it becomes apparent, that it's (no longer) a choice: In 1x9 already but of course most apparently/significantly in 1x10 where he almost begs Stewy for a straightener and goes to the lenghts he goes to to find what he needs. The irony that it's during this scene, where him having succumbed to the addiction leads him where it has (into a car with a stranger leaving his sister's wedding to get drugs) that he says addiction is a choice he makes when he wants to feel weak, and that he's not addicted anymore, is. well.

Idk. feel like i'm talking in circles but.. lots of interesting thoughts!

I needed to feel weak. what the fuck, btw

[zalrb]

i can't believe someone came after succession's acting! i thought everyone could admit that its a well acted show, lol i was so shocked when i realized the guy who plays tom also played mr. darcy in pride and prejudice. but anyway do you think that as a whole they have cast chemistry? like every dynamic has the exact chemistry they're supposed to have?

it's really funny that people know macfayden as mr. darcy because i know him from this mini series called pillars of the earth so to me he's always a friar

but yeah going after jeremy’s acting had me like, interesting, i understood where they were coming from in the fact that i think their issue is actually with kendall as a character and that jeremy inhabits that so completely it can be difficult to realize how good he is -- even though he should probably ease on the method acting, haha.

but yeah in terms of chemistry, i think everyone gels the way they’re supposed to gel onscreen, even before i got into succession and was like i can’t watch it, i can’t watch it whenever someone asked me about sibling chemistry, if i remembered succession, i would always go to shiv and roman in episode 2

so i liked when sarah snook said they kept doing the scene over and over and then kieran asked her if he could slap her for real during one take and she said ok and so he did and then something in her reacted the way you would to a sibling and she just went after him

she was like you can see it in my eyes i just turned

and they just started wrestling the way siblings would and that’s the take they used and it makes sense because that scene is really organic.

roman and gerri definitely do the flirty vibe well, with gerri being kind of derisive but more into it than she’s willing to admit and roman being very much into it and not knowing what to do with himself

and once again that was organic, they both said that when the cameras started rolling, they just ended up flirting with each other, it came naturally to them and it shows

jeremy gels well with both sarah and kieran and alan ruck plays the outlier of connor well with the rest of them, like they’re all clearly siblings but it’s also clear that they respond to connor differently than they do with each other.

but you know even kendall and rava, i totally believe they were married, they do ‘knowing’ so well with each other

stewie and kendall have a rhythm that really works

shiv and nate definitely have flirty, sexual chemistry

tom and greg ... i just don’t see them having this romantic or sexual or flirty chemistry, which is why i don’t ship them, the most i can say is i see him being possessive of greg as “something” that’s his when he is navigating a family who looks down on him, he’s slowly falling out of love with his wife and he feels like greg belongs to him, but i don’t find it sexual or romantic? but they definitely work well together and are compelling onscreen together

[mermaidsirennikita]

do you have any head canons on the roy kids childhood?

Yes for sure!  I think more teenhood than anything else, but this is what I’ve got.

I think that Connor was probably fairly close to his mother, who was, yes, most likely mentally ill–but also probably pushed semi-purposefully to some pretty dark places by Logan.  I tend to feel like Caroline was a domino effect kind of second wife–Logan was fucking her while married to Connor’s mother.  I feel like Connor was alienated from his father because he was a part of the starter marriage and the “defective” wife.  His mom probably leaned on him a lot and that warped him a little too; being her emotional crutch.  We now know she was most likely institutionalized, but I don’t know if she’s still alive?  Or if she perhaps killed herself?  That would be… very dark for Roman to offhandedly joke about, but it is Succession.  Imo, Connor was probably kind of distant from his younger siblings and the fact that their mother and in turn they essentially supplanted his family is always going to be a pain point.

Connor probably didn’t go to boarding school as young as the trio, because I don’t think Logan had QUITE made it to where is today when Connor was a kid…  Imo his marriage to Caroline was probably a transition into that.  So Connor probably went to boarding school in like, middle-high school, while the younger three went from a very young age and were raised by nannies.  Connor was probably like, a rich drug dealer type kid and MAAAAYBE like dealt his mom’s prescription meds along with some herbal shit.  Which, come to think of it, is probably some of the first shit Kendall tried.

Roman probably tried drugs in middle/high school but never got that hardcore into it because Kendall’s got enough years on him where I think the issues were already starting to show…  Like, I’ve known people who became addicts in their early teens and are still addicts into their 40s, and I tend to feel like Kendall is probably that kind of person.  Imo, his coke habit was definitely crystallized during like, summer vacations and shit like that.  Also, not sure if it’s been defined exactly how long he and Stewy have known each other, but if they knew each other in boarding school, they definitely did that “just two straight bros jerking each other off” thing… a few times. 

Shiv was never really into drugs as a teen, it’s never been her thing.  I feel like she was actually a very conventional rich little princess daddy’s girl type basically up until she went to college and hurtled into a years-long granola phase that is only somewhat tempered by the time we meet her in the pilot.  I think she probably wore a ton Caroline Kennedy-esque looks.  She focused on her language classes, rebelling in subtle rich girl type of ways–like sneaking her boyfriends into the school dormitories.  She probably did some weirdly rebellious fucked up shit, like fucking her boyfriend on the couch when “no one was home”, but really she knew that at least one of her brothers was down the hall, JUST to get Logan’s attention???  But in terms of outward appearances, she was a princess.  She’s never gotten along with her mom, really, and the knockdown dragout fight shit started when she was like… 10.  

Obviously, they were all desperate for their father’s love and also hated that they were desperate for their father’s love.  But to outside eyes, they probably came off as typically preppy asshole rich kids.  They all wore a fuck ton of Ray-Bans.  Connor would share his cigarettes with Kendall and Roman when they were like… way too young.  Think 10-12-ish.  But there weren’t that many ways for him to bond with them, because he was always a little separate.  I do think he really loves them deep down, but he’s not able to express that in a way, there’s this wall there.

The brothers definitely ganged up on Shiv, and based off their behavior around Tom it was probably in really weird ways, like… high-fiving the dudes who’d come to pick her up for prom, saying snarky shit when she wore short skirts.  Basically nobody knew how to drive, of course (that came later, and like, apparently it wasn’t that successful).  They were all aware of when Logan would fuck the nanny or Shiv’s horseback instructor, and they would often go out to the pool house and pass a joint around to avoid Logan and Caroline’s fighting.  (And for that matter, Shiv and Roman both knew waaaaay before either of their parents that Kendall’s coke addiction had progressed to like, nosebleeds during math class bad.  But they didn’t say anything, just gave him shit about it.)  Most likely, there were occasions when Roman got in trouble by running his mouth.  Kendall (and occasionally MAYBE Connor) would never actually beat anyone up for him, but he’d either pay the person who Roman was in trouble with off or pay someone else to beat him up.

Kendall was definitely in a garage band of some kind.  (But as we know now HE REALLY WANTED TO BE A RAPPER.)  They all had to learn an instrument, but all of them sucked at it.  I feel like Roman probably did some really weird needy sibling with separation anxiety (from being put in a dog crate) things that he got a lot of shit for?  Like he probably would sleepwalk… And then Kendall or Shiv would wake up and he’d be like, asleep on top of them.  Not in a sexual way, he’d just be like… asleep…  But he’d be like 13 SO IT WAS KINDA WEIRD.

Kendall and Shiv are two sides of the same coin, imo, so they were hypercompetitive for a while until she started to break off from the family business endgame and he started to be be obsessive about it.  They probably compared test scores from a young age.  But they also have a way of communicating while barely speaking and exchanging minor visual cues.  Like, I think each of the siblings, especially the trio, have this with each other on some level but imo you take Kendall and Shiv and it’s very different from like, the “oh they love each other deep down��� bond that Kendall and Roman have.  It’s definitely this sense of them both wanting Logan’s love so badly and both having a drive to succeed–like I’ve said before, they’re his top dog children battling it out for who’s gonna be the alpha and who’s gonna be the beta.  While Roman and Connor’s issues are very different.  So while I feel like Roman was probably already covering for Kendall’s damage from a young age and noticing it, and Shiv was someone he could have weirdly honest moments with where they said nothing and then hated each other the next day.  Like oh let’s sit at the pool together and quietly soak up the misery of never being good enough for Dad and maybe you squeeze my hand for a second but then tomorrow we’re gonna be back to competing intensely.

Also, there were definitely perverse “contests”.  Like, Roman stretched the million dollar home run thing because he’s Roman, but Logan would definitely do shit like “last one there is WALKING HOME” and “the one who eats the most ice cream without throwing up gets to go to work with me tomorrow”.  Connor bowed out of this shit fairly early?  But he’d also secretly wish that he could get in on it without looking weirder than he already did.

And finally: Connor Roy was interested in politics from a young age.

[katesattic]

Sanders Sides: Voices

So I do still want to post that Analysis video of the latest Sanders Sides episode but I am way to sick to think about editing right now, so I’m back to my preferred medium: writing.

I really want to talk about the different voices Thomas employs for his various characters (the Sides being the most prominent and recurring ones) and I kind of just glossed over it in the video I made. I said something like it was cool, considerable attention to detail, and making the characters feel unique. But I want to take the time to go more in-depth with it. So here I am, writing this on my phone to be drafted and spell-checked later.

A Nod to the Shorts

First things first, this is not something exclusive to the Sides. Thomas has pretty much been doing this since his start on Vine. Whether it was an impression or a nametag character (e.g. Sleep or Brain), Thomas has been employing this technique in some fashion. You wouldn’t confuse Moon for Sleep because they have very different vocal habits as well as personalities.

In his impressions, he would obviously be trying to imitate a certain voice. And he would do his best to match it. His Stewie is spot-on as is his Brian (but to be fair his natural speaking voice is very similar to Seth MacFarlane’s natural speaking voice). But you can also spot changes in his voice for his original characters. The theatric nature of his voice is probably most prominent in series such as Narrating People’s Lives and when he takes on the role of a film or radio announcer in his shorts. Tone and inflexion are also a very important aspect of misleading compliments. The variation and the patterns present in Thomas’s voice are vast in his catalogue of videos, but I want to focus on the Sides.

an aside: I don’t know what it is about the way Thomas portrays Sleep, but he reminds me of the sassy gay bestfriend from a 90s sitcom. {And that might make me love the character of Sleep even more.}

My True Self

By this point, the three characters had already appeared in Thomas’s Vines. Yet the differences in their voices aren’t really present yet. As Thomas previously said, Roman’s voice had already been developed by this time thanks to his princely role in Into the Woods. Roman was also a very prolific character in Thomas’s vines, which allowed Thomas more time to perfect his voice.

Logan and Patton however, had very similar voices. Neither was truly unique or as iconic as their present voices. Logan’s voice is the most drastically different of the three Sides introduced in this video. Between the two of them Patton’s voice was closer to how it currently sound, I think the main difference is that it’s gotten even more bubbly and energetic as time has gone on. Logan’s voice, however, was very similar to both Thomas’s and Patton’s. It’s less stoic and sardonic than the voice we’ve come to associate with him. The most I can really say about Logan’s voice during this time is that it was plain and kind of forgettable.

Taking on Anxiety

Virgil came into the series with an already defined voice. Granted it was a bit more ... villainous (for lack of a better word) in his introduction. But even if the cadences of his voice weren’t exactly the way we expect to see them today, his voice was distinct because of his attitude. He’s the sass and snark master, and able to give as much as he takes from Roman. They have a frenemies/good cop, bad cop relationship with each other. Maybe that’s what gives them great chemistry (romantic or not).  Note the subtle changes in Virgil’s voice when he speaks to the other Sides though. He’s softer with the other two, especially Patton. Even with Patton, there’s a certain roughness, or grainy quality, to his voice that I just love.

Jumping forward to “Can Lying Be Good?” you can very clearly see the changes in both Virgil’s voice and attitude when he’s talking to Deceit versus Patton.  There is obvious hostility in his voice when addressing Deceit. Virgil's voice wasn't hostile towards Roman in his early episodes, sure, there was banter, but there was never out-right loathing. 

Moving back to “Moving On”, in part two especially, Virgil’s voice comes off as almost demonic. Whether that is a result of another Side corrupting him or a moment of pure anxiety overcoming Thomas, is not for this analysis to discuss but I am curious to know if we’ll ever hear more of this voice (by Virgil or another Side).

A New Year of Lying to Myself ... in Song

Can you believe this is only the fourth video in the Sanders Sides series? And Logan was absent from the previous two. So let me just say that by this point, all the voices have been cemented. Logan is back, and so is the voice we’ve come to love. Sure, he doesn’t speak much. I mean most of this video is spent in song, but we do see certain qualities in Logan’s voice to which we’ve become accustomed.

Also, hey, I think this is the first video with all four of the main Sides together, so that’s awesome.

Moving On

I’d like to take the time here to go more into detail about Patton’s voice. I’ve gone into details with the other three, so allow me to go more in-depth here. 

While Patton’s voice was cemented well before this video, this is the first episode where we see a different side to Patton. We see his other emotions, not just the silly and happy feelings, but the sad and longing ones. We see Patton pining for Thomas’s lost love, and unable to move on from the break-up. And along with this new sad Patton, we get a new sound to his voice. The moment that sticks out to me the most is the moment where he pleads with Logan to stop. The pain in his voice is so real and just thinking about it is making me tear up a bit. Conversely, Patton’s voice also becomes overly silly during these moments of duress. Also rewatching this episode, I realise that there’s a certain Roman Quality to Patton’s voice. The slightest hint of a quasi-British accent, particularly when Patton's giving deep and insightful advice.

This whole analysis is less about what the Sides are saying than how they are saying it. And I don’t think there could be a more obvious example than this two-part episode. In preparation for this analysis I’ve been listening to the videos - not watching them - but listening to them. And just from listening, you can hear th hesitation in Patton’s voice when the time comes to enter his room.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is, that all you need is the audio and you can instantly differentiate the characters without even seeing their faces.

Can Lying Be Good?

No, no it cannot, but a new character with an amazingly distinct voice is. Deceit’s voice is incredible! Absolutely chilling! And I love it so much. I remember when ”Patton’s” voice changed, the first time I watched, when Deceit was revealed, I genuinely thought that it was being dubbed over the other character. Seriously, I just assumed one actor dubbed over the voice of another (similar to how Thomas dubs his voice over Joan’s while Roman has shapeshifted into Joan). It throws me every time I watch it. I assume it’s someone else’s voice rather than Thomas’s.

Additionally, when Deceit is disguised as Patton before he reveals himself, you can tell Patton’s voice is ... off. The first time you watch the episode, you can’t seem to tell what exactly is off about Patton. His voice is a strange mix between Patton’s eccentric vocal habits and Thomas’s natural speaking voice. I can’t be sure if this was a subconsious thing or a deliberate change Thomas made but it’s nuance is nothing shy of perfection.

The suspension of disbelief is so strong when it comes to the Sides that I genuinely forget that all these characters are being portrayed by the same gay (this was a typo, but I’m keeping it). And not only are all these characters, being portrayed by the same guy, they are also voiced by that same guy as well.

Sides Aside

Seriously, Sides aside, I love Thomas’s voice and headphones truly enhance all the minor features present within it. So here we go ...

THIS MAN IS A SIREN. You don’t have to experience sexual or romantic attraction to men to know that this man sings the siren’s song. I don't know how to adequately explain Thomas's voice. It's magic? It’s soft and low? There’s a gentle yet grainy element to his voice. I’m trying to come up with terms outside the scope of someone who’s interested in linguistics and phonology. And am really struggling to express how his voice sounds. Like, there’s something so comforting and soothing about his speaking voice, and his singing voice amplifies that tenfold.

OK, so I have this playlist of two songs ("The Things We USed to Share" and his cover of "Snow in Venice") which I just play on repeat the entire night ... what I'm trying to say is: I'm biased. My default to describing his voice is magical and comforting. I'm very fond of bass and baritone singers, and I absolutely love when they hit the low notes so  ... I'm biased. 

I guess the whole point of this analysis is for me to just talk in length about how amazingly talented this dude is.  He has an incredible vocal range, in both the acting and singing departments. His characters are distinct, in voice and personality and his humour is never lost, no matter how serious the topic. Long story short, this g(a/u)y's amazing, and I'm a fucking fangirl.

[english201newsfeed-blog]

A Male’s Review of Modern Media

Editor’ Note: We decided to use this format for many reasons. By doing a Buzzfeed like format we felt like we were able to be freer with our writing. We felt like being a little more informal with our writing could be interesting, especially since all of the papers that we decided to review were about shows on Netflix or movies that were very popular. By using shows and movies that people have easy access to, it made it easier for us to write about it because we know that people could read our review and go check out the show or movie without any problems. Also, being a little more informal with our writing made it easy on us because we had less restrictions on what we couldn’t write compared to a different magazine like The New York Times. When we decided to target the teenage to mid-twenties audience, we did so for many reasons. First, we felt like with the reviews that we chose to do, those shows and movies were primarily watched by that age group. Also, most kids that age have Netflix and the shows that we reviewed are on Netflix. Lastly, this is the age group that we are in so we felt like we could relate more easily to that age group. “A Male’s Review of Modern Media”, which is our magazine, covers many different shows and movies and should be relatable for everyone

Mad Max Fury Road

The Overview

Mad Max Fury Road is certainly not for the faint of heart. The scenes are graphic and take a serious turn to action movie expectations. The world of savages hunting each other while racing to the capital is certainly different from your average pistol shooting, buildings being blown to pieces action movie. There are characters that bring the fight no matter what gender they are. From Max to the Brides, from inner personal struggles to physical fighting everyone will fight the biggest fight since the apocalypse that had hit Mankind.

The Review

After watching a post-apocalyptic world being taken over by a leader who kind of reminds this world of Kim Jong-un, I am absolutely amazed of how George Miller directed this masterpiece. The film was different from the action we as an audience is used to. Yes the usual blowing things up and blood and gore is what is aimed at when making such a film but Mad Max Fury Road has a different twist to it. Furiosa who is the main role in the film is a women. Now even though the film has the name of Mad Max the women are the ones who take the charge as the leaders of the group to take over the capital. It is not every day when there is a level of insanity in a world of chaos much less seeing a group of nobodies trying to save a world lead by a woman and her sidekicks who are also strong independent women.

The Final Decision

Even though the Film Mad Max Fury Road has a few graphic qualities that may make an audience feel uncomfortable such as scenes of women breast feeding or just the usual blood and gore, the fellowship of men, women, and radioactive mutants all race to maintain what they think is right. There were no parts in the film where it was boring but just right. The director slowed down the tempo just right when it needed to be slowed or speed it up when necessary. I as an audience member recommend this film to mature audiences as an action-packed film with a twist in character roles in a multi genre film to excite everyone until the last second.

Reviewed by Bryar Stemrich

The Ranch

The Overview

The Ranch has an origin or a small town in Colorado. Now when thinking of a small town they are mostly thought of as one or two gas stations, a few small stores, and maybe a singular grocery store, other than that there is nothing but farm fields and a small community. The Netflix original stars Colt Bennet played by Ashton Kutcher who was a prosperous football in that small town in Colorado. Colt has returned to Garrison Colorado because of a tryout from a local semi pro football team. Colts father who is Beau Bennet played by Sam Elliot is not Happy That Colt is home because of Colt abandoning his father ranch for something better. Colt turns down the offer to play for the semi pro team and continues to work on the ranch with his father and brother while experiencing romantic relationships with wild twists along the way.

The Review

The small town of Garrison Colorado has a western vibe that has a lot of grit with no back talk. The show The Ranch tends to break gender roles by showing that the woman grew up on the hard farm life just like the men have. The women drive pickup trucks and drink hard liquor. While doing these things the women all have the same attitude, that attitude is not caring one bit about what other people think of them. The men take a silly twist when referring to certain things like the continuation of the obsession with Ugg boots and how the men mostly Beau and Colt love these styles of boots. All in all, the show The Ranch exemplifies the true and maybe not so true nature of the wild west with a funny sitcom.

The Final Decision

Netflix has many shows that are cherished in the hearts of other but The Ranch makes for a great show that I as well as many other would recommend for mature audiences. There are a few moments in the series that would not make sense or take a very awkward turn in the plot but other than those minor instances the funny romantic journey of the Bennett’s continues to impress all around. Two thumbs up!

Reviewed by Bryar Stemrich

Family Guy

The Overview 

Family Guy is without a doubt one of the most popular adult cartoons on television. It is quite funny at times and will make you laugh at stupid humor. Peter Griffin and Lois Griffin have three kids and a dog. They have a daughter Meg, a son Chris, and another son Stewie, who is a baby, and a talking dog Brian. The show revolves around Peter getting himself into very odd and humorous situations that often cause his family a great amount of stress.

The Review

The show has its high points, but it also has its flaws. Family Guy is quite possibly one of the most sexist shows on television. Peter is constantly making sexist remarks and doing very sexist things. The show has multiple female characters who are all stay at home moms. Also, the show follows the blueprint of many other adult cartoons where there is a dumb, fat, drunk dad with an attractive wife and three kids. This blueprint has become the backbone for most of the shows that are similar to Family Guy. The amount of sexist things that happen in this show are astonishing. There is a sexist remark in basically every single episode. The show fails multiple times to break typical gender stereotypes but fails every time. It has the chance to leave gender stereotypes and sexism behind it but it continues to use it as a form of comedy. With that being said, Family Guy has failed to catch up and join us in the twenty-first century and leave those stereotypes in the past and give some of their female characters a role other than stay at home mom. The sooner that they catch up, the sooner they may gain even more of an audience than they already have now. With the removal of stereotypes Family Guy could gain more women who watch the show or gain more people who just do not agree with the things that they say on their show.

The Final Decision

While the show is funny, it can be highly offensive at times. I would not recommend it to viewers who do not want to watch animated sexism. If you want a quick laugh, the show does have some funny moments that are not sexist. If you can fight through the sexist jokes then you might actually enjoy the stupid humor in Family Guy.

Reviewed by Nick Marvin

Burn Notice

The Overview:

Michael Weston, a spy, got fired, or well as they say in the spy world, he got burned. The CIA dumped him in Miami, Florida, his hometown, with no cash, no credit, and no job history. He becomes a private eye with the skills he picked up as a CIA Operative. With the help of his old friend Sam Axe, and his “trigger-happy” ex-girlfriend Fiona, he makes people’s problems go away. But when he’s done, Michael’s biggest problem becomes finding out who burned him and trying to get back into the game.

The Review:

Fiona Glenanne, Michael’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend, portrays a character that defies the gender stereotypes shown on most television shows. According to her character bio on USA Networks website, she is called “a shoot first and ask questions later kind of gal with a fearless nature that’s both enticing and dangerous.” She worked for the IRA (Irish Republican Army) for many year and has great “explosives, lock picking, tracking, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat to make a living” skills.

Glenanne’s character is one who defies the stereotypes many female characters show on televisions. Most of the time you see her on screen, she is either handling weapons or talking about them. She is a very strong women character, who can live without a man, shown in the third and the fourth seasons. In the very first episode, she said, “Should we shoot them?” which became her catchphrase throughout the whole series. Contrary to gender stereotypes in television shows, Burn Notice’s Fiona Glenanne defies those by the words she uses, the actions she takes, and the utter fact that she knows how to use all types of weapons.

The Final Decision:

Burn Notice is a great show that shows women can be the powerful ones in society at certain points. For the seven seasons, 111 episodes, and one made-for-television movie, Burn Notice showed what is it like to have everything, then have nothing and try to find out who and why you no longer live the life you once lived. The show is one that had a great audience and got to go out on their own terms, meaning that after the seventh season they decided to end it themselves, not the network cancelling it. Overall, I would recommend Burn Notice as it is a great show to that shows the many sides of the life working for the government and then trying to build life back up.

Reviewed by Spencer DuPuis

Steven Universe

The Overview:

The show Steven Universe is about how the Crystal Gems protect the world from evil. They have powers that come from their gemstones, which are magical gems that are implanted into the character’s body. There are four in the Crystal Gem family: Amethyst, Garnet, pearl, and Steven, along the way Peridot joined them. Steven is interesting as he is half-Gem, half-human who got his gemstone from his mother, Rose Quartz, she gave up being able to be a gemstone to make Steven. The shows follows Steven trying to find out what his gem does while helping the other Crystal Gems.

The Review:

It is important for young boys to see male characters show emotion because it lets them know it is actually okay. Most shows only have women showing emotion and makes showing emotion seem as a “girly” thing to do. As well as show a different side to a male character that could actually make it relatable to society as it is today.

It is also important for young girls to see complex, strong female characters because some shows just portray them as the gender stereotype for women, but now a days, women are shown that they have more ability to things males would usually do.

The Final Decision:

This is a very interesting show, as it is animated show on Cartoon Network, it has some parts in it that are not necessarily for kids, as it seems as if the show is very obsessed with the LGBT+ community, which is a lot for a little kid to understand. But with that said, I would recommend this show as it portrays gender roles very well, especially since its target audience is children.

Reviewed by Spencer Dupuis

Supernatural

The Overview

Supernatural is a show about two brothers who hunt monsters, while tracking down their father, and trying to save innocent people caught in the crossfire.

The Review

While the plot of Supernatural is very entertaining and keeps the attention of the viewers, it does have flaws. The one major flaw of the show that almost all critics of the show will point out is the lack of female characters. While there are some female characters on the show, they almost always end up dead. Their deaths aren’t easy either. Most of the time they are killed in a very gruesome way. With the exception of a few recurring female characters, most of the cast is made up of males. The two stars of the show, Sam and Dean Winchester, are two very masculine characters. They are masculine in their own ways but they are both very rugged, tough, handsome men. Supernatural falls short in the category of gender, not having many female characters and having cookie cutter, typical male characters.

The Final Decision

Supernatural is a great show like I previously stated. The plot is good, the actors are great, and the show is good visually. It is just lacking some gender diversity. It would be nice to see more females and to see some not so masculine male characters. So, if you are looking for a good show to watch and don’t mind the gender issues then Supernatural is the show for you. But, if you do not want to watch a male dominated show filled with toxic masculinity, Supernatural may not be your cup of tea.  

Reviewed by Nick Marvin

Jessica Jones

The Overview

Jessica Jones is a dark and gritty superhero show that features a leading women of which the show is named for. Jessica is a private detective with superhuman strength among other abilities that has a very troubled past. These events that only get pieced together as you watch the show and give an insight to her behaviors.

The Review

This show is as much of a drama as it is an action show and this is something that allows it to appeal to a wide range of audiences. This past is a big motivator of her actions and a source of growth and development for her as she continues to take jobs as a private eye. The overarching story is good and everyone is interesting setting a common theme of complex and convincing characters.

The Final Decision

Jessica Jones is not only an entertaining show that anyone can enjoy, but one with a purpose and message. A strong female is center stage and she is not only showing that she is tough, but also capable of overcoming anything. So regardless of what you are looking for out of a television show, Jessica Jones is unlikely to disappoint.

Reviewed by Shawn Ross

New Girl

The Overview

New Girl is a comedic sitcom documenting the lives of Jess, Nick, Winston, and Schmidt roommates in an apartment that often find themselves in romantic situations. Jess is a school teacher that discovered her boyfriend cheating on her forcing the change in her living situation. The guys were reluctant to have a woman move in, however Schmidt, the lady’s man was quick to welcome Jess after hearing about her model friend Cece setting up all the events to come.

The Review

This show is based on a familiar premise that many sitcoms have used, however New Girl has a talent for creating multidimensional characters that break the normal molds so many are used to. It is also excellent at creating relationships between these characters that the audience can care about and be excited at the development of.

The Final Decision

You will find a refreshing look on the portrayal of male characters in sitcoms and be entertained the whole time by spectacular comedy making this a show I wholeheartedly recommend.

Reviewed by Shawn Ross

[yatterzuk]

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap

Hey there Clammers!

TinyCo announced recently that they wanted to try out a Live Q&A on their Facebook Page, and a bit like their previous Reddit AMA  there were mixed feelings about them doing this, but I think it was long overdue that they reach out to the community again and as much as this didn’t go quite as I’d hoped, (more on that later), hopefully it’s a start.

For those of you who missed the Q&A, it was live on Monday 20th March, and you can still watch it in full via TinyCo’s official Family Guy Quest For Stuff Facebook page, but incase you don’t want to go there, I’m going share my thoughts on what was a rather unusual Live Q&A for me.

THE TINYCO TEAM

Left to Right we have: Jason (Lead Artist); Jay (Lead Producer); Kimberley (Narrative Designer); Damon (Animator) and Kate (Lead Community Support).

THE LIVE Q&A – MY THOUGHTS

Now this was a 30 minute forum, and I’m not going to sit and do a word by word transcript as I’m not sure who would lose the will to live first, me writing it or you reading it. Instead I’m going pull out and highlight any interesting info and just give my general thoughts on what worked in this format, and of course what didn’t.

I’m going to be straight up honest before we go much further and say I was disappointed by the way the Live Q&A went, and I don’t mean due to the comments and questions being hijacked by trolls. No, it was the fact that from the outset this whole Live Q&A came over as very scripted, like when politicians give a Live Q&A briefing but the questions have actually been wrote by their own team and the answers rehearsed earlier, this just lacked the spontaneity i associate with a Live Q&A. I’m sorry TinyCo but this was the way it came across, the questions were too much about the Team and not the game. And that’s not the type of questions we see day in day out from players.

There was possibly too much talk about who the guyswere, where they came from and the Family Guy show rather than the game itself, after half an hour of listening I feel I learned very little about the game I didn’t already know but I sure as hell felt like I’d known the TinyCo guys all my life. I felt by the time things ended I wanted get them all friendship bracelets as a token of my affection, lol. And hey, maybe that was the point of it, so we’d get to know them as people and not just TinyCo employees, and hey they all seemed awfully nice but by doing this the Live Q&A lacked spontaneity, fun, the unexpected and the down right bizarre that anything linked to Family Guy usually demands.

It also seemed to lack a lot of player questions, the whole point of going live is to answer questions that aren’t only asked before but actually asked live on the timeline, encouraging quick fire and fun responses. Check out this Addicts LIVE stream to see what I mean. Instead I sensed some nerves from the guys, although not the gals, and pre-rehearsed responses to pre-set questions. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case but it’s certainly how it came across listening to it live.

So that’s my main criticism, and as this was a first outing I can forgive that, I guess some performance nerves combined with not knowing what to expect from what can at times be a very hostile Facebook audience, probably made this a who drew the short straw jaunt for the guys we got to meet. But on my 2nd, and 3rd listen of the Live Q&A  I started to look past this and pull out little bits of info I thought players might want to hear about, and yes I’m going share them with you soon.

I’m also hoping if you watched the Live Stream you’d give us your thoughts in the comments. But please no hating, this isn’t what this post is about, it’s about saying a little Thanks to the TinyCo guys for making the effort but also telling them what worked and what didn’t in order when the next Live Q&A happens we might see more of our questions and less strategically planned answers. Also we might see a bit more interaction with what’s going on on Facebook as they chat, I’d have loved for one the guys to have joked about sending them some love and likes as that sea of little angry faces ran across the bottom of my Facebook screen. You know an instant reaction but in a joking way, jesting with us, playing with us, truly interacting with us. Even a “hey you guys, stop mocking us” in their best Stewie voice. Sometimes it’s ok to show us you’re only human after all…..

THE LIVE Q&A – WHAT THE TINYCO TEAM TOLD US

Well they told us a lot about themselves, which I’m guessing most of you don’t want to know so I’ll try to be brief. But suffice to say, although they weren’t jumping up and down Tiny Tom style they all appeared to love working on FGQFS as much as some of us love playing it. Even Kate, who surely has the toughest job of any at times.

Here’s a few of the things they said about working on FGQFS: It’s a dream; It’s wonderful; It’s great; Every day is different; Can’t wait to go to work everyday; Paid to do what we love; Get to spend the day making stuff up and playing; Team is like a family; Gives you an adrenalin rush and that’s despite the long hours, stress, the brutal nature of the mobile gaming industry and even at times being so busy you end up sleeping in the office.

They are also all big Family Guy fans, they said this about the show: Love the humour; The random nature of the show; How it always comes back to family & friendship; It’s got heart at the centre of it.

And Brian & Stewie seem to be their favourite characters from the show, so it must frustrate them as much as us they can’t use Stewie more. But it’s great to know they all have a passion for the game, and want to be there devising content and events for us for a long time.

Now the second overall thing I took from this is the way they all talked about the game going forward, as let’s face it there’s been a lot of speculation that with the Futurama game looming the end was nigh for FGQFS. But the TinyCo’s teams general chat and body language did not seem to signal the end is imminent in any shape or form so it could be the game everyone loves to hate it going to endure for a while yet.

What made me think this, well talk of bringing in more land once we see more of the older devices disappear from our lives, so they talk in terms of the game outliving these devices. They also talked about the issue with The Blimp, in fact they referred to the ongoing problems as a horror story as every fix causes a new issue, so they are planning to remove it and redo that part of the game, now that’s not something they’d consider if the game were on its way out surely? There’s also still a team of 40 or so working on the game, so it’s not down to one guy and his computer just yet.  And the artists continue to create 3 new characters a week. So this all says to me FGQFS isn’t going anywhere just yet, so don’t unbuckle your safety belts guys as this crazy ride continues.

Ok now onto more specific bits and pieces, as I mentioned above there’s a team of about 40 that work on FGQFS, so next time we moan about having to buy a premium item I guess we should think that those folk need paid, they ain’t doing voluntary work. And Kimberley revealed for every 4 week event they need to come up with at least 200-250 new jokes. I take my hat off to that as like Kate, I struggle to come up with one joke, never mind being able to roll off a production line of them. I’d be laughing all the way to the Bunny Asylum if that were my job.

They told us how they plan an event, sometimes they pick an episode and build the event around it, and I must say this is the events I like to see, ones where I recognise characters and costumes from the show. But they also confirmed sometimes they do the opposite and they get the rights to an Intellectual Property, say for example, Power Rangers, then they look to see if it has links to the show and if it doesn’t they devise a way to merge the two together in a funny Quahog kind of way.  They also revealed they still working very closely with the writers at the Family Guy TV show who continue to share ideas with them.

They also talked about something we see in our comments a lot, a desire for new gameplay and features during events, many of you have recently felt that too many events are the same format onl with different content to unlock. And they talked about this revealing that even when they reuse a format they do endeavour to make it better, for example they said the Quahog Heat gameplay features were based on those of The Hauntening, only with some tweaks to improve it.

But they also added not only did they understand our cries for new features in future events, they were actually going to be delivering some in the next event, Mighty Morphin Power Griffins.  So as much as many of us say they don’t listen, they obviously do!

Likewise they touched on the ongoing demand for old event characters to return, the most popular requests being for American Dad characters; Superheros characters and of course Star Trek characters. This is a question that they’ve now answered many times, but did so again. Basically they only get a limited time contract to give them the rights to use these characters during an event. If they want to bring them back they need to agree a new contract, so they can’t just drop these characters into the game at any time to please new players. But Damon stressed he’d love see some return himself as he hasn’t got them in his game either.

They chatted about their favourite Family Guy characters that they get to work on in the game and for everyone who’s fed up with Peter having so many skins, please be kind to Jason as they’re one his favourite things to work on. And Jay, well Joe’s his go to guy, and as for Damon, he’s got a soft spot for Bruce. And Kimberley well it’s all about Brian & Stewie. And Kate well she kept that her little secret, lol.

They also found time to chat about all us multi-millionaires and tried to explain why some of us have more coins than we’ll ever be able to spend. They said they will try introduce items to buy but in order to try keep events balanced and fair they will always use an event currency or else us multi- millionaires would just burn through events too quickly. And they are right, we would and then we would probably complain we’re bored, cause hey we’re entitled multi-millionaires aren’t we. Lol.

There you have it, hopefully the start of a new relationship with the Staff at TinyCo currently working on Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff.

Did you see some things you were curious about answered? Have some helpful suggestions/replies to some of the questions you saw or the LiveQ&A setup adopted? Thoughts on the Current Staff? Let us know.

~ Russian Tigger

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap was originally published on Yatterz