#which like. obviously its horrible what is being done but its also like. saddening for me bc childe n aether are such dear characters to me

[peachtaglia]

hi genshin impact fans i am still a fan of these two characters and these two characters in particular

[indigosfindings]

can you elaborate more on the joyful/optimistic art vs cynical/sad art thing?

(re: this post)

sure, sorry in advance if this is messy.

the gist is that there's a slew of micro-discourses whose common thread is the inherent or automatic superiority of art and stories that are optimistic and centre 'joy', 'love', and other positive emotions over those that don't.

it manifests a million different ways: "x series is bad because it's pessimistic/cynical/dark", "x story is bad because it depicts SA/incest/abuse*", "horror is really about love/family", "love is a unilaterally healing and moral force", "dark/negative art is universally less authentic/earnest", "sad/disturbing art is easy to make while positive art is difficult," etc. (also seems to correlate w the internet's general attitude toward criticism--that even mild negative feedback toward any art is in essence insulting its author & audience)

one of the factors imo is that a lot of people are unwilling to interrogate their reactions to something. like the process is "i see disturbing art -> i feel disturbed -> 'disturbed' is a negative emotion -> this art has done something negative to me -> this art is bad" and then never question it further

as for why i feel frustrated: hmm where to start. it's an extremely flat heuristic that diminishes alll art with any aims other than to please or to be Fun. it denies that "to disturb", "to frighten", "to disquiet", "to sadden", "to critique", etc are worthwhile endeavours in art. it also just betrays a narrow view of what has the capacity to be Fun for someone! i'm especially frustrated because horror always gets the brunt of it. there's a sort of longstanding anxiety about the "value" of horror, about horror needing to "prove its worth", and i think a lot of people's answer to that is to say "it's not actually about Scary, it's about Happy :)"

one of the really popular takes that i still see today is "if you're writing a fantasy story where anything can happen, why incorporate homophobia, misogyny, etc?" and, i mean, it's a pretty straightforward answer--because those things exist in real life, and by incorporating them into a story you can reflect, comment on, and explore real issues that are pertinent to the audience! likewise re "love is virtuous and healing," it's just a simple fact that love is morally neutral. people do HORRIBLE things for love all the time. i used to be more idealistic about this, but now i honestly cant stand the idea that a saccharine, childlike stance on love is by default a better one

(there's a huge comparison to be made here with the reactionary pushback against modern art btw)

it also ties into a broader schema--"toxic positivity" is a popular line, but we can aim higher: there's a sort of cultural mandate toward positivity, where saying "x is bad" is worse than x being bad. think right and send thoughts and prayers. capitalism loves the idea of each person fending for themselves--you have the whole concept of "wellness" and "mindfulness", ie Positive Thinking as a vector for mental health (the corollary being that a person who is unwell is a person who is Not Trying Hard Enough To Be Positive), whereby to read a situation cynically (or pragmatically!) is the worst thing you can do. and well, by the same token, when we have a whole cavalcade of employers who LOVE seminars and videos about How To Manage Your Stress (and zero interest in inspecting what it is that makes employees excessively stressed to begin with!), im sure you can imagine why someone could get exhausted of positivity.

as i said in the previous post, the most insane part is the particular framing of this atittude as somehow counterculture, controversial, or against the grain. y'know, when we're discussing chipper upbeat art about how everything is good vs art that's grim, violent, negative, pessimistic--which of these is most likely, historically and today, to be censored, to be banned, or to arouse controversy?

*(obviously there are depictions of SA and other sensitive subjects that are callous, sexist, etc! but there are also plenty that are trenchant, edifying, powerful, evocative, etc!)

[vialacteas]

recently I quit my Big Girl Job...

it wasnt rlly a choice. i got burnout and it came to a point id cry all day from stress. i didnt recognize myself anymore and i still dont, its gonna take some time for me to recover from all...

but all the last conversations i had with coworkers and my managers replaced my anger with sadness instead. working for a multinational kind of messes with ur brain especially if u have a background like mine - someone who never had much chance to land on this type of position. my resume wasnt that impressive compared to the other interns who were all from brazilian ´ivy leagues´ and had the money to pretend they changed the world with voluntary work overseas... but despite it i got hired and promoted and had the opportunity to be transferred to different areas, while most of my intern peers didnt even get to be hired in the first place.

everyone i talked to this last week was shocked and sad that i was leaving and they were all super gracious abt it. it kind of frustrates me because for these last 3 years ive worked my ass off and rarely had any sort of recognition besides the times i got hired and promoted. and not to say that i need to be babied or whatever, but i barely had serious feedbacks about what was working and what wasnt. i just did what i had to do and sometimes that meant staying late, working for 3 different teams, going beyond my job description etc etc etc. it came to a point that all i ever did was to solve crisis after crisis.

no one was ever truly mean to me but also ive always felt incredibly isolated and alienated. no process to follow, no person to small talk, no time to even analyse my own work - despite absorbing things easily i still needed guidance sometimes and felt terrible every time i had to ask for help or admit that i didnt know how to do it. and i recognize part of why i got so far was because ive always been engaged and self taught, but it can get incredibly tiresome and time consuming to have to figure out everything by yourself.

i dont know if this is part of a natural process, to feel like youre growing ~unevenly~, and it wasnt the only reason why i quit. most of it was the stress and the amount of workload i had, which was kind of insane... but after talking to my managers they all said the same thing along the lines of being sorry for not realizing + understanding why its hard to say 'no'.

which is whats been kind of saddening me... my brain keeps telling me: what if i did things differently, what if i was more vocal about it. im not sure if me saying 'no' would ever work as the tasks needed to be done, but what if i at least tried harder... but then, i also didn't really know how i was being perceived. i have this horrible habit of thinking my coworkers and managers would barely stand me for doing the bare minimum. ive never felt like a good professional in the end. they have a different perception though, and i got told that it would be ok for me to negotiate my own conditions because i was valuable.

they said its something that i should take for my next job: understand that im also a person who has needs and as long as im doing my job, i should at least try to be heard. obviously thats a very capitalistic conversation bc ideally id want to run to the forests to live a self sustained life etc etc.

but anyway i will try to take it as a new start instead of an inevitable ending. bc it would never be sustaining for me to stay there for more years, its not the job i wanted tbh. ill just have to trust myself this time to follow my own path. and try to be happy with it.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Queen for a Day Part 2

So this is the continuation of my review for Queen for a Day. My personal favorite episode in the series, but it does have some flaws that needs to be pointed out. 

You can find the first part here  https://rachelbethhines.tumblr.com/post/622226424477171713/tangled-salt-marathon-queen-for-a-day-part-1

Summary: The King and Queen are stranded in the blizzard and Eugene and the Pub Thugs must rescue them. Meanwhile, Varian rushes to ask for Rapunzel's help freeing his dad, but Rapunzel tells him that she can't help him because of the blizzard, leaving Varian feeling betrayed. Rapunzel orders the evacuation of the island, but then remembers about a legend told earlier by Xavier about an underground machine with the power to change the way of the blizzard. 

The Show Tells Us Things that Contradict What We’ve Already Seen

No they didn’t. 

If it was up to Frederic you’d all be jailed, hanged, or banished. Don’t try to pretend now that the King is somehow better than any other leader when it’s his crack down on crime is what causes 75% of the conflict in the first season. 

Rapunzel gave you a second chance. She’s the one to thank. And she only did that because she befriended you, not because she thought the system unjust.

Look at All This Time Spent On This Very Important Note, No Way the Writers Would Dumb Enough Not Follow Up On This Finely Crafted Set Up.

Why is Season Three So Bad!!!!?????

Evacuation is a Dumb Plan to Begin With

So throughout the episode Rapunzel is being pressured into evacuating the populace off the island. With the idea that, as an island, they’d be cut off from food supplies and whatnot. 

Which is beyond dumb because they’re currently inside a castle. Castles are built specifically for withstanding sieges. They should have all the supplies and room that they need right there for weeks if not months. 

Everyone is acting like risking exposure is somehow a better option then just staying put, inside the comfy palace.

Also keep in mind no one knows that this is a magic storm. They think it’s just a regular blizzard and it’s not even been one day of snow. You’re telling me that King Frederic is such a poor leader that can’t even keep the kingdom stocked for one day? 

You know what. I'd believe that. Corona is a shittly runned country that can’t handle emergencies. 

Cass Can Clearly See and Hear What’s Going On

The show will later act as if Cass didn’t know the truth about what happened between Raps and Varian, but that’s a load of bull. She clearly sees and hears Varian talking about the rocks and his dad. In short, Cassandra winds up looking like a horrible person because of poorly thought out framing. 

Rapunzel Has More Options Here But She Doesn’t Explore Them

Look Rapunzel being inexperienced and not knowing what to do, leading to her making poor decisions; is a perfectly fine set up for a conflict. And the choices she makes are understandable. 

However the show acts like these were the only options available to her; stay and help her people or go with Varian right then, and that’s simply not the case. 

Here’s a list of things she actually could have done.

Send someone else with Varian. Cass isn’t doing anything right now. She’s not needed for the evacuation, as evidenced by her going with Raps to the demantius device later (a task that she doesn’t actually help much with) and she already is in on your secret about the rocks and is friends with Varian. Alternatively there are other guards you could have sent with him, but Cass is the best option for the job.

Keep Varian with her until the storm was over with. He could have helped with the demantius device and then you both could have gone to Old Corona afterwards. 

Order the evacuation and then actually go with Varian. Once again, Rapunzel isn’t honestly needed for the evacuation, as evidenced by her taking off to find the demantius device later. She also. at the this point, doesn’t know if the demantius device is real nor does she have a plan in place yet to use it. It would have been a worse idea, yes, but it’s still an option that she failed to consider. (Unless they came back to the device after failing to save Quirin, cause it’s fiction and the writers can decide the time frame however they want) 

Go check up on Varian after fixing the storm. 

None of these options would have saved Quirin, obviously, but any one of them would have given Varian the emotional support that he needed. So while it’s understandable that Rapunzel did what she did, it’s still not excusable. 

Therein lies the failure of the show. It tries it damndest to excuse the protagonists at every turn even when they do quite clearly mess up, all while shifting all the blame onto an easy scapegoat. The series then acts like, we the audience, should just blindly accept it’s manipulation as fact. 

The Show Implies That the Heroes Just Threw A Child Out Into A Deadly Blizzard

Rapunzel’s ‘orders’ falls on deaf ears and that’s honestly on her. She’s in charge and ergo she needs to keep her guards in line. It’s up to her to give clear and concise orders. 

Cause what we see is the garuds dragging away a 14 year old begging for help and next we see him, he’s back out in the snow storm. The snow storm that’s been deemed a national emergency and could potentially kill people stuck out in it.  

If the show didn’t intend for us to think that Stan and Pete just chucked the poor kid out the door, than it needed to establish that Varian left of his own accord. But it doesn’t do that. So everyone is Corona just winds up looking like an bunch of asses instead. 

Rapunzel Breaking Her Promise isn’t the Point

The show gives way too much focus on Rapunzel’s promise. Because not being able to keep a promise is understandable and something that everyone experiences. No, in truth what Rapunzel does here is much worse than that. She fails at her responsibilities as a leader, as an adult, and as a decent human being. 

Her promise to Varian doesn’t actually matter. Her friendship with Varian doesn’t actually matter. Her even knowing him doesn’t matter. 

Had Varian came to her as a stranger with this same problem and she failed to help him, she’d still be in the wrong. This is a child in need that she ignores. A subject that she is in charge of and responsible for.  

Once again, I’m not hating on Rapunzel here. I’m fine, glad even, for the protagonist to make a mistake. But the show fails to even acknowledge that what she did was a mistake to being with; hence the real problem with the character.

Let’s Talk About ‘Daddy’ and How The Creators are Full of It

OK so there was some debate about whether or not Varian actually said the word ‘daddy’ in this scene. It was confirmed by one of the creators, Chirs, that yes, Jeremy Jordan (Varian’s VA) ad libbed this line and that the writers decided to keep it. 

Which, in of itself, is fine. This scene still hurts like hell and is the most powerfully emotionally hitting scene in the show. It’s awesome. 

The problem is the Chris’s reasoning for including the line. 

According to the creator, Varian saying the word ‘daddy’ means that’s still immature and not ready yet to know whatever secrets Quirin is keeping from him. 

OK first off, calling you father ‘daddy’ does not make you immature. What a stupid thing to say. My siblings and I are all in or 20s, 30s, and 40s, and we still call our father ‘daddy’ as well. (We’re quite spread out in ages) 

Secondly, what secrets!? We’re never told what Quirin is hiding from his son. Varian never learns the truth of any earth shattering secret that involves him. 

We get lots of behind the scenes hints that the writers prematurely cut Varian out of the plot in later seasons, despite his conflict not being resolved and the fact that he was presented as being integral to main plot.

We’re never given a real reason why Varian’s story so poorly was edited out and any excuses that the series creators, Ben and Chris, have given is nothing but that same BS as this line here and I’m going to call them out on it.   

Xavier and Monty Should Have Been Streamlined Into One Character

Xavier is given no real introduction and yet he’s suddenly an important part of the main overarching plot. Nor do we ever get any backstory for him or insight into why he does what he does and knows what he knows. He’s just there to give exposition and that’s it. 

Meanwhile Monty is given a whole episode worth’s of introduction and insight, but then proceeds to add nothing to the series afterwards. 

Just imagine if Monty and Xavier were made into one character. Introduction, insight, plus actual story importance. As an added bonus, it would have forced Raps to deal with someone she doesn’t get along with in order to save the kingdom. Which would counterbalanced the ‘friendship saves the day’ bs of later seasons along with the idea that anyone who doesn’t kiss Rapunzel’s royal arse is a villain.

Once Again, Why Do you Know this Legends and No One Else, Xavier? 

It’s lazy writing. You need to either set these things up beforehand or give reason for them later.

Pascal’s Story Makes Far More Sense After This Scene

The consequence of showing things out of order is that context is lost. 

I Love the Reprise but it Gives the Game Away too Early

The writing team can’t decide where they want Varian’s fall into villainy to start and where to have it’s ‘twist’. This is suppose to be foreshadowing, but having it then undermines the ‘surprise betrayal’ in The Alchemist Returns. Not to mention that Varian doesn’t actually do anything truly ‘villainous’ until Secret of the Sundrop anyways. 

In short this scene winds up being pointless and the insistence of having a shocking reveal later winds up being redundant. Which in turn then becomes a poor excuse for not featuring a episode dedicated to Varian’s side of the story. 

 Conclusion

I still love this episode, and I’m saddened that most of the series does not live up to this quality nor its own hype. On its own Queen for a Day is 40 mins of wonderful entertainment. As part of the an on going story it’s a bitter reminder of the disappointment to soon follow. 

[newstfionline]

Trump blasts Prime Minister Theresa May in interview published during his first official visit to Britain

By William Booth, Karla Adam and Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, July 12, 2018

LONDON--After Prime Minister Theresa May rolled out the red carpet at Blenheim Palace on Thursday night for President Trump’s first official visit to Britain, a London tabloid published an explosive interview in which Trump blasted May’s compromise, pro-business plan to leave the European Union and warned that her approach could imperil any future trade deal between the United States and Britain.

The remarks cast an immediate pall over a visit that included a lavish dinner with business leaders Thursday night and plans to meet Queen Elizabeth II for afternoon tea on Friday. It was the latest international incident to erupt during Trump’s brief sojourn abroad, which kicked off with incendiary comments that upended a NATO summit in Brussels and further strained relationships with longtime U.S. allies.

In addition to attacking May on Brexit, Trump also praised her archrival, Boris Johnson, as a potential future prime minister while attacking London’s mayor as soft on crime and terrorism.

The blunt language and harsh dismissal in Trump’s interview stunned 10 Downing Street.

May’s office did not issue a reply to Trump’s remarks but referred reporters to an earlier statement: “We have come to an agreement at the proposal we’re putting to the European Union which absolutely delivers on the Brexit people voted for. They voted for us to take back control of our money, our law and our borders and that’s exactly what we will do.”

Newspaper editors scrambled to update their front pages. “The ego has landed,” said the Daily Mirror, adding that Trump “embarrasses Prime Minister with attack on her plan for soft Brexit.” On its front page, the Daily Mail said Trump had offered “typically blunt home truths for Britain.”

In the interview, done earlier this week, Trump disparaged May’s Brexit plan: “I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it, but she didn’t listen to me.”

He added: “The deal she is striking is a much different deal than the one people voted on.”

If May has Britain align its rules and regulations for goods and agricultural products with Europe, following “a common ­rule book” with Brussels, as May puts it, then, Trump said, that could derail a trade deal with Washington.

“If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U.K., so it will probably kill the deal,” Trump told the Sun, which published its splash at 11 p.m. in Britain.

Trump was scheduled to meet with May for talks on Friday.

“The President likes and respects Prime Minister May very much. As he said in his interview with the Sun she ‘is a very good person’ and he ‘never said anything bad about her,’ “ U.S. press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “He thought she was great on NATO today and is a really terrific person.”

The U.S. contingent expected the story to post Friday morning and was startled to leave the dinner Thursday and see it online. Sanders told the British government about the interview but thought it would be somewhat more positive, an official said.

White House officials were scrambling for what to say to May on Friday. “There’s no way Trump will apologize,” a senior U.S. official said. “But we also don’t want to blow everything up.”

A second White House official said Trump had two days of positive interactions with May. But the official also conceded that Trump had talked about her vulnerabilities and criticized her political acumen privately for many months.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

Trump also said to the Sun that he was not spending much time in London on this trip because he did not feel welcome, due to mass demonstrations planned for Friday.

“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” he told the paper. “I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?”

Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, too, saying that he’s done a “bad job” on tackling terrorism and crime.

“Take a look at the terrorism that is taking place. Look at what is going on in London. I think he has done a very bad job on terrorism,” Trump said. “I think he has done a bad job on crime, if you look, all of the horrible things going on there, with all of the crime that is being brought in.”

But he spoke glowingly of Johnson, who quit the cabinet this week in protest over May’s plans for a soft Brexit.

“I have a lot of respect for Boris. He obviously likes me and says very good things about me,” Trump told the tabloid. “I was very saddened to see he was leaving government, and I hope he goes back in at some point. I think he is a great representative for your country.”

Asked whether Johnson could find himself in 10 Downing Street one day, Trump said, “Well I am not pitting one against the other. I am just saying I think he would be a great prime minister. I think he’s got what it takes.”

Trump did not have public events in Britain on Thursday. Planners have taken great care to keep him from protests.

Organizers of Britain’s nationwide protests are committed to staging some of the largest demonstrations since 2003, when hundreds of thousands hit the streets to oppose war in Iraq.

Organizers said that from the moment Trump landed on British soil to the moment he leaves, he will be met by a “carnival of resistance.” A giant “Trump Baby” balloon will fly over Parliament Square. Protesters plan to shout at Trump at places he will be visiting--Winfield House, Blenheim Palace, Chequers, Windsor Castle and his Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. Others will assemble in towns and cities up and down the country.

“I’m marching because of the disdain that Trump has shown for Britain and because of his disgraceful treatment of minorities in the United States,” said David Lammy, a leading member in the opposition Labour Party.

“Whenever London experiences a tragedy, it’s also the case that Trump licks his lips and tweets,” he said.

[my-mystic-messenger]

Hello! Can I maybe have the rfa + v and saeran planning something romantic with mc but everything going completely wrong? Bonus points if its very fluffy! Thank you! Btw, your hc always make me happy! You're a top writer and I really enjoy the way you write the rfa, but especially saeran! Thanks!

Well sweetcheeks Saeran is my favouriteof all of them hands down so I’m very happy you enjoy me writing himas much as I do. I think he has the most potential and the bestdesign, personally. I also think that Cheritz wasted him (and most ofthe other characters) in order to putsch Seven which is something Ifind extremely tiring. So, until I get a Saeran route that does thatpoor boy justice you can pry that beautiful creature from my cold,dead hands. Also, I’ll write HC’s for him until my hands start tobleed. Saeran (◕▿◕✿)I think I overdid it a little? I hope you still like it?

|| REQUEST ARE (ALWAYS) OPEN!! ||

Zen

♬ he’d planned this date for a long time

♬ the two of you had been so busy lately,Zen had decided to do something special to make up for it

♬ everything was perfectly planned andtaken care off

♬ he’d prepared a beautiful picnic to beeaten at the park

♬ the food he’d prepared was mostly selfmade and delicious

♬ the weather outside was sunny and warm

♬ and the paddle boat rent had openedagain for the season

♬ it was time for the perfect date

♬ you’d been so excited for that date too

♬ seeing how happy and cheerful Zen wasabout it only made it better

♬ he’d found a beautiful, shady spotunder a big willow

♬ you’d spread out your big blanket andthen went on to rent the paddle boat

♬ neither of you was really hungry atthat moment, and the glistering lake just looked so enticing

♬ at first everything was fine, idyllicand romantic even

♬ sitting opposite each other you smiledand laughed together, talked about anything and everything

♬ Zen was paddling, strong arms allowingyou to glide over the water

♬ you had one of those pretty parasolsthat made the entire scene seem as if from a movie

♬ Zen really liked that idea, yourrelationship being the type people made movies about

♬ sadly, those moments often lasted for avery brief time and this was no different

♬ when he got up to get to you and pressa sweet kiss to your lips, Zen lost balance

♬ suddenly the boat was shaking rapidlyand you getting nervous caused the two of you to flail and fall

♬ the water was bitter cold, despite thesun

♬ neither of you was able to turn theboat back around and get in, so you had to swim

♬ you were forced to leave the parasolbehind he’d gotten you, almost drowning for a moment

♬ once finally outside of the water,drenched and shaking, you’d made your way to the willow only to findthat animals had attacked your basket and most of the food was eitherscattered or gone

♬ needless to say that Zen was devastated

♬ his perfect date had fallen apartcompletely, despite all his efforts

♬ as you saw him pout at the remains ofthe food he’d prepared for you two, you felt your heart swell

♬ God, you loved that idiot so much…

♬ you took his hand and pulled himtowards the blanket anyway

♬ the stuff that wasn’t usable you threwaway together, but the entire time you smiled

♬ frankly, as long as you two weretogether, you were happy

♬ you two sat down together, cuddling upagainst one another, mainly for warmth

♬ he used the blanket to wrap around thetwo of you, instead sitting on the soft grass

♬ luckily some of the fruit were saved,as they’d been in harder to open boxes

♬ you took one of those and held it outfor Zen, smiling at the other sweetly

♬ when he realized that you were stillsmiling, trying to make the best out of it even now by feeding himsome fruit, all his sadness instantly melted away

♬ as he opened his mouth and accepted thestrawberry you were offering, Zen knew

♬ he knew that he’d never loved someonelike he loved you and that he never would again

♬ after that you moved from the shadowsof the willow into the sun

♬ you laid down together, hand in hand,letting the warmth dry your body

♬ you threw a frisbee around for a while,played catch and hide and seek

♬ a man selling fish-shapes bread turnedup a couple of hours later and you bought a couple

♬ you ate them as the sun went down, bluewater turning back with the darkness

♬ you watched the stars for hours,sharing sweet kisses from time to time

♬ eventually you went home, made love andfell asleep in each others arms

Yoosung

★ Yoosung is a very attentive person

★ he never misses an opportunity to dosomething nice for you

★ he isn’t as overly sweet and romanticas Zen, not does he have the means to take you on expensive dates asJumin might be able to, but he tries his best…he’s sweet, youknow?

★ he always remembers birthdays and anniversaries, goes allout on Valentines day

★ sometimes he just likes to surprise youtoo, just for the sake of it

★ he thinks of you as his saviour, theone who saved him from himself

★ so, in an attempt to never let youforget how much he appreciates you, he planned a romantic date

★ while you were at work he’d used hisfree day to cook your favourite dinner

★ he put candles on the table, roses andthe nice plates and all

★ he was just putting together the firstplate when suddenly he heard the keys in the lock

★ you were an hour early and Yoosungpanicked a little

★ he wasn’t quite ready yet!

★ not thatyou minded even in the slightest

★ when you entered the kitchen, smellingfood, your breath got caught in your throat at the view

★ not only was the table beautifully setand the food smelled great but Yoosung look utterly adorable with hishair pushed back, cooking in his apron

★ you cooed and Yoosung blushed,nervously scratching the back of his head

★ he helped you out of your coat and hungit up for you while you chuckled with delight

★ he was just so cute when he tried hard

★ he lead you to the table, pulled backthe chair for you, even spread a little napkin on your lap

★ when he put the finished plate beforeyou it looked and smelled divine

★ he’d become an even better cook overthe last couple of years so you knew you were in for a treat

★ you also smiled with glee as yourealized it was your favourite meal

★ he watched you take the first bite,smiling with excitement

★ thats when you grimaced, obviouslystruggling to swallow, and his face fell

★ what had he done wrong?

★ when he tried the food himself he foundthe answer

★ you’d told him a million times to labelthe sugar and salt, just in case, and he’d never listened

★ he accidentally switched them up andnow everything was borderline vomit inducing

★ he didn’t even want to imagine what thecake tasted like…great

★ as you watched him hang his head yourheart swelled with pride

★ you stood up and went to hug him frombehind, pressing a kiss to his cheek

★ sadly, you had to toss everything away,but it was alright

★ you spend the rest of the eveningcooking something nice together, brushing hips and stealing glances

★ as the candles has burned down youdecided to cuddle up on the couch, plates on your knees

★ you ate while watching videos onYouTube, occasionally stealing from each others plate

★ soon the plates were abandoned, the twoof you lying on the couch together

★ you weren’t fully asleep, but neitherreally awake

★ your head resting on his chest,Yoosungs arms wrapped around your figure

★ he brushed through your hair, smilingagainst your forehead contently

★ despite the date not having gone theyway he thought it would, Yoosung learned valuable lessons

★ 1) always label sugar and salt★ 2)the best moments aren’t the ones that are planned

★ when you really love a person you cando the most mundane things and they are still the best

★ “I love you.”

★ “Loveyou too, doofus”

★ and then you fell asleep 

Jaehee

♨ you two hadn’t had a free day in whatfelt like ages

♨ the work load was not half asexhausting as working for Jumin, but you still needed to unwind

♨ especially considering that even your‘free days’ were often spend planning for the café

♨ sometimes re-decorating or somethinglike that

♨ through all of the stress you’d nevergiven up on Jaehee, never once complained

♨ you’d worked hard to make herdream come true and now she wanted to do something for you

♨ namely go on a short trip to the beachto relax and have some fun

♨ when the day finally came, Jaehee wasprepared!

♨ She had three towels – just in case –a beach ball, a second bathing suit and set of clothes, enough foodand cake to feed an entire army, a beach umbrella and liters ofsunscreen

♨ since you only had one day, your tripstarted in the early morning hours

♨ that way you could use the entire dayas well as avoid rush hour

♨ despite being quite exhausted herself,Jaehee insisted on driving

♨ this was all for you, so you should berelaxing from finish to start

♨ you offered multiple times to takeover, but Jaehee refused every time

♨ eventually you fell asleep with yourface pressed to the window

♨ Jaehee found it extremely endearing,saddened that she couldn’t take a picture

♨ when you finally arrived at the beachit was still relatively empty

♨ it gave you the time and space tochoose a nice spot and build up everything

♨ you instantly wanted to go into thewater, cool your overheated body

♨ Jaehee on the other hand decided to liein the shade for a while, telling you she’d follow soon

♨ that’s when you got rid of the dressyou’d been wearing, leaving you standing in nothing but the mostadorable bikini Jaehee had ever seen

♨ she could feel her cheeks heat up,instantly putting on her sunglasses to hide at least some of her overthe top reaction

♨ she watched you run to the water, socheerful and happy, smiling to herself

♨ you played around in the water for awhile, floated and swam while Jaehee watched

♨ she didn’t even notice how heavy hereyes had gotten when she was suddenly asleep

♨ it felt like mere seconds later thatyou were harshly shaking her awake

♨ she’d forgotten to put sunscreen on andwhile you’d been in the water having fun, not paying attention, she’dburned up to match the colour of a lobster

♨ you insisted that you go home rightnow, so you can take care of that horrible burn

♨ on the way back you were the onedriving, hurrying just to get her home soon

♨ during the drive you put some of theice packs on her skin or the now wet towel over her body

♨ once home you told her to lie on herback while you rubbed aloe vera all over her body, wherever she’dgotten burned

♨ after that you disappeared for a whileonly to return with liters and liters of milk

♨ Jaehee was extremely ashamed as youfilled the entire bath with it and told her to get in

♨ she’d wanted to make this a nice day atthe beach and instead she’d ruined it

♨ you didn’t mind at all, however, as yousat behind her and carefully rubbed in the milk into her back

♨ once she’d showered you’d put on Zen’smusicals and marathoned them

♨ you braided each others hair in yourPJ’s and ate some unhealthy food you usually wouldn’t

♨ you even build a pillow fort together

♨ it isn’t quite the night Jaehee hadplanned, but neither of you has ever been that relaxed, so she callsthe entire thing a win after all

♨ “Thanks for today.”

♨ “ButI completely ruined the beach trip?”

♨ “I don’t care. As long as we’retogether, I’m happy.”

Jumin

♛ he knows better than anyone how hard itis to work all day long

♛ Jumin also knows the feeling of beingon the verge of breaking down under the workload

♛ so when he notices the first traces ofdark circles and tiredness he instantly has to do something

♛ you’ve been overworking yourself,between planning the party, helping Jaehee in her café, Yoosung’sclinic and even sometimes Jumin himself

♛ he’s expressed concern about thatbefore, but you’d always brushed it off

♛ after all you wanted to help as much asyou could and make everyone happy

♛ it wasn’t like you had a 'normal’ jobanyway, so why not?

♛ while he still didn’t have the heart tostop you, Jumin came up with something else

♛ he wanted to treat you to somethingrelaxing, spoil you for a couple of days

♛ so he booked the two of you a nicewellness weekend at an expensive spa

♛ he’d been forced to keep it a secretfor a while, as the place was rather booked, so the appointment hegot wasn’t immediate

♛ but when he finally told you and gotthe brightest smile and kisses in return, he’d never felt prouder ofhimself

♛ that weekend you’d packed your thingsand made your way to the spa, eager to relax

♛ sadly, that didn’t quite out as therehad been a mix-up and your spot had been given away

♛ Jumin immediately asked for another,but the next one was at least a month away

♛ he wanted to get angry and basicallyget everyone involved fired for this

♛ especially at how disappointed youlooked because of their mistake

♛ but he knew that him getting angry andbossy made you sad, so the two of you took your leave

♛ he felt horrible for having put youthrough this, especially as you were strangely quiet on the drivehome

♛ then a got an idea!

♛ maybe he couldn’t get you into thatparticular wellness spa, but he had the means to make the day just asrelaxing at home

♛ so the second you got up to thepenthouse he called a couple of people before turning his attentionback to you and only you

♛ from that moment on he took controlover your relaxation

♛ he ran you a bath with rose pedals andbubbles and hot water just the way you like it

♛ he gave you a full body massage and forall the things he couldn’t do – such as manicures, pedicures andeven getting your hair done – he got professionals just for you

♛ they made you the dinner you wantedafterwards, which you enjoyed candlelit with classical music softlyplaying in the background

♛ it was a peaceful evening spent talkingand laughing without a worry in the world

♛ Jumin even finished the day off bytugging you into bed himself

♛ he then set beside the bed and like thefirst night you’d slept in that penthouse he read to you

♛ it was your favourite book and even theoriginal copy he’d gotten you

♛ his low voice soothed you even further,entire body relaxing into the mattress as he read

♛ eventually he laid down beside you,pulling you against his chest

♛ you hummed happily, cuddling up to yourhusband

♛ “I’m sorry todays plans wereruined.”

♛ “Are you kidding? You taking care of mefor the whole day was much better than any spa.”

♛ Juminsmiled then, once more reminded just how lucky he was to meet you

♛ he gently tilted your head up, pressinga kiss to your lips

♛ “I love you, darling. If you wanted,I would give you the world.”

♛ “I don’t want the world though,silly. All I’d ever want is right here beside me.”

♛ he held you until you fell asleep,heart swollen with joy

Saeyoung/Seven

☼ Sevens idea of date night is quitedifferent from what other people would consider

☼ he also isn’t really familiar with whatmost would consider 'romantic’

☼ it’s not something that has everbothered you, as you yourself aren’t really hearts and flowers

☼ you like that most of the time yourdates are fun and different

☼ that is until one of his bright ideasgoes wrong again

☼ because you can be sure that generallyyou’re the one who has to clean up the mess afterwards

☼ like that one time he got arrested andyou had to bail him out

☼ who would have thought that he’d takehide and seek so serious!

☼ The idiot broke into someones house forfucks sake!

☼ over time you’d gotten used to eventhat, though and generally it was fun to watch as his mugshots weretaken every time

☼ you laughed a lot

☼ so, when he suggested something calmerthis time you were surprised

☼ he said that he’d noticed howexhausting your dates were for you, so he wanted to do something youwould enjoy as well; a games night in

☼ he’d gotten out cards, chess, multiplevideo – and boardgames

☼ Seven was ready and his excitement wascontagious

☼ he’d ordered take out for the entirenight, stocked up on PhD Pepper and Honey Buddha Chips and both ofyou had changed into your matching cat PJ’s

☼ the evening started nice enough

☼ you were cuddled up on the couch,beating each others asses at some first person shooters

☼ after that you stuffed yourself fullwhile playing cards at the table

☼ he actually let you win a couple ofrounds of chess, smiling to himself as you did your little victorydance only to put on an annoyed face once you looked at him

☼ he just loved how cheerful you were ateven the smallest things

☼ then he suggested playing Twister andyou should have known better

☼ Seven spends all day crouching in frontof his computer, of course he’d suck at Twister

☼ actually, for a while it worked out

☼ since both of you were rathercompetitive, the two of you each gave your best

☼ it was a very intense round, whichprobably caused what happened after

☼ in an attempt to look cool and win thegame Seven had attempted to do that 'cool lean-back thing’ from theMatrix

☼ sadly, he wasn’t quite as sportive aswith a sudden cracking sound, Seven fell to the floor

☼ …and he couldn’t moveanymore…fuck…

☼ the rest of the night was spent waitingin the ER for someone to fix whatever Seven had done

☼ by the time you got home the sun wasabout to rise

☼ so you suggested for the two of you togo up on the roof to watch

☼ as you set there, sharing a HoneyBuddha Chips bag with your feet dangling off the roof, your headresting on his shoulder you suddenly burst into laughter

☼ “What are you laughingabout?”

☼ “You, mainly, and all the bullshit you getyourself into.”

☼ “My, honey, thank you so much foryour compassion.”

☼ “I drove your crying ass to thehospital, you have no right to complain. Anyway,what I was trying to say is…Seven you’re the weirdest dude I knowand I love you for it. You’re unconventional, but I’d rather tell ourgrandchildren the extraordinary things that happen to us, all theadventures I get to have because I chose you instead of the typicalguy taking me to wine and dine. Today was a great date night. Thankyou”, you say, pressing a kiss to his cheek, causing him toblush

☼ “I’m glad we agree. I love youtoo…by the way.”

Saeran

☀ when Saeran heard that there was a fairin town, he got excited

☀ the doctor had warned you that he mightshow certain childish behaviours due to all the trauma and loss of anormal childhood

☀ you didn’t see the problem though, asyou found it extremely endearing

☀ he hadn’t smiled in such a long time soto see him beam…hell, you’d win him one of those life sizes plushbears at the throwing stand and more

☀ it was especially sweet to watch himstruggle and stutter through his attempt of inviting you to a date onthat particular fair

☀ of course you said yes, as youpersonally liked fairs too and would do anything to make him smile

☀ the fair was quite packed, but nothingboth of you couldn’t handle

☀ he actually did win you a plush bear,although not a life sized one

☀ the two of you shared some cotton candyand even went to the ghost house together

☀ Saeran actually didn’t push you awaywhen you clung to him and you were actually thinking he might havesmiled, even?

☀ as the afternoon began to turn intoevening and night Saeran suggest to go on the ferris wheel

☀ you were a little surprised, as itwasn’t really exciting and mostly what couples did together

☀ when you saw him blush you realizedthat he wanted to do that with you and you blushed as well

☀ you walked there side by side, silentand not touching but with rapidly beating hearts

☀ you got in and both enjoyed the viewslowly showing itself to you

☀ until suddenly the wheel came to arapid halt and didn’t continue to move anymore

☀ then the announcement followed that itwas broken and they were working to fix it

☀ well…that was unfortunate

☀ the two of you looked at each other,eyes wide with shock but with nowhere to go

☀ you were at the top of the wheel, sothere was really no option but to sit and wait

☀ for a long time things were veryawkward

☀ both of you looked anywhere but eachother and when you actually did steal a glance and your eyes lockedboth of your faces heated up and you quickly looked away

☀ there was a long silence as well, bothof you staring outside of your respective window

☀ then Saeran sighed, shoulders sagging

☀ “This is not how I’d imaginedour first date to go.”

☀ you understood what he meant, butyou didn’t agree at all

☀ with a gentle smile you reached out,taking his hand into your to get his attention

☀ Saeran instantly looked up, lockingeyes with you, wide and confused

☀ “I reallyloved this date so far. As far as first dates go, this is still oneof my best if not the best one. Plus, we get to enjoy this beautifulview for much longer than any other couple so really, we’re lucky.”

☀ it wasn’t perfect, but it made Saeransmile

☀ you decided to switch from your side tohis so you two were sitting next to one another

☀ there was still a silence and Saeranwas a little stiff for a while, cheeks heated, eyes downcast

☀ untilsuddenly his hand inched closer and he tentatively laced your fingerstogether

☀ both of you were looking in oppositedirections and yet both of you were smiling just the same

☀ you watched the sun set together andwhen it was replaced by starts you finally turned to look at eachother again

☀ his eyes scanned over your face, comingto a halt on your lips

☀ he looked between them and your eyes,asking for permission

☀ you gave a quick nod and finally yourlips met in a sweet, loving kiss

☀ you buried your fingers in his hair ashis hands rested on his hips

☀ both of you were completely lost in thekiss, soon growing more confident and passionate

☀ you didn’t even notice when the wheelstarted to move again

Jihyun/V

📷 with V having gone completely blind,date possibilities were rather limited

📷 of course you could still go to dinner,but almost everything else was harder or near impossible

📷 even watching a movie in the cinema –the most basic date – was not really something you could do

📷 which was a shame, V knew, because youloved watching movies

📷 he used to love watching movies too,before he went blind

📷 that was when he heard about blindcommentary for the first time

📷 you could’t watch a movie in thecinema, but you could watch one at home

📷 you’d done so much for the RFA and him,V thought that the least he could do was switch up your usual dinnerdates for movies for once

📷 so, with a plan in mind he’d made hisway to the nearest VideoWorld

📷 it had been quite a while since he’dlast seen a movie, so V had made his way directly to the register toask for some advice

📷 he wanted a movie that was romantic,popular and would make his girlfriend happy

📷 not that the guy behind the counterlistened

📷 the second he’d seen the crane andrealized the man in front of him was fully blind he’d decided to pulla little prank on him

📷 something neither his girlfriend norhim would forget for a long time

📷 with a smile in his voice he’d told himhe’d be right back, returning with what he told V was 'The Notebook’,the best movie for dates

📷 V had thanked the guy, payed and madehis way home

📷 he’d managed to get the DVD in and evenordered Pizza, drinks and ice cream to go with it

📷 when you finally came home he greetedyou with a kiss, told you that he’d run you a bath and he’d wait foryou to join him

📷 you thanked him, adoring howconsiderate and sweet your boyfriend was

📷 once you’d showered off the day andwere warm and comfortable on the couch he handed you the remote forthe DVD player

📷 you were surprised but he looked sohappy and exited about it so you figured he’d gotten a DVD for thetwo of you to watch

📷 how sweet, he knew how much you lovedmovies

📷 however, when you pressed play itwasn’t The Notebook…not at all

📷 the cover showed two naked womencaressing each other…amongst other things

📷 your eyes almost popped out of yourhead and you froze for a moment

📷 had V really chosen a porno?

📷 Then it clicked…V was blind sosomeone else must have chosen for him

📷 you quickly reached for the remote andtried to turn it off, but it was too late and the moaning and otherobscene sounds started

📷 now it was V’s eyes widening, cheeksheating and swallowing loudly

📷 after a very, very awkward minute youfinally managed to turn the damn thing off, sagging

📷 “T-that wasn’t The Notebook, Itake it?”

📷 bless V for his big heart, trust andinnocence

📷 “No, honey, that wasn’t TheNotebook. I guess someone tried to pull a prank. I’m sorry.”

📷 “I’malright…I’m just sorry it ruined my plan for date night. I knowgoing out with me isn’t easy and our options are limited so I reallywanted to make you happy.”

📷 “V…you make me veryhappy. It’s not about the dates. You show me how much you care everysingle day with every word and gesture. Not to mention that you’retrying to adjust yourself. I appreciate you even trying to dosomething like that for me. Thank you.”

📷 you kissed, smilingagainst each others lips

📷 …and maybe just maybe that specialcopy of The Notebook came in handy later that day after all

[sharkchunks]

The Female Gaze in Film

Laura Mulvey identified the “male gaze” in 1975 to describe film imagery in terms of a pleasurable experience for the male viewer, as dictated by patriarchal culture. It has three dimensions: The view of the male character, the view of the male director, and the view of the male audience. This view can be heavily objectifying to women, and goes back in history all the way to the male painters who would, for their pleasure and the pleasure of their male audience, paint naked women and then title the picture “Vanity,” condemning the woman for looking at herself in a mirror while simultaneously enjoying her body for themselves.

The term “female gaze” has been used often to describe any instance of a topless man in a movie, but this is inaccurate. The female gaze must consist of the same three dimensions of a male gaze, and therefore it only exists in films directed by women. So George of the Jungle, Batman and Robin, and other commonly cited examples are null.

The films above are:

The Piano by Jane Campion

Bound by Lilly and Lana Wachowski

American Psycho by Mary Harron

What Women Want by Nancy Meyers

Thirteen by Catherine Hardwicke

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Sara Sugarman

Twilight by Catherine Hardwicke

Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold

Fifty Shades of Grey by Sam Taylor-Johnson

I have seen The Piano, Bound, What Women Want, American Psycho, Thirteen, Twilight, and Fifty Shades of Grey. I have not seen Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen or Fish Tank.

The Piano is a work so complex that it may get its own post later on, until then I can only say that its use of the female gaze is muted by its subject matter. Ada is suppressed in the extreme and afraid to look, so the film is presented from a peculiarly masculine point of view. This may be accusatory of Campion, denying the gaze to portray the near monastic quality of her life in New Zealand. The Piano also contains its own commentary on voyeurism and specifically of the projected film in the shadow play scene. Campion’s later film “In The Cut” more directly addresses the female gaze, but the critical scene is not appropriate for my blog. Suffice it to say, Campion is likely one of the greatest masters of cinematic craft alive and she’s using the female gaze on levels so brilliant that I can’t understand them well enough to write about them. An essay about The Piano and the female gaze appears here, but it mostly covers the concept rather than the film.

Bound is a film about two women who fall in love and steal a great deal of money from an organized crime syndicate. Their looks throughout the film are heavily flirtatious and at times desperate, and their relationship is treated seriously which for 1996 was, at least in my memory, uncommon for depictions of lesbian relationships which were often played for humor or exclusively for male amusement. Susie Bright actually consulted on the film and its sex scenes, and the DVD commentary reveals a great deal about the Wachowskis’ approach and the more subtle sexual themes of the film. In comparison to a male gaze film, Bound doesn’t actually feel any different to most casual male viewers. To female viewers however, the film was said to be a welcome relief from the cliches and tropes that the extreme male gaze summons. The film is also original, well done in terms of crime drama, and let the Wachowskis make The Matrix, which many say revolutionized action cinema. Bound also features a lesbian lead named Violet, who confronts a misogynist villain in the end with a badass retort and a cheer-worthy victory moment. That may have influenced some authors at some point.

American Psycho was a novel written by Brett Easton Ellis, whose sexuality would take several paragraphs to summarize, that was considered one of the most misogynist, disgusting books ever written by many readers and critics, and a feminist treatise by others. Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner adapted it into a fairly mainstream film by cutting hours upon hours of rape and murder, keeping about 2 hours of it for the movie. The screencap included here is of the titular Psycho’s secretary finding his books of violent fantasy drawings. Though it does not fit the convention of the gaze as applied to a human sexual subject, it is a representation by women of a woman observing a man’s fantasy life and being horribly saddened by it. Audience reaction fulfilling the third condition is notable in that when asked whether the books she saw meant that all the murder was in Bateman’s head, or if it was all real and he just also doodled horrible things in addition, all the boys in a film class said it was fantasy, and all the girls said it was in addition to the reality of the murders. Harron’s commentary suggests the murders were real.

What Women Want is the story of Mel Gibson getting mind reading powers that work only on women. In the scene pictured, his boss played by Helen Hunt catches herself looking at his crotch and he hears her thinking as much, so he stands in a manner emphasizing the region and then she looks again and covers her eyes in shame. This is a laugh moment in the film but has a deeper subtext in terms of the female gaze- Which is self-punished by the looker even when it’s caused by the intentional act of the male. Even in the year 2000, women were not allowed by filmmakers to look at men the way that men gleefully brag about looking at women. I’d love to say that times have changed by 2017 but this isn’t the fake fact blog.

Thirteen is the story of a 13 year old girl who gets into drugs and sex and other such things that scare parents. In the screencap above, the main character is looking over another girl of her age, who is also looking her over in an apparent judgement of what each other are wearing. They become friends after this scene and quickly deteriorate into the activities the filmmakers condemn. The shot from Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen also depicts a two girls staring at each other, this time in contempt. The application toward the female gaze is that in both cases, when turned on females, the gaze is an act of judgement which also inspires judgement in the viewer. In contrast to the male gaze though, this judgement is not objectifying. How many films directed by men have a scene where the slow pan up a woman’s body is ascribed to a female viewer?

The director of Thirteen later directed the Twilight film. The Twilight franchise has been accused on many fronts of reductive portrayals of its main character, who is herself, in some opinions, a reductive view of women, by a female author. As such it’s no surprise that this is the first example here of a female looking over a male in an exact inversion of the typical male gaze, depicted without punishment or regret. Here the accusation of objectification could be valid, though I’ve never heard anyone claim it and would certainly not claim it myself, even though Edward is not human. The series, later in the hands of male directors, would be accused of objectification when it came to the numerous shirtless images of Taylor Lautner. This is not the female gaze however, it was the male mimic of the female gaze that critics found so offensive. Compare Twilight to Batman and Robin’s ultra-gratuitous butt shots and nippled suits, which started their own slew of homophobic accusations against the openly gay director Joel Schumacher. All the above is to explain that the female gaze was inoffensive when authentic, but as soon as a bunch of guys appropriated it, they made it a problem. And of course, Catherine Hardwicke was blamed for that problem, even though she’d been off the project already, some say for misogynistic Hollywood reasons.

I have not seen Fish Tank, but an analysis of its use of the female gaze can be found here.

Fifty Shades of Grey, regardless of its origins, functions as a completely average movie romance and the female gaze is used as an inversion of the male. At no time did the film take any apparent measures to exceed its expectations as a sleazy and inaccurate portrayal of its subject, nor did it even capture the full gleeful sleaze of the books, nor did it use its subject to expand the lexicon of the female gaze as it could have spectacularly. Woman stares at attractive man. That’s it. That’s all there is.

The rarity and of the female gaze in cinema is obviously a result of the lack of female directors in mainstream film. Even in independent cinema, women are often prevented from assuming the director’s chair by sexist investors. In Hollywood, there’s even a fad of taking doomed projects and giving them to women so that the women can be blamed and kicked out of their contracts, while at the same time apparently supporting the producers’ assertions that clearly women can’t make good movies.

The male gaze, under Hitchcock, Kubrick, Cronenberg and others has become not only a trope but a powerful cinematic tool that covers the inherent voyeurism of cinema, that can invert it to accuse the viewer, or titillate the viewer, or condemn a character, or enlighten an audience. I would posit that the female gaze is exactly as developed and has been used with exactly the same effectiveness, we’ve just barely seen it because of the patriarchal nature of the film industry up to today and unfortunately almost certainly beyond.

We may get a non-binary gaze in film sometime in the 24th century if we’re lucky.

[r3tr0r0ck3r]

so i’m not allowed to dislike the casting for the new doctor

So apparently if I don’t like that the next Doctor is going to be Jodie Whittaker, i’m a bigot, sexist, caveman, etc etc. No matter what I say, there’s going to be people who won’t read this post beyond that and will call me horrible things regardless; This post is obviously not for those people. Those that actually know me, and know me well, will know that I’ve always been an outspoken believer in equality of the genders, sexualities etc, and a defender of the idea that anybody can be anything they work at being if they want it. I hope I have proven myself in my words, actions and track record to those who matter most to me, because at the end of the day the opinions of strangers on the internet will never matter as much as those actually in my life that I value. That being said, here are my reasons anyway; I think it’s important to air these.

1) I really liked Peter Capaldi. I knew weeks ago that whoever replaced him, I wouldn't be happy with, simply because they weren’t him. I have been consistently disappointed with the mediocre quality of the writing of the episodes that were given to him, as I knew provided with the right material he would be part of the best episodes the show has ever had. But he wan’t given that. No wonder he left. I’ll always be saddened to think that he didn’t last any longer than most Doctors, and that there was a whole damn year he was technically the Doctor but we had no episodes! What a waste, what a shame.

2) Jodie Whittaker is bland. I had to look her up to see what she’d been in and if I’d seen any of it, and let me tell ya, she has done her job well enough in the roles that she had but if i hadn’t gone to the trouble of reminding myself of any of it I would have forgotten it forever. I find it hard to believe that she will bring any interesting character to the Doctor at all, which is a shame, because this implies she was picked simply to be as an inoffensive a choice for ‘first female Doctor’ as possible. This will also mean that she could well be only remembered for being that and nothing else about her performance.. Of course I could well be wrong, only time will tell, but that’s my thoughts on her as an actor.

3) Changing an established successful male character to female sends the wrong message about how to have a successful female character. I’ve brought this up in the past about other franchises, and it’s probably the most important reason to be dismayed by this decision. It seems that those out there who are interested in the furthering of female characters in the mass media have given up actually writing original characters with the idea of making ones good in their own right, and have instead given over to taking other peoples already established male characters, and forcibly changing them to women. I can’t help but think that this communicates the wrong core idea. I’ll summarise this again: if you try to get the idea of a ‘female character’ popular by changing a male character, you only give the impression that the only way a female character can be popular is if it got that way first by being a man. I’m pretty sure that’s not what we want.

4) It’s not done to improve the show, it’s stunt casting. “Stunt Casting” is when someone is introduced into a show, usually a comparably famous celebrity, (or otherwise someone who can conjure up publicity or controversy), in order to meet the declining (or perceived decline) status of said show by generating interest for it. In short, someone thought it would ‘revive’ the show in the eyes of the public by replacing an old venerable actor with a young attractive one. I was expecting this anyway; not for them to also be female, but its certainly obviously “helped”. After Tennant and Smith, the general public, who have been misled as to the purpose of the show and the character, were met with Capaldi, who brought to the show The Doctor has he used to (and imho, ought to) be, the public didn’t like it. So in order to please, and to be hip and trendy again, they’ve done a bit of stunt casting. This isn’t the first time this has happened, casting a young actor already known for being reliably bland- that’s what Peter Davison was.

That’s all i got to say really.. i think. 

[datingadviceonreddit]

Okay fellas out there, this one's for you.Now let me start out by saying I am no ladies man. I am short, I am scrawny, and I've got a bit of acne. I'm not saying I'm ugly, because I'm not, I'd even go as far to say I'm above average, but having a decent mug will only get you so far. I can talk to girls no problem, I've learned the trick to do that (it involves being very self-aware and not taking yourself, or them very seriously), but I'm not the kind of guy who shows up to a party and goes home with a stranger.The good news? That doesn't matter, because despite all that, I was able to masterfully seduce a girl that should be way out of my league (easily a 9/10), and I did it...completely by accident. It's only in retrospect that I realize how effective I was. Now this isn't me trying to brag about how skilled I am, definitely not. The fact that I didn't even realize what I was doing shows that I lack a ton of experience in the field of alluring someone. The purpose of this post is to show how easy it is to attract someone, and how you don't have to look like Chris Evans to do it.So let's set the mood. Road trip with a group of friends. We're heading across state and setting up camp for a week and a half. There's 7 of us coming on the trip, including me, and the girl in question. Her name is Rachel. Let me describe you to her. Her appearance is irrelevant, we'll leave it as very pretty, and someone that could have her choice from MANY guys. And she does. She goes on dates often, guys chase her all the time, and she is constantly on her phone because guys are always trying to hit her up. This has less to do with her looks, and more to do with her infectious personality. She's the type of person you want to be around. Anyway, going into the road trip, I kind of had a little thing for her. While this trip was in its planning stages I had built my hopes up of her and I hooking up on the trip. As soon as we all met up, my hopes were crushed. It was painfully obvious she was into another guy on the trip, and devoted pretty much all her attention to him. A bit of a douchebag this guy is, but horribly awkward, and even less experienced than I am. So when we got in the van and headed off I was a bit annoyed by this, after all, I thought my chances with this girl were done. This is where I accidentally began what I like to refer to as "The Great Seducing".Day 1: She attempted small talk with me. I gave her short and un-detailed answers. This surely threw her for a loop. Usually guys give her their full attention, I made it clear that I was focused on other things besides her. What little talk I did have with her, was short but sweet. I am not a ladies man, but I am a comedian. When she asked me a question, I made her laugh. When she tried to tell me something, I made her laugh. Every interaction I had with her, I tried to make her laugh. I didn't try to specifically make her laugh, I try to make everyone laugh. People love to laugh, so if you make them laugh, they will like you. I also used a bit of manipulation on her this day, with the Ben Franklin seduction technique. It's not going to make her leap into your arms, but in a situation where you will spending a week together, it adds up in the end. We got to our campsite, and she and the douche kind of hung around and did their own thing. This saddened me a bit, but the most important thing I did was show that it didn't bother me. I hung out with the other 4 people instead. Always put out positive vibes. This was especially hard because Rachel and douchebag were being very annoying to everyone, and got a little tipsy and kept everyone upDay 2: This was an important day. The whole day I was in a great mood. Come dinner time Rachel went back to the trailer to go take a nap. I went to the trailer too because I was dead tired. It was just her and I in there. I woke her up accidentally when I walked in. She talked to me for a bit as I took my shirt off and climbed into my bed. This moment was important because it was the first time all trip it was just her and I, and I made it slightly sensual and personal. Later that night, I tried to fight fire with fire, and was in an adventurous mood. I was full of energy and wanted to explore the campsite. I eventually tired everyone out, but I still was putting out positive vibes.Day 3: This day was a peak point for my frustration. Douchebag and Rachel kept flirting with each other, but that guy was the biggest pussy of all time, and refused to make any move on her. I still threw out the positive vibes and had a great time with the other 4 people. I once again, accidentally made a power move here, and a ballsy one that I wouldn't recommend unless you can 100% guarantee the outcome that you want. What happened was We were all in the trailer, and ready for bed. But then I got a sudden rush of energy, and told the 4 cool people to join me in going to the beach. At the time, I didn't want Douchebag and Rachel to come with us because they were annoying me all day, but what I essentially did was put the ball in douchebag's court, and force him to make a move. It was just him and Rachel, the perfect opportunity to make the perfect move. He failed to do so. Success for me.Day 4: The most important day by far. Now listen up, this is where it gets interesting. The whole day I was being a little short with Rachel. This wasn't intentional, I was just annoyed by her. We kind of gave each other attitude all day, and it wasn't pleasant. This normally would be a bad thing if it wasn't followed up what happened later that night. My friend was especially annoyed by douchebag and his pussy behavior, so he took him aside and basically yelled at him to make a move. Later that night he got sloppily drunk and tried to make a move, which obviously failed. He freaked out on her for rejecting him, yelled at her for leading him on. She goes on the defensive. Some other girl there takes douchebags side (she was also drunk as shit) and yelled at Rachel. Rachel yells back. Douchebag then tries to fight his friend who convinced him to make a move. This is getting bad fast, so me and my other 2 friends break it up by separating all of them. I was tasked with keeping Rachel busy while the drunkards calm down. I talked a bit to Rachel, apologizing for being cross with her earlier, and because I was trying to save face, I blamed it on the one year anniversary of my cat dying. This was an emotional thing I could share with her, that showed I trust her. I then did the most important thing... I listened. She talked about what just went down, and when she stopped talking I would ask her questions about it, in particular how she felt. I got her to open up to me. When she was done talking, I comforted her, telling her it'd be okay. I hugged her, and we got something to drink. When we get back everybody is asleep, we must've been talking for a while. Success. We accidentally wake up douchebag, and he tries to make another move on her right there, and gets shut down hard. Even better.Day 5: This day was messy due to everyone being hungover and embarrassed by what happened the night prior. I was spending a lot more time with Rachel, because she felt awkward with everyone else. I was nice to her, and gave her the most attention I've given her yet the whole trip. Later that night, douchebag was giving her the cold shoulder, and she felt bad and ran off. I volunteered to see if she was okay. I then found her sitting on a beach chair by herself, so I sat down beside her and kind of just held her (wasn't trying to seduce her here, just comfort her). We talked for a bit, and I cheered her up some more.Day 6: This was a very important night. There was a club on the island that we were camping on, so we decided to go check it out for our last night. She tried to look really slutty (in retrospect, it might have been for me, but it also could be because she needed some attention to make herself feel better after what happened the last few days). I really hate clubbing, so I was pretty much miserable all night. I walk out of the club without saying a word and she runs up to me and asks me where I was going. I told her I was going to check out the nearby beach. She asked me if I wanted her to come with her. I said she could if she wanted to (very important, I made her make a choice, instead of making it for her), she then decided to. I was dead tired, so I wasn't on top of my game, but more importantly, I was just annoyed. She was being annoying again the whole night, so I didn't really make an effort to chase her. This was very important, because all the attention and comforting feelings I was giving her before were cut off cold turkey. You ever see a drug addict get cut off, cold turkey? They struggle hard, and usually try to go back for more. When we were on the beach, I (unknowingly) tested her dedication to me. When we got to the beach, she stopped and told me she didn't want to go further because she was wearing heels. I didn't say anything and just kept walking (lol). She then took off her heels and followed me barefoot. We talked for a bit and then we went back to the club. One of our friends was throwing up so we had to get them back the trailer, but Rachel wanted to stay behind for a bit and said she'd catch up to us. We then waited about an hour and she didn't show up so I was furious. I walked back to the club, found her, and told her that it was time to go back. Some guy was trying to talk to her and he kind of got a little pushy so I told him to fuck off. The whole walk back with her I was pissed and tired, so I was just kind of ignoring her. Meanwhile, she trying everything to get me to talk. She kept trying and trying but I wouldn't give. I didn't know it at the time, but this was almost manipulation, cutting off the attention after giving it for a while.Day 7: The last day. I had lightened up because I got a good sleep and was no longer dead tired. Rachel was still trying to get me to talk to her more, only this time I did. We walked together again, and talked for a bit. She was being more flirty than she ever had before. I was flirting back with her. On the drive back she was pressed up right against me, and rested her head on me for a good portion of the way back. When we got back, nothing really happened then.A couple days later she texted me (she never sends the first text, like ever). I was really busy so I couldn't really talk a whole lot, but I still answered her text. She was clearly wanting me to ask her out to do something.It wasn't until much later I realized that I seduced this girl with masterful techniques, but completely unintentionally. I am now kicking myself in the arse though because she clearly wanted to take it further, even after the trip. Oh well, I'm sure I will get another chance, and this time, I will be ready. via /r/dating_advice