zukkacore

[zukkacore]

How are we still having homestuck drama in the year of our lord 2024

[zukkacore]

saw an image that said “superman isn’t political we just have real life supervillains now” yeah yeah the genre about good vs evil spearheaded by jewish dudes in the 1940s was never political it was all just fun and games. until 2025.

[zukkacore]

Kpop demon hunters being a huge hit w the kiddos has made such an interesting summer for me as someone who works w kids bc we had to stop playing it at our daycare bc the parents complained. I can’t help but notice this intersection KPDH has w the conversation around “protecting” kids bc there will be the completely reasonable request of “it gave my 5 year old nightmares” mixed in w not just parents but my dumbass coworkers acting like the jokified version of characters being interested in a boy bc of his abs portrayed in this abstracted, figurative way (the popcorn metaphor) is like. More heinous than any of the weird shit that will pops up in like the Disney renaissance ilk that no one bats an eye at. People will literally act scandalized and straight up spread misinfo about how the movie is PG-13 (it’s not, it’s PG, and the rating system is already kinda bullshit anyway, like the animated Aladdin by comparison is rated G) & it pisses me off. The kids are literally too busy begging me to draw baby saja for them to care about that popcorn joke. Some of yall are cringe, that’s all I have to say

[zukkacore]

What you have to understand is that Gilear and Wealwell are the exact same character except that they’re on opposite ends of the “Has plot armor purely for comedic effect” spectrum and what I mean by that is Gilear is protected by The Plot because it’s hilarious for this guy who’s so unbelievably pathetic and incompetent to keep surviving every horror against all odds and also his own will, and Wealwell is protected by The Plot because it’s hilarious for this guy who, by all laws of storytelling, should be utterly useless to the other characters, to be unbelievably strong and successful at everything he does. Gilear survives because it’s funny for him to endure every possible horror pathetically and often and still come out the other side relatively unscathed. Wealwell survives because it’s funny for him to utilize his whimsical, hyper-specific, and seemingly useless skillset to defeat every opponent the narrative throws at him with infuriating ease and a constantly changing, completely unpredictable attitude.

[zukkacore]

So, okay. In the Anime, Nurse Joy is one of a couple of NPC families, probably an in-joke about being based on an RPG. In the original series, they were all identical individuals who were related (through marriage inexplicably sometimes) who shared the same name.

Not only are they physically identical, but they also have regional variants, which honestly are just like clothing style and hairstyle differences as art changes aside, they still look similar enough between regions that a hairstyle change could make them pretty good ringers for one another.

But, then in Diamond Pearl, they delivered this shocker:

We met Marnie and Page Joy and their father, Karsten. The implication is that

1.) Nurse Joy genes are passed down matrilineally. Anybody can have a child with the Nurse Joy and there is a chance they'll be like a clone of the mother.

2.) Joy is in fact their last name and that too, is passed down matrilineally. Having a living father does not stop them from having the last name Joy.

Now, Horizons/Pokemon SV gives us a unique specimen. A teenage/young adult delinquent Nurse Joy. Now, the Mossui Town Pokemon Center Lady isn't CONFIRMED to be a Nurse Joy relative and as far as we know, there's no other nurses in her region that resemble her.

In the most recent Japanese episode, we also see a Grandma Joy, confirming in fact that Nurse Joy does age, but also she's a Kanto Nurse Joy with a unique hairstyle compared to even the Joys at the same Pokemon Center.

But, then there's Molly. Molly is the first Pokemon Nurse who's a main character. She's IMPLIED to be a Nurse Joy as she claims to come from a family of Pokemon Doctors and is seen eventually working for Pokemon Centers.

When she as a young Pokemon Doctor, she bore a passing resemblance to a Galarian Nurse Joy, but notably, has always had a distinct design from the identical Nurse Joy family, which grew more distinct when she became independent and decided to travel the world treating Pokemon rather than stay at a Pokemon Center.

However, despite being a distinct design, she shares the basic physical features of a Nurse Joy as well as the voice actor, implying some manner of relation.

[zukkacore]

KPop Demon Hunters is a pretty good movie with a pretty bad title lol. it's like naming your romance novel "Enemies To Lovers" or- (assistant runs onstage) what? (assistant starts whispering frantically in my ear) oh... oh.......

[zukkacore]

Our virtuous “his eyes darkened / he growled / he hissed” vs their barbarous “he smelled like sandalwood / his lips tasted like cinnamon & peppermint”

It’s simple, figurative language is good and an exercise in creativity and cultivating a mood when I like it and it’s hackneyed stock and cliche when I don’t. Hope that clears things up!

[zukkacore]

It’s simple, figurative language is good and an exercise in creativity and cultivating a mood when I like it and it’s hackneyed stock and cliche when I don’t. Hope that clears things up!

[zukkacore]

i feel like there's a tendency to describe things that are liberal as fascist in a way that lets liberalism off the hook- as if genocide and segregation are exclusive to fascism, and as if liberal nations haven't engaged in genocide and segregation as well for as long as they've existed. if we posit that countries like the united states of america, israel, australia, etc are fascist and not liberal then the term liberal just doesn't mean anything. this also gives fascism too much credit-no nation built on fascist principles could last as long as any of the previously listed genocidal liberal nations. similarly, an individual can be bigoted, even genocidal, and still be a liberal.

[zukkacore]

If this new season of game changer has thought me anything it is that there should be a spin off campaign of the Rat Grinders solely so that Vic Michaelis can play as Kipperlilly Copperkettle because I think she would eat that quiet simmering all consuming anger up and make it funny as fuck. They would do the most insanely passive aggressive things for the most pettiest of reasons and that is truly the energy that Kipperlily Copperkettle needs.

[zukkacore]

all RIGHT:

Why You're Writing Medieval (and Medieval-Coded) Women Wrong: A RANT

(Or, For the Love of God, People, Stop Pretending Victorian Style Gender Roles Applied to All of History)

This is a problem I see alllll over the place - I'll be reading a medieval-coded book and the women will be told they aren't allowed to fight or learn or work, that they are only supposed to get married, keep house and have babies, &c &c.

If I point this out ppl will be like "yes but there was misogyny back then! women were treated terribly!" and OK. Stop right there.

By & large, what we as a culture think of as misogyny & patriarchy is the expression prevalent in Victorian times - not medieval. (And NO, this is not me blaming Victorians for their theme park version of "medieval history". This is me blaming 21st century people for being ignorant & refusing to do their homework).

Yes, there was misogyny in medieval times, but 1) in many ways it was actually markedly less severe than Victorian misogyny, tyvm - and 2) it was of a quite different type. (Disclaimer: I am speaking specifically of Frankish, Western European medieval women rather than those in other parts of the world. This applies to a lesser extent in Byzantium and I am still learning about women in the medieval Islamic world.)

So, here are the 2 vital things to remember about women when writing medieval or medieval-coded societies

FIRST. Where in Victorian times the primary axes of prejudice were gender and race - so that a male labourer had more rights than a female of the higher classes, and a middle class white man would be treated with more respect than an African or Indian dignitary - In medieval times, the primary axis of prejudice was, overwhelmingly, class. Thus, Frankish crusader knights arguably felt more solidarity with their Muslim opponents of knightly status, than they did their own peasants. Faith and age were also medieval axes of prejudice - children and young people were exploited ruthlessly, sent into war or marriage at 15 (boys) or 12 (girls). Gender was less important.

What this meant was that a medieval woman could expect - indeed demand - to be treated more or less the same way the men of her class were. Where no ancient legal obstacle existed, such as Salic law, a king's daughter could and did expect to rule, even after marriage.

Women of the knightly class could & did arm & fight - something that required a MASSIVE outlay of money, which was obviously at their discretion & disposal. See: Sichelgaita, Isabel de Conches, the unnamed women fighting in armour as knights during the Third Crusade, as recorded by Muslim chroniclers.

Tolkien's Eowyn is a great example of this medieval attitude to class trumping race: complaining that she's being told not to fight, she stresses her class: "I am of the house of Eorl & not a serving woman". She claims her rights, not as a woman, but as a member of the warrior class and the ruling family. Similarly in Renaissance Venice a doge protested the practice which saw 80% of noble women locked into convents for life: if these had been men they would have been "born to command & govern the world". Their class ought to have exempted them from discrimination on the basis of sex.

So, tip #1 for writing medieval women: remember that their class always outweighed their gender. They might be subordinate to the men within their own class, but not to those below.

SECOND. Whereas Victorians saw women's highest calling as marriage & children - the "angel in the house" ennobling & improving their men on a spiritual but rarely practical level - Medievals by contrast prized virginity/celibacy above marriage, seeing it as a way for women to transcend their sex. Often as nuns, saints, mystics; sometimes as warriors, queens, & ladies; always as businesswomen & merchants, women could & did forge their own paths in life

When Elizabeth I claimed to have "the heart & stomach of a king" & adopted the persona of the virgin queen, this was the norm she appealed to. Women could do things; they just had to prove they were Not Like Other Girls. By Elizabeth's time things were already changing: it was the Reformation that switched the ideal to marriage, & the Enlightenment that divorced femininity from reason, aggression & public life.

For more on this topic, read Katherine Hager's article "Endowed With Manly Courage: Medieval Perceptions of Women in Combat" on women who transcended gender to occupy a liminal space as warrior/virgin/saint.

So, tip #2: remember that for medieval women, wife and mother wasn't the ideal, virgin saint was the ideal. By proving yourself "not like other girls" you could gain significant autonomy & freedom.

Finally a bonus tip: if writing about medieval women, be sure to read writing on women's issues from the time so as to understand the terms in which these women spoke about & defended their ambitions. Start with Christine de Pisan.

I learned all this doing the reading for WATCHERS OF OUTREMER, my series of historical fantasy novels set in the medieval crusader states, which were dominated by strong medieval women! Book 5, THE HOUSE OF MOURNING (forthcoming 2023) will focus, to a greater extent than any other novel I've ever yet read or written, on the experience of women during the crusades - as warriors, captives, and political leaders. I can't wait to share it with you all!

[zukkacore]

In my opinion it's a lot more healthy to be able to own that you dislike someone for petty reasons than to do all kinds of mental gymnastics to make everyone you don't really vibe with out to be a bad person actually

[zukkacore]

Risky, risky ⚡⚡

[zukkacore]

workdays should be like 4 hrs long max. and even that is pushing it tbqh

[zukkacore]

YALL IT HAPPENED!!!!

[zukkacore]

i dont think the issue is having potatoes in your medieval-inspired fantasy in a vacuum. i think the issue is the sheer lack of acknowledgement of indigenous people and cultures in the fantasy genre with the exception of maybe some deeply racist coding of certain non-humans (usually orcs and elves).

[zukkacore]