#-audience is mostly children (stupid)

[inkskinned]

something that stuck with me once, way back in middle school when i was still learning how to write - my teacher said "writing shock and tragedy is easy, it's humor that's the hardest."

i have been up and down the halls of academia. i have the fancy degree and the experience in publishing. i think i paved most of my own road with the little bricks of sorrow i had stored inside of me. i know i did it mostly with works that are blisteringly lonely. i know why we write like that. it's lifesaving.

but yeah, i mean. i also know how much people think that "sad" media is the same thing as "good" media. our human desire to connect is so hard-pressed that we immediately latch onto any broken themes. the bullied kids and the tales of inspiration. people keep saying things like "glass onion" and "everything everywhere" weren't actually good. because, you know, they're. happy. or happy-ish. happy enough. and we only value art if it's grimdark-adjacent.

do you know - people still consistently whine at me that my writing would be so good if i just capitalized things. i used to flinch. i get kind of a weird, vindictive little rush these days - i get to say thank you for the comment! i have chronic pain and this is how i conserve my hands so i can write more during the day :) grammar isn't real anyway! and now they're trapped in the room with me, you know? i get to pull out my map and show them how grammar is not the same thing as good writing.

writers have this thing. we scratch at our insides, constantly, prying our lives apart into splinters. prying the splinters apart into atoms. when we combust something into poetry, we control it. it cannot hurt us if it exists outside of us rather than burning a hole through the bottom of our lungs. it's not a wonder to me that so much of what i make comes out like a death gasp. i spent a long time at the bottom. i keep going back, too. when you're down there for so long, the only thing you can exhale is fumes.

but humor is hard. humor needs timing; which i can't promise in a paragraph. i can kind-of force it through careful spacing, but i have no idea how fast you're reading these things. humor needs a somewhat awareness of your audience, when really - anybody could be looking. humor needs us to understand what the joke is, why it's a joke, and to think - ha! that is funny. in tragedy, everyone understands the metaphor of a kicked puppy. in humor, you need to introduce them to the concept of a dog.

and forget about positivity. forget about anything not made for adults explicitly. every time i see a well-made children's media piece, i feel fucking horrible for the creators. most of the time, people see children's media as being sort of "not worth" applause, even though i'm pretty sure they have to work twice as hard. i have no idea how hard it must be to not be able to have your character just say. "well, fuck." something about a message of peace or friendship or caring - for some reason, that makes the media not for adults. like, okay. i'm pretty sure my father actually, out of all of us, could use a good book on how to control his temper and talk about his feelings.

but whatever. i write a short story about my ocd, and how it's fucking killing me. it gets an award. it gets published. i write a short story about my ocd, and how i'm overcoming it, and how my days are getting lighter and starting to flourish. i keep getting ghosted. no response. it just is lacking... something.

is this it, forever? you can be an artist, okay. but the trade off is that the things you make - if they're happy? if they're joyful? people will say it's stupid and pandering. you bite your nails off. you file your teeth. you hear something inside of you breaking.

the other day in a writing group, someone i'd thought of as a friend said: "you write so much better these days! i love what you make when you'd rather be dead."

#i have no idea what this is about #writeblr #i think u might tho. if ur an artist. u might. idk

[soundbulb]

it makes sense to me that maggie is the one capable of saying something cutting to rust, if only by being the only woman in his life who isn't dead. the whole crux of the conflict, in terms of the state of the soul of true detective, is rust and marty's denial that all men's weakness, sadism, beliefs, mistakes disproportionately destroys the lives of women and children, and the men who do it get to just keep truckin, sometimes with guilt heaped on. they just get away with it over and over and it kills women and girls. I think of rust's, "she sounds sad, marty, like a person on their last legs" about dora after visiting the bunny ranch. how dora was predated on by her father ("why wouldn't a father bathe his child?"), ended up with charlie lang, and was then marked as a target because charlie showed her naked pictures to his cellmate who he hated.

marty's whole hang up is just a classic cop one. he's the good guy and he hunts the bad guys. rust doesn't think he's the good guy, he's just another bad guy hunting bad guys, but that's still denial. when he passes a tide of hallow rationalizations to maggie, they suddenly sound like exactly what they are. normally rust has been monologuing to male audiences -- papania, marty -- who balk and seem defensive or quietly suspicious, but when maggie is the audience you realize rust actually sounds exactly like marty giving his stupid "you gotta decompress" schtick. she's not hung up on any of his actual ideas, doesn't take a single one seriously, because it turns out they're a baby blanket. in rust's phrasing, they're just the encouragement of illusion so he can get through his reality. that scene coming so soon after rust saying, "when I think of my daughter, what she was spared." he just can't do it yet. despite all his efforts, he just can't look at anything head on, not until the end, when he's in that syrupy blackness experiencing his loved ones. he only edges up to the truth, keeping himself mostly at arms length. he gets right on top of it in that same monologue, "she spared me the sin of being a father." the death of women in girls in this season are redemptive; the childress' seem to use them as some kind of baptism. when they're not around to destroy, the men who destroy them are spared of being the men who destroy them.

marty is always under the impression his intentions are good. "was that a down payment?" and marty chews him out for "joking" about his moment of decency, but it was absolutely a down payment. rust clocked it correctly, most of the reason marty was mad was because he was attracted to beth, and he started blustering some rhetoric and then gives beth a twenty, hissing out a white hot, "do something else," like an accusation. but marty goes through all the motions of a hero, so to beth he looks like one. he slaps his daughter and calls her a slut for doing the kinds of things he does with women. he beats on the men she was with so he can feel like a Father and a Hero then vomits in front of his car because it was all just clumsy violence and cowardice. rust knows he isn't doing any good, but he still wants some of that redemption; he tells maggie his little screed about man-woman drama because he wants her to accept it. he knows the women and girls pay more to live in the same world, they don't get away with just existing while men get away with it all, but knowing that doesn't bring him any closer to looking at it head on. he's still asking maggie for something: accept it, get on the same page, spare me, and maggie says no, at least right then. eventually she does, then ultimately she doesn't.

anyway, I think it's interesting how different it feels to hear rust say what he says in that scene. you suddenly realize exactly how his words fall on the ears of reality. "at the end of the day you duck behind rationalizations just like the rest of them."

#true detective #rust cohle #htl #ht

[knightsickness]

Girl, Alicent literally married her son to her underage daughter so they could produce 100% Valyrian children with silver hair, what the fuck are you talking about, lmao ? “My son will take the crown of his namesake, the Conqueror, and carry Blackfyre, his sword. Let the people remember the ancient strength of House Targaryen.”

The only people she murdered are her children and grandchildren and that’s solely because she’s completely incompetent. But I do love her for accidentally ending her own bloodline, the only goof thing she ever did.

why am i being sent tiktok-grade alicent hate arguments

1 i assume we’re talking about show alicent bc you quoted her and yes that quote would indicate she wants aegon to be like aegon i as a propaganda thing. however that quote is from ep9 eighteen years after the name choice was made + my point was only that its interesting viserys had a dead brother aegon. saying that influenced the choice of name seems reasonable esp considering his birth between eps 2 and 3 is YEARS before alicent even starts scheming towards the throne she’s still loyal to rhaenyra. i even indicated in the post otto would be extremely pleased w the choice for power reasons im not pretending there was no hightower influence over viz. alicent’s power over viserys is also significantly less than it becomes on his deathbed bc shes his teenage second wife he feels intensely guilty about taking and he’s still mostly in his own power

2 the underage daughter point is very charged considering thats both westerosi and targaryen normal even if its gross to a modern audience. ned betrothed his UNDERAGE daughter to joffrey? rhaenyra tried to betrothe her UNDERAGE son to UNDERAGE helaena? i’ve made a post abt this before alicent is literally also an underage bride the cycles etc. acting as if alicent is some freak outlier in the targaryen blood purity dynasty for the brother and sister husband and wife king and queen is weird theyre a nasty family

3 why are you both morally condemning her for her children’s marriages and implying she should have personally murdered more people and was an incompetent loser for not doing that where are your lines here. you could say exactly the same thing abt rhaenyra she never killed anyone with her own hand and all the strong boys died horribly but that would be an insane thing to say and a stupid read of the dance. also whoo gaf would i be a greenie blogger if i cared if they were evil losers

4 🫵 bloodline weirdo ! bloodline weirdo ! i hate this shit ‘daemon’s daughters infiltrated otto’s bloodline 🤭’ who cares !

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #hotd #house of the dragon #alicent hightower

[theerurishipper]

The biggest truth that solves all plot holes in Miraculous: they’re bad writers.

No excuse of this being a kids show works because if you want to be not held accountable for holes then fine act like SpongeBob

but you can’t have everything

Yeah. I didn't give a damn about the "plot holes" in Seasons 1-2, or even Season 3 to some extent, because those were mostly monster of the week type of episodes. Sure, there were some semblances of plot and world-building, but it was still mostly episodic and the show still mostly focused on being goofy and entertaining, so I turned of my brain and enjoyed it greatly.

But then Season 4 came along and tried to change the tone of the series entirely, from being a monster of the week to having an actual plot and overarching story, and proved that the writers for the show don't really know how to do that? And then they started digging their holes deeper and deeper and made so many baffling decisions in the writing that the show just turned into a huge mess, full of unresolved plot points, underdeveloped characters, convoluted storytelling, and many unfortunate implications.

And it's like you said. If the show wants me to take it seriously, I will. I'm going to look at a show for what it is. When the show was presenting itself as a goofy episodic show to entertain kids, I judged it as such and I enjoyed it, because Miraculous is good at that. I loved Seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 less so, because it started The Plot™, and it wasn't good at that, but I still enjoyed a lot of it. But Seasons 4 and 5 came along and demanded I take them seriously, so I did. And they weren't good, because the writers aren't good at that kind of storytelling. They're good at goofy shenanigans, but not at complex plots and characters.

And "it's a kids show" is not an excuse. Kids shows can explore complex subjects and can have great plots and characters (ATLA). But it still has to be, you know, good. Kids aren't stupid. I know that kid me would have also hated the Season 5 finale, because Adrien is my favorite, and he wasn't there, and they made Marinette lose.

But at the same time, this is still a show for kids. Miraculous is a kids show, and therefore, it has the responsibility to not promote harmful messages. What would an abused child who is in a situation similar to Adrien's think when they see him call Gabriel a hero in the finale and say that he doesn't know if he'll ever be like him? Children aren't stupid and incapable of understanding anything, and they do deserve good quality of writing, but they also aren't capable of complex media analysis. And when you see people making these long-ass posts talking about how the finale is actually not what it seems like, actually, you have to consider the target audience. A kid isn't going to be picking up on the deep and nuanced hidden meanings in Gabriel final moments that prove he hasn't changed. They are going to see Gabriel hugging his wife, smiling and surrounded by pretty and warm lights while beautiful music plays. If we have to write all these long theories justifying the ending and trying to suggest that what was obviously portrayed on the screen isn't what the show is really trying to say, is a kid really going to get it?

Which is why you see so many people saying shit like "aw Gabriel was really a good man," or "he was never the villain." These people are probably like, 12–13 year olds, and they are watching a show meant for kids. And as a kid, I'm not going to like that Adrien wasn't in the finale, sure, but does that mean I'll understand that Gabriel is supposed to still be a bad guy when the show tells me to my face that he isn't?

It's not like the show can't deal with complex and nuanced characters. I myself have written many character analyses and have treated these characters as complex and nuanced, and they could have been. Again, look at ATLA. Zuko, for example, is a very complex character, but he is still brought to life in a way that allows kids to understand all the nuances and subtleties in his story clearly. There is a lot of rather complex symbolism, but the kids get the jist of it and can understand his story well, even if they don't catch all the minute details. Hell, take Azula. The show doesn't shy away from showing her doing bad things, but it also makes it blatantly obvious that you should feel sorry for her in the end, and that she's also a victim. Again, kids can understand this.

And that's where Miraculous falls flat. The writers fucked up their message. They wrote some deeply problematic stuff, where the abuser won. The bad guy won, but he was actually a good guy. So, people who act like Gabriel maybe aren't all that bad. What Gabriel did in the end was good, and we should all try to be like him. Kids aren't going to question it. In this way, "it's a kids show" goes from being an excuse to being a problem. It's what it says on the tin, and what's on the tin is not good. That's how I feel.

Thank you for your ask!

#MLB #Miraculous Ladybug #S5 Finale #Meta #My meta #ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Asks

[trillgendermetaphor]

Educational

(980 words) by angiospermophyta

Fandom: The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir

Relationship: Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus

Rating: General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Gideon Nav, Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Teacher | Priest of Canaan House, Palamedes Sextus, Camilla Hect

Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teachers

Language: English

Summary:

Gideon Nav’s enthusiasm was not contagious, exactly, but it did strange things to her stomach. More importantly, Nav’s muscles seemed more suited to a gym than a classroom, and Harrow almost blurted out something stupid. Instead what came out was, “Are you sure you can teach math?"

It's Harrow's first day as a science teacher at Canaan Middle School, and already she's managed to alienate the (excpetionally attractive) math teacher.

Harrow stood with her back to the door, surveying her work appraisingly. It would do for now.

The bulletin board was mostly empty, but had been plastered over with dark-red-magenta paper. A bold black heading at the top read “Student Work.” Harrow had been advised early on that her classroom could not be decorated solely in black, grey, and bones, and she was attempting to give it a muted-rainbow aesthetic to compensate for her own style. Perhaps some middle schoolers would appreciate darkness, but she had learned that the majority of them did not. They felt safe and comfortable with soft fabrics and bright colors. Wimps.

In the back of her head was the voice of Harrow’s therapist: Have you considered that you look down on those who prefer softness because you wish you had been allowed to be soft growing up? As if Harrow had ever wanted to be soft! As if she wished she could have been vulnerable growing up! As if she had become a science teacher – as opposed to the orthopedic surgeon that had been expected of her – because she had wanted to protect children the way she had never been protected herself. As if!

A throat cleared before her, and she turned to find the soft gaze of Teacher, the principal of Canaan Middle School. He had another name, which she tried to remember out of some sort of decorum, and began to form on her lips – “Mr.–” but he seemed to catch her gaze and she broke off. “Ms. Nonagesimus, please, call me Teacher.”

Harrow nodded stiffly. “Teacher.”

The older man’s eyes turned to survey her classroom. “A fine job you’ve done with the room.” He turned and seemed to notice the small display of bones she’d created against the radiators, and an eyebrow upturned minutely. “Very educational, my dear. I anticipate our students will have many questions for you.” Harrow held back a slight upturn of her lips.

“Well done, well done,” he concluded, just as a voice called from behind him, “Teach!”

A large shadow loomed in the doorway behind teacher, and a large (impossibly large and toned) arm draped across the man’s thin frame. Following the arm came a ginger head, dark sunglasses, and an easy smile. Harrow’s breath caught in her throat, and she remembered the breathing exercises she’d practiced: four counts in, hold, four counts out, hold…

The tanned figure was saying something, and Harrow caught the end of it as she steadied her breathing: “… new science teacher? All right!” Teacher smiled, waved, and gracefully exited – traitor.

Suddenly a hand was thrust in her direction.

Harrow wanted desperately, more than anything in the world, to hold that hand. She was on count two of her exhale – three, four. Hold, two, three, four… She stared at the outstretched hand, willing herself to grab onto it. Her hand didn’t move. Breathe in, two, three, four…

It was too late. Gideon’s hand dropped back down to her side, and her face fell minutely. She put on a large, robust smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and ploughed on. “I’m Gideon – Ms. Nav, for the students, though gosh that seems so formal! – and I teach math. I’ll be your co-teacher, so we’ll share the same kids!”

Harrow blinked. Gideon Nav’s enthusiasm was not contagious, exactly, but it did strange things to her stomach. More importantly, Nav’s muscles seemed more suited to a gym than a classroom, and Harrow almost blurted out something stupid. Instead what came out was, “Are you sure you can teach math?”

Keep reading on ao3!

#within one day i have gone from “never written anything in five years and never published anything in ten years” #to conceiving of writing and publishing (on ao3) a oneshot #is it short? yes #am i proud of myself? yes #constructive criticism welcome #most importantly please interact #because this is seriously a big deal for me and i would love some kind of response #griddlehark #gideon the ninth #gideon nav #harrowhark nonagesimus #tlt #the locked tomb

[morgana-ren]

Alrighty, everyone mute me here cause I'm about to go on a tirade.

Look, I've been playing video games since I was young. Very young. Probably too young, if we're being completely honest. We had an old Nintendo 64 from my step-dad's youth that I used to play religiously. I played my ps2 for hours and hours a day as a way to cope with a.. shall we say unstable household. I had Gameboy Advanced, Gameboy color, all the way up to Nintendo DS to the switch. This is something I've been doing since I was barely old enough to speak. I used to get games at Blockbuster, okay? I played the OG Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights on a clunky old computer. Even when we were flat-busted ass broke with absolutely no money to spare, I would play at friend's houses. I would play old AV consoles on those fat ass TVs. It's my oldest hobby besides reading, is the point here.

My point is I'm old enough to remember when gaming was a niche hobby that you could actually get bullied for. It was back when studios made games mostly out of passion, and not to sell to a broader audience. There wasn't really even such a thing as microtransactions. You bought a full and complete game. Blizzard released good products, actually (unbelievable, I know.) Games knew their audience, and there wasn't necessarily an assload of money in it, so it was mostly made out of love for the games and their community.

Gaming has grown in popularity over the last 10-20 years, and that can be an excellent thing! Really! It can be! But Baldur's Gate 3 winning game of the year brought something to my attention that has been driving me mad for a few days now. It's a concept I've found myself repeating for a long time, but barely just sort of sat down to analyze it:

Not everything is for you.

The last few winners of GOTY have had some... sour people be very upset. Not that this is uncommon, but especially the last few years. People saying Elden Ring is 'too hard,' people saying that Baldur's Gate 3 is nothing but pedantic dice rolls, etc. People who, in general, were very unhappy that these games did not appeal to them in particular, and they were very vocal about how these games should be changed to appeal to them personally.

What I'm saying is that these people, along with most others, were not there during the days of niche gaming, where when you didn't like a game, you didn't necessarily throw a tantrum and stamp your feet and demand that these games aren't good and that they need to change, but rather, you just... didn't play them. They weren't made for you.

We live in an age where absolutely everything is being scraped for every last dollar. Games that used to be made out of passion for their communities are now being made to sell, sell, sell as many copies as physically possible to everyone. If it won't pander to every last person, it's not going to be made. Things are being 'streamlined' to make the games appeal to anyone and everyone who might play them.

'Streamlined' in this case, means 'dumbed down.' As Bethesda famously says, KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Games that used to be a little bit more 'niche' and 'complex' like Morrowind, are now games like Skyrim, that are dumbed down to sell to everyone. They remove a lot of the aspects that made them beloved in the name of 'garnering a new and broader audience.' Older folks, adults, children, everyone. But this attitude of inclusivity isn't as great as it might seem initially. It isn't done out of community. It is done to get absolutely every last person possible to empty their wallet at the altar. To get every last fucking dollar out of everyone.

Games are passionless money pits. They sell you a half-baked, simple product that insults your intelligence. It's impossible to fail quests, because God forbid one person doesn't like that and asks for their money back. They won't touch on complex topics, because they don't want to cause a controversy that might drain their prospective bank account. They can't make things so intricate that God forbid a toddler might not understand them. They are milquettoast, miserable little games that appeal not even to people who enjoy games, but rather, people who don't.

Yes, they are making games to try and get money from people who don't even like them. They can't make anything nuanced or put a learning curve or put any actual work or fun into the game, because people who don't actually like playing games might realize "Hey, actually, I'm not enjoying this at all." and not give anymore money.

I'll get to the point.

Games being disliked by certain people is a good thing. It means those companies were unwavering on their vision and their loyalty to their fans. It means it was a game made from passion, and not just to be marketed and sold to literally every living person. They were made with their communities in mind, and no offense, but if you aren't one of the people that likes the things those communities stand for, maybe you should seek it elsewhere rather than trying to change something someone loves to suit you instead. You are not the demographic here.

You hear people that hate turnbased saying that Baldur's Gate 3 should not have been turnbased. Guess what? That's literally DnD. It's a DnD game. Don't like the lack of day cycles? Again, that's long resting in DnD. Pedantic dice rolls? That's fucking DnD, baby. Maybe you don't like it, but just because the game got popular does not mean it was made for you. Too much gay? Go away. Baldur's Gate was not made to sell copies to everyone. In fact, it was a relatively niche prospect that gained massive popularity near the end because of a scandal. I've been with them since Patch 2 of Early Access, and it very much was a passion project by people who loved DnD and TT games. They did not think it was going to hit this level of popularity, and they stuck to their guns even when it did. I cannot tell you how rare and remarkable that is.

Dark Souls is too hard? Maybe it's not the game for you. If you don't like certain design aspects, that's fine and okay! But Miyazaki and Fromsoft should not be forced to change their vision of their passion project because you personally do not like it. It was around before you, and they have a loyal community that does love the game just how it is. If you want a game with a difficulty slider, maybe you should play a game that has one. I'm sorry if you don't like the fundamentals of the game, but they exist for a reason, the community likes it, and no, it's not just for elitist reasons like I see all too often. You just do not understand because you don't like the game and do not like being told no for once by a company that has integrity.

I'm not trying to insult you. I'm being honest when I say that it's an attitude that is expected in the current climate where everything is changed when people complain the loudest because changing it means more money, and more money is the goal. These people are not your friends. Do not forget that. They are not changing it because they care about you. They are changing it because they think they can con you out of another dime.

People have a masochistic relationship with these companies. They have gotten used to being pandered to. They have gotten used to being sold a shitty game that everyone from their grandmother to their toddler niece and nephew can beat. And no, there's nothing wrong with games for everyone. But it's not because they wanted to make a game for everyone. It was because they wanted everyone's money.

People make hour long youtube videos about how Baldur's Gate would have been better if it was real time, and if it was more like this game and that game (namely games that pander to everyone) and then, in the same week, release a video bewailing that all games are so bad now and they don't understand why. They grasp that greed has a part in it, but they don't understand that they are directly contributing to the problem.

Games are bad because when everything is for everyone, nothing is truly for you. You won't have a chance to be passionate about anything, because on the off chance you find something you love, you will inevitably watch it die the same way that those of us who have been here forever did, because someone outside of the community doesn't like it, so it has to go because Christ forbid they don't sell two more copies.

And no, I am not talking about 'woke' or 'political correctness' so you alt-right weirdos can keep the fuck off of this post. I am talking about things like a lack of quest markers. Complex puzzles that you can fail. Political nuance. Things that take brainpower and are fun but not everyone likes.

Maybe not everything is for you. Maybe a game is allowed to exist even if you don't like it. Maybe communities are allowed to have their thing while you have yours. Maybe you have gotten so used to being pandered and catered to with every game being this blase, half-baked experience that is sorta liked by most, but... beloved by none. It's a forgettable, boring experience that garners no real loyalty, but at most a "Ha, that was alright." And then you put it on the shelf never to touch it again.

It means these companies aren't thinking of money; they are thinking of their communities. They are thinking of their fans and the people who love their games. Every time Miyazaki says 'no' to changing the formula that we love about his games, he is thinking of his loyalty to his community and his passion to the game. When Sven refuses to change aspects of the game to suit people who don't like DnD, he is staying loyal to the DnD community.

More companies should be doing this. Not less.

But consumers need to remember that one little creedo: Not everything is for me.

It can exist and I can exist. I do not have to play it and I do not have to enjoy it. It doesn't mean that it's bad. It means it's not for me. And that's fine.

#morgana and friends #im going nuts here I just had to say it #so many people whining about bg3 and dark souls and like #these are games I LOVE #and if you don't like them DON'T PLAY THEM #not everything has to be for you #this is a good thing #it means these studios CARE about the people in their community! #it means they aren't thinking with their wallets! #they are making games out of PASSION #something larian is actually famous for #and ill be damned if I have to sit and listen to another whiny toad whinge about how 'they don't like it so it should be changed' #im not tagging this cause I'm not railing for popularity points #I just had to get it out #back to your regularly scheduled filth

[riordanverse-madness]

I have a bone to pick here

I read an article about the new Percy Jackson series and it was just.... infurating to say the least

The article picked to the bone Walker's, Leah's and Aryan's acting wich, I will say, isn't the best, but they are children that barely had any big roles and I feel like picking on them for that is just so under the belt.

It said that the storyline was rushed but that is to be expected with a book that has 20-something chapter being turned into a show. Anyone who was expecting the show to respect the pacing and the exact plot of the books to a T has unrealistic expectations.

What this article and it's author don't understand is that this show was made for fans by fans and, unlike what the author has written, the show can stand on it's own. It's perfectly enjoyable even when you aren't a fan of the books, because it actually explains stuff as you go along.

Also, "draw in parents that are stuck watching"? Ma'am, the kids that are watching this are definitely old enough to watch shit on their own. The creator made it for the kids that are watching who, by the way, are mostly in middle school.

Just to prove how stupid this whole article is:

The author admitted that it gets better, and putting all the words that she just wrote into the trash.

And the other stuff that she complained about? The casting famous actors in the series that add nothing to it (1) ? The series not having as much flair as a Hollywood production (2) ? The fact that the show is sticking to the book is risking the quality of it (3) ?

1. It's not the first or the last show to do this, tens of shows have done this exact formula

2.Once again, this is to be expected. If you're making a series with several 30 minutes episodes you're going to have a thighter buget that if you were making one 1 hour movie

3. As the author said, she isn't a reader, so I feel like she shouldn't be the judge of this. To readers, sticking to the og plot as much as posible is crucial when adapting a series. Making it familiar to fans of the books assures that you already have a set audience. The "risking the quality for audenticity" part? Bs really, doesn't make sense

So, the conclusion to this is that this author had no clue what she was writing

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

#if anyone wants to add something to this feel free to do it #the author shouldn't have a say in this because she isn't the target demographic and also she just has no clue on #...anything really #not to be mean or anything but if you're going to judge a series after only a couple episodes so hard than you're clearly splitting hairs #pjo disney+ #pjo fandom #percy jackson books #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #rick riordan #heroes of olympus #pjo tv #pjo hoo toa

[weaselbeaselpants]

kind of related but not- I'm genuinely sorry to be posting so much or about Lily Orchard, guys. Prior to Courtney coming on and telling us her story I was mostly just taken aback and angry with Lily as "one of those critic types" in my circle of vision.

It sucks -and yeah I know other critics don't want to hear this+Lily will use this fact as an excuse to discredit ppl's complaints abt her. but I think a lot of us were initially exposed to Lily because they knew of andor were fans of her cartoon criticism content. In my case I knew Lily from her days of Bronydom and have watched her make more and more meanMEAN material even w it's not about internal fandom dramacallouts. Back in those days and up to last year I could say of Lilly the same thing I'd say for a lot of people who annoy me online: I think she's a bully. Which is still bad, it's just not 'criminal', inherent. Comparing her to Rebecca Sugar, Lindsay Ellis, Contrapoints or VivziePop would be stupid as she really doesn't have even half the portfolio or wherewithall as any of those people -or even Zena and Poppy, not that they're angels. Lily was/is annoying because she'd use other people's genuine concerns and talking points. There's a certain takenupbyaltlight-term that I begrudginly would love to use for Lily that REALLY hits the nail on the head with her, be it as a fan, a critic or an activist. But I won't use it. Not because it's untrue, but because it's used by the same people who write her kiwifarm pages and misgender her and clearly couldn't give a crap about her if she didn't make them "lol"

But then, I actually looked at some of Britt's receipts and skimmed bits and pieces of what remains of Stockholm (I think you all already know this but @britts-galaxy-brain the links are missing now). For years, I'd known and listened to others honestly harp on Lily as some kind of counter-initiative for her going after their fav foalcon people. I assumed it was more of the same. It's not. Lily 100% wrote cp and is trying to hide it. No not fiction abt young adults that delves into erotic and sexisms; not stuff with aged-up child characters being big boobied of themselves thru the gaze or r34 artists. She wrote cp.

Essense of Thought's and that one hour long video talking about Stockholm were the first real horrifying revelation. Then I read through Brittney's saved messages from Lily and 'Tara'. Then I saw Patch's video.

THEN, Courtney came out and told everyone on here and her server everything we needed to know. I don't abide by everything Courtney says, especially about her abusers but I mean they're her abusers and please stop asking her to like the children who're valued more than her in the lives of her abusers, or at least maybe vent openly not to Courtney directly about your fear for those kids Cameron has. Yeah, I'm also concerned but idk there's got to be a better way to handle this. Anyway, as previously stated, I believe Courtney, Britt, and Patch. There's no way that those people have faked that stuff. I've heard kind of stretched explanations being true, but there's no way Stockholm was "edited by pedos" like Lily's saying it was I know I'm missing a few folks in there but I believe a lot of people have been genuinely victimized by LO and aren't just acting out of transphobia, bigotry.

Of what I can attest based on what I've seen, I KNOW that Lily Orchard wrote 'fluffy' foalcon and is saying she didn't, and also that the woman hates the word "queer".

Of what has been shown to me, I fully BELIEVE Lily Orchard is an abusive, sockpuppeting predator. Not only that, she's hiding behind other predator's existence to lie to her audience of other abused people to convince both them and herself that she couldn't possibly be a predator.

In 2013, what was 10 years from now, there was a controversy in the MLP fandom where a minor rose a (not undeserved) stink abt the askblog Princess Molestia and how it was making light of r*pe, intentionally or not. To counter this, a bunch of mouthbreathing bronies took it upon themselves to prove they weren't creeps by threatening the underrage sa victim, making r*pe porn of her while other mouthbreathers basically said "yeah put she's [the minor] annoying so it's the same kind of evil we're doing, really". Centrists.

Why this matters to me is (CW. CW. CW) you can find a post from Tara Callie, who was almost certainly one of Lily's alts at the time, admitting she found the r*pe art of Pinkiepony "hot", all the while Lily herself was publicly denouncing Pinkie's treatment by the fandom.

Lily Orchard is an awful human being. She does not have intrusive thoughts or fears of acting on those intrusive thoughts sometimes, like me and other people do. She has sexual and violent urges that she hides enough form the public to not make her followers suspect anything. She's twofaced and takes out her probable self-hate by attacking other predators. She's all deflection and lies. I can not believe a thing that vile woman says. Neither should you.

The biggest means of fighting her I think we all can do of is refusing to use her critical tag w we talk about her. Spam her "own tag". Enough hiding and denying who this terrible bigoted abusive woman really is.

Because really, her thoughts on glubshitto or whoever from Owl House are HARDLY the worst of it. Not even.

#lily orchard #lilly orchard #the owl house critical #the owl house criticism #critical fandom #steven universe critical #spop critical #my little pony friendship is magic #friendship is magic critical #Whelp at least it looks like the Helluvaverse fandom is safe from her #for now

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

It’s hard to believe nowadays, but there was a time where the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp duo was known for delivering nothing but certified bangers. Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow… It was just hit after hit when these two joined forces. But in the mid 2000s, something shifted. It suddenly seemed like people were sick of Burton, sick of Depp, and most of all sick of them working together. Sure, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd were still well-liked, but once Alice in Wonderland hit theaters people weren’t shy about voicing their dislike of the director and especially the actor. Burton kind of skidded to a halt for a while, while Depp just kept making increasingly worse movies with Disney and generally not doing anything worthwhile after Rango, and while Alice was the breaking point, the cracks started to show in 2005 with a little film called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

An attempt to redo Roald Dahl’s novel about a precocious child touring the candy factory of a wacky candymaker was being planned for a long time, with even Nicolas Cage in talks at one point to be Wonka, and at another point good ol’ Martin Scorcese was attached to direct. But things just kept falling through until Burton got dragged in, and from there he proceeded to get things done and talk the studio out of stupid decisions like killing off Charlie’s dad and making Wonka a parental figure. Ah, but speaking of Wonka, that crucial role needed filling, and it seemed a lot of famous actors were considered for the role by the studio—Robin Williams, Patrick Stewart, Michael Keaton, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Leslie Nielsen, Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Mike Meyers, Ben Stiller, pretty much every living member of Monty Python left at the time, Adam Sandler, and Marilyn Manson among them according to TVTropes—and Burton had an interesting idea for his second pick to play the guy:

But instead he went for his first pick, someone who’s actually very similar to Marilyn Manson in a lot of ways! Good ol’ reliable JD himself! Surely this was gonna bring in the big bucks! And... it did! It's the highest-grossing adaptation of one of Dahl's works ever, and Burton's second highest-grossing film!

Critics seemed mostly fine with it, but audiences were a lot more divided. Some people liked that it was a new and different take on the story that stayed a lot more true to the book than the beloved 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (a movie that Dahl famously hated as much as he did Jewish people, so frankly who gives a shit about his opinion), while others clung to the nostalgia of the Gene Wilder Wonka and treated this new film like a war crime. How dare they remake their favorite movie, even though this isn't a remake, it's just a different adaptation of the same book!

So yes, this movie isn’t the most reviled film out there, but it definitely is incredibly divisive, and what’s more I distinctly recall even as a child being aware of the attitude towards Depp and Burton shifting towards the more negative when this film came out. So I figured it was a high time I see about revisiting it and find out if this second cinematic outing into Wonka’s factory was really that bad, or if it genuinely was a work of impure imagination.

THE GOOD

It may surprise you to hear that this film actually does a few things better than the 1971 film. This is especially evident in the four shitty children touring the factory with Charlie.

The ones from Willy Wonka were, to put it bluntly, dull and forgettable, and came off as far too sympathetic in regards to their fate because none of them aside from Veruca Salt showcased any terrible traits that would lead to them deserving their punishments. In this film, all these kids are assholes, so watching them fall prey to the karmic justice of Wonka's factory is all the more satisfying. We also get to see what happens to them after they get out, which is kind of funny. I’m not gonna pretend that they made them the deepest and most complex characters ever, but with how they updated them and with the young actors they got to portray them, they managed to inject a bit more life into them than you’d expect.

This movie also fixes Grandpa Joe, who is pretty infamous to fans of the '71 film as a total asshole who constantly encourages Charlie to steal and just in general seems like a massive burden to his family. Here, he actually is every bit the sweet old grandpa that you’d expect, and his motivations for wanting to go on the tour are a lot nicer and more sympathetic. He also never tries to push Charlie into a life of crime, which is nice.

Of course, the very best aspect of this movie is Deep motherfucking Roy. He’s the second best dwarf actor out there, only oovershadowed by Warwick “Leprechaun” Davis, and much like Davis was in Star Wars as the ultimate Glup Shitto—Droopy McCool.

And in this film he gets the incredible honor of being every single fucking Oompa-Loompa there is, and he is clearly having a blast and busting his ass. He had no prior dancing experience, but you could not tell with how he’s pulling off all these sick moves while spitting out diss tracks for children like he’s Blood on the Dance Floor. He really is the single best actor in the movie, and that’s not to slander anyone else—Roy is just that good. Like we have a scene-stealing minor role for Christopher Lee as Wonka’s dad, a crabby dentist who hates candy, and as amazing as he is Roy still is better. You better respect this man.

Speaking of men to respect: Danny Elfman. Taking lyrics straight from the book and weaving a unique style for each kid—Big Bollywood spectacle for Augustus (that was Roy’s idea), 70s funk for Violet, psychedelic rock for Veruca, and hard rock for Mike—the songs are all genuinely great and fun to listen to. I’d never go as far as to say they’re more iconic than the Oompa-Loompa tracks from the ‘71 film, but I think they function better as songs, and the fact each of them has their own distinct style to set them apart from each other was the right way to go. I do think Mike’s song is the weakest of the bunch, feeling a lot messier than the other three, but it’s not unbearably awful or anything.

THE BAD

The biggest issue with the film is that the two most important characters—Charlie and Wonka—fucking suck.

Let’s start with Charlie. Now, to be clear, I’m not putting any blame on Freddie Highmore—he was literally a child, and even then I think he’s doing his damndest to make Charlie cute and whimsical. The issue here is definitely on the writers, who saw fit to stuff him full of all the syrupy sweet Tiny Tim-esque kind-hearted poor child cliches but forgot to impart a personality to go with them. Charlie is, to put it bluntly, a boring and generic nice guy, and one who ends up feeling like a living plot device to further Wonka’s character development, something that feels especially egregious when his name is literally in the title.

And now let’s talk about Wonka. Boy, is there a lot to unpack with this guy.

Literally everything about this take on Wonka is incredibly awkward and off-putting. The most infamous aspect of him is definitely the look; with his pale skin and dorky haircut he looked a lot like Michael Jackson, who at the time the film came out was going through a very serious scandal where he was accused of doing awful things to children in his big rich guy mansion… which is essentially the plot of this film when you think about it.

But that’s just an unfortunate coincidence! It’s an ugly look, sure, but a good performance could make it palatable, and this was Johnny Depp during his big post-Jack Sparrow renaissance working together with the guy who helped put him on the map. Surely he wouldn’t deliver an incredibly awkward, cringey, and insufferable performance that dials up all his acting quirks to annoying levels, right?

Here’s the thing: On paper, Depp’s Wonka is honestly not that different than Wilder’s. They’re both weird, quirky, reclusive confectioners with a not-so-hidden disdain for the kids touring their factory and snarky, condescending attitudes. What it all comes down to is the presentation, and to show you what I mean I’m going to use the most batshit comparison you’ve ever seen:

Burton’s Wonka is very similar to Zack Snyder’s Ozymandias.

“Now hold on, Michael,” I hear you exclaiming in utter bewilderment, “how are these two comparable? I know that both are fine with the wonton murder of children if it helps achieve their goals and that a lot of people are weirdly horny for them, but how is this a good comparison?” Well luckily I’m not trying to compare a mass-murdering anti-villain to a quirky chocolatier in terms of character, but in how the adaptation drops the ball with how they’re presented by removing the more warm and positive aspects of them. In Alan Moore’s comic, Adrian Veidt is essentially a relentlessly charming gigachad, an affable and approachable fellow who seems beneath suspicion because he exudes a traditionally heroic warmth. In the movie, however, Snyder chose to portray Veidt as a cold, distant twink who doesn’t seem particularly approachable at all (another case of Daddy Zaddy tragically missing Moore’s point).

This same "missing the point" issue plagues Wonka. Yes, Wilder’s take is just as much a smug asshole reveling in the comeuppance the children are receiving, but he also has a genuine warmth to him which is codified perfectly with him singing “Pure Imagination.” Sure, he’s perfectly willing to traumatize everyone with a demented boat ride shortly after, but Wilder’s performance and the presentation of his Wonks help sell him as a quirky genius who is more likable than insufferable, and you really understand how despite being kind of a dick he is also a beloved figure.

Depp’s Wonka fails as the character in the same basic ways that the movie version of Veidt does: He's a condescending, cold, openly rude, guy who is just genuinely unpleasant to be around despite the movie really trying hard to make him likable and relatable, to the point where unlike Wilder's take it's hard to grasp why this guy gets any respect from anyone. He’s like the proto-Rick Sanchez, except he’s not even particularly funny to make up for it. Maybe this take is more accurate to the book, but if it is it’s really just proof that taking liberties when adapting really is for the best.

And this failure is only compounded by the movie piling on a tragic backstory for Wonka. Yes, Christopher Lee is great, but there is genuinely no need to pile on a traumatic childhood and weird daddy issues to Willy Wonka. The character works best as this weird, trickster mentor figure who dishes out karma to the naughty kids and ultimately rewards the good egg of the bunch. Trying to bring a guy with a magical factory full of dwarfs who do choreographed diss tracks every time a kid falls into the incinerator down to earth and make him relatable is just a mind-boggling decision.

These are really the only two issues with the film that stand out as excessively bad, but… you see the problem, right? The titular character and the owner of the titular chocolate factory are both bad. One’s a living prop, the other is just an obnoxious asshat who is given unneeded character development that ends up falling flat, and while this would be easy to ignore if they were side characters it’s impossible to let slide since they are the main fucking characters. The whole film revolves around the two very worst things in it, and no matter how good the other stuff in the movie is these elements alone drag it down a lot.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

Look, I’m not going to pretend like this is a great film. If it really is closer to Dahl’s book, all it managed to do is convince me to never read it and solidified my belief that being pragmatic when adapting books to screen is the way to go. It’s also really easy to see how the Burton-Depp fatigue came about, as this is some of the weakest work in both of their filmographies.

But I still feel like there’s plenty to like here. The songs, the bratty kids, Deep motherfucking Roy, it’s all genuinely good shit! There was never a chance it was going to be iconic as the Wilder film, but it’s disingenuous to write it off entirely when it does a lot good things (and a few things better than the '71 version). A lot of people are nostalgic for this one these days, as it's the one this generation grew up with, and honestly? I can't really blame them entirely. It's a decent enough movie, and I honestly think that score it has up there is pretty fair. It's certainly a mixed bag but when it actually succeeds at being charming it does it in its own unique way rather than trying to ape the beloved classic that came before it, and I do respect it for that.

And hey, if Johnny Depp's worst and most annoying movie role is in a movie I'd still say is okay, that's a good thing right? He couldn't possibly ever take a role more cringeworthy and annoying than Wonka in a film that's genuinely shitty, right?

Right?

RIGHT?!

#is it really that bad? #IIRTB #Charlie and the Chocolate Factory #Tim Burton #Johnny Depp #Willy Wonka #Roald Dahl #book adaptation #review #movie review #Youtube

[sullustangin]

Fluffy February Day 11 - Quest

SWTOR

Pairing: Theron Shan/Eva Corolastor

Rating: G (this is stupid fluffy and cute)

Time: 39 ATC/ 3614-13ish (10 years from "now" in game)

~~

“It’s getting late.”  Eva leaned on the crew quarters door frame.

“Just let me read to the end of the questgiving,” Theron replied, and three sets of pleading, olive-gold eyes peered up at Eva.

Somehow, Theron, Argo, and Dyo were all crammed into the one armchair in the crew quarters.  Bedtime was near, but apparently, they had just gotten to “the good part.”  As they always did at this time of the night.

Ev had never thought she’d been the one policing bedtime, but that had been the case ever since Theron had started reading his swords-and-wyrms book series to the kids…mostly because skypirates had too much adult content that Hadrian probably shouldn’t have let Eva read as a ten-year-old.  So Theron’s lute-playing potion guzzlers won out for bedtime reading for two kids. 

“‘And so the fellowship was formed.  The individual failings would be conquered by their collective strength, united by one mission: to save Kaelestria from encroaching darkness,’” Theron finished.  He paused for dramatic effect, as his son and daughter hung on his last words.  “And now you really need to get to bed, or else your mom will have you doing 0300 maintenance for her.”

The two little figures scattered to their beds on opposite sides of the room, giggling as they bounced into bed; 0300 maintenance was the rough equivalent of ‘monster under the bed’ on this ship. 

“Good night,” Theron and Eva told them in unison as the lights were dimmed down very low (but not entirely out).  The door slid shut behind them. 

They padded quietly down the hallway back toward the lounge.  “Argo mentioned to me at bath time that he might want his own room soon,” Theron murmured.

“We’ll put in the divider Corso made when he realized he and Risha would be sharing crew quarters.  ‘Man needs a place to scratch without an audience,’” Eva delivered as a rough, twangy impersonation of Corso.

Theron laughed, a little.  “They’re growing up,” he said, a little sadly.

“That’s the point,” Eva reassured him.  Her childhood had been comparatively normal, up until the sixteen-year-old Captain part. She knew how growing up went.

Theron’s childhood had been anything but, and as a result, he tended to get a bit blue when the children exited a phase (getting rid of the tiny baby socks had been torture.)….and Eva let him.  She let him be attached and subsequently mourn the loss of each stage of childhood.  After fighting for so long not to be attached to anyone or anything, this…

This was a good thing for Theron. 

All of this, as the lovers snuggled into the lounge booth together, a drink on the table for each of them, to linger until their bedtime rolled around.

~

@fluffyfebruary

@starlightcleric @ermingarden for high fantasy refs :D

#fluffy february #swtor fan fiction #theron shan #theron shan x smuggler #oc: eva corolastor #oc: argento shan #oc: dyominia shan #children of characters #yes i do headcanon theron as lotr nerd equivalent #yes he read the equivalent of silmarillion for fun

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 26/04/2024

A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams)

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume FF

Ripped by AubyLover29

Unfortunately requested by crickqt! (Tumblr Askbox)

Oh god, uh, where to begin with this one. Do any of you remember the Raft Ride event I had on here, on April 1st? Yeah, Raft Ride ~ The Story So Far - through my commitment to the bit, I had to try and talk about a LOT of different jokes and bits, ones I'd expressed fondness for already, and ones I still didn't know what to really make of. Of course, it was balanced out by the very nature of the event being that I didn't take the posts all too seriously, I wrote a good few of them half-asleep at my desk, yet serious or not, at 10:16PM on April 1st 2024, I reached Wanna See My Raft?. Right at that moment, I had to confront the demon I'd long wanted to ignore - and today, with A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams), I've decided its time to face the demon head-on. Today, we're talking about SML, and talking about Jeffy.

Truth be told, for as much as I love to think back to my youngest years on the internet, the affection I have for Dreamscape and Paralyzer and all that which I talked about in How 2 Do Anything - I somehow managed to avoid SuperMarioLogan for all that time. Maybe my YouTube recommendations were just kind to me, or my young brain just didn't really get the appeal of plush/puppet videos, but I steered clear of the channel despite its absurd popularity. If you've never heard of SML, you've missed an absolute titan of children's YouTube, a channel that gets 2 to 3 million views per upload, with videos made at a rate of 3 per week. Whether or not the videos are GOOD is another matter entirely - to some, its just typical Kids YouTube slop, but others have been following the channel's history for years and witnessed first-hand just how outright insane its storylines have become. What began as just a series of skits with Mario characters in wacky situations slowly began to get edgier in the mid-2010s YouTube landscape: the videos would play with outright racist and homophobic jokes, depictions of sex work and drug abuse, full-on SUICIDE jokes - all still attached to a channel with Mario puppets and with a target audience consisting mostly of children. It got to the point where Nintendo themselves had to step in with a legitimate pen-to-paper DMCA takedown request - and in the years since, the channel has continued on much the same course, but with all Mario characters replaced with human look-a-likes.

It's an absolutely insane rabbithole to go down, a core pillar of kids YouTube's seedy underbelly, yet one that for some reason or another keeps being brought up in online discussion, mainly by terminally online adults like myself. And so, SML-posting began sneaking its way into SiIvaGunner's rips as early as the start of Season 4 Episode 1, but has slowly been growing in frequency as of late, all headlined by SML's new mascot post-Nintendo takedown - Jeffy. A comic relief stupid shithead character now sitting as the channel's main character, Jeffy is, put bluntly, an outright agent of chaos the likes of which I do not wish to describe in detail. A demon in man's clothing, a creature unable to be tamed, a man who fears no god. And, indeed, the main star of SuperMarioLogan, and by proxy, the main voice to be heard in all rips made of the channel.

In a way, Jeffy is akin to those "cursed" SiIva memes that have always existed in some form or another. Astronaut in the Ocean, Yankin, The Bean - I've covered the former two plenty in rips like Aquarium in the Ocean and the latter's infamy is one of the most notable events from Season 1 of the channel. Yet in comparison to those three, Jeffy's prominence on SiIva seems to have slipped under the radar in a lot of ways, his true power yet to be felt. There hasn't been an SML takeover, none of the rips have truly blown up - its as if the demon is biding his time, known to be lurking only by some channel die-hards like myself, yet still obscured from the public consciousness of the masses. And in the meantime, we're getting rips like A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams) - all paying a disturbing amount of reverence and attention to this false deity.

Kirby Planet Robobot is a very special game on SiIvaGunner, and has been since the start of Season 2, arguably even since The Reboot: Through rips like Mother's・Caption (We Paused The Channel For HOW Long?! Mix) and The Noble Haltmann, it is THE game most closely tied to the channel's ongoing lore in the Christmas Comeback Crisis, the kind of game where any rip of it is bound to catch the attention of viewers. Of the game's soundtrack, P-R-O-G-R-A-M sits above all in terms of significance, tied to everything from The Reboot to the Inspector Gadget takeover of Become as Gadget - its a theme that is at once intense and climactic, yet also sounds as if it is falling apart at the seams, a digital system being broken apart by an unknown invader. And amidst all of this context, all this weight that P-R-O-G-R-A-M holds - or at least, has held to me ever since way back in 2017 - we get a rip of it using fucking JEFFY. And I'm supposed to just understand what that means and move on with my life?

All jokes aside, I do genuinely have to admire the effort put into A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams) despite (or, god forbid, BECAUSE) of its sources. The core of the rip uses several different Jeffy sources, primarily the bizarrely-real songs performed by the character himself, Wanna See My Pencil and Why?, referencing the characer's main running gags - these are mixed together with other Jeffy-related SML clips to add to the cacophony of noise throughout the rip. Althewhile completely left-field sources are added to..."compliment" the main track - the full-blast sound of Keemstar yelling, the "Nintendo Diss Track", a section played to the tune of Penis Music (dong music, anyone?)...its all so utterly unhinged, yet remains...ominous, in a way, throughout? Like, I have to admit that it does all kind of work, I love the use of WHYYY? for the bridge - but I still can barely even discern what would drive one to gas up JEFFY of all memes to the extent AubyLover29 has done here.

Then again, AubyLover29 in general is a bit of an enigma on the channel - you may have noticed that the title A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams) has absolutely nothing to do with the joke of this rip whatsoever. This is a constant with all of AubyLover29's rips: they're titled around hit character Auby from Omori rather than their actual contents, and her online presence outside of her rip contributions is seemingly completely nonexistent. Its just one more quirk atop this pile of bizarreness - it all reminds me of when I first had to dig into waterwraith pokos all those months ago. Only here, Jeffy's prominence of the channel is gradually becoming less and less of a secret - his rate of appearances has only gone up since A.U.B.R.E.Y (Vagrant Juice and Clams)'s upload, and I fear for what may happen when a takeover inevitably comes. May god help us all.

#todays siivagunner #season 6 #siivagunner #siiva #AubyLover29 #sml #supermariologan #sml jeffy #kirby planet robobot #kirby

[sergeantsporks]

Merry Krampus

Rating: Gen, General Audiences

Summary: Christmas means monsters on the Boiling Isles, and while Luz is pretty sure there aren't any in the human realm, it couldn't hurt to let Hunter set up traps, right?

Hunter dumped an armload of rope into Luz’s arms. “Hold this please.”

Luz peered around the pile of rope as he strung part of it through a hook on the ceiling. “Heeeeeyyyyyyy, Hunter. Whatcha doing?”

“Putting up Krampus traps,” he replied gravely, “The lights your mom put up are a good start for keeping it away, but I wouldn’t trust your safety to them.”

Luz followed him through the house as he strung the rope along. “…And what’s a Krampus?”

“A beast type demon. It eats people. They’re absurdly good at getting past locks and normal defenses, so you need to put up extra defenses. Luckily, they’re only really around about the time of winter solstice. Don’t worry, I’ll rig some around your window upstairs in case it tries to get in that way, too.”

“Uh-huh. And, uh. Are they typically found in the human realm, or is that a demon realm thing, usually?”

Hunter rolled his eyes, creating a circle out of the rope. “Do you think I’m stupid, Luz? I checked to see if you had them in the human realm, too. I used the internet. And they’re here, too. Mostly in Europe, and supposedly they only attack children who misbehave, but I’m not leaving anything to chance.”

“I see.”

“Can’t believe your mom hasn’t ever told you about Krampus.”

“Mhm. I don’t think my mom knows about them.”

“Of course she does. Why else would she have put up all these lights? Krampus are photosensitive, like the owl beast. You can scare them off with bright lights. Or, sometimes, that draws them in because they know there are people there. Which is why I’m setting up more traps. Don’t worry, I used to be in charge of Krampus defenses in the emperor’s coven. If I could rig up the whole keep, your little house will be a cinch.”

There was a knock on the door, and Hunter angled his head towards it while he set up more rope loops, heading up the stairs. “That should be Amity. I asked her to help with the magic bit of these traps. No one more dedicated to your safety than she is!”

Luz shook her head, opening the door. “Hey, Amity!”

Amity smiled, clutching a box in her arms.  “I hear you need a Krampus trap?”

Luz laughed. “I mean, we’ve never had Krampus traps before, and we’ve always been alright. I guess the Christmas lights scare them off, huh?”

“Then you’ve been lucky. Krampus are no joke.”

“Yeah?”

Amity nodded. “The twins used to be triplets,” she said gravely.

Luz stared at her, her heart thumping in her chest.

But then Amity laughed. “I’m just kidding, Luz. No one’s been eaten by a Krampus in years. The traps are just a precaution. We used to have Krampus parties in the manor. Sure, they were all business affairs to boost relations, but it was the one time I got to stay up late. I’d always watch out the windows for the Krampus. Never saw one, of course.”

Hunter thumped back down the stairs, connecting his end of the rope to the beginning. “Krampus are no joke. They’re definitely not something to throw a party about.”

One of Amity’s eyebrows crept up. “And I suppose you’ve seen a Krampus?”

“Well… no. But some of the scouts had encounters! They reported them to me in great detail when I was ten. And thank goodness they did, so I’d be prepared.”

Amity and Luz glanced at each other, and Luz cleared her throat. “Are you sure they… weren’t just trying to scare you?”

“Ohhhh, okay. Sure. Laugh about the Krampus. But you will be grateful when you aren’t eaten tomorrow morning! Amity, are you going to do the enchantment, or not?”

“I’m on it, I’m on it.”

Amity held up her hands, coughing. “Ahem. Krampus present, Krampus past, Krampus hear me as I cast! Should Krampus step within a coil, Krampus plan my trap shall foil! Krampus future, Krampus past, defend against until your last!”

Her eyes sparked, and the rope glowed brightly, slowly fading into a dull shimmer. Hunter nodded.

“Good. What’s in the box?”

“Dad sent me with some abomination traps and tricks, just in case. You, uh. Don’t have to set them up, but I promised I’d bring them. I think he’s mostly trying to clear out leftover Blight Industries tech.”

Hunter took the box, exclaiming. “A sticky blaster! Excellent. Do you think it’ll hold a Krampus?”

“Can’t hurt, right? There’s always the flamethrower setting.”

“True!”

Hunter wandered off with the box, and Amity gave Luz a smile. “He’s in a good mood.”

“It’s that festive time of year! Spirits high! I think it helps that he has something to do.”

“You’re not really worried about a Krampus attack, are you?”

“Not really. But, hey, weirder things have happened. Are you coming for dinner tomorrow night?”

Amity gave her a peck on the cheek. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Xxx

“Hunter, go to bed.”

Hunter shook his head, patrolling around the bottom floor. “One night of patrol never killed anyone. Don’t worry, I’ll take a nap tomorrow morning, be perfectly fine for dinner.”

Luz sighed, but trudged upstairs, stepping carefully over one of Hunter’s rope loops. “Good night.”

“It will be.”

Camila raised her eyebrow at Luz. “Awwww, is he keeping watch for Santa? Someone should probably tell him.”

“Nope. He’s looking out for the Krampus.”

“The what?”

“Don’t ask.”

Luz curled up in her bed with a sigh, snuggling into the blankets.

Only to be jolted up by a crash downstairs. She blinked at the clock—midnight?! Really?! – and tore downstairs, Vee on her heels.

“I got one!” Hunter crowed.

“Call off your attack dog, Luz!” a familiarly grouchy voice snapped.

Luz flipped on the light to see Eda, pinned by an abomination blast with Hunter sitting on her back. “…Hey, Eda.”

Hunter let out a disgusted sigh and got up, peeling the abomination goop away and shoving it back into the blaster. “You’re not a Krampus.”

“How astute,” Eda remarked dryly, dusting herself off, “You’re getting coal for Christmas.”

“What? What does that have to do with anything? What are you doing here so late?! Or early?”

Vee glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Dinner doesn’t start for… a while.”

Eda scooped up a big sack, plopping a hat on her head.

“You’re Santa!” Luz burst out.

“Merry Christmas, kiddo. Thought I’d do a little breaking and entering on this fine morning. At least until Goldilocks went awol on me.”

Hunter stared at her blankly. “She’s what.”

“Santa Claus! Oh, come on, how do you know about the Krampus, but not Santa Claus?! Delivers toys in the night to good kids?”

Hunter scoffed. “Now you’re just making things up.”

“Mrgh…”

“Ah-ah!” Eda swung the bag around. “No fighting, or you’re getting coal!”

Hunter shook his head. “What is this coal business? Are you planning to burn the house down?”

“Ha! No. I come bearing gifts. Not until Christmas, though.”

“It is Christmas, Eda. It’s past midnight.”

“Oh? Well, then, present time it is. Or maybe I feed you to my reindeer for seeing me? Never been completely clear on that part of the holiday. Krampus celebrations are a lot simpler. Hooray, we didn’t get eaten by a Krampus! Let’s celebrate!”

“Luz? Mija?” Camila wandered into the room, rubbing her eyes. “What’s… Eda? What are you doing here? Not… that it isn’t good to see you.”

“Thought I’d play Santa. Leave some gifts out. Put up some defenses against Krampus. But I got pinned down by trigger happy over here.”

“I’ve got Krampus defenses up,” Hunter said proudly.

“You certainly do. Anyway, I planned to be in and out, but I guess everyone’s up now.” Eda shook her bag. “I brought gifts!”

“Can we?” Luz begged.

“Ah, alright. Sure.” Camila settled on the couch with a smile. “You used to wake me up at ungodly hours to see what ‘Santa’ brought when you were younger. Looks like nothing’s changed, huh?”

Luz grabbed Hunter and Vee’s arms, dragging them down to the floor with her. “A couple of things changed.”

Eda grinned, digging through the bag. “Let’s see… oh, Luz, come take this one out?”

Luz reached into the bag, and King popped out, launching himself into her. “I’m the present! Hahahaha!”

Luz laughed, catching him in a hug. “Best present ever!”

“Some help you were when I was getting attacked,” Eda snorted. “All right, alright. Here we go. Nerd.” She tossed a package to Hunter. “Snake.” Another to Vee. “Mother of Apprentice.” She handed one to Camila. “Aaaaaaaand the most powerful witch in the human realm, barring when I visit.” She handed Luz a package that folded over in her hands.

Hunter made a squeaky noise. “Is this the original manuscript of A Study in Wild Magic?! Where did you get this?!”

“Stole it off the author.”

“I—” Hunter bit his lip. “Yes. Thank you. I will cherish it always.”

Luz leaned in towards him as Eda turned her attention on Vee. “You’re going to return it to them, aren’t you.”

“I’m going to ask them if I can keep it,” Hunter hissed, “And maybe get it signed.”

Vee opened hers. “…Snake oil?”

“No one wants an unoiled snake!” Eda chuckled. “It’s like lotion for scaley creatures. This particular one has magic infused through it, so it should replenish your magic supply as well as helping any dry spots.”

Camila opened hers. “Best Mom in 2 Realms,” she read off of the T-shirt. “Aw, Eda, that’s… sweet.”

“It has witches’ wool woven into it!” King piped up, “That way, if someone’s spell goes rogue, it’ll protect you!”

“All witch mamas need one!” Eda agreed. “Speaking of the witch in question… Luz?”

Hunter fidgeted next to Luz, turning the book over in his hands. Luz opened the package, shaking out a full purple cloak, just like her old one. Except that this one had little embroidered glyphs along the hem (although with a small gap in the circle, presumedly so that they couldn’t be set off, and small pockets lining the inside). “Oh, Eeeeedaaaaa! It’s beautiful!”

“I did the knitting. Hunter and Darius did the glyphs at the bottom. For all your adventuring needs.”

Luz gave Hunter’s shoulders a squeeze, and half-tackled Eda. “I love it! I—”

A low growl sounded, and Hunter froze. “Eda… did you close the door behind you?”

“What? Ah, I was only supposed to be here a few minutes, I must have left it—”

“Down!” Hunter yelped, tackling Camila down onto the cushions of the couch as a half-goat, half-man creature leapt over it.

Luz swung her new cloak onto her shoulders, diving to the side and summoning her palisman. “What is that?!”

Hunter tugged Camila and Vee around behind the couch, his head poking up over the edge. “A Krampus!” he crowed, “I told you! Toss me King!”

Luz picked the little titan up and threw him to Hunter, who tucked him safely behind the couch.

“HEY!” King complained.

Luz dove out of the way as the Krampus lunged for her. “Whoop!” She warped around to the side, sending a blast of magic towards it.  It roared, lunging again.

“HEY!”

Vee’s bottle of snake oil bounced off of the Krampus’ head, and it whirled around with a snarl. Hunter waved his arms, skipping backwards over one of his rope loops. The Krampus surged forward, then stopped, examining the rope circle.

“Uh-oh,” Hunter said in a small voice.

Luz warped forward, turning the ground beneath the Krampus to ice and shoving it. It slid with a yip, right into the rope circle. Golden light flared up, forming a shimmering prison around the Krampus. The creature bellowed, but none of the sound escaped the barrier, and even though it struggled, it couldn’t escape its prison.

Hunter came around the edge of the trap. “It worked!”

“Thank you, Amity,” Luz sighed, “Wait, ‘it worked’?!”

Hunter rolled a hand. “Not that I didn’t trust Amity’s magic.”

Vee looped a garland around the edge of the glowing circle. “Festive!”

Camila came out from behind the couch, gently bouncing King in her arms. “That’s a Krampus, huh?”

“That’s a Krampus,” Hunter confirmed.

“Ay. Thank you for the traps, sweetheart. And Luz, that was good thinking with the ice.”

Hunter flushed a messy red and mumbled a ‘you’re welcome,’ scooping up Vee’s snake oil and presenting it to her.

“Wouldn’t be a Krampus celebration without a Krampus!” Eda remarked cheerfully, “Good job, kiddo! He’s a big one. Hah. I bet Lili and Hooty didn’t catch one nearly as big.”

Hunter muttered something about “crazy Clawthorne traditions,” but settled on the couch, his eyes finally starting to droop shut. Luz shattered the ice with her staff. Tiny crystals flew in a spray of glitter, dancing in the light of the Krampus trap. King ‘ooo’ed appreciatively, wiggling out of Camila’s arms and swiping his claws through the cloud.

Luz heaved a content sigh, wrapping one arm around her mother and another around Eda, watching King jump into the cloud. “Merry Krampus to all,” she quipped, leaning her head on her mother’s shoulder.

Camila kissed the top of her head. “Merry Krampus, baby.”

“Can we—”

“I’m not feeding that thing Christmas dinner.”

“What about cookies?”

“It’s not Santa.”

Eda perked up. “I’m hearing that Santa gets cookies?”

“Only if ‘Santa’ takes her mythical beast back to the demon realm with her and closes the door so that no more get through.”

“Oh, they usually travel in twos. The other one’s probably loose in the neighborhood already.”

Vee glanced at the couch, where Hunter was fast asleep. “…No one tell Hunter?”

Camila gave Luz’s shoulders a squeeze, and then let go. “I’ll go get the bat.”

#toh #the owl house #toh fanfiction #christmas #hunter noceda #luz noceda #camila noceda #king clawthorne #eda clawthorne

[themattress]

I just felt like making an official "mea culpa" post for Kazushige Nojima.

For years, I have been on this man's case for the way that KH2's Scenario turned out: a good story that got placed in the creakiest, wobbliest frame imaginable, which is in stark contrast to how solidly KH1 and CoM's scenarios held together. And let's make this clear: he is not in any way blameless for the flaws in KH2's Scenario; this fact still holds true. But with that said....

He is absolutely the least at fault between him, Masaru Oka and Tetsuya Nomura.

Did he not represent Nomura's Base Story and concept the best he could have, and frequently mischaracterize Sora, Riku and Kairi? Yes. But the bigger fault here lies with Nomura being terrible at communication, something that is consistent whether it be with his own employees, his higher-ups, interviewers, and even the audience. Hell, he's admitted that even he can't keep his own shit straight in his own head! So how could Nojima realistically be expected to turn out a flawless Scenario according to Nomura's desires when Nomura's desires are so convoluted yet vaguely expressed that Nojima reasonably has no idea what the Hell he's even talking about? As I recall once bringing up before, Nomura couldn't even convey how the central threat of Xemnas manifesting Kingdom Hearts worked, so having it be a large moon in the sky ala KH1's cover art was Nojima's idea of how to make it work. Similarly, as an artist by trade who cares the most about aesthetics, Nomura doubtlessly only had Sora, Riku and Kairi described in the most basic of ways with their most surface level traits, leading Nojima to default on writing them like previous characters he's written that share those traits (Tidus, Cloud and Rinoa respectively) rather than as fully organic continuations as to who they were in KH1. And hey, at least they still felt mostly like themselves anyway due to Daisuke Watanabe being on hand to help in the Scenario construction (the part before dialogue is scripted). So I can excuse Nojima on all this.

Then there's the Disney worlds. I'm disappointed Nojima couldn't find a way to link all of the world visits' stories closer to the main plot, but the onus for this still largely lies with Oka, as he could have made all of the world visits' stories linked to the main plot to start with and he didn't. Furthermore, Nojima honestly did the best he could with the several lackluster revisits. His dialogue, character writing and battle staging honestly helped them be far more tolerable than they would have been otherwise based solely on Oka's plotting. There are some great moments in these revisits that only exist thanks to Nojima, and he deserves credit for that.

Even Nojima's three biggest blunders aren't wholly his fault. Yeah, his Cloud/Sephiroth/Tifa story arc sucked and always would have since he was just writing it to promote Advent Children than advance anything in the KH universe, but it might have been better had Nomura not edited it into being vaguer and having less input from Sora, Donald and Goofy.

Yeah, him neglecting to provide a proper reason why the world revisits happen instead of just rushing to Twilight Town to follow up on the clues Riku left behind is stupid, but Nomura clearly caught this error and instead of having it corrected through gameplay in the most obvious way - the Dreadnought fleet blocking Twilight Town off right away with no way to engage it until the Space Paranoids revisit - he put in these dumb sequences of Chip and Dale claiming Sora going around helping people in revisits makes a scan reading of the Organization's base and its connection to Twilight Town more visible even when once the main story resumes this never gets brought up and the heroes act like they're here due to Riku's clues. Nomura is the game's director, so the buck ultimately stops with him here.

And yeah, him giving so many "Telling, Not Showing" scenes, particularly at the midpoint of the game and in a way that shafts certain character arcs like Ansem the Wise's, is bad, but not only could Oka have tried to make these scenes more engaging through his event direction and he simply didn't (a problem he will continue to have across the whole series), but remember that Daisuke Watanabe and Harunori Sakemi were helping construct the rough draft of the Scenario before it became a full-on script. Why couldn't they have done something about it? So then why couldn't they have given Ansem the Wise more scenes where we get to see his change transpire? And again, Nomura is the director. He edited out a lot in the Cloud/Sephiroth/Tifa story arc. Why didn't he make the requisite edits to all the clunkily written expository scenes? Nojima screwed up because everyone allowed him to!

Lastly, the net positives he provided outweigh the negatives. The character dialogue and interactions; the intentional humor, heart and dramatic weight; the game's universe feeling like a cohesive whole; the superbly staged boss battles; and all sorts of little things like the thematic connections he weaves between all the worlds even if they aren't plot-relevant, the small moments that say so much without saying much at all like the scenes with Roxas and Sora involving the Twilight Town train, and the incredibly precise choice of words that will hit hard emotionally like "You're home" being what we close on before the credits....it's fantastic.

Thank you, Nojima-san. You were never the best...but you were never the worst, either.

#Disney #Square Enix #Kingdom Hearts #Kingdom Hearts II #Kazushige Nojima #Opinion #Analysis #Defense #Truthbomb #Anti-Nomura #Anti-Tetsuya Nomura #Anti-Masaru Oka #This has been a PSA

[posebean]

Summer Rain: Storm-Given Flu 3

Writer: Beanosei

Season: Summer, Several years ago

Characters: Rinne, Niki

Rinne: Smile, Niki! Our dream is in our grasps!

Several years ago, summer. Behind the stage in a public park.

Rinne: Niki, sit still. Your vest isn’t buttoned up properly.

Niki: I’m trying, Rinne-kun~ 

Niki: Did you see those people out there? We’re going to debut right in front of them …

Rinne: …

Rinne: You’re shaking, Niki.

Rinne: Do you by chance have stage fright?

Niki: …

Niki: Nahaha, not really? I mean-

Niki: I’ve done cooking shows with my dad for years before while I was younger.

Niki: And I knew what I was getting into by agreeing to become an idol with you~

Niki: It’s just…

Niki: Idols were the thing that took away my family’s happiness…

Niki: Is it alright for me to be up there?

Niki: Nahaha, I’m a chef and will always be, but is it okay for me to try to be an idol?

Niki: If someone recognizes me, will they think I’m here for revenge? Betraying my family?

Rinne:...

Niki:...

Niki: Ow! Why’d you flick me like that?!

Rinne: To hell with what anyone thinks! None of that matters, stupid.

Niki: You could be a little nicer…

Rinne: Niki put in all the work, right?

Rinne: He tried his best, found connections at his workplace, and helped research with me.

Rinne: Isn’t that all that matters? That because you worked hard, you deserve to be here?

Rinne: You get hungry easily, and we often have to take breaks from practice, but you’re motivated.

Rinne: The fact that we’re out here debuting itself is proof of that.

Rinne: We’re a duo, Niki. This isn’t just me.

Rinne: It’s because we both worked so hard to get here.

Niki:...(sniffles)

Rinne: Aaahh d-don’t cry! We have to go on soon~

Rinne: Smile, Niki! Our dream is in our grasps!

Niki: Nahaha (sniffles) It’s mostly your dream, Rinne-kun.

Niki: I wouldn’t mind sharing it, though~

Rinne: Haha, you’re smiling again. 

Rinne: Oh, that’s our cue!

Rinne: Come on, we’ve got a song to debut ♪

Rinne: Give me your hand~

Niki: (Ah Rinne-kun don’t pull me!)

Niki: !

Niki: (Oh…I didn’t get a clear enough look earlier but they’re mostly children and their parents. They’re all looking up at us expectantly, eager.)

Niki: (Kind of expected for a debut live in a public park…)

Rinne: “-and please enjoy our song, Heartbeat Honey Drop!”

Rinne: “♪”

Niki: (Rinne-kun looks happy, though. And it seems like the kids are loving him.)

Rinne: (whispers) Niki~ Don’t forget your lines. Sing! Dance! Shine bright in front of our audience~

Rinne: There’s no one here to judge you based on your past, no one here to bring you down. It’s the start of a new page, our blank slate~

Niki: (Ah- you’re right Rinne-kun. This is a duo, not just you.)

Niki: (I have to give it my all!)

Niki: “♪”

Rinne: “♪”

Niki & Rinne: “♪”

Niki: (What is this feeling…this is so fun!)

Niki: (I feel so energetic. The kids in the crowd are clapping their hands to the beat too, cute~)

Niki: I’m only a chef…but I think I can grow to like being an idol, too~

Rinne: What was I telling you?~ You didn’t believe me?

Rinne: Now shut up and sing, Niki! If you forget your lines I’ll never~ forgive you!

Niki & Rinne: “♪”

Translator's note:

Heartbeat Honey Drop : a fast-paced pop song with a lively tune that gets your heart beating out of excitement, very lively and energetic

"drop" for the line of dropping your worries and chasing your dreams; think of it as like something trickstar would sing

Rinky duo debut song

[Back][Next] [Masterlist]

#enstars #rinniki #insanabean #bean writes #Summer Rain #rinky

[accursedkaleeshi]

His Family & Technology

Since Grievous was basically the kaleeshi Prometheus, making technology more accessible to his people (via theft & ingenuity), it would make sense that his compound, his personal family home, would have the best network connections on the planet.

This gave his children the honor of being the first generation of kaleesh to grow up around the wonders of tech. It was no surprise that some of his older children, in their natural inclination to copy their father, became avid scrap gremlins as he would call them. The older prodigious kids that had learned directly from dad would teach their younger siblings.

Things Grievous taught his children, purposefully &/or offhand, included welding, droid smithing, circuitry, & basic programming. All of that came in handy when he would explain how to hotwire ships or work around networks. His clan practically came prepackaged with all the skills needed to start trouble.

Before he exploded Grievous had been working on a way to mask his home network's location spurred on by a sense of impending doom. Ayaan & Igira spent several grief-stricken months holed up in their father's workshop & finishing his work. They were able to spoof their network's coordinates to a random directional buoy that just floated alone out in space along the Muunilist's trade route, since the Muunilist system was relatively nearby.

They didn't fully realize at the time how safe that kept them. Outside of a 5 click radius their network was, for all intents & purposes, some random coordinate buoy. Anyone that might come looking for their family would have to send people out looking the old fashioned way. The old fashioned way being much perilous on Kalee. This helped them become a hub of communications for anti-imperial activity in the quadrant.

Most of the children were preoccupied with the unlimited wonders of the Holonet (& that shitty Separatist version of the Holonet that the Bank tried to get everyone to use). They could learn anything! Many of the children took it upon themselves to learn Galactic Basic, since that was the language most content was in. Ayaan & Igira would stream & post videos to a very niche audience made mostly of other kaleesh. Some of the kids were very taken with sims (what Star Wars calls videogames, derived from simulations. Did I make that up?). Renj-are was the planet's foremost meme lord. Please imagine Renj-are trying to explain to Mertenzi what a meme is.

Many were enthralled by galactic art & music, cultures & machines, people & adventures presented to them from the fraying projections of various jailbroken data devices. But some were also scared. Historically, kaleesh were traditional & would literally fight to remain so for many years to come.

Like us millennials, unrestricted access to the internet did come with its drawbacks. Torrents of the galaxy's worst headlines, acts of violence on unfathomable scales, & unregulated spaces. Uniquely, & horribly, for the family it was very easy to access news about the Clone Wars as it was happening. If they were keeping up with it, as many felt compelled to do, they would often hear reports on or sometimes even see their late father burning his way across the civilized galaxy.

The entire family had an unspoken agreement: do not speak to the more sensitive mothers about it & ESPECIALLY don't tell Mertenzi. Mertenzi, of course, knew. She was not stupid. But the concept was so incredibly painful that she had to pretend it was not happening. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to go on &, dammit, she had things to do. The older children would get mixed answers on how to feel from the mothers that were keeping this secret (Bryaru, Jyada, & Weyla). That was when the pedestals their parents were on began to weather. Mom did not have the answers. They were just as hurt & confused. Even if Jyada would brag about their "giant undead metal husband" in jest, she was still quite somber about it.

#about his family #accursed!grievous #long post

[aegor-bamfsteel]

To bounce back on the other anon, I have to say that the reason I didn't like the adaptation aspect of hotd is that they whitewashed the two characters from that time period I disliked the most from the book, namely aemond and rhaenyra.

Fans parrot "but the show made the greens much more sympathetic" but this is true for alicent and aemond only and rather than being sympathetic it's more that they're a lot less villainous and gained niche fans because they're pretty hated by the majority of the audience from what I see. But beyond that, the adaptation choices of the screenwriters are so strange. If you wanted to have sympathetic (or whatever that means) characters among the greens, it's much easier to acheive that with aegon, heleana and daeron whose terrible traits mostly come into action after the start of the war.

Have the first be a lazy hedonist nonetheless quite innofensive and disinterested in power, the second a joyful princess who is popular with the smallfolk thanks to her kindness and the third a dutiful nice boy with chivalric ideals. Boom, there you have your sympathetic greens without having to alter the story at all. It would have made the three's eventual downfall into cruelty or madness during the dance much more poignant if they used to be likable too. Instead aegon is a loathsome sadistic serial rapist, helaena a weirdo who barely has any lines and daeron was scrapped from this season. And aemond, the bloodthirsty psychopath who was described as fierce from birth and called his half sister a whore after learning of their father's death, has been turned into a poor meow meow who didn't mean it. As for rhaenyra, her whole personality was revamped, her bad actions erased and she was given a righteous purpose in the form of a prophecy to make her a daenerys lite.

Just imagine if in the first season of got d&d had tyrion as a mix of ramsay bolton and rorge, sansa as a ditz who is mainly here to look pretty in the background and not have jaime appear onscreen nor his existence being mentioned by his own family while turning cersei into a benevolent and peaceful noble queen and joffrey into a misunderstood brooding bad boy (now I'm not saying those characters are identical to the five children of viserys but they share similar archetypes and it's just a broad comparison anyway). Maybe the show would have been popular with the mainstream like hotd currently is but d&d would have faced a backlash from book readers way sooner than they did.

Although it is very convenient for the screenwriters that they can justify any change or stupid adaptational choice with "the book is biased" or "the book is an untrustworthy historical account". Then why even adapt it if everything written is false or made up ?

In the end, though I admit it's petty of me, I cannot completely enjoy this adaptation when the characters I disliked the most during my readings are glorified and the few I liked (+ Aegon who I didn't like but could've been more interesting) are not exploited at all. At least Daemon hasn't been whitewashed yet so that's a small win I guess ?

Thanks for your commentary about the show. I agree with a lot of what you said about the Green children’s characterization. I hated how they portrayed Helaena, since it’s clear they had no idea what to do with her; they gave her dragon dreams and insect obsession and sensitivity from scratch, making her unrecognizable from the brave, pleasant mother who put her own life over those of her children, and who was so beloved by the smallfolk they rioted when they believed she was murdered. You’re also right about Aegon and how he was given the worst possible interpretation to the point it’s impossible to sympathize with him since he’s a rapist and enjoys watching children beat each other; whereas Rhaenyra—who is supposed to be about as bad as he is (that’s the point of the conflict? The realm is suffering because these worthless rulers want their chair?), gets her horrible actions removed (feeding Vaemond’s corpse to her dragon) and some diplomatic ones added (she never wanted to betrothe Jace/Helaena, and she flat out refused peace with “Tell my half brother that I will have my throne, or I will have his head.”). Then Daeron gets mentioned once and isn’t going to be seen until Season 2, when the whole point of him is he’s a decent, humble kid who allows his vengeance for his nephew burn a town. Aemond is Daemon’s foil in the novella (they even want to strangle a messenger that gives them bad news), a fierce somewhat dashing fighter with no morals, he’s where sympathy should not be. I agree with you that your take on the characters would’ve been more faithful and complement the themes of the story. Really, most characters were in need of a rewrite.

I had no idea HOTD was popular in the mainstream—the reviews I read indicated that it was a massive step down from early GOT—but I have been relying on Songify The News for my pop culture knowledge, so what do I know. Why adapt it? Because it looks cool. Everyone loves dragons…except the people who get they’re dangerous weapons and give their riders an unhealthy amount of power and entitlement over others, but who cares about us? The after episode commentary—including the infamous comment of “It’s GOT—civilians don’t count”—indicate they’re going for big spectacle rather than carefully written characters and plot (not that the novella had that), while disrespecting some of the core themes of ASOIAF. It’s the opposite of writing I like tbh.

I’d say you’re not being petty, because these seem like reasonable criticisms of the characterization/writing, though Seven knows I’ve been petty before in this fandom. Who knows what they’re going to do with Daemon next season (we have Blood and Cheese’s confrontation of Helaena to consider, and it’s building up to be a Mysaria vs Otto conflict about the smallfolk. They’ve taken away all of Helaena’s good moments like mothering her kids sassing Aegon and pleading mercy for Orwyle; why not her defining character moment where she proves herself to be Best Targ of the Generation)? They did take away some of his comeuppance and brutality, at the expense of adapting an interesting character this season who could’ve served as foil for Rhaenyra and Alicent, Lady Jeyne Arryn.

#ask #opinion #anti hotd #anti targaryen