#and our powerlessness to save someone who doesnt want to save themselves | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fiovske · 3 years

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This whole situation honestly makes me feel so disrespected and powerless. I really want to believe that if the cast were asked directly about B/J by enough people, they would say the truth - which is that they decided over the hiatus that the campaign would be ending soon, and so they made a bunch of decisions behind the scenes in order to get certain characters to a half-decent end point, and that one of those decisions was retconning Beaus feelings for Jester. Because that IS what happened, you honestly have to be so naïve not to be able to see it, but I just know that if they were asked about it, the BeauJester tag would just get raided by angry BY shippers with Ellie icons calling us all mentally-ill (again).

yeah.. yeah. personally, i dont think we should ask bc we arent gonna get an answer that isnt just handwaved as "a phase" or addressed w a tone of outright dismissiveness. i dont think they'd be transparent abt this anyway bc its a PR image decision. it'll expose that their "we only improvise in game!" thing is just not really so much true tbh lmao bc the decided pairings were done in the hiatus period and it influenced a LOT of storymaking decisions that were NOT organic at all and a whole lot of people felt being force-fed something they didnt like. those playlists really should've been our clues bc they released those AFTER taking that decision.

like. i'd really rather they'd had decided from the start of the campaign what pairings they were gonna take and worked on improving those relationships slowly and steadily, even if those pairings WERE fj/j and b/y. but they didn't.

instead we had beaujes, which grew so slowly and organically and was heartfelt in developing a foundation of a solid friendship and compatibility above all else, they were the first two to say "I love you" to each other IN GAME and had a confession of feelings and had those feelings have the building blocks of reciprocation ("does anyone have a crush on me?" the way jester panics over beau being turned to stone vs the way jester reacts to fjord rolling his second failed death save: "get up man :/"

PLUS the time when veth was calling beau abbrasive and rude and all kinda of bad things Jes was vocally disagreeing and Beau said “thanks u jess” and blew her a kiss and Jester giggled and blushed all big smiles and flushed face it was so. GOOD. the time beau bought a flower crown for jester at Zadash and Jester got so happy she couldnt contain her smile, “for mE??”. PLUS when Beau wore that red dress at the beach “for Jester (affectionate)” and Jester wore a purple dress bc “beau doesnt like yellow so I’m gonna wear the purple one!” its just the simple way they do things to make the other person happy, and are happy with it themselves.

PLUS like extremely soon following beau's confession, jes meta-narratively taunts beau, "i think you have been avoiding me...and i know why" Jester being clearly VERY upset at the prospect of beau almost dying and jester confused, at the cusp of figuring out what those extremely strong feelings for beau were: "I'm sorry for... not healing you. i.. you could've died and i..." letting it trail off the IMPLICATIONS.. (this girl doesnt like to heal anybody much less apologize for NOT healing someone lol) and beau's departure followed closely by jester spending time w fjord helping him work out "as beau does" like... her interest in him was comparative on the axis of beau. and her coming away from that interaction w fjord w a face of clear dissatisfaction bc it was clearly subpar from what she had expected it to be. it was, an extrapolation some would even say to how despite being on the heads of an argument beau and jester seemed to be able to communicate with each other very clearly, and in case of fjord, jester had to end up placating his ego, which has been what she has always done. not to mention the time in the fight ring she bet ten extra gold on beau and beau alone. despite fjord and yasha ALSO participating and she didnt beat anything extra on them lmao she was even GONE during fjord's bout which is. hilarious to me.

and then later once they reach the place where cad's family had been turned to stone, the panic on jester the sheer concern when beau was petrified vs the "uh.. get up man" at fjord when fjord was there rolling death saves. lmao. and not to forget the ultimate, "you're chaotic and.. I love you?" jes wanting to hear it back, the way the both of them support each other at their lowests, when jes meets her dad who doesnt accept her (beau hugs her and holds her and comforts her "found family is better anyway its his loss for not knowing you.") vs when beau meets her dad and he is as shit as ever ("i pull beau aside and i ask, "do u want us to stay?"and the way beau's voice breaks at "..please.") and never forget "heh, you get purple a lil purple when you're sunburnt... its cute!" and the megawatt smile jes gave beau for that was... e99!!! beaujes WAS on the cusp of happening it WOULD have happened bc the road was paved all the way thru!)

only to go into a months long hiatus and change tracks completely. literally a whole systems shock as they switched gears w no warning or no indication that their approach to the game would be different post-hiatus. they thought no one would notice.... but, ironically enough, the dissonance was felt throughout.

#beaujester #sorry i went off on a tangent and my brain went beaujes central #and god dont even talk to me abt those t/lo/u transfers el/lie icons #those are a whole lot of folks who came just to see a*hley who didnt even develop her arc or her goal so thats another story entirely #im not gonna marr my beaujes post w this #beaujes was right there all along. you were not delusional to see it #and I certainly was not either. none of us were.#the complete 180 that the cast pulled? thats 1000% on them.#me.txt

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faelapis · 3 years

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the handmaids tale, steven universe, and limited perspectives:

so i was rewatching the handmaids tale tv show with my gf, and i could write SO MANY essays about how turning offred into this badass resistance fighter misses the point of the original novel.

in the book, offred was robbed of her agency, but her life and perspective still matters. she matters even if she had no place in "great man history", was never a hero who saved anyone or changed the world. she was just an ordinary, powerless person caught up in a cruel society. she was never much of an activist beforehand either, and is now forced into a passive role - but even so, found little reasons to live, ways to cope and tell her story.

the shows use of flashbacks and multiple perspectives, while showing an interesting history, also frustrate me when they deviate from offreds sphere of knowledge. the book is told from the perspective of someone who doesnt know everything, who frustrates historians because she focuses on her own limited reality. she can't tell the full story of The regime and its Important Rulers. she can only tell her own, little life, because its the story of someone's powerlessness, who wants to believe her life can still matter.

and it does. her feelings and little moments of humanity do matter, even if she isn't able to change the world. we don't even get to know her fate, but that is the nature of powerlessness.

i feel comfortable posting this here because i can also connect it to SU pretty easily - yes, i understand the appeal of seeing a full chronicle of events told from every character's perspective, where no stone is unturned. where you can always "trust" a narrator to cover everything (and implicitly, cover it with the "right" moral perspective and be able to "objectively" tell you which facts are important enough to share) - but some stories have a point in not doing that.

there is value in having a singular perspective and commentating on those limitations. steven isn't perfect, and he can't be everything for everyone. he cares about the things that concern him. he is, in this way, as flawed and subjective as everyone else, neither above nor below them.

this is a big theme in a show whose climax revolves around a "perfect" person, believing themselves to fully understand others and know whats best for them, being brutally confronted with their own imperfections and the assumptions they make when trying to "make everything better". they cant know everything, be perfect or truly selfless, and so, they cannot justify revolving their life around "fixing" others... but that doesn't make you a monster. it just makes you flawed. no one else has true objectivity either, and so, we must forgive each other and ourselves.

am i talking about the finale of SU or SU future? you tell me.

first person stories and limited perspectives matter to me, as they often highlight the value AND limitations of individuals. we, the audience, are confronted with our own limitations and biases as we are denied being made 'objective' in our understanding. in the handmaids tale, it tells us about the importance of those who are small and powerless. in SU, it talks about how there is no singular objective or "perfect" perspective, just as there are no perfect characters... just the eyes we can and cannot see through.

#the handmaids tale #steven universe #writing

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whiskey-nips · 3 years

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UNrest

Basically I am not gonna throw energy at the capital shit show, but I have pent up energy none the less, so here I spew. Fuck picking apart sides, I think the whole government should just be thrown away. Yes I could label myself to a certain way of political thinking, but I am also one who knows it’s not safe, practical or even necessary for me to speak on it. I don’t agree all the time, a lot of the time with other people who consider themselves the label that I use. Here’s some things that I do know about discussing politics... I believe that ambuigity has power. You are very privledged If I openly talk about my “political” beliefs, not everyone should or does have access to that part of me. I love the fact that a lot of my family and friends dont know where I stand and dont know my label. That way I am not immediently dismissed or judged, because I’ve chosen to that not everyone is entitled to know all of my beliefs and opinions. If you’re visably angry while talking to someone who doesnt hold the same beliefs as you, you are a discredit to your cause, you’re never going to change their mind, and you are giving that person more ammo to stereotype and hate you and your cause. Maybe you should take a step back and figure out if you are really trying to educate or help this person, or do you just want to be angry and reactive? have someone to blame? Do you want to feel smart while belittling someone to feel in power or control? Are you “pokin the bear” to avoid your own insecurities, fears, and subconicous issues? If you cant stand to be around people who have different political beliefs than you, can you claim to be a tolerant person? What does tolerance mean to you? Do you believe that people are mult-deminisional? That there are more to people, than who they vote for or what party they associate with? Do you believe that people who have different beliefs on politics than you dont deserve to be humanized? Do you believe yourself to be more superior? Are these people less than you, your party, or less than human? More importantly what does someone have to say, for you to be completely done with them? what are your boundaries? where is the line drawn?

There is always going to be this omnipresent “OTHER” who is different than you and demonized in a sense that this other wants to kill their neighbors, destroy for no reason, hurt you and your family. no matter which side. politics will always prey on fear of the the “OTHER”. I used to be afraid of the other, especially only interacting with them via the internet. In real life, they arent monsters. I started asking them questions on why they believed the things they did and from there I could dissect and humanize them. I realized that most of their beliefs come out of place of fear of change, the unknown, the different. Some were not used to or uncomfortable not being in control or in power and lashed out because they have insecurities and control issues. Some have truamas they cant admit and acknowledge and it shows itself in unrational thoughts and beliefs that make them feel comfortable in their bias. I mean who doesnt have trust issues? Lots of people have gone overboard with not acknowledging their trust issues and ended up believing weird shit because they desperately want anything but the norm to believe. Some people just want to fit in or are a product of their enviroment and aren’t interested in journeying outside their comfort zone. Regardless, I think it’s important to humanize people, if we want to coexist together. Maybe you dont want to coexist with these others. That’s fine but realize that if you do choose that route, you’re not any different than communes, religious organizations and compounds, rich gated neighborhoods, and various other secular communities that come together to seperate themselves and live in a bubble, in their own world, and are sheltered from what they want to be sheltered from. Not coexisting with people who are different from you in any way political or otherwise always comes out of a place of privledge. Shaming others who have to try and get along, coexist, tolerate for need of survival in a capitalistic hellscape is not helpful, productive and what does it accomplish? further alienation, ignorance and more fuel for both sides to be combative and fearful towards each other? probably... Maybe younger generations that get shit for “caring too much about feelings” focus on feelings and healthy ways to accept and love themselves, because they can see effects of not being introspective and practicing self care. the mental health issues plaging the generations ahead of them are so blatent.

Take for instance and into your consideration, this simple situation. you live on some beautiful acreage in a rural county and there’s a snow storm, your electricity goes out, your phone battery dies and the temperature is dropping, you are a liberal or whatever left oriented...you go to your neighbors house for help and you see they have a trump flag flying, you’re nervous, but need help. turns out its an older couple, man and his wife and they feed you, let you use their phone, let you stay the night. Are you going to leave and tell them how you really feel about trump and his supporters? Is this a once time occurance and you plan to never talk or look at them again? What do you do when someone you claim you dont want to tolerate or someone you cant stand helps you? On the other hand when people give into fear of each other this could be a scary situation. As some people on this side, when scared, immediately pull guns on people on their property. Ok flip the script What happens if a camoflague wearing bubba needs help because of this snow storm. He goes to his staunch liberal rich neighbors. Hopefully that neighbor lets them in and helps them out just as the conservative trumpers did, and he would have to face those same questions as the leftists would. but again, when people are fearful of each other this also could turn into a shitty situation, where those frightened liberals pretend they are not home, don’t answer the door and call the cops on the struggling bubba. How the hell are we supposed to help each other, claim we are community oriented, claim we are the bigger person, claim that we care about our country, claim we are pro life, claim we are caring, kind and tolerant, if we fail to help our own damn neighbor. Fear is something to overcome. We need to overcome this fear of eachother. The enemy is not your neighbor, ya’ll need each other a lot more than you need a shitshow of a government.

My moral compass is... I dont give a shit what you believe, would you help your neighbor in a snow storm if they were cold and powerless? If the answer is yes, then you’re ok in my book. The government as of lately is having trouble putting the fear of it’s self imposed supreme power in it’s citizens. (per the mass amount of protests and civil unrest, how laughable and ignorant the president was. despite worrying, I believe the mass majority as well as the rest of the world couldn’t take 45 seriously) the next best thing for the powers at be to do to save their butts, is make us afraid of each other. The government can continue to go about their business, fill their pockets, work 4 months of the year, live their privledged lifestyles while seperating themselves from the rest of society. All the while, we, regular ass people that count on, depend on, and are most affected by the decisions the people in government make, are too busy and distracted by blaming and hating eachother to uprise against career politicans and their disconnect and detatchment to anyone who doesnt own a yaht or multiple vaction homes in the french countryside.

#old zinester #winter cycle #writing #bullshit #unpopular politics

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