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#bc while we’re being critical i have Opinions lol
hawkinsp0st · 2 years
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Hey bestie (can I call you that?) have you ever been through the anti-byler tag, not the like mikhail posts or anything, but actual anti-byler stuff? what did you think? it made me rather sad :( like i get we can be really opinionated but that doesn't make us delusional or obsessed
you guys are all my besties so yes ofc <3
first of all, im so sorry to hear it made you sad! be sure to look after yourself <3 watch something happy, spend time w friends/fam/pets, read some fluff, hang out in the byler tag and post some memes with us :-)
yes omg…….i went in it once like a month ago……..honestly, the arguments lacked compassion and were also weak af just narratively, the vibes were really annoying and bad so i forgot most of what i saw LOL !!
the main thing i saw was that 1. bylers are misogynistic towards el, 2. bylers are making something out of nothing essentially, and 3. that it’s unhealthy for will to be so attached to mike and he needs to move on.
i laughed so hard at these arguments when i saw them bc i’m a walking contradiction of all 3:
1. i didn’t give af about byler till s4v2, because literally all i cared about was el and nancy and max and joyce……i adore the female characters on this show w my entire soul……….so bylers being misogynistic? my lie detector test determined that was a lie !
2. i didn’t even know byler was a ship that existed till s4, and the only reason i noticed it was bc while watching s4, mike and will had several romantic moments LOL……the duffers byler’d me! i wasn’t searching for an mlm ship and grasping at straws just to make that happen, which is what a lot of antis seem to think we’re doing (aaand the tone with which they express that is often homophobic/condescending).
3. before i was a critical thinker i kinda agreed with this i guess?………but then i rewatched s1&2, and watched the van scene & milk monologue. so basically, i’m convinced antis just do not watch the show. mike’s love for will is already life affirming as it stands, even pre requited feelings—“you make (me) feel like i’m better for being different.” aka mike literally makes will feel okay about being different and being gay when no one else in the show has made him feel that way outside of joyce & jonathan. that’s amazing, and i’d argue that mike has an overwhelmingly positive effect on will 24/7 (except during their fights). he defends him against homophobic bullies in s1 even when he’s not around. he never leaves his side in s2. even in s3, once he learns the mindflayer is back, he drops everything and becomes the Party leader again all bc he trusted what will told him. and in s4, we find out that he makes will feel good about being different. please lmk what’s unhealthy about that.
sorry this is so long, but in conclusion: you’re correct, we are not delusional or obsessed. we are just enjoyers, and smart watchers, of media :-) much love my dear !!!!! <3
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hijabiloser13 · 11 months
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Here are just some thought of The Flash: I just watched the latest episode of the last air…SEASON 9 EPISODE 10 SPOILERS
Omg I’m soon happy with the direction we’re going in! I’ve been a die hard fan of the flash since 2017 (I wish earlier) but I used to sit and watch new episodes of season 3 with my brother. We even watched the season 3 finale together and I’ve never felt so excited for a show before or happy watching an episode. Todays episode reminded me of why I fell in love with this show in the first place: it’s not the writing or production; it’s the feelings I get watching an episode with all its shenanigans and storytelling.
I’ve just been feeling like this was lacking in the later seasons. There’s just more and more to criticize each episode, but there are good moments and at least 1 (but usually more than that) truly good episode in every season. This episode was one of them.
When they brought Thawne back, I literally rolled my eyes so far into the back of my head. I just kept thinking like bro, we get it: u hate Barry and? I was so sick of Thawne being the bad guy bc he’s been the bad guy for YEARS, but as the episode went further I realized what was going on. They’re coming full circle. This is the moment. From back in season 1. This is older Barry saving younger Barry. This one night is the building block of everything. Thank God they’re not making it a giant plot hole!
Not only that, but we got to see a different kind of Barry. One that was interesting to watch and learn about. The way he’d act around his parents and the angst of not being able to tell them, I rrly felt that. Like a knife to the heart. The end tho, where being finally got the last laugh or ig the last punch in their war, yes I repeat he called it a WAR (which I love), was just beautiful. After all these years, Barry finally found what he’s been looking for: peace for his mothers death.
I guess I was just surprised, which is something I haven’t been in a while, or I guess more like surprised in a good way. Bc trust me, there r surprises in the later seasons but they r pretty controversial and love-hate in my opinion. The point is they finally did it: made something that was interesting enough to be as good as it’s prime seasons and I desperately hope the rest of the season finale is like this! Please God Please!
The only problem I have now is that I have to wait a WHOLE WEEK to watch the next episode. Damn.
It’s been an amazing journey watching this show every Tuesday then every Wednesday (even tho the move kinda pissed me off, this show deserved better than that) and I’ll wait forever just to see a beautiful ending. Actually scratch the forever part, just gimme gimme rn lol.
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woozi · 2 years
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I don’t want to be that person but it’s annoying how people keep spewing hate about face the sun. Like I TOTALLY get not vibing. Like I do.
But y’all, take a second and remember that they don’t have long as a full group to experiment with more grown up,sexier sounds!! 94z are already having to enlist which means 95z and probably going next year. It doesn’t mean they have lost their whole way but they’re all in their mid 20s now. Let them have one sexy comeback?!
Like it’s fine to not like everything they do. I’m not a fan of Ash at all so I ignore it 🤷🏽‍♀️
It’s annoying because I know these people aren’t really seventeen fans and want any opportunity to diminish them but still.
love that i am now getting cb takes from u all JKFDJKFDJKFDKJ but ok this is also something i haven’t really talked abt in public either so... brace urself for a v lengthy reply lol. a dissertation even 😭
def get where ur general sentiment is coming from! i won’t lie and say that the... less than positive reviews abt fts didn’t initially dampen the mood a bit for me (esp bc i’ve been loving everything), but now that i think abt it, i think that’s just part of being in a community! i was very sad/kind of heated ngl, to say the least, when i heard things like this, but we also just have to keep in mind that people from all walks of life who are definitely free to form their own opinions and have their own preferences AND voice them out just as we’re doing right now join caratland after all. but you’re also right in the sense that there’s a very fine line between giving honest feedback and being just straight up mean. i think it’s just difficult for some to reconcile the fact that other people can seem... VERY brutal, even, to the boys but i also don’t think that them doing so makes them haters/non-fans (though i also def agree that non-carats join the “hate” bandwagon, for lack of better term). i think the people that do so just like the boys enough to actually let them know how they feel instead of just sucking up to them. i also share ur same sentiment (my friends would KNOW how upset?????-idk if thats the right term- i was with the exact thing ure pointing out actually lol), but while i have been loving everything from this cb, i also won’t be a hypocrite and say that i don’t have things i’m not in love with abt the svteenies’ work from time to time, so imo it’s just fair tbh JKFDJKFJKFD.
that being said i've actually been seeing very mixed reception for face the sun, and based on what i've seen the main pain point or issue people have with the album/are disappointed about is the general direction and sound svt has been taking as of late. i'm not really sure what people expect from svt (i initially was thinking that maybe it's the freshteenie songs but then again, weren't people also very lukewarm about say, more of their recent releases along the same line such as not alone and darling?), so i also don’t know where this is coming from. i also think it’s kind of ironic bc the whole point of face the sun is shedding their old selves (starting from the teasers saying ‘i’m not svt anymore’, to the whole svteenie lore we have now, and the actual storyline u can observe from the album when u listen to the songs in the order of the tracklist as they intended). the boys have also been mentioning the same exact thing in interviews. and not to be me, but i think what jihoon said in the nylon interview is especially relevant here, and pretty much sums up what i feel abt the whole thing as well. think it’s just better that i put in what he said bc... exactly king <3 ure SOOO correct.
WOOZI: ... I don’t want Seventeen to lose their sense of adventure, we want to keep moving forward ... Some people might point fingers or criticize us and say, “That’s not the right way, that’s not the right answer,” but I just hope people think, “This is just who they are.” (source)
that also touches on what you’re saying abt them being more experimental with albums as of late. personally, i highly appreciate what theyre doing (i.e. broadening their horizons style wise). i don’t think a group can retain a singular trademark sound their whole entire career without it sounding repetitive anyway. i think it’s just an inevitable part of growth! some people may be attached or like a certain sound they executed before better, but i don’t think it should necessarily mean that them trying out different things is bad. people HAVE BEEN ASKING for a darker comeback and its exactly what they delivered! it’s just that there’s no 1-size-fits-all solution imo. the oldies were right when they said u can’t please everyone (bc again everyone has different preferences and tastes and there’s absolutely nothing wrong w that!!).
and SOOOO true!! while i also think that we should be open to other inputs (it’s what expands our perspectives after all), i think it’s very important to curate your own fandom experience. if u don’t like it, just keep scrolling dfdfkjfdjfd and the same should go with opinions! i feel like it’s very taxing to invest yourself in sumn that just weighs you down, so if u don’t like it... move on <3 also if u really think abt it... we’re all just kpoppies babes... it’s not that serious JKFJKFDKJFD
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(same anon) nah I agree. I really hope the i/modga gang gets a win if only to rub it in b/y fans' faces that just for once, for once they weren't reading into things and weren't delusional and wrong and making things up like it went last time. tha just for ONCE maybe... they were right. I really hope they get that.
it just feels like a futlile fight ykno? like these people have constantly over and over broken ur spirit how can u still have faith in them? like I really hope they get to gloat about im/odna I really do bc it would be such a catharsis for b/j as well esp fans who were... dare I say, brave enough to stick around for c3. even now as they are constantly ridiculed by the rest of the fandom. I would like for the im/odna fans to be able to gloat. to not have to prelude every sentence with a disclaimer or like constantly be misinterpreted and mocked by the Meta-writing Centrists Central and their entire posse. while I find it hard to ever even look in c/R's general direction, I really hope im/odna gang scores a win. they are long overdue.
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(same anon) I just read mircallablue's ask and I gotta say I agree on every point tbh. imo/dna being the b/j apology is not a hill I'd die on bc at the end of the day, c/r really does NOT care enough. I run w it being an attempt at b/j apology bc not in a "we care abt the fans" way but more in a "ok we cant have our characters romance in this campaign anymore bc too much controversy and we've settled the pairings into het, lesbian couple for hets AND tragic mlm we will only 'confirm' on twitter.. I guess we can come up w a shared backstory thingy for c3" way.
two things I did learn frm ur ask tho is
a) brian got fired which is news to me but ur 100% correct it's for the brand image more than anything else lol
b) im/ogen glasses discourse sounds insane I was not aware of it and ur correct tho. if they knew of THAT then 100% they know of all the whitewashing racism harrassment all of it. and explicitly chose to pretend they do not see it so they don't have to acknowledge it. its so vile. they want the right wing money as well as the liberals money and cannot alienate their fanbase bc that's two halves of it.
anyway, correct opinions all around both of you, is what I wanted to add. what boils my blood I suppose is c/r is going to continue to get away with it *and* be hailed as premiere leftist media only because they were the joss whedon brand of feminists™ in early 2000s and continue to built their brand off that image to this day.
I don’t know about that. It’s hard to keep a lid on problematic elements. It always eventually comes out in the wash. Especially with how many more eyes are on them now as compared to just a few years ago. I think the only reason they have (and might continue to, at least for a little while) been able to escape serious scrutiny or scandals is mainly because of their army of sycophants. They have now built up a reputation for being crazy (someone on twitter once said they’re as bad as the S/tar Wars fandom.)
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(Have a look at the rant thread by LuchaLibris too. It was a good one.)
At some point (if we’re not already there), people will be too scared to publicly criticize CR (and I don’t mean a tweet or a Tumblr post, I mean articles). And judging by CR’s failure to intervene whenever shit hits the fan, I’m pretty sure they like it this way. 
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nightmaremerchant · 3 years
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okay ik this is an opinion no one asked for but now im thinking about the whole dan and phil joint branding as opposed to Dan Branding™ and Phil Branding™. also this is fully adding onto posts on @ browncesario and @ demonetisation’s blogs and i feel too awkward to tag them bc i dont wanna make anyone feel obligated to read this lol but if i repeat anything they said or their anons said its not on purpose!
but like, full disclaimer while i love dan and phil i feel like its always been kind of obvious that they were marketing their relationship to us? obv not so much anymore but like... as much as people who dont keep up w dnp like to pretend that their only awareness of us as a fanbase was creepy objectifying shippers who should feel ashamed for harassing them etc etc, they’ve always been way more tuned into their audience than i think people realize. like they’ve *known* what we’re like, and i dont even mean just the bad parts. like they *know* that a lot of their fanbase is queer and genuinely has looked up to them as queer role models long before they were out, and a lot of that hinges on us understanding they were a couple. and ik they resented it and i wasn’t really part of the fanbase until a few years ago but hearing stories of how dan would react on liveshows sometimes and the like, barely concealed resentment for the fans sometimes shows that while they definitely had issues with it (which like,,, is fair), they also knew they were kind of stuck in a rut. because if their primary source of fans are people who like seeing them together, that meant that their success as youtubers/creators/etc depended on keeping those fans right where they were.
and to be clear! i know ive never been here primarily for their relationship; i started watching them bc i thought they were funny together and had a good dynamic, which wouldve been possible even if they really were just friends. i didnt get emotionally invested in the projection part of it until later. but even so, i was always aware as a fan that they were selling to us the speculation of their relationship.
and this is def pulling from other posts ive seen today but considering the fanfic part of tatinof, the fact that they wrote fanfic in tabinof and incorporated shippy fan art into the youtube versions, giving the people what they want, even little things like the conjoined baking challenge vid.... they wanted us to stay curious about their relationship. Even if on a very real level it was literally bringing back trauma for them, there was this weird cognitive dissonance between “im angry at people for speculating about us” and “look here, dont stop speculating about us! look we’re sharing a sweater! look we’re being ~domestic~ in ditls!”
which is also why i thought the hiatus wouldnt last long tbh, like i was genuinely shocked that after the success of ii they would completely separate their brandings from each other in 2019. and i wont @ this person but someone said it best years ago when they said that joint branding had to die for dnp to come out. bc it really did; how could they keep up the speculation if we have literally almost all the puzzle pieces laid out? when they’ve primed their audience to actively hunt down these pieces (even if again, they would rather have not, esp given what they each talked about in their coming out videos), but they dont *want* us to put it all together, how could they sustainably make joint content while keeping the speculation fanbase there? bc once the speculation is over, people are gonna keep wanting more. (and disclaimer i really dont think this applies to like....anyone i follow on here tbh bc in general i feel like we’re fine w them keeping their boundaries where they are, but we’ve all seen posts like that that indicate that people *will* want more, and thats something that they’re unwilling to give and understandably so).
anyway this all goes to the main thing that brought all this on today lol, ever since 2019 they’ve been trying to cultivate their own separate branding from each other, and while i’m here for it tbh, surely they know that they’ll never escape their old joint branding. Which also means never escaping the spectre of relationship speculation. so i have mixed feelings about seeing dan act shocked that people could ever speculate about his private life once he became famous bc like 1) thats literally just what happens when you become famous, and 2) ....he and phil egged it on up to a point, and that doesnt mean it didnt upset them but it definitely feels off for dan to always be so pikachu face about having had fans that speculated about his relationship. like dan you literally wrote erotic fanfiction about you and phil, pieced together fan art illustrating it that showed you and phil in a homoerotic lens, and yet you’re *still* acting shocked and indignant that fans got invested in your relationship/the possibility of your relationship?? idk man. its confusing bc at the time i took things like that as “oh, we’re in on the joke,” but ever since 2019 they’ve made it more clear that we’re not, but we’re also not *not* in on it to an extent (looking at you, cah phan edition)
so im def still excited for dan’s book (like the subject doesnt terribly interest me tbh but i do wanna see what he does with it and read whatever highlights inevitably get posted on here), but as always w the end of regular joint content, im lowkey here for the over-analyzing about the relationship between dan, phil, their fans, and their content bc dear god we never run out of material to rant about
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hrrhmay · 3 years
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Enhypen Dates
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ni-ki 🐆
theme park date
baby loves attention 🥺
he'd want to do everything together
"babe let's get our faces painted!"
"ooh, look look! caricatures!"
"wow i love this cotton candy! have some with me!"
"i bet i can get a prize from this game before you!"
if you like rollercoasters he'd ride them with you
he'd get scared while waiting in line but love it once he's on the ride
if you're not a fan of rollercoasters he'd totally go on the calmer rides with you
he'd poke fun at first at it being a "kiddie ride" but end up having the time of his life 🙄😂
he'd take you through every single store you see
"i want to make sure you don't miss anything you might like 🥺"
he'd ofc offer to pay for anything
but would also totally accept you wanting to pay instead
you guys would shut the park down, leaving at closing time
on the way home, you'd discuss ni-ki's strange belief that cotton candy was better than popcorn
jay 🦅
late night date
okay look i've clearly been in my feels concerning park jongseong and late night dates but regardless
he's texting/calling you at 1am and you guys are chatting
when he suddenly asks if you want to go out right now
you think it over and say yes obv
he picks you up and takes you to a clothing store that usually isn't open at 1am but the boy's rich 🤑 so he paid them to open just for you two
he picks both an outfit for you and an outfit for him
you end up looking super chic, and end up matching with him
(he pays and thanks the shop owners for the favor bc he's a polite young man 🥺)
BRUH IM SO SOFT ANywayy-
he then drives to a hill where there's a table, chairs, and candles
there's a squirrel on the table tho !
"yAH!"
jay yells at it and the squirrel scampers off
jay turns to you but you're too busy laughing
he ends up laughing too
you stay there with him all night and end up watching the sunrise 🌄🥺
jake 🐕
zoo date
yes
he reserved the zoo tickets a month in advance and checked to make sure the zoo treated its animals right
you guys get there 45 minutes before it opens
"in case there was traffic"
jake loves the wolf section
you really like the lions
you insist one of them looks like him
"no way, im a wolf, one of the pack, alpha male through and through 😎"
"...alright babe, whatever you say"
he doesn't like the bird section
states there's a certain parakeet that looks at him funny
"like it's planning on how to escape so it can peck me to death!" 💀
you then give him lil pecks all over his face until he becomes beet red 🤭
when you walk through the aquarium, mr. fisherman jake points out all the fish and their names
when it's time to leave, he buys you a lion plushie
"you can name it jakey I guess 🙄😊"
sunghoon 🐧
on-the-spot date (wow we're here doing this thing this is a date now)
look just hear me out okay
sunghoon's fantastic at ice skating obv
you not so much but you want to learn
you suggest starting with roller skating bc you're scared about hurting yourself on the ice when you inevitably fall
you're already average at roller skating, but you're hoping he has a few tricks he can teach you to better prepare yourself for the ice
he takes you to a brand new park with smooth cement
you show him what you know and he tells you what'll be different about the ice
you guys get distracted by each other and end up forgetting the lesson
✨ impromptu date time ✨
ROLLER SKATING HAND-IN-HAND
fun videos of each other skating by
a "who's faster" competition
you lose but it's so worth it to see that attractive, smug smile on his face 😌
ice cream and roller skating 🍦🍦
he skates you home lol
gives you a kiss goodbye before spinning in his skates and zooming away so you can't see his red face 🥰
sunoo 🦊
movie date
one of the few times he's quiet for a long period of time
but seriously this baby loves movies and he loves taking you to his favorite theater
you guys plan on just getting popcorn but end up getting gummy bears too
"theyre cute, just like you 😉😊"
DD:
:DD
you two make fun of the advertisements they show before the previews
he holds your hand during the movie
you always get a seat in the back, because then it feels like it's just the two of you
after the movie he never stops talking
no fr
dude talks about his first impressions, his overall thoughts, his criticisms/critiques, his comparisons to other movies, etc
he spends the entire drive home yapping
but you love it 🥰
you love hearing his opinions and thoughts, happy he's so open and communicative with you
he squeezes you with the best hug goodbye
jungwon 🐿️
picnic date
cutie babie sheep jungwon loves taking you on picnic dates 🐑 🥺
takes you to his favorite park
it's super duper peaceful
birds chirping 🐦
sun shining ☀️
autumnal weather 🍂
your favorite yummy foods 🥪🥡🍟🍱
in the corner of the basket you find a small bluetooth speaker
jungwon smiles all dimpley and sets it up with his phone
he plays your romantic couple playlist 🥺🥺
you about die on the spot from how much he planned this romantic outing
uwu
you guys talk and laugh, enjoying the time together
on the way home, he buys you a cupcake
"i couldn't fit anymore food in the basket 😔 so here 🥺🧁"
he lets you tap frosting on his nose 😍
heeseung 🐹
arcade date
competitive boy heeseung
but also considerate boy heeseung
lets you pick most of the games you two play
insists on the claw machine
even though he knows it's a hoax
"i WILL win that plushie for you!"
😍😍😍
beats you at the fps games
but you win all the 8-bit games
there's a ticket wheel to spin so you guys spin it together 🥺
the two of you have enough tickets combined for two big plushies
(suffice to say you are very much broke now lol)
he chooses a giant teddy bear for you
you choose a big hamster for him
on the drive home, you'd start to fall asleep
when he notices, he'd hum your favorite song until you're sound asleep 🥺🥺
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hi! sorry heeseung's and ni-ki's are switched in place 😔 something happened and i was too excited to post this that i didn't bother to fix it 👉👈
~ may 💙
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blackradandmad · 3 years
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why blippi is rotting yr children's brains
preface: i literally expect no one to read this. it is an essay length, strong opinion piece critiquing a niche youtube-based children's show that i don't expect most of y'all to even have knowledge of lol. but like, i promise that even if you know nothing about what i'm talking about, in my incredibly, super humble opinion, it's a good piece of writing and interesting nonetheless. anyway if you read this whole thing for some reason yr really hot and we should kiss.
i thoroughly vet everything my child watches before he watches it, episode by episode. and we rarely watch youtube for entertainment; we usually just look up educational videos when he has a question about something and wants more detail than i can provide him. and that's mainly because children's content on youtube is so fucking troubling and distressing. i don't judge parents who give their children a tablet at a restaurant at all bc i've been there and sometimes it's easier on everyone to just put on a video and avoid a giant scene, but i do judge parents who just leave their children alone with youtube kids on autoplay.
take stevin john, a literal millionaire who got famous from dressing up as a silly character called blippi and going on tours of places like aquariums, zoos, construction sites, etc and posting it on youtube. this has branched into a whole empire of blippi videos, hulu shows and specials, live shows and tours (that he outsources to another character actor), merchandise and so on. this 30-something year old man cites his main influence as being mr. rogers, but i question if he's ever even seen an episode of that program.
mr. rogers had no background in early childhood development or media production, but he revolutionized the world of children's media, because he respected his audience and didn't shy away from real world situations, all while creating a show with an enormous heart. mr. rogers begins his episodes by inviting the viewer in, literally changing his attire to be more comfortable, and talking about/doing things he genuinely cares about. whereas mr. rogers calmly and maturely addresses the viewer, blippi puts on a high pitched, contrived voice, interjecting every other sentence with a forced exclamation such as, "teehee! we're having so much fun!"
i don't find it a coincidence that john (blippi) is a veteran, either. his videos are completely devoid of the absurd, abstract, childlike thinking that makes children's media fun, creative, and entertaining. his thinking and process is methodical, devoid of emotion, and very superficial. this line of thinking clearly shows the kind of creative sterilization and emphasis on sameness and conformity instilled in the military. blippi simply observes things and interacts with them in a stale, matter-of-fact way. "this ball is purple! this ball is pink! anyway... what's over there? teehee! a car! vroom, vroom!" objects are colors, toy cars don't do anything but drive, curiosity is simply not encouraged.
he uses the "it's educational!" excuse to hide the fact that his show lacks everything that makes media a valuable resource for children to consume in the first place. further than identifying colors, numbers, and the occasional letter or shape, there is just this total lack of children's need for social and emotional development. when mr. rogers breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer and let them know they're special, it feels authentic and natural, because we've spent the last half hour building whole worlds with diverse characters and unique stories in a pretend neighborhood, learning about and enjoying different musical instruments, being exposed to and making friends with (even if parasocially, it is still a real bond to children when done properly) children who are similar to us in character regardless of physical or environmental differences, feeding the fish, making art together, and so on. when blippi tells the viewer, "you are very special, and i enjoy spending time with you!" it falls completely flat and feels unearned, because the last half hour was spent running around a soft play center pointing at bright, colorful objects, visiting interesting locations like farms or fruit production factories while failing to acknowledge the humanity of the humans actually working there (everything is machine or product focused; the human workers are simply an extension of the machine), learning "fun facts" about elephants that just list attributes of elephants, not taking the opportunity to inform the viewers of elephants' intelligence, or diet, or matriarchal society. it is a loud, sensory overwhelming display of a man so disconnected from the social and emotional needs and desires of children that he assumes they're stupid, easily entertained idiots who only need some silly dances and fast-moving cartoon graphics to give their attention (meaning time and desire to purchase products meaning $$$). john clearly views his audience as a means to gaming the algorithm and ultimately a paycheck by the hollow way he addresses them.
the show is so narcissistic, so focused on all the fun blippi is supposedly having, but he lacks any of the character traits that make individual children's show hosts memorable, so much so that he was able to have someone else who doesn't even vaguely resemble him dress as blippi and impersonate him and host the show or appear at live shows, and it went unnoticed by most of his toddler and child audience. the show is so formulaic and the character of blippi is so unmemorable that instead of taking the blue's clues route of developing a story of the host leaving for college and his brother now stepping in, or making some sort of believable excuse for the change in actors, they can simply swap him out with some random guy and not acknowledge it at all. although a comedy show for older children, the amanda show in no way could or would try to replicate the show with the same name but swapping out amanda bynes with a random teenage girl who is clearly not amanda bynes. it's weird and nonsensical and shows that his character is so much of a farce put on for a paycheck that not even his dedicated audience is affected or even cares when he is replaced by a random, unknown person.
this is completely garbage content made by an opportunist with no experience with children who saw his nephew watching children's youtube content, took it at complete surface level and still hasn't realized that while children's content only looks and feels so easy, entertaining, and enriching because it is so hard to do well. even with outsourcing his music, that aspect of the show still sucks. famous and successful children's musician, raffi, is known for his song describing the life of a little white whale, called "baby beluga." it opens with a calm strumming of his guitar, followed by the lyrics, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea/swim so wild and you swim so free/heaven above/sea below/and a little white whale on the go." is it silly and kind of pointless? yes, but the point is that he is captivating children and showing them the fun of listening to music, dancing, singing, and appreciating art. the "excavator song" featured in an episode of blippi about construction vehicles opens with what sounds like a default garageband loop and the flatly sung lyrics, "i'm an excavator/i'm an excavator/hey dirt, see you later/i'm an excavator." i don't feel i have to meticulously analyze the aforementioned lyrics; the stark contrast should speak for itself.
i have a million more criticisms about both blippi specifically and youtube children's content as a whole, but this is already so long and i doubt many people will get this far anyway. it's an issue i was completely apathetic towards until i had my own child and had to wean him off these kinds of junk food shows because i realized the fast-paced visuals and bright colors and repetitive songs/lyrics were putting him in this spaced-out, fugue state, and he thought he could demand this show or that show whenever he wanted. the moment he started regularly yelling things like, "watch! cars!" or "no! click it!" i knew i had to be a lot more invested in the things he watched even if just for entertainment or as a soothing message. i showed him an episode of mr. rogers yesterday and feared it would be too slow to hold his attention, but he was mesmerized, greeting and interacting with mr. rogers verbally, asking me, "what's that?" to different objects on the screen. since purging this low-brow children's entertainment, he has had a noticeable increase in attention span and concentration, can focus on a task for longer amounts of times, is more likely to "read"/look through books without me initiating it, and doesn't throw a fit when the tv/my laptop is off.
i just know that for me, growing up with so much unsupervised internet access definitely led me to real-world pain and consequences, and it seems like now children are born with an iphone as an extension of their arm. if my child is going to be consuming videos, i'm definitely supervising every second and am going to be highly critical of the videos and the credentials (or lack thereof) of the creators and team behind it. but i also know, from pure observation admittedly, that parents letting youtube kids autoplay parent their children for hours at a time is not an uncommon occurrence. and it worries me that a generation of children are being raised on videos that rely on being as loud and bright and superficially enjoyable as possible. what's the use of a child knowing their colors and alphabet if they don't know how to treat people with kindness and empathy and respect? there is something wrong for a children's show host to plug the spelling of his name at the end of his videos ("well, that's the end of this video. but if you wanna watch more of my videos, just type in my name! can you spell my name with me? b-l-i-p-p-i!") after essentially rotting his audiences' brains for a half hour. there's something so insidious about the prioritization of naming different parts of construction vehicles over honest depictions of and conversations about dealing with feelings, or why someone with autism may act differently than you, or what to do when you feel lonely, or ways to make art and express yrself creatively. also, not to mention the blatant police propaganda and outright worship is seriously jarring; as a black mother to a visibly non-white child, i cannot sit there and watch blippi show kids how to be a bootlicker for the shittiest profession on earth, but that could be a whole essay in and of itself.
anyway, thanks for reading, if yr looking for quality children's content, i recommend, in no specific order: mr. rogers, sesame street, the electric company, molly of denali, daniel tiger, bluey!, blue's clues, the odd squad, word party, trash truck, puffin rock, uhh... that's definitely not an extensive list but that's just off the dome!!! ok bye y'all <333
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I am not saying George dislikes fat women, I am saying that he is giving these "physical flaws" to women we as readers are supposed to dislike (and eventhough the series are set in the Middle Ages we are reading them in a time where being fit/thin makes part of our society's idea of beauty).
It's an awful pattern, Rhaenyra spiralls down and gets fat, Lysa spiralls down and gets fat, Cersei spiralls down and gets fat. Cersei's chapters are full of dark comedy and the weight gain is part of it. In fact a lot of readers love it because it is "so funny".
PS: I'm sorry if this comes off as a rant, I really don't mean it like that, but I don't think George's writing is without problems (on various aspects, not just his female characters).
don’t worry you’re coming off fine, if we knew each other and this was an opinion of yours it’d be whatever, but since it’s the internet and everything an ultimatum this is just one of the angles i can’t get behind lol. With Lysa I think you have a valid argument that grrm could have given her physical flaws to play up her unlikablensss, but i dont think that kind of reading applies to Cersei and Rhaenyra. There’s too much going on with them, and i think it’s reductive to their actual characters to call their weight gain just a physical cue that they’re evil.
As I mentioned in the tags of one of the other asks Cersei’s weight gain is to an extent a physical manifestation of her character flaws and tragedy. Her father neglected mentoring her and as a result when she finally gets the power she craves, all she has to go of is Robert Baratheon, who started off well enough but when he got into power, due to his short sighted-ness, spirals into drinking a whoring and letting the realm be lead by other men. She’s a mess just like he was, bc of failures of society and her own character. I think the context matters way more then just ‘evil woman gets fat’. Yes it can come off as dark comedy but just the weight gain is not the point. Alcholism isn’t really something to laugh at either but it’s all bundled in there.
And for Rhaenyra it’s a bit more complicated but I think the same thing stands. We’re getting her story from a sexist 3rd person view. Has Rhaenyra really spiraled out and gained weight as a result of her new evilness (like the in universe dude writing kinda pitched) or is she just an older woman who’s had multiple kids and got embroiled in a morally ambiguous conflict where people will latch on to anything to try and make the sides more clear cut. If anything I feel like Rhaenyra is a meta look at the point you’re trying to make. The maester author (or whoever it was again it’s been a minute since I read fire and blood) is trying to que against Rhaenyra with her weight gain while not mentioning anything about Alicent (who i personally find a ‘less likable woman’ then Rhaenyra who also spirals, despite not being told she’s evil by way of weight gain). That’s part of the complexity, the reader is supposed to view it with a critical eye. To take it out would again detract from the story.
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monstersinthecosmos · 3 years
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Another white woman can’t shut up and let us speak for ourselves.
Oh man, Anon. You’re setting me up for failure here! This is a paradoxical message bc if I respond, I’m continuing to not shut up.
(Cut for length, apologies for the wall of text. More apologies & sources to Black opinion pieces beneath!)
I do wanna say I’m super sorry if any of the language in my posts about the casting was alienating or insensitive. I said several times that I wasn’t trying to speak over anyone. And I don’t want “I’m sorry if” to sound like an insincere apology—I do mean it, but I’m also saying that if I got anything wrong it was just me being ignorant and I didn’t mean to hurt anybody. And I want to say that, now that the dust has settled and there’s been such an overwhelming negative response to the news in general, I see why that feels discouraging and hurtful to fans of color, and that fucking sucks. So I also hesitate to bring it up again cause like, I feel like it would be more productive and healing for people to post positive stuff for a while so we can try to build a space that prioritizes inclusivity and lets this bullshit rest for a minute. And I’m really sorry for contributing to that, I really didn’t intend to hurt anybody.
Sometimes I treat Tumblr like an opinion space and I can be kinda lazy about citing sources and I’m super sorry about that, honestly. I should’ve. Some of my opinions are kinda baked in at this point from conversations I have pretty often IRL, and I listen to several podcasts with Black perspectives on media, and I’m sorry for paraphrasing some of that instead of linking. My fault, my bad!!! 🙏 Here’s a few of the sources I consulted that shaped my opinion:
Twitter thread by cheryllynneaton about specific elements of the story that might look bad in a race-swap
Twitter thread by endlessyarning about the importance of diverse crews and also the broader picture of racism in the industry as a whole
Twitter thread by AfronautGriot about how casting Black actors in white stories isn't good representation
Here's some YouTubes I watched:
youtube
This one talks about the history of slavery in Louisiana and the Free People of Color, as well as how problematic the brothel angle is.
youtube
This one is about how this change is tokenizing.
youtube
youtube
youtube
These final three also address the idea of not wanting "hand-me-downs" and how it's pandering.
(I just checked again and so far these are the only YouTube videos I can find from Black creators who have spoken on it, so far no one supports it. idk. Let me know if I missed somebody! I'm really trying to challenge my confirmation bias and understand the full spectrum of opinions but I'm having a hard time finding anyone in favor of it.)
I looked up some other sources, too, that are memorable to me and that I could think of off the top of my head -
youtube
This particular episode is actually about Hamilton and the complications of race swapping a historical story and what that means to the erasure or belittlement of slavery, while also taking on the challenge of creating a meta experience for a white audience who doesn't actually understand it for what it is, along with calling out the idea of using Black culture and POC to entertain the elite theatre audience while making the show prohibitively expensive to regular people.
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Afro Horror - The Skeleton Key
This episode of Afro Horror about The Skeleton Key I think is relevant, too, I love this podcast and this one sticks out because I think it has a lot of similar themes to IWTV and the idea of where to draw the line when it becomes gratuitous Black suffering for the sake of the director’s white guilt or the sake of the white audience. (I think their episode about The Craft is relevant to this conversation too and the issue of creating Black characters whose arcs revolve around racism instead of having a fuller personality, which I think has come up in some of the IWTV convos as far as like, would it be good to create a more accurate picture of slavery in the show and acknowledge it fully instead of dancing around it, or would that be contributing to representation only being about trauma?)
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Attack of the Queerwolf! - A Pity Party is my Favorite Party
And this episode of Attack of the Queerwolf! reviews IWTV and got into the plotholes of writing Louis as a sympathetic slave owner, which!, while not exactly the topic we’re on right now, I thought really did sum up why this is a problem in the text, and it really influenced my opinion lately as I’ve daydreamed about how they might navigate it on the show.
I also re-listened to a few epsiodes of Fansplaining today to refresh on what lessons we can learn about racism in fandom spaces. I generally suggest this podcast to everyone who fandoms as a hobby because it gets into really incredible conversations about navigating this space in a way that takes it seriously as a hobby, creative outlet, and social forum. And these conversations were a great reminder to be careful how we talk about race, even when we're well meaning. I think going forward as the show comes out and the fandom gets louder these will be really great reminders about how to conduct ourselves and call out shitty behavior when we see it.
https://www.fansplaining.com/episodes/135a-race-and-fandom-revisited-part-1
https://www.fansplaining.com/episodes/135b-race-and-fandom-revisited-part-2
I’ve been following the news about this show pretty closely so my initial unhappiness was not “Oh my gosh I don’t want a Black actor” but more along the lines of “omg these white people are going to make this show so fucking racist.” And I tried to convey that in my posts. I hope that was clear. Anyone who caught my post out in the wild might not have had that context. I know that my intention doesn’t matter if it landed wrong, that it still might have hurt people, but I just want to say that for the sake of clearing the air. And the ironic thing is that I was actually more open to Black Louis a few months ago when the leak came out, until Black fans on Discord told me I was being an obnoxious white person and we started having the conversations about getting meaningful and respectful representation. (As a couple of those videos above called it, original characters instead of “hand-me-downs.”) It really got me thinking about some of the angles that hadn't occurred to me and that I'd taken for granted, and I defer to those conversations. I mentioned in my posts that I know all Black fans are not a monolith and of course there isn't going to be a consensus here, like some people are going to disagree with the sources I shared, I totally understand that, but combining all of this with the overlapping lessons in queer representation and disability representation (which I feel more qualified to speak about and spend a lot of time with in other fandoms) definitely influenced my opinion.
I really didn't intend to speak over anyone, so while I repeated a lot of the ideas I heard from Black fans, I'm sorry for not linking them!
I’m excited to see how Jacob does and I think he’s gonna be handsome af in the period costume and I’m going to watch and I’m cheering for him, but I am also critical of even more racist storytelling in this fucking universe, like I really thought that was something the show could improve upon since it’s already rampant in the books. So I’m curious to see and I hope they get their shit together and do it right lol. I think everyone who likes VC is kinda like, in the fucking trash fire together and we all know that the books are fucked up, and it would be really nice to enjoy the show without making everyone feel even worse about our bad taste. Anyway anyone feel free to share these links independently in their own posts! Feel free to reblog as well bc I'm not afraid to get dunked on by this anon and I'll take the heat LMAO but it would be nice to give them their own space where it's not framed by a white person gabbing about it. =) That's counter-productive.
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bloody-wonder · 3 years
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Hopefully you're still taking asks lol, I believe in captive prince that Laurent has Damen raped at one point and that it's not ever really resolved? Which leads to the romance seeming unrealistic, correct me if I'm wrong, the author tried to resolve this problem in the 4th book but it wasnt satisfactory? What, in your opinion, made the attempt in the 4th book not convincing? And what do you think would have been a better way to try and have them resolve this issue?
*i’m posting this in the main tag bc i want to engage more with the capri fandom and find mutuals. if you don’t want to see these characters criticized and discussed do yourself a favor and don’t read this
how can you “resolve” rape? i don’t think there is a way for a character who committed it to come back from that in a way acceptable to all readers. no matter how much they repent, develop and atone for their actions they will still remain a person who commited rape. so the real question is not whether it can be resolved and how, but whether it can be forgiven (or whether you can still appreciate this character despite it) - and that is the question every reader has to answer for themselves and there are no wrong or right answers. obviously lots of readers sympathize with laurent at the end of the story and choose, consciously or not, to forgive what he did in book one. many others just can’t look past what he did and so the grand romantic ending rings hollow to them bc they see it as a victim getting together with their abuser. 
on damen’s part pacat consistently chose the path of forgiveness: he is somewhat mad at laurent in the beginning but becomes gradually less so as he gets to know him better and by the time he knows he’s in love with him forgiveness isn’t even a question - it already happened behind the scenes. that is probably one of the main differences between laurent and damen: while laurent is someone whose entire personality, motivation and character arc are founded on holding a grudge and never letting go, for damen forgiveness occurs just naturally as if offence and trauma were a bruise gradually fading without leaving any mark. 
this difference and how it plays out in the last book is actually something that made the ending feel unsatisfying for me - not the fact that the rape was “not resolved”. in the first half of kings rising laurent has to confront his own cognitive dissonance about having fallen in love with his nemesis and he indeed has lots of inner turmoil until he just doesn’t. obviously in order for the romance to work he had to let go of his hatred for “damianos the princekiller” but for such a resentful unforgiving character something had to happen in order to make this change of heart look plausible and authentic. i’m not a writer so i have no idea what that should’ve been exactly, but it should’ve definitely been something that ties in with both of their character arcs. what we had instead was a freaking baby - a bad plot device if i ever saw one. as for damen, the romance plot resolution on his part was much more consequential than on laurent’s - but only bc pacat chose to write no inner conflict for him. damen is not conflicted about falling in love with laurent - at least not to the extent you’d expect from a person who went through everything laurent did to damen. that is a choice which is definitely in character for his personality and is realistic insofar as there are lots of people who forget and forgive rather quickly, but which can also be perceived as problematic or simply narratively unsatisfying. as for the former i personally don’t think that capri romanticizes abuse - all of it, including rape, is definitely framed as something bad - and as for the latter, i have to agree that being not mad enough at laurent definitely makes damen a less interesting character. the reason why i love dark enemies to lovers stories like capri is bc i’m curious about how the characters will resolve what seems to be an insurmountable conflict (”you killed my beloved brother which ruined my life” - “you had me raped”) - so i lose interest when there’s no conflict to resolve or when it just goes away bc characters are in love now or bc they “have it in their heart to forgive” or something. however, i admit that i don’t know which way of resolution would be more satisfying.
laurent is also made to atone for his actions and redeem himself in the form of grand and stupid self-sacrifice which is a culmination of his personality gradually changing to being nice and companionable (and stupid) throughout the last book. other than that, in the epilogue short story (the summer palace) he is shown to regret his past actions towards damen to which damen says something like “we both did bad things but it doesn’t matter now cause we’re together and we know we won’t do them again”. these are pacat’s attempts at laurent’s redemption arc which ring hollow to some readers - either bc they are perceived as “not enough” or as “not necessary”. i suppose those in the first camp either deem laurent irredeemable period or they think that he should’ve done something more convincing or apologized (idk how that would work but apparently it’s very important for some people to hear a verbal apology even if it doesn’t change anything). as you can guess, i’m in the second camp - i think that having laurent suddenly become reckless in attempts to redeem himself is a disservice to his character arc and frankly speaking not necessary, seeing as damen has forgiven him regardless.   
ultimately, i’m a character-driven reader who is also aroace so when i pick up a romance i’m interested in who the characters are, why they are drawn to each other and how they overcome the obstacles to their relationship which is why i am left dissatisfied if in order for romance to be endgame the characters sacrifice who they are, or if i don’t understand why they like each other or if the obstacles just fall down when needed. i feel like with capri everything was very engaging and complex for 2,5 books (which really makes this series stand out from among similar dark romances) but in the last half of book 3 things go awry. “rape not being resolved” is just a small part of that.
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bilbao-song · 3 years
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heres an ask because i too am desperate to engage with people. i know u dont care about roxy music but you did say you would accept something as incoherent as a keysmash so here is an equivalent: admittedly i find the dynamics between ANY band and their fans very interesting, but roxy music in particular. there is a peculiar divide between those who are staunch bryan ferry fans (these people typically dont give half of a shit about anyone else in the band), those who are fans of the group as a whole and dont particularly care about individual members at all, and those who are most interested in phil manzanera and andy mackay and sometimes the other guys, who generally quite dislike bryan (i being the latter)- and often there is resentment between the groups. i think its so interesting that a group of people can be presented with the same exact material, love it and enjoy it for years, and yet latch onto different parts of it and make it such a part of their identity that should you confuse one with the other they become insulted, or if nothing else will tell you "no no, i like roxy music but i REALLY like bryan, i think hes the best", or "no no, i love roxy music and im a fan of andy and phil in particular but i dont care for byran much at all, dont get it twisted", etc. are there bands you're more familiar with who have this sort of divide amongst the fanbase? do tell me about them, if you like :>
first of all i absolutely love that u sent this ksdhgkshg this is like. exactly the kind of thing i wanted
sorry for taking 39485949 years to post this lmao. i wrote like FIVE entire paragraphs and then had to edit it but it was getting super late and anyway it’s still absurdly long (as in, i can say whatever i want in the below text bc no one is going to want to read it) and definitely devolved into a huge general rant about the annoying and creepy behaviors of some people within band fanbases (specifically ELO-related bc of course) as well as vagueing about my own controversial opinions but......nonetheless.
anyway!!! i find this kind of thing really interesting too!! and i know EXACTLY what you’re talking about. there are just sooo many facets to this, and i guess it’s different for every band. on the one hand i do think it’s kind of an interesting phenomenon bc if you think about it, they’re basically enjoying the same thing but taking wildly different/opposing stances on it. as a whole i would find it a lot more interesting/amusing and less frustrating if people could like...manage these kinds of differences without turning it into some kind of overly vitriolic/super hostile opposition that you would think is about politics or something and not a band we r supposed to be listening to for entertainment purposes. i mean, i 100% get that things don’t have to be Extremely Important to be worth discussing, but it just seems wild the way some people get SO intensely angry about these things, sometimes to the point of being kind of inappropriate. i have a lot of issues with the way some people within band fanbases tend to behave lol
.......anyway the Full Rant is below here (idk why i wrote this bc it’s long enough to be turned in for a grade and it’s only partially relevant. read at ur own risk):
so!! thankfully with most bands i enjoy i just kind of watch the fanbase from the sidelines and don't get too involved in or even aware of all the drama. like...i know about the band and enjoy the music but just manage to not get involved in whatever the community happens to be collectively freaking out about at any given moment. i feel like the kind of divide you mentioned is actually pretty common within band fanbases (i think there are things like this with like...styx and three dog night? among others? but i don't know all the details 👀) but like, FORTUNATELY with most of them i just would not know. that's very nice because i unfortunately do not always have that kind of luxury with the ELO fanbase...idk i have a lot of very strong ELO-related opinions that i usually don't like to discuss in great detail bc i get disproportionately frustrated but yeah basically what you described does kind of happen among ELO fans, although thankfully i'd say it's to a somewhat lesser extent? people are commonly at each other's throats about a variety of topics including (but not limited to) who they support or don't support, but there are still plenty of people who (thankfully) are not so aggressive lmao. there is sort of a divide within the fanbase but i feel like it's probably not so 50/50 as what you're talking about...maybe more like 85/15
THAT SAID, i have frequently commented on the fact that the ELO fanbase is largely a dumpster fire and there is a whole entire sector of the fanbase that is comprised of people who i absolutely cannot stand, and most of them do fight a lot lmao. this is only partially related to the subject at hand, but a good portion of the bickering is relevant to The Divide. like, i'm 100% okay with having a different opinion than someone else as long as they aren't acting like a complete freak about it, but idk, aside from the fact that most of these people are like?? needlessly aggressive?? there are certain opinions held by certain members of the Greater ELO Community that just give me that vibe of like...hmmmm this is a person i probably would not want to associate with at all, even in matters completely unrelated to this. Unsavory Person Vibes. i mean like, “opinions” that just boil down to "i am very very entitled and also incapable of seeing anyone else's perspective on literally anything ever BUT that isn't going to stop me from openly whining about this absolutely whenever possible." like!! it's one thing to have some kind of legitimate, reasonable criticism of an individual or band but some, if not most, of the things i've seen people losing their minds over within this fanbase have been so hilariously trivial that i just CANNOT understand how these people actually managed to get to be (presumably) functional adults who are probably like 50+ years old. i mean like, full-blown tantrums and calling someone all sorts of nasty things over something that shouldn't even be an issue because without exaggerating i cannot fathom how anyone could even be majorly upset about it in the first place. to give an example: someone once had a whole entire little strongly-worded, excessively presumptuous freakout because a guitar was no longer on loan to the rock and roll hall of fame. like...it was there for quite awhile and two out of four inductees loaned absolutely nothing but you're whining because one who DID loan something eventually took it back? do we not know what the word "loan" means? anyway the best part is that basically every time something like this happens, if someone tries to point out that the person is overreacting or perhaps just needs to look at a situation another way, they will then go off on that person bc god forbid we try to be level-headed about things. everything has to be Very Horrible All The Time or we’re doing something wrong or being stupid or something. idk i'm convinced that some people just want to be angry
also just...some of these people do some really shady things that i personally feel are morally questionable but there's nothing i can do about it so i try to just kind of avoid dwelling on it lmfao. like, it's not okay to violate people's privacy just because they're famous and you're overly entitled/nosy/desperate for clout/blatantly trying to profit off of them? i know in the Sane World that's a completely non-controversial idea but band fanbases apparently often aren't based on sanity skhglkshgks idk i could probably write a small novel on this and make a specific list of all the things they do that are just like...bafflingly tone deaf and kind of appalling but i digress. idk the worst part to me is the way they'll be like, saying/doing something that's just awful or like, maybe even totally factually wrong while acting like they're in the right. absolutely wild
to at least somewhat bring this back to what we were ATTEMPTING to talk about!!! personally i've reached a point where i pretty much no longer care about like 90% of anyone who has ever been in ELO (jeffrey/richard/roy/mike de albuquerque supremacy) but i'm not like, actively a Hater of the others lmao. i appreciate that they were there and enjoy the nostalgia(? i wasn’t alive) of it and i’m glad they’re out there existing but i just...don’t really care about anything they do at this point?? a good portion of it is a result of me taking issue with certain things some of them have done, which has impacted the way i feel about them, but MOST of it is really not that deep and it’s just that some of them just don't particularly interest me on that kind of level/i don't feel the need to get that invested in like 927509257 different people (fun fact: during the 1970s every third person in existence on earth was, at least briefly, a member of ELO). there's really only one ELO-adjacent person who i actually very strongly dislike and a) luckily i feel like they barely even count as a member b) the reasoning is kind of its own Thing and has very very very little to do with anything related to the band so it's kind of another subject entirely. anyway that’s as close as i’ll ever get to actually getting involved with any of the Drama sgsdgsdgfhdh. my primary beef is with the fanbase anyway because, as previously mentioned, there are too many insane people. i guess what i’m getting at here is that yeah there’s a divide and it does affect me BUT i also don’t really get why people allow this to make them act in a way that goes beyond just having a difference in opinion and is so overly hostile towards each other as well as the people they’re discussing. like...if anyone involved is a serial killer or something even remotely similar then yeah, being outraged on an extreme level and absolutely hating them even as an outsider makes sense. otherwise? calm down!!!!!
anyway. to wrap up this mostly incoherent rant that i hope no one read: i have always suspected that band fandoms kind of attract certain kinds of very distressingly weird people and i just think it's funny how there's always like, a little cluster of people within the fanbase who basically seem like they actually hate the band (those are almost always the Weird Ones bc i can’t tell you how many times i’ve witnessed a person who is like, into a band to a CREEPY extent and then one day they just flip and become a hater). at that point i'm just like, okay? so why are you still here lmfao. i guess that's the Main Idea of all of this lol. i just don't get why these people stick around when 98% of all they ever do is complain and act overly judgy? i just feel like if my so-called favorite band was making me that miserable i would try to find another band to like instead of becoming a menace to society. that’s just me tho
to bring all of this together i guess i just assume that some kind of phenomenon like this occurs within basically every band fanbase. idk it just seems pretty universal for some reason. certain kinds of people just love drama i guess and will turn any difference of opinion into some kind of shitshow
tl;dr: yes
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lesbiancarat · 3 years
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PREACH IT!! SAY IT LOUDER FOR TH3 PEOPLE IN THE BACK!! *stands up and claps*
Just your comment, please I want to tattoo that entire response on my forehead so people could understand some stuff fjshdhsh. I very much agree with everything you have said, like I do think the bighit deal was more so with the help of say with western connections (which again does NOT mean pledis could have done this without bighit. They clearly could but I saw a theory on a YouTube comment where someone said they focused on the core fanbase aka in Korea which is their main market and it paid off imo) from helping with buisness side of things like we do have merch to buy directly (which I have my opinion on some merch ideas like why the fudge is bighit selling us water!? Bro you thought that worked with bts doesn't mean it will with seventeen) which wasn't common in the past or being able to film concerts with ease during the pandemic. Bighit clearly acknowledges that seventeen is a monster group in their own right I mean as you said, they break records and are 2nd behind bighits own group. They are EXTEMELY big in Japan. They are their own song makers, bang pd confirmed this when pleids was first announced in a press video so the fact people brush all of their achievements and statements because why, their streaming numbers are low?
And oohh such an interesting point as well! Very much i think the current mindset of kpop fans (or at least some) is that streaming is what equals success which to some degree, yes but as you said, many ignore the casual side of listening. People that find the song due to it being viral for whatever reason, a fancam getting popular like in the cass of hani from exid or whatever reason. Dwc is a great example and I saw those comments under their recent performance of that song and it makes me proud that the boys have a song like that. That it has its own "fanbase" quote on quote with how well loved that song simply is and well known. You don't have to have fans doing crazy streaming to be considered "popular", I mean I could give more examples but I don't wanna make this too long nor cause unwanted fandrama lol. Those casual listeners are extremely important and powerful I mean brave girls is a great recent example of that I think! It very much does seem like that when looking at the views, its mainly the core fanbase which isn't bad nor should we feel bad for not having crazy numbers. They seem more organic if that makes sense? Plus I agree, we can stream and can explain how it works, clearing up confusion about it like no emojis don't take down views and yes youtube does take away views but that is due to it making sure it isn't bots only viewing the video. Explaining that streaming should be done with a chill mindset and its ok if you don't stream. But hey, maybe we're too weird of fans to think like this fjajdjajs.
But some few updates! Seventeen is back on Instagram, fully everyone is posting away. Makes me happy hehe m, a bit funny it took so long for them to comeback but am happy nonetheless. The interactions that seungkwan does makes me super soft. Seventeen are also back with doing proper promotions so yay (also pledis is S Wording people over the mingyu issue finally so bless). As for me on the personal side of things. I have OFFICIALLY finished that video game ^_^ it took me a while but I have finished it, my last goodbye was completed and am at ease so to speak? Lowkey am planning on beating all the trophies in the game cx also may I ask about your thoughts on the album? Favorite songs, have you bought the physical cd?
ok finally getting around to this lol!!
and yeah that's absolutely true, pledis focused on kr promotions/fanbase first and foremost (and then expanded to Japan and is now looking toward the US/western promos in general). which i agree was a good thing. i think some companies get too greedy with wanting a group to be ~internationally famous~ that they ignore their Korean fanbase a bit too much and I've seen groups that have failed bc of it, so I'm glad that didn't happen w SVT
and yeah in terms of merch I'm genuinely grateful as an american that for this cb at least there was a US distributor which made things super convenient but wtf is going on w hybes merch those water bottles are not it TT it just sucks to see bc it's clear that at least as far as merch goes hybe doesn't have an interest in like. doing market research to figure out what carats want. which is funny bc they don't even have to start from scratch they could literally just ask pledis?? and tbh what's sad is i don't think hybe is like. purposefully trying to sabotage SVTs merch from my limited perspective i get the feeling they treat all their groups merch like that :( but since us carats have seen in the past what kind of merch we're capable of getting it's disappointing to see such a downgrade. and like tbf pledis's merch decisions were never perfect like that time they tried to sell replicas of the SVT rings and carats were rightfully pissed bc those are something the members earned, not something to be bought. and i also don't think hybe never has or never will make good merch, I'm sure they're fully capable of it. but it just seems obvious that they've put WAY less if any effort into understanding both the market (ie carats) and seventeens brand compared to pledis so like of course most carats aren't gonna like it :/ i really hope they step up their game and do better research or bring ppl onto the team who better understand svt's brand
and yeah i very much agree with everything u said about streaming! tbh i think this mindset isn't as uncommon as you might think, I've actually met a fair number of kpop fans who are critical of streaming culture but as u know there also are a lot of ppl who are really into it and those ppl tend to have the loudest voices. and unfortunately part of streaming culture is that if you question the methods or don't participate you must be a bad fan or secretly an anti or something ridiculous like that. so ppl who aren't into streaming culture end up learning to not be too vocal about it bc of how bad the backlash can be
yes! I'm glad to see insta line (+ now dk!!) active again. i still wonder why pledis made them stop using their ind instas, like I know all the theories people have as to why but honestly none that I've seen seem to fully make sense. it will probably be one of those things where we'll just never know the full story. but i digress!! regardless of the reason I'm just glad to have them back after all this time ^^
congrats on finishing the game! I'm glad it was able to help you work through your grief a bit and that you feel more at ease now ;-; and good luck with the rest of the trophies if you end up trying to get them!
as always I'm answering this a bit late so you may have seen already but i did get the physical album! it was a birthday gift so i only got it the other day, but according to my mom it arrived almost immediately after the album was released so as i said before, I'm very grateful for the US shop this time around ;-; as for the songs usually it's easy for me to pick one or two favorites but this time around it's genuinely a 4-way tie between heavens cloud and all the unit songs TT (i also love anyone and RTL, they're just slightly lower on the list in terms of preference if u get what i mean). i really hope some time in the future we get some kind of performance or special video or something for heavens cloud, since so many carats and the members themselves seem to really love it. i also think it's a song that brings up such beautiful imagery that it would be a shame if it never got any type of visual representation, you know? I'm also really curious to see a performance of wave, since iirc the members said the choreo is a lot more laid back/different from other perf unit choreos?? + that song also evokes such great imagery for me that like... makes feel like it needs some kind of movement so I'm just itching to see a performance. kind of like... even if i didn't know it was a perf unit song i would think it would be great to choreograph to if that makes any sense dhfkf. but yeah overall i think it's just a really solid album, as expected from summerteen ^^
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yunsoh · 3 years
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could u rank aaaall the characters u can think of from fave to least fave?
i won’t do every single one because there’s literally too many characters in this series but i’ll rank the ones that i have opinions about;
1. yuki -- a shocker i know but it cannot be helped. he’s been my favorite since day one. hands down my favorite character arc in the story, i think it’s just so impactful not just for a romance series but for a story so focused on cyclical trauma. he’s a cryptic little weirdo but he’s also just like..... achingly normal and relatable. (i mean........ isn’t that just his whole character development......). big romantic, so kind and genuinely good but also he’s a big bastard and i love that for him. his and tohru’s relationship? his development surrounding it?? the best of the best. just standout to me. mwah. absolutely iconic.
2. kakeru -- for a character i didn’t even remember when i went back to reread the series a few years ago he is like....... quite literally on the brain all the time now lmfao. technical-wise i think he stands as a really interesting juxtaposition to our main trio in the sense that he has the qualities they initially lack, but he struggles with and has to actively work on aspects that are very inherent to all three of them. he just holds a unique perspective that i appreciate, esp since it’s so critical to challenging yuki’s. vibes-wise i think he’s both interestingly complicated and a fucking fool. absolutely lame and refuses to acknowledge it. love him.
3. machi -- the ways in which my opinion about her character have changed over the past year....... okay so if we’re talking like, strictly canon machi i don’t think she would be this high up (still top 10 probably) but considering the mental energy i’ve put into reconsidering her character & story and just like.... the fact that i think about her as much as i do..... i kind of can’t not have her up here lmfao. idk i think she had a lot of potential that got dropped in canon which is a shame, but i think i’ve talked that point to death so. anyways. i do just love her. she just has those vibes you know. no bullshit, secretly rabid, depressed & doing her best. yeah. takaya nerfed her because she realized she would just end up giving her the same gay subtext she gave yuki and u know how she feels about that.
4. haru -- god what is there not to love abt him. i think he makes me laugh the most throughout the series but he’s also sooo fucking intense at times it’s sick. especially since he usually stands as a chill and grounded point while everyone else is going crazy..... again just immaculate vibes. just so much love in his heart. like he genuinely just wants people to be happy and having a good time. i do also wish his character/issues were explored a little more (maybe in lieu of characters who like.... didn’t really need a character arc lmao) but it’s not a dealbreaker. boy rlly almost exposed the sohmas to the whole school though huh.
5. kyo -- he’s actually somewhat tied with tohru but i think he has just an edge above her for me because he’s such a grouch LMAO. idk there’s just something about how he’s very prickly but suuuch a softie and romantic under it all that just gets me. in a weird way though, he ticks a lot of my boxes but isn’t exactly a character that i’m strongly drawn to? i like him, but i don’t really reread his chapters/rewatch his eps. something about him doesn’t click exactly right for me..... maybe bc his story is strictly romance-focused (and honestly tends towards the melodramatic that i’m a bit ‘hm’ about). that said he lucked out with getting a satisfying ending to his arc and he’s made me cry at least once so gg. 
6. tohru -- every time i think about her i’m just like. can we pleeeeease get this girl a therapist. yes they all need therapy but like..... hello can someone help..... anyways she’s just so lovingly made and i think her progression is super super well done. how her issues and grief manifest and really take form in the series over time is just...... oog...... it’s just perfect. i really appreciate that we get to see a character who is stereotypically feminine and mother-like actually struggle under those traits, but doesn’t abandon them once she overcomes her issues. she’s not a go-to character for me like, personality-wise ig (again.... melodrama....) but i do love her. icon.
7. uo -- back in middle school i think she was actually my favorite character after yuki.... and tbh is it such a coincidence that i couldn’t remember the second half of the series when i visited it again in my 20s lmaoooo. first-half series uo is just so fresh. i love that people find her threatening and yet she’s just this chill harsh-mouth who’s also incredibly tender-hearted and vulnerable. just genuinely funny and insightful every time she’s on the page. her friendship with kyo is also pretty standout to me it makes me laugh every time, and ofc her love for tohru... well u know. meanwhile second-half series uo um.... who’s that lol..... she only takes a place above hana here because i have really affectionate memories about just loving & admiring her when i was younger. 
8. hana -- more or less tied with uo. she’s a constant mood and i love her for it. i guess i could say “second-half hana idk her” here too, but that’s just more because she just literally drops off the face of the earth after a certain point. but whatever, i love that she walks around with psychic powers and everyone knows it but it’s never questioned because everyone is just so fuckin weird it doesn’t matter. takes no shit, could kill you without leaving evidence. vibes. i also think her backstory is really beautiful and her relationship with tohru is just gorgeous. just a perfect support character.
9. shigure -- okay he actually also used to be a fave back in the day. i think he’s just fun to think about...... his perspective and his purpose in the story is pretty fascinating and i think it’s one that you gain new insight on with each reread. he just stews in this incredibly morally grey area and that’s where he stays. truly a character that you either love or you loathe. i mean at the heart of things he’s a conniving bastard who has fuckin problems LMAO but he’s also just so.... aggravatingly lackadaisical when he’s not actively being a shit-stirrer.... just “cause problems on purpose & chill” energy. ends justify the means to the bitter core. problematique. his story w akito is fucking batshit and the series wouldn’t be the same without it, the energy of that with the rest of the story?? what the fuck dude. meanwhile i do love his relationships with the main trio & the other sohma kids.
10. ayame -- king.... he’s just 110% all the time and i think that his existence is just the most exquisite dunk on his family’s rigid upholding of conservatism and tradition it’s truly sexy of him. he does what he wants and tbh, it’s worked in his favor for the most part. when he’s on screen you know some stupid shit is about to go down. and of course i really love his and yuki’s relationship and how it impacts them both over the series...... good shit rlly. a fabulous menace.
11. kimi -- she’s literally just up here because she’s goddamn funny and i love her relationships with kakeru and yuki. no deep traumatic lore just a girl owning the fact that she’s cute smart as hell and knows how to get what she wants. a brat to the core. idk she’s just pure fun and i think that’s necessary in a story where even the designated clown characters (kakeru, ayame) have fairly dark moments. also i think about the “his wallet 💖” moment too often.
12. komaki -- okay. so. she is not this high up on the list because of who she is in canon. she’s this high up purely because of how i’ve recreated her in my brain lmfao. i think she’s borderline unnecessary in canon (i like that we see the other side of the accident, but the execution of it is just. not it.), but my extensive daydream universe where i just overload her with headcanons to give her any sort of character beyond “kakeru’s cute girlfriend” lands her up here. i also just think of her too much as an extension of thinking about kakeru too much. sue me.
13. momiji -- honestly i’m having kind of a hard time placing him because i do like him, i think he’s funny and sweet and of course has his own brand of issues going on, but...... i don’t think i have any strong feelings about his story? i think he brings a necessary lightness to the cast, but when it comes down to some individual aspects of his narrative (involving his mom/momo, his unrequited crush on tohru) ...hm.... i think his complicated feelings about the curse are really poignant though and that part of his story especially slaps for me.
14. akito -- hmm... hm.... i like how akito stands as tohru’s narrative foil and i think the parallels between the two are pretty rich...... but i really struggle with just how fucking exhausting she is lmfao. the lengths of her derangement are just 2 much for me personally, and i feel like the ending really failed her as far as her personal growth goes (which? i think is super fucking detrimental considering how takaya tries to portray her as like, “reformed” or something along those lines.... i just don’t buy it. her having a normal functioning relationship with SHIGURE??? lmaoooooo. please). i do appreciate the level of darkness she brings to the story, and how her behaviors form and completely fuck the family over, but...... i don’t necessarily enjoy her........ tiring queen.
15. rin -- ah... tragic, vitriolic goth.... i do like her, and i think i could place her above akito depending on the day, but her story doesn’t really stand out to me. like, it’s obviously incredibly sad, but it’s really unfortunate that we don’t see her develop in a way that actually..... you know.... develops her character.... idk it sucks that she’s written in a way where she’s fruitlessly sacrificing herself mentally and physically for haru and there’s never really a point where it feels like she can just relax and consider herself and her own needs (or even like. like herself). she starts and ends the story feeling completely broken from trauma and i just think there should have been more of an intervening point somewhere in there, which i think could have been achieved with more time between her and tohru. as is she’s just kind of all-around tragic which :’/ bummer. she deserved more growth.
16. mayu -- honestly i still don’t really get why she of all of the characters has a backstory chapter. i think her friendship with kana is pretty heartbreaking but it also doesn’t... do much for me.... after the fact... so i don’t know what to think about it. her crush on hatori is kind of weird and i don’t fully understand it in canon. but you know what. she’s funny and i like her attitude. for the most part, i like when she’s on-screen. i think she has a really funny relationship with her students and is this chill no-bullshit kind of figure. her friendship with the mabudachi boys is nice even though i think it’s delivered a little weird at times (which is more or less because it can be easy to forget that she. knows them lmfao). yeah. i like her but takaya really made some decisions with her huh. also i originally didn’t add her to this list but i’m just sticking her in here last second so yes there’s a note in hatori’s bit that doesn’t make sense now but it’s staying.
17. kyoko -- so i kind of have some blasé feelings about kyoko, except when it comes to her backstory, in which case i am just... upset lmfao..... the adult version we see of kyoko is sweet and at times like, pretty funny in just how blunt/harsh she can come across as, but in general my feelings about the parents in furuba are just like.... oh you’re a nice parent.... oh you’re a fucking horrible parent..... etc. you know? it’s usually pretty one or the other (some parents are a little more complicated than others -- tbh kakeru’s mom comes to mind), and she’s obviously portrayed as a good parent, esp since we see her primarily through memory. anyways, her backstory is just tragic. she went from one abusive situation to the next and was then left to be a single mom at like, 19/20, traumatized and with just about no support system, and while i understand that she was able to become the kyoko we see in the present because of tohru.... idk i think i still feel a kind of unresolved dissonance between backstory kyoko and the kyoko we see later on. and i think that largely has to do with the fact that we (purposefully) don’t see the parent’s perspectives -- so she ends up in this transitory stage. i have no idea how this would be resolved lmao i think it just is what it is.
18. hatori -- i’m also struggling to place him because i think he’s sooo so poignant in the beginning of the story but i don’t really pay much attention to him later on. which is a shame considering his introduction is to me the first real punch to the gut regarding just how deep the issues go with the sohmas. i don’t feel inclined to really think of him very often, but i just think there could have been more done for him. i think trying to tie up his issues with a romance just doesn��t really work and is also irrelevant to his? actual problems? (also sorry i’m just remembering that this is another symptom of takaya pulling another wacky coincidence maam they don’t all have to know each other i repeat they don’t all have to fucking know each other--) anyways i feel like his resolution wrt his issues with his family/the curse is kinda.... glossed over..... unless i’m just completely forgetting something. 
19. hiro -- i used to hate this kid. straight up. now i think he’s just like.... a typical smart-mouth 12 year old...... so he’s alright lmfao. i think his relationship with rin is interesting but it’s pretty forgettable. i don’t really care about his relationship with kisa or the parallel it makes with kyoru, but i do like the scene where he tells her about his curse breaking. he does mature in a nice way over the series. oh and the panel of him holding his sister makes me cry idk dudes. alright maybe i’ll place him above kagura just on that right alone.
20. kagura -- do i feel justified putting her this far down on the list? i dunno. her relationship with kyo isn’t my favorite (i just find it obnoxious) but i think she’s pretty funny and cute otherwise..... thing is kyo takes up like 95% of her story so there isn’t much otherwise 2 speak of. really wish her relationship with rin could have been explored more tbh i think that could have had potential. honestly my feelings about her change with the phases of the moon so while i don’t care much about her right now two weeks from now i’ll probably feel more inclined to bump her up to the momiji-rin range. which i feel like says enough about her character for me lmfao.
21. kisa -- she’s alright? i think she’s cute but she doesn’t really do much for me after her intro chapters (which. i only like so much bc they’re a big part of yuki’s narrative tbh). yeah. honestly not much to say about her :( 
22. ritsu -- sighs.... man...... ritsu could have just been so much more but canon doesn’t give us much and i really don’t think about them otherwise. like truly they just completely disappear for the whole meat of the story LMAO...... what the fuck..... 
23.  nao -- he’s not so far down at the bottom because i hate him, he only has this placement because you could literally take him out of the story and i wouldn’t fucking notice lmao. i never think about him and i don’t rlly want to. next.
24. kureno -- uuuugh uuuughhhhhhh. the wasted potential of this fucking guy. would it have been so hard to drop the creepy romance plotline and just put more effort into his story regarding his place in the family....... his symbolism...... fuck even just giving him a personality. ugh. honestly i think we could have benefitted from a pov chapter from him to get a better sense of all of this instead of just extrapolating but. alas. looking at him gives me the residual taste of cardboard and regret. i had actually originally placed him above both nao and ritsu because at least he gives me something to think about, but it didn’t feel right. i actively dislike seeing this dude because i just know that his storyline is fucked from start to finish -- not in a narrative way like akito or rin, but in a way that just gives me the impression that his character was never 100% there. all this drama over a man who only wears button-ups and khakis. despicable.
25. katsuya -- yeah i know boring typical answer and surprise to no one but there is just nothing redeemable about this dude to me. i won’t lie, i think i would consider his character differently if the narrative had any intention whatsoever to condemn him, but obviously that doesn’t happen so here we are. anyways tohru baby you were right to dislike him just like...... lean a little more into it yknow........ yeah. i considered maybe not putting him on here because of my general attitude about the furuba parents but the fact that the story tries to paint him in a positive light just makes kyoko’s backstory borderline unbearable to read. bad.
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clumsyclifford · 3 years
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hello bella i would like to ask you about future hearts, not in chronological order, and stories for monday -hazel
WAIT i pressed send too early i also wanted to throw a curveball and ask about the newsies original broadway cast recording :) -hazel
yeesh you picked some good ones hazel. okay. i'm gonna put a cut because four albums is a Lot.
send me albums!
future hearts - all time low
the first song from this album I heard: uhhhhhhh i don't remember, but i......hesitantly......say.......cinderblock garden. but i have no idea why i say that. no i don't really know at all.
do I own the album?: nope
my favorite song: don't you go but also if we're counting b-sides which we should be then how the story ends. and........edge of tonight. and runaways. i know that's a lot of songs i don't care.
my least favorite song: satellite i like it but it's unremarkable compared to the rest of the album and the structure of it is just a little weird to me
a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: there were two future hearts songs that for some inexplicable reason didn't download when i bought the album on itunes back in like 2015 when i used itunes and this album came out so i just didnt know they existed for several months, and those songs were bail me out and edge of tonight. this isnt really relevant since i love both of those songs but i just wanted to share. i guess...i think runaways has grown on me. honestly i think thats a result of including it in baby driver fic, lmao
a song I used to like, but now don’t: well i used to LOVE cinderblock garden and now as you can see i don't list it among my favorites. and the same with dancing with a wolf. and for that matter, also satellite lol
my favorite lyric: another impossible question <3 this doesnt really count but the line in tidal waves "say i'm your filthy little, filthy little-" always makes me smile bc when i was younger and my older sister and i would listen to that song whenever we got to that part we'd both yell WHORE at the top of our lungs. and in fact i still do. real talk though, i think the bridge of missing you might be my favorite lyric in here. "grit your teeth, pull your hair, paint the walls black, and scream 'FUCK the world 'cause it's my life, i'm gonna take it back' and never for a second blame yourself" yeah thats the GOOD shit. WAIT I LIE I HAVE ANOTHER ONE: "beautiful scars on critical veins" (mmm and also "roll like thunder, burn like stars") from kids in the dark. mmmm. and all of edge of tonight. man this album has some gooooooood gaskarth lines.
overall rating out of 10: honestly? 10/10. even with satellite. this is such a good fucking album i constantly underrate it but i love it so much it can do no wrong
not in chronological order - julia michaels (this one is gonna be trickier because i haven't listened to the whole album that many times but i'm gonna put it on while i answer the rest of these so hopefully i can have some real opinions here)
the first song from this album I heard: it would've been lie like this i think, because that song was out before any of the other singles
do I own the album?: nope :)
my favorite song: that's the kind of woman, pessimist, lie like this, all your exes. i really LOVE about half this album and the other half i just don't really know well enough
my least favorite song: orange magic just Does Not do it for me. idk man
a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: well i'm very much still working on familiarizing myself with these songs so i might still be in the phase of "didn't like at first" (betcha anything orange magic will grow on me lmao). there aren't any songs that i've changed my opinion on at least not yet
a song I used to like, but now don’t: see previous answer lol
my favorite lyric: "i love myself, but i'd love her more; that's the kind of woman i'd leave me for" from that's the kind of woman (that shit HITS), also "i'll stop checking horoscopes to cope with all my misery" and "you took a pessimist and turned me into something else" from pessimist because it gives me a lot of hope. and "it was you before i ever decided" from little did i know because :') romance
overall rating out of 10: 8/10 miss michaels KNOWS an album. this would probably be higher if not for orange magic lmao
stories for monday - the summer set
the first song from this album I heard: according to my spotify, all my friends! the first time i listened to this album was on shuffle while writing a prompt fic that was entirely unrelated. i know, it's appalling.
do I own the album?: no <3
my favorite song: MMMNNGNHHGJ i think. i think it's figure me out. and missin' you. yeah. those two
my least favorite song: honest to god i want to say all downhill from here but the little bass riff at the end of that song basically forbids me from saying that. so i'm gonna say change your mind instead. it's the vibiest but thats not why we COME to stories for monday now is it
a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: don't know, maybe all in? i can't remember ever not liking one of these songs tbh. ironically maybe the answer to this is change your mind lol
a song I used to like, but now don’t: well i listened to all my friends about five million times when i wrote that fic based on it so it's in the same situation as i think he knows now. i need a little bit of an all my friends break.
my favorite lyric: bro this is literally an impossible fuckign QUESTION!! the entirety of figure me out. "i'm a bit too punk for the pop kids, but i'm too pop for the punk kids" and "i believe there's more to life than all my problems" both are really close to my heart. the bridge of all in about it being 4am in the parking lot we'll be singing blink songs til the sun comes up, that too. wait wait okay and also: "forever nineteen somehow" from jean jacket and "growing up can make you stupid, why is everyone so scared?" from wasted. okay okay i'm done i'm done
overall rating out of 10: fucking 11/10 bro this is in my top 10 albums ever i'm pretty sure
newsies - original broadway cast recording
the first song from this album I heard: no fuckin idea. it must have been the overture because i never listened to the cast recording before watching the bootleg so!
do I own the album?: i do not
my favorite song: mmm i. LOVE once and for all. but i also love watch what happens reprise. and brooklyn's here. and carrying the banner. ugh fuck i love so many of these songs.
my least favorite song: the bottom line reprise lmfao easy
a song I didn’t like at first, but now do: i don't know, i guess i like the bottom line a LITTLE more than i used to but it's a very low bar. wait actually, the overture. i have a much greater appreciation for an overture than i used to.
a song I used to like, but now don’t: i honestly can't think of one. maybe similar effect to something to believe in? i like it SLIGHTLY less but i still really like it so?
my favorite lyric: EASY answer, this lyric is among my favorites in all of musical theatre, i had it written on my mirror for a long time in high school. this part from seize the day: "behold the brave battalion that stands side by side / too few in number and too proud to hide / then say to the others who did not follow through / 'you're still our brothers, and we will fight for you'"
overall rating out of 10: 9/10. fucking banger of an album. i always say this is the best cast recording for a car ride and i stand by that
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cherryblossomshadow · 3 years
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Wonder Woman 1984 review
Long, rambly, and spoilery. You’ve been warned. 
I saw WW84. I had thoughts. Let's talk about it. 
I want to preface with the fact that it's amazing that we have another female-led superhero film! I loved Patti Jenkins' work with the first Wonder Woman (and this one too) and I'm so glad she's back for this one. There's obviously a lot to pick through, but first, a couple reminders.
No film will ever be "perfect."
Not every film is made specifically for you. 
It is okay to vibe or disvibe with something. But that does not make it trash. 
Also, please, keep in mind, what I'm expressing are my opinions. I'm entitled to mine as you are entitled to yours. I hope you have a lovely time on the internet, and I hope you wish the same for everyone you interact with. 
Oh, and spoilers obviously. 
Okay, with all that out of the way, let's dig in. 
My overall experience with the film is positive! I had a great time watching it, it got me emotional, and I definitely want to watch it again. That said, I don't think it's better than the first one (although that would have been quite a feat), and that's ok. It's a continuation of a story we've already started, and it doesn't need to outshine the first. 
Okay, after all the hyping up and disclaiming I've done, let's dig into what I didn't like about the film. 
Number one is pacing. The storyline felt very erratic to me? Part of that, I feel, is because we have three (four?) main characters, and we jump between them pretty abruptly. 
Number two is the themes. Now I do like the themes of WW84 (truth and sacrifice), I just don't think they were worked into the film as cohesively as I would have liked? 
Number three is perceived character changes to Diana. And really, some of this is kinda circumstantial, I just thought it deserved its own bullet point. You'll see what I mean. 
So, on Pacing.
We jump between Diana (and Steve), Barbara, and Maxwell pretty frequently. And before I talk about that, I have to talk about my view on the characters. 
a. Now, I love the Mandalorian, but I was not personally invested in Maxwell's arc at all. Again, this is my take, and I know people disagree. Many people feel like Pedro Pascal carried the film on his shoulders. That's cool. He's a great actor. I'm glad he was in it. I just kinda checked out of every scene he was in (when he wasn't with his kid) because I wasn't invested in him. He played a sleazeball on purpose, and it worked. I was sleazed. So the movie kinda dragged for me whenever the camera panned to him. 
b. I loved the focus on Barbara. I don't know Cheetah from the comics, so this is from a movie-only perspective. But I know one of the criticisms of the first film was that Diana didn't really talk to women after she left Themyscira (even though there was a perfectly good villainess sitting right there for her to converse with and have morality debates/fights with! Even Steve Trevor got to talk to Dr Poison!), so I thought it was great that 1) they set up a villainess for her to fight and 2) it was a villainess that she knew, she had talked to, she had formed a relationship with. It honestly surprised me that Barbara was helpful for so long (bc I had seen the trailer and got spoiled that she would become a villain), but I love that she genuinely did want to help Diana, up until she hit her hard limit (giving up her powers). Now, that being said, the Nerd Girl Makeover has been done a thousand times. I knew what her vague trajectory would be from the second she appeared on screen with frizzy hair. I did like that her motivation was not solely "pretty people are mean to me, and I want revenge and/or for this hot guy to like me," but specifically, "I want to be like this really cool girl" and then "I don’t want to be like anyone else; I want to be the best/number one" for myself." But I felt like the absolute inattention that she was shown at the beginning and the absolute worship Diana and later Barbara would get was ... highly exaggerated? And I know this was another criticism of the first film, that yeah "Diana did so well in the real world because SHE'S HOT and that's actually not empowering to women" or something. But like. Watching that part made me uncomfortable instead of seen. Pandered to, instead of impacted. Showing how looks change how society treats you is important, but not to this caricaturized degree. 
c. (and d?) And lastly, Diana and Steve. Or more accurately, Diana and Steve's soul or memories or ??? that has been transplanted into some random man's body with absolutely no one's consent (I don't believe that Diana "consented" when making the wish, because she didn't know 1. That it would even work or 2. HOW it would work.). So ... Yeah. The first problem with this (chronologically, not by importance) is that it's really unclear what's going on? Some rando is reciting Steve's lines from the first film, then all of a sudden he turns into Chris Pine? (Fun fact: my aunt actually recognized the actor from Hallmark 😂 Could you imagine being the guy who gets replaced by Chris Pine for half the movie? Like "yeah, I played Steve Trevor, but they had Chris Pine do all the important parts" 😂😂😂). So, Diana and Steve finally figure out that he's inhabiting some engineer's body because of the wish she made. And then they bang. Or do they bang before they figure it out? Either way, yikes 😬. Not a good look. 
To be clear, the yikes part is that Steve is inhabiting Engineer Dude's body without their consent (without his own either tho so that part's not really his fault), but then he chooses to do things sexually with that body that Engineer Dude didn't consent to (because he's like, literally not home. Whether he's been subsumed into Chris Pine or taken out or dormant or whatever). Oh, and then like, probably doing death-defying stunts with his body is also yikes. I'm not really sure what the rules around body possession are. Cuz you know. 
Anyway, that is a huge issue that is literally not addressed. At all. 
Again, I think they may have been trying to address some criticisms from the first film about Diana "getting rid of the dreaded V-card so quickly in Wonder Woman and then pining after Chris Pine (lol) for the rest of her long life" and how that sets back female sexuality and stuff. Which I get. They actually lampshaded it in WW84, how Chris Pine wants her to move on because "the world deserves her." Which I know what they were going for in the scene, but I feel like they didn't flesh out the journey from Hippolyta's "the world doesn't deserve you Diana" to Steve's "the world deserves you (to date them)" enough. But I digress. 
I'm gonna talk a little bit more about the possession and that "the world deserves/doesn't deserve you" line in my Themes section, but honestly? From the previews, I assumed that Chris Pine was revived from the dead via time travel or something. Body possession was NOT in the the trailers. I think the Dreamstone could have created a body for him out of nothing. Or like "time-traveled" him into the future. So like. Why didn't they? Why introduce body possession at all? So they could make fun of the dude's clothes? 
Okay, back to the pacing part of the pacing section. These three (four?) characters have completely different things going on in their lives (I actually forgot to talk about Maxwell, but he wants to "be the best," and he's gonna do it by giving people what they think they want (maybe) and then taking from them whatever he wants. Yeah idk). And all three do interact at the beginning (brownie points) even if the attempted seduction of Barbara by Maxwell makes me want to throw up. But the themes aren't worked in as cohesively as I would have liked, and the tone changes were jarring, as the film switched between them all. 
Another facet of the movie is that the Dreamstone is kind of a mystery. And that was a deliberate Choice™, not a mistake. We're guessing at what the rock is doing and how and why and by who and all that stuff, and that's on purpose, but that makes for a confusing experience. Their approach is to throw something confusing at you and then explain it later. Which is great for worldbuilding. But not always for the Movie-Watching Experience™. So to recap, we're switching tracks and characters with their own separate stories while also setting up several confusing plot points that take a while to unravel. This all contributes to the Experience™, good or bad. 
Honestly, I wonder how much Covid affected this movie? My dad felt like a lot of scenes probably got cut for various reasons, and it probably affected the flow of the movie. If so, it could have affected thematic coherence, too. Speaking of... 
So, Themes. 
The themes that I got out of this film were Truth and Sacrifice. Maybe I missed some; I'm not an experienced Media Critic™. But these are the ones I noticed. 
And actually, these themes are really strong. Universally applicable, and used in all three character arcs. It's just tied in a bit ... erratically?
So working backward, knowing that the Dreamstone is giving you a lie, you need to renounce your wish and accept the Truth™. This is echoed in Diana's flashback, where she needed to accept that she didn't win. 
Working backward again, Sacrifice was a big part of the story for all three characters because Diana was willing to sacrifice her power to keep Steve, but he wanted her to sacrifice him so she could save the world. Barbara was willing to sacrifice her "humanity" or "empathy" or whatever she lost for the power and influence she got by emulating Diana, and she was unwilling to sacrifice that to save the world. Maxwell was willing to sacrifice time with his son to "become the best," but he did sacrifice that to save his son's life. 
And then, full circle, he confessed to his son that he wasn't the best, he's actually a filthy liar. Which, yes, kudos for the themes, be honest with your children, but you can still sanitize it a bit. That speech alone would have traumatized the kid. 
Speaking of speeches, Antiope's speech confused me in a similar way? Like, she stops Diana from "winning" the tournament after cheating, and goes on this weird rambly rant which goes from "accept that you're not a winner" to "cheating is bad and so is lying." Which yes, cheating is bad, but it's weird that she wouldn't have been disqualified at this point for not shooting that last target? Like, did she need to be tackled? Idk, I felt like they came up with the line they wanted Antiope to say first, and then just made her say it. (And also, in other stories, Diana would have been praised for being "clever" and "never giving up without a fight." So like, I needed a bit more preparation for which take they were going for, because the anti-cheating spiel felt jarring to me.) 
And again, I wonder if this is a response to a criticism of this first film. (Warning: WW17 rant gearing up) 
When Diana has her big motivational flashback during her fight with Ares, she thinks about Steve, this dude she just met a week ago, saying he loved her. When she could have been thinking about literally any of the women who had raised her. I personally think it would have been cool to hear some of Antiope's words at that point. Since they set up Hippolyta and Antiope to have conflicting ideas over whether Diana should fulfill her humanity-saving destiny, it might have been cool to see her saying something about humans and how they need her or how she should help them or something. They could even have done the whole thing with not being able to hear Steve's last words, but with Antiope since she dies earlier in the film and doesn't finish speaking. I also think it would have been cool for them to expand Hippolyta's earlier line about "They don't deserve you, Diana," here to like "They need you, Diana," or something. And then Steve's line in WW84 could have been something like "They're with you, Diana," or "They could get to know you, Diana," and her character arc could have been about actually living among society and maybe getting to know these humans that she's saved so many times (which they kind of alluded to when she and Barbara had their little date at the beginning of the film). But I digress. 
So, yeah, I found both of these speeches to be ... Not great? Like I can tell what they're going for and how they tie into the themes, but they're so heavy-handed and they don't actually fit in too well to the moment they happen in. Like as soon as the speech starts, you realize that they started going meta on you. The character isn't really speaking to the other character, they're speaking to us, and they're telling us how this scene ties into the greater themes of the film. 
Oh and they have this great quote from Antiope "greatness is not what you think" and then Maxwell's son wishes for him to be "great." And they do nothing with it :(
As promised, I want to talk about the body possession a little bit more. So again, one of the recurring themes is Truth™. Which is a great choice for Wonder Woman, what with her Lasso of Truth. 
But it's tied in a bit haphazardly. They force it into a conversation about cheating in a flashback at the beginning of the film. And then they talk about how you need to accept the Truth™ in order to defeat the Dreamstone. I already talked about the cheating, and how the "accept that you're not a winner" was kind of a weird path to take to get your point across to a ten year old girl. 
But the Dreamstone. Oh, the Dreamstone. I said before that the movie is a mystery. It shows you things but doesn't explain them. Well, this is a bit of a problem. Because they never actually explain that the Dreamstone is giving you lies. To my eyes, the Dreamstone is changing reality. Steve is back, Barbara is powerful, and Maxwell is doing whatever he wants with the powers of the Dreamstone. THIS DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A LIE TO ME. THERE IS NO "TRUTH" TO ACCEPT, JUST YOUR NEW REALITY. And that made the film less thematically strong (to my eyes, anyway. Other people probably picked up on stuff I didn't). But I feel like this might have been an easy fix? Like you already have Chris Pine in someone else's body (oh! So that's why they chose body possession! Because he's a Lie™! ... Still don't like it) I still think he should have manifested his own body or something but whatever. Barbara's appearance hardly changed at first. If they had people reacting to her as if she was hot when she really looked the same as she always does, then I would have bought your "but the Dreamstone only gives you lies." Instead, Barbara gained the power to walk in heels and then hotness and then the literal power of a God™ (a la Diana) which makes me think the Dreamstone is changing reality. Not bringing lies. 
Oh, also, they could have had Diana's Lasso of Truth stop working for her. I thought that's what they were going for at first, but it turns out that Diana is just losing her powers. They also started with "the Dreamstone will give you what you want most," but then Maxwell started using it to clear traffic? Which by the way, is NOT an illusion. That is reality-bending. 
There were just so many ways to make it obvious that "the Dreamstone is giving you lies," but they didn't use them. Or at the very least, they didn't commit. I felt like they used a little bit of "be careful what you wish for" (mostly on randos that Maxwell is duping), a little bit of "what are you willing to sacrifice," and a little of "you can have what you want, but it won't be real." All of which are valid ways to take a Dreamstone kind of story, but if they wanted to rely so heavily on Truth™ as the main theme, then I feel like more of the wishes should have been showcasing that. Instead, it felt like a jumble of all the kinds of messages we're used to seeing with Wish-Granting Objects, with no emphasis on specifically the "it's all a lie" part. 
Ugh, I'm actually mad now, because I'm trying to think of a story I've heard where this magical thing is granting wishes but they're Explicitly Not Real. Like all the money gets turned back to leaves or whatever (kinda like Cinderella's pumpkin lol). Oh, Aladdin does this, too, because yeah Genie is granting wishes and changing reality, but not permanently? Like, almost all of the stuff he uses magic to do dissolves as soon as we're looking away from it or gets fixed by the end of the movie? And the film is very very clear on the fact that Aladdin is not factually a Prince. 
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But this film doesn't do that. They make it seem like the Dreamstone can change reality, then berate the characters for not Accepting the Truth™ about themselves. Maybe if they had made a bigger deal out of Steve coming back in someone else's body, it would have been 1) less confusing, 2) less icky (provided they don't do the sex in Engineer Dude's body), and 3) more thematically coherent. 
Lastly, Diana's perceived character changes. 
This one is probably the most subjective. Diana, as a character, in the first film was very morally grounded and motivated. The Diana in this film felt ... different. Again. Subjective. And also circumstantial. 
Diana is still morally grounded in this film. But she's also willing to sacrifice the world to keep Steve Trevor around. Which feels like a jarring change from her characterization in the first film. She was so idealistic and optimistic in that first film, I couldn't imagine her making that choice. It just felt like such a tone change for her character. How did we go from "Who will I be if I stay?" to "Why, for once, can't I just have this one thing, Steve? ... I can't give you up. I can't. So I won't."
Also, her motivation in this film seemed to center around her loss of Steve Trevor and wanting him, and less around "save the world." Which, to be fair, I'm all for women being selfish in film. Give me women of all motivations and desires. I don't want Diana to be Perfect™. I just want her to be consistent. And I didn't think this characterization was as consistent as I expected. Was her life so terrible without Steve (even though they only knew each other for a short time)? Not to say this couldn't be a valid take on Diana (reminder: I haven't read any comics, so maybe it's not in character at all 🤷‍♀️), but if that's what they were going for, they should have developed the journey from naive idealist to jaded romantic more in order to justify this character change. 
Also, the body possession thing. She's really okay with her boyfriend possessing somebody else's body. I did like the "All I See Is You" line, since it's romantic, but up until that point, we as viewers aren't really sure why Chris Pine and Hallmark Dude are both playing this guy. Then we find out in a romantic line that Chris Pine is just Wonder Woman's view of him. He still looks like Engineer Dude because he is Engineer Dude. At first, I thought that they used a different guy for the first meeting because Diana didn't recognize him. That this was her perception of him until she realized who it was. (I thought this was supported by Chris Pine's more rugged look in this film. But actually they were probably matching him to the body he was inhabiting, since the character really didn't look like himself). Leverage does a similar thing in the Rashomon Job. All the characters saw each other at the same event, but they didn't know each other back then, so they had different actors play their parts until it's slowly revealed that actually the random people at the event were the characters we know and love. It's great. Anyway, that's not what they're going for here, and the ambiguous framing along with Diana and Steve's chemistry is supposed to make you forget that he is possessing someone else’s body! Against their will! (Again, Steve and Diana didn't consent to the initial possession either, but they absolutely consented to what they did together. Engineer Dude did not.) 
Yikes  😬
I will say, she didn't kill innocents this time. One of my critiques of the first movie was that she was so willing to kill Germans. And I get it, Nazis are usually an "acceptable" target in American media. But as a character, she believed that they were innocents who had been manipulated by Ares. And yet, she was slaughtering them en masse. But, in this movie, they're really careful to make sure that she's nonlethal. 
And yeah, that's it.
Asteria was of course awesome. That bonus credit scene was 👌
I'm glad they got Linda Hemming back for costuming after the disaster of Justice League. Unfortunately, being set in the 80's, the outfits are not quite so modest as the first movie. But the important thing was the lack of male gaze in those shots.
The movie definitely hit me in my emotions. I cried three times: first during the tournament, watching the Amazon's being awesome. Then during Diana and Steve's fight, and when Steve convinced Diana to let him go. 😭
As I said, I definitely plan on rewatching. It makes me sad to see how much negative press that the movie is getting when it's one of so few female-led blockbusters. A lot of people are comparing it to the original or to the comics or TV show, when those are just not valuable comparisons. Comic books and TV shows are completely different mediums. And a successful sequel CONTINUES a story, instead of rehashing it. And also, not all films are created specifically for YOU. A lot of the 80's references went over my head, but that's ok. They weren't for me. I don't begrudge their existence just because I don't vibe with them. 
Again, no film is perfect! I think I talked through a lot of its weaknesses pretty thoroughly, but I still think it's a strong film, and I want it to succeed. 
Anyhoo, I hope you had fun watching the movie (even though it's not perfect) and I hope you had fun reading my commentary. 
(Fun fact: I actually ran out of space in my notes app and had to stretch it across two notes)
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