#i just love them but also its such a problematic source material and all that shit

[lactosefreevanillayoghurt]

>:(

#i swear to actual fuck if im gettinf sick just in time for mocks week..... #i will pull a just lovers regulus black 100% #very obscure reference yet again #i think thats my forte #overly obscure references #anyway #i am hoping hoping hoping that this is just a low spoons day and ill feel better after actually sleeping #like i havent been doing for the past.. since wednesday #fucking school i cant deal #bollocks if im honest #have been thinking about how bad my language is recently but god swearing is so fun #i love the reallt british ones aka bollocks bugger balls #holy trinity lmao #also dont tell anyone but im in my marauders era. ashamedly. #i just love them but also its such a problematic source material and all that shit #ugh christ <- another fave to say btw #haven't rambled like this in ages and ages #i need to be held and then maybe i wouldn't be fucking. SICK. for MOCKS. fuming #bye <3

[altargarden]

hello! we hope this is ok to ask, it's totally fine if you don't answer- but we've recently become interested in satanism and demon work, but we know exactly nothing about it or where to start. we did some basic research with academic sources like wikipedia but have no idea where to go from there. we're hesitant to just dive in on our own because we know there are a lot of bad sources and groups to avoid but don't actually know what those things are.

anyways, we trust your opinion and recommendations so we wanted to ask if you had any suggestions on how to go about researching and learning about theistic satanism for an absolute beginner! recommended books or articles, groups to avoid, red flags, anything like that would be very appreciated 💚 thank you so much!

okay so, this may be a controversial opinion but in my opinion (KEY WORD OPINION) you actually shouldn't only stick to unproblematic and valid uwu authors, because i'll be honest (in terms of satanism and demonolatry), there ARE no pure and good authors out there. every author out there, especially if you're reading a text from a long time ago, is going to have something you disagree with. you need to practice some form of critical engagement, additionally, because engaging with a text critically and understanding why it is wrong is way more important than just shutting out the information altogether. you will not learn anything if you pretend that problematic texts do not exist. i'm not saying this to be harsh, but there is a reason we research a variety of texts and perspectives in high school english class. you need to continue that kind of method when researching anything.

now that is covered, i'll tell you what i have read personally. taking the above into consideration, there are no authors here that don't have something deeply wrong about their texts. i did read their works, and i came to my own conclusions on whether i'm going to dub them an authority on satanism, and i suggest you do the same. satanism is about knowledge and drawing your own, unique conclusions. just make sure what you do adopt doesn't throw any groups of people under the bus, because we're not here to read books and thoughtlessly believe whatever the book says, especially when the book can have misinformation, or offensive content. this is very common in satanism; as much as people love to treat it like it's revolutionary and all-accepting, it can be just as, or even more, discriminatory or outright hateful as christianity, especially in the texts.

the most easy-to-find material:

ars goetia > pretty basic info, but very handy and simple to read

the infernal gospel > probably my favourite book on this list

the complete book of demonolatry > i don't agree with the author, but i got this one in my early days before i knew anything about said author. it's got some useful information, but there's a lot of misinfo

book of the fallen > useful rituals if i remember correctly, i sold this book so i can't recheck

at satan's altar > also an interesting book

the goetia devils > has a lot of what i assume is upg... seems to conflict with what i've seen from other practitioners

the goetic hymns > second favourite book

the satanic philosopher > i found this one hard to read personally

esoterica > youtube channel with amazing information on demonolatry and its history, i suggest getting into this before doing anything else.

all of these websites.

and lastly, i also got like 50+ older texts i got as a bundle off etsy that i can't remember the names of. i wish i could give them to you, but i genuinely have lost every single text i got in the bundle due to me changing computers. i suggest looking on etsy for similar bundles on satanism and demonolatry if you want to get into the historical meat of things.

that being said, my actual last thing i want to say is not to get too entrenched into the theory. the texts are handy, sure! but the one thing i have found the most useful is by engaging with the community. most of my wealth of knowledge did NOT come from texts or media, it came from those around me talking about their experiences. if you want to learn, and i mean REALLY learn about demons and satan, get into the community hardcore and you will learn something new every day. talk to people, make friends, don't do this alone.

edit: okay one more thing. this does go against what i was saying to some degree but i do have a limit to that logic. avoid joy of satan. they're n/eonazis and come on this website regularly. avoid them, avoid them, avoid them.

#bun talks #theistic satanism #demonolatry #satanism #i wanted to write more but i'm admittedly on a time crunch :(

[kataraslove]

as someone who likes both non-canon and canon pairings (probably more non-canon than canon if I’m being honest) i keep seeing people state that those who are satisfied with canon shouldn’t be critical towards fanon concepts, ideas, and theories. that they should let fandom say and do whatever they want because ultimately, they have canon validation.

let me tell you how illogical that point is, as someone who is a fanon enthusiast in a lot of fandoms and a canon enthusiast in others.

yes, you can fully take these characters, ships, ideas, plot points, etc in the canon and bend them to your will as much as you want. you have free reign to take these pre-existing narratives and craft the story that you wanted to desperately see; the story that you feel would make better sense in the context of the writing. or maybe you think that the story wouldn’t make better sense and you just want to play around, explore characters or relationships that weren’t fleshed out. that’s completely valid.

but people on the other side - the ones who enjoy the characters, relationships, plot points for what they are - are not obliged to openly accept your fanon with open arms, especially when they are witnessing hypocritical behaviour from fandom spaces.

when character X does something to character Y, people who ship character X with someone else may label the action or relationship as abusive. but when the person they ship character X with does the same thing or even worse to character X, it’s not suddenly labelled abusive anymore. suddenly it’s the most romantic notion to ever exist and it signifies their eternal devotion to each other. or maybe it’s “not that serious.” and sure, the context of the story could matter. character X has a different dynamic with the other character. they’re at different points in their relationship, so the same actions by the canon love interest vs the fanon love interest(s) could mean something for each character in relation to character X. but when are fandoms also going to admit that they constantly will go out of its way to demonize canon love interests for no other reason than the fact that the character gets in the middle of their preferred ship? that they will invent nonsensical reasons to dub ship A as problematic while preferring ship B for those same exact reasons.

when people vehemently defend the canon - and i mean actually defend it by creating counterarguments instead of just saying “it’s canon get over it!” - they demonstrate a passion for the source material, just as when people create fanon content, they also demonstrates a passion for the source material. as someone who likes both fanon and canon, let me just say that it is so much easier to be critical of canon than it is to defend it. so you know it comes from a place of real passionate love AND real passionate frustration (at fandom) when people argue in favour of canon. in the process of defending, we really get the chance to explore and understand these stories, narratives, choices, characters, and dynamics outside of a surface level understanding.

that’s not to say that people should shoot down fanon for not adhering to canon, as that also deeply sucks and stifles all creative expression. revolting fandom behaviour in all directions is disgusting. i’ve seen people grow more and more protective of canon by the minute so much that any fanon alteration has them deeply angry. and it’s like, guys, do you know how fandom works?

at the end of the day, i think it’s healthy to be critical of canon when you want to be. and I think it’s also healthy to be critical of fanon when you come across the most stupid readings of canon possible. sorry to say, but not all interpretations are valid. not all of them make sense. we need to end this belief that people who prefer fanon understand the source material much better; because often times they really, really don’t.

#fandom problems #canon vs fanon

[separatist-apologist]

I didn't want to hijack someone else's post, but an anon sent @booknerd87 an ask about lightsingers HERE and I wanted to add something to it (given I, too, was sent an anon about SA and Gwyn today).

The thing about the lightsinger theory is that a lightsinger itself isn't problematic by itself. Creatures who lure unsuspecting victims to their deaths is nothing new in mythology, and if SJM wanted to inject this into her narrative seriously, she certainly would have a lot to draw from.

The theory become inherently problematic AND harmful when two things get connected that in the source material, have no connection. Gwyn, a survivor of brutal sexual assault, gets connected to a creature that lures people with its beauty/voice/whatever. This connection is made because Nesta is drawn to the beauty of her voice. You could say, "Oh. Well Gwyn is a beautiful singer and Nesta love hers AND Nesta loves music, and in this moment the two things are converging for her. Nesta has denied herself any and all things that bring her joy all through ACOSF, and in this moment she's indulging in new friendship and the sound of something beautiful, and this moment is meaningful toward Nesta's journey toward self-forgiveness."

Which, I'd argue, was the point of that scene.

Or you could say, "the sexual assault survivor is using her sexy magic to lure people for nefarious purposes, regardless if she means to or not."

When this theory first popped up, it WAS intentional- and then the backlash came and it was softened to, well maybe she doesn't even realize it, but she is probably still doing it, as explanation for why Azriel finds her interesting or is drawn to her. Ignoring all the convoluted plot twists needed to make this theory exist outside of AO3- it plays on the real life stereotype of the too-sexy survivor asking for it.

This is where fantasy and real-life intersect. In our current society, the question is too often, what did they do to bring this on themselves? What were they wearing? Drinking? Why were they out so late, why didn't they scream/yell- and because they didn't do things exactly right, well...maybe they lured this person into thinking it was wanted. Their clothes signaled something. Or maybe their expression, the way their body is shaped, etc. Their attacker couldn't help themselves, they were powerless in the wake of their victims tight jeans.

And now you've got people constructing a villain narrative around this trope. People wonder (out loud) if it even happened (despite both Azriel and Mor walking in on it, and Rhys believing her- a dude who can read minds), and then also wonder if she isn't luring Nesta and Azriel toward some nefarious end game goal. And lets be clear- this is an opinion borne of a shipping war and not canon text or four intelligent brain cells. SJM has stated Gwyn is based on her real life friend, and ya'll think she'd borrow her friends story of SA and triumph and then turn around and make that friend her villain? When SJM has NEVER ONCE written a two-dimensional villain?

Get real. I'm begging this fandom to grow up and chill out. Ya'll weaponize real life issues and no matter how many times I keep breaking this down and reminding people that just because you hate a character doesn't mean you get to invalidate the sexual assault they experience AND that when you do this, you harm REAL LIFE PEOPLE REAL PEOPLE WHO ARE REAL AND HAVE ACTUAL FEELINGS, someone shows up to argue that actually, it's okay for THEM to do this because their masters degree from Clown University makes them an expert.

No one gives a shit if you don't like characters from a book, and no one cares about your ship. There are tons of reason to prefer a one character over another and like- learn how to just say "I don't like them" and move on with your life. You don't need 500 essays moralizing your opinion to give you some kind of high ground which is, frankly at this point, embarrassing (for you).

#gwyneth berdara #im not tagging anything else #and i will not be arguing this point with anyone #take a minute to self-reflect and consider reading another book if you cant go a day without your shitty opinions on SA #if its not gwyn then its rhys was asking for it #or men cant be SAd by hot women so luciens experience isnt real or maybe didnt even happen #begging this fandom to shut the fuck up #critically examine these books? why dont you critically examine yourself

[6kuros]

As a fellow creator who is also disturbed and upset by the revelation of pizza tower being a product of 4chan type people, I'm wondering how you handle it? I still want to draw fan art but Im struggling to not get uncomfortable. Basically, I have both love and hate for the game now, and you seem like a cool person so Im wondering how you deal with that. Love your pizza tower fan art sm btw!

im really glad that you enjoy my art, and also am flattered you think im cool!!!

first of all, id like to mention that the art i posted just now was art that i had finished last night, before everything about mcpig came to light and i just wanted to post it since i already had it done…still unsure if im going to draw consistent pizza tower in the future honestly, id like to because its a lot of fun and i really do love a lot about the game. ideally, the current situation would change somehow so i can do that without any discomfort for myself or others, but the only way i foresee that happening is if the devs actually remove the racist shit from the game

what makes me feel (kind of) okay about producing fanart for the game despite what emerged is mostly the fact that as long as i am not reproducing the harmful contents of the game, nor directly supporting the people behind it, im not putting any harm into the world or perpetuating the 4chan stuff i guess? the only thing im really worried about is possibly getting people to want to buy the game by putting my fanart out there, but considering the games popularity from streaming and youtube videos i dont see my own art as contributing to that much. that makes it easier for me not to feel unsettled when i draw fanart for it, but i think that depends on how you view the relationship between fanart and source material, especially in an interactive space like the internet. if you think your art risks sending the message that you approve of negative aspects of a piece of media then its probably better not to share that art

theres also the fact that from the messages that were revealed i get the impression that at some point mcpig had a sort of disdain for "cringe leftists" being fans of the game i guess, and i would consider myself someone who he would/would have found cringe at one point lol. so by being into the game its kind of a fuck you idc that you hate me, this thing you made is being enjoyed by cringe leftists. considering the tone of some of the messages was "if people get mad at me im just going to be edgy in response" i dont even think disengaging with the game would even bother him at all. but all of that is really just speculation and i dont want to insinuate that engaging with bigoted media is proactive just because you are a marginalized person or have progressive politics. its important to actually weigh the harm of your actions and what effect you have with your consumption of said media i dont really know if thats a good answer though, and if it holds up to any sort of moral judgement. i do think its possible to enjoy problematic media, but considering how new the game is its not the kind of thing i can look at and be like "this piece of media is from x years ago and doesnt do real harm now". my worst fear is that there are pizza tower fans who are going to see the awful shit in the game and replicate it, bc the game somehow makes them thinks theres nothing wrong with it or that they can do so without consequence. just from a scope of the fandom there seem to be a lot of young teenagers so Yeah. im concerned in that regard and id like to beam a message into kids' brains thats just like Hey this character design/behavior fucking sucks Dont do this

so, by posting my art anyway i hope i can contribute to a portion of the fanbase that is outwardly against the bigoted content in the game, as an alternative to mcpig dick riders/defenders. and if there are any fans out there involved in the community who dont know better, hopefully they can learn, and avoid perpetuating bigotry

all that being said, your feelings on the matter may be very different, and you dont have to abide to any of this thinking. if a piece of media is upsetting you, its okay to step away from it as long as you need. maybe see how you feel when you come back to it and if the hateful feelings are still there, there is no obligation to engage further

(and as a bottom line if anybody reading this is considering playing pizza tower i suggest you pirate it instead of paying for it)

#ask #anon #also just want to say im open to having a discussion about this and towards critiques of my argument but if it gets to the point #where people are being unreasonable and aggressive ill be turning off anon/closing my askbox

[mentally-retired]

I used to have another transmasc friend who was also in then COD fandom. I support all fandom havers and whatever they choose to be in a fandom of (to an extent obv) but I do have to ask about why the COD fandom? Cause like,, I understand why this guy enjoyed the COD fandom (he liked it bc of the lore of traumatized gruff men, and the idea of them having a soft side and supporting one another in fanon), but realistically if he were to join a COD lobby, he’d instantly be called so many slurs.

As much as the source material isn’t problematic at all, I’ve seen a huge divide in how the COD fandom, vs COD players engage with the source material, and as an outsider it confuses me so much.

So anywho, long story short ig, how do you, as a queer transmasc person, find your place within this very subversive fanbase, and do you feel like there’s a large transmasc community that gravitates towards this fandom? If so, how come/what are the factors abt this fandom that would make it appealing to someone who’s trans?

Hope this question made sense, not sure if it did, or if I was too all over the place. But anywho, have a lovely day!! :]

well i dont even have access to xbox live so i only play the campaign, theres lots of canon queer characters, lots of queers voice actors, and lots of vas who encourage you to see their character as queer or straight up say their character is queer.

and for me at least, i mainly use Tumblr and tiktok and that is explicitly queer and/or cod thirst content

and our part of the fandom is expanding and ive been seeing a lot of the (newer at least) cod vas very encouraging of it and really happy to see this side of the fan base

as someone whos trans masc idk i guess i can easily see a lot of the characters as trans masc, theres also plenty of women you could see as transfem and theres no transphobia in game so theres that

while theres a shit side to the fandom full of cishet 14 yr old boys who think saying slurs makes up humour, its not just that

and idk i mean i like it for the attractive people in the game cus im a bisexual mess so i may not also be the best to ask /hj

but still i hope this helped and i hope this was confusing as im very bad at making points like this make sense</3

#cod #call of duty modern warfare 2

[yuujispinkhair]

dued i saw someone say the panel words under sukuna said 'a wedding is on the line when a war is about to break out'. and i am like what!? sukuna better not be getting married i will go into the at manga and fight him.

Also how do you feel about people saying they hate the maga of jjk now. them saying the writting is poor and its losing its touch and something about the season 2 art looks bad

Heyyy babe <3<3 Oh, I think that part about the wedding was in chapter 217 because Yorozu challenged Sukuna to a fight, and if she wins, she wants him to marry her. Sukuna was like, "Yeah, whatever. You will not win against me anyway. But in the unlikely case that I would lose, defeat is like death to me, so you can do anything you like to my "corpse"." LMAOOO he was dramatic. I love him so much!! But from what I see, Sukuna wasn't interested in Yorozu a thousand years ago, and he isn't interested in her now. It's a one-sided crush.

And about the hate some people have for JJK and Gege: I think the problem isn't the story. It is certain "fans" who forgot the nature of the source material or who think fictional characters are real people etc.

Tbh I blocked a lot of people during the last few weeks because of their negativity toward the current chapters and because of their hate toward Gege. I think mostly it is antis who cry about what they think is incest in the current chapters because Sukuna is inhabiting Megumi's body and Yorozu is inhabiting Tsumiki's body. It's ridiculous really, but every other post in the spoilers tag was about this. I blocked all of them. But yeah, I think antis are trying to drag JJK and Gege through the dirt because they think the manga is pRobLeMaTiC. I really hope they will do everyone a favor and just stop reading the manga. Like, if you don't enjoy something, then please leave it behind and read or watch something you actually enjoy. It will bring you much more peace and happiness.

Personally, I enjoy the current chapters a lot! I love that we see the main characters again and that we get lots of plot. I wasn't a big fan of the culling game because, for my taste, there were too many fights with too many new characters. I am just not interested in those, and I don't understand the cursed techniques anyways. So that wasn't for me, but I know that fights are a big part of the genre and that there are lots of people who enjoy those and love to analyze them. So it is absolutely ok that those fights played a big part. Personally, I am happy that we get more plot again atm and that we see our beloved old characters again <3

So yes, I think everyone got things they enjoy. The story had it all: Plot, fights, new characters, old characters, big plot twists, some fanservice, etc. So I don't understand why people would say it isn't good. Especially the latest chapters are super interesting, I think.

Sometimes I feel like, people are too used to living in their fandom bubble and that's why they complain about canon. For example, I saw some people say that they don't like how comedy-like the Sukuna and Yorozu chapters are while such tragedy is happening to Megumi and Yuuji. But I don't understand this since JJK has always been filled with humor like that, and it is one of the things that I love the most about it.

#jjk spoilers

[pebblysand]

Hello Pebbly,

Firstly I wanted to say sorry for the the hate you’ve been receiving lately. I just don’t understand why people would go out of their way to send death threats because they have a different opinion. It would be a different story if they weren’t allowed the option to be anonymous.

Secondly I wanted to ask a question about the new chapter of Castles. It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

Lastly I’d like to say I adore your writing. Fan fiction or not, you truly have a gift and I’m so honoured that I get to read your beautiful stories

aw thank you anon, you're very sweet ❤️. although to be honest, i do think the issue goes beyond having different opinions, here. because the strangest thing is: i agree with these people 🤣. i fundamentally do also believe that trans rights are human rights. but i don't think that a) sending hate to people on the internet who do disagree with that affirmation is the solution to bigotry, and b) completely disengaging from fandom because of JKR's opinions is the way forward.

firstly, i agree. the fact that these people go on anon is evidence itself of the fact that they know what they're doing is idiotic. i understand being angry (i'm a gryffindor and an enneagram type 8, trust me, i really do), but obviously, all this does is relieve these people's urges for violent speech. it doesn't actually help any of the issues. and, that's fine, i guess if they feel better after dropping me these anons, then i'm happy for them. but, i doubt they do. i think a big part of being a gryffindor is learning where to take your outrage, and how to use it in ways that can make the world a better place. or else, the frustration just ends up eating you from the inside. this is not it.

additionally, as @copper-dust pointed out, fanfiction (and fandom in general) is one of the main ways to get the representation of marginalised groups that may be lacking in the source material. telling people to disengage is nonsensical. and, on a personal level, i must admit i don't relate at all with this trend we're seeing online of disengaging with any form of media (be it tv, books, etc.) that we, as a society, deem "problematic." if i had to cut out everyone i disagree with from my entertainment regimen, there wouldn't be much left. i mean... wait until these people find out like eminem, 🤣. it's hard to do more controversial than that.

personally, i think life is much more interesting when you engage with media critically and are able to use your brain to question the things you might see or read. i love eminem when he talks about fame and his daughter. i hate him when he talks about kim. there's a duality there that i find essential to my experience as a human on this planet. it's about understanding people are complicated and mostly exist on a spectrum. to tell you the truth, i don't necessarily believe in the idea of separating the art from the artist, but i do believe in engaging with art while remaining aware of who the artist is. reading things in a more educated and nuanced way.

i also must admit that i find this way of telling people: 'you mustn't read/watch/etc. [x] because the author is problematic' bizarrely moralising, and it gives me the ick. i grew up catholic and i find this attitude of 'i'm better than everyone else because i don't engage with problematic content' strangely reminiscent of saints and sinners. like: i claim the moral high ground. i am the saint. you are the sinner. and, well, good for you, i guess. i find sinning more interesting. i don't strive to be a role model, and i don't strive to live a perfect life. i'm not really keen on curating my experience of the world to the point that i end up living in a sterile echo chamber. that wouldn't be very interesting to write about and also, if we acknowledge the best in people, we must also acknowledge the worst - or else the good loses its gravitas.

by that same token, this also ultimately makes me "kid of fine" with the fact that these anons exist, in a strange way. they're not nice to get, of course, but i suppose they're allowed to disagree with me. i wish they wouldn't send me death threats about it, and it does make me angry that, doing this, they ultimately harm the people they claim to defend, but it is what it is. i don't think it's for me, as a non-elected individual representing no one but myself, to tell people what they should or should not think, and do or should not do. i do believe in the right of governments, through elected democracies, to regulate speech as a collective (the way certain countries have made racist speech or holocaust denial illegal), but i guess that's a different matter altogether. i wish people would get fined for expressing racist, transphobic, homophobic, murderous, hateful, etc. "opinions," but that is sadly not for me to decide.

.

anyway, apologies for this digression, now onto your question.

It was said Ginny only started her nightmares after Amycus died. Why do you think that is?

i recently re-read this letter from robert and michelle king, the showrunners of the good wife (do not click this link under any circumstance if you have not watched TGW and intend to watch it someday, major spoilers in that letter) where they said:

'We’ve always taken as a guiding principle of this show that drama isn’t in the event; it’s in the aftermath of the event.'

i find this quote incredibly interesting, and it really resonates with me. i suppose as someone who basically 'grew up' (as a writer) on the good wife, it's probably a vision of drama and creative endeavours that has influenced me more than i had realised. after all, i am currently writing about the aftermath of a dramatic event (the war), and to be, that's where the fascinating material is.

i think there's a lot of that in the way ginny's trauma manifests in castles. a reference i also always think of (for castles as a whole, not for this specifically) is series four of peaky blinders where tommy goes on this shootout situation with the italians, manages to come out of it alive and arthur joke-warns him about the fact that he'll get the shakes later, when the adrenaline comes down. i'm interested in that: what it feels like when the shakes come and the adrenaline comes down.

i think for ginny, there's a lot of that: during the war, when she was being assaulted, she was in survival mode. keep your head down, try to survive, do what you have to do, worry about it later. then, she comes out of it and it's like: all that stuff that she's trying to ignore is coming back to haunt her. i actually headcanon that with the chaos of the aftermath of the battle, the press, the way the weasleys were sort of ushered out of hogwarts, having to bury fred, etc. it took her maybe a couple weeks to find out for sure that amycus was dead. i can sort of picture her trying to ask around (people in the order, the DA, etc.) without raising any suspicions and not being able to get a definite answer until the list was confirmed in the press. i think that's when she realises it really is over, you know?

first of all, she realises he is dead, that he won't talk, and that no one will ever find out. she's very worried about her parents, about hurting them, about how other people might see her, about harry - so that's a big relief. and, secondly, she realises that she is free. that he won't come back. and, i think, that is of course a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, but paradoxically it also allows her to let her guard down a little (let the adrenaline come down), and that's when the nightmares come crashing. i think she only get them then because it's the end of war-mode and the start of healing-mode.

.

anyway anon, thanks again for your kind words, i'm so glad you enjoy my writing, and my apologies for taking advantage of your message to rant about Stuff. i hope you have a wonderful day ❤️

#asked and answered #castles

[p-and-p-admin]

Preventing Plot Holes

“The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense” - Tom Clancy

I don’t think I need to tell most of you seasoned fanfic readers and writers what a plot hole is - like Potter Stewart, most of us “know it when [we] see it”.

Lapses in a story world’s logic when authors either bend their own rules or invent convenient new rules at the last minute. In a format as complex as long-form fiction (especially in a community largely made up of amateur or emerging writers, such as fanfiction), it’s little wonder plot holes are common. In some beloved source material the stories are good enough in all other respects for audiences to forgive the lapses — even using them to spawn elaborate fan theories, it is how much beloved fanfic began - but at other times, plot holes are so egregious problematic that even emotionally invested audiences respond with downright anger.

As writers, we combat this trap by using the tools available to us like story structure, character arcs, and outlining. The longer a story, or series of stories the easier it is to fall into this trap. TV series often end up “jumping the shark” because they give in to the temptation to rewrite or bend their world’s rules in order to keep the stakes high and the conflict raw.

So here are 4 useful questions to ask yourself to help avoid falling into a plot hole:

Do You Know Your Story’s Ending? In general, most story forms are designed to make a point—to present a cohesive picture of the lives of our characters that (either implicitly or explicitly) has meaning. This only happens when the story’s beginning and ending are part of a whole. The beginning asks a question that the ending answers.

Do You Have a Purpose for Every Character, Setting, POV, Relationship, Scene, Etc.? No stories avoid loose ends entirely. Indeed, many that try too hard to do so, often lack emotional truth because they feel manufactured. We, as fans originating in the HP ‘verse, are well aware of the fashion to include an epilogue that spelled out the remainder of the characters’ lives, but this robs the story of a sense of continuance. In my humble estimation, it is often of benefit to your story when a few minor subplots are not completely resolved, so readers get a sense of the characters living on even after the story’s ending. That said though, in order to create a story that leads satisfactorily into its Climax, every major piece within the story should be there because it contributes to that momentum. This is also accurate when you dial deeper into the themes and symbology of your work, if any particular “bit” ”— a character, a relationship, or a scene—exists within the story without expanding upon the theme or driving the plot forward in some way, it is probably extraneous and perhaps even deadweight. I have said it often and still believe it - kill your darlings. Don’t hold onto something just because you love it. If it doesn’t serve your story it is hurting it. If you maintain a tight rein on these aspects of your story from the beginning the less winding roads to deadends and plot holes they can lead you down.

What Is Your Antagonist’s Throughline? Very often we neglect our antagonist or villain up until we need them to show up and oppose our heroes, but if the audience doesn’t have a clear sense of the antagonist or villain and a reasonable understanding of their motivations it becomes almost impossible to employ them effectively at the climax of your story. They are two-dimensional and will leave any victory over them feeling flat too. Make sure they are present all the way through your story, setting the pieces and plans into motion - clearly establishing them as a force to be reckoned with so when the protagonist and villain meet the stakes are high and so is your audience’s investment in the outcome.

Is this the simplest way to set up my characters’ backstories and motivations? From the outset, you know you want your protagonist to behave in particular ways and to do certain things because you’ve already seen them being and doing those things in specific scenes in your mind’s eye. So you write the scenes and develop the backstory as you go - but the longer the piece and the more story events occur your character may find a need to be other things and to do other things so you change, retcon, or add onto their backstory. Before you realize it, your characters’ backstories might have moved from “complex” to “convoluted”. When this happens you risk creating a domino effect that ripples along the seams of through threads in your story and risks opening plot holes elsewhere in the story. (Like JK blithely introducing time travel as cannon and then having to explain away why no one saved the Potters, for example.) Over complicating your character's backstory and motivations is a great risk for allowing slips and lapses in the internal logic of the world you are writing and once that happens, your readers will find themselves pulled out of the story. So stick to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and build your characters’ backstories and motivations out of the fewest possible moving pieces.

Happy writing folks! I hope this helps. Artist: Unknown. Found on Fanpop

#snamione #sevmione #sshg fanfiction #sshg #snamione fanfiction

[mpregjohnwinchester]

🙊 fandom culture in general (this is akin to hitting the hornet nest with a bat)

oh bloody hell rae 😅 alright here we go

i have two opinions. the first is that fandom culture is... actually some utopian shit sometimes. the thing i love the most about it is being able to connect with people all over the world, whose paths i never otherwise would have crossed, just because we like the same thing intensely. i love the sense of community when it's functioning. that people can make stuff based on the thing they love and they'll be met with support and keyboard mashing about it from other people who also love the source material. i love the passion of it. i love how people will properly deconstruct and deep dive into things and come up with the kind of big brained shit that floors you. and fuckkk i love how many amazing friends i've made because of fandom. even if i'll probably never meet most of them IRL it doesn't matter. i think that's what it's all about.

my other opinion... is that i wish it was always like that. i wish we didn't have people getting sent death threats and CP because they like a ship that someone has deemed problematic. i wish certain people could recognise that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and being hostile about it on the internet is just disturbing to everyone's peace. i wish that hard fucking drama didn't happen over literal fiction. i wish we could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and we'd all eat it...

but people fight about shit. its what people do. i think unfortunately it's part of the territory although it never used to be this... nuts.

but i have a block button and i'm not afraid to use it. i just focus on the side that makes me happy.

#asks #ask game

[herelivesahobbit]

contemplating a 100% social media break, including Tumblr and all fanfictions I follow. lot of things going on in my personal life and the main couple of fandoms I am active on at the moment are not...reaaaaaly best suited to promoting the mental health of any person not willing to budge on the abuse-isn’t-romantic stance. 

the source material itself, which I am of course unabashedly a huge fan of (otherwise i wouldn’t spend so much time talking and thinking about it lol), has several problematic aspects, but not so much that i can’t process and analyze it for what it is, keep it aside, and continue loving the show as a whole. 

first of all, i have to say, a handful of beautiful people do elevate the fandom experience, using their creative skills and analytical abilities to bring out the best of canon WITHOUT glossing over the terrible aspects of it, and often creating wonderful tributes and fanfics that improve on the writing of the source material, bring out further nuances, make me understand it better. i will forever be glad to have encountered these people who made the fandom experience amazing for me. most of them are right here on tumblr. tumblr is an oasis of rationality in this fandom tbh lol.

but a lot of discourse surrounding these show/s reflects a general fan base even MORE problematic in their thinking than the OG material itself. its not just that they see no issues with the abusive/toxic aspects, but that they further glorify these via their writings, and take the time to even expand on these aspects in the fanfiction they write, read, and then defend to the death. many are also pretty toxic in the way they talk about the cast, crew, writers etc apparently forgetting that those are REAL ALIVE PEOPLE with feelings, families, and concerns of their own. the more i have gotten into some fandoms, the more I realize this type of thinking isn’t a tiny minority. might even be the majority. its really depressing to think there are so many real people in 2023 who truly think this way about traditional vs “modern” women, women’s role in marriage, abuse being justified, etc etc.

the thing is, i admit that this is fully a personal issue, its my problem more so than anybody else’s. i’ve gone through certain stressful patches in the last 1.5 years, and i always tend to latch on to a particular piece of media that happens to be totally opposite to my daily reality, as a coping mechanism. and that’s fine, except when the thing i use to escape stress itself causes even more stress then perhaps its no longer a harmless hobby. and that’s maybe starting to happen now. 

i’ve had this moment with a lot of fandoms in the past, being, as i said, an unabashed fan of many things, i have delved deep into discourse and fanfic and what not with different franchises and stories, and i always recognize a time comes when i need to take a step back, bc maybe hi, im the problem its me and therefore i need to develop a thicker skin and curate my fandom experience better for my own mental health.

a total social media break would probably help with detoxing a bit and then i’ll hopefully get back with a healthier state of mind 💜

#me.txt #personal

[anghraine]

This is a belated reply, but:

irresistible-revolution replied to this post:

yep yep, the facetiousness and rhetorical games are truly maddening. i enjoy the pj movies a lot more than you do and they are deeply, deeply racist! pj specifically refused to let black actors try out for any of the elven parts. so it’s really fascinating how these movies are being upheld as paradigmatic against the diverse casting for ROP. there’s some deeply entrenched white supremacy that’s being troubled by the sight of black and brown elves specifically.

Yup. It's really noticeable that the nuclear rage is particularly disproportionate when it comes to characters or groups described as especially beautiful in the source material being played by Black and brown actors. As you say, it's marked for Elves especially (and detractors have been especially fixated on Arondir's hair—not just the open bigots).

You also see it with characters like Tar-Míriel; I've seen so many people heatedly arguing that the description of her beauty as superior to ivory, silver, and pearls = she is canonically pale-skinned = HOW DARE.

have also seen people complaining about the “scale” of the show as lacking grandeur, and about sauron looking “too ordinary” (again, the pj movies being used as implicit standard) instead of just…enjoying a different flavor of adaptation?

Yeah. There are legit criticisms to make, but a lot of the ones that are made seem based on the assumption that difference from the Jackson films is intrinsically inferior. If the aesthetic of a place or a people is at all different than the films, it must be for the worse, and/or less "faithful." And there's this willingness to approach the films with the maximum generosity possible (including where they're drastically at variance with Tolkien or with ... uh, decency) while approaching the show with an incredible degree of poor faith (that also leads to bad and frequently racist and/or xenophobic and/or misogynistic takes on the original material, too!).

insane insane. incidentally, someone told me ROP couldn’t get the rights to The Silmarillion and have hence had to create a lot of story to fill in the gaps, is that true?

Yes, basically. My understanding is that they couldn't actually get the rights to Silmarillion material directly, but could work with anything mentioned in LOTR (the main narrative or Appendices). There's actually a good bit of Silm stuff mentioned in LOTR in some form, like Gandalf talking about Fëanor's craftmanship, material embedded in various songs or explanations, etc, along with the quantity of background material in the Appendices.

But there's also plenty of stuff that's not there, and AFAIK they had to get special specific permission from the Tolkien Estate for basically anything not contained in LOTR. The ROP narrative is pretty clearly assembling its narrative from a mixture of LOTR details, extrapolations, and actual inventions, alongside a few isolated details from places like Unfinished Tales (there's a reference to a detail from "The Mariner's Wife" in the depiction of Númenor, for instance).

I think the end result is interesting, but unfortunately, it's also ... like, I've seen people complaining that it's problematic that ROP Elrond is more focused on his biological father, Eärendil, than his adoptive one, Maglor. That is, Maglor is his adoptive father according to popular fanon (even people who dislike Maglor will usually accept this characterization of their relationship). But Tolkien does not talk about Maglor in LOTR, so ROP couldn't have used him anyway without requesting a special exception that might or might not be granted.

...FWIW, Elrond does refer to his parents in LOTR, but he only mentions Eärendil and Elwing. Even outside LOTR, Tolkien doesn't specify that Maglor is the adoptive father of Elrond and Elros, only that he affectionately looks after them for awhile and the relationship becomes unexpectedly loving on all sides—there are a lot of ways to interpret that other than "adoptive dad" but fandom is very intent on shoving all relationships into clear-cut nuclear family frameworks.

And it just seems absurd to me that there's this whole idea that ROP had some obligation to bring in this very particular fanon reading of a line that isn't in LOTR, about a character who isn't mentioned in LOTR, who is not actually described as Elrond's father anyway, when Eärendil has a very long song about him in LOTR and is explicitly acknowledged by Elrond in the book. And that's pretty typical of a lot of ROP discourse, IMO.

#irresistible revolution #respuestas #legendarium blogging #legendarium fanwank #tv: lotr #cw racism #long post #anghraine rants

[therevengeoffrankenstein]

@madphantom

horror recs aaww yeahhh. mostly a peter cushing, christopher lee, and vincent price show bc i tend to fixate on them and their films a lot.

note: it kinda goes without saying that some of these have problematic elements and themes. i consume media critically, which should also kinda go without saying!!

feel free to hmu me for trigger warnings, but i can't guarantee i'll remember everything in the films.

HAMMER HORROR RECS

+ 'the curse of frankenstein' (1957) and just. the whole hammer frankenstein series, especially 'the revenge of frankenstein' and 'frankenstein created woman.' ('created woman' leans more heavily into the sci-fi aspects, but is more of a revenge slasher at heart.)

you can skip 'evil' and 'horror' (unless you're a completionist) bc they are the worst and aren't super important continuity wise ('horror' is totally outside of the main continuity bc it's a reboot!!)

+ 'horror of dracula' (1958) and 'the brides of dracula' (1960) are two of my fave films ever. they perfectly encapsulate that distinctly hammer-y gothic horror atmosphere, and are full of frills (pretty women) and thrills (scared silly men.)

most of the sequels are kinda meh BUT

'dracula ad 1972' (1972) is somewhat of a cult classic. it asks the vitally important questions 'what if dracula was fucking around in modern (aka 1972) london? and what if the writers absolutely detested hippies?' johnny alucard is a #bisexualking.

'satanic rites of dracula' (1973) isn't very good, but it is funny, and a somewhat direct sequel to 'ad 1972' so it's worth it imo.

and i wouldn't recommend any of the other sequels unless you're a completionist (like me,) but 'taste the blood of dracula' is pretty good.

+ 'the mummy' (1959) more gorgeous hammer decadence set and costume wise. christopher lee is insanely good in this, acting totally through his eyes and body language (which he also does a lot in some of the weaker dracula sequels when he refused to say lines he hated in the scripts lmao.)

+ 'the hound of the baskervilles' (1959) is a thriller take on a classic sherlock holmes story. not totally book accurate (hammer usually doesn't do super accurate adaptations,) but peter cushing is absolute fire as holmes. it's one of his career-best performances imo.

+ cash on demand (1961) is a christmas movie/pseudo-scrooge tale about a bank heist. it's more of a claustrophobic psychological thriller than a horror movie, but it has a bunch of strong performances and it really makes the most of itself. one of my personal top ten movies ever.

+ captain clegg (1962) is more of a swashbuckler/mystery than a horror film, but it's so much fun and a big 'comfort' movie of mine. i love pirates and parsons and smugglers ❤

+ 'the vampire lovers' (1970) evil canon lesbian/bi vampire ladies and pretty period fashion. it's part of the karnstein trilogy, and is probably the most accurate to the source material, 'carmilla.’

i do not recommend ‘lust for a vampire’ unless you are a completionist. it doesn’t even have peter cushing in it.

'twins of evil' (1971) is the final karnstein film and is a prequel. it might be the horniest and most gruesome tbh? but it's pretty good 👍

+ 'fear in the night' (1972) is a sneaky favorite of mine. psychological thriller that handles the topic of mental illness and its mentally ill characters pretty well, imo.

+ 'captain kronos - vampire hunter' (1974) do you like swashbuckling vampire hunters and fabulous twin nobles? then you'll like this one. 'kickass' and 'badass' are the main adjectives i'd use to describe it.

AMICUS RECS

(NOTE: amicus borrowed a lot of actors from hammer, so they are kinda similar vibe-wise on occasion.)

+ 'dr. terror's house of horrors' (1965) horror anthology with tarot card readings as its framing device, which is such a whipass concept.

+ 'the house that dripped blood' (1971) horror anthology about a cursed house or smth :) and while it is pretty good over all, i'm recommending this one mainly bc the 'waxworks' segment is one of the finest pieces of cinema i've ever seen.

+ 'tales from the crypt' (1972) horror anthology based on 'tales from the crypt' comics, and it has a couple of really good ones. great primer for getting into their anthologies.

+ 'madhouse' (1974) one of my lowkey favorite movies bc i love gay old horror actors hamming it up and having fun and making fun of themselves. and i love projecting onto herbert flay and paul toombes so much <333 #lovewins

OTHER RECS

+ 'frankenstein' (1931) and 'bride of frankenstein' (1935) if u haven't seen these two you have got to fr fr. 'bride' is a perfect score in my book and just. holy fuck. one of the most insane, profound, beautiful movies ever. stg. dr pretorius is everything 2 me <33 i ❤ heart gay old men.

+ the invisible man (1933) i get the feeling you've seen this one? but it's lots of fun :) claude rains is amazing as the titular invisible man. honestly i kinda prefer this movie to the book.

+ 'psycho' (1960) a classic, one of the og slashers. i'm assuming you're seen this one just bc it's so popular? but it really is That Good.

also 'psycho ii' is fucking amazing. i haven't seen any of the other sequels yet, but 'ii' is just. so so heartbreaking. a near perfect sequel that really dives into the aftermath of the events of the first film.

+ 'corruption' (1968) absolutely not the best but it starts strong and is just damn fascinating. about a dysfunctional couple tearing each other to shreds at its core.

+ 'the abominable dr. phibes' (1971) a revenge slasher kinda considered to be a precursor to 'saw?' idk lol. but it has some fucking epic kills. vincent price really delivers here emotionally as the title character and it drives me up the wall.

'dr. phibes rises again' (1972) is also pretty good. weaker kills imo but a stronger protagonist.

also while i don't think you Have To watch 'dr. phibes' first (i didn't,) 'madhouse' is kind of an homage to it.

+ 'the wicker man' (1973) folk horror/musical masterpiece about a devoutly religious cop investigating the disappearance of a young girl on an island inhabited by pagans. if you haven't seen this just know that it is a 10/10 must watch.

+ 'house of the long shadows' (1983) about an author who's dared to spend the night in a creepy house that was once owned by a super fucked up family. doesn't really kick into gear until all the old people start showing up, but it's fun.

+ fright night (1985) epic vampire movie pastiche B) peter vincent means the world to me fr. it makes me cry sometimes. the sequel is pretty good too!! but i wouldn't really recommend the 2011 remake.

#these are just some of my faves/ones i've fixated on/talk a lot about or i just think they're good primers for getting #into this kind of stuff B) #autism won today :D yippee!! i love not shutting up!!! #myevilposts #hammer #long post

[liyazaki]

I like Kinnporsche but it also feels kinda disconnected at times to me, like it wasn’t really what I was expecting. The vegas and pete stuff is far more what I was expecting for the entire show and while I adore kinn and porsche as a couple I’m a little sad the show has spent so much time on them and now there’s not as much for vegas and pete. Couple-wise the show is great, but plot, pacing, and tone-wise I think it’s a bit turbulent.

disclaimer: I’m going to try to make some semblance of sense here, Nonnie, but if I don’t, please direct any & all complaints to Ms. Rona, who’s currently kicking my ass.

KinnPorsche has a little bit of everything: it’s hilarious, it’s heavy, it’s stupid-hot, it's full of heart- it’s unhinged. I can see how the tonal shifts could throw you if you went in with specific expectations, like it’s going to be a Serious Mafia Show, etc.

I have zero issue with the pacing, the tone shifts, and yes- even the VegasPete plotline not starting until basically the final hour (though selfishly I would’ve loved to have had more time with them).

here’s why:

1. I’m a firm believer that the audience shouldn’t have to read or know the source material of an adaptation to appreciate or understand the direction being taken. a good adaptation takes you on that journey all on its own, no additional assistance required.

I can only speak from my perspective, though, and I’ve read the books. I’ve been thrilled at how they’ve kept the overall chaotic, fun feel while removing most of the roughest parts (read: nauseatingly problematic vs. comes-with-mafia-life problematic). maybe I would’ve felt more whiplash from the tonal changes if I wasn’t familiar with the source material, but it’s only served to make me appreciate the show more, not less.

I still kinda-sorta enjoyed the books (in between all the unnecessarily-graphic SA and horrible communication), but I cannot stress enough just how much of an improvement the show is. BOC turned a trash heap into feral fandom gold.

2. the focus of this story is & will always be Kinn & Porsche. that was true for the books & it’s true for the show. they’re the main reason to watch- or the intended main reason to watch, anyway. with that context in mind, the amount of screen time given to their story makes sense.

back to that italicized ‘intended’, though: I suffer from second couple syndrome as much as the next clown. I get that just because we’re supposed to root for a couple or enjoy spending the majority of our watch time with them doesn’t mean we’re going to.

personally, I was grumbling to a couple moots weeks ago about whether or not we’d even get a VegasPete story line at this point. even then, though, I saw it as my personal preference coming into play & didn’t use it as a metric by which to judge the quality of the show (still don’t).

I wasn’t promised a VegasPete-centric story going in, so I’m not going to let my thirst for all things them keep me from enjoying Kinn and Porsche’s story, which I’m very much invested in.

with all that boring stuff out of the way: can you imagine if we do end up getting a second season & get to see more of their story play out? the potential of this volatile, toxic pairing with all its raw chemistry to grow into a beautiful, still dark-and-twisty-but-works for them thing? be still my beating kinky heart.

because love comes in all shades, all colors- some with a little more black & blue (heh) than others.

#mor answers #anonymous #kinnporsche #vegaspete #keep the asks coming y'all- that was fun

[xkuja]

Valentine's Day - Romance Media Edition

I am not a sucker for romance, but @her-enlightened-ladyship​ has tagged me in this meme so I must abide. So here are some romance adjacent medias that I can remember enjoying to some degree.

Movies:

Amadeus - Not a romance movie but its a good movie you should all watch.

The Princess Bride - I have only ever watched it at work with no sound or subtitles on, but I do like Andre the Giant, amazing, just an absolute unit

The Room - Peak romance.

TV Shows:

The Bachelor, 90 Day Fiance, Married at First Sight, Love Island - Just absolute trash tv.

Anime:

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Gendo Ikari going cuckoo bananas over his dead wife is peak romance.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Pegasus, also cuckoo bananas over his dead wife.

Video Games:

Soul Sacrifice - Magusar x Librom. The greatest love story, there is nothing more romantic than risking your life to save your surly best friend, then being forced to fight him to the death, reviving him and killing him forever until your very genetic makeup just deteriorates. Its canon shut up.

Final Fantasy XIV - Hildibrand is the most romantic gentleman.

Castlevania - Dracula is hot in this one. And cuckoo bananas over his dead wife.

Dynasty Warriors - There’s a lot of good ships here and some of them are canon, like Lu Bu x Diao Chan. Romance is in the title of the source material so it counts.

Books:

The Vampire Chronicles - Marius x Armand is my problematic otp.

Dracula - Dracula is hot in this one. But I think Mina and Lucy should have had a thing, that would have improved it.

Vampire Hunter D - D is the only gary stu who wears it good. It was just such a smile.

Carmilla - I just think I like vampires.

Manga/Comics:

Victorian Romance Emma - The first legitimate romance on the list. It’s a story of a maid and her love for a very boring man in the victorian era. Beautifully drawn.

Innocent/Innocent Rouge - A very historically accurate retelling of the french revolution. Has Marie Antoinette which is an automatic draw for me. Some of the greatest art in the world. Excellent romance within.

The Rose of Versailles - Innocent but a shoujo drawn in the 70s. Also excellent romances within.

Berserk - A romantic tale of a guy who has a very big sword and bad things happen to him.

#DRCL Midnight Children - Dracula but by the guy who drew Innocent. Dracula is Michael Jackson for some reason but it’s a really good telling.

#|| Revue || Tagged #|| Turn To Scarlet Queue || #i just think the dead wife cuckoo bananas trope #is just terribly romantic

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragonball Z: Abridged Episode 11 Review

Originally posted August 19th, 2015

Equal parts reverence and revision.

The Freeza Saga is, as best as I can tell, the most famous arc in all of Dragonball. As such, the majority of the audience of Dragonball Z: Abridged would inevitably be approaching Team Four Star’s adaptation of that arc with a lot of pre-existing feelings about the story it is trying to tell, inevitably allowing those feelings to guide them in forming a critical opinion of it.

This “baggage” is clearly present among everyone in Team Four Star, and they are careful to open their second season and beginning of the Freeza Saga with a lot of reverence for their source material. But that reverence for the source material never blinds them, as at this point they have begun to recognize that the story they are telling, while related to the original Dragonball, is ultimately a separate being of its own, and they begin to treat it as much.

This is clear from the inclusion of a flashback to Goku’s first time meeting Mr. Popo. We as an audience potentially unfamiliar with the source material can assume that Goku and Popo have met before at some point, though we do not know how they met or what their meeting was like. This flashback very clearly articulates that Goku’s relationship with Popo is no different from Krillin’s relationship with Popo; they both fear him for the sadistic, omnipotent taskmaster that he is. It also serves as a more effective introduction to Popo than his actual introduction.1

Their reverence for the source material comes in how they handle the tone of Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma’s departure for Namek. It’s a dangerous and important mission, and both the source material and DBZA take it seriously. Unlike the source material, however, Team Four Star chooses to let the weight and importance of the mission come through Bulma, in both the performance (thanks to Megami33’s excellent voice acting) and use of score.

This is one of many revisions Team Four Star makes to the text, and they do so with good reason; Bulma is shallow, self-centered, and bitchy in the original, and there’s absolutely no reason one of the two only female characters should be this terrible a person.2 In this, Team Four Star acknowledges the strengths of the original story, while addressing some of the more problematic aspects of that story, and this is a trend that they continue to build upon.

Rating: 4.5/5

If you liked this review, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1I love the “pecking order” speech as much as anyone else, but seeing that Goku is just as afraid of Popo as anyone else more clearly establishes just how intimidating this guy is.

2Another change they make is with Chi Chi, who goes from a bitchy buzzkill to a reasonably concerned mother, countering a very unfortunate trope present in a lot of shounen anime (as well as Western cartoons, but that’s for another day).

Mr. Popo: “Oh, look at that, a woman who doesn’t know any better. What are the odds?”

Cutting to a drugged up, gurgling Goku as he still essentially votes for Bulma to go with Popo is a great visual gag.

Mr. Popo: “Yep, this carpet gets about ten thousand miles to the soul.” Bulma: “What?” Mr. Popo: “The gallon.”

Mr. Popo: “Making toast!”

Bulma: “So it responds to your name?” Mr. Popo: “No, it just knows better.”

Chi Chi: “Did you carry a baby around for nine months with a man who literally thought you had Cinnabons hidden in your shirt?”

Ambient ocean noise at Kame House and the ambient noise at the hospital give us a glimpse at the great sound design to come.

Weird how a Three Stooges reference is basically highbrow comedy in this show.

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #dbza #film criticism #dbza ep11 #aug 19 2015 #👍