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#if you don't like seeing anything negative about marvel then ignore the posts
stealanity · 1 month
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hey guys, let's go for a big announcement okay?
so, we're near my three-year anniversary on this blog. the 13th of march will mark the day i posted my first piece of writing on this platform (color palette will forever be my precious baby). and before i say anything about the negative aspects of this post, i would like to thank all the people who have supported me and my work for years / months now. every time i received a little interaction, a little message in my askbox, or feedback about one of my writings, my heart couldn't help but vibrate with happiness. so, i'd like to extend my warmest thanks to everyone who kindly took the time to express their opinions on what i've written over the past three years, these little words mean so much to me, in ways you can't imagine.
and, this is where i'm going to start talking about the negative things i have to say about this post : i'm wondering if i'm going to continue writing and posting here.
for months i've been thinking of closing this blog and stopping writing : as most of you know, tumblr writers complain a lot about the lack of feedback on what we produce. i don't mean to blame you all, but it's a real problem that never ceases to discourage every writer behind the computer. i understand that some of you are shy, and that's perfectly all right : but the askbox anonymity option doesn't exist for nothing. even if you only come to say "your last writing was great" and you think it's lame to leave a message just to say that, tell yourself that this simple little sentence can brighten a writer's day. i know you hear the same thing over and over again, but if a lot of people are talking about it, don't you think that proves that it's a real problem for us?
in other words, the lack of interaction from readers to writers is the biggest pet peeve of writers on this platform. just imagine : you walk into a store, and a writer is alone at his signing table, no one stopping to listen to him talk about the book he wrote with all his heart, sleepless nights spent writing, all so that no one would stop and take an interest in him. how would you feel about this person? you'd be sad and sorry for him, right? well then, tell yourself that, it's exactly like this writer, that we here, as tumblr writers, feel when no one gives us feedback. you feel ignored. we give our time to offer you something to read about your favs, completely free of charge. we give you the opportunity to imagine scenarios, and ask us to write down your ideas precisely, all so that, when your request is granted, we have no feedback on what you thought about it? this won't last much longer, believe me — because little by little, all the writers here are losing hope and patience, and deciding to stop doing what they love just because they're constantly ignored and not thanked for their work and efforts. yet, i know a lot of writers who deserve to be praised and complimented for their talent every second of their existence, and i feel so, so sorry for them that they have to endure such a thing. and, if you look closely, you'll see that it's only the writers themselves who leave feedback on other writers' work — because we know how important it is and how much we need it every day.
which is why i'm announcing today that i'm questioning the future of this blog. i haven't made a decision yet, maybe i'll do it tomorrow or in three months, whatever. but the problem is there, said and repeated, over and over again, and i'm more than discouraged.
nevertheless, thank you to all the writers on this platform for all you do. you sometimes make my heart skip a beat, my eyes water, laugh until i cry and smiling from ear to ear, because you're that good. you're so good at giving people chills and filling their heads with stories, with your perfectly chosen words and your marvelous ideas, each more incredible and interesting than the last. and i'll never stop complimenting the talent of the writers here, because you guys are truly amazing and tumblr wouldn't be the same without you. i know it's hard to evolve here, but know that among all those likes, there's this one reblog that makes all the difference.
you are so brave, and i thank you for always being here to share your talent.
anyway, let's end it here !
thank you for your attention, have a nice day, or night, or anything,
— xoxo, matty
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mask131 · 4 months
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Ségurant, the Knight of the Dragon (1/4)
In order to do my posts about Ségurant, I will basically blatantly plagiarize the documentary I recently saw - especially since it will be removed at the end of next January. If you don't remember from my previous post, it is an Arte documentary that you can watch in French here. There's also a German version somewhere.
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The documentary is organized very simply, by a superposition of research-exploration-explanation segments with semi-animated retellings of extracts of the lost roman.
0: The origin of it all
The documentary is led by and focused on the man behind the rediscovery of Ségurant, the Knight of the Dragon – Emanuele Arioli, presented simply as a researcher in the medieval domain, expert of the Arthurian romances, and deeply passionate by the Arthurian legend and chivalry. If you want to be more precise, a quick glimpse at his Wikipedia pages reveals that he is actually a Franco-Italian an archivist-paleographer, a doctor in medieval studies, and a master of conferences in the domain of medieval language and medieval literature.
It all began when Arioli was visiting the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, at Paris. There he checked a yet unstudied 15th century manuscript of “Les prophéties de Merlin”. Everybody knows Monmouth’s Prophetiae Merlini, but it is not this one – rather it is one of those many “Merlin’s Prophecies” that were written throughout the Middle-Ages, collecting various “political prophecies” interwoven with stories taken out of the legends of king Arthur and the Round Table. And while consulting this specific 15th century “Prophéties de Merlin”, Arioli stumbled upon a beautiful enluminure (I think English folks say “illumination”) of a knight facing a dragon. Interested, he read the story that went with it… And discovered the tale of Ségurant, a knight he had never heard about during the entirety of his studies.
Here we have the first fragment of Ségurant’s story: “Ségurant le Brun” (Ségurant the Brown, as in Brown-haired, you could call him Ségurant the Dark-haired, Ségurant the Brunet), a “most excellent and brave knight”, sent a servant to Camelot, court of king Arthur, and in front of the king the servant said – “A knight from a foreign land sends me there, and asks you to go in three days onto the plain of Winchester, with your knights of the Round Table, to joust. You will see there the greatest marvel you ever saw.”
Checking the rest of the manuscript, Arioli found several other episodes detailing Ségurant’s adventures, all beginning with illuminations of a knight facing a dragon. And this was the beginning of Arioli’s quest to reconstruct a roman that had been forgotten and ignored by everybody – a quest that took him ten years (and in the documentary he doesn’t hide that he ended up feeling himself a lot within Ségurant’s character who is also locked in an impossible quest).
I: Birth of king, birth of myth
The first quarter of the documentary or so is focused on Arioli’s first step in his quest for Ségurant: Great-Britain of course! However, slight spoiler alert, Arioli didn’t find anything there – and so the documentary spends a bit more time speaking about king Arthur than Ségurant, though it does fill in with various other extracts of Ségurant’s story.
Arioli’s first step was of course the National Library of Wales, where the most ancient resources about king Arthur are kept, and where old Celtic languages and traditions are still very much alive, or at least perfectly preserved. The documentary has Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan presenting the audience with the oldest record of the name Arthur in Welsh literature – if not in European literature as a whole. The “Y Gododdin”, where one of the characters described is explicitly compared to Arthur in negative, “even though he was not Arthur”. The Y Gododdin is extremely hard to date, though it is very likely it was written in the 7th century – and all in all, it proves that Arthur was known of Welsh folks at the time, probably throughout oral poems sung by bards, and already existed as a “good warrior” or “ideal leader” figure.
From there, we jump to a brief history lesson. Great-Britain used to be the province of the Roman Empire known as Britannia – and when the Romans left, it became the land of the Britons (in French we call them “Bretons” which is quite ironic because “Breton” is also the name of the inhabitants of the Britany region of France – Bretagne. This is why Great-Britain is called Great-Britain, the Britany of France was the “Little-Britain”, and this is also why the Britain-myth of Arthur spreads itself across both England and France – but anyway). However, ever since the 5th century, Great-Britain had fallen into social and political instability, as two Germanic tribes had invaded the lands: the Angles and the Saxons. In the year 600, the Angles and the Saxons were occupying two-thirds of Great-Britain, while the Britons had been pushed towards the most hostile lands – Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. This era was a harsh, cruel and dark world, something that the Y Gododdin perfectly translates – and thus it makes sense that the figure of Arthur would appear in such situation, as the mythical hero of the Briton resistance against the Anglo-Saxons.
However we had to wait until a Latin work of the 12th century for Arthur’s fate to finally be tied to the history of the kings of England: Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh bishop, wrote for the king of England of the time the “Historia Regum Britanniae”, “History of the Kings of Britain”, in which we find the first complete biography of Arthur as a king – twenty pages or so about “the most noble king of the Britons”. Geoffrey’s record was a mix of real and imagination, weaving together fictional tales with historical resources – it seems Geoffrey tried to make Arthur “more real” by including him into the actual History with a big H, and it is thanks to him that we have the legend of Arthur as we know it today ; even though his Arthur was a “proto-Arthur”, without any knight or Round Table. The tale begins in Cornwall, at Tintagel, where Arthur was conceived: one night, Uther Pendragon, with the help of Merlin, took the shape of the Duke of Cornwall to enter in his castle and sleep with his wife Igraine. This was how Arthur was born.
The documentary then has some presentations of the archeological work on Tintagel – filled with enigmatic and mysterious ruins. The current archeological research, and a scientific project in 2018, allowed for the discovery of proof that the area was occupied as early as 410, and then all the way to the 9th and 10th century, maybe even the years 1000. There are many elements indicating that Tintagel was inhabited during the post-Roman times when Arthur was supposed to have lived: post-Roman glass, and various fragments of pottery coming from Greece or Turkey and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea – overall the area clearly was heavily influenced by Mediterranean commerce and cultures. Couple that with the fact that we have the ruins of more than a hundred buildings built solidly with the stone of the island – that is to say more buildings than what London used to have during the same era – and with the fact that there are scribe-performed inscriptions for various families and third parties (meaning people were important or rich enough to buy a scribe to write things for them)… All of this proves that Tintagel was important, wealthy and connected, and so while it does not prove Arthur did exist, it proves that a royal court might have existed at Tintagel – and that Geoffrey of Monmouth probably selected Tintagel as the place of birth of Arthur because he precisely knew of how ancient and famous the area was, through a long oral tradition.
2: After birth, death
The next area visited by the documentary is Glastonbury. “On a Somerset hill formerly surrounded by swamps and bogs”, medieval tradition used to localize the fabulous island of Avalon – where Arthur, mortally wounded by his son Mordred, was taken by fairies. Healed there, he ever since rests under the hill, and will, the story says, return in the future to save the Britons when they need it the most… More interestingly fifty years after Monmouth’s writings, the actual grave of king Arthur was supposedly discovered in the cemetery of the abbey of Glastonbury, and can still be visited today. It is said that in 1191, the monks of the abbey were digging a large pit in their cemetery, 12 feet deep, when they find a rough wooden coffin with a great lead cross on which were written “Here lies king Arthur, on the island of Avalon”. Now, you might wonder, why were monks digging a pit in their cemetery? Sounds suspicious… Well it is said that Henry II was the one who told the monks that, if they dug in their cemetery, they might find “something interesting”… Why would Henry II order a research for the grave of king Arthur? Very simple – a political move. Henry II was a Plantagenet king, aka part of a Norman bloodline, from Normandy, and the House of Plantagenet had gained control of their territory through wars. The Plantagenet was a dynasty that won large chunks of territory through battles (or through marriage – Henri II married Aliénor d’Aquitaine in 1152, which allowed him to extend his empire so that it ended up covering not just all of Great-Britain but also three quarters of France). But as a result, the Plantagenet House had to actually “justify” themselves, prove their legitimacy – prove that they were not just ruling because they were conquerers that had beaten or seduced everybody. They needed to tie themselves to Briton traditions, to link themselves to the legends of Britain – and the “discovery” of king Arthur’s tomb was part of this political plan. And it was a huge success – Glastonbury became famous, and so did king Arthur, who went from a mere Briton war-chief that maybe existed, to a true legend and symbol of English royalty.
However, so far, there are no traces of Ségurant in the Welsh tradition, and here we get our second extract of Ségurant’s roman, which actually seems to be the beginning of his adventures.
Ségurant comes from a fictional island (or at least going by a fictional name): l’île Non-Sachante. There Ségurant le Brun was knighted on the day of the Pentecost by his own grandfather. There was great merriment and great joy, and after the party, Ségurant openly declared he wanted to see the court of king Arthur and all the great wonders in it that everybody kept talking about. He claimed he would go to Winchester – and thus it leads to the invitation mentioned above. Yep, he decided that the best way to go see king Arthur’s court and his wonders was to basically challenge the king and his knights…
3: No place at the Round Table
Of course, the next step of the documentary is Winchester, former capital of Saxon England. Some traditions claim that it was at Winchester that Camelot was located, king Arthur’s castle and the capital of his Royaume de Logres, Kingdom of Logres. Logres itself being actually clearly the dream of a land rebuilt and given back to the Britons, once all the Germanic invaders are kicked out.
The documentary goes to Winchester Castle, built by William the Conqueror, and takes a look at the famous “Round Table” kept within its Great Hall – a table on which are written the name of 24 Arthurian knights, with a painting of king Arthur at the center… Above the rose of the Tudors. Because, that’s the thing everybody knows – while the Round Table itself was built in the 13th century and presented as an “Arthurian relic”, it was repainted in the shape it is today during the 16th century, by Henry the Eight (you know, the wife-killer), who used it as yet another political tool to impose and legitimize the rule of the Tudor line – and he wasn’t subtle about it, since he had Arthur’s face painted to look like his… On this table you find the names of many of the famous Arthurian knights: Galahad, Lancelot of the Lake, Gawain, Perceval, Lionel, Mordred, Tristan, the Knight with the Ill-Fitting Coat… They were organized according to a hierarchy (despite the very principle of the table being there was no hierarchy): at the top are the most famous and well-known knights, with their own stories and quests, such as Galahad, Lancelot of Gawain. At the bottom are the less famous ones: Lucan, Palamedes, Lamorak, Bors de Ganis…
And Ségurant is, of course, absent. Which can be baffling when you consider what the story about Ségurant actually says…
NEW EXTRACT! We are on the field of Winchester. All the tents are prepared for the greatest tournament Logres ever knew. The tent of Ségurant is very easy to spot, because there is a precious stone at the top, that shines day and knight, constantly emitting light as if it was a flaming torch. In front of king Arthur, all the bravest and most courageous knights of the Round Table appear and joust between them: Lancelot and Gawain are explicitly named. Suddenly, Ségurant appears and defies them all in combat! One by one, the knights of the Round Table battle with Ségurant – but all their spears break themselves onto his shield, and in the end, no knight wants to defy him, realizing they could not possibly defeat him. And in the audience, a rumor start spreading… “For sure, it will be him, the knight who will find the Holy Grail!”
So we have a knight who managed to defeat all the knights of the Round Table, in front of king Arthur, and yet nobody talks about him? But as the documentary reminds the audience – the Winchester Round Table only contains knights that the British tradition is familiar with. There many Arthurian knights with their own story and quests, such as Erec or Yvain the Knight of the Lion, who are absent from it… Because they are part of the French tradition, and thus less popular if not frankly ignored by England (a specific mention goes to Erec who was only translated very recently into English apparently, and for centuries and centuries stayed unknown in the English-speaking world).
Anyway – the conclusion of this first part of the documentary is simple. Ségurant is not from Great-Britain, he is not British nor Welsh, and so his origins lie somewhere else.
ADDENDUM
In the first part of this documentary, they stay quite vague and allusive about the story of Ségurant (because the documentary is obviously about the quest and research behind the reconstruction of the roman, not about what the roman contains in every little details). So to flesh out a bit the various extracts above I will use some information from the very summary Wikipedia page about this recently rediscovered knight (I didn’t had the time to get my hands on the book yet).
In the version that is the “main” one reconstructed by Arioli and that is the basis for the documentary’s retelling, soon before being knighted, Ségurant had proved his worth by performing a successful “lion hunt” onto the Ile Non-Sachante. Said island is actually said to have originally been a wild and deserted island onto which his grand-father, Galehaut le Brun, and his grand-father’s brother, Hector le Brun, had arrived after a shipwreck – they had taken the sea to flee an usurper on the throne of Logres named Vertiger (it seems to be a variation of Vortigern?). Galehaut le Brun had a son, Hector le Jeune (Hector the Young), Ségurant’s father. However, unlike the documentary which presents Ségurant as immediately wishing to see Camelot and defy its knights as soon as he is knighted, the Wikipedia page explains there is apparently a missing episode between the two events: in the roman, Ségurant originally leave the Ile Non-Sachante to defeat his uncle (also named Galehaut, like his grandfather) on the mainland. After beating his uncle at jousting, rumors of his various feats and exploits reached Camelot, and it was king Arthur himself who decided to organize a tournament in Ségurant’s honor at Winchester, so that the Knights of the Round Table could admire Ségurant’s exploits.
The fact that the documentary presents a version of the story when the Knights of the Round Table are already in search for the Holy Grail when Ségurant arrives at Winchester is quite interesting because according to the Wikipedia article, Ségurant’s name is mentioned in a separate text (a late 15th century armorial) as one of the knights of the Round Table who was present “when they took the vow of undergoing the quest of the Holy Grail, on Pentecost Day”. The same armorial then goes on to add more elements about Ségurant’s character. Here, instead of being the son of “Hector the Young”, he is son of “Hector le Brun” (so the whole family is “Brown” then), and this title is explained by the color of his hair, which is actually of a brown so dark it is almost black. Ségurant is described here as a very tall man, “almost a giant”, and to answer this enormous height, he has an incredible and powerful strength, coupled with a great appetite making him eat like ten people. But he is actually a peaceful, gentle soul, as well as a lone wolf not very social. He also is said to have a beautiful face, and to be “well-proportioned” in body. A final element of this armorial, which is the most interesting when compared to the main story given by the documentary (where the dragon comes afterward) – in this armorial, Ségurant is actually said to have killed a dragon BEFORE being knighted, a “hideous and terrible” dragon, and this is why his coast of arms depict a black dragon with a green tongue over a gold background.
Again, this all comes from an armorial kept at the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal – which has a small biography and drawing of Ségurant over one page (used to illustrate the French Wikipedia article). It is apparently not in the “roman” that Arioli reconstructed – especially since in the comic book adaptation, and the children-illustrated-novel adaptations, not only is Ségurant depicted as of regular size, but he is also BLOND out of all things…
As for the name of the island Ségurant comes from, “l’île Non-Sachante”, it is quite a strange name that means “The Island Not-Knowing”, “The Unknowing island”, “The island that does not know”. This is quite interesting because, on one side it seems to evoke how this is an island not known by regular folks – this wild, uncharted, unmapped island on which Ségurant’s family ended up, and from which this mysterious all-powerful knight comes from (and you’ll see that the fact nobody knows Ségurant’s island is very important). But there is also the fact that the adjective “Sachante” is clearly at the female form, to match the female word “île”, “island”, meaning it is the island that does not “know”. And given it is supposed to be this wild place without civilization, it seems to evoke how the island doesn’t know of the rest of the world, or doesn’t know of humanity. (Again I am not sure, I haven’t got the book yet, I am just making basic theories and hypothetic reading based on the info I found)
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wenellyb · 2 years
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Random thoughts on fatphobia in the MCU fandoms
Namor
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I would have never thought Namor belonged in this discussion but apparently anybody who hasn't chiseled abs isn't "in shape"...
There's a Marvel artist who made a body-shaming post saying that there was a mistake somewhere because that Namor isn't as in shape as he should ne. And I've actually seen several other negative comments about Namor's look and especially this scene and I can't believe how much society and blockbusters has done irreparable damage if you believe for one second there is anything wrong with his body. When I look at this picture I see a good looking actor who's probably going to nail it as Namor, but apparently some people had comments to make about his body. You'd rather see actors who dehydrate themselves and are on the verge of fainting just to have a scene with a six-pack?? Why???
Phastos
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There wasn't too much fatphobia directed at Phastos because he was simply ignored by the fandom....I have never seen something like that. For a fandom that claimed that all they were waiting for representation only to ignore the first and only canon openly Gay superhero in the MCU was unbelievable. And of course, racism plays a major role in this, but so does fatphobia. If I compare it to the Sambucky ship that was still considered "a small ship" in 2016 after Civil War aired, there was still so much more content, fics, Fanart and posts even thought Sam and Bucky had only shared 2 scenes together (that lasted less than a minute). And I'm not putting the blame on fanartists or fic writers for the lack of Phastos content, because they can't create content if the fandom is barely there to begin with. I don't feel like creating content for it either, because the fandom is pretty much dead.
And it's not a problem of screentime because Phastos had as much screentime as the other Eternals characters and him and his husbnad had as much screentime as Sambucky in Civil War, or other popular MCU ships with bigger fandoms and yet...
Thor
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Let me tell you, I may have been the only one in this but when I saw Thor in Endgame, I was happy they had went to a more natural/normal look for a superhero for once... I thought it was realistic (and even though I've never been a fan of fatsuits I didn't mind the storyline) and I loved that they didn't make him lose weight by the end of the movie, but rather showed his journey to finding himself again but that journey wasn't focused on losing weight but finding his worth again, gaining hope,...
So let me tell you how surprised I was when I came to Tumblr, and Twitter after the movie to only see comments about how "they had ruined the character and messed UP all his progress"....interesting to know that some people view a character gaining weight as him being ruined.. And don't get me wrong, I understand being mad at the fat jokes in the movie, and it's important to call that out, but the comments weren't about that.... A lot of people weren't upset about the fat jokes or the fatsuit, but by how Thor looked ... They were very transparent and the reactions just shocked me.
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lagggggomorph · 1 year
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Raven being Desi
Hello, hello again, I'm back with another tirade! This whole thing started with seeing a fanartist post a drawing of Raven (a DC Teen Titans character created by George Perez) as dark skinned with a Desi associated hooked nose. One commentor began to complain saying 'Raven isn't a dark skinned Indian, she isn't Indian at all'. When the artist pointed out that they were referring to the fact that Raven's original design was based of an Indian model, the astute commentor acknowledged that Ravens 'style' was Indian but was influenced by other models of other nationalities as well, so lets break it down.
Raven's style
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I assume you're talking about the red dot on her forehead. It's called a Bindi and it's not a part of Indian culture, it's a part of Hindu culture. Traditionally, the west has not cared about the difference, assuming any part of Hinduism is just spiritual hokum and using it in art and pop culture without consideration. But no, the Bindi is worn by Hindu women and yes, it is cultural appropriation for the Bindi to be worn by non-Hindus for aesthetic. More of Raven's character involves Hinduism too. Meditation, and chakras also frequently appear in Raven's magic and were also Hindu practices. Then there is the topic of Ravens model.
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Her name was Persis Khambatta. She won Miss India and is the model that George Perez named as the original influence for Raven's character design. But that isn't definitive, I hear you cry. White people can be Hindu too! And the same quote that lists Persis as an influence also lists a Fran MacGregor as a later influence! And that is true, but also like...
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That, dear reader, is Raven in New Teen Titans wearing a Sari, which is one of the traditional styles of clothing for Indian women. All of this combined methinks makes Raven being Desi a pretty decent possibility, right? Well, apparently not, according to some people on Reddit, since there is still the issue of
Raven's Ancestry
Raven's mom is white. She Elizabeth Roth, by both her Germanic last name and her blonde haired character design, is definitely one white lady. And Raven's father is Trigon, aka the devil from the bible. And like, there is no way that there is a historical precedent of Christianity associating Hindu culture with evil (just ignore Indiana Jones the Temple of Doom and the demonisation of Kali and Lord Sheev from Star Trek and Lady fucking Shiva and that time Tim Drake fought an actual Indian god for some fucking reason). I mean there is no way that the bible says anything negative about 'Idol worship' (cough cough Romans 1:21–23, Exodus 20:3–6, 1 Corinthians 10:14 cough). Is it really that much of a stretch to say that the devil, as far as DC is concerned, may have some Indian traits. Or that Raven's home of Azarath, steeped in spiritualism and mysticism and definitely-not-Hinduism, may have had some Indian culture there too? But I feel like all this pedantic behavior is kind of missing the point.
What is the point of representation anyway?
Why does Raven being Indian coded matter?
Well, it matters because if we include her in the Indian coded bucket, there is a total of 4 desi coded characters in DC, three of those 4 being the Al Ghul family. The sum total of all actual canonical Desi characters in both DC and Marvel combined, is one. Just one. Kamala Khan from the Marvel universe.
Representation, specifically changing the ethnicity of pre-existing characters in later adaptations is done to better reflect the audience diaspora, so that the audience can see themselves in those character. Little Desi girls want to believe that they can be superheroes, just like anybody else. And if we don't have that in cannon, we will make it in fannon.
Accuracy be damned.
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blaperile · 5 months
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Hi all,
I suppose I owe you all this post after my absence the past years.
Like I mentioned at the time, when Homestuck^2 went into its indefinite pause, I got upset. Upset due to the reasoning behind the pause. Specifically due to how the creative team felt they were being treated by the fandom.
And it kind of reflected my own feelings on the topic. I've been a Homestuck fan since December 2010 and was greatly involved at the time with the MSPA Forums and a bunch of creative projects. But over time I noticed the fandom becoming more bitter. Where previously I mostly saw positive emotions and reactions to updates, I started seeing more and more negative things. ESPECIALLY since John's retcon powers were introduced.
And of course anyone is free to share their own opinion on matters! It's just, I could personally never comprehend it.
For me personally, entertainment has never been linked to any negative emotions or opinions. To me, entertainment is the very definition of positive emotions, and if there's anything bringing up negative emotions for me, I can no longer call it entertainment and would never continue doing it for fun.
And over time, I kept being confronted with more and more negative opinions on Homestuck, and it began souring the experience for me.
I sincerely hoped the end of Homestuck would bring everyone together, so I created the Omegaupdate forums to try and bring everyone together.
But I failed.
There were still so many negative emotions, and it never really stopped. I tried 'ignoring' the negative things and continue to enjoying the postive things.
But when the negative part of the fandom caused Homestuck^2 to be paused indefinitely, something snapped inside me. One of the things I loved most in this world, was forcibly taken away from me by 'fans' acting horribly.
And I was sad. Sad because deep inside me, I feared Homestuck^2 might never be finished properly.
From that moment onwards, almost anything related to Homestuck made me feel sad. So I couldn't bear it any longer. I stopped doing my Dutch translation of Homestuck, I stopped doing the Omegaupdate forums, I stopped doing Homestuck From The Perspective of, I stopped listening to Homestuck music.
I moved on, at that moment. And for a part, it's been a blessing. I had so much time for other interests, like Pokémon, Disney and Marvel. Me and my brother looked into moving out of our parents home, and we did.
As time went on, I could slowly allow myself to feel nostalgic again about the good old times of Homestuck. Especially in terms of music, I started listening again and slowly I could enjoy it again.
But still, I couldn't think about Homestuck too much, or I would feel sad again.
Fast forward to 12 days ago. On the 19th of October, I got an email from Patreon (just to be sure, I never cancelled my Patreon subscription even though it wasn't charing anything anymore).
I was surprised to see a post by James Roach, and I was so surprised!
Surprised to see that Homestuck^2 was starting up again, and posting new updates!!
I hadn't dared dream this day would come, where Homestuck^2 would return. But there it was anyway.
It made me feel so happy, and I could finally allow myself to start actively thinking about Homestuck^2 again.
So, the past 12 days me and my brother have been rereading the Homestuck Epilogues recap, as well as the 407 pages of Homestuck^2 (AND the bonus stories!) that had already been published before.
To get back in "the flow", to remember what came before, and prepare ourselves for the new updates.
Now I've caught up again to that point, and my brother's almost there as well. Once he's also reached that point, we'll start reading the regular updates again.
I'm not sure yet what will come after that, for me. But I don't think things are ever going back to the way they used to be.
At this moment, I don't see myself going back to any forums, or active community. I don't see myself continuing the Dutch translation.
I'm not even 100% sure if I will still be making reaction posts to the updates.
Anything I do, for now, will be what feels good to me. We'll see as we go what exactly that is.
Right now, I think it's pretty likely that I will continue doing the tally for "Homestuck From The Perspective of". I still love seeing that overview, myself.
Anyway, thanks for reading this, and take care.
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victoriadallonfan · 11 months
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um, so, first of all, I want to say that in general, I really really love reading your thoughts and essays on wildbow's writing, especially the parahumans series. It's genuinely enlightening and interesting a lot of the time.
However, I've noticed this kind of pattern where you see someone making a meta-textual argument ("doyalist" reasoning, commentary on the story in the context that it is a work of fiction), and you respond, or attempt to dispute the argument with a textual argument ("watsonian" explanation, talking about the story as events that happened, without the context that the story is fictional).... which ends up not actually addressing the metatextual point?
It's like, ok, one example would be something like magneto: there's an argument that the X-men stories are loosely inspired by the civil rights movement, with Professor X and Magneto being archetypically "moderate" and "extreme". This presents a significant issue when Magneto is depicted as unreasonable, needlessly violent, and antagonist, as, deliberate or not, this sends a negative message about figures perceived as more extreme (with Malcolm X being the most common example).
The is a meta-textual argument.
A meta-textual counter-argument might be "there are other characters in the X men universe who are 'extremists' but who are portrayed relatively positively, and additionally, the fact that (the hero) Prof X's name is similar to Malcolm X indicates the creators might have felt more generous to Malcolm X and similar people than the idea suggests".
However, a textual counter argument would be to ignore the real world connections and context of the original X-men context, and simply double down on talking about how much a villain Magneto is.... which is irrelevant. It doesn't actually address what the original argument is talking about.
melancholy-jouissance was talking about Tristan as an example. He acts in a shitty way towards Byron, crosses Byron's boundaries, and crimes are motivated by a desire for sex and romance.
What's worse is that there's a stereotype (both in fiction and in the public consciousness) of gay people being more sex-motivated and sexual than straight people are. Depicting Tristan as being more sexual, and more sexually motivated than his identical twin brother plays into this stereotype in an extremely damaging way.
Deliberately or not, it sends a bad message, and is a bad representation of gay men.
(on top of this, separate from the representation thing, it's just extremely unpleasant to read as a bisexual person)
However, instead of addressing any of this, your response was to point out, with a sequence of excerpts, what Tristan did wrong, as if he was a real person on trial?
Which, is like, those are well researched, well formatted points, but you aren't actually engaging with the argument being presented to you.
If anything, bringing up these other things that Tristan did wrong kind of proves melancholy's point... doesn't it?
I don't know. I do enjoy reading your ideas and analysis, and this ask isn't meant to be calling you out or anything like that, but I do think that there's a lot here (and in similar debates) that you're missing.
Let me counter argue this in your Magneto way:
Let’s say’s that there is a panel where Magneto is on trial for trying to murder a human. And the human is saying he needs to face justice for his attempted murder. A tumblr post says, “Wow, I can’t believe Marvel thinks that Magneto was wrong for fighting back against his oppressors!”
Now, let’s say that the panel was cut out of a larger strip* and we see that he was actually going to murder another mutant before the human pushed the both of them to safety (the mutant does not know he saved his life). And we learn that said mutant was and is prominent Mutant Rights activist, who was targeted by Magneto for associating with human allies pushing for their cause.
The panel is taken out of context of a particular scene so that Marvel is made to be promoting something that isn’t true. The reality is that Magneto is framed as wrong because he was being a murderous asshole, not for wanting mutant rights.
There is a BIG difference between “Hey, Wildbow is ignorant on tropes and needs to be more world weary before tackling such heavy topics” and “Wildbow is a massive homophobe and the text clearly points to him hating people who want gay sex!”
I agree with the former, but the latter is just dramatization and dishonest to be blunt.
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lokihiddleston · 2 years
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I don't think it's you at all. I think tumblr has just gone downhill the last 5-10 years and not as many people are on it. It is unfortunate due to the talent of our content creators. I left tumblr for close to 7 years and just recently came back because a lot aren't around anymore and it's probably the safest space now for fandoms as most of it is graphics/content based, all other platforms are too negative for my mental health. As someone who also used to be a content creator, and sometimes now, I will create something if I think it'll be easy and haven't seen it floating around yet, but I don't put near the effort I used to and usually do it only if i know i would like to see it on my own blog and if someone else likes it, great! lol. I absolutely understand how invalidating it can feel, especially when you think something is going to do well or someone else reposts your work and gets more traction. We do appreciate you and everything you spend hours on and post for us to admire because it is hard work sometimes and it feels like a job depending on the set. But I think you're amazing and so talented and always stalk your blog and use it if there's certain films or shows tom did that I want to reblog or look at. especially crimson peak because it’s my fav! so i really hope you will come around to making TES content because i know it will be amazing. i’m sorry about the negative anons too, unless you’re a content creator or used to be, you wouldn’t understand the logistics of it and your feelings are perfectly valid because we’ve all felt that way. people can be so nasty. they're just ignorant to the process. ♡ (hopefully this all sends!)
Tumblr is the only place where I managed to escape. I started with nothing, no one taught me to create. I searched, I did everything alone. I didn’t ask people to share myself in their blogs to boost my work. I did not even have a hashtag. I started only 2 months ago (where I have very few people tagging me).
And for some time being here, it has become a pressure, a stress. Especially since the Marvel series. Because you must always be present as soon as a new content is available on what you like. If you have no 'mutuals' (or yourself) to share your stuff in big blogs, you can already forget. Because this new way of popular tags is horrible. If you are not in the first five to create, it's already too late. These same posts will stay more than 12 hours and you even if you are going to create afterwards, they will stay in the shade. It is always the same URLs put forward. There is no fair sharing.
And the people who tell me that you are "popular", you have a lot of subscribers, it's so false. I don't see myself like that, otherwise I would have thousands of notes every time, right? It doesn't matter if you have subscribers, that will not change anything because no one is sharing and more than half have gone (knowing that I have been active since 2012).
Unfortunately Tumblr changed, people left. And new people, they don't consume things as before. They only like, and move on after a few days.
PS: I remember your blog. (Yes I tend to remember blogs that share my posts ^^).
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worstloki · 3 years
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Ragnarok Loki is Loki actually making moves toward growing up bye
Just because you don’t like a thing doesn’t mean it’s Objectively Bad Actually. I Statements are your friend.
Anon darling, I would like you to tell me one move Loki made towards “growing up” that wasn’t ‘Loki let’s go of the issue he had with X’ because what I’m seeing when the movie skips over development to frame the conclusion of ‘Loki’s fine with being jotun and having been lied to and being treated unequal to Thor and punished unfairly’ as something implicit I’m not seeing anything but Loki's narrative being sidelined to the point where breakdowns were tantrums and holding a grudge (which he in my opinion had every right to do if he wanted to) is an overreaction.
That Loki’s ‘moving on’ features resigning himself to continued bad treatment but now no longer complaining about it... shouldn’t be where the character ends up or what he amounts to neither generally or as a continuation of his arc from the previous movies in my opinion, not when he had legitimate grievances that still haven’t been so much as acknowledged.
Just because you like a thing doesn't mean it's Objectively Good Actually either. It is very clear you haven't taken the time to look into posts/interviews detailing why, objectively, the film is a retcon, (along with a majority of posts which thoroughly make clear when things *are* a matter of opinion) but I see that you are happy to criticize whilst not using any 'I statements' yourself.
If you see character changes as consistent continuity that's fine! I've got to remind you that being critical is okay though, and that everyone is free to how they see things.
Additionally, I think you need to hear that a post detailing negative points of a movie is not equivalent to saying there aren't positive factors.
#''Just because you don’t like a thing doesn’t mean it’s Objectively Bad Actually'' ANON I ENJOY RAGNAROK BUT NO#THE MOVIE ACTUALLY DOES HAVE VERY CONVOLUTED MESSAGES AND A LOT OF IT IS DUE TO FRAMING#EVEN IF I COMPLETELY IGNORE THE ABSOLUTE DEMOLITION OF THE MAIN CHARACTER'S ARC AND CHARACTERIZATION AND ABUSE APOLOGISM#ignore the yelling#even if I ignore all that objective actions in the film everyone is free to interpret diegetic factors and build their own opinions#but as someone who enjoys both the critical thinking off and the analysis side of discussions#i do find the summation of a character who has (supposedly) gotten over his many issues as 'growing up' not good anyway#because there WAS legitimate trauma behind his bad actions and while it's not in any way an excuse for anything it made him compelling#ragnarok essentially decided that 'nah loki's over all that haha also treating him bad is funny bc he kinda deserves it'#after Thor 1 Avengers 1 and Thor 2 established Loki's villainous behaviour as unlike him to do#the movie was fun and loving it is fine! i don't mind the changes to loki even though marvel is generally insulting and sidelines abuse!#i think the main issue is that a lot of people insist that the characters are the same when even their previous actions are retconned#if you find the characters consistent well good for you! enjoy your film! but there IS objective proof that the movie is bad#where we're not defining 'bad' by how entertaining something is because THAT is subjective#it's not like Ragnarok is the only 'bad' marvel movie and criticism of the films is usually backed up with canon/proof#on the note of which you may realize that someone else saying a movie is bad doesn't mean you have to agree#you're allowed to look away or read about why they think that or skip the post because it doesn't matter and fandom is supposed to be fun#if you don't like seeing anything negative about marvel then ignore the posts#most of the meta i see is neutral it just doesn't praise the movie for stuff it didn't do :/#feel free to send another anon in to argue or discuss anything i've said because i'm not trying to say it's bad to like the film#like... it's completely fine to prefer the Ragnarok characterisation?? the entire tone of the movie is more comedic so consider that too#marvel messes up loads of characters and their arcs idk why everyone likes to argue when people say loki was changed too#i think it might ACTUALLY be a case of ''i liked the thing so it's objectively good so don't say anything bad about it'' for a lot of fans#a lot of people know the character is different and still love/prefer the ragnarok loki#seriously everyything is fine no one is saying dont like the thing#no one is insulting you personally for deciding people who were abused/traumatised need to 'grow up'#it's about how Ragnarok acted as a standalone rather than something that was inherited as continued part of an established universe#and how that kinda maybe obliterated a lot of old stuff to recreate the characters#truly fitting for a movie named Ragnarok#i think I get why they called it that despite the limited links to mythology now
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mysticalmayhem1930 · 2 years
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A Tale of Two Weddings: An Asgardian Affair
A Loki x Eva story
Part Two of Loki’s Dragon
>>Part Six<<
A/N I don’t own any of the Marvel characters. Just my own creations. This was originally posted in Wattpad. But I rewrote the parts as I transferred them, so there are some differences.
Summary: Loki helps Eva while they take a walk
Pairing: I originally wrote this as Loki x Eva but it can be read as Loki x Reader if you desire.
Link to previous chapter
Link to next chapter
Link to Masterlist
Credit to artist
Overall Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Angst, Adult Language
>>>18+ ONLY<<
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"I will assist you only to make sure you don't fall." Loki said
She looked at the fresh clothes. And began to move slowly. Looking at him with her best "puppy dog" eyes, hoping he would take pity on her.
"Nope, not going to work, you need to do this yourself. And I know you won't back down from a challenge. So get dressed my love." He said cupping her face in his hand. "When you are done I will bribe you with a surprise."
Smiling she slowly began changing her clothes. After what felt like an hour she had changed into the loose pants and the wrap style top he carefully picked out for her. Loki walked up to her as she was still standing and undid the loose knot she had made, adjusting the top on her and tied it more securely for her. His blue fingers reached her face and tilted her head back and kissed her deeply with his cool lips. “Mmmm I’ve missed your touch my love, can’t we work other muscles instead of my legs?” She raised her eyebrows.
"As much as I would like to indulge you, I think going for a short walk, would be best, beautiful."
He held out his arm for her. Gratefully she looped her arm into his. "Don't let anything you hear from others bother you they are just ignorant. You are perfect the way you are, scars, limp, shuffling and all. If it wouldn't anger Odin to no end I would go out like this..." he put the glamour back on. "Shall we?"
"Yes my sweet prince" they walked down the hall slowly, Loki smiling and encouraging her along the way. Eva became very self conscious when they encountered stares from others in the halls. She especially did not like the whispers that followed
“Why is Prince Loki with HER”
“Ugh did you see the scars on her arms, and face how unladylike”
“He could do so much better, with his striking good looks.”
“Prince Loki deserves someone better than her, she’s weird with those wings, short… don’t forget plain looking, and fat”
When they reached the gardens she asked to sit for awhile. He led her to their fountain and smiled as she sat. He squatted in front of her holding her hands in his "You did great, honestly I didn't think we would make it this far so soon!" Kissing her gently. “I know you heard what was said while we walked, and I apologize for their words, inhabitants of the palace should know better than to talk like that. It hurts me to hear those things said about you. You are none of those things.” He tried to make her smile.
"With the right encouragement, and using others negativity I guess I can still do things people think I can't.  Thank you my love.  I am truly blessed to have you as my fiancé." She kissed him back.  They talked for a while while she rested. "You know it's nice to finally get out of our room... wow there's something I never thought I'd say."  She said laughing. Loki had moved to take a seat next to her. "You know it bothers me the way these people look at me, and are saying such wonderful things that they think I can't hear. Now I understand how none of them ever saw you as the amazing man I know and love until a mere mortal fell for a god."
"You mean a god fell for a mere mortal..." he interrupted laughing. "I wouldn't have you any other way, as I have said I love the scars it helps to tell your story. And if it were Thor with the scars they would be going on about how manly it made him look...such a ridiculous double standard. You ready for more walking?"
"Sure"
Loki stood and again offered her his arm. She struggled to get up, but was overly happy when she did. Again slipping her arm into his they walked some more of the grounds and back into the palace. He guided her to the ballroom.
"What are we doing here?
"I'm going to tech you some waltzes. We will need to do them at the reception here...."
"Uuuuggghhhh." She groaned "I suck at dancing."
"No you don't, I've danced with you before, you just need some confidence, and that's why we are here. Again just follow my lead..."
"Sure" she interrupted "just do what you do backwards and probably in heels... yeah that's easy..."kissing her to silence her, he continued.
"As I was saying, follow my lead I'll go slow and talk you through it. Now put your hand on my shoulder, and allow me to take your hand." He smiled. She began to lift her arm and felt a sudden shock of pain from her shoulder to her finger tips.
"Shit, can you tech me on your knees? I don't think I can reach your shoulder yet."
"Ok I'll let the curse slide as that looked painful, I'm sorry darling…And you want me on my knees? Are you a goddess and didn't tell me? I get on my knees for no one...." He kneeled and looked up at her "..but my princess. And just this once. We have to work on your arms to get back the flexibility."
Laughing she took his hand and put hers on his shoulder. Funny enough he was just a few inches shorter than her like this. Looking up at her he smiled and hugged her waist putting his head on her chest. "Ok as cute as this must be for anyone opening the door, how about you just put your hand on my chest and I'll keep your other arm at the same level, so you can be more comfortable." Standing up he gently took her hand as he did he ran his thumb over some of the scars, as she put her other hand on his chest "Ok so if anyone is watching please no laughing as I present a fawn on ice" he laughed
"Not funny Loki." She stifled a giggle.
"See you're relaxing and that's helpful, I like dancing because I'm in charge, if you submit to my lead and don't fight it, we can do things like..." he led her into a complicated turn "this. Now relax and let the music take your body..." he twirled her and ended with a dip. Where he kissed her neck and chest. "See it wasn't that hard, you are a quick learner."
"Thanks" she said out of breath,"although if you keep kissing me like that we may need to go somewhere else. I do need a break that took a lot out of me. And I do have the best teacher in the nine realms."
He led her over to sit and squatted in front of he. He enjoyed looking into her eyes from her level. Loki just couldn't seem to wipe the smile from his face, he could not recall ever being so happy. "You make me very happy, I can't seem to stop smiling when you are around, by the gods I love you woman." He kissed her holding the back of her neck with his fingers tangled in her hair.
"Erm hmmm."
"Crap,"he mumbled under his breath "hello Mother, what brings you here?"
"A prince does not engage in public displays of affection, you know that my son."
"It's...just... I can't help myself when I am in her presence it's like a spell has come over me... and anyway we were just practicing a waltz for the wedding, and while doing well she needed a break. And the doors were closed so technically we weren't in public..."
"Don't go thinking I'll let you and your brilliant mind get away with a Thor level excuse. You could do better. Now Eva I see you are feeling better, though you do look exhausted."
"Thank you, yes I was feeling better and Loki thought a walk in fresh air would do me good. Then he tricked me and is currently trying to teach me how to dance properly."
"I  keep having to remind her that I AM THE GOD OF MISCHIEF!" He says dramatically while trying not to laugh.
"Loki, please stop it hurts to laugh." Eva says clutching her stomach laughing.
"Well I see that we are not being serious now, so I shall talk with you both later."
"My Queen, I am so sorry, it's just.. he... gods I love him. He makes me laugh when I shouldn't be, but I'm sorry if you wish, we can compose ourselves, and address why you were looking for us." Eva said wiping the last tear from her eye.
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Text
Rant about Marvel New Warriors
(spoiler they are shit - Ps. I know I'm late to this)
This is about to be long-
Since evryone is roasting the shit out of Marvel's New Warriors. (I'm late I know shut up) why not hop on the train of anger and give out my opinion.
First on the list is Screentime.
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Now I dont really have a problem with the design. It think that the green goes well with his backstory being all sciency and shit (which is the problem but I'll get onto that later) If we ignore the fact that they ripped off the ben10 colour palette I kinda like how he looks.
But oh boy the backstory.
"A Meme-Obsessed super teen whose brain became connected to the internet after becoming exposed to his grandfather’s “experimental internet gas.” Now he can see augmented reality and real-time maps, and can instantly Google any fact. Does this make him effectively a genius? He sure acts like it does."
Okay first of all. "Internet gas"? Wtf is that supposed to be. Also meme-obsessed just makes me think he would be a redditor making him very fucking annoying.
Now his powers I think are shit. He's always connected to the internet? Couldn't the others just get out their phones and do exactly the same. (Maybe like 10 seconds slower since it takes time to open your phone)
I think it would be cool to see him do more than look up "how to beat up bad guys" on wikihow. Maybe make him control other computers or phones. And he could possibly teleport using electronics.
Alright that's screentime on to the next mistake.
Second is Trailblazer
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Her design is... Uhh. Acceptable. In my opinion the costumes are a bit too colourful. It reminds me of those girls who put on different socks and walk around saying how qUiRKy they are.
Now uh backstory/description (idk why i have been calling it backstory all this time tbh) it's definitely better than Screentime. But still. Bad.
"A regular kid scooped up into the world of teenage Super Heroing. Her “magic backpack” is actually a pocket dimension with seemingly infinite space, from which she can pull out useful or random objects—it’s not always under her control. She claims to get her power from god, but “not the god you’re thinking of.”"
So uh. Dora?
I like how they made it sound more interesting saying that she never knows what she'll get. But the thing I want to know is what if someone gets her backpack. It's not hard to take a backpack from someone tbh. Is it glued to her back? Or can she like leave it in school and forget about it? "A regular kid scooped up into the world of teenage Super Heroing." This makes me think that she didn't chose to have her powers. Which i can understand. But it's a fucking backpack.
If it's not connected to her and someone takes it SHE WILL BE FUCKING POWERLESS?!
Alright. That's that. On to the next one.
B-negative. Uh-
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Alright the name is clever I'll give them that.
But the design. Ughhh. Again. The oversaturated colours they used. I personally dont like the use of bright pink. They could have used dark red instead. Red symbolizes blood, death, anger and the pink doesn't make me think about that sort of stuff. It clashes with his dark edgy design and face. Other than the fact he looks straight out of a Twilight edgy fanfic.
"A teen “living vampire” exposed to Michael Morbius’s blood as a child in a rogue, but life-saving medical procedure. He still ages like a regular kid, but has all the abilities of Morbius. He’s also obsessed with all the music and attitude of a “classic” long-past decades like the '90s, and the '00s. “The world is a vampire…and so am I.”"
I don't really have anything to say to this. It's just once again marvel trying to relate to the youth. Tbh his description. As crazy as it sounds. Is the one I have the least problems with.
Alright now to the one people hated the most.
This thing-
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A lot. And i mean. A LOT of people have criticised and even took the time to redesign the characters. And yea. They are shit. I'm not going to take the time to redesign them myself because I don't have that kind of time at the moment. (Maybe I'll make another post where I remake them myself. But idk)
Now my biggest problem with the design is the fact they are twins. TWINS WHO ARE FROM THE OPPOSITE SEX SHOULDN'T BE IDENTICAL TWINS. That is literally impossible. Also they kinda remind me of the characters from that online game everyone was obsessed with called 'Fireboy and Watergirl'. Don't know if anyone remembers that.
Their costumes are hideous. Again the vibrant colours are giving me a goddamn seizure. The whole idea of those characters is for Snowflake to be the more self assured and most likely to beat you up for being a bit racist to Twitter. And for Safespace to be this big soft dude who looks though but is actually an angel when you get to know him.
But looking at them I do don't get those vibes. I think they should have made Snowflake look more sassy and wear like a coat to be more mysterious and shit. And for Safespace to have more fur and armour (he can create shields for other but not for himself so he should have atleast some other type of protection) I think having like fur on his jacket would give off a more 'soft uwu boi' vibe.
I'm not going to shit on their description because to be honest. Everyone already has. And this has become way too long for a normal post. I hope ya'll enjoyed it. If you took the time to read me ranting about some weird fictional characters I really appreciate that.
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recentanimenews · 6 years
Text
What My Hero Academia Gets About Superheroes that Western Comics Don't
In Western comics, superheroes are the exception instead of the rule. Special individuals work outside the law, going after villains the regular police force couldn’t possibly handle. Many times, they keep to the shadows, or at least keep a low profile, and often act without much regard for the damage they might do in the pursuit of their world-threatening foes. But in My Hero Academia, there’s no secrecy. Hero is just another job description. Everyone can be one—and if you are one, you most likely went to school for it.
My Hero Academia was inspired by this world of caped crusaders, but the universe of All Might and UA is different from anything seen in the Marvel or DC universes. And yes, I’m including X-Men: Academy X. Just because there is a school for gifted students doesn’t mean society has adapted to include superheroes on the day-to-day level. There’s a reason Xavier’s School for Gifted Students is a secret, private institution. But in My Hero Academia, instead of having superheroes be exceptional, it makes them the norm. Society as a whole is shaped around the assumption that people have superpowers, rather than only a few exceptional aliens, clumsy scientists, lifelong acrobats, and rich men with impressive R&D departments.
Every part of being a superhero is normalized in My Hero Academia. Classes assume superpowers and teach how to hone them into super moves. Being a top hero is a perfectly reasonable dream job. Firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders are people with superpowers suited to rescue and damage reduction, while “normal” superheroes need licenses to operate as a hero in the first place.
Basically, this society has police with superpowers and a super-powered force authorized to act like the police. There’s no vigilante justice because the would-be vigilantes have the legal authority to act, and if they don’t have the legal authority to act they’re shut down by the super-powered police. We see this with Stain, one arc’s main enemy. Of all the characters, Stain hews the closest to a traditional western superhero. He is a vigilante because he takes righting wrongs (or what he sees as wrongs) into his own hands.
Continuing the theme of vigilantism, this arc also features members of Class 1-A getting officially reprimanded by the police for intervening without a license.  In spite of saving lives, the law comes down hard on their actions. This is because any legitimacy the superheroes get is from their license. The license isn’t just the go-ahead to use powers in a lifesaving manner, it’s a banner of recognition which says “I can be trusted to intervene here safely.”  
The system only works when superheroes get the same implicit trust as other lifesaving professionals, and like those professionals they must be licensed and trained to respond calmly and effectively in crisis situations. High school students are neither, no matter how well intentioned. So the anime makes an important point—a point that many Western superhero comics often fumble badly—that vigilantism is almost always a terrible idea. The romantic idea of a special person righting wrongs that the system ignored or perpetrates almost always falls apart upon exposure to the complexity of real-life society and the fallibility of the people who decide that they are the arbiter of justice, as is the case with Stain.
  Importantly, My Hero Academia doesn't shy away from acknowledging this in its treatment of All Might. As the Symbol of Peace, All Might ties with Stain as the most "Western" of the heroes in the series. All Might is an icon, a source of inspiration, and makes himself special in a sea of superheroes. Like Deku, he has an origin story in receiving One For All. But All Might takes a drastically different path than one Superman might fly: He passes on his power and then is forced to retire due to his own injuries. He might be an icon, but the Number One Hero isn't infallible and had to hang up his cape.
Meanwhile, back in the western comics that My Hero Academia draws from, superheroes almost always operate either as unsanctioned vigilantes or as unofficial, deniable allies of the government. Getting caught by regular law enforcement is a quick trip to a long, long jail sentence, as even if they’re doing good they are breaking a staggering number of laws. Because of this, and because the caped crusaders of the comic shop are explicitly exceptional, the comics often focus on why our hero is different from you, the reader. This establishes why the hero exists in their world—how they got their superpowers—and also justifies adding another superhero to the comics world in the real one.
As a result, superhero origin stories are the bread and butter of western comics, as any trip to the movie theater in the last decade or so could show you. Every hero has some pivotal moment in their life when they awaken to their responsibility: the death of their parents, the bite of a radioactive spider, a rocket crash as they flee a dying world.
In My Hero Academia, a superhero’s origin story is in many ways passing an entrance exam. Of course, the motivations behind each student at the school vary and their reasons for wanting to be a superhero are fascinating looks into their personalities, but they don’t have a singular origin moment when they knew they were going to be a superhero. They just grew up in a world where superheroes existed and being one is a valid career path, and they knew what schools to try to get into to become one. Their origin story is genetics, at least when it comes to their powers (Deku excluded, obviously).
This is honestly a brilliant approach to the world of superheroes. Instead of putting all the weight of a character into their origin—the whys and whats that pushed them to don the cap—characters are forced to ask themselves over and over again why they should be a hero. It isn’t a matter of responsibility, as there’s an entire planet of people with powers out there. Different quirks are more suited to heroics, of course, but possessing a powerful quirk doesn’t make a powerful hero by default. Heroes in My Hero Academia have to choose, over and over again, to be a hero. They have to weigh the pros and cons, and are allowed to have utterly banal reasons for wanting to become a hero.
Because of all of this, My Hero Academia is not only a love letter to Western comics, but also an implicit critique of their negative and cynical depictions of society.  It keeps the ideas of self-sacrifice, upholding justice, and protecting the weak and downtrodden. But with the general availability of powers and the licensing system, it posits that you don’t need to be exceptional or better than everyone else to become a hero. You can make a difference in society if you do it the right way. So long as you work hard and do it for the right reasons, My Hero Academia says that you can be the hero you always dreamed of becoming—no dramatic origin story required.
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Jeni Hackett is a features writer for Crunchyroll, very rarely blogs at Allons-y Jeni, and is always posting nonsense about anime, science, and more on Twitter @allonsyjeni. 
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