#just on a lesser scale and with actually endearing characters

[biot08]

FFXIV Character Sheet

with love given to @bluespiritfire (original here!)

Name: Zoissette Vauban / Zo

Age: High 30s

Pronouns: She/her

Birthdate: I forget, but it’s on her in-game paper doll

~~PLACE OF ORIGIN~~ Race: Ishgardian Wildwood Elezen Hometown/city: Ishgard Current residence/popular haunt: Work for the Maelstrom, so has barracks space in Limsa Lominsa. Works for Gage Acquisitions, so sometimes crashes on the couch at their HQ in the Goblet. Her parents still live in Ishgard, and so she can also couch-crash there

~~APPEARANCE~~ Eyes: Brown Hair: Black with purple highlights Hair type: Straight and thinnish Hair style: Short undercut Body type: Athletic, the wiry kind; muscles of steel cable Height: Tall Skin: Light brown Facial features: Nothing notable Body features: Shortish ears for an Elezen

Favourite/commonly used clothes: That beautiful skirt and jacket combo that Tataru made for her when she is being casual. The heavier dark jacket and sabatons that Tataru made when she has serious business knight work to do.

~~SKILLS~~ DoL/DoH Dabbles in the entire list of DoL/DoH skills for self-sustainability purposes, but has no real talent for any of it

~~COMBAT~~ Main discipline Gladiator/Paladin (she will never refer to herself as a Paladin; her training is that of an Ishgardian knight); her other main discipline is arcanist/scholar

Secondary/Tertiary/Extra Classes Red mage and machinist (in-game, she also has NIN, but that’s more because I like the class and less because it’s appropriate for the character)

Fighting style She shifts between hard-and fast and defensive/protective as a knight. She appears reckless to the inexperienced, but she very much knows what she is doing. As a scholar, she is tactical, and very wait-watch-and-see.

Any difficulties with magical/physical disciplines? Red mage is the only magical discipline she is extremely good at, because it relies heavily on her physicality (channeling with precise rapier work) and on her personal mana pool. She is awful at drawing in external aether. Her magics as a scholar also lean heavily on her ability to work with the summoned fairy construct to do the bulk of the aether work while she performs the necessary manipulations and calculations. As a result, she was merely a middling arcanist, but is a very good scholar.

~~PERSONALITY TRAITS~~ Analytical, cunning, curious. She can be impulsive, but it is not because she is not considering the consequences, but often because she is very interested in what they will actually be. She is very self-assured in general.

~~LIKES~~ Environment: A warm home with a warm fire. She does find Ul’dah’s dry environment endearing after the snowscapes of Coerthas post-calamity. She tolerates Limsa. Weather: Warm days Flavours: Nuts greens meats and fruits Textures: Cotton or wool Favourite Dish: Meat pot pies of any sort. They can be well made, and that’s great. Or the can be mediocre, but easily portable and reheatable on the front lines, and that’s also great. Favourite Colour: Purple Favourite Sound: The utter silence of the soundscape during a lull on the front of the dragonsong war provides her with strong mixed feelings that have turned nostalgic. The way snow dampens sound and makes for a particular kind of quiet night is eerie, but dragons tend to be very loud; as a result, the eerieness was overridden by the knowledge of a promise of a good night’s rest Favourite Smell: Hot meat pie straight out of the hearth Favourite Place: The little fort outpost she was ‘in charge’ of and responsible for for a great deal of her adult life. She can’t go back, but she has fond memories of the place Favourite Holiday: The new ones they’re inventing celebrating the  end of the dragonsong war and the beginning of a new promise of peace

~~DISLIKES~~ Environment: Snowy environs. She’s had enough of that for several lifetimes. Weather: Snoooooow Flavours: Gamey. You get a lot of gamey meat on the front. Textures: Weirdly, finds silk to be entirely too slippery Least Favourite Dish: Ishgardian knight hardtack. It’ll feed you, but you’ll regret it the entire time. Least Favourite Colour: White, though she has no strong opinion here Least Favourite Sound: Bells. Too many alarm bells in her life. Least Favourite Smell: No strong opinions here Least Favourite Place: Coerthas. Even though her most favourite place is there Least Favourite Holiday: Doesn’t really have one, though she ignores several; this is less dislike and more apathy

~~HOBBIES~~ Reads voraciously, both for research and as a hobby. Finds working out invigorating. Does not skip leg day. Never saw a mountain that didn’t need someone to at least attempt to scale it. Pretty fond of fucking around (and often finds out, which is also fun)

~~RELATIONSHIPS~~ Parents/Legal Guardian/Parental Figure: Mother and father. While no longer Ishgardian nobility, the Inquisition merely stripped them of house titles and colours, but did not excommunicate them. They live in the repaired parts of Ishgard now, as commoners Siblings: Second oldest of seven Children: Nope Romantic: Single, about to be complicated (for tax and guild fee purposes) Friends: Picks up acquaintances easily enough, thanks to an easy going personality and willingness to just generally roll with things. Has few truly close friends, though, due to having a tendency to keep a bit of a distance. Loyal for life once past that point, though. Rivals/Enemies: No rivals, but there are definitely people among the noble families of Ishgard who she would count as enemies. Not enough to truly go after or do anything about, but people who she is, at best, cold towards if she ever has to interact with them. She gets on well with Alphinaud, as the two complement each other, his diplomacy making up for her lack of it, and her foresight making up for his frequent naivete. She snarks with Y’shtola and the two often banter like old maids. She merely has a working relationship with Thancred, but it’s not cold; it’s just not a close friendship, either. Tataru finds her vexing. Estinien and her have a deeply shared understanding that comes from both being front line participants in the dragonsong war. Krile and her do not understand one another, and tend to settle for just being cordial. She finds Urianger likeable, and gently needles him at times, and doesn’t always realise when he’s doing it back.

Any special gestures of affection they have with people in their life? She will, without fail, ask Lennier if he’s been working out, and will swoon when he performs physical feats (squats, pushups, etcetera) nearby.

~~HAVE DEALT WITH/IS DEALING WITH~~ Definitely has some PTSD. Also, her entire family has gone from lesser nobility to commoners with a status that, until recently, left a bad mark on their name (their status as a minor house was lost when the inquisition found evidence that some members of the family, cousins in relation to Zoissette, were hertetics). She keenly feels the disruption of life in Ishgard due to the end of the dragonsong war, but does not quite know how or what to feel about it.

How are they dealing with the most prominent of the above? How does it affect their in day-to-day life, if at all? She sleeps lightly and poorly and generally pretends she doesn’t have a problem

~~ODDS AND ENDS~~ Notable Weapons Not really. Any sword is still a chunk of metal made with lethal intent

Notable Mounts An Ishgardian raised Chocobo, of course, for the most part. If she is travelling into danger, the Magitek armor, while defanged, is still a walking tank. If she has to fly somewhere, the manacutter from the Ironworks is just plain fun to fly

Notable Minion/s She has come to value Midgardsomr’s council and will travel with him as he is willing

Keepsakes/Mementos ... the Fortemps Shield.

Chronic Illnesses or Disabilities None

Education Level The same schooling most Ishgaridan noble family knights get to enjoy. She did a lot of self-study, because she found it interesting, but it was also part of a continuous bid to try to be accepted in the astrologian guild; however, due to House politics, she was never accepted. Fortunately, when she left home due to the situation after the inquisition investigation, the Limsa Lominsan arcanists were more than happy to take her on and guide her studies further. Generally her studies started with things she thought would be helpful for the war effort; history, strategy, logistics, and tactics. Since then she has dabbled in any of  dozen different subjects, learning few of them deeply, but being at least conversational in a great many of them

Habits I should probably come up with some!

#202109-05 #ffxivwrite2021 #character sheet #ffxiv #zoissette vauban

[muthaz-rapapa]

Sekai Seifuku Sakusen Wishlist

Hello people~

Say, does anyone still remember that figure line by Megahouse *retches* ?

Well, it was a short-lived series focused on, as the name (“World Uniform Operation”) suggests, showcasing female characters in their school uniforms.

To my knowledge, all of them were released as 1/10 scaled (eww). And the Precure seasons that had the privilege of getting figures...

Were Futari Wa, Fresh and Heartcatch.

Sailor Moon got theirs as well (the Inner Senshi + Naru) but they were very meh, imo. You were better off getting a more dynamic-looking prize figure at a significantly lesser cost.

Anyways, back to Precure. Not surprised about these three given their seasons’ popularity up to that point. But a shame because as of 2016, there hasn’t been announcement of any new figures. Which basically means, this line didn’t do well. Didn’t do well = the project is more or less cancelled.

On one hand, I’m sorta glad cuz the prices on these figures were ludicrous, especially when made at that scale and with Megahouse’s poor quality track record (I don’t even want to go into all that limited exclusivity bullshit). I bought Tsubomi and Itsuki and they seemed pretty alright. Still too much for a scale with such a simple design, though.

Then on the other, I can’t help but whine to myself a little cuz this is such a great concept. We rarely get merchandise of the Cures in their civilian forms and if they have there Cure alter-egos to go with them, it would be an awesome display on a collector’s shelf.

*SIGH* ...oh well.

That said...if there was a continuation for this series, then here’s my wishlist of the seasons + uniforms I want the most to least:

1) MahoPre - Nobody should be surprised that this is my first pick. MahoPre will always have a very deep, very special place in my heart and as far as uniforms go, the Magic Academy one is indeed my top favorite in all of Precure.

Because duh, it’s for magic school, not regular school, so the design had to match with that idea in mind. And it turned out so charming, didn’t it? I love the magenta/pink color scheme, the plaid bow, the mini sewn-on cape.

Definitely would want the witch hats and wands with them as well. Maybe even the brooms if someone’s feeling generous, enough? hehe :)

Dude, I should just open up my own figure company and make these myself.

2) Go!Pri - I wasn’t a fan of overalls growing up but my opinion of them has shifted to a more positive one recently thanks to seeing the latest fashion trends and Precure’s influence on me.

Really, the character designers draw the girls so cute in overall dresses that I can’t help but think it as well!

Anyways, it seems I have a penchant for academy uniforms or something. There’s a combination of cuteness and sophistication there that I find difficult to resist. Also, the purple undershirt is very fitting since they attend Royal Academy. Wish my school uniform was that nice-looking but alas, I didn’t go to an academy in the Precure world. :P

Anyways, I wouldn’t get all the girls from Go!Pri. Just Kirara and Towa who are my forever favorites. <3

I’ve also seen someone’s fanart of them as a pair (and Haruka + Minami as another pair) based on the Sekai Seifuku Sakusen concept so you can imagine the huge disappointment I felt when I knew Megahouse would never get to this season. *sobbing* 

3) KiraPre - As I said in another post, I’m not collecting KiraPre merchandise but the KiraPati uniform is to die for.

I know this breaks the trend of the line needing to be in “school uniforms” but KiraPre’s school uniforms aren’t anything to write home about. These, however, are much more adorable and therefore, more marketable. ;)

4) StarPre - SERAFUKU BISHOUJO SENSHI

For sure, since they both have space themes, it was only appropriate for StarPre to pay homage to Sailor Moon with having the Star girls wear serafuku.

I like the simplicity of it as well. Hehe~ ^^

And whether I would want everyone or not...it really depends on what kind of poses they’re in and if they can complement each other well.

Also, I suppose since Yuni never went to school, she’d just have a figure in her normal Blue Cat outfit which is fine, too.

5) SuitePre - Mm, yes, this one I’ve been waiting the longest for, despite the seasons listed before it on this list.

I wouldn’t say Suite’s uniform is the most unique but I do love the contrast of the overall cyan color with the magenta contours and bow. It’s a shade I don’t think I’ll ever see on another school uniform and even so, it’ll probably be hard to pull off nicely.

Suite managed to do it and I’m sure we can find tons of references to give the girls the perfect pose. So yea, I’d definitely consider the whole set as well if everyone can get a great sculpt and paint job.

As for Ako, she doesn’t have a school uniform so we can just put her in the same group as Aguri and Emiru and call it the Pipsqueak Elementary Squad.

6) HealPre - I love this uniform immensely for how neat and snug it looks. Not to mention, the dark green just makes it look very comfortable to wear overall. I know, maybe it’s just me being weird but it gives off a very calming effect.

And as Precure allows for more variations in clothing and accessories among the main cast, it would make for more interesting figures as well. Then you wouldn’t feel like you’re getting the same figure with only different heads and poses.

...and socks.

Would definitely love to have Nodoka. 

7) Hugtto - Pretty much the same reasoning as HealPre’s above.

In all honesty, there’s nothing that special about this uniform so the fact that the Hugtto girls could wear something of their own choice over it really brings out their characters more that way.

8) SmilePre - Also like Heal and Hugtto above but to a lesser extent, I guess.

Still, Smile is quite favored among Precure seasons so I’d think they sell well regardless.

This uniform isn’t half bad either. I’m not sure why because there’s not that huge of a resemblance but looking at their shoulders kinda reminds me of a military officer’s uniform, especially from the back. Just a little bit.

My pick would definitely be Reika in this pose specifically.

9) Splash Star - Let’s say for the record that I like all the Precure school uniforms (or just uniforms in general). So Splash Star should actually rank higher (around where Suite is) given its more unique design.

Hardly anyone else employs brown or plaid so this combination along with the sailor collar over the blazer (?)... I just think it makes Saki and Mai look very endearing. Hmm, yes, I approve! :D

However, this is a season I’m not familiar with so my demand for it is less than the others. But I do think they deserve to get their figures first. What with being the second Precure installment and all. shouldn’t that count for something?

10) Yes! 5 - Oh, I do love the Yes!5 girls.

But...they suffer from lack of variation the most out of all the other teams. Seriously, even in one set of of their casual clothes, they all own the same shirt albeit in their different, respective theme colors.

It’s...weird. But less so on a school uniform, I guess.

Anyways, pose and sculpt would be the trick here. Even though Yes! 5 does have its fair share of fans, with how old and poorly received both their seasons are, you’d be hardpressed to find a lot of collectors willing to shell out for figures of them. So there would have to be more effort in making them look exceptional to draw a crowd.

11) DokiPre - It’s hard to find everyone wearing their uniforms in the same shot and frankly, I think I can count all the times I’ve seen Alice wearing her own uniform (it’s this) on one hand??

I mean, does Alice even go to school with all the private tutelage she probably receives or is it just a formality? ...I dunno.

Whatever. I think this uniform looks nice and the girls look nice but it’s not as eye-catching than if they were to wear their casual clothes.

12) HaCha - Feel bad for putting this last because it certainly isn’t the worst of ‘em (none of them are) and I do quite like it (because there’s red and I like red).

It’s just...hmm, I dunno. I guess it’s because the top’s buttons sorta makes me think of a chef suit. It doesn’t bother me or anything but... it’s just the first thing I think of when I see it. ( ^ ^ ;)

*sigh* With how HaCha’s being treated in S.H. Figuarts department and its polarizing reception in the fandom in general, I doubt this would be a priority on many people’s wishlists. Still, it would be wonderful to see HaCha get even some love, y’know?

~~~~~

Yea.

My dreams aren’t that big but they’re long alright. :3

#precure #merchandise #collection ramblings

[captainignatiuspigheart]

When I first saw the Child at the end of the first episode in The Mandalorian I was delighted, and very possibly in love. Disney managed the incredible feat of keeping the world from revealing that a baby Yoda was the show’s star, or at least it did for those watching Disney+ in the US. Thankfully I’d been watching along too, otherwise I’d have been unable to avoid the spoilers in the months before it became available in the UK and elsewhere. I’m so glad I did!

One of the most intriguing aspects of having maintained this spoiler-free state is that for months there’s no official baby Yoda merch. This isn’t surprising as licensing tends to result in tonnes of leaked images and spoilers, particularly for LEGO. Right now we won’t get a proper LEGO version of the Child till September when he becomes available only in the £119.99 set of The Razor Crest. At 120 quid, that’s a bit steep for a baby Yoda. It’s an expensive set, even by LEGO Star Wars standards, at 12p per brick. The Razor Crest looks OK, but as with many Star Wars sets it’s a big grey lump and doesn’t excite me much. In the gaping absence of official baby Yodas (because a pluralised “the Childs” just sounds weird), China’s bootleg factories have gone into overdrive. Collecting them has become a slight obsession… 

Basic Childs (see, reads horribly.)

The first one popped up quickly on eBay, before, I think we had any sight of the future LEGO version. It’s a basic (and quickly done) repaint of the existing LEGO babies mould (fucking creepy things), with ears stuck on. It’s not terrible, and is quite cute. His “basicness” feels a little like something LEGO might actually do. The little mini capes flap around quite annoyingly till you press them down firmly. He was my first, so he feels kinda special… he cost £2.95 with a Mandalorian minifigure at the end of January.

Number two popped up a week later. The body is identical, as are the pair of capes, one rectangular on the front and a rounded version on the back. This time he’s got a rather nicely sculpted head, much like the official LEGO Yoda, but scaled down and up-cuted. He was a bargain at £1.65! With the immovable arms I figured he was pretty close to what we’d end up with. 

The Child #1

The Child #2

With Trash Baby for comparison

Yoda Evolution

If there was one thing missing, it was the iconic space pram that baby Yoda follows Mister Shiny Helmet around in. I’d been looking at a few ways to build one, but then was spared by China coming through once again.  Number three cost a bit more – the bank-breaking sum of £3.99, but finally came with his little carriage.  Along with the space pram came a complete re-design. This chap’s larger, more lime green, and waaaaay angrier-looking. Clearly tired of LEGO’s somewhat freaky babies, this little chap has moveable arms (and indeed hands that plug into the wrist holes like regular minifigures) with a nice scarf accessory. The pram is quite neatly done, if a bit loose in its fitting. There’s an antistud on the base and four studs inside to choose whether you want the lid to close when the child is inside or not. I think it’s rather good, and although he is very angry, I find him rather adorable. The pram is of course MASSIVE though, as you can see when hes hanging out with Mando. Note that the first pic with Mando below is the official Din Djarin figure, and the second is the newer bootleg version with shiny beskar armour.

The Child #3

Poseable!

OK components

Hello!

Sleep tight.

Then It Got… Hideous

At this point I lost all power to not buy these things. The next two that popped up showed up in mid April, just a few days after space pram boy. They were of somewhat lesser quality, but I was committed. First up, Child number three. He’s a repaint of the usual LEGO (knock-off mould) Yoda figure with mini-legs, and larger eyes literally coloured with marker pen, as far as I can tell, since they started rubbing off immediately. The head is also hard and spiky at the back, y’know, like Yoda’s… On the other hand, they’ve put some effort into the design, adding clothing patterns to all sides of the minifig body, legs and arms, which rather endears him to me more. This chap was the princely sum of £3.49!

And then this one happened. It looks OK at a distance, but close up or next to anything else and he’s a freak monster. This chap’s completely unarticulated, and he’s pretty much a single lump of horrifying plastic. But he does come with a mug, enabling him to empty his bone broth on the ground… Bizarrely for his outlandish size, he is still intended for LEGO system, four studs wide and three deep, allowing him to fit onto other plates with ease. Looks like he’s had a few too many plates of something. This monster was also £3.49, and I feel I’ve been repaid with nightmares.

Aaaaargh!

Kill it with fire

Wait, You Must, for Good Things There Are 

Just a week later (I know, I know, this is getting ridiculous), possibly the best little dude ever appeared! For £3.95 (someone on eBay’s definitely seen me coming…). This little guy gives me the same feeling I did when the Mandalorian rescued baby Yoda from the Empire: intense fuzziness. He’s a bit bigger, but they’ve done a lovely job moulding his head to be super-appealing. He’s a smarter construction too – a regular size minifigure body, albeit with little custom arms and hands that can’t hold anything, plugged into a neat, um, I don’t know what to call this… body socket? with a ruff on top. Size-wise he feels more like the usual LEGO difference between an adult and child character, with lots of very nice detailing. Goddamn, he’s adorable.    

The Child #6

In Semi-Conclusion…

Obviously number six is the best all-round, but how close are any of them to what LEGO has planned? Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. Clearly, he fits into the usual LEGO sizing and design scheme, and has lovely big eyes and cute face, but after seeing so many other versions, I’m not that into him. I’ll almost certainly pick up a copy of him split out from the Razor Crest set.

Official LEGO

The Child #2

The Child #6

You’ll be extremely unsurprised that I’ve got at least another two on the way… though they’re mostly for their space pram variants! I think the whole thing is a fascinating example of what happens when they’re a gap in licensing, and I’m oddly inspired by the resulting creativity.

I’ll do another post like this when I receive the others, and another one comparing the Mandolorian designs for Din Djarin himself. Do you have a favourite? Let me know!

Bootlego Baby Yodas – I’ve been obsessed with collecting knock-off versions of the Child, waiting for official The Mandalorian LEGO to come out! Showcase time (warning, some are hideous!) #LEGO #mando #thechild #mandalorian https://wp.me/pbprdx-8Ff When I first saw the Child at the end of the first episode in The Mandalorian 

#Baby Yoda #bootleg #Disney #knock-off #star wars #Star Wars Lego #the Child #the Mandalorian #Toys #Yoda

[paulisweeabootrash]

Book Review: Princess Holy Aura

An earlier version of this post was published on Facebook on April 30, 2018.

PAUL IS WEEABOO TRASH; or, Paul Reviews... A Book?!

Q: A book?  So, like, you're reviewing based on the first volume of a manga series or something?

A: No, a novel.

Q: A novel.

A: Yeah.

Q: Why not manga?  You have a problem with it?  Are you being snobby about what kinds of books are better than others?

A: No, not at all.  Manga is just another kind of literature.  I just felt like doing this novel because it's relevant to--

Q: How?  Oh!  Is it a novel that an anime is based on?  One of those outrageously-long light novel serieses?

A: No.

Q: A visual novel?  That seems like something you'd review.

A: No, it's a Western print novel, and there's no anime based on it.  But I swear it's relevant.

Q: Relevant...?  Hm.

A: Because it's--

Q: Is it something mentioned in an anime or something else you'd review?  Oh!  Is it "Hyperion"?

A: No.

Q: ..."Portrait of Markov"?

A: That's not a real book.

Q: Well what then?

A: It's a novel about a magical girl.

Q: Oh.  Huh.  Weird.  Proceed. -----

EPISODE 8: Princess Holy Aura (2017)

Princess Holy Aura by Ryk E. Spoor is a magical girl story for people who are familiar with the genre and find its absurdities at least as endearing as they are frustrating.  It's a sort of affectionate parody.  We follow the normal progression of certain famous magical girl anime — the mascot (a magic rat named Silvertail) giving our heroine her powers, the escalating danger of fights with an otherworldly enemy (an assortment of creatures derived from Japanese and American pop culture and folklore), meeting and bonding with a whole team of magical girls (the Apocalypse Maidens) — with some added twists and an awareness of the rules of the genre that allows the main character to succeed because of his ability to deconstruct what's going on.

The deconstruction is justified--

Q: Wait, did you say "his"?

A: Yes.  I'm getting to that.  And the pronouns are going to get confusing.

See, the reason Holy Aura is genre-savvy is that her secret identity is Stephen Russ, an impoverished thirtysomething otaku and Air Force veteran.  Chosen for his intense willingness to help others and his experience with the stresses of adult life, his knowledge of magical girl shows also turns out to gives him the preparation he needs to understand and anticipate his enemies.  Why?  Because, as I was going to say before, the deconstruction is justified by magic-users' beliefs about magic affecting how magic works — so it's susceptible to the magic-related memes of whatever culture(s) the current crop of Apocalypse Maidens are from.  This means Holy Aura and the other Apocalypse Maidens apply knowledge of various media conventions to figure out, and sometimes anticipate, their enemies.

The other four magical girls, for magical plot contrivance reasons, are actual teenage girls, so Stephen must go undercover as "Holly Owen", Holy Aura's eyeroll-inducing normal human girl form, to find and recruit them.  Stephen/Holly deals with the strangeness of abandoning his old life and adjusting to his role — not just physically, but because of how his status as small, young and female now drastically change how others interact with him.  This leads to one of my favorite things about the story: how it describes Stephen/Holly's adjustment.  Each Apocalypse Maiden is partially herself, but also a cumulative reincarnation of every previous version of the Maiden they are.  So Holly not only has Stephen's memories, but those of every previous person to become Princess Holy Aura, all of whom up to this point have apparently been actual teenage girls.  As Stephen adjusts to the radically different physical form of Holly, and the differences in treatment that come with it, he also finds himself feeling more and more "right", as if Holly is the "original" and Stephen the assumed persona.  This is true not only of acting like a high school girl but also true of her physical body.  Stephen's crisis of identity as he realizes he is becoming Holly to the point that his own male body becomes just plain disorienting to walk around in feels genuine and understandable.

The gradual shift from Stephen to Holly eventually leads to (sigh) an inevitable romantic subplot between Holly and another student, because the genre demands it.  But I actually like how uncomfortable this is for both Stephen and the reader.  At this point in the story, Stephen is in a truly alien and frightening situation.  Since Holly is not just a persona adopted by Stephen but has traces of the personalities and feelings of all people who have ever been Princess Holy Aura in the past, Stephen is more and more a passenger in Holly's body rather than the "driver".  Stephen is becoming subsumed into Holly, a brand new person born out of the combined experiences of many.  So of course Holly has feelings Stephen feels alarmed by and does things Stephen doesn't fully control, and the reader should be creeped out by contemplating what that would be like.

As the book goes on, however, its flaws also become more apparent.  Expository conversations (both between heroes and between villains) are an expected part of this genre, and given that there have been many iterations of the Apocalypse Maidens vs. Lovecraftian Aliens battle in the past to learn from there is at least an in-universe justification for them, but there are so. many. of. them.  Silvertail's advice in particular gets increasingly tiresome, sometimes feeling as if we're reading "Silvertail's Walkthrough Guide to Magical Girl-ing" instead of a novel, and he has far too many conveniently-helpful magical abilities despite his alleged weakness.  The premise also leaves itself vulnerable to an obvious in-universe problem, which it tries to address, but not convincingly.  For reasons to do with how magic works, the Apocalypse Maidens reveal themselves to their parents, and this includes them learning that Holly was previously Stephen.  As you might expect, this does not go over well.  Stephen is genuinely a nice guy, not a "Nice Guy", and attempts to get that message across, but the most convincing argument he can muster is basically "your daughters are safe around me because they could kill me easily if I tried to molest them even if I was in full Holy Aura mode", and worse, parents accepting the situation is explained mainly as a mixture of that reassurance and magic itself keeping the Maidens together.  There is, apparently, nothing Stephen can possibly say or do to reassure them he's not a sexual predator.  Maybe that's the point of those scenes?  It's unclear.

That takes us most of the way (and slightly out of order) through a broad overview of the plot, and I don't want to give any spoilers for the resolution (go read it yourself!).  Suffice it to say that it continues along a pretty much "first season of Sailor Moon" trajectory.  And of course, the whole book ends in a way that leaves it open to a second season-- er, I mean, sequel, but still definitely ends this particular story arc.  Exactly as you'd expect.  Exactly as it must, according to the memes controlling magic.

-----

[Classic] W/A/S Scores: 4(+extra) / 1 / 4

Weeb: This is very much a book by a geek for fellow geeks.  Although I previously said the Magical Girl genre does not have a high a barrier to entry in terms of general cultural knowledge, and although Princess Holy Aura also incorporates tropes and characters from, and makes references to, a great deal of American media, knowledge of both Japanese and American horror and fantasy tropes is really helpful to "get" what anyone is talking about.  Not only is it taken for granted that characters recognize the source material for what's going on, they also sometimes make leaps of logic that I have trouble following, and I don't know if that's a problem with the story or with my own background knowledge so that if I'd seen the right show(s) I would've caught on immediately.  Plenty of things are explicitly spelled out, especially in early conversations between Stephen and Silvertail, but familiarity with several magical girl shows or manga would probably be helpful if only to know more specifically what Stephen is talking about.  I'd rate this a 4 on the Weeb scale, but also at least a 4 on a scale of American Geek Media — knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft and recent internet lore, and to a lesser extent general knowledge of RPGs and major works of sci-fi and fantasy, are probably essential to not staring blankly going "what is this?"  Like certain interminable live-action shows I could name, it mashes together monsters from a variety of source materials with mixed results.

Ass: As if directly responding to common complaints about men writing women in inappropriately-sexualized and deeply-implausible ways, descriptions are actually descriptive rather than gratuitous, and Stephen-as-Holly really only talks about his/her own body in the context of getting used to it, and does so in less-sexualized terms than I've heard women I'm friends with use in moderately-polite company.  In fact, although Holly is understandably portrayed as having sexual feelings, Spoor rather aggressively avoids sexualizing her to the audience, which is an important distinction.

Shit: The whole "trust me, I'm not a pervert" interactions with the parents, some way-too-convenient things about the way magic works, and OH DEAR GOD THE EXPOSITION just end up making me go "is that really the best way you could think of to resolve that?".  Also, the Cthulhu mythos seems shoehorned and incongruous.  It's not great, but it is entertaining and coherent, unlike some things I've reviewed so far, so I'll give it a middling score.  I still recommend it if you're in the target audience of "gigantic fucking geek", which, face it, you probably are if you read my reviews.

-----

Stray observations:

- The action scenes are described well enough that I can pretty much imagine how they'd go shot-by-shot in an anime.  Or maybe I've just seen enough anime to know what common shots Spoor is talking about.

- SLENDER MAN IS NYARLATHOTEP.  (This is barely a spoiler.  It takes about one page for the characters to make the connection.)

- If "Silvertail's Walkthrough Guide to Magical Girl-ing" were a real book, I would totally read it.  It would go on my shelf right next to Hate You Forever: How to Channel Your Rage Into Effective Supervillainy, which is also not that good but quite entertaining if you're the right flavor of geek (which, again, you probably are if you read my reviews).

#weeaboo trash #book review #princess holy aura

[astroellipse]

guess :)

it’s ffxiv. of course it is. you can go now.

anyways. i created a new character and am waiting to queue for Castrum Meridianum and of course eventually Praetorium so I have plenty of time to write :)

I made an alt for a few reasons. First and foremost is trying to make better sense of ARR, since they were so so bad at explaining things. Also to try and figure out why people liked HW as much as they did. And just to replay SB and ShB because I Like Them :). Second reason is talking to all the side characters between quests, since I didn’t do that until... SB? ShB? Can’t remember. Third reason is because I wanted to make a short guy so I can play around with male armor and see what it feels like to not have some ridiculous scaling. He’s a midlander hyuy and originally he was made just to see if it was possible for there to be a hyur I don’t immediately hate, and it worked! Apparently the problem was it feels like every single person uses face option 1, including plenty of NPCs (Ardbert :/), which... it just looks weird now. To me that’s Ardbert’s face. idk man. Also he’s my height to give myself a better scale of how tall everyone’s supposed to be. AND. he fits into my little personal narrative I have with Secret, my main, but I will not explain that right now. he fits into my favorite archetype of “funny little man”. will kill you with a smile but not in an edgy kind of way. i adore the voice option i gave him the laugh is great.

I think the issue I have with Hyurs, midlanders specifically (though I have separate issues with highlanders) is that they look so inexpressive. Their eyes look glassy. It’s weird. My alt has this problem too a bit but I at least like the shape of his eyes, and having small pupils remedies it just a little bit. Maybe it’s that the glare is so apparent in their eyes specifically?

oh thank god it finally popped. granted. there are many cutscenes in this one too I think. I will be able to write again soon.

I will get a pic of him eventually. For posterity. Currently he’s wearing incredibly bargain bin glam (relatively speaking, the MSQ is flooding me with gil), but it’s at least better than... idk the artifact armor. Not that Secret has much of anything impressive either... I’m not very good at glam :(. Her DRK set is fine though. that’s just a mishmash of dungeon/tomestone armor :/

Anyhow. Particularly the speaking to characters between quests part really got me. The Waking Sands massacre hit a lot harder now that I know who the people were that died... the Baldesion duo, Arenvald’s friends the Miqo’te and Elezen, that supposed previous Scion and the masked man who I never actually learned the identity of. ALSO!!! I didn’t even REALIZE Arenvald was around from the very beginning!!! I love getting to see his own little personal story here!! And that he didn’t die with the rest!!!!! Seeing him fail Noraxia... I forget if we see more of him later here. Like in the beginning of the Rising Stones. I have no memory of him from before he became relevant to the plot.

There. that miserable nightmare’s done, now onto the second one! This one’s only a... 28 minute wait... even longer than the last one... huh

Back to what I was saying. I think that instead of all this stupid padding and filler some of the quests should have been dedicated to endearing us to the rest of the Scions. Including the main cast. Like, they had the material. Some of them have mini stories they go through even. But the first time I played this I just could not bring myself to care about any of them. It’s only now that I see what the kind of characters they’re setting up for that I care about them. It’s fun to see them talk about things that get echoed later, if not doing some actual foreshadowing.

Speaking of foreshadowing. “... Rush blindly forward without concern for your health, and you will one day pay the price.” Haurchefant said this. I’m going to reach through my screen and throttle him. I’ve made sure to give him a headpat upon every parting. Minfilia’s also said some stuff that made me squint my eyes, but they were more along the lines of ideas that would be echoed later, like everyone being of a single race and nation being Not Good Actually, but how they could transcend those things to come together for a common cause anyhow. I think this was more in reference to what the Garleans intend to do with Eorzea, but... it’s also of course very much in line with the Ascians. More so, I think.

I’m also still not so clear on the game’s lore concerning the Ascians. I could have sworn the Crystals of Darkness were supposed to be what allowed Ascian souls to return to the in-between dimension, but in ARR they’re described as being what allows an Ascian to posses people. Also I thought they were only used by lesser Ascians? Was it the other way around?? I mean. Breaking Lahabrea’s crystal would have the same effect of him being vanquished and removed from Thancred in either case. but I’m still confused. Guess I’ll just have to wait until it’s brought up again which... I think is in ShB. the next big explanation anyways. :l

27 minutes in... what else is there to say? I guess it’s been funny playing at a sprout level again. There’ve been a few people I’ve seen around that I recognize. The amount of ridiculously edgy names is funny. This character is on Adamantoise, and the difference from Faerie is fairly pronounced. Less scantily clad bara men running around. Nobody like Meat Sweats the cat man. I’ve noticed more shitty looking elf men but that might just be me and my growing hatred for them, or... no, actually it’s because I started in Gridania this time. Yeah, it was all the weird elf racism that was going on. Why’s every bit of media gotta make the elves racist?

Thank god it finally popped. Was in the middle of writing a incessant about how long it’s been, too. 31 minutes!

Man it’s weird how much of a focus ARR puts on Cid like 2/3 of the way through. It’s like they forgot they were supposed to have a plot or something. And then Cid is just sort of Around afterwards.

Actually scratch that thought. This Prae run is hilarious. There’s s chicken person who keeps making terrible jokes and a lesbian couple who got left behind and one of which subsequently became very lost. I think it was the cowboy roe woman. This is infinitely more entertaining that CidNero drama. They aren’t even new I don’t think either had sprouts and the roe’s armor is the peace lover’s which is very new and from the Firmament I think? Man I was writing about their antics but it was just too much.

It’s over now, at least. Well, there’s a cutscene going on but whoooo caaaaareeesssss. Well. i do since I haven’t skipped it yet. But still. Can’t believe Gaius didn’t die here. Completely unfair. My guy got blown up.

Aaanyways that’s enough for now. Time for post-ARR stuff. Eugh.

#mmorpg hell

[crypticcrewof2]

THERE ARE NO LESSER DADS.

Seriously, no one talks about Brian, Mat, or Hugo. Like... ever. Not only are they precious, but they have unique appeal that makes their personality stand out just as much as the others.

Brian is the classic and outdoorsy dad. The man is thrilled about his daughter who is (in my educated opinion) an absolute doll. He's proud of her achievements like any good father would be, and he wants people to know how great he thinks she is. Which is admirable! He loves your typical dad things like fishing, lawn care, and he even has a garden. Classic dad shit. He's also a sweetheart who tries to impress you because he thinks youre cool. Adorable. 10/10 on the good daddy scale.

Mat is the artsy business dad. He's shy and introverted but tries so hard to still be friendly with people by hanging out which is super relatable. He's nervous but sweet and can be really calming when he's relaxed. He encourages you to try new things with him that he feels you'll enjoy and guess what? You do enjoy it. Not to mention he's talented! The man can play like 4 or 5 instruments, sing, and wrote his own music. Band puns are also a plus. 10/10 on the good daddy scale.

Hugo is both the brains and brawn. He enjoys literature of course, but I find it interesting that he enjoys wrestling as a form of acting, not exactly a sport. He's passionate about it, just like Damien is about the whole Victorian thing. Their routes were very similar, (they're just inverted. Damiens, "I enjoy this thing, but this is how I am at work" and then Hugos, "This is how I am at work, but I enjoy this thing.") so it always surprises me when people just kinda...glance over him. He's actually really shy about his intrests so it's endearing to see him talk about it with your character. 10/10 on the good daddy scale

#dream daddy #ddadds #hugo vega #mat sella #brian harding #joseph christiansen #damien bloodmarch #craig cahn #robert small

[stellatex]

Nine Questions I Need Teresa Giudice to Answer

Originally published February 9, 2016.

Today’s the day. Christmas all over again for Real Housewives of New Jersey fans. Teresa Giudice, who has mostly been laying low since her release from federal prison on December 23, is set to make the media rounds to promote her new book, starting tonight with what is undoubtedly a contractually-obligated appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Bravo’s resident trash-TV obsessed Machiavellian puppet master Andy Cohen. Tomorrow morning, she will appear on Good Morning America with actual journalist Amy Robach.

The Housewives conceit–catty women posing as wealthy, fighting over petty drama, a trope from the heady days of 80s prime time soaps that quite obviously influences Cohen’s work, and one which Gloria Steinem recently called “a minstrel show for women”–may be of waning interest now, ten years on from the premiere of the Real Housewives of Orange County. Certainly, RHONJ has taken a dark turn, first with the introduction of Teresa’s family members (without her prior knowledge), then with the failed Giudice bankruptcy and subsequent criminal investigation, trial, and conviction. It feels like the Housewives have run their course. Certainly, the newest installment, Real Housewives of Potomac, feels like a Potemkin village of a Potemkin village, complete with early 90s fiberboard kitchen cabinets.

I’ve been watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey since it premiered on May 12, 2009. I have seen every episode multiple times. I have watched every web exclusive available on Hulu and every behind-the-scenes video on the Bravo web site. I’ve watched every RHONJ cast appearance on Watch What Happens live. I’ve read all of Richard Lawson’s uhmazeing recaps on Gawker. I’ve followed Vicki Hyman’s meticulous reporting on the Giudices’ legal woes (she is truly doing God’s work covering this shitshow; reward her by giving a listen to her TV Hangover podcast). I’ve read all the forums (here’s one) and all the shady gossip blogs (but I’m not linking to them; you’re on your own). I have all of Teresa’s books, and even Melissa’s. I have corresponded privately with one of Teresa’s ghostwriters. I follow all of the RHONJ cast members, former cast members, friends of Housewives, and tangential friends and family on social media. I have a RHONJ Twitter list [now defunct, sorry]. I started and am admin for a Real Housewives Feminist Discussion Group on Facebook (invitation only, sorry).

I’m in deep.

I know as much about RHONJ as any viewer could possibly know. Sadly, I am somehow an expert on this show. The reasons I am obsessed with this show are personal and academic; cultural and escapist. That’s a whole other post. Or dissertation.

Point is, despite my better judgment, I love this show. I love it. I can’t fully explain it. I even love Teresa. I think she was the one who was “set up” in previous seasons, with producers and other cast members acting in unison to take advantage of her as a narcissistic simpleton, to amp up the drama. But that’s all for another post, too, and in the past at this point. The fact is Teresa–along with her four beautiful dorters–is and always has been the star of this show. People watched because she was good TV. She and Joe exhibited character flaws on the scale of a Greek tragedy, sure; but they were also hilarious. Hilariously inept, if caricaturishly stereotypical. Somehow strangely lovable, even though they were also criminally delusional. From the first episode, Teresa was flashing those hundred dollar bills, buying that gaudy furniture in cash, and we, the viewers, knew Something Was Up. It’s been a long, unspooling tale from then to now. In hindsight, viewers know that Joe and Teresa had already been living on fraudulently obtained money for years. Their crimes, according to court records, date back to at least 2004, five years before they appeared on America’s television screens.

To date, Teresa’s line has been that she was misled into “signing some papers” that she either didn’t read or didn’t understand (her story varies), either by Joe or by her accountants (!) or her lawyers (!). She’s played the role of innocent, “old school” Italian wife–the same role she’s played on RHONJ. Joe tried to take the fall for her in court and failed. Due to the Giudices’ decision to continue hiding assets right up until the sentencing, Judge Esther Salas rethought her original impulse of possibly giving Teresa only house arrest or probation, and instead sentenced her to 15 months in prison.

Teresa’s complicity in the crimes is not a matter of debate, though the extent of her participation is. Teresa pled guilty. She expressed remorse in court, presumably in an attempt to receive a lesser–or no–prison sentence. It is my opinion that she really believed the judge would take pity on her as a traditional mother of four beautiful dorters. The Giudices’ financial scams had been working for years, after all. She was famous. People loved her. She deserved and was well accustomed to her McMansion lifestyle. She was obviously not very financially astute. She was a good Italian wife who deferred to her husband. She was a good girl.

She thought wrong.

We can all read the indictment and draw our own conclusions. Now, Teresa is trying to make a comeback. According to Teresa [link lost], the Giudices have paid their court-ordered restitution and their mortgage is current. No mention is made of the $551,563 still owed to the IRS for unpaid taxes, nor the the creditors listed in their 2010 bankruptcy filing, totaling $13.4 million.

Based on the teaser clips already released by GMA, Teresa is continuing, in her obviously memorized, stilted, eye-blinking way, to hold on tight to her claims that she had no idea what she was doing, or signing. It has been my contention all along that this is probably what we would see from post-prison Teresa. I almost admire her dedication. The sheer hubris. The chutzpah. Too bad she hasn’t yet channeled all that white-knuckle stubbornness into anything more productive than unflinching denial of her multiple felonies, holding grudges against her own family members, and a devotion to flawless 24/7 drag queen makeup.

But I think she’s placed her bets on the wrong horse and fundamentally misunderstands her fame.

Despite everything, there are still viewers–myself included–who love watching Teresa. Who want her to come good. Who want to see some Goddamn Character Development. It seems like she’s going to keep pretending everything is okay, even though it very obviously is not, and that she will continue to deny her culpability in obtaining the millions of dollars of fraudulent loans that financed her over-the-top leopard-print lifestyle, the craven bankruptcy filing intended to wipe the slate clean, and the way she and her husband have financially ruined the many local business and small contractors whom they stiffed in the process.

So far, there has been zero accountability.

What Teresa doesn’t get here–and Teresa, as we know, doesn’t get a lot of things–is that the only remaining way to endear herself to the viewing, cookbook-buying public is through showing genuine remorse. She is being presented with yet another golden opportunity that she doesn’t really deserve in the form of this press tour for her perfectly timed, hastily-released biography. I don’t think she realizes that, without performing–convincingly–this type of epiphany for her ever-dwindling audience, her “career” as a Bravolebrity is over after this final fifteen minutes. It seems that I’m not the only one who thinks so; even her former co-writer, Heather MacLean, tried to explain this to her, to no avail.

Teresa needs chart a course that will keep her on TV and thus allow her to continue making the type of money she needs support herself and her children, especially in light of the fact that her husband is about to “go away” for at least three and a half years. Unlike others, I don’t blame her for capitalizing on her moment in the spotlight, and the prurient interest of the public, to hawk an autobiography and book a bunch of paid appearances. It’s the only legitimate way she has to earn an income, and certainly the only way to earn the type of money she needs to continue paying down those back taxes and massive debt (and I expect some lawsuits will be forthcoming from her many creditors).

But to make good, she needs to provide some real answers to some hard questions. No doubt Cohen will only lob only softball questions and make schoolboy jokes at her expense. He may ask a few tough questions tonight in the guise of “viewer Marge in Omaha on Twitter,” but his interest is in coddling his “star” and presenting a coherent narrative for RHONJ. In another timely moved that surprised no one (who was paying attention), Bravo announced yesterday that a seventh season of RHONJ will be on our screens “later this year.” Perhaps GMA’s Amy Robach will ask her some tougher questions. We’ll have to wait and see.

To my mind, there are certain things Teresa must address if she expects to return from federal prison and jump back into her role as Housewife.

So, in the spirit of Brian Moylan’s 98 Questions I Had During Last Night’s Interview With Joe and Teresa Giudice, here are the questions that I need Teresa Giudice to answer, presented in advance:

1. You said in your statement to the judge during sentencing that you “fully take responsibility” for your actions. You said, “It’s time for me to wake up… I will make this right no matter what it takes.” Why, immediately afterward, in your interview on Watch What Happens Live, did you backtrack and try to deflect blame to your husband while insisting things were just put before you to sign?

2. You claim to be “business savvy,” telling your husband on an episode of RHONJ, “Like, you know, that’s what I do now. I’m a businesswoman, so I’m thinking business.” You’ve touted your online businesses, your Fabellini drink line, your Milania hair care line, your success as a “New York Time [sic] best-selling author.” So how is it that you are also simultaneously claiming to be a clueless housewife who knows nothing of her own finances, including the assets from said businesses that you tried to hide during both your fraudulent bankruptcy and your sentencing?

3. If you are blaming your husband Joe for your ten-plus-years of financial fraud and the year you spent unjustly incarcerated in a federal prison, why are you still with him?

4. What would you say to the creditors, banks, and, most importantly, small business owners of New Jersey whom you and your husband fleeced to the tune of millions of dollars? Do you feel any obligation to repay these debts?

5. Explain this.

6. Why are you and your husband suing your bankruptcy attorney? Furthermore, do you not realize that, in doing so, you will be giving up your attorney-client privilege and opening yourselves up to a new investigation of your finances during the discovery process?

7. What are you going to do when Joe is deported?

8. You talk constantly about your love, love, love for your four beautiful dorters. Why did you put them in this position?

9. Why should viewers overlook your felonious criminal past and continue to support you by watching RHONJ or buying your books or products?

She’s taken to calling herself Teresa 2.0, and insisting that her time in the slammer transformed her into a zen-like superwoman who has her priorities straight. But we, the viewers, will be the judge and jury. Based on what we have seen to date, it appears that Teresa hasn’t learned a damn thing. I wish she would prove me wrong, but I don’t think she has it in her.

All images from the amazing T-Kyle.

#RHONJ

[serenagaywaterford]

1) "Is violent mob revenge the answer? (I honestly can’t make that determination.) Is violence sometimes the answer? Is war the only answer with totalitarian regimes?" Those are the kind of questions I had in mind actually. Obviously, I wouldn't expect any answers (bc those are up to the audience, not the series), but it would be interesting if they went there. Of course, these questions would fly over some people's heads (like you said), bc honestly? Said people approach THT like it's a

2) Disney-esque (/superhero) series (nothing wrong with them), where the totally good guys get to punch and kill the totally evil guys in the end, uwu. (If I'm being too much of a dick, just tell me and I'll tone it down a notch, lol.) Anyway, mob mentality aside, history proves that such regimes fall and rise the same way they have been created. Aka "Those who arrive with blood, fall with blood." Doesn't mean that we have to like it. I've mentioned before that I detest violence and I especially

3) believe that it has NO place in politics. I've been called naive for this, so there's that. Weirdly enough, I'm also the kind of person who thinks that equating ALL forms of violence is quite dangerous given that: i) threats/regimes like Gilead are inherently genocidal in their ambitions, ii) the scale of violence is not always the same, iii) every country (democratic or not) has its army and police and most people consider this kind of (controlled) violence perfectly valid, iv) there's

4) self-defense. Where I'm going with this? If a pro-Gilead person is threatened by an anti-Gilead one, the former has a choice: they can ask for a democratic trial (bc it's too late to apologize). Most likely, civilized/democratic people will listen to reason. (Well, unless we're talking about mobs... THEN, things get quite disturbing.) But if a person belongs to a group/minority targeted by Gilead, there's nothing they can do that will make pro-Gilead people happy... except die or get raped

5) for life. Anyway, I really could go on and on about this subject, but I think I'll stop here, bc it's quite complex. /// I was thinking about what you said concerning Fred and Serena's pre-Gilead relationship, and you know what? You're right. Their relationship would have fallen apart at some point, Gilead notwithstanding or not. Fred is two-faced and he sure af played us in S1. (Ngl, I used to think he was the lesser of the two evils.) But one doesn't become such an antipathetic monster at

6) a flip of the dime. The nasty parts were always there, but he concealed/controlled them. Maybe bc said parts wouldn't exactly make him endearing to others? Anyhow, your interpretation makes him quite the interesting antagonist/villain, so I'm rolling with it, lol.

---------

OMG. I think I’m in love with you?  PLEASE NEVER STOP BEING YOU. I don’t think you’re being a dick at all. I love it. Cos sometimes we just gotta call the BS like we see it?

“Of course, these questions would fly over some people's heads (like you said), bc honestly? Said people approach THT like it's a Disney-esque (/superhero) series (nothing wrong with them), where the totally good guys get to punch and kill the totally evil guys in the end, uwu.”

This is such a huge point. Cos I think there’s a very common trend of THT attempting to approach issues from various angles and try to show the complexity of it but then it going WHOOSH over so many viewers’ heads. Which never makes sense to me cos like, what’s the point in watching THT if you’re not considering it on multiple levels and trying to explore the issues? I don’t wanna point the blame in the general directions of particular shippers but I can’t help it, perhaps cos they’re just the most vocal in fandom, but it seems that the Disney-eqsque superhero tale is what they want, complete with EPIC HETERO ROMANCE!!! throughout. I’d say at least 50% of the responses are about Mr. Nicky (It goes up to 75-80% if we are actually shown his face). (And their concern is focused on the male romantic lead... YAWN.)

I would absolutely love THT to take the path of questioning mob mentality and the cycle of violence/victimization, etc. But it may be too much for even Hulu to want to tackle considering how black and white viewers seem to think. They are trying so HARD to present characters as shades of grey (Serena, being the main example. But June, Emily, Luke, Nick, etc. also) but instead of placing them along a spectrum it’s either DIE EVIL SCUM! or AMAZING CINNAMON ROLL CAN DO NO WRONG! I think the only one they complain about is June cos she’s not AS perfect as they’d like her to be. She makes some dumbass fucking decisions for sure. Sometimes I like that about her, especially how pre-Gilead June was not a super great person. She was just sorta... normal. (Other times I’m like, “JUNE YOU IDIOT WTF?!” lol but that’s fun too I guess.) If I made a scale myself, I’d probably put June fairly close to the centre, rather than on the far “good” end.

I always wondered this:

If June hadn’t been deemed a “fallen woman” and thus been allowed to stay as an Econowife, with Luke and Hannah, would she have done anything? Would she be as inspired to rebel and resist as she is? I’m not trying to shit on June at all, but I feel like it’s a question I’m curious about. A lot of people say they would be big heroes, but when really faced with the reality of living a sort of shitty life or risking that for an uncertain thing/death, most just choose to go along with it and hope it ends (especially hope that SOMEBODY else takes the risk to end it). Even good people. What do you think? 

(Aside: June being called a fallen woman is SUCH bullshit. She wasn’t cheating on anybody! LUKE was unfaithful, not her! Which is why I thought perhaps they missed a chance to address race. It could have influence on what Gilead deems “holy” marriages, and those they see as “sinful”. And a (even subtly) racist fascist state, would deffo see mixed marriage as a terrible thing. “Let’s get the fertile white woman knocked up with some white babies; no more of this mixed race babies!” Again, as we talked about before, it would limit Hannah’s storyline ofc, but I guess it wouldn’t HAVE to. She could be in a “lesser” household, instead of the rich fancy one she is.)

Sorry, those were some unplanned side rants!

I love how you described all the politics of that. It really is a fascinating thing to consider, especially how to deal with Gilead, both on an international scale, and just on smaller scales. War? Seems inevitable honestly. And clearly, Gilead is STILL fighting wars all over the continent. I honestly... you’re so right. It’s very complex and I’m not sure how detailed THT will go with that. They seem to be keeping things quite... superficial. They reference things every so often but there’s nothing solid to latch onto. It often reminds me of the Underpants Gnomes from South Park. 

phase 1: blow up congress

phase 2: ???

phase 3: establish fully-functional military fascist handmaid regime over entire continental US.

....so how to bring down Gilead then??? 

phase 1: burn down 3 house + angry handmaid steal babby back then let babby go to canada!!

phase 2: ???

phase 3: overthrow massive fascist military regime!!!!

So, we’ll see how they do it. I doubt we’re really going to get a lot of details about how everything works and maybe it’s just better that way cos it seems like the more they try to explain how Gilead stays working, it makes even less sense. And also, as much as this stuff is interesting, I really don’t wanna watch THT turn into like Zero Dark Thirty or some shit. It’s strongest when focused on the women’s experiences specifically.

“Fred is two-faced and he sure af played us in S1. (Ngl, I used to think he was the lesser of the two evils.)“

Same! It wasn’t until S2 that I started going “hmm” about Fred. I thought he wasn’t as evil as her. And when you go back and watch S1 knowing what he’s done in S2, tehre are hints and I got a weird vibe. Like... I dunno. I was randomly just rewatching that 2x11 scene where Fred and Serena are at the house and Fred is just so.... Yikes. His motives are so clear. And I tried to find examples of Fred’s humanity. I do believe we get glimpses of Serena’s, and she has capacity for kindness--in very specific circumstances but I couldn’t find a single scene of Fred where he does anything selfless, or without expecting some sort of gross sexual favour/ego stroke in return, or even kind. It’s all for his own gratification. And I am 1000% convinced he has some sort of pregnancy fetish. It doesn’t seem like he gives a shit about the actual baby, esp once its born. He’s more interested in June’s bodily changes (not the actual baby) when she’s pregnant, and her lactation afterwards. And I may not know much about the world of fetishes but I do know that’s not exactly a rare one for men. 

I think an argument against me would be the car convo about creating the Ceremony cos Fred kind of just went along with it and was on the fence. But then I think... it’s not that he was against it at all. He just didn’t think women would like it. It was never, “Nah, mate, that’s a step too far.” It was more like, “Cool idea, bros. But let’s rebrand it okay?” I mean, in the flashbacks, he did seem very proud of her, enamored, like you said. But part of me just can’t shake that, okay fair play that he probably did honestly love/respect her in some ways, but he also saw it as, “Yes, this plan is going just the way I want it!” I don’t feel like power corrupts THAT much, that quickly that he’d go from perfect husband and lovingly gazing at his amazing wife to demeaning, repeatedly cheating on her, and beating the living shit out of her (and raping her) in a few years. Then again, extreme situations can make people change quite abruptly. Who knows.

I dunno. Maybe I just hate him and dont’ wanna give him any credit for being a human being in any way whatsoever lol. 

#rants and raves #so soz these are taking longer and l onger to respond. RL ya know! #Anonymous

[pregantheimlich]

Feedback to Fandom Followings Thoughts on Turf Wars

Article here: https://www.thefandomentals.com/legend-korra-turf-wars-grounding/

@lokgifsandmusings

Check out Fandom Following, their Game of Thrones reviews are life. On this article, I happened to disagree, so here is my play by play.

I’ll start by outlining my thoughts on Turf Wars: meh. The scope of the story seems like it has shrunken, and I cant imagine that any really significant character development or changes to the cannon will be introduced. The gay stuff is kind ill fitting, sure, but I am quite tickled and gratified to watch characters I’ve known for years interact with this material, and I finally feel like gayness exists in the Avatar verse. I mean, hearing that Aang canonically had an opinion on gayness.. Aang who I grew up with, whom I was almost of an age with once, has canonically acknowledged that gay people exist and is cool about it. Its’ weird-  in a good way, though honestly I feel like i’m reading fanfic.. Overall I’m underwhelmed with turf wars, just because I don’t think the story will be that ambitious or significant, honestly. Kyas gay history 101 was face palming fanficcy, anachronistic and misshapen... Now onto the article.

Something about the argument falls very flat to me. The central point is how sexism in the Avatar-verse isn't so bad, and thus homophobia cannot exist.... Almost like they are two different issues? I understand and agree with the fact that one of the roots of homophobia is heterosexism, but there is more to it than that.

''Our point is, women are just like…there in this universe. They’re not even treated any differently, barring the few exceptions we described above.''

Like, no... Strong women exist, yes. .. That doesn’t mean the universe isn't significantly sexist. The show has chosen to focus on these women, but that doesn’t mean all women have the same life experience... Look at our world, there have always been strong successful women, who rise to the top and make history...By that logic, the real world isn't significantly sexist and therefore institutionalized homophobia simply cant exist, why? Becuase there are strong women.. (???)

'''Any character who said something sexist got immediate, negative feedback, or was ignored, because that’s super weird of them. '''

Or its because they where talking to the protagonists, who are good people, and therefore don’t go along with sexist comments.

''What structural sexism could exist with this history? ((referring to how badass Kyoshi was))''

So your point is, that Kyoshi was an incredibly high status, messianic figure, and so that would make everyone respect all women everywhere? Like... Look at real life.There have been many prophetesses and women who start cults because people think they can perform miracles and the like, and women who rise high in religious establishments, and female saints... Has exposure to what are ostensibly powerful magical women been shown to change societal attitudes toward all women? Joan of Arc was a very forceful character, and she and her followers believed she could speak to God directly... Did this give the patriarchs of the day epiphanies about the intrinsic value of women?

'''But…there’s no societal dominance that men have over women in this world to be upheld, at least not on a broader scale. If there was, we couldn’t have had characters like Toph or Kuvira get the general reception that they did: full acceptance and respect.'''

????? No societal dominance??? How about arranged marriages? We know the monarchies of the Fire and Water nations did it, so I assume their nobility and the small folk follow suit, to a greater or lesser extent. And again, on the Toph and Kuvira point.. Exceptions don’t disprove the rule. High status women and gays don’t negate the power structures in society. 

'''Please, tell us how the concern over Korra not being accepted fits with the world we just described. Who would challenge her? Who would be stupid enough? And how would the potential for that feedback be great enough that she actually needs to navigate cautiously? What are she and Asami in danger of, exactly? Also if this had been such an issue, wouldn’t Asami have exhibited slightly less than the extreme thirst for Korra that we witnessed in Book 3?'''

Surely you understand that their fears (and the fears of real young queer people) are more complex than simply 'I’m afraid I will be literally murdered immediately'... It can be about worrying that people wont love you as much, or wont be able to look at you the same way, even if they don’t outright reject you. It can be feeling that you have let people down, by not having the romantic destiny they had hoped you would have. It can feel humiliating as if the knowledge of it will give people a a glimpse into what you like sexually. There can be issues about which partner is perceived to be the 'top' and which is the 'bottom' and the status differentiation that can be seen to entail. And remember, Korra had no inhibitions about telling people, it was Asami who was reticent. I've never been much of an Asami fangirl, but her anxiety over this rather endeared her to me. It makes sense: she was raised by a man who had very extreme prejudices against a minority group, and Asami seems to maintained free thought about that issue her whole upbringing, but knew to be secret about it. Secrecy and fear of discover over that probably became her modus operandi and recurred over the awakening of her feelings for Korra. Hiroshi was a public figure and must have imparted a sensitivity to reputation and public appearances to Asami. Asami was also bereft of her mother, which may have lead to complications about how she feels about and interacts with women. I think its very understandable that she is not 100% gung-ho about coming out. Also, I don’t understand how anyone can say their flirting was obvious... Grl, I remember how utterly scandalized 90% of the audience was with Korrasami.

'''That is why, in a general sense, homophobia cannot exist on an institutionalized level in this universe, and certainly not to a degree where the spiritual leader would feel unsafe being openly bisexual.'''

?????????? 'Unsafe'??? There are more dimensions to this than physical safety. Spiritual leaders don’t get a free pass form wider society  to do whatever they want without reproach. If you do believe that homophobia comes (almost) entirely form sexism, and you have acknowledged that there is at least some level of sexism in the universe then by your own reasoning there is room for some atmosphere of homophobia, or at least an atmosphere that is not super enlightened or welcoming to The Gays.

''Yet homophobia was introduced in this comic—more or less immediately after Korra and Asami returned to the “real world.” (As an aside, we’re really not fond of *that* particular messaging.)'''

This is a personal comment rather than the Well Reasoned Feedback of the rest of this response post but... That rings quite true in my experience.. When you are with someone, especially when things are new and uncertain, it is like entering another world, where the rules are different. When you come from a world where same sex attraction is absent or is seen as distasteful or just plain bad, and then you meet someone whom you fall in love with.. It can give rise to feelings of disassociation and other-worldliness. And then when the vacation is over, suddenly you are back in the real world, and suddenly the worries about what people will think come at you like a wall.

'''(Talking about Kyas gay history lesson) To put it bluntly, we find all of this incomprehensible given what we know from ATLA and LoK. Literally everything is backwards.'''

Yeah I agree on this one.

''The description of the Water Tribes is more confusing. We wonder if Mike remembered that the Water Tribe was you know…a tribe. Family units are almost always deemphasized in such society, and we know they were in the Southern Water Tribe during ATLA’s run, because we saw it. It was one village with everyone having a collective responsibility to one another.'''

Umm, 'family units de-emphasised''' like no, Marriage was central to the culture... The thing that established family units.

''Let’s start with the Fire Nation. We already explained that it was quite canonically egalitarian. '''

I think this is wishful thinking.... We're never explicitly told that male primogeniture is in effect but.. Look at this family tree...

 See any female Fire Lords (before Izumi)? Nope, all male. Did the firstborn happen to be male for 4 straight generations? Or is something else being implied? See how the women are not prominent, and most aren’t even warranted physical appearances. 

''Azula was treated incredibly seriously and respectfully by everyone she interacted with, be it the governor of New Ozai, or her ship’s captain. '''

Dude... She is literally the princess. The heir apparent to the throne....  And her being privileged and respected is ... evidence of egalitarianism???

''there was simply no indication that a ‘Fire Lord Azula’ would have been met with a single eye blink.''

Female heirs inherit the throne... This is kind of standard procedure for dynasties with no male heir... Not so rare in history.. And remember, Ozai did invent an even higher seat for himself: the Phoenix King' so Azula is still subservient.

''But any systemic sexism was gone by Ozai’s time given what we saw in ATLA, so… Was Ozai a wonderful feminist reformer for the Fire Nation’s military?''

 Sozin outlawed same-sex relationships, which apparently also implies he was sexist and against women in the military? These issues are linked, sure, but they aren’t the same issue.

''Are gay couples somehow targeted without women’s rights being an issue at all? We certainly can’t think of many examples in our world where this was the case.'''

???? Hmm, can we think of societies where the cause of women’s rights are more advanced than gay rights ??? Let me think about thisss... Hmmmmmmmmmmm. How about the entire western world, who have all but secured equal rights under the law for women, but have only just begun to examine how laws affect LGBT+ people... Of course, sexism isn't solved completely, even in the legal arena, but they are literally a hundred years  ahead of gay rights.  

''' He was trying to wage war on the biggest kingdom; he was seriously going to begin oppressing his own citizens, all of whom would probably take issue with his out-of-the-blue hyperfocus on gay couples? What, had he been scapegoating them for years, laying the groundwork? '''

Rulers with supremacist and imperialist ambitions begin by  fracturing, scapegoating and oppressing groups within their own country.. Yep, again this is quite true to life.. I don’t understand why this seems unrealistic to you, especially since you have noted the gestapo imagery... (Which I do agree is anachronistic and out of nowhere)).

''More to the point, if this shit was happening, there would be rioting! Civil Wars! ''

The gay 'community' has never existed as a unified mass ever in history before now. Homosexuality was a practice not an identity. People didn't think of themselves as gay, and didn't unite or think about their legal rights the way we do today... Even in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where tiny tiny groups where coalescing, there was never any alliances big enough or confident enough to form militias or rally the general population.

'''we refuse to believe that this wouldn’t have been an issue EVERY SINGLE AVATAR would have dealt with until it was fully rectified.'''

Just.. What?? Why should we assume that ANY avatar even significantly recognized homosexuality, and even if they did, why do we assume its on their priority list? This is so anachronistic.. We may as well wonder why any  Air Avatar didn't outlaw meat eating, or any lowborn avatar didn't invent marxism, or any female avatar would outlaw arranged marriages or male primogeniture. We seem to be assuming here that every avatar is a moral paragon and therefore is automatically a 2017 post-structuralist inter-sectional feminist, whose number 1 goal is to bring about liberal utopia, nad comes out of the box with enlightened understandings about homosexuality.

''we’re still left with the questions about feminist-reformer-Ozai, who went on to champion his own daughter (and a younger sibling to boot) as his successor, so…?'''

Well, Ozai himself was a younger sibling, remember, who thought he was more fit to rule because he was more psychopathic than his empathetic elder sibling, like Zuko and Azula.

''(Talking about Kyoshi) If there had somehow had been homophobia present on a large scale, we can’t imagine that Kyoshi, being queer herself, would have allowed this to continue. In fact, wouldn’t she have used the Dai Li to eradicate it, at least to the point where she could find acceptance?'''

It seems like although she practiced same sex relationships, she didn't add 'bisexual' to her identity. Quite probably the label didn't exist.. Like in real life, same sex relationships where seen as a sexual practice, not something you are or that you would publicly speak about, even if it wasn’t a super shameful secret. I dont think it implied that Kyoshi lived in shame.. She dosent seem the type to hung up on what people think of her at all. Kya just meant that people didn't acknowledge or understand that part of her. 

''but we have to imagine she’d be able to have influenced the laws and protections to at least have “found acceptance” and effect change. '''

I feel like your perspective is thoroughly couched in a modern day 'coming out' narrative and advocacy and reform culture... That said, it does seem that Mike wrote this from a perspective that is also jarringly modern, so maybe its appropriate to match him in that.

''There literally can’t be large-scale and widespread homophobia in a place with such an ineffectual centralized government. ''

Literally what. Like.. Think of any ineffectual centralized government in the entire world... Okay, now tell me, is the society it presides over homophobic? The answer is always yes no matter where you think of..

''The issue is that with a (mostly) closeted Kya, it means the Avatar-verse is actually worse than our own world. She’s like a celebrity (secluded acolytes with Air Nation blinders on excluded). She’s the daughter of one of the most famous people who ever lived, ever. ''

Why is this surprising? I don’t understand.. Like in the last 30 years in the west is the only time and place in history where public figures could come out and be like 'Yo guys I'm exclusively sexually and romantically attracted to people of the same sex as me, kthnxbye'. And even then, it has diminished careers and tarnished reputations...

''We’re expected to believe that Aang would have let his daughter feel unsafe to be herself? We’re expected to believe that Katara—KATARA—would have let such an injustice stand?'''

Well, Kya did say Aang was nothing but supportive.. But, even if your parents are great, you are still a tiny minority in a big wide world.. Shes almost 2 generations removed from Korra and Asami... It just feels very true to life and poignant for Kya to have gone through these issues. We know she was a drifter for much of her life, and has commitment issues. Indecision and internal conflict are very congruent with unease about sexual identity.

''On a Watsonian level, the implication of this portrayal (where Korra and Asami need to proceed with caution) is that this homophobia exists on an institutionalized level,''

You are continually looking for 'institutionalized' homophobia to explain why Korra and Asami have qualms about coming out. I would like to differentiate institutionalized homophobia from cultural homophobia. It doesn’t seem that explicitly anti-gay laws of governmental bodies are at play here, it seems more... interpersonal.. They are just fretting that people would treat them differently, or look at them differently, that’s all. And that’s quite understandable, considering it seems then neither of them knew they could be attracted to women before this relationship. It has changed how they see themselves.

''.....Toph or Azula or Mai or Lin or Suyin or Kuvira can’t really exist, at least not without getting a ton of gendered feedback all the time.''

#stop #the #conflation #of #sexism #and #homophobia. They are not separate but they are not the same. Any society at any time can provide examples of individual women being prominent while the gays are still invisible or thrown under the buses.

'''Boy oh boy do we love thinking about our faves letting their daughter live in abject terror, and the shit Kya herself must have gone through!''

It is sad to think about... But.. the critical examination of Aang as a parent is kind of a running theme already isn’t it? He was supportive to her, and at some point people do become adults and their issues are their own, and cant be laid at the feet of their parents anymore.

''Especially given that Turf Wars suggests a worse world than our own with regards to homophobic feedback. You know…for kids!''

Does it? Lets recap how things went: girl tells parents she is dating another girl. Mom: cool dude.

 Dad: cool man, be careful.

 Korra: fuck you dad. 

Korra: *tells lesbain aunt*. 

Kya: samesies. it used to be bad but no bigs. 

Korra: *to friends* guys im ghey as frick

 Friends: cool dude. 

 That’s really the best scenario anyone could hope for today, isn't it?

'''The Kya conversation didn’t land for us, not just because it broke from the canon of the franchise, or because it began with a 60-year-old woman Korra and Asami are not particularly close to offering an uninvited remark about how beautiful of a couple they are (are we alone in thinking that this would be weird??), but because the entire premise of the conversation is a little cringe-worthy in our opinion.

First of all, Kya lives in the Southern Water Tribe with her mother. Yeah, she’s not glued there, and we know she’s helping with relief efforts at the evacuee camp, but our point is that a conscious decision was made to warp her to the United Republic, simply because “who else could offer gay advice but another gay?”''

Yeah same. It does feel that this was written by a heterosexual who doesnt quite understand what its like, though to be fair so does this article (burn). 

'''we have to assume the rather affluent Hiroshi Sato got his daughter education that included these basic lessons.''

Idk, minorities being cut out of the history we teach to young people rings true to life tbh.

___

Sorry, didn’t mean to be overly critical. I think I’m biased toward liking Turf Wars because of my own personal experience rather than any actual merit it has. I look forward to reading Fandom Followings thoughts on part 2.

#korra #lok #turf wars #turfwars #korra comics #korra comic #lok comic #legend of korra #lok turf wars #fandom following #ff #lokgifsandmusings #griffin #kylie #reiew #criticism #critical #feedback #article #response #response post