#my hot takes

[vampire-wizard-solidarity]

a lot of people have already pointed out how totk has a lot of themes of imperialism and generally leans conservative ideologically, but what i think is interesting is how totk subtly redefines what a “researcher” is.

zelda wants to be a researcher in botw, and what this means in the context of botw is largely someone who works with sheikah technology. she wants to figure out ancient sheikah tech, she has an interest in botany and otherwise nature and biology (the whole silent princess and the frog thing), robbie and purah, the two characters who are the closest to us seeing what a researcher in the context of botw is are basically inventors. in totk, however, the main researchers who are presented to us are all historians.

this is an interesting pivot, because in botw zelda is not really interested in history. if anything, the one who’s deeply concerned with history is rhoam, wanting to preserve historical tradition and his uncritical reliance on said tradition and historical precedent is what leads them to their doom. in botw, zelda is narratively opposed to history, if anything, all the ancient tech backfires on them and traditions fail to awaken zelda’s power. zelda’s urge to be a researcher is in wanting to understand the world around her, not just blindly follow ancient plans but rather have agency within them.

totk, however, is obsessed with ancient plans. the only real moment where zelda gets to geek out in totk is her getting all giddy about finding out more about the divine origins of hyrule. all the researchers in the game are concerned with finding out more about the zonai. since all the mentions of ancient sheikah technology are scrubbed from the game purah and robbie read more as strange outliers, the sheikah slate is no longer, now it’s the purah pad, a product of purah rather than something larger. the whole game is literally about following an ancient plan, a plan most characters don’t fully understand as they sign up for it. totk’s main story is built on confusion, on the characters not knowing what’s fully going on but having faith in ancient sages telling them what to do. in botw, following ancient plans you don’t fully understand was the thing that doomed you. in totk, following ancient plans you don’t fully understand is the gimmick.

that juxtaposition between the two games has an ideological through line: botw posits that progress is necessary. mindlessly relying on tradition doesn’t work. prophecies are omens, not instructions. history must be learnt from, not repeated. the ancient sheikah aren’t a group to be emulated, but rather to be learnt from, considering their machinery backfired and the royal family betrayed them. totk, however, is obsessed with the mythical history of hyrule, a time where everything was idyllic until one bad man showed up, a time we must emulate in order to win. i already talked about how the past in totk is zelda’s life pre calamity but better here, but that also plays into the idolisation of that era and its royalty. in botw, even the myth of the first calamity preserves the fact that the yiga clan has origins in the royal’s family persecution of the sheikah, even the time when they successfully held back the calamity is tinged with mistakes that still affect the world ten thousand years later. in totk, ganondorf’s origins are nebulous. nobody provoked him, nobody did anything wrong, he’s just evil because he is.

a lot of right wing ideologies are hinged on preservation, but more than that: the belief in the nebulous mythical past in which everything was better. “make america great again”, the fascist’s idolisation of ancient rome which is represented largely inaccurately, look at any conservative rhetoric and you’ll see people complaining about how things nowadays are ruined or are being ruined, how in the past things were this way and they’re not anymore, which is bad. the belief in the fact that in some past period we were great and are not anymore, and the strive to emulate that past is a trait highly typical of right wing ideologies. and in totk the past as a great era is an idea presented completely uncritically, the narrative is entirely controlled by the game and doesn’t dwell on any of the inconsistencies in this idea.

now, obviously, not every story in which a great ancient era exists is fascist, right wing or conservative. but to me what’s interesting specifically in totk is this shift between the two games: botw is critical of the past. it’s critical of arrogantly repeating history, it’s critical of having blind faith in great relics of the past. totk isn’t. totk idolizes the past, totk tells legends and tells you to believe them without any doubts. botw believes researchers are those who seek to understand the world, innovate it and solve problems without relying on ancient ways. totk believes researchers are those who discover ancient instructions, ancient ways and relay them to great men in the present to be followed. the four mainline regional quests in botw are about discovering four ancient relics that are terrorising the land and fixing the mistakes of the past. the four mainline regional quests in totk are about discovering four ancient legends are true, and receiving instructions from an ancient sage on what to do.

totk is not simply neutral, it is ideologically conservative in stark contrast to botw, because of the things it chooses to leave uncriticised, notably the things botw was very poignant about examining critically. the way totk redefines what is a researcher is indicative of this, indicative of the way it chooses to idolize or present as an unexamined good that which was nuanced in botw. totk isn’t just conservative in the sense that it presents uncritically a “good king” and “evil conquerer”, it goes deeper, it’s notable because botw was starkly opposed to the thematic axioms totk presents.

i just think it’s very interesting that they made a sequel to botw, and completely redefined or otherwise ignored botw’s thematic core.

#totk critical #loz #botw #totk #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #breath of the wild #meta #analysis #my hot takes

[lovemesomechenford]

I have this feeling Tim’s going to say “I love you” first and it’s going to be at the end of 5x13.

My theory why: Tim is going to find out the magnitude of Lucy’s actions and just how instrumental she was in getting him the new job in Metro… which lets be real is probably his dream job with the amount of high action teams involved to supervise. He’s not the kind of man/cop meant to be sitting at a desk job like Court Liaison. The man needs to be in the field and getting dirty with the troops. Tim’s going to be emotionally overwhelmed that she cared so much about his happiness and tried so hard to make this happen for him. He’s going to say it then cuz he can’t hold it back.

But then the other part of my nagging brain is saying Lucy might say it first because Tim would ask why she tried so hard to make this happen for him… and she’d say it’s because she loves him and wants to see him happy. That he deserved to do more than be sitting behind a crappy desk job all day.

#she fell first he fell harder #saying i love you #predictions #chenford #hopelessly in love #the rookie #my hot takes #tim bradford x lucy chen

[moonshinemagpie]

a mental wellness life hack:

when I first became disabled and didn't know how to cope with being in chronic pain every day, I clung to this kind of 'fake it 'til you make it' mindset. on my worst days, I would wear a bowtie in my hair because, like, life cannot be that bad if you are wearing a bow in your dang hair

I've taken that energy with me and tbh it's helped me through a lot, and at times has transformed into real sources of happiness. it's made room in my life for fun and sensuality where I otherwise wouldn't have sought it.

I decided to start a journal that is literally just about the tea I drink. Past-me would have considered that a waste of time because what is the point. Past-me would have catastrophized the very concept of a tea journal as an act that habitualizes and therefore encourages small and inconsequential, self-centered thinking.

But I started a tea journal this year because I feel like anyone who has time to drink tea and write about it must be doing kind of okay.

And it turns out I am, and I like my silly tea journal, and it turns out focusing your thoughts very precisely on a completely harmless topic each night is a great way of winding down and soothing anxiety.

If you feel like you're a wee bit drowning, maybe do a small, accessible thing you imagine is reserved only for people who are ridiculously high functioning and living paradisal, leisurely lives. You may find it does you good <3

#please note i said mental wellness and not mental health #im saying itll bring a bit of joy to your life not that it will cure depression #disability #disabled #my hot takes

[lazulibundtcake]

Aziraphale: That wiley old snake, always tempting me, always pushing my boundaries, I guess that's just what demons do. 😤

Crowley: I'm not tempting you, I'm just in love with you.

Aziraphale: Crowley is so nice, always doing good in spite of Hell, angelic of him, really. 🥺

Crowley: I'm nOT NIcE I'm just IN LOVE WITH YOU!

#ok maybe he is tempting him a little #and he is a little bit nice #but don't tell me he hasn't been walking that line for 6000 years #“no one's really keeping score anymore” #good omens #ineffable husbands #my hot takes

[karometeenk]

The greatest tragedy of our time is that the saw movies came out in the political climate of the 2000's. Jigsaw should be playing with oil and pharma execs instead of petty criminals, the mentally ill and a doctor who was once mildly rude to him.

#saw #my hot takes #i'm sorry i really want jigsaw to be a comrade instead of just a huge dick

[victorialovesstiles]

I think the best part about VegasPete is that I went into the show knowing that they were going to be a couple and yet when it started I was like - huh?? He’s ignoring Pete completely, THEY are a pairing?

And then Vegas was being a total asshole at every turn and I was like, yeah this guy sucks.

Fast forward to Vegas and his sadistic torture of Pete and I literally thought to myself, how can anyone possibly want these two to be together?

And then the show SOMEHOW had us, as the audience, falling for Vegas at the same pace as Pete.. I swear it was like all of a sudden I was rooting for him and I felt for him before I even knew it was happening.

And I think it’s because in the first half of the show nothing about Vegas is real. It’s a smokescreen, a constant mask of his own scheming and lies. Every move he makes is calculated and apathetic. But after his plans fall apart, NOTHING about him remains disingenuous.

Every facet of him becomes the truth, even if that truth is shrouded in an unbridled rage and projected abuse.

And most importantly - his self hatred is genuine and exposed, it’s not at all a means of gaining sympathy. He doesn’t care about that form of manipulation by this point in the show.

Suddenly this person whose character arc was cold, distant, and suspicious becomes the star of the most raw and cutting scenes of the show.

And so against our better judgement (and Pete’s)… we end up rooting for a person who made us sick at the very start.

It’s such a ride and I love it so much.

#vegaspete #now that’s how I like my character development #vegas kinnporsche #kinnporche the series #kinnporsche #shut up vi #my hot takes #kinnporsche spoilers

[sunandmoonseisai]

I'm all for "ship and let ship" but proshippers need to get off their high horses. You're not brave and anti-comformist because you're turned on by stuff most people find disgusting. Noone deserve harassment for fictional content, but it is healthy and normal to be put off by incest, rape and pedophilia/zoophilia. You're pushed to the underground of your fandom for a reason.

And antishippers need to understand that the content they hate will always exist no matter how much they harass creators and wish them dead. You can block account and tags for a reason, stop obsessing over things that make you unhappy. It's not healthy. You're making the fandom experience toxic for everyone.

And ffs, 3 years age gap isn't pedophilia, just because you interpret two unrelated characters as siblings doesn't mean everyone has to. Get some nuances.

#fandom discourse #proship #antiship #anti harrassment #the antishippers vs proshippers discourse is the most obnoxious shit #both sides are extremely out of touch and self righteous #rant post #my hot takes

[kirbyzworld]

period pads are so unserious like thats just a blood diaper 💀

SOO TRYE but they’re too comfy to be hated on

#kirbyzasks #my hot takes #pad #periods #what are these questions bro

[incorrectlumityquotes]

If your friend tells you that Amphibia told its story better than The Owl House, then that person is not your friend.

#the owl house #amphibia #the owl house > amphibia #my hot takes

[supernovadragoncat]

The stupidest, most illogical takes I’ve read all have one thing in common—they’re based on GOT, not ASOIAF.

As soon as people start squabbling over something that happened on the show, I’m out.

No, I don’t want to read a long-winded, half-baked meta about how one female character is a horrible, misogynistic bitch because she side-eyed another female character once in Season 8. Come talk to me when GRRM enshrines that in canon.

And no, the show is not canon. It’s a dude-bro wet dream AU subsidized by HBO’s massive budget.

Goodbye.

#my hot takes #i will not be taking any questions #on fandom

[vampire-wizard-solidarity]

i think the way totk references skyward sword only highlights the problems with totk and gets a little insulting at times.

this is mostly about ganondorf’s demon king form being highly reminiscent of demise. i get that it makes sense, since ganon’s power most likely comes from demise’s curse, so when it’s amplified it visually references that. that’s neat, and not an inherently bad idea, even a good one in some aspects.

however, all it does for me is highlight just how much of a non character ganondorf is. demise is, to an extent, also a non character: he isn’t deep nor extensively fleshed out, but the thing is, not all characters have to be. and him, he works. most of the game is spent with ghirahim, his much more expressive and motivated sidekick. he’s fun, intimidating when he has to be, and balances being silly and being an actual threat well. demise is the kicker, the final punch, when ghirahim spent the entire game building him up, we finally get to see him, he’s intimidating, he’s serious in contrast to ghirahim, he immediately shuts the villain we spent most of the game fighting up, and reduces him to an object to be used to fulfil his own goals. his boss fight is cool, and so is he.

demise is a god of destruction, he doesn’t have a motivation beyond the fact that he is a representation and wields power over evil. and that’s the point. skyward sword’s themes largely center humanity vs inhumanity, link spends a large portion of the game running around fulfilling a plan he doesn’t fully understand, being roped into this ordeal before he even finds out about it, not really comprehending what’s happening or why for a long time. so, it’s only natural the final force he has to face is an equally incomprehensible threat, and he defeats it not because he comprehends it more now, or understands the ancient conflict between gods or any of that. he does it because he wants to protect someone he loves, he does it because he forms a genuine bond with the robotic, originally emotionless guide who was made only for the purpose of aiding him in this godly plan. humanity triumphs over godhood. humanity triumphs over inhumanity.

in totk, however? there really isn’t much difference between ganondorf before and after he becomes the demon king. he has no particular motivation before or after, he is a king who wants to rule over hyrule with evil, and then he becomes a more powerful king who wants to rule over hyrule with evil. he looks more like the god of destruction now, but that signifies nothing other than he is more powerful now. ganon has always been associated with power, and the way power corrupts has always been a fitting theme for him. he could’ve had development throughout the game, and him becoming more like the literal godly representation of evil could’ve signified that development. maybe he was a king with an actual motivation, an actual in story reason to oppose hyrule, we could’ve been shown his human side, what he actually cares for and why he does the things he does, and then we could’ve seen that side of him dissolve as he taps more into his power, becomes more like a being of destruction that destroys simply because that’s what it has power over. him taking visual cues from demise could’ve actually meant something, could’ve been a visual representation of the way his power corrupts him. instead, we get nothing. there was no reason to bring ganondorf back, because he still acts like a motivationless monster, who is evil simply because he is. all talk of this being “his game” was a lie, considering he could easily be replaced by a generically evil monster and nothing would’ve changed.

ultimately, i still wouldn’t have been happy with this story because it would still lean heavily on the orientalist narratives still alive and present in zelda, but this would’ve been at least something. the way it is, the fact that he takes visual cues from demise pisses me off because it highlights just how one dimensional his character is, it makes me feel only cynicism because it makes it clear that ganondorf was only brought back because he’s a popular and iconic character and not because he had any purpose in the story or because the writers had anything interesting to do with him.

#loz #legend of zelda #totk #tears of the kingdom #totk critical #totk criticism #skyward sword #sksw #ganondorf #demise #analysis #my hot takes #meta

[redheadlesbianfreak]

Here's my Barbie movie hot take.

I've already seen people online get upset over the fact that Barbie and Ken didn't end up together. And that they felt so bad for Ken. Essentially, they are angry that their Barbie/Ken ship didn't become canon I guess.

Look, I think that shipping, on its own, is harmless. And I respect other people's opinions on media. But this is a great example on how focusing solely on shipping and romance can fucking ruin a piece of media.

Sure the patriarchy affected Ken as well, and that's tragic. But Barbie spent an entire movie being completely uninterested in romance. She loved Ken, but said it herself, she didn't love him the same way that he loved her. She loved him platonically.

Do you know how many pieces of media take interesting female characters and turn them into nothing more than "mc's love interest?" How many of them have the female lead suddenly fall for the male mc, as if she has no agency of her own?

Imagine if Barbie was suddenly like "I'm in love with Ken actually." It would've been insanely out of character. It would've gone against her character development. It would've ruined the movie's message. And it would've been gross after everything he'd done to her.

Barbie came across as aroace, which probably wasn't done on purpose, but I'm not the only one who noticed this. And her ending was very relatable to me as a lesbian, so I'm grateful for that as well. Her ending was about being human, not about finding love with a dude.

I don't care what anyone says. We need more stories that don't end in romance. We need more characters who are uninterested in romance. And finally, we need more stories about women that don't revolve around them ending up with a man.

#barbie movie #barbie movie spoilers #my hot takes #i'm very uncomfortable that people are upset about this #i love shipping but this is a great example #of how shipping and romance can utterly ruin media #and that shouldn't be the endgame for every single story

[everafterfrisk]

Hot takes

I love Roman torchwick and Watts but sometimes I feel They are bit overrated/overhyped in comparison to other longtime villains

ilia was the best part of Volume 5 and I will not let that go

Vol 1-3 was fun but they're often held too highly on a pedestal compared to the more impactful volumes that come after it(V4-V9)

Lucy Heartfilia is my favorite female lead in Shonen

I think Chloe (Miraculous Ladybug) was not "screwed over by the writers" and believed she was a interesting take on the bully archetype/Rich girl trope (a post I might make in more detail)

Chloe just worked imo

I personally love Sakura's Character Progression (Naruto)and think the hate for her is ridiculous as well as overblown

She was never "useless" or a "Simp" as well as didn't hate naruto and I will die on this hill

I kinda hate how people perceive Shonen Females as essentially Waifu bait/only exist for the Protag's emotional anchor cuz it completely undermines the narrative surrounding their arcs for a simplistic dishonest portrayal

#my hot takes #miraculous ladybug #naruto #sakura haruno #chloe burgeois #rwby #roman torchwick #fairy tail #shonen

[arttrampbelle]

Gonna post MY OFFICIAL SHANG TSUNG BIO. because nrs is wrong and i said so. So suck it boon,suck it fans,this is how shang tsung is supposed to be. Die mad. 💅🏻💋☕💖

Anywho enough of venting. Here's his bio.

❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤

Name: Shang Tsung

Full name: Tsung Shang (i hc his last name is tsung because it sounds better and most of mk names are both given and surnames. I looked this shit up and listen,this game was made by two American nerdy guys. What are you really expecting? A masterpiece? No)

Age: physically: in his 40s. (If we go by cary hiroyuki tagawa's performance in the 95 movie. He was around 40 when he starred in that film. Ik,he dont look it but it's true. And it makes way more sense than how some people and canon depicts his youthful rejuvenated form.) Technically he is over 500yrs (and i collectively ignore any new retcons or canon saying otherwise). He is mortal in technicality. But he is immortal by proxy. Due to his curse of to wither and age less he takes the souls and vitality of others. (Like an energy vampire in a weird way. Guy is basically Chinese Dracula)

Gender/prns: amab, he/they. (He is masc but people are so damn xenophobic and amercian centric on what masc is. But ya know we aint here for that politics. I hc he uses they or gn prns on occasion. If it calls for it. But most of the time is masc coded prns because he's 1. Lazy. 2. It's just a force of habit. And 3. It feels more comfortable for him. Otherwise he's gonna use gn. As he defults everyone to. Because thats how he works,as for himself. Well he just doesn't really give a damn much. He is who he is. Period)

Height: 5'11" (tho in his old man form. I hc he shrinks a bit to a 5'6"/5'7" lol)

Weight: approx maybe 175? I dunno im not good with measurements. So plz dont hate :')

Hair: black,long,and up to his lower back/buttocks. (In his old man form the same but white/silver. Still thick and luxurious. Despite being an old man he takes good care of himself. I can't ever see shang ever living in squander or despair. Even when shit is rough for him. He ooozes confidence even when he struggles. He's mastered self mastery. (God i wish that were me) )

Eye color: dark brown. (Goldens,glosses and turns to a pale gold as his curse affects his aging.)

Origins: Earthrealm (EARTHREALM. NOT OUTWORLD YOU DUMBA$$ES. fucking nrs othering shang tsung and getting rid of what made his betrayal interesting. Fucking morons buy into it too. But whatever.)

Resident realm: earthrealm,on his island. (Which i have hcs about but that is for a separate post because it would be too long to add here.)

Species: Human

Alignment: Neutral. Maybe a bit chaotic. The yin axis. (All in all he's for bis own morality. Never anyone else's)

Weapons: chinese saber or straight sword.

Abilities/powers/etc: Soul magic,fire magic,the dark arts. (He's a mofo sorcerer bih! I have hcs more about soul magic and how his damn magic works. Because people dont really care to write this)

Allies: anyone who he deems trustworthy enough.

Nemesis: any who dares cross him. Liu kang. (He fucking hates liu kang. No it's not secretly likes him. NO HE FUCKING HATES THIS GUYS GUTS AND WANTS HIM DEAD FOR THE SHEET FUCKING PLEASURE OF IT! SHANG,HE'S A PETTY LIL SHIT. OK?!)

Current whereabouts: on his island. Doing who knows what. Mostly tending Mortal kombat tournaments. And any who wishes to learn under him. As he is a master after all.

🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉❤🐉

Blank below cut (in case you wanna use it for ocs):

Name:

Real name:

Age:

Gender/prns:

Height:

Weight:

Hair:

Eye color:

Origins:

Resident realm:

Species:

Alignment:

Weapons:

Abilities/powers/etc:

Allies:

Nemesis:

Current whereabouts:

Dominion: (used for god characters only. Titans dont exist and i completely erase them from narrative. So dont even fucking add this. Dont even try. It's either gods ocs,immortal ocs(i.e. like bo-rai cho) or mortals (like kung lao,etc). Pick one)

#mortal kombat #shang tsung #shang tsung bio #mortal kombat bio #my shang tsung bio #my hcs #my hot takes

[moonshinemagpie]

the horror genre is healing

horror can be so healing in ways im not yet great at articulating. last night i watched 2 episodes of bryan fuller's hannibal and i managed to not have nightmares for the first time this week.

i remember years ago a close friend said she didn't understand how i could like nbc hannibal when i am a sensitive lil' butterfly who can't watch the news, and im still thinking about how that looks like a contradiction from the outside but isn't at all.

i am afraid of my domestically abusive neighbor; i am not afraid of a fictional serial killer who turns people into mushroom farms for the #aesthetic #vibes and #metaphoricalresonance, lol. when i watch hannibal before bed and have the mushroom gore in my brain instead of my anxious thoughts about my neighbor, i sleep more peacefully. 

#my hot takes #horror #horror genre #horror writing #nbc hannibal #hannibal

[chenqing9]

If AoT is antisemitic why is Levi Ackerman Jewish?

Also I thought this article was super good.

#My hot takes #attack on titan #aot #For real though his name is as blatant as mine #And he has OCD #just kidding #Collider.com