#48 Members

[deus-ex-mona]

this is now one of many ✨ft4 christmas song manifestation zones✨

#there are only ​2 reactions to this twt: ‘wAIT ONE NIGHT *WASN’T* A CHRISTMAS SONG????’ and ‘omgomg what if ft4 christmas carols—‘ #ok but. i think ft4 could totally pull off jingle bell rock #or the 12 days of christmas (but megu buys every single member every mentioned item in that danged song) #idk ft4 can collectively enjoy their 40 lords a leaping and 48 drummers drumming among many other new additions to their little group ig #imagine ft4 perfoming onstage with their 24 geese a laying and 12 french hens though lmfaooooooooooooooo #futilely hoping that minakuru would get a christmas song too though~~~~~~~~~~ i miss them #fedora throttle4

[snlbumpers]

Steve Martin and Martin Short, 2022.

#snl #saturday night live #snl bumpers #host #steve martin #martin short #Former cast member #Five timers club #season 48 #2022 #'20s

[everythingbutresolved]

The Worst Haim Fic Ever

Fictional!Hamish Linklater x f!reader

Rating: Horny Teenager

Summary: Let's break the writing dry spell with something so bad it will self destruct when you have finished reading it shall we?

Warnings: Grammar? What is it? Abuse of Zeta Gen talk. Reader is a a hamfam mutual and Haim has several nicknames, gratuitous descriptions of the male body, unprotected sex, moron dirty talk.

Notes: Thank you so much for the love in the past year, I'm trying to love back and be more productive, I just wanted to share the silliest thing that popped in my mind...enjoy 😜

ur sitting at home in ur pjs all comfy with half edible left from the tray you baked for the weekend.

Ur dog and you are watching netflix eating only red m&m’s talking to the friendz in your phone when u hear a knock at ur door. u get up and spill all the candies on the floor but don’t worry cuz u already gulped down all the red and yellow choco, but carry your puppy with u because you didnt order anything from amazong in like 3 days so your four legged friend might have to scare an intruder. u open the door and it’s the hottest man ever

 Hummus Longlater

u almost drop on your butt bcz you were just talking to your mutuals in barks and meows how much u need to climb that human palmtree covered in chocolate fudge. U say “Drop gorgeous Daddy Legend wtf ya doin here?” But that piece of licorice bats his eye hair so quickly u fall back on the couch while ur doggo goes and pack his toys cuz he's going with him.

“Hey babygirl” Hamosh sais, leaning on ur doorframe, revealing he is wearing nothing but a white vest two sizes down a toddler and the tightest jeans ever sold by those gud bois at Levi’s. A “Look I know I’m your bias and that I always munch on it, and finally my Zaddy whiskers r too drenched in fandom juice to keep ignoring them. The fire has spread and reached my cheeks missus.”

ur like “omg !! Im not wearing any makeup!! Or pants!! Oh skinny legend u’re so father, periodt!!!”  but he just lafs at that because tahts what he likes about u. “ya girl i know thats why im heer. I’m mad lit on god no god no cap. Drip drip. I heard u enjoy eating junk food and getting your junk food ate out. Do u wanna rip my pants and eat me up gurl? Leave no crumbs baby.”

And saying that he loafs in to your house, tripping over doggo when he refuses to hover his naked feet. “i like your trash panda” “don’t scratch him under his ear or he’ll hump ur leg till tomorrow” U say before smushing your face into his. He smells like old spice and tastes like pumpkin donut and matcha latte. You untangle your tongues only to ask “Hammac glorious, your foot is always on my neck daddy, but I have to ask, r u real or is the weed they sold me pretty fire?”

Ur pup gives you  stern look and plops on his furry ass and ur sure he says “human im petotaly serious don0t parse this or ill foist on you three gens of my litters – mine and the raccoon that lives under the porch”

Himbo grabs ur sweaty ass and says “The way u scratch ur armpits called me like a charm and i just had to come get a taste of this sweet sweet potato couch.” He stretches his vest over his head, his eyes are the color of the hazelnut frosted chocolate brownie you had this morning. “well? U got me like La-La-La baby, wanna sit on my face or what ?”“duh,” u spit, moving puppy aside. “I love you down Mr. H” His chest is smooth with baby oil when you slide ur hands on it. He has huge hands that scoop under ur ass and throw you on the bed and rip of your pjs. Ur android goes flying out the pocket, probsbly never to be seen again. U have the time to chant “You’r our beloved, and u have us in a chokehold!” then is on top of you fast, pinnning you to the bed, slopply groping under ur shirt for ur boobs that bounce boobily. He chokes u with his socks that smells like socks but u kinda think thats hot. His jeans sway to the floor and skitter away, leaving him in his boxers he got for christmas in 2003. His heft is huge, huger than his hands. It snaps the elastic and elicopter it for a ful minute until u’re hypnotized. “dont worry babygurl this will help u get it all in” he grabs ur legs and throws them over his shoulder and massages ur pussy until u scream and snatch his fingers up your coochie like the dyson ur mom gave u for xmas.

“omg Mr. H that was nom-nom delish how r u so good at pumpussy??!” you gasp gasplessly

“since I’m in my assembly period my strengths multiplied, now I can make u cum with just a flex of my massive eyebrows watch this” and with that he hoola-hoops his hairy caterpillars and makes u *O* a few more times “ r u ready baby gril?”

“yes Zaddy!” 

He likes that. He ate that up a compliment and had u GAG, while ur cunt eats it all up. U can see urself cumming in the reflex of his caramel pudding eyes. He moans so loud the neighbors think ur killing someone and get more popcorns. U scream obscenities and fuck and cum and fuck and cum all over the apartment. Ur doggo has found ur phone and is taking a video to send ur besties later. The couch rols over from so much fuckng and cumming. Hammamet keeps gong flexing his infinite thighs becuz yours gave up. He doesn't unload until the very end when he climbs on the bedframe and showers u singing Sweet Home Carolina. U almost drown.

“wow mr Hamigo thank u” u say. Talking makes cum gush off ur hair

“ur welcom. Btw I gotta go now.” He swishes in his jeans like a well grased seal and moves to ur side of the bed. U start crying for the sudden loss of his massive cock. “Hamandbacon I thought you were different but ur like everyone else, mid.”

He looks into ur eyes and lovingly swipes some cum from your face.

“I don’t get it. I just gave u the best camping of ur life”

“And now ur fleeing”  

He lafs u off “I have 47 more friendly stops after this, don’t be greedy babgurl” U bat ur sticky palms with joy, meanwhile your familiar retrieves ur phone for U so you can give a head up to your mutuals – get ready with water and lube.

@littleredwritingcat this is for you bestie

Randy tag @supplanther @plainlo-inthemorning @girlwiththenegantattoo @agirlinherhead @madsmilfelsen @aherdofbees @chronic-ghost @ebiemidnightlibrarian @pegplunkett @jyngerpeach and more

#hamfam #hamfam assemble #hamish linklater #fanfic #The Worst Haim Fic Ever #silly thing #yes there's 48 members on discord

[princeandreis]

what’s good

#i got rear ended a couple weeks ago and have a concussion and whiplash #and then my replacement rental car broke down on the freeway in rush hour traffic which was sick #my car may be totaled which means that’ll be my … counts on fingers… 6th car i’ll have driven since september #counting borrowed family members’ cars while my old-old car was being worked on #bc yeah my beloved car died so then i got the one which is probably totaled #it’s been A Time for sure #abyway i slept for like 36 of the last 48 hours and i do feel better somewhat. #lifeblog #what’s new with you guys

[candymylove]

AKB48 only has 46 members now after so many of them chose to graduate holy shit

#no they did not have 48 members only before this

[cappurrccino]

all the grudd haug eps of dice shame have got me like

#//juri speaks #juri's dice shame #every member of this party is so fucking cool and they're all so clever in combat #even against like. a SEA of enemies #its so cool #i wanna go play dnd for 48 hours now

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

just finished watching the time machine with dave hearn! it was actually very funny, and had a few moments that were very "play that goes wrong"-esque (there's a scene where the main joke is literally the same as one in tptgw, and dave's character feels slightly chris bean-ish). i was a little bit unsure of it at the very beginning, but i ended up really enjoying it! you can buy or rent the time machine from the original theatre website.

#i've only rented it for 48 hours #so i'm possibly going to make some gifsets #anyway i definitely recommend! #especially if you like stuff that's meta #also should say there’s a moment where dave drops an audience members phone accidentally #and all of them break character #and dave does his max smile #like he smiles in exactly the same way max bennett does #which was really funny to me

[itzynabi]

produce 48 episode 1

word count: 0.5k

warnings: none that i can think of

an: italics means that it's the confessional, bold means it's japanese

eve's masterlist

The screen changed, showing JYP as the company one of the last few trainees was from. Everyone gasped in surprise.

“JYP?” Yena asked. “Am I reading correctly?”

“You must be because I also read JYP,” Yiren said.

Goeun inhaled. “Ah, a JYP trainee…”

“When I saw that there was a JYP trainee,” Yena started, “I was a little bit nervous. Somi sunbaenim is from JYP and she debuted in I.O.I so I suddenly felt nervous.” She giggled.

“To be from JYP,” Yuri trailed off. “I thought this person must be very talented.

Eve walked into the room and exclaimed at how full it was. “Oh gosh! Almost every seat is taken!” She gasped.

Yeonsoo swooned from her seat. “She’s so cute!”

“She’s so pretty.” Hitomi gasped, turning to one of her members. “How is she so pretty?”

Eve looked around the room, checking for an empty seat. She found one in the first row. “I’m going to sit here.” She sat down, bowing to the trainees around her.

Eve did her performance after the WM Entertainment trainees.

“Hello, I’m Kim Nabi from JYP Entertainment,” she introduced herself to the trainers. Soyou’s lip twitched as if she was fighting a smile.

“If I’m being honest, I do feel a bit of pressure because I’m from JYP,” she admitted, “but I practised hard so I just hope that what I have prepared is enough.” She nodded.

She performed Why by Sabrina Carpenter, doing choreography with the song. Many of the trainees exclaimed as she performed, impressed by her talent.

“She’s really good!” Miho exclaimed. She waved her hands over her arms. “I have goosebumps.”

“Nabi is definitely going to Class A,” Wang Ke said, staring the camera in the eye seriously. “If her performance isn’t good enough for Class A… I don’t even want to think about it!”

“Her technique is amazing,” Youngjun told the other trainers when Eve was done performing.

“She dances in a very clean manner,” May J Lee agreed.

“Her voice is also good,” Kahi said, writing something on her sheet of paper.

“Her high-note was really nice,” Hongki mentioned.

Soyou nodded along. “Right.”

Cheetah checked Eve’s trainee sheet. She picked up her mic, looking at Eve. “It says here that you did ballet.”

Eve nodded. “Yes, I did. I studied at a ballet school.”

“Daebak!” Eunbi gasped.

“Can you show us a little bit?” Cheetah asked.

Kahi chuckled. “You sound so excited,” she teased as Eve put her mic down.

Cheetah chuckled. “I’ve never seen ballet live before,” she said. “I’m a bit excited.”

“Now you’re putting pressure on her shoulders,” Soyou pointed out. They laughed it off as they waited for the music to start. Eve performed Advance 2’s Port de Bras, moving seamlessly through the choreography. When she finished, she did a ballet curtsy.

“That was so good!” Cheetah gushed, clapping.

“Thank you,” Eve thanked.

The trainers began discussing what class they thought Eve should get. They finished their discussion quickly, all on the same page about where she belonged.

“I’ll reveal the grade of JYP,” Soyou said. “JYP Kim Nabi… A.”

A smile spread on Eve’s face as she bowed. “Thank you,” she said. She walked off the stage to collect her sticker.

#eve’s outfit!!

©️ kim nabi

#Youtube #itzy 6th member #itzy added member #itzy additional member #itzy member au #kpop added member #kpop addition #kpop oc #eve kim #kim nabi #itzy eve #produce 48

[buwan-sa-gabi]

[190303] MNL48 'PAG-IBIG FORTUNE COOKIE' Mall Show @ Riverbanks Center, Marikina City

MNL48 Ash

#event: mall show #location: riverbanks center #member: ash #team: l #era: pag-ibig fortune cookie #date: 190303 #year: 2019 #generation: 1st gen #mnl48 #mnl48 ash #akb48 #48 group #48g #mnl48ash

[eternallys]

.

#the 1928337363 tweet thread i was reading of a lil 7 going on about streaming #was made by a 48 year old who writes smut ff about the members #i have to go. #somethings not right there. somethings not healthy about that #personal #madam… those men are nearly half your age 🤢💀 #its time to log off twitter

[meruli]

Me: I should find a popular group to like for once

BiSH: *is disbanding*

Last Idol: *Disbanded and also did NFTs*

Momoiro Clover Z: *is doing NFTs*

26ji no Masquerade: *Is disbanding*

ZOC: *Seiko Oomori’s power harassment*

EMPiRE: possibly disbanding???????? might be a publicity stunt (like Pour Lui being fake-fired from BiS after failing DiET or DiE)

#I don't want to get into 48/46 groups they have too many members and too much history #especially akb

[snlbumpers]

Molly Shannon, 2023.

#snl #saturday night live #snl bumpers #molly shannon #host #Former cast member #Season 48 #2023 #'20s

[palipunk]

It was never about hamas. If israel manages somehow to kill every member of hamas, what then? Do you think Palestinians are just going to forgive and forget everything Israel has done?

Babies who are the only surviving members of their families? Fathers carrying the remains of their children in plastic bags? Palestinians who witnessed people blown to bits right in front of them? Had Israeli forces shoot at them as they tried to escape the north? Palestinians in the West Bank who have been captured and tortured on camera? Palestinians in 48 who have been arrested just for sympathizing with their kin in Gaza? Palestinian school girls being assaulted by the IOF? Mothers who only have the blood of their children on their hands as their only remaining piece of them? The constant dehumanization that followed our every move - how while Palestinians suffered, politicians called us “monsters”, “human animals”, “children of darkness”, “savages”, and “cockroaches”?

It’s been 75 years since my family was forced from their villages by Zionist militias, they have never forgotten what they did to their neighbors and how they are still denied their right of return. None of us will.

Now, IOF forces in Gaza raise the Israeli flag over the beaches and take selfies with fleeing Palestinians in the background, cheer and celebrate a “return to their settlements in gaza” and sing about leveling the land and fantasize building shopping malls on Palestinian mass graves - it was never about hamas.

#palestine #free palestine #‘but h@m@s-’ you’re a dumbass

[the-dance-of-italy]

Please, if you care about Palestine, please boycott The Chosen and Angel Studios

🍉 Masterpost with links to help Palestine 🍉

The Chosen Boycott Twitter acc with a direct fundraiser link, to send direct aid into Palestine 🇵🇸

For those who dont know, The Chosen is a biblical series about the life of Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples. A series about palestinian jew, who grew up in constant displacement, who fought in a pacifist way, against the roman imperialism during their colonization of Palestinian and surrounding territories.

He was heavily against the abuse of authority, the inhuman mistreatment of people , helping the poor and sick, gave a hand and ate with outcasts, never turning away from people who needed aid.

Palestinians are currently, and for the past decades facing constant displacement, abuse of unrecognized authority, falling to sickness and are in much needed humanitarian aid.

A series about the life of a historical palestinian jewish man should not be created and acted out by zionists.

The confirmed list of cast memebers suporting Israel are:

Dallas Jenkins (Creator, producer and writer)

Elijah Alexander (Actor, in the role of Atticus)

Shahar Isaac (Actor in the role of Simon Peter.) He was called into the Israeli military to participate in the genocide and was spotted in recent days in London for the S4 premiere)

David Amito (Actor in the role of John the Baptiser) (He has shown support for both Israel and Gaza, but seems to be mostly neutral to the situation)

[The list will be updated until there's confirmation of other people or statements issued from other cast and production members]

*This series is being funded primarily through fan donations. They're currently have a goal of 48 Million for the future season 5. Do not give them anymore money and urge others to NOT donate!!*

Just because the episodes are free on their app, does not mean its fine to watch them there. Nothing is ever truly for free. Especially when one of the cast members potentially has blood on their hands.

While the series has its own app from which to watch the episodes for free, theyre still going to release the episodes on theatres starting on February 1st.

The less views and users they recieve on their app, the better. Do not buy from their merch store. Do not go to the theaters and urge your friends and family who happen to be fans and are interested, to not go watch it.

Please, even if you are not religious, even if you've never even heard of this show before, please share this around. We cannot allow these people to make money, praising the life of a jewish palestinian (even if they don't want to admit he was) while ignoring what is happening in Palestine.

#The Chosen #free palestine #free gaza #palestine #boycott The Chosen #bible fandom #palestine boycott

[suzannahnatters]

So here's one of the coolest things that has happened to me as a Tolkien nut and an amateur medievalist. It's also impacted my view of the way Tolkien writes women. Here's Carl Stephenson in MEDIEVAL FEUDALISM, explaining the roots of the ceremony of knighthood: "In the second century after Christ the Roman historian Tacitus wrote an essay which he called Germania, and which has remained justly famous. He declares that the Germans, though divided into numerous tribes, constitute a single people characterised by common traits and a common mode of life. The typical German is a warrior. [...] Except when armed, they perform no business, either private or public. But it is not their custom that any one should assume arms without the formal approval of the tribe. Before the assembly the youth receives a shield and spear from his father, some other relative, or one of the chief men, and this gift corresponds to the toga virilis among the Romans--making him a citizen rather than a member of a household" (pp 2-3). Got it?

Remember how Tolkien was a medievalist who based his Rohirrim on Anglo-Saxon England, which came from those Germanic tribes Tacitus was talking about? Stephenson argues that the customs described by Tacitus continued into the early middle ages eventually giving rise to the medieval feudal system. One of these customs was the gift of arms, which transformed into the ceremony of knighthood: "Tacitus, it will be remembered, describes the ancient German custom by which a youth was presented with a shield and a spear to mark his attainment of man's estate. What seems to the be same ceremony reappears under the Carolingians. In 791, we are told, Charlemagne caused Prince Louis to be girded with a sword in celebration of his adolescence; and forty-seven years later Louis in turn decorated his fifteen-year-old son Charles "with the arms of manhood, i.e., a sword." Here, obviously, we may see the origin of the later adoubement, which long remained a formal investiture with arms, or with some one of them as a symbol. Thus the Bayeux Tapestry represents the knighting of Earl Harold by William of Normandy under the legend: Hic Willelmus dedit Haroldo arma (Here William gave arms to Harold). [...] Scores of other examples are to be found in the French chronicles and chansons de geste, which, despite much variation of detail, agree on the essentials. And whatever the derivation of the words, the English expression "dubbing to knighthood" must have been closely related to the French adoubement" (pp 47-48.)

In its simplest form, according to Stephenson, the ceremony of knighthood included "at most the presentation of a sword, a few words of admonition, and the accolade." OK. So what does this have to do with Tolkien and his women? AHAHAHAHA I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. First of all, let's agree that Tolkien, a medievalist, undoubtedly was aware of all the above. Second, turn with me in your copy of The Lord of the Rings to chapter 6 of The Two Towers, "The King of the Golden Hall", when Theoden and his councillors agree that Eowyn should lead the people while the men are away at war. (This, of course, was something that medieval noblewomen regularly did: one small example is an 1178 letter from a Hospitaller knight serving in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem which records that before marching out to the battle of Montgisard, "We put the defence of the Tower of David and the whole city in the hands of our women".) But in The Lord of the Rings, there's a little ceremony.

"'Let her be as lord to the Eorlingas, while we are gone.' 'It shall be so,' said Theoden. 'Let the heralds announce to the folk that the Lady Eowyn will lead them!' Then the king sat upon a seat before his doors and Eowyn knelt before him and received from him a sword and a fair corselet."

I YELLED when I realised what I was reading right there. You see, the king doesn't just have the heralds announce that Eowyn is in charge. He gives her weapons.

Theoden makes Eowyn a knight of the Riddermark.

Not only that, but I think this is a huge deal for several reasons. That is, Tolkien knew what he was doing here.

From my reading in medieval history, I'm aware of women choosing to fight and bear arms, as well as becoming military leaders while the men are away at some war or as prisoners. What I haven't seen is women actually receiving knighthood. Anyone could fight as a knight if they could afford the (very pricy) horse and armour, and anyone could lead a nation as long as they were accepted by the leaders. But you just don't see women getting knighted like this.

Tolkien therefore chose to write a medieval-coded society, Rohan, where women arguably had greater equality with men than they did in actual medieval societies.

I think that should tell us something about who Tolkien was as a person and how he viewed women - perhaps he didn't write them with equal parity to men (there are undeniably more prominent male characters in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, at least, than female) but compared to the medieval societies that were his life's work, and arguably even compared to the society he lived in, he was remarkably egalitarian.

I think it should also tell us something about the craft of writing fantasy.

No, you don't have to include gut wrenching misogyny and violence against women in order to write "realistic" medieval-inspired fantasy.

Tolkien's fantasy worlds are DEEPLY informed by medieval history to an extent most laypeople will never fully appreciate. The attitudes, the language, the ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS use of medieval military tactics...heck, even just the way that people travel long distances on foot...all of it is brilliantly medieval.

The fact that Theoden bestows arms on Eowyn is just one tiny detail that is deeply rooted in medieval history. Even though he's giving those arms to a woman in a fantasy land full of elves and hobbits and wizards, it's still a wonderfully historically accurate detail.

Of course, I've ranted before about how misogyny and sexism wasn't actually as bad in medieval times as a lot of people today think. But from the way SOME fantasy authors talk, you'd think that historical accuracy will disappear in a puff of smoke if every woman in the dragon-infested fantasy land isn't being traumatised on the regular.

Tolkien did better. Be like Tolkien.

#tolkien #middle earth #jrr tolkien #lord of the rings #lotr #the lord of the rings #eowyn #writing fantasy #fantasy #female characters #writing #historical fiction #medieval women #medieval history #medieval #history #womens history

[yourfavoritehouseplant]

I watched James Somerton's final video, and all I got was this 6 page document

As soon as I learned his final unreleased video was on Revolutionary Girl Utena, I knew I had to hate watch it. I didn't know that I'd spend the following 4 hours making a comprehensive doc on everything I hated about it. But here we are.

The TLDR (is this too long to be a TLDR?)

The intro section, as well as Part 2, are directly plagiarized from wikipedia. The rest is unclear.

He makes a “haha this show is so weird right guys” joke 10 different times

He reads Anthy as so emotionally stunted she literally has to be taught how to think for herself, and believes that being the rose bride makes her feel good

He says that his reading is ‘vastly different” from the rest of the community, before boldly stating that this is because he sees it as a “deeply allegorical and symbolic story”

He sees the sexual abuse as “not to be taken literally”

Insists that the show be separated into parts that are strictly literal and strictly allegorical for the entirety of parts 3 and 4, before making the contradictory move of analyzing characters as allegories during part 5

The only characters that get dedicated sections are Akio and Dios, who he doesn’t believe are the same person. 

He says Dios gets his powers by “deflowering women”

He calls Akio, known child predator, a chaotic bisexual

Uses 14 year old SA survivor Anthy’s passive personality to make a joke about her being a bottom

His final point is that Utena was the real prince all along

There are no citations

Anyway, full version for people who hate themselves under the cut. With time codes, because I cite my sources.

Part 1: Intro

This entire section is almost exclusively quoted from the Wikipedia article for Revolutionary Girl Utena. Words have been changed, but the order at which certain topics come up is not. Highlights include:

0:56 In his introduction of Be-Papas, lists the founding members in literally the exact same order as Wikipedia.

1:40-2:00 His list of Be-Papas previous works is lifted entirely from wikipedia, only with the words changed. This leads to a strange moment at 1:52 where he claims Be-papas ‘lent their talents to’ Neon Genesis Evangelion, a show which started production at least a year before Be-papas was founded. On the wikipedia article for Utena, this is instead referring to the previous work of Shinya Hasegawa and Yōji Enokido

4:23 he uses a quote by Yūichirō Oguro describing the production as a “tug of war”. He seems to have lifted this in its entirety from Wikipedia, as he does not cite the actual source it is from (the box set companion book, btw)

As for James Somerton originals, at 0:44 he claims that out of all magical girl series,”none to my knowledge have been more discussed and dissected than the 1997 series Revolutionary Girl Utena” He will go back on this at 5:05, where he states that “Sailor Moon takes the lion’s share of discussion” in regard to influential magical girl anime

Part 2: Part 1

(At least I know I’m not funny, unlike James Somerton)

Speaking of which. Here is every single time he makes a “wow this show is sooooo weird you guys” joke: 6:00, 8:50, 10:40, 10:58, 13:46, 17:07, 24:16, 30:34, 41:19, 48:01

Here’s every time the punchline to the joke is the existence of Nanami, a character who he otherwise completely disregards: 10:56, 12:05, 16:22, 42:40

6:16 Claims that the “Apocalypse saga” and “Akio Ohtori saga’ are two names for the same several episodes, depending on the release. This is untrue. Instead, different releases either only have the Apocalypse saga, or split the episodes into an Akio Ohtori saga and then the Apocalypse saga. 

7:58 Claims Utena intervening on Anthy’s behalf begins the first duel. While this happens in the movie, Touga intervenes in the scene he uses clips from (like literally right after the shot he uses in the video). Utena only gets drawn into the duels when Wakaba’s love note to Saionji is posted. Youtuber Noralities’ Utena video also gets this wrong, which makes me wonder if this was copied.

9:09 Claims Akio’s “End of the World” moniker is actually more closely translated to “Apocalypse”. In reality, the translation moves away from a more apocalyptic reading, with 世界の果て (Sekai no hate) apparently translating closer to “the furthest reach of a known world” or “edge of the world”. (Love the implications of this translation, but I digress)

9:10 As can be assumed from the previous point, this means I can’t find any sources that point to them not using the title “apocalypse” for religious reasons

10:10 Uses Anthy’s extreme passivity under her Rose bride persona to make a top/bottom joke. I’m gonna repeat this in case you’re just skimming. He uses a trait that likely stems from years of abuse, (possibly exaggerated by the persona Anthy uses to manipulate people), and uses it to call her a bottom. 

He also just doesn’t seem to understand how the whole point of Utena constantly telling Anthy that she's just a normal girl who should make more friends is framed as Utena imposing her will on Anthy, just as much as the previous Engaged have done. 

11:54 Apologies in advance for my most “um, actually!” point yet, but technically his statement that Anthy stops being host to the Sword of Dios is wrong. Akio literally pulls a sword out of her chest in the final duel. It's a more evil-looking sword of Dios, granted.

13:02 !!! CANTARELLA SCENE ALERT !!! He interprets it as them fighting over Akio?? Which like. I will allow people to have their own interpretations of vague and symbolic scenes. I will. I swear. This is not technically incorrect. It just makes me want to eat my own intestines.

14:44 Bad Anthy take #1: He states Anthy “is emotionally stunted to the point where she needs people to make decisions for her because she does not know how to think for herself” This ignores several moments of Anthy clearly making her own choices throughout the show, including the suicide attempt Somerton mentions about a minute prior. This also strips Anthy of what little agency she has throughout the story, usually exerted through messing with Utena or Nanami. (The fact that she repeatedly makes choices that contribute to her own abuse is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting parts of her character, and it's a shame that Summerton’s ‘reading’ of the story completely disregards that)

Additionally, he once again reads Utena ‘urging Anthy to think for herself” in the first arc as an unambiguously good move, and not as something critiqued in the show.

14:52 Summerton reads the Swords of hatred as symbolizing men’s hatred specifically. Again, I’m trying not to completely disregard differing interpretations to a show like Utena, but this feels very simplistic, especially considering the harm we see aimed towards Anthy by other women

16:42 Here he claims that his reading of the story seems to be “vastly different” from the bulk of Utena discourse. What is this reading? That the show shouldn’t be read literally. Or, in his words, “[we can interpret] Revolutionary Girl Utena as a deeply allegorical and symbolic story about the struggles of coming of age amidst widespread institutional corruption in a high school and which describes a passive culture of inaction in regard to brazen instances of domestic exploitation in which there is not only a question about the caporeality of the events transpiring but also which events can be taken for granted and which events are meant to signify abstract sociological institutions.” The idea that he believes this is in any way a new reading of the material honestly baffles me.

Part 3: Part 2

17:48 through 18:50 differently quotes the Wikipedia article for postmodernism. He even makes a joke at 17:55 about Wikipedia. Please kill me. 

The first three themes he lists at 19:11 are just the three main themes listed on the Revolutionary Girl Utena Wikipedia page. What was that about a “vastly different” reading, James?

You’re gonna have to take my word for it, but this section is so short because it's just him talking about the various ways the story can’t be taken literally. He does, ironically, call this a hot take.

Part 4: Part 3

Here’s where the reading falls apart folks

At 23:15, he states that some things in Utena are allegorically coded, while others are to be taken literally. This is true. However, he seems to take this to mean that some parts of the show are Strictly Literal, while others are Strictly Allegorical for things going on in the Literal World. 

This is apparently why he prefers the Anime to the Movie, where there basically is no separation between the Literal and Allegorical

This take is bizarre to me for several reasons, but here is my favorite. At several points, he mentions how Revolutionary Girl Utena is a work of Magical Realism. Magical Realism is literally defined by its blending of the “literal” and “allegorical”, the mix of fantastical elements in a mundane, realistic setting. This idea of the impossibility of a blurred line, that Utena must either have lore where the magic is all real and means nothing, or dedicated allegory segments quarantined from the rest of the story, is contrary to the very idea of Magical Realism.

I can’t help but wonder if Somerton took his mentions of Magical realism from a previous work, due to how little it is consistent with his final argument. Either way, this section suggests a great lack of creativity in his analysis, a shame for such a creative work.

24:36: Shiori slander, for those who care

After this he gets really worked up about people assuming symbolism in everything, even when the author ‘doesn’t make it clear something is symbolic’. He shuts down a reading of a shot in the Lord of the Rings. Miley Cyrus is there? Very The Curtains Were Blue of him. 

28:22 Claims that Wakaba is the key to telling where the Strictly Literal segments end and the Strictly Allegorical segments begin. He states that, under this lens, deeply personal moments of character suffering such as all of the sexual abuse and Anthy’s suicide attempt (which he literally cites) should be read as symbolic and be “approached with uncertainty rather than confusion”. (28:24-29:13)

This also somewhat falls apart when you consider Wakaba is the jeep in the movie's car chase

And then he rants about people not liking his Attack on Titan video for a bit. Since its potential symbolism also doesn't follow hard enough rules to be symbolism. Once again, the separation of “fact vs allegory” I haven’t watched AOT, so that's all I’ll say.

Part 5: Part 4

Thank god this part is short. Much like Dios’ on-screen presence.

32:55 Makes the extremely bold claim that Dios is not Akio. As in, never even became Akio. because Dios is Strictly Allegorical.

Just to be a pedant, this is pretty explicitly disproven in the show

Confusingly, both earlier and later he will address these two as the same character. 

33:04 he also explains the root of Akio’s name in a tone that suggests this is supplemental information and not like. Literally something he explains out loud in the show?

Part 6: Part 5

This section is nearly entirely about Akio Ohtori. I would like to note that him and Dios are the only characters with dedicated segments.

38:30 The part where he states that Dios gets his powers from deflowering women.

38:46 Claims, once again, that Akio’s abuse of Anthy “may not be literal”. 

38:59 “the instance of exploitation here is used because assault has deep roots as indicating that akio's gender is the source of his imbalance”  THE ASSAULT IS ABOUT AKIO NOW???

39:45 Bad Anthy take #2: “Anthy’s conformity to the Rose bride is based around the fact that she feels good being subservient because this is the only thing in her life that has ever brought her any kind of positive reward”. This is a direct quote. Anyway, I can’t think of any instances in the show where Anthy’s subservience gives her a positive reward, except maybe when she’s intentionally using it to manipulate others. As for her feeling good being the rose bride. She tries to commit suicide. Dude.

Side tangent, but isn’t this exactly what Akio says during the final 2 episodes? That Anthy enjoys being a witch? Is the main villain, who consistently says things during that very episode that are blatantly false, our source of information for this take? I guess so, since this is the dedicated Akio section.

At 40:20 he decides to introduce the concept of Anthy, Akio, and Utena as stand-ins for wider concepts, which is antithetical to his approach in analysis beforehand

Part 7: Part 6

42:40 he finally acknowledges that he’s been spending too much time talking about Akio, and literally no time on characters like Nanami

46:10 states that Utena’s exclusive motivation “is to protect Anthy from the predatorial intentions of the other dualists”, which disregards the fact, which she states herself, that she was largely participating in the duels and protecting Anthy to feel like a prince

48:04 The part where he says that Akio has ‘chaotic Bi vibes’ in regards to him sleeping with Touga, who is 17 and implied to be a long-term victim

Part 8: Part 7

54:01: His concluding point is that Utena was the real prince all along. 

In true Somerton fashion, the video then ends over a scrolling wall of patrons, with not a single citation in sight.

#the autism won again you guys #revolutionary girl utena #james somerton #shoujo kakumei utena #utena #anthy #hbomberguy