#Fandom Analysis

[watermelonsloth]

I think the reason why Naruto fans get so passionate and upset about the series is because of how real it can be. Naruto isn’t about paragon heroes outdoing dastardly villains. It’s about human beings fighting tooth and nail to survive in a world surrounded by death. It’s about broken systems made and perpetuated by broken people.

The Hyuga clan isn’t just antagonistic or pretentious, they practice slavery.

The Uchiha clan weren’t just killed by some raging psychopath, they were systematically massacred.

Itachi isn’t just cruel to Sasuke because he’s a bad brother, he’s cruel because he’d been told time and time again that you can only survive by being cruel and he wants nothing more than for Sasuke to survive.

Nagato isn’t trying to take over the world just for the sake of power, he’s trying to take over the world because it beat him down to the point of believing that the only chance at peace there is is the world being forced into compliance through fear.

Iruka isn’t hard on Naruto just because he’s a strict teacher, he’s hard on Naruto because he knows from experience how unforgiving the world is towards orphans.

Kakashi isn’t just some silly and slightly lazy teacher, he’s a contract killer still grieving his loved ones and struggling to do better without knowing how he’s supposed to.

Sakura isn’t just a fangirl, she’s a normal girl in a very dangerous and abnormal world constantly being made to choose between what she’s supposed to do and what she feels.

Sasuke isn’t just some edgelord, he’s a survivor who lost everything then gets repeatedly told that he has to choose between keeping what he’s gained and doing better than his brother.

Naruto isn’t just trying to be the best Hokage there ever was, he’s trying to prove his worth to a society that abandoned him just for existing and, in a way, confirm his worth to himself.

The Naruto story is about humans trying to force themselves into the role of weapons because that’s what they were told they had to be. It’s a story where everyone is a perpetrator but no one is trying to do wrong. It’s a story where everyone is a victim but no one is a perfect victim.

The world and the characters aren’t simple and trying to simplify them only takes away from them. So of course we get passionate about showing off all the reasons why they shouldn’t be simplified and all of the ways they’re complicated. Of course we get upset when we see others simplifying them or selling certain aspects of their characters short. Of course we get upset when the series itself simplifies them. Of course we get upset when the series chooses to abandon them. Because it not only feels like the characters are giving up, it feels like the series is betraying anyone who chose to get invested in its complexities.

#If you ever wondered why I can’t bring myself to really hate any Naruto character #This is why #They’re all trying their best (mostly) #naruto #naruto classic #naruto shippuden #analysis #naruto analysis #fandom analysis #sorta #naruto uzumaki #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #kakashi hatake #iruka umino #nagato uzumaki #itachi uchiha #every once in a while I remember why I like this series #and I remember why I think Kishimoto is capable of being a good writer #more serious than usual #my stooff #slight #rambling #anti naruto ending #anti kishimoto #Edit: I worded something wrong

[sneezypeasy]

This is why I prefer to let other people take the mic when it comes to fandom/moral critique. Even on my best day, I couldn't publish a fandom-critical take half as comprehensive and coherent as this one.

Reposted anonymously with permission from OP, who understandably does not want to deal with hate comments/hate asks for expressing these opinions.

(Hopefully the screenshots load properly on tumblr, I know the first one is incredibly long 😅)

#zutara discourse #anti anti zutara #the colonizer argument #fandom analysis #anti purity culture #anti ship war #anti kataang #anti maiko #anti aang #anti mai

[qtubbo]

There has been some talk (mainly on twitter but some here) about calling Em, Tubbo’s daughter. It comes off as so cold, and anti what qsmp family have been teaching, if you don’t agree with that dynamic being there that’s perfectly fine (you are allowed opinions funfact). The reason though is always upsetting, stating that Empanada has enough parents, that she’s perfectly happy without him, that any outsiders to her established family would be an intruder trying to take her away. Qsmp’s family’s are a village, what’s so disturbing about someone non official becoming an eggs parent that didn’t “join” the family.

Using Bad and Pomme as an example, Pomme has 4 other parents (in this case I guess it would be bad taking pomme from the french) that take good care of her. When Bad considers Pomme his daughter, it’s out of love, just because he wasn’t assigned doesn’t mean he can’t have parental love for her. Pomme would be fine without Bad being her dad, but Bad being her dad doesn’t Affect her negatively at all. Pomme still choses to wake up for her other parents, bad doesn’t have priority, and it’s ridiculous to assume that he took her from them. Pomme and Bad are not related by a family tree, they just love each other like father and daughter and so they became that.

It’s a bigger statement of the fandom as a whole and how we really push for familial ties forged by blood even in an adoption setting. For example no one had issue with the idea of Roier being Richas’s dad instead of his uncle because he had forged a literal connection to Cellbit. In the same vein people often depict Cellbit as Bobby’s dad in another life even though he never really got to take care of him. These were never considered taking Richas or Bobby from their parents because there was a marriage, Roier joined Cellbit’s family. The most I ever see going against this dynamic is people arguing Cellbit isn’t Jaiden’s family, which inherently pushes the point once again.

We are given examples of non traditional family relationships where everything is done by adoption and there is barely any blood relationships. Though as a fandom we still try to push things into a traditional box. Fit and Tubbo are not related, nor is Fit to any of Sunny’s parents, yet he still calls her his child. They love each other like father and daughter, so why should it be any different why should Fit be blocked from that because he’s not married to any of Sunny’s parents.

Why is seeing a familial relationship more similar to father and daughter between Empanada and Tubbo an issue. If you believe they love each other like that, shouldn’t that be enough. Why must we consider love like that to be certified, that anyone else getting involved is an invader that is just getting in the way of the old parents.

Every single egg was adopted none have parents that would be considered traditional, but yet we still push for the perfect traditional nuclear family were there is no village, there is no family outside the one given, and believing in anything else is disgusting.

#qsmp #Qsmp fandom crit #Discourse #<- not really this is really just a teaching lesson #Qsmp fandom neg #fandom analysis #qsmp tubbo #qsmp empanada #qsmp bad #qsmp pomme #qsmp sunny #qsmp fit

[leikeliscomet]

“But We Love Martha Jones!” - The Doctor Who Fandom’s Selective Memory of Racism

Be aware that this article contains explicit examples of anti-black racism and misogynoir.

**Contents** Intro 1. Everybody Hates Martha 2. Utopia-ish 3. Martha vs Bill 4. Martha Triumphant?

Intro

To say being a Martha Jones fan from 2007-2017 was hard would be an understatement. The fandom claimed she was too clingy. Too jealous of Rose. Too bitter. Too bad a companion. For as long as I can remember, Martha Jones wasn’t just an unpopular companion - she was THE unpopular companion. So this recent increase in “my issues with [insert companion of colour here] isn’t about race. Everybody loved Martha Jones!” has me raising an eyebrow. Freema Agyeman as part of Ofcom’s Diversity In Broadcasting Event answered a question on her time as Doctor Who’s first Black companion. She describes her time as “good and bad”. She handled the criticism of Martha as a character “but the racism… yeah, yeah couldn’t rationalise that” as she pauses in the video. In the silence we get a clear answer - Freema Agyeman did not have an easy time as Doctor Who’s first Black companion. So when I see comments about how much she was loved, or how no one knew what Freema was going through when speaking out about the racism she experienced, or “My sus posts about Ryan & Yaz aren’t racist! I loved Martha!” I, and many other Black/mixed Black fans and other fans of colour have bad tastes in our mouths. We remember the real history of how Martha Jones was treated - and her history wasn’t a kind one.

Chapter 1 ->

#martha jones #freema agyeman #doctor who #new who #doctor who fandom #doctor who analysis #dr who fandom #dw fandom #fandom racism #rtd era #rtd critical #fandom analysis #fandom history #fandom colourism #black representation #rtd #rtd1 #fandom antiblackness #antiblackness #colourism

[candy-red-river]

Luther is beauty, style, and grace (an analysis again)

ok ive wanted to talk about this guy for a while after finishing the comics lately and oh my god his deal is the most obvious of all the characters compared to others when you think about it.

Starting off, his most obvious feature is his manners. He is very polite and "reasonable" but often forces it onto others and seems somewhat superficial. Like he's trying to hide something about himself. One of my mutuals earlier called him "repressed which I find very interesting as I never saw him that way before.

But after reading the comic I said to myself, "Yeah he's definitely repressed".

Specifically in the camping arc he has HUGE BEEF with the hitchhiker calling them a narcissist for seemingly being themselves, albeit a bit morbid and tries to poke through his skin like he does with others (whether to sedate them or not) but restrains himself when randal comes around, later attempting to call his doctor about it, implying that he doesn't want or like doing that to begin with.

There was also the scene with the pancakes where he just unhinges his jaw but implies that he doesn't do that often in front of guests for the sake of their comfort.

Other than that, Luther absolutely INSISTS that he's human and the weird "family" dynamic that he's made for the ivory household (which consists mostly of brainwashed people forced to play a pet role and randal who I'm pretty sure isn't even related to luther) and generally tries to put down anything he does not like in a sort of fancy royal manner.

From all this and the speech he made about choosing his own destiny and being so assertive about manners to others I think it's safe to say that luther is an absolute monster, but is very self aware and almost insecure about being non human, which he also enforces on others in order to "fix" them or to make himself seem perfect with the "ideal" family.

I think he's aware of how messed up everything is but is either in denial or trying to tone it down.

Other things to note:

Captain howdie said they had a crush for luther from an ask which I think is funny and unexpected. (Also true)

He has canonically dated women (epic)

The eyes on top of his eyes aren't just eyelids since they have been shown to come out before. He literally has two sets of eyes.

I also think it's funny that nyon and nana have an implied crush on him (I'll get to them later)

He's scared of mice apparently

he has a LOT of pets, none of them are normal animals

He seems to have sympathy of some kind but it's definitely half baked.

(Unrelated note: the current most mysterious characters are Sebastian, Nana, and the hitchiker)

#randals friends #ranfren #luther von ivory #I might go over randal again later #captain howdie #fan analysis #fan theory #fandom analysis

[aspiring-creative-person]

Ok but I was just thinking

Jooster is kind of the only actual solid relationship in Jeeves and Wooster?? Like platonic or romantic, let me explain

Like obviously it’s the focus, but like. Listen.

Everyone else hops from girl to girl, or guy to guy, and each one is filled with turmoil. This is just talking about Bertie’s friends, right?

But also, as friends, they really suck. They constantly get him to do things for them and do nothing in return.

Even the aunts and uncles don’t usually have spouses that are actually on screen!! Who knows if there were divorces or something?? Like people’s parents are hardly ever present it’s always some rich aunt or uncle, with Bertie yes but even with all his friends 😅😂

Everyone in that show is just so… detached from each other. There’s a particular moment where Bertie is driving Bingo and Tuppy home, and they’re just ranting about their women to each other and not listening to the other, and Bertie is just so done with it. I think that illustrates this point pretty well.

Anyway, Jeeves and Bertie are so not that. There’s another post somewhere on Tumblr talking about how Bertie always replies to Jeeves’ subtext and they pick up on each others moods essentially, which I think is a great point. And generally they just really like each other. Just read any of the books to see how much Bertie admires Jeeves, and read “Mr. Wooster Changes His Mind,” which is from Jeeves’ perspective, and you can see how he cares a lot for Bertie as well.

And like. They have their own language. Bertie is used to Jeeves materializing into rooms (this generally freaks out other people), he is now comfortable with it. Also he knows that whenever Jeeves is cold to him it’s almost always about his fashion choices, and that is a constant theme of how they interact. They have their quips about music sometimes. Jeeves always helps solve Bertie’s (and friends’) problems, and even when Bertie gets the short end of the stick, if it’s Jeeves’ plan he immediately is satisfied with the conclusion.

The biggest thing, though, is probably their brief break-up. Like. They had a disagreement and broke up, and then missed each other. There weren’t even any hard feelings, just longing tbh. And at the end they got back together, and stayed together, and were happy to see each other again. They clearly enjoy each others’ company. And Jeeves seemed to think that the other candidates for his employer did not even compare to Bertie.

Name another couple in this show who is as devoted as they are

Half of the women go for men for their status, the other half at whims

All of the men go for women on whims, and half of them find another girl when they have some sort of disagreement with the previous one

And even if they get back with a previous partner, there’s no guarantee that they will stay together

But Jooster is in for the long haul. The most consistent relationship, the most caring relationship, the most in-tune relationship, the most long-term relationship.

Oh yeah also with familial relations and all that. Aunt Agatha has been quoted to say she thinks Bertie should probably be put in some home. Like, that’s pretty rude and everything. She also tries to get him to marry all the time, she doesn’t care about him in a way that is healthy at least, only so much as he can be out of the way and out of trouble. Even Aunt Dahlia, who says he is her favorite nephew, and who takes advantage of his nature to get him to do things for her, insults him and throws things at him sometimes. His cousin Gussy, when he gets drunk, insults him in front of a crowd, going so far as to say he hates him. Claude and Eustice put him into the soup without a care for how mad Aunt Agatha will be at him.

Jeeves never insults him, or not his character at least. Yes, they have their disagreements about fashion and music. But Jeeves never insults his intelligence. He never calls him clumsy. He never underestimates him. Yes, he is his employee, but I have a feeling that it doesn’t have to do with that. Even when he was split up, like I mentioned, he came back and said the other employers weren’t up to snuff compared to Bertie.

Omg and then there’s all the women who think Bertie loves them/who want to marry Bertie. Of course, they all have delusions about him, because if they knew him at all they would know he is not in love with them. They would know that he’s too much of a pushover to say no to them. But they don’t. Which just shows further the disconnect everyone has in this show.

Ok referencing one more post because I like the point they have. It was something about how the actors keep changing for the side characters, unintentionally showing how Jeeves is really the only constant in Bertie’s life. Again showing the difference in their relationship vs his disconnected everyone else is. While I’m sure it’s not an intentional choice in that regard, it certainly is an interesting connection.

Anyway like I said at the beginning of this, you can interpret their relationship as romantic or platonic or somewhere in between, but it’s definitely the only solid one in the series.

#jooster #Jeeves and Wooster #essay #in this essay i will #but here’s the essay #Jeeves and Wooster analysis #fandom analysis #Jeeves/wooster #Jeeves/wooster analysis #jnw #Jeeves #Reginald Jeeves #Wooster #Bertie Wooster #Bertram Wooster #aunt dahlia #aunt Agatha #bingo little #Tuppy Glossip #this was really long #I am supposed to be sleeping #3am literary essay #with textual evidence AND two outside sources #suck on that AP LIT #I’m extremely proud of this

[catpriciousmarjara]

Tell me: Is He Gay or In a Sherwani?

Imposition of western norms in fandom analysis of Asian characters

With the rising popularity of Indian cinema sparked by the recent success of RRR on international platforms as well as the easy availability of multiple streaming services, in addition to the appearance of South Asian characters in prominent roles in western, particularly US media, I've begun to see some concerning 'analysis' posts online. So I thought I'd address something I found common in most of these takes.

Guys, characterizing your blorbos as queer is great and all, love it, but you're making a fundamental mistake by making their clothing choices the foundation for your queer headcanons, especially when it comes to male characters. Do not apply existing western cultural ideas regarding male clothing onto South Asian characters and their dressing please.

The vast majority of the clothes being used by people in various online spaces as 'evidence' of a character being queer(gay or bi mostly) are just normal Indian clothing for men, like daily wear. A top being pink or a character's wardrobe being mostly pastel means absolutely nothing...cos Indian clothing tends to be colourful in general and the tendency to ascribe colours masculine and feminine qualities is considerably less in the subcontinent. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but generally not a concern.

There's also this pervasive idea that colourful clothing = flamboyance = queer and that itself is something many people have already pointed as a deeply flawed way of thinking and a stereotype. Furthermore, even if you do lean into the archetype of queer men being flamboyant, subscribing to the 'stereotypes exist for a reason don't they?' school of thought perhaps, there's also the fact that ideas of what is considered flamboyant change dramatically across different cultures. What is 'flamboyant' for someone might just be normal for others. Like maybe pink or purple or yellow might be considered too much, unmanly, emasculating etc in the US or something but they're just perfectly normal colours for men to wear in many, many cultures.

It's the 'Is he Gay or European?' principle. Did you characterize this Indian character (or any South Asian character really) as queer because of their canonical behaviour and portrayal, or did you just see their clothing and decide they're queer because being well groomed and having a colourful wardrobe is a character trait you exclusively ascribe to being queer?

Like guys, I like Chaipunk like the rest of you, but if you consider Pavitr queer just because his costume is a lot fancier than the others' (An actual take I've seen multiple times) without taking into account his cultural background....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Let me make this clear, I don't think people need a ten page analysis to imagine their fave as queer. Headcanoning a character as queer can have any reason ranging from 'I said so and so it is' to 'this is my light character analysis that makes a masters thesis look shabby' and they're all valid and an integral part of the fandom experience. What I am annoyed at are these so-called 'well-researched' theories that did not make the slightest effort to look into South Asian culture and simply transposed their western bias onto Indian media and confidently make flat out wrong judgements and mislead other people. Clothing based sexual identity determinism is the least of it. That I can at least understand through the lens of a habitual process built through years of analyzing crumbs of queer representation available only through queer coded characters and symbolism such as clothing choices being the only way to see an aspect of yourself portrayed in an aggressively heteronormative media ecosystem. I do that too, because media is tragically heteronormative everywhere. But the rest? Its just straight up misinformation and misrepresentation touted as truth.

Its the same with relationships between men. There are plenty of cultures where skinship between men is not unusual and dynamics and nuances tend to be vastly different from western representations of male friendships. In xianxia and wuxia fandoms you can see this same problem in a different font when outsiders, most often the western side of the fandom, try to apply their own standards and morals onto the original work and try to interpret it through a lens it was never supposed to be interpreted through in the first place, except maybe for comparative analysis. This practice itself isn't a major problem, its natural for people to apply what is familiar to them to try and understand something new. But when this is also accompanied by them foisting their personal interpretation and analysis as the 'correct' one and trying to impose it on the fandom as a whole, it escalates into a powder keg situation as you can imagine.

Again, not saying that western parts of fandoms are the root of all evil or anything like that, gods know how toxic netizens can be. But in this specific situation, where people try to impose western ideals on to non-western content and assumes the universalism of their own principles and value systems? Indeed an issue to be addressed.

#ATSV #South Asian Characters #Desi characters #South Asian culture #Desi Culture #Fandom analysis #LGBTQ+ #Brown culture #Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse #Pavitr Prabhakhar #Hobie Brown #Chaipunk #RRR #Miss Marvel #Tagging Miss Marvel and RRR only because they're in the intro-two pieces of media that are good examples of the increased attention- #on South Asian characters and Indian cinema #Not included in the body of the post except under umbrella terms like South Asian character/South Asian media & other such categories

[coffeenonsense]

I usually try to stay in my lane most of the time (mostly bc I am far too old for fandom drama) but what the hell, it's friday, let's put that lit degree to use:

the way people are playing morality politics with fiction is really starting to genuinely irk me and I think some of the responses to ascended astarion are a perfect example of why this type of thinking is actually hugely detrimental to one's ability to meaningfully engage with fiction and also to the future of art.

astarion is one of the most well-written complex characters I've seen in recent years bar none (and I'm clearly not alone given the explosion of his personal fandom lol) and he has a truly compelling, emotionally resonant character arc whether you ascend him or not

If you keep him a spawn, you get a deeply touching, realistic character's journey to healing and personal growth where he learns who he is after the experience of his trauma and depending on the player's choice, explores his relationship to sex, romance and intimacy

If you ascend astarion, you get an equally emotional and well-rounded character arc where he chooses the power that allows him to have the desperate freedom and safety he's wanted, but in the process eschews any hope of real healing or personal development, and again, depending on the player's choices, restarts the cycle of abuse by taking cazador's place.

These options offer vastly different paths for the character and experiences for the player, but while yes, ascended astarion is the evil ending, and yes, ascending astarion is a tragedy, and a fucking incredible one (not only do you have astarion reigniting a circle of abuse but you have the narrative weight of KNOWING he could have actually overcome his trauma...hats off to the bg3 team tbh) but that does not mean ascending astarion MAKES YOU AS THE PLAYER EVIL

Ascend astarion because you love tragic story arcs, ascend him because you want to indulge in a master/slave vampire fantasy, don't ascend him because you want a healing character journey, don't ascend him because you want a sweet romance; all of these choices carry the same moral weight for the player, which is to say, none, because they are an exploration of fiction.

I know I'm saying this to the villain fucker website but it bears repeating; just because someone wants to engage with evil, fucked up characters or content does not mean they support evil acts in their real life, and furthermore, exploring dark, taboo or tragic concepts safely is part of what fiction is for. It enables us to look at those things from a distance, work through difficult feelings and develop greater understanding of what makes our fellow humans tick — and before you get it twisted there's also no moral issue with exploring fucked up media bc you're horny or just, because. You can take it as seriously (or as sexily) as you want.

It's starting to really concern me how many people not only do not get, but are violently opposed to this concept, because equating what someone likes in fiction with their real life moral code and actions is an incredibly dangerous and let's be honest, immature way of thinking that not only stunts your ability to engage with fiction but ironically, hampers your ability to deal with complicated issues and emotions in real life.

I don't know what's driving this trend (though purity culture is certainly playing a role) but it's definitely something that's not just impacting individuals but contributing to the commercialization of art, where we get games and stories and tv shows and books that regurgitate the same safe, mass marketable plotlines and character archetypes over and over and over again so corporations can squeeze out as much profit as possible.

Anyway, remember kids: There's no such thing as thought crime, reaching for morally pure unproblematic media is directly contributing to the death of art, and this is why funding the humanities is important.

#so...yeah #idk man i have thoughts and feelings #and i love astarion so much lol #astarion #ascended astarion #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #fandom analysis #media analysis #fiction #a personal rant because i need to vent about this and i just recalled i have a blog where i can indeed do so lol #astarion ancunin

[fandom-anthropology]

What are some good sun X moon ships that come to mind for you all?

#fandom anthropology #fandom studies #lime talks #fandom analysis #fandom study #fandom #fandom history #fandoms #shipping #Sonadow #sonknux #blazamy #Whispangle #Candybats #bitterpopcorn #Madohomu #sondam #hinanami #naegiri #sun x moon #Sun and moon #sun and moon dynamic

[khruschevshoe]

OFMD Critique: Jim & Olu, Screentime Quality & Quantity Issues, and Fandom Engagement

It is kind of insane to me that post-Season-1 of OFMD, the tags for Jim Jimenez and Oluwande Boodhari were almost as strong as the ones for Stede and Ed. Like, scrolling back on tumblr, I'm hit by the sheer amount of content posted for them. The fanart. The gifs. The meta. The sheer anticipation of what might come next for them.

(Now, this might just be because I first started looking at the fandom a year in, but I did my best to look at time stamps and how far things were spread out over time for them.)

Now, only a month and a half out from the finale...that flood has dried up to a trickle, if that. There is very little Jim/Olu content, or (more interesting in my own opinion, at least), very little content of them individually. There was plenty when the season was airing, but now? Not so much.

This is not to say that there is no content at all- I am an absolute fan of the fanfic writers, artists, meta-makers, and gifmakers who still contribute to the tag. The QUALITY is still great! It's the QUANTITY that fascinates me.

Because I think it comes back to both the lack of payoff for the rich character writing for these two post-Season 1 AND the butchering of what they did get.

If you read my past metas for these two characters, you'll find my critique of the fact that late-season Jim doesn't feel like Jim at all, and that Olu throughout ALL OF SEASON TWO doesn't feel like Olu, but rather like the writers dumbed him down into the "himbo" role on the show just to have the badass woman x himbo dynamic with him and Zheng Yi Sao (and I am an admitted lover of said dynamic, but not when you strip one of the few emotionally intelligent, clever, logical characters on the show of his intellect and jam him into the role rather than, idk, choosing one of the actual himbos on the show and putting him into that role...wait a second. The writers already HAD the himbo x badass dynamic with Spanish Jackie and the Stede. Is that literally the only way they could figure out how to write a F/M dynamic this season?).

Also, if you pull out all of the Jim/Olu pre-reunion build up (I see you, deleted scene in the Republic of Pirates where Pete and Olu get to pine after Lucius & Jim and talk about how desperate they are to get back to them), have their reunion be rather anticlimatic, and then don't let them have any real kissing/hugging/even emotional intimacy for the rest of the season...I can see why the tag has gotten to the point it has.

A cursory glance at the Blackbonnet/Gentlebeard tags shows that at least half of the tag is just writing fix-it fics for the season, but they are at least ENGAGING with canon because they were given a lot of material (some might argue too much material, as their screentime was often VERY overbalanced as opposed to the rest, and contrary to what some believe, Season 1 WAS an ensemble show, not just the Stede/Ed show) to work with and sort through. Jim and Olu were not given that in Season 2, and thus the amount of material that those in the tag got to pick through and use was either miniscule or felt OOC in nature. So the investment in the characters and ship has rather gone down, which is sad, because post Season 1 these two had my FAVORITE dynamic on the show.

What is the point of this meta? Idk, it's just a thing I've noticed and that has fascinated me. Watching this fandom from both inside and outside has led to noticing some rather interesting patterns/responses to writing that I thought someone else might be interested in.

#jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #jim x oluwande #tealoranges #meta #analysis #ofmd #ofmd critical #ofmd meta #i know it feels like i'm ragging on the zheng/olu ship #and i appreciate those who do ship it #but the way it handles both characters really just gives me the personal ick #fandom analysis #also just realized while writing this that the jackie x swede and olu x zheng ship dynamics are the same and that's just strange to me #because olu and the swede are specifically set up in season 1 as being almost opposite characters #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2

[whereconfusionisarhyme]

okay the way the fandom draws hobie brown is such an interesting indication into the way subconscious racial stereotypes play into characterization and it's,,,it's just interesting.

now, i spend A Lot of time in this fandom. and something i've noticed a lot of is hobie brown being drawn HUGE. like, they're making mans into a TANK. and he's just,,,not that??

like yeah, he has broad shoulders, and he's tall, but that's literally just most any black teen boy let's be honest. if you look at his actual canonical character design, he is LANKY. and yet everyone is drawing him super buff. now at first i didn't think much of it--people like buff men, and fanartists are always gonna take some liberties (honestly, i love when they put their special little twists on the characters). but as i saw it more and more, it bothered me more and more and felt a lot more indicative of some underlying biases within the fandom.

hobie being mischaracterized and stereotyped isn't shocking or new, but that mischaracterization leaking into physical depictions of him is! not to get too deep into it, but throughout american history*, black men have not been able to protect their loved ones in any way other than physical thanks to slavery and horrid mistreatment within an inherently racist system. thus gave birth to the trope of the big, aggressive black man who solves his problems with his twists. and after that, the big aggressive black man who is actually a sweetheart on the inside, but just has raging anger issues (and probably an abusive father as well).

*im aware that movie!hobie is not american and that not the entire fandom is either, but seeing as a large chunk of it is, and are going to be viewing hobie through an american lense, i think this is an appropriate connection to make. also, african slavery was very much a thing outside of america as well. also ALSO, the rest of the worlds perception of black men is affected by american (and english) views just because of how huge the two countries are within the global landscape.

now, the reason this was even bothering me at all in the first place is because when i first watched the movie, the fact that hobie wasn't overly muscular was super novel to me. i was glad that we got to see a black male character who was strong without taking strength from others, loud without obnoxiously talking over others, violent without being aggressive, assertive without being framed as forgetting this place or naive about the world. in terms of personal experience, it pisses me just that bit more than the last time whenever i hear my father insist to my (very sensitive and emotional) brother that the proper way to deal with any and every problem was by fighting. i was glad my brother (severely lacking in good black male role models) got to see this cool guy, someone you're meant to look up to, who is strong without being ripped and punching all of his problems. that black masculinity is more than how well you can fight.

so, the way a lot of the fandom forces hobie into this box, this preconceived idea of what a black man (or boy, more like, but the erasure of childhood from black kids is a topic all its own) should be, just. sits wrong.

#i have these kind of analytical thoughts about fanart depictions concerning all of the main four btw #so tell me if you wanna see me ramble about why miles doesnt get this same treatment despite also being a black boy #or why pavitr is chronically de-buffed (its not *just* cause hes asian) #when az rambles #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #atsv #hobie brown #hobie brown analysis #atsv analysis #fandom analysis

[uniasus]

Netflix released, well, not a ton but some data about viewership recently and I couldn't help but look up the performance of my fandoms. They released the top 18,214 titles based on hours watched from Jan to June 2023.

Ordered in terms of rank.

ATLA: Avatar the Last Airbender (Not available globally - what countries are missing? IDK)

Woot woot! Avatar in the house. 45.5M hours for book 1, giving it a rank of 342.

Book 3 has more views than book 2. I'm gonna credit that to Zuko.

Teen Wolf (Not available globally - what countries are missing? IDK)

The top season is season 3, oddly enough, with a rank of 361! It got 43.9M hours streamed. What are you all rewatching?

Season 1 is the third most watched.

Jurassic World (Not available globally - what countries are missing? IDK)

A healthy rank of 536 with 34M views.

Yu-Gi-Oh (Not available in the US)

Season one is ranked 1,843, with 11.4M hours watched in the first half of the year. Wow! That's impressive for such an old show.

Only 54% of people moved on to the second season. Sad😢

Season 5 had more views than Season 4 or 3. Stop torturing yourselves with rewatching the ceremonial duel, y'all. It's not healthy.

Carmen SanDiego

Season one saw 5.9M hours watched, giving it a rank of 3,133! Not bad for a show from 2019. (How does YGO out rank this? And how is this show more popular than She-Ra? She-Ra is better imo)

I'm impressed the Steal or Not to Steal interactive story did as well as it did. (1.3M hours). But I also know there were some good JuliaxCarmen scenes that 100% inspired fics.

She-Ra (available globally)

Season 1 is ranked 3,213 with 5.7M hours viewed.

People then went on to watch Seasons 5 and 4. We're all rewatching the angst bits, aren't we? Or maybe it's the redemption arc.

Least watched season? 3.

Voltron

Season one is ranked 4,140 with 3.9M hours watched.

Why is season 2 the only one not available globally? Odd. 62% of people go on to watch it after season 1 anyway.

Season 8 is not the least watched season, season 5 is. However, season 5 is totally the one I rewatched twice when it first came out.

Fullmetal Alchemist (movies are global, anime are not)

It is an absolute crime nothing here is ranked high. The highest is the movie, The Revenge of Scar, with a rank of 5,666. 2.2M hours watched.

Only season 1 for both the 03 anime and Brotherhood is available, but the 03 anime is winning. It had an extra 200K hours viewed.

All of the movies had a higher hour watch count than any of the anime seasons.

BBC Merlin | Doctor Who (no data)

Want Data? Variety Article with download links.

#fandom #netflix #fandom analysis #engagement data #fma #bbc merlin #carmen sandiego #yugioh #jurassic world #teen wolf #atla

[leikeliscomet]

“But We Love Martha Jones!” - The Doctor Who Fandom’s Selective Memory of Racism

Be aware that this article contains explicit examples of anti-black racism and misogynoir.

Chapter 2 - Utopia-ish

The constant nitpicking of Martha Jones for reasons white female companions could get away with was blatant anti-black racism. Let’s get that bit clear first and foremost. As a Black person in fandom, watching Black characters get torn apart while never being given the grace of their non-Black castmates is an experience that’s too common. Microaggressions are more subtle so the easiest way to shut down any mentions of racism is to accuse Black fans of making things up or telling us “Well it’s not like REAL racism”. Luckily Doctor Who Tumblr birthed the Martha Jones affirmative action and Aunt Jemima “memes” so I can cross both covert and overt racism off the list. As mentioned in extensive detail in the previous chapter, plus the various Martha Jones articles written before me, the treatment Martha experienced was racist. I don’t care if you personally didn’t like her. I don’t care that you missed Rose. I don’t care that Ten is your smol bean. Martha’s treatment was racist. Freema Agyeman’s treatment was racist. It might not have been everyone. It might not have been you personally. But it was there. The fandom can never be a safe space for POC, specifically Black people if this elephant in the room can’t be addressed over a decade after it arrived.

On paper, you’d assume Martha’s rep was good because “at least she wasn’t a Black stereotype”. Some fans praised her for having a present father, not speaking MLE and not being from the ends. This goes into respectability politics but the fandom’s weirdness about Black Brits and class is not the point of this article. The point is the revisionist history of how Martha was really treated and to do that it helps to know what Black tropes are. The Mammy trope is a Black woman whose main purpose is to serve her white counterparts and during slavery, she mainly cared for the slave owners' children. She is usually fat, dark skin and asexual, not as a representation of those things but as a statement of how if she isn’t used for sexual exploitation like the Jezebel (the promiscuous, reckless, sexualised Black woman), she has no sexual value at all. Her value is serving the needs of others only. Martha doesn’t fit this trope in theory but in practice, she fulfils the sub-categories of this trope both in show and fandom: the disposable Black (girl)friend trope. She is used as Ten’s emotional punching bag before he’s ready for Donna and then Rose again. She had to endure edgy moody S3 Ten so no one else had to. She’s the excuse people use to deflect any critical analysis of how race was handled in RTD1. She’s the fandom’s excuse to deflect from their own racial biases. Racism? No way! Everybody loves Martha Jones! What do you mean?

Some parts of the fandom have tried to mend things by suggesting Martha be paired with other doctors or romantically shipping her with other characters a bit better than Mickey Smith. But does this hold up? As much as I’m a big fan NineMartha as a concept and as someone who honestly saw one-off characters like Riley Vashtee from 42 or Tallulah from Daleks in Manhattan having way more romantic chemistry with Martha than Mickey ever did, simply re-shipping Martha isn’t enough. Doctor Who’s racism isn't exclusive to one doctor, one series or one era and new Martha pairings suggest the issue was “right person, wrong doctor” instead of what the issue actually was: racism. Moffat and Chibnall’s eras weren’t full of golden Black representation either so I doubt the Martha issue would’ve magically disappeared under those two. From Nine’s hostility to Mickey, to Twelve’s hostility to Danny Pink to Thirteen handing a South Asian Spymaster to the Nazis and Eleven only travelling with POC in comics most fans haven’t heard of and being besties with Churchill, simply putting Martha with another Doctor isn’t the serve fans think it is. Even RoseMartha seems like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. If it's not enough for Martha to be compared to Rose, put down in favour of Rose, told she isn’t Rose and told she's worse than Rose in fandom and in show over and over and over, she has to be shipped with Rose too. Martha’s a great character… as long as you can tie her to Rose… again. Even in my own article I have to talk about Rose because Rose is centred in what was supposed to be Martha’s story. A doctor-to-be Black girl from London with a hectic family meets a Time Lord and gets abducted by space rhino police at work in one day. Her main conflict isn’t balancing work and time traveller life, or fighting to get her family back together, or seeing what’s out there in the universe - it's that she isn’t “Rose” enough. The Mammy and her sons’ main thing in common is simple; how well they serve and centre the white characters. In attempts to mend Martha’s treatment she is still only valued in relation to white characters. She should’ve been with Eleven because he would’ve fucked a Black woman. Or maybe Dilfy Twelve. Or a sapphic romance with another female companion who she saw twice or doesn’t actually know. Or maybe Ten in an alternate universe where he supports #nubianqueens. None of this is done to explore sexuality or romance with Black women and is definitely not to centre Black lesbianism and bisexuality. It’s Mammy with a dash of Jezebel. It's adding romantic and sexual value on top of physical and emotional value like a crappy meal deal.

I’m tired of Black women being treated as extensions of white women both in media and in real life. I’m tired of our value being determined by how well we serve white people emotionally, physically, platonically and sexually. And I'm even more tired of white feminism especially in this fandom. It would be so easy to label this article as anti-Rose, anti-Ten or anti-Tenrose to invalidate my whole racial analysis because it's the easy way out. I’ll admit I like both characters individually but not the ship but this isn’t something I decided on since birth - it's my conclusion as a Black fan in a predominantly white fandom, watching a predominantly white show, watching the first companion of my race be told she isn’t good enough compared to the white characters, and that the hatred of her is justified for the greater good of its popular white ship. Black fans can never have this conversation without being told we’re “pitting women against each other” and that Martha and Rose hugged once in S4 so everything's hunky dory. Martha’s happy that Ten found Rose again so what’s the problem? It sends a clear message that Black women’s pain will never matter a much as white women’s feelings. “Rose is amazing! Martha’s amazing! Stop pitting women against women!” but who was pit against who in the first place? These faux girl power posts fail to acknowledge the overlap of race and gender which separates the treatment of Black and white women. It fails to acknowledge Martha’s hate was rooted in anti-black racism. It fails to acknowledge the anti-Rose pushback was in response to how the show and fandom convinced us Rose was the untouchable bar this Black woman failed to meet. It fails to acknowledge Freema Agyeman the actress was targeted not just her character. It fails because the female empowerment rhetoric that leaves the Black ones at the bottom of the pile only “empowers” women of a certain demographic.

The harassment Martha experienced was swept under the rug of “stan wars” but it was so much deeper than that. I’m not saying Martha stans are angels but there was no “Great Stan War” because the sides were never even. At the end of the day no amount of “Martha’s better than Rose” tweets will ever compare to the fact that Martha hate was rooted in misogynoir. Rose was and still is considered the greatest companion of nuwho, whilst Martha is constantly erased and undervalued. Rose’s video views and hashtags have always been bigger than Martha’s. Amy and Clara came after Martha but still surpassed her in popularity and got plenty of fan edits of “The Girl Who Waited” and “The Impossible Girl” whilst Martha was conveniently skipped in the companion lineup. The fandom’s bias still shines clearly in favour of Rose over Martha. Rose’s jealousy towards other women is justifiable and just the ups and downs of a 19-year-old whilst Martha’s is entitled bitterness. Rose’s flaws are compelling character moments and depth, Martha’s are “holding her back from being a good companion”. Hell, even Donna calling out Ten’s BS was entertaining accountability whilst Martha was just the angry Black woman. Fans will weaponise Rose’s working-class roots to imply a pro-Martha bias, failing to acknowledge the working-class to poor background of the average Black Brit, the anti-blackness middle-class Black people are not spared from, the many working-class Black characters of the show like Mickey, Bill, Rigsy and Ryan or how most fans don’t consider Martha middle class because she doesn’t fit the white British cultural stereotypes. You can't be the most loved and hated at the same time. The hard truth is Billie Piper wasn’t racially abused by Martha stans but Freema was absolutely racially abused by Rose’s and the effects of this are still around. Go into Martha Jones tags today and you’ll see snarky posts of how Ten could never love another companion like Rose. Even when Freema bravely shared her experiences of literal racism, fans were quick to yell “But I wanted Ten and Rose though” as a justification for years of misogynoir. Again, we need to address the elephant in the room instead of covering our eyes and ears to act like it’s not there. A Black character and actress was collateral damage in order for a popular white ship to rise and whilst I’m not an anti, I as a Black Doctor Who fan, I’ll never be a supporter. At the end of the day, only one of these actresses is still carrying the burden of misogynoir over 10 years since RTD1 ended. A lonely walk across the Earth yet again.

<- Chapter 1 Chapter 3 ->

#martha jones #freema agyeman #doctor who fandom #doctor who #dw fandom #fandom racism #antiblackness #fandom antiblackness #fandom analysis #rose tyler #tenrose #tenmartha #rosemartha #ninemartha #eleven x martha #twelve x martha #marthadonna #thirteenmartha #rtd era #rtd critical #moffat critical #chibnall critical #black representation #new who #dr who fandom #doctor who analysis #rtd #rtd1 #fandom history

[candy-red-river]

Nyen analysis or somth idk I'm tired

I wanna see randal and nyen interact more. In the extra comics he's not exclusive to bullying nyon and Sebastian and is shown to also bully randal when he can, he just doesn't target him.

I also wanna know why he's so agressive yet respectful to Luther, nyon seems to either have a crush on or have an attachment to luther but nyen doesn't. It seems to be more emotionally neutral and braggy/prideful in a way. He seems to regard himself as the dominant pet in the house and even rivals randal in ranks. He's not even afraid of anyone like the others.

What's interesting to me is that on the website it says he wasn't always like this before he entered the ivory household.

If I had to guess, the only person who he likes or cares about is luther and is judgemental or sees everyone else as beneath him.

I personally think and headcanon that nyen was possibly homeless or in a difficult situation until he met luther and lived with him voluntarily out of necessity unlike being straight up kidnapped like Sebastian and most likely nyon as well.

Luther is the only person who he tolerates and trusts and acts out to prove he's not "pathetic or weird" like the others. That he's worthy of being there

#randals friends #ranfren #nyen catman #fandom analysis #headcanon #fan theory

[dirtyreusablehandkerchief]

so i had a thought this evening

#transformers #maccadam #maccadams #meta #analysis #fandom meta #transformers meta #TF meta #transformers analysis #TF analysis #fandom analysis

[gerdi-ringbell]

What is Sleep Token's trilogy of albums about?

This is my own take on the story behind the album trilogy. First of all, special thanks to Daria Urbanovich for translating this article into English.

Author’s note

Above all, I would like to state a few crucial aspects:

Everything that is written in this essay is solely my perception, the author's reflection and understanding of it. I do not claim to be aware of the truth.

I shall focus entirely on the characters and images, without in any way involving the personalities of the people who stand behind the project. I perceive the whole story as fiction, and I do not mean to speculate on the relation to the actual life of any of the members of the group. Vessel is the narrator here, the lead character in the songs, and the stage persona, not the person under the mask.

This essay would not have existed without a few pieces of material written by others, which I referenced in one way or another. Namely: a breakdown of "Aqua Regia" from the Genius website, as well as song translations and album decodings from the Sleep Token Russian community that deal with aspects that I shall touch upon in no detail.

Preface

Like many other people who are interested not only in the music, but also in the lore of Sleep Token, from the very beginning I have been trying to understand the story behind the fine words.

I read other people's articles and analyses, dug through the lyrics and created my own theories, but the picture just would not come together. Still I had the feeling that something was missing. This was very much the case with the debut album ‘Sundowning’. However, when ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ was finally released, everything fell into place. The last piece of the puzzle had been found.

While reading the breakdown of ‘Aqua Regia’ and ‘Rain’, I figured out what exactly was the missing piece. It is commonly believed that all of Sleep Token's songs are about Sleep (presumably the goddess). However, I shall say that they are about three (or rather, most of the time about two) different women. For my own convenience, I shall call them Sleep, Eden and Rain (I will explain why these names were chosen later on). I shall make it clear at once that Sleep is here precisely as a woman, a character in the story, not as the goddess the band allegedly worships.

With a sudden awareness, the picture rapidly became clearer. It is worth taking a step back and point out that the narrative of the albums is not entirely chronologically accurate. It is designed in such a way that the whole story can be fully understood only when all three albums can be juxtaposed together. Thus, this is what explains the seeming disorder. Now, let us cut to the chase.

The way I see the story

It all begins with Eden. She is Vessel's first (at least in the context of this story) lover. The relationship with her is perfect and harmonious, like heaven (hence ‘Eden’). She is the one whom Vessel sees as the lifelong sweetheart. But, alas, there is a break in this dream-like story, allegedly Alzheimer's disease (as ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ tells us, alluding to the ‘sundown syndrome’ that can be observed in someone with the disease). ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ is the first one on the album, and it begins the theme of memory loss that runs through the other songs dedicated to Eden.

“And you remember everything Only 'til the sun recedes once again”

And with it begins the theme of a premonition of death.

“I know for the last time You will not be mine So give me the night, the night, the night”

It all drifts into ‘Levitate’, filled with despair at the awareness of imminent loss.

“Will you levitate Up where the angels inhabit? Will you levitate Where I won't reach you?”

Here also starts a significant imagery line that runs (to a greater or lesser extent) through all three albums love and relationship are compared to water.

“Like water, a perfect flood Engulfing me again, oh”

Once again, this all ties in with a line of loss of memories – paradise crumbles as Eden loses more and more of herself to her illness. It becomes increasingly difficult to live as before.

“And we imitate A story of perfect days A ballad we fabricate As you forget your words again, oh”

And.

“And I can tell you won't Remember my cracking bones The trauma we can't regrow Just as you leave again, no”

By “leave again” may be meant another loss of memories. Each time the oblivion becomes longer, the memories are fewer and fewer, and the point of no return is closer.

The theme of loss reaches its climax in ‘Drag Me Under’. For Vessel, it is a kind of farewell. The moment when even the angels find no words and when the gods leave heaven is the moment of utmost despair and silent grief.

“And I know The angels tonight are As lost for words As I am”

Moreover, one can observe here another feature characteristic of the tracks dedicated to Eden, a different form of divine theme. Gods and angels seem as faraway supreme beings, and the lyrics themselves are more ‘down-to-earth’.

“And I know The Gods will Abandon the heavens just to find us”

In the lyrics connected with Sleep (that is, in most of them) one gets the impression of the presence of some supreme being, which Vessel seems to try to reach, it is her image that is most ‘deified’ (hence the choice of name), despite the fact that Eden is juxtaposed with paradise. An excellent example is, for instance, ‘High Water’:

“And I choke myself on sacred vapour Waiting on some holy favour”

However, we shall talk about Sleep a little later.

The tipping point for Vessel is ‘Atlantic’. Unable to cope with the loss of his beloved, and probably partly blaming himself for her death, he attempts suicide, but survives.

“I woke up surrounded, eyes like frozen planets Just orbiting the vacuum I am They talk me through the damage, consequence And how it's a pain they know they don't understand Sobbing as they turn to statues at the bedside I'm trying not to crush into sand So flood me like Atlantic, weather me to nothing Wash away the blood on my hands”

It is the beginning of his vicious cycle of suffering, from which he shall not be able to break for a long time. In a sense, ‘Atlantic’ is the starting point of the story, the beginning of a journey deep into Vessel’s mind, his hang-ups and traumas, his self-reflection, expressed in the music and lyrics on all the albums. This is where his darkness begins.

And it is right here where a new phase begins. Although Eden is dead, for Vessel himself life goes on. As time passes, he begins a new relationship with the one to whom most of the tracks are dedicated, Sleep. And their romance is revealed with a genuinely dark side. The tracks dedicated to her flit between two edges – a morbid obsession (like ‘The Offering’, ‘Take Aim’, ‘Hypnosis’, ‘Mine’) and cruelty and toxicity (like ‘Dark Signs’, ‘Higher’, ‘Like That’, ‘Granite’).

In some ways, Vessel is trapped in this relationship. Sleep does not like him, which she does not even particularly hide, but continues to take advantage of him when she needs to. There are plenty of hints, for example, in ‘Say That You Will’.

“And you've got me up in a frenzy again And I know you're planning to leave in the end”

In ‘Higher’.

“Cause you can remember only when you're alone I am granting you more than the debt that I owe”

And in ‘Like That’.

“I stumble into your tar trap An addition to your collection”

And an interesting moment in ‘When the Bough Breaks’.

“You don't really love, you just hate to be alone”

Both the EPs ‘One’ and ‘Two’ are also tied to the story, as we can see with ‘Take Me Back to Eden’, but more on that later.

Perhaps the most vivid examples in this regard are ‘Fall For Me’ and ‘The Love You Want’, both of which speak entirely of Vessel's one-sided love, but the second song is quite interesting lyrically.

“You lie an inch apart on your own continuum Now keep the freak show talk to a careful minimum I'll find a different harbor to lay my anchor in And you'll find a different way to keep from setting sail again, no”

Just as in ‘Jericho’, the theme of physical but not emotional intimacy is touched on here. To put it crudely, in this relationship Vessel occasionally acts as somebody to spend the night with, which Sleep turns to when there is no one else to go to (here again one might think of ‘Higher’). The relationship theme develops through aquatic metaphors (here as ‘harbor’ and ‘sailing’).

“Seems your heart is locked up and I still get the combination wrong Or are you simply waiting to save your love for someone I am not? Too many swallowed keys will make you bleed internally someday”

Vessel is well aware of the futility of his attempts at making himself solid with Sleep, but he is unable to stop – he is addicted. Vessel is obsessed with this relationship. To be more precise, he is obsessed with the idea of what they can be. Here we look into ‘Telomeres’.

Later on we shall analyse this track in more detail, but for now let us think again about the comparison of relationship to water.

“Rivers and oceans We could beckon, no Your eyes and your limbs Are instruments to pick apart The distance within”

Eden was the perfect match for Vessel, the kind of soul mate that many of people can only dream. Their relationship became for him the eminent example, the etalon of what he strives for. It is through the lens of their love with Eden that he perceives all his subsequent relationships. Roughly said, he is not looking for a new partner with whom he can build a future, but someone who can replace his missing love.

Trapped in an addictive bond with Sleep, Vessel desperately tries to make this relationship ideal, even as he realises how unrealistic his desire is. He is split between aggression when Sleep does not meet his expectations once they are together and obsessive despair when they are apart again. That is the picture of their mutually toxic relationship.

As I mentioned, most of the tracks on the first two albums reveal this very issue, but ‘Blood Sport’ is particularly interesting to me in this context.

Overall, the song is a remorse and a plea for another chance, another attempt. Despite the harshness of their relationship, Vessel begs for forgiveness. Nevertheless, I want to draw special attention to these lines.

“And out there Stuck in a quantum pattern Tangled with what I never said You say it doesn't matter”

Frankly, it seems to me like a gaslighting to which Vessel was subjected by Sleep. It also ties in with his mental condition, which is better revealed already on the album ‘Take Me Back to Eden’. Thus, in general, we have understood the first two albums. Let us move on to the third one.

Unlike the first two, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ is much more (though also not completely) linear in its story (although in general terms ‘Sundowning’ can be perceived as a slow prologue and ‘This Place Will Become Your Tomb’ as the main part) and is the final chapter. I shall not examine in detail the songs ‘Chokehold’, ‘The Summoning’ and ‘Vore’, as they simply continue to look at the general theme of the relationship with Sleep from different angles.

The turning point is ‘Granite’. It is a moment of realisation about the nature of their relationship, with all their mutual grievances, recriminations and manipulations. It is as if Vessel is reading the room for the first time.

“When you'd sit there acting likе you know me Acting like you only brought me here to get below me Never mind the death threats, parting at the door We'd rather be six feet under than be lonely And if you had a problem, then you should have told me 'Fore you started getting all aggressive and controlling”

Vessel, for the first time, truly decides to overcome his addiction and break free from the vicious cycle in which nothing good awaits him. His relationship with Sleep is doomed, they could never be happy together, but he realises this only now.

“Between the second-hand smoke and the glass on the street You gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave You say you want me, but you know I'm not what you need But I am”

Speaking briefly about ‘Aqua Regia’, the song metaphorically refers to dating apps and the short-lived romances. From the perspective of the story, it can be seen that Vessel has indeed broken off his relationship with Sleep, but still feels the necessity to be loved, which causes him to fall into a cycle of such affairs. However, one important detail for understanding some of the things that follow.

“Gold rush, acid flux Saturate me, I can't get enough”

The desperate chase for a relationship that never leads to satisfaction. In these temporary acquaintances, he does not find the one who becomes his lover.

Move on to ‘Ascensionism’. In its structure, it creates a kind of picture of struggle, of withdrawal from previous painful relationship. The song begins with longing and regret.

“Well, I know what you want from me You want someone to be Your reflection, your bitter deception Setting you free So you take what you want and leave”

It is the pain of having to break up with Sleep. Vessel realises the necessity of it, but cannot cope with the longing, like a man with an addiction trying to cure himself. But suddenly the melody becomes cheerful and energetic, and musings about their romance are mixed with impressions of the new fast-paced affairs he throws himself into, only to overcome these feelings. The song flow from one line to the next rapidly, like a chaotic stream, underscoring attempts to drown out one thought with another.

“Who made you like this? Who encrypted your dark gospel in body language? Synapses snap back in blissful anguish Tell me you met me in past lives, past life Past what might be eating me from the inside, darling Half algorithm, half deity Glitches in the code or gaps in a strange dream”

Then a sudden breakdown – rage, pain, resentment – as one of the experience stages.

“You're gonna watch me ascend”

The storm dies down, replaced again by humility, almost acceptance. But this time Vessel is more focused on himself and his own feelings.

“And I know what you want from me You want the same as me My redemption, eternal ascension Setting me free So I'll take what I want then leave”

And then, the final breakdown.

“You make me wish I could disappear, no You make me wish I could disappear”

The whole ‘Ascensionism’ is just a picture of the emotional rollercoaster that Vessel goes through, having to cope with the break-up alone. Although their relationship with Sleep was toxic, he was addicted, which makes the break-up so traumatic. However, this time he does not attempt to return, he moves on.

Here I shall take a slight step back from Vessel's relationship with Sleep and come back to Eden, because herein lies a little internal trilogy from ‘Telomeres’, ‘Are You Really Okay?’ and ‘The Apparition’, revealing the effects of their relationship on Vessel himself. In all honesty, this is probably my favourite part of the jigsaw puzzle.

Return to ‘Telomeres’ for a second, especially to these lines.

“Let the tides carry you back to me The past, the future Through death My arms are open”

Even though Eden is dead, Vessel still loves her. He misses her and longs to be reunited, so that even death will not be an obstacle for them. But you have to be careful what you wish for, because it can come true.

This is where we come to ‘Are You Really Okay?’, which draws us a picture of Vessel's dream, which begins with a beautiful image of his beloved in the dawn sun, but soon it all turns into a nightmare.

“You woke me up one night Dripping crimson on the carpet I saw it in your eyes Cutting deeper than the scars could run”

Memories of Eden's self-harm and suicidal tendencies haunt Vessel at nights. The illness probably aggravated her already difficult emotional state (as the single ‘The Way That You Were’ also hints at). I mentioned at the very beginning, when analysing ‘Atlantic’, that Vessel might have blamed himself for her death.

“So flood me like Atlantic, weather me to nothing Wash away the blood on my hands”

Knowing Eden's tendency to self-harm and her suicidal thoughts, one day he might simply not have saved her in time, making him feel responsible for what happened because he did not see the red flags in time or take enough action (from his point of view) to stop her.

“And I I cannot fix your wounds this time”

‘The Apparition’ is a moment of awakening from a nightmare. As Vessel wished, his beloved returns to him, albeit only at night, even if only in nightmares.

“Why are you never real? Whenever you appear You leave me with that grace I am trembling with fear But I know that you will disappear Just as I awake”

No matter how much time has passed, he cannot recover from this loss.

“No matter what I do This scar will never fade”

Although these dreams are a kind of torture for him, Vessel is pleased with them because he briefly reunites with Eden, seeing her end up committing suicide.

“I make the most of the turning tide It just split what's left of the burning silence Don't wait, 'cause this could be the last time You turn up in the reveries of my mind I wake up to a suicide frenzy Loaded dreams still leave me empty”

“I make the most of the turning tide” ties in directly with ‘Telomeres’ – “Let the tides carry you back to me”. Just as Vessel wanted, the waters brought his beloved back to him, even if not in the way one might have wished. However, the awakenings are painful for him, because they remind him that in reality, Eden has long been dead. It is an endless cycle of nightmare dreams and an equally nightmarish reality. Vessel is caught between the desire to be free and the unwillingness to let go.

“Just let me go or take me with you”

‘DYWTYLM’ is a ballad about Vessel's self-reflection, his attempts to figure out his own feelings. Many of the songs on the album show his complicated relationship with himself, but this one makes the issue a centerpiece. The pain of loss, guilt and a long toxic relationship broke him down.

“Do you pull at the chains? Or do you push into constant aching? Each and every day Do you wish that you loved me?”

I do like the theory that the whole track is he, talking to his own reflection in the mirror.

“Is there something you give That you will never receive in return? Do you know what it is? Do you wish that you loved me?”

In many ways, it echoes his reflections on unrequited love, particularly ‘The Love You Want’. These two songs have both many slight opposites and are very similar thematically – love for oneself or for another, the desire to love or to be loved.

“And my reflection just won't smile back at me likе I know it should And I would turn into a stranger in an instant if I could And there is somеthing eating me alive, I don’t know what it is Maybe not that you conceal your feelings, they just don't exist”

The whole track portrays a picture of Vessel's dark and traumatised inner world. In a way, here he is looking back at his past and trying to figure out who he has become. ‘DYWTYLM’ is on this place on the album for a reason, because the next song is ‘Rain’.

‘Rain’ is, in a sense, the finale of the story, as both ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ and ‘Euclid’ are a kind of conclusion, although in different ways. And this is where she appears – Rain (where the name comes from, obviously), Vessel’s new love.

Now, in order. Time passes after the break-up with Sleep; amongst the myriad of new fast-paced affairs, none can lead to anything.

“For so long, I have waited So long that I almost became Just a stoic statue, fit for nobody”

Exactly until the moment, he meets her, Rain.

“And I don't wanna get in your way But I finally think I can say That the vicious cycle was over The moment you smiled at me”

She shows reciprocity, and it is not some little affair. In Vessel’s eyes, she is the one, who becomes his hope for a new serious (and healthy) relationship, for breaking the endless cycle of viciousness. However, we ought not to forget that he himself, as we see in ‘DYWTYLM’, has enormous difficulty accepting himself, and therefore finds himself unworthy of a partner (“And I don't wanna get in your way”).

Nevertheless, he believes that Rain is the woman who can become ‘the one’ for him. That is why she is like the purifying rain (remember the constant thread of comparing love to water). Beside her, Vessel becomes the best version of himself.

“And just like the rain You cast the dust into nothing And wash out the salt from my hands So touch me again I feel my shadow dissolving Will you cleanse me with pleasure?”

However, he is not forgetting that he is far from an ideal partner. Mutual toxicity, demanding the impossible, manipulation – all the things he has done and been in the past relationship.

“A dangerous disposition somehow Refracted in light, reflected in sound I'm coiled up like the venomous serpent”

He is caught between his fear of returning to this darker side of himself, being the cause of his new lover's suffering, and his desire to give himself another chance and enter into a new relationship. In doing so, he openly warns her of his dark sides. The last line is especially important.

“And I know, I know the way that it goes You get what you give, you reap what you sow And I can see you in my fate And I know, I know I am what I am The mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb So darling, will you saturate?”

Here we return to ‘Aqua Regia’, to the line “Saturate me, I can't get enough”. The endless chase for a relationship ends. Rain is the one who can ‘saturate’ him, meaning an affair with her can lead to a serious long-term relationship.

Here, through a wonderfully subtle reference to ‘Blood Sport’ and the subsequent repetition of “Rain down on me”, we see that despite all the worries and fears, Vessel finally decides to start a new chapter of his life together with a new love.

“Nobody can say for certain If maybe it's all just a game When I open my eyes to the future I can hear you say my name”

‘Take Me Back to Eden’, it seems to me, is not even so much an epilogue as a kind of ‘confession’, leaving some hint of an open ending to the story. It is Vessel's reflection on his past with both Eden and Sleep, and the leftover longing and pain, which he has not been able to let go.

“I dream in phosphorescence Bleed through spaces See you drifting past the fog But no one told you where to go We dive through crystal waters Perfect oceans But no one told me not to breathe And now the weightlessness recedes”

Even in the new chapter of his life, his past relationships and the pain he has endured continue to drag him down. After the rather encouraging ‘Rain’, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ seems rather bleak and despairing.

“My, my, those eyes like fire I'm a winged insect, you're a funeral pyre Come now, bite through these wires I'm a waking hell and thе gods grow tired”

His morbid desire for a perfect relationship has not gone anywhere.

“I will travel far beyond the path of reason Take me back to Eden”

The song in many ways shows the vivid image of introspection from ‘DYWTYLM’, but in a more aggressive and desperate way.

“Well, yeah, I spit blood when I wake up Sink porcelain stained, choking up brain matter and make-up Just two days since the mainframe went down and I'm still messed up Room feels like a meat freezer I dangle in like cold cuts Missed calls, answer phones from people I just don't trust”

Mostly the song draws a rather gloomy picture of the recognition that there is no going back, what has been done cannot be undone, and the pain caused cannot be taken away.

“And I don't know what's got its teeth in me But I'm about to bite back in anger No amount of self-sought fury Will bring back the glory of innocence”

Coming right after ‘Rain’, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ seems to hint at the continuation of the vicious cycle. The vivid reference to ‘Chokehold’ at the end of the song is especially evident – we go back to the beginning of this cycle: addiction, pain, break-up, suffering. Yet, the song does not give an obvious answer as to where the relationship with Rain comes to, as the whole picture is drawn as if from ‘inside’, through inner fears and concerns, rather than through what is going on.

Then, here is the long-awaited ‘Euclid’. To be honest, I think that the song has almost nothing to do with the story. It sums up the whole Sleep Token oeuvre (that is why it consists almost entirely of references).

There is a surprising change of mood again. After the dark and heavy ‘Take Me Back to Eden’, ‘Euclid’ sounds like a new hope, though with a touch of quiet melancholy. It is a kind of what-will-be look into the future, a desire to move forward, no matter what lies ahead. It is a lovely picture of ‘walking off into the sunset’.

“If my fate is a bad collision, and if My mind is an open highway Give me the twilight two-way vision Give me one last ride on a sunset sky lane”

I should be honest – I like the theory that this song is an appeal to the audience, a thank-you for being part of this journey.

“The night belongs to you This bough has broken through I must be someone new”

The repetition of the lines from ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ is a wonderful way of putting the lid on the matter and pointing out that this story is over. It is the end of a fragment of the band’s history, and only a few people know what is ahead.

***

So now, the picture is complete. I want to bring up one more question – so what is really the message of Sleep, for the spread of which Sleep Token came into being? I have wondered for a long time, would this ubiquitous ancient god really preach about such down-to-earth things as unrequited love or toxic relationships? But what if we've all been misunderstanding the very concept of the message all along?

I believe that what it is all about is not hidden in the texts at all, as one might think. God's message is much broader than that, and is not something that can be wrapped up in words like that. Because it is about healing through music. Yes, just like that.

Have you ever felt that any of the songs touches your heart, touches a definite string of your soul? If yes, then congratulations, you have received and understood the message. It is not about love and relationships at all, it is about letting your emotions, your hidden pain flow out through your music and giving yourself permission to move on. The theme of love in this context becomes very clear, as it is familiar to many of us. I remember that when I first have to know the band, I described my feelings this way – "they are opening up wounds in my soul that I didn't realise I had, to let them bleed and finally heal".

I feel like this is the very essence of the band’s idea.

So why exactly was Vessel chosen as the ‘preacher’? Precisely because he has been through so much and the story that this narrator told us in the three albums was a heavy burden for him. Throughout Sleep Token's existence, he gradually healed, became more confident, showing by his example the influence of Sleep, which is not at all present in the songs, as is commonly thought.

***

Finally, a couple of words about the EPs ‘One’, ‘Two’, the singles, and their relation to the story. Here we are going a little bit beyond the lore, because I think the concept of the story that is told on the three albums was already formed closer to ‘Sundowning’, and the first EPs could have been just first steps. The direction in which the band was going to work was already clear, but the details were still unsettled. So the songs on those albums, while related to history (as we understand from the references to them in various places on ‘Take Me Back to Eden’), but the connection is more abstract and blurred.

Thank you, if you have made it through.

Worship.

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