#also manly's commentary makes the experience Better

[mifithemuffin]

purgatory 2 is insanely funny i haven't had such a good time in a while honestly

#the first one was a solid indie horror game on its own #a little bit silly a little bit nonsensical #I didn't even take it seriously tbh #purgatory 2 knocked me down instantly #this generic ass protag with a heart of gold #typical anime girls around #evil underground organisations #demonic creatures #nothing makes sense but somehow characters interactions are extremely enjoyable #also manly's commentary makes the experience Better #anime people doing anime stuff #love when games don't really take themselves seriously #rpg horror #purgatory 2 #manlybadasshero

[alaskasmonsters]

bnha boys comforting you when you’re on your period

— bakugou katsuki, todoroki shouto, midoriya izuku, kaminari denki, kirishima ejirou, shinsou hitoshi

a.n: i don’t usually do hcs with more than three people, but this is a special occasion. the special occasion is me being in pain and in dire need of comfort. i hope this is accurate enough, my brain just spout these out while on pain medication....these are gender neutral, too, btw.

bakugou katsuki

very much overwhelmed with what he is supposed to do when he sees you don’t feel well

i mean he’s shit at being gentle and comforting???? and he doesn’t know what the problem is?

bakugou is very direct so he just asks you

“what the fuck is wrong with you, idiot?”

did i mention he’s not good at being gentle?

he didn’t know periods could hurt but it makes sense to him because there is blood, so obviously it must hurt

also he doesn’t date weaklings so if you’re down it means this must be hell basically

wants to bring you to recovery girl because how else is he supposed to help? that old hag must have some kind of medicine for this shit

he’ll respect whatever it is you want though

you want him to stay with you? fine with him. you want him to leave? he’ll understand. 

will cook you food though! he can’t just let you starve because you don’t know how to take care of yourself

he’s better with showing how much he cares through actions than words 

gives the best belly rubs hands down

he’ll heat up his hands for you and it makes you feel so much better

basically the best heating pad TM

(he’ll totally brag about it if you tell him that)

probably insults your period more than just once while you’re in pain

like this shitty thing hurts you???

how dare it hurt his favorite person fuck it

he’s gonna be the number one hero so of course he’ll take care of you and make sure you feel better soon

he’s also the number one boyfriend, don’t even try to deny that

todoroki shouto

he’s very concerned about your well being

please tell him what’s wrong with you he needs to know how to help you so you feel better soon

when you tell him he’s kinda shellshocked about the whole thing

you bleed? several times a year? and that’s normal? it also hurts? yeah it must hurt! you’re bleeding!

asks you what he can do for you because he wants to help you feel better

no matter what you ask him to do, he’ll do it immediately

you need essentials? consider it done

shouto wouldn’t even blink, he’ll buy you pads or tampons no cap

just imagine him standing in the isle for women’s products and choose what kind of pad or tampon to get you

he’d be all concentrated and frowny

and serious, he’d be very serious about doing a good job

straight up asks a few bystanders for their personal opinion of what they believe to be the best kind

there are just so many and why do some of them have wings? what does that even mean????

you want warm clothes? he’ll just pull his hoodie over his head and give it to you

that’s not enough? he’ll pull of his shirt as well

you wants blankets and pillows? he’ll bring them immeditaley

you wants cuddles? he will happily warm you up with his quirk

belly rubs? yes! he’ll use his left hand so he can help you with warmth

just anything really! he wants you to feel better

if you don’t know what he could do to help you he’ll just ask the 1-A girls

will just go up to one of them and ask what helps them during period pain

they’re kinda spooked but think it’s really sweet when he explains

he now has a whole list of things of what he could try and he’s gonna go though every single one of them until you’re better

midoriya izuku

extremly worried when he sees how bad you’re feeling

he’ll just try to bring you to recovery girl because are you sick? are you hurt? do you have a fever? what’s wrong????

tell him the problem he’ll be all shy and blushy

also embarrassed because he has no idea about any of that

first thing he does is do research because that’s what he’s best at

by the end he knows more about periods than you do

it’s kinda scary

probably asks a lot of questions to make sure the pain you experience is normal and there is nothing wrong with you

he’s just very concerned okay, he doesn’t want anything to be wrong with you

tells you how strong you are because period pain compared to the pain of a heart attack???? what???

and you go through that several times a year???? he truly has the most amazing significant other in the world

showers you in compliments because you deserve them all

you’re so amazing!!

collects tips from different articles and makes a list

he’ll try every single one of them and he will not stop until you feel better

he wants to be a hero and as a hero he has to be able to help you, too!

kaminari denki

most worried out of all of them

he is a little overdramatic so he just immediately assume you’re dying

will be all over you basically until you tell him what’s up

he will be so glad to find out you’re actually not dying

very confused about the concept of periods but he sure doesn’t like them

they hurt you and he loves you so they’re bad news

also who even needs them? they sound useless

will immediately offer cuddles to you because they help him feel better, too, so he hopes they help you, as well

he asks you where it hurts so he can kiss it better as well

he wants to make you laugh so he just fools around a lot

he’ll crack jokes, tell funny stories…whatever it takes to cheer you up

he’ll make sure you stay in bed all day and are all comfortable and cozy

you do not get to do anything that could exhaust you!

“no, y/n! you’re sick and that means you gotta stay in bed!“

you try to tell him you’re not sick but denki doesn’t believe it

you spend your time watching all your favorite movies and playing video games

if you don’t like to play yourself just watch denki build his village in animal crossing

denki gets all the snacks he can find in a short amount of time and brings them to you

he does not want to leave you alone for too long, otherwise he’d go to a store to get all your favorites as well

will rub your belly whenever you look uncomfortable

he’ll kiss your face a lot and make ridiculous sounds to make you laugh

he’s just very affectionate also

asks if you’re feeling better every few minutes

don’t tell him if you’re feeling worse because it will frustrate him he doesn’t know how to help you

homeboi also texts mina a lot to get tips about how he can help you

kirishima eijirou

not at all stressed over the idea of periods and period pain

a manly guy like him knows that things like that are super natural 

and a manly guy like him also knows how manly it is to take care of his significant other when they’re in pain so that’s what’s he gonna do

will baby and pepper you with love if you want him to

do not ask him to leave you alone though

his heart will break into pieces if you do

he’ll just look at you like he’s about to cry

he wants to help so badly but even if he can’t help he wants to be there for you and with you

just let him hold you or sit next to you and he’ll be happy

also tell him if you need anything

he’ll jump up and rush to get it immediately

he wants to be the best boyfriend possible

he’ll bring you food and water even if you don’t feel like eating or drinking, because he’s gotta make sure you’re fed and hydrated

will run you a hot bath as well, because you deserve to relax a little

if you don’t want a bath he’ll just tuck you into bed and play your favorite music

makes sure you are not stressing over anything so you can get better

shinsou hitoshi

shinsou is just very chill about the whole situation

“you’re in pain? that sucks. let’s take care of you.“

happily naps with you if you want to do that

he barely sleeps anyway, so that’s something that would help the both of you!

although he won’t be able to sleep himself…

he is just happy to hold you and look at your cute face while you’re asleep

if you don’t want to nap that’s fine to

he asks you what you need and because whatever it is, you know best after all

he’ll just help you to the best of his ability

he knows it won’t just magically go away but if he can do anything to make it more endurable…lay it on him!

will put on your favorite music or movie or show and just be there

if you’re watching a movie he’ll distract you with his top tier commentary

if you’re listening to music he’ll hum the melody to help calm you down 

if you’re watching a show he’d make dry jokes about everything that’s going on in there

taglist: @crystal-lilac​

#bnha headcanons #bnha hcs #midoriya izuku headcanons #midoriya izuku hcs #bakugou katsuki headcanons #bakugou katsuki hcs #todoroki shouto headcanons #todoroki shouto hcs #kaminari denki headcanons #kaminari denki hcs #shinsou hitoshi headcanons #shinsou hitoshi hcs #kirishima eijiro headcanons #kirishima eijiro hcs #deku headcanons #bakugou headcanons #bakugou hcs #todoroki headcanons #todoroki hcs #shinsou headcanons #shinsou hcs #denki headcanons #denki hcs #midoriya izuku x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #kaminari denki x reader #shinsou hitoshi x reader #kirishima eijiro x reader #mha headcanons

[bnha-more-like-bnh-gay]

I saw your Izucrew headcanons, and I love them a lot! But I was also wondering if you had any Kiricrew headcanons as well.

Thank youuu! I’m glad🥺💙 ! ! ! ! ! Y E S I D O ! ! !

KIRICREW HEADCANNONS:

They quote memes and old vines constantly

Kaminari, Mina, and Kirishima are all fairly competitive, and have mini competitions almost constantly. Sero commentates and they often lose focus on what they’re doing because he makes jokes in his commentary

Mina makes them all dance. She tries to teach them, she really does. They end up getting it. Sero is already good at dancing though and helps give Kami and kiri pointers. Mina says sero is her favorite for weeks. Eventually it becomes an inside joke, and the entire squad refers to Sero as “the favorite”

About once a week, kiri goes on rants about how manly they all are, and by the end of it they’re usually all in tears

Whenever kami short circuits, they all make sure he’s safe and take care of him. Whenever Mina is on her period (they refer to as shark week) they make sure she has the food she likes, chocolate, etc.

Whenever one of them gets self conscious about something (kiri thinking Kiri thinking his quirk , they all remind him how manly he is. Whenever sero gets frustrated about everyone calling him “plain,” they all talk about how great he is.

They gossip,,, so much,,, mainly Mina, sero, and Kami, but kiri gets intrigued too. Nobody knows how, but Mina will just pop up and share some gossip she heard. The first time she popped up, it was in Sero’s form. He didn’t see her walk in. She just appeared next to his bed yelling, “GUESS WHAT?!” He screamed

Kami and Mina both have ADHD, and often can’t sleep because of it

Kirishima and sero are both pretty optimistic people, and kamimari and Mina are very enthusiastic, they all hype each other up daily. It’s very chaotic,, but also fairly wholesome

They try to recreate the most chaotic vines

They hang out outside of campus a lot. They’ll go to arcades, the mall, the beach, etc.

They all take skincare fairly seriously, or at least have started to after their first sleepover. Mina brought a bunch of face masks. They now have mini spas at their sleepovers

They have Mario kart and super smash bros competitions. They have gotten noise complaints, and accidentally broken things before. But it’s fine, it’s fine. Yells of “FRICK YOU, SERO” have been heard throughout the building

They try to study together, they really do. They get distracted though, and before they know it it’s been four hours and they’re playing truth or dare

They binge watch pre-quirk era movies and compare sero to Spider-Man. They all then start trying to recreate the Spider-Man movies

Denki does help them with English and literature

After mina told kaminari how creepy m*neta was, and how uncomfortable he made her, kaminari stops hanging out with mineta all together. They all regularly bash mineta, and help sero wrap him up with his tape

They have so many nicknames for each other. Including, but not limited to Acid-o, dancing queen, Dwayne Johnson, shark boy, electric love, Thor but from Walmart, duck tape can fix it, and flex seal

Sero is fairly good at cooking, and they love him for it. Sero has referred to them as leaches because of this

Whenever one of them falls down the others all laugh. This has resulted in whoever fell down grabbing someone’s leg and making them fall over. This merely creates a domino effect and soon all of them are laughing hysterically in a pile on the floor

Mina and Kami get really bad test anxiety. Sero and kiri always try to remind them that they’re trying their best and that’s enough, and that they believe in them, and that just because they’re not the best at taking tests doesn’t mean they’re dumb.

One time they ram into kirishimas old bullies at the mall, and Mina absolutely obliterated them while Sero talked Kiri down from a panic attack

In order of most impulsive to least impulsive, it goes Mina, Kirishima, Kamimari, and Sero

Mina and kirishima both have embarrassing stories of each other from middle school that they love to share with Kami and sero

Kiri and Kami both have anxiety. Sero and Mina always try to remind them that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes, and that their feelings are valid

They’ve tried to find cryptids before, and have gone ghost hunting

After finding out that Bakugou is indeed a bully, and hearing about what he’s done to Midoriya, Mina and the entire squad start an anti bullying campaign in the school, and lead an anti bullying seminar with the izucrew, sharing their experiences, talking about how to help, etc.

They hold mini game shows and have gotten mist of the class to participate in them as well. They’ve also hosted a biweekly game night for the class that gets very intense. Aizawa wants a raise, but secretly enjoys watching his chaotic class of gremlins

They train together a lot. Working on special attacks, weight training, running, etc. Mina and kiri are both pretty buff, and they’re helping sero and Kami with weight training. Sero and Mina are better at aerial attacks. Kamimari is the best at hand to hand combat. Kaminari and sero are best at long distant combat with their quirks, and are especially helping Mina get better at them using her acid.

I shall add more later as well! I love these four so much😭👏🙌 I hope you enjoyed these though!!

#bnha #mha #kirisquad #kiricrew #kamicrew #serosquad #mina gery #bnha mina #mina ashido #sero hanta #bnha sero #bnha kaminari #denki kaminari #bnha kirishima #kirishima eijirou #anti bakugou katsuki

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Uchitama 7 - 8 | Eizouken 8 - 9 | ID: INVADED 8 - 11 | Iruma-kun 22 - 23 (FINAL) | BnHA 82 - 83

Uchitama 7

Lemme guess…this is the ve-Yep.

The name of this segment is Ottamake. The ke means fur/hair, but it does seem like it’s referring to Tama otherwise.

For some reason, Bull’s really into cats…

LOL, you can see the cat food right there is a real brand. I dunno how they got away with that.

Hmm, this show has something to say about idol business…and it does it better than some of the human idol shows! That says something.

It even comments on the “graduation” system. Whaddaya know.

Welp, I never thought an anime could pull off this with a commentary on gender presentation, to boot. (It’s not as pervasive as Stars Align’s, but it’s still one of the better ones. I guess I shouldn’t expect it as a norm though.) I thought Kai was a dude though and so Bull’s interactions came off to me as massively gay. I’ve been thinking, maybe he’s pan? Can dogs be pansexual???

Why do I get the feeling Kai is going to be introduced into 3-chome? Update: Doesn’t happen.

This song sounds very idol-like.

Uchitama 8

Aww…I feel like we’re going to learn Nora’s backstory soon. I think it’s going to be real sad.

…Yup, there goes my kokoro. Smol Nora is cute~!

Genki can mean “healthy” as well as “energetic” – the latter is why it’s translated as “spunky”.

Why do I get the feeling Nora’s owner died…?

Oh, smol Nora has a bandaid on his leg.

Let me ask the essential furry question – they hav human ears and animal ears. Which of those sets of ears do they hear with?

Yuuki Kaji does a good job as Nora.

This song’s so sad, it almost got me crying…  

Eizouken 8

This anime is like something from Studio Trigger!

The magic of Eizouken is that you get sucked into the anime they make and never look back.

Tomodachi vs. nakama, I think it is.

Id: Invaded 8

Lately, I’ve been thinking about practical cosplay (everyday wear that also doubles as a cosplay outfit). So basically, I’ve been thinking about Sakaido and El-Melloi II’s outfits a lot, since they’re rather practical while still looking cool. All I’m missing for El-Melloi’s outfit with the red jacket is a black button-up shirt, for El-Melloi’s outfit with the black jacket I’m missing a red scarf and I’m missing a brown button-up shirt for Sakaido’s (although the yellow scarf I got today to get one step closer to two of those isn’t the right mustard colour, it’s more of a lighter yellow).

Also, I noticed it’s (according to the katakana) meant to be “Id: Invaded”, but heck, it’s been ID: Invaded for so long for me, I don’t care either way.

Kiki was born in Fukui.

I always thought Mister Fixer sounded sad and now I think I know why…the bit I remember the most (the line that goes “Mister Fixer” and the bit around it) sounds like the singer is lamenting their life. Now that I see the visuals again after a few weeks (I’d get fatigued if I watched all that Fate/ and still managed to keep up with simulcasts, so I’ve been taking the simulcasts in a few eps at one time), Mister Fixer does quite sound like a crime drama song, but not as much as Thought I Knew (from Stand My Heroes).

I’ve seen images of Anaido and Sakaido in the same well for a few weeks now, so this cooperation bit is no surprise at all.

I believe Fukuda is asking why Narihisago is a –san to her even though they’ve worked together a while.

The words “data profile” are in one corner of the titlecard.

Does Anaido remember who he is in the ID Well? I presume not, but it’s hard to tell since we haven’t had as much time with him as we have Sakaido (not to mention I’ve been regularly filling my head with Fate/ and other things as well lately…so it’s hard to remember).

It’s interesting. Fukuda has the same piercings as Anaido (and even a ring on one pointer finger that matches them!), so he must’ve tried experimenting with…more legal holes, to put it one way…before getting his most iconic one.

Kaeru’s nails are chipped. Hmm.

In #Brake-Broken, which I read the first chapter of earlier (there’s a sample on the Young Ace website), Sakaido notices he doesn’t have a phone with him to call anyone or a licence (because in that manga, he wakes up in a car). It’s likely this will work the same way and Anaido won’t have any possessions on him, aside from the clothes on his back, accessories and the item that was stolen from his wrist/s.

Rings on both fingers…so I should be talking about them in plural. Update: I like how Anaido’s off-the-wall thought processes break up the inherent seriousness of Sakaido’s deductions and utilitarian way of doing things.

Anaido, you grimdark f***er. Update: For trying to eat a dead girl.

Okay, so for the sake of my practical cosplay, I knew I’d need this episode. Sakaido wears a long-sleeve brown shirt with some kind of shirt under that (either brown or black), plus a mustard-coloured scarf. (Note El-Melloi II wears a black shirt under his black button-up shirt, so I went with black as well.) In Brake Broken, I also noticed he wears dark socks (or that could be the leggings) and runners with a lightning bolt on them (I had to make do with generic black runners with a white stripe on the bottom), plus the iconic brown shorts over those (with a triangle pattern)…Why does Sakaido have a scarf anyway, versus Anaido and Miyo who don’t? As much as I like scarves, especially where colder weather is involved, getting a specific colour scarf was a bit of a headache to be honest, since I took 3 trips before deciding on the one I was going to buy (and even then, someone got it before me! The scarf I have now was my 2nd choice). Update: The shorts, leggings and undershirt are black, but I don’t know if Sakaido is wearing any socks or if they’re black too.

Just to note what Anaido has as well (although a coat like that, with the red detailing and flaps, would be hard to find…), he has a blue coat, suspenders, a white button-up top, a string tie (had to google what that was called, although its name is pretty obvious now that I know), black pants (which kinda look like leggings, but they’re not) and leather boots.

Now Sakaido can go into the loony bin…he’s talking to Kaeru.

Is Anaido going in circles? Sakaido caught up real fast…

Um, hey, protip: When stuck in quicksand, try to “float” on it. If you move, you’ll sink into it more. I don’t know how I know that, but I did stick it into my mind for times like this.

Notably, Anaido is about a head taller than Sakaido. Either Sakaido is unnaturally short and Anaido is average…or Anaido is just tall in that way some men are.

Did the bird get to this dude…?

There appears to be a man with a bun facing Hondomachi in the ED, although you can’t tell who it is from silhouette alone…Maybe he hasn’t appeared in the show yet. (Can’t be Matsuoka though. Might be the old guy who’s the head of Kura, actually.)

Update: Is the dead guy Momoki…?

Id: Invaded 9

It’s the familiar ceiling scene from Evangelion! (Okay, I’m kidding, but it’s a similar deal.)

I think the rules of Fate/ are “do it all, until you can no longer do it” (i.e. Everything is the same, until it’s different). It seems it’s the same here too.

Huh? Momoki?

“It doesn’t seem friendly.” – Yeah, and people die whe they are killed…in murder mysteries like this, usually speaking.

I noticed Narihisago’s tie is the same colour as his Sakaido jacket, if not the shirt under that.

Where did the Challenger’s clothes go after he took them off??? Hyperspace??? He wasn’t shown tossing them.

So Kaeru was Asukai all along, huh?

“Look at this.”

“It makes me think about him.” Subbers, that’s two mistakes in less than 1 minute…

I saw a fanart where Narihisago had his arm broken. I didn’t know why, but now I do. Also, TV Tropes is bad if you want to avoid spoilers…I know that already, but I go there anyway sometimes...

“It makes me wanna puke.”

Iruma-kun 22

The anime’s final episode is next week…but there’s already a season 2 in store for next year, so hopefully I survive the coronavirus and sort out all my issues this year in time for it.

Dat OP though. I’ve grown used to it and it’s actually endeared itself to me…which is odd, since I didn’t think I’d like it at first.

Demdol = akudol. Obviously, from “demon”.

Was that…Clara’s mother???  Kuromu’s older bro doesn’t look too bad, either.

Ohmygosh, this is fabulousssssssssss (and hilarious)! I’ve been waiting for this moment for many episodes, as you can tell if you’ve been following along, and I finally got the payoff!

Clara ends her sentence with –akuma (devil), hence the translation is matching it the same way.

Oh my gosh, Ryouhei Kimura (Azz-kun) sucks at being feminine, but that’s exactly what the role requires for this!

If you just pretend Azz-kun isn’t dressed in such an outlandish outfit, he looks really good…! Ayumu Murase does a pretty good falsetto, although you can tell there’s one point where Kimura’s voice gets really manly-sounding for a lady.

“Little imp” – Koakuma.  

Oh! The Keroli family is all cute.

Ooh, Kuromu’s nails are blue. Never noticed that before.

Eizouken 9

Chojugiga are ancient pictures normally depicting animals. As for sepak takraw…

I wonder if Eizouken will tackle the Manabi Line one day…?

That’s a parallel for Comiket, LOL.

“A colossus that no one can see!” – Gridman, is that you?

When did Kanamori meet Asakusa again…?

Kanamori with a bun is cool.

“There is nothing fun about social media!” – Well, social media is fun for me because it’s where I escape reality, but sometimes you gotta be like Kanamori and use it for publicity’s sake.

LOL, the username for the Eizouken is @eizoukenn.

I just realised Mizusaki’s hairstyle is irregular…it’s much longer on on side than the other.

“Mizusaki bump” – I think this references the Colbert bump. (TV Tropes link)

Kanamori – she with the word “gold”…or “money”…in her name – struggles with maths? Wow, that was something to hear. (I guess it’s kinda like me and IT (cybersecurity) – I suck at it because I suck at modulos…or division in short…and even though I can be found on my computer a lot, that’s why I don’t pursue it any longer. I was decent at accounting, but man, I’d be bored out of my brain if you made me do business IT and I have zero skills in games and multimedia.)

“Was it thuggery?” – What’s thuggery? That word sounds funny.

Did you see how Asakusa fell off the tank?

I did CR’s Eizouken quiz sometime in the past and it gave me Asakusa. That’s true, basically. I like thinking up ideas and how cool they are, but because I can’t stop from elaborating on them, they get out of hand and that’s why I have a tonne of dropped projects. (Then again, with how freely I can imagine motion, I could’ve gotten Mizusaki too.) Update: Tried again and I actually did get Mizusaki…whaddaya know.

Id: Invaded 10

People have been comparing this to Minority Report…now I see why.

I almost feel like this is a discussion of euthanasia and suicide as much as it is memory and the consciousness.

Ohh…she remembers! Hondomachi!

You can’t see Muku’s face! Ohh, scary!

Aww, the music really sold this montage. By the way, that sign didn’t say “entrance ceremony”, it said nyuugaku omedetou, “Congratulations on your entry [into school]”.

It…this singer almost sounds like Bruno Mars, but that would be basically impossible, no?

Oh my gosh…when the song swelled, I absolutely cried. That’s rare, man – that’s rare.

BnHA 82

I think the leftmost figure might be Miruko, the rabbit lady. I’ve never read anything about her outside of wiki pages ad other small spoilers, but I roughly know what she looks like.

What does Gentle mean by “Anglaise”? Surely it wouldn’t refer to cream…(crème anglaise)

LOL, Disneyland parades…

Whew…that was dangerous. I almost agreed with Mineta there (to get the festival over and done with).

I swear Midoriya gets together with All Might, just like this, at the end or start of a climactic arc. He did it in the last season of BnHA, remember?

BnHA 83

Hmm…It’s interesting that the author likes to point out who has and hasn’t met Eri. Then again, it’s good for consistency.

LOL, Amajiki my boy…you’re so relatable.

Hmm…amidst the coronavirus concerns…this cancellation business seems quite timely.

Oh! It’s a drone.

For some reason, I thought Sero was drinking vegetable juice…? Eh, no matter. They have vegetable juice in Japan – I remember seeing some on my trip.

Hmm? Gentle is like a phantom thief, I just realised. Mostly harmless, but bound to cause a big stir if he gets his way.

What is Gentle’s Quirk, anyway…?

Work Son…LOL(…?)

Who bets their moustache on this stuff, anyway…? (LOL)

Iruma 23 (FINAL)

I don’t get to see Iruma become evil this season…but he will next season! That visual I’ve been seeing by the original mangaka confirms it!

Marathon - the demon puns are back.

Demonicon =Oricon chart.

Demon Star Platinum…was that…a Jojo’s reference?! *scare chord*

Oh! Maguro (tuna).

Azz-kun being afraid of fish? That’s news to me.

Okay, subbers. Whose idea was it to translate Iruma’s words as “My feels…”…?

There’s a post-credits segment. Keep watching.

Yay! Evil Iruma-kun!...In spring 2021. (I’ve never once been so excited for a character to turn evil than this! I also like how evil Iruma said it’s the “buttcrack” of dawn…but that’s just my immature side showing.)

Id: Invaded 11

“…being taken for a ride!” – Well, you’re in a car, so you’re getting a ride nonetheless. (LOL) I hadn’t heard of the term “being taken for a ride” until…what? 2016, I think? When I was still doing language anaylsis.

Sakaido used Headbutt! It’s…kind of effective? (Writing up these pseudo-Pokémon battles is fun. I should write more.)

“…put a drill to your head…”

“The victims of John Walker’s serial killers…”

I noticed Hondomachi is touching the side of her head which had the hole in it…if I remembered it right.

Is it “the Kura”? Or just Kura?

August 15th is a popular date for anime, huh? It’s in the middle of summer. (Refers to Kagerou Project.)

That ‘who knew you needed to lose something to be complete’ thing…I think I get it, but for some reason I only ever seem to get that feeling when it’s me trying to read asexuality into things (since that’s how I learnt to interpret asexuality), so…yeah, way to go, me.

Wait…Togo visited Momoki’s bedroom?!

Yep, so I was right about that being the side with Hondomachi’s hole.

#simulcast commentary #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #welcome to demon school iruma kun #mairimashita! iruma kun #id: invaded #uchi tama?! uchi no tama shirimasen ka? #uchitama?! have you seen my tama? #Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu Na! #keep your hands off eizouken! #Chesarka watches BnHA #chesarka watches mi-k #Chesarka watches Eizouken #Chesarka watches Uchitama #chesarka watches id: invaded

[cactusreadingforeignthings]

Re-posting this because someone asked about recommendations for places to begin with shakespeare and after writing this up, i figured i might get it off her notes and into the tags......  so beginning with shakespeare.....

in part it depends on what you like.  which i know is maybe a dumb obvious thing to say so apologies if it is.  there is a spectrum of more or less accessible to newbies, but there’s still a lot on the “more accessible” end.

so anyway, shakespeare generally wrote three kinds of plays, tragedies, comedies, and histories.  the histories in general can be pretty good, but more difficult to get as much out of them if you aren’t already kinda a nerd. but other than that there’s lots.

ok,so

Tragedies

a lot of people say start with hamlet, but from what i’ve seen it’s really a “love it or hate it” sort of play, kinda like the theatre version of bleu cheese.

it also is one you’ll probably get more out of if you know a bit about protestantism vs catholocism, shakespeare’s time, etc.  it’s sort of a noir mystery, and like most mysteries it’s more interesting if you know a bit about the laws there.  i know i appreciated it more later.

so here are my suggestions

Macbeth - Short and gritty and edge of your seat.  a bit of a mystery/thriller about prophecies, backstabbing, and the place of violence in a warlike society.

Romeo & Juliet - drama and social commentary and romance. i didn’t put the romance first because it’s not just about that but it’s there. makes me sniffle every time

Julius Caesar - Politics and drama, and a lot of people read it as homoerotic and kinda gay.  Rather blunt and manly and stony imo, but some really beautiful well done speeches.

(also if that ancient (homo)eroticism sounds like your cup of tea you might also try Antony & Cleopatra or Coriolanus)

Comedies

Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Tempest - Fairy shenanigans

Much Ado About Nothing - Romantic Comedy and Social Commentary and smartass flirting

As You Like It and Twelfth Night - Romantic Comedy and Social Commentary and crossdressing.

Histories

Richard III - technically a history, but full of villainous, thriller-ish, dramatic shit similar to macbeth.  NOTE:  THE REAL RICHARD III WAS NOT LIKE THAT.  IT IS NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE.  IT”S BASICALLY ELIZABETHAN PROPAGANDA BECAUSE SHAKESPEARE’S PATRON CAME TO POWER BY KICKING RICHARD”S PEOPLE OFF THE THRONE. AND HE KNEW WHAT SIDE HIS BREAD WAS BUTTERED ON.  it’s still good though, maybe it’s even more interesting knowing it was a bit of a propaganda piece.

although to be fair, it isn’t really shakespeare trying to make propaganda here, the sources he had access to were all basically written on a slant.  and he was doing with them what he could.... and what he did is generally interesting.

Henry V also isn’t a bad first history, especially if you’re fond of “war movies”.

....

Shakespeare’s plays are written in a slightly earlier version of english called early modern english, so maybe not the english you’re used to.  but if you’re already reading lit in multiple languages, that can help.

Definitely watch them if you can, plays were written to be watched and it does make the experience a lot better.  there’s a lot of versions floating around on YouTube if nothing else.

here’s some ppl on tumblr that write interesting maybe helpful stuff about shakespeare

http://motherfuckingshakespeare.tumblr.com/post/89614764405/how-to-shakespeare

http://noshitshakespeare.tumblr.com/

http://dukeofbookingham.tumblr.com/tagged/shakespeare/

http://arisefairsun.tumblr.com/

http://shredsandpatches.tumblr.com/

@fiftysevenacademics

also, you might want to watch the tv series Slings & Arrows which is up on YouTube, it is a drama/comedy series following a shakespeare theatre and goes well with reading the plays.

Here’s a video about Shakespeare’s english (early modern english)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

#shakespeare #early modern english #richard III #romeo and juliet #julius caesar

[kingofthewilderwest]

Now that you've seen all episodes of race to the edge, what are your thoughts on Snotlout in the 6th season? Thanks!

For me, what’s big about Snotlout in S6 is the manifestation of subtle growth. Once we look back to how Snotlout acted in the start of the series, we realize how far he’s come. Snotlout has grown hoards by the end of RTTE, and S6 is where we get that treated to us in full.

Snotlout starts the series putting too much stock in his father’s advice. During “Race to Fireworm Island,” Snotlout believes Spitelout over the rest of the dragon riders. The rest of the riders believe that Hookfang needs rest, but Snotlout thinks so highly of his father’s opinion that he doesn’t listen.

Snotlout: Hookfang doesn’t need rest. He’s a warrior. And we warriors live for the thrill of battle. It’s like my Dad always says…

Snotlout wants to be a warrior, obviously holds his father’s statement in good regard, and thus thinks that Hookfang doesn’t need rest. The way that Snotlout talks about his father is with the belief that Spitelout’s words are good to listen to, and that his father’s words are always something to respect.

Snotlout also starts the series constantly trying to impress his father. In ROB, DOB, and the start of RTTE, we constantly see Snotlout attempting to garner his father’s approval. Oftentimes, this is met with disappointment, and Snotlout continues to receive less respect than deserved from his parent.

Snotlout ends the series knowing when his father is in the wrong and thinking about his own achievements regardless of his father’s approval. Snotlout isn’t trying to mold himself to his father’s image of a stout, manly Viking. Snotlout’s more willing to emotionally express himself, more capable of thinking for himself, and smart enough to realize that not everything Spitelout demands is healthy.

While he does gain some respect from Spitelout by “King of Dragons Part 2,” there’s something to be said that this isn’t why Snotlout finds peace. Snotlout says some powerful things before Spitelout gives him respect in S6… showing he’s grown beyond the shadow of his father’s approval. By S4… and certainly by S6 beyond that… Snotlout is able to enjoy his father’s company when it’s wholesome, but also intelligently understand when it’s better and healthier to forge a separate path.

Snotlout starts the series with poor understanding and respect of Astrid. He makes misogynistic remarks. He constantly flirts with her despite the obvious annoyance it gives her. There’s a reason Astrid is always irritated with him.

By the end of RTTE, Snotlout has grown to demonstrate obvious respect to Astrid. He’s learned more how to treat her as he should. Astrid, on her own end, has noticed, and gained her own share of respect for him.

This positive exchange from S6 E9 never would have happened in ROB times:

He still annoys her time-to-time. It’s not like he’s completely outgrown his old habits. He has, however, improved. And that’s cool to see.

Snotlout starts the series constantly butting heads with his dragon. There’s a lot of dysfunction between Snotlout and his dragon - it’s difficult to even ride the dragon sometimes without messing up. Snotlout’s inability to ride Hookfang stems from his inability to treat his dragon and himself as a fully interdependent team. It’s not that Snotlout dislikes Hookfang - he loves his dragon - but he does always demand things from his dragon. Hookfang, meanwhile, turns away from Snotlout whenever he receives those unthoughtful demands. That issue, combined with other things like Snotlout trying to overwork Hookfang, shows how much Snotlout needs to learn about working with a team. He needs to learn to think more about Hookfang’s perspective.

Snotlout ends the series with great respect for Hookfang. Instead of overworking the dragon or demanding Hookfang follow his commands, Snotlout is a lot more lovingly attentive to his dragon. Their bond has hugely grown and become more mutually productive and understanding. Just consider Snotlout’s lines at the end of S6 E11 “Guardians of Vanaheim.” This shows both his grown spoken trust and support of Hiccup and his attention to his dragon. 

Snotlout’s no longer forcing his dragon to overwork. He’s not demanding his dragon come and do what he wants. Instead, he’s looking after what his dragon needs and wants and is perfectly happy doing so. That’s what’s become his heart and instinct and natural response: caring after Hookfang.

Snotlout starts the series defiant of Hiccup and openly rude to Hiccup’s ideas. While we know from “Defiant One” that Snotlout holds jealousy for Hiccup’s heroics and abilities, this doesn’t stop Snotlout from constantly butting heads with the other rider rudely. His lack of respect for Hiccup’s leadership is a main source of tension throughout especially ROB and DOB. Snotlout even in early RTTE times speaks of his doubt in what Hiccup can do. His comments are divisive to the team. His actions can be rebellious or lack thoughtfulness of teamwork.

Snotlout ends the series stoutly supporting Hiccup. 

Sure, Snotlout doesn’t lack his moments of bite or analytical questioning, even in S6. To give just one example, in “Guardians of Vanaheim” he complains, “You know, I’m sure you’ll make a great chief one day, Hiccup. Just know that I will not be living on your island!” But these sorts of complaints or criticisms (usually) are no longer intended venom or ways of dismantling Hiccup’s leadership - they’ve become banter, smart questionings of strategy, and other actions that aren’t debilitating. They’re a part of the friendship. 

We can see that Snotlout has instead firmly taken to Hiccup’s side. Instead of telling Hiccup that his ideas are ridiculous, Snotlout says in S5 “Sandbusted” that Hiccup’s ideas are always right. Not to mention, if someone even so much as suggests Hiccup gets abandoned, Snotlout has something strong to say about it.

He’s such a strong supporter of Hiccup that I could imagine him - years down the road - becoming our chief’s number two.

Snotlout ends the series as someone who can act as a rolemodel for other growing youths. Snotlout shows Gustav Larson what true courage is on Berserker Island. And in S6, Snotlout also has grown enough to be able to give people advice. He’s able to take his past experiences, which we’ve seen him struggle through, and now apply it to life lessons - for himself in his own growth, and for others and their needed growths, too. 

Snotlout didn’t always say the right thing with Minden, but when he did, he said it good. REALLY good.

Would ROB or DOB or even RTTE S1 Snotlout been able to say THIS?

Snotlout takes all his past experiences, all his mistakes, all his flaws, all his moments of not-quite-glory... and uses them to speak heart-to-heart with Minden. He’s able to advise her and encourage her at the same time. It’s a very mature way of handling his emotions, admitting them, and handling someone else’s struggles. He’s manifesting hoards of growth here. He’s not just admitting he’s struggled. He’s talking about how his vulnerabilities have been mistakes. He’s talking about how to overcome those vulnerabilities. He’s showing how to maturely handle them and become someone great.

Does Snotlout still have a lot of character flaws to handle? Helheim yeah. I’m not highlighting those areas of imperfection in my commentary here, but it’s obvious he still has to grow. 

But has he improved a lot by RTTE S6? 

ALSO Helheim yeah.

We’ve seen Snotlout growing throughout RTTE and there are some cool moments in S4 and S5. But S6 was also a real treat for showing the growth of who Snotlout has become.

#Anonymous #Chain of Command #Guardians of Vanaheim #long post #Snotlout #rtte #Race to the Edge #DOB #Defenders of Berk #ROB #Riders of Berk #DreamWorks Dragons #analysis #my analysis #Sandbusted #Not Lout #ask #ask me #awesome anonymous friend

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Interview with the Writer #2

Hello lovely people,

welcome to my second episode of Interview with a Writer. 

Apparently there are others who enjoy talking about writing. 

Today we want to shed a little light on @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse who is one of my favorite writers on tumblr and someone I look up to when it comes to writing, planning and other things.

Please welcome her warmly.

As you can see in her name, the blog is manly a star trek blog, but don’t despair if you’re not a die hard trekkie, because you can find a lot of other treasures too.

Just take a look at her Masterlist . You will find Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and even Supernatural (even though I don’t know that fandom) and I’ve also seen some Top Gun, Agents of Shield and all the tiny little fandoms Karl Urban has stumbled into during his acting career. 

Q: Did I sum up your blog right, dear or do you have something else to add? Please correct me if I’m wrong, this is your chance to compliment yourself.

Oh my god, Wow. I’m still so incredible floored when someone says I’m one of their favourites. Uh, yeah, that sounds about right. I actually started writing fanfic (well, fanfic for public consumption) in the Marvel universe. I think you’ve got me covered - essentially, it’s a whole ‘oooh, he’s pretty’ kind of fanfic world over here.

Q: Now I know your writing is very diverse. I’d like to dive deeper into my favorite fics in another interview (if you’re up to that) but for now, your writing style: I’m amazed by it. I’ve bought and borrowed a lot of books in my life so far and I can tell you that it’s a rare thing to pick up a book which writing style catches you and won’t let you go until you’re done. You write like that. Captivating, humorous and with a lot of empathy. You hint at things that happen (or not), make me believe something only to make me see that I’ve been a fool. And, something that is very very very important to me: You make me want to read it again. There are a lot of your things that I go back and read again, just because I know how I will feel at ease in your stories…. but I’m rambling…. 

The Question I have for you: What makes your writing style different? What do you see in other stories that you’d like to be able to write and what are things that you don’t shed a light on? I, for example, struggle with dialogues and just don’t write about smut. What about you?

First off - sure, we can totally go into specifics on your favourites sometime!

What makes my writing different? Facetiously, I’d like to say it’s because I’m old. But the honest truth is that is probably actually true. I always wanted to be a writer, which means I started writing when I was about 9 or 10. I wrote my first ‘novel’ at 11. I filled countless notebooks full of stories as I grew up, and honestly, never stopped. I also took as many university creative writing courses as I could get away with, sucking up as much as I could from each writer that taught me. And I read a lot, and when I really love what I’m reading, I will go back and read it again, simply to dissect what it was that resonated with me. I used to struggle with description. So it was something I spent a lot of time working on - telling a story about communication between two people without allowing any dialogue. Forcing myself to show and not tell a story. When I felt that I was competent with that, I allowed myself to start allowing dialogue in again. Dialogue has always come easy for me. I wish that description came as easy. 

As for my HUGEST discomfort? I seriously sit and blush the entire time I write smut. You’d think for a woman with two kids and never mind how many partners in the past, I wouldn’t be so awkward about it, but it never gets any easier. 

Q: Thank you. Now, there’s something else I want to ask. Your stories have that feel to it that when I read the first word of the first chapter, the end is already decided. Are you really that good at planning? What is your trick to that? Do you only write if you know what’s going to happen?

Sometimes! Sometimes I start and I know exactly how many plot points there are, what the conflict is, where the climax will happen (uh, no pun intended). Other times I go off on my own merry path, uncertain what will happen. For example: Always On My Mind (Gavin) - I know EXACTLY what is going to happen next, I know what happens after that, and I know how it ends. On the flip side, Lead Me On got away on me and the characters switched gears and I have no idea what the fuck is going on there now.

Q: Now I know that you’re a hardworking woman and I also know that you have children, am I right?

I do. I have two kids - an 11-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. The boy’s birthday is in 2 months! We just did kindergarten orientation today!!! And my girl just had her first period. So she’s not my baby anymore. Gah. It makes me feel so old. I also work full-time as a nurse, am the seneschal (president) of our local SCA branch, and have just been appointed Bethel Guardian of my daughter’s Job’s Daughters group.

Q: Well, how do you do it? How do you make time to write this much? Or do you just write really really fast? Or very very slow and there’s a giant databank from where you pull your old stories? 

Both? My Five Minute Ficlets started as a desperate attempt to squeeze a quick drabble out. I usually write them when I’m waiting in the car somewhere, or watching a kid’s activity that doesn’t require my full attention, or on my breaks at work. Which is why they vary in length so much. The average FMF actually takes 20-25 minutes, if I am truthful about it - but that doesn’t sound as enticing as Five Minute Ficlet, does it? Imagines are something else - I used to carry a 5-10 request waitlist but that got overwhelming to the point of anxiety attacks, so I don’t often take requests anymore. Technically my inbox is always open to them, but your mileage may vary, depending on whether inspiration strikes. Any of my fics with an OC are from back ‘back catalog’ - I used to post everything on FFN, although I recently pulled down everything from there. And it’s still up on AO3. So the Marvel stuff is older - none of it is older than my boychild though - I started writing again when I was on bedrest during my pregnancy.

Q: Where do you get your ideas? Do you have to look for inspirations, prompts, plots and other little bunnies or are you the type of person who puts her feet on the ground in the morning and has a mind filled with ideas?

Again, I think the answer is both. I don’t necessarily wake up with a mind full of ideas, but I pull inspiration from every day life. I can almost guarantee that every story with a nurse character in it is drawing from personal career experience. Some of the more embarrassing experiences some of my characters have had occur are that much more vivid because I have lived through them myself. And other things come up because I love the absurd - I think you need to be able to imagine the ridiculous as well as the sublime to actually truly capture realistic characters. And so I will sometimes play with the characters in my head just to see what silliness will occur.

Q: Do you have any other secret to share? About writing, your favorite character of all fandoms ever or just a wish for more (or less) requests? 

I wish my followers understood how important this blog has been to my grieving and healing process. Something I’ve learned in the last couple of years is that I really pull back when I am hurting. I didn’t really get that before my Mum died, but I was sitting in my living room the other day, thinking about how lonely I am for social contact - I have my kids, and the manthing, and I have the girls at work, but when I was at my lowest after Mum passed, I pushed my closest friends away because I... I don’t really know why? Because I am ashamed of my grief? That sounds really stupid, but I suspect that might be it. Anyhow, I pushed a lot of my really close friends away, and bless them all, they were good friends because they just let me, and now that I’m functioning again, they are right where they’ve always been, just waiting for me to be a ready participant in our relationships again. But I have been lonely, and this blog has been my support. This blog is where I wrote out the tears. This is where I made friends that didn’t have to see me ugly cry, which was somehow less embarrassing. So I think that’s my big secret. That my followers have helped me make it through the past few years. From June of 2015, to November of 2016, to now.

My favourite character of all time? Thor. I just... I don’t write him well, but that might be because I like to keep him to myself. 

Finally - My inbox is always open. I love receiving random commentary. Tell me about your tuesday, or tell me about biology exams, or what you’re eating for dinner. I’m into that. Bug me for head canons. I love that shit. Ask me what I thought of Kevin Smith (he was SO cool) or Karl Urban (smelled amazing) or Nichelle Nichols or Sean Astin. Tell me I’m an obnoxious whore (you won’t be the first, won’t be the last, and I guarantee I’ve probably been called worse by better... :D). I seriously love hearing from my followers. Those interactions are precious to me.

Thanks dear. Time’s running out and we’re thanking you for this chance to get to know you and your writing a little bit better.

Well thanks for asking me to do this. I feel like a real live legit writer now :D

Have a very nice writing time.

This weekend I’m off to a medieval event. When I inevitably need time away from people because I’ve become more easily overwhelmed my crowds, I will try to come up with something good :D

Thanks, @dirajunara-archive, for inviting me to do this! <3

[curtisandlewis]

Dino Paul Crocetti Profile

*Note: This was originally done in honor of Pride month. Since in a majority of my fics the characters don’t get to explicitly state their sexuality I wrote it down for you. Of course, when I leave it up to interpretation you’re welcome to think as you like but just know that 9/10 times Dean is anything but heterosexual. I may add more to this in the future. 

Sexuality: I write Dean Martin’s character as homosexual or gay. He has both a sole romantic and sexual attraction to men. He suffers from internalized homophobia (but harbors no homophobic feelings towards anyone else) due to childhood abuse and trauma. He self-identifies as heterosexual or “straight” Sometimes he understands that he’s gay and sometimes he doesn’t. The sex he has with women is purely physical and mostly used to secure his heterosexual identity. Sometimes especially in his youth he can be a bit of a hustler and use his appeal to women for material gains. Mostly he has extreme anxiety around women and can only relate to them by having sex. The minute he has to talk to them he’s terrified. The only woman he has ever felt comfortable around is Jerry’s wife. He has a major crush on her and loves her in his own way. Depending on the story they will have a sensual relationship and on very very rare occasions have sex while Jerry is present. Their relationship would fall under the umbrella of non-monogamy/polyamory but since it’s usually set in the 40′s or 50′s they don’t have the vocabulary. The only person Dean has ever loved is Jerry. Their relationship is very special because Jerry is not only his romantic and sexual partner but also his business partner, his Jewish mama, his son, his brother, and his truest and best friend. Dean’s love for Jerry is so powerful and absolute it scares him. He was taught men don’t share their feelings of affection and this causes problems in their relationship. Dean tries the best he can to communicate how he feels for Jerry through his touch.

Some of the sexual themes I have written about can be problematic and under the cut, I will explain. 

Dean is the most comfortable receiving oral sex from women but is reluctant to perform it on them. This has nothing to do with his sexuality or that he’s like “eew vagina!” he’s just really lazy. He would rather just lie or sit there. Jerry tries to break him of this habit. When they’re alone Jerry teaches him techniques and when they have group sex with women Jerry makes him show what he’s learned on a lady. I may never write a scene like this but just know it happens.

I sometimes write Dean as believing you are not a man if you not only enjoy being penetrated but are penetrated in any way by either a man or a woman. Dean will be COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS and be paranoid that Jerry has experimented by himself, thus encouraging his homosexual desires and tendencies. This is totally against Dean’s character. Dean would have no problem doing this with Jerry. The only anxiety he would have was over hurting Jerry because it would be the first time for both of them and of course Jerry’s back would be a concern. Dean would have some anxiety about being penetrated only because he’s a big manly top. And he would never give Jerry crap for experiencing that with a woman. I have anxiety writing scenes like that and instead of fading to black I came up with a system of rules that was never apart of their culture or was natural to their characters. I thought I could create conflict. I thought it would be an interesting commentary on how society affects sexuality. I created a BAD SITUATION. I’m sorry. Please don’t take anything Dean has said on this topic seriously.

YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY HAVE ANY KIND OF SEX YOU WANT AND MOST CERTAINLY MASTURBATE IN THE WAY MOST PLEASURABLE TO YOU WITHOUT AFFECTING YOUR SEXUALITY JUST AS LONG AS YOU DON’T CAUSE HARM TO YOURSELF OR OTHERS.

I originally planned for the ending of “The Playhouse” to be Dean agreeing to penetrate Jerry some FIVE years after the story began. I now realize this will cause me to write nothing but HORRIFICALLY TOXIC relationships. First of all, Dean will have spent five years shaming Jerry and telling him he’s wrong for having those kinds of desires. That’s AWFUL. I’m not doing that to Jerry. In the future, I will write Jerry telling Dean he’s going to do whatever the hell he wants with his own body and he is just going to have to accept that and the situation will be resolved in the FIRST year.

In some fics, Dean and Jerry will practice Bondage, Domination, and Sado-Masochism. Though I may not always write it this way because there is an awful lot to explore when writing Dean and Jerry’s sexual relationship JUST KNOW that Dean prefers to be in the SUBMISSIVE role. As a man who has to be in complete control of his emotions and desires every day of his life, he is more than willing to give all of that control over to Jerry. For the most part, the BDSM aspect of Dean and Jerry’s relationship is pretty healthy. Both practice enthusiastic consent, use safe words often, and neither push each other’s boundaries or cross the other’s line.

If you know how Dean was in real life you know he was UNBELIEVABLY POSSESSIVE of Jerry and this caused some problematic behavior on his part. Their relationship wasn’t always the healthiest in the world. As a person who tries to write as close to the real life person as the story allows I had to reflect this in my writing. Just keep in mind its FICTION. Sure, find yourself a guy who looks at you the way Dean looks at Jerry but it’s probably a better idea to find one without all of the issues...        

#King of Dorks #jerrylevitch #fuzzysebastianstan

[reifromrfa]

RFA guys + Minor Trio play Outlast with MC

I absolutely love horror games but I’m always too chicken to play them so I watch other people/youtubers (hello pewdiepie, markiplier and jacksepticeye!) play and scream with them instead :)) Will work on requests now, and maybe squeeze in some more halloween hcs :)

Yoosung

If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s video games

Yoosung isn’t into horror that much though, but you are ;)

So you get him Outlast so you guys can bond over it

But he already knows what the game is about

NOPE NOPE NOPE X 10000

“MC, don’t you want to play something else like Final Fantasy or Crash Bandicoot?” ;;;

“Please, Yoosungie~”

Well he can’t say no now

The game starts and he’s really reluctant to play it because he’s scared but he wants to impress his girlfriend!

Goes into the asylum and jumps when the lights go out

You never knew Yoosung could swear that much

You didn’t know he could scream that loud but then you’re screaming too

He totally drops the controller at one point and screams profanities at the screen while visibly shaking

You apologize and hold him tight when he’s on the verge of tears because this game is too scary for him

You shut it off and watch some comedy movies before going to sleep

But he knows you like scary stuff so he secretly watches gameplays of other people just so he’s more ready for the jumpscares and when he plays it with you again, you’re so impressed

The both of you still scream and curse at the jumpscares, but Yoosung is able to handle his fears better now that he knows what’s going to happen next

Zen

He’s not into gaming much because he’s busy with his shows or working out and he doesn’t want to ruin his eyes

But when you tell him you really want him to play this scary game because you’re too chicken to play on your own, he acts all manly and gets excited to show you how brave he is

“Babe, I can’t customize the character?” ;;;

Okay, the first part isn’t so bad

"Fuck what the fuck was that what the fffffff!!!!”

Obscenities galore when the game really starts

He’s not as bad as Yoosung but he jumps at all the jumpscares, making you jump as well

His reactions are so priceless though

He quickly gets the hang of it and manages to enjoy the game, especially when he outwits the enemies

He gets so frustrated that the character doesn’t fight back though

Will totally make commentaries while playing

“Why does that fat man keep chasing after me?”

“I bet my character is also handsome~”

*loud scream* “Jagiya, that one really made me nervous. Here, feel my heart, it’s beating so fast."

“Oh! I should definitely get this on film!”

You decide to do a Let’s Play video with him and upload it on Youtube

Instant viral video

Jumin

Oh my God are you sure you want to play this? Jumin has the best equipment

A huge flat-screen curved TV, surround sound —the works

But this will also make the experience all the more real

You ask him to play with you and if you really want to see him play then he’ll play

Takes a while to figure out the controls ;;;

This man has the best gaming equipment but he literally has no clue how the controller works

Once he got the hang of it though, starts to really play the game

First jumpscare and his eye barely twitches

"It's not real, MC, it's just a game."

He's so focused on the game because this man never does anything half-assed

You however are glued to his side, scared shitless because the surround sound makes you feel like the characters are in the room with you

He raises his eyebrow and looks at you

“Commoners enjoy this kind of activity?”

He’s so observant and smart that he figures out the puzzles and spots the hidden items/places quickly

Complains when something in the game doesn’t make sense in real life

“Why can't my character hit back? I understand that he is a non-combatant but under the circumstances I think he could make an exception."

But he notices how much you're clinging to him and he smiles throughout the rest of the game, getting all these warm fuzzy feelings from your touch

Feels needed by you

Buys loads of horror games for you and asks you which one you like, then plays it with you

You're too busy screaming and clinging to him, but if you look at him, you'll see the happy,contented smile on his face

Saeyoung

This guy is PSYCHED to play Outlast with you

He knows it's just a game just like he's only a game character made by real humans so he isn't really scared

But his reactions are PRICELESS

Saeyoung would probably scream his head off during jumpscares and then laugh if you scream or fall from the couch

Seriously this guy would be so loud it's a good thing you live in a bunker

He's a pro gamer -- this game isn't too hard for him

But he makes slips ups on purpose just so he can hear your reactions

"Saeyoung WTF ARE U DOING GET BACK IN THAT LOCKER"

"Saeyoung DON'T RUN TOWARDS THE ENEMY OH MY GOD"

"Saeyoung...please don't zoom in on that guy's dick"

Once you get really scared and panicky though and start gripping his arm, he gets serious and doesn't mess up

Mainly because he doesn't want to stress you out anymore and hear you panic

But also because you're gripping his arm too tight

Will probably pretend to get so scared and drop the controller on your lap during a chase

And you both scream as you scramble to run from the patients but end up dying anyway

Probably recorded you guys while playing the game and he'll watch it when he's down or while taking a break from work and his eyes would only be watching you and your cute reactions

"MC, want to play Resident Evil 7 next~?"

Saeran

You wanna play a scary video game of a man sneaking into an asylum with crazy experiments just so he can write an article about it? Sounds like the guy was asking for it -____-

Reluctant to play because it sounds so stupid

Ends up playing it anyway because he couldn't resist your pouty face

Not that he'd let you know

Breezes through the game

Like seriously, how???

He doesn't even get scared much, saying he’s been through worse :( </3

He pretends to get annoyed everytime you scream or jump from your seat

But he glances at you from the corner of his eye to check if you're still okay

The gory stuff is fine with him but he would cover your eyes when things got messy

"I don't want you to get nightmares, MC."

Loves it when you grab onto him or hug him when you get scared

He would probably sit behind you and loop his arms around you and play like that so you can feel safe in his arms

He would have his poker face on but his face would be so red

Would shyly ask you to tell him if there's any other game you want him to play

V

Seriously why would you let this sweet man play this game??? It’s so eff-ed up and V is so sweet and gentle

He would probably try it but same as Jumin, he would have no idea how to use the controls because he isn't into video games

He doesn't react loudly but he jumps really high on the first jumpscare

He would ask you if you're okay or if it's too scary

MC can’t you tell I’m not okay with this game pls let’s stop playing ;;;;

Tries to play through the rest of the game but he couldn't finish it

He tells you he doesn't want you to have nightmares but most probably he's the one who'll end up with nightmares ;;;

So you guys watch a funny movie or a romantic one after playing just to get your mind off the scary faces and stressful moments

Vanderwood

NOPE

The moment you said the character had no weapons or any means to protect himself, Vanderwood already resolved not to play it

"He's going to walk into an asylum with crazies with no weapons? No thanks, I already know he's going to die."

You practically have to beg him to play it with you

He doesn't put much effort into it though and you laugh everytime he dies because he curses and gets annoyed and clicks 'continue' even though he said he doesn't want to play anymore

Will probably not stop playing until he finishes the game ;;;

"I'll prove to you that this idiot only dies in the end."

Explains how unrealistic the game is because of all the confidential folders lying around

"If something is confidential you would put it in a safe or any locked storage unit, not on top of your desk for the trespassing reporter to find!”

“Why didn’t the company prepare counter measures for an incident like this? How could they be so stupid?”

Vanderwood, it’s just a game chill ;;;

Will point to the screen and say “I told you so” triumphantly when the guy dies in the end

But at this point you’re just laughing at him

Buy me a Mango Shake?  (ᵔᴥᵔ)

#mystic messenger #mysme #mm #mm hc #hc #headcanon #mystic messenger headcanon #mysme hc #mysme headcanon #mystic messenger hc #yoosung #yoosung kim #zen #hyun ryu #jumin #jumin han #seven #707 #luciel choi #saeyoung choi #saeran choi #saeran #v #jihyun #vanderwood #halloween hc #outlast

[madewithonerib]

Politics is the art of reordering human society on a temporal basis (worldly), the message of the GOSPEL has to do with eternal issues.

That doesn’t mean I avoid everything political, because I also want to do anything I can to elevate justice & righteousness in the world.

           1 Corinthians 3:1 | Fellow believers, I could not address            you as spiritual, but as worldly —as infants in CHRIST.

worldly—,σαρκίνοις (sarkinois) Strong's Greek 4560: Fleshly, consisting of flesh, carnal. From sarx; similar to flesh, i.e. soft.

infants, νηπίοις (nēpiois) Strong's Greek 3516: From an obsolete particle ne- and epos; not speaking, i.e. An infant; figuratively, a simple-minded, an immature Christian.

Pulpit Commentary by Donald Spence Jones [1836-1917] | 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

     The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature.

     Verse 1—I.. could not speak unto you as unto spiritual.      Though softened by the word brethren, there was a      crushing irony of reproof in these words:

           "You thought yourselves quite above            the need of my simple teaching.

     You were looking down on me from the whole height      of your inferiority. The elementary character of my      doctrine was after all the necessary consequence      of your own incapacity for anything more profound.

     As unto carnal. The true reading here is sarkinois,      fleshen, not sarkikois, fleshly, or carnal; the later &      severer word is perhaps first used in v.3.

     The word sarkinos [earneus], fleshen, implies      earthliness & weakness & the absence of spirituality; but      sarki-kos [carnalis] involves the dominance of the lower      nature & antagonism to the spiritual.

2 Corinthians 10:3 | For though  we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

1 Peter 2:11 | Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners & exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

Romans 8:21-28 | that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay & brought into the glorious freedom of the children of GOD. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the SPIRIT, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the SPIRIT helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the SPIRIT HIMSELF intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And HE who searches our hearts knows the mind of the SPIRIT, because the SPIRIT intercedes for the saints according to the will of GOD. And we know that GOD works all things together for the good of those who love HIM, who are called according to HIS purpose.

     As mite babes in CHRIST.      The word "babes" has a good & a bad sense.

     In its good sense it implies humility & teachableness, as      in 1 Corinthians 14:20, "In malice be you babes;" & in      1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of      the WORD;" & in Matthew 11:25.

     Here it is used in its bad sense of spiritual childishness.

Charles John Ellicott, Christian Theologian [1819–1905] | 1 Corinthians 3:1

     [v.1] And I—Again, as in 1 Corinthians 2:6, the Apostle      shows how general principles which he has just explained      were exemplified in his own conduct.

     In the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 2 Paul has      enunciated the general method of teaching spiritual truth      as being dependent upon the receptive powers of      those who are being taught.

     He now proceeds to point out to them that their own      character, as being wanting in spirituality, was the real      hindrance to his teaching them the higher spiritual truth      which may be called “the wisdom” of the GOSPEL.

     As unto carnal—Better, as being carnal.

     Our version may seem to imply the Apostle spoke to      them as if they were carnal, though they really were not      so; but the force of the passage is that they were indeed      carnal, & that the Apostle taught them not as if they were      such, but as being such.

     “Carnal” is here the opposite of “spiritual,” & does not      involve any reference to what we would commonly      speak of as carnal sin.

     Babes in CHRIST—This is the opposite of the “full grown”      in 1 Corinthians 2:6, to whom “wisdom” could be taught      [See also Colossians 1:28, “full grown in CHRIST]

     It may be an interesting indication of the “manliness” of      Paul’s character & his high estimate of it in others,      that he constantly uses the words “babe” & “childhood”      in a depreciatory sense.

     [See Romans 2:20, Galatians 4:3,Ephesians 4:14]

Joseph Benson, English Methodist [1749–1821] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

     And I, brethren — The apostle having, in the latter part      of the preceding CH, observed that mere natural men,      still unenlightened & unrenewed, receive not the things      of the SPIRIT

     begins this CH with informing the Corinthians, that      though he was an apostle,

     fully instructed in the mind of CHRIST,      he could not, during his abode with them,

     speak to them as to truly spiritual persons:      inasmuch as they really were not such, but still in a      great measure carnal, even mere babes in CHRIST;

     as little acquainted with, & experienced in, the things      of GOD, as babes are with respect to the things of      the world.

     He had spoken before [1 Corinthians 2:1] of his entrance,      now he speaks of his progress among them.

     I have fed you with milk — With the first & plainest truths      of the GOSPEL, alluding to milk being the proper food of      babes: not with meat

     — The higher truths of Christianity; such as are more      difficult to be understood, received, & practised,      & therefore belong to those believers who have      made some considerable progress in Christian      knowledge & holiness.****

     For you were not able to bear it      — Your state of grace still is so low, it would      not properly accept such teachings.

     So should every preacher suit his doctrine to the state &      character of his hearers.

     For you are yet carnal — That is, the greater part of you      are so in some degree; for whereas there is among you      envying one another’s gifts in your hearts, or uneasiness

     of mind that others have greater gifts      than yourselves: or the word ζηλος may       be rendered, emulation, a kind of      rivalry, or a desire of superiority      over others; & strife —

     Outward contentions in words & deeds; & actual divisions —      Of one party from another; are you not carnal — Is not this      a clear proof that you are so; & walk as men?

     — Κατα ανθρωπον, according to man; as worldly men walk,      who have no higher principle from which to act than that of      mere nature, & not according to GOD, as thorough      Christians walk.

Matthew Henry, Nonconformist Minister [1662-1714] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

           1 Corinthians 3:1-4 | Fellow believers, I could not            address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as            infants in CHRIST. I gave you milk, not solid food,            for you were not yet ready for solid food.

           In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still            worldly. For since there is jealousy & dissension            among you, are you not worldly?

           Are you not walking in the way of man?            For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” & another,            “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

     3:1-4 The most simple truths of the GOSPEL, as to man's      sinfulness & GOD's mercy, repentance towards GOD, & faith      in our LORD JESUS CHRIST, stated in the plainest language,      suit the people better than deeper mysteries.

          Men may have much doctrinal           knowledge, yet mere beginners in           the life of faith & experience.

     Contentions & quarrels about religion are sad evidences of      carnality.

          True religion makes men peaceable,           not contentious.

     But it is to be lamented, that many who should      walk as Christians,      live & act too much like other men.

     Many professors, & preachers also, show themselves to be      yet carnal, by vain-glorious strife, eagerness for dispute,      & readiness to despise & speak evil of others.****

Albert Barnes, American Theologian [1798-1870] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1

     And I, brethren - See 1 Corinthians 2:1.      This is designed to meet an implied objection.

     He had said 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 that Christians were able      to understand all things.

     Yet, they would recollect that he had not addressed them as      such, but had confined himself to the more elementary parts      of religion when he came among them.

     He had not entered upon the abstruse & difficult points of      theology - the points of speculation in which the subtle      Greeks so much abounded & so much delighted.

     He now states the reason why he had not done it.

     The reason was most humbling to their pride;      but it was the true reason, & faithfulness demanded      it should be stated.

     It was, that they were carnal, & not qualified to      understand the deep mysteries of the GOSPEL; &      the proof of this was unhappily at hand.

     It was too evident in their contentions & strifes, they      were under influence of carnal feelings & views.

     Could not speak unto you as unto spiritual -      "I could not regard you as spiritual - as qualified to      enter into the full & higher truths of the GOSPEL;

     I could not regard you as divested of the feelings      which influence carnal people - the people of the world,      & I addressed you accordingly.

     I could not discourse to you as to far-advanced &      well-informed Christians.

     I taught you the rudiments only of the Christian religion.

     He refers here, doubtless, to his instructions when he      founded the Church at Corinth.

     [See the note at 1 Corinthians 2:13-15]

     But as unto carnal - The WORD "carnal" here σάρκινοῖς      sarkinois is not the same which in 1 Corinthians 2:14, is      translated "natural" ψυχικός psuchikos.

     "That" refers to one who is unrenewed, & who is wholly      under the influence of his sensual or animal nature,      & is no where applied to Christians.

     "This" is applied here to Christians - but to those who      have much of the remains of corruption, & who are      imperfectly acquainted with the nature of religion;

     babes in CHRIST--It denotes those who still evinced      the feelings & views which pertain to the flesh, in these      unhappy contentions, & strifes, & divisions.

           "The works of the flesh are            hatred, variance, emulations,            wrath, strife, seditions, envyings"            Galatians 5:20-21; &

     these they had evinced in their divisions; &      Paul knew that their danger lay in this      direction, & he therefore addressed them      according to their character.

     [Proverbs 7:6-27 | The Crafty Harlot]***

     Paul applies the word to himself Romans 7:14, "for I am      carnal" & here it denotes they were as yet under the      influence of corrupt passions & desires which      the flesh produces.

           Romans 7:14 | We know that the law is spiritual;            but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

     As unto babes in CHRIST- As unto those recently born      into HIS kingdom, & unable to understand the      profounder doctrines of the Christian religion.

     It is a common figure to apply the term infants & children      to those who are feeble in understanding, or unable, from      any cause, to comprehend the more profound instructions      of science or religion.

John Gill, English Baptist & Calvinist [1697-1771] | 1 Corinthians 1:3

     And I, brethren, could not speak unto you,.... Though the      apostle was a spiritual man himself, had spiritual gifts,

     even the extraordinary gifts of the SPIRIT,      could judge all things, had the      mind of CHRIST, & was able to speak      the wisdom of GOD in a mystery,

     yet could not speak it to them, as unto spiritual;      though they had the SPIRIT of GOD in them,      & a work of grace upon them; for they were, as the      apostle afterwards says, the temple of GOD,      & the SPIRIT of GOD dwelt in them;

     they were washed, sanctified, & justified, in the      name of the LORD JESUS, & by the SPIRIT of      our GOD;

     but had not that spiritual discerning,      or judgment in spiritual things, which      some believers had, at least when the      apostle was first with them;

     & now they were under great      spiritual declensions, &      had not those spiritual frames,

     nor that spiritual experience & conversation,      which some other Christians had:

     but as unto carnal: not that they were in a carnal state,      as unregenerate men are; but had carnal conceptions of      things, were in carnal frames of soul,

     & walked in a carnal conversation with each other;

     though they were not in the flesh, in a state of nature,      yet the flesh was in them, & not only lusted      against the SPIRIT, but was very

     predominant in them, & carried      them captive, so that they      are denominated from it:

     even as unto babes in CHRIST;      they were in CHRIST, & so      were new creatures; they were,

     as the Arabic version reads it,      "in the faith of CHRIST";

     though babes & weaklings in      it, they were believers in CHRIST,      converted persons, yet      children in understanding, knowledge, & experience;

     had but little judgment in spiritual things,      & were unskilful in the WORD of      righteousness;

     At least this was the case of many of them,      though others were enriched in all utterance      & knowledge, yet no gift came behind these      members of other Churches.

Matthew Poole, Nonconformist Theologian [1624 - 1679] | 1 Corinthians 1:3

     Paul showed that he could not instruct      because of their carnal mind

     The most eminent preachers of the GOSPEL      are but instruments employed by GOD      in building HIS Church [v.5-9]

Discussion: youtu.be/ak-Rv08N_1Q?t=149

#politics #christian views #1 Corinthians 3:1 #worldly #immature #infants in CHRIST #conceit #inferiority #antagonism #readiness to despise #speak evil of others #danger #Proverbs 7:6-27 #corrupt #Romans 7:14 #spiritual discernment #judgment #peaceful #not contentious #captivated #captivated = captive

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

           1 Corinthians 3:1 | Fellow believers, I could not address            you as spiritual, but as worldly —as infants in CHRIST.

worldly—,σαρκίνοις (sarkinois) Strong's Greek 4560: Fleshly, consisting of flesh, carnal. From sarx; similar to flesh, i.e. soft.

infants, νηπίοις (nēpiois) Strong's Greek 3516: From an obsolete particle ne- and epos; not speaking, i.e. An infant; figuratively, a simple-minded, an immature Christian.

Pulpit Commentary by Donald Spence Jones [1836-1917] | 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

     The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature.

     Verse 1—I.. could not speak unto you as unto spiritual.      Though softened by the word brethren, there was a      crushing irony of reproof in these words:

           "You thought yourselves quite  above            the need of my simple teaching.

     You were looking down on me from the whole height      of your inferiority. The elementary character of my      doctrine was after all the necessary consequence      of your own incapacity for anythingmore profound.

     As unto carnal. The true reading here is sarkinois,      fleshen, not sarkikois, fleshly, or carnal; the later &      severer word is perhaps first used in v.3.

     The word sarkinos [earneus], fleshen, implies      earthliness & weakness & the absence of spirituality; but      sarki-kos [carnalis] involves the dominance of the lower      nature & antagonism to the spiritual.

     As mite babes in CHRIST.      The word "babes" has a good & a bad sense.

     In its good sense it implies humility & teachableness, as      in 1 Corinthians 14:20, "In malice be you babes;" & in      1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of      the WORD;" & in Matthew 11:25.

     Here it is used in its bad sense of spiritual childishness.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/4d663c4f29b677b30878c0c199104918/9b4f60defdebc28c-0a/s640x960/622d2cc684063dec4627520c198e259808996e1a.png

Charles John Ellicott, Christian Theologian [1819–1905] | 1 Corinthians 3:1

     [v.1] And I—Again, as in 1Corinthians 2:6, the Apostle      shows how general principles which he has just explained      were exemplified in his own conduct.

     In the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 2 Paul has      enunciated the general method of teaching spiritual truth      as being dependent upon the receptive powers of      those who are being taught.

     He now proceeds to point out to them that their own      character, as being wanting in spirituality, was the real      hindrance to his teaching them the higher spiritual truth      which may be called “the wisdom” of the gospel.

     As unto carnal—Better, as being carnal.

     Our version may seem to imply the Apostle spoke to      them as if they were carnal, though they really were not      so; but the force of the passage is that they were indeed      carnal, & that the Apostle taught them not as if they were      such, but as being such.

     “Carnal” is here the opposite of “spiritual,” & does not      involve any reference to what we would commonly      speak of as carnal sin.

     Babes in CHRIST—This is the opposite of the “full grown”      in 1 Corinthians 2:6, to whom “wisdom” could be taught      [See also Colossians 1:28, “full grown in CHRIST]

     It may be an interesting indication of the “manliness” of      Paul’s character & his high estimate of it in others,      that he constantly uses the words “babe” & “childhood”      in a depreciatory sense.

     [See Romans 2:20, Galatians 4:3,Ephesians 4:14]

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Joseph Benson, English Methodist [1749–1821] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

     And I, brethren — The apostle having, in the latter part      of the preceding CH, observed that mere natural men,      still unenlightened & unrenewed, receive not the things      of the SPIRIT

     begins this CH with informing the Corinthians, that      though he was an apostle,

     fully instructed in the mind of CHRIST,      he could not, during his abode with them,

     speak to them as to truly spiritual persons:      inasmuch as they really were not such, but still in a      great measure carnal, even mere babes in CHRIST;

     as little acquainted with, & experienced in, the things      of GOD, as babes are with respect to the things of      the world.

     He had spoken before [1 Corinthians 2:1] of his entrance,      now he speaks of his progress among them.

     I have fed you with milk — With the first & plainest truths      of the GOSPEL, alluding to milk being the proper food of      babes: not with meat

     — The higher truths of Christianity;      such as are more difficult to be understood, received, &      practised, & therefore belong to those believers who have      made some considerable progress in Christian      knowledge & holiness.

     For you were not able to bear it — Your state of grace has      been, & still is, so low, that it would not properly admit      of such a way of teaching.

     So should every preacher suit his doctrine to the state &      character of his hearers.

     For you are yet carnal — That is, the greater part of you      are so in some degree; for whereas there is among you      envying

     — One another’s gifts in your hearts, or uneasiness      of mind that others have greater gifts than yourselves: or      the WORD ζηλος may be rendered, emulation, a kind of      rivalry, or a desire of superiority over others; & strife —

     Outward contentions in words & deeds; & actual divisions —      Of one party from another; are you not carnal — Is not this      a clear proof that you are so; & walk as men?

     — Κατα ανθρωπον, according to man; as worldly men walk,      who have no higher principle from which to act than that of      mere nature, & not according to GOD, as thorough      Christians walk.

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Matthew Henry, Nonconformist Minister [1662-1714] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

           1 Corinthians 3:1-4 | Fellow believers, I could not            address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as            infants in CHRIST. I gave you milk, not solid food,            for you were not yet ready for solid food.

           In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still            worldly. For since there is jealousy & dissension            among you, are you not worldly?

           Are you not walking in the way of man?            For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” & another,            “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

     3:1-4 The most simple truths of the GOSPEL, as to man's      sinfulness & GOD's mercy, repentance towards GOD, & faith      in our LORD JESUS CHRIST, stated in the plainest language,      suit the people better than deeper mysteries.

     Men may have much doctrinal knowledge, yet      mere beginners in the life of faith & experience.

     Contentions & quarrels about religion are sad evidences of      carnality. True religion makes men peaceable, not contentious.

     But it is to be lamented, that many who should walk as Christians,      live & act too much like other men.

     Many professors, & preachers also, show themselves to be      yet carnal, by vain-glorious strife, eagerness for dispute,      & readiness to despise & speak evil of others.****

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Albert Barnes, American Theologian [1798-1870] |  | 1 Corinthians 3:1

     And I, brethren - See 1 Corinthians 2:1].      This is designed to meet an implied objection.

     He had said 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 that Christians were able      to understand all things.

     Yet, they would recollect that he had not addressed them as      such, but had confined himself to the more elementary parts      of religion when he came among them.

     He had not entered upon the abstruse & difficult points of      theology - the points of speculation in which the subtle      Greeks so much abounded & so much delighted.

     He now states the reason why he had not done it.

     The reason was most humbling to their pride;      but it was the true reason, & faithfulness demanded      it should be stated.

     It was, that they were carnal, & not qualified to      understand the deep mysteries of the GOSPEL; &      the proof of this was unhappily at hand.

     It was too evident in their contentions & strifes, that      they were under the influence of carnal feelings & views.

     Could not speak unto you as unto spiritual -      "I could not regard you as spiritual - as qualified to      enter into the full & higher truths of the GOSPEL;

     I could not regard you as divested of the feelings      which influence carnal people - the people of the world,      & I addressed you accordingly.

     I could not discourse to you as to far-advanced &      well-informed Christians.

     I taught you the rudiments only of the Christian religion.

     He refers here, doubtless, to his instructions when he      founded the Church at Corinth.

     [See the note at 1 Corinthians 2:13-15]

     But as unto carnal - The WORD "carnal" here σάρκινοῖς      sarkinois is not the same which in 1 Corinthians 2:14, is      translated "natural" ψυχικός psuchikos.

     "That" refers to one who is unrenewed, & who is wholly      under the influence of his sensual or animal nature, & is      no where applied to Christians.

     "This" is applied here to Christians - but to those who      have much of the remains of corruption, & who are      imperfectly acquainted with the nature of religion;

     babes in CHRIST--It denotes those who still evinced      the feelings & views which pertain to the flesh, in these      unhappy contentions, & strifes, & divisions.

     "The works of the flesh are hatred, variance, emulations,      wrath, strife, seditions, envyings" Galatians 5:20-21; &

[turtle-paced]

GoT Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

I can’t believe I forgot to actually post this last night. Anyway, it’s a short set of notes, since this episode isn’t so much offensive as it is bland and repetitive, with the weird Horn Hill Sitcom Interlude. Also one of the episodes where the writers were struggling to pass the fifty minute mark.

6.06 - Blood of my Blood

(2:22) These quick cuts do a lot more to emphasise the supposed ‘downloading’ of information than the random flashback to Ned’s departure to the Vale did. Not to mention we’re seeing more plot-relevant stuff here, such as the Walkers, Bran’s fall, and Ned’s execution.

(2:47) I do like this flashback of Aerys though, and the flash-forward to the septsplosion. It’s actual foreshadowing!

(3:27) I’m also down with Meera’s breakdown here. She’s lost her brother, she’s a long way from home, she’s effectively doing this alone right now, the cold is going to kill her and Bran if the army of the dead doesn’t kill them first, and then she’s stopped by a fucking tree root of all things.

(4:33) Deaths: 1. Benjen tramples a wight. Yeah, I’m just going ahead here, Benjen ex machina.

(4:47-8) Deaths: 2, 3. Two more kills to Benjen.

(5:00) The skelebuddies are back! Jason and the Argonauts eat your heart out! I don’t count them in the kills column since, well, they’re skeletons, and not meant to evoke humanity in the same way the wights are.

(5:12) Deaths: 4. Another wight kill to Benjen.

(5:27) Terminator shout-out?

(5:58) And here we find Gilly and Sam, who have somehow arrived in the summery Reach (the end of autumn’s pretty nice here!) since we last left them in the Narrow Sea. I have no idea how they made the distance, much less avoided Oldtown. You see what I mean about GRRM preserving the idea that characters need to get from point A to point B (even where he screws it up bad, like Catelyn and Tyrion’s meeting at the Inn at the Crossroads), as opposed to characters just appearing wherever the hell the writers want them to be?

(6:11) Okay, it’s been a long time since I lived somewhere where the dominant tree species weren’t some type of eucalypt, but wiki tells me that the trees Sam listed here are deciduous. It’s late autumn. Isn’t it? Shouldn’t these trees be changing colour and/or losing their leaves? Game of Thrones, people. Builds a hall with 600 faces you can barely see, forgets plot-relevant changing of seasons.

Also, yay, talking down to Gilly again, I did miss this. This is down to tone and direction - if Sam didn’t enunciate everything so slowly and carefully, I’d be much more forgiving, but he really does speak to her like she’s a child. It doesn’t have the tone of someone sharing information with an equal.

(6:22) The issue of seasons is addressed at this point; Sam’s speaking as though it’s early autumn. This scans to me like a patch job in the script after a location for Horn Hill was scouted and it was very, very green.

(6:51) The emotional context of Sam’s return to Horn Hill is well exposited. Only now I have the strangest mental image of Sam sitting down at the dinner table and saying “That’s my father!”

(7:30) And this is why Sam’s talking down to Gilly is so glaring and grating. Gilly immediately picks apart Sam’s lies and evasions. (“Did you tell them how far north?”) As depicted, she’s clearly an intelligent person, just deprived of education and experience, more than capable of keeping up, and Sam talks to her as though she’s a slow child.

(8:05) You know, in a way, the shot of Horn Hill here really does establish the setting. Fake Renaissance dropped randomly and unconvincingly into the surrounding landscape.

(9:44) It’s nice to see positive interaction! Note how Sam, Melessa, and Talla all getting along and loving each other does not detract from the central tension that comes Randyll Tarly’s impending appearance.

(10:06) Only for the worldbuilding to fall apart again. Sam thinks repeatedly on how his mother and sisters will be fine with Gilly and actively want to look after a child of Sam’s, but there’s a big difference between what book!Sam was proposing (Gilly getting a place as a servant in Horn Hill) and what we just saw here with Talla offering Gilly one of her own dresses for a dinner with Lord Tarly himself. Like with Bronn, and as we’ll see later with Jon Snow, the show does not seem to appreciate the depth, nature, and rigidity of class distinction.

(10:39) The High Sparrow is here allowing the king to believe that the walk of shame for Margaery is still on.

(10:55) “Queen Margaery is not your mother. I suspect the gods will predispose the common people to gentleness on her behalf.” WHOA. How’d I miss that first time round? That sure is some victim-blaming. And he just said that to the king about his mother? The question is, do I credit the writers with knowing the depths of misogyny in that line, or do I think it’s largely unintentional? That one could go either way, I think.

(11:26) Aww, how sweet! Rapist and victim, reunited at last.

(11:58) When Tommen mentions the walk of atonement, Margaery asks, “Have you spoken to him at all? The High Sparrow.” She’s fishing for what Tommen knows before giving him an answer about the walk. She’s still manipulating him.

(12:09) She’s using plural pronouns for herself and Tommen, and when Tommen does not immediately agree with this ‘joint’ position, she says, “you think I’m mad,” forcing Tommen into denying it.

(12:23) “He’s a lot more…” “He is. There’s something about him, his way of looking at the world…” The adjective use, it’s indescribable...

(12:50) Tommen gushing about how great a person Margaery while she’s still trying to manipulate is just so awful to listen to.

(12:59) How terrible a person Margaery is for engaging in public works of charity. That’s one of her most important jobs as queen. Seriously. But don’t expect Margaery to ever acknowlege her very real sin of manipulating and exploiting Tommen.

(13:56) Natalie Dormer’s too good for this - notice how her voice hitched over the lie that Loras needs to atone for his “sins”? And in such a natural way.

(16:30) I have no idea how the Umbers and the Tarlys met. Anyway, it’s not that noblewomen are forbidden to hunt in ASoIaF (or the time period it’s loosely inspired by), it’s that the types of hunts men and women went on were different. Hawking is definitely acceptable for women, and being able to keep up on a deer hunt wasn’t quite so traditional but a lot of men thought it was sexy - but boar hunting was definitely for men only.

(18:21) God, I hate the misread of Sam’s arc. “He’s a greater warrior than either of you ever will be” is the exact opposite of the point. The point is, Sam’s not a warrior, and he’s still brave and capable and his skills are still valuable. It literally does not matter who or what Sam killed, because the value in his actions was not in the killing, but in overcoming his fear. The show treats Sam killing a White Walker as +50 kills, +100 manliness points. It buys in to the exact mentality that book!Sam’s storyline is supposed to be rejecting.

(18:27) And in more Randyll Tarly weirdness, he doesn’t seem to notice that his hated son’s lowborn girlfriend just impugned his manliness at the dinner table in front of his wife and children.

(19:14) Excellent acting from John Bradley here.

(19:41) “He will never wield that sword.” And there is thematic significance in Sam never wielding a sword called Heartsbane, never receiving his inheritance from Randyll.

(20:08) Woman called “whore”: 1.

(20:49) “Your mother’s a fine woman.” What does a misogynist on the order of Randyll Tarly consider to be fine, in a woman? It’s not backtalk like Melessa just offered him. He considers that sort of thing unnatural and unwomanly. The show can’t write a convincing misogynist because they don’t understand the forms misogyny takes.

(23:08) Of course Sam comes back. So this detour accomplishes nothing in terms of characterisation. It’s the same thing we’ve been getting for three seasons. This is also a place where I didn’t mind the long shot of the secondary character, as it emphasised Gilly’s loneliness and alienation while building tension for Sam’s imminent return.

(23:18) Talla won’t mind about the dress? I think someone underestimates the labour that goes into those things and the expense of material (and I think that person is the writer).

(23:41) All this plot detour accomplishes is to put Heartsbane in Sam’s hands. That’s it. Heartsbane better have some serious signficance later.

(24:12) Arya Stark, world’s worst assassin, is in the front row of this play. The change in her position in the crowd is probably meant to be significant, indicating to the show’s audience that she’s getting sucked in to the detriment of her mission, but she was already terrible at her mission.

(25:20) This is the most intimate connection we’ve seen Arya make with the play, just going on closeups and the back-and-forth between the dialogue and her face. Over Cersei’s reaction to Joffrey’s death. Also note that now we see evidence that Sansa’s actress is the one who put the hit on Lady Crane. This is backwards - evidence first, then conclusion, please. I promise I won’t think the character’s less intelligent for drawing their conclusions from evidence, rather than magically intuiting the correct answer.

(27:55) Arya Stark, world’s worst assassin, has been recognised by a mark.

(28:37) “The writing’s no good.”

No comment.

(28:56) Arya draws on her actual knowledge of Cersei and Joffrey. This is such a strange reason for Arya to be drawing on information that No One shouldn’t have - but it does exemplify the show’s priorities. Rather than engaging more deeply with the play’s presentation of her father or sister, Arya’s focused on revenge.

(29:38) Fake-out with the rum starts here, set to the meta commentary background.

(30:05) “I do what I can with what I am given.” Brian Cogman, is that you?

(30:38) Exactly a minute, drawn out so we could get that meta commentary. Arya Stark, world’s worst assassin, saves her target from her own assassination attempt.

(30:59) I love the guy in red working on the costumes, over to the left. Arya charges past him, knocks the glass out of Lady Crane’s hands, tells everyone that Bianca is the one who wants Lady Crane dead, and he just goes “oh yeah, that happened” and starts fixing a costume again.

(31:01) Oh and also the Waif’s been supervising undercover. What a shock.

(31:20) This shot of Arya retrieving Needle is also quite lovely.

(32:40) Anyone know how the Tyrell army snuck into King’s Landing? The threat of this army coming into King’s Landing was enough to make the book!High Sparrow render Margaery into someone else’s custody, because there are no winners if the Lannistyrells and the Sparrows throw down in the streets.

(34:17) Margaery’s face reveals she didn’t have a clue about this army.

(34:28) For some reason, Olenna Tyrell’s showed up to this event.

(35:41) Abs & pecs: 1.

(36:33) The Kingsguard have changed their armour. This leads us into the weeds of timeline, and goodness knows that’s futile on this show.

(37:27) The rhetoric about “twin pillars” hasn’t changed.

(37:24) “He’s beaten us.” You can see what this was supposed to be, it’s just very badly executed as drama. Ah yes, the High Sparrow’s master plan has come off without a hitch. He used the pretext of the walk of shame to gather a massive crowd, so that everyone could see him running the event and exerting power over king and queen in the name of the gods, and - bonus - running off Jaime and a lot of armed men. (Didn’t he get lucky that Margaery didn’t try to change plans upon seeing her father’s army there to support her and Loras?) This signifies minimal change in rhetoric, nor even really a change in the influence the High Sparrow wields given that he started the season able to get the king to bar his mother from her daughter’s funeral.

And all it took was for nobody, not Cersei, not Jaime, not Kevan, not Mace, not Olenna, to ask “where’s Tommen going to be when all this goes down?”

Oh, and that’s a few episodes of scheming totally down the drain. More time wasted.

(39:09) In spite of the silliness surrounding this development, having Tommen send Jaime to the Riverlands is not the worst way to go about it. The changes to Cersei and Jaime’s relationship mean that Cersei’s not going to do it, and what they want to achieve in the King’s Landing storyline meant that Tommen could.

(39:19) Meta-commentary on how easy it was to lose Riverrun?

(40:09) As we see here, the Riverlanders are far more loyal than the Northerners, with the Mallisters and Blackwoods joining the remnants of the Tully forces to oppose the Freys, plus the common people. All of these enemies just popping out of the ground after seasons of neglect!

(40:59) Woman called “whore”: 2. Just for reference, they’re calling Talisa a whore.

(41:14) Just using this child bride for a prop, here, I see the writers have learned a lot about using violence against women as set dressing since Craster’s Keep.

(41:26) Hi, Edmure! It’s been a while, I could have sworn the writers forgot about you and your family and your lands and your plots!

(42:12) When Jaime starts ranting about sending a gang of killers to the Sept of Baelor and decapitating all the Sparrows he can find, that totally means he’ll do it, right? We should expect this scene later, yes?

(42:48) Cersei’s due to stand trial soon. What are her charges? Do they include Lancel? If so, then does Jaime know? Also, Jaime needs to be at that trial for her. What even is a character arc.

(43:08) Yep, still in the vein of “fuck everyone who isn’t us.” This episode hasn’t had as much waiting around on long shots as previous episodes, but a lot of the scenes are still awfully repetitive.

(44:34) Zombie!Benjen reveal!

(46:00) But otherwise the scene doesn’t do much, just repeats “Bran is important, for realz.” Could have fooled me.

(46:39) Dany needs a thousand ships to get to Westeros. Nobody has that many. What a coincidence is happening over in the Iron Islands, you guys!

(47:01) Well, they spelled that character arc out for us. Seems like Dany’s a conqueror. Thanks for pointing that out, show!

(48:14) Ramin Djawadi’s doing his best here.

(48:45) But this is an incredibly half-assed scene. The writers wanted to have their cake and eat it too when it came to Dany’s fiery assertion of power over the Dothraki. They wanted her to be the most powerful person in the scene even naked and silent, and they wanted her to give a rousing speech from dragonback. They put nudity and silence in front of the burning temple, which makes sense, and now this rousing speech from dragonback has no context. Her troops do not need a motivational speech at this point. Their enemies are a week away, the poison water is in the indefinite future. It’s half a scene, and CGI and music can’t make up for the missing half.

Not to mention I have no idea when, where, or how Dany learned to control Drogon. That is also a thing that lacks context.

Game of Numbers S06E06

Deaths: 4, all Benjen killing wights.

Boobs: 0.

Abs & pecs: 1.

Woman called ‘whore’: 2.

Man called ‘whore’: 0.

#anti got #fine toothed comb edition #cw: violence #cw: rape mention #horn hill looks like four aqueducts pasted onto two walls #season six

[cristinaaalt-blog]

*“We Believe: The Best Man Can Be” Willing to Destroy a Self*

I will be exploring the following critical question(s): What is the appropriate position between maintaining and destroying a self? Does this artifact find that position? 

To investigate these questions, I examined Gillette’s “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” short film. I aim to argue that this short film intends to persuade those who identify as men to destroy the problematic self (toxic masculinity) not only within themselves but other men as well, in order to adopt and maintain a “better” self, because they can and should know better. I personally believe that Gillette maintains a balance between destroying a self and maintaining a better self. This is particularly productive for society because it showcases that just as how societal norms are changing, that we too have the ability to adapt or remain as is as a response to these shifts in our culture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0

The “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” short film begins by posing the question “is this the best a man can get?” It targets toxic masculinity, which is the stereotypical ideal of manliness, where strength is essential while emotional expression, particularly those deemed “feminine,” is considered a weakness. Not all masculinity is toxic, however. Toxic masculinity is what happens when stereotypical gender expectations make men feel as though they must perpetuate these roles, with hypersexuality and aggression being at the top of this list. The film starts off by showing several moments in which boys are being chased and bullied by other boys. In one scene, a mother is holding her son as text message bubbles from his bullies, taunting him, appear on either side of them as she holds him, crying. The film then goes on to feature clips of males objectifying, degrading, and sexually harassing women. The jump from scenes showcasing boys humiliating other boys to men showcasing inappropriate behavior towards women is an intentional choice that aims to show a correlation between the two. There are clips from older TV shows (even cartoons) of males making sexually suggestive gestures towards women, particularly when their backs are turned. This intends to show how long this behavior has been around: forever. It also demonstrates that younger audiences see these advances too. The video makes it a point to show a variety of everyday situations in which this behavior is present: at work, at home, at school. One clip, in which a man interrupts a female coworker by putting his hand on her shoulder and proclaims to a table full of business professionals, “what I actually think she’s trying to say” as she looks into the distance, is one of the most chilling moments in this video. This is also known as “mansplaining,” which is when men basically try to explain something to a woman on terms she can “understand.” It is often condescending, inaccurate, and overly confident, however. The mansplainer takes away the business woman’s agency; he is geared up to redefine her ideas, which is unprofessional beyond belief. Another focal point of this short film is the line of men eerily proclaiming “boys will be boys” in unison. By writing this toxic behavior off as “boys being boys,” the boys and men exhibiting this behavior are given a pass; they can continue to perpetuate and justify this behavior because they are males. This is when the film takes a different direction; it begins to showcase clips of various news reporters discussing sexual harassment and sexual assault openly. Following this, there is footage of men holding other men accountable, not only in interactions with women but in situations with other men too. Eventually, the short film ends with footage of younger boys looking hopeful, perhaps even contemplative. 

The course concept I believe is relevant to this artifact comes from Hauser’s “Making Commitments through Rhetoric.” First, his commentary on maintaining a self emphasizes that “not only can rhetoric bring us to a new self-awareness, but it can also support and sustain an existing self” (52). This is reinforced in the short film’s assertion that “men need to hold other men accountable, to say the right thing, to act the right way...some already are.” This establishes that a respectful version of the self does indeed exist; in fact, some men are willing to intervene in situations where toxic masculinity presents itself. Gillette makes it a point to frame the clips in such a way that audiences don’t know whether or not the men in them will make the right choice. For instance, the clip of the two boys in the yard fighting one another; at the clip’s beginning, the male figure (presumably the father) watching the two boys “play” in the yard simply writes the situation off as “boys being boys,” but at the film’s end he breaks up the fight between the two, proclaiming that “that’s not how we treat each other, okay?” Second, Hauser deems that rhetoric can also destroy a self. Audiences can see this in how the short film shows men holding other men accountable; the most notable instance being a man checking out a girl and getting ready to follow her as another man watches him with distaste, holds him back, and says “bro, not cool, not cool.” These moments encourage the toxic masculine figure to consider his actions, especially because he is being called out openly. Gillette is sending a message to men that it is not enough to destroy one’s own problematic behavior; men are also responsible for holding other men (and younger boys too) to a higher standard and intervening upon witnessing unacceptable behavior. By nipping toxic masculinity in the bud from a young age, the boys of today can become the best men that they can be tomorrow. 

Despite the backlash this short film has received from a suspiciously similar demographic (privileged white males), Gillette’s message presents more advantages to the public than it does disadvantages. The creators of this artifact were obviously inclusive, considering the short film features a diverse cast of men and young boys. There is also diversity in the problematic situations that are shown, which is crucial to note because this highlights the reality that toxic masculinity is deeply embedded within our society, to the point where it has become normalized in everyday situations. This concept is advantageous in particular because it explicitly calls men out for displaying a range of toxic behaviors; sexual assault is not the only instance where a man showcases a lack of respect for women. An advantage for the female audience put simply, is Gillette’s acknowledgment of the misogynistic scenarios women have no choice but to deal with every day. It sheds an honest light on the female experience and shows news reporters discussing women bravely coming forward to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault. Another productive aspect of this short film is its intentions to push men to do more than just the bare minimum. The line “some is not enough” sticks out in this regard because it holds men to a higher standard. This is not to say that Gillette completely shames men, which may be a criticism of its “haters”; rather, it challenges its intended audience to always strive to be better, because “it’s only by challenging ourselves to do more that we can get closer to our best.” 

In “Marketing Manhood in a Post-Feminist Age,” Kristen Barber and Tristan Bridges highlight the notion that “shifts in masculinity do follow a curious pattern: they are reactive rather than anticipatory...when women enter into historically 'masculine' arenas, like sports or the workplace, they shift the boundaries of femininity. And those are the moments when we get anxious about masculinity, claim that it is ‘in crisis,’ and find groups rallying around ‘solutions’ to this suddenly pressing social issue” (40). This absolutely holds to be true in the case of Gillette’s “We Believe: The Best Man Can Be” because this content is a direct response to the shift in our culture; women are coming forward to bravely speak about sexual harassment and assault. It is inevitable for our society to go several days without seeing these or similar stories on various social media and news platforms; women are tired of being silent, feeling hopeless, and waiting for someone else to be the change they need. The short film challenges men to be the change they want to be for what is right. Barber and Tristan’s aforementioned claim can also explain the negative responses to this carefully constructed content. Perhaps the people who don’t agree with Gillette’s call to action feel anxious about aspects of their masculinity being openly critiqued; they can’t fathom this toxic part of the self being destroyed. Gillette, on the other hand, is able to highlight the problem with toxic masculinity in the first place and rebrand itself as a company that does not condone such behavior. Rather than ignoring the female experience, this company attempts to not only understand it but to push its consumers to align themselves with what is right.

In summary, the “We Believe: The Best Man Can Be” short film is a thoughtful commentary on the work our society needs to do to be better, which is undoubtedly productive for society. Although women are at the forefront of the feminist movement, this culture is changing; men are part of this equation too and are therefore part of the process. The problematic and harmful masculine behaviors attached to the self must be destroyed in order to better this world as we know it. This short film comes at a crucial time for our society; we are in the midst of having open, honest, and real conversations about how toxic masculinity destroys our society’s ability to truly understand and respect one another. 

Hauser, A. Gerard. “Making Commitments Through Rhetoric.” Introduction to Rhetorical Theory, 1986. 

Barber, Kristen, and Tristan Bridges. “Marketing Manhood in a ‘Post-Feminist’ Age.” Contexts, vol. 16, no. 2, May 2017, pp. 38–43, doi:10.1177/1536504217714257.

[nerobombs]

Writing Oppression

(Want more? Check out my Writing tag!)

Hope you’re not sick of the Stormblood-induced rants yet, because here’s another one.

I’m sure there’s many Domans, Xaela, and Ala Mhigans getting ready to get back at those darn Garleans and settle into their newly liberated homes. So I’m sure a lot of the player stories that come out of Stormblood will be surrounding that: themes of oppression, of returning home with new experiences, the idea of institutionalised power and how it can be wielded, and so on.

Well, maybe, anyway.

To preface this, my demographic is not what you might call “disenfranchised”. None of the places I’ve lived in or visited are particularly rife with genuine oppression--which I suspect will change when my North Korean visa finally gets approved and America hits its third year of a Cheeto Benito presidency (ooh, spicy political commentary!)--so I’ll admit that I’m approaching this topic more in theory and from logical examination than from experience. 

I’ve definitely consumed media wherein oppression is depicted however, and more often than not such things end up depicted more cartoonishly than anything else. You know, really weird and unintuitive racial slurs, mustache-twirling commissars, goose stepping secret police, and so on. 

I’d like to avoid that. Oppression in fiction can be a fascinating topic and an environment that provides for a lot of intrigue.

And if you’re worried that this post is going to contain some ol’ SJW bullshit then, well, it’s not.

So if you’re looking to approach the topic of Garlemald’s occupation in your storyline, you may want to read further.

1). Internalisation is a genuine factor to consider.

In short, when you get told something often enough, you’ll probably start believing it regardless of whether or not you cognitively recognise it as false.

For a historical example, a “colonial mentality” is a form of internalised oppression where the colonised people feel themselves to be inferior to their imperialist colonisers. The nuances are complex--thoughts can range from “Well they managed to take over half the world and we didn’t so we must be worse people” or “our economy is so much better now with our new overlords”, and so on--but the principle is relatively simple. This sort of thing happened a lot with the spread of the Spanish Empire and the rule of the conquistadors, particularly with places like the Philippines.

It happens a lot in marketing too: women are told they’re not thin and beautiful enough, men are told they’re not manly and successful enough, and both of these things lead to self-esteem issues. Same mechanism, for the most part.

Weirdly enough, this is something I almost never see portrayed in fiction with oppressed societies. It’s a kind of society-level Stockholm Syndrome. Certainly there will be Domans or Ala Mhigans or Xaela who truly believe that they are inferior to Garleans and that Garlemald is something to aspire to, and breaking such an internalisation takes a lot of work, simply because the information is everywhere.

So when you’re considering why oppressed citizenry might side with their oppressors, consider internalisation. Consider the effect of seeing and hearing “Be grateful to your conquerors for they are better and wiser” day in, day out.

2). Bigotry and intelligence are not mutually exclusive.

Or to put it another way: people can genuinely believe racist shit regardless of their status, upbringing, or intellect.

Let’s write a character, Garlic McGarlemald the Garlean. For all intents and purposes he is kind, fair, and intelligent. He’s a university professor, donates to the poor, loves his wife and children, and also sincerely believes that all Xaela are savage horsefuckers who cut off their enemy’s heads in order to consume their soul.

Wait, what?

One of the pitfalls of writing an oppressive or racist society is the depiction. A lot of these stories depict all oppressive racists as universally dumb, drooling ignoramuses who spend all day teaching their children to play “Lynch the Minority” and “Spell the Slur”. And, well, okay, there are certainly people like that. 

But in a truly oppressive society, the dumb racists are not the dangerous ones: the really dangerous ones are people like Garlic McGarlemald who is, for the most part, an ordinary person perfectly capable of critical thinking, yet still inexplicably believes in this shit for reasons no party can really rationalise.

And if that doesn’t seem logical in the slightest, it’s not. But it’s certainly realistic.

People do actually believe in stuff like that. You had scientists in the 19th century seeking “natural, evolutionary” reasons as to why other races were inferior to whites. You had logicians, biologists, and anthropologists huddling around and wondering why whites were so much awesome-er than all those other dirtfarmer races. It was something that was just believed. Maybe it was because it was a cultural cornerstone or it was merely a result of internalisation, but people who by all rights could be considered intelligent and capable believed that stuff.

And while we’re on the subject...

“But my bigot character doesn’t really believe in that stuff, of course he’s smart enough to know that’s all bollocks,” you might say. Garlic McGarlemald is just under social pressure to pretend he believes this stuff, that’s all!

Well, that’s not really valid. For one, from a writing perspective, that kind of argument is a total cop-out; it’s a lazy way to keep your character “clean” for fear of being controversial. For two, lip service has absolutely zero value in this context: unless Garlic McGarlemald is actually willing to take action, he’s still a bigot. A passive and well-meaning bigot, perhaps, but still a bigot. Not only is he a bigot, but he is a hypocrite too, because he refuses to jeopardise the racist and bigoted system that he himself benefits from. 

And this is where the “with us or against us” mentality sort of comes from: if your character is part of the oppressors, then he/she is an oppressor unless they’re actively working against it. Being passively racist is still racist, so sayeth the oppressed, because institutionalised power is still power.

3). Prejudice can have layers.

Consider the “double jeopardy hypothesis” which proposes that, for example, a Asian-American woman is not only subject to racism and sexism, but to the combined effects of both simultaneously. And if she falls into the LBTQ camp (or however many letters that camp seems to have these days), then she’s going through triple jeopardy because heterosexism piles on like a big smelly heterosexist frog.

I say that it’s a hypothesis (and from a scientific standpoint it still is) but this isn’t particularly beyond the stretch of logic.

Let’s say your Xaela meets Garlic McGarlemald. Now obviously, Garlic McGarlemald hates your Xaela. But he doesn’t hate your Xaela just because your Xaela is a Xaela: Mr. Garlic hates your Xaela because they talk funny, dress in rags, have a weird pagan religion and because they’re bisexual. 

Would Garlic McGarlemald hate a Garlean who was the same thing? Well, we don’t know. But the point I’m trying to make here is that an oppressive society will use everything, and I mean everything it can weaponise against the people they’re trying to oppress.

To go further, Garleans might dislike that Domans speak a weird language, they also hate Domans because they eat raw fish (barbarians!), force their children to kneel on bamboo mats (monsters!), and refuse to export Mother 3 to the United States, in addition to taking eight years to finish a new Persona game (complete heathens, I say!). 

See what I mean?

 4). People who belong to the oppressor group can have nice qualities.

If you’ll harken back to my intro paragraph, I don’t like it when oppressors are depicted as universally revolting mustache-twirling Nazis with no redeeming qualities.

Like I said, Garlic McGarlemald can be considered a nice guy, excepting the racism. People who are among the oppressors in an oppressive society aren’t universally bad. After all, for a lot of them it’s not particularly their fault that they were raised in a society that encouraged such bigotry. And internalisation happens with things like racism too: even when they become educated, they seek new reasons to justify their bigotry because it’s all they were raised to know. 

There is a nauseating amount of self-righteousness that comes with depicting all racists and bigots as unrepentant monsters who hit so many branches of the stupid tree that they’re in danger of accidentally swallowing their own extra chromosome. 

So don’t do that. If you’re going to write your oppressors, at least write some of them as mostly well-meaning.

5). Avoid tokenism.

Or, to put it in a more wordy way: either judge every group within your story as a group, or judge every group within your story as individuals.

Let’s say that Garlic McGarlemald is actually not a nice man, and he drinks alcohol and beats his wife.

Edgy, isn’t it?

Now, when being written by a not-so-good writer, Garlic McGarlemald won’t place any stigma upon his group, because he is part of the oppressive Garleans. It’s not that all Garleans are drunken wifebeaters, it’s just that Garlic McGarlemald specifically has that problem.

Meanwhile, Xaela Xaelason accidentally trips and breaks a bottle, therefore all Xaela are clumsy!

No. That can’t fly. And the reason why that can’t fly is because it very quickly descends into becoming preachy.

This happens a lot with poorly written fantasy novels: there is a single named character who is gay or has dark skin, and that single character ends up representing the author’s entire views on gays or black people.

So when you’re writing something like an oppressive society, multiple characters are important. You have to be willing to do the work to portray each side--oppressors and the oppressed--as having complex people who aren’t easily categorised. 

Don’t insert a Token Doman or a Token Good Garlean or a Token Evil Xaela and then use that character to make blanket statements within your story. Because that’s just lazy writing.

6). Oppression is hard to escape.

Whether you’re one of the oppressors attempting to open your worldview or you’re one of the oppressed trying not to fall down the same slippery slope, oppression isn’t an easy thing to “win” against.

There’s no magic argument or book that suddenly allows one to instantly widen their acceptance of race, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, etc. Similarly, there is no Garden of Eden free of prejudice.

If you’re planning to tackle oppression as a theme, be prepared to be conscious of it, for as long as the theme is relevant. You can’t have Xaela Xaelason make it to the land of his people and decide that Prejudice Doesn’t Exist. No, Xaela Xaelason would be judged based on the fact that he was born in a city and doesn’t know any Xaela customs or traditions. He’d be judged for not staunchly supporting the tribal religion. He’s among other Xaela, and there will be prejudice there, too.

It’s a double-sided magnet, and it has some powerful pull. Be aware of that.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #stormblood #rp #roleplaying #writing #writing tips #oppression #honestly the hardest part of these posts is coming up with damn tags #ala mhigo #i hope i don't regret writing this?

[segafunk]

Teddy Roosevelt, Eggman, and the Message of Classical Sonic

The origin of both Sonic the Hedgehog and Eggman was a character design contest for a mascot held by Sega of Japan, with the designs submitted to the approval of Sega of America on the perception that a game to compete with Mario on the new Sega Genesis would need to do well in the ‘States. Many of the characters resemble American more than Japanese animation influences from Max Fleischer to The Simpsons (images @ The Cutting Room Floor). One design is even a wolf in an American flag shirt brandishing his fists, a rather backhanded compliment to a country that emerged as the predominant global superpower while both the Japanese economy crashed and the Soviet Union collapsed not long before in 1991. In any of the possible characters selected for a mascot, there’s a kind of commentary to Americans about American culture, not least in its edginess and rebellion. Commentary on the selection of Sonic himself will have to wait for another day. But it’s important to note that among the entries is a character in his pajamas who impeccably resembles Eggman. Or put another way, both characters physically resemble the iconic 26th President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt.

It’s important to realize in this context that if Sega of America had favored his design, there would probably have been a side-scroller starring the Roosevelt character given the adorable Teddy Bear treatment as the heroic lead. Roosevelt is indeed often regarded as a heroic figure American history, confronting the monopoly capitalism of robber barons in the Gilded Age with the avowed intention to give Americans a Square Deal. His design more resembled the features of Mario himself, while trying to sell kids and their parents on a blue punk rocker was a riskier decision. But what happened rather was that a very deliberate decision was made to take the same character, and make him the bad guy. In other words, why might one make the exercise seeing Roosevelt as emblematic of the bad guy in a narrative the Nostalgia Critic rightly observes has “an environmental message that’s… subtle”? Wasn’t it Teddy Roosevelt who enacted landmark conservation legislation like the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate National Monuments protected for posterity from extraction and development by industrialists?

Roosevelt exemplifies the paradox of the hunter and taxonomist who was very prolific in gunning down hundreds of animals, but within those experiences became interested in the politics of conservation to institute limits against relentless industrial extraction of resources. If Sonic and his friends are wild animals, it’s easy to see how they could become threatened by someone in his likeness. For Roosevelt, the experience of joining in the Westward expansion of America was pivotal both to his sense of identity and his political persona. Among other things, Roosevelt went to the Dakota Territory to participate in the massive boom in cattle ranching seeking fortune and solitude. The obverse of an enterprise ultimately linked to the industrialized slaughterhouses of Chicago was the mass extermination of the buffalo and corresponding mass starvation of indigenous peoples. Here at the 21st century, American cattle culture is often regarded as a major factor in global climate change because of the methane emissions they produce.

Roosevelt ultimately conceived of an America to become a massive expansionist imperial and industrial power, and acted toward what would come to be called the “American Century”. But in seeking to place limits upon this power, combined with his nephew Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, he engendered a powerful enduring hatred among political interests who sought no restrictions and no protections from its exercise. Among other things, this expresses itself in the continual efforts to scale back and repeal the elements of the New Deal and any remaining economic and ecological safety net in America, and in books with a conservative or libertarian bent sincerely arguing that both Roosevelts were fascist or communist dictators. In terms of “communism”, the actual belief of the Roosevelt Presidents was that only political reform could stave off radical revolution, so they are more accurately identified with the politics of progressivism or a noblesse oblige sensibility.

In terms of “fascism” in a broad sense, it was rather the case that the imperial expansionism of Italy, Germany and Austria, and Japan drew on precedents in American society and culture in seeking to have what Americans had, their understanding of what Made America Great. Consequently, when common themes can be found between the writings and declarations of Roosevelt with those of Hitler and the Nazi Party, this was not because the former was an exceptional figure, but because for better and for worse he articulated views common to American culture in the Gilded Age. Where Americans, Europeans, and Japanese invested in competitive cultural projects of imperialism and industrialization sound retrospectively like Nazis when they spoke on themes like Social Darwinism and eugenics prior to World War I, that is because the Nazis were steeped in such ideology and influences. Fascist movements flourished most in nations where there was a widespread feeling of being slighted or scapegoated by the new world order effected by the Treaty of Versailles, sufficient to build mass support to defy the League of Nations, and launch massive projects of empire building and effect systematic war crimes against colonized populations. Fascism as such did not arise until 1919, the very year Teddy Roosevelt died without achieving his ambition for a third term as President.

A more fruitful consideration would be the extent to which American democracy, with all its violence and injustice, whether codified into law or exerted in lawlessness lent de-facto toleration, has lent the scripts and justification for oppressive regimes. To look on America from the outside must be very disconcerting. The polarized two-party system routinely alternates Presidents, typically every 4-8 years, and with them national policy becomes most opposed to the things it most supported. Or else, continuities between parties where there should not be, such as building up a massive military-industrial complex from the Cold War onward in the teeth of the older conception that America should not maintain a standing army because the presence of such a force was a sure road to tyrannizing absolute monarchy. Still more blatant, the contradiction between a society that simultaneously declares an aim to make the world “safe for democracy”, as Woodrow Wilson said of America entering World War I and shaping the ensuing balance of power, and a society that has overthrown democratically elected leaders, installed fascist or military dictatorships, and supported the systematic atrocities they have carried out. The culture of Japan, having undergone radical transformations following American military interventions in 1853-1854 and from 1945-1952, has developed an acute sense of this Jekyll-and-Hyde conundrum constantly effecing their position of the world. It’s not unreasonable to assume that the Sonic Team under Yuji Naka, collaborating first with Sega of Japan on Sonic the Hedgehog and then with Sega of America on future sequels for the Sega Genesis, would want to include implicit commentary on this state of affairs in communicating to Americans and an Americanized international audience.

I propose that the link between Teddy Roosevelt and Eggman is that the face of the famous American President as the game antagonist is included because he symbolizes the cultural project of the American Century. Because the faces behind the office change so frequently, one face must be chosen who exemplifies the traits of a wider paradigm spanning between them. To show the first face in such a lineage can be particularly effective. When exactly the “American Century” began is a matter of historical debate, although most agree it to have been fully in effect after World War II when America assumed many of the roles that had been carried out by the British Empire in the “British Century.” However, as early as the turn of the 20th century, America had already made cultural decisions toward facilitating such a world-historic shift under the Presidency and punditry of Roosevelt.

The Westward expansionism of America after its Civil War not only brought a considerable number of European immigrants, but also aroused considerable envy contributing to the volatizing Scramble for Africa as the empires of Europe sought to claim their own frontiers at the expense of a stolen continent. Roosevelt not only participated in settler colonialism and its economic frontier, he also promoted it as a paradigm and way of life. It’s fair to say that if Buffalo Bill’s carnivalesque Wild West shows popularized Manifest Destiny to the masses in the field of entertainment, Roosevelt’s writings did the same in the field of intellect. Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” in the 1st United States Voluntary Cavalry were meant to give the impression of the extension of this paradigm into the Caribbean in the fight against the Spanish Empire, creating the impression of chivalric modern warfare waged by manly rugged Americans.

In this context, a major cultural rift opened among Americans in terms of whether America should define itself as an imperialist power or an anti-imperialist power facilitating decolonized self-determining nations. Roosevelt, along with his processor William McKinley, were distinctly on the side of American imperialism. This created certain cultural contradictions; how could Americans have been so outraged by reports of atrocities and concentration camps by the Spanish in Cuba, and then go on to carry out atrocities and institute concentration camps to claim the Philippines as a U.S. colony? It was this contradiction that brought Roosevelt to power, insofar as the radicalized steel worker Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo in 1901 spoke of “outrages committed by the American government in the Philippine islands.” (Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of the United States p. xxviii)

The ensuing policies effected by Roosevelt involved both outright colonialism to assert naval dominance over the Pacific (even as he realized a catastrophic war with Japan became a virtual inevitability), and of neo-colonial military and economic presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, most famously in the political intrigue surrounding the creation of the Panama Canal. America was already asserting themselves as a diplomatic superpower, brokering the treaty in the Russo-Japanese War under Roosevelt, and then playing a major role in the Treaty of Versailles under Wilson. Teddy Roosevelt can also be seen as an early phenomenon of modern American pop culture, including the teddy bears prototypical of Sonic himself. By the 1920s, America became a cultural superpower, as people internationally consumed American pop culture like cinema and jazz records to assert a cosmopolitan sense of modernity against the stagnation and entrenchment of old world powers. The parallel sense of Japan as a cultural superpower around the turn of the 21st century involves a complex relationship to a hybridization of American forms and Japanese content, a globalized phenomenon in which Sega was a major player.

If the question is posed what the world looks like to Eggman, it must be said that the world looks like an unending number of frontiers, with living and dead carbon-based lifeforms to be extracted and exploited for his personal aggrandizement in the empire he is building. In effect, classical Sonic games position the player on the receiving end of Manifest Destiny, contrasting with the many computer games to relish in the ego-trip of empire-building. Even without conscious associations to any U.S. President, it’s easy to identify a certain anti-intellectualism wherein players as Sonic, embodying the nineties “cool pose” in his hip sneakers, revel in blowing up the arrogant ‘egghead’ in his hover ship time after time. There’s something familiar about him in a bad way. Blake J. Harris identifies Sonic with political and cultural shifts in the nineties away from the 12-year Reagan and Bush era (which also included a shift away from climate change denialism in policy): 

Sonic wouldn’t just become the face of the company but also would represent their spirit: the tiny underdog moved with manic speed, and no matter what obstacles stood in his way, he never ever stopped going. Sonic embodied not only the spirit of Sega of America’s employees but also the cultural zeitgeist of the early nineties. He had captured Kurt Cobain’s “whatever” attitude, Michael Jordan’s graceful arrogance, and Bill Clinton’s get-it-done demeanor. (Blake J. Harris, Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Nation p. 76)

In terms of the message of classical Sonic games, it’s helpful to consider the almost wordless story told by the level design, and the sequence of levels. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles all begin with an opening level filled with resplendent natural beauty encroached upon by a cyborg army that constitute an imminent threat to the homeland of Sonic and later Knuckles. Sonic 3 later evocatively has the lush tropical landscape Angel Island Zone set ablaze by a combat drone as an ecologically disastrous act of scorched earth warfare. Sonic the Hedgehog then brings players into the Marble Zone, another instance of Sega’s fascination with classical ruins, culture, and mythology that stand as a counterpoint to the way the game company aesthetically defined themselves with the public image of a hip nineties urbanism. In terms of these levels appearing throughout the four classical Sonic games that take the player through areas resembling Greek, Roman, and Egyptian ruins, the idea is a kind of gothic contemplation on the frailty of civilizations that would define themselves as eternal, what courses of actions might prolong or accelerate the collapse of a civilization. By repeatingly alternating these levels with chaotic metropolises filled with high-tech mad science emphasized by the jazz-funk music and weaponized cyborg animals, Sonic the Hedgehog applies this lesson to the present and near-future. Both the ecological and civilizational zones are threatened with collapse by Eggman’s aggressive Manifest Destiny paradigm.

Sonic 2 makes this subtext more explicit as it brings the player through levels suggestive of extractive enterprises devastating to the ecosystem inhabited by Sonic and his friends. Chemical Plant Zone is filled with massive pools of deadly toxic chemicals. Mystic Cave Zone has become the site of a large mine prone to collapses and hazards. Oil Ocean Zone and its music has a certain Middle Eastern feel in its music evocative of massive petro-states and the politics of hydrocarbon consumption so culturally contentious then as now. If the slogan “no blood for oil” appeared in the Gulf War just as it did in the Iraq War under two Bush presidencies, Sonic Mania evocatively has the oceans of oil burning like the huge oil fires in Kuwait during the former conflict when it remixes this level. This can’t be good in terms of carbon emissions and climate change, which is much the point. Sonic 2 introduces sites of Eggman’s military-industrial complex in zones like Wing Fortress Zone and Death Egg Zone, a weaponized space program akin to Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiatives to rain death from above. Takashi Murakami’s book Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture explores how Japanese pop culture has been haunted by the shadow of the nuclear bomb after World War II (itself a product of the nuclear arms race between Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler). So it is for the scramble for the chaos emeralds in the Sonic games, as collecting them all will grant either Eggman or Sonic with invincible power. The metaphor isn’t terribly subtle.

Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles (originally intended to be one game) introduce a colonial dimension on the Caribbean-like floating island, inhabited by the dreadlock-headed Knuckles the Echidna as he is manipulated into battling Sonic before eventually realizing Eggman is the true enemy to all he holds dear. There’s a great deal of lush tropical beauty here interspersed with the ruins of a mystical civilization from the bygone past constructed on the immense power of the Master Emerald that keeps the island flying (i.e. the sequence from Lava Reef Zone to Sky Sanctuary Zone). It’s quite easy to draw comparisons to Hayao Miyazaki’s anime film Castle in the Sky where a European-styled imperialist and his army receive their comeuppance on the floating ruins of a similar island. The environmentalism of Studio Ghibli films is widely acknowledged, but that of Sonic games is less so.

Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles continues many of the tendencies in level design discussed hitherto, now including the transformation of environments for worse or for better. The stage Carnival Night Zone, like Casino Night Zone in Sonic 2, imply a certain neon-drenched conspicuous consumption in tandem with the extractive enterprises shown, evocative of two Gilded Ages around the turn of the 20th and 21st century. America and Japan alike would recall the lavish décor of the yuppies exemplified by the architectural design of Donald Trump’s casinos, hotels, and resorts. The Trump Taj Mahal could easily fit in here. By the time of Sonic CD on the ill-fated Sega CD, the designers introduced the innovation of multidimensional time travel to show what the levels used to be, what Eggman has turned them into in the present, and two divergent possible futures in terms of their destruction or rejuvenation. This is, I think, an important imaginative exercise in an era of what Naomi Klein terms “disaster capitalism.”

In the context of the counterprotests to the Unite the Right rally in Charleston, Virginia, where so many torch-carrying Neo-Nazis and armed paramilitaries where in evidence, a young Asian man was photographed in a Sonic cap with a spraypainted shirt in which the blue hedgehog extends the middle finger as the text declares “Sonic Says NO To fascism and racism”. The image has since become a t-shirt sold on Redbubble. That interpretation is both plausible, and humorously riffs off the old “Sonic Says” segments on the cartoon Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. I have here tried to argue that what “Sonic Says NO” to is not only a neo-fascist politics to “Make America Great Again” by rejecting the international order effected after World War II in terms of paranoid ravings about other countries “laughing at us”, but also to institutionalized practices of systematic destruction rationalized more than a century ago in terms of Making America Great. On this view, Sonic would also get behind politics of environmentalism, antimilitarism, anticolonialism, and indigenous rights in the sense that we should too. Insofar as Teddy Roosevelt is implicated in a model of the American presidency that sustains ecological and economic devastation internationally to the peril of all, his face has been lent to Eggman as a video game antagonist exemplifying these qualities.

#sega #sega genesis #sonic the hedghog #theodore roosevelt #video games #politics #eggman #dr. robotnik #nineties #american century

[smokeybrandreviews]

We Can Be Heroes

So i took in Ragnarok a second time and even wrote an in depth review about it. I said i wanted to compare and contrast between JL, more because Marvel has released some solid films both directly from Marvel Studios and their franchised heroes to other studios, in particular Fox. Logan is the second greatest cape flick i have ever seen, after the Dark Knight. I don’t throw that distinction around lightly because TDK is one of the greatest films, overall, ever made and Logan can give it a run for it’s money any day. Outside of that flick, Homecoming was spectacular and so was Guardians. I have already gushed about Ragnarok and even Wonder Woman was on point. So why was Justice League so bad? Why did no one go to see it?

I’m not sating that Justice League is a flop. Of course not. It made a pretty penny. It had, like, a 96 million dollar opening last week. Cash money. The thing is, if i know the box office, that’s unsustainable. A good drop in the week two run is around 40 to 50 percent. I’m not sure what the week two drop was but, considering all of the cats i saw looking to check out Coco and the fact my screening of Ragnarok was full, i imagine it’s going to be pretty substantial. Probably high 50 to mid 60s which is not was Warner Bros. wants. That’d be terrible news. Considering it only made about 185 mil in the foreign markets over opening weekend, that mid 60percent is looking better and better. So how is it Marvel keeps knocking these things out of the park and DC keeps stumbling across the finish line? As a comic fan, Marvel Fanboy, and cinemaphile, i wanted to throw my two cents into the argument because i find it all very intriguing

DCEU Fatigue

There are cats talking about superhero fatigue. I’ve been hearing that thrown around a lot lately. I don’t think that’s accurate. There are too many of us millennials out here, of age, starting our own families, that are afflicted with that crazy childhood nostalgia because we’re all latchkey kids, particularly the older of us. Cats like me, born in the early to mid 80s, adore comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. We loved the escapism as the excess of greed and selfishness during the 80s tore our families apart. Among our “Oregon Trail” generation, we have some of the highest rates of divorce so escapism was real.  We threw ourselves into Nintendo, BTAS, and Marvel comics. We brought our younger siblings, those notorious and oft maligned by the media as the true “millennials”, those youngsters born in the 90s, into our world of comic book distraction, cartoon interference, and video game diversion. To see all of those heroes we followed as kids put up on the big screen with massive budgets and SFX spectacle is like catnip to us. The market is rife with prime demographics for these films and, as log as they’re good, there’s no stopping that machine. But that’s the overall problem.

Marvel has been doing this since 2008. They stumbled in a few outings (The two Hulk films, the first two Thor films, and to a lesser extent Iron Man 2 and Age of Ultron) but they have also shined brilliantly along the way while taking crazy risks. No one knew who the f*ck the Guardians of the Galaxy were or why Chris Pratt would even be cast in a superhero role but look; That first Guardians film is a classic and the second, even with all of it’s missteps, is a goddamn joy to watch. Pratt is a huge star now and people are looking to GOT to set that Cosmic Marvel tone. James Gunn’s visibility as a director has increased considerably, to the point that Taika Waititi took a little of their tone and levity into his own MCU outing, Ragnarok. And, again, i adored that flick. When Ultron came out and audiences reacted with mild tepidness, Marvel pulled Whedon and installed the Russos as the primary architects of MCU and look what happened. Cap 3 was ridiculous and literally every Marvel film after has scored in the 80s or 90s on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only did these cats helm arguable the best MCU film in Winter Soldier (the first Iron Man, i guess the first Avengers flick, and Homecoming might have something to say about that) but they were trusted with introducing the Marvel golden child, Spider-Man, in Civil War. and he was a goddamn hit! In my screening, people gave Pete a standing ovation. I cried manly tears when i saw him suit up. We have Black Panther on the horizon and the hype for that sh*t is explosive while Infinity war has been brewing for a decade. Marvel is coming up aces. The lowest rated film on Rotten tomatoes is The Incredible Hulk (see, them hulk flicks,man) and it’s at a 67 percent. Over almost a decade and 17 films, the MCU has an average tomatometer rating of about 83 percent.

The DCEU? different f*cking story. These cats are just the worst at this game, man. Their highest rated film is Wonder Woman. She’s sitting at a respectable 92 percent. To be honest, upon repeated viewing, i think it’s more a high 80s flick but still, for what it did with what ist had, i’m not made at the 92. Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins crafted a heartfelt fairy tale that built up a legit female icon for girls and even boys to look at with admiration. I adore what this film meant on a social level and the fact it blew up the f*cking box office has movie execs standing at attention. Wonder Woman is the best character and overall experience to come out of this sh*tty DCEU. Everything else is trash. The next best reviewed film in the DCEU is Man of Steel, the first in the franchise, at 55 percent. That’s a far cry for the MCU’s initial outing of Iron Man at 94. My lady is a MASSIVE Supes fan and she HATED MOS. She said that wasn’t a Superman movie. She said it was a hodge-podge of nonsense. And it was. Sh*t didn’t get any better either. Since 2013, the DCEU has dropped 5 films, two of which rate less than 30 percent. their average tomatometer rating? 48.2 percent. I’ll be kind and round that up to 49 percent. Why would yo keep throwing money at a studio that ‘s dropping such awful movies? Justice League had it’s problems but i don’t think it’s 49 percent bad. I think audiences don’t trust Warner to their jobs. I think audiences are still burned by that 27 percent BvS debacle. I know they’re still reeling by that cluster f*ck of Suicide Squad. Essentially it’s fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three times, shame on me. Wonder Woman was really good but that’s because it’s more Marvel than not. But fool Me four times? Nah, breh. We learned our lesson. Cats are experiencing Superhero fatigue, we’re experiencing bad movie fatigue. We’re tired of the DCEU producing crap and don’t want to pay for another clusterf*ck. of nonsense.

No one trusts Zack Snyder because he’s awful at telling stories and DC was stupid to put him in charge of their cinematic universe to begin with

300 was dope but that movie lended itself to Snyder’s style of film making. If you’ve ever actually read Frank Miller’s 300 comic, you’d know that it’s all splash pages and action scenes. There’s very little substance in the book itself, just a bunch of cool looking sh*t. There’s no overarching narrative other than these 300 guys stood in there Persian’s way only to die fighting. That’s the narrative for 300. So, for a guy like Snyder who can’t craft a plot to get himself out of a wet paper bag, this was a tale designed for him. All that slow-mo and cg blood was just cool sh*t to see, Snyder is a master at crafting cool looking scenes to see and that 300 flick of his was cool to see Terrible film overall (non existent plot, terribly cheesy dialogue, anti climactic ending) but it was dope to see. This is where, i think, people mistook Snyder’s ability to craft a dope ass action scene for an ability to actually tell a story. People loved 300. It made 456 mil on a 60 mil budget. Critically, it sits at a 60 percent, critically and an 89 percent audience rating. Surprise-Surprise, cool looking sh*t based on cool looking sh*t is popular among the ignorant masses but falls short with people who actually engage cinema on more levels than just cool looking sh*t. So what happens when you give Snyder a heavy plot and meticulously crafted narrative to adapt to film? you get his take on Watchmen.

One of the greatest tales ever written in comic form was Watchmen. Alan Moore crafted a magnum ops of a tale and st it on the backdrop of cold war paranoia. This thing is visceral. This thing is sobering. This thing is real. It peels back the layers of our supposed society and asks hard questions about what it means to be human. So, taking this commentary rick narrative in to account, WB decided to give it to an asshole who couldn’t recognize subtext if it shoved it’s massive cock down his throat in Zack Snyder. Yes, Watchmen is pretty but does it do it’s job as an adaption? F*ck no. None of that gritty, hard question asking, almost malevolent intent at holding society hostage for it’s nonsense. None of it. Instead, we get, like, Watchmen lite. No character development. No social commentary. Not even a period correct piece. Watchmen take place in the 80s. Why do i feel like it’s present day?? Because Zack Snyder is the worst at movies. This thing made 185 mil on a 130 mil budget and sits at a 65 percent (which, i think, is Snyder’s highest critically rated film, ever) on Tomatoes. The audience score was about 71 percent, a significant drop from his last outing with 300. This is Snyder trying to create an actual movie, trying to craft a proper narrative and he lost about 17 percent of his audience,according to Rotten Tomatoes. So WB tripled down on this asshat and gave him a massive budget to do whatever the f*ck he anted with it and we got Sucker Punch. Nd OH BOY, is THAT film problematic.

So Sucker Punch was WB giving Zack Snyder carte blanche and about 8 mil to do whatever he wanted. And this mess of a rape fantasy is what we got. There are just so many thematic, social, and personal problems that ween through it’s terrible, terrible, film. You can see that Snyder hates women or, at least, thinks ridiculously less of the with all of the rampant sexism in this film. You can tell he has no idea how to actually cut a film with that lack of coherency. You can tell he has no idea how to develop characters beyond the literal and shallow tropes that are present in even the most mundane of cinema. This sh*t is a glorified, multi-million dollar, student film based on a fanfiction Snyder wrote when he was 14 years old and barely understood why he got boner or why the popular cheerleader didn’t look his way. Sucker Punch is trash. Sexist, problematic, poorly executed, wildly rapey, trash. And both the audience and critics understood that. It’s sitting at a 47 percent audience rating and a 23 percent critic rating on Tomatoes. No one liked this film. No one went to see it. It only made 89 mil on an 82 mil budget. Sucker Punch proves that Snyder is a bad filmmaker and a crackpot story teller. So WB puts him in charge of one of their most precious and profitable franchises in Superman?

This Zack Snyder is a proven loser and you give him Superman? You give him one of the most recognizable icons in the world and tell him to create a new vision that will be the linchpin of an entire cinematic world to rival the now full steam MCU? Based on 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch? Literally all of his films have shown woeful diminished returns but this is the guy you throw the DCEU to, after coming off the Dark Knight Trilogy? F*cking Nolan got you an Oscar on the back of Ledger’s performance as the Joker and instead of giving the reigns of the DCEU to a guy with that sort of vision, you give it to Snyder who can only craft “cool looking sh*t”? really? On top of that, you force him to bring to life a David S. Goyer script, the co-author and co-creator of that wildly successful Dark Knight trilogy, and expect Snyder to execute like Nolan did? Really? Who thought this was a good idea and why?? Where was the guy at the top to say “No”? Which brings me to my next point...

The DCEU needs a guy like Kevin Feige or Kathleen Kennedy to guide their universe and not rely so much on filmakers to execute a vision.

The DCEU needs a Feige to reign this sh*t in. I hear WB touting that a cinematic universe should be helmed by film makers or whatever and they’re tight. But there also needs to be a uniform vision. Someone needs to sit up top to guide the ship. Someone removed from the film making process but still knows a good narrative when he sees it. Someone who understand the business side of movies while understanding what’s necessary to create a compelling film. The DCEU needs a proper producer to sit on top of all of these movie directors and force them to essentially create within the formula. Yje <CU does that and look at their success. Te Star Wars universe is doing that and look at their success. Hell, the Star Wars universe is a perfect example of the same issues the DCEU is having right now.

Look at the original trilogy, Episodes IV to VI. Lucas was sitting on top, even directed the first, but stepped aside to let actual film makers craft an actual narrative after A New Hope. What did we get? F*cking classics. The Empire Strike Back is one of the greatest films ever made and sits on a very short list with The Dark Knight and The Godfather Part II as sequels better than their predecessors. Guess what happened when Lucas decided to make the Prequels himself? Yeah. George Lucas is that visionary with a lot of ideas but lacks the ability to execute them properly. He’s a lot like Zack Snyder in that way and the Prequel trilogy showed that to the world. Disney took those mistakes to heart and basically built a universe system based on the success they’ve had with the MCU and guess what? two movies in, it’s paying off. The Force Awakens and Rogue one are sitting at an average of 89 percent critic rating on Rotten tomatoes. Average. the audience rating is about 88 percent. People love these films and The Last Jedi looks to be a home run as well. They have so much confidence in Rian Johnson, they gave that cat a trilogy to develop on his own. Bet, though, that Kathleen Kennedy is going to be right there, adding her input and making sure it follows that path she has set for the future of the Star War universe. Giving the film makers themselves the reins to the entire universe is a little like letting the patients run the asylum ad the DCEU is worse off for it.

The DCEU should have followed Marvel’s blue print and taken it’s time to flesh out the principal players in their massive team up instead of copping-out with BvS as basically it’s second film into a fledgling franchise

This one, i think, is the biggest reason the DCEU is sh*t. Marvel took it’s time to execute and create a world. We had a Hulk film, two Iron Man flicks, a Thor outing, and a Cap flick before we even got to the Avengers. We knew the character. We loved the universe created. We were invested when Loki snatched the Tesseract. We were five movies into a universe, five decent movies into a world, before cats came together to face off against a rogue god and his alien army. Sure, there were course corrections. Thor was adjusted a bit and Ruffalo was recast as The Hulk but it worked. We go Nat in Iron Man 2 and Clint in Thor. And the Avengers was good. I don’t think it was Dark Knight good but it’s still pretty widely accepted as the superior film for some reason. Marvel took the time to build something. They took the time to establish something. They built up their characters and made sure audiences knew exactly ho they were and what they were about before they even attempted that team up flick. Everything felt organic. The growth felt earned. The DCEU did not go this rout. The y, instead, rushed out BvS instead of MOS II and basically sh*t all over the good will they had with audiences.

BvS should have stuck to one story and carried that over but it didn’t. t was The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman with hints of For All Seasons thrown in just because and none of it meshed. BvS should have bee the climax to a DCEU phase one. Start of with a character driven story about Lois Lane investigating “The Blur” which leads her to the discovery of Superman or whatever. maybe have a token villain or some sort of world cataclysm that needed addressing just to introduced boy scout Supes and call it a day. No Krpytonians yet, maybe have them as the end credit stinger or something. We should have had a Wonder Woman movie before BvS but after SUpes, so, maybe the second one out? And then a throwback Batman outing that established his vigilantism in the past. I would have adapted that excellent Year One story or The Long Halloween, crafted a tale of mystery and noir, Batman’s strengths, as a prequel to the universe it’s self. Wonder Woman could have been exactly hat it was and have her movie with the Motherbox stingers at the end. Sandwich that with another Superman flick, MOS II, that introduced Deathstroke and Metallo while making Luthor (and i don’t have a problem with Jesse Eisenberg’s interpretation. In this day and age, of course Luthor would be Zuckerberg That just makes sense.) the mastermind behind all of this, culminating in him, with the help of the expert Deathstroke, discerning the identities of the Trinity. Set up for Phase two, ya dig? So now you release the MOS as Snyder envisioned, tweaking it ever so slightly into a Trinity movie and not just a Supes film. Kryptonians invade, forcing not only Superman to act but Wonder Woman and Batman, too. Working together, the latter two as the civilians Diana Price and Bruce Wayne so they get a front seat for how much destruction Supes has caused, they subdue subdue the Kryptonians and banish them and/or kill them. Supes can still kill Zod because you have two films establishing that he deosn’t want to do that, that his moral compass dictates that murder is never a thing. Having to kill Zod would shake his world and you can go into that existential Supes we saw in BvS while forcing Bruce to understand how threatening Kryptonians are and Wondy questioning in her banishment from the world of man is actually right.

Phase two Starts of with BvS ad it follows The Dark Knight rises scenario. Luthor pits Supes and Bats against each other because he knows exactly who they are t this point, probably Diana as well, and sets about to have the twi destroy each other. It can be established that he’s already gotten access to the Kryptonian ship and has been working on his “Doomsday Protocol was killed two years earlier or whatever. After being goaded into trying to kill Supes, Bats does his thing, more or less, how it’s seen in BvS without all that Martha bullsh*t. During their battle, Bruce and Clark come to terms and realize that neither really wants this battle and decide to go after the awaiting Luthor who activates Doomsday/Bizzaro. The two engage and, with the help of Wonder Woman, subdue the beast at the cost of Clark’s life. He dead. Bruce visits Luthor ins prision, at his invitation, and reveals that he was able to activate one of the Motherboxes two years ago and the entity on the other side told him about the Kryptonian history of conquest. He continues to explain that everything was a means to remove Superman from earth, because he believes it’s in the world’s best interest, so that their world wouldn't fall like the countless others. Since Luthor was locked away, Bruce is the only other person in the world with the means and will to continue his work to which Bruce agrees but decided to do it his own way.

Bruce’s nonchalant dismissal would infuriate Luthor even more and the seeds of The Legion of Doom have been sowed for future titles. Little did Luthor know, however, that it was Steppenwolf on the other side of that Motherbox trying to find a way back to earth in order to enslave it. He used Luthor to remove the greatest threat to his conquest, the Superman, and it worked. The earth is defenseless and Batman knows it. So he sets about to find cats with powers as a means to defend them from what’s coming. And now you move forward Witt the standalone Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman films. Maybe a Wonder Woman sequel and then drop that first Justice League flick. It can basically be what we got now. which fits, for the most part, with what i would have established. SO, now, instead of having basically two book e films in your five film world, you have about 11 of varying popularity, in about 7 years. maybe 10. The point is, you’ve built something. Something good. Something compelling. Something substantial. Something worth coming back to, again and again.

You see how taking the time to craft a universe sets you up for spectacular success? You see how telling good stories can compel others to want to create better stories?  The MCU understands this. The Star Wars universe understands this. You can’t rush these things in an effort to cash-in or compete You need to go t your own pace and make sure the product is up to snuff. The DCEU didn’t do that. They rushed in with no plan or strategy and released sh*t. Why was Suicide Squad even on the docket? how does that film fit into the DCEU? There was literally no mention of it in Justice League and you’d think an attack by a thousand year old witch would be something cats would want to speak on. nope. The what was the point of it all? Sh*t’s whack son.

At the end of the day, no one trusts the DCEU aymore

Justice League failed because the DCEU is failing. People imply don’t trust WB to deliver stories on the same level of Marvel. The DCEU is looked at more as another Dark Universe, which is now defunct, rather than something with promise like the Star Wars universe or something established like the MCU. They’ve earned the reputation of shilling sh*t and that sticks. Cats want good cape flick. They want to see their heroes portrayed brilliantly. The want to go to a film that’s pretty, entertaining, and enriching. No one wants to watch that dark ass BvS. No one wants to see an out of context, somber ass Superman. Vats want the comradery of that Timmverse Justice League. Cats want to see their heroes represented in live action as well as they have been in their animated outings. The thing is, though, i don’t think anyone believes the DCEU can deliver that level of quality. I think everyone is tired of giving these cats chances. I liked Justice League a little bit. I thought the tone was a decent, if jarring, combination of levity and seriousness. In someone else’s hands, there is a great f*cking movie there. But, Snyder has his mits all over this thing and it shows. Bringing in Whedon to clean up was a stroke of genius but it was too little too late for JL. And, to be honest, it might be too little too late for the entire DCEU.