#and frankly some of this criticism just feels like people shitting on the idea of love as a defining personality trait

[star-anise]

Everyone's got a take, and I've got a take too, about the current Internet Villain: James Somerton, a gay Youtuber who just got exposed (in the back half of a 4-hour video) as massively plagiarizing the work of LGBTQ+ media critics, historians, and memoirists, and then exposed in another 2-hour video as just making up the wildest nonsense about the topics he demonstrably had access to accurate information on.

He achieved a six-figure income on his work by squeezing money out of his audience with claims...

That only he was creating content that preserved queer history and elevated the voices and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community (a lie)

He was in serious financial distress and would have to go out of business if people didn't give him tons of money (a lie)

That he was going to use some of that cash to make definitely good and not-at-all-plagiarized independent movies, a thing he was definitely skilled and experienced enough to do (a lie), and

That those plagiarism allegations were incorrect,, and frankly,,,, hurtful and homophobic. (a GIANT lie)

Like, here's a visualization of the script of one of his videos, "Society and Queer Horror". The highlighted bits were lifted nearly verbatim from the works of others—the 18 authors identified at the time the exposé was posted—and presented as Somerton's own work.

So here's what drives me absolutely up the wall about this:

If he had just ADMITTED that it was the work of other people, THAT WOULD STILL BE COOL. If he had just said, up front, "We are going on a survey of thoughts and insights people have had about this topic", that would still be a good video with a real audience!

Like yes, he studied business in university, he might not have gotten the kinds of research skills and knowledge someone like Kaz Rowe uses to not just report on the history and analysis of others, but evaluate their relative validity and trustworthiness.

But honestly, since watching my niblings (oldest is 13) watch Youtube, I think you honestly can't underestimate the number of viewers who are really hungry for someone saying, "I don't understand this topic! Let's explore it together!"

But NOOOOOOO, Somerton didn't want to be just some schmuck waxing enthusiastic about homoeroticism on film and acknowledging the smartness of other people. He wanted to be HIM, MR. SMARTYBOY, very sophisticated and alluring and thoughtful and deep. Definitely an intellectual heavyweight who just happened to spout off his own personal ideas and analysis that put him at the forefront of all the scholarship on the topic he's come across.

I hate being wrong. Hate being wrong. But blogging for most of my life has forced me to confront constant textual evidence that two or ten or twenty years ago, I said some dumb-ass shit. Honestly, it'd probably keep me up at night sometimes even if I didn't have a written record. I absolutely understand the desire to scan the field, find the coolest people around, and quickly clothe yourself in as perfect an imitation of them as you can manage.

But if you want to be an artist or a scholar who produces something lasting, you can't prioritize coolness over truth all the time. To develop your true, independent voice, you need to find a time and place where it is just you and just the work you're doing, and you have pick up your tools and say, I don't know if I'm doing this right, but this is what feels right to me.

There are a lot of things in life to which we can only truly contribute our presence and our perspectives. Things we can only witness or hold space for. We cannot go back and bleed the pain out of history, or erase the complexity of another person's life. Not honestly, at least.

But those are the times that need our presence, our perspectives, our witness, and our space. When we gather round and tell sad tales about the death of kings, honesty can be the only thing you give that's worth a damn in the large scale of things.

If this dude had owned up to the truth and honestly showed the work of trying to piece together a queer understanding of the world, trying to draw the threads of culture together until he found a place he fit inside them, it would have been so much more valuable to our culture as a whole.

He probably made more money this way, though. While it lasted.

#staranise original #james somerton #plagiarism #lgbt discourse

[c0rpseductor]

it’s so frustrating like i don’t mind depiction of incest i genuinely think more work out there needs to exist about incest bc it is such a deeply isolating experience and bc so many people feel alone and afraid to speak and cannot imagine having lives going forward and are crushed by all of it. there is so so so so much value in having fictional stories about processing it and real accounts and memoirs and open discussion and all that stuff. it is genuinely beyond important that incestuous abuse no longer be relegated to the darkness of secrecy simply because it makes people uncomfortable bc people living with the hell that is incest trauma deserve better than to be forced into isolation and silence. i will always ALWAYS advocate for these topics being discussed frankly. people go decades thinking it is their fault and that they are alone. it’s horrifying the way people who have lived through this become an afterthought and that needs to end.

so like i said like. it frustrates me, then, that the current discussion (where there is one) feels so weighted toward an exploitative and voyeuristic view and where cultural output about incestuous abuse is often like really offensive and clearly framed as being titillating and/or shock value. people joke freely about it in ways that are incredibly denigrating to survivors, there is still a culture of victim blaming and this idea of mutual deviance or dirtiness that makes it extremely difficult to come forward for fear of being not only blamed but fucking castigated for your own sexual abuse, you risk setting off a nuclear bomb in your already fucked up family, people don’t understand you. all the while there’s this air of fucking flippancy, and if you criticize that you’re a prude or a puritan or whatever the fuck else.

like, i get it. i can’t tell people what to do, what to like, how to process their own trauma. but treating it like a joke is not acceptable under any circumstances and that shit is fucking vile. be fucking respectful, be conscientious, you actually do owe it to the people around you and one day you will undoubtedly face social consequences if you continue to be cruel and thoughtless. it’s not even the writing at this point that makes me angry so much as the culture surrounding it where it’s so deeply fictionalized that incest itself gets turned into some sort of little game for people. i just saw people tagging an excerpt from the incest diary, a real human being’s memoir of abuse, with their ships. frankly if hell is real that’s where that kind of ghoulish behavior ought to send you. it disgusts me that i have to rant and rave and beg on my knees for scraps of human decency for myself and my fellow survivors who cannot or will not open themselves to this kind of Sisyphean debasement.

#and by the way if you do not like that i am angry: fuck you.

[venacoeurva]

...I know people in this day and age think any collaborative effort can fix things, often despite reality (ex. the MULTIPLE tumblr blackout protests over the last like 10 years across different owners of tumblr that didn’t change shit),

but I think going out of your way to buy things from tumblr en masse as a “well then they’ll be profitable and won’t have to change things to resemble profitable sites!” as if the CEO/higher ups are personally going to see this and not AT MOST just go “oh we made money, sick, Anyway.” is just. the most naive and frankly 5-year-old level of problem solving unrealistic idea if you think about it for more than 5 seconds. People are just so blinded by naive optimism it’s painful.

Staff isn’t going to see your purchases and go on a full redemption arc and restore porn in spite of payment systems’ massive stigma against it or Apple’s restrictions and never ever try to mimic Twitter or TikTok again, or whatever the fuck you’re expecting, they’ll keep focusing on shit tweaks that resemble other sites because those are what keep investors who think they know tech and user wants hooked and they think new people from other sites will come over for that instead of the fact these people are typically escaping those kinds of features.

Staff isn’t your friend, their vying for support like they’re your buddy who is hitting hard times and has been here holding your hand all these years is deliberate corporate marketing, they’re an arm of a corporation that spits in the face of LGBTQ+ people and especially black people for daring to post about themselves while touting themselves as The Queer Site! A diverse site! Look at this AMA we’re doing with someone about Black History Month! and you’re doing nobody a service when you’re unintentionally rewarding a service for getting worse because they will not know nor care about your motives, they just care that they got money and will continue making it worse regardless of you. They’re a corporation, not a small business ran by 10 people who are trying their best. People throwing money at Staff already encourages them, let alone when you buy into the weird parasocial shit they try with us which will continue as they see success with that method.

Like the mere idea of everyone buying the crabs to gift to make the site profitable is just unrealistic (especially in this economy with such terrible inflation and in NA there are issues with the weather and fires, on a site that mostly consists of groups of people who are typically low income or unable to work???), it feels very much like the gofundme pages people set up to raise money for celebrities who have debts who will be fine regardless and definitely don’t need your help. Corporations and CEOs are not your friends, they never will be. They do not care about you and they’re not some poor uwu victim of circumstance.

TL;DR half-assed blackouts aimed at companies that don’t care (that I have seen over and over) and “cr*b day” type efforts are incredibly dumb and will change nothing, and they will not change anything, just encourage them since they see they’re making money during their current marketing schemes, if they notice at all. You pitying them like they’re a poor innocent person is exactly what the corporation wants.

If you want to make a difference give that money to an artist or lgbtq+ people who basically get flagged as mature for Existing, or people who get their posts flagged for criticizing the site, or something, someone who gets screwed over by this site on the regular. It will do far more good than that whackadoo type pipe dream and sit down and think for a second, please.

#I normally would not care but this is like. absurd levels of Not Thinking At All #grown adults saw that post about this and went Yeah!!!!!! #how the fuck did someone go ''we should ALL buy crabs to give tumblr money!'' as a solution to shit corporate decisions and it get as big #as it did. Do you guys THINK #or does staff really have it wrapped around your parasocialized finger with humanizing them like a suffering entity who is so so poor #vena vents #not art #And that's a good faith interpretation that the person who suggested the crab thing aren't friends with a staff member or are one or some #shit #we've seen people on or know staff doing some shit to subdue criticisms (especially by trans and black people). I don't trust that #That as a thing that mysteriously gets slapped everywhere on here makes me narrow my eyes #Apparently judging by others comments about it the OP suggesting it is also a pr*lifer and a lot of the people boosting it are bigots so. #enjoy supporting a cause ran by people who want you dead ig

[olderthannetfic]

The level of Blood and Soil nationalism that people are trying to claim is somehow “progressive” in the replies of that Greek mythology appropriation post is bizarre! Outright claiming an Italian-American can’t possibly know what it means to be “invested in one’s heritage” simply because they mention their home state in their blog description?!?

It is tbh really disturbing how many people don’t recognize that investment in genetic ancestry + living in a place continuously for thousands of years (the combo of the two) as a marker of identity = an inherently right wing ideology. It doesn’t matter who is saying it — though hopefully it coming from Greece, a European country with a past and present history of violent fascist movements, makes it more obvious. Their ideology is literally used to deny that Asian and African immigrants have a right to be in Greece. Ancient Greek mythology is regularly imposed on other cultures as propaganda attesting to the greatness of “Western culture.” All the blogs of the people posting about that are obsessed with the idea that their ethic Greek identity living continuously in Greece somehow gives them some mystical connection to a religion their ancestors haven’t practiced in nearly two millennia. But a descendant of immigrants in the US can’t have a connection to the culture of relatives in living memory, apparently. I definitely don’t feel some kind of way about this as a black person who had their ancestors’ culture forcibly stripped from them. Being able to know that shit and have that unbroken line backward is a privilege, frankly. No wonder a lot of us over the years have had to find solace in other mythologies.

I just hope that people are using their critical thinking skills and not falling for how people are abusing the language of cultural appropriation and diversity and sensitivity to sell an inherently right wing ideology (and let’s not even go into how a lot of investment in pre-Christian European paganism, especially coming from these kinds of nationalists, is based in the antisemitism of Christianity “coming from a Jew.” Specifically when it’s coming from ethnonationalists, I’m not saying other kinds of pagans are like this). This is why I think it’s important to name specific problems when talking about cultural appropriation. When you just make it about “taking from a culture that’s not your own” without tying it into larger power structures then it just opens the door for ethnonationalist weirdos like this, claiming that people with objectively less power than them are somehow doing them harm. Or even when they claim “you can do it just do it right!” they manage to claim that people with graduate degrees in Ancient Greece are somehow “doing it wrong” purely because they have the wrong ethnicity, like Madeline Miller. How does that not reduce it to blood and soil yet again? It’s saying that only people with that blood and soil (maybe I should use the original German, Blut und Boden — I just think that makes it more obvious for people what this ideology is, you know?) can “really know,” that there’s no amount of expertise those of us of different ethnicity and geography can acquire. It’s ethnonationalism, pure and simple.

And I don’t care if I make those right wingers sad. At some point just like with stuff like “white women’s tears” you have to recognize that people’s claims of hurt feelings aren’t the most important thing when they’re furthering oppressive ideas. Maybe it’s easier for me to do this as a black woman, but I hope other people (including white people) can learn to recognize these rhetorical games so they don’t fall for it either. Someone can be sad and also wrong, even offensively wrong! Blut und Boden ideology in every country (including Greece) has a high body count.

--

[mintmatcha]

can u tell us what you didn't like about hazbin hot? I'm not a big musical person so I also tuned out when they started singing lol

Yes lol here's a long ass nonsense rant under the cut.

The creator of the show has done some really racist shit in the past and hides from criticism behind her queerness, but whenever that's brought up, it's immediately shot down and I'm told to separate the art from the artist.

that being said. here's my critique of the show itself.

but hazbin relies so much on material outside of the show. there's things you're supposed to know from twt and tumblr and other sources to make the show make sense. you can't say the show needs to exist in its bubble away from the creator and then make us dependent on the creator for information about the characters.

for me, it's less about "why is a show bad?" and it's more "what makes a show good?". Frankly, I don't think there's anything in this show to make it good.

First off- the show is ugly. The character designs aren't good and often repetitive (suits. same color palettes, same body shapes, etc) The animation itself isn't good either, unfortunately.

We have to stop pretending alastor isn't a crime to character design. He's so ugly. there's almost nothing redeemable about how he looks.

I thought the show itself had one of the weakest plots I've seen. it felt like the first draft of a 14 year old and tried to fit 5 seasons worth of ideas into 8 episodes, so the pacing was just awful. There's no semblance of time passing or real urgency in most episodes because vivziepop was trying to fit in all 50 of her OCs.

example: There was almost no reason for the V's to be in the show-- and the other overlords for that matter. None of them really do anything other than Valentino, who's just there to make Angel's story stronger in this season.

(not to mention Valentino and Vaggie, the series to latinx characters, fall into some fucked up stereotypes)

We are just told this collection of people is strong and scary, but we never really see WHY. It's a waste of time in a crammed show.

That being said, one of the main characters sir pentious had no real weight as a character and had less screen time than some of the nothing characters. Half of alastors time should have been used building him up, including, I dunno. all of episode three. There's no reason to introduce all of those characters other to give alastor the info that an angel has died, right? He's. The radio demon. he should just have some sort of news ability or connections to get him that info. (also that episode makes it really easy to know who killed the angel. there's no mystery to it.)

There are also so many things that simply don't make sense in the show? They are told almost immediately that their plan will not work, so they go to heaven to be told... the same thing.

Vaggie is amazed that angels can be hurt and killed when she is an angel who was hurt and almost killed. (Vaggie and Charlie have a super weak relationship btw. I think it's so poorly done. In a show about sucking dick and cock, it made me roll my eyes that the lesbians have such a pg relationship. how come everyone else gets to be horny other than the lesbians? Because its harder to fetishize? )

the ending was just. awful. Lucifer won the fight without that much of a struggle. It feels like he could have just done that. whenever.

Im going to get murdered for saying this but the songs aren't good, they just have a killer vocal cast. the backing music sucks every time.

[dykeomania]

in thinking about moving forward,

this is the last thing i will say on this. i would feel really weird if i didn't have this on my blog, while continuing to run it. i apologize that this is so long.

i think it is incredibly important to begin navigating how we are going to cater to the experiences of women [and nonbinary individuals -- my! fault! i am so sorry, thank you**] who have felt particularly left out as told by the uproar that's been going on for these past few months apparently, and by these current conversations.

if women and/or nonbinary individuals who feel like they cannot find themselves in fics have to write them themselves, be it for a particular reader insert or for a more general one, then some kind of sub-community needs to be made to nurture and amplify that sentiment, at this time. i do not know if that is preexisting. if it does exist, it needs to be expanded upon or heavily revised.

as both a reader and a writer, if you see yourself in something, it is absolutely necessary that you ride for it so that other people can have the opportunity to see themselves in it, as well. and if you can't write certain perspectives, then embrace them. it's like completely normal to decorate your blog with things that align with who you are and the kind of desires you have, but at this time, as a community, it's really important to make room for neglected narratives.

and finally, for the love of god, please, stop being so fucking horrific to people.

it is okay not to like pillow princesses or, it's okay if you have a hard time vibing with hyper, hyperhyperhyperfeminine personas. your idea of what sex, femininity, and queer expression looks like does not have to coincide with their expression and definition, and that's completely normal. but under absolutely no circumstances is it okay to be antagonistic or threatening towards someone because of how they interpret their queerness. that is homophobic, and it is pride month. hyperfemininity is inherently queer in and of itself, just by theoretical principle. that doesn't make it immune to criticism -- absolutely not. but you are being mock-righteously** hurtful towards people and telling them to go off themselves, all because you don't like them writing for white bitches with fishtail braids and shitty mullets. principally, you have to understand how awkward that is. that doesn't look okay. you don't move like that towards queer people who are different from you, in real life. that's not what being queer is about.

i don't know how long any of this has been going on for and frankly, i really don't want to. what needs to happen now, is that people need to feel held in order for this to properly scab over. this applies to everyone. this is deep and if it got this deep, then it always has been. it's fundamental that something is done, in light of this, to keep going strong.

i don't want this community to be mortally wounded and divided by all of the shit that's been happening, and i'm like, so sad, that it has come to this point. i'm in a position where i can only mobilize but much (and i will if i have to, but my main priorities are my research, my girlfriend, my friends, and my family, and tbh just being happy and taking care of my mental health). but i really implore those who can / are able to, to just make something of this while holding down their own. i know y'all can everything considered, so just do it.

this was very embarrassing and not a good look for a lot of different people. if you need to apologize to someone, go apologize. if someone feels a way about how you moved during all of this, don't get defensive, because it was probably weird. move accordingly so that everyone can enjoy themselves in this community, again.

get it together. preferably within the next week or so.

tough love.

#ellie williams x reader #abby anderson x reader

[mdhwrites]

I still like TOH, but your comments have made me notice something about reviews praising it: namely, a lot of the elements praised are specifically described- Belos’s character, Luz’s depression, the dark themes, the serialization, etc- as being amazing for a kid’s show, and I think that’s a factor in why critical reviews tend to match fandom opinion. Namely, kid shows having understandable limitations leads to attempt at darker themes/big stories being praised as standouts as long as the execution is competent enough to not be noticeable. So while some people do acknowledge TOH’s flaws, they point out it’s still admirable the show made the attempts it did, especially with Disney’s public stance on what it pushes for in its cartoons.

So... I want to be kind first before I somewhat lose it because I am so SO TIRED of it being stated that TOH is different from other kid's shows. The Owl House is perfectly competent and entertaining in just its base elements. The animation is good, the voice acting is amazing, the feeling of teenagers is well captured, it's a lot of fun when it's interested in being fun and S1 has a lot of great ideas that earn a lot of good will with an audience and the plot line with Eda in S1 is genuinely amazing. After all, usually you don't have a character who is actively dying.

A theme they never actually address in detail. Eda doesn't feel like she's being held back by the curse very often and there's even one episode where it's used to re-enact a family guy episode of King trying to murder a toddler who won't let him be ruler of the playground. That... Isn't serious. In anyway. It's only serious when it's first revealed and the big sacrifice moment. After S1, it's barely a thing outside of Keeping Affearances.

This is the fundamental problem with The Owl House... And why it's so easy to praise. Yesterday I talked about how it screams its themes at the top of its lungs. How it is very blunt about how it wants to be perceived. Whether this is perception is earned or not is secondary to what it can easily state.

Which makes making an online article about how it's so different from other kid's shows, how it's the kid's show for those who don't like kid's shows, very easy. If you don't actually know much about kid's shows and how shit like Static Shock way back when was already addressing racism, having serialized content, etc. like that.

I mean, if we look at recent kid's cartoons, we have Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future. Gravity Falls. Amphibia does a lot of the same themes as TOH, with honestly about as much meaningful serialization, but also while being good, consistent and enjoyable. It earns its themes... But you have to dig for them.

So why have to scrape the barrel when the soapbox preacher is right there? This is part of the character arc problem too. Do you know how EXHAUSTING posts about "Look where they were and are now" by the end of S2? Where Amity would be a distinct, interesting, unique character in S1 but all they care about is that now she SMILES!

If you don't actually have to talk about the substance of her arc, if the show actually tackled any of its potential, complications, etc like that, it looks impressive. Then you talk to them about Winging it Like Witches or Understanding Willow, both frankly very much so kid's show episodes that something like Danny Phantom, My Little Pony, or Kim Possible would have and could have done, and suddenly it sounds less impressive, doesn't it? Not when you're describing episodes where Amity's past doesn't match her introduction at all and are obviously wiping away what makes a character arc interesting for "SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN GOOD! It's not her fault."

Sure. That's why she was willing to kill someone who didn't even lower her grade but instead just got someone else to be praised. And that's still S1.

Luz's depression is similar. You can have her make big statements that sound like they may imply she wants to die but they're still not willing to use the actual terms. Have Luz only suffer the absolutely loudest but worst stereotypes of depressed people like being constantly suicidal, pushing others away and not caring about them. 'But it's depressi-" No. As someone literally crippled by it, I don't want it being used as the excuse for literally the worst thing Luz does in the whole series, which is to just abandon an entire world to whatever fate she claims to believe she inflicted on it. I myself and a lot of other depressed people will tell you that it is FAR easier to help others, especially if you've hurt them, than any sort for yourself. But Luz's depression is used as an excuse for her to claim to keep caring about others when she is actually only serving herself and lying constantly to everyone around her while doing it. If that's great, depression representation, something most kids are still going to miss what it is, then fuck that noise.

But depression is a big topic right now so going "DISNEY'S FIRST MAIN CHARACTER WITH DEPRESSION!" sure is a headline, isn't it?

And let's quickly talk about the fact that TOH is very morally weird. It's not willing to do many big lesson episodes, hence why Episode 2 stands out so much to me, and a lot of its main cast has dubious morality. And... Then it doesn't really touch on morality either. It has no interest in it, even to the point of bad actions maybe getting a line or two said about them but then moving on.

As an example: Amity just wants to invade Luz's privacy. Period. She has Luz's phone and wants to be given an excuse to look into it. Talking to Willow, they could have a very real, very human conversation about how Amity's parents have taught her that such measures are okay because trust doesn't matter as much as control and how that's not okay. It could be a genuinely very adult moment for the series and maybe even have Willow talk about how Luz finding out so much about her past during Understanding Willow makes her uncomfortable sometimes because even if nothing bad surfaces, that was information given. By making all that a real conversation, which yes would have taken more time but let's face it, TOH honestly doesn't spend enough time setting its characters morals and letting them have conversations where there's real conflict between the two. And none of this is explicit or so dark or so boring that there's no reason a kid's show couldn't have it.

And do you want to know what you gain by making it a conversation like that? A real lesson to kids. A lesson that will prepare them for not only their own loves but for just how to handle others in general. TOH is still a kid's show after all. It should in theory be considering its audience and while not talking down to them, remembering they do need to still bring them into the conversation.

OR, YOU KNOW, HAVE WILLOW SHRUG AT THE QUESTION! And I could do a full breakdown as to why that's a real, human reaction to that question, even for someone like Willow. But I have to bring the real world, my life experiences, my sister's life experiences (and she's 30 while I'm almost 27) in order to explain why Willow is not blatantly being a TERRIBLE person by not calling Amity out.

And yes, that's when TOH is at its worst. It commonly just brushes off immoral behavior that isn't the end point of the plot as just a thing happening, like how Edric and Emira don't actually suffer consequences for their plan against their sister or how Luz is made to feel bad for stealing Amity's wand but then isn't attacked by Amity but put into a protective circle by her. A time out, sure, but one that leads to the ice glyph and her getting to save everyone.

A kid can learn the wrong lessons by the lack of consequences in the show and they're not going to learn a lot of good lessons from what is there. There's a reason why kid's shows are blunter than other media and they have morals. They're remembering that, especially in our modern age where one income households just DON'T EXIST that they have to pick up the slack and modern cartoons are doing that better than old 90s cartoons.

But do you know how much TOH reminds me of older cartoons like the 80s or 90s? With their villains who are evil for the sake of evil? With characters that can change on a dime, or the blatantly comic relief ones who don't have much character outside of that? The plotlines that are more about spectacle or statement which led to all those terrible PSA cartoon moments? Or hell, with how Amity ended up: The character who is blatantly only there to be the pretty girl that gets with the main character?

That's the thing: You want to say TOH is better than Teen Titans Go? Fine. That is obviously true. Who actually cares about and is praising Teen Titans Go though? When you compare it to the shows that people do praise, like Amphibia, Gravity Falls, etc., shows that not only teach and make kids better but also tell an engaging, full story with real themes, characters, developments, etc... What does TOH actually have? How much more serialized is TOH than say, the first season of My Little Pony? There were two episodes of build up for the Grand Galloping Gala before the finale and in TOH S1, you technically only need to see The Intruder and Covention, besides the pilot obviously, before you will understand almost everything going on in Young Blood, Old Souls and Agony of a Witch. There's more in S2 but most people agree that it's done competently at best, which is why people keep screaming about the shortening and I made an entire blog pointing out that S2 is bad because... The show is bad about serialization effectively.

And as a final note: I lived with a Star Wars and Star Trek fan for two years at the peak of Discovery being out and as wind up for Rise of Skywalker was going on. I lived on their couch and when they put on an almost 24/7 reel of 'reviewers' for these franchises, I heard a LOT of shit takes. A lot of the same shit being repeated with no real thought behind it, it being what was popular said (which goes into what makes people popular online versus being a mouthpiece for the popular opinion) and showing no thought or care about the actual system of production for things or the people behind it. A lot of people just blaming issues on one creator, or praising a single creator for all the good in something without talking about why they were attributing the problem to them. And yes, I know how hypocritical all of this is coming from some white dude on the internet no degrees, experience, etc like that. I just hope that my blogs show a little bit more real thought to storytelling to make it not as bad.

So a show where the popular, fandom consensus is that it's amazing, it states its themes making 'deeper' analysis easier and is very loud about its statements like they're original is going to be very popular to this type of review. Does this mean it's all disingenuous? Of course not. I started this blog by saying a lot of the reasons why the show is easy to like. Does it mean it has none of the depth people give it? No because a show trying this hard is going to manage successes sometimes though a lot of the times it then shoots those successes because it doesn't realize it's doing them.

But this statement that it is somehow better than things that have come before, is somehow truly groundbreaking while shows clearly paved the way for it so that it's just at the front of a wave it didn't have to make, and ignoring its flaws for all of these reasons, especially with "It's special because it's on Disney" or "It's only bad because of the shortening" is... REALLY tiring. To put it mildly.

A thing should be good because it's good. Not because it says it is or because you have to put modifiers on it to make it special. Shrek was groundbreaking not because it was made by someone other than Disney. It was groundbreaking because it genuinely looked at how it could parody the landscape around itself while making a genuinely good adventure and love story. Did it help that the creators wanted to give a middle finger to Disney? Maybe but I don't have to bring that up with what makes Shrek amazing. I can just say it's very good. In or out of its time.

The Owl House will only become increasingly less special and interesting as time moves forward and its big statements have to be yelled louder and louder to be properly heard. =======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#The Owl House Criticism #TOH Critical

[arethereanyoriginalusernames]

My Favourite Designs from Monster Never Cry!

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Ok listen

As some people who are familiar with me know, I am a “computer scientist” of sorts. I’m graduating from university in a couple months, and basically I code and know how to do graphics and gameplay and shit. Also I am very gay and love attractive women

I like downloading random gacha games I get ads for- yes even the ones with stupid ads. If anything that makes me want to download them more because I want to see what quality the game actually has and how much is false advertising. I’ll make another post later to discuss how much of Monster Never Cry’s ads are false advertising, as well as issues that the game has, but in the meantime, I want to start positive.

Monster Never Cry has an art style I really like. It reminds me of Skull Girls in a way. Plus, I feel like at least one person on the team had fun designing some of these characters. Since the premise is that you’re the head of the “villain” monster kingdom, the designs of characters you can pull really stand out to me a bit. Yes you get a bunch of obligatory cute girls, but a lot of these designs have some really cool ideas and silhouettes. Let’s look at some right now.

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Vesta

Yes, first let me pull you in with some big titty ladies. Ok but tits and sultry gaze aside, here’s what I like here.

First of all, I feel like she really sells the idea of “playing what would normally be the villains” aspect of the game, especially compared to some other designs. She looks like a character you would actually have to fight in other games. Of course, she also looks a bit like your generic succubus wife character. Bc every gacha game needs one, I guess. And here’s the other thing, and I find this kind of interesting. Vesta, weirdly enough, almost has this angelic vibe as well. Yes we got the horns and the curves and the spikes. But hear me out. First, most obvious observation, there’s a lot of white and gold. Also, at least in gameplay, those spikes floating around weirdly resemble wings (at least to me). Not particularly mind blowing, I know. And the official splash art being used here isn’t exactly helping my case here since it’s really emphasizing the darker parts of the design. But let me put it this way, you could put an angel character in this design and it would work with minor alterations. And I feel like that works with the premise of the game, where the monsters were never “villains”, at least until the heroes decided that they were.

But even apart from that, I really like the silhouette here. It’s playing with the shape of a heart, which actually carries over in her in game model thanks to those floating spikes. There’s a lot of contrast here too, that makes the design pretty readable even though a lot is going on. We have the contrast in colours, in curves and sharp edges, etc.

I do have some criticism here. For one, the blue accents really aren’t necessary. You can barely see them and they’re not really doing anything. We already have red and gold accents, you could just use those. There’s also the ombré hair. I get the idea, and yeah it looks cool, in the official art it curls up like magic smoke or something. But you really can’t read it in the in game model, even though they tried to add it. Frankly they could have just had an ombré in a darker grey in the hair and it would have had a similar effect. Plus I get it, succubus, but the ass wings aren’t necessary. They’re not doing anything for her and you can’t see them much anyways.

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Nafitha

Ok, now here’s one I really find interesting and fun.

Something to note with the designs in this game is that they have to carry over to small 3D models, and yeah, some characters fare off better than others. Let’s just put it that way.

But Nafitha here actually carries over well to a 3D model. Even her little crystal friend is very visible, perhaps even more visible in 3D. Nafitha is pretty unique to me since she actually looks better in some ways in 3D. You notice more about her design, like how the rocks around her wrists are actually disconnected and also floating. She does look like she’s missing a mouth there, sure, but I wouldn’t say that detracts from the design. If anything I wish she just didn’t have a mouth since it would lend more to this crystal-rock construct look. You can tell that Nafitha was designed with 3D in mind, because it takes full advantage of it via the floating rocks and her little friend, plus the fact that she levitates. It allows for a lot of movement in animations and attacks.

I also like the use of colours here. The rock barrier acts like a frame almost to the white and blue, and the silver and white make good accents to the various blues used to show off the crystal look. I also love that the more saturated blue is used both in Nafitha’s body and her companion because it gives this idea that this is the power that she’s running off of. MNC doesn’t give too much individual lore to characters, outside of the main story and something called Memory Casket. Nafitha hasn’t shown up in either as of the time of writing, so I don’t know what her deal is exactly. But her design makes me want to know more, especially because of that interaction she has with her companion.

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Shipshark

Ok, this encapsulates the other aspect of MNC’s designs that I love, which is “ridiculous but great”.

It’s three shark brothers, on a ship that is also a cannon turtle, and everyone’s a pirate. The silhouette is messy, and you can’t exactly tell who it is based off of it. Also, the official art doesn’t show that one of the sharks has a fish skeleton as a weapon which I think is a crime. But… I mean look at it. It’s just goofy! But in a way that works! They still fit the vibe of “this could be an enemy or even a boss in another mobile game”, while maintaining this comedic look.

I don’t have much else to say, I just like these guys.

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Guardian 1 and Barnend

Putting these two together bc it’s a similar concept.

When I say that at least one person on the team had fun, this is what I mean. These two characters are just tanks where it’s a suit piloted by a small animal and you’re supposed to take them seriously.

I’m not sure which I like better. In Barend’s case, the bear is actually kind of edgy (at least from what I recall in memory casket), and serious which makes his design even more entertaining to me.

But then there’s Guardian 1… which is funny to me because it’s an “Ancient Golem”… with a hamster in it. Because… because why the fuck not I guess.

Again, similar to shipshark, I just think these guys are neat

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Last one, Undine

First, I like the silhouette and colours. The gold really pops, and the harp helps it read in silhouette which character this is. The little slimes are cute too, and frankly I just love the idea of a water harp.

I’d even say that the lack of coverage here at least makes a bit of sense? She’s surrounded by water, so logically you’d at least wear something swim suit-ish. Plus she’s treated like a Devine protector of sorts to slimes, and I feel like the amount of skin and the white fabric does kind of lend itself to that.

However, the main reason I think the lack of coverage works is because it at least kind of helps with the main issue I have with Undine. Unlike most of the monsters, she doesn’t really fit the vibe of “you would fight this character as a boss or something in another game”, and I can’t tell how I feel about it. On one hand it works I suppose, given that the monsters are the good guys here. But at the same time, I don’t know how any hero could read Undine as a threat? Perhaps that’s just me, I don’t know. She just doesn’t look… edgy enough? Or maybe she just looks too gentle? I’m not sure.

My other issue is the 3D model. Undine in 3D….

Showing at the risk of exceeding my image count.

Yeah…

I can’t even tell what’s in her lap. A book? A skirt? Also where did the harp jugs on top come from?

Characters downgrading in 3D is definitely a thing in MNC, and I may make another post going over that and other issues in the game. But Undine seems to have really gotten it rough.

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I do have some other characters who’s designs I like but this post is already a mile long, so honourable mentions

- Loki

- Sarcophogirl

- Octasia

- Sylph

- Medusa

- Horace

- SynderHelden

- and Avanzo

Let me know if you’d like me to make a sequel post to go over these designs

And let me know your thoughts

I apologize for wasting your time

- Spooky S Skeletons

#monster never cry #gacha games

[incrediblemeh]

When I was a little kid, I used to be pretty arrogant and elitist towards a lot of anime. I thought shonan was stupid and Dragon Ball Z was for idiots. I thought I was hot shit for drawing the characters from the playstation games I was interested in and that the kids who drew dragon ball characters in their notebooks were shit artists by virtue of "being unoriginal" or something.

I was a pretty shit kid. It took watching Gurren Lagaan years later to course correct me on my frankly objectively terrible opinions, and I didn't stop viewing Dragon Ball with some measure of contempt until much later after that. My first exposure to Dragon Ball was through the abridged series, and I was one of those people who believed that DBZA actually wrote it better. Which is an exceptionally arrogant and unfair idea. There's a sort of pseudo-intelectual attitude towards Dragon Ball Z that I inherrited, as I was growing up being sarcastic and critical towards media was attractive. The internet was full of an entire cultural landscape of Nostalgia Critics, and video game reviewers who couldn't help themselves when describing everything japan makes as outlandish and wild. Ever western cartoon I was exposed to would inevitably do a bit where they would have some godawful parody based on someone's surface level idea of anime. I think that attitude is alive and well today, quieter but buried in the hearts of a lot of people who are on their way from being young adults to becoming crotchety old farts. Ready to speak up and pressure others to find ways to apologize for liking something. After I finally grew to love Dragon Ball Z for what it was I also grew to deeply dislike the framework of judging media through quantitative statements. Better, worse, dumber, smarter, peak, cringe.

I've never thought of myself as a Dragon Ball fan, but I've grown to love it more and more. Dragon Ball is a series that will find a way to burrow into your heart one way or the other. After you give it that first bit of forgiveness you'll find yourself letting go of more and more of the unfair reasons you hated it.

I won't belittle Akira Toriyama by pretending he ever had to be a perfect author. And I won't diminish his work by describing it in all the boring stupid ways people are keen to use. Dragon Ball Z can't be described honestly by calling it a show where people just glow funny colors, yell for a whole episode, and then start punching each other and throwing energy blasts. The curtains aren't just blue and neither is SSGSS, unless you suddenly need things to be complicated in order for them to be meaningful. Dragon Ball Z is a show about how he inherit the love people have raised us with, the arrogance and pettiness of the powerful elite, disregarding the idea that what you are capable of has anything to do with how you were born, and how hateful people can be irrevocably changed by being forced to acknowledge the worth of a single kind idiot. It is also exceptionally emotional, uses presentation and escalating force to poke at all the right spots of the brain to make you excited and interested in a show of power you otherwise might never be so you can feel the same adrenaline rush and payoff Goku does, and watch the atmosphere of the fights warp and twist around the changing feelings in the hearts of both the combatants and onlookers. It rocks and if you think it's all an accident I can point you to a man who says "I like birds." and make you look like a moron.

Gonna start fucking crying now.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

So, I'm watching a show called Oshi No Ko. And the story is a pretty complicated one. It focuses on the kids of an Idol. One who was extremely famous for a long time.

This screen shot, is from the most recent episode and got me to start thinking. We really do tend to be heartless monsters sometimes. I lose my head sometimes but I will often refrain from stuff that goes further than "Fuck You" or "Fuck off". Why? Because I want to be better than the worst of the things I see around me.

I saw this and watch as the episode progressed. It focuses on a very earnest girl that isn't the most pretty and doesn't stand out well. This despite being in the entertainment industry. An accident happens on set and as some fandoms do, they went straight for the throat. Moments later you hear rumor monologue which produces these:

And when I saw these my first thought was, "Oh......she's going to take her own life". Because the scene lasted for so long. She was trying so hard to just do her best. Except even if you take this away from Japan and look around the globe, we're all pretty fucked.

We took the idea of being anonymous with us from the birth of the internet, and now we walk around with are noses in the sky as if we own everything. Now a days you can just say whatever you want. And another thing dawned on me during this line of thought. "This is why it's so easy for people to dehumanize everyone they don't like nowadays. This is why it's so easy to see a person throwing a birthday party at a park, get pissed of that they are happy and you aren't and get them mobbed by claiming 'Nazis' knowing good well they probably aren't." It reminded me of this scene from a silent voice.

This is how we see people online. Not as real life people who have their own lives, thoughts, feelings, and circumstances. We see them as invalids who if they don't placate us, they are worth less than nothing. I keep up with people online and I can separate fantasy from reality. More than I can say for so many others. And I normally do not attack people so much as I just levy criticism of their views. Mostly only when it comes to things I find important.

However, I try to flush out my point in a way that is actual criticism, rather than something hateful or scornful. I'm not saying I always succeed in that. I do try though.

If I'm being honest. People who are depressed need to not be on social media at all. They need to seek IRL help. And we need to get back to a time we saw people as people. Once upon a time, there was a notion known as "Talk shit, get hit". Because no matter how you felt, being a punk wasn't acceptable. Now, not only is it acceptable. It's promoted, rewarded, and pushed as the norm. I now understand on a more foundational level why I see people say things like, "kys" in anonymous asks or similar things.

It's because they don't understand humanity at all. Moreover, their only experiences with "humanity" are fake interactions they have online. People being bots. And not in the sense of being "fake" so much as they are constructed versions of who they think others want them to be. They are bots in the sense that they are a robot, with a mask of their own face. Programmed to look as good an acceptable as possible.

Hell.....this is frankly hard to write about. And in truth, this message may land on deaf ears. I might not be able to save anyone or make people second guess sending disgusting levels of hate to others. Hell half the time I don't think I'll be able to save myself from the bottomless well I seem to feel like I'm drowning in almost every single day. When I'm mad most times. It's normally because I've seen the effects of things i'm talking about in my own life or the lives of those around me.

Realize that no matter how much you may think you hate another person......on the other side of that screen is a person just like you. They may be ignorant. They may be stupid. They may be downright appalling. They are still human.

Now I'm going to stop writing this before I'm overwhelmed with the worst parts of myself and I'll instead leave this.

[scholarhect]

frustrated because i want to get educated on feminist theory but idk where to start, especially since there’s so much flawed feminism out there (god, you’re saying i have to read it all and form my own opinion? but that’s so much work! just tell me what One feminist work i should read to know everything) but it’s so important because i’m becoming increasingly convinced that our deemphasis on theory is killing feminism.

we’re losing her. we’re doing vibes-based feminism we’re doing “whatever personal opinions i bring to the table without thinking about them are my political views” feminism we’re doing “it’s easy! if you don’t hate women and want them to die you’re a feminist!” feminism we’re doing VANITY feminism we’re doing “common sense” feminism (just a rephrase of “whatever personal opinions…” feminism) and we’re shocked that we’re losing. a political movement & ideology* that has NO thought behind it, JUST vibes. no pillars, no standards. what even is a feminist? when do you ever hear that articulated? unless, again, you’re hearing “a feminist is somebody who believes women are people :)” that’s exactly the problem i’m talking about.

this is why we’re losing ground to “criticizing beauty standards is antifeminist because it feels good to be pretty” feminism we’re losing ground to “you know what group has had it too good for too long? the transgender woman” feminism we’re losing ground to “feminism is for women AND men and the more we include men the more feminist it is” feminism.

frankly the way the transphobic feminism gains followers is it’s the only fucking side that actually gives somebody ARGUMENTS to latch on to. people are alienated by toothless no thoughts feminism and they’re going to people who are offering them some thoughts, and a bad argument beats the shit out of no argument at all. it’s like if you showed up to court with no lawyer? and you were like “everybody knows i’m right, morally. it’s common sense. the strength of that will protect me :)” you are going to prison. we could be doing transfeminist theory we could be explaining the role of gender in society and how it’s constructed and how women both cis & trans are constructed as women but instead we’re saying “i don’t hate trans women because i’m normal :)” that’s nothing!!! am i making myself clear do you see what i’m talking about!

and then the other two things i complained about, the “feminism is anything that makes me feel good, as a woman” and “feminism is for men, actually” are just because when we have zero standards for feminism it can mean anything at all. we could be talking about these things but we aren’t.

i don’t know how to fix this (i could learn more, but what then? well i guess id post about it for my followers. good enough, i guess. so it’s just that i don’t know how to learn more) but i am getting so frustrated with the way things are now. i know there’s people out there doing real things in the feminist space but i don’t know where to look… lot of trans women on my twitter tl talking about feminism (and yes that’s something, but i am hungry for more than twitter threads <3) and they’re fighting an uphill battle over there. like. god

* i feel like it’d be the good feminist thing to do to come down hard with “feminism is a MOVEMENT” but we do kind of need internal ideology before we can have external movement, probably. seems like people who already have feminist ideas are more likely to engage in feminist actions when the time comes. but idk i’m no political movements expert. this post is just me giving you my two cents on a specific concept

#i’ll leave you with an example of what i’m talking about #‘trans women are women’. true! #but gets denigrated as a mantra with nothing behind it by the gender critical side of things #and it DOES have meaning behind it. but frankly. how many of us know what that meaning is? #how many of us know what a woman is and why a trans woman is one #and that’s why their ‘what is a woman?’ line of questioning is so successful. because theres an answer to that question but nobody knows it! #‘um… well i know some trans women and i respect them…’ is a good place to START from but it’s not where you want to end up #post tag #i wrote this whole fucking thing as one paragraph & then slapped in some paragraph breaks & that fucking astrix #(the astrix stuff was just in parentheses before) #so. if it doesn’t read like separate paragraphs. that’s because it’s not. it’s one paragraph with some paragraph breaks thrown in #i wanted it to be a bit less than completely fucking unreadable #that’s why every paragraph ends with a end-of-sentence punctuation mark but the last sentence doesn’t #nervous to post something opinionated like this… if it’s not perfect maybe lmk & we can discuss it! #annnnnd post

[callmearcturus]

Hey if you wanna delete this is totally fine I'm just curious about what your deal with the post canon material is. Like, I don't like it, so don't think I'm trying to come at you or anything, I'm just curious about if you read it and didn't like it, or if you just didn't want to read it at all or what. You seem like you're very vehemently against it but I haven't seen you post about why?

/clicks tongue. What my deal is.

Well, you asked.

There are literally multiple layers to why I despise the "post canon" content. I dislike the edgelord horsefuckery of the Epilogues. I dislike the widespread character assassination. I dislike the bottom of the bargain bin take that Dirk would become the villain and find it kind of hack-y. I dislike the treatment of Jade, Jane, Jake, Kanaya, and Rose. I dislike the way the team behind the Epilogues responded to criticism, especially after crafting a purposefully incendiary work. I dislike the entire "they aren't canon" "defense" for its misunderstanding of what canon actually means and find it a paltry wet paper shield.

(I frankly dislike them jacking Detective Pony's conceit without having read DP and learned anything from it.)

I also dislike the presumption on Hussie's part that they literally have any place in the fandom space. In my opinion, Hussie makes the incredibly common mistake of assuming fandom is an act of worship, that it is a space the creator has any right to engage in. I feel like the Epilogues are kind of founded on that principle and that is what led to this bullshit idea that fans needed to be taught a *lesson*. I actually find that much more insulting than their actual content.

I dislike how the Epilogues affected my friends. It was extremely painful.

I also dislike how HS2 continued to have its cake and eat it. Or, rather, our cake. I dislike the sketchiness around the Patreon and what it was actually funding, especially when compounded with the sketchiness around Hiveswap. I dislike what the community became, and I place some of that blame with the creative team for the absolute fucking bullshit they pulled in antagonizing the fandom and acting bafflingly unprofessional, and always curling up behind "gosh we're just a small team of QUEER CREATORS, what is wrong with you?"

And given everything that has come to light about the people around HS and Hussie themself and their complete failing to both insulate their team and arguably to shove them in front of a painted target, I feel personally justified in going yeah actually fuck the Epilogues and all the "post canon" (nope) content.

The absolute kindest thing I can say about it all is that the people who worked on the "post canon" shit deserve to never get involved with HS again and hopefully move on to better lives. I hope they find whatever they need to heal.

Also the Ultimate Self was always a stupid fucking eleventh hour saving throw trying to fix the fact Hussie fucked over Jade's character so severely.

#this is a purely negative post you are warned

[piracytheorist]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't think Ethan's one-liners are cringe. They are a little dorky sometimes, sure, but I laugh every single time I hear them, because some of them are genuinely good? Ethan saying "God must really love you, bitch" will always have me cackling. "In death as he was in life: DISGUSTING" is fucking hilarious. Him standing in front of an actual, literal dragon, and still talking shit? Now that's just badass. Or what about telling Mother Miranda that the problem is her?

While everyone's view of what Ethan is like is perfectly valid, absolutely, I'll never understand why some people genuinely think he is some lame, soft guy who's only capable of being cringe-y and stupid. Ethan's a brave person, who's maybe not a badass because of his choice of words, but because he has the guts to say those words, even in the face of absolute horrors, and then doing so without hesitation, or fear. He IS brave, and he IS tough, and badass in his own right. Dude single-handedly went up against every mold monster at the Baker House, as well as a whole-ass village full of monsters, and he came out on top every single time. I'd say that's pretty fucking cool.

Oh don't get me wrong, whenever I (and I assume the grand majority of Ethan fans) call Ethan a cringey pathetic meow meow or any variation of that, it's only a joke to cover the fact that I wouldn't do any fucking better myself.

I love Ethan because he loves his family more than anything, he'll do anything to protect them, go feral to fight the monsters that keep them away from him, walk through horrors and nightmares in order to save them, but ultimately he is still Just a GuyTM. His silly one-liners only emphasize how human he is, and this is why I love the fact that they're not "cool" or "sassy". It's what every one of us would say in such a situation, then spend twenty minutes in the shower later being like "GOD I was so fucking stupid, couldn't I find anything more witty to say? I should have said that instead!"

The fact that he has the guts to talk back to the monsters that try to kill him shows his bravery and perseverance. The fact that the stuff he tells them are silly af shows that he's also a human being like us. He's not some male-fantasy superhero protagonist. He's just a dude. He's your neighbour. He's you. And that makes him very relatable and enjoyable to follow along. He's neither a super-duper fantastical guy whose story you go along with even if you don't understand his motives and/or reasons, nor an empty vessel that's just there to move the game forward. He's a simple guy with a simple goal that even people who don't care about having children will understand, and many many people will be touched by. When he says his one-liners you're supposed to relate to him (and frankly my deepest condolences to those who don't relate to or aren't entertained by those moments, you have no idea how much fun you're missing out on) and either nod along or scream "YOU TELL 'EM ETHAN! THAT WAS LAME AF BUT YOU TELL 'EM!"

(For what is worth, by the way, one of my absolute favourite lines of his is "You're the one who's cursed" LIKE EVEN TYPING IT DOWN I'M LAUGHING. If you asked me top 5 Ethan lines that one would unironically be in there for sure. Like it comes after the first big Boss fight and you're all up and excited from the adrenaline and the excitement of winning, Dimitrescu dies cursing at you... and then Ethan goes like "I am rubber, you are glue" AND IT'S HILARIOUS)

In short, I don't think anyone but a few butthurt RE fans actually mean any negativity or even criticism when they talk about Ethan's "cringey" one-liners. If they didn't invoke any kind of positive reaction in you, then sorry sweaty but they were not made for you :) Almost everyone I've seen talk about that has been with an understanding that Ethan is still a badass to go up against those monsters, with enough wits about himself to even speak and (try to) insult them, and the nature of his one-liners just adds a humorous and relatable tone to the whole thing. It makes Ethan who he is, and I wouldn't have it any other way <3

#Ethan Winters #Resident Evil #Resident Evil 8 #anonymous #ask and ye shall receive

[klarawouldrather]

Falling In Reverse's Watch The World Burn

Just an hour ago Falling In Reverse released their new single Watch The World Burn, alongside a killer videoclip. Ronnie Radke has said in the past that he doesn't like when bands anticipate their new releases, it takes forever and there is no joy or surprise in it.; he prefers just dropping new shit out of the blue when people aren't expecting it, and this time was one of them. I think it is safe to say we all agree with him.

This new song is perfectly coherent in sound and theme with their last two singles released in 2022: ZOMBIFIED, and Voices In My Head. Falling In Reverse have found the best sound for this new epoch, displayed for the first time in their hit Popular Monster, and Ronnie Radke has perfected the mix of the vocals and the song in general. I'm specially a fan of his pronunciation during the harder parts of the song, where he opens a lot the vowels. It is pure sound quality, can't get any better than this.

The structure of the song is pretty much the same one that their 2022 singles have, starting with a Trap intro, altho this time way longer than what one would expect -over a minute and a half-, but it fits perfectly. Then it follows into a short fast Rap section heavily inspired in Eminem (the main rapper Ronnie Radke draws inspiration from) going way faster than, again, one would expect. Finally it builds up and breaks into the modern Falling In Reverse metal sound.

I was beginning to think we weren't gonna hear from their new lead guitarist Max Georgiev; but we do atho not much, only some sweet sweep picking arpeggios. This is the first release of the band he participates in so the project was already cooked before he joined anyways. He fits perfectly in the band replacing Jacky Vincent who went on to focus on his amazing Neo Power Metal project Cry Venom. Both Jacky Vincent and Max Georgiev have a virtuoso classical and symphonic inspired playing style, the later having a beautiful album of classical guitar pieces called Exorcism Chapter One. The two current members of the band listed as co-composers are the also lead guitarist Christian Thompson (who joined Falling in Reverse in 2015 participating in Just Like You and Coming Home) and the bassist and backing and lead vocalist Tyler Burgess. We can also see in the videoclip one of the best drummers of the music scene, Luke Holland. He is not a permanent member of Falling In Reverse, but he's been participating with the band for over two years now.

During the metal part of the track Ronnie Radke builds up and climaxes in a harmonized high note just like in Voices In My Head, and the drop that follows frankly sounds the same as the one in that song. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is clear that these three singles are sisters just as the trilogy Losing My Mind / Losing My Life / Drugs. It is expected that two other songs will join Voices in my head, Zombified, and Watch The World Burn, in a 5 songs EP titled Neon Zombie to be released this year 2023.

The videoclip is full of pop culture references, with warlike imagery and the same concept of Ronnie Radke being some kind of destructive force in a wooden closed space, this time a church, just like as we see in the single that cemented their contemporary sound Popular Monster. I gotta say, my favourite videoclip of the ones in this development arch is Voices In My Head, but this one is specially epic and powerful just as the song is.

Thematically it feels like a synthesis of the other two songs of this afromentioned sisterhood of singles, it literally opens with "I got voices in my head again". Talks about trauma, needing therapy, depression, and aggressiveness like in Voices In My Head; and about being criticized and how supposedly "Nowadays everybody’s so sensitive" like in ZOMBIFIED.

Now this last faulty idea is based on a talking point of the hegemonic media and buffoons of the dominant class that aims to spread fearmongery about an imaginary cancel culture, like it is shit on the walls of a public bathroom. It is a shame that such a talented musician has fallen into this discursive tomfoolery: no Ronnie, teens on the internet are not coming for you, you can still choose to be a bigot on the internet if you so choose, people being called out on transphobia on twitter is not literally 1984, it is the bare minimum of accountability. It seems to me that victims that bite into this ideological trap are the ones with the thinner skin, thinking we are zombied cuz we don't tolerate bullshit.

Still, Watch The World Burn is one hell of a song that even copying aspects of their other two last singles, feels unique and full of personality. Falling In Reverse does not fail to deliver.

Grade: 9/10

XOXO

#falling in reverse #ronnie radke #emo #rap #rapper #hiphop #metalcore #emocore #music review #new song #watch the world burn #post hardcore #metal

[unbidden-yidden]

I know I'm probably going to regret opening this can of worms again, but I've been seeing a resurgence of discourse about and by ex-Xtian atheists re: the term "culturally Xtian" and also about the shitty behavior that a lot of folks (primarily other Jews) have experienced from this demographic, and I have some additional thoughts about it. Mostly frustration because I feel like these groups have polarized against each other when that's not at all necessary.

1) While I still use it as a shorthand personally and have not yet come up with or seen a proposed alternative that is better, I still don't think "culturally Xtian" is the most helpful adjective here. It is descriptive but inflammatory, and frequently misses the real, underlying problem here, which is the antisemitism absorbed from Xtian teachings, rather than the residual cultural background. I would love to see an alternative that meant and clearly conveyed "exvangelical/ex-Xtian atheist who still has some deconverting to do around antisemitic and/or colonialist ideas" - but less of a mouthful.

2) There are definitely moments where someone's atheism is relevant to the conversation (e.g. - the whole "I hate all religions equally" shit, or its more moderate cousin, criticizing "religion" for things that are specifically done only by certain Xtians) in that the other person has brought it into the conversation and used their atheism as an excuse to be antisemitic. Atheists need to understand that if you are using your identity as an atheist to be an asshole, people are going to comment on you as an atheist. If it takes the form of you making assumptions about all religions based on your upbringing as a Catholic (or evangelical, or JW, or Mormon, or whatever), your background is fair game for people to discuss as well, because YOU put it into issue.

3) However, I have *also* seen ex-Xtian atheists be called out for antisemitism that is, frankly, indistinguishable from anyone else's antisemitism and not at all tied to their positionality as an atheist. Additionally, even in situations where they are using their atheism as an excuse, I have seen folks bring down the "culturally Xtian" hammer without (a) knowing the person's actual background and (b) without the person having claimed any specific personal knowledge due to their background. This is really Not Great, because it attacks people for a marginalized identity* and/or a background that they may or may not have and in any event, cannot change. This also loses us credibility when we are making the points in #2 where these things are connected and in issue. (*We can quibble over exactly how marginalized atheists are, but that they are marginalized as compared with Xtians in the US is an inarguable fact.)

4) I'd still love to see a little more patience and empathy from folks who are actively trying to change minds, and more willingness to just disengage rather than continuing to yell ineffectually from folks who are just pissed off and have no intent on educating.

5) Something new I realized while pondering this recently, is that I think one of the other traps that I see atheist discourse fall into is talking about religion versus atheism in a binary way, as if "the religious" or even "organized religion" was a coherent class. I will probably make a separate post on this, tbh, because it deserves a little more explanation.

[channeleven]

My Problem With Ed, Edd n’ Eddy’s Fifth Season

Okay, this isn't the first time I ever talked about the fifth season, but chances are it was a very rough take that I will only now put right. I used to be a big fan of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, well I still am, though I don't tune into old episodes. The show is over, the fandom is surprisingly well behaved, and I believe the show is superior to the shit people latch onto these days, for one thing it's not corporate, and no I'm not gonna explain what I mean by that.

But it's not all perfect, obviously. Nobody is reluctant to bring up any of the show's shortcomings, but there was one hangup I have with the show that persisted for so long. It seems like a petty thing to complain about, but the last season of Ed, Edd n' Eddy was so... not good, it actually convinced me that I just wasn't a fan of the show, when that is not the case.

To be fair, I'm not saying one season is better than the other, bad episodes are evenly spread out between seasons, and this wasn't necessarily out of Danny Antonucci's control, he went along with what seemed to be right, I mean aside from going digital, go drawn or go home. I really don't like the fifth season, and I feel it not happening would be inconsequential, and it seems I may not be alone with that, as most EEnE diehards actually liked my Tumblr post with the same opinion, and a common consensus is that it has some good episodes, some bad ones, or they're just happy to get more out of their favorite show.

I'm gonna go over why I don't like the fifth season of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, and why I believe it is expendable.

My Experience

I watched Cartoon Network during the early-2000s, so I was able to catch episodes of the fifth season when they were out. I have seen plenty of the older seasons' episides, I played Candy Machine Deluxe and Spin Stadium whenever I could, and I was basically ready for the long ride with the show.

When I saw the episodes new, I'll admit, I did like some of them, even those that would go on to be criticized later on, but even as a kid, something about most of the episodes felt... off, and this had stuck with me ever since then, to the point I found myself avoiding reruns of episodes I didn't like.

So no, I'm not doing this just for some contrarian cred, even as a kid I didn't like the fifth season that much, and that hasn't changed frankly.

Last Season Curse

People have often used the term seasonal rot to note shows that gradually began to crumble in its later years, and yes, I know this point is used ad nauseum, but for ever common complaint lies a kernel of truth. For every final season, it often reflects a lessened budget, like with ChalkZone or Real Ghostbusters for instance, or a creative director change, like the Chris Savino seasons of Dexter's Laboratory and PowerPuff Girls, not counting the Games era of Ren and Stimpy because let's be real, they didn't need John Kricfalusi, well, after he made the charaters. It's not always gonna be bad, but if you've been watching the show for a while, you're bound to pick up on a few differences. Seasonal rot does not always mean a show's last season sucks, it means this is a sign that either the creatives were worn to the bone with it, or the networks wanted it off as soon as possible, with a creative change only occurring if the original one steps down.

Danny was with the show all the way to the end, and that was for the better, he was always around to direct the episodes, but the one time he didn't during this season, we got what is often considered to be the worst episode of the entire series, or at least one that lands somewhere in the top five.

Some of the spirit of the previous seasons has been kept intact, but it is mixed in with some very noticeable tweaks that take away from that experience, often trumping what made the show so popular in the first place, and falling into the same trap that most shows do with new writers going off of notecards or struggling with ideas or stripping character personalities away.

The Little Differences

Now what do I mean by spirit? I mean the slapstick comedy in an otherwise normal setting. Danny, or someone, has said they avoid the prospect of characters growing up to preserve the timelessness of the series, which makes sense. The summer setting may also play into the timelessness by ridding any prospect of time moving forward, this shit could happen in the span of a few days or so and none would know the difference.

So obviously I object to the school setting.

I'm not gonna go all Mario fan on this, but I do have my complaints. That timeless setting, by implying that summer is over and having the kids go to school, it sorta takes away from the timelessness the writers were going for. If the show got more seasons, maybe we would've seen the parents, then you realize The Eds are Coming and Mission Ed Possible did the latter to a degree, Rock a Bye Ed doesn't really count as it was some depiction of Jonny 2x4 for the sake of the plot.

It's such simple things that were unfortunately cast aside, and so close to the finish-line too. Now look, I know this may sound like I'm making a big deal, fine, but I dunno, what do these changes add to the show at large? Granted, it's not just throwing in new characters on a whim, I like how creative they got to avoid showing any new characters, but if anything this marks a contrast between this and earlier seasons because you rarely saw any other instances in the older episodes. Keep this in mind.

The football episode shows the best and worst of making use of a limited cast for so long. While the Lemonbrook football team are depicted by shadows, we see shots of a crowd barely shown in, with the Kankers singled out. It just looks awkward, but like, did we need a football episode in Ed, Edd n' Eddy? That episode sucked balls, I'm sorry.

Our Friends in Name Only

And of course I need to get into how the characters feel just as off. To its credit, the characters have more consistency than other characters from shows that slipped into its terminal days, either that or they were more subtle about it. About the only major change I noticed was Ed, who turned out to be far more annoying than he was in the past, either because he tends to speak louder or may have lost more braincells than we were led to believe.

The big problem with the characters, at least for me, is the writing. The stories they are put into either drive them to over the top extremes rarely or never seen in previous seasons, and of course those on the lower end suffer the worst. Nobody likes Sarah, and of course she pulls a devastating fast one in "The Ed is Falling" or whatever the sky is falling episode name was. It's a Sarah plot without anything more to make it stand out, basically the 55% people don't take away from episodes like that.

And I gotta ask, why are Sarah and Jimmy in the same grade as everyone else? Otherwise why have them go to school if you're gonna treat it like it's still summer? It's almost as if this makes no sense even by an over the top cartoon's standard.

All I can say about Kevin is that he is a contributing factor to Smile for the Ed being seen as one of the worst episodes in the show, and yeah, seeing it brand new as a kid, all I can say is you had one job. On the other hand, maybe this was Danny's way of messing with the network, showing them what would happen if you separate him from the show. If that's true, that is clever, but it may've worked far too well.

But the one character I feel that suffered the worst because of the writing, was Edd. Much like how the season convinced me I didn't like the show, this season convinced me I didn't like Edd. The biggest draw here is when Edd smugly leaves Eddy to suffer for what he did or was associated with, even being involved with most of Eddy's misfortunes, or at least the no neck chump business. If you want to quit, just do so Edd, you're supposed to be the smart one right?

You may think 'oh, you see though, it's his way of showing he has backbone, just like in Momma's Little Ed.' And I can understand where you're coming from, but Eddy deserved it at the end, more importantly because he targeted Edd directly.

Really, the best way to compare Edd in most season five episodes is Sorry, Wrong Ed, the similarities are astounding, namely Edd's I don't give a shit about a guy I'm possibly friends with. If this was to set up some big argument, like in Big Picture Show, it wouldn't work because what set him off there was Ed and Eddy screwing with him during the journey to Bro. If it was as you thought it was, the series proper would've ended with Edd joining the Cul De Sac kids, arguably darker than the fourth season finale, because at least there the trio was still in effect.

It feels like sometimes the writers had it out for Eddy. We had some more brutal takedowns by the Kankers, even his own friends would turn against him, something was definitely not right with this, but what do I know?

The Core Element

I'd like to touch upon the slapstick real quick, I'm sure someone is gonna bring that up as a consistent element to the show. Yes, the sight gags and slapstick are here, but compared to those in the older seasons, even these feel off. Sure, they do happen, but... best way I can put it is that the older seasons had some slight restraint, pulling it off when you'd least expect it or having a really good gag pulled. Somehow, the fifth season feels even more cartoony, with faces and gags done that I would have never expected to see in older episodes.

It doesn't feel like they were included because they suited the series they were part of. In this season, it felt like they were included for the sake of being included, but it's as if the writers forgot their own work, or the network demanded more of it that we go overboard most of the time.

Check out an old episode, then one of the fifth season episodes, and tell me if you see something similar.

Its own

Interestingly, it was here that the show transitioned to digital animation, so me going on about the little differences hones in on how alien this season feels compared to others. With the gag execution, the treatment of most characters and the common setting, you can remove this season from the show and, really, what harm would it do? Anything new that occurred had done so in this season anyhow.

But you may be thinking, well without the fifth season, we wouldn't get Big Picture Show. Okay, maybe you have a point, but by then Ed, Edd n' Eddy was still very popular so I'm sure we would've gotten the movie regardless of the fifth season occurring or not. Especially so, since the movie occurred in the Summer, when the older seasons did. The use of digital animation in it helps make the spectacle more believable and feel like a grand finale. For one thing it looks better than The Loud House Movie, possibly even the Casagrandes Movie.

The fifth season has similar animation to Big Picture Show, and that dulls the spectacle aspect just a tad. The fact the fifth season throws in a new setting placement and hints of other characters ruins the mystique the movie would offer, in terms of the Eds exploring the world outside of the Cul De Sac, seeing small hints of new people, especially Bro at the end. Now, of course the kids make peace at the end, so that is a good thing at least, but we could've come to that without the fifth season.

If anyone was gonna bring up releasing the movie earlier because there would be no new content between when the movie came out and the fifth season did, how about a compromise? They could waste less time on a, quite frankly divisive season and just produce the holiday specials and participate in CN Invaded, new content in small increments, building up to a grand finale. I won't say some traces of the fifth season's writing didn't get into this movie, but at most it feels like the spirit of the older seasons was kept. Hell, even the over the top gags make more sense as this was a TV film with higher ambition than the previous seasons.

And I'm sure someone is gonna say if we didn't have season five things would end on a very dour note thanks to Take This Ed and Shove It's ending. But let's be real, you can wonder about that. It's not tragic, just a sarcastic yearn for lost youth, by this point everyone was on good terms and just got old. People say the last episode of the fifth season was a good finale, but honestly it felt kinda forced, and it was as if Danny gave an exasperated sigh of relief that he was finished with it. It was like a wet fart basically, especially since, lol, that wasn't even the last episode, and I don't mean Big Picture Show, I mean the lost episode that came from the proposed sixth season, of course they were planning more, but something happened and we never got it. Maybe somewhere, it was because the fifth season was such a groaner that people feared what other seasons would entail.

Final Thoughts

I understand Ed, Edd n' Eddy is a heavily respected show, and I can certainly agree with it. But even as a kid, I didn't like the fifth season's episodes very much. It felt like the show in name only, and it made me feel like I wasn't a fan of the show anymore. It has in quality what it has in expendability, and had this never come out, beyond the holiday specials, I think it would've made Big Picture Show a hell of a lot more satisfying.

#ed edd n eddy #review