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selenityshiroi · 10 months

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I can't even begin to explain how much Square Enix truly surprised me with Clive in FFXVI.

I stayed away from most of the marketing so I knew only his image and that SE wanted to appeal to Western Gamers with this game. Which led me to believe that he would be gruff and tough and vengeful. Because, let's be real, that is the impression we tend to have of Western Video Game protaganists.

And when the game opens we see a man who is fighting, doesn't seem to be invested in the cause but is just going along with the mission. Doesn't care too much about the bloody battle going on beneath his feet. So my impression wasn't really shaken by this introduction.

And then we go back. And oh boy.

Teenage Clive was a delight. Humble, compassionate, understood the difference between being handed something and having to work for it. His mother hated him for something he couldn't control but he didn't resent his brother who had the mother's love he was denied. He adored his brother who had 'the birthright' that could have been his. I adored this boy within minutes and I was shocked that this was the protaganist from the promo materials. So different than I was expecting.

And then Phoenix Gate happened. And I was filled with dread. Because that boy was probably going to gone. Destroyed by grief and vengeance. This was the event that was going to turn that nice young boy into the gruff and tough and mean older protaganist I was expecting.

But then it didn't.

Once we fell in with Cid and rescued Jill we start to see the older Clive. And he is after vengeance and he is hurt and he is suffering. But he is also still compassionate. He also still has a sense of justice. He also still understands that there is no job beneath a person and no person beneath a job (which is a very big theme for the game).

That vengeance, which I'm so used to seeing as a 'and I don't care what I have to do or who is in my way for me to get it' sort of thing, was not all consuming. It was something he sought but not at the expense of others.

When the first sidequest of 'take these plates of food to the tables' came up I genuinely believed that Clive was the sort of man who wouldn't bat an eye at waiting a table for the sake of the team. That it wasn't a task below him. And that single moment changed my entire impression of him.

When the story of the night of the Phoenix Gate unfolds it is painful. Grief and guilt that would tear someone apart. And it could have easily destroyed Clive. But then it didn't.

Because we get to the other surprising thing about Clive (and the story). And that is about acceptance and atonement.

Clive accepting the things that he did is something that is not only addressed in the story but it's also a major story point. But in a typical Western story I would expect atonement to take the shape of punishment and suffering. Self flogging guilt. Which are very Christian ideologies that are widespread in Western media. But that isn't the path this game took. It takes the path of atonement meaning reparation and working to change things for the future you want to see. Which reminded me very, very much of Fullmetal Alchemist (which I'm told is a story that has strong Buddist themes).

And then, just to really twist the knife into the false impression I had, we get the final aspect of his character that I wasn't expecting.

His ability to be open and honest. Especially with Jill, who had suffered and holds guilt in a similar way. Who looks like (at my current point in my playthrough) is about to go through a similar arc of self acceptance. But instead of holding in their pain they share it. They pull each other forward. And it's not only super refreshing for a leading pair in a pretty dark story it also reminds me of something else from FMA.

Roy and Riza. Two characters who did unspeakable things who then turn that guilt into action. Who work to change the world into a place where those atrocities do not need to happen again. Who understand that they may not be thanked for what they do or what they have done but will suffer that gladly to let others live free of the blood that stains their hands.

At this point all of those impressions I had going into the game are shattered into dust.

I adore Clive. I am invested in him so much more than I ever expected. I couldn't have expected any of this going into the game and I have never been so pleasantly surprised.

Bravo, SE.

#ffxvi #spoilers #for at least several early-mid game plot points #but I'm not super far through and i don't want spoilers going forward

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condomatsu · 11 months

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HOW TO BE AN ANTISHIPPER - a helpful guide

VERY LONG POST, mostly sarcastic lol, enjoy if you want to laugh a little bit ((no, I didn't have to make this a second time because tumblr sucks, ha ha, I don't know what you're talking about))

DISCLAIMER: I'm barely creating anything here. Those are real thing I saw/heard real antishippers say. Those are basically their words, not mine.

CW: repetitive use of the word "pedo/pedophilia" and such, feel-ashemed-sicko rhetoric, puritan/christian culture, fiction=reality stuff, hate on >30 years old people (I'm really sorry), pRoBlEmAtIc stuff and discourse (sort of), "kys" mentions, some LGBT+phobia (poorly masked), ableism (poorly masked), some insult/swear words in some points, trauma talking, DNI talking

In my long ship-discourse career, I've seen many antishippers not be coherent with what they belive. It is understandable, for many antishippers, to be too much distructed and fall into the Problematic(TM) category they're figthing against. Thinking "kill the pedo" all the time might be exausting and occupy all the congitive processes that someone else would use to actually watch the media they are consuming. But antishippers aren't like other people, they are morally superior, and worrying so much about morality in media is very much time and energy consuming; it's just impossible to keep a track about what to watch and enjoy and how to enjoy it and at the same time thinking.

But oh boy, isn't this guide just for you! This FREE guide¹ is for all the antishippers out there, who might fall in the nasty-proship territory without realizing it and must come out quickly, before starting to spread harmful messages, such as Don't Like; Don't Read, Ship And Let Ship, Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That's Ok, and other nasty, predatory things.

¹gimme ur monei plz, i need themm

Send this guide to whoever you think might benefit from it and, most importantly, consult it when in doubt. Being perfect all the time is difficoult after all.

This guide will help all antishippers with many things when approuching media and fandoms. This includes:

What media consume;

How to consume it;

How to interpret the characters and how to Ship(TM);

What fancontent create/consume and how;

How to create OCs for original stories and fandoms;

What to do if the media/character/ship/fancontent we liked became or happends to be Problematic.

All in this FREE antiship guide.

[I accept paypal and cash, DM me for more info].

1. WHAT MEDIA CONSUME

This is where the majority of antishippers stop at. As I mentioned before, thinking is energy consuming and actually analysing what we have in front of us might be stressful and difficoult at times.

But it is important to understand what type of content we are consuming, in order to be as morally superior as possible! As we all know "we are what we eat", therefore "we are what we watch". This means that the media we are engaging with must:

Not have any controversial opinion in it (unless those are your opinions as well);

Not have any Problematic themes involving children (17 and below), such as killing, death, sex, etc.;

Have ONLY good people behind it: no controversial opinions, no flaws, no rumors about them;

Explicitly say why a character action is good or bad and condemn bad actions and characters;

Not have sexual themes that aren't LGBT+ and NO sex or nudity scenes in any case, not even referential.

«But what about violence?» I hear you say. That's a stupid observation. Violence content doesn't turn you violent, that's a christian mom's stupid belife, not the reality. Besides, killing in movies and such is cool- DON'T RUTE FOR THE KILLER THO!

Anyways if you are a little child (17 and below), there's another point to follow for you:

The media must not have any Problematic theme in it.

This means no cool-killing for you, I'm sorry. Yes, I don't care you are 17 turning 18 in a few days, just wait those few days. And another whole year as well, just to make sure you're REALLY an adult.

Now, there are many medias, movies, comics and shows that are marked as "iredeemable media"; this means that, if you watch or, worse, enjoy those things, you are 100% lost and Problematic, just like the media itself.

Here's a little list of Problematic media to avoid. The list may vary and, unfortunatelly, it is very short. Ask other superior antishippers for advise when you're not sure whether the media you're about to consume is Problematic or safe.

The list includes but is not limited to

South park

Rick and Morty

Homestuck

Attack on titan

Genshin Impact

Harry Potter

Camp Camp

Steven Universe

Obey me!

Danganronpa

Hetalia

BTS/Kpop

Jojo

Dream SMP

Mystic messanger

DDLC

Beastars

Killing stalking

Boyfriends

Hazbin hotel

Helluva boss

Any VTuber

Stranger things

Any kid show if you are >18

Literally anything if you are >30. Where is you spouse? Children? Wtf are you doing here, old fart?? Go get a job or something.

2. HOW TO CONSUME IT

OK, now that you've found your good christian Problematic-FREE content to enjoy and like (and you have to like it, how could you not like it? It's completely unproblematic!), you have to consume it in a puritan unproblematic way as well!

As I already mentioned, you can't watch kids shows if you are 18 and above, it's not age appropriate for you². However that doesn't mean you can engage with the media in a "mature" way, especially in fandoms; just like we'll see in point n.4 as well.

²This doesn't count if you are autistic. As we all know, autistic people unfortunatelly do not have free will and are basically big babys, so you can only watch kid friendly things.

You have your good pure media in front of you, who's your favourite character?

The villain? Who has sympathetic traits and understandable reasons to do what they do and has a corrupted yet strong moral? The male main character? Who is good at heart, maybe a little cold and unable to show emotions but still brave and strong in their unique way? Or maybe the female not-main character? Who uses their beauty to attract their victims, and knows they're beautiful, skinny with wide boobs and light skin?

DISGUSTING! Are you even listening yourself!?

The villain is the villain! Do you support their action? Do you condone killing, mass shooting, you sick fuck-o!?

Are you implying that only males can be the main characters? Then why are they your favourite, hypocrite!? Also, that character theaches toxic behaviour, you are condonic toxic masculinity.

Are females good at nothing but to be beautiful? And beautiful to who!? The male gaze!? You are pushing harmful stereotypes on little girls, making them go through plastic surgery and making them live a miserable life.

Hoping you feel ashemed of yourself.

But don't worry, if you didn't already consumed any iredeemable media (look at the list at point n.1), you are still redeemable and capable to become pure again.

It is important to every christian antishippers to like and enjoy only good characters who do good actions³. We are able to elevate ourselves though what we like, as it reflects 100% what we are inside.

³If you're not able to find who is the good character and who is the evil character, go back to point n.1 and search a media that explicitly tells you that.

A good character must:

Be progressive;

Follow your same logic and morals, so that others knows how you will act or react to certain topics and situations;

Do the good thing at all costs, always;

If they do something wrong, do mental gymnastic to excuse their actions: what they do is what you do or would do in their situation;

If your character is black or/and LGBT+, then don't worry, nobody will attack them in any case.

There is a last thing to consider when talking about characters: their age. If the character in question is a little child (17 and below) you can enjoy them (if you are below 21), but not too much. It doesn't matter if they are your same age, they are children, therefore they must be protected. As we know, those characters were created by a real person, which means they are real people as well. And so it is legit to fight for their rights, protect them from disgusting people, and treat them like real people, just like you would do with anybody else. Or even more! Why calling a group "fictional characters" and the other "live breathing existing people" when they are the same thing?

More infos on how to engage with "characters" (A.K.A. people) in point n.4.

3. HOW TO INTERPRET CHARACTERS AND HOW TO SHIP(TM)

This is clearly the most important point to every antishipper. It's antiSHIP for a reason!

But, before that, we have to talk about what there is at the core of every ship: its characters. We already establish what character you can enjoy, but how can you enjoy them?

Your unconditionally-favourite character might be progressive (example: a female main character, who is explicitly femminist and independent and strong and an ally, etc.), but might also not be progressive enough.

Everyone has their headcanons and there's nothing wrong with it and wanting to see yourself in said character. Afterall, there's never enough queer/black/fat representation out there (/srs).

So you make you favourite character black, chubby, disable, trans and bisexual⁴! Good job! Unfortunatelly, that is not the canon view of said character, but your view is progressive! This means that everybody has to interpret them as you do. If they don't, they are racist, fatphobic, ableist, homotrasphobic and probably a pedophile too, which is unacceptable!

⁴Rule for bi/pan/ace characters: they can't date the opposite gender, or they might "faking it".

What do good fuckers antishippers do when somebody clearly un-progressive refuse to accept clearly superior headcanons?

Here's the list of what-to-do, point by point:

Ask gently to redraw/write the content about said character (example: "excuse me, but in this non-canon artwork of Terezi Pyrope she's fat, draw her as such, thank you").

If they ignore you or rufuse to do as you say, accuse them of what they really are in a polite way (example: "All I'm saying is that it is very fatphobic of you interpret her as differently as the majority of us all, that's all").

Further reistance? Then be even more honest with them! (example: "I mean, you are already drawing a 13-years-old girl, that's kinda predatory, don't you think? At least draw her right, which is how I interpret her").

Politness is the key, but those sick-os aren't really entitled of that, so you may just tell them to kill themselves and call it the day!

With all of that being said, now we can finally go to the SHIP section! What characters I can ship, how can I ship them, etc.

The game is very, very simple, just answer this quick questions:

Are this characters both over 18? >YES (go to 3), >NO (go to 2), >NOT SURE (go to 19)

Are they both under 18? >YES (go to 4), >NO (go to 21)

Are you above 18? >YES (go to 5), >NO (go to 22)

Are you under 18? >YES (go to 5), >NO (go to 21)

Is there some age gap between them? >YES (go to 21), >NO (go to 6)

Are they both black? >YES (go to 9), >NO (go to 7)

Is one of them black? >YES (go to 8), >NO (go to 9)

Are you black? >YES (go to 9), >NO (go to 23)

Are they both boys/men? >YES (go to 10), >NO (go to 11)

Are you a gay/mlm boy/man? >YES (go to 14), >NO (go to 24)

Are they both girls/women? >YES (go to 12), >NO (go to 13)

Are you a lesbian/wlw girl/woman? >YES (go to 14), >NO (go to 24)

Are they a girl/woman and a boy/man? >YES (go to 25), >NO (go to 14)

Do they work together? >YES (go to 15), >NO (go to 16)

Is one a grade superior to the other? >YES (go to 27), >NO (go to 17)

Are they both superheroes/good people? >YES (go to 19), >NO (go to 17)

Are they both villains/bad people? >YES (go to 27), >NO (go to 18)

Is one of them a superhero/good person and the other is a villain/bad person? >YES (go to 27), >NO (go to 29)

Are they both aliens/supernatural creatures? >YES (go to 28), >NO (go to 20)

Is one of them an alien/supernatual creature? >YES (go to 28), >NO (go to 29)

YOU ARE A PEDOPHILE

YOU ARE BEING GROOMED

YOU ARE RACIST

YOU ARE FETISHIZING LGBT+ PEOPLE

YOU ARE HOMOPHOBIC

YOU ARE A RAPIST

YOU CONDONE TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS

YOU ARE A ZOOPHILE

You are pure

This little game is very helpful and quick to make. However I encourage to reach a superior antishipper when in doubt, especially if your ship-case isn't here.

Remember that only the couples you will like to see in real life or the people you would like to date personally in real life are allowed. If you are an antishippers and aromantic, I'm sorry, but you can't participate in ship culture, unless you're faking being aromantic, which will make you a bad person.

4. WHAT FANCONTENT CREATE/CONSUME AND HOW

Congrats! You have your Problematic-free ship in you Problematic-free media! You obviously want to create or consume content of it, especially if the ship isn't canon. Having social medias might help, but also, before doing anything, you have to cure you space online.

Blocking, muting, filtering content and/or people you don't like? Pft, NO, that's what nasty proshippers always tells to do, you don't want to do what they say, ever. What you have to do is to make a DNI banner, post or carrd which tells everything that there's to know about you and what kind of people you don't want near you.

Nazis, pedos, TERFs, etc. will surely be polite enough to listen to your little mind and respect your boundaries. Oh, and also they won't surely use the personal infos you've provided them to harm you in any way or capacity. Big move, really. And, of course, put every online label you heard of without really searching them! That's important. What's a proshipper? Well, my mate ilovekarensfeetinaplatonicway-101, who is totally not a real predator, told me it means pedo-shipping, therefore it is true and disgusting, so might tell "kys" to all of them.

After that, you start to post the content of you favourite character/ship. As I mentioned in point n.2, you can't make just any type of content.

Do you enjoy gore, extreme violence and angst? Meh, you are kinda borderline. Maybe don't post too much of it, or, even better, keep it private. There are children here. Yes, even in your adult-fandom and your adult-only-account and your barriers to filter your content away from children's eyes, some of them might still see it. It's just better if that content do not exists at all.

Do you want to make NSFW content of your favourite adult character/ship? No, big no no. That's nasty. Maybe some fanfic that ALUDE to what they might do in their "free time" or a suggestive art, but that's already too much! Sex is nasty and disgusting and kinks makes you a pervert and a pedo. Do you have a foot fetish? Pedo. Do you have a piss kink? Pedo. How? Because sex and sexuality is nasty and therefore predatory.

Also, making your characters explore their sexuality through sex/sexual behaviour is fetishizing LGBT+ people, stop that.

You MIGHT enjoy some NSFW content if you PROVE to be above 18 but BELOW 30. As we all know, teenagers are pure little souls who do not know about sex and shoul not engage in any dirty content; while after 30 you should already have kids and a job, so why are you in "fandoms" and enjoying your sexual life? You're already done, go do your housechores or something. Watch soapoperas.

The content you make or consume must be pure, which means, as said in point n.1, must not contain any Problematic themes or elements.

5. HOW TO CREATE OCs FOR ORIGINAL STORIES AND FANDOMS

This point talks about OOCs too, so you might want to just interpret a canon character differently instead of creating a whole new other character.

For the stories you create (original and fanfictions), just follow the previous points. Going further, however, there's much more to say.

Let's say you project yourself onto this very cool, good, progressive character, let's call them Cutie. You like Cutie a lot and want to make content of them. You make SFW fanarts, SFW fanficts and so on.

Then, something bad happends in your life, and you get attached to Cutie like it was you comfy teddy bear. You are still processing what happend or what is happening to you and don't feel anybody enough near to talk to them or to get help from them. You then use Cutie as a way to help you through what you've passed/passing.

Don't worry, on fandoms you will find plenty of people ready to help you! If you are coping the right way, of course.

You might want to avoid completely anything correlated to your expirience; making only cute, fluffy content with Cutie, and that's valid (/srs).

But some depravate might want to explore their experience to overcome it, making Cutie pass what they pass and that's just disgusting. You want to make other people suffer? Yeah, that's a fictional character, but we already established they are real people! What you do to them is what you would do to your children. Deplorable.

If you are type 1, then you're fine, sorry for your expirience. If you are type 2, at least feel sorry for what you are now and cope in private. Doing what you do is just making yourself traumatize again at best, making you even worse at worst. No, your therapist isn't right. No therapist will encourage such behaviour.

Just treat your characters like real people and everything will be fine.

6. WHAT TO DO IF THE MEDIA/CHARACTER/SHIP/FANCONTENT WE LIKED BECAME OR HAPPENDS TO BE PROBLEMATIC

You are at the last point of the guide! Good job, antishipper, you did great!

Even doing great tho doesn't preclude some accidents in the way.

You may like a content who happends to have been made by a horrible person, or you favourite character/ship might became toxic over time or, even worse, might always have been Problematic and you didn't know (example: they have TWO years gap).

In this case, don't worry, here's how you do in every situation:

The person behind [insert content/media here] is Problematic: don't engage with the media/content ever again and insult/attack whoever does it.

Favourite character became Problematic: if they can still be saved, just excuse they actions, or just ignore that and go on with your life (remember to attack whoever does the same with other characters tho).

Favourite ship became Problematic: stop shipping them or embrace the rightful hate you'll get.

Favourite ship is considered Problematic: shit some proship-rhetoric then act like that doesn't count for every ship and embrace the hate you'll get.

If you don't like the idea to follow precisive rules and conditions in fictional worlds that doesn't affect real life just for not getting hate, harassment or death threats by other people; living in costant fear of what you might enjoy next and care about what other people do or enjoy (in fictional world) all the time and not having the freedom to write/draw whatever you want... Just became a proshipper, idk, you failed this guide, congratulation.

#READ THE CW!#i think thats funny in some points lol #its just to laugh... or maybe cry #long post #extremely long post #proship #proshipper #antiship #antishippers #purity culture #ship discourse #fandom discourse #sort of... not really discourse

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katatonicimpression · 4 months

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A Walk Through My Year in Media

This isn't necessarily things that came out this year, but rather things that I watched/read this year that I liked or compulsively consumed regardless of whether or not I liked them.

2023 in Films

Most of this post is going to be positivity; a sampling platter of things I've enjoyed this year. But also:

Salty Film Hot Takes:

The French Connection is uncomfortable to watch. I don't care about the racist, antisemitic, misogynist cop. He's objectively bad at his job make him go away.

None of the Next Generation era trek movies are good.

Guardians 4 would have been a better movie if Pratt wasn't in it. And I mean that in a "the script would be better structured" way.

Se7en is a really fun film and I'm not mad to have rewatched it recently but... it's undermined by 1) the writers not realising that John Doe's opinions are bog standard right wing talk radio shit, 2) the fact that they kind of agree with him and 3) they clearly, hilariously, don't know what lawyers do.

The Mummy (2017) is awful. I guess that's not controversial but still.

Robin Hood (2018) is also awful. Like, amazingly so. And, slightly warmer take, so is Prince of Thieves you guys.

I will not be answering questions on any of the above.

Positive Film Hot takes:

I went on a bit of an 80s dark fantasy kick this year. Out of films that I hadn't seen before, The Dark Crystal and The Last Unicorn really stood out. Especially the Dark Crystal. I ended up rewatching the show as well. Just so good. Bring it back. Justice for the gelflings.

I also watched a lot of Terry Gilliam this year - not all of his back catalogue but most of it. Obviously Jabberwocky is almost entirely bad, no one needs to be told, but overall yeah you get why he's beloved. The common vibe from his films is "wow there's so much to love here but it doesn't quite work". Brazil is an obvious standout - it's a classic for a reason. But I want to highlight The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Behind the scenes disaster and orientalist opening sequence aside, it really is spectatular. The sets, the details. It's so well crafted and just makes you wish they made films like this all the time. Damn you, Terry.

The 1938 Robin Hood film is the best Robin Hood film. Yes, congratulations, you noticed another theme in the shit I've watched this year. But yes, it's great, it's fun and well paced. It holds up staggeringly well. I also watched The Court Jester (1955 - with Danny Kaye and Angela Lansbury) - Also surprisingly great.

Finally, also feeling medieval, I watched Excalibur (1981). This is more "swords and sorcery" than "dark fantasy" (think: Conan the Barbarian vibes), but it's kinda great (most of the genre is not, lbr). It captures the logic of those stories, the vibes of the mythology very well, the mix of pagan and early christian beliefs, and the weird metaphysics that results. It's great. Way better than that dumb clive owen one. My lord that was bad.

2023 in Telly

Live Action Drama:

Succession

It's good. I don't think anyone needs me to tell them that. Still haven't finished it but enjoying it in a peaceful, fandom-free way.

Robin Hood (2006)

This was a terrible show, with an even worse third and final series. Did I rewatch the whole thing anyway? Yes I did. Should I have? No. (I love the first two so much though. Lily Allen's dad as the sheriff of Nottingham as tony blair? sign me up.)

Doctor Who

Am I a basic bitch who only came back to who because RTD did? Yes. But at least I'm not quite as basic as the ones who were only back for Tennant. The first one was good, if a little on the nose, the second was great, the third was good up until they get onto the stupid avengers platform for the showdown, from which point me and everyone in the room just got mad at it. The christmas special was fun though, excited for Gatwa and the new series.

Adult Animation:

Castlevania: Nocturne

assajhdaskjhfksjdfhlsdjaghljdsghaj

Genuinely so great. It's very clear that they're setting up a whole multi season arc with this first season, and the incompleteness that comes with that is probably its biggest flaw. But overall, fucking fabulous. The animation, fights, character design. Just a gorgeous show. Maybe not to everyone's taste; it's fantasy, but not escapist - its very much rooted in the historical injustices of the setting and has some heavy themes as a result. But if you liked the first Castlevania show, then you'll probably love this.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

You might have noticed that there was a show out that featured "Rayman, but with drugs and cussing!" and, yes, this is that show. You might not have noticed that Rayman is only a small part of it, and it's actually about Dolph - a traumatised gay cyborg - and his no good, horrible, very bad breakup. Dolph is great.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Do you like Star Trek? Do you like silly cartoons and workplace sitcoms? Then do I have the show for you. Real highlight of the year for me tbh. While the show is built on poking fun at trek canon, and can feel a little overly reliant on nostalgia sometimes, the latest season really pushed for more meaningful character moments in between the laughs. I like it. It's good.

Mononoke

This was the most mixed of mixed bags. Japanese horror with a really striking and confronting art style. At its best, it's got this visceral atmosphere that sucks you in and is genuinely fantastic. At its worst, it's got a whole storyline about "abortion ghosts", and features some art that comes across as racial caricature. Between this, and a few other things that felt uncomfortable in an unintentional way, I don't think I'd really recommend this, but it did stick with me, I'll give them that.

YA Animation:

The Dragon Prince

If you're into the whole YA fantasy adventure thing, this is an obvious rec. It's biggest flaw is how slow it's been to release, but if you're binging it for the first time, that's not a problem. It's heartfelt, it's pretty, it's clearly a kids show but is well crafted and has appeal beyond its core audience.

Star Trek: Prodigy

S1 actually originally aired like two years ago, but I only watched it this year after finding out that it was cancelled. But it was rescued! S1 is now on netflix, and s2 will air there next year. Genuinely a really fun contribution to the whole trek shebang, fitting into the universe well without ever feeling reliant on nostalgia.

I didn't include the two other treks that aired this year because s3 of Picard sucked balls (still not over it) and Strange New Worlds has stopped appealing to me... but that's a whole thing for the other blog. But the animated series are great! Also Disco. I still like Discovery.

Skull Island

This was better than it had any right to be. One season of a surprisingly funny King Kong show, also on Netflix.

Reality:

Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season 5

DRUK is good again, hooray. The dark times are over... for now.

Married at First Sight UK

Do not watch this. It will consume your entire life. Your brain will melt away as you watch someone fake cheat on their fake husband with someone else's fake husband just days into their fake marriage.

Taskmaster

It's good. It's been good. It continues to be good.

2023 in Gaming

Lol no. Can you imagine?

I did play the sims a lot. I had my guy cheat on his husband who then died.

2023 in Books

Fun fact: I only finished one of the books I intended to read this year. That's embarrassing. Anyway, it was "From Here to Eternity" by Caitlin Doughty (yes, the Ask a Mortician lady). It's great.

2023 in Comic Books

Orlando

This has really been Steve Orlando's year for me. I was thinking about what series I would include on a highlight list, and his Scarlet Witch was the only obvious answer for me. Sara Pichelli's art in that series is gorgeous - I love the way she draws Wanda. The writing is solid, compelling, tells a complete story. If I were to recommend any one series from this year, it would be this.

His Astonishing Iceman was also up there for me, and I will also repeat that the Mutant First Strike one shot he wrote was genuinely great. Kudos, Steve.

Gillen

Kieron Gillen's Immortal X-Men is easily one of the best to come out of the Krakoa era, and this year was no exception. I didn't really care about the Sins of Sinister event, and I care even less about the Fall of X event, so it really means something that I'm still including this series here despite it being dominated by these events. The issue with Piotr's narration has been my favourite, I think. But overall, still strong. I really hope he gets to continue writing these characters (especially Exodus and Sinister) in the future.

Other Positivity

Ewing's Black Panther series is really solid, Avengers (2023) has been pretty good. Dark X-Men was probably my actual favourite of the Fall of X titles.

Negativity

Lol I already said I didn't like the x-events. I also hated cold war. Such a waste of an opportunity. Speaking of, a lot of my comics-based salt and frustration this year has been about Sam. The way that he gets written out of things, ignored, then he turns up and his written badly and goes straight back to being ignored again. Then Marvel turns to the camera and is like "why would audiences do this?".

Put the fucking effort in and more people would show up for him. It's not that hard.

There's my overall annoyance with Duggan, which is a freebie, but one highlight of that has to be the bizarre direction they went with Kamala. No one wanted this, no one needed it, and certainly nobody needed the weird gleeful "killing" of this character just to launch a pointless plot beat that feels both offensive (see: Emma lecturing Kamala about not understanding real oppression) and is inexplicably happening during a whole massive event that feels like it should be about other characters.

The end...?

I don't want to keep listing things that annoyed me this year, because it'll just get repetative. If you follow me (which, if you don't, why are you reading this?), then you'll see me complaining about random crap all the time anyway.

Have a good NYE everyone!

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kweza · 9 months

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okay i !! respectfully !!!! disagree with your take on barbie. the movie pushes fourth wave feminism anti-men message on its viewers full stop and i think wanting to turn off your brain when consuming media is understandable... but i think as christians we should be a little more discerning with what we watch. shouldnt we ask ''what is this trying to tell me or communicate with me?" the movie being marketed as harmless fun is all the more reason to watch with a critical eye. you say its a kids movie but with the sexual innuendos and themes of depression and existentialism i dont think its really suitable for little girls. even if the "men bad women good" agenda push is disguised under pink glitter and quirky jokes i think it still impacts your subconscious. im not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist or killjoy christian its just my personal opinion i think the criticisms are valid

i'm not arguing that there's no agenda, it's hollywood so of course there is. but i'm still going to see it for myself and make my own judgment and i respect people who don't want to watch it. i'm not vulnerable or naive enough to the point of falling into feminism because of one film.

#i don't think children should go see it though #asks

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symptoms-syndrome · 2 years

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Just rambling about what made me cry today. No TWs apply I don't think.

I don't remember how I got on the topic, but a lot of today's therapy was talking about media I enjoy and don't enjoy. I said I feel really bad about not enjoying children's media. I just can't. Disney stuff, kids cartoons, most ghibli, all this sort of stuff I see a lot of other trauma survivors gravitate to just makes me feel angry, irritated, upset. My brother playfully teased the other day that I don't like whimsy, and I guess that's kinda true. There are exceptions, but for the most part I just can't watch media that feels like it's for kids. I tried to watch Steven Universe at one point for a friend, but I got the same sort of reaction, it's like frustration.

And it sort of tied to this idea that like. I don't like feeling like a child. Childhood doesn't hold any positivity for me. "Simple joy" is how my therapist phrased it. I see a lot of other people find this sort of simple joy in children's media, or caring for ones inner child in a traditional sense. Blankets and stuffed animals and cartoons. And I just feel really upset that I can't have that. I wish I could have that simple joy feeling. Even writing about it now makes me tear up. And I know that most people who do enjoy that kind of stuff also had bad childhoods. So I don't know what makes me different. But it also makes me feel pretentious. Like I'm "too good" for children's media and plushies and stuff. Which I don't think I am. I have stuffed animals and everything. I just can't associate them with childhood. I know the whole idea of like. Creating a childhood you didn't have. But that seems so pointless to me. I have no desire or reason to return to childhood, unless I was able to actually, genuinely put aside my adult responsibilities, which I do not have the privilege to do.

And we talked a little about the media I DID enjoy as a child. Ofc there's sonic, but also Zelda. I read a lot of Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen type fairy tales, the original ones. I was really really into those. And a lot of the themes were like...bleakness. The societies and worlds of the stories I consumed and then imitated in my own writing were fueled by injustice and corruption. The heroes often stood out for being good people. A lot of fairy tale retellings and disney movies and stuff for kids have like. A good, happy society that's threatened by an outside source, but a lot of the media I found comfort in was the opposite, an unjust world with select few heroes who fought against it. A big formula for a lot of fairy tales I grew up reading was that there was a protagonist that everyone thought was stupid, and people who set seemingly impossible goals for him and then changed the goalposts whenever he managed to achieve them. Stories like the White Cat and Blockhead Hans. I can't do it the other way around. A world that seems safe and peaceful is one that gives me immense anxiety.

And I wish I wasn't like this. Even now, I can't play simple joy games like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing. I mean I can, they just don't really bring me that much joy. They don't hold my interest. They feel really pointless. The world in those games is already safe. Sure I guess you need to pay off loans or clean up your farm but there's not really consequences if you don't. Majora's Mask had your consequence hanging over your head 24/7, threatening to destroy the world once your timer was up. Twilight Princess had the townspeople you knew turn against you when you changed your form, and the looming danger of Twilight. And the gameplay always had purpose. You solved puzzles and fought things because you had to. Even the media I watched, when I was able to watch things, was dark. I never really watched cartoons or sesame street or anything like that. Not in my memory at least. My birth mom never really put anything on for me, my birth dad just watched whatever he wanted without paying much mind to whether it was appropriate for me, or said that I needed to be cultured and well rounded or whatever and that kids stuff would just rot my brain. Everything I watched or consumed had to have some sort of purpose to him.

IDK it's really. Complicated. I was both closely monitored and my media was closely curated, but I was also sort of neglected in that sense.

The TLDR is. I wish I could have what I see other people have. I wish I could regress into some childlike simple joy with some kids cartoons and blankets and plushies. But whenever I try I either end up feeling stupid or freak out about it. Or both. I don't want to be dark and gritty. I like fun. In fact, I feel like my favorite genres have kind of been ruined by turning too dark and gritty. I really like fun heist movies, for example. Stuff like Now You See Me. I like comedy. I obviously like Sonic, though a lot of Sonic is darker than people think. I don't want to come off like a pretentious dick who can't watch a ghibli movie because it's below them.

#BTW if youre going to suggest me smth and say its for 'kids and adults' dont #I dont care about themes in Ste/ven Univ/erse or whatever #its obviously intended for kids. Or obviously gives off that vibe

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papirouge · 11 months

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i am afraid asking this is going to come off as “what aboutism”/calling out but full disclosure this is not my intention! it’s genuine confusion on my part. i agree that we shouldn’t look for christian messaging in secular media when it’s clearly not intended to be there. however, don’t you watch and consume secular content since you reblog it? do you just enjoy it and ask God if it’s okay and to protect you from any bad intentions it might contain? because as proven with The Chosen and Narnia, even content made by Christians can be questionable (it’s a kinder word because I don’t want to go OT lol). i’m just confused because while i understand we as Christians shouldn’t not be part of the world, is the line we cross is only when we become obsessed with secular media that we forget about God? consuming media as a hobby is definitely doing that and i wish Christians would get that when they make fandom accounts and engage in problematic behavior like looking for Christian messaging to make themselves feel better, especially when said stuff is intended to turn us away from God by showcasing sin as something admirable. do you find that consuming secular media here and there as long as God doesn’t give you a sign that it’s not what He approves of and you are not blinded by the messaging is what is okay? i know He speaks to us differently, so i’m curious what do you think He has said to you about your interests?

hopefully this is all makes sense. God bless you and your blog!

"don't you watch and consume secular media since you watch it?”

Nope, because don't have TV, Netflix or any streaming service 👀

I very seldomly watch movie. I don't play video games but YouTube walkthrough are very handy way to see what a game is really about to make an educated take on it. But when I do, it's only a one timer, and I don't engage in fandoming and shit like that. For a matter of fact, I'm extremely interested in the Five Nights At Freddy lore because there are a bunch of plot elements & subliminals pointing towards the pro life fight and calling out (ritual) child sacrifice (Scott Cawthon the creator of the game denied it ofc he's not stupid - he got canceled for being a registered Republican so I can't imagine if publicly he admitted being pro life lol). That being said, I'm not stupid to the point of going to watch the movie adaptation (a horror movie). And more importantly, I'm not posting FNAF shit everyday saying the lore is aKtcHualLy about God....🙄 See the difference? There's a fine line between entertaining stuff for objective interest....and full on entertaining evil.

If anything, it's not Christians watching secular media making me 'irk', but rather them desperately trying to shoehorn Christian theme into it. Not every secular activity is evil (there's nothing wrong doing sports, playings or reading newspaper - for example I LOVE watching documentaries), but projecting God into stuff that's absolutely nothing to do with holiness is very twisted. I also don't understand the concept of shoving Christianism into medias openly promoting paganism and middle eastern religions such a Star Wars...

Mind you, they are the same one complaining about how everything is too woke but somehow they'll never stop watching the same shows and streaming on the same website pushing for that trash. That's the cognitive dissonance for me...

I definitely think that God can show us that things are definitely not done for us, but this warning can also come in the form of other Christians. I myself super glad I stumbled upon videos from Christians warning against horror movie, worldly music, braids, make up, head covering, etc. Jesus isn't going to appear to you to tell what to do or not to do - he may also use actual Christians (his body) to lead you to the right way.

God speaks to us differently but He will not contradict Himself. He won't say to every Christians to not entertain foreign gods, wear the veil, and not wear makeup....and then allow Western Christians to see movies glorifying paganism, wear make up and whatnot.

The snowflake complex of western Christians is really annoying.

#answered #Christian

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sassypotatoe1 · 6 months

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Today I learned Dracula by Bram Stoker? Spelling? Is antisemitic, as it compares the immigrating Jewish people at the time to bloodthirsty godless monsters and the blonde fair Christian European folk are "pure", and I can't confirm this because I didn't read any articles or journals on it yet, nor have I read the book, but I recently purchased it, not knowing it's antisemitic, so when I get around to reading it I might do a second read through and annotate all the antisemitism.

Based on this offhand post I saw, and no further empirical evidence that I have seen (as in there likely is evidence I just haven't gone looking for it yet) I'm here to tell you that comparing Jewish people to vampires is bad! I mean it's pretty obvious that it is, but just in case you have no critical thinking skills: no ethnicity, race or religion inherently makes someone a bloodthirsty monster, if you think so you have been brainwashed, and consume vampire fiction with a critical eye so you don't internalize biases based on hidden antisemitic or overtly racist tropes.

Classical fiction will be problematic. You have to acknowledge that when you read it so you don't internalize problematic themes or opinions. I personally would argue for reading it anyway. There's value in works of fiction that have been popular for centuries, there are things you can learn from it, even if what you learn is that white catholic Europeans fucking sucked.

Go forth, pursue knowledge, enjoy fiction and read critically. Just don't support living authors with problematic views they use the money their media makes to further problematic agendas. Public domain classic lit is fine. Harry potter is not.

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akookminsupporter · 2 years

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okay so i have recently watched this video "https://youtu.be/_ueqjLflefQ" which i highly recommend!! anyways, it reminded me of how some insecure jikookers which most are from the west deem that jikook would never come out and thus would blame south korea's homophobic stance. however, as you have said before, "gay (lgbtq+) people exist everywhere". i think this comes from a techno-orientalist stance where from a western perspective those in the east would /never/ have gay people bc /of course/ they're all robots and serve their government. (sarcasm). i'm southeast asian from an extremely christian-catholic country, most of my country's values derive from homophobia and misogyny. however, time and time again in my country lgbtq folks always make their presence known. sure, the media we consume come off as stereotypical, however, other lgbtq folks do their best to break off these stereotypes and put out newer media with even better representation. not to mention, how lgbtq+ folks would always create safe spaces for each other away from homophobes. (again why would drag bars even exist?) -----------separate topic lol about the core of the video mentioned above. elliot (the bestie talking in the vid) states how extremely different an audience's reception of a dark-themed album in comparison with something bright? light-themed. the example given there was fake love in comparison with the three english songs the boys have put out. i don't like ptd, musically i don't like listening to it but whenever it's mentioned i cry bc of how beautiful its message is, especially the sign-language incorporated in the dance. such a truly great song! (and i'm extremely jealous of you who like listening to it SDNASD). n e ways, i noticed how it received such a mixed reception, with others stating how bad it was because it's "not bts" even tho bts wouldn't even release a song they're never satisfied with. remember that bangtan chose to dance to this song in the un, bc they wanted to present a song positive song about allowing one's self happiness in a time of tragedy alongside their heartfelt speeches. so truly disheartening that a song not dark-themed would be deemed as something not art bc it's light. i remember when it was rumored that hozier was going to release an edm song and how his fans became enranged bc it strayed away from his usual "deep, dark, depressing art". i think we should learn to appreciate light-hearted songs and not already dismiss its message and lyricism because of its outward appearance. -----sorry just wanted to talk about the video above and scream into the void of your own askbox ansds. thank you for taking the time to read this!! (and i know the ptd discourse has been talked about a ton but i wanted to put some of my thoughts about it, now that the hostility towards the song has cooled down) thank you once again! i hope you have a wonderful day/afternoon/night rosie 💗✨

I am ashamed to admit that this ask was sent weeks ago and I never had time to post it. In my defence answering this ask meant watching a relatively long video that I knew was going to force me to concentrate and think aahhaah.

Anon I finally watched the video and I think I can answer your ask. I'll try to do it paragraph by paragraph and part by part.

First part:

Paragraph 1: Thanks for the video recommendation and yes, it is very good. I have watched several videos from that YouTuber and they are good.

Yes, I think some of you remember how at the beginning of this blog and among the many discussions we have had about LGTBI+ and what that means in countries like South Korea, I received asks with similar arguments. I remember they ranged from 'South Korea is homophobic in general ergo they will never come out of the closet' to 'In Korea being LGTBI+ is not something that society agrees with so I don't think they are a couple' and there were also those who said that Jimin for example, once said he wanted to be a dad so he couldn't have a relationship with another man.

As if going against who you really are is that easy.

Paragraph 2: Oh yes, the West has a singular and mostly ignorant? concept of countries in the East in general. For many in the west, eastern countries are all about machismo, religion, tradition, hierarchy and in the case of some countries, war. The same goes for African and Latin countries. Even, and in this case, I will say the USA as a synonym of the West, has a singular concept of what Europe is (I still find it incredible that many people in the USA refer to Africa, Europe and AMERICA as if they were countries and not continents with several countries inside!)

In the case of South Korea or in the case of Jimin and Jungkook these are two of the arguments you hear most often. Funny how some people see things in black and white when it is convenient.

Paragraph 3: I agree with you. Just because something is "not allowed" or frowned upon by society doesn't mean it doesn't happen. In countries like South Korea the exposure to globalisation, technology and simply that times are different, that many generations for some time now come with a different chip, with a different way of thinking and although they still live in a society that in general is still homophobic, the LGTBI+ community is gaining ground every day. Space. Their voice is being heard and people are seeing them.

It is impossible to deny that societies like South Korea still have a long way to go on many issues but we cannot deny that changes, although small, are happening.

Part two.

In my opinion, that's one of the biggest problems with this fandom in general.

I think we've all at some point read a fan say that the BTS of today is different or that the music of their first albums was so much better, maybe some of you have said something similar. And it's their right to say it but it's unfair.

Human beings in general are selfish beings, we generally want what makes us happy no matter at whose expense. In the case of artists, many fans want them to transform their feelings, situations etc., into songs or into the art they perform so that they can identify with them. This demand sometimes doesn't matter if the artist doesn't feel that way or it's simply not art that they want to show the world. Or they just don't care that for an artist to give them that kind of art would mean that the artist must be basically sad, as Elliot put it. That's where the selfish part comes in.

I understand that as fans we can make certain demands on the artist but I don't think those demands are to tell them what kind of art to release.

In the case of BTS they have said several times how their albums reflect what they were feeling at the time, what they were living at the time, what they wanted to criticize at the time. What they wanted to say at the time. And you can see that in all their albums.

As fans we have the right to dislike something but we have to be respectful of other people's work.

I remember when Butter was announced we had discussions about it here and I remember saying that everyone had a right to feel that way but they had no right to criticize BTS's commitment to their art and reason for releasing X song.

For an artist, their art is their means of expression. It is the way, sometimes, they show their fans how they feel, what their current existence in the world is like. If the song isn't sad, isn't dark, isn't deprecating but just the opposite, shouldn't we be happy?

You can definitely like dark songs, sad songs etc., in fact, those are the songs I like the most but that should never be at the expense of the creativity or mood of an artist no matter if they are your favourite or not.

I saw this sentence in one of the comments of the video and I want to finish my answer with it:

"If you need trauma from another to enjoy yourself, you might wanna look into that."

#anon #ask #bts #long ask #long answer

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animepopheart · 2 years

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Is watching anime or playing games with supernatural powers like ace attorney a sin? Should I confess it?

We live in a fallen world. Everything is touched by sin—look all around us and you'll see it. Non-believers would say similar ("No one is perfect" after all). That extends to media, which is for the most part made without any type of Christian worldview.

But what I argue in this piece is that Christian media (think those terrible Christian movies) are often less "godly" than other media, falling way below God's standards. I think a great anime, for instance, is way more expressive of who God is than the latest movie about prayer.

More vital than some specific theme or content in an anime series or game (although some certainly would be less defensible than others—a really horrible series that promotes the Christian God as evil for instance!) is how it impacts you. If magical components in a show encourage you to believe in the occult, void it. If fanservice causes one to stumble into sexual sin, don't watch ecchi. And if you're like me and get into a really dark frame of mind when watching zombie media, well, avoid that, too.

What's wonderful about anime is that it's a such vast medium and there's so much good stuff to consume out there. Leave the stuff that's not good for your walk behind, and let the other stuff help you in your transformation, whether by encouraging you in your actions (loving others, showing kindness), leading you to reflect on the wonderful things that God has created (humor, nature), or causing you to think deeper about your own walk, which is what we often express through our articles.

Let me know if you have any other questions! And I definitely encourage you to follow the @beneaththetangles Tumblr, where @thathilomgirl post our articles in addition to regular anime content. God bless!

#christianity #anime #christian anime

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thrill-seeker-if · 2 years

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Hi! I was wondering what some of your favourite character types are in if/media? What are some of your favourite tropes in terms of characters and plot? Also what would you like to see more of in if in terms of story, themes and representation?

Hi there!! These are some amazing questions, so i'm really excited to answer them!

My favorite character types: For romance, I'm a sucker for the cold and quiet but with a heart of gold, they just don't know how to express themselves. I also love the egotistic cocky bastard type, its very funny to me. For myself, the type of character I play is usually the same as who I am in real life. I present myself as very charismatic and manner of fact, but I also don't tolerate any bs and so I think it's a pretty balanced character. I'm a happy nerd type. I also like to not just set one talent to the absolute stats, I like to be good at several things, even if I'm not expert level at them. For friends, I honestly don't mind any type of character, as long as they are loyal and honest.

My favorite tropes: rivals to lovers (my ABSOLUTE NUMBER 1, bonus points if height difference), enemies to lovers, only one bed, fwb to lovers, opposites (light x dark, personality, etc).

In terms of storyline, like which kind of stories do I like to see? I think I love seeing stories that have the idea of a 'second chance'. You'll see later in Thrill Seeker there will be several themes of this idea of there being another opportunity, or maybe another path, that kind of thing. I also LOVE betrayal. And moral fights, between what is right and revenge.

What I would like to see more of in IF is disabled and chubby characters, especially love interests, but I don't want those parts of them sexualized or romanticized, do you know what I mean? A lot of the time with disabled characters, people will be quick to make sexual remarks about what they've gone through, and honestly I think they should be treated like everyone else. I honestly didn't know that you COULD write it, and that people would be willing to consume that kind of media, when I started writing Thrill Seeker. I would also like to see more religious ROs, but not just Christians and Jews (but I would like to see a lot more Jews of Color!! I honestly only see white ones). Sikhs, Muslims, and Buddhists are often taken out of the picture (and pretty much all asian religions, ngl). I'm working on a second WIP right now that has all those things in it, because now I know I actually CAN do it, haha

I hope you're having a wonderful day, Anon!!! Thank you so much for the wonderful ask!!

#THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK #I LOVE YOU #thrill seeker if #ask aalaa #anon

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strawberry-milktea · 7 years

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Hi, I'm a Christian and recently I've been struggling with the media I consume. I want to guard my heart and my eye-gate and ear-gate as God instructs. I also watch AoT and I've been struggling over whether or not this is something I should let into my life. Although I really enjoy it, with all of its violence and incorrect worldview, I definitely don't think it glorifies God. What do you think?

Hi!I’m personally okay with watching Attack on Titan. Seeing blood doesn’t bother me when I see it in a show/movie, especially when it’s animated - but not everyone is going to feel the same way about seeing blood and that’s totally fine! When I watch the show, I can discern Biblical themes in it, such as sacrificing oneself for others, the weak overcoming the odds, the destructive results of lying/deceiving, and the titans themselves remind me of the Nephilim described in the Old Testament. I’m not sure how much you know spoiler-wise and I don’t want to ruin parts of the series for you or anyone else, but the origin of the titans and the horrid results that come from humans trying to control that kind of power reminds me of how people who try to “play God” and attempt to become all-powerful always face destructive consequences.I’m not sure what you mean by incorrect worldview, so if you want to elaborate on that point, please feel free to do so!Entertainment one chooses to watch can be very different from one Christian to another. People may be convicted to avoid certain shows for different reasons and just because I’m okay with AoT does not mean you or every other Christian will be. So if He is prompting/convicting you to avoid the show, then most definitely listen to Him and don’t let my opinion interfere with that prompting. Always listen to Him. There are a number of shows I’ve been convicted to avoid that other Christians don’t have a problem with, so like I said, you see a lot of variety in opinion/conviction with this topic.I hope you found this helpful, please let me know if you want to discuss this further!

#God #asks #anon #entertainment

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m0th-punk · 3 years

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This is something that's been on my mind for a long time. Long ramble under the cut

TL;DR: Grazer-razor has some of the worst black and white mentality I've ever seen and I can tell he has never critically examined his biases a day in his life.

Because I'm a terrible little gremlin who can't leave well enough alone, I've been reading these posts

Ignoring the absolute stupidity of these statements (I'm pretty sure the lack of rainbow logos is because in many middle eastern countries, homosexuality is a crime and these companies just want to make money. But I'mnot going into the nuances and implications of rainbow capitalism today.), something stood out to me.

Does Grazer... genuinely think nobody has ever criticized the Muslim faith? That we all ignore the homophobia present within the religion just because they're a minority? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen even some of the most staunch leftists criticize things like their horrible treatment of homosexuality or the rampant sexism often sanctioned by radicals. Even other Muslims, especially women and lgbt+ Muslims, have been critical of these things.

It wouldn't shock me if Grazer believedthat anyone who supports Muslims believes they can do no wrong. After all, he thinks any criticism of Christianity is hatred, and dismisses any harmful things Christians do as not being "real" Christianity in a classic case of the "No True Scotsman" fallacy.

Note how he didn't even respond to the first asks comments, just accused them of being me (because obviously any time someone sees his blog it's all my fault /s)

So it seems like in Grazer's mind, there are only two options when it comes to religion: Uncritically praise and defend everything a religion does no matter how heinous it is and justify it because it's done in a God's name, or condemn anyone who practices it as hateful terrorists. Because he doesn't see people doing the former for Christians, he automatically assumes that they're doing the latter, and vice versa for Muslims.

Also note how he gets mad when muslim faith is "respected" (again, homosexuality is criminalized in many of these areas) but then demands a secular children's show cater to his religion for the sake of his precious childhood.

(Also, can we just talk about the absolute fucking cruelty in this answer? There are people out there that had their childhoods ruined by abuse, illness, losing loved ones, homelessness, poverty, bullying, near-death experiences, having their countries torn apart by war, a shitty foster care system, teen pregnancies, and so many other things that can absolutely destroy a life. Grazer's was ruined by… *checks notes* a cartoon character supporting gay rights and a drag queen singing a cutesy children's song. So yeah, if that's the worst part of his childhood he's pretty damn lucky, and the fact that he has the gall to still complain absolutely makes him selfish and ignorant. It's disrespectful, plain and simple, and if he were truly a good Christian he'd have some compassion.)

Okay, so Grazer has some weird "rules for me but not for thee" shit when it comes to religion. This isn't news. Where am I going with this?

Well, turns out he has this opinion about more than just religion. Know how I know this? His response to ESRB ratings and trigger warnings.

So it seems like Grazer sees the ESRB as some sort of moral compass, in a way. Something being rated E or E10 means it's pure and good and wholly unproblematic, while anything higher means it's evil and disgusting and he can't even look at it.

This is further confirmed by this post, where he flat-out states he sees the ESRB as deeming what things are and are not morally acceptable.

Now Grazer, I'm gonna explain this as best as I can, because it seems like you don't quite understand this. Read very carefully.

This is not the purpose of the ESRB rating system.

I repeat, this is NOT the purpose of the ESRB rating system.

The ESRB does not decide on what is and is not morally correct. It simply says "This game contains these topics, and as such is most suitable for people in this age group.". That's it. It's a guideline, not a rule.

Let's take cartoon violence, for instance. It's a very common warning the ESRB puts on games. Almost every game from Mario to Sonic to Crash Bandicoot and even Monster Tale has this warning. These games are all rated E for everyone. Does this mean those games are promoting violence to children, or claiming things like Bowser kidnapping Peach or Pinstripe trying to gun down Crash are perfectly okay and morally correct? Of course not. It's simply saying that these games contain mild, non-graphic violence, but most children should be able to handle seeing it.

On the other side of the coin, let's take a look at the warnings for nudity and sexual themes. Most games that contain these topics are rated T at the lowest and AO at the highest. This obviously isn't saying that nudity and sex are inherently bad or evil. All it's saying is that these topics are best handled by adults (And, regardless of morality, it is illegal to distribute sexual content to minors unless it's meant to be educational, like a health class textbook).

A few extra points:

. Games can be rated different things in different countries. Different countries have different regulations. Do you know why the blood in Danganronpa is pink? It's because in Japan, games with excessive amounts of blood and gore are given a Z rating (Japan's equivalent to an AO rating). They got around this by making the blood pink, securing the game its desired M rating. Meanwhile here in America, Mortal Kombat is allowed to show as many graphic, brutal deaths as it wants and still receive an M rating.

. ESRB ratings are not legally enforceable. I was so convinced as a 16 year old that the employees at gamestop would try to card me or something when I was picking up a copy of Bayonetta, and I was surprised when they simply rang me up in two seconds, no questions asked. It doesn't happen. For fuck's sake, one of the first games I ever played, at the tender age of four, was Soul Edge. A T rated game. The only instance ESRB ratings are legally enforced is in the case of AO ratings, as these games often contain incredibly graphic violenceor sexual content. If this outrage is coming from the idea that certain ratings will keep younger people from playing these games from a legal standpoint, don't worry. A nine year old is not gonna get arrested for playing Among Us. Just don't buy them GTA San Andreas or Leisure Suit Larry and everything will be fine.

. No two consumers are exactly alike. While one 13 year old may be perfectly fine with the jumpscares in Amnesia, another may be too scared to even go near the piano in Super Mario 64. That doesn't mean either of these games is rated incorrectly. The ESRB is there, once again, as a recommendation for the average consumer, and doesn't take individual experience into account. An individual experience is not their responsibility. It's also on parents (or you yourself!) To decide what the consumer can or can't handle.

"But Haley," I hear you say, "What if this piece of media DOES contain something morally bad?"

Well it's simple. You are allowed to like things AND still criticize the bad parts of it.

Hold on now, I'm not telling you that it's perfectly alright to enjoy things like Birth of a Nation or anything like that! Contrary to popular belief, there are some pieces of media that are truly too steeped in hatred and morally reprehensible things to be supported, even through a critical lense. The only merit things like that have is to serve as a warning: This is a terrible thing made for terrible reasons, and we should not allow it to happen again.

But outside of those rare circumstances, it's not so cut and dry.

Let's take a piece of media i actually enjoy, for instance, so you know I'm not a hypocrite: Persona 5.

Persona 5 is easily one of my favorite games in the Persona series. It does a lot of interesting stuff, the artstyle and soundtrack are (in my opinion) the best in the series, and overall it's very enjoyable for me.

But, like anything, it's not perfect. I'm incredibly uncomfortable with the hypocrisy the game has in regards to the sexualization of teenagers. While Kamoshida is rightfully condemned for his sexualization of teenage girls and Ann's persona awakening comes from rejecting this objectification, the game and story undermine it by not only putting Ann in a sexually revealing outfit, but also making light of Ryuji's sexual harassment by adult men (Allegedly Persona 5 Royal tries to fix this by making the men drag enthusiasts who think Ryuji would look good in drag and giving them more sympathetic personalities, but it's still really weird and hypocritical of the game to do this.). The teenage protagonist is also allowed the option to date adult women, including his teacher, and the game rarely if ever touches on the problems with this.

The game's homophobia also left a bad taste in my mouth. Aside from the aforementioned men who sexually harass Ryuji, the only other canon LGBT+ character is a bar owner who is either a drag queen or a trans woman (or both?). Sure, she's portrayed as being kind and protective of the protagonist, but there isn't much room to interact with her or learn more about her. On top of that, not only can the protagonist not romantically pursue his male friends (A feature that even the SECOND persona game had), he's not even allowed to give them gifts or platonically show affection towards them without the dialogue mocking him. The game that allows a teenage boy to date his teacher won't allow him to simply give his male friends a present.

And yet, despite those criticisms, I do still enjoy the game. I don't consider the game irredeemable garbage based on those poorly handled topics alone. And I also understand that for some people, those topics make them so uncomfortable that they don't want to play the game at all, and I completely respect that.

Criticizing the things you enjoy is not only normal, it's oftentimes healthy. Being able to step back and say "I like this thing, but I don't like the bad things it's done. This thing would be better if these issues were fixed." Sure, sometimes some people tend to complain a bit too much about the media they supposedly enjoy, but for the most part being able to acknowledge the bad with the good is a good skill to have.

Oh, wait, all of this means nothing because Grazer thinks that critically enjoying things is nothing more than an excuse to consume media he doesn't personally agree with. Okay then.

So if he can't even realize something as simple as "it's okay to criticize some parts of media that you otherwise enjoy", how can he be expected to look critically at a religion that he's been raised in and around all his life?

Soooo yeah, Grazer has some serious problems with black and white thinking that he refuses to acknowledge, further worsened by the fact that he's practically been brainwashed into believing that Christianity is the ultimate moral compass that everyone should follow. I understand that this tends to be an issue for neurodivergent people, but it's not an excuse for the actions he does that are related to these things (sending death threats to the ESRB, antagonizing others, etc.

#dirty napkin #long post

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