#btw this is not directed toward a particular fandom - because like half of the people who read this books think like that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

legends-live-in-memories · 3 years

Text

I Have Too Many Opinions. ep. 1

lmao. i got encouragement to post my opinions on fandom things and now i want to make a miniseries doing just that. so here i am. doing just that.

im putting it under the cut cuz this was 4 whole pages including the disclaimer. yes i put a disclaimer and i explain why.

Anyways, here is the first piece in what inevitably will become fandom info dump, this time on thomas astruc’s writing on miraculous ladybug. but only some of my opinions cuz we would be here all day otherwise.

So… a disclaimer before I begin…

I do not hate Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (yes i'm using their government name). I am quite a fan of the show actually despite its faults. I am also older than the intended audience but was obviously younger when the show first aired which is how my interest was piqued (the fact that its been 6 years and only 3 seasons says more about the show than me being a fan for that amount of time but also i never want to rush content creators cuz they're doing their best) and due to my age, there will be inherent bias in my approach of what i'm about to say as there is in EVERY opinion. The fact that it is an opinion should imply the presence of bias but most people tend to lack the critical thinking skills required to draw that conclusion ANYWAYS…

If I did hate the show I would not have this blog nor would I be even writing this because i tend to not give more than 2 seconds of thought to things i actively dislike (some of yall should give this a try) and i'm allowed to like things that are designed for an audience that i was originally a part of but grew out of. (I don't suddenly stop liking things because I'm older despite what many younger fans seem to believe about older audiences. I also don't need to be ‘allowed’ to do anything cuz i wasn't asking for permission anyways.)

This will not be character bashing, astruc bashing nor fandom bashing cuz, again, that would imply i hate any of those elements and if i did, i would not dedicate brainpower to them. Analyses and criticisms of media are fun and engaging and required if you wish to produce good enjoyable content. Now most of this should be already assumed and self-explanatory but people on the internet like to play morality roulette roll dice on purity culture and I rather have documentation that I am in fact not bullying fictional 14 year olds or a grown man. But alas, people get trigger happy whenever someone has less than 1000000% positive opinions on something they like and will throw out words they can't define (gaslight, baiting, toxic, problematic, gatekeep etc) in an attempt to defend their blind devotion,

which is not needed, if you like something you never have to defend it, even if i don't like it. If you respond to anything I post saying you disagree with me, I will not argue with you. I won't debate back and forth and try to convince you that the things you like are wrong. Unless you are being absolutely tone deaf to what i'm saying, you wont get a negative reaction from me. So don't try to fish for a fight. Please. I got metaphorical hands for days and I'm mean, you don't want me hurting your feelings on the internet. Do yourself the favour. Difference of opinion is how we get diversification in media and is inherently a good thing. Now that that's out of the way, please don't ever let me have to say that again. I beg.

Now onto the fun stuff

I didn't know what I wanted as a first topic so my trusty internet friend @moonlitceleste suggested astruc’s writing…

AND BOI do i got some opinions on ole tommy boi. Again I don't hate the dude. In fact, he has worked on a few shows that had defined my childhood, including but not limited to W.I.T.C.H. (all eps available on youtube for those interested, 2 seasons, general fun time all around).

So I don't think he’s scum of the earth but I do think his approach to writing mlb specifically has more misses than hits.

The first big miss is that he has no idea how to write 14 year old girls. At all. Almost every girl he has ever written feels like some terrible archetype built entirely for marketability and childish projection and pubescent self-insert (kind of). He has never been a 14 year old girl. I have. In fact when the show first aired, I WAS around the (assumed) age of the mlb characters. The behaviour he passes off as quirky or awkward or just the character’s genuine personality tend to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of teen girls found in the media and are never actually addressed as harmful. they just get swept under the rug. Marinette’s exuberant collage of teen heart throb model boi Adrien Agreste and her very painful almost fan worship she has of him (which flip flops like a paper sandal in the rain) being portrayed as a cute school girl crush uwu, Chloe being the y7 Regina George, Alya being the token best friend of colour with her ‘sassy’ personality (i want y'all to imagine me eyerolling so hard i bust a vessel in my eye), Kagami being the very damaging Perfect Asian Child stereotype. And before y'all get on your dusty soap box and defend going on about “BUT IT'S FOR CHILDREN”,,,, know this.

i don’t give a solid fuck.

Not one.

Children arent stupid. Children are always going to remember the richy bitchy blonde who bullies the art kid, and the big kid, and the shy kid, and the non white kids, and was only nice to her equally rich white friend who she probably had a crush on or was only ever civil to her equally white lapdog. They're going to remember the half asian girl who was never allowed to actually be asian or the only black girl who existed solely as a soundboard for enabling bad habits or chastising the main character for the same habits she enables in the first place (boi aint THAT a topic for later). Like do i really need to explain that alya chastising marinette for taking max’s spot in gamer just to play with adrien rings absolutely hollow when she actively encourages her to sabotage the contest she’s in just so Kagami doesn't win?? Like I don't have to explain that right?? Again kids arent stupid and its quite something that Mari gets chastised for proving herself the best video game player regardless of her intentions just cuz it comes at the expense of max’s feelings/ego but is actively encouraged to sabotage not only kagami but herself by extension cuz kagami is ‘competition.’ Adrien is not a trophy to be won. And no I don't expect 14 yrs old to be perfect and to always make good decisions but these decisions are never addressed as being bad decisions. they get swept under the rug cuz those decisions were necessary for the ‘plot’ but astruc can barely keep characterization consistent and his characters suffer for it and it's the same children you preach are watching it that suffer as well. Cuz guess what? I KNOW 14 yr olds aren't like that cuz i've been there done that (this is the last time i'm saying that i promise) so I know astruc is just metaphorically throwing darts to figure out who says and does what without consideration for pre established personalities to drive the stalemate plot along. The same kids you say are watching this don't know that that's not how preteens work and will absorb and internalize those dynamics like baking soda and vinegar. Cata-fucking-strophically.

And I haven't even gotten to the boys yet. Which honestly doesn't require much explanation anyways cuz they suffer the same fate as the girls. Tired archetypes with nothing to give them life. Nino falls into Adrien’s person of colour token best friend who dates the female lead’s person of colour token best friend so they can have cute double dates uwu. Except the plot goes nowhere and we have no inclination of romantic development beyond moments that only act to actively convince me to anti ship the lovesquare (i don't want to do that so i self indulge in fanon that actually cares about the characters and plot. may i interest you in True Sight on AO3?). Max is the residential nerd but it doesn't matter (cuz he and everyone are dumbed down for the sake of ‘plot’), kim is the sports jock (which interestingly subverts the asian comedic relief stereotype but only barely) and luka is cute older guy ™ that wears black nail polish and is in a band. The point of all this is to say there is no depth in the characters. It's especially blatantly obvious with the characters astruc doesn't like (chloe). Again, it being a show for kids is not an excuse to be absolved of putting effort into the characters you make.

This is one of the biggest misses astruc has. I haven't even gone into all the nuances of this particular miss. And i havent gone into how that works against him in the plot either. Mostly because the plot itself hasn't gone anywhere and partially because I wanted to go into the plot (or lack thereof) separately as its own miss.

AND BOI is it a miss.

SO home boy astruc wanted to reap the benefits of a serial show with ‘engaging’ plot without putting in any of the work to make a linear storyline and relying on the episodic format for, again, marketability. You can't have the best of both worlds, you are not Avatar: The Last Airbender. Which btw has a lot less episodes and a desired end goal that didn't involve top dollar. Legend of Korra did but that's not the point and it had its failings with that too. I challenge you, tell me how many episodes actually contribute towards a plot point or introduce new thematic elements to the show? Can you name them? I can and I'm going to include the plot points that moved the story in some direction if only temporarily. Yes only temporarily for some of these and i will explain later. (if you're in the server you already saw this list *wink*)

25/26. Origins- self explanatory, the beginning of the story,

24. Volpina- introduction of the grimoire and Master Fu (kind of) and no, Lila is not a plot point,

28. The Collector- proper introduction of Master Fu,

37. Sapotis- introduction of Rena Rouge,

41. Syren- introduction of new aquatic power ups,

44. Anansi- introduction of Carapace,

47. Frozer- introduction of new ice power ups,

48/49. Style Queen- introduction of Queen Bee,

51/52. Heroes’ Day- introduction of Mayura and mass akumatization,

66. Startrain- introduction of Pegasus,

67. Kwami Buster- Marinette wears multiple miraculouses,

68. Feast- backstory as to how the miraculouses were lost,

69. Ikari Gozen- introduction of Ryuko,

70. Timetagger- introduction of Bunnyx,

71. Party Crasher- introduction of Roi Singe and Viperion,

73. Chat Blanc- alternate timeline that essentially means nothing but got a reaction out of fans anyways (myself included)

77/78. Love Eater/Battle of Miraculous- Marinette becomes guardian and other heroes lose their miraculous,

New York Special- other heroes exist and there is an American miraculous box,

That's 21 episodes. 21 out of a heaping 78 plus 2 specials. Everything else was just your typical akuma of the day episode and everything that happened outside that had no lasting consequences on the plot thanks to the miraculous status quo. Was it entertaining to watch Lila stir the plot of the class dynamic? Hell yeah. Too bad it meant nothing by the end of the episode cuz we were struck with miraculous status quo. She literally doesn't appear again until Heroes Day. that is from episodes 25 all the way to 51, she means nothing and yet she is treated with the severity of a b-villain/rival thing. She means nothing by the end of Volpina if I'm being honest. She is only relevant for 20 mins of episode time she’s in then it's back to magic status quo that undoes any shift in dynamics and relationships. It's like Spongebob who can't get his driver’s license. The worst part is I actually like Lila and I wish the story treated her with the seriousness we as an audience are expected to treat her with. Despite being painfully inconsequential by the end of each of the 3?? 4?? episodes she’s in, it's entertaining to watch a character create drama just because.

Too bad it means nothing.

Astruc is constantly building up suspense to something ‘important’ only for it to not deliver and fans are constantly having the rug pulled out from under us. Oblivio teased us with a reveal only that gets undone cuz memory akuma. Chat Blanc teased us with romantic development but that gets undone cuz time travel bullshit. Feast introduced more miraculous lore and the history of the guardians but that means nothing by the next episode or ever (i'm not including any reference to the season 4 trailer cuz i've been around the block a few times and im familiar with this lil dancy dance). Heroes Day teased us with a possible future team of heroes but that gets undone in Battle of Miraculous cuz ????? why?? (here's why; astruc was having a jolly ole time letting us know how irredeemable Chloe is at the expense of shooting his own stagnant plot in the foot. Again, discussion for later.)

Too bad anything that slightly swerves off course from the akuma of the day gets undone or ignored. Too bad nothing has any lasting consequence. I mean, if anything did, the episodes would have had a consistent order and release schedule so im not scrambling to watch the leaked ep in Portuguese or something while the french dub is two episodes behind while the english version hasnt even been dubbed. I really wonder how he plans to conclude the show when he’s so afraid to step out of the corner he painted himself in.

Again, not going into nuances. If you want you can ask for more specifics (i doubt anyone would) but this is really just a slightly detailed general overview of my opinions on astruc’s writing.

I was going to include another miss in his approach to this show but imma save that for another time.

How’s that for a ‘first’ post?

#mlb #opinions my guy opinions #i dont wanna tag this as salt #but mlb criticisms and analyses #IHTMO #the hashtag for this series #thomas astruc #miraculous fandom #miraculous ladybug #miraculous: tales of ladybug and cat noir #yes the government name again #come get yall juice #miraculous

22 notes · View notes

btsandvmin · 5 years

Note

Do you know/like others ship ? And do you know that Tae hold hands with other member even Suga or they all hold hands with each other so it's not only a VMIN thing... I think you should know better before you say they are couple or something cause no one is dating anyone you just think that cause you focus on one that you like the most and that's it. Try to see how they all act with each other and you will see that they all the same but of course they don't have the same personality... ---

So V and Suga would not be the same as Jimin and Suga or JK and V would not be the same as well like JK and JM and so and so... I don't get what people always really think they are a couple in real life cause you see half or just what they want you to see... With every boyband is like that... just cause fans don't want them with girls and of course they act cute with each other (cause they can't with girls in public) and fans like that but that's how it works I guess. I'm sorry.

You know what… For some reason your ask actually offended me a little bit. Even though I essentially agree with most of the things you said. Maybe that’s why. I think it’s a good thing to have the mindset that we don’t know everything and that staring only at one ship can make you blind. It’s also a fact that there is so much we never get to see or know and that they have control over most things that we do get to see. So, yeah in short it’s not a bad thing you are trying to say.

But, if you have followed me or read my blog, you should know that I try really really hard to do exactly what you try to explain. I try to be mindful and remind people of my bias towards Vmin and I also again and again explain that I do not believe 100% that Vmin is a couple. In fact I think it’s most likely that no ship is real but that shippers over analyze and see what they want to see.

Also you imply that I ship them and WANT them to be gay and have a relationship with each other because I don’t want them with girls and that is honestly so incorrect your assumption makes me angry.

First, them being gay and being in a relationship would likely be very difficult for them if it was true. It’s not something I would wish on them just for “my own sake”. I think a lot of “believers" of various ships tend to forget this part when they get lost in trying to prove a ship being real. Also I would totally support them if they got girlfriends and I think the possessive behavior so many fans (especially in Korea) display is horrible and I would love for them to be able to do whatever they want without worrying about the fan’s reactions.

However I also don’t think anyone should assume that they are all straight and don’t think fans need to “protect” BTS from people speculating about their sexualities unless it directly harms the members. I always try to not have a definite view either way, straight or non-straight, even if I have personal theories based on various things I am always prepared to be proved wrong. But, it should be said that being viewed as straight until “proven otherwise” is a norm that needs to disappear.

Also, you mention other groups and of course they have similar problems too. I am well aware as I am both a multi in k-pop, j-pop and was part of the One Direction fandom (not as a Larry shipper btw). But again, my personal reasons behind shipping Vmin and for thinking there MIGHT be something between them is definitely not based in me WANTING them to be gay and in a relationship.

However, I still find a lot of interesting or weird things when looking at Vmin’s interactions, and I think it’s good to talk about that too, at the very least as a counter weight against other popular ships.

Anyways, answering your questions, yes I do like other ships. I answered that in an earlier ask (Other ships (kpopidols) that you like?), but in short I think all members or BTS have great dynamics and are worth shipping. Vmin is my own preference and my only OTP in BTS but I do not only enjoy Vmin interactions if that is what you are implying.

And about Vmin holding hands... Of course I don’t know every time other members hold hands and I admit that. It’s impossible for one person to take notice and remember everything when it comes to BTS and their interactions and I obviously pay more attention to Vmin automatically.

I also agree that all members act differently with each other since they have very different personalities. For example I am aware that Vmin are very touchy in general and thus it’s not strange for them to have a lot of skinship with each other as well.

I do not think that all members are equally close, even if they all obviously love each other. If so Vmin wouldn’t call each other soulmates or best friends. So I have to think about the things that make them similar but also the things that makes them different.

But while I do agree that all members do a lot of things with each other, I think context and amount still makes Vmin stand out when it comes to their hand holding.

For the hand holding in particular I have found that Vmin seem to do it a lot without any obvious reason. For example other members hold hands for games, when bowing at the end of concerts or when they basically are supposed to do it for one reason or another. Tae and Yoongi hold hands when they can’t agree etc. Of course they hold hands at other times as well, but it’s not that common from what I have seen. And of course Vmin hold hands at moments when they are supposed to as well, but I am not only looking at those times.

Vmin hold hands a lot, and often it seems they are doing it just because they want to or even need to. For comfort. It also often seems to be more for private reasons than for the audience, aka not fanservice. These things makes it different to me, even though admittedly I can’t know for sure if they might have other reasons to hold hands.

For example in the cooking episode Vmin held hands about 14 times… For various reasons and in various ways.

And I personally can’t see any other members doing that besides Vmin. They do it a lot, that’s why it’s a Vmin thing. Not because it’s exclusive to them only.

My general view is that Vmin holds hands much more often than other members, but of course I can easily miss it when other members do it and haven’t compared every single time it happens to know 100% that Vmin truly stands out. I could be wrong, because it’s just my own view and biased interpretation.

But that’s the thing, I always try to be transparent with my views and the flaws that come with being biased. So please, before you judge me, at least try to read my posts first. I am not sure why you sent this ask to me specifically, if maybe it was a particular post you found that you took offense to? And I am sorry if I come off as rude, but honestly so did you.

Thanks for reading this rant.

#vmin #vmin analysis #btsandvmin #btsandvmin answers #btsandvmin ask #vmin gif #vmin holding hands #my post

49 notes · View notes

him-e · 6 years

Text

That post about Celibate Jedi!Rey sparked Discourse, so let me clarify a couple things.

First: I have to acknowledge that the language used (in that post of mine, in some comments to that post, and in some parts of the reylo fandom in general when it comes to this particular topic) occasionally gets over the top or dismissive or unnecessarily aggressive towards non-romantic / non-sexual character arcs, which is an insidious phenomenon in itself that I, and we as a fandom, should be aware of. (I did not mean to mock any ace headcanons or asexuality in general with my “sexless” comment, but to describe a perception of the character that considers first-half-of-TFA Rey as her true and final form and all that came later as ooc or a distortion of the character... but the intent doesn’t justify the effect, and if it offended anyone, I sincerely apologize).

Second: as a person in the ace spectrum myself who is most likely going to have that celibate-jedi endgame irl, I’m thirsty for more ace rep---real, complicated ace rep, not asexuality and/or celibacy (two separate things btw, but they’re often wrongly conflated) as a cop out of canon romantic options that people don’t like or as a blank slate to project any “happy” ending that doesn’t involve romance. This is where my frustration at this discourse comes from---seeing ace or ace-adjacent arguments getting exploited for what is, essentially, ship wank. It’s funny that this sort of “wouldn’t it be great if (x) character’s agency were celebrated by a completely non-romantic endgame!” is almost invariably directed at female characters who a) do manifest romantic/sexual interest in canon and b) are considered “too good” for their (canon) problematic love interests. (see also: Brienne). (meanwhile, characters who can easily be read as ace without doing mental gymnastics---*cough cough* Luke---fly under the radar all the time, but that’s a separate issue)

In my fandom experience, this phenomenon is less about wanting an ace narrative to happen, and more about /not/ wanting a particular romantic narrative to happen so let’s go with ace instead because it’s suddenly a convenient option now.

But headcanons aside, my problem isn’t with Celibate!Rey. Which, as I already mentioned, can absolutely happen and even be a completely valid and satisfying (although bittersweet) conclusion to her arc in this trilogy (but opens up interesting scenarios for possible future tie-in material). My problem is with using Celibate!Rey as a perfectly unambiguous happy ending for her, that either completely ignores her longing for Ben at her side (to the point of crossing the galaxy to get him) or dismisses it as a temporary *weakness* already successfully resolved by the end of TLJ. It’s not about what would or would not be a great narrative in an abstract sense (of course non-romantic narratives and “alone but not alone” endgames are valid), it’s about what this specific character wants in this specific narrative. Once you introduce a (more or less explicit, and imo reylo was, but ymmv) romantic interest, leaving it unfulfilled or even tearing it to shreds in order to pursue a “better off alone” narrative doesn’t guarantee an all-around happy ending. It can still be a hopeful ending, mind you (”this didn’t work out, but I’ll still live and be happy”), but it will be tinged with bitterness and nostalgia. A Celibate Jedi endgame that doesn’t acknowledge that streak of melancholy wouldn’t be a honest narrative in my opinion.

(it also wouldn’t fit that well as a conclusion to a story that, guess what, started with a guy who hated his no-attachments vows so much that he turned into a monster).

#discourse #sw wank #ship wank #reylo for ts #sorta personal too

18 notes · View notes