#but that's not the point. you can't call a fucking media that had its main characters ally with a fucking nazi 'unproblematic' just because

[lightningfilledsaber]

saw someone unironically call jjba "unproblematic" and I'm fucking screaming laughing over it. one of the main characters allied with a literal nazi. say what the fuck you want about jojos I'm not gonna pretend like there's not a lot of good things about it but uh. that's a pretty significant problem in the fucking series. just sayin

#mud rambles #I don't know a lot of the details of jojo's just as a disclaimer but that's exactly why I've avoided it #that and. the vampire thing in relation to the again. Literal nazis. don't know the details but like hello. blood libel. #stroheim literally described as dying like 'a proud german soldier' AT FUCKING STALINGRAD #dog. we can talk about how warped the word problematic has become and how consuming 'problematic' material doesn't make you an awful person #but that's not the point. you can't call a fucking media that had its main characters ally with a fucking nazi 'unproblematic' just because #it has queer characters lmfao #again. i recognize there's a lot of good shit about jojo's and i dont think anyone is awful for watching it #i don't even think it's a bad series at all and i recognize it's got huge cultural impact #but again. you cannot unironically call it 'unproblematic' like fucking hello #if you wanna enlighten me about details feel free to but do not come at me like 'WELL AKTCHUALLY' i will not be getting into discourse over #a fucking anime

[sevenyeargap]

welcome to my very own analysis of edgeworths character and insane rambling on why i write him Like That. first of all i want to rec one of my favorite essay on political theory/legal philosophy of possibly all time aka the discourse on voluntary servitude by la boétie (which you can read here, its also a fantastic text to read in these coronation/anti-monarchy times)

anyway, if you don't want to read it (although it is quite a short and clear read), the main thesis of this essay is that basically a corrupt political system/dictatorship (here called a tyranny) doesn't stay in place because people are afraid of change and rebellion, but because people don't want anything to change, and they're satisfied with their condition, therefore complicit with the system (see also MLK's quote on white moderates "but the white moderate who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action'")

the tl;dr here is that a system stays in place because no one does anything to change it, and people prefer turning a blind eye to the situation but its not because they're afraid of a new system, it's because they're scared of what it will take to get this new system.

with that being said i think that edgeworths anger and resentment at the legal system post turnabout goodbyes wouldn't be directed at the system right away because he upheld the system. he loved it! (which btw is so so much worse than killing his father. he didn't kill his father but he's complicit in enforcing a terrible legal system!!!!!!!! awful)

and miles loved this system!! i think that even at the worst point of his bratworth era he still believed he was Bringing Fair And Real Justice and was doing The Right Thing. but what happens when you realize this system is deeply, incredibly flawed? when you've spent your whole life fighting for it? deliberately ignoring the ugly parts of it in favor of maintaining a perfect win record?

that's when you choose death!!!! (literally or figuratively depending on how you analyze it.)

i looooove edgeworth celebrating his not guilty verdict but he would start thinking about what he's done. which again is so much worse than simply killing his dad. like he literally says that in rfta

and thats so??? fucking sad!?!!! because how is he supposed to trust in himself now??? phoenix (no matter how good his intentions were) HAS entirely destroyed his whole worldview!!!!!!!! and thus the unnecessary feelings line but you can read more about my thoughts about that line here (tl;dr this line for me a) challenges his views (see supra) b) didn't phoenix "steal" his dream of becoming a defense attorney, in a way? phoenix had the chance to move on and change things for the better but miles... didn't.

ANYWAY edgeworth gets angry at individuals, after turnabout goodbyes, because he hasn't realized how deep the corruption runs yet - he's angry at phoenix, at misty, at everyone who either failed to protect him (misty, mvk, the mvk household, maybe even his own dad for """leaving him behind"""???) OR tried to protect him from this system (phoenix, maya - because how dare they challenge his views on this system he has oh so loved?) also you can read this post here because it really summarizes my feelings about his aa1 arc

every day there is a new media where two people are fighting together for a system. they both come to realise the system is flawed, and while one of them tries to take the system down, the other decides it is still necessary and must be protected at all costs. why is it always the first one who becomes the villain? who is deeply sympathetic but goes too far in their quest for justice? i think for once it should be the second one who is trying so hard to protect the system they believe in that they slowly slip into tyranny

i dont really have a conclusion here but i will say that i think The Note and edgeworths year off were necessary (as tragic as it was) for both edgeworth & phoenix because theyre insane they need some time to think about how much they don't know nor understand each other anymore at this point in time. anyway. thanks for reading?!! i hope this made sense. mwah!

#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #ace attorney meta #i wrote a good chunk of this the evening after i had a final sdjkdsf so hopefully this will make a bit of sense also its so LONG IM SORRY #🦔 : chatters #tw suicide mention

[mamanbou]

I've gotta be honest. I have seen the arguments against calling Nandermo "queerbaiting", and I agree with them, but just saying "it's not queerbaiting if they're queer as individuals" willfully ignores that the nandermo shipbait is very revealing of some sinister shit wrt the show's queer rep in general.

It would be one thing if the ship simply didn't happen, but isn't it strange that it's never even entertained textual? They've both dated men, Laszlo and Nandor fuck all the time, queerness isn't a sensitive topic amongst the main cast, so why is the hypothetical of Nandor and Guillermo dating/fucking avoided like the plague (except in the cloak of duplication, which is then never addressed again), despite their notable closeness? Why do they always specify "friend" during dramatic monologues about their relationship in the actual show, while the actors and PR team play mouth service to the ship elsewhere? Why can't we get a single canon explanation as to why these two are off limits to each other in the sexually depraved vampire show?

Did Paul Simms think he was being woke when he called them non-sexual soulmates, the same way every other showrunner does to aggrandize their refusal to portray gay relationships in explicit terms?

Think about how multiple official sources have called Nandermo a "will they-won't they", despite all hints of romantic feelings from either party being 100% subtextual to-date, not even a "you like him, don't you?" from a side character (duplication cloak doesn't count, that was guillermo talking about himself). That shit is unheard of in straight sitcom will they-won't theys. Think about how the Guide being in love with Guillermo was confirmed quite clearly, and how it's a bit that she falls for everyone, but the Guide then spent 2 seasons obsessed with Nadja and it was NEVER stated that it was a romantic thing, despite the show playing into the homoeroticism.

At times, it feels to me like gay relationships are good for sex-based punchlines in wwdits, but the showrunners struggle to consider them in nonsexual contexts. A majority queer cast is great for the show's reputation, great for variety in jokes in a raunchy FX comedy, but the prospect of two male main characters actually consummating their homoerotic dynamic is a carrot on a stick that they never intend to feed us.

I wouldn't have this complaint if official sources didn't wink and nod about nandermo so often. I wouldn't have this complaint if Paul Simms wasn't so wishy-washy on the subject in every interview he'd ever done. I wouldn't have this complaint if nandermo even had ONE scene on the level of laszlo trying to kiss sean, something explaining that Guillermo has tried to make a move on Nandor or vice versa, and here's why it didn't work. But at this point nandermo is genuinely a yuri of absence situation (the absence of the thing is more poignant than its hypothetical presence) and I feel fucking crazy dealing with this in a piece of media where nobody is straight.

#tbis is an insane post but to be fair i am insane #wwdits #wwdits spoilers #nandermo

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hey! I recently read your post on, ahem, 'Female Characters in BSD And Their Portrayals' (to paraphrase)

I thought it was really interesting actually!! Thank you for writing that!

Another point is how Yosano's quirk had gotten sexualized in the anime, whilst in the manga, it's much more eery? That was weird.

I had a question: How Is Dazai Sexist?

Not in a 'pRoVE iT to ME!!' manner, but a, 'i can genuinely see that and I'm curious about your perspective' manner!

I read No Longer Human about, two months ago? And Dazai Osamu, the author, had a niche perspective on women, I suppose. He humanized them, but also dismissed them, but also heavily related to them? Of course, with historical context it's probably the average view of the time.

But I'm genuinely curious!!

My “Female Characters in BSD And Their Portrayals”

Thank you for giving the post a read! I was low-key nervous when I posted it, I don't really like being the killjoy, so I found people's positive responses to it very reassuring (╥﹏╥)

About Yosano's ability being sexualized in the anime. I know right,,,, it's part of the bigger picture issue, it's nearly impossible to find anime without fanservice. The difference in female portrayal between the bsd manga and anime is actually something very interesting to ponder on, because they're actually quite different: the manga is sexist, but it never visually sexualizes its female character (the Gaiden manga being an exception). The anime is more low-key in the blatant sexism, but there's female fanservice that the manga lacks that... Idk feels almost a given at this point, like animation studios just CAN'T not do it (I don't even know what to say? Something something *through gritted tits* 57th prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe). On a different note, this ask came as some sort of epiphany for me because it made me realize that the reason there's so many people missing on the sexism in bsd which leaves me so often baffled is because people probably reason fanservice = sexism → lack of fanservice = lack of sexism, but it really doesn't have to work that way? Of course fanservice is for the vast majority sexist because more often than not it comes with the objectification of female body, but I wouldn't say there's a direct correlation between the two things: I hope I was exhaustive enough on why bsd is sexist although it never sexualizes its female characters, and I think same can be said for the other way round? Kill la Kill is my favorite anime of them all and the most female empowering anime (and overall media??? Idk I love klk with everything I've got) I've ever seen, but it'd definitely be a wide stretch to say it lacks fanservice.

On why I said Dazai is sexist: for one, I trust Chuuya's word

This is a joke, but funny enough, that's exactly the panel I was thinking about when writing the post– I was negatively surprised by how a main character could reportedly be called womanizer, and that is just kind of there, like being sexist was just another weird little characteristic of bandage man, nothing strange there. You see the problem here?

I remember when I watched the bsd anime for the first time, I used to think Dazai was sexist a lot– but in retrospect, I don't have that much a strong opinion on the matter anymore. When I watched it, it would bother me how Dazai would objectify women a lot, using them as mindless pawns even more of how he already does with every character he encounters; it would bother me how he's so fixated on committing a double suicide with a beautiful woman, like... You do realize that is wishing for another person, and that person needing to be a woman specifically, to die, right? Not to mention the “beautiful” part only adds to the objectification if you ask me. But all taken into account, I don't feel for it as strongly as I used to– don't get me wrong, it's still disturbing, but I don't think it's an issue of Dazai specifically as much of the work in its entirety having a fucked up view of women. It hit me today rewatching the bit at the end of episode 5, Dazai explaining Ranpo's deductions to Atsushi: “she wasn't dressed for work, she had no make-up on”. Now, if you say anything like this to me irl, I WILL punch you in the face. But can you sense how it doesn't really come from Dazai in particular and is more expression of an overall worldview of women that necessary transpires through the characters, an underlying pattern I couldn't really perceive on my first time watching the anime? So, I feel like it's less of a case of “Dazai being sexist” than it is of “Dazai is a character with a lot of lines in a fundamentally sexist franchise”. The point isn't about Dazai's being sexist, because ALL the characters are in a way or the other, but about the author writing them as such; that's what I meant by saying “Dazai is openly sexist and it’s just kind of there never to be addressed”– he's reportedly sexist IN CANON, the thing is it's never portrayed as something strange or worth to be addressed.

#I'm not familiar with author Dazai's works so I'll trust your word on that! #osamu dazai #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd analysis #people asks me stuff #This ask kinda flatters me‚ can you believe someone was interested enough in what I said they'd ask me for clarification/elaboration ( ꈍᴗꈍ) #This was very sweet ahah thank you Op #Besides the nurse / Dazai scene from chapter 50. eh.

[happyfeetfuryroad]

You know what's weird?

The last minutes of Good Omens 2 episode 6 should have made me feel sad and frustrated, like the ending of season 1 of OFMD did a year ago. And yet, something is different this time.

Now, I would love to be able to tell that I remember the euphoria of being surprised to see Edward and Stede's kiss, but unfortunately I started watching the show after having all the important plot points spoiled, so while I was still absolutely delighted by it, I wasn't caught off guard like many other people were.

With Good Omens 2, I was only mildly spoiled, and I didn't know any details on what was going to happen in the final episode. The possibility of a kiss was kinda hanging out in the back of my mind, but I wasn't convinced that it would actually happen - and I knew that the ending was going to be angsty, so I was keeping my expectations relatively low.

But. Goddamn. When it actually happened, it was fucking electrifying.

It's weird because, I was never that deep into the ineffable husbands fandom to begin with. I'd read the book and watched season 1 and enjoyed them both, and it was pretty obvious to me that Aziraphale and Crowley were queer (Neil Gaiman never denied this, so it was an unusually drama-free situation too). I never really thought their relationship would escalate any further, because they were already self-evidently together and I didn't think they needed to "prove" it (and I still stand by this btw, I think in a healthy media ecosystem there is a place for subtle queerness that doesn't require any grand romantic gestures to prove its existence). So I kinda left it at that.

Then I started watching season 2, and I started feeling a specific kind of déjà vu. They (and by "they" I mean mostly Crowley) were doing the whole "side character calls them a couple and they adamantly deny it" act that was a signature of 2010s era queerbaiting (Sherlock being a particularly egregious example). However, I knew for a fact that Neil Gaiman wasn't queerbaiting - again, he had never denied the fact that Good Omens is, among other things, a love story, and there hadn't been a single no homo joke that you would expect from a queerbaiting writer - so I just kind of waved it off as a throwaway joke and forgot about it.

And then episode 6 came about. And Crowley began to tear up as he tried to let Aziraphale know how he felt about him.

Oh.

And then he and Aziraphale started arguing with each other about their future, and the tension started to build.

Oh.

And then Crowley said "you idiot. We could have been us."

OH-

And then the music swelled into an epic dramatic choir as Crowley angrily stepped closWAY TOO CLOSE AND-

And I... can't describe the rush of pure dopamine and adrenaline that I felt watching this scene unfold. It was unreal. My heart was pounding out of my goddamn chest. It felt fake. It had to be fake. This is the kind of shit that only ever happens in fanfiction. It was too good to be true.

Then the rest of the finale happened and it was awful but that's besides the point

And even though in a way it was the same feeling of "holy shit, they actually made the main characters kiss" I had with Edward and Stede, this was also very different.

See, Edward and Stede kissed in the same season they got introduced in, and there was no original material that the show was based on (I'm not counting the real life pirates because OFMD is a very loose interpretation anyway). You couldn't really know what you were getting into, so the protagonists completely skipped the queercoded part and jumped straight into "literal protagonists of a romcom" territory.

Aziraphale and Crowley, on the other hand, were already existing characters, in a book and a TV show where their relationship was already established as "queer enough for anyone who pays attention, but subtle enough for a casual viewer to be able to ignore it". Their kiss in season 2 wasn't there to confirm that they love each other, but to make it clear that there is passion in their love. There's that raw, visceral attraction that queer people are so often discouraged from displaying in public because it's seen as uniquely dirty or inappropriate (or predatory, when it's two people perceived as male).

And it's happening late enough into the story that a lot viewers who may be like "I'm fine with gays so long as it's not in my face" will be forced to digest it - but also early enough into the story that we have an opportunity to see how Crowley and Aziraphale's love story unfolds now that the chips are truly down. Which is why, personally, I was happy to see season two end on a cliffhanger.

So yeah. I think I'll go watch that scene for the twentieth time today.

#good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #go2 spoilers #long post #i just have a lot of feelings i couldn't fit them all in this ramble #ineffable husbands

[nerves-nebula]

I sometimes feel like ppl read too much into 2012 a bit, not in a bad way or anything that exactly what fandom does. We pick apart our fav media, looking for all the subtle hints and little interactions to feed our fave headcanons and canons.

But it's back to that Steven universe killing the diamonds conversation, this is a show predominantly written for 11 year Olds 😭 and not only that it's a show that put cool fight scenes first and treated emotions and relationship dynamics as an after thought. It was also literally made in a period of time when shows were kind of mean. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it but it just means does nuances and stuff won't really be the main focus point of the show(which I also think it's an added bonus because it gives fans so many different ways to add that nuance themselves) and at the end of the day we all will leave with different interpretations since the show wasn't so firm in expressing the overall dynamics and pushed everyone aside to make Leo the main focus alot of the time.

Like for me, I couldn't stand how splinter treated Raph. I related most to Raph as a kid and found how Raph was treated by splinter infuriatingly similar to how my mother treated me and for Leo I personally thought he had it best compared to his brothers because he had the closest relationship to Splinter but when I asked my little sister about it she said that she thinks he has it worse because splinter basically used him as his personal therapist and used him to deal with his problems. I never thought of it like that and honestly thought the worst part of their relationship was that Splinter left Leo to be the leader of the group in and outside of missions but I learnt a new perspective and I didn't immediately refute it because I didn't see it at first.

And I really think this is one of the biggest problems with the 2012 discussion. We always try to put everything into black and white, neat little boxes with best little labels. But there is always a gray area and sometimes it might not even be grey it can be fucking pink. We need to respect eachothers interpretations of the relationships and try to not be too quick to bash eachothers interpretations to a pulp.

And sometimes we are too blinded by rises awesomeness that we don't find the need to pay attention to 2012's awesomeness too and only look at the negatives.

And in a tangent too many ppl refuse to give 2012 a chance😭😭 ppl are too ready to call it out but haven't watched it in years. They use 2012 to make rise brothers look better.

I'll be looking for a crossover fic between the two iterations and the only thing I'll find is ppl writing 2012 April and Raph(and sometimes Donnie) like literal demon spawns and it honestly makes me kind of sad like we could have used that opportunity to add like nuances to their characters but instead we write them so unnecessarily mean😭😭😭 like babes stoppppppppp I just want to see the brothers be besties not rise brothers adopt Mikey because 12 brothers are evil monsters that don't care about their baby brother.

Sorry if this is hard to follow, I'm really bad with writing stuff that aren't in bullet points lol. And even tho English is the only language I know doesn't mean I know how to do it well😭😭😭

But it's back to that Steven universe killing the diamonds conversation

LITERALLY DONT BRING UP STEVEN UNIVERSE I WILL GO INSANE AUHG I CANT STAND BAD STEVEN UNIVERSE OPINIONS THEY MAKE ME GO normal MODE.

It was also literally made in a period of time when shows were kind of mean.

this is really fuckin important to note actually. its very hard to watch a lot of shows from that era, like the cruelty is the point and the joke and it HURTS to see sometimes hah. like i'll see all the brothers be absolute pieces of shit to Casey and just go ??? am i supposed to laugh at this??? it's got Sitcom disease where everyone is awful on occasion for Bits and Gags or something haha.

i vibe with a lot of what you've said here. its making me think that once i watch 2012 i could try my hand at a crossover. idk tho, we'll see.

maybe they could all take turns adopting each other (translation: they should get along and coach each other through their emotional issues)

I liked the anecdote about your sisters opinion, i think thats a good way of lookin at shit.

#nnstuff #ask #tmnt 2012

[streets-in-paradise]

I always got called racist for enjoying Prince of Persia 😭

Really? I think that saying that is a huge stretch. Like I said before, I never played the videogame but i can speak about this from a movie history perspective.

In my experience, arround 85% of old historical dramas, epical, sword and sandals or fantasy-adventure settled in the past genres are full with real ( sometimes blatant) cases of whitewashing and/ or historical innacuracy. To escape it completely, you would have to avoid like... the entire genre. I acknowledge the flaws and many problematic choices that the majority of, let's say, 60's to 2010's movies in the genre have, but i can still enjoy those while being critical.

Let's put another example, away from Prince of Persia and the whitewashing issue: Mel Gibson starring Braveheart.

I love that movie, i have rewatched it tons of times and i cry like a fool everytime i watch it. Is Gibson problematic as fuck? Hell yeah, dude is an asshole and many people know that. Should the main actor have been scottish? Sure, i agree on that. Is the movie full of awfull stereotypes, like that prima nocte bullshit added just for shock value? Yes, innacurate and harmfull because it includes sexual assault on women just for the " It was tradition, old times were like that."

But here is the thing

I don't see media consumption as a purity issue or a statement of my personal beliefs. I am aware Braveheart is problematic, but that doesn't mean that rewatching it makes me a xenophobic hater of scottish people. I wouldn't go to a real scottish person acting like all the stereotypes about their history in Braveheart are true because, and here is the main point:

I know it's not accurate and i enjoy it as fiction

Enjoying Prince of Persia doesn't make you a racist because, again, movies can't make you racist. That is like the " videogames make you violent" 90's controversy all over again, only with an updated target.

If you have the critical thinking skills to acknowledge that what you are watching is not accurate, then nobody should bother you about it. I can't speak much about if the casting choices were good or bad because i never played the videgame, but i like jake Gyllenhaal's Dastan in the movie's perspective.

That is how allmost all historical fantasy-adventure heroes looked at the time, Prince of Persia didn't do different from a thousand other movies back them

Should we cancel an entire film genre then? All the people who ever enjoyed a fantasy adventure epic shall be punished? Because no movie from back then is safe, not even popular ones that many people love.

In fact, Disney did WAY WORSE with an animated film settled in middle eastern tradition: Alladin. Have you ever listened the full version of " Arabian Nights"? The version of the film that Disney Channel transmited when i was a kid had a horrible verse about arabs being barbaric. When my little sister got the dvd for Christmas, I discovered they fortunately changed the song to eliminate that part.

The point with this is that, Hollywood ( and Disney, of course) is racist as fuck, but pointing at each others fingers with a " my media consumption is purer than yours" approach is not the solution. Watching one or other thing doesn't make you a better or worse human being, you can't commodify ethics and morals.

Movies are products, like anything in this system. If a movie or its advertisement ( direct or indirect, coming from the online fanbases) promises to make you a better person, that's just marketing. Logically, haters react under the same logic but for negative marketing, promising the movie is going to make you a worse person.

It's marketing operating for the anti-marketing people in the age of emotional capitalism. Movies can't give or take virtue from you, that's something you can't get in the market.

Keep enoying Prince of Persia and don't feel guilty about it. I don't know you, anon, but I bet you are a great person who just happens to like a movie and that is perfectly fine.

#asks #messages #prince of persia #braveheart #historical epics #fantasy #whitewashing and historical innacuracies #i personally dont believe in cancelling #i believe on keeping your critical eye trained

[herehaveafandom]

For the choosing violence ask game, literally as many as you can for Star Wars

oh jesus ok

I've seen people talk about Satine who believe she was weak, that she betrayed what it means to be a Mandalorian, that she didn't deserve Obi-Wan, etc. While I don't idealistically with her views entirely, I sympathize with her point of view and I don't think she was at all weak. She was trying to do what she felt was best for her people based on her knowledge of history and the current political climate. Do what you have to, queen. Also, MACE WINDU. I'm sorry that the (stressed out, under immense pressure) leader of a massive order wasn't sweet as sunshine to the rule breaking Jedi master about the rule breaking kid he picked up who will grow up to be one of the world's most prolific war criminals and murders. I admit that I think the Jedi order had its faults but I am a Mace Windu stan 4ever

hey. hey. Look me in the eyes and tell me you think Rex bottoms. That man is a fucking Dom top who gets shit DONE. He has half of Torrent on their knees for him. The way he put his hand on Echo's chest? Shoots an eel in the eye and goes fucking "Call me sir?" He had them swooning I know it. His dick game is pristine. Side note but I feel like Bail Organa gets pegged on occasion (lovingly of course he and Breha are couple goals.

Uhhh. Hm. People who are generally mad abt Mando giving up the darksaber- I completely agree that it was right choice. For two seasons we all went "lol it's so funny how mando hates being the main character! He just wants to do side quests and raise his kid! Lol it's funny how he keeps being the most important person he hates it!" and then when Mando followed through on that character by giving up the darksaber people who got pissed "BUT HES THE MAIN CHARACTER". like tell me you don't understand the character without telling me that. Also people who Hate star wars but Keep Watching It and then come onto fandom side and insult it in every way - there's a difference between being critical of a thing (I am!) and just bringing the vibe down for everyone. Yes star wars and the fandom by extension have a lot of issues. Id also have to say the racist/homophobic/generally hateful takes. Also Reylos.

I've never actually blocked anyone!

I'm not on discord server lol

YOU KNOW. Like ok if you want to ship reylo FINE but don't come to me talking about how I'm misogynistic for not shipping it. I actually have taste thanks. I'm not the world's biggest fan of master/padawan ships - qui/obi or obikin - but at least those people are generally polite and I can just scroll past if I chose.

I don't know that this has happened? If anything hate for a character makes me more inclined to like them.

Gooooood where to begin. I am the only person who knows Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker. When people reduce Luke down to "dumb, naive, sunshine boy" it makes me mad. Yes, that is a big part of his character, and may even be most of his character in ANH, but you don't get Luke unless you understand his more mature and dangerous side. Yes, Luke is generally the optimist to Leia's realism, but I believe that is a choice Luke makes. Remember, Luke grew up on Tatooine, so he can't be entirely innocent. Luke knew how to take care of business with Jabba. If you reduce him down to dumb sunshine I feel you take away from the character.

The sequels. The sequels. The sequels. They massacred and disrespected so many characters. God. They were so wrong. Beyond that, the split canon of Legends vs Disney. I actually really like so much of the old Legends canon I'm mad it's not real anymore.

The infighting, and as said above, people who just seem to hate Star Wars harshing the vibes for the rest of us. I'm not talking about things like acknowledging the bias and bigotry in both canon and fandom, because that's important, but people who just seem to hate every piece of media put out regardless of content. why are you here. In actual fanon proper, I'm going to be honest, mischaracterization. I understand everyone interprets things differently but sometimes I'm like. Did we watch the same thing here bestie bc he would not fucking say that.

fun fact the only thing i have filtered on tumblr is overwatch. I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT I DON'T CARE

Oh easy Saw Gerrera. I understand why people don't like him - he's hard to watch - but I think he's an amazing example of the kind of leftist infighting we see in our politicial climate today. He's not my favorite character or anything, but I do look forward to it when he's on my screen.

Kylie Ron. Enough said.

Ok this is a weird one but in all the prequel/clone wars fics I read, why does everyone assume Jedi, especially Obi-Wan, have an aversion to seeing a medic?? Did I miss something? Like if it was established in canon at some point let me know bc why?? The medics are always chasing down the Jedi and threatening them until they come in to get healed...like why wouldn't they go anyway? What's up man?

well fanart is varied. I guess a lot of characters overshadowing one another.

I mean this in the nicest way possible: I don't really understand why people like Obikin. I completely agree that these men are Not Normal about each other, and they have a New Type of Relationship but...Obi-Wan has been raising Anakin since he was nine. It's not even the age gap, just...I don't get it. No shade or shame but like. Not for me. They can be strange about each other in a different way for me.

FUCK ME I LOVE A FIXIT. LOVE A TIME TRAVEL BETWEEN OT AND PT. LETS THROW CHARACTERS INTO SITUATIONS I LOVE IT. I've particularly been thinking abt Darth Vader interacting with Dooku. Idk but I think it'd be fun. ALSO I LOVE FICS EXPLORING THE VARIOUS CULTURES OF STAR WARS. Star Wars has million worlds for you to make up shit about and I love them all. YES TELL ME ABOUT JEDI HOLIDAYS OR TWI'LEK RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. Shoutout to @fialleril and their amazing series abt Darth Vader being a double agent, which really set the standard and created content that people still use today about Tatooinian Slave Culture.

CAN WE HEAR A LITTLE COMMOTION FOR REVA SEVANDER? ok so we didn't really SLEEP on her but now that Kenobi is over I dont see much stuff about her :( I love her she was amazing. Also let me shout out some favorite fics real quick - the above mentioned "Double Agent Vader", "Cosmic Oddities", a Mando/The Last of Us crossover, all of Blue_Sunshine's work but especially their series "The Desert Storm" and the follow up "Rise and Fall" about a time traveling Ben Kenobi, Deniigiq's series "center stage", Killbothtwins' series "the massive machinery of hope" (more time traveling with one of my favorite characterizations of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon). For the adults looking for something spicy (and by spicy I mean downright smut), Iridan's work "a simple thing" has not only set the standard for Bobadin works, but is one of the best fics I've read PERIOD. Booktok authors WISH they had this level of skill. It's amazing and should be turned into a novel. All of the above fics are on AO3, go check them out and show them some love!

Padme/Anakin. It is heterosexual nonsense and I love it.

Some sections of TCW. I'm not generally a military/war movie person in general, so those sections focusing on that can feel a little long to me. Generally star wars doesn't bore me though!

I'm going to be killed for this, but...Andor. I LIKED IT I DID I JUST. DIDNT LIKE IT AS MUCH AS KENOBI. Yes it was important and relevant and YES it was great. I just think maybe the tiniest bit overhyped. I STILL REALLY LIKE IT THO DONT KILL ME.

Now lets talk abtJaster Mereel can we talk abt jaster mereel ive been dying to talk abt Jaster Mereel

Din/Bo Katan. Before season 3 I would have said no but season 3 got me bitch I can't lie. It's about the fealty.

Star war's flaws. the racism and homophobia and misogyny. yikes!

I DONT CARE IF YOU HATE THE PREQUELS SHUT UP ABOUT IT

#anyway. #star wars

[badedramay]

little bit of a rant but: do you ever have a piece of media you really enjoy within its own bubble but that becomes really hard to enjoy once you're exposed to the fandom for it? i feel like that's what fairy tale is becoming for me lol. i did find it a lot of fun and thought the romance was cute but the fandom's inability to even entertain the idea that the show might have flaws really frustrates me. even moreso when this attitude is used to criticize other dramas (not talking about tere bin here. people can fully have at it with that) that are arguably dealing in way more complex ideas than fairy tale ever will. like not everything is about clear cut choices and forever well presenting characters! i do understand where the hype for either mc comes from (women feeling liberated of "responsible" decision making via umeed vs. women feeling charmed by a man like farjaad who does not resort to misogyny or violence) but i also don't think the expectations that come from that can be imposed onto dramas that are discussing more complex ideas often entrenched in exploring gender biases in our society. does that make sense? like if we're going to discuss some of the harms of society on the behavior of individuals, we are inevitably going to see some of those harmful behaviors portrayed and explored. and not every show goes the right way of actually criticizing those behaviors, but plenty do! and there is a cohesive point to why the harmful behaviors are highlighted, even if we don't like them! idk. maybe it's overly judgmental but i feel like i can't take fairy tale fans seriously half the time lol and i remember you feeling the same way when you initially talked about it way back when

fandoms have a way of either amplifying one's enjoyment of a piece of media or completely ruining it, there's no in between. I have lost count of how many shows that I used to enjoy with all my might, I had to step away from its "main" fandom from to be able to continue to enjoy them. fandom especially on twitter toh is more explosive than other platforms cuz the responses are so quick and there's almost nothing private there. hashtags are open for all of the users to explore. and even if you DON'T hashtag the show, there's still a way of what you're saying coming up for users either via a simple search option or by twt's fucked up algorithm that INSISTS on showing you the posts your mutuals interact with. there's almost no privacy there unless it's a locked account. that level of being public is not available on instagram and definitely not on tumblr where the rules of engagement are completely different and it's easier to tune out the fandom noise. (more under cut)

which is why no matter how much i TRY to, I cannot escape the FT opinions. and yes with time I have become more open to the show and its fandom but I still don't have a lot of respect for either of it. what you say is right, FT is a show has only ONE thing going on for it and that's the main ship. Umeed is apparently a refreshing character and Farjaad a green flag one and somehow just this combination is enough to overpower all of the show's other flaws. somehow their few good interactions in 30 episodes is enough to hail the show as some masterpiece. ya know I find is so funny that FT fandom has so cleanly separated their ship from the rest of the show. any criticism against the show's other characters and events is valid. but any criticism against farmeed is not as if they are an unrelated entity altogether??? how does that make sense??? khair. there's something that I was told ages ago which has influenced much of my perspective about gauging the quality of something. the "good" is not the "absence" of bad but the "denial" of it.

it's like "XYZ is honest" vs "XYZ is not dishonest". both technically mean the same thing. but the second statement first confirms that there's a trait called "dishonesty" that exists and then makes it point to state that XYZ is not that. it's such an important element to be incorporated in stories where the bad/evil first has to be established and identified before its antithesis is introduced. to address your points here...it's like the FT fandom just wants a very sanitized story to indulge in because they do not have either the capacity or just the sheer willingness to indulge in a more complicated story. Farjaad for the most part is a fairly easy character to root for. he's not a bad guy..even his slightly twisted actions are not done out of malice. his selfishness is "cute". one doesn't have to compromise or defend their morals to root for a guy like him and subsequently invest in his romantic endeavors. Umeed, on the other hand, is more twisted but like you said she's a character so liberated from the conventional ties of making the "right decisions for everyone's sake" that for "hardcore feminists" (the self-proclaimed majority of the FT fandom) her flaws are more the reasons to love to her than to criticize her.

Compared to this, the other PakDramas and their stories are more complex than that. unlike FT's sanitized route, these stories HAVE to show the hard to swallow traits in either the main characters or the supporting ones to drive home the point of what's the "good" there. take Yunhi for example. if not for Dadaji's patriarchal mindset, can Dawood's character really shine? Dawood is the antithesis of Dadaji. Dadaji, Razia, Danny, the Phupha..these characters are needed in the narrative to establish why the opinions of Kim and the ones supporting Kim are the "right" one. Kim and Dawood have to "fight" their mindsets to triumph. the existence and acknowledgement of these traits should precede the denial of them.

how the FT fandom makes up for any lack of "wrong" in its narrative is that it then turns to other stories and compares characters/situations from there to fill the gap of existence and acknowledgement of "wrong" that their heroes don't have in its own canon. so the bad guys become the other MCs of other stories who don't have a sanitized enough image. chalo TB is an extreme example, let's take examples of shows that fall in the same Ramazan special light hearted genre that FT is part of. for the fans of Farjaad, even someone like Arsal (Suno Chanda s1 as S2 is a thing that just simply does not exist) is not a good enough guy because of how he occasionally treated Jiya. Arsal has done the unthinkable of raising his hand on Jiya although no strike was landed, it's an offense that's so mighty that he automatically kicks him out of the "good guys" list which Farjaad is topping solo now. never mind that Arsal fucking up and then realizing his mistake and making up for it by supporting Jiya in a way that no one in the family was WAS his entire arc. but nah..it's bordering the grey line. and heroes should only be green.

the irony of the FT fandom then proclaiming to be the sanest and wisest of them all isn't lost on me.

of COURSE i can't take this fandom seriously. contrary to what they think they are doing i.e. sticking to their side by just hyping their fav..the reality is different. they have their noses stuck up in the business of every other fandom. sure the toxicity isn't as huge as the TB fandom but again, TB fandom is humongous. for its size, FT fandom has plenty of fuckery. and I have noticed this in my few interactions with them. it's better to keep distance from them..innka koi bhi opinion itna khaas hai nahin ke usspe dhyaan diya jaye.

#fairytale #type: opinion #twtbs

[infitsovermisfits]

Rant Rant Rant- Eddie Munon and the way Mainstream Audience suck the joy out of anything different and out of the 'norm'.

Hello dear readers. I just want to rant- no clue if this will be posted, I am procrastinating on doing my uni work and just want to talk about some things. Call this a rant or an informal essay if you will. 

TLDR; big long essay on consumer and audience culture, a look at stranger things fans, and undeserved Eddie hate is the main bulk of this along with general media language, look into mainstream audiences and why they so quickly turned on Eddie and the fans, underserved bullying of fans, and a message to spread and focus on the positives.

I'm currently studying Film at university because it's a topic that genuinely interests me- though I'd far prefer to write for films or TV, and direct music videos or videos/films accompanied by music- and observing the discourse in and surrounding the Stranger Things fandom over tiktok and tumblr, and it has been... Interesting. 

When I was still studying Media in A Levels, we learned about categorising different audience types: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary; based on class: A,B, C1, C2, D, E; and based on what type of consumer they are: Young and Rubican's definitions & categories: 

The Aspirer- materialistic, acquisitive, driven by others' perception of them rather than their own perceptions and values. Core need for life is status

The Reformer- value their own independent judgement, most anti-materialistic, often perceived as intellectual and at the leading edge of society. Core need for life is enlightenment.

The Explorer- driven by a need for discovery, challenge and new frontier, first to try out new ideas and experiences.  Core need for life is discovery

The Mainstream- live in a domestic world, require fundamental daily routine and subscribe to the idea of 'normal', respond to big, established brands (usually ones that are popular/made popular). Core need for life is security.

The Succeeder- possess self-confidence, strong goal orientation, tend to be organised, occupies positions of responsibility in society, seek reward and presitge from brands as that's what they think they deserve, seek out caring and protective brands. Core need is control.

The Resigned- Predominantly older people with constant unchanging values, past is nostalgic, respect institutions and enjoy tradition, brand choices are driven by safety and need for economy. Core need is to survive. 

The Struggler- live in the moment, often seen by others as victims/loosers/wasters- aimless and disorganised with few resources apart from physical skill, rely on visual impact and physical sensations from brands. Core need is to escape.

(loose definitions, close enough to the original)

Fun fact: we actually looked at and analysed the first 10/20 minutes of Stranger Things season 1 at some point in Media so that was fun.

If you wanted to categorise Stranger Things audience (i would love to pull up some of my notes but I can't fucking find them and its making me sad) your Primary would be your fans of science fiction/ horror (likely Reformers or Succeeders, from A-D, people between 18-30) considering those are the main genres. The Secondary would be your older audiences (category E or B, Resigned, people in their 40's-50's) people who grew up in the 80's and receive gratification from noticing details from their childhoods. ((Note: I get these 2 mixed up, so they may be the other way around but you get my point)) 

Now the Teritary audience would be those who have a Netflix subscription and access to the internet where they find occasional discourse about the show (Explorers or, largely, Mainstream audiences- people from 15-early 30's) who only follow trends and are not familiar with the genre or setting. 

Got all that mumbo jumbo? No? That's fine. Let me talk about Eddie Munson now. 

With season 4 of Stranger Things being the largest, most popular of them all (look up any Netflix stats- if I remember correctly, season 3 had 300 mil. watchers and season 4 had 400 mil.), and most anticipated (announced in 2019, and released in '22), there came, in my opinion, an audience shift.

In my opinion, more watchers from the Mainstream audience type have begun watching the show, due to its increased popularity and advertisement on Netflix, bumping that Mainstream Tertiary audience up more. How do I know this? Observing fandom culture and social media. 

I'm too lazy to conduct any form of study so I'll base this 'research' on memory. Season 4, Volume 1 premiers in May 2022 and is an instant hit. The introduction of Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson perks people's interest and he instantly becomes a fan favourite character, with his charming personality and subversive characterisation- like certain viewers, Eddie's first scene had me uncertain, though seeing his kindness to Chrissy flipped that and I warmed up to him as the season went on. 

The experiences of a mainstream audience- seeing a character who in no way belongs to their personal category and worldview- is jarring, and they immediately (consciously or unconsciously) stereotype him as someone they dislike, due to his non-conformative nature. Like many of you, I grew up integrated with Fandom culture and niche interests and experiences that mirrored this character. I could personally relate to Eddie as a person who was (likely) bullied or looked down upon because of my interest in literature, games, and my general misunderstanding and confusion of the mainstream audiences. 

Another point I wanted to make is that Eddie is a character that fundamentally dislikes authority and the mainstream itself- shunning those who willingly fit into the moulds of society in the cafeteria- and he, himself, sitting outside it- being interested in Metal and DND. The mainstream audiences have their own views on those things- that metal music is just people screaming and being aggressive and violent, and DND is a lame nerdy game for kids. Eddie flips their views, and makes himself a likeable character to them.

The mainstream audience interest in Eddie was a product of 'Oh wow- that's different to what I'm used to! But instead of shunning it, I'm enamoured!' AT FIRST. Then it got bad. 

I understand fandom culture; Mainstreamers do not. This confusion sparks anger and amusement and the need to critique anything that doesn't fit into their 'mainstream ideas' or their 'normal'. To a mainstream audience, liking, enjoying, and having discourse about the show is 'normal' behaviour. To me, or anyone with experience in fandom, fanfiction, headcannons, lip syncs, edits, fanart, roleplaying, etc. is the 'normal'.  My point of writing any of this was because I found the "general" shift in people's opinions regarding Eddie- he went from a cool new addition to the cast to one of the most hated/cringey characters in almost the blink of an eye- strange, and somewhat hilarious.

The majority of mainstream audiences have likely never interacted with or been interested in Fandom culture (another fun fact: I had to learn about Jenkins Fandom theory in Media. I had to learn about fandoms. Hahaha. Jokes aside it was interesting- his definition is that it's a participatory culture: fans acting not only as consumers of the media but as producers and creators of creative media, or better named Prosumers). Very likely, they don't know it exists or have in the past made fun of such cultures and people in the past. Misinformation or having little to no experience leads to aggression. Seeing Eddie become popular amongst groups of people sharing his interests/personality/ or just enjoying the character was odd and strange to them, and in order to fit into their Mainstream ideals, they had to look down on the 'strange and unusual'. 

Which really fucking sucks and is so awful. Like many, I loved Eddie's character. I have written fanfiction about him and continue to do so- this outpour of hate and negativity surrounding him and the fandom surrounding the character/ the entire show makes me feel wrong for liking him or enjoying the show. Almost like a dark cloud hovering over the light. It almost feels like you have to perform for the mainstreamers or anyone asking by saying 'I like Eddie but I'm not like one of those fans'. Ugh.

Those fans implying the 'cringe' fans. The ones who cosplay; the ones who lipsync to audios- fans being fans of a character. The hate they received for doing harmless things is awful and undeserved- and I'm eternally sorry if you have been subjected to or affected by it. 

I remember after mainstreamers flipped and started hating on Eddie, how many people in the fandom were genuinely so disappointed. How many people would post on tumblr or make tiktoks saying "I'm afraid to wear my Hellfire shirt/express that I like Eddie/ express that I like Stranger Things incase people think I'm one of those fans/ in case I get made fun of", the replies full of people saying "I wear mine because I like Dustin/Mike/Gareth/Fred/Erica" along with more people agreeing and describing how they have been made fun of. The videos of people singing Master of Puppets dressed as Eddie that have been stitched and called 'cringe' and mocked. It's just so... Pathetic to sit there and call something so innocent that brings others so much fun and enjoyment cringe. Go do something else.

To some people, criticizing that which they do not understand brings them gratification. They bring others down for their own enjoyment- and if you do that, fuck you. None of those 'cringey' things are hurting you personally. Go focus on something else and not fans being fans and engaging in harmless fan behaviour. 

On the flip side of this, let me also say that if you call yourself a 'fan' that then actively stalks or sexualises celebrities, invading their privacy in real life or online, (*cough cough* Joe Quinn) or sends death threats to any costars for whatever reason (*cough cough* Grace Van Dien) you are awful and how dare you call yourself a fan? You're not being respectful or recognising these people AS people. You're seeing them as marketable things and objects and that is disgusting. 

If you, like me, are one of those people gripping onto this fixation with all your strength because nothing has bought you this much comfort/safety/enjoyment in a while, I'd like to tell you to try your best and ignore those who do not understand and refuse to do so. I'm aware a ranty essay about this and explanations and blah blah won't change anyone's minds. That's not my intention. It simply makes me sad to get made fun of for harmless things. 

I find removing that negativity and not engaging with the negative discourse is a good step into keeping positive- you can block tags on tumblr and click not interested on any tiktok videos you don't want to see if you hold down on the video playing. 

May, June and July were filled with some of the happiest memories I experienced this year. From writing my fanfiction to watching a show I have a lot of love and admiration for, to discover so much new, good music. I'd love to feel that happy again now. 

Thanks, 

Toothpaste.

#eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things 4 #rant #personal rant #just ranting #fandom #cringe

[olivieraa]

this scene is so funny to me.

like, I've seen my fair share of anime. If there's anyone that's aware of the sexualisation of female characters in media, esp anime, its me. my liveblogging consisted of two main things. loving on VA's and hating on what happens to female characters in... almost every damn show I've ever watched. it was constant.

it got to the point where I got nit-picky. there were shows where it was excessive, where it was a part of the show. and there were shows where it had maybe one or two scenes. and I still called those shows out, bc I was always baffled as to why there had to be even one scene where a woman's body was the centre of attention.

I could go into heavy detail on that but I'm tired.

so this anime. this anime is the second type. its not a fanservice anime. its an adventure anime. but to be who I am today watching anime vs who I was years ago, I see this in another light.

so like, we know that there's a lot of things girls and women cant do without it being sexualised. we know that femininity is so engrained in how we're raised and the standards all around that we're either "happy" to portray them and fit the mould of what we think a woman should look, act and dress like, or we're pissed off about it.

about not being able to eat a banana in public, about wanting to play outside in the dirt but you're not allowed ruin your dress, or if that's not mentioned, its the monitoring of opening your legs while wearing a dress in front of boys, its the desire to cut off all your hair so its not in your way when you're playing or eating but your mother says your hair is too pretty to cut off, etc etc.

yes I thought the close up of this girls ass was unnecessary. its the second time in 6 eps (which shockingly, is not a lot, but still too much), and they advance the plot in no way. I've talked about that enough.

but what I see this time around is-- I'm imagining a real life girl. she hasn't talked much this whole time. idk what her deal is. but two characters have brought up that she's a tomboy. she got naked in one scene not caring who saw (legit doesn't care if a dude sees her naked), and then there's this scene. and also she mentions that she's herself (a human, basically) before she's a girl.

so basically the universal rule here is "a girl shouldn't climb a ladder first because then her ass is visible (no matter the clothing type) and the guy can't NOT look like its right there why wouldn't he, so therefore it should be the guy that climbs first bc its not like the reverse would happen"

and this guys quote is basically him saying that she needs to be more conscious about what her body can do to a man. what her existence can do to a man. that she has to monitor herself bc if something happens to her, its her fault. that a womans life consists of making DUMB FUCKING DECISIONS like NOT CLIMBING A LADDER FIRST and over-thinking and over-analysing everything bc she dares to have a female body.

and then... we all know... what happens... when girls and women get absolutely fed up of these rules

they opt out.

they opt out of it.

and we're supposed to accept that as normal. somehow. that bc you decided you dont want to follow these "rules", you decide to... go a different path, rather than just, idk, not follow the rules.

that's literally an option.

to stay as you are. a woman. a female.

and not follow the damn rules.

nobody is forcing you to.

you're not breaking any grounds when you decide to go the other way. you're really not.

#dont re blog lol

[calicoquiltedtranshag]

i'm sorry babe, i just don't get it. you're the one that wanted the "mature mommy gf" so you're gonna have to explain this to me. so they're ninjas made out of legos? doesn't that break the immersion for you? aren't there better cartoons that aren't legos? can't you just watch naruto or something? ...please, just explain the ninjago lore to me again. i'm just not getting it.

I've watched Naruto - I'm good with Naruto! Love the guy.

Here's the thing though - this gal has never had a good time relating to human characters. I just don't. I do my best but I am just - I am not good with folks and I think that translates into how I consume media.

The fact that they're lego doesn't break the immersion - it makes it heckin better. Suddenly I've got a world to think up. How do they survive when they only have two digits? What are their customs, their traditions - what kind of food do they make in a lego world? Boundless questions! Boundless answers - and there are, because Ninjago kinda...goes off. There are answers to questions you never would have thought of. It goes places you wouldn't think it would.

(Lucille)

It's naruto but made to sell toys

Okay, so:

ORIGINALLY you've got these two brothers at the so-called beginning of time. Wu and Garmadon. There's these four weapons that embody the elements fire, ice, storm, and earth. It's impossible to posess all four bc like - you only gots two hands. HOWEVER! Were one to do so, there is...a vague promise of ultimate power!

But Wu and Garm are good kids. They don't wanna do anything like steal divine power.

Also their dad is a master of a lego martial art called spinjitzu. Which is - you spin around a lot. Idk. Both the brothers learn it and they're super heckin good at it.

At some point Garm gets bitten by a snake god their dad defeated and is infected with a venom of True Evil - which starts to corrupt him. He gets the idea of forging all the elemental weapons into one - a weapon of ultimate elemental power!

(Also side note uh there is a whole civilization that is only *ambiguously* evil that their dad sealed away along with their god and its kinda fucked up)

To note: There is a good Garm in there, but this venom's some brethren moons type shit. Twists your perspective so that you'll think you're in the right even as you're doing some heinous shit. He has a son and wife btw.

Wu stops him and kicks him into hell.

It does some wacky things to his body. He makes some skeleton friends and plans to return to the land of the living and take over the world.

Backstory over - ONTO THE SHOW!

There's four main dudes. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane. Kai is...a blacksmith's son if I remember? He's got a sister named Nya who's super badass. Jay is the son of junkyard machinists, Cole is the youngest of like...8? I think his brothers run a barbershop quartet barbershop?? Zane is a robot but we don't find that out for a looooooong time. When we first meet him he's just funky and also an orphan.

They all end up at Wu's house. Cole, Jay, and Zane are looking for a purpose. Kai is there because servants of Garm took his sister to use as a human sacrifice - a life for a life. Wu starts to train them spinjitzu, there's a buncha wacky hijinks regarding skeletons, shit gets fucked, shit gets unfucked, Nya is saved, fuck yeah.

One of the skeleton bros has four arms and holds all four weapons - and implodes into superhell. Garm goes into the superhell portal and is like "I'll see you later - BROTHER!" to Wu and then jumps in. We don't see him for a bit.

Also I think there are dragons in there somewhere I kinda forget when/where that arc happened.

FAST FORWARD and there are rumors of GARM REAPPEARING OOOOOOO spooky - our heroes head over to see and it turns out it's his kid, Lloyd Garmadon.

Makes me wonder if Lord is Garmadon's first name. Totally possible in this reality. Fucked up.

Annnnyways Lloyd is threatening to bring back that sealed culture of snake-people because everyone treats him like shit; because his dad is Lord Garmadon, ruler of darkness, the widowmaker, the man with a thousand deaths to his name, so on and so forth.

The Ninja kinda joke around, don't take him seriously, and leave.

So Lloyd, true to his word, goes and summons the Serpentine, the lost civilization.

As it turns out - they're all super cool. There's a bunch of Serpentine nations with specific traits that they're all proud of - and each nation has been sealed in a different vault. Also if you're bitten by one you start to become a serpentine. Also there's a sacred flute that can reverse this and was used to seal the Great Evil Serpent Guy.

So there's about four years of snake people content. Great stuff tbh. There's a lot about the ninja being super arrogant due to their win over Garm and it bites them in the ass every time. Kai is obsessed with being the main character (he's not, his sister is lol) which is shattered when he realizes his sister has secretly been kicking snake ass behind his back - and picking up the ninja's slack. With less collateral damage. Also the Serpentine have an entire self-contained political B plot wherein they try to leverage Lloyd to do...something. I forget. They betray Lloyd eventually (he's been styling himself as Lord Garmadon, ruler of the Serpentine and they get sick of it) and the Ninja take him in and apologize for being a buncha dicks.

There's a worldwide chase, Nya builds a flying dragon ship, the snakes get a snake helicopter, hijinks ensue.

Then the snakes win.

They summon the Great Devourer (name of the snake god) back into reality, and he starts doing his thing. Y'know, bringing about a new age of the serpentine, killing people, wrecking havoc, the usual for a primordial being of chaos. Our ninja have not learned at all from their experiences and get walloped due to their arrogance.

LLOYD HOWEVER goes through a MASSIVE character arc where he realizes

1) Fuck I'm like 15 and I may have caused the end of the world

2) Oh my god I treat everyone like an asshole

3) Oh my god my family is full of assholes

4) I have to be different ASAP.

There's this legend of a "green ninja" who will save everybody - kai thinks its him (because he's an idiot) but Lloyd puts in the work, goes off on his own, and gets the blessing of a green dragon.

Which ages him forward ten years legend of zelda style. He is there to face off against the great devourer as the Green Ninja with Green Ninja powers -

And fails because he is an untrained 15 year old in a grown man's body that he's had for like - two minutes.

As the Great Devourer readies to consume the world, with Lloyd as its first target, a shadowy portal appears...

AND GARM DROPS OUT OF THE SKY WITH FOUR FUCKING ARMS HOLDING THE FOUR SACRED WEAPONS AND STABS IT IN THE HEAD. With a huge gush of venomous blood the Great Devourer writhes in its death throes. Garm is back, he wants his son to be under his wing, and he promises a new age of darkness, now that he has defeated his only competition.

I kinda stopped watching after this bc I couldn't stand Kai but my brother's really liked it - tbh I think it's p neat.

[madseance]

Screenshotting this instead of reblogging because I am NOT going to personally get into it with an 18-year-old, but goddamn am I tired of hearing about boosting placement and "content creators". Not least because this is tumblr, and if you're looking for return on investment you're barking up the wrong tree; but also because y'all have got to stop thinking about everything you make and do in explicitly capitalist terms in general. Because that's what all this is, regardless of whether money is involved: the ideas of value you can quantify, and that you need to accumulate that value, and producer-consumer relationships in which the consumer has a responsibility to keep the producer's value up, are capitalist as fuck.

As someone who makes things, I absolutely understand "number go up = serotonin"; but there's two things to say about that: One, that way ultimately lies misery because you're depending on forces you can't control to make a thing you do enjoyable. And two, that's not even all this is, because likes are "number go up", but now we're saying "likes are officially completely pointless" because they don't help your fucking search placement. It's not even the quick hit of serotonin that "content creators" are after anymore; it's a godforsaken long-term brand promotion strategy. You're not even doing this on a site like YouTube where there's an established (if especially cursed) monetization scheme; you're doing it on tumblr, where most of the "content" is shitposts and gifsets. Even if you're making art that you can actually sell, this site has never been built for that.

And that's the most important point I want to make here: You are making art, not "content". Content is the epitome of capitalism-speak; it's what corporate entities call the stuff their workers churn out for their promotional use. "We need you to produce content to support our social media presence." Just think about the word itself: a generic term for "stuff to fill something with", that says nothing about what it is or means, that implies its main value is simply bulk. Even content you produce for your corporate overlords is still art; they just call it "content" to detach you from it and make it more palatable to let them take it from you and feed it into their capitalist meatgrinder.

Stop talking about yourself and the things you make in capitalist terms.

Stop thinking of yourself as a "content creator" and not an artist or a person who makes things; stop thinking of your art as "content" and the people who like your art as consumers and the act of liking your content as an economic transaction. You are training yourselves to be product-dispensing machines for the capitalism factory and to think exclusively in words from the corporate dictionary. It used to be that they had to grind us down to this; it scares the fuck out of me that younger people are voluntarily doing it to themselves.

Everyone on this site goes on and on about wanting to destroy capitalism. The call is coming from inside the house. You have to destroy it in yourself first.

#fynn posts #anti capitalism #humans make art not content #I don't even know what to call this phenomenon; self-capitalism??? #self capitalism #there's probably a real term for it but that's the placeholder tag for now #cause I can feel in my bones that I'm gonna be yelling about this more #the whole time I was writing this I couldn't stop hearing Pink Floyd's “Have a Cigar” in my head #because I knew if I were talking to my dad about this he would IMMEDIATELY quote the line about riding the gravy train #I sent him this post actually; hi dad

[mellometal]

Hi, everyone.

I have something extremely important to talk about that is NOT fandom related. I really do hope this can reach everyone on here, especially since it's still Autism Acceptance Month.

A few quick questions for anyone who happens to see this before I dive right into this: Have you ever heard of Dhar Mann? If so, have you ever seen his videos? What do you think about them?

If you don't know who Dhar Mann is, he's a content creator whose main platforms are Instagram and YouTube. He makes these videos about various scenarios from a couple on the brink of divorce, to kids bullying one of their peers, even about Autism Spectrum Disorder. All of his videos have some kind of message at the end that really drives the point home. One of his most recent videos is about ASD, which is what I'm going to discuss today.

Personally, I think some of his videos are interesting, despite the concepts being reused and recycled over and over; however, how I feel about the video he made about ASD is the complete opposite. I'll summarize the video he made so you don't have to watch it. (If you really want to watch it to see exactly what I'm talking about, I'm not gonna stop you. Do what you need to do in order to form your own opinion.)

The video Dhar Mann made about ASD is about this boy who excludes his autistic brother from participating in activities with his friends at school. The boy bullies his autistic brother and does pretty much everything to make his brother's life Hell, even going as far as to pretend that he doesn't know his own brother. The boy "instantly regrets his decision" when their mom is called into the school to discipline her son for bullying his autistic brother. What his mother says is what REALLY upsets me. The message of this video in particular is this, WORD FOR FUCKING WORD. I wish I was kidding. But here's the message below:

How the video concludes is the boy reluctantly includes his autistic brother in every single activity, the boy sees his brother's potential, and they live happily ever after. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.

As an autistic woman who works with disabled people for a living, that message Dhar Mann put in this video specifically is not only extremely ableist, but is also spreading misinformation about ASD.

News flash to all the people who still spread misinformation about ASD: Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school, nor is every single autistic person a young white man who's a Super Genius™️. (I could go on all day long about how the media stereotypes autistic characters and autistic people in general, but that's a whole other topic.) No autistic person is the same, meaning we all fall on the spectrum in different places and all that jazz. There's no "look" to autistic people either because no autistic person looks the same.

Autistic women exist.

Autistic girls exist.

Autistic nonbinary people exist.

Autistic BIPOC and AAPI exist.

Autistic people who are completely nonverbal exist.

Autistic people who are completely verbal exist.

Autistic people who are in the middle of being nonverbal and verbal exist.

Autistic people who require minimal to no support exist.

Autistic people who require moderate support exist.

Autistic people who require full support exist.

Autistic LGBT people exist. (Reason why I bring this one up is because the media almost always shows cishet autistic men and I don't see autistic LGBT representation very often, if ever.)

Autism isn't something you can "catch". People have this same mentality about ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome too, which, by the way, you can't "catch" either.

Autism doesn't "go away" when you reach adolescence or adulthood. Why? BECAUSE AUTISTIC TEENAGERS AND AUTISTIC ADULTS EXIST. Autistic kids grow into autistic teenagers, then into autistic adults.

You can't "cure" it either. Unless you can build a time machine and a device to go back in time to change how a person's brain develops, there is no cure. ABA therapy is a fucking shit show in itself that does more harm than good.

The title of the video is a real squick for me too. It's mostly because I don't particularly enjoy people using person first language (the "boy with autism" part). I've seen many other autistic people on multiple other platforms sharing that same sentiment and preferring identity first language (autistic person). There are also others who prefer using person first language and those who don't have a preference. That's all perfectly valid. Whatever you prefer people using when referring to you, or whatever you refer to yourself as, in this case, is totally valid and I love you. This goes for disabilities in general, not just Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Regarding the message in this video, here's my response to it! A quick heads-up, my response is VERY long and VERY passionate. I was VERY close to making a response video where I tear that video apart AND tear Dhar Mann a new asshole. Unfortunately, it worked me up so much that I was really struggling with what I wanted to say and I had to stop multiple times because I kept stumbling on my words. That's how angry this message made me. I'll try my best to explain whatever parts you have questions about. I put my response in the nicest way I possibly could, despite me seething with rage, wanting to go OFF on him.

(The first part of my response are the first three screenshots, and the second part are the last three screenshots.)

The first part of my response, I did forget to add that the message is offensive and disrespectful to autistic people as a whole. I apologize. My initial comment got way too long. I pretty much covered that when I told him the message is ableist. I wanted to clear that up before anyone asks about it.

The second part of my response is me opening up about my experience with being diagnosed with ASD, formerly known as As//per//ger's Syn//dro//me, at sixteen years old. I also went into how not calling ASD what it truly is (which is a disability) and calling it a "different ability" instead is extremely harmful and is treating being disabled like it's a bad thing.

By the way, saying that a disabled person is disabled isn't a bad thing. I'm disabled. It is what it is. Does it have its challenges? You bet. Does it help me with certain things? Hell yeah. I can really absorb information about my favorite bands, characters, shows, books, etc., and tell you a lot about those things. For example, I can tell you that Su can't ride a bike or read manga and she's okay with that. I can also tell you she can't tie her shoes very well, which is why her boots don't have laces and are slip-on and/or zip-up. But that doesn't mean my struggles are nonexistent or that I never struggle. I do, and it makes my life Hell at times.

The narrative that autism is a bad thing to have, every autistic person is somehow broken and they all need to be "fixed" is also super fucked up and not true. That's the narrative that I received when I was diagnosed by a therapist I had. I'm gonna be real here, I cried when I was first told that I was diagnosed with ASD. I felt like I was broken. I already felt like a total outcast. Being told about my diagnosis made me feel even more broken than I already felt. I was so ashamed of myself, despite me not doing anything wrong whatsoever, that I masked for SEVEN YEARS of my life. I masked for so long that I forgot I was even diagnosed with ASD in the first place. I wasn't taught how to really put my special interests into good use. I kinda had to figure that out on my own. I was pretty much under the assumption that me being interested in anime, cartoons, music, comics, theatre, writing, etc., to the point of obsession, was somehow weird and hurting people around me. You know, despite those things being harmless. Despite me being able to separate those things from other things that are important (like work, for example). Despite my only surviving parent, other family members, and the woman he was dating at the time completely overreacting and not bothering to see exactly what makes these things so special to me.

(By the way, having a disability does not completely make who a person is. There are a lot more things that make who a person is than that.)

It's kinda shocking that I wasn't able to come to terms with my diagnosis until this year. Considering that I masked for so long due to being ashamed of myself, plus being treated like a burden for being disabled, it's probably not very surprising. I initially thought at the time that it was the worst thing to have, as I was already struggling with enough shit back then, but came to realize it's not a bad thing. It doesn't change who I am. But I'm glad I came to terms with it finally nonetheless.

This is getting way too long, so I'm gonna wrap things up here. If you've read this far, thank you so much. I'm sorry this got so long!

If you watched the video, what are your thoughts on it? If this is your first time hearing about Dhar Mann, how do you feel about him? If you're a Dhar Mann fan, did this change your opinion on him in any way? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

Have a great day, everyone!

#mello speaks #dhar mann #autism acceptance #autism spectrum disorder #being autistic isn't a bad thing #autism isn't a different ability stop fucking saying it is #autistic community #autism self advocacy network #autistic women and non-binary people network #fuck autism speaks #i had to say this #dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu #autism acceptance month #autism speaks does not speak for me #light it up red #light it up gold #no puzzle pieces #tw dhar mann

[littlx-songbxrd]

Ok I meant to answer you're question about what I thought of the show ages ago but I forgot.

I LOVED IT OMGGGG! I got so many kitty vibes from Wilhelm and Simon! The touching! The softness! It's those vibes exactly! I want that energy in TWP.

COMRADE SIMON!! We stan! That speech he made at the very beginning about the differences in attitudes towards "tax evasion" vs. "Welfare fraud." Legend behavior.

Sara!!!! My girl!!!!!! An autistic/adhd character PLAYED BY AN AUTISTIC ACTRESS!!!! THIS IS SO HUGE!!! I would die for my problematic queen. I made an entire post on her but the gist is, I get where she's coming from and understand why she feels the way she feels but dear God girl make better choices and stay the hell away from August.

Speaking of.... I wanna run August over several times. Vroom vroom motherfucker. The fact that he

- filmed MINORS HAVING SEX AND TGE POSTED IT ONLINE

-kissed Sara behind Felice's back when they were still dating WITHOUT HER CONSENT BTW

- Wanted to blame Simon for the drugs because he knew it would be easy because Simon's family is lower class and doesnt have the same social standing as one of the "members of the society"

- Also it didn't escape my notice that the cult like faternety type group with all the rich, mainly white boys is called The Society. This shows commentary on class is vv interesting. Especially the little things like two girls just randomly advocating for THE DEATH PENALTY. The rich people audacity.

-Anyways back to August, when he tried to excuse his actions with Wilhelm and get all teary like no bitch you can't manipulate your way out of this one. And again with Sara! When he said "Wilhelm has everything" I wanted to scream! Like he's fucking closeted and clearly suffering from panic attacks and extreme anxiety you moron.

-Anyways!! I also think that Wilhem might be autistic because he just feels autistic. Like the vibes are there.

- The girl group is so sweet? And to have the popular girl be a Black girl who isn't "stereotypically attractive" with a more medium sized body and bad acne. As someone who has really bad skin I needed that. Felice is kinda awesome imo.

Let me see what else??

-Simon and his mom speaking Spanish consistently throughout the show. It sounded pretty natural to me? But I'm not a native speaker. (Or even fluent honestly lol.)

- Simon and Wilhelm are honestly so adorable and in love and it made my heart ache. (I am so touch starved I swear..)

-My only main beef is the outing plotline and the show using an outdated medical term for Sara, aspergers. It's literally just autism. Also it's kind of offensive because Hans Asperger was a n*zi who literally killed autistic children because they weren't useful to capitalism. SOOOO yeah.

As for the outing plotline, I feel like the cishets have like three plotlines that they use for queer stories. Outing/coming out, one of them dies, or one if them bullies the other until they both fall in love. It's tired.

But overall I really loved it.

HI SORRY I HADNT REPLIED

I wanted to correctly talk to you about this series so I logged in through my computer to make it easier for me :D

LOOK AT THIS POINT IVE RELATED THEM TO LITERALLY EVERY COMFORT SHIP I HAVE LIKE. I've compared this to kitty, I've compared this to Thomastair, I've compared this to my friends to ocs who she has obsessed me with (youd actually like them if you liked this tbh) IVE COMPARED ME TO MY OCS

BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY I JUST LOVE THEM

IF KITTY DOESNT HAVE THIS ENERGY IN TWP WHAT WAS THE POINT

what was the point cc??

S I M O N

OH GOD WHEN HE SAID THAT I WENT OMG YEAH

new favorite character

Great

SHES PLAYED BY AN AUTISTIC ACTRESS?? Sorry I hadn't known! Haven't actually gotten to obsessively look at the cast I've been trying to get over the last episode BUT THATS SO COOL. SARA IS AMAZING AND I ADORE HER. I'll read your post after this! But of course STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM AUGUST GIRL PLEASE

Tbh I understood where she was coming from with everything with Simons image falling apart and her having to suffer when she had just started having friends , just after finding he had been lying to her. But love, AUGUST?

A U G U S T ???

WHO JUST FOUND OUT OUTED YOUR BROTHER

Also random and stealing this from @marzzinaa i totally hc Sara as a demi girl for some reason

Im kinda sad we didnt see her speak spanish as much we did simon :(

But oh well I LOVE HER AND YEAH STAY AWAY FROM AUGUST GOD

FAE WE RUN HIM OVER TOGETHER BROOM BROOM

You already said it all, I just agree

Ok I'll bring a machete you bring whatever you wish and we kill him sound good?

ALSO YEAH I TOTALLY NOTICED HOW THE ECONOMIC DINAMICS CAME INTO PLAY AND HOW IT BASICALLY LET YOU KNOW HOW THE PRIVILEGED ELITES COULD GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING

meanwhile they wanted to pass off to Simon who came from a lower class family the blame

Also I'd like to mention how that would also play into the stereotype latinos are all drug dealers

Which I love how they didnt make his dead beat alcoholic man the latino parent, when I first read the description I thought they might do that, but im so glad they didnt

I think it might have been a comentary idk i liked that they DIDNT make the poc parent the dead beat

THE FRIEND GROUP WAS SO COOL AND I LOVED ALL OF THEM AND YES FELICE WAS JUST <3

I love how they didnt make her stereotypically perfect AND YES MID SIZED REP WAS AMAZING TO SEE

Also im so glad you got to see that represented!!

So I am a native speaker and him talking to his mom MADE ME CRY

it was WONDERFUL I WANT MORE OF IT

pls most her phrases reminded me to my own mom

Autistic wilhelm you say?? omg tell me more (if you want)

Oh thats awful, well I'll just refer to Sara as autistic and hope the showrunners fix that next season because if they dont-

Yikes

Oh yeah, thats valid critisism. But in my opinion they actually wrote it pretty well so I wont really be complaining about an overall media problem with queer stories rn. If so I'll be here all day. But yeah its an overall problem but it wasnt done bad in my opinion so!

I'll shut up, for now

IM SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT FEEL FREE TO KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT WITH ME PLS ITS MY OBSESSION NOW IM GONNA BE ANNOYING ABOUT IT ALL MONTH

#young royal spoilers #young royals

[media-on-the-mind101]

Turtles All the Way Down: OCD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Book)

* May contain spoilers*

I recently finished reading Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, and it is now one of my favorite novels. The story hit me close to home because it deals with a disorder that I was diagnosed with. I thought writing an article about it would be a good way to educate you readers, while also sharing a little bit about myself.

Turtles All the Way Down is story about a teenage girl named Aza Holmes who suffers from OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The story shows how the disorder impacts her daily life as well as her relationships. Because the author suffers from the disorder in real life, the depiction is fairly accurate. However, I spotted a few things that might suggest a whole different diagnosis whatsoever. The story also covers Aza’s treatment which I felt was missing a lot of important things.

According to the DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disorder where a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts that trigger distressing feelings, while compulsions are repetitive behaviors that are performed to relieve anxiety or prevent something bad from happening. OCD is often confused with OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder) which is characterized by extreme perfectionism, order, and neatness. OCPD is often portrayed as OCD in the media which means that stereotypical OCD is really OCPD.

While Aza does have obsessions that involve cleaning, they are more about health and less about being organized. People with OCD often have a specific thing they worry about, and for Aza it is contracting an infection from a parasite called C-diff which essentially causes food poisoning and stomach damage. While she doesn’t really do anything to neutralize or cancel her thoughts out, she repeatedly reads articles online and uses hand sanitizer to relieve her anxiety.

As you may already have figured out, people with OCD often have illogical thought patterns and they are fully aware of it. But their anxiety makes them perform their compulsion anyway “just to make sure.” This is seen in the book when Aza drinks a bottle of hand sanitizer to insure that all bad bacteria inside her body are cured. Of course we all know, that drinking hand sanitizer would actually be more harmful then helpful.

“Drinking hand sanitizer is not going to make you healthier, you crazy fuck. But they can talk to your brain. THEY can tell your brain what to think, and you can’t. So, who’s running the show? Stop it, please (pg. 210).

In this scene, Aza knows that drinking hand sanitizer is actually more harmful then helpful, but she feels as if something is controlling her brain. The “they” refers to her OCD and she tells it to stop but isn’t able to control it.

While reading the book, I noticed that some of Aza’s symptoms don’t quite fit the diagnosis of OCD, such as her feeling of not knowing if she is awake or dreaming, real or non-existent. In one chapter she says the following:

“the pressing of my thumbnail against my fingertip had started off as a way of convincing myself that I was real . . . every time I thought maybe I wasn’t real, I would dig my nail into my fingertip, and I would feel the pain, and for a second I’d think, Of course I’m real” (pg.106).

The feeling of disconnect she has from her own body and surroundings are actually symptoms of DDD (Depersonalization - Derealization Disorder). According to the DSM, the disorder is characterized by persistent feelings of being a stranger to yourself or your surroundings. According to Psychology Today, however, you have to have no signs of other mental illness that can explain your symptoms, in order to be diagnosed with DDD. This is when diagnosing a patient becomes challenging; so many disorders can have similar symptoms or be co-morbid with each other that it they can difficult to differentiate.

The other symptom I noticed that is actually its own disorder, is the fact that Aza has a habit of digging her nail into her fingertip to the point where her finger becomes scarred. While picking of the skin is often comorbid with OCD, it is actually a separate disorder called excoriation disorder or dermatillomania. According to mhanational.org, this disorder is characterized by picking of the skin that creates skin lesions and that causes disruption in everyday life. It is true that the disorder falls under the category of obsessive compulsive disorders in the DSM, but excoriation disorder is not the same as OCD.

Now we’ve defined what OCD is, but another important part of how the book portrays it is in the treatment. According to Mayoclinic.com, the most common treatments for OCD include CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), exposure therapy, and medications such as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). These are the treatments that I had during my childhood, and they have been statistically proven to be very effective. 

In the book Aza sees a therapist and takes medication, but she doesn’t get exposure therapy, one of the main treatments for OCD. Aza mainly gets CBT which is essentially talk therapy, but she is not forced to face her obsessions without performing her compulsions. An example of this would be touching a dirty substance and then forcing herself not to take out her phone or use hand sanitizer. 

The last important thing is how OCD effects a peoples relationships. Throughout the story, the characters in Aza’s life talk about how hard she is to deal with. One scene toward the end really emphasizes the importance of this issue. In this scene, Aza and her best friend Daisy get into an argument because Daisy feels that Aza is too self-centered.

She says “and you’re so, like, pathologically uncurious that you don’t even know what you don’t know.” And later she adds “I don’t mean that you’re a bad friend or anything. But you’re slightly tortured, and the way you’re tortured is sometimes also painful for, like, everyone around you”(pg. 216).

Daisy is frustrated because she feels like Aza is so caught up in her own thoughts that she never shows any interest in the lives of others. When she says Aza is “tortured” and it makes it painful for everyone around her, this shows just how much her illness impacts her relationships with other people. Basically, people find her difficult to be around because they, in a sense, have to experience everything with her and they begin to lose patience. At the end of this scene, the two girls get into a car accident because they weren’t paying attention to the road.

Aza’s other important relationship in the story is with is Davis, who is like a friend with benefits. The reason he never becomes Aza’s boyfriend is because of her social anxiety and fear of contamination that prevents her from being physically close to people. 

“I enjoyed being with him more in this nonphysical space, but I also felt the need to board up the windows of myself. Me: I feel kinda precarious in general, and I can’t really date you. Or date anyone. I’m sorry but I can’t. I like you, but I can’t date you” (pg. 162).

I this scene, Aza reveals that she communicates better online then in person and this suggests that she has some form of social anxiety.

Another scene tells us just how much her fear of germs effects her life: “billions of people kiss and don’t die just make sure his microbes aren’t going to permanently colonize you come on please stop this . . . then you’ll get C. diff and boom dead in four days please fucking stop just kiss him JUST CHECK TO MAKE SURE. I pulled away” (pg. 152).

In this scene, Aza has difficulty being physically intimate with Davis because her fear of germs prevents from enjoying it like most people would. Based on this fact, we could predict that Aza will have difficulty in her future relationships because of her mental illness and this is a great example of how it effects people in real life.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, the author John Green himself suffers from OCD. Compared to his own experiences, the book is pretty similar. Like the main character, Green suffers from obsessions about contamination. In an episode of the Vlogbrothers Youtube channel, Green explains that

 “I might worry out of nowhere that my food is contaminated or somehow poisoned and then somehow suddenly that will be the only thought I'm able to think . . . I can lose all control over my thoughts for an extended period of time to the extent that I can't follow what's happening in a TV show or read a book.” (Green).

*John Green, author of Turtles All the Way Down*

So like Aza, he worries about contamination to the point where he can’t focus on anything else. He also has the same kinds of thought spirals :  

“the compulsive behaviors I use to cope with these obsessive thought spirals, repeatedly checking my food for contamination, for instance, or spending hours Googling what will happen to me if I eat moldy bread.” (Green).

As you can see, the characters compulsion of checking in internet comes straight from the author’s real life experience. According to the New York Times, John Green developed the disorder at around seven years old and eventually got it under control with the right medication and CBT. It was not said weather or not he underwent exposure therapy. So the treatment that Aza receives is based on the way some treatments work in real life.

While reading Turtles All the Way Down I  often found myself feeling nostalgic because my own experience with OCD is very similar. Although I do not have an obsession with a specific thing like Aza does, I have the same types of intrusive thoughts. I also have similar compulsions to seek reassurance from the internet or other people about my health, as well as other compulsions to neutralize, or cancel out my thoughts. 

Because I had Tourette Syndrome (a neurological disorder that causes physical impulses) as a child, I developed what is called Tourettic OCD. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like; Tourette Syndrome and OCD combined. The reason this occurs in some individuals is because the ability to filter out and thoughts and the impulse to move, take place in the same brain area, the basal ganglia. As a result of this, my compulsions tend to be more physical, such as moving my eyes excessively whenever I see negative words in a book, or someone getting sick in a movie.

Like Aza, I went through CBT but I also went through several years of exposure therapy and I take an SSRI in conjunction. I think exposure therapy is a very important part of the treatment of disorders such as OCD and PTSD and I was disappointed that the book did not include it. I think that if you are going to educate a person about disorder, then you have to educate them about the treatment as well. In conclusion, Turtles All the Way Down was a great novel that captured OCD more accurately then any movie I have seen. The fact that the author has the disorder makes it all the more realistic and personal, and I have to say as a person with OCD and a psychology major, I was quite pleased with the way the character was portrayed. The story may have been missing a few important elements but overall it provided a realistic way of educating people about the disorder.

#john green #turtles all the way down #ocd #mental health #mental illness #books and literature #psychology