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prettyboykatsuki · 1 year

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the itoshi brothers (and how bluelock handles betrayal as character motivation)

✦ or why i don't think sae hates rin afterall.

✦ a / n ; this absurdly long and absurdly extensive. my bad. also sorry if this is obvious to some people, sometimes it takes me a few reads fdfksj

i want to preface this by saying - i'm not really very invested in the itoshi brothers. or at least i wasn't originally. the character im usually most taken with is isagi, but i've sort of been wanting to dissect sae because i can't fully wrap my head around his character. and when i want to understand a character, i usually end up going through a re-read of their chapters and arcs - to get a feel for them and all.

sorry for the thick paragraph, but tl;dr this is the first time im really analyzing these two so if this is obvious to everyone else please ignore me asjdskjds

anyway. the analysis.

there's two things that need to be examined when taking a look at the itoshi brothers. the first being their relationship before sae took off to spain, the second being how bluelock sets up concepts like betrayal for the sake of improvement.

firstly - i think we need to address saes character on a base level. sae is shown to be relatively detached in general. whereas rin has forever been more of sensitive character - sae is critical and level-headed. i suspect this is partially accredited to his role as older brother.

but you'll notice that sae is significantly more gentle to rin. he's a good older brother, both encouraing rin to do well and play soccer with him. even if he lacks that sort of finesse with teammates.

from the beginning, rin idolizes his older brothers character. every goal he has is in some way relating to pleasing or impressing sae. it's not unusual for him to do as a younger brother, especially one who was obviously doted on by rin. it's very clear that rin loves his brother deeply and feels a need to earn his favor nearly always.

there's this conversation they have in ch.124 that really drew me to this conclusion and sort of shifted my perspective on this relationship. i had always figure that sae had experienced something in spain that we, the audience don't know. it's very bluelock for characters to change drastically due to some crushing defeat (case and point kunigami)

but i hadn't take into consideration what that event would've changed in these twos relationship where maybe i should've. the thing is that sae is always concerned about how rin will fare without him.

in this chapter, sae asks rin what he thinks about or considers with playing soccer and rin responds with something along the lines of - he's not really thinking. he uses instinct and has confidence his brothers passes to him. sae is of course critical of this.

aside from the very obvious affection that this two share - sae goes onto tell rin that he's going off to spain soon. he once again, encourages rin to do his best and not fall behind while he's gone. rin responds with of course, and promises to become best in japan while sae goes onto become best in the world.

from there, we see rins life as he continues to grow up while his brother is in spain for several years. rin is shown to feel a little bit lonely, but keeps his promise of dedicating his entire life to football. not only is he a good team-player, he spends his free time practicing alone because he has full faith in the promise that he made with sae when they were young.

whats noticeable to me is the way rin describes playing without sae as constricting or inconvenient. the sport doesn't quite feel the same without sae around, but rin continues to practice because he values his relationship to his brother.

it's coming directly off of a win that sae returns home and sees rin practicing, and it's here i had a realization about the nature of their relationship and their driving force.

and it's here where i really put together what the actual consequence of saes spain trip was.

but before i get to that, i want to touch on the way bluelock as a series handles the concept of failure and motivation. because there are two seperate instances where a character has some sort of major event happen to them - whether that be a kind of betrayal or a massive failure and that drives their character to improve farther.

the first one being kunigami and his transformation as the hyena. the second and imo - the more important one, the relationship between reo and nagi.

to keep it brief - nagi essentially 'betrays' reo by choosing to go with isagi and separate himself from reo in order to improve. while nagi doesn't entirely understand it as a betrayal (because he still considers reo a close friend) it is indeed a crushing moment for reo - who makes it his goal and his ego to be a player that nagi can play with.

in laymans terms - it's betrayal of a pairing that provides character development and is often used to highlight the intense bonds between two people. to be motivated by someone instead of something can only speak to how much you value that person, and want to play with them, right?

and that's where i want to pick up with rin and sae.

there are so many details about this scene to nitpick. so many things i want to shed light on because i just find it so interesting when i look carefully. sae returns home while rin is practicing on the field, and rin is incredibly excited to see his brother.

but it's obvious both to us as the audience and to rin that sae has changed somehow.

you can just tell that sae looks exhausted, where as rin has the same same expression as he did four years ago.

there are so many things in this panel that i think are worth analyzing. the fact that rin notices that sae has lost weight as a marker of just how much sae has changed. what he's been through.

and more specifically what sae says in order to summarize his experiences in spain.

"turns out the world is huge. there're players way better than me out there. i..i've changed my dream."

now, my understanding of japanese is none so i can't compare this to the raws. but i want to discuss the phrasing here with a little more nuance - specifically, i want to talk about the way sae has phrased the sentence.

you'll notice that sae does not say "my dream has changed". he instead says "i've changed my dream." and i think this is a testament to what happened to him in the fours years he was abroad. sae wants it to seem like its a choice he's made, if only to convince rin that he's fine with it. it's obvious that sae likely experienced whats very common for characters in bluelock - which is the mortifying realization that he was practically nothing in comparison to his peers.

we know what the means for sae as individual, in that he was deeply discouraged by what he understood as reality. but what does that mean for sae as an older brother? particularly an older brother who dotes on his younger brother.

rin is very against the idea of sae playing as a midfielder, and tells sae to his face that he doesn't want to see sae like this. he recognizes that saes change is actually stemming from a sense of defeat, and is against the idea of sae giving up his dream. and you can see in saes expression that he's saddened at rins reaction - thought he might've predicted it to some extent.

he's insistent on the fact rin doesn't understand, but hearing rin say "you're not the same brother i shared a dream with...!" causes the façade to crack momentarily. in the minute that sae is covered in shadow, we see his approach to rin changing.

and i think it's here i realized what the sudden attitude change was about.

sae goes onto to challenge rin to a one on one duel. he tells rin, that if you're able to win against me here then ill continue to believe in that dream. he absolutely crushes rin in the match, and when that match is over - rin finally confesses it outright.

its this moment where it all finally clicked for me that saes response here was entirely intentional. and the reason i know that to be true, and that the way he talks to rin here is insincere is because of the way he hesitates.

we get an entire panel where sae simply stares at rin and is silent. this isn't a gut reaction. we intentionally get to see the briefest moment where sae is hesitating to say all of this cruel shit to rin. because he knows rin will never stop idolizing sae or hoping for that dream.

and you'll notice the way he's using this moment to drill something in rins head for later on. he says something explicitly i want to talk to about

"don't use me as your reason to play football ever again."

its this moment that confirms it for me. this, on top of the fact we don't get to see saes expression when he says the last part. he's turned away from rin entirely - when he had been facing rin for most of this conversation.

that's the thing, though. sae to some extent, is familiar with the cruelty that soccer on the international level has to offer. in the early part of the manga, you see him have a similar reaction to bluelock and egoism as a concept. sae is intrigued by it and supports its core tenets to some extent, because he's seen professional soccer at its most brutal.

when you think about it, what reason does sae have to be so intentionally cruel to rin about not wanting to play football? if he was really so indifferent to rin, what reason would there be to crush him to that extent? wouldn't the appropriate response be just that, indifference?

sae's disposition is never naturally cruel. but his whims and feelings adjust based on input. he plays soccer and thinks very heavily about his moves. so if his experiences is telling him that he is no longer fit to be a striker, then what does that make of the promise he made to the younger brother he adored.

all of that to say, i think sae wants rin to become a striker and wants to continue playing soccer with rin. but he believes that if rin remains attached to him the way he is - he will never reach his full potentional. and in order to bring that full potential out - he's willing to be the catalyst and subsequently the villain rins story.

i think all of it, and the intentional salt in the wound is a mechanism for rins development which sae achieves by the end of u20 almost.

#bllk manga spoilers #bluelock manga spoilers #bluelock meta #bllk meta #fang.bllkmeta #fang.meta #aristotle.txt #IVE SPENT TWO HOURS COMPILING THIS IM ASHAMED?#SORRY I JUST HAD LIKE. SUCH AN EPIPHANY ABOUT THESE TWO AND IM LIKE OUT OF MY MIND #LIKE HOLYYYY SHIT YOU KNOW?#I HAD NEVER REALLY PROCESSED THEM BEFORE #BUT WOW. LIKE WOW YOU KNOW

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limeade-l3sbian · 2 years

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Spoilers for several female characters’ arcs, including Arlong Park and Dressrosa

One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time, full stop. Its mangaka, Oda Eiichiro, is one of the highest-earning authors of all time, taking second place as a comics author only to Garfield creator Jim Davis. While other titans of the industry like Naruto and Bleach have finally ended their original sagas, One Piece remains ongoing. After nearly twenty-five years of serialization, Oda’s epic has had a huge impact on its fans and the manga industry as a whole.

But while One Piece looms large in the present and past, conversations about how Oda treats women have often taken place on a surface level. Oda started out his career by including women in prominent and active roles in his stories. As time went on, his vindictive nature towards fans meant he started taking out the criticisms he received on his female characters and fans alike, undoing the good work he had done in the series’ early days.

Oda’s relationship to gender isn’t static, and his early work in One Piece is quite different from what he’s producing now. In the beginning, Oda’s women are positive, if flawed, examples of female characters. While no character design in One Piece can truly be called “realistic,” its women were complex people with believable proportions. As the series went on, however, he began punishing female fans demanding better representation by diminishing women’s roles.

Examples of his attitude near the beginning of One Piece’s run are present in the SBS, the long-running Q&A section featured in most One Piece volumes featuring Oda’s often unfiltered sentiments.

D: Were there really woman pirates? O: Yes, there were. But it was considered bad luck to bring a woman on board a ship in those days, and so many of them disguised themselves as men. There were two woman pirates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who were said to have fought more bravely than any man. By the way, my character Alvida was based on a female pirate named Awilda (or Alvida) who formed a pirate crew comprised entirely of women. (Chapter 50, Page 124)

Oda is citing his sources and giving reasons why women belong in the One Piece world. It’s unnecessary—he is, after all, creating a fantasy universe where a boy made of rubber fights bad guys, so why should he need to justify female characters existing—but shows that Oda’s done his research and believes female pirates belong in his universe.

This is most clearly seen in Nami, the first (and for years, the only) female member of Luffy’s crew, the Straw Hats. Her role is that of the navigator, which occupies a tremendously important position; however, her combat abilities lag far behind the others’ from the very beginning.

Nami is also a money-grubbing thief, a role that paints the only major female character before Robin’s introduction as a duplicitous femme fatale in blue and white stripes instead of slinky dresses. Robin also fits this stereotype–she’s just better at it.

While Nami’s not the only member of the Straw Hats whose primary abilities aren’t physical combat, compare her company. Usopp may run at the first hint of a fight, but his skills lie in long-range combat as a sniper. While Chopper may primarily be a physician (and reindeer), he can still turn into a bulked-up version of himself in a pinch. Nami has her baton, but she uses it rarely and usually in last-ditch scenarios that end in defeat.

When Nami’s engagements in combat don’t end in defeat, it’s usually because she’s fighting against other women. Women versus women is a trope in long running shounen of this era – watch Naruto and count how many times a woman beats a man head-on. While these battles may be compelling narrative, in One Piece they’re not treated as serious battles compared to the “real” fights, which are Luffy or Zoro or Sanji fighting against the big bad of the arc. It feels like many female villains are only created to give Nami something to do during climactic battles.

The thing is, though, Oda is a good enough writer that he complicates any simple reading of Nami as a sexist caricature. Nami’s backstory, as played out at Arlong Park, is one of the most emotionally affecting parts of the East Blue Saga. Nami spends the first several arcs backstabbing and double-crossing Luffy & Co. for her own goals. She’s had to go it alone for years, and can’t trust anyone on her path of freeing herself from a tyrant. Asking Luffy for help is a moment of genuine character growth for a woman who has been forced to see everyone but herself as a mark.

Nami’s deceased mother figure, Belle-Mère, is also a huge part of this arc, and significant time is spent on her backstory. Belle-Mère is a former military officer, a fighting woman who adopted two orphaned children fresh out of the Marines. Despite her self-sacrificing death, she is presented as both morally and physically intimidating, her kind personality offset by nerves of steel.. As Oda explained in another SBS segment, even Bell-mère’s distinctive hairstyle is indicative of the way Oda writes her.

O: That hairstyle is called “Women have Guts”. You should yell it out in a beauty parlor. (Chapter 87, Page 128)

Sure, the hair is ugly, but it’s a clear indicator that he sees women as capable of possessing the same drive and fighting spirit as men.

There are also other female figures important to the Straw Hats’ backstories, such as Zoro’s formative childhood rival, Kuina. Zoro was never able to beat Kuina growing up, but Oda’s writing presents Zoro’s inability to win against Kuina as a result of his age: because he had not yet hit puberty, he couldn’t beat his rival in a fight. Kuina expressed sorrow and frustration that Zoro would eventually surpass her after he hit puberty, something she viewed as unavoidable due to her gender. Her death is Zoro’s primary motivation behind becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, but the potential for her character is never realized.

This arc sets so much up, not just for Zoro but for the series’ approach to women. The way moving forward seems obvious—presenting an adult woman who challenges Zoro as he is now, thus resolving his childhood trauma—but the series fails to do that… despite introducing Sergeant Tashigi, a swordswoman foil to Zoro who looks exactly like Kuina.

Although Tashigi initially seems like the obvious rival for Zoro, he instead remains overwhelmingly her superior while her position in the Marines is undermined by gendered condescension, with her troops sacrificing their lives to protect her rather than trusting in her skill. She’s not an asset; she’s a liability.

Despite laying the groundwork to defy Kuina’s internalized gender stereotypes through Tashigi, Oda uses her incompetence to justify them. Kuina has a fighting spirit and is thus sad she’s a woman. Instead of showing the reader that this is wrong through the narrative, Oda’s writing agrees with her.

It’s not that Oda thinks women don’t have the heart for it. This is said in his own words in the SBS:

D: HI!! Eiichi! You said in Volume 27 that the Jaya arc was “A man’s romance”?! As a woman of 18 years, how would you define my “burning passion for adventure” and “infinite dreams”?! And all my blood goes to my head when I read your manga!!! Take responsibility for it!!! Please take responsibility and include the girls, too. From Her New Nye Co. O: A woman’s romance? No, it’s a bit complicated. The word “man” is sometimes used like an adjective. Really good women have men in themselves. You call them “chic”. So I’ll scream it once again: Men and women can use “A MAN’S ROMANCE”!! Women are included!! (Chapter 263, Page 164)

What limited Oda in these early days was not the idea that women don’t want to fight, but the belief women are fundamentally physically weaker than men.

There are women throughout the story, but Kuina’s belief that puberty will strip her of all her advantages is repeatedly proven right as the plot develops. Sergeant Tashigi isn’t a satisfying successor to Kuina’s early death because she doesn’t follow through on the set-up for Kuina’s storyline or being a rival to Zoro. Instead, she proves that a fighting spirit can’t overcome the physical weakness of being a woman.

In Oda’s world, women lack the same prowess in combat as male characters despite the presence of magic Devil Fruit powers. Physically imposing women like Alvida and Big Mom are mocked to the point of inhumanity for their appearances and weight, while attractive women are rarely powerful. In the rare case a woman manages to be both powerful and attractive, like Robin, they mysteriously miss all the action.

Early One Piece isn’t perfect, but there was solid ground to build on. Oda could have grown into his female characters. He already understood the hard part, after all: that women strive for the same human desires of fighting and protecting as men.

Even with issues this endemic, Oda ultimately humanizes the women who populate the East Blue. He clearly understands that women have motivations: that they love and hurt and hate and desire for vengeance all on their own. Oda knows—or at least expressed, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s—a clear understanding that women are people, with all the messy results this entails.

But instead of listening to the negative feedback he started receiving, Oda doubled down.

I don’t think Oda hates women. It’s simpler than that: Oda doesn’t like it when people read his characters in ways he didn’t intend. He’s said it himself in interviews. On some level, I can’t blame him. It’s frustrating when readers misconstrue something you’ve written. In an interview at Color Walk 6 in 2014, Oda said:

“I get annoyed to hear people speaking ill of characters in ONE PIECE. For example, when they say ‘this villain is weak’, I can’t help thinking that then I’ll make him much stronger!”

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The reemergence of Sir Crocodile, one of the series’ early antagonists, is among my favorite moments of the series, and it likely happened as Oda’s response to fans calling him weak. Here, Oda’s decision to prove complaining fans wrong by changing the text improved the series.

Oda’s reactions to complaints about his portrayal of women in SBS, however, are another story.

D: Nice to meet you. This is sudden, but… please teach us a tip or two on how to draw that hawt hourglass body all ONE PIECE female characters seem to have! Make sure you don’t forget to include their airbags ♡ P.N. If there’s no bread, let them eat roses~ O: Yes. Hello. It’s drawing time at the SBS segment. I would suggest that you think of a woman’s proportions as “three circles, one X”. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving. (I only draw this kind of body, so I get a lot of complaint postcards from my female audience. Let’s all stay strong and keep on living life.) (Chapter 786, Page 24)

This is where his pettiness goes from fun and relatable to troubling. In Oda’s own words, a “lot” of women complain that he doesn’t do right by his female characters. He could reflect on the validity of these many complaints and use that feedback to improve his narrative. Instead, he doubles down on the character traits people took issue with.

Complaining that a villain is “weak” is an opinion that engages with the media in-world and doesn’t affect anyone. Female fans writing in to express that they are uncomfortable with the portrayal of their gender in his work are talking about something that impacts them personally. Poor representations of women in the media have the potential to affect the way other people in the real world see these women, from cultural perceptions to concrete working conditions.

Despite explicitly acknowledging that many women who read One Piece don’t like his representation, Oda dismisses them and advises his audience to “all stay strong and keep on living life.” Female fans who complain are moved from the “fan” category to “other.” Oda paints himself as the brave one even as he makes his female fans the target for ridicule by aligning his audience with him against “them.”

Meanwhile, Oda’s character designs grew more sexualized, not less. Here are side-by-side comparisons of Nami, one at the beginning of the series, one directly before the two-year time skip, and one of her afterward.

Some… things… certainly changed. Long before I ever interacted with One Piece seriously—before I knew anything but the most basic details of the premise—I remember people joking about the huge change in the way female characters looked after the timeskip. This is egregiously sexist character design, enough that people with no vested interest in representing female characters well still took note when it happened. Oda took the timeskip as an opportunity to respond to female complaints and male desires: look, everyone, he said, look at my female characters now.

This change for the worse wasn’t just visual, but affected the narrative as well. This is clearly seen in Rebecca, a major female character in the Dressrosa saga. It’s not just that she’s a 16-year-old in a chainmail bikini, but that her agency is repeatedly denied as the story unfolds.

Rebecca is a gladiator taught by her paternal figure to only fight when absolutely necessary. However, when that time arrives in the story, he denies her the opportunity. Despite Rebecca’s skill, this older man’s desire to protect her supersedes her desire to protect her loved ones. It’s taken as a given that she wouldn’t want to fight unless there was absolutely no other way. In other coming-of-age stories, her lack of desire to fight might prove the necessity of doing so when it comes down to the wire. Instead, a man (her mentor no less, a character type who’s generally meant to be pushed aside so their student can complete their growth) steps in at that crucial moment.

What happened to the world Belle-Mere lived in? What happened to a woman’s sense of adventure, her ability to possess a manly spirit? Princess Vivi from Alabasta, the driving force from a much earlier saga, may not have had astounding combat moments, but her battle between her desire to serve her people and her thirst for adventure is a more compelling story than Rebecca’s narrative. Vivi may have chosen civic duty, but she remains an honorary Straw Hat.

Rebecca is a painful step back from Vivi at a time when Oda should be stepping forward. In the past, he had some misguided ideas and exhibited plenty of gender essentialism, but he valued women’s stories and participation. Nami and Robin’s arcs are as fleshed out as any other Straw Hat’s, and their moments of growth are personal and popular highlights of the overall series, used as examples of the quality One Piece can possess.

D: *click* You BIG BOOB LOVER!!! (Ahem, pardon me.) *slam*… *click* *smack* (blown kiss) *slam* P.N. marimo O: Whoa. The girls are rebelling. What are you gonna do about that, guys?! OK, leave it to me! I’ll lay down the law for us all. What the hell are you talking about? I’m a goddamn shonen manga-ka! A MAN’S DREAM!! NEVER ENDS!!! (That was good) (Chapter 381, Page 86)

A female fan complains, and he says that he draws shounen manga: therefore, his representation of women is in line with the genre. “A man’s dream” includes adventure, fights, freedom, and all the core tenets of One Piece that appealed to earlier women writing into the SBS; however, it also includes sexualizing women. As a shonen mangaka, Oda writes for boys and aims to represent what boys (and often men) want. What girls want—representation that shows them as varied and human as male characters—evidently just isn’t as important.

Instead of considering the reasons his female fans don’t like his choices, he considers their opinions irrelevant because they are not his target audience. Any argument of sexism or misogyny can be written away as the annoying or bitter complaints of women whom the story isn’t “for”. The women who get it get to stay, on the condition that they don’t complain.

If you ask why Oda should have to think about representing women, my response is that it’s hypocritical to say that Oda shouldn’t have to moralize, because, at the end of the day, One Piece already has morals. One Piece doesn’t succeed simply because Luffy is funny, Zoro is cool, and Nami is sexy: it has a through-line of humanity that tells its audience time and time again that blood is less important than the family you choose. Oda is perfectly willing to tell anti-authoritarian stories about corrupt police forces and write blatant racism allegories. To excuse sexism in a show that’s willing to address the evils of slavery head-on requires intellectual dishonesty.

Finally, the idea that women are “not his audience” is false when 52% of the readership of One Piece is estimated to be female. If over half of your audience is women, maybe it’s in your best interest not to completely disregard everything they say. At some point in a two-decade-long career, a good writer—which Oda demonstrably is—should be able to look around and see that the themes he thought would only appeal to boys have a wide appeal to everyone. Perhaps, then, it isn’t that “really good women” have a man’s heart. Perhaps men and women all have the same heart. Perhaps we all share the same drive for adventure, freedom, and life on the open seas.

One Piece is a wonderful, mischievous, and masterful show with a lot to say about the human need for friendship and adventure. It’s only gotten more influential with time, and it reaches a larger audience than ever. While far from perfect, twenty years ago Oda demonstrated an awareness that female shounen fans possessed the same desire for heroism and friendship as the boys who read his work, and he was happy to let them tag along on the journey—but only until they pointed out his flaws. When women asked for more, Oda made sure female fans knew One Piece was never for girls in the first place.

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essektheylyss · 1 year

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5 & 33 for the ask meme!

I have hit another thousand words, so I return for the memes!

5. Meta you would write if you did not fear people would be SUPER weird about it. This is also an invitation to write that meta and block the haters.

Everyone and their mom has said the "Caleb moved on from his crush on Jester and so should everyone else," so I won't say that one. Honestly, where to begin, though...

I touched on a lot of things I would like to write longer pieces on if people wouldn't be weird in the recent behemoth of a Caleb meta that I posted, but I think the primary one that I'd love to write is a proper discussion of just like, how weird Essek is for an NPC, because it's genuinely VERY important that he's an NPC and also functions as one while simultaneously being a truly bizarre NPC.

He cannot be treated as a PC nor given the same narrative weight as one, and he is very much an NPC (rather than falling in the distinct category of DMPC), but he is in such a strange position due to his shift from potential enemy to ally, because enemies, in d&d terms, get a lot more agency than allies. But if an NPC starts as an enemy, particularly with one that has influence over the plot (as Essek does, having at least played a part in starting the war) they will maintain some of that agency even if they become an ally.

You can kind of see this in how accommodating Essek is in 124 in comparison to the kind of lukewarm aid he gives them prior to 91, because at this point, the Nein have virtually no allies in Eiselcross, and many enemies. And narratively, this can be chalked up to guilt, but structurally, it is necessary from a mechanics standpoint.

But since he is a character with agency, he can have moments of challenging Caleb, even when the rest of the PCs don't, and that's also what makes him more viable in this format to be a love interest, because as we know, NPC romances are in fact difficult to play.

At the same time, he is a mouthpiece of the narrative, so it's genuinely important that he is an NPC for moments like "It's not fair," in 140, where a PC is going to try to take an action, but an NPC only gets to be the Greek chorus lamenting the tragedy of chance.

Aaaand I didn't actually mean to write the meta, but here we are. I'm considering counting this toward my word count.

33. You may ask any member of the cast one, and only one lore clarification question. What do you ask?

The cast member for both is Matt, because I am typical. It's a toss up between "Did the scourger make that shiv herself, or did someone give it to her, and WHO?" and "What the FUCK was Essek's deal with Adeen?"

[ask me Weirdly Specific Critical Role Questions!]

#of course my lore questions are about essek but like. WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT SCOURGER #I don't think it was essek to be clear but enough people have suggested it that I wanna know #I wouldn't put it past him but I am curious!#I'm not gonna put it toward my word count but I did consider it.#critical role #ask game #cr meta #I GUESS???#I do have many many feelings and opinions about how the game structurally impacts the narrative and essek is my fave like.#SPECIFICALLY because he is particularly an exemplar of that

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duhragonball · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Super 124

FEATURING: LASERCAGE 2000™

Last time, Goku and Vegeta powered up to their ultimate forms. Goku went beyond Super Saiyan Blue to achieve Cherry Super Saiyan Blue, and Vegeta went beyond Super Saiyan Blue to Super Saiyan Blue (Blue). Those are the official names for those forms, I will not be accepting corrections.

Anyway, they fire off their finishing attacks at Jiren, but it does nothing. Jiren tries to talk smack, and Goku and Vegeta literally do not care about anything he says. I like this, because Jiren’s whole schtick is to be intimidating with as few words as possible. Like when he defeated Hit, he said “Do you know what the pride of an assassin is worth? Absolutely nothing!” Or words to that effect. It’s less trash-talk and more “Let me take a moment to explain why you never had a chance.”

When he started fighting Goku in #122, he asked Goku why he seeks greater strength, and Goku admitted he didn’t know, he just wants to get stronger. Jiren scoffed at this, and said he was pursuing something beyond strength, insinuating that he had a grander purpose. And with Vegeta, he accused him of being arrogant and entitled. In both cases, he seemed to be implying that these were fundamental flaws holding them back.

The thing is, Goku and Vegeta do not care what Jiren is saying. He may have valid points, but this ain’t the debate club. They’re in a fight. And they already know Jiren’s insanely strong. They’re just going to keep attacking him until they win.

And that sort of defines the entire philosophical conflict between these two teams. One of the criticisms I have with the Tournament of Power is that Universe 7, by far, has the most eliminations out of all the teams. The number I found was fifty-two, and I’m not sure if that counts Master Roshi and 18, who eliminated themselves. It’s cool that the “home” team was so dominant, but it also undermines the Tournament of Power as a concept. The original idea was that it would be cool to fight all the super-strong guys from other universes, but in practice it seems like most of the universes couldn’t hang with ours.

But the point is that Universe 7 is a lot more aggressive than the other teams. U6 did a lot of eliminates, but they were less powerful in general, so that kind of makes sense. And U11 had the most unified team and the strongest ringer, but they seemed content to back off and let the rabble fight amongst themselves. In Jiren’s mind, he’s already won this thing, but the U7 crew refuses to take anything for granted. They’re here to fight, win lose or draw, and so they’ve been whippin’ ass nonstop. At no point have the U7 team considered fighting defensively to protect their lead over the other teams. As far as they’ve been concerned, they’re scratching and clawing their way to the top, even when they’re the ones who are winning.

So no, Goku and Vegeta aren’t going to lose their nerve just because Jiren hits them really hard.

Meanwhile, Dyspo sees Jiren fighting and decides that he should go all out as well. WHAT WERE YOU WAITING FOR? The tournament’s almost over! There’s only five more opponents to eliminate! Why would you hold anything back?

So Dyspo punches Frieza and does this neat move with a ki ring that explodes.

I should take a moment to praise the dub VA for Dyspo, Christopher Dontrell Piper. The Japanese VA, Bim Shimada, played the role with a certain peppy feel. He wasn’t talking fast, but there was still this kind of “fast character” flavor to the performance. But Piper kind of flips the script, making Dyspo more relaxed. Piper’s Dyspo sounds like a cool athlete who just got the big contract and he has the skills and talent to deserve every penny. Even when he’s frustrated, he still talks like he’s winning, he’s just mad that it’s taking longer than it should. This is a dude who knows he’s the best and he knows Jiren has his back. Piper is definitely one of the reasons I’m so glad I finally paid for the dub.

(Also Ray Hurd’s Top is excellent, but Top isn’t in this episode much, so we’ll talk about him next time.)

But Dyspo’s attacks don’t work on Frieza, who goes Golden to put a stop to this. And Dyspo soon finds that he’s having some difficulty.

But that’s okay, because Dyspo just turns up the juice and gets even faster. This is apparently called “Super Maximum Light Speed Mode”, but I’m going to call it “Dyspo (Purple)”.

Dyspo can’t hurt Golden Frieza much, but his awesome speed does allow him to push Frieza closer to the edge of the ring. Also, he’s so fast now that even the Grand Zeno’s GodPads can no longer keep up with Dyspo’s movements on slow-mo instant replay. The Grand Minister admits that he cannot correct this flaw, and asks the Zenos to accept that Dyspo is simply too fast to follow. They’re pretty chill about the whole thing, which is nice.

Anyway, before Dyspo can ring-out Frieza, Gohan jumps in to make the save. I’m guessing he had an easier time blindsiding Dyspo while Dyspo was sticking close to punch Frieza.

Oh, right, I forgot. Earlier on, there was a part where Frieza offered to switch sides if Dyspo would agree to wish him back with the Super Dragon Balls. Everyone got worried, then wondered if it was just some weird headgame Frieza was playing, but Dyspo refused the offer on principle. The Pride Troopers don’t make deals with evildoers, which certainly does save them the hassle of worrying about this sort of thing.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because when Gohan rescues Frieza, he questions his judgment, since Frieza might betray him again. Gohan isn’t playing his game, and insists that he’ll support Frieza because they’re teammates. But if Frieza does try any shit, Gohan promises to “end you myself.” Pretty cool line, but I’m pretty sure we’re not going to see Gohan take out Frieza anytime soon.

Double-teaming Dyspo doesn’t work very well, since he’s so damn quick. So instead, Gohan suggests that they find a way to pin Dyspo down, so he’ll have less room to maneuver.

And so Frieza gets to a safe distance and shoots beams out of his fingers to create....

LASERCAGE 2000™ !

There’s only one rule in LASERCAGE 2000™ : If you touch a laser, it hurts a lot.

That rule applies to Gohan as well. LASERCAGE 2000™ does not distinguish friend from foe. It is the ultimate equalizer of the 90′s.

So this puts Dyspo in a bind, since he has to fight Gohan in close quarters, and that limits his ability to use his speed. Dyspo’s good, but he’s not toe-to-toe-with-Gohan good.

But he hangs in there, because what else can he do? Still, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before Dyspo succumbs to Gohan’s offense. But wait!

Frieza can’t maintain that attack for very long, so he falters, and LASERCAGE 2000™ is now closed. Please return your protective goggles to the green basket before picking up your shoes from the storage bins.

Dyspo stops to gloat, but Gohan grabs him in a rear naked choke! It took me a few minutes to look up what this was, and it turns out it was the move I hear about all the time, so let’s talk about that for a bit.

So normally, you’d want to cinch your arm around Dyspo’s neck, using your bicep and forearm to squeeze the carotid arteries and restrict the bloodfloow to Dyspo’s brain. But Gohan isn’t trying to knock Dyspo out, and he certainly doesn’t want to kill him, so he’s not doing the “choke” part of the RNC.

“Rear” is just a reference to the fact that Gohan’s standing behind Dyspo, but what’s the “naked” part mean? Wikipedia said it was about the fact that you don’t need to wear a gi to apply the hold, but Gohan’s wearing a gi, so I was going to make a joke about this being a “rear choke” instead. But that’s not quite how it works.

There are some holds that require the opponent to be wearing clothes. For example, Gohan could do a move that involves grabbing hold of Dyspo’s uniform. But Dyspo’s wearing tights, so that might not work so well. And what if he was nude? The term “naked” in “rear naked choke” refers to the fact that the hold can be applied to the target whether he’s wearing clothes or not. So I just learned something today, and maybe you did too.

Anyway, Gohan doesn’t need to choke Dyspo out, he just has to hold him still long enough for Frieza to blast them out of the ring. They kind of act like this was Gohan’s plan all along, as if they were counting on Dyspo to get sloppy when LASERCAGE 2000™ failed, but I’m pretty sure this is Gohan improvising a Plan B. The only way for this to succeed is for Gohan to hold Dyspo the whole way out of the ring, which means...

... they both get eliminated. Gohan apologizes for this, but everyone assures him that he made the right call. Dyspo was too fast to knock out any other way, and this allows the remaining four U7 guys to fight Jiren and Top without Dyspo getting in the way.

Dyspo, on the other hand, is a lot more frustrated with his defeat. He probably should have fled the moment Gohan and Frieza joined forces, and focused on isolating a U7 guy. Top and Jiren seem to be doing well fighting two guys at once, so it was up to Dyspo to make sure neither of them got triple-teamed.

Then again, that’s easier said than done. Dyspo had to use his top speed just to push Frieza to the edge, and then someone jumped in to stop him. If he had tried that on Gohan or 17, the result probably would have been the same. And if he tried to attack Vegeta, I think he’d just lose outright. If it was 3-on-3, it might have gone differently, but the numbers game didn’t favor Dyspo at all.

But now it’s 4 against 2, which makes things even tougher for Universe 11. Or so you would think...

Here’s KISS with “2000 Man”. I’ll be honest, I’m running out of good KISS songs to use for this, and this is a cover of a Rolling Stones song, but it’s nice to get some Ace Frehley representation in this thing.

youtube

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #tournament of power #LASERCAGE 2000™

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nocternalrandomness · 1 year

Photo

Canadian Forces CH-124 Sea King

The Sea King entered service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1963 as an all-weather shipborne helicopter to provide close antisubmarine warfare (ASW) protection for ships at sea. By the time it was retired from service 55 years later, in 2018, it had undergone a variety of modifications and role-changes. Throughout, it maintained its well-earned reputation as the workhorse of the fleet. Sea King helicopters were a critical element in nearly every naval operation at home and abroad.

#Canadian Navel Forces #Sikorsky #CH-124 #Sea King #RCN #Antisubmarine warfare platform #Cargo aircraft #Aviation #Military aircaft

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 2 years

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Fox News has promoted the false claim that the Inflation Reduction Act adds 87,000 employees to the Internal Revenue Service at least 203 times since Senate Democrats announced the bill’s framework on August 5, according to a Media Matters review of the network’s programming. That false talking point fuels Fox’s incendiary smear that President Joe Biden is turning the IRS into a “new Gestapo” that will “hunt down and kill middle-class taxpayers.”

The IRA, which Biden signed into law on August 16, includes $80 billion over the next decade in additional funding for the IRS. A portion of those funds would support tougher tax enforcement targeted at Americans making more than $400,000, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would raise $204 billion. The net gain of $124 billion, along with prescription drug pricing reform and tax increases on billion-dollar corporations, helps the bill fund investments in clean energy and health care while also reducing the deficit by over $300 billion over 10 years.

Republicans and their right-wing media supporters oppose increased funding for the IRS; they prefer to hobble tax enforcement so that wealthy people can continue to cheat on their taxes with impunity. GOP politicians spent years defunding the tax police and have focused their IRA criticism on this provision, deceptively warning that the bill creates a “new army of 87,000 IRS agents” who “will be coming for you,” in the words of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Fox has played a key role in stoking right-wing ire against the IRS, including by spreading the false claim that the bill would lead to the hiring of 87,000 employees at least 203 times. The talking point has been commonplace both on “news side” programs like The Faulkner Focus (20 instances), America’s Newsroom (15), and America Reports (12), and on “opinion side” shows like Fox & Friends First (23 instances), Fox & Friends (16), The Ingraham Angle (15), Tucker Carlson Tonight (12), and Hannity (10). The purported 87,000 new hires were specifically described as “agents” at least 169 times.

But it is false to claim that the IRA provides for 87,000 IRS hires, agents or not. The IRS has not announced any hiring plans in response to the IRA — the figure comes from a separate Treasury Department proposal from 2021 detailing what the IRS could do with additional funding, which predates that bill. That proposal includes 87,000 new hires across all positions, including secretarial and IT staff, not strictly auditors or “agents.” GOP-driven budget cuts in recent years have reduced the IRS headcount to near-1974 levels, and the hiring plan is meant to address a major loss of employees to retirement and “simply maintain current levels,” according to PolitiFact.

Fox has also regularly promoted the wildly inflammatory and false claim that the new IRS hires would all be armed, doing so at least 40 times over the same period, 9 of which came on Fox star Tucker Carlson’s program. That’s a conflation of a separate talking point the right has used to fearmonger about the IRS. In fact, as the network’s White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has noted on Twitter, only a tiny fraction of the service’s employees belong to the Criminal Investigation division, a century-old unit whose special agents carry firearms because they handle dangerous cases involving crimes like public corruption, narcotics, and money laundering.

These Fox falsehoods are part of a wave of right-wing demagoguery targeting the IRS. As I noted last week after Carlson alleged that the Biden administration is hiring “87,000 armed IRS agents to make sure you obey”:

"Carlson’s falsehood follows a week of unhinged demagoguery from Fox and others in the right-wing media that links the new IRS funding with the Mar-a-Lago search as dark signs that the Biden administration has weaponized the government against Americans. Fox pundits have described the potential wave of IRS hiring as an ‘economic, financial militia against regular people’ deployed by those who ‘want to control you’; a ‘new army’ that will ‘hunt down and kill middle class taxpayers’; a ‘new Gestapo’ Biden will use in an ‘abusive, corrupt manner’; ‘a Praetorian Guard that will be unleashed again’ to ‘grab all the cash they can by any means necessary’; and ‘part of an orchestrated campaign to target Americans and have the federal government be at war with those Americans.’"

The virulence of the right-wing attacks on the IRS has triggered concerns that its employees may be subject to violence. On Tuesday, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig announced “a full security review of its facilities nationwide” in light of staff safety concerns, The Washington Post reported. Rettig, a Trump appointee, suggested that Republican criticisms of the service are fueling far-right extremism and threats.

That isn’t giving Fox hosts a reason for pause. On Tuesday, Laura Ingraham once again falsely claimed that the IRA funds “87,000 IRS agents,” and described Rettig’s statement as “preemptive action against its critics” by the Biden administration.

METHODOLOGY

Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on Fox News Channel for any of the terms “Internal Revenue Service,” “IRS,” “Inflation Reduction Act,” or “IRA” or any variation of the phrase “tax enforcement” within close proximity of any of the terms “hire,” “employee,” “personnel,” “agent,” “armed,” “87,000,” “87000,” “87 thousand,” “eighty-seven thousand,” “80 billion,” or “eighty billion” from August 5, 2022, through August 23, 2022.

We counted segments, which we defined as instances when the Internal Revenue Service funding provision of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was the stated topic of discussion or instances when we found significant discussion of the provision. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in the multitopic segment discussed the provision with one another. We also included passing mentions, which we defined as instances when a speaker mentioned the provision in a segment about another topic without another speaker engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promoted a segment about the provision scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

We then reviewed all segments, mentions, and teasers for any claims suggesting that the IRA funding for the IRS would result in the hiring of 87,000 new employees. Within those claims, we also noted when speakers described the employees as “agents” or “armed.”

We split Fox programs into “news” and “opinion” sides. We defined “news” programs as those with anchors, such as Bret Baier or Martha MacCallum, at the helm, while we defined “opinion” programs as those with hosts, such as Tucker Carlson or Laura Ingraham. We used the designations from each anchor or host’s author page on FoxNews.com. We also considered the format of the program; we defined those using a panel format, such as Outnumbered and The Five, as opinion programs.

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merry-moss · 11 months

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#Critical Role clip #D&D #Sam Riegel #Laura Bailey #mustache

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sarvendaralakshmanavijayarajan · 1 year

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Critical analysis

Juul, J. (2013) The art of failure an essay on the pain of playing video games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Jesper Juul is a Danish game designer and researcher who has written extensively about video games and their cultural significance. He is the author of several games and game design books, including "Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds" and "The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games."

Juul has a computer science and media studies background and has worked as a game designer, game researcher, and game teacher. He has also written numerous articles and lectures on game design, player experience, and player psychology.

Juul is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies at the University of Copenhagen, where he teaches game design and game studies courses. He is also a co-founder of the International DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association).

I chose this book for my critical analysis (pages 122-124) because I wanted to explore the issue of failure in video games and learn Juul's perspective on how failure affects the player experience. The book is also an excellent resource for learning about the psychological and emotional effects of playing video games, in my opinion.

I had a question in my head, "Why do people tend to play the game even though they fail at it multiple times?" This book finally solved it for me.

According to Jesper Juul, people tend to play games even if they have failed multiple times for various reasons. In his book "The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games," Juul identifies several key factors that contribute to the paradox of failure, or the phenomenon in which people continue to engage with a game despite experiencing failure within the game.

One reason is that failure can be an integral part of the game design and player experience. Many games are designed to be challenging, and the experience of overcoming obstacles and achieving success can be a vital part of the game's enjoyment. Failure may be seen as an essential element of the game rather than something to be avoided.

Another reason is that failure can be a source of motivation and learning for players. Players who fail at a game may be motivated to try again to improve their skills and eventually succeed. This learning and improvement process can be rewarding and may be a key reason why people continue to play games despite experiencing failure.

Additionally, the social aspect of games contributes to the paradox of failure. Some people enjoy playing games with friends or other people online, and the social connections that can be formed through the game may be more important to them than the outcome of the game itself.

For some people, playing games can be a way to relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life. They may enjoy engaging with a different world and take a break from their daily routine, even if they are unsuccessful in the game.

In "The Art of Failure: An Essay on the Pain of Playing Video Games," Jesper Juul presents a thought-provoking argument about the role of failure in video games, and how it can be a source of pleasure and enjoyment for players. Juul's essay is a critical analysis of the way that video games deal with failure, and how players respond to it.

One of the main points that Juul makes in his essay is that failure is an integral part of the video game experience. He argues that video games are designed to be challenging and that players are often expected to fail at specific points to progress. Juul compares this to how we learn in real life, saying that we often know more from our failures than we do from our successes. This argument is supported by the idea that video games are a form of play and that play is often associated with experimentation and exploration. By allowing players to fail and try again, video games will enable them to learn and improve.

One example of the paradox of failure in video games can be seen in the popular game called "Dark Souls." This game is known for its high difficulty level; many players need help progressing through it. Despite this, "Dark Souls" has a dedicated player base that continues to play the game and attempt to overcome its challenges.

One reason is that failure is integral to the game design and player experience in "Dark Souls." The game is designed to be challenging, and the experience of overcoming obstacles and achieving success is a vital part of the enjoyment of the game for many players. Failure may be seen as an essential element of the game, rather than something to be avoided.

Another reason for the paradox of failure in "Dark Souls" is that it can be a source of motivation and learning for players. Players who fail at a game may be motivated to try again to improve their skills and eventually succeed. In "Dark Souls," players often spend hours practicing and experimenting with different strategies in order to progress through the game. This learning and improvement process can be rewarding and may be a key reason why people continue to play "Dark Souls" despite experiencing failure.

In addition to these factors, the social aspect of "Dark Souls" may also contribute to the paradox of failure. Many players enjoy discussing and sharing strategies with other players, and the social connections formed through the game may be more important to them than the outcome itself.

Overall, the paradox of failure in "Dark Souls" illustrates the complex and nuanced relationship between failure and enjoyment in video games. Failure can be discouraging and disheartening, but it can also be a crucial aspect of the playing experience, giving players inspiration and a sense of success. As Juul argues in his book, failure is a critical element in many games, and it is through failure, players can learn, improve, and ultimately find enjoyment in the game. Juul's "The Art of Failure" offers a unique and thought-provoking perspective on the role of failure in video games. It highlights the importance of embracing and learning from our mistakes as we play and engage with these complex and rewarding interactive experiences. Whether struggling to beat a difficult level or trying to make the right choices in a branching narrative, failure is an integral part of the journey that helps us grow and improve as players.

The main strength of this article is the wide range of examples provided for failure and the failure of paradox within the game, which helps many game designers /readers understand the importance of failure in games and how it helps us reach new heights. He uses many traditional methods to justify the paradox of failure in his book. The "paradox of failure" described by Jesper Juul refers to the idea that in some games, players may feel more invested and engaged when they are failing or struggling than when they are succeeding. As a result, success may be less satisfying because it provides a different opportunity for growth than loss, which may present a sense of challenge and allow players to learn and improve. I also believe that "flow," a focused and optimally challenging state that players may enjoy, may be related to this paradox. The paradox of failure suggests that failing in games may be an essential and enjoyable component that can increase player engagement and drive.

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ludinusdaleth · 2 years

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-Critical Role Campaign 2, Episode 124, "A Walk to Warmer Welcomes"

#critteredit #criticalroleedit #critical role #campaign 2 #caleb widogast #liam o'brien #mine

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allthebrazilianpolitics · 10 months

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Military Courts and Human Rights Violations in Brazil from the Perspective of the Inter-American Human Rights System

The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil will soon rule (under a constitutional review case called Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade no. 5032, commonly referred to as ADI 5032) whether members of the armed forces that commit crimes against civilians during peacetime should be tried before civilian or military courts. This judgment is critical for Brazil, a country with a long (and recent) period of authoritarian military rule (1964-1985) but without comprehensive transitional justice mechanisms and State accountability for human rights violations.

While the current Brazilian Constitution (adopted in 1988) restricted the institutional role of the military, starting from the 1990s, governments began to routinely employ the Armed Forces in public security contexts – from fighting organised crime in the Favelas or the Amazon rain forest to assisting local security forces with mega-events, such as the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup (often called “operations to guarantee law and order”). This resulted in a complex and conflictual institutional context: unresolved political and human rights issues combined with increasing reliance on the military for public security matters, often resulting in civilian deaths and claims of excessive use of violence.

In principle, the Brazilian Constitution had institutional mechanisms to oversee the military in these cases. The jurisdiction of military courts encompassed “military crimes,” which were generally perceived to refer to crimes perpetrated by members of the armed forces during wartime or to crimes committed by civilians against the military (Article 124, sole paragraph), therefore excluding any crimes committed during these operations, which were initially tried under civilian courts.

In the late 1990s, Congress approved laws establishing that public security operations by the armed forces are considered “military activities” for the purposes of the Military Penal Code. Therefore, the military courts now have jurisdiction to hear and try non-military crimes perpetrated by members of the armed forces during public security operations. The investigation and trial of these criminal offences, previously conducted by civilian authorities under civilian courts, is now overseen by the military.

In this context, the Attorney General’s Office filed ADI 5032 before the Supreme Federal Court arguing against the constitutionality of these laws on human rights grounds, as authorised under Article 103 of the Brazilian Constitution. The trial began in 2022, and it was initially conducted remotely in an online session. So far, five justices have issued opinions on the matter: three approving the constitutionality of the laws expanding military jurisdiction, one finding them unconstitutional, and one finding partial unconstitutionality of these provisions, but accepting the core of Attorney General’s Office petition against military jurisdiction during “operations to guarantee law and order”. The session was adjourned in early 2023 after Justice Lewandowski formally requested more time to review and debate the matter in an in-person trial session.

#brazil #politics #brazilian politics #democracy #military #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

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witchklng · 1 year

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I posted 14,250 times in 2022

That's 3,195 more posts than 2021!

49 posts created (0%)

14,201 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@vethbrenatto

@thegreatblondebalrogslayer

@hotboiessek

@yashley

@slayerscake

I tagged 14,155 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#star wars - 2,937 posts

#critical role - 2,390 posts

#clone wars - 983 posts

#black sails - 871 posts

#bells hells - 813 posts

#vox machina - 747 posts

#clones - 718 posts

#lotr - 711 posts

#got - 577 posts

#obi wan - 550 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

My Top Posts in 2022:

See the full post

36 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

rewatching lost and i must make an appreciation post for my beloved farsighted asshole and his very fashionable glasses ♡♡♡

36 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

when you find the green book 🧐 & realize that both the red book brother AND the blue book brother have been playing you for a fool 🤯😤 so now you have to go find the white page in order to resolve three generations of daddy issues 🙄

44 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

rewatched troy (2004) and i had a great time :)

62 notes - Posted May 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Jessie Mei Li & Daisy Head - July 5th 2022

293 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#i only ever post the most obscure memes OR when im full of gay yearning skdhdjd #tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #tumblr #witchklng

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thenewbuzwuzz · 1 year

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I posted 992 times in 2022

38 posts created (4%)

954 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@therem-harth

@floating-in-the-blue

@gallusrostromegalus

@tijuanabiblestudies

@waporlock

I tagged 981 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#btvs - 238 posts

#artwork - 124 posts

#critical role - 35 posts

#fun with tropes - 34 posts

#tolkien - 33 posts

#gender - 32 posts

#ifttt - 28 posts

#fandom - 27 posts

#lgbt+ - 24 posts

#reading - 24 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#on the other side of that wall i'm single-handedly ''translating editing and proofreading'' evil incorporated's tos at upwards of 300 w/hour

My Top Posts in 2022:

Thank you for tagging me, @womanaction! :)

“you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your favourite playlist on shuffle and list the first ten songs, then tag ten people! no skipping”

My favorite playlist, the one I listen to the most? Well, it certainly does say something about me. I’m mostly sticking to the full titles of the YouTube videos, because I think it’s funnier. Here we go:

1. Keiko Matsui - The piano (Full album - relaxing music)

2. you're an astronaut lost in space discovering things that humanity will never be able to (playlist by nobody)

3. Ghibli Relaxing || 吉卜力钢琴 💓 轻松的音乐 🎶🎶 千与千寻, 天空之城, 哈尔的移动城堡,... by Ghibli Piano Music

4. Lord of The Rings (Calm Ambient Mix by Syneptic) reupload - relaxing music

5. ENIGMA - THE BEST - SHINNOBU -

6. Takashi Kokubo (小久保隆) - Oasis Of The Wind II ～ A Story Of Forest And Water ～ (1993) [Full Album]

7. you're in a dream for 10 hours, 3 minutes and 44 seconds by nobody

8. Disco Elysium Playlist for Studying, Work, Relaxing (and contemplating life) by Fear Prophets, Adso

9. midnight café. ☕ jazzy lofi mix by The Jazz Hop Café

10. Quiet Home | Lofi & Chill by Fantastic Music

I will follow womanaction’s example and tag the last 10 people from my notes. @floating-in-the-blue, @juanabaloo , @killersnotmonster, @roselightfairy, @bidet-of-evil, @dreadfulcalendarwoman, @tijuanabiblestudies, @calenlily, @darknessonthehill, @throwthewindowwide, feel free to do the thing if you like! :) Also if someone else reads this and would like to do the thing, you can consider yourself tagged too.

4 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

Hi, it's dontwarnthetadpoles. I'm not sure if you're still doing the ask game about ships but if you still want to (no pressure), i'd really like to read your opinion on Willow and Oz and Buffy and Riley. Thanks.

Hi, thank you for asking! :)) I had stuff to take care of before I felt I could devote time to this, but I've been looking forward to it!

Willow/Oz: ship it

What made you ship it?

Well, they're really cute and sweet! Oz is great boyfriend material, and Willow is often relatable, which is a good combination for that sort of thing.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Oz is so good at setting boundaries it's a joy to watch (perhaps it's weird of me, but I especially love all the scenes where Oz tells Willow he's not ready for something -- kissing, sex, or getting back together after Willow cheated). He's surprisingly great at articulating how he feels and what bothers him, sometimes (given how much he can avoid talking about problems other times, such as when he became a werewolf).

They have some amazing conversations. Like the first time Oz asks her out:

OZ: I'm gonna ask you to go out with me tomorrow night. And I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting.

WILLOW: Oh. Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes.

OZ: Yeah, it helps. It-it creates a comfort zone. Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?

WILLOW: (cringes and slaps her hand to her forehead) Oh! I can't!

OZ: Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable.

It's funny, and there's vulnerability and intimacy in having this conversation behind/about the conversation. Actually, this reminds me of the Spuffy scene in Hell's Bells, another of my favorites.

Their matching Halloween costumes are iconic.

I love a slow burn. I don't know if Willow and Oz's relationship objectively is one, compared to other Buffy canon couples, but the way it's framed makes it feel like one. I get a whole vibe of calm and acceptance and just being -- not racing along the relationship escalator or trying to prove something, just going with the flow. They're just vibing. :) Everything about the ship makes me feel comfortable. (I am deleting the Veruca arc from my memory as hard as I can at all times. I thought it was badly written, so I just want to pretend it never happened.)

ETA: can't believe I forgot "As Willow goes, so goes my nation" and also the slight shift in Oz's poker face as he watches Willow pretend to be vamp!Willow in Doppelgangland. They have many great moments.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I'm really into Coyote's (osteophage's) essay "You're Too Picky, Man": An Ace Reading of Oz's Character Arc in BTVS. I like the ship EVEN MORE if I consider what if Oz's interest in Willow didn't have a sexual component.

And I think this is a moderately popular opinion, but Willow has two hands. :)

Buffy/Riley: don’t ship it

Why don’t you ship it?

It bores me? And I have to agree with the people who have pointed out that dating someone whose papers you currently grade is sketchy. Um, I don't enjoy how much Buffy worries about this relationship sometimes, to the point of trying to make herself seem less?

Also, this isn't the ship's fault, it just happens adjacent to the ship, but let me go on a little rant about Willow's shovel talk to Riley. I have never seen a shovel talk I liked, I think they're silly and pointless and disrespectful to everyone involved, and this is no exception (even if the vague disclaimer line is quotable).

What would have made you like it?

Maybe if Riley was a lesbian!!! (link goes to my favorite Riley oneshot)

Also, if Riley's characterization hadn't taken that nosedive in s5.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Buffy is allowed to have a blandly adequate (?) boyfriend with nice arms if she so chooses.

I think the break from the monsterf***ing was good for Buffy to help realize what she was missing. :)

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4 notes - Posted January 27, 2022

Rules: Tag three people you want to know better.

Thanks for inviting me to play, @roselightfairy! 💜

Three ships: Spuffy (my Buffyverse faves and the subject of my vidding WIP for Seasonal Spuffy), Shadowgast (my Critical Role faves -- there's so much going on in that pairing, let’s say... two queer nerds have a raging case of competence kink for their shadow selves (or perhaps that’s not the term, but there’s some intense narrative foil / mirror stuff going on at any rate), and also there's treachery and some manipulation, and, most importantly, redemption!), Spike/Anya (I'm writing a story for them! I'm turning a trope inside out and waxing sincere about what tumbles out of its insides!)

First ever ship: uhhh, maybe James/Lily from "Harry Potter"? I'd like to think I have discovered finer forms of foe yay since.

Last song: "Notiksies, kam jānotiek" by Marana feat. Renārs Kaupers, lyrics by Aivars Neibarts (We'll spend the night in a footprint of the darkness.... a red egg will sprout on the edge of the sky again)

youtube

Last movie: rewatched "Ginger Snaps". Horror movies are not exactly my thing, but I like the werewolf girls and the complicated platonic relationship, and the male-female friendship/alliance.

Currently reading: "We Too" (Essays on Sex Work and Survival) edited by Natalie West; and "Thing Explainer" by Randall Munroe. "We Too" is very enlightening and engaging (if often sad). "Thing Explainer" reduced me to giggles of absolute delight until the gimmick wore off a bit. It's an interesting intersection of science/technology nonfiction, humor, and almost poetry.

Currently watching: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the 1981 series. It's fine? I don't understand why I'm not more into it, tbh. It has all the good Hitchhiker's Guide jokes and stuff. Everyone except poor objectified Trillian looks great.

Currently consuming: ???? like art forms that aren't covered by the other questions? I did just read a neat poem, Kuala Lumpur Urban Legends by Jack Kin Lim.

Currently craving: breakfast and a nice bike ride, in that order, but I’ll have to do it the opposite order so I can start work at a halfway decent time

Tagging: @acaseofthewiggins, @feliciacraft, and @rahirah, but only if you guys feel like it! And anyone else who reads this and wants to do the thing, feel free to consider yourself tagged. :)

5 notes - Posted April 19, 2022

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8 notes - Posted August 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For the ask game... Xander/Anya, Buffy/Angel?

Thank you very much for asking! <3 I thought I'd have time to answer this sooner, yet here we are -- but I've had fun mulling it over during the week.

Xander/Anya

I ship it, though I'm not super invested in it. They can be really sweet and fun. They have their issues, but who doesn't.

What made you ship it?

I always thought they were pretty entertaining, I guess. Or, I am interested in Anya, and Anya has some incredible scenes that happen to be related to Xander.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I like that they're down-to-earth and easygoing compared to some other major canon ships. The show allows them to have a relationship that isn't a huge deal, a big dramatic love story, at least for a while. I like that they're allowed in canon to have fun in bed, creatively even, and it's not implied that they're evil people for it.

I adore the way Anya confronts her humanity through/because of this relationship. I like that being in a relationship with Anya helps Xander grow too.

In fic, the ship can be moving and heartbreaking and, on the flip side, there's staggering comedic potential. It has the range.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't think either one of them was ready to get married in season 6, even if there had been no Xander-impersonating demon at the wedding? Um, not sure that was an unpopular one, let me try again.

While Xander does sometimes get snarky and patronizing about Anya's ex-demon peculiarities, I think it's understandable (in moderation!) -- nobody's patience and kindess is infinite in real life, and it’s not like his parents set a good example of what a healthy relationship looks like. Overall, it must have been helpful for Anya to get some cues from him about human life (why Anya was written as so clueless about human life is another can of worms).

Leaving Anya at the altar was obviously badly executed, terribly timed, and painful for everyone involved, but maybe a little better than going ahead with the wedding and THEN having second thoughts or huge unspoken issues.

Also, I’ve said this before, but I thought Anya's suggestion to have fun with two Xanders before merging them at the end of "The Replacement" was perfectly reasonable (though it doesn't matter, because the Xanders were uncomfortable with it).

Buffy/Angel

Okay. This one's interesting. I almost ship it. That is, I would NOT say I ship it, but... *shoves multiple poems under the bed* look, it's not like I've ever felt compelled to seek out fic about them or anything... *dedicated rec list spills out of my pocket* shit, I can explain.

I used to ship Bangel because it was the major ship that canon put in front of me and, let's face it, I'm a sucker for a good bout of miserable pining. I listened to that one playlist by @womanaction A Number of Times. :)

Why don’t you ship it?

I stopped shipping it after I saw "I Will Remember You", where Angel had a chance to be with Buffy and decided against it. I'm not saying characters have to be an item in canon in order for me to be interested in them, but that's when I had a change of heart.

I've an uneasy attitude towards Angel in particular. He has qualities that I consider flaws in myself. This can make him interesting and relatable to me, but also hard to tolerate in larger quantities.

I've been around Spuffy shippers a lot, and they have pointed out to me all the drawbacks of Bangel multiple times. I'm sure this skews my perception somewhat. I'm not sure I want to rehash any of that here.

What would have made you like it?

On the other hand, hearing people bash Bangel makes me feel like NOT outright hating the ship is cool and rebellious and mature of me as a Spuffy shipper. So in a way, the ship squabbles make me like Bangel a bit more out of spite.

I know that Angel's happiness curse is only ambiguously tied to sex, but I think there's some chance I would find Bangel enormously interesting and cute if Angel and Buffy decided to have a romantic relationship without sex. I think I might have imprinted on them for ace reasons if I’d seen this happen at the right time.

Alternatively, and this is more of a fic thing than a canon wish, *opens AO3* okay, genuine question, why are there so few Bangel stories in the Orgasm Delay/Denial tag? Buffy and Angel could have some creative fun without, ah, Angel's perfect happiness -- but of course, this is based on the simplified interpretation of perfect happiness as a pleasure moment.

I think I might also really enjoy a Buffy x Angel dynamic where they had, contrary to Spike's speech, become friends. Where the will-they-or-won't-they was no longer on the table, the way Xander gets over his romantic feelings for Buffy and keeps helping and supporting her afterwards. I might be even more into it if Angel still had a thing for Buffy but resolved to not make it her problem and channeled it into helping her unconditionally.

Ironically, I like the ship more when Angel is soulless and evil. I don't think Buffy and Angelus should, like, DATE, but I think the Angelus of BtVS s2 still has some semblance of romantic feelings for Buffy (not something we'd call love, I suppose). And he is suuuuuper messed up and conflicted about it, being a control freak whose identity depends on not pursuing this impulse. His struggles with his pesky crush are both rather relatable and enormously entertaining to me.

In theory, I might like Bangel more in the later seasons or post-series, but in practice that's when Spike is in the picture, and I have a preference.

I do like Buffy and Angel as part of a Spuffgel OT3.

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14 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #long post

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