#dukeofonions

[dukeofonions]

*Deep inhale*

What did I just watch.

#dukeofonions #dukeofrants #i'm a bit overwhelmed right now so no post yet #need time to gather all my thoughts

[unsymp-sides-content]

@dukeofonions is an amazing tss critical blog with great posts and I'd definitely recommend checking them out if you haven't already done so

#sanders sides #ts critical #dukeofonions #not u!sides

[logically-asexual]

okay i'm already procrastinating and i don't plan on sleeping any time soon so here we go.

☆ ✩ my personal ranking for every season 1 Sanders Sides episode. ✩ ☆

i think it's going to be pretty similar to @dukeofonions' but let's see if i find something new to contribute haha. i see you didn't include that one about Patton in the Big Game or whatever, so i'm not including it either xd. also i think i'm going to count Accepting Anxiety as one episode only.

edit: i finished and now i dare you to drink a shot of water every time i say the word spanish or a version of the word comfort and become very well hydrated.

#16 I'm in a Disney Show

(i agree with dukeofonions here) i always forget this episode exists. it was ok in terms of being happy for real life Thomas but as a Sanders Sides episode it didn't do anything. the sides were just giving their opinions but it wasn't very funny or interesting. also i'm bitter because it made me look up the episode he was in and i didn't like it at all. i don't know if i'm too old for those Disney shows now but Thomas was literally the only good part of it, everything else was really dull and boring imo. a waste of time.

however, Logan supporting clickbait is one of the funniest things ever, and i'll never forget it.

#15 Becoming A Cartoon

i didn't hate this episode but it was just .. meh.. you know? several factors contribute to this. one, i couldn't feel much nostalgia for Butch Hartman's shows because i watched them in Spanish, and everything feels really weird when they speak English, i don't like how my old cartoons sound in English. two, it was disappointing to me because we were all desperately waiting for Plot™ and instead they give us this short episode about nothing (oh how the tables have turned now it's the other way around haha). and three, i didn't like the style of the animation :/ their faces and expressions freaked me out, Roman's douchey face still haunts me.

#14 Way Too Adult

here i'm biased because i don't like Patton much, and i didn't back when i watched the series the first time either, so this video was a little disappointingwithout the rest. also it wasn't relatable to me because i am still too young and dependent on my parents haha. but Patton is funny and it's funny to laugh at Thomas' struggling.

#13 The Dark Side of Disney

i've never been a fan of Disney movies. i actually never watched Mulan or the Lion King or Aladdin as a kid, so meh. i liked the ending, though, it was cool to see Virgil have fun and be right for once. it does make me a bit uncomfortable because the way Thomas tries too hard with Virgil's mouth movements and his low voice reminds me of a guy that had made me v uncomfortable not long before watching that video. so an icky feel overall.

#12 A New Year of Lying to Myself

this video was actually kind of fogettable to me. i had a hard time connecting the voices in the song to the characters and idk. i don't love it nor hate it, just .. neutral.

#11 My True Identity

pretty much the same opinion as dukeofonions, again. it's a good introduction and it's good that it was the beginning of it all but on its own it's not very special. i think it's awesome on Thomas to have come up with such a clever idea, like choosing the dad, the teacher and the prince and putting them together and match them with thoughts?? that fit so perfectly?? it really is just very impressive when you think about it, that it was just a random idea he had for a short 5 minute video.

#10 Taking on Anxiety

i liked this video a lot because when i watched it i had recently been a lot on tumblr, and found out through relatable posts that i had anxiety. so watching this video was really fun and it made me happy to feel so seen, specially the intro when Thomas just talks about what it's like to have Anxiety and Virgil is so smug about it.

- ★ -

okay now that those are out of the way things are going to get hard... all the following i love with all my heart so i'm going to rank them based on the smallest things.

#9 Growing Up

once more, Patton isn't my favorite. so that's why i'm putting this here, plus the echo at the end askjhsahg, but i love love this video. i remember we were waiting and oh so ready for the angst of nobody taking Patton seriously. and we received!! i love that though Roman and Logan are antagonists here, they're both so happy about Thomas wanting to have a healthy life. and i just adore the way Logan admits his mistake at the end and asks Patton directly. my heart... also aw.. the nostalgia. i remember none of us knew how to spell Patton's name and were writing it in very funny ways until Thomas and Joan told us lol.

#8 The Mind vs The Heart

when i watched this video the first times i didn't like it much, because i only had eyes for Virgil, but later i came back to it and loved it. so taking that into account i'm putting it here. logicality was the first ship i ever shipped in the show because i saw a gifset on tumblr of Patton screaming "what do you know about love?!" and Logan "apparently more than YOU" and the caption said "MARRIED", and i thought hey yeah... anyway. i love them. they're both my dads since that day.

this video is so so so relatable and i love it. Logan and Patton are so much fun arguing and i love how they compromise at the end and work together. im reconsidering.. i might move it higher? no, fine i'll leave it here.

#7 Making Some Changes

this video was absolutely hilarious. i personally couldn't see it as the Sides still once they were acted by Thomas' friends, i enjoyed it more as that bunch being silly and trying to be the sides but failing in so many ways, while sometimes nailing stuff suddenly. i really don't take this one too seriously as an episode. except Joan!Logan and Valerie!Logan, my beloved... i love how Joan acted as Logan and their voice and that they kept their ace ring on.. there's a reason i had them as my icon for so long. and Valerie looks a bit (a lot) like me with the glasses and dressed in dark colors, plus she spoke Spanish and there's .. no words to describe the joy i felt when seeing/hearing that. wait i'm getting emotional...

#6 My Personality Q&A

when i watched this Virgil was my favorite side and i didn't care much about the rest lol. when i heard his answers i related to him SO much it was scary, and also his voice is so soft and it was all very comforting. it was also when i first starting looking at Logan with more attention, because when he brought up Big Hero 6 and Fall Out Boy and said he didn't sing and would recite it like a poem? it only took a couple seconds but my brain said "me" and never went back.

now this video is a little underwhelming to watch for me, most of the appeal for me was in finding out the answers, and also watching it when we didn't know a lot about the sides. now we know more and want to know more so it's not as fun to me as it was first.

i wish so bad they'd do another one, although i know it would be more difficult with a much bigger audience, i think they can manage and i just need it. the chaos.. the energy.. they all being so savage with each other, learning little random facts about them you didn't expect.. i need it.

- ★ -

oh boy top 5 here we go. the next three are practically a tie. i can't choose.

#5 Alone on Valentines Day

i love Valerie, and the idea of this video was perfect and so perfectly excecuted. every side just giving their crazy opinions on how to woo a random stranger, i laughed SO much. first with Logan speaking simlish out of nowhere? at that point i didn't know practically anything about the sims except that it was some video game and the whiplash of Logan going AYO and the rest killed me. then when Roman whipped out that dialogue in Spanish??? my life was completed. i've never felt more happy than i did in that moment gosh. just the hilarity of Roman's drama, the shock of them speaking Spanish suddenly like that, the absolute JOY of seeing a creator i like speak (may i say) perfect Spanish, the other characters' faces after that.. never been happier.

also the conclusion was so cute. Virgil solving the whole problem without wanting to. i loved it.

#4 Am I Original

i think this video speaks for itself. it was fun to watch them all do the ideas Roman had, plus Logan and Virgil nodding at each other, (i love them so much), plus the angst at the end of Roman's perfectionism, plus Roman's just perfect name. this video has it all.

i think Thomas posted it kind of late at night and i watched it at 7am in the classroom as i waited for my classmates to arrive and the class to start. (i usually was like 40 minutes early to school due to mom’s work). i had to contain my laughter and it wasn’t easy.

#3 Losing My Motivation

i started loving this video after a while, when Logan passed Virgil in the position for my favorite side. but once he did this episode was beautiful. it's so funny and i love Logan and Patton's dynamic so much. and the video also so damn relatable in general. i felt so seen with it because they named all the problems i have when procrastinating, down to Patton's vague explanation of his feelings, it's exactly how i feel every time i want to do stuff. and the plot twist! i can hear the dramatic sound effect and see how they all turn to Logan clearly in my head, and it always makes me smile. plus there's so much Logan angst that can be dug up and overanalized. i love to watch it over and over.

#2 Accepting Anxiety

this video was perfect. everything we wanted. we knew it was coming and it delivered perfectly, better than any fanfic done in the waiting time. the week between the parts was agonizing but in a fun way somehow. i remember precisely when i was watching part 2 in my living room. i screamed. and i cried, a lot. i was feeling terrible at that time in my life and Thomas was such a comforting presence and i can't begin to describe how this episode made me feel.

and later it is always fun to rewatch with all their different reactions to being in Virgil's room, the energy of that was on point. Thomas is such a great actor and the characters where just amazingly performed. plus it gave so much to talk adn think about, the idea of the rooms, lots lots of insight into the characters, foreshadowing, so much. it's just perfect i have nothing else to say.

#1 (for purely emotional reasons, ironically) My Negative Thinking

i think Accepting Anxiety is the best episode of the season objectively but my favorite is My Negative Thinking. because i love Virgil and Logan so much and seeing them argue together was and is great. the comfort.. i can't repeat that word enough throughout this post. it's such a soft video while not being overwhelming with Patton and Roman's outbursts. just quiet (mostly) and clear and with perfectly timed humour.

Logan my beloved.. learning spanish... helping me with my own anxiety.. and their debate was so good. and the fact that they were friends i- i can't. Virgil didn't think Logan liked him and Logan told him explicitly that he did and the casual softness of it i cant even. Logan is happy that he tried.. it's just marvelous. Virgil and Logan as best friends will always be my favorite pair, and their dynamic will always be what i strive for in any relationship i might form, with both sides silently comforting each other within their own limits and realistic perspectives. so nice.

- ★ -

so yeah. that's all. thank you if you read all the way up to here. ♡ ♡ ♡

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders

[youtuberswithalex]

Oh dw ik you arent mad, but yeah theres just A Lot going on with the plot and it's like

Bruh

- Goddess Anon

there REALLY is

@dukeofonions (i believe it was you) made a really good post talking about the problem with asides and like. if i can find it ill reblog it but it really summed up my feelings really well about it all

#also ok good lol jfkdlsj #Anonymous #ts criticism

[imonlyhereforthefanfic]

Not to be that guy, but thomas and freinds are also working through a pandemic like everyone else. You cant expect normally people to break health laws to give you content.

Besides there was also that animated episode last year.

And you know, I get that.

But, the fact is, this was this way before the pandemic. They’ve made waits ridiculously long before everything started. They’ve tried to go out of the box before the pandemic. They’ve tried to do so many things before the pandemic and nothing has changed.

Heck, it feels like they aren’t even in a pandemic content-wise because we still don’t get anything.

And, the fact that he’s trying to go “out of the box” during one, when he has little to no help, that’s even worse.

Thomas sucks as a business owner. It’s really clear to see that and you can’t deny it.

I don’t feel like becoming a “unpopular-opinion account” so y’all should check out @dukeofonions or @ts-unpopular-opinions, they know a lot more then me.

#Thomas plz do ur job #if it wasn’t a hyperfixation #I’d be out #ts criticism #ts critical #sander sides discourse

[the-snakes-court]

A Rant about Characterization (with pictures!) Prinxiety edition

Fueled by @dukeofonions​ recent dissection of canon Prinxiety and the slew of Prinxiety comments on their blog, I made this originally as an addition to one of their posts, but it got too long and too out of hand, so I’m putting it as a separate thing. So, here’s my problem with Prinxiety [and as a part of that, the fanon versions of Roman and Virgil].

It’s always the same thing over and over and over again. Cool, charismatic Roman charms the shy, flustered Virgil. And while that may have some novelty at first, it’s rather flat characterization and not even vaguely true to canon at that. Roman in canon is dorky and awkward and excitable and insecure as hell. Virgil is much more confident and aggressive and deliberate. If I were to call either of them “cool” (which I hesitate to do since they’re both dorks in their own ways) it’d be Virgil. Roman is hardly cool. He tries to be, sure, but every time in canon that he tries to be “cool”, it’s treated as a joke because he’s awkward and a little out of touch and that’s what makes him endearing.

I have less of a problem with ooc Roman than I do with ooc Virgil or Logan. I don’t know why and it isn’t fair of me, but that’s how it is. However, there are things that will bother me when I read a Roman fic. I recently rewatched the series, which was something I hadn’t done in a while, and more and more things are jumping out at me. Mainly, Roman is a huge nerd. He geeks out over his favorite things, he fangirl squeals, and he will never hesitate to bring up his passions, even when the timing is inappropriate. Roman doesn’t seem to know how to really read a room, he’s impulsive, he can be cruel, and the only “cool” things he does or says are his nicknames. And that [mostly] isn’t just my opinion. He yells for Thomas to pick the phone back up almost instinctively, even while in the middle of apologizing, in Moving On Part 2. He can’t stop insulting Virgil even when trying to get him to come back. He goes on a dorky ramble when Virgil pops up with his new outfit and Roman accidentally insults him. And Roman’s dorkiness and impulsivity is a huge part of why I love and identify with him. A lot of fics take that out and you’re just left with a bland, “cool” dude for Virgil to fall in love with. 

And sure, Virgil is the embodiment of Anxiety, but he acts more “fight” than “flight”. I am an avid consumer of fics, especially in quarantine. If I had a dime for every time I read about Virgil starting to blubber and cry over little things or run off and hide, I’d be richer than Jeff Bezos (an exaggeration. calculations now say I would have roughly 100K). And this woobification of him really bothers me because he’s such a cool and complex character in the series. To be honest, the unsympathetic fics capture the nuance of his character more than any other genre and those fics exaggerate the characters’ worst traits. Like, imagine there’s a scale from Vwigwil to Virgil to Evil Virge

Like this. And on the far left, we have (normally) fanon Virgil

That’s a rather large increment away from canon Virgil. Now, to write an unsympathetic Virgil, one would have to move it to the left by exaggerating the negative aspects. If you start at canon Virgil and exaggerate, you’ll get super ultra evil Virgil! 

Now he’s a rather rare one and honestly kinda fun to see in the wild. But he’s rare, since what ends up happening, is that people exaggerate starting from fanon Virgil instead of canon. 

And while it may be a bit more “evil” than canon Virgil, it’s still a closer characterization. 

Which is kinda sad in my humble opinion. Because sure, exaggerated woobified or idealized characters are fun sometimes, and even ooc characters can be interesting, but it’s all I see. These days I spend more time picking apart characterization as I try to read a fic than I do actually immersed in one. I don’t like to do that. Truly. It brings me no joy in mentally arguing with a fic because “Virgil would never.” or “Roman said what??”. I read fics to escape from my life and sink into one with familiar and fun characters. I want an immersive experience. But it’s so hard to take the story seriously when Virgil is in his room stuttering and crying because Roman made one mean joke [not a real example by the way. I am in no way targeting any individuals]. And there are wonderful fics out there who do a lovely job characterizing that hit around the middle of the scale, but not quite. And there seems to be a recent trend towards that. But that does not eliminate the thousands and thousands of fics every year that work essentially as copies as one another.

I’m not saying all of those fics are terrible and the writers suck or anything like that. Write what you want. I’m just saying that there’s an over abundance of a certain thing and it’d be interesting if more people tried to deviate from it. 

But, who knows? maybe it’s popular for reasons other than familiarity and I’m missing the point. 

#prinxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts discourse #fandom critical #a rant about characterization #the jester speaks #also #i find it interesting #that i dont ever see woobified virgil as the villain in a story #like that's a characterization that's probably been seldom explored #disclaimer #a lot of this is just my opinion #if you disagree #then that's chill

[im-a-hobbit-irl]

really overdue analysis on svs redux

Okay not to be Roman angst on main, but I can relate to Roman Sanders.

Roman has always looked to Patton for agreement. He has consistently cut himself, Creativity, Thomas's hopes and dreams, off for Patton, for Morality! He is constantly beaten down upon, and yes most of the time he has participated in arguments he has with other sides, but he has almost always apologized and I can't think if a time where someone else said sorry back to him.

He has followed this strict rhetoric that PATTON has been pushing in the episodes that lying is bad, “Did you forget that he’s evil? You’re not! Or, you’re not supposed to be. You’re supposed to be good!” 

Virgil, who they accepted hates lying, and Patton has pushed anti-lying things in the past and so he follows that, and then here comes someone new, who is named Deceit, who only flatters him, validates him, and low-key flirts with him. And he’s supposed to not side with him when it’s what Thomas dreams to do? But he knows Thomas doesn’t want to lie to his friends about the callback, but he doesn’t want to go to the wedding. 

So he chooses keeping Thomas’s morals happy, over his dreams. Because Patton and Virgil have always stated that lying is bad. So unhappily, he goes to the wedding, and they’re all firm in the decision that lying is bad. 

Then Patton, Morality himself, has a breakdown on a new stance of morals. Roman doesn’t know what to do, so he lashes out at the person who is supposed to be bad, Deceit. 

Then he reveals his name, Janus, and Thomas and Patton trust him, but they were all so firm that lying is bad! So he lashes out, worse this time. And Deceit lashes back. Then they trust the ‘lying snake’, over someone who has been there from the beginning, who has always helped out and followed Patton’s example.

“I thought I was your hero.” Janus can sense lies, apparently? And he nods and smiles reassuringly, however Roman, because Janus’s role is Deceit, he naturally takes this as a lie and a smug smirk. Janus realizes what went on in Roman’s head and his smile fades. Roman sinks out, betrayed, hurt, and confused.

Because who wouldn’t be confused? He got shamed for trusting someone and being what his side represents, Thomas’s hopes, dreams, and the family friendly creativity. And then the next time we see the person they all said not to trust or agree with, get on their side, and make it seem like Roman was in the wrong for making Thomas go to the wedding. When he was just following who he always trusted, Patton. But Patton changed the rules on him, now he’s supposed to like Deceit and trust him, when Patton just shamed and admonished him for trusting and agreeing him. 

@ambersky0319 @virgil-is-a-cutie @today-only-happens-once @thejoanglebook @tallykat3 @thatsthat24 @thomassandersstolemysoul @corrosive-cyanide @shadeofadye @stankyratman @dukeofonions

How’d I do?

#this is my analysis of svs redux #it seems like u!patton #because i also know what it's like to have people change the rules on you #all your life you're supposed to go one way and that's good and then they suddenly tell you to do it the way they all said not to

[whisperinginthevoid]

Some critiques about Putting Others First

I already posted this in a reblog of a post by @dukeofonions, but I wanted to put this in a separate post as well to make it easier to find:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I liked most of the video game gimmicks in the episode, but the team could have removed every one of them except for the song and the ‘boss fight’ with Lilypadton and the episode would have been just as good, if not better.

I think everything would have flowed better without the frogger and pokemon video game scenes in the middle of the episode. They kinda felt out of place and like they came out of nowhere. The same goes for the trolly problem animation (except for the one during the boss battle): it was good, but unnecessary, and I just really missed seeing all their physical forms in the living room.

As for Logan’s Lowdowns, They didn’t work out well in the episode. Like I mentioned before, it’s just not the same as when Logan stands at his usual spot near the stairs and talks from there. Most of the lowdowns went unvoiced and I ended up skipping most in favor of focusing on the rest of the characters, who were still talking. And although I LOVED Janus’ reveal during the Lilypadton scene, seeing him in the living room prior to that, disguised as Logan, but this time in perfect costume, might have worked better, and would have probably made for an even cooler reveal when it happened.

tl;dr: most of the video game animations didn’t work out well in the episode (save for Rythm Redux and Lilypadton, which were AWESOME), I missed seeing everyone in the living room (and in live action there), Logan’s Lowdowns didn’t integrate well, and although I didn’t mention this above, the episode took a little too long to get the story going.

I still really liked the episode, and I am very grateful to everyone who worked so hard on it, but the second half (only one video game scene, (almost) everyone in the living room) worked better than the first half (save for the song, that was excellent).

#my stuff #sanders sides #TS Sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #episode critisism

[dukeofonions]

Virgil: *exists*

Thomas: It’s free real estate

I mean he's the most marketable character.

#dukeofonions #and by that i mean he's the most popular #so of course you're gonna profit off that

[dukeofonions]

princey and joan

Already answered Joan in another ask so let's see what this one is...

Princey- Do you have a favorite moment (or a few favorite moments) from the series? Tell us about them!

As much as I give Putting Others First a lot of crap, I think the whole scene with Lilypadton and Janus confronting him was really well done. Janus revealing himself, the music, and everything that followed was really solid.

Unfortunately I can't fully enjoy it without thinking of all my other problems with the episode so darn my brain for not being able to shut off and just enjoy the thing.

I love Roman's speech to Virgil in Accepting Anxiety part 2, no complaints there.

The entire 12 Days of Christmas episode is just a lot of fun, but especially the song and watching all the characters interacting is gold.

Remus's introduction was great (even though I think he was introduced way too soon but that's a topic for another day)

There's a lot of little subtle moments in the series that I love as well, but since there are so many I'll just got with my favorite one which is Logan throwing the paper ball at Roman and his reaction afterwards.

Gotta commend Thomas's acting here because that's the main reason why I love it so much. Logan goes from angry, to surprised, to scared, then back to calm in such a short span of time and you can see all of it happen and I'm a sucker for Logan being angsty so I'm biased

#dukeofonions

[dukeofonions]

Official “Welcome to my Blog” Post

As stated above, this is the post where I welcome you to my blog and explain how it all works. Formerly, this was meant to be an “Unpopular Opinions” blog, and while it technically still is I wanted to broaden my horizons a bit. While unpopular opinions will most likely still be a thing I wanted to also provide some other content as well, things others can enjoy that aren’t always negative because, lately, I think there’s been too much of that going around. However! It is important to have a venting space (in my own humble opinion) which is why I will still be accepting any unpopular opinions sent via asks. The only difference is that I won’t really reply to them unless they cover a topic I want to address, which I will then save for an actual full length post instead of a short and not very well thought out response.

With that being said, to help keep things more organized I have come up with a little tagging system for my future posts (this system does not apply to old posts) these tags are as follows:

#dukeofannouncements (Important announcements)

#dukeofasks (The tag for all asks) 

#dukeoftheories (Theory and analysis posts)

#dukeofcritical (Critical posts critiquing things in a mature manner)

#dukeofrants (Critical posts critiquing things in an immature manner, these posts will most likely be deleted later unless I’m too lazy to go back and do so) 

#dukeofreblogs (Used for reblogging my own posts that others may have added onto or reblogs of other critical posts that I agree with or want to discuss)

#dukeoframbles (Just little musings from my mind, usually more lighthearted while still relating to blog content or just my daily life)

#dukeofwritings (for any creative writing I might happen to post onto here)

And if there is ever anything you specifically need tagged on a post feel free to let me know and I'll include it. And if I ever do a series of posts I'll create a specific tag just for that.

And that is the gist of it! I hope you enjoy your time on my blog and I hope I can actually start producing some quality content.

#dukeofonions #dukeofannouncements

[dukeofonions]

I don’t know why the last video was an asides. It was a full length, story important video that you shouldn’t miss if you want to follow the story (they even said that). Why calling it asides? What was the whole asides thing for? They just, they just make normal videos and call them different. It’s so stupid, sorry but the whole asides concept is so stupid.

I feel you on this one. When they first announced the idea for Asides I thought they’d be like some of the episodes in season one. Basically 5 minutes of filler that you don’t need to watch to understand the full story. In other words, optional videos that can be enjoyed on their own. I figured these would be more lighthearted and give us a break from all the angst in the main series. Then the first Asides came out and it was 20 minutes long and filled with angst and was really no different from an actual Sanders Sides episode. 

This newest one confuses me even more because, like you said, it’s necessary to view this one in order to understand the main story. So why is it an Asides? I honestly don’t get the concept when so far both Asides have taken just as long to produce as main episodes and are just as important to the plot. They should either drop the idea altogether and just continue to series as one thing or actually make something different like they said they would because so far the only difference between Sanders Sides and Asides is that character Thomas doesn’t do his usual greeting and send-off at the beginning and end of these episodes. 

#dukeofonions #quiet creator gripes #sanders sides #ts criticism #ts spoilers

[dukeofonions]

janus rant anon here! i 100% agree with you regarding the rushing of the new sides, and tbh i feel like the orange side will be the same case whenever we meet him, either that or he’ll become two-dimensional. also, i went back and read your POF janus post from may, and while i guess him putting up a facade could be plausible, i find it hard to believe that deceit “you could be rid of us all” sanders could pretend to be uwu nice snake boi. but tbh who knows where this series is going anyways.

I almost forgot about my "conspiracy theory" about Janus in that post. While I think it's unlikely it'll happen I do think it'd be possible for Janus to put on an act like that to get what he wants. He succeeded pretty well pretending to be Patton in Can Lying Be Good? so why not now?

Then again I don't know if the writers would actually pull something like that off. His character has pretty much gone off the rails so I'm not sure how (or if) they'll ever get him back on track.

#dukeofonions #definitely gonna make a new post regarding Janus

[dukeofonions]

So I'm currently on the hunt for a new laptop because mine is old and I just need an upgrade. Problem is, I don't know exactly what to look for. The main things I'd be wanting a laptop for would be writing, drawing/animation, and video editing.

If anyone has some recommendations or just tips for buying laptops in general I would love to hear them because I finally have motivation to get work done and my laptop (which is a chromebook) is giving up on me.

One other thing, I'd like for whatever laptop I get to include Google docs because I have all my writing projects on there and don't want to lose them. I'm not entirely sure how Google docs works across different laptops but hey, that's why I'm asking for advice.

#dukeofonions

[dukeofonions]

Thoughts on the new Asides

Alright, I’ve watched the new video three times at this point and finally have my thoughts together. Also just in case anyone was wondering no. 

No I did not get breakfast magically delivered to me and had to eat a bowl of cereal. 

Oh well, there’s always next time. 

Anywho, spoilers below if you haven’t seen the episode yet I would not recommend reading this. 

Ready? Let’s go.

So what are my general thoughts here, I loved it. Sure there were some things that didn’t make sense to me writing wise but overall this was an adorable, funny episode that provided us with a nice break from all the angst of the main series. 

Now to get into the nitty gritty. 

Right off the bat the art for this was just amazing. Honestly the idea to make this episode as an animatic was a brilliant move. Not just because of how things are right now in the world (but we don’t wanna think about that) but using this form allows the characters to interact in ways that they can’t when filming live. We got to see Roman and Virgil engaging with the world around them and how they interacting with Thomas when he’s not at home. It also gives us an idea of what the world of Sanders Sides is like. Everyone acts a little more cartoony, but it still feels like the real world as well. 

Also the expressions on the characters, even the background ones, were perfect. You could tell so much from a quick expression or body language and as an animation nerd, I was in love from the get go. Honestly the team should think about utilizing this format more with these Asides as it allows more freedom for the characters which can help aid the story and can be used for comedy. Not saying every episode should be animated, but if they have an idea that they simply can’t achieve in live action, they now know that this format works. 

And now, on to the characters. 

So this is a Roman and Virgil episode, none of the other Sides make an appearance or are even mentioned. (Well I guess Janus is vaguely referenced with all the talk of lies going around) But I can understand their absence even though I would have loved to see them even briefly like how Remus and Janus were in Are There Healthy Distractions but besides one character (which I will get too later) I didn’t really mind and it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the episode. 

As usual, Virgil and Roman have a great dynamic and are hilarious with how they bounce off one another. I do question the timeline of this episode given how relaxed Virgil is around Thomas, considering the last time they were together they weren’t on the best footing and he wasn’t present at all during Putting Others First. But I’ll probably make another post about that. 

Starting with Virgil, it was fun seeing him act more like his pre-AA self. Getting onto Thomas’ case about every little thing was both hilarious and way too relatable (like way to call a dude out) and him explaining introvert culture was just *cheff’s kiss* It was nice to him slightly more laid back and worrying about something else other than whether or not Thomas is a good person and keeping a dark secret about his past hidden. Also the ending with him openly celebrating with Thomas and Roman was adorable. We’ve never seen Virgil with his guard down like this, letting himself be genuinely happy in front of the others. He always hides that part of him and seeing him like this just warmed my heart because that means Thomas himself isn’t feeling anxious and is allowing himself to enjoy the moment. Sure there are some moments of doubt here and there, but it was overall a great scene and I was glad they gave us a scene with them in the apartment. 

Now Roman? Oh my gosh I needed an episode where he got his happy ending and it has arrived! Considering the punch to the gut that was POF’s ending I was ecstatic to see Roman finally, finally getting something he wanted. Think about it. Roman recently gave up the callback, which he wanted more than anything, only to have it all blow up in his face and be told that his sacrifice was all for nothing. Like, ouch. But here we see him once again pursuing something he wants, and he actually gets it! He probably thought it was going to be yet another loss for him, all their efforts were for nothing, but it wasn’t! That’s one thing I love about Roman, no matter how many times he loses he never stops trying. Even when he gets knocked down to his lowest he won’t hesitate to grab the next opportunity that comes his way. And as we can see, that will and determination has paid off. 

Of course we can’t forget about Thomas himself. He’s so lovable in this, trying to just get through what should be a simple shopping trip at the mall only to have the most minor things continue to interfere with that. We don’t ever really see Thomas outside of his apartment so it’s nice to finally have an explanation for that. The focus of this episode though is his attempts to find out more about the handsome stranger across the food court and work up the nerve to talk to him. One of the funniest parts of this episode (in my opinion) is when Thomas comes up with the brilliant idea to use the stickers and pins as a way to start a conversation (which honestly could have been sparked by Logan who’s had enough of this) only for it to be shot down as a horrible idea because, what else would anxiety tell you? The monologue in the bathroom was another highlight of this episode and just, gosh Thomas’ acting here is just great. Even though we can only hear his voice there’s just so much emotion put into it. It honestly sounds like he’s crying in some parts and I loved it just as much as the bathroom guy did. 

And finally, last but certainly not least, we have the wonderful Nico Flores. I did not expect to love him as much as I did but like, my gosh how can you not? He’s that perfect mix of cool while still being a bit of a dork. Like did he just grab a stranger’s food and wander around looking for them to return it? Had he noticed Thomas go in the bathroom and was just awkwardly standing around waiting for him to come out? His relationship with Thomas is already super cute and I hope that he becomes a recurring character and love interest for Thomas.  (Note when I say Thomas I am referring to character!Thomas and not the real Thomas) Seeing as Thomas (now referring to the real one) said this episode would be important to the plot of Sanders Sides, I think it’s safe to assume Nico will be making a return and I for one can’t wait to see more of him, along with seeing how his relationship with Thomas develops. 

If I had anything negative to say about this episode, I’d have three negative things to say. 

I’ll start with one that I sorta brought up earlier which regarded the absence of a certain character that just didn’t really make sense to me, and that character is Patton. Now for Logan, Janus, and Remus, I can see why they wouldn’t be there. Logan doesn’t do feelings. Janus and Virgil would be having a hissy fit the entire time. And we all know what Remus would be doing. Not saying none of them could have shown up briefly, but their absence doesn’t bother me as much as Patton’s does. 

Patton is Thomas’ heart, the core of all his feelings, why wouldn’t the heart be present during a time where Thomas is starting to fall in love? He wasn’t mentioned or anything! Not even when Roman was literally telling Thomas to speak from the heart. It just rubbed me the wrong way that he wasn’t brought up at all and the reason for that has to do with another problem I had with this episode, and that was the choice to have the main thing keeping Thomas from talking to Nico was him being a liar. 

The episode starts with hitting the audience on the head with this idea that Thomas is struggling with lying. Despite the fact that nothing that happens is really his fault and everything else isn’t really a big deal. I just found it odd that this was the thing they were having Virgil and Roman get onto Thomas’ case for considering, well, we already had an episode (multiple really) that have already addressed this. One could say this was a result of Roman and Virgil teaming up and being upset over Janus’ partial acceptance. The reason I don’t think this is likely is because Thomas said Virgil finding out about Janus would be a major plot point and I doubt something like that would have happened off screen (honestly the timeline for this video is so confusing) 

Another reason this bothered me is because Virgil comes to the conclusion that everything that has gone wrong (the rehearsing in the bathroom, the old friend in the food court, the plant, the pretending, the hiding, the god forsaken boiled carrots) are all lies and Thomas can’t build a relationship off of lies. 

But... He literally wasn’t doing that? 

At this point Thomas hasn’t even talked to Nico yet. He lied to the guy in the bathroom regarding the monologue (who wouldn’t) and he tried to pretend to be a stranger’s friend (which backfired horribly so lesson learned) I don’t even know how the plant would be considered a lie (and Virgil was the one who pushed him over there anyway) I’m not sure what Virgil’s referring to with the pretending and the hiding I can only assume is when they hid in a trashcan (unless I’m not meant to take that literally) and with the carrots Thomas should have just walked away the moment he saw the rainbow pin on the backpack. That was his fault.

But not once did Thomas lie about anything to Nico. In fact when they finally started talking Thomas was nothing but honest with him, embarrassingly so. The thing Virgil was claiming to be the source of the problem just, wasn’t true. It didn’t make sense to me and still doesn’t even after my third viewing. What I had originally thought was going to happen was that they’d come to a conclusion that tied into Moving On, the episode where Thomas dealt with the aftermath of a break up with Roman, Virgil, and Patton. 

Wouldn’t that be something they’d be afraid of? Say Thomas managed to hit it off with this guy. They start dating, everything is going well, only for it to end the same way his last relationship did. Wouldn’t it make a little more since for the main thing to be holding Thomas back is the fear of getting his heart broken again? Of losing yet another person he loved? 

Which brings me back to previous point of Patton not being there. Considering these three were the ones to help Thomas resolve things in Moving On, why shouldn’t these three be the ones to be by him when beginning a new relationship? 

Unless Patton’s been avoiding these two since currently Virgil is still on rocky ground with Patton and after what happened in POF. But again we have no idea since we don’t know when this episode takes place (well as of writing this I have no idea considering how long it’s taken me to write this Thomas may have tweeted about it or something) 

Another potential reason for Patton not being there is basically what I said earlier. In Moving On he was the one struggling the most since he’s Thomas’ feelings. He could have been overwhelmed by all the emotions Thomas was dealing with and simply couldn’t bring himself to show up. This has me hoping that we’ll get a follow up Asides episode where we get to see the other side’s reactions to Nico. If not all of them at least Logan and Patton since it’s been awhile since those two had an episode together. 

If that’s the case then I can understand keeping Patton out of this one. But that doesn’t change the fact that I find the whole “lies” thing to be a bit ridiculous. 

The final thing I have some of an issue with is how Virgil was the one to “save the day” in this. Throughout this episode Virgil was the one causing the problems (which isn’t to say anything bad about Virgil it’s literally his job to protect Thomas and that includes protecting him from rejection and heartbreak) while Roman was pushing Thomas to go take a chance. I dunno, this one isn’t as big of an issue since I still like the conclusion and Roman calling Virgil brave. It just would have been nice to see Roman going for something and getting it himself. Or at least him and Virgil deciding together that they weren’t going to let this opportunity go. 

I dunno, I’m kinda impartial on that one. I just want to see Roman succeed. 

And there you have it. Those are my thoughts. As usual, you may take them with a grain of salt. But also feel free to share your own opinions on this episode. It’s definitely become a favorite of mine and is up there with my other favorites. 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go be sad because bathroom guy had his hopes and dreams crushed and he deserves justice. 

#ts spoilers #sanders sides spoilers #dukeofonions

[dukeofonions]

A Lack of Criticism and the Upcoming Video

Putting this under a cut because it gets long.

Something I’ve noticed about the Sanders Sides series is that no one ever seems to criticize the content itself. Whenever a new video is released, it’s immediately showered in praise and adored by the fan base. Especially when it’s been a long break in between content and we’ve all been desperate for a video. We’re caught in the rush of having something new that we immediately latch onto it and this thing has now become the most sacred thing in the fandom.

Now this isn’t always the case, I know some people found Logic vs Passion (I am not typing that monster of an acronym out) to be lower quality. It seemed rushed, the jokes weren’t as funny, no one seemed to really be in character. Which I agreed with the first time around, and it was a shame because it was the first episode to give Logan and Roman the spotlight, and I was so excited for two of my favorite characters to finally get their own episode. Only to not enjoy it as much as I’d wanted to. 

Besides that, other notable criticisms were about Selfishness vs Selflessness which pertained to the questionable lesson that we learned, but this seemed to be intentional on the writers’ part and left the fandom to debate among themselves while we waited for the second part to arrive. Really, the most negativity wrought by that episode was the beginning of the fandom’s “Unsympathetic Patton” debacle. 

Which, didn’t have much to do with the episode itself, as it became more of a fandom thing. 

What I’m getting at is no one ever criticizes the videos directly. The story, dialogue, effects, none of that is ever looked into or critiqued. And as someone who loves to self review movies, books, music, etc. I find this odd because there is a lot of good and bad to be found within the show. In this case, I’d say the good outweighs the bad, and while I enjoy this series a lot, if someone who hadn’t seen it before asked me to describe it this is what I would say: “It’s a bit corny, sometimes the morals can be very on the nose, the humor is kinda cringey and not every joke lands. But overall it’s a good show that has helped me through a lot of things and I love the characters in it. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I would recommend checking it out.”

That is my honest opinion on the series as a whole right there, and if we wanted to go deeper, I have other issues with it as well, which I’ll most likely go into in another post because that’s not what this one is about.

Look, I adore Sanders Sides, but I’d be lying if I said it was flawless. And sometimes, I feel like the fandom is afraid of saying anything negative about the show directly. 

Why?

Because they think if we criticize something Thomas and co. worked so hard on, then we’re not being grateful for the content we’ve received and thus, rendering their hard work to nothing. So instead, we lavish each video with praise and give unconditional support to the creators. Even if the episode was sub par, the majority of the fandom will give it a 10/10 each time just because it’s something Thomas made. 

And I understand why, Thomas is great. He’s someone I look up to and aspire to be like. He’s pretty down to earth and he does his best to include his fan base in everything he does as much as he can. He tries to put out content that everyone can enjoy and gain something from and he’s clearly passionate about what he does, and I respect all that as a fellow creator. 

That being said, criticizing his work isn’t the same as hating on him or any of the team involved making the videos. I know they all work hard, and the evolution of his content and how far he’s come is amazing! The quality of the videos (as far as production and editing go) has greatly improved from the stuff of his early days and he deserves all the support he’s gotten. 

But the fandom seems to be so afraid of having anything negative reach him that they’ll go to drastic measures to make sure any negativity is dealt with and silenced, which in turn makes many others afraid to voice any opinion that differs from the norm, and no one is taking time to stop and think: “Hey, maybe silencing others who don’t agree with us isn’t right and is actually harming people in the fandom.”

This happened recently when Thomas’ newest video “Playing A Video Game Until It’s All You Think About” was released and a few people expressed that they did not think it was that good. 

It felt empty, wasn’t as funny as his other videos, and what most people had an issue with: It was basically a 10 minute advertisement. 

And I agreed with all of these criticisms, and I won’t lie for me part of this came from waiting for the new Sanders Sides, only to get a video that just left me feeling empty at the end. Which usually doesn’t happen after I watch one of Thomas’ videos, I’m never left feeling indifferent or disappointed, but this video was (in my opinion) a serious let down. Especially when there was so much they could have done with it in terms of how they worked the video game into the plot, but that’s a post for another time. 

After people expressed these thoughts, as usual, others were quick to shut the negativity down. Some defended the video while calling out those who had been voicing these things while others simply carried on as usual and showered the video with praise, and not even a day after the video was released, talk about it altogether died out.  So now we’re at a point where the long awaited Sanders Sides is closer than ever to being released, and thus we get to the point of this post: What’s going to happen if this video drops, and it ends up not being the grand masterpiece we’ve all been hyping it up to be?

I keep seeing people (in response to the long wait) saying that this video will be good because it’s taken so long to make. And as we all know, time=quality, right?

Well, not exactly...��

Yes, taking time to work on something can help, but it isn’t what ultimately determines the overall quality of the product. 

There are dozens of factors that go into making something, and time is only one of them. There are Youtubers who produce great content every single day, and some who produce not-so-great content weekly. It all depends on the person(s) working on the content, resources, and time. 

Yes, we’ve been waiting almost 10 months for this video, but does that mean that entire time has been dedicated to this one episode? No! We got other videos in between that time, heck, Thomas didn’t even start filming until after December had passed. Most of the time taken for this video has gone into the animation that will be featured in the video. That’s it. 

If that were to be absent, then I’m pretty sure we would have had this video by now. Not saying they shouldn’t have included the animation, but it’s clear that the wait between videos has become longer since they started adding gimmicks in each episode, and that’s fine if they want to do that! 

I personally don’t think it’s necessary, as the series got along just fine in the beginning with nothing but the dialogue between the characters to carry it, but that’s just my opinion. 

Now, say the video drops, a majority of the fandom loves it, I will most likely love it, but what if despite this, we find this video is not a top tier Sanders Sides video, and it wasn’t what we’d all been hoping for. 

It could be anti-climatic, the jokes may not be as funny, it simply may not live up to the standards that its predecessor, Selfishness vs Selflessness, set before it. 

In my opinion, SVS is one of, if not the best Sanders Sides episode. It had drama, humor, it raised the stakes, Deceit was in it! 

Because of this, it’s only natural that people expect part two to be just as good if not better, but as I’ve noticed with a lot of sequels or “Part Twos” is that sometimes, they just aren’t as good as the original. 

They’re not always bad per se, but they can’t hold a candle to the original, and I believe it’s possible that this could be the case with this next episode. 

And if it is, how will the fandom react?

Well, if we’re lucky this episode will blow any expectations out of the water and will be even better than SVS Part One.

But what’s most likely to happen is that everyone will love it, we’ll start trending on Tumblr, and the fandom will blow up as fan art, theories, edits, and all that comes with it are massed produced by the fandom. 

You know what else could happen? People could be disappointed by the video. It may not live up to everyone’s expectations, and that’s okay.

It should be okay. 

No matter what happens, people should be allowed to feel however they want when this episode does finally drop. If people love it, let them love it. If people don’t like it, then please I beg you...

Let them.

All I’m asking is that we as a fandom, stop policing how people are supposed to feel about content. Obviously, if someone is just being a troll and hating for no reason that isn’t okay. But if that’s the case, just ignore them and move on. 

But if someone has legitimate complaints or critiques, then they should have the freedom to express that without being afraid of receiving backlash from the fandom.  This fandom claims to be the most wholesome, but how can that be when there are people who are afraid of voicing an opinion?  

#sanders sides #ts discourse #fandom criticism #dukeofonions