#&use that audience purely for their own benefit

[genericpuff]

think rachel needed the hire a bunch of writers instead of drawing assistants after season one so she could focus on one part and not get burnt out while someone else kept track of and developed all her plot points in a lore Bible or something

Honestly yeah, LO is a huge example of why the Webtoons' editors don't actually function as editors, more so just messenger pigeons between the creators and the company who are there to make sure creators are following ToS and otherwise answering questions on behalf of the higher-ups for the creators. And this is especially wild for something like LO because 1.) you'd think the #1 webtoon on the platform would be given all the resources it needs to succeed, and 2.) LO's editor in the end was Bre Boswell who actually has a background in television writing (and yet ironically, the series only got worse after Bre suddenly replaced the previous editors around Ep 100).

Rachel's strong points have always been in conceptual design and illustration. Despite this, LO's own iconic design and illustration aspects that made people fall in love with it in the first place were lost after it became as big as it did. I know folks will argue that LO's production was purely the fault of Webtoons' insane deadlines, but her writing has always been her weakest point and that's evident in all of her previous works prior to LO. She's good at coming up with standalone ideas - again, concepts - but executing them and finalizing them through an actual conclusion beyond the initial idea is always something she's struggled with.

This is also apparent to a point in her art as well, as much as her strengths used to be in illustration and conceptual design, she also clearly struggled in staying committed to the same character designs and concepts for long periods of time and was never good at coming up with efficient ways to reproduce her own art - even gorgeous comics like The Doctor Foxglove Show started off strong just to inevitably slip into the same habits of inconsistent half-assing that LO did, and it wasn't even an Originals series.

Back to the writing though, she absolutely would have benefited from having another writer or two on her team, but unfortunately she also doesn't seem like she's aware of her own faults in her writing or willing to let anyone else in on her process, especially considering she's even admitted that her own writing process is "chaos" and has supposedly convinced herself that the faults in her writing are a good thing.

There's "embracing the chaos" of your own process (my process is chaotic too, I get it) and then there's just going "oh well, sucks to suck, I don't want to bother doing better for the sake of my own dedicated audience so it's fine if I totally whiff the comic's plot".

The reality is that if you've never learned how to identify and break your own bad habits, you'll inevitably think that those bad habits are the norm and/or are what makes you good at what you do - all the while, you wind up missing what could have actually helped you. Rachel started off on a very strong foot with the concept of LO, but then inevitably fell into the exact same bad habits she had with previous works but was now enabled by the contract and money and fame she got through Webtoons to never change - after all, if she was going to keep being rewarded Eisners and merch deals anyways regardless of the quality of her writing/art, what point would there be in improving? From my perspective, she clearly doesn't really have the integrity to improve for the sake of herself and her audience, so as long as the end result is to her benefit, the means don't really matter.

Of course, in the long-term it makes for a very horrid legacy especially in hindsight, but as far as I'm concerned, she got what she wanted regardless.

[starlightervarda]

So, as a ~brown person~ I take issue with most cases of racebending because they are either done for the wrong reason or done with zero effort to flesh out a wholly new incarnation of a character. They never make adjustments to fit the new existence this character has now gone through life with. It’s just a paint-job to pat themselves on the back for being ‘progressive’ or get free press from audience outrage.

It’s even more egregious in fantasy settings where it seems like they have no specific land of origin, no culture, no history, no explanation for how we ended up sticking out like a sore thumb in this society we are clearly not native to. Like we’re not even worth passing specifics, character-history or being fleshed out in the narrative. We exist to make fanboys mad and showrunners feel smug, we’re never as ‘real’ on-screen as we are off, if that makes sense. 

But what AMC’s Interview with the Vampire did with Louis is exactly what I’ve been waiting to see.

I get people are upset that it diverged so hard from canon but, let’s be honest. It was necessary. 

Louis has been updated. Rewritten with care, sense and awareness in regards to appearance, location, time period and original characterization. He was always quite dull and unbearable, and the fact that he was a colonialist slave-owner did not help matters. Like, I’m sorry they just couldn’t have kept him as-is and expected most of us (especially from lands that have been colonized) to care for his bullshit. 

Yes, yes, they’re all vampires and monsters and blahblahblah but...at the end of the day, they’re pure fantasy. People like book!Louis did exist though, and we’re still suffering from their actions towards our ancestors/grandparents. I don’t want to hear someone who benefitted off human rights violations whining.

Louis now being a Creole pimp whose instigating death-in-the-family went from a ‘wife in childbirth’ he didn’t care enough for as a person to give details on, to a brother he loved but had a difficult relationship with made him more real, interesting and sympathetic. He’s now more active in his own narrative, with emphasized struggles we can relate to (race, religion, sexuality, family responsibility, grief), and it explains how, even while being tortured over it, he chose to escape into the dark freedom Lestat offered. 

I went in expecting the usual bullshit of them just keeping everything the same and not acknowledging anything different, but I am now relieved. 

Also, the second Molloy asked him ‘How long have you been dead’ and he laughed, I was sold.

[wambsgansshoelaces]

Turmoil; Chapter 9

Roman Roy x Reader

Word Count: 3.518k

You walk slowly back and forth on the cool marble flooring of Shiv’s apartment, trying not to slip on your socks. You're gesturing vaguely at your laptop as you pace, which Roman had gotten to project on her living room TV. You have the spreadsheet of Connor’s financial ruin pulled up, letting everyone mull it over.

“We have many options right now, and all of them are good,” you tell your miniature peanut gallery of the siblings- minus Connor -, plus Gerri and Greg. “We serve Connor. All this does is get him off of our asses, gets us some spending money. Doesn’t eliminate the massive fucking problem that is Logan Roy, doesn’t deal with anything involving Waystar. Purely a ‘fuck you’ to Connor and he goes to jail for five minutes before Daddy bails him out.” You glance around the room, remembering your audience. “Uh, no offence.”

You get a collective grunt from the three siblings, all of them in a similar state of focus. Roman’s sat on the sofa, eyes trained solely on you rather than the presentation. When you catch his gaze, he gives you a nervous smile. You smile back.

“What I think we should do is start building a case against Logan. But we bait him with this fraud to get a stronger case,” you say. “We’re pulling things together. I can see us having an airtight case before the years up.” You pause. “We just, uh, need to finalize the entire… CEO thing.”

The more time you’d spent with the Roys, the more they got along less. With Logan thrown out of the company, ownership, control of the company was up for grabs. Each of the three of them though that they were the right choice. What you saw in Norway, what you saw when you first met Roman, was slowly self destructing.

You’re worried it won’t go back to the way it was before.

The siblings’ banter, their underlying love for one another. You’re not going to hear it again for a while.

The general consensus is that you are to start building a criminal case against Logan Roy. You have to tell yourself that if you fail, on the off chance that this case crumbles under pressure in court, that the rest of your life will with it. Losing to Logan Roy, at anything, has grace consequences. And in this instance? Your career will suffer the most.

Roman’s trying to figure out how to completely disconnect your laptop from the television when Gerri approaches you. You both offer each other soft smiles. You were similar, after all, and although lawyers didn’t get along most of the time, you got the feeling that you’d both give each other grace.

“It’s nice to meet you informally,” she tells you, offering her hand for you to shake. Her grip is firm, it doesn’t falter. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it out to Norway.”

“You didn’t miss much. It was a lot of peacocking, if I’m honest.”

Her voice drops so that only you can hear, even though everyone else is involved in their own business, nowhere near. “There’s a power struggle here. Neither of us are stupid.”

You gather your composure. Maybe this wasn’t the wholesome interaction you’d hoped it’d be. Oh, how you wish strategy would leave you alone. “Mm.”

“And I think, with our lack of familial ties, lack of allegiance, we’re in quite the position to just… make things go our way.”

Your eyes flit about the space around the two of you. Still, nobody’s within earshot. “And what’s our way?”

“The one where we benefit most.” Her gaze shifts from you to Roman, still sat on the couch, your laptop finally disconnected from the TV. As if he can feel your eyes boring into him, he looks up, catching you and Gerri staring. “The one where we have the most control.”

“Since when are you and Gerri all buddy buddy?” he asks the minute you step out of Shiv’s apartment. The bone-chilling January air smacks you in the face, blowing back your hair as you glance at him in the dark.

“We’re not. I met her today.” You simultaneously reach for each other’s hands, curling your fingers together.

“What’d she say?” he asks, voice just barely cracking. He brings his free hand to your intertwined ones, rubbing over the back of your hand in an attempt to warm it.

You don’t answer until you’re both in the car a few moments later, you sitting behind the wheel. “She made an interesting proposition about the entire… succession thing.”

He buckles his seat belt, not taking his eyes off you. “Yeah?”

“That her and I back you so that we have the power when you’re CEO.”

You tear your gaze from his, backing out of the apartment complex’s parking lot and pulling out onto the street. He says nothing for a bit, turning things over in his head.

“I mean, I wouldn’t really be against that,” he says carefully, failing to sound convincing. “I wouldn’t like it, but I mean, CEO, and the two smartest people I know pulling the strings so I don’t fuck up…”

“You’d be fine with that? You wouldn’t want, I don’t know, free will?”

“Well, it’s you and Gerri. Sure, you’ve both had your cold and calculating bullshit, but neither of you are capable of rendering me completely useless.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you ask, glancing at him when you stop at a red light.

He shrugs. “Just that you’re physically incapable of slighting me, because, you know”- he gestures at himself, taking your hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel and planting a kiss on the back of it -“and Gerri doesn’t even have it in her.”

You roll your eyes. “I mean, I could, but I won’t,” you say, teasing. He keeps your hand in his as you drive, night time New York lights blurring by.

“Would you do it, though?” he asks quietly. “Do you think I could do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Am I… am I capable?” You can tell he’s still looking at you, but your eyes are in the road.

“Of course you’re capable,” you say immediately. “But it sounds like you don’t really… want it.”

“I mean, I want it. I want more for myself. I just… don’t really want Waystar. I want more than just fucking around in my stupid fucking office and having… having no substance.” The car’s in the parking garage of your own apartment now, but neither of you make a move to get out. He’s looking straight ahead of him, eyes slightly glazed over. It’s an expression you’ve never seen on him before. He looks troubled, like he’s actually at war with something in his head. “I mean, I feel like a week ago I would’ve strangled you for it. Now, I think about it, and it’s so��� so boring.”

Your hands are still wrapped around each other, so you begin stroking small circles into his skin with your thumb. “Boring?”

“Unfulfilling. Dull. Like, what, I make billions of dollars every year for the rest of my life, doing absolutely nothing to earn it, and then I just die? What kind of life is that?”

You turn so that you can face him. “I didn’t know that was on your mind.”

Roman gives a mirthless laugh, bringing your hand to his shoulder. Vaguely aware of what he wants, you rub absently. “I didn’t, either. I don’t know.” His fingers trace over the back of your hand, still staring out the windshield rather than holding your gaze. “You make me feel all of these new things. I’m thinking about so much more, now that I’m taking you seriously.”

“You weren’t taking me serious before?” you ask playfully, trying to lighten the mood. You lean over the center console, using your hand on his shoulder to keep you steady, pressing a hot kiss to his jaw. “In the end, don’t do anything you don’t want to. Life’s not worth it if you’re not happy.”

You step out of the car, and Roman’s not far behind you. “You know,” he begins once you’re both safely inside the apartment, “I have no idea what we’re supposed to do.”

His coat gets tossed into the hallway closet, yours not far behind after he coaxes it off of you. “We’ll just do what we can.”

“You’re not very reassuring,” he mutters, shutting the closet door and pushing past you into the kitchen. You follow, reaching for his shoulders from behind him once he stops at the kitchen counter. He drops his face into his hands, somehow both tensing and relaxing at your touch.

“Roman.” Your thumbs glide over his shoulder blades, and he doesn’t respond. “What’s the actual problem here? We can talk. I’m here for you.”

“He’s my dad, Y/N. In the end he’s still my dad.” You gently knead his shoulders in an attempt to soothe him. He still doesn’t turn to face you. “Which is why it hurts so fuckin’ bad.”

“Tell me what hurts, Roman. We’ll fix it, I’ll fix it.”

“I want… I want him to love me like I love him. But I know-” he chokes on his words, and you realize he’s crying. You falter for barely a moment when he abruptly turns and buries his face into the crook of your neck, wrapping his arms around your back. You feel his tears trickling onto your collarbone, and you feel a twisting in your chest. You cradle the back of his head with one of your hands, the other going to the small of his back. “But I know it’ll never happen.” His grip tightens on you before he continues. “Yeah, that shit with you, and Gerri, and CEO… it sounds so fucking good, but Y/N, when I fucking dreamed of it, the only reason it ever mattered was that it was him. He wanted me there, he thought I was the best. But it was all just a dream, anyway. It doesn’t fucking matter if that’s not how it goes.”

He sobs into your shoulder, and you don’t move. You keep holding him. You’ll hold him until he lets go. You hope he doesn’t.

“We’ll figure something else out, then. It’s okay, Roman, it’s okay.” You press a tentative kiss to the side of his head. “You’re getting yourself worked up. We can talk about this later, yeah?” He pulls away to look at you, waterline still glistening. You cup his face with your hands, thumbing away the stray tears on his cheeks and under his eyes. “Wanna watch that show I was talking about the other day? Make you feel better, take your mind off things?”

He takes a deep, controlling breath, calming himself. “I know a better way we can get me to feel good,” he murmurs, not wasting any more time, taking you by the jaw and pulling your mouth to his. If your first few kisses were careful, arguably sweet, this one was reckless. Roman kisses you without abandon, mushing your lips against his. For the first time, he’s needy, he’s greedy, he’s fucking desperate. Messily, he’d turned the two of you so that your back was to the counter. “Up,” he utters, mouth barely leaving yours. He reaches behind you, barely gesturing at the counter top.

Vaguely, you register, and you brace your hands on his chest and jump, managing to land where he wants you. The counter isn’t that high up- it wasn’t a struggle. Immediately, he’s pressed up against you, hands sliding down your legs to loop them around the part of his torso they are dangling by. While your hands go to cup his face, his slide back up your clothing to settle on your hips.

You kiss him again, and again, and again. The only thing you can hear is the blood rushing through your ears and the soft noises of your lips on his. You pepper kisses onto his lips, and he makes quiet, contented noises. He’s completely relaxed. He’s letting you do whatever the fuck you want.

“Feeling better?” you ask into his mouth before kissing him again, long and deep, fingers digging deeper into his skin.

He groans in response, the vibration against your lips spine-tingling. “So much fucking better.” He pulls his mouth from yours, to your disappointment, and the both of you are panting, vying for air. He doesn’t pull away entirely, instead leaning back in to dot kisses to the corners of your mouth, then down your chin, down your neck. “You look fucking gorgeous from this angle. A fucking goddess among men.”

☾𖤓

When the morning arrives, the two of you are tangled together, your head nestled into his chest, his head atop yours. His arms are wound tightly around you, keeping you flush against him in a refusal to let go. When you wake up, all you can smell is the faint scent of his aftershave from the night before. You never want this to end.

You don’t open your eyes, trying to get even closer to him. You barely rub your cheek against his chest in an attempt to burrow into him. Roman murmurs softly in his sleep, shifting, bringing you with him and pressing his nose into your neck.

His breath fans over your skin, deliciously warm, sweetly soothing. You bring your hand to his cheek, gently stroking, admiring his peace-laden face.

You spend the next half hour like this, just looking at him, reflecting.

Your fiancé. Your Roman.

You’d never expect, in a million years, that this would be how you ended up. You let your fingers trace calming patterns into the crook of his jaw, and he’s practically purring. You savor these fleeting moments, this peace.

It’s like a dream. Everything is in slow motion, and you can feel everything before it happens. You know you’re going to fall for him. You’re going to fall so fucking hard. You’ll scrape your face on the pavement, skid your knees, bleed for him.

Also like a dream is the looming sense of doom. The feeling that you’re grasping at straws, waiting for everything to suddenly slip away. Because you know it will. You know, whatever path you take, it intersects with Logan Roy’s, and there’s quite the conflict in the distance.

Roman grunts from under you, shifting so that you’re laying on the bed rather than him. “Fuckin’ tryna kill me,” he mumbles into your neck. Despite his words, you can feel him smiling into your skin.

“I want all that money of yours,” you tease back, letting him drape an arm over your torso, readjusting so that his face is buried in your chest.

“Mm, don’t act like you don’t already own everything that I do,” he says, sleep still playing with his voice. “God, you could tell me you wanted to live in the White House and I’d blow all my money renting it out for you.”

You laugh airily, and before you know it, you’re both up and about, getting ready for work.

“I forgot to tell you,” he calls from across the apartment, him in the kitchen, you digging around in your closet. “The shareholder thing. Looks like Dad’s trying to rally the troops. He has all the old-timers questioning everything Ken does.”

“Anything from Marcia?” you shout back, finding the outfit you were hunting for.

“She agreed to meet at the firm. Also, I heard from that pompous piece of googly-eyed garbage that Connor’s already had a lawsuit processed. He goes to court in a month or something.”

You stroll out into the living room, watching Roman muck about the kitchen, making breakfast. It smells good, at least, and you can tell he’s melting cheese over eggs while he scrambles them. “Are you talking about Pierce, or Greg?”

“Pierce. I don’t think Greg is that bad…”

You snort, rounding the counter to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Whatever you say.” He turns to briefly smack a kiss onto your cheek in return before getting back to his eggs. "Hopefully your daddy makes a scene.”

“Never refer to him like that again.”

At the firm, you decide that you’re going to pretend to keep working on Connor’s case. You’re itching for shit to hit the fan, to see Logan step in. As far as you know, everything is in place, and you’re getting closer to catching him red handed.

On your office phone’s intercom, your assistant buzzes to get your attention. “Siobhan is here.”

“Send her in, Cherry, thank you!”

When Shiv’s sat across from you, dressed in a power suit, she’s distracted. “I didn’t know you employed solely pretty people.” She gestures at you, then looks back at Cherry’s desk.

You laugh. “I do my best.” You absentmindedly click a pen, turning some thoughts over in your head. “So how are we going to play this?”

Shiv relaxes a bit in her seat, regarding you carefully. “I say we go for the jugular. There’s no reason to go easy.”

You lift a shoulder in a half shrug. “It’s your call.”

Another buzz. “She’s here.”

“Put her in Conference Room C. Love you lots, Cherry.”

Shiv flushes slightly. “Her name is Cherry?”

You shoo her out of her office before she can continue the conversation, and the two of you make your way down the hall. You see her through the glass before you get to the conference room. Marcia sits, hands folded primly in her lap, lips pressed into a thin line. You sit yourself in the chair directly across from her, Shiv following, settling in beside you. She wears a steely expression, her face devoid of emotion.

“Is it really so bad, just telling Dad you don’t want him anymore?” she asks Marcia, leaning back into her chair.

“That is not the topic of today’s conversation,” Marcia manages back, tone icy.

“Before we get to that,” you tell her, “you’re going to have to swear a few oaths. You’re Catholic, aren’t you, Mrs. Roy?”

She nods, hesitant. You reach under the conference table, where a small storage container is attached, and pull out a Bible. You stand, round the table, and make her set her hand on the holy book.

You swear her in, and you’re back in your seat next to Shiv. You fiddle with your pen, as does Shiv with hers. Your notepads are set before you both, at the ready to take notes.

“Just so you remember,” Shiv drawls, “if we find out anything you say here is untrue, you’re in deep shit.”

“Let’s start out easy, light.” You cross your ankles over each other, keeping your eyes on Marcia. “How long have you and your… new friend been seeing each other?”

She sighs, lips pursed. “A little over a year now.”

Shiv’s lips press together, keeping whatever comment she had lined up to herself. Instead, she asks, “What are you aware of, if anything, that my father has done that isn’t… to your taste?”

Marcia takes a moment to respond. “Bribes. Threats. What’s new?”

“You’re going to need to be a bit more specific,” Shiv replies quickly, pen poised over paper.

“Well,” Marcia says, drawing the word out, “he’s had private meetings. With investors, with accountants, with employees. He always has something to hold over them. There is always some hidden record, some bastard child, to bring them to him.”

“And if we were to ask you to remember who some of these people were, would you be able to come up with names?” you ask carefully, glancing down at your empty notepad then back up at Marcia.

“Yes, I’m sure I could.”

You and Shiv both jot things down.

Shiv opens her mouth to continue, but Marcia beats her to it. “There is something important you should know.”

“By all means,” you say, trying to be encouraging.

“I have come to know your first case quite well,” she tells you, averting her gaze. “It is a shame, what happened to you.” You and Shiv exchange a glance. “But despite all of the theatrics my husband enjoys, what he’s presented to you still is not the full truth.” She takes a moment, formulating her next sentences. “It was not Connor committing the fraud. It was Logan. He manufactured evidence, he framed his son, and I… I’m fairly sure the poor boy thinks he committed the crime.”

The room is dead silent for what seems like ages. You don’t know where to look. Your eyes flit from Marcia, who seems to be contemplating something in her head, to Shiv, who looks just as confused, just as off put as you do.

Marcia seems to decide something, then continues speaking. “I have had enough of the drama. I will testify in court against my husband if you help me turn our relationship into a thing of the past.”

You throw Shiv a triumphant look before turning back to Marcia.

“That sounds like quite the respectable deal.”

[roxannepolice]

I understand where the "RTD is pulling an obscure past villain in a supposedly new audience focused season" take-with-critical-flavour comes from but. Like, this may be one of the things that make his writing for me, but all of these past situations hardly ever required lore literacy?

Nastene consciousness is a very simple concept that neither benefits nor loses from having seen TotA. The Daleks' focus was entirely in reference to the Time War. Cybermen in s2 were specifically parallel universe Cybermen. The Sontarans were simply on their usual bullshit. Ice Warriors were only brought up as Mars's natives that would explain were the Flood came from (you remember that, right? that the Flood was Ice Warriors' weapon?). Dammit, Rassilon being Rassilon is only established in one line and apart from added epicness of literally fighting your technocratic god this doesn't give or take away much. The Toymaker got one flashback to remind that yes, he and the Doctor already know each other and there's a pinch added bitterness but no, this isn't a revenge story, this is "humanity is fascinating with their little nation dolls and war games" story.

And I left him for the last, because even THE MASTER wasn't there for "history between us" nostalgia fest sake. Yes, the childhood friendship had to be brought up because it's too important in this case, and the times the Doctor stopped the Master as well as the times they cooperated had to be brought up to show how they differ in their perceptions of their relationship, but that's pretty much it and you get all this from the story on its own. You can get an added rush from the little threegado nods but that's just the aesthetic.

Like, the universe is large, multiverse even more so, but sometimes you're just going to run into the same anthropomorphic or zoomorphic personification of pure concepts, and the only thing you can do is deal with it again, with the caveat the gods can't be tricked twice?

[justaravingwritingdesk]

Kim Dokja, His Exclusive Skills, His Theme and How They Relate to Each Other: An (Incomplete) Essay

Another ORV epiphany came to me while reading a certain ORV fanfic.

If Exclusive Skills and Attributes are truly manifestations of a person's cultivated skills from before and during the apocalypse – which, as we've seen from Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung and even Asuka Ren (Peaceland's creator), actually does apply – what does that say about Kim Dokja?

Kim Dokja and His Range of Skills in Comparison to Other “Readers”

Kim Dokja, as we know, starts with Exclusive Skills all related to the theme of "reading". Unfortunately, those same skills are the only ones he gains through his own independent work; his other skills, like Song of the Sword, are given to him as a prize for completion of a scenario or, in the case of White Pure Star Energy, acquired through bartering. This would limit him severely if not for the nature of his "reading" skills allowing him to use the skills of a select range of characters of whom he has a certain level of understanding. The fact that the benefits balance his disadvantages just right is an excellent use of misdirection to pull focus away from those details.

Now, the existence of other readers have been hinted at since the start of the novel, teased in the Chungmuro Station scenario with the mention of the "Prophets" and then confirmed with the beginning of the King's Path scenario. One would think that out of over 1200 readers – a fair amount of which died in the first scenario – at least one or two would've had attributes or skills related to reading. Yet, none of these readers had any – this is excluding Han Sooyoung, of course, whose disposition is a Writer's. And thinking outside the box, surely there were some avid readers out there with dedication rivaling that of Kim Dokja's, but not aimed towards TWSA? Well, regardless of whether such people existed or not, the fact remains that Kim Dokja is the only person known with skills so closely related to reading.

Kim Dokjaʼs Theme in Relation to His Skills

Kim Dokja aligns his character – pun not intended – with that of a reader's. This is a passive and active notion present throughout the novel. It's to the point that it becomes the norm. This is both to Kim Dokja's advantage and not. Examples of the former are numerous, but one specific example of the latter is when he attempts to learn Way of the Wind. It should be mentioned that norms, being norms, tend to exist in such a way that we recognize it mostly on a subconscious and not on a conscious level, and thus we become blind to it. That is why it is only because of Han Sooyoung's mocking comments that Kim Dokja once again realizes where his strengths lie as a reader.

The “Fourth Wall”

Now, as readers, it is a fact that we are mostly detached from our reading material when we are just beginning to read. We begin to immerse ourselves the more we read and the longer read. This is also true to other forms of entertainment such as theatre, film and music. It is not limited to the fictional view; it applies as well to the non-fictional. For example, when reading an autobiography or watching a documentary, is there not a subconscious sense of disconnect, telling separating us from the material we immerse ourselves in? That feeling is, in theatrical terms, our own personal "fourth wall".

The Fourth Wall serves a variety of purposes, but most prominently it serves to create a divide between the audience and the play. It protects the viewers from feeling too involved in the performance while also protecting the integrity of the story performed in the play from the personal opinions of the viewers. In ORV, we clearly see the Fourth Wall skill performing the latter function: protecting Kim Dokja from the meddling of the constellations. What we do not clearly see is the way it corrals Kim Dokja to his role by withholding core information from him: namely, his attribute window and his non-TWSA-affiliated pre-apocalypse memories. While we see the Fourth Wall having its own self-governing autonomy that allows it to function without Kim Dokja's conscious input, sometimes even overriding it, we also see at one point how Kim Dokja still possesses control over it. This is because the skill itself, while subconscious in nature, is undeniably a part of him. The revelation that the alternate 1863rd Dokkaebi King assumed the role of his Fourth Wall does not change this. Power levels and probability cost aside, I highly doubt the Dokkaebi King could do such a thing without serious repercussions, especially considering the implications. It would be more likely for Kim Dokja's Fourth Wall to fuse with the Dokkaebi King instead, with their resulting amalgamation gaining the abilities and attributes of both. However, this is all ultimately mere conjecture.

Let's explore another perspective. Theoretically speaking, the Fourth Wall detaches Kim Dokja from his new reality by cutting off the most important components of immersion: connection through emotion and memory. Both have examples present in the novel. Emotions are cut off when Kim Dokja experiences heightened stress or pain, while memories are blocked off, making them seem new when they flood back in (case in point, Welcome Prison, Nirvana and Eater of Dreams.) This helps Kim Dokja view everything as an extension of the novel, barring the the select few he knew pre-TWSA, with himself and his mother as the best, if not the only, examples. Rewording that to be more precise, he sees most everyone as characters and not people.

Kim Dokjaʼs Past and How It Relates to the Formulation of His Theme

Now, rewind a little. Memoir of the Underground Killer. His mother's masterpiece, her ultimate lie and the same story that tore apart their own. Simply speaking, to Kim Dokja and Lee Sookyung the book is a cover-up, a lie; therefore, it is fiction. This is the truth they, and only they, know. Everyone else, from the public to the media to his relatives, they think the book is the truth. That the book is made of 99% truth and 1% lie contributes to the ruse. This creates a paradox. The Kim Dokja in the book is as close as possible to the Kim Dokja in reality. The only difference is that one is the son of a murderer and the other is a murderer himself. In the eyes of the public this does not matter. Reasoning that the apple does not fall far from the tree, they see both Kim Dokjas as one and the same. The media are vultures, preying on a young Kim Dokja for tidbits he will not, cannot give. So they spin stories based on truth and rumors and speculation, turning him into yet another animal in the media circus. Combined with the bestseller status of his mother's book, Kim Dokja is essentially reduced to being a character. He has no real means of defense from reality. This is especially true of his pre-TWSA days. So, he creates his own personal Fourth Wall, to separate the real him from the world's version of him. The consequences are numerous. Memory repression is only one of them. Passive suicidal ideation is another.

This essay has gone on long enough. I have things I wanted to say but forgot and I am way past my bedtime so I'll end this here.

Recap: The theme of Exclusive Skills reflect one's disposition. Kim Dokja's focus on reading, and prevent him from acquiring anything substantial outside of direct bargains and skill benefits. The Fourth Wall separates the audience and the performance. It is a two-way wall. Kim Dokja is both protected and guided by the nose by his Fourth Wall. Kim Dokja knows well what it is like to be a real person yet still viewed as fictional. He does not want to be mere fiction, but he cannot imagine anything real for himself. His comfort character is a sunfish regressor. He hates being referred to as fiction but his coping mechanism is adopting the persona of a fictional character. He survived for thirteen years after a suicide attempt by gorging himself on a webnovel and nothing more. The full name of the novel is "Three Ways to Survive in A Ruined World"; his nickname for it is "Ways of Survival". Ironically, his world has been ruined for a long time. The three ways are not explicitly named. Kim Dokja's way of survival is Reading. 

Conclusion: Kim Dokja is an utter mess and I regret ever wanting to be him. Nope. Sounds nice in fiction; In reality, not so much.

Also, I lost count of how many times Kim Dokja was mistyped as Kik Dokaj 😂 so if you are a kind soul please ignore any typos

[linkspooky]

What do you think of Sora Siruha character? Before this chapter, i thought Ishida seems wants us to think of her character as a tragic hero and a character that is fallen after leaving yamato mori, but then he drop a chapter where she committed genocide when she was still in yamato mori, so i wonder what do you think of her character?

Sora Siruha is an interesting character because Nietzsche would have hated her. Yet she's still seen as morally ambiguous by both characters in her own story and members of the audience. Not that you're wrong to see her that way but Nietzsche sure did hate it was religion. So, perhaps the literal nun, with angel wings, with cross tattoos, and a black halo that doubles as a crown or thorns might be a bad guy in the Nietzsche manga.

That's not to say that she's irredeemably evil, it's just ironic the Choujin X of her generation named after the "ubermensch" represents the antithesis of a lot of Nietzsche's ideas.

Nietzsche famously called Religion the opium of the masses. in Nietzsche's view suffering was not only good but necessary to life, because it aspired people to grow and anything that promised avoidance of suffering alcohol and religion for instance stagnated growth instead of promoting it.

Religious suffering is at the same time an expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

So, it's not coincidence in the Nietzsche manga that Sora who has so many religious associations tied to her is also, an opium addict who cannot survive without it's pain numbing effects.

If by Nietzschian philosophy pain is a part of the human experience, then by losing her pain, Sora Siruha also lost her humanity which is heavily implied to be part of the cause of her mental spiral.

One other thing associated with Sora is that she uses what are primarily utilitarian views to justify her atrocities - something else that Nietzsche hated as a philosophy.

So Sora believing that her future visions will come to pass goes on to committ atrocities in order to avoid even greater atrocities. Let's say that her visions are in fact one hundred percent correct. That Sora killing 200,000 people would avert the deaths of 2,000,000 or more.

Sora's reasoning in this case is purely utilitarian.

Utilitarianism actions are morally permissible if: They produce at least as much or more net happiness as any other available action. Everything should strive for a balance of happiness over suffering.

By Utilitarian reasoning her actions are morally permissible. Sora herself does not want to kill Anitise, she takes no joy in it, but she believes like any utilitarian she's responsible for bringing the most happiness over suffering to the world.

However, even if Sora's vision was 100% correct and by pulling the lever on the trolley problem and killing 200,000 she saved 2,000,000 Nietzsche would still have a bone to pick with her moral reasoning.

Nietzsche famously hated Utilitarianism. because it ignore the value of suffering, which strengthens the man. He saw that doing every and all actions for the sake of the "greater good" was something that denied the individual and discouraged individual development.

Nietzsche's criticism is that value is not something that can be quantified or proven. You can't mathematically measure in an objective sense, the suffering caused by your actions, the benefits caused by your actions. There's no universally agreed upon value for human life.

What is the "unit" of one human life?

Why are the 2,000,000 people that Sora saved more worthy of life than the 200,000 that she killed. What justification can Sora have other than "that's a smaller number." A person among the 200,000 killed could have grown up to cure cancer. Of course, even if the 200,000 weren't especially talented people, even if they were all going to grow up to work at mcdonalds why are there lives inherently worth less than the 2,000,000 that sora decided to save?

Sora is not a nihilist, she is a pure-hearted utilitarian who's actions are taken to give pleasure to as many people as possible but one more obvious criticism of her moral reasoning in choosing to sacrifice the few to save the many is that she is not an unbiased judge of values.

For example, if Anitise really did become a mad king then who would his victims have been? If he invaded Yamato Mori and killed 2,000,000 then why are the 2,000,000 lives of the Yamato Mori citizens he killed worth more than the 200,000 people that Sora killed preventing his invasion? It would be because being a citizen of and responsible for Yamato Mori Sora is unconsciously biased to put her own nation above Anitise's kingdom. In that sense, she's not really acting for the greater good, but rather the national interests of her country but she's still posing herself as a savior figure.

Sora goes on to commit these atrocities, while also continuing to see herself as a savior and believing she's operating from a higher moral viewpoint than everyone else. Yet, you can easily point out where her biases are as I just did.

In addition to the fact that we have no way of knowing if Sora's visions of the future actually are true. The fact that there are two people with future seeing powers (three if you count Tokio's dreams) who can see different things then points to the fact that Sora's visions aren't 100% true. However, even if you give her the benefit of the doubt that her prophecies were going to come true if she didn't do something, you can still make moral arguments against her actions as I just did above this section.

Sora is also extremely biased in other ways. In her origin story, she saw a vision of Queem coming to burn her convent, and was unable to stop it from happening. This clearly has affected her for all of her life, as even when presented with direct evidence that her prophetic dreams might not be true (such as another seer who disagrees with her) Sora doesn't even consider that possibility or hesitate to commit atrocities, because she's still guided by her guilt over being unable to stop her convent from being burnt.

In Tokyo Ghoul, Yoshimura once theorizes that Ghouls and Humans are psychologically the same, but because Ghouls live violent lives they eventually lose their empathy and stop seeing any value in human life as a coping mechanism.

I think Sora's slow corruption makes sense through this lens, not because of her future visions but rather because of the amount of power she had.

Choujin e aren't any different from human psychologically, they experience human emotions, but convince themselves they are different because one they're prone to get in more violent situations, and two the power they wield leads to them developing superiority complexes.

Sora plunged herself into war and had to walk on too many corpses in order to get stronger and gain the strength to fight Queem, but it's clear she didn't stop there after Queem was defeated. After Queem died Sora became the war-monger, and why? Her visions provide us one reason, but like, Sora didn't consider alternative means like diplomacy or warning anitise of what she saw? She just jumped straight to launching a modern day crusade against a foreign country, why?

Was it just easier for her to consider a military invasion because after having been through the hell of war, 200,000 became just another statistic to her?

What other reason than she had the power to do so, and Sora's superiority complex told her she had the right to wield that power however she chose to do so.

Sora and her savior complex, provides an uncanny mirror to Queem and his choujin and his choujin supremacy doctrine. Sora may have believed herself invading Antoland in order to prevent a future disaster, but when has a foreign country invading a soveriegn territory "for their own good' ever historically been a good thing. Sora may not have preached choujin supremacy but her actions don't make her too much different from Queem in the end.

Then, there's the possibility that Sora's prophecies might not even be nearly as true or certain to happen as they think they are. One of the birds basically spells it out to Tokio, that humans wanting to know the future is just wishful thinking.

Which puts Sora's absolute certainty in a new light. Is Sora's beliefs in her prophecies just a longing for control, the kind of absolute control over the future that nobody in the world but god is supposed to possess. Sora wanting to take God's place in knowing the future and being able to control her destiny goes all kinds of wrong.

I'm reminded of Attack on Titan where Eren coming into contact with the paths and being able to see the past, present and future at the same time doesn't give him godlike power, but reduces him to a helpless child. Eren's ability to see the future ends up bringing into existence similiarly to Sora, a future where he's the one comitting the atrocities.

There's also Paul Atreides from Dune who is given the power to see the future, and despite knowing and feeling guilt for a long time that some of his actions might lead to him releasing a holy war against the galaxy and killing billion, goes on to follow the future timeline he saw where he caused those atrocities anyway.

The absolute godlike power to know the future for all three of these characters Sora, Eren and Paul actually leads to them committing atrocities, not averting them as they'd hoped.

Yet, there's the tragic element of the fact she was just sixteen when this destiny was thrust upon her.

In Tokyo Ghoul Eto once referred togod as a child with extraordinary power to justify the world being as messed up as it is. Doesn't this fit Sora Shihouin as well? A child given way too much power and suddenly thrust into a leadership position?

In that way Sora reminds me tragically of X-Men characters like Jean Grey, if someone is given the power to see the future, or the insane powers of the phoenix that Jean Grey was given would they really have the moral fiber not to abuse that power? Can anyone wield that much power and not be corrupted by it?

[nrilliree]

https://www.tumblr.com/iscend-phines/751334706465947648/bookdaemon-would-never-he-was-a-somehow-worse?source=share

Daemon is not a pedophile or a groomer in Fire and Blood. You have to review your definitions after a while.

And sorry, but the fact that there was domestic violence in the feudal era in no way justifies adding it into a show that adapts source material already rife with violence against women in the first place, including for the affected character of Rhaenyea.

Why add domestic violence when there isn't any in the source material ? What's the point ?

GRRM has already written about other relationships with domestic violence. So why add domestic violence where there was none AKA Daemyra ?! What's the fucking point ?! Not to mention that Rhaenyra already experiences various realistic violence in her own story. No need to add domestic violence to all that if it doesn't serve the story.

And I remind you that not all men, even in feudal times, were necessarily violent with their wives. Throughout history, good men and their wives have always existed.

So the excuse of “realism” to justify the fact that Daemon is violent with Rhaenyra they can kick it in the ass.

GRRM has written stories of domestic abuse before. Do you want to read this ? Well go read that. Or did the producers want to adapt that ? Well they just had to adapt another GRRM story ! Same if they wanted romance between girls! GRRM wrote about it ! No need to invent Rhaenicent !

And yes, the show is trying to make Alicent look better ! Alicent wasn't a victim in the book, and she wasn't that young. What do you call it other than trying to make his character more likable for the audience ?!

And no, the producers don't understand anything about what they are adapting. They're not even able to admit that the entire central conflict is based on pure misogyny and tries to send the message that not everyone, including Rhaenyra, is apparently equally bad. That's not what dance is about. So sorry, but yes, if you are not capable of understanding the basic message of a work, then you do not understand anything about it in its entirety either.

Alicent stans disgust me deeply.

Well, under the last similarly stupid post, I wrote the definition of words that someone used without understanding and therefore looked stupid, but instead of appreciating the help and educating themselves, the person got offended. Typical.

So please, @iscend-phines , take advantage and educate yourself, because you need it too:

Meaning of pedophilia:

the condition of being sexually interested in prepubescent children, or sexual activity with prepubescent children.

Meaning of prepubescent:

relating to the period before children start to develop adult sexual characteristics: prepubescent girls/boys/children. Preadolescence is commonly defined as ages 9–12 ending with the major onset of puberty.

So very simple:

Daemon, suspected of sexual contact with 16-year-old Rhaenyra in the book/19-year-old Rhaenyra in the series, may be an ephebophile. But there is no evidence.

Aegon suspected of sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl may be a pedophile. But there is no evidence.

But, anon, what exactly do you expect? This is Alicent stans. They use the argument "penetration is not shown on screen, so there is no proof that Aegon raped anyone!!!!!!1111", they believe that Rhaenyra is to blame for Dance because she has no relationship with her siblings, and Alicent is a poor victim, who did not abuse Rhaenyra and her children for several years, did not sell parts of her body in exchange for benefits, and is not complicit in the deaths of many people who died due to the usurpation of the throne. They are so strange and blinded that they see abusers everywhere but at home, and some are even happy that Rhaenyra would be a victim of domestic violence. Apparently they got it from their idol who wanted other women to suffer like she did, THE victim.

And you know what makes me laugh the most? When TGs throw incest accusations at Daemon. Uncle and niece are still less incest than siblings. And Aegon, the beloved king of TG, bangs his own sister-wife because his mother told him to :D

[tyrantisterror]

Can you give us a full review of The Devil and Daniel Mouse plz? Both as an adaptation and as its own story?

So it's not really an adaptation of the story its title homages, The Devil and Daniel Webster. Outside of the base concept of "a guy has to face the devil in court to save his friend's soul," they don't have much in common, with The Devil and Daniel Mouse instead focusing on the extended metaphor of entertainment industry careers functioning almost identically to Faustian contracts.

Which is a concept that even a casual glance at the nature of the entertainment industry throughout history will show holds a lot of water, and which The Devil and Daniel Mouse explores pretty thoroughly in a more or less family friendly way. The main characters are pretty simple but effectively portrayed by both the voice actors and the animation - Daniel Mouse is as pure-hearted as a lawyer who beats the devil should be, Janet is deeply sympathetic in her aspirations even if we can see how they're leading her down a dark path, Weasel the agent is sleazy and fun the way a henchmen should be, all pretty much what you need.

But the real star for me is the demonic music producer, B.L. Zebub, who's portrayed with equal parts charm and menace in heaping dollops a piece, with some of the best character animation I've ever seen. The guy is a shape-shifting supernatural wish-granter many years before Disney's Genie and I'd argue he's equal to that achievement, if not outshining it entirely. You clearly get how he's not natural even in a world full of talking animals, and there are several moments where the animation makes him tremendously terrifying for a villain of a family-friendly cartoon short - and you can see how the animators who made this would end up making Rock and Rule, another Faustian story of record contracts with a nightmarish demon that has the added benefits of being feature length and very much NOT for an all-ages audience.

Honestly, I don't feel there's much that needs elaborating - The Devil and Daniel Mouse is only 25 minutes long and you can find it on youtube. Give it a watch and appreciate it for yourself:

[nicki0kaye]

I think all fandoms would benefit from the knowledge that

the thing you like most about a piece of media is likely coming from YOU and not the author

so no the author is not betraying their initial intentions or forgetting the canon they've already established when they don't give you what you want

you and the author have completely different goals and that great thing you absolutely adore may just be something you projected onto the work which is fine

its the best part of fandom, actually, to look at a piece of media and have it reflected through the prism that is your personal lived experience

but every single piece of media you adore will 'betray' you if you can't separate what was your shit from what was the author's shit

I don't know how to do that entirely, but I reduced so much of my fandom related stress when I stopped needing media to give me what I wanted from it and instead was excited to see what the creator wanted to show me

It doesn't devalue the work if you realize what you like most about it is your own interpretation. That's amazing. That's so fucking cool of you. Death of the author incarnate. It used to feel like such a gut punch to realize I had made shit up about my favorite things, that I worked myself up with certain expectations and felt like such a fool when those didn't come true

its so much easier now that I'm able to separate the author from the work and then acknowledge how much I am making the work my own by interacting with it. It also helps that I learned more about the industry and the expectations imposed on directors and writers and actors and all the complex chaos inherent in getting something in front of an audience in this capitalistic hellscape. It makes the good shit that much more exciting.

I really do hope more ppl start realizing and respecting their own part in the dialogue between the creator, the creation and the audience. Looking at it that way has made me so excited to see what comes next, because I know their intentions will not come from a place of pleasing me. Yes, fanservice feels wonderful and my demographic has been largely ignored or shamelessly baited and then tossed aside, so its nice when a creator does consider what I might want, but ultimately a good creator cares about the art itself, which means they will have their own personal relationship that I can never comprehend and that will not and SHOULD not place Pleasing Me over making the art the creator was passionate to make. That's the art that matters to me and part of celebrating it is respecting it is not purely for my satisfaction or entertainment.

People pleasing does not create good art. Loving an idea, being passionate about it, needing viscerally to exorcise it from your very soul in order to continue to exist makes good art.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Tuvok

By Ames

It’s been a little while since we highlighted a Vulcan on the A Star to Steer Her By Character Spotlight Series. Like Spock, our pointy-eared Voyager crew member Tuvok has his best moments when he is making the audience consider just how human these green-blooded hobgoblins can be. Tuvok benefits from his pure logic so frequently on the show that he is usually the voice of reason in a quadrant full of chaos. But Tim Russ is just so good at the Vulcan nuance that he’s never just a walking rulebook but a living person with flaws and [repressed] emotions.

So join us in a game of kal-toh, which could take years to master, as we shine our spotlight on the Voyager chief of security and one of our favorite Vulcans of the franchise! You can check out all of Tuvok’s logical (and illogical) actions below and/or meditate with us on this week’s podcast episode (telepath over to 1:11:50). Live long and prosper!

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Do not underestimate your own potential Tuvok’s role as mentor to other crew members is frequently nice to see during their long journey. He has the experience, temperament, and patience to guide his comrades through turmoil, especially someone like Kes who has fledgling mental powers. Watching Tuvok meditate with our Ocampan friend in episodes like “Cold Fire” and “The Gift” is very nice to see in helping ground characters.

If you can’t control the violence, the violence controls you Not only is it a genuine joy to watch Tim Russ acting his ass off with the sensational Brad Dourif in “Meld,” but the insight into Tuvok’s motives is also fascinating. In this episode and in “Basics,” he’s trying to rehabilitate Suder’s psychotic mind, which is commendable, but also to understand it in the first place, something that someone like my favorite Voyager character isn’t used to.

Logic in the court Let’s also give Tuvok some credit for agreeing to represent Quinn in “Death Wish” even though he doesn’t agree with the Q’s desire to use the ruling to end his own life. But Tuvok treats the matter fairly and with an open mind, which is only the logical thing to do. Quinn helps him to understand his side of the argument as best he can and Tuvok respects him throughout.

I won’t be afraid, not if you’re with me Just because “Innocence” is a generally terrible episode with awful child actors, really obnoxious aliens, and a deplorable twist, doesn’t mean Tuvok isn’t still great in it. He really is! He’s so patient with the horrible children that he should get an award, and it’s so sweet when he agrees to sit with Tressa when her weird backwards life reaches its natural end.

Computer, Vulcan blend, hot Janice Rand can shut her mouth when she tries to insinuate that young Tuvok is brown nosing when he brings Sulu his tea on the Excelsior in “Flashback.” It’s just plain adorable and his rapport with Captain Sulu is just a delight to watch. Sure, he also insists that Sulu not go save Kirk, but that’s exactly what you’d expect a Vulcan to do.

I’ve seen the way you isolate yourself even in a crowd of people Tuvok’s conversation with Morena about isolation in “Alter Ego” reveals a lot about his character as someone who represses the loneliness he feels while a quadrant away from his family. He connects with Morena in a way no one else on the crew could because they don’t let themselves get close to people. So when he agrees to teach Kim to play kal-toh, it’s so lovely.

8 Simple Rules for Dating my Ocampan Protege A lot of other crew members treat Kes’s dating a new boy in “Darkling” with some condescension. It’s an episode of people treating Kes like a child (which I’ll remind you: she is not) who can’t make her own decisions, but then you’ve got Tuvok being a straight up pal. He expresses to Zahir without judgment that all he wants is Kes’s safety, and boyface gets it.

Seska’s not the only one who knows how to cause a phaser malfunction Turns out, our buddy Tuvok writes a damn good holonovel when we come across his Maquis uprising program in “Worst Case Scenario.” And when the thing goes wrong, as it is wont to do, Tuvok is there to outsmart holo-Seska (the most scheming Seska of them all!) with an overloading phase rifle, like a badass. That’s sure one way to get around writer’s block.

Let’s just watch Event Horizon When Torres is about to get lobotomized in “Random Thoughts” because the Mari’s definition of justice is wildly different from ours, Tuvok leads the investigation and uncovers a black market for violent thoughts. And if that isn’t cool enough on its own, he mind melds with Guill, who can’t even come close to handling that much madness. That man is no Lon Suder, that’s for sure.

I am sorry. I cannot return your affection. Speaking of mind melds! Tuvok melds a lot in this show, and one beautiful example comes in “Gravity.” Noss is crushing on Tuvok hard, and who can blame her? It’s all one-sided though, so in the end, Tuvok melds with her to show her how he really feels. It’s a more intimate act for Tuvok than anything else he could have done, and it’s touching that he shares himself with her.

You’re Neelix. I’m safe with you. The development of the Tuvok-Neelix relationship is one of the best things about Voyager, full stop. And the best representation of this is pretty much everything in “Riddles.” Not only do we get some stunning work from Tim Russ, but we see Tuvok without the emotional clamps on, coming to terms with his situation and choosing to save the ship. Cue the waterworks.

Vulcans do not dance Which leads me directly into our final beautiful Tuvok moment. Because we here at SSHB are big Neelix fans, we welled up at Neelix’s farewell in “Homestead” when Tuvok performs his Vulcan interpretation of a dance for him. It’s no Macarena or anything, but it encapsulates perfectly what these two, who were such an odd couple all show, really mean to each other.

—

Worst moments

My logic was not in error, but I was There’s something almost fascinating about “Prime Factors,” in that the Prime Directive shoe is on the other foot for a change. This is probably what the Bajorans felt when the Federation let Cardassia walk all over them! But Tuvok won’t have any of it! Prime Directive be damned, he’s going to steal the Sikarian spatial trajector against Janeway’s orders.

On your marks, get set, no Tuvok, despite many decades of living with non-Vulcans, apparently has no idea how to treat them. We see in “Learning Curve” that Tuvok is tasked with getting some ex-Maquis crew members in line, and his first impulse is to make them run a 10K with the gravity turned up. Weird flex. And let the Bajoran kid wear his earring, dude! We went over this already with Riker!

I have not always been particularly partial to your methods either What a weird and convoluted episode “Twisted” is, but perhaps that’s its point. What seems more off the mark is that suddenly there’s this polite rivalry for command between Tuvok and Chakotay while Janeway is out of commission. It just seems to come out of nowhere, much like the bickering between Spock and McCoy that we complained about in their character spotlights.

A non-emotional response would be more useful While we did like how Tuvok takes Kes under his wing in episodes like “Cold Fire,” he also can’t help himself in judging her expression of emotions all the time during her training. He constantly sasses her for giggling or feeling overwhelmed or otherwise not displaying perfect Vulcan logic. Uh, Tuvok, did you notice that she’s not a Vulcan? No wonder he gets his head boiled.

In a way, a mind meld is almost an act of violence, isn’t it? While I can fawn over the excellent work in “Meld,” how fixated Tuvok gets on violence is also severely screwed up. His Vulcan logic won���t let him accept that a psycho like Suder doesn’t need a reason to kill, and Tuvok goes way too far with it. And I won’t let him off the hook here: creating a holoprogram to kill Neelix is not okay no matter how you feel about the character.

Neelix in the foyer with the lead pipe The whole saboteur Jonas plot arc in season two was a convoluted mess. You’d think someone as logical as Tuvok would have figured that out, but no. In “Investigations,” he comes up with an even more convoluted plan to get Tom captured by Kazon, endangering the Talaxian ship he was on, and not clueing in people like Chakotay what was going on. And I still don’t know. What WAS going on??

Mom and Dad aren’t home – let’s have a Vidiian party! We joked a lot during The Original Series that whenever Spock was left in charge, things went wrong. Well the same thing happens when this Vulcan is left in charge when Janeway and Chakotay have to be abandoned on a planet in “Resolutions” and the crew is ready to mutiny right away until Tuvok gives in and calls the Vidiians: the one thing Janeway told him not to do.

This has pon too farr! I will never not rag on pon farr as a plot point because it’s too damn squicky. When TOS did it, it was one thing, but when Torres is suffering from pon farr and Tuvok insists that Paris have non consensual sex with her in “Blood Fever,” it’s not okay. Why the writers had to keep sweeping sexual assault under the rug for the sake of Vulcan bullshit is entirely beyond me.

There is little point in furthering this discussion Even the other people on the space elevator in “Rise” can see it: the whole episode long, Tuvok is dismissive and condescending towards Neelix until the Talaxian finally snaps. If we commended Tuvok for developing his relationship with Neelix throughout Voyager earlier, this was the nadir that required them to work towards a bond of respect later on in the series.

A deadly case of writer’s block While it was really fun playing Tuvok’s Maquis program in “Worst Case Scenario,” you’ve got to admit that Seska’s hologram nearly taking over the ship was all Tuvok’s fault. It seems strange for him to not finish the security training program once he’d started it, or at least to delete it from the computer when he accepted that the Maquis weren’t going to be threats.

Big Brother is watching, and mind reading It was nice of Tuvok to save Torres in “Random Thoughts,” but until it was going to affect his crew, Tuvok practically salivates over the concept of the Mari’s thought police. We couldn’t have been the only ones reading some sexual energy between him and Nimira, the Chief Examiner of the Mari Constabulary, right? Stop it, Tuvok. Only Odo may be a fascist on this show.

The call is coming from inside the Vulcan When Tuvok is put in charge of the investigation to determine who’s been attacking former Maquis members in “Repression,” it turns out he’s actually hunting himself! Sure, he’s being mentally hijacked a little bit, but dude, if you’re going to go full fascist in your investigation and inspect the crew’s mail for bugs, don’t forget to inspect yours too! What is with these fascists?

—

Weird how almost all of those moments were heavily represented in seasons two and three? I wonder what happened in season four that sidelined Tuvok so much? We may never know. Let’s see how other characters fare as they progress through the series: come back next week to find out! You can also keep listening to our Enterprise watchalong on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, mindmeld with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and have a logical day!

[parasocialitevn]

Eden putting on a front/masking facts pretty please 🥺

Ahhh, one of the most finely-honed skills in her repertoire~

Eden presents herself differently depending on her audience and her read of the room. She's like a chameleon in a sense, adapting to her surroundings. (Some good examples of this are the way she presents herself on stream, in public, in private, etc.)

It was purely a survival tactic growing up, appearing to have it all together and to be perfect to avoid the ire of her parents, but now she's found that she can make use of it for her own goals. (Her goals are primarily, as you may have guessed, for you to have the best possible opinion of her, and hopefully return her feelings.)

Eden will NOT allow her mask to slip, especially in front of you. Although, with others she won't bother to have the mask to begin with if it doesn't benefit her. The only exception is if there was a risk of her behavior somehow getting back to you. So she'll keep it up with those in your circle for that reason. But those unconnected to you are inconsequential. They aren't worth the effort to put on a friendly face.

She's got a talent for keeping her composure, especially for someone so emotionally unstable.

That said, she is still human. And humans have limits. There's only so much she can take before her mask would have cracks begin to form from the pressure or the stress. But for the most part she'll do everything she can to keep slip-ups from happening in front of you. She can just let it out in private, later. But the worse her stress, the harder it is to hide...

[wolf-tail]

The fact that I loved the movie Pixels so much as a kid, and the fact that it ever got produced at all, is that wishfulfilling, self gratifying, power fantasy bullshit can be enjoyed by other people than you, you just have to find the right audience.

Pixels sucks in the way that most movies in that vein suck, It's an Adam Sandler movie after all, but there are things to like about it. There's a sort of charm to the fact that it feels so clearly like it was written by twelve year old boys.

"My best friend is the president and we use our video game powers to save the world, hot girls like us, and the asshole who cheated at donkey kong and bullies me acknowledges that im better" could actually be a fairly solid movie, if the characters were more funny and charismatic, and the hot babe love interests are treated more like complete characters than prizes to be won that trip over themselves at the sight of the first complete loser they see.

The movie also somehow manages to have the most boomer ass take on video games and still be thoroughly pro video game. It essentially has the vibe that all video games made after 1990 are kiddy trash, the only real gamers are the people who poured a thousand quarters into an arcade cabinet in the years before the Soviet Union collapsed. This is worse than boomer bullshit, it's Gen X bullshit.

There's a good movie hidden somewhere underneath all the sexist and unfunny Adam Sandler stank of Pixels. The movie is pure nostalgia bait to a very specific audience, so perhaps better writers would zero in on that feeling of childhood whimsy, and the benefits of maintaining it into adulthood.

You all know me as a person who is generally pro self indugent power fantasy, but I also know that power fantasy can be bad in more ways than just being pure self gratification. Mary Sue media that is made to appeal to pretty much men and men alone, or whatever malformed caricature of the average man imagined by a depraved filmmaker that assumes all men must just be mindless, masculinity obsessed sex pests with dicks for brains like he is (looking at you Michael Bay), tends to reek of misogyny, the kinds that imagine that women don't have inner lives that don't revolve entirely around men and reproduction. This is what people talk about when they talk about the male gaze in media.

This is the kind of media like isekai anime where half naked teenage girls have the camera angle focused on their chests every three seconds and only exist to be the harem for the most boring man to ever exist.

This doesn't mean that all power fantasy made by and for primarily men is just going to be like that by default, this kind of media is just a symptom of societal misogyny in general, and typically made by men who have done little to no work in unlearning it. If a man has done the work to check his own sexism, the power fantasies that he dreams of and writes into movies, books, games and shows probably aren't going to be sexist.

To make a long story short, Pixels could've been good If the people who made it weren't sexist old crustbags with no comedy skill.

[zoekrystall]

Anyways now for a quick important completely different thing that I saw on twt and I hope at least one post I didn't see is circulating on here but this search function sucks so quick own post plus extra stuff 🇵🇸

For today this monday (december 11) did people in gaza (motaz and bisan for example) ask for a global strike that includes no spending whatsoever and no going to school/work. No streaming for those that do that afaik. If you don't go to work say it's bc of the strike. Don't use your bank acc etc nothing that benefits the economy. Please do if you can. I heard some say to deactivate instagram and facebook for the day? Which imo not sure since ig gets used a lot to share news but if the people in gaza ask for that then I'm not one to question it. I quick searched rn and what I read was that anything meta gets deactivated for the day bc they supress palestine voices. Idk if any palestinians ask for it but some also say to give 1 star reviews to them w that in the review.

Idk if it really only got announced yesterday (I don't use ig, I am on twt daily) and if so it can be argued abt how these things should get announced way more in advance and not literally a day prior (a twt mutual got attacked purely bc they said the black friday boycott hasn't been organized well enough and talking abt strike organization in general bc it wasn't able to gain enough tractions which is completely fair and if you think saying that is somehow being against strikes like people over there please block me. this also doesn't mean ppl that don't see it somehow don't follow the right ppl or whatever) so if you only see news after you went to work or spend money or whatever then I don't blame you or if you can't bc tight money situation. Like I only saw the black friday posts quite late and while sure fandom stuff too is my timeline for the majority about palestine.

+ BDS wants you to pressure the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for israeli leaders next to other points you can read here

+ you can email the UN at dpa-scsb3[at]un[dot]org (security council) to invoke UN article 377 to push them to circumvent the U.S. veto. You can also submit forms to both the UN website and the USA UN branch website (info from this tweet, if you don't know what to write the qrted tweet got people sharing what they wrote, this one has alt text). UN form, USA UN form.

Also idk how much here an issue of such people gaining an audience but if on twt please check who you rt reg palestine! There are many fascists posting pro palestine stuff to gain followers. If you use twt here is one thread with some of these accs with added reasons. Also the neturei karta is a far right jewish cult don't share anything from them.

[vaultofcobaltandjade]

Alright folks, Ao3 is temporarily down, so it's time for some meta Thoughts. Something I've been thinking about lately, especially with the recent interactions between Ashton and the Bright Queen, is how both Ashton and FCG might/did view their own bodily autonomy and how this affected their friendship as well as their gender identities. In this essay, I will...

As an Aeormaton, FCG had a demonstrably dehumanizing view of their metallic body, from not believing they had a soul to being willing to sell or sacrifice themself as a mere object to their final moment of utilizing their body's design to save their friends. I don't remember him ever saying that Dancer was his "owner" at any point, maybe just his "maker" or "creator" in the earlier episodes, but there seemed to be a very different dynamic with the Division of Public Benefit--aka with automatons that Dancer did create--versus with Bells Hells where everyone encouraged him to see himself as equal with a soul like any of theirs. Plus, the discovery of what he was originally created for and the actual Murder Bot moments on stream likely only increased any feelings of powerlessness over his body. Although all beings are technically "created" by others against their wills, FCG was built with a specific purpose they were meant to fulfill and then presumably be disassembled or repurposed after that task had been completed.

And with the gender thing: I've been thinking about the wider implications of having automaton and construct PCs. Historically, a lot of robotic characters in media have either been referred to as a genderless yet dehumanized it or forced into a human concept of the gender binary, the former being mostly because they're meant to be portrayed as non-sentient objects and the latter being mostly projection and attempting to erase the creators' (and audience's) fear of the unknown. So the choice to give some automatons in Exandria sentience and soul and the room for some genderfuckery has allowed for FCG's largely unaired but undoubtedly beautiful gender journey. (I mean, the irony and Pun Value of a robit being nonbinary is hilarious on its own.)

So while I can't know for sure how much FCG's he/they pronouns were chosen in relation to--or in defiance of--the historical depictions of robots I mentioned, there was undoubtedly a theme of reclaiming bodily autonomy throughout their arc.

Moving onto our other favorite he/they C3 PC though... Ashton's own history with their body isn't much better.

I mean, their first memory is the ritual of the Shard of Ka'Mort and being unwillingly portaled away to another continent, which later resulted in their entire body being transformed into stone and gem. (And while this is purely in headcanon territory, it wouldn't be that far off to imagine that maybe their father Efterin the cult leader may have even had Ashton for ulterior purposes, like having a sorta cult heir or even fully intending to give Ashton up for the ritual from the get-go, which would be incredibly dark and further lend to their lack of bodily autonomy.) Then, there's The Fall. The cracks and gold scars, the half-blindness, the head injury and slag glass. Even though it saved his life and has been used to his benefit since, he never asked Milo to pour the Potion of Possibility into his head or to get his unfathomable and unique dunamantic Rage abilities. And then, there's the recent Shard stuff, both the incident with the Rau'shan Shard--especially how it literally rejected him--and the full activation of the Ka'Mort Shard with its resulting Titan transformations. While I can't quite remember if Ashton's chronic pain began with the initial transformation in Bassuras or after The Fall, there's gotta be frustration and helplessness present whenever their body doesn't want to cooperate because of the pain and Exhaustion. Plus, there's the literal mind/body control moments that have happened where some enemy magically puppeteers Ashton's strength against his friends--similar in some ways to FCG's Murder Bot moments.

Back to the gender thing: I'm sure part of Ashton's gender feelings are from their pretty queerpunk, very genderfuck identities, which can be a statement of reclaiming bodily autonomy in and of itself. But I will always remember how Tal made a point in the CR Sick Day Stream to state that Ashton could have anything in their pants, and making them potentially AFAB/transmasc brings up even more complications with gender dysphoria and bodily autonomy.

So. All this is to say: a) Ashton and FCG's friendship and bonding over mutual Gender and Trauma and Self-Hatred and Lack of Bodily Autonomy and such will always be everything to me, and b) it's starting to make a lot more sense why Ashton is throwing himself into the proverbial fire by recklessly showing people like the Bright Queen or even Essek his dunamantic abilities despite the warnings and despite prior experience with hubris-induced mistakes. (This is especially the case in the wake of FCG's sacrificial death, but that's a whole other Long Post about Ashton's grief over the friend they started this campaign with and how they could have very well learned the wrong lesson from that self-sacrifice.) Ashton likely hasn't felt like they've ever truly had full autonomy over their body or, at the very least, that their relationship to their body has been Complicated. He's talked about how people in Jrusar would ogle at the hole in his head, often for a charge--much like how people would offer to buy FCG or even how a circus performer sells tickets for a spectacle. So really, it's not that far of a stretch to have people "examining" or experimenting on him. And with how little Ashton knows about his own body and what's inside it and how it works (even their dunamantic class abilities are purposefully left to random chance), of course he's going to be motivated to put himself in the hands of those more knowledgeable and experienced. If he's never had full autonomy over his body, is it really his to give away for experimentation in the first place? Has he ever learned to entirely respect his body or to feel a sense of power or control over it--especially outside of combat when he can kinda harness his unique abilities?

Most importantly, will Ashton get a moment of reclaiming full autonomy over their body--and, consequently, their life--in a similar arc to FCG, or will some entity--like the Bright Queen, according to a lot of fans' fears--inevitably take advantage of their self-neglect in order to gain control over their body with little regard to their mind or will?

Only time will tell... which is why chronomancy is the greatest magic of all ;)

[landofzero-archive]

Battle on the Sugoroku Board - God Won’t Roll The Dice 3

(Location: Cage)

(A few minutes before— The “Battle on the Sugoroku Board” set’s cage)

Rinne: —And that’s when I found out that Kohaku-chan’s scared of ghosts.

Oh! You won’t tell him, right? He seems to be pretty conscious of it♪

Madara: Oh. I’ve heard good things about that♪

I want to take Kohaku-san to a haunted house next time and see his reaction. I’m serious about it.

Rinne: No, completely ignore it.

Well, it’s not something to hide and I don’t care what you say.

More importantly, I’m curious about whether you guys’ll continue with Double Face. He’s got his schedule set aside for Crazy:B, doesn’t he?

Madara: Haha. What’re you talking about, Rinne-san? Isn’t that Kohaku’s main job?

I’m a two-timer with MaM too. It’s nice to be able to use it for convenience, like a relative’s house that you go to sometimes.

Rinne: I don’t mind either way. I’m sure Kohaku-chan wants to do it too.

Madara: More importantly, it looks like other idols are listening in, aren’t they?

I don’t know how it looks from the outside, but ES isn’t rock solid either. How about I talk to you like someone who knows inside info?

You’re good at getting the audience excited in your lives, right?

Rinne: Lives and chats are two different things. I’m not really a gossip, y’kno~w?

Madara: Despite what you’re saying, you look like you can’t help but want to chat♪

Rinne: Gyahaha, that’s true!

I’ve also been forced to suffer a lot. I feel sorry for all the cute kids that couldn’t fit into the industry!

If you have something to say, say it♪ We’re in a cage anyway, no one will hear you.

Idol: There’s nothing to talk about with a blessed ES idol……

Rinne: Oi oi. You’re too naive. It’s true that we’re in a pretty lofty position, but up until recently I was on the verge of being fired, y’know.

But lucky for me, I won the bet. I risked my life on a big gamble and just barely hit the mark.

If I say that, people might get angry because it means the future’s uncertain. “Don’t lecture me” and “You don’t have to tell me” and all that.

Rinne: But I can tell you this. The goddess of fate won’t smile on those who curse their own fate♪

I’m an idol, just like all of you. So don’t be so cold.

Let me hear your stories.

Idol: ………

…… The reason we appeared on “Battle on the Sugoroku Board” was because it’s what the agency wanted.

Since I’m in a small agency, I had no choice but to obey.

The program’s intentionally trying to make the ES idols lose.

It looks like they gave support items to some idols in advance, and it can turn any situation upside-down.

Rinne: Haah? Does that mean this program’s rigged?

Madara: An interesting story. In other words, you guys are assassins who showed up to outwit us.

However, you’re a pretty “cute” assassin. I guess you have no intention of taking my life.

What’s your purpose, then?

Even if you beat us, since it’s not a pure performance-based contest, there won’t be much benefit to it, right?

Rinne: No, I don’t know about that.

ES is a big deal to these guys.

They want to win, even if just once, and to get rid of their frustrations— those are also motivating factors.

Madara: So what’s really going on? The sooner you talk, the easier it’ll be.

The circumstances of adults aren’t that satisfactory anyways.

Idol: We don’t know why the agency came up with a plan like that……

All I heard from the agency was “We want you to appear on a NETV program in order to eliminate the disparities in the entertainment industry.”

I even wonder sometimes what the point of doing something like this is. But the director, who didn’t like the way ES was running things, was also on board with it……

Honestly, we didn’t expect ES idols to be so friendly.

Sorry for acting the way I did.

Madara: Hmm. So you guys are at the bottom and don’t understand what the agency or director are thinking.

Then, it seems we have no choice but to ask the production director.

Rinne: Wait. That kind of thing—

How about we flip that scenario on its head?

Madara: Yeah…… Personally, I’d like to understand the other party’s plans and destroy them. I honestly don’t care whether we win or lose the program.

…… But it’s annoying to fall into our opponent’s trap, isn’t it?

Alright. Well, I’ll be happy to help ya out♪

CosPro and NewDi are probably similar in that their leaders hate losing.

I think they’d hate it, but how about we form a united front?

I’m sure that’ll make the program more exciting♪

Rinne: Heeh, that’s fine. A united front♪

It’s hard to be trusted easily though. We’re a team with poisonous bees and poisonous snakes. You never know when we’re going to poison you, right?

Madara: Hahaha, I can’t speak for others, but I’m used to not being trusted.

Even as we proclaim our own justice, we transcend barriers and fight together for the same purpose— that’s also heroic, and I like it♪

Previous | Directory | Next

[incarnateirony]

I have enjoyed nothing more than this fandom's concern trolls and dogwhistlers being forced to expose themselves in the expanding and evolving media landscape.

They're so used to the habit built in delusional fan spaces that they just keep digging holes on habit but the second it leaves the static filled dome they intentionally constructed they basically come pre-branded with tattoos on their forehead like "cw: xenophobia, racism, white nationalism" the second anyone actually turns over the dialogues they've been picking up.

Meanwhile, SPN fandom is learning in many different faces and wings what Not Being Pandered To looks like.

Jared standom is so worked up because most don't even enjoy Walker, and are recognizing they aren't his demographic, short of those that ARE happily promoting texas nationalism or Good Southern Christian Family Values he trots out between his Rogan and Tulsi pushes. Jared's very confident and clear in his audience, but his own supposed fans that used him as a prop here no longer can benefit from his positioning for their weird social attention games.

Then you get people lashing out and trying to make anything sound socially woke when all it is, is made up excuses to attack small creators, conveniently ones strong in liberal messaging like LGBTQ, and so on. It doesn't matter what they'll attack. This time they attacked a creator's nationality. Sometimes it's "gays prancing around". They always put frills on it to sound like it's some social campaign to convince people to go after with said dogwhistle, but it always boils down to attacking the revolutionaries for existing, never actually fighting oppressive systems.

Meanwhile Jensen is appealing to, well, my demographic. And I regret to inform you, my demographic is not the same as the SPN Fandom Arguing Dome demographic. My demographic is 200X gamer dudes and tournaments, DC and batman, general genre conventions and scifi, comics, you know. That wing. And I'm not sure if you noticed, Jensen is explicitly pursuing audience in that wing, with a strong LGBTQ+ stance adjacent to basically Evolve That Community away from LOL GAAAAAAAAAAAY.

Nobody cares about you guys still throwing residual temper tantrums about ships on TV shows antis already lost, nobody fucking cares, carol, all you've done is attack a perfectly good independent game developer until they gave up all their profits. High fucking five, everybody.

Me? This demographic? We won't actually care, because we aren't jackshit insane living purely in a Destiel Vs NonDestiel dichotomy of relevance, or pretending somehow this has anything to do with Harold Padaponki like I'm sure his stans will try to translate it to because they have nothing fucking else to focus on for content.

It's over yall. Childsplay is over. Just stop making noise. It's like dealing with spoiled children at naptime.