#(for the discussion itself)

[iphigeniacomplex]

it’s very easy to tell the good satires and pastiches from the bad ones because the bad ones are too afraid to live within the form. like if you are doing work with fairy tales and you are refusing to look closer at the underlying logic and unspoken rules of what can seem at first to be a senseless form, you are not going to create meaningful work. to borrow a turn of phrase originally used by maria tatar, if you refuse to enter “the house of fairy tale” as anything more than a gawking tourist, you will miss the particular order to the way the table is set, the rooms that are locked vs the rooms that are simply difficult to enter, the set of the floorboards and the position of the furniture. whatever you build will then be a gilded imitation of how you believe the house of fairy tale ought to look, the table set according to your educated specifications and every door open. there can be no interrogation of themes from a writer who views the form as beneath them!

[nyancrimew]

Do you support a free Palestine

yes!

[yearnerspermit]

I’ll be honest the way some people talk about this show makes it sound less like they’re interested in the messy nature of people failing and remorse and guilt and atonement and redemption and regret and the capacity to change and the inability to undo what’s been done and unforgivable actions and maybe forgivable people and how you face all of it and continue to live and endure. and more like they want to be sitting in that jury, determining who’s guilty or not guilty, deciding a sentence, and walking away satisfied in the result being final

[communistkenobi]

The deeply moralist tone that a lot of discussions about media representation take on here are primarily neoliberal before they are anything else. Like the shouting matches people get into about “purity culture” “pro/anti” etc nonsense (even if I think it’s true that some people have a deeply christian worldview about what art ought to say and represent about the world) are downstream of the basic neoliberal assumption that we can and must educate the public by being consumers in a market. “Bad representation” is often framed as a writer’s/developer’s/director’s/etc’s failure to properly educate their audience, or to educate them the wrong way with bad information about the world (which will compel their audience to act, behave, internalise or otherwise believe these bad representations about some social issue). Likewise, to “consume” or give money to a piece of media with Bad Representation is to legitimate and make stronger these bad representations in the world, an act which will cause more people to believe or internalise bad things about themselves or other people. And at the heart of both of those claims is, again, the assumption that mass public education should be undertaken by artists in a private market, who are responsible for creating moral fables and political allegories that they will instil in their audiences by selling it to them. These conversations often become pure nonsense if you don’t accept that the moral and political education of the world should be directed by like, studio executives or tv actors or authors on twitter. There is no horizon of possibility being imagined beyond purchasing, as an individual consumer in a market, your way into good beliefs about the world, instilled in you by Media Product 

[wolfythewitch]

I’m just now getting into and learning about the odyssey but like…was all the adultery with Circe and Calypso by choice or did Odysseus get manipulated into that since he does genuinely love Penelope more than he did either of them so like what happened there?

Well you read the text haha you tell me

There's too much surrounding Circe's to ever know the level of consent imo. She gets like a paragraph or two and we know they definitely slept together at least once. Hermes tells him to but their meeting was also supposedly prophesied. She is a goddess and he's a mortal. His men were trapped with her but they also stayed a year after. We don't even really know if they had sex after that but I can't say they didn't. The whole thing is very vague, but you can't quite say it was by choice. I think a friend described it by saying the closest word for it is dubcon

With Calypso it's clearer the level of consent. Though, maybe it could have been willing at first, with the line "she no longer pleased him". Which could be interpreted a different number of ways so I'm not gonna get into it. The bit I'm going to point to is the line after, "an unwilling lover beside a lover all too willing". That's rape. Regardless of any past proclivities, at some point his consent was revoked. He had been trapped on her island the entire time for 7 years, so already the power imbalance (along with her being a goddess) is pretty skewed. He wept on her shores every day. He says himself that he longs to go home. Athena says he longs to die

[poisonedfate]

just so we're all aware: this is merlin's facial journey during the scene where arthur outright lies to uther to protect merlin

bbc merlin - 02x11 The Witch's Quickening

of course arthur has protected him before, lied for him - take arthur telling him to run when he was accused for sealing the seal for example. it's happened before. but i think this is the first time merlin so explicitly realises just how much arthur is willing to do, considering that he just hammered the guilt into him only a few moments ago. arthur has pretty much taken the responsibility without merlin asking. i wonder if, for him, it's comparable to everything he does with his magic. all these things arthur has not asked of him, that he does happily anyway. i wonder just how much it really means, how much and how different of a weight it puts on their dynamic.

[fireladybuckley]

I can’t believe a boyfriend made a silly sex joke to lighten the mood after both partners had a moment of vulnerability. The audacity. The horror. The normalcy! Unbelievable. How dare a conversation about feelings turn to levity. How dare a couple have a light chat about trauma-related things over dinner that doesn’t turn into an incredibly deep heart to heart instead of a joke and moving on. Unbelievable. I’m never watching this show again! 👎🏻

[royalarchivist]

Quackity: Lately, I have been participating in events and projects, and unfortunately it's become clear to me that my presence and name have only been used to attract the attention of my national and international community with the objective, as I see it, of generating more attention towards controversies - destructive controversies, and a rupture that is very clear in the community. [...] In advance, I ask the organizers of any type of events and projects like this to please show more respect to me and my community, because I've shown lots of sympathy and cooperation in these various projects and events, but it's become clear to me that their only interest is in using my name. My name and my community have been used to attract all this attention for distorted purposes, and I will no longer allow that to happen. That is not what my content is about - not me nor my content nor anything I’ve done.

Here's Quackity's commentary on respect and his reasoning for distancing himself and his projects from future events and awards shows.

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

-

Quackity: Before I leave, I would like to talk about something that is very serious for me and something that I would like to tell you about. Because for me it is a very serious topic and it is a topic that- well, I had my mind on and I want to express it- [reading Chat] yes, thank you. Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas.

Anyways, lately I have been participating in events and projects, and in these events and projects, unfortunately it's become clear to me that my presence and name have only been used to attract the attention of my national and international community with the objective, as I see it, of generating more attention towards controversies - destructive controversies, and a rupture that is very clear in the community, and this is what I want to say: I'm NOT ok with these types of dynamics or stuff like this, and I want to make it very clear to my stream, my community, and everyone that, for this exact reason that I just mentioned, I want to make it clear that I want to distance myself and any of my projects from the Esland Awards, which you all know is coming up.

Sadly, the Esland Awards have been an event with a history of much controversy, a lot of division, and a lot of divisions within the community, and as you guys know, as you know, my content has never been characterized by seeking controversy or divisions or anything like that. It's for this exact reason that I don't want to be involved with these awards.

In advance, I ask the organizers of any type of events and projects like this to please show more respect to me and my community, because I've shown lots of sympathy and cooperation in these various projects and events, but it's become clear to me that their only interest is in using my name. My name and my community have been used to attract all this attention for distorted purposes, and I will no longer allow that to happen. I don't want it to happen. That is not what my content is about - not me nor my content nor anything I've done. That's what I want to make very clear here.

That's about it. I'm going to continue with the projects I'm doing and I want to thank my community so much for the support and love. I appreciate it very much, but I wanted to make this clear - I wanted to make this clear. This is just a topic I wanted to address quickly.

Thank you for all the love and support, I love you all so much.

[sukibenders]

Some fans: Eloise is such a fake feminist, doesn't she see how some girls and women enjoy marriage? Doesn't she see how her privileges give her luxuries others don't? She's so selfish. She doesn't even use her words to support other women!

Also same fans: I wish Eloise would stop talking, like her speaking about feminism at every turn is getting old. Can't she just be quiet and let everyone enjoy the fun? Like yeah talking about women's lack of personhood without a male figure in society, or how they can't go to university, or how sometimes they marry men who will only hurt them but need to for their status is sad to see, but THE ROMANCE-

[neyafromfrance95]

i have never hidden that amongst other reasons such as great storytelling and chemistry, i love sauron x galadriel bc im a dead dove enjoyer 🙏 brothers i dont care that it aint vanilla im a hannigram veteran 🙏 how is it my problem if some media illiterate puritans dont understand the difference between fiction and reality, lmao?

"is it love or is it actually an obsession?"

girl wtf are u even talking about? be fr for a moment.

this is satan's secretary ur talking about. galadriel is the only being he became capable of loving OFC he is going to be obsessive and possessive and creepy and INHUMAN in his love of her???

now if u cant decipher the way the narrative is screaming at u that he loves her, again, im not ur media studies teacher, but if u think a mythological evil incarnate is going to love in a pure, healthy way... then idk what to tell u either...

and as for galadriel? her love language is fighting. she takes nenya, the symbol of her fight against her mortal enemy, that she wears like an engagement ring to valinor. she is insane as well.

anyways, whatever happens in the end of s2, that fight scene is going to inspire some insane dead dove fics 🙏

give me that yandere!sauron groping brat!galadriel in the mind-palace!

[deoidesign]

Happy EDS awareness month!

I'm a webcomic artist with EDS. be aware.

EDS affects many parts of my life. I have chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and I need to use a cane! I often find myself ruminating on themes of chronic illness in my work, whether or not I am intending to include them.

I already can't paint anymore, it hurts my hands too much... Anything that requires small details or precise motions will hurt me for days. I have a lot of grief around it. But working digitally allows me to still create!

I animate, I illustrate, I get to tell my stories. I have to go slow, take huge breaks (often against my will) and recover slowly. But, working in this space allows me the grace to do this.

So, I just wanted to share a bit of my experience with my audience, and say thank you for reading my work and supporting me! It means the world to me, and I hope maybe someone in my audience feels a little more seen through me sharing this. It causes me pain, but I love myself; and that includes my disability.

[mythandmagic]

please Please PLEASE everyone go read Like Every Tree Stands on Its Own by @mightybog it is phenomenal and has deliciously altered my brain chemistry. AND there's a sequel in the works which is sure to be just as marvelous and heartwrenching and beautiful as the first.

Seriously, I have been rotating this story for days, even made some picrews about it (courtesy of ElenaA's Kiss Crew, beloved).

Anyway, please go read and kudos and comment and show her some love because she deserves it.

[myrkulitescourge]

imo karlach’s soul coin usage seems like it should have been a little more significant than it was.

she only ever really stops to consider the magnitude of burning through a person’s soul for power during an origin playthrough—otherwise she rationalizes to the player that they’re doomed anyway, and if using them gives her an edge in combat, why not use them for good instead of leaving them to be used by evil? the dialogue with lann tarv in act 2, where he tells the story of each soul he's handing over to her, tries to humanize each soul coin, and still she doesn’t really budge and disapproves pretty heavily if she's told no in regards to using them.

it just seems like something that could have caused some kind of conflict between her and wyll, given he sold his soul to a devil in dire circumstances and takes issue with the player for sleeping with mizora, because she 1) is mizora, and 2) similarly expends tormented souls during her romance scene, even if for a different purpose. but it just... never really comes up?

i love karlach. but that seems like it should have gone Somewhere, from a writing standpoint? karlach values wyll as a person but is willing to use currency forged from souls like his for the sake of a temporary power up. she knows the soul is consumed when she uses them. that whole exchange with lann tarv is there to emphasize that every soul coin she destroys was a person once. but it all kind of loses narrative purpose if this combination of factors doesn't mean anything? karlach doesn't change at all in her willingness to use soul coins, no matter what the player says or how much she cares for wyll.

idk. missed opportunity that wyll doesn't have any dialogue about this, of all things.

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

I think my most toxic trait as a Zenos enjoyer is wanting to 1v1 everyone who says that Zenos actively wants to kill his opponents

Like, completely disregarding that it is actively ignoring the text even in StB there (and that he consistently wants the WoL especially to live), he, uh, is written as having a desire for more the opposite to happen. Very, very consistently. His drive to live is solely linked to brief moments of pleasure-from-struggle and when that drops he explicitly wants to die so he can preserve the moment (and like. *looks at the end of 6.0* if he wanted to kill the WoL he would not be disappointed when they fall before the game allows it, nor would they have lived after given his will was strong enough to bring them back if they bite it). He wants struggle and lacks the ability to give enough of a shit to hold back if someone walks up and says they're going to go for his head.

Like, death is a side effect of what he's after, it's not the goal and he explicitly considers it a waste of life. Even fighting isn't the goal, the goal is to struggle, to need to put effort in. The WoL is just the only person to put him in that state as he currently is, hence his obsession.

[jesncin]

I noticed something in Steven Universe. I don't really think the estranged but caring family working to better themselves angle the crew did with the Diamonds truly worked because the Diamonds were oppressors and colonizers on a larger scale, killed (?) their own gems, kidnapped a whole group of people, and they colonized many planets. We don't even get to know the planets they colonized and instead have to focus on the feelings of the Diamonds instead of the victims! Do you feel this?

Yesss. It's clear that Steven Universe's finale was meant to reflect the dynamics of essentially "coming out as trans to your conservative family over Thanksgiving dinner" and while I thought it was a touching story from that angle, it really doesn't reconcile with the full extent of the Diamonds' colonialism. On a worldbuilding scale I find what Ian Jones-Quartey said about the specifics of the Diamond's colonialism both fascinating and puzzling:

[link to the tweet so you can see the full context if you wish]

What really bothers me with this means of absolving the Diamonds' colonialism because they "never destroyed planets with "intelligent humanoid life"" is that it reveals what the showrunners believe are creatures and planets worthy of not destroying- something it weirdly shares with Blue People Avatar tbh. The series itself shows us planets with sentient plants, animals, and even rocks (the gems themselves). It opens up a fascinating discussion over how- to make the fictional colonizers more sympathetic, SU as a show needed to narrow what it considered "sentient life worth protecting".

When the pitch linked in the above tweet says "the gems that invaded were surprised to find intelligent life. As they colonized earth they became fond of humans and started to question the invasion." So...is Earth worth protecting from colonizers because the creatures in it share similar intelligence as their colonizers do, to the point you're capable of forming relationships with them, and their planet is subjectively beautiful? I have to use Jack Saint's words on this because I can't word it better myself (from his video on blue people avatar):

"it's just natural life developed from its ecosystem. And the novel [the novel he's comparing Blue People Avatar against] makes it clear that this should be preserved for its own sake. Because that's what conservation and an opposition to colonialism is. Not to value or devalue something based on personal sentiments on what would be the most wish-fullfily to come rescue, but on the ethical standard that life deserves to continue regardless of whether it personally serves us."

Regardless of Earth being the first planet the Diamonds encountered with "intelligent life", they still committed acts of great environmental harm and destroyed other planets for their own gain. The series easily upends their own logic when the main characters are literally sentient rocks and has anthropomorphized watermelon Stevens as the norm in this world. The Diamonds just aren't given the full narrative recognition of their wrong doing as colonizers.

In the episode where Stevonnie gets stuck on another planet, they are on a planet once colonized by the Diamonds. There is life everywhere- which Stevonnie comments on. I'm glad life was able to grow back after what the Diamonds did, but whose to say for the other planets? Were these creatures not intelligent enough to fight for?

[elbiotipo]

I don't even understand why Star Trek has to have arcs about saving the galaxy or whatever. I would not only be happy with a "planet of the week" episode series, I would be perfectly happy with watching a starship go into a star survey and discussing new additions to the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram based on new observations. That's fucking science fiction too, just people talking about weird cool stuff that you can only see with a spaceship.