#Why couldnt they leave this franchise be???!!!

[victoriartdrawings]

yep. I made this just after hearing the news...

[whichcouldmeannothing]

everywhere at the end of time (memoryloss!spiderdads)

I COULDNT GET THIS OUT OF MY HEAD me and my friend were gossiping about memory loss aus and this appeared...

i probably won't write this out but i wanted u guys to see it and scream w me

thank u for the warm reception for paper rings <3 let me finish some stuff up and then I'll get smth out for u

why yes this is post btsv i just wanted miles here

Peter doesn't blame them, really.

When Miguel told him that a Spider-Person had gone insanely rogue and created a memory-erasing gun, Peter wasn't even that surprised. There was plenty he would want to forget as Spider-Man, certain endorsements and franchises that displayed his mask.

Then Miguel told him that this guy saw their entire family killed by the Sinister Six, and was stuck in a Mysterio-induced hallucination of the memory. They relived it over and over again before the Avengers in their universe found them.

And Peter doesn't blame them at all for doing that.

But what he is doing here in Earth-5338 is making sure that this Spider-Person doesn't do this to other Spider-People. There's a decent amount of them here, Gwen, Miles and Jessica. It's a risky mission of course, but it should just be destroy-the-gizmo and extract-them.

This should be easy.

They're in their lab in Earth-5338. A spare suit hangs from a case, light blue with pink and white accents. Spinner, a sign by it reads. On the wall behind it are drawings of the spider in action, drawn in crayon.

It's something Mayday has done, and his chest constricts.

Someone lays a hand on him, ever-cautious, and Peter looks up at Miguel. It's battle time, so his mask is pulled up. But Peter knows that under it, his lips are just-kissed glossy. He grins at the memory of their pre-mission makeout session. He leans forward, careful to keep his voice down.

"Care for a repeat, ninety-nine?" Miguel has the shame to turn away. His cheeks are probably flaring red, and Peter pulls him closer.

Miguel traces two fingers down Peter's arm, stopping at his wrist. "

"Stay safe." Commanding. It's his way of affection.

"Back to you." Peter replies.

The memory cuts off here. The orange hologram freezes, and Miguel is allowed to fixate on the unhidden affection in Peter's eyes. The colour always reminded him of how Peter drank his tea. English breakfast, with enough milk to turn it opaque and turned sweet with an ungodly amount of sugar.

There's a small smile there on him, and Miguel wants to live in this moment again.

"Lyla, again."

"Miguel, this-"

"Again." He growls it this time.

The orange figures reset and all Miguel looks at is Peter. He will always turn to Peter first. He walks up to the costume case, laying his fingers on the sign.

"Is that me?" The memory breaks like shattered glass. Miguel turns around, and about ten feet below him is Peter.

But somehow, it isn't his Peter.

Miguel turns away again and breathes. He does it slow and quiet, unlike how his heart sounds like in his ears.

"I asked for you when I woke up again. I called you the scary big one, and people seemed to know who you were," Peter's joking, of course he's joking, but it's the way his voice sounds. The way his smile, his stupid grin is so evident in his voice that makes Miguel grip his table, until his claws are leaving marks.

"You know who I am, don't you?" Peter asks. "Who I was or whatever?"

Peter woke up with Miguel holding his hand. Peter pushed him away and asked for Aunt May. When rebuffed, he asked for Uncle Ben. He was scared of Miguel, eyes going wide at the talons on his suit.

The doctor eventually got him sedated and asleep again, but he pulled Miguel aside after. "He might not get his memories back. But we'll play our odds. We'll take it slow. "

Miguel nods. He didn't have to have the Spider-Sense, to know that Miles and Gwen were listening behind the wall. He could hear them whispering. He plans to scold them later, so he doesn't have to picture his future without his Peter.

"We have to keep memory dumps slow, so he won't get overwhelmed." Is there anything else other than being Spider-Man that might shock 616-B, something very different from what he knew before he became Spider-Man?"

"You were beside my bed. You know me, don't you?" Peter asks again.

Miguel breathes in. Breathes out. He closes his eyes.

"No."

-

<3

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

ok so I’m gonna overexplain my thoughts on the goncharov meme now @moonlitlex​  I’m sorry for not replying on the original post but this is gonna get long. here’s the original post you replied on

https://www.tumblr.com/fandomshatepeopleofcolor/719488461894221824/honestly-im-glad-people-are-finally-shutting-up?source=share

I’m gonna try to keep this neat and tidy but this might take me a while I’m largely including lots of links because I don’t have the spoons to transcribe this sorry followers.

ok so lets begin with the crux of my complaint, that being Goncharov over took black panther: wf in popularity on tumblr for White reasons. I say this for 2 reasons.

1)  goncharov existed as a meme since 2020 but didn’t overtake tumblr until November 2022.

proof:

so you may notice from the wiki article that Goncharov is attributed to Scorsese

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goncharov_(meme)

why  does Scorsese mean anything? and what does that have to do with black panther 2?  well back in 2019 scorsese said that “marvel movies are not cinema“  source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/04/martin-scorsese-says-marvel-movies-are-not-cinema

what was going on in 2019 for the mcu?  avengers 3 and 4 had just come out and it was the biggest thing that had ever happened in the movies. also... black panther the first movie had made history in being the first mcu movie to be nominated in a category other than technical at the oscars and other award shows https://envelope.latimes.com/awards/titles/black-panther/  too.  

so martin scorsese isn’t just against some of the mcu or superhero movies in general (you will remember that heath ledger won the oscar for the dark knight). no he’s against Marvel specifically. and just at the moment that Marvel films were becoming more diverse than ever before. ok I’m not gonna keep harping on how groundbreaking that black panther which features an afrofuturist country in the biggest franchise in the world with a nearly all black cast won so much acclaim.  

this brings to the second issue I have with goncharov

2) goncharov was largely billed as having great slash ships (homoeroticism if you will). but like the rest of Scorsese’s actual works the cast was all white.  there was no interracial ships to be fawned over there was indeed no poc actors cast in this fake film.  but see this is the key thing in november 2022, in the 3 years that had passed between scorsese first comments on the lack of artistry in marvel films several things had happened to the mcu

which brings me to point number 3: the diversity of mcu films had basically expanded on every single phase 4 film.  the whitest film of the phase 4 was black widow but that was directed by a white woman and featured a cast filled with white women. the next whitest movie was spiderman no way home and that still had a diverse supporting cast in ned and MJ.  the third whitest film was doctor strange 2 which was still directed by a Jewish man Sam Raimi. the next whitest film was thor 4 with a Jewish/Maori man Taika directing it and Tessa as King of Asgard, Valkyrie

that leaves Shang-Chi, Eternals, Black panther 2.

All films that centered people of color all films directed by people of color and at least eternals and bp2 both had queer rep. thor 4 had canon trans rep.

like this era of marvel were referred to as “the flop era“ or “the MSheU“ precisely because it was so different from the original 2 phases.  there was intense hate for the diversity and scope of the mcu phase 4 that couldnt be explained by any other fact than the diversity inherent in mcu phase 4.

anyways bp:wf had at its center Black Women, and brown indigenous man as the villain.  but you couldn’t load tumblr without running into like 2 goncharov posts within the first page of your dash. nothing about the artistry of bp:wf tho.

anyways I’m tired and more than a little cranky.

mod ali

[iwasbored777]

so ur trolls posts got me to watch trolls world tour again. i remembered liking it but i couldnt remember why, but now i know for sure

I FCUKING LOVE TROLLS WORLD TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE INCREDIBLE WRITERS WERE SECRETLY ON TROLLS 2 !!!!!!’n

I CANT TBINK OF A SINGLE FLAW IN TROLLS WOULD TOUR!!!!!!!

i was NOT expecting a brilliantly written masterpiece about colonialism, but thats what i got, and its going in the greatest of all time hall of fame in my brain forever.

im not gonna sit here and regale you on the message of the movie. they only said fax, no printer, and its an important message to send kids. alot of the messages kids get about races and borders is “we are all the same 😚” but they came in with the “we are NOT the same and that is both good and bad, both exciting and dangerous so you need to be aware of dangerous ideas of “harmony”” and thats so real. kids need to understand differences are OK.

i love how they backed off the “chosen one” vibe poppy had in the first movie and talked about her flaws as a leader. while her stubborness was a good thing in the first movie to contrast branches pessimistic nature, it wouldnt have worked here, and i can see a cheap writer (like m*chael w*ldron) either insisting she gets away with her selfishness and carrying on with the happy ending anyway, or pretending that wasnt a character trait at all (because w*ldron doesnt watch the first movie and writes a sequel anyway)

my favorite scene is the bubble scene and the woods right after they leave funk where branch confronts poppy. do i even need to tell you why?

i just want to mention it because im pretty sure branch sings a cover of “girl crush” by little big town, which is a country band, and branch said he likes country music earlier and that slays. but when poppy comes in, what they sing is definitley not girl crush, and i cant tell if its giving “trolls can mix music” or im completley wrong and its a different song alltogether. but i cant tell if that song is homophobic or is super gay, so if im wrong thats prob for the best.

the only flaw i can think of is the country music, as a midwestern i can confidently say that was an affront to real blue grass country music. i guess born to die “works” but it didnt represent country as well as the other genres did. theres alot of controversy in the country music fandom with alot of singers who sound exactly the same and produced like its a factory line. but even if people still think miranda lambert and carrie underwood arent true country singers, their songs wouldve worked better than born to die. also the country trolls shouldve been on a self sufficient farm instead of the wild west. that wild western jazzy piano and country music isnt the same.

the only bad part about the movie is that it ended and barb ATE. SHE LEFT NO CRUMBS WITH THAT INTRO. send ask.

Lol I love your review. I love Trolls World Tour a lot too and all their other movies. Great stuff.

And yeah I love Poppy and how she can accomplish A LOT but she doesn't make it on her own, she needs character development and help from others just like everyone else. Characters are surprisingly realistic.

Barb really was goat, the best antagonist in the franchise. I love parallels between her and Poppy, how both had different intentions (Poppy wanted to help and Barb wanted to conquer) but Poppy's method was also wrong and both Poppy and Barb and everyone had to make compromises for all tribes to live in harmony because no one has to change their lifestyle for that to happen, all they have to do is accept that they're different and that's perfect. Just be yourself and let others be themselves.

That song in the end (Just Sing) slaps hard (and so does Can't Stop The Feeling btw).

P.S. Tiny Diamond fucking slays 🔥🔥🔥

[stovetoast]

a year ago today, kirby and the forgotten land released worldwide. i didnt have energy for a full drawing, so i wrote a little something under the cut to celebrate.

it feels strange. i still remember all of those months of waiting. theorizing. hoping. discussing. watching failboats reactions over and over. the day it was leaked, i typed KIRBYDISCOVERY into my calculator because i couldnt calm myself down from the news. its all so vivid, as if it happened yesterday, but... no. the game's been out for a year. to say that leaves a smile on my face.

the smile on my face is one of fondness. its been out for a year, and im growing along with it. i was 15, now i turn 17 in almost exactly 3 months. welcome to the new world was new to me, now i know how to pronounce most of the fake lyrics because of how much ive listened to it. i had short hair, now its down to my shoulders. people were unsure about elfilin, now theyre a beloved part of the franchise. i have a kirby hoodie now, my childhood dream. i can stand up for myself more. im growing. forgotten land won best family game of 2022. the start of a new world. the franchise is growing, and ive never been happier with my choice to live for it.

im not exaggerating when i say kirby and the forgotten land is what kept me alive in the months before its release. i was hurting, so badly, but i couldnt die. i didnt want to die. the idea of missing such an important addition to my favorite series, a milestone, a new start... it was torture. i had to keep going. and i still press on, even after i got my final waddle dee. i still press on, because why choose to live for something at all if youre going to take it back when the rest of the world seems to have moved on? i didnt. and i dont think i ever will.

every second of this game is an experience. every waddle dee you save, every note that plays, every hit you squeeze in on a boss. is it a perfect game? no, but it never had to be. i dont want it to be. i dont want a patch. i dont want an update. i dont want dlc. i dont want perfection. i want my unbridled love for this game to be questioned, because whats more human than finding beauty in mistakes? whats the point of singing karaoke with your friends if everyone hits every note? whats the point of skin if every mark is covered? whats the point of a funny exploit if its patched out? i still teach my friends the hammer jump glitch, because why should something like that stay hidden when its brought people joy?

forgotten land, its reception, its story, and the people who were so enthralled by its beauty that they stuck around... it captures the human experience better than any other installment in the franchise. the ties to the lore. the fake language. the music. the world. the way the waddle dees found the resources to build a town and start fresh. the way it was previously left behind, not out of malice, but out of curiosity. in japan, this game is known as kirby of the stars: discovery. the people who made interdimensional travel possible in-universe worked at a place called lab discovera. youre encouraged to explore, to find, to search.

this game is about discovering something new, whether it be something as grand as a reason to live, or as small as a rare stone hidden around the town. thats what life is all about too, isnt it?

yet most that care enough have already reached 100% completion, including me. people arent tagging spoilers anymore. everyone knows who fecto elfilis is. theres no anticipation for why it has a fear warning. its meant to be experienced as if it were new, but... its not anymore. maybe thats why my smile isnt as big as it should be. my mind wants to move on with the rest of the crowd, but i dont want to. i never want to.

i dont know how to close this in a clean way, mostly because i dont want to close it at all. theres so much more i want to say but if i did id be here for hours, so... ill leave you with this: if youre still reading by this point, thank you. if you played this game, thank you. if you voted for it in the game awards, thank you. if you suggested it to a friend, thank you. thank you. thank you. i have never held a game this close to my heart, at least not enough to wrote about it in this way. im overjoyed that hal labs loves their games in the way they do, and hope that they continue to stay this passionate for years to come. do they know we can feel their love? do they know how much theyve done for me? for us? maybe, maybe not.

to anyone involved in forgotten land... thank you. you made me feel human again, even if only for a week, and thats a sort of debt i will never be able to repay.

[nnnneeev]

My head is pounding but before i forget i just wanna lay down my thoughts about that situation.

I know it's sad, especially for the older players, that the og game will no longer receive updates, save for the shared events. It's obvious that they want us to continue our journey in nb.

Now, i don't really think that the og will *shut down*, for the reason that new players, who started with nb, will eventually get curious about the og. The point is, the og will continue to exist to cater the newcomers, while the old players are expected to move to nb (still, your choice).

I don't really know why they couldnt just add more data to the og if they dont want the players to lash out to them, but they said themselves that the game was designed to be like that (no more bday calls in 4th bday, daily chats will come to halt in xxxxth day, etc etc.)(in other words it was predetermined :/)

But hey! For the old players, we finally have the chance to grind and get the cards of our fav bois in LD (what im doing rn in og), continue your missed lessons or replay the lessons and choose different options to see another perspective of the game.

Nightbringer still has some "uegh" moments for me, like the paywalls, ridiculous card system where i need to get joker cards to level up the skill of my cards, separate outfits for majolish and battle, etc etc. I just hope that the main story will focus mainly on the lore and less fillers (unlike in og).

To conclude, as players, we should already expect that the game will not last forever. I'm just glad that they didnt stop the franchise and i can still enjoy reading the stories and have my moments with the characters. Also, there's no denying that both games have ups and downs (you can always leave feedbacks in the support button in home). That's all, i guess 🧍👍

[mo-ok]

Buckle in folks i'm gonna talk about Lost Galaxy doing a shot for shot recreation of my favourite Gingaman scene and why i think PR missed the mark.

FIRST THINGS FIRST this scene goes for about 2 and a half minutes in Gingaman but is stripped back to about 50 seconds in LG. Gingaman gives this scene time to steep in its apprehension, it makes you hold your breath and WAIT. LG on the other hand is a rapid fire shot to the conclusion that leaves very little time to actually build up the emotion.

The first big cut we see is in how much time the big brothers are given to come into frame.

We LINGER on Hyuuga coming up over the hill (where as Mike gets about 0.5 of a second). He's blurry, out of focus, framed by his brother and BullRiot as he stumbles over the hill. I'd love to tell you what Mike is doing, but the way Leo is holding the Magna Sword is just not working for the shot. It obscures Mike for too long, in a moment where him appearing is meant to be the reward for everything we've just been through.

Both these guys have spent months being possessed/controlled by a vengeful alien and have only just regained control of their own bodies. Hyuuga's still getting used to walking again, every step a struggle but he's not stopping. Meanwhile Mike is walking slowly through the sand like a triumphant action hero, which is FINE, but this scene is meant to be bitter sweet. Magna Defender DIED so Mike could be here, its not meant to feel triumphant.

Gingaman then gives us a great shot of Hyuuga, empty scabbard on his back (!!!), doing his best to keep staggering toward his team (very sad that LG cut this one out tbh)

I dont have an issue with this shots recreation - in fact i think it kinda nicely shows the differences personality wise between the two characters. Hyuuga is apprehensive, he KNOWS what he's put everyone (particularly Ryouma) through. Mike is relieved - its over, he finally gets to be home. Where I DO have an issue with Mike's reaction though -

is the complete disconnect between him and Leo. Leo missed his brother every single second that he was gone, he's still processing what he's seeing, and Mike just kinda... doesnt seem all that phased. It feels more like old friends seeing each other after some time apart, rather than brothers finally being reunited. Something else PR stripped from the scene was the camera angle differences. Ryouma is looking UP at Hyuuga, still not quite believing its really him - Mike and Leo are both on the same level.

Again, Gingaman gives us time to linger, it makes us hold out breath just that little bit longer before finally breaking the tension (I had to cut out a significant portion of the build up to Ryouma's sprint/the amount of time spent on their hug). Whereas this is all Mike and Leo get - a nice moment, but overall lacking in emotional weight.

Thats the crux of the issue really - the lack of emotional weight. There is a Hyuuga shaped hole left in Gingaman. Every character has history with Hyuuga, he means something different to all of them, everyone misses him. Him coming back was a DREAM to them, something they all wanted but assumed they couldnt have. Meanwhile half the Galaxy Rangers barely know who Mike is, he means literally nothing to them outside of "guy who pulled out the Quasar Saber and then died". Like can you honestly tell me Mike coming back meant as much to Damon and Maya as Hyuuga's return meant to Hayate and Hikaru??

What sucks is this scene COULD have been just as impactful in LG, but they didnt do the groundwork or give Mike the build up he needed. I love Leo, I wanted to see him get his brother back, I wanted him to get that closure, but instead all he got was a hollow, lackluster recreation of one of my favourite scenes in the whole franchise.

[biohazard2017]

tell me about leon and Chris what makes them gay

oh BROTHER ok listen. just listen okay

so leon and chris dont meet in canon til re6. theyre both two of the biggest leads from the franchise and their meeting was really advertised as a selling point of the game. we get into the game. chris is suffering from amnesia and desperately wants to kill ada wong for killing his team. this is the only thing he remembers of his past life going into china. leon on the other hand is following ada bc of his own reasons (i will not go into how chris is following the clone ada who is racefaking) they meet. they have a short fist fight. leon obviously recognises chris. Chris Recognises Leon. this is the first person hes remembered. he didnt remember his sister. he didnt remember the organisation he basically founded. but he remembers leon. and leon leaves him with "i know youll do the right thing" and from that point chris recovers. he gets out of his rage-filled haze of the past 2 chapters and finally remembers that hes a captain and a mentor and he doesnt try to kill ada wong (even though he kinda should). a single conversation with leon literally did what 6 months of isolation and piers' intervention couldnt.

and then in vendetta. the divorced exes energy is off the charts. leon is pissy and short with chris and chris loses his cool with him really easily (which makes sense bc leon's depressive alcoholic spiral at the start of the movie is what chris went through those 6 months of amnesia). chris says how long are you going to keep drinking your sorrows away and leon says he doesnt make plans that far ahead. and then leon Gets involved and start fighting and what not and theyre this well-oiled machine. the first canonical fight chris and leon do together and its basically perfect, theyre watching each others backs, theyre providing cover, its insane to watch. then leon saves chris' life, and then chris saves leon's life. and then they get back to their chopper. and leon says "chris how long are we going to keep fighting" and chris has this dopey smile and goes "i dont make plans thaf far ahead" and leon just goes :) and like they eat waffle house together or whatever afterwards

theyre just so INTERESTING. the parallels of them. chris got involved bc it was personal. bc a superior he trusted was actually high-up in umbrella and using them as a testbed for their bows. he basically spent his life to destroy umbrella, and then to destroy wesker. leon however got involved purely by chance. he happened to survive raccoon, happened to be scouted by the government, and wasnt allowed to reject it bc of sherry (he was blackmailed). when leon is basically given an out when transferring to dso, he still chooses to keep fighting (a little hypocritical of him) bc he just wants to help despite it all. chris wants to eradicate viruses. leon wants to help and save as many people as possible. they are best friends they are way closer than just two people that have a common friend in chris' sister. there is so much trust there beyond just two canon interactions that it gives me brainworms. this is why i like chreon<3

[fiovske]

would u mind elaborating on the ideology of the game? i’d love to hear ur thoughts. are h referring to the themes of like th ejemplo arizona if playing god and do the ends justify the means type of stuff from the first game carrying through to the second, or other stuff?

yes of course!

what i meant is, i think at the core of this game, it's about climate change and the devastating harm that billionaires with their big companies and capitalism & unchecked ego can cause to the planet; and suffer absolutely no consequences for their actions while they hide and live out the rest of their lives while the normal people of earth die in the promise of the lie that they are responsible for climate change for not picking a paper straw, yknow? we see this in the lie that is Operation Enduring Victory in zero dawn.

This theme carries over in Forbidden West too, that the people of the Old World as they call it, the powerful people from the 21st century, find out a way to escape earth and fake the death of the ship Odyssey where rich ppl buy their ticket to escape the Faro Plague while life on earth perishes for the actions of the rich and careless who never gave a shit about the earth as a planet and only about their own gain. they even faked the Odyssey having a explosion so that nobody ever comes looking for them, or tries to place a claim on their share of whatever they'll find in the Sirius system.

We also learn that these people have perfected pharmaceuticals to the degree that aging is a thing of the past, the people who return to earth and are the main antagonists of hfw are the far zeniths, not the descendants but the very same people who had a hand in destroying the earth a thousand years ago and now that earth has managed to scramble a bit of life together and recover... they've come again to stake their claim. we learn something terrible happened in Sirius system and that's why they have come back but we also learn it's so they can steal GAIA the terraforming AI that is attempting to make the earth livable again for their own personal gain and cleanse the planet of all living habitat so they can start again fresh slate. only them. no matter all the tribes and animals that have managed to survive and persevere, but they intend to doom the entire planet to this. again. and run off with their only hope.

the theme of this game has been very ecologically aware, i have found? and also very anti-capitalistic. in forbidden west what we learnt about ted faro before only worsens and we realize that man, who deleted Apollo, all of human knowledge because he wanted to hide how he had caused the faro plague then killed all the zero dawn ppl still in the bunker of gaia prime. he is never forgiven by the narrative and his atrocities never shown as any less than what they were.

tldr: i agree with the ideology of the game which is capitalism is the root of all evil and when the time comes, rich ppl who actually caused the harm to the planet and played a hand in it's destruction like musk and co, will always attempt to escape to space but just like the zeniths did w sirius, they will ruin whatever new playground they find and repeat the same mistakes and continue to leave dead planets in their wake bc the problem isnt the planets. it's their greed that even the promise of immortality couldnt satisfy which caused them to create what i assume is the nemesis for the third installation of the zero dawn franchise. the heart of the game lies in realizing that aloy cant do everything on her own, that she cant heal the planet all by herself. and she has to let herself lean on the people who love her. and realize that this is a group effort, it has to be the community coming together not to escape to space when their home is threatened... but to preserve the home they have, the earth they love. that's the heart of the game and in that, i believe the heart is in the right place.

[soul-dwelling]

Have you heard something about Ohkubo being racist? I saw some twitter links, which due to personal reasons I cant check for myself, but otherwise couldnt find anything on.

Shared September 18, 2021

I've sat on this question for a long time, and yet my answer will still be incomplete. As I am white, I want to be aware of the white privilege I have, and I anticipate I am going to give a response that fails to address certain topics and concerns--and is just going to be flat-out wrong in a lot of parts. I anticipate I will get things wrong below, I don't like that, but I want to be open to reading more and figuring out what I'm getting wrong so I can fix what I get wrong. And I want to learn from any responses I receive--so I encourage any responses, and I will read and consider them.

At the time when I received this question, I was not aware of any Twitter links regarding accusations of Ohkubo being racist. Despite being a huge fan of Soul Eater, this was something I was unaware of, and I was purposefully ignoring--because I was ignoring any discourse around Fire Force, not around Ohkubo or Soul Eater in general. While I have followed what Soul Eater stuff is out there, I have purposefully avoided a lot of Fire Force content since the anime was announced--including muting any Fire Force stuff on Twitter. While I do not regret avoiding Fire Force stuff (there is only so much annoyance I can take from that franchise), I do regret overlooking this discussion around racism in Ohkubo’s works, I regret that, and I apologize for overlooking it right now--and in the past.

Because I have overlooked racist elements in Ohkubo’s prior works, including in Soul Eater, including on this very blog. I don’t think apologizing is enough, and I am determining what steps I can take to handle this better--and that starts with acknowledging the racist elements in his works. I think some have unfortunate implications that need to be debated.

For example, one Twitter remark I read asked why the South American meister had to be Enrique instead of a human. (And, I anticipate, how that leads to its own set of unfortunate implications, associating being from South America to being a monkey, regardless Tezca, his visual conceit, and his powers being derived from, not South American cultures only or exactly, but from Aztec and indigenous Mexican cultures.) I don’t think adding Enrique as a meister is bad, when the joke works; I think adding Enrique, and not more South American human characters, is a problem, and when your one South American meister is a non-human animal, when no other meister in the series, especially of a Death Scythe, has been a non-human animal, this is going to stick out and be offensive. I have seen and written stories with animals as meisters to weapon partners; it is a great idea, having Enrique be that character is great, but it is a missed opportunity that erases a spot where a person of South American could have been. Having Tezca as one such South American person helps, but again, this is a missed opportunity.

As an aside, this also opens up unfortunate implications to having Black Star being mistaken by Liz as a monkey, given headcanon I’ve seen from fans about Black Star’s identity with regard to Japanese ethnicities and the fact that Black Star does have dark skin.

And another set of Twitter remarks focused on the stylized designs to the band playing at the DWMA Anniversary Party (and here). Regardless whether stylization was used on white characters in that scene, the stylization on the Black characters who were performing in the band is drawing upon a history of racist images (the lips on drummer and cellist) and is racist. I’ll get to this later, but I agree with this remark that it’s bizarre that Ohkubo did this despite what he has done well with inclusiveness amongst his cast. And like I’ll also say later, it’s like me sitting here thinking “How could he do so well at writing a girl lead like Maka in an action series, then fail so badly writing Tamaki in his follow-up series?” My pathetic answer is that no creator is perfect, they make mistakes--and it becomes infuriating when they screw up so badly and don’t seem to learn from that screw-up, don’t show regret, don’t fix what they broke, and don’t improve. I’ve ranted enough here on this blog that I don’t think Ohkubo has grown with his audience: I think he keeps making the same immature mistakes (immature in terms of his craft, immature as well in terms of his humor).

And since I did bring up the monkey remarks about Enrique and Black Star, there are the major sets of discourse around racism in Ohkubo’s works, that being Maka referring to Sid, who is Black, as a gorilla (not to mention “thuggish”), and Shinra in Fire Force referring to Charon, who has dark skin, as a gorilla.

Regardless the excuses made (“racism in Japan is not the same as racism elsewhere”--which, no, fuck that, people globally including in Japan know the racist associations made where being Black or brown is associated by racists with non-human primates), I don’t get why no one, from Ohkubo to his editors to distributors to audiences including me, do not say more about this racist detail.

And I don’t get why no editor or localization staff bothered to change it. I have not sat through the Fire Force dub, but I hope someone working at localization changed the line. (It’s one thing to change a subtitled line and avoid something offensive at the cost of accuracy in translation, including accurately translating content even when it’s awful, or else you’re just covering up for the awfulness in the original work. But it’s another thing to not revise the line for dubbing, when you should have more flexibility in that kind of adaptation.)

(And that’s not getting into casting white actors as Black characters in the Soul Eater dub, but I hope I can address that another time with more depth should Soul Eater ever get a continuation or a re-dub...which, given how enough of the original dub cast have fucked over their careers and revealed their abusiveness and toxic bullshit in their personal lives, either a new anime or a new dub sounds good right about now.)

The responses to this criticism have been to rightly point out that Ohkubo does include numerous varied portrayals of Black characters (also here and here and here), drawing upon Black identities from the United States and Africa, especially for characters like Kilik and Ogun. But, me personally, pointing out what is done well does not negate what is done badly. (And yes, just because I think Maka Albarn is a great representation of a girl character in shonen doesn’t negate how Ohkubo fucked up with Chapter 113 and all of Tamaki in Fire Force).

As a creator, you’re supposed to fix what you did wrong, you don’t distract from what you did wrong by doing something else well later. You fix the character in front of you, not only make new characters and let that distract the audience from what you did wrong. You fix Sid (which, for me, means some potential adjustments to character design and not calling him a freaking gorilla); you don’t distract by creating Kilik and Ogun. You fix Tamaki (give her more to do, don’t make every joke around fanservice, stop fucking sexualizing a 17-year-old); you don’t distract by pointing to Maka or Maki. That’d be like me excusing something I did wrong in one set of responsibilities by asking you to look at something good I did: that doesn’t fix what I did wrong by mistake. Asking people to “leave the medium” is not helping: this is a debate, you get to watch something, you get to decide for yourself whether you think something is racist or misread, I’m not up for gatekeeping people to block them from either criticizing something or enjoying something.

And while your enjoyment of something can reflect on your values (if you keep liking jokes calling Sid a gorilla, what does that say about you?), I said “can,” not “does,” it is by context and debate (you can enjoy slasher movies without being a serial killer, etc).

I wish I had something more meaningful to say, and I don’t like that I don’t. I want to be a better ally, but just being aware that there are racist elements to this series, and just stating awareness, is not sufficient for me. It’s one reason why my focus is on uplifting fan content that does far better at handling inclusiveness and representation in this series. But my focus has been on representations of gender in the series--and that is my fault for not doing more to focus on representations of race and ethnicity, and I wish my apology would be enough, and it’s not, so I’m trying to figure out what I can do that is better. I will read feedback to do better.

[robin-hood-for-freedom]

Matrix Resurrections had some cool ideas, I really liked the more psychological and meta take on the franchise, and was on-the-whole I think better than Revolutions.

However, it lacked focus, and as a result everything in the film, the plot, the characters(except Neo), the world, felt underdeveloped. And it lacked a satisfying ending to its narrative, and not in a Matrix 3 'theres at least a thematic reason' kinda way.

Probably the most frustrating example of this: Theres a really cool concept of the machines being at war with each other(due to too many people leaving the Matrix), with some taking the side of the free humans, that gets casually mentioned once, and never brought up again.

Also, why the fuck would you recast Hugo Weaving? Smith didnt even really add anything to film anyway. So if you couldnt get him just cut the character.

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

Im gonna make one long post about my whole danganronpa day today so:

Aw now I feel bad for Kazuichi. He says his family is really poor and that the family runs a bike shop🥺. Please don’t tell me he dies😭.

.

Now that I’m spending time with Ibuki, I know I would LOVE to spend time with her. She’s a music person and she loves it and so do I! I would love to teach her the violin (if she didn’t know) or explain more techniques or even play some and maybe she’d teach me the guitar!! Bruh I would love to be with her-

.

She says “Well, isn’t it obvious?! You should be a part of Ibuki’s music club from now on!” YES I WOULD LOVE THAT!’

.

Kazuichi really wanted to go to the girls while they were on the beach knowing they just wanted it to be girls??? That’s really messed up but whatever.

.

NOOO WE FOUND OUT MAHIRU’S DEAADD. AND NOOO. THE MASK!!! IK WHAT TRIAL THIS IS AND I DONT LIKE IT😭😭😭. I already know who did it😭😭.

.

I’m in the trial and I’m so mad at Hiyoko. Calling everyone else bad words and then expects sympathy when she cries-

.

NOOO IK WHO DID IT AND I DONT LIKE IT😭😭. PEKOOOO-

I knew bc I watched someone a long time ago. I’ve liked the DR franchise for awhile, but never played it until now but I remember this trial and gosh…..this is gonna be saddddd.

.

She used her sword to escape the bathroom…..Peko no…..

.

HAH PEKO ADMITS THAT SHES SPARKLING JUSTICE AND KAZUICHI IS LIKE

“WHAT THE FUCK!?”

I love you sir.

And seeing Fuyuhiko so upset at her admitted her crime is….sweet in a way. He cares about her and doesn’t want her to do this…..

.

HNNNG!!! Fuyuhiko is hesitating in telling the truth and seeing Peko like this must make him upset…..

AAAAAH HE COULDNT GO THROUGH WITH IT!!! Peko wanted him to just lie and tell them it was ALL her (it was but not really) but he couldn’t do it bc he cared for her and he couldn’t let himself rely on someone he had been since birth😭😭.

Peko says he’s got a kind heart…..and he even admits she isn’t a fool to him…. AND THEN SHE ASKS HIM TO AT LEAST REMEMBER HER!!! PEKOOOO

.

“Jeez…why don’t you get it yet…? You stayed by my side…all this time… Why don’t you get it…? I never needed…a sword…or a shield… I never needed…a tool…S-so…You didn’t need to become a tool. You just…you just needed to be yourself…

I…I never wanted a tool! I just wanted you! Only you!”

“Young master?” (Peko)

“Wh-Why!? Why couldn’t you understand!? We’ve always been together, ever since we were kids!”

And then Monokuma says it’s PUNISHMENT TIME AND THEN FUYUHIKO SAYS, “P-Please Peko! Don’t go…!”

AND THEN THE “I need you! Don’t leave me!”

AND THEN SHES CRYING TOO WHEN SHE SAYS YOUNG MASTER. NOOOOO. I KNEW THIS TRIAL WAS SAD😭😭😭😭.

.

BRUH FUYUHIKO IS TRYING TO JOIN THE PUNISHMENT!! LIKE!! HES RUNNING TO HER BUT THE SAMURAI ROBOTS ARE IN THE WAY BUT WHEN PEKO SLICES A ROBOT!!! HE’S RIGHT THERE!!! And I think he gets sliced too?? Not sure but ANYWAYSSSSS. She then holds him when she lays on the ground and then a robot comes up behind her and stabs her one last time. Then a pile of them come over to her and stab her.

Now the question is whether Fuyuhiko survived. It wasn’t his punishment really. But idk. ALL IK IS THAT THIS WAS REALLY SAD-

.

BRUH HE IS STILL ALIVE SNABSBW.

Monokuma apparently is taking care of him….idk if I like that compare-

.

DNABSH. HIYOKO HAS SUCH A KIND HEART??? DOES NOBODY?? SEE?? WHAT SHE SAYS TO MIKAN??????!?!?!?

They all notice when she’s getting bullied but when Mikan is they just don’t notice?!?!? IDC if I was in the middle of a trial, I would’ve called out Hiyoko for yelling at Mikan like….she has no right.

.

Bruh Hajime is reading the Usami x File and it’s talking about the tragic event and nearing the end of the excerpt it starts to become filled with boxes. It’s like this:

“Ther◻️fore….it is a subvers◻️ive movement fu◻️l of despair. Hope’s Peak Academy became the or◻️gin of the incident, and was forced to put an end to th◻️ir long history…As f◻️r the students who surviv◻️d, they w◻️re f◻️rce◻️ to k◻️ll e◻️ch o◻️◻️er as a lesson in despair ◻️x◻️”

And babe….can you not fill in the boxes??? Like do you even know English😭. I get what he means tho since the boxes are a nuisance but it’s not impossible to fill in the boxes and know what the words are. The only one I can’t figure out is the one with the x. What is that final word? Or is it a signature? Idk but other than that I can read it completely-

.

OOOH WAS THE LAST PART ABOUT MAKOTO AND STUFF?!? THE PART ABOUT KILLING EACH OTHER OFF?!?!? Please tell me someone other than Genocide Jack was mentioned😭. I wonder what Kyoko would be doing in this moment. Makoto would’ve been such a good detective at her side….

.

FUYUHIKOOOO!! YOURE ALIVEEEE!!!!! AND BREATHING!!!!! He’s got a bandage over his eye and on his arm, so at least he’s getting treated!

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AWWW WHEN HE FELT ‘BETTER’ HE CAME TO GREET EVERYONE!! HE APOLOGIZED AND ADMITTED THAT IT WAS HIS FAULT!!!

And then he fell to his knees and cut his stomach open?? I’m not sure if it meant that his stomach wound REOPENED or that he literally just cut his stomach open right then and there. If he did it right there, then dang that’s pretty intense. He says he’s sorry and I feel bad. I shouldn’t bc he led to two peoples death, but I do feel a little bit bad for him. I wish Peko didn’t have to die. Well, I wish none of them had to die.

I honestly wish they could’ve told each other their feelings outside of this mess. It would’ve been better but also more sad if they did that then came here. Hnnnng I knew their whole thing was SADDDD!!!

.

Okay!! This wasn’t from one day but still!! I love this game!!! I’m gonna stop this one post so it doesn’t become too long but yeah!!! I love it!!! Most of the ending part from Peko and Fuyuhiko is from today (Sunday) and not yesterday (Saturday) so yeah!! But I’ll start a new one bc I’m obsessed with the games!

But anyways!! I’m taking a break real quick to eat and give my eyes a rest. It’s not good to keep repeatedly covering my eyes everytime I hit X on my PS4 so I don’t have to see flashing lol.

[ginger-snap-talkin-nonsense]

Girl. You gotta. The saw community has lain dormant for too long. It's time for us to rise up and start our bitching!

Okay fucking, here’s incoherent ramblings from me cause I’m thinking about it now and I’m fucking steamed this isn’t getting proof read.

John Kramer is a bitch ass cunt boy who’s motives change every fucking movie like this movie will be like “he’s survived a cpsuicide attempt and now thinks life is precious which is why he’s killing a man with a barbed wire maze who self harms instead of getting him help” sometimes it’s like “someone opened a door on my wife (honestly not even that hard from what we see) that immediately causes a miscarriage like literally her stomach bleeds through he dress what the fuck is that about someone hit her with a door they didn’t fucking shoot her but go off I guess so anyway his marriage fell apart and now he’s bitter” OH AND THE FUCKING HYPOCRISY OF THAT BULLSHIT HOLD UP STOP WAIT A MINUTE CAUSE WERE GONNA TALK ABIUT THE THIRD MOVIE

Okay so in the third movie the main trapped mans 3 year old son got run over by a drunk driver and he died and it’s a year later and (understandably!) he’s not quite over it and imagines what it’d be like to get revenge not he people that allowed his sons killer to walk free AND THE WHOLE TIME HES BEING FORCED TO SAVE THESE PEOPLE TO “FROCE HIM TO MOVE ON” OR HIS DAUGHTER WHOS LIKE 9 WILL BE LEFT IN A ROOM WITH LIMITED OXYGEN (by the way second time he nearly suffocates a child to get to their parents while waxing poetic about how he’s never killed anyone). The man has to cause permanent and physical damage to himself as well as burn his child’s possessions to save these people and doesn’t for most of them because the traps are ducking difficult like on shit he had trouble AND THEN AT THE END HE COMES ACROSS JOHN KRAMER WHOS BEEN HELPED BY HIS WIFE (there’s a B plot where the guys wife is doctor who John kidnaps and he puts a bomb around her neck that will explode if he flatlines so she gives him surgery to help with a tumor idk) This motherfucker has the gall to ask if he’s learned about forgiveness and he rightfully answers by killing the old bastard WHICH MAKES HIS BPWIFE BLOW UP AND THEN HE DIES IN THE NEXT MOVIE LEAVING HIS DAUGHTER ORPHANED

BECAUSE HE COULDNT FORGIVE

EVEN THOUGH THIS ENTIRE FRANCHISE IS PRESUMABLY CATALYSTED BY JIGSAW NOT FORGIVING THE DOCTORS WHO DIDNT CATCH HIS CANCER OR THE DRUGGIES WHO OPENED A DOOR TOO HARD ONE TIME AND KILLED HIS BABY

And he’s constantly going on and on about how his methods instantly rehabilitate people like Amanda who was a junkie. ONLY PROBLE, IS EVERYONE WHO WAS SUPPOSEDLY “SAVED” BY JIGSAW WINDS UP DEAD BECAUSE JIGSAW FUCKED THEIR BRAINS UP SO BAD.

MOST PEOPLE (not all there’s a few genuinely evil people who get their due like the main guy in the healthcare one or the rapist that one time) HAVE DONE NTOHING TO DESERVE WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM IN SAW, AND JIGSAW ACTS LIKE JESUS MOTHERUFKCING CHRIST AND SOME PEOPLE STILL THINK HIS PHILOSOPHY HOLDS ANY WATER

FUCK

[supernova1us]

MY ACTIVATION/HIGH MOON GAME BASED ON the G1 3-PART OPENER

I plotted out this idea back around the time “rise of the dark spark”.

Despite what is officially officially established, i like to consider consider the Activation/High Moon games as being part of G1, just based on the designs, story and the way it was originally marketed. anyway, i would like to see the story now continued on earth. The movieverse sections of Rise of the dark spark showed us that the activation games can create a decent earth based transformer game, and i would love to see that go a step further. FOC and ROTDS also showed that the g1 optimus skin is an awesome way to play for any die hard fans and they were able to make it work, combining the wfc/foc alien aspects with the g1 earth aesthetic. so, why couldnt this be made to work for the other characters too, especially since the activation designs are already very g1 based. obviously some things wouldnt be the same as g1, like megatron transforming into a tank rather than a gun and soundwave into a truck and so on. The plot would follow the plot of the original "more than meets the eye" 3-parter from the beginning of the G1 series. I think this would also work well since the end of FOC butts up to how that started so well. i just think it is logical and a great idea to move the story on from that point. I know activation/high moon is gone now but they could have had the chance to move on and create an amazing new game that would really please TF fans and fans of the games in general and create an all new experience and interpretation of how the franchise started. here’s my plotting of the gameplay and levels

Chapter 1: Ark attack Character: wheeljack-special ability: destabilizing burst After leaving cybertron, the ark is attacked and boarded by the decepticons. Wheeljack must make his way through the ark from the engien room, fighting decepticons and repairing vital systems, and make his way to the main battle on the bridge. the ship eventually loses control and plummets to earth.(wheeljack being the first playable character is a reference to his being the first on-screen character in the show) Chapter 2: Revival Character: Skywarp-special ability: teleportation After millions of years in stasis, skywarp is the first bot revived by teletraan-1 in the present day. Guided by reflector over the Comm, he must make his way through the ark to find and revive each of the main decepticons. he must also fight off the reviving autobots and automated security systems. eventually, the decepticons are revived but are driven off as the rest of the autobots recover. Chapter 3: raw materials Character: soundwave-special ability: release minions In order to gather materials for a new base, soundwave must disable and demolish a nearby human power complex. Disabling its security systems so that starscream can bomb it from the air, dispatching rumble to demolish key structures and fighting off autobot troops that are scouting the area. Chapter 4: Scout the Area Character: cliffjumper-special ability: glass gass/Hound-special ability:Hologram distraction Sent by optimus prime to find the decepeticons, you first play as cliffjumper as you scout the way through the terrain for you both until you find the decpeticons. After being discovered, as hound, you must flee back through the canyons and eventually battle laserbeak and his laser drones. Chapter 5: Oil Rig Character: jazz-special ability: grapple hook When the decepticons attack a group of off shore oil rigs, the autobots use a groundbridge to get there. as jazz, you must grapple up, down and across the 5 oil rigs to fight off the decepticons, stop their energy draining and after the decepticons destroy the rigs, help rescue the other autobots. Chapter 6: Sherman Dam Character: Optimus Prime-special ability: ? When the deceptions take over and secure the dam, Optimus must make his way through the terrain and though the dam complex to clear it of the decepticons. at the top of the dam, megatron is fought as the boss battle, but despite being defeated, he manages to knock optimus off the dam and escapes. Chapter 7: Ruby mines Character: Bumblebee-special ability: ? The decepticons are in the ruby mines of burma, and bumblebee volunteers to enter and plant a bomb. after briefly battling thundercracker and skywarp, and platning the bomb, he must escape the mine before it blows. he barely survives, but the decepticons also do and escape. Chapter 6: Rocket base Character: Ratchet-special ability: Repairing field when the decepticons attack a rocket base, Ratchet backs up the lead attack to force them out of the area; making his way around the perimeter of the battlefield, taking on decepticon troops and repairing injured autobots. However, after the base is cleared, megatron appears via hologram and reveals that it was a diversion to keep the autoobts busy while they have finished their new ship and secured enough energon cubes to return to cybertron. Chapter 7: desert battle Character: Megatron-special ability: dispatch ravage As the decepticons prepare to board their ship, the autobots lay seige to their base and megatron orders his troops to fight them off. megatron fights his way across the battle field to secure the ships perimeter, accompanied by ravage, until he and optimus confront each other in a boss battle. after defeating optimus, megatron calls for his troops to board the cruiser and it takes off. Chapter 8: decepticon cruiser Character: Mirage-special ability: cloaking Mirage managed infiltrate the ship and must fight and sneak his way to the bridge, where starscream rebels and he and megatron battle. miarge must disable multiple control consoles on the bridge, all the while hiding and avoiding starscream and megatrons attacks from their battle. megatron beats starscream, but discovers mirage, who escapes the ship, which loses power and crashes into the ocean. the autobots decide to ally with the humans until they can return to cybertron, and in the sunken decepticon ship, megatron stirs.

I also think a great feature for the game would be a free roam feature so you can explore the ark and the decepticon ship/base. And even talk with other main characters in those areas and get a bunch of lore/easter eggs/references.

[x0401x]

i was going through your free tag after going through tsurene and i couldnt find any post where you really talked about S3 other than being disappointed? for me, the season was really boring and dull and im not a fan of ikuya and he had a lot of attention. the director change really affected the show and i wish utsumi never left. it felt like it killed any excitement for the series because as a fan there was barely any fanart (which free! used to dominate) of S3

I never went too in-depth because the reason why S3 was disappointing is self-explanatory in my eyes: the directors changed and Kawanami didn’t have the same knack for it as Utsumi did. He was entering an uncharted territory left by another director, so I couldn’t put big expectations into it. I kind of knew it would be boring just from the lack of hype when the PVs came out, but one thing I didn’t see coming is how basically everyone was kept in-character except the protagonist himself. S3!Haru left a weird taste in my mouth.

I did want to give Kawanami some credit for not fucking it up, at the very least. I mean, S3 wasn’t great, yet it also wasn’t shit. But I changed my mind about that when I saw him sort of making a dig at Utsumi back in 2017. He said in an interview that he “didn’t try to play the ‘eccentric artist’ and ended up making a pretty normal movie”. And then he was like, “oops, I said it out loud, lol”. It seemed to me that he was referring to Utsumi when he said “eccentric artist”, as if poking fun at her (you can probably tell why). Joke’s on him, ‘cause the franchise is quickly losing its sparkle in his hands.

I would say that Utsumi did well in leaving. She clearly appreciates same-sex relationships between characters without the queerbaiting elements, and she’d never be able to direct a series like that in KyoAni. She definitely has more creative freedom and opportunities to make progressive stuff at Mappa.

[angeltannis]

tiny tina is a whole thing, she's flirty with some women in dlcs and at the time she was then confirmed on askfm or twitter or whatever to be a lesbian by the writer, but then he left, and (minor spoilers) in bl3 she's canonically bi. a lot of people were upset bc they'd spent years attached to her as a canon lesbian. but anthony burch used to do a lot of this bs extra-canonical confirmation of stuff and then left the franchise and a lot of it got lost along the way

oh i freaking hate stuff like that...why would they bother changing it? couldnt they just leave it alone (dont answer that if it’s spoilery, i havent started 3 yet lol)