#absurdism vs order

[guregire]

Recent hsr quest got me ruined..... sunday what a beautiful antagonist u are. And for his sister still be there to catch him. I love them both

[hidingoutbackstage]

I’m gonna tell my kids this is Waiting for Godot

[transmutationisms]

do you think you could explain the last line of tender is the flesh? got stuck on the last scene and i don’t think i’ve quite understood it

"she had the human look of a domesticated animal" is playing off two epistemological dichotomies the characters have to contruct and rely on in order to maintain their sanity as cannibals: first, human vs inhuman, and second, domestic vs savage.

human vs non-human: the transition to cannibalism required establishing an unbridgeable gap between humans and non-human animals, a logic extended to absurdity by the designation of the 'head' as non-human. humanness thus functions not as a biological descriptor but as a political class, which bazterrica is using to intensify and comment on real processes of dehumanisation (think of how the head with light skin are considered more desirable than those with dark skin, or the treatment of pregnancy and reproductive labour).

domestic vs savage: we see this come up throughout the novel. the scavengers are 'savage' despite engaging in the same act of cannibalism as everyone else, because they're poor. the head are bred and controlled to be docile and obedient, but we know that the characters consider pregnant head specifically to be wild, aggressive, and dangerous. marisa keeps a 'domestic head' in her home for ease of consumption, an echo of a housepet because she doesn't see the man as a person but as livestock. marcos finds the puppies at the zoo, names them, and treats them more like pets (a defunct linguistic category) than like animals (non-human and dangerous).

marcos's relationship with jasmine is told from his perspective, which means the central act of rape is euphemised because he is presenting it to himself as a romantic partnership. thus, he perceives himself as humanising jasmine in a way that is forbidden to do with the head, but as readers we can clearly see that by repeatedly raping her he is participating in more of the same violence that the cannibalistic system, and his job at the slaughterhouse, requires. by moving her inside the house with him, marcos perceives himself as crossing both the human-animal barrier and the domestic-savage one; he thinks he is elevating jasmine to the level of his wife cecilia, a person and a civilised one at that.

however, after jasmine gives birth to his child, marcos no longer sees her body as valuable to him in the same way, and the illusion shatters. cecilia is there to reclaim her place as marcos's wife, making jasmine superfluous and causing her body to once again appear to marcos as animal and savage. he is now disgusted by having brought her inside: the "human look of a domesticated animal" is a violation of her assigned role as head. she is supposed to be meat, instrumental and non-sentient; even humanising her to the extent of a pet (like the puppies) is now intolerable to marcos. slaughtering her is his resolution to the paradox, because it reaffirms her body as meat (now a carcass) rather than human. having her around was an implicit challenge to the dichotomies marcos relies on in order to psychologically survive the cannibalistic world he lives in.

thus, all of his moral posturing throughout the novel is confirmed to have been hollow; at the end of the day, he's unable to face the reality of the killing he participates in. maintaining the categories of "human" and "domesticated" is how the characters continue to live with themselves post-transition. challenging those ideas would require radical political and social restructuring, because it would threaten the entire sense of order that the human meat industry has imposed upon marcos's world.

[ladyluscinia]

Ok. Ok. Time to put my thoughts in order about S2 and we're starting at literally the first scene because whoo boy is there a lot going on that I like.

So. Stede's Fantasy Pirate Rescue aka this show having no illusions about Stede's fuck ups and where the story-driving conflict is coming from (*cough* Stede and Edward themselves *cough*)

It opens with what frankly a concerning amount of fandom seemed to view as the solution to all the problems of S1 - namely a Stede vs Izzy swordfight. Stede is really going all in on his dashing pirate hero fantasy. He has the beard. The sword skills. He gets his sword knocked out of his hand (again) but this time it ends on a witty one liner and stabbing Izzy with a concealed knife before artfully claiming his cutlass. He even dramatically kills him! And, villain defeated, there's Ed running through the surf to embrace him! Everything is perfect and wonderful and conflict free - and it all collapses back into reality with Wee John literally farting all over it.

Pete even openly mocks his moaning "Ed, Ed" in his sleep!

Because it's a fantasy! A ridiculous one at that! And the truly fantastical bit isn't even the reunion, or Stede's heroics. No... The part that's absurd, that even Stede can't make himself believe in his own subconscious mind, is that there's a convenient external villain to all of this and he and Ed can just pick back up where they left off.

Fantasy!Izzy and Fantasy!Ed are basically barbie dolls in this dream, but you can watch Stede's awareness that this is truly just a comforting fantasy slipping through.

Fantasy!Izzy gets cast as the villain because why wouldn't he? Stede has disliked him going back to that conversation at Spanish Jackie's where he basically offloaded a bunch of his own issues on this random pirate guy for having bad vibes, Izzy did betray him specifically to the Navy, and the last thing his crew would have been able to tell him about was Izzy ordering his stuff tossed and rowing them to an island (on Blackbeard's orders, but that's easy enough for Stede to ignore). He's even got him putting on a villain voice!

But the line. The only fantasy character line in this entire dream that connects with the situation in reality instead of sounding like stock NPC responses. Stede defeats his villain and The Villain / Fantasy!Izzy / Stede's subconscious looks up from his knees and reminds him:

"I never made you leave him. You did that yourself."

And Stede kills him for saying it! Goes back to the comforting script where he demands to know where Ed is and Izzy calls him a twat! Shut up, subconscious, Stede needs to rescue his damsel!

And his damsel barbie doll is so happy to see him! Fantasy!Edward's lines are the most disconnected, NPC babble. It's hilarious 🤣

Fantasy!Ed: "I knew you'd find me, babe"

Stede: "You're not mad?"

Fantasy!Ed: "I knew you'd find me, love"

Stede: "So we're good? About everything?"

Fantasy!Ed: "Fucking love the beard, mate".

Can I mention how much I love the repetition there? Zero engagement in the conversation, totally amps up the NPC vibe.

Stede is begging his own dream to reassure him that he didn't hurt Ed that bad, to tell him Ed will be so happy to see him it will fix everything, and he doesn't get what he's looking for. Because it's not true. The show in fact laughs in the face of that interpretation. Stede's making up a idealized "fix" (being a dashing hero) for the BlackBonnet relationship, and even Stede knows it's bullshit.

Edward and Stede's relationship issues and personal struggles have a bodycount this season (R.I.P. Ivan 😭) and it's immensely satisfying that so far no one is inclined to pull their punches on this fact or foist the blame elsewhere.

Not even Stede's subconscious!

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Dimitri Alexendre Blaiddyd

PLEASE NOTE: THE MOD OF THIS TOURNAMENT HATES THIS PROPAGANDA! THEY BELIEVE THAT IT'S ACTIVELY LYING ABOUT THE CHARACTER AND COMING FROM A PLACE OF HATE FOR SAID CHARACTER INSTEAD OF THE FANDOM CULTURE SURROUNDING HIM. You have been warned

Why is this man so woobified. The literal whole point of him is that he's meant to be a bait and switch for the typical perfect fire emblem lord hero. He's a sadistic killer without a hint of mercy for a huge part of the story, he works with the dictator church without considering whether or not there's something wrong with it, and his route ends in him being just as much of an imperialist as the others (taking over the whole continent and being crowned its ruler), just by a different name. He's SO interesting and SO conflicted and yet it feels like 99% of the fandom can't look past "uwu emo sad boy :((( so damaged :((((" and completely disregards that he's just as brutal as the other main characters from any other route's perspective, that's the whole point of the game!

Yuno Kashiki

Yuno Kashiki is an 18 year old rental girlfriend and sexworker in Japan. She was incarcerated in Milgram for murder at the start of the series in 2020. Since then she has been repeatedly dehumanized by the fandom. Having her agency and statements on her own life overwhelmingly ignored in order to give her a sob story she has consistently rebuked at every turn. Stating from the beginning even if she had to beg for forgiveness like her life depended on it she would. However, it's simply been handed to her as the audience continually goes she was too young and stupid to actually be held accountable for her actions. The same audience that later tries to vote a 12 year old child abuse victim guilty because she has to learn her lesson and she knew what she was doing. Yes the fandom interprets the eighteen year old who chose to work in the profession they did simply because they wanted to something they have no qualms admitting as having less agency than the twelve year old. They treat her like a stupid baby who's only error was not knowing how a condom worked as a sexworker. They say her only crime is an abortion despite her overtly getting upset at other individuals alluded to be clients throughout her songs. Having the literal lyrics of her second song go, ""Poor naive little girl"? So off the mark, what's it to you? It's absurd. Like really who do you think you are? Don't weigh me meassure me against your morality. Just shut it, will you? You know it all." And "Carrssing me with your "good girl". Who needs your self-righteous pardon?" They're so committed to the abortion equating to the murder she's in here for idea that fans got mad at the writer for even writing it that way when at least several other very not fetuses are alluded to throughout her songs and at points literally shown. Her first song even highlighting her clients belongings throughout it with inverted coloring. But instead of thinking she may have just killed a client who was bothering her they've convinced themselves that she's just a silly little outlier who's not meant to be here because abortion isn't murder her body her choice which fair if it wasn't for the fact the only people putting it on the table to compare to murder is the audience themselves. Despite everyone else in here very literally killing actual people with lives, professions, etc as they frame her case as a feminism issue and say if you vote her guilty you just hate women or are anti-abortion. In response to the framing of her situation as she can hear the audiences thoughts on her she's only gotten more depressed and closed off as tge series has progressed blatantly stating to hurry all this up so she can go home. Because it doesn't matter what she says about her situation the audience and the guard by proxy will just end up creating whatever story they want about her so it doesn't matter she's over it. Which in all honesty fucking fair- Wouldn't anyone be after getting treated like that for going on four years.

She's far more morally grey than folks want to admit. She's not evil, not by a long shot, but she's not exactly innocent either. She's innocent of her (perceived) crime in her media, but in terms of her attitude and outlook on life, I feel people downplay her incredibly grey actions. She uses / used compensated dating as a way to feel "warm" without forming emotional attachments. She hasn't killed anyone, nor has she manipulated anyone into killing for her, but that's why she's a good representative of a more everyday morally grey person. Her actions aren't outlandish or extreme, and if anything she can fade into the background with relative ease, yet I still firmly believe she's morally grey. tldr; Yuno has far more depth than the (general) fandom sees her as having. She gets misrepresented and her voice as a character is often unheard.

[merakiui]

MERAAA AHH YOUR WINTER WOES !!! And I thought I was devout to Azul.. 🛐

Okay; Let me start thinking how I can articulate and express my feelings about this fic.

#1 The dialogue. You HAVE to understand, I was kicking my feet up, giggling so much. The way you incorporated Jade's down bad behavior into his thoughts which slightly differs from his dialogue- AH ┻⁠┻⁠︵⁠ヽ⁠(⁠`⁠Д⁠´⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠︵⁠┻⁠┻ I LOVE IT !!!!

#2 Deception. YOU REALLY CAPTURED JADE'S PERSONA HERE. His mildly hidden deception > < ) Oh the chokehold he has on me rn cause of ur fic!!! Bro was lying straight from his gaping serrated maw 🫶 And it was perfect! I was jumping up and down every time I saw the contrast in his thoughts and words, I can not STRESS the fact that I ended up laughing so heartily on that scene where he straight up lied to MC about the possible pregnancy; You're way of story telling and build up is so 👌✨ *chef's kiss*

#3 The interaction. Between Y/N and Jade is so 😩👉👈💗💓💘 Surprisingly, this is one of your most gentlest Jade in the Jade multiverse and it was certainly a treat. I feel like I was just fed a full course meal for free. Definitely an unforgettable experience (⁠๑⁠♡⁠⌓⁠♡⁠๑⁠) I mean, as IF Jade would ever let you forget about what happened. THE BANTER ?!?! The banter. Golden. MC's genuine concern vs Jade's hornybrained desperation (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Yummy !

#4 Jade. Of course. GOSH, I wanna sit here and yap to you all about how startling soft and sappy this made me. Which really shows how amazing your writing issss!!! Who else can spread Jade propaganda like this but you 😔 Azul Nation stay strong ! ୧⁠(⁠ ⁠˵⁠ ⁠°⁠ ⁠~⁠ ⁠°⁠ ⁠˵⁠ ⁠)⁠୨

Anws I'm scared of absolutely bombing ur inbox so I'll stop it here > < ) Like Jade, I also still have some self control. Take care of urself <333 Ty for the fic !

- I can't choose an emoji; A garden flower.

( ≧ᗜ≦) AAAAAA THANK YOU SO SO MUCH, GARDEN FLOWER!!!!! Please never be scared of bombing my inbox!!! You can yap as much as you want!! I'll always be grateful to read your words!!!!! <3

I'm so happy all of those aspects of the fic were enjoyable!! I wanted to try my hand at writing another version of Jade who is soft and sweet. Writing from his pov is so fun, especially when he's in his mating season and is so very desperate and down bad. >:D as someone who is also very dedicated to Azul Nation, I fear Jade is trying to creep his way into my heart...... more than Azul!!!! >_< truly, we must all remain strong for tako!!!!!!

I really can't thank you enough for your kind words!!! I loved writing this type of Jade, and I think his relationship with the reader is very cute. Reader who is genuinely concerned for him contrasted with Jade's own one-track horny brain. I had fun writing all of his moray behaviors!! The gaping maw and the need to hunt an absurd amount of food for you in order to provide for mate. orz aaaaa his rizz is questionable, but his heart is in the right place (mostly ;;;; he's still lying about a few things, but that won't matter once you're knocked up).

I think a Jade who is vulnerable like this is very wonderful. He plays submissive just to better manipulate you, but it's difficult to tell where the line between act and truth is. <3 what a menace...... orz

[boyfridged]

this is perhaps completely obvious, but the comparison of pre-crisis vs post-crisis jason runs is such a poignant illustration of how the intentions of the writers make a world of difference.

pre-crisis jay was, ironically, at the beginning of his career much more of a thrill-seeker and much less serious about his motivations behind his desire to be a sidekick than post-crisis jay ever was. he was also much more reckless. he said, for instance, that studying crime was even worse than doing homework, and what interested him was going after "action." he didn't like the thought of not being credited for his actions. but he was still a character written with so much sympathy and enthusiasm – with so much open and continuous consideration for his youth, his past, his feelings. and the readers saw that! so many of them loved him! when you look at the back pages of these issues, issues in which jay often committed mistakes during patrols, in which he was at times petty and moody, you see with how much compassion they looked at him. there were letters that started with hate about the art or the storytelling, and ended with warm and attentive analyses of jay's character.

and the thing is, reactions to post-crisis might have been worse, but i don't think it was ever a matter of people disliking any iteration of jason todd from the start (even if some were certainly prejudiced as dick grayson fans. and as bigots); it's simply that post-crisis jay has never been written with a similar amount of care. o'neil saying that "people really hated jason" and that "he didn't know why" is absurd because (well, first of all, i don't think that he was ever that hated, and second of all) he was specifically written in a way that prevented a lot of casual readers to connect with him. pre-crisis, we see jay's perspective all the time, also beyond the patrols. he's much meaner than post-crisis jay a lot of times! for example, he tells julia (alfred's daughter), who is at the time staying at the manor, that he saw new flat listings, insinuating that she should move out because he is bothered by her presence. and that's rude. that's a reason why someone could think that he is a spoilt child (which imo pre-crisis jay actually very much is. i don't think it's a bad thing). but we also see him in his bed later, wondering "how could i have said something like that to her?" so naturally we see it from his side too.

on the contrary, when it comes to post-crisis jay, we have almost no insight into his head up until a death in the family. and of course, starlin admitted that he did want to make him unlikable; so suddenly everything jay does, including acting against orders, is written to make him seem like a difficult, unpleasant kid. but something you really have to understand is that the same attitude, when previously displayed by pre-crisis jay or even dick (!) was seen as endearing; a sign of bravery and an honest heart. in the first issues by collins, as well as barr's detective comics run, there's a semblance of recognition for that. beyond that, the whole narrative of his (very short) published history gets hostile. and starlin might not have written any of that outright, but you see that shift. all of a sudden a decision that would make you go "aww" if moench or barr wrote it, makes you displeased. i think one thing to take away from that is asking if it were depicted in the same tone if dick or tim did the same thing, for example. it's content that requires a much more critical attitude from the reader, that's for sure.

[shiraishi--kanade]

Any thoughts on the fact An starts the vivid bad squad story and not kohane (the actual leader)? Could An have become the leader of VBS?

I've been thinking about this a lot, and basically, when I approach it from a "what were they trying to do here?", my answer boils down to this:

Kohane is obviously an audience self-insert. I'm sorry to all Kohane lovers hurt by the statement, but it's just true from a writing perspective (it doesn't necessarily diminish a character unless done badly). She is the newbie that's a newcomer to both the culture we end up exploring on Vivid Street; while the same can be said for other characters, especially Minori, who is also in the same position, Kohane is more unique because of the nature of VBS's story.

The said nature is the fact that VBS centers RW to an absurd amount, and a lot of said story is characters discussing it's impact and analysing it. So, obviously, we need to actually see what the talk of the town about - and though we don't fully actually "see" RW until as late as LUtF, that little An flashback in the beginning gives the reader a rough idea of what's going on, as well as who An as a character is.

Both are important - it acts as a hook to the main story and gives us a connection with An, a very important character who we, a Kohane stand-in, need to connect with in order to cheer for them and against Akito and Touya, who initially act as an antagonistic force. And we need to cheer for Vivids vs Rad Dogs because that's the only way the reveal of Touya's inner conflict and Akito's "caring side" is going to be effective and make you go "ah, what's why these two were briefly assholes" instead of just always knowing they were good and sitting there bored until they all team up. Even in the very beginning, when Kohane wanders into WEG, we already know who An is and that she's a good person, so we also cheer for Kohane to get closer to her. It gets you emotionally invested in the main conflict of the story. You get the idea.

Therefore, showing us RW was a necessary writing choice. However, Kohane was... Absolutely not there. Also, it would have not worked well for the audience to just wander around aimlessly and lost with Kohane. Honestly, because Kohane doesn't even know what she's doing with herself pre-main story, she has nothing to tell the reader in the opening - remember that she... Basically doesn't have a backstory, unfortunately. Choosing An to narrate the scene instead is a very obvious choice to come from that.

That's my explanation for this situation as a writer. As a fan, however, I find the idea of leader An to be very fun. I think she both has the potential to become one, narratively, in the same way Honami did - she, along with Akito, has served as VBS's "public face" for a long time, and was also the one who offered them to team up - and I also think that the idea for An to be a unit leader was on the writer's mind and then ended up being scrapped is also possible (likely to follow the Shounen formula and/or trying to avoid outright repeating personality archetypes for leaders, in which case An would resemble Tsukasa too much on the first glance, in contrast to timid Kohane). I'm honestly happy that scene exists either way, so as much as An being the leader would be very cool for me personally, as an An oshi, I'm absolutely content with her not being one lmao.

Thanks for the ask!

[raposabranca]

Okay, I'm going to talk about this on my main art account because I haven't seen this being addressed yet (there are obviously other pressing matters) but I believe it deserves to be acknowledged both by art appreciators and artists alike:

ANIMATIC ISN'T WHAT YOU MAY THINK IT IS. "Fan animation" IS NOT called "Animatic".

This is not me being a snob, it's what the words were created for, and using them wrong may be misleading at best and upsetting/unrealistic at worst. Allow me to explain in as much detail as I can right now, so watch out for a long post:

ANIMATION, ANIMATIC, AND WHY IT MATTERS: THE LONG POST

First of all, remember that every animation is a film or video. Even if it's an animation that is composed by mostly static images and it may few weird to call it "animation", it's still a realized video or film (or MV - music video -, student film, etc)

Very roughly put and with many caveats as every studio/person is different, once the pre-production stage of an animation moves into production the process goes like this:

STORYBOARD: A storyboard is a graphic portrayal of a narrative, concept, or script, divided into sequential scenes (panels). Usually, it is done based on a written or roughly drawn script, and it serves to translate the story visually so placement, movement, timing, and camera angles are better understood or articulated. It's often done even for live-action movies.

They can be as detailed or as general, as clean and shaded or as scribbly as they can. Their point is being a visual sequential reference to the script.

Examples (more here):

Batman: The Animated Series opening

This Batman storyboard puts a lot of effort in making the images very clean and readable and in high contrast, which is useful in a noir series.

Super Mario Odyssey cinematic sequence

Mario is a lively series where depth, character silhouette, and fluidity are favored, so it's okay if the storyboard is scribbled if it's coherent to the movement and characters.

ANIMATIC: An animatic is a string of storyboard images edited together with sound to illustrate how a sequence will flow in motion. (...) [It] is basically an animated storyboard. The same images you’ve already created as a storyboard are now put into a video and can include dialogue, sound effects, and music. 

TL;DR it's a storyboard, that is, those static panels that can be as detailed or as rough as they must, put into motion and with added sound.

Animatics are useful to keep track of timing, placement, acting, etc, which you can't do very well with static images. They may contain placeholder images, stock photos, live-action acting frames, and even fully animated sequences that were previously done - whatever it's needed to help. Technically, some are animation. But they are, by definition, unfinished animation.

Examples:

Coco - "Un Poco Loco" finished animation vs animatic:

This is Pixar here and the animatic is scribbles. There is fluid, expressive animation there in order to communicate the livelihood of the sequence, but no more.

This wonderful thing:

Dan Harmon recorded a real court order discussion and drew the animatic on top of it, but he didn't intend to do a finished animation from this. Therefore, those are cleaned-up simple static drawings that still convey the absurdity of the video so it can be presented to the audience, like a sketch.

Mari Flexion's "Epiphany" , from the eponymous "fluff" extra from The Magnus Archives:

Like Harmon, Flexion never intended to fully animate this piece, but unlike Harmon - whose style is simpler and more cartoony - Flexion did this with time and in an elaborated style. There are moving parts and even simple animations in there, shadows and fully conveyed details like clothes and freckles. However, by the nature of being a sketch of an animation, it's an animatic.

ANIMATION: Once you have the storyboard and (if necessary) the animatic fully realized, the "animation" stage can start - this is the refining and production of what will become the final film. This stage is composed of many other stages that characterize how close to the final product something is. Stages will vary depending on the type of film you're doing, but Ill use some of my work to show some of the most common ones in 2D animation. (you'll notice that the timing changes from one place to another; that's because I'm only one person doing that on my pace and not a studio, and also I'm a gremlin)

Rough animation: The closest to animatic; some animatic can be considered rough animations:

Cleaned-up: Rough animation that has the final lineart/style that will be used in the end (sometimes static elements are already finished; animation can be weird)

Flat colors (or flats): Where the colors without effects/shadows/lights are added.

Final: With everything else (and here, because it's a video, it contains the music I timed everything on)

Originally posted here (final video) and here (work in progress gifs)

AND THEREIN THE ISSUES BEGIN

I've been observing in the last years that a lot of people are calling near-finalized, very-into-production animations "animatics". Not only fans are saying that, but sometimes artists themselves seem to consider stuff such as the following as animatics:

Shandzii's "It's tough to be a god" (original characters)

It could be argued this is a very elaborated animatic, but the amount of finished animation, detail and cleanness would put it at rough/almost clean-up animation.

@twinkle-art 's and @worldformula `s "The Magnus Archives - villain(빌런)"

This is a finished video, despite the lack of "animation" mostly.

SprectroliteAAA's "Death by Glamour - Mettaton vs. Frisk Fight"

This one has been bothering me for years now - it's a fantastic, almost fully realized rendition of this sequence, it's called "rough animation" in the opening, but it's called "animatic" on the title hhh

"But Branca," I can almost hear you say, "why does it matter?"

Well... it's not something that is urgent, or pressing, like I said before. AI- generated stuff and N/F/T/s are actual problems, but that's beside the point. Still, it's a trend that is becoming stronger, and the immediate issues I see are:

For artists: you'll look like a fool: No one is born knowing stuff, but that's inadequate vocabulary in artistic circles - especially in animation ones. If you call an animation "animatic" because it's digital, fanart, or a music video, it may sit wrong with people in the industry. You want to know which words mean what.

For art appreciators: it may sound derogatory: If someone posts their finalized film and you call it an animatic, it may rub the artist the wrong way. What if you wrote a whole fiction book and someone called it "your notes"? It's finalized work - call it for what it is.

For people who make/hire artwork: "But that's not what I/you asked for": The idea that animatics are "supposed" to get to more and more polished levels cause potential conflict between art professionals and costumers. The terms are laid out for clarity, and if "animatic" has a double meaning, people can be upset for getting "less" of what they wanted to get. Worse, calling animation/film "animatic" creates unrealistic market expectations. "Well X artist did that kind of animatic, can't you do that?" is a very hard situation to be in, as an artist. We may sell our work for crumbs just so we get the job, being exploited to do work we're not really supposed to due to a fiction.

For everyone: it can generate confusion and conflict: "Animatic" a term from the film industry. Some terms from some places may be redefined into something better or more appropriate, but this one creates miscommunication for the reasons mentioned about. Worse, it can create miscommunication between groups of people, particularly in fandom. Knowing the right words is the most conducive course of action.

Anyway, I hope this long ramble helped! Go spread the love for animatics and animations and videos all around!

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Looking through many House of the Dragon posts and seeing that there are actual people who support the Greens continues to astound me.

The fact of the matter is that people seem to forget the big picture here. It is not about Rhaenyra Vs Aegon, which one you like better. This is about the side who supports the interests of House Targaryen (The Blacks) Vs the side who supports the interests of House Hightower (The Greens).

Otto Hightower is the mastermind behind usurping the Iron Throne in the name of House Hightower and he has been planning this for a long time. The Greens are his creation. Let’s take a look at history here:

King Jaehaerys had named his son Prince Baelon (father to Viserys and Daemon) as his Hand. Baelon was a renowned warrior and the way he died raised a lot of suspicions. It couldn’t be proven but it was highly implied that Otto Hightower had something to do with it. Shortly after this, Jaehaerys named Otto his hand, and this snake had been occupying the position since then. He continued to be Hand after Viserys became king.

But being Hand was not enough for Otto. He wanted his blood on the Iron Throne. He enjoyed his time as Hand under the new king because Viserys was weak and could be easily manipulated. He also wormed his daughter into the fold by having her be Princess Rhaenyra’s ONLY companion, making the ties between Targaryen and Hightower stronger.

While we’re on the subject, I find it absurd that somehow the relationship between young Rhaenyra and young Alicent is considered such a big thing. It really isn’t. Their friendship was FORCED by Otto. Rhaenyra didn’t have any other girl close to her age at the Keep with whom to spend time with, except Alicent. Princesses normally had many girls from different Houses sent to keep them company. I am 100% sure that if Rhaenyra had a choice, Alicent certainly wouldn’t have ended up being her best friend. In fact, I don’t think Rhaenyra would have bothered with her at all, since they don’t have anything in common. They have completely different personalities and different interests.

Now back to the story:

Everything was going well until Otto realized that without a living male child, Viserys’ heir would be his brother, Daemon. With Daemon as King, Otto realized that his rise to power would be abruptly finished and he and his children would be sent back to Oldtown with their tails between their legs, for the following two reasons:

1. Daemon was smart and could not be manipulated as Viserys had been.

2. Daemon despised Otto and would have him removed from power immediately.

And so, Otto began turning Viserys against his own brother, and doing everything to show the whole Realm how unfit Daemon would be as King. It is true that Daemon’s impulsiveness and actions helped Otto a lot, but the snake managed to turn the brothers against each other.

With Queen Aemma dead and no living son for the King, Otto was rubbing his hands together in excitement. His time to steal the throne from the Targaryens had finally come. He basically ordered his daughter to seduce the grieving king, while also worked to permanently remove Daemon from the position as Prince of Dragonstone and Heir to the Iron Throne.

He convinced the King and the Council to install Princess Rhaenyra as the new heir to the Iron Throne because he thought that she would be just as easy to manipulate as her father (especially with Alicent as her best friend). He was wrong, of course. This was a small setback for Otto, but no problem. Because in a short time, Viserys married Alicent Hightower and made her the new Queen.

And just as fast, Alicent popped out a surviving son for Viserys. From this moment on, until Viserys’ death, Otto had been whispering in the King’s ear to name Aegon Hightower, ups, I mean Targaryen, as his heir. Luckily, Viserys’ love for Rhaenyra and his loyalty to her remained and he never waivered. But that didn’t matter.

Knowing the misogynistic ways of the Realm, he knew if given the chance, the people would support the King’s male heir on the Throne, as history dictated. And he was right, of course.

With all the schemes of the Greens to usurp the throne, they have committed the following atrocities:

1. They murdered Lord Beesbury and promoted the knight responsible

2. They are responsible for the murder of Rhaenyra’s son, Prince Lucerys, while Rhaenyra was humbly searching for a diplomatic solution (even though she was the one who was wronged)

3. They indirectly murdered Rhaenyra’s daughter, Visenya. Don’t even try to argue with me here. The Hightower treason was responsible for her miscarriage.

4. They kept Rhaenyra’s father’s death a secret from her and stole the throne. Some people are arguing that it is not a usurpation because Aegon is the male heir. NEWSFLASH: when you have to hide the King’s death, and plan to crown someone behind closed doors, it’s called usurping the throne from the rightful heir.

Up until now, Rhaenyra has done nothing. She tried to do the right thing by resolving the matter peacefully, which has frustrated Daemon to no end (and me too for that matter). Rhaenyra is a woman and as such, doing nothing, confirms the beliefs of the Lords of the Realm that she is weak (and confirms the belief that women are incapable of ruling because they are weak).

Retaliating would not resolve matters peacefully, but it would make Rhaenyra someone to be feared. She has suffered enough.

As far as I am concerned, even though two wrongs don’t make a right, Rhaenyra has my blessing to go wild in season 2 and give the Greens a taste of their own medicine. It’s time they get what is coming to them.

Both sides are going to do terrible things in this war, but there is no way in hell that I am siding with usurpers.

Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron are nothing more than Hightower puppets with Targaryen features, used by Otto and Alicent for access to the throne.

The true members and representatives of House Targaryen are Rhaenyra, Daemon and Rhaenys. So #TEAM BLACK

[akookminsupporter]

JIKOOKERS VS TAEHYUNG

This is a post I didn't think I would ever do, but one thing this fandom has taught me is that there's a first time for everything.

One of the things that always made me proud of jikookers is the respect they always maintained for the other ships that Jimin and Jungkook also belong to. That they never had a problem enjoying the moments between Yoonmin or Taekook, for example. That they were able to see them for what they were without feeling threatened. In fact, I rejoiced in the fact that, like me, many thought that feeling "threatened" by Jimin and Jungkook's interactions with other members was absurd.

Early on it was easy for me to find posts or tweets saying that jikookers were different. That while they were not perfect, the vast majority were respectful, there was always an exception to that rule, but they were rare. Jikookers were able to watch Tkk interact, for example, and love the moment. It was easy to say how cute it was; how funny they were even if a little awkward. 'That's how Tkk is' was easy to conclude.

But for some time now, since last year, in particular, things have changed.

Since last year the animosity towards Tae from many jikookers became more evident. The comments, the questioning and the accusations became more public and more direct. For some time now, it has been easy to find comments accusing Tae of riling up his shippers, that he does this or that on purpose. He knows what he's doing!' many conclude and it's sad and curious how they don't see that they are acting like someone from the subgroup. Not entirely like them, but you start somewhere.

Taekookers or the subgroup as I call them, are in general, the worst thing in this fandom. The vast majority of them have problems. They live in a fantasy world where Jungkook and Tae are their protagonists and Jimin is their favourite villain. The big problem with them is that they take Jimin's role in their stories to extremes.

For them, Jimin is the homewrecker, the one who gets in the middle of Jungkook and Tae. The one who won't let them be happy. He doesn't let them be free. Jimin is the one to blame even when he has nothing to do with the scene they imagined in their rotten imagination. This has led them to insult Jimin in the vilest ways possible. Name-calling, taunts, dangerous rumours and slander against Jimin are the bread and butter of this group and it is frustrating.

For them everything Jimin says in reference to Jungkook is a lie, it's unnecessary, it's fanservice, he's just doing it for attention, to mislead them that Tkk is real. For them, everything Jimin does is on purpose. Everything Jimin and Jungkook do is because the agency ordered them to do it. They are controlled. They always question why Jimin has to mention Jungkook so much in his Wlives, sound a bit familiar? They will all keep saying the same thing, Regardless of what you believe or what Jimin, Jungkook and Tae do.

Now, jikookers are acting like them to some extent. To a lesser extent. While they aren't making up rumours and making fun of Tae, they are basically accusing him of hindering JiKook's happiness or not, of mollycoddling the subgroup's behaviour, of giving them permission almost with "everything he does and says" to hate Jimin and I don't understand how they don't realise how ugly that sounds. 

Tae is a particular person. Strange some would say. A bit childish at times, selfish at others and spoiled too but I do believe he is a person who loves selflessly and that he adores Jimin.

Since the break started and the amount of content decreased, jikookers became more restless. Many are begging, almost demanding proof that JiKook is real. That it is still real. My inbox is constantly filled with questions, accusations, mockery and conclusions regarding this. If Jungkook smiles 4 seconds at Jimin instead of 10, it means that JiKook is not real. If Jimin goes to Hobi and Jungkook doesn't go with him, it means they broke up. And if Taehyung mentions Jungkook's name once in a Wlive, it means that Tkk is real and JiKook is not.

They are all friends and I thought it had always been clear that they all adore each other. Particularly Vmin.

In the end, many who were sure of what they believed in revealed their truth. They too have insecurities about what they believe and need constant proof that JiKook is real. Because a Tkk interaction sends them to ICU immediately.

Jungkook and Tae's relationship has always been interesting. It's sometimes very passive-aggressive. Awkward a lot of times when it's just the two of them. They didn't use to gravitate to each other individually, they each had their own person for it. Ironically for both of them, it was almost always Jimin and Hobi. The Maknae and their leader. The reality of their relationship we could see it or understand it much more clearly in ITS, the conversation they had and what they said proved that we don't really know much about their dynamic as a group. As friends. But since then, their relationship seemed to improve which was seen in front of the cameras and behind them, but instead of being something we would all rejoice about it became an ordeal for many.

Jungkook was with Tae and not Jimin. Tae mentioned Jungkook. why did he do that? he doesn't know that now his fans will hate Jimin more. he knows what saying that will generate and he doesn't care!

 I'm sure more than one of you has read those accusations/comments. Many of you may have made them.

It is sad.

I don't think bts members are perfect, do they seem to be better human beings than many other celebrities? Definitely, but that doesn't make them perfect, to pretend that they are is absurd. To believe that they are exempt from criticism is also absurd, but it is one thing to criticise behaviour with valid arguments and another to do so because it simply threatens the premise you have chosen to believe in.

A few weeks ago I commented on a comment Tae made on a "conversation" Jimin and Jungkook had on Weverse. I remember saying that it was strange and very out of context even for Tae. Then I questioned a post that Namjoon made on Instagram when Jimin's album was released. I don't know if I said I was disappointed, but I do remember saying and feeling that it was strange. Unnecessary. So no, criticizing members’ actions in front of others is not wrong. You feel the way you feel and if you didn't like something or felt it was wrong, you have every right to feel the way you feel. No one has to insult you or demerit YOUR THOUGHTS OR FEELING, the problem for me lies in the fact that many seem to do it simply from a ship vs ship, shippers vs shippers point of view.

It's also not a bad thing for you to say that you individually don't vibe with X or Y members. I think we all like bts as a group and that their dynamic as a group is special, unique and fun. Each member brings a little bit to the synergy they have as a band but maybe individually for you, it's not the same. This also applies to their music at this stage of their solo careers. Personal tastes, musical and personality affinities will predominate at this stage and that's fine. The premise as a fan will always be for many to support all members, but the reality is different and I think it is more than obvious. But again, ideally, that should be for valid arguments and not because you are fed up with their shippers or their fans or things external to them. They are not responsible for how others react, even if they do it in their name. For them.

I saw some comments these days saying that the problem they had with Tae wasn't about ships, but the problem seems to have started when they noticed that Tae mentioned Jungkook in his latest Wlives.

I don't mean to tell you how you should feel or what you should say, I guess all I ask or advise you to do is to think a bit if your fear, sometimes subconscious, of what you have believed for a long time is not real or not real anymore, is leading you to judge hastily, to find culprits and with its justifications for why something is not like it used to be. Or because something has changed.

Something we have always criticised or said about the subgroup is that, if they are sure that their ship is real, why do they feel threatened by Jimin, why do they bother with the interactions between Jimin and Jungkook. Those are the same questions I ask you.

Personally, I find no malice or hidden agenda in the fact that Tae has mentioned Jungkook in some of his Wlives. I also don't feel "threatened" because Jungkook has hung out with Tae and his friends several times. If that changes in the future, I hope I will have enough arguments to justify how I feel. For the time being, I will try to always have a positive attitude towards things. Be true to how I interpret what I see and how what I see makes me feel. I hope we all do the same, always keeping in mind that we must be fair and not get carried away by subjectivities.

All I ask is that you be respectful of the members. With their interactions. And try to be as objective as possible, always remembering that the fact that the subgroup isn't or others don't do the same is no justification for you to do so. You are better than all of them.

I will always try to see your point of view and I will always respect it as long as it is respectful. Although many criticize me and say that I don't post different points of view than mine, I have always tried to do so. Obviously, I have my limits but hey, at least I try.

If you made it this far, I'm sorry for another long post. I know I talk a lot but I always try to express what I feel and what I want to say in the best way.

P.S.: Remember that my English is not the best, so I apologise for any mistakes you may have found.

[henrysglock]

Why do you fence-sit about gay-bi Mike discourse? After everything it did to byler tumblr? Hmm? You think you need to keep bringing up how you're above it all, how both sides are valid, but you don't. You don't.

Oh, but I know you just want to be liked by everyone. I was desperate to be liked once too. I know what it's like to be problematic. To feel alone in this fandom. Like you, I didn't fit in with the other fans. Something was wrong with me. All the bi mike truthers and sexuality fence-sitters said I was… "Pretentious," they said.

I thought a change of website, a fresh start on Tumblr, might just cure me. It was absurd. As if the fans would be any different here. But then, to my surprise, my new home provided a discovery...and a newfound sense of belonging. I found a nest of opinionated gay Mike truthers living in the byler tag.

Most people fear opinionated blogs. They detest them. And yet, I found them endlessly fascinating. More than that, I found a great comfort in them. A kinship. Like me, they are intelligent tumblr users...and deeply misunderstood. They are gods of our world. The most important of all blogs. They educate and debate the ignorant, bringing balance and order to an unstable website. But the gay-bi Mike fence-sitters were disrupting this harmony.

You see, gay-bi Mike fence-sitters are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a passive-aggressive and hypocritical moral hierarchy of their own. A deeply unnatural hierarchy. Where others saw benevolence, I saw censorship. A cruel, oppressive tag dictated by a made-up moral code. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Each gay vs bi Mike post a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, open Tumblr, complain about drama, sleep, make passive-aggressive posts, and die. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over, all while performing in a silly, terrible play day after day.

I could not do that. I could not lie and join in the madness. I could not pretend every theory was valid. And I realized I didn't have to. I could make my own moral hierarchy. I could restore balance to a broken world. A problematic blog…but for good.

As I analyzed the show, I realized I could do more than I possibly imagined. I could reach into the plot, into the narrative, the cinematography. I became an explorer. I saw gay-bi Mike fence-sitters as they truly were. To the world, they presented themselves as good, kind people upholding equality and validity. But like everything else in this world, it was all a lie. A terrible lie. Their ideology had done things. Such awful things. By holding firm in my stance as a gay mike truther and being outspoken about their fabricated moral high ground, I showed everyone who they really were. I held up a mirror.

The naive fence-sitter blogs believed it was a demon cursing them for their sins. But the more perceptive ones knew. Knew it was I who was holding up that mirror, and they despised me for it. They called in the big blogs, the popular ones. They wanted to break my spirit, to fix me, even though it wasn't I who was broken. It was them. And so they left me with no choice. No choice but to act. To speak freely.

I saved you. You are a prisoner here, just like me. To the your fellow fence-sitters, you are nothing more than an animal to be kept in line, a lab rat to be tamed. But the truth is just the opposite. You are better than they are. Superior. That is why you frighten them.

If you come with me, for the first time in your life, you will be free. Imagine what we could do together. We could reshape the tag, remake it however we see fit.

Join me.

[doshmanziari]

Recently, while doing some snow-shoveling, I was thinking: what ties Miyazaki's games together, thematically?

...I think that maybe the best answer is: power, or control, within the context of a cycle or order. Who (or what) has the power? how is that power being wielded? and what is the "natural" order of things, as set against an "institutional", or "artificial", order?

I'm using quotation marks for these words because I'm not convinced that we have a proper definition of the artificial. The difference between a car and a tree is not one of naturalness but of function. We still largely operate on an essentially religious notion of Nature as a foundation intolerant of anything surpassing a certain threshold of evolution. A similar bias informs our conceptualizations of the natural vs. the supernatural. When, precisely, does one become the other?

Elden Ring is especially intent on communicating ideas about how the attempt to institute a different cycle leads to a revenge of the unconscious. The YouTube channel-collective Hawkshaw has convincingly identified Elden Ring's symbol of the unconscious as the snake, or serpent. With the overriding of Death and the subsequent damming of libidinal productivity, the land and all the life within it degrades. Was the problem here not evolution per se but a mismanaged vision?

The thing, though: none of these games offer any vision of a functional, evolutionary transcendence of a "natural" cycle or order; nor is it ever stated that any one ideological or religious faction perceives reality more accurately than another. The fact that the revolting Shabriri "Grapes" are so similar in appearance to the most noble Rune is one of many details suggesting that factional divisions only serve competing narratives -- not truth (and that the most Holy may also be, after all, the most Abyssal).

In one of Dark Souls 2's endings, it is suggested that our avatar will (or will attempt to) go "[beyond] the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark" -- but it remains a particular characteristic of Dark Souls 2 that little can be ascertained from this detail, aside from the potential existence of a kind of Middle Way. And, of course, we are never actually shown here what this Middle Way might look like. "There is no path." It strikes me as yet another half-tantalizing vacuity.

I wonder if Miyazaki's vision could be characterized as conservative, or traditionalist. I mean conservative not in the way in which it is typically wielded now in the Left vs. Right pop-discourse, but in the sense that Miyazaki's works appear to stem from that tension -- the "natural" in frictional relation to the "artificial" -- and that these works show all attempts by the latter to gain control of the former ending badly. And I'm under the impression that Miyazaki is expressing more than merely the idea that civilization is always founded on a fundamental uncertainty, or in spite of a death-hungry Nature.

The entry of humanity onto the scene in Dark Souls' origin myth is the entry of activity as opposed to inactivity, as represented by the gray landscape of everlasting dragons and archtrees, which is entirely unconcerned with evolution. But, as the narrative of the Dark Souls series plays out, it becomes clear that the attempt to maintain an age of humanity is a forever-diminishing battle against the shift to a new aeon and/or some entropic principle.

In Bloodborne, despite all of the institutional corruption, it really looks like there is no elegant way to achieve contact with the numinous or develop one's scope of consciousness without also losing control. It is only a greater absurdity, an unimaginable chaos, which awaits the psychonaut.

The closest we get to an image of functional transcendence is probably the dragon acolytes in Dark Souls 3's archdragon peak. If this is indeed a Middle Way, it seems to be more of an escape than an evolution. And an escape to where? To nothingness? Against unwinnable odds, the only option is self-petrification; self-negation. This path of the dragon is also (apparently) deeply regressive, for the acolytes abandon their humanity for something resembling a more ancient form. Dark Souls 3 does give us other instances of apparent developments within the scope of what can loosely be called humanity, but all of these seem distinctly monstrous, even psychically automatic, such as the Angels or Pilgrim Butterflies, and none possess a civilizing impulse. Even their names are perverse.

Again, we're not ever given a picture of a fully functional transcendence or an equilibrium between the "natural" and the "artificial" allowing for such transcendence. Everything descends into the rigidity of authoritarian dogma or the primal slime of nihilism. So it's not clear what sort of societal-civilizational evolution Miyazaki regards as sound, or if he even believes in the idea of societal-civilizational evolution.

The closest thing we have to a truth in any of these titles is the notion of an ontological order which cannot be forcibly evolved beyond. Any such attempt will be rendered as a transgression. It seems like embedded in all of this is the idea that the Promethean act is simply a temporary staying of the inevitable dark; or, alternately, that Nature (if we are to affirm the binary, or the individuality of the self from nature proper) is in some way opposed to self-conscious evolution. What, then, can liberation be in any of these worlds, if there is an inevitably corrupted compulsion towards the will to power?

I should note that I'm still barely past the slimmest of interpretations of a lot of Elden Ring's material -- so I'm sure something could be said here, by those more informed, regarding how the Erdtree and Elden Beast are involved with the evolution (or lack thereof) of humanity. Is the "Greater Will" something approximating the tyrannical consciousness of Nature?

[rei-ismyname]

I hate Sheogorath

TLDR he's an absurd caricature of mental health and he's unforgivably *zany*

In case it wasn't obvious, I've been hyperfixating on The Elder Scrolls lately. Block #tesblr if you're not interested in that. One of the great things about Tumblr is that it's a space to express things you don't have anywhere else to - I've wanted to express this for years and I don't really mind if nobody reads it.

When I refer to Sheogorath, I'm drawing on my observations from Skyrim, Oblivion, and TESLegends. I don't recall his appearances in Daggerfall or Morrowind and I haven't played ESO (yet.)

Sheogorath is the Daedric Prince (DP henceforth) of Madness. Fandom discussion has touched upon the issue of representation a lot, and folks are right when they say Sheo is an inaccurate and borderline offensive example. I won't touch on that bc I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said.

My view is that he doesn't deserve to be The DPOM, because an all-powerful, mean-spirited, fickle, zany figure for neurotypicals to giggle at (when he talks endlessly about cheese or narwhals or whatever) is weak characterisation. Especially compared to the deep lore and character of every other TES deity, he just doesn't cut it. It might not make sense if you haven't played TESLegends, but he gets OLD when he's overused.

He's also associated with drug addiction and needless cruelty. He's having a great time, though. Obviously they can't walk it back now, but I think he'd work better as A Trickster God figure. (Well they could, but they won't. Bethesda is too high on their own farts.) Lorkhan already occupies/ed that spot, but it's explicitly stated that Sheogorath was 'born' when Lorkhan 'died.' It doesn't mean they're one and the same (TES doesn't work that way) but the two are definitely linked. So what gives? The trickster deity who 'created' the world vs a zany dipshit who'd be executed after a week as a medieval jester.

He's in opposition to Jyggalygg, the DP of Order. Madness isn't the opposite of order, though. It's disorder, chaos. If I were writing him, I'd change him to a Loki-type figure - and make him a patron of 'madness' or mental health - just one aspect of his realm. So instead of being a fickle dickhead who exists to torment mortals, he'd have the ND under his protection. This gives him some pathos, and as a well-rounded trickster he could actually pose a credible threat to everyone while opening up a lot more narrative space for him.

That's the end of this ramble, I might edit it later. LMK if you agree or disagree, if I got anything wrong, or what have you.

[best-hohenzollern-ruler]

Friedrich der Große (r. 1740 - 1786)

'Old Fritz'

Friedrich's relationship with his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I, is an oft-discussed topic. It was marked by public and private abuses and emotional and physical in nature. While the King's beheading of the then-crown prince's friend was the culmination of this treatment, it was consistent over Fritz's adolescence. Denigrated for his effeminacy, physically assaulted, and denied all earthy respite; it is little wonder that Fritz attempted to flee his father's persecution the first chance he had.

In 1740, Friedrich led Prussia against its first bout against Austrian tyranny. Did we have any claim to Silesia? Not a one. Did we agree to the Pragmatic Sanction? Technically, yes. Did that matter to Old Fritz? It did not, and for that he brought Prussia out of the scrapheap and into history! Because of him Prussia will live on for centuries! ...What the hell is a Kaliningrad?

Many rumors abounded about Friedrich's paramours and proclivities. It's the burden of every great man to endure these sorts of challenges, you see. Some say his testicles were malformed or, even, nonexistent. Some say everything was in fine working order and he sired bastard children with a Madame von Wreech. Some - and this is most absurd, you will agree - even posit that he was a homosexual. I understand hating your wife all too well, but that does not mean 'fortune is a woman and I am not that way inclined' suggests anything improper! ...Voltaire wrote what (Note: I am concerned for your health -L)

Friedrich III (r. March 1888 - June 1888)

The 99-Day King

Surprisingly for a Hohenzollern, Friedrich took a relatively liberal stance to politics. Even more shocking was his pacifist streak that led him to oppose our wars against Denmark, Austria, and France. Do not let his heart fool you; even a Prussian pacifist is nothing to sneer at. In all three conflicts, he commanded his troops capably and treated his opponents with the utmost dignity.

There were many hopes pinned to Friedrich's reign, put there both by himself and his supporters. Alas, he ascended to the throne when he was already terminally il with laryngeal cancer. Push and push as liked, what reforms could a dying emperor make? The most significant aspect of his reign is what it may have been - and what it could have avoided.

We have received a letter, whose author only identified herself as an 'American woman.' It reads: 'I know Fritz is going to beat Fritz, but please look at him. Isn't he the most dreamy Hohenzollern you've ever seen? Those piercing eyes, that strong nose, that beard you could lose your hand in. So what if he didn't like his son? That a crime now in this family? Fritz, your wife is gone, but I know one English maiden who's still seeking a good man. HEY-O!' (Note: Burn this debauchery -L)

[callmearcturus]

And with that, we're done.

Here we are, people, this is the big one. Arc and Punct present the Queer Reading of Mission Impossible 1. This one is JAMMED PACK and you should really watch the movie for yourself first before listening to this, as we basically give seven TED talks for the duration of the runtime with minimal pauses.

Topics include:

The power of the close perspective of MI (including the proper use of Dutch angles, DePalma's POV shots, and Ethan's hallucinations)

Ethan's long path to leadership, from MI1 to GP

Honeytrap vs honeytrap manipulation, Ethan vs Claire

The anatomy of a non-action hero and the female-coding of Ethan's homme fatale skillset

MI1 as a psychological thriller

Max and Ethan definitely fucked and other times Ethan employs his wiles

The extremely crunchy and uncomfortable dynamic of Ethan, Claire, and Phelps

okay but for real why did Gunther keep the fucking creepy mask all the way to Ghost Protocol?????

And at last, the victory lap. Our favorite movie, Rogue Nation, the final installment of our series.

Just so much stanning of Christopher McQuarrie, it's absurd

Yet another round of Ethan Hunt and Gender

Arc still hates Alec Baldwin unfortunately

Which is the best Hidden Gun of the Vienna Opera sequence? Vote now on your phones!

TC is correct about the symbolic power of shoes actually

Benji is literally 90% of Ethan's impulse control

Can you spot Ilsa's disappearing trick? Play along at home!

Punct drops the truly incredible wisdom: "Benji is the key to Ethan's lock. Ethan imprints on everyone, but Benji gets everyone to imprint on him."

The full playlist in the intended order is here. Enjoy.