#and i'm not nearly as invested in it anymore. but i'm not gonna act like they can't tell stories lol

[thenixkat]

i'm pretty sure this is the clone of Guy. That's doing this. But like its not that far outside of Guy's normal behavior in this series

the space cops says that Earth is uncivilized if they're letting vigilantes run around killing people as obstructing justice. It was planning to make sure that the alien criminals got tried for their crimes

space cops said fuck this planet, they're out and they're taking their prisoners

in this case they're gonna go try to arrest their fellow hero gone killer. Which is better than the Batfamily just being willing to let Jason just be on the streets killing people rather than do time for his crimes

Guy's been a belligerent aggressive asshole this whole series that has attacked people for little to no reason and has threatened to kill people. This isnt that far from the normal behavior he's displayed in this series

Booster, Ted literally just got out a damn coma from getting his head smashed into shit, yer lucky he built you a suit in anything resembling less than a year. Also you should be concerned about if the suit is safe to use, that's yer life dude

and Booster getting on Ted's ass for preferring to act as support for now since he nearly got killed/was put in a coma. Like, not everyone is as invested in being a hero as you Booster. Also, yer supposed friend is going through it rn stop fucking negging him

a real friend wouldnt try to pressure their friend into doing something that terrifies them just because other people supposedly need them

like, if Ted's heart isnt in it, it'd be bad for everyone on the team if he were on the field b/c he could become a liability

and just Ted gets negged and guilt tripped back into his costume by Booster and that frustrates me immensely Booster Gold 🤝 Oracle/Barbra Gordon -> Ted we know you want to retire and yer heart isnt into heroing anymore but you have the capacity to be a superhero so we're gonna neg and guilt trip you back into costume and putting yer life on the line instead of letting you be hero support like you want to be

very much not examples of good friends

Ice's brother put on pants after becoming king so he's somewhat more dressed

there;s something off about the proportions in this panel

ah the thing in comics where everyone insists that murderers are insane b/c normal people wouldnt kill people. B/c that's a great mindset

just every time I look at that new costume on Booster it looks like such a bad design. Exposed wires on something someone is supposed to fight in? really?

the real Guy shows up but like he's not that much better than the murderous fake

yeah Guy's not that different from his clone. But also how long has they Guy we've been following been a clone?

folks believe the Guy that showed up with the gun to shoot the Guy that they already had detained is the real Guy. But like, yall can just arrest them both, they're both menaces

there's a group of aliens taking over star systems by kidnapping the local Green Lanterns and replacing them with clones

where did Ted get a flying car on short notice?

Guy does explain what the fuck was going on after

[potatoesandsunshine]

they really do get me with this show i'm constantly almost done with watching it and then they get me back in huh

[holyshit]

Care to spare some advice on how to not be so affected by things without stepping back from fandom for multiple years lmao? It seems like for so many people, the longer they have been here, the easier it is for them. For me it's the opposite. The longer I'm in fandom the sadder and more frustrated I get that hl's situations are what they are 12 years on. And then I get frustrated with people who act like where they're at now is no big deal or sooo much better than before. It's a cycle lol.

hmm, i think it's tough because a lot of the things that helped me are most easily achieved by distancing yourself because that's the easiest way to gain perspective about the situation. when you’re actively in it, it’s much harder to break out of patterns you’re accustomed to. but i think the main "lessons" i learned from being away were essentially:

1) recognizing my own powerlessness in their situation. being away made it especially clear that my presence in the fandom does not affect anything. i am not able to change anything about their situation. if i continued being in fandom for those 4-ish years that i was away from fandom, the situation would still be exactly the same as it is now for them. i cannot give up my own happiness for something i cannot change.

2) similarly, the need to dismantle the parasocial relationship i had with them. it’s one thing to feel compassion for human beings you don’t personally know- that is a wonderful trait and important for the world! but, it’s another thing to feel like you “owe” anything to a celebrity you do not know personally and who does not even know you exist. sometimes, when you’re in deep, it almost feels like you would be “failing” them by not being angry enough or invested enough. that’s where it gets unhealthy, because the relationship of a fan and a celebrity is one-sided, and therefore, again, it comes down to the fact that you can’t give up your own happiness for something you cannot control in the life of a celebrity you do not personally know. no one owes a celebrity they like their mental well-being, no matter how much you feel compassion for them.

3) the recognition that fandom is supposed to be fun. it’s obvious, but sometimes it becomes less clear the deeper you get that some of the things you think you’re doing for fun aren’t actually that fun to you anymore lol. obviously nearly any interest is gonna make you angry or sad occasionally (your sports team loses, your fave character gets killed off in your favourite show, etc), but if your resting state is anger or sadness, it’s maybe not in your best interest to continue, or you need to change the way you interact with said hobby. your hobby shouldn’t be making you miserable, as that is just gonna bleed into the rest of your life.

SO, for actual advice that doesn’t involve leaving for years:

taking short breaks! you don’t have to take years away to still give yourself some space from the fandom. it can be a day, a week, a month, or even just cutting down on the amount of time you spend on tumblr (or social media of choice) in general for a while without leaving completely. when i feel like something is getting me riled up a bit more than usual, i usually step away for even just a day, and even just that calms me down and gives me perspective. if you want to take a break but still want to know what’s going on, you can also just pick one or two blogs that you know don’t post much drama and solely pay attention to those blogs while you’re away.

enriching your other hobbies. take some of the time you would normally spend reading shit in this fandom, and use it to do something else you enjoy. the more time you spend “away”, even if you still are in the fandom, the less critically important everything will eventually feel in your brain and it will often be easier to detach emotionally. when you’re unhappy in other parts of your life, it’s much easier to let one thing “take over”, and it’s important to make room for other things in your life.

if you feel like you need a hyperfixation of sorts, i’d say try out different fandoms. watch that show your friend told you they know you’ll love and then try to make a sideblog or something and join the fandom. join a fandom of a piece of media you already love but never was involved in fandom for. again, it can help you distance yourself emotionally a bit without leaving entirely

figure out what parts you ACTUALLY enjoy in this fandom, and figure out what parts you may think you enjoy but are actually making you more anxious/obsessive/angry/upset than anything. as a personal example, i used to be heavily into theorizing back in 2015-2016, especially during babygate. i would be obsessed with reading up on everyone’s theories about when babygate would end, how it might end, etc, and would spend a lot of time reading about it. i thought i enjoyed it at the time, but in reality it was more of an obsession that made me much more upset than i had to be. reading up on theories, getting my hopes up, and then have them not happening was miserable and not worth it and ultimately lead me to leave the fandom

similarly, try to break some of your fandom habits and see if you’re happier without them. as another personal example, i used to pay extreme attention to stunt stuff and wanted to be 100% caught up on everything at all times. as a byproduct of that, i would keep up with every post a couple blogs that talked about stunts would make. when i got super busy with a work project, it forced me to take a break from this because i didn’t have the time to keep up with everything, and breaking that habit of needing to know EVERYTHING and be totally caught up made me snap out of the habit and recognize i didn’t need that to enjoy my time in fandom, and in fact it took a weight off my shoulder and made me realize it wasn’t actually making me happy.

unfollow blogs that make you upset!!! even if you like the person, if they talk about things that get you riled up or upset often, it’s likely not worth it. if you hate-follow people to keep up with their opinions that piss you off, unfollow! if you’re stewing in anger all the time, it’s easier to stay unhealthily invested to your happiness’ detriment.

focus on things you CAN control. you can control your fandom experience. you can contribute to fan projects that make the fandom a better place and in some cases can positively contribute to l’s or h’s experiences (like the rainbow lights projects, for example). you can control how you interact with your fellow fans. don’t give all your energy to things that you cannot control.

lol this was an essay, but i think it’s an interesting topic and i hope it can help even a little bit!

[hms-no-fun]

so about the scene near the end of 8.3.1, when j and vriska are like "we dont share a head anymore, we're real!". essentially it has me worried for some implications that could come across as really not great depending on how it plays out. i don't think it will be because you've done an excellent job so far i am just a bit nervous and wanted to let you know that it could be concerning if handled poorly and to ask about how you do intend to handle it if you are at liberty to say.

there's a couple things i want to say in response to this, and they will probably come across as harsh, so first of all i just want it stated for the record that i 100% understand your concern here. this is a sensitive, personal subject that would be very easy to fuck up, and i know a lot of folks are really invested in this story and don't want to see it turn into another thing they resent for getting it wrong in some way. i've watched this happen countless times to art that i was really invested in. i've felt that disappointment and i want nothing more than to avoid that in the case of godfeels.

(this is a long post so i'm gonna put a break here, some spoilers follow for godfeels 3 part 1 chapter 8 act 3 [1/2] lmao)

i'll agree that J and vriska saying "we're real" upon having physical bodies is maybe weirdly mixed messaging compared against J's personal realization of "i'm real." this is something i stared at on the page for a while, because i knew the implications, but i couldn't really come up with a better way to phrase it that didn't involve a much lengthier conversation that felt totally out of place given the circumstances. to my mind, it makes perfect sense that there would be two separate colloquial uses of the term "real" here. when J says "i'm real," it's a statement of personal agency and an affirmation that they do exist as an independent entity. when J and vriska on the beach say "we're real," they're speaking to the fact that they have physical bodies and are separate from one another in a way they've never been before. having them say, instead, "we have bodies" maybe would be clearer for the reader, but it just didn't feel in character to me. maybe it could have been "we're real! i mean, real real!" but i think if anything that would just make your fears even worse. i elected to keep the text as it was published because i felt the context of the rest of the chapter resolved these questions in a much more satisfying way than a simple conversation ever could.

this is, to an extent, why i originally wanted to release chapters 8.3.1 and 8.3.2 within a couple days of each other, because despite its length 8.3.1 is still functionally the middle of J and vriska's arcs. there are a lot of unresolved questions on the table right now and i recognize it's probably a lot harder to appreciate what 8.3.1 is doing when there is this big cliffhanger that we've been stuck on for nearly 60,000 words. it's just unfortunately true that real-life circumstances made it impossible for me to get the last part of this chapter finished in the timeframe i wanted to, and i knew it would be difficult for folks to be left with SO MUCH uncertainty after all the dread i've been invoking for a solid three weeks now. so i can only imagine how all of that could make this uneasy feeling about J and vriska being physically "real" that much worse. and i have sympathy for that! i really do.

but also, i can't say i super appreciate being questioned on my intentions like this. because essentially what you're asking me is "are you planning on doing good representation?" and i just don't believe that there's a way for me to answer this question that will satisfy you. the work will speak for itself when it's done. but i have said multiple times in multiple places that i am looking at this as a plural story, and i've reiterated multiple times in multiple places that i've very explicitly considered these concerns long before this chapter was released. i don't know how many different ways i can vaguely assuage your fears before it feels like what you really want is for me to just tell you what happens, as if you have a right to that information on the basis of anxiety alone.

i know this story means a lot to you, i know you just want it to be the best it can possibly be, and i know you want to make sure i don't wind up tripping over myself in the execution. but the thing is that i am not accountable to your concerns. i never have been, and i never will be. i certainly, 100% take those concerns into account, because i don't want to tell a story that inflicts harm accidentally. but i am not aiming to tell a prototypical narrative in any way. the model of transness i showed in gf2 was not meant to be THE model of transness, just my perspective on it. in the same way, the model of plurality i'm showing in gf3 is not meant to be THE model of plurality, just my perspective on it. chapter 8.3.1 was not 40,000 words because i wanted to appease my plural readers. it was 40,000 words because i was reckoning very directly with the psychological reality of my own headmates, and the damage we knowingly/unknowingly inflicted upon each other over the years before i/we recognized our plurality for what it was. which is a thing i feel like i shouldn't have to say!! i really hate toting out the "actually i've suffered so it's okay for me to make challenging queer art" excuse. the work should speak for itself. i'm willing to talk about the art forever, as should be BOUNTIFULLY obvious at this point, but this kind of thing? i don't like talking about my own plurality in public, but i feel like doing so is the only way i can convey the seriousness with which i am treating this story. and that fucking sucks!!! i really just don't appreciate the extra pressure to "get it right." i already knew the pressure was there. you aren't telling me something i don't know by asking this question.

if anything, it feels like a threat. and i know that's not how you intend it, anon. but i have been on this roundabout more than enough times to know where this line of reasoning leads. what happens if i do disappoint you? what happens if you feel utterly betrayed by this work that has helped to define some brilliant piece of you? do i then become the next enemy, the next andrew hussie, the next queer traitor whose name is hissed in hushed tones with derisive vitriol? "she came so close, and then she fucked it all up..."

this exact pressure, from this exact fandom, has literally derailed the lives of several of my closest friends for years. i have watched AND personally endured harassment campaigns both for homestuck fanworks and for discussions around the text of homestuck itself. i almost abandoned godfeels outright last year because i was convinced the joy i felt in telling this story could never be outweighed by the sheer possessive monstrosity with which vocal sections of this fandom treat anyone who tries to do something different. especially if that "something different" involves messy queerness.

to put it as frankly as i can: i do not care about good representation, and i never have. if i cared about good representation, i would have made june exactly the bubbly best-case-scenario post-transition gal that a lot of fanart depicts. if i cared about good representation, i would just have june be plural and immediately start using plural terms and go about it in a very safe and conventional way (insofar as any depiction of plurality can be called "conventional" at this point).

the only thing i, as an artist, have ever cared about is whether my art is telling the truth. if it's not, then it's worthless. if it is, then i believe that accusations of "good representation" will naturally follow, because on the whole i think most readers (especially queer ones) know when you're lying to them. this story has always been rough, traumatic, and challenging, entirely because it is an expression of my own rough, traumatic, and challenging experiences both as a trans woman and now as a plural trans woman. what i care about is making sure that this story is and remains undeniably itself.

and i just don't think that is possible in an environment where i'm also being pressured -even in a well-intentioned way!- to tick the right representational boxes in order to satisfactorily avoid criticism of x y z depiction.

and look. if the last part of this chapter comes out and utterly beefs it, we can talk. i've deliberately not educated myself on a lot of existing plural models because i wanted this to be something that was mine, but it's entirely possible that in the process of that i will end up stumbling over some harmful trope that i didn't know anything about. but fundamentally, my decision to put plurality on the center stage in this narrative was not a "oh i have a lot of plural readers so i should pander to them" situation. i decided to put plurality on the center stage in this narrative because i realized it was always on the center stage, and i was just in denial about it. i would not introduce anything to the universe of this story out of a sense of obligation or fanservice or whatever else. i did this because i believe in it, because i believe it is an honest part of this story that expands and enhances the palette of what already exists in beautiful and unexpected ways. i don't take that lightly. i don't take the responsibility i feel as someone who has, in a very real sense, stumbled ass-backwards into being the steward of what i guess i have to acknowledge at this point is, in some sense, "an important work of plural fiction" lightly.

i know, maybe better than most people, what's at stake here. reminding me of what's at stake only makes me more nervous, thus making my job (which isn't even a job since i literally can't get paid for godfeels) that much harder. so please, just have patience and let me finish this corner of the narrative, and when it's done you can judge it for what it is.

[deniigi]

I had to slow down on reading this term (18 credits, final term!) not I've had some time to catch up. I'm REALLY getting invested in this Murderdock & Gwen universe with Sam's mom appearing. You're full of excellent ideas and I'm SO glad to have found your work!

Wes!! You’re gonna finish! You’ve got this!!

ohohoho yes I love this setting. It’s so complicated and layered. 

Here’s a snippet from a practice piece from the other day where Murderdock keeps taking Sam to museums and shit thinking that these are important and appropriate experiences for him to have, while really having no clue what Sam’s interests are.

———-

“Maybe an art museum,” Matt said. “He doesn’t give a shit about art.”

“Matt,” Foggy said, “Maybe it’s the culture thing that’s not working here.”

Matt considered him sternly.

“He doesn’t have to grow up like us,” he said. “He’s allowed to do shit. It’s cultural capital, Franklin.”

Right. And Foggy got that but—

“If he doesn’t know how to act in these spaces, how’s he supposed to work among these people? You can’t infiltrate shit if you can’t move through it like a reasonable person.”

There it was.

“Matt, this isn’t a training exercise,” Foggy said. “And Sam’s six. He needs something age appropriate that interests him.”

Matt tapped his foot irritably.

“What does Elektra do with him?” Foggy asked.

“The games,” Matt said dismissively.

“Which games?” Foggy pressed.

“The Pokémon games,” Matt clarified. “The obnoxious ones. On the phone.”

“Okay, so then—”

“Absolutely not,” Matt said. “The world is not digital. He must have experiences.”

“Matt, it’s not training, remember?” Foggy reminded. “The object here is fun.”

Matt’s processing stalled. He cleared his throat and tucked his hands back against his ribs.

“Obviously,” he said. “Of course it is.”

Foggy didn’t believe he understood for a second.

--

  Captain Stacy was surprised when Foggy swung by to collect Sam for yet another of Matt’s weekend social experiments. Matt was determined that this time would not fail. He’d left no room for failure in these plans. He was going to take Sam to the Natural History Museum because, and Foggy was quoting here, “Kids love rocks and shit.”

“I’m kind of amazed that he’s so dedicated about this,” Captain Stacy said. “Wouldn’t have pegged him as a family-man.”

“Oh, he’s not,” Foggy said. “He’s just taken it as a personal affront and now refuses to be out maneuvered by a six-year-old.”

Gwen giggled. Foggy was glad she was entertained by his suffering.

“I literally don’t know what to tell him anymore,” Foggy admitted. “Sam’s got such varied interests, it’s hard to know how he’s going to respond to something. We lost him for nearly an hour at the aerospace museum, I thought Matt was going to stab someone.”

Gwen giggled harder. Sam perked up to see what she was laughing at, and finding nothing, proceeded to fill her lap with markers and scraps of construction paper.

“Maybe he’s aiming too high here,” Captain Stacy postulated. “Maybe he just needs to do something with the kid that he enjoyed with he was young.”

Oho.

Ohohoho.

That was excellent advice, no doubt. But see, Captain, Matt had what social workers tended to call a ‘troubled youth,’ by which Foggy meant that he had a fuckload of trauma that he was blocking out filling the space between him now and his memories of pretty much anything before the age of twelve.

“I don’t think he enjoys things,” Foggy said instead.

Gwen cackled this time. George Stacy tried very hard not to laugh with her.

“Then that’s your first problem,” he said.

--

  “Matt,” Foggy said, watching him chase Sam away from the crepe batter for the third time.

“What?” Matt demanded nastily.

“He likes this,” Foggy said.

Matt scowled at him and jerked violently just as Sam peaked out from around the kitchen doorframe. The sound of little feet tearing away from the threshold and into Matt’s room followed.

“Likes what?” Matt demanded.

“This,” Foggy said. “He likes you playing with him.”

“I’m not playing with him,” Matt snapped. “I’m trying to feed him.”

Foggy had to hide a smile, just in case Matt could somehow hear him making it. It was too late, though.

“What face are you making?” Matt demanded.

“None,” Foggy said.

“You’re making a—listen, you—”

Sam scrambled away before Matt could catch him.

Matt vibrated in fury. Foggy couldn’t quite swallow the laugh. Matt stiffened and sought him out with a snarl.

“What is so funny?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Foggy lied sweetly.

“I’ll kill you.”

“I’m sure you will,” Foggy said.

—-

they’re all BAD AT THIS.

I love them.

[pappydaddy]

Obx anon here lmao I hope you're not sick of me. 😭😂

I definitely agree the whole Kie vs her parents arc was very badly handled bc it made her seem more ungrateful than she probably is. I just really couldn't stand her this season, I mean she wasn't my fav character to begin with she definitely already had those moments in S1. I mean she was 80% annoyed with something this season sooo... 💀

I'm kinda surprised that so many ship her with JJ bc I got the impression from her she's rather their friend than be romantically interested in any of them. Like she mostly acts annoyed around JJ, for example in S2ep10 when they both stayed together in the ship container she literally rolled her eyes at him while saying "now it's only us" , so I'm sorry I can't really get on board with this when 85% of their interactions are like this. Or maybe it's just me because I love JJ so much and I think he deserves better idk please don't come for me. 😭 I can totally see her in a relationship outside the friend group plus it's super weird if she would go through every guy in her circle idk. The entire Pope thing was so unnecessary and I still hate her for playing him like that.

Dude I'm way too invested in this show I basically binged the entire thing in two days bc I refused to watch it until this year. I already knew this would happen based on the things I saw on the Internet and I didn't want to add another fictional white boy to my list of characters I'm hopelessly in love with, but here I am daydreaming about JJ Maybank like I predicted a year ago. 🙃🤦🏻‍♀️💀 (might fuck around and start writing fanfics for him bc I can't help myself)

Definitely a highlight of this season was JJ stealing a fucking ambulance bc ofc he would. Like he's so loyal to his friends my heart can't handle this 😭❤️ He definitely has Steve Harrington energy another white boy who stole my heart 😂🙃 I wish both would get more development as normal characters and are not treated as punching bags (literally) and comic relief characters.

I can't wait for season 3 and how this entire thing ends (I heard there will be only three seasons so correct me if I'm wrong). How the fuck will they escape from the island and when will the Camerons finally face the consequences for their actions? 🙃😬

Of course I'm not sick of you lovely! I love when you guys interact with me like this!

I get what you mean, I feel like the situation between Kie and her parents was handled poorly on both their parts, but I feel like Kie's faults were a bit (teeny) more excusable as she is a teen who thought her best friends had died and then had her parents tell her she couldn't hang out with her friends anymore. But overall, aside from her situation with her parents, Kie did annoy me in both seasons. I really hope in season three, there is more character development for her because she is a good character and has strong morals, but I just feel like she's a bit lost in herself. Which is a big reason I don't like her and JJ together. I just feel like they both have such strong personalities and they would only draw out the worst in each other. I also picked up on the things you pointed out about Kie acting annoyed with JJ and that's another reason I feel like they wouldn't be a good match romantically - more like a brother/sister kinda match would be better I feel. For next season, I would love for Kie to find another person outside of the main circle as well, I feel like that would not only be good for her character development, but it would be interesting for the plot since she is usually the person who doesn't like new people joining the group. And I know I said this before, but it would be great if she was LGBTQ+ because I feel like the writers could incorporate her past behaviours and such into the internalized anger she felt towards herself for being part of the LGBTQ+ because I feel like that is something many people in the community still battle internally about even if they are accepting and I know that a lot of bi people still deal with those feelings (spoken from experience).

My take on the Pope/Kie thing was that Kie knew she didn't like Pope that way. And even if, for a second, she thought she might like him that way, when he stopped her before they had sex expressing how he didn't want to do it if there was a possibility that it would mess up their friendship - she should have respected that and maybe they could have felt the relationship out a bit more before going all in. Especially because it was Pope's first time. I love Kie, I really do, I know it doesn't seem like it from this post, but I feel like the writers aren't doing her character justice. Just like Greys Anatomy destroyed Izzie's character.

Also, don't worry, I binged the entirety of season 2 in one day. Nonstop. I laid in bed for ~10 hours just watching the show because I worked 8 hours the next day and I knew I was gonna be too tired when I got home to watch it and I needed to finish it for my sanity. When I first started watching, I knew JJ was gonna be someone I fell in love with because he is the type I usually fall for, so I tried really hard to fight against it, but I am a white man's whore so I ended up losing. But Pope is my baby, I want to protect him and just save him from everything so it's not just JJ who I am in love with from the show. IF YOU START WRITING FOR JJ PLEASE SEND ME THE FICS I WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU! I ALSO HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING FICS BECAUSE THEY NEVER COME ACROSS MY DASH SO!

BUT 100%, START WRITING FOR JJ, THERE IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH OBX CONTENT ANYMORE! YOU WOULD BE AWESOME, TRUST ME, YOU HAVE A REALLY GOOD SENSE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS FOR JUST WATCHING THE ENTIRE SERIES IN TWO DAYS! IF YOU NEED ANY HELP REACH OUT!

And JJ def gives off more chaotic Steve vibes. Loyal, a little dumb sometimes, his heart in the right place, crappy parents, etc. It's pretty much a dead match. Even in between last season and this season, JJ had a lot of character development. He seemed more calm this season, he wasn't getting in fights every episodes. But, I agree, both characters def need more character development and to be beat up less.

I haven't heard anything about them being signed on for more seasons yet, so I'm not sure how many seasons there are going to be. But saying as though it's still in the top 10 and lot of people are streaming it, I feel hopeful that Netflix isn't gonna just cancel it like they love to do. I have a feeling that they might sign on for more than three seasons if the actors are willing (hopefully) since it is such a popular show.

I think they will probably pick up next season with a search being conducted, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Pope will figure a way to get them off or lure help to them. Maybe the coast guard will stumble upon them or Pope will do some cool shit to send a distress signal to them. But since this show is really realistic when it comes to the privileges that rich, powerful, white men hold, I have a sneaking suspicion that Rafe and Ward won't face the consequences for their actions, especially not if Rose continues to help them.

But, please, oh please, start writing for JJ and send me your fics, I would love to read them and support you! I started this blog and writing my fics just because I wanted to try my hand at them, but I also didn't want them cluttering up from drive. I just had so many ideas swirling around my head and I needed a place to put them. I have not regretted the decision to start this blog. It's been the best year. I found so many great people who are supportive, I found followers who are supportive and put up with my randomness and my rants about my life and family. If you need any help getting started, never hesitate to reach out. I would be glad to help you even if you just need a hype man.

[gronjon44]

Welp... here we go...

If you dont want spoilers then I recommend you skip this entire post because I do not respect this film at all to not talk about the shit that happens in this film.

⚠️AFTER THIS LINE ITS ALL SPOILERS⚠️

This films wants to be an emotional gut punch but it is so... I your face about it. Emotional beats are either predictable or just... they don't hit. And the ultimate sacrifice from Bhgs at the end while sad just doesn't hit anything. And the plot of "Oh the main villain manipulates the kid to go against his dad and the villain ultimately joins the rival team" is really predictable. And I know that in the end this is a film targeted to kids and thats fine. But this film felt like it was trying to be too hip and too aware (the entire joke about LeBron acting hip and the 'don't dab' comment is just not funny)

The jokes

The jokes in this film do not land for me, albeit 2 (the joke about Sylvestar grabbing Michael B Jordan instead of the actual Michael Jordan was ok and the fact Wiley Coyote was in Mad Max was really cool) ; most the jokes either fell flat or completely missed the mark (this film tried to be hip and modern with its humor and honestly it was more cringe than anything else.

Also idk if this was intentional or not, but can we stop making jokes about how companies are stealing our info and spying on us? We get it Zuckerberg is trash Facebook and other big companies are taking our personal info but seriously it does get old. Mitchell's vs the Machines was at least clever because it was about a big tech company abusing it's power. Space Jam: A New Legacy is about an A.I trying to make himself feel better cause he doesn't feel appreciated and is projecting his issues on a kid he cyberstalked for a whopping 3 minutes.

The Plot

The films Plot is predictable, short, and a around not engaging. The idea of bringing another pro basketball player to aid the Tunes in another wild game for their survival isn't the problem, it's the rest of the Plot that's the problem.

The first film had a simple enough Plot that worked really well (The Tunes have to win a basketball game against roided up aliens or they'll become Amusement Park attractions, and they need a bow retired player to hp them win) Its short and sweet and it works.

This film felt the need to overcomicate it by forcing a dramatic subplot into the fold which, can work. You can have a dramatic subplot while still being a Zany and fun film. But SJ:NL can't seem to decide which to focus on; it goes from zany and over the top one moment moment then gives you tonal whiplash when it jumps to the dramatic bits in the plot.

I genuinely think that this film would've benefited from focusing on the zaniness over the drama, since frankly that's always been the focus of the Looney Tunes

Loony Tunes: Back in Action and Space Jam 1 are two tonaly similar films but both have better comedy and each have their respective dramatic beats, though their both saved for the climax of the film.

LT:BIA and SJ1 both have they're own dramatic subplots (M.J makes the deal with Smackhammer to raise the stakes of the game and J.D has to save his father from the Chairman and his plans. The difference here is that these films, while adding a level of drama, don't let the drama overshadow what tnis film is actually about (the Looney Tunes)

SJ:NL let's the drama completely overshadow the actual Tunes and isn't really engaging (to me anyway)

Also I'd like to say that, while giving this film a video game feel was an interesting concept it just reminded me more of Pixels or The Emoni Movie (though this wasn't NEARLY as bad as the Emoji movie I'll say that)

That's something else about this film. It feels like one big advertisement for everything WB owns (much like how Emoji Movie was one big Smartphone ad) and while that isn't inherently a bad thing it can be a hinderence to the film as well (I wanted to watch the films that cameod in this film more than the actual film itself)

The Characters

Look this is the Tom and Jerry film again, we don't go to this film for LeBron and his fictional family (if some people do then that's fine) but most of us go to see the film for the Tunes and the cartoon asthetic, and there's plenty of that here. But I'd like to actually care about the human characters in this film frankly.

Let's just get this out of the way, LeBron is not a great actor. He tries his best yes but he is not a great actor in this film; he reminds me more of Vin Deisel when he acts (he has a voice yes but he doesn't act physically. It's like he's trying to have his voice match the film but his body isn't in tune with it.

Now I don't wanna hate on kid actors, they do what they can and they're kids. But listen this kid was not interesting at all, and id have rathered the film not include him (or very least make him more interesting other than the "Gosh Dad stop pushing your ways and beliefs onto me" archetype.

The Tunes are fine I have no beef with how they treated the Tunes (all for ONE detail)

The way thsi film treats the Tunes in this film bothers me on so many levels. "Send him to the Rejects" "Losers" The fact that they treat the Looney Tunes like they're some forgotten property is really unsettling to me. The Tunes have never been forgotten the notion that they ARE forgotten bothers me so much, regardless if it's a plot point for the film. The Looney Tunes are some of the most recognizable faces in ask of media, and I get this is supposed to be a "New School vs Old School" message like with the Father vs Son but my God I do not like how this protrays the Tunes.

Speaking of the rejects, let's talk about AL G Rythm.

My God this is the most uninteresting villain and his whole plan is so easy to spot from the start of the film. "Oh look at me, I have a bruised ego cause I feel unappreciated in my time and im gonna project my issues on this kid I cyberstalked while praying KING JAMES would bless me with his support." Holy shit my guy you have a bigger ego than Tony Stark and its more bruised than Bruce Wayne's back after Bane was finished. He is one of the most bland villains I've seen in awhile, and the Goon Squad is no better. The Goon Squad is nothing but cool designs and a refderence to more popular Basketball players (and yeah they're supposed to be cronies but at least make them cronies with personality; the Nerdlucks were funny, had personality, and were an integral part of the story (also the fact that they ACTUALLY HAD THE NERDLUCKS CAMEO in in film but they were rooting against the Tunes just... Ehhhhhhhhhh) And the Goon Squad was boring and didn't add anything say for AL G. stealing the kids algorithm to make his own team.

Also sidenote, them constantly calling him "King James" got really annoying really fast. Like we get you gave yourself that nickname, you're the current too NBA player rn and all that but you don't have to keep saying it my God.

Now what did I actually like about this film. Well quite a bit actually.

For starters, the animation was top notch and everything looked great. I thought the 2D models were a little odd at first (too shiny compared to the faded sleek of the original) but they grew on me. All the CGI models of the Tunes looked really great, say for Sam who just looked really weird to me (probably cause he loses his hat by the end and a CGI Yosemeti Sam without a hat just looks strange)

The Tunes also felt exactly how they should in a Space Jam film, Bugs especially. Yes Daffy was his usual comedic self and I like how they had him try and be the manager of the team instead of a player, and every other Tune was just as zany as usual; honestly of all the Tunes I'm genuinely impressed with how they treated Bugs (till the end)

Bugs was the most interesting to see in the film, wherein every character left Tune World except Bugs and he kinda became this Castaway parody (with his own makeshift Porky Pig dummy) and he was just really lonely and stayed true to the Looney Way and he just wants his family back. That entire subplot is the most interesting part of this film hands down; the only thing about Bugs's arc I didn't like was the end which was predictable, but i was still more invested in Bugs's arc than anyone else's.

Also when they showed the Tunes on the other WB worlds in the Warnerverse that's not the name ik but it's basically the Warnerverse the only Movie refferences that i thought were clever were Mad Max, Austin Powers, and Themyscira. And as much as it pains me to admit it the Rick and Morty Gag with Taz was probably the funniest of them, and I don't even like Rick and Morty anymore.

The Matrix was just eh, Yosemite Sam just didn't land, Game of Thrones was just not funny and I won't apologize. As far as the cameos/refferences in the end I'll say it again, I wanted to watch the movies and shows that cameod more than the film itself. I'm not gonna try to list them off but some highlights were seeing Gremlins, the Mask, every Tim Burton Batman villain/Adam West Batman, Thundercats, and Scooby Doo. Aside from that this was all just one big add for Warner Bros.

So I'm gonna try end this on a note that I know alot of people are gonna bring up or use to say shouldn't be brought up: Nostalgia.

Listen. This film has the same issue that alot of modern film reboots tend to have, which is the fact that it has to match the same hype as the film that came before it.

Now I'd like to say that this isn't gonna be a Power Point on reboots, God knows this is long enough as is, but the issue with alot of reboots is that they try to remake something that more often than not did the media justice the first time around. Robocop, Nightmare on Elm Street, Ghostbusters 2016, litterally every Disney L.A Remake. This isn't to say these films can't be good, or even surpass their predecessors. But more often than not they tend to miss the mark either just barely or drastically.

And here's the thing, this argument can also apply to sequel films that are following up an iconic film that for fhe most part is still very prominent in modern media.

Space Jam has, for better or for worse, remained one of the most iconic films every made, if not for its premise alone. And when they announced a sequel it was only inevitable that people compare it to the original because, let's face it, we want the new film to live up to the original.

We want this new shiny film to live up to the film we all knew growing up as kids and adults, seeing the Tunes on a basketball court for the first time back in the 90s. And frankly, this film did not do that for me.

This film, to me, wants to be what Space Jam already is. But it felt the need to try and thats the first step it failed; it wanted to be hip and aware and make loads of refferences to the original

This film has a similar issue to Ghostbusters:Answer the Call I think, where in it wants to stand on its own two feet, but jt cant help but constantly remind us of a much superior film. We know they've done this before you don't have to keep saying it "We need help with a basketball game Lola!" Been there! Done that!" "So you want me to help you win a high stakes basketball game? One that could very well decide both our fates? Hmmmmm where have I seen that before?"

This film is like that one kid in class who already proved he was right, and is still trying to prove he was right.

If you think this film is great and you enjoy it just as much as the original that's perfectly fine, I'm not gonna try to overshadow your opinions, I just want to share mine.

In the end, I'm gonna rate this film a solid 4/10 (and most of that 4 is the comedy and the animation and the Tunes themselves.) Can you watch this just for the Tunes? Absolutely. Can you like this film more than me? Also absolutely. Do I think this film would've been worth it if I'd have seen it in theaters? No not at all I'm glad I waited for HBO Max.

[frogsandfries]

"But he hasn't done anything wrong"

Alright, this post is probably going to be all over the place, but I'm just gonna go for it:

So a few months ago, when this friend I've been living with first insinuated that he could have a relationship with me or he could love me if he wasn't already in a relationship, whatever the specifics were, I asked something like, well then why don't you end it with her? He told me, because she hasn't done anything wrong. Which sounds like the biggest copout ever. He has me and I've liked his internet persona for ages, and most of the fighting we've ever done has centered around her, or spun out of some misunderstanding I would attribute to not wanting to have to communicate about her.

He acts like...... they're married or she knows something that keeps him tied to her. I don't understand why he will draw out a relationship when it's pretty well dead.

A few days ago, he said something to imply that the two times he can remember having sex with me, he was just going along with it. Which of course, brought back to mind his girlfriend relentlessly accusing me of being a rapist. Unless he said something to give her that idea--because if she thinks he's the type to be forced, coerced or taken advantage of, she doesn't know him nearly as well as she thinks. And she lived with him for almost a year.

Well, the other day, when I finally cracked and brought it up again, he said the two times that we've had sex here in his parents' home, his inhibitions were inhibited. He knows he doesn't want to cheat on her; he's not trying to hurt me by confusing me; and he's not interested in me reminding him that he's a cheater. But it's not bad sex, at least. And maybe I'm getting my hopes up a little, but perhaps it's sex he would enjoy having more often, if it weren't so guilt laden.

Random point: We'll actually probably be staying at his parents' house longer than we anticipated. His parents had a pretty big hiccup just Christmas Eve that's going to make things tricky for a while and their son, of course, wants to help them out. I'm not really sure how we're going to help since we still have our own big issues to sort out first. So even though we're really trying to be adults and keep our hands to ourselves, we are no closer to getting out of our close quarters.

I want so badly all the time for him to pull me close or kiss me or anything. I just want to feel acknowledged. I can imagine, more easily than I ever did with my ex, a whole future with this friend. His grandma suggests that we have things we aren't communicating. But I've told him. I told him a lot before we got here, when things were a little fuzzy for him; I've told him when I'm probably more intoxicated than I should be and I've told him when I'm half-asleep. I feel like I shouldn't press the matter anymore; especially because I really feel my feelings beginning to falter. He also has her until either he realizes that the relationship isn't growing or going anywhere, or she is done with him. And he's told me that he does like me in a way. But he wouldn't spell it out if he did because "his feelings don't matter". He treats his relationship with her like an obligation.

So the reason I bring up "he hasn't done anything wrong" is that one of his bandmates doesn't seem to be applying himself. It sounds to me that even though this guy is talented, he's not a good match for the group. I have a feeling that his time investment as well as his commitment to making strides with the group to grow as an artist are going to catch up with him as a member of that group. In other words, he misses more practices than the other band members, and the other band members, just as far as I've seen, are committed to studying and pushing themselves and each other.

And my friend says, as with his girlfriend, there's no reason to get rid of him, because he hasn't done anything wrong. But there's also no reason to keep someone in your life if you're basically white-lying to them all the time half out of pity or if the direction they want to go is totally and completely different from you. And I know that's rich coming from me, when I keep staying with someone who has hurt me repeatedly, regardless of whether we're just miscommunicating, or if it was malicious. It's also rich of me when I keep messaging a guy who wants to be friends and I keep it up to be nice because he probably needs friends, but he takes a lot from me emotionally that I simply don't have for him.

I know the band thing is none of my business; I just imagine the sooner they drop someone they don't seem to be entirely jiving with, the sooner they can build better cohesion; it may take some time to find the right replacement, but their losing time sticking to the wrong one. And the wrong fit may feel he's wasting his time and doesn't belong, and choose to leave anyway.

Anyway, it's frustrating because my friend always seems to say exactly what I want to hear and it feels disingenuous. I told him it seems a little manipulative and he was hurt by that. I rather doubt that's really his intention. My feelings are starting to waver, even in spite of stuff that seems to suggest he wants me to stick around. He's a good objective moderator of my health; he checks in which reminds me to be mindful of my emotional energy and physical wellness. When I suggested I need better communication, he made a good go of it. He tweaked his communications when I remarked that he was setting into mansplaining territory. As far as I've noticed, he's also started to wear his headphones while I sleep, cutting out one distraction.