#and not hated by very passionate lore fans as well

[ghostly-groves]

[pargolettasworld]

So, because I am incurably, morbidly curious, I watched Jessie Gender's four-hour-and-seventeen-minute-long video on . . . well, the title suggests "Zionism, Antisemitism, and the Left." To her credit, Gender does touch on all three of these topics, though not with the same degree of skill, graciousness, or understanding of the topics at hand. I've just had a very nice dinner, and I'm feeling generous, so let's see how this video stacks up. Strap in. This is going to get long.

I should admit right off the bat that I'm only a casual, occasional watcher of Jessie Gender. I'm not a deep fan, and I'm sure there is Jessie Gender Lore™ out there that I'm not aware of, but I think I've seen enough of her videos to get a general sense of her house style. This video hits a lot of the hallmarks of her style. She speaks very fast and very passionately, occasionally trips over her own words (something that I've done many a time, so I really do feel that), and is inordinately fond of nominalizations. She's especially fond of the word "ostracization," for some reason, which drives me nuts because "ostracism" is right there. So, in style, it appears to hew to the Jessie Gender House Style pretty well.

On to the video itself. The first thing I will observe about it is that it is in every possible way a meeting that could have been an email. There was no need for this to be the same length as the Extended Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). There's a lot of padding, significant digressions, and a certain degree of repetition. It's easy to forget the beginning of the video by the time you're an hour into the thing.

The major question that hangs over this opus is: Why, and for whom, was it made? I'm honestly not sure who the intended audience for this thing is, nor why Gender felt that she had to make it. She alludes in the first half hour to feeling like she's lost the trust and support of some of her Jewish fans/friends/acquaintances/Patreon patrons, and she chalks it up to a previous video that she made (which I have not seen, and which I am not inclined to seek out). But neither the structure nor the thesis nor the conclusion of the video seem like they would win back any of these folks.

I don't think that Jewish viewers are her intended audience -- certainly not with the way she talks about Jews throughout the video. I'm also having a hard time believing that really committed leftists are her audience, either, since I don't think she's really saying much that leftists haven't already heard, or offering new perspectives on her topic(s). And anyone who has made it this far into the year of 5784 and is still undecided about the contemporary iteration of The Jewish Question is probably not going to be interested in sitting through nearly four and a half hours of relentless lecture. So I'm still left wondering why, and for whom, did Jessie Gender make this video?

Gender assures us, her viewers, of several things that are meant to be reassuring. She's done lots and lots of research, for one thing. And she's asked some-of-her-best-friends-who-are-Jewish to be sensitivity readers. We're given to understand that we are hearing the nitpicked, edited, and polished version of the script. I'd hate to see what the first draft looked like . . .

She also tells us that there are going to be lots of Foreign Words And Names, and that she and her mouth-hole have A Hard Time pronouncing Foreign Words And Names. Her loyal staff have made her a pronunciation guide -- which appears to have been used perhaps as a drinks coaster, since there are some howlers here. The Jews originating from the MENA regions are the "Misrai" (Mizrahi) Jews, the first Prime Minister of Israel was "David Ben-Gron" (David Ben-Gurion), the Revisionist Zionist leader was "Zeeeeeeeeev Zarbinsky" (Ze'ev Jabotinsky), and the Palestinian uprisings of 1987 - 1993 and 2000 - 2005 go by the name "Infitada" (Intifada).

You know that phrase "If white people can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Schwarzenegger, they can learn to say [your name from an African or Asian language]?" I agree completely with the conclusion, but I question the premise. Jessie Gender makes me question the premise harder. If she had any real interest in the topic, she would have practiced those names, but I don't think she does, so she didn't.

Moving on to the actual content of the video. It's . . . weird. Jessie Gender begins the video believing that Zionism is an evil force for colonialism, White supremacy, oppression, and genocide. She ends the video believing that Zionism is an evil force for colonialism, White supremacy, oppression, and genocide. But along the way, she's confronted with quite a lot of inconvenient facts that threaten to complicate this perspective.

Gender devotes roughly two hours and fifteen minutes of her video, a smidge over half of the runtime, on three segments that offer a history of Zionism, the iterations of Zionism as a political ideology, and what she calls "Zionism as emotion," which is a condescending way to refer to the importance of Zionism to Jews. I'd guess that her research for these segments might have surprised her. It turns out, per Jessie Gender, that there is both a reason behind and a context for nineteenth-century Zionism, quite a lot of logic behind why the Jews wanted to go to Israel, and ample evidence that a majority of Jews have some kind of stake in both Israel and some variation of Zionism.

The reason I think that this research might have surprised her is that she ends each of these segments with a small diatribe about the evil colonialist, capitalist, oppressive, genocidal force that is Zionism, even as the segments suggest nuance, logic, and reason behind the philosophy. We can't have that on a good lefty video, though, can we? The more Gender confronts evidence that there is more to Zionism than meets her eyes, the more she doubles down, digs in her heels, and refuses to accept even the barest shreds of non-negativity about Zionism. Every now and then, she comes up with a lovely sentence or two that shows some understanding of a Jewish perspective on the world, but then furiously backpedals -- we mustn't forget that this Jewish perspective of oppression, mass murder, and international blame has only led to the Evil Of Zionism, after all.

What's really fascinating is how hard she works to avoid blaming actual Jews for all of this evil. I think she's doing this with the best of intentions. A for effort. C for effect. She wants to make a distinction between "Zionism" and "Judaism," in the sense of "Zionism does not equate to Judaism, so being antisemitic to Judaism because you hate Zionism is bad." She tries so hard that she loses sight of the actual people involved. There are a lot of places where she talks about "Judaism" where what she actually means is "the Jews." Or, as she calls us, "Jewish people." Which isn't bad, and it isn't really wrong, but it doesn't quite communicate the sense of Am Yisrael that is at the heart of Zionism.

In fact, she's so desperate to separate Zionism from Jewish people that she starts to talk about it almost as an individual character in the story, with agency, desires, wishes, and goals of its own, totally disconnected from the people who created it. Zionism demands the genocide of Palestinians, Zionism needs colonialism, Zionism has a nice lunch date with neoliberalism and spends the afternoon browsing department stores with capitalism. In effect, Zionism becomes the dragon, and Gender really wishes that the passive, easily-led Jewish people would unite behind some White Knight and slay the dragon so everyone could be happy and free and leftist. Despite the two hours she spent on her deep dive into the history and meaning of Zionism, she cannot fathom why the Jewish people don't just do this.

I said earlier that quite a lot of this video consists of padding. Gender identifies herself as a lefty anarchist, opposed to nation-states, capitalism, neoliberalism, the United States, the British Empire, Israel, Joe Biden, "Ka-MAH-la" Harris, transphobia in Western societies . . . the usual suspects. Frequently, especially in the back half of the video, she'll wander off into long fantasias about the crimes against liberty perpetrated by the West at large, as well as their character Capitalism, and then remember that this is supposed to be a video about Zionism, and then finish with the equivalent of "Peter Rabbit did sort of that kind of thing, too."

One of the alleged purposes of this video is to discuss Antisemitism On The Left, but Gender . . . pretty much elides doing that. She gets close a couple of times, and she does grudgingly admit that some leftists coming from some branches of leftism might sometimes say things that might be antisemitic, and that's Bad, and it makes Jewish people feel Unsafe and Not Inclined To Agree With Leftists that The Dragon Known As Zionism Must Be Slain Heroically. But don't stress about it. The important thing is that Israel Must Stop Its Genocide and Palestinians Should Have Self-Determination (which is only withheld from them by Israel -- excuse me, by Zionism -- and certainly not by those eminently-justified-if-a-little-uncouth plucky fighters, Hamas.

There are quite a lot of lengthy quotes from Sources, read by guest stars, which is a nice touch to break up the video. The vast majority of these Sources -- especially the ones in the "history of Zionism" segment -- are not actually written by Zionists. You get a lot of academic pontificating about the failures, shortcomings, and nefarious activities of Zionism, but you hear almost nothing from actual Zionists, especially contemporary Zionists. This does not look nearly as good or as well-researched as it's meant to look.

So what do we get in the end, after four hours and seventeen minutes of watching this? Honestly . . . not much. Gender gives enough background on the history of Zionism, antisemitism, and Jewish attitudes toward Israel that hardcore leftists watching will be more annoyed than convinced. She condescends to both Jews and Arabs, mentioning repeatedly that she, as a White Gentile, really doesn't have any business butting in on these complex questions -- but that's not going to stop her from butting in like the lefty shiksa she is! She's too mealy-mouthed to come right out and say anything blatantly antisemitic, but disdain for Jewish concepts of homeland, belonging, origin, and self-determination pervade the whole thing.

I don't think that Jessie Gender is an idiot -- she seems to be pretty smart, and has both a firm sense of her own political philosophy and the stick-to-it-ive-ness to do far more research into things like the development of Zionism and the history of antisemitism than one might expect. But the video really is, to bring up a playwright from the hated West, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Hey. This might be very stupid, but i hope you answer this.

Today I accidently got sucked into your blog, which is ironic since I'm a huge swiftie. (but I'm not here to hate on you, I swear)

The thing is for months I've been doubting where I stand on that. Like if i should call myself a swifte or not. when I was young, I used to worship the ground she walked on. but in the past year, I've slowly realised I've been very sheltered. like the problems people point out about her sometimes are actual real problems, but my brain just doesn't know how to respond to that as it has been taught taylor swift is a goddess and can do no wrong. Since your posts are tagged with #exswiftie, i figure you'd understand.

I am not from america, so I can understand then politics part of it all only to a certian extend. the other things, I just dont know what to say to that. The most i can reply is..."yes that is a bit of a problem". I feel don't feel like a swiftie at that moment.

I had fed my mind this narrative that people who hate taylor swift passionately are like untrustworthy or just a walking red flag, or just "don't get it". Now after reading your actual breakdowns I understand you have a rather educated opinion and perception of things. Which clearly rules out my narrative.

I don't know what I feel like I have to define where I stand on this, I just do. I know I genuinely enjoy her music a lot, even there are songs I don't want to hear more than once. I love the whole swiftie lore, digging deep on each lyrics finding out what they mean, finding clues easter eggs just losing my mind over surprise songs. Then i see this other side, which can't be defined with anything less than deeply toxic, which makes me question whether or not this thing i love so much is genuinely good or not.

Hello dear, apologies for the delay in reply :) I am happy to chat with you. I hope that you did not think I would ignore you.  

I was also a Swiftie for nearly 15 years. I got her debut record as a Christmas present in 2006 or 2007. Though I cannot remember which year it was, I loved her from the start. At 10 years old, I was immediately interested. My mother approved of me owning her music simply because she was inoffensive. She didn’t curse or talk about sex, in the beginning, so she was deemed appropriated for my childhood self.  She and I have since grown up. She is now a terribly pretentious bully- and, well, I grew up much too poor and much too hungry to turn into a bully like her. 

The problem- and something I think you’re very much aware of- is that Swift has built herself up in her fandom as perfect. She encourages fans to defend her every action- and rewards them for their efforts through “Swiftmas” or “Secret Sessions” or “hidden easter eggs that only the smartest- most dedicated fans will figure out.” It’s all methodically calculated to keep up an air of reciprocity between Swift, as the fearless leader, and her band of merry misfits- the fans.  

You are not dumb for falling into her rhetorical situation - she's set the marketing strategy up on purpose. It’s specifically created to attract attention- and, to make people feel good, or productive, by participating in her marketing strategy. She gives people an image of herself as a poor innocent victim of the media, or of any critique, and then rewards people for defending her. In Literary study, we call this “Pathos” as the rhetorical appeal to emotion through messaging- textual work of some kind. Rhetoric like this can be found in all sorts of media- commercials about starving children or beaten dogs, charity event banners aiming to persuade someone to donate. It’s all predicated on the appeal to our common emotion, or human capacity to empathize with each other. For, every time fans are rewarded by her attention- after defending her from a perceived enemy, or figuring out some hidden clue- they feel closer to the idol, they feel happy to have her attention. They get that emotional impact of believing they are helping Taylor Swift, or understanding her better on some more human, connected, level. It’s a game of risk and reward for her. Never mind that none of this altruistic- she gets paid through our attention on her- and if you are not directly lining her pockets with your cash money, she does not actually care about you. It’s the image of caring she projects that matters much more than the fact that she doesn’t actually care.

I’m sure you can think of many more examples wherein Swift has played this game of attention and reward with fans. It’s everywhere- her easter eggs are a great example. Sometimes her use of Pathos is benign- non malicious, therefore a non-issue. However, she often weaponizes this rhetoric in a way that is harmful.

This interplay she sets up, between herself and her fans, is made more intensive through her pathos- heavy approach to Rhetoric. To further illustrate, one of the ways people often explain Pathos is by saying that it represents our, as human beings, judgement affect. We see, or hear, the narrative Swift espouses and make judgements about it. If she says: The music critics are sexist towards me. We say: 1.) Sexism is morally wrong, 2.) Taylor Swift is facing sexism from Music critics, Therefore.) The music critics are sexist and morally wrong, because they are criticizing Taylor Swift.

So, all the critics are bad- and we don't need to listen to them. It's also a way Swift creates permissive attitudes towards attacking anyone who critique's her- because she can so easily label them all as sexist.

She uses this basic syllogism to justify leveraging her fans against all kinds of people- it's not just the critics. I just wanted to give a concrete example, and I will go more in depth on this subject in another post.  

She is playing with people’s emotions, while she is also self-victimizing,and leveraging her audience’s innate human rejection of, for instance, sexism as it offends our personal values. No one is saying that sexism isn't morally corrupt; however, Taylor Swift points to valid criticism and calls it sexism so that her audience will attack. People often have valid critique of Swift- She just doesn't want to face critique at all- ever. If people say her music is too self-centered- Swift says that is Sexism. If people say her music is boring- she calls it sexism. If people say her music is shallow and only centered are relationships- She calls it sexism. When, in reality, it's valid criticism that has nothing to do with her being a woman. Only ever writing songs about your own myopic, self-centered perception of interpersonal relationships is shallow. Her music is objectively boring, because it's derivative. Her music is completely self-centered- and she only admits to that when it benefits her, but when critics say it, she calls it sexism.

Please don’t think badly of yourself. I am not here to hate on you either- I was you. I am not here to hate on anyone at all- I just want to share how my own knowledge, and expertise, of rhetorical appeals and literary analysis can expose Taylor Swift. Swift relies on this rhetorical technique to thrive, she obfuscates the truth, schemes, and manipulates people into thinking her music is the best thing on Earth- or thinking that she is literally a Saint. Clearly- nothing on Earth is that perfect- So why does she need her fan base to consider her a genius, and a saint, so badly?

Personally, I have no problem admitting I have flaws. I think most sane people can admit to their flaws. It’s not a bad thing to have flaws. So why does Taylor Swift react to all criticism like it’s the worst thing on Earth. Why does she have a whole song about calling critics “mean/ and a liar/ and pathetic/ and alone in life” (“Mean” 2010). She has the nerve to call that song an “anti-bullying” song; yet, is it so clearly bullying that random critic who wrote a bad review about her concert one time in 2009? She really hated that guy- and all he was doing was his job. She called him a drunken loser for just doing his job. 

She's written so many songs about how all her critics are just stupid, morally corrupt, or sexist: "The Man" (2019), "Mean" (2010), "But Daddy I love Him" (2024), "New Romantics" (2014), "Shake it Off" (2014), "I know Places" (2014), "Anti-Hero" (2023), "Paris" (2023), "Blank Space" (2014), "I did something Bad" (2018), "Dancing with our hands tied" (2018). There are more songs wherein she carries this theme of "everyone is out to get me, and they all hate me for no good reason" but I think I've listed enough.

The general message is all over "Evermore" and "Folklore" too every time she calls the general public "Clowns" or "masqueraders"

It's just everywhere- her subtle devaluation of legitimate criticism. Trying to chalk it all up to the critics being simply dumb, sexist, or malicious in some way. Perhaps some people are mean- true- but to generalize every criticism as evil? That's just her actually playing a victim card. There's no way every single critic, or person who doesn't like her, is evil, bad, or malicious in some way. Okay?

I’m tired of her claiming to be an amazing person and an amazing poet- when she is just not either of those things. She’s not a kind person- it's all over her music in the ways she maliciously hurts people for fun. She’s not an amazing poet either. I have a few college degrees- and one pass through her work, with a serious intention of literary analysis, I discover that her writing is plain, banal, and derivative. 

She wants everyone to compare her to Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Shakespeare. So, I’m doing what she wants and taking her work seriously enough to critique it. Except that, in critique, I find out why it’s all poorly written- and why it’s just a bunch of thinly veiled conservative iterations of the same boring message over and over. All she ever says in her music is “poor me” and “I hate” (insert person- Kim K., Kanye, Matty, Joe, Jake, John, Scooter, Scott, Harry, Calvin, the media at large, anyone who critiques her, and men in the music industry as a whole). She has the longest list of enemies I think I’ve ever seen- and the funny thing is that all these people avoid her at all costs. None of these people talk about her- yet she is still singing, writing songs, and getting her fans to post memes about how awful they are years, even decades, later.  

It all gets a bit tiresome? No? Personally, I don’t wish to live a life full of such self-pity and hatred- so why should I listen to it in music form? Ya know?  

In my posts, I am attempting to find the truth. I don’t want to “hate” on anyone or anything- but I am going to seek truth in her work.  

I will be posting more about how she devoids Shakespeare of his social reformist efforts. I’m going to post more about how she twists the meaning of every literary reference she’s ever made. I am not kidding, she has misrepresented, and misinterpreted every single literary reference in her entire discography. It’s astounding how hard Swift tries to sound thoughtful- without actually being thoughtful. I will be posting about how she only ever name-drops to either tear other people down or self-depreciate herself in effort to seek pity. I will be talking more about her use of rhetorical appeals to both attract an audience, keep their attention through risk-reward trade-off, and manipulate them into fighting her battles for her. I will be talking about how she upholds a bunch of harmful stereotypes in her music. She often alludes, or blatantly includes allusion to colonialist attitudes. She’s used the LGBT community for profit without making any real activist efforts. She’s leveraged feminism like a weapon against other women- yet never actually has feminist themes in her music. She’s just so painfully hollow- upon closer inspection.  

I don’t hate her as a person. I think she’s unethical, sure, but that doesn’t mean I hate her, want her to die, or anything extreme at all. I would never wish harm to another human being. In fact, after seeing a lot of the harmful stuff in her music, especially about her kind of fucked up views on relationships, I sincerely hope she gets some professional help and finds some peace in this world. When I critique Taylor Swift it’s about her work and her brand- It's not about her personhood.  

I just think that no one Earth is above reproach, or critique, and we must all be held accountable for our own actions. She’s the one that puts her work out there for people- It's therefore completely appropriate for me to discuss her work. 

Edit: Oh and I want to add- I wish you luck in figuring out what you really think about Taylor Swift. If you ever need to talk or vent more- my inbox is always open. :) With peace and love- bye bye

[a-random-whovian7]

What your favourite Doctor says about you (just like the Master and Companion lists, this is all just jokes and my own terrible takes, absolutely no offence intended towards anyone). This is gonna be a long one, so good luck:

One (I think):

Is somehow able to sit through The Keys of Marinus whilst completely sober. Their feelings on Twice Upon a Time completely depend on whether they are able to accept that TV shows made in the 1960s will inevitably have some outdated bits or not. Loves slow-burners and less science-heavy stories, and wishes the Doctor would go back to trolling his companions again. Prays every night for The Celestial Toymaker and Marco Polo to be found. Hates the Timeless Child with a burning passion.

Two:

Two fans deserve a lot better. Despite a large chunk of their era being limited to surviving audio, PowerPoint presentations telesnaps and the, er, mixed bag of animated reconstructions, they still contribute a lot to the discussion of Classic Who and are usually well versed in the lore of the EU. 2nd Doctor fans are remarkable, as they are able to get along with pretty much every other group of fans. However, there is plenty of infighting thanks to the UNIT dating controversy and which story should be reconstructed next. If they ship Two/Jamie, they have fully earned your love and are surprisingly good if you pass them the aux.

Three:

Pretty much blows a gasket whenever some idiot says that the modern era is 'too political'. Like, I'm sorry, but was the "England for the English" scene in the Claws of Axos a little too subtle for you? Were Malcolm Hulke's scripts absolutely apolitical in your eyes? Does the mere existence of The Green Death mean nothing to you?! Oh, well maybe you should try WATCHING THE SHOW and DOING YOUR RESEARCH before you start claiming that it's become 'tOo pOLiTiCaL' because the main characters aren't always played by Whiteguy McStraight now, shouldn't you?! YOU AND YOUR MEDIOCRE OPINION SHALL COWER BEFORE MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE THIRD DOCTOR'S ERA AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!

It is for this very reason that 3rd Doctor fans get along particularly well with 13th Doctor fans. Perfectly nice people with a great sense of humour and an excellent taste in episodes, unless a conversation resembling the above occurs, at which point you will see how much damage the repressed urge to do Venusian Akido can do. Refuses to admit that The Ambassadors of Death is two episodes too long.

Four:

Either a child of the 70s or chaos incarnate. Yes, 4 is pretty much the universally recognised Doctor, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most unhinged Doctors. Loves more gothic horror-themed episodes and can ignore the somewhat questionable production qualities of early Baker stories. They have almost certainly attempted to make The Scarf at one point; whether they were successful or not entirely depends on their talent for knitting. Is surprisingly ok with admitting that Tom Baker stayed for a little too long and that his later seasons were a little underwhelming. Hasn't stopped them from watching every version of Shada though.

Five:

The tired parental figure of any group they are in. They immediately related to this Doctor when they saw 5 trying to hold it together whilst his multiple adopted humans argued, whined and got themselves trapped on doomed freighter ships. Has tried to play cricket once, but a general confusion over the rules and a few broken windows stopped that. You can take care of the cinnamon roll that is the standard 5 fan by providing them with cups of tea, giving them lots of hugs and removing all copies of Time Flight from your house.

Six:

Best fashion sense out of all the fans... somehow. Their favourite episodes are usually Vengeance on Varos or Revelation of the Daleks (both bangers), although they lean more heavily towards EU and Big Finish material, where the stories are more consistent and the costumes are less yikes. Either the best or worst fan to be around, either giving fair balanced views on the show or just being an absolute arse. Loves cats. Hates Michael Grade. Kind of ambivalent towards Mel.

Seven:

If 2nd Doctor fans are well versed in the EU lore, then these individuals are fucking academics. Constantly annoyed that 7 had two of the best seasons of Classic Who and was the darkest Doctor but is only remembered for Time and the Rani for some reason. Their favourite companion will always be Ace, which is what motivated them to watch Power of the Doctor. Usually excellent taste in stories, but is completely capable of dragging you to the depths of the EU. Wishes the Doctor would commit a few more genocides. Their religious beliefs can be summarised in the phrase "Cartmel Master Plan". Still annoyed that the most strategic Doctor was killed by the two most American things (guns and bad healthcare), but gets along well with 8 fans despite that. Somehow understands Ghost Light after just 3 rewatches.

Eight:

Big Finish fan. Basically willing to explain the entire plot of Dark Eyes if you ask them. Thinks the TV Movie is just OK, and has rewatched Night of the Doctor too many times to count. Loves a sad boy, and has definitely referred to 8 as a "poor little meow meow" at some point. Wishes 8's TARDIS interior was still intact and that he'll get his own live action series. Had an actual heart attack when he appeared in Power of the Doctor. Usually a bisexual from my personal experience, and looking at Paul McGann in the 90s, I can see why.

War (or is it Nine?):

We're stepping into the depths of the Moffat cult with this one. Wants a more traumatised Doctor, and kind of wishes we saw more of the Time War beyond the laser battle in Day of the Doctor. Content to sit back and watch due to the fact that the War Doctor had the perfect arc in his one episode, although they are happy that the War Doctor still pops up in the EU. Bridging the gap between the modern and classic series means they get along well with everyone except Shalka fans.

Nine (the Curse of Fatal Death one):

Does this one count? Just loves the classic series. Still praying for Joanna Lumley as the Doctor. Nowhere near as obnoxious as the Shalka fans and surprisingly funny.

Nine (the Scream of the Shalka one):

They pride themselves on being 'against the trend' and being fans of an overlooked bit of Doctor Who history. Doesn't quite realise that Scream of the Shalka was basically an B-tier Big Finish story with janky animation. Wants Richard E Grant to show up again. Constantly attempting to upset Eccleston and Hurt fans, only to get angry when everyone forgets Scream of the Shalka existed. They definitely listen to Weezer.

Ten, no, another Nine (the Eccleston one):

The word "fantastic" is permanently superglued to their vocabulary, and yet it never gets old. Owns a leather jacket too. Wishes that the BBC hadn't been stupid and Eccleston had stayed on for another series, but doesn't hold it against Tennant. Knows the Daleks were at their best in S1. Really wants the Reapers to return, and was utterly distraught after Chibs kind of ruined 9's role in the wider arc by blowing up Gallifrey again. Major nostalgia for the 2000s with this one, and is slowly becoming a member of the Big Finish cult thanks to Eccleston's return. Understandably forgot Adam was a thing. Both loves and hates John Barrowman.

Ten? Eleven? Ten and a half? The Tennant one. I hate numbers:

Their first experience to Doctor Who was during the golden age- wait, no, sorry, the RTD cult has threatened to terminate my membership if I'm not honest with this one.

Either a child of the 2000s, a member of the aforementioned RTD cult or someone who just likes the show to be more emotionally resonant. Well, that or they are the blandest person alive. If they acknowledge how good 10's arc was in terms of deconstructing the Doctor and setting up his fall from grace via misplaced attachments and vanity, then absolutely someone to be around. If they simply say "because he was popular", definitely bland. We all know Tennant was popular, it's still not one of the many valid reasons to love him. They have an easygoing relationship with 4 and 11 fans, and otherwise OK relations with the rest of Doctors fan groups, although there is a bit of friction between 13 stans due to 10 being dragged into a lot of 13's media post-2020 to boost ratings. They didn't like it because it cheapned 10's return and era whilst also overshadowing 13. 13 stans didn't like it because it basically gave the message that the BBC had given up on 13 before her era had finished.

Definitely excited for the 60th after the regeneration and the announcement of RTD's return. Has tried owning a pair of converses, only to find out that they aren't exactly cheap. Has fought for the Ten/Rose ship on multiple occasions. Tried hair gel once, with disastrous consequences.

Huh. This one was incredibly easy to write. All I had to do was look in a mirror.

Thirte- no, Eleven:

Major ADHD energy in the best possible way. Saw the chaotic excitable Doctor and immediately fell in love. They will not rest until they have forced every former Doctor to read the "Hello Stonehenge" speech. They have also cosplayed the most out of any fan, due to the availability of fezzes and bow ties. Definitely the most fun to be around at a party. Was disappointed by Matt Smith's decision not to return for the 60th, especially after the absolute banger that was Day of the Doctor. If they ship 11 with River, they're cool, even though 11 was very asexual in S5. If they ship him with anyone else, then yikes. Wishes for the show to return to a quirky fairytale tone again.

If they were present during the SuperWhoLock days, keep an eye on them. You're only one drink away from dragging us back to 2013, and I ain't reading any of that fanfiction again *shudders*.

Fourte- FUCK, Twelve:

A certified member of the Steven Moffat cult, or just someone who likes some of their stories to have a slightly more mature tone. Has tried to play the electric guitar more than once, only to be forced to stop by their partners or housemates. Either willing to admit some of the flaws of the era or strongly defends it, with no inbetween. Absolutely correct in their assertion that S9 and 10 absolutely slapped, although this cam be undermined if they try to defend Sleep No More. If they ship River and 12, then you can trust them with anything, and they will offer you good relationship advice. If they ship 12 and Clara in a romantic way (which is strange to me cos i always got platonic BFF vibes from them, but that's just me), they definitely have relationship advice, although waiting 4 billion years to get your memory wiped is a questionable means of resolving conflict. They have a pair of the sonic sunglasses. Cried when Capaldis majestic floofy hair got shaved off for a superhero film.

Thirteen? That's right? Phew, finally getting the hang of this. Ok, Thirteen:

There are two types of 13 fan. The first is cinnamoniest of rolls. Is just happy to sit back and have fun, thus allowing them to enjoy pretty much any episode (something that a lot of people could learn from). Immediately realised that Jodie is an amazing Doctor and deserves more praise and justice. Definitely shipped Thasmin, and are the best at constructive criticism, recognising what worked and didn't in a respectful, polite way (again, something we could all learn from). Wierdly enough, they get along well with all the Doctor fans, as they are a wholesome ray of sunshine that reminds us that every era has something to offer, no matter the general consensus.

The second type masquerades as the first, but gets all hipster-y and more than willing to use the term 'overrated' when RTD or Tennant are mentioned (so basically a healthy 80% of the #antiRTD tag).

Both are convinced that the Chibnall Era will receive a massive reappraisal like the 12th Doctor's era did, despite the odds of that happening being the same as an on-screen Thasmin kiss. I'm so sorry, that's a really mean line to end this bit on. Let's instead end by saying Haunting of Villa Diodati is an absolute banger of an episode.

Ruth:

Loves the admittedly cool concept of a mystery incarnation. The rest depends on their theory of where the Ruth Doctor fits in. If they use the season 6B theory, then they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical series and the EU regardless of whether they have watched it or not. If they use the Timeless Child/Division theory, then they basically settled for the easier version of 6B after looking into the insane asylum that is classic who and EU discourse (wise choice). If they think she's from an alternative universe, thinks that she's Omega, Rassilon, The Rani, The Master or any other figure, then they practically have a gold medal in Mental Gymnastics. Either way, all of them don't like to admit that they are unfortunately limited to 4 episodes (three of them being fairly mid, the other being a mild car crash) and a pretty good comic. Cool fashion taste. Gets along with 13 stans and, surprisingly, 2nd Doctor fans.

Fourteen- oh for fucks sake:

YOU ARE TENTH DOCTOR FANS. GO BACK TO EARLIER ON IN THE POST. YES, I KNOW THAT'S THE BBC'S OFFICIAL LINE AT THE MOMENT. YES, I KNOW YOU'RE HYPED FOR THE 60TH, I AM A HYPED RTD CULTIST TOO. JUST WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. P L E A S E.

Fourt- no fifteen- no, fourteen- BBC, HAVE MERCY:

Only in the Doctor Who fandom can a Doctor who has only appeared in a brief clip and some photos have a fully developed fanbase. I should know, I've already joined it. Ncuti's photos in that suit sealed the deal. Either an RTD cultist or someone just looking forward to a fresh new direction. Also very fashionable. Has a somewhat complicated relationship with 13th Doctor fans due to the fact that Ncuti's first season and casting completely overshadowed S13 and the specials, but Ncuti also had to deal with the same levels of toxicity from the same 'fans' who threw temper tantrums at Jodie's casting in 2017. Best haircuts out of all the Doctor Who fans. Strange but true.

Full Fathom Five:

Y'all scare me.

Zagreus:

Y'all terrify me.

The Watcher:

Y'all confuse me.

The Valeyard:

Has wanted a darker series since god knows when. Was kind of annoyed when the Time Lord Victorious arc wasn't dedicated to a whole series. Also, the Valeyard is the Shadow the Hedgehog of the Whoniverse. I refuse to elaborate any further.

The Curator:

"Alright gang, let's see who the Curator fans really are!"

Pulls off mask

"Fourth Doctor fans?!"

All jokes aside, they just want a more experienced Doctor. Accepts that the show will have to end one day, and is cool with that, since they already have the perfect ending. Either cool grandad vibes or an actual grandad. Good knitwear. Their response to everything is simply putting the kettle on.

Doctor Moon:

Now these ones are very, very rare. I personally love the theory that Doctor Moon is a future version of the Doctor who is keeping River and the Library safe, but limiting your favourite Doctor to two episodes and an endorsement of the theory from Steven Moffat? Now that takes guts, and I like it. Usually partial to classy clothes, and talks in a very formal tone. Their best subject is usually maths.

Dr Who (Peter Cushing):

Unashamedly insane. Saw the absolutely glorious cheese-fest that was the 1960s Dalek movies and ended up loving one of the most unique versions of the Doctor. Is absolutely fine with bypassing 90% of the TV shows lore, making them really fun to talk to. Time Lords? Nah. Sonic screwdriver? Nope. Their Doctor is a wacky grandpa who built a multi-dimensional time machine in their back garden, and they love it. Is a sucker for Alternate Universe stories and usually loves classic B-movies. Knows that the movies kind of suck as adaptations, but as pure 1960s camp, they are unbeatable. Absolute legends.

All of Them:

The glue that holds this fanbase together. Enlightened individuals who have to check in every now and then to make sure that we mere mortals are behaving ourselves. They just simply enjoy the show and hold no biases. Absolutely infuriating to talk to for that very reason.

[starlit-mansion]

I've been rewatching a couple older hbomb videos and hey

halcyon dreams: the legacy of dragon's lair watches a lot more like a dry run of the oof noise video than i remember. it is a deep dive into an obscure section of video game history, complete with its own misattribution to a famous studio head. it's fun, both on its own terms as a spectacular technological failure that was a bit too ahead of its time, and as a running thread within harry's ouvre.

outsiders: how to adapt h.p. lovecraft in the 21st century is. well, it feels very weird because in a way. it reads a lot more like somerton's work than i would have expected, while predating it entirely (i think. it's a five year old video and well. i can't check somerton's timestamps cause he did the dirty delete). harry is darkly and thematically lit, addressing the camera straight on without the high-energy that his other videos tended to have, speaking thoughtfully about how queer and marginalized fans of Lovecraft relate to his work despite being hated and feared by the author himself, and that his understanding of the mythos was upturned by a quiet adaptation that centered around a gay man's alienation from his home town loosely based on the shadow over innsmouth. it engaged thoroughly with queerness as a place of vulnerability and strength without inventing some infinitely weak yet unfathomably strong queer agenda. there's no real hint from the thumbnail that it's about queer themes, but that's because harry is doing the same thing that happened to him, creating a piece of overt lovecraft media that might shock the viewer that was here for cosmic horror as a lore element.

i'm genuinely not trying to say that somerton ripped off harry's one video specifically or anything, but it does make if feel more personal, to be reminded that harry did this once, when he had something incredibly personal to say on the subject and years of genuine passion and systematic research to back it up, with intent to reach out to other people who loved and were repulsed by lovecraft the same way he was. and at 1.5 million views, it's not like the video was languishing in complete obscurity or anything, but it's not culturally significant in the way that sherlock or some of the later videos are. people keep making a bit of a joke of harry reminding everyone that he's bi to dodge the homophobia allegations, but people genuinely do not really talk about hbomb as a queer creator, to the point where a good chunk of posters just. genuinely did not know about it. i'm not really sure what to say about it either way, other than... yeah, this happens a lot to bisexuals who don't make their entire brand pink purple and blue, and it's not like. THAT funny to keep using the sonic fandub screencap about a real person who's been out for half a decade, even if it was news to you.

[roe-and-memory]

❤️💛💚💙

❤ - unpopular opinion about the movies

honest to god. i think lightning was completely valid in how he acted in cars 2 😭 AND I HAVE A REASONING. HEAR ME OUT.

first of all, im personally not a huge fan of this movie. i think all of it is extremely out of character (for every character involved), but i have a specific spot in my heart for lightning in this film because really, i understand where hes coming from. if you went to a foreign country with your best friend, and instead of being respectful, they acted like a total douche the entire time - as well as screwing you up during the event THEY SIGNED YOU UP FOR (with knowledge that mater could have simply turned off his headset instead of ignoring lightnings multiple requests to clear the line) i would be angry too! and i think that the moral of the story being “act like youre at home Everywhere” is such a harmful thing to tell people 😭

also strongly dislike how mater pushed a romantic relationship onto holley, who is quite literally decades younger than he is and was very Not into it ..

💛 - unpopular opinion about a main character

i think that the concept of cruz’s grandfather being a race fan should have stayed in. this probably isnt unpopular, but genuinely it would have made her as a character so much less.. flat.. it would have given her REASON to wanna be a racer - to make her grandfather proud. giving her a reason would have been much better than the just Out of Nowhere fight, and in that concept lightning and her make up right then and there (plus, instead of him being an ass and debating whether he was right or not like he did in the movie, his anger in the concept comes from a place of just.. genuine stress, adrenaline, and probably being overwhelmed in the moment.)

💚 - unpopular opinion about a side/background character

i dont really understand the hype around the wgp racers? like this isnt a jab at anyone but i just cannot grasp it 😭 my ooh ooh ah ah brain cant understand enjoying characters with no lines or screen time. i applaud the people who do love them though i cannot fault u for having silly little guy brainrot

although one of my favs is a bg character with like 3 lines 😭 cal my son i adore you

💙 - unpopular opinion about a ship/ships in general

i have a list of all the ones i dislike…. i am not a multishipper i am #salqueen4life … please dont get mad at me…

cruz/jackson - cannot stand this ship because that is a lesbian and a sexist, asshole man 😭

lightning/jackson - i hate this ship with a passion i am so . so sorry. first of all, there is a Major age gap? jackson is a rookie (although not as young as mcqueen was, still pretty young - in my head hes about 21?) and second. enemies to lovers fills me with rage it is not my cup of tea. since it says keep it civil i Will but…… augh

and. i am so very sorry. lightning/chick. - this is due to personal lore research, lightning being eighteen in cars 1 (and chicks being about 40+) really, really throws me off? and im not accusing anyone of anything because again, everyone has different lore ideas, but i personally dislike it because 18/40 is Odd to me in my personal cars human au 😭 . also again, enemies to lovers has gotta be one of my least favourite ship tropes.

this isnt one i hate but seriously francesco/lightning shippers are the funniest people in the world i love u guys. i dont ship it myself, but every time i see people talking about them being together all i can think of is the scene in the end of talladega nights where ricky kisses jean and when jean goes in for a second one ricky is like no.. no one was enough..

[idsb]

unhinged infodump incoming:

so I had the classic 'strangely gay middle/highschool best friendship that turned weirdly controlling and damaging and toxic for both parties and altered you forever' (if you don't know what this is I can't help u). We've long since blocked each other on Facebook, and she's completely off-grid on all other social media. When we were still in high school we made a joke FB account for her dog, which I had the login for. So every now and again (like legit every 2 years or so I mean) I log in and see like, idk what her life is like, because I was literally a part of her FAMILY so it's just..... strange having no idea if she's even alive or what state she lives in?

So anyway I did that the other day. And I learned she went to grad school and worked in forensics & now therapy for people in jail, which is just sOOOO out of left field from how her lifelong dream when I knew her was becoming a vet. I saw she was engaged. And I saw a very bland exchange between her and the girl who "stole" her friendship from me, who she was inseparable with in high school and college, and it was clear even they were strangers who never thought about each other. And so it's just....... idk I've had feuds and falling-outs with people before, but I still Exist to them in that they're very much addicted to paying attention to me in some capacity and talking shit about me all these years later. Fan behavior etc. But it became so clear in that moment that I am no longer even a thought in this person's brain; that I haven't been in probably about a decade. This is someone who I had like. idk weird foundational gay experiences with and vice versa, who literally DEFINED the young portion of my life and is the beginning point of Where It All Went Wrong for me, and to her it's probably like I never existed.

I know how to be hated by people, but I don't know how to feel when the fire burns out. What does it mean to mean NOTHING to someone who used to be everything to you? I don't think about her for years at a time until I do these random check-ins, either. But my 5 year relationship ex and I, even, still share a phone bill, and are friends on Facebook or whatever. I talk about and bitch about him when I'm working through issues he created. Everyone in my life knows about him. not even out of hatred, just because... it's relevant sometimes? As is the case with any other ex-thing I have. We're all strangers, but we're strangers who still walk the same universe. This girl was my entire life in a passionate, burning Red (as they say), and now I am a someone who may as well not even be alive, and she wouldn't know the difference any more than if some random 73 year old man in Italy or somewhere dropped dead. You can't see everything from a person's socials, obviously, but to me the whole thing just read like I never existed at all. Does she talk about me like I'm Deep Awful Lore like I do her if it comes up? Does her fiancé know about whatever the fuck we were? Or does it not even register? Is our weird gay thing a deep dark secret that she locked away so hard even she forgot about it? I went to think to myself, "how can such a nasty bitch be a therapist????" and then I realized, when seeing the way her typing voice/style has changed DRASTICALLY, I couldn't name one fact about her personality anymore, and I didn't even have a right to consider asking that question. The same is true for her to me.

What a strange fucking feeling that I do not know how I will ever be able to place.

[utilitycaster]

Big D20 and ACOC fan here. The "they won't get the rich lore" argument just also feels so ridiculous from a technical standpoint? Like, CR fans watch long ass episodes, the campaigns for it span over a hundred episodes lmao. I'm pretty sure they're actually primed for lore retention and are fairly used to intricate plot points. I personally can't wait to see Matt take this on and bring in more viewers.

Right! Like...firstly, fans of Critical Role, or Matt, do tend to be massive fucking nerds, and CR in particular is pretty heavy on lore so assuming the worst of them is pretty dumb. Secondly, as I said, there's very few resources for this lore other than watching (requires a subscription) or reading the transcripts of the episodes - and I want to be clear, I don't blame the D20 wiki editors, who have as far as I know been minding their own business - but the people hyping up the rich lore have done nothing to bring that canon to potential new fans, instead just tsk-tsk-ing and saying "you wouldn't get it." Thirdly, I'm going to take a wild guess and say again that Matt and Brennan have gone through the lore together and are going to set the stage adequately for new viewers.

Which is the big thing that I think the people attempting to say "you wouldn't get it unless you've continuously been in the fandom specifically for ACOC for three straight years" are fully missing (and which your ask here does take into account appropriately). Dropout needs subscribers. That is their business model, and D20 is one of the shows that brings in the most new and continuous subscribers since many of the other shows, while great, are unscripted quiz-style shows and permit a more, well, drop in and out style of viewing.

The past few D20 seasons have not been pulling in the same viewership, and we can speculate why that is but it ultimately doesn't matter. They are specifically bringing in a popular and well-known DM, having a group of experienced roleplayers, and returning to this specific beloved setting on purpose to do so - both to mine the overlap in fandom between D20 and CR and perhaps expand it, reach out to fans of Aabria or Anjali, and perhaps bring back in people who watched A Crown of Candy but haven't kept up since. A lot of the discussion truly feels like it paints Matt as "asshole who wandered on set and seized control over my blorbos" and not "person who was very deliberately invited to DM this particular season and has the explicit blessing of Brennan, Sam Reich, and anyone else involved in the decision-making at D20." (I honestly don't know if the D20 powers that be are aware that there's a cohort of D20 fans who just passionately hate CR or Matt but the thing is, if I were a hypothetical executive who was, shall we say, plugged into the fansphere? I'd pick the setting of Calorum specifically so that we retain its passionate fandom, even if they don't like the DM, while also bringing in new fans. It would be the smart business decision, and also pretty funny.)

But also...look. I am certainly not above criticizing fan theories based on poor understanding of lore, or when people are like (smug voice) "well I'm a lore muncher so combat doesn't interest me", or when they respond to thoughtful meta with irrelevant projections. But if someone wants to watch Critical Role and make liveblog posts of "hell yeah, Fearne just stole that guy's watch, iconic" without going deep into the lore? That is absolutely just as valid a form of fandom as writing meta, or fic, or creating fan art, or cosplaying. The same goes for any other show. If you want to get into lore discussions and meta then yes, you should be relatively up on the lore, but if you just want to hang out and enjoy the show? You can show up to episode 1 absolutely cold and pick it up as you go along. It's fine, and anyone saying otherwise is an asshole who does not have good intentions.

[beevean]

What makes Castlevania discourse different from Sonic discourse?

The games have been on "hiatus" since 2014 (or, if you only count the mainline games, 2009) and NFCV is the only thing keeping the franchise relevant, which is thankfully a problem Sonic isn't going to suffer from any time soon :^) also, for all the reasons I despise NFCV and dislike Nocturne, as much as I wish they could have tried to be a bit more faithful to the source material and not act like it's completely unsalvageable, at least there is no "is it canon?" discourse - it's very obvious that the shows are doing their own thing, and the people in charge have always been honest about this fact.

Aside from that, it's actually more similar than you might expect. You have the broken base fighting on which gameplay is the best one. You have game fans vs. spinoff fans vs. people who like both and don't understand why the other two factions can't get along. You have the 40 yo fans who devalue the games' lore because they're only familiar with terribly translated manuals (which also translates to "well who cares about the spinoff's faults, games stupid anyway :V"). You have the older fans who hate with a passion the guy who came along at one point and created a complete timeline, leaving aside some games and retconning a few things (hi Alucard). I suppose most decades-long fandoms have similar problems.

But honestly? The fact that the series is more or less defunct makes it a little better, because I don't have to keep myself updated on the lastest IGAkast or whatever. I don't have any expectations for a next release, no worry about some new writer coming along to "fix" stuff while acting like Konami should pay him for the service of putting his hands all over the place. So the discourse can get annoying, but it's not as... worrying as the ongoing Sonic series. There is no uncertainty for the future.

[idkaguyorsomething]

Doctor Who Fic Recs

¡The specials are nigh upon us (or maybe the first one will already be out by the time I finish writing this, who knows)! Over the course of 60 years, there’s been quite a few absolute gems that some anonymous, talented souls have put out for our enjoyment. So here’s some of the highlights, scraped together from various corners of the internet:

This one is centered around Nine, after his regeneration. He has to confront his trauma as he goes on a journey through his past, traveling through his memories and meeting his past selves. It goes really deep into a lot of lore surrounding the daleks and Classic Who, so if you don’t know a lot about that this probably isn’t for you. It also came out before the 50th anniversary special, so there’s no War Doctor, and it has its own interpretation of the last moments of the Time War. But if that’s not a dealbreaker, definitely check this one out, because it’s got a fantastic story about regret and identity.

This story is a prequel to both series set on Gallifrey, with some rare Doctor/Master/Rani shipping, a very eldritch approach to Time Lord society, and a really interesting fusion of TARDISes with daemons. If you’re not familiar with the concept of daemons, this story really isn’t a good starting point, plus there are some references to the Big Finish audio stories that are rather important. It’s not exactly a story as much as it is a bunch of fragments set in the same universe exploring a lot of the ideas it introduces. A must-read if you enjoy Doctor Nyarlathotep.

A personal favorite of mine, centering around the unexpected pairing of Martha Jones and Lucy Saxon. It deals with the fallout of a certain couple of Time Lord’s actions during The Year That Never Was and is very short, but manages to squeeze in a lot of emotions. It will make you understand how this pairing could work while doing justice to Martha’s character.

Drop whatever it is you’re doing. Go read this. Now. It is one of the most well-written fics you will ever find, period, and probably the best Academy Era fanfic out there. The author has an excellent grasp on how an unlikely friendship would develop into something more and then break down, making it one of the most compelling and believable explorations of the Doctor and the Master’s relationship before they were the Doctor and the Master. It can get pretty dark (we’re talking self-inflicted regeneration) but if you can stomach those topics then you’ll find something amazingly well-written.

¿Do you wish that we could’ve seen tiny Amelia as a child companion on the TARDIS instead of her adult self? ¿Are you a fan of platonic fluff? ¿Are you in the mood to have your heart explode from a cuteness overload? ¡Then check this one out! The only possible complaint is that it’s too short.

Wherein Rose decides to haul around the dalek from Van Statten’s bunker instead of Adam. ¡Very funny and enjoyable and underrated! It has a dalek named Pedro and Nine being enjoyably grumpy until he decides he can make an exception against hating all daleks just this once. ¿What more could you possibly want?

This one is a short piece about Martha and Ten going to watch a supernova, but what makes it extra special is that it’s a real supernova and the fic was written by an irl astronomer. Their passion for their work really bleeds through into their writing, and it helps to emphasize the sense of wonder and exploration that Doctor Who at its best can bring.

¿Remember Jethro from Midnight? ¿The guy who looked like Merlin? ¿No? You will after reading this.

Mostly crack that doesn’t take itself too seriously and isn’t afraid to poke fun at some of the classic sci-fi setting fanfic cliches. ¡¡Number one shipper TARDIS, sex pollen, and Martha Jones having a good time abound (¿have you figured out which companion is my favorite yet?)!!

https://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=53318 Set during the Day of the Doctor, this little oneshot is just a slight au where we get to see every Doctor (up to that point) play their part in saving Gallifrey. Obviously they couldn’t have done anything like that in the show itself without resorting to dubious CGI necromancy bullshit, but man does it make you wish they could’ve had something similar.

And last but not least, ¡some classic Donna and the Doctor friendship! This is pretty much the distilled essence of everything everyone loved about their dynamic, being sweet, silly, and sad. It leans more on emotions than action or humor, but with the upcoming specials it is well worth a read just to remind yourself of everything they went through.

[brown-little-robin]

Story asks: for both mp100 and Jojo, 1, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 19, 22

YAY okay I love these asks but I'm going to split the post in half because that's a lot of writing (thank you, you Get It). mob psycho 100 first:

1: what got you into this story?

clicking on a fifteen minute YouTube video essay titled "The Philosophy of Mob Psycho 100: The Sublime" or something like that. It explained mp100 through the end of episode 5. That was the first time I got into mp100. But I gave up on episode 5 that first time. I came back several years later because of this comic about what would have happened if Mogami kidnapped Mob at a young age and reading the mp100 fanfiction that inspired it, A Breach of Trust. Both times, I got into mp100 because of something a passionate and inspired fan made!

5: do you have a favorite character? who?

Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama himself :) and other than him, Ritsu, Musashi, and Dimple!

6: do you have a LEAST favorite character? who?

(sigh) well. if I must say it... Reigen. I care about him; he's interesting and I don't hate him. But honestly, I don't personally find him that funny, and that's the main draw of his character, is the comedy!

7: how does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? has it surprised you yet? how?

oh, it surprised me VERY much. it's..... the thing with Mob Psycho 100 is that it toes the line of almost being a parody of the shounen and paranormal genre, while also taking itself very seriously when you get right down to it. The premise is silly, but the emotional beats are incredibly raw. I thought mp100 was going to be... y'know... a silly slice-of-life story about a psychic kid's life as an exploited employee of a con man, and instead it hits me with things like "no one is special, and that means that everyone has the potential to change themselves bit by bit and do good in the world, including compulsive liars and severely repressed anxious teenagers". That kind of thing.

13: tell me an out-of-context piece of worldbuilding or lore!

alskdjfslkdf okay so in the 3rd and final season, a single mammoth broccoli plant appears in Seasoning City. It's called The Divine Tree. You will cry because of the broccoli. :)

14: how likely do you think this story is to break a reader's heart?

VERY LIKELY. you will be broken down and rebuilt. It will happen over and over again, starting with episode 5 of the anime or volume 2 of the manga. You will emerge stronger.

19: pitch an idea for a sequel or spinoff novel for this story!

okay this is a little bonkers but I want to see Tome and Mezato have an adventure together. And they should drag some protesting other, less insane person into it, too. I think a Tome and Mezato and Takenaka (and oooooh maybe Inukawa as a translator) story where they meet aliens would have some SERIOUS potential. It would be SO funny. IMAGINE. Takenaka playing the exasperated straight man to Tome and Mezato's zany nonsense, but not actually minding at all; he actually likes his life to be interesting and is studying them like bugs. Tome and Mezato feeling like they have to compete to fill the "most passionate person here" role, then discovering that both of them have felt insecure about their interests. Inukawa having PTSD flashbacks to the last time he interacted with aliens, the serious side of the story which is gonna need to be handled tactfully, and Tome, Mezato, and Takenaka are not tactful people, so it's gonna go wrong. IMAGINE. (vibrating with excitement)

22: FREE SPACE: say anything you want about the story!! <3

In lieu of saying something, I'm going to share screenshots, because the art style of the anime is one of my favorite things about mp100. :]

IT'S JUST SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SHOW, MAN

[therealv1ultrakill]

Honestly I will not make this a habit, but this place is in some sense my personal diary now so !

I am a bit upset? I do not shame or gatekeep others for having similar interests or being insanely passionate (i.e "number one fan of xyz"), but seeing someone in a server I am in was a bit of a jumpscare! But also in some sense good, I think. Wake-up call of sorts, and I don't say that just to cope or remove the feelings from it.

I really like this myth/lore/horror (whatever you'd like to call it, haha) game. And it wasn't unpopular before per se, but especially over the past month/since its full release, it has been EXTREMELY popular. We're talking double-digit thousands (10k, 20k, you get the point). And I saw someone who.. I don't really find myself using the word "lore" for people anymore, it feels kind of icky. At least, for more mundane or truly not like. TRAUMATIC traumatic situations. Do some of these things scar my mind? Yes. Most things in life do, in technicality, butterfly effect, unpredictable outcomes, whatever. I had to let this callus my mind. I still feel weak, worthless, pathetic, cruel, etc. But I know I am not those things, and again, in some very weird way the initial thing before the server-seeing event really helped me begin my progress on my backbone, and actually feel like I can truly believe in myself.

Anywho, I struggle to stay on track, it's a very apparent thing with me that my mind has multiple railroad systems (hah! no pun intended though) going on at the same time. It scared me! I got a little nervous. I got anxious. And all the built-up positive energy (which was already a bit of an iffy thing) came down. Even now, I woke up feeling a bit of sorrow. But I do not hate myself, still. It does hurt, but I am finally at a point where I am doing my best to allow myself to feel these things and process this hurt while also not using my wishes (be it well or not), energy, mental rooming, etc. on these people involved, or anyone as a whole in my past who likely does not enjoy my continuing existence. I felt jealous, almost, for a second. But I do not think it was because of any posted art, but I think just as a whole. The concept of sharing something I love so deeply and devote a lot of time to. The thing that I want to be one of the number one fans of. I am still trying to accept though that there will always be a person better, more devoted, more obsessive, etc. at something than I likely will. Sure, I can become one of those. But I do not think it ought to be for this, especially since it has negatively impacted me a bit at times / controlled my emotions some (prior to this incident. They do not control me that much, my friends!).

Also, tbf… the creator + the currently morphing fandom are like. Really fucking foul at times. Like yeah dude can ban whoever he/they/? want but it's pretty damn wild that if you post chit-chat in the channel (granted they said not to) you get immediately banned. And see, that alone I wouldn't give really a rats backend about - it's the fact that the fandom and creator revel in it and so many people continued dog-piling and mocking people, I swear I've never seen the words "lacking media literacy/lack reading comprehension" be run into the ground so fast it looked like 65% of the channel was pure spam. Like… damn? I know the internet sucks (and someday I ought to go on a tangent about why the phrase/saying "it's just the internet, get used to it/get over it/why don't you expect it?" is stupid, harmful, and excusing bad behavior and denouncing any form of accountable and perpetuating people to get away, but I digress..)

[obsoleteozymandias]

Hi! I was wondering if I could get a matchup with a character from twisted wonderland.

My name’s Rachel, I’m 19, and my pronouns are she/her. My zodiac sign is Taurus and I’m an INFP. 

For my personality, I’m really bad at initially talking to people and definitely more introverted. I opt to spend my time alone rather than with people. I do think I’m creative and more enjoyable to be around after knowing me for a while. I’m compassionate and care a lot for people close to me, and I do my best to appreciate them. I zone out a lot and don’t pick up on conversations sometimes. I’m also impatient and very stubborn. 

I’ve played piano for 12 years, so that’s a big passion of mine. I love getting the opportunity to play and I definitely thinks it helps me better express myself. I also know how to figure skate. I’ve been skating since I was a child, and it’s another big passion of mine. I’d like to think I’m good enough to be in the olympics but definitely not. :) Other just general things I like doing are baking, and sewing. I’ve found that I try out new hobbies a lot but get tired or forget about them pretty quickly, so the ones that stick are pretty important! I wouldn’t say there’s much that I dislike, but I absolutely hate any bug ever. I’m also not a big fan of fish or seafood at all. 

I honestly feel like my appearance is pretty boring. I have dark brown hair a little longer than my shoulders. It curls up into waves at some parts but is straight in others. I honestly hate how it looks but don’t really have the materials to do anything about it. I have dark brown eyes, and fairly long eyelashes. My skin is pale, I’ve tried to tan before but it doesn’t really work. I’m 5’7 and pretty slim. I have been told by strangers that I could be a model though, so that definitely helps with my confidence. I feel like if I was a color, I would be a muted lavender color. My favorite is pink though. Total contrast to my style/aesthetic, which is very streetwear and kinda grungy. I definitely admire more coquette styles, I just don’t think they suit me well.

Hope that was all good, thank you so much!!

Seafood haters unite

== Twisted Wonderland ==>

I match you up with…

Ace Trappola

Pre-relationship:

You and Ace form a teasing yet dependable friendship quickly, much like in the lore of the actual TWST game. You start by fighting and resisting one another, but soon become very close friends. 

He’s the extrovert to your introvert, and the right brain to your left one (even if he doesn’t seem to have brains at all at times). 

But you’re both similarly impatient and stubborn, and god forgive anyone who thinks they can dissuade you two from something when you have your mind set on it. 

He likes that you have a musical talent, as he admires people who have passions like that - ones that allow them to create and express themselves in ways he doesn’t always feel that he can. 

He’s not dumb - he does recognize when he begins to fall for you. Of course, he hides it behind his teasing and reckless attitude, but you’ll catch him staring at you for a bit too long out of the corner of your eye. 

Confession: 

I’m not sure Ace would ever willingly confess to you. Not for any bad reason, but rather because he values your friendship too much, and doesn’t want to lose one of the few close friends he has. 

Of course, everyone urges him to confess, but he resists. And even if he does confess, it would be at his own pace. 

Ergo, I like to imagine that he confesses when one or both of you are in danger, such as when you’re recovering after an overblot, or when you get back from some dangerous adventure, and he realizes that losing your friendship over his feelings is better than losing you altogether. And so he tells you, face red but eyes completely serious.  

It’s not necessarily romantic but it’s so dramatic and charming nonetheless. 

Relationship:

Really the only thing that changes between you two is his openness with his affection for you. He’ll keep an arm around your shoulders when you two hang out, and plant kisses on your head when you bake. 

He’ll steal kisses too. 

I like to imagine you two going to an ice arena for a date, and him being so in awe of your skating abilities that he falls right on his ass. You’ll remind him of that story at every chance you get - and he’ll hate that he loves the way you laugh so beautifully.

[kendrixtermina]

Space Babies

I did not like the overly silly & unserious beginning sequence, but once they landed on the spaceship it got solid, & there’s an actual sense of exploration, mystery, sensowunder & familiar thematic beats since the persistence of humanity, the solving things by talking („just creatures you haven’t met yet“), the Doctor as confident, enthusiastic & very experiened.

Ruby just had more emotional reactions in 2 minutes than all the Chibnall companions did in the entire opening two-partner. She’s woved by space. She’s showing concern for the Doctor. She’s awed at seeing humanity’s survival. She’s guessing & thinking.

UGH im just so glad.

Like she manages to seem like a person while continuing to be established as someone who rolls with crazy very well, as in the previous episode. It’s the little subtle reactions & questions that still make her seem like a person / functional audience surrogate.

That opening dialogue is a good summary of the Doctor as an explorer.

Ovsly they’re expositioning a lot of the lore of the Doctor’s backstory for any new fans who are only starting to watch wth this ‚era‘, but they’re also showing us where he arrived at as a character after his time with Donna.

He’s still rushing from place to place & being a tad blunt at it, he’s still glossing over heavy serious stuff by saying it lightly, but he’s come a long way since Martha had to forcbly drag the backstory out of him, and found a renewed sense of joy & purpose.

I love how they’re doing his reactions of being excited by the weird. Like, there’s the character I like again! (I suppose run with RTD’s patchup of explaining 13s OOC-ness with burnout, I don’t think that’s what Chibnall was doing, but it’s the best they could do & an unboring concept. I kinda wish we could just ignore the timeless child nonsense completely but I realize why that’s not possible, at least they’re actually showing him having an opinion about it. (‚the adopted one was the one to survive‘)

Like they’re actually trying to give it some meaning & have the character say what it means to him (exactly the thing Chibnall just never did with the twist for the sake of twist) & tying it into some celebration of diversity, which like strikes me as how the Doctor’s character would react to such a thing. They’re steering it away from ‚specialest little boy‘ & having him still identify with the culture he grew up with. (it probably lands better than it could have otherwise because they’re having someone from an immigrant family like Gatwa perform it. Like he’s got other roots but probably also sees Britain as his home & part of him? More sort of how many immigrants in europe tend to see themselves rather than the US American culture = genes nonsense. ‚In Germany I‘m the Turkish kid but when I go to Turkey I notice I’m very German’ type of thing. )

I still hate the timeless child thing with a passion & still wish it didn’t exist, but this is probably the best way to salvage it.

It’s telling that they’re not even using the fancy mary suey title „timeless child“ but having him say he was randomly found & no one knows where he cae from etc. that’s a different framing/flavoring less eviscerating of the character & less invalidating of all the previous stuff.

Well. I got the time jigzaw line, im grateful for it, its explicitly ambiguous what the og backstory was.

Especially in the context of the current arc with the rewritten universe, it does make sense that he doesn’t even know what his original backstory was, he’s kind of outlived not just Gallifrey, but his OG timeline, his OG version of the universe, sort of a unaligned unmoored chaotic existence. Theres some pathos to that, and you can see Ncuti channeling a bunch of his own feelings into it.

Though this makes me wonder how they’ll handle the Master when he comes back, if he’s now the one that did it in place of the Daleks. )

A speaking baby is unexpectedly funny, especially since they move their lips XD

I also love how much Ruby & the Doctor are obviously having fun together and acting like actual friends.

I keep being excited over low bar things but, like, UGH Chibnall traumatized me.

Still, they ARE actually doing a good job at showing Ruby & the Doctor behaving like friends, especially in the way they’re making jokes & gesturing.

They comitted to the ‚kindergarten meets space accident‘ aesthetic…

I love how Ruby immediately kicks into Big Sister Mode. The last episode we mostly got to know her family but there wasn’t so much on Ruby herself so in these episodes we’re probably going to focus on her.

The babies act like a mix between serious astronauts and actual babies xD

I love how sucinct & archetypical the answer of „The Bogeyman“ is. No uneccessary Fluff.

And though he’s warmer & more open, the doctor is still distinctly his a tad insensitive, big ego self.

So that’s the reveal.

I like this. This kinda miscarriage of justice situation and a random accountant who doesn’t know how to run anything being the one who stayed behind. „they won’t stop the babies being born but won’t care for them“… badum tsch.

Ohh, ohh the refugee line. That’s SO on point. That’s all the shit I’m mad about in current european politics. That’s not pulling punches.

I love how Ruby is the one to piece together the fairytale logic.

Like the Doctor’s excited to be learning the ‚new physics‘, but he’s the physicist. Ruby is kind of a fairytale protagonist, crazy number of siblings included.

Erics’s little toy sword :(((

Ruby’s actress NAILED this one. Like her concern & everything.

(oh thank fuck there are feelings in this show again)

RTD was rather good at world building, wasn’t he? Like making unique little one-off settings. Yeah, he had his flaws with the resent button endings & overblown pathos at times, but I always thought he did worldbuilding & flavor text pretty well. I like Joycelyn.

So yeah, we’re definitely getting to know Ruby in this episode and she’s pretty proactive & rolling with the punches a lot. Like she improv’d the distraction, she decided she was going with the Doctor etc. like, a lot of companions would have stayed with the babies (for different reasons), or gone with the Doctor mostly out of worry for him and have an emotional moment here, but Ruby’s like, just casually deciding here. She’s very ‚cool‘.

And she's embroiled in some kind of never-seen-before phenomenon. But after Donna, Amy & Clara that's just average tuesday for the Doctor at this point. Unknown Phenomena go Brr!

Must be wild for Ruby that this super-experienced time-traveller guy can't explain her.

Like I’m already getting a sense of ‚what would Ruby do if you throw her at a given situation‘ which fucking Chibnall couldn’t give us with 3 seasons and 3 characters to contrast off each other.

I love how they save the monster, too. I love the TARDIS key scene and how the Doctor’s actually excited to have Ruby on his team, & actually asking her. (war flashback to that compilation of prev Doctors inviting their companions enthusiastically except for the very awkward chibnall scenes or how 13 barely showed any emotion when any of them left)

it’s fucking Doctor Who again. The HUMANIST THEMES! The xenophile eccentric nerd protagonist. The friendship & humanity & shit.

It’s the show that I used to like that I didn’t fucking recognize in Chibnal’s trashfire except for, like, the one stray good-ish ep per season.

I’ll take it. I’m like, the Dad from ‚the Prodigal Son‘ today.

I lost it & it came back, I’ll take it.

Love also how this time the Doctor has the 'no undoing the past' convo right away to pre-empt a repeat of 'Father's Day'.

[desertfangs]

How do you feel what the show is doing to the characters? Especially to Daniel?

Listen, I don't love it. But before I go on, let me just say this is my only my opinion and I'm not trying to steal your joy if you do! The show just doesn't work for me. If you want to know why, read on. Otherwise, feel free to scroll on past and don't let me yuck your yum. The first thing I heard about the show was actually that they were making Daniel an old man and it was going to be second interview and I was immediately wary. I mean, a second interview might neat but why does it have to be a mortal Daniel conducting it? Changing Daniel's story that much meant that Devil's Minion--the real, true-to-book Devil's Minion--could never happen. Armand's whole character arc in that section is learning to love and accept that he deserves loves and making the decision to turn and not lose Daniel. Daniel's whole arc is wanting immortality, falling desperately in love with an immortal, and finally accepting that he cannot have it and is willing to die at peace in said immortal's arms. None of that happens if Daniel is old now, end of story. No matter what the show does with flashbacks, whether or not it gives them time together than TV!Daniel has forgotten--forcibly or otherwise--that story is irrevocably changed.

But the trailer looked great!! I was willing to give it a chance. I'm also a huge fan of Lestat and Louis/Lestat was my first and formative ship in this fandom so I was willing to hear it out and see what story it was trying to tell. I figured yeah, it sucks that they've changed my favorite guy but maybe the rest of it will be good! I watched every single episode. But sadly, it just didn't work for me.

None of the characters feel like their book counterparts to me. Of course, your mileage may vary on that score, but to me, they don't have anything in common: their personalities, their motivations, their goals (such as we are given them, which I feel is quite lacking)... none of it lines up to me with the characters I've known and loved for so long. Louis is telling the story and I don't feel like I understand him in the show very well. Lestat is loathsome and hateful and doesn't even have a care for Claudia. Why is Armand pretending to be human? What game are they playing?

For Daniel in particular, Young Daniel seems lackluster and bored, trolling gay bars to score drugs and disinterested in his interview project, when in the book, Daniel the Reporter Boy is passionate about it, curious about people and their stories, respectful and gently prodding. TV!Daniel is angry and aggressive, rude and pushy. (The flashback bar scene in particular really felt like it lacked a complete understanding of what makes these characters tick, and then we got the Rashid reveal and it's like.. OK sure, but why should I care? Who is this guy?)

I don't recognize these characters or how they relate to each other. Add to that the way the timeline was totally changed and the fact that the lore feels very Generic TV Vampire rather than Ricean, and it's just not my bag.

I'm happy for all of the people who love it! I just cannot join you.

Thank you for the ask, anon, I have no idea if this is the answer you were hoping for and I'm sorry if not.

[arttypeomochao]

Here are the Sinnoh Elite Four too!

Aaron:

There's not a whole lot to Aaron, design-speaking or otherwise. I'm pretty sure he's implied to be a bug catcher, so I tried to amplify that in his design. In the original redesign, I gave him these sharp, intense eyes, but I've recently found a love for the more innocent, boyish take on his personality I've seen, so I softened up his gaze. (Btw the contraption on his back is a mini bug habitat).

I think Aaron would definitely be the youngest and most inexperienced of the four. He still has a lot to learn and is quite naive, but his passion for Bug Pokémon and battling are very real.

Bertha:

Bertha's design has grown on me over time, but I still feel like she's missing something to indicate her type specialty. I decided to make her the League's groundskeeper. I completely revamped her outfit and gave her a kimono and a rake to signify her passion for gardening. She'd probably have an entire zen garden just in her room.

Bertha is definitely still the friendly old lady type, but she has a wiseness to her that makes having a conversation with her that much more enriching. She's probably been working at the League for a very long time, so she knows the place inside out. I think she'd also be Roark's grandmother, as the two have somewhat similar hairstyles and type specialties.

Flint:

My favourite Sinnoh character without question. Most of the thought process behind designing him is literally just "how can I make him even better?" I tried to accentuate the cool factor and make him all around more flashy and exciting to look at.

This Flint is very, very proud. A loud and egotistical party boy with a LOT of fans. And he's well aware of it. Also a part-time shitty boyfriend to Volkner, who eventually blows up at him for being exactly that, before they kiss and make up. HATES to lose and hates anybody that makes him lose. A massive sore loser when it comes to sportsmanship. Volkner's probably the only member of the entire League that tolerates him lmao.

Lucian:

I like Lucian but his original design bores me a little. I tried my hand at making his suit and hairstyle fancier, and I think it worked. Also tried to add more colours to the design to make him better stand out.

A MASSIVE bookworm. I think it would make more sense for Lucian to be the lore nerd over Cynthia, because his whole thing is reading. The League probably has its own private library entirely at his request. Though he looks intimidating, I imagine he's really just a massive introvert with slight social anxiety.

(His Key Stone is embedded in a ring on his right index finger).