#especially when u compare it to earlier seasons

[nightcolorz]

truly on board the armand meta train this evening but you mentioned in a post earlier about how the amc iwtv fandom reacted to the depictions of SA with Claudia in s1 and how it was responded to with sensitivity, and then in s2 this does continue- but only for her. The amount of people i have seen on various platforms (mostly show only fans) believing that Armand was lying about his own sexual trauma and repeated assaults for his own gain (again seemingly for some fan’s need to have a clear villian)

It just feels really horrible that a fandom that reacted in such a way to this sort of material in the first season concerning a female character who was underage (if only physically), then goes on to deny, belittle, and even romanticise and sexualise the same sort of trauma that happened to a male character who was also underage (and also mentally as well as physically.) Especially because Claudia’s trauma was only added by the show, which makes it no less valid- but pointing out it was not in the books like Armand’s explicitly was.

I think what im trying to say with that is that Armand’s sexual trauma was already explicitly canon and adapted from that book canon to the show, whereas Claudia’s was a show invention yet is treated a lot more sensitivity and is being believed more (again, i think this is due to show watchers seeing anything Claudia says as objective truth as it is more through the eyes of Daniel- who is of course always completely right and fair (/s) compared to Louis and Armand who of course must always be twisting the truth in some way from their own gain)

Anyway i have gone on a bit but I would love to hear your thoughts on the show’s audience reaction to Claudia’s SA and trauma in comparison to Armand’s

ooo yes I love this question, I’ve thought about it before. the double standard there is honestly pretty upsetting to me. I think part of why the fandom treats Claudia’s sa differently than Armand’s is definitely partly bcus of what u said, how Armand is assumed to be never truthful and Claudia is considered always truthful, which is applied by some ppl to everything they say and do with no nuance. I think a part of it is also a broader fandom issue where male sexual assault isn’t considered as serious/valid/wrong etc as female sexual assault is. so you’ll find people in fandom spaces who believe and discuss how sexual violence against women is a sensitive subject that needs to be treated with care, then go and treat male sexual assault in fiction like it’s sexy, or funny, or not so serious. because of the bias of course that exists with real sexual violence where male victims r often less likely to be treated seriously, believed, etc then female victims. when u think about it, considering the pretty prevalent socially ingrained belief that men can’t be sexually assaulted or that sexual assault against men isn’t as serious as sexual assault against women combined with a chunk of the fandom’s tendency to interpret everything Armand does or says as malicious or deceitful, it makes sense that this would be a prevalent take, but god it’s so disgusting, I hate it.

Armand’s history of childhood sexual abuse is extremely important to his character, as u said it was in the books, and the reason it was adapted so faithfully is because u *can not* remove it or change it without completely rewriting Armand and changing a lot of his fundamental characteristics. So frankly, it’s so fucking stupid to see people saying he’s lying, as if that would not be a character assignation so drastic it would be absurdly stupid for any writer to come up with. It would be like, idk, saying Claudia lied about being turned into a vampire when she was a child and that she actually was over 18, or some shit like that. Like genuinely be so for real 😭. And I mentioned it in another ask but I can’t say it enough, it’s repulsive to insist that a fictional sexual abuse victim who’s history of sexual violence is actively incredibly impactful to everything he does is “lying for sympathy”. Like y’all need to realize that u r making disgusting implications about real victims of assault and u sound like actual freaks. Also u sound dumb lol, like USE UR BRAIN, how would Armand be lying or using his trauma to manipulate when he is clearly actively acting due to his trauma 😭

So many people who were talking about how sexual violence against women is super sensitive and the show needs to treat it with more care, making sure to add tws on their posts and to make respectful disclaimers and such, are now taking another character who was sexually assaulted and saying he is lying or manipulating or their making jokes about it because they see him as some villain only worthy of ridicule and nothing else. It’s gross!!

I think another part of it is probably how a lot of people only see victimhood as real or valid if they perceive the victim as none-complexly “good.” Since Claudia is perceived by the fandom as always in the right she is a real victim who deserves respect, and since Armand is the villain who’s in the wrong he is faking it or smth. In reality people who have experienced trauma, especially childhood sexual abuse as intense and horrible as what Armand went through, are very flawed!! And having flaws or being a bad person, especially when said flaws r very tied to the trauma itself, does not make someone in any way less of a victim!!

Armand was taught to believe that he is an actual object, he grew up in a dog eat dog world where there r men with power who use weaker people to stay in control and there are slaves who the men use for whatever they please, and he internalized that this is how he will always has to live bcus this is how the world works. Assad zaman literally said Armand doesn’t know what love is bcus he’s never experienced it 😭. Armand models every relationship he has after his relationship with Marius, who literally raped and abused him as a child, because he was the first person who ever loved him 😭 and armand is always chasing love because he has never truly felt it and doesn’t know why he feels so empty. Marius taught Armand that love is using someone for their body and hitting them when they disobey u. Of course he’s fucked up! Of course he sees his relationship with Louis as a transactional power grab where he’s either the master or the slave before he sees it as loyalty and trust and companionship, of course he betrays him ‼️. And like 😭 everything wrong with Armand and all of the fucked up shit he does can be tied to his trauma . Come oooonnn 😭🙏 he is not lying 💀 he’s not trying to manipulate Louis or “gain sympathy”, Jesus Christ.

the petty, book purist part of me is so annoyed that a somewhat irresponsible rape plot line that was added without as much care as it should have been, especially considering it wasn’t necessary to the character or the story and wasn’t in the books, is being treated with more validity and sympathy and respect then a male characters childhood sexual trauma that has shaped every aspect of how he functions and behaves. And that’s petty 😭 but like, I can’t say I’m wrong for being off put. This is genuinely mf gross.

thank uuuu for the ask u r literally the best ahhhh!!! I hope this was interesting, I’m a lil brain fried rn lol

[loverofstufflof]

Airing out my LMK trailer/S5 thoughts cause u gotta do this somehow

Most glaring, animation. It’s not bad, by any means. I’d certainly be proud of myself if I were able to come up with it.

However, I think it’s important to consider the context of the show’s style, and how it’s been improving significantly over instalments. Also, it’s Flying Bark. Flying Bark is just gonna make banger animation.

Am I a bit disappointed when comparing it to Emperor’s Wrath? Yeah. Especially when we’ve been waiting a full year for this—twice as long as usual.

But I’m not saying I won’t be watching the show because of it. I still love this story. Fuck, my favourite series is Epithet Erased. The show that’s best described as JPEGs wiggling around your screen for 2 hours. I can handle less than expected animation if it’s made up for by good writing.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people attacking invisible fans that claim they’re going to boycott the show because of this. Respectfully, source? The most aggressive criticism I’ve seen is “man that’s disappointing ig, still excited tho”. Who are you guys even fighting lmao. (Unless this is something happening on other platforms and you’re just venting on here which, valid)

Nevertheless, as I’ve said before, it’s not bad animation, just not up to the standard we’re used to. People are allowed to be disappointed. Let them be. This show isn’t flawless.

It’s looking to be real, all things considered. We’ve never gotten a fan leak this elaborate before, and it contains a lot of elements that were just recently revealed. Unless they’ve been getting announcements much earlier than we have (considering this fanbase’s sleuth skills, I’d doubt it) then there’s no other explanation other than it being official.

Official, however, doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to look that way the whole time. The animation is being done by another studio, yes, but only partially. Flying Bark is still here for the fun. This other studio also isn’t incompetent, they’re behind things like Carmen Sandiego. They know what they’re doing.

They’re also primarily handling additional material, means promotions, meaning trailers. Listen, it’s a bit of a stretch considering the fact that all trailers so far have been taken directly from the show, but also it’s industry standard to make a trailer before you’re even done, meaning you gotta cut some corners for the scenes you’re showing until you polish them up in post.

We know LEGO has a habit of keeping LMK things in their vault until they need to, this may be something they had lying around from early prod and released to maintain hype.

Any which way, this development is very much temporary, only applying because the team is currently working on a movie and need to momentarily lessen their workload. Even if the odds are against us and S5 looks like a PowerPoint presentation, it’ll likely go back to normal later.

Biiig animation rant aside, I am a tad bit sad about the direction the story is going in (namely the abandonment of Red Son) and the fan service is a bit much, but honestly what else are we expecting from JTTW fanfic.

I’m stoked to see more Macaque though—he’s looking to be becoming a proper protagonist, which is great for angst! Yippee!

One thing I haven’t seen anyone talk about is the complete lack of Nüwa. You know, the character they’ve been teasing this whole time? Where is she? Not in the trailer. Not in the posters.

Makes me wondering if this is a part of the new season, teasing the next one, the one Nüwa’s in, later.

[iraprince]

I adore all your art with cookie and was interested in Sapphicworld- but I’m curious (so plz don’t take this as a negative-) what exactly in your opinion sets it apart from other Queer PBTA hacks like Thirsty Sword Lesbians?

I’d just really like to hear your thoughts about it as a system and world especially given you are a indie developer yourself?

hi!! thank you!!

so, a few caveats before i start off — one, i actually haven't played many other pbta games (like for example i know Of thirsty sword lesbians + own a copy that i've poked around in but im not very familiar w it), so i honestly can't provide much in the way of comparing/contrasting it w other pbta stuff in the same vein, and my impressions of sapphicworld are pretty much just contained to the game as its own thing, not so much sapphicworld as a Type Of Game

and two, while i am a dev myself, i'm a huge novice! like, i'm proud of the stuff i put out and i love doing it, but i personally feel like my lack of experience is such that like, i don't think my opinions in this case are particularly informed by my own work as a dev or anything. all this to say im happy to answer this question, i think i just gotta tackle it from a different frame than what ur specifically asking!

BUT ANYWAY. i can still talk abt why im so excited abt sapphicworld in a way that has kind of outstripped other stuff in general, and for me it's about the world 100%. like i honestly spend close to no time thinking abt the fact that sw is even pbta to be honest. not that the mechanics + gameplay aren't important, bc they are thoughtfully crafted and well done and fun, and i'm saying that from the perspective of someone who playtested earlier versions that have now been reworked! it's just like, not what comes to mind first for me — what's exciting and fresh and irreplaceable abt the game in my mind is like. it is fully committed to immersing you in an extremely lush, strange, richly fleshed out world, one with a long history and folklore/mythology and a TON of really fun npcs who all have different subcultures and its own calendar with seasonal holidays and regional terrain with specific fleshed out dungeons/towns/etc to discover and even like, specific FOODS typical to each different region and and and and —

and maybe at first that seems kind of overwhelming, and tbh it is. when i first got into it and i was going thru the playtest document (which if im remembering right was like. ~300 pages shorter at the time than the current playtest doc) i DO remember anxiously thinking to myself "god this is a LOT and idk if i'll be able to retain enough of this to rp convincingly" etc etc. but like... it's just really compelling, and it does an incredible job of mixing humor and gravity and horniness in a perfect ratio that always comes across as intensely earnest and makes it equally easy to have a fun goofy time or a really emotional time, which i think is REALLY hard to do.

and while normally it's hard for me to get thru something that dense and long all i can really say is that i just straight up like it enough and was charmed by it enough to pick away at it until i grasped it and felt like i understood a bunch about the world, which also has a curve to it bc in structure and tone its very different from any of your... idk more Standard fantasy or sci fi worldbuilding, so it's not like u can immediately slot in ur expectations from other settings and just learn some new vocab words, it's a world that from my perspective also Functions differently than a lot of other fictional settings in a way that's a little hard to describe succinctly. (none of this is succinct to begin with but ykwim). it makes me want to gm my own campaign, really really bad, when usually i have always been absolutely Terrified of the idea of gming! idk man. it has a Flavor. it's full of Vapors. u get transported somewhere else reading it and playing it in a way i haven't experienced in a while and a lot of times after a playtest session i felt like my brain stayed behind in sapphicworld for a pretty long time.

i feel like i am sounding a little melodramatic and incoherent but like. genuinely sapphicworld is just a fictional world that i am really bone-deep charmed by and interested in and when i WAS reading thru the rulebook for those first days it did not take me long at all to find myself constantly thinking "i want to play in this world, i want to play in this world, i can't wait to play in this world," and i just think that's really special. and like — just as your curiosity abt comparing sw to tsl was not intended as a diss or a negative, what im abt to say is similarly neutral — im a person who sometimes finds it a little difficult to click with or feel excited abt a lot of the Queer Indie Stuff that i see get popular with other people, bc it just doesn't connect w my specific lesbian + trans experience; not that it feels inauthentic but that im like, oh, idk, i think these guys are just. not My Zone, ykwim. on the flip side so much of the humor and heart and transness and sex in sapphicworld is something that really resonates w me and just Clicks in a way that i have also found really special.

rounding myself off before i ramble for like five more paragraphs but just as one more morsel of something i like abt sapphicworld that is a little more concrete than me spinning around the room yelling "I JUST LIKE IT OKAY": one of the most fun parts of character creation is getting to mix and match your kind (sort of like ancestry/species, the form ur physical body takes) with a subculture. so u get things like a werewolf babe (cookie! babe being a subculture that focuses on being Like, Totally Hot), or a centaur knight, or a minotaur debaucher, or a vampire cowboy, or an organist (cthulu-y tentacle guy) scenester, or a skeleton wizard, etc etc etc etc — there are SO MANY to pick from that when i was trying to bait my friends into playing w me i couldn't find a convenient way to list them all so ppl could start thinking abt their characters. and every possible combination basically is interesting and amusing and fun and practically THROWS a great oc into your lap and i literally think i could amuse myself endlessly just Making Characters in sapphicworld and never actually playing w them.

[panting, disheveled] so tldr. i like it. uh. what sets sapphicworld apart from other ttrpgs to me is that i have fallen balls to the wall in love with the very soul of it to the point where i don't even really think about it in comparison to other games at all and it has just become an Experience to me and i suppose i cannot guarantee anyone else will fall into insane homosexual hysteria in the same way but here we are. HOPE THAT HELPS

(ALSO PSSST. idk if this is just perfect timing or if ur curiosity was specifically prompted by this but the @sapphicworldttrpg patreon DID just launch and if any of this has been intriguing u should check it out. okay mwah bye)

[mdverse]

6 and 16

6: Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

answered that one here!

16: If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

oh there's a bunch of stuff lmaooo i could list quite a few things off the top of my head but then we'd be here forever so i'll stick to one for now unless u want more

beyond my rant about the whole ikag thing, i think the main thing rn is that i would've approached britt as a character differently? obviously i like her a lot, she's one of my faves, but i feel like we don't get to experience her pov that much the way we do with other characters and it feels especially apparent when it comes to brittana compared to other main ships. for the most part i feel like the brittana storyline was more centered around santana and her feelings for britt, whereas with other ships (finchel, klaine, samcedes) we get insight into both povs. and then the one time we really could've benefitted from seeing her side of things it got cut from the episode (i am talking about dancing on my own gcv) (i was literally talking about this earlier with bella bc i was listening to it)

and then that just extends to her as an individual character. during my last rewatch i remember complaining for a while about how she's just shoved into the background in the second half of s3, aside from lil bits and pieces in specific episodes (like one-liners or getting to perform in the whitney ep and stuff) because she's barely on screen at all. out of all the glee kids in the first 3-4 seasons she's one of the characters who really gets the least to do in storylines and it's such a bummer to me. idk i just wish there was more of her that isn't just. britt saying throwaway lines and whimsical stuff that everyone else makes faces at? like i appreciate the comedy and the light-heartedness she brings to the show but it just feels like the writers didn't really try with her

salty ask game

[cherry-berry-candy]

okay TLoRS complaints and nitpicks sorry folks

(ft. my headmate nyx cowriting lol)

yes i am 100% going to be overly critical but i feel like i can nitpick if im open about this being partially nitpicks. this episode has just been really sticking in our brain, so we found ourselves with a lot to say about it, especially as we rewatch it. this also slowly turned into me thinking "okay, truman show theory has to be real because i feel like things wouldn't be this Weird otherwise, there's no way it was just written this way"

OKAY i put a cut so i can justify how ungodly long this got 😭

why are we going to unit about this right now? what spurred this on? (this is a bit of a pattern this season, stories just kind of... starting. truman show fixes this, but otherwise...)

why is the immediate assumption that susan MUST be this exact susan related to the doctor? why is this so quickly accepted as fact? was the TARDIS anagram supposed to be enough justification? (maybe we're being overly critical here... i can see ruby having the immediate thought with TARDIS/susan, but even then i feel like im filling in gaps for the story just to justify that)

also, why are we also working on ruby's mystery mom right now? is there a reason outside of... we need to get involved with her story for the purpose of the narrative? (again there's some version of the truman show reveal that could explain this, but right this second...)

is there any reason for the "is there any chance they're... the same woman?"? like, we as the audience are assuming that these things are related, because they're the season arc. the show is nodding to the fact that we as the audience are assuming this. but why is morris making this assumption? (this is very much nitpicky i feel, but i cant help it! 13's era has made me a lot more vigilant to purely-for-the-plot lines)

does it make sense for rose to come with ruby for, like. any reason? 😭i mean, she needs to come with, so that carla can have the 20 second interaction that makes her decide to come to UNIT, but like... 😭??? they just met, and i like that they immediately vibe, but it's still weird, no? even when we get there, she's not even in any shots until she says the two lines that lead to carla going to UNIT. is this intentionally supposed to feel weird, is it just kind of awkward, or am i just being nitpicky again?

speaking of carla... it's so weird for me that she decides she's joining unit just because rose's mom is part of it?? especially since this decision is split second 20 seconds into the scene 😭and the music just reads so cheesy to me. it feels unearned with how little carla we've had this season, especially compared to rose tyler's family, martha's family, donna's family.... okay just the RTD families tbh LOL, but those are the only families who were ever directly involved in the Major plot points. (again, maybe truman show reveal retroactively fixes this- well of COURSE she thought she needed to join unit, that needed to happen for the plot to happen, wink!)

"do you think it's her?" wait. okay, so... we're not working under the assumption that she is already? when did that change? 😭we were full in on "well yeah, that's who she is!" to "are you sure she is?" to "she is, you should go say hi!" (though... rewatching it seems like it's mostly ruby who sticks to this assumption? but no one ever like... denies the assumption or throws doubt on it until kate briefly thinks it, before quickly going back to the assumption. idk, am i reading this wrong?)

wait, we... already knew susan triad was human? we did??? why and how did we already know that what 😭 (edit: we misunderstood a line from earlier! for whatever reason, we thought "no alien traces" referred to her technology- turns out it actually refers to her biology! oops!)

kind of going out of order now but who the hell is this UNIT guy. not the one who dies, the other one (looked it up, Ibrahim!) it's because he's going to be a main character in the inevitable UNIT spinoff, right? like there's literally no other reason to name him? lol 😭

goes doubly for the vlinx. we don't know what it is, but we just really don't like him. we can't put it properly into words, it's just weird that he exists 😭he does nothing for me he's just supposed to be this Sick Epic robot UNIT has for some reason. feels very kids show sci-fi. i guess it's a family show, but we'd been doing fine as a family show without this kind of thing, correct us if we're wrong

aren't we, like. incredibly concerned about susan twist? no offense ruby, but i feel like finding your mom should be a little lower on the priority list here! the doctor prioritizing his companion makes sense but... morris and kate? why are they just cool with this detour? there's just no protest at the doctor sidelining the susan stuff? not to mention it makes the episode feel kind of weird pacing-wise.

"but what happened? what happened on that night?" oh yeah, carla's in the room! im so sorry but carla being here really doesn't feel like it adds much to the scene 😭this question could have been asked by literally anyone, and the delivery doesn't exactly help how i feel about it. everyone else has a verbal reaction to the time window, but carla (well, and ibrahim) are just kind of... in the room about it. until this line, that is. (her next line makes me feel a bit better about her inclusion though, actually a character moment instead of an expositional question! but still... how much would've been lost without her, especially with the flimsy reason for her coming?)

okay no seriously why is ibrahim introduced like he's a character and then get not a single piece of dialogue in this scene

"i know its name... its the beast!" does have some greater significance, especially considering the impossible planet and the beast below- shared VA and satan and all that- i feel like carla being the one person otherwise disconnected from this UNIT/alien stuff does make this line make sense for specifically her. so maybe i really am being harsh on her inclusion at UNIT.

hmmm then again, chidozie makes the connection by mentioning being "in hell", so im still not entirely sold? especially when this connection will probably not be that important- it just adds fun extra context... right?

"i think susan triad is a part of it" okay but seriously where is this connection coming from. like she is a part of it, but why is this the assumption we made? (maybe this is the doctor making an excuse to be selfish, and it's on me for taking him at his word?)

yeah okay if i didn't know what sutekh was, the way this reveal was handled would really do nothing for me 😭like to make the direct comparison to professor yana (especially with the sue tech screen stuff and the typing of "yana", i feel the comparison makes sense... hm especially with the master vainglorious playing... okay tv theory shut up for a second) the master is a recurring villain. not only that, but there are implications that we can gather from the rest of the episode, and the rest of the season. there's a big deal made about the doctor being the last of the time lords, and speaking so highly of them. and then, when he learns he's not alone, he's actually afraid. he's dreading it. it also helps that "the master" is such a similar name to "the doctor", so all this gives us the implication that this is something like an evil doctor. really all the info you need for this reveal. and then, the reveal is even BETTER for people who actually know the master already. sutekh had only showed up once- so folks who didn't watch classic who have a lot less reason to know about them. not only that, but there's not really any, like... themes or anything that show up this season, right? like, the doctor is scared of him, but yeah, he's like. superdeath or something. there were a lot of... triangles! this season! that's something i guess 😭and we didn't really have the context until now that sutekh is part of the pantheon, from what i understand? it just doesn't feel like there's really anything significant to connect sutekh to... anything. kinda losing steam because a billion other people have pointed this out already, but. yeah, it just doesn't hit that hard.

anyway, feel free to yell at me or disagree or what have you! im totally willing to be that i missed something, or overanalyzed something, or was overly critical, or just said something weird because our sleep schedule has been terrible LOL, but i wanted to put a lot of these things down

[harmonicabisexuals]

season 4 rewatch thoughts! overall, this season feels very dark, much darker in tone than s3. when I when I look at all the episodes next to each other, the only true “funny” episode is “small potatoes” (”sanguinarium” and “el mundo gira” are lighter in tone in some scenes but still overall pretty dark). this is probably in part due to darin morgan leaving the show, but I also think that the cancer arc looms large over the whole season, even in the episodes before “leonard betts” to some degree, especially since on rewatch I knew it was coming.

it’s also interesting to see how much more physical M/S are with each other this season, especially compared to s3-- so many little touches and 5(!) hugs when we only had two hugs in s2 (irresistible, anasazi) and one in s3 (paper clip). there are many metas that can be written about why but it’s interesting to observe the change. 

writing: morgan and wong’s episodes this season felt a little inexplicably off compared to their earlier work (except for “never again”), and I wonder if it was hard for them to find their groove again after the tone shift and sort of stabilization that happened in s3 while they were gone. vince gilligan was definitely my favorite writer this season, but i did actually really enjoy the chris carter/frank spotnitz writing team too-- the two-part myth arcs were more consistently good this season.

favorite episodes: paper hearts, leonard betts, never again, memento mori, tempus fugit/max, demons

71% worth rewatching (a little less than s3 at 75%)

episode opinion tags under the cut

Herrenvolk- some good moments but not really any resolution? not explained v well

Home- creepy af, but didn’t enjoy it as much on rewatch? felt a bit heavy handed

Teliko- not the best racial commentary lol but they were trying. M/S both look hot af tho

Unruhe- a minute Vince Gilligan slay

The Field Where I Died- a little too woo woo even for the x files lol, but some good moments! 

Sanguinarium- it’s okay. witchy! Mulder and Scully are hot af tho

Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man- CSM backstory, kind of feels like US History fanfic or a Forrest Gump parody?? Almost zero M/S

Tunguska- kind of action movie vibes? decent

Terma- same as prev, very Bourne identity vibes…the congressional hearing scene makes me screammm tho lol

Paper Hearts- so so good but so sad

El Mundo Gira- the aliens/illegal aliens metaphor was a lil convoluted, but decent overall

Leonard Betts- wild!! and really good!!

Never Again- get it* Scully!!! *tramp stamp and some dick

Memento Mori- nooooo  :(((((

Kaddish- better than expected!

Unrequited- boringgg

Tempus Fugit- pretty good! scully’s birthday scene was so sweet :))

Max- really good! chilling plane crash sequence and love the M/S scenes especially the keychain speech at the end

Synchrony- interesting sci-fi concept, Mulder has memorized Scully’s thesis :’)

Small Potatoes- really funny but the second hand embarrassment is STRONG

Zero Sum- killer bees! and no Scully :(

Elegy- that convo at the end…gonna lose it. otherwise a bit meh.

Demons- really good whodunnit, sad when u think about the *implications*

Gethsemane- ahhh that cliffhanger! very Plot heavy tho

[prfctmxxnlight]

milkvans thinking they did something by saying only bylers hated the season finale

i’m sorry but if byler would’ve happened i would still think it was a shitty finale because it is

[therealvinelle]

Okay given the way you see Edward’s obsession with Bella and fetishized view of humanity, and your familarity with vampire diaries earlier seasons- can u write a meta comparing the Edboi / Bella dynamic to the Stefan / Elana one? I feel theres something to be said with it, especially regarding Stefan’s ripper issues, his squirrel diet, and his absolute terror about Elana becoming a vamp even when shes in danger because her special human blood makes her valuable (and they know from Katherine that vamping will get her out of that situation) …. Idk what do u think? Is Stefan the same as Eddie? Is he worse? Thx :)

Ho hum, you're asking a lot from someone who has a very selective memory. Stefan and the whole Stelena romance never interested me, and as such I have a very hard time remembering much about it. I can give you my vague thoughts, but for an in-depth analysis you should look elsewhere.

(This blog and this one (not tagging so they don't have to put up with a Twilight rando tagging them) are Stelena shippers who know what they're talking about.)

To start off, being a vampire in Twilight and being a vampire in The Vampire Diaries are different things. Edward looks like an alien made of stone, while Stefan looks the same as he ever did. Edward is insanely strong and faster than the human eye can see, while Stefan is strong and fast, but his physical relationship with Elena is a non-issue. Edward is so hard to kill or even injure that he can't even commit suicide, meanwhile Stefan has to worry about human vampire hunters and is frequently incapacitated by just about everybody. Human-vampire relationships are commonplace in TVD and vampires can live side by side with them, while in Twilight they're not a thing, at all, humans are dinner and vampires are terrifying, and if you develop feelings for a human you turn them.

As it is, Stefan not wanting Elena to be a vampire is different from Edward in that Elena herself does not want to be a vampire. At one point she is willing to chance that a five hundred year old magic potion will resurrect her, and if it doesn't then she'll die. Becoming a vampire would guarantee her survival, Elena chooses the potion. Stefan, to my recollection, admits that he would prefer to keep her (do NOT quote me on this, I could be Mandela effecting but I have no idea where to find a clip or wiki entry confirming this), but he understands that that's not a life Elena wants.

Stefan's opposed to Elena becoming a vampire because he's respecting her choice, Edward is opposed because he wants Bella to be human.

I have big memory holes re: the Ripper storyline, since I found it intensely boring (look, I was watching this show for Elijah), and I've never been able to figure out how the humanity switch is supposed to make sense, but it seems to me that being a ripper wasn't a choice Stefan was able to make, at least, not under fully informed and uncoerced circumstances. He woke up a vampire under traumatic circumstances, killed his father by accident, switched off his humanity and became a monster while unable to stop himself from being a monster. Klaus then later takes away his free will.

I don't think it's the same as Edward choosing to feed on humans because his tastebuds were sad.

I don't think Stefan and Edward are the same, or even similar.

[chitsangenthusiast]

ok so back in june i was blessed with getting to see @ducktollers's touchy-feely zukka art on my dash again, and i ended up getting a burst of creativity to write this lil snippet for it!

(then completely forgot to share it until now lmao anyway thank u ant for the food and i hope you enjoy 🧡🧡)

—

Sokka is in the middle of expounding on some point about boat mechanics to Katara when he drapes himself over Zuko’s back.

It’s not an unexpected surprise; Zuko knew it was coming the second Sokka took his usual step back to get behind him, and with the many years of their friendship he’s long gotten used to all the casual touching that the move happens so easily, so naturally he barely blinks.

But knowing it’s going to happen and being internally normal about it are two completely separate things, and he’s extremely grateful for the unspoken understanding that he’d be able to contribute absolute squat to this particular conversation because any meager attempt in following along goes right up in smoke.

His heart rate instantly goes into overdrive and his lungs constrict a little from the sheer force of how much he likes feeling that comforting warmth on his back—and from knowing just how much Sokka likes doing this too.

“No no no, Katara you’re completely off the mark—” Sokka starts, briefly catching Zuko’s eye in amusement before continuing on with his point, and he’s suddenly shifting his stance as he talks, making himself at home and angling his body so that the only thing Zuko’s shoulder needs to hold up is his chin. Hands then slide around his waist to settle on his stomach, Sokka’s fingers weave together, thumb and pointer finger even lightly pinching at his hoodie to keep themselves from slipping, and Zuko can’t stop himself from tensing up.

The entire move has caused him to fall back slightly into Sokka’s chest, and this—this is new. This is a different kind of held that Zuko hasn’t experienced before, hasn’t prepared himself for, and his utter shock over it has him standing as still as possible despite how staccato hard his pulse is running, because he swears he can feel Sokka’s own heart against his spine through all their layers and he’s not about to do anything that would make him let go.

He wants to savor this—in fact, he wants Sokka to pull him in even more, to snake his arms completely around his body to hold him tighter. He also wants to rest his forearms against Sokka’s own instead of leaving them awkwardly hanging at his sides, and his hands twitch in aborted desire.

He especially wants to work up the nerve to be able to hold Sokka like this too, so that he knows what it feels like to be so grounded within his arms.

“Zuko, hey, you agree with me, right?” Sokka suddenly asks, shaking him slightly to bring him back into the conversation. Not that it’s all that successful, because he had tilted his head to instead rest his cheek on Zuko’s shoulder as they started swaying, and his attention swiftly derailed at the barely-there brush of lips so close to his neck.

“Huh?” His skin feels like it’s burning where the ghosting breath of Sokka’s soft chuckling lands, and the fact that he’s inordinately jealous of his own neck receiving such nice treatment compared to where he really wants it is stupid. “Wait, what?”

Sokka laughs just a bit louder and gently presses his clasped hands into his stomach. “Just say yes if you agree with me.”

“Yes.” It goes without question.

Katara’s immediate noise of disgust is what finally rockets him back to reality, though any flaring embarrassment is quickly tamped down by quickly rising bewilderment at her obvious exasperation. “That’s cheating, Sokka. You can’t do that!”

“It’s not cheating, it’s two against one!” Sokka crows back, and then he is pulling Zuko into him more, wrapping an arm entirely around his chest to support him as he tilts them forward and points a goading finger at his sister. “Zuko just knows when to admit I’m right, is all!”

Zuko’s hands fly up to find purchase on his arm, sharply inhaling at all the extra contact between their bodies, and then chokes even harder when Sokka presses their cheeks together as a sign of unity. His nerves are thrumming, there’s a pretty solid amount of nervous excitement swirling in his chest, but his voice doesn’t betray any of that because—again, years of practice.

“Alright well now I’m siding with Katara if you’re going to start exaggerating.”

“See?” she demands, throwing out a hand his way to emphasize his point, and rolls her eyes hard at Sokka’s returning scoff.

“Nope, he already said he was on my side! No taking it back, I win this, Katara!”

“Oh, you are so full of it!” she shoots back, and Zuko thinks he might actually side with her anyway just to make everything more dramatic. But then she’s drawing herself up to her full height, planting her fists on her hips, and when she firmly meets his eye he inwardly groans because he knows that look. He’s about to wish that he had made his escape earlier when their argument had first started picking up traction.

“Zuko, go ahead and repeat Sokka’s last point was for me then. Here’s a hint, it has to do with seasonal constellations,” she says, and heat instantly explodes over his cheeks.

When the hell did she get Sokka to start arguing about astronomy, of all things?

“Uh—”

“Don’t fall for her trap!” Sokka hastily cuts in, craning forward to shoot him a pleading look before going back to nestling into the junction of his neck and shoulder. “Don’t answer that, just simply bask in the awesome feeling of sweet, sweet victory with me, dude.”

And—it’s the small charming smile thrown his way, the prolonged eye contact, and the pure, steady confidence in continuing to hold him that has Zuko breathing out a slow, pleased exhale and reaching backwards to carefully fold his hands over Sokka’s hips.

“Yeah,” he mumbles. A few of his fingers sneak through the belt loops on his pants, and Sokka beams at him. “Okay. I can do that.”

[deathgod-ben]

guess these anons aren't in the same fandom im in lmao bc i constantly see racism just like,, "casually" existing all the time in stuff like fics especially. esp w the characters of color are never allowed to have their own stories? like diego and ben are only ever there to be supporting characters that take care of klaus, and allison is only ever there to be a supporting character taking care of vanya and its just,,, really gross? and like, whether ppl do it intentionally or not, if your ranking allison diego and ben at the bottom of your list, that's still smth you should be asking yourself about and being critical of. and god don't even talk to me abt lila, patch, and raymond getting ignored constantly. if u don't wanna start discourse feel free to delete this btw but i just wanted to say i totally agree

NO LIKE FR 100% AGREE

I think a lot of people have one image of racism, like the one we often see in movements like Black lives matter, Stop Asian hate and so on. Which is a correct image, but they're so many other different racism too.

How Ben, Diego and Allison are written as supporting characters for their white siblings is a perfect example. THEY ARE SO MUCH MORE. I dont even read so much tua fanfic because of this reason.

I'll forever be made for what this fandom did to Lila. We have this badass southasian woman, but the fans tore her apart. Like, isnt characters like hers that is usually loved by the fandom? Oh no, wait, she isnt white so ofc we gonna hate on her.

Like, not saying the characters of color are perfect and innocent, because they are humans too. They make mistakes, they have flaws. But fans do be making them the worst character to ever exist every time one of them do something bad, especially if it's against one of the white characters.

Yes, this is 100% meant to Vanya and Klaus fans. Like, do people remember Vanya fans eating up Allison for rumoring her at the age of 5???? (idk maybe not five BUT SHE WAS A KID THEN and their dad made her do it) but when Vanya killed Pogo and cut Allison throat, suddenly Vanya is this innocent missunderstood sweet baby. Or how Klaus fans were ignoring how Klaus never let Ben talk to his own siblings and comparing him to their abusive dad, but suddenly when Ben said or did something against Klaus, he was a monster. (yes we talking about fandom racism but I hope people see some parallel to real life how children of color, especially black children are forced into adulthood earlier meanwhile white people always get turned into some misunderstood young person even though they're 30 years old)

Like characters of color can never be a complex character, the same way white characters can, and it's so freaking annoying and racist.

And oh, watch how the fandom forgets Patch and Raymond the second we enter season 3 (it did forget Patch) but forever remember Vanya's country wifey (I honestly forget her name)

[joneswuzhere]

hello join me in thinking about some books and authors that are, or might be, part of s5′s intertextuality

5.10 in particular offered specific shout outs, and also u know i’m always wondering what might be ahead so i have some ideas on that:

- first, as mentioned in a previous ask post, i know i wasn’t alone in keeping an eye out for 5.10 parallels to the lost weekend (1945) the film that gave episode 1.10 its name and several themes - or to the 1944 book by charles r jackson which the film is based on

- s5 has not been shy about revisiting earlier seasons, especially s1. altho i feel that 1.10′s parallels to the lost weekend centered characters other than jughead (mostly betty), a 1.10-5.10 connection involving jughead and themes from jackson’s story (addiction, writers block, self reflection) seemed v possible if not inevitable

- but like,, , for a hot minute after the ep, i was really stumped on understanding how anything from the book or film could apply, even tho the pieces were almost all there

- jackson’s protagonist don birnam goes thru and comes out the other side of a harrowing days-long drinking binge that could be compared to jughead’s one-night hallucinogenic writing retreat

- but jughead is struggling primarily with traumatic memories, not addiction and self control like birnam. and tho drinking activates birnam’s creativity, it paralyzes his writing as he gets lost in fantasies; he’s never published anything. jughead’s drug trip recreates circumstances that already helped him write one successful book. even the rat that startles him mid-high doesn’t line up with birnam’s withdrawal vision of a dying mouse, symbolic of his horror at his own self-destruction thru alcohol

- and maybe the most visible discordance: in the film there’s a romantic motif around a typewriter. first it’s an object of shame; birnam’s failure to write, tied up with his drinking, makes him flee his relationship. he tries to pawn the typewriter for booze money and finally a gun when shooting himself feels easier than getting sober. but with the help of relentless encouragement from girlfriend helen, he quits drinking, commits to her, and focuses on typing out the story he’s dreamt of writing. rd goes so far to avoid setting any comparable scenario that jughead has brought a wholeass printer into the bunker so there can still be a physical manuscript to cover in blood by the end, even without his own typewriter. the subtle detail of his laptop bg image is a little less noticeable than his avoidance of betty’s gift

- tabitha might be closer to a parallel than jughead is, but she’s still no helen. both refuse to take advantage of the inebriated men in their care, but birnam takes advantage of helen, financially and emotionally. jughead refused a loan from the tate family and now has resolved to deal with his shit before he considers a relationship with tabitha. instead of helen’s relentless and unwelcomed attempts to get birnam sober, tabitha reluctantly agrees to help jughead trip safely bondage escape notwithstanding. she even helps him get the drugs.

- whatever potentials exist for parallels to jackson’s story, they were not explored for this episode. ok so why tf am i even talking about this? what was there instead?

-  i have arrived at the point

- s5 has been revisiting s1, not directly but with a twist. and jughead’s agent samm pansky is back. u may recall, pansky is named for sam lansky

- jughead’s trip-thru-trauma is a story device tapped straight from lansky’s book ‘broken people’

- lansky is like if a millenial john rechy wrote extremely LA-flavored meta but just about himself no jk very like a modern successor to charles r jackson. both play with the boundary between memoir and fiction. lansky is gay; jackson wrote his lost weekend counterpart as closeted and remained closeted himself until only a few years before his death. both write with emotional clarity and self-scrutiny on the experiences of addiction, sobriety, and the surrounding issues of shame and self worth

- i feel like a fool bc after this ep i had been thinking about de quincey and his early writings on addiction (c.1800s), but i failed to carry the thought in the other direction, to contemporary writers in the genre, to make this connection sooner

- lansky’s second book, broken people, follows narrator ‘sam’, mid-20s, super depressed, hastled by his agent to write a decent follow-up to his first book, but too busy struggling with his self-worth and baggage from several past relationships. desperate, he takes up an offer to visit a new age shaman who promises to fix everything wrong with him in a matter of days. not to over simplify it but he literally spends a weekend doing psychedelics and hallucinating about his exes. jughead took note

- unless u want me to hurl myself into yet another dissertation about queer jughead, i think his parallel to sam - who, unlike jughead, has considerable financial privilege and whose anxieties center on body dysmorphia, hiv scares, and his own self-centeredness - pretty much ends there

- But,, the gist of the book could not be more harmonius with a major theme shared by the 2 films that inform the actual hallucination part of jughead’s bunker scene: mentally reframing past relationships to get closure + confronting trauma head-on in order to move forward

- so that’s neat. what other book and author stuff was in 5.10?

- stephen king and raymond carver get name dropped. i’m passingly familiar with them both but u bet i just skimmed their wiki bios in case anything relevant jumped out

- like jughead, carver was a student (later a lecturer) at the iowa writers workshop. also the son of an alcoholic and one himself

- i recall carver’s ‘what we talk about when we talk about love’ is what jughead was reading in 2.14 ‘the hills have eyes’ after he finds out about the first time betty kissed archie (at that time he does not respond as would any of carver’s characters)

- this collection of carver stories deals especially with infidelity, failings of communication, and the complexities and destructiveness of love. to unashamedly quote the resource that is course hero, ‘carver renders love as an experience that is inherently violent bc it produces psychic and emotional wounds.’ very fun to wonder about the significance of this collection within the s2 episode and in jughead’s thoughts. and maybe now in the context of the s5 state of relationships. or, at least, the state of jughead’s writing as seen by his agent

- anyway pansky doesn’t want carver, he wants stephen king

- i have too much to say about gerald’s game in 5.10, that’s getting its own post someday soon

- lol wait king’s wife is named tabitha uhhh king’s wiki reminded me of his childhood experience that possibly inspired his short story ‘the body’ (+1986 movie ‘stand by me’) when he ‘apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train tho he has no memory of the event’

- no mention of that in this rd episode but memories of a train could be interesting to consider with the imagery that intrudes on jughead’s hallucination. i still feel like it was a truck but the lights and sounds he experiences may be a train

- ok now we’re in the speculation part of today’s segment

- if jughead’s traumatic memory involves trains, then it’s possible this plot will take influence from la bête humaine <- this 1938 movie is based on the 1890 novel by french writer émile zola. this story deals with alcoholism and possessive jealousy in relationships, sometimes leading to murder. huh, kind of like carver. zola def comes down on the nature side of the nature-vs-nuture bad seed question (tho i should say he approaches this with great or maybe just v french compassion). also i can’t tell if this is me reaching but, something about la bête humaine reminds me of king’s ‘secret window’ which we’ve observed to be at least a style influence on jughead post time jump

- but wow a late-19th century french writer would be a random thing to drop into this season, right? then again zola also wrote about miners, which we’ve learned are an important part of this town’s history + whatever hiram is up to this time.  and most notably, zola wrote ‘j’accuse...!’ an open letter in defense of a soldier falsely accused and unlawfully jailed for treason: alfred dreyfus. archie’s recent army trouble comes to mind.

- since the introduction of old man dreyfuss (plausibly Just a nod to close encounters actor richard dreyfuss, but also when is anything in this show Just one thing) i’ve been wondering if these little things could add up to a season-long reference to zola’s writings. but i had doubts and didn’t want to speak on it too soon bc, u know, it’s weird but is it weird enough for riverdale??

- however,,,

- (come on, u knew where i was going with this)

- a24′s film zola just came out. absolutely no relation to the french writer, it’s not based on a book but an insane and explicit twitter thread by aziah ‘zola’ wells about stripping and? human trafficking?? this feels ripe for rd even outside the potentials here for the lonely highway/missing girls plot.

- that would add up to a combination of homage that feels natural to this show

- anyway pls understand i’m just having fun speculating, most of this is based on nothing more concrete than the torturous mental tendril ras has hooked into my skull pls let go ras pls let go

[alexiaugustin]

This isn't hate or anything, it's just I love your posts about how the Williams and Noora's relationships are all toxic and romanticize abusive relationships, but I then don't understand how you have a Jonas A reference in your URL, with the way he treated Hannah? I know it's not the same as the Noorhells, but it was still bad, and idk. Is there something about him you specifically love?

don't worry i don't see this as hate im happy u like my anti noorhell posts hdhdhdh. the thing about jonas is that im not a big fan of all of the jonas' characters in general, imo almost all of them give off bad vibes and scream red flags one way or another and i could honestly write essays on how much i hate that the whole point of the first seasons always gets erased at worst- heavily contradicted at best- by having the evas get back together with the jonas characters. i also feel very :/ about the way druck out of all remakes made them get back together in s4 (at the expense of amira's screentime!) when they were breaking their noorhell couple up. it's like this show understood that noorhell couples and even the way they wrote winterberg is incredibly bad and toxic and just relationships that would never last so i don't really get why they thought that getting hannah and jonas back together at the same time they were breaking winterberg up was a good idea cuz... their relationship was just as unhealthy like... even alex a literal willhell remakes was more decent abt their break up than jonas was😔😔

however, i would be careful to compare jonas characters to willhells because while i agree that jonas a. was a terrible boyfriend to hannah and was horrible about their break up he's imo plain simply an asshole in s1 & s2 but not a generally vile and manipulative, creepy stalker bf who blackmails girls into going out w him and has zero redeeming qualities like the willhells are! so no, i don't agree with jonas' behavior in earlier seasons at all and i wish that there were more people talking about how horrible jonas was at that time but i do think that his character was possible to redeem and i loved him a lot especially in s4 and also the way he looked after matteo in s3 and just grew into a better person over the course of the seasons. because like... the jonas characters all have a whole lot of potential they literary own the show opener with their anti capitalism speeches and i really liked what druck did with jonas' activism n strong political believes later on in seasons, the way he looks after n cares about his friends & he's generally v good at paying attention, perceiving n understanding other people so that does make him a good person imo! but the fact that i like him is more personal tbh objectively i agree with everyone who hates him and i would never comment on anyone's posts or go into their inbox to defend him because jonas a. critism is absolutely justified

i 100% understand everyone who hates him and other jonas remakes n would always rb and probably write my own posts abt his problematic behavior if i should rewatch druck again. i just like my url but atm im not the biggest fan of either alexia nor jonas i just like the aesthetically pleasing aspect of the alexiaugustin url😌💓

[sotorubio]

hi, as someone who speaks german i just wanted to give my 2 cents to your latest ask. i think paul is a good actor, a lot better than eren in any case. sascha's line delivery is really good, whereas almost every time isi says something it comes across as very unnatural. you can hear the difference when you compare the clips to their instagram content. the latter isn't completely scripted and isi's line delivery is sooo much more natural then. in clips i never have the feeling that i'm watching a "real" person on screen but a character that is played by eren who only recites the lines that were given them, if that makes sense?

and i don't think saschisi's chemistry is that bad, but some of the directing choices definitely make it feel that way. all these close ups aren't doing them a favor in my opinion

sorry for any english mistakes i barely write in english on here

hey! thanks for ur input! it's interesting to have another perspective especially from a german speaker

i hadn't thought of isi's lines as unnatural before n i assumed any sort of clunkiness was just part of isi's dramatic personality but as said i'm not fluent in german so i rly can't know, i think it does make sense to feel like just watching an actor deliver lines instead of getting the feeling of watching a real person so i trust ur judgment here! also i should rly pay more attention to the social media content bc that seems like a smart way to get a peek at the more casual & natural acting from these actors. i honestly prefer instagram story kieutou over fatou's on screen season kieutou n i can definitely feel the saschisi chemistry better in the social media content as well (even back in the earlier season, like the hangover drink or the dnd sheet insta stuff, they had rly good moments most likely due to not being fully scripted)

and yeah for the record i don't think they're completely emotionless or anything, i like them just fine n there r certain clips where the chemistry does show, just not enough for me to get very invested or for them to compete w the other couples (imo) and i also believe the directing n editing might have a lot to do w it, not just the acting, so definitely agree w u here. of course these actors are also still very young n have a lot to learn so even when they aren't doing the best work i don't wanna be too harsh on them but i do think some criticism is valid since it's their job after all.

[calpalsworld]

Not "autistic anon," but also autistic, (being called maybe ableist made me want to put this out there before go to bed) i thought Zane was depicted that way purposefully by the writers. He has stereotypical traits like taking things literally, and has an actual humor switch. The writers have done things with Zane before like have him lose bodily autonomy (during that one Wu's teas short) and did something with his voice be it making him unable to be understood or talking too loud and the forced pirate voice by Jay. (what you're doing isn't too different from that, right?) I thought it was just a little iffy to distort his body and memory bc that could be interpreted as something not that I'm sure what exactly, it's some kind of disability. I dunno. I'm not good with putting this to words. I hope this makes sense.

Sorry I went to bed but now I’m awake 😭

Also I ended up totally spilling all my thoughts here rather than only specifically replying to you please forgive me context: my scary zane concept design, & my ninjago rewrite i refer to a lot 

Im a little confused but I think I get what you're saying? You're saying the Ninjago writers absolutely DON'T write Zane well (you listed examples of this) and you don't want me to fall into the same trap?

I had the opposite logic earlier. I thought: If Ninjago writers made Zane have stereotypical autisitic traits while also being a dehumanized robot, I may as well embrace it, say he is autistic blatantly, while also making him do funny/cool non-human robot things, so its clear as possible the two aspects of his character are literal and separate and not a metaphor for each other. But you're right! I do have a choice and I dont have to embrace things! :)

Like there were a couple ways I was gonna reject the original, for example, I never wanted Zane to have a funny switch, and I hated how other characters could fuck with Zane and he didn't even care 😬. I want to change that stuff. So youre right, if I am changing shit like that, it would be counterproductive for ME to GIVE him MORE traits along that theme. 😬😬😬 I should try to feel less obligated to portray Zane like he originally is. I still like the concept of "scary zane" (for reasons i explain below the cut) but I might tone it down a bit like with the claws and weird proportions and shit. I’d def make him look more skeletal and undead. That was my original intention, but i didnt execute it as good as I could have.... idk if anyone could tell thats what he was supposed to be like...my bad! But rn I dont wanna redesign him I wanna draw other stuff like normal alive Zane. Sorry LMAO 😳. Like I said in some earlier asks I think, I think Im gonna focus rn on how I should portray season 1 normal not dead Zane so thank you and feel free to share any other Zane thoughts ^_^ SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:

Also I Wanna Argue Some Stuff But I Understand its a Weak Argument Since All of This Context was Just In My Brain (so don't take this as an argument, just as me rambling): I don't want messed up things to happen to Zane and for it to just be ignored. I think if Zane is going to have fucked up things happen to him, as all characters must, its best for it to happen during a season where he actually addresses his feelings about being a robot (learning to accept that he will always be himself, regardless if hes "human" or the "original" or whatever. (thats how I always interpreted his emotions)). But I wouldn't have the other Ninja be very phased by Zane's looks because the whole point is they already love who he is (seasons 1-3 were about getting to know Zane) and now Zane himself just has to learn the physical, robot part of him is okay. Its about person-hood rather than humanity. Because the season focuses around Zane's soul, and because he lost his original body, I feel like I could mess around with his current, temporary body and have fun and make it scary. Because that body should be irrelevant. I understand it possibly being upsetting for an autistic character to be designed like this, but other people I talked to see it the opposite way. They find it comforting for him to look so different but still be himself and be so loved. SO IM ABSOLUTELY NOT saying its wrong to be bothered or to hate it or to feel any way. Just that I personally think it would be cool for Zane to be portrayed with a little spice lol, so thats why I like scary Zane for season 4.

Another Thing I Wannna Say But Is REALLY Hypocritical: (this isnt directed at anyone I just REALLY want to say this) I know I say "this is Zane but scary, he looks like fnaf" so he's obviously dehumanized, but I always felt like "scary" is more of an objective fact. Its an instinct. But what's "not human" is subjective. I think there is a problem with saying anything different from "average" human is dehumanized because that could extend to real people. Lol I know its bad for me to compare FNAF-ass Zane to real people, but I mean he could be real. People can have exposed teeth, and people can be shaped weird. And when someone first sees a person who looks like that they'll probably think "woah those features are scary" by instinct. And that surprise doesn't make someone ableist obviously. But bring that person’s humanity into question is NOT an instinct, and is fucked to shit. This is kinda a bad point for me to make since its about the fictional FNAF Zane I drew, and I am NOT implying ANYONE was thinking like this. [especially not the original asker anon who I am totally forgetting about at this point OOPS]. But I just thought it was an opinion of mine I couldn't go without mentioning when talking about dehumanization and disabilities.

^^^ I think you (anon) understand what I mean and might’ve said the exact same thing as me if you were writing a long ass response? I think this because you started to bring physical disabilities up and you said it was "a little iffy." ^_^ So we agree, but I don't see Zane's relation to real life disabilities as "a little iffy" I see it more like "complicated"? IF THAT DIFFERENCE EVEN MAKES ANY SENSE?????? I feel like a lot of things about Zane are really just complicated and need the right context, rather than the concepts necessarily being wrong -- NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT! THATS THE WHOLE REASON I DO THIS STUPID REWRITE! XD thats why a lot of my rewrite SO FAR has been the same concepts and plot beats, but different dialogue n specifics and such. I like a lot of concepts in Ninjago but I dont think they were presented correctly.....! :( So I guess all we can do is wait and see if I make Zane offensive or not....???

Also something about the memory part - yeah i agree i was surprised no one thought that was weird to make jokes out of his memory issues..... BUT I am like 100% firm on making his memory take longer to come back because I think its stupid how quick Zane was able to recover from literally dying. Like its just dumb to me. Hate it. (also bc memory & soul mechanics is ummm kinda important in my rewrite.... for reasons). Another memory thing btw, I was going to make his original amnesia come from hitting his head in an attack against the Skulkin when they stole his dads corpse, rather than his dad fucking choosing to make him forget. (its a sweet & iconic scene, but Um, WHY?!!!?!?!?!?) He has to follow data recovery instructions he finds in his dads diary. I think in that context it makes moments of memory loss somewhat different for Zane's character? Instead of loss of autonomy associated with disability, its a literal violent loss of autonomy associated with being traumatized by physical force. Idk how to phrase it exactly but I think that makes some vibes different?

Sorry, I think I got really distracted, and I don't know if I responded well to your points. Because uhhhh I think I agree with your stance actually? If I understand correctly? Fuck Ninjago writers for making the robot lose autonomy (a stereotypical robot theme) while also making him seem clearly autistic (NOT A HAPPY THEME FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE) and not addressing it. And also auuugh Zane with a weird body is a difficult topic - kinda sussy pretty iffy.

Lol anyway idk if this made any sense and I REALLY rambled on you. but this was nice 👉👈 more Zane criticism pls love you and i love zane. i hope u dont feel mad at me because then it would be weird that im saying that lol. if you do feel mad at me tho you can send another ask (ILL TRY TO JUST LISTEN NOT RAMBLE NEXT TIME) but assuming ur chill rn, love you thnx

Take this page, don’t mind cole’s ass.

[nolabballgirl]

Hello, have you noticed that skam france has a rapidly depleting audience in comparison to the prev season? Such a shame bc this season has been good, especially when juxtaposed with wtfock's current offering. I know the skam audiences don't take to non-white characters and nor do the writers, but I'n wondering. Do you think if skam france hadnt done such a monumentally bad job with every other character of color in their 1st gen, do u think their audience would've been more receptive?

hi, Anon! thanks for your ask! so you raise a lot of issues with respect to viewership for skam france s8, and i have many thoughts. i think there are a couple things going on: 1) wariness with skam france; 2) lack of viewership with poc mains; and 3) overall skam fatigue. let's unpack.

1) wariness with skam france - so even though skam france is on season 8, you have to admit that most of the seasons have not been good and/or have had moments of brilliance followed by some of the most head-scratching and inane plot decisions ever. arguably, skam france has had the worst noorhelm (charles/manon) season followed by one of the worst sana (imane) seasons. daphne has been one of the most racist vildes, and the treatment of POC throughout all 8 seasons has been particularly egregious. to be honest, even though some people liked it, i was also quite turned off tiff's season in not only elevating a bully to main, but also never giving her an earned redemption arc. it's kind of like "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me." so there's just a lot of baggage in that people probably think "too little, too late" when it comes to skam france and bilal's season. so yes, i do think their poor treatment of characters during the 1st gen (and new gens too) probably is playing a contributing role here.

2) lack of viewership with poc mains - it's also true that seasons with POC mains just don't get as much viewership as compared to seasons with white mains. that's generally been true with the sana seasons, but it's a phenomenon that extends way past the skamverse and into all types of media. for example, in recent years, there's been a lot of back and forth about superhero tv shows with characters of colors not getting as many viewers as those shows with white mains/heroes. but you also notice contributing factors like a lack of promotion, build up to the season premiere, interviews, etc. compared to some of the white-led shows. and there's often pretty racist and vitriolic language that comes about as these shows air that just goes to show that a segment of the audience is unwilling to accept a certain type of main. sadly, i do think that's probably factoring into bilal's season too.

3) skam fatigue - and i think there's a fair number of active commentators who are just skam'd out. i mean, skam france is on season 8, druck just wrapped 6, wtfock is on season 5, and skam italia just announced season 5. so people either came from the old gen and are ready to move on, or they just need a break from the skam remakes as they aren't sparking joy like they used to. so bilal's season probably doesn't have as many ardent followers as it might have had it aired earlier, perhaps.

and finally, i think we're in the drop off period (weeks 5-8) where people tune in to see how a season is shaping up, and if they don't like the direction, they tune out. personally, i do think bilal's season started quite strong, and i find the storylines involving him and his family and passions to be quite compelling. but i'm not as big a fan when he takes a background seat to jo, which is what is happening in this back half of the season (along with more love triangles, quadrangles??) so anyway, i'm sure there are other reasons, but that's just my two cents!

[she-who-the-river-could-not-hold]

October Fic Challenge #2: Autumn Would Be the Magic Hour

Hosted by: @crackling-fires | Day 3: “Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves / We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” ― Humbert Wolfe | Day 8: Rainy, Foggy Autumn Day | Ship: Memori | Rated: G | WC: 1.2k

Emori is a freshman in college and she can’t get over the beauty of fall in Polis, especially when compared to the desert she’d grown up in. And it turns out that a fellow student had noticed and he can’t help but mention it one day. –– [title from a quote from Victoria Erickson]

Polis University is, at a glance, just a normal college. It has nice open areas for students to hang out and chill or study. Weekend parties that might get a bit too rambunctious but are great for making memories at. Classes that are small but not too small, allowing for a sense of minor ambiguity but you still feel like you can easily talk to the professor.

But none of those reasons are why Emori loves going to Polis U. She didn’t just pick it because of the scholarship or their majors (though it has a surprisingly strong psychology department). 

She picked it for its location.

And most specifically: it’s location and how that translated to the seasons.

Emori had grown up in a trailer park in a desert, devoid of signs of life that weren’t prickly or poisonous. She was used to an oppressive heat, coughing when speeding cars kicked up dirt, a constant haze. So when the chance had been granted to her to leave, to get out of a place that was sucking her as dry as the environment, she took it and ran. Ran to the college up north on the opposite coast that was nestled amongst the trees and low rolling hills that had all four seasons. Sure, when classes had started it had been at the cusp of an extra muggy summer. But even that experience had been a fun one for her. She liked to embrace any change she could.

This time of the year though? The switch from September to October as the area transitioned into autumn?

Utter perfection.

It was a Monday evening and she’d been out of class for about fifteen minutes now. Normally she’d be making her way to the dining hall to grab dinner, but when she’d stepped out of the small brick building she’d been greeted by a drizzly, foggy evening. Bright orange and yellow leaves lined the walkway from the building, slick to the ground from the light rain. The day’s earlier overcast clouds had melted into fog and filled the gaps between the trees, creating a muted atmosphere. Classmates around her had streamed out of the building, most ready to just be done for the day or fishing for their umbrellas while they bemoaned the shift in weather.

Not Emori though. She edged to the side and mimed like she was looking through her backpack for something, waiting as everyone left. Once she was the only one left, she quickly situated herself on the stone steps, her boots just peeking out from the buildings roof and onto the damp pavement. Not quite far enough out to get wet but enough to stretch her legs out after a long day of classes. 

She took in a full-body breath, letting her gaze soften as she looked out in front of her. The air seemed fresher here all of the time, but something about today was even better.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn’t realize someone had sat down beside her until a voice said, “You’re probably the only person here who actually likes this kind of weather.”

Emori jumped at the interruption and looked over to see the grinning face of one of her classmates. 

“You trying to give me a heart attack, John?” She teased lightly. She liked seeing him bristle at her use of his first name instead of his last like how everyone else addressed him (though she’d noticed he hadn’t reacted negatively as much recently).

His eyes still narrowed lightly, though all in good fun she could tell, and he looked back out at the nature in front of them. He didn’t give an excuse or explanation of why he’d decided to surprise her by joining her. 

“I just meant ever since it started to feel like fall, I always see you looking out the window in class with the look of awe on your face. Or one time when it started raining I saw you leaving the library and I’ve never seen someone that excited before for rain.” 

For once, the cockiness he usually spoke with was gone. He seemed almost shy and it would have thrown Emori for a loop if it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d suspected he had this side since she saw him on the first day of English 101 and she found it utterly adorable. 

She was more stunned by the fact that he paid attention to her and it made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

The two sat for a few more minutes in silence, watching as a few leaves dropped to the ground almost as if they were in slow motion. The rain was becoming steadier and Emori knew they’d probably have to get a move on soon so they wouldn’t become soaked, but she was too nervous to break the moment. She even considered telling him about her childhood, as if to explain the simple joy she got out of the autumn weather they were experiencing. But she also didn’t want to break the silence. This moment of peace they were sharing made her heart swell… and maybe finally acknowledge that her feelings towards John Murphy had certainly grown past just thinking he was cute. 

Eventually he was the one to interrupt the silence. 

“Want to grab dinner with me? I mean––my friends would be there too, Raven is always complaining we don’t have enough girls in the group. Not that I don’t want you there I just––ugh,” he dropped his head back in frustration at the obvious struggle he was having with his words.

It made Emori laugh, eventually dissolving into helpless giggles as John let out a mutter about being a dumbass and not being able to ask someone out normally. 

“I’d really like that,” she finally said, saving him from feeling like he’d embarrassed himself any more than he already thought he did. She didn’t want him to sweat it out to the point of him thinking she wasn’t interested in him.

At her words, he puffed up a bit in pride before jumping to his feet. Spinning around on his heel then, he extended his hand out towards her to help her up. Emori hesitated for a second before accepting it, cringing at his hand tightened against hers as he pulled her to her feet. It was her “bad” hand, or so her parents had always deemed it. Maybe it had been the smoking her mom hadn’t stopped doing during her pregnancy, maybe it was radiation from the military base down the way from the trailer park, no one really knew. She was used to the weird stares it garnered her. 

But John’s eyes were solely focused on her, not even a flinch or reaction to the feel of the odd texture of her skin beneath the wool glove she wore. Instead, his eyes sparkled as he looked at her face, his sharp and angular features somehow both softened and defined by his smile. It wasn’t his trademark smirk or a mischievous grin, just an outright smile. 

As they walked, he launched into describing the farm that had the best pumpkin patch near the school and how she’d have to join him and his friends for their annual trip. Apparently she hadn’t experienced “real” fall until she’d gone on a hayride. Around them, the fog brought on an earlier dusk as darkness cloaked the campus and the streetlights illuminated into a warm, golden glow.

He didn’t let go of her hand once while they walked towards the dining hall.