#even outside of female characters because theres still. a LOT of criticism to be had there

[karamazovanon]

completely random observation but i truly love how so many of my notifications are from lesbian flag pfps/urls/etc. lesbians just fucking love dostoevsky!!! what is it about his work that resonates so hard with us. is it the existential struggle against repressive social institutions and expectations. is it the immense internal anguish & rage barely concealed by a paper-thin veil of politeness out of fear of impropriety that finally overflows explosively. is it the spiteful female characters tormented by the narrative. is it the murder

[greensaplinggrace]

I love watching antiheroes and morally grey characters like Ada and analyzing them but I dont like watching any form of manipulation being pushed as romance and thats what Leon and Adas relationship is for me. They do care about each other but why force the romance? Their relationship could be based on shared trauma, survivors guilt etc. Theres room for so much psychology if someone would just move beyond the idea of love between the first male and female characters that interact with each other

This is true in a sense, but I don’t really think it’s the manipulative aspect that’s being pushed as romantic. And to be quite honest, a lot of Ada’s manipulations die after the re2 remake, wherein they’re only meeting for the first time and haven’t formed nearly as strong a bond. 

IMO, I don’t think the romance is forced at all, considering the years of build up we have, but that’s up to personal opinion and interpretation. I also think that a lot of people like to chalk the relationship down to the re2 remake and ignore every other interaction they’ve had over the years. After all, their ‘romance’ in the re2 remake is supposed to be forced. But I don’t think it’s at all forced every time they meet afterward, and I think the core connection they formed in Raccoon City holds a lot of weight, despite being mired in the duplicity of their first meeting.

If that’s what Leon and Ada’s relationship is to you, then I’m certainly not going to say you’re wrong or that your interpretation is invalid, because it’s not, but to me and what I’ve gathered of the games and other media, their romance is far from the forced and manipulative push and pull people like to say it is. 

By my interpretation, the romantic aspect is separate from the manipulative one, and grows outside of the setbacks these actions bring. In tandem with the lessening of their rivalry, the romance grows and the betrayals lessen, until we’ve reached this point in the timeline of the games. Ada hasn’t betrayed Leon since re4. In fact, I think re4 was where the rock and settle of their relationship was the strongest, with Ada in equal amounts helping and going against him. But ever since then, as I mentioned before, we’ve seen the romance grow and the negative aspects lessen. Re6 and Damnation were pretty solid in terms of interactions for them, although I know a lot of people disagree with me on that point. I think a romance that takes as long as this one has and that has developed as long as this one has isn’t forced, especially given what we’ve seen of the source material.

Which isn’t to say I’m not critical of some aspects or that I don’t think Capcom needs to get their act together if they actually want to make Aeon canon, but at this point in time, without other installments to rely on, I think the romantic aspect is still very much authentic and possible.

And of course I agree that we should stop forcing ridiculous romances between the first male and female characters that interact with each other (I would also like to point out that this would actually apply to Cleon more than Aeon, considering the ways they first meet and the time overall they spend actually getting to know each other in Raccoon City), but I don’t think Ada and Leon’s relationship is like that.

I don’t see why we can’t have a healthy analysis of their trauma and the bond they formed over it even with the romantic aspect. The room for psychological analyses isn’t negated just because there’s a possibility for romance, and organic romantic relationships are often built on friendships, strong bonds, and the depth of people’s care for each other. Ada and Leon do care for each other, if you take away everything else. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that that care is both a friendship one and a romantic one, with something possibly far more complex added to the mix.

So anyways, that’s my take on it. Just from my own experiences and interpretations of the media/text. I’ll never say that their relationship can’t use some work, or that Capcom isn’t seriously pushing it here with how long this has been going on, but I disagree that it’s a romance glorifying and built on manipulation. I think it’s a romance that’s grown outside of all opposing factors, and I think it’s an amazing one.

[swifty-fox]

dude! more history rants, that was great!! I honestly probably learned more in that than I ever have in a history class

dude! Learning about history is SO much better when the person you’re listening to has a genuine passion for it! My Russian prof used to take his shoes off and bang on the table to prove his point, he would imitate historical figures down to the Russian accent (with great skill he lived in the USSR through the entire nineties which if you know anything about nineties Russia that is a FEAT. His wife to be at the time ((now a german history prof at my college)) was offered a ride in a helicopter by the Russian mob. She declined) 

Russian history is also just such a rich and dramatic and WILD history. Theres so many things to focus on like an entire semester was spent JUST studying the revolution and that was only an introductory course

Anyways since I’m here and can rant lets talk about two fun things! Lenins  name and his family as well as Vasily Grossmans greatest and most controversial works!

So Vladimir Lenin is a pretty iconic name. A pretty cool name in fact! Really rolls off the tongue and strikes FEAR into enemies hearts.

Did ya know it’s not his fuckin name? Nope! the guy straight up chose a new last name for himself! This former law student (oh yeah he wasn't even a politician no wonder the fucko didn't know how to run a country) was actually born Vladimir Ulyanov! 

but why the name change? Ulyanov is still pretty easy to say, still pretty memorable. Rolls of the tongue so on and so forth.

this, ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between and beyond, is because of Lenins older brother Aleksandr Ulyanov! 

(this guy has better hair than i could ever hope to, thanks diluted slav genes) 

now sweet Aleks here was also four years Vladimirs Senior and was also a revolutionary! (seems like it ran in the family) 

Not only was he a revolutionary but he was a MASSIVELY FAMOUS ONE and kinda helped set the ENTIRE downfall of the soviet union in motion long before the revolution was even a whisper of a thought. 

How you ask? well uh.

he tried to kill Tsar Nikolas II’s dad. 

yes, that Tsar Nikolas who later was overthrown and was executed by firing squad. Sorry the Romanovs are all very very dead we found all their bodies the animated movie was very wrong. 

Anyways, sweet kolya’s father was Tsar Alexander III and he was known throughout the land as the Peacemaker! 

(also yes they're both called Aleksandr. Russians only have like. Ten names to choose from)

wow sounds like he must be a great guy with a nickname like that huh? Why would anyone wanna kill him! Sadly, the nickname is only because Russia entered no wars under his rule. He was in fact, a huge bastard. Outside of being physically and emotionally abusive to his family (he would often berate Nikolai for being weak which definitely led to some of his issues with his authority and pride being questioned later on...) he was incredibly reactionary and heavy handed when it came to ruling. he opposed ANY movement that might minimize his authority as emperor. He was famous for executing a LOT of anti-imperialist terrorists.

he also looked like this

not to insult bulldogs but this guy sure looks like one. 

Anyways, Aleksandr Ulyanov helps devise a plot wherein he and a bunch of other revolutionaries will ride by Tsar Alek’s carriage and chuck a bomb through his window and then boom no more emperor. basically, it was the 1887 version of a drive by shooting. 

Naturally, it failed, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about this! Anyways, All the conspirators were captured and sentenced to death. (5 were later pardoned none of which were Lenins brother.) They were all hanged.

Although Lenin was involved in politics before this to some degree, this action really radicalized him and really got the ball rolling for the eventual Soviet Union. Talk about butterfly effect. 

Alright time for history lesson part TWO!! Lets talk about Vasily Grossman and his work In The Town of Berdichev! Though more technically I will be talking more about the film adaptation titled Commissar(1967). 

quick background time! Vasily Grossman was born to a Jewish family and due to prosecution (of both Jewish people and Ukrainians) at the time was forced to conceal his heritage. He actually studied to be a chemist at first and was quite successful until he transitioned later in life to being a writer and reporter! His accounts of the Ukrainian famine are the some of the most detailed accounts as well as the most controversial (to the Russian state) he also was a war reporter for WWII and intensively documented the ethnic cleansing going on. Understandably.

he was strongly supported by Maksim Gorky! (yes that Maksim Gorky, famous writer, and the man who helped develop the entire soviet education system that kinda was just brainwashing and propaganda. Reportedly later in life he considered that to be one of his greatest regrets((he was also a massive homophobe too because same sex relationships were actually legal for a while there in russia!))

Long story short, Vasya believed strongly in several things. he believed in the human spirit, he believed in supporting his Jewish brethren, he believed strongly in mother Russia and the communist party. But more than that he believed that those who do not learn from our mistakes are doomed to repeat them. 

Thus came about his work. I’ll post a quick plot summary here from Wikipedia of the movie. it’s a really good film honestly I highly recommend it. 

“During the Russian Civil War (1918–1922), a female commissar of the Red Army cavalry Klavdia Vavilova (Nonna Mordyukova) finds herself pregnant. Until her child is born, she is forced to stay with the family of a poor Jewish blacksmith Yefim Magazannik (Rolan Bykov), his wife, mother-in-law, and six children. At first, both the Magazannik family and "Madame Vavilova", as they call her, are not enthusiastic about living under one roof, but soon they share their rationed food, make her civilian clothes, and help her with the delivery of her newborn son. Vavilova seemingly embraces motherhood, civilian life, and new friends.Meanwhile, the frontline advances closer to the town and the Jews expect a pogrom by the White Army as the Red Army retreats. Vavilova attempts to console them with a Communist dream: "One day people will work in peace and harmony", but the dream is interrupted with a vision of the fate of the Jews in the coming world war. She rushes to the front to rejoin her army regiment, leaving her newborn behind.“

- White army was the anti-soviet army during the revolution. Red Army was the soviets. Pogroms were targeted areas of ethnic cleansing against Jewish peoples, namely they were villages or towns that were wiped out. 

this film was banned for something like forty years for anti-soviet sentiment. But why? it seems pretty damn pro-soviet doesn't it? 

Well firstly lets talk about how oppressive the soviet regime was by this point! In 1967 Russia was in the dying throes of Stalins regime. Yes he had died a little over a decade earlier but the government was still very much being run by his ideals. All independent newspapers were banned. EVERYTHING every single piece of art, literature, news, commercial, WHATEVER, had to be state approved. And by god was it hard to get things approved. Grossman routinely wrote of his frustrations and struggles of getting anything published because if a Russain character was portrayed as anything but a happy go lucky communist then it would be censored. Grossman first ran into this issue when he was reporting on the iron and coal mines in siberia. the conditions were terrible but Grossman had to lie and say everything was fine. It let to a real crisis of ideals for him.

The first red mark against this movie is that well, it focuses on a woman. It’s an incredibly feminist movie, with the idea of motherhood and duty and the strength of a woman being just as much if not more than a man. (for reference a Commissar is like an army Officer) 

Secondly, she abandons her post! to have a child! In communist Russia NOTHING comes before your duty to the motherland. But again she eventually realizes that the call of her country is stronger than the call of this simple maternal life and she does go on to fight so why is this a problem?

Well ultimately, it boils down to the final scene. 

"One day people will work in peace and harmony" she says. An entirely pro-soviet message. But then it is instantly contradicted by footage of the holocaust. This is a visual representation fo Grossman saying that although the communist ideal is strong in the soviet union that they are being blinded by false enemies, prejudices and will find themselves committing such atrocities (of course they already are but again he DID still support the Soviet State) Basically it was a warning to the Soviet Party! Learn from the mistakes that were made and gentle themselves!

And this, this was a criticism of the Soviet party! And thus, it was shelved for nearly twenty years.

It finally was shown again in the late 80′s  

Grossman, after attempting to publish his magnum opus, Life and Fate, had his flat raided by the KGB and all his notes, manuscripts, letters, books, publications, and pretty much his life's work were confiscated. Grossman died in the mid 1960′s of stomach cancer not knowing if any of his writings or best works would ever be seen or published again. 

Thankfully they were found and published and his massively important legacy lives on in the people who know about him. But his story is a very bittersweet one indeed. 

you can watch the full movie here with English captions! 

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(tw: imagery of holocaust, some anti-semitism (if i recall) some children without any clothes bathing if i recall (its not weird but I know it was shocking for me to see at first))

(maybe I’ll talk about the TRUE story of Rasputin another time...) 

[missjackil]

My 14x09 Opinion

The Spear Not the best mid season finale, but it wasnt bad. I dont have any critical complaints, though, I think it just lacked impact because I could see it coming. I love trying to guess where the story is going, but I like being surprised even more. I did maintain that I thought Michael was still posessing Dean and it would come to be that Sam and co would have to try to get him out without hurting Dean, and though Mike didnt posess Dean the whole time, he was apparently still getting in Deans head (ie the dizzy spells) I did however love that Sam tells Jack the Cookie cereal will rot his teeth out. With the amount of “dont tell Sam” requests and Dean and Cas getting permission from Sam to do things with Jack, I feel like its clear that Sam is the head of that household, and not just another Dad, but.... maybe “The Mom” (snicker) now, Im not trying to feminize Sam, I cant stand when people do that, but I cant deny the “mom” subtext... and in this case, Im fine with it. Being a mom and knowing how tough a job it is, since Jack doesnt have one on Earth, I say Sam fills that role the best. ❤😍🍪 So now Garth... Ive never been a Garth fan, hes always just been a prop to keep an episode from getting too serious, but in this case, he got serious... and Im happy with that. Im beginning to think maybe Dabb doesnt like characters stuck in “silly” roles. I dont either. I dont mind humorous characters, but I mind when episodes are wasted on light comedy and Dabb seems to have removed that from such characters, like Donna, Charlie, and now Garth.  Im sure they can still be silly, but Im glad he showed they can be serious as well.  I saw y’all whining over the assumption there would be a big Destiew scene, but there wasnt. That wasnt anything near some deep heart to heart confession about comparing Deans posession to Sams or Cas’s, Dean has been much more open and emotional about it to Sam thus far.So he talks a little about it to his friend. BFD. And Cas and Dean going off one way, gave us some good time with Sam and Jack. It wasnt any huge bonding, but I loved how Jack mustered up the strength to tackle Garth and get him off Sam when he had him pinned. 

I loved the Sam Fucking Winchester badassery just chopping through the monsters to get to Jack. Ive always loved Sams feirceness when it came to Dean, and I am loving it when it comes to Jack too. I might be one of the only Sam girls that isnt offended by Dean having more visible bonding time with Jack lately. Dean is a good guy, and he had a near character assassination last season between how he treated Jack and how he treated Kaia. Its critical to see that hes still a good guy and capable of compassion and kindness. Sam never lost it, we all always knew he has a strong bond with Jack, we didnt need visual reminders.  Now that brings me to Kaia. Let me confess right now, that even though I cant stand the Wayward crap, or Claire, Im glad Kaia has her own story outside of that. I find her interesting honestly, all of the other wayward ones are boring af. I was glad to see Dean didnt use any violence to talk to her... sure he lied kinda, as right now Jack cant open a rift, but he can later maybe, so its not that big of a lie right? However, she’s gonna beat his ass for getting her spear destroyed. Oy!! So now as predicted, Mike has Dean again. This moment at the end was pretty indusive of the feels. The look on Sams face when he looked at the body of his brother, knowing, Dean isnt in controll, and hes lost him yet again... I could see the grief beard regrowing as he stood there. So Mike let Dean go and asked the boys why they never questioned it. Well, they did., several times, so I dont think this is any “forgetting what other writers wrote” but the same thing as when Toni Bevell said the guys had never read a single book. Of course they have, you dont know them nearly as well as you think.  I guess we can keep in our back pockets that all powerful entities may release you if you annoy them enough!! The Empty released Cas because he annoyed him, and Mike released Dean because he annoyed him...Im glad they made sure we saw that Dean is too attached to Sam first and foremost. Sure, he cares for Cas and Jack, but Sam is bae. 💖😍 Side note: Michael’s female vessle looks very familiar, was she the woman in The Purge episode? Anyway, she was very good and super pretty. In conclusion, I wasnt overwhelmed but it was alright. I find whats happening next very interesting so it makes this much more of a cliff hanger. I cant wait to see Sam and Cas in Deans mind, and what kinda shit they may step in. Also what are they gonna do with Garth? Probably lock him in the dungeon till they get this fixed. Theres a lot of crap going on right now, I think the 2nd half will be much more interesting. As is kinda the pattern with this show. But I do need me a brothers only MOTW ASAP. Maybe episode 11? On a scale of Bloodlines to Who We Are Ill give this a 7. No huge complaints, but no surprise Big Reveal either really. But hey! Cas FINALLY healed someone!! Its only been a season and a half!! 

I will be back Jan 18th for my Opinion on 14x10 Nihlism. Until then, check out my daily Top SPN Favorite Episodes. Have safe and happy Holiday season!!