#however the audience is not

[blowingoffsteam2]

Removing my soriku lenses for a sec: even if the tunnel visions were about Kairi, it makes me mad FOR her. The game could have easily set her up to sacrifice herself to save Sora. She even had a whole scene prior about how she was going to keep him safe, her sacrificing herself would have been a decent narrative. But she just… gets caught and dies lol. So like, going back to the visions, are we as the viewer supposed to interpret Sora seeing those visions to be about him sacrificing himself for her? Like was he just prepping himself up in advance in case he needed to save her? If anything, it would have made sense for him to have those visions after the final battle before he sets off to save her. So now we have Riku sacrificing himself, Kairi dying, Sora sacrificing himself, and now Riku going to save Sora. What am I supposed to think lol

All I can say is that if we are supposed to read S and K as a romance especially in kh3 then Nomura really is as abysmally bad at writing romance as people say (well, and even worse than many people think). To the point where I think it's actually insulting to Nomura to think that he's THAT bad lmao. Like for example the paopu scene. How does one mess up what should have been the easiest layup of romantic scenes in history- Starting the scene with having Sora worrying about Riku instead of paying attention to Kairi who he is sitting alone with on a tree overlooking a romantic sunset, then having a team of animators making him have Those expressions when offered a paopu, not taking it until being reassured that it's just a good luck charm, nothing more, recording a version where they don't even share the paopus, AND failing to tell Sora's own voice actor that it was in fact supposed to be romantic at any point, so he felt the need to say that he doesn't see it as romantic??? I'm sorry but all that cannot be satisfactorily explained by "haha Nomura bad at writing romance". Like there's badly written romance and then there's narratives that look like badly written romances until you realize it's SUPPOSED to not make sense as a romance. ANYWAY back to the tunnel scene: Even in the novel which shows Sora's thought process through that scene, when he sees/remembers those moments and associates them with Kairi (which makes perfect sense for him to do since he doesn't remember Riku's sacrifice anyway, he has no other context for them) he NEVER thinks of them in terms of sacrifice or true love. All he thinks is "Oh, Rapunzel and Elsa/Anna are princesses of heart, so is Kairi. They have powers to save people they care about. I want to be able to do that too, but I guess that's why she was able to save me" So even IF the tunnel scene flashbacks were meant to be about Kairi, Sora himself still doesn't think about it in romantic terms lmao.

And yeah, I've also seen the argument that the flashbacks are supposed to be about Sora eventually sacrificing himself for Kairi, which I can kinda understand that reading? Except again, Sora himself didn't view those flashbacks as relating to true love or sacrifice- only about the princesses' powers and also it misses the whole reason for Sora's journey to the worlds in kh3: He was trying to learn how to regain the power of waking, and his clue, as stated in the kh3 ultimania and in the novel was: "To protect a precious person with all your heart". His heart was guiding him to these worlds to show him this. I don't think it's an accident that Sora regained his powers of waking when he dove into the Realm of Darkness to protect Riku, and lost his powers when he misused the PoW to bring back everyone else + Kairi. The power of waking is not meant for bringing people back from the dead, but something else we were shown in kh3 is.

[halcified]

i thinkif you locked teru and ritsu in a room together for an hour youd come back to them locked in a deeply tense chess match but the board would have monopoly money on the side and a complex debt system and a heavy focus on the medieval kingdom aspect of chess andtheyd assign archetypes to each piece with accessories to match all surrounded by castles they made during turns out of cardboard and glue and theyd do this in an hour because they are a) incredibly smart strategists and b) in middle school

[stil-lindigo]

50% of all revenue for my store, starting now, will be donated to CareforGaza and the PCRF.

[ PURCHASE MY ANTHOLOGIES HERE ]

hi there! i'm lindi. you may have seen some of my comics floating around in the past year or so.

if you’ve ever liked my stories and wanted to purchase a copy of one of my anthologies, I invite you to do so now. This policy will be in place indefinitely, and the list of charities/organisations may be subject to change depending on their effectiveness. Currently, the focus is on providing aid and food to the innocent Palestinians in Gaza, but in the future I hope to increase the scope to tangibly support the queer community and help fund independent artists in Australia.

below, I'll list a few resources for people who'd like to directly donate at the source:

credible organisations that are doing work on the ground in Palestine:

Care for Gaza:non-profit charity that distributes money, food and other resources directly to families in Gaza.They maintain a regular presence on Twitter and Instagram. You can donate to them via Paypal here.

PCRF / Palestine Children's Relief Fund: non-profit organisation that distributes essential food and resources to families in Gaza. Most recently, they delivered 30 tons of vital medicine, and 82,000 pounds of flour.

Medical Aid For Palestinians: deploys medical teams to treat Palestinians suffering under Israel's malicious bombardments.

help people leave palestine (donate what you can)

Save Sanaa and her Family (Gofundme)

Save Amjad Saher and his family (Gofundme)

Help a family of 13 escape Gaza (Gofundme)

Help a Palestinian children's book illustrator save her family of 12 (Gofundme)

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Last Twilight: Ep 12

The TL;DR of this post is just... Sincerely what the fuck?

I remember posting after Episode 1 that I was keeping a suspicious eye on the mention of the eye donation because while I do think in real life disabled people have the right to manage their disability any way they want to and would support someone's choice to get a cornea transplant, real life is not fiction and fiction is designed to pull messages and themes from. Episode 12 from almost it's first moments completely undermines two and a half month's worth of messaging about learning to accept a new reality. I don't think it is foolish of me to assume based on the set up of the first episode that Last Twilight was supposed to be an exploration of grief as told in conversation and parallel between someone who lost a loved one and someone who lost their vision.

If this story had continued in the way it started out the first half of this show, I honestly think it could have been a 10, those first few episodes I was enjoying so much I was worried it might knock out Moonlight Chicken as my favorite Aof offering. Now I have rated Last Twilight as a 3, I will never suggest it to anyone and I will never rewatch it. Why?

Because from a fictional narrative perspective, having Day gain his vision back at the end undermines the entirety of the show's messaging from the first 11 episodes. Every single lesson, every single message just absolutely obliterated by every moment of Episode 12.

Day getting his vision back right as he and Mhok get back undermines the narrative in the following ways:

Rewarding Day for managing to create a successful and happy life as a blind person (literally like "hey you graduated and ran a bookstore while blind! Congrats you get to be normal again!)

"Rewarding" Mhok by insuring that he never has to do any caregiving for Day going forward so we don't get any navigating or expectation of Mhok and Day being in a longterm inter-abled relationship

We eliminate all chances that the subject of pitying Day re-enters any future fights, meaning there is now zero risk for Day maintaining a relationship with someone he worries might infantilize or pity him

It absolves Night of any remaining guilt he may be carrying from thinking he caused the accident that made Day blind

It absolves Day of any remaining anger at Night thinking he caused the accident that made Day blind

Mhon's ableist fucking ass gets her "normal" son back the way she confided in Mhok she'd hoped for after the first failed cornea transplant

It undermines the theme of the in universe Last Twilight novel and the conversation that Day and Mhok have about Mee being turned in to a statue on the top of the mountain and how that was hopeful because her father had found a sight so beautiful he couldn't think of anywhere else Mee would need to see and instead turns the message essentially in to: "there is hope, you can be cured"

It dismantles their cute couple thing of the one palm distance which also makes the OST that they played all the fucking time completely irrelevant

And most importantly, it undermines all the growth that Day went through while processing his grief and the two, TWO separate occasions where he came to terms with his disability

And that's just the disregard for the narrative messages, giving Day his eyesight back is incredibly ableist in the case of this story because of certain ableist through-lines woven in to the entire show. Namely:

While Day is blind, there is no reciprocity of care. Mhok is always taking care of Day, I cannot think of a single instance where Day really took care of Mhok in a significant way. By focusing so much on Day, and abandoning any strong focus on Mhok's grief over losing his sister, Day is never given an opportunity to be a support system for Mhok. Which is fucking ableist. Disabled people have so many things to offer the world, and while they might have specific support needs that does not mean that they can't offer support in return.

Mhok doesn't introduce Day to his family at their graves until after Day has his vision restored, and it is only then that Mhok says he has someone to take care of him. Able-ist!

Day gets his vision back almost immediately after a conversation with his mother where she says he wants to be normal and the fight he had with Mhok is normal.

Handling the entire story this way, with the break up, and a three year time gap, and then Day having his vision restored literally hours after he and Mhok get back together does not allow for any exploration of Mhok and Day having to figure out the differences between Mhok being his caretaker and Mhok being his partner.

We shunted literally every part of Mhok's backstory completely to the side, which in and of itself is fucking ableist in my opinion because it implies that able bodied people who are caretakers for or who are in a relationship with a disabled person don't have any time for themselves, to deal with their own shit or to have their own needs because they are too busy taking care of a disabled person.

With this being, what, the first main character in a BL with blindness, you want to go for the cure route after acceptance? Like you are rewarding someone for their bravery of handling their disability instead of allowing the disabled person to remain happy and thriving in the life they have built for themselves while they continue to be blind?

I'm not blind, so forgive me if I am overstepping at any point here but in my opinion, if you want a narrative that gives Day back his eyesight, that story that not be written by a sighted person. You need blind writers, people with the lived experience having control over the story so the narrative is better able to navigate the complexity of a decision like that, to reverse a character's blindness. I just think blind people would be able to minimize how much returning someone's eyesight might come off as ableist in a story like this. Additionally going the cure route is not a choice I think anyone should be making with the first BL that focuses this heavily on blindness. This world is so fucking ableist, if you want to make a story with a disabled main character with how slim of pickings there are, it feels much more responsible and subversive to go a disability pride route.

And these are just the issues around disability in this show, I have problems with the classism in this show, I have problems with the absolute ridiculousness of Mhok and Day's breakup and their reunion. MHOK APOLOGIZES, MHOK THANKS DAY FOR BREAKING UP WITH HIM, DAY DOES NOT APOLOGIZE FOR BREAKING UP WITH MHOK OR BLOCKING HIM ON SOCIALS FOR THREE YEARS BECAUSE MHOK PITIED DAY ONE (1) TIME. I get not wanting to be pitied, I get it, but seriously it is so much less compelling to have Day just completely abandon Mhok after all of the positive experiences they've had together because he messed up once rather than reel himself back in and have an adult conversation about what happened and try to get back to a balanced state.

Anyway, fuck this show. I am so disappointed that this is Aof's last directed piece for who knows how long. He could have gone out with a bang after Moonlight Chicken and now I am just fucking thankful I won't have to see anything else from him for awhile.

[apocalyptic-byler]

WAIT WAIT WAIT IS IT TOO EARLY TO SAY THATS WILL IN THE BACK BC OF THE VEST BUT WHOS ON THE BIKE MAN WHOSE SHOE IS THAT OMGGGGG

[silk-vanille]

All this tommy hate is so goddamn forced like disinterested where?? He wouldn’t have shown up at the hospital in his uniform without even showering if showing up for Buck wasn’t important to him. Rude where? It’s deadpan humor and Buck hasn’t shown any type of hurt or discomfort once. Right now they’re literally just two people getting to know each other and it’s been going pretty smoothly, plus Buck likes him and he’s happy! However long the relationship lasts, just be happy for Buck and enjoy the ride

[woe-is-tuli]

Coachella 2024 P.2 - Ateez: Mingi

[crowleyholmes]

You know it absolutely doesn't help that for some reason I have a thing for attractive noses (my friends have been making fun of me for that for Years) and then here's this TV show that stars bloody michael sheen and david tennant aka THE people who have THE ABSOLUTE NOSES and you expected me to be normal about it????

[doodleodds]

Happy Valentines, Akira. Happy Valentines, Asshole.

If you can’t read what Akechi’s secondary inner-dialogue says cause I obscured it too much behind his regular dialogue, here’s a transcription in panel order: Hello, you fucking- Ah- Hello, Akira! Fuck off, why should I tell you- Just a soda- there’s a new flavor.

I don’t want your shitty gift. Oh- haha! You’re so sweet.

I hope I choke. They’re lovely, thank you.

Like hell. Likewise. There’s no way it’s just a coincidence. Still though, it’s a funny coincidence.

[57sfinest]

calling harry a “can opener” was SUCH a good play for so many reasons i think about it every day.

in the context of his work, it makes him a tool. as many people have pointed out, including martin luiga, part of the hdb tragedy is that he simply cannot leave the force, and his superiors know that and are using it to their advantage. no matter what happens, even if harry hated every nanosecond of every bit of the work and wanted to leave, he can’t and won’t leave. they can leverage anything they want against him and then reel him back in with a facade of kindness when they “allow” him to keep his job, as long as he does what they want him to. the 41st knows he has this inexplicable talent with people and they use him for it. he’s a cop: that talent can be used in so many awful ways, to push so many different agendas. and they won’t even be his own. a can opener has no particular desire to open a can, aside from maybe the satisfaction of fulfilling a purpose. a can opener has no agency, it’s just a tool for someone else to use to get what they want. and he’s learned to be okay with being used as long as it means he gets to stay. his complacency with this system makes him guilty even if he’s also being harmed by it.

but in the context of his personal life you kind of... flip it. the people around him are going to be opened up whether they want to be or not, and it’s terrible for his relationships. it’s shown that the questions, the prying- the can-opening- it’s become inextricable from who he is as a person. it’s like he doesn’t know how else to communicate, except it’s hardly communication when you’re just ripping people open. he’s invasive as all hell, although whether he means to be is debatable. he’s the kind of person that wants to take things apart to see what makes them tick. he dissects people, but really that’s too delicate of a word for what he does; if he doesn’t get what he wants right up front, he’ll abandon all subtlety and go for brute force. if he can’t get your screws loose he’ll just smash you on the ground and pick through your pieces until he’s satisfied, and if what he did to you isn’t fixable? oh well, there are other cans to open. 

and he’ll use it for personal gain: we already know he is (was?) manipulative. once he knows how you operate, he knows how to make you keep him. he can yell or he can cry; he can threaten you or he can threaten himself; he can be completely suffocating or he can withdraw completely; he can be an incorrigible liar or brutally honest; he can present himself as a threat or a joke or a talent. he’s a chimera- that’s why he’s got this inexplicable magnetism, even when people know they shouldn’t like or trust him. fidelity of character means nothing to him. he’ll be whatever he needs to be as long as it gets him what he wants. the can-opening is just his way in.

[carmillas-girlfriend]

[Source for this wonderful picture of our favorite fisherman here.]

Calling in two experts for this one: @thefandomeffect-noah and whoever is behind @ask-uncle-fang

And also me, I'll share my expert Fang opinion in the tags as well.

[meloartist]

"i simply do not see it. i am looking away"

[sunnysduet]

in this house we support bloodweave btw . three cheers for the local gays

[beanghostprincess]

Me: Yeah! My favorite OP arc is definitely Whole Cake Island. I wouldn't change a thing hahaha

Also me, biting my nails and bouncing my leg and throwing up and whining: Usopp should've been there Usopp should've been there Usopp should've been there Usopp should've bee-

[randomwriteronline]

Do the matoran even know what the difference between male and female is. Did the great beings ever instil the knowledge in them or is it just something that they like. Picked up from other species like the vortixx and skakdi. And makuta i guess. Do they assume female and male are an oversemplification of the elemental thing. So like you have female which is Water and then all the other elements just get funneled into male which instead of a specific element is just Not-Water.

How do they rationalize lightning matoran then. Like are they a subkind of ga-matoran? Because water is a good conductor for lightning? And what about Orde and the psionics. Great Beings go well we cant have you be male now bc youre too destructive, lets make the next ones all female, and Orde is just like what the fuck is a male. Or a female. Never heard of that in my life.

[dostoyevsky-official]

What do you think about Chomsky and his works/philosophy?

chomsky is baby's first critical IR/political theory: it's very good for an introduction and it will still be used by a few succeeding generations of 14-20 year olds, but not good for much more beyond that. chomsky is one of those who suffers from an america first stance but in reverse, seeing all evils as leading to the US which has, in the past, caused him to deny the cambodian killing fields, the bosnian genocide, and downplay russian horrors in ukraine. i don't know anything about his work in linguistics