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ficforthought · 3 years

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On being SO DONE with M*sha, a rant a decade in the making!

After giving this some thought I'm going to go ahead and give my opinion on Misha and yesterday’s situation in public for the first time ever. I was going to just post on Twitter but since this has been 12 years in the making I have exceeded the number of tweets I can put in one thread! There’s A LOT in here, so my summary is also long. I'm aware that I will lose followers over this, I'm not looking to offend anyone but it will inevitably happen. I wish anyone leaving all the best as fellow human beings.

TL;DR - having kept quiet for so long I’ve finally reached my limit and it’s all come bubbling out. I’ve never been a fan of Misha, I’ve been ambivalent for the most part, but have never criticised him in any hateful way, that's not who I am, but after all these years of putting up with his bullshit, attention seeking and troublemaking I am DONE. Deleting his tweet containing the word Wincest and replacing it with an APOLOGY just to pander to his Minions and save face is the straw that broke the camel's back. He has consistently pushed his ship on not only fans but on other actors (despite Jensen's discomfort, and him having repeatedly made his feelings known on it), he has stood by while his Minions/Hellers have harassed, victimised, doxxed and sent death threats to people based on their FICTIONAL ships. He has pandered to their gatekeeping, constantly demanded attention in obvious and not so obvious ways, and to the best of my knowledge never criticised their actions even though he's aware of it in a very real way. Some of his Minions have now taken their shit into The Boys fandom and created negativity for Jensen before the guy has even got a foot through the set door, and how is that supporting one half of your ship?

Misha has claimed to be a victim of targeted harassment from Wincest/brother fans (not only shippers) yet his fans have said and done the most despicable things on his watch, all in the name of what he must think is entertainment, or even his idea of a ‘joke’.

Any respect I had for the man based on his humanitarian work has gone because I can only take so much hypocrisy. He and his pandering because of a desperate attempt to be woke and wholly inclusive (which is actually impossible, no matter how good intentions are) are beyond pathetic. Whilst I have never seen why people think he’s so great I have friends IRL and online who genuinely adore the man, yet they have been shocked and upset by his contempt for half of the fandom that made him somewhat famous. It's disgusting and I'm not scrolling by any more. Misha, I hope to never see you on anything J2 related in future because none of us need that kind of negativity, *especially* not J2. Be gone, foul fiend!

OK, so to the too long part. Please be aware that these are my opinions as a fan of the show, of Sam and Dean, and J2, not only as a shipper. I can separate canon and fanon, and can view canon from a gen or shippy PoV. Whether you agree or disagree with my opinion let me be clear that I do not condone constant bashing and hate of a person or character so this isn’t the start of a regular thing for me. It's possible to have an opinion and not show the same vitriol that has been following this man around for years, and that’s what I’m doing. I've not posted this to prompt more negativity, it's simply to get it off my chest and make it clear how I feel. I stand by my philosophy of ship who you want to ship, enjoy it, but don't force it on other people and don't be a dick about it…hmm, that kinda sounds like familiar behaviour, though, does it not?!

I have ABSOLUTELY NO ISSUE with other people liking Misha, Cas or Destiel when it’s for the love of the characters and the ship. What I *do* have an issue with is people who are the true definition of a Heller. I don’t see that as a generic term, don't be ignorant and think I do because I know the difference between actual ship fans and the crazies, both ships have ‘em and I want no part of either of their venom. If you are reading this and class yourself as a Heller then you are part of the problem so run along and as you are all so fond of saying, 'get help' and take your bestie king with you.

I’m stating my opinion in what I feel is the most mature way I can, because unlike many people on SM, I am an adult and can act accordingly, with forethought and without resorting to temper tantrums and bullying of other people to get my point across. I am able to tell the difference between reality and fiction, I don't tar everyone with the same shipper brush and I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinion, but as we know opinions are like arseholes, we all have them and sometimes they stink. Unlike some, for the most part in life (online and offline) I *do* stand by what I say and don’t backtrack or delete things to appease the masses. I have spent a lot of time writing this out to be as clear as possible without being intentionally hateful. Bear with me jumping between actor and character where relevant, at this point they're conjoined. I will say this before I go any further, it doesn’t end well for Misha, I don’t mince my words and if you don’t like seeing facts and opinions laid out, this isn't the post for you.

I’ll say right off the bat what most of you have surmised - I’ve never held Misha (or Cas) in high esteem but I have never *hated* on him. I have shared mild criticism of his actions and opinions on Cas over the years but never, I feel, in any way that has made me feel I have something to apologise for. I have said several times I've been unhappy about Misha crashing con panels, taking attention away from J2 when at those cons *most* people paid their hard earned money to see the STARS of the show they love, first and foremost, and anyone else is a very nice bonus. The odd appearance here and there crashing a panel is fine (and Misha isn’t the first or last person to do it), maybe take up a few minutes then leave, but when someone commandeers an entire panel, that's just not on. It's not only selfish, rude and attention seeking but also disrespectful to other actors, fans and to the organisers who work hard to make sure everything ties in to give us the best con experience we can have. Everyone gets their turn on stage, there's no need to try and hog any more of the limelight, Veruca Salt style. Oh, and if you’re reading this and not getting that reference, (a) you shouldn’t be on my blog because you’re far too young, (b) look it up, and if you still don’t get what I’m saying… well then please refer to point (a). Thank you, kindly!

There was a time in Kripke's era where Cas was - I feel - intentionally used as a pawn by the writers to divert *canon* from the ‘questionable’ relationship between Sam and Dean, i.e. Wincest focus. Prior to that people (other fans) lightened up and just accepted the fact that Wincest had been there since day one in terms of the writing of the show and the fandom. All the cast and crew knew - J2, Kripke and JDM in particular - and made light of it, never judging, never shaming and often encouraging it because they understand it’s a fun part of fandom. Wincest was present enough to be part of the not so subtle subtext, as I said people just accepted it. Kink tomato was alive and well, so was ‘don’t like, don’t read’ and we all just scrolled over things we didn’t like without turning everything into a personal vendetta and excuse for bullying others who didn’t share our views. When the angels came into the plot I think most of us Wincest fans gave the Dean/Cas innuendos the small laugh they deserved and then turned back to the focus of the show which was the brothers, as it had always been intended. Misha, however, milked those moments as much as possible which was amusing at the start but got old *very* quickly, not just for fans (shippers and non shippers alike), but for other actors, in particular Jensen who is on record MULTIPLE times showing his dislike for Destiel. He told people outright that's not how he was playing the relationship between the two characters and CATEGORICALLY said "Destiel doesn't exist" but did it end there? No, it did not because neither fans or Misha let it go, in fact Misha only pushed more, goaded fans into flogging the same dead horse as much as possible. He’s never stopped, not even when there was so much discord in the fandom, a huge wedge was driven into it because of ships, which IMO he heavily contributed to.

Fast forward to over a decade later (a decade, seriously man, let it fucking go!) he didn’t even stop when Destiel did partially go canon. I have never doubted that Cas loved Dean (Sam, too) because in SPN lore angels are made to love, even rebellious ones. I, along with many others, liked that about Cas because who doesn't love a rebel, especially one rebelling for very good reasons, and because of those two wonderful men? Sam and Dean allowed him to see beyond what he'd been brainwashed to believe his entire existence. The fact is that although the nature of that love changed for Cas, it never did for Dean and was CANONICALLY UNREQUITED because Dean was incapable of loving anyone else as much as he loved Sam. All that mattered to Dean, even when he saw other characters as "family" was still Sam…ALWAYS Sam, every step of the way. Again for those who have too much Misha shaped wax in their ears, that’s canon. Whether people choose to see that love platonically or romantically is up to them, soulmates don't always have to be romantic, either way, brotherly love won out above all else on the show. No amount of Misha screaming ‘hey look, Destiel!’ changed that, but it sure didn’t stop him trying, did it?

So now that the obvious has been stated, here's something else we all know - never once in all of the years on the show did Misha drop rallying of the troops to his precious, ego stroking ship. Never once (that I am aware of) has he called out his Minions and Hellers on their continued harassment of everyone involved in the show and other fans despite the fact that they have bullied, victimised and wished bodily harm, rape and death on people who don't see their ship and because didn't get the ending to the story that they wanted. Not once has Misha shown any remorse for the trauma his "fans" have caused, and I’m taking REAL trauma, here, not the kind Twitter stans see as ‘triggering’ - people have been driven to close SM accounts, attempted, and in some cases succeeded in taking their own lives. These Minions have openly mocked Jared’s struggles with depression and anxiety, and Misha - who claims to be friends with J2 and be supportive of them in every way - has stood by and let it all play out, knowing full well some of the goings on, if not the full extent of how toxic these people are. We know he sees things being said online, and I have absolutely no doubt he spends time online searching his name for things that are relevant in some way to him in an effort to insert himself into a current conversation, or even start one so that attention is on him. Gotta stay relevant, somehow, right, Mish?

He has actively encouraged bullying by his actions of enabling the behaviours above, both by the flogging of the aforementioned dead horse, AND by not objecting to unacceptable behaviours. Remember when Minions and Hellers were slating J2, particularly Jared, for not posting on SM about BLM and other topics? Yeah, he didn’t ask them to stop doing that, either, even when he was tagged in things along the lines of ‘If Misha can post why can’t J2?’ etc. There have been some token protests, con vids I've seen have show his 'objections' which IMO have been done in a very tongue in cheek way, meaning that those people who needed to be pulled aside and told to change their ways just carried on, because their evil overlord didn’t explicitly explain it in terms a three year old could understand that bullying and forcing your opinion on others is WRONG. Not all of his cult are young and impressionable, not by a long shot, but many of the more vocal and vitriolic ones are.

As a father himself I wonder what Misha would do if he found out that his kids were behaving in ways his Minions are? I’m aware they’re young, but kids are cruel and bullying doesn’t just happen online. Even at whatever age they are, would he laugh it off the way he appears to have done with all of this fandom toxicity? Not bloody likely! I wonder if he’s as desperate to gain the approval of his family, friends and colleagues as he appears to be for that of his Minions/Hellers? I would certainly hope so, but that question can only be answered by Misha, himself, and I can and will not presume to speak on someone else's behalf on things in their personal life. For the record I would never presume I know what J2's answers would be on anything, however I do feel that after 15 years I have an accurate gauge on what kind of people they are so would be confident that any opinion I had on a matter aligns with their morals and ethics. As much as J2 have shared of themselves with us - willingly and under no pressure to do so, I might add - we don't *know* them, but we know enough to have an informed opinion. I can’t say the same for Misha because based on the behaviour he’s repeatedly displayed, things I've heard about from other fans as well as people I know IRL who have had direct dealings with him through cons or GISH (including some very actively in the early days when it was GISHWHES) he just hasn’t seemed like a person I wanted to follow on SM. I’ve never watched any of his solo panels, though I have watched ones with both or one of the J's, mostly being left irritated because of his behaviour. Watching the J’s put up with that shit is painful, and it’s a testament to how good they are as actors that they managed to hide at least some of their disdain for as long as they did. Microexpressions give them away, particularly Jensen, and they certainly have faces I have spent many years watching closely. Beautiful faces to go with beautiful souls, both of them! <3

I have precisely ZERO interest in Destiel as a ship, very little interest in Cas as a character anymore (though I did like him in the early days,and his relationship with Jack in late seasons) so I have absolutely no reason or desire to follow anything Misha does. That said, I've obviously been peripherally aware of some things he's been involved in because of friends, from things I’ve seen on SM and general fandom stuff. Despite the things I've already mentioned about his behaviour, up until now I have been able to maintain a level of respect for him as a person because of the humanitarian and charity work he's done. He seems like someone who really does want to change the world for the better and I am in full support of that fact, so much so that I have supported TWO campaigns relating to him. I bought one of the Super Good t-shirts for the campaign he did with Michael Sheen (a true angel!), the SPN/Good Omens x-over to help homeless charities, and I chose the design with text only and not artwork of Michael and Misha on, basically because I didn’t want to be wearing something with Misha’s face on it and I make absolutely no apology for that, whatsoever. I also bought Alex's #TheEndHasNoEnd shirt, which some of the profits went to Random Acts who do great work, so again, despite not liking Misha I still willingly contributed for a cause bigger than me, and to support Alex, who I absolutely ADORE. I'm aware that Stands aren't popular with some of the fandom, however since most of the cast of SPN are happily affiliated with them then I don't feel it's my place to either judge, or to discuss topics I know next to nothing about. But I digress, as a decent human being I have shown support tangentially to a man who I don't care for out of respect for the work he does outside the fandom. Telling you this isn’t to paint myself in a good light - I don’t need your approval, I’m a big girl, unlike some I don’t need constant validation! - only to provide background on how I’ve actively *not* hated on Misha.

Now though, any respect I had for him has come to an abrupt end, the events of the past 24 hours has seen to that. Whilst I have been annoyed at his behaviour in regards to shipping, I don't feel it's ever gone this far, or at least not that I've seen first hand. This man has, IMO, contributed to so much toxicity in the fandom by way of things I've mentioned before, he's claimed - without actually saying the words - that Wincest fans weren't interested in him as a character when he came onto the show, and hasn’t felt included because of the fans’ love of the brothers. Um, hate to break it to you, love, but when you come onto an established show that is about two people, and you’re a *guest star* you can’t expect everyone to love you. Some characters we as individuals do fall in love with straight away (Bobby, Charlie, Crowley and Rowena are good examples for me), it takes time to establish a dynamic, so if that’s how he felt then it was incredibly naive of him as an actor to expect instant acceptance from anyone. Also, why wait until after the show finished to bring it up AGAIN … oh wait, yeah, that would be to step back into the limelight in a way intended to garner sympathy from Minions and INTENTIONALLY piss off bro fans and Wincest shippers alike? How fucking self centred, desperate and disrespectful do you have to be to shit all over the finale of a show that for the most part accepted you and kept you in paid work for 12 years? Well, Misha Collins levels of all of those things, obviously.

So, on the topics of self centred, desperate to stay relevant, attention seeking and being oh so needy, the tweet yesterday from Amazon mentioned Castiel. He wasn’t tagged in it, so I refer to my earlier comment about searching online, because how else would he have possibly seen that? It’s possible someone sent it to him, I appreciate that, but if we go off past behaviour it’s not any stretch at all to believe that didn’t happen. So, once again, having seen the tweet he took it upon himself to - oh so predictably - turn it into something relating to Destiel. When I saw it I immediately rolled my eyes and thought ‘here we go again’, but then also had a little smile because I really liked the fact that he explicitly mentioned Wincest, therefore seeming to accept that his poor old dead horse wasn’t the only one in the race. I actually mentally tipped my hat to him then because it appeared that he’s matured enough to acknowledge by name the ship that predates his inclusion on the show. Great, I thought, this is a positive thing in a sea of negativity surrounding the man and his sunken ship, because what followed was Wincest trending in the US (it may also have been other countries as well but I had to sleep!) … largely due to the fact that Hellers were responding to it, calling him out on mentioning the dreaded ‘W’ word. I’ll repeat that because it’s been a rare occurrence up to that point… the Minions were actually disappointed with their overlord for mentioning another ship. We all know what they think of it and I for one, don’t give a flying fuck about their opionion. Ship and let ship, it’s all fun (or meant to be) so we have different tastes, that’s life kiddiwinks, deal with it. I mean, you really don’t have much of an example set for you when your king has proven several times over to be one of the biggest obnoxious brats out there, but just give it a try for your own sakes, yeah? Awesome, good on you, besties!

An unexpected development - to my joy and that of other Wincest shippers - them doing that got the topic trending, only *kept* trending by the fact that were all coming online asking why it was trending. Wincest shippers barely lifted a finger, we just flooded each other’s timelines with lovely content and basked in the Hellers - and Misha - shooting themselves in the foot, which was awesome. But did the vitriol stop? No. Did he get the attention he so clearly craves? Yes. Was it in the way he wanted? Fuck no, so poor, emotionally wounded baby backtracked after seeing that his name was trending alongside Wincest because that’s *so* not what someone narcissistic to do it in the first place, wanted.

Now here’s where I could easily have just moved on with an unusually fond chuckle, giving him an ironic pat on the back and a ‘thanks, Misha’ for being the one to instigate hours of fun, but once again his despicable behaviour made that impossible. It’s been more than obvious for many years that he cares more about what his fans think than anything else to do with the show and the fandom in a larger sense, but to delete the tweet and APOLOGISE for daring to be so insensitive to the snowflakes’ delicate sensibilities for mentioning Wincest in the first place was absolutely disgusting. Stating , “I used a term that I had never really given any thought to other than, "that's a thing?! Yuck." is not only complete and utter bullshit, it’s pandering of the highest order.

We all know he has referred to Wincest on multiple occasions, so to say he hadn’t thought about is a flat out lie, which IMO is an insult to everyone, not just Wincest shippers. Does the man have no self respect at all, why would you contradict yourself in the face of such overwhelming evidence? Instead of either ignoring all the people calling him out, or addressing it with another tweet saying ‘yeah, that happened’ or something similar he chose, I repeat, CHOSE the route of claiming he didn’t realise he was being offensive to people who felt ‘triggered’ by him using the word Wincest. He basically shat all over an entire ship and large sector of the fandom in an attempt to appease his own fan base which consists of a lot of children (or those that act like children) who have no idea what RL is like.

Once again, he’s reinforced the idea that if you shout loud enough at someone just because you don’t like something they said, they will back down and apologise for something even when there’s nothing to apologise for. If he wants to be such a role model then he could easily have pointed out that a fictional ship doesn’t condone RL incest, any ACTUAL trauma people have suffered because of RL situations, and made an effort to make sure people understand that. He COULD have used it as an opportunity to do some good in the fandom by encouraging people to build bridges, to accept that people are entitled to their beliefs and that sometimes we see things differently but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t treat others with BASIC HUMAN DECENCY because of it. Instead he YET AGAIN chose to show that he cares more about what Minions think of him, keeping them onside to constantly stroke his unbelievably fragile ego in everything he does.

It is my understanding that Misha is big on (or claims to be big on) putting positive energy out into the world, treating people with respect, helping others and accepting people for who they are, not who you want them to be… all this after YEARS of consistently practising what he preaches only when it suits him. He sends out a message that it’s perfectly OK to bully, to spread hate, to draw attention to yourself at the cost of others, to throw colleagues and friends under the bus and at the same time use them to further your own agenda and get hits for your YouTube channel. Is this really the legacy he wants to leave? Is this an environment he wants his own kids to grow up in as well as future generations? Is this what he thinks is a valuable contribution as a human being? JFC, the arrogance, hypocrisy and the need for constant validation this man exhibits is nothing short of cringeworthy… actually it’s beyond that. It’s deplorable behaviour, it’s not new, and he will continue to act like this for as long as he’s being enabled and this harmful cycle needs to end.

I have friends IRL and online who are (now, possibly, were) big Misha fans, who have supported him from either the beginning of his run on the show, or since they started watching, and this is how he repays this behaviour? He’s willfully alienating decent people (including multishippers) all to make himself look good by being seen to do everything he can not to offend people. Spoiler alert, you DID offend people, you continue to do so time and again and we’ve had enough. I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to be such a perpetual people pleaser, but let me say it’s not doing you any favours in any way, shape or form.

Misha, you are *not* a role model, you’re *not* someone to look up to when you can't live up to the ideals you preach. You’re spitting in the face of people who have supported you even after some questionable things in the past, who gave you the benefit of the doubt because we’re all human and we all make mistakes. The key to growing as a person is not to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over, understanding *why* what you said and/or did was a mistake and making a concerted effort to make changes. I don’t ever see you doing that, you will continue down this path of only caring about Minions under the guise of caring for people in general. You are transparent, you are sad and despite the fact I’ve never particularly liked you, I didn’t speak up because I didn’t want to get involved in the drama. Well now I have spoken up and I’m saying you’re a disgrace, you have no respect for other people and nobody is fooled anymore. If it hadn’t been this tweet it would have been something else, but I for one am glad it happened so soon after the show ended so we can finally be rid of the limpet-like behaviour. It’s over, let it go for the sake of what dignity you might have left, for the sake of your family and friends and for the sake of anyone who isn’t capable of seeing through your ‘it’s a joke’ mentality.

You have been weighed, you have been measured and you have been found wanting. Fuck you and the horse you rode in on, Misha.

For anyone who made it to the end of my ramble, thank you. This has been a cathartic exercise and I’m drawing a line under it now, I don’t think I could possibly make my thoughts any clearer. I urge you not to get caught up in any petty squabbles with his Minions, let’s celebrate J2 and other cast and crew members who have shown us all respect and who I am proud to call part of the SPN family. There’s always one member of the family who needs to be frozen out for the good of everyone else.

#ficforthought speaks #sorry not sorry #i spent way too long on this #purging the poison

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randomnameless · 3 years

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Do you think 3H is a critic of various political systems? Feudalism, Meritocracy and Theology?

Answering this old ask because something popped out in the replies of a post -

Just like FE16 is NOT a critic of feudalism, it is not criticising theocracy nor meritocracy.

Of course we, as players, know what can go wrong and/or how fast it can go wrong with those regimes.

But FE isn’t a Civ game, it doesn’t promote a regime over another.

FE, is, at heart, a franchise where good guys almost always have to return to their rightful throne to rightfully rule over randoms who are happy to see them return, because they were mistreated by an evil empire/ an evil sect / an evil dragon.

It has been pointed out regarding FE16, but I remember an earlier discussion we had with friends about Jugdral, FE is irrigated by the “Mandate of Heaven” concept. It is not Louis’s divine right to rule, but the contrary. If the people want you, then you have to be their ruler - fit in those shoes whether you want it or not. Of course the “traditional” Lord wants to fit in those shoes, and be a good ruler to his/her randoms, that is, get rid of Bandits (tm), make sure there are no wars and no asshat who wants to conquer the land.

FE10!Elincia is widely regarded to be a compassionate and a good Queen for Crimea, but Brom and Nephenie (two peasants) do not elect a representative to form a parliamentary house to balance Elincia’s powers. Crimea is a monarchy, yes, and we dgaf about it.

Meritocracy? FE also doesn’t care about it.

One could say Ike earnt his “noble status” in FE9 because of his talent and swordskill but 1/ he ditches it when it’s too much work 2/ he doesn’t care about it 3/ we’re talking about the man who “inherited” his Father’s mercenary company not because of his skill, but because it was his Father’s mercenary company. The only ones who complain are a racist and a skirt chaser so we’re not supposed to take them seriously.

Meritocracy in Jugdral? No, of course not. Absolutely not! Seliph and Leif are destined to rule over people and lands, but through their journey, they have to learn about what it takes to be a good ruler and not fall in the pitfalls of their fathers. Jugdral’s lords (FE lords?) are destined to rule, they can’t decide to fig off, and in Leif’s case, he isn’t the best suited to rule because he isn’t as awesome as other people (or so he thinks!). But the Lord has to pull through and become a good/worthy leader (worthy of the mandate) and usher in his/her ending card an era of peace.

Ephraim learns the lesson in the later half of FE8. Hector does too when Uther kicks the bucket.

I know FE16 tries to paint a certain conflict with meritocracy, just like Ashnard did. But Ashnard turned his brother in law in a mindless beast to mount him, ditched his wife when she couldn’t transform in a dragon and couldn’t give a fuck about his son since he wasn’t OP at birth. We are not supposed to care about Ashnard’s ideals, and even if street rats like Sothe and the Dawn Brigade seem to miss him, they don’t understand who they’re talking about (and the guy is dead!). Reyson shot Ashnard’s ideals in their battle quote. Elincia did too. Sothe (kid?) and the nostalgia surrounding Ashnard is only used to show what Begnion does is awful because people miss the crazy war mongerer, but also, that Tellius Twitter doesn’t exist, so no, Leonardo, Kid!Sothe and Nolan doesn’t know Rajaion isn’t a big wyvern.

However, in FE16, it is raised again as a solution against systemic corruption, but again with this game, the localisation/direction went completely off the rockers.

Localised!Hanneman seems to preach how meritocracy and nobility always sucked because it keeps low-born people down.

However, @garlandgerard pointed out, OG!Hanneman doesn’t judge as harshly nobility. OG!Hanneman strives to be a “good noble”, nobility or what it entailed is not completely rotten to the core, but some people use the concept of “nobility” to, well, be rotten to the core.

Just like Begnion Senators abused their privileges to be slave traders, or marry women against their consent, or kept humans as pets, etc etc. No one in FE10 says the Senate sucks because Senator sucks.

Localised!Hanneman doesn’t reach the same conclusion, because some nobles are asshats, nobility sucks. Judith sucks, not because of her actions, but because she is a noble, unless Judith is one of the “good ones” Hanneman mentions how nobility “often” is used to keep people down - but then goes on dismissing it entirely calling it “nonsense”.

And while part of me just want to say “oh it’s just a localised thing” - it is again another grain of salt in the vase about, say, a localisation team not understanding a game, giving directions completely contrary to its meaning which gives us a half-baked product.

To be clear, I am not saying Meritocracy is the bestest thing ever, or it sucks, not am I saying Empires are cool and/or monarchy is OP.

What I’m saying is, FE doesn’t give a crap about political regimes.

The only mention that could be made is about merchant republics, who are always shat on in the franchise, but that’s all.

#anon #replies #FE16 #since when a franchise with dragons and pegasi became a political mirror?#i will die on my fence #but the US!version of FE16 is a different game from the one I played #i know i know the fr translation was inspired a lot by the US one #but it still has differences closer in meaning to the JP version #and let's not talk about the directions of the voice actors #of course it isn't dubbed in French I didn't throw the cartride in a bathtub #but jp!voices and us!voices were given different directions some characters are really not the same #memelord!Claude is a sad exemple #meritocracy in jugdral : never : the saga

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emisfritish · 3 years

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dude youre like the kind of person who says you cant be socialist if you own an iphone just because someone watches a show for the minimal rep it has doesnt mean they cant criticise it?????

Dude,

You’re the type of person who sends the most random asks linking two issues that have nothing to do with one another, and apparently has issues with comprehensive reading, aren’t you ? But you know, I’ll bite. It’s been a few months since I received a low key agressive ask about one of my opinions.

First, I imagine you’re referring to this post so that’s the one I’m going to base my answer on. If that’s not it, please feel free to send me yet another anonymous message telling me how wrong I am, I will be happy to address this one too :)

First off, if you actually read (and understood) the post I wrote, I never once said you weren’t allowed to criticize the media you consume. Please criticize it, reflect on it, and make your own opinion about things. Critical thinking will always be important.

You know what else is important ? Self-awareness.

You can criticize a show / a genre all you want, but if you spend the vast majority of your time watching shows where the two leads are men falling in love in different universes and circumstances, and then you’re also making long ass posts on tumblr about the lack of representation for women in thai media, then you’re at best in denial about how you’re also part of the issue, and at worst a hypocrite.

If you spend the vast majority of your time watching BLs (shows where often times the cast is 80% male), and then you’re making posts on tumblr judging the entire GMM / thai industry for the lack of representation for healthy women in their shows, then you’re not only basing your opinion on your very limited vision of what the thai tv show industry truly is, you’re also part of the issue.

If you spend the vast majority of your time watching GMMTV BLs and never give their other shows a try, and then you’re making posts to complain about how the GMMTV is producing more BLs and profiting off of them instead of producing different type of shows, then I’m sorry to tell you you’re not only part of the issue, you’re also one of the direct causes for their behaviour in the first place.

That’s what my post was about.

If that doesn’t apply to you (either because you watch different shows as well, or because you’re just happily watching BLs for the rep without wasting your time complaining about an issue you’re actually partly responsible for) ? Then good for you, and I’m not sure why you were so triggered by my post in the first place. I have no issue with people that consume mostly/only BLs shows, as I explicitly stated in the original post.

If this does apply to you however, then I encourage you to either re-evaluate the way you consume media and try to understand how your behaviour could be part of the very issue you’re criticizing and acknowledge that, or I encourage you to open yourself to new horizons and different type of shows as well so you’ll find the women in thai media and their representation that you’re loudly claiming you’re actually seeking.

You’re also in luck, a new network called @lakornladies has just opened up for this very purpose, so that could be a good place to start ! Go check them out and give them a follow, I think you’ll soon discover that representation for women is not as big of an issue in general thai media as you seem to think it is.

You want more shows produced by the GMMTV that aren’t BLs ? Go and watch the ones they already produce every year to boost those numbers too.

You want more representation for women in thai shows ? Then go and watch the dozens of shows produced every year that have fully fleshed out and amazing characters that are women, and stop complaining about the issue when the only shows you currently watch have a cast that is almost entirely male most times.

That’s literally all my post was about, and I stand by what I said.

If you’d like to discuss things further, don’t hesitate. My ask box is always open and I’m always up for debate about those issues, providing everyone involved in the conversation stays polite and intellectually honest.

PS : You can be a socialist and own an Iphone. However if you own an Iphone and then you’re making long ass posts on tumblr about how bad capitalism is, and how Apple is a horrid company that exploits its workers and is growing on the back of their underpaid workers in developing countries, then yes, you’re also being a hypocrite on that issue and your double standards are flying high.

On that note I hope you have a good day anon, and I hope you’re taking care of yourself in this period of unrest.

#emi answers #ask and you shall receive #anon ask #seriously you want to come at me about this issue ? then please read the initial post I made and make sure you're actually understanding it #before you send borderline agressive asks about it #thai media #emi's thoughts

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nakamina · 4 years

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What is Produce 101 Japan? + Fav members

Hello again! Today, I’m here with another long blog post NOT about Yuzuru Hanyu or anime but............ PRODUCE 101 JAPAN!! Because there are just not enough posts about it on Tumblr. AGH! WHY!? So here we go...

What is Produce 101 Japan?

Produce 101 Japan is a 2019 Japanese reality competition show and a spin-off of the South Korean television series Produce 101 . The show follows 101 trainees with the intention of producing an 11-member boy band. The members, group name, and concepts are selected by viewers, referred to as "national producers." The series was first announced in April 2019 as a co-production between Yoshimoto Kogyo and CJ E&M and premiered on September 25, 2019, with the first and final episodes airing on TBS while the full series will be streamed on GyaO! beginning September 26, 2019. - Totally not copied and pasted from wiki lol

So yes, if you are familiar with the Korean Produce 101 franchise then you get the gist; if not, it is basically a Japanese idol show where the viewers get to vote and decide who will debut in the end as part of a 11-member boy band. Almost each week the ranking is released to the public online. This ranking resets every 3-4 weeks, so every trainee has the opportunity to redeem themselves as well as drop down in rank. Currently 9 out of 12 episodes have aired. The final episode is set to air on December 11, 2019.

Who are MY top 11 members?

So my favourite part of this blog has come! I will now show case my top/favourite 11 members of Produce 101 Japan. So obviously these are the members that I hope will make it into the final 11 to debut as a group. I will first list their age, prefecture, current rank (as of 27th Nov 2019), audition group (as some members entered this show as a group), position/persona (made up by me) and a short blurb about what I like about them. FYI this is not in any particular order......except for maybe no.1 hehe.

1. Shiroiwa Ruki

Age: 22 Prefecture: Tokyo, Japan Current rank: 4th Audition group: Hangyaku no Prince Position/persona: A prince on the outside, a dork on the inside

Ruki is by far my favourite trainee and my 1-pick. He is a total visual, an all rounder and the dark horse of this show. His rank has been steadily improving and just last week he jumped from 13th place to 4th place! So far he has been the centre for all of the group battle performances. He is known for his “Prince” persona, and yes on stage he is indeed like a prince from a Shojo-manga; however, as some other trainees have confessed he is actually quite dorky and down to earth. I mean, in his 60-second PR video he sang while nonchalantly playing a guitar that was clearly out of tune (face palm). Furthermore, he talks to his dorm mates on and on until 4am only because he gets lonely and doesn’t want to be the last one to fall asleep. This young fella just yearns for some company haha. With all jokes aside though, I think he honestly has the potential to challenge the current top three members and be chosen as the final centre.

2. Komatsu Koshin

Age: 18 Prefecture: Hyogo, Japan Current rank: 28th Audition group: Puchi-men Position/persona: Small boy with a big heart

Komatsu-kun is a 18 year old high schooler that has captured the hearts of many with his cute face and personality. Ruki may be my 1-pick, but Komatsu-kun was the first trainee I had my eyes on. He is very underrated IMHO as he just does not get enough screen time. But you can tell from the few scenes that he is featured in that he is so polite, cares a lot about his fellow peers and can always lift up the the entire mood within the team. He also has a stable vocal and solid dance skills. He may be small (165cm), but he has a heart of a giant.

3. Uehara Jun

Age: 23 Prefecture: Tokyo, Japan Current rank: 5th Audition group: n/a Position/persona: King of Rap

Where do I even begin with Uehara Jun!? He was actually in Produce X (4th season of the Produce franchise in Korea) but as he could not make the final cut there, he has now committed to this second opportunity in Japan to make his debut as an idol. Jun has many amazing qualities, one of the obvious ones being his skills as a rapper. Honestly, he is in a league of his own when it comes to rap. I’m no rap pro, but when he raps it just sounds so GOOD! When he first started off I think a lot of viewers were hesitant to vote for him as he had the tendency to succumb to pressure and self-guilt, but as the weeks went by he really redeemed himself and gained a lot more confidence. I mean...the fact that he moved from one season to another without second thought just shows he really wants this, and I genuinely hope he will make it into the final 11. He deserves it and the group will suffer without a top-quality rapper like him.

4. Kono Junki

Age: 21 Prefecture: Nara, Japan Current rank: 11th Audition group: Six Packs Position/persona: Kpop ready vocals and visual

Junki is a very handsome trainee with a beautiful voice. Despite having little to no experience with singing or dancing prior to this show, he has really demonstrated the ability to adapt and deliver. Also his face and voice is so Kpop worthy it’s crazy. If I saw him walking down the street with no prior knowledge of who he is and someone told me he is a Kpop idol I will be convinced. He has also been voted by the other trainees as one of the top visuals. Oh and did I mention he has amazing muscles? I mean he did audition as part of a group called “Six Packs” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

5. Yonashiro Sho

Age: 24 Prefecture: Okinawa, Japan Current rank: 8th Audition group: Six Packs Position/persona: 50 Shades of Yonashiro

Ah yes... Yonashiro, the Christian Grey of Produce 101 Japan. I say this because many viewers find his face, body and most of all his VOICE to be very sensual. He is a member of Six Packs, the same group as Kono Junki, so of course he has muscles and is also an amazing vocalist. His deep liquid gold voice has just added so much spice to every group performance that he has been a part of, and is now regarded as one of the best vocalists of all the trainees. You may think that he is this know-it-all arrogant narcissist because of his looks, but he is actually very kind, considerate of others and has genuine passion for singing.

6. Kim Heecheon

Age: 25 Prefecture: South Korean Current rank: 14th Audition group: Hello Again Position/persona: Ready to lead a country

Heecheon was a former member of the Kpop group Halo. As they disbanded, he decided to join this show alongside two other former members of Halo (Younghoon & Youndong). Due to their experience Halo is really on a league of their own in many ways. Their dance, vocals, performance and professionalism as an idol are just top notch and SO stable. Heecheon particularly has a voice of an angel. He can really hit those high notes and it sounds so tranquil. One of the vocal trainers even praised him for it in one of the first episodes. He has also demonstrated great leadership skills. He has the ability to gain everyone’s trust and respect, while not being afraid to give constructive criticism and call out on those who are not being professional within the team. He is so level-headed, but that is not to say he isn’t fun. He is actually so funny and I am just impressed how well he understands Japanese sense of humour despite being Korean. Heecheon for president anyone??

7. Jeong Younghoon

Age: 26 Prefecture: South Korea Current rank: 6th Audition group: Hello Again Position/persona: Embodiment of Kindness

Look up “kindness” in your dictionary and you are sure to find his name. Younghoon, the eldest member of the Halo trio, is such a kind-hearted individual. One of the younger trainees even said that he wants Younghoon in his group during one of the group battles because he is kind (uwu). He has actually been judged quite harshly by the trainers despite being a former Kpop idol, and was even placed in group C (3rd lowest group) at one point. Even with these challenges he never showed the slightest bit of annoyance towards the trainers and accepted to improve on the flaws the he was criticised for. Like Heecheon, he has also gained a lot of trust and admiration from the other trainees.

8. Kim Youndong

Age: 24 Prefecture: South Korea Current rank: 10 Audition group: Hello Again Position/persona: Little Mr Sunshine

Youndong, also a former member of Halo, is such a sunshine of the show. He is absolutely a pleasure to watch both on and off stage and is always smiling. He is probably the least fluent in Japanese out of the Halo trio, but that in itself is what makes him so charming. His personality is so likeable I think it is impossible for anyone to hate him. Not to mention his stunning presence while performing.

9. Kawanishi Takumi

Age: 20 Prefecture: Hyogo, Japan Current rank: 12th Audition group: KSIX Position/persona: Princess

I think Takumi is a must needed member for the final 11. He really is a talented individual. He apparently has no experience with dancing or singing but for some reason he manages to always pull off complicated choreos and is also working steadily on his vocals right now. He may be ranked 12th at the moment, but he was previously ranked no.1, so I’m sure his one-pickers will place him back up high in the ranking again soon enough. He is also labelled as the “Princess” of Produce 101 Japan due to his picture perfect looks. Unsurprisingly he was also voted as the no.1 visual by the trainees. I mean just look at him, those eyes just so striking and and full of hope!

10. Kawashiri Ren

Age: 22 Prefecture: Fukuoka, Japan Current rank: 2nd Audition group: UN Backers Position/persona: Mr Perfect

Now Ren is a special one. He is a very experienced dancer and is one of, if not the best dancer of all the trainees. He has worked as a back dancer for many Kpop and Jpop groups such as FT Island, WannaOne, Pentagon and SMAP. Of course he is not the only experienced dancer in the show, but every move of his is so effortless and clean. He was voted as the very first centre of Produce 101 Japan, and maintained this position throughout the first half of the season. His rank has now dropped down to 2nd, but he still maintains an incredible amount of following. He has so much aura and has garnered a lot of respect from the other trainees. I think it’s safe to say that he will make it into the final 11 and will undoubtedly be one of the top contenders for the final centre position.

11. Tsurubo Shion

Age: 18 Prefecture: Shiga, Japan Current rank: 3rd Audition group: n/a Position/persona: Bad boy gone sweet

I think Shion is a type that really pulls the ladies’ heart strings. Similar to Uehara Jun, Shion also sees Produce 101 as his second chance to accomplish his dream as an idol, as he has had a history of failing an audition....an audition which he even dropped out of high school for. There was some negativity around his reputation at the start as the trainers addressed his “rude” attitude in the first episode (By rude, he talked over some of the trainers and hosts, and was not using proper formal language). This was only for the first episode and was most likely due to nerves of being on screen as as the weeks went by we saw him break out of his shell and show a very sweet side of him. I mean just look at his pure smile in the GIF below!

Honourable mentions

Now I am going to cheat a bit and show case three other trainees that could not make it into MY top 11 but deserves a mention.

Ando Tomoaki

Age: 22 Prefecture: Fukuoka, Japan Current rank: 7th Audition group: Six Packs Position/persona: Michelangelo’s Ando

The third member of Six Packs. I say he’s “Michelangelo’s” Ando because he has such deep set eyes and western facial features. One trainee said that he’s like one of the statues you’d find in the Louvre lol. Ando may very well be the most talented vocalist in Six Packs. It would be very sad to not see all of the three Six Packs members make it into the final 11, so thats why I have placed him here.

Honda Kosuke

Age: 24 Prefecture: Fukushima, Japan Current rank: 15th Audition group: Hangyaku no Prince Position/persona: Big bro Honda

Honda is so big bro-material. Even Kawajiri Ren, one of the most respected trainees comes to him for moral support. I actually would be really happy if he makes it into the final 11 with Ruki because they are from the same group and have such a strong bond (cries). So much drama happened around him during one of the group battles, and he is such a great dancer and choreographer.

Urano Shuta

Age: 22 Prefecture: Kanagawa, Japan Current rank: 34th Audition group: Hangyaku no Prince Position/persona: Mood maker

Urano Shuta, also a member of Hangyaku no Prince, is someone that very recently caught my attention. He has a great voice and great sense of humour. Honestly, every scene he is featured in just cracks me up because he is always pulling off jokes. Let’s give him a bonus GIF for his loveable humour.

In Summary

Produce 101 Japan is such an entertaining, dramatic and inspiring show. I am usually not into idols at all (Kpop or Jpop), so I am honestly surprised just how invested I have become. I’ve only showcased 14 trainees today, but no joke each one of them has something to offer and you just have to watch it to understand the greatness of this show. Unfortunately you are only able to vote if you live in Japan (as it requires to have a Japanese cell phone number). Since I don’t live in Japan I thought this blog post is the least I could do to help promote the trainees. If you are able to please check this show out! You can use a VPN to watch all the episodes on Gyao. Otherwise, they have an official youtube channel and many fans have uploaded videos of Produce 101 Japan as well online.

Thanks so much if you made it to the end of this blog! And I’m sorry if this is not the kind of content you expected from me. Do not fret though, plenty of Yuzuru Hanyu content will still be coming from me.

Adios until my next blog post!!

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iamthehousethatfloats · 5 years

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A little rant about sexism and the language around it to start your day...

Yesterday I was accused of ‘easily assuming that anyone who dislikes or criticises a female character is sexist’ and informed that I might be called a ‘femi-nazi’ by others less forgiving, because I am generally rather vocal and forthright with my opinions on the matter.

Just... letting that sit for a minute.

It wasn’t actually the subject of the argument, so I didn’t linger on it. I brewed up this post instead.

For the record, I try very hard to never assume. I try to make assessments based on evidence provided. It’s particularly difficult at the moment because it just so happens that society is in an absolute state (when is it not), there’s a racist rapist in the White House and, more often than not, the man criticising the woman is indeed being sexist. Not always, but more often than not. And more often than not is too damn much.

It isn’t sexist to dislike a female character. I dislike plenty of characters, both male and female. I mean, I try not to rant about it and spout hateful tirades about those characters these days, generally out of respect for the people who do like them. I’m too old for that shit.

It IS sexist to judge a female character for traits that are otherwise valued or easily forgiven in a male character, and to claim that reasoning for your dislike of them. This is a fact, it is not subjective. Whatever your opinion on the traits themselves.

It’s easy to fall into the trap. It happens with gender, age, sexuality, race... and it happens all the time. I do it. You do it. We all do it.

It’s impossible to reach the level of ‘woke’ that it doesn’t catch you out at least occasionally. We’re all influenced by so much, our environment, our peers, our social media feeds and magazines and TV shows. We have to ask ourselves constantly; Wait, is this what I actually think or is it just a reflex? Do I find that woman annoying because I’ve been conditioned to dismiss her because she’s blonde, or she’s got big tits, or no tits, or because she wears a short shirt or has tattoos? Or because she’s younger than me? Am I tuning out this guy because he’s offensive or is it just that he looks and sounds a certain way, that the media has spent years trying to teach me to fear and mistrust?

It’s interesting because, it even happened with the person who made this accusation off the back of a petty squabble about nothing. A person with a tendency for vitriolic rants about things I often don’t agree with, who is from a different country and cultural background to me, with - I think - a different first language, misinterprets a joke and makes a confrontational comment, which is tonally lost on me and quickly escalates into all out war. Things get lost in translation. People take things different ways. There’s no right or wrong there, only opinions, until the confrontation gets personal.

I know my eyes have been opened a little further, and perhaps theirs have too. And hopefully, this particular battle is done.

But my point remains. And the term ‘femi-nazi’, whatever you think it means and however you want to justify it, is a derogatory slur against feminism invented by a man and used to debase and devalue the actual feminist movement to genuine equality. So, there’s that too.

Happy Monday my friends. Keep those fires raging.

#iamthehousethatrambles #iamthehousethatrants #feminism #equality #sexism #and apparently... cartoon ducks

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fema1erebel · 5 years

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Letting it all fall.

So for a quite sometime Skam It fandom was my happy place: people sharing their opinions that wasn’t far from my own, which is almost always admiring Edo’s softness. (And I’m not saying that happy place for me should include only similar opinions, the opposite tbh). But this Ele’s right or wrong situation and every say about it punches me right in the stomach.

I’ve never thought I'll relate so strong to the character based on the characteristics everyone criticise. Like I do really understand her, her motivation, her emotional state and where she’s coming from. I see flaws in it and I’m not trying to defend them (as it may seem in one of my last posts). I just accept her. And I’m sick of people telling that writers should have done more worked through job to not worsen the original character. Sick of people telling what a horrible person Ele is, that she’s hypocrite and doesn’t actually stand for anything, that she’s too passive in this season and so on. And maybe I take those comments too personally, ‘cause they make me feel like I’m awful for understanding her and relating to her. But real people aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect. And it’s exhausting trying to be one. It’s exhausting trying to justify your every move in order to be liked. I read this one insight that Ele is so critical about her mother for not being able to listen and instead she’s doing exactly the same thing with Edo. “She’s so like her mother. Only bringing up child’s problems about Edo’s brother when her mother did the same with her eating disoder, like this is the ultimate cause of all of his/her problems”. Most probably it is true, she does act like her mother, but so what? Am I the only one who can feel for character bacause of his/her flaws? Even when these flaws aren’t redeemable as Edo’s lying in order to protect. Am I the only one who cares that Ele was tought to act that way, that she sees the need to protect herself like this?

Have you ever thought that every main character of every season did some terrible shit, Eva with cheating and lying to her new friends, Martino with having problems with being open and making some girl fell for him, and we all know what Sana will do. This show is about change, actual characters who are certain people at the begining and completely different in the end. Ele’s story isn’t about her love or assult or anything else, it’s about her. Skam It for once made a very flawed character for Noora, who’s still figuring herself out. And writers make a hell of a job portraing more controversial conflict on violence which will in the end actually make Noora’s character accept different views, about what she’s talking in every remake. Writers also doing a good job bringing Ele’s mom into this, her trust issues (I must say that Skam NL also kinda great at this), her being closed off and judgy, you can see it with Eva choosing to hang out with a boy and Ele’s feeling betrayed and alone again because of her own ideals and views. I read a theory about how Skam It uses color to represent each character, like Nico’s color is red, obv, and Marti’s is blue, Eva’s orange that represents forgivness. So Ele’s color is purple. The color of feminism, but also the color of people who are too closed off. Ele’s need for a way out is a need I understand most of all. I understand how unimaginably irrational this need is, it’s just always here with you trying to protect yourself at all cost, just hiding, paralyzed, letting other people to decide, letting it all fall. I mean the last scene and Ele’s reaction to the Edo’s words shows it all.

I guess, I just want to say that being flawed and figuring it all out is a beautiful thing. This is why I liked original Eva so much, why I felt close to her. Skam It gave me a huge gift with Ele. I’m not saying give her a chance, because she’s already perfect just being her, living her life, making her mistakes. And even if now she would be to decide not to change and not to trust it would just mean that she’s not ready yet. (However we all know she is).

But you just judge, never actually listen.

#post of love for Ele #skam italia #skam season 3 #eleonora sava #edoardo incanti #incantava

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hamliet · 6 years

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How well do you think Snk, TG, HxH and BNHA handle their female cast? I read several posts criticising BNHA for it and I am curious about your opinion.

Ahaha… okay. So to begin I’ll say that I’ll briefly discuss each of these series, and that I define a good female character as just a character. I do not like it when common culture seems to assume that a good female character must be kickass and cold–aka traditionally masculine. Show me the feminine girls, too. Show me the masculine ones. Show me the ones who really want marriage and kids and those who prefer their careers. Just, show me that they are people.

SnK

Let’s start with SnK, as of these four I’d say it’s the best with 1) consistent representation, 2) complex characters, and 3) not reducing them to stereotypes.

In SnK, Mikasa, Annie, Gabi, Ymir, and Historia are all complex female characters never defined by their gender. Sasha and Hitch are not as complex, as they are side characters, but they’re both really well done side characters. I’ll briefly discuss each of them.

My biggest complaint about the female characters in SnK is actually a minor complaint just about Mikasa, in that I think as the female deuteragonist she deserves more focus. That being said, she’s developed really well throughout the story, and I don’t agree with claims that she has not developed. She’s developed as much as Armin has. She could fall into the badass stereotype, but she avoids that because she has a kind, caring, and extremely vulnerable side. Her devotion to Eren is clearly framed as a beautiful thing–but also as a flaw, one that is holding her back and one that can lead her into a really bad place.

Mikasa is a very well done female character. She is about so much more than just Eren–she carries the themes of living beautifully in a cruel world, the struggle to let go of loved ones, and the struggle to remember the loved ones you’ve lost.

Annie, too, could be considered a stereotypical badass who is cold to boot, but we see that she’s not always cold, as she’s kind to Armin. Her coldness she uses as a shield to protect her own shame over not being able to speak out.

That’s realistic. That’s flawed, and that’s human.

Gabi is literally female Eren, Ymir and Historia were a canon lesbian relationship that was never sexualized, and Historia’s decision to use herself to bear children is clearly framed as BAD. She’s miserable. Sasha has a beautiful mini-arc, and Hitch does as well. The men who tried to make it seem like Hitch was just a flighty girl using sex to get into the Military Police–we see that she is also a very caring, kind person who worries deeply over Annie, her friend, and Marlowe, her crush. Essentially: none of these women are defined by their romantic relationships or how well they fit into stereotypes for female characters.

HxH

Yes, I’m putting HxH second. My major complaint–and it is major–is that until Yorknew, we don’t have any female characters of substance. But, I do think that all the female characters thereafter are done really, really well. Additionally? Many of them are not traditionally beautiful.

Pakunoda is the first one with an arc, and while her arc does concern her sacrificing herself for Chrollo, it’s not romantic, and male characters in the Phantom Troupe (Nobunaga for example) also rely on Chrollo too much, despite the fact that Chrollo doesn’t really think he has worth to them. But we see her arc as a deliberate choice she makes.

The other female characters of note presented here are Machi and Melody. Melody in particular is an excellent character and a good friend not afraid to point out Kurapika’s selfishness.

Biscuit Krueger is the mentor of Gon and Killua, and while she doesn’t have her own arc per se, mentor figures usually don’t. Characters who often mistake her for a young girl who they can dismiss suffer for it.

And then the Chimera Ant Arc, Election Arc, and Dark Continent Arc present us with many great female characters. Komugi is a disabled girl, but she is never defined by her disability nor her gender. She is physically weak, and vulnerable as she has no sense of self-worth. She gets a love story, and it is beautifully done in that she is clearly not shown as saving Meruem, but shown as helping open his eyes just by being herself, vulnerabilities and all.

And Palm. Palm. She’s like, the best female character ever. @aspoonofsugar wrote a meta on her here. At the beginning we think she’s a crazy yandere, and she is in love with love, but her entire arc is a refutation of the men who would try to pinpoint her as a yandere or a sex object, as Bizeff treats her and as her own allies think she’ll copulate with the king, when in reality Palm is never defined by that. By the end of the arc, she’s grown the most of anyone. Her love is not told it’s silly and needs to be discarded, but rather transformed through her own decisions into something beautiful rather than toxic.

Alluka Zoldyck is transgender and great representation. She’s complex and while I wouldn’t say she has an arc quite yet, she probably will, and her family’s objectification of her and shame about her is clearly condemned.

Oito is a single mother who is also not defined by her status as a mother or as a queen, and I’m very excited for where Oito’s arc is going to go.

If this were the first TG alone I would rank it higher than SnK but because the ending for :re was literally that bad for female characters I rank it pretty low. However, one good thing I will say is that it was not shy about showing female sexuality and celebrated it rather than condemning it.

But, for real, all the women who survive and end up happy in the ending were, at the end of their arcs with the exception of Hakatori (a minor character) defining themselves by their relationship to men. And many of them weren’t lucky enough to get arcs, like Touka, who went from being the best female deuteragonist ever in TG to literally just being a love interest in :re (I’ll fight ppl who say she’s useless, but she honestly was just a love interest in :re despite having the set up for an amazing arc because only her relationship with Kaneki was ever given focus. And that makes me sad because I think Touka is an amazing character). Saiko and Hsiao who were just essentially magical boobs.

We know Ishida can write female characters excellently. He did it in the first TG and through much of :re, but the ending was truly terrible for most female characters. Though to admit, it is worth clarifying that the male characters largely got pretty poor endings too so many it’s just the ending itself that’s bad. I wrote about this here as well.

BNHA:

Sadly, I think I would agree with whatever post was floating around that BNHA leaves much to be desired with its female characters. :/ I still love the story though.

Uraraka is by far the most complex, what with her motives to be a hero, and far stronger than everyone thinks, yet that’s never really been explored so far (I do have hope it will be, though! I do think it will be but I can’t judge a story based on what I think will happen) Most of what’s been explored so far is her crush on Deku. I just want more Uraraka regardless of her feelings on Deku (it’s clear they’ll wind up together in the end); she is one of my favorites.

Himiko, too, is kind of a typical crazy yandere defined by her twisted love. Momo and Jirou had great mini arcs, but I personally don’t like how Momo in particular is sexualized. I’m sure Mina and Hakagure will get mini arcs as well eventually (most of UA 1-A I think will), but meh.

I’m also reaaaally not a fan of how the story plays Mineta for comic relief. Like, it’s clearly condemning him for his sexual harassment, but it’s also framing it as something to be laughed at when what Mineta does is like, actually seriously Bad and not remotely funny.

#ask hamliet #feminism #misogyny #female characters #hxh #tg #bnha #snk #Anonymous

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secludedgarden2 · 3 years

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On Islam (2021)

Another year, another effort to read and explore the Quran and its meaning more. Two years ago I recorded a sleepy monologue on my phone after waking up for sehri, a year ago I wrote “On Faith” here. My monologue consisted of a few observations and questions, “On Faith” consisted of some ideas and some claims I recognised were “controversial” at the time - today, on the 27th night of Ramadan 2021, I bring you the latest direct and candid update, on my thoughts on Islam - and indeed, faith generally.

I begin by stating I am no Quranic scholar, and hence am not justified to discuss the Quran, its meanings, interpretations and historical contexts. I follow this by stating I do not think I have to be.

My ideas in “On Faith” remain largely the same as today with regards to faith, but in the last year I have made some particular sobering yet liberating (but nonetheless controversial) realisations about Islam in particular, which have allowed me to consider my approach to religion/faith in yet another new way. For completeness and for ease of looking back on my ideas in the future (should they change, and indeed they always could do) I will discuss my ideas from the beginning, so allow some potential repetition from previous posts.

First, I am a Muslim. This is something that I have, of course, been brought up saying and have stated before I knew it or even believed it, but it is something that I do say today, proudly and confidently, with honest conviction.

Secondly - I do not necessarily accept the entirety of the Quran as fact or as equivalent to my beliefs. This is a controversial opinion for a Muslim to hold and indeed some may say that being a Muslim is incompatible with such a belief - I, of course, wholeheartedly disagree.

I have not read the whole of the Quran (though I do intend to, one day insha Allah) but I have read enough to know that (1) the majority of its verses simply state believe in one, omnipotent God and do righteous deeds and (2) there are verses I - even with ample historical context or any context that can be offered to me by scholars I can find - simply do not agree with. Now, I am aware each verse of the Quran has a multitude of interpretations - this is true, and of course means that I could choose to believe in a version of verses consistent with my interpretation, and simply believe that some people interpret it erroneously. I could do this and still believe that everything in the Quran is consistent with my beliefs. However, the problem is I do not trust people.

The Quran is a text written down after being narrated in 600 AD. In order to believe in all-powerful, omnipotent God am I to believe that the version of the Quran uploaded today to quran.com is the exact same version that was narrated to Muhammad (PBUH) by angel Jibreel? No. Because if one wanted to, one could alter the html of the Quran.com website, print these verses and hand it to anyone to read. Or, far more pressingly, a text of such a magnitude of importance, in an era intimately involved in politics, conquests, and conflict has obvious enormous influence. Do I trust that people kept these verses safe and unaltered, knowing that any slight change to bend the rules within the means of their society could allow, for example, the continuation of a status quo, moral philosophy or practises that they happened to agree with at the time? Indeed, their interpretations - the first interpretations - of Quranic wisdom may have simply been the ones that were recorded and printed. After all, to preserve texts, one needed money, status and power.

But does this mean the Quran is entirely false? Of course not. It simply means I believe I am entirely justified in criticising and questioning its verses without necessarily forsaking my belief in a single, omnipotent and benevolent God. I have written before that belief in “something” beyond faith is entirely possible, and that even without the Quran I would be happy believing in God - I consider myself a theist first. I also accept that this is a matter of belief and faith, rather than cough cough facts and logic.

So if I am a Muslim who does not accept the Quran as a manual as to how to live my life, then why am I a Muslim at all? With this, I turn to my view as described in “On Faith”. I see Islam, and indeed the Quran, as material with which I enrich my personal philosophy. I do not believe in the Quran because I am a Muslim, I am a Muslim because the Quran resonates with me. Not all of it, but again, this is not necessary. The Quran features ideas and sentiments that I find meaningful and that I agree with, and as such I adopt its teaching into my own thought, behaviour and actions. I do not simply follow because I “accept” that this is the “right thing to do”, rather I find utility in the Quran for achieving what I believe to be the right thing to do.

In other words, I take Islam as inspiration of a personal philosophy - and I would also argue that whenever anyone interprets the Quran (or any religious text) that they are in effect doing the same - and I take this as my starting point for my exploration of faith. I choose to believe in the perfection of God, I read the ideas written in the Quran with the possibility of their divine origin - and indeed believe this is the case, the vast majority of the time - but I do not necessitate it.

Some may then ask me, why do you pray then? Why do you fast? Why do any ritualistic things that Muslims do if all I take it for is a philosophy? Well, put simply, I choose to. I pick and choose what I think is good and bad, or what I want and don’t want, to do and believe. This may sound outlandish, rebellious and anti-Islamic to some, but I fundamentally believe (1) That it is not, for the reasons I described above and (2) that consciously or not, most people do just this anyway. Practising organised religion in a way to conform with the masses is not (necessarily) devotion, despite what it may feel like to “be doing the right thing”. These feelings are subjective, but our thought-patterns and actions in the real world, that’s objective. And that is what a fundamentally sound way of life should help us perfect. That is, in my opinion, the purpose of religion.

Surah At-Tin (95)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

By the Fig and the Olive of Jerusalem, And the Mount of Sinai, And this secure city of Mecca Indeed, We created humans in the best form. Then We return him to the lowest of the low, except those who believe and do good—they will have a never-ending reward. Now, what makes you deny the ˹final˺ Judgment? Is Allah not the most just of all judges?

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sillythoughtsthathauntme · 6 years

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This is not a rant; merely an critique

I’m writing this, knowing that I am at the risk of losing a lot of followers, so I’m just going to word my thoughts as politely as I can. I am also going to apologize in advance if this post was something that my followers didn’t want to see. I cannot apologize enough for what I am about to say.

I’m looking at two sides of the coin, and on one hand, the rwde tag has a level of validation for one reason: it is the opinion of an individual.

What is not okay, is when criticism turns into a level of attack.

RWBY may not have gone the way people wanted it to go, but, I just think that if people don’t like the post-monty volumes, then, you don’t have to drag your feet to continue. You are entitled to stop and no one can stop you. And you are entitled to dislike the development of the show. No one can stop how disappointed you are.

If you look at it in a different perspective, ask yourself this: What are you watching the show for? Is it because of the romance? The characters? The world-building? What you wanted to see in the show determines your enjoyment from it.

eg. Shipping. Some of you guys are disappointed that bmblb didn’t really happen. Some of you rejoiced that there’s a handful of potential blacksun ship moments. Some of you rejoice for the scenes when 2 characters you ship together are actually interacting.

And that is fine if you watch it for the ships. However, don’t expect your ship moment to happen that easily because remember that the show’s not always about that. In fact, 5% of the show is really that, and there’s more to the show than romance. I’m not in it to attack people for liking ships. Even I get my fair share of cheer when it happens between 2 characters I ship.

At times I read a post that the development of the show suffered due to the poorly written mcguffins that the writers used in this volume particularly. Yeah, you are entitled to think like that. But, playing the devil’s advocate here, I say that to be fair, they are still learning. There’s no such thing as a perfect story.

What I can’t agree on is how some people would accuse the writers of being a bigot just because they didn’t make a representative character to a specific social group justly in their eyes (if that makes sense). I can get by if you think that the show isn’t diverse enough, or think that the show should have more or this and that. Again, that is your opinion and you are entitled to feel that. But please, I beg of you, judging the writers as horrible people is not going to help.

Criticise the show all you want for the direction of the story, but to put them in a box and assume that they are terrible people who are bigots is too much.

I’m not going to judge you if you think that Miles and Kerry’s writing is bad. What I don’t like is when people call them out as if they are terrible people.

The other side of the coin is that, on crwby’s defence, if the show doesn’t agree with you, try writing your version of the story. I’m not trying to be rude, but fanfiction exists for that reason, right? Even I have my fair share of those moments. But what had transpired in volumes 4&5 will stay canon. Because the writers have that authority with where it is heading, like it or not. And, if you don’t like the development of the show, then, that’s okay. If you think that the show could have been better written, then, why not trying writing something of your own?

Again, on crwby’s defence, the show is not aiming for an Oscar nominee (no pun intended). They just wanted to tell a story that they wanted to show. And I quote: “Let’s just see how far we can go.” The only reason why they keep writing the show is because of us. The fans. They even said that the reason why they keep moving forward with RWBY is because we, the fans, want to see more. If it drops in popularity, then the show’s fate is somewhat sealed. No more rwby. the reason why the show didn’t end at v4 is that there are people out there who are still thoroughly invested by it. If the majority don’t like rwby anymore, then that’s it. That’s how it things go.

If I offended you, I’m sorry. That’s not how I wanted this post to come across. I’m not one who wants to start a war, but this is something I feel like I need to address.

So, I’m sorry to my followers, who didn’t want to see this. And you are entitled to disagree with this post.

#rwby #rwby criticism #just being honest #trying to stand on the middle ground here

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lawyernovelist · 6 years

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Legolas’ Mother

So I was fighting with a big post on Legolas in the Hobbit Movies when I started down a rabbit hole. After an hour or so, I decided that this rabbit hole was seriously drifting off the main topic, but it was interesting and something I'd not really looked hard at, so I decided to give it its own post.

Let's talk about Legolas' mother.

Spoilers for the Hobbit movies.

Now, in the books we don't know what happened to the queen of Mirkwood. She must have existed because elves don't reproduce by budding, but we don't know her name, where she came from, or even whether she's alive, Sailed, or dead. As a result, I don't mind the movies deciding that she's dead. There's a lot I do mind about how they handled it, some of which I already went into in other places, but I don't mind the fact that she's dead provided nobody uses it as a Tolkien canon fact, because it ain't.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk about some of the ways her death was handled in the movies, beginning with how and when she's talked about.

I would love to see the stuff that was cut from Legolas' plotline. And I don't mean "I should watch the Extended Edition", I mean "I want to see the shooting scripts". Plural, because these movies are such a mess that I bet there was more than one. In fact, I know there was more than one because of this:

Sorry about the weird colour balance in a few places; I wanted to make the details clear. The yellow bars show changes in costume; as you can see Tauriel sometimes changes costume between shots within the same scene.

Add this:

And you've got yourself the ragged edges where two shoots were mashed together.

My point, though, is about Legolas' mother, the Legolas-Thranduil Denouement scene, and Legolas' arc.

See, the Gundabad scene and the Denouement both have a few things in common. First, they're the only times in the movies that what Legolas is doing isn't about Tauriel. She's still involved in the Gundabad scene, but as I've mentioned before her role is as follows:

Enrapture me with your words, my darling!

Because, you know, strong, independent, and empowering. Anyway, my point isn't to criticise Tauriel. Gundabad is the only time that Legolas actually goes off to do his own thing rather than just following, sniffing after, and defending Tauriel, and as such I think might bear some closer examination in this context, especially given the second thing the Gundabad scene and the Denouement have in common: Legolas' mother.

Those are the only times Legolas' mother is definitely mentioned. There's one other possible reference - the High Treason scene - and I'll get back to that, but she is definitely mentioned in those two scenes.

Now, the Gundabad scene is and remains pointless in the final theatrical cut of the movie. There are theories that it's meant to tie in the White Council subplot, but I think that's kind of a reach. What I think is far more likely is that the centrepiece of the Gundabad scene is this line:

Legolas: My mother died there. My father does not speak of it. There is no grave, no memory, nothing.

That's brand new information. For a long time I thought it was the writers throwing a bone to the many fangirls Thranduil had picked up by making him a bit more sympathetic. "I know every other appearance and mention of this guy says that he's an unredeemable asshole, but hey, he's in mourning for his dead wife, so you can tell he's wearing leather pants under that robe." (Warning: TVTropes link). That would, after all, explain why this scene had absolutely nothing to do with anything and was never mentioned again: last-minute, they pulled Bloom and Lilly onto a greenscreen set and got Bloom to read a speech off a teleprompter, then spliced it into the movie.

Recently, I looked again at the dialogue in the scene and realised that at no point does Legolas actually say that Thranduil is in mourning for his dead wife. He just baldly states the fact that she's dead and never talked about. So what is going on here?

Now, I have a low opinion of Bloom's acting skills and of the competence of the scriptwriters, so this could be nothing more than that it was supposed to be telling us that Thranduil is handling his grief badly and that's why he's acting the way he is, but it didn't come across in the scene. That could be all it is, but I'd like to take this opportunity to go back to my favourite scene in Battle of the Five Armies: the High Treason scene. Specifically, this line:

Tauriel: You think your life is worth more than theirs when there is no love in it? There is no love in you!

I hate this scene so much.

Anyway, that's weird in conjunction with the Gundabad scene. This one I did for a long time blame on incompetence, because surely they didn't mean for Tauriel to say something so monstrously hurtful when she just heard all about how Thranduil is deeply in mourning for his wife, right? She's not supposed to be evil! So I chalked it up, again, to the Gundabad scene and its accompanying characterisation being added at the last minute in a hurry, and nobody was paying enough attention to catch this.

But if this revelation isn't supposed to make Thranduil sympathetic, we can look at those lines together and consider that maybe this is intentional: that the takeaway is supposed to be that Thranduil didn't love his wife and/or doesn't love her memory.

At no point in either of the two movies she's in is Tauriel allowed to misjudge a situation or be unreasonable. She's always presented as right and all her choices work out for the best regardless of her knowledge or motivations. There's no way she was supposed to be in the wrong here, especially given that her main informed attribute is compassion. We're supposed to agree with her.

And that's consistent with what we're told about Thranduil's motivations: that he's obsessed with getting this necklace but never seems to have any emotional connection to his son and never brings up his wife himself, even when talking to Legolas... until the Denouement.

The Denouement is the scene in which the movie gives Thranduil a final good kick by having Legolas cut ties with him, but it's also one of the few really heartfelt emotional moments it allows him. And I mean moments that the movie actually cares to show us, as opposed to here:

In which Pace is acting his heart out but we're clearly not meant to be focussed on it.

The Denouement is also the scene after Kili's Deathbed, in which we see that the purity of Tauriel and Kili's true love has brought cruel, selfish, and heartless Thranduil round to the side of the righteous. And it's only after that that he actually talks to Legolas and for the first time mentions his wife.

Remember how much I like the rule of three? Once is chance, twice is coincidence, and thrice is a pattern. Setup, reminder, payoff; this is a recurring thing in filmmaking structure (Spoilers for Suicide Squad, less in the second video than the first). In this case, the Gundabad scene sets up that there's something weird going on with Thranduil's relationship to his dead wife: one way or the other, he's not processing grief in a particularly healthy way, whether we're supposed to sympathise with him or not. The question of Thranduil's relationship to the memory of his wife is then mentioned again when Tauriel says there is no love in him: the reminder. Then, in the Denouement, it finally pays off as Thranduil actually talks about his wife for the first time in the trilogy and, it's implied from the Gundabad scene, possibly for the first time since she died...

And what he says is that she loved Legolas.

Look, this isn't a big thing. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't especially matter. However, it kind of annoys me nonetheless because you're not answering the question you asked. You set up "did/does Thranduil love his wife?" and your answer was "Thranduil's wife loved Legolas". That's nice, but not what you set up.

This is why I want the shooting scripts, because there's the ghost of at least one plot here. Are we seeing what's left of an arc in which Thranduil learns the value of love, having reacted to heartbreak in the past by rejecting love and declaring it to have no value or that as an entity it's not real? Are we seeing what's left of a story about Legolas finally learning more about his mother than the bald fact of where and when she died (in which case I hope there was more to it than him just learning how she felt about him specifically and nothing about her as a person and her place in the world, but I digress)? Are we seeing what's left of a subplot in which after years of emotional distance Thranduil and Legolas finally find that they share grief for a dead loved one, just as their relationship falls apart entirely? What is this?

Did a setup of Legolas doubting his mother's love hit the cutting-room floor? Was there a last-minute change to the Denouement scene because Legolas' development was considered more important than Thranduil's and nobody realised that Legolas has no relationship with his mother that might make this meaningful?

OK, I know, I'm obsessing. It's just that I am actually kind of annoyed that they killed off this female character for manpain without even giving her the dignity of a name, and if you're going to do that then at least do it well.

So much for what actually talking about Thranduil's wife could have done for the stories of the men in her life. Let's talk about what it could have done for the story of a woman who judging by what we can make out about these stupid stories ought to have been in her life.

Yeah, so it seems reasonable to assume that Legolas and Tauriel are at least a similar age. Thranduil has favoured and generally looked after Tauriel for 600 years, which given that she's apparently supposed to be very young would be a good chunk of her life. We also know from behind-the-scenes stuff that the intention was for that necklace to have been commissioned by Thranduil for his wife, definitely less than 600 years ago because Thorin was an adult. All of that builds a strong case that Tauriel was an adult and at least close to the royal family when the necklace was commissioned, and Thranduil's wife was presumably still alive at that time. If these timelines make sense, Tauriel knew Legolas' mother.

OK, I'm breaking my own rule by bringing in behind-the-scenes stuff. From the movies, all we know is that Tauriel's been a member of the family for 600 years, because nothing about the necklace is ever mentioned in the movies except that Thranduil wants it and Thror withheld it. This is another great example of how everything to do with Legolas' mother was kind of last minute and extremely poorly integrated, which makes it even more obnoxious that grief for her death was supposed to be a major portion of the motivation of one of the main antagonists.

Anyway, let's assume that we don't know any of the behind-the-scenes stuff. All we know is that Tauriel has been closely involved with Thranduil for 600 years. Even so, why doesn't she know anything about Thranduil's wife? I know Thranduil never talks about her (yeah, nice get-out there, movie), but is the Day Trip to Gundabad really the first time Legolas has ever felt the need to raise the subject? I assume these two are friends otherwise their interaction makes no sense, so why had Legolas apparently never discussed his mother with the woman he's sufficiently fond of that he's prepared to go into exile with her? Did Thranduil not only decide never to talk about his wife again himself but also make it an offence punishable by death for anyone else to talk about her?

This is another thing that continues to suggest that everything about the Gundabad scene and Legolas' mother was added at the last minute and without much thought. Why isn't the memory of Legolas' mother a presence in Tauriel's life? Even if we assume she never met her, which is possible based on the theatrical editions - say, she died when Legolas was a baby and Legolas is a few years older than Tauriel - why wasn't she presented as a role model? Or a cautionary tale? Why doesn't Tauriel comment that Thranduil himself married a "lowly Silvan elf"? Why doesn't Legolas see similarities between Tauriel and his mother and thus worry about Tauriel because he doesn't want her to go the same way? Why doesn't Tauriel pass an image of Legolas' mother holding a bow and hold her own a little more proudly at the reminder of another powerful female warrior?

Well, because all of those things would require the movie to have put any thought at all into Legolas' mother as a character beyond "she's dead and Thranduil's maybe sad about that".

Jeez, at least when they unnecessarily killed Bard's wife in his backstory they knew what effect it had had on him.

So let's talk about that necklace, shall we?

In my mind the question of why the necklace is so under-used is kind of like the dress, to use an ancient meme, only instead of blue or white it's incompetent or lazy. Did they not realise that it might be a good idea to explain the significance of the necklace in the theatrical releases of the films, or did they just come up with it at the last minute and not bother to include it properly?

There's evidence for both, you see: we see from the Arkenstone that they're perfectly capable of completely dropping an artefact that's been the centre of large chunks of plot, so it could be incompetence, but then again we have the Gundabad scene, which continues to be last-minute, irrelevant to the plot, and completely perfunctory.

Look, movie, I'm going to have words about villains in some later post - villains in general, not just in The Hobbit, since I talked about that already - but preview: you've set up Thranduil as the kind of villain who actually needs to be a character. That means that he needs motivation. You kind of tried to make it as that he has some kind of grudge with Thorin and that maybe he wants treasure, but to be honest "he wants treasure so he's bad" is not a great route to take with this given what your heroes are there to do.

I'm really not sure what the story was supposed to be behind the necklace. My first assumption is that they never even intended the necklace to be anything other than a sparkly thing that Thranduil wants, and the idea that it's a memento of his wife came later. However, I happen to know that in the deleted scenes (I don't know if this scene made it back into the extended edition and frankly I don't care) the necklace and its significance actually are raised:

(Source)

First: Gandalf, you're an asshole.

Second: Why was this scene cut? No, really. I mean, I know it presents Gandalf as an asshole, but they left in plenty of other scenes that also did that. It's seconds long, so surely length wasn't a consideration. I really don't know why it was cut, and I actually think it would have improved things if left in.

Gandalf's reputation isn't salvageable at this point; however you feel about Movie!Gandalf it's probably not going to be changed by this. This scene does, however, explain basically everything about Thranduil. It explains what the deal is with him and the necklace. It demonstrates that his distant attitude to Legolas is actually deliberate on the part of the film-makers. It answers the question of how he's handling his grief. It could set up him trying one last time to connect with Legolas, making the Denouement scene an actual attempt at payoff. It even, as a special gift to you, movie, does all those things while telling us he's a dick!

Sometimes I wonder if they were actively trying to be inept at this point. Was this some deliberate decision to not explain Thranduil's motivations at all because that might make us question the heroes' behaviour towards him? Or was it, like everything else to do with the necklace, just something tossed together in reshoots at the last minute and they decided not to include this one?

The necklace is another demonstration of how pointless the "Thranduil's wife is dead" backstory element really was just because it never plays into the narrative of the theatrical editions of the movies. It doesn't matter that the necklace belonged to Thranduil's dead wife. Whatever might be said in behind-the-scenes stuff or deleted scenes, it remains a sparkly piece of jewellery that he considers to be his property. The fact that he considers it his never even matters beyond that one line about "I came to reclaim something of mine" that appeared in all the trailers and pissed off everyone who liked him in the book.

Honestly I think that was a last-minute addition as well; the fact that the "white gems" Thranduil mentions in Desolation of Smaug are his doesn't come up before or after that one line, and honestly I think that conversation with Thorin would have been the place: "white gems that I too desire" changes to "white gems whose return I desire" or something.

This has been a bit of a ramble, but I just wanted to do a whirlwind tour of how badly these movies handled Thranduil's wife. A lot of people have accused them of fridging her, but to be honest this is worse than fridging; at least fridging has a point. At least fridging means that the character affects the narrative, even just by her death motivating her menfolk to take action. All Thranduil's wife gets is a few throwaway lines that mean nothing. As far as the actual narrative of these movies and the motivation and emotions of the other characters are concerned, she never even existed. Tauriel apparently thought Legolas was produced by budding and as such has never even been curious about his mother. Thranduil is motivated by sparkly. Legolas has no emotional connection to her and his arc and relationship with Thranduil are predicated on Tauriel.

That is worse than if they'd killed her to motivate Thranduil and give Legolas an arc.

#female characters #Legolas #Thranduil #hobbit movies

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musingsofonehuman · 4 years

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I didn’t want to write about Epic and Apple, I didn’t, but it just made me so angry I had to write something.

Very briefly, for those that haven’t heard, Epic introduced cheaper microtransactions (mtx) within Fortnite to circumvent the 30% cut that Apple take, they introduced these new mtx across all platforms, including iOS, and Apple weren’t happy about it, so they removed Fortnite from the iOS store. In response, Epic filed a lawsuit, not seeking any damages but seeking to change the “anti-competitive restrictions” and posted a video similar to Apple’s 1984 video against IBM. Fortnite has also been taken off the Google Play Store and Epic are also suing them, however this seems to be a battle against Epic and Apple, so let’s just focus on those two.

I hate this, just this whole situation overall, it just stinks of money, because that’s all this so about in the end, it’s about money, Epic aren’t happy that they’re not getting enough money from Apple and so are trying to change it, and while they are “fighting to change restrictions”, the real game here is Epic want a piece of mobile, they even state it in their own lawsuit.

But for Apple’s illegal restraints, Epic would provide a competing app store on iOS devices, which would allow iOS users to download apps in an innovative, curated store and would provide users the choice to use Epic’s or another third-party’s in-app payment processing tool.

The Epic Games Mobile Store, that’s the end goal, Epic are not only seeking to take away from Apple’s cut from Fortnite, they’re also seeking to take away Apple’s cut altogether. Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games, even stated it in a tweet.

Truly, Apple has no right to take any percent of any company’s revenue just because they made the phone people use to access the stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, I can understand why Epic are furious, it is annoying that Apple lock down their phones and tablets and then charge 30% just for the privilege of putting an app on their devices, as well as abiding by their rules. I use Apple devices, and I’m annoyed that I won’t be able to access xCloud streaming through them, so much so that I might switch to Android. And yet, isn’t this the same with all tech companies? Don’t all tech companies charge to put things on their platform? Look at that statement from Tim Sweeney again, that statement could easily read:

Truly, Epic has no right to take any percent of any company’s revenue just because they made the software people use to access the stuff.

Yes, Twitter is not the best place to have a discussion, and that statement is overly simplified, but the point still stands. Every tech company charges to be on their platform, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all do the same, why aren’t they being targeted? I wear a Fitbit, that doesn’t mean I have the right to put whatever I want on that Fitbit. Epic are no different, they pay for exclusives on their platform, with suggestions that they don’t want games on their platform if they’re not exclusive, and they take a cut of every sale, a smaller cut, but it’s still a cut. This isn’t just an Apple or Google problem, it’s a problem across the entire tech industry, it’s how the tech industry has been built, if Epic truly cared about “anti-competitive restrictions”, they would open up their platform and go after the entire industry, but no, the real aim here is to get Epic on mobile and take a piece of the mobile pie.

Besides, how is this any different from PCs? “Smartphones are everywhere, they’re universal”. Yeah, and so are PCs, and yet companies try to lock that platform down every day with their software, just because it’s a universal platform doesn’t stop companies from trying to gain dominance. It’s all a bit ridiculous, but that’s not the main point I wanna talk about, I wanna talk about the video Epic put out.

youtube

The video in question is a parody of Apple’s 1984 Super Bowl commercial, where they showcased themselves as underdogs against IBM, fighting against the oppressive system by throwing a sledgehammer through a giant screen, telling people that 1984 wouldn’t be like “1984”, the George Orwell novel. Epic’s take on it is pretty much the same, only done in Fortnite, but at the end, there’s a quote.

Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices. Join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming “1984”. #FreeFortnite

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This is disgusting, Epic is essentially using the audience of Fortnite to help them win a corporate battle, most of this audience consists of young children who can be easily influenced, which is what Epic are probably betting on. This is sickening, we all remember what happened during GamerGate, and still happens to this day, death threats, rape threats, attacks on people for no good reason, all because “gamers are angry” and “don’t want politics in their games”. Now, Epic is looking to use that same audience to help bring Apple down, which for the record, won’t make any difference, Apple are far too big to fall to a bunch of “gamers” complaining about Fortnite, this is purely a publicity stunt. However, I would like to move away from Epic and Apple for a bit and talk about self expression.

Self expression is when you express yourself as an individual, be it through music, dance, art, fashion or any other creative form, it’s something I’m currently going through, it’s why I started this blog, I find it’s a good way to express myself, I’ve still got a way to go, and it’s taken me a long time, but I am slowly finding myself as an individual, and I think we all should be. Self expression is what makes us human, we are all individuals with our own way of thinking, our own behaviours, our own passions, and we should be allowed to express those, that’s what makes us individuals. Why should we listen to other people or companies about what we should do, how we should behave, what we should wear, we should be allowed to make out own free choices. Obviously, practice self expression within the rules of the law, don’t go rob a bank or murder someone because of self expression, that’s not cool, I’m talking about wearing the clothes you want to wear, listening to the music you want to listen to, being who you want to be.

I hate when influential people have names for their communities, like Lady Gaga’s “little monsters” or Taylor Swift’s “swifties”. The problem is if you start calling yourself one of those names, it becomes part of your identity, it becomes part of who you are. Let’s say someone insults Taylor Swift and they say “Oh Taylor Swift is rubbish, she doesn’t make good music and doesn’t dress right”. As a “swiftie”, you feel personally attacked, because part of your identity is being attacked, and so you retaliate in response. Why? Why do you feel the need to retaliate? Why do you feel the need to give yourself a tag or identify with someone else?

You can enjoy someone’s music, you can say you like someone’s music, but you don’t have to identify as one of their fans if you don’t want to, but then someone might say in response “Oh, you don’t love her music? Are you not a true swiftie?” You don’t need to be a “swiftie” in the first place, just enjoy the music and the artist, it’s the same with any influential person, enjoy what they do, don’t identify with them though, if you wanna do that, if you’re happy to identify as a fan then fine, I’m not gonna stop you, but ask yourself, is this truly making you happy? Or are you simply identifying yourself with this brand because you haven’t found your own identity yet? It’s ok if you haven’t, it took me years to find mine, and it will probably change over my lifetime, but that’s ok, because that’s what makes us human, we evolve and change over time, our priorities become different and so do our passions, it’s ok to change if you’re not happy with who you are.

I also understand the argument against this, people will tell me “Well that’s pretty selfish, looking out for yourself but not looking out for others, so you don’t care about others then? You only care about yourself. Are you just a selfish person then? Is that it?”. I get it, I get the argument, but I’d like to pose this question in response. How can you criticise other people when you can’t criticise yourself? How can you judge others when you can’t judge yourself? If you can’t love yourself, how can you love others? Yes, it’s a selfish way of looking at things, but you have to put yourself first, because in the end, you have to learn to be comfortable with who you are. You can’t just ditch your body, this isn’t a game where you can go into the character creator and change who you are, you are who you are, you need to accept that, it won’t be easy and it will take time, but if you can learn to love who you are as an individual, you can learn to love others are they are. Learning self expression can help with that, just try it sometime, please.

To wrap all of this back into the Epic/Apple situation, you can play Fortnite, you can enjoy Fortnite, but don’t feel like you have to defend it, don’t let it define who you are, you are an individual who can make their own decisions, if you want to weigh in on all this, then fine, but these are giant corporations which have more than enough money to throw at all of this, this is a corporate battle all about money, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Now, go practice some self expression, step away for a bit and think about who you want to be, about what makes you happy, just try it, please.

#gaming #music #technology #epic games #apple #google #fortnite #selfexpression #freefortnite

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fyeahjeaninnocent · 7 years

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So it occurred to me that some people in the Rebecca Front fandot might be hesistant about reblogging yesterday’s really great interview with her, since it was posted on The D@ily M@il. So, I’ve taken the liberty of copying the transcript here (below the cut) so that people can still read it without that controversial site in their browser history.

'Sex symbol? I’ve still got it!': Actress Rebecca Front on body confidence and what she's got in common with Theresa May

By KERRY POTTER FOR YOU MAGAZINE

From The Thick of It to War & Peace, REBECCA FRONT’s talent for portraying powerful women has won her legions of male fans. She tells Kerry Potter about body confidence, her (teenage) fashion mentor and what she’s got in common with Theresa May.

Rebecca Front is fixing me with The Look. Even the most cursory of TV viewers will be familiar with it: stern and authoritative, as seen on Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent in ITV crime drama Inspector Lewis (three years on from Rebecca’s departure, her co-star Laurence Fox still calls her ‘ma’am’).

She also deployed it in her role as cabinet minister Nicola Murray in the BBC political satire The Thick of It, as well as in her matriarch roles in period dramas War & Peace and Doctor Thorne. And now The Look is back for Rebecca’s turn in Kay Mellor’s new register-office-set BBC One drama Love, Lies and Records. She plays Judy, an awkward, jobsworth registrar who is furious when she gets overlooked for promotion in favour of her nemesis: gregarious, chaotic working mother Kate, played by Ashley Jensen.

Right now, I am nervously witnessing an impromptu demonstration of The Look up close. We won’t call it ‘resting b**ch face’ because Rebecca doesn’t like the word b**ch: ‘We wouldn’t call a man that.’ We settle for ‘resting angry face’.

‘It’s useful to be able to look quite scary,’ she says. ‘I’m really bad at complaining about things in shops or restaurants because I don’t like confrontation, but sometimes I don’t need to complain because you can just see it in my face.’ And with that, The Look is gone as she breaks into a grin. ‘I am quite a smiley person; I’m actually not stern enough. I’m quite soft and woolly by nature.’

She’s also a million times sexier than many of her characters. ‘I’ve got much more body confident as I’ve got older. I’m fitter and more muscly. I go to the gym three times a week. My teenage daughter [Tilly, 16] has given me more self-assurance. We shop together a lot and I pick up clothes and say, “I don’t think I can get away with that.” And she says, “What does that mean? You’re setting yourself a rule and that’s ridiculous. You tell me not to do that, so why should you?” So I’ve upped my game: I dress more confidently, I carry myself more confidently. You only live once.’

She’s about to get her ears pierced for the second time in recent years, egged on by Tilly, having previously been too scared. That’s the only needle she’ll tolerate though – cosmetic surgery is a big no. ‘Women are under so much pressure: the thought that you have to change your body to be accommodated in society seems wrong to me. I’m hesitant to say I hate it because I don’t want to judge people for doing it – I understand the impulse – but it worries me.’

At 53, Rebecca is happy to look her age. ‘It bothers me that people aren’t allowed to grow old naturally because there’s a beauty in that. I know it’s a cliché but confidence is the sexiest thing and if more women felt confident about the way they looked, they wouldn’t need to have those procedures. It takes guts to say, “I’ve got wrinkles and crow’s feet and I’m not bothered about it. I quite like them, actually.”’

Her tendency to play powerful, brusque characters has won her a legion of male fans. ‘Some men are really drawn to authoritative women, aren’t they? I occasionally get messages from men asking for photos of my shoes because they probably imagine I’m wearing really scary stilettos. I mean, I am today, but usually I think, “Erm, do you want a picture of my trainers?”’

Her turn as Chief Superintendent Innocent especially caught people’s imagination, reportedly inspiring erotic fanfiction about the relationship between Innocent and Laurence Fox’s character DS James Hathaway. ‘I try not to engage with that stuff,’ Rebecca hoots.

Kay Mellor, creator of big-hearted, women-centric dramas such as Band of Gold and Fat Fighters, had the idea for Loves, Lies and Records when she attended a register office to record the death of her mother, noting how the location was a microcosm for life’s highs and lows. Accordingly, the first episode is a rollercoaster of emotion, as sad as it is funny, taking in births, deaths and marriages.

Despite appearances, Rebecca says she’s not made of stern enough stuff to work in that environment. ‘I wear my heart on my sleeve too much for a job like that. With all the deaths and babies, I wouldn’t last more than five minutes. I cry very easily since having my children.’ (As well as Tilly, Rebecca and her TV producer/writer husband Phil Clymer have 18-year-old Oliver.) Being a cry baby does have benefits though: ‘I’ve become a much better actor since I had children. It’s made me less self-conscious and opened up a fast-track to accessing my emotions.’

Creating Judy was a welcome challenge: ‘I thought, how on earth am I going to play this woman as I have nothing in common with her? She has no sense of humour, she’s antisocial, she’s judgmental. We would not get on at all. But I didn’t want to play her like a cartoon villain. She’s just complicated. She’s a human being and it’s my job to understand why she does what she does and find a way into her head.’

The careers of Rebecca and her co-star Ashley Jensen have bloomed in a similar way, with both making the successful transition from comedy to drama. On graduating from Oxford, Rebecca began her career in radio comedy in the early 1990s, working with Armando Iannucci (who went on to create The Thick of It) and Steve Coogan.

Moving into TV, Rebecca starred in the Alan Partridge canon, with shows such as The Day Today, and later in Nighty Night, Queers and The Catherine Tate Show. Ashley, meanwhile, made her name in Extras and Ugly Betty as well as, more recently, in Catastrophe.

‘I’m in awe of Ashley – those shifts she makes between comedy moments and moving moments are effortless,’ says Rebecca. The two bonded so well off-camera that at one point they had a giggling fit so epic, crew members filmed it on their phones.

The current state of politics, however, is less of a laughing matter for Rebecca. Does she wish they were still making The Thick of It? ‘Things have gone so mad it would be hard to find fictional ideas that were crazier than what we’re going through,’ she says. ‘Even Armando couldn’t top this.’

Having played Nicola Murray, she says she has more sympathy for politicians, especially female ones. Indeed, she’s more charitable about Theresa May than you might expect a left-leaning actor to be: ‘We judge women in public life in a different way. She gets criticised for her hair, for what she wears, for being unemotional – I don’t think that would get levelled at a man. I suspect she’s probably a very nice woman. I don’t know her but I don’t look at her and think, “She’s evil.” It’s not a job I’d want in a million years in this toxic political environment. She’s doing an incredibly difficult job.’

And the two women share one characteristic: being a bit square. When asked to share a secret, Rebecca pauses: ‘I’m hesitant about saying anything that will sound like May admitting that running through a wheat field was the naughtiest thing she’d ever done. After she said that, my children said, “Mum that’s you! That’s the answer you would have given!” I’m such a square. I was head girl at school and I’m so law-abiding. If I saw a wheat field I would only enter it if there was a sign saying, “Please run here.”’

Having suffered from anxiety since she was a child, growing up in Northeast London, Rebecca now campaigns on mental health issues as an ambassador for the charity Anxiety UK. Her claustrophobia was written into her role in The Thick of It in a scene where Nicola refuses to get into a lift and is memorably blasted by her spin-doctor colleague, the legendarily vitriolic Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), as an ‘omnishambles’ (a word, she notes with glee, that’s now in the Oxford English Dictionary).

How did Rebecca feel about her private, real-life issues becoming the butt of a joke? ‘I’ve found humour is the best tool to deal with anxiety. You can’t afford to take it too seriously because it just gets worse,’ she smiles. She still struggles a little with lifts and can’t see herself ever travelling by tube. ‘These days I check in every so often with CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy], maybe once or twice a year if I feel I need a reboot.’

With the tube off limits, she often travels to and from her North London family home by bus. ‘I find them very relaxing and you get great material on buses: people do and say funny things. Nobody expects to see actors on the bus so fans often tweet me to say, “I saw your lookalike on the bus today.” No, it was me!’

She is heartened by Princes William and Harry speaking out about mental health issues. ‘I thought it was great, bless them for doing that. I don’t think the stigma has entirely gone, but it’s really improved.’

But back to business. When it comes to work, Rebecca has never been busier. She’s just finished Down a Dark Hall, a supernatural movie starring Uma Thurman; she’s filming a TV comedy pilot next week, and she recently delivered the draft of her second book of personal essays, following 2014’s Curious. What’s left? ‘Oh, I’m still hugely ambitious,’ she says. ‘There’s loads of stuff I want to do: some Shakespeare, a lot more theatre and drama that will really stretch me as it’s only been in the past few years that I’ve really started to use my drama chops.’

What about playing a femme fatale? ‘I’d love to do that,’ she sighs. ‘But I don’t know if that’s going to come up because there’s still this ageist culture. People don’t think of you like that when you’re over 40. We had a lunch party at our house the other day and I was the youngest woman there. I looked around the table and thought, “Just look at all these fabulous, well-dressed, attractive, funny women in their 50s and 60s.” Why don’t we see that on TV very often?’ I can imagine she’d only have to give a room of casting directors The Look and that would change.

And regardless, she’s blazing a trail as the thinking-man’s sex symbol. ‘I’d be flattered to think that. I’ve still got it going on!’ she grins, slinking out of the door to her waiting car. The Prime of Ms Rebecca Front? You had better believe it.

Rebecca rates

Fashion picks-- I’m too cheap to spend thousands on a frock. When I won a Bafta [for playing Nicola Murray in The Thick of It], I wore a £100 dress from Coast. I like AllSaints, Zara and Asos, and I live in jeans and shirts.

Reading-- The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. It’s told from the perspective of a young man trying to make sense of a life-changing event.

Best beauty product --My daughter introduced me to Mac’s Prep + Prime Fix + finishing spray. It sets your make-up and gives you a bit of a glow.

Listening to Political podcasts – Pod Save America and West Wing Weekly are my favourites. My son, who is travelling, listens too, and we message each other about them.

Breakfast --Avocado and poached eggs on toast – and it’s got to have chilli flakes, otherwise forget it.

Watching --The Shop Around the Corner, a little-known screwball comedy with James Stewart. It’s my favourite go-to feel-good film.

Guilty pleasure-- Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry. I don’t believe it for a minute but I don’t care, it’s so much fun. I snuggle up with my daughter and watch it.

Most treasured possession-- A book in which I wrote down sweet things my kids used to say at bed time and bath time when they were little.

Tipple of choice-- A dry martini with an olive.

Describe yourself in three words-- Thoughtful, kind and funny – at least, I aspire to be.

Dream dinner-party guests-- We have quite a lot of them over already. Frances Barber is great company and a friend of mine. Ditto Barry Cryer – he’s hilarious. And Jane Austen would have been a hoot, I reckon.

How would you like to be remembered?-- As someone who brightened people’s day.

#rebecca front #inspector lewis #the thick of it #non-jean #hathocent #i'm still in shock about them mentioning the hathocent fanfiction and that she now knows it exists #i mean the d@ily m@il from what i gather is complete trash of the f@x news variety but still #as pathetic as both are it still feels like i'm being called out #like they're k*nkshaming me #but whatevs

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aflyingcontradiction · 7 years

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So since I’m apparently in the process of cleaning house right now (which I am not particularly happy about, but oh well), I guess I’d rather rip that particular band-aid off in one go. Dear followers, full disclosure, I hold the following unpopular (at least on here) opinions that I don’t usually mention. (long-ass post behind the cut)

If you disagree with me, feel free to stay around and have a civil debate with me on any post I make or reblog (except for this one, I won’t answer).

If you feel like you don’t want to follow someone with my opinions, don’t hesitate to unfollow or even block if you want. Everyone should have the right to decide who they interact with.

If, however, you are planning to be a jerk about it, you can go fuck right out of my space and stay out. I have reached the end of my patience here. If I see any more posts on my dash that imply I’m a worthless person for an opinion I hold or an identity I have, I’m going to unfollow you. If you insult me personally, I’m going to block you.

Opinions below:

- Ironic misandry and similar jokes intended to “punch up” at entire groups of privileged people are eye-roll-inducing at best and harmful at worst, both to our activist causes as a whole and to vulnerable individuals caught in the splash damage.

- I’m sex positive. That includes kinks. Even the ones I personally find gross. As long as all participants and onlookers give their full and uncoerced consent and all participants have the knowledge to do whatever they are doing safely (or are aware of any remaining risks), I think people should be allowed to live their fantasies as much as they damn well please, without uninvolved people judging them. And if you think that a person’s “gross” kinks are a reflection on what they actually think of people and society in a non-sexual context without any evidence of that apart from the fact that they have a kink, then I think you’re mind-reading in a very uncharitable manner and you should stop.

- The term “onlookers” does not include people who deliberately seek out kinky material that squicks or triggers them. If it’s clearly tagged and you go looking for it and find it, the consequences are on you and you alone.

- The same goes for fictional content. In fact, I don’t believe there’s such a thing as fictional content that should be “forbidden” to produce and while no story should be exempt from analysis and criticism, likewise no story justifies harassing the author over it. No, not even the weird-ass underage ship over there or the person shipping the villain with the cinnamon roll hero. Also if you think that someone who enjoys reading or writing about a thing in a fictional context must condone that thing in real life without any evidence apart from their fictional likes and dislikes, again, you are mind-reading in a very uncharitable manner and you should stop. There are a bazillion reasons why someone might enjoy problematic content, few of them are “‘Cause I want to do this evil thing for real” and none of them are any of your business unless the person in question ACTUALLY does the evil thing for real, in which case it’s no longer a matter of fictional tastes anyway.

- Uncoerced consent means “In the mind of the person giving it”. I don’t accept “But they were brainwashed by society”. It is literally impossible to differentiate between societal preferences and “natural” preferences (if such a thing even exists beyond the things we literally need for basic survival). If you ask a person “Does this thing truly make you happy” and they answer “This thing truly makes me happy” - then for all intents and purposes it truly makes them happy and you’ll just have to accept that. Period. (Which, incidentally, applies to non-sexual things like lifestyle and clothing as well.)

- Just in general, trying to destroy gender roles by criticising individual people for their likes and dislikes is counter-productive.

- Doxxing may sometimes be justified, but it is never ever justified to spread personal information that you haven’t verified and are absolutely certain is true. That shit destroys people’s lives. Just. Don’t.

- I think it is morally questionable to escalate violence unless you are sure it’s necessary to prevent further harm. (E.g. Don’t reply with insults to someone asking a polite question or - more relevant to the current discourse - don’t answer verbal violence with physical violence.) Which means: No, I don’t think punching nazis is always a good thing unless it is in literal self defence or defence of someone who can’t defend themselves, in which case, punch away, I mean, obviously. The reason I think that, apart from the moral ambiguity, is that you are not going to scare them into shutting up. The internet exists. They can spread their filth anonymously without running any danger of being harmed. At best they’re going to stop saying this shit on the street until they’ve recruited enough people that they no longer need to feel scared and then we’ve got a serious problem on our hands. Besides, if you punch a nazi, you run the risk of making them into a martyr and giving them proof that they are, in fact, under threat from the outside. Congratulations, you have now made it harder for people to leave that swamp. I think what we need to do is find out why people join groups like that (and no “Because they’re evil” isn’t an answer. People aren’t born evil.) and work on removing those factors, if at all possible. At the same time we need to make sure the nazi groups in question look as ridiculous as they are and that everyone knows they’re WRONG, goddammit! Punching them isn’t going to do either of those things (vuvuzela-ing over their bullshit might accomplish one of those things.) Let everyone know that neo-nazi views are absolutely unacceptable and not just because “they’re not politically correct and you might get punched if you say that stuff out loud but secretly lots of people think that way” but because they are WRONG and MONSTROUS. Educate people about what nazism actually means and do it early and frequently so that they know before they run danger of being recruited. (Of course, having the state on your side helps, but unfortunately in the US that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon from the looks of it, so unlike us here in Germany, you’re on your own, which does make things harder. Punching still isn’t going to solve the problem.)

- Also, given that it’s not my circus, not my monkeys, I don’t have any opinions on being trans with/without dysphoria or whether or not the term queer should be used as an umbrella term or not or whether there should be two As for Asexual and Ally but I’ve heard enough arguments on both sides that I don’t think either side is 100 % wrong and evil and horrible.

- And also: I hate the term Social Justice Warrior because of the way it’s being used by people who are just generally against social justice, but I think we do need a term for bullying-under-the-guise-of-activism, because it is definitely a thing that happens.

- Also, the black and white worldview around here is draining as fuck. Again, people are not born evil. They have a reason for their opinions. That reason is frequently bullshit or downright horrible but in those cases there is a chance that they might be argued out of it or at least someone who’s on the fence could see your argument and go “Hey, that activist’s opinions make more sense”. Don’t get me wrong, nobody has to argue with bigots. Hell, I don’t want to do it either. But for the love of all that is good and holy, let the people who WANT to and feel equipped to do it, do so without revoking their social justice advocate card.

So yeah, do with this information what you will.

#opinions: I has them #my babbling

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amynicola1995 · 7 years

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BODY SHAMING IS WRONG!!! RANT!!

Hi guys, This blog post is a bit different from my usual ones. I've recently found a YouTuber who's videos have really shocked me into writing this blog post. Body shaming is wrong, no ifs or buts.

'Freelee the banana girl' aka Leanne Ratcliffe is a passionate, vegan activist whose videos regularly cause heated debate over the choice of topic. She's recently criticised people like Zoella, Anna Saccone-Joly and Tanya Burr. In one of here videos titled "Tanya Burr Rainbow Cake Reaction :-(( Why, Tanya, WHY?", she critiques Tanya and her eating habits and how much "damage" she's doing to her body, but what Leanne needs to understand is that this cake is quite large and isn't made for one person to eat! It not like Tanya is eating this cake to herself. She made it to celebrate her and jims wedding anniversary as her, Jim and their families were going over theirs. She mentioned that Tanya should of made the cake vegan.....she isn't vegan why would she make a cake vegan if that isn't hers or jims life style and she's not forcing her followers to eat junk/unhealthy food, she's promoting her book. She's doing her job!

She also goes on about how cows are milked and how they are tortured for their milk, Leanne needs to understand not everyone wants to go vegan and that its not big and its not clever to publicly shame someone you think is making the wrong choices in their diet, its not down to you its down to them and the people closest to them, who actually spend time with that person to bring it up. She claims that people "ignore" the vegan lifestyle maybe that's because they don't want to be vegan, have you ever considered that? Not everyone has the same views and opinions and I'm not saying she's not entitled to her views/opinion, far from it, but what i am trying to say is that you have to except that people have different views/opinions.

Everything is ok in moderation, all you have to ask yourself is 2 questions. 1) are you happy? 2) are you healthy? If both the answers to the question is yes, then whatever anyone thinks shouldn't matter. If one or both the answers are no you do something about it for no one else but you. She also goes on to mention how bad eggs are for you and after researching and looking up about the nutritional value of eggs i have found out that eggs are good for you! Here’s 30 reasons why you SHOULD eat eggs!:

1. Eggs are Full of Vitamins and Minerals– Including vitamins B, C, D, E, K, and more. 2. Lower High Blood Pressure– The peptides present in eggs were shown to help reduce high blood pressure. 3. Great Source of Protein– Eggs are a great source of protein, one egg contains 6 grams of protein. 4. Omega 3’s– Eggs contain a high level of essential omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient and good for your heart. 5. Nine Essential Amino Acids– Eggs are known as the perfect food as they contain all 9 of the essential amino acids. 6. Can Lower Your Cholesterol– Eggs do contain cholesterol, however as mentioned above, studies have shown that those who consume eggs regularly had a reduced LDL and an increase in HDL (the good cholesterol). 7. Boost Brain and Nerve Health-One egg contains 20% of the daily recommended intake of choline. Approximately 90% of Americans are choline deficient. Choline is essential for phospholipids used in all cell membranes. Adequate levels of choline are essential for brain and nerve health. 8. Contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin– These carotenoids are an essential component for eye health and defend against the damaging effects of free radicals. 9. Contain Tryptophan and Tyrosine– Two amino acids which have great antioxidant properties. Tryptophan is also important as it is converted to serotonin, a mood enhancer and converted into melatonin in the pineal gland, which benefits sleep. 10. Reduced Risk of Macular Degeneration– Eggs protect your eyes from developing age-related macular degeneration due to the lutein and zeaxanthin present. 11. Good Source of Vitamin B12– Vitamin B12 is an important vitamin for the process of converting homocysteine into safe molecules, such as glutathione, an important antioxidant. 12. Eggs Contain Calcium– One egg contains 50mg (5%) calcium. Although not a large source of calcium, an increased intake can reduce the risk of colon polyups and breast cancer. 13. Eggs Do NOT Cause Heart Disease– The choline in eggs is a crucial nutrient to help reduce the inflammation that leads to heart disease. 14. Reduce Birth Defects– Eggs contain folate, a nutrient which studies have shown to help prevent birth defects when consumed prenatally, one egg contains 44μg (11%) of folate. 15. Good Source of Vitamin A– One egg contains 19% of the RDA for vitamin A, which plays an important role in improving the immune system. 16. Promote Healthy Hair and Nails– The sulfur contained in eggs and the additional vitamins and minerals help promote hair and nail growth. 17. Reduce Oxidative Stress– Selenium, an essential macronutrient contained in eggs helps reduce oxidative stress. 18. Reduce Risk of Tumors– Eggs are an excellent source of selenium which has been associated with preventing cancer and in particular reducing tumors affecting the prostate. 19. Eggs Protect Your Eyesight– Not only do they prevent macular degeneration, but the antioxidants in eggs also have been reported to protect eyes from damage related to UV exposure. 20. Reduces Risk of Cataracts– The antioxidants have also been linked to reducing the risk of developing cataracts in old age. 21. Improve Immune System Functioning– The iron contained in eggs helps support a healthy immune system and normal red blood cell production. 22. Lose Weight– In a study from Louisiana State University, participants who ate eggs for breakfast instead of bagels, lost more weight and reported having more energy. 23. Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer– A recent study found that women who consumed high amounts of choline, an abundant nutrient in eggs, were 24% less likely to get breast cancer. 24. Source of Vitamin D– The majority of the population is deficient in vitamin D which is essential for boosting the immune system and preventing cancer. One egg contains 41 IU of the 600 IU recommend daily amount of vitamin D. 25. Reduces Inflammation– The choline in eggs aids in reducing inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation has been linked to increasing the risk of osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, and type 2 diabetes. 26. Beneficial for Fetal Development– The choline present in eggs is essential for pregnant women as it is crucial for proper fetal brain development and preventing neural tube defects. 27. Reduce Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke– Several studies have shown that the nutrients in eggs help prevent blood clots which reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke. 28. Improved Memory Function– The high amount of vitamins and nutrients in eggs, in particular choline, improves memory function and cognition. 29. Eggs Can Be Inexpensive– Many are able to get eggs for a great price when bought from local farmers. Another option is to raise your own chickens! Not only does this help save money and provide you with more nutritional value, but you could sell eggs to those in the area to cover the cost of caring for them. 30. Egg Variety– There are many ways to prepare eggs, whether you eat them raw, scramble them up in coconut oil, or boil them. You can also add great variety by adding in nutritious vegetables and herbs, such as to an omelette.

Animals were put on this earth for us to eat, its been that way for thousands of years. While i have nothing against vegans and their lifestyle, you Leanne are pretty ignorant and arrogant. Just because someone isn't vegan, doesn't mean that they aren't thinking. Everyone has their own lifestyle. You make these reaction videos as if these people especially Tanya and Zoella are awful for doing what they want to do. Keep in mind that they are only eating what is supposed to be apart of our daily diets and NOT a vegan diet. You have a right to your own opinions but maybe if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it! Because you small minded comments just show a lot of ignorance. You have bashed and bullied people because they don't live up to the lifestyle YOU think they should. Vegan or not, nobody should be judged or looked at as if they are less than perfect. Trying to make it out as if vegans "are better" than meat eaters is idiotic. I know several people that are vegan and I'm interested in their lifestyle and respect them and their opinions. But i know that becoming a vegan isn't for me and they respect that. I have nothing against them and i love them, but if they were ever to bully someone like you are, for not being vegan, i would call them out on it just as I'm doing with you. Stop reacting to peoples lives and lifestyles and get on with yours and maybe change how you treat and act towards others.

Thanks for reading guys. Sorry for the rant ill try to upload a more positive one soon. Remember That Your All Beautiful. Amy Nicola xoxo

#veganism #vegan #healthy eating #eating disoder recovery #ed recovery #ed relapse #Bulimia recovery #bullying #bully #bulimia #My Recovery #my view #anorexia #anorexia recovery

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