#i didn't give a fuck about other people opinions or discourse

[ghwosty]

sometimes i miss how i engaged with my interests before i started being more online, there was a purity and authenticity to it

[soaps-mohawk]

I just saw someone talk about Simon Riley being a rapist and the only way they tried to confirm it is by saying that he is a war criminal and all soldiers are misogynistic and sexist and they also talked about how he dreamt of hurting women in the comics when that's quite literally a normal reaction by being raped by both men and women (what I mean is that abused people sometimes dream of becoming someone they're not and don't want to be) but they conveniently forgot to mention how that "dream" was a nightmare. (Just wanted to rant about this and see your opinion)

The sigh I let out when I saw this ask this morning.

I'm so sick and tired of seeing this discourse. Not just in this fandom but in every fandom. Maybe it's just because I'm old and my frontal lobe is fully developed, or maybe it's because I was in fandom back in the days where there were no tags. You were lucky if you got a warning at the beginning of a fic. Most fics you walked in blind and if you didn't like something? You hit the back button and found something else.

This sudden mainstreaming of fandom has ruined these spaces. People come in, refuse to "learn the rules" that most of us learned by just existing in these spaces and watching others interact. There were no written rules back then. We learned by observing and occasionally being guided on fandom etiquette by those more experienced than us. Now it's just like people come in expecting fandom to be like every other space on the internet and then get defensive and angry when they realize it's not. Fandom is cringy. It's nerdy. It's happy and sunshine and it's dark and ugly like every media out there. Us creators and those of us more experienced in fandom have been screaming how to exist in fandom spaces from the rooftops but no one is listening and then everyone wonders why creators are leaving these spaces. Why fandoms keep getting abandoned.

All of that aside, this discourse about FICTIONAL characters pisses me off. Simon Riley is a FICTIONAL character. He has no morality, there is no right or wrong because he's FICTIONAL. You can make him do whatever you want to do because he's NOT REAL. You can give him wings and have him fly and guess what?? Cool, that can happen because he's NOT REAL. You want to make him a rapist? Cool, you can do that because he's FICTIONAL. You can make him whatever you want to make him because he's a character. He's not a living, breathing human being. There are no consequences of his actions because he's FICTIONAL!!!

Don't even get me started on this sudden discourse about dark fics and dead dove that's appeared recently. Dark media has existed for literal centuries. The Epic of Gilgamesh from 1800 BCE. The Odyssey. Mostellaria by Plautus. The Castle of Otranto published in the 1700s. Frankenstein. Dracula. The works of Edgar Allan Poe. Lolita. Hell, look at the Bible. The Bible, especially the old testament, is fucked up. Even in the watered down, bastardized King James version, the things the old testament "God" supposedly did, when you sit and actually think about them outside the lens of religious brainrot, are super fucked up.

People have been creating dark media for a long time. Horror has existed for a long time because it plays to our worst fears. It gives us a safe way to express those fears and to experience them without having to experience them first hand. You wouldn't bitch at a horror movie director for including things like rape and gore and murder in their movies?? So why is writing different? You think every horror movie director agrees with the things they portray on screen? You think every horror movie director would go out and murder someone just because they made a movie about it? No, because we're allowed to portray things in all forms of media, we're allowed to write things without morally agreeing with them. Guess what, most people that write rape or assault or violence, aren't going out and doing those things in real life. They don't support those things in real life. In fact, people that write dark fanfics are some of the loudest protesters against those things.

If you want to make Simon Riley a real person, guess what? He's not going to be even morally grey. Most people in the military are not good people. They're not. The people that are good people in the military, or were in the military, are the ones saying that the loudest. People that got tricked into joining, people that got promised things, people that did it because they had no other choice and then realized what it was really like after getting in? Those are the people to listen to. Not Call of Duty, not the people trying to convince you to join because they're glorified sales people and have a quota to fill. Look up videos of what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hands of American and British soldiers. You would not like Simon Riley if he were a real person.

But he's not real. He's FICTIONAL. Even as a fictional character, he's not a good person. So many Call of Duty fans put on the blinders and ignore the fact that these men are out here committing awful acts of violence and killing people because they're "the good guys." People love to forget that Price literally kidnapped a woman and a child and had them held at gunpoint to get information out of someone. Not only that, he was okay with it. If he were a real person that did that, you would not be questioning if he were a good person or not. You can tell the people that have never played the games or watched playthroughs, who only know these characters through the lenses of fanfics and artwork and headcanons.

Call of Duty is military propaganda. They paint these men as heroes, make it easy to put the blinders up and ignore the things that are happening, the things they're doing so that they can convince young men that they want to do that and they should join the military so they can go out and do that too. That's Call of Duty's audience. That's who they're creating these games for. These young, impressionable boys who get excited by the violence and the action who will go on to fill quota numbers for recruiters. Call of Duty was not made for us, the people writing fanfiction and creating art for it. This side of the Call of Duty fandom will be the first to tell you all of this.

This side of the fandom creates fanworks which would turn Activision's eyes red. We babygirlify their military propaganda because it actively goes against what Activision is trying to do. It goes against what Call of Duty is at its core. Sure, some people water it down a lot, and others keep it more realistic to what these men would be like in real life, because it's FICTION. You can portray these characters however you want because that's what fiction is for.

And guess what, anon? Rape kinks exist. Consensual non-consent exists. It's well known. And guess what? Victims of sexual assault and rape can develop those kinks as a coping mechanism. Here's a study from the NIH website, and if that's too complex for you, here's a VICE news article that uses that study. People can write rape and rape kinks and CNC and noncon and not support it in real life. People can write those things to bring awareness to the fact that they happen to people in real life, or because people in real life have those kinks. People write those things to help victims, to support them. It's cathartic. Dark media most often is created for catharsis. It gives people an outlet, and it allows people to experience those things in a safe, controlled environment for whatever reason.

And that's the thing, anon. People don't have to give anyone a reason for why the consume that kind of media. Creators don't owe anyone an explanation as to why they create it. It's none of your business, and if you're not comfortable with it, then don't consume it. You can turn off the TV if a horror movie is too much for you. People walk out of theaters all the time because a movie is not what they were expecting, be it because it was bad or because it was too graphic or violent or disgusting. You start reading a book and you don't like it for whatever reason? You put the book down and pick up another. Why do people have such a problem with not reading fanfics they don't like? Why do people have such a hard time just blocking creators that make things they don't want to see. Most dark fic and dead dove creators put ample warnings on their blog and their posts. That's why those tags exist. You don't like it and you don't want to see it? Then block and move on and let others enjoy what they want to enjoy.

You pearl clutchers are ruining fandom and soon there won't be anything for you to enjoy. If you can't handle fandom, then don't be in it. There is no algorithm here. You're going to see things you don't want to see and it's very easy to just block and filter tags. There was a time on Tumblr where you couldn't filter tags. I remember those days. You had to download the X-kit extension to block things, and that only worked on desktop. The fact Tumblr gave us the option to filter tags on the site and on the app was a big deal when it was rolled out. I remember so many people that didn't want to use the app when it first came out because you couldn't block potentially triggering tags.

It's not a creator's problem if you were triggered by their media. Life doesn't come with trigger warnings and it's a blessing that it's become so normalized to include warnings at the beginnings of fics. There's websites that exist for other forms of media that will give trigger warnings. If you can look up trigger warnings for a movie and decide not to watch it, you can look at the trigger warnings for fics and decide not to interact with it. You're not out here emailing the directors and producers of movies that include triggers you don't like, telling them they're awful people for including those things in their movie and they shouldn't. Yet you have no problem coming into the comments and inboxes creators who do this FOR FREE because we wrote one dark fic. Because we wrote something that's triggering to you.

And yes, some abuse victims go on to be abusers, some people continue that cycle because they don't have the help and support to break it. It's a sad thing that happens, but it happens. It happens in the fictional world and it happens in real life. People can make that happen to fictional characters for whatever reasons they want.

I've written dark fics. I've written several. I consume "disturbing" media for fun. I've read books and watched movies that would send these pearl clutchers to the hospital. Hell, I've probably written things (some published, some that will never see the light of day) that would turn these pearl clutchers inside out. Guess what? That's okay because it's FICTION. It's cathartic. I don't have to give my reasons why because it's no one's business except those I decide to tell because I trust them and I know they'll support me. I don't support those things in real life. Just because I write for Call of Duty doesn't mean I support the things the game portrays. If you consume Call of Duty media be it the games or fanfiction, does that mean you support what the game supports? What the creators of the games support? What militaries around the world support?

Think about that next time.

I’ve made my stance very clear here before, but I’ll do it again. In real life, I am anti military, anti war, anti gun violence, anti genocide, anti fascism, anti terf, anti homophobia, anti conservative, anti rape, anti domestic violence, anti colonialism and pro choice.

Just because I may create or consume media with those things in it, does not mean I support them. It's high time some of these pearl clutchers learn that.

The next time you want to come into a creator's inbox or comments and spew hatred towards them because of the things they write, why don't you do something useful with your time instead.

This will be my only discussion on this topic. I will not be answering any more asks like this. I will delete and block anyone who tries to come "well actually"-ing into my inbox. If you don't agree with this stance, then get off my blog and block me.

[alexandraisyes]

Just a friendly reminder not to be a dick

Don't be a dick. It's that simple.

A readmore for those wondering what's brought this about. . .

I've been noticing a lot of discourse today in some main fandom tags over non-canon ships. I don't really give a fuck what it's about, I don't want to be told what it's about. I don't fw drama and harassment.

Non-canon ships cannot hurt you.

If someone posts something you disagree with? Block them.

Fiction does not affect reality, it affects your feelings. Your feelings are real, but they are not everyone's reality and it is your job to manage and regulate your own reality. Especially online.

A fictional work will not change the facts of reality around it. Putting a book about gay people kissing in a room will not change anything about the room other than the fact that there is a book in it. Gay people will not magically appear and start to kiss. If you open the book and you find out there are gay people kissing and you don't like it you have every capability to put the book down.

Fiction is not meant to be an accurate representation of reality. Citing Jaws makes you look like a moron.

Art does not have a moral value, because art is subjective. This includes music, artworks, writing, and lord forbid fanfiction too.

People who write fictional content are not automatically in support of the fiction they write about. You have never read a book or seen a movie about a zombie apocalypse and wondered if the author/screenwriter wants a zombie apocalypse to happen. Maybe now you will, but I can guarantee you didn't before.

Fiction can give you thoughts, feelings, and ideas. It does not force you to act on them. You cannot blame a fictional work for your actions. Normal people are not so influenced by fiction that they act upon the media they consume, if you are worried that fiction will make you act out then you shouldn't consume fiction.

Creators of fictional content are not responsible for your opinions of their content. They are not responsible for your actions. They are not responsible of your feelings. They are not a bad person for making content you don't like. You're just a piss baby if you can't learn how to put down the book or phone and do something better with your time.

Hurting someone over fiction is unacceptable.

Harassing someone over fiction is unacceptable.

It is your job to curate your online experience, and other people are not in charge of your comfort. If you cannot handle that get off the internet.

If you want to read someone go in depth about all of this.

[tragicclownwrites]

Why the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" was great SquidBob fodder

Hello! I'm back with an analysis post as I came across something recently and wanted to share some thoughts.

I'm likely late to the game here, but I saw an old post in which the author (a fellow SquidBobber) was upset by the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" and I just have to say... huh!?

Were we watching the same episode? 🤨

Needless to say, I was thoroughly perplexed by this reaction because I personally read into it much differently. Then again, I am a clown.

Therefore - in the spirit of friendly fandom discourse - I wanted to provide another perspective on this episode. Absolutely no shade to the OP either - people are allowed to have differing opinions, after all.

If you're with me, let's clown around below the cut!

The lie that started it all

Before we dive in any further, let's take a look at the scene that started this whole conversation.

Essentially, after Squidward's heartfelt confession to SpongeBob, while he's hanging on for dear life over a boiling volcano...

Squidward: "Please SpongeBob, I didn't mean any of that! I do appreciate your friendship. I am grateful. I'm… I'm… I'm grateful for the life I'm living! Who knows how long I'll have it? I learned that from you, remember?"

He says this after being rescued by his true love SpongeBob:

Squidward: "You know SpongeBob, in light of everything that just happened... I lied to you. I am not grateful for anything! I mean look at me. I don't even have a roof to sleep under, anymore!"

Now, this is the moment that had the OP so heated about this episode. After everything he said, after SpongeBob saved his life, he just... lied?

Weeeell, not exactly.

The truth always reveals itself

Now, for my hot take... I don't think Squidward was lying at all when he said he was grateful for SpongeBob.

Before you immediately decide that I've completely out-clowned myself this time, just hear me out!

There are a few reasons Squidward may have reacted the way he did in the aftermath of the volcano debacle.

He's Squidward

Our man's just lost his whole fucking house for the billionth time

The reality of what he just said is slowly catching up with him

He's Squidward

Unlike his more chipper counterpart, the guy doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve and has been shown to struggle with vulnerability and admitting failure. I mean, he can barely manage to apologize for his less savory actions without choking and sputtering like a fool!

However, when his life was on the line in this scene, he was vulnerable in more ways than one. Physically, he was quite literally dangling over an active volcano - you can't get more vulnerable than that! Emotionally, he bore his soul to SpongeBob because he thought he was going to die and wouldn't have another chance to say any of that again. Keep in mind, he truly believed he wouldn't live to see SpongeBob ever again.

I've mentioned this in my Reigisa x SquidBob masterpost, but there have been several other instances where - particularly, in a dire situation - Squidward will openly admit that he has always liked/cared for SpongeBob. And similarly, he's also tried to take it back or act like he didn't mean it when everything turns out okay or if other people aside from SpongeBob hear his confession.

So, as much as he "hates" SpongeBob and can't stand him, when it really counts, the truth always reveals itself.

Is it possible that he was just trying to play at SpongeBob's heartstrings to save his own ass? Perhaps.

But then, he accepts his fate. He loses his grip, giving everyone a tearful farewell. That is, until his little yellow angel comes to his rescue.

SpongeBob: "Squidward, I always knew you felt that way. Aw, buddy. Thanks for finally opening up to us."

⬆️Just look at the pure love in his eyes! (*Patrick voice*: LOOK AT IT!) The sappy sponge was even prepared to sacrifice himself for him. 🥺

While there was absolutely no way SpongeBob would actually let Squidward perish - promises be damned - it wasn't until Squidward poured his heart out, putting his true feelings towards SpongeBob out in the open, that he was saved from certain death.

You know how they say, "the truth will set you free"? No kidding!

As for why SpongeBob was completely fine with Squidward's lie after the fact (another point of contention for OP), well... he loves him. Period. And I think, despite his emotional constipation and frequent annoyance with the sponge in question, it's pretty clear Squidward loves him, too.

Therefore, SpongeBob wasn't upset by Squidward's outburst here because, as naïve as he may be, I don't think that fact is lost on him either.

In conclusion...

I think it's safe to say that "Sponge-Cano!" was a pretty great episode to add to the ever-growing SquidBob pile.

And if you thought the scene I talked about above was the last of it, ohohoho~ 🤭😏

You. Just. Wait.

At the very end of the episode, after Squidward loses his home and complains that he no longer has "a roof to sleep under anymore," SpongeBob does what SpongeBob does best: he offers to help him out.

Even after Squidward's selfish actions in "Can You Spare a Dime?" (which had some great fodder as well, such as *ahem* Squidward making SpongeBob wear a sexy maid outfit), SpongeBob still lets him stay at his house for an indefinite amount of time. Continuity? I don't know her.

To which, this gets even better.

Squidward doesn't refuse and find somewhere else to crash. After all, wasn't SpongeBob the reason he was miserable enough to be sacrificed in the first place? Why would he subject himself to even more SpongeBob, if that were the case?

At SpongeBob's house, he doesn't sleep on the couch or in a spare room. He doesn't even take SpongeBob's bed for himself while SpongeBob sleeps elsewhere - just like he did in "Can You Spare a Dime?"

NO.

The two of them share SpongeBob's bed. As in, they sleep in the same bed together.

Are these two fucking serious!?

They totally cuddled. Maybe even kissed.

All that to say, as much as Squidward whines and gripes about how much SpongeBob makes him miserable, it's clear to see that - even in the face of life-threatening adversity - SpongeBob's presence in his life is the key to his happiness. In this case, the key to his survival as well.

Now, if only our favorite grumpy octopus would take that spongey key, embracing him fully, to unlock that door... 🌈

[mhsdatgo]

The Helaemonds/Helaegons need to calm down.

Don't get me wrong, it's always refreshing to see some people fill in the gaps of a basically untold relationship such as the one between the green kids in general, but this goes beyond basic obsessive shippy discourse. Leave this poor girl alone. Why's there an obsession with having her be romantically paired with her brothers, one worse than the other?

I understand the show has basically shown so little of her to the point where we didn’t even have a coronation for her on screen, so therefore you can self insert through her and have fun with headcanons regarding Aegon and Aemond. Really, I'm not faulting their girlies, you can be head over heels for whatever actor in character you want (unless you put them on pedestals and start acting like they did nothing wrong and pounce on whoever contests them, THEN we have a problem) but I assure you, Helaena would barely want anything to do with either of them.

Aegon is a sex pest turned sex offender, a drunkard and a neglectful father and husband at best. Her infamous toast in ep.8 has us believing that he cannot for the life of him interact with her unless he's horny drunk or that he forces himself on her at worst.* He was ready to leave them all in ep.9 before he was caught. Even the book is subtle about their relationship: all we know of them is that they sleep in shared chambers, that she was someone important and reliable in Aegon's council before B&C, and that he named her and Alicent the true Queens of his reign.

*(⚠️TW: PERSONAL OPINION⚠️ I'm not saying this last one isn't a possibility but it's sill outrageous for the way people speak about Helaena in defence of this "claim". No, she wouldn't joke about her own r*pe in front of the whole table full of people she doesn't know and right beside her abuser, and despite the hour-long metas I've read about how she's basically "too sheltered" to know what r*pe even means, I assure you she's a high-functioning autistic, not 5 years old. She can understand it perfectly.)

Helaemond is a pure show invention, I honestly wasn't expecting this many people to go up this kind of train. They barely interact, and most of the time it's Aemond saying he'd "perform his duty" should Helaena ever be wed to him, or that stare in ep.9 when he enters her chambers toiling after Alicent. It's, as always, the Aemond girlies who think poor Helaena would live her best life with Aemond, or that they are already romantically involved behind the scenes. The amount of "if one possesses a thing, the other will take it away" edits from people that are FULLY CONVINCED "the thing" is Helaena and that "the one" and "the other" are Aemond and Aegon respectively is honestly concerning.

Fics that are all about Aegon doing the worst and unspeakable things to her so "Aemond can come and save her" are y'all okay? Out of all people, HE has to save her?

Babes, I'm sorry to break your bubble, but this isn't Aegon IV/Naerys/Aemon on steroids. Aemond didn't give two shits about Helaena. No, he wasn't jealous when Jace came to ask her to dance, he just wanted to stir some shit. If we talk about the books, he didn't fucking hesitate to leave King's Landing, his sister, his mother and whatever he was doing for the Riverlands the second he heard that Daemon was there. And he brought the only means of defence they had with him. If he knew how important Vhagar was for the city's defence, he's evil, if he didn't realize it, he's dumb as fuck. Which one is it, Aemond girlies?

People beat each other to the curb about Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor's paternity like it's the Wars of The Roses. They put Helaena and Alys against the other like they have personal beef with one of them.

Stop mentioning this sweetheart only when it's about praising or hating one of her brothers. No, it's not the only option you have because she's underdeveloped as a character. There's actually another one.

LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE.

[confused-disaster32]

Hi! So you can call this a rant or a vent or whatever I don't rlly care - I just wanted to put some of my opinions out there bc it is eating me inside out to keep my opinions on Alastor's sexuality and all of the discourse about him being shipped to myself.

Also i'd like to state that I'm writing this as someone who is aroace but has no actual wish to be in a romantic relationship and actually struggles to so much as picture what that's be like for myself. I would also like to state how I'm not speaking for the whole community and others will have different opinions to myself.

Firstly - aroace is a spectrum (as someone who is on the aroace spectrum btw) and I completely agree with ppl who say that it is a spectrum and shipping has always existed and you can't rlly stop an entire fandom. My only problem is when ppl completely ignore that he is aroace while doing this, bc to me it seems like there's so much potential to having him have to go through those types of emotions and to write him off as if he's completely allo not only can make some people feel unseen but also just isn't as fun.

Also I kind of believe that he'd possibly date someone for the entertainment - like even if he didn't exactly feel romantic attraction maybe he'd be willing to be around someone closely bc he might like the reactions he'd be getting. (example: he might've stayed in a relationship with Vox maybe not out of pure attraction but if he found out that affection could make the TV short-circuit? He'd be interested)

Adding to that, I personally do not actually ship him with anyone romantically due to his character + the fact that I am projecting my own distaste for romance on him but you do you ig.

Also, on the note of nsfw around him - sometimes you cannot stop a fandom, rule 34 exists and some people who are asexual sometimes may want to have sex and all of that stuff. Personally I think he'd probably be sex-repulsed due to the fact that he canonically has issues with being touched.

ALSO, i personally think that way too many people are brushing over the idea of putting Alastor in a QPR - like that would literally be so awesome.

Alastor x Rosie? Cute af (to me Rosie gives of aro vibes too, but more romance - favourable) like they're already besties and honestly I think that Rosie would defo help him figure out about his identity considering that he's quite obviously not all that sure about slang and stuff.

Vox x Alastor - It has the potential to be SO FUCKING FUN like, you get to experiment with how they feel for each other, maybe what Alastor's got going on bc he died before being aroace was rlly a thing and he'd be confused about how he felt about Vox for sure.

Lucifer x Alastor - I quite like it, ik that Lucifer is supposed to be with Lillith but she did take an extremely long hiatus on her family up in heaven so i think it's okay. Plus the idea of them bonding and becoming close due to Charlie is wonderful.

Even angel and Alastor - maybe after Val Angel doesn't want a super sexual relationship - maybe he's not all that interested in something purely romantic either and though I love huskerdust this would still be pretty cool.

Really all I'm saying is; be considerate. Incorporate the fact that Alastor is Aroace, even if you do ship him - in or out of QPRs - and ofc sometimes writing someone who is part of a group ur not in is difficult (coming from someone who often struggles in writing especially when it comes to romance) but taking a crack at it might actually turn out to be rlly cool.

But please don't ignore his aroace-ness, there's not a huge amount of aroace characters out there and acting like someone isn't can be annoying for ppl who want to find rep around their identity, esp if they haven't seen much before (I can relate and he was one of the first aroace characters I was introduced to after I found out what it meant).

So yeah, that's my piece.

[panelshowsource]

now that s17 is over, how did you like it? it feels like most people either thought it was mild or weak, which makes me sad, so i stopped going to the discussion threads about it :""( i also don't see much anticipation for s18...

aww anon well, first, if you had a good time then that's what matters! so i hope series 17 brought you a little joy each week, that's what panel shows are for in my humble opinion 😚

because i know i'm about to word vomit some word salad, i'll throw out some s17 reactions + s18 thoughts below the cut! that way anyone who is sick of my nonsense doesn't have to scroll past it lmaooo

series 17 was a decent one! i don't think it's in the hall of fame, but it's definitely nowhere near the couple of "unwatchables" as they're (pretty unfairly) called. i've talked before about one of the downfalls of a season is when a group doesn't harness their dynamic and take control of the show — when they're in the studio and just sit quietly, waiting for greg to give them permission to speak, things flow well for the editors but the experience lacks. this is why s1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, even 12 are so silly and chaotic: the contestants were constantly fighting, interrupting or pausing judging, trying to convince or gaslight or challenge greg, just...speaking! talking! interacting! if that doesn't happen, taskmaster can just feel like show and tell, which is not when it's at its best

ultimately, this is why too many polite and well-behaved people in a single series is a pleasant watch but doesn't hit very hard. this series was exceptionally nice, we have to admit. joanne followed by steve may have been the "hang on a second ☝️" contestants of the series, but not by a lot, meanwhile nick and sophie were the loveliest, pretty quiet people and john was dead silent most of the time. actually, that was something that ended up surprising me — john was so focused on the tasks, so focused on winning, most of the time he didn't pause to give significant, funny commentary while filming, didn't give us *nearly* the banter with alex i anticipated, and was particularly quiet in the studio. i knew he'd be in it to win it, don't get me wrong, but he approached taskmaster more as a richard herring than an ed gamble, if you know what i mean. it was very funny to me when he was on the tm podcast and was more or less like "i know i didn't prioritise being entertaining" lmao that earnestness can be sweet, because i do like to watch the show imagining how i would do each task, but his ~no nonsense~ approach was turned up to 11 for a lot more of the series than i anticipated. i almost wish john had leaned a little more into his self-aware neuroticism and competitiveness just because that's generally a good character on taskmaster — and this series was definitely missing that

(you know, talking about this really reinforces my belief that kerry godliman is perhaps the most perfect taskmaster contestant...ever. competitive, no nonsense and full of nonsense, top bantz, stands up for herself and tears down others but fights without being genuinely angry or butthurt, doesn't know enough to try and figure out a workaround for every single task, loves and bullies alex in equal measure... just love the woman. love her. fuck it, same for jess knappett. i miss my girls😭 this is ALSO why i think rosie is a great fit for tm)

anywayz i haven't read mucho mucho discourse about series 17, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's the vague "criticism" people: just more lowkey vibes than other series. but some people prefer that, so..!!!

i think, too, too many people look back at series 1–...7? at least and want to see the same greg–alex dynamic, approach to the prize tasks, approach to scoring, lil tricks, what have you — and that is not gonna happen again. ever. for example, greg and alex have talked too many times about how hard they try to score things "fairly" because that's become such a big point of conversation for the viewers at home and, atp, even the contestants. personally, i don't prefer that. fuck fair! this is not a real competition it's an entertainment show!! when greg was throwing out points willy nilly, bonus points for eating hair, giving 5 points to a prize just bc it's his personal sense of humour and ranking another contestant's prize low every week just bc that's a funny recurring joke/dynamic, whatever. i do not care. give phil wang 1 point every time. points schmoints. but that cannot happen anymore because the viewers starting taking the points so darn seriously. (not to mention the opportunity to do coc is now pretty coveted for its $$$ and exposure, too, i'd imagine.) the same goes for greg leaning into his dictator role, the master/slave relationship between him and alex, alex being super stoic and quiet — not only does tm think those characters and dynamics are played out, but in some ways the audience has evolved beyond all that

my point is that people get caught up in the Old Gen Taskmaster that hooked them and can't accept the ways in which the show has evolved — even if it's in their opinion for worse. do i think it would kill taskmaster to go back to slightly less convoluted tasks and commit to the 1–5 point system instead of constant ties (or "this was a 3-point effort")? no. i would like to see that lmao but i don't view the series through the lens of a series 1 fan anymore, either. a reality check would help a lot of complainers

i did read one thing i thought was interesting — that with the huge number of series we're at with tm uk, and now the accessibility of other countries' spin-offs, there is a bigger and bigger pool of God Tier Taskmaster to compare each new series to. it used to be "hmm does this new series stack up against series 4, one of the all-time greats?" but now we're stacking new series up against the top ~6 of tm uk, tm nz s2, a couple of the tm belgiums, tm aus s1, and so on. competition is stiff!! not many series can be The Very Best Of All Time, so with each new tm uk that isn't, people start to feel like the show has gone downhill when it probably is stagnant at worst. does that make sense?

i don't wanna sound like every criticism of tm can be explained away or comes from a bad place. as i've mentioned above, i have my qualms. this series, one of my major qualms and seriously unpopular opinions was that i didn't like that steve wasn't actually bringing in prizes half the time. like, he was doing bits and they were funny bits, but greg was scoring him mad high for the effort he put into his bits instead of the actual prizes he brought in for entry. i stand by that opinion, but the thing is i didn't let that ruin my experience of the show. but, maybe, it just comes down to the fact i want to like it...so i do ^^

maybe i talked way too much about criticism and negativity hahah some things i really enjoyed from this series:

nick is probably the second person following john kearns who i actively disliked before taskmaster specifically because i had only ever seen their comedy characters doing dictionary corner or a bit of standup — and i really didn't like them. (still never seen ted lasso!) lo and behold, they go on taskmaster and are S Tier Sweethearts and i see them both in totally new lights! in fact john's last standup show is being released shortly and i cannot wait to watch it — which me of the past would never believe i'm saying lmao so i'm so grateful the show opened my eyes to what a funny, sweet person nick is!! and may i say his and john's styles in the studio are massively underrated. they are both incredibly snazzy dressers!

steve and nick were a sweet little team weren't they! i think it would have been funnier to have john x sophie (the best and the worst, in their own ways) vs. the more harmonious steve x nick x sophie, but regardless it was very cute stuff

the location was great! i fucking love a big open field, i fucking love a river

greg has had some really strong intro "speeches" the last few series and i loved his this time around. they're just equal parts stupid and weird + his authoritative, classic greg delivery always makes me laugh heh

some of the strongest live tasks in a while!! catching the little monsters, passing the loo through the tube, bouncing the ball on the bar — all felt like quintessential uncomplicated classic taskmaster parlour games and they were good fun

TONS out outtakes content!

and gosh it's wonderful to have a new little hour of pleasantness to have each week :)

regarding s18... it's an interesting lineup! in a good way!! i think rosie's character is more or less a perfect fit for the taskmaster format. obviously she is one of the biggest female comedians in the uk right now, but i didn't bet on her doing tm because i didn't think the show could commit to accommodating her disability for 10 episodes. and, frankly, they may not — and i guarantee she is completely okay with that. she was born from the rhod gilbert school of showing up to fuck around, and i sleep soundly knowing she will do just that. i really like jack dee and i'm happy for alex to have made it work with him. it typically wouldn't be my choice to have two senior comedian white men on one series, and (unpopularly?) i'm not really a zaltzman person, but i have no doubt he'll be quite charming. emma sidi is part of the alex horne bubble of friends i have mentioned a few times before, but i actually don't know much about her. babatunde feels like a sensible fresh pick since he's been doing more variety/panel shows; i don't watch him on googlebox (which i love) because i don't like mo gilligan (very unsorry about this opinion heh), but what i've seen of him i've enjoyed! i don't think the group's dynamic is obvious just from their list of names, but the fact they're all comedians is VERY promising and makes me supersupersuper happy — all comedian lineups are historically the strongest. so yay!! but can you imagine who will be on a team?? god imagine a jack x rosie team lmfaoooooooooooo i live for the thought

hope that made sense and if it didn't whoops! don't mind me heheh

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Y'all I'm - I'm so tired y'all

I get this often. It's understandable. I've said a lot in the past of how I believe no canonical age that can be proven - the same way there's hundreds of characters who's sexuality or nationality can't be proven.

But the problem is people saying things likes this and feeling no need whatsoever to back themselves up.

Hobie Has No Age, Stop Giving No Evidence.

[a SHORT RANT about the lack of evidence and sourcing within fandom - and the Hobie age discussion]

I genuinely believe you can headcanon him at any reasonable age (as in not 42 or 12 or something).

The problem with this is saying something like this as if it's definitive fact then making no attempt to back up your argument isn't helpful, okay, or appropriate.

In any context.

And it happens everywhere in fandom. All the time.

By saying things like this, or even stating objective facts about the world without backing yourself up with evidence, means you expect others to take you at face value with no additional questioning.

Which you should never encourage others to do. Which no one should ever do.

Once again, I believe you can headcanon Hobie at any age. I genuinely do not care.

I think he's 19-20.

I have evidence for why I think this.

Does this evidence mean I am 100% correct on his age and that I have the right to tell people otherwise?

No. Because it hasn't been confirmed.

But if you're going to tell me my stance is wrong, you have to be ready to engage with every single one of my evidence points so I can understand why it's wrong. You will have to present you own evidence, and defend it.

So often people will say an assertion objectively like this - and then immediately expect the other person to defend themselves.

Even though they haven't even defended their argument to begin with.

You don't walk up to someone and ask their name before you say yours.

You don't walk up to someone and demand their argument/rebuttal or submission to your opinion, without even stating the entirety of the opinion first.

This is something that is so common in this specific conversation - but it goes WAY outside if the realm of the ATSV fandom or even fandom in general.

If you state fact, an opinion, a rebuttal, a criticism, what have you - please back yourself up.

And I mean with screenshots and dialogue and gifs if you gotta.

In all subjects. All topics of all degrees.

I don't think Hobie has a canonical age.

I do think Hobie is around 19-20, in my interpretation. I have evidence that makes be confident and sound in my decision to write him as such.

And I think everyone holds the individual right to make such an interpretation for themselves.

But if you wish to engage someone else on how they interpret Hobie - engage them fully. Back yourself up.

Do not expect them to reply apologizing to you - because let's be honest. I feel like that's what y'all want and expect.

That when you say a one line statement like it's objective fact with no follow up, the expectation is for the other person to be like

'Sorry, I didn't know! I'll edit/take the post down now :) thanks for telling me'

Because really, what other answer can you give? Just saying 'Hobie is a minor' and nothing more leaves only two options: accept what they're saying as fact or defend yourself on why you think he isn't.

Y'all genuinely do not expect to be questioned.

ABSOLUTELY NOT - You better speak into the mic!!

Come with screenshots and script lines. And if you can't - Then it isn't true. And it isn't definite.

I will almost never accept something on face value without getting at least some form evidence from a reputable source. And I say almost because we all fuck up, but ideally I' m striving for never.

I've already stated in the past why I think this conversation is absolutely fruitless.

But if you want to engage in it regardless - or engage in any fandom discourse - Engage with it fully.

If you're going to engage me, engage with me fully. I'm completely open to talking about it and looking over any evidence you have.

But saying things like

- Well I know young people who look like him-

- I know young people who act like him-

- People are making him look older-

- He most likely has a fake ID-

None of that is evidence.

All of that is pure speculation. And there is a stark difference between justification and evidence.

If your justification isn't coming from the source material - the script, movie, or writers - it isn't evidence or proof.

You can use that justification to root your own interpretation - but once you make the assertion that he definitively is or isn't (which can't be proven) - at the very least, the burden is on you to provide evidence that is sufficient.

Doing stuff like this is so unhelpful.

Multiple times have I seen people ask how old Hobie is and someone will reply '17🥰' and the other person will be like 'okay thanks!!'

And I'm like '????????'

So that's it huh ... yous just... not gonna ask no follow up questions? we done here?

And the chain reaction just continues.

Not I, Not I! I'd rather die - for in these streets, you niggas lie.

Hobie has no canonical age or sexuality or heritage. He doesn't have a canonical middle name either.

Yet, people desperately try to make a definitive assertion on only one of those things - for the benefit of nothing but their own shipping -

And then they don't provide evidence.

Always ask for evidence.

In person too. I will speak from experience people get offended when you ask them "Where'd you hear that," or "Can I have a source, please? Text me a link." or "What's your proof?"

They take it as a question of authority or a lack of trust.

And maybe it is. Doesn't matter and I don't care. Questioning authority and not going off blind trust is good, I thought that's what we were told to do.

I find this so ironic to talk about right now - because just yesterday @layz-chipz (they're great check them out) was talking about potentially making a video essay about the Hobie age discourse, the futility of it and the fragility of the arguments.

And I can say it's a video that's sorely needed (no pressure though!) and a conversation that has unnecessarily dominated the community and conversation for way too goddamn long.

It needs to be - in the words of Hobie Brown - SQUASHED.

and to reiterate and make it clear - My issue it's not with people who think he's underage or a minor. Or people who do so without evidence.

My issue it's people asserting something, and then not supporting it directly after said assertion.

Hobie wouldn't like that. Hobie would want you to cite your sources. Or mind your business. Oh and-

IMO Hobie as of right now has no canonical age.

And if you read this far I love you

Anyway here's a really high res photo of Hobie and a meme i have no other place to use 😭😭

[oscconfessions]

way too many people on here think that. "Media for kids = doesn't have to be quality/can be hot shit".

"It's for kids it doesn't matter", really? I don't want to go on the "kids are smarter than you think" yada yada. So instead I'll take a cabby from III 14. For all you know some kid might try to imitate/say what Bot said to a irl disabled friend of theirs. . And Yes I know you an adult know it's bad, BUT A KID MIGHT NOT!  "They should do their research" their a child! They like III and they might go "Well Bot from III did that and told Cabby to do that and Cabby ended up happy so I'm doing the right thing!" Especially when the media at hand tells them "Hey this is a perfectly okay thing to do". 

If it didn't matter then why were we all demanding II's writers change it? 

If  media for kids isn't important, why do people care about incorrect/stereotypical portrayals of minorities in it? Why should media for kids have episodes about more serious topics?

(((Before anyone interprets this wrong I'M saying we should care about this)))

And second of "it's for kids no wonder it's gonna be bad" is also such a crappy take. 

 (I've been on a scooby kick) Remember that Velma show that was literally made by a transphobe (Which was most likley made to own the left, it's a can of worms. Tldr: show is bad). Well if were going by age rating it should be the creme of the crop for scooby doo media! But it isn't! . Mystery inc (which albeit is Aimed at older kids, I'll give you all that) is regarded by all of the fandom as the best in the franchise. And (in many people's opinion) what's cool scooby doo(Aimed at kids) is the funniest one (even if all the characters look like seth mcfarland drew them, I'm being srs it's funny God watch it) If all media for kids is inferior to media for adults why isn't the fandom obsessed with Velma?

You all whine about how object shows have turned into corporate slop(which is a different argument and a whole other case of worms), but then you go "Oh they're all just meaningless stupid things for kids it's not that serious". 

Oh and don't get me started on how you guys act when it comes to media analysis/Fandom discourse. "It's for kids it's not that serious" Or "it's just a silly show" God forbid people feel emotion about a media that's for a age group younger than them. God forbid they care for something that isn't some "serious" and "important" masterpiece. I've seen people say "there's barely any analysis in the osc" Why should people analise things that are for kids? They're not as deep or Worthwhile as things for adults! 

I'm not saying you can't have object shows as your own fun little "turn my brain off" for a second thing, I'm just saying you all should stop acting like assholes about people who care about this media in a way different from yours. 

Before you go "What's the point it's just fictional". What's the point in any media analysis in that case! So many people cry "the osc has no media literacy/none of you understand the osc deeper" and then they say stuff like this. 

Look if you want to dismiss all fandom discourse go for it, but if your sole argument for that is it being for kids I will turn into the animaniacs reddit mod character 

God I'm sorry If I turned into every middle aged man cartoon reviewer. I'm not saying you can't just ENJOY things from time to time (not having some old guy in a room of action figures scream into my ear "DESPICABLE ME 2 ISN'T A GOOD MOVIE! IT'S NOT A DEEP PEACE OF ART" is nice. 

And I do believe some things can just be fun! I love just a fun Cartoon. But don't act like every single thing that isn't directed towards adults fits into that category. Also don't act like simple cartoons can't have genuine moments and love and care put into them, something dosen't have to be serious like HFJONE to have a serious topic/well writteen bit here and there.

I'm not saying object shows are fucking hamlet or Shakespeare or "Pan Taduesz"(the poles know). I'm just saying degrading all media criticism/discourse abt object shows because there for kids is an extremely stupid statement. 

I'm gonna fucking say it Tacomic discoursers Pro/Anti I fucking love you all, people act like your just "stupid idoits" But I know 90% have acctually HAD to analize II you've had to pay attention to small things to things most would find un important. (You all shouldn't be getting that petty over it) But still!

(This all also goes to the people saying I was never good, no one (from my knowledge) was unironically comparing it to Shakespeare. It was just a well written series and you're not ready to accept the fact that something you liked has writing issues. The only reason you're so shocked is because you were watching it as a kid and YOU thought you were watching high class art. But just because it isn't some Masterpiece in writing  mean it doesn't have ANY decent writing. Media dosen't have to be a to be a masterpiece to be worthy of being good. I don't know how to tell you this but enjoying some critically also had the word ENJOY in it, You don't only have to be critical of it because it's not some DaVinci art)

To end this corny long ask all I have to say is this

"It's made for kids" isn't a way to throw away all the criticism towards it, "it's made for kids" doesn't mean it's should have no quality control, 

"it's made for kids" dosen't mean you should undermine the effort and love put into it

(OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS THING SOUNDS LIKE A 10 YEAR OLD ON A FORUM POST WRITING A MANIFESTO I'M SO SORRY TO WHATEVER MOD HAS TO TAG AND READ THIS, this thing is mostly likely a ramble but this trend of saying "it's made for kids" unleashed some evil cartoon reviewer persona in me)

your apology is accepted-📻

[mrs-monaghan]

To that one anon,

I absolutely agree that actively hating on JK is veryyy uncalled for when we can see Jikook doing great and we don't have all the bts information. Lately, though, I've also seen a lot of Jikook accts minimizing what happened to FACE and Jimin. Celebrating JK's achievements is one thing but I cannot stand to see jkks of all ppl downgrading what happened to Jimin and his records as they're broken by the extra push the company gives JK. Everyone is speculating and trying their best to understand things and for some, that's sidelining Jimin as an accessory to make it make sense. There needs to be fair discourse in all sides of this community without romanticizing the darker parts of it. It's not JK's fault and we don't know all, but we still need to be able to talk about it. Like the fact that some of LC's numbers disappeared right when Seven needed space on the Korean charts. The fact that the FACE wasn't restocked for months when seven was in ready supply almost every week. What happened to LC and the rise of Seven is related even on a minor scale. This is a fact. Some accts were so focused on debunking videos, and celebrating JK that the topic of where Jimin's award nominations and streams are going became taboo because apparently "Jimin is happy as a cheerleader" ...what?!

Actively hating is way too far I agree but all I'm saying is we should still be able to talk about the inequality regarding them as individuals and how that relates to Jikook as a whole. Believing in Jikook and discussing these things should not be mutually exclusive. Everyone has their own opinions. Again not supporting the hate, but we should be allowed to share thoughts shouldn't we, regardless if we won't all agree?

No, I dont disagree. But personally talking about it just seems to get people riled up and that's how Jikookers end up resenting JK. I would rather copy paste a PJM on twitter when they are tagging BH and Geffen and anyone else fucking over Jimin.

I haven't 4go10 everything our man has been through. This man has millions of fans and they only released 13k LC cds. Meanwhile other members got up to 50k. His shit not getting restocked even still?? You cannot tell me this is something Jimin would be okay with. His fans wanting to buy his music and not being able to? No way he's just okay with this.

But I also fail to see how he's not aware of it?? He has to be aware of what happened to him.

(New video here for those who are yet to watch it. As always they do Jimin Jimin great justice)

The 🛴 thing is confusing seeing as he's credited on FACE but whatever.

Unfortunately we will never know how he feels or whats going on unless he or one of the members outright tell us about it. The unfairness is so bad if I look at it too much it makes me tear up. I haven't 4go10 he is still the only member who didn't get a cake. I know it's just a cake but damn this always rubs me the wrong way. @magicshop-pjm1 gets it 🤭🤭🤭

All I know anon, which makes me less sad, is the fact that Jimin renewed with Hybe. That has to mean something. And so I will just be here and support him the best way I can. I am choosing to trust his decision here because we are clearly missing something.

I don't post these asks because tbh they are a downer and they make everyone upset. I don't like to be upset. Until we know the truth I would rather avoid the topic all together. But that's just me 😔😔 It doesn't do me any favours.

But yes, Jikookers should be able to discuss whats been going on without being called JK antis. Provided they're not acting like JK antis.

[nerves-nebula]

What like, cringe ass teenager thing would your turtle do/be into/ partake in. Not cringe as in "gets bodied in fights" or "easily groomed online" but more along the lines of like...

"once got in an argument online about how the poster couldnt have reality shifted to x because they were there." or "says theyre learning japanese bc they watch anime" or "demanded someone give them Raymond from animal crossing bc the other person didnt deserve them" that kinda stuff

mikey does tiktok dances and used to get into really stupid and useless queer label discourse. mikey also wrote a lot of really extreme sexual fanfiction and shared it with donnie. mikey also said slurs while gaming RIP (so did Leo and Raph, donnie was prolly the only one who DIDN'T say slurs while gaming because his hobby is research so he'd probably be more aware of why he SHOULDN'T say slurs lmao)

donnie adores AMV's & cringe animatics/cosplays of his favorite sci fi shows, hes very self conscious tho so he tries not to let anyone catch him watching them. he also read fanfiction, not just Mikey's really intense weird porn but also like, those 80 chapter fics written by people in their 30's that are really good and insightful and stuff haha.

Leo got his first social media account suspended for hate speech. He almost fell down the anti-trans & racist alt right pipeline but fortunately for us he had more important shit to do than watch anti-sjw videos, like save the world or w/e. also splinter saw him watching a racist video and got really pissed cause it was anti-asian racism and he was like, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT RACISM LEONARDO, YOU'RE A FUCKING TURTLE!!! and that kinda turned Leo off from that stuff too lmao.

i feel like Leo would watch a lot of gaming youtubers who later came out as trans and he'd be like "wow thats crazy how this keeps happening"

sidenote i think Leo got jealous of mikey knowing how to skateboard and tried to learn it himself, but accidentally broke mikeys board and just. never told anyone he did it fasdhfd.

Raph was mostly too busy to do anything super stupid, but i think he and Casey would watch a lot of old films and he became something of a movie snob, but like in a really dumb 15 year old kind of way haha.

Most of raphs dumb teenager opinions would probably happen either internally or come out when he's around Casey, not his brothers.

hope this is what you were asking for!

[anonzentimes]

LONG ASS ASK INKOMING ZEN so its super cold in brazil today so typing is a little hard and there might be weird typos fkshdkjd but

when i was like 14 i had online friends that were also 14 and were into danganronpa but all they talked abt was the flaws of the series and how much they hated the more problematic aspects of it, it was a constant wave of gender discourse and sexuality discourse and nagito is a bad portrayal of mental illnesses and miu iruma is too sexual and this character is bad cause of xyz and that character is bad because of this and that and honestly whatever the fuck else you can argue about this series about, whenever i mentioned that danganronpa seemed fun and id like to get into it my friends would tell me that its not worth it, that the series is fucking horrid that i should run the other way and be glad i never entered the hellhole that is being a danganronpa fan

so thanks to this and like constant fucking weird shit coming out of the hell hole that is the fucking dr fandom on Twitter for like, four whole years I straight up didn't touch the series. a series that I was so fully aware that I would love btw, because i was always into gorey art and i found the art of dr so pretty and the characters had such intresting designs and the pink blood was so cool and i love the killing game genre and the mystery solving aspect, of danganronpa seemed so cool, i did not go near this series with a fucking 10-ft Pole

until literally maybe some months ago at 18 years old a streamer I like said on stream something like "oh yeah danganronpa is fucking awesome im so glad i played it" and I was like fuck it, this guy has high standards, if he likes it it cant be that bad. and so I downloaded trigger happy havoc and i was so pleasantly surprised by it, sure case 2 is a case that exists but like other than that i immediately fell in love with this franchise, i loved almost everything about the game, then i started sdr2 and nagito took over every single part of my brain within 0.2 seconds of gameplay AND DR2 IS SO PEAK JUST IN GENERAL udg was super fucking fun i love touko and komarus relationship and the warriors of hope so much, dr3 was awsome even if i didnt really care for future arc despair hope and 2.5 were awasome the end of drv3 hit me like a truck and it genuenly took me a couple hours to understand that my beloved class 77b wasnt just retconned out of existence and currently im trying to kill executive dysfunction and procrastination and read dr0 and again want to replay dr2 cause my hyperfixated ass would rather play the game when she should be alseep to know what happens next than play it when she isn't too tired to understand whats happening lmao

and after i was done with the series i sat down and thought about how i let 14 year olds on the internet who im not even friends with anymore keep me away from something that now i hold so dear and close to my heart, and i wonder how many people who would love danganronpa will never give the series a chance because not only does the wider interner find it cringe but the fandom constantly tell potential new fans to stay away and act like its the worst midea ever written, the way some people are unable to enjoy what they love without guilt is so sad because not only does it affect them but also others

and this is super personal but i wonder how danganronpa would have impacted me if i got into it back when i found out about it at 14, how much different having danganronpa to hang on to would have made my life when i was burning out at school because i was trying to survive neurodivergency hell with undiagnosed autism and possible adhd

dangabronpa is awsome i love it so so much

YOU JUST MADE ME FEEL SO UNBELIEVABLY YOUNG OH MY GOD. I HEARD ABOUT DANGANRONPA WHEN I WAS 11 I'M PRETTY SURE AHHHH HAHA!!! Overall I think this raises a good lesson that we should trust our guts and from our own opinions on media. Look into things you're curious about, learn if it's worth it yourself, and come to your own conclusions! I feel bad for those who never get to understand Nagito Komaeda, let alone know he exists. This franchise has some negatives but the positives outweigh the issues entirely to me and I wish people gave it more of a chance. dangabronpa is awsome INDEED lmfao.

[theliterarywolf]

>"The men that are complaining about her face are by and large anime obsessed, porn addicted, hentai consuming freaks

>They've spent so much of their waking hours watching/consuming that shit to the point its effected how the view women and/or women drawn a bit more realistically

>They're pathetic in every sense of the word and their opinion should never be considered"

Y'know I don't care about Hades 2 because I haven't gotten around to playing Hades 1 yet (someday, I swear). I've heard the discourse but I don't even know what Aphrodite looks like in 2, and I can't be arsed to look.

I don't really have a horse in this race.

But considering the past decade has been a non-stop cavalcade of "If you dare to actually like pretty women you're an incel gooner misogynist and probably a pedophile" being pushed by insufferable, condescending cunts? And even just these past few weeks has been "Lmao @ All the manbabies crying over Stellar Blade censoring two inches of cleavage" when in reality it was far, far more than that for a game that straight up advertised itself as being uncensored? Fuck you just on principle, Anon! Go fuck yourself and take your stank-ass unwashed radfem coochie elsewhere and stay the fuck away from Lit! Don't infect her with your germs, you'll make her stupid! If I could I'd go Kendrick Lamar "Not Like Us" on your sorry ass because I just KNOW you got some fucking skeletons in YOUR closet! Everyone who vomits up this bullshit always does! I'm cool with you, Lit. Like I said I don't really care about Hades discourse and don't really have anything to add beyond "You'd think they'd argue that Hepheastus isn't ugly enough."

Whoa, hey, hey, hey! I'd like to think that people don't think of me as the type to be brainwashed by one or two anons, my God..!

Also, I didn't know that that was the reason that people had turned on Stellar Blade. Yeah, that's pretty fucking shitty. But, I have to ask... Did anyone who was looking forward to the game not think that that would happen? Sony has been on an anti-sex schtick for the past 8 years, of course they were going to censor Stellar Blade!

To give perspective on the issue, here are the two versions of Aphrodite from Hades.

Hades (I)

Hades II

If anything, the only difference between these two is that Aphrodite's first appearance is more of a 'naughty college girl just out of high school' and her second appearance is 'I've finally found the dick of my dreams, so I'm ready to settle down and be a MILF mommy~!'

Which makes sense if you go under the train of thought of her face makeup and spear in II being an homage to Ares...

But, yeah, there's nothing about either depiction of this character that screams 'man-face' like the piss-baby engagement-chasers on Twitter have been screeching about.

'Weh, high cheekbones, tho...' Bitch, so you're telling me every other Hollywood actress before 2020 has secretly been a man? Starting to sound like one of my coworkers back when I worked in the 'healthy-living industry' who swore up, down, and sideways that Michelle Obama was actually a man.

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Actually...

I take it back. The absolute worst thing that's come out of this is the anon message I know I didn't just fucking get. Someone tell me I'm fucking hallucinating.

I'm gonna put this under a cut because if you woke up in a good mood this morning, or are not feeling this type of negativity then I respect that and I applaud you for protecting your peace.

But I need to vent.

Imma put a few fun little panda GIFs here and wait for you to truly decide if you don't want to use that back-button right about now.

"Fuck this blonde bitch I hope she lose that bastard and dies in the process".

That's the message I got. I didn't want to answer it directly because I really want to give people the opportunity to avoid the whole discourse if they want to, and answering directly would have a) thrown it in everyone's face, and b) probably would have just invited anon to come at me again, and honey, I ain't got the time.

Anon is blocked, of course, and I thought that would be enough but every time I think about this — and I can't stop thinking about it — I get more and more excruciatingly fucking ANGRY to the point where it physically hurts me, so I need to get this off my chest.

It takes a special kind of human garbage to type shit like that. And I swear to god that if I had any kind of money, I would invite you and your sorry ass to come off anon and I would immediately offer to pay for the therapy that you clearly desperately need.

What in the ever loving fucking fuck could ever prompt a person to wish death on not just a woman they've never even fucking met — regardless of whether you 'like' her or not, just take two seconds to breathe in, hold, and out again, bend your knees, get all the way down to the fucking floor and pick up what I'm about to put down: YOU DON'T KNOW HER. Alright. Got that? Good. — so not just a woman you've never met, but her and her unborn baby?

(Also... "bastard"? Really? Like... Meaning "child born to unwed parents"? Because a) so what? Children are born 'out of wedlock' every single day and it's literally not a problem, so there's that. And also b) they may actually be married and just haven't told anyone. And I can tell you it's because of people who would have responded exactly the way you just fucking did. So...)

Like, if you care so deeply about this entire situation that you feel the inexplicable and uncontrollable need to harass people on anon about it, I'm gonna suppose you consider yourself a fan of Henry, right?

I say 'consider yourself' instead of 'are' because I'm of an entirely different opinion. Because how, if you're a fan of anyone, could you possibly wish death (or any other kind of harm) on the two people that man loves most in the world. Because that's what that is. That's what you're doing.

I know people who have lost a spouse. I know people who have lost a baby. And although I'm not going to stand (sit) here and pretend to know what that feels like, I'm pretty confident saying this:

That is irreparable damage.

Damage you will learn to live with. Pain that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.

That's what you're wishing on a man you supposedly care about. Someone you care so much about, in fact, that you took time out of your no doubt not all too busy schedule to harrass other people saying this completely despicable shit, ruining days (congratulations, you managed that, at least. It's an accomplishment, I guess).

I'm fucking depressed right now. Not because of this, and not because of you, don't worry. This was a preexisting condition. All I wanna say is that, in addition to sorting out all of those feelings I'm having by myself, about myself, and about my own life, I really don't need to deal with the pile of human garbage that is your fucking psycho ass, anon.

Get help.

Or at the very least fucking 'suffer' in silence.

[salarta]

Because people on the CBR thread decided to bog the past month down in their millionth iteration of the "what could Lorna wear and who could she fuck" conversation, I never did really get a chance to say much about my thoughts and hopes with Fall of the House of X and Lorna's upcoming moment in it. I'll go into it under the cut, but here's the cover image and synopsis again for those who never saw it or want a refresher.

"In FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X #2, the X-Men may be at their lowest spot, and they may be on the brink of complete eradication… but they are not going down without a fight! Polaris returns to guide the X-Men home, bringing a wicked surprise for Orchis! This epic tale split in two continues as the Krakoan Age nears its conclusion!"

So you're looking at more of the post! Greetings, nerds.

While we don't know yet how things will play out, I have a generally good impression of where things will go despite Marvel burning me over the past decade.

Duggan's the best writer 616 Lorna's had in that same period. That doesn't mean that he's tapped into her true potential yet (something I hope this story will do). But he's thus far written her as a smart woman with a royal flair and sass, while restoring her relationship with Jean, letting her use her powers in meaningful ways, and NOT bringing up Havok. His work with her on Devil's Reign was also excellent, in my opinion. He allowed Lorna to have a point of view in the discourse that differentiated from Jean and Emma while letting her play a meaningful role in the actual story.

Based on that, I'm willing to give this a chance in spite of Marvel burning me so many times before.

Now, I didn't even know about Knowhere (the giant floating head there) until this cover came out. That's honestly the sort of thing I love - when something good happening with Lorna introduces me to a new element of the Marvel universe. But it also means I don't have much knowledge about it to work from.

So before I try to talk about that, I wanna talk about the scenario.

What I love the most of everything about this is how delightfully unexpected it was. I can tell you nobody expected that Lorna would have a huge spotlight moment like this. I mean this within the fictional universe too, not just with us real people.

See, what has to be understood is that Lorna has a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG history of being misused and underappreciated. The Claremont era wrecked her, and the damage didn't truly start to get fixed in an impactful way until Genosha. Both in and out of universe, perception of Lorna had devolved into "weak pathetic girlfriend of Havok who gets used as a punching bag when she's not supporting her man."

The negative depictions have held her back for a long time. Nostalgia is insidious. It makes bad stuff seem good just because it ties to old good feelings. Someone who likes a certain status quo for the whole will justify treating one character poorly under the guise of being true to their nostalgia.

As a result, what we get down to is a lot of people underestimating Lorna. In the fictional universe and in the real world, Lorna is often perceived as a nobody who can't do something big and important, who can't be a serious threat, that other characters are "better" and "more worthy" than her.

And that's what makes this such a great use for her.

In the synopsis above, wicked surprise is the operative two words. Orchis has surely prepared contingencies for dealing with the well known heavy hitter mutants, as well as the well known collective teams. What they likely did not account for is what Lorna could do to them.

This is where I have to point out something very important: a lot of people who don't really respect Polaris denigrate her as being "Magneto with boobs." They think she's just a female knockoff of her father, that her capabilities are entirely limited to the same ones as Magneto. If Orchis in the fictional universe thinks the same way, they would have a contingency for Magneto and think that applies just as well to dealing with Lorna.

Except Lorna's not her dad. She's also not a goody two shoes version of him, which could make someone think she's even more limited in her capabilities than her father. If real thought and care is put into who Lorna is, she can have a much different perspective and approach to power use and overall strategy.

Orchis accounting for Magneto doesn't mean Lorna would be ineffective. If anything, it means Lorna could be an even bigger threat if she uses their assumptions against them.

Now back to Knowhere.

The picture implies Lorna's pulling Knowhere to Earth to take on Orchis. This is very reminiscent of when she flung Krakoa into space way back in Giant-Size X-Men, which is an awesome parallel to make while actually moving Lorna forward.

Throughout the current Krakoa "era," it frustrated me how Lorna's own connection to the history of Krakoa was treated like it had no worth. She had this huge moment in what a lot of fans consider the most important single issue of the X-Men comics, and yet she was getting ignored because decades of poor treatment caused people at Marvel to have a low opinion of her.

The parallel seen here is an excellent way to pull her in for the finale as they wrap up the Krakoa "era." From flinging a planet off of Earth, to bringing this giant Celestial head TO Earth.

As for Knowhere itself, after doing some rudimentary online searching, I think my understanding here is that the head can act as a sort of waypoint for characters from various dimensions and time periods to come through. From there, if I'm still thinking right, Lorna bringing Knowhere to Earth could result in mutants from all over arriving to help. Not just bringing back the various X-Men lost all over space, but bringing in mutants from other fictions (cartoons, movies, video games, etc) and across time periods. The latter probably pairs with the other book coinciding with this one.

I'm gonna stop here cause I've typed a lot. But I do want to say that it's important to avoid hype for a good thing leading to overinflated expectations. Getting your expectations too high can make a good thing seem too lacking when hindsight and looking at it without the hype in mind would show it to be better than first thought.

And that's all for now. Thanks for reading my TED talk!

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Thoughts on Oak after reading the stolen heir?

DISCLAIMER: not everyone is going to like this and probably even less will agree, so keep in mind that this is just my opinion because you asked for it and i'm willing to give it. please take whatever measures you need to protect yourself and not start discourse about my opinion on my post.

i spoke about my thoughts on Oak a little in this post, but i'll go into more depth here.

i felt as if many of Oak's characteristics were plucked from his family and stitched to him without rhyme or reason.

like. do i find the fact that Oak trips and accidentally murders 11 people fucking hilarious? absolutely. no question. do i think this skill is at all supported by his personality, present actions, or what we are given of his background? absolutely not.

i think it makes sense that he would be schooled on how to use a sword, given Jude and Madoc's skills. i don't think it makes sense that neither of them would give him the time in their day to teach him less aggressive forms of defence (i mean really, what else is Madoc doing in exile that he can't teach his only son basic defence and de-escalation tactics when he clearly did so for Jude whilst in the middle of planning a coup d'état?), nor does it make sense that Oak would not request this of them if they didn't offer.

the Death Mode Activated aspect of his character was sort of just dropped on our heads like an anvil in a Road Runner episode. it left me going ??¿?¿¿ 😵‍💫 ?¿¿??¿ and it felt more like a plot device, or a way to make him stand out from the likes of Cardan (king of witticisms and being down bad for scary women), than something that would actually suit him.

and i expect this might be intentional, but to me, Holly made Oak extremely unrelatable. he's "devastatingly beautiful" (to apparently everyone else– the hooves are not an issue for me, but personally i could never get down with the blond hair thing), charming in a smarmy sort of way, an alleged lovetalker (or whatever it's called, i don't remember), an immortal prince (and soon-to-be king) of Faerie, and he's really really good at killing people.

already, there's too much going on there for my tastes.

but then you add in the fact that he doesn't want the throne for no reason other than he doesn't like the politicking involved, and yet he physically inserts himself between danger and other royals? intentionally?? sorry but you're already balls deep in court politics there, my guy.

in the end, i found i didn't have much sympathy for Oak, because when Suren dropped the bomb and bridled his ass, i was cheering her on. it was the best damn thing she did in the whole entire book. i was delighted, even, that she now has the opportunity to humble him in a way he's never been humbled before.

i genuinely hope most of my feelings regarding him change in the next book. i am rooting for this trajectory for him, because it's not as if i want to cavort in his misery. i just do (for now).

–Em 🖤🗡️

thoughts on Suren

more theories and analysis