#i was trying to form my own opinion... i should have trusted y'all | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

Why I (Want To) Love Amphibia

Salutations random people on the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. If you've been paying attention to my posts, you would have known that I made a top twenty list of the best-animated series of the 2010s. And if you read my Honorable Mentions list, you would have known that I consider Amphibia one of those shows that, while I like it, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's one of the best. Don't get me wrong. It's good. But there are issues that I have with Amphibia, and I can't recommend it without being hesitant. I still like it fine, but I doubt some people will be as forgiving as me. So I'm going to explain the quality and faults that the show has, while still being considerate to those who do love it. Because unlike some people who would make a two-hour-long video essay about how much they hate something, I can at least acknowledge that while something doesn't entirely work for me, that doesn't mean it won't work for everyone else. Because there is a reason why this show has such a following...I don't think it's earned, but I won't knock people down when they love something I find passable. And I hope that respect goes both ways as I explain why I (want to) love Amphibia.

Also, this review is going to contain spoilers for the entire series. So if you haven't checked it out yet, I recommend you do it to form your own opinion. Season one is on Disney+, and you're on your own for season two. And I suggest you find a legal way to watch it if you can, because I'm not going to leave a link to a pirating website filled with every animated series and movie you can find. And I'm definitely not going to insert that link into a random letter in this review with the thought that if you have to pirate something, then you might as well work for it. Because that would be crazy.

...

Stop being crazy.

....

Anywho, let's start with:

WHAT I LIKE

The Comedy: Let it be known that this show is funny. Like, really funny. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's funnier than Gravity Falls, which got me chuckling with every episode, but Amphibia definitely hits more than it misses. There are occasions when the jokes aren't really character-oriented and could be said by anybody in the Plantar Family, but if they're still funny, then who am I to complain. Although there is one issue that I have with the comedy. But I'll save that for when I talk about what I don't like. For now, I can assure you that if you're hoping for some laughs, Amphibia has plenty to offer.

Warnings Against Toxic Relationships: But even the best comedies know when to offer some substance. Because I won't lie, when Anne described what is clearly a toxic friendship in the second episode, I was hooked. I love it when kids shows breach topics that can be important for children down the line. And for the most part, I think Amphibia does it well. There are so many instances that the writers' point out the several red flags that a person should avoid when it comes to a friendship and when it's time to either cut that person from your life and stand up for yourself. One of my favorite episodes is "Prison Break," where Sasha explains how she manipulates people and shows zero remorse for it. Then there's the episode "The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers" that shows how a person's influence can affect others and how much it changes perception as Anne and Marcy still believe they need someone like Sasha in their lives...At least I hope that's what the intention is. Because if the writers are trying to say that Anne and Marcy really need someone like Sasha...Well, I'll save that for my dislikes. Because even though it could use a little polishing, warning kids about toxic relationships is what keeps me hooked into seeing what happens next in this series.

It’s Not Afraid to go Dark: On top of breaking borders with morals intended for kids, I just gotta respect a show for playing around with what's considered "too dark." Especially if that show is on the Disney Channel!

The writers are not afraid to imply that death happens in the world of Amphibia, primarily because it is like a swamp ecosystem filled with predators and food chains. And I feel like because the characters are mostly amphibians, the writers can get away with an entire cave filled with the bones of victims as long as they're not humans. But frogs? No one gives a crap about them. There's a reason they're the ones who get dissected in schools.

Plus, a good majority of the monsters that Anne and the Plantars face are pretty horrifying at times. The crew who work on the show do a great job balancing the line of making these creatures look scary, but never go too far that they'll scar kids for life. Except in the Halloween special...How the f**k did they get away with the monsters in the Halloween special? And while they don't ever show what these monsters do, the implications honestly make things much worse, which again, I kind of respect. It's good to have shows like Amphibia that can scare kids a little bit. Getting through something fictitiously dark helps make kids feel braver and prepare them for the real horrors in the world. Especially since most of these creatures are just exaggerated versions of real-life predators...google them.

The Season One Finale: It was "Reunion" that made me realize that Amphibia has the potential to be amazing...it's also the last episode of season one, so let that sink in.

Joking aside, I honestly do love this episode. It's funny, it brings in elements from other episodes, nearly everybody does something useful, and it all ends with a satisfying and equally gut-wrenching climax. A climax, by the way, that is so perfect that I'm going to do a scene breakdown for why it's so good...so, you know, add that to the to-do list (I have so much s**t to make -_-). "Reunion" has so many elements about what makes a season finale so good that I feel like future writers should take notes for their own series that they plan to make. While I wish every episode of Amphibia had this level of quality, the writers know that the last impression is one of the most important. Because I will defend this show if this is the episode people use to trash it.

Marcy: I will also defend this show if someone trashes Marcy. Trust me, the best way to tell that someone is just hating on Amphibia for little to no reason is if they utter the word, "Marcy is a bad character." That is not true. Marcy is a great character, and I'd go so far as to say she's the best character in the series. She's sweet, adorable, and has a story ten times more interesting than Anne's. Anne learns what a sincere relationship is like through the Plantars, where Marcy falls victim to another manipulative relationship through King Andreas. It's her co-dependency that has the chance to get fleshed out more, and I can't wait to see if she has a moment to break out and form her own path.

Also, in the mass expanse of the multiverse, there exists a world where Amphibia is about the adventures that Marcy had in Newtopia as she uses Dungeons and Dragons logic to get by. And I want to see that universe! Because this clumsy nerd is already a blast to watch with the briefest of cameos. Imagine how much fun she would be if she had her own series!

Sprig: I don't know how much love Sprig gets within the fandom, but I got a feeling that it's not enough. He's funny without being annoying (most of the time), there's a whole lot of heart and sincerity to his actions, and above all else, he's the best friend that Anne needed. When Anne explained her very flawed views about friendship in "Best Fronds," it is clear how essential someone like Sprig is as he teaches Anne what friendship really means. It means caring for each other, supporting each other, making equal sacrifices for one another, and just being on the same page as each other. It is genuinely sweet seeing their friendship bloom, and I honestly hope the Amphibia fandom gives Sprig the amount of appreciation he deserves. Sure, he can be annoying sometimes, but for the most part, he's easily up there as one of my favorite characters.

Wally: Same with Wally! Who would have guessed that a character who appears as an dumb source of comic relief has a level of depth and lovability to him? "Wally and Anne" shows that while he is a nonsensical goofball, he doesn't really care what the frogs of Wartwood think of him. What matters is what he thinks of him. And that is just an incredible lesson to teach kids that just makes me love Wally more.

(It also helps that he's probably the funniest character in the show. I know I said that he's dumb, but when he works, he works.)

Kermit the Frog Cameo: ...It's Kermit the Frog, y'all. I physically can't hate him. Especially since this is the perfect show for him to make a cameo in!

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

Anne’s Character: I don't have a problem with Anne. I think she's a serviceable protagonist, and I love the fact that she's Thai, offering a form of Asian representation other than Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. But here's the problem with Anne: After a season and a half, I still don't know what her character is. If you were to ask me to describe a Disney show protagonist within one sentence, I could do it effortlessly. Watch:

Star Butterfly: An adrenaline junky of a warrior princess who slowly learns to be responsible with each passing season.

Luz Noceda: A generous nerd that obsesses about fantasy and fiction, who still understands when to take a step in reality when the moment calls for it.

Scrooge McDuck: An old Scottish miser who has the heart of adventure and is a duck that almost loves his family as he loves his money.

For Anne, I don't know where to start because her personality is so inconsistent. Sometimes she makes friends with others without even trying, and other times, she gets on others' nerves easily. Sometimes she's a thrillseeker with the heart of adventure, and other times, she's a person who prefers to hang back and avoid doing work. And sometimes she's the only sane character with logical advice, and other times she's the most insane character who needs advice. Now, you could argue that these are all character traits that make Anne multidimensional. But if you ask me, it seems like her personality is dependent on what the writers want her to be for the episode. Someone like Luz going back and forth between two traits only works if there is a dominant personality trait that takes over the other. If Luz spends an entire episode being angry and serious, it proves that there's more to her than just a character that's nerdy and optimistic. But it's clear she is still that lovable nerd by having her say a corny line like, "Talk to the glyphs, Witch!" But because Anne has so many personality traits, it's hard to tell which is the norm and what is out of character. Case in point: Having Anne obsess over hang-gliding in one episode and doing a puzzle in the next is off as neither correlates with each other. Nor do they tell me who Anne is, other than the fact that she's clearly a character lacking a singular identity. And seeing how she's the main character, the one audiences are supposed to root for and identify with, it's probably not a good thing.

The Story: For the record, I have no problems with the story itself...the way it's written, however...

First off, there's too much filler. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as filler episodes have the potential to be fun when written well. The problem is that relying on filler instead of telling your story can leave some people (me) uninterested and angry. And the thing is, there is a perfect way to avoid filler that doesn't involve telling the overarching narrative: Introduce personal plotlines. Look at The Owl House, for example. There are several character-oriented narrative threads that get introduced within the first few episodes. Such as Luz learning magic, Eda's curse, her relationship with Lilith, and Amity's redemption. Therefore, The Owl House avoids any filler episodes just as long as it focuses on any of these plotlines and even introduces new ones. Amphibia has the plotlines, but it rarely focuses on them. Especially since the story takes way too long to develop.

Every time I think the show is finally going to start moving forward and we can continue the story, there are like ten more filler episodes where everything comes to a screeching halt. Now, to be fair, there is an explanation why we're forced to wait for the story to move forward, and it's because the characters are forced to wait as well. But, even then, there could have been better ways to pad out that waiting than just adding filler. For example, I may not have been forced into an alternate universe where nearly everything wants to kill me, but if I was, I WOULD SPEND EVERY WAKING MINUTE I HAVE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY BACK! In the first season, how many episodes does Anne spend trying to figure out the mystery of how she got there and how to go home? Two. There are two whole episodes, out of thirty-nine, where Anne tries to figure things out...That is insane to me. But to be fair, season two is doing a much better job at moving things along...but it doesn't change the fact that the writers are kind of bad at telling their own story.

There are two episodes, "Anne Vs. Wild" and "Lost in Newtopia," where the story continues, but it's only in the last few minutes. The problem is that if you take those endings out, the episodes themselves do not change a bit. BUT because those are significant and essential moments for the plot, you can't take them out. Resulting in scenes that, while intriguing, come across as awkward in the long run. So now, my question is why. Why is the story handled so poorly? And I have one theory.

It Feels Like the Writers Can’t Decide What they Want the Show to be: Sometimes it seems like Amphibia is written as a pure slice of life series like Big City Greens. However, there are times when the show seems like it's intended to mix slice of life with fantasy like Gravity Falls. Now here's the problem: Big City Greens and Gravity Falls are two very different shows in terms of storytelling, tone, and character work. Big City Greens is an episodic comedy series where character development is unimportant, and the adventures rarely go beyond just being wacky. As for Gravity Falls, it is a show that is semi-serialized where the character development is constant, and the fantasy-adventures are always prevalent in every episode. And there are several episodes of Amphibia that could be a part of either show. Episodes like "Stakeout," "Lily Pad Thai," and "Little Frog Town" have plots that I can see being in Big City Greens. Then there are episodes like "The Domino Effect," "Toad Tax," and "Marcy at the Gates" that I could see being in Gravity Falls. These two groups of episodes are vastly different from one another that it causes Amphibia to feel disjointed in the process. Usually, I'm a fan when a series mixes different genres together, but do you want to know why something like Gravity Falls does such a great job at mixing slice of life with fantasy-adventure? Because, as I said, fantasy-adventures are always present in every episode. "Dipper vs. Manliness," "Boss Mabel," and "Roadside Attraction" each have the most basic slice of life plots of the show, but there is always a fantasy element or a monster to fight. There are entire episodes of Amphibia where there is no monster, and even when there is, it doesn't have the same amount of tension and weight that the creatures in Gravity Falls have weekly. A show like Big City Greens doesn't have to worry about monsters or evil villains every week because it doesn't need to. It's a show about the wacky adventures of a family of farmers adjusting to city life. Why would they have to worry about a monster every week when they just have to worry about each other. If Amphibia was the same way then there would be no issue. But because if it wants to be a mix of slice of life with fantasy, then it does need to worry about a monster every week. I usually try to defend shows that try to play both sides, but this show has to be the one occasion where I have to say pick one or the other. Because the writers tried hard to be both, and personally, I don't think they did a good job.

Characters Don’t. Stop. SCREAMING!: It's here we move on from what's objectively wrong with Amphibia to the things that just bother me personally...and this is one of those things. I get it. An over-the-top reaction to something minimal can be funny on occasion...but it's never "on occasion" with this show. Nearly every episode has characters screaming to get a laugh, and most of the time, it's more annoying than it is funny. It's Hop Pop who does this the most, and I just feel so bad for Bill Farmer. That voice already seems like it's hard to do, so being forced to scream and yell with it for the sake of comedy can't do him any favors. Other shows, especially ones on the Disney Channel, have characters overreact for the sake of humor, but it's Amphibia that I feel like it relies on this the most. I'm sure some people aren't bothered by this, but I am, and this is my review, so I'm mentioning it.

Poly: Speaking of things that probably don't bother other people...I feel like I'm making some enemies with this one. Because, boy, do I not like Polly. Her voice is annoying, she mostly causes problems for the family, and to me, her entire character seems pointless. No, really. Think about it. Anne is the main character, Sprigs acts as her emotional support, and Hop Pop acts as the voice of reason. What's Polly's purpose? Because all she adds are unnecessary jokes, character traits that could have gone to anybody, and acting more as a plot device than an actual character. The only justification for her that I can think of is that she adds gender balance to the main cast. Which would be more than acceptable if there was a point to her existence. But I think it's pretty evident with her exclusion from the original pilot pitch for the program that Polly's personality is practically pointless...that is most likely the only alliteration I'll ever do for a review, so you have better appreciated it.

If you like Polly, then more power to you. For me, I just don't enjoy her.

Sasha: Oh, nelly. I can already see the hateful messages I'm gonna get from this.

Now, as a character, I actually do like Sasha. I think her personality is interesting enough to dissect, and I think she acts as a perfect antagonist to Anne, the Plantars, and even Marcy if you want to get into it. My problem relies on how much the fanbase is already jumping on the "Forgive Sasha" train. Because, "Aw, she's just like Catra and Amity! So sweet, tortured, shippable with the main character, and--" STOP IT! Stop it right now...and think. With Catra and Amity, you see the environment they grew up in, you feel the abuse they deal with, you understand the reasoning of their actions, and you come to forgive them for who they are...At least for Amity, you can. For Catra, it requires more of an argument. But Sasha? Did we see the same cruel mistreatment to her friends? Did we hear the same coldness in her voice as she describes how to manipulate people? Did we witness the same damage she's done to Anne and Marcy in how they perceive healthy relationships? Apparently not! Because while everyone else is already on the same page that Sasha deserves redemption, I'm sitting here thinking that maybe it's for the best to be a little more hesitant. So far, we have yet to see any way to understand her reasoning and have yet to see how she deserves forgiveness. Sure, Sasha was willing to sacrifice herself for Anne, but did Sasha really earn that? It works as a sudden realization that Anne deserves better, but Sasha has yet to do anything that proves she can be better. Especially since the next time we see her, she's trying to help a fascist ruler get back up on his feet...THINK ABOUT THAT!

But, sure, she's meant to be forgiven. That can work. Because while Sasha shows kids the type of people they should avoid, she can also work as a warning for what kids should avoid becoming. That is a great thing to teach...but it can also be potentially dangerous. Because if incorrectly interpreted, Sasha can show kids that every person who seems toxic just needs a chance to change. And that is the last thing you want to teach, given how very few toxic people actually change. You want to know why The Owl House gets away with an equally dangerous lesson about how not every bully is awful? It's because it shows two sides of the spectrum by proving why someone like Amity did the things she's done while also saying that characters like Boscha and Mattholomule are just a-holes for the sake of being a-holes. Sasha has no one to compare to. Sure, there's King Andreas, but he's a government figure. They're built to be manipulative. Sasha needs someone that's on her level of cruelty to prove that while some people can change and have reason to do so, others don't. And seeing how I don't think she deserves to change, at least not yet, that is an issue. It's the biggest issue out of all the issues I have with this show.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, yeah, I think it's pretty evident how I feel about Amphibia when I can write paragraphs about the stuff I don't like while barely being able to talk about the things I do like. Because I do enjoy this show. It's funny, most of the characters are enjoyable, and its discussion on toxic relationships still has me hooked to see what happens next. My issue lies with inconsistency. The main protagonist, storytelling, genre, and thematic purposes are all inconsistent. I'm interested enough to watch more, and who knows, maybe I'll make a final verdict review once the series comes to an end. For now, if you had to ask me what I’m excited to make a return, I don't know if I'll be willing to hop to it by saying Amphibia.

(Also, if you're still looking for that link for that pirating website I mentioned, now would probably be a good time to tell you that I really never did put one in. I told you, that would be crazy...That should teach you to try to break the law.)

#amphibia #what i thought about #why i want to love #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #sprig plantar #polly plantar

24 notes · View notes

mobius-prime · 4 years

Text

271. Sonic Universe #4

The Shadow Saga (Part 4 of 4): The Ultimate Lifeform

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

Before we get started, it's important to note that this issue likely takes place a short time after the upcoming two issues, but for the sake of continuity as well as plot pacing, I've decided to cover this one first, especially since it doesn't overlap with the events of the next two issues at all. Shadow and Rouge are suited up and ready to go into the Special Zone in search of another Chaos Emerald, and Shadow is unconcerned, as he thinks the mission should be fairly routine. They're teleported into the zone by Hope's device, and sure enough, the giant freaky panda god Feist is there, ready to test some mortals for funsies in return for a Chaos Emerald.

Feist cackles and says that since he creates the rules of this zone, Shadow's own powers won't work, as even if he's the "ultimate lifeform" Feist is a god and therefore holds power over him. Shadow and Rouge quickly start trying to navigate Feist's little maze, using their respective strengths to dodge obstacles, but Feist has deliberately set them up for failure, and laughs at them as they run out of time just a moment before Rouge can grab the green Chaos Emer- wait, what? The green emerald? That one was already retrieved from the Sol Dimension! For whatever reason, Jason apparently completely forgot that not all the emeralds are green anymore, and miscolored this one, which was intended to be the red one. Ian handwaved it away later by saying Feist made it look that way to confuse them or whatever, but the color was also quietly corrected to red in future reprints, so it clearly wasn't intended. Anyway, Shadow and Rouge are booted out of the zone without their prize, much to Hope and Commander Tower's shock.

Okay, first of all, Tower, there's literally no need to be an asshole about this. There were already problems just getting into the Special Zone in the first place, it's downright idiotic to think it would just be a total piece of cake to retrieve one of the emeralds within after all that. And second of all, for goodness' sake, Shadow, stop blaming yourself for goddamn everything! Oh no, you didn't immediately succeed at everything you've tried! Ultimate lifeform or not, you're still an ordinary sentient being with ordinary sentient thought processes. Shadow, moping and upset, heads to the facility's gym and begins beating the crap out of Omega, who is surprised and makes a weird comment about how it's he who "usually" comes to Shadow for sparring practice. I'm… a little baffled at this comment, honestly, because it makes it sound like Omega's been around for a while now and he and Shadow regularly beat each other up, even though the very last issue implied that this issue's story is taking place like, the day after recruiting him. But anyway, Shadow dodges all of Omega's questions and attacks, while Omega rather tactlessly points out that now that he's received his clearance for duty, he can come with them on their next mission and blast Feist for them. This pisses Shadow off, and he stalks away to find a quiet spot near the top of the base.

Oh, speaking of which, has anyone been wondering where GUN is actually based? We know they're part of Station Square's security force, but multiple past issues have made vague allusions to the United Federation having more than one territory around the world, and generally being a lot bigger than it was previously portrayed as being (remember when the Mobians and entire outside world didn't even know Station Square existed? Ah, the weird old days). Well, here we get a clue as to where this GUN base is located. Shadow is moping at the top of the mountain that houses the base, and Hope appears there too, surprised to see Shadow as she'd thought this was her own personal hidden thinking spot. She tries to make conversation, enthusing about the view and how "On a clear day, you can see all the way to Soleanna!" I've already noted that Sonic '06 technically took place, if you can call it that, in the comics universe, so obviously Soleanna would have to exist as well. My point here is more about the location of Soleanna. The aesthetic of the kingdom's capital city is vaguely Venetian, indicating it's probably located somewhere analogous to modern-day Italy, so for it to be visible from the top of this mountain, this GUN base would have to be somewhere in Europe. Because I'm extra, I took a look at the position of these two relative to the sun in the background, and if we assume this scene takes place in the afternoon, then the base would be somewhere north of Soleanna - so if Soleanna is indeed located on the coast where Italy currently, then that all checks out nicely. Just a fun fact for y'all!

Anyway, I'm getting way too into the small details here. Hope, noticing that Shadow refuses to make conversation despite her efforts, tries to comfort him, but Shadow just insists that since he's the ultimate lifeform he's not supposed to fail. This is, of course, ridiculous, and Hope points this out, adding that in her opinion he hasn't failed as badly as she has. She tells him the story of how Snively encouraged her to leave Knothole and how she feels too guilty to go back after its destruction, which rouses Shadow somewhat, becoming concerned when she starts to cry. He tells her that leaving was hardly a failure, that she had no way of knowing what would happen and that it wasn't a bad thing to want to push her own boundaries by exploring her role in the world. She smiles and fires back that he can't blame himself for his own failures then, and points out that in the end his "failed" mission was actually excellent reconnaissance and that now that he understands better what he'll be facing, he's just set himself up for future success. This makes Shadow pause, as he's obviously not thought of it like this before.

Now that is how you write a Shadow. It's weird when people try to characterize him as this edgy, brooding, angry violent character who would never allow himself to be soft or emotional. Sure, he has an ego that he has to protect, and he likes to show off how tough he is on occasion, but Hope's analysis here is accurate - he's literally an eternal teenager who's just trying to figure out where he belongs in the grand scheme of things. Furthermore, Shadow the Hedgehog is great with children and no one will ever ever change my mind on this. So there.

Soon after their talk, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega have gathered at the teleporter for their next foray into the Special Zone. They've christened themselves "Team Dark," something which Rouge and Hope both seem a bit baffled at but which Tower seems to think is apt. They make it back into the Special Zone, and when Feist gloats at them for coming back for another round, both Omega and Shadow become riled, wanting to go on the offensive, though Rouge holds them back. Feist conjures up another challenge for them, this time in the form of a weird 3D-cube-maze-thing, and mocks them as they do their best to find the center. They eventually end up in a chamber with spikes at the bottom and the Chaos Emerald at the center, but Feist covers the emerald with a bunch of multicolored, useless gems, giving Omega the chance to use his beloved guns to blast a hole in them, giving Shadow an opening.

Feist, you're a real asshole, you know that? He brings them back to his sphere… platform… thing to mock them some more, and Omega begins begging for the chance to pursue "Plan B" like an excited child on Christmas. He's delighted when Rouge gives her permission, and immediately launches half his weight in ammunition into Feist's face, having to be literally dragged away from the screaming panda by Rouge to prevent him from standing there and firing at him for the rest of the day.

Woo! Go Team Dark! Hope hugs Shadow and congratulates him, and Tower is similarly pleased, accepting the emerald from his agents and eager to make GUN a "force to be reckoned with" with the power of their two emeralds. Normally, that statement might set off a few red flags, especially concerning these guys' history of, y'know, murdering innocent terminally ill children who get in the way of their bullets, but luckily fifty years has been enough for them to change for the better (I sincerely doubt Shadow would ever agree to work for them otherwise). This issue ends with a single page teasing the next arc of SU, featuring an adult Knuckles and Julie-Su getting ready to leave on some kind of trip and trusting their daughter Lara-Su to take over things while… they're… oh for the love of Chaos, this again?! We're really going back to the future? Only this time, it's thirty years into the future instead of twenty-five. Ugh, I wanted to be done with this AU, but I guess we're careening right back into it… But first, of course, the two-part finale to the sixth era of the preboot, the shortest era so far!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #su 4 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #colors: jason jensen

16 notes · View notes

likeabulletyoucanhurtme · 6 years

Text

The 100 (questions that is....not band or TV show)

1. If you were on a 2 hour road trip and could only listen to one song on repeat until the trip was over what song would it be? idk it would depend. Could be Neck Deep - In Bloom but also if you go with Dream Theater - A Change Of Seasons thats only like 4 plays :) 2. If heaven or hell didn’t exist and wasn’t a reward would you still make an effort in being a good person? Atheists believe in good. 3. What’s your poison? Vices etc. JD 4. What’s your favorite thing about your hometown? the football team lol.

5. Are you a better friend to your friends than they are to you? It's a mutual thing that we don't really talk lol. I'm a horrible friend to most people but one did say I was angel, which was a compliment cause she’s religious even though I’m not

6. Have you ever ran a red light? I can't drive, but I ignore traffic signs when walking. They're more of a suggestion than a rule especially in Glasgow.

7. Who is the most influential person in your life? I influence myself; fuck all y'all.

8. Give me a hot take. What’s the unpopular opinion you stand by? Love Island is pish

9. What would the ten year old you think about you now? 10yr old me wanted to be an astronaught so idk lol probably disappointed

10. What’s your favorite city to visit/live in? Town lol I don't do visits

11. Tell me the story of your first kiss. She asked me out and I was kinda dithering but then just as she was walking away I shouted yes at her like a fucking lunatic and she turned around like "....oh." Then we snogged :P

12. What was your yearbook quote (if you didn’t have one what would it be)? The romans didnt invent a great civilisations by having meetings. They did it by killing all those who opposed them.

13. What’s a non-sexual turn on for you? Millie's Cookies <33333

14. Who’s your favorite non-animated movie character? The wee old dear from Last Train To Busan <3

15. You fall into $10K and you have to spend it on yourself and not bills, what do you buy? Gig tickets, alcohol and stuff off my list

16. Have you picked names for your children yet? one

17. Do you have any talents? I'm very good at singing badly

18. Which would you prefer: Netflix and Chill or iTunes and Chill? Netflix or iTunes themselves. I ain't got no chill. And no-ones interrupting me if I'm listening to music/watching something

19. Fill in the blank: I want to ____ your _____. _hug_, _soul_

20. Is once a cheater always a cheater true? idk people can change but I'd say the relationship is forever ruined. Someone that cheated on me might not cheat again, but I wouldn't trust them anymore.

21. In one word, What was the reason your last relationship failed? complacency

22. What’s something therapeutic you do when you’re stressed? listen to music

23. What was your favorite non-Pixar Disney Film? Big Hero 6

24. Ruin a first date in 5 words or less. "I like country music" :P

25. Drums or Flats? I thought this was about music or highheels but google says its about chicken. And I prefer boneless!

26. Do you remember your last dream? What about? No idea, I don't remember them much I'm just greatful for whatever sleep I can get.

27. Do you want your kids to go to church, synagogue, temple, mosque? why? Never! I don't want to fill their heads with nonsense and a life of trying to conform to outdated arbitrary rules just so they have a good afterlife.

28. If Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, and Liam Neeson get into a bar brawl who wins? The press?

29. Looking back would you have lost your virginity sooner than you did or later? Sooner. The lateness was not for lack of trying

30. Do you have a favorite book? Not really but it used to be either Reaper Man or The Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy

31. Fuck Marry Kill? Do I get to pick my own??????? Fuck - "Main Course" Marry - hahahaha no Kill - your hopes and dreams

32. Is college worth it? Why? Yes because its good to know things and worth it to get a better job so you're not working beside me :)

33. Favorite Cartoon growing up. idk I can't really remember what I watched.

34. What’s your favorite social media besides tumblr? I'm on Facebook more but that's just to play games mostly

35. Does your first crush still look good? I don't talk to her anymore but her pictures aren't too bad

36. Do you think starting a gofundme is begging or helpful? Depends on the reason, like I've seen one just for a sesh which is fucking stupid, but like Americans do them for medical bills or some legit reasons.

37. Sesame Street or Barney? Sesame Street! Cookie Monster<3

38. What you’re favorite R&B Album of all time? I hate them all.

39. What movie(s) do you know all the lines to by heart? I can quote bits of films but probably not the whole film

40. Would you date someone you met on here? idk like I prefer this as a more anonymous space to share things and rant about people who actually know me. If I'm doing this right no-one I meet on here should figure out who I am :) But yes I'd date y'all cause you're all wonderful peoples

41. Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Too cold, it's Scotland you know?

42. Would you date yourself? I dont think I could put up with my own shit. And if it was like really my personality in a female form we'd be far too fucking shy to speak to each other.

43. Apple or Android? Android, Apple is a cult

44. What is the first song that you can remember learning the lyrics to? Daydream Believer for my aunties wedding

45. What are 3 of your favorite Michael Jackson songs? I genuinely do not like any of them but Alien Ant Farm covered Smooth Criminal if that counts?

46. Fill in the blanks: it’s not cheating if ___ ____ ____. you haven't actually kissed or slept with the other person and you're only sharing inappropriate messages on facebook and they've already said they're not a homewrecker... sorry, too specific?

47. Could you put your dreams on hold to support your bf/gf pursuing theirs? my dreams have been crushed so it would depend on what theirs were

48. What’s is the title to your autobiography? The Life And Times Of A Fucknut

49. Is there someone you’re trying not to call or text right now? YES! SO MUCH. I want to message her all the time but she hasn't messaged me and i dont want to appear desperate even though I am so I'm not gonna message first although I check every 5mins if shes messaged me

50. What is your favorite emoji or emoji combination? :P or ;)

51. Do you have any deal breakers in relationships? cheating lol.

52. Are you Tre or Doughboy? I had no idea so I googled it and Wikipedia says "Tre is highly intelligent but has a volatile temper and lacks respect" which is so me :) Idk who doughboy is lol

53. Favorite movie? Don't really have one tbh. I have too many I want to watch to bother re-watching something i've seen.

54. How long do you talk to someone before you expect a relationship? when you talk to someone its the start of a relationship in the loosest sense of the word because friendship is still the relationship between two people

55. Ruin a first date in 5 words or less. repeat questions would ruin a date cause it proves you're not listening

56. How old are you and how old do you feel? I'm 29 but I feel the same as i always have

57. Tag your favorite tumblr blog. @evilsupplyco

58. Your house is burning down and your family is safe what is the one material item you’d grab? my phone'd already be in my pocket so laptop?

59. How long until you introduce your bf/gf to your family? theyve met

60. Fill in the blank: All you need in this life of sin is you and your ____. Nope. All you need in this life of sin is you. No and your anything

61. Kobe, Jordan, or Lebron? neither

62. What is your favorite Drake lyric? I hate everything he has ever said

63. Where did you meet the last person you fell in love with? I don't fall in love, I believe I only fall in lust/infatuation/obsession.

64. Do you know your love language? I joined a shitty website to find the answer. Apparently it's physical touch and then words of affirmation.

65. Take a Myers Briggs Personality Test: what are your results? No. I fail at these. The questions are never things that i would do so i feel like im unintentionally lying and it never sounds like me

66. How do you feel about Quentin Taurentino films? Violence and blood what could be better?

67. Fill in the blank: Get you someone who will ______. _worship you as the amazing and beautiful bad ass bitch that you are <-- actual drunken advice from me

68. What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? Spiderman 2 i actually had the album

69. What’s your favorite fragrance on the opposite sex? i dont care what they smell like as long as its not fags

70. Is there any magazine, blog, or publication you read weekly? Nope

71. Will you abstain from sex or go to marriage counseling? Why are these my only options? But I'm not going to counselling, if they have issues then they should just tell me :)

72. There’s two kinds of people in the world: Those who pour ketchup on their fries, and the ones who put it on the side to dip. Which one are you? The one who doesn't order ketchup at all.

73. Rough sex or slow sex? Both. Either. Any lol

73. Have you ever slept with a stranger? Nope. Not that I have anything against it I've just never had the opportunity

74. What’s your dream music collaboration? Produced by who (Dead or Alive)? idk but probably produced by rick rubin cause that guy does eeeeeverything lol

75. What song will you probably conceive your kids to? Music would just be a distraction

76. Do you have a scripture or quote you live by? Nope

77. Finish this sentence: If men had birth control _____. itd be free

78. How long should sex last? As long as both partners need

79. What music do you listen to when you de-stress? Just whatevers next on the playlist

80. How soon should you text someone after getting their number? The next time you want to tell them something but they arent there beside you?

81. How do you feel about the 80/20 rule? Living in lol but its more like erm 20/80?

82. Is sex a determinate in a relationship? Yeah. Why would you get with someone if you're not at least somewhat attracted to them?

83. Is it wrong to move in with someone or “shack up” before marriage? Nope

81. Send me a never have I ever. Never have I ever enjoyed beer

82. What is your favorite video game of all time? Spyro The Dragon

83. Who is your favorite book/movie character? "SQUEAK" said the Death Of Rats

84. Can you define love as best as you can? Nope

85. Does size matter? I hope not, women like taller guys lol.

86. What is your favorite thing about the person you like? Physically? Personality? idk

87. Five Year plan? Go! Don't get fired, save money, get an actual house, buy stuff off my list?

88. If someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? idk i dont understand me so why you asking me?

89. Do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? Do you identify yourself by the things you do? I don't tend to think of myself at all really... and why would I identify myself?

90. What does emotionally available mean to you? Someone who is not emotionally closed off?

91. Could you go into business with your ex? Hahahahahahahah no

92. What is the last song you sang aloud? I'd Rather Drown ineverletpeopleinandihaveyoutoremindmewhy

93. If someone liked you right now, would you want them to tell you? They do. They told me. It sucks cause it changes nothing except igniting that small bit of hope id given up on...

94. How do you prefer to obtain your music Streaming, Downloads, or Physical? Physical albums for artists I like, even though it just goes straight into the laptop anyway i still like having albums

95. Name an artist you like that your friends probably don’t listen to. What friends? But erm Archangels Revenge. I doubt the ex members listen to them as much as I do lol

96. Tag someone that’s probably her baby father. this makes no sense?

97. Post a selfie you really like. nope

98. Do you watch anime? What is your favorite? Death Note or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya so far, but ive got a lot on my list

99. What’s the zodiac sign of the last person you dated? Aquarius

100. Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? I know that he is not either.

#me #personal #thoughts #questions #survey #100 questions

3 notes · View notes

ts-hvv4 · 4 years

Text

EPISODE TWO:” I CAME INTO THIS GAME A HERO BUT IM GOING TO WIN IT AS A VILLAIN” - NED

After a not so unanimous vote, the tribes head into another immunity and alliances solidify.

youtube

I’m in love with sharifa and very annoyed with Malik

I’m a hero but I’ve always gotten along better with villains 😅 good dynamic I think

And just like that, everything changes. What should have been an easy 9-1 vote against Cheatham turned into a 7-3, where I received not only Cheatham's vote, but TWO OTHERS. That is literally the stupidest thing they could have done-- if I had only received Cheatham's vote, I would be chilling. Now I'm on high alert and in game mode. I've been playing kumbayah Survivor for the past 3 days, but that's clearly not going to work going forward. Step 1: Identify the power players. Step 2: Cozy up to them and become a loyal solider. *gag* Step 3: Let them drag me to a swap or merge. Step 4: Join forces with Andreas and Sarah and take control of the game. Step 1 and 2 are complete: I've become very buddy-buddy with Sharifa and Malik, and I think they're going to FIGHT for me to stay. Not only that, but they're revealing information about a secret alliance INCLUDING OLIVIA AND TRENT where OLIVIA pitched my name as the contingency plan and Keegan voted against me! So on either side of me are two power duos: Olivia/Trent and Sharifa/Malik, and one of them is lying to me. But as long as they both think they have me as a pawn, I should be good. I'm considered a hero because I'm always playing from the top down, so now I'm using that perception to my advantage. Now that I'm the underdog, my word means nothing. I came into this game a hero but I'm going to win it as a villain.

So, the first tribal was a success and Cheatham ended up going home. I did feel bad because he was PRESENT during the results but he was the least talkative person and it was kinda ironic he made a comment about it during tribal.. Now we have this challenge that’ll take round two days. I really don’t want to lose again, but if I do I plan to flip. Ned I feel is most likely going to be at risk or even Jake, and I cannot let that happen after I’ve bonded with them way more than my own allies. Me and Ned are actually already on a I love you basis and we’ve only had conversations for a straight 2 days! Lmao I feel that’s a plus. And me Sharifa and Kurt all seem good with each other. They both love me and I love both of them, but they’re both slightly wary about each other but like each other. I want to bring those two and Jake/Ned together and make that an alliance of five, and get rid of Trent or Olivia. To me, Trent and Olivia have been a bit too obvious about working together. And I feel it would be good to put that to a stop before it can continue. Sharifa agreed with me about flipping on the alliance so if we lose, I’m going to plan an actual blindside, which is people know me is SO out of character of me, but who am I to get rid of my connections that I clearly have? I appreciate Keegan, Trent and Olivia for grabbing me but I feel it’s just for numbers and that’s why I was picked, because that one trunks call was.. just awkward, unless they just don’t know how to communicate. But I don’t wanna back down from the plan so I don’t plan to.

so Cheatham just went home, which is shame, something was tugging at me to keep him, but wasn't about to go against the vote. lets see if this bite me in the ass. (although he was inact so it probably won't). The Tea Sluts alliance is amazing, Keegan and Malik are great. I really hope we win this immunity because I don't want anyone else to go. but I have a very bad feeling about this challenge. all of us are brains, and i have to go out and buy cups to be able to do the brawn challenge. This game has just started and i can't tell if it the ADHD or my need to not be a goat, but I"M READY TO PLAY. I may be a hero but I want to snake some people, and make moves. I also really want to play Lukas and Kage. swap me up baby.

So for this challenge I’m really not feeling too hot about my tribes chances. It seems like not many people are excited about it, granted I did get a score of 8 on guess who. Hopefully we can pull it together

Now that I am giving my purple edit a break.... Kage is literally the Shaggy to my Scooby and I hope we can make it so far in the game. We joked that Dennis was Velma, Sarah was Daphne, and Andreas was Fred so lowkey I hope that Mystery Inc can happen!

Right now I think it is important I NOT make any alliances or at least push for them. With Cheatham gone I can't help but wonder what mentality goes on- he was one of the new people and if it is Old School vs New School I'm donezo. I cant fully form an opinion just yet but I need to up my social a bit!

I think I want Matt to view our relationship like an Apprentice-Mentor one. He seems pretty all knowing so maybe I can act like I'm under his wing. Meanwhile Dennis the Menace is still rockin

Ned just straight up never reads the tribe chat and whenever I try and spill tea with him he’s just completely lost and I’m just like maybe read a little, amigo and people won’t vote for you

My alliance with Kurt gives me L’shei Jakey vibes. Like I can be fully honest with him and I never have to monitor myself, and he’s completely honest with me (at least from what I can tell). Im telling him to tell Ned about the vote, because if Ned finds out from someone else he won’t trust Kurt, and I need him to trust Kurt. I told Ned about the alliance last night, and Keegan voting for him, as a way to establish trust. From what I can gather Ned is a very loyal guy, and I want that loyalty directed at me. It’s sort of like the Brigade alliance (ew) where they each had one person outside the main alliance. If Kurt has Malik, and I have Ned, we’re guaranteed a 4 person voting block, without an established alliance. But that means I need Ned to not hate Kurt, so I think Kurt has to be honest about the vote with him. I’m just nervous because for whatever reason, Ned is weary of Kurt, and naturally doesn’t want to trust him. So I’m trying to push Ned in that direction, without revealing how tight Kurt and I are. Kurts my number 1, but I want Ned to be my number 2. Trent on the other hand is that guy you bounce out of feeling really good with, and then sketched out by, like 10 times throughout the day. Those are probably the three people I’m working with the most, with Malik and Jake on the outer orbit. Malik’s lack of logical reasoning is VERY alarming. Everything I do is based in making a strategic assessment from information I’ve gathered. If I can’t convince you of what makes sense for the immunity challenge, how are we going to communicate when it comes to the game??? It was all just very alarming. The only thing I can think of, is there was a mental thing he was trying to hide, like social anxiety or something, but I would rather him be straight up about that instead of saying he can’t do the challenge because it’s raining....SIS YOU DONT LOOK LIKE THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST I—

*a little while later Sharifa returns with a long scroll of reciepts which she unrolls in front of the camera*

3:50 PM if it helps i dont think she or anyone wanted you to go idol paranoia just happened I don't think she wants you out

Ned, 3:51 PM Thanks, I appreciate that

3:51 PM Because we're starting to talk about Malik

Ned, 3:51 PM I understand but that’s not someone I want as a close ally ya know? Like I’ll work with her but I’m not the kind of person who will throw my own allies under the bus even if there is an idol You’re the only person who’s been straight up with me

3:55 PM Yeah I don't know how close y'all were, and the first vote is hard because you're still establishing relationships. I'll be fully transparent when Cheatham asked what name I heard, I said yours, because that's the one he heard. At this point this round, is about who is really with who, and I'm not letting your name come up at all. Now we that have this trust, I'm with you until the end

Ned, 3:57 PM I understand that, and most of the discussion happened before we really got to know each other too so I don’t hold it against you at all. And thank you, I’m with you 10000% too. Oh yeah I’m just gonna play along with Olivia and Trent. Olivia also made a chat with the three of us but it’s clear to me that it’s only a front because no one ever speaks in it. Not really feeling great about her at the moment. I don’t want them to suspect it though

3:59 PM Olivia just messaged Trent and I about dumping Malik and bringing in Kurt.

Ned, 4:00 PM Olivia’s a frickin snake she’s trying to play everyone! Yeah. I’m not feeling good about that duo. They’re clearly tight since they’re the common denominator between all of this

4:03 PM They played Indonesia together and were aligned until the final 4. But Trent kept playing that they were after each other and backstabbed each other. Interesting for two people who are in multiple alliances with people on this tribe.

Ned, 4:03 PM That’s what Olivia said to me, that she didn’t know if she could trust him but they seem awfully buddy buddy

4:03 PM Trent kept saying to me that he didnt trust OIivia Ned, 4:03 PM BRUH!!!! We said that at the same time

4:04 PM They HAVE to be a final 2 I mean it's a brilliant strategy, who would question it

Ned, 4:05 PM I know, that’s genius They just didn’t expect anyone to start comparing notes 😂😂😂 Freaking evil I swear

4:08 PM I keep trying to figure out if I can trust Trent, this is making it clear to me that's a no go. He's always trying to downplay that he's a villain. Question now, is what do we do about it. Trent just said he was on board to bring in Kurt, I really think we should talk to Kurt before they do, I dont want them getting another number on their side. They have everyone right now.

Ned, 4:09 PM Same. And it’s perfect because Olivia is a hero so I don’t think anyone would suspect it. And absolutely, we need to bring in Kurt ASAP. We can easily get Malik because they’re trashing him. Who else could we get, Keegan? Birch? I know you think Birch is close with Trent so I’m not sure.

4:11 PM The only thing about Malik im nervous about is 1) I'm not his favorite person right now and 2) This whole rain drama really makes me question his ability to make logical decisions Keegan I feel like is close with Olvia and Trent, because I'm fairly confident those three talked about the alliance before I was approached for it And I think Birch is close with Trent yeah. But what about Jake? Jake, Kurt you and me would be 4

Ned, 4:17 PM Yeah definitely. That’s 4. And I get that you’re wary about Malik but I think he’d probably work with us if he knows they’re plotting against him. And 5 is all we need. So if you can get Kurt I can get Jake and Malik probably.

4:20 PM Yeah you're right. The question now is timing, this potential swap has me really nervous about fracturing the tribe. We take our shot now at Trent and Olivia, and we have the one who survived, Keegan and Birch pissed off. What if we were able to take out one of their numbers in a way they can't be mad about? Like at this next tribal, go for Birch who isn't in the majority alliance, that way we have our 5 safe, Olivia, Keegan and Trent are none the wiser, and we go into the potential swap safe with numbers?

Honestly, Socially not much has changed. Emma is the person who talks the least to me (or replies the most rare) and Andreas has worked his way up to the top. Another thing I have noticed with this tribe is, that everyone randomly dumps their searches onto you, to expect to get searches back. Matt did that, Andreas, Emma and Kage wants to make a whole alliance with Chris, Andreas, Sarah and myself to do that idol search. HONESTLY?! I JUST WANT TO FIND MY IDOL IN PEACE AND HAVE IT ONLY FOR MYSELF. But what I want to say with this is, that bonds are slowly forming, way slower than I am used to in ORGs, and while I have less availability, that seems to fit quite into this tribe, with people only being able to be online at certain intervals of the day. The challenge is pretty bad for me. I suck at guess who, Cup stacking (never done before) and I hate taking selfies with strangers... So i took the "easy" way out. Nobody, but Ricky wanted to do the selfie challenge (what probably means we are most likely losing this category, unless the other tribe is as awkward as we are), so I told multiple people that I am fine just doing the Selfiechallenge, if the rest feels more comfortable and stronger in the other challenges. I have aligned my entire schedule tomorrow to get ten (10!!!!) selfies MAXIMUM (because thats apparently all the people I know IRL, that are willing to make time for me). All of this because I am hoping, that if we lose, people will be greatful to me for taking on the EMBARASSMENT of the selfie challenge, while hiding behind a hope of Ricky carrying this part for us. And not taking any of the blame of the tribe if we lose. Sounds good? Sounds good.

This game has really picked up. I think my social game strategy this season is really working out for me, because I have been propositioned by everyone on this tribe except Lukas about being in an alliance LOL.... it seems the majority of the alliances include Dennis, Chris, and Sarah so it’s safe to say that us four are the major social threats. I’m continuing with my ‘yes and’ strategy where I agree with people and I think it’s really working. Sarah told me she found the idol, which is REALLY good for our game for sure. She’s my #1 in this game, so that idol will hopefully help us out. Based off all the discussions I’ve been having, Emma and Ricky haven’t been as social as they should be and that’s a point of concern for most people. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I don’t mind if Emma leaves. I don’t feel very safe with her around. So if we lose, Emma’s days might be numbered.

The other tribes tribal was super interesting.... a 7-3 vote is a weird number and leaves me to think that people were left out of the vote. I imagine based off that there is some drama happening on that tribe. I’m happy I’m over here for sure.

So i guess i should make a confessional because i went to search for the idol at the beach on day 4/5 and FOUND THE FUCKING IDOL!!!!! IM SCREECHING!!!! I obviously told andreas bc hes my #1 and I cant wait to tell ned. I just know that andreas/ned and i will be a deadly 3 person alliance Kage went to thera and was saying shit that doesnt make sense to other ppl and HE ALWAYS DOES THIS! idk if he means to be fucking sketchy but he needs to stop bc i need him around bc he loves me!!! At least for now But nick is suspicious of him which isnt good bc dennis/chris/kage want an alliance with me and andreas lol its so funny!!! Its like these ppl dont know andreas and I are close The only ppl that might know are ricky and malik bc we were in a final3 with him in a fb bb org like a year ago but we shall see!!!

I'm not sure where I left off on my last confessional so forgive me if some of this is repeated. CHEATHAM went home in a 7-3 vote. I know that CHEATHAM and myself both voted for NED but I have no idea who the third vote for him was and no one has admitted to it. But that's alright. I spoke with NED and we have a bit of a shaky alliance together now, He won't throw out a name of who he'd like to vote out next and I haven't committed to a name but he has said he'd like to work together going forward which is nice to have. I still have the McBITCHES alliance consisting of me, OLIVIA, SHARIFA, TRENT and MALIK. I also have the TEA SLUTS alliance of MALIK, BIRCH and myself. I would however like to find a way to create an alliance with JAKE and KURT. Both of them are pretty awesome and I would definitely want to work with them going forward but I haven't had the chance to get anything going yet. I'm praying we win this next immunity challenge so I don't have to worry about another tribal council. I really don't know who I would vote off if it came to it. Sitting here thinking about it, I think it would be between BIRCH and NED. NED has still been relatively inactive compared to the rest of the tribe. And as much as I like BIRCH, they are a little difficult to get an actual conversation out of. Also, I just want to give major props and thanks to SHARIFA. I can definitely see why she's won twice. I expressed a discomfort at doing the beauty portion of the immunity challenge and she immediately offered to take that spot and let me do the brains portion of the challenge. I want to offer a huge apology to her if we do lose the challenge because of me. She went out of her way to help me out even knowing she would be an asset in the brains portion.

Okay so we survived the first tribal ladies! Tbh I kind of liked Cheatham but he was flopping so I wasn't about to risk anything for him. I think I'm starting to make connections on the tribe with good people. I have my alliance with Ned, but I've been talking to Sharifa and Kurt more and I just connect with them way more than anyone else on the tribe. I know they're villains and apparently kind of infamous... but I'd rather play with crackheads then some bland ass people. I've talked to Malik decently enough but I think he's starting to annoy people, the challenge discussion where he refused to do anything but brains didn't sit well with Sharifa or Kurt, and idk how others felt. I called with Kurt and he spilled the tea that Trent and Olivia are allies and tricked him into voting Ned last round, so um shady of them, also a target that isn't me, so ... mwah. I've talked to Trent a decent amount but barely to Olivia so I'm going to tread lightly. And It's so hard for me to have conversations with Keegan and Birch, I just don't mesh well with them personally. Others have expressed the same thing so I'm not super worried, but it just gives me a reason to not want to play with them if we have to vote more people out. Still hoping to make a tribe swap with Nicklas definitely. And maybe Sarah, not sure if she's gonna gun for me after our last game LOL.

Eitherway, that alliance was created and while I like the members individually. One of my past mistakes that has kept me from making deeper connections with people in the later parts of the game was, that I kept these alliances secret from people I have a good feeling about. So I told Nicklas about that chat, in hopes that that will make him closer of an ally to me moving forward. From what I've been hearing atm. It will probably between Ricky or Emma if we go to tribal, since both seem a bit inactive, but I am not going to be one to make a proper move and will probably just go along with whatever is getting suggested.

OH there’s been some stuff going on!! Firstly, Kage created an alliance of me him Sarah Dennis and Chris and honestly I’m vibing with it More importantly I caught miss Ricky in a bit of an awkward situation.. i messaged Ricky and Emma separately my idol guesses at the same time and Ricky didn’t answer but Emma did saying how she was waiting for the hosts .... and then cake back to complain to me 10 minute stuff later saying she had been left on read but they replied to Ricky...... so she had been chatting with Ricky about the idol guesses and he was telling her more then he was telling me. He also lied to me about the idol guess he said because he added an extra step on to it but then Sarah searched where he said he did and what he said was wrong.... oh Ricky and to think I thought I could trust you.... MESS. Anyways, I hope we win again

The other tribe giving me another chance hell yeah! Talking to Lukas he is my new fav person I love him so much.

Honestly, as sad as Im feeling, I have to say I expected this. When it was taking so long to have who is doing what until today, we kind of deserved to lose.

Mystery Inc was officially made and with Emma going, hope it means we can all vote together. It unfortunately leaves Lukas, Niklas, Ricky, and Matt. I'd probably prefer it not be Matt or Ricky for now, but lets see how this goes for tomorrow

I tried to get Lukas to thema but no luck. I hope he’s doing well and doesn’t need it anyways :P Would die for sharifa V annoyed with Malik these past few days but idk if it’s totally the right move to vote him out if we go to tribal again I hope I didn’t sketch trent out by saying I wanted Lukas immune I feel like I sketched him out or made him not trust me as much, hard to say. I want us in the f3 I also want sharifa there 😭 really love her and our friendship is so genuine like gahdamn. But she’s won twice and got 2nd place another time it’s not hard to see why, she’s so wonderful. Trent is my #1 tho. I hope he knows just how committed I am to us and I feel like I’m not doing a good enough job showing that. That, or he’s just very paranoid and passing that along to me. Or both. I feel bad lying to sharifa about my trust with Trent but it’s not totally a lie and not totally the truth. Oh whell. Connecting with Kurt and have a cute 3 person chat with him and sharifa. Can maybe replace malik with Kurt if need be but Kurt is super dangerous unlike malik. It’s like when we had to decide between Ryan Valentin and Julian in Mykonos. We knew Ryan would betray us in the future without a doubt but we chose him anyways because he would be way more beneficial the next few rounds. All that came true. If we had stuck with Julian who was more emotional and less tactical and also less of a threat (no offense) I don’t think any of us would’ve lasted so it’s like you just gotta be strategic about it I guess. Keegan is there. Looks like birch will be an easy vote if we go to tribal. Where’s Jake???? I’m doing so bad talking to him smh Ned got way too paranoid about having some votes last round he’s like lex from Africa. It weirded trent and I out a bit and he dropped a little in my trust, but knowing how much he trusts me is good and I gotta keep him close to me. I’m a lil worried because he said he’s friends with Sara and Andreas on the other side. Still love him tho, gotta call him more bc he always wants to do that. I wonder how Dennis is doing.

Just a quick update because not much has been going on lately. We just won immunity which feels great, and is a feeling i barely felt in Indonesia since I went to every tribal except 2 then. Still working on trying to talk to Jake but we still have just basic conversations, then one of use forgets to reply to the other, and then it goes hours before we talk again. Still no game talk. I'm feeling pretty good about everybody else so far and feel like I'm trusted by most people. Really hoping there isn't a swap soon, or if there is i get to be on a tribe where we are majority, or at least i get to work with the people i trust the most (olivia, Sharifa, Kurt)

Our tribe lost immunity, which was not what I wanted. Overall, I think I’m decently positioned where I doubt I’ll be targeted early on. As of right now, I had my five person alliance which I’m gonna put my faith in for the time being. Sarah texted me last night requesting I put my insta on private as there’s pictures of us together IRL on it. I thought that was weird so I’m assuming something happened. I’m waiting for her reply. Also, Emma got sent to the Thera which means she’s safe from tribal. My original plan was to target Emma but clearly that’s not going to happen, so maybe her BFF Ricky has to go instead. I really wanted to work with him this season but clearly that’s not happening judging off his behaviour and how he’s speaking to me. He probably wanted to make me feel comfortable so he could pull a fast one over me.

*Andreas contemplates life*

You know, this seasons twist got me thinking and one thing thats wild is that being a hero or villain is all perspective and at the end of the day we are all the heroes to our own stories.

Me: *Knows that Andreas and Sarah are kind of close * Also me: *Tells Andreas I like Sarah's vibe* So that they both think I wanna work with them even tho I have barely talked to Sarah so far. Andreas was asking about Idol stuff earlier and I said "Maybe we create a group that shares info to help find it". And was hoping he'd bring up Sarah but he didn't. BUT Sarah then messaged me later about idol stuff *out of no where*. I could tell that it was likely Andreas telling her to talk to me. Even if not tho, I decided I'd go to Andreas and make it look like it was just a coincidence and that I think it was perfect timing. That way I can create a group with him and Sarah. Let them think they're manipulating me by taking the credit for the idea and having them be like "Oh yeah I agree. She IS cool". And making it seem like I have no idea that they are close when in all actuality, I'm just trying to use a duo to save me later in the game. On the other side, I still trust Dennis and Chris the most. And Lukas messaged me today about looking like we have the least connection and should team up. And I've been getting along with Matt. So now the only people I'm not really with are Kage, Ricky, and Emma. Unfortunately Emma's just been very MIA

SOOOO NOWWWW everyone wants to go after Trent and Olivia because I blew up their game. Which is good in regards to wanting to neuter any trust the others have with Trent and Olivia, it’s bad in that now everyone wants to vote them out. That’s not good for my game, because I have a good relationship with Olivia, and Trent might be a dangerous player, but he’s a predictable player. He’s like Bruno from Big Brother Canada, really strategic and by the book, and BECAUSE he’s by the book, I know what move he’s going to make, before he makes it. That for me is less dangerous than someone like Birch, who I have ZERO idea what they are thinking, where they stand, or how they are playing???? So now I’ve started operation get Birch the fuck out. WHY you ask? They are the only person I’m not aligned with in some capacity and if Challengers vs Champions taught me anything, it’s that I need as many relationships going into swap/merge as I can get. So now I have to convince the raging hoard that is Ned, Jake and Malik, to go after literally the smallest target on our tribe. This move only really benefits me, because I’m keeping bigger targets around, because IM A BIG TARGET. I need these other threats around because If I’m the only target, then who is everyone going to shoot at??? So with that said after I spilled the tea to Ned, he went to Malik with EVERYTHING I said and I had to talk Malik off the ledge of going after Trent and Olivia and targeting Birch instead. It was almost too easy to convince him?? Like Malik REALLY needs to get out Trolivia because they are targeting him BAD and he knows it now. But I think I put him in the mindset I need him to be in, same with Ned, same with Jake, I EVEN GOT OLIVIA ON BOARD! So now Birch is the target THANK GOD. To set everything in stone, Kurt and I formed the Hydra alliance with Ned and Jake. The Hyrdra is a multi headed dragon in greek mythology and I kind of love that because I feel like all four of us are smart level headed players, who like a little bit of chaos. I actually feel really good about this group in a way I never had about an alliance before. Kurt and Ned are my number 1 and 2, and I do really like Jake. I just don’t know if I can TRUST Jake the way I can the other 2. He’s clearly a smart player, we have a similar record, and he’s a villain for a reason. It very well could have been a mistake to align with him and tell him about the McBitches alliance. I took a risk, we’ll see how it plays out. I was VERY adamant about Malik not being in the alliance, and just using him as number. It’s funny because I LOVED Malik at the start of the game….NOW I’m counting the days off until he leaves. He makes all the guys really uncomfortable, flirting with Kurt and Jake despite knowing they have boyfriends, flirting with Ned despite knowing he’s straight. And with me, he mansplains to me CONSTANTLY. SIS IM A THREE TIME FINALIST SIT THE FUCK DOWN. God it pisses me off...so you flirt with all the guys, and mansplain to all the girls??? You’re that bitch I didn’t know you were. It just sucks because I was so excited to play with another queer poc, but that dream has turned into a nightmare. Unfortunately it doesn’t make sense to go after him yet, because we need him as a number. Sometimes I really wish I played this game personally. With all the hard game play going around, and petty drama, Kurt and I had a really big talk last night. You know those moments on the show, where two minorities walk off and talk about their lives in detail with a sad yet heroic underscore? Yeah we did that. He never asked me about transitioning but I opened up completely because I wanted to. He was so warm, and kind, and we shared our loyalties to each other. If he’s playing me, he’s doing it well, because I have his back unwaveringly. I’m playing for us at this point, and there is no one else I would rather be in this insane game with. #ShartIsReal :')

Okay so right now it seems that all eyes are on Ricky. He is never around for chatting so people are worried about that... But then Kage comes to me and says he'd prefer Lukas going.... and you see I don't want that. Nope not today. I would rather Ricky go based upon the fact he has been lying to me so many times this season already and I have caught him.... GODT. I am being so fake with him rn now and I hate it ugh

So with Emma gone I have rechecked my chats and it seems Lukas/Nicklas arent as inactive as I thought, though we might've lucked out in them wanting Ricky. I like the guy, but I do want to put Mystery Inc as a priority, especially Kage so if it is better for us to vote Ricky, then that's just the way it is, but it feels too easy almost?

I still have my eyes on Trent and Olivia. Sharifa told me the other day that they had been talking about me because of the beauty situation and she did a bit too, we talked about it and made up about it. I had been suspicious with Trent and Olivia from day two when I noticed pattens with them, I told Kurt about it and he agreed with it. Then that same other night, Ned confided in me that Trent and Olivia made a group with him, but they seemed stuck between voting him and Cheatham out the first round..? Make it make sense. Sharifa is also in a group with Trent and Olivia so to me that cake down to the fact that those two are trying to run the whole tribe and they’re running around lying and talking about certain people but then acting like they’re their best friends. So I have my eyes on them both. And it’s noticeable that they don’t talk really to me or in the alliance chat..CAN YOU BE EVEN MORE TRANSPARENT LMAOO it’s fine because the second we lose, we’re going to weaken their side, with my group that’s coming up..be ready for me, Sharifa, Kurt, Jake and Ned coming up soon..

However I did talk to the tribe about what Sharifa let me know about the BBB challenge and it had nagged at me and I felt I found the perfect opportunity to bring it up during the “clock” mishap. So I’m glad I could bring it out then.

I'm about to sound like a douche but something that did bother me a little was the perspective that Matt was forced into cups. I think it may be my own fault for not vocalizing it more, but I did offer beforehand to do cups and that I had them if nobody else wanted to. Like I'll admit I don't know how I would've done, but I also don't want to be make it seem like Matt was the ONLY one who could do cups. Its a silly nitpick from me and I feel like I am being a bit mean but I figure it helps venting instead of keeping it in.

Pls someone out there help me cast a protection circle over Lukas

i’m stuck at work and i’m tired and i don’t want to vote anyone out because i like them all and NO ONE EVEN KNOWS WHAT THE FUCKING VOTE IS I HATE THIS FUCKING GAME.

Okay so like...... tribal is tonight and I’m nervous! Tbh the only reason to vote me out is that I have Olivia on the other side, but the tea is that EVERYONE on this wretched tribe has like 27 pre-game connections so idk why my 1 connection would make them tweak. On that subject- is there like a twist this season where 9 people who already know one another were collected and put on a tribe with some rando (me)?? That’s how it feels. Anyway, the plan is Ricky. Which makes me sad bc I love Ricky. However, It could be me...? Idk. I’d be fine w first boot if it’s at the hands of a group that’s playing on the basis of preexisting relationships

youtube

I just told Trent that I to much and am known for people getting mad at me for it. why the hell did i just do that.

0 notes

dachi-chan25 · 7 years

Text

Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6 Recap Pt. 1

Oh boy… I need to vent again, I’m sorry, but thanks to everyone reading this, it’s a cathartic experience if anything.

WARNINGS: SPOILERS; Not a D@€ny fan, but if you follow me you already know that and if you don’t no problem that’s why I always warn you about it; Jonsa shipper and still growing strong ( I always loved the Tyrell OK???)

Before diving into the recap:

1.- The toughts, tinfoily wishy washy stuff, analysis, random stuff that I write are my own only, and in no form or way am I trying to convince you that I am right and every body else is wrong, I have been wrong about fandom stuff a LOT, and really it’s just fun for me to do this, anyway I am open to debate if you want just be respectful. Feel free to correct me if you notice I have some facts I present wrong, I will never get mad about it and will even thank you for your insight.

2.- The analysis/opinions I express of certain ships/characters are just my opinion as an audience, if you like the ship/characters good! That’s what makes the fandom experience such a diverse thing, and I have nothing against you. Keep on loving the thing you love!

3.- The Salt Throne and I are one entity of pure undiluted Salt and bitterness,if you don’t wish to subject yourself to reading my salty fangirl rants I completely understand.

—————

1.- We start on that table-map, helI feel I condemned myself saying I didn’t wanted no more close-ups of the thing, anyway so it’s just a pretty shot to get to where the story (plot? What plot?) really pick’s up: Eastwatch by the sea.

We are with the suicide squad on this show’s dumbest mission, but then again this season a lot of dumb things happened so I am resigned. Yeah so Jon and Tormund are talking about how dumb this mission is (got is breaking the fourth wall now???) while Gendry is freezing, Tormund is happy to be back North of the Wall cuz the air in the south is shit, Jon is like bih you never went south but really is agreeing actually Jon seems much more himself now that he is in the North again. Tormund and Jon tease Gendry about making do with him cuz there are no ladies here (ahaha joking about experiencing homosexual sex but no homo bro it’s just because we have no ladies amirite? Am I watching got or the big b4ng th€or¥?) and you know what else they don’t have?? Horses, and food, and those pesky dragonglass weapons, and a raven to send for help should anything happen… But no ladies are the priority. (*sigh* this show is so painfully obviously written by man) Gendry apparently believes them and goes away, Tormund comments he isn’t very bright, he needn’t be says Jon cuz they need the brawn and not the brains right? No this stupid ass mission could have seriously used some brains.

Anyway this next convo of conversations was very intresting to hear, not because they add anything to the plot (if such a thing exists anymore in this show) but I think they are important in understanding the theme they have in common and the relevance I think they have in the final scenes of the episode.

First we have a Tormund/Jon convo, our funny redhead asks about the Dragon Queen, and I expected they would use this chance to make some crude remark about her beauty or her body (dude not a second ago they were joking about bedding Gendry!!) but no, the conversation never goes in the direction that could further the idea of Jon’s attraction to D, Jon trusts Tormund and it would be normal for bros to discuss this stuff (remember how Jon giggled about Tormund mentioning Brienne last episode), instead a very weary and frustrated Jon states she (D) wouldn’t help unless he bends the knee, Tormund says that won’t happen cuz Jon spent so much time with the Wildings to be a kneeler again, but then he moves on to talk about Mance Ryder (dude this Jon/Mance parallels are hitting me in the face like a cold fish, I know D&D I noticed! You haven’t been subtle about this!!! You used the same FUCKING dialogue) and how the dude could have saved a lot of lives if he just had let go of his pride and knelt (so Tormund is our Jon in this parallel ain’t he?) it just made me laugh that Tormund, a wildling cuz they are still Free Folk and rule themselves even if they have an alliance with the KitN, is the one to suggests kneeling, but then I realized how big of a fucken deal that is, Mance could have saved those lives yes (and that’s mere speculation honestly cuz Stannis and his army could have also died at Hardhome #just saying) but he decided keeping his people’s will was more important, Jon respected that to the point he defyied Stannis (they needed his help and dude had just saved them) openly by killing Mance, and now Tormund who is kind of the new Free Folk king/leader is saying it would have been OK if he knelt to save everyone’s lives in front of Jon whom is in a very similar situation.

Then we get a Jorah/Jon convo, again perfect oportunity to show them as D’s love interests and rivals, or for Jorah to wax poetic about Khaliiisi and Jon being jealous or some shit. Some serious talk, if we had time in this compact season for Jon to threaten (or pardon) every man who ever crossed paths with Sansa, why Gendry or the Hound haven’t mentioned Arya at all, if logic states that she is someone this people have in common and should talk about? (like Theon asking about Sansa, or Tyrion) Why Jorah doesn’t talk about D if Jon is her new love interest and it would be a nice and neat contrast between the two of them? Instead they disscus another people they have in common, ex-Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and Ned Stark, oh yes they talk about their dads, Jon says how wonderful was Jorah’s dad and how awful was his death, while Jorah said it must have been heartbreaking for his dad whose entire life was the NW and Jon talks about Ned “the goodest most honorable man ever” dying like a traitor for his honor and pride (like I sense a pattern, can you tell? Gods D&D are too subtle guys) and goes as far as to say he is glad his dad didn’t kill Jorah (you know making him pay for his crime in a just honorable way). Honestly what was the point of this conversation if not that survival is most important than honor? The writers (through Jon) are celebrating that Jorah survived even if he has done sketchy awful things (among them he conspired to have D and her baby killed so he would be allowed to go back to Westeros).

Right we get an intresting end to this convo, Jon offers Jorah Longclaw (why would he give him the sword if he is gonna need it right now in the stupid ass Wight hunt? Why didn’t he gave it to Lady Lyanna Mormont, she has presumably begun training cuz she said to Lord Glover she wasn’t gonna sit by the fire while the man defended the North??? Why would he give it to someone if Jeor gave it to him cuz he didn’t wanted Jorah to have it???) but the point of the conversation it’s not the sword, because Jorah rejects it, it’s about planting the possibility of children in Jon’s future. people have been screaming Targ baby to the heavens and back, and if that is what you chose to belive alright, but I think not, if that was the case wouldn’t it be appropiate to have the Targ theme or the J/D song in the background and transition to DS where D talks about children with Tyrion like she does in a future scene? I would have believed it then. But instead we have the Stark theme and the scene transitioning to Arya and SANSA, call me delusional if you want but for me this is another check in the ‘targcest is building up tarbowl’ column.

Summarizing this we get the very bright neón message of Honor=Death. Which I’ll bring back later.

2.- Y'all remember those good times when the WF storyline was the only thing getting me through all the bullshit I was being fed by D&D? Well they’re over. As I said in point 1 we get a transition of Arya and Sansa looking down at the courtyard while Arya talks about how Ned watched the boys training and tries to diminish Sansa’s connection to her family by stating she was surely too busy sewing to know that (have fun freezing your limbs off darling!!! Sewing and Knitting and all those “delicate female” activities you sniff at are the reason you have clothes miss, really I can’t with this where is the Arya that thought woman to be of equal importance than man?) Sansa is having none of that and says she remembers, we get a cute memory of Arya practicing archery in secret and Ned approving (we get again nods to the patriarchy is wrong! But this is sloppy as fuck if D&D make Arya feel superior to non-warrior inclined girls, like that is also misogynistic) Sansa is smiling fondly (she at this point is more of a feminist icon than any other girl in this show, make no mistake she is not upset or resentful of warrior girls, she approved with a smile when Lyanna said girls on Bear Island were going to be trained too, and she smiles at the memory Arya is sharing with her of defying the rules and practicing archery cuz that made her happy) but then things take a turn for worse when Arya said that Ned is dead cuz Sansa helped the Lannisters. I never asked for this bullshit!!! Not even Ned blamed Sansa for anything, even if Sansa hadn’t alerted her Cersei was gonna kill Robert to protect herself and her children, Ned died for Joffrey’s cruelty (he wasn’t even supposed to die, he was to be sent to the Wall) and yes Sansa had a role to play in the chain of events that led to that, but Sansa had no way of knowing that, she only tried to save her family! The smile gets wiped from my girl’s face she is completely at loss. Arya takes out the letter and starts reading it out, even when Sansa asks her to stop cuz she already knows what does the letter say (wow I can’t belive D&D keep on triggering Sansa through her siblings, FUCKING disgusting) Arya is being unnecessary cruel, blaming Sansa for being powerless to stop their father’s death when she herself was equally powerless, like????? D&D are pushing this Starkbowl bs cuz this is got and nothing can be nice for 2 sec. But really this shit has no basis, you have Wight Hunt Team people who have literally killed each other or tried to working together and joking and then have two sisters who went through hell and back fighting cuz one of them thinks the other survived KL by being a princess in a tower??? Like how is this logical? Even if this is a cleverly crafted Arya plot (I think there is some logic to this) to kill LF is not fair for Sansa, god can’t she have good things on her life? D&D took away the safety of her home by marrying her off to Ramsey and have him rape her in her HOME, and now they make her family treat her one like a stranger and the other like shit???? I’m not asking for Arya to thank Sansa on her knees like she suggested (if anything Sansa was super brave standing her ground and defending her possition and everything she did to retake their home) I don’t want everyone to worship her as they do certain someone all I am asking for is respect and safety for someone who deserves it! Really and Arya suggesting Lyanna Mormont would go for Sansa’s throat why yes she is a child, one that has lost a lot with all this fucking wars but still a child that lacks the knowledge of the true game of thrones and what it takes to survive it, like you Arya (doesn’t she remembers she was cupbearer to Tywin who literally was responsible for the murder of her brother and mother? This is actually what leads me to think this is a ploy cuz Arya is not a hypocrite as far as we’ve seen) still this was painful to watch if you love the Starks.

Anyway leaving my frustration with this cheap drama aside, did anyone notice the parallels between the Arya and Sansa confrontation and the Jon/Tormund and Jon/Jorah conversations? The Wight Hunt Team was talking about great honorable man whose honor and moral code brought their downfall and in the Sansa and Arya, the youngest sister was blaming the eldest for having no honor and surviving (she goes as far as to say she would have rather died than betray her family) while Sansa defends what she did and shows how far she has come from paying the game.

Again this thing is not subtle at all.

———

This is too long so Part 2 is coming!

#Game of Thrones #jonsa #season 7 #7x06 recap #part 1 #dachi rambles #anti daenerys #anti jonerys #just to be safe

12 notes · View notes

luccie-eclair · 7 years

Text

Dear Fellow KPop Fans,

I'm going to go ahead and put this disclaimer here: if what I'm saying doesn't apply to you, then don't worry about it. However, if you know that you've been an absolute ass to other fans and even the idols themselves, then sit on down and let me tell you what you're not about to do to these wonderful, hardworking people or their fanbase.

Therefore, I don't want to hear crap about "Well, not EVERYONE from [x] fandom is like that". Guess what? I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to the bad apples that ruin the name of your fandom when you're just trying to have a good time.

WARNING: I'm about to be hella salty. Don't mind me 🤗

1) These fan wars need to stop. It's pathetic. What are you? 12? No, wait. There are 12 year olds more mature than this. Not only is it unnecessary, but some of things you say to each other is just hurtful. I know we have a freedom of speech, but some of y'all really abuse that. What's sad is that the people doing it will never, and I mean NEVER, have the balls to say it to anyone's face. Do you honestly think that you're cool or funny hiding behind a fake name and fake age? You're not. You're telling everyone who has access to the internet "Hey, guys! I'm an ass who doesn't deserve friends because I treat people like shit! Make sure you block me!" You, yes you, have created a bad name for your fandom. So if you're ever wondering why someone says "Oh, ONCE's are so immature and rude" (that was an example, so chill because I'm a ONCE myself), it's probably because they've had to deal with jerks like you. Congrats. You played yourself. Oh! And chances are, the group whose fans you're being rude to is probably friends with your bias group. If they can be cordial and polite with drama, so can you. Grow up.

2) This whole "[x group] can't sing" argument has got to go. It's a weak argument and no one is falling for it anymore. Just to let you know, and anyone who was previously a trainee can confirm or deny this, you have to have some kind of talent in singing to even BECOME a trainee!??! Meaning! They have to stand out above the crowd. There is something about their voice that sets them apart for that company to even consider taking them under their wings. Even then, you probably have still have to go through another 2 auditions to be a trainee. If it's that hard to be a trainee, then think about how hard it is to get into a debuting group. Just think. Got an idea? Okay, now take that "can't sing" argument and throw in the trash. "Oh, but they lip sync", you mean like most musicians?!?!? In case you haven't noticed, not EVERYONE is built to be able to sing perfectly and still master dancing and being out of breathe. Sorry, honey, but even Queen Beyonce (while doing very well) doesn't get every single note correct while dancing under hot ass lights and running low on breathe. Doesn't mean she's less of a performer.

3) These rating members lists, "[x] idol is too fat despite being at a considerably healthy", "[x] idol (normally male) looks like a child", and "[x] idol (female with short hair) is too manly" also needs to go. Actually, insulting these idols as if they aren't people, as if they don't have emotions, as if they're supposed to just brush it off despite it being hurtful. NEEDS. TO. STOP. These people work their asses off all the time, sometimes having to stay up for over 48 hours to finish their long schedule with few breaks. You can rent a movie theatre and take several seats. You sit there and call yourself a fan and yet bash them???? Excuse me???? Don't even get me started on the ones that PAY MONEY to go to their fansignings and yet treat them like dirt, demand shit, hit them, and throw things at them. That is a new form of low.

4) PERSONAL SPACE!!!! Why does anyone even need to say that?!?!?! It's one thing if you calmly walk up to an idol (Bow first, please. They are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. Respect is a big thing) "Hello, my name is [x]. I like your work. Can I trouble you for a photo or autograph?" If they say they're busy, bow and say thanks for letting you meet them. If they consent, finish up, bow, say thanks, and leave. DO NOT: crowd them to the point where they can't breathe or move, grab or touch them (believe it or not, you're a stranger to them), start flashing pictures and recording them, or screaming in their ears. AND: if they ask for you to leave them alone and let them be on their way, step off! You can argue "Well, they're celebrities. What do they expect?" THEY expect to be treated like people??????? Not animals???????? I'm confused with the logic. Because someone is famous, they no longer have basic human rights anymore? Is that what you're saying? That they're objects meant only for entertainment? Because I see a person. But maybe it's me. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

5) If you don't like a group, that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. Everyone is entitled to an opinion whether someone else agrees or not, but it's how you express it. Don't know what I'm talking about? Let's draw a picture (these are purely examples, so chill). Bob doesn't like BTS (again, example), he calmly and politely states that and gives good, legitimate reasons "Their concept doesn't suit them, lacks passion, the choreography isn't great, etc". Okay, Bob, while I don't agree with you, I see what you're saying and thanks for being respectful. Meanwhile, Jane doesn't like BTS and decides to go in the BTS tags on Tumblr to bash them and their fans, posts nasty comments on their videos, and even goes as far posting rude stuff on their V-Lives. This is obsession and this is not okay. There's disagreeing and there's being a jerk. Bottom line: Don't be Jane.

6) Who an idol dates is none of our business. They're their own person. They are consenting adults. Leave them alone. I'm sorry to crush your dreams, but they don't know you. Realistically, your chances of scoring a date with your idol is very low. I'm sorry, but that's life. You will find someone else. I promise. I'll even help you, but leave these people alone.

7) Example: Umji from Gfriend decides to do a stream with just her and Sowon. Please don't come on their stream and proceed state that you'd rather see SinB or Eunha. That is so rude and I can only imagine how they feel. It's called being empathetic i.e putting yourself in someone else's position and understanding their plight. We should all try it sometime.

8) This isn't a don't per se... eh, whatever. It's kind of irking when groups are compared to one another. Like, they may have similar concepts, but the size is different, the members are different so everyone has a different voice, the overall sound is different. I just don't find it... fair to compare them, but that's life, so I won't worry about it too much. Disregard!

I know that I probably missed a few more, but the bottom line is be a decent fucking person. It really isn't hard. You know phrase "do unto others"? Try it. It will get you far. Trust me, I know posting about this is pointless given that every fandom on this website is pure cancer because of a few bad eggs. But there comes a time when you just need to speak up against it. I'm kind of new to the Kpop scene and I'm already sick of a lot of these people. Also, if you see someone from your fandom being an ass, please say something because this behavior is not okay.

6 notes · View notes

cutesilyo · 7 years

Text

On Love: Anxiety (A Yuuri Katsuki Analysis)

The thing about Yuuri is that he's such a relatable character to me. Even more so now that he's in a relationship with Victor, so I can honestly say that YOI is the anime that I've always needed.

Because:

Yuuri has anxiety.

Yuuri is in a relationship.

Yuuri is in a relationship with someone he thinks is too good for him.

Yuuri has a low opinion of himself.

Yuuri is an unreliable narrator.

Yuuri hates losing.

...and etc.

These are all things that I can relate to! So, forgive me, but I absolutely hate how this anime ended. And although I loathed Episode 12 to death, the ending of Episode 11 was something I didn't expect and yet it was something I didn't know I needed — mainly because Yuuri’s anxiety reared its ugly head in a way that I am all too familiar with.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki clenching his fists in an attempt to gather up the courage to ruin his own life for Victor's sake]

i.e. Cutting your own losses before you lose them.

So from the perspective of someone who also has low self-esteem and is in a relationship with someone who I think deserves much better, here's why I believe Episode 11 was necessary in a way that Episode 12 did not give justice to. Here we go!

You see, I have this tiny theory here about what Yuuri was thinking when he said those words that ultimately broke everybody's hearts. Everybody's been talking about it since the episode aired. But here I am, regardless, because I need to deposit these two cents of mine even though the account is already positively overflowing.

There's this belief I have, and I have no idea if this is just something that I have because I've been raised with an Oriental mindset or something specific to just me, but I'm afraid of being too happy. I believe I can only achieve a particular level of happiness; if I experience more happiness that I deserve, bad things happen. If I have too much, you bet your ass at least some of that will get taken away.

There needs to be balance in this world, or so I and many others believe — there is no shadow without light, and the moon has no meaning if she is not opposite the sun. Suffering and happiness? They go hand in hand. And in the same vein, there is no success without strife — and that's widely preached. But the opposite is also true; because there is no strife without success, and I'm willing to bet my non-existent balls that Yuuri and Victor are kind of the epitome of the latter.

[Pictured: Victor Nikiforov before he met Yuuri Katsuki, i.e. incredibly lonely and trusting only a dog for providing him constant companionship]

And while Victor's end of the spectrum — his gold medals were the fruits of labor that his loss to life and love bore — were given their high-key focus in Episode 10, Yuuri's end of the spectrum was a low-key theme throughout the entire series. Yuuri's talents were paid with leaving his hometown and family to pursue an incredibly unconventional career choice, having the press hound him for every anxiety attack that he can't control, and bearing that enormous pressure of representing his entire nation on his shoulders — and his poor anxiety-ridden heart can't deal with that most of the time.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki's mouth giving an involuntary wobble before he forces himself to smile for his parents' sake, also known as a frame that deserves more attention]

There's a stereotype for Asian parents: that if their child gets less than an A, it's a failure. It's a joke most of the time; for Yuuri, he applies that to his entire career as a competitive figure skater. Add the fact that he's representing the whole of Japan for one of the highest titles a figure skater can get, and the anxiety he's developed over the years, and you get a bundle of nerves on the best days — complete breakdowns at the worst.

Plus his dog died just days before, or maybe even during, one of the most important competitions in his life.

Oh, and he is an unbelievably sore loser.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki in that infamous shot of him breaking down in the bathroom; note that he only lets himself cry when he thinks that there is nobody around to see him]

And he's probably thinking i could have done better and he's probably thinking i guess i really should retire, but I propose that he's also thinking this is payment for all the other competitions i've won, isn't it? That he's thinking, this is payment for all the hardships i've put on everyone else. That he's thinking, oh well, i guess i deserve this after all.

It's like all the little bad things he's done over the years have finally come back to haunt him in one big smack of karmic retribution, right after the cruelties of fate have already given him a taste of what it felt like to be part of the winning team. Because don't tell me that Yuuri didn't feel this sense of pride, of fulfillment, of complete and utter joy when he was assigned to the GP Series and qualified for the Finals. That he didn't feel happy when he got the chance to train, abroad, with an actual coach and an actual rink despite just coming from small, seaside Hasetsu. That he didn't arrive at Detroit, wide-eyed and nervous but so young and hopeful, knowing that he was the JSF's certified top skater.

Then he lost at the GPF and he probably felt like all of that went moot. That all of a sudden, all his medals and trophies and successes didn't mean anything anymore. There's a reason why Minami was introduced, after all: to bring home the point that while Yuuri thinks he's an average skater, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily true.

It's further cemented by the fact that, when Minami says that his costume was inspired by one of Yuuri's older ones, he's mortified as he shrieks, "That's a costume from my dark past!"

Minami, bless him, talks back and says that Yuuri doesn't have a dark past to speak of. He's the actual cinnamon roll of YOI, guys. Imagine how happy he was when he cheered for Yuuri in the GPF in Yuuri's own house and saw, in person, all the trophies that Yuuri had been keeping in the background — and the fact that Yuuri even keeps them in the background speaks so much of his lack of self-worth that it deserves its own meta.

[Pictured: Kenjiro Minami, tears in his eyes as he screams out at his idol: You don't have a dark past! Don't make fun of me for looking up to you for so long and trying to catch up with you! — breaking our hearts in the process]

So, basically: if Yuuri had given all he had with skating, was rewarded with triumphs and successes only to feel like that had all been taken away when he was dead last at the GPF (and not to mention, he probably feels like all of this was justified); why wouldn't he feel that way about Victor?

Because Victor makes him happy. So happy, in fact, that his skating and confidence levels have reinvented themselves as a response to Victor's presence in Yuuri's personal life. Why wouldn't he think that Victor was too good to be true? Why wouldn't he be scared that the cruelties of fate would, once again, take away his source of happiness in a twisted form of giving balance to the world?

So he comes up with defense mechanisms. He blabbers in metaphor and dabbles in double-meanings (Episodes 1-3) and he feels so relieved that Victor seems to accept that it's just the way he prefers to express himself (Episode 4). But then he keeps falling and falling and he gathers up the courage to be more accepting of his past because of Victor (Episode 5), to be more bold for Victor (Episode 6), to be more couple-y with Victor. (Episode 8)

And ordinarily, that would be a good thing right? He's growing up! There's character development! He has more confidence now!

But YOI, god bless YOI, shows that anxiety doesn't just go away. It comes back to haunt you and when you're at your weakest, it strikes. This is best exemplified in Episodes 7 and 9, where it's glaringly obvious — but in Episode 11, it takes some understanding of the previous episodes to know that the entirety of the drama comes from Yuuri simply being an unreliable narrator again than from any actual basis.

[Pictured: Two similar shots of Yuuri Katsuki from Episode 4 and Episode 11 respectively — the former, a happy blush as he prays give me Victor's time, if only just for now; the latter, horror dawns as Yuuri comes to the conclusion that Victor wants to go back to the ice and that their time together is ending]

Because Yuuri is the epitome of unreliable narrator, and Episode 10 was the ultimate peak of the mountain that YOI has been building from the very first episode — in an anime that opens with the self-deprecating protagonist reading articles about his loss, which is intentionally and deliberately set up to overshadow the fact that despite his loss he's still competing in one of the biggest competitions in the figure skating world.

The other thing that YOI has chosen to keep from us until Episode 10 was that despite the entire world being clamorous for him to go back to the ice, Victor actually . . . doesn't want to do that at all. He literally calls it a shackle on his neck. He waxes poetic about the life and love that Yuuri has given him, that he has neglected for so long. He gets kicked in the back and declared as dead by Yurio, and the most he does is mockingly crouch down and ask, did you want to compete against me?

Having Episode 10 come right before the massive fuck-up in Episode 11 was both an explanation and a warning: yeah, yuuri did all that and victor fell in love with him first. now remember how different things looked back in episode 1. because we're gonna go back to that in the next episode and y'all need to know what's real and what's just what yuuri assumes.

And the thing about Episode 10 is that it triggers this impulse to rewatch the entire series from Victor's perspective and contrast that to how different we saw it when it was just Yuuri's perspective we knew about. Doing that brings more impact to Episode 11, I think — which also highlights that despite Yurio found a friend, he still has some humility to learn and his arc isn't finished yet just because he managed to perfect Agape. While I do think he was being too mean (to a point that I considered it OOC, after Episodes 9 and 10), that's a different post altogether.

[Pictured: Celestino Cialdini comforts a sullen Yuuri Katsuki during the Sochi GPF; comes with Yuuri's monologue of I could never openly say that I'd win gold, but I never skated with the thought in my mind that I'd lose anyway]

I think that the way that Yuuri reflects to himself during his FS in Episode 9 echoes how he feels toward Victor. That despite never really admitting out loud that he wanted a gold, he never actually believed he would ever lose either — Yuuri let himself stay stagnant while tiptoeing between having the potential to be a winner and actually being one. In the same vein, Yuuri found himself walking that same fine line between being Victor's future and being Victor's has-been; someone between everything and something, but never actually nothing.

Yuuri let his anxiety get the better of him and he decided that being Victor's past would be best outcome he could ever hope to get. The events of Episode 11 have led him to believe that he would never be Victor's future; or at least, he would never be the future that Victor actually wants. And in Yuuri's twisted justifications, it would be a good thing that they would end their relationship after the GPF; it gives Victor the freedom to do whatever he wants and it gives the Yuuri the relief of not having delved deeper into the idea of them being an actual concrete relationship.

[Pictured: Victor Nikiforov, part of a newly discovered evolved species of humans called homo superior]

Except Victor, unlike Yuuri, has already considered the prospects of having a relationship without a time stamp and jumped right into it. Victor has already established in Episode 10 that he wants Yuuri, and that he would definitely choose a life without competitive skating specifically because it meant getting the love of a lifetime. Screw the consequences, he's getting what he wants and he will put every fiber of his being into nurturing this relationship that gives him all of the happiness that he never thought he could have.

He just never verbalized it. So while Victor gets the concrete proof that Yuuri wants him in the form of giving him the rings (although he does so in a way that implies he doesn't want to admit it), Yuuri doesn't.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki, in doubt of where Victor's happiness truly lies: in a life with skating or a life without it]

Yuuri gets soft and sweet and cuddly Victor and it's enough to make Yuuri hope but it's not enough to help Yuuri understand that Victor truly wants him — how much Yuuri changed him. He knows the Victor that is, as Minako says in Episode 1, free with his charms and winks at the cameras and is touchy-feely with a man he just met; a Victor who was bored and had an impulse decision to coach him and ended up liking him. But the viewers get more insight into who Victor really was before he met Yuuri, who was sad and lonely and hollow — a Victor that fell in love with the boy with the drunken flamenco dance and was looking for an excuse to meet him again.

Victor, like anyone, wants happiness. Winning doesn't give him that anymore, but Yuuri does . . . even though he doesn't even grasp the true gravitas of the love they share.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki, in tears after an amazing Free Skate and the subsequent roar of triumph thereafter; a perfect representation of what we all felt in this scene]

Ultimately, what pissed me off about Episode 12 was that it seemed to betray its own protagonist. We had all the build-up to Yuuri winning gold and finally getting the concrete proof that Victor loves him back and that he is an incredible skater in his own right — because I wholeheartedly believe that the perfect ending to Yuri On Ice would be Yuuri getting gold and realizing that it doesn't matter. And for one moment he would look at all the people who have supported him endlessly and, instead of pushing them away in shame like he would have at the beginning of the show, he would thank them with a happy smile.

How Yuuri would learn not to equate his worth by his losses or wins was always a theme that I wanted the show to address in the Season 2 that I wanted to have, but for that to happen he had to win first in the S1 finale.

But he didn't, and the finale for one of the most popular animes of 2016 was done so cheap that it actually does render the entire anime into moot. So to say I'm disappointed? Yeah, well, that's kind of an understatement.

[Pictured: Yuuri Katsuki with the wrong medal]

#yoi #yuri on ice #meta #yoi meta #yuuri katsuki #i havent posted in tumblr for two years whoops #anyway have a meta about my precious boy because i love him dearly thank you #im having trouble uploading the screenshots hnggg what a shame #mine

51 notes · View notes

morningmoon · 7 years

Text

Overall thoughts of Arc V

posted on NAC, figured i might as well share it here too. It’s a long one.

Setting Maiami City is great. The first we see of it is a modern and post-contemporary design to the city, there's a lot of commercialism on display taking iconic imagery of YGO and plastering it as billboards. You Show and Yuya's house are shown to be pretty unique in their architecture, but still very grounded in reality. It's a world that's probably not more than ten years ahead of us; it's a mayor city but with a very nice housing region. As the first season goes on, we see more of it, we see how important and varied the schools are, we see the not-so-pretty parts of the city. There's just enough depth to Maiami to feel more alive than even Neo Domino did. Then we leave it. The City is up next, and it's just a more surface level approach to Neo Domino. There's the shit part of the city and floating shit that's fancy. Before we can really dig into the latter, we're stuck in the former, then a prison and the rest of the season is the same hotel, racetrack stadium and a bit of the Duel Lanes before going back to the same shit parts. Oh and the trash mines. While 5D's included early on how the trash stuff works and how it's an insane way to fight your way to the nice part of the city, AV's just has this stark contrast that doesn't feel truly connected. If you walk long enough in a direction, you'll reach a nice part of town apparently. The mines and the prison exist, but you can't really pin their location or anything. They're stark contrasts that do not feel connected beyond lore. Heartland... is just some bits of ZX's heartland, but in ruins. There isn't much to the setting at all. Fusion has that sorta venice place we see for a couple of eps and then we go to Academia, which is just a series of corridors with 4 rooms. It doesn't feel real, there's a courtyard but I have no idea how you reach it beyond "go to a corridor and eventually it'll connect" Yuya going Odd Eyes Raeg happens in a room that I cannot fathom where it is compared to Leo's place because it's so hightech it should either be right next to it or buried underground, but the show just has it nebulously inside of academia.It's disappointing. We start with a strong location, a strong setting, and then we ditch it for the next and the next and the next and each is shallower than the last one. Duels You know me. Y'all know my shallow ass don't really care for the yugiohs. Hand me a Yuma vs Gauche once or twice a cour and i'm good. I'll meme that YGO was better when it was about zombire and paint mazes. Arc V promised me something that made me want to care even in my shallow level: Dynamic Duels. The premise of 5D's bought me over when I saw the first riding duel moving all over the streets into an abandoned factory and maneuvering crazy locations a bike shouldn't be able to do. Arc-V then promised me that mobility would be even more important because it's not rigid bikes, it's fluid monsters, able to chance the monster you're riding on the fly and interact with them. All for a goal that is a buff during the duel. You bet your ass I got hype when Yuya got on a pink hippo in that first PV. ACTION FIELD MAGIC CROSS OVER. FUCK. Dynamic places became less common during the first season, but they were still a thing! There were at least entirely different fields in every duel. Then came in Riding Duels and my god. MY GOD. Yugo suddenly makes me nostalgia hard for 5D's, he goes so many places, the scenery changes so much, the time of day the state of the city, it's so beautiful. Cross Over. Duel on the stadium. crossover accel. cross over cross over cross over. fuck. The duels lose intensity as it goes on, they often become duels of two duelists standing in places as if it was DMGXZX and every now and then Yuya will jump and run to get a card. Cross Over Accel usually involves picking up a card from the floor and every other duel will have a sick bike stunt. But yeah, for the most part, the concept's just burnt and interesting navigation is pretty much gone. Yuya is so tied to this. The ultimate thing of the show, is that entertainment is the greatest power, but Yuya can't muster the confidence to use it. Therefore, his duels are directly tied to his state of mind. Is he egaoing? then maybe there'll be some dynamic movements or, if we're lucky and it's a blue moon, Yuya will setup a big set piece act where the game straight up changes to let a big fun and dynamic moment happen. But if Egao is what solves everything, then your main character can't be holding that power, ergo, Yuya's duels have to be gimped most of the time, so stand over there like it's Gx, Yuya, but with less varied fields.It was just so promising, that duels would be a spectacle. But gameplay wise that deteriorated rather fast, with spectacle it got nearly dropped after year 1 and it's ultimately tied to Yuya believing in himself, which is the thing he struggles with the most. Themes and Message I love egao. The idea that smiles make the world better is great. If you are positive and you can pass that positiveness to others then you are improving the world. To look at all the issues around you and decide you can tackle them while also keeping a smile is a noble thing, I love heroes that can stay positive through adversity. A lot of people take issue with Yuya "forcing this down people's throats", but to me the problem is that Yuya needs it fored down his own throat. He's got some doubts here and there in Standard, then in Synchro it is offered that, much like Kattobing with Yuma early on, Yuya doesn't actually know what it means to bring smiles to people: he's parroting his dad and acting as he did. This breaks Yuya hard and he goes back and forth during the rest of the season until he gets a rematch with Jack and shows his answer... is that he believes in his dad, but will also throw in the dimension dragons. uh. Before that point there's stuff like Kachidoki shaking his resolve, and after that there's stuff like Yuto taking over so he cannot use smiles. There's stuff like getting so pissed he can't even think of using it against BB until JACK points it out. There's the fight against the mind control bugs and facing Yuri. And then the final act is him trusting himself all over again. Yuya Sakaki is smiles. If he is not believing at 100% then that's that. There are only, like, four other characters that implement that mentality into their duels. It sucks because it is explicitly shown time and time again to be the answer to the show's conflicts. A whole city is turned, Kachidoki gets happy and stops punching dicks, Yuya becomes more capable, Heartland is brave and starts dueling again. But it's so strong, Yuya cannot be allowed to use it or else show ends too soon. Other characters can't use it or the show ends too soon. To duel for smiles is to have a golden gun. It becomes more and more insane an OP until it reaches a climax: You Cannot Use Smiles On Zarc Because That Would End The Show Too Early. The dragon king is defeated, but not really because the blatant message wasn't used on him. Individualism beat him, but egao will Really beat him. Egao OP pls nerf so it can be a presence in the show. Then there's individuals vs groups. I also dig this a lot, and we see it far more consistently. Yuya gets laughed at by society itself bc daddy. His first foe is an opinion leader. His dad is looked upon fondly not for being a pro duelist, but for being a pioneer. A big, strong corporation is trying to take over You Show, the smaller school run by a single guy. Yuzu realizes her dad, a teacher, is not enough for her to learn what she needs so she seeks out a tutor who is shown to be a bit of a rebel. Yuya duels wacky schools. After Yuto becomes egao.wav, Yuya's first foe is a guy who got messed up by the institution he's at. Obelisk Force are goons running the same deck, trained to be little more than soldiers with their individuality stripped away. Yuya's pushed forward to continue being a pioneer even when pendulums become normalized. Synchro Year is all about big capitalistic society fucking over the poor. Prison, the defense force and the government are all evil and abuse their powers. Roger is shown to have power but overestimates his own intelligence. Serena, in this time, gets pointed out that her dueling is too by the books and Yugo's unique style can trample her so she needs to adapt and be herself. Reira gets a donut by Shinji, so she doesn't want to blast him, she's starting to not become a child soldier. Jack's entire thing is that he himself crawled out of his hell life. Academia is up next, and, yeah, more of what you'd expect: school's evil, society supports it, individuals have to escape it and form their own place to survive. BB, much like Kachidoki, is ruined by his own school. Doktor creates parasites that strip people from their free will. And finally, we are told via ham-hands that Zarc was made who he was because Society demanded more violence. oh my god. Oh and Ed and the others also escape the school's mentality. It's a neat message, the bit with Zarc is just. It's thematic, it doesn't substitute showing the character and explaining the escalation. But then in Synchro Year there's that bit where Yuya gets the egao gun and destroys the societal norms of Neo Domino 2 in one blast and now everything's better. Kachidoki is back and saved, but like, what does that mean? did he bail out of the physical abuse school his parents put him in?? The conflict is rich and interesting, and yet the payoff is so sudden, escalated beyond belief and never explored. Another bit is what the show actually tells us "take a step forward with courage" or something. Pioneering goes with that, Yusho and Yuya start something new and it can't end there, those two have to keep evolving and lead the way. That message then ties into the war conflict in a cool way, to keep moving forward and not wallow in the past. Academia may have destroyed Heartland, but Shun and Yuto are objectively in the wrong for trying to use violence to get revenge. Leo is later on shown to be bad, not because he committed war crimes (those are retroactively forgiven) but because he is doing all of this to get his daughter back, when that will only tarnish her efforts and legacy, thus bringing Zarc back. Yugo & Shun Vs The Molesting Bugs From Out Of Gx has Yugo staying in the past and only remembering the Rin he loved while Shun remembered Ruri but then pushed forward and claimed how he's changed since. Yuya keeping with his dad's style and not fighting with his own is also a way of this. Every member of the resistance is shown with this problem, every left-party member of Synchro is also basically mourning themselves instead of trying to push forward if you're viewing the show in right-wing eyes I guess. Yuya being sad for pasts mistakes is shown 100% to be bad and he should continue moving forward to solve the issues. It sometimes feels gross because the groups are evil, but only Roger gets comeuppance. Leo caused war crimes, but he's a tragic hero, Zarc is a demon but he's a tragic figure. Meanwhile Shun and the resistance lost it all, Shinji lives in an unfair world and they are presented much more palpably as in the wrong because they are fighting with violence. The makers of war are never punished.The messages are all very, very interesting... but they tie kinda badly to the plot. It basically turns smiles from a philosophy that empowers Yuya and saves people from spiraling into drones of society or revenge hunters, to a golden gun that kills society and sedates the lust for revenge. Villains Now here's Real Problems. The show mismanages its villain cast. You have Himika, basically leader of LDS and actively running a child soldier program and... eventually she's very sad for Reira and turns into a motherly figure. You have Kachidoki, who is the first to awaken the second level of Zarc in Yuya and... he leaves the story for almost two years, only to get a quick defeat so Yuya can have a win. LDS Trio, rival our main trio and have some deep personal beef with Shun, a new comrade to said trio... they never show up again. Shinji argues with Yuya for a bit and is gone forever. Roger is let to sit far and above everyone else, he gets his butt kicked by Reiji and is gone forever. Barret fleshes out Academia, could possibly be an anti-hero fighting for Serena and then he is gone forever before we knew him. Anyone else from Synchro just doesn't show up for the last third. We are introduced to Grace, Gloria, Ed and Kite and they all turn to Yuya's side at the same time in the one-cour half-arc. We finally reach Academia... there is BB, a one-and-done villain for five eps straight. There's bugs that have a loose thematic connection and are gone forever. There is Doktor who only did that bug shit before being banished. There's Yuri with the better killstreak and then there is Leo who is shown to have only been acting out of love, and has enough honor to remove Doktor's facehole. There are all these villains.. and their role is minimum or they are so far from the heroes they don't get to actually Do much before their upcoming defeats present them as weak-willed all along. Then we have fucking Zarc. Hitotsu Ni and all them memes. Basically He's a dragon dick. All along everything was his plan bwahaha except he couldn't see the individuality theme hitting so hard via Reira and Yuya teaming up with Ray. But who is Zarc? ... anyway, Zarc's duel is the biggest in the show (wait, is it? did it have more eps than BB?) but ho boy ho boy. His duel is shite. He just sits three 2v1s in a row without taking any form of damage, then slowly loses enough composure for an admittedly cool finisher, but, just. Eh. He encompasses the show's themes of individuality vs group via the group forcing him down a path of evil. He wallows in his past and his attempt to move forward via the creation of Pendulum and manipulation of his parts puts him in the same shoes that society had back when he turned evil. Then he saw the value of true smiles while inside of a baby. The problem here is... we never saw the individual crumble. Zarc's biggest failure as a villain is, well, the duel actually, it's just terrible, but his other failure is that we don't see enough of him. He's a thematic concept, but a linchpin of it is him as an individual losing himself for the sake of entertainment. We never see who he was, which worked when he was in a rampage so we'd see him as a monster, but once Yuya is crying at hsi backstory, well, it just feels trite and lame. We cannot feel bad for Zarc, we never knew him, he might've been a huge asshole and that's why things escalated.A big problem with the show is its use of villains. There's just two types, the ones that get disposed of ridiculously quick and the ones that are master planners so far above the cast that they hardly actually interact (or even act) in the story, and whose defeats just end up as underwhelming. There's outliers here and there, but they're not interesting either and ultimately any payoff from the conflict they bring is either too small or not interesting enough. Zarc, the final villain, suffers from all those issues. Characters Reira is god-tier. She begins shy and meek, we instantly assume she is a Mokuba. She gets a few duels here and there but we don't see them, so she's a dueling Mokuba that's strong bc her bro's the strongest. There's something offputting of her, but we just don't see her enough. Then we enter Synchro and she's away from Reiji, she is panicking, stressed and quiet. Shinji gives her a donut and that seems okay, kids like sweets. Then comes Yuya thinking of defending her and the big stuff drops: a) she's not afraid of dueling, she's afraid of having to harm others with duels and thus doesn't want to decimate Shinji and put him in the apple factory. b) legit child soldier shit. JACK offers her advice because he sees his own sadness from when he was a child, Yuya also saw that in her, but ultimately Reiji is right: it's not pity what she needs, it's a drive to make her own choices. It's why not wanting to fight Shinji is so big. The show keeps going, and next she goes further and acts to Defend Serena, she helps her friends now via dueling, fighting her PTSD and it culminates in the last bit to her wanting to save everyone that she's willing to sacrifice herself to get Ray involved, even when her brother tells her that would not work. And she does, and at that point we get her maximum Individuality moment: she defied Reiji by bringing Ray, and she defies us by defining herself as a woman. "Fuck all of you, even the viewers, this is who I am" and she stands tall, she gives one last sacrifice because not even Ray is good enough and she seals Zarc away herself. Fucking badass. And her reward is just being a baby. It's interesting in that it means she will not have the traumatic past anymore, but it also seemingly means that Zarc will always be with her now and that the Reira we knew simply ceases to exist forever. For the character that I rooted on the most, that sucks, i want the characters I like to be happy and exist! Still, her journey is easily the best in the show. JACK ATLAS fits this show like a glove. "It doesn't matter how bad Arc V or 5D's get, JACK ATLAS will always be a good character." Him as King puts an interesting pressure, he pushes characters in interesting ways and is ultimately just an entertaining and good addition. Hiragi Yuzu, well, she was really good that first year! Her arc was great, how she knew more of Academia leading into her interactions with Serena, which ultimately motivate Serena, are pretty great. Her time with Yugo's fun, her role in the tournament is great. It is gross that she was a flagpole for Yuya to reach and kept being yanked away over and over again. After that beautiful motorcycle parry, she just feels wasted, and before that her interactions with the cast were direly limited. Serena was interesting, she only really existed for One season, but her role and relationship with the Lancers was fun while it lasted. I really wish they'd explored her dueling more. Ruri and Rin were waifus. Welp. Rest of the cast, just likeable, not used well enough, Gongenzaka hilariously has an ED where he is one of 3 characters on screen and during that ED's run he shows up less than ten times to interact with Yuya. Sawatari is my man, but yup, not much for him. Shun has an alright arc, not much feeling for him. His end is bonkers. Kite, Ed and Asuka just feel tacked on. They don't offer stuff that only they could, in fact you can fancast many other characters to fit their roles better, I personally would go with Shark, Misawa and Tyranno (maybe Asuka over Tyranno). Ed's duel with Yuya was pretty amazing, tho and I love it, but again, just feeling like you coulda slapped other characters in to better fit the roles they play out in AV. Yuri, he's a fun villain. I went on about the use of villains and why his Pro MLG Killstreak is kinda bad, but he was fun during it. The structure deck stuff was great. His finality is... "we don't have time, or ideas, to make him turn to good. Uhh, shonen shonen shonen, thematic thematic and shonen tropes." He just happened. Yugo, one of my boys. Love his fun attitude, love his blatant crush, his gags are great, he's just overall fun but it didn't feel like they went deep enough for him, specially with how the bug stuff ended. Yuto. That kid is a mess. There's a fairly easy to follow line for his attitude, but he switches as hard as Yuya does from egao, but whenever he is Actually Showing Up, he instantly does a switch in alignment. He doesn't feel consistent. He's messed up and actively ignores all his relationships except the one time he told Shun to trust Yuya. I feel there's an interesting, cowardly, character in there that we just don't get to see because he's more of a crutch to guide Yuya's hips over how his alignment shoul be in the current part of the story. Sakaki Yuya. Wiat, no, there's others i can talk about. Leo's a dummy. I don't mind him too much, but he is a super dummy. I love seeing Reiji get owned. Uh uhhh. fuck. Okay, so, Yuya. Not a great hero. I tolerate heroes that doubt themselves, I do, but jfc the kid changes minds far too often. And like I said, when he egaos right, it feels like he holds a magic gun. He's OP in dueling, therefore he gets nerfed via self-confidence because that's directly tied to his magic gun. That means he needs the help of others to regain confidence, these others include: Yusho, Yoko, Yuzu, Reiji, Jack Atlas and Reira. All yelling at him into his ear that he should believe in himself. Two of these are basically rivals, who should be sources of conflict, but instead they are major supporters of Yuya. The harshest conflict Yuya gets is himself. That's not that interesting when it's hardly himself who overcomes it, it's his massive support network getting through his thick skull. Over and over again. I like Yuya when he is confident. I don't like him when he's not. I hate him when he is becoming confident all over again since that means it's someone else pushing him.Cast is great. Reira is my favorite for very good storytelling happening with her. A lot feel wasted. The Core Conflict Badly paced, basically. Synchro Year feels wasted in retrospect, 50 eps to tell what 2 cours could, and Yuya isn't allowed to keep his development at all times for it. Leo is built up too much, and Zarc too little. It just feels like not enough build up, too much buildup and the villains getting shafted in both ways. There's a lot of exciting series of fights when years end, but it just doesn't pay off nearly as good as it promises. The Finale Confusing. But not intentionally so. We're not left to wonder what the world is, we are told by Leo what happened and we simply don't get to see it. It's not clear what happened to Zarc besides he smiled. Sad. But not intentionally so. Reira smiled, that means everything's good for her while the audience is sad that she's stuck as a baby. The Yugirls and Yubois are gone forever, but Shun accepted that and anyone that might miss Serena and Rin just aren't there, the people who see them are just shocked but never knew them. Shun is happy. Us, the audience, being sad isn't something being played with here. If Barret looked at an empty dorm room, then this would be a bittersweet ending. If the orphans started reading books Rin had marked, that'd be bittersweet. If Shun Showed Any Emotion That He Should Have Then That'd Be A Sad Ending. But it's not. Everyone accepts what happened with an egao. Us being sad isn't intentional, it is the show misinterpreting how we would react to 6 people fucking dying. Duel was alright kinda. Gates are bad. I love Yuya comboing into summon methods, but the gates don't do that, they just activate, use a monster in the grave and extra deck and summon a hybrid. That's not XYZ, that's not Synchro, that's kinda Fusion I guess. That's just not a combo into summon method,t hat's a cheap way to get any monster out. The final action duel race is a very neat concept. The duelists don't interact for the most part, feels like a waste. The pacing in it is also not great, stops too much. Catapult monsters fireworks is fun, I like that it's a final ATK manipulation because BUT YOU'LL STILL TAKE THE DAMAGE. Already talked about the worlds combining and NAC killing Serena in cold blood. Reiji is a terrible final opponent. Yugi vs Atem: Atem is the best duelist ever and is testing Yugi in a test of skills as those two have never fought and we still don't fully know Yugi's skills. Judai vs Yugi/Atem: Judai still needs to get his fun back, he loves fighting strong people and Yugi is The Strongest. Yusei vs Jack: those two have a lonstanding rivalry and the fight has futures at stake Yuma vs Astral: those two have never fought and relied on each other the whole time. Astral puts everyone's future on the line. These are all great back-and-forths, the opponent has an edge, the characters have chemistry and only Yusei vs Jack features rivals that have faced each other. Yuya vs Reiji... is Reiji sitting on his opening hand and denying Yuya's combos until he gets a big enough one. There's no real back and forth, Reiji is basically a rock. Those two have fought a bit, we return to their first fight place... like how the start of the arc also reused duel fields. Feels lazier than it does bookendy. Atem's goal is to see if Yugi is strong enough, and he's ready to stay with his friend if not. Yugi's goal is to beat down Judai's asshole and have fun. Jack's goal is to shatter Yusei's asshole so everyone can follow their dreams. Astral's goal is to have the greatest fight with Yuma ever. Reiji's goal is for Yuya to make his sister smile. Reiji blatantly and explicitly set this whole thing up for Yuya to win. He's loved Yuya's antics since forever, he supports him and he knows only Yuya can save everyone. While everyone else is like a karate master goign "lets talk with our fists!!", Reiji is more like a dad playing baseball with his kid and hoping loudly that the kid will bat the ball he's about to throw. And in doing so, the kid gets to the major leagues immediately.The duel's just not that interesting in setup, the plays are not well executed, the animation doesn't make the final action duel setpiece any justice, the resolution of conflict is confusing and relies on telling rather than showing and hoping the audience loves the themes enough and the fate of the yugirls and yubois is a grossly miss-communicated message. The Pro Test feels like an early concept since the pun is so good. I legit feel that Reiji's laugh suits Sawatari better. Imagine if his almost-mayor dad actually went "That Yuya duel was amazing!", Sawatari then laughing would be such a good way to end his character arc by accepting all that Yuya is. All in all? Disappointed. I like a lot of things, but the execution is ass. There's good bits, but as a whole the show falls apart. BB and Yuri, and Sergei and Yugo and Yuzu and Masumi and duel schools and fight club class and splatoon. So many good bits, but they do not flow well. They don't link to each other. They do not build up. The show fails to use its 3 year runtime. Disappointed.

#arc v #arc v critiism #yugioh

11 notes · View notes

tangledfan · 7 years

Text

5H love + CC love

Be warned this is lengthy, messy and not planned to be said at all.. more of a quick rant in the AM.

Some of y'all can be so nasty.. I haven’t been in a fandom this problematic, ever. I’ve been in fandoms obsessed with money and we know the kind of ugly money brings out in some people.. BUT THIS IS SO MUCH WORSE.. it’s so sad to see such hateful comments on a daily level. 5h’s biggest critics seem to be it’s incredibly problematic and divided as hell fandom, to a certain degree.. I get it, you’ve had a hard year, your favourite group has had its problems internally but that’s for them to sort out.. not you guys. You guys don’t help the awkward situation when you put them against each other, none of us know what 100% happened.. we shouldn’t be the ones to judge their characters as individuals, what does thinking negatively about any of them do? Ruins their image. Something all of them worked real hard to have. Y'all are so quick to attack at one false move that may of happened years ago.. guess what? People change and grow up. Do you honestly want to tell me you’ve never said or done anything mean? Even to the smallest degree? WE ALL DO BAD THINGS OR HAVE DONE AT SOME POINT DURING OUR TIME ON EARTH. Most of us don’t know them personally. These girls love their fans and (FYI) I’m not speaking about all of you because some of you are amazingly loyal and so kind hearted and don’t have a bad word to say about anybody. However there is also a large portion of you guys that think it’s OK and funny to attack the girls or other fans. Who told you that shit was ok? It doesn’t make you look good, it doesn’t make the kind fans look good and it absolutely doesn’t make the girls look good. I’m sorry that I’m saying this.. I don’t want to offend but honestly you should clearly know from the age of at least 6 that telling someone they’re fat or telling them to die is unkind and unnecessary. It’s hurtful and damaging and can stay with someone for the rest of their life. PLEASE STOP HATING ON EACH OTHER. None of the girls would want it. You’re a fan of only Camila? Then fine stick to her and don’t comment on the other girls things with the intentions of being mean. You’re only a fan of 5H? Then fine stick to the girls and leave Camila alone. You’re a fan of both 5H and Camila? AWESOME, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t love both because you can. The moment you assume someone’s character negatively based off the little information you have, which btw can be false, is the moment you start to build a fabricated picture of someone they are more than likely not. Always assume someone’s character is kind and good until proven otherwise by you witnessing it for your own eyes, stop listening to rumours, stop listening to the ones spitting HATE everywhere, stop assuming that just because the media is trying to make it look like they all hate each other that it’s actually true. Most of you don’t even see 90% of their lives, maybe there is a little bad blood there, maybe there isn’t but regardless I know what this industry is like. I studied it (and partly worked in it, not for long because I hated it so much lol) for enough years to know, I have friends involved in the entertainment industry who have been done dirty plenty of times- that goes for employer, media, you’re inner circle.. the list is freaking endless. Don’t just assume what you see is the full truth because behind the curtains comes careful planning and strategies. You have to have somewhat of a business mindset in this industry and someone always ends up getting hurt because feelings don’t matter when money is the largest factor. These girls have to go through gown fittings and make up and hair and when you get interviewed.. most of the time questions get pre-approved. Most of what you see on camera isn’t 100% honest. Do you really think these girls are happy all the time? Of course not they have feelings and emotions just like every other human being. Imagine having to do events or smile for cameras when you are feeling self conscious or sad? It’s the last thing you want to do yet they do it. Being an artist or an entertain is heavy and hard work. Show more respect for all of them Camila and 5H regardless of what their situation is. Enough of this whole “well this persons from their inner circle” or “it was leaked from their account and I have a photo or a video of a photo to prove it so it must be true” think again, do you know how easy it is to photoshop a picture or even make fake Instagram videos? People will constantly try to manipulate you even by spreading false facts and information to get them to agree with you, remember that, just be careful what you believe. If you didn’t see it for your own eyes in person or in a very clear and not at all edited video that is liable and from a trusted friend.. you shouldn’t base your opinions around it because you haven’t got facts, what you have got instead is more than likely a fake screenshot/edited video and a false assumption being created in your head. You’re allowed to have an opinion of course, just don’t cause damage to someone else’s image because you don’t like a certain act/acts. Y'all ever gotten into an argument with someone and they had twisted your words? That’s what it is like doing an interview. Everything is twisted and manipulated to look good, bad.. whatever fits the given situation better. Being in the entertainment industry is hard, it’s hard enough trying to figure out who to trust.. they don’t need to be weary of their fans too (again not the whole portion just the bad eggs that want to make it unenjoyable),The only person you should be telling to get off their high horse is Trump. There is a man who has shown poor character time and time again.

Sorry for the kind souls that had to read this. A part of me feels like I shouldn’t post it since I don’t want to offend or hurt anyone’s feelings.. I know you guys can think for yourselves and form your own opinions but it’s just a reminder that you shouldn’t believe everything that’s put right in front of you and that sometimes you should expect the unexpected. That’s coming from the biggest optimist ever but I’m saying this as someone who was really hurt in the past over the industry I choose to study and become involved in for a period of time.. being in this fan base has just brought up some past disappointment I had felt. The entertainment industry is far from perfect. I’ve cried and become depressed over it before haha. There is so much that goes on backstage even between stagehands. A band does not just involve the people you see.. there is a large circle of people who input not just the music but the situations you see. Just stop sending hate to one another. Please. It actually hurts my soul seeing such negativity all the time. I wrote this while trying to clean at 12AM and have not read over it so please don’t try and twist my words or point out my grammar mistakes. I’m tired and just want to give a reminder that negative criticism does not help. We do not benefit from HATE. Guess by not checking what I said I’m just saying what I felt in the moment so don’t mind me.

For the 99.9% of you who are completely innocent and enjoy the music and ignore all the horrid stuff that goes on in the music industry, I’m really sorry for bringing it up, please keep being unproblematic, I live for your loyalty and integrity. Stay kind and most of all respectful💚

#fifthharmony #camila cabello #5h #text post #sorry #fifth harmony #camren #dinah jane #ally brooke #normani kordei #lauren jauregui

2 notes · View notes

enemymine2000 · 7 years

Text

Fandom rambles: Destiel

Random disclaimer: I am late to the party, but I'm only just now trying to catch up on Supernatural. I have binge-watched as much as I could the last couple of months and right now I'm at 11.17, so roughly only a season left to finally catch up with y'all. Therefore I don't actually know what's going on in canon right now, apart from the random gif-set or meta. I don't tend to spoil myself willingly (too much). Random dislcaimer to the disclaimer: I tweaked the programmed fall of Castiel a little bit after I finally caught up with the show. (YEAH!) Meaning I added “a bit” to the text, but my argument still holds despite Chuck being kind of a douchenoodle. I also clarified some of my ramblings, while I added to others. Wild ETAs appear, but since I couldn’t catch them all, I haven’t identified them all. So basically I re-wrote some of it without actually changing my hypothesis.

That being said…

In my mind Destiel low-key exists in canon. It's not only the fact that it is always especially acknowledged in the more meta episodes – as much as I love Sam's fascination with the subject. But simply the way the show is actually written.

There was the line spoken by Sam, while Dean had his focus completely on bringing down the Leviathans, that went something like: “Are you looking at porn or are you exclusively into dicks now.” The casual viewer laughs it off as a nice pun on the name of main villain Dick Roman, but underlying is Sam's acknowledgment of the fact that his brother very well might not be totally straight either.

Random discourse on sexuality: I'm totally straight, so all I know is second-hand knowledge and stuff you read and hear over the years of existence. But what I know is that bisexuality does not mean that you can't have a predominately type or gender for that matter.

So us only seeing Dean's female conquests doesn't automatically negate any chance of him being bi. As well as him obviously favoring female Asian porn.

I mean, come on. I'm a straight woman, but I prefer to watch male gay porn. Doesn't make me a gender-bent homosexual. (Please, no wank on the nonchalance I display. Everyone does themselves, I do me.)

Sam practically always takes the chance to tease Dean about possible male/male relations when it arises. Mostly in connection to the Winchester Gospels/Supernatural fan fiction they come across and practically always in regards to Cas.

Little brothers always know best, I'd say.

So I take that as as much verbal confirmation we'll ever get, unless the show mans up and gets The CW to back down on their “please, no homo for main characters”-policy. Which, come on, Supernatural got an early renewal for season 13, they could really start to give us a treat.

Anyway… It was established very early on in the Cas' storyline, that the angel Castiel and the Righteous Man, Dean, share a most profound bond. Something beyond everything Castiel feels for anyone else, except maybe Chuck himself – but that is practically his operating system and doesn't really count as changeable feeling. I heard even Lucifer still loved Daddy dearest deep down in his blackest of hearts and by Chuck he really tried not to. So operating system it is.

Castiel having that deep of a bond with Dean is not part of that. In fact it even interferes with all orders he gets from Heaven in his first two seasons.

He is not meant to get attached, but he is and it slowly but surely changes his basic programming. He comes to love humankind in a way that practically no angel since allegedly Lucifer has done. He starts to understand them on a basic level even while still being a celestial being roughly the size of the Chrysler building.

Castiel falls without actually falling from Heaven. And even when he later gets caught and reprogrammed by Naomi, his attachment to Dean wins over his new orders. This bond runs deeper than his connection to Heaven and even his faith in his father, the two fundamental pillars of his very existence. Nothing should be able to beat that, but his connection and feelings for Dean do. Again and again.

Which is something that in my opinion can't be stated enough. The angel Castiel was a good soldier. The leader of his garrison. He was trusted and in return he had blind faith in the cause of Heaven.

The soldier fell because of one human man.

No matter his role in prophecy, at the end of the day Dean is nothing but a pathetic, weak human man. Functional alcoholic with enough issues to pay the bills for all of New York's psychiatrists. (I've heard there are a lot of them.) A guy, who as much as he loves his brother, he doesn't even fully trust him. Not enough to tell him that he is screwed up after his stint in Hell anyway. And it gets only worse as the seasons progress.

A man who doesn't even believe in God's plan when confronted with the proof of its existence. Ironically by meeting Chuck himself, but hey, a God does what a God has to do, right.

And here it is, something I think is highly overlooked when it comes to the discussion of whether or not Destiel might be real, going canon or what-not. The fact that Chuck not only knew about Castiel falling, but it was part of His very own plan. Castiel needed to fall for the Winchester Gospels, which were practically the Word of God – without anyone knowing at that point, okay, but still – to play out as intended. (ETA: As much as the Apocalypse in Supernatural had been engineered by leader-less, bored angels, its happening has been foretold for close to 2000 years, I guess from the prophecy of John until today, so even without the Winchester Gospels a Righteous Man was foretold to break the first seal, so there always needed to be an angel to raise the Righteous Man out of Hell - innocent soul after all. For the ultimate fight in the Apocalypse the Angel Breeding Program always watched over the bloodlines which would bring forth the perfect vessels for Lucifer and Michael and always needed to make sure to keep the vessels alive as long as there was no replacement/next generation ready. Meaning of course somekind of guardian angel. Lucky Cas, he just was doomed from the start, when the bored upper echelon jump-started the Apocalypse program. Because of course he was chosen (? - programmed?) to raise the Righeous Man, who just happened to be Dean freaking Winchester, Michael’s perfect vessel. The Upper Echelon and The Angel Breeding Program obviously were never good in keeping each other informed. Which is why Chuck hadn’t expected Castiel to be there, despite the Winchester Gospel - the amended version of the original prophecy. When Chuck still was on top of everything Heaven, those mistakes simply didn’t happen and therefore even God himself could not foresee Castiel taking an active part in the Apocalypse - with the rebellion so to speak. But Chuck definitevly foretold, aided and abetted even, the rebellion and hoped to himself to stop his own program, for it was not meant to go off that early. And he really couldn’t have his angels running roughshod over his plans, especially while He still enjoyed his creation. As a nice little compensation for stopping the unstoppable, Chuck rebuild Castiel after Lucifer was back in the cage. But the angel was already infected with the Winchester-virus and still screwed, which at this point Chuck must have known, even when he still didn’t overly care for his ��son” and whatever would happen with Heaven going forwards.)

So since Chuck in Supernatural, despite all his flaws, still is an all powerful and omniscient being, it de facto was God's Will for Castiel turning his wings on Heaven for Dean's sake. (ETA: Him knowing and not changing things in this case means “God’s Will”. We can not assume not knowing, since Chuck turned up for “Supernatural - The Musical”. We know he did not care until it was actually kind of too late - if it wasn’t for the Winchesters - and threatened His own being for once. So if He knew and did not change things, it implied His Will, even if only by omission of doing something else.) He might not have known about the clusterfuck Heaven produced due to jump-starting the program, but he did not change the course history would take after by running an anti-virus program against human emotions through Castiel when he rebuild the latest version he had transformed into. The version that going forward had the free will to go against Heaven and therefore laying the groundwork for the literal fall of all angel-kind. (Something that He still, to the best of my knowledge has not fixed. So all angels still depend on the stairway to Heaven, Cas is so far gone down the human route, he practically is human inside. So whatever clusterfuck “of cosmic proportions” happens next, I blame it on Chuck for not taking the time to reorganize Heaven before He made of with Amara to wherever.)

Heavily flawed Dean Winchester - ah well, even Chuck couldn't plan out all details in advance. But the Winchester line was part of the Angel Breeding Program and therefore always meant to produce Michael’s, but with an infusion of demon-blood also Lucifer’s. And there must have been a point in history, where it was obvious to look to Dean when it came to the Righteous Man. I mean, the Upper Echelon were not one day like: “Let’s jump-start Apocalypse, who is the most likely candidate for breaking the first seal in Hell right now.” They must have known to watch for Dean, before he was taken by the hellhounds. To observe, how long he would hold out. They must have planned to have him being the Righteous Man from the moment he made that damn crossroads deal. Them not intervening on his behalf is evidence enough for that. Dean Winchester was Michael’s perfect vessel. The only possible candidate at that point. Adam was not a product of the Angel Breeding Program, therefore not on their radar until the Winchester brothers discovered his existence, which was after the Apocalypse had started and Dean had already declined various attempts to have him become Michael’s meatsuit. The Angel Breeding Program was desperate, for the Apocalypse was to far advanced to delay the ultimate fight much longer and in the Upper Echelon’s need to have something happen, they missed the fact that it’s always good to have a spare. Which normally would have been Sam, but alas, demonblood infusion. A goner for Lucifer as far as they were concerned - and hence probably the only reason they were so desperate in having him stop consuming demonblood. He was too far ahead schedule for Heaven’s liking. So, having Dean be the vessel while also be the Righteous Man was not well thought out, but the Upper Echelon hazarded the consequences. They send Castiel to raise him after the First Seal was broken and kept him on his case, so the vessel would not be gone before it was its time to be used by Michael. Practically a 2-1-deal for Heaven, right? Only Dean’s main flaw is to go against the machine and beat the odds or die trying. Therefore he corrupted Castiel and formed him to be the Cas we all know and love.

All in Chuck's plan, by planing the Apocalypse and not changing the program once it was started by Heaven - although, maybe he did. We call Chuck’s books “The Winchester Gospels”, but are they still gospels, when God himself wrote the script? He sure didn’t care about everything enough anymore, but he still kind of liked just being with his creation and he definitively is a stronger being than all others, except Amara. So he could have simply changed some things to keep his creation going without outright stopping the Apocalypse - which was meant to happen anyway by him, just not that year - but in favor of Team Free Will. Or maybe he really did not care either way and had already his room prepared and was willing to wait there for whatever as long earth itself continued to exist - well, and Amara was not freed, I’m pretty sure that would have been an instant deal-breaker. Either way, Chuck’s plan. Either by action or inaction.

But, you say, what does that all make Dean and Cas necessarily into a gay romance thing. Nothing at first. But then you must also remember that Cas is a celestial being first and foremost. He is only a he, because Jimmy Novak's body turned out to be his perfect vessel. Angels are basically genderless and as Cas himself once said during his first couple of seasons, they don't judge based on gender or sexuality. It simply is what it is.

That also makes the point moot some might offer up, that Cas only ever seemed to be physically attracted to women.

For starters we have way too little data. Cas has had a boner watching hetero porn (in reaction to the babysitter or the pizza-man we don’t know) and in a pinch acted out on what he saw with Meg. That was not attraction, that was simply a life and death - try to distract them - situation. Meg being attracted to Cas is another thing altogether. But to quote Jensen on whether he ever thought about Jared in a sexual way: “Who wouldn't want to tap that!”

So the whole Clarence-schtick starts. Cas not being in his right mind at the time makes everything we might see from him, before he regains his sanity, moot. Consensual issues and all that jazz. Even for celestial beings.

Remains the one line about him having been willing to give it a try before Meg sacrifices herself. Again with the “Who wouldn't want to tap that.”

Cas genuinely came to care for that demon, who had been willing to go against everything demons stand for and help out an angel. Said demon inhabiting a nicely build body and obviously being good at kissing is not a turn-off either.

But most importantly, both knew that it would have taken a miracle for Meg to survive the coming minutes. It was their way of comforting each other and saying goodbye.

The next one we are being shown is April. Cas has now truly fallen in every imaginable way. Heaven's Gates are closed, he is without his grace and thus purely human and on the run from literally every angel there is. And all are on earth, he can't see their true faces anymore and he feels he has to protect the Winchesters by staying away after what has happened with Hael, who pretended to be on his side only to turn around and use him for her own gain.

April appears to be human and nice and one thing leads to another. Not necessarily to be taken romantically. I mean, take a look at the situation and try to imagine living it yourself.

At this point Cas is as human as he can possibly be emotionally. He is on the run, running on empty, injured and doesn't know whether there will ever be a safe place for him anywhere. He doesn't even know, where he belongs to anymore. He will always be angelic at heart – literally an eternity of being one will not be so easily erased – but he is truly human now. The Gates of Heaven are closed, so even if he somehow got his grace back, he would still be trapped on earth. Should the Gates of Heaven open again, he would not be welcomed due to his role in the Fall and his time as Godstiel.

His live is in danger from practically everyone now – humans are so much more fragile and complex as angels – his only allies are the Winchesters who are always in trouble one way or the other and really don't need all angelkind on their case too. He is hurting on all levels and there is just this one little beacon of hope called April. Doesn't hurt that she is attractive and he inhabits a hot-blooded male body, which obeys a simple programming. Eat, sleep, procreate. Repeat.

The only true interest on an emotionally level Cas shows to a woman is during his Steve days. But then again, he is new at this whole being human thing. He desperately tries to blend in and Nora seems to be genuinely kind to him.

He misreads her intentions though, for he simply doesn't know better. Nuances of human interaction are still too much to handle for the former angel. Not too forget, that he is disappointed in Dean for turning him away from the bunker.

What would you do if you literally had no one else and would wanted to fit in? You either despair or you would try to find new friends. In this scenario, you would accept the apparent invitation for a date and go with the motions. (We literally see him imitating others in that very episode, where he to goes with the motions without understanding the subtext of the interactions.)

IDean's appearance in “Steve's” town throws an emotional wedge into Cas' new life. Despite him still going through the motions, his pain is palpable. He misses being Cas, he misses Dean and it hurts him, that Dean seems to be so nonchalant about the prospect of him dating. Enter the Rit Zien, the “mercy-killer-angel” Ephraim, who comes after Cas.

That concludes the data. At least as far as I'm currently aware. Three females (at least in body) and a porn video (maybe).

Again, Cas as an angel simply has no appointed gender. No appointed sexuality. He simply does not care about such concepts. It is what it is at any given moment.

But his heart, well, that is another matter. The strongest emotions he feels when it is Dean. The strongest bond is to Dean. Dean is acknowledged in canon to be his ultimate weakness and also strength in nearly every episode Cas makes an appearance.

So saying that Cas not only loves Dean, like he would love all humankind (Chuck programmed that into his angels too), but is in love with him is not a stretch. It simply is stating a fact.

So back to Dean's point of view. There is way more data to be had canonically. But also a lot to be left to the imagination.

We hear a lot more about Dean's conquests than we do actually see them. Whenever Dean has a night in the town, so to speak, it is more alluded to the fact that he picked up a random woman than actually shown. So it could very well be, that some random men might be among the conquests.

I again might want to remind you, that Sam is completely calm about the prospect of Dean being with men. He never even hints at being uncomfortable with the thought.

I mean, I don't know about your family, but my brother, as cool and modern and open-minded as the little shit is, would still be left speechless for once if he suddenly got confronted with his sister turning to the other side. He would snap out of it very fast, but he still would have his moment of reevaluating me and our relationship, trying to figure out where he might have missed hints and stuff like that. And than the bastard would probably humorously ask if he could leave me and his girlfriend alone in one room. As I said, he can be a little shit. I love him regardless.

We see nothing of that sort from Sam. Meaning he had that moment sometime off screen, probably way back in the brother's past. Knowing John Winchester, probably not when the old man was around, but had left his sons somewhere in a motel by themselves.

Well, I've heard teenaged boys are horny as fuck and no adult supervision and only a little brother to think about… Who knows how many conquests Dean had in those dingy motels while being left behind to look after little Sammy. Who knows, maybe Dean even had to do some stuff of the sexual kind, just to keep questions at bay and Child Protective Service off their backs. (I mean come on, John was sometimes gone for weeks and two underage sons left in dingy motels without parental supervision sure raises questions and causes problems. Keyword being “dingy” here – low-lives are to be expected, societal outcasts and all the crop of the worst. And they were not so far of the grit as to have noone care either. The boys went to school, so had to probably meet the guidance counselors frequently and as much as humans are flawed, at least a couple must have cared that these boys were permanently moved around and left in motels. You get where I'm coming from.)

Dean was drilled from 4 years old to do literally everything he can to keep Sam safe. You know he would go down on his knees to blow someone if that is what it takes.

So, I think Dean thinks sex is sex, no matter the gender. No hindrance on the matter of Cas occupying a male vessel for him.

Emotionally is a different matter altogether, but that’S not because of some big gay revelation but because everything and everybody Dean loves dies. He learned that when he was 4 and his mother burned. He learned that again and again at the knee of his father, while he was taught to be Daddy’s perfect little soldier. Don’t feel for those people, just come in save them or gank them, when they are monsters. It is the family business.

Imaging living that life! Being responsible for your younger brother like a parent, being a soldier instead of a son for your father and just slightly more than a passing glance for those you meet on the road. The only one who cared for Dean’s emotional well-being was Bobby (and later that guy on that farm for wayward boys). That is not enough to learn normal human responses and emotions.

Case in point Dean chosing the family business because he saw Sam in his father’s car, when John came to take him away from that farm, instead of saying “screw you, I’d rather go to prom with my girl”. Because that would have been a normal teenage response to being left behind and then actually liking where you end up. Teenagers are self-centered. Dean is not. He is Sam-centered. All his relationships (romantic and otherwise) show that over the course of the show and it only started ro gradually change once Dean could shift some of his focus away from Sam and onto Cas.

Lisa and that girl on that farm are the only ones, Dean is shown to have allowed in deeper. But still not deep enough. He left the girl basically for Sam. He did the same with Lisa. Oh, with Lisa he says, it’s because bad things tend to follow him home and it will never stop, so he not only leaves her and Ben, but actually has himself erased from their memories. But it’s more that he can’t open himself to them fully. He can’t let them in and just assumes, they wouldn’t want in anyway with all the creepy things that wait there. He never even tells his brother that he loves him, instead having the “bitch, jerk”-ritual. No, Dean tends to keep it casual, because that is what was drilled into him by his father. The very father who lost his wife and couldn’t deal with it other than to seek revenge until the very end. No matter the consequences. Even if those were the lives of his sons. The very father, who had another son, which he also could not let in. Because what you love dies, so better not commit to such an emotion. At the other end of this we have emotionally constipated Dean, who never learned to love anybody except his brother, who lets in Cas. He trusts Cas, when he can’t even trust his own brother. Even when ruled by the Mark of Cain his trust lies with Cas. He asks him to take him down when he loses control. It is Cas he asks to care for Sam, when he can’t anymore, when he gets ready to meet his fate, when he carries the soul-bomb to Amara. The guy who says he does not do chick-flick moments has those with Cas en masse, but with no one else. Even Sam. Case in point, the aforementioned wish for Cas to put him down, when Dean still denies for a couple of more episodes getting worse to Sam. Or when meeting Cas (at that point possessed by Lucifer) in the bunker, telling him about his special connection to Amara, when he didn't tell Sam anything beyond “I met her and we didn't kill each other and that's how I landed a mile away from Baby in a field”. It took again a couple of more episodes for him to admit that to Sam and probably only because he knew he needed to, otherwise he would ruin their chance to banish the Darkness.

Dean showing his emotions for Cas in coming through for him, trusting him with his inner most thoughts and secrets, is practically his way of shouting his feelings for his angel from the rooftops. And the world, demons and angels and everything in-between, takes notice.

In conclusion:

Destiel is already canon. But it is a frustratingly slow burn. Maybe we will never been shown them as a couple for various reason – doesn't fit into the narrative, destroys the flow of the show, or the execs at the network don't want something like that on the screen – but it already is.

And the actors already play towards it.

Misha's blatantly baiting of the bond, heart-eyes and all, shows that as the actor who has to portrait Castiel, he knows and understands the love his angel feels towards that damaged human. And the exasperation that Dean has not yet acknowledged it openly, when the whole universe is already aware, but that is Dean Winchester for you and what is he to do…

Jensen stating that he does not see Destiel shows how Dean can not (yet) acknowledge the emotional bond beyond friendship. As an actor he simply can't allow for fannish what-ifs and headcanons. Dean has to keep a certain amount of distance. He is hurt by all the losses in his life and he will not admit to feelings for Cas, if there is the slightest chance of the angel getting in danger because of him.

That certainly would make sense from a director/writer's point of view. Maybe Misha has been told that Destiel is a already thing, while Jensen has not been told the same, to keep that vibe of uncertainty which gives so much motivation for the characters and so many plots for the show.

Maybe everything I wrote is total beeswax and Destiel is all in my head. But at least you'll get now some of the reasons, why I ship them.

#Supernatural #Destiel #meta #my thoughts on the matter #just rambling #because of the recent fandom wank #late to the party #story of my life

1 note · View note

survivorbouvetisland · 7 years

Text

Final Tribal Council: Opening Speeches!

LILY’S OPENING SPEECH

Hello everyone! I’d like to start this speech off by congratulating my fellow finalists, Andrew and Bodhi. Although both of them played things differently, they both played stellar games, and I’m glad to sit by their side. I’d also like to thank you all for helping me make it to the finale, whether it was indirectly or directly. All of y’all played wonderfully and made this game rather enjoyable. As you may be able to tell by looking at my history here, pre-merge wasn’t too huge for me (it was basically just trying to win immunity and not die), but it did help me to initially form some close alliances that helped me make it to where I am today. From that very first swap, Andrew and I stuck close together, and I made sure to keep myself friendly with everyone else (except Regan :P), gaining the trust of Jacob and Jay along the way. I established enough of a bond with everyone who I could actually be with before merge so that I could survive more than my first round. Which kind of helped, seeing as I wasn’t much of a threat at all and ended up on the minority a lot, sometimes even being the sole vote for whoever my target happened to be. Like I mentioned before, the votes never really shifted too much in my favor during the early merge, and I was often left both looking and feeling clueless when tribal itself rolled around. However, during the round where Trixie went home, I began to shift myself over into the majority, flipping on my former allies to join up with Andrew and the boys to take out Trixie, and it turns out that I was the vote needed to get them into the majority. From that point on, my game took a turn for the better, and I soon found myself somewhat in control, even if it wasn’t that obvious. Soon thereafter, Jacob approached me with a plan: He, Andrew, Nehemiah and I would all flip on our alliance to vote out Bodhi, to eliminate the “snake” of the Lugia tribe. However, word got out of that, and I knew that it would be a horrible idea to follow through with the plan and take the risk of alienating myself and putting myself in the minority so shortly after I had gotten myself into a better position. So, in an effort to keep the peace between me and both Bodhi and Jacob, I cast my vote for Nicholas, indirectly sending Jacob to the jury and keeping the respect of my peers. That respect would be crucial from that point forwards, as the game narrowed down and every move that we made would have an impact on the flow of the round. There was a rather clear divide from that point forth, with Roxy and Nicholas standing against me, Andrew, Nehe, and Bodhi, with Nehe occasionally turning around to cast a vote for me instead. However, I ignored the chances to retaliate and send him home for the reason that there were much more important things that I could’ve accomplished. After making it through the final 6 and ignoring Roxy’s attempts at persuading me into a flip, I took my opportunity at the final 5 to eliminate Nicholas, who was a rather serious threat to win if he managed to make it to the finale. Being close with the jury made him a prime target for that round (and thank God he didn’t have immunity), and I was able to make sure that the vote stayed on him with the two gentlemen sitting by my side at this FTC. Overall, although I may have started as an underdog, the merge gave me a prime opportunity to step up into a position of power, find close allies, and make it to the end of the game. Thank you all for listening, and I look forward to answering any questions that you might have!

ANDREW’S OPENING SPEECH

Hello members of the jury! First I would like to thank the hosts - Dana, Rob, and Daisy - for hosting this awesome season. You guys rock and I know we were pains in the asses a lot of times but we love you all the same <3

Now onto my statement. At the start of this game, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. These were a lot of people that I had not played with before, or people that I had problems with in prior games and was not sure if I could work with them. I was taking everything with a grain of salt, and seeing what I could do with what I was given. I was immediately able to align with both Nicholas and Jay in the beginning, which was a start. I tried being social enough, and I tried to show some initiative on the tribe. Pre-merge went absolutely fine and I never quite felt like a target. I felt comfortable, but not blindly comfortable. I felt as if I could solidify myself as a threat in the game that could have the potential to be difficult to take out. People seemed to trust me, because I was offering my loyalty. It was even so much so that I was voted as the representative to help pick new tribes, which managed to get Lily, Jacob, and Bodhi in my good graces of loyalty as well.

The major part of my game that I wanted to be the most evident was my loyalty. I never really lied in this game unless you were the target and at that point, I feel as if a lot of the time the target knew if I was voting for them. I was upfront with my allies because I didn’t see reason to throw lies around left and right, and I didn’t see a need to try and play the middle. I was giving out my loyalty to people I felt I could trust. At times, I felt like it was thrown back and kicked to the curb which was something I had to deal with. This could be applied to when I should have been voted out, when the conflict of whether Nicholas or Nehe had voted me, and when Jacob was taken out and I could not save him. But again, that was something I had to deal with. Just because I was showing loyalty doesn’t give that person obligation to give it back at the same level. But at the end of the day, I feel like that’s what got me here.

A lot of my merge game was based off of the trust I had in my allies and showing that I had no intentions on stabbing them in the back. This worked out a lot of the time seeing as Lily trusted me enough with her idol searching, Jacob trusted me enough to tell me of his idol, and probably biggest of all was Nehe playing his super idol on me when I was targeted by the alliance of QuilLynn, Trixie, Nicholas, and Roxy. Nehe has always described it since then of not wanting to see me go because he felt like he could work with me, and I think that was a large sum up of my game that got me here. I wasn’t giving reason to get voted out for a large portion of the time. I had gained enough trust with Nehe for him to do that huge favor for me. People seemingly trusted me and thus would come to me talking a lot of their game, and when someone comes to discuss game with you and bounce ideas off of you or discuss their idol(s) with you, then a lot of the time that means they aren’t voting you out. I became the person to talk to, and being the trusted ally for many people helped keep a target off of my back.

I think on top of the loyalty and “be the good ally” card was also the level of initiative I wanted to try taking. Admittedly, it didn’t work all of the time. A lot of it was used to keep Lily and Jacob in the game as long as I could, since I trusted them greatly especially after Jay was taken out. I managed to cater to a lot of my allies as well when it came to their varying opinions. The biggest example of this was probably when Jacob was planning to take out Bodhi. He really wanted me to vote Bodhi with him, but I discussed with Nehe that I didn’t want to choose, and being 95% sure that Jacob was going anyway, I got him and Lily to switch their votes to Nicholas to make it seem like I was saving Bodhi, when in reality I was saving my own ass. After that, Bodhi and Nehe still had strong trust in me and we were able to go from there. I needed to keep the peace between a lot of my allies not because I wanted a peaceful final 5 or 6 alliance to just waltz to the end of the game, but more so that I could stay out of the conflict and be trusted even more.

I think with all of this taken into consideration, I hopefully played the best game out of the 3 people sitting at the end. Both people next to me are obviously deserving, but I hope you see the strategy in my game that got me here enough to possibly give me your vote to win. I’ll be happy to try and show you any more that I can in any questions, statements, tasks, or downright drags you have on my gameplay. Thank you jury and I’m looking forward to your statements.

BODHI’S OPENING SPEECH

Hello Jury!

I'm excited to be here and plead my case to y'all, because I'm relatively certain that I played the best game, and I can't wait to get in to it.

My game was a combination of a social game that got me in almost everyone's good graces at almost every vote (with glaring exceptions of course), and a strategic game in which I flipped back and forth and cut everyone who I needed to in order to get to the end against two people who played poor games.

Before I keep talking about the foundational aspects of my game, I'm gonna run through a quick overview of the events in the game, the alliance structures, and how I fit in to it/used it to my advantage.

This entire game since the merge has been an extension of the Jay vs Trixie feud. This feud wasn't completely my doing, but I will take partial credit. Jay and Trixie were my two closest allies at the beginning of the merge. However, my goal was never to make them work together.

When the merge hit, I hinted to Trixie that Jay had a bit too much power, and right when Trixie said that getting rid of Jay was a good idea, I ran to Jay and told him that Trixie was considering voting him out. Trixie eventually caught wind of the fact that I had told Jay about her targeting him, which wasn't great for my alliance with Trixie. Unfortunately this caused her side of things not to trust me as much as I would have liked at first. Jay was voted out, which was not great for me, but I went to work.

After this vote, I needed to replace Jay as my number one ally on the anti-Trixie side. Andrew, Jay and I had made a final 3 deal right before Jay was blindsided, so Andrew was the natural replacement.

As for the other side, I immediately went to QuilLynn and apologized for voting for them. I also went to Trixie and told her how incredibly surprised I was that they voted her rather than Q, and that if they had told me it was Trixie they wanted out I wouldn't have gone along with it. I said that the only reason I was left out of the plan was how hard I was defending Trixie.

All this time, I'm not quite fitting in with a majority, but I have as many people as possible wanting to work with me. I'm in good with Nicholas, Roxy, and Nehemiah on personal levels, and the only people I didn't feel like I was actively working with were Jacob and Lily.

That is why I decided to target Jacob on the next vote. It was going to be Q, Trixie, Lily, and myself all voting for Jacob, and the majority splitting their votes between Q and Trixie. I had planned on voting for Jacob until right before the vote when Trixie mentioned that she knew who had the last idol. I concluded that it was Q right away, and confronted them. Q said that she did have it, so I decided that i wouldn't throw away my trust with Jacob/Andrew/Nehe/Nicholas/Roxy, and I would instead vote for QuilLynn because the split that we were planning on never ended up happening.

Unfortunately, Q didn't play the idol, and I don't think she even had it. Even more unfortunately, Roxy+Nicholas+QuilLynn+Trixie were all voting for Andrew, who was my way in to work with the other side. Nehemiah's super idol saved Andrew, and took out Q, which ended up being perfect for my game.

This vote defined more clearly who was on the two sides. Trixie's side was Nicholas+Roxy+Trixie, while Jay's side was Andrew+Lily+Nehemiah+Jacob+myself.

After trying to vote out Jacob last vote, I decided to be completely open with him and tell him why I did it. I lied a little bit to make it look better, but for the most part I was honest. Based on what I knew about Jacob, he was a fairly rational player who would understand my reasoning for wanting him out. I said that the plan was only there in case Q were to play an idol, I wanted the person that I spoke to the least in our alliance to go home. I was completely blunt with him, but said that I also really wanted to work with him going forwards. After this vote, I was actually starting to be loyal to Jacob.

The next vote was the only one in the game where I didn't play both sides. After Q had been voted out, Trixie was being rude to me in my PMs, which made it clear to me that I didn't have her as an option to work with anymore. And based on the previous two votes, I never really had. Trixie was voted out incredibly easily, and I used the opportunity to build trust with Nehemiah/Jacob/Andrew/Lily.

At the final 7, we were going to have another easy vote, and take out Nicholas. I talked it through with Jacob, and we had a bit of a split vote in place, but after a little while Jacob started becoming distant. The strategic relationship I'd been building with Nehemiah was built on the premise that he was incredibly loyal to just a few people, as we saw when he played a super idol on Andrew. This paid off when Jacob told Nehemiah that everyone was on board to vote out Bodhi. Nehemiah came right to me, and then we both went right to Nicholas and Roxy.

I knew that Nicholas and Roxy were huge jury threats since they flipped, because it made them underdogs. The worst thing to have at a final tribal is an underdog. You need to trim everyone who is on the bottom, or you need to be on the bottom yourself. But at the same time, you can't rely on a huge majority alliance, because someone has to be on the bottom, and I didn't want 4th or 5th place. My plan was to get rid of one person from my alliance and then bump myself up to be in the top 3 of the alliance.

Voting out Jacob at the final 7 wasn't fun, because Jacob/Nehemiah/myself had been my ideal final 3 at that point, but if Jacob wasn't loyal to me, I wasn't loyal to him. I made a funny voting confessional to make Nicholas and Roxy feel good about me sticking with them, but I never planned on doing that. However, Nehemiah showing me his loyalty at this vote gave me someone to trust while I needed to.

At the next vote, there were two well defined sides in Roxy+Nicholas vs Andrew+Lily. I made sure that Andrew and Lily knew that I was good with them, and I planned on voting Roxy out. However, Nehemiah came to me saying "hey let's tie it up 3-3 between Roxy and Lily and then on the revote flip to voting Lily out. I tried to explain how that was a bad idea, but he wasn't listening so I just flipped on his 3-3 plan to make it 4-2 against Lily so we wouldn't have to deal with a revote. Unfortunately, Nehemiah ended up flipping on this plan after I had already gone to sleep, and it became a 3-3 tie specifically because I had flipped on it.

Nehemiah did NOT want to go to rocks, so I easily convinced him that we should vote out Roxy. However, I used this opportunity to fully solidify my alliance with Lily which we had been struggling to do for the whole game. I had kept contacting Lily and trying to get her to trust me, but she wouldn't give me enough info to make me completely comfortable going to the end with her. Had she been better at convincing me that she was telling the truth, I wouldn't have voted for her at the final 6, but unfortunately she wasn't excellent at making me comfortable.

On the way out, Roxy accused me of playing a bad game, and that I was basically ensuring that I wouldn't make it to the end. I'll touch on that later, because I believe that it was an unfair criticism. To touch on it briefly, I used the vote to convince Lily that Nehemiah was completely against her, and to convince Andrew that Nehemiah was not to be trusted. This happened in order to ensure myself a place in the end.

The main criticism waged against my game was that I didn't guarantee myself a spot in the end. However, I did everything that I could to ensure that I would be in the end with Andrew and Lily once it got down to it.

After I told Roxy that she was going home, she asked "did nehe vote me too?" followed by "i mean for him its an ok move cause he has lily and andrew xd." I wouldn't have voted out Roxy and Nicholas if I weren't confident in the final four I would be safe over Nehemiah. Roxy misunderstood who was "in" with Andrew and Lily, and based her attacks on my game on that. I had enough control to get Nehemiah, my closest ally, to slowly throw his game away for me, while I built up my final 3 bonds to ensure that I'd be sitting here at the end.

At the final 5 vote, Nehemiah voted for Lily. This was such a blessing, because it made Nehemiah into an obvious target for my new final 3 deal of Lily+Andrew+myself. I told the two of them that Nehemiah was just trying to get the jury votes of Nicholas, Trixie, QuilLynn, and Roxy. Nehemiah had been my closest ally for the past two votes, but I knew that I needed to get to the end with a pair. It's no secret that Lily and Andrew would vote for the other one to win the game, and I'd rather they weren't on the jury.

The Nehemiah vote was quite hard but I'd been preparing myself for this ever since Roxy went out. I love Nehemiah, but I had to ensure myself a spot at the end, and that unfortunately was at his expense. I threw him quite under the bus because I knew that Andrew/Lily wouldn't vote each other out, and I also knew that I'd have an easier time beating them at the end.

Nehemiah called me a coward for not forcing a fire making tie breaker challenge, but in reality it was not even close to that. I knew who would be easier to beat, and I knew that if I was at the end with Nehemiah who had just taken Andrew down in a fire challenge, I would be at a disadvantage. Many of my moves in this game can be split between Nehe and myself, and I'd rather not have anyone else sitting at the end and claiming credit for my moves.

There is clearly a perception that Andrew had "puppets." I don't think that's true at all. Andrew might have had one puppet in Lily, but he wasn't controlling anything about the game. There were certainly two sides, but I don't think that my game (or Nehemiah's game) can be classified as one of those two sides. Nehemiah and I played more of a ping pong type game. We both flipped when we needed to but tried to play it off like we were loyal. The biggest difference between our games is that I ended up voting Nehemiah out.

From the very beginning of the merge, I was never truly loyal to any one person. I constantly was aligned with many people on both sides. I always had as many options open as I possibly could, and I was constantly trying to open up new doors to work through. I didn't get dragged to the end by the people I'm sitting here with, rather, I gave them permission to sit here because I am confident that I played a better game than either of them.

There were many points in the game where people expressed their dislike of Lily to me. Personally, I don't get it, and I think Lily is a wonderful person, but I knew that there were problems that people had with her socially that would make her easier to beat than some of y'all.

Andrew was playing a bad enough game that there was a tribal in the early merge where he received the majority of the votes. I can't think of a single thing that Andrew did all game aside from being nice. I don't think that is an inherently bad strategy, but the night that Nicholas was voted off we had a long conversation in which Andrew TRASHED under the radar gameplay. He believes that to deserve to win, you need to have made big moves. I don't completely buy in to that belief, but if we use Andrews criteria to judge who played a "good game," there is absolutely no way that Andrew or Lily deserve to win. Neither of them made a single move this game aside from sticking to their majority alliance and their pregame relationship with each other.

I played a game in which almost no one wanted to vote me out despite my being the player in the middle who posed the biggest threat to the stability of both sides. I played VERY visibly, to the point where a tribal question accused me of being a very vocal played, but I was able to shield myself from being voted out with my social game.

I deserve to win because I made the moves that I needed to make and controlled the direction of the game better than either of the people I'm sitting next to, while I still made great personal connections with almost every single juror. I never did anything that I didn't need to, but I didn't just let myself get dragged to the end either. My social connections were strong enough that people never went through with voting me out, despite knowing that I was a threat to win.

Since I won't be here to answer all of the questions (I might be able to fit a few in depending on when FTC starts) I'm going to do a brief Q&A session where I answer questions that y'all might ask me. (This is really just me asking myself questions and pretending I'm clever and important)

Q: Why did you vote for __ at _ vote?A: Here's a brief answer for every vote I cast this entire game:

Cole boot -> I voted for Kelsey because I wanted to create some drama. I knew that it was Cole or myself going home, but I was confident enough in my relationships that I didn't feel like I needed to vote for Cole. I wanted to create some chaos surrounding the sole vote for Kelsey, and not have anyone know who did it. However, when we swapped, I took the opportunity to call out Trixie and Nehemiah to my new tribe and ask for an explanation to the tribe chat of what happened at the vote from both Regan and Kelsey. This made everyone on my new tribe think that I was alone on my original tribe, but it was also just a really fun time for me because I knew that none of what I was talking about was actually real.

Regan boot -> everyone was voting Regan and so did I.

Kelsey boot -> I voted for Kelsey because I was on the bottom. Being sent to exile and then joining a tribe of 3 who have all been to tribal together very recently, at which they all voted together is a terrible position to be in. They were planning on voting me out, and I knew this, so I decided to ask Jay to get on call, where we had a pretty good conversation about a variety of topics, and then when I asked about the boot, we had bonded to the point where he was willing to flip it. Kelsey was my only option to vote and stay safe.

Jay boot -> I voted for QuilLynn because I thought that was what the majority was doing. Q and I hadn't really talked at this point so I had no regret. Before that was the plan I was going to vote out Lily, but Jay got me to vote for QuilLynn because she was playing both sides.

QuilLynn boot -> I was going to vote Jacob but Q said that she had an idol so I voted Q to keep my bonds with the majority alive.

Trixie boot -> everyone was doing it, and I was happy with Trixie leaving.

Jacob boot -> he wanted me out so I wanted him out.

Roxy boot -> I felt more comfortable going to a final 5 that didn't have both Nicholas and Roxy.

Nicholas boot -> with only one more challenge left, I knew Nicholas would work his ass off and have a guaranteed 3 votes. Letting Nehe vote with Nicholas gave me the opportunity to get folks to distrust him.

Nehe boot -> I don't know if this has happened yet because I'm writing my tribal answers before immunity results are even up, but at this very moment I think that it's what's gonna happen.

Q: Why did you call yourself Porcupine? A: Dana asked me to apply as a catfish. However, I didn't want to sign in and out of two different skype accounts for this game, and I've never been a catfish before. So I decided to play a character on the same skype. Porcupine played a very different game than Bodhi would have. I was a lot more sloppy as porcupine because I thought that would be a lot of fun, and it absolutely was. However, my sloppiness subsided after the final 9 tribal, and after that I tried to clean up my game but still play the same style of being on everyone's side.

Q: Pick a number between 1-10 A: 5

Q: Pick a number between 1-100 A: fuck you

Q: Compare yourself in the context of this particular game to a survivor player A: After considering Sugar and Adam Klein, I've settled on Johnny FairPlay. I had a sloppy start, but when the merge hit, I had the opportunity to pit people against each other and work with everyone I could. I had a bit of a mean edge in a few voting confessionals here and there, which I'm not exactly proud of, but my goal was to entertain the people left in the game to the point that they would feel good about working with me. I used the fact that I won't even be around at FTC as leverage to make people more willing to take me to the end, which can be perceived as a little bit cheap, but I could have decided to just not use it, which would've been bad gameplay. That doesn't completely correlate to the grandmother lie, but my using anything that I could to gain an advantage even if it didn't directly stem from the game can at least kind of compare. I was able to play a visible game, but one that didn't make me a target instantly.

Q: What was your favorite moment in the game? A: There are a few that I could point to, but my absolute favorite was Furbygate. This was an incredible fight after I learned that it was staged. Watching this absurd fight break out in the chat and having everyone fall for it was absolutely legendary.

My second choice is one that didn't happen because the hosts wouldn't let me. At final 6, I was attempting to convince Andrew/Lily/Nehemiah that I had an "immunity negator" advantage which stated that people would have to not cast their votes in the time leading up to tribal, and then live at tribal I would steal Nicholas's immunity and we'd all pile our votes onto Nicholas. But in reality, this didn't exist, and I just wanted Andrew/Lily/Nehemiah to self vote because it would be funny. Eventually I realized that the hosts would keep hounding people to cast their votes go the point where they would know that it wasn't a real advantage, and they might try to flip on me. This plan was only ever a consideration because the hosts were unclear as to whether they would let me get to the end or not, seeing as though I wouldn't be around at final tribal. For a little while I thought that they wouldn't let me win the game, so I figured it would be fun to explode my game in that type of way. However it turned out later that they would let me get to the end as long as I didn't accumulate too many strikes, so I turned this plan around and claimed it was just a joke. And it was just a joke, but it was one I wanted to go through with.

Q: Of the other two sitting next to you, who would you vote for? A: Andrew and it's not even close. Lily played for Andrew to win. She gave him an idol because of their pre-existing friendship. Andrew didn't do much of anything for his own game other than get into an alliance and hope for the best, while Lily actively did things for his game. Andrew didn't even use the idol that he was given well. He essentially threw it away, just negating one vote and proving to everyone that he and Lily are tight.

Q: you told me that you didn't want to win, is that true? A: there was a point earlier in this game where I just assumed that I would be away from final 7ish to the end and that my best path would be as a goat. However I always wanted to win, I just knew that telling people "hey I'm just here for you to win" would make them want to keep me around.

Q: How many continents are there? A: FOUR

Q: how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck had a will to live (Lily gave me this one) A: an adequate amount

Q: Why were you so mean to me on my way out? A: this is something I couldn't figure out how to fit into my main part of the speech, so I'll just throw it in as a question. I wanted folks in the game to think of me as playing a bad game, so I made cocky statements about porcupines and rewrote Dr Seuss books as voting confessionals so that people would think I was an easy beat at the end, and would want to take me farther. I capitalized on every possible thing I could think of to get myself to the end, and played a far more nuanced and creative game than the two people I'm next to. Sure, Andrew might have been more likable, and Lily might've won more immunities, but at the end of the day I worked harder at playing from every angle of the game and using every single aspect of how people think to better my own position in this game.

#yousuckatthisgame

0 notes

spaceboitakesflight-blog · 7 years

Text

Imagination as Respiration, as Regiment for Pain. Imagination as Fuck it. Imagination as Fire.

Note: This article is much more helpful if you click the links. They range in types of content (articles, research, data, organizations to support) and have a lot of useful information! The majority of bold sections are lyrics from Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star (1998).

I trust, I hope Philando Castile’s spirit finds rest and justice in the fires lit for him.

Police are pigs, and should be treated as such.

The state arrested 18 protesters in Minnesota after the verdict came out.

The jury was more over 50% middle aged whites.

Bill Cosby rape case ended in mistrial.\ Could be 365 days til re-trail, but they're "pushing it along"... \ And how many white rapists will they let go low-profile in the span of that time?

Charleena Lyles.

Say: Her name

How many more cops will go free after committing murder?

“Every year $9 billion dollars are wasted incarcerating people who've not been convicted of a crime, and insurance companies, who have taken over our bail system, go to the bank.”

2.3 million people incarcerated. And if you are aware of anything in this country, you already know the racial breakdown. The state will inflict fear in whatever ways it can. How physically, how psychologically difficult will they make it for any person of color to [fill in the blank].

How many immigrants detained? How many people (”terrorists”) held in Guantanamo? How many survivors of domestic violence unjustly convicted? How many queer folks, how many trans women of color locked up or killed for existing?

“Same song, just remixed, different arrangement Put you on a yacht but they won't call it a slave ship Strangeness, you don't control this, you barely hold this Screaming "brand new", when they just sanitized the old shit Suppose it's, just another clever Jedi mind trick”

Why the fuck should anyone wait for these racist patriarchal systems to magically change, when we could burn it down and start again? How much longer will white people continue to lie to themselves? How much time can be bought, to “hide like thieves in the night from life”?

This year I worked for a college access organization that serves first generation college students. After one of our weekly tutoring sessions, a visiting tutor asked “how we could have possibly ended up here”--”here” meaning, high school students not being able to pass basic math courses. I said there’s no question, the system is designed for these students to fail... In too many ways to count.

Colorism: an intentional set of lethal mindgames.

“The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” -James Baldwin

Enter the need for critical consciousness.

amerikkka creates its own twisted history. Writes a false narrative of motion. Spits it down our throats with pat on the back after every swallow. amerikkka stores archives of criminal evidence in its basement. Inconvenient, for gentrification, for the colonization agenda. Perfect for a culture of gas-lighting. Where violence hides behind the innocence of an opinion.

“Because white men can’t/ police their imagination/ black men are dying.” - Claudia Rankine

Imagination is deadly. Hence the state’s thirst to monitor and control the ways we think, the concepts we imagine.

“A lot of people don't understand the true criteria of things Can't just accept the appearance, have to get the true essence”

amerikkka chooses to stay mentally and emotionally disturbed, caught in an abyss of disgusting history, frantically running through the same corporate racist cycles that are killing every good thing on this earth.

amerikka will do anything to fuck with your head. Will force you to accept shit that is slowly killing you, or quickly killing the people around you, just to make it through another day. It will do anything to brainwash, to separate you from your own body, to wrap you in isolation until the fear of explosion is so great, dying doesn’t seem like a bad option. Suicide among people of color then, is not counted as murder by the state?

Enter the truth.

“This life is temporary but the soul is eternal Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you”

Put in the work your mind deserves to undo the lies it has been soaked in.

“Yo, I'm sure that everybody out listening agree That everything you see ain't really how it be A lot of jokers out running in place, chasing the style Be a lot going on beneath the empty smile Most cats in my area be loving the hysteria Synthesized surface conceals the interior America, land of opportunity, mirages and camouflages”

I don’t think any of us will see a day of reconciliation and justice in this life. But the idea of freedom fuels revolution. “Freedom” can exist in our minds. It is the act of imagining that makes freedom more readily available in the mind than it can exist among these physical systems of oppression.

“At exactly which point do you start to realize That (life without knowledge is death in disguise?) That's why, knowledge of self is like life after death”

"I will continue to say murder because where in this planet do you tell the truth and you be honest and you still be murdered by the police of Minnesota?" Valerie Castile asked.

Every time I see an american flag, i burn it in my imagination. I kill trump in my imagination. shoot him, chop his head off. i feel nothing but satisfaction. kathy griffith did it, for fake. a photoshoot. a stunt./ they took it for real life/ no fucks about the death toll in his name/

“So much on my mind that I can't recline Blastin' holes in the night 'til she bled sunshine Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline Heard the bass ride out like an ancient mating call I can't take it, y'all, I can feel the city breathing Chest heaving, against the flesh of the evening Sigh before we die like the last train leaving”

A lot of us are just trying to hold on. Not “go crazy”. Pay bills. Navigate relationships. Survive pain, hurt, trauma, loss. How can we move past survival?

“Life or death, if I'm choosing with every breath I'm enhancing”

Taking care of your mental health is important in order to use your mind to your advantage, to build structures of resilience and resistance. Understand what resources you need in order to do the work. Make steps to start the organization you have always dreamed of forming. Write your business plan. Pull the bars of music hiding beneath your chest. Write those poems simmering in your belly. Tag that building or train with your art. Be the teacher, mentor, parent you imagine yourself to be. Be the role model Philando was, and should have had more time to be.

Free yourself to take productive risks in your efforts to self-sustain.

Because for real, lets start our own healthcare networks. POC run history archives. POC art galleries. POC therapy centers. Our own economies, our own ways to exchange food and skills.

Collective revolt calls for collective imagination. No justice, no peace. Do the healing to find your peace. Allow yourself to form community, and ride for that community/chosen family “Who are knowledge, truth, and peace seekers”.

Fight for your imagination and the wonders it feeds you. Preserve your energy. Direct it in places of healing. Talk to your ancestors. Allow yourself days to feel sad and tired. Allow yourself days to feel strong and motivated. Keep trying.

They will never know where your inspiration comes from. Where your fire originates. They will not understand your ability to keep breathing. to hold the fire in your chest and not burn. to drink water then spit bombs on cop cars. to grieve so hard your body thrashes salt against the walls, then still grow so soft, so centered.

Imagine: create: like your life depends on it.

#blacklivesmatter #nojusticenopeace #blackstar #qtpoc #sayhername

0 notes