#less of the nostalgia goggles

[isfjmel-phleg]

🥽

[faulty-writes]

Hey I hope it’s not something that’s already been requested before but could I request headcanons of Mei, Mirio and/or Toshinori after a breakup where they would still have to be around their ex partner (because of school or work) and they’re still pining over each over :(((

Thank you !

[ Honestly, I can't recall if it has because this blog is about 3 years old. But even if it was, kudos to you for choosing characters that need some nice secondary love. I hope you enjoy these headcanons dear anon. ]

It still hurt, but Mei was used to wearing a poker face. Why the two of you broke up didn't make sense. She gave up her love of invention for you or rather spent less time with her 'babies' because of you. Now that you two were separated, she felt lost. She also couldn't focus with you just a few feet from her every day at school and that made her angry.

"So, how's your latest baby?" She finally managed to speak to you after a few weeks and as awkward as the butterflies in her stomach were, she felt relieved when you replied. Although she didn't care about your invention, she cared about your voice and being close to you again.

Naturally, she was determined to keep you to herself despite the breakup. This meant she was also willing to let certain inventions go awry whenever she witnessed someone else flirt with you. When this happened, she'd smile. "Oops, guess this baby needs more work!" She knew you knew it was intentional, but you never did anything about it.

You didn't realize how much you missed her until you found her goggles in your bedroom. When you returned them to her, a tremble coursed through your body when her fingertips brushed against yours. The urge to hold her hand was strong, but you walked away before she could say a word.

You'd toss and turn at night, unable to sleep knowing she was in the room next to yours. You missed lying on her chest and feeling the warmth of her body against yours. You also missed how her hand stroked through your hair until you fell asleep.

A few times you awkwardly found each other in the forest near Yuuei High. The feeling of nostalgia overcame you when Mei reminded you of a few funny stories from your time together. The memories made you laugh and yet wonder if it was too late to rekindle what you had.

He couldn't smile for a week after the breakup. Although it was unlike him, he avoided you which you immediately noticed as did your shared friends Nejire and Tamaki and sadly, this only added to the pain of your broken heart.

To think you'd break up with him because he was quirkless now was definitely a hit on his ego. However, in your defense, you thought it was better to give him time to sort his life out and not worry about you. But you realized you were wrong and regretted what you had done.

Nejire and Tamaki took it upon themselves to find out why the two of you broke up. While Nejire was disappointed that you broke up with Mirio because you thought it'd help him, Tamaki managed to get Mirio to agree to stop avoiding you.

The first time the two of you talked since the breakup was when you were assigned to address one of the first-year classes and there was an awkward tension in the air when Mirio actually greeted you with, "Oh, hey there sunshine," which was something he called you when you were together and it was then you realized how much you missed that nickname.

It was a nightmare to focus in class. To make matters worse his desk was not too far from yours, and the fact you could feel his stare, or at least thought you did made your stomach twist into so many knots that you weren't sure if you were still falling in love with him or continuing to feel that regret.

"I don't know how I'll do it, but I'm sure I'll win their heart back someday Tamaki! And I won't stop trying! After all, don't you think Y/n and I belong together?" Of course, he'd first have to figure out a way to get his quirk back and when he did, he'd convince you that no matter what happened, he'd never need space from you.

He thought breaking up with you was the only way to protect you. Heroes were particularly known for avoiding relationships because of their busy schedules and the fear that their loved ones would become the target of an attack. But he quickly realized he was wrong. While he tried to convince you to get back together, you suggested focusing on your teaching careers.

You never thought you were the jealous type. However, when Ashido made a comment about Nemuri and Toshinori on a date, even if it was in good humor and Nemuri shared that old men weren't her thing, it made you furious, and without thinking you lectured her on inappropriate jokes. The strangest thing was you knew Toshinori was free to do as he pleased but hated the idea of him being with anyone else.

Everyone including the students and your fellow teachers noticed the awkward tension in the room whenever you and Toshinori were near each other. "I can't take this anymore!" Hizashi screamed one day. "What is with you two kit kats!?" he demanded. "I'm afraid things have been a bit strange between us since the breakup," Toshinori confessed after you walked out of the room.

"Hm, I see so that's the problem, isn't it? Most men never know what they want, and they drive the people they hurt to do things like this," Nemuri stated as she entangled her fingers in your hair. You were currently lying on her lap, intoxicated. While she didn't blame you for drinking after you confessed how much the breakup hurt you, she was concerned about both your and Toshinori's well-being.

"I know it's not much but, I remember how much you like flowers so…" You knew he was attempting to make a conversation, but your anger got the best of you and without thinking, you used your quirk to destroy the flowers in front of him and while he was shocked by your reaction. It also reminded him of that fierce nature you held and why he was so attracted to you in the first place.

"No, nothing's wrong sir!" he insisted although he knew it wasn't wise to try and fool Principal Nezu so with a sigh, he glanced down with a determined look on his face. "There's not much I can do at this point. I know that Y/n and I may still have feelings for each other, and I don't blame them for acting the way they are. But...I'd like to find a way to become their everything again, not just their hero."

[saintmeghanmarkle]

When you say that Meghan is "manipulating" Harry you are giving her too much credit and him too little agency. by u/OldMenAreGross

When you say that Meghan is "manipulating" Harry you are giving her too much credit and him too little agency. I know some of you Brits (and many non Brits too) might have some feelings of nostalgia because you saw this man grow up and had all kinds of hopes and well wishes towards him but I think you need to be a bit more rational. He never saw you as anything other than paypigs for his lifestyle. He never had any intention to dedicate his life to the wellbeing of your country. He "served" in the military for just a few months 10 years ago and even then he was left in the camp playing Call of Duty while other soldiers put in real work in the field.You need to get over the fact that "old Harry" is not coming back because he never existed. "Old Harry" was a petulant spoiled brat that just didn't yet realise he could make money by airing his dirty laundry in public. Even before Meghan entered the picture he always had envy towards his brother particularly in the matters of money and privilege. When you say that Harry is being manipulated by Meghan you are giving her too much credit.Meghan could not manipulate herself into having any meaningful career in the showbiz (despite being part of it for more than a decade and having all kinds of connections) but all of a sudden she is able to masterfully manipulate one of the most protected people on the planet? If anything her failed career is a testament to how little she could manoeuvre the people around her.I read a lot of comments that go more or less like this: "Poor Harry is forced by Meghan to be an axxhòle! He's just an innocent victim!! If he divorces her he will go back to being a good person!!!" Guys you need to remove your rose-tinted nostalgia goggles and realise your opinion of him was wrong all along.The truth is it wasn't Meghan that "manipulated" Harry into being an idiot. He always was and idiot, Meghan is merely the catalyst for this newly revealed side of Harry. It isn't new, it's just newly revealed. She is a grandiose narcissist who happened to find a fragile narcissist. Two peas in a pod. post link: https://ift.tt/emul1Iq author: OldMenAreGross submitted: November 21, 2023 at 08:38AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[williamaltman]

Life is Strange 2 thoughts/feelings/review

So, Life is Strange 2. I finished the game yesterday and watched the other endings today. Things are not as fresh in my mind as if I had just finished and I talked a bit about it in other places so this feels a bit hard, but I'll try to lay down all my thoughts...

First of all... All my homies love LIS2, fuck you if you don't like LIS2! Seriously though, for years I've seen people say that the game wasn't good, that the characters weren't as good as the ones from the first one, that the Sean/Daniel relationship wasn't that interesting... I kinda did suspect it was just nostalgia goggles or whatever, but now I know for sure. I don't think there's anything wrong with connecting more with LIS1 and having a deeper relationship with it, but in this case I think you shouldn't even be comparing them and expecting the game to live up to that to you in the first place.

Now, onto the actual game. God, this was so fucking heartbreaking. I think I cried in every single episode. The very core premise of the story is just so sad, so unfair, and despite the powers so rooted in reality that it left me legit feeling uncomfortable with how fucked up their whole situation was. There are good moments, sure, but honestly every single thing that happens from the moment their dad is shot is just... Not how their life should've had to be.

Sure, LIS1 and BTS had dark themes too. But here, it's like, they lose everything from the beginning. Sean doesn't get to go to his party, to hang out with Lyla, to continue his normal life in any way. Daniel loses a part of his childhood. They're both forced to grow up so much faster than they should. There's a line Sean says in episode 3, and it's just a little idle VO, but it fucking crushed me, "Stop overthinking. You're not a teenager anymore". Even though he's fucking 16... He's 16 and he has to essentially become a parent. I knew what the game was about and lowkey followed it a bit when it was releasing, knew a few spoilers, but that didn't make anything any less heartbreaking.

I thought it was beautiful how the game took the opportunity to showcase and celebrate alternate lifestyles. The "family", Away, their freedom and how they interacted with society brings so much into perspective. I'm still a bit conflicted about Karen tbh, but I'm glad that at least they did show something beautiful through her story.

My biggest problem overall is probably how they handled the Finn romance route... I knew back when the game was releasing that despite adding a male LI, they pushed the female one more onto you and gave her more content, while locking the option to kiss him with a "bad choice" (I didn't know what exactly it was). And yeah, that is still true. I still think it was a mistake to lock the kiss with accepting the heist, and while I kinda understand the writer's explanation for that, I still think it could've been handled in another way, or they could've just let him kiss you and "betray" you by doing the heist anyway, since he still does that when you're friends lol.

I see people complaining that because they moved from place to place each episode, there wasn't enough time to connect with the characters... Idk if I'd say I disagree, but it just wasn't really the case for me. I was very invested in all the relationships, in Finn, Cassidy, Jacob, Chris, Karen. Everyone at the farm was cool and everyone in Away too. Lyla. You get so many tidbits about the characters even when they're not there on screen. The only thing I have to say which is kinda related to that, is that I think the time jumps were maybe a bit too big, and that the way they handled Mushroom was... weird.

I got the Parting Ways ending, and I'm satisfied with it. I kinda planned to get it, but only in the sense that I was spoiled that you get with Finn there. I didn't know that the whole morality thing had anything to do with it, and I played the first two episodes without even knowing that there was a points system about that and about brotherhood. I just made all the choices that were high morality (besides killing the cougar and the heist) because it was what I would do, and tried to be a good brother for Daniel. I figured that choosing to cross the border would most likely give me that one, but I just couldn't accept Sean having to go to prison for 15 years for something he didn't even do. If we were able to choose between Parting Ways and Blood Brothers, then I would actually be conflicted about which I wanted.

With the way the game's system works though, where you need to have low morality to get Blood Brothers, I couldn't really do it. I can't imagine myself teaching Daniel to be selfish and not care about killing people. I actually think it's super cool to watch Daniel use his power offensively and fuck shit up, but it just wouldn't be my version of the story. It's funny because, if we just played as Daniel, I wouldn't mind going that route. But since we play as Sean, with it being our job to raise Daniel, I feel a different kind of responsability towards leading him to become a good person. I also think it's beautiful that he gets to have the rest of his childhood, teenagehood, and live a "normal" healthy life with his grandparents. He does it in the redemption one too, but as I said, that just screws up Sean too much.

So, I'm a little disappointed that they're separated (and maybe can't ever see each other again? I'm a bit confused about Daniel's situation and whether he could visit), and that it's a bit shorter than the others (at least than the redemption one), but it IS the ending my playthrough led to and in that I'm satisfied.

I think this story is just incredible. It touched me so much, and the fact that some people can't see it genuinely frustrates me. The people complaining it's too political in particular can just go fuck themselves. It might not be perfect, but like with all things I appreciate, I'm just so glad it exists.

[gauntletqueen]

That person Nintendo went after was genuinely a very very bad and exploitative scammer, some reblogs on that post go into it in detail including how taking a portion of wages is a standard way to collect fines that cannot be immediately paid in full. I dont feel bad that he received legal action, but considering the total fine is so large he might have his wages taken from for life, I do feel like Nintendo is overreaching to scare others into not trying the same thing. Which I think is a really dumb and dystopian "we have the money to fuck this one guy up real bad so you better not try the same" situation that makes me think less of the company, a company I already disliked.

Bit of a meaningless ask, sorry, just saw a lot of people thinking he was some innocent modder and Nintendo was big and evil and scary, but really Nintendo just really screwed over one bad guy way more than was necessary and it was a gross misuse of power to scare others into not messing with them. No harm meant by this, just wanted to say this to someone, if you feel differently I'd like to hear about it

First off, yes, the story is more nuanced but Nintendo still comes out the villain with how insanely severe the punishment is. Second off, this isn't a single instance, Nintendo has a long and disgusting history of fucking over fans and creators. They are a built-for-profit corporation which does everything in its power to earn more and more each year, no matter what. It has been repeatedly proven that things like piracy and fan games don't really hurt sales, and for Nintendo to crack down on it again and again shows their disregard for the consumers beyond how much money they can extract from us. This should be taken as a harsh reminder of that if nothing else. The same goes for every other corporation, but Nintendo gets away with it the most because people are blinded by nostalgia goggles and the like.

To go more in-depth, Gary Bowser wasn't a "scammer". He ran a company that made pirating hardware for consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. Their products allowed you to run pirated and homebrew software. There wasn't any scamming there, the products functioned as advertised. The problem was that they contained DRM protection, preventing others from copying the software's code. Using an unofficial cartridge would lead to bricking the console, which is definitely hypocritical. It was also faulty and could, unintentionally trigger even in the original cartridges on rare occasions when you messed with settings too much for example. So yes, that is bad, BUT obviously Nintendo doesn't give a shit about that. All they care about is that someone used a Nintendo product or IP in a fashion which they did not ordain, profit or not, and they once again acted with extreme prejudice. It's highly likely that Gary Bowser will never, ever be able to repay the massive debt to Nintendo before his death, especially considering his poor health and age will make it hard for him on the job market in general. And there is no way Nintendo's lawyers didn't realise this, it isn't to recuperate any supposed losses. It is, as you say, a scare tactic, because Nintendo's higher ups care that much more about their money-making products over a human life which they have, effectively, destroyed. Regardless of how good of a person they might be. (all this info regarding the case can be found in the articles in the post I reblogged, and articles linked in the reblogs you mentioned)

[vmures]

Been thinking about meta and analysis of media and fandom, how we (meaning the fandom community) approach it, how we as a community deal with differences of opinion, and how all of this has shifted and changed over the years I've been involved in fandom.

I joined online fandom in the late 90s when I was in my final years of high school. The fandoms I was involved in varied in make-up. Some skewed younger and some older. Flame wars and obnoxious behavior existed and sometimes the dust-ups had long-reaching effects. I certainly had people tell me my takes or characterization were wrong, but not many. Fandom misbehavior is nothing new, but at times it definitely feels like it has gotten worse over the decades.

It's hard to tell sometimes if it's nostalgia goggles at work, or if things have actually gotten worse. But it definitely feels like people are less likely to go "huh, I don't agree with your interpretation, but I can see how you got there" and far more likely to jump straight to name-calling and nasty responses about how wrong you are.

But here's the thing. Canon is not the end-all-be-all people think it is. Because while we can point to the things that happen on screen, there are always a great many things that must happen off-screen. And when it comes to characters' internal motivations and drives, we usually are left for the viewer to infer those unless it comes up in dialogue or it's a book with a close point of view where we actually see what's going on in the character's head.

Add in plot holes and inconsistencies in narrative (some media is rife with these issues, others less so) and you have a lot more room for different interpretations because everyone consuming the media will come up with their own way to make the thing make sense. These interpretations and understandings of canon material frequently become what we refer to as headcanons. But, unfortunately, a lot of people have a hard time separating out canon and headcanon. Cognitive bias can make it very hard to understand that your interpretation of something is not actually a universal interpretation.

There is a reason that most Literature classes aren't graded on whether your essay was "right" but rather how well you supported your take and backed it up with evidence. And it's because there isn't really a right or wrong when it comes to art as long as you can support your argument, you've got a case to make.

I used to enjoy discussing fandoms with other fans, but more and more I try to stay out of those discussions because they stopped being discussions and started being arguments. And that isn't fun for me at all. It stresses me out, so I just keep quiet on these things these days.

But to all those who do share their thoughts on their fandoms and their wonderful essays about canon, go you (at least if you are doing it without being mean to those who disagree with you). I enjoy reading a lot of the takes even if I don't always agree with them.

[rlyehtaxidermist]

I think the biggest test of nostalgia goggles for the N64 era is Donkey Kong 64.

A lot of the big N64 classics do still stand on their own (I would list SM64, the Zeldas, Paper Mario, SF64, F-Zero X) or feel a bit dated compared to newer installments but still have their merits (Kirby 64, MK64, I’m not an FPS fan but I’ll include GoldenEye for completion’s sake).

And then there’s DK64. Which despite being lauded as better than most of the games I listed above on release, has aged a lot less gracefully.

[corvusthecryptid]

i may be one of the most cc!thomas crit bitches out there but i feel like ppl saying "oh that was one giant ad" rlly dont know how ads work. the crofters thing? that was totally JUST an ad. the first one was a song about the brand deal, the second one was literally multiple separate commercials in one video.

the stuffy video tho? thats how u mix content and advertisement WITHOUT it being intrusive or overpowering. he doesnt even actually mention that you can buy the plushies until the very end of the video. the rest of it just used them as props for the mostly unrelated subject of the video.

idk man maybe its just bc i rlly like the topic of "is it valid for adults to use traditionally childish items for comfort" (spoiler alert: yes it is) so the topic being a good one could be giving me rose-tinted glassed to a degree. but i rlly feel like that was different from like the crofters stuff where its JUST an ad.

did we get serious lore? no, but we didnt get that for the first 3/4 of the first season, either. so maybe its nostalgia goggles too, bc this reminded me a lot of some of the videos where thomas wasnt trying to tell an over-arching plot that never went anywhere. it reminded me of the early days where it didnt have to be about all the lore and drama and it was just some dude asking the parts of himself for advice.

so maybe its rose-tinted glasses bc of the topic, maybe its nostalgia goggles for the less complicated era, maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. but i rlly feel like this was at LEAST better than the crofters videos lol

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

if you click this unrebloggable minor ew vent post it's on you

glad i decided to nope out of watching this part of the stream, seeing chat call g'raha's bullshit in ultima thule "sweet and well-written" makes me convinced people wouldn't recognize bad character writing if it hit them with a truck

maybe if the writers ever took into account that his characterization is that of a manipulative asshole it would be good, because he is incredibly consistent on being a specific growth form of asshole, but they so clearly think his bullshit is cute and not bullshit so he's completely fucking unbearable to have pushed to the fore this much

maybe during dt they'll keep him offscreen long enough that i don't want to give him a one-way trip to the bottom of the ocean anymore

(this all would be less of an issue if a specific breed of g'raha fan weren't incredibly obnoxious if you so much as breathe in a way they dislike in his direction even when it's untagged, up there with the zenos hater reply guys (gender-neutral) for most prominent obnoxious people in this fandom (note obnoxious rather than actively harmful, those have overlaps with harmful groups but this is about people who are annoying)

granted, i also thought a lot of the ultima thule writing up to the dungeon was not that good. thancred and estinien are the only ones allowed to have any kind of tension, but they keep acting like the tension is at max the entire way through and it's just fucking not. you can try to argue that the characters don't know you'll succeed, but Y'shtola blowing the lid on the whole thing should have had more impact than it did on how the characters treated it. Also, having the two characters who are a single fakeout death apart (I have seen enough people 100% convinced that Zenos killed Y'shtola in stb that yes, I count it, and if you don't you're being disingenuous because they clearly want the player to think she's dead for a moment given that she has special textures for it) fakeout die AGAIN is just cheap emotional shots.

And maybe if EW had been allowed to actually heavily address any of 6.0 in its patches I would feel better about the weaknesses, because 3.0 has a lot of weaknesses that I felt were well-addressed in 3.x patches and I ended up with HW as my favorite expac! But EW's instead three expansions in a trench coat and they're not only not covered by the trenchcoat they're on the ground bc they fell over when they tried to add the third. The one aspect 6.0 skimmed over for pacing that 6.x does heavily address (garlemald) it addresses in different ways every time it comes up!

(thavnair doesn't really get addressed as a location in the 6.x msq, it's mostly about vrtra... which would be fine, if they hadn't decided to do ff4 but worse at the same time. and i say this thinking ff4's writing is very mid when viewed without nostalgia goggles, even if it was impressive for the console and era (and like, mid ain't bad given the technological limitations! i'm just sick of people acting like it's the best jrpg story in existence). just next to no effort to reinterpret it like they did with ct, weapons (i don't like the writing there at all but they did a lot of work to make it uniquely 14 and not "as seen in ff7"!), or the various scattered 5 nods.)

haterade empty. in conclusion i will be glad to see this expansion's back bc it's the only expansion where my opinion of it actively worsened as patches went on. e: honestly. i also would be glad to just stop having people crawl up my ass for criticizing ew's msq. i know that the loporrits are there to decompress, it doesn't change that i think they suck up way too much air for too long in an extreme pressed-for-time expac and, worst of all for a walking comedy routine, often aren't fucking funny in mandatory content. I can understand why something is there and still think it sucks shit in execution.

[katal0gue]

I'm very bothered by the cycle of sneering at and then later romanticizing marketing I guess. there are about a hundred posts about how sad it is that fast food restaurants' design sensibilities have become "soulless" (with McDonald's and taco bell buildings looking more boxy and less distinct than they did twenty years ago), as if the original designs weren't also just branding/marketing. another post going around is a thirst trap of the graphic designer who created a bunch of original Microsoft windows icons or something; if it had been a contemporary graphic designer for a company there would be a ton of commentary of "oh wow so queer and hot of her to make 'art' for a major corporation 🙄 Microsoft isn't your friend" but bc of the rose tinted goggles of nostalgia those very same people are in those notes admiring her and her designs. it makes me wonder what the people who are currently rolling their eyes about the barbie movie and marvel franchise will be saying about them in 30 years but I'd bet money that whatever it is won't be self aware or intellectually honest. if you think this I'd about u it is.

[h-worksrambles]

I was talking with some folks on Discord about Leo’s route, specifically the relationship between Chase and Kudzu. But during this discussion, someone asked: ‘how different would the story have been if Kudzu had been a love interest for Leo, rather than for Chase?’ And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Now for the record, I really like Chase and Kudzu’s relationship. For one thing, Kudzu is important in terms of contrasting the toxicity of Chase and Leo’s relationship with a more healthy supportive one. Kudzu goes out of his way to make sure Chase is safe, not out of obsession or because he needs Chase to function. But because of genuine compassion and selflessness. And they’re able to mutually support each other in the aftermath of the trauma they’ve undergone. He also serves to enhance Chase’s own character arc of being less passive and more decisive across the route. As Leo descends deeper into paranoia and jealousy as the hysteria takes its toll on his mind, he lashes out against Kudzu and kicks him out of the safety of Leo’s house. Chase making the choice to reject what Leo wants, and go and help Kudzu cements that he is steeping out of that noncommittal enabler role. Actually putting his foot down about what he wants by going to help Kudzu just as the raccoon has done for him. I know some people find their dynamic to be a little too ‘knight in shining armour’ adjacent. But Chase has honestly become more self actualised and so is in a better place to start a relationship on even ground.

But he’s also a foil to Leo in that they’ve both lost someone important to them in the past in a way that still affects their behaviour. Kudzu’s grief for his deceased boyfriend manifests in his aloofness and flashes of anxiety. While Leo is still struggling to get over Chase. But contrasting how Kudzu manages his sense of loss compared to Leo, who gets swallowed up in it causing him to hurt other people, is an interesting parallel. There’s also the fact that Leo stays in Echo as a way to hold onto his nostalgic memories of the past, while Kudzu goes there to get away from his.

Keeping that parallel in mind, let’s talk about Leo and Kudzu. They’ve spent two years as friends and neighbours. They’re both dealing with the fact that they lost their romantic partners. In particular Leo is kind of starved for any solidarity with other queer men, since the only out people he knew growing up were Chase (who has now left town on bad, uncertain terms) and Flynn, who is cagey and distant at the best of times and who Leo himself kind of ignored after he and Chase started dating (keep in mind Carl is still closeted/questioning at this point so he doesn’t really apply to this case). Suddenly here comes this new guy who he gets on well with, is going through similar experiences to himself, and who he can relate to as some of the only queer people in a bigoted, backwater town.

Even their personalities are potentially a good match. Leo is highly affectionate and protective, which could be good to help Kudzu, who’s still closed up emotionally due to his grief, out of his shell. Kudzu meanwhile is selfless, protective in his own right, but he’s also willing to put his foot down and, as Leo’s friend, tell him when he’s crossed the line (he knows about Leo’s enmity with Clint and has repeatedly tried to help Leo stop and see fighting with him isn’t healthy). On paper, they could be a good match.

So what if Leo thought the same thing? What if he had considered a deeper relationship with Kudzu? But he couldn’t bring himself to. Because he’s still holding out hope to rekindle his relationship with Chase. To go back to the good old days of how things used to be. It would make for a character arc very similar to Chase’s own across Leo’s route. Of learning to put down the nostalgia goggles and learn to let go of something unhealthy. And Kudzu would play the same narrative role as a healthy alternative relationship, to this deeply toxic one. But the focus would be on Leo outgrowing his worst tendencies and obsession with the past, with a partner who could not only help him make a fresh clean start, but also challenge his behaviour and inspire him to be better, to be worthy of the love he seeks.

Do I think this would be a better direction for the story? Not necessarily. True, it might make for a slightly more believable pairing since Leo and Kudzu had two years to get to know each other while Chase and Kudzu had a week. After all one of my only complaints with Leo’s route is that I’m not entirely sure why Kudzu likes Chase (sorry, my otter trainwreck. I love you but Kudzu can frankly do better). But I do think it was the right decision to end both Leo and Jenna’s routes with Leo on his own. Leo’s unhealthy idealisation of romantic relationships is one of the things he has to overcome. In his ending, he’s slowly making the first tentative steps to recovery by himself (albeit in an extreme, cold turkey way). And in Jenna’s he’s actively atoning for his mistakes, supporting a friend who he hurt in the past, Micha. Leo probably should end the story by learning to be comfortably single. But I can’t help but think about the idea of him and Kudzu as an interesting ‘what if?’ direction. So if any of you fanfic writers out there see this post, I mean…Free real estate.

[bleakbluejay]

Below the cut is me venting about the negativity in the mando fandom right now

I will agree that the writing this season is making some weird decisions and it's not quite as good as the previous two. It's not god-awful, but it's definitely notably less good. I will also agree that there's different ways they could've told this story that would've had more appeal (like, for instance, spending more time apart from Grogu, making their separation feel like something and have more impact, blah blah).

But there's some things people are complaining about that make no fucking sense whatsoever to me. Some people are mad Lizzo and Jack Black made guest appearances because it's gimmicky (Christopher Lloyd is fine though, I guess, since he's sci-fi royalty?) -- I personally don't care and took a lot of delight in someone like Jack Black becoming canonized in the Star Wars universe. People are complaining that Rick Famuyiwa said that the Mandalorian is not just about Din Djarin anymore and that it's also about the Mandalorian people -- this one I reaaaaaally don't get why it's offensive to everyone. I've been having the time of my life getting exposed to Mandalorian culture and seeing Din back at home. Learning about Mandalorian culture and people helps us understand Din himself better, as this culture and faith mean everything to him. I see nothing wrong with a character who belongs to a community-centric culture returning to and influencing his community, or that community being brought to the front-and-center after being background noise up until now.

I've seen people complain about the impulsivity Din's shown, as if he hasn't spent the whole show making stupid decision after stupid decision. I've seen people complain that Din gave the Darksaber back, after he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with it and the show has shown us how uncomfortable he is using it. I've seen people complain about the big ass creatures, as if this show doesn't try to shove in big ass creatures wherever it can in the previous two seasons. I've seen people complain about clunky dialogue and silliness, that was present in the past two seasons too.

And it honestly feels like the people complaining the loudest either didn't really like what the show is to begin with, or they haven't seen season 2 since it came out years ago and have the foggiest nostalgia goggles I've ever seen.

Again, not to say some of the criticisms are wrong. I've been sad, too, that Din's taken a backseat for most of the season. I was a little frustrated with how they handled reuniting with Grogu. Some of these side-plots don't make the most amount of sense (Chris Lloyd's motivations still evade me). I get it.

But it feels like all I hear from this fandom right now is negativity. What the fuck are you watching the show for if you hate it this much?

[jellogram]

Sorry but the internet did not used to be safer for kids. There was less data being stolen and it was less addictive but the content we consumed was not less harmful. "But kids these days are being radicalized!" Do you not remember the preponderance of kids on the playground making racist or rape jokes because they heard it in a youtube skit from 2007. Do you not remember liveleak? Omegle? Hell fucking Shrek is Love is basically a proto-elsagate for that matter. The internet might be worse for kids in some ways but this picturesque idea people have when they talk about the Good Ole Days of the Internet is pure nostalgia goggles.

[allisoooon]

Do you think tua tends to prioritize romantic relationship over others? Because idk, it just seems bizarre to me how lila and sloane became the love of diego and luther's life so quickly in such a short amount of time that they both are ready to sacrifice themselves for them and (in my opinion) often seem to prioritize them over their own family. I like the couples but it annoys me a bit that it seems like they havr become more important than their siblings i guess. And other relationship that arent romantic don't get the same focus like for season 2, Allison hardly mentions claire, Eliott bonds with luther but when he dies it doesnt have an emotional impact, s3 viktor dances and parties with the others like harlan never died etc... And luther and allison were so close but when he finds another romantic partner, they never really interact anymore except for THAT scene in s3.. Like if a romantic partner dies they get an arc/time to grieve (diego with eudora, viktor with sissy, allison with ray) but anyone else dies and they get over it pretty quickly.

Ordinarily I would do my "I am old and have nostalgia goggles for the days when there were way more episodes in a season so they had time to explore all these changes and relationships" but the reality is there were plenty of shows where this happened even when they had the time to do this. I do think the time limit contributes to it, but it's not the only reason for it.

Much like with That Scene with Luther and Allison, I think this show tends to commit to things it's not going to be able to follow through on.

But there's also the fact that all these kids have insecure attachment styles. In most cases, I'm pretty sure they have disorganized attachment styles (I am confident about this in the cases of Allison, Viktor, Sparrow Ben, and Klaus, but other people who know more about this than I do might disagree), which means there's already a push-pull dynamic at play. They tend to attach quickly and strongly but push those attachments away at the same time, not trusting them. I'm not sure if Luther and Diego have an anxious attachment style or a disorganized one, but those, too, tend to attach quickly and have a really, really hard time of letting go. Five's reluctance to attach at all could be disorganized, or it could be avoidant, but I'm leaning toward the latter because it lacks the chaos I associated with a disorganized attachment style (although I have a disorganized attachment style and might be even more avoidant than Five is, so it really depends on the person).

What I'm saying is that when it comes to these people attaching really strongly to their love interests very quickly, there is a psychological reason for it, and I think it's very well done.

That said, I definitely feel like Diego in particular needs more meaningful stuff with people who aren't Lila. They were able to write Luther/Sloane in a way that kind of encouraged Luther's bonding with his siblings, or created conflict, or just generally informed his relationships with them. I think, though, that the best way to get past this issue is to have the love interests themselves bond with other characters. Lila connecting so much with Five this season was amazing. She connected a little with Allison and the barest smidge with Klaus, but I'd like to see more. I love Dilila and Sluther, don't get me wrong, but I'm here for the sibling relationships, and the more Lila and Sloane are integrated into the family, the less they will compete for Diego and Luther's attention with the rest of the family.

re: Viktor and Harlan, though, I think at that point, Viktor knows the world is ending and he's prioritizing enjoying his last days over emotionally processing something that he will not be able to fully process by the time it all ends.

The way Lila talks about picking a focus is very telling for how the writers approach this: for most of the siblings, their focal point is each other. For Allison, I think it kind of was? Until this season, when she started feeling like her siblings kept blowing her off (which they kind of did--did anyone besides Viktor try to console her?). That's why she veers so wildly off-course from the others. Either way, unless the love interest becomes part of the family the way Sloane and Lila have, they really aren't a priority for the show and the other family members remain the only constant in each other's lives.

[ohblackdiamond]

ye olde nostalgia goggles (kiss kiss goodbye in less than one month) (a millennial looks at 34)

first off, listen to the stones' new album. it's beautiful.

as the near-last of the dying breed of glam rockers finally hang up their heels, i find myself looking back, too. i have extremely mixed feelings on idolizing an era or a hey dey (it's pretty miniver cheevy, if you ask me), wishing one was a seventies groupie, etc. probably in part because i'm now starting to see young kids idolizing the mid-2000's-- my teen years. i promise, that time period wasn't that great-- just different. it's really mildly unnerving to see that turned into some strange nostalgia bomb, and watch those that weren't around for the era pick at and latch onto microcosm aspects of it that don't encompass the whole.

let's please not bring back 2000's fashion aesthetic. that was a travesty. oh wait, you've already done it, and you shouldn't have.

i figure in terms of bands, possibly what is meant and missed in that longing for the past is the vigor and vibrancy of the tours in the earlier days, which i can understand. i would have loved to see mick jagger and billy preston dance together on tour, or ace as the absolute happiest meat that was ever stuck in the kiss orgasm sandwich, or, well, anything with that joie de vivre that only youth and newness bring to the table. but just because you can't repeat the past doesn't mean you can't enjoy the present. i'm glad for what i've been able to experience.

[thessalian]

Thess vs JK Rowling

So let’s talk about JK Rowling for a minute. Yes, I know that you’re probably sick of hearing about it for one reason or another. I get it. I just ... have a distinct need to vent here. So I’m sorry for bringing it up again, whatever side of this argument you’re on. Just ... come on. Hogwarts Legacy comes out on my fucking birthday. The only thing that’s saving my birthday at this point, given the mess the internet’s going to be Friday over this, is sushi dinner and a little Legend of Vox Machina watch party.

The summary basically goes as follows: JK Rowling is a TERF and a horrible human being, and she underlines that fact every time she opens her virtual mouth, and now Hogwarts Legacy is coming out and it’s been an internet slap-fight ever since. The reactions I’ve seen so far have been as follows:

“I’m buying multiple copies to own the libs!”

“I’m buying a copy but I’m donating twice as much to trans organisations so it’s fine, right?”

“SUPPORT THE DEVELOPERS OMG!”

“It doesn’t really deprive her of that much money anyway given how rich she is, so a boycott is pointless.”

“I’ll just pirate it and you should too!” (bonus points for talking about the cracker who’s making it a point to crack Denuvo over this, and that’s about the one good thing coming out of it because Denuvo is bullshit)

And then there’s me. I’m trying not to ascribe hateful intent to anyone who wants to buy Hogwarts Legacy. I really am. The only reason I can manage it is - and I’m sorry to put it this way but there’s literally no other way I can phrase it - US news is basically the centre of the media universe and a lot of people only hear the very basics about how JK Rowling is a TERF and a horrible human being. You combine that with nostalgia goggles and it’s a recipe for what I can only really call quasi-deliberate cognitive dissonance in people with the best of intentions. Sorry for doing this; I just need to pull this apart.

We’ll start with the nostalgia goggles. I mean, I was a ... sort of a fan when I was younger. Looking back on it, I can see why “more or less average kid from a household that treats them unfairly is suddenly elevated to popularity, wealth, a stable emotional support network and ADVENTURE!” had appeal. Thing is, looking at it with a more critical eye? It was racist as fuck. Not that much better on the sexism. Not any better on the antisemitism either. Apologetic of slavery (”No it’s okay because they like being slaves!” my entire oversized ass). Don’t even get me started about the “lycanthropy as AIDS” thing that she actually admitted to, and literally highlighting how she killed her gays when she stated that Dumbledore was gay after the last books were already out instead of actually showing any of that in the text. On top of all that, I can’t say with any honesty that it was even that well-written. While I don’t think a lot of people are forgetting that book 7 epilogue any time soon, the rest of it ... just ... doesn’t hold up to me. The wizarding houses that sold a few billion pieces of merchandise were just an excuse to legitimise bullying within the text. Her portrayal of Snape had her confusing “doomed love” with “incel”. Dumbledore was sold as a benevolent sage but came across to me as a fucking maniac and a horrible educator. Most of all, half of this series was held together with plot glue, communication fail, and having a non-omniscient, highly distractable POV character throughout. I have things to say about the pacing, particularly as regards the introduction of the Horcruxes and the Remus / Tonks relationship (which, given the “bad man spreading this AIDS-analog to people deliberately” the still somehow existing view of AIDS as “a bad gay’s disease”, and Remus’ bond with Sirius, feels like an attempt to “de-gay” Remus somehow, but all that did was code him bi and she killed him anyway, apparently to tug on heartstrings in a really clumsy-ass way, so eh). But we’ve got colourful houses coded by desirable personality traits (EXCEPT SLYTHERIN, like cunning and ambition are somehow inherently evil) and Quidditch and Every-Flavour Beans, so that’s fine, right? Egh. Sorry; I was never one to hang onto the nostalgia goggles for very long. I love poking the Jenga Tower of Logic too much.

(Also, frankly, if she’d taken Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and turned them into a Steve Irwin-type nature series instead of the racist imperialist pile of garbage that series turned into, she’d have been a lot better off. Though I’m not sure I like her rooting around in the cultural heritages of others because she handles this shit like a moose handles a Ming vase.)

Of course, Hogwarts Legacy is a different kettle of fish. It’s not in the modern era or anything so it can’t be that problematic, right? It’s set in ... *checks* 1890. So the height of British imperialism. Oooooooh yeah that’s going to be a Thing, isn’t it. Let’s see ... Super Special Student thrown into Hogwarts in their fifth year, Possessed of Ancient Secret Magic ... Chosen One. Got it. Wikipedia won’t even go into the full plot but what I seem to recall is “Evil (and Jewish-coded) Goblins Attempt Wizard Genocide”. So that’s nice. And its lead designer is ... Troy Leavitt, Gamergate supporter and creation of such videos as “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”. Which, given Rowling’s history with same, is on brand. So how about we not go too far into the “But SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPERS!” argument? This man does not need support; he needs a good swift kick in the balls.

So, back onto Rowling, because I really can’t talk about the game much as it’s not technically out yet. Yes, TERF and horrible human being, but there are examples of this that go beyond the shit she spouts on Twitter. As far as the TERF shit goes, here’s an example: a little while ago, the devolved Scottish Parliament wrote a law - only applicable to the Scots, incidentally - that said that people age 16 and up should be able to decide what gender to put on their identity documents. It’s called the Gender Recognition Act. Now, the UK government at Westminster didn’t like this at all, and - in a move they’re not actually supposed to make - blocked Scottish Parliament from being able to enact that law within its own borders. This kicked the Scottish devolution movement (already pretty heavy because of the end results of Brexit) into even higher gear, because fuck the English government wanting to uphold their terfitude so much that they’d dictate what Scotland can do in its own borders. Rowling is on the English government’s side here, and is very against Scottish devolution. The money she has doesn’t only go to that LGB Alliance that leaves out the T so very deliberately; it also goes to blocking Scotland’s attempt to unstaple itself from this hellscape, just because she agrees with blocking the rights of people to choose whether an M or F goes on their official documentation instead of basing it on their assigned gender at birth.

And then there’s her most recent book, written under her (ironically male) pseudonym. Yes, it’s a TERF manifesto with chapters, but it’s more than just “Evil Mass Murderer Hides Behind Woke Transgender Propaganda To Gain Access To Women’s Bathrooms And Murder Them”. That book also includes a “poor influencer accused of being ableist being murdered by disabled people because they consider said influencer too ableist to be condoned” plot. Fibromyalgia is mentioned (dude, I have fibro and even if I wasn’t a decent human being, I hurt too much to be able to actively murder someone). Also autism, which is pretty telling when you consider that she also says that “poor confused autistic girls are being forced into gender conversion because they’re too autistic to understand what they’re doing”.

If you honestly want to own anything with this woman’s name attached, that’s fine. That’s your prerogative. I am probably going to judge you, though. It’s not the money, or at least not just the money - it’s the platform this is giving her, and the validation. Even piracy says “I don’t care about your behaviour because you’re giving me what I want”. Not even need; want. I don’t get why anyone wants it, but people are allowed to have different tastes, so that’s a whatever-thing. But I live in the country where her voice has the most influence on things that aren’t entertainment. She is defended by so many of the wealthy and powerful because she thinks the same way they do. And the more she’s lauded for anything she does, the more they’ll point to her as something good about this country. She is not a good thing about this country, and no amount of flying broomsticks and jelly beans that taste like earwax can change that, in my mind.

(Also, I’ve seen some of the preview pictures - the game looks like hot garbage anyway.)