#rather than say. it's literal differences in title and identity. I just don't know! That's why I'm asking.

[the-musical-cc]

A HANDY GUIDE TO KNOWING WHICH FRANKELDA ENGLISH DUB YOU ARE WATCHING BY SOMEONE WHO'S GONE THROUGH BOTH:

It's been brought to my attention that some, ahem, unofficial streaming sites have the old english dub done in what was likely a severe time crunch by a studio that... wasn't really prepared for the task back in 2021, rather than the new and improved one released at the beginning of this month, which results in people meeting excitement over the english version with puzzlement and even indignation having experienced the former rather than the latter.

Here's a few pointers to help you spot which one you're watching:

Titles. @figmentedjedi brought it up in a post already but the 2023 dub has Frankelda herself read it where the old one has Herneval do it.

2023 dub has inserts for anything shown in screen that is written in spanish and otherwise incomprehensible without translation, included the titles of the stories Frankelda reads.

New dub consistently and constantly misses loops and just leaves characters flapping without anything coming out. The best example to this is Nemo's counter during the Gnome's song, where he's very clearly singing but nothing can be heard.

This is where the whole 'Old dub didn't really have any involvement or even revision of the Ambriz Brothers' comes in stronger but you know how the show's title is 'Frankelda's Book of Spooks'? Well, there they call the creatures in her stories 'Scares' for reasons I still can't discern, my best guess is they didn't really have any quality control on board with the project. Long story short, if they say 'Scares', it's the old dub.

If El Coco calls himself 'Boogaboo' and is autotuned AF in his song, you're watching the old dub. New dub has him introducing himself with both El Coco and The Boogeyman and has the same voice actor that voiced him in spanish doing the song. Trust me, it's night and day.

I feel kinda bad about pointing this out because I still insist the actors in the old dub seem to me to have been doing the best they could with what they'd been handed and this seems to have been completely on the production... but the english in the old one is rather clumsy. To be clear, in order to translate from spanish to english, you are often better off pretty much rewriting the sentence AFTER having understood it in it's entirety because the grammar and even the sentence structure can be vastly different between one another, so translating literally and word by word often results in complete nonsense or at least very, very awkward wording both from english to spanish and viceversa. This wasn't done here and it results in a lot of times where understanding what was said takes you a bit because the structure of the sentence was all wonky.

That aside, grammar as a whole wasn't as thoroughly consulted as it could have been. So there's quite a bit of fumbles. The ones I remember the most is the Mermaid saying 'All these innocent childs' and Nemo saying 'Chores' instead of 'Homework' (Tarea can both mean homework and stuff you do around the house so that was probably where they got confused) The new dub is a lot more competent in this aspect.

This one's more of a nitpick I guess but in the old dub they have no idea whatsoever of how to pronounce some of the kids' names. Tere becomes Terry, Uli becomes Julie.

They also call Pan de Muerto 'Bread of the Dead', which... it's not that it's bad but who even calls it that? We don't call Croissants 'Crescent moons' so I see no reason to, and if you have no idea what Pan de Muerto is, that name makes it sound unpleasantly like something made FROM dead people. 'Day of the dead bread', which is used in the new dub is not only clearer to what it IS, something that is consumed in the Day of the Dead, but they use it alongside the original name because that IS its name. I never understand when dubs want to completely erase the cultural identity of what they are representing, and they did a wonderful job going around that in the 2023 dub where the old one even calls them 'Breadrolls' at one point.

This is where I insist the actors at least had some idea of what they were doing for the most part but the old dub adds some reactions that were never there for the original latam track and weren't put in the new one either.

Both Totolina and Francisca's grandma in the old dub sound like they're trying for a really posh british accent (Which is hilarious in context, as it was Francisca's DAD who came from... I wanna say Cornwall as it seems more likely given the time period and provided lore, but her mother's side of the family are locals to Hidalgo.) where the new dub has a very neutral english. She is also voiced by Debra Wilson, and particularly 'You can transform', the witches' song, takes full advantage of her range and energy.

This one's even a little bit obvious but the new dub was released with a visual remaster, making it so the old dub is only available with the old visuals. The newer one is, then, only available with the remaster. Here's a couple of pics for comparison of one of the moments where it's the most evident.

Pre-Remaster:

Post-Remaster.

Finally (And this should make it a lot easier.) the songs are wildly different between one version and another, and you can reference what the new dub versions are easily because they've been posted both on Spotify and Youtube under the Water Tower Music account and the Frankelda's Book of Spooks topic. If the songs don't have those lyrics, then you're watching the old dub, simple as that.

Hope this helps and happy watching! Do watch the original with subs if it's at all possible because, I insist, it's amazing.

[starfellwish]

ML Theory: Episode 22, Finale, Ladynoir, and Everything Else

This will have rocketear and finale synopsis spoilers - be warned.

I genuinely do think that the two part finale of season 4, "The Last Attack of Shadowmoth" (which is,,, a title to say the least; more on that in a bit) is gonna be so tense for a variety of reasons.

Rocketear Analysis

We have a couple of gamechanger episodes coming up. Rocketear definitely was a gamechanger as Adrien was able to realize that Alya and Nino are aware of each other's identities with Ladybug giving them permission. And he's angry about it. He knows that Ladybug lied to him about the rules, and he also knows that her being the guardian is definitely something that has led to their relationship being affected (flashbacks to a previous s4 ep when he's like it's cool if she's the guardian, as long as their partnership isn't affected - well that was some foreshadowing, wasn't it?). Honestly, seeing that as Marinette makes all the rules now as guardian, her decisions should be able to include her knowing Chat's identity. But. Chat Blanc exists, and I think that her not telling him about it and hiding it from him is a parallel to how she wanted Alya to hide the truth from Nino (obviously this failed too - Alya went behind her back to tell Nino the truth). She knows that he'd understand if she told him and its better to tell him that he may destroy everything if they knew each other's identities than left him feeling isolated and alone and at risk for literally getting akumatized. By isolating him, she's quite literally putting the world at risk for Chat Blanc 2.0, rather than her telling him something heartbreaking and being there for him so he doesn't get hurt by Shadow Moth's intentions. I think that she'll come to realize this in the finale and learn from her mistakes.

I think that in this screenshot, we got a snippet of foreshadowing of what's to come:

I saw some people theorize that this is foreshadowing that Adrien's real identity is between Ladynoir, and while this could be general foreshadowing for the entirety of the show (Marinette is in love with Adrien, and that's why she can't love Chat Noir), I do think that interpretation could be misplaced here due to the tone of the episode. Instead, I believe that this is foreshadowing that Chat may reveal himself to Ladybug. After all, she literally knows the identity of literally every other person who has a miraculous, and is the guardian.

*Side note: It also reminds me a lot of Felix. Could be a reference to that? Not sure what my thoughts on that being, but it's just somehting that struck me.

Episode 22

In my mind, it would make most sense for Adrien to reveal himself in episode 22. We've been told by the people who make the show that since episode 22 is the 100th episode of the show overall, it will be incredibly serious. This episode may run the highest risk of Adrien being akumatized into Chat Blanc again, as tensions are definitely running high. However, another akumatization event could happen, and Chat could be left out again, making him angry. I think that him getting akumatized is more likely, however. This is because of his appearance in Sentibubbler - I think that's foreshadowing. After everything is taken care of, Chat Noir and Ladybug will get into an argument. Chat will tell Ladybug that he knows about Alya and Nino, and that he thinks she's a hypocrite. He was loyal to her, and now he's having his doubts about their partnership, because he doesn't even think its a partnership anymore. Ladybug is the guardian and has more secrets that she is keeping from him. She talks about Chat Blanc and tells him that him finding out her identity leads to basically the end of the world. Adrien is surprised that he was akumatized before. He then gets mad at her for literally hiding this from him when they could've taken precautions beforehand, and then could possibly assert that he doesn't know what else she's hiding from him. He also, at the same time, doesn't feel like he should be Chat Noir anymore if he poses that much of a risk to the world. He detransforms in front of her and gives her the miraculous. He tells her he won't be a problem again, and leaves.

Finale

Ladybug, of course, realizes her mistake and tries to get him back. However, over the course of 23 and 24, she is caught up with Alya and Nino's problems with them not hiding their secrets. Adrien is already scheduled to leave Paris for a couple of weeks with Lila, and Ladybug trying to persuade him to stay is basically one of the main conflicts of the final episode. Pair this with "ShadowMoth's Last Attack" and you've got a season finale. I think the name of the season finale, is, as always, a misdirect. There's no way Gabriel is getting all his miraculous taken away until season 5, as that's when the full reveal happens, so it seems like he'll return to just regular old Hawkie. I don't think it would make sense for him to be disarmed now and for next season's finale to have the full reveal. Here's the synopsis below so we can dissect it.

Shadowmoth's Last Attack

Having understood that if Ladybug always triumphs, it's thanks to her prudence, Papillombre (Shadow Moth) conceives a diabolical plan around a super villain endowed with the power to push his victims to take all risks. When Marinette learns that Adrien must leave Paris for several weeks with Lila, new muse of the Agreste brand, she is ready to do she is ready to do anything to stop him. How far will she go? Even to the fatal risk of betraying her secret identity for love? And will Adrien take the risk to finally stand up to his father?

Okay, so let's dissect this. What I said before adds up to Adrien leaving with Lila. It would also explain why Marinette would potentially reveal herself to Adrien, if only to get him to stay. Because she knows that he's Chat, and maybe her being Marinette will somehow influence his decision. Or, it may show him that she's finally willing to trust him with everything.

It could also allude back to the song in the movie. Since the Miraculous movie was originally intended to act as a finale to Season 5, we can take things from early development and see if they end up fitting in the narrative. In this situation I'm going to quote "Ce mur qui nous separe" (English translation: The Wall Between Us), the French song that was made for the movie when it was intended to be the Season 5 finale.

It’s strong when I see him I want to scream on the rooftops our love that reaches out to us But I know that I can’t It’s not the right moment We have to be patient be patient

Here's the French translation in case the translation Genius gave me was wrong:

C’est fort quand je le vois Je veux crier sur tous les toits Notre amour qui nous tend les bras Mais je sais que je ne dois pas Ce n’est pas le moment Il faut être patients Être patients

This part of the song is from Marinette's perspective, and the fact that she's saying that she has to wait for the right moment to actually be in love with him probably means that she knows Adrien's identity. Because why would she "know" that she can't love him? Why is it not the right moment? Why do they have to be patient? Her being Ladybug and being unable to be in a relationship may explain why it's not the right moment, but the fact that she says "our" love points me in another direction. She knows she loves Adrien, and she knows that Chat, and therefore, Adrien, loves her. But she can't tell him her identity yet. However, her knowing his identity would make sense. I remember that before season 4 started airing, a lot of the fandom wondered if Chat was going to have to reveal his identity to her because she's the guardian. After all, that would make sense. Them making it a problem over the course of the season would mean that it would have to be handled in some way. I think that her finding out Chat's identity is probably the most logical course of action, as she can't be a good guardian until she has all the information at her disposal.

There are two specific lines which I find interesting in the finale synopsis. The part where it says, "Papillombre (Shadow Moth) conceives a diabolical plan around a super villain endowed with the power to push his victims to take all risks," is particularly interesting. This could mean a couple of things. Shadow Moth could be akumatizing Felix - after all, he stopped at nothing to try and replace Adrien in order to ruin his relationship with his friends. He kissed Ladybug when she told him no. He was snooping in Adrien's things. Clearly, there was nothing he wasn't willing to do in order to get the ring back. (This whole thing is never explained either after Felix - why is the ring so important?) Maybe that will make a comeback? Or, the "his" in the synopsis where it specifies that the villain has no limits, may be referring to Shadowmoth. In that situation, it could be Lila who is again akumatized. She has clearly no limits, as she's working for Shadow Moth willingly, and likely knows his identity. This is one likely scenario. Or Shadowmoth will akumatize Adrien. He may feel detached, and Gabriel will interpret it as being sad that he's being taken away from all of his friends. Adrien is known for being quite stubborn, and having Ladybug fight Adrien's akumatized state would be season finale material. However, if he is akumatized in the finale as something else, then the Chat Blanc akumatization in episode 22 is unlikely (they wouldn't do something like that twice in a row). Of course, his akumatized state would be different than Chat Blanc because people can be akumatized into multiple different villains and Hawkie doesn't know that Adrien=Chat Noir.

The second line that I find particularly interesting is this one:

And will Adrien take the risk to finally stand up to his father?

Now, why would Adrien stand up to his father? Maybe with literally everyone betraying him, he'll find no reason to stay. He needs a constant in his life, and telling his father that he needs him to be here for him may be a step that he makes. After all, Ladybug and him are having their biggest fight, his best friend Nino told him that he finds his hero persona absolutely abhorrent, and he doesn't feel like he has a place on the superhero team. He needs someone, and he's hoping that Gabriel can be that person.

That could be one scenario, or Adrien may find out about Hawkie's basement. Now, this, could raise a lot of questions for him. While I believe that Adrien would have the normal tendency to be like "father, what the hell." He may honestly believe that this is all he has left, and therefore, will assist his father. This takes me back to the season 2 opening card.

Where is Chat Noir? With the villains.

Maybe Adrien will have his well deserved Dark!Chat Noir arc. Or maybe, he'll be a spy for the Quantic team. Ladybug and him will make up, and he'll tell her that he can spy on Hawkie for the team, and that's how they move into season 5 - with Adrien as a double agent. He will help his father in everything that he does, and therefore, get access to more information that he can share with the team. He can help establish a meeting for Hawk Moth to get caught, with evidence, by planting cameras, calling police, etc.

Honestly, I'm hoping for the latter subplot, as I don't want Chat Noir to go evil for everyone's sakes. I do think that the latter would also give him a cementable role that would logistically make sense and help establish him as an strong character, and more importantly, a valuable member of the team and Ladybug's true partner.

Or, they could go down the more simpler route, and choose Adrien to find out, be shocked, and then yell at his father for being who he is. Gabriel just assumes because Adrien is only just Adrien, he doesn't have to worry about him. He will threaten Adrien, and Adrien will stay silent in front of him, but tell the team on the side. Of course, this doesn't really mean double agent Adrien, but it still implies spy Adrien. It also still manages to make his character more relevant.

Regardless, there's a lot of different ways that line could go, and I'm excited to see where it moves on from there.

Implications on the Love Square

The love square seems entirely messed up this season. There is almost nothing going on in relation to it, especially in regards to Ladynoir, Ladrien, and Marichat. Adrienette has honestly the most action right now, especially with the reverse umbrella scene, them helping out Juleka together, etc. This leads me to think that while we'll get a lot of Ladynoir in the finale as they repair their relationship, Adrienette may be the strongest ship of the four when moving into season 5. Let me explain why.

Over the course of this entire season, Adrien has been getting closer to Marinette, and is honestly more warm with her than he has been with Ladybug. This can explain what everyone has been thinking - a reverse love square. Even if Ladybug and him make up, Chat may honestly want to go and see other people. This includes Mari. What Nino said about Ladybug finding him annoying may actually really affect him and his feelings and make him realize that he can find love elsewhere. It's also the fact that it was enunciated twice during Rocketear that Alya couldn't fall in love with someone that she didn't really know. That could lead Adrien to wonder if he really knows Ladybug, which will definitely complicate his feelings. The Kagami thing was never going to work out, so he just needs to find someone else who cares for him. He knows Marinette; he has called her similar to Ladybug - he may rebound from Ladybug to Marinette. Ladybug may realize that she messed up, and she has already shown that she is becoming more indifferent to dating Adrien, due to what happened with Luka. When she and Chat Noir fix their relationship, she may see him as the only person she doesn't have to lie to, and therefore thinks about pursuing a relationship with him. Therefore, a reverse love square would make the most sense in this situation.

If a ship were to start actually dating in season 5 - it may honestly depend on how the finale is. The two most likely ships imo are either Ladynoir or Adrienette. If Ladynoir makes up during the finale, then the barriers to them dating aren't really present, unless the Alya thing actually makes it complicated for them. Adrienette may get together, but Marinette is wary of dating because she's Ladybug. However, we all know she's weak in the knees for Adrien and will definitely say yes if he asked her out.

Therefore, I feel like this season is leaning more towards plot and character development, and while it may set some things up for season 5, it is important to pay attention at the little shifts in the square, because they are happening right in front of us.

Alya and Marinette

I wanted to be able to talk about this at some point in this theory, but since everything else is more Adrien centric, I added it here at the end. Okay, so we know that Alya is lying to Marinette about telling Nino things. We also know that Alya has bended the rules for Nino multiple times, both before and during Rocketear. This could go one of two ways: Alya telling Nino teaches Marinette that she needs to be able to trust Chat, and therefore helps her realize that she doesn't need to be so secretive and lie all the time. It could also lead to a plot where Alya basically messed up largely by telling Nino, and everything goes downhill from there. Ladybug shows Chat that they can't know each other's identities because of what happened with them. We also Nino is a bit of a blabbermouth - love his character, but he is. He told Adrien not only his identity, but also Alya's. He also told him that they know the other's identity. This is bad, and Adrien knowing definitely affects the plot later on. If Adrien ends up revealing himself to Ladybug, it is likely that she'll find out about Nino saying that, and having to revoke their kwamis. This could lead to a strained relationship with Alya. In fact, it is likely that at this point, Marinette will already have a strained relationship with Alya, as it could be revealed that Alya told Nino about Rena Furtive. This could lead to Ladybug being defensive and worried that she made mistakes, and literally just closing the Miraculous box because of it. Maybe Alya will go rogue? After all, it was mentioned in Rocketear (and I appreciate that they talked about this) how Alya was a reporter and that by extension means that her personality is one of a truthteller. Alya getting angry at Mari could definitely lead to a situation where she threatens to tell he everyone. I don't think Alya would or could do that, but anger leads to akumatization, and an akumatized Alya would not be good for anyone as her judgement would be impaired. Regardless, Rena Furtive may be a short time hero, and Mari and Alya may end the season in a fight. I don't see that being resolved in the finale, as no fight like that is mentioned in those episodes. There is also simply too much going on in the finale for it to make sense. It may be resolved later on, just like how other problems in season 3 started being solved in the beginning of season 4. Or, it could be fought out and resolved in episodes 23 and 24.

Therefore, I think that the Nino carelessly revealing his identity and Alya carelessly disregarding Ladybug's orders may lead to a plotpoint at some point where Alya and Ladybug fight. While I do think that it would be nice if Alya proved Ladybug wrong and showed that they were stronger for working together, I do not think it's likely. The show was deliberate in showing that Alya had a weakness for Nino, and has shown before that it has led to many situations where there were risks for everyone involved. Even Hawkmoth said that love and secrets don't go well together (is he talking from experience?), and I feel like that was so deliberate, but it could also be alluding to Chat and Ladybug. (Side note: it was so weird for Hawk Moth to say that, as he had no idea of the situation; regardless I do think this it's heavy foreshadowing.) Therefore, I do not think the situation that Alya has placed herself in is a situation which will have a peaceful ending.

Final Notes:

I personally cannot wait for the "Gabriel Agreste" episode. I think that the fact that we did not get it yet means that it has serious story implications. Personally, I believe it's going to explain allllll the backstory we need for the whole Bourgeois/Tsurugi/Agreste history and tell us why Emilie is the way she is right now. Of course, maybe it won't do everything, but the fact that it is named after Gabriel makes me wonder if it'll be his origins episode of sorts.

EDIT AFTER MEGA LEECH: IF GABRIEL AGRESTE REVEALS ADRIEN TO BE A SENTIMONSTER I WILL BE SO SO EXCITED BC ANGST BUT ALSO LIKE??? WHAT ABOUT THE PLOT? WHAT ABOUT THE NINE YEAR OLDS?

Chat snapping is honestly something that I cannot wait for. All of his anger has been building up over the entire season thus far, and the implications of his feelings are definitely serious for the show's plot.

I wonder if Mayura will be making a comeback at some point. While this is less relevant, Nathalie's health seems to be making her bedridden for a long time. Maybe she'll return to a similar state to Emilie? I saw theories that stated that if Hawkie gets his wish, Nathalie's life may be sacrificed for Emilie's, and idk, I think it's not likely that it'll happen, but it would be cool if it did. The ultimate payback for his actions being the loss of Nathalie.

Look at the end card of Rocketear:

He's looking at the moon, which was shown in New York to be something he does when he's sad. Also possible reference to him destroying the moon in Chat Blanc.

Kitty do be on a roof all alone without his lady :(

[bitch-for-a-rainbow]

So there's a blanddcheadcanons post that says that "Kara is the mortal avatar of Rao" and I really don't like it, especially in the context of SG 3x04 (The Faithful). At best, as was pointed out to me by a friend with whom I discussed this post, the House of El is likely blessed and somewhat sponsored by Rao, which probably doesn't do much but produce Krypton's greatest heroes, given what the word "El" **means** in Kryptonian. I'm interested in your thoughts on this (pls post your answer).

    I reject the headcannon solely because if it were true it would mean Coville was right and I fucking hate that bitch.

     In all seriousness, though, this is an idea I've seen a lot and I'm not a huge fan of. I don't know much about Raoism beyond what appears in the show and that which can be inferred off of the show. One thing I would point out though is that El in Kryptonian (while obviously being intended to mean God by the original comic writers) can mean Sun or Stars, and since the Kryptonians in the show are, as far as I can tell, monotheistic, and worshipped only one particular star, the El family is not necessarily named God. It would, however, signify their enormous prestige on Krypton and contribute to the famous El pride (or rather, arrogance). I’m not sure it would necessarily have to mean anything more than that-- that the Els are a respected house who have produced a variety of successful politicians, civil servants, and scientists. And (this time reaching a little bit) that they are perhaps so old and respected that their house name was once a title. 

      There is a certain allure to the theory, for sure. Kara is a paragon character. She always, always does what she thinks is right, regardless of the cost, personal or global, and regardless of what other people might think of it. She has a very direct moral compass, and there are only a handful of times when she doesn’t follow it, all of which involve saving Lena. Ship who you want, but it is notable that Kara routinely prioritzes Lena’s life over that of others given the rarity of that happening otherwise. She never even considered breaking Rick Thompson’s father out of prison when he kidnapped Alex, and all he’d committed was bank robbery. Kara has lines she does not cross (though murder is clearly not one of them). She is a character that has seen some of the worst that sentient life is capable of, has seen more death and suffering than most people could imagine, and she came out of it with an all-encompassing desire to protect others. She lives to give people hope. Plus, the humor of having Kara-- the one person most offended by the idea of being an Avatar of Rao-- turn out to be an Avatar of Rao is great.

       But, I would also say that having Kara want to do good because she is the avatar of a benevolent god is reductive and not particularly true to her character. It is true that helping and protecting people is a large part of the core of who Kara is. But there is a difference between altruism and the self-destructive, bordering of suicidal desperation to save absolutely everyone that Kara practices. And to anyone who doubts the suicidal bit, I direct you to the season 1 finale where Kara literally goes on a goodbye tour because she thinks if she goes out to fight Non she’ll die. She still goes because she has hope, but that hope is that she can at least save Earth with her life. She doesn’t fight because she is certain in the ultimate victory of good and justice. She does it because she more afraid to lose another family than she is to die. Kara doesn’t become Supergirl and risk her own life because she believes in good, she does it because she can’t stand to listen to people suffer-- because she has suffered. To use Alex’s words in 1x13 “You fight everyday to keep people from struggling like you have.” Notably also in 1x13, Kara wakes up from the Black Mercy and her first words are “Who did this to me?” and then she goes after Non in what could arguably be described as a homicidal rage-- a rage that is fueled entirely for personal reasons, not the greater good of Earth (though that comes as an added benefit), which is.... not very befitting the avatar of a benevolent god. 

     A major part of season 1 is Kara dealing with grief and rage. She nearly breaks a guy's arm in episode 6 because he screamed at her for damaging his car, to hell with the children he'd almost hit with it. In season 3's Midvale flashbacks we see her first put both hands through a lunch table, then attack Jake when she suspects him for Kenny's death. She gets better at controlling it as the seasons progress, but during Crisis she very nearly melts Lex. Also not particularly godly of her. 

     Then there is the fact that so much of who Kara is is shaped by fear: fear of the government, fear of humanity, fear of abandonment, and fear of herself. In her civilian life, Kara is, for the most part, unnoticeable. She's polite, soft-spoken, doesn't wear a lot of bold colors or styles, and is often a pushover. As shown by her encounter with Red Kryptonite, Kara would not dress or speak the same way to people without the pressure of hiding her identity (though much of her dialogue is purely the loss of her "don't be an asshole" filter, some of it is stuff she had every right to say before and just didn't). I have always found that episode to be very interesting purely for the fact that Kara doesn't actually seem to be seeking harm on others so much as seeking their attention. Her argument with Alex is almost entirely about how much she hates having to hide and pretend to be less than she is. Kara drops Cat off the balcony and then catches her. She attacks the police when they point weapons at her but doesn't kill or even hurt them that badly, instead of destroying the car they're using as shelter. Red-K removed her inhibitions, made her angrier, yes, but if her goal was to actually hurt people, she could have done so-- would have done so, and with great ease. She goes to a public bar and uses super strength to smash bottles by flicking peanuts. Why do that at a crowded bar? Why not just flick potato chips at the windows in her own apartment?

      This is Kara at her absolute worst-- but does she seek out the DEO agents who shot her out of the sky? Does she go after Maxwell Lord or Non? No. She tries to make people pay attention to her. Her most shameful and hideous desire is for people to give her respect. (Admittedly, respect gained through fear, but still.). Kara's a nice person-- much, much nicer than average-- but a lot of that "nice" is just her avoiding conflict to avoid attention.

      Kara is a good person. Kara inspires people. But that is because Kara gets up every day and chooses to be good and to inspire. It's one of the reasons I enjoy Non as a villain so much-- he and Astra are Kara's narrative foils. They also remember Krypton and grieve its loss. They also were trapped in the Phantom Zone. But where Kara had the Danvers to convince her that some good people existed and would risk themselves just to help others, Non and Astra had Alura sentencing them to eternal suffering rather than helping them save their planet (through the means they thought necessary) and then landed on Earth and found it headed on the same path as the planet they'd just lost. Kara had people to help her grieve. Non and Astra were surrounded by misery. They lost hope. Kara discovered it.

     Kara is the Paragon of Hope because she has been hopeless. Because she has suffered so much, seen so much, and because she chooses to believe in a better future. She didn't have hope her first time in the Phantom Zone. She didn't even have hope for a while on earth. From what we can gather, Kara's choice to start actually believing in the future was a gradual shift that occurred sometime after Kenny's death and has lasted her ever since. For Kara, hope is learned. She chose to hope and she won't let it go, and to assign that incredible victory off to her being a God is an insult to her growth and to her character. 

   Now I personally thought “The Faithful” handled this concept very well. 3x04 is one of my favorite episodes of television in general, let alone in Supergirl. Season 3 is my second favorite season, and that says a lot for its good episodes when the bad of season 3 is so, so very bad (To say nothing of the episode to episode production value, we have the waste of Argo, Mon El’s return as obviously he’s grown he has a beard Mon El, and whatever the hell was going on with Kryptonian genetic engineering eclipse causing witches). To this day I don’t know why Kara had magic dreams. The show did nothing to explain it and I can’t imagine up a reason. 

     But “The Faithful” works because it highlights the whole paragon part of who Kara is. When you realize that every person in the room of Coville’s cult is a person she has personally saved-- that hits hard. Especially since only a fraction of the people she’s saved would ever set foot inside that building with the totally not-creepy, entirely wholesome way they deliver the invitations. (“Your daughter is special. She has been chosen. As have you.”) It works because it focuses on how the average human must view Kara, the ones who don’t see her argue with her sister over potstickers and crush her phone when she gets mad. It works because of how desperately hard Kara tries to be a human. It works because the writers know that we, the audience, do not see Kara as anything but a regular person with irregular abilities: a kind and remarkably devoted person, but not a god. 

[itsclydebitches]

The Crosshair stuff is a symptom of the lacklustre character establishment of it's main cast. Crosshair is the only Bad Batcher with a defined character to pull from, even if it's wrapped in the cluster fuck of the show being indecisive about the Inhibitor chips's abilities. The rest don't have a developed enough personality to draw from, they're archetypes who'll voice the position the plot needs them to occupy at the moment. What they'll defend in one episode they'll decry the next.

TBB characters are definitely archetypal, though I'm not sure I'd agree that this is inherently a bad thing and/or that it's at the root of the Crosshair messiness. Archetypes don't necessarily equal a lack of a character, just a character that we've seen many times before. Unless you prioritize novelty in your storytelling (which many people do), there's nothing inherently wrong with taking the "dumb," but emotionally intelligent brute, the socially inept genius, the stoic leader, and the "evil" asshole, cramming them in a small ship together, and letting sparks fly. The reason that dynamic works — as it has worked many times before — is because it pits such differing personalities against one another, resulting in both great teamwork and amusing conflict: such as when Wrecker is gleefully stuffing Lula in a pissed-off Crosshair's face. The contrast is fun and that contrast stems primarily from keeping their personalities simple and defined. Unless you really know what you're doing, the more you mess with those personality boxes, the less individualized your characters feel. See: the RWBYJNOR team who have, over the years, lost both their specialized skills and their distinguishing personality traits. The person who just blushed sweetly and awkwardly rubbed a hand behind their neck... was it Ruby? Oscar? Blake? Yang? Jaune? Even Nora? Could be any of them because at this point their core personalities have flattened. Though it's definitely not to everyone's taste, the black and white differences between TBB was kind of refreshing. Throw out a line of dialogue and you can easily figure out who said it. There's something to be said for that level of understanding about a character, even if the understanding itself is simple.

Personally, I'd say the problem lies not in creating another team where everyone has a distinct skill and a stereotypical personality to match, but rather in severely underutilizing the thing that shook that dynamic up: Echo.

Look, I ADORE Omega. I was cheering for my fictional daughter through every step of this season (quite literally during "Replacements"). But—but—if we wanted to push things in the character development department, I'd relegate her to season two. Omega's character serves as the audience surrogate/newbie/hopeful optimist archetype and that's great... provided that you ignore how Echo was already positioned to fill those roles. He became the newest member of TBB, but we skipped over his integration to instead introduce another new member. And, as much as I love her, Omega doesn't push TBB the way that Echo could.

TCW introduced a severe dislike for the "regs," something the first episode of TBB re-emphasized through the cafeteria scene, and then what do you know, the newest member is a former reg. I was expecting there to be a lot of tension stemming from that as the group worked to overcome their prejudice, a prejudice we now know is born of harassment and, interestingly, a sense of superiority. That's one of the few places where TBB does something unexpected: rather than suffering severe insecurity about being "defective," TBB is proud of their differences. (Or, at least, they've embraced pride to cover insecurity.) But unlike a reg's haircut, tattoos, or name, theirs isn't an individuality that they chose. The Kaminoans made them to be different. "I like to blow stuff up because I LIKE TO BLOW STUFF UP" Wrecker roars, but it's a moment that foreshadows his eventual fall to the chip: "No one controls me." Except, you know, he is controllable. There's a story there about characters trying to remain proud of skills and personalities that they know are engineered, trying to embrace individuality when they know they're controllable, who long for the stability and connection of their brothers, but reject the uniformity of "real" clones... and then there's Echo, suddenly on the scene, a former "real" clone who now is nothing like the majority of his brothers, whose differences were also forced on him by another, who should likewise be grappling with embracing his individuality vs. hating how it separates him from what he once knew... that's a lot. Echo could have — arguably should have — been the catalyst for a ton of self-reflection within TBB, mirroring his own development, and resulting in archetypal characters who nevertheless have a secondary layer of nuance.

But none of that happened because Omega became the focus instead, a character who forced TBB to struggle with taking care of a child, not struggle with their own identities. I'd thought for a hot second that the conflict would be whether soldiers could raise a child at all — whether they'd have to change for Omega's benefit — but instead she rather quickly became a soldier of her own, despite how often the dialogue insisted she wasn't. Here's her weapon. Here's her memorizing orders. Here's her first mission alone. Here's her almost never struggling with the horrors that she's experienced; she's as emotionally sturdy as the men bred for war. Omega develops, which is fantastic to watch, but the downside is that everyone else, our title characters, remain pretty static. I think if we'd had a season of Echo joining TBB, perhaps taking place a little before Order 66, and then Omega came on the scene, we would have seen a bit more depth to their characters, simply by virtue of Echo being a character whose personality and problems would inevitably push them. Omega doesn't push them. She's wonderful... and from a writing standpoint that's kinda the problem. She's always optimistic, always compassionate, doesn't take long to get good at these complex skills, never wavers in being satisfied and happy with this life. TBB never had to change to care for her, Omega just did them the courtesy of becoming another elite-soldier capable of keeping up with their dangerous, crazy lives. Her presence is a constant joy and benefit to the team, adding only good things to the status quo they'd developed. Echo? His arrival should, theoretically, have shaken the status quo like whoa. Here's this traumatized reg trying to become a member of a four-unit team who have an Us vs. Them approach to life. That's a recipe for conflict and development.

However, just because I can see other possibilities for TBB doesn't mean I think what we got is wrong. Yeah, it's simple in many respects and as said, the comparative complexity of Crosshair's situation might not end well, but beyond that, simple isn't inherently bad. I found it a lot of fun to watch a found family of extreme personalities take in a wonderful child and go on adventures together. I don't need every show — particularly every Star Wars show — to be a deep dive into complex storytelling. It can be enough to just embrace predictability, especially since the predictable became predictable because lots of people liked those choices.

[sailor-freak]

Girls in the Park (GWSN): THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOON - Album Review

(image source)

Alright then, let's get into this... IT'S A LOT.

(I've actually had to put triggers in the tags... I only mention them by name and don't go in depth but yeah I'll play it safe)

Burn - A VERY SOLID START this was a unit song between Miya, Seoryoung, Anne and Lena (they chose Miya and Seoryoung my 2 biases hhh), but was the shortest song so it works really well as a start to this album. It was kinda slow, intense, had an almost haunting sound? Definitely some sparky fiery vibes in the sound, and the use of autotune and vocal effects getting into it REALLY lifted it up. It was a sudden end after the second chorus, but it serves as an intro song to this album so I think it works. Again, very solid start.

I Can't Breathe - I'll start of by saying, with the teasers and concept a lot of us were expecting this album to be a little dark... WE DID NOT EXPECT THIS DARK. I'll get into the lyrics soon, but musically this again has a haunting sound and is now paired with lower toned vocals and even more intense backing vocals, and the way they have sudden silence and words like "wake" and "daytime" AND THE FUCKING BREATH AT THE END OF THE CHORUS ohhhh it hits. And the actual lyrics, looking at a piss poor google translation of the Korean parts they seem to be singing about a loss of self identity and made even self worth? And then the English lyrics, "sacrificial lamb", "death by drowning"?? KBS DIDN'T BAN THIS I'M NOT MAD I JUST WANNA KNOW WHY 😂. I think this is my favourite song on the album, there's another that comes close second and that one's also unbelievably dark 😂.

Like It Hot - THE TITLE TRACK I haven't done a post on the MV but I did give thoughts on Twitter when it came out, this song I guess is the one for the non-GWSN stans? It's not generic, at least not in my opinion, I think it does something with a bad style and makes it good. It starts with that kind of slower vibey sound, it builds slightly but stays pretty consistent, until the chorus hits and it is QUITE A CHANGE, it becomes more up tempo, the vibey sounds leave and it's more of a funky bass guitar sound, however unlike a lot of songs that use this trend the two sounds still fit together? They're different but they're both funky and dancey, the sounds will stick in your head. Considering they're nearly at 3 years without a huge fandom, a song like this could be really good for them, using modern trends but not completely changing and losing themselves to try and be popular. Also Miya singing in the bridge my heart 😭.

e i e i o - Okay this is another one with a lot to unload... uhh so this is a song about torture? Just as a song, it's fucking TERRIFYING if you think about it, they're using this twisted blend of children's songs and death threats, Lena legit sings head shoulders knees and toes it's REALLY twisted. Lyrically there's mentions of nightmares, chasing, and there's musical elements of childish melodies and dark intense electronic sounds. At the beginning and end there's literally an "e i e i o" chime sound like the nursery rhyme, it's used in a playful way which paired with the lyrics is truly CHILLING dark GWSN is here and we should all be scared, full on this song was banned by KBS FOR REAL.

Starry Night - I think this is more of a sad song than a dark song, it's not super slow and super somber but lyrically it's more about loneliness in general rather than the dark breeding of I Can't Breathe. Musically it's just kinda nice? It stands out to me more cos it really reminds me of Actually this is a secret by ZN of LABOUM, and while the vocals are really nice if it wasn't for the fact it sounds a lot like that song (they had the same producer it's okay I can say it lol) it wouldn't be as memorable to me. It's great, I LOVE it, but in an album that has sacrificial lambs and e i e i fucking o it's not gonna hold up as high to me unfortunately.

I Sing (lalala) - Honestly this song is kind of what I expected it to be, a mid tempo slightly jazzy song, it's a common type of song at least in the groups I stan (SNSD Love Is Bitter, Nine Muses Hate Me, Dreamcatcher Jazz Bar), so I guess along with Starry Night it doesn't stand out as much to me, but it's still such a sweet song 😂. I have to talk about Miya tho, first of all SHE SINGS AND IT'S GORGEOUS, and then ofc you get her rap WHICH HAS A LINE IN JAPANESE I'm so happy for her 😭. This song was also banned by KBS for the Japanese line (which ffs e i e i o I understood that shit is dark but a line in Japanese warranting the whole song being banned not okay) which is a shame cos I think this would have been a nicely promoted song with Like It Hot, but oh well.

Okay, overall thoughts, GOOD SWEET LORD THIS WAS DARK. I would say dark for GWSN, but... they sang about drowning and torture legit I don't even think Dreamcatcher could ever and they're VERY dark 😂. So this is an interesting album, I am liking this darker direction and if they continued with songs like this in the future I would be rather content 😂. But GWSN could release anything and I'd love it all their songs are so good 😭. Favourites, I Can't Breathe and e i e i o, least favourites Starry Night and maaaaaaybe Burn, but they're all such good songs 😭. Music show promotions start tomorrow and I am absolutely not prepared I'm gonna be getting up 8am every day for as long as these promotions go on 😂. Doesn't sound bad, recently my wake up time has ranged from half 9 to half 11 😂.

[pansexualityisperfect]

Forgive me for sounding rude, I'm trying to spread a bit of information. I don't know if you've received anything in related terms to this but I'm curious to see a pan supporter/viewpoint argument, as so far, I've only seen articles defending bisexuality, and believe that to reach a fair conclusion to any debate, there's the need to know from both sides; you are aware that the pan concept invalidates bisexualities' definition? What's your take on this long spread dispute? (sorry for bad grammar)

Hey anonymous,

Thank you for your message. Let me start by saying I really appreciate the way you are conducting yourself - open and apologising if you have offended. That is a great way to have a conversation rather than a defensive reaction.

Let’s start. 

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I am aware that a lot of people feel that pansexuality invalidates the bisexual definition, however that is often more a reflection of how certain people try to explain the differences between the two.

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I guess your research in articles show the limiting definition of bisexual that some people (perhaps some pansexuals) have shared of bi = two? That is a very literal way of approaching the definition of ‘bi’sexual -- often it is the first way someone defines bisexuality when they have identified as ‘pansexual’ and try to explain why pansexuality instead of bisexuality.

These terms originated around 1877 and early 1900′s (Sigmond Freud) by different people that - as far as I know - had no interest in suggesting their label was better than the other. If we take that into account, it takes away the suggestion that one label was made to negate the other.

But the definition of bisexuality is more complex than that because there is the definition by bisexuals and there is the portrayal of bisexuality to the general public.

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If you look into the definition of bisexuality online (defined by bisexuals) it is identical to pansexuality. Attraction to people regardless of gender.

If you look at media, it suggests a different portrayal which a lot of people do not embrace. The general (mostly hetero’s with lack of awareness) consensus is:

Bisexuality is often portrayed as an cover for homosexuality

In some cases the media uses bisexuality to add a sort of sex appeal for female characters

Worst of all - describing/suggesting it as ‘phase’

I think a lot of people see these portrayals of bisexuality plus the literal definition and do not identify with the media portrayed definition with bisexuality.

On the other hand, not all bisexuals define bisexuality the same as pansexuality, some have a specific preferences for certain genders. This makes things complicated in regard to which definition people consider the real definition.

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Pansexuality does not have the same reputation in the media, it is portrayed as bisexuality should also be portrayed (as far as I know). Therefore pansexuality and bisexuality are identical sisters, the only main difference is that one of them has a mixed reputation and a name that people may take quite literally.

Some people identify as the label bisexual, others identify as the label pansexual. To each their own I suppose, the only challenge is that the definitions they carry differ which leads to discrepancies and people unfairly feeling someone has defined their label for them.

Some pansexuals do not feel the spark with the definition bisexuality and how it is portrayed. Perhaps it is a gut feeling (like mine, when I learnt about pansexuality - it felt like coming home; like magic) yet it could also be a desire not to fight the stigma that comes with the title. Perhaps some do not want to be limited by culture’s definition and feel that the pansexuality label is less pre-defined and in the literal sense more all-encompassing.  

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Ultimately, you can use bisexuality and pansexuality interchangeably because they are in most cases the same thing. Some pansexuals do define the definitions by the literal definition of the ‘bi’ and ‘pan’ - that is also because of media, lack of awareness of the LGBT+ definitions and I do not believe it is intended as malice.

I find it unfortunate that the media have formed such a limiting view on the term ‘bisexuality’ and truly hope that more awareness is being spread. Personally, I feel bisexuals are the same as pansexuals - we just call the same feelings a different name.

I hope that answered your question anonymous, please do let me know if you would like to know more, I would be happy to help!

It is important to openly discuss and chat about these things because it is not common knowledge and the opinions can easily divide on definition - when all these labels are man-made ways to gain a better understanding for how we feel, who we are and create a sense of belonging. Labels should not limit or divide us.

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Love,

Lisa

[vampireqrow-moved]

hey so I agree with a lot of the stuff in your post about the transphobia involved in the origin of the pansexual label, but I just have one question: what are the actual impacts of people with good intentions calling themselves pan? If you don't hate pansexuals and consider them bi, why type up a paragraphs long manifesto on the harms of the origin of the label if it means the same thing in the way that most non transphobic people (your audience) use it? a lot of identities can be used in transphobic ways (like bi and lesbian and anything really) and plenty of valid identities from problematic roots and evolve over time as people use them differently (queer, transsexual). so how is a person with good intentions using a not-perfect label in a way you don't like a threat to the community? if someone is using the label pan transphobically, wouldn't their bigotry exist independently? if pan people do not act in transphobic ways besides using the label pansexual, realistically what is changing if they call themselves bi beyond holier-than-thou aesthetic activism? plus, a blog on the internet isn't going to get everyone to stop identifying as pansexual, especially considering multiple prominent celebrities ID as pan. so why spend all that energy quibbling on semantics because some bi people use a slightly different word when you could be worrying about Literally anything else? just feels like you want to find something to argue about lol. extremely disappointed that I had to break a mutual

im going to respond to each thing you bring up chronologically- im not trying to nitpick or prioritize certain things you say ill just forget things if i go out of order and i dont want to miss something important. ALSO! i will be typing less formally (like keysmashes and shortening words n stuff) in this response than my og post bc its 1am as im starting to type this so im tired but i want to be clear that i am like. taking this seriously and im not like. mocking u in anyway if it could read that way?? i hope not but just in case anyways here it goes!

in terms of actual impact people with good intentions identifying as pan: honestly im not  sure the full scope of the impact this has, so ill only be speaking to what ive personally seen which might not be all. but like... id argue my younger self has good intentionals iding as pan. i wanted to support trans people, even if i didnt understand a lot of the nuance involved. as a result of this, i developed a sense of superiority over other bisexuals and a mentality that bisexuality was a primitive and lesser sexuality. that mentality is harmful, and although im not sure if it affected bisexuals around me (of which there are many most of my friends are bi ajfjfjf) its still a harmful mentality and can easily hurt people even if i specifically didnt. also using it even with good intentions, which i know many people have, still spreads and further normalizes a label that imo can not be separated from its transphobic origins. this effect is not as extreme as other forms of transphobia and biphobia by A LONG SHOT. the bi community faces a lot of other issues but that doesnt mean this one isnt worth addressing if that makes sense?

if i dont hate pansexuals: ik this is part of a larger point which i will adress but i specified this in my post bc i see a lot of other posts that are negative towards pansexuality have "i hate pan ppl" somewhere in it or a close equivalent. i do not shame these ppl for their anger, i just wanted to be clear i think a lot of pan ppl are bi ppl with good intentions choosing a label they dont fully understand based on a misunderstanding of bisexuality.

why write a paragraphs long manifesto on the harms of pansexuals origin: ok 😭😭 the real reason here is that im literally just bad at summarizing. like thats literally it. i also like talking, its a bad combination. plus ive been thinking abt this for like. over a year im not even kidding and just like i have a lot of thoughts and figured if i was going to bother making my own post instead of rbing someone elses that i might as well get everything i wanted to say off my chest. ALSO BTW i literally got an ask like a week ago that was several paragraphs long asking me to explain my thoughts on why pan was harmful and some other stuff so like. this is partially responding to that and partially just me wanting to air my grievances ? idk if thats the right expression 😔😔

why write the post if my audience of people who identify as pan arent doing it in a transphobic way ? again sorry i didnt really understand the phrasing so i hope this is a vaguely correct summary!! um but like... again imo i think pan cant be separated from its transphobia and like. again imo iding as pan is like. a transphobic action/choice? obviously one transphobic thing does mean someone necessarily is like officially a Transphobe (it CAN be depending on the action but i dont think that applies here) but that doesnt mean there arent problems with what they did. this is like very complicated, but like. someone doing something harmful without the knowlege that its harmful doesnt make that person a bigot by any means it just means they didnt know. and i feel thats the case here? a lot of ppl (myself included until recently) know next to nothing abt pansexualitys origins so a trans inclusve sexuality might seem like a safe and good bet just because they dont know too much abt it, and like? i cant hate those people cause that was me for 5+ years and djgjfjdj you just dont know what you dont know!

basically i think iding with a transphobic label is inherently a singular transphobic action that doesnt make the person transphobic by itself, but is still a transphobic instance.

a lot of identities can be used in transphobic ways like bi, lesbian, etc.: this is true and a point i attempted to make on my original post, but i might not have clear enough. my issue with pan is specifically that it is a transphobic response to a preexisting identity. lesbian isnt an attempted trans inclusive indentity that replaced an identity that already existed (which have many trans ppl identifying with the og label). transphobes can use whatever labels they want, but transphobes using a label vs a label having a transphobic origin is very different. bigots use inclusive and supporting language for their bigotry all the time but language that originated with that bigotry is worse.

many valid identities stem from problemstic origins (like transsexual and queer) but the words evolve: ok my paraphrasing is a little weird there. anyways. the thing here is that. those are slurs. reclaimed slurs that can be empowering to many people, yes, but slurs nonetheless. reclaiming a slur is taking a harmful word and wearing it as a badge of pride. first off, pansexual is not a slur (ur not implying that in anyway just. saying) and it isnt being reclaimed when people dont treat it as having harmful origins. transsexual is the way some people identify but ppl acknowlege its a slur and originates from transphobia. ppl love to act like queer isnt a slur, which is an issue in and of itself, but just. factually it has historically and is currently being used against ppl with the intent to hurt them. pansexual isnt on the same level as these and other words like the f slur, d slur, etc. pansexual originates from trans and biphobia WITHIN the community and not outside of it, and most pansexuals dont see themselves as reclaiming the title because they dont think anythings wrong with it in the first place. and reclaiming it just seems unnecessary considering its history? theres no empowerment from using pan as a label as opposed to queer or transsexual, and it just divides the bisexual community for no reason.

how is a person using a not-perfect label a threat to the community? ok i dont think its a threat but still an issue if that difference makes sense? id like to reiterate a few things ive said before, but for me personally, it made me look down on bisexuals and see them as lesser, and it made people around me see pan as the "trans inclusive" sexuality as opposed to bisexuality, and basically its usage just leads to further biphobia. is this the worst of biphobia? no!!! but its still biphobia and why not attempt to target and minimize that? i have no way to singlehandedly stop biphobia, but my post might get through to my friends who id as pan and that small thing is better than nothing.

if someone used the pan label in a transphobic way, wouldnt that bigotry be different from people using it not transphobically?: someone claiming all bi ppl are transphobic and only pan is the acceptable label is obviously a lot worse than someone iding as pan and saying bi/pan solidarity but again, the second isnt not an issue because the first one is a bigger issue, its just a smaller issue in comparison. i wouldnt say the bigotry is different, one is just worse than the other, but it still has the same problems.

if pan people dont do anything transphobic other than id as pan then what changes with iding as bi over pan other holier-than-thou activism: its just one less person using a transphobic label? which isnt that big but it might lead to their friends stopping iding as pan and cause fewer people around them to see bi as a transphobic identity. which is small scale stuff, i wont try to blow it out of proportion, but thats still a step in the right direction and hopefully more people follow with it. its not terribly huge or lifechanging but something small that may only affect the people close to you is still something rather than nothing.

a blog the internet isnt going to get people to stop iding as pan: oh absolutely not. honestly i expected to get unfollowed/blocked more than change peoples minds regarding the pan label (im surprised i only lost two followers so far honestly) but again, someone literally asked me to do this and i wanted to be clear on my stance on the label, since in the past ive been supportive of it. im not expecting the post to get more than five likes, its more directed to my followers rather than the internet as a whole. im not expecting a large impact, im hoping to change the minds of my followers and friends who id as and support the pan label. thats it. if something bigger comes from it- great! but thats not what im aiming to do.

prev point + many prominent celebrities id as pan: the first name that comes to mind is someone im not a fan of for separate reasons but thats irrelevant. i mean im repeating myself a bit but some celebrities in the past validated and made me feel excited abt my identity as a pan person when they came out, and it justified the label to me, even when i had doubts. i have never interacted with a celebrity and do not plan to change their minds abt their identity. again, my post was for my friends and followers and maybe who ever was scrolling through the biphobia tag and decided to read my post.

why spend that much energy worrying abt the pan label instead of something else: ive spent waaaaay more energy thinking abt a singular meme i didnt like regarding my favourite rwby character so like. maybe i just overreact to things lol. maybe i have a lot of energy and since i cant talk my friends ears off abt my favourite fruits or the different voting methods i learned in my math class or what would dreams taste like, then i gotta put my energy into something. idk. i have a lot of energy and honestly? this didnt take that much. but i felt it weighing on me as my friends talked positively abt the pan label, when i felt guilty for the superiority i felt over my bi friends INCLUDING my best friend and favourite person in the world so like. i spent enough energy worrying abt it, and like. in hindsight since its been over 12 hours since posting it, im thinking abt it less. i was more worried abt feeling dishonest with my friends than actually worrying abt pansexuality, but i figured i owed them an explanation for why my feelings around it had changed.

just feels like you want to find something to argue about: okay i DO love arguing but im not pulling this out of my ass for fun. its in response to posts ive seen on my dash, asks i recieved abt pansexuality, and my way of letting people know my views have changed and why since i know at least some people are curious.

i am sorry to lose a mutual as well, and i genuinely hope things go well for you, but uh yeah thats that.

again, if people have further questions im willing to answer them i just might take a while bc i have school and other stuff 2 do but uhhh yea sorry if im clogging ur dash sjfjfkkf

[shenanigumi]

If you don't mind sharing it, what are your thoughts on Koudou? By the way, I love reading your opinions on the various characters!~

Oh, I’m so glad to hear that!! But truth be told, I don’t have very many thoughts on Kodo. Or rather, no readily available thoughts. In fact, I usually avoid thinking about him. So let’s see what happens once I sit down and try…

First of all, Kodo certainly fulfills his purpose as a villain, since I find him so repulsive. He is most definitely a functional character, as well as the kind of bad guy you’d hiss at in an old-timey stage play. I agree wholeheartedly with Nagakura’s title for him, “you senile fuck”. The problem I run into is mostly that, compared to most everyone else in the original cast, his characterization is two-dimensional. Because of the way Kodo is relegated to the position of antagonist in every route, whether he plays a major role or not, I’ve never been able to get a good read on the kind of person he is when he’s not crazy. This is a contrast to Kazama, who—while likewise variable in his motivation and/or behavior—does get at least some pre-split development, and is not a villain in every route (i.e. Heisuke’s, his own).

What we do know about Kodo, largely through inference, is that he is curious and intelligent enough to have gone abroad and studied in Holland at some point. We also know he started out working for the shogunate before he left for the western domains. I just don’t know why, after having been disguised as a human for more than ten years, he would serve the exact same humans that razed his village. Did the Tokugawa order him to do it due to his foreign education, even without any knowledge of his heritage? If so, I’d really have liked to hear about how that got started, because in a story so fixated on “here’s what everyone is fighting for and why”, I remember being extremely confused about Kodo’s shift in allegiance. To an extent, I still am. Though, perhaps there’s more unlocalized information in Reimeiroku…

At any rate, Kodo’s true motivation almost always boils down to getting revenge on the shogunate and/or expanding the Yukimura clan. That much, at least, is generally consistent (although nationalism is also a factor in Harada’s route for some reason). And his vendetta is understandable, given his status as one of so few surviving demons from the Yukimura village. However, I’ve always had a great deal of trouble getting into Kodo’s head long enough to see exactly how his mind was warped. Was that senseless destruction the immediate source of his decision, or was it more gradual than that? How unstable was he before the massacre? For instance, was he always this willing to let the ends justify the means? When exactly did he take the Water of Life, and for what exact reason—for experimentation, for power, out of necessity? Does he ever look back on the path he chose, and wonder about alternatives? Does he have any regrets that do not relate to Chizuru?

These are the kinds of things I’d like to know about Kodo. Without more background information on who he is rather than simply what he does, I have little choice but to think of him simply as “Chizuru’s evil father”. Much of the narrative tells without showing, because we are looking at this story through Chizuru’s eyes, and she is an unreliable narrator as far as her father is concerned. To say she’s biased is an understatement; until Kodo’s true ambition rears its ugly head, she’s the quintessential Daddy’s Girl. Trouble is, given how little onscreen development time they have together, I’ve never fully grasped exactly how that level of attachment developed in the first place.

You see, the other thing we know about Kodo is that he is a good actor. So good, in fact, that he is somehow capable of fooling Chizuru, over the course of her entire upbringing, into thinking he legitimately cares for her. Whether he actually does depends on the route, since sometimes he doesn’t care at all (to the point of killing her), and other times he really does (to the point of dying for her) but is terribly misguided. The issue I take with that variability in particular is that Chizuru’s childhood obviously takes place in the past, and therefore the difference in how Kodo behaves toward her per route feels almost like a form of retconning. Chizuru’s choice of love interest has literally nothing to do with Kodo’s opinions and actions, yet somehow, his behavior is qualitatively different across routes. I get that this is a function of the game and not the plot, but it makes no sense from an in-universe standpoint. It’s hard for me to understand him as a single character, all parts of him united, because his personality apparently fragmented so many years before the story even began.

And here we come to the heart of the matter: it is very difficult for me to assess Kodo as a person instead of just a plot device, because his personality feels so much dependent on continuity.

Basically, Kodo inspires many more questions than he offers answers. Because he is used as a catalyst for other characters’ development rather than being given any development himself, he does not strike me as a complete character. And therefore, I can comment only on his implementation, rather than his true identity.