#so. I wanted to portray him like. essentially in the process of watching a loved one slowly die

[kimikaami]

merry christmas! here’s some angst from @iusedtohavesixtoes ‘s fic, Blossoming, bc it makes me. feel everything at once.

[oursonwithagirl]

finn wolfhard and why he himself is proof of byler (why his interview answers are like that)

i’m sure you’ve heard that finn can’t play a straight character, so it would essentially just make sense for mike being queer, endgame proved. obvi 🙄 (joke) (but rlly funny cuz the streak must go on)

anyway, finn wolfhard has been in the industry for years, and one of the things that separates him from other actors is his love for the entire filmmaking process. he’s so involved in all the projects that he works on, and it’s great to see a person so passionate about something, and also be able to deliver on it. this is one of the main reasons why i believe that finn 100% knows the ending of stranger things, at least pertaining to mike wheeler, and has been in the know now for a while (i’m talking end of s3 so since 2019). this ending reveal would be important for him to know for his character, because it explains why mike is acting this/that way. i mean, think about it, if we are all right about mike’s queer coding, finn has to have known the motivations behind his character while acting. if there’s one thing that finn can do, it’s keep a secret for the sake of the storyline and he’s doing a fantastic job.

during s3 press, he got asked tons of questions pertaining to melvin, which is a given, considering they just reunited in s2 and fans are excited to see what they’re like as a couple. viewers go onto watch the show and they take notice of a definitive shift in mike’s behavior. at his worst, mike is rude, hurtful, and obsessive. fans are starting to hate mike (lol just wait til s4). in summary, finn’s character gets reduced to being el’s boyfriend who is a bad friend. but we know the ending of s3, and what finn most likely had to have found out in order to portray mike in that way. there’s more to it!

s4 press and his interesting answers (the proof)

- at the premiere, he was asked what’s in store for milkvan. he goes onto say that they’re both discovering things about themselves.

- in the well-know hair chair, finn gets posed the question ‘what’s going on with mike this season?’. he replies saying that mike’s trying to “keep on a normal path” and be as “normal as possible”

- upon getting asked a byler question, specifically about what would happen if mike were to know about will’s feelings, finn wolfhard stated that he thinks there would probably be a mutual understanding and acceptance

- in the post-volume 2 cast interview, the interviewer wanted to know finn’s perspective on where he thinks mike and el’s storyline is going. he responds with basically “i’m excited for the ending of the show and to see which characters leave hawkins (smalltown boy theory) and stay. as for mike and el, it’s hard to tell, but i just hope they both find happiness”

- in a lot of the press, he emphasizes on how good the ending is that the duffers wrote (keeping in mind that the duffers stated it would be controversial)

all answers hint towards what we suspect: milkvan bones, byler endgame - with no explicit statements, yet he’s really just laying it all out.

to tie this into his upcoming panel (yay!), he doesn’t do this often, and he could very well never come back to do it again, so please try remaining respectful in the questions you ask. he is not going to spoil, so don’t try getting him to do that. is he secretly a huge byler super fan? no, he doesn’t get like that with ships, especially of his own, but something he truly appreciates is good writing, so of course he’s going to be on board with it and care about it if it’s going to be given the proper story and wrap-up!

[md-guel]

scattered thoughts about jeturk house from all the episodes we've had thus far, but especially with episode 23:

the schwarzette

the schwarzette is a gorgeous beast and I feel a little sad thinking that we might not see it in action again in the near future—but i use the word "might" because we should never underestimate what a big company will do for the sake of more profit, this is literally the show we're watching. and I used to think it's such a waste that we'll only ever get to see it in action for one episode but after what happened, i realize that being a wasted opportunity makes it more effective as a narrative tool, specifically as a symbol of lauda's inner turmoil.

like that's why it's so powerful, because it's all of lauda's insecurities, confusion, heartbreak, anger, loneliness, etc etc in one huge light show. viewed like this, it also makes sense that among the jeturks, for all that lauda hates gundams and miorine, he was the one who became obsessed about it because he was closing into his breaking point. it also makes sense why guel seemed scared of the schwarzette. until prospera brought it up, he seemed determined to pretend it never existed and since then, the only time he ever brought it up was when they needed a way inside qz. using it as a symbol now, guel was essentially scared of his brother, that's why he never confronted him about killing their dad, that's why he was running from him because he doesn't know how to handle this version of lauda who doesn't love him unconditionally anymore.

so the schwarzette's role, from this kind of reading, is simply to be unleashed. it's stayed dormant for so long that when it came alive, it's portrayed to be horrific because it's so powerful and far-reaching, just like when a quiet person finally snaps. and the reason why guel is in such an outdated dilanza, ironically his "original state" which is the state of him that lauda wanted, is because he was never meant to defeat it in a show of skill. what guel needed to do was to accept his brother's ugly side, hence deactivating his saber. it's kind of endearing too that that duel ended with a hug and a pat in the head (and since we're already reaching far with the symbols and breaking our arms in the process, guel breaking the schwarzette's barcode can be read as him breaking the blade antenna too)

vim's death

I always viewed guel killing his dad as guel unknowingly ending the cycle of abuse. but while he may have killed his abuser then, it was only during his spat with lauda that he finally buried the body. and what I loved about it is that, they pretty much showed us the same structure: a jeturk is embroiled in a heated battle against his own family but despite putting vim and lauda in the same jeturk piloting suit and in a more powerful jeturk ms, the one who actually put himself this time around in vim's shoes is not lauda but guel. he charged in the same way he always did with vim and shaddiq but by turning off his saber at the last minute and letting the hot knife skewer the cockpit, that's like him completing vim's cycle.

that's also why I thought that lauda is guel's second shot at life—vim and lauda are similar in a lot of ways and while he couldn't save his father before, he managed to save his brother this time from the same fate as his dad or himself. and something more I love about this perspective is that guel didn't do it on his own. felsi came in and saved his stupid thespian ass so it's like: on their own, the jeturks will never know peace because that's just the kind of toxic environment they've wrapped themselves in. if they want to change for the better, they need to let outsiders in. and that's how felsi rollo saved the day.

the steel chair

something else that gets me about felsi's "surprise entrance" is the fact that she sounded so desperate when she was scolding guel and lauda, her two senpais and maybe even her parents' employers. and so I thought about it more and I think what this really highlights is what kind of a found family the named jeturk kids really are.

from the first few episodes of cour 1, they're seen as the entry-level bosses. felsi and petra were also abusive towards miorine and they're always present during guel and lauda's catwalk which gives them the imagery of henchmen. but as the show goes on, the jeturks lose their power and the smallness of their number is highlighted in the cour 2 opening and the first scene in episode 13

and yet felsi has always stuck to this small group. felsi was still touting about guel's cool fighting style from the last rumble rings and she was lauda's support pilot during this season's open campus. she was there to cheer for guel in his last duel, too, obviously, but even when lauda was being a dick to suletta, felsi was still there (petra was understandably there as lauda's girlfriend). when she sortied to fight the gundvolvas, it was obvious how dependent she was on lauda and petra and then when petra got injured, she stuck by her side. when the earth house was flying to fight by suletta's side, she threw away her spacian pride and begged to go with them, ignoring the fact that her guel-senpai told her to stay put (and aren't we glad she did this). after everything that happened, felsi could have gotten scared and acted selfishly but she held on to her friends

and I think that's something that makes felsi's steel chair entrance more amazing. she's not just stopping her two friends from killing each other, she's protecting her found family from breaking apart completely. and I love how this further highlights the show's theme about family: it's not just about the genes as in the case of the jeturks, the mercuries/samayas and the rembrans, it's also about being each other's ride or die as in the case of earth house, grassley house and now, jeturk house

[bincutie]

i feel like I could easily get away from Chan or Hongjoong, everyone says they’re smart and think of everything but I feel like I could definitely escape ❤️- :)

ps: ur writing is so nice admin <333

Thank you, my darling 💙

Tw: degradation, yandere behavior, as always read at your own risk. Not an accurate representation of Chan, hongjoong, stray kids, ateez, JYPE, or KQ Entertainment. If anyone actually treats you like this, it's unhealthy and I encourage you to find resources to leave that relationship.

I actually wanted to write little blurbs for this because this is something that I've thought a lot about and it heavily influenced their intros. Absolutely no ill-will towards how anyone writes any of the boys, because I genuinely love seeing how others analyze them. But it sometimes throws me off that nearly everyone portrays Chan and Hongjoong as criminal masterminds who are always one step ahead, and watch your every move.

The same men who could forget to breathe because they're too focused on their work. It just doesn't check out for me. What I think would happen:

Chan would occasionally leave you to your own devices, when he wants to work alone. He doesn't necessarily trust you yet, and he doesn't actively know about your plan to escape, but he knows it's a possibility. What makes him scary is his charisma and his confidence. He literally could not care less if you escape, because he knows that he's going to get you back. He knows a lot of people, and none of them would suspect that he's insane because he's Chan. He'd be back with you in less that three hours. And I think that occasionally he would let you stay out long enough to think that you're free, but that's him giving you the opportunity to come back by yourself because surely you know that it's inevitable by now? But after a day, he's coming to get you, and this is the time where you get punished for it.

"If you think you can escape then go ahead, love. Just make sure you're back before dark, you know I worry."

Hongjoong is busy all the time and honestly, I think he'd probably be emotionally constipated at first. That's why he just sees you as his toy when he first takes you. You're for stress relief and he's too busy to process how he really feels about you. He's in love with you but ignores it, essentially. And since he's always working and ignoring everyone around him, he might not know you're gone for awhile. But once he finds out, you better make damn sure you have a plan to make him forgive you. It's not that he's necessarily meticulous in his plans to capture you and keep you locked up. He doesn't have some insanely genius strategy to keep you close. He's a simple man. Like Chan, he's confident. But he also leaves no room for your mistakes. If you fuck up his schedule because he has to come get your ass, you're royally fucked. He has so many ways to punish you, physical and nonphysical (which could potentially be discussed in other posts if interested), and he won't hesitate to make your life a living hell. He doesn't give a shit about how you feel about him, you'll learn. And if you don't, it's not his problem.

"I can't believe you made me leave my work just to play these games. I knew you were stupid but I didn't think it was this bad. But since I'm already here we might as well start with your first lesson. You do not disobey me."

[alliumbunny]

Ended season 2!!! lessss gggoo!!!

Good season! lots of funny moments, has many bad parts but hey, we got ice cream kitty out of it so I'm happy(I'm secretly seething half the time but it doesn't matter rn ;3 )

I looked up where to watch the last three seasons of 2012 and turns out it's on paramount+!! Which my sister has so now all my worries of not being able to watch the last three seasons ever are gone Yippeee!!!

but uh, season 3! uh, I've gotten to I think ep9? or 10? i don't remember

I'm at the episode right after they get back to new york city, yee.

So hmm, Idk how to feel about the season currently, lots of good moments but uh, lots of bad ones too, at least to me.

i don't like how many times i've seen april kiss donnie at this point, I was fine with it beforehand because I don't see cheek kisses as romantic unless the relationship is already romantic(dating or something idk) so I was completely fine with it but then I think she kissed him on the lips in the bigfoot episode and like, hahahahahahah please stop <3 I'm very uncomfortable with that so yee.

I also don't like the Bigfoot liking donnie thing, these turtles are 15 and Bigfoot is deffo older then that and It makes me feel weird and shit :/

THAT FUCKING SPIRITUAL EPISODE SUCKS! like I love it, the outfits are!! To die for <3 <3 but omg Leo's arc in that episode fucking sucks, Don't fuckin tell me that "the pain is all in my mind" and that "It's just an excuse" DUDE!!!!!!! FUCK U!! FUCK YOU WRITERS OF THE SHOW!! I wish that episode was!! idk!! Leo learning that maybe he shouldn't FUCKING TRAIN until his knee is IDK AT LEAST 99% HEALED!! That MAYBE he shouldn't be aggravating his knee INJURY! I think that it's in character to make him want to start training before he's even 80% healed, to have him accidentally hurt his own healing process, in fact, I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA!! for an episode!! that episode!! it reminds me of those people who think essential oils actually fuckin work to heal all injurys, oh my stars aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. absolutely none of that makes sense probably but I needed to rant about it or i'd explode hbfudkbgjf

I hate how they did mikey in this show, I understand the focus thing but i feel like they never actually do anything about it he just "focuses" for a little bit and then doesn't have ANY character growth because of it, HE IS THE SAME, at least in the focusing. I hate how the writers said he has ADHD and then never put any effort into showing it OTHER then the focusing thing(and hyperactivity but I'm not focusing(heh) on that rn yee), at least to me. I relate to mikey alot but not in the ADHD category(Despite me having adhd) I understand that he has it, but i personally(as one person with adhd, not the entire mental illness lol) don't like how it's portrayed, it feels, idk lazy? i guess. yes he has adhd, no i don't think it's handled well by the writers. I'm just rambling the same things over and over at this point.

I don't really have any complaints with Raph... anymore. His anger issues aren't really.. an issue.. at this point. not to say he doesn't have them, I just think at this point they've done a good job at portraying him being able to control it better, It reminds me Alot of, well, me. I have anger issues and they used to be extremely bad, but I've mellowed out as i've grown up. I like that about raph, it feels like he's personally getting better, y'know... I mean, I don't think they wanted that, but y'know. I'm pretty sure they're gonna butcher that part of him in the future, but Idk rn y'know :3

I don't like him in that one episode, y'know, with the frogs. but that's mostly cause he's a fuckin jerk tbh.

Mikey gets done dirty alot in these few episode it seems, mostly... by his brothers? not to say he doesn't do anything wrong, but i don't really like how his brothers treat him in the.. uh aprils mom, episode. I think they should've trusted him more, I think the show has a big problem with not SHOWING us that Mikey has done like, dumb or annoying things, until it's a point about how 'mikey has done and said annoying and dumb things but he's right so liikkeee' LIKE His brothers don't trust him AT ALL, show writers!! i haven't been givin the impression that mikey is at all really annoying or really stupid but his brothers are playing it up like he's the dumbest mother fucker they've ever met, like bruuh

that's how I see it at the least. Alot of this is just me rambling about my thoughts on the show, alot of it is negative but I do genuinely enjoy the show, I'm just extremely critical of the things I watch. Sometimes a show that's normally pretty good, is gonna do something pretty weird or bad and i like talking about that so ya :]

either way, season three is at the least, okay, and at the best, good, i think, ya :3

[solterel]

Okay since no one is talking about it I will. I think there is a whole another layer of messed up when looking at the whole Grimwalker situation. So let me explain:

So far we don’t have too much information on the whole Grimwalker process and how Belos even found out it was possible in the first place. So you may be wondering! What could make this crusty puritan wrinkly balls old man even worse? Well, it’s the fact that he likely raised each and every golden guard from “ birth “ and then watched them die when they ended up betraying him. And I use betray lightly, however, I’m going to come back to that later.

So far we can assume that there as been over 15 versions of the golden guard/clones of Philip’s brother. This means he raised 20 children himself,( to make things simpler I’m going to round up and assume that all made it to or close to adulthood ) Because the Emperor’s coven was only established 50 years before the start of the show that means that before he became emperor he was taking personal care of/looking after each clone. So you can’t really say that he was just pushing them onto someone else and only taking an interest within them once they became old to enough to be useful. It’s common sense, by making himself the only adult/parental figure in their lives, he would be alienating the clones and making them solely loyal and dependent on him due to them not knowing any different.

He had to be something to them. How many stories did he tell of a broken or dead family, how many lies did he tell of who he was to them? An older brother? A father, distant relative, maybe an uncle? There had to be some emotion attachment, some bond that tied them together apart from isolation. Otherwise why would the clones stay loyal? Inklings of kindness, of course, only when they did something right, something that pleased him, after-all, he was family and he took them in out of his grace.

It’s the fact he likely named all of them, held them, took care of them, taught them. This is not me trying to portray Belos in a sympathetic light, but only to demonstrate how much a horrible monster he is. Because even if they were his family, that was never enough to save them from the tortured fates they met at his hands. Someone who was supposed to love them unconditionally, at the bare minimum care for them in some capacity, ended each and every life he made.

And this made me wonder, what did the clones do to make Belos think they deserved such fates? How did Belos come to suddenly decide this, and not only do it once, but over and over again? I think back to what the Collector said, about how Belos probably likes to destroy them. What if he was looking for an excuse to kill them? To take out in built up resentment and anger upon them over small transgressions? This leads me to this:

Belos was likely using each one as a replacement for his brother, trying, over and over again to create the perfect version of him. However, none of them met his expectations. He wanted the perfect brother who wouldn’t betray him, the one he remembered, and they didn’t fit. So when the time was right he found an excuse to kill them off, replace them with another and try again. Even if he did raise them, nurture them, he murdered them all in cold blood. The clones probably loved Belos, or at least cared for him deeply, and in more dark sense, saw him as their father.

So essentially the part that makes the Hollow Mind reveal entirely all the worse was that Belos was essentially the only parental figure/father figure in their lives and raised all of the Golden Guard clones by himself to adulthood, only to later slaughter them every time.

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, this is just some of my thoughts strewn together incoherently but I just wanted to point this out. Also I didn’t see anyone talking about this. So just to emphasize the point. Dusty Puritan Bitch basically killed all of his kids repeatedly.

[marvelandimagine]

I think some people mad about the arm is not necessarily about the fact that Ayo disabling the arm itself, it's more of the fact that it was not necessary and the fact that Bucky had no idea they can do that. If I were to be honest, I think it was not that necessary because Ayo is well capable of taking him down without having to disarm him and she is definitely not threatened by him. I think what some people find upsetting about that scene is the fact that it kinda comes off as Ayo putting Bucky in a position where it would make him feel like he doesn't have full control of his own body after all. The Wakandans, especially Ayo, T'Challa and Shuri had every right to feel betrayed and upset but the point is they should have told Bucky about how the arm can easily be disabled like that, they didn't know Bucky was going to set Zemo free when they gave him the arm and regardless of the things they have done for him and if they were ones who gave him the arm, they should have at least told him about it, because it's connected to him, it's a part of HIS body. It doesn't matter if it was necessary to disarm him or not, the point is they should have told him about it because apart from the fact that it's his body and that it was a bit insensitive given his history, it's also a point of vulnerability, and the fact that she did it in front of Walker (and possibly Zemo) --- people who can easily turn on Bucky, could easily that to their advantage and attempt to disable it themselves. Just my thoughts on it.

Thank you for sharing your perspective, anon!

I’m going to use this long-ass reply to address this stuff with Ayo and also voice some thoughts I’ve had over the past few weeks seeing people paint Bucky into being this complete soft and harmless human that needs 25-7 protection which I don’t jive with — and this is me, a complete Bucky stan.

Many moons ago, I saw a post that compared 1940s Bucky moving with stealth and a loaded gun on the train to the Winter Soldier doing the same thing, essentially discussing the similarities and debating how much of non-brainwashed Bucky was in the Soldier. And I think the fandom forgets or chooses to neglect the following when painting him as this fragile, peace-loving guy:

Bucky was an incredibly skilled sniper in the United States Army. His job is to eliminate threats in the most efficient way possible, and he’s good at it. HYDRA gets their hands on him and + the serum, this gets magnified. It wasn’t like HYDRA turned him into someone with the ability and mental capacity to kill — that was already there. The brainwashing and torture just carved out the rest of him to leave those honed skills and an amplified ruthlessness with no moral issues, no sense of self to contend with. That ruthlessness is part of Bucky, whether people like it or not.

When Bucky is outside of HYDRA for the first time and hiding in Civil War and gets attacked, he’s so brutal in his actions that Steve Rogers, the man who literally was ready to die to save Bucky and free him when no one else believed in the good in him, intervenes because “Buck, you’re going to kill someone.” Bucky responds that he’s not going to kill anyone, but the fact remains: with or without HYDRA control, Bucky has a strong capacity for violence that hovers on brutality — again, what’s the most efficient way to eliminate or neutralize a threat? Like, I don’t want to kill you, but I’ll knock your ass out with cinder blocks to the chest.

Bucky has a good heart, he’s loyal, he’s smart, he’s caring, he’s the longest-standing POW in history and was turned into a slave for decades, put through unimaginable trauma and torture and horror with no escape. Bucky is also a strong and incredibly skilled super soldier who has a bionic arm, is a trained sniper, is unnervingly precise with knives, and self-describes himself as “semi-stable.” Zemo notes in the bar that “it didn’t take Bucky long to get back into form,” and he’s right because the ruthlessness and skill of the Winter Soldier is a part of him and always has been. We see it when he has his hand around Zemo’s neck and tells him he will kill him, when he rips the glass from his hand and throws it across the room.

And I’m sure the Wakandans know all this about Bucky, this light and his ability for hard-to-stop violence, whether from talking to Steve and Bucky or doing their own homework. And they still choose to help him out of the goodness of their hearts because he’s been put through hell and they believe they have the capacity to help him and it’s the right thing to do — they’re betting more on those positive attributes. And they put a failsafe on his arm, a literal weapon, and chose not to tell him. You know why I think that shows how much they did care about him? Because they could’ve blatantly come out and said “Hey, we don’t trust you,” and hurt him outright, but they didn’t because they’re betting on the light in Bucky to outweigh the dark or any future manipulation. That it’s a worst-case scenario function they hope to never have to use — so they’re prepared if shit hits the fan, and if it doesn’t, Bucky doesn’t have to be hurt feeling like he can’t be trusted. I see no issues here, they’re just being cautious.

Now coming to Ayo, my QUEEN Ayo. From that beautiful, beautiful opening scene, we get to see her support, her reassurance, her belief that Bucky will be able to work through this, even when he doesn’t believe it himself. She watches him fight and struggle and cry, and you can feel the hope in her and how moved she is when she gets to tell him it worked, he did it — he’s free. And she says it not once, but twice. And you can hear not just the comfort, but the PRIDE and warmth in her voice directed to him, who I’m sure she’s watched throughout the whole deprogramming process and gotten to know and is happy to see him work through the pain and come out on the other side.

And then she sees that same individual make a decision in freeing Zemo that she perceives as a “fuck you” not just to her country, but to her, someone who was charged with protecting her king. She could’ve just disarmed Bucky the second they met up, but she doesn’t. She takes the time to explain her side and her feelings, her guilt and her shame, and basically implies that she feels betrayed by Bucky because Wakanda helped him and now he’s doing something that’s hurting her country. And still, she doesn’t attack or just go get Zemo. She gives Bucky the benefit of the doubt and a whole 8-hour American workday to do what he has to do because again, she believes in the best of him. And then that time limit runs up, and he chooses to get in her way.

And that’s the final straw. She’s angry, she’s guilty, she’s frustrated, and she feels betrayed hurt by someone I think she did respect and care about, someone whom she worked with and helped and supported when he was his most vulnerable. Did she “need” to disarm the arm to fight Bucky? Probably not. But is she doing it in the heat of battle and adrenaline and a whole bucket ton of emotions, including what she sees as the White Wolf blatantly disrespecting her country and her as a person and even friend and she just says fuck it, I’m done? You hurt us and me, and I’m going to hurt you back? Oh yeah. And Bucky looks shocked, not because he’s a poor fragile baby and “oh no, my arm, how could you?? my TrAumA”, but in the dual realization of “oh shit, how’d you do that?!” and ���oh shit, I think I crossed a line here.” And also, I don’t think a single person in that room would be able to recreate the disabling sequence other than Ayo — it’s way too targeted and specific for someone like Walker to pick it up in the whole three seconds it took.

People need to stop reducing characters to these black and white extremes of soft and hard, of good and bad. Doing so completely devalues and ignores the REALITY of the complexity of being human, and Bucky and Ayo are both great examples of that played by stellar actors who portray that range and depth extremely well. End of the day, my thought is that the failsafe in the arm was justified and people need to stop coming for Ayo based on this ridiculous narrative that Bucky is too traumatized and sensitive and too much of a fave to ever be challenged or he’ll explode into dust. Boy deserves a life of freedom and healing and mental health support, but he’s also still a formidable opponent with the capacity for violence and skillset to kill. People are more than one thing.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!!

[lady-of-lyon]

So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!

First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.

I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.

Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.

I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.

All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!

[kirlim]

i remember crying (every single fuckin time i watch this movie) because in many ways, i see my family in this, namely abuela.

my grandparents, my sister, they all reminded me of her.

especially how she retold her traumatic story before mirabel's ceremony, it reminded me of the times my grandparents would mention their time in residential school, or how they burned down my grandpa's village in order to build the chicago line in saskatchewan

abuela represents the very thing that held the family together, but she did it in a way that ultimately caused their destruction. my grandfather was the same way. he was the patriarch, the head honcho, the boss. everyone listened to him and revered him. he's still remembered in this city as a prominent elder

but once he passed away, everything sort of just shattered

everyone realized that he was the one holding everything together, that he was the one calling the shots, so to speak

and i feel like abuela is the same way

she told everyone what to do, how to do it, and essentially suppressed them in a way where nobody felt that they could do her "job" like she did

the problem with some patriarchs/matriarchs is that sometimes they don't want people taking over what they do, they seem to forget that they aren't immortal, that they won't be there forever. but the movie subverts that in implying that mirabel will one day take over.

and i keep comparing my family to them because it helped me put words and feelings to how my relatives act as well

my older sister is abuela/isabela (obsessed with perfection to the point where she'll yell and scold you for making a mistake)

my mother is julieta (a warmth, the guidance in my life)

my cousins embody camilo (yes, all of them, lmao) by never taking it seriously, goofing around, just trying to lighten things up, even if it isn't the best thing to do

and my aunts greatly reminded me of pepa-- hyper emotional, essentially the weathervane in what the mood was

i find it so amazing how disney managed to accurately portray a family that almost everyone could relate to, how intergenerational trauma effects everyone, how complicated the dynamics are

but moving back to abuela, i often found myself wondering what everyone in encanto would do if she were to suddenly pass, or lose her mental facilities (eg, dementia) and the fact that she's in her sunset years (my grandparents died at 74 and 75) i've even written character studies about her, because i love her portrayal and i love how deeply complex her character is, how she embodies human strength and resilience whilst having deep flaws that stem from said trauma and how, when unchecked, would eventually tear her family apart because sure, she talked about it, but did she ever truly *talk* about it? how it made her feel? how she felt helpless? how her husband was murdered right in front of her and her children? how her village was burned down by bandits? she only scratched the surface with "i had to flee, and your abuelo pedro was lost" she never got a chance to process it, only using that as a reminder to keep her community together at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing her progeny's mental health in order for what happened to her to never happen to them

i don't understand the hate on alma. she's flawed, yes, but her shortcomings don't define her. i wish they'll have a sequel where we'll see more of her, how she's grown (not to mention seeing her *act* like a mother and grandmother and not a boss to everyone) because she deserves it. she's my favourite character because she doesn't even feel like a character.

(also if you wanna read the really sad fic i'll include it below)

it's largely based off of everywhere in the end of time and takes five years after encanto.

it's kind of shitty and written in a stuttered way that resembles the thought processes that dementia patients have

[bleulone]

i love your analysis so much! i have a question as well, like, how do you envision polin's sex scenes ? thanks for your answer (:

    Hey! Thank you very much :)) I have no idea if they are that even good but I’m happy you like them. It’s just my brain tending to produce some iNsIGhiTfUL analyses though they usually end up drowned under a huge wave of stupidity and horrid spelling/grammatical mistakes XD. So, about Penelope and Colin’ sex scenes, I guess we’re getting spicy in this house 🌶. I mean, I don’t blame you. Who’s not hot for Polin ?! The steamy Polin hours have already begun and they’re legit challenging my patience. (Be still my Polin heart, be still).

   Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about sex baby, shall we ? It’s a pretty long answer/meta so bear with me.

    I don’t know if you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but a quick reminder (for those who haven’t... yet), there are a bunch of iconic steamy scenes that I’m dying to watch on screen. First we have the famous “thank you” scene where Penelope, now a 28 year-old spinster, asks Colin to kiss her because she doesn’t want to die without having been kissed... then ends up thanking him— which happens to be humiliating for our 33 year-old boy because he thinks that she thinks he did it out of pity while he absolutely did not. The man definitely felt butterflies in his stomach... and in other places as well lol. We also have the ICONIC carriage scene where Colin gives Pen’s generous bosoms™ the attention they deserve. This is followed by his proposal. Later on, after the announcement of their engagement, there’s a pretty hot make-out scene on Lady Violet’s sofa. Finally, we have their first time in Colin’s bedroom, after sneaking out of their own engagement party... which leads Colin to push the wedding date forward. At this point, I just love their horniness, especially Colin’s who’s just so freaking amazed by Penelope for more than 300 pages straight (duh! who isn’t ???).

    When you say envision, I suppose you mainly refer to the way those scenes will be filmed right ? I’m afraid I don’t have an advanced knowledge in film-making but let me start by telling you what elements need to be depicted. I would love Shonda and Chris to capture the real essence of our boos’ feelings : the yearning, the love, the respect and the guilt (specifically on Colin’s side) in their eyes. The more we move forward throughout the seasons, the more we see different layers of the perceptions of they have of each other, going from a childish idealization/immature ignorance to a sudden realization. A mature one. Penelope goes beyond the facade of the charming devil-may-care guy to meet the seriousness and temper of her significant other. Meanwhile Colin discovers how confident, powerful and attractive this woman is and always has been. It echoes what I’ve written about the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story in this meta. By the time season 4 hits, man... their heart eyes and eye-fucking will jump OUT XD, all fibers of their beings, burning with need. The fact that this evolution took literally years is very emotionally painful, which is why I find it important to keep the slowness aspect of their relationship before and during their love making. I’m really looking forward a slow build-up toward their intimacy. It would differ from Daphne and Simon who merely shared one hell of a kiss in Lady Trowbridge’s garden then shared their sexy times after they married or Anthony and Siena’s rough sex... In fact, there’s a certain (sweet) ardent tenderness in Polin I like due to the fact that they’re slowly (re)discovering each other, as adults. Since they were both introduced in season 1, the audience will have all the time in the world to notice numerous evidences of the many natures of love they have for one another : from an affectionate and friendly love to a more carnal and enduring one.

    Okay so, in terms of filming, with Netflix’s Bridgerton being a show which promotes the female gaze, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise watching those sex scenes being shot from Penelope’s perspective, like it was the case with Daphne in the first installment of the series. Most of the time, sex scenes in Historical Romance are not gratuitous. Their presence serve an important purpose in a hero/heroine’s journey. In Penelope’s case, they’re here to help her learn to embrace and love herself. In other words, sexuality is synonym of freedom. I don’t know if they’ll show a lot of skin, but I won’t be complaining considering the fact that we’ll have the chance to get a chief kiss treat on screen : a plus size woman in a major successful Netflix period drama getting a love story as romantic and steamy as other more “fit” female characters. No, your weight doesn’t prevent you from being desirable at all. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t watched a plus-size female character portrayed as an attractive protagonist in a period drama (please if you have, let me know, I can be wrong). Having a beautiful half bare curvy body like Nicola’s being equally filmed like numerous slim actresses will be so inspiring and powerful to watch, especially for (young) women who struggle, like Penelope, to love their body shape which, to them, doesn’t “fit” the “beauty standards”. By showing her female gaze and portraying her as seductive, Pen’s “supposed” imperfections transform themselves into mighty assets, loved and worshipped by our dashing Mister Bridgerton. That’s body positivity at its finest darling ;).

    It will be deliciously erotic watching the undressing process being exquisitely slow, garment by garment, while their gaze are all heated and hungry. Their sex/make-out scenes should be tender and passionate, sweet and raw. The lightning, colored by a dark blood orange yellow or a blue depending the locations^^. Moreover, the depiction of the exploration of Penelope’s desire can translate itself thanks to multiple close ups. For instance, I can imagine a few ones on Pen’s fingers gently roaming over the smooth skin of Colin’s firm chest and back/touching his hair right after he removed his shirt. And a disheveled Colin letting his hands and lips making a journey of their own, mapping, conquering the alluring unknown territory that is her gorgeous voluptuous body... kissing her on the places he knows oh too well will give her pleasure (is this me wanting him to go down on her?— um yeah I sure hope it IS! If he doesn’t, trust me imma riot... AGAIN). Even a close up on her face while Colin is performing his addictively pleasing torment will be a marvelous proof of the female gaze. By the way, why not even adding a post-coital scene after their first time ? I can picture Penelope waking up first and contemplate her handsome soon-to-be husband. She’d bring her hand to his face and let it travel all around his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his neck and let it rest on his heart— making sure that what she’s just experience was real... obviously, Colin will wake up in the process and he’ll take this as his cue to go for another round of sexy times under the sheets.

   Showing Pen reaction is essential according to me because she was stuck with the idea that she would never experience the luxury of being loved, giving pleasure nor receiving it... she ended up being happily wrong. Throughout her multiple intimate encounters with Colin, I want her to progressively realizes that she can be an active partner. In the carriage, she knew she had an effect on him, but it’s not until their first time that she actually realizes it. Hence the reason why I WANT the mirror’s introduction in one of their sex scenes. Here’s as a little reminder an excerpt from chapter 18 :

“I want to see you sitting up," he groaned, "so I can see them full and lovely and large [about Pen’s breasts]. And then I want to crawl behind you and cup you." His lips found her ear and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I want to do it in front of a mirror."

“Now?” she squeaked.

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then shook his head. "Later," he said, and then repeated it in a rather resolute tone. "Later.”

   It would be such a shame if the show doesn’t use the incredible potential of this object (/kink). I mean, the symbolism is pretty clear. Penelope has always fled her “ugly” reflection but it seems like Colin wants to show the real her, the beauty that holds every single inch her alabaster skin and the effects they have on him. Thus, I would love to watch a scene where Colin just praises the alluring goddess and siren that is Penelope Featherington. Just imagine! Just IMAGINE the power of this scene : a shirtless Colin sitting behind her on a bed, meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips touching her right ear, biting and licking the lobe sometimes, whispering all kinda of dirty yet poetic words to her while letting his hands caress her thighs, her hips, her arms, her lovely bosoms™... oof. At the same time, a wonderful and harmonic instrumental music will play in the background and match the melodic partition of shudders, breathes and moans let out by our lovers. I can imagine Luke inspiring himself from his performance in the 2019 short film, Youth In Bed. The way he conveyed the awe and the yearning on his face, in his eyes with his mouth slightly open when he knelt before his partner Shun Yin was just captivating and— and so Colin! I cannot help but bring myself to picture Ethan, the character he played in YIB, in a Polin steamy scene. I cannot unsee this anymore jsksk. I mean, all this gifset radiates this book4chapter18!Colin, you cannot tell me otherwise!

    Also, I would love Shonda and Chris to keep Pen and Colin’s cute/emotional pillow talk. One thing I really love in JQ’s books is the concern she gives to her male protagonists about potentially hurting their partner during the act of penetration. Colin is a rake, and what his experience with women taught him is that he needs to be very gentle with the love of his life. It was so adorable seeing him not wanting to harm her and asking her to tell him if he does anything she doesn’t like 🥺. Plus, before actually doing it, Colin and Penelope shared a few kisses and just laid down side by side, confessing their love. Though our boy kept feeling guilty about not returning her love after all these years. He desires nothing but to make up for the lost time and show his love and desire during this special intimate moment. I hope they’ll keep all of chapter 18’s dialogue. It’s just so telling of our boos’ feelings, you see.

    All in all, I can’t wait to watch those Polin steamy scenes. As much as I may sound crazy, I want them after two other seasons of pure pining and yearning in order to have a very good payoff. I’m not an expert on depicting intimacy on screen, but I loved so far what Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator who worked on the show, have done in season 1. Sex scenes in Bridgerton seem very real and dive you in the intimacy of the moment, leaving you all flustered and hot. So probs to her! I have faith in her work and have no doubts about what her and the directors will serve us in future seasons. Though, in the end, I think it’s mostly up to the actors, Nicola and Luke, to see if they’re comfortable filming sex scenes.

    If you guys have any suggestions or wishes for those steamy polin scenes, please do share them :) by commenting on this post or by sending me asks! I’d love reading your thoughts/take on this very important matter ;)) 

[nettlestonenell]

(above, an unpopular opinion?--if so, the first of many)

The King: Eternal Monarch Catches Plenty of Hate Online Why That Is, And Why You Should Ignore It Part I

(to be posted in several parts, spoilers possible, but will be limited)

Subjects of the Kingdom, Citizens of the Republic, and (as always) Gentle Readers:

If you’ve spent any amount of time searching The King: Eternal Monarch, Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, or various other adjacent topics online since 2020, the fact that Kdrama The King: Eternal Monarch is more likely to be associated with negative coverage rather than positive, is far from news to you.

Just the other day, @dumbassdictionarysds popped into my DMs and asked if I might have a post in me to explain what I thought the roots of this heated rejection of the show might be.

“I was thinking of making a video on TKEM and its criticisms and why people didn't like it and why I liked it,” they wrote, “I would really appreciate if you could give some insight into what common criticisms you saw and what you thought of them.” 

It should come as no surprise at this point that, as someone showed up wanting to talk about--and hear about--TKEM that my responding was an absolute no-brainer, and a welcome moment of elation.

As we dive in, let me give two (sorta three) shout-outs to places I’ve read meta for TKEM, whose thoughts on the matter and the show have no doubt helped shaped my own opinions and understanding of it: bitchesoverdramas.com and thefangirlverdict.com, with a nod to TKEM’s Wikipedia page as well. For the record (because it seems it might prove germane here) I am neither Korean nor have I/do I live in Korea (nor the Kingdom of Corea, for that matter).

Okay. Many people (perhaps most people?—at least online fan people) really, really have issues with TKEM. Writer Kim Eun Sook’s shows, while generally well received by fandom and critics, are no strangers to occasional controversy-- particularly of her two most recent dramas available through Netflix, Mr. Sunshine and The King: Eternal Monarch. 

Research seems to show that KES tends toward being something of a polarizing figure in fandom. Those that love her don’t just love her a little, but will die on this hill, and those who dislike what she does can really, really, REALLY, not stand it (and are also ready to die on that hill). 

That’s a lot of people camped out, ready to die on their respective hills. For every person that thinks Goblin is the greatest kdrama ever filmed, there is a person ready and waiting to dismember Heirs’ Kim Tan.

No one should be surprised that KES’ new show would prove polarizing.

So let’s get down to business. Why all the hate?

Expectations Deliberately and Consistently Subverted

Was this Lee Min Ho’s Regarding Henry-moment?

WRT TKEM, let’s start with the elephant/top star in the room: stratospheric Hallyu star Lee Min Ho’s return to viewers’ screens following his two year absence due to mandatory military service (and removal from public life). 

There is a weight added, then, to fans’ expectations for the show. It’s not just LMH’s next project, it becomes his MOST IMPORTANT project, his ONLY new project. (Since 2016′s The Legend of the Blue Sea, I believe).

Don’t ask me to react to this photo. I’ve been processing its existence for months now, no conclusions to share yet in sight.

These are fans of Boys Over Flowers’ Goo Joon Pyo, of Heirs’ (also by KES) Kim Tan. These are die-hard viewers who know how they like to consume their LMH on-screen. But KES (and LMH, b/c he’s actually spoken directly to this) aren’t interested in handing out on-brand LMH anymore. Therefore, his Corean King/Emperor Lee Gon is much more in line with the mature, controlled, focused and kind Joseon magistrate Dam Ryeong (from The Legend of the Blue Sea) than the out-of-touch disaster boy chaebols like GJP and KT that rocketed him to global stardom and notoriety.

For instance, TKEM has its hero Lee Gon (LMH) experiencing an epiphany moment of actually understanding and feeling deep empathy for what the female lead is going through—an understanding and an emotion that that utterly evades both GJP and KT (and let’s face it, the majority of kdrama male leads) throughout their entire series.

Do people perhaps hate on LMH in TKEM just as they hated Harrison Ford’s attempt in Regarding Henry to choose projects that artistically interested and challenged him but were found NOT to interest movie goers that rather wanted to see (what they expected from) “a Harrison Ford film”? Is it that viewers wanted to watch (what they expected from) a LMH kdrama?

Had the character of Lee Gon been written and performed as more of a GJP-role would the show’s reception have been more robust and less controversial?

Thankfully, for this viewer, we’ll never have to know.

You cannot truly address LMH’s return to screens without bringing up TKEM episode one, and the way the writing chose to handle what surely had been incredibly hyped in Korean media (LMH’s return). 

Does LMH storm the screen in the first moments, triumphant? Is his face the first thing we see? Not even close. The show begins in a muddle for viewers, not sure where we are or what’s going on. And then it…doesn’t do much to clear that up. [more on that in a later section] 

Essentially, the show begins in a police interrogation room, during a scene that actually takes place in the penultimate episode of the show. It then proceeds to a seminal event that happened 25 years BEFORE the main timeframe the show operates in. 

Neither of these things involve a visible LMH. IN FACT, it is more than 37 minutes into the first episode before he’s acting on-screen. [Yes, I know he’s shown in a 10 second lightning flash right before the show’s 4 minute mark—but that’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, and barely even counts as an amuse-bouche.]

When we do see LMH as the grown Lee Gon (a child actor having portrayed him for the prior 37 minutes), if a viewer is holding entitled golden boys GJP and KT in their mind, it changes their potential reading of Lee Gon’s entire introduction to us as king. The humorous sniping between him and Court Lady Noh over getting married and producing an heir might take on a (misinterpreted) nasty edge, if one is predisposed to expect LMH to portray an temper-tantrum-throwing male character of great wealth whose character arc is to redeem him from his bratty nature through finding the love of an average good woman [Hint: that’s not at all what’s going on here.]--if that’s what a viewer showed up for, they’re going to have those expectations disappointed. And if they can’t shed them, they are going to hate this show.

...to be continued in Part II  “Subtitles? More like Sub-par-titles“

[sarcasm-and-references]

may or may not have written a 5 paragraph, 1000+ word character analysis of Jim Lake Jr and his healthy masculinity for fun

i’m not even kidding there’s a literal essay beneath the cut

James Lake Junior; Jim; the trollhunter. The lead protagonist of Dreamworks’ Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia is a fan-favorite for good reason. Utter vulnerability and emotional maturity allows Jim a distinct and refreshing character archetype. Yet, he is not the antithesis of the modern day animated action hero. Jim perfectly walks the line between stereotype and not, thus demonstrating a rare example of healthy masculinity in teenage boys. He is an exemplary role model, and one which is uniquely important in shows directed primarily at families and children.

Upon first impression, Jim seems a typical boyish hero, attracting many young viewers. He is, admittedly, quite the ordinary character on the surface. His primary color is blue, he gushes obsessively over Vespas, his favorite movie is an action film called Gun Robot, and he’s attracted to girls. Obviously, Jim displays many traditionally masculine traits. As a human, at least, he is lanky, and, quite frankly, average looking. He is white and has a simple name. If one were to look at his character and his basic personality without watching the show, Jim may appear mostly plain. Moreover, he is portrayed as somewhat of a social outcast alongside his seemingly stereotypical best friend, Toby. The two play video games and use walkie talkies to communicate, a standard dynamic for any “dorky” duo of children’s entertainment. This garners the attention of a variety of today’s young boys and children in general. Ultimately: Jim is entirely relatable. Sarcastic, witty, and protective, Jim takes to the mantle of ‘reluctant hero’ well and wins the favor of fans. As the series progresses, Jim grows into a strong defender and powerful threat to the story’s variety of villains, often sacrificing himself for the sake of his loved ones. To put it simply, Jim has a sword, he becomes athletic, he is the hero. He is a stereotype, yet this is not necessarily a negative aspect of his character and, more importantly, his impact on the younger generation.

Despite displaying ostensibly typical traits, Jim is simultaneously an incredibly rare type of hero. He is, indeed, pure of heart and courageous, yet he is also uniquely in touch with his emotions. What’s more, many aspects of Jim’s personality are those which are usually attributed to feminine characters. While not necessarily effeminate, Jim is in touch with a side of himself which most other teenage boys (both fictional and not) aren’t. This is clear from the moment he is introduced. In fact, his first spoken words are, “Love you, mom.” This line is, surprisingly, a certain indicator of Jim’s vulnerability. Jim says this to his mom, making her breakfast and caring for her as she sleeps after a long night at the hospital at which she works. There is no one watching him do this, no one to impress and no façade to maintain. His bond with his mother is genuine. He is shown to deeply regret keeping his adventures secret from her and value their bond. Furthermore, Jim goes out of his way to respect his eventual girlfriend, Claire, and does not downplay her capabilities for any reason. Rather, Jim dedicates time to their relationship and supports her own arc. He wants to be strong for his mother and for Claire just as he does for his male mentors and Toby. Although his intentions may be skewed by his crush on Claire, Jim auditions and performs well as Romeo in the school play. This is not often a hobby of teenage main characters, unless the work focuses on members of a theater department. In reality, there is an astoundingly small number of teen boys involved in theater. Once again, Jim defies that which is expected for his type of character. Perhaps Jim’s most definingly unusual hobby is that he loves to cook. In fact, Jim often cooks for his mother, underscoring his compassionate nature. Aside from surface level traits, Jim is emotionally mature. Initially, he is reluctant to harm other living things and often is only shown to hurt or kill when defending others. He owns up to his mistakes, one of which being his solo journey into the Darklands. He processes such lasting consequences and feelings and learns from them, rather than brushing off pivotal points in his arc (another example of which being perhaps his greatest self-sacrificing act of the first series: his decision to become half-troll). All in all, Jim is the picture of healthy masculinity. This is highlighted in what may be the pinnacle of his emotional maturity: the multiple scenes in which he freely cries. Jim has been known to sob earnestly and rawly when faced with especially difficult or intense situations. This is not at all frowned upon, nor is it even light-heartedly made fun of at any point. Ultimately, Jim is aware of and completely processes his feelings.

Throughout history and still in today’s sociopolitical climate, vulnerability in young men is not commonly seen in the media. Thus, many young boys and children are influenced by what they view in video games, television, films, books, etc… They are often told to push down any “weak” emotion in order to show strength. This notion is drilled into the minds of children and becomes a part of many adults’ (of all genders) perception of masculinity. Likewise, any stereotypically feminine traits exhibited in boys or men are often immediately seen as negative. Basically, a person like Jim is as rare as a character like him. For Jim to be so unique and still seen as a role model, or simply as cool, is nearly paradoxical. It is essential to the development of healthy masculinity and sense of self in growing adolescents. In the opinion of the author, Jim is the epitome of this concept and his role in Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia leaves viewers with a lasting impression of what a modern teenage hero should be, and the values they should encourage. This is especially significant as the show is primarily directed at the younger generation and quite possibly could be integral to a child’s growth in today’s world.

Jim Lake Jr, is, conclusively, a powerfully influential character and a paragon of the future of teenage male heroes. On a final personal note, he is illustrative of the type of character which I hope to replicate in the media industry as I hopefully pursue a career in film.

[anxiouslyfred]

Lockets and Emo’s

Summary: Virgil can guess a lot about their soulmate from the knife locket they were drawn too, and the portrait within, but they’ll wait for them to visit the shop he works in.

/\/\

People always talked about how accurate the portraits in their lockets were, and that they'd never have been able to find their soulmate if not for the picture held inside. Frankly, people talked a lot of nonsense and no matter how accurate a painting was, it was still limited by the paint, the artist and the amount of space available in how detailed it could be. Even photographs suffered that limitation.

When Virgil first got their locket, they had been far more interested in the process of the caravan, being blindfolded in the room with the lockets until one called his hands to them, and afterwards sitting with the soul artist as though for their own portrait but actually so they could get their energy to reveal the image of their soulmate. They'd been lucky enough that the locket in their hands filled them, providing more space for the image to appear in. That gave him more details to look for in the faces of others alongside the reflections of who their soulmate is in the design of the locket.

Remus hadn't cared when he was taken to get his locket. It wasn't that he didn't want to meet them, but that he'd spent the week reading about the soulmates who didn't work out, and just wanted to discuss with all the workers there if there's anyway to know how soulmates will actually react to each other. After all, even in fiction there were soulmates like Heathcliffe and Cathy who were perfect to destroy each other, as well as political ones, where the soulmates might try to be romantic, or friends, but their connection really only grows when they work together as colleagues and nothing more. Surely the different types of soulmates had been studied and the people in the caravan should know if he could tell just what he was heading to having.

He had kept asking those questions while blindfolded and being led from the room with a rather bland looking lockets and even while sitting with the artist as the tiny thing had his soulmate painted inside it. None of the staff replied or even spoke to him beyond gentle words to guide him through the process, no matter how many times Remus insisted they could throw him through the areas if they wanted to.

It wasn't until a week later than Remus looked at his locket and found the spider webs and checked patterns engraved into the locket, only visible in some lights. It at least made him more interested in the soulmate that was supposed to be portrayed within it, with dark eyeshadow showing from beneath a long fringe. At least it wasn't any of the emos he'd been through school with, none of them had worn eyeshadow underneath their eyes and almost all of them hated his rebellious punk style.

Virgil wasn't going to go out socialising to try and find the guy with a wild smile, a fringe bleached white and green-brown eyes, but they could just about cope with a retail job, so long as the shop was small and wouldn't insist he speaks to people as they enter. That would at least give them a change to people watch in case someone similar to their portrait wandered through.

Well, that and they could hopefully watch for anyone causing a scene because whomever the locket represented definitely would grab attention quickly. Virgil wasn't quite sure what they were most amused by when looking at the locket, just how gaudy it was or how intricately made  it was. The main body seemed to be made out of a dagger, cut in half width ways and blunted just enough to be safe to wear, although still functional if they wished to stab someone. There was even a hilt instead of a normal ring to attach it to the chain.

Remus had tried visiting all the normal areas he'd heard of emo's hanging out in, making a scene and sometimes getting into fights at all of them. They might agree that the police needed to be shut down and capitalism was a burden but apparently got very protective over the bands they claimed. It wasn't Remus's fault he sometimes was looking for something with a bit more of a dancable beat to it.

He only decided to try to shops in local towns that emos might visit on a whim, or rather after Roman had gone on a long speech about “It's not merely fashion Remus, any fool could follow that, it's about aesthetic and truly reflecting the prince within me.” All he had asked was just why his brother was dragging them around shops that seemed to sell mostly steampunk accessories when his brother usually preferred swords, leather and ruby jewellery.

Seriously, Remus could and would make anything his style within a day of climbing around in it. A few tears, a bit of dirt and perhaps some thorns from the bushed he scrambled through and the jobs done, but it definitely made sense that someone who's locket reflection hid the details probably wouldn't be out around the town regularly.

When he first entered an out of the way shop, Remus had been torn between making a scene and just trying to steal a couple of the spiked piercing they had in a display case. It was always more fun to steal things that were locked to normal shoppers, but he actually knew the words to the song that was playing so obviously had to make a display table his stage and sing along. Checking the staff out for patchwork clothes or under the eye eyeshadow could wait a while.

He made it halfway through the song before someone caught his arm and essentially through him to the floor as they yanked him down. “If you're going to dance on the merchandise you had better get to cleaning it up right the hell now, Maniac!” The store assistant who'd yanked him down demanded, glaring and waving a hand at where he'd been dancing a second before.

Remus would have argued, except he could recognise that long fringe anywhere. They eyeshadow just underneath them only cemented that his was his soulmate, and the shaking in their hands was probably because they were realising the same thing.

“Hi, I'm Remus, he/him, and sure thing. You gonna give me instructions on what to do, Spiderpatch?” He asked instead, bouncing up, as close as he could to the other, pouting a little when he was still looking up at them.

“Virgil, they/them, and if that's what it takes then yes, but I think you're smart enough to figure it out yourself.” They growled out.

Mentally Virgil was still freaking out. Usually when people started making a scene to that degree they would actually wait until they finished and then clean up after them. This was way too close to a confrontation for them to be comfortable with, but the man was more accurate to his mental image of his soulmate than anyone they'd ever seen and it at least gave them something to say without bringing that up.

“Smart enough, sure, willing to do it without my soulmate or some kind of threat to motivate me, yeah, I don't wanna.” Remus teased, not expecting a knife to be pulled from Virgil's hoodie and held up towards him.

Virgil smirked at the blink that flickered between their face and their hands. “Well I've got both thanks to your locket, so how about you get folding?” They asked, gesturing once again to the ruined display, although thankfully there were no footprints on any of the tops. Glancing around they saw why as Remus had apparently thrown his shoes across the room while climbing onto the table.

“It's a knife locket? Oh my god, I have the most awesome reflection in locket form ever! I'm in love with this locket even if you're making me fold shirts to get a date with you.” Remus was bouncing even as he finally turned to start tidying up the display, already rattling of other thoughts and well aware Virgil was stood watching him.

“So what's mine like then, if you're so enamoured with the one for you?” They hadn't decided about going out with Remus yet so decided to ignore the offer when they finally spoke up again.

Remus barely paused, grabbing the locket from his pocket to shove into their hands. “Really interesting. The best light to look at it in is like night club strobe lights. They bring out the designs on it perfectly. I bet in here you can barely make out there's even any pattern on there. Seriously, date? Hang out as friends? Phone number? Can I have something to say I'm seeing you again? Hell if you'd prefer just to make me work here I'm down for it.”

Virgil snickered at the ideas but shook their head playfully horrified when Remus mentioned them working together. “I'm not giving you more chances to damage the merchandise. How about we text for a while, get to know each other and see what we'd like from there?”

“Phone number then.” Remus turned around pulling his phone out only to pout and exaggeratedly deflate when his realised they were no longer holding the knife locket out at all. “Come on, I liked having you ready to cut me. A bit of pain is brilliant.”

“Not what I meant when I said getting to know you, but noted, if we ever get to a sexual relationship, you have a pain kink.” Virgil remarked, quickly typing in their number before waving towards the staff area. “I can't have my phone out on shift since I got too grouchy with my co-workers so text me and I'll reply when I get out of here.”

Remus took his phone back with a grin, “Sure, I'll go and see what mischief I can get into before I come to walk you home.”

“Didn't agree to that.” Virgil tried to call after him, but Remus had already turned to race out of the store.

[badboyfriends]

I love the dream smp, i watch all the perspectives like i do with the hermits... its just.. i cant bring myself to watch George, i mean i like him i do! It’s just.. he’s really bland and kinda boring to me

I’m glad I waited until today to post this, after a conversation I had earlier. But I... Full-heartedly agree

First off though? You’re INSANE how on earth do you manage to?? watch?? Dream SMP from all perspectives????

Wilbur’s alone is 26 hours worth of content. TOMMY’S HAD OVER  6 DAYS OF STREAMS. It would take Six days, back-to-back, to watch his stream. and now it’s probably at 7 days, because I did that math last month.

But onto the main point of your ask. George is... yeah. Now that I’ve found Sleepy Boi’s, Dream Team has kinda fell on the burner for me.

I love Sapnap, he’s chaotic and energetic and full of dumbassery. He’s skilled at PvP and enjoyable to watch.

Dream’s a skilled player and engaging to watch. He’s got an iconic laugh, and just generally a personality easy enough to watch, most days.

But?? George??? I don’t know. He’s fine. He’s?? cute??? but that’s like. the thing he’s got going for him. I like his voice, and I think he’s pretty good at the game. But most times he doesn't seem interested in what he’s playing.

This got long,, so for an explanation of my thought process and in-depth feelings on George and his relationship with his career, read more. Includes some major speculation and critic of his internet personality. 

The thing that really.. kinda pushed me away from George, was what i realized seeing his reaction to the original Warriors animatic. He didn’t remember any of the important scenes he was in- he looked confused, and like he didn’t have a clue what was going on. He was there and he just.. didn’t remember shit. He might as well have been a complete outsider, watching it.

Legitimately it feels like?? George is just so completely uninterested in what he does. He missed the election. He missed the Festiva. He forgets what storylines he’s been apart of- and of what he’s involved in!

I actually have a memory disorder. i didn’t even know my own birthday, or days of the week until i was 12. 

Even with that, I could sit there and tell you the entire plotline of an eight-hour-long roleplay from four years ago on Roblox. and... George??? isn’t invested enough to show up, or remember anything he did, or promised, or was promised, in Dream SMP.

If George just wasn’t interested in the roleplay aspect, and wanted to play casually on the server, that’s more than okay and chill. But no, he keeps siding himself with one part of it, agreeing to become what WOULD be a big important role. He then doesn’t show up, or remember jackshit about it.

If I’m being completely honest, I feel as if he’s the same way with content making. This is where I feel i’m getting into controversial take territory- if I weren’t there already- but if it wasn’t for Dream, and the influence, attention, and monetary gain brought from him- I don’t think George would be on YouTube.

George’s videos are fine. I watch them. But it’s never George that makes them enjoyable. They truly feel like just.. additional content for Dream fans.

While I full-heartedly believe Sapnap has the personality to hold his own on the platform without the contribution of attention brought to him by Dream, I don’t think George could say that.

You never really get to see George’s personality. George doesn’t do much. He’s there, sometimes making snide remarks, going along with what’s happening. but he doesn’t care, or remember, or interested in it at all.

Remember the Pizza Hut vlog? Yeah. That was George, meeting a friend. We don’t need to see it. He doesn’t owe fans anything. but instead of outright saying hey this isn’t gonna be posted, or hey this is happening i’m just not happy with how my editing on it’s been, he just isn’t doing anything. 

My thoughts on why that might be? Because George doesn’t know how to edit the vlog in a way the fans would expect from him. His Minecraft videos follow traditionally the same style as any of Dream’s videos. but he’s with Wilbur, and it’s a vlog. And he doesn’t know what to do with that. That’s what my opinion is, pure speculation of bits and pieces I saw from Twitter.

I’ve seen the posts from George stans. I’ve seen the.. extremists, who take their fave cc’s and talk/treat them incredibly uncomfortably. And I’ve seen people who think that somehow, George can/should rise above, both Dream and Sapnap. And I don’t think that’s gonna happen, not ever.

Maybe George does have some big passion for video-editing and YouTube, but I certainly don’t see it in his general attitude, behavior, and the way he engages with his audience.

He doesn’t seem interested in having a relationship with boundaries and in-jokes, or making original and engaging content to obtain his own fanbase. He doesn’t portray a personality that can hold it’s own. 

I think he’s here because he gets attention, and because he wants the money. and I don’t think that’s anything wrong. I’m not here calling him selfish or whatever else- I think he’s there for monetary gain, and that it’s fine. Because you have to make a living somehow. But he’s so set on being unproblematic, and following what’s expected or asked of him.

George doesn’t want to be left behind by Sapnap and Dream. He knows that he’s made a name for himself, just by who he’s friends with.

He wants to make that into something, into something stable. But he’s doing that by making more videos of him with them. He’s not taking that, and using it to his own platform, like he could.

He’s not a super-talented and invested player, given his chance to shine. He’s a skinny, white, British boy with a silly laugh and passive enough to either not care- or be oblivious of- the fact that he’s essentially being fetishized as gay, and that’s what’s giving him a career & platform. 

George is fine. I don’t have a problem with I'm. I don’t love him, but I watch him. I hope I’m wrong, but, I don’t think he’s on the platform for the longterm.

[xmanicpanicx]

Romanticized Things That Aren't Actually Romantic

1) The "shut up" kiss

It happens in more movies, TV shows, and novels than I can even count. One half of the couple (usually a woman or girl) will be talking, and the other person (usually a guy) will suddenly lay an ol’ sloppy one on her mouth. Often times, she’s rambling about her insecurities, so some people think it’s cute when he kisses her, symbolically laying her worries to rest. Don’t worry, hon! There’s nothing to be insecure about! He likes you! There are two big problems with this. The first is that when someone is speaking, you shouldn’t cut them off; best case scenario, it’s rude. Of course, people cut each other off all the time in conversation, so that’s different. But when a character interrupts another character’s speech to kiss them, they are essentially prioritizing their sexual desires over the other person’s need to express themselves. It’s an action that has an agenda. Everyone wants to be truly listened to when they speak. So if, for example, we have a female character babbling about her insecurities, the male character should hear her out, and then respond to what she says. There is plenty of romantic potential in words — even more than in kisses, in my opinion. His response could still be a kiss after she’s finished speaking (as long as it’s not a rattlesnake-strike type of kiss that doesn’t give her a choice). However, we still have another problem: the female character’s self-confidence shouldn’t be contingent upon the male character’s opinion of her. In other words, a kiss from a guy, no matter how much she loves him, will not and should not heal her negative perception of herself. Not healthy. Real people and characters should accept themselves on their own terms rather than on the approval of others.

Sometimes, the sudden kiss will come in the middle of a female character’s angry rant. The male character thinks she’s cute or sexy when she’s angry, which can be frustrating and patronizing for anyone who voices their anger because they want to be listened to and taken seriously. But regardless of why the character is talking, the other character should stop kissin’ and start listenin’.

2) Female double standards

Women and girls often feel really uncomfortable when men objectify them and make comments on their bodies, so they call these men out — and rightfully so. They also call male authors out for only describing women in terms of their bodies and giving them very little, if any, personality. Once again, rightfully so. Unfortunately, in real life and in literature, there is a double standard here. It’s one thing to write an erotic novel in which bodies of every gender are described in explicit detail and with an express purpose. But I’ve read novels without any sexual content that go into so much detail about guys’ looks. And these male characters are often not well-developed, either (think of the stereotypical jock with a hot bod and no brain). Authors — especially female authors, who are usually the ones perpetuating this — need to do better than this. If it's not okay to do that to girls, it's not okay to do that to guys, either. Also, what is up with that scene from The Notebook? The one where Rachel McAdams repeatedly slaps Ryan Gosling because he’s breaking up with her. How on Earth is that okay? The Notebook is widely considered to be a super-romantic movie, but there is nothing romantic about that scene, and it should be a deal-breaker for their relationship. If the tables were turned and Ryan Gosling slapped Rachel McAdams for breaking up with him, the entire plot of the movie would be different. It would be a thriller, a story about a woman trying to escape a scary ex. We would never root for the two of them to get back together.

3) Overly-metaphorical sex scenes

Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Would you like some crust and tomato sauce with all that cheese? So many novels shy away from the anatomical details and favor metaphors for how the sex makes the characters (or just the narrating character) feel. In theory, there is nothing wrong with this, but I personally tend to roll my eyes more often than not at the actual execution. The narrator will say something too dramatic, like “our bodies became one and the universe opened up before me.” Or “and then we were flying, soaring with and through one another.” Or something else that is just… not sexy. As far as being poetic, there isn’t anything special about those phrases, either. There is nothing wrong with describing sex as it really is. I realize that novels featuring sex that are aimed at young adults probably cannot describe things too explicitly, but there’s no need to replace dirty details with flowery language. Go for whatever sincerity you can in the situation. There are plenty of different emotions to mine and sensual details leading up to the actual sex that read more thrillingly than the sex scene itself. 

4)  Instalove

It's simply not as much fun to see characters fall for each other right away. And how could they possibly fall for each other right away, anyhow? Is it all about looks? If so, both characters are instantly less likable because they're shallow. And that's not real love, either. You need to actually know someone in order to feel a such a deep emotion for them.

It's also important to note that making the characters "love" each other at the outset of the story does not heighten the emotional stakes. It actually cheapens them. Because how can we take this so-called love seriously when we don't get to know, don't get to care about, the characters as individual people before they fall for each other?

Now, if we get to know each character and watch them get to know each other, and slowly fall for each other, that's much more rewarding.  It's character growth, and it's a whole process that we, as readers, get to experience vicariously though them.

This may just be a personal preference, but I think it's best to even avoid phrases like “my heartbeat skipped” or “my skin tingled when our hands brushed” in the beginning stages of the story. Even though the declarations of love and outright displays off affection may come later on, statements like these reveal instant attraction, which still isn't as rewarding as attraction that grows over time and through events.

5) Love interests being obsessed with each other

From approximately 2005-2015, YA literature saw a horde of books featuring teenage girls and boys who are everything to each other. I almost mean that literally. The first really popular book like this was Twilight, but it had a huge influence on everything in YA that came after, especially YA fantasy. How romantic, some people think, that hero lives for the heroine! And vice versa! Perfect! Meant to be! Everyone wishes they could have that one, true, perfect love! 

Listen. Go back to Britney Spears’s first album and play the song “Born to Make You Happy”: ”I don’t know how to live without your love, I was born to make you happy.” Solid 90s bubblegum pop, but with unhealthy lyrics. An unhealthy mentality. Most of us are familiar with that heady, all-consuming feeling of falling in love, how it feels like that’s the best and happiest part of life as it’s happening. There’s nothing wrong with portraying that. It’s relatable. The glorification of it beyond all else is the problem. The hero and heroine have scares throughout the story during which they almost lose each other, and that brings to light just how strongly they feel each other, to the extreme that nothing matters except each other. Then, of course, they ultimately end up together, happily ever after, never having to part again. But in real life, people break up, or sometimes even die. People have no choice but to be apart from the person they loved so much from then on. And it’s devastating, but it’s not the end, even if it sometimes feels like it. That’s why it’s so important for books to give some indicator that there are other things that matter besides (and dare I say even more than) the one person the hero/heroine is in love with. The characters have to have some sense of self-love or resilience. They have to have other people they care about, or at least values/principles and goals. They have to be an actual person, not just a vessel filled to the brim with love for just one other person. Romanticizing a co-dependent relationship can be hope-crushing message, especially for teenagers who haven’t had enough time to grow, to weather the storm of life and toughen up and become wiser and more self-aware and self-confident. 

7) The super dominant male love interest 

Okay, I’m not trying to kink-shame anyone because I know there are people who absolutely love this trope. I want to say it’s fine, as long as it remains in Tropeland. But even if women want to keep these love interests solely within their fantasies, I do worry about the message it sends to men, if it makes them think that they can be abusive douchebags because women are into that. I already know of far too many men who think that women are only into assholes. 

Personally, I’ll never understand the appeal of a man, fictional or otherwise, who dictates what a woman should wear, her food choices, where they go and what they do for dates ALL THE TIME. And jealousy! Sure, jealousy indicates that someone cares, and it’s a normal human emotion, but I’ll never understand the appeal of a guy who gets so jealous, he won’t allow his girlfriend any freedom. I’ll never understand how cruel, disparaging words could ever be on the same sexiness level as dirty talk. And I really, really will never understand how a man physically harming a woman could be considered sexy. It’s weak and cowardly, hurting someone who doesn’t stand a chance of fighting back because they’re nowhere near as strong.

I get the appeal of a guy who sees a woman as his equal and isn’t afraid to spar with her, challenge her, and maybe even be a little bit rough with her, knowing that she can handle it. I see the appeal of a confident man who isn’t afraid to tell a woman what he wants. When his presence becomes legitimately threatening and completely selfish, that’s when I personally see a problem. But hey, to each their own.

[ofide]

wait i want to hear more about how shrek is good

ok i made a short post here but i can keep going. split into 5 parts and under a readmore for your joy

1. the soundtrack

shrek essentially used the jukebox musical formula of picking popular songs that reflected the mood and/or situation without being a jukebox musical. it’s not that common for movies with this type of soundtrack to not fall into the trap of just using whatever’s popular at the time, and it really enhances those scenes. people joke about how now those songs are just “shrek songs” but they’re there for a reason and i’ve already said that being associated with shrek isn’t a bad thing.

2. the themes

the two themes of shrek are not judging people based on their appearances (and, unlike many other media both for kids and for adults, it doesn’t undermine it with magical transformations and whatnot) and letting yourself be loved. this second message may be appreciated more by audiences who are more grown, maybe revisiting the series, but its seeds are still planted in kids who watch it and it’s good. shrek is afraid of being vulnerable cause of the way he’s treated by others but as he slowly opens up to donkey and then fiona he manages to let himself be loved and to love in return. and since this is a complicated process, setbacks are to be expected so it has the double benefit of making the sequels feel fitting. of course he will close up again when he meets fiona’s family, and of course he feels overwhelmed by his new life. all the sequels (except for the third) make sense and have a story to tell that doesn’t feel forced. the natural build up of learning to open up to a select group of people to facing society and all that comes with it not only justifies a sequel, it renders it something you seek out, and the same thing happens with forever after.

3. it doesn’t undermine the message!

as i’ve mentioned earlier, many movies fall into the trap of having a message and undermining it through the design or casting. beauty and the beast stories are a classic example of this, where if you ignore appearances you’ll be rewarded with a good-looking prince. stories for an older target tend not to be so straightforward, but it’s noticeable how typically whenever the main characters are outcasts they’re never too much so, and they’re often compared to worse outcasts who make them look good in comparison (don’t bring up your favourite indie movie or tv show that came out 3 years ago now, remember that shrek is one of the most well known movies of all time and it came out two decades ago). the whole second movie is about shrek struggling with how his life would be easier if he looked “normal”! and in case you’re thinking i’ve forgotten about fiona, i haven’t. in fact, how many female characters can you name who are portrayed as being desirable without being designed to be desirable to the viewer? all of this is without even getting into how she’s her own character, which gets explored more so in the first and fourth movies. she was created to be a subversion of the damsel in distress, of course, but in the fourth movie which came out years later she saves herself et cetera er cetera but it doesn’t feel empty like in many #girlempowerment media. she’s not a Strong Female Character cause she uses weapons, she’s a strong female character because she’s respected and most of all she doesn’t exist for shrek. it’s shown in the movie that their love is what will save the day but she rejects him because she has changed as a person and he has to accept that. he has to accept that she’s more than his perfect half, that she’s someone who is his soulmate, yes, but she’s her own person first. i’ll admit i haven’t watched the fourth movie in a while but i remember her feeling different from, like, marvel ladies who run around in high heels and are strong because of that. i definitely remember there being some scenes dedicated exclusively to her, which is yes the bare minimum but still something that often doesn’t happen. basically, the very thing that it gets mocked for (having main characters with “unappealing” designs) is what makes it work.

4. it’s just a good movie

yeah i mean you can put all the good ideas you want in a movie but it has to be good and well. shrek is good. it has some gross out humor like a lot of children’s properties (even though it isn’t that jarring since sometimes it’s even used for characterization), it has some outdated things for more conscious modern audiences but those are also in a lot of things made years ago. shrek is still good. the setting of modern world with a medieval fantasy coat of paint works and it can be used for so many gags! the plots aren’t unique on a purely technical summary level but the approach is fresh and the execution is good. the chemistry between the characters works, the pacing is good, all the technical details are there and so are the emotional ones. i literally don’t know what else to say in this regard cause of course if it was a bad series i wouldn’t be defending it like this.

5. to conclude

there have been people who have talked about shrek in an objective way, without getting distracted by how hey it’s a meme! you know the movie that is a meme cause the main character is an ogre! , most notably schaffrillas productions. i could talk about how as a kid i liked it even though i hated a lot of movies that weren’t about animals and i only realized why when i got older (something about how the main characters are “outcasts” for no reason to be relatable, and you know they’d never be an outcast in real life cause they’re nothing like you, and you know that cause the characters like you were still the butt of the joke). shrek was made for different demographics cause it works on different levels, but the part for kids seemed to be made for kids like me. the message wasn’t “you’re secretly normal and the weirdos are others”, or “deep down you’re actually super special and cool and they’re just jealous”, but “even if you’re different it’s okay. even if you’re different in a way that is considered bad. you can still find people who love you and you can love them.”

it’s just incredible how, although it’s one of the most influential animated movies of all time, what got copied was the crude humor and the parody aspect (which is often implemented just for the sake of doing a parody) and not the heart of it.