SANTOFF CLAUSSEN

Intentional loose ends and cringe (featuring me defending tadc because someone has to)

Thank you thank you thank you to this video. I feel like people went from "omg Vivziepop sucks TADC IS SUPERIOR" to "omg TADC is soooooooo cringe" over time when TADC refused to cater to their very specific writing demands. Gooseworx making an innocuous statement like "Pomni and Jax are the main characters" alone got her harassed to fucking hell. "OH NOES SHE'Z SIDELINING THE OTHER CHARACTERS!!!1!1" (Newsflash: having secondary and tertiary characters is NOT a sliding scale of the author's character preferences. This is Fiction 101.) "OMG GOOSEWORX IS MISOGYNISTIC BC SHE FAVORS THE HORRIBLE JERK JAX OVER RAGATHA" (Ragatha has had tons of character development throughout the show, and the audience doesn't consider that her being sidelined is likely intentional as commentary on how Ragatha's hollow niceness/toxic positivity is pushing everyone away) (Also misogynistic? lololololol what are Pomni and Gangle, chopped liver? Queenie could've just remained the offscreen dead wife, but nope! She's even got her own merch now!) And god, I really do believe all the sudden backlash against popular indie animation comes from internalized sexism, ableism, and LGBTQphobia from fans calling themselves leftist/liberal. Uggggggh.

It's like people are making it their entire identities to despise "cringe" while dressing it up as social justice ("Oh no, I don't just hate this comic because I find it stupid, it's also totally homophobic and dangerous for the gay community, guys!" See: the "Boyfriends" drama) That'd be like finding the Super Mario Bros. Super Show dumb, but going out of your way to say it's classist and dangerous to the reptuation of Italians when it's just an innocuous cartoon. Hell, the entire reason I stopped watching Pokemon movies despite liking the Zoroark movie (the furthest I've gone) was because I didn't want to make bitching about the ones I didn't like my entire personality. I was sick of ranting about the same issues I had with them over and over, and the frustration was honestly draining me. Hell, even talking about the same fandom drama more than once exhausts me, which is why I blocked/muted the LISA Confessions Twitter despite it probably being the only place LISA fandom is currently active. (One such drama is, surprise surprise, "yaoislop is cringe.") To quote the many DND Horror Story channels I listen to: "No DND is better than bad DND."

tl;dr TADC is an awesome and amazingly written show, and I can't wait for the final episode. I ought to get Caine icons now that I have a Paid Account. :D

I've almost caught up to where I stopped previously on Ultra Moon, and I've got a controversial opinion: I don't think the Ultra games "neutered" Lusamine like fandom says they did. Granted, I still haven't gotten to the post-game with Rainbow Rocket yet, but Lusamine's motivations and tragic past (which fandom seems to believe is Game Freak absolving her, which uh... it didn't?) were already alluded to, even brought up, in the original Sun/Moon games. Despite her noble intentions regarding Necrozma, she's still depicted as a narcissistic mother who abused her children for her own ends. Hell, Lillie literally spells out that Lusamine is a selfish person who believes she knows what's best for everyone. The game makes a point that shitty people can still do good things no matter their intentions. It also does a Fassad and the Mouse example where Plumeria tells the player and Lillie that Lusamine was the only adult who believed Guzma could be a champion, and that's why he's so devoted to her. One's Ghetsis could be another's Toriel; both can be true at the same time. Guzma, Lillie, and Gladion's feelings about Lusamine are validated. But I guess that's too Big-Brained for Pokémon's general audience. (siiiiiiigh)

That said, I do agree that cutting the cave scene with Lillie on Exeggutor Island was one of the Ultra games' biggest mistakes. Not only was the conversation between Lillie and the player absolutely adorable, it also shows how complex her relationship with her mom really is. The Singing in the Rain-inspired moment is one of the rare times Lusamine is actually a Good Parent (the "Before Times" if you will), and then everything with Mohn happened and... yeah. :(

I did fanart before comparing Lusamine, Lillie, and Gladion with Brad, Buddy, and Dustin. Except I find Brad way more sympathetic and redeemable than Lusamine, lol (Don't get me wrong, Lusamine is one of my all-time favorite Pokémon villains. But for all the horrible abusive shit Brad has done, he's also the biggest woobie in the universe, RIP)

I ran into a female Shiny Crabrawler while gathering berries and caught it! You can find shinies in Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet with the Shiny Charm and tons and TONS of patience, but finding a Shiny in the early gens? Now that is lucky. 8)

Man, I can't decide if I want to draw or make icons again. I'll probably end up playing more Ultra Moon, RIP. I just know that Hellaverse are being humongous comfort shows and I've had a blast after watching Hazbin Hotel season 2. Also I didn't want to update my journal until I found a decent icon of Human!Alastor. He's so fucking hot as a human. :D

I can't wait for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream to come out. ;;