I Think This Is A Really Valid Criticism, OP! Though, Maybe I'm Just Optimistic, But I Actually Took

I think this is a really valid criticism, OP! Though, maybe I'm just optimistic, but I actually took the ending in a different way. I do agree with you that a lot of these mutliverse shows and movies lately have had that pattern of, "lmao get good loser", in response to valid issues, which is absolutely infurating to see. It feels demeaning, handwavy, and just overall frustrating!

But to me, I think the story of FC was about stagnation vs. growth; and about how wish fufillment isn't quite the way to achieve life of your dreams. Both Simon's and Fiona's stories are about acceptance about the shitty aspects of their lives, but more specifically, they're about how that acceptance begins to pave the way towards joy. At first it seems like it's the same message, but when you look a little deeper, it takes on a different form. Especially once you take in GolBetty and the Lich into account.

Fiona wants nothing more than to live in a magical world, one where she doesn't have to deal with the infurating nature of modern life. But once she goes on her big ol' magical, life changing adventure, she realizes that the world she holds dear is special in its own right. Her joy doesn't come immediately. She definitely seems happier after seeing Gary and Marshall together and not trying to kill eachother- but I think her true development comes from her being able to finally fulfill her dreams; and then being given a purpose: to rebuild their world and town. Sure, it's a lot of responsibility, but she's Fiona!!! I don't think this girl will ever go back to a traditional 9-5 ever again. She's their world's hero now.

Simon, on the other hand, is a bit slower to change. Yet again, though, his story is less about acceptance and more about ingenuity. As much as I hate to say it, because Finn is in no way a "mental health king", I think he was on the right path when tried to take Simon on an adventure to make him feel better. What Simon needed more than anything was to know that he was still needed. That he still mattered. Even though he felt alienated, like an artifact in a museum, he still had a point to be on that shelf. What Finn screwed up, though, was how he went about it. Simon could've gotten through this period by just talking to Marcy and being honest, but he's far too scared of letting her see him that unstable again. But once he's able to talk to Fiona about it, and see for a fact, that his actions mattered: that the simple act of caring for Marcline kept the Vampires from taking over Ooo- he begins to develop.

Again, although his final development wasn't shown until the montage, I think that's simply because we haven't seen the last of Simon. Or Fiona, for that matter. They aren't being told to accept the fact that they have nothing to live for, but to find it.

It's a story about how wish fulfillment doesn't always work out for the best and that sometimes, the true slice of heaven that you've been craving was just a world where you felt like you had a place. It's one where even a god who can make all your wishes come true can end up depriving you of a purpose once it's achieved. It's one about how dreams come true in stranger ways, like Scarab becoming Prismo's apprentice and being given the chance to make his own worlds, too. It's one where even when given the chance to imagine a new reality with your lover, you know it's time to accept the one you have for what it is.

Still, absolutely valid analysis, this was just my take! :D

Wasn’t crazy about the Fionna and Cake ending

A lot of things were fine. Good even. this isn’t about something as simple as “Simon didn’t end up with Betty 😡” because frankly I didn’t ever see that happening. No, it’s about this wishy-washy message I keep seeing in all this multiverse media. Tell me if this one sounds familiar: our heroes are unhappy with some aspect of their lives, like maybe they’re struggling to get by due to bad finances. then they go on some zany, multiverse-spanning adventure where they eventually learn that their universe is just fine!!! and that they’ve got to make the most of it!! (Also usually the big problem is cheaply resolved, like it never even mattered.)

and frankly, this style of story, which we keep fucking seeing, is starting to sound a hell of a lot like “suck it up, buttercup! if you wanted a good life you should have tried harder. have you ever considered getting out of your own way?”

you see this in EEAAO of course. “oh is the world too financially cruel? is your mom homophobic? well have you ever considered just asking nicely about both of those things, you dummy?” And honestly in a lot of ways the ending of Fionna and Cake is even worse. Why should Simon be happy with his shitty job at the fucking human zoo? Why should Fionna be happy with working a shitty job her entire life?

and then you think about who’s actually writing and directing our oh-so-uplifting multiverse stories and it’s like. oh yeah. millionaires. successful people. who actually got what they wanted out of life. they’re not saying *they* should be happy with nothing, no no no. they’re part of the *special people* who get to dream. *you’re* the one who should be satisfied with nothing. and let’s take it even further why not. how many of these successful types even deserve it? how many of them even make beautiful things? not a lot!!

personally, being told by someone who’s living their dream that I should just be happy being a little scrap of nothing makes me want to burn down the whole world. and I would have at least preferred at least a drop of that catharsis in the ending of Fionna and Cake

Obscure Danganronpa facts, part 1:

I've recently realized just how much bs I know about this series, so I've decided to try and shed light on the more unknown aspects that I've never seen people talk about. Might as well put this knowledge to good use, eh?

So, traveler, if you'd like to accompany me on this journey, buckle in, and let's have some fun! First off on our trek is....

THIS FREAKING CG IN CHAPTER 6 OF SDR2

Looks normal, right? RIGHT?

ZOOM IN ON THE WORDS.

At first, I thought it was just some kind of stock text. Think, lorem lipsum. But nah, I'm almost completely sure that they had used a real-life newspaper, likely from Sydney, Australia.

If you piece the text together, you can basically gather its about economic tensions between North Korea, South Korea and the United States, or something along those lines. With all the missing letters and difficult font, it's hard to fully grasp what it came from; which was obviously intentional. Maybe it's a few different articles, but I doubt that partially due to how often it repeats.

I tried my best to see if I could find the real article, but from my ten minute search, I came up empty-handed. I don't have time or the motivation to continue that investigation, but either way, it's an interesting detail. I just can't help but wonder why they chose THAT out of all the things they could've, instead of like... something medical related.

Kodaka April Fools tweets 2024

Lying just because it's April Fools' is so dull. Honestly painful to watch. Lying in general doesn't do you any good. In my younger days, I told every lie I could, saying some genuinely insane stuff about being a supreme leader of evil and whatnot, and thanks to that, now that I'm in my thirties, I got famous for all the wrong reasons and can't find a stable job because people think I'm associated with the yakuza... Sigh, I wanna deck my cringe younger self's face. Quit lying for fun while you can.

My classmates aren't doing great either. Thinking you're hot shit during your school days always comes back to bite you... My advice to my past self: slow and steady effort is worth more than any talent. Also, the part of life you spent larping with that silly horse laugh is not going to be one you'll want to remember later. I wish I could make that clear to him. White lies aren't a thing. Talent is never enough. My class is proof of that. Wanna know what my classmates are like now that we're in our thirties?

Akamatsu became a piano teacher. Her player skills capped off in her teens, it seems. But she's not that good at teaching so she's considered kinda mid at her job. And now she's struggling with the father of a student incessantly hitting on her. Tough world to live in.

Toujou opened a housekeeping company but she was too strict with her employees so everyone quit. And now she's doing everything on her own. Sucks to be in your thirties without any successors or employees. She's a prime example of how being so much better than anyone else doesn't do you any good. Well, she's always working for celebrities, so she's doing well financially, but I heard about some major court fight about a missing item under suspicion of theft from one of her clients. That can't be nice.

Yumeno got to her thirties still saying magic is real, so she's past the point of no return. She agrees that's an unhinged way to live, but she's too old to suddenly change gimmicks. Work takes her all over the country, but her gimmick doesn't allow her to publicly drink, so she has to get plastered alone in her hotel room after shows. I wish she could fix her life with real magic.

Harukawa? ...Haven't heard that name in a long time. Now she was a living edgy fantasy. The past tense was because I hadn't heard of her in a long time. I don't know the details, but apparently, she went to some war zone outside of Japan because her first love didn't want to date her. Takes some real edgelord to react to a broken heart like that, but if she's still alive, I have no idea how her thirties are treating her. My personal guess is that she's a mother of many.

Chabashira opened her Aikido school but is having a hard time attracting students. So she had the idea of starting an anti-sexual-harassment campaign that could double as advertisement, but thanks to her cluelessness when it comes to romance, she got canceled for mistakenly tossing men in regular couples. She's still doing the "degenerate males" bit in her thirties. Girl really needs to get on with the times. Rumor goes that she still downs huge packs of tequila bottles with Yumeno every now and then. Really don't think there's any salvaging her reputation.

Shirogane is an office lady still continuing her cosplay hobby on the side. She could be doing well if she knew how to keep her mouth shut but frequently rambles about cosplay history and etiquette, so no one likes having her around. Stay emotionally dependent on a single hobby long enough and your passion starts to close you off to others. That's her problem.

Angie was the most successful in the class! She made big money both on the art and the religion fronts. However, there were some controversies about her devotees selling counterfeits of her paintings at exorbitant prices and one magazine made a huge news coverage of it, which resulted in her catching the police's attention. She's been recently untraceable, with the rumors saying that she'll never be back to Japan.

Oh, and Iruma... Up until some point, she had the best life of all of us. She made big money off of her inventions' patents. So far so good. Things only started going off-rails after she married an ex-stripper. The two started a YouTube channel together. And later, her husband ran in last year's elections and lost big time. They got an awful debt from his election campaign and she had to get into side jobs to pay it off. And her husband? Disappeared. No word from Iruma herself about what happened. Tough world to live in.

No further updates from Kodaka in the past 3 hours, so I assume he went to sleep and will come back to tweet about the 7 remaining boys in the morning.

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icanttypo

1 year ago

she's so silly i love her so much

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icanttypo

1 year ago

Yknow, at first, when I saw the latest episode, I had been a bit disappointed with the route that they took Simon and Betty's romance; but after thinking it over quite a bit, I think I appreciate the route they took, despite how differently it makes me see the characters. Sometimes, the right thing for a story isn't always the best thing, just like how in life, not everyone makes the right choices all the time. Emotions make life beautiful, but they also muddle things up.

I've never been one for a teacher x student type romance. That whole power imbalance always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Since Simon was just a guest speaker, it wasn't quite the same, but I think a lot of people, including myself, saw those parallels. But, I think the whole idea of unhealthy/obsessive/codependent love has always been centeral to their relationship.

Unlike some may assume, the unhealthiness doesn't stem from that part, though. Yes, there's a small age gap. Yes, Simon made a ton of mistakes. But with further analysis, nothing about it is painted as your stereotypical incredibly unhealthy teacher/student ship. Instead, it's their issues and strengths that create chaos.

There's nothing about their relationship that can be considered grooming, and I say this as someone who's personally been groomed. They didn't get into a relationship until after Betty tried to leave the second time, and there's absolutely nothing about Simon that screams "predator." You know how he is with Marcy and Finn, and pretty much every child he comes in contact with (when he isn't throwing away their favorite books). Hell, even Ice King had standards and lines he wouldn't cross. Their issues stem from their insecurities as professional nerds, and as two broken, lonely, people.

When you're a student, especially one who's passionate about the subject matter you're learning about, you can't help but put your teachers (the good ones, I mean), on a pedestal. They're these untouchable gods who have somehow cracked the answers to questions you haven't even asked yet and who are there to guide you. And as a teacher, you want nothing more than to see a student thrive, be happy, and enjoy your lessons. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing your student take your lesson, and run with it, and go farther than you ever could. From the start, these two towed the lines of codependency.

Simon was laughed at by his fellow professors and other archeologists for believing that the Enchiridion existed; which couldn't have been a good feeling as a professional. Sure, after the expedition with Betty, he was rewarded with all the glory one could wish for; but that isolation must've been horrible. He must've been seen along the same veins as the "Ancient Aliens" guys, as a crackpot conspiracy theorist, barely deserving of his PHD. I can imagine just how much of a relief it'd be to have someone so brilliant as Betty agree with your findings, and be willing to help you prove once and for all, that you aren't crazy.

Betty seemed to struggle with connecting with her peers. I'm mostly gathering this from how willing she was to sacrifice everything for Simon, I'd bet he was the only genuine close relationship, romantic or otherwise, that she had. We (or at least I) don't know much about Betty's backstory, but I think at least that much can be surmised. In Ep 8 FC, she mentions her mother, and in season 9 or 10, we see her calling someone before she met Simon... But, that's about all we have for close relationships. How many people would you jump through a portal for? Become god for? Sacrifice your sanity for? To have someone you admire, think that you're basically the strongest, bravest person they ever met in the world and to actually be needed by them... From what we know about Betty, she definitely had a savior complex of some sorts. Happens to the best of us, but still. She got so used to sacrificing things for Simon that she never thought about going back to Australia with him to continue her study, or both studying different things together, just helping him.

They both gave each other what the world deprived them of: validation, love, and respect. But because neither of them had anyone else to rely upon, to provide them with those bare necessities, they became unhealthy for one another. Neither of them has truly lived without the other because they were eachothers home. Their food, water, and shelter.

So, in a lot of ways, I think it was for the best they added this extra layer. It helps you truly understand the imperfections of their relationship, just how desperate both of them were as two nerdy little archeologists, to find and keep the love they had alive.