Always Bring a Phoenix Down

I bring random opinions and occasional hot takes. Being part of a minority that is never represented is a struggle

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Cold ass topic but I don't think funkyfrogbait is racist, just a little stupid

And I think people were allowed to be ticked off

Listen, you shouldn't parade accusations you haven't verified properly so I don't blame them for not wanting to allow random accusations in the chat. However, saying that last line is enough

Getting that aggressive and loud about denying them is gonna leave a bad taste in the mouth. For the record, I know nothing about Gooseworx or Digital Circus so I am completely unbiased. I have no reason to endorse or combat the claims going either way

In a vacuum, that's not a smart response because it's very easy for that reaction to bite you in the ass. Either you're right but look like a smug asshole or you're wrong and look like a racism apologist

If someone brings claims you do not know, and they admitted to not knowing, you should just say that you genuinely don't know

Occasionally I do get people bringing claims to this blog (surprisingly) and I just ask for more information

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

I always like the Gaoranger mecha, but in hindsight, I never truly understood how amazing they were

They're complex in their simplicity. Every animal plays a specific part, but you can mix and match however you want. Aside from the sharks, and tiger and wolf, you can even use any pair of arms if you chose to

With the new GaoGuardian, you can see how every part can be compatible with every mecha they already have and that adds to fun of the combinations

There's a lot of freedom with how you choose to put them together and that's always fun

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

It's so nice to finally see this little guy

I've been waiting for DemiDevimon's cards

Also, can we comment on how Cyber Sleuth and Hacker's Memory each only had one expansion each and Time Stranger has enough to fill out 3 different ones

Wait a minute....

DEVIMON AND ANGEMON GET MATCHING POSES WITH EACH OTHER!? HELLO?????

Edit: Needed to reword that statement :P

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

My conspiracy theory will always be that 95% of raceswaps in media are done more to look progressive than actually represent anyone

Everyone says they want more diversity, but at the end of the day, they only stick with stuff made by white people

"De-center whiteness" but don't celebrate or showcase any culture that's south of the equator. Put POC everywhere else but the culture created by their own communities

"De-center white people" but raceswapped versions of preexisting white characters matter more than new and preexisting POC characters I guess....

What is up with that?

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Forgive me. This topic will be complicated by nature

Recently I saw a video where someone compared the phrase "why not make a new character" to segregation and I really wasn't a fan of that

Her video was a response to criticisms against raceswaps in media, and while I'm not gonna deny people do get racist about that, I feel like her stance was a little disingenuous

Maybe this is just the side of the internet I go through, but most people I see saying that are saying it in the context of "Give me better representation than a white person's crumbs"

Using Miles Morales and John Stewart as examples here, they're both very popular characters on their own. Miles and John aren't Peter Parker and Hal Jordan but black. They are both independent characters with their own backgrounds, families, and personalities that allow them to stand on their own two feet. They have arcs that Peter and Hal can't have because they are their own people

"Just make a new character" is valid criticism in my opinion. Diversity should be better than "White person, but make them not white."

If the choice is between making the popular character diverse and making the diverse character popular, I feel like it makes more sense to do the second one

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Azula really did like Mai and Ty Lee. That's what makes her tragic

As cruel and manipulative as she is, deep down, some part of Azula genuinely craved friendship, affection, and love

But, she grew up in an environment where everything depended on control and power and she unfortunately did not have enough influences that could counter that upbringing until it was too late

One thing Azula can never deny is that she really thought the three of them were true friends. The problem is that in her mind, it's "normal" for one friend to have total control of her other friends. We know that's not how friendship works, but she doesn't understand that as a result of her toxic upbringing

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

As someone whose existence is considered political according to twitter, I hate when people say everything has to be political

And here's the thing that makes it gross

Treating every character that isn't white, straight, or whatever as some kind of inherent political statement is still tokenization and paints a target on everyone's back

Claiming that you're championing minorities doesn't change that you're ultimately still marginalizing them because you're acting like it isn't normal for these characters to just exist in the world

Making a diverse character shouldn't be difficult and treating it like it must've been this deep political decision just isn't the take people think it is

If you see a black character and assume they have to be some kind of political message, that says more about you. Do these characters need a reason to exist in your mind, or do they just exist?

Representation matters, because people just exist. That's it

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Okay, someone needs to give me the tea

Last time I looked into the Children of Blood and Bone casting controversy, I was told the author was supportive of Amandla. Which was another point of contention regarding that

But now Tomi has publicly criticized them???

Apparently they have a feud???

Someone who is deeper in this fandom, please give me the update here

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

This is funny because 3 of the Seven Code Appmon already have cards. They just don't have the trait

So that's 8 more Appmon cards for BT-26 at minimum

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Sudden controversial statement

I lowkey don't like liberal white woman. You know, the kind that claim to be progressive, but whitewash racism because girlboss or whatever

Sorry, not how that works

One example: I legit saw one girl say they wished a game handled one character's racism better to "do her justice"

You made racism about the racist white girl???

What the fuck??

Peak white woman tears syndrome over here

Even when it's about racism, you make it about the white woman's feelings

Logically, I know I shouldn't demonize ignorance because you can change that, but my gut instinct is anger because how do you say something so stupid?.

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

I thought it over and I've decided, I don't like Eve's abortion plotline

And because of who normally criticizes it, I must preface this by saying I'm pro-choice

I've realized that the reason I dislike it is because we didn't even really discuss her feelings before she did it. It's completely removable from the show. We didn't learn anything about Eve from this arc at all

And then they lowkey made it about Mark

Eve's birth mother was pregnant, homeless, broke, and didn't have a family to turn to

Eve's situation isn't nearly as bad as her mother's, but it's still not ideal for having a kid. While she always sympathized with her mother, this situation specifically would provide a lot of insight into understanding how she must've felt being pregnant while not having a great support system

We have a serious topic here, but not a serious discussion. Eve's going through it with a lot of emotions and fears and the writers did not take the time to really explore how she was feeling and then it was just kinda done as soon as it started

It really stings because this plot was the entirety of Eve's presence in Season 4 and ultimately amounts to nothing

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

What does authentic representation even mean?

A common question because people often debate the difference between what counts as authentic and what counts as stereotypical

The key factor to authentic representation is to remember that culture is more than what you're taught. It's what you've lived. There is a disconnect between immigrant and mainland Chinese people for that reason. It's different to have one culture at home and another everywhere else in your city compared to having one culture between both. This is why phrases like "you act white" and "you're so westernized" exist

There's also a bit of a contradiction where these things are a family thing first and a cultural thing second. For example, let's bring up the bakery again. Mooncakes are a common Chinese pastry and are often made during specific holidays. That's a Chinese thing. However, for Marinette and Sabine, they would view making mooncakes for the holidays as a family thing before a Chinese one

It's not "this is our designated Chinese tradition as a Chinese family." It's "this is our tradition because it's what we do in our family."

It's more personalized than that, because not every Chinese person is going to follow every single tradition down to the last detail. Even in mainland China, traditions have changed and shifted throughout history. There is no culture that is strictly set in stone

So, the important thing to think about here when it comes to Chinese representation in Miraculous is not to just throw everything with a Chinese label at it and expect it to stick. It's to really consider the lives and interests of the characters and understanding what traditions would endure no matter how far they immigrate from their roots or how many generations pass by as well as what traditions might be important to them, but require more effort to hold onto

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Toph was never a "not like other girls" stereotype

Here's the main trait that makes a character that stereotype

They either have to hate other girls, or the narrative as a whole hates other girls

Toph and Avatar does neither

Toph hates girly things for herself, but she doesn't judge Katara or Suki for being more feminine. She doesn't belittle them. She doesn't call herself better for being a tomboy

She does have a negative experience with traditional femininity because her parents enforced a traditional role on her growing up, but again, she never projects her negative experience on the other girls in the cast

Toph is always treated as another type of female character among a lot of different female characters. She's unique because all the girls have characteristics that makes them unique. She's treated no better or worse than everyone else

Which means she's not the stereotype

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Pokemon should just permanently replace the frozen status with frostbite

Frozen is basically just less effective sleep

I love ice-types so I dislike that they have a whole status effect that isn't viable. I think frostbite is a better alternative and ice-type support pokemon would have another niche option for them

And it would still be balanced. Burn and poison are damage over time. Paralysis and sleep skip turns. Frostbite switching to damage wouldn't upset the balance here

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Okay, I love GaoPeacock

What you mean this one bird is a whole ass armory?

That's so cool!!!

I'm surprised they're releasing new mecha for Gaoranger, but I'm not complaining

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

At the risk of starting controversy, why did Toph know how to write Chinese characters?

They could've used actual Chinese braille instead. Sure, it wasn't invented during the time ATLA was based on, but I don't think people would mind

It also feels weird to me. The reality of being blind in this setting is that Toph can't read or write like everyone else. Even when we used to use raised typing, it was known to be costly and inefficient which is why someone ended up developing braille

If Toph can read, why not just have braille be an earthbender's invention in this setting?

Also, can Toph can be educated without knowing how to read or write. There are records of historians who learned many things from memory alone

That's the important thing about Toph. There are things she can and can't do. The other characters don't have to coddle her, and Toph can rely on them with her shortcomings like they rely on her for theirs

Toph's really no different from everyone else. She's just blind

[alwaysbringaphoenixdown]

Junomon and Bacchusmon rookies?

The snake becoming Bacchusmon is obvious, though Minervamon isn't unreasonable

I have to assume the bird becomes Junomon because she's the only one could actually come from it. This bird just isn't plant-y enough to be Ceresmon