#but he's not as immune to critique as the writers think he is

[ladymajavader]

I am an Alex person first and a Malex shipper distant second and to this day it annoys me that 1x10 is considered Alex walking away again. If s4 is doing something semi-decently on the Malex front (and this might 100% be an accident that the show never intended) it's finally acknowledging that Michael has NEVER been all in with their relationship. He's JUST getting to that point now, and Alex had to be literally underground for that to happen. A lot of the s1 defense of Michael hinges on people acting like Malex could have started a satisfactory relationship if only Alex physically stayed present at some point past high school as if s1 Michael didn't keep 90% of his life a secret from him until he was forced to share and as if trying to leave the actual planet his entire life doesn't immediately trump any but 'Alex walked away x times' arguments. For three seasons, Alex had to do all the work (even after s2) in their relationship, and now, we couldn't even get one season where Michael has to pick up the slack. Yes, I am fully aware that s4 treats Michael as an abuse survivor like shit, and it's gross, but he's still massively failing Alex one last time, and it's just going to be handwaved in 4x11/4x12, whenever Alex is found, like nothing happened.

YOU! You get it!! *pins an Alex Manes Defense Squad badge on your person*

This is exactly what hurts me the most. This was supposed to be a soulmates story, a 10-years-apart-couldn't-diminish-their-love-story, the kind of cheesy bs that I was really excited to see in mlm version, y'know? But for all of Michael's talk of never looking away, canonically it's only Alex who never did (the extent of his 'relationship' with Forrest was a few dates, sex and thinking about maybe asking him to be exclusive - a far cry from falling in love and being as or more happy than in a relationship with his soulmate). S2 tarnished the soulmates story (not just that M*luca happened, but how it happened, how it ended and what Michael did after) and s3 somehow played it off as if it was still Alex who had to show his commitment and devotion to win Michael back until Michael finally decided to trust his heart to him again??? Either the character-s1-storylines-in-permament-marker theory is true or it was another case of the writers going Everything is Alex's Fault so clearly Alex had to do all the work to bring Malex together, even though the last he heard from Michael was that he didn't love him, he liked M*ria and no longer saw them as having a future together?????

But it's fine. The Michael Guerin that lives in my headcanon and loves Alex Manes with all the force of s1 metaphors and Vlammy's heart eyes, he would never. He's a little shit, a hot mess and equally culpable in his own relationship problems as his soulmate, but he's allowed to be as ride-or-die for him as he wishes and also to acknowledge and fix his mistakes.

#thanks for the ask! #rnm my behated #Alex Manes #Alex Manes Defense Squad #anti Miluca #anti Michael Guerin #not really #but he's not as immune to critique as the writers think he is #anti rnm writer's room #this is an rnm writers' room hate blog at this point

[elekinetic]

does st have copaganda? yes im sorry i wanted to ask this question because it seems a lot of people don't think so (harmful in so many ways)

alright. let’s have this conversation.

Copaganda is media that promotes celebratory portrayals of the American* police force. These portrayals are often antithetical to the realities marginalized groups (POC, queer people, working class, the intersections of these groups, etc). Copaganda rewards fictional officers who ignore procedures (that often protect civil liberties) in favor of chasing a “hunch” or “doing what’s right,” even without evidence. When you have a police system with deeply ingrained racism, those “hunches” will be painted by said racism. Basically a show tells you to trust the instincts of police, regardless of proof. By portraying cops as heroes and inherently good, copaganda discourages rightful critique of the police force. They’re the cops. They’re the good guys. What could they possibly be doing wrong?

Jim Hopper, as sheriff, represents the police in this show.** He regularly breaks protocol and the law in order to save the day, and the plot rewards this behavior. Between his relationships with Sarah, Joyce, and El, Hopper is deeply empathetic. we love Hopper and we want to see him win. Most importantly, we trust Hopper. So, if Hopper, who consistently breaks protocol for the greater good = police (which he does, bc being sheriff is a massive part of his character which we never forget), and Hopper = good and trustworthy, then cops who break protocol = good and trustworthy.

Spelled out like that, it seems so obvious. How do you fall for something like that? But they’re all subconscious connections. Often the writers don’t even realize they’re doing it. we’re so used to the “hero cop” archetype that we don’t even stop to think about its repercussions. think about shows like Brooklyn 99 or Psych. It’s pretty clear the showrunners didn’t sit down and say “Okay, how can we further manipulate the American public into trusting a system that primarily exists to oppress marginalized peoples and reinforce harmful social structures?” But that’s the effect. You bombard the American public with media that tells you to empathize with the police and to take their side…. the American public will take their side. So yes. Stranger Things absolutely has copaganda, and it doesn’t matter that it’s unintentional. It is still harmful.

This isn’t to say you have to stop watching Stranger Things.*** Just… be mindful of this. Be aware that this is fictional. The guy in the cop car parked on the corner is not Jim Hopper, or Jake Peralta, or Juliet O’Hara. Cops are not your friends. They do not want to help you. (If one bad apple is protected by ten good apples, you have ten bad apples. all cops are bastards****.)

Garfield said it best: you are not immune to propaganda. Stay critical of the media you consume. Don’t let yourself get played.

*copaganda is not exclusive to the US, but it’s especially widespread here and that’s what is relevant to this conversation given ST takes place in indiana.

**in seasons 1-3. callahan’s joviality and powell’s struggle to fill hopper’s shoes in s4 make them empathetic. again, getting us on their side and trusting them.

***full disclosure: it is in no universe my call on whether you should or shouldn’t keep watching a show bc it’s copaganda. i’m very white and it is not my place to decide whether a show can be “forgiven” or not. again. stay critical.

****just a reminder that ACAB does not mean all cops suck, it means all cops are part of a bastardized system that, again, exists to serve and reinforce oppressive structures.

#anon ik you know why this is harmful i’m just trying to get my talking points ahead of me lmao #also don’t apologize oh my god. we should be talking about this more. #stranger things #ask box

[tiptapricot]

Hey just a PSA but the writer of City of the Dead is a Jewish man who has been upfront about how uncomfortable it makes him that people keep trying to insist that he's writing catholic guilt.

I know that David Pepose is Jewish, but that doesn’t impact the criticism of his depictions.

I don’t think anyone should be attacking his identity or his authenticity as a Jewish man, but that is different from criticizing his writing and the undertones and out of character takes in his portrayal, as well as the pieces it glosses over and doesn’t include. His experience is valid and enough, but it is not the same as the system’s and it does not make him immune from creating things with harmful or inaccurate tones for them. We’ve seen this already with some inaccuracies in his Black White and Blood issue to the more orthodox childhood of the system (saying they went to Hebrew school despite that being very unlikely for them to have done).

My critiques of his depiction of their Judaism as well as others I’ve seen and discussed with people were not trying to say it was writing the system as Catholic, but saying the way Marc was written and the way his guilt was portrayed was out of character and very much lined up with the Christian/Catholic ideas of punishment and suffering to atone for wrongdoing. That’s in the text and can be easily gleaned from it.

The current context around it also doesn’t add more exploration besides “I did bad and I’m so guilty I must punish myself and that’s why I do what I do.” In fact the context that is there makes things weirder by having Marc seemingly be even more spiritually inclined/favorable to Khonshu than he has been in the past.

It’s just a mixed bag of “this is not how this character should be acting and has uncomfortable undertones” whether they were intended or not doesn’t change that. Criticizing what Pepose hs written for Marc does not mean saying his experience is less authentic, just that he wrote something off for the character and things don’t map on one to one.

As far as his responses to the critique of this handling, that’s where this gets more complicated. Besides discussions and dissections here on tumblr, the only conversations/reactions on Twitter I’m aware of are below with peoples names other than Pepose’s crossed out as to not give them further exposure past their interactions with him.

I do believe there’s been a lot of miscommunication and bad faith responses on his part. I understand wanting to clarify when something drawn from personal experience is read differently, I get that people saying he wrote guilt with a Catholic vibe when maybe he drew it from himself is uncomfortable, but again, that doesn’t impact the critique and more context is needed to change where things sit currently. But it’s just a funky and strange situation in general.

(This following response involves a different user than the previous talking to Pepose. The original person left no more responses and said nothing else than what is shown above)

This is all I’ve seen on him responding to the subject, and later Pepose blocked both posters in this thread from what I’ve heard. This is the extent of their interactions with him.

Overall I think saying the handling of Marc’s Judaism in this first issue is weird and off is a fair criticism/observation to make. I don’t think it was intentional or there was any malice behind it, but it does show a lack of understanding of the character of Marc Spector, and was tied to a multitude of other problems throughout this first issue (like as we see above with a misunderstanding/mishandling already of the system’s DID and plurality). And I think people can also be upset about that if they are.

Again I understand being uncomfortable, but issues are still allowed to be pointed out and there is still room to mess up when writing characters from your own community. Fair criticism to how something reads is not the same as personally attacking someone’s identity. And it shouldn’t be, but I genuinely don’t think anyone I’ve seen here so far has been doing that.

Though with all of this I am a non-Jew discussing things I’ve talked about with my Jewish friends, so please please if you want more in depth and explanatory posts on this topic, as well as how Pepose has been handling MK (most of which I am drawing from and the discussions with have informed my stuff here) you should check out @fdelopera as they’ve made many dissections on the topic as a Jewish MK fan! And they can speak on this topic much more in depth and with much more awareness and information than I can.

Some very relevant posts to this is their dissection of why Marc’s spirituality and handling so far is an issue and very funky and an examination of the Jewish themes in MacKay’s writing.

But those are my overall thoughts as well as continued clarification on my points on the topic so I hope I articulated things well!

(ID in ALT for all)

#the fruit is talking again #the fruit is answering again #moon knight #moon knight comics #moon knight city of the dead #marc spector

[grendelsmilf]

okay i finally finished rewatching s1 of the afterparty (it took me so long bc i’ve been watching it w my dad and i haven’t seen him in a while) (will respond to whoever asked me about my thoughts on s2 once i get to it) so here are my thoughts (immediate spoilers btw)

yasper literally could’ve gotten away with it AND maintained his friendship with aniq if at the very beginning he had just said “i was up there talking to him and he accidentally slipped i tried to save him but i was too far away also it’s my birthday im a little birthday boyy” . and then even if danner had pressed him further bc she suspected foul play, aniq would’ve had his back bc he would’ve known that yasper was willing to take the fall just so that aniq wouldn’t be implicated. yasper rly fumbled that huh

that said, i don’t think yasper should go to prison because killing xavier is not a crime by any moral standards. in fact he should win the nobel peace prize

also yasper should win ANOTHER nobel just for being enmeshed in not ONE but two examples of toxic yaoi. he’s crazy for that

also i just love ben schwartz. who can resist his precious little punim

and his chemistry with sam richardson is amazing they should star in like a romcom or something

aniq and zoe are still cute together. sorry

on a rewatch the brett episode might genuinely be the funniest one. and the high school episode is still genuinely devastating

as for what I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT FUCKING STAND ABOUT THIS SHOW: it is a show fundamentally concerned with how the lens through which we view media shapes our perceptions of the world. it is a show about narrativization and the nature of propaganda. it is a show that continually lampshades the way in which our media is an inaccurate reflection of our material realities. it is a show that explicitly points out the harmful nature of copaganda, especially in terms of how it contradicts real-world policing…in an episode that simultaneously portrays policing in a fundamentally inaccurate way that plays into the exact same reactionary, harmful tropes it is ostensibly critiquing. and i don’t find this cute or charmingly ironic, i find this to be particularly insidious, because self-awareness without self-critique allows for the viewer (and the writer) to feel smugly satisfied while absorbing the exact same propagandistic tropes they somehow consider themselves immune to. the characters repeatedly emphasize that our perspectives are flawed as a way of gesturing to the failures of our criminal justice system, but the show ends with the same poirot-esque victory for our central cop heroine without ever actually taking into consideration the harm of presenting such a narrative. because the good cop gets to feel satisfied that she solved the case before the bad cop came and made a wrongful arrest, right? it’s especially insidious because they clearly imply that racism is a motivating factor in aniq’s status as the primary suspect as well as danner’s slower career trajectory (as well as misogyny, in her case), but acknowledging that there is racism and sexism embedded into these institutions of policing while otherwise upholding the work cops do as “solving crimes” and “serving the community” is an even more dangerous form of liberal copaganda in many respects. the way yasper’s arrest is framed angers me, but it’s not necessarily because i think ben schwartz is too cute to go to jail (although i still maintain jennifer 1 would’ve made for a better murderer if they had to go that route at all). it’s that the framing plays the assumptions of this fundamentally reactionary genre completely straight; the entire show continually lampshades many of the glaring flaws in this premise as it nevertheless upholds deeply harmful institutions. as far as s1 goes, it is an extremely entertaining piece of comedy with a great cast (although john early and tiya sircar were underutilized so what’s even the point), with an interesting premise and framing device, but completely ideologically abhorrent in a way that genuinely sickens me.

anyway watch gosford park

#the afterparty #o.tv #assuming putting it under a cut for spoilers isn’t necessary considering s2 has been out for a while now #this show pissed me off so much man why did i rewatch it #oh right. because sam richardson is a gem #and i miss detroiters

[frogs-in3-hills]

i take it all back yusuke's a little shit lmaoo. i am interested to see where his character goes because i feel like he's gotten increasingly cocky and self destructive after being revived. i got the sense that pre-canon, like, obv he was a delinquent but he was a really good kid at heart. he still IS a good kid but now that the scale has increased so much we really understand the kind of damage he can do, and it's a lot. he doesn't have the self-awareness to recognize that yet because his recklessness has only been rewarded (this includes what i was saying in a previous post about the universe giving him a bunch of extra chances after he kept randomly throwing his life away, but also now our perception of his fighting style and how willing he is to put everything on the line). he's a little boy on a power trip yknow?

i say all this as a tentative analysis and not a critique ofc, i really trust togashi as a writer + i know this show has a reputation for strong characters, and i think yusuke has already been portrayed as so uniquely human compared to other shounen protags (at least in its era). thinking about him basically having an anxiety attack after being challenged by toguro basically confirms it for me that his coolness is no less of a veneer than it was shown to be in the first few episodes.

(i am on ep33) (maaannn i know its only been like three days since i started the show but i'm so sick my brain can't do anything else so uou can't bully me.......!)

also, sidenote, from my heart of hearts i fucking love kurama, i am not immune to an edgy bitch who cant do anything but kill people with flowers and brood.

#its interesting because usually i don't find this archetype appealing unless they REALLY push the “but they're really a sweetheart!” agenda #or if they lean into the angry boy agenda instead i like that a lot if you couldn't tell asjhsdvj #the first option is which is why i liked kuwabara more to begin with #but unfortunately he is also kind of a victim of dated writing (ie he's joining the war on sexism.. on the side of sexism) #so we'll see... i'm already enjoying dark tournament way more than the last few arcs #i know this show is kinda too old for most of my followers to care but yall know i rarely get into newer stuff anyway sjhhjhgx #it is definitely not doing for me what hxh was doing for me at this point but i'm still having a good time and that's all i need! #sully is typing #yyh #yyh liveblogging

[aelaer]

Pinned Intro Post!

I've been thinking about doing this for ages, and it came to mind again and I'm finally doing it. Hopefully this is helpful (especially since links in the summary don't work always on the mobile app).

Links I'd Like To Share With Others: #my-artwork tag | #my-writing tag | the prompt/bingo fills master post | MCU meta/headcanon master post | my AO3 page

How Often Do I Post: 1-4 times a day usually. This only increases when my blorbo (Stephen Strange) has a big media time period. That said, I never try to go over 8 a day. 95% of my posts are queued/scheduled.

What Type Of Things Do I Post: A not-insignificant amount of my posts are going to be featuring my blorbo. Other posts are going to be about the MCU, fanfic/writing tips/culture, fandom culture, LOTR, or something I find funny. A few other posts are going to be what I consider interesting and informational and crossing all sorts of topics, usually tagged #the more you know. On rare occasion I'll post about current politics, news, or disasters, which are tagged as #current events. Finally, if it's something about me or new personal news, it's, well, #about me and #personal. Haha. These are all listed so if you're following me for a specific topic, you can block tags and posts a bit more easily. I tag everything.

I Want To Follow You But Avoid All Your Discourse Posts And Just See The Fun Stuff: Block #current events, #discourse, #fandom wank, and #fandom discourse as I'll put opinions and news about wanky stuff there, and current events cover events that are, well, in the news.

If you want to avoid educational posts that may cover harder things in RL, like finding healthcare resources, tax issues, environmental issues and education, and anything that may touch on parts of the real world that isn't all fluffy, consider also blocking #the more you know as I can't guarantee that it's all positive.

#mental health and #personal are other tags to consider if you're sensitive to the topic. I am interested in the research and promotion of the topic - and I may cover my own harder times under this from time to time.

Do I Accept Fic Prompts: Yes, but you should be aware of what I currently write and the genres I write (i.e. my extreme lack of romance writing. Gen content FTW). The prompt shouldn't be longer than a few sentences too, as I don't go beyond a one-shot with fills and too much detail doesn't allow my own spin on the prompt. You should also be aware that it may take *years* for me to get to yours as I'm still working on the 2019/2020 batch, so if you fandom-hop frequently, you may want to find a faster writer for your prompt. :P (If you think of a prompt to help fill my terribly neglected Bad Things Happen bingo card, it may come a bit sooner? Maybe?)

Other Stuff About Me: I'm she/her though I've played enough online games in the 2000s to be immune to being called "he" so you won't offend me if you forget. I've been writing online for 20 years. I'm opinionated; I try not to be an ass about it, but this is my space so I'm not gonna hide my opinions, either. I think being open to constructive critique is the best thing any artist or writer can do for themselves, even if it's just a hobby for them, and I often reblog posts with the purpose of improving in one of those crafts. I'm pro-critique of any media, anti-hating on fans for differing opinions. I loathe absolute statements, especially with a negative connotation, in the fandom space. I love the willingness to deconstruct and debate in the fandom space. This is probably enough, eh?

#about me #pinned post

[dwellordream]

thoughts on TLOU episode 9

for a long time i was under the impression that the first season would be 10 episodes (i don’t know why, maybe i assumed they would want an even number), so i wasn’t even aware the finale had released for a few days

it’s really impressive how much Ashley Johnson looks like an adult Bella Ramsey, and as a long-time game fan it was really fun to hear Johnson’s voice in a live action context

I think the implication that Ellie may be immune due to being born of an infected mother was really interesting and a cool twist for them to add, since there are never any explanations raised in the games as to why Ellie may be immune, other than random luck

the context of Ellie’s birth I think also goes a long way to showing Marlene’s present-day feelings towards her. Marlene cares about Ellie and ensured her safety by leaving her with FEDRA, despite her hatred for them. but she doesn’t consider Ellie family or herself a parent to her, and I think it’s likely she’s always had some residual bitterness over Ellie surviving and Anna dying

Joel’s pivot towards a more cheerful and overtly paternal attitude, in contrast with Ellie’s increasing reserved nature as they get closer and closer to the Fireflies was really bittersweet

the scene with the giraffe was just as awe-inspiring as the one in the game, and Ellie’s swing back towards childish delight and wonder was really well done

it’s really weird to me that Marlene makes no mention of the promised material rewards for Joel, especially since she’s still assuming Joel is at least partially in this for the resources

again, this is something we can critique in the game as well, but it sort of stretches belief that the Fireflies would immediately leap to prepping Ellie for fatal surgery, without even holding her to conduct some tests for a few days first. obviously i understand this is due to plot pacing, and i don’t think the writers want the audience to doubt the credibility of the Fireflies or defend Joel’s actions.

as far as i remember in the game, Joel murdered the nurses as well, leaving zero survivors. here, it’s obvious word is gonna spread quickly.

at the end of the game, i do think we see Ellie believing Joel, at least in that moment, and wanting to see the best in him. here, i think it’s very obvious she knows he’s lying, but chooses to accept it in the moment because she doesn’t want to lose him.

all in all, i think the TV show was a fantastic adaptation of the game, while also adding a lot more humanity and depth to many of the minor characters. i suspect the next season will be a lot more controversially received, given how much of the audience sympathizes with and defends joel. personally, i had mixed feelings on the execution of the plot (and the pacing) in TLOU 2, though i think the intentions were good.

#the last of us #word to the wise

[amc-iwtv]

I'm so glad you are back! You say the stuff that I want to say but don't have the courage to say because I don't want insane anons 24/7. Listen, I'm not immune to some feminisation kink fics but when the authors start to behave like it's the superior interpretation of canon, like it's some dissertation level shit and also start acting like fandom police... I'm done. Like, girls, you are writing mpreg, you are writing submissive and breedable wifey Louis. Like, be serious lol. It's clown behaviour to act as if it was some kind of progressive manifesto. Anyway, it's great to have you back! You are dealing with this situation with so much humour! Keep it up

This is my last response on the matter. What you said is essentially the thesis statement of this whole debacle. I am not immune to kinks, if anyone writes an exhibition kink, my favorite characters fucking outside, secretly in public or on camera, I am in the front row seats!

But I will not try to rationalize it by saying 'Umm actually gay love has been outlawed many times, so me writing these characters fucking in public is actually an act of activism and is important, and is factually correct, and anyone writing them fucking indoors is a nasty homophobe who doesn't want to see two gay guys loving in public." That's just nonsense. I just think the forbidden nature of that kink is sexy. But their campaign against any other interpretation is fucking nuts. We are all clowns. Tumblr is a clown university. To hold yourself above others, when you're peddling "Breeding Mpreg Submissive black gay man, to his dom white man," is hilarious. Here is an example of what gets sent to me for daring to write switch Loustat.

This isn't near the unhinged stuff that gets sent to other fanfic writers, for even having a single instance of Loustat switching in their entire fanfiction collection. We should filter out tags, yet they are in the comments of normal fanfic writers demanding their own interpretations or they start sending racist allegations. Even if Louis shows a range of emotions and is the focal point of all these fics. Every single one is considered racist if Louis isn't getting Dom'd or impregnated by Lestat. The tv show just attracted insane kinda dumb fans (at least dumb as in lazy and wants to simplify everything kind of way), which is rivaling the insane fandom from the insane books. Except this amc fandom is hellbent on claiming the "correct' interpretation, that Louis as a character cannot be criticized in any capacity because he's good and Lestat is bad, and metaphors should be taken literally to support any unhinged interpretation people have. And these fans have formed a giant circle jerk, a mastubatorium, to reward each other for compliance, where they block out any critique, attack any dissenting opinion, and create this atmosphere of walking on eggshells, and are convinced they are being persecuted. ALL FOR VAMPIRE FANDOM. It would be funny if this wasn't slowly happening in every medium to big fandom on this site. I will keep it up until I get bored. thanks!

#louis de pointe du black

[springboggle]

Your ignorance and hatred astounds and overwhelms.

I'm not sure what this is about? Is it about this post or?

I don't hate my creative peers (I have a lot to say on my experiences with them though), but I've just accepted that we all write differently because our lives are different. Most artisans that can dedicate loads and loads of time to their work are usually not poor people that are forced to see their gender, race, sexuality, you name it, as something more than the metaphor they choose to communicate their marginalization or alienation with.

More under the cut.

To me, simply slapping transformation powers on a trans character isn't enough, especially if they aren't using said magic for gender affirming care or using this magic to explore how our bodies are like putty that adapts to what we need and want, or lack thereof. To me, gay/sapphic knights isn't empowering or interesting to me, especially if it isn't exploring the fact that queer relationships are meant to and should subvert the expectations heterosexual people put on the other gender (which the romantic ideal of knighthood plays into).

Of course it isn't wrong to enjoy a story that has these tropes in it, I liked Nimona (genderfluid shapeshifter struggling with suicidal ideation), I liked WolfWalkers (women being constricted by social rules but breaking free from that by becoming spirit walking druids), I like cheesy art of knights in love and saving people and doing cool things-I'm also a fan of folkloric stories, which tend to not be progressive marvels all the time, especially when religion gets involved.

But I think it's fair to say that when you've been demonized horribly for being queer or a certain ethnicity or race in a specific way, your itch to make art evolves past "I feel like a monster, let me explore this with queer werewolves that work office jobs by day and run in the forest at night" to "I feel like a monster and I know exactly why I do after looking at my life and the systemic ways I've been abused/abused others/set up to not get my needs met/have been alienated by my peers-and I'm going to use this metaphor to further inform/enhance the character's predicaments, not to replace them outright."

I think the little I've seen of Utena (still working on it) is a good example of what i mean here. Using fairytale motifs and meta and ideas to not replace critique of misogyny, but to explore the power of REAL connection over fake roles we put on each other romantically and friendship wise, to explore misogyny further, to ask how this cycle can be broken etc etc.

And this wasn't even a scathing post about Somerton if that's what you're on about. I find his plagiarism to be a dumb move and a symptom of not having the realities of the writers he stole from to actually be creative in his video essays as he watches (which it's been layer revealed he didn't even watch some of the things he was reviewing, like BBC's Merlin) these movies and shows.

This isn't a white cis gay dude hate post, this is me saying not all queer people have lives where we understand or are forced to understand our identities in a way that allows us to say something meaningful about them, and this shows in some of the media I see among my peers-and while this stereotype is usually attributed to whoever is the night's biggest culture war loser in the eyes of their peers (bisexual women often, especially if they're cis or slightly cringy) no queer person is immune to just not having the chops to articulate how they see themselves in media beyond metaphors or stealing someone else's words outright.

This isn't a crime against humanity or media literacy or whatever else-I too have topics that I can't articulate well because I haven't lived it, so I nab a quote or two and attempt to save it for when I need a reference (for example, text on the global south, esp LatAm). All I'm saying is, when it comes to my peers, I have a hard time making community and discussing my own work because the way I write, in my opinion, goes beyond the queer shaman or the queer knight, and instead leans into specific bigotries that won't be replaced by the monsters I choose to use to communicate my fascination with how abuse operates, how it's enabled by every social technology we believe in and stand by, how the smallest of things can lead to unmet needs, abuse, and a refusal to see one as capable of love and fear and hatred and compassion like any other living thing...being a monster or knight or whatever else on top of being queer or black or hispanic or a woman and that being shown explicitly alongside the monster/role the character is in is more intriguing than what I think many artists on the web go for.

#asks #oof??? off to a rough start wtf #I mean if this is about my last blog too I stand by a lot of what I said #I don't think I'm bigoted in any way for being critical of how queer communities operate or for sharing my own traumas within them #I could've been more articulate but I think I needed that space. to just say what I needed to and get it out

[adenthemage]

tell me about the works in progress you have

Oh shit thanks for indulging me anon!! I've been super busy with work lately, but has that stopped me from starting new projects? No because i am a foole. So I have a decent bunch of them stacked up atm

Seeing as I am in tmnt hell with no end in sight yet, a majority of it has been centered on fanworks for that! In the art department I have:

-draw the rottmnt gang in your outfits

-just. SO many screenshots I wanna redraw

-animating rottmnt boys as youtubers I think are funny (<- this one is VERY CLOSE to being done, I just have a few segments I'm dragging my feet on. I have the boards I just don't wanna liiiinnnne)

-animation sent to a Thriller remix focusing on the 03 villains. This one is heavily inspired by a PHENOMENAL Jojo animation of which I will be plastering all over the promo for when my version is finished. I don't even watch Jjba (yet) but I am obsessed with that video. Part of me is excited to finish just so I can show more people that video. I am stealing so many techniques from it

-I have a TH storage account full of characters I mean to draw as warmups, but I keep forgetting. They're either set to be sold (and adding art gives them more value) or I just don't have anything for them to do yet and they need a little detail (sometimes drawing helps me flesh out a character's personality and backstory, by way of it reflecting in their design)

-Another TOH six fanarts! The video of me speeddrawing the first one went viral on both Youtube and Tiktok, so I had plenty of character requests to fulfill. I've decided on the ones I want to do, but it's been hard getting motivated to work on it-- presumably because I've moved fixations and brain gets very mad when I think about anything else

On the writing side, I've found myself being a bit more engaged with a little community that's made up of a lot of talented fic writers! I've never had the skill or motivation to finish a fic, but recently I've been trying my hand at fixing that, largely because of their influence. I have a few I'm considering polishing and one I'm nearly ready to actually post!!

-Fire and Stones is, I guess a character study, and the one I'm hoping to post very soon. It examines Agent Bishop in phases of life that aren't really represented in the show, with an emphasis on his odd relationship with death and all the different ways he's experienced it (as in every conceivable way except actually dying, himself.) I'm a little iffy on the first chapter because it takes place so early on, there are no canon characters even alive to interact with. I worry it won't be as fun or engaging as the next two, of which I'm actually pretty happy with! (This is rare as I am a very opinionated mfer and my own work is not immune to my strong need to critique.) I guess I'm just overthinking it because I intend to post it publicly and I'm a little nervous about it. I've never shared any of my fanfiction before!

-a new piece that spawned from Fire and Stones is a "sickfic" that begins hitting the usual fluffy beats with a hint of strangeness, and then quickly devolves into angst and political drama as the sick character in question becomes sure they were actually poisoned and this is an attempted assassination. It will be fun, if I can manage to stick with such a long pace.

-There is also a fic set in the 2012 tmnt universe, heavily inspired by another fic out there where Donnie and Mikey run away and start their own life and begin to heal. I absolutely adored it, and after discussing it with a buddy we were like 'what if they hid out in EPF with Bishop lol' and then it spiraled into a found family drama hoorayyyyy. Most of what I have so far is just waxing poetic about utrom Bishop, though, because I like him and am apparently allergic to writing povs in anyone else's voice.

-ok so. Confession time. I like Rick and Morty. During one of the season finales a villain gives Morty the option to join him and escape Rick forever, and genuinely I feel it is ooc that Morty did not take them up on it, because they were RIGHT. Anyway I have the beginning of a canon divergence fic where he does accept the offer. I actually really like what I have so far! It's just one scene, but at the very least I might try finish the one setup chapter. I might never do more, but I really like what I do have and wouldn't mind showing it off.

-I have a little self-indulgent story about Naruto OCs learning the basics in genin training. I have one scene done but it kinda tapered off in the next rip

I love all my projects but I am always so tired from work I just end up not working on them. But I hope I can have some cool stuff to show sooner rather than later! May it bring someone joy

#thank you for the ask!!! ily #marie says words occasionally

[fantastic-nonsense]

thoughts on Tom Taylor’s Nightwing? I know reviews here in tumblr.com have been mixed, but I am personally enjoying it.

My tl;dr opinion is that it's a fun but ultimately rather thematically light "breath of fresh air" run to clear out the nonsense we've had to deal with over the past 5-8 years. Taylor is clearly pulling hard from the original 90s Dixon Nightwing run and early 2000s Batfamily books but also leaving behind a lot of the Dixon and Grayson-era political baggage that comes with it (which...good). I'm not particularly fond of his depiction of Babs, but his 'Dick and Tim' interactions are quite nice. It's also got absolutely gorgeous art, which is definitely helping as well.

Is it my favorite run ever? No. But I'm generally enjoying it and think it's been a fun first arc for what essentially amounts to a soft Nightwing reboot (which Dick desperately needed). However, I absolutely see a lot of room to improve, and I think I've commented before on how my largest problems with his writing on Nightwing basically boil down to three things:

His treatment of Babs, which seems largely out of well-meaning ignorance as to how his writing of her can and has been perceived.

Taylor has a problem letting his characters grow their interpersonal relationships organically over a larger set of issues; you see it with his other books too (like how Jon and Jay are Together™ now but Jay was only introduced 6 issues ago). While I don't necessarily have a problem with the relationships themselves, I do have a fairly consistent problem with how abrupt they seem to grow; it's frustrating because if he just let the relationships breathe they'd feel so much more organic and realistic (however, this is a criticism I have of quite a few comic writers right now, so it's an industry issue more than it is a Taylor-specific issue)

Taylor's personal political naivety and how he projects that onto characters that by all rights should know better. I find it hard to believe that the Dick Grayson who's gone through all the shit he's gone through in his life doesn't understand the ins-and-outs of how a) local politics and b) systemic poverty function in Bludhaven, for example, especially considering everything that happened during the Ric arc. I totally understand that Taylor's run is basically a soft reboot, but it begs quite a bit of credulity all the same.

I'd have less of a problem with #1 (and to a lesser extent #3) if he seemed more open to constructive criticism, because I do actually like him on the book. However, he's rebuffed most conversations well-meaning fans have tried to have with him about their desire to see him write disabled characters better and be more thoughtful about how his scripts have the potential to sound to his readers.

So...yeah, that's my review. Generally enjoying it, but seeing plenty of opportunties to improve. However, while I like Taylor's writing in general I will say that I frankly do not trust him to do anything with under-represented groups (racial, disability, or otherwise). Man's a good writer who is genuinely trying, but is functionally immune to well-intentioned and polite critique about his handling of such things, and that's Not Great.

#tom taylor #nightwing #dick grayson #dc meta #dick grayson meta #barbara gordon #asks

[takaraphoenix]

Ship game!! What about Nico and Will?? It’s pretty popular, but I don’t think I’ve seen you write much of it…

That's an interesting one in that I have vocalized my reasons for disliking it way back when it first became popular but instead of just linking that, it has been years so I think it's time for an updated version.

Firstly: This post is gonna be properly tagged and not crosstagged so if any shipper comes across it and feels the need to bitch about it, just don't; your lack of curating your own tumblr experience is not my problem! ;D

Now, there are three key factors that play into my dislike of this ship: How it was written, what it represents, how the fandom around it acts.

1. It’s rushed and uncomfortable

In BoO, it was incredibly rushed. They had literally five sentences of interactions before they walked into the literal sunset together. Five. It was just entirely born from Riordan's Noah's Ark Complex, where he just can't let people be single. The series was ending and he needed Nico to have an endgame so he rushed into some random romance with zero build-up.

The way their interactions went down was also severely uncomfortable for me. Will was acting so offended by Nico not wanting to go to camp and be friends in an entitled way that he had no right to be, he downright guilt-tripped Nico about how he had wanted to be friends. Nico has been just so severely traumatized at such a young age and his coping mechanism, as unhealthy as it was, was to run away and hide. Will acted like Nico not wanting to form attachments to people who could potentially leave him again was somehow just an Edgy Emo Decision and not a direct reaction to his trauma. His entire approach to Nico was basically all these hippie posts of "Don't have depression!! Just go out into the sun and stop being depressed!", which is already a bad take with non-medical people but he's supposed to be a doctor (and let's not get into the shadiness of him technically being Nico's doctor).

There is also an inherent "I can fix him" angle to this ship and to me, only few ship dynamics are more uncomfortable than that. If you want to fundamentally change a person's behavior and personality, you... don't actually want to be with this person.

Now, here's where my points overlap, because the following parts of their writing that bothers me also stand for what this ship fundamentally represents.

2. Solangelo is a queer ship written by and for straights

I'm a queer woman and as a queer woman, I want queer wish-fulfillment, not what straights want out of queerness. I'm kind of tired of that, I've been sitting through it for enough decades now. That's, of course, not to say that no straight writer can give proper queer representation, but far too often do straight writers - even the most well-meaning ones - project straight desires of queerness into their queer representation.

Let me explain that closer through this ship.

Nico's been in love with Percy for years and I'm going to do my best to not hijack this post with some Percico agenda; that's not what this his about, this isn't some "my ship is better than your ship" ship-war nonsense. It's simply a canonical fact that Nico has had romantic feelings for another character for years.

A character who, in this medium, is heterosexual. And if you're queer, you've been there. In love with your straight best friend. It's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason.

We have also all been well-meaningly rejected by said straight friend.

And here's the straight desires for you: The queer person who was in love with a straight person just immediately stops having those feelings and will then as quickly as possible fall in love with the next queer person they meet to be happy and no longer uncomfortably in love with a straight person, because that thought makes the straights uncomfortable.

Queer wish-fulfillment would be for Percy to return those feelings, for the queer character to get his first love, to not be rejected. That thing queer teens always dreamed about for themselves.

Aside from the wish-fulfillment angle, the pacing is another problem. Let me repeat, Nico was in love for years. But a five sentence conversation with Will once causes a crush on Will and we see him physically turn away from Percy and toward Will just immediately to rebound and actually fall out of love with Percy and in love with Will. Anyone who's ever been unlucky in love will attest to just how unrealistic and ridiculous the pacing here is.

It's also straight queerness in another respect; Nico has been the first ever queer character we meet in that world. He loves a straight guy - and to get over that, we introduce the second queer character. Because heaven forbid there are multiple queers to pick from. No, in straight-written queer romances, there is always that one main queer and then they introduce a second one and the two just immediately hit it off and develop a romance like all a queer person needs to form attraction to someone is the confirmation that the other person shares your sexuality.

Also the notable gay guy on gay guy ship here, whereas the more queer-wish-fulfillment option would have also included more nuance to the queer experience, because Percy doesn't have to be heterosexual just because he has only been with girls so far. It's a very old-fashioned - think 90s and early 2000s - kind of straight-written queerness that there are only exactly two homosexuals and that those two homosexuals then pair up.

And, listen, I'm not immune to these outdated straight-written queers entirely, I have many such ships that I grew up with that I am still fond of because they were groundbreaking at that time and they weren't outdated yet back when they happened in said 90s and early 2000s. I am however a grown woman now and just like I have grown, so has queer rep so I am not as easily baited into falling onto my knees in gratitude for canon rep. You have to go with the times. And this ship, by all that is given to us, is just entirely outdated straight-written rep.

Which, I mention earlier that even straight-written rep can be good. If the author tries. Riordan doesn't really try though; he does the bare minimum when he writes any of his rep - and there have been many, many more qualified voices being very vocal about his depiction of people of color and, as a woman, I've been vocal about his depiction of women. I don't want to derail this post with all of that, but I do think that it bears mentioning that Riordan doing rep but only doing a bare minimum and not putting in the necessary work to deepen the representation he wants to give is a repeating pattern that has been pointed out many times by now.

(I’d also like to point out that no, it is not just the ship and not just the listed instances that make it straight-written rep for straights. It’s Nico’s entire queer arc, starting with his forced coming out. A severely traumatizing event that is completely brushed over because the straight author doesn’t understand the impact this has on queer people. Not to mention the framework; Nico’s coming out isn’t Nico’s story, it happens in Jason’s POV, it is given to us through the POV of the straight bystander who gets to be Best Ally by assuring Nico that being gay is okay. This kind of coming out is not a queer wish-fulfillment, it’s a straight wish-fulfillment of getting to be the straight savior, the ally to show the gay the light of acceptance. And, additional to the ridiculous pacing of how fast Nico gets over his love for Percy, Nico also gets over years of internalized homophobia just because of, I don’t know, Jason’s few encouraging words and the fact that Will paid attention to him? For a gay kid who was in the closet all his life, the nonchalant way in which he publicly confessed his crush to Percy at the end made absolutely no sense and was written as basically a joke, finished off with Nico literally high-fiving Percy’s girlfriend despite those two never having seen eye to eye before but this is straight wish-fulfillment so all straights are Super Allies, because that’s the way straights want to see themselves, even though Annabeth has shown before just how jealous she can be and she most definitely wouldn’t go around high-fiving people who confess to her boyfriend. Nothing about Nico’s queer arc in HoO felt natural or queer or satisfying.)

Sure, Solangelo on a surface level is big because it's a canon queer couple in a YA book-series and kudos for that and yay for the kids who get to grow up seeing queers in YA books, but I actually do think that kids growing up with books written in the 2010s shouldn't grow up with 1990s levels of representation, because the 2010s overall are actually at a far more nuanced and better level of representation when it comes to queerness. And I do reserve the right to quit on too straight-written and too outdated queer rep in a landscape where I can get more satisfying representation elsewhere; we don’t live in times anymore where you necessarily have to love every bit of rep because it’s the only one you get.

Now that we've gone through my first two gripes, let's wrap this up with the final point, because it also directly ties into this.

3. The new wave of antis hiding behind this ship

A huge part of the fandom is so busy kissing Riordan's ass solely for giving them queer rep at all they think that both the author and the ship are beyond flawless and that kind of attitude is not good. Just because an author includes rep doesn't make either perfect. Absolutely no one is beyond critique - especially not when said critique comes from the very people the author is representing. And even beyond any "valid" critique on the ship, quite frankly, someone should also be allowed to just not like it, without any reasons given at all.

But there is a certain... protective obsessiveness about this ship that doesn't allow a not liking. Very similar to how PJO bore this mindset around Perc/abeth already. It's okay to have OTPs, even OTPs that you have a blindspot for and just don't want to see any flaws in. It is however not okay to then go around attacking people who don't like the thing and mind their own business.

Solangelo's bred a new generation of antis in this fandom. And, particularly with the fact that this post too receives an "anti" tag, I feel like there needs to be a clarification (because tumblr likes to forget what actually makes an anti). Not liking something doesn't make you an anti, venting in properly tagged posts doesn't either; it's the people who harass others, who seek out the content they dislike to then complain that it even exists and who actively try to make others stop creating for it - those are antis.

And with Solangelo's popularity, there was a high rise in Percico antis, who sought it out, were unnecessarily nasty about it, harrassed creators and tried to enforce some kind of "Solangelo supremacy" that won't allow other ships for the characters.

I've been in fandom long enough to be perfectly aware that not all Solangelo shippers count into this category and that there are completely normal and nice Solangelo shippers, but this is a Venn diagram where the overlap between Solangelo shippers and antis is too large to not widely associate the nasty people with the ship itself. (I've been there myself, shipping the very ship behind which a fandom's antis all hid. The second-hand embarrassment of having these people give the ship a bad name is horrendous and I do feel bad for all the normal Solangelo shippers.)

The more often I encountered these people, who made Percico bad (sometimes in wildly ridiculous manners that bent and deliberately misinterpreted canon) and who in the same breath praised Solangelo high, the more tired I grew of that ship. It's a simple game of association, really. You see that linked to the gross and nasty behavior and you start associating the ship itself with that gross and nasty behavior - and with all the things I said before that already weighed into my dislike of the ship, this just was the final tipping point, really.

And that's it. That sums up why I dislike Solangelo. It was hastily rushed, uncomfortable in its execution, it is outdated rep that very much feels as straight-written as it factually is and it does not feel aimed at me as a queer person but rather at the straight audience and it has gathered a cult following of quite uncomfortable people who on their own would be reason enough to avoid it so you can avoid them.

Send me a ship and I will explain why I do or don't ship it

#Anti Solangelo #PJOverse #Riordan Critical #Shipping #Ship Ask Game #send me asks #it IS both a positive AND negative game #and I gotta admit #it is nice to put these things #into proper words #every once in a while

[shewhotellsstories]

i really dont wanna annoy you but you post about racism in fandom sometimes so i thought you'd be the right person to ask. i hope this doesnt come off as expecting u to be my teacher. yesterday someone said they didnt trust white zk shippers and i thought it was mean but then people started sending the them all these nasty messages and i started to worry maybe op was right. honestly a lot of this stuff is pretty new for me. i think our fandom is inclusive & unlike the rest of the atla fandom we actually like katara. but i'm trying to learn.

why would it be a problem that a lot of zk fics have katara looking after zuko? i always just felt like he needed it more bc he was abused and kataras better at dealing with feelings and she's good at taking care of people. is fire lady katara still ok? is there racism in our fandom? there are a lot of woc zks and i've seen them get hate for it. but the messages op got were pretty bad too. i know i'm asking a lot of questions i just hate the thinking that we might be as bad as the z*kka stans have been saying all year.

This is gonna get long so I’m just gonna jump right in. When I listened to fansplaining’s episode on fandom racism one of the guests said white fans who can acknowledge that fandom racism exists tend to frame it as “just a few bad apples” and get caught up in worrying about not looking like a “bad apple” instead of making fandoms spaces that aren’t hostile for BIPOC. Jag offs hiding behind anon to tell women of color who ship zutara that we have a creepy fetish for imperialism and colonialism suck, but your biggest concern really shouldn’t be the optics or if you can claim superiority over zukka stans.

Yeah the “katara’s a homophobe” nonsense didn’t come from our end of the fandom, but it feels naive at best or dishonest at worst to act like the zutara fandom is uniquely immune to fandom racism. A creator I follow made the excellent point that allyship conditional upon if a poc talks "nicely" about racism is still white supremacy. I believe poc need to be allowed to vent and be salty or angry without being tone-policed. I definitely have my days where I’m like “ugh white people,” or "why must white fans be like this," so I get where the OP was coming from. Ironically the folks that sent them anon hate proved their point. You can always count on hit dogs to hollar.

Fandom is only escapist for some people. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum so you’ll find racism in fandom because there’s racism in the world. Navigating that gets exhausting. There are certain things I enjoy, but for the sake of my sanity I'll only talk about it with friends in real life or only follow fans of color. Before I follow white fans I need to see first that they’re not the kind of person who inspires posts about fandom racism. A good friend of mine loves Star Wars, Kpop, and gaming but after years of attempts at calling in she decided that she’d only interact with woc in those spaces. Again, you get tired.

ATLA wasn’t on my radar until last year so I definitely haven’t read every zutara fic out there but I have noticed a lot of fics do tend to have Katara being the one comforting and supporting Zuko. It’s not inherently wrong of course, it’s just in the grand scheme of things in fiction woc are often cast as eternal caretakers and confidants in fiction:

“How characters of color are portrayed in fanworks, especially fanfiction, is worse than the actual films. They are portrayed as supportive, almost invisible understudies. Any characteristics which they possess in the [MCU] films are stripped and given to other white characters. It is not only erasure. It’s a theft of identity.

Characters of color are positioned within storylines to support the main, white characters. Even within the slash biracial pairings, the character of color is underdeveloped and in a position of servitude within the relationship.”

TheNavyLanguage, Fansplaining

As the quote above points out this honestly happens in a lot of fandoms. I’ve read fanfic for books, movies, tv shows, and comics and I can’t help but notice that in fics the writers often have the non-white character or-- if neither character is white--the darker skinned character being the care-taker, the bodyguard, or the person who is performing all the emotional labor. It’s not inherently wrong to have a character of color have a nurturing personality, you just have to remember that since Black and brown folks have been saddled with narrative after narrative where we exist to serve leaning into dynamics where the non-white or darker skinned character is providing all the emotional support and getting very little in return has some unfortunate implications.

It’s not better if instead of being defined as the avatar’s girl, Katara’s the fire lord’s girl. Part of the appeal of zutara for me is the idea that Katara could lay down some of her burdens and get some much needed support. I always imagine she’d have some major issues after the war.

"i always just felt like he needed it more bc he was abused and kataras better at dealing with feelings and she's good at taking care of people."

I’m going to push back against that statement. Yes, Katara didn't grow up in an abusive household but she has pain and trauma of her own. In fact I’d argue that her believing it’s her job to take care of everyone is rooted in her trauma. Katara needs support and care just as much as anyone else does.

Having read a lot of fics revolving around abuse victims in different fandoms I’ve observed that if fans feel a character’s trauma wasn’t properly addressed in canon, they’ll give them a lot of TLC in fics. But again, reducing the non-white or darker-skinned character to a glorified therapist has some implications.

I feel like the Fire Lady Katara headcanon's been talked to death so long-story short, it’s not inherently racist but it can problematic if it's not clear that Katara is Katara of the Water Tribe wherever she lives. Fics and art where her crown has a crescent moon, she wears blue, or Zuko wears blue when she's in red are the executions I'm fondest of.

When in doubt just listen when poc talk about uncomfortable trends in the fandom. Give fansplaining’s episodes on fandom racism a listen here, here, and here. And very loosely quoting my favorite professor just remember that if a marginalized person says they’re distrustful of a group of people or institution it usually happens after a lot of bad experiences. Don’t center your own comfort and hurt feelings.

“If we truly believe in fandom’s progressive credentials, then perhaps it is necessary for us to listen to critiques that make us uncomfortable rather than those that keep arguing that the status quo is perfectly acceptable—even as there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps then we will be able to come at these, yes, these very complex and nuanced discussions with the type of openness and good faith that is required for them to succeed, rather than approaching them with hostility.”

-Rukmini Pande, Fansplaining

#asked and answered #zutara #katara #atla fandom crit #fandom racism

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I swear, the only thing that frustrates me more than the writers use of the "you can be disabled, just not too disabled" trope is how quick the FNDM is to accept it and not think about it any further.

Like, someone on the r/RWBY reddit posted about how they don't like how Ironwood"s disabilities were being used to demonize him, and the first comment on the post said that their points were invalid because Yang and Pietro exist.

First of all, Yang and Pietro's disabilities are not nearly as extensive as Ironwood's. Yang only lost one arm and has PTSD that was treated and I guess cured after volume 6. Pietro is a paralyzed man who does not have PTSD or any mental illness or neurodivergence from what I gather, and has been seen in the show down playing a PTSD survivor's trauma and trauma related fears despite the fact that he works with amputees daily.

People would either have to be really deliberately obtuse to not see that Ironwood being treated the way he was is a problem BECAUSE he's the most heavily disabled, or they just lack empathy for anyone who has a different body from them and refuse to comprehend that their view of disabled people is inherently bigoted.

Sorry for ranting in your inbox, I just get really annoyed with the blatant ableism in the show and FNDM.

First off never apologize for ranting in my inbox, I really enjoy hearing what people have to say about RWBY. And I agree. It’s horrible how CRWBY uses that vile trope and how the FNDM think’s we’re just facist bootlickers because we call CRWBY out for using such disgusting tropes. 

I don’t care how many uh “good”| things a show does, that does not make it immune to critique. But the issue is that Yang and Pietro are not even good examples. Yang just gets over her PTSD and the show regularly forgets she even has a prosthetic and Pietro is barely on screen. We don’t know anything about him really besides being Penny’s dad, he’s a scientist and he’s disabled. I hesitate to say Yang “only” lost an arm because losing any limb can be very traumatic and, at first at least, it was for Yang and I do not want to diminish that. I think the more important thing here is that CRWBY doesn’t treat Yang really like she is disabled. Her prosthetic is considered a “prop” by some members of the team when it even is remembered and that is an issue. 

The big issue is that James’s prosthetics are treated as the reason he turned evil which is just extremely gross and ableist and it is just not right that CRWBY and the fans try and pretend it isn’t because it is. James’s arc is extremely ableist and perpetrates extremely harmful stereotypes about disabled people but CRWBY doesn’t care and it frustrates me so much. 

#RWDE #James Ironwood #Ironwood Protection Squad #Pro James Ironwood #Pro Ironwood #General Ironwood #General Dadmiral

[airplanned]

No.  Seriously.  Write for yourself.

There's a long post going around that has me in a state, so let me share a few stories with you.

I had a writing friend (we're still friends, but *spoiler* he doesn't write anymore) who was upfront about how he wrote to be read. 

This makes no sense to me, because I write to get the stories out of my head so that I can sleep at night.  But to each their own.  This friend did not have my problem and only bothered not only to write stories down but to come up with them so that other people would read them.  The problem is that he wrapped the entirety of the value of his work in whether or not people read it and if they liked it.  That's not something you can control.  So his success was completely out of his hands.  Therefore, this dude could not take even the slightest bit of criticism.  He would bring the start of a project to critique group, we would talk about it, and no matter how much we said we loved specific parts and no matter how much promise a piece had, he would go on Facebook the next day and whine about what a failure he was.  Now, there's a lot going on here (white male fragility, his undiagnosed depression), but this dude wasn't just some schmuck claiming to be a writer.  He had a MFA from a prestigious program.  He was a paid writing teacher with really interesting workshops.  His first book didn't sell and he threw up his hands and never wrote again.

Why write if no one would read it?

He was miserable the entire time, and I honestly think it's for the best for his mental health that he quit.  This is an extreme case, but...it's really not uncommon.  I've seen this same situation play out with other writers too.

On the other side of this extreme, my most successful professional writing project was a goofy thing I did just to see if I could, and then threw it out there, because it can sit on the internet just as well as it can sit on my laptop.  I told my friends on Facebook, and that was it.  This goofy project that I didn't think many people would see ended up getting my career off the ground.  I'm not saying that to brag, I'm saying that to point out that sometimes when you give zero shits, you make really successful art.

I write fic because it's so much easier than writing to be published.  It's just fun.  I've been working on the book I have out on submission right now off and on for 6 years.  During that time, 5 people have read it in full (one of whom was my mom), my critique group has seen it in chunks, and my agent has read it twice.  In six years, that's IT.  That’s all the feedback I’ve gotten.  And that was half and half praise and critique.  (Half and half is probably generous.) And then once it's out on submission, it's a steady trickle of rejection.  One reason I like posting the fic I write is that I toss it up and more often than not I get some reviews.  It makes me feel seen and makes me feel good when usually my writing gets silence for months on end.  Maybe I'm immune from not getting feedback, because my job is to write in a vacuum and not get feedback, but that's just how it is.  No one has to leave me kudos, but they do, and even if I get four likes on a post, those are special.

And if I don't get reviews, that's okay.  I already got what I wanted out of it.  I wrote a goofy story about Link and had a good time and I don't have to lay awake thinking "BUT WHAT ABOUT RUMBLE BUMBLE!?"  I wrote this story called "Of All the Bad Ideas," which is for Supernatural (of all things), and it's weird AF.  It has very few reviews.  But you know what?  I flipping love that story!  I did a good job.

Yeah, I edit for readers.  Yeah, I post for the endorphins.  But I write for me.

#rant

[chaoticpanenergy]

things i loved about the new sanders aside

-thomas: oh yeah the sanders asides will be really short lil mini-episodes sanders aside #1: *is fully 20 minutes long* fanders: *are blessed*

-all the fanfic writers are now canonically correct about logan being really good at helping virgil calm down when he’s panicking and i adore it

-vIRGILS REACTION TO DECEIT WAS GREAT AND ALSO HEARTBREAKING LEAVE VIRGIL ALONE PLEASE 

-remus no 

-tHOMAS WRITING FROZEN FANFIC

-rOMAN EGGING THOMAS INTO WRITING FROZEN FANFIC

-rOMAN’S ONESIE

-VIRGIL’S ONESIE

-LOGAN’S LOVE FOR HIS SECRET ONESIE

-the weird viking bit at the start?????? incredible.“rEEXAMINE YOUR CULTURAL BIASES!!!!”

-roman BLATANTLY rigging the vote and everyone letting him get away with it anyway bc they love him <3

-baby Anna: I lOVE YOU, Olaf!!!!!! Patton, tearing up: i aLSO LOVE YOU, OLAF!!!!!!!!!!!

-the genuine UTTER JOY in each Side’s voice when they all chorus “JOAN!!!!!!” ????? they love thomas’s friends so much????????? i cannot Handle this???????????

-Logan having iced coffee and then making a face every time he sips it (and also it still being almost entirely full at the end of the whole movie) which like Definitely implies that he hates coffee but thinks he should drink it for the Aesthetic (also Logan why are you intaking caffeine in the evening you should know better stop that ur doing the “self care for everyone else and not me” thing u deserve love)

-“Nope nope I’m an adult that’s not funny” -remus no

-“The ONLY explanation for it is that that’s just his Evil Plotting Face™️” side note dOES THIS MEAN ROMAN HASNT SEEN THAT ONE TUMBLR POST SAYING THE TROLLS ARE EVIL???????

-“AW MAN YEEEAAAAAHHHH IM SO F*CKED UP ON CHOCOLATE FONDUE I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IM SAYING ANYMORE” -also Roman cursed so much in this episode omg

-i love that roman is now canonically That Person who makes snarky comments throughout the entire film while everyone else is trying to enjoy it but will also wax poetic about its virtues at you for 8 hours if you make the slightest critique, it’s so annoying and extra and relatable and very him

-Roman pointing out the footprints behind Elsa as she sings that there’s “not a footprint to be seen” and Logan’s shock and horror and agreement as he realizes roman’s point (also SAME HA IM SO GLAD THEY POINTED THAT OUT IT’S ALWAYS BUGGED ME)

-vague Angsty Patton Hints as he sings along to “don’t let them in, don’t let them see”??????

-“she really shouldn’t let go of any more of her clothing, that’s for sure..... she’ll,, freeze to death” Logan your Gay is showing that was a hastily constructed excuse of a reason, you of all people would definitely have immediately recognized that her ice powers in all likelihood make her completely immune to cold 

-the WAY TOO EXTENDED metaphor about the bridge that at the end of a solid like 2 minutes or however long we learn Logan has been taking literally this whole time 😂😂😂

-Roman: “We need to make like Elsa and—“ Patton: “Let it go!” Roman: “—Lie low in our kingdom of isolation, come ON Patton, don’t go for the low-hanging fruit!!” what a drama queen i love him

-Remus NO

-Logan being SO IRRITATED with Roman’s admittedly annoying movie-watching style 😂

-“Oh, sweet frank iero—“

-virgil: “Just think about it—“ thomas: “Like I have a choice!”

-the small detail of Logan not letting Virgil’s worried comments count for the “5 things you can see” etc and only counting the serious ones that he says <3 <3 <3

-roman: “Yeah, just take it from frozen’s most inspirational song: Fixer Upper!!! [weird metaphor]” thomas: “Thank you Roman, that’s.......barely applicable”

-Logan at the end revealing he was keeping a list of elsa’s powers -“creating fabric from....... ice, I guess??????” -patton’s “yeah, all checks out!!” -logan’s further, incredibly detailed, analysis of what she could theoretically do with those powers

-Virgil’s “what if your soulmate was at the party” comment sending Roman into instant flustered gay panic

-Roman: WE’RE GONNA REWRITE FROZEN ONE!!!!!! Logan: Oh!!!!! Are we gonna [fix it but in loganese]???? Roman: “no! .......yes. ........I don’t know what you’re asking?? WE’RE GONNA MAKE IT BETTER!!!”

-Roman, scoffing at the idea that anyone but him could create perfection: ‘Instant classic’ doesn’t mean ‘flawless flick!’ Logan, SO EAGER to be helpful and back roman up, what an adorable lil underappreciated nerd, i adore him: oH!!! It’s true!!!! Those two phrases are not synonymous!!!!!!1!

-“hans gets a PROPER Disney villain song” Roman r u sure u don’t have just a tiny crush on hans lol

-everything????? this was incredible i loved it send tweet

#sanders sides #sanders asides #thomas sanders #ts #tss #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #deceit sanders #ts spoilers #fander #fanders #i loved this so much #sanders side #sanders aside #frozen #morality sanders #logic sanders #princey sanders #creativity sanders #anxiety sanders #thomas sanders sides