#has made such vicious commentary ON the fandom

[relaxxattack]

Person who sent the Vriska ableism ask. I am currently rereading and at least up through act 5 Vriska is the only one to be Horrifically ableist to Tavros. Alot of the troll characters *are* ableist but they're not vicious about it in the way she is, she actively seeks out excuses to call him useless and better off dead and like. While other characters do make ableist remarks about them they're both significantly toned down and also not usually to his face. I'm saying this as a disabled person- Vriska is ableist to Tavros beyond what we see as "normal" on Alternia. (This isn't me trying to accuse you of downplaying it btw. I wouldn't remember exactly how bad she was if I wasn't rereading rn and also hyperaware of it as a wheelchair user)

(CONT.) The actual reason Vriska's ableism bothers me so much is partially bc I read with the directors commentary mod that lets me see what Hussie wrote for the books and Hussie repeatedly agrees with alot of the horrific shit Vriska says about Tavros so like. When people try to defend Vriska saying that shit it feels in a roundabout way like trying to defang REAL OPINIONS Hussie has about one of their only canonically disabled characters

if it makes you feel at all better, i don't think you can trust literally anything hussie says to actually be their 'real' opinion on anything ever (motherfucker thinks they're the dave strider of real life), but it seriously doesn't excuse any of that shit regardless, just because it's uncomfortable and terrible to have to watch, hear, or sit through.

i distinctly remember being incredibly uncomfortable whenever vriska was talking with or interacting with tavros, so i don't think you're wrong for saying that (it must be exceptionally worse for you, actually). also, as someone who often likes to take a dive into older fandom history-- i think you're completely right that the people who say that shit are trying to defang that stuff. worse, actually, i think they don't see what's wrong with it; there were a LOT of fucked up memes and posts and in-jokes that went around back in the day that people thought were fine just because they were 'funny'. like "oh no i'm not making fun of disability, i'm making fun of tavros, which is fine because he's a joke character in a webcomic", and then they refuse to unpack in their brains what that could possibly mean.

not that i'm saying older fandom was intentionally malicious, i'm well aware that 2012 was a different time in which rigorous self-examination and outspoken empathy wasn't as popular as it is now, and that sometimes when memes get really big people don't think about the message being sent behind them; but i also don't think it can really be excused with "oh it was 2012 and people made jokes like that". like, no, people (mostly hussie) can be aware of the sort of thing they're putting out into the world. it's not anything except deeply uncomfortable to write a series-wide extended joke about how a disabled character is useless/worthless and deserves abuse.

i guess basically what i'm saying (to people far in the past who probably already know this now, not to you, anon) is: critical media consumption, people. learn it.

you need to be able to examine the things you're reading/watching to see what it's saying to you, and what sort of things it's making you think or be comfortable with, what sort of person it's helping you become.

#hsmeta #tw ableism

[incarnateirony]

The butt slap was ad libbed according to the writer. The whole it was the bi bookend to the waitress slap was not a thing. SIGH. This stuff kind of proves how a lot of queer meta is a lot of guesswork that rarely pans out. Posters in the background that must mean a thing, suddenly don't mean that thing. Macho male posturing about triplets suddenly becomes "but who says they were women" like if queer men actually brag the same way straight men do! They don't! Triplets = women. Come on! CRINGES

I’ll take “passive aggressive ‘I’m a tired concerned fan’ masquerade” for exhibit 3, as if anything I’ve talked about was at all contingent on the ass slap, and as if I’ve been engaging at all in that corner, and as if honestly that detail was even marginally relevant beyond something to chuckle at with a smile.

Lmao even the genders of the triplets are literally irrelevant in this conversation, that’s the most hilarious fucking thing. This fandom is so wrapped up in its own hilarious and frankly, half-hysterical dialogue that they get caught in the strangest hair splitting that honestly, when you’ve never plugged into this ridiculous escalation culture? I don’t… think you realize how funny it is to watch.

How Funny-Unfunny. Laugh or you’ll cry. The fact that you even GALAXY BRAINED up this post with those arguments and really thought to bring this to my wall.

Literally guys what kind of ridiculous hetnorm culture have you been not just saturated into but trained into drawing *the most* regressive arguments and giving it platform? I recently just listed a whole assed adventure in literal queer representation history. Like, the way actual cinema history works. And it’s messy, and it’s sloppy, and half of you would flay the content, but it’s us, because people are messy.

Aside from that, whether or not you clearly haven’t watched Oz,as coffeebrainblog has pointed out, or any of the groundbreaking films that DID do the kind of bold representation work this fandom implicitly footstomps for – unless you really watch your share of documentaries – Tongues Untied, even if it’s intersectional with the black community; Learn. Your. LGBT. History. Before. Engaging.

If your entire premise ends up centrally featuring what is, essentially, alt-right viewpoints (eg not gay if the dicks don’t touch because ewww; three+somes in regards to generational closeted queer culture, or certain preformances of affection expected of characters in the show, all kinds of shit the LGBT community has talked to death and explained and featured and held LONG DIALOGUES WITH TREMENDOUS NUANCE) 

And here’s supposedly socially liberal tumblr or whatever with people explicitly going to 1. unearth these mindsets (if not actually having internalized them) 2. Delete content 3. use arguments entirely premised in like, ignorance of how many decades of LGBT discussion because someone literally chooses to elevate alt right thinking as if it’s even an argument angle to bring to the table in the year of our lord 2019.

You REALLY THINK a fucking middle aged LGBT male political rights activist who was writing polemic commentary about LGBT representation via incrementalization BEFORE SUPERNATURAL EVER EXISTED much less before he wrote on it – what, is writing this content for the alt right conservative demographic he drops Trumps America burns on at any time? Or that he has no idea how to arrange queer content, which I’m sure you have other hilariously disconnected-from-the-text-value arguments like this original anon. You know, it’s not a mix tape bro, because anyone in the actual represented character demographic would know what that is, it’s just a tape of songs Dean likes. Yes, literal argument of hilarity heard. No, absolutely not relevant to the discussions of our canon and not whatever the mythical monolithic GA this fandom dreams up yeets themselves to either.

So this shit? Yeah nah. Miss me with that fam. Watching people still trapped in hetnorm ideals and heavy internalized dialogues talk down their own content while disregarding actual lgbt media representative history and the political activist author on deck that has been open about this very same issue is some whole other form of Dumbass Circus people are choosing to perform.

Not to mention this new bizarre purity culture of representation people will only accept now that no actual rep guideline discussions ever came up with, we just want to be “represented” by people who don’t sometimes do bad things. And yes, the nature of conservative representation has also been dogged to death by Bobo, along with packaged heteronormative picture framing of gay men ala Pete Buttigieg. And no, what you think is “conservative representation” (eg, haven’t popped out in a coming out ceremony that was full central text, haven’t been illustrated in bed even if the straight couples don’t anymore, haven’t kissed even though… the straight… pairings… don’t…. ) Conservative means all these fucked up ideas framing this conversations right here and right now officer.

Well that and in the other corner the people that keep trying to bring incest into LGBT discussion. Which IS, according to representation guidelines and again, decades of internal discussion that is already WELL PAST any of the arguments someone with their Ao3 ship has come up with and spun this fandom in circles about – generally, it’s actually conservative rhetoric to try to include that in LGBT discussion too. Which is why it’s banned to begin with. It’s defamatory because it’s literally a slippery slope argument used to strip us of rights. And no, we don’t want it here, and we don’t claim it and we never will and this was settled decades ago kiddos, right alongside pedophilia and beastiality which, surprise, are all summarily forms of rape. No, “consensual incest” got put down like a fucked dog too years ago, don’t. Don’t start.

So even the fandom’s habit of trying to blend “all ships [in fanon] are equal” into “all ships are equal” in the representation field already pitched you more right-of-center than america is with the rest of the world, and then everything after that has been one downhill spiral anchored in a thousand representation activists that don’t know representation history. A lot have come around. Thankfully there’s a very low volume of y’all that haven’t started tuning in to the LGBT middle aged man you’re saying you’re here to represent. There’s poorly-trafficed failed tumblr threads and a handful of anons, and beyond that, a few people mistakenly choosing to cycle this regressive dialogue by what ultimately amounts to social pressures skewing perception. Now just waiting for everyone to catch on to how illusory those social pressures and perceptions are.

Literally ignoring decades of nuanced discussion of LGBT cinema media representation elevating voiceboxes of LGBT men, and the voice of an LGBT male author in the demographic, who was politically active before some people here knew how to read. What a bizarre “representation” discussion.

So before anyone starts talking representation in canon, why not go back and review queer canon. Yes, that big list I posted. That is literally a list of queer representation canon, long before you ever started yelling about a gay angel.

#i don't do stan bullshit #but if i stan one person #i stan bobo berens #his level of galaxy brain #actual galaxy brain #not like nonnie's idea of galaxy brain #has made such vicious commentary ON the fandom #and this bullshit right here #on such a high level it just whiffed by everybody #but that's a whole other topic I've banged on about #seriously guys #if you're going to act like this is about activism #educate yourselves on the history of it all #wtf #i can't emphasize this enough #bobo is actually dean and cas(visual) demographic #i'm p sure we won't find a 2 billion year old agender guy to ask how to rep #so middle aged is probably the fairest demographic for him too #respectively #but that all said #all this young activism #bobo was once a young activist too #and he wrote shit #and we've held entire discussions about this shit #and yet we're still sitting right fucking here #and now Bobo's an old but still progressive activist #and standing in front of ice walls #and then bringing you lovely queer content #and this is what the fandom does to the discussion #i can't

[elspethc22]

Why does it have to be Stiles OR Scott?

So another thought post brought on by reading comments on old fanfics...

This one was actually rather well done as it was a meta commentary on other fanfics and the fandom and why people feel the need to demonise Scott in order to love Stiles or bring Stiles and Derek together (now please don't hate me but I don't see the whole Sterek thing personally just because I think there was too much genuine distrust/ dislike between them for it to go past maybe friendship... eventually).

This one was 'what would Scott's reaction be if Stiles said he was joining Derek's pack at the end of S2?' and was basically Scott being like 'ok, I think it's the wrong choice but you'll figure that out and stop hating on me when Derek's done way worse shit'. And I absolutely agree!!

I have my moments, absolutely, of thinking 'come on Scott be a better friend' especially when he seems to prioritise Allison over his best friend. But that's not cause I think Scott's a bad character, and is absolutely cause Stiles is my favourite so once again that's my bias. But these posts and comments make me think about my own bias and think about why I react this way. I don't really think Scott is a bad friend, I think he's a teenager who gets his first girlfriend and like pretty much all teenagers that can be all consuming, even though he doesn't ever actually just leave Stiles behind. He just has more things to focus on all of a sudden. I think I just hate seeing Stiles hurt because he is only human in that he's not strong or fast and is so physically incapable in a fight and does not for the life of him know how or when to shut his mouth! So when I see Scott getting hurt I hate it but I also know his chances are much better.

I think it's also cause I relate to Stiles more as a person, with my own anxiety and inferiority and never feeling like I fit in as a teenager and being so physically and socially awkward and probably at times too 'possessive' of the people I have in my life that I'm scared of losing to change. I think though that Scott has some of these issues himself, it's just the way it presents is different so maybe I didn't pay as much attention as I did with Stiles.

I both like and hate having my biases show - I like being able to see where I've had an unconscious bias and then trying to better myself and learn and, hopefully, be a better person. I hate it cause I hate knowing that these biases could have made me do something to hurt someone or upset them or offend them. But then if I feel that way, imagine how they could feel?

Anyway, this is all to say that it's fascinating to see how some fans view the show and characters, but also scares me a little at how vicious some of them can get if you don't hold their point of view. I love most of the characters on this show, some more than others, and I like that they're all flawed cause how boring would it be if they were perfect? Some people seem to be too willing to overlook some characters' actions like they never happened - I think I've done that myself with Stiles, at least in my head, and I don't like it. Stiles 100% makes mistakes - I think, for me, one of his greatest character flaws is his need to protect his dad at the cost of others. I don't think he should hold Scott responsible for the Sheriff getting bumped by a car in S1 and he shouldn't take delight in hurting Scott in the next episode even though he only comes up with the idea to hurt Scott once he knows anger is a trigger and it can help them learn how Scott can control it. And even now I'm trying to justify Stiles' behaviour. All I can say there is we do see most if not all the male characters take their anger out physically in some way, not always on a person but in some way. And Stiles can be very cutting with his words, but I think Scott can hold his own and he lashes out verbally at Stiles like Stiles does to him. And I'm doing it again! But most of Scott's actions I could probably defend as well.

Going back to Stiles flaw though - rewatching Night School last night and Stiles' continued unwillingness to call in his dad and the cops to help is not ok - he's not only willing to sacrifice his own life but the lives of others? It reminded me of an old Charmed episode where someone asks the sisters if a building is burning do you save 1 sibling or 3 strangers and they all say 1 sibling at the start then 3 strangers at the end. I think this is completely natural for him to be scared for his dad especially after losing his mum but still not the greatest, especially when the others think it's just Derek with a weapon.

anyway... for anyone STILL reading at this point, thank you. and I'll wrap up now.

At the end of the day, no matter what, I believe this show was about these two. In whatever way, they are the heart of the show and their relationship is pure - and it's telling that when everything falls apart in S5 the first person Scott goes to to try and fix things is Stiles, cause even when they have other priorities and girls, it comes down to the two of them.

#sciles friendship goals #sciles #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #teen wolf otp #teen wolf #scott and stiles #scott and stiles friendship goals #teen wolf fandom #I will always love Scott and Stiles #I love them both #Protect Scott and Stiles at all costs #How do people hate Scott? #How do people hate Stiles?

[grimmseye]

Business

Read on Ao3 Here

Rating: Gen

Fandom: She-ra

Relationships: Hordak & Entrapta, Hordak/Entrapta (pre-relationship

Chapter Characters: Hordak, Entrapta

Chapter Tags/Warnings: Once again, 1500+ words of Hordak’s thoughts about Entrapta, Season 1, The Battle of Bright Moon

— — — — — — — —

 They were so close — the closest they have ever been. Outside was a breathtaking scene: the glow of the Fright Zone, black clouds funneling about, shards of red light fracturing the sky and casting his empire in its glow.

 It was marvelous.

 As he stood on a high balcony, Hordak realized he couldn’t recall the last he’d breathed open air. His days would keep him locked tight inside his lab, occupied with projects or pain, but this was a sight to behold. He only wished he could see its true glory, in what were soon to be the ruins of Bright Moon. Were his armor functioning properly, he would be there now, commanding troops in the field to ensure victory.

 As it was, he could only wait and direct from afar. Force Captain Catra had proved to be an effective leader, despite her record showing no such conditioning. All of Shadow Weaver’s focus had gone to She-ra,neglecting four cadets in favor of a future traitor. And yet, he’d found she needed little intervention in his observations of her work. This had been her discovery, after all. Catra could be trusted with the frontal assault on Bright Moon. It was her fellow captains who needed a guiding hand.

 Almost on cue, his communications pad chirped. It was an alarm, a reminder. His troops were due to make their first strike soon.

 Hordak took one last, lingering glance at the sky. It was an image he hoped his brother would one day see through his eyes, the fruits of his labor. And not just his, but those he held at his side. Force Captain Catra, whom his empire had raised, who had in turn found the key to their success and led them to victory now.

 He committed this moment to memory, and then headed for the Black Garnet chamber.

 Princess Entrapta had commandeered the room for this assault. A web of monitors had been arranged to display various video feeds through his soldiers’ helmets. They were still in the Whispering Woods, nearly unrecognizable through the blizzard. From a speaker in a console below came a voice: “Arriving in Bright Moon in ten minutes. Force Captains Catra, Scorpia, Howler, Grizzlor, are you ready?”  

 Catra was the first to respond. “Ready. Cannons will be set to charge two minutes to arrival.”  

 The others echoed similar statements. As they spoke, the audio feed buzzed out as it was overridden by Catra’s line. “Entrapta, report.”  

 At that, a grate moved. Hordak’s eye ridge lifted as he saw a stout form drop from the ceiling, hair extended like great limbs to carry her body from above and below. She swung in midair, going from a headfirst drop to let her shoes hit the floor, bouncing to the console and leaning down towards its mic. “Everything is going great!” She chirped. “The power drain has stabilized. It should only take a few minutes for the Moonstone to become vulnerable; without it’s magical support, it will become brittle enough for focused fire to shatter it.”

 It was unexpected how her voice went soft instead of peaking into a shout. Imp’s recordings had given a certain impression of Dryl’s princess, the little fiend finding it amusing to capture her excitable moments and shriek them back into Hordak’s ears. Yet now, from her profile, Hordak saw her face go blank.

 A tendril of hair pulled her mask into place, and she continued, voice still chipper, “Anyway, you said I should tell you when there’s nothing new to report so: there’s nothing new to report! Good luck Catra!” She toggled a button, linking another communications line. “And good luck Scorpia!”

“Awww, thanks. Good luck with your, um, science!” came Force Captain Scorpia’s voice.

 “Thanks!” Entrapta said. Another lock of hair turned a knob, quieting the audio feeds until they dimmed to a background murmur.

 Hordak took that moment to announce himself, heavy footfalls catching the princess’ attention. He folded his arms behind his back, keeping his posture straight and looking down his nasal ridge towards her as she turned.

 “Oh, Lord Hordak! Hello!” Her mask flipped up in an instant, and rather than a bow she greeted him with a beaming grin. “Have you come to observe the experiment?”

 He might have corrected her if there weren’t more pressing matters. Instead, Hordak narrowed his eyes, giving a curt, “Indeed.”

 “Great!” A tendril of hair reached for his wrist. He growled and smacked it away, making Entrapta cringe. “Oh, sorry!” She gave an apologetic grin, redirecting her hair to point to the monitors. “I meant to tell you that you can watch everything right here. There’s audio as well but I’d appreciate it if you used the headset instead of the speakers, all the chatter makes it hard to focus.”

 He grunted, finding the headset as she requested. He left one ear uncovered, listening to the stream of voices through the other. All the while, eyes tracked the princess as she worked. From time to time she would spot him looking, give a smile, and then return to her task.

 It was unusual. Hordak was used to his gaze earning him flinches and pale complexions, but Princess Entrapta hardly seemed to mind his presence. She narrated as she worked, a stream of noise he found far more interesting than the captains’ pre-battle checklist.

 Her commentary about the Garnet’s status had his gaze shifting to it, the looming crystal now rigged with cables. They couldn’t bore into it, but the First Ones’ tech the princess had acquired allowed them to somehow integrate tech without installing ports. How Entrapta was combining magic with technology, he wasn’t completely certain.

 It was aggravating.

 “Princess Entrapta,” Hordak called, then realized that in looking away, he’d lost track of her. It took him a few moments for him to spot her, dangling upside down where one cable ran into the ceiling. Her gaze was directed towards him, so he continued, “I would like you to walk me through precisely what you have done with the Black Garnet.”

 The haste of their mission meant she hadn’t submitted a proper report. It was humiliating to not understand how they’d gotten this close to victory. To think that this princess had knowledge he lacked, on this primitive world.

 When he realized she wasn’t speaking, Hordak scowled. “That was an      order.    I hope I do not need to remind you that authority in the Fright Zone is held by me.” And not any wretched princess.    

 “Oh, I understand!” Entrapta said, her voice muffled. He looked to her again, finding her hands covering her mouth, eyes squinted up like she was — smiling?  

 She flipped in midair, landing heavily on the floor and bouncing in place, her hands squeezing around a thick lock of hair thrown in front of her shoulder. “Sorry, I just — you want me to explain?” Her voice came out in a gush, eyes wide.

 “That is what I said,” Hordak ground out. “In as much detail as possible.”

 There was a — squealing. He squinted, realized she was emitting the noise, and was about to inquire about her condition when she leaped for a table. She scooped no less than four data pads up, flipping rapidly through each one and shoving them in his face. He squinted, pushing one tendril back so he could actually take in the screen.

 It was, to put it simply, brilliant. She had to have been experimenting with First Ones’ tech for a long time to have such a sophisticated understanding of how it worked. She was a princess without a Runestone, and yet her breakdown of magic nearly had it making sense. Despite its erratic nature, there were rules it followed — the conditions that made a storm, that formed gales lightning. It was more than he could process all at once, he would need more detail in the future, but the broad picture? Suddenly magic had stopped being something volatile and unknowable, and started being another force of nature.

 It was a ping to his direct communication line that finally interrupted them, irritation spiking through him before he remembered what was on the line. Time had slid by without his noticing.

 He answered to a display of Force Captain Catra, a smile twisting her lips.

 “Lord Hordak,” she started, “we’re two minutes out from Bright Moon. Cannons are charging currently. After the first volley we’ll be sending in the first wave of foot soldiers. We’ll blaze through the city and move directly for the castle from the front. Aerial transport will deliver our troops from the sides and back. I’ll be occupying She-ra while our drones go for the Moonstone.” Her smile grew, vicious. “We’re ready.”

 There was such vitriol in those last words. Hordak echoed her expression, teeth bared in a smile. “Then proceed.”

 The video ended, and he turned his gaze back to the various screens to watch soldiers take their final positions, illuminated by the cannons’ glow.

 “When we are victorious,” Hordak said, looking down at Entrapta, “I will require a full report on what we’ve just discussed.”

 She was still smiling at him. Discomfort started to well in his chest, chased by annoyance. This wasn’t the sharp grin that came with new discovery or conquering enemies — it was soft. He couldn’t comprehend what could possibly be provoking such an expression.

 “Sure thing,” she said. After a pause, she added, “Thanks, by the way. I don’t usually get to talk with people about this stuff. Bow kind of got it, but we really only talked for a few minutes.” Her smile faded for a moment, but then her expression brightened. “But Catra and Scorpia ask me about my projects, and Scorpia even listens, even if she doesn’t get it. And you do. Get it, I mean.” The smile grew. “It’s been fun talking with you.”

Fun. He squinted at her. “This is for the purpose of conquering Etheria, not for fun,” he sneered, crossing his arms.

 “Maybe not, but I still enjoyed it at least.” She shrugged, then walked over towards the monitors. On the screen, through one soldier’s visor, he could see as they broke the boundary of the woods, the cliffs of Bright Moon rising up and topped with its opulent castle. The scene was bathed in the toxic glow of plasma, brightening as each cannon signaled its charge.

 Entrapta flipped her mask down as the first shots rained against the cliffs, and into the city built upon them.

#entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #spop #she ra #my writing

[babbushka]

Please read the whole thing ❤️

Hey everyone, Zannah here. 

I’ve taken some time and stepped away from this platform after all the drama that happened a month or so ago, and in that time I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Thank you all so much, for your kindness and support in allowing me to unplug for a little while, I really needed that break just for my own sanity. I hope that in this time, you all have been doing as well as you can in this very stressful year. I’d like to take this brief moment and thank my most dear friends who have been my rock. This experience has shown me that good friends, truthful friends, are hard to come by. If you have them, please make sure they know how much you love them.

You know, I’ve been on this platform for just about ten years. For a few of those years, I’ve been here in the AD community, and I can honestly say I’ve never had a more negative experience in my life, from the actions that I’ve witnessed and experienced. I stayed away from people I didn’t like, I didn’t read fic I didn’t like, I avoided content and artwork that upset me, because I’m an adult. And foolishly I was expecting others to do the same, because as I always say, your internet experience is up to you to cultivate. You are responsible for no one else’s actions other than your own.

I’ve dealt with people coming into my inbox condemning me for the way I interpret fictional characters from day one. I’ve dealt with people calling me slurs and names, telling me to kill myself, telling me they were going to kill me themselves, that I deserve awful unspeakable things, for not agreeing with the way that they interpret a fictional character. Those were all easy to ignore, because they were always, always either about my Jewishness, or about the Jewishness of my characters, and I have no time for bigots, I just don’t.  

People got angry with me for having boundaries in not wanting to write certain things, or for not wanting to write them in the specific way that they wanted me to. People got angry with me for being frustrated, that time and time again I was being treating as some writing machine and not a person, by them not giving me the basic respect of checking the small list of tropes and themes I’m uncomfortable writing which I’ve made so accessible every time. Time and time again I became frustrated, being asked questions that I’ve made clear on so many occasions, that I was uncomfortable answering, or held negative opinions of.

And that was frustrating, because it was a level of entitlement I’d never seen before – people wanted my writing, but only if it satisfied their needs with little regard to my own feelings, and called me a bully when I didn’t comply. Still, it was just about the writing, and I could ignore that.

But then, strangers started getting angry with me because I had blocked them for whatever reason from seeing my content. Strangers got angry with me for standing up for myself when people tried to pull stunts in the inbox. When people asked me for advice or my opinion on a whole assortment of topics, they said I was being a bully because they didn’t like what I had to say. A difference of opinion is not a personal attack, but it seems as though many people haven’t grasped that concept. People said I was betraying others’ trust by answering anonymous asks on the internet, something that has exactly 0 risk or stakes in sending. People said I was a bitch when I tried to offer genuinely constructive and critical responses. People got angry that I blocked their IP address for sending me unwanted, anonymous, negative hot takes that I didn’t ask for, nor that I cared about. People said I never took accountability for anything, when in reality they just wanted me to change my mind about certain topics, and got angry when I held true to my convictions. 

I hope you can all imagine why I didn’t respond pleasantly. Like every content creator on this website and on any website, we don’t owe anyone anything. I don’t owe anyone anything. I don’t owe anyone writing, I don’t owe anyone answers, I don’t owe anyone attention or time. And something that I’ve learned most of all, is that I don’t owe people the pleasure of indulging in flame wars that get brought to my feet. I am not interested in wasting my time trying to defend myself and my good name, against people who have already made up their mind about me from a few misunderstandings, a single interaction, or a one-sided and angry perspective. I’m not interested in wasting my time over things that I know in my heart, aren’t true.

One thing people sometimes tell me, is that I was “rude to a perfectly genuine anon.” I would like to say this; there is absolutely no way for me to know the intention of any anon, other than the way the message comes across. And I’ll be the first to admit, often intention is misinterpreted! When that happens and the person reaches out, I always, every time, have apologized. And just as easy as it is for me to misinterpret someone’s genuine ask as rude or offensive, it is easy for my genuine responses to be interpreted as rude or clipped. Tone is difficult over the internet -- tone is difficult in text where these people are anonymous strangers and I have no idea who they are or with which intentions they’re coming from. 

That being said, people can still say hurtful things without the intention of doing so. People have said unintentionally hurtful things to me, and I now realize that I have said things which have been hurtful to others. Good intentions mean nothing, when real hurt and pain is caused. To those people, I would like to give a genuine and sincere apology. I hope, as all I can ever do is hope, that folks here know I never come from a place of malice. Moving forward, I will do my best to respond in ways that I hope will come across as respectful as possible, even when disagreeing. I believe the only legitimate form of apology is changed behavior, and I intend to make that change so that this space can be more inclusive and welcoming, as I have only ever wished it to be. 

Because, well, I like to think that we have made a welcoming and inclusive space, a space where we are able to respect one another’s boundaries. I am just one person, just a girl with a blog on the internet who has tried to forge a community of peers and friends. I am not a politician with a PR team approving my every post, there are no mods here to help me interact with you guys. I’m just a girl who writes fanfic and posts it on the internet. I write fanfic that makes me happy, that I’m proud of, for me, and I am happy to share it with you. Especially because through that fanfic, I’ve met incredible wonderful people, and I’m thankful for all of you.

Through having this blog, I’ve met people that I consider to be lifelong friends -- people that I plan on building a future with, and for that I’m forever grateful. I’ve met people who have become inspired to write their own fanfic or start their own blogs, and even when it’s a subject matter that’s not something I’m interested in or one that I personally don’t like, I have always, always been encouraging. Because this is a hobby, this is something people should be doing for fun, because they want to, and no other reason. So when I see claims that “I’ve forced people to quit writing” or someone saying “I quit the fandom because of you”, I know that that’s simply not true. The only way you quit writing is by not writing anymore. It may feel better to blame someone for the reasons why, but no one can make you do anything except yourself. 

Similarly, I’ve seen people saying that I’ve “ruined their favorite character” and to that all I have to say is what I’ve always been saying; if you don’t like my writing, you don’t have to read it. If you don’t like my interpretation of characters, you don’t have to consume the content I put out. If you don’t like my opinions, you don’t have to follow me. People don’t “ruin characters” for anyone else, when you simply avoid the content you don’t like, and focus on (or make) the content you do like.

Have I been confused when someone shares my story with a tag that didn’t make sense and so I reached out to them privately to address the issue? Yes. 

Have I expressed my negative feelings about fics and the trends of fandom in the comfort and boundaries of my own blog, in posts that I remove when I felt that they no longer were worth keeping up? Yes.

Have I expressed my concerns regarding certain tropes, themes and kinks, opinions formed by my own firsthand experience with them, coupled with the potential damaging effects they may have on a young and impressionable audience like some of those in this fandom? Yes. 

I don’t deny any of these things, because I am not ashamed of any of these things. You don’t have to like it, but that does not make me a monster, nor does it make me a tormenter of this fandom as I have been called.

Tormenting people in fandom is making long scathing posts publicly blasting someone because you’re angry that they blocked you. Or making long public callout posts to warn others in the fandom of my many crimes – crimes which actually aren’t crimes at all – and whipping up a frenzy of frothing at the mouth hate. Or reblogging a post and hijacking it with long commentary about something that has nothing to do with you in an attempt to shame the original poster. Or getting screenshots of private conversations where someone is joking with a person who they once thought was a friend, that are taken out of context and framing them to fit a narrative you’re spinning against them. That’s torment.

This fandom has the most vicious and warped mob mentality that I have ever seen. I’ve seen it in the treatment of Adam and Joanne, I’ve seen it in the treatment of John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran. I’ve seen it in the treatment of other bloggers, and well, I can say I’ve seen it and experienced it myself. I worry for the future of the fandom, when this sort of behavior is rewarded and celebrated, because people are so quick to simply agree with someone’s impassioned anger instead of thinking critically for themselves.

However (and this is the ‘but’ of the whole post), I cannot make this post and make all these statements without saying that this community has also been a place of kindness and support and acceptance, and I’m genuinely touched by everyone who has ever gone out of their way to talk to me. I thought long and hard about deleting this blog. I thought about just packing up and leaving our corner of the web, or moving to other platforms. I even put out a little announcement on my ao3 that I was done, I was out of here. But it didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t feel right to abandon all the incredibly beautiful, talented, welcoming, supportive and kind people that had found some peace in this corner of the web. I was absolutely blown away by the sweet messages that were sent to my inbox, and my DMs, the posts that were circulated written by friends and strangers alike literally brought me to tears. 

I know that many people here do not like me, and want nothing to do with me, and that’s okay. I know that my content is not for everyone, my opinions are not going to be lined up with everyone else’s, that’s okay too. People have not liked me from the beginning lol, that’s nothing new to me. I have always said, that I would continue to write even if no one read my stuff, and that’s still true. You are in charge of your internet experience, follow the people and consume the content that makes you happy, and block out the things that don’t. 

If you are reading this and you are one of the kind people, one of the supportive and understanding people who are on my side, I cannot say thank you enough. The time I took away made me realize that there are much larger problems in the world than strangers on the internet having negative opinions about me, and that kindness will always be more powerful than hate. The community we have built together means more to me than the bullshit other people try and start.

So, all of this is to say, that I’m back.

Some things are going to be a little different around here; I’m very very sorry I know I said I would never do this but I’ve turned the anonymous function off for the time being just for the sake of my sanity, and I’ve updated my FAQ. Writing will no longer be posted directly to tumblr, but rather a redirect link from AO3 will be posted making all tag-list requests null and void.

But other things will remain the same. We’re still going to have sleepovers, I’m still going to accept prompts (but please give me some time before we get back to sinday, as I’m still in a little bit of unease about all of this). I’m still going to be talking about my personal AU, and I’m still going to be uploading fanart and gifs and memes and shitposts and answering your questions and giving you the love you all have shown to me over the years.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for giving me the time to say my peace. I know it’s a long post, but I’ve been sitting on these thoughts for quite some time, and I’m relieved to finally express them. Please know that my posting this isn’t intended to stir up anything, or cause any drama, or relive any pain. 

I just missed you all very dearly. I hope that we can move onward and upward together, a babbushka 2.0 of sorts. It’s an exciting time to be in this fandom, and I am looking forward to experiencing everything together.

I’m sending you all of my love. 

[forestwater87]

Tales of Fandom Past: Harry Potter and the Shipping Slaves

So, in my spare time I read a lot, lot . . . lot of fandom_wank. A lot. More than should be possible, considering it’s a dead website linking mostly to other dead websites, but I’m a woman addicted to drama who has the gift of long periods of quiet at work, so I’m working my way through almost 2 decades of fan history and it’s just fascinating.

Fandom, back in the ‘00s? Was so much more wild than it is now.

Plagiarism! Fake suicides! Fraud! Theft of real people’s actual money! Stalkers, both real and made up! Fanfic writers so popular they finagled it into mountains of free stuff and a book deal! Everyone was really gross and homophobic! 

There were no rules, and that made it a terrible and incredibly fun time to be part of a fandom.

And we’re not talking enough about it. I guess that’s where I come in.

I’m interested in telling these stories -- not in the incredible level of detail of the MsScribe Saga or the Cassie Claire Plagiarism Debacle, but enough for us to all have a moment to think: Hold on, what the fuck was fandom doing during the entirety of the Bush administration?

A lot, it turns out. Much of it totally wild.

Today’s topic: Shipping wars are as bad as slavery

Date: August 2005

Fandom: Harry Potter

Supposed topic(s): Shipping, canon

Content warning(s): Accidental and ironic diminishing of slavery, complaints about political correctness and free speech, racism in general, lots of hurt feelings and drama

"Now, I'm not black, but boy, do I feel for the black people. If I lived in the 1800's, I wouldn't keep slaves, and if someone has a difference of opinion than me now, that's fine, believe what you want."

Background

In August of 2005, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been out for a little less than a month, the film version of The Goblet of Fire wouldn’t come out until November, and the last Potter movie had been released over a year ago. In terms of shipping, fans had just discovered, to either their delight or horror, that Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione were canon; while some would continue to hold out hope that there would be a last-minute reversal of expectations, most of the fandom both on and off the internet was in agreement: 

The shipping wars were over, and the Harry/Hermione fans (a.k.a., H/Hr fen, or “Harmonians”) had decisively lost.

The Harmonians’ ire seemed to have been pretty evenly split between J.K. Rowling -- who they felt had let them down -- and the R/Hr and H/G shippers (a.k.a. “Herons” and “Chocolateers,” respectively, though I’m not sure anyone actually used those terms for themselves; they appear to have been given from without), who were taking a victory lap. Depending on one’s perspective, this was either a long-overdue celebration by two groups of shippers who’d faced the fandom’s ire for approximately 5 years and were now vindicated, or it was the tactless gloating of sore losers who were thrilled to get one over on their hated enemies. Either way, tensions were no lower just because canon had decided the victors, and the battleground seemed to shift from the books to the movies -- where shippers of all kinds were in debate over which romance would win out onscreen.

Enter Emerson Spartz, a teenager in charge of one of the most popular fansites at the time and king of creating controversy . . . who had very strong opinions about shipping, and Harmonians in particular.

The Inciting Incident

Emerson had already incited the ire of Harmonians by calling them “delusional” in an infamous interview with J.K. Rowling. The wound was still raw, having come shortly after the release of Half-Blood Prince, and in some circles Emerson was already Public Enemy #1.

Therefore, when Emerson was one of two “anti”-Harmonians interviewed in a San Francisco Chronicle article about the shipping wars, some fans cried foul.

More responses can be found in a summary of the incident here, but personal favorites include a letter sent to the author of the SF Chronicle piece:

The majority of Harry/Hermione shippers are not merely upset that we didn't get what we wanted in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That makes us sound childish. While I'm forced to admit that there has been much bile and vitriol posted on various H/Hr shipping sites, the majority of us are reasonable people. What really hurt our feelings was the way the Mugglenet/TLC article made it seem as if J. K. Rowling herself felt we were really dense, missing her "anvil-sized clues." Emerson's subsequent "apology" for the harsh words directed at the Harry/Hermione 'shipper community was a non-apology, which you [the author of the SFC article] would have known if you had done more than just take his word that he apologized. He simply used the "apology" as an opportunity to issue another dig. I suppose not much better can be expected from a child of 18 who has suddenly become a bit of a celebrity. But I do expect better from a colleague; a professional writer. ...

You have assisted one side of the argument and failed to represent the other. Did you attempt to interview the webmasters of any Harry/Hermione shipping sites or did you merely cut and paste posts that were pointed out to you by Emerson and Melissa? Your article shows no evidence that you made any attempt to give the other side equal time, so to speak, and as a result, you have contributed to the perceprtion [sic] that ALL H/Hr 'shippers are irrational, bitter, spoiled brats. And that's quite unfair. (Hughes, 2005, paras. 13 & 18)

Or this comment in a Harmonian forum by a disappointed reader: 

History is written by the victorius [sic] (or something like that), isn't it how the saying goes?. I'm afraid we are witnessing it firsthand. Herons feel they are the winners on this war, and as such, they feel they have a right to treat us anyway they want to, and they think we have no weapons to defend ourselves since even J.K seems to have sided with them. Even if most of us are pretty reasonable people, at this point anything we say in regards of J.K's apparent disregard for our feelings (thoughts, opinions, whatever), will be gladly taken as the lashing out of sore losers. ::sigh:: I say, just ignore Emerson, he's just some lost kid desperate for attention. And how good can the guy who wrote this article be if he didn't bother to check the facts before he went slandering us?, not much me thinks. (Remolina, 2005, para. 21)

These responses, while perhaps silly or overblown, were not enough to make history. That honor belonged to a Harmonian going by the username Panther.

How, one might wonder?

The Blowout

Ya know, come to think of it, people like Emerson were probably the kinda people that started slavery. I mean, think about it, they thought the slaves were animals, just because they had different colored skin. Emerson thinks we're stupid and delusional for having different beliefs. Get the similarities here, people? Now, I'm not black, but boy, do I feel for the black people. If I lived in the 1800's, I wouldn't keep slaves, and if someone has a difference of opinion than me now, that's fine, believe what you want. (Panther, 2005, paras. 23-25)

The reaction was immediate and explosive from Panther’s fellow Harmonians. Some understood and empathized with Panther’s view; they saw it as a bit hyperbolic, but agreed with the underlying point being made.

I can see where they were going with this...a different analogy would probably have been better. Maybe the religious persecution during Mary Tudor's reign, or the Salem Witch Hunt/Trials, the religous [sic] crusades, the wars in Bosnia etc. We harmonians are being "persecuted" for our differening viewpoints/perspectives. (Anndee Granger, 2005, paras. 30-32)

The belief that H/Hr shippers were being persecuted for their beliefs was a pervasive one, and extended to fans, Emerson and other fandom “authorities,” and the author herself.

No, what we are experiencing is not at the same extreme level because of the world we now live in, but the base level is still the same. The base level taking us back to different beliefs and views without the ability to be heard in the correct manner, and yes it does feel like a form of persecution. (*Under your Skin, 2005, paras. 36-37)

While not on the same level as slavery, the intolerance of their ship did call to mind other examples of discrimination and bigotry:

Of course no one is dying because of this, but all in all we are being persecuted for our different beliefs. "Bloody" Mary Tudor, killed Protestants because she so hated their different views on Christ. This is an extreme indeed, but the mentality behind it, the vitrol [sic], is the same. (Andee Granger, 2005, para. 38)

This extreme point of view, while widespread, was not universal among the Harmonians. Many of them were . . . understandably appalled by the comment and those agreeing with it:

No wonder other people find it easy to portray us as reactionary and vicious. Some of you bloody well are. (jane99, 2005, para. 43)

I agree that it is very vicious and out in left field . . . Slavery was an oppressive movement for hundreds of years, resulting in the deaths of millions. I would hardly regard that with 'shipper treatment, nowadays. However, the schoolyard bully is a very appropriate analogy, in my opinion. Hopefully you understand the difference. (myrhlyn, 2005, para. 52)

The Response

NarcissaM brought the subject to the outside world by posting it in fandom_wank -- a defunct LiveJournal specializing in fandom drama, which now exists primarily in archives -- and the result was universally disbelief and amusement. The responses ranged from insightful, if crass, commentary . . .

Emerson did not kill your dog, tell you that Santa wasn't real, and touch you in your swimsuit areas. And the more I read the more I'm convinced that H/Hr fans aren't angry because what he said was insulting, they're angry because what he said was *accurate*. (iczer6)

I'm also wondering where keeping slaves was a matter of, y'know, people having different beliefs, and not the subjugation of an entire culture by another which had more money and more powerful weapons, and needed a lot of manual labor but didn't want to pay for it. (slackerbitch)

To good old-fashioned sarcasm and snark:

That's not the stupidest thing I've ever read, but it's in the top five. (Anonymous)

That's right. There is a conspiracy, Hermionians! The world is against you and want to take a shit on all your fan fiction! XD (Anonymous “Mary”)

QUICKLY! SOMEBODY CALL A WAAAAAHBULANCE! WE HAVE INTERNET PERSECUTION! (aerobot)

F_W, known for good and ill as a site that takes nothing seriously except the desire to laugh at themselves and especially others, took the slavery comment and ran with it:

So how much does a healthy H/Hr fan with good teeth go for these days? (xero-sky)

Which H/Hr's are in the big house and which ones are working in the fields? ... We didn't land on Plymouth rock, Plymouth rock landed on us! *throws up the fist* (prettyveela)

If we're going to start enslaving delusional people, I want to start with the scientologists. Who's with me? (ladybirdsleeps)

Big Daddy Heron:*hits the H/Hr fan with a whip* Your ship name is H/Hr, H/Hr! Say it! H/Hr shipper: H-Harmony (sewingmyfish)

Bully for the slaves! In fact they would have been sooo much better off if all we 21st century people could trade places with the whites that lived back then. Not only could we tell them to get a life, none of us would have kept slaves! (chief)

You know, just like slaves, they have to work out in the hot sun for no wages and be beaten and whipped and raped and sold like cattle deal with an author not writing the fictional pairing they wanted. (slackerbitch)

Mere hours after the controversy was reported to F_W, a user named ahiru created some icons to celebrate the controversy:

And with some more chuckles about the inherent ridiculousness of such a claim, the fandom and its onlookers dropped the subject.

For a few months.

The Aftermath

In November 2005, some users rediscovered the icons made by ahiru and found them insensitive and racist. This is immediately reported to F_W not once but twice, and the folks there were no longer entertained, responding with less amusement than outright hostility. A couple of F_Wankers understood to at least some extent why there might be people who didn’t love the icons, though they did generally come down on the side of parody and feel those upset were missing the point of the joke. A lot of F_Wankers were upset about political correctness and free speech, and were eager to point out the oppression faced by other groups of people.

Someone anonymous entered the fray with racist guns blazing, and was summarily eviscerated by gleeful F_Wankers.

After that, the dust settled, and all was quiet on the fandom front . . . at least, until the next inevitable disaster.

Further Reading

The Interview that sparked the Emerson outrage

An offshoot of Harmony that believes in Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson’s undeniable chemistry and romance

A collection of Harmonian controversies, 2006-2010

Other HP controversies

#harry potter #hp #jkr #rowling #fandom_wank #f_w #shipping wars #shipping #fandom history #tw: racism #long post #very long post #this is mostly a rounding up of quotes and summarizing the wank report #i do realize that #but this stuff deserves to be remembered #cut out some editorializing in the aftermath section about how f_w kinda come across as super huge dicks #but i'm trying to be objective here so #i got out of my way to say 'wank' as little as possible #it's one of those words that hurts to type #proving that i am not immune to finding something cringeworthy either #i don't have a consistent tw tag I'm sorry #no one is going to read this but i think it's interesting #i love fandom history and i'm not the best person to tell these stories but here we are #i guess i could just link to the wank wiki and let people read it for themselves #but that's a lot of link hunting and it's easier when it's all in one place i think

[lucidpantone]

Hey, lucid! Regarding your commentary on the kynicole’s YouTube video comments.

I have to say that after the massive car crush season 4 was (I am literally getting angry at Wtfock as I am typing this) there is at least one thing that i am glad for and it is the conversations that have happened and still happening regarding representation in the media, accountability of creators to the audience and also accountability of the audience to the pieces of media they choose to consume.

There was a lot of animosity in the way the fandom treated each other during that time and that was painful to see but saying that I am glad that finally voices that were shut down before, were heard. People came forward and spoke about the pain that comes with creation of such insulting content. And those voices reached the ears of white male board members who are used to make decisions behind closed doors with money as their only motivator. And they didn’t achieve their goal. And I glad for that. Because they didn’t get the level of financial gain they were expecting and they were forced to listen.

I only wish that the fandom didn’t start expressing that aggression towards each other but rather gather that energy and target the advertisers which are the soft spot of Wtfock. I wondered why no one ever reached out to them. Why no one just said hey what you are endorsing is creating a massive uproar and it hurts people. If there is a lesson for us as a fandom to learn is next time just reach the sponsors. I have been in a fandom before where that really worked. If you wanna make a production company pay for their insulting content hit them where it hurts and stop making the fandom a lions’ den where people are afraid to express opinions.

The fandom has to be a safe space where even wrong opinions are met with educational response and not a stone attack. Because no nothing changes with shooting. It is not about people who already know the truth to just discuss between each other, it is about those people educating, opening the eyes to the ones that choose or are too previleged to see.

Take the movie Fight Club for example. The solution to fighting an oppressive situations is not coming by becoming a rebellious aggressor who fights just for the sake of fighting.

Thoughts after the cut

Thanks for this anon it really hit home because it took me back to the beginning of s4. I think its been a long enough time where I feel I can talk about this and be frank. I think s4 really exposed some of the ugly truths that were happening in the wtFOCK fandom. I think before s4 they were definitely cliques. I remember a period of time where those quizzes would go around and it was the same top group of blogs that were in on the joke. That never really happens now and a lot of those people left the fandom. Those cliques felt very evident going into filming s4 and I blame wtfock for this.  Because most people that extra-d weren't going into filming thinking they would have to harbor this secret for wtfock that Moyo had been passed up for Kato. It also created this extremely weird vibe where all these extras that were mostly young white women stepped in to defend wtfock and their decision to cast Romi without actually knowing what the season would be about.I kinda of get it to ya know? Imagine you have a good friend and they make a questionable decision you tell your friend what you think but you also wish them well and hope for the best. So I get why so many mostly young white women felt the need to defend wtFOCK but there is defending a casting decision and asking your mutuals to give it a shot and then there is silencing the effected class of people that were offended. I also saw a lot of condescending attitudes concerning people that brought up why utilizing Kato as a vehicle to tell a story about racism was deeply tone deaf and in the current climate and that it felt like a slap in the face. Instead of listening people fought back saying “you can be white and still experience aspects of racism”. Yea we get that but that's not what people were saying. Perfect example Ava/Mailin storyline happening in Druck now.People were saying using whiteness as a vehicle to explore a topic that is deeply penetrating society and a campaign for change did not need “whiteness” to validate it. It was a story that should have been told via the eyes of a party member of the effected class. PERIOD. I just think people, particularly those who extra-d and hard core stans couldn't imagine that their fav remake would create something like this..... I really do believe they believe they thought that wtfock had a better moral compass then they actually did and so they followed them blindly down the path of self destruction and in turn paid a price. It was sad to see how prominent the divide between the defenders and the critics became and it got really ugly but I think it got really ugly because the defenders wouldn't listen they kept hope going for too long they got sucked into this vicious cycle. In the end a lot of people left the fandom, a lot of people took a hiatus off tumblr and honestly I dont blame them. I am not here to defend people that literally belittled the voices of poc who had valid critiques of the season but I saw some stuff that made me really sad. Like I was on twitter and one of the big players on there shamed someone via their government name and I was like really? and it got so bad I just felt like people wanted blood at no cost and I just thought like guys stop already. Stop kicking this person while they are down. Like their fucking name was everywhere on twitter, insta and here and its like I think they got the point. You wanted to bury them and you did. So just stop now. Like you said anon I dont want to be part of a space (virtual or not) that makes others feel unsafe and s4 made the fandom very unstable because of the divide it caused. I like you am also happy that wtFOCK paid the price mainly because if this season would have even been slightly good those white dudes would have never got the wake up call they deserved but it makes me sad for the cast (which were obviously upset) and certain crew members (that I heard spoke up and were ignored). I hate that those people had to be collateral damage so a bunch of white dudes could realized that maybe they do indeed still harbor racist tendencies and suffer from inflated egos and am sad that s4 basically tore the fandom apart but I will say this. I really like the vibe of the tag now. I think its funny other skam remake stans come into the tag talking trash about wtFOCK s4 and am like people we talk more shit about s4 then other remakes do like aint no one defending s4 in the tag. Most people get triggered even seeing Kato’s face in the tag and I also think everyone took their rose colored glasses off and sees wtfock for who they are versus who they hoped they would be. 

#lucidpantone anons #its long

[sicklyscribe]

hey so if you wanna hit me with that sweet sweet elijah’s characterization meta anytime please feel free. or direct me to any previous posts because my dumb ass is using this time to re-obsess over vampire melodrama.....

It appears that most of my non-tag and non-petty-casual commentary is still in drafts... so instead of finishing the ‘What the hell is wrong with season 4: an itemized list’ meta and finishing answering the ‘What would you change if you could rewrite any of the show?’ ask from a while ago, I’ll just pick out the Elijah bits and add on to them for garnish. (Those posts might exist at some point. But honestly not soon enough for me to worry about people getting annoyed with copy/paste so PREVIEW TIME: ELIJAH FLAVOR)

This is way sloppier and un-cited than I usually meta, by the way, but what the hell, The Fandom is Dead and I Only Have Friends to Entertain Now, so if anyone gets angry and tries to step into my asks then it’ll just be nostalgic rather than annoying.  Here’s the starter, which is from the F*CK YOU SEASON 4 meta and quite a few of these points will be repeated later because you asked for it technically so.

The cracks in the narrative began to show as early as season two, and believe me when I say I’m not saying this because I love him - it began with Elijah. I can make a lot of arguments to this effect, but the only one that I am certain is not propelled by my very strong bias concerns the presentation of the Red Door.

Initially, I was ecstatic at the opportunity to explore Elijah’s past, his perspective, his darkest moments. I was a bit wary in that it seemed as though the narrative wanted to Explain Everything about Elijah through this device, but he was finally getting some attention so I tried to hold back judgement.The result was pretty promising. One of the most gorgeous moments on the show occurs when Klaus enters Elijah’s mind and tells him how much he needs him. It showcases the main pillar of the show - the structural trifecta of Hope, Klaus, and Elijah. And afterwards, as usual, Elijah pushes the experience away.Until it’s convenient. 

Elijah begins to be erratically vicious. At first, I felt as though it wasn’t handled poorly, I could explain away my worries easily, and that was all I needed. But it happens over, and over, and over again, with the same excuse - protecting the family, protecting Hope. Elijah’s triggers, once so crucial, begin to break down, but we don’t see why or how that process occurs. He begins to be the character that is level-headed when it is convenient, and a violent one-track-mind when it’s convenient. Eventually, in order to maintain balanced tension with a softening Klaus, Elijah became violent without nuance in every situation. His continued development is no longer possible, since his character no longer displays depth.

Which is annoying, as a fan. But as a person who loves to analyze narrative, it’s a huge red flag. Elijah is necessary for this story. His love for Klaus, and Klaus’ relationship with him, is one of the things that holds the narrative together as it goes forward. The two of them need each other in order to experience growth, but cannot grow from each other any longer - and that friction is what provides energy and substance that can help drive a multi-year melodrama. This is why I mentioned above that Elijah’s violence was likely intended to balance with Klaus’ changing heart - but there is no balance in the level of development the two brothers experience. It has been shoddy in many places, but attention has been given to Klaus’ journey towards peace and kindness, while Elijah has been given a single metaphor, a single psychosis, and is expected to carry half of the narrative weight. The story has no choice but to make a plot device out of him - he simply does not have the required depth to be anything else, which is made obvious by the attempt to do so in the ritual to bring Inadu to the material plane, which I will discuss later.

When his development is ignored, when he is used as a tool to get from point A to point B time and time again - that’s when the pillar starts to crumble.

Zooming back in on s1, this was actually my only major structural gripe with season 1, so it comprises the entirety of the ‘what would you change’ for that season:

The poison that rotted the whole dang show started very small — casting Elijah too strongly as a white hat, to offset the darkness of the rest of the main family. This was the right move, of course, but it was pushed a twinge too far and it was the tiny weight that set everything wobbling. As an offshoot of that, this was also done with Hayley to a degree. I would have had them bond very similarly to the way they do in the show, but I would have had them connect at least once over the skeletons in their closets. (Only once or twice, again, since their ship relied in this season on the fallacy of each other being saviors). In fact, this was one I felt so strongly about that I actually did rewrite their scene in 1x07 ‘Bloodletting’.

Then season two when it gets more pronounced: 

The rift in the show widened with the swing-and-miss that was The Red Door arc. Elijah became a Problem when it was convenient for the plot and A Fixer/Sounding Board when it was not. They used probably the most INTERESTING and INTEGRAL part of his characterization -- which had been a mystery for YEARS counting The Vampire Diaries appearances -- and Elijah discovering that either from trauma or his mother’s magic, he has repressed the moments which forged him. This lack of knowledge, this lack of control, should have been something much more cataclysmic and its effects should be clear when comparing ‘Elijah Before’ to ‘Elijah After’. Instead, it kind of served to take off Elijah’s ‘White Hat’ that he’d been illy-fitted with in S1, and allow him to accessorize with it or whatever version of Elijah fits the episode at hand.

This tension, and this chaos should have been much stronger and much more messy than simply putting the Suit back on and being Pretty Much Okay (barring one plot-insignificant diner massacre) only a few episodes later. It would make the therapy scene later with Camille even more gorgeous than it already is and it would then place Elijah’s moment of catharsis, and the beginning of his attempts to move on, with Klaus’ monumental forgiveness in 2x11. I think this is what was intended, but it was not at all achieved, because Elijah is such a tricky character to write, and it is so very easy to use him for whatever the scene requires. Because of this, Elijah’s struggles got dropped just long enough for Klaus’ forgiveness to hit powerfully in viewers for Klaus, but not for Elijah. The writing began to lean on Elijah as a Drama Everyman more and more throughout the show, and it’s just tragic to me that The Red Door wasn’t utilized to its potential. (And that we didn’t have a Klaus/Tatia conversation, but hey, I have an unfinished fixit for that whole saga on Ao3, you’re welcome and I’m sorry).

In season three, we got a few good glimpses of the kind of complexity that Elijah should live in -- the way he kills Arianne, for example, I’ve linked what I called a ‘headcanon’ but in retrospect it was pretty explicitly canon -- and we see the youth and terror and involuntary power in him in the flashback where he discovers that Klaus killed their mother. But the relationship between Tristan and Elijah? The man that he made, and that made him? That was far too pedestrian to have produced either of them. If Elijah learned ‘nobility’ from Tristan, learned what ‘superiority’ looked like, and this was the time that he began to change... we should have had words between them, or a scene highlighting just them, at least once in the flashbacks. 

If this season was supposed to be about the creation of the Trinity, the First Children (because Finn didn’t tell no one that Sage is actually the oldest ‘cuz he’s an ashamed little bitch) why did we see only TWO of the THREE transformations? Klaus turned Lucien accidentally, trying to heal him. Rebekah’s sympathy and love were used as Aurora’s tool to turn herself. When and how did Elijah turn Tristan? It is explained that Elijah turned him in order to create a third vampire for his plot to trick Mikael into chasing them instead -- it is explained that Tristan, Aurora, and Lucien were compelled to believe that they were in fact Elijah, Rebekah, and Klaus in order to make their decoy impeccable. But when this compulsion was shattered -- when Lucien learned that he had been used and made monstrous as a tool for a monster who wasn’t even noble -- did he confront Elijah? Did they ever speak, or was their next meeting the day Elijah learned that Tristan had taken over Elijah’s coven? I would argue that Elijah needed equal weight in the France flashbacks even though he didn’t have a flashy romance (though if early press release rumors were true, he and Tristan could have had one and that would have been perfect) 

Season four is really where you can pick an episode and Elijah will put on the stage makeup and play any part. It’s also -- BIG COINCIDENCE -- where the plot deteriorates completely. Here’s just one example from my Excuse You What the Hell? Season Four meta: 

On to the next moment that showed major neglect (I know this has been Elijah-heavy so far, but again, this is where the problem started so I want to carry this thread through for a while before addressing other issues) - the ritual to bring Inadu to the mortal realm. The purpose of this ritual was to scare viewers with the risk of Hope’s safety and hype the Hollow’s “bad”ness, but also to make the first move in the ‘Letting Go’ thread between Hayley and Elijah. Elijah was supposed to be forced to choose between children's lives and letting the Hollow loose upon the world, and decide to kill the children. That was the dramatic point of placing this ritual in the narrative, but it isn’t mechanically sound.

It is stated outright that the ritual has to end with the death of the children linked to the spell. The children were linked via their totems found in 4x03 - placing Hope definitively in this group.

But we only ever see four of the five in one place. Maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to reach as far out as Hope was to bind her via her hairbrush, maybe it was worth it to the Hollow to drain her from afar, I’d buy that easily. But they made no attempt to kidnap her and place her with the other four children during the ritual. The ritual that required the deaths of five children. Unless it required Hope to be there only on standby, which is absolutely ridiculous. They had the kids on an alter, even if it was just for show. But why not all of them? If the real goal of the ritual was to lure Klaus and/or Marcel, wouldn’t kidnapping Klaus’ child be a more surefire way to accomplish that rather than just hoping the Mikaelsons would come to the right mystical diagnosis in time?

The reason why Hope wasn’t there was because the ritual was never thought through. The reason she wasn’t there is because it didn’t make sense for Elijah to want to kill Hope to stop the Hollow, which is what this ritual actually demanded if it actually worked the way Vincent claimed. In actuality, all that was desired was for Elijah to display a willingness to kill innocents in front of Hayley, and in doing so it demanded that Hope’s life both be at stake and not at stake at all. This failure to coherently execute a single-episode arc is plainly poor storytelling. It displays not only disrespect to the narrative structure, but a blatant flippancy towards one of their main characters and arguably the most complex one on the series. The sloppily contrived tension here between Hayley and Elijah does eventually contribute to the supposed theme, yes, but at what cost?

Elijah was neglected because he was hard to write, and even harder to write well as a ‘light’ foil to Klaus. Marcel should have fully owned that role, and not been similarly jerked around as a plot-serving every-man once the mystery of season 1 and the reasons behind Marcel’s ‘senseless’ cruelty were revealed. 

Elijah was always the cornerstone of the family’s narrative, because he was complex enough to carry it. Camille provided an additional column of support to Klaus’ individual journey as a person/father, but she was bulldozed for Allmighty Plot as well. By the end of season three, both she and Elijah had effectively been thrown in the garbage one way or another, and the show tried to go on without them. It couldn’t. 

I will say that Elijah’s conversation with Hope in that ludicrous backdoor pilot did make me feel things. I did also see the clip where Elijah and Klaus have a heart-to-heart in some sort of european flashback, which was touching, but felt incongruous for their relationship/dev at the time. Hope asking Elijah how old he was when he made his promises to Klaus, though? Elijah offering carte blanche to Hope for how to punish her friend’s bullies? TWO OF THE THREE SCENES INVOLVING ICE CREAM? 

SOME of season 5 is valid but ONLY because it stole scripts from my headcanons.

#anamysis #preview of some metas in progress #hey guys does anyone here want to talk about ELIJAH? #*pepe silvia voice* #Anonymous #asks

[son-of-alderaan]

“Star Wars” episode IX is coming.

On Friday, director J.J. Abrams addresses Star Wars Celebration, a fan convention and is expected to reveal the full title and teaser footage for episode IX. Although no one yet knows what will be in it, we already know that fans and culture commentators will be heatedly – and sometimes abusively – discussing its politics for months.

Since 2017, I’ve repeatedly sampled “Star Wars”-related Twitter, gathering and analyzing about 250,000 tweets with language classification algorithms. Here’s what the data reveals about who is going to be mad online about episode IX – on the political right and on the left – and why.

Where are the white men?

In right wing media, the first questions about the teaser will be about white male and “legacy” characters from the original “Star Wars” trilogy. The right wing critique of the newer films is that they are contemptuous of white, male, and baby boomer-era fans – and that Lucasfilm has abbreviated legacy characters’ storylines and overemphasized diverse casting.

As a result, my research finds, younger, female, and nonwhite “Star Wars” characters are discussed in more abusive terms on social media than are older, white, and male characters.

Of the “Star Wars” tweets I’ve collected, a Google algorithm ranks 6.5 percent as “toxic.” The least likely to include abusive language are tweets that do not mention major characters, with only 6 percent reaching “toxic” status.

Tweets about the newer, female and nonwhite protagonists of the sequel trilogy are more likely to reach toxic status. Consider posts mentioning Poe Dameron, played by a Hispanic actor; Finn, a lead character who's black; Rey, a female lead; and/or Rose Tico, a major supporting character who’s both female and Asian. Of those, 13 percent are abusive.

By contrast, tweets mentioning their older, white counterparts – Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and/or Leia Organa (a legacy character, albeit a woman) – use abusive language less, in 8 percent of cases.

Those two categories can overlap: some tweets mention an older and a younger protagonist. Over 20 percent of posts with that overlap use abusive language. Intergenerational anxiety runs through fights about Star Wars.

If the episode IX teasers indicate legacy characters will have ample screen time, expect satisfaction from right wing fandom. The right would be gratified if its bête noire -- Rose Tico -- is not in the footage.

YouTube stress test

YouTube is the main forum for right wing “Star Wars” commentary videos. Friday’s teaser will be a stress test for the Google-owned site.

That’s because observers believe YouTube’s recommendation algorithm promotes videos with extreme and misleading content, predicting that this content will keep people engaged.

Last month, right wing Internet activists called for boycotts of “Captain Marvel,” because of conspiracy theories about insults to male fans and because a woman played a superhero who’d been a man in the comic books.

YouTube made modifications to prevent the boycott calls from spreading. Using tags, YouTube ensured searches for Marvel-related videos pointed to national news outlets’ channels instead of to user-provided content.

If you see the Star Wars episode IX teaser on YouTube, check what the site is recommending you watch next. If it is not user-generated content, YouTube may be repeating its “Captain Marvel” strategy.

Left wing fans and the politics of romance

While the right wing Internet worries about white male representation in “Star Wars,” hints about romantic relationships are important to many left wing fans.

In fan culture, “shipping” means predicting or cheering for an amorous relationship (a ship) between two characters. For example, if someone “ships Reylo,” they are interested in a romantic relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren, her main antagonist.

Shippers do not always expect to see their pairings in the source material. But the episode IX footage will be scrutinized for clues about which romances might make it on to the screen.

Shippers are disproportionately women, teenagers, and/or LGBTQ. For “Star Wars” and other franchises, the highest-profile fan communities cater to men. Shipping is usually derided or ignored there.

Shippers’ political discussions lean left. Debates over the merits of specific pairings frequently concern progressive ideals. Ships may be denounced for being heteronormative; fetishizing homosexuality; excluding nonwhite characters; anti-feminism; romanticizing violence or abuse; or modeling dysfunctional relationships.

On “Star Wars” shipping Twitter, those conversations can become vicious. “Star Wars” tweets that mention a romantic ship are twice as likely to be toxic as tweets that don’t – 9 percent versus 4 percent. Abusive tweets come both from people arguing against and in favor of various pairings. Among the widely discussed pairings, Reylo Twitter sees the highest rate of toxic posts, with a rate of 10 percent.

Shipping Twitter highlights two biases in social media. First, abuse directed toward people of color, women, teenage girls, and LGBTQ posters comes from people in those categories as well as from white, heterosexual men. Second, criticisms of shipping reflect an assumption that women and minorities bear primary responsibility for policing political and moral standards in popular culture. All the critiques above could apply to non-romantic parts of the “Star Wars” movies and fandom: sexism, ignoring people of color, rhapsodizing about villains, and so on. But these criticisms are leveled more often and in more abusive terms when fans discuss romantic storylines.

The last Skywalker

The most closely guarded plot point of episode IX is whether Kylo Ren, the last Skywalker and the leader of the evil First Order, will redeem himself.

Kylo’s redemption chafes on all sides of the debate about the place of young, white men in contemporary society. Right and left commentators alike compare Kylo to a millennial living in his parents’ basement. They disagree about what his story implies about gender politics.

To the left, Kylo is an avatar of toxic masculinity. His redemption arc could be interpreted as an apologia for over-privileged men’s anger and an example of the sympathy our culture reserves for white male extremists.

Ironically, in right-leaning discussions, Kylo is considered effeminate: pampered, indecisive, easily defeated. His redemption would be a capitulation to his female rival (Rey) and his mom (Leia). These fans want Kylo defeated by a more heroically masculine character.

The takes awaken

Starting today, and lasting until episode IX premiers in December, we’ll see sometimes belligerent political discussions of “Star Wars” – its legacy characters, romantic pairings, and disappointing adult sons. Here’s the common thread: Anxiety over who has a place in our stories from the galaxy far, far away --- and closer to home.

#time to learn about reylo #star wars fandom #star wars epix #washington post

[qqueenofhades]

Oh dear 😅 Okay so basically part one was me saying how someone was complaining that Maria's whole character was how perfect she was and how they were upset that we didn't get to know her better, and I said that's kind of the entire point? Especially because Frank even said to David that he only remembers good things, and then part three was me saying that while this is yes the trope of women being used for male development, because it's Frank, the application of this trope is a good one

(part 2) his memories are always of her loving him. we don’t get to know who Maria truly is because we were robbed of that, just like he was. We only see her as how Frank remembers her, and of COURSE she’s gonna be perfect and loving because that’s what frank is choosing to remember (and like what a beautiful thing to be remembered as??)

(part 4) and of course he is going to imagine her as beautiful and perfect and he’s going to keep that memory untouched by his reality because he sees who he has become. I am not going into detail about his children, but I of course recognize that they were also taken from him too, but someone was specifically complaining about Maria’s character and i felt like they missed the whole point? Idk what are your thoughts on this/might you be able to put what i’m trying to say into better words 😂

Well, as noted, I only got two parts of this ask (glares at Tumblr) and despite your many and valiant efforts, parts 1 and 3 never came through on any of your attempts. You have the patience of a saint, so bless you. 

(It turns out I have a lot to say on this topic, so brace yourselves?)

By definition, the “dead wife” trope is going to involve some of this, since it’s still totally standard practice to kill off a woman (mother/daughter/wife, but usually wife) to explain a male character’s motivation, and usually to induce us to support him on his vengeance quest. Most of my trash male favorites have or had a dead wife/similar romantic partner at some point, and a lot of the narrative’s success at convincing us that this is a sympathetic character, regardless of the other violent/angsty/anti-heroic things that he does, rests on selling to us that he truly loved his wife (and vice versa, though we also have the Surprise Evil Now Not Dead Wife glares very very hard at Timeless) and it was a travesty that she was taken from him in an unfair way by people much more evil than him. Since Frank’s entire initial character motivation, for much of his to-date appearance in the modern MCU, rests on getting vengeance (often in spectacular and bloody fashion) for the people who killed his wife and kids, in some sense, yes, that emotional thread is necessary. If we’re going to be like “yeah Frank, shank eight more mobsters!” and continue to see him as someone for whom we have an investment in the positive outcome of his story, he needs to be, in some sense, doing the right thing, however badly or violently. And yes, the Dead Wife and Dead Mother trope for protagonists just… happen a lot. Everywhere.

Next, while fandom is in often many cases predominantly female, it still has a lot, a lot, of internalized misogyny to deal with. Dead wives are viewed suspiciously and as possible obstacles to ships, especially when her widower has moved on to a new canon/onscreen relationship with someone else. By virtue of seeing it develop, viewers are more invested in this one, and when dead wives return for whatever reason, she is often implicitly or explicitly used for ship drama with the current couple (glares at Timeless again). This sets her up to be disliked from the start, since we all know shippers aren’t really the most rational creatures in the world at all times and are eager to look for/invent reasons to dislike a character being outright used to keep their OTP apart. If for some reason Maria DID return to life (not at all likely, if not out of the question in the MCU) I can imagine that she would probably, unfortunately, receive some of the same treatment. This happened a lot in the OUAT fandom, where shippers relentlessly villainized a male character’s past/dead love interest (in this case, Milah, for Captain Hook) because it was somehow felt necessary to make the current ship (CS) more valid if the previous one was discounted. Milah was a complicated character and not one that I particularly personally was invested in, but yeah, we know complicated women get turned into “bitch” or “ship obstacle” PDQ. Here, again, I am obliged to glare at Timeless a third time. And when she and Emma met in canon, it was respectful, they both worked together to save the man they loved, and then Milah got fridged AGAIN, which was pretty rage-inducing even if you didn’t like her all that much. Also, the OUAT fandom was extremely tribal in the shipping regard as it was, so yes.

Now, with the overall commentary on Dead Wives out of the way, onto Maria. As you note, and Frank himself notes, he is an extremely unreliable narrator when it comes to Maria. What we know about her canonically/outside his dreams/nightmare about her is the following:

She was Italian Catholic (probably like him) since her grandmother came over from Sicily, and a good cook;

She met Frank in a park by telling him to play a better song;

She got pregnant with Lisa three months into their relationship and told Frank that he could leave if he wanted, but she was keeping the baby, and instead Frank proposed to her that day;

Frank was absent for the birth of at least one and probably both of their children (“we serve 15-month tours in Afghanistan… you leave, you’ve got a pregnant wife, you come back, the kid’s walking”);

By Frank’s own admission, he sometimes preferred to be overseas with his unit rather than at home with her and the kids, which is probably not a reflection on how happy their relationship was, but the fact that Frank really flat-out enjoys being a soldier and indeed, killing;

Maria could probably be very jealous at times and had a hot temper (as Frank tells Karen in the diner scene in DD 2x11, she could be vicious and put him through the wringer emotionally)

She was close to Billy and viewed him as part of their family;

Frank’s last memory of her is her coming to wake him up on the morning after he returned from his last deployment, which is also the day that she and the kids were killed, because they went to the carousel later and were shot. That is the memory that keeps playing in his nightmares/increasingly deteriorates, with him witnessing her being shot in their bedroom and then by himself (which is of course not what happened).

The one time that memory continues on past her just waking him up, in TP 1x12 when Frank is being tortured by Orange, it’s clear that their relationship has suffered from Frank’s long absences and preference to be overseas/at war, and Maria asks him point-blank where home is, says he’s here but not really here, and wants to know if he is yet again going to be mentally somewhere else.

Anyway, all of that points to the fact that Maria was probably a complex human woman, like most women are, and had mixed feelings about her husband’s addiction to war and violence, even as he was by all accounts a good and loving husband to her and father to their children. Frank himself clearly states that he feels guilty about not paying more attention to them while they were alive, so of course, yes, he has valorised their memory and put them on a pedestal and made them the all-consuming reason for his vengeance. I’d say that part of his motive is to keep punishing himself, as well as the actual killers, over his guilt and regret about what he lost with them – some of it unavoidably, and some of it by his own choices. As he indeed says to David, their relationship was not perfect, because no one’s is, but now he only remembers the nice/good/beautiful parts of it. Which is a fairly understandable response to losing a loved one, especially in a horrific/traumatic way like he did.

And yes, exactly, the tragedy is that we DON’T get to know Maria outside Frank’s highly idealised and increasingly fantasised memories of her. She is dead, and he continues to struggle over and over with that fact, even as there is an awareness that he is starting to move on. He already compared how he feels about another woman (Karen) to how David feels about Sarah (his living/current wife). In some sense, Frank has started to/to some degree already fallen in love with someone else, and the entire end of S1 was him coming to terms with his trauma in some part, having to let Maria go (“come home, Frank” / “I am home”) and figuring out how his life looks now. But he clearly loved her very much, she loved him the same, and he’s willing to burn down the world for her and for their children, so we certainly can’t say that she was anything less than someone he loved with his whole heart and soul and had built a life and family with, with all the problems that go with that. And that should definitely be defended.

#maria castle #frank x maria #anonymous #ask

[orrtala]

Don't take this the wrong way but you watched Camp Camp and the mere thought you could have just livrblogged it makes me kinda sad.

Iwouldn’t have liveblogged Camp Camp anyway; this blog is meant for cartoonsthat are children-friendly. Well, mostly children-friendly. And CC isnot children-friendly at any point sans maybe the animation stylewhich I personally really love. Also with my weird eye phobia I don’tthink I’d be able to keep making screenshot through that long eyescream scene you know the one.

Butif you’re really interested under the cut I put my thoughts thattranspired during my watch - well as much as I remember them. Beware of spoilers, obviously.

Iwas internally screaming at Max’s parents since first episode and hislack of confirmation what was he going to do after escape just mademy suspicions grow. And I’m pretty sure 85% of the liveblog thatnever happened would be just being mad at them and few other parentsas well.

YesI’ve noticed Max’s camp wasn’t talked about although I did entertainthe idea that he might have had knitting camp given the dolls andDavid’s comments. But still it wasn’t presented to newcomers andhonestly how David did not know the truth through all this time?Unless Max talked him out of checking his papers but also he wasapparently here at least second year (both David and Max separatelymention a kid from previous summer holidays in later episode) soshouldn’t a freaking counselor know about his kid’s activities? Plothole for the sake of revelations, I guess.

WhileDavid was annoyed and worried about children escaping in the firstepisode he ultimately kept happy face on and told Max he was proudabout the knitting thing. First time we can see him slightly losingit was rather early though, because in second episode he got angryfor few seconds. No wonder, just lost a mascot and heard that the it was supposed to get rid of him instead. And yet hequickly got back into his happy persona, Mhmmmmmmm, the S1 finalerevelation in nutshell.

Thatwhole sequence with Quartermaster and squirrels made me laugh way toohard.

“That’swhy I’m here” okay Harrison, what exactly you made disappear? CueS2 finale. …Oh.

Ofcourse they would give Dante Basco a character with honor, even if,ah, twisted (honestly who would like to be a woodscout anyway.)

Tabiiis more artistically inclined than Sasha and Erin if her drawing andpillow are any indication.

Binarysale is a great joke why was it on the screen for half a second again?

I knew the point of David’s character, but. That S1 finale still hit pretty hard. Camp Camp can get pretty serious when it wants to.

Guyfrom electronic shop apparently is looking for Neil if newspaperarticle is any indication. But he was in jury two episodes earlierand saw the kid so how did he not find him yet?

Also missing wolf and missing child. Uh, child-werewolf and they wanted to cover all their bases? Overreading mode is on!

Forsomeone so untrustworthy of adults Max has shown a lot of trust inDavid by going into the sauna. Or, errr, at least put a lot of trustin his fears and love of Camp Campbell. But progress, I guess.

WhyDaniel didn’t blink through the whole episode I’m scared.

I’m so in love with the camp song-off you have no idea.

…Man that Quartermaster episode.

I honestly find it hilarious how David ran to Max for help. “Listen it’s the most messed up situation we ever had, help me ten year old boy!”

Also Quartermaster shack had a lot of background stuff that was neat and…And…

…I could really use bleach after Quartermaster episode.

Listen, David, I love you, and I know you weren’t looking at it this way, and violence in this show is rather prominent (kid fights grown-up woman, kids fight with drug cartel members,) but you just beat up black man. Not sure if there was supposed to be a commentary how easy it is for white people to get of it or not but still.

Ofcourse Max was particularly vicious towards Gwen in her episode; helost his trusted possession partly thanks to not her intervening.Granted blackmailing person with anxiety who hates her life was alittle too much but then again it’s Max and it’s Camp Camp we’re talking about.

ManI felt like punching pretty much everyone’s’ caretakers in there or atleast shaking them a little. Except Nerris’ and Ered’s parents andPreston’s grandma. And I guess I wouldn’t punch Buzz even if, youknow, he doesn’t beat women.

That hug at the end of Christmas Special really got me because Neil is smiling the whole time but Max is genuinely surprised and only lets himself smile fondly looking away at later point. My? Heart? CC apparently decided I don’t need it?

Also some thoughts about next season(s) and general stuff:

Maxnot being annoyed by David in S2 as much as he was in S1 was rathersubtle, but noticeable change. I’m guessing David’s attitude towardsMax will change as well, he’ll stop trying to make him happy byinsisting he should be and will go for more natural approach. Youcan’t fight pessimism with optimism, you fight it by being there forpeople. And with pizza, there’s always pizza.

Jasperis going to be major plot point. Ghost of the boy who knew David as akid stuck on the island and apparently no one knows where his bodyis? Let the child rest. The only thing I’m not sure about if theheroes will learn the truth, if David will even get to meet Jasper,or will they solve the problem by accident. Maybe a mix of bothbecause knowing this show it’s possible.

Ilove observing body language in this show, everyone has their thing;Max is guarded and spends most of the time with hands hidden inhoodie pocket, Gwen is usually tired and Done, David just moves with his whole body “Well theeeeeen kids” *hands on hips and sways around* 

I like how kids, while not a unit as it once was, wear yellow shirts, just with their personal additions. They are still campers and they are in this together.

Igot really used to Voltron treating its characters with respect (yesthey do treat them with respect fight me @vld fandom) but with Camp Camp Ikind of knew it’s a comedy show, I didn’t expect much. And I waspleasantly surprised with the care they have for show’s characterseven if it’s not perfect – but, again, it’s primarily a comedy witha lot of dark humor.

Woodscouts trio has a kid with an eyepatch, Flower Scouts trio has kid with an eyepatch - show, please, leave my main children alone.

Learninga theme song in its entirety is a new goal for me. Wish me luck.

#anonymous #asks #camp camp #campcamp #orr blogging #not liveblogging #non episode #not woy #not voltron #sfw

[agentharrisonofshield-a]

Fandom discourse: who Viv hasn't made out with.

for OCs: what fandom discourse would there be surrounding my character if they were canon?@thedoveofshield

It goes two ways.  Fans who don’t like Vivian either criticize her for being poorly written as an empty character who only exists as a plot device to earn the show/movie ratings for her ‘edgy’ same-sex make out scenes and to create shipping drama, or they just outright call her a slut for her preference for casual sex over committed romantic relationships. 

And too many of the fans who honestly like Vivian fall prey to shipping wars, insisting she’s better suited to this partner or that one, with some of the most vicious commentary coming from those who feel Vivian should be making out with people she has no interest in, just because she’s made out with so many others.

(There is of course a smaller segment of the fandom that totally loves Vivian’s whole casual making out, though, and just sit back occasionally telling everyone else to chill the fuck out.)

#answered meme #thedoveofshield #it's not really all that different from the bullshit I get from assholes on anon tbh

[brattyboyblue]

Personal Thoughts of VLD S6

After having a wild emotional day due more to hormones than the actual season’s release (lawls), I finally calmed down long enough to watch season 6 of Voltron. Now, I haven’t actually watched a complete season of voltron since season 3, but I kept up with enough spoilers from seasons 4 and 5 (while having watched at least the last 3 episodes of season 5) to understand what’s going on.

(Vague???) Spoilers under the cut. Sorry if you’re on mobile!

tl;dr: Keith’s arc was probably the most well done out of all the character arcs. Fuck you Lotor, but also, I really pity you Lotor. Shiro needs to go to Disney. Allura wipe your tears honey bunch. YAAAAAS HUNK. LOREMASTER CORAN; Team Punk the real saviors of the universe; I’m sorry the showrunners are making the writer’s do you dirty Lance. You are my sunshine hubby always. klance still has a chance and y’all aint gonna destroy that for me. Allurance can still be salvageable as long as they make Allura smart in regards to Loverboy Lance. Krolia is QUEEN. the fuck are the generals?

Keith & Shiro

- DAMMIT KEITH WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HOT. also, I'm very proud of you. He came into his leadership, now I just hope season 7 provides more team bonding with the other paladins and not just Shiro.

- Speaking of Shiro, rest. Rest child. You have done well and you have earned your peace.

Lotor & feelings:

- The award for sympathetic villain goes to Lotor. He followed in his mother's footsteps and I hope--I can't believe I'm saying this--he either finds peace in death or he finds peace in a redemption arc.

- I actually do believe his feelings for Allura were genuine. She clearly had feelings for him and still did in the end when she was willing to sacrifice the lives of the team to save him (NOTE: this is an exaggeration of what actually went down, but she did insist on saving him despite everyone telling her they needed to go.)

Keith & Krolia:

- It's a damn shame they cut the Keith/Krolia bonding down to montages but it had to be done. There's just not enough episodes in a season to dedicate toward that. They learned from their experience on Avatar at least.

Lotor’s Ang--Generals:

- The generals are really just watered down versions Azula's generals but more stupid. I really don't understand their purpose in the show. (And this may be due to the fact that I skipped season 4 and half of season 5).

Allurance:

- All the allurance scenes, with the exception of the first one in the first episode, really didn't come across as being romantically coded. Every single scene with them didn't have the violet coloring but its possible that'll change in season 7.

- It's also possible that Allura will, finally and kindly, tell Lance that she isn't interested and wants to heal from Lotor’s betrayal now that she understands what its like to have your heart broken. It probably won't put an end to Allurance but maybe it'll be able to salvage it.

Klance:

- I did see some hidden klance things. The stars in the astral plane was one. Lance noticing Keith's physical changes first before anything or anyone else, the parallels between Keith's parents finding the Blue Lion and their encounter with the Blue Lion. Lance is the first person Keith sees through the Black Lion's eyes followed by the rest. The fact that once Keith returned to the team, Lance was already by his side in terms of positioning when before he stuck around Allura. I'm not going to look any deeper than that until I know where Season 7 plans on going with Allura's heartbreak and healing.

Broganes:

- Keith's familial backstory confirmed brother Shiro--all of that was beautiful and executed wonderfully.

Animation:

- The animation and coloring this season was top-fucking-notch. Bravo. All the pivatol scenes captured my attention just with the details they added to the characters. Everyone’s BSOD expressions (mostly Shiro and Lotor’s) were so well done I was praising the team outloud lmao.

Pacing of the Plot:

- Story-wise--when it focused on the plot--it was nicely done. It didn't feel out of pace like previous seasons or rushed. Its not quite as good as seasons 1 and 2 in terms of pacing but it's definitely one of the more better paced seasons among the shorter sets.

- I appreciate the temporal fuckery as a means to tell a story through flashbacks and the use of foreshadowing in the DND episode.

- The story through characters, I think Keith’s story and Lotor’s story were definitely well portrayed this time around. So it’s really nice to finally see that red ribbon on Keith's fucking arc.

Hunk:

- Hunk stepping up was absolutely gorgeous and beautiful and obviously expected and thank you for finally acknowledging that Hunk is an engineer.

Coran:

- They reminded us that Coran was also an engineer and that was beautiful.

- Also GAME MASTER/LORE MASTER CORAN IS VICIOUS AND I LOVE HIM.

Team Punk:

- Hunka and Pidge's friendship is probably the better-depicted relationship out of the entire season. I’m not sure when they grew so close, but I really enjoyed their interactions.

Lance:

(disclaimer: I’m a Lance stan and I love him with all my heart so my disappointment is warranted)

- Hoo boy, here we go. Its obvious this season Lance absolutely no longer has a connection to any of the paladins. I didn't see it like I saw it in previous seasons and while I love the langst that I did see, I didn't like that it revolved around his unrequited crush on Allura. With that being said, they utterly shaded Lance this season. He was the most pointless character in the whole damn show. CORAN did more than him and that's really saying something. THE FUCKING CASTLE OF LIONS DID MORE THAN HIM!

-it's interesting to note that the Monsters and Mana episode predicted [Lance’s uselessness] because all he did was vanish and teleport as a distraction or get the others fucked with a trap. (Speaking of which, the DND episode was the best fucking filler in the entire series and I love it so much. Bless you Shiro)

- Anyway, back to Lance--I cringed every time he opened his mouth. I know it's not his fault his writers hate him, but holy shit, I can understand why some fans would hate him.

- His characterization this season was about as captivating as a fucking cockroach on a wall. It actually destroys previously established moments of badassery in other seasons.

- However, it was really, really, REALLY nice hearing Lance bark out orders when Keith wasn't there to do so. He can step up in time of need, but the writer's don't really give him any credit afterwards.

- They could have handled the Clone Shiro arc in a different way that would've given Lance time to shine, but instead, its given to Keith who had the power of a Deus Ex Machina-esque vision that told him of Shiro's fuckery. It made the last scene in Season 5 between Shiro and Lance really unnecessary.

- I do look forward to them going back to Earth in season 7 and a part of me hopes it does focus a bit more on Lance BECAUSE they're going back to Earth. Its a great opportunity for him to really think about whether or not he wants to return to Voltron once the castle ship is built, but I get the feeling Lance will not be important in that season or in any season. (Of course, thats just me being pessimistic.)

General/Shipping Commentary:

- In terms of shipping, other than the klance moment I mentioned and the allurance, its hard to predict. The whole series is based on Identity and Family, so i guess ultimately a romance isn't really (and shouldn't have been) necessary but its really hard to say what will be endgame at this point. But that's okay. I rather no one end up with anyone in the end.

- I wonder what the significance of the wolf that keith bonded with is

- Krolia’s romance with Texas had me emotional.

 - BABY KEITH!!!!!! I WANNA SEE MORE BABY PALADINS!!!!

Overall:

Overall, I actually enjoyed season 6 despite my earlier heartbreak. I realized, as I was working, that the fandom is dramatic as fuck and certain people have a tendency to become toxic in the face of adversity, regardless if they mean to or not. I learned I should always form my own opinions on a matter as opposed to believing in others.

I also learned that the showrunners are shady AF, and while I understand they need to protect their show from spoilers as much as possible, I would really wish they’d stop making “promises” of... well, everything really. I rather they be vague (”You’ll just have to see for your own eyes”) as opposed to adding commentary to something that’s probably never going to happen.

#janriel rambles #delete later #vld s6 spoilers #vld spoilers #long post