#i hate being one of those to truly live up to the stereotype

[ilovechohaseul]

imagine having a sense of community and belonging

#people generalize my generation for not knowing how to go outside and interact but i feel like its exaggerated #i hate being one of those to truly live up to the stereotype #i feel like a freak #im trapped in suburbia and crave to identify with other young people im near at these concerts ive been at #id also like to be like the cool girls at the state university whom i only witness through instagram #im so lost

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Can you do Barbie x female!reader where Barbie returns to the real world and falls head over heels for the reader and vice versa?

-Greek myth anon 📜

You first met Barbie for a short time when she's crying outside the school, feeling hurt and anxious for the first time in her life.

You didn't initially know who she was, assuming she was going through a rough breakup.

But while her eccentric pink cowgirl outfit threw you off for a moment, you didn't wanna just leave her alone. You'd feel bad for the rest of the day.

So as a women concerned for a fellow women, you approached her.

"Hey, um..are you alright-?"

"No!" She bawls. "Is this what the Real World's supposed to be like?? Where girls hate you and men objectify you?? None of this makes any sense!! Ever since I got here I started having all these weird emotions and I feel all mushy and....oh no....that's exactly what Weird Barbie warned me about!!"

"Girl, that's all part of the universal.....wait, did you say Barbie?" You blinked.

"Y-Yes..I'm Barbie. Stereotypical Barbie, actually." She sniffles, confused when you sit beside her and offer a tissue/handkerchief. "O-Oh..thank you so much...?"

"[Y/n]." You say as she dries her tears. "You know I used to love those dolls growing up. They've entertained me for hours as a little girl. So...I guess I should thank you for giving me a good childhood, assuming you really are a Barbie."

That's genuinely the nicest thing any human's said to her so far, and you give her a hug to express your support and comfort.

She cries again, but she's happy this time (much to her confusion), and you tell her that humans cry for all kinds of reasons..so it's nothing she should be too worried about.

Sadly the sweet moment doesn't last long as she's whisked away to Mattel in a black SUV, although you hold onto hope that you'll see her again.

And you eventually do in a place you least expected to find her: the gynecologist.

Barbie--now taking on the human name "Barbra"--explains how she left her "dollness" behind, being reasonably nervous, but you reassure her this is a great first step towards embracing both her humanity and womanhood.

After your appointments, you hang out together and exchange phone numbers, keeping in touch and texting back-and-forth.

You end up going on shopping trips together, getting coffee/pastries, getting your nails done, going to small concerts, etc. Just fun little things humans (and women) typically do.

If anyone tries harassing you, you're each other's best defenders.

Barbie's quick to fall head over heels for you now that she truly got to know and spend time with you.

You're funny, kind, protective...and the first person to ever ask if she was okay when she visited the Real World.

When she's not with you, she's gushing over you to Gloria and Sasha (who had to be the ones to tell her that she's in love).

Likewise, you were in love with her too, getting warm and fuzzy feelings just from looking into her eyes and seeing her smiles and radiant optimism.

Eventually you both confessed (at the exact same time), and while it's a little awkward, you're finally a couple and end up moving in together.

You love listen to her ramble about the next exciting thing she just learned about human culture (esp the technology).

"So you're saying this is Alexa and she knows everything????" Barbie points to the device in your kitchen. "And she can play any song???"

"Pretty much, yeah." You chuckle, smiling as she asks Alexa to play "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore.

She starts dancing, and you join in, singing along to the lyrics.

Indeed, she finds it fun living in the Real World with you <3

#clanask #greek myth anon #barbie x reader #barbie movie x reader #margot robbie barbie #female reader #barbie spoilers #headcanons

[buddiebeginz]

I wanted to bring up something I haven't seen anyone else talk about recently and that's the fact that Oliver and Ryan are two (presumably) straight actors who are playing two characters who will likely come out as queer soon. The reason I bring this up is because in the past I've seen people hate on straight actors who play queer roles. Saying that lgbtq roles should always go to lgbtq actors and that it's not right for straight actors to play those parts. As someone who is bisexual I strongly disagree with this. While I absolutely think we need more queer rep both on an off screen I think roles should always go to whoever is best for the part. I don't want to live in a world where actors are required to disclose their sexuality before they can't even go up for a part. Plus this kind of thinking also gives people on social media motivation to attack actors who haven't disclosed their sexuality (if you know the show Heartstopper you likely know what I'm talking about).

Like I get that a lot of the discourse around this kind of stuff comes from a good place. From people just wanting to make sure that our stories are being told correctly and with care and also wanting to see people who truly understand those stories play those parts. And also to see queer actors get opportunities they often don't get because even our stories get told by straight actors sometimes.

Still as an older millennial I've been watching queer media for years and years. Some of the best lgbtq media I've watched had straight actors playing gay roles. Queer as Folk is one of my all time favs. Most of the cast were straight but the show runners/writers were gay so the stories never felt disingenuous. I also never felt like the cast was just playing a part for a paycheck. They always felt like they were trying to tell these stories with as much care as possible, in fact it feels like they cared about their time on that show in some ways even more than a lot of their other roles.

I can't imagine anyone else playing Buck or Eddie besides Oliver and Ryan. They are what make Buddie so captivating and the biggest reason why we are all so invested. Chemistry like theirs is like lightning in a bottle it doesn't come along on every show and it wouldn't be there if they didn't care about the stories they were telling.

I know that most of the Buddie fandom wouldn't hate on Oliver and Ryan but I just needed to rant about this because I'm sure I'll see people bring this up at some point on twitter when this storyline starts to unfold. I just wish people would realize that an actor doesn't have to live an experience to tell it well that's what the job is. And you can tell when Oliver in particular talks about the show how much it matters to him that he tells Buck's story with authenticity even more so now that Buck is likely to be coming out.

As someone who is bi I can't tell you how important it will be if when that happens. Having a character like Buck who is a little older and fits into a lot of the heteronormative stereotypes come out will be huge and I know Oliver is the best person to tell this story.

Same with Ryan and Eddie. Even more so in some ways because if we do get a coming out story with Eddie we'll get to see an older Latino man figuring out his sexuality and having to deal with all of the cultural and familial pressures than could bring. Queer rep respecially for characters of color isn't something we get a lot of in mainstream media but even less for a character like Eddie and if it happens it will be incredibly important. Ryan has already proved how much he cares when telling Eddie's story especially with things like his ptsd and being a veteran so I know he'll put the same love into a coming out story for Eddie.

#911 spoilers #oliver stark #ryan guzman #911! #911 s7*

[lonesome-witching]

You're Hot

An anonymously requested enemies (/rivals) to lovers ronance story. This one is also longer than my usual work, but it is quite cliché. I hope you enjoy this one.

Do you have any prompts yourself? Or do you want to dive into what I wrote before? You can read my previous prompts or send me some new ones.

Nancy Wheeler liked school. She was good at school. It was her talent. She got straight A’s since she was in elementary school. She was the best at school. It was all she had.

At least, she had been the best. Until one Robin Buckley. A girl with hippie parents and a too bright smile. She was annoying. She was worse than annoying. She was smarter. Well, maybe not smarter, but better at school. When Nancy got a 97, Robin got a 98. When Nancy got a 98, Robin got a 99. It was frustrating. Nancy hated Robin. Truly, hated her.

They only shared a couple of classes. History, Chemistry, English. Other than that Nancy was able to avoid her. And she did, most of the time. Their circles didn’t really overlap. Except for one person. Nancy’s ex-boyfriend, Steve. He was surprisingly close with Robin. Apparently, they worked together in the video store in town. They were probably fucking. But that was the least of her worries.

“For this task you will be working in duos. Your parents have been assigned alphabetically.”

Nancy repressed a groan. She preferred to work alone. Most of the students were as incompetent as they come.

“Ricky Adams and Lauren White,” the teacher announced, and a horrible realization dawned on her.

“Robin Buckley and Nancy Wheeler.” No, no, no, NO!

She looked over at where Robin sat. Those blue eyes already looking back at her. A soft smile on her face. Robin waved. Nancy turned around.

Mere seconds after the bell rang, Robin appeared next to Nancy’s desk. “I was thinking we could go to the library after class. Wednesdays might be best. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have band practice and Mondays and Fridays you have the paper. But if you prefer the weekend, that’s fine too. I work on Saturdays, but Sundays I’m usually free. I can make time on Saturdays too if that works best for you.”

“I thought it might be best we work on this separately,” Nancy replied with a tightlipped, all too fake smile. She was about ready to choke Robin. She shouldn’t think that.

“Oh.” Robin’s entire stance changed. Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah, sure. That works too.”

-

Nancy Wheeler was a bitch. It wasn’t that Robin hated her or anything. It was just that… Nancy was a bitch. One with a stick up her ass. Prissy and perfect and terribly mean. Robin didn’t like her.

“I’m not even sure what to do. She just won’t talk to me despite us being paired together. You know her, right? Has she always been such a bitch?”

“Nancy is a bit uptight, but she’ll loosen up. She needs some time to get used to people. That’s all,” Steve said, leaning against the counter.

“She won’t even give me a chance.”

“Do you want me to talk to her?”

“No, please don’t. That would only make things worse. And it’s not like I need her to like me or anything. I just want to do well on this project. I’ll probably be moving before graduation anyway.”

“I don’t know. You’ve been her for over a year now. Maybe this time your parents will stay.”

Robin nodded, but she didn’t believe it. She never stayed. The exact same sob story a bunch of coming-of-age protagonists had. If only she was in one of those movies. Just minus the male love interest, of course.

The only thing that didn’t make her a walking stereotype was her attraction to girls. Girls who looked like Nancy Wheeler. Maybe if Nancy had been just a tad bit nicer, Robin would have a crush on the girl right now. Maybe it was good she was such an asshole.

“And even if your parents want to move, you are nearly 18.”

“And broke.”

“You can live with me.”

Robin smiled at how sincere Steve sounded. He was a surprisingly good friend. The best Robin could ever wish for. Hawkins probably could be worse.

-

Nancy couldn’t do this alone. It was one of the worst realizations she’d ever had. She couldn’t do it alone. She would need Robin’s help. She had reached a new low. She’d already called Steve and begged him for Robin’s number. It would be weird not to call now.

Her eyes were trained on the corner of her notebook where she had scribbled the numbers. They were taunting her. Making her feel inadequate, just like Robin did. She groaned but reached for the phone.

She rolled her shoulders back. “Hi, Robin. I’m sorry for calling so late. I just wanted to ask when you have time to go fuck yourself,” Nancy mumbled to herself.

“Buckley residence, how may I help you?” It didn’t sound like Robin. Her mother maybe.

“Hello, my name is Nancy Wheeler. I’m looking for Robin.”

“Just a moment,” the woman responded. “Robin! For you!”

“If you’re gonna keep calling, my parents will start to think we’re dating,” Robin laughed on the other side of the line.

“I have to say I doubt that.”

“Oh, shit. Nancy? I’m sorry, I thought you were Steve.”

“So, are you saying you aren’t dating Steve?” Nancy asked. She wasn’t sure why she cared.

“We’re not. We’re just friends. Did you think we were dating? Is that why you were— Nevermind.”

“Why I was what?”

“Nothing, why are you calling?”

“It’s about the project. I’ve been working on it and well, I thought maybe we could meet up and discuss it together.” She was ready to hear Robin’s gloating. She could only imagine how awful she’d be if Robin called her like this. God, what was she doing?

“Yeah, sure. When were you thinking?”

“I know, I was the one who— What?”

“I asked when you wanted to meet up? For the project?” Robin sounded confused. Nancy wasn’t sure if it was because of her response or Robin’s own words.

“Oh, yes. What about this Sunday?”

“Alright, where?”

“My place?”

“Okay.”

-

“Your room is very pink,” Robin’s hands were grabbing at Nancy’s stuff.

“I’m sure yours is not.”

“Mine’s white. Boring. I don’t really care for decorating it much. You like Blondie?” She pointed at the Autoamerican poster on the wall.

“Yes, I do,” Nancy replied. She was biting her tongue, literally and figuratively. Why couldn’t they just get the work done so Robin could get the fuck out of here. She’d have to remember to kill Mike for taking the basement.

“And Tom Cruise, huh?”

“Can you please just sit down and work?”

“Ay, ay, captain!” Robin saluted before dropping down on Nancy’s bed next to her.

“Goddamit, Robin! You’re so fucking infuriating.” It slipped out. She just couldn’t help herself.

“Me? I’m sorry to say it, little miss perfect, but you’re the infuriating one. You call me to ask for my help on a project you wanted to do alone and now you can’t even play nice when I show up? That’s just rude.”

“Me? Rude? You are just flaunting. How can you be so fucking arrogant?”

“I’m arrogant? You’re the one who can barely accept help because you’re oh so much better than everyone else.”

“I’m not better than everyone else.”

“I know, but you think you are.”

“I don’t!”

“Really? Because you surely think you are better than me. Where did you get such a superiority complex?”

“You’re unbelievable! You think I have a superiority complex? You’re an asshole.”

“You’re a bitch. I can’t believe Steve ever dated you. Was it just because you’re hot?”

Nancy’s words died in her throat. Robin looked far too smug for someone who had just called her enemy hot. But Nancy could feel her cheeks burning up, so she wasn’t doing much better.

“You think I’m hot?”

“What?” Realization dawned on Robin.

“You said ‘was it just because she’s hot?’ So, does that mean you think I’m hot?”

Robin cleared her throat. “I mean, objectively speaking with the male gaze in our patriarchal society a normal person of the male specimen would probably most likely call you attractive.”

“That barely made sense.”

“I know, I heard it too. What I meant to say was that… Steve thinks you’re hot.”

“Oh, alright. So, the project?”

“The project!”

-

Nancy hated herself. It had been three days since Robin had sort of called her hot. And yet, Nancy had thought of nothing else. She hated Robin, and she knew she hated Robin, but it had still felt special when she had said that. Even if it was in a fit of rage. Maybe that was why she did what she did. Which was walk up to Robin and invite her to her house after school. To finish the project, of course. And hopefully trigger another compliment out of the girl.

It proved to be harder than expected. Because when Nancy wasn’t shouting at her, Robin was polite and quiet and bordering shy, with the occasional ramble on English literature. It was hard to hate her like that.

But if Nancy was to achieve her goal, she would have to dig deep and infuriate Robin. That was how it happened last time.

“You’re such a know it all, with your stupid rambles.” It felt wrong to say that.

“As opposed to you, of course. Little miss I’m so humble.”

“At least I’m not shoving it in people’s faces.” She had to force herself to shout.

“I’m being informative, you just gloat that you know more than other people.”

“Oh, c’mon get more original with your insults, Robin Buckley.”

“What for? You think you’re worth my creativity?”

“Am I not then? Who do you save your creativity for? Steve?”

“I’m not dating Steve.”

“I never said you were.”

“It was implied.”

“It wasn’t,” Nancy shouted. It was. It had been implied even though she knew it wasn’t true. She was just riling her up. It was working too.

“You know damn well it was. I’m not sure what you are trying to achieve with this? You want Steve back? He’s all yours.”

“Sure, because he thinks I’m so hot.”

“You are hot!” Robin shouted back. And there it was. Bullseye.

Nancy wasn’t sure what got into her. Why she didn’t just gloat and have her fun with it. Maybe tease Robin a bit. Why that wasn’t enough? But it wasn’t enough. So, while Robin was still fuming, Nancy leaned in and pressed her lips against Robin’s. It was an impulse decision. Nancy never made impulse decisions. Not until now. Not until Robin.

But now she was kissing this girl. Her lips were soft, softer than any of the guys she had kissed. And she tasted vaguely of cherry. It felt nice. It felt even nicer when Robin’s lips started moving against her own. Softly, slowly, gently. Nancy never wanted to pull away. She liked the feeling of Robin being so close.

It was only a few more moments before Robin pulled back. Flustered and red. She threw her hand over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at Nancy’s lips.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“You didn’t do anything, Rob. It was all me.”

“Why did you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Alright.” Robin nodded her head.

“But…,” Nancy started, unsure of what to say. But Robin’s head perked up at the word.

“Yes?”

“I guess I would like to do it again.”

“You would?”

Nancy nodded. She would. Her tongue darted out, licking the place Robin’s lips had been mere moments ago. She could almost taste the remnants of the kiss.

Robin leaned in. “I guess we could do it again. If that is what you want.”

Nancy quickly connected their lips. She had hated Robin Buckley. Until she hadn’t. Until she started falling in love.

#prompts #ronance #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #my work #stranger things #fanfic #robin x nancy #nancy x robin

[acourtofinkandpapyrus]

Shallow Waters: Part One (PirateRhysand x Reader)

Warnings: Arranged marriage, toxic family, swearing, drinking

Tag list:

Being the only daughter of Beron, you are expected to marry someone and be the perfect example of elegance. You've managed to make yourself completely undesirable to the other royalty, until one of the worst males visit for a party...

I walk down the gilded halls of our fathers castle on my twin brother’s arm, trying to keep a pretty smile plastered onto my face as some lord and lady I don’t recognise pass us.

My brother Lucien was born first, a relatively easy birth in comparison to mine.

I was out second, and our mother almost died giving birth to me.  My father has hated me ever since then, and most of my other brothers never let me forget it.

“This gathering of male’s that our father’s planning, you know he expects you to leave with an engagement, correct?”  Lucien asked once the couple was out of ear shot.

My lips quirked up into a smile.  Lucien was always worried about me, taking the over protective brother stereotype to new heights.

“Oh, you know that none of those fools will be leaving that room with any intention to take me as their wife.  No, not Y/n the terrible.”  I tease, elbowing him.

I had earned the nickname after my father had hosted a ball, hoping to pawn me off onto some influential family.

That night I had made sure to heckle, bother, and step on everyone’s toes.

I also drank so much that I vomited on one of my brothers.

Now that was a fun night.

Lucien didn’t laugh as he normally would though.  “I know you think yourself invincible sister, but father is growing impatient, and I’m worried.”

I roll my eyes, but don’t bother to comment, instead, asking him quietly, “Talking about marriage, when are you and Jesminda going to tie the knot?”

Lucien’s eyes went wide as he quickly scanned around, making sure no one heard me before he hissed in a low voice, “We don’t talk about her in the castle, you know that.”

I shrugged, grinning.  “That’s not an answer brother.”

He sighed wearily.  “ We don’t have any plans for the immediate future.  If father found out about us-”

Rolling my eyes, I let out an exaggerated sigh.  “You need to worry less about father and more about living!”  I exclaim throwing my arms out to emphasize my point.

I knew the importance of keeping their relationship hidden, but still, I hated seeing my brother fretting about it all the time.

His eyes narrowed.  “I know you’ve had your flings, but you don’t know what it’s like to love someone deeply yet.  And when you do, you’ll realize that you’ll worry less about ‘living’ as you put it, and more about keeping that other person safe.”

His speech makes me yawn, and he scowls.

“Are you even listening to me?”  He inquired.

“Nope!” I say, picking up my skirts and turning down an adjacent hall, running awkwardly in my heels as I shouted over my shoulder, “I’ll see you around Lucy, and you better have an answer next time I see you!”

I giggled as I ran away, hearing him mutter a curse as I did.  He hated that nickname.

As I walk, I gasp as I see my friend, Alis, who I was told would be visiting from the summer court.

“Alis!  It’s been forever!  I didn’t know you’d arrive so soon!”  I exclaim, rushing up to her and taking her bark like hands into mine as I grin with glee.  “I was told your ship had been delayed!  Something about harsh storms on the sea?”  I question, taking her arm as she gives me a soft grin, the both of us walking through the halls as we spoke.

“Actually, if you truly want to know, it was pirates.”  Alis whispered, smiling softly as my face split into a ridiculously wide grin.

“Pirates?! That’s so cool!”  I exclaim, shaking her slightly.  “You have to tell me everything.  Were they ruffians?  How many tattoos did they have?  Did they fly a black flag like the stories claim?”

Alis shushed me, laughing softly.  “It was strange.  Some of them were tattooed, yes. And they flew a black flag, but for thieves they were actually quite polite.”

I groan, and Alis looks at me curiously.

“Boring!” I exclaim with frustration, making Alis chuckle.

“If I were a pirate, I would swear and drink and cause havoc wherever I went!” I say holding up my arm as if I was holding a sword.

“Lady Y/N!”  I hear one of my father’s advisors admonish, and I roll my eyes.

“Sorry Alis, it looks like I’m about to be lectured once again about how a proper lady should behave.  I’ll see you later?”  I ask, and she nods.

“I have a date with Kendrick anyway.”  She says, and I smile as she turns away.

Those two were mates, and I envied her a bit.  I would love to be whisked away by my mate, loved and free of my wretched father.

“Y/N!”  The advisor shouted again, and I rolled my eyes as I turned, making my way over to the stout man.

I sit perfectly still as the maids braid my straight red hair into plaits that would wrap around my head as my father paced behind us.

“Y/N, I am in no mood for your antics tonight.  You will act like a proper lady.  You will court the males that arrive tonight, and find a husband among them.” He spoke, his syllables clipped as he came up behind me, the maids clearing away as he placed his hands on my shoulders, meeting my eyes in the vanity mirror.

“One way or another, you are going to be out of my house by the end of this year, do you understand?”  He snarled, and I nodded, trying to hold back a smile.

What he didn’t realize was that was exactly what I wanted.  I wanted to leave.

“Yes father.”  I murmur demurely, and he turns away, scoffing.

“You are a disgrace to this family.  Try not to bring any more shame on our good name tonight girl.”  He snapped, leaving the room in a huff.

Oh, I was going to make him regret that I’d ever been born.

Actually, he already did that.

I was going to make him regret that he’d ever been born.

I entered the ball room, making sure to have worn a dress meant for dining instead of dancing.  It was a mistake only little children made, and usually was the cause for laughter.

But I wasn’t a child.

I searched for Lucien, but didn’t see him.

I sigh, deciding to make my way to the refreshment table.  Because right now was the perfect time to get black out drunk.

“How are you dear sister?”  Eris asked, planting himself next to me at the table, already sipping on a goblet of wine.

Snatching his goblet and downing it in one swig, I responded a moment later.  “It’s as if the mother herself has decided to make my life miserable.”  I mutter.

I never had much faith, but I see Eris’s lips twist into a sort of smile, even as I get dirty looks from the other males nearby.

I snort, and he hums.

“I’m guessing you plan to spite both her and your father tonight?”  He asks, raising an eyebrow.

Giving a little shrug, I hand him back his empty cup.  “You mean our father.  Just because you don’t like him, doesn’t mean he isn’t.  Or else he would have no children.”

Eris nods.  “Of course I meant our father.”

Something’s off about his tone, but I don’t get the chance to inspect it as I feel another figure appear at my side.

I look over, and feel a shiver go down my spine as I see a tall male with black hair wearing a bone white suit.

He was handsome I guess, but he didn’t have a face you could really spot in a crowd.  The only thing that struck me were his black eyes, cunning with emotions I couldn’t read swirling in them.

My stomach gave an unpleasant twist as he smiled at me.

“Care for a dance my lady?” He asked, not sounding kind.  He sounded like a predator who had cornered their prey.

I shrug, picking up another goblet, swirling it as I respond sharply, “I’m not wearing the proper dress for it.”

He doesn’t smile, get angry, or show any emotion at all as he just stares at me in response.

“Do you like it here?”  He asks, his head tilting a little bit.

I shift uncomfortably, realizing where this male is from.

Not many things are known about Hybern, but what does travel past their borders is terrifying.

“It’s better than some places.”  I say, the remark coming out as more cutting than I meant it.

This is where he starts to smirk.  “We’ll see.”  He says simply before pushing away, disappearing quickly into the crowd.

I have a bad feeling that that will not be the last I see of that unknown male.

I manage to make an absolute disaster of the ball, and by the end I can feel my father’s flaming eyes burrowing into my back as I leave, swishing my hips as I swagger away.

I am completely drunk, and I half hate it as I stumble back to my room.

I hate that I have to degrade myself like this to stay free.

As I stumble down the hall, I see Lucien outside of my door, looking frantic.

“Lucy?”  I slur, running into a wall as I made my way towards him.

He rushed over to me, helping me into my room.

“Luce, what’s wrong?”  I ask as he lays me down on the bed.

He starts to speak, but I don’t hear what he says as I’m pulled into a deep sleep.

I woke up the next morning with a horrible headache, groaning as I tried to roll out of bed.

Damn hangovers, they lasted longer than the parties.

A knock on my door had me flopping back into bed, calling out, “Enter at your own risk!”

I was surprised to see that it was Eris at my door, even more surprised to see a worried look on his face instead of his normal sneer.

He quickly stepped into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.  “You should really remember to lock your doors at night.”  He snapped, turning to glare at me as I kicked the covers off.

There was the brother I knew, but I could still tell that there was something off about him, a panicked sort of energy radiating from his form.

I yawned, rubbing at my eyes as I stood.  I ignored him as I headed over to the windows, throwing the curtains open.

Eris cursed and ran over, quickly pulling them shut again.  “Get dressed.  Now.”  He shouts, throwing the bag he had brought with him into my arms.

“Wait!  What’s going on?”  I ask, my stomach twisting as I realize that he’s serious.

He pulls my drawers open, sorting out clothes.  “Apparently your normal ruse didn’t work.  You’re officially engaged.”

If I wasn’t awake, I am now.  “What?” I snarl, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him away from the ornate cabinet.

He scowls, snapping, “Beron’s quite pleased, considering the groom is the King of Hybern.”

I let him go out of shock, opening my mouth to ask more questions but we’re interrupted by a stiff knock on my door.

Eris’s shoulders slump almost imperceptibly.  “Too late.”

I curse myself, move over to the door, waving Eris off into my closet.

He looks offended, but I don’t wait for him to argue, unlocking the door and pulling it open with a more than nasty look plastered on my face.

The two guards there look a little uncomfortable as I stare them down in my nightgown.

The larger one shifts uncomfortably, while it’s the smaller skinner that speaks, his voice nasally.  “We are here to escort you to your new quarters ma’am.”  He says, narrowing his eyes as he tries to peer around me into my room.

I move to block his vision.  “Hasn’t anyone told you that it’s rude to wake a female so early, or doesn’t my father’s personal guard have any manners?”

His face grew red as he stammered out, “M-Ma’am please.  We must es-”

“No.”  I snap, holding my head high as I eye both of the males.  “You both will wait out here patiently while I pack my belongings, then you can explain to me why I’m suddenly expected to move.”

I slam the door and lock it, turning back to see a annoyed Eris quietly exit my closet.

We stare at each other for a moment in silence.  There was no other way out of this unless I wanted to climb out of the window and break my neck, the room being on the highest floor.

Though, it did sound better than marrying a male known for his cruelty.

Instead of doing that though, I go to my cupboards, picking up where Eris left off.

He only stares at me for a moment, only moving to help me once I started throwing clothes at him.

I look around my new room, aware that the two guards who escorted me are still right outside, making sure I didn’t make a run for it.

There’s another knock on the door, and I roll my eyes, walking over and throwing the door open.

My annoyance fades as I see Lucien standing there, his eyes wide with worry, his outfit and hair disheveled, like he rolled out of bed and ran straight over.

I open the door wider for him, and he shoots a glare at the smaller guard before stalking in.

I shut the door, whirling around before he can say anything.  “I already know, and trust me, I have no plans on marrying some tyrant.”

He pauses, shoulders stiffening.  “You’ve always made that clear.  What are you planning to do to avoid father marrying you off this time?”

I studied him for a moment, the sudden shift in demeanor and the way he asked the question.

My eyes go wide.  “You don’t know?”  I ask in disbelief.

I assumed everyone would know by now.

He notices the way I ask, and is quick to ask, “Know what?”

I shake my head, remembering how worried he looked when he entered.  “You tell me why you're here first.”  I demand.

His eyes don’t move from mine as he speaks.  “I heard the King of Hybern is going to stay here for a few nights, his patrols have been everywhere.”

“Now what don’t I know?”  He asks, crossing his arms.

I resist the urge to play it off with humor or ignore the question all together, and instead grit out, “Father is marrying me off.  Soon.”

His upper lip twitches, threatening to turn into a snarl.  “Who?”

I glare at him.  “My true love.  Who the fuck do you think dumbass?”

Normally he would scold me for speaking so harshly, but instead his face darkens.

“You’re not marrying him.”  He snarls, and I give him a nasty smile.

“Yeah, no shit.”

He can see that I’m internally panicking, and after a moment of consideration, he walks over, pulling me into a tight hug.

“We’re going to get you out of here.”

I don’t know what to say, so I just nod, hugging him back.

#a court of frost and starlight #a court of mist and fury #a court of silver flames #a court of thorns and roses #a court of wings and ruin #acomaf #acotar #acowar #acosf #eris vanserra #eris acotar #lucien vanserra #acotar lucien #lucien #king of hybern #autumn court #autumn #beron vanserra #high lord beron #rhysand acotar #rhysand #high lord rhysand #rhysand x reader #rhysand x y/n #pirate au #pirate rhysand #Prythian #Shallow Waters #sarah j maas #lucien acotar

[the-arteest]

I MADE A RISE AU

the silly tortles

so!! in this au Yoshi was a famous musician rather than a movie star!! he passed his love for music onto his children, and is much more appreciative of all forms of art than in canon.(though he still thinks music is the best and most legitimate cough cough)

close ups of the boys!

Donnie(any pronouns)

i'm so sorry for the low quality aurgkuetg but! Donnie plays the piano! he is still very into tech, but their stuff and look is based a bit more on a piano because that's what the famous Hamato Yoshi played! wow!! but she truly wishes to play the drums because autism(/j please don't harass me)!!

next boy!

Mikey(any pronouns)

Mikey plays the (heavily modified) flute! While they love the instrument, it's just not enough for him. She needs the big guns! the bari sax!! did i mention all of them are very into jazz??

next boy!

Leo(he/him)

he's such a creature

anyways, Leo plays the trumpet! yes he's totally the asshole trumpet stereotype and i love/hate him for it. he loves the trumpet, but the music doesn't hit him in the feels, give him the jazz vibes! ignore his vanilla design ayuktghatg

next boy!

Raph(he/she/just Raph[ael])

i love her so much he is my life

yes those are little eyelashes!! alligator snapping turtles have little eyelash thingies and i love them for it<3

Raph plays the tuba, but the trombone is where his heart lies, she live laugh loves trombones

more details!

Splinter, while being a bit more accepting of who they are and how they express themselves, is still a bit stubborn. he won't let them all switch instruments until they master the ones they have. unfortunately, they inherited his stubbornness and refuse to practice their instruments until they're allowed to play the ones they want to play. this is a terrible stand-off and the boys partially lose anyways

they eventually find some strange vibey instruments(similar to the ones they already have) in Draxum's lab and take them home to mess with, and they find out the instruments are mystical! THAT'S RIGHT BABEY THEY'RE FUCKING BARDS WOOHOOOOO

eventually they learn to harness the

magic

and can make their funky instruments on their own! (they can still technically make the stuff they do in canon but they don't know anything but basic self-defense and would die with a weapon in their hands)

also the funky doodles

hope you love them as much as i do!!

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt au #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt donnie #band #piano #tuba #flute #trumpet #art #doodles #rottmnt art #digital art #artists on tumblr #digital aritst #sketches #tmmt #teenage mutant musical turtles #arteestic doodles

[blueiight]

1. Which kink do you think Louis would have that would surprise Lestat?

2. Do you think this fandoms racism has become more obvious due to Louis being a black creole person? Like I feel like people are more aggressive when they say Louis is top because he’s “rough” and Lestat is this dainty pillow broad.

1) i think it would take a lot to surprise lestat sexually [my dude a #BigOleFreak] but the one thing thatd somewhat unnerve him at first is lou breeding kink.. lestat has a very hobbled relationship w being the architect of creation meanwhile louis is like begging to be bred and plugged up so the baby can take. lestat would come around to it & meanly tease lou about it tho :3 if anything i feel like lestat is the one w/ hyperspecific kinks that unnerve louis and take him more time to get used to [we talmbout virginal catholic pimp who despite selling sex and being the voyeur to numerous sexual encounters, his only actual sexual experiences were handjobs & secretly getting head from younger guys prior to les… les got freudian relations & semi normal (nicki) relations, hes been w / men and women before, hes a real freak. i think lestat is a bratty vers whos dom top ways r activated in the presence of louis omega pillow princess pheromones lol]

2) when ppl hear an accusation of a ‘racism’, their only thoughts is some caricature of a confederate/nazi/klan member screaming that they dont want ‘woke’ [if not using the racial slur w/o the euphemism] vampires. when in reality, racism manifested in fan spaces which are predominately composed of white women / white lgbt w/ #blm stickers or bio posts, who have black friends, maybe have even dated or fucked somebody black, manifests as the beliefs they have internalized bc of cultural messaging around black people. their inability to recognize & analyze evident traits in black charas, the inability to relate to the ‘other’, shoving characters who r not such at all into these narrow stereotypes of the mandingo archetype, the stoic black brute, etc. etc. so when they hear us say ‘fandom racism’, they seem to think we’re calling them klan members & personally insulting them. diverting an observation on trends & cultural messaging to personal feelings, so a bystander can go omg how could u do that :( like i said, idrk or care for low bar discourse or throwing shit on ppl but i do think its funny to see ppl make les a dainty delicate waif off 1 hate sex scene that we dont even rly see all the way c. the other scenes we see lol. so they project onto les cuz hes more relatable to them simply cuz theyre both white? my friend who never even watched just knows of it cuz im aggy af mind u made a profound comment i find applicable w les in both book& show verse

‘[its] the contrast between a public show of subversive bi male femininity versus a domestic/private bi male masculinity—that truly applies to a lot of white gays…putting on the performance of gender non conformity but not actually being equitable in your domestic behaviors and simply reifying gendered violence’

nb ppl r more readily able to apply/recognize gnc ~traits~ in pale skin that may or may not be there. i compare les to david bowie & prince bc those men were gnc in performance but very typical to the role of ‘Man’ in their interpersonal& real lives.

& idt louis is that too gnc in his appearance neither, he still favors suits in his heyday yet in dubai has this androgynous unsettling plain black wardrobe. very cold cutting feminine eartha kitt grace jones type appearance/role he plays in this second interview v. the boyish swagger of a typical 1970s black man he puts on in divisadero in sanfran. but he subverts gendered racial stereotypes moreso in his dynamic w nb partners as black men r expected to be overpowering & domineering. where louis holds up gendered racial stereotypes/dynamics as a black man imo is w/ claudia & miss lily, 2 black women, emotionally and physically extracting from the bw in his life and making claudia make the decisions he cant bring himself to do. sorry if this got a lil off topic lol

#yn. #yn answers #iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt

[creature-wizard]

The Law of Assumption: Where It Might Be Useful, & Where It Definitely Isn't

So, exactly what people think the Law of Assumption can do varies. I want to make it clear that I'm not claiming that everyone who believes in the Law of Assumption thinks that it can do literally everything I'm going to talk about in this post. Some definitely do. Not all, but some. And those some are enough to justify making this post.

So, I think that Law of Assumption has some amount of merit. For example, if you assume that everyone you meet will judge you and hate you, you're going to behave in a more defensive manner around people, which most of them will interpret as hostile. But if you assume that people will like you, you're more likely to act in a friendlier way, which will generally make a better impression.

If you assume that you just can't learn new topics or new skills, you probably won't even try; or if you do try, you probably won't put in much of an effort. But if you assume that you can learn, you'll be more likely to make a real effort and get somewhere with it.

If you try to manifest a certain item into your life, you are almost certainly priming your subconscious mind to be on the lookout for it. If you affirm to yourself that you own pretty dresses, it's inevitable that you'll be looking out for pretty dresses to buy. You might also communicate to your friends that you'd like one, whether you mention it or put pictures of them on a board they can see; and maybe they buy one for you.

I personally try to live by the assumption that every problem has a solution, because it encourages me to keep on trying where I might otherwise give up. This has worked very well for me most of the time.

I would like to think that one could use the Law of Assumption in a more magical context, but since I cannot definitively provide any evidence that this is indeed possible, I'm not even going to address it. I am also not going to address fundamentally unprovable claims that higher powers decide when, where, and if your desires will manifest. Instead, I'm going to move on to some of the big whopping absurdities that some people are pushing as gospel truth.

First is the claim that literally everything in your life is determined by your expectations, including the way your own parents treat you. To suggest that a child is somehow responsible for their parents abusing them is utterly absurd - do not the parents have minds and wills of their own? Are their choices not, in fact, their own? Or are we supposed to believe that literal babies are somehow born with the expectation of being hurt by their parents?

This belief also implies that literally every oppressed and exploited group of people were somehow responsible for their own exploitation and oppression, and that the people doing the exploiting and oppression had no real agency or choice in the matter.

Conversely, it also implies that hateful stereotypes about oppressed and exploited groups of people must be true, because it's how the more privileged members of society expect them to behave.

Also, can anyone truly say that life always played out exactly as they expected it to? Have you never been surprised by a plot twist? Have you never said something that didn't come off the way you thought it would? Have you never been in a vehicle that unexpectedly got a flat tire? Never had the waitstaff at a restaurant mix up your order with someone else's? Never gotten the wrong item in the mail? Have you never, ever had a day that just went totally off the rails due to an unexpected twist? Never had anything happen that you didn't expect?

Secondly, some people are claiming that you can manifest things literally out of thin air. Like literally "assume there's a million dollars sitting in your closet and it will manifest there." Claims like this effectively deny that the physical world has any sort of stable ontology, which is absolute head-up-ass territory - this is the kind of thing that pretty much always comes from cult leaders and scam artists, and those naive enough to repeat their message without properly testing it out first.

Third, some people are effectively claiming that other people aren't even real by making claims as grandiose as "if England exists in your reality, it's because you've manifested it." This implies that literally every person who lives and ever lived in England isn't even a real person, but rather a construct of your imagination. This sort of solipsistic worldview is inherently dehumanizing.

Furthermore, this worldview denies and minimizes the reality of ongoing violence against real people by proposing that if believe that things like human trafficking and labor exploitation aren't happening, then they simply don't exist in your reality. Nestle isn't abusing workers and taking water from people because you've simply decided it's not happening.

If you're this far gone I don't think there's really any way to reason with you. If not, I hope you can see where this kind of mentality is absolutely depraved. To think that ongoing abuses of human rights are a problem that you made up, and that you can merely assume them away, is egocentric in the extreme.

Fourth, you've got people who are basically in faith healing territory, and faith healing doesn't exactly have a great record of success. Search up "faith healing scams" sometime. Understand that if the Law of Assumption worked in the extremes some people are claiming, faith healing would have a far better success rate because those that sought it did so assuming it would work.

So, these are some of my present thoughts on the Law of Assumption. Is there a demonstrable amount of usefulness in the practice? I do think so. However, there are also people who are taking the whole thing dangerously far, and we can't pretend otherwise.

#law of assumption #loa #manifestation #witchblr #witchcraft

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

TTPD thoughts (under a read more because it's long)

There are no bad songs on this album (reread this point every time you want to scream at me while reading this), but I will be starting with my most "negative" (because none are like truly hateful, just "not for me" category of negative if that makes sense) thoughts and working my way to positive.

I think this is an album that is very Taylor and, in a lot of the songs on the standard edition, in a way that is not personally relatable to me. Like despite being a "I can fix him" girl (in general, not the song lmao) it is in a very different way than is on the album and the way that is on the album (the whole "you're all just haters so fuck off" at anyone who criticises you or your partner aspect mostly lmao) grates me at times, I won't lie. And as someone who listens and picks her fave music based on relatability, the standard edition of this album is quite low on my rankings because of that. Like it has high highs for me and I will talk about that, but the lows for me are arguably the lowest lows of any album from her and songs that realistically idk if I'm going to listen to unless I have all my music on shuffle and they come on. Like the standard album is very clearly into songs I love and songs that I find meh and could have done without, even if I understand why others love them.

"I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me" Girl please make this album one day. I know you love your mainstream success but I promise I will find a way to stream it enough to keep it up. Like I know a lot of people feel that this is that album, and I recognise (and appreciate) that that is because of the bluntness on certain topics, but as I have said about people who call this album weird (affectionate), mainstream disturbed/weird and regular disturbed/weird are two different things and I truly live to see the day that Taylor goes all out ngl.

I won't talk too deeply about who each song is about because again, I mostly listen to music for relatability so don't really care, but I will say that I think that far less of the songs on the album are about Matty as what people are making out. I think a mixture of stereotyping, PR over the years and the deliberate vagueness of the album has some of ya'll automatically assuming that drug mention = Matty. Realistically I genuinely only think that (from the standard version) fresh out the slammer and i can fix him are about fully about Matty with but daddy I love him being a mix of an idea rather than a person (first half) and Travis (second half), the alchemy being about Travis and the rest being about Joe in a way that is deliberately vague/obscured to make it sound like it could be about Matty.

As a related note to that, I think that the two most interesting things about the standard edition is the way that she consistently refers to her longest relationship as a short time and the way that she deliberately muddies the songs so that it's difficult to tell if they're about Joe or Matty as a way to show 1. that you can't really tell one story without telling the other and 2. If everyone is being honest, both the beginning and end of both of those relationships were very similar, and not in good ways at that. And I say that without judgement because people are people and no one is perfect you know? But these two aspects really make me want to like the standard edition more than I do because 1. I think her referring to her time with Joe as a short but impactful time in the grand scheme of things is among the most mature things she's said about a relationship and particularly stands out among the deliberate childishness spoken about and shown in certain songs and 2. without giving tmi, the idea of not being able to tell one love story without another because they are so intertwined, even if they don't seem related on the surface, is something I relate to deeply with two past encounters of mine. But the differences that are there just aren't for me.

I have seen others say that they wish that we got the story of Joe and Taylor's last two years together rather than what happened over last year, and in many ways (and obviously in the most "I know I'm not entitled to it, it's just my preference way") I agree but this is what we got so I'm going to focus on that without the expectation of something else. Like I will not let "what I wanted more" ruin what we've got because what we got is still good and I've fallen down that rabbit hole before and just made myself miserable.

Taylor implying or otherwise rolling with the thought that there were no gel pen songs in the standard album is so goofy (affectionate) because girl, I can do it with a broken heart is right there lmao.

I feel something, but I'm not sure what, about her use of 'manic phase' in the prologue, 'asylum' in who's afraid of little of me and seemingly (we will circle back to this when the music video comes out but given the other stuff I think it's safe to assume) asylum imagery in the music video as a response to people's criticism. It is a very mixed feeling and I am still trying to figure out how much of the bad comes down to this fandom as opposed to it objectively (because like it's clear that mental health is a main theme on this album and I don't want to discredit that) because as I have spoken about before, this fandom cannot be normal about sensitive topics to the point that I'm not scrolling until hype for this album goes down.

Ironically enough given the history of jokes/comments I and others have made, I do think Florence got the better feature and wish Post Malone got a more upbeat song and larger part lmao.

Much like how I liked the 3am edition of Midnights more than the standard version, the bonus 15 songs are the stronger part of this album for me this time too. Where the standard felt like a mixed bag of meh and amazing with no in between, the bonus tracks all felt good to amazing and with the exceptions of maybe I look in people's windows and so high school, are all songs I could see myself listening to consistently. I also don't think it's a coincidence that most of these songs are Dessner songs because out of her consistent producers lately, he has definitely been my preferred one lmao.

It also makes me very excited for debut and reputation's rerecordings because it's clear that they're on her mind.

I'm likely going to make a separate post about the songs individually, but a friend who brought a different edition told me today that the manuscript feels like the actual end of the album and I agree completely and so was glad to see that despite not putting all the previously known about bonus songs back to back (which is a super interesting choice and while I don't think we'll get it, I'd love an explanation for that and why these songs were specifically chosen for physical media!), Taylor still chose that as the closer. It also sets my heart on fire as a RED girlie lmao.

As per always, as a physical media girlie, I do hope that we get a cd/cd set with all the songs at some point lmao.

As of right now my favourites (no psychoanalysing me given I said that I listen to music based off of relatability tho lmao) are the title track, my boy only breaks his favourite toys, so long London, who's afraid of little old me, loml, I can do it with a broken heart, the smallest man who ever lived, the black dog, imgonnagetyouback, the albatross, Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, I hate it here, Cassandra, Peter and the manuscript. And like I said, at least most of the rest of the bonus tracks are ones that I could see myself listening to frequently as well so that's like 2 albums worth of music for most artists nowadays and I am definitely not complaining at all despite any other feelings I have towards this album lmao.

Anyway I'm sure more will come to me in time, but right now that's where I'm at, especially because it's almost midnight here lmao.

#taylor swift

[zahri-melitor]

Wonder Woman by Messner-Loebs (#63-#100, #0)

Well. That was A Lot.

This is a difficult run to read, and not just because it backs up straight off George Perez’s iconic run. It’s a slog with writing that is painfully outdated and that will throw you out of the story if you’re not paying attention.

It’s very much a run in which I feel one of the biggest problems is that it’s written by a man who wants to believe that women have interiority and motivations, but is hopelessly out of touch with what actual real life women think and believe and act. Interesting concepts, poor execution. I have to believe he didn’t understand the sheer level of all the misogyny he portrayed characters as experiencing, and that he thought it was a good power fantasy to see those women overcoming that systemic and specific misogyny.

Let’s get into the good aspects.

Christopher Priest gets a two-part story (#88-89), which is used to bring Circe (in her traditional appearance) out to explain why Themyscira has been missing for the whole run so far and what happened. I quite enjoy Priest’s writing and this story had enough twists to it to be interesting, but also leaned into an aspect I love seeing pop up in Wonder Woman stories…the inevitability of fate and prophecy. Circe promises Diana that she will restore Themyscira…but Diana must sacrifice an innocent’s life. The story tangles with this well. Truly a lovely little tension release in the run, and shifted the story arc from the first 25 issues over to the last dozen.

Circe as the overarching big bad of the whole run is actually a good shout. Circe’s a manipulator, and having a run where she’s pulling the strings all over the place while also cosying up to Diana in disguise is quite fun.

On that vein…honestly I enjoyed all the ‘Donna Milton’ stuff, despite how much I was ragging it as I read it. Someone taking advantage of Diana’s trust in that way was a betrayal, but you can also see her affected by the role she took on. Also it was just really funny to offset Ares being so hamhanded about his incarnation in comparison. Plus, the existence of Lyta Milton is going to pay off into the future.

While I’m STILL going on about Circe: it’s fascinating to me that multiple of Diana’s female villains not only want to bang her but are compelled to be friends with her, even as they also run around being evil. Like it’s a lovely redemption arc for the 30 seconds it will be permanent.

I don’t hate the idea of The Contest, and it’s one of the better conceptualised stories across the whole run. The concept (has Diana lost her skill and her direction compared to the wishes of the Amazons? How does she compare to champions of Bana-Mighdall? What is the direction that the Amazons should be pursuing in Man’s World?) has a lot to chew on and Artemis as a character does a fair chunk of rehab to the concept behind Bana-Mighdall and moving it into a part of the mythology that writers can actually use, rather than being the racist stereotype Perez created. There are additional valid reasons for the Banas to feel betrayed, and Herakles screwed over both Amazon tribes (Unfortunately at the expense of Hippolyta’s characterisation, but she’s all over the place in this run). The execution however, didn’t measure up to the concepts.

Things I think didn’t work:

The run had three overarching arcs that I think can be approximately broken down into: the space pirate arc; Ares and ‘Donna Milton’ screw with Diana’s life; Artemis as Wonder Woman. They’re not really coherent with each other? Stuff that was happening in one arc just gets dropped and ignored to move onto the next arc.

I think Messner-Loebs had a vision of taking Diana down to see the gritty hardship and violence of women’s lives. Unfortunately, I don’t think that particularly worked as a run for Wonder Woman. It’s a book that at its best is imbued with hope and connections to mythology and epic plots, rather than street-level storylines. Diana running around worrying about paying her bills and working in a fast food restaurant and for a private investigator taking on cases like shaking down men for unpaid child support? I had Common People by Pulp running though my head the whole time. I do like Diana to be concerned with even small scale problems and outraged by institutional sexism. I don’t think this was the right approach to show it.

Then there was the way Messner-Loebs contrasted this with Artemis, by using Artemis as a foil to say “you can’t just go out and beat up institutional sexism and misogyny, the work is harder than punching people in the face and declaring that women should be strong!” Thank you, Messner-Loebs, we really needed that strawman created for Artemis as a character. Artemis and her plot once she leaves Themyscira is just a series of take that strawmen using some very 90s plot ideas (not helped by Deodato literally drawing the sort of Image Comics villains that it is railing against, and giving them stupid names). It’s a very, very blantantly obvious, Captain Planet sort of approach to ‘why are women treated differently to men’ and it needed a lot more subtlety and interrogation of the concepts involved.

Messner-Loebs is also struggling with the fact that he simply doesn’t have the language or conception to describe a lot of the feminist and queer themes he is playing around with. There are several storylines or offhand comments that, were they written today, would be explicit trans storylines or discussions of intersexuality and assigned gender, but in what we get, written in the early nineties? It’s stereotypes about what makes someone flamboyantly gay, or ‘secretly’ female.

Downsides of the run:-

Mike Deodato Jr’s art. It’s everything people rag on about 90s art. He’s not Rob Liefeld, but that’s almost worse, because as I’ve said previously, Liefeld basically only does Hawk & Dove work for DC (with an occasional foray into Deathstroke and ‘projects Jeph Loeb asked all his friends to contribute to’), while Deodato here is getting to draw DOZENS of women and particularly Amazons in that extremely Image House Style way. Not a lot of internal organs, a lot of wedgies. I suppose he was picked for the end arc in that his art style played with the messages Messner-Loebs was trying to convey (“stereotypes bad! Image Comics villains silly! Feminism involves hard work!”) but is let down by the fact that, yanno, all the characters are drawn in that style.

Messner-Loebs just forgetting what his plot involving Cheetah was. At the start of the run, he banished Barbara Minerva into a demon dimension. She then reappears right near the end of the run, with the extremely boring villain I have avoided mentioning this entire write up (sorry, Asquith Randolph is SO dull) having pulled her back and…sent her out to attack Diana? Caged her? Great work there Messner-Loebs, no notes.

Just so much blatant misogyny and violence against women, and the way Diana and Artemis were portrayed as fighting it was nowhere near sufficient catharsis for putting me through reading it.

Do I think you should read this run?

Hmm, it depends. It’s an interesting introduction to Artemis and is probably important context to know about her for any story going forwards. I can see how the Donna Milton stuff is going to pay off in the future when other people draw out the storyline built in here. The choice of classic villains in this run is actually solid. Dr Psycho’s appropriately horribly creepy, Circe’s turn is triumphant, Ares is causing problems, Cheetah is sympathetic but wrong in all the right ways. On the other hand, we start with the process of fridging the Kapatelis family, it’s just chock full of storylines that you stare at going ‘why is this HERE?’, it tends to pick up an idea, play with it and then drop it without pulling it back to develop a theme, it gets bogged down in feminist concepts that were outdated even for the early 90s, and it just felt unpleasant to read. This is some storytelling that desperately needed a woman in the room to consult and talk ideas over with, and as close as they got was the colourist.

#z canon read throughs

[insectgf]

Hiiii!!! Not to invade your ask box; but I was wondering more about your views on Rhine & Dani’s dynamic/relationship?? Like how you think it’ll play about, your headcanons, theories, etc,,,,,

I know you’ve went over it before; but it’s actually one of my fav things ever and I really love the way that isn’t just the basic ‘oh ya they hate each other ’ dynamic most other people interpret it as— and I really love it💜💜

OMG MONARD UR NEVER INVADING!!!! i read ur ask while sitting in my lecture and i couldn’t stop thinking about it.

so basic disclaimer: i treat rhinedottir and dainsleif like my ocs so everything here is cannon only in my heart. feel free to agree/disagree just be nice. also sorry for any misspelling i don’t have dyslexia im just stupid and english is my third language blablabla LETS GO

before i can talk about their dynamic i will give a rundown on my own interpretation of the two characters.

we know basically nothing about rhine so i went crazy in my head with ideas. one thing im certain about is that she’s the royal alchemist, i can also image her being some sort of wunderkind and extremely hard working/determined. in my head she also DIDNT invent the art of khemia, she merely mastered it. i think alchemy is as old as teyvat itself, together with the idea of creating life forged by human hand. kehmia is popular in khaenriah because well….those mole people live underground and how else will you feed your people.

(sorry for drifting of (it will happen again))

so we have rhine, an extremely hard working prodigy, in the field of alchemy/science in general probably. i think it is also important to differentiate between pre cataclysm and post cataclysm rhine and dain.

i can imagine pre cataclysm rhine being a somewhat normal person. as normal as she can be anyways, she fits into the eccentric crazy scientist stereotype but she isn’t socially incompetent or anything like that. she laughs, she jokes, she relaxes and she obsesses.

post cataclysm rhine lost herself and everything she stood for in that war. the only thing she has left is her obsessive nature.

in my mind i can also image that the royal alchemist stands very high in the social hierarchy.

and that’s where dainsleif comes in!!

dain too is a prodigy, just in fighting and strategies. he doesn’t look old to me? he was already the knight captain of the royal guard, and he’s like…barley 35 in my eyes.

SO two prodigies meet, they both excel in different areas in their life. what happens? they don’t care for eachother.

rhine who can’t do a push up vs dain who doesn’t know how to synthesis anything.

to be honest, i don’t think they were paired up to like balance each other out. i can image them meeting occasionally on dains rounds. they are a constant in eachothers life’s, but do they talk? rarely.

because they don’t have anything in common.

i feel like rhine would be someone who was against rigid structures and rules, since she was constantly breaking the rules of celestial (not being permitted to great (human) life), and probably the king too (that one is more secretly done but she still does it in my heart).

so when dainsleif bows down to her she’s just laughing it off. it’s silly because they are the same age!! and just because she does alchemy somewhat well doesn’t mean she deserves all the respect in the world!!

and now! post cataclysm!

dainsleif failed his country. the twilight sword could not protect those he swore to protect. dain i think was conditioned from an early age to be ready to die for his people and just the fact that he’s immortal hurts more because of that.

rhine is the opposite. death is too easy, everyone can die but life is the truly hard challenge. to live for something.

i also like to think that rhine is actually somewhat open going with information. ofc dangerous/important thing she doesn’t tell but like if someone came up to her to ask her to explain smth she would do it. information is power and to gatekeep information from a certain group of people is not right.

so in that sense rhine talking to herself and rambling is something dainsleif actually copied from her post cataclysm 😭 like he’s constantly lore dropping,,,just like rhine. because he agrees! information shouldn’t be kept away!

NOW TO THEIR DYNAMIC

I think it’s really complex and contradictory in on itself. we know dain joined the abyss order at least for a certain time (i assume) and i think that’s something rhine would be against. yes she likes the abyss and uses the concisenesses inside to fulfill her vessels. no she would never worship a huge glowing rock. she DID NOT declare war against GODS and CELESTIA just to bow down to anything ever again. so she judges him for that decision for sure

i don’t think that dainsleif could even bring himself to hate rhine for what she did. he’s a protector of the people, even if his people did wrong.

yes, he’s wary of her. yes, he’s even scared of her and her power. yes, he thinks the art of khemia should have never been studied the way it was.

no, he doesn’t love her. no, he doesn’t like her.

yes, he would obey every order she gives him.

rhine being the highest ranking khaenrian running around is such a funny image like girl who gave u all that authority….

i think it’s also interesting how the kheanriahn people are still there and still live there but we still haven’t really see any kheanrianhs. (why is that so hard to spell like what)

clothar left because of his son caribert, pierro left to do whatever he’s doing, dainsleif is filled with guilt and probably doesn’t think he’s capable of protecting anyone and rhine is out there….being a menace.

i think also that rhine and dainsleif trust eachother to a degree but to a weird one.

yes dainsleif trusts her with his life, no he doesn’t trust her word.

same with rhinedottir, she’s like somewhere high up and she just goes „catch me!“ and then she just jumps down no matter how far away he is 😭 has he ever failed? nah!!!

but when she asks him about the abyss order she just knows he’s not telling the full truth. she can’t judge him tho, since she’s also a lying liar.

we know that also being alive for so long comes with erosion and that dainsleif has probably lost a good chunk of his memory, but even tho he’s borderline senile he still recognised albedo as rhinedottirs. like the star mark gives it away and dainsleif remembers, that’s her mark. she’s still alive. she’s still creating.

so yeah, dainsleif is ready to stop albedo should the time come, but would he stop rhinedottir? no

he wasn’t able to stop her back then, even though he saw all the warning sings, even tho pierro warned them all. and even now he wouldn’t be able to.

because dainsleif apparates on muscle memory and its ingrained into every fiber of his body to obey the royal alchemist.

i think also pierro and rhine dynamic would be interesting but more in a comedic way

pierro, near his retirement: you should stop with the path you’re on. you will call on the rage of celestia

rhinedottir, who has never passed a psych evaluation or sports test in her life: i can take the archons and celestia in a fight

so yeah that’s my take on them. no they aren’t in love and no they don’t hate eachother. but they are one of the few constants they have left and one thing both are good at it clinging what belongs to them. they have something weird going on in that sense that dain can’t help his guard dog nature and rhine can’t send him away.

i also think they are gossip buddies like dain RAN to rhine when he found out clothar died and that kaeya is in mondstadt. he probably also told her about halfdan and the abyss order trying to purify with the water. rhine furisly writing everything down so she’s doesn’t forgets

#rhinedottir #genshin #genshin impact #dainsleif #dainsleif x rhinedottir #character analysis but badly done #they are so near and dear me idk idk

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Omg finally someone else knows about the Charmie ship, I was starting to think it was a fever dream that I dreamt up lol. People always bring up Taekook and Larry as examples of bad shipping practices but Charmies were delusional too. It’s interesting how these problematic ships have specific terminology associated with them/their industry. Larry had a ‘beard’, Taekook had an opposing ‘fanservice’ ship and Charmie had a ‘PR relationships’. Observing the ships of especially higher profile celebs/idols is so interesting to witness because it highlights the patriarch society we live in. Like you mentioned, these ships really display how women consciously/subconsciously hate on other women they perceive to be threats to their ship or fantasy. The enemy of these ships are usually women (Harry+Louis+Timothee+Armie’s girlfriends/wives) or men that they feminize (Jimin). Interesting topic.

You made an interesting observation at the end regarding Jimin. The taekook narrative is different in comparison to other big slash ships because the so called "enemy" has a different gender. For larry or charmie, the woman is the intruder so hating her it's like an automatic response. She's there to disrupt the fantasy and also expose the fantasy at the same time.

Because the result is that the shippers are more interested in actively fetishizing a gay relationship and gay men. They are fascinated with it, although at the same time they apply heteronormative definitions to it. One is the woman with any particular gender stereotypes, the other one is the man, with its own set of gender stereotypes. This is then transposed into the way they write fanfiction, how they draw the couple. They have the obsession with coming out, of praying for their eternal love. Once you see such vocabulary, it makes it all more clear. And then something happens, a woman comes into play and that's a problem. They already have the woman, the feminized version of one of the men in the ship, which is acceptable because it's a product of their imagination and a self insert at the same time.

Now, taekookers are having to deal with a bigger problem. Their biggest threat in their view is in this case a man. That disrupts the fantasy even more. So in order to make it all work, they have to change how they view that man. They need to reduce him, to strip him of his masculinity because his masculinity puts him as equal as those other two men. And him being an equal makes it a threat. Because in the case of taekook where the shippers believe that Tae and JK are in love with each other and that makes them automatically attracted to the same gender, hence gay (I'm just telling how their fantasy works), it means that there is the possibility of Jungkook (never Tae) to be attracted to Jimin. Because he is a man. That's why ships involving Tae/JK and a woman do not pose a "real" threat in the eyes of the shippers. They laugh at it because they truly believe JK and Tae are together. But by believing that, they are also aware, deep down, that Jungkook as a presumably gay man, could also be attracted to another man - Jimin.

So because this is such an unacceptable scenario, they have to femininize Jimin. He cannot be seen at the same level of a gay man as JK and Tae. Hating Jimin in that position would reveal that they can be homophobic and how they mostly fetishize a gay relationship. In turn, Jimin is portrayed as a woman. A woman that can be hated, the type that through the patriarchal conditioning, is seen as a threat to other women. For example, the femme fatale, the seductress, the slut, the whore. All words used by taekookers. Sometimes they latch onto made up rumors in which they return Jimin his masculinity if it involves some woman, or him supposedly becoming a father. But that doesn't happen often. Jimin is also seen as a man who could be gay only when once again, they find another man to ship him with. Be it Yoongi, or his friends in his private life. In both these scenarios, Jimin can be a man and attracted to other men. But the minute he is next to Jungkook, he cannot be that anymore. He is no longer potentially a man with whom Jungkook may cheat, but a home wrecker, which is usually a term used for women. Jimin's feminine qualities which show up in his behavior in a positive sense (he is more nurturing, he is in tune with his emotions, etc) are completely dismissed. He is patriarchaly feminized.

*Jimin and gender identity/sexuality discussion.

#bmt asks #bts #bts ships #taekook #jikook #taekookers #bts shippers #anon I hope I was clear enough in my response #I was just brainstorming #my ideas kept coming #but I'm not sure it all makes sense #but I do see it as a rough draft #there is potential here to explore the topic #jimin #jimin gender discussion

[ukrainian-gender-critical]

Bullying your mum isn’t activism

Political purity is another mask for patriarchy

Perhaps this will come as a shock to purists, but parents — good ones, at least — do not always tell their children the truth. Preparing a person to live in the world as it is, as opposed to the one they might like it to be, does not always involve confronting them with harsh realities. You ease them in, making difficult judgements about what to reveal, what to withhold. This isn’t dishonesty or pandering; I consider it pragmatism.

Whilst my own sons know more than me about what it is like to be young at this moment in history, I know more than them about other subjects, simply because I am older. At the same time, I do not want to dent their enthusiasm, make them feel small, drop unnecessary truth bombs just to boost my own ego. Having grown up in a household where “just being honest” could be wielded as a weapon to make others feel ugly and stupid, I try to take care over what truly needs to be said. There are some truths which I consider important but which I know will not stick, at least not yet. I hold them in reserve.

I am sure this leads to some situations in which Mummy is considered an ignoramus in relation to topics about which I know a great deal and yes, this rankles. Still, I would rather wait it out, picking my battles. My aim as a parent is not to create individuals who echo my own beliefs. I want them to be people who have the confidence to be questioning in their own right. Plus, I have enough confidence in my own politics to think they can withstand said questioning without recourse to forced compliance.

Threatening to isolate a female relative is a form of coercive control

I know that I am fortunate not to have been tested too harshly on this. I have female friends whose daughters have disidentified from femaleness. In doing so, have seen fit to lecture their mothers on how they — mere older women — could not possibly understand what it is like not to feel at home in one’s female body or to reject the social identities imposed on female people. When my friends initially protested that on the contrary, they knew exactly what it was like — that they, too, had complex inner lives, and had only come to accept their bodies after fighting to reject the meanings imposed on them — their children did not believe them. Instead, they saw a bigotry that had to be combated with an even more aggressive form of disidentification.

A mother who is anything other than a regressive stereotype is a threat to those whose identities are founded on not becoming her. “Easier by far to hate and reject a mother outright than to see beyond her to the forces acting upon her,” wrote Adrienne Rich. “But where a mother is hated to the point of matrophobia there may also be a deep underlying pull toward her, a dread that if one relaxes one’s guard one will identify with her completely.”

My friends have not abandoned their children. Instead, they now walk a tightrope, keeping their mouths shut in instances where they feel it would only entrench their children’s views further. They make compromises, doing what is necessary to ensure their children feel accepted, whilst keeping the option to change course open. They understand there is little point in demanding that their children empathise with them, at least not yet. It is hard for these mothers, not least because what they are enduring from their children is a form of sexism in the name of rejecting gender norms: Mummy, know your place.

As far as the children are concerned, Mummy has been if not convinced, then cowed. They have won the battle of who gets to control which pronouns are used round the dinner table. It is not a real victory, but a managed truce for which Mummy will — in another backhanded reinforcement of traditional gender norms — receive little appreciation.

There’s something similar going on, if much more darkly, in a pre-Christmas Novara Media piece on “How I Deradicalised My Terf Mum”. In it, an adult child — in this case, a son — boasts of how he coerced the woman who gave birth to him to deny there is any social or political salience to who gives birth to whom. He pities his mother for undergoing “Mumsnet radicalisation” and resolves to cut off all contact unless she pretends to think her own feminism does not matter, telling her, “Look, if you don’t fucking fix up, I’m not really interested in having an endless debate with you, I will just leave.”

He remembers his mum’s anger and devastation. “She thought it was a dirty tactic.” Whether or not it was, it worked: “I think the fear of losing the people closest to her was a strong motivating force.” Broader social pressure may have multiplied the brothers’ impact. Will’s family is part of a small, close-knit group of families in south London, and when their children found out what was happening with Janet, they encouraged their parents to speak to her, too. “There was another community she would have been isolated from that she also valued.”

The son “Will” is obviously proud of himself, even though what he is describing is a form of coercive control. Threatening to isolate a female relative unless she denies her perceptions of reality indicates he does not care that she may not believe what she is saying. All that matters is that she has been forced into line. This is not activism; it is patriarchy.

I had that chance to browbeat my Catholic mother into submission

It is not that I always think mothers know best, or that I have never been in the position of a young person believing their mother to hold harmful beliefs. My own mother was vehemently anti-abortion. There are many reasons why I think she was wrong, one of them being that prioritising the needs of an embryo — perfect, unsullied potential life — over that of a woman seeking a termination — a messy, complex person, not a flawless blank slate — doesn’t look like real compassion to me. Opposition to abortion, to my mind, is less about saving others than keeping oneself ideologically pure.

I never once considered forcing my mother to say this, though. I know there are some who will think this makes me complicit in the suffering of women and girls denied abortions. I had that chance to browbeat my Catholic mother into submission — to convert a true sinner — and I never took it. I could perhaps have bullied her into pretending she agreed with me, though I doubt this would have stopped her making regular donations to the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child.

In the end, I’d have been doing the very thing of which I accuse anti-choicers: prioritising looking pure (my mother’s politics shall not sully me!) over doing good. Forcing my mother to say things she didn’t believe, and distressing her in the process, would have made zero difference to a desperate woman in Poland, Malta or the US. It would not have been a feminist victory.

When one person’s perception of reality (usually, but not always, the eldest male’s) is prioritised over everyone else’s, the family is patriarchal. I do not want my sons to grow up in a household in which everyone else either has to gaslight themselves into going along with one person’s truth, or must pretend to do so out of fear.

Young adults who boast of “schooling” their “bigoted” mothers are model patriarchs. They might have won the power play, but they have lost the moral argument. Maybe one day they will find a politics that can bear the weight of scrutiny, ceasing to treat others as mirrors reflecting their politics back at them at several times its actual validity. That is what I had to find for myself, and what I want my own children to discover, in their own time.

#radblr #radical feminism #feminism #activism #family #mother #motherhood #article

[the-royal-teacup]

Get ready a teacup rant incoming…

Meghan Markle is a bitter Betty, I mean we’ve known this right? But this podcast just proves it with every new episode. She talks about raising women up and celebrating women, but her podcast is just a way for her to beat down other women and use it as a guise as calling out ‘stereotypes’.

When in reality she’s using it to beat down all the people and the entertainment industry that didn’t want her. They didn’t want you Markle, because you can’t act. If you wanted to be taken seriously, then joining Hollywood and taking any role you could get, thinking it would land you the big a-list roles was the wrong way to go because execs see that you were willing to do anything, desperate to be a part of Hollywood and they immediately dismiss you. Well, that and they probably saw your wooden acting! 😂

So, now we’re calling out the word ‘bimbo’ and ‘dumb blonde’ with the woman, Paris Hilton, that built her entire empire on being the ‘dumb blonde’ that was all The Simple Life was about, two ‘dumb’ socialite blondes, who had lived a ‘sheltered’ life and had no clue about ‘normal’ life. Paris Hilton built an entire career around this persona, and still cashes in on it today, so perhaps the wrong person to chat about the word ‘bimbo’. Well, that’s if she let her even get a word in edge ways! 🙄

And Reese Witherspoon, calling out Legally Blonde? How very dare you. Elle Woods was more than just a ‘dumb blonde’ and she proved she had more to her than just her looks and blonde hair, that was the point of the bloody movie in the end, that you shouldn’t underestimate people, especially women who are pretty and you think are ‘dumb’ just because they’re blonde or have a high pitched voice or whatever. Elle used the dumb blonde thing to her advantage, people underestimated her and she proved them all wrong. Did she miss the whole point of the movie? Obviously.

But this isn’t about movies or words, it’s about Meghan bitter Betty Markle, getting her ‘revenge’ on Hollywood and all the people that ‘ignored’ her. Hell, she invited Reese Witherspoon to her wedding and Reese denied the invite because she had no idea who she was and why she’d been invited to the wedding! She was invited because Markle thought her wedding was the perfect stepping stone to being accepted into the Hollywood life she had always craved. So, because Reese ignored her, she’s now using her podcast to call her out in a roundabout way, for taking ‘dumb’ roles? Pathetic, truly pathetic. Reese has a career that spans decades, and she’s done more than just take any role she can get her hands on.

So, now we have Markle flipping the script so to speak and she never wanted to be a part of all Hollywood type casting, she hated being cast as the ‘dumb’ ‘sexy’ ‘hot girl’ and was just basically forced to do all those roles, and be a brief case girl, obviously. It had nothing to with Meghan wanting to be a part of the in the in crowd, getting big roles and hob nobbing with the rich and elite of Hollywood, no, no, not at all, of course not how very dare you suggest such a thing!

Everything she does is calculated. She jumps on everything, even if it’s going over her past and calling out the world she so craved to be a part of hoping this time it will be the one thing that everyone agrees with her on, including all those a-listers she so longed to be accepted by, thinking they’ll all bow down to her and go ‘oh, Meghan, you’re so right. Oh you’re so wise and wonderful, teach us your ways’. When in reality they think you’re even more of an absolute dick and want to tell you where to shove your woke bullshit. 🖕🏻

She goes about it, preaching and being condescending, with an undertone of nastiness and bitchiness in everything she does and says. The woman is a walking talking contradiction and a massive hypocrite, because if one of those ‘dumb’ roles had gotten her the a-list millionaire lifestyle she craved, then she wouldn’t be using it as a trash talking point on her shitty podcast.

Hey, Meghan, had you not been able to con a dopey Prince into marrying you, you’d be still taking those ‘dumb’ roles and showing off your body because that is the only roles you were good for and it has nothing to do with you being a woman and them cast typing you, it’s to do with the fact that you are and were a shit actress. Many women in Hollywood move on to different and serious roles after playing the ‘dumb’ of ‘hot girl’, but you got cast typed as that, because you had no acting skills and still don’t.

In a way, and if it wasn’t Markle, I’d get her point and it would be a good point. Women are and were type cast in certain ways, especially in the early 2000’s, but things have changed since then, if she had pointed this out and how many women have stood up against that and started their own production company’s *ahem* Reese Witherspoon *ahem* and are making women led projects that make an impact, but of course she wouldn’t make this a talking point would she? Because she’s jealous of the women that have carved a different path in Hollywood, and have paved the way for other young women to have a different start in their careers, instead of having to take any role going and play the ‘dumb/hot/sexy’ girl roles, because no one did this for her. Jealousy, it’s all jealousy with her.

But, then, everything is always everyone else’s fault and not yours, right? It was The Royal Family, the newspapers, the British people and now it’s all your past and how wrong everything was there and it was everyone else’s fault, not you as a human using your brain and saying no, I won’t be that woman. Why? Because you wanted an easy entry into the celeb world and we all know it.

Nothing will ever be good enough for this woman and she will find fault in everything and everyone, but never herself, nothing is ever her fault!

This is why she does these podcasts and everything else, she uses it to push buttons, we all know it. She doesn’t actually care about women and how they’re portrayed, it’s just to keep people talking about her. She’s a cunning conniving bitch, doing whatever it takes to keep herself relevant and talked about!

End of rant. Sorry if this is all mixed up and all over the place! I couldn’t stop the tangent! 😳

[heloflor]

I have to say, one thing I absolutely love about the Sam and Max Telltale games is the side characters and more specifically how they all have at least some “oddness” to them, which not only makes Sam and Max feel like they do belong in this town instead of being the outsiders other people react to, but it also makes it possible for the duo to form genuine friendships with some of those people (which is also helped by the continuity this trilogy has).

All of them are eccentric in their own way, I mean :

- Bosco is a paranoid conspiracy theorist and is afraid of enbies

- Sybil keeps changing professions, and between that and how she evolves in S2, it feels like she’s sometimes in her own world/gets in her own head a lot

(And also, between her being really nice to the titular duo and her overall personality, she and Max could easily be besties. I mean c’mon ! He always goes to stand near her + gets involved in her love life + the S3 finale. He’d 100% be her gay bff and also possibly babysitter since he likes kids so much !)

- Flint Paper is a lot like Sam and Max on the police brutality aspect (and the three of them working together is great. There’s a single braincell between the three and not a single one of them uses it. Except Sam occasionally, if he’s not too busy fanboying over his neighbor with Max)

- Superball (my beloved) feels like one of the more grounded characters but at the same time he’s never seen taken aback by the weird shit happening around him and has no issue rolling with it. He’s also pretty mysterious at times and even straight up teleports in 304

(I’m not going to mention his love of doors as him being eccentric because, between that and how he expresses emotions differently, plus the musical number and his voice impressions showing he has an artistic side, I can’t help but view him as autistic. Heck you can also add him taking the “please don’t hang up the phone” thing way too literally in S1. So the love for doors feels like a special interest)

- Jimmy and the rest of the rats are some kind of mafia or street gang

- The C.O.P.S. are a bunch of old sentient machines trying their best (also Buster Blaster reminds me of Lord Hater from Wander with the way he screams all the time and I love it !)

- Harry Moleman is a creep who somehow keeps getting involved in the story through new jobs

- The Soda Poppers are pretty self-explanatory (gotta love how everytime they show up I’m like “oh, it’s these assholes again…”)

- Hugh Bliss is a literal sentient bacteria cult leader

- Girl Stinky is a literal cake and apparently a mermaid ? Like, her design has always been mermaid-oriented but apparently it’s because she truly is one

- Grandpa Stinky is that kind of grumpy old man who can and will throw hands with a 13 years-old

- Abe is the douchy head of a broken sentient statue who can’t do anything right aside from speeches (and he gets lectured by the local married couple after messing up his relationship in S2, which I find very funny)

- Featherly is a talking actor chicken who was literally found at the beginning of the universe that one time for some reason ??? It was very funny tho

(Also off-topic and I’m not sure if this was on purpose or not but isn’t Featherly technically trans ? I mean, he’s explicitly told to be a chicken in S2, not a rooster, and is even capable of laying eggs, but he uses he/him pronouns and refers to himself as a man)

- Santa Claus isn’t taking shit from anyone and hates kids

- Jurgen is a gay emo teen stereotype (who would absolutely have many social media accounts were those game made in the 2010s)

- Sal is a cockroach himbo who’s kinda just going along with the craziness around him

- Papierwaite literally tried and sort-of managed to summon some demi-god, demi-god who turns out to be pretty chill. And the duo is symbiotic. Oh yeah and Papierwaite has powers and may or may not be immortal (I think him living this long might be due to Norrington ?)

- Mama Bosco, despite acting more like the voice of reason, still remains the wacky kind of scientist, with her creating portals to other dimensions and being pretty nonchalant about the risks of it

- Skun-ka’pe is a hyper-intelligent alien who lets his ego and slight naiveté take the better of him

- Sammun-mak is a child with enormous powers and a god complex

- and the list goes on

I just really like how the world of Sam and Max is eccentric in itself. It’s not just the two main characters who are “weird” while the rest of the city reacts to their weirdness. Every character has their own thing going on and I love how it makes this world flow.

#Sam and Max #SamandMax #Telltale #Sam and Max spoilers #(should I put a spoiler tag for a game series that's a decade old ? Then again I'm not sure how well-known those games are...) #I'm not going to tag all the characters mentioned here... #Flor talks #gotta love how the more it goes the less I'm describing what makes these characters weird #and instead is just describing them in a few words #(plus adding a few personal thoughts for some of them) #Also does this post count as an unpopular opinion ? #I mean apparently the fandom isn't the biggest fan of the Telltale trilogy due to all the problematic stuff #which I 100% understand #but at the same time man did I enjoy watching stuff from these games #and when the 3rd remaster comes out I'm absolutely buying the whole trilogy

[uncanny-tranny]

There's definitely this stereotype that aspec and acespec people are uppity, that we all "hate allo people," and I think this stems from multiple things

For one, I think some allo people see amatonormativity as the norm, and any deviation from this is a threat. So when they come across somebody who doesn't fit this narrow mold, it is seen not only as strange and odd, but it is seen as disgusting. This is why we a pathologized, a lot of times.

But I also think it's more personal. I think this idea that we hate allo people can be a comforting thing to those who aren't aspec/acespec. It is comforting, I suppose, to think "oh they just need therapy" and to brush us aside. It doesn't challenge, and that's comforting. This is why we're infantilized, as well, because we don't live up to their standards because it is impossible.

The idea of love and attraction fits very specific molds, at least in some cultures, to the point where it is seen as inextricably tied to the idea of being a real person. By pretending that we hate allo people, it makes it feel more okay to treat aro and ace people as lesser. Being a person is not tied to amatonormativity and I wish more people would recognize this. Do aspec and acespec people truly hate "all allos," or do we hate that we can't be ourselves - that we are seen as inherently lesser? Because there is a big difference between "hating allos" and "hating amatonormativity"

#ace #asexual #aro #aromantic #aroace #lgbt #lgbtq #amatonormativity #acephobia #acephobia tw #aphobia #aphobia tw #the idea that every single ace/aro hates allo people honestly just makes me sad... #...i truly despise amatonormativity. but when i listen to a love song i feel happy... #...i feel happy because that song? somebody crafted it FOR somebody. they sang FOR somebody. it's selflessness. it's art... #...that's an example though. i love that allo people can experience things like that in general... #...but i don't think that makes them better nor do i think it makes them whole... #...you aren't whole because you're able to fall in love or experience intimate attraction. yoy aren't more developed or enlightened... #...because i think those things require some effort that attraction alone doesn't fulfill... #...i am no better than allos either. i have to put in effort day in and day out in order to BE good. to DO good. #if i need to reword this or clarify things let me know as always #things i thought about on my way to a grueling shift #(seriously i am so done with work LOL)