#other people can post their perceptions on their own blogs-- that's what they're for :)

[molsno]

I don't think there's enough discussion of the transmisogynistic voyeurism that's extremely widespread in online spaces. it's definitely a problem offline too but it's become significantly more pervasive and inescapable online.

transmisogynistic voyeurism is an obsession with trans women's internal lives. while traditionally it's usually been focused on our bodies, hormones, sexualities, transitions, and other such aspects that portray us as exotic, artificial, hypersexual mimics of "real" women (this is still largely the case among conservatives), it's taken on a new form in the past several years as society's understanding of transness has slowly improved.

in more recent years, the fascination with trans women and transfemininity, particularly in purportedly progressive spaces, has shifted to focus on the "artificiality" of our womanhood from a sociocultural perspective, rather than from a biological and sexual perspective.

it's become common to see screenshots from 4chan and other similar communities of trans women or transfem eggs posting about their unusual kinks, often with racist or antisemitic undertones. screenshots of ostensibly closeted trans women being transphobic to openly trans people have become commonplace. whenever a trans woman is revealed to be racist or a sexual predator, she becomes the new topic du jour, where everyone has to weigh in and publicly disavow her actions.

you might be thinking, what's the problem with this? after all, shouldn't we be holding racists, antisemites, transphobes, and sexual predators accountable? and while the answer to that question is an unambiguous, resounding "yes!", the problem here is the unusual focus on trans women in particular, and the fact that what's happening doesn't even remotely resemble accountability.

bigotry is not a uniquely transfeminine trait. anyone can be a bigot. however, by and large, even supposed trans allies, people who put "trans women are women" and "terfs dni" in their bio, still secretly see trans women as fundamentally male, due to having been "male socialized" (a notion which very strongly contradicts our own lived experiences). thus, when they see post after post after post of trans women being bigoted, it reifies tme people's beliefs that we are all holders of male privilege who have never had to face oppression before coming out as trans.

this idea is problematic for a number of reasons. first, it denies the experiences of trans women who have been oppressed by other systems before coming out as trans. for example, multiple times in just the past few weeks, I've seen trans women of color accused of being racist, even against people of their own race; as if having to face racism all their lives wasn't bad enough, now they're assumed to be perpetrators of it. however, this idea also ignores the very real effect that transmisogyny has had in shaping our lives, even when we didn't know we were trans ourselves.

when we attempt to talk about this topic - the perception that tme people have of trans women being uniquely bigoted, we are by and large brushed off as seeking to "excuse the actions" of bigoted trans women so that we can be bigoted ourselves. this abject refusal to actually engage with what we are saying to instead paint us as the very people we're constantly made to publicly disavow lest we face social ostracization (even if we have no idea who said people even are) further reifies the stereotype of us as privileged men.

I want you to imagine for a moment if trans men were subjected to this kind of voyeurism instead. on an average day scrolling through tumblr, you'd see a post of a trans man's nsfw blog where he shares posts about how rape should be legal, right alongside his bloodplay and cannibalism kink posts, accusing trans men of normalizing rape and murder. another post would show a screenshot of the trans guy who proclaimed to have been hitler in a past life, accompanied by comments demanding trans men take responsibility by purging their community of people like him. you'd scroll down a little further and see a screenshot of a terf blog with "dysphoric female" in bio where they complain about how a trans man they know has been brainwashed by "gender ideology" with all of the comments hoping they figure out their gender identity but still vehemently disavowing them and asserting they would feel unsafe around such a person even after coming out.

the reason that doesn't happen is because biological essentialism runs rampant even in queer spaces. trans men, who were afab, are often presumed to be incapable of harm due to having been "female socialized". trans men don't have their kinks publicly shared to paint them as dangerous because they're generally assumed to be victims of sexual violence, not perpetrators. trans men aren't collectively held accountable for the actions of one trans man they don't even know because a trans man doing harm is believed to be an anomaly, and thus can be dealt with on an individual basis. that last example is especially laughable, because trans men who were formerly terfs are often lauded as heroes for sharing their stories and offered condolences for having been victims of "cult brainwashing".

the fact that this kind of voyeurism does happen to trans women is because, having been amab, we are presumed to be the perpetrators of harm rather than victims. that's not to say that trans women can't be bigoted or dangerous; clearly they can, or else this kind of voyeurism couldn't exist in the first place.

trans women can be racist, trans women can be antisemitic, trans women can be transphobic, trans women can be sexual predators, and so on. these things are all true. however, they are not more likely to be true of trans women than of other demographics. that's the point I'm trying to make here.

stop and consider for a moment, what accountability actually means. are racist, antisemitic trans women being held accountable when you share screenshots of the bigotry they post anonymously on 4chan? does that screenshot you reblogged of an assumed transfem egg being transphobic to an out trans person hold them responsible for their transphobia? is that racist trans woman who's a convicted sexual predator sentenced to prison being held accountable when you share detailed documentaries about her crimes? are they facing consequences for their actions because of you raising awareness about them?

in the vast majority of cases, the answer is no. what's really happening is that you're raising outrage about trans women, and demanding that all of us publicly disavow and distance ourselves from them, even when we have no idea who they are, so that you won't come after us next. you're upholding the idea that trans women hold a "male privilege debt" that we can never fully repay but must endlessly strive to repay regardless. this obsession with our perceived socially male traits has got to stop.

#txt #transmisogyny #my writing #sorry this is so long I know people are gonna take this in the worst faith possible and I had to debunk all their counterpoints in advance #1k

[writers-potion]

Have you done any posts on lying and liars? I'm looking for ways to indicate that someone is not trustworthy, without being too outright

Crafting (Subtly) Untrustworthy Characters

Hey thanks for the question! Please look at my previous post about writing liars reliably. This will be a follow-up post to the liars posting.

Get In the Head of the Character Being Cheated

Oftentimes, the signs of untrustworthiness may be clear to an onlooker, but not to the victim. This is also the reason why victims of fraud blame themselves and experience lowered self-esteem after realizing they've been cheated on.

On stepping a little away from the situation and looking back, all the red flags may be obvious. What makes a liar convincing is their ability to confound/emotionally overwhelm their victim so that they aren't able to think rationally on the spot. You can reasonably sort through a situation when you're given time to sit down and think for a day - when you're being pushed to make an important decision with high stakes within 2 minutes? Probably not.

You can get away with describing obvious signs of untrustworthiness, but framing them from the POV of the victim who is too scared/tired/intimidated to think properly.

A character who is young, with limited people experience, won't be able to pick up on the signs even though they're right in front of them.

So the goal here is to place the right signs there, with enough emotional/atmospheric fluff that prevents your victim from being perceptive.

Signs of Untrustworthiness

Making little changes in what they've said. Rather than going back on their promises fully, they make smaller changes, e.g. "actually, I'm only available on Tuesday after 9pm, not Monday."

They don't own up to their mistakes. There's always a good reason for their wrongdoings. Always.

They bring up emotionally uncomfortable topics to make the other feel guilty when they want to push for something they want.

They talk a lot about how they are loving/kind, but when you actually ask them for something, they back out.

"It's going to be different next time."

They say they have a strict moral code/discipline, but keep bending them, making excuses as to how the "circumstances are different" and "just this time."

If someone wants to cheat you, they'll try to make you feel special, saying things like, "you're the only one" or "who else can I ask for this?"

They accuse you of being untrustworthy.

"Future faking" where they act like the things they promised are just within your reach, but they're just deceptions.

They get into the victim/martyr mode when you try to place blame on them.

They use half-truths, leaving out the most important parts of the information to cloud your judgement.

They treat you like a king/queen when you're with other people, but cut you down when you're alone. This can also work vice versa.

Hope this helps! Happy writing :)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

💎If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 

💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

💎For early access to my content,  become a Writing Wizard 

#writing #writers and poets #writers on tumblr #creative writing #writeblr #let's write #poets and writers #creative writers #helping writers #resources for writers #writing practice #writing prompt #writing inspiration #writing community #writing ideas #writing advice #writer #on writing #writer stuff #writers life #writers block #writers community #writerscommunity #writer on tumblr #writer things #writer problems #writblr #writer community #writing process #writing a book

[fourswordsannotated]

akira himekawa are unbelievably cool.

soooo here's the thing. i was looking at akira himekawa's website on a whim and found a public blog, with posts that go all the way back to 2009. many hours of google translating later, and i've developed an even stronger admiration of these two women and their exceptional career as manga artists. they share so much in these posts about the creative process, their thoughts on social justice, their connections with nature, and their most major original story, gliding reki, which seems to have always been a passion project in the midst of commercial work.

from what i could gather, reki is unique in that they were determined to do it in full color. and they did it, because after reading about their career, it's clear to me that when these women set their mind to an idea, they make it happen. see also: they just recently produced and distributed their own art book, because no publishers were offering to do it in a way that pleased them.

their stated goals for reki were to make something more adult than their previous children's manga, taking place in a city, involving a lot of mechanical art, and featuring stronger romantic and self-described erotic subtext. good for them. before i get into the four swords-related stuff, i'm sharing what i could find on the internet about reki.

more under the cut, because there's quite a bit to discuss :)

not much that i could find on the blog specifically references four swords, but they have many fascinating insights about nintendo, the zelda fandom, and the franchise as a whole. i can't know for certain because this information was surmised from translated text, but it seems as if their manga with chibi link made them feel a little stifled, which is why they took a long break before returning to do twilight princess. it's not lost on me that even a work like four swords, which they may regard as not their favorite or best, still has inspired and brought together so many passionate, creative, and diverse people. this is especially sweet because it seems as if they met each other, and formed their creative partnership, because of a shared fandom interest of their own.

honda and nagano have shared their thoughts and feelings on this blog for more than a decade, and they have a lot of thoughts and feelings. throughout their entire career they've made commentary on work-life balance, their experiences as women in a male-dominated field, and their desire to create original art while simultaneously enjoying some commercial work as well. they are passionate about social justice, particularly re: women and indigenous people, and offer insights on aspects of culture and history and the state of the world that really could resonate with anyone. and they really seem to appreciate fans of their work, and emphasize repeatedly the care and thought they put into their manga in the hopes it will inspire and bring catharsis to readers. they love animals (especially wolves), being outside in nature, being nerds about art they enjoy, a certain subgenre of romantic manga that appealed to and empowered female readers in the 90's and 2000's, and traveling around the world to partake in activities like horse riding and falconry.

the coolest part is, they're still updating the blog to this day :) in fact they seem to have recently returned to it, reflecting that twitter is not their preferred manner of sharing things online. they seem very familiar with and fond of older-school blogging culture.

there's a lot more i could say here about my findings, some of which do pertain to... certain ships 💜🖤 . but i don't want my genuine appreciation for these authors to be overshadowed by that kind of conversation. in addition to a link to the blog itself, i'm including a few translated posts of interests, which you can interpret and incorporate into your perception of the media however you please. at the end of the day, it's a really cool gift that these artists have chosen to share so much over such a long period of time. by making their personalities, beliefs, and insights more visible to fans of their work, i hope it brings new context to the stories we already love.

a modern-day insight:

re: the zelda mangas. these are from several points throughout their career. please note that they have so many fond things to say about zelda as a franchise and their work on the mangas, especially regarding the way they've affected fans. i encourage you to look for yourself, on their blog and their other socials!

re: gliding reki

re: the creative process (and in the latter two, the fandom that seems to have inspired them!)

re: their two goofyass adorable tiny dogs that they dress up in outfits while also loving wolves like a lot, they love wolves (both domesticated and wild), they really love wolves

re: wolf day (every day is wolf day,)

re: indigenous rights

re: painting serious works on commission vs their manga. i can't know for sure exactly what it means, but it really does kinda hit

re: a fan and manga artist in training bringing them art and a note

and a moment from a twilight princess manga interview i found very sweet :)

okay. you've made it to the end. i know you're wondering. here you go. please remember that this is and always has been a public blog, and these posts are actually from 2009 and 2010. also please remember that the point of this post is not to cause or fuel fandom discourse, but to appreciate these authors and the things that they choose to express.

(also, this is the column they were referring to in image 1. it's FASCINATING. give it a read if you'd like!)

the dots are there. you're welcome to connect them.

thank you for your beautiful work and insights, honda and nagano. please never change.

#akira himekawa #four swords manga #legend of zelda #four swords #loz #twilight princess manga #(yes there is v/dow stuff at the very bottom okay it's there just please read the rest)

[digital-chance]

writeblr intro

hey i'm chance! i've done a writeblr intro recently but i didn't like it, so this is take 2. here's the old one.

─── about me -⋆⋅☆

name : chance

pronouns : they/he

likes : cyberpunk, romance, anime, kpop, music, history, design

age : 20

i tend to swear both on here and in my writing, so if you're sensitive to that, i don't think my blog or work is for you. i also use the word 'queer' a lot since i self-identify as such, when i do choose to self-identify.

i'm interested in so much, which would be impossible to fully state. there are so many new things out there and i love learning about them all!! this blog is mainly for writing but i'm not strict on that.

i also am pretty sure i'm neurodivergent (no diagnosis or anything yet) and tend to delve into hyper-fixations for weeks at a time. if i haven't posted for a while, it's probably because of one of my other hyper-fixations or school.

i'm going to college for my bachelor's in graphic design, which might make my responses during the school year delayed.

i'm always open to ask or tag games!! it might take me a few to respond but i'll respond.

─── writing -⋆⋅☆

you'll find a lot of diverse characters, the found/chosen family trope, romance or rom-com, angst, and references to actual history or historical events within my work. sometimes i throw in a little art fact since i'm an art student. in nearly every one of my works you can find a prominent lgbtq+ character, too.

i write for original works and fanfiction alike. i often alternate what project i'm writing on and tend to leave wips unfinished. there's no one specific fandom that i'm in since i tend to dabble in everything.

i enjoy reading all sorts of stories, but some of the tropes and genres that have a special place in my heart include:

[ genres : romance . action . sci-fi . dystopian . heists . cyberpunk . horror . comedy . mystery ] [ tropes : friends to lovers , enemies to lovers , fake/pretend relationship , college au , coffee shop au , domestic , fluff , angst ]

─── ⋆ looking for ⋆⋅☆

more writers to follow!

good vibes & friends

writing advice & critique buddies (will help critique ur work too)

─── works in progress -⋆⋅☆

nova futurum | original work | #wip: nova futurum

─── ⋆ status : brainstorming

a lgbtq+ mafia cyberpunk story with the working title "Nova Futurum." i've got the general information down and i'm currently working on fleshing out my main characters. for now it's in the very basic stages, but feel free to ask me about it or give any tips!

you still would've been mine | fanfiction | #wip: yswbm

─── ⋆ status : outlining, research, & writing draft 1

Steven "Steve" Rogers wakes up in the 21st century after crashing into the ice in 1942, leaving behind his life as the mascot of the USA along with his childhood in Brooklyn NYC. The Winter Soldier, a man left behind in the war recovers his memories as the man known as James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes after meeting Steve in the modern time. Steve and Bucky recall their childhood and their experience in the war as they recover.

matchbreakers | original work | #wip: match

─── ⋆ status : brainstorming

xavier works at match breakers. instead of setting people up on blind dates, he goes to dates and breaks up the couple. all sorts of people hire him, disapproving parents, jealous ex's, and those scared to see their ex's angry side. what he doesn't expect is falling in love with one of his own clients.

scars of duty | original work | #wip: sod

─── ⋆ status : plotting

Lucian is a hero who protects the city of Haines and the other members of his hero's league. They're a small-name hero just trying to make do with what they've got. A villain new to the city shows up and shakes Lucian’s perception of their own superpowers and the world.

< tag lists: if you'd like to be added for any project, let me know. i'm not the greatest at remembering the tag list but i will try! >

─── ⋆ more of my socials & my design portfolio

#writeblr intro #writeblr #writers of tumblr #writing community #writeblr search #writeblr introduction #author intro #reintroduction #writeblr reintro #graphic design #matchbox twenty #wip: nova futurum #wip: yswbm #masterlist #masterpost #pinned post #pinned #intro #writerblr #writeblr community

[mistmarauder]

Hey! I saw your post about pururing's account, and that your post has been reblogged by lots of people who I pretty much always agree with (including you). So I went to the account's posts and scrolled down, expecting to roll my eyes, shake my head, etc.

But as I read the artist's and others' most recent responses, I started thinking about art forms like Kathakali (I'm South Indian) where face paint of different colours is used as narrative devices and to represent characteristics. If I were to represent a 9-1-1 scene in Kathakali style, I'd need to depict faces of certain characters with colours like white, yellow, black, red, etc depending on the character and their role in a particular arc. So an actor who is portraying someone of Asian descent might be shown with yellow paint on their face to depict not their race, but their gender.

The Western-gaze would see this as "yellowface" and offensive. But shifting perspectives and taking into account the background of the artform and the artist would clarify that this is a difference in context.

I don't know if there is a right or wrong here. If a show began in a Western context and depicts the Western context, does that mean Western audiences can demand that it never be depicted in contexts they're unfamiliar with? Do artists have to stay true to the context of the artform, or do they stay true to the context of the subject being portrayed? Even if this question doesn't have a binary answer, what's the difference between acceptable and unacceptable practices, and who gets to have a say in deciding that?

I just think that these are the more pertinent questions that need to be asked and discussed in this situation. By narrowing things down just to whether that artist was right or wrong without considering such nuances, I feel like we're all risking being smugly superior without realising that we're actually in a bit of an echo chamber.

Hi, anon! I want to thank you for this message. Truly. I do think we sometimes find ourselves in an echo chamber. It’s for that reason that I try to be careful when I make posts like that. I rarely reblog callout posts, and I rarely make them. This is the third one I think I’ve ever made, and I can’t think of any I’ve reblogged off the top of my head.

Callout posts to me only become necessary when you’ve exhausted all other options. And in this case, I only made it myself because it seemed as though those speaking out were being ignored – including people of color. I know that a lot of that has to do with how heavily some of those blogs block and how much they’ve been blocked in the past. So, I chose to make a post under my own name because I knew more people would see it. From what I understand, while a few people do have me blocked, I’m not widely blocked in this fandom. All that being said though, posts like this can still be incendiary and dangerous, and I don’t make them lightly. It’s why I tried to keep my explanation and language as mild as possible while explaining the issue at hand.

That being said, because I approached it in that manner, there’s a lot that the general public isn’t privy to just by scrolling that person’s account.

I’ll start with what you are privy to and how I think it’s different from the Kathakali style you refer to in your message. The defenses this person gave to their coloring choices have little to do with culture and more to do with style and perception. They pulled stills from the show in an attempt to explain the color palette they used, but as an example, in this picture here, Jee is clearly lighter than Maddie, her white mother. And you can see in real reference photos using these actors that this is not the case. That is just a fact.

They didn’t explain away this issue with cultural artistic differences. They explained this issue using pictures and color picking and defending their perception with some alarming messages in DM.

That brings me to some information you were not privy to. This is an example of one of the messages I was shown in private by someone who was trying to talk to this person one on one about everything going on here.

They state that they drew Jee that way because she’s lighter than her parents, which is just a bizarre and untrue statement to make - particularly in reference to Maddie. But then they went on to say she’s going to get lighter as she grows older. Even if that is true (which I don’t see why it would be because what?), it has nothing to do with her skin color now.

A lot of this artist’s work is limited to black and white sketches. But if they’re going to choose to add color to their work, it should accurately represent the people of color they're choosing to portray regardless of the artist’s own skin color.

I understand this is a different style of art than the art we normally see, but I don’t see how that would change the fact that twins that play Jee should not be portrayed as whiter than Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt who are both white actors. It’s kind of a manga style from what I gather, but from everything I know about that, it shouldn’t have an effect on coloring choices.

And again, the artist themselves says they colored Jee lighter because they perceive her to be lighter and think she will become lighter. That is… problematic to say the least.

It is still complicated though because I think you’re right about Western vs. Eastern art forms and gazes. I really do. I’m a white woman from the West, and that skews my perceptions immensely. I try to understand things as best I can, but I’m not perfect, and I know I’ll make mistakes. But I do not see how the art form here makes the work immune to criticism.

What I know and what I knew before making that post was that there were enough people who were upset by it that it deserved being looked into. And then so many of those voices were being lost in the void that I wanted to do what I could to help. That may not have been my place. What I knew was that my voice would have a greater impact though, and so I used it.

I personally believe this artist to be in the wrong, especially after being shown some of the messages they sent in DM, but the question of what’s acceptable and unacceptable and who gets to have a say in deciding that is a complicated one. I normally wouldn’t feel I personally should have shared an opinion here at all because I’m white and from America, but when other voices are getting lost, what do you do? Do you stay quiet? Maybe I should have, but that’s not the choice I chose to make.

I do encourage everyone to look into the situation for themselves and make determinations for themselves, even if I put a bit of a spotlight on that person’s blog and voiced my own personal opinion. But everyone should definitely realize that what you’re seeing on the public blog isn’t all there is. Not by a long shot.

I really hope I answered some of your questions and that this made some amount of sense.

Please feel free to message me again on or off anon if you want to discuss it further or if you think I've made a mistake. That goes for anyone. My DMs are open.

#911 discourse #for the filters #anonymous #mist answers

[lilliesofinspirationvalley]

Soul Eater Revised Overview!

In case you didn’t know, I have a fan project in the works called Soul Eater Revised, a rewrite/personal interpretation of Soul Eater’s world and narrative. It’s primarily a written piece, but I also have a lot of designs and stuff for it too! has its own blog @souleaterrevised and chapters of the fanfic here on AO3 (they're only accessible if you have an account just to prevent AI scanning).

There’s so much I can get into, and I want to leave at least some surprises… but I can’t help myself. I might as well give some sneak peeks at everything I’m cooking!

Obviously there will be a good amount spoilers for everything I’m planning, so reading all of this is to your own discretion!

Lore & Worldbuilding

Y’know the whole thing at the end of Fire Force where it ends as like… a “prequel” to the SE world out of nowhere? Yeah, some people find that cool while others find it incredibly forced. I… I think it’s both. I have some thoughts on how I would rework Fire Force myself, and part of that is the ending and how it connects to SE. Essentially, the world of flames and infernals dies, but is reborn into a world of souls and magic. The supernatural and fantastical become inherently tied to this new world thanks to Adolla’s whole deal with shared human perception and all that.

Excalibur is the most obvious piece of evidence of the Old World existing— He’s essentially the personification of Arthur’s escapism and loneliness. He got pulled out of the spiritual realm and can’t really get back… so he’s just kinda been hanging out in the physical world for multiple centuries. Truth be told, he just misses his dad, man.

So yeah, Shinra, Iris, Tamaki, etc… they all kinda die??? But they also like… become these fun deities known as Patrons. Much of what’s known about them in the New World is this weird mix of myth and fact.

Speaking of deities, I got more information on how those work!! Essentially, there are multiple deities that work with and look after their associated cultures. For example, death deities such as Anubis/Anpu focus on collecting the souls of those living in Egypt.

Most deities focus on their respective groups (but obviously intermingle and all that), but there are a few deities who work more internationally! These include Lord Death (obviously, lol), Lady Gaia (also known as Mother Nature), and Arcane (Observer of Magic)

There may or may not also be a goddess of madness and chaos whose stuck in a distorted realm of flesh and black ooze. But she’s not trying to get back out into the physical world or anything… right? @hollyhuedhorror may know more about her ;3

Due to deities and magic and all of this fun stuff being more commonplace, not only has global transportation developed a little earlier (especially for supernatural communities), but there was a lot of intervention (especially when LD shows up and sets up DWMA) of “HEY. DON’T COLONIZE AND ENSLAVE EACH OTHER.” Immigrants learn to coexist with indigenous communities, people travel across the world because they wish to and not by force, all that good stuff. Essentially we replace most of the racism/cultural prejudice with… soul type prejudice. Call that what you will.

Soul types are a lot more developed as a concept— it honestly deserves its own post, but to get a major, mostly relevant thing out there: Monsterfolk (associated with animals and magic as a whole) and fae (associated with the elements) were essentially the overseers of humans in much of ancient history due to their sheer power and longer lifespans. Witches are initially created as the offspring between Monsterfolk and humans, though their soul type can pass down through further generations. Enchanters are essentially the same thing, but the offspring of fae and humans. Many of these magical people were genuinely benevolent and helped humans… but a lot of them were also very tyrannical, finicky, all that stuff

Living weapons generally discover their powers around puberty (the average being around 13-14 years old). Just about every soul type is capable of carrying weapon abilities (through genetics and whatnot), so it’s not too uncommon for powerful soul types to unlock their powers much earlier. This is the case for Fire and Thunder! They’re 5 year old nymphs (Fae) and already have phenomenal control of their gauntlet forms.

Aside from deities and corrupted souls like kishins/afreets and phantoms, there are 3 categories for soul types: Human, Monsterfolk, and Fae. These three categories each have their own “enhancements”— incredibly rare variants of the average soul’s capabilities.

Humans - Warrior, Seer, Grigori, Pixie

Monsterfolk/Witches - Sorcerer

Fae/Enchanters - Shaman

Lord Death was… essentially sent down to the physical world as a “janitor” in the Middle Ages (around the 1200s to be more specific). A lot of deaths have been happening to the point where people aren’t really performing the proper rituals to help souls pass on. So LD is sent in to help collect leftover souls and figure out the sorta things causing so much destruction

While he’s getting adjusted there, he ends up meeting some supernatural people such as the sorcerer Eibon and witch Arachne. They form a fun little travel group going around the world and helping people/hunting down corrupted souls. Arachne was incredibly passionate about wanting humans and the supernatural to see each other as equals.

During these adventures, Arachne finds an orphan child who’s village had gotten destroyed and he lost his parents. Arachne, having so much maternal instinct as she does, takes the boy in as her own kid (even though her sisters aren’t too much older than him lmao). This totally doesn’t have a domino affect on anything, I promise :)

But yeah, what do you do when you’re personally hit with the fact that humans are far more vulnerable and die easily compared to you and your supernatural companions? That this vulnerability is what many supernaturals exploit for their dominance in society? You want to find ways to help humans defend themselves, right? And if you already travel with what is essentially an overpowered living weapon… you’re gonna get some ideas, right?

Just because you may have the ability to bring the dead back to life… does that mean you should? What if the revived have no idea what to do with the sudden powers and rejuvenated, unnatural body you’ve given them? What if they don’t remember their past lives? What if they eventually or already do? To literally die and be reborn… it could cause u to go a little cuckoo bananas one way or another.

None of this leads to the divorce between a Reaper and the Spider Witch. Or the first fully corrupted Kishin to be born. Or an octopus merman becoming eldritch. Or witches fearing for their lives on all sides and creating their own pocket dimension for refuge. Nope. Not at all. (In case you genuinely can’t tell, this is sarcasm. So much shit goes down but we don’t have time to unpack all of that)

DWMA Details

The Death Weapon Meister Academy/Association is an international organization that focuses on fighting against corrupted souls, along with teaching living weapons (and meisters) how to control their powers.

The DWMA has several regional branches, each with their own overseeing staff and representative Death Weapon (also known as Death Scythes).

Normally Overcome Target (aka NOT) courses are available at each region’s headquarters, while the Especially Advanced Talent (EAT) program is held exclusively in Death City, Nevada.

The academy predominantly teaches middle-high school students, between (U.S.) grades 7-12. They also provide a large amount of university/college courses for graduates. In most cases, students enroll in whatever grade they would continue in normal school, or the grade most applicable for their age.

If a weapon or meister in a partnership graduates before the other, they remain with their partner but don’t have to continue schoolwork (or they simply move forward with higher, college-level courses)

In order to be in EAT you have to be at least in 9th grade/3rd year, which usually means you spent at least 2 years in NOT courses.

If you enter the academy at an older age, you still need to be enrolled in the NOT course for at least 2 years (some exceptions depend on whether your partner is also able to enroll)

Character Notes

To be completely honest I plan on expanding more background and development on almost every character (because lord knows we need it) so I don’t think I can list everything and everyone. However I will cover some general highlights and details I think are very swag.

First things first, I don’t write Blair as a gross fan-service baiting creep! She’s still very playful but only gets coy and flirtatious around actual adults. I’m making her the big sister/maternal figure bad bitch she deserves to be! She’s also getting more of a backstory— She was adopted and raised by an incredibly powerful sorcerer who… will be quite involved in the later stages of SER’s main storyline. Blair gets her own sample of the horrors, I’m so sorry queen.

Ah yes. We’ll be diving a lot deeper into horrors and madness as a whole. Of course I’ll do more with Soul, Stein, etc… but we’re gonna make madness a little more gender inclusive. That is to say, Maka’s gonna have more unhinged grinning to do! Tsubaki’s gonna become an Omori kinnie! Not even Liz and Patty are safe!

Get ready to explore and learn about more characters’ families and upbringing! It’s… it’s actually a pretty big recurring topic.

I will be including and reworking NOT as the first few months of the school year before the main SE plot kicks in! You will learn to enjoy Tsugumi and her girlfriends… hopefully.

Shaula has more of an independent and chaotic personality compared to Medusa and Arachne. She has a history of pulling major conspiracies and stunts, especially around DWMA. Why does she do this? Mostly for shits and giggles. Don’t be fooled, she is not above manipulating an already traumatized girl and making her memory repression even worse.

Princess Ponera and Nars Garnier from the Wii Game, Monotone Princess, are included! They’re gonna be associated with Noah. Ponera is a haughty, pompous princess dead-set on vengeance. Nars is an arrogant, deceptively friendly man who blends Phantom of the Opera with Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Ponera and Shaula are girlfriends. They’re actually very healthy despite being y’know. Evil.

While we’re on the subject… Noah Grimoire is a sorcerer Eibon took in and mentored 600 years before the main story (but sadly, Eibon thinks Noah died in an accident… this isn’t the case). His associated animal is worms, and it’s very easy to joke he is a major bookworm himself. That term goes even deeper than you can imagine :)

Noah thinks he’s the next Xehanort Kingdom Hearts (guy who makes multiple copies of himself and seeks knowledge no matter the ethics to become a god). He negotiates/coerces multiple people to work with him— including a teenage boy from early 19th century Russia. The kid’s a real angel, he doesn’t experience anything bad ever.

Ragnarok is going to be known as the Dragon Sword! He’s a dragonborn (type of monsterfolk) that just. Showed up in Norway 200 years ago and started causing havoc. Marie’s ancestors at the time were the ones who imprisoned him in his weapon form, and he was sealed away for a long time. Until… someone managed to steal him for Medusa Gorgon herself. You already kinda know what happens next

Pls don’t kill me for this but… Crona is going to be a very tragic character (I’m following the manga plotline because I think it’s super interesting). They doom themselves in the narrative more than anything. You can’t wait around for everyone else to figure out how to deal with you, after all.

Crona and Maka’s relationship is… not that healthy, all things considered! Their “guardian angel” needs to survive a codependent, homo-ambiguous teenage friendship.

Everyone pour one out for Soul as his meister repeatedly ignores his obvious discomfort over being around the person who nearly killed him. And for all their friends kinda getting ignored by Maka too, and also being pushed into hanging out with someone where neither party is that comfortable.

Marie becomes a school counselor/therapist for EAT students (and especially Crona) when she arrives after Asura’s revival. She is the Death Weapon of Northern Europe (Scandanavia) and looks after Justin a lot until LD felt he was “ready” (since he becomes a Death Weapon at such a young age and all). She’s going to go through so much guilt of feeling like she failed to guide the young people she cares so deeply for!!!

Justin is like. Baby Claude Frollo to me. If that makes sense. Tezca (“I can fix him”) and Giriko (“I can make him worse”) both take him in as their lil brother

Giriko doesn’t do the gross descendant possessing thing because that’s just. Not fun to think about! Instead he’s more or less a living golem, frequently creating new bodies for himself out of the earth. He absolutely still has a ton of kids/descendants though like the deadbeat sleazeball he is. If Denji Chainsaw Man were in SE, we unfortunately all know who would be the father.

Eibon’s narrative relevance actually becomes a big thing!! I love when all-powerful characters are actually just. Really chill and nice. He’s like that with so much guilt from all of his past actions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that.

Proper background, time, and development for characters such as Mifune and Angela, Eruka, Free, the Mizune Family, Tabatha, and Taruho (aka Lisa and Arisa from Chupa Cabra’s)

More on the Hoshi family of meisters/martial artists and how the Star Clan branched off from it! BlackStar doesn’t just have to deal with strangers associating him with corrupted assassins, but much of his actual blood family is really restrained and they don’t want Shiroto (WhiteStar)’s kid to end up the same way.

Mabaa and the Witch Realm! The fox Witch Judge is named Netsuki and she’s Mabaa’s wife <3

Kid getting flashback dreams of Asura and more of him playing detective to uncover the mysteries his dad keeps hiding from him. Some are easy to expect and others… not so much.

Tons of OCs

Maka’s mother, Kumiko Kami-Albarn! She was originally Azusa’s partner until she caught onto Stein experimenting on Spirit when they were all students. She’s a bitch who needs to be better than everyone else (and gets jealous of her own kid rip). I like her so much

Chupa Cabra’s owner, a literal chupacabra vampire! His name is Raul, he’s the brain cell and wants to convince everyone he’s sane and normal.

Squirrel witch Nui Harime kinnie who can checkout people’s mindscapes!

Shadow fae butler dad so Kid isn’t in Gallows Manor all by himself as a child! His name is Lungelo, he’s super cool and dilf material.

EAT classmates based on several things! Magical girls! No Straight Roads! ENA! Undertale/Deltarune! They all get their own little bits to shine and be interwoven in the narrative

More Death Weapons and their meisters to match more distinct regions! For example, Southern Europe, Southeast Asia, South America (Tezca is Central America because... he's Mexican. Literally based on Aztec myths which is in Mexico), South Asia, actual regions of Africa (North, East, etc).

Characters created by my friends such as @starkitters @chalkanthit @teaableu and @silvvergears!

#lilli's rambles #soul eater #soul eater revised #soul eater rewrite #I am. Not tagging everybody and everything I talk about in here lmao

[bcbdrums]

Given the fact that we were talking about our perceptions of certain kinds of ships in regards to Stein and how they suit or do not suit his character, how do you feel about smut/the relationship dynamics within Stein x character smut fics?

All righty then...! Here comes a very long rambling of my headcanons about Stein, his two primary relationships, and his relationship with those deeper intimacies. This takes some turns before it gets to the main point but well, I love talking about this man. Extremely long post under the cut.

Also - there are two blogs I tag at the very end of this post - you two feel free to ignore all my ramblings, just know I praise you both at the end and I still re-read your Soul Eater stories VERY regularly.

I'm truthfully still trying to reorganize my thoughts on this specific topic because 1) I have listened to many a headcanon from others on the subject and I always try to give validity to their thoughts even when they differ from mine, and 2) I've also read tons of smut fic with Stein out of sheer desperation for...well, Stein fic. (Come on Stein fandom where you at? Write me some gen fic too, lol)

I have not read too many fics of him with Marie cuz those always contain manga spoilers so I'm skipping those for now until I finish reading (exactly halfway through!). So what I've read is mostly Stein/Spirit smuts and just a couple with Marie, and I want to say….almost zero?? I think zero of those fics (and boy I've read plenty) have "hit the spot" in terms of what I would want for a Stein smut. They're good stories, in some cases great stories, well-written and thoughtfully conceived, but they're not fitting my headcanons and interpretations of who I see onscreen (and who I see in the manga so far).

All that said now… Some of my own relevant headcanons for him, and then I'll get more into fic of others.

I go back and forth toying with the idea that Stein experimented with intimacy just a little as a teen. He's not immune to puberty and hormones; he's human whether he likes it or not, which isn't to say mind over matter doesn't work for him. (Clearly it does, in staving off madness among other things.) But he's a scientist. He's curious. And I can see him justifying an experiment or two in his teen years. But they would in fact be just that, experiments. It's still a big maybe. I can't say for certain he would, it's the sort of thing like…if all the dots line up just right, he'd attempt it. If not, he wouldn't. And it would only be with those two people: Marie and/or Spirit. He doesn't trust anyone else enough. (Yes, I'm on board with the popular fanon that Marie was one of his other weapon partners after Spirit.)

Another teen headcanon... I can also easily see a sort of angsty distraction possibility for him. When he loses Spirit to Kami, I can see him getting into a "romantic" relationship with Marie as sheer distraction, and even misguided retaliation. Spirit "cheated" on him with another meister and abandoned him, so why shouldn't he do the same with another weapon? Which sucks for Marie but well she's not healthy about relationships any more than Stein or Spirit are. But this is just another sort of maybe-thought; another situation where all the dots would have to line up just right for him to go for it. But I can see it, no question, just like the prior thought.

As for Stein as an adult, at the point we see him in the show… While I think relationally he and Spirit have the most interesting dynamic to explore, the one he shows more openness toward is Marie. It's clear that he cares for her. And he doesn't fully understand that either. Now I don't think he wants to get into bed with her, or marry her, or anything traditional to a romance. But I also don't think Marie is going anywhere. Thinking post-anime now…. Unless he gives her a sign that there is nothing between them, I think she's staying put. But sadly for her, I think there is something between them... Sadly because, Stein doesn't know what it is, and it's not "love" the way that Marie wants it. It's just something he's unfamiliar with. Meanwhile she's devoted to him, poor woman.

Now, end of the anime… Let's talk about this…. Marie helps him back to sanity with her healing wavelength. But…then he's just "okay"? No he isn't. Look at that man. His dark circles are darker, his eyes are more haunted. That man has been living off madness and cigarettes for weeks. When is the last time he ate anything? Showered? Legitimately got any sleep?? How he's even standing up let alone fighting Medusa is beyond me, and then he performs freaking major surgery and then waltzes into the death room afterward like he's fine. Because...that's who Stein is.

Stein will fight until he is incapable of fighting anymore, to serve those he loves. Yes I said loves. And it is agonizing how much he strives to show his love for others, and it's something he doesn't even realize he has within him. He thinks he can't understand love? It's because he feels it so deeply and passionately it's beyond definition. Part of this however I'm also certain is motivated from his deep desire for purpose as an adult. The manga shows that aspect of his character even more-so than the anime (in what I've read so far). That man is desperate for purpose and to belong somewhere, with someone. He can't escape his human nature even if he doesn't understand it, can't define it, and even though it drives him crazy all on its own…

So bringing this back to Marie… End of the anime. I don't think Marie is leaving. She's gonna stay, help nurse Stein back to health and sanity despite his pretending he's fine (or perhaps even sheer ignorance of his condition), and Stein…is gonna be confused the whole dang time about his feelings for Marie. He knows he feels something but he has no idea what it is or how to process it. But "love" in the romantic sense he doesn't possibly consider, because well...his conceptions of that sort of thing aren't based in anything healthy (see: Spirit's relationships).

So yeah… She's not leaving. He won't reject her attentions because he does care about her, just not in a way he understands and also not in the way she wants. And as she starts to realize that he has some kind of feeling for her, I think she'd turn up the romance and she'd make a move on him. OR…she'd play the extremely...long...patient game, and wait for him to make a move on her, when it's within his comfort zone. And let me be clear… This man still does not know what love is in this traditional sense, does not understand love. He knows what physical attraction and hormones are and darn him he can't shake those either, but as an adult he wouldn't act impulsively on them nor would he confuse them with love. Stein is the ultimate master of mind over matter. If he were to sleep with her, it would be a choice; a decision he makes consciously and deliberately. I see this within the realms of possibility. But if he chooses it himself, if he's the one who makes that decision simply out of his wanting to…it would be a long, long time that that woman is waiting for him. But I do think it possible. The question is simply, how long will she wait. And she's also the type to try to stir things up (see: her behavior toward Joe in the manga). So who knows when they may end up in bed together... These dots are more complicated to align than those of his teenage years. And if Marie made the move first...I think he'd accept it. Because, see again, his wanting to belong with someone, and he knows he feels something different with Marie.

As for Spirit, well... Stein sees that Spirit likes women. And Stein sees that Spirit can't commit. I think Stein "loves" Spirit more than he loves Marie. First love, young love... Spirit is the relationship of his life, even though that's yet another thing he cannot possibly understand. I think that while part of him, the mad obsessive part, and the curious part, does want to be close to Spirit in the intimate way…it's not out of a healthy desire or even typical motivations. It would come from a desire to possess, from his deeply human but inexplicable yearning to be closer to the one he loves even though it's not the right type of love for that type of intimacy. Not really sure Spirit would be all-in if Stein were to make the move... I think Spirit would take persuading. It's another circumstance where all the dots have to line up just right, and in this case probably more while caught up in madness than in sanity. Because as previously mentioned… In his right mind, Stein knows that Spirit likes women and more importantly that Spirit cannot commit. And he's ironically smart enough to know not to attempt a traditional human romance with someone who cannot commit. I don't think Stein would himself attempt intimacy with Spirit in his right mind at all, unless something happened to make him utterly desperate not to lose the man... Another instance of, all those dots have to connect.

But ugh, the angst. Spirit abandoned him after five years... Stein is not going to willingly subject himself to possible heartbreak again. Plus, he does not think Spirit has forgiven him for the "experiments." I think he thinks Spirit only hangs around him now as an adult as his handler, despite desperately wanting his friendship again. But I think he figures it's a lost cause so he just takes what is offered and never pursues more.

Okay but before I digress further into my endless thoughts about Stein's and Spirit's relationship (I'll do another post for that maybe), back to the point of your question.

I am really not one for labels, partially because I don't understand them but also because I think the spectrum is just so deep and too much defies definition. But if I were to label him, I guess I'd go with...gray ace with demi leanings…?

The man is driven only by curiosity, about anything and everything. But the level of intimacy we're talking about is more than he ever wants to trust anyone with. It's always gotta be on his terms, and more often than not…his terms would be unhealthy.

So let's talk about what shows up in fanfic, since that was what the original question was about. And once again, I like to lend validity to everyone's interpretation. Just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it's wrong or shouldn't exist. But you did ask about MY thoughts, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Once again, I've barely touched Stein/Marie fic because I'm avoiding manga spoilers. In the one or two I've seen, he comes across as not connecting emotionally in the typical way, but knowing that there is indeed something different about being with her. He knows she cares about him, and he cares in return. But it doesn't come across as anything intimate on his side of it. This isn't a characterization I particularly like, because Stein as an adult... As I said, I think he'd choose that intimacy if and when he wants it. In the stories, it comes across more as him just doing her a favor, just going along. It doesn't sit right. But like I said, that's only two stories. For other Stein/Marie, I reserve opinion for later.

Stein/Spirit... Okay. I've noticed a great many commonalities in the fics I've read. And this isn't a taste or preference thing; like I said I have devoured almost every smut fic just in desperation for any fanfic of them. Would prefer more gen fic less smut personally, but anyway.

Most fics have Stein in the dominant role, Spirit in the submissive role. I understand that interpretation but it's not how I see them. I see them as equals if they were to get into that type of intimacy. There is often a lot of bloodplay, frequently madness on Stein's part, major instances of non-con, pet play, BDSM, sometimes light cannibalism... It all suggests an impersonal and unhealthy relationship most of the time, which again...is not at all how I see them if they were to become a couple. Could such things come about? Unhealthily, possibly. But darn me and my desire for happy endings.

These two men are so broken, that if they were to become a healthy couple...I feel like it would be slow, cautious...extremely hesitant. There is extreme distrust on both sides, and also misconceptions about how the other feels. Which...I will save that analysis for later. Focusing back on smut fic.

I have seen only a few that touch on the give and take in a trusting relationship (all by the same author) that come closest to what I feel is accurate to the characters onscreen as I see them, but still the emphasis is too much on lust. It still isn't hitting the spot for me due to a lack of that relational development... Make no mistake, the stories are great, but I personally am hoping for something much deeper.

In my view, Stein just does not seek out physical intimacy in that way. I don't think he can fully escape the innate human need for touch, but in terms of a drive to get into bed with anyone... I think the occasional human desire for it crops up, and he easily ignores it/packs it away because it's not useful to him. It doesn't bother him. He doesn't think about it.

So this is where that...gray-ace, demi vibe comes into play for my view of him. Talking about Stein here as an adult and in control of himself, not consumed by madness... This is I supposed a bit of a summation of my thoughts.

If he did get into a relationship with anyone (and again I think his only choices are Spirit and Marie), it would not be based on the physical at all. I also don't think he would rush into any relationship. It would be a long process before he trusted the person enough to consider them a romantic partner. And really, we could get away from the word romance entirely... Life-partner is a better word, in Stein's case. If the person wanted physical intimacies, I think he would be responsive to that. The other person would be in the lead, but in no way dominating. It would have to be an equal trust thing or else Stein would nope out hard. Stein would gradually learn what it is he likes physically, and how to give his partner what they want. He can come to enjoy it because this is his life-partner, the one he belongs with, the one who needs him and is part of his purpose. But again...the physical is not something that drives him at all. Not in how I see him portrayed onscreen or in the manga.

So, overall, in my point of view nearly all smut fics miss the mark. Now...the stories I've seen where I think the physical intimacy is nailed don't even get to smut. Those are the stories by @asymmetryestablished (AO3 NothingSoDivine) and their characterizations of Stein and Spirit defy description in any words I have. The other author who nails it is @wispforever (same on AO3) and the closest to physical intimacy they get is dancing, but my gosh still the characterizations are utter perfection. I will be re-reading y'all's Stein/Spirit stories forever.

I hope I did in fact answer your question, but overall, I was delighted to just spill out so many of my thoughts about Stein even if in summary form. Yes this was a summary... Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

#soul eater #franken stein #spirit albarn #marie mjolnir #stein #spirit #death scythe #crossstitch #steinspirit #spiritstein #steinmarie #stein x marie #stein x spirit #spirit x stein #headcanons #ask answer

[drbased]

Hi! I stumbled across your blog last night, and since then I've read your whole tag on the theory of symbolic states. Really interesting stuff, and the way you write is very engaging and accessible. Even though we have had different experiences I've come to somewhat similar conclusions/revelations myself. There's such a strong emphasis on "identity/s" these days, and for years I was wrapped up "exploring" my identities (in reality, I was creating narratives and symbolic selves). (pt 1)

Thank you for your very kind words! I'm very happy to learn that my writing is engaging and accessible, because that's what I want!

I am not aware of Erickson's theory of the stages of development (and will look into that) but I absolutely agree that it's a teenage mindset. I wrote a post a while back about an immature mind, for example, fantasising about becoming a rock star - and how in that mind, 'rockstar' isn't the result of a human dedicating years of their life to developing a craft and then recieving praise and adoration as a result, but rather a distinct 'category' of person, where everything in the scene (the band, the music, the instruments, the stage, the screaming crowd) all serves as part of the same metaphysical identity; there is not distinction between the person and the symbols around them, and this scene is considered almost outside of time, existing in situ, in a vacuum. Part of engaging with symbolic necessarily involves a disconnect from understanding what things are and how they're conncted, and there's a narcissism where all things are made made to serve the person's 'identity' instead of existing in their own right; this is perfectly natural for a teenager, I would argue, because they're yet to truly understand what things are. But adults have 'no excuse', biologically-speaking, so any clinging to the symbolic is absolutely done to eschew adult responsibility and emotional maturity, preserving that comfortable teenage mindset of fantasy (I say this with full self-awareness, for the record).

However.

I err on the side of caution when it comes to pinning the blame on what is, essentially, 'kids these days' and their immaturity and entitlement. Whilst I fully recognise that the symbolic mindset is a form of stunted development, it is only one facet of a rich tapestry of potential forms of immaturity. Here's what I actually believe is happening:

This is the first time in human history where a large chunk of the population have existed in relative physical comfort and safety for multiple generations; we're not scared animals anymore, and for a long time we were vulnerable to accepting whatever minimal circumstances, belief systems etc. we were exposed to. In a comfortable environment, there is time to reflect on grander concepts - and, with mass media, this reflection doesn't have to happen to a billion individuals with minimal ability to communicate to each other, but rather we can collectively learn as a society, forming a group consciousness (in a purely metaphorical sense, not jungian or spiritual or w/e). As that consciousness is reflective of the individual consciousness, it can 'mature' in the same way an individual can, and what I see is a gradual emotional maturing of society.

Maturation is not the perfect system we all want it to be - a lot of archetypes of a 'mature' person are a tacit acceptance of systems as they are, dissilusionment, and an internal inner peace that allows for a disconnect from the empathy of others. We're told all the time that people 'get conservative as they get older' and I believe that's because as you go through more shit, you get stronger/more comfortable in yourself, and you start to look down on people who don't have the same maturity level as you.

One of the issues surrounding our perception of 'growing up' is that you never escape conditioning by the world around you. And the entire way we communicate, the way we think, the way we interpret ourselves and others and social behaviour and morality - all of it is (I don't like to use the word 'corrupted' because that implies there's a 'pure' version of these things) influenced by a society that is structured in hierarchy and domination - and that is entirely the case because there are people who benefit from it. A perfect example is the phrase 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me' - this is a phrase I grew up with, and as a bullied child I despised it. But that was the convential wisdom of the time; a mark of maturity is to be so strong in yourself that words simply bounce off you, and you can't be hurt. But how do slurs factor into all of this? In the past decade, the biggest leftist social faux pas has been to directly challenge these social wisdoms - to say that, actually, victimhood isn't a mark of impurity on the victim and that, actually, hurting people makes the person causing the pain look bad. That our 'personal responsibility' is to make sure we're not causing pain to others, not to take zero responsibility in causing pain and to merely expect that the other person decide within themselves that they're not hurt anymore and now can forgive you. We're rapidly forgetting how powerful the culture of machismo, especially for men, really was - the dominant wisdom for a long time was emotions make you weak and cringe.

What I percieve as happening that we have a cultural growth that has reached its own stage of emotional maturity. We're not so scared and vulnerable anymore, so people are finally able to look back and say, 'hey, that person hurt me, and that was their fault, actually, not mine'. But, naturally, there has been an overreaction, and people who still wish to dominate and be cruel (because we still live in a society where the foundational structure is built from domination and cruelty), are absolutely using that to their advantage. Abusers can now claim to be soft souls hurt by others - something we should be reserving for the people hurt by them. And then, of course, those that still think this is cringe and immature see the abusers and the narcissists take that language for themselves, and use this as 'proof' that the whole enterprise is inherently narcissistic and a deviation from a healthy, emotionally mature society. Right-wingers believe that any tendency towards fairness and compassion is proof society is going downhill, and after a decade of being told they weren't allowed to use slurs, they saw wearing masks as taking this whole kindness thing too far, and dug their heals in in a way that didn't happen when my country literally banned smoking indoors.

A major factor in all of this I do not want to ignore is capitalism. A primary reason that there's a 'cultural obsession with personal identity' is literally because of capitalism - 'consumerism' isn't just a minor factor in it, but rather a symptom of an identity constructed in an environment of both capitalism and mass media. Mine was the first generation to grow up with a litany of mass media, and I can now recognise that my relationship with the symbolic was formed during that time. As part of the cultural growth, a checkpoint is the irony-poisoned 90s, where there was a growing self-awareness, especially around how the culture we consume has affected our identity. I grew up in that environment, and without me knowing I was consuming very self-aware media - The Animaniacs comes to mind. This definitely influenced my relationship with myself as inherently meta and self-referential, I understood myself in terms of tropes before I ever got to fully get to know myself in isolation. I think that's a large reason why my generation in particualr is prone to this brand of symbolic thinking. I emphasise this brand of symbolic thinking because, once again, we think of this 'identity' stuff as something inherent to 'kids these days', but before this people took their identity and narrative and aesthetic from literal religion - I can't ignore the role atheism has to play in the way my generation engages with the symbolic.

All of this - the cultural irony leading to cultural dissilusionment, the growing up with (self-aware) mass media (especially video games), the loss of religious narrative but without a strong sense of identity to replace it, the internet allowing for us to indulge in symbolic identities and describe ourselves using words and concepts to others without needing to attribute those concepts to material, physical reality - all of this has been absolutely exploited by capitalism. Capitalism wants us to have symbolic identities, capitalism wants to exploit out trauma, our vulnerability - or, rather, 'capitalism' doesn't really want anything because it's ultimately a metaphysical concept. But how it's played out is that it benefits those in power to naturalise and cement the social and fiscal structures that preserve and perpetuate their power, through making them an inescapable part of how we exist and communicate both individually and culturally; capitalism, especially internet-powered capitalism, is the first time in history that our symbolic identities have resulted in real-world impact. Capitalism makes symbolic identities real in a way nothing else can - religion is a close second, but religion kind of necessitates a pro-social element, whereas my identity can be influenced by me walking past an advert and going into the shop to buy my mountain dew, and then I can post a photo of me drinking 'gamer juice' online and have people percieve me as a curated, isolated identity of 'gamer'. No church can incite within me such a personal and intimate and 'concrete' sense of symbolic identity.

TL;DR it's very, very easy to view this whole phenomenon as kids these days being obsessed with identity for nebulous/unknown reasons, but I think there is a very real and delicate and complex web of social factors at play, here. And the last thing I want is to downplay what the benefits of 'therapy speak' and 'identity labels' etc. have done for society, especially oppressed peoples lacking a voice - it's only natural that those things are going to get misused accidentally/maliciously (and I don't think there's a clear-cut line between those), because the process of social change/growth is messy and nonlinear. Unfortunately for me the big question is just how sustainable this concept of 'taking responsibility for our unconscious beliefs/behaviours and caring about the hurt we cause others regardless of our intentions' is; we're already seeing a mass backlash against the concept of privilege just in how the term is deployed in arguments against 'terfs' - women always get lumped with the blame whenever an important social change gets misused.

#my writing #theory posting #symbolic states #wisdom posting #sorry this ended up another long post but I'm really passionate on this issue and I want to do this subject justice #anon

[zoobus]

Alec Baldwin, huh.

(in reference to my tags on this post)

I don't agree with the sentiment, I'm just SAYING if you write media analysis like this, you're a moron:

For those of you who can't watch videos, it's the famous speech Alec Baldwin gives in the cinematic masterpiece Glengarry Glenn Ross. Baldwin's character -- whom you assume is the villain -- addresses a room full of dudes and tears them a new asshole As smarter people have pointed out, the genius of that speech is that half of the people who watch it think that the point of the scene is "Wow, what must it be like to have such an asshole boss?" and the other half think, "Fuck yes, let's go out and sell some goddamned real estate!"

Or, as the Last Psychiatrist blog put it: "If you were in that room, some of you would understand this as a work, but feed off the energy of the message anyway, 'this guy is awesome!'; while some of you would take it personally, this guy is a jerk, you have no right to talk to me like that, or -- the standard maneuver when narcissism is confronted with a greater power -- quietly seethe and fantasize about finding information that will out him as a hypocrite.

Here are some quick indicators you can disregard someone's media opinions, whether you've seen whatever they're describing or not

They tell YOU what you'll assume about a character

They tell YOU what the "correct" read of a character is

They think there's two primary reads of the story and they flatten down to "my interpretation is smart and says something good about myself, all other interpretations are superficial and evidence of a pathetic lack of self-awareness"

They talk about award-winning, complex media like a storybook for small children. This guy is actually the villain! This guy is actually the hero!

They're so so so certain that they know exactly how everyone else interpreted the movie

Take American Psycho - when I finally watched it, I *did* find takes I disagreed with, and I *did* find takes that I felt misunderstood certain characters. But very few, if any, disagreements were due to the other person's perception of characters as purely heroic or otherwise. I found takes that I didn't object to exactly, but came from viewpoints I felt too ignorant to fully grasp or comment on. I found gaps in my own understanding, gaps I don't think I'm capable of filling (I don't get music, sorry).

It wasn't 50% dudebros who wished they were/wanted to suck off Patrick Bateman and 50% wise women smartly explaining why the racist misogynist is in fact a bad person. The most annoying, shallowest takes I've found I'm most hostile to are those "you aren't patrick bateman, you don't even wash your face/teen girls with a skincare routine understand American psycho more than any dudebro could" memes. The take with actual effort that I bristled at the most was an essay that seemed oblivious to how severe homophobia was in the 80s.

I haven't watched Glen Glennie Ross, I'm just saying this guy's read of it lends me to believe he's not a reliable source.

#now granted _I_ talk a lot about villains and assumptions but I'm only reading low-grade comics for teens #niche effortposts #american psycho

[olderthannetfic]

Hogwarts Legacy anon. Honestly not even inaccurate on the living under a rock thing. I won’t say I follow JKR or Harry Potter news well. It’s not my fandom. But the posts are confusing to say the least and tend to lack any middle ground on people’s morals or the perception of them. Or whether said people should even believe randoms on the internet who have a tendency to spread lies and over exaggerations. When most everything on the internet is posted with oversimplification upon further research, it makes the rest doubtful as well.

The fact of the matter is, how in the know are you about the game or JKR (other than the occasional Twitter scandal) can you be if you aren’t perpetually in the state of researching everything you know? Or if it’s not even near your interest? Someone buys you a Harry Potter game, what do you do? Tell them to fuck off?

My question aims more to how is JKR any different from the many assholes who create or work for other entertainment, that don’t get the same level of outrage? Or the outrage gets replaced by another story to come later. And should the outrage be lain on, yes, the usually ignorant customer? Doesn’t that turn them away from even hearing the valid arguments out?

This question is more in reference to JKR involvement with said game. Probably valid criticism on the game, idk, I don’t know much about it, other than the visuals. And yes, I am coming from a place of ignorance on this matter, but from my perspective I just see a lot of shaming and a lot less information.

Though I still don’t understand vilifying people who buy the game because a. They don’t have any reason to believe internet people b. How likely are they to even know? The only reason I’m sorta in the know is because I spend too much time on the internet. C. Again why vilify for ignorance when you can teach instead of bitch?

(This is a sincere ask, by the way, filled with many days confusion. I do apologize if this is a bit ranty.)

--

We discussed this whole topic of "How complicit am I in JKR's suckitude?" extensively on my blog a while back. You can scroll back a few months if you want to see. The game was discussed at length then (though prior to anyone having played it).

As for why we would bitch instead of teach... dude... exactly how much of a tireless saint do you expect others to be?

If someone ran around using the n-word because they "just didn't know", would you give them a pass? What about if they loved their golliwog doll from childhood? Whose job is it to tell them to stop being a complete ass in public?

Yes, yes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, metaphorically speaking. (In reality, vinegar is one of the best ways to murder the shit out of flies, but I digress.) However, the fact is that randos on the internet enjoying their own space aren't free teachers who owe people things. They're reacting with wrath to a piece of propaganda by some fuck who wants them dead.

You're busy and haven't had time to do research. Fair enough. But everyone else is also busy.

Hogwarts: Protocols of the Elders of Gringotts, as that other post called it, is reportedly not at all subtle in its flagrant antisemitism.

One reason people are frustrated is that most non-Jews simply cannot be bothered to learn the very most basic information about antisemitic tropes. This isn't subtle stuff, nor is it hard to learn if you browse wikipedia instead of screamy social media posts.

I agree that tumblr, twitter et al. are bad places to get information much of the time, but that doesn't mean information is unavailable.

[doubledyke]

Now lets talk about Ed:

1: His intelligence. He's just a doofus, or is he smarter than he looks?

2: Is he this 100% pure cinnamon roll, or he's a kind of jerk just like everyone else (yeah, I find him to be a jerk in some episodes, just like Your Ed Here)?

3: Is he so genuinely sunny and carefree, or is this a mask and he's secretly depressed or struggling (you know, his abusive homelife and all more)?

thanks for giving me some food for thought! i do just wanna say that any and all (okay, most) interpretations and opinions, including unpopular ones are valid, even if i have different ideas. im but a humble dumbass that spends my free time blogging about a cartoon. no one needs a green light from me to feel a certain way about any character. the fun of participating in goofy fandom stuff is to hear opinions from people with different experiences that shape their perception.

that being said 🤔

i've posted here before that i think ed became gratuitously stupid later on, especially for season 5. maybe he got brain damage from eddy using him as a battering ram so often. but he's got some lucidity sprinkled on top of his oafishness throughout the series. i don't think he's "stupid", i think he just stays in his own little world and that his brain works differently than others'. early on he comes off more as a dopey guy who hangs with eddy because they're both outcasts and can be themselves around each other. not a lot of options, if you get my drift. of all three eds he has the least culpability when it comes to their eventual injurious antics, in my opinion. he's kinda just there because he hangs out with eddy (and edd) and that's what eddy does. there's a true friendship there, don't get me wrong. but i don't think the eds started hanging out because they found each other interesting or cool lmao. that's comes later as they get to know each other and experience trauma together.......anyway, im getting off track.

i think ed is just as multi-faceted as anyone else, it's just maybe those facets aren't explored as much as they are for the other two idiots.

that being said, i don't see him as a jerk personally, but he has his moments i'm sure. i think it's moreso that he doesn't have much of a filter and just says what he thinks. and it's obvious that his doting on sarah is not because he actually gives that much of a shit but because he gets in trouble if she tells their parents. not that it really matters because she makes shit up all the time. he's probably said a lot more jerk-ish things but they're made incomprehensible by his use of nonsensical literary devices. little ed blue is one of my favorite episodes because as we get to see ed when he's upset and irritable which is rare and always fleeting. i'll leave it at that and recommend @gettingfrilly's recent post about that scene where ed is on the tree stump just fuming. they're way more qualified than i to examine this type of stuff 🥴 i'll reblog it after i post this. but i do find it hilarious that he grabs eddy by the face and throws him into a tree. with edd, he gives a warning and pushes him away. there are lots of examples of him being notably gentler with edd and probably even jimmy and others a few times. overall i feel like he's not really intentionally violent with anyone besides eddy. i have a terrible memory so despite watching every episode several times by now, i tend to forget stuff often. so i could be wrong. anyway, again i digress. in 'your ed here' he makes a few playfully sassy remarks when he's playing tic tac toe with edd, but i don't really see it as him being a jerk per se. he thinks he's good at the game so he's doing his weird version of bragging and teasing. and I think a lot of times he comes off as aloof when someone (eddy) is being humiliated and/or getting their ass kicked but i think that has to do with him again, being in his own world and not necessarily because he doesn't care. and finally, with him laughing at eddy and edd's middle names, i just don't find it to be mean-spirited. he thinks the names are funny and so, he laughs.

one example of him being snotty that comes to mind right now is from another of my fave episodes, 'thick as an ed'. it's hilarious to see him try to clap back at edd by saying "stinky hat" over and over. he's expressing genuine annoyance at double dee being well, fucking annoying as usual. to me it's unlikely that edd's hat actually stinks so that means ed came up with something he knew would get under edd's skin. you could argue that it's a bit of a dick move! but given the context of the episode, he's reached a breaking point after his friends have done nothing but try to take his beloved lucky cheese chunk. i can't believe i'm writing this right now.

anyhow, there's definitely a theory out there that ed is putting on an act of being stupid and clumsy just to essentially spite eddy, or foil the scams. it's just not my own personal take on things. interesting nonetheless!

yeah man, ed has an unquestionably awful life at home. his maladaptive daydreaming is definitely a coping mechanism for his shitty reality and probably helps him make sense of the things going on around him. i think ed has a bit of a lack of object permanence (for lack of a better phrase) so once he's away from his house and sarah isn't around, he might be able to put his hardships on the back burner for a while. with the other two eds, they wear their emotions and trauma on their sleeves. there's a lot in what they do, say, and how they react that are tells for their less than ideal upbringings and lack of emotional well-being. a big difference is that they try to hide it and don't explicitly state that things are though back home. with ed we mostly gain insight from his interactions with sarah, the neglected state of his room and personal hygiene, and the random things he discloses about his parents a handful of times. he doesn't even express his opinion about how his parents or sarah act, he simply recalls his past experiences. he's smart enough to grasp cause and effect, even if it doesn't ways show in his actions. his cheerfulness might come off as him being blissfully unaware and i think that's because he essentially is?? at the very least when he's not being actively lambasted by his mother, he's able to hardcore dissociate and go off into ed-land to escape the horrors ™.

TL;DR: i don't think ed's thick-headedness detracts from his distinct personality. he is a loveable oaf and that's perfectly fine in my book. i don't think he's a "cinnamon roll", but i also don't think he's a jerk. my opinion is that he leans waaaaay more towards benevolence. and yeah i absolutely think he's experiencing a lot of neglect and trauma, no doubt about it. i don't see his sweet disposition as a mask necessarily, but more as the result of masterful compartmentalization.

#thanks again! i have a headache so im gonna spare everyone any further attempt to form cohesive thoughts at the moment #@gettingfrilly don't roast my poorly expressed takes too hard #text

[rainbowsky]

HEY RB, I have a weird ask which I’ve been thinking about for the past few days, what to do when you like the creative content of a persons blog but the rest of the stuff they post is off-putting? would you continue to follow them for the content you like or unfollow for the stuff that really puts you off?

Hi Anon,

Well, a lot depends on how off-putting it is, but in general, if I find someone's takes off-putting, it's a no-brainer. I will not follow them. In some cases I will even block them. It doesn't matter what other things they're posting that I might like.

I feel that the more we expose ourselves to things we hate the more resentful we begin to become, and it shifts not just our experience of fandom, but also our attitudes and the threshold of what we will accept/put up with from other people. It can really deepen divides and distort our perception of what the fandom is like.

If we give something real estate in our news feed we are giving it real estate in our heads - space that could be taken up with something else. Something more positive, more aligned with what we are into.

We should also consider the impression we are giving others about who we are and what we're into. If someone is liking and reblogging posts from a TERF, others are going to get the impression they, too, are a TERF or are OK with TERF attitudes, even if the content is just a pretty illustration of a puppy rolling in a field of flowers.

There's that old saying, "You are known by the company you keep." (As unfair as that might sometimes feel.)

And the thing is, steeping in things we dislike can really distort our perspective of the fandom. If we're seeing a post or two every day or even week of something we truly hate, that gives us the perception that X percentage of the fandom is like this. It can artificially inflate our perception of how prevalent those attitudes are.

Which has an impact on how we feel about the fandom, has an impact on how much joy we have, has an impact on how we start to feel about the people who have those kinds of takes.

I know, for example, that there are people out there with really offensive takes about DD's personality. In reality the people with those takes are pretty rare, but they're out there. If I followed those people I'd be seeing those takes regularly, and I'd start to think the fandom is just full of that attitude when actually it's not.

I really feel that a lot of the intolerance of other people's approaches to fandom - a lot of the inability to 'live and let live' - ironically comes from opening our experience to things we hate. Comes from people's unwillingness to curate their online experience, and cut down on their exposure to things they dislike.

They stew in a bunch of content they dislike and it makes them bitter, whereas if they just cut that out of their lives then on the rare occasion they did stumble across something like it, they'd find it much easier to scroll past, and they might not be as hateful or judgmental toward the person posting it.

When we're regularly exposed to things we dislike, we start to focus on it more, we start to think about it more, we start to hate it more.

When I talk about 'staying in our own lane', that's not just about staying out of solo spaces. It's about staying out of any space where we are not among like-minded people. Staying out of any space where negativity is bred, where conflict stews, where bitterness takes root, where our souls are shaped toward hate.

Anyway, this is just my take on it. Of course, everyone gets to pick their own approach and make their own choices about these things.

My advice to you is to listen to your body, look for any tension or discomfort. It will tell you if this is the sort of thing you want in your life. Listen to your heart. What is it telling you about how exposure to that content is changing you or changing your perspective?

You might also find my fandom survival guide helpful.

I also talked a bit about how what we focus on shapes who we become here.

#fandom reflections #ask

[crimsonflash1996]

So, this is my first post in this platform! Since I wish to get to know more people, I will repost some of the content from my YouTube channel and my blog on here. This video essay about Super Mario Bros. is my favorite YouTube production, which was made for the 35th anniversary of the franchise. I hope you enjoy it! The following text is a transcription of the video:

The importance of the original Super Mario Bros. can't be understated: It doesn't have to do with being a genre pioneer, since games like Jump Bug, Pitfall or Pac-Land already included the jump mechanic, and the Mario franchise already had two games behind its back: Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. It isn't about being the sidescrolling game either, since Pac-Land's and Jump Bug's also scrolled their screens alongside the player, and a few days after the original Super Mario we had Makaimura on the arcades, which also included the jump mechanic alongside a screen that followed the player. What differentiates Super Mario Bros. from its predecessors is the creation of a world surrounding a mechanic, especifically the jump.

Shigeru Miyamoto's focus as an author is the direct perception of the interactive premise for the player's immersion, and for that purpose there is particular care to the tangible effect of the environments. In simpler terms, that you can perceive the worlds physically. The key element is the depth in the aerial maneuverability. Super Mario Bros. allows a detailed control of the avatar while moving in the air. The weight of gravity in the impulse, the inertia in the jump direction in opposition to the player's command, and the feeling to confront the game's physical laws. To redirect the path of the avatar the stronger one presses the button. Such capability gives the aerial space to take relevance in the gameplay, since it's how the player decides their position, and thus the player becomes conscious of its position at any moment.

To give purpose to these controls, the game turns jumping in the main form of interacting with the environment. Obstacles can be avoided through jumping, similarly to Pac-Land, which was Super Mario Bros.'s main inspiration, but enemies can be defeated if we step on them, and that becomes a step forward by adding variables that react to our presence. The other form of including the jump in the gameplay is to hit blocks. Some of them contain coins that allow an additional chance to continue if you collect hundred of them, others contain upgrades to take a hit, being able to attack at distance, or time-limited invincibility. Some of them contain extra lives, others can be broken to make a path, or even allow access to other areas. The content of the blocks isn't immediately obvious since its appearance doesn't follow a pattern. They can be signaled, they can appear as another type of block and they can even be invisible. Basically, they're a secret, and this gives the game the sense of hiding more than what it appears to have, since it's optional content.

The intention of a world with a hidden face is manifested through pipes that lead to underground (or even underwater) passages, or vines that climb up to a world hidden in the sky. Even passages outside of the conventional interface of the game. That's why the decision of verticality as an abstraction of depth takes paramount importance to build places far from the surface, from what we know at first sight, and the focus on the vertical jump becomes thus a coherent decision since those are places that aren't reachable by just jumping, and they're hidden to our virtual body.

Because of how important it is to the progress of the player alongside its integration with the main mechanic of the game, the presence of a hidden world becomes an omnipresent feeling that differentiates Super Mario Bros. from other platformers that came after due to its influence, even among its own successors, because it means that the player perceives, decides its progress and leaves its presence in the world through jumping. Miyamoto turned thus this mechanic as a vehicle to expand the possibilities of exploration and personal body expression in a way that thirty-five years later still remains radical.

There's a last design decision that is very special and I haven't covered yet, and it is not being able to turn back. It isn't due to technical limitations since many of the previously mentioned games allowed it. Not being able to turn back is a deliberate decision because it makes the player potentially miss content that they won't be able to get if they didn't know about it, and that resonates to a surprisingly more profound level: The possibility to have missed something, to not have visited a place in a journey, to have taken something for granted at a certain point in time, because there's no coming back. By appealing to this sensation, the game's world takes presence in the player's mind even after having left an area behind, or even the whole game, because there's the lingering feeling of everything we didn't know and everything that could have helped us. That feeling is absent in the Mario games that came to the west after this one, which gives the original an unique quality. It's this sentiment that immortalizes Shigeru Miyamoto's masterpiece beyond what it meant back in the 80s in front of its predecessors, and it still represents the promise of videogames of worlds that can still capture our imaginations and warp our minds to them.

#super mario bros #game review #video essay #mario #video games #gaming #retro gaming #nintendo #shigeru miyamoto #platform games #nes games #famicom #Youtube

[puckish-rogue]

Lore Dump: Current State of Affairs

Note: The following is a discussion on this blog's main verse and what one could expect when doing crossover threads. As the original SR series is effectively dead in the ground, and as someone who wasn't the biggest fan of how it ended, I am basing this entirely off of my own ideas regarding canon, and my revised version of the third game. Please note that at this point in time, I do not have a post that details just what exactly I've done to rework the events of the third game. So until such a post is made, feel free to send me questions regarding just about anything; from plot points, characters, the setting, and so on. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy what's spoken about here.

Something that I've always been fascinated by were the long-lasting consequences of what the Saints had done during the gang war in Steelport. Because let's be real here; the fact that a street gang was able to completely wipe out a large scale criminal organization, whose power and connections were on a global scale, and win against a paramilitary task force that was under the control and supervision of the US government, which was more than likely really fucking embarrassing for them, is monumental.

And when I say monumental, I mean do you know how fucking insane that is? Like, do you know how that's going to affect the world? I would not put it past any kind of governing body to get a wee bit paranoid over this shit. "Well, if the Saints were able to hold their own against the fucking US military, what does that tell every other criminal organization across the globe?". That's horrifying for people in high positions of power! It sets an example. Plants an idea.

So, I can see them trying to deal with this in a number of ways; either they start dumping all their money into law enforcement in order to counteract organized crime, stay vigilant and play by ear, hire outside forces (I like to consider the Masako and STAG as the catalyst for PMC's becoming much more prevalent in this world). Or, special bonus crime answer, you work with OTHER criminal organizations in order to take out what you consider a huge threat. No matter what choice is made, the end result is all of them coming off as if they're panicking like crazy.

Something to consider as well is the public's perception towards what transpired in Steelport, and the way everything was handled. While the Saints' general popularity may have waned somewhat, there's definitely people out there coming to their defense. Or, at the very least, arguing in their favor. They could be seen as arguably better than a lot of the gangs they've gone up against (something that is hinted at in NPC dialogue during the second game), and they did prevent an entire city from being demolished because the US left a dude in charge who would do absolutely anything in his power to get the job done. So, like, hmm, maybe funny purple gang is a necessary evil?

But on the contrary we have the obvious. "How can you defend a bunch of criminals? Maybe things wouldn't have escalated this badly if they weren't around. These people are scumbags! Worst of the worst! And their leader is a godforsaken psychopath (sociopath, maniac, nutcase, whatever you feel like blurting out that day)". None of it is particularly surprising. Most folk don't really like the idea of letting a gang exist, no matter what sort of perceived "good" they might have done for the community. These are also the same kind of people who may even support whatever kind of law or program may be used in order to strike back against organized crime, regardless of how it may impede upon their life or the lives of other people.

"And what about the criminal underworld? Wouldn't this affect them too? Oh, please tell me more, Andre! You're very smart and creative." Ha ha! Why thank you, Hypothetical Person. But, yes, the criminal underworld will absolutely be affected. I mean, put yourself in the position of a gang leader; how would you personally feel seeing the Saints accomplish such an incredible feat? Either you're gonna try gunning for their leader's head, find yourself inspired enough to try and be just a little bit bolder, recognize the potential threat they are to your empire, or be a real stupid motherfucker and continue to underestimate them. It's highly dependent on the gang itself and the kind of person leading them.

The Saints are in a very interesting position currently. They have cemented themselves as a criminal organization to keep an eye on. A gang that has the potential to put themselves in the history books depending on what choices they make. And knowing how ruthlessly ambitious The Boss happens to be, it is almost guaranteed that the Saints will be doing whatever possible in order to expand this empire of theirs, no matter who might stand in their way.

It is the dawn of a new era within this world, and the 3rd Street Saints are carving their path to greatness.

#Lore Dump ⚜ #So this is a rewrite because I wound up not being too happy with how the first one came out. #Felt like this reads a little better in some ways. #Ultimately I hope it gets the point across that the world in the main verse is a bit shaky when it comes to organized crime and everything #that surrounds it. #There's a lot of potential I think to explore different aspects and be influenced by a whooole lot of stuff. #So end of the day i just want everyone to have a fun time and get wild and creative.

[vitospaghetta]

I'll say i was really looking forward to your post about RE timeline and the difference between the remakes but i can totally see how this could cause an outbreak seeing how so many fans are rabid when it comes to what's canon and what isn't. I dunno if this is just a RE fandom issue in general but it makes it seem like everyone's defensive over something.

I was in this fandom since RE2R came out so that makes it like for 5 years i believe and I've seen first hand how shitty alot of fans can be, toxic shippers especially, hence why i just decided to stick to my own space and do stuff that i find fun. But that said, i really hope you continue talking about Leon and RE as a whole, I have alot of fun reading from your perspective and your take on Leon's character so... is it still alright to send asks about him? :)

Here's the thing. What happened could be purely coincidental, but I was informed that I was beaten to the punch for making an RE timeline/continuity post, conveniently within a week of me making posts about doing so in the future here. If I make that post now, I’m going to be discredited and brushed off as being in some sort of competition with this person. I'm not about to engage in a pissing contest. I've got too much going on irl to deal with juvenile fandom shit.

If making a helpful unbiased post of my own is going to be such a monumental issue, then I’m just not going to make it. I don't need the stress. I mean, making one post discussing my own personal issues with skewed perceptions of a multi-faceted character turned out to be the equivalent of me batting at a hornet's nest. I'm never going to claim that anything that comes out of my mouth is the word of god, but there is a very biased perspective that's become normalized, and all I wanted to do was offer another one. People can take that or leave it.

This person blocked me, so if it isn't coincidental, it means that they're either checking my blog because I haven't blocked them back or someone told them about my posts. I've noticed within the RE fandom where people will hold people's analyses and interpretations of the characters up to each other. They’ll ask one person what they think before asking another, as if to gauge what the ‘right’ opinion is. If everything I say is going to be held to someone else's interpretations like paint swatches, that's not something I'm comfortable with.

I'm not giving this response to start discourse, but I think it's only fair to explain my apprehension to stay engaged in the RE fandom. I was perfectly fine existing in my own corner for years, and the appeal to go back to being lowkey in order to continue my enjoyment of the franchise is very tempting. I don't want unnecessary stress to jeopardize my love of something that means a lot to me.

I’m really happy that you enjoy my posts and I might be inclined to talk about Leon after I’ve taken a break for a little bit. You and anyone else can feel free to continue to send me stuff. I don’t know when I’ll be in the mood to get back to them, but when I do reply, they’ll be untagged. I hope y'all can understand. 🖤

#tldr; fandom drama is stupid and i'm too old for that shit lmao #like. i just wanted to make a helpful post but now it's gonna look like i'm being argumentative so like. #i'm good. it's not that important to me.

[mistmarauder]

Not the same anon as before, but it's been very disturbing to see a group of white people in fandom dogpile on an artist of Korean descent who lives in Korea, especially when that artist does not speak English and is obviously struggling with expressing their views in a way that might make sense to *us*. The style the artist used, even if they didn't explain it, is a very obvious East Asian style which is very popular in Koren and Japanese cultures. I looked at the artist's blog, and even if they didn't explain it in the DMs—for whatever reason—they *have*, in a subsequent post yesterday, explained their perspective as a Korean person while making this art, and I think it's extremely unfair to exclude that part of the context while talking about this. Like...idk it just feels like you guys didn't like the answer they gave or the way they answered (again! they're not a native speaker and you need to give them more grace!) so everyone has just come to this conclusion that they're a terrible person automatically. And while you personally might not have done this, I have seen other blogs—all white people—act like a bunch of bullies about it and it's super frustrating.

This fandom does have a problem with whitewashing—gifmakers do it all the time while coloring their sets! Or they make the characters of color look super unnatural because they refuse to adjust their PSDs for their skin tones! And yet I have never seen anyone call out any of the gifmakers who've done this in the past, let alone dogpile on them to such an extreme—like y'all are doing on this Korean artist. Idk. I'm Asian too, and it's super disturbing to watch.

Hey, anon. I saw this ask last night in the jungle that is my inbox, but I wanted to wait until I was awake and aware enough to answer it (and didn’t really need to go back to sleep because of work).

The only thing I would push back on here is that it’s just a group of white people dogpiling. It was not all white people speaking. They’re just the voices that ended up on that artist’s blog and got the most attention – that includes my own. Because of that, I can see why it might be perceived that way though. And I pushed people not to interact with them or the art, because that’s how you make a difference. You don’t give something attention. The lack of engagement is a stance in and of itself. The goal was certainly never for this person to be attacked, so if that’s what you’re implying has happened, that’s a problem. And that’s on me for not being more careful.

I’ve had people who appreciated the fact that I spoke up, but there have been others, like yourself, who don’t like what’s happening, and an even wider group who thought that while there was something to be said, they’re not sure I should have said it. The response has been very multi-sided. And I do believe that you and everyone else who thinks I veered too far out of my own lane are very valid in thinking that way. I spent all of yesterday debating about whether or not I made the right decision, and I had friends both white and non-white who weren’t sure either.

It also seems there have been some gross communication failures. I’ll start off by saying that I did not see the culture post. I’m blocked by the artist (fairly), so I had a friend send me screenshots this morning. I wasn’t purposely disregarding that, and you’re right that it’s important to take into consideration.

I do think there’s never going to be agreement with this person regarding Jee’s skin tone. They have the perceptions that they have because of their experience as Korean artist living in Korea, and they see Jee as being lighter than even JLH visually and because of their cultural experiences. I do not believe that's likely to change.

I’m not saying Asian people can’t be light-skinned, but this artist is drawing a character played by two very real little girls, who are not universally perceived as light-skinned, and from our general understanding, are not Korean. Their mother is Chinese, and their father has a traditional Chinese surname which leads us to believe that he is likely Chinese as well. If this is incorrect, please correct me. And when you’re making art of real people, you can’t just use your previous perceptions of a fictional character’s identity to justify coloring them differently. And they’re using gifs to defend those perceptions. Gifs are something that you and I both know aren’t trusted references. They’re colored and altered in a variety of ways.

You’re right that gifmakers whitewash regularly. I will say that people have tried to call this out in the past, but they’ve been general posts from what I remember. Nothing about individual gifmakers. It’s been a huge problem with Eddie and with turning Athena and Karen orange. However, these general callouts don’t really get a lot of traction. And that’s extremely unfair.

I’ll be blunt and say that part of that is the fact that people tend to turn a blind eye to keep the peace, and the people in this fandom who noticed this artist’s work are the ones least likely to do so.

Another issue were the DMs, and it’s been brought to my attention by @karenandhenwillson (who I will respond to after this) and in a post by the artist, that I may have misinterpreted those completely, which is unfair of me (and anyone else who has seen the messages and come to the same conclusion). There wasn’t enough patience with someone who was a non-native English speaker, and that led to some confusion that I’m going to address when I respond to the blog I just mentioned.

The fact of the matter though is that I'm white, and I'm wading into murky waters by continuing to engage on this subject. I've turned off reblogs on my original post, and after my next response about the communication meltdown, I'm going to edit it and make another clarifying that people should read the artist's posts and my previous posts to understand their position and everything that's happened.

I don't think it's fair for me to continue to place myself in a discussion I might not have had the right to be in at all, but I'm not going to leave without publicly acknowledging the communication issue because it matters and telling people not to attack this artist. That's cowardly and not really my style.

Thank you again for this message. I really do welcome people coming to talk to me.

#911 discourse #for the filters #anonymous #mist answers