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anne-the-quene · 11 days

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I’m curious…what is your opinion of Henry’s relationship with each of his wves?

Oh my goodness gracious, thank you for this, Anon! (This got ridiculously long so I’m putting it under a cut)

Okay I guess I’ll start with Catherine of Aragon since she never gets to go first…

Hot take (not really) but I don’t think she and Henry had this great romantic love. And, for the record, I think it was mutual. I don’t think either of them loved each other in a romantic way. However, I also don’t think that Henry married her because he was forced to…because who forced him? His father? Yeah, Henry claimed later on that he only married Catherine because it was his father’s “dying wish” (or something to that effect) but we don’t know if that’s actually true and also, Henry denounced the betrothal in 1505 and no one forced him to go through with it regardless. And, certainly, none of the naysayers were forcing him to go through with it. Catherine apologists make so much of Henry uses the “brother’s widow” excuse during the Great Matter and completely gloss over the fact that there were multiple people also citing this as a reason during the period of Catherine’s widowhood.

I think, what it came down to, was that Henry knew that Catherine had been living in wealthy poverty and was maybe not being treated very kindly by his father, and Henry was also dealing with his own poor treatment by his father, and so Henry saw himself as this knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress. Of course, Henry and Catherine had also known each other for almost a decade—it’s hard to know exactly what their relationship was like during those years because I doubt they really interacted much, but if Catherine was kind to him then that would add to why Henry was so okay with ignoring the naysayers. And then, in the early years of their marriage, Henry came to admire and respect her.

Where things get complicated is the issue of their children. I remember once seeing this article Suzannah Lipscomb wrote where she speculated how their marriage would be if Henry, Duke of Cornwall had lived and Suzannah made it out to be that everything was all rainbows and sunshine and she was his beloved wife forever etc etc. That’s great, Suzy, but I really don’t think it’s, at all, realistic. Certainly, if Catherine had had a healthy son who survived, Henry wouldn’t have divorced her even after she hit menopause. But Ithink it’s very optimistic to say their marriage would’ve been perfect. Obviously, losing so many children didn’t help. But, like I said, I don’t think Henry was deeply in love with her, so I think it’s inevitable that he would’ve strayed (I guess is the right word?).

On to Anne (strap in y’all this already way too long answer is gonna get even longer).

So I mentioned how I don’t think Henry was really romantically in love with Catherine. I think that Anne was the first time (and the last time actually) that Henry genuinely, properly, fell in love with someone (sorry Bessie stans…do those exist? Probably…somewhere…I definitely feel like I’ve seen at least one person try to argue that Bessie was the great love of his life). Anyway, yeah I think Henry had all of these grand romantic ideas about himself and he believed himself to be in love with every pretty girl…and then he met Anne and his brain just short-circuited. (And, who can blame him, I mean Anne Boleyn is obviously the most perfect woman whose ever existed, I’m in love with her 😂). In all seriousness, Henry didn’t have the great passionate love with Catherine but he definitely had it with Anne. We could talk about what went wrong in that relationship, but I’ve already stated my opinion on that and almost got run off of Tumblr for it.

So moving on to Jane…

Oh dear. It amazes me how many people still believe Henry’s own propaganda. So, unfortunately, for those of you, it’s very clear to me that Henry never loved Jane at all. He treated her pretty poorly while she was alive. I think she appealed to him because she wasn’t Anne. After she died, he fell head over heels with the idea of her. But that’s about it.

Now, lucky number 4.

I feel like I don’t really need to say much about this one. Henry made his feelings about Anna pretty clear.

I guess I could talk about their post-divorce relationship. What’s sad is that I think Anna could’ve actually been good for him. She comes across as a pretty chill person, but she also enjoyed a lot of the same things that he enjoyed. I think, if Henry had just not done that stupid thing of thinking that he was still 20 years old and that Anna would magically recognize him somehow, then I think they could’ve been brilliant together.

Onto Katheryn number 2.

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. Henry was getting old, he couldn’t exercise like he used to, he had mobility issues, he was becoming obese…and Katheryn made him feel young again. What’s interesting comparing Katheryn and Anne’s downfall—Anne died because she was powerful, Katheryn died because she was powerless.I mean, it’s not insignificant that Katheryn’s downfall took months while Anne’s took just a few weeks. Obviously, the suspicion of Katheryn committing adultery was embarrassing for him, but she stuck around so long under house arrest because the only real threat Katheryn posed was to Henry’s ego.

Yee-haw, it’s Kathryn Parr (any Rex Factor fans out there?)

This one I also feel like is pretty self-explanatory. By this point, Henry has alienated and killed everyone who ever cared about him so, naturally, he’s feeling pretty lonely. What I find most interesting is that Kathryn was older and more mature and, obviously learned. I think with Jane, especially, and to a lesser-extent, Katheryn, Henry was kind of over intelligent women who could stand up to him. But I get the sense that, after Katheryn’s execution, he kind of got tired of the subservient wife. I think Henry actually preferred intelligent, feisty women, but things had gone so horribly wrong with Anne that he wanted the opposite. But then he quickly got bored of the opposite. Obviously, at this point in Henry’s life he’s really not interested in anyone standing up to him or trying to impose their opinions on him, but he still wanted someone he could have a conversation with. And Kathryn, bless her, was clever enough to match him intellectually without pushing the boundaries too much.

Wow, this got so insanely long. I’ll put it under a cut so it doesn’t clog up anyone’s feed.

But, you know, when I really spell it out like this, it just emphasizes how frustrating it is when all the wives get lumped together and the last few even get largely ignored. Because, for all of them, their circumstances for becoming Henry’s wife were completely different, and all of their relationships with him are completely different. People act like him having six wves was inevitable or that his choices were completely random. On one level, I can understand why people lump them together in this neat “Six Wives” package but doing that completely ignores the fact that they were individuals, not just a part of this rotating door of arbitrarily chosen women.

#henry viii #catherine of aragon #katherine of aragon #anne boleyn #jane seymour #anna of cleves #anne of cleves #katheryn howard #katherine howard #catherine howard #kathryn parr #catherine parr #ask

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imakemywings · 7 months

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You have some of the best takes on the events that happened in Silmarillion and I wanted to know your opinion/stance on something. Do you consider Fingolfin an 'usurper' when Feanor and Finwe left in exile? Because as someone new in the fandom (there's honestly a lot to unpack), so many interpretations/takes believe he was actually trying to usurp Feanor (*sighs* typical feanorian apologists/followers). I myself didn't see him as a usurper, I thought he was taking the initiative to become a leader because his father (I understand Finwe was well-loved more than Indis, but he pisses me off on so many levels, dude was so bad at being a dad, he should've never desire for more children if he's going to neglect them in the end) joined Feanor (eww favoritism) in exile and that left Tirion kingless. So why were people whining that he was a 'usurper'? I'll never get that.

Aw thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them! (*/ω＼*) This book really gets my brain whirring. There is definitely a lot to unpack, and my views on events and characters has absolutely changed in the last two years since I first read the book and have had more time to re-read it and reflect.

Fingolfin as a usuper is a fanon notion and it's not one I buy into. I think it goes hand-in-hand with the take that Feanor and Fingolfin are both equally responsible for the state of their relationship, which is not true. Feanor began this, Feanor escalated it, and Feanor was the first to bring weapons and deadly threats into it. Even if Fingolfin at times retaliated or started squabbles of his own, I still see Feanor as the primary instigator of their "rivalry," particularly considering it's noted that he also doesn't like Finarfin (it's just that he sees Fingolfin, as Indis' oldest son, as a greater threat, so Fingolfin gets more of his (negative) attention).

Going under a cut because as usual I rambled lol

However, I don't really agree that Finwe was a notably terrible father. I mean certainly you can read that into it, it's just not how I prefer to read it. Finwe made mistakes, as many parents in Silm did, but I don't think he didn't love his other children or that he obviously and outright preferred Feanor to the others, and I don't see any evidence that he neglected Indis' kids. I think he followed Feanor into exile because he felt very strongly Feanor had been wronged by the Valar and wanted to make a statement about it, and perhaps he felt he needed to be even more vocal in taking Feanor's side throughout his life because of what happened with Miriel (particularly given Feanor's tendency to view himself as the victim already). It is also relevant to note I think that they were most likely all adults when this happened, so it's not that he was abandoning minor children.

Was it irresponsible to leave Tirion kingless? Yeah, totally. Right after their crown prince was exiled for publicly threatening the life of his own family member? Bound to be a chaotic time in the city (relative to the past, not to things to come :')) Finwe is someone who I can see being a little myopic--he's not always good at seeing alternative perspectives once he's staked his own out and it causes him not to see the consequences that might come of his actions. But character flaws like this are what make them interesting to me, because it makes me curious how one as beloved as Finwe nevertheless ends up making several crucial mistakes that help set the stage for the rebellion of the Noldor.

As to Fingolfin, I think his willingness to forgive Feanor--and Feanor's tacit rejection, or at least failure to accept--says a lot about the state of their relationship. Now you could argue Fingolfin was just doing a PR move--even that he knew or suspected Feanor would not accept his forgiveness, which would make Feanor look completely unreasonable next to Fingolfin--but I tend to think he was genuine, because I think Tolkien would have said or hinted if he'd done it with an eye towards his own image.

First, when Feanor is first brought before the Valar for judgement for threatening Fingolfin's life, and it is revealed that he has been influenced by Melkor, there's this:

"...and Mandos said to him: '...for twelve years thou shalt leave Tirion where this threat was uttered...But after that time this matter shall be set in peace and held redressed, if others will release thee.' Then Fingolfin said in answer: 'I will release my brother.' But Feanor spoke no word in answer, standing silent before the Valar."

Even here, where Feanor is on trial for drawing a weapon on him--which has NEVER happened in Tirion--Fingolfin still refers to Feanor as his brother, and Feanor does not acknowledge it. Fingolfin, if he truly wanted to usurp Feanor, could have easily refused to release Feanor or make amends, and perhaps Feanor would have then been subject to longer banishment or other additional punishment. But he doesn't seem to hesitate to offer his release.

Then, the moment on Taniquetil when Manwe calls them all to the home of the Valar:

"Nevertheless he [Feanor] met Fingolfin before the throne of Manwe, and was reconciled, in word; and Fingolfin set at naught the unsheathing of the sword. For Fingolfin held forth his hand, saying: 'As I promised, I do now. I release thee, and remember no grievance.' Then Feanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said: 'Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart will I be. Thou shalt lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide us.' 'I hear thee,' said Feanor. 'So be it.'"

This encounter follows a similar structure to the first: Fingolfin offers forgiveness, Feanor neither accepts nor openly rejects it. Once again, Fingolfin had his life threatened by Feanor's tantrums; he has every right here to be angry and withhold his forgiveness, but he doesn't. Not only does he release Feanor from the consequences of his actions, he really seems to be trying to heal the bond between them. Again, you can disbelieve that he's genuine here--but I read this as sincere, and I think Tolkien would've told us if it wasn't, or even if Fingolfin had ulterior motives in addition to wanting to heal this divide.

The only time during Feanor's life when Fingolfin really competes with him is during the Flight of the Noldor. Fingolfin leads the larger host of the Noldor to Alqualonde, but this occurs by choice of the Noldor, not because Fingolfin was trying to steal Feanor's following. He comes along only because he doesn't want to leave those who would follow Feanor to Feanor's whims, given how unreasonable and unpredictable he's been lately, and more of the Noldor are willing to follow Fingolfin than to follow Feanor. He could have also chosen to remain behind in Tirion, where he could have made a very easy claim on the throne--but he goes along, because he's convinced it's the right thing to do.

Part of the point of Feanor's mindset in Aman is that it was unfounded, until his own actions seem to give him confirmation he was right. If Fingolfin really had been gunning for his position, then Feanor was not paranoid, and his fears were not unfounded, and to me that undermines a central pillar of the pre-Darkening situation in Tirion, which is that Feanor was terrified of something that would never come, which Melkor took advantage of by making him believe it was coming. Feanor is afraid that Fingolfin will take his place--and by Feanor's own actions Fingolfin ends up ruling in Tirion. But Feanor doesn't see that connection in his madness--he sees only that what he feared has come to pass, even just temporarily.

"With him into banishment went his seven sons...Thither also came Finwe the King, because of the love he bore to Feanor; and Fingolfin ruled the Noldor in Tirion. Thus the lies of Melkor were made true in seeming, though Feanor by his own deeds had brought this thing to pass..."

A key phrase here is lies of Melkor. Melkor LIED when he told Feanor that Fingolfin wanted to take his place. He saw Feanor's fears and insecurities and found some lies that Feanor would be all too willing to believe, and made sure they were whispered into Feanor's ears, so that he would take them as truth.

All of this says to me that Fingolfin had no designs on the throne, that Feanor imagined or created their rivalry himself, and that Melkor simply took advantage of Feanor's irrational fears which he had never put to bed after his father's remarriage.

So to sum up this whole thing: No, I don't buy "Fingolfin the Usurper."

#asks #krystalseijuro #meta #mine #fingolfin #feanor

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intern-seraph · 3 months

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Hey, sorry if this is a weird question but. I was wondering if you knew of any blogs specifically for responding to/arguing against leftist antisemitism? I want to be a good ally to Jewish people, but also I Am Not Immune To Propaganda and sometimes I just don't quite notice the implications, you know?

There's been a few posts going around recently, where there's screenshots with the water filter, and someone responding to them like "yeah this is actually pretty fucked up for x and y reasons". Those have been really helpful because, while some of them are much more obviously antisemitic, some of them I'm not sure I would've noticed, and now I'm a bit better educated. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Again, sorry if this is a weird question, and I hope you have a good day!

none that i'd recommend tbh? i feel like laser focusing on something can get to the point of seeing it everywhere, and there's also a risk of becoming reactionary abt it if that makes sense. the blogs i do rec are mainly other jews' blogs, especially the ones you've prob seen me rb from.

my main rec for recognizing leftist antisemitism is familiarizing yourself with antisemitic tropes. some of the most common ones you'll see:

Blood libel: Originated in medieval Christian Europe, spread throughout Afroeurasia and persists today. The accusation that Jews kidnap gentile (Orig. Christian) children to do nefarious things (Orig. and still relatively commonly "blood rituals" or "taking their blood to use in making Matzah") with. You'll see this often alongside "Jews rule the world" antisemitism.

Jews rule the world/Zionist-occupied government/Evil Cabals: What it says on the tin. If you see some shit about how "Oh isn't it SUSPICIOUS how many billionaires/millionaires/rich people are Jewish?" or "The ZIONIST-CONTROLLED MEDIA is suppressing this!", that's a variant on this canard.

Khazar theory: Antisemitic pseudoscientific theory that Ashkenazi Jews aren't ackshually descended from the Judeans who were forcibly exiled from our homeland, but instead descended from Turkic Khazars who converted to Judaism. Easily disproven by actual genetic studies that show that uh yeah all ethnically Jewish folks, Ashkies included, are descended from common ancestors that originated in the Levant. Also Yiddish is derived from, y'know, not Turkic languages. There are definitely Khazar Jews, but they make up a small number of an already small population. Variants you'll probably see of this are basically anything saying that Ashkies are somehow less Jewish than other Jews, that we're all White People (Jewish connection to Whiteness is Complicated) who have no connection to the Levant, How Could Ashkenazim Be From There When Some Of Them Are BLONDE?, etc. Shit like that.

stalin shit: a lot of modern leftist antisemitism has its roots in soviet antisemitism, which used "zionist" as another word for "jew" in order to pretend to not be antisemitic. people still do that today. if you see a post where "zionist" can be replaced with "jew" and it reads word-for-word like a classic antisemitic trope, well, you know. don't trust anyone who stans stalin (or modern russia to be honest. tankies (derogatory)).

this is non-exhaustive ofc. here are also blogs i recommend blocking asap (with / in their names to inhibit name-searching); they're all in the same far-left antisemitic atrocity apologist circle (i.e. assad stans, putin stans, holodomor deniers, uyghur oppression deniers, CCP stans, houthi stans, etc):

her/ita/gep/osts (north korea stan, which is fucking insane. beloved tumblr funnyman who implicitly blames jews for the actions of the israeli govt in multiple gross posts and has targeted multiple jewish bloggers, prompting mass harassment)

ko/ms/om/ol/ka (nasty character all around. claimed she was banned for being pro-palestine, it's actually prob because she's been reported before for being a fucking racist antisemitic freak lmao)

tx/tt/le/ta/le (ew)

bre/nda/nic/us (happily antisemitic. homophobic too, as a treat i guess)

blo/g/lik/ea/ne/gyp/tian (egyptian nationalist. don't ask her what happened to cairo's jews. makes nasty posts that outright state that jews should feel guilty for current events ON JEWISH HOLIDAYS.)

whe/nma/gic/fil/led/the/air (infamously antisemitic. block.)

a-si/ent-/ecli/pse ("Happy Holocaust Memorial Day")

ara/bia/n-k/nig/ht (extremely and openly antisemitic kid. just, like, don't engage)

nat/ive/ne/ws (tweet screenshots aren't news. loooooves spreading disinfo and misinfo)

ap/as-/95 (part of the tankie committee)

les/bia/nch/emi/cal/pla/nt (i think she's a jew but she's, like, the tankie tumblr pet jew istg. she's also an asshole. girl they will gladly turn you over once you outlive your usefulness 😬)

other advice: anyone who claims to be "anti-zionist NOT antisemitic" who only ever fixates on jews and jewish orgs instead of the christian zionists who vastly outnumber the entire jewish population is lying, they're antisemitic (whether they realize it or not). houthi stans generally are stupid jew-haters who would rather support the ethnic cleansing, racism, misogyny, antisemitism, and chattel slavery party than possibly say that Someone Who Rejects The Enemy(tm) is, yknow, not morally pure. people who are abnormal about ashkenazim are generally abnormal about non-ashkies, too, but in a different and still nasty way. if someone claims that "everything was fine before the Zionists(tm) attacked", they are wrong. do some research on the history of jewish life in the region and it's very clearly wrong. if someone says that they're tired of jews and jewish feelings and jewish safety being a focus, they probably don't feel particularly kind things about us in general. fact-check claims. screenshots aren't news. people who are okay with widespread civilian death/suffering in one direction probably only desire vengeance more than anything else, which does nothing for anyone and is a net loss. anyone baying for blood is suspect, anyone without a concrete solution/plan beyond "burn it down" is not going to do much constructive work in terms of delivering justice.

#ask #i-looktothe-stars #o7 godspeed #unfortunately a lot of this comes down to training your eye #it's a rough and wild world out there #steeped in a fine blend of centuries of antisemitism #antisemitism #seraph speaks #sorry for how scattered this is #and my allergy to the shift key

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x-authorship-x · 5 months

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"I'll die on the hill that Anakin should have been punted into the creche for a few years"

Yes! I'm so glad you agree, I wish more fics had him interacting with his agemates and being in the creche would have been good for him I think. Perhaps I'm giving him too much credit, and I've only watched those movies once and base the rest of what I know on what I get from fanfics so I could be wrong, but my read of that meeting was that Qui-Gon had intended that? He said he'll train Anakin, but 1. he had a padawan still, and 2. Anakin was 9?? That seems super, super young to be a padawan. I always found it really weird in fics that he had wanted to take Anakin on so young, and then I watched the movie and ended up finding it really weird that the council and Obi-Wan just assumed Qui-Gon meant he'd start training Anakin right then and there and toss out Obi-Wan. Why would he, that makes no sense and he never said he'd take Anakin as a padawan right then like I thought he had from fics. It seemed more to me like it was a promise or vow type thing, like he'd train Anakin when the time came so they didn't have to worry about trying to find someone who would train an unorthodox padawan. And then everyone immediately thought the worst of him so he stupidly doubled down and did not make any attempt to correct their miscommunication. From what little I know about Qui-Gon and his relationship with Obi-Wan there seemed to be a good amount of miscommunication, so this made the most sense to me that he'd be stubborn and double down when arguing with the council rather than explaining what he meant. So when he died Obi-Wan had no idea what he meant and went with what he though Qui-Gon meant and insisted Anakin be placed with him right then and there. Nevermind that he was grieving and Anakin was super baby for a padawan, honestly I'm going to blame the council here for not stepping in and saying Anakin would go to the creche for a few years, then Obi-Wan could have him. Idk I'm not even a huge fan of Qui-Gon and honestly don't know much about him, but in this case this is what seemed most likely to me when I watched it.

Oh anon I totally agree

Tbh my mind went forwards and I was thinking more.... Anakin in the creche could've fixed a lot. Like... Anakin made his own (shit) decisions, I'm definitely not an Anakin-apologist, but I do think that no one is born a certain thing and that childhood has a big knock-on effect. Putting Anakin in the creche would make transitioning from life as a slave easier, for one??? Like let's not immediately call someone else 'master' and let's socialise the kid and let's get an actual childcare specialist - not a traumatized grieving ex-padawan-turned-Knight oh my God everyone needs therapy good intentions don't automatically guarantee good outcomes - involved.

I'm not saying Kelleran Beq looks like the kinda man to rehab hurt children on the daily basis but that's exactly what I'm saying. God I love that man and his Grogu chase scene. Is Grogu in the creche yet or am I too early??? Who cares, I think Grogu would be so good for Anakin because can you imagine being the so called Chosen One but shown up by a baby. You can't fight a baby, not even Anakin (not yet rip) so you gotta just take the ego trimming and cope.

Get Anakin to learn to read and write and acclimatize, let Obi-Wan have time to establish himself as an individual, let everyone take a chill pill, and maybe the whole cast will feel better in three or four years 🙃 also this helps solve Anakin's INTENSE only child energy because Chosen One shit doesn't mean crap in the creche, being a freed slave probably isn't uncommon when you look at how a lot of force sensitive kids end up at the temple (every Jedi comes with a built in troubling backstory as standard), Anakin has friends and peers to cut his teeth on and learn patience with and how to check boundaries with and you just KNOW that those creche kids have so many lessons on Stranger Danger-!

qui-gon the future we couldve had if you choked out a few more words lmao

Also I like to imagine that anakin's first language is Huttese and he only knows enough Basic to understand customers and Watto etc so in my mind the council meeting SHOULDVE derailed when Anakin can't understand a word they're saying and the whole timeline careens towards 'lets get this freed child slave his vaccines and a primary school teacher before deciding the words of destiny, yes?'

Qui-Gon: *finally asks something not related to customer service, basic conversational vocab, or mechanics*

Anakin: ....uhhhhhhh

Qui-Gon, off camera: I was so lost in the euphoria of finding the Chosen One that I temporarily forgot I existed in a world with slavery and other languages haha-

Obi-Wan: *face down in a dune in the BG*

The end :)

#torship #torship talks #ask #anon #star wars #qui gon #anakin #Anakin's INTENSE only child energy #obi wan

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lazybutts-world · 2 years

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Wow I have not posted on Tumblr for the longest time and not sure if I still have followers left. 😅

Anyway I found a new hobby. I like doing an analysis on characters, chapters, shows, ships etc. that I like. And here is another analysis of one of my favorite ships.

Before I begin a warning is ahead:

⚠️CW: MHA Manga and Anime SPOILER , bullying, death, mention of hate⚠️

Bakudeku, one of the controversial ships in BNHA fandom to this day, and I have a very controversial take on this already controversial ship. Something possibly even most bkdk shippers themselves won't all agree.

I think bakudeku was a good ship from the start.

Yes, you read it right. I thought bkdk was a good ship from Chapter 1.

And before everyone starts screaming "Abuse apologist", "why do you like seeing Deku suffer" "He literally told Izuku to kill himself" "He bullied him for years" read the thread through it's entirety. For goodness sake I am not an abuse apologist. As someone who had her fair share of bullying in the past, I will never stand in favor of bullying, EVER!!! Period!!! And Izuku is one of my favorite characters in BNHA, I would not want him getting hurt.

And I am not saying this because I think bkdk will be cannon. I can not pretend to know what Horikoshi will or will not do. Hey, if it becomes cannon it is great and if it doesn't, it doesn't.

I am not here to shit on other ships either and state that somehow bkdk is superior. Everyone got their faves and you are all valid. You are not supposed to agree with me. All I am saying is that the hate it got was misplaced from the start.

Let's start from the beginning. Obviously I am not gonna cover everything, it is not possible. I can write a long novel about this ship at this point but unfortunately I don't have the time.

1. The infamous Chapter 1 where most hate comes from. And I know the obvious, and as I said I will not be an apologist for Bakugou when he himself agrees at this point that he was wrong. And yes, everyone sees this and yet does not focus on the one THING.

The scene that started it all. The scene that convinced All Might to give his power to Deku.

Yes, I mean the sludge villain incident. From what I read, on that Chapter, at that point, Izuku was at his lowest. Even All Might, his hero, told him that he should stop chasing his dream of being a hero. Then Izuku sees someone being attacked by sludge villain and is like "I am sorry I am at fault but a hero will come and save you". Just look at the panel.

He is horrified and thinking it is his fault yet he is ready to leave it be and wait for a hero come save the day. Again, it doesn't sound like Deku we know, but he is at his lowest here. Then he notices it is Kacchan

So for a lot of people who say "he could have done it for anyone", maybe you are right but I doubt it. And it would not have been a "my leg started moving on their own" moment (at least that is what I think). As I mentioned before, the prior narrative suggested that he was willing to let it go and wait for a hero. So the fact that the person assaulted was Bakugou, it made him act without thinking.

So let's go to the parallel shall we?

Chapter 285 - Katsuki Bakugou rises. My favorite Chapter in BNHA

Katsuki, without giving it a second thought, jumps to save Deku. He does not go for the glory, he goes for saving (which is unlike the Baku we know). His body moves on it's own. Could he had done it for anyone? Maybe. Is this moment necessarily romantic? You can argue it is or not. But there is definitely a deep connection between Izuku and Katsuki. And they are mirroring each other.

2. Deku tells OFA secret to Katsuki directly. Many people forget that Katsuki is the first one to know about Izuku’s secret because Izuku told him the first. That is how much he trusts him.

And one thing about Izuku is that he never stopped believing Katsuki and always saw the good in him. Some ppl thought that his admiration for Katsuki was misplaced. But was it really? Looking at where Katsuki is now, I would say the kid was right all along. You could say, he knows Katsuki the best.

Which brings me to the other topic.

3. They know each other the best. They are the closest people to each other.

Izuku and Katsuki are really close. You could say as expected since they have been together since childhood. But if they had a fallout like ppl assume, then why are they still considered the closest people to each other?

Just look at these panels.

Even villains calls them out on their closeness.

4. Izuku acts very much out of character when Katsuki is injured in a posessive and overly protective sort of way. They do say love makes you do crazy things 😉 😉

Izuku is not someone who will be obsessive or jealous for anyone. He seems like the most understanding person right? Not the kind of person that would get aggressive under any circumstances.

Wrong 😆

Try hurting Bakugou and see how Izuku will react. I mean look at these manga panels.

Uhm possessive Deku. Damn. Tokoyami was taken too yet he yells to give him Bakugou back. Also fun fact apperently in Japanese version he uses the word "kaese" which means give (what belong to me) back to me. And compress calls him out on it as well.

Wait but it does not end there 😳

Blackwhip awakening

He opened up a quirk just because Bakugou was insulted.

He completely lost it in chapter 285 (Katsuki Bakugou Rises) when Bakugou was attacked.

I can not add any more pictures but I will continue this thread.

Tbc

#bakudeku #bakugou #deku #my hero acadamy #manga spoilers #bnha manga spoilers

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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 2 years

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vi what is going on omg

I don’t even know, it’s bizarre!

Basically my original point was that sometimes when people in fandom have a favorite character, they tend to bend over backwards to justify every single thing they’ve ever done. Or to explain why they’re Not Bad Actually.

This gets… thorny with the Millennium characters in Hellsing. I know the quick argument is to say “Well no one is claiming Millennium characters don’t suck.” Which true! The thing that fans seem to want to argue the most is that their faves aren’t actually Nazis. And what I see happen most often is people starting to add qualifiers about what makes a real Nazi, in order to absolve their anime characters. And it can, and often does, quickly slide into actual Nazi apologist rhetoric. You can get the typical “just following orders” type excuses and even more convoluted “well what does a swastika mean, really?” arguments.

Millennium characters are explicitly, in canon, literal WWII Nazis. When you start splitting hairs over that, it’s really uncomfortable!

And honestly I have seen a lot of it over the years. On tumblr, on reddit (sooo much on reddit jfc), on Discord servers— that I promptly left lmao. I have no intention though of randomly tagging people who I feel have posted distasteful things or getting into fights with them. I don’t have the time or the interest!

But that one person apparently felt the need to make their outrage over me complaining about something on my own blog into everyone’s problem. They seem determined to believe that I am like, personally harassing and policing anyone who likes Millennium characters? Anyway I literally could not care less who likes them, and that is not what I meant by Nazi apologism.

They’re definitely not characters I care about? I find them kind of boring and distasteful outside of their roles as villains/what they thematically represent for the other characters, so I don’t personally write fic or meta stuff about them. But like I’ve literally also made dumb shitposts and jokes about Millennium characters. I cannot state enough how much I do not care about someone deciding to RP as or write fic for them. I have a job, I pay taxes lmao. It’s not my problem.

Anyway I blocked that person so they’d stop trying to talk to me, and then instead they decided to do a weird callout post esque screencapping of my post thread, even though it’s literally all public and in a single post. I’m not sure what they’re trying to accomplish? But the entitlement and sealioning is incredibly funny.

On a semi related note, someone else also told me that apparently a blog in the replies to my post had a call out post written about them? I literally don’t know anything about that lol I only vaguely recognize the url as someone who’s sent me asks in the past. We’re not mutuals, I don’t know them. Sorry?

I don’t typically get into fights on tumblr, and I wasn’t trying to get into one now! I can literally count on one hand the number of times I’ve gotten into tumblr drama over the like decade I’ve been on this site with various accounts. But yeah apologies for spamming the dash with nonsense omg

#nazis for ts #@ my followers really really sorry for making you watch this nonsense play out lol #this is what I get for engaging with their initial reblog of my post #hellsing #I’m not walking back anything I said though #I stand by it 🤷‍♀️#anyway I’m going to try not to spam about this anymore unless something egregious happens #discourse #i ramble sometimes

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kcyars52 · 7 months

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22h ago

Black Twitter celebrates justice for victims in R. Kelly's 30-year prison sentencing

Many hope that R. Kelly's victims "can find solace" following today's sentencing.

REVOLT

Black Twitter celebrates justice for victims in R. Kelly's 30-year prison sentencing

Many hope that R. Kelly's victims "can find solace" following today's sentencing.

REVOLT

Black Twitter celebrates justice for victims in R. Kelly's 30-year prison sentencing

www.revolt.tv

The culture reacts to news that R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. This news follows decades of the entertainer using his power as a musician to sexually abuse young fans.

After a long fight toward justice for the underage victims of Robert Sylvester Kelly, many hope that they are able to find some solace in the fact that he will now serve most of the rest of his life behind bars. “I fought HARD AF for this story to come out in 2018,” said music and culture journalist J’na Jefferson via Twitter.

“I hope R. Kelly’s victims can find some solace in this sentence, but their lives will still never be the same,” wrote another user. As previously reported by REVOLT, the 55-year-old musician was convicted of racketeering and charges related to sex trafficking in a Brooklyn federal court today (June 29).

I fought HARD AF for this story to come out in 2018. Hugs, love and healing to anyone who has been affected or triggered by R. Kelly and his actions, and anyone who has experienced sexual violence. https://t.co/uW2wLXmlA9pic.twitter.com/QkhNGLFcGD — J’na Jefferson (@jnajefferson) June 29, 2022

The self-proclaimed “Pied Piper” was also convicted of sexual misconduct, bribery, kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a child. His lawyers argued that he should get no more than 10 years due to a traumatic childhood “involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty and violence.”

Check out more reactions to the sentencing from Black Twitter below.

What’s key to remember in the R Kelly sentencing is that this is a TRAFFICKING case. He had an entire system for moving minors across state lines. And if he was outside with $10 and people willing to help he’d do the shit again. An ACTUAL menace. — Naima Cochrane (@naima) June 29, 2022

Whataboutisms has predator apologists in a chokehold. All I hear is “why isn’t R Kelly allowed to prey on young girls and get away with it like the white men who were able to do so.” https://t.co/bighD0o1Nt — Paris Milan (@ParisMilanYT) June 25, 2022

30yrs for R Kelly is NOT Justice. The bastard should get LIFE without parole. The punishment does not fit the crime. #RKellypic.twitter.com/40iJWVX6Wy — Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) June 29, 2022

I have ZERO empathy for sexual predators and pedophiles. All them mf’ers should be locked up and throw away the key. FOH! #RKelly — Shes4Russy (@shesforRussy) June 29, 2022

And people support R.Kelly? I literally said during the trial that he’s hurt and damaged so many people. It’s beyond human comprehension how one could break a person so bad that they no longer want to live. #Rkelly deserves to rot https://t.co/jMAMAi3KBx — Jasonhodges (@Jasonman94) June 29, 2022

Will never stop emphasising that what R. Kelly did was not just abuse; it was sex trafficking. He had a whole system in place that people helped him operate for decades. https://t.co/HxWBiTV7JK — Ivie Ani (@ivieani) June 29, 2022

R. Kelly’s music was extremely easy to let go off & I’m saying this as someone that grew up listening to his music like most of the black community Knowing that man was singing about underage girls the whole time is definitely not something I care to vibe to whatsoever — Corie (@kingslayer253) June 29, 2022

In 2017, I said it was time for us to shut R. Kelly down for good, for his abuses of young girls. Today, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.https://t.co/wat5IU2ip6 — Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) June 29, 2022

BREAKING: R Kelly has just been sentenced to 30 years in prison. I believe he can cry. GOOD RIDDANCE. — BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) June 29, 2022

R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for federal sex crimes. Another sexual predator who operated in plain sight & was protected by people who share some of the culpability — nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) June 29, 2022

Ghislaine Maxwell & R. Kelly sentencing aren’t enough, they should’ve gotten 60 years with a tombstone ready for them. https://t.co/AaH1GLuLxi — malory archer’s whiskey glass (@charmdiddy) June 29, 2022

Ask Black Chicagoans for their R Kelly stories. Even at the height of his fame, their was no pretense of innocence https://t.co/T3Dt1MlmOk — Astead (@AsteadWesley) June 29, 2022

R. Kelly’s sentencing doesn’t change what he did, but I hope the repercussions bring the Black women he harmed some sense of peace. I also hope it’s a message to abusers everywhere. — Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) June 29, 2022

“How Much they give you Robert?” R. Kelly: pic.twitter.com/c1UNWbak0w — The Artist Known As PJ Darrell (@_PjDarrell) June 29, 2022

they gave r Kelly 30 years pic.twitter.com/ixZ6b5TJIX — lil duval (@lilduval) June 29, 2022

Props forever to @JimDeRogatis who was the first to write about R. Kelly’s sexual predation, listened to survivors, and stuck with that story for more than 20 years while others bought Kelly’s records and ridiculed his victims, most of them Black girls and women. — Renée Graham 🏳️‍🌈 (@reneeygraham) June 29, 2022

Sent from my iPhone

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cyarskj1899 · 7 months

Text

Black Twitter celebrates justice for victims in R. Kelly's 30-year prison sentencing

The culture reacts to news that R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. This news follows decades of the entertainer using his power as a musician to sexually abuse young fans.

Check out more reactions to the sentencing from Black Twitter below.

I have ZERO empathy for sexual predators and pedophiles. All them mf’ers should be locked up and throw away the key. FOH! #RKelly — Shes4Russy (@shesforRussy) June 29, 2022

BREAKING: R Kelly has just been sentenced to 30 years in prison. I believe he can cry. GOOD RIDDANCE. — BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) June 29, 2022

Ask Black Chicagoans for their R Kelly stories. Even at the height of his fame, their was no pretense of innocence https://t.co/T3Dt1MlmOk — Astead (@AsteadWesley) June 29, 2022

“How Much they give you Robert?” R. Kelly: pic.twitter.com/c1UNWbak0w — The Artist Known As PJ Darrell (@_PjDarrell) June 29, 2022

they gave r Kelly 30 years pic.twitter.com/ixZ6b5TJIX — lil duval (@lilduval) June 29, 2022

Sent from my iPhone

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darlington-v · 3 years

Note

I know different interpretations of a work are generally enriching and cool... but c!dream villan interpretations is like how to tell me you only watch Tommy without saying you only watch tommy.... which would be fine but its not a great place to be making statements about the whole nature of the dsmp lol

Wild speculation, but sometimes I wonder if like, because the dsmp didn't really start as a narrative, and a lot of fans don't nessecarily enter it expecting a narrative, but then there is one and the fandom is really discourse heavy and everyone is sort of excpeted to have an opinion while maybe not expecting to form one from the begining or not having a ton of experience with narrative in a way that would "expect" them to have an opinion or not take things at face value??, I don't know if I explained that well at all... and I don't really even think thats right nessecarily... but like wow sometimes some of the takes about power and government and villany...

Honestly, it makes sense!!!

I think something interesting is like.... looking at how animatics have shaped the like tone and culture of the fandom essentially. Like, an interesting fact that I didn't really fully grasp until SUPER recently is like...

c!Wilbur out the gate admits he is manipulating c!Tommy. Like his first youtube video on the Dream SMP he admits his goal is to manipulate c!Tommy and people like c!Tommy into helping him achieve a potion ("drug") empire to monopolize on potions because there were a lot of people on the server who like to min-max, which is to put all of your effort into this one specific skill essentially. so like... i know minecraft doesnt have a skill tree but if it did, it would be putting all your points into that one specific branch of a skill tree. So he wanted to exploit the labor of all the TommyInnits to.... maintain a Potion Empire.

THIS IS A LONG POST BC I GOT CARRIED AWAY SO BUCKLE UP

And I don't think a lot of the fandom who joined later on knows this. I certainly didn't until like a week or so ago? Like... I knew c!Wilbur had been manipulative from the start because I'm a mod of (shameless self promo incoming) @dsmpanalysis and we have a lot of different POVs in that mod team and discord and we talk about it really frequently. I joined the fandom as someone who was really big on L'manburg ESPECIALLY crimeboys, and have turned into.... *gestures vaguely to my blog*

And ngl I owe a lot of it to @1-michibiki-1 in terms of c!Dream "Apologism" but all of the mods there have expanded my thoughts and views on the storylines of this narrative.

My application consisted of like largely essays about like... how I think Dream was the villain but he was meant to be the villain because you don't get any insight into his character WHICH.... IS A FAIR ASSUMPTION AT FIRST GLANCE. People are easily villainized when you cannot get a glimpse into their thought process. It's easy to dwindle someone down into this flat character and starting out I knew Dream didn't stream the SMP on purpose.

And I personally came to the conclusion of "Oh! So Dream is supposed to be the villain." However as the story continued and I learned more about what Dream went through I began to realize that... it's more than likely a form of a red herring. My opinions on this were immediately solidified when I watched Ranboo's 2 MIL stream because both Ranboo AND Dream agree on enjoying red herrings.

There have been MANY times were Dream has said that c!Dream is a complex character and he's not a wholly evil guy and there have been times where the narrative has honestly just proved that.

Anyways, what's important though was that... I learned most of this from other people who were more focused on c!Dream rather than myself. Eventually I shifted from c!Tommy to c!Ranboo and c!Techno after c!Tommy betrayed c!Techno and I began to realize.... everything I learned before hopping in wasn't exactly what it seemed.

Part of this is because I'm older, I heavily identify with c!Techno's sense of loyalty and philosophies on government, but I especially identify with the anguish c!Techno voiced in... a lot of lore but especially the lore around Doomsday.

I'm not 16 anymore. I don't always feel wronged by adults, or older people in my case, whenever they absolutely have done something wrong by me, but I do feel wronged by my close friends. I also felt like c!Tommy's sense of loyalty didn't line up with mine after what felt like him constantly flip-flopping and refusing to understand c!Techno's morals on government didn't line up with his.

In short, it was easier to identify with Tommy in these animatics versus in the actual stream content because c!Tommy is played by a 16 year old. I'm not a teenager and my line of thinking doesn't entirely line up with people that age anymore. It's harder to place myself in the same shoes of someone's OC who is played closer to their actual age, because I'm not that age.

Regardless, I was still on the c!Dream is a villain train. I wasn't ever like... c!Dream is repulsive I hate him, but I was like omg hot villain lad go brrr.

Even when the first like... mellohi, panic room, Ranboo lore stream popped up I thought "Oh! c!Ranboo corruption arc?"

And I was excited because I really wanted this shy, nervous character to turn into villain buddies with his good pal c!Dream. I'm a total sucker for villains and corruption arcs and all that good shit.

SO I STARTED GETTING REALLY INTERESTED IN ENDERSMILE. I'VE BEEN ON ENDERSMILE SQUAD OUT THE GATE. NOT THE SAME WAY I AM NOW, BUT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THEM TO TEAM UP.

So... upon not really keeping up with c!Dream and being relatively??? indifferent? I don't think I started arguments on c!Dream back then, but I might have. But I remember like... starting to participate more whenever c!Dream came up and looking more into Dream's character BUT ESPECIALLY TALKING WITH OUR SERVER'S C!DREAM SPECIALIST MICHI ABOUT DREAM A LOT MORE.

And because Michi has been a watcher since day one and was a DTeam fan rather than a SBI fan, she was able to provide me with more information on how the server worked pre-Tommy but especially pre-Wilbur.

Now, you could definitely argue well Michi probably has clear bias but it made sense to me when I looked back on how the storyline had been constructed and was going along, and everyone in the server talks a lot about our own biases and how we want people to maybe not lean so hard on them. Michi would also provide like anecdotes on what had happened and I'm sure links were probably provided at one point but the point was I felt like Michi had no reason to lie or manipulate how the story was told and if she did, eventually someone would have pointed it out because... Group of like... right now it's around 20 or more analysts but I don't remember how many at the time there were. POINT BEING, WE'VE ALL GOT POINTS TO PROVE AND IN MY EXPERIENCE NOT MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SHY TO PROVE THEM.

So if anyone ever had any differing opinions they would be talked about and we literally had and still have discussions.

REGARDLESS.... I DIDN'T FACT CHECK IN DEPTH BECAUSE I THOUGHT PEER REVIEW WAS ENOUGH WHEN YOU HAVE LIKE HOURS UPON HOURS OF STREAMS TO WATCH.

Anyways. Eventually I started paying closer attention and looking more into c!Dream lore but only recently have I started to triple check before speaking about c!Wilbur lore because I know everyone has biases and while I did trust everyone's thoughts and analysis in the discord, whenever I make essays I typically like it to be largely air tight and if theres a mistake, I want it to be because I forgot not because I just trusted what was said. Plus, I wanted to get down to the specifics of how Wilbur had always started with manipulation on the mind.

SO I WATCHED HIS FIRST VIDEO ON THE DREAM SMP.

AND WHAT I WAS NOT BY ANY MEANS EXPECTING WAS WILBUR TO SAY WORD FOR WORD, VERBATIM,

"SO WHY DON'T I START AN INDUSTRY WHERE I USE THE TOMMYINNITS OF THE WORLD TO WORK FOR ME, TO CREATE THINGS THAT THE MIN-MAXERS OF THE WORLD WILL WANT."

Like... this is in no way an attempt to like hardcore villainize c!Wilbur like everyone does Dream, it's just more so to like REALLY outline how far off a lot of fandom interpretation of c!Wilbur is....

Because of SBI focused animatics.

Now, when I joined I watched A LOT of animatics that really highlighted like... Wilbur being this self-loathing JD-esque, "I destroyed it because I had to because the world was against me because no one loved us, Tommy" type of character. At least... that's what it came across as.

And it definitely highlighted the fact that Tommy was a victim, which he is. He is undoubtedly a victim and no not even any dream apologist can change my mind otherwise. Tommy, despite being an instigator sometimes, didn't deserve the abuse he received.

But these animatics never shown the fact that c!Wilbur started L'manburg as a shady ploy to exploit people like c!Tommy and vilify c!Dream so he could have power.

And that was easy because Dream and Tommy had wars before. They had spars and pranks and here's the plan to take back my disks and here's the plan to out smart the thieving little child etc etc.

And all of the animatics I watched never mentioned this. Neither did the recaps though. The recaps gave the events flat out, there didn't sound like there was bias, and honestly I don't really know if there was rather than like... a lack of nuance. And it's hard to provide a recap with that much nuance in a short period of time for a youtube video, to be perfectly fair.

However, this creates a perfect formula for entirely rewriting the history of a server. c!Wilbur quite literally fucking succeeded TO A META LEVEL. He slandered and ran smear campaigns against Dream and like he even does that with Sapnap in the beginning. But what's crazy is that it transferred over into the meta! Most of this fandom understands Wilbur as a victim of mental illness, and yeah maybe? He definitely wasn't mentally well by the end of pogtopia, but he never started out with honorable intentions. L'manburg was never a victim, only its citizens. The TommyInnits of the world.

I just think it's like... such an interesting case study. Because this is like... an opinion like shared by at least half of the fandom, but the vilifying of c!Dream is shared by MOST of the fandom I would argue. Which is like even more crazy for me because that was c!Wilbur's goal!!!

LIKE I GO INSANE WHEN I THINK OF THIS BECAUSE HIS REACH IS JUST TOO POWERFUL. HE'S NOT EVEN ENTIRELY REAL, JUST A MANIPULATIVE PERSONA OF SOME BRITISH GUY.

And I mean... maybe people who have watched Wilbur's video on the SMP still maintain this idea that Wilbur wasn't always the bad guy, but honestly... I wouldn't be surprised if their introduction was still an animatic. Like bias is hard to check and I'm not going to lie I could have sworn I watched both Wilbur's AND Tommy's video on the SMP in the beginning and yet I STILL was a ride or die for tragic yet on some level still honorable Wilbur and a resilient Tommy.

Like... upon watching Wilbur's first video... possibly again I was surprised because I thought I did watch it like right before I even started watching the streams and yet I was still so invested in c!Wilbur as this tortured anti-hero.

It took 6 months of... not being in an echo chamber, full of multiple different people of different ages, different stream POVS, and people who joined the fandom at different points in time.

IDK IF THIS WAS EVEN ENTIRELY RELEVANT IT JUST FELT TANGENTIALLY RELEVANT AND THIS WAS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR A HOT MINUTE AFTER LIKE WATCHING WILBUR'S FIRST VIDEO AGAIN.

TLDR;

SBI CENTRIC ANIMATICS HAD A LASTING AFFECT ON THIS FANDOM AS IT'S HARD TO GO BACK AND ACTUALLY CHECK THE NARRATIVE FOR SOLID FACTS FOR YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION BASED ON THE FACT THAT THIS NARRATIVE SPANS OVER HUNDREDS OF HOURS WORTH OF TWITCH STREAMS.

#asks #anon #dream smp #dsmp #dsmp analysis #dream smp analysis #dsmp meta #dream smp meta #my analysis #long post

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shortnotsweet · 3 years

Text

Bakudeku: A Non-Comprehensive Dissection of the Exploitation of Working Bodies, the Murder of Annoying Children, and a Rivals-to-Lovers Complex

I. Bakudeku in Canon, And Why Anti’s Need to Calm the Fuck Down

II. Power is Power: the Brain-Melting Process of Normalization and Toxic Masculinity

III. How to Kill Middle Schoolers, and Why We Should

IV. Parallels in Abuse, EnemiesRivals-to-Lovers, and the Necessity of Redemption ft. ATLA’s Zuko

V. Give it to Me Straight. It’s Homophobic.

VI. Love in Perspective, from the East v. West

VII. Stuck in the Sludge, the Past, and Season One

Disclaimer

It needs to be said that there is definitely a place for disagreement, discourse, debate, and analysis: that is a sign of an active fandom that’s heavily invested, and not inherently a bad thing at all. Considering the amount of source material we do have (from the manga, to the anime, to the movies, to the light novels, to the official art), there are going to be warring interpretations, and that’s inevitable.

I started watching and reading MHA pretty recently, and just got into the fandom. I was weary for a reason, and honestly, based on what I’ve seen, I’m still weary now. I’ve seen a lot of anti posts, and these are basically my thoughts. This entire thing is in no way comprehensive, and it’s my own opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. If I wanted to be thorough about this, I would’ve included manga panels, excerpts from the light novel, shots from the anime, links to other posts/essays/metas that have inspired this, etc. but I’m tired and not about that life right now, so, this is what it is. This is poorly organized, but maybe I’ll return to fix it.

Let’s begin.

Bakudeku in Canon, And Why Anti’s Need to Calm the Fuck Down

There are a lot of different reasons, that can be trivial as you like, to ship or not to ship two (or more) characters. It could be based purely off of character design, proximity, aversion to another ship, or hypotheticals. And I do think that it’s totally valid if someone dislikes the ship or can’t get on board with his character because to them, it does come across as abuse, and the implications make them uncomfortable or, or it just feels unhealthy. If that is your takeaway, and you are going to stick to your guns, the more power to you.

But Bakudeku’s relationship has canonically progressed to the point where it’s not the emotionally (or physically) abusive clusterfuck some people portray it to be, and it’s cheap to assume that it would be, based off of their characterizations as middle schoolers. Izuku intentionally opens the story as a naive little kid who views the lens of the Hero society through rose colored glasses and arguably wants nothing more than assimilation into that society; Bakugou is a privileged little snot who embodies the worst and most hypocritical beliefs of this system. Both of them are intentionally proven wrong. Both are brainwashed, as many little children are, by the propaganda and societal norms that they are exposed to. Both of their arcs include unlearning crucial aspects of the Hero ideology in order to become true heroes.

I will personally never simp for Bakugou because for the longest time, I couldn't help but think of him as a little kid on the playground screaming at the top of his lungs because someone else is on the swingset. He’s red in the face, there are probably veins popping out of his neck, he’s losing it. It’s easy to see why people would prefer Tododeku to Bakudeku.

Even now, seeing him differently, I still personally wouldn’t date Bakugou, especially if I had other options. Why? I probably wouldn’t want to date any of the guys who bullied me, especially because I think that schoolyard bullying, even in middle school, affected me largely in a negative way and created a lot of complexes I’m still trying to work through. I haven’t built a better relationship with them, and I’m not obligated to. Still, I associate them with the kind of soft trauma that they inflicted upon me, and while to them it was probably impersonal, to me, it was an intimate sort of attack that still affects me. That being said, that is me. Those are my personal experiences, and while they could undoubtedly influence how I interpret relationships, I do not want to project and hinder my own interpretation of Deku.

The reality is that Deku himself has an innate understanding of Bakugou that no one else does; I mention later that he seems to understand his language, implicitly, and I do stand by that. He understands what it is he’s actually trying to say, often why he’s saying it, and while others may see him as wimpy or unable to stand up for himself, that’s simply not true. Part of Deku’s characterization is that he is uncommonly observant and empathetic; I’m not denying that Bakugou caused harm or inflicted damage, but infantilizing Deku and preaching about trauma that’s not backed by canon and then assuming random people online excuse abuse is just...the leap of leaps, and an actual toxic thing to do. I’ve read fan works where Bakugou is a bully, and that’s all, and has caused an intimate degree of emotional, mental, and physical insecurity from their middle school years that prevents their relationship from changing, and that’s for the better. I’m not going to argue and say that it’s not an interesting take, or not valid, or has no basis, because it does. Its basis is the character that Bakugou was in middle school, and the person he was when he entered UA.

Not only is Bakugou — the current Bakugou, the one who has accumulated memories and experiences and development — not the same person he was at the beginning of the story, but Deku is not the same person, either. Maybe who they are fundamentally, at their core, stays the same, but at the beginning and end of any story, or even their arcs within the story, the point is that characters will undergo change, and that the reader will gain perspective.

“You wanna be a hero so bad? I’ve got a time-saving idea for you. If you think you’ll have a quirk in your next life...go take a swan dive off the roof!”

Yes. That is a horrible thing to tell someone, even if you are a child, even if you don’t understand the implications, even if you don’t mean what it is you are saying. Had someone told me that in middle school, especially given our history and the context of our interactions, I don’t know if I would ever have forgiven them.

Here’s the thing: I’m not Deku. Neither is anyone reading this. Deku is a fictional character, and everyone we know about him is extrapolated from source material, and his response to this event follows:

“Idiot! If I really jumped, you’d be charged with bullying me into suicide! Think before you speak!”

I think it’s unfair to apply our own projections as a universal rather than an interpersonal interpretation; that’s not to say that the interpretation of Bakudeku being abusive or having unbalanced power dynamics isn’t valid, or unfounded, but rather it’s not a universal interpretation, and it’s not canon. Deku is much more of a verbal thinker; in comparison, Bakugou is a visual one, at least in the format of the manga, and as such, we get various panels demonstrating his guilt, and how deep it runs. His dialogue and rapport with Deku has undeniably shifted, and it’s very clear that the way they treat each other has changed from when they were younger. Part of Bakugou’s growth is him gaining self awareness, and eventually, the strength to wield that. He knows what a fucked up little kid he was, and he carries the weight of that.

“At that moment, there were no thoughts in my head. My body just moved on its own.”

There’s a part of me that really, really disliked Bakugou going into it, partially because of what I’d seen and what I’d heard from a limited, outside perspective. I felt like Bakugou embodied the toxic masculinity (and to an extent, I still believe that) and if he won in some way, that felt like the patriarchy winning, so I couldn't help but want to muzzle and leash him before releasing him into the wild.

The reality, however, of his character in canon is that it isn’t very accurate to assume that he would be an abusive partner in the future, or that Midoryia has not forgiven him to some extent already, that the two do not care about each other or are singularly important, that they respect each other, or that the narrative has forgotten any of this.

Don’t mistake me for a Bakugou simp or apologist. I’m not, but while I definitely could also see Tododeku (and I have a soft spot for them, too, their dynamic is totally different and unique, and Todoroki is arguably treated as the tritagonist) and I’m ambivalent about Izuocha (which is written as cannoncially romantic) I do believe that canonically, Bakugou and Deku are framed as soulmates/character foils, Sasuke + Naruto, Kageyama + Hinata style. Their relationship is arguably the focus of the series. That’s not to undermine the importance or impact of Deku’s relationships with other characters, and theirs with him, but in terms of which one takes priority, and which one this all hinges on?

The manga is about a lot of things, yes, but if it were to be distilled into one relationship, buckle up, because it’s the Bakudeku show.

Power is Power: the Brain-Melting Process of Normalization and Toxic Masculinity

One of the ways in which the biopolitical prioritization of Quirks is exemplified within Hero society is through Quirk marriages. Endeavor partially rationalizes the abuse of his family through the creation of a child with the perfect quirk, a child who can be molded into the perfect Hero. People with powerful, or useful abilities, are ranked high on the hierarchy of power and privilege, and with a powerful ability, the more opportunities and avenues for success are available to them.

For the most part, Bakugou is a super spoiled, privileged little rich kid who is born talented but is enabled for his aggressive behavior and, as a child, cannot move past his many internalized complexes, treats his peers like shit, and gets away with it because the hero society he lives in either has this “boys will be boys” mentality, or it’s an example of the way that power, or Power, is systematically prioritized in this society. The hero system enables and fosters abusers, people who want power and publicity, and people who are genetically predisposed to have advantages over others. There are plenty of good people who believe in and participate in this system, who want to be good, and who do good, but that doesn’t change the way that the hero society is structured, the ethical ambiguity of the Hero Commission, and the way that Heroes are but pawns, idols with machine guns, used to sell merch to the public, to install faith in the government, or the current status quo, and reinforce capitalist propaganda. Even All Might, the epitome of everything a Hero should be, is drained over the years, and exists as a concept or idea, when in reality he is a hollow shell with an entire person inside, struggling to survive. Hero society is functionally dependent on illusion.

In Marxist terms: There is no truth, there is only power.

Although Bakugou does change, and I think that while he regrets his actions, what is long overdue is him verbally expressing his remorse, both to himself and Deku. One might argue that he’s tried to do it in ways that are compatible with his limited emotional range of expression, and Deku seems to understand this language implicitly.

I am of the opinion that the narrative is building up to a verbal acknowledgement, confrontation, and subsequent apology that only speaks what has gone unspoken.

That being said, Bakugou is a great example of the way that figures of authority (parents, teachers, adults) and institutions both in the real world and this fictional universe reward violent behavior while also leaving mental and emotional health — both his own and of the people Bakugou hurts — unchecked, and part of the way he lashes out at others is because he was never taught otherwise.

And by that, I’m referring to the ways that are to me, genuinely disturbing. For example, yelling at his friends is chill. But telling someone to kill themselves, even casually and without intent and then misinterpreting everything they do as a ploy to make you feel weak because you're projecting? And having no teachers stop and intervene, either because they are afraid of you or because they value the weight that your Quirk can benefit society over the safety of children? That, to me, is both real and disturbing.

Not only that, but his parents (at least, Mitsuki), respond to his outbursts with more outbursts, and while this is likely the culture of their home and I hesitate to call it abusive, I do think that it contributed to the way that he approaches things. Bakugou as a character is very complex, but I think that he is primarily an example of the way that the Hero System fails people.

I don’t think we can write off the things he’s done, especially using the line of reasoning that “He didn’t mean it that way”, because in real life, children who hurt others rarely mean it like that either, but that doesn’t change the effect it has on the people who are victimized, but to be absolutely fair, I don’t think that the majority of Bakudeku shippers, at least now, do use that line of reasoning. Most of them seem to have a handle on exactly how fucked up the Hero society is, and exactly why it fucks up the people embedded within that society.

The characters are positioned in this way for a reason, and the discoveries made and the development that these characters undergo are meant to reveal more about the fictional world — and, perhaps, our world — as the narrative progresses.

The world of the Hero society is dependent, to some degree, on biopolitics. I don’t think we have enough evidence to suggest that people with Quirks or Quirkless people place enough identity or placement within society to become equivalent to marginalized groups, exactly, but we can draw parallels to the way that Deku and by extent Quirkless people are viewed as weak, a deviation, or disabled in some way. Deviants, or non-productive bodies, are shunned for their inability to perform ideal labor. While it is suggested to Deku that he could become a police officer or pursue some other occupation to help people, he believes that he can do the most positive good as a Hero. In order to be a Hero, however, in the sense of a career, one needs to have Power.

Deviation from the norm will be punished or policed unless it is exploitable; in order to become integrated into society, a deviant must undergo a process of normalization and become a working, exploitable body. It is only through gaining power from All Might that Deku is allowed to assimilate from the margins and into the upper ranks of society; the manga and the anime give the reader enough perspective, context, and examples to allow us to critique and deconstruct the society that is solely reliant on power.

Through his societal privileges, interpersonal biases, internalized complexes, and his subsequent unlearning of these ideologies, Bakugou provides examples of the way that the system simultaneously fails and indoctrinates those who are targeted, neglected, enabled by, believe in, and participate within the system.

Bakudeku are two sides of the same coin. We are shown visually that the crucial turning point and fracture in their relationship is when Bakugou refuses to take Deku’s outstretched hand; the idea of Deku offering him help messes with his adolescent perspective in that Power creates a hierarchy that must be obeyed, and to be helped is to be weak is to be made a loser.

Largely, their character flaws in terms of understanding the hero society are defined and entangled within the concept of power. Bakugou has power, or privilege, but does not have the moral character to use it as a hero, and believes that Power, or winning, is the only way in which to view life. Izuku has a much better grasp on the way in which heroes wield power (their ideologies can, at first, be differentiated as winning vs. saving), and is a worthy successor because of this understanding, and of circumstance. However, in order to become a Hero, our hero must first gain the Power that he lacks, and learn to wield it.

As the characters change, they bridge the gaps of their character deficiencies, and are brought closer together through character parallelism.

Two sides of the same coin, an outstretched hand.

They are better together.

How to Kill Middle Schoolers, and Why We Should

I think it’s fitting that in the manga, a critical part of Bakugou’s arc explicitly alludes to killing the middle school version of himself in order to progress into a young adult. In the alternative covers Horikoshi released, one of them was a close up of Bakugou in his middle school uniform, being stabbed/impaled, with blood rolling out of his mouth. Clearly this references the scene in which he sacrifices himself to save Deku, on a near-instinctual level.

To me, this only cements Horikoshi’s intent that middle school Bakugou must be debunked, killed, discarded, or destroyed in order for Bakugou the hero to emerge, which is why people who do actually excuse his actions or believe that those actions define him into young adulthood don’t really understand the necessity for change, because they seem to imply that he doesn’t need/cannot reach further growth, and there doesn’t need to be a separation between the Bakugou who is, at heart, volatile and repressed the angry, and the Bakugou who sacrifices himself, a hero who saves people.

Plot twist: there does need to be a difference. Further plot twist: there is a difference.

In sacrificing himself for Deku, Bakugou himself doesn't die, but the injury is fatal in the sense that it could've killed him physically and yet symbolizes the selfish, childish part of him that refused to accept Deku, himself, and the inevitability of change. In killing those selfish remnants, he could actually become the kind of hero that we the reader understand to be the true kind.

That’s why I think that a lot of the people who stress his actions as a child without acknowledging the ways he has changed, grown, and tried to fix what he has broken don’t really get it, because it was always part of his character arc to change and purposely become something different and better. If the effects of his worst and his most childish self stick with you more, and linger despite that, that’s okay. But distilling his character down to the wrong elements doesn’t get you the bare essentials; what it gets you is a skewed and shallow version of a person. If you’re okay with that version, that is also fine.

But you can’t condemn others who aren’t fine with that incomplete version, and to become enraged that others do not see him as you do is childish.

Bakugou’s change and the emphasis on that change is canon.

Parallels in Abuse, EnemiesRivals-to-Lovers, and the Necessity of Redemption ft. ATLA’s Zuko

In real life, the idea that “oh, he must bully you because he likes you” is often used as a way to brush aside or to excuse the action of bullying itself, as if a ‘secret crush’ somehow negates the effects of bullying on the victim or the inability of the bully to properly process and manifest their emotions in certain ways. It doesn’t. It often enables young boys to hurt others, and provides figures of authority to overlook the real source of schoolyard bullying or peer review. The “secret crush”, in real life, is used to undermine abuse, justify toxic masculinity, and is essentially used as a non-solution solution.

A common accusation is that Bakudeku shippers jump on the pairing because they romanticize pairing a bully and a victim together, or believe that the only way for Bakugou to atone for his past would be to date Midoryia in the future. This may be true for some people, in which case, that’s their own preference, but based on my experience and what I’ve witnessed, that’s not the case for most.

The difference being is that as these are characters, we as readers or viewers are meant to analyze them. Not to justify them, or to excuse their actions, but we are given the advantage of the outsider perspective to piece their characters together in context, understand why they are how they are, and witness them change; maybe I just haven’t been exposed to enough of the fandom, but no one (I’ve witnessed) treats the idea that “maybe Bakugou has feelings he can’t process or understand and so they manifest in aggressive and unchecked ways'' as a solution to his inability to communicate or process in a healthy way, rather it is just part of the explanation of his character, something is needs to — and is — working through. The solution to his middle school self is not the revelation of a “teehee, secret crush”, but self-reflection, remorse, and actively working to better oneself, which I do believe is canonically reflected, especially as of recently.

In canon, they are written to be partners, better together than apart, and I genuinely believe that one can like the Bakudeku dynamic not by route of romanticization but by observation.

I do think we are meant to see parallels between him and Endeavor; Endeavor is a high profile abuser who embodies the flaws and hypocrisy of the hero system. Bakugou is a schoolyard bully who emulates and internalizes the flaws of this system as a child, likely due to the structure of the society and the way that children will absorb the propaganda they are exposed to; the idea that Quirks, or power, define the inherent value of the individual, their ability to contribute to society, and subsequently their fundamental human worth. The difference between them is the fact that Endeavor is the literal adult who is fully and knowingly active within a toxic, corrupt system who forces his family to undergo a terrifying amount of trauma and abuse while facing little to no consequences because he knows that his status and the values of their society will protect him from those consequences. In other words, Endeavor is the threat of what Bakugou could have, and would have, become without intervention or genuine change.

Comparisons between characters, as parallels or foils, are tricky in that they imply but cannot confirm sameness. Having parallels with someone does not make them the same, by the way, but can serve to illustrate contrasts, or warnings. Harry Potter, for example, is meant to have obvious parallels with Tom Riddle, with similar abilities, and tragic upbringings. That doesn’t mean Harry grows up to become Lord Voldemort, but rather he helps lead a cross-generational movement to overthrow the facist regime. Harry is offered love, compassion, and friends, and does not embrace the darkness within or around him. As far as moldy old snake men are concerned, they do not deserve a redemption arc because they do not wish for one, and the truest of change only occurs when you actively try to change.

To be frank, either way, Bakugou was probably going to become a good Hero, in the sense that Endeavor is a ‘good’ Hero. Hero capitalized, as in a pro Hero, in the sense that it is a career, an occupation, and a status. Because of his strong Quirk, determination, skill, and work ethic, Bakugou would have made a good Hero. Due to his lack of character, however, he was not on the path to become a hero; defender of the weak, someone who saves people to save people, who is willing to make sacrifices detrimental to themselves, who saves people out of love.

It is necessary for him to undergo both a redemption arc and a symbolic death and rebirth in order for him to follow the path of a hero, having been inspired and prompted by Deku.

I personally don’t really like Endeavor’s little redemption arc, not because I don’t believe that people can change or that they shouldn't at least try to atone for the atrocities they have committed, but because within any narrative, a good redemption arc is important if it matters; what also matters is the context of that arc, and whether or not it was needed. For example, in ATLA, Zuko’s redemption arc is widely regarded as one of the best arcs in television history, something incredible. And it is. That shit fucks. In a good way.

It was confirmed that Azula was also going to get a redemption arc, had Volume 4 gone on as planned, and it was tentatively approached in the comics, which are considered canon. She is an undeniably bad person (who is willing to kill, threaten, exploit, and colonize), but she is also a child, and as viewers, we witness and recognize the factors that contributed to her (debatable) sociopathy, and the way that the system she was raised in failed her. Her family failed her; even Uncle Iroh, the wise mentor who helps guide Zuko to see the light, is willing to give up on her immediately, saying that she’s “crazy” and needs to be “put down”. Yes, it’s comedic, and yes, it’s pragmatic, but Azula is fourteen years old. Her mother is banished, her father is a psychopath, and her older brother, from her perspective, betrayed and abandoned her. She doesn’t have the emotional support that Zuko does; she exploits and controls her friends because it’s all she’s been taught to do; she says herself, her “own mother thought [she] was a monster; she was right, of course, but it still [hurts]”. A parent who does not believe in you, or a parent that uses you and will hurt you, is a genuine indicator of trauma.

The writers understood that both Zuko and Azula deserved redemption arcs. One was arguably further gone than the other, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are both children, products of their environment, who have the time, motive, and reason to change.

In contrast, you know who wouldn’t have deserved a redemption arc? Ozai. That simply would not have been interesting, wouldn’t have served the narrative well, and honestly, is not needed, thematically or otherwise. Am I comparing Ozai to Endeavor? Basically, yes. Fuck those guys. I don’t see a point in Endeavor’s little “I want to be a good dad now” arc, and I think that we don’t need to sympathize with characters in order to understand them or be interested in them. I want Touya/Dabi to expose his abuse, for his career to crumble, and then for him to die.

If they are not challenging the system that we the viewer are meant to question, and there is no thematic relevance to their redemption, is it even needed?

On that note, am I saying that Bakugou is the equivalent to Zuko? No, lmao. Definitely not. They are different characters with different progressions and different pressures. What I am saying is that good redemption arcs shouldn’t be handed out like candy to babies; it is the quality, rather than the quantity, that makes a redemption arc good. In terms of the commentary of the narrative, who needs a redemption arc, who is deserving, and who does it make sense to give one to?

In this case, Bakugou checks those boxes. It was always in the cards for him to change, and he has. In fact, he’s still changing.

Give it to Me Straight. It’s Homophobic.

There does seem to be an urge to obsessively gender either Bakugou or Deku, in making Deku the ultra-feminine, stereotypically hyper-sexualized “woman” of the relationship, with Bakugou becoming similarly sexualized but depicted as the hyper-masculine bodice ripper. On some level, that feels vaguely homophobic if not straight up misogynistic, in that in a gay relationship there’s an urge to compel them to conform under heteronormative stereotypes in order to be interpreted as real or functional. On one hand, I will say that in a lot of cases it feels like more of an expression of a kink, or fetishization and subsequent expression of internalized misogyny, at least, rather than a genuine exploration of the complexity and power imbalances of gender dynamics, expression, and boundaries.

That being said, I don’t think that that problematic aspect of shipping is unique to Bakudeku, or even to the fandom in general. We’ve all read fan work or see fanart of most gay ships in a similiar manner, and I think it’s a broader issue to be addressed than blaming it on a singular ship and calling it a day.

One interpretation of Bakugou’s character is his repression and the way his character functions under toxic masculinity, in a society’s egregious disregard for mental and emotional health (much like in the real world), the horrifying ways in which rage is rationalized or excused due to the concept of masculinity, and the way that characteristics that are associated with femininity — intellect, empathy, anxiety, kindness, hesitation, softness — are seen as stereotypically “weak”, and in men, traditionally emasculating. In terms of the way that the fictional universe is largely about societal priority and power dynamics between individuals and the way that extends to institutions, it’s not a total stretch to guess that gender as a construct is a relevant topic to expand on or at least keep in mind for comparison.

I think that the way in which characters are gendered and the extent to which that is a result of invasive heteronormativity and fetishization is a really important conversation to have, but using it as a case-by-case evolution of a ship used to condemn people isn’t conductive, and at that point, it’s treated as less of a real concern but an issue narrowly weaponised.

Love in Perspective, from the East v. West

Another thing I think could be elaborated on and written about in great detail is the way that the Eastern part of the fandom and the Western part of the fandom have such different perspectives on Bakudeku in particular. I am not going to go in depth with this, and there are many other people who could go into specifics, but just as an overview:

The manga and the anime are created for and targeted at a certain audience; our take on it will differ based on cultural norms, decisions in translation, understanding of the genre, and our own region-specific socialization. This includes the way in which we interpret certain relationships, the way they resonate with us, and what we do and do not find to be acceptable. Of course, this is not a case-by-case basis, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who hold differing beliefs within one area, but speaking generally, there is a reason that Bakudeku is not regarded as nearly as problematic in the East.

Had this been written by a Western creator, marketed primarily to and within the West (for reference, while I am Chinese, but I have lived in the USA for most of my life, so my own perspective is undoubtedly westernized), I would’ve immediately jumped to make comparisons between the Hero System and the American police system, in that a corrupt, or bastardized system is made no less corrupt for the people who do legitimately want to do good and help people, when that system disproportionately values and targets others while relying on propaganda that society must be reliant on that system in order to create safe communities when in reality it perpetuates just as many issues as it appears to solve, not to mention the way it attracts and rewards violent and power-hungry people who are enabled to abuse their power. I think comparisons can still be made, but in terms of analysis, it should be kept in mind that the police system in other parts of the world do not have the same history, place, and context as it does in America, and the police system in Japan, for example, probably wasn’t the basis for the Hero System.

As much as I do believe in the Death of the Author in most cases, the intent of the author does matter when it comes to content like this, if merely on the basis that it provides context that we may be missing as foreign viewers.

As far as the intent of the author goes, Bakugou is on a route of redemption.

He deserves it. It is unavoidable. That, of course, may depend on where you’re reading this.

Stuck in the Sludge, the Past, and Season One

If there’s one thing, to me, that epitomizes middle school Bakugou, it’s him being trapped in a sludge monster, rescued by his Quirkless childhood friend, and unable to believe his eyes. He clings to the ideology he always has, that Quirkless means weak, that there’s no way that Deku could have grown to be strong, or had the capacity to be strong all along. Bakugou is wrong about this, and continuously proven wrong. It is only when he accepts that he is wrong, and that Deku is someone to follow, that he starts his real path to heroics.

If Bakudeku’s relationship does not appeal to someone for whatever reason, there’s nothing wrong with that. They can write all they want about why they don’t ship it, or why it bothers them, or why they think it’s problematic. If it is legitimately triggering to you, then by all means, avoid it, point it out, etc. but do not undermine the reality of abuse simply to point fingers, just because you don’t like a ship. People who intentionally use the anti tag knowing it’ll show up in the main tag, go after people who are literally minding their own business, and accuse people of supporting abuse are the ones looking for a fight, and they’re annoying as hell because they don’t bring anything to the table. No evidence, no analysis, just repeated projection.

To clarify, I’m referring to a specific kind of shipper, not someone who just doesn’t like a ship, but who is so aggressive about it for absolutely no reason. There are plenty of very lovely people in this fandom, who mind their own business, multipship, or just don’t care.

Calling shippers dumb or braindead or toxic (to clarify, this isn’t targeting any one person I’ve seen, but a collective) based on projections and generalizations that come entirely from your own impression of the ship rather than observation is...really biased to me, and comes across as uneducated and trigger happy, rather than constructive or helpful in any way.

I’m not saying someone has to ship anything, or like it, in order to be a ‘good’ participant. But inserting derogatory material into a main tag, and dropping buzzwords with the same tired backing behind it without seeming to understand the implications of those words or acknowledging the development, pacing, and intentional change to the characters within the plot is just...I don’t know, it comes across as redundant, to me at least, and very childish. Aggressive. Toxic. Problematic. Maybe the real toxic shippers were the ones who bitched and moaned along the way. They’re like little kids, stuck in the past, unable to visualize or recognize change, and I think that’s a real shame because it’s preventing them from appreciating the story or its characters as it is, in canon.

But that’s okay, really. To each their own. Interpretations will vary, preferences differ, perspectives are not uniform. There is no one truth. There are five seasons of the show, a feature film, and like, thirty volumes as of this year.

All I’m saying is that if you want to stay stuck in the first season of each character, then that’s what you’re going to get. That’s up to you.

This may be edited or revised.

#bakudeku #meta #my hero academia #boko no hero academia #bnha #mha #bakugou katsuki #izuku midoriya #ok these are just my general thoughts in response to the people who have hang ups about this ship #like y’all need to pls chill tf out ok #this is also not comprehensive and could definitely be elaborated on #but it’s just general thoughts #it’s just addressing general opposition I’ve seen #I never thought I’d ever write this much about this ship wtf

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frenchphobic · 3 years

Text

long fucking post on why a c!dream is a shitty person and probably should not have a redemption because it is unpog

honestly i just want to refute dream apologists thats why im making this post. i think that dream as a villain is interesting but i think that trying to make him out to be secretly a good guy is just bad ngl. also /roleplay and all

tw for abuse and mentions of suicide

dream as a villain

dream is a villain. he is chaotic evil according to wilbur, deliberately does not stream to appear less sympathetic (and yet), and is set up as an antagonist to tommy who bears the title ‘hero’. dream is not a good person, no matter how you look at it or try to justify his actions.

‘but he wants to unite everyone to be a big family :((’ the ends dont justify the means believe it or not. having a vaguely positive goal does not excuse the actions you’ve done. it also goes hand and hand with saying dream is correct for punishing tommy the way he did because he acted up. if i socked you across the face and then suddenly said ‘sorry there was a roach on ur face’ does that make it okay? probably not i still punched you, enacting an unnecessary amount of violence. thats a very simple analogy i will admit and there are more complex comparisons. another example off the top of my head is say a child just scribbled all over you walls with crayons. would hitting them be a justified answer? if u said hes thats really fucked of u go seek help u loon. violence as a punishment is very toxic, just because it gets the job done does not mean it is okay. at the end of the day, you still committed this act and the harm you caused is real, having a good motive doesnt suddenly make it okay.

‘but tommy causes all of the conflict’ the disk war wasnt even caused by tommy, it was sapnap and then tommy got involved. and the reason why tommy even caused conflict was because of the discs, because he wanted them back. and most of the time there was a level of antagonism from another party, such as schlatt exiling him, dream taking the disks in the first place, dream threatening l’manberg. and if dream wanted to end the conflict so badly, why didnt he just give tommy back his disks? tommy upfront said everything started with the disks, so he wants them back so he could end the conflict. notice how after tommy got his disks back he has been staying out of conflict, apologizing to everyone, and the only bad thing hes done is try to scam people but everyone does that. this would have been the most peaceful option, yet dream chose the path that would further antagonize tommy which then draws everyone else into conflict. why did dream need to have leverage over tommy so badly? why did he want to hold power over tommy so badly? its because of control, and that’s ultimately dreams end goal. sure he wants a big server family, but would said family have a free will?

‘but dream is sad’ the thing is dream is completely at fault for everything that happened to him. he pushed away sapnap (and george ig). he tried to take control over the server and their possessions. literally everything that happened to tommy. literally everything involving ranboo. villains can be sympathetic, i am not arguing against that. but it does not mean that they should be left off the hook. that doesnt mean u should ignore the shit theyve done because ‘oh no theyre sad’ because it doesnt make anything better. dream had this shit coming for him.

now people also skirt around calling dream an abuser. which is fair ig, its a very loaded word. its much easier to say manipulated. that being said, dream can classify as abusive. and no, tommy is not abusive. abuse is about control and a power imbalance. dream has power over tommy, but tommy does not have power over dream, at least not in the way dream does. he’s taking back power to stand up for himself, dream uses power to control.

the reasons i listed for why dream is from the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project so if u want a source on that, there you go.

using coercion or threats: dream often threatened tommy, such as the pit thing and often employed violence on him. while normally this could be attributed to Normal Minecraft Player Go Smack. minecraft mechanics cannot always translate to real world since violence is pretty normal in minecraft however we also need to consider the context of the scene. dream gave an order, tommy refused, dream applies violence, tommy submitted. thats why its a threat, it has tangible effects that can correlate to real life.

using intimidation: dream blew up logsteadshire as a punishment. dream also destroyed tommys items anytime he visited. dream also hit tommy with his axe i believe. he killed mushroom henry, one of tommys pets.

Using Emotional Abuse: dream guiltripped the shit out of tommy for just hiding things and pinning the blame on tommy for just wanting his own private items. he definitely played mind games on tommy, pretending to be his friend. honestly i probably dont even need to go as in depth because it was so obvious.

Using Isolation: putting him in exile in the first place. destroying the bether portal so no one could visit tommy anymore. i really dont think i need to expand upon that.

Minimizing, Denying, and Blaming: dream in tommys stream when he got trapped said that exile wasnt that bad. he does shift the blame onto tommy for logsteadshire being blown up, even though dreams reaction was entirely unjustified for not listening and hiding.

Using Economic Abuse: see this is where i attempt to parallel minecraft mechanics to real life. obviously, there is no monetary system in place, so when i mean economic, i will use valuables such as armor, food, etc in place of currency. the idea behind economic abuse is to limit the victim’s resources so that they are dependent on the abuser and cannot escape. dream only really allowed tommy to have the armor he gave him while not giving access to armor so he does not regain a sense of power, and in the prison stream, dream holds all the potatoes which puts him in a position of power over tommy. this argument is more ambiguous i feel cause the whole minecraft mechanics thing is kinda weird so u don’t necessarily have to take this part in.

i feel like i need to emphasize this very strongly because dream is not a good person. abuse cannot and should not be a response to someone. its an awful mentality to have. i just want to prove the point that dream is not a good person, his reasons absolutely do not justify his actions.

what makes a good redemption

redemption arcs are tricky. when done right they are great. when done poorly, its a slap in the face. rn im going to establish a formula to what makes a good redemption with an example.

the most well known example of a good redemption is zuko from atla. first, its the magnitude of what theyve done and why. zuko did commit some shitty actions, since he was in a position of power in the fire nation but its because he is a child being abused and wanted to regain honor. zukos real awful acts was season 1 and the whole betrayal thing. thats not to say that zukos actions suddenly are okay, he did shitty things. but its something that can be traced to a higher entity or seem less malicious then the other villains. the thing also about the magnitude of actions is that there is a certain point of atrocities that there is no redemption. some people simply cannot be redeemed because the actions they commit are so ingrained in their character or the action itself has serious moral issues that it would just be wrong.

the next is acknowleding what they did was wrong. a genuine reflection on the self and analyzing what they did and why it was not okay. zuko realized what he did to uncle iroh was bad for example. he turned his back on his father, realizing he didnt and shouldnt seek acknowledgment from someone as heinous as him. its pointing out your actions and going ‘hey, this wasnt right i should not have done this’ and not even excusing ur actions. its also going straight for the root of the problem and figuring out to stamp it from the source. just because a character is sad does not mean they are reflecting, sometimes they are attempting to garner pity. it has to be direct and clear acknowledgement of the injustice.

and finally, an important part about redemption arcs is the actual redemption part. its when you make amends. zuko made amends with katara by trying to help her get revenge, he fought against the fire nation and tried to make things more peaceful in his rule. he apologized to iroh. an important part of the amends section is that it does have to be a genuine desire to change and become a better person, not to change a person’s perception of you. the thing is u cant expect a person youve hurt to forgive you. you cant expect people to be sympathetic towards you nor should u attempt to make urself sympathetic. u shouldnt be expecting a pat on the back or an award. redemption is about internal and character change.

why dream should not be redeemed

ive already established the key points to a good redemption (imo) but heres where dream falls short. his actions are extremely heavy so redemption may not even really be possible. abuse is not something you can wave off so it does cross to the point of fucked up. acknowledgement of what he did was wrong? all he said was that he changed, yet never explained why he changed or was too vague. he needed to label specifically what he did and bring it up. attempting to make amends? he’s been doing the exact opposite in fact he continues to manipulate tommy and ranboo. its not a genuine change. he is still repeating the cycle and has given no indication of ceasing. at the moment he does not have any signs of redemption.

and the thing is most of the attention around a dream redemption comes from either justifying his motives (which i do want to emphasize does not make anything suddenly okay) and because he is sad in prison sad face. these are not good reasons. its gonna pain me severely to bring this up but snape from harry potter does have some form of sad character ig yet he very much abused his authority to bully children as old as 11 just because he said ‘aight gonna die’ doesnt suddenly make his general bigotry and abuse suddenly okay there is a threshold. again im so sorry for using harry potter as an example none were coming to mind and i needed a popular one i do not like harry potter please dont say i do i would pass away.

and the last thing to consider is the audience. keep in mind that the audience is composed of minors and while yes there are adults, minors are the main component of the fandom. keep in mind that there are quite a few people who can relate to tommys character because they might be in the same position or have gone through his experiences. tell me what kind of message does it send to that audience that abusers can be redeemed. this is not a narrative u should push to this audience in these situations and the writers are seemingly aware of it. remember how in exile tommy spiraled into a suicidal mentality? consider how fucked of a message it would be if he just committed suicide instead of escaping abuse and attempting to recover from his experiences. tommy did an excellent job in not going that route and having a message of ‘it will not get better’. its the same thing here. victims are not obligated to care for or forgive their abuser, and portraying an abuser as sympathetic might fuck with the message a lot, even change their perception in that ‘oh, maybe my abuser was right, maybe they had a reason for treating me the way they did’. this is not to say that every victim watching this will internalize this message, but people also look up to these characters. there can be a degree of influence from the story onto oneself and thats the dangerous part.

conclusion

all in all dream is a shitbag asshole and probably shouldnt get a redemption because it would not be pog thanks for coming to my ted talk.

#dream smp #dsmp #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken

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beanieman · 3 years

Text

3B Shin/Alice Lives Route Live Play

So I recorded my thoughts here as I played the game. Here they are!

Warning: I swear and yell in all caps a lot.

Mr.Policeman had a son. Are we getting Mr.Policeman is Joe’s Dad theory confirmed???

I’M SHAKING IT’S TOO HARD TO TYPE

This is horrible but I hope Keiji dies next. I don’t want any of the others to go.

SHIN MY BELOVED

SARA DO NOT SIGN THE GODDAMN FORM I SAID ABANDON KEIJI

Ranmaru I love you. (Very thankful he tore the form, at least the first time)

Keiji taking responsibility for his actions?? Will I regret saying I hope he dies earlier?

The OST is a banger!

I wonder if Shin can save Keiji and he just refuses too. (This was later proven wrong.)

New Mai sprites!! I’m looking respectfully!! I KNEW HER HARMLESSNESS WAS AN ACT!! FUCK YEAH GIRLBOSS MAI!!

Am I going to turn this blog into a Ranmaru stan account? It’s looking possible.

Cotton Candy. I’m calling him that from now on.

Shin watching as Alice gives his speech. The game says Alishin rights! (In hindsight, I’m sad)

When Sara said the dubious consent form I misread it as “dumbass consent form” and almost lost it.

Getting the ID card is too easy. This is going to do something that kills Keiji, huh?

WAIT WAS MIDORI A DOLL THIS ENTIRE TIME?? FUCKING BASTARD!! I want to punch him in the throat so bad. Alice you deserved so much better than this bitch.

IF MIDORI WAS TORTURING HUMANS WHAT DID HE DO TO SHIN??

SOMEONE ASK IF SHIN’S OKAY DAMMIT!!

Midori is so done with Maple. Ew what does she mean insert.

SARA AND MARU ENDING?? I’m kind of okay with that??

How much do you want to bet, Shin and Sara will end up being the two living together and having to choose who becomes a doll? The drama!!

Shin looks so disgusted to take the handkerchief. I love him. Shin is also getting braver!! Which is bad for Keiji and Sara.

Naomichi and Shin’s fortitude isn’t women huh? 🏳️‍🌈 Just saying.

Shin and Alice even argue like husbands

Naomichi and Anzu are literally siblings

“Don’t associate me with him” bitch you stole his name.

NOOOO NAOMCIHI NOOOO Q-TARO

Shunsuke is gunning for the role of best Father this chapter I see

Oh shit Ranmaru’s going to snap

Gin and Alice are such a fun BROTP

Wait did Alice even shove him? Because it seems like he fell

Disappointed but not surprised the outside world is in on it

The real Sou might be alive??????

Loose his seat?? Was Sou supposed to participate?

I’m going to hope Alice’s calmness is character development and not mind washing.

Holy fuck I think everyone besides Sara is an agent of ASU-NARO

I cried over Shin’s AI dammit (Cry total: 1)

Shin could only turn up the heat when Sou wasn’t there. Shin could only be comfortable when Sou wasn’t there.

Sou might not be a member of Asu Naro?? He won’t say if he signed the form. Is the plot twist going to be Shin is the only one not an Asu Naro agent??

Shin’s into cute things and robot action figures!!

Oh wow Tia and Miley 😳

OH MY GOD AUTISTIC GIN IM ACTUALLY CRYING ITS CANON THATS SO COOL!!!

Oh fuck you Sou for taking advantage of his autism. I hate this bitch.

Oh Ranmaru is so in love with Sara (Oh count 4)

Okay so emotion route is actually the route I’m probably going to play for now on. Sara sole survivor ending seems like how the logic route will end. While Sara will die on the emotion Route. (it’s not. Logic route is still my canon route.)

Sara has a piece of Joe on the emotion Route but not on the logic route. She’s really going to feral.

Excuse me why did Sara just acknowledge Joe? Is she pretending to forget Joe for an advantage?? Holy fuck.

Also Shin was completely justified to be scared of Sara given what we just learned. I’m about to become a Shin apologist.

It’s interesting Naomichi seems to see through Shin

OH FUCK KEIJIS DEAD

I like this game a lot more without his “your cute “comments if I’m being honest. That weirded me out.

Oh fuck the fucking form goddammit I hate this stupid game Sara he isn’t worth this. You just sold your soul to the devil.

“Sounds good to me” 🙄

I don’t want to doubt Mai but...I’m doubting Mai.

I ship Ransara so hard. They’d be so good for each other. (This statement aged so poorly in the span of ten minutes.)

I mentioned Soup and Shin’s Sou persona seemed to vanish. This man lost all resolve over soup.

Sara I know you don’t want to loose anymore allies but holy shit calm down.

What the hell is going on?

Why is Keiji excited about the tools??

I’m kind of shipping Maple X Mai

I HATE KEIJI MAN

I was spoiled about Alice’s death in this route before playing :(

NOT THE SHIN AI

What in the Nagito was Mai doing??

I GOT NAOMICHI KILLED AND I DON’T KNOW IF IT WAS MY FAULT OR THAT HAD TO HAPPEN

I already knew Hinako was the traitor why am I gasping

SHIN STILL CARES ABOUT THE KIDS!!

KEIJI WAS THE GUY AT THE START??

KEIJI HAS MISHIMAS HEAD (He didn’t)

Guess I’m killing Keiji

WHAT THE FUCK Q-TARO

Q-TARO WHAT THE FUCK NO NO NO NO

I’M CRYING

Q-TARO BEST DAD.

I’m not sure I ship Ransara now. Saraanzu is where the shipping lies.

If Tia told Q-Taro it was too late....was she lying and he sacrificed himself unknowingly?? Tia did lie to the group about Kanna not feeling pain as she died. So it’s not out of character.

I love that Shin and Sara were being some what cooperative in this chapter. He’s definitely going to murder her later, but it’s nice while it lasted.

Shunsuke is the last doll standing on my route. Good. I love him. <3

I think I like the dolls more than a lot of the participants. Oops.

#3b spoilers #yttd spoilers #your turn to die spoilers #yttd #your turn to die #mod rambles

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waywardrose · 4 years

Text

On Babbushka

There is a group of well-known writers in the fandom who have been discouraged and put down by one of their own, Zannah - @babbushka. It happens behind the scenes in DMs. It happens in posts and tags.

In DMs, she has started conversations with seemingly innocent questions. When she doesn't receive the response she was aiming for, she diverts the conversation to criticizing and humiliating the person. She has attacked writers for tagging—or not tagging—a post in a way she deems appropriate. She has gotten into arguments over how characters were portrayed and then tried to claim victimization when the other person wouldn't knuckle under.

She will appeal to her following to attack any fan or creator who has an opinion that differs from her own. She will encourage friends to send rude anons. Those same friends will also DM the target with rude remarks.

Several creators have stopped writing altogether because of their interactions with her.

We are tired of being discouraged. We are tired of being talked down to. We are tired of being bullied. Enough is enough. Under the cut we share our stories, let the chips fall where they may. It's up to you, the reader, to decide whether to support her.

We can only warn up-and-coming writers, artists, fans, and supporters of her behavior.

Hope - @callmehopeless

The Australian bushfires of the 2019-2020 season were nightmarish—for those living through it and those witnessing. As the season went on, cries for help increased. Joaquin Phoenix used the time during his Best-Actor acceptance speech at the Golden Globes to call for unity, action, and accountability. Regardless of what we may think of him, it was a thoughtful speech.

Hope, who is an Australian, found Mr. Phoenix's message encouraging and reblogged a gifset of his speech.

That morning, Zannah made a post about Mr. Phoenix's shady past and his association with a known sexual predator. The main reason wasn't because his speech was inappropriate or not timely, but because she didn't think he should be the one to get the attention over other actors who had spoken of the bushfires during the Golden Globes.

While Hope confessed she was scared of the bushfires, scared for her loved ones, Zannah was more concerned with purity. To Zannah it was about the face of the message, not the message itself. It didn't matter that Mr. Phoenix was amplifying support for Australia, what did matter was that he had done bad things.

It was virtue signaling on Zannah's part.

Still, this remains a complicated argument. Can a person who has done bad things actually have something positive to add to a cause? Should we listen to a problematic person if they share an insight? Does it reflect poorly on us to agree with their isolated statement? Will we be canceled, too? What about the bigger picture?

In this case, the bigger picture was hundreds of homes were destroyed in the bushfires and families were displaced. People died, thousands of animals died. And it was because of climate change. Mr. Phoenix called for his rich peers to examine their respective lifestyles and to give back.

Yes, Mr. Phoenix has done bad things. Yes, he has associated with people who have done bad things. His words resonated with people on Tumblr, and they reblogged part of his speech. He said something that gave Hope hope.

Hope was asked by a third party how they could help. She came back with a resource guide for those who wanted to send aid to Australians.

When it became obvious Zannah wouldn't silence Hope, Zannah decided to sub-post about the interaction. There, she accused Hope of being a rape apologist for reblogging a gifset and finding a little comfort in it. Zannah placed her ego before someone who was facing a very real danger.

Side-eying an actor is one thing, shaming a person you know for finding solace during a scary time is another. Hope isn't responsible for which voice got picked up. The only "colors" being shown here are Zannah's. She put her own concerns about being perceived as morally pure above actually supporting a friend.

I'll keep this brief - I knew Zannah for many years. And on one of the lowest weeks of my life, when my suburb was burning down and I feared for my family: she convinced me I was a rape apologist for sharing Joaquin Phoenix's speech asking for action on bushfires. In all my life, I never felt more alone. To add insult to injury, she then posted memes mocking me - something that has stuck with me to this day.

I've had dear friends quit the fandom because of her kinkshaming. I've had people I love message me distraught over what she's said.

Enough is enough.

— @callmehopeless

Rose - @the-wayward-rose

This PM exchange started after I tagged my reblog of Zannah's fic Feast (Cameron Bistle x Reader) with cw: white reader. I had been on her taglist, and I wanted to show support because I liked the fic overall. For context, the reason for my tag is because of this sentence:

"But then you're blushing so pretty and squeezing his hand affectionately and reaching for the handle to the passenger side of his car, and then you're laughing when he swats your hand away to open it for you, and then you're beckoning him down as if to ask a question – only to place a chaste kiss to his lips instead."

This is from Cameron's point of view.

She asked the reason for the tag, and I explained it was because of the use of "blush" to describe Reader's appearance.

She misunderstood my premise. I did not mean only white people blush.

According to Merriam-Webster, blush means "a reddening of the face especially from shame, modesty, or confusion" or "a red or rosy tint."

It is an autonomic response, though. It happens in all humans for body cooling and nonverbal communication. The main problem with using it universally is that melanin obscures the appearance of said autonomic response.

Here's an example of three runners:

The two pale women, left and center, are pink in the face. They are blushing. The woman of color on the right is likely blushing, too. However, the melanin in her skin obscures the blood in her cheeks. She is not pink.

That's the pitfall of the word "blush." The observer can't always see it. We know what it feels like. We all do it. The face and/or neck gets hot. The use of "blush" is shorthand in narrative, and I understand that. Nevertheless, when writing to cater to a reader-insert audience of unknown heritage, writers need to consider describing with universal terms.

Again, she misunderstood my premise. I clarified by asking how Cameron sees the Reader blush under an abundance of melanin:

She sidestepped the physiological explanation to go straight for justification. She tried to legitimize "blush" as "perhaps [this]" or "perhaps [that]" when I stated earlier that blush by definition is pink or is to redden. That's the logic. A noncommittal, covering-all-the-bases, complicated defense diluted the conversation.

With her earlier "I have friends of color, hence I can't be exclusionary" statement, I wasn't sure she would get my point. I take full responsibility for not explaining, too. I should've asked for some time to gather my thoughts, but I didn't. Truthfully, I was unprepared, because I didn't think my insignificant tag would be an issue.

Also, I was confused why she was trying to police my blog.

Her replies came rapidly—before I could mention my confusion—and felt aggressive in the moment. Maybe that wasn't her intention, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

That doesn't take away from the fact that words have meaning. It's why we use specific words. It's not understood in the narrative that her use of "blush" could mean a bunch of things. If I had known, I wouldn't have tagged as I did. How is a reader of color supposed to know that? How does Cameron see Reader's blush if she has darker skin?

As writers, we don't know who is reading. Someone could be very pale or very dark. A person with medium-toned skin can turn a shade of pink or red. A person with darker-toned skin will not. We can't assume all readers are medium to pale. We need to develop better writing skills. We have to include everyone.

Readers of color > White-writer feelings

When I stood my ground, she doubled down, stating I made no sense in my tagging and that I lacked the ability to learn from her. She then diverted the argument, attacking a ficlet I wrote a few days beforehand—which had nothing to do with this argument. The Christian imagery in that ficlet was upsetting to her and "in such poor taste" because she headcanons Flip Zimmerman (BlacKkKlansman) is 100% culturally and ethnically Jewish.

Flip stated in the movie:

"I'm Jewish, but I wasn't raised to be. It wasn't part of my life. I never thought much about being Jewish. Nobody around me was Jewish. I wasn't going to a bunch of Bar Mitzvahs. I didn't have a Bar Mitzvah. I was just another white kid. And now I'm in some basement denying it out loud[...] I never thought much about it. Now I'm thinking about it all the time. About rituals and heritage. Is that passing? Well then, I have been passing."

By his own admission, Flip is ethnically Jewish, but not culturally. These are two separate things, and that should be recognized. While Judaism is ethnically and culturally entwined in ways that other religions are not, one does not equate the other. You can be one and not the other.

At the time, I didn't want her to sic her 3000+ followers on me. I wasn't going to argue further. I asked myself if the ficlet was important and worth anon-hate and realized, no, it wasn't. It was a throw-away.

And since I'm not culturally Jewish, maybe I had misstepped. And since Zannah is both culturally and ethnically Jewish, I asked for her guidance.

She flatly refused my request. I don't know how I was supposed to learn from her if she wouldn't teach me.

It sounded as if she wanted me to delete the whole fic. Like none of it was worth saving because it hadn't been Zannah-approved. I had gone against her headcanon, and the fic was too offensive to fix.

The last sentence was supposed to cover her back from criticism, and it placed all the responsibility on me. Obviously, she was above such petty concerns as someone else's blog or writing. Never mind that she had just attempted to get me to change my tagging system and rewrite my ficlet. On my blog.

Later, I figured out she was only criticizing and not offering a constructive critique. Her argument was not in good faith. It was retaliation for not giving her the obedience she thought she was owed.

This is the passage that offended her:

"It’s because of the way he fucks you. Like it’s confession—though he’s never been much of a church-going man. Every touch, every thrust, is a truth between you. Even when it’s rough and greedy. It feels like flagellation when you claw his back. He wears the sin proudly."

This is what I edited it to:

"It’s because of the way he fucks you. Every touch, every thrust, is a truth between you. Even when it’s rough and greedy. It feels like flagellation when you claw his back. He wears your marks proudly."

Yeah, I'm not pleased with the revised passage. It's lost its teeth, but I keep it.

The anonymous message(s) she mentioned weren't very anonymous, either. Unfortunately, I've since deleted the two messages. I had apologized to Anon for disappointing them. I said that if the fic was too much, they should unfollow and block me. I meant that in a self-care way. At the same time, I did not—and do not—owe anyone discourse. I don't have to explain my art when it doesn't hurt anyone. And no one was hurt by some purportedly misplaced religious imagery.

I have been silent about this since late January/early February. I was embarrassed. I had been bullied into changing my blog and my fic by someone who proclaims to never do anything of the sort. I had been a fool. Since this conversation with her, I have been blocked/blacklisted by third-parties, most likely at her behest, when none of this exchange had been necessary.

Kassanovella - @kylorengarbagedump

Zannah's followers have asked her about Kassanovella’s Fix Your Attitude. For context, it's currently one of the most kudo-ed fics for Kylo Ren x Reader on AO3. It had a bit of a renaissance earlier in 2020 because a TikToker wrote a song for it.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to read a fic. If the subject matter doesn't work for a reader, they don't have to partake. Easy as that. So, these tags aren't a problem.

However, it led to this...

She lashed out, calling Kassanovella's fic a joke. A joke.

She implied her fics should be as popular as Kassanovella's because she works really hard on them. She admitted she's tied to the metrics. She implied she wouldn't be writing fic if not for the external validation.

Here's the thing about fanfic: readers like what they like. They don't care about a writer's effort. They only know what works for them. They comment and give kudos, reblog and like what they connect with. That is not under the writer's control. All a writer can do is try their best and concentrate on what they're passionate about.

To bash another writer's fic because it's popular is disrespectful. This whole bitter rant drips of entitlement and is an affront to Kassanovella.

Some time later, an incident happened in a chatroom during a streaming event for veterans by Arts In the Armed Forces (Adam Driver's organization). At least one fan brought up Fix Your Attitude while waiting for Mr. Driver to make an appearance. They were also disrespectful towards the other presenters by demanding to see Mr. Driver. It caused a big stink within the fandom, and Zannah had some choice words.

While mentioning the fic during the livestream was inappropriate, it was also inappropriate to throw all fans of the fic under the bus as she did in her tag. Sweeping generalizations and incriminations of a subset of fans certainly reads as if she resents those fans for a perceived slight.

Next, Zannah made an earlier disparaging comment about Kassanovella's fic, Little Bird. Unfortunately, that comment is lost. However, the messages supporting the comment remain. (For context, Little Bird is a Kylo Ren x Reader The Handmaid's Tale AU. It has been well received in the fandom, earning thousands of kudos on AO3.)

What an author wants to write about and sexualize is their business. Fantasizing about being dominated by Kylo Ren isn't cringe. It's a sexual fantasy. Some sexual fantasies can be disturbing to those who do not share the same kink.

Sexual fantasies are like ice cream. There's a reason why there are different flavors.

Also, "I will never ever be a person that tells an author what to do or not do" is an absolute lie. As evident in this post, Zannah most definitely tells authors what to do or not do.

Again, she bashes Kassanovella, claiming her writing isn't good. Her motivation for bashing Kassanovella can only be speculation. With Zannah's previously stated opinion of Fix Your Attitude, though, it indicates a certain level of negative emotions.

Anonymous

An anonymous person came forward with a case of Zannah policing their blog. Anon has a sideblog for their personal AU with Flip Zimmerman. They reblog gifsets and post headcanons. They were an enthusiastic fan of Zannah's and reblogged a few of the gifset she made. Anon tagged their reactions, and Zannah blocked them for it.

Anon went to Zannah and asked why they were blocked, because all they wanted to do was have fun and support fellow Flip lovers.

Anon was under the impression that because they were shipping themselves, and not Zannah, with Flip, she blocked them. Their personal AU doesn't align with Zannah's headcanon that she alone is married to this character and has his children.

While Zannah's reply may sound innocent, and perhaps it is, it also speaks to someone who has set herself up as the owner of Flip Zimmerman. (Wait until Spike Lee or the real Ron Stallworth hears about that...) It appears that if a fan does not comply with the Zannah-approved headcanon, where only she is married to Flip, that fan shall be blocked. If a fan uses tags on their blog that she does not approve of, that fan will be blocked.

Zannah's policing is disturbing. Going into a blog to look for something as a reason to block is disturbing. Any fan is allowed to use any tag on their blog how they wish. If the OP has said their post can be reblogged, how a reblogger tags is beyond the OP's control. To punish that reblogger for not behaving in a way she finds acceptable is uncalled for and unjust.

Anonymous

Backstory: Zannah does not view Ben Solo's arc in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as acceptable canon. However, she does view the story she created for Flip Zimmerman in BlacKkKlansman as completely canon.

This is not the first time she has been asked to clarify her position. Nor is it the first time she has avoided giving an on-topic response. A question asked in good faith should be responded to in kind.

If a creator doesn't want to address the issue, they can state that they don't. Deflecting from the question only muddies the waters. Fans feel dismissed. The creator feels hounded, and comes across as irritated and unapproachable. No one has a positive fandom experience.

There is nothing wrong with having a headcanon. What is wrong is Zannah mandating her headcanon for Flip on the whole fandom. As evident in this post, if a fan does not comply with her headcanon, they will be summarily blocked.

Also, there is nothing wrong with rejecting canon. Writers of transformative works have always done this. The problem is shaming fans who have accepted canon while not offering justification for that shaming. A creator saying they "can't help them" is the creator washing their hands of responsibility from articulating their thoughts when they themselves began criticizing the canon in the first place.

Again, this is a bad-faith argument. Creators can't ask for discussion and attention and then get mad when their viewpoints are challenged. Just because a discussion isn't going a creator's way doesn't mean it's an attack, either. It means people want clarification, and if one criticizes, they should be able to back up their criticisms.

While sharing our stories has been freeing, it's not our aim as fellow fans to cancel Zannah. We would hope she would take the opportunity to reflect on the damage she has done to the fandom. We hope we all can move forward with a more approachable and supportive scene.

No one person speaks for our fandom. The actions of one fan do not represent the entire fandom. Whether creator or consumer, you are welcome here.

[posted July 25, 2020]

#babbushka #reader insert #flip zimmerman x reader #kylo ren x reader

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scripttorture · 3 years

Note

I was reading through your tags, and I came across your discussion of the Milgram experiment. I had no idea it was so poorly conducted, in high school psych people always talked about it like it was the final word on the matter. It’s actually great to hear people did argue with the authority. Anyway, I do have a question about the difference between torture and abuse. You reference torture leading to communities for both victims and torturers and abuse not (at least, not the same way). 1/2

2/2 How important is this idea of “competing communities” to the reality of torture (not the legal definition so much, but the practical effect it has on the world)? And how important do you think it is to reference/display/show that in a story? I want depict torture accurately in my novel -thanks to you- and while it’s legally torture, there’s no discussion of community there, and I want to make sure I don’t exclude it if that’s important. Thanks for your help! I’ve learned a lot from you.

I think this is where my lack of a psychology or sociology degree is a disadvantage because I’m not sure if you’re talking about an established theory and if you are it’s not a theory I’m familiar with.

Given that I think the most helpful thing I can do is talk about what these communities can look like and the place of these communities in fiction.

I’ve gotten to a point where writing about these sorts of communities and the effects on communities, on generations, is quite instinctive. I don’t remember ever having to actively look it up as a separate thing and that’s partly because I grew up outside of the West surrounded by people from different parts of Asia. It’s a lot easier to grasp what these things look like when you’ve seen it, even if it’s at a remove.

The reading I did which touched on the topic immediately made sense, because I could tie it to people and places I knew. To the fallout from the gulf wars and the partition of India and Pakistan sheering in two (hell Bangladesh because that was a mess). These things cast long shadows.

All of this means I might struggle a bit to explain some of this. So I’m sorry if this gets a bit messy.

Communities of torture survivors will look different depending on the situation in your world. Some important questions to consider when building this into the story are:

Is torture still going on in this place?

Are the people who ordered/allowed torture still in power or has there been a regime change?

Are the survivors still in the country where they were tortured?

Are the things they were arrested for/accused of still crimes?

If there’s been a regime change or torture has become less common what happened to the former torturers?

If the survivors are in a different country what are their material circumstances and how welcome are they?

What practical means of support do the survivors have?

If the atrocities are no longer happening how much time has passed?

Communities of genocide survivors in Rwanda (who have remained in Rwanda) will look different to Rohingya survivors who have fled to Bangladesh. Communities of people tortured for being queer look different in countries where homosexuality is still illegal compared to countries that have legalised it.

I’m not a sociologist so my opinion on why that is just opinion. But we can still use the examples above to illustrate a little of what I’m getting at with the bullet point questions.

A large proportion of Rwanda’s genocide survivors returned to their homes or at least their home country. A lot of the genocide was carried out by ordinary people. That means that the people who attacked, tortured and tried to kill them were often neighbours and acquaintances.

A lot of these people still live in quite close proximity to the individuals that attacked them. I think Rwanda did it’s best to try and get justice for as many people as possible but logistically some estimates say around a million people were culpable for the genocide. A lot of people were never arrested and the trials of the 100,000 or so people that were, were slow and not always fair.

Rwanda also had a change of government so the people heading the genocide trials and reorganising the country were not the people in power at the time of the genocide. (Not trying to say the RPF didn’t commit crimes too. But a change from the government that was torturing to new leaders tends to give people more confidence that the crimes of the former leaders will be treated seriously.)

Contrast this to the situation many Rohingya are in today.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the majority no longer live in their home country. There were an estimated 1-1.3 million Rohingya in Burma before the ongoing genocide. It isn’t clear how many people have been/are being killed but there are thought to be between 700,000 and a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh today*.

The people responsible are still in power and there’s been no move to hold anyone accountable. There have been a couple of moves to return Rohingya to Burma, and the Rohingya have refused saying they’d be killed.

Bangladesh… has not done a particularly good job of supporting the refugees. But they’re also a poor country dealing with a sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of people.

These two situations have led to different different communities and different community pressures.

I feel like I need to be a bit careful about what I say here as obviously I’m not part of either community.** I don’t want to put words in their mouths.

My impression is that of communities of Rohingya survivors in Bangladesh things are still incredibly tense. Their general situation is unstable. The violence that drove them from their homes continues and the people responsible are still in power.

My understanding is that there’s less community focus on healing and rebuilding and more focus on survival. Because unfortunately that’s the situation they’re in.

My impression is that there’s been a lot more effort towards rebuilding and healing in Rwanda. Things like these counselling sessions and concerted efforts to reduce ethnic tensions do seem to have helped people move forward.

Obviously the fact the Rohingya genocide is still happening and that Rwanda has had years to try and help survivors means this isn’t really a fair comparison. But the point here is to illustrate differing situations.

To me the words ‘competing communities’ implies a situation where communities of torturers/former torturers and survivors are in close contact with each other. That’s not always the case. Survivors may end up in a different country. Torturers might be part of an occupying force that leaves- You get the idea.

When these communities are living in close proximity there are still a lot of factors that can influence how they interact. Regime changes, justice and reconciliation efforts, support for mental health problems can all make a difference. Education and jobs can also make a difference.

I’m honestly not sure whether de-radicalisation programs have ever been attempted for torture specifically.

What I’m saying here is that (while I doubt a torture survivor is ever going to get along with someone who personally tortured them) I have heard stories where towns and villages containing a mix of people who were victimised by a regime and people who supported it have reconciled and been able to exist as a community. Even though some members of the community are never going to like or trust each other.

Communities of torturers are… a lot more volatile. Rejali describes the toxic sub-culture torturers tend to build up in a lot of detail. It isn’t clear if this carries over into life after torture.

The impression I get from interviews with torturers is that while the attitudes and beliefs may carry over former torturers don’t seem to stay in contact with each other. The group seems to form on the job and then fall apart without the job to hold them together.

Now there is not a lot of research on torturers. So I honestly can’t say this is true. It’s a pattern in interviews but a dozen interviews do not a statistically relevant study make.

I can confidentially tell you that most former torturers report social isolation after they stop and they seem to have difficulty forming and keeping relationships. It also seems likely that they have a high turn over rate (regimes can periodically purge them and their mental health problems can easily get them fired or reach a point where they quit.)

So when I say ‘communities of torturers’ I’m mostly talking about numbers rather then an organised social structure. My impression is that apologists are more likely to do the work of organising then torturers.

I’m going to try and bring this round to the question of what role communities and communal support can play in stories.

Personally I think it’s something I’d like to see writers try to tackle more often. Especially since community can add a lot of depth to characters.

I don’t think it should be considered essential to a narrative involving torture though.

Torture means a large number of victims and communities of survivors. But not every survivor is going to be connected to those communities. Most Rohingya people have ended up in Bangladesh but not all of them have.

Thinking about the victims of police torture in Chicago in the 80s, most of them were black and/or homeless. Given that particular segments of the population were targetted I think these groups could have processed this as a communal experience etc. But someone from a group that was less regularly targetted might not have had a way to access either community of survivors.

Some victims end up isolated because they aren’t believed. With the rise in clean torture it’s become more common for things like ‘You weren’t tortured, you’re a spy and you gave them information willingly’ to be used to discredit survivors.

And some victims end up isolated because their particular pattern of symptoms makes it hard for them to socialise.

Some people just fall through the cracks. Some communities refuse to talk about or deal with torture when it’s happening around them. This… is not particularly healthy but it can come from a place of wanting to protect a survivor and reduce the risk of harm, especially if torture is still happening in the area and the people that ordered it are still in power.

Isolation is a real problem. It is the experience of a lot of survivors. Especially at first. I don’t think there can be anything wrong with trying to portray that.

Showing communities won’t work in every story. They take time to establish, demand more characters and when poorly handled they can steer the narrative away from the plot.

However they can also bring some much needed relief to dark stories and create a lot more opportunities to show the variety and humanity of survivors.

I am a little biased here. I love stories about people connecting and supporting each other in difficult circumstances. Including a community element is a very easy way to do that in a story.

The kind of community your survivors characters have should be something that grows from the circumstances of the story.

In a world where the Evil Empire was ousted survivors might feel able to meet in public to share their experiences or help each other. In a world where the Empire is still in power any meetings would be smaller, secretive and fraught with risk. Characters who have fled the Empire might find they have an easy connection to everyone else who’s fled. Regardless of where they come from.

Is this something prior generations have had to contend with? If these things have been going on longer then there are more likely to be established community structures to support survivors even if it’s ‘smaller’ things like gifting neighbours meals.

At the end of the day I think the details should be decided by what the story needs, what adds to it. Sometimes a community for the survivors characters will do that. Sometimes it won’t.

I hope that helps :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*Some will have fled previous conflicts and have been in Bangladesh longer.

**For those who don’t know this already my parents are English and Greek-Cypriot and I grew up in Saudi Arabia near Bahrain.

#dreaming-in-circles #writing advice #tw torture #tw genocide #writing survivors #writing torturers #writing recovery #torture and communities #torture survivors and relationships #attitudes towards torture survivors #mental health #factors that affect recovery #recovery #torture survivors

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