#I have to say that I'm not a big fan of dismissing literally the only thing we know of Mo Xuanyu in his own words

[thepurplewombat]

#I have to say that I'm not a big fan of dismissing literally the only thing we know of Mo Xuanyu in his own words #like if you don't like canon that's fine! #I marie kondo the fuck out of canon #This doesn't spark joy? To the Trash it Goes! #but I would like everyone to make a good-faith effort to understand that you cannot just say 'oh I don't believe that happened' #there are definitely places where you can say that! #JGY killing JRS for example! #all we know is that SLY said he did it #but you can't say of something written in their own writing 'oh no I just don't buy that' #and expect people to take that seriously on a canon level #like you can headcanon whatever you want #but honestly I find dismissing Mo Xuanyu's words and removing his agency kind of disrespectful #YOU CAN LIKE HIM EVEN IF HE'S NOT PURE AS THE DRIVEN SNOW #HE IS A FICTIONAL CHARACTER #YOU CAN LIKE HIM EVEN IF HE FUCKED UP #feel free to kondo canon #but don't use that as a basis for your analysis

[aro-bird]

I do have to say, as someone on the camp of "you could probably ship someone else who isn't non-partnering but honestly I don't care as long as you don't harass people over this", I think it's lost on some people that the reason why so many non-partnering aroaces may become defensive over these characters even if "it's just fandom" is the fact that a lot of aroaces who do fit these stereotypes and who may fall into this camp genuinely had horrible experiences about their social circles and yes, especially this fandom site, harassing them and saying they don't exist or that they're mentally ill and should "get fixed" among other things.

As common it is to see aspecs here on Tumblr, the queer social media site, you need to understand that there's still a lot of contempt for aroaces outside and inside this place. Hell, I received an ask calling aros and aces delusional just last Christmas Day 2023 that came with a wave of increased arophobia around that time. As much as that time period was definitely discourse against aroallo men, aphobes did not cherry pick on who they're sending hate to.

Besides this, a lot of non-partnering aroaces often receive this kind of dismissal in real life too and as much as some people may think it's not a big deal, it definitely fucks up your brain when people say you and your experiences not only don't matter but you are doomed to live a lonely and miserable life if you don't find someone. Even my otherwise very supportive relatives expressed this concern and it's absolutely out of care but it's fucking damaging to constantly hear that I will die alone if I don't find a partner (romantic, platonic, or otherwise).

This is besides dismissals like this or even non-acceptance had literally barred me from mental health care when I was a teenager because my specialist said I had a "distressed sexuality" and had specialists focused on that aspect rather than all my other issues.

The shipping of a non-partnering (typically romance repulsed or uninterested) character feels like another form of dismissal for someone like me, like my sexuality is not good enough or serious enough to be respected. The shipping of these characters sometimes reinforce the narrative that non-partnering aroace people can't find happiness on their own and do need someone (romantic, platonic, or otherwise) to be happy or they will become happier if they do find this someone. People are having fun with their ships but there are still many people who don't want to spend the time actually extending grace and understanding towards me and my experiences. I'm just another discourse topic and someone who's inconvenient to some of them.

This doesn't even account for how these fan communities aren't just filled with aspec people and do extend to allos who may take some of the discourse and actively apply it in real life to other real life aspec people. People who go and interact with real human beings and may hurt them or harass them. It isn't even accounting for the fact that even online things affect real people too.

Of course, I do understand that a lot more complex aspec identities often don't get the spotlight so they may express themselves through shipping fandom characters but non-partnering people should deserve more than these people isn't really the point of this post.

The point here is that there's a reason why a lot of non-partnering (typically repulsed or uninterested) aroace people get defensive about these things even in fan communities and it's very likely that it's because aphobia and especially against the stereotypical aroace™ still very much exist outside of our little community and they can be informed by media and the fans that consume it and this shit could genuinely have negative consequences. This of course extends to those who do have complex aspec identities as society does not treat those who don't live up to what is expected as "normal" in terms of romantic relationships and sexual attraction kindly.

Distancing yourself from these aroaces who do have frustrations with how media and fandom treat their sexuality because they're being "prudes" or are just affected by "purity culture" is unhelpful to say the least and honestly veers eerily close to shit I hear aphobes say about us.

Absolutely do stop people and block them if they're instigating and participating in harassment over shipping of all things, even these aroaces, but trying to say that every person who do have issues with shipping aroace characters are the same way with this is extremely lacking nuance and absolutely dismissive of other members of the community and why they may have the opinion they hold.

#mayaposts #shipping #ship #shipping discourse #aroace #aroace representation #aro #ace #aromantic #asexual #aromantic asexual #<- again sorry for tagging these it is relevant since the discussion is more community wide #the disk horse #<- tagging this here bc yes this is definitely related to that discourse too #amatonormativity #allonormativity

[pinkboxess]

just want to air this out i guess to like-minded people

it bothers me when people (including the show's own writers) think that people ship ted and rebecca just because they are the male and female leads and that's what we expect out of shows.

maybe that's true for some people, but for me, i'm literally queer and on the asexuality spectrum somewhere. i do not just automatically ship a man and woman because i think that's how things naturally go. if anything i'm predisposed to typically not go for hetero ships.

my reasoning for shipping ted and rebecca is the loads of textual evidence of all of their interactions together. they are just, like, visibly and clearly soulmates to me, and i've always felt that way even from the first few episodes of the show that i ever watched.

it seems crazy to me to write characters that have a connection like they do (think of the september 13, 1991 thing and their experiences with divorce and the way that they fit together perfectly and help each other grow and the way that rebecca is the force who brings ted to england) and then say "oh, no, their relationship is only platonic"

again, as a queer and ace person, i actually really fucking do value platonic relationships and i do not think everything has to be romantic or sexual. but the dismissive attitude and the insertion of "just" in front of platonic makes me feel like people are missing the cosmic connection these two characters have.

honestly, in my mind, ted and rebecca don't have to be "just" romantically involved either. it almost feels like what they have is so big and powerful that relegating it to any label is just kind of insufficient.

they are each other's people. they are soulmates.

(also, as a side note, an additional thing i don't like is when writers believe that writing happy or ideal endings makes for a bad story. like there's this need that people feel to not have the couple get together in the nicely tied up way like a fairy tale, or for things to be "nuanced" and "realistic." i kind of think fuck that. honestly, for me, the truly subversive and different ending would be for everyone to love each other and be happy and get the ending that hopeful fans want for them. i don't always want a lesson in how the world works and we have plenty of that already.)

#basically what i'm saying is the idea that there isn't evidence for them being together is insane #when you consider the literal events of the show #this is not just people seeing a man and woman and going oh okay they have to date then #ted lasso/rebecca welton #ted/rebecca #tedbecca #ted lasso

[flowerbloom-arts]

Do you have any songs you specifically associate with the Oshun Oxtra crew? Cosmo Sheldrake dropped "Old Ocean" and I cant help but think of Hodgkins when it plays. (P.S. hes like my favorite out of your depictions I'm a big fan of your Hodgkins!!)

(AAAAAAHHHH OMG THANK YOU I LOVE MY MAN HODGKINS SO MUCH)

It's so funny that you mention Cosmo Sheldrake because for the longest time I have imagined different songs by him as like, character trailers for each member.

Like Egg and Soldier would be Hodgkins' song because not only is he single-minded on his love of engineering to the point of being manipulative and uncaring to characters like Edward the Booble if it were a means to an end to help his project or unintentionally putting someone like Moominpappa at arm's length despite his clear admiration for him, I imagine that short-sightedness ran in the family so to say. I have this very vivid imagination for that song, like the intro, first verse and first chorus would be Hodgkins on his way to watch a stage performance by his lost brother, and then he recreates that when the lyrics repeat because he too, despite his terribly grandiose size compared to most people including his brother, is still a small man trying to attain big dreams by climbing that proverbial beanstalk to be amid the giants who don't really care for him.

Tardigrade would be Joxter's song as he sings about all the frivolous things he would do if he was as deathless as a tardigrade, but in the end he still very much likes a lazy lifestyle of drinking whiskey and wearing socks on his feet. Other Cosmo songs I've imagined as Joxter songs are the Cuckoo Song and his cover of Tom Waits' Green Grass.

Axolotl reminds me alot of Moominpappa and his journey to try and make something of himself after a childhood of being dismissed and isolated by his caretaker and peers, the line of "I'll build a home at sea" particularly reminds me of Moominpappa at Sea where he quite literally tries to make a home out of the lighthouse despite everything seemingly working against him. (I have a whole character playlist for him by the way, here's the link)

Muddler.... Muddler is my absolute favorite with a playlist of 99 songs but I can't really pin down a Cosmo song for him besides Did Don't Do by his side-band, Don't. I imagine the chaotic and patchwork nature of a song like Hocking would fit him in terms of vibes quite well but I've yet to really find a song that really speaks to Muddler in the ways of lyricism...

For Cosmo songs that are generally for the whole crew I imagine Old Ocean, Birthday Suit and Does the Swallow Dream of Flying work very well as songs for the imaginary trailers I have for a Moominpappa's Memoirs adaptation, lmao.

Also, as an honorary member of the Oshun Oxtra, the whole First Band On The Moon album by the Cardigans is SO Mymble Jr.

#fb answers #moomins #oshun oxtra #song recs

[ae-neon]

Hi there! I've just discovered you work "The House of Mirrors" and I am loving your writing, and the idea of Nesta x Rhys. May I ask what draws you towards the Rhysta ship?

I've found it to be a really intriguing ship when looked into with insight, and it's sad to see that it's immediately dismissed as "oh Nesta will go Amarantha on Rhys, it will be another abusive relationship" etc

Sorry for not answering this ask sooner, I am on mobile 99.99% of the time and my asks always get buried for some reason. Also, my grammar and language spelling will be inconsistent, Tumblr keeps correcting my spelling to American EN

and it's sad to see that it's immediately dismissed as "oh Nesta will go Amarantha on Rhys, it will be another abusive relationship" etc

honestly not even gonna touch on this because whoever thinks that is so set on being against this pair that they've clearly deconstructed parts of their brain. No one is forcing them to ship it and they're going as far as to imply SA?? not someone to be entertained or taken seriously

so why Rhysta? hmm, I think I've posted about it somewhere, but my tagging is so terrible I wouldn't be surprised if it was lost forever

Firstly, I'm gonna be transparent in just preferring Nesta as a character to Feyre.

Feyre isn't terrible (most of the time) but she's pretty generic and inconsistent (and wildly offensive sometimes) but tbh, for the most part, I'm not anti-Feyre, just anti the way sjm uses her

Honestly, I would have preferred to read an ACOSF that centered around Feyre being HL, becoming a Valkyrie, doing the blood rite etc. than what we got in canon.

all this to say that even though I am a Nesta fan, my interest in this ship isn't rooted in hating Feyre

let's get into it

the first reasons are things that I see as tying Nesta and Rhys together so things like:

I prefer likeness in pairs as opposed to opposites. and funnily enough, 'like calls to like' is a sort of rule in the magic system. despite how I might disagree with what's given in canon, when we are first introduced to Rhysand, we're given the impression of someone who is more brains than brawn - and Nesta is characterised in the same way certain parts of the writing reflect a connection: Night and Death, both seem to have the most direct personal conflict with the KoH, both are willing to sacrifice their bodies for those they want to protect things like this are common in other characters too, but not in the same way. Feyre is also a character that sacrifices herself for other, and so is Cassian, but the latter two have a streak of selflessness to them. they would die for people they don't know. Rhysand and Nesta's brand of sacrifice is much more personal Nesta having unique mind powers, a strong connection to Illyria and it's magic and the magic in the NC (she literally makes his childhood home come to life and magic tied to the land is a trait of High Lord/Lady magic) it would have been poetic if they belonged to Feyre to show fate/the mating bond always meant for her to be with Rhys. But they belong to Nesta. Why I also just think Nesta's character and temperament are more suited to politics. She's stubborn, but she's also the type of person who listens and learns and judges people off their character rather than if they are 'on her side' Things like her being more mature and raised to thrive somewhere like the Hewn City add to this

the second reasons are reasons I dislike the canon pairings that would be either not applicable or severely lessened in rhysta

I am not a fan of Hades x Persephone (F.eysand) I despise The Taming of the Shrew (N.essian) Enemies to Lovers is only real when they can hate each other equally, a big power imbalance turns one party into a victim The power imbalance cannot be solved by making a 19 y.o with ptsd an overpowered fae with no experience or agency but, for example, if Rhys had to contend with a stubborn and somewhat uncooperative human - in a land he can't waltz around in, with a mind he can't enter and being the party that needs her help - suddenly there's a much more even playing field. Cassian is pushy and flirty in a way that involves a lot of physical intimidation and boundary crossing, that shit is not cute. in fact, in the canon Wings and Ember excerpt, Cassian crowding Nesta against the fireplace makes her think of Tomas Mandray, the man who almost assaulted her. there are ways around it like being close cause you're dancing or sparing but Nesta isn't a fighter (acosf can fuck off) and Cassian doesn't know how to dance. they're completely mismatched Feyre is naive and insecure in a way that makes her easy to manipulate. like I know a lot of people find the CoN scene sexy but it had been weeks, maybe two or three months, since she'd non-consensually been in that position for real UtM. Nesta might have been convinced to put on a show by dancing or wearing something a little provocative by her standards but that wouldnt have been something that directly mirrored a trauma of hers. I think, politically the handling of the Summer Court sets the tone for the abject failure of F.eysand as a political team. Nesta would have trusted Tarquin. She handled herself well (at the cost of her pride) at the High Lord's meeting.

im sure there's more

but again, this isnt really at the cost of Feyre being the protagonist especially of book1, there are things Feyre does that I don't think Nesta could or would. just that book2 might have had more povs or something

this also takes the approach of Rhys being a slightly different character than in canon, one more like what we were promised and one slightly more suited to Nesta

but that's literally what love interest characters are. they aren't supposed to become the centre around which the protagonist and plot now revolve

anyways,

I'm so glad you read and enjoyed House of Mirrors!!! please don't be shy to drop me another ask

#long ramble #anon ask #rhysta

[psiithirisma]

SBI superhero AU (shout out to the co-creator of this AU @void-candy !! he helped me lots with this!)

Philza is a superhero, his twin sons are heroes in training, and Tommy is Philza's archenemy, a villain that no one knows his real identity cuz whenever he commits acts of villainy he's inside of this large robot, Sam Nook.

Oh, and Tommy is a 10 years old.

Phil is well-known for consistently emerging victorious from his battles. However, no matter what he does, it seems he can't capture this villain. Which frustrates him even because they have been fighting occasionally for months and with mostly 0 information about this villain's identity.

Expect for this detail the investigators trying to get Tommy's identity noticed, a common factor it's that they only appears when Phil is in hero duty and the villain's attacks don't go beyond petty commotion with minimal collateral damage, almost childish. At least it's something.

Techno and Wilbur are doing their first internship with Phil the next time Tommy appears. It wasn't the first time Phil had back-up or sidekicks, so he isn't really worried.

He should have been, because Techno (and Wilbur but we'll talk abt him later) pretty much kicked his ass.

All SBI are shocked at finding a 10 years old on command of this large menacingly robot.

Meanwhile Tommy it's like "!?!!?! YOU BEAT ME? THAT WAS SO COOL!!! NOT EVEN PHILZA- THE MAN HIMSELF- HAS BEATEN ME IN ALL THIS TIME!!!", all fanboy-ish towards Techno and the latter's reaction is just "...HEH?"

Techno, taking Tommy by the collar of his shirt: uhm. Wil. i caught. the enemy.

Tommy: OMGGG HIIII I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN DUDE YOU ARE SOOOO COOL THE COOLEST THE BIGGEST BIG MAN EVER, BIGGER THAN ME EVEN.

Techno: .....WE MET 5 MINUTES AGO?

They take him to the authorities they discover that, surprise surprise! he has no legal documentation. So they interrogate him. The only relevant information collected it's that Sam, Tommy's father and who made the robot, died years ago. Tommy says he doesn't remember how Sam died.

Since Tommy's 10, doesn't has legal guardians nor papers; after multiple sessions to assure he hasnt any antisocial traits to be concerned about, its decided that he'll be entering a government-sponsored training course for Little Future Heroes as part of a rehabilitation program.

The funny thing it's that Tommy gets the benefit of choosing or at least propose which heroes would he like to be his mentor, so of course he says "I want the Blade!!!". Apparently Techno has his first number one fan.

Sadly, he gets his request denied because Techno is still a hero in training and it needs to be a professional hero.

Tommy: i want the Blade.

Government: He's literally just 18 he isn't even a professional hero, he can't be your mentor.

Tommy, pouting: damn, i guess I'll have to take Philza...

And Philza is. there. hearing Tommy talk almost dismissive of him after spending months fighting, standing next to him.

Phil thinks of denying Tommy's petition, 'cuz fuck no. he's not gonna accept to have under his wing the person that he spent months trying to capture so that in the end all be a game for him to gain the hero's attention

Buuut, there aren't many heroes to mentor the little blonde (a certain hero is available but Phil doesn't trust them), so he would fall under the government's wing and Phil isn't cruel, he's been working as a hero for years to know it won't be safe for a kid so he accepts it resigned.

That aside, when Tommy got all "haha the blade! THE BLADE :D!!! B l a d e ! ^-^" and fanboy-ish, Wilbur was like "huh- i helped Techno beat you??? Why is he the only cool one here" which Tommy responded with "...who are you".

After that, Wilbur tries to get Tommy's validation, respect and recognition, and God he wonders sometimes if it's even worthy for such a gremlin annoying little child under the excuse of helping Techno get rid of the kid since he clings to him like a leech.

So, now Philza is mentoring a kid aside of Techno and Wilbur, Tommy has become Technoblade's #1 fan and copied his hero costume (Techno told him he'd sue him for copyright), Wilbur only wants to be acknowledge for once and Techno tries to avoid Tommy's awful clinginess.

They'll warm up to the little mischievous blonde running around the hero departament eventually, don't worry <3

#tommyinnit #technoblade #wilbur soot #philza #sbi #sleepy bois inc #sleepyblr #big thanks to my little brother arthur user void-candy for helping me with this au <3 #superhero au #long post

[lily-orchard]

the only thing that hurts more to me than fandom's white favoritism are the people who insist it isn't even real. that you're just "crazy" and irrational. sometimes there are even other POC (i'm filipino) who agree with these people and even dismiss minority characters as boring. I want to be a writer/artist, but it's getting a teensy-bit discouraging that some people will always want to uplift the white male characters no matter what while literally everybody else gets shafted (cough HUNTER cough). Any tips on how to overcome this?

There isn't really a way to overcome it, you just write the story you want to write. Hunter wouldn't have been a problem if the show didn't lean into his fanbase. If he'd just been an antagonist and the writing hadn't leaned into the fangirls, he wouldn't have been as intrusive.

If you want to overcome this as a writer, you just... don't. You don't lean into fangirls obsessing over the only white guy in the cast. If anything you lean into the opposite and shove him down a spike pit at the first sign of symptoms.

I got this myself, where half of the bad faith criticism about TSR was basically Reylos whining that I was making their blorbo into a big joke, and so they tried to weasel around by saying Alie and Kylo Ren were exactly the same, but I just stuck to my guns and the end result was a popular story that a lot of people liked.

There will be people who like the characters you make, the real issue is that a lot of creators choose to chase the short-lived fandom. Part of why fandom is so oriented to white men is because that's all the industry has been producing for so long that it's only very racist fans that get pandered to so much, and they harass anyone who speaks out.

If you build it, they will come.

[augment-techs]

Hope this isn’t being rude but you don’t like Tomberly? Or rather the fans of the ship? Is it okay to ask why? Genuinely asking.

....Well, I'm gonna get eaten alive for answering this, but I'm so bored right now I also do not care. How to put this.... It's not necessarily that I find Tomberly to be an inherently bad pairing, or find that the people who have this for their OTP to be especially unpleasant in every facet of their being. No, it's more like...a very specific type of Tomberly shipper that can--and HAS--ruined my day because they cannot FATHOM these two characters, SPECIFICALLY, being in a relationship outside of each other and making it the entire rest of the fandom's problem. Like, in the 90s, I could understand it. I was in kindergarten, but it was literally one of the first ever kid show pairings that delivered a kiss and felt like they were perfect. Fine, great, awesome. But it is 2023. They are now the ONLY Rangers LIVE that have kissed, and a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of these shippers feels like that's destiny, it is written in the stars: They were Meant to Be. They Are The Best. There Will Never Be Another True Pairing. They are the LOUDEST and MOST ANNOYING about this when literally anything in media shows the characters in another, different romantic relationship (Tommy) or perfectly happy and fulfilled being on their own (Kim). And I am stuck with that one scene from the Birds of Prey/Harley Quinn movie just BLASTING in my brain every time one of these fans crosses my dash with a snide remark about Tommy/Kat in ANY narrative, or making heart eyes at Kim just standing next to Drakkon in the comics in any dimension ever:

And this is not even bringing up how they are generally dismissive of other characters outside of these two, because where one goes, the other follows. (Examples: Trini, Zack, Jason, Kat, Tanya, J.J., Hayley, Bulk and Skull--not getting into it with these two, but it is a PROBLEM--and on and on and on.) Not to mention they have a tendency to dismiss any flaws (Kim being selfish, a little manipulative, dismissive of other people's feelings, too into her looks, sometimes being too one-track minded vs Tommy's lack of any personality outside of being a Ranger, being secretive and dramatic in the early days, constantly picking fights, making everything a big deal, being a doormat, being too submissive, being jealous) as just bad writing/bad acting, instead of just... Understanding that maybe there is a POINT to this? These are the inconvenient shippers mind you. These exist in every fandom, it's just a little harder to avoid them when you're in a SMALL fandom. And I have my own biases; as a consummate multishipper I see characters are beneficial only if they can branch out into BETTER characters, with better options and plots ahead of them than just Good Girl Meets Rugged Guy, They Kick Ass, They Fall in Love, They Live Happily Ever After blah blah blah blah. Also, and I cannot stress this enough: I am almost exclusively a fan of the PR COMICS. And the comics are doing their best to make all their characters multidimensional and slightly different from what we had in the 90s. Which means I can look back at the live action MMPR series and say, "Both Kim and Tommy Were a Dumpster Fire, I Don't Think I Like Them Very Much," and happily skitter back to their current comic selves and say, "You're a dumpster fire, too. But that's okay~ You're teenagers who make mistakes and are still growing into yourselves and can make new choices. Nothing is set in stone and the multiverse exists. What are you going to do about it?" * * * tldr; I don't HATE Tomberly. I don't HATE their fans. I am a multishipper who believes in options and not dunking on any other possible relationships they might have outside of each other. I like Kat Hillard, I like Matt Cook, I like Tommy, I like Kim. These are not mutually exclusive and I am okay with anyone as long as they're not needlessly cruel to other fans and what they like. I might find Tomberly boring, but so what; I also thought every relationship in FRIENDS (outside of the basic Chandler/Monica), Beverly Hills 90210, the Superman Animated Series, and the ENTIRETY of GLEE (that wasn't roasting Rachel Berry) was boring. I don't like it, I skip it and move on. If I happen to be a little snide myself in posts about them...

#boom! comics power rangers #MMPR #you're not being rude; it's a fair question #Tommy Oliver #Kimberly Hart #ask fill #prompt fill

[mrs-monaghan]

Hey, Shaz! Hope you're doing well. This is the first time I'm showing myself around here. Love your posts.

I was thinking. Not only is yelling "BH ARE FORCING THEM TO DO FAN SERVICE/PR!" dismissing KM's relationship and Tae's free will to choose his own girlfriend, but it's also so disrespectful towards BTS as a whole and the other members individually. It's perpetuating the idea that idols are nothing but their company's toys and they're forced to do things they don't want to do, something BTS have been trying since pre-debut to prove wrong in their case. It's something Namjoon struggled with a lot back in the day because people loved shitting on his work, dismissing his status as a rapper and calling him an industry puppet. It was and apparently still is a problem. Saying that KM and Tae are forced to do fan service/PR stuff these days is no different than calling them tools, pawns, toys, liars. According to this logic, the BTS members are pretty fake because BH can totally force them to do anything and they're quietly following orders. They have no will of their own, they're being handled, even though they're unfireable millionaires and literally the breadwinners. (Now imagine Yoongi forced to do something. That man would probably set the company's building on fire before he allowed others use him for their benefit. I'm joking. I'm joking. Or am I?)

When we got into this Bangtan stuff, most of us stayed because of how genuine these men were. They were keeping it real, they were relatable, they were "just like us". People always talk about this in the community like it's their life motto. "BTS are genuine" left and right. It's something ARMYs are very proud of. But when it comes to KM the genuineness goes out the window. JM and JK are not genuine. They're feeding us lies. They're this and that. People claim they love them (or at least one of them if they're a hardcore TKer, although a lot of these individuals hate JK as well and it shows), but they're so quick to doubt and portray both JM and JK as awful people. Because if TK is real (which is not), KM are terrible friends to Tae and if I were a TKer and I saw JK in JM's business 24/7 I'd wish TK broke up to be honest. If they have other secret relationships (which they don't), they're being horrible boyfriends to their partners when they suck and bite each other's ear and neck, flirt in broad daylight, hold hands, go out and have fun just the two of them all the time, talk until morning, come together, leave together, joined at the hip and are overall extremely Romantic Couple™.

KM apart, I'm writing this for very specific people, but y'all don't deserve any of these men. Clearly, you don't respect them or their decisions. You don't trust them and you don't believe in their autonomy. You think they're just BH's marionettes. At this point I really don't understand why some of you are stanning them. You obviously don't like BTS.

Idek what chapter 2 has become. People like me who became Armys last year it was literally such bad timing to join the fandom. I wouldn't be shocked if some people just turned around and left. Ever since solo projects were announced its been a fucking mess. And from what I gather while the vermin were many they never used to be as vile as they are now. Chapter 2 just seems to have made them worse.

When BTS were still doing ot7 stuff it was easy to think we were all ot7. (Well, apart from solos who make that pretty obvious) But these big, big accounts got away with pretending to be ot7 back then. But now with members doing shit one at a time people are showing their true colors and it has not been pretty.

I envy people who support BTS on the surface. People who are only subscribed to BTS official accounts and only listen to their music and watch their reality shows then go about their day. Those people know peace. 😂 Ignorance is bliss y'all.

Stay strong Jikookers. Stay strong. It's gonna be alright. I promise 😘

#ask shaz #bts ask #the vermin

[golbrocklovely]

This may be an odd question,but is the Sam Pepper prank fake? I ask mostly cos it's being brought up a lot by the sceptics to prove Sam is acting in the Conjuring videos and I was of the opinion that it was not completely fake and some parts of it were real (namely the rooftop stuff) cos I never believed Sam to be that good of an actor. I was of the thinking that they said that it was fake to get the heat off Colby, but am I mistaken with this thinking since everyone keeps saying I'm wrong and that it is evidence that Sam was acting at the Conjuring House?

according to snc, the prank was fake and both of them were in on it. i forget what video i saw of sam talking about it, but he explained it like "if i wasn't in on it, how would they have gotten me to the roof of that apartment building without anyone seeing me? you don't think i would have been screaming and kicking the entire time getting up there?" which honestly…. valid lol

but i'll be so totally honest with you, anyone trying to use that as proof of snc lying now is really dumb in my eyes. that's like saying bc i lied when i was kid that now i'm also still lying. like… that's not how any of this works.

it would also be like using their vines of following fat ppl to prove that they're assholes. even tho in that instance, the ppl they followed were also in on the prank bc they asked them a head of time if they could follow them and then make a big stink about it.

if ppl want to argue that sam was lying and that was his real genuine reaction just to get the heat off of colby, it's possible. but i think ppl have to remember the main reason they did that prank in the first place was bc they were desperate and hungry and wanted attention. the very early years of snc were spent like that bc they WANTED to gain an audience. and they did gain one, and they hoped that those that stuck around got to actually know them for who they were and not just their attempts at fame or attention.

snc have no reason to lie at this point in their careers. there is no reason for them to go above and beyond for this past series when it was gonna be major regardless of cody and satori. and look, i don't believe cody and satori fully, but i also don't think they are fully lying either. i just can't explain how they do it. and tbh idc to either. and any "proof" that has been given as proof of them lying isn't proof. unless you catch them physically lying, like popping their joints and shit, then everything is hearsay and assumptions. and ppl just need to give it a rest at this point.

if you don't believe, then don't. this isn't a life or death situation. snc didn't hold a gun to your head and tell you to believe. they just showed their experience and said "if you can debunk it, please do" and everyone's attempts have just been too fucking much and extremely hateful. believe what you want, and let others do the same.

and side note, i fucking HATE the ppl that are trying to use "snc's fandom is too young to understand" or whatever as an argument. first off, that's very dismissive and also not completely true. of course there are young ppl in this fandom, i know that. but there are plenty that are older too, most of which i interact with all the time. and the only reason anyone is saying this fandom is young is bc it's easier to toss aside the general opinion of "i believe snc" or "i believe cody and satori". just bc someone is young doesn't mean their opinion is invalid, especially when it goes against your own. and let's be fucking honest here, the older ppl that are literally berating the young fans on reddit (and not on twitter where they are pulling these opinions)…. yall don't care about the kids. you just want to feel validated and cool so it's easier to argue with teens than it is to debate ppl your actual geriatric age.

grow up, and move on.

(this is not directed at you anon, jsyk)

#ask #personal #snc bs

[icanseethefuture333]

This is out of absolutely nowhere but is it weird that I want Nicki Minaj to divorce that dusty man? Like girly, please deal with your childhood trauma from your daddy and realise that your man is a dustyyyyyy. The dustiest of dusties ugh. I think that maybe because of all of the trauma in her family and how she was raised, she doesn’t think much of it and thinks it’s normal but no girl, noooo. Like she’s grown up around problematic men (her dad literally set the house on fire with her mom inside it) so that’s her norm. She could do SO MUCH BETTER UGH. Like Nicki you’re PRETTY. YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL AND YOU GOT OPTIONS STOP SETTLING FOR WHAT YOU THINK YOU DESERVE. And she gets so defensive about this dusty because she thinks she deserves him and it makes her look bad like omg Nicki stop, this ain’t it. Sorry I had to vent about this lollll

No because I was a big a fan of Nicki since I was a little girl and her marrying that man honestly broke my heart and I haven't looked at her the same since. Now I just use her for memes because thats just how I honestly view her, her behavior is a joke. All these female celebrities I noticed are big fat liars. They claim to be feminists but then will date men who talk to women terribly then on top of it they will date sex offenders and women beaters. It disgusts me. I know we can be trauma bonded to people because of childhood trauma but I just feel like Nicki at her grown age should know better. Even if it was true, like let's say her husband was falsely accused, why be with a man who has a negative reputation anyways? I feel like if I was dating someone and they got accused or was accused of SA, I wouldn't be with them no matter how much I love them because 1. I'm dismissing the victim 2. I'd be ruining my own reputation in the process. There's plenty of fish in the sea, why stay with a man who's accused of a felony? I definitely do think her childhood is a major factor and I even believe her relationship with Lil Wayne was toxic in some aspects as well. She idolizes him and when she heard him talk about women's bodies and big butts, she felt pressured to get plastic surgery. That's so awful for a young woman to go through. In some ways, Nicki is a very lovely person, but the negative and problematic things she's done out weighs that for me (being anti black with her comments, working with a blackfisher and betraying as well as attacking Leigh Anne on social media right after she just gave birth to twins, and made multiple songs with Chris Brown, I'm sure there's even more that i'm forgetting or don't know about). What I've learned is that unfortunately most celebrities will have to do things that are questionable due to their labels and PR pushing them to do things because they're binded by contract, or they get so fucked up and let the money get to their head. One person I admire to this day is Tinashe. I felt like she should of been a big superstar because her talent is exceptional, but I think universe saved her and protected her from that lifestyle fr. She has a loyal fanbase that loves her and she doesn't have to work with dusties anymore. Tinashe was forced to make a song with R.Kelly when she was only 22. On top of that being forced to make a song with Chris Brown when she didn't want to. She defended Kehlani when Chris Brown was bashing her when Lani was falsely accused of cheating on Kyrie Irving (when they weren't even together smh). Tinashe could of stayed silent and I'm glad she (as well as Zendaya!) came to her defense. I want genuine girl power and feminism back. I have been missing Destiny's Child because I miss girls being friends and being empowered together. I hope Flo in some way can have take over their crown.

#ask #anon #nicki minaj #tinashe #kehlani #zendaya #destiny's child #flo #tw: sex offenders #tw: mentions of abuse

[kazuichikazuichi]

Kazuichi for the ask game ;)

oh my goodness.........KAZ MY BELOVED. i've spent well over 2 hours non stop writing all of this out lol help me😭 i love him so much, he is my favourite character of everything ever, so thank you very much for asking about him!! i hope this is enjoyable to read, and to anyone who doesn't like him all that much, maybe reading this will change your mind! :) <3<3<3

favourite thing about them: so many things, he is so so so special to me!!!! he also partially reminds me of myself, and i am very attached to him :) i love his character design (and i love that it's explained yknow? it's not like oh yeah he has naturally pink hair for no reason), i love his voice and speech patterns, i love how clingy he is, how realistically scared he is compared to some other characters considering he took part in a literal killing game, how smart he is, how 'normal' his talent is (it's a realistic talent idea for a school like hopes peak, its a normal talent someone could develop after years of working in their family's shop, and its academic so the school would want him yknow? like no offense to e.g. mondo, i love him but why would they want a biker gang leader in a school like that lol😭) anyway i'm already rambling and im only on the first question oops lol. final favourite thing to mention is his tiny braid. soooo cute n silly. and i love his earrings. and how one sleeve of his jumpsuit is cuffed higher than the other. okay no i need to stop rambling now

least favourite thing about them: i don't like how he's so often dismissed as just a comedy character or a pervert or whatever. i wish he'd been written in a little more depth so he could be given a chance by fans who automatically dislike him. i love him so much and i want everyone to experience the joy of loving him!!! he is a sweetheart inside i promise

favourite line: engines revving!!!!! ✊😛✊ lol i also like i'll bury you and your hamsters 6 feet under!!!! and general gundham insults they all make me giggle

brotp: literally EVERYONE omg, i love his friendship potentials with the whole sdr2 cast! buuut some i particularly enjoy are ibuki, fuyuhiko, akane and mahiru :) kaz and ibuki would be so SILLY together i love them, i wrote a pekobuki fic with her and kaz being bffs and it was so much fun to write! she would love to put his hair into fun styles and paint his nails :) fuyuhiko aaa i love them together (also love them as a ship) i like the idea of fuyu being the voice of reason between them, telling kaz off when he needs to and keeping him grounded in reality! akane would sooo be like a sister to him i love her, they would get into lots of mischief together, have food fights, wrestle in mud etc lol. then mahiru aww also so like a sister to him, but akane is more like a twin and mahiru more like a big sister :) mahiru would help him look after himself, help him comb chewing gum out of his hair if hiyoko sticks it in there lol etc. also love him and nekomaru as friends too and ughh i could literally list every character here with a specific headcanon for their dynamic

otp: i'm gonna have to say soudam!! i absolutely adore them, they're so sweet and i think about them all the time :) they could be so good for each other if they settled their differences. one of my favourite dynamics is that gundham has feelings for him but kaz is just too silly to notice lol. i've published 9 fics on ao3 so far, 4 of which are soudam, including a 5-chapter fic (i normally just write oneshots, and the only other future multi chapter fics i have basic mental plots for are also soudam lol so you can tell i love them) they are just so special to me :) some other kaz ships i enjoy are him with fuyuhiko(!!), hajime, and i also quite like him with nekomaru too! :) and my fave non sdr2 ship for him is leon, their ship name is bubblegum rock, isn't that just the cutest name ever?!

notp: if there's gonna be a notp it's gonna have to be sounia, i love them both dearly as characters but just not together. my interpretation of his crush on her is that he is gay, and uses her as a fake crush to hide his sexuality to avoid getting bullied, and his reasoning is that she's a very conventially attractive blonde PRINCESS, nobody would question him for having a crush on her, right?? hence why he finds her hobbies weird etc and doesn't show an interest other than "wow she's so hot" lol. i don't think he realises at ALL how uncomfortable he makes sonia, he's just glad that she doesn't like him so he doesn't have to actually be in a relationship (my 5 chapter soudam fic started with this idea by the way!) and i like to think that if she sat down with him and properly explained why it's not right, he'd cave in and come out and apologise a lot and cry :( also think his treatment of her is partly just, he doesn't understand social cues and social norms very well (me too kaz me too) so he just is doing his best to appear normal :'(

random headcanon: when he listens to music, he sings and dances around his room with a hairbrush!!! but he would be VERY embarrassed if anyone found out :) i have lots of silly little headcanons like this for him that im probably going to post one day! i just think about him 24/7 so i have lots of things like this to say

unpopular opinion: i've seen quite a few people headcanon him as having adhd before, but i personally see him closer to being autistic! not sure really why, i just do! :)

a song that you associate with them: even though he's my favourite character ever i still found this super tricky to answer, song questions don't come easily to me i guess. but! my favourite artist right now is poppy, so "immature couture" by poppy! she has lots of different genres of songs but this one is SO girly and camp and i think kazuichi would love it and secretly listen to it a lot and dance around his room with his hairbrush microphone :'))) here's a link to the song!

favourite picture of them: SO TRICKY ummm my favourite sprite is the engines revving one lol with his tongue out but also love the beanie down over the eyes scared one. i love so many pictures but as a soudam shipper i suppose i will say this one bc ughhh they are just too cute!!:

some honourable mentions are his chapter 2 diner picture looking out of the window, his pictures in the chapter 1 party, and all of those anime screenshots like there's one of everyone on the beach where he's being buried by sonia and chiaki, one where he's at the top of a christmas tree next to gundham a picnic one etc. i love them all (i haven't seen the anime so no idea where these bits come in but i haven't seen scenes surrounding them just singular pictures?)

this was so FUN!!! ihad plans to write fanfic tonight but im glad i spent my time doing this bc it was so much fun, thank you for submitting him :D there's one more character in my inbox but it's midnight for me rn so i will either do it later tonight after a break or in the morning, if anyone else would like to submit a character for me to talk about that would be awesome!!

#kazuichi soda #kazuichi souda #danganronpa #sdr2 #super danganronpa 2 #ask meme #ask game

[egg-emperor]

You're very right in the tags of that one post. Toxic positivity is just as bad as toxic negativity, sometimes worse due to the handling of constructive criticism because of can-do-no-wrong attitude that stifles growth and creativity.

That ever-growing toxicity combined with this weird form of puritanism that has people harassing and dogpiling on others if they dare have an independent thought outside the hivemind is what's forcing me away from the Sonic fandom and never returning again, despite how much I love Eggman. I've already stopped reblogging Sonic art on my main blog and interacting with the fandom at large outside of a close circle of trusted friends across social media, they're the only thing even keeping that dying flame for this series stoked. I'm almost ready to delete it all and revamp my main blog theme to distance myself further. It hurts to know I'm no longer welcome in something that has been a major part of my life since I started gaming, something I've seen grow from literally nothing as I grew.

I still enjoy so many things about this series, and I had so much fun with everything up until this point, but being pushed out and treated like you're worse than trash for disagreeing with one thing feels like a knife being twisted in my heart. I don't want to go, but at this point I feel I have no choice to leave it all behind.

I'm sorry to sound whiny with this all, but I guess I just needed somewhere to vent. Should I consider this my goodbye letter to the Sonic series? Maybe so.

Thanks, Julian. Again, sorry for the vent.

Nah don't apologize, that's exactly how I've been feeling too. There's a big problem with both toxic positivity and negativity in this fandom and I'd say the former has been a much bigger one lately. I wouldn't say any of my criticisms of the latest media I'm not a fan of has been that harsh, aside from the occasional rants where I've been especially worked up and upset.

Most of the time it was just calm criticism that I was being asked to talk about in my inbox, it's not like I was going onto other people's posts and inboxes trying to be negative. But it's just blown up out of proportion because people take offense merely being something they don't want to see, because I see it as anything less than perfect and amazing. And that's where the toxic positivity comes in.

What I do always comes from a place of deep passion and my boldness in expressing true feelings is dismissed as nothing but hatred. Just because again, it's not highly positive endless praise without question or criticism. There's a lot of toxic positivity and also puritanism especially when it comes to my views and creations of Eggman compared to what people would prefer I think and do instead.

I've stepped away from fandom massively too because there isn't much out there that appeals to me anymore. It's a hivemind where you're not allowed to voice different opinions or even state facts as it's immediately taken as an attack. It's full of high praise of everything and intolerance towards people that don't feel the same, they accuse me of being horrible and hateful and trying to attack specific people with things I make on my own blog.

I don't think I'm ever really going to come back either beyond interaction with the small amount of people I still follow that aren't with that crowd and their mindset and either feel the same or accept I feel differently, like I can with them as long as they respect me too. I don't seek out content from anywhere else aside from heavily filtered Tumblr search. I'll never search Eggman on Twitter again for the sake of my sanity lol

While it does help me feel better to not surround myself with things that make me uncomfortable and avoid it as well as I can, it does hurt to leave almost everything behind and not feel welcome amongst the masses just because we can't agree on everything and are open with criticism, no matter how sensible and calm we are about it. I'm going to miss out on the small amount of stuff out there I would like as a result which is sad too.

But then when I'm at my worst after all recent events, I've contemplated deleting everything and leaving because even though there are a few reasons I have to stick around and it's not all bad, it still feels like I don't belong and do everything wrong in some people's eyes and am hated by many and it just makes me miserable with all the constant reminders. It hurts that something that's been so special and important to me almost all my life is now attached to this pain.

It was fun up until this point for me too but now I feel pushed out because of how many places I've been kicked out of and how many I've been blocked by. It really does hurt a lot, how it feels like everything can go wrong just for being yourself and being open and honest about how you feel. It does stifle growth and creativity a lot when different perspectives and ideas are immediately shunned and looked down upon and responded to aggressively.

I don't really want to go either but I've accepted I need to take a step back, as big of a part of my life it was for so long. And I've been considering that I might have to leave official media behind soon as it just feels like there might not be anything for me anymore. Even before shit really hit the fan fandom wise, I started pondering it. Leaving that will hurt even more but I'm trying not to hold on to what hurts or discomforts me and just doesn't bring me the happiness it did before.

If I do have to leave both fandom and official media behind entirely, it will hurt a lot but I still appreciate for the people I still follow, old official content, and sharing my analysis, headcanons, fics, gushing, etc. I'm still passionate as ever about Eggman and love to create from it and share it, that's why I care so much and have such strong opinions and bold ways of expressing it in the first place. It's sad that it had to come to this but I appreciate the good times and memories and I won't let all this stop me from doing what I love.

But yeah you're not alone in this, I feel exactly the same way and I'm saying my goodbye to most of the fandom too and possibly the entire series itself soon with the way things might be going from here.

You're welcome and no need to be sorry 💜

#asks

[disaster-fruit]

Believe it or not, I am 27 and have just discovered ATLA and I have some questions. Is my feeling correct that most Zutara shippers are women/nonbinary folks and most Kataang shippers are, well, men. I just can’t help thinking how Kataang is written with such a male gaze in mind, while Zutara covers both perspectives. Anyways, I understand why the show ended with Kataang, I’ve read all the big metas, I understand that Bryke kind of sucks etc. etc. But I’m curious what you think about this perceived gender divide since you’ve definitely been around longer lol

Hello! I gotta say, i don't think i have a better perspective of the fandom to offer, since i haven't actually been part of the fandom since maybe 2012? and back then i was a literal child and i couldn't speak English so 'being in the fandom' was mostly just reblogging gifs and reading the zutara fics in brazilian ao3 of the time. I have watched and re-watched ATLA an unholy amount of times since then, and i have read and watched hours and hours of meta and theories and whatnot, but the fandom itself is not something i'm well acquainted with to give a good perspective on.

I do, however, love to talk and love receiving asks, so i guess you'll get my opinion anyway. And everyone knows i'm not usually concise.

First of all, are most zutara shippers women/non-binary and kat@ang shippers men? I don't know. I haven't been in the fandom and i haven't checked the bios of most posts i did see and interact, so i have no idea. The only kat@ang shipper i personally know is a friend of mine, who is a woman. So i won't speculate on whether or not your feeling is correct, perhaps a fandom veteran would be better equipped at answering it.

What i WILL say is that Kat@ang is, in my opinion, much more appealing from aang's perspective than from katara's. She's older than aang, in an age girls are absolutely not looking at younger boys that way, and doesn't show any interest in him romantically through the whole show, with the only exception that comes to mind being their dance on season 3 (easily their best moment imo), and then their kiss at the very last minute. All we know is that Aang likes Katara, and the other way around is open to interpretation at best.

One sentiment I've seen from kat@ang shippers is that they seem to really like aang and what him to be happy, and since he likes katara, they ship the two. That is all well and fine, we support people having fun with their ships for whatever reason here. That is however not a good enough motivation if you are, you know, the creators of a show who were supposed to have some duty to storytelling, themes, and cohesion. So them making kat@ng happen just so that aang could 'get the girl', despite all the ways that weakens an otherwise phenomenal story, is a bad choice that should be criticized. At the very least, in its execution.

So yeah i don't think its wrong to say there's a 'male viewpoint' to kat@ang as it was made in the show, though i wouldn't necessarily extend that to the kat@ng fans in the fandom since i don't know them, and it feels unfair to make that assumption. For all i know there is probably no shortage of amazing fics out there that explore their dynamic much better than the show did.

But though i can't speak for kat@ang fans, there is another group i've seen more often in my metas and video essays journey and talking to male friends throughout the years, what i'll call 'shipping neutral' men. You know the type, they love avatar, they'll spend hours and hours dissecting all the aspects of the story and the themes and the worldbuilding up UNTIL the topic is romance in the show. Then they'll wave it away dismissively saying the show 'was never about romance' and the crazy shippers are 'getting distracted' from the real story and how they just don't care about that aspect. And some of them will say they're fine with Kat@ng because it's canon (and no other reason), some wont have an opinion on any of the ships, except that they're not important and anyone who HAS an opinion on that is just silly.

And HERE i definitely see not only a gender divide but a sexist tendency to disregard romance as less important to any story, and not as an integral part that deserves care and deserves to be well interwoven with the rest of it. It's basically a stereotype now about how zutara fans have all these metas and analysis about how perfectly the ship fits the shows themes and how that would improve the writing (and yes, i agree with all of them) and that's because we know that romance is just as deserving as action, as worldbuildng and whatnot, and that it can be a powerful writing tool to enhance character and plot and themes, and that the way it is done it ATLA is not that. And i think these 'shipping neutral' men's analysis all fall short and even tend to not notice flaws in the story because they refuse to interact meaningfully with that aspect. Because as we all know, romance is for silly girls.

And being honest, i have much more respect for any kat@ang shipper of any gender that is out here being passionate about what they like, writing their fics and writing their own metas and having fun in a respectful way, than i have for men (and people who aren't men) with that dismissive attitude towards the romance arcs in the show.

That was a tangent! But damn i haven't answered an ask like this in a while and its always very fun. Hope i didn't offend anyone lol If its not clear i'm not a fan of ship wars, we stan having fun here. Buuut i also love debating and engaging with the story and that sometimes can get confrontational. There's definitely a space for 'ship discussion' or 'ship debate' that doesn't cross the line to 'ship war', i think that line is 'fun'. We're having fun, right? Discussing fandom and writing is fun, right?

Anyways hope this makes sense, sorry I didn't actually answer your question even though i talked THIS MUCH.

#okaaaay how do i tag this #fandom discussion #i guess?? #i dont wanna tag as any of the ships because its not really that #i also dont wanna tag because i dooooont wanna pick a fight with anybody #im too old for this i love discussing but only if its all for fun

[yykh22]

Anti-Acotar series rant

Like the title says, if you are not "anti"-acotar fan then don't read nor comment meaningless hate.

Also, this is really long so don't force yourself to read everything if you don't/can't.

In a previous post I said I would talk about the female characters of acotar and how f*cking wasted their potential was...Well here it is for our beloved MC : Feyre Archeron!(Girl got her character thrown out to uplift an abuser a.k.a Rhysand)

First, let us talk about how her character was supposed to be written:

Feyre is a young adult (19 years old in my country is older than the official adult age.) who takes down a big villain and saves the day as a powerful mortal girl because of the power of love (Don't get it wrong I have nothing against love and such) but it wasn't that bad because she actually used her skills to defeat the villain. After that, everything goes to sh*t...She falls out of love after her man gets abusive (Logical response tbh) but she gets with one of her previous abuser UTM? Honestly, it was nice when she hated him because she had all the reasons to,like Rhysand forced her into a bargain under the threat that she would likely die and after one book of brainwashing and manipulations she suddenly loves him? Nah, it does not make any sense...Now, after all that brainwashing and such, she supposed to have turned into a badass MC with no independence? Hell no, I don't know how the actual f*ck (I'm swearing a lot and I apologize but I'm very mad about this) this is supposed to work 'cause : If you want to write a "badass" character, you need to make that character evolve and mature and change to become truer to themselves. No character is badass if the only thing they can do is endanger people and abuse them. Overall,(I could go on about this), Feyre was supposed to be written as badass but really she became a bad ass. (Ik this ain't funny but I couldn't help myself). Second, let's talk about her backstory and her actual character: Look, when I read the scene of the cabin, I honestly stopped functioning like a decent human being and overlooked one of the major annoying thing about that small arc. It is actually pretty funny because I, myself, know how the breadwinner doesn't do everything. I'm not poor,in fact I'm supposedly rich(This is getting personal) but that doesn't mean I have servants that clean the damn house. I know how f*cking important cleaning chores can be and how most people attribute these chores as "feminine" and "traditional" because society has always put these things as "female" work when it's simply work you need to do to live in a sanitary environnement. I don't think gender is supposed to have much to do with it, at least not in this age. It should have infuriated me how SMJ dismissed the active work the other sisters must have done to keep the cabin in a "good" shape (Not like you can blame them if they are not super good, since they used to be literal nobles.) but I actually got immersed in her sexist narrative that I believed Feyre when she said that her sisters did "nothing". Here is a link to a really well-explained post about this : https://www.tumblr.com/nightlyteaandpaper/724151253254455297/unseen-labor-exploring-the-undervalued?source=share

Now for her character that had SO much potential and how her story could have impacted the story she is supposedly the main character of:

Feyre, at first, was a savage(this is not derogatory) and defensive person, which is understandable when you know she didn't get that much support from her family,(Yes her sisters took care of the cabin, doesn't necessarily mean they were supportive towards Feyre and she wasn't supportive towards them either just to be clear), and she basically was the breadwinner of her family for years. This is a lot for a young adult who was stripped away from their fortune and had no prior skills to survive. It's why I liked Feyre at first and one scene that proves that despite the non-discussed and bad family dynamic, she still loved her family or at least appreciated them? Is the scene who starts the whole discord of the first book, Tamlin appearance! This scene proved that despite her anger towards her sisters, Feyre still considered them her sisters and even her father. (SN: While their relationship wasn't the happy-family type, it certainly wasn't as abusive as her romantic relationships). After that, we can see Feyre slowly adapt to her new environment and the new relationship dynamics she encounters (her and Lucien had such good friendship scenes) without losing sense of who she is but we do see her struggle with abandoning her family and such, until Tamlin assures her that they are well taken care of. (Tamlin was real for doing the minimum for his "guest", plus it was a good way to make her more comfortable to stay). After the UTM is where Feyre's character got slowly brainwashed, being forced to stay with an assh*le and manipulator should not have felt like romance building up. I understand how she felt less confined (despite still being stuck just elsewhere) because at that point, Tamlin had let his trauma and issues from the first book, hinder their relationship. Plus, the Spring court was busy recovering. One particular scene that had a lot of potential for her growth was the tithe scene. Feyre, who is now treated like a hero 'cause she is, feels empathy for wraiths who are basically starving and helps them despite what Tamlin says. Look, that scene put a lot of emphasis on Feyre's great empathy skills and it is understandable from her POV how unjust the tithe feels but it could have also been a great "prep" scene for how she would come to love and adapt to her new world/gain more knowledge on politics and economics . Because, I'm gonna be clear, I do not like the fact that Feyre became High Lady and did not have classes on like politcs and economics or even just etiquettes to help her. Instead, she is out there painting and doing nothing and don't misunderstand, I wouldn't mind if she painted or anything but to do that instead of learning how to become a ruler to a court is ridiculous. Rhysand basically made her his trophy wife and I hate, absolutely hate, it. Why did we get s*x scenes instead of character growth? Couldn't SMJ include one part,even a tiny sentence, mentioning Feyre learning to become High Lady? No? An another thing that pisses me off is how instead of saying she's getting corrupted by a bunch of losers, SMJ makes us believe they are right? The whole ass chapters in Summer court had too much potential and none of it was used for actual character development. WHY? The least we had was a crappy scene showing Rhysand's trust issues and regrets? I get he is the main love interest but what about Feyre? She is supposed to be the MC not Rhysand. Like why did Feyre not have a more opposing reaction to Rhysand's lying tactics? ACOTAR and Pre-middle ACOMAF Feyre hates dishonesty but just because it's Rhysand and because Rhysand doesn't trust Tarquin, then all of a sudden it is okay to lie and stuff? Why did Feyre not go against Rhysand's order and simply asked Tarquin for the artifact (ngl I don't remember why they went there for...). She went against Tamlin and Lucien's orders but when it's Rhysand she can't? That's all I can remember from the books so I won't add anything else...But I will say Feyre didn't deserve to be thrown out for a overgrown and immature bat.

Overall, Feyre had a great start but ended up being thrown aside for an abusive old perverted bat. I hate it and I'm doing justice for her in a nice fanfic.

(Comment if you think about other examples)

#anti ic #acotar #rant post #she had so much potential #why #she deserved better #anti-feyre #pro-feyre #this is my opinion #criticisim about a huge aspect of writing a book

[ladyluscinia]

I know there's not much point to trying to address the "Izzy Hands is Kylo Ren" takes - they're not going anywhere, the loudest proponents already have me blocked, disagreeing probably mostly serves to get me blocked more, etc. - but they bother me a lot and I've got time and motivation right now...

So. Kicking a hornet nest. Halfheartedly. My argument is meandering and ends when I get bored of writing it. Under a cut because I'm not bothering to structure or trim this down.

I find this interpretation of the fandom response immensely frustrating for a few reasons. For one, I think it's rooted pretty heavily in an anti mindset that basically suggests giving positive attention to a "bad" character or ship as a fan is effectively stealing the attention you owe to a morally better one, and then casts suspicion on your motives. Asking "Why would you like Izzy so much when the pure and good Stede / Edward / Revenge crew are right there?" Accusing people of vilifying other characters if they suggest Izzy might have been wronged in any of the numerous interpersonal conflicts. Assuming the only explanation for sympathizing with him is bigotry (unconscious or otherwise) driving opinions... Which is an insane thing to just drop into discussion like it's obvious and unquestionable before we start introducing relevant concepts like "protagonist centered morality". I also, understandably, object to the take that since I don't write extensive disclaimers on how this character is pure bigoted evil, then the most generous interpretation (aka the only way I'm not a bad person myself) is that I'm just really stupid and do not understand the story. Or got distracted by a Victorian ankle collar flash and my ability to understand "this is a bad person" fell right out with my brain.

Like, fuck, people are not subtle with implying anyone who likes Izzy without a "oh but I also hate him and think he's pure villain" tacked on is either a moron or actively malicious, and problematic to the point of demanding public repentance either way. He's a fictional henchman in a pirate comedy.

And that henchman status leads into the main reason this take bothers me... I think it's just plain incorrect.

Ever since the very first time I saw someone arguing this - and responded to it in dissent as the author had invited people to do, though they did not appreciate someone actually taking them up on said invitation - my immediate complaint was that it hinges on taking the absolute worst faith read of every action Izzy takes from start to finish. Like, you can interpret all these things to mean what you say they mean, but it's hardly the only way and often not even the encouraged way. Example: the writers have openly stated they aren't trying to focus on homophobia and didn't intend the anchor hoist to be an example of Izzy being racially biased. It's one thing to declare the author is dead and keep reading those as inadvertently present in the text and relevant potential explanations regardless of intent. It's a whole different thing to decide that it is objectively wrong for fans to dismiss things like the anchor hoist as a coincidence (which it literally was) because you've decided the character is blatantly racist and that interpretations of his actions with less bigoted motivations are inherently unacceptable excusing of racism. For people that praise the writing so much, there is a lot of hostility to the idea that good writing on an antagonist might entail them being complex and maybe even - gasp! - not as evil as they could be. (Which Izzy very much isn't, btw.)

And on the specific comparison at hand, suggesting Izzy is effectively just Kylo Ren or Walter White or any number of white asshole characters that get idealized by fans ignoring that they are meant to be terrible... there's a pretty big elephant getting ignored. Namely, Izzy Hands is not a character with power. He's a henchman, with a much bigger, badder, scarier boss in Edward (who is on screen even more than he is). He isn't respected or feared by the Revenge crew. He doesn't have an institution of blatant symbolic and literal power backing him up like the Badmintons, despite this being a thing they very much could have done. Some of those extras in Navy uniform could have easily been, say, remaining Queen Anne crew, arriving at Izzy's heel to reinforce toxic pirate culture on Edward (who in this version is presumably traumatized by piracy and desperately trying to escape to a peaceful life). Instead Izzy is alone, and unthreatening, and written with both a noticable aversion to impulsive conflict violence and a fawn response. If these great writers were trying to do a Walter White style external harm and eventual self destruction arc to make a point about toxic masculinity, then this setup looks like they kinda really suck at it.

You can't write a character hitting the dramatic fall part of that narrative if they quite literally never get a leg up in the first place, and the fall is kind of integral to that group of toxic assholes. It provides the moral lesson / message that Izzy enjoyers keep being accused of being blind to. Unless, of course, you are suggesting that he's the "bad writers glorifying a power fantasy" version (more like Kylo Ren than Walter White), though I thought these weren't bad writers and it's a very strange concept of a power fantasy to be the butt of every joke.

You can't make any effective point about a toxic white guy with power without writing a toxic white guy with power. Like, idk, the Badminton brother who falls on his own sword because he's too haughty to take the person he bullied seriously??? Sure, nobody would have the point of Breaking Bad fly right over their head if Walter White had been a loser getting mocked relentlessly on screen and failing left and right, but something tells me "cancer patient who is a bit of dick goes bankrupt and dies, and nobody cares" wouldn't have made the points about toxic masculinity and hubris in the first place. If you want a real lack of media literacy, transplanting an arc and associated symbolism onto a character that doesn't fit the associated archetype and not addressing how it still works and sends the same message beyond assuring that it does is a good example.

I mean, seriously, these arguments are made by the same people who also relentlessly tear into the idea that Izzy is even slightly competent as a pirate. So they can't even pretend that his arc in the show is his fall of hubris (a dumb decision to start him in the show just after the climax turning point, but at least possible), because they are determined to remind you that he never had anything he thinks he's losing in the first place. How is that supposed to work??? Loser remains loser, gets embarrassed a bunch, says mean things that mostly get shrugged off, and look how dangerous and destructive toxic masculinity and arrogance is, kids!

That. Is. Not. His. Archetype.

For the thing that will really piss antis off, Izzy's whole comedic butt-monkey routine does give him a few archetypes he can lean into, and most of them are based around symbolic or literal victimhood. Like how he is kind of the designated toxic masculinity guy, and his life completely sucks for reasons often outside his control. Which does convey messages about how toxic masculinity isn't good for anyone, but in a way where the logical conclusion is that Izzy is also suffering under it and the logical arc (especially in a redemptive series) is to have the audience feel bad for him and root for him to get his own happiness by escaping it (you know... like what people think they are doing in a very flat way with Edward). There's also a semi-karmic element when his own actions backfire, but the endless humiliation conga makes that pretty sympathetic too (he's not successfully evil but still suffering plenty for it), and that puts him in the group of unthreatening antagonists who stumble right into the good side because being evil kinda sucks for them and they aren't as good at it as the other real villains. Think Zuko, or Spike.

Butt-monkey characters do tend to be more sympathetic than not. That's a comedy staple.

But sure, keep pretending he's more like Walter White or Tyler Durden than a character from The Office, and writing extensive posts on how liking the pure evil character you've made up in your head is proof of moral failing and / or idiocy. That's really a great use of time and fandom energy 🙄

Izzy will continue to be Just Some Guy

#our flag means death #did some drunk izzyposting now for some sleep deprived izzyposting #though I guess i can save this as a draft and at minimum do some polishing and add a few ref links before posting #i just. i hate that whole comparison so much. and the fact it is always accompanied by 'learn how to interpret media' shit #when it's such a forced interpretation that ignores a lot of izzy's role in the narrative and comparable arcs / archetype #izzy hands ofmd #fandom culture #< failure to interpret media #ladyluscinia